Impact Wrestling Preview: Ultimate X Returns, a World Title Match, BFGS and More

It’s Thursday again, and that means a new live episode of TNA Impact Wrestling!

This past Sunday, TNA celebrated a decade in the business with Slammiversary, and they delivered one of the best PPVs of 2012 so far.

As the road to Destination X begins, TNA has confirmed three matches, two of which are title matches, a segment and the fallout from Slammiversary.

Let’s see what the company has in store for the fans this week!

Austin Aries vs. Chris Sabin vs. Zema Ion: Ultimate X for the X-Division Championship

Austin Aries has dominated the X-Division since his return to TNA last July. He would win the X-Division Championship in September and has been champion ever since.

The man calls himself the “Greatest Man That Ever Lived” for a reason, and he proves that each and every week on Impact Wrestling as well as on pay-per-view.

This past Sunday at Slammiversary, Aries defended his X-Division title against former champion Samoa Joe. It was a hard-fought battle, but Aries was standing tall at the end of it. General manager Hulk Hogan won’t let him rest, though, as he scheduled another title defense for this week’s show.

This time he must defend the X-Division Championship against two wrestlers—former champion Chris Sabin and Zema Ion.

Two opponents won’t be his only challenge, as Hogan made the contest an Ultimate X Match and declared that it would open the show.

This will be the first time Aries and Ion have been in the match, but Sabin has competed in 14 Ultimate X matches, winning six of them.

Will Chris Sabin’s Ultimate X experience gain him victory, or will Austin Aries once again prove to be the “Greatest Man That Ever Lived”? Could Zema Ion possibly defeat two X-Division greats to gain his first title in TNA?

Broken Families: What’s Next Now That Dixie Carter’s Husband Attacked A.J. Styles?

Last month, Christopher Daniels and Kazarian brought A.J. Styles’ success over the past 10 years into question. The evidence came one piece at a time, but it got worse as time went by.

First were a couple of photographs showing Styles being friendly with TNA president Dixie Carter. The second piece of evidence was a video of them walking into a hotel room together while the final piece was a telephone call mentioning how Dixie’s husband, Serg, wouldn’t be home for hours.

Dixie tried to explain the situation last week but was interrupted by the tag team champions. Styles would make the save and Serg would come in to comfort his wife. He did more than that, though, and he punched Styles right in the head.

Styles received some vengeance on Daniels and Kazarian at Slammiversary, when he and Kurt Angle took the Tag Team Championships away from them, but this situation is far from over.

Will Dixie Carter get the chance to explain again? If the truth is revealed, how will Serg respond? How will this affect the title reign of A.J. Styles and Kurt Angle?

The Bound for Glory Series Returns: A 12-Man Gauntlet Match to Kick it Off

Last year, TNA created the Bound for Glory Series. It was the first of its kind, as TNA put 12 wrestlers into various matches to earn points throughout the summer.

You could earn points by pinfall, submission, count out, disqualification and even a draw. Each kind of victory gave you a certain amount of points while getting yourself disqualified lost you 10 points.

Other than losing by DQ, you weren’t penalized for losing.

The series was dominated by Crimson last year, but an injury at the hands of Samoa Joe forced him to pull out. The final four came down to Bobby Roode, James Storm, Gunner and Bully Ray.

Roode would win the series but fail to win the title at Bound for Glory in October. He would win the title a few weeks later, though, and has kept it ever since.

This week, the Bound for Glory Series returns and 12 wrestlers will get the chance to main event this year’s Bound for Glory event. TNA hasn’t revealed the 12 men to enter yet, but they will compete this week in a 12-man Gauntlet match.

Who will the 12 wrestlers be? Which one of them will gain the early advantage with the points earned from this match?

Bobby Roode vs. Mr. Anderson: TNA World Heavyweight Championship

Bobby Roode has been one of the most dominate champions in TNA’s decade of existence. At 233 days, Roode is the longest-reigning champion in company history as well.

Both Sting and Hulk Hogan have tried multiple times to take him down, but the two wrestling legends would fail every time. Hogan and Sting tried again at Slammiversary, but they failed to take the title away from him.

Roode’s troubles with them aren’t over, as Sting attacked Roode after their match and drove him through a table from the stage with the Scorpion Death Drop, and Hogan is the general manager.

Roode must deal with Hogan first, though, and thanks to him, the title will be on the line this week against Mr. Anderson, who became the No. 1 contender at Slammiversary by defeating Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam.

Will Bobby Roode be able to topple this newest obstacle, or will the TNA fans see a new world heavyweight champion?

Also, expect to see the fallout from Slammiversary, including Miss Tessmacher winning the Knockouts Championship, Abyss’ return resulting in Joseph Park defeating Bully Ray and James Storm returning to end Crimson’s undefeated streak.

Can TNA Wrestling use the momentum from Slammiversary to begin the summer with a bang? Tune in at 8 p.m. to find out!