On the June 14 episode of "Impact Wrestling", Hardy entered the 2012 Bound for Glory Series, taking part in the opening gauntlet match, from which he was the first man eliminated by Bully Ray. Hardy wrestled his final group stage match of the tournament on the September 6 episode of "Impact Wrestling", defeating Samoa Joe via submission, thus finishing fourth and advancing to the semi-finals. Three days later at No Surrender, Hardy defeated Joe in a rematch to advance to the finals of the tournament. Before the finals took place, Hardy suffered a storyline injury after taking part in a brawl between the TNA locker room and the Aces & Eights stable. Despite the injury, Hardy defeated Bully Ray in the finals to win the 2012 Bound for Glory Series and become the number one contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. On the following episode of "Impact Wrestling", Hardy defeated Ray in a rematch to reaffirm his status as the number one contender.