Will Roode beat Lashley next week? Bellator musings

Lashley is fighting again this Friday at Bellator 130 against Karl Etherington, who is 9-0 in his professional MMA career. I suspect this was the reason why Lashley was not on the BFG card as he will have been preparing for his fight this week. Next week Roode faces Lashley for the TNA world title and I am wondering if this isn`t a coincidence? For weeks now Roode has been chasing the title and so in one respect I think for him to lose again to Lashley would put an end to any legitimate title hopes Roode has for the time being. Lashley has already beaten him twice I believe so a third straight loss would make it incredibly hard to book Roode as a legitimate No1 contender. It feels like the right time to give Roode the title as he has been chasing the title for months. There needs to be a pay off to Roode`s face run imo. But the reason why I suggested it may not be a coincidence is that TNA may be planning on putting the belt on Roode in the case that Lashley loses to Etherington on Friday. We discussed this when Lashley made his Bellator debut the risks involved in having your world champion compete in MMA. While I think Lashley has the tools and experience to beat Etherington, in MMA upsets can happen. Having watched some of Etherington`s fights on youtube I think he has fought a lot of bad opponents so his record looks more impressive than it actually is. Nevertheless it would put an end to Lashley`s Bellator title hopes should he lose. Lashley knows he`s on borrowed time as he`s coming to the end of his professional MMA career. I can`t see him staying in Bellator if he can`t eventually compete for the title. Personally I think Roode deserves to be champion again in his own right, but I am wondering if TNA will give him the title to prevent any possible embarrassment should Lashley lose at Bellator 130.

TNA could be taking a massive risk should Roode lose next week (as they`ve all been taped weeks in advance). If Lashley loses this Friday and then beats Roode next week, it could make Roode and the rest of the impact! roster look weak and would be bad for TNA`s image, especially as they still haven`t announced a new TV deal yet. But knowing TNA I can`t say I have faith they would have thought that far ahead.

Thoughts.

I almost wonder why TNA would bother thinking far ahead. If I was them I'd book a title change on the last show, a big win for a face that the fans can cheer and end this period on a happy note.

I agree with both of the points made.

AS long as Lashley keeps winning in MMA, he is a great asset to TNA as champ. If he loses, then its something the haters will jump over. At the moment, they are doing a good job of making him look strong and promoting TNA on Bellator.

As the title match is next Wednesday and the MMA match is this Friday, I guess they will do the same as last time and insert highlights into the show. Whatever the result (I think Roode should win from a booking point of view), Lashley can use whatever real result happens on Friday as an excuse.

Roode as Champ going into the new network (should it ever happen) is the right decision.

Adam D wrote:I agree with both of the points made.

AS long as Lashley keeps winning in MMA, he is a great asset to TNA as champ. If he loses, then its something the haters will jump over. At the moment, they are doing a good job of making him look strong and promoting TNA on Bellator.

As the title match is next Wednesday and the MMA match is this Friday, I guess they will do the same as last time and insert highlights into the show. Whatever the result (I think Roode should win from a booking point of view), Lashley can use whatever real result happens on Friday as an excuse.

Roode as Champ going into the new network (should it ever happen) is the right decision.

Apparently TNA have taped impact episodes up to Nov 19 and then they will finish the last 6 weeks of their deal with Spike using highlight footage. That means there`s less than a month`s worth of new, yet-to-be-aired impact tapings. TNA are cutting it fine to seal a new TV deal. If they still haven`t announced a new TV deal by Nov 19 then it looks very bleak for them. For TNA`s sake I hope they have a new deal and are just waiting for the right time to announce it so as to give a Bobby Roode victory some momentum - new champion, new era! TNA going into the new TV deal with Roode as champion would be great, but that`s if he wins next week. Should Lashley retain and win on Friday but TNA have no deal to announce then it wouldn`t pay off keeping the title on Lashley because while he is a successful MMA fighter, there`s no new impact shows in which to showcase him and vicariously take some of that prestige for the company.

I read spoilers for this about a month ago so I know how it goes down. Wont spoil anything here though.

I really dont know what is going on with the TV deal.

It surely must be signed by now but I dont understand why they are not announcing it - possibly some Spike reason?

Adam D wrote:I really dont know what is going on with the TV deal.

It surely must be signed by now but I dont understand why they are not announcing it - possibly some Spike reason?

I really don`t know, but imo they`d be better announcing it sooner than later because they`re currently promoting the UK Maximum Impact! Tour and if they want it to sell out and have a good crowd then the fans will need reassuring.