TNA Bound for Glory 2025 Preview: By Kristian Thompson
It hasn’t been a particularly inspiring last few months for TNA. Victory Road looked about as bland as shows come (and that’s with WWE’s PLEs being 5 matches and half a show of video packages) so for the first time since writing about TNA I chose not to review a monthly show. The debate on how much this WWE/NXT involvement is helping TNA continues to rage on. I thought their Showdown episode of NXT this week was as good an episode of NXT as there’s been for a long time. We won’t mention how ridiculous the TNA Women’s team was but it was great to see The Hardys finally win some gold for TNA, the TNA men shining in the main event and Mustafa Ali remind WWE what they are missing out on.
The build for this Bound for Glory iteration has mostly focused on Mike Santana and Trick Williams over the TNA World Championship. I was pretty critical of Trick early on, which was mostly because WWE weren’t putting him on TNA weekly shows all that much. If you’re the champ, you should be on TV each week, in whatever capacity that is. However, Trick has shown what a talent he really is by stepping up on the mic and really improving his promo skills. His wrestling was his strength, but I’ve found him outshining Santana at times and really pushing that cocky heel persona who has your title and will continually rub it in your face.
The old men battling over the tag team titles has been another heavy story as we head to BFG. Am I that excited over four men that are over 45-years old wrestling on TNA’s biggest show of the year? Not particularly, but the history is there and the rivalry is legendary. The video packages that have aired on both these feuds have been outstanding, even earning praise from the wrestlers themselves.
The undercard is a bit thrown together, either due to issues out of TNA’s control or to get a lot of the talent on the show. Rematches for both the women’s tag titles and the International Championship will take place. They’ve made the most of controversial situations around the Knockouts Championship by putting their strongest face challenger against (hopefully) a placeholder. And although forced, I am looking forward to the Hardcore War. Let’s break down each match now.
TNA X-Division Championship: Leon Slater (c) vs NXT’s Je’Von Evans
This would make the ideal opener to the show. An easy pick to pump up the crowd and get off to a great start. I expect a crazy display of athleticism. Slater pinned Evans on Showdown and that dreaded booking can tend to mean that the pinned wrestler gets his revenge on the PLE. I think the time for trading titles back and forth has hurt TNA and I hope Slater holds on to the title as he’s really strating to become a big deal in the company.
Who should win: Leon Slater
Who will win: Je’Von Evans
Tessa Blanchard vs Gia Miller
This came about because Blanchard lost the plot and assaulted Miller after one of her matches a while back. Miller is a trained wrestler, but for some reason TNA have completely ignored this through the whole build. This will make Blanchard look very weak if Miller, as expected, gets the win. I’m not sure what to expect but I think it will be decent as Tessa is tremendous.
Who should win: Tessa Blanchard
Who will in: Gia Miller
TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championships: The Iinspiration (c) vs The Elegance Brand
TNA really struggle to avoid months-long feuds with these titles. We saw that with Jody Threat and Dani Luna of Spitfire having a very long feud with The Elegances, and here we are again. The Iinspiration’s contracts are apparanteyl expiring but they’ve only just won the titles so I see no reason for them to lose here. Build them up as the standard of the division and get some young teams in there to challenge them. Myla Grace and Harley Hudson could do with some TV time.
Who should win: The Iinspiration
Who will win: The Iinspiration
TNA International Championship: Frankie Kazarian (c) vs Steve Maclin
We had seemingly months of Kaz being Trick William’s lackie in tag team matches and doing a whole lot of nothing, then they throw the title on him over Maclin, who was building an excellent reign as a fighting champion. I could see Kaz losing here and then cashing in his World Title contract after Santana has an emotional win. He still has that guaranteed World Title match (I believe) so imagine if he cashes in at the end of Bound for Glory! I think that’s a possibility. They couldn’t do it to Santana could they?
Who should win: Kaz
Who will win: Steve Maclin
Tables Match for the TNA World Tag Team Championships and the NXT Tag Team Championships: The Hardys vs Team 3D
You don’t need a whole lot of time spent on story here. The history writes itself. Team 3D still haven’t gotten over their tag team tables match loss 25 years ago and want to put it right. Harbouring a loss for so long makes sense, especially when their main rivals are still such a strong team in 2025. Team 3D really aren’t in the ‘best tag team of all time’ conversation for me, but that’s why opinions are great. Hardys are active and should win. No doubt. Especially since they are now NXT Tag Champions and will be on their shows regularly, you’d expect. I think the match will end after one person goes through the table, hence the headline: One Final Table.
Who should win: The Hardys
Who will win: The Hardys
Hardcore War: Order 4 vs The System
This feud has been featured on TNA shows weekly over the last month or so. I haven’t felt the authenticity of The System’s face turn. It still feels odd to me. I can’t help but cheer Mustafa Ali every time he is in a ring; he’s so good at wrestling and on the mic. Once all 10 wrestlers have entered, the first fall wins the match. I expect plenty of weapons and big shots, and I’m sure the ladies will bring their best too. Order 4 have won a lot during this feud so I think it might be a system reboot at Bound for Glory.
Who should win: Order 4
Who will win: The System
Call Your Shot Gauntlet
I usually get quite excited at the prospect of who could appear in these matches every year, and generally get let down by the lack of surprises. I think we will get some past wrestlers and NXT wrestelrs in there, as well as some of the regular TNA crew. At the time of writing there were 14 names listed and that didn’t include The Rascalz or Joe Hendry. Someone named BDE asked to join the match on X and then was granted his request so maybe I should try my luck and make a quick flight to Massachusetts. No one wants to see that. I don’t really know who will win. Nic Nemeth would be a good choice. I feel they will go with Mance Warner or Matt Cardona. I don’t really want to see either of those.
Who should win: Nic Nemeth
Who will win: Matt Cardona
TNA Knockouts World Championship: Kelani Jordan (c) vs Indi Hartwell
I think the plan was always to have Indi challenge Ash for BFG, but Ash just left a few weeks ago so they had to make plans on the fly at Victory Road. Jordan beat Lei Ying Lee, which really isn’t an upset because I hope the plan is to give Indi the big moment at BFG. There’s no reason for Jordan to retain whatsoever. Give the title to Indi and let her run with it. She deserves in and we can then get some fresh feuds and build the division again.
Who should win: Indi Hartwell
Who will win: Indi Hartwell
TNA World Championship: Trick Williams (c) vs Mike Santana
A few months ago, this did not have the ‘Big Fight’ feel to it. But they’ve done a great job at building Santana up as the tough but sympathetic babyface. They haven’t invested this much into another TNA wrestler since Joe Hendry’s title run earlier this year. Like I mentioned previously, Trick has done a really solid job at holding the title since they featured him on TNA wrestling more regularly. He has brought the passion to his promos and you believe him when he says he can beat Santana. However, this match result feels as assured as the WrestleMania that Cody Rhodes should’ve beaten Roman Reigns in. I hope we don’t get that same shock outcome. I have to acknowledge Tom Hannifan’s commentary during Trick’s reign. His absolute disgust at a NXT wrestler holding the TNA title has literally been felt through our television screens. He has channelled the 2001 WCW vs WWF commentary that worked so well between Jim Ross and Paul Heyman. He’s just been fantastic. I think there’s a possibility that Frankie Kazarian could cash in his contract. The whole situation with that has been very quiet, so a surprise might be on the cards. He was schedule to cash in against Joe Hendry but Ethan Page interrupted before an official cash in could take place (says Google). So don’t be shocked if that occurs. But I think at last it’s Santana’s time and it will be a big moment in TNA history if it happens.
Who should win: Mike Santana
Who will win: Mike Santana
Final Thoughts
Overall, the build to Bound for Glory has focused on 3 main matches: Trick/Santana, One Final Table and the Hardcore War. As a result, it’s clear that these feel like the biggest matches on the card. I do wish the rest of the card was developed a bit better, however I don’t see any weak points on the show. I’m hoping for some surprises, some great wrestling (his that 4-star level ladies and gents!) and Big Mike holding the TNA title as BFG goes off the air.
Any feedback or comments are welcome. My email address is kristian.l.thompson@gmail.com in case anybody wants to get in touch with me and my Twitter/X handle is @thomok6 as well. Thanks for reading!