TNA's PPV business has sank to rock bottom levels over the past few months. Slammiversary, Destination X and Hardcore Justice all did in the 7,500 to 8,500 buy range this year, with the trend being downward, with each month the estimates being a few hundred buys lower than the last one. No Surrender in September had a weaker build and line up to all those shows, so it wouldn't have reversed that unfortunate trend either.

But thankfully Bound For Glory, TNA's biggest PPV of the year, was around the corner. Surely having the first match between Hulk Hogan and Sting in twelve years, a match that TNA had hyped for eighteen months, together with a strong build for Robert Roode's first TNA World Heavyweight title shot against Kurt Angle, would stop the rot? Apparently not, as Dave Meltzer reported in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter that despite Bound For Glory being their biggest buy rate of the year, it was still significantly down from last year and indeed all prior years:

Preliminary estimates on Bound for Glory are ranging between 20,000 and 25,000 buys. Last year's show did 35,000 to 40,000.

The disappointing buy rate should come as no surprise, after the Hulk Hogan retirement tease to set up his match with Sting drew the worst Impact rating of the year and the go home show the week after did little better. It proves that no-one wants to pay to see Hogan do more damage to his badly mangled back, at least not outside the WWE banner where one more match might still mean something.

Unfortunately, since Hogan and his crony Eric Bischoff are now the most powerful people in TNA, they already seem to have locked down plans for Hogan to wrestle again at their first major PPV of 2012. Don't expect plans to change thanks to this disastrous number. Even though it would be best for Hogan's health to stay out of the ring altogether and it means nothing for business, he'll keep hogging the spotlight and building himself as the centrepiece of every major PPV in an effort to justify his hefty pay cheque, maintain his spot and milk the money mark owner Dixie Carter for as long as possible.