The Plane Ride From Hell saw a whole host of issues. Famously, guys like Scott Hall and Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig) behaved so poorly that they got fired from the company because of it. Hennig tried to take down Brock Lesnar mid-flight, and Hall was so wasted that no one could wake him up even after landing.
Yet, Flair’s behavior was arguably worse than anyone’s, as he exposed himself to an unsuspecting flight attendant. He would have to settle two lawsuits against him in 2004, and somehow, he kept his job above all else. Well, what if Slick Ric found himself unemployed come the summer of 2002?
You’d probably dismiss the possibility that Flair would end up in TNA, and there’d be some truth to that in 2002. The company couldn’t afford to bring guys like him in just yet. As time went on, and within a year, TNA would be able to afford to bring in guys like Raven, Sting, The Road Warriors, and Dusty Rhodes.
Not to mention, by the summer of 2003, TNA was trying to bring in Hulk Hogan, arguably the one name that would demand more money than Flair at the time. So if TNA could afford Hogan (and eventually every other major name in wrestling, including Flair), then in 2003, it’s fair to say that they could likely afford him.
In fact, it’s likely that things get elevated in terms of time. The first Bound for Glory wouldn’t happen until 2005, but if you remember your TNA history, it was originally announced for 2003. It was set to be Jeff Jarrett vs. Hulk Hogan, in a rematch from three years prior. But what if Flair joins the promotion in 2003 instead of them reaching out to Hogan and Hogan backing out at the last minute?
The show was supposed to happen in November of that year, so what would his debut look like? Assuming we’re building up to the Bound for Glory card, I think the smartest move you make is making it Ric Flair vs. AJ Styles to headline the event. Heading into late October, he’s still the champ and would drop the title to Jarrett in preparation for Hogan’s arrival. With Hogan out, we make the call to keep the belt on Styles.
Unlike with Hogan, who was going to come in if not right before the event, but at the event, we’re bringing in Flair exclusively at Bound for Glory. JJ Dillon is currently with TNA at the time, thereabouts anyway, and we make him the de facto mouthpiece for Flair before he arrives. Dillon can go on about Flair’s history, his legacy, and what he’s still got left in the tank.
Styles, not wanting to be held back by Russo or the SEX Stable, goes rogue from the group and starts demanding a line of wrestlers associated with Flair, much like Jarrett did for Hogan. Unlike Jarrett, who got to wrestle Rick Steiner and Hacksaw Jim Duggan before Hogan bailed on the match, Styles will get some quality guys.
First, we’d get Barry Windham, who was still active with Major League Wrestling at the time. Then, we’d get Tully Blanchard. He was semi-retired at the time, but was still active to an extent in and around the world of wrestling the year prior and the following year. Lastly, we’d get Lex Luger, who was actually part of the roster in 2003 to a small extent, and was likely going to be used on the Bound for Glory card. After Styles goes 3-3,
After that fails to dispel Styles, a reunited and healthy Triple X attacks Styles at the behest of Flair and Dillon. This causes Dusty Rhodes and Zybysko to make the save.
Eventually, this leads us to Bound for Glory with Flair making his dynamic debut.
Jarrett, angry that he got passed over for the main event spot by Flair, goes after Dusty Rhodes. The two get into a feud that spans across several other wrestlers and companies. Jarrett brings in Lex Luger to help dispatch Dusty. Eventually, Shane Douglas is roped in, as is Larry Zbyszko, due to “past issues” with Dusty. Dusty will recruit the Three Live Kru to help, and eventually brings in the biggest help of all in a man called Sting. Since Sting was in TNA around this time, in part to appear on Bound For Glory, it just makes sense to find a role for him.
Luger ends up bringing in Vampiro to help him deal with Sting, setting up an All-Star 10 Man Tag at BFG. Unlike a lot of these guys, Sting’s only in this match due to storyline purposes, as he could still go hard in 2003 without needing to be protected. That’s not the case for Luger, Douglas, and Rhodes. This match will help serve up the mainstream offering that lapsed fans will be looking for, as everyone in this match has ties to the WWF or WCW of old.
In that same vein, the Sandman and Sabu will reignite their feud in a balls-to-the-wall hardcore match, with the same idea of bringing in lapsed fans. We’re also going to cater to the NWA-TNA faithful by placing the Ultimate X match in the opener, with Chris Sabin, Frankie Kazarian, The Naturals, Matt Sydal, and PCO (then known as X). The kind of action this match would produce would be exactly what the fans of the promotion are dying for.
We’ll also put on a No. 1 contenders match, designed to give the world champ a hell of a match, with Jerry Lynn taking on D’Lo Brown. Either way, the champ will get a great worker in their prime to work with following the event.
As far as storylines go, with Ekmo (Umaga), about to focus fully on All Japan Pro Wrestling in 2004, we’re going to split up his team with Sonny Siaki and give Siaki a strong push going forward. The Gathering will also have its last hurrah as a stable, facing off with The Disciples of the New Church, now featuring Abyss as a permanent member. The two factions have feuded for a few months, and while the rivalry ended in real life in October when Raven beat Vampiro, we’re hoping to extend it for a few more weeks for a bloody cage match brawl.
And since CM Punk would be gone by March of 2004, hopefully, we can get one strong Raven vs. Punk match before then. The idea being that the results of this six-man would lead to the stable breaking up.
The other two title matches will just be based around contender matches, where Kid Kash, Juventud Guerrera, and Triple-X won the right to join the card as challengers. Kash and Guerrera again go into the idea of attracting the lapsed fan. Plus, I’m hoping someone is smart enough to really steer into the “Michael Shane is Shawn Michaels cousin” trope, and name him something like Bentley Michaels or Michaels Bentley, and give him a more flamboyant design.
As for Tripel X and AMW, they’re arguably the best tag team feud of all time in TNA, so why not run it back again?
Bound for Glory 2003
- Ultimate X Match
Chris Sabin vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Andy Douglas vs. Chase Stevens vs. Matt Sydal vs. X - Hardcore Match
Sabu vs. The Sandman - Singles Match
Sonny Siaki vs. Ekmo - 6 Man-Steel Cage-Tag Match
Raven, Punk, and Dinero vs. The Disciples of the New Church (Sinn/Slash/Abyss) - No. 1 Contenders Match
Jerry Lynn vs. D’Lo Brown - All-Star Tag Team
Jeff Jarrett, Shane Douglas, Vampiro, Lex Luger, Larry Zbyszko vs. Dusty Rhodes, 3 Live Kru, Sting - TNA X-Division Championship
Juventud Guerrera vs. Kid Kash vs. Michael Shane (c) - NWA World Tag Team Titles
Triple-X (Daniels/Low Ki) vs. America’s Most Wanted - NWA Worlds Championship
Ric Flair vs. A.J. Styles (c)
Results:
Ultimate X
– Chris Sabin goes over and becomes the new X-Division number one contender. He and Michael Shane/Matt Bentley/Whatever had great chemistry and could really help sell future fans of what to expect should they stick around post BFG.
Hardcore Match
– It really doesn’t matter who goes over, as neither man has long-term plans with the brand, but Sabu winning does make a lot of sense just from a popularity standpoint.
Match 3
– With Ekmo almost done in TNA, Sonny Siaki goes over, and turns face in the process, with the idea that he’ll side with AJ Styles and a few other young guys against Jarrett and his growing crop of older heels.
6-Man Steel Cage
– The Gathering gets the win, but with Raven stealing the opportunity from CM Punk. After Raven pins Sinn, Punk gets angry and turns his back on the Gathering, setting up Punk’s final story in the promotion.
No. 1 Contender
– Going back and forth, I think the best option to work with the champ is going to be Jerry Lynn. He’s a former World Champ, and considering how the main event goes, he’s the best fit to get the best match out of the champ going forward.
All-Star Tag
– The faces get the win after Sting puts Vampiro down once and for all. Lex and Jarrett get their revenge on Sting, however, setting up Sting’s eventual next match with the promotion later in the year.
X-Division Title
– The champion is going to retain, he’ll debut a new name and new look, in line with his more famous cousin, and he’ll win clean in the process. Chris Sabin will come down and set up their title match later on in the year.
NWA Worlds Tag Team Title
– While America’s Most Wanted are iconic, Triple-X goes over here, thanks to a returning Elix Skipper, who (if memory serves me correctly) was dealing with a minor injury at the time.
NWA Worlds Championship
– It’s ok to think the right decision is to have AJ Styles go over on Ric Flair, but Flair’s joining the promotion is the only reason this PPV is happening, so let’s just have Flair go over. Styles will get his win back later in 2004, but for right now, we’re running with Flair on top. To help make Flair look as good as possible, we’re going to book him only against the top workers on the roster, starting with Jerry Lynn, following the event.
After the event, Flair becomes the face of the promotion, but Styles becomes his most dogged critic. Flair will hide behind the powers of the promotion and will eventually create his new version of the Four Horsemen, with Michael Shane and The Naturals joining up. The idea would be that Flair would hold the belt until June of 2004, at least, when the company would land on Fox Sports Net. From there, they’d be co-promoted by the network, especially with The Best Damn Sports Show period being a major element in the network’s desire to promote TNA.
We’ll start looking at the next three-hour PPV come June or July, where Flair and Styles will run it back
In the meantime, though, Flair will feud with Lynn, Ron Killings, Dusty, and even Raven, all ahead of his match with Styles.