Impact Wrestling
Date: November 3, 2022
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are about two weeks away from Overdrive and the card is starting to take shape. While the World Title match is already set, we still need to get the X-Division Title match ready, which is where this week comes in. Odds are there are going to be more tournament matches this week and that should be a good thing. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening recap.

Eddie Edwards blames PCO for the destruction of Honor No More and invites him to come fight him in the desert.

Opening sequence.

X-Division Title Tournament First Round: Kenny King vs. Mike Bailey

Feeling out process to start with King being weary of the big kick. An exchange of rollups get two each until they both try kicks to the ribs. Bailey dropkicks him for two and King is sent outside, but it’s too early for the dive. Back in and Bailey cranks on the leg, with a leglock sending King over to the rope. King’s leg is fine enough to hold Bailey up for a spinebuster and they head outside again. This time it’s a t-bone overhead suplex to drop Bailey on the ramp, setting up a half crab on the floor.

Back in and Bailey realizes his knee is fine enough to fire off the kicks, plus a standing shooting star press for two. Bailey’s spinning kicks send King outside and the big top rope moonsault drops him again. King shrugs that off and puts on another half crab, with Bailey going to the ropes. Another grab of the rope drags Bailey back to the middle, where he rolls King up to advance at 8:43.

Rating: C+. This was a very Mike Bailey match, as he did all of his usual stuff: kicks, flips, and really annoying no selling of an injured body part. The athleticism is great but it would be nice to have him act more like a wrestler for once. I’m not sure I would have had King lose so early, but there isn’t much room to shake things up in an eight person tournament.

The Motor City Machine Guns tell Josh Alexander to not trust Bully Ray. Josh seems to think about it.

Gisele Shaw is passing out photos of herself with the Knockouts Title but VXT isn’t impressed. Shaw dumps them, with Deonna Purrazzo having to calm Chelsea Green down.

Savannah Evans vs. Jessicka

Tasha Steelz and the Death Dollz are here too. They talk trash and then slug it out with Jessicka knocking her into the corner for the running clothesline. A ram into all four corners has Evans in more trouble but a missed charge lets her grab a DDT for a much needed breather.

We take a break and come back with Evans hitting a suplex for two but missing a charge of her own. Evans headbutts away until a tackle drops her again. A running basement crossbody crushes Evans so the women get in a fight on the floor. That’s enough of a distraction to let Evans hit a full nelson slam for the upset pin at 11:11.

Rating: C. I still don’t know how much interest there is in Evans and now calling her the “Cannibal” (yes the Cannibal) isn’t going to help that much. That being said, it is a good idea to give her a singles win every now and then, just to keep her built up at least a bit. This is probably setting up Steelz/Evans for a Tag Team Title shot, because singles matches make a difference in tag wrestling for whatever reason.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Bully Ray wins the World Title at Lockdown 2013 and reveals himself as the leader of Aces and 8’s.

Killer Kelly wants something fresh to play with around here.

Steve Maclin is sick and tired of so many people jumping the line in front of him. He wants the World Title and is coming to get it.

The Major Players are ready to win the Tag Team Titles but make the mistake of saying his name. Joe Hendry pops up (out of a refrigerator) and says he wants the Digital Media Title. Cardona: “Why was he in the fridge?”

And now, to the desert, where Eddie Edwards is waiting for PCO. The fight is on with PCO getting the better of things until Eddie starts slugging back. A rock to the head gets Eddie out of a Mandible Claw and he blames PCO for everything. Then PCO chokeslams him onto a bigger rock but Eddie comes back with a shovel. PCO gets shoved into a grave and Eddie buries him with rocks and dirt. Well that was violent.

Taylor Wilde comes up to Mickie James and they’re ready to face each other in a friendly match. This would be another situation with two women talking like non-humans.

Eric Young vs. Sami Callihan

Deaner is here with Young. Callihan starts fast and hits a powerbomb on Young before knocking Deaner down to the floor. The fight heads outside with Young posting him but getting his back raked for his efforts. A suplex drops Young on the floor and Callihan bites his ear to make it worse.

Deaner gets in a cheap shot though and they head back inside, where Callihan invites Young to headbutt him. Young clotheslines him down but misses a moonsault so Callihan can load up the Cactus Special. Before the pile can be driven though, cue all of the people in yellow hoodies to beat Callihan down for the DQ at 6:10.

Rating: C. Yeah here we go with the Violent By Design stuff, as Callihan needs an army to fight against. The match was the usual brawl without much to be seen, but above all else it was about the big ending, which is likely going to be the start of something big with the team. Well, depending on who are under the hoodies that is.

Post match two of the hoodies are pulled off and it’s Big Kon (Konnor from the Ascension) and Alan Angels. Young comes back in and drives a spike into Callihan’s head to draw blood.

Jordynne Grace goes into her locker room and finds a bunch of pictures of Gisele Shaw holding up the Knockouts Title. Jai Vidal, Shaw’s assistant, apparently put up the photos, so Grace chokes him and lets him run off.

Moose vs. Ace Austin

Chris Bey is here with Austin. Moose gets sent to the floor to start but pulls Austin into a powerbomb swung into the steps. We take a break and come back with Austin being whipped hard into the corner. The big chop misses though and Austin unloads in the corner as well.

That is shrugged off with all of no effort from Moose but Austin kicks him down. A running double stomp gets two but Moose is back up to reverse slam him off the top (that was cool). Cue Bully Ray for a distraction though, meaning Moose misses his spear. Austin grabs a rollup for the pin at 11:14.

Rating: C+. This was a nice enough match as you can always get somewhere with power vs. speed. That is what they were playing at here until the ending with Ray offering a distraction. Austin winning is nice to see, but this is all about Ray vs. Moose, because something always has to be about Ray.

Gisele Shaw interrupts commentary with more of her photos before her title shot next week.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Aussie Open vs. Josh Alexander/Frankie Kazarian

Kazarian and Fletcher start things off with Kazarian running him over to grab a headlock. Back up and Kazarian flips him into a rollup for two and it’s off to Alexander vs. Davis. Alexander starts fast with a middle rope dropkick so it’s back to Kazarian. Some double teaming puts Kazarian down for all of three seconds before he’s back with a running….Russian legsweep? That’s a new one, but it lets Alexander come back in to punch Fletcher.

Everything breaks down and Alexander gets clotheslined over the top for a crash. Kazarian is rammed into Alexander and we take a break. Back with Alexander fighting out of a chinlock but getting slammed by Fletcher. A belly to back drop puts Alexander on the apron and a brainbuster gets two. The trouble doesn’t last long as Alexander rolls over and brings in Kazarian to clean house.

Something like a Big Ending/middle rope cutter drops Kazarian, who is also fine enough to get over to Alexander for a tag. Everything breaks down and Alexander powerbombs Fletcher but Davis hits a running forearm. Some double superkicks drop Alexander for two with Kazarian making the save.

Kazarian gets a hot tag of his own and starts to clean house again. Alexander ankle locks Fletcher as Kazarian puts Davis in some kind of armbar, only to have Fletcher roll out, sending Alexander into the other two for the save. Fletcher and Alexander suplex each other to the floor, leaving Kazarian to hit a slingshot cutter for the pin on Davis at 19:18.

Rating: B. This was a rather entertaining back and forth match, though the lack of tagging got old near the end. Upcoming opponents vs. a regular team is an idea that has worked for a long time and that was the case again here. Aussie Open continues to be a good team, but it would be nice to have them win a big match every now and then.

Post match Kazarian picks up the title but hands it off to Alexander to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This is a weird time for Impact as they are doing almost everything right, but they are doing it on the way to a show that isn’t all that interesting. Kazarian feels a lot like Alex Shelley as a challenger and having the “will he/won’t he” stuff from Bully Ray isn’t the most thrilling. Hopefully they can find something better to do after Overdrive on the way to Hard To Kill, but we have a long way to go to get there.

Results
Mike Bailey b. Kenny King – Rollup
Savannah Evans b. Jessicka – Full nelson slam
Sami Callihan b. Eric Young via DQ when Violent By Design interfered
Ace Austin b. Moose – Rollup
Frankie Kazarian/Josh Alexander b. Aussie Open – Slingshot cutter to Davis

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Impact Wrestling
Date: October 27, 2022
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are on the way to Overdrive in a few weeks and that means we need an X-Division Title match. The tournament begins here with the finals at Overdrive and we should be in for something good. Other than that, Frankie Kazarian is coming for the World Title and Josh Alexander will need to deal with him. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening recap.

Mike Bennett and Matt Taven come in to yell at Scott D’Amore about everything that has gone badly for them. They don’t want to be in that kind of situation again, so he fires them.

Opening sequence.

X-Division Title Tournament First Round: Alan Angels vs. Trey Miguel

They fight over arm control to start with neither being able to get very far. Angels breaks up a rope walk wristdrag and Miguel gets kicked outside. Back in and a reverse Sling Blade gives Angels two but Miguel is back up with a handspring enziguri. The running knees give Miguel two and Angels’ DDT out of the corner gets the same.

Miguel slips out of a superplex attempt and it’s the Cheeky Nandos kick to knock him silly. Angels is fine enough to knock him him and grab an Octopus hold on the mat, followed by a frog splash for two. Back up and Miguel kicks him in the face, setting up the Lightning Spiral for the fast pin at 8:20.

Rating: C+. Impact has long since figured out that the idea of having an X-Division match open the show is going to work every time. The fans get behind Miguel, who can fly around like few others and make you care about him with ease. Other than that, you have Angels, who is still known enough from AEW and fits in well as a first round victim for a bigger star.

Bullet Club comes in to see Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer because they think Ray took out Ace Austin last week. Ray denies it again and Chris Bey vs. Dreamer seems to be set up. The Club leaves and Dreamer tells Ray to stay away because he’s why this is happening.

VXT and Gisele Shaw want to get rid of Mickie James and then get the Knockouts Tag Team Titles back.

Tasha Steelz vs. Rachelle Steele

Savannah Evans is here with Steelz. Steele gets kicked in the face to start but Steelz grabs the mic, saying she shouldn’t be in the ring with someone so lame. Evans is told to come in and take care of this, so Evans hits a clothesline for the DQ at 1:56. Steelz doesn’t seem to mind.

Post match Evans powerbombs Steele.

The Motor City Machine Guns come up to Heath and Rhino to ask for the Tag Team Title shot they were promised. Heath and Rhino tell them to go to management, which works for the Guns.

Post break, the Guns come up to Scott D’Amore but the Major Players are already there. D’Amore doesn’t want to listen to the arguing so he makes Shelley vs. Cardona for later tonight.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Chris Bey

Ace Austin is here with Bey. They both miss clotheslines to start and Bey can’t hit his spinning kick to the face. Cue Bully Ray to get on the apron to yell at Austin as we take an early break. Back with Bey hitting a double stomp to the back and a standing moonsault gets two.

Dreamer’s arm goes into the post and Bey gives it a Codebreaker, setting up a DDT for two more. Bey gets caught on top though and here is Moose to yell at Ray. The referee gets distracted and Moose trips Bey, who thinks it was Ray. The Death Valley Driver is broken up and the Art of Finesse finishes for Bey at 10:24.

Rating: C. The ending was a huge relief as I was worried they would have the ECW guys beat the Bullet Club again. I’m not big on Dreamer in the first place and it would have been way too far to have he and Ray get wins over these guys in some combination -over back to back wins. Not a great match, but it’s all about the storytelling anyway.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Bully Ray b. Sting to retain the World Title at Slammiversary 2013.

Aussie Open wants the Tag Team Titles so anyone can come get them next week.

Tommy Dreamer tells Bully Ray to calm down but Ray isn’t going to do that. He’s tired of no one believing him, including Dreamer. They’re good though.

Matt Cardona vs. Alex Shelley

Their respective partners are here too. Cardona jumps him before the bell and they head outside with an exchange of rams into the apron. Back in and Shelley works on the arm but Cardona grabs a neckbreaker for two. The chinlock goes on for a bit before an elbow to the jaw takes Shelley down again. The Reboot misses though and they forearm it out. A tornado DDT gives Shelley two with Myers putting the foot on the rope.

Myers comes in so Sabin kicks him out, leaving Cardona to rake Shelley’s eye. Radio Silence connects for two and a rollup with tights gets the same. With nothing else working, Cardona grabs the Digital Media Title but the referee gets distracted, allowing Shelley to grab a DDT onto the title for two in a rather hot near fall. Back up and Myers hits Shelley in the head with the belt for the pin at 8:43.

Rating: C+. There was a lot packed in here but they made it work well enough anyway, with both guys keeping up with all of the quick near falls. The Major Brothers getting the title shot isn’t a bad idea, though it wouldn’t surprise me to see this winding up as a triple threat. Entertaining stuff here as the Major Players are a good team when they get the chance.

Post match the beatdown stays on but Heath and Rhino make the save.

Rich Swann and Josh Alexander are in the back when Gail Kim interrupts. She tells Alexander to watch his back and Steve Maclin jumps him from behind. Frankie Kazarian makes the save.

Post break, Kazarian says he’s looking out for Alexander to make sure Overdrive stays on. Neither of them are looking for a partner, but they’ll team together against Aussie Open next week.

Raj Singh vs. Joe Hendry

Before the match, Hendry talks about how this is Las Vegas, where people lose everything they have every day. Tomorrow, someone is going to have to tell their wife that they lost the house, the car and the kid’s college fund….but he saw Joe Hendry. It’s ok because the wife believes in him too and we start fast with Hendry taking him down for a pat on the head. A fireman’s carry faceplant (the Trust Fall) drops Singh, who makes the mistake of saying Hendry’s name, making him rise back up. The Standing Ovation (high spinebuster) gives Hendry the pin at 1:47.

Eric Young tells Deaner that he’s supposed to learn things. Now it’s time to beat up beat up Sami Callihan.

We get a sitdown interview with Eddie Edwards, who says Honor No More is no more. Eddie still believes that there is no honor in this company but there are still problems. Like PCO.

Here’s what’s coming on upcoming shows.

VXT/Gisele Shaw vs. Mickie James/Jordynne Grace/Taylor Wilde

Green rolls away from James to start so it’s off to Shaw instead. James runs her over with a shoulder and it’s off to Purrazzo to power Wilde down. Wilde kicks Purrazzo’s leg out and tilt-a-whirl slams Green for two. Everything breaks down and the heroes clear the ring as we take a break.

Back with Green taking Wilde down and hammering away before Shaw fires off some knees to the face. Wilde gets away without much trouble and the hot tag brings in James to clean house. That lasts for all of ten seconds before Shaw gets in a cheap shot to take James down in the corner. Shaw grabs a chinlock before Shaw grabs a chinlock, only to have James fight up with a clothesline.

The real hot tag brings in Grace to clean house, including a spinebuster for two on Purrazzo. Everything breaks down but James gets driven back into the corner. A powerbomb/something like a Blockbuster combination gets two on James and Grace runs Shaw over for touching the Knockouts Title. Back inside and James DDTs Green for the pin at 15:17.

Rating: C+. They kept things moving here with a longer match than I would have guessed. James is probably on her way to a huge showdown with Jordynne Grace, maybe at Hard To Kill, and she might have to go through the rest of VXT to get there. Good main event here, as Grace and James are turning into some of the bigger stars in the whole company.

Overall Rating: C+. Overdrive isn’t exactly looking great so far but they are doing some good stuff on the way there. That is the kind of thing that you do not get to see very often but they are managing to pull it off. There were some good enough matches on this one, though the Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer stuff is still dragging a lot of the rest down.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Impact Wrestling
Date: October 20, 2022
Location: Albany Armory, Albany, New York
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re still coming out of Bound For Glory and that means it is time to start getting ready for whatever the next monthly special is going to be. In this case, that means Frankie Kazarian is going to cash in his X-Division Title for a World Title shot against Josh Alexander. That is likely going to mean some competition for the vacant title and it might start tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening recap.

The Bullet Club goes to see Ace Austin but find him down in the parking lot. Tommy Dreamer is here but denies everything.

Opening sequence.

Tommy Dreamer/Bully Ray vs. Bullet Club

It’s Chris Bey/Juice Robinson here, with Robinson putting on his wrist tape on the way to the ring (as he is replacing Austin). Dreamer sends Bey to the apron to start but it’s quickly off to Robinson to stomp Ray down in the corner. Some rapid fire chops in the corner have Robinson in trouble of his own but he comes back with the snap jabs to Dreamer. Bey comes back in and tries the Art of Finesse but gets reversed into a cutter. The hot tag brings in Ray as there are a lot of empty seats directly across from the camera. Robinson plants Ray with a spinebuster but it’s the Bully Bomb to give Ray the pin at 6:21.

Rating: C-. Yeah of course the ECW guys went over. I have no idea why this is any sort of a surprise, Bully push or no Bully push. If you need to do something like this, put Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice out there instead of, you know, THE FREAKING BULLET CLUB. I’m sure Ray will continue to get a big focus because Impact, but egads do they have to put the ECW guys over people with major potential?

Post match, Ray says some nice things to Bey. He’s a sweet guy.

Heath and Rhino are ready to win the Tag Team Titles.

In the back, Tommy Dreamer wants to know that Bully Ray did not lay out Ace Austin. Of course not, as he was a minute ahead of Dreamer, so how would he have had a chance? Moose comes in to say Ray is once a scumbag and always a scumbag. Dreamer wants Moose thrown out but Moose says if he attacked Austin, you would have known.

Mia Yim vs. Taylor Wilde

They trade armdrags to start and try stereo dropkicks, leaning us with a standoff. Wilde pulls her into an armbar but Yim is back up with a basement dropkick to put Wilde in a good bit more trouble. We take a break and come back with Yim getting two off a clothesline and getting frustrated at the kickout.

A bow and arrow has Wilde in more trouble but she manages to block Eat Defeat. Some rollups give Wilde two each and Yim is frustrated but she still can’t hit Eat Defeat. Back up and the Wilde Ride, a bridging German suplex is enough to give Wilde the rather upsetting pin at 12:51.

Rating: C. Wilde is one of those people who has been around for a long time, or at least was around a long time ago, and that’s about it. She’s perfectly passable in the ring and seems to be the next person in line for Mickie James. On the other hand you have Yim, who is on her way out of the promotion and is putting people over as she leaves. That doesn’t make for much of a match but it could have been worse.

Post match Mickie James comes out to praise Wilde. The challenge is….not on as VXT and Gisele Shaw come in for the beatdown. Jordynne Grace makes the real save.

Post break the six Knockout tag challenge is sent out.

Jason Hotch vs. Joe Hendry

This seems to be the result of Hendry taking Hotch’s Call Your Shot spot and almost his girlfriend. Before the match, Hendry thinks these people believe in him and then shoulders Hotch down. A suplex drops Hotch again and the spinebuster gives Hendry the pin at 1:58. Better than the fall away slam.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Chris Sabin b. Bully Ray to win the World Title via Option C.

Here is Scott D’Amore to accept the X-Division Title from Frankie Kazarian in exchange for a World Title shot. Kazarian comes out and hands over the title, with D’Amore saying there is no turning back. There will be an eight man title tournament starting, with the finals taking place at Overdrive. Kazarian talks about winning his first X-Division Title back in 2004 and how important it was to him.

Since then, he has gotten married and had a son, but he still feels unfulfilled. He has looked at the names of former champions and while there are legends, there are people he is better than and that isn’t ok. The title cash-in is official so here is Steve Maclin to jump him from behind. Cue Josh Alexander for the save though and the good guys stand tall. Kazarian vs. Alexander is cool, but it makes me wonder why they couldn’t have cut Ray out and done the same story with Kazarian, minus the X-Division Title.

Eddie Edwards arrives and Honor No More wants to know his decision. He tells them, and his wife Alisha, that they’ll find out what he’s doing.

Frankie Kazarian isn’t happy with Josh Alexander for saving him. If he needed a partner, they would be here. For now though, don’t trust Bully Ray.

Eric Young vs. Rich Swann

Deaner is here with Young. Swann jumps him to start but gets dropped with the wheelbarrow neckbreaker. Young takes it to the mat and grabs a chinlock but Swann is back up with a kick to the head. The piledriver is blocked and Swann grabs a handspring cutter. A Deaner distraction looks to set up the piledriver but Swann reverses into a rollup for the pin at 3:12.

Rating: C. This was too short to mean much but it’s a good sign that Young and company could be heading down the ladder. Honor No More continues to be little more than annoying but at least they’re losing more often these days. Swann is someone who feels like he could move up the ladder again, but we could be waiting a bit before that actually takes place.

Post match one of the yellow hoodied guys runs in to help with the Swann beatdown but Sami Callihan pops in for the save.

The Major Brothers are back and they want the Tag Team Titles.

Here are the brackets for the X-Division Title tournament:

Black Taurus
Laredo Kid

Yuyu Uemura
PJ Black

Alan Angels
Trey Miguel

Kenny King
Mike Bailey

Tag Team Titles: Honor No More vs. Heath/Rhino

Heath and Rhino are challenging. Rhino runs Bennett over to start and hits a clothesline to the floor. Heath comes in and pounds on Bennett in the corner and a double elbow drops him again. It’s off to Taven to knock Rhino into the corner to take over and the alternating stomping begins. The champs do the fake tag thing to stomp on Rhino’s knee, with a big shot getting two as we take a break.

Back with Rhino still in trouble and Taven grabbing a Russian legsweep. Rhino fights out of trouble and brings Heath back in to start the comeback. Bennett’s discus elbow gets two on Heath and everyone is down for a bit. Cue the rest of Honor No More (minus Eddie Edwards), allowing Maria to throw powder….into Bennett’s face by mistake. The Wake Up Call drops Bennett and Rhino Gores Maria by mistake, setting up another Wake Up Call to finish Taven for the pin and the titles at 13:32.

Rating: C+. With most of Honor No More already showing up in AEW, there was about as little drama here as you could have had. It was more a matter of waiting to find out who the next challengers would be to find the next champions and this worked well for a feel good moment. Heath and Rhino have gone from a joke team in WWE to a pretty legitimate team and it’s nice to see them getting another moment after a story that took time to set up.

Post match here is Eddie Edwards, with the fans telling him that he got beat. Alisha has given him an ultimatum to either get rid of Honor No More or save her marriage. The question is whether Honor No More is worth saving, because he sees failure after failure. Eddie asks if the team is loyal to the cause, focusing on PCO. Edwards: “PCO IS NOTHING BUT A B****!” That’s too far for PCO, who wrecks everyone, including Vincent and Edwards, to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. So that’s it for Honor No More and I’m not sure what to think of them. The team was only so good in the first place and then they fell pretty far down the ladder. They only won the Tag Team Titles and then lost their big match at Bound For Glory, so what else were they supposed to do? Other than that, this show continues to lean into the ECW guys getting another run. It’s probably because they’re in the northeast again and apparently nothing else has happened in the history of wrestling in the last twenty one years so ECW stars again it is. Lucky us.

Results
Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer b. Bullet Club – Bully Bomb to Robinson
Taylor Wilde b. Mia Yim – Wilde Ride
Joe Hendry b. Jason Hotch – Spinebuster
Rich Swann b. Eric Young – Rollup
Heath/Rhino b. Honor No More – Wake Up Call to Taven

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Impact Wrestling
Date: October 13, 2022
Location: Albany Armory, Albany, New York
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s the Bound For Glory fallout show, as the biggest pay per view of the year ended with Bully Ray as the next challenger to Josh Alexander. Since there was no way to have him show up on Impact and make a challenge, Ray won a twenty man match by pinning Steve Maclin to get the shot. I’m sure nothing but good will come from this. Let’s get to it.

Here is Bound For Glory if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Bound For Glory.

Here is Josh Alexander to get things going. The fans are rather glad to see Alexander, who talks about how Eddie Edwards said their match was going to be a war. That is what it was, but now the war is over because here he stands, still the World Champion. He is the champion but he has made mistakes. Now he knows that the next challenger is waiting so Bully Ray, get out here right now.

Cue Bully, who Alexander welcomes back to the company, but wants to know why Ray helped him at Bound For Glory. Bully talks about how he could have stabbed Alexander in the back but didn’t. He has been here longer than he has any other company he has ever worked for, just like he did to Sting, Hulk Hogan, Brooke and his own brother. Ray says he has done it all, but now he needs to do it right. He knows that no one has a good thing to say about him and he wants to change that. Ray isn’t cashing in his title shot like Moose did last year, so Alexander is going to see him coming.

Cue Steve Maclin to interrupt because he doesn’t trust Ray. How exactly did Ray get into Call Your Shot anyway? Maclin talks about how he has done things the right way but now he wants to know what it takes for him to get his title shot. Cue Moose to say Maclin is in the presence of World Champions so step aside. As for Ray, he is a scumbag, but that’s ok, because Moose likes scumbags. Moose learned his bad ways from Ray, just like how he won the title last year.

He would go after Alexander again….but here is Bobby Fish to interrupt as well. Fish agrees that Moose has turned into quite the scumbag himself and Maclin is becoming quite the locker room politician. Sure Ray is a scumbag, but he didn’t scumbag Alexander at Bound For Glory. For tonight though, Fish wants his own match against the champ, with Alexander saying it’s on. This was a good bit longer than it needed to be and hopefully it isn’t the start of a new style.

The Motor City Machine Guns are happy with their win on Before The Impact and they want another Tag Team Title shot. They walk off and run into Heath and Rhino, who are getting a title shot next week. Rhino wants revenge on Honor No More so they’ll get it next week. Don’t worry though, as the Guns can have a title match when they win the belts.

Killer Kelly vs. Tasha Steelz

No DQ and Savannah Evans is here with Steelz. Evans doesn’t waste time by jumping Kelly before the bell to start fast. Kelly gets dropped face first onto the apron but sits up to glare at Steelz for a cool visual. A basement dropkick drops Kelly and it’s time for a chain. With that taking too long, Steelz has to counter an attempt at the Killer Klutch. Kelly gets two off an Alabama Slam and grabs a chair but settles for two off a Death Valley Driver. Evans comes in to grab Kelly but she fights both of them off. Steelz gets in a superkick and grabs the chain, only to get choked into the Killer Klutch for the tap at 6:52.

Rating: C. Kelly winning in what should be the last match of the feud is a good thing but I was expecting a bit more out of a No DQ match. I did like Evans not bothering to just stand around as she got involved from the beginning, but Steelz and Evans are pretty clearly on the downside of their run. Kelly has a charisma that makes me want to watch her and that is a major step towards being a star.

Zicky Dice and Johnny Swinger are bragging when Dirty Dango comes in to say he should cuff them for being stupid. Swinger invites him to Swinger’s Dungeon.

Sami Callihan jumps two guys in yellow because they part of Violent By Design. Good. Get rid of all of them.

Scott D’Amore praises Josh Alexander for his recent efforts but tells him to keep an eye out for Bully Ray.

Black Taurus vs. Trey Miguel vs. Kenny King vs. Alex Zayne vs. Yuya Uemura vs. Laredo Kid

It’s a brawl to start with no one actually getting an entrance. Taurus is sent outside into a pile of people, leaving Zayne to work on King’s wrist. Zayne’s dive is broken up and it’s a series of dives to send us to a break. Back with a bunch of reverse DDTs into King’s Blockbuster, setting up a spinebuster for two on Miguel. Uemura comes in with a high crossbody to King and a super hurricanrana brings Taurus off the top. Back in and Miguel grabs something like a reverse Angle Slam for the pin on Zayne at 5:20.

Rating: B-. The match was the usual insanity that comes with this kind of a scramble match, meaning that it was only going to be so good. You can’t put together any kind of a serious story in something like this as it’s all about flying around and getting in whatever you can. Miguel winning is nice, but it only means so much in a match with this format.

Mike Bailey gives Frankie Kazarian a very respectful congratulation. Trey Miguel comes in to say he’s coming for the title but Kazarian says we’ll see what happens. Bailey continues to be quite less than interesting.

VXT/Gisele Shaw vs. Death Dollz

Jessicka slugs away at Shaw to start and takes her into the wrong corner for the running knees from Taya. Purrazzo comes in and gets caught in Rosemary’s Upside Down, sending Rehwoldt into a frenzy. A Green distraction lets Purrazzo hit a Backstabber on Taya though and the villains take over with the stomping in the corner.

Taya and Green go down off a double clothesline though and it’s back to Rosemary for the house cleaning. Green catches Rosemary with a Bully Bomb into a faceplant but Rosemary is right back up with a spear for two. Everything breaks down and Rosemary hits a spear on Purrazzo, only to get kneed in the head to give Shaw the pin at 5:38.

Rating: C. Another match that didn’t have much time to do anything and it hut things a lot. What mattered was giving Shaw and VXT a win to give them some momentum back. The Dollz having success without Rosemary continues as well and that should make for an interesting story down the road.

Tommy Dreamer begs Bully Ray to not lie to everyone about his intentions. Ray says he’s telling the truth and they’ll team together.

Maria Kanellis gives Honor No More a pep talk but they think the company is trying to kill them off again. They’re not sure where Eddie Edwards is but next week, they’ll retain the Tag Team Titles.

Matt Cardona vs. Bhupinder Gujjar

Cardona’s headlock doesn’t get him very far as Gujjar hits a dropkick into a slingshot elbow for an early two. They head to the floor with Cardona knocking him down for a change, setting up a hangman’s neckbreaker for two back inside. The middle rope missile dropkick misses though and Gujjar strikes away but here is Brian Myers for a distraction. Radio silence finishes Gujjar at 4:22.

Rating: C. Not much to see here but Cardona and Myers being back together is a good thing. Cardona being back in general is nice to see as he really is good at his heel stuff, though Myers does add a nice bonus to the mix. Gujjar continues to seem like he has potential and he’s starting to feel more like one of the regular guys around here, but please give him something else to make him interesting.

Video on Jordynne Grace vs. Masha Slamovich.

Mickie James would love to face Grace if she gets to the top of the mountain. VXT and Gisele Shaw interrupt, saying Mickie should respect them instead of losers like Mia Yim. Chelsea Green mocks James for beating her but James challenges Deonna Purrazzo instead.

Bullet Club would love to face Tommy Dreamer/Bully Ray next week.

Here’s what’s coming up next week.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Bobby Fish vs. Josh Alexander

Alexander is defending. Feeling out process to start as they grapple up against the ropes. Some headlock takeovers work well for Alexander but Fish is back up with some knees to the ribs. Alexander is right back with an overhead belly to belly but the crossbody to the back doesn’t get to launch.

Fish is fine enough to drop him with a dragon screw legwhip on the ramp and we take a break. Back with Fish hitting a slingshot elbow and kicking away in the corner. Neither of them can hit a suplex so Alexander goes with a clothesline and then drops Fish with a hard right hand.

The C4 Spike is blocked and Fish kicks him in the head, setting up a Saito suplex for two. The ankle lock is broken up as well though and Fish catches him on top. Alexander knocks him down and hits a moonsault, only to have the ankle lock pulled into a triangle choke. That’s countered into a backbreaker and now the C4 Spike can retain at 16:18.

Rating: B-. This was another match that had no story and was a showdown between two technicians, meaning it was only going to be so good. They had no reason to be mad at each other and it was hard to imagine that Fish was going to be a real threat to the title. The action carried it to pretty good, but they had a firm ceiling above them.

Post match Frankie Kazarian comes out to congratulate Alexander for being a great champion. For now though, he is cashing in his X-Division Title, using Option C, to get a World Title shot.

Overall Rating: C+. I don’t know if it’s the focus being on Bully Ray or the X-Division Title being vacated but there was a lack of interesting stuff going on this week. Hopefully things pick up again as we get back to normal next week, but this show didn’t feel like it was coming off the biggest night of the year. Granted any show with an announcement of Ray and Tommy Dreamer getting a featured match the next week isn’t going to do me much good, but the rest wasn’t exactly great.

Results
Killer Kelly b. Tasha Steelz – Killer Klutch
Trey Miguel b. Black Taurus, Kenny King, Alex Zayne, Yuya Uemura and Laredo Kid – Snap neckbreaker to Zayne
VXT/Gisele Shaw b. Death Dollz – Running knee to Rosemary
Matt Cardona b. Bhupinder Gujjar – Radio Silence
Josh Alexander b. Bobby Fish – C4 Spike

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Bound For Glory 2022
Date: October 7, 2022
Location: Washington Avenue Armory, Albany, New York
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s the biggest night of the Impact year and the show doesn’t look too bad. Honor No More is in a pair of title matches, including the show’s main event, so tonight might determine all of the group’s future. That could go in a few ways but there is enough other stuff to keep the interest up. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Digital Media Title: Brian Myers vs. ???

Myers is defending in an open challenge and it’s……Dirty Dango (Fandango) for a surprise. Feeling out process to start with Dango hitting a dropkick to put the champ down. A legdrop gives Dango two and it’s time for Myers to bail out to the floor. Myers wins the fight outside as we go to French commentary for a bit.

Back in and the chinlock goes on, with the fans trying to cheer Dango back up to his feet. Some stomping sets up another chinlock but Dango sends him outside for the slingshot dive. Dango slugs away back inside, setting up a Falcon Arrow for two. Myers manages a quick implant DDT for two but Dango is back with a superkick into a tornado DDT. Something off the top misses though and it’s a spear into the Roster Cut to retain the title at 7:05.

Rating: C. Just a quick match with a surprise to get the show started. I doubt Dango stays around for more than another show or two and there is nothing wrong with that. Let him show up, pop the crowd and then leave without getting too involved. Myers can hold the title as long as he needs to and eventually someone is going to get a nice boost when they take the title from him. Good enough for an opener here and that’s all it needed to be.

The opening video looks at the people on the card and talks about this being in the shadow of the City That Never Sleeps. I mean…..a two and a half hour drive away if that counts.

X-Division Title: Frankie Kazarian vs. Mike Bailey

Bailey is defending and after a quick handshake, we’re ready to go. They trade some early rollups for two each before Bailey has to bail to the ropes to avoid the chickenwing. A dropkick sets up another failed chickenwing attempt so Bailey sends him outside for the moonsault to the floor. Back in and Kazarian knocks him off the top for a crash to the floor as the pace slows. Kazarian starts in on the leg, which is never a good idea for a Bailey match.

Bailey fights up and hits a kick to the chest, setting up the bouncing kicks into the running corkscrew shooting star press. Kazarian gets up this time and hits Back To The Future (electric chair bridged back into a rollup) for two before they knock each other down for a breather. Back up and Bailey kicks him in the face, setting up the standing moonsault knees. The Ultimate Weapon gets two and Bailey is stunned. The Flamingo Driver is countered into the chickenwing, which is broken up just as fast.

Kazarian misses a charge and falls to the floor, where Bailey is waiting on him with the top rope Asai moonsault. That’s shrugged off though as Kazarian comes back in with a slingshot cutter for his own near fall. The Flux Capacitor (super Spanish Fly) gives Kazarian two but another Back To The Future is countered into a poisonrana. Bailey goes up for another Ultimate Weapon but gets pulled into another cutter. The chickenwing gives Kazarian the title back at 12:34.

Rating: B-. This is what you want to go with in an opener as they were flying around the ring until one of them got caught. Thankfully Kazarian didn’t waste too long working on the knee before Bailey got up for his flips and dives, meaning the frustration levels weren’t as high here. Kazarian winning is a surprise as Bailey has been on a roll lately, but it is certainly a twist at the end of a fast paced match.

Mickie James is ready to deliver under pressure with her career on the line. She isn’t passing the torch because she is the torch (A pro wrestling torch?) and tonight, they’re burning Albany down.

We recap Mickie James vs. Mia Yim. They fought at the beginning of Mia’s career and now she wants to be the one to end Mickie’s career and finish the Last Rodeo.

Mickie James vs. Mia Yim

If James loses, she has to retire but there isn’t any personal animosity. The fans are split as we start with a rather aggressive lockup. They both try armdrags so neither can get anywhere, meaning Mickie has to grab a headlock. A headlock takeover puts Mia down so she shoves Mickie away, with Mickie coming up favoring her knee. Mia takes her down by the knee out of the corner and some hard kicks make it even worse. Back up and Mickie hits a neckbreaker for a breather but can’t immediately nip up off the flapjack.

Mia is right back up with a buckle bomb but Mickie….kisses her out of the corner and hits a middle rope Thesz press. The Mick Kick is countered into a stretch muffler though and Mia cranks away to slow Mickie right back down. Eat Defeat connects but James falls into the ropes. Mia is frustrated and misses the cannonball, allowing Mickie to hit the MickDT for the pin at 10:56.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t the biggest surprise and that’s not a bad thing. Mickie isn’t going to be losing until she’s in a major spot and while Bound For Glory is a big show, she wasn’t in a top match on the card. Mia was a good choice for an opponent here as they had a nice match, but the drama wasn’t there because of how it was set up.

We recap VXT vs. the Death Dolls. VXT took the Knockouts Tag Team Titles from Rosemary/Taya Valkyrie so now Jessicka is taking Rosemary’s place.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: VXT vs. Death Dollz

VXT (Deonna Purrazzo/Chelsea Green) is defending (ignore Taylor Wilde’s Twitter handle being show on the Dollz’s chyron for whatever reason). Jessicka and Green start things off with Green being sent straight into the wrong corner. Some splashes knock her down but she’s straight over for the tag off to Purrazzo. Valkyrie comes in and takes her down for a quick double stomp and Pandemonium makes it even worse. The champs get in some stereo kicks to slow Valkyrie down though and a double snap suplex gets two.

Valkyrie drives Green into the corner and makes the tag but the referee doesn’t see it to keep the champs in control. As tends to be the case, the hot tag goes through a few seconds later and it’s Jessicka coming in to clean house. Purrazzo manages a Downward Spiral into a stomp to give Green two. I’m Prettier is loaded up but Valkyrie makes the save, setting up a kick to the head into the Sick Driver for the pin and the titles at 7:24.

Rating: C. Well ok then. I certainly didn’t see this one coming as you would think that VXT would have kept the titles at least for a little while longer. The Dollz stuff has gone on for awhile now and I’m kind of curious to see what this win means for Rosemary. Either way, it’s quite the surprising result but the titles aren’t just sitting there, so at least they’re doing something.

We recap Honor No More vs. the Motor City Machine Guns for the Tag Team Titles. Honor No More won the titles to make the stable feel important. Then the Guns earned the title shot to set this up. Not that complicated of a story but the match should be good.

Tag Team Titles: Honor No More vs. Motor City Machine Guns

Honor No More (Mike Bennett/Matt Taven), with Maria Kanellis, is defending. Taven takes Shelley down to start and hits his catchphrase before it’s quickly off to Bennett vs. Sabin. Bennett takes him into the corner and stomps away, allowing Taven to come back in for an elbow to the head. Shelley comes in to kick Bennett off the apron though and it’s a kick to Taven’s arm to take over.

The Guns start taking turns on the arm, including stereo spinning kicks to both arms. That’s enough to draw in the illegal Bennett so he gets dropped as well. Taven misses a charge into the corner, allowing Bennett to get in a cheap shot from the apron so the champs can take over again. Some kicks to the head get two on Shelley and it’s a kick to the face into a backbreaker for the same.

Shelley is right back up and brings in Sabin to clean house, including the dropkick/tornado DDT combination to drop the champs. The Downward Spiral/missile dropkick to the back combination gets two on Taven but he’s right back up with Just The Tip for two of his own. Hail Maria (spike piledriver) gets two but the Proton Pack is broken up.

Something like a double Death Valley Driver plants Bennett and Taven gets tied in the Tree of Woe. Shelley launches Bennett into Taven but Taven breaks up something off the top. Bennett’s superkick accidentally hits Maria (BIG pop for that) but the distraction lets Taven grab a rollup (with feet on the ropes) to retain at 16:37.

Rating: B. Take two talented teams, give them over fifteen minutes, have a rather good match. This was one of the matches that looked like it was going to be among the best on the show and then they did just that. Granted the Motor City Machine Guns having a good match is like seeing the sun come up but it doesn’t make things any less entertaining. Honor No More looked like their usual talented selves and I’m glad that they’re getting to keep the titles, as they deserve the spotlight for a bit longer.

We look at Raven being inducted into the Hall of Fame on the pre-show, where he DDTed Tommy Dreamer one more time.

Video on the Call Your Shot gauntlet match. It’s basically a Royal Rumble for the Money In The Bank contract (for any title) with battle royal rules until the final two, when it’s a singles match.

Call Your Shot Gauntlet Match

Twenty entrants, sixty second intervals (save for two minutes after the first two entrants), Eric Young is in at #1 and Joe Hendry is in at #2. Hendry spends a bit too much time posing and gets jumped from behind but he’s right back with a suplex. A spinebuster is loaded up but Steve Maclin is in at #3. Maclin loads Hendry up in the Tree of Woe for the running shoulder to the ribs and it’s Rich Swann in at #4. House is cleaned until Hendry plants him with a tilt-a-whirl slam and PCO is in at #5.

Now it’s PCO getting to clean house, including a hanging DDT to Maclin. Savannah Evans is in at #6 and gets in PCO’s face, which doesn’t seem to be the most logical move. Everyone pairs off and it’s Johnny Swinger in at #7. Swinger slams Evans but hurts his back a bit, leaving Tasha Steelz to come in at #8. Evans and Steelz beat up Swinger until Killer Kelly is in at #9. Kelly goes after Evans so Steelz dumps both of them to clear out the ring a bit. Moose is in at #10, giving us Young, Hendry, Maclin, Swann, PCO, Swinger and Moose at the halfway point.

There goes Hendry, leaving Moose to slug it out with PCO, with the latter being sent out rather quickly. Sami Callihan is in at #11 and powerbombs Maclin as everyone pairs off again. Taylor Wilde is in at #12 and does very little until Gisele Shaw is in at #13. Young is in trouble so here are a bunch of guys in yellow hoodies to save him. One such hoodied guy, who reveals himself as Deaner, tosses Callihan. Bully Ray of all people is in at #14, for his first match in Impact in about eight years.

Ray tosses Steelz and it’s Tommy Dreamer in at #15 and we get the staredown with Ray for the ECW reunion (as mentioned by commentary). Rhino is in at #16 and we get the official ECW reunion, with Swinger joining in. Swinger is immediately tossed and it’s Bhupinder Gujjar in at #17. Dreamer gets tossed and it’s Heath in at #18. Heath and Rhino get to clean house until Bobby Fish (hometown boy) is in at #19. The ring is getting full and it’s even worse with Matt Cardona coming in at #20.

The final grouping is Young, Maclin, Swann, Moose, Wilde, Shaw, Ray, Rhino, Gujjar, Heath, Fish and Cardona. Hold on though as Cardona is cool with staying on the floor as Moose gets rid of Rhino. Heath is out as well and Cardona helps get rid of Moose, setting up a showdown with Ray. As commentary explains that this is a thing in the NWA and on Twitter, Wilde plays D-Von in a What’s Up to Cardona for a cool moment.

Wilde and Shaw fight on the ropes so Cardona throws them both out, only to be dumped by Gujjar. Young neckbreaker Gujjar on the apron for the elimination but gets kicked in the face by Swann to get rid of him too. We’re down to Swann, Maclin, Ray and Fish, with everyone else going after Ray, because he’s a monster you see.

With Ray breaking that up, Maclin gets rid of Swann and Ray gets rid of Fish, meaning it’s time for Maclin vs. Ray in a regular match for the title shot. Ray wins the slugout but gets caught in an Angle Slam for two. A Rock Bottom gives Ray the same and the Bully Bomb….finishes Maclin at 29:17. Meaning Bully Ray wins. A title shot. In 2022.

Rating: D. I know this show is designed to be the big historical event for Impact but did they really have to go back in time to BULLY RAY winning the title? Ray got his ECW reunion moment in the match and then wins the thing by pinning Maclin, who has been pushed around here for the last several months. Ignoring that a 51 year old Ray just came in and cleaned house before winning clean, it’s BULLY RAY. How low rent can you look with this stuff? But hey, he’s a name or something, and it isn’t like Impact has a reputation of going with old guys who wouldn’t get a push in a major company right? Awful call on all fronts.

As for the rest of the match, it was your usual gauntlet match. There were a lot of people coming in and going out rather quickly, with too many people in the ring at one time far too often. The sixty second intervals don’t work well for a match like this and it wasn’t even that good in the first place. Throw in the really dumb choice for a winner and this was a bad part of the show.

Eddie Edwards talks to Alisha Edwards and says it ends tonight with him winning the title. Their kids ask what happens if he doesn’t win, but Alisha says that won’t happen and leaves with them.

We recap Jordynne Grace vs. Masha Slamovich for the Knockouts Title. They’re both monsters and Grace is the last line of defense against the monster Slamovich. This has been treated as a big deal in the build to this show and it has been pretty interesting.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Masha Slamovich

Grace is defending. They start very fast with Grace hammering her down in the corner and out to the floor, setting up a running kick through the ropes. Slamovich gets in a kick to the head on the apron and a belly to back piledriver on said apron knocks Grace a bit loopy. Back in and we hit the reverse chinlock to stay on Grace’s neck but Grace fights out without much effort.

A spinebuster out of the corner plants Slamovich again and they chop it out. Stereo spinning backfists put both of them down and the fans seem to approve. Back up and a Michinoku Driver gives Grace two more but the Vader Bomb misses. Grace hits a Jackhammer for another two but Slamovich slips out of the MuscleBuster and grabs a sleeper.

That’s shifted into a bulldog choke until Grave powers up and grabs the rope. Another driver drops Slamovich again and Grace slaps her in the face a few times. The Grace Driver gets two and Grace is stunned. She’s so stunned that Slamovich is able to hit an Air Raid Crash into the corner, setting up the Snow Plow for two more, as Grace gets a foot under the ropes. They go up top where Grace gets in a shot to the ribs, setting up something close to a super Grace Driver to retain at 15:57.

Rating: B. I’d call that quite the surprise, as Slamovich seemed primed to take the title here. Grave is a fine champion but it isn’t like she was on some legendary run. Unless this is setting up a rather eventual James vs. Grace showdown, I don’t know if I get this. They had a heck of a hoss fight, but this should have been Slamovich’s big moment instead of Grace retaining.

We recap Josh Alexander vs. Eddie Edwards for the World Title. Alexander has run through everyone but now it’s time to face Edwards, who is a former World Champion and the head of Honor No More. Edwards is more than a bit over the top though and his wife isn’t happy with what he is doing. Now Edwards needs to win the title to make everything ok.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Josh Alexander vs. Eddie Edwards

Alexander is defending and Edwards sends Honor No More to the back. Both of their families are at ringside to make it more personal. They fight over a lockup to start as commentary breaks down the difference in the color of their gear. Edwards hits a chop, which is enough to make Alexander double leg him down and hammer away. Alexander knocks him outside for a breather before they switch places.

A slingshot dive drops Alexander for a change but he’s right back up with the crossbody to the back to send them both outside again. Back in and Edwards snaps off an overhead belly to belly before sending him right back to the floor. One might think they are filling in time here. The floor mats are pulled back, which takes long enough for Alexander to fight back. A German suplex from the apron to the floor is blocked so Edwards hits a Diehard Driver on the exposed floor.

Back in and Alexander seems to be favoring his leg and the Backpack Stunner takes him down. The half crab goes on but Alexander makes the rope. Back up and Alexander starts rolling some German suplexes, even going through the ropes and hitting another on the apron. That’s still not enough to break it up and they go outside with two more German suplexes, setting up another one on the ramp.

They head back inside with Alexander hitting a powerbomb onto the knee for two, only to have Eddie come back with Deep Six for two of his own. The Boston Knee Party is blocked and Alexander goes old school with a Styles Clash. Alexander puts on an ankle lock, which is broken without much trouble.

Edwards enziguris him off the top but the referee gets bumped. Cue Kenny King for a low blow before he is taken out by security, allowing a second referee to come in. The Boston Knee Party gets two on Alexander and a tiger driver gets the same, leaving both of them down. Alexander’s nose is busted but he comes up slugging, only to get rolled up for two. Another Boston Knee Party is blocked and the C4 Spike retains the title at 28:04.

Rating: B. Definitely a good match but this never hit that next level as it was bouncing pretty hard off the ceiling above it. Edwards is a strong challenger to Alexander and just like in the previous match, it felt like he should have won here instead of coming up short. What’s the point of Honor No More if Edwards loses in the biggest match the team has had? Anyway, solid main event, but I’m not sure if it was worthy of the final spot on the biggest show of the year.

Post match Honor No More is here for the beatdown. Cue Rich Swann and Heath for the save but the numbers take them out as well. Cue Bully Ray, who teases cashing in but helps Alexander take out Honor No More. Ray holds up the title at Alexander and they stare each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a show where the wrestling was good, the feeling was ok and the booking was out there. I’m not sure I get the thinking on a lot of these matches and while the quality can help, it doesn’t fix everything else that they did wrong. For tonight, it was certainly good enough but I don’t think I want to know the thinking that is going into the future around here. The Bully Ray stuff is just baffling and tells you a lot about what Impact thinks of their current crop of stars. Skip the gauntlet and you should like most of it, but my goodness there were some bad choices here.

Results
Brian Myers b. Dirty Dango – Roster Cut
Frankie Kazarian b. Mike Bailey – Chickenwing
Mickie James b. Mia Yim – MickDT
Death Dollz b. VXT – Sick Driver to Green
Honor No More b. Motor City Machine Guns – Rollup with feet on the ropes to Sabin
Bully Ray won the Call Your Shot gauntlet match – Bully Bomb to Maclin
Jordynne Grace b. Masha Slamovich – Super Grace Driver
Josh Alexander b. Eddie Edwards – C4 Spike

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Impact Wrestling
Date: October 6, 2022
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s the go home show for Bound For Glory, which is tomorrow for whatever reason they have come up with this time. That is one of those things that is always a little weird and I can’t quite get into the idea here either. The good thing is that the card is already set so we should be in for the hard sell this time around. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

In Memory of Antonio Inoki.

Opening recap.

Kenny King vs. Frankie Kazarian

They fight over a lockup to start and go long enough that it has to be broken up in the corner. Some armdrags take King down but it’s way too early for the chickenwing, meaning Kazarian has to settle for a hammerlock. The Royal Flush is countered as well and Kazarian takes him down with a clotheslines. That just earns him a dropkick out to the floor, followed by the springboard spinning legdrop to give King two back inside.

The seated abdominal stretch goes on for all of three seconds before King gets caught in a backslide for two more. The strike off goes to Kazarian and a neckbreaker gets two, followed by his own springboard spinning legdrop for two of his own. King is back up with a toss into the corner and a bridging t-bone suplex for another near fall. A tiger driver gets two more but Kazarian pulls him into the chickenwing for the pin at 9:20.

Rating: C+. As expected, this is what you get when you take two talented stars and put them in the ring against each other with a bit of time. Both of them can work well with anyone and they did it again here, with Kazarian getting the momentum going into tomorrow’s title match. King doesn’t have anything going on at the moment so it isn’t like a loss is going to do anything to him.

Video on the history of the X-Division Title match, with a look at the numbers of both Mike Bailey and Frankie Kazarian’s title reigns over the years. That’s a nice twist on things.

Bound For Glory/tonight rundown.

Video on Josh Alexander vs. Eddie Edwards for the World Title.

Mike Bailey is ready for Frankie Kazarian. They’re pushing the heck out of this match and we’re not even thirty minutes into this show.

Mia Yim vs. Gisele Shaw

Mickie James is on commentary. Yim armdrags her down to start as James praises both of them. Shaw gets sent outside for a breather/some yelling at James, allowing Yim to grab a guillotine choke back inside. That’s broken up and Yim is sent outside, allowing Shaw to hit the big dive as we take a break.

Back with Yim striking away until an exchange of kicks to the head gives us a double knockdown. Yim is up first with a dropkick into the corner but Eat Defeat is countered with a whip into the corner. A backbreaker into a flatliner gets two on Yim, who is right back with Eat Defeat for the pin at 10:44.

Rating: C. This was a nice warmup match for Yim, who has a big one coming up with James at the pay per view. That’s all you need to do sometimes and I’m sure James will get to have a staredown or something after the match. They kept this one simple and it worked just fine for everyone involved.

Post match Mickie gets in the ring and stares Yim down.

Video on the Call Your Shot gauntlet.

Video on Killer Kelly…who is attacked by Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Raven jumps Jeff Jarrett on January 23, 2003.

Brian Myers walks through the back and mocks potential challengers for the Digital Media Title. Also, a guy in yellow runs by shouting I AM VIOLENCE.

Video on Masha Slamovich vs. Jordynne Grace.

Moose vs. Steve Maclin

Sami Callihan is guest referee and Moose is still very banged up from Barbed Wire Massacre. They slug it out to start with Maclin taking him to the mat and firing off right hands. Maclin chops away in the corner and Callihan doesn’t bother watching what is going on. Moose gets knocked outside for a suicide dive and somehow Maclin’s head is busted open. Both of them are down on the floor so Sami shouts ARE YOU OK.

Back in and Moose goes after the cut open head but stops to yell at Callihan, allowing Maclin to chop away. More wound ripping staggers Maclin though and a hot shot keeps him in trouble. A discus forearm rocks Moose though and Maclin puts him in the Tree of Woe for the running shoulder and a VERY delayed two. Moose catches him on top with the chokebomb but this time Sami won’t even count. The spear connects for two but Callihan Cactus Driver 97s them both and puts Maclin on top for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: C+. What are you supposed to say here? This was an angle somewhat disguised as a match and nothing more as Callihan was the focus of this thing. The three way feud has gone on longer than I thought they could make it work and it is still decent enough, but I’m not sure how you pay this off after you have already done a barbed wire match.

Three guys argue over who should get the last spot in Call Your Shot but they go to Scott D’Amore’s office….and Joe Hendry comes out, having gotten the final spot. Dancing ensues.

Swingerellas vs. Death Dollz

Johnny Swinger, Zicky Dice and Rosemary are all here and the Dollz are Taya Valkyrie/Jessicka. Brunhilde (yes Brunhilde) gets choked into the corner to start and it’s off to Riley (I think?) who gets caught a sliding German suplex from Taya. The Sickishi Driver finishes Riley at 1:32.

VXT isn’t worried about the Death Dollz.

Matt Taven vs. Alex Shelley

Mike Bennett, Maria Kanellis and Chris Sabin are here too. Taven takes him into the corner and unloads with right hands to start but the Climax is countered. The Border City Stretch is countered as well and Taven bails to the floor for an early breather. Back in and Bennett trips Shelley down so Sabin distracts Taven to keep things even.

That’s fine with Shelley, who kicks Taven in the back on the floor. Back in and Taven goes to the eyes, setting up a backbreaker as we take a break. We come back with Taven hitting another backbreaker for two and cranking on both arms. Taven misses a Lionsault as the fans are split with their cheering.

Shelley rolls him up and grabs the Border City Stretch but can’t keep it on. An elbow drops Shelley but he Downward Spirals Taven into the middle buckle. A Maria distraction lets Taven go up but Aurora Borealis hits knees. Since that isn’t enough cheating, Bennett offers a distraction so Just The Tip can give Taven two. Back up and Shell Shock gives Shelley the pin at 13:20.

Rating: C+. They had too much interference for this to really take off but they gave Shelley the pin to set up the title match on Friday. Taven continues to be underrated in the ring and Shelley is still one of the best hands in all of Impact. It’s also nice to have one match between the tag wrestlers instead of doing it over and over so I’ll take what I can get here.

Bound For Glory rundown.

Josh Alexander is ready for Eddie Edwards….who pops up after the interview for the face to face showdown. With Alexander gone, Alisha Edwards come in to say this isn’t Eddie and either Honor No More is done or they are.

It’s time for the contract signing between Masha Slamovich and Jordynne Grace with Scott D’Amore as emcee. Scott talks about how great both of them are and Masha signs without saying a word. Grace respects her and how she got here, but Grace isn’t ready to give up the title. We hear about Grace’s accomplishments but she knows Masha hasn’t had the chance to learn from losing. That is a lesson to be learned and Grace is teaching it to her tomorrow night. Masha says something in Russian, which is translated to “Masha’s gonna kill you”. The brawl is on and the Snowplow sends Grace through the table to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. They had something of a strategy here as there was almost nothing to do to get ready for Bound For Glory so they didn’t go too far with anything. This show was about holding everything together until the pay per view and there were enough good matches to make the show enjoyable. Nothing great, but Friday is all that matters this week.

Results
Frankie Kazarian b. Kenny King – Chickenwing
Mia Yim b. Gisele Shaw – Eat Defeat
Steve Maclin b. Moose – Cactus Driver 97 from Sami Callihan
Death Dollz b. Swingerellas – Sickishi Driver to Riley
Alex Shelley b. Matt Taven – Shell Shock

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Impact Wrestling
Date: September 29, 2022
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are done with Victory Road and that means we are only a little over a week away from Bound For Glory. I’m still not sure why Victory Road was such a necessary show before the biggest night of the year but at least it wasn’t an eventful night, meaning Bound For Glory got even more build. Hopefully that can continue tonight so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening recap.

Bullet Club vs. Trey Miguel/Laredo Kid

It’s Ace Austin/Chris Bey for the Club, with Juice Robinson in their corner. Austin and Kid start things off with an exchange of wristlocks but hold on as Austin needs to hold up Too Sweet. A quick high crossbody gives Kid an early two so it’s Bey offering a distraction so Austin can take over on the arm. Bey comes in with a backbreaker as we hear about his album coming out around Halloween.

Kid slips away and hands it off to Miguel to fire off kicks at Bey. A northern lights suplex gives Miguel two but Bey is back with a reverse DDT/Downward Spiral combination to drop both of them at once. Austin comes back in and catches Kid with a springboard spinning kick to the face. Miguel pops up for a springboard sunset bomb for two on Austin. Back up and Austin shoves Bey at Miguel for the Art of Finesse, setting up the Fold for the pin at 8:19.

Rating: B. More of the X-Division goodness to open the show and yes, it still works. I can go for more of Austin and Bey as the two of them are very good on their own or as a team. Miguel and Kid are both guys who can do anything with anyone so this was always going to be entertaining while it lasted.

We look back at Bhupinder Gujjar losing the ladder match to Brian Myers last week.

Gujjar says he can’t wrestle this week due to a broken nose, but he’ll be ready for the Call Your Shot gauntlet match at Bound For Glory.

Frankie Kazarian is ready to win the X-Division Title at Bound For Glory. He wants to prove that he still has it.

Someone in a yellow hoodie tries to jump the barricade behind commentary but isn’t named. He looked like he was making a V sign with his fingers so…..Violent By Design maybe?

Bound For Glory/tonight rundown.

Digital Media Title: Brian Myers vs. Crazzy Steve

Steve, with Black Taurus, is challenging. They fight over wrist control to start until Steve goes after Myers’ face. A bite to the face is blocked with a throat snap across the top though and we take a break. Back with Steve hitting a Cannonball in the corner for two but getting caught with the implant DDT for two. Steve comes back with the Upside Down in the corner, which lasts about as long as it can. Myers distracts the referee though, allowing him to poke Steve in the eye. The Roster Cut retains the title at 3:54.

Rating: C-. This was little more than a way for Myers to cheat and retain the title and that is all it needed to be. Myers already won the big ladder match last week so this was a step down for him. The title works well enough for a lower card championship, even if the digital media stuff has already been heavily toned down.

Post match Myers says he has turned the title into the most prestigious title around here. Now he wants better competition so it’s open challenge time at Bound For Glory. That could be a fun reveal.

Johnny Swinger’s ex-fiance shows up and yells at him, despite now being married to John E. Bravo (from Wrestle House 2 apparently). Arguing ensues, with Taya Valkyrie wandering in to wonder what is going on here. Fair question.

The family from the recent Joe Hendry videos are at the reading of their father’s will and want a name said. Cue Joe Hendry, who everyone still believes in.

Rosemary begrudgingly asks James Mitchell for help with the Jessicka issue because she wants the Tag Team Titles back. Taya Valkyrie and Jessicka come in to say they can do it, so Rosemary eventually gives in.

Delirious vs. Black Taurus

Delirious’ dropkicks have no effect so he rams Taurus mark first into the buckles. That doesn’t work either as Taurus steps on Delirious’ bare feet but Delirious starts running the ropes in an odd pattern. Delirious manages to take the leg out and hit a slam, setting up a series of ten legdrops to send Taurus outside. Back up and Taurus hits a pop up Samoan drop and a headbutt. The spinning piledriver gives Taurus the pin at 5:04.

Rating: C-. This was as much as you were going to get out of Delirious vs. Black Taurus in a five minute TV match, meaning it was working with a low ceiling. Taurus getting some momentum is a nice thing to see, even if it is weird to see delirious anywhere but Ring Of Honor. Fine enough match, but what were they expecting to get out of this?

Bobby Fish is here and wants Josh Alexander so he’ll win the Call Your Shot gauntlet in his hometown of Albany.

Mia Yim is ready for Mickie James at Bound For Glory. They fought in one of Yim’s first matches and yes, we have a clip of Mickie beating her probably fifteen or so years ago. Gisele Shaw comes up to mock the idea of Mia beating Mickie so a match is made for next week.

Here is Honor No More for a chat, with the fans being way behind PCO. Eddie Edwards is happy with Victory Road because he showed he can beat Josh Alexander. There were some setbacks on the night though and yes, he is looking at PCO again. PCO lost to the Motor City Machine Guns and he likes to step up too much, so who does he think he is? Vincent puts a bag over PCO’s head to calm him down as Matt Taven takes the mic.

Taven rants about how Impact has tried to hold the team down but now the are Tag Team Champions. At Bound For Glory, Honor No More will leave with the World and Tag Team Titles, with everyone talking about how great Eddie is for pinning Alexander at Victory Road. Maria gives us a video looking at Eddie pinning Alexander over and over, leaving Eddie to rant about how everyone turned on him.

Cue Alexander to say he sees this as any fight he has ever had. He views the title as something that proves he’s the best while Eddie sees it as job security. At Bound For Glory, the only one outnumbered is Edwards. Alexander comes to the ring for the fight, with Heath, Rich Swann and the Motor City Machine Guns coming in to help clear out Honor No More.

Heath/Rich Swann vs. PCO/Vincent

Joined in progress with PCO coming in to make Swann roll around a bit. PCO powers him down though and drops a leg to the back of the head, allowing the tag to Vincent. A basement Downward Spiral gets two but Swann is back up with an enziguri. The tag brings in Heath to clean house with a powerslam getting two on Vincent. Heath sends Vincent into PCO and Swann gets in a cheap shot from the apron so an implant DDT gets two on Vincent. With PCO knocked outside, Swann hits a 450 to finish Vincent at 4:34.

Rating: C. They kept this one quick and that is the right way to go. Vincent is about as low on the Honor No More totem pole as you can get so having a former World Champion pin him is hardly the end of his momentum. It wasn’t much of a match but they continue to make Heath look like a big deal, which is rather impressive given how much of a comedy guy he has been for years.

Moose isn’t happy with Steve Maclin, who comes in for the brawl.

Scott D’Amore tells Sami Callihan that he can’t get in the ring because of a broken orbital bone, so D’Amore lets Sami referee Moose vs. Maclin next week.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Masha Slamovich vs. Allie Katch

Monster’s Ball and they’re still doing the “locked up for 24 hours deal”. They slug it out to start and an early double clothesline takes both of them down. A duel of the trashcan lids goes to Katch as she cracks Slamovich over the head. Slamovich is right back with a German suplex and it’s time to whip Katch with a chain.

We mix things up a bit with Slamovich putting the side of a street sign in Katch’s mouth before going with the more classic double arm crank. A cowbell is pulled out of the trashcan but since that takes some time, Katch cracks her with a trashcan lid to take over. Slamovich shrugs it off and hits an Air Raid Crash into the corner as we take a break. Back with Slamovich driving a chain into Katt’s (very busted open) mouth in the corner before grabbing a chair.

A reverse DDT drops Slamovich and now she is busted open as well. Slamovich is fine enough to kick her in the head and Death Valley Driver Katch into the chair for two. Katch is back up with a trashcan shot to the head to catch Slamovich on top and a Death Valley Driver sends her through the door (yeah a door) in the corner for two.

They fight to the apron and Slamovich Russian legsweeps her through a table to leave them both down. With Slamovich up first, it’s time for the thumbtacks (dang it) but Katch piledrives her onto them for two more. A trashcan full of broken cans is poured out and it’s a Snowplow to drive Katch into the junk on the mat for the pin at 18:44.

Rating: B. These two were having one heck of a fight and I was getting drawn into it, but then the thumbtacks killed off a lot of the interest. It’s still such a stupid spot and something that we’ve seen so many times before. Throw in a piledriver onto the tacks getting two and there was only so much I could get out of the second half of this. Great first half but it fell down pretty hard in the end.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a bit of a weird show with a good opener, a good main event, and almost nothing good in the middle. The idea of having Bound For Glory in eight days is more than a bit much and it’s a very rushed feeling, but at least the card is set. It should be a good major event, but the TV is a bit rough to put it mildly. At least we got two strong matches here though and that’s enough for two hours.

Results
Bullet Club b. Laredo Kid/Trey Miguel – Fold to Miguel
Brian Myers b. Crazzy Steve – Roster Cut
Black Taurus b. Delirious – Spinning piledriver
Rich Swann/Heath b. Vincent/PCO – 450 to Vincent
Masha Slamovich b. Allie Katch – Snowplow onto cans and thumbtacks

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Impact Wrestling
Date: September 22, 2022
Location: The Factory, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s the go home show for Victory Road, which means we are about a month away from Bound For Glory. Victory Road is being treated as a pretty big deal so it would make sense to have a good go home show. This week does feature a pretty big showdown with Aussie Open vs. the Motor City Machine Guns. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening recap.

Digital Media Title: Bhupinder Gujjar vs. Brian Myers

Myers is defending in a ladder match. Gujjar slugs away to start and hits a jumping knee to the face. A Samoan drop looks to set up the Gargoyle spear but Myers knees him out of the way. The first ladder is brought in but Gujjar dropkicks it into his face. Myers knocks him outside though and goes up for the title, only to be pulled down into a cutter.

Now the Gargoyle spear can send Myers into the ladder but the climb takes too long, as usual. The ladder is knocked into Gujjar and it’s time to bring in another ladder. Gujjar breaks that up and the other ladder is set up next to the first. They both climb with Myers being knocked off, only to come back up with a belly to back off the ladders.

That’s good for a crash out to the floor, where Myers bridges a ladder onto the steps. A powerbomb drops Gujjar onto the ladder but he’s still able to make the save back inside. Myers low blows Gujjar on the ladder though and then gets creative by duct taping Gujjar to the ladder. That’s enough for Myers to go up and retain at 12:20.

Rating: C+. This was a pretty run of the mill ladder match, albeit one with a creative ending. Gujjar continues to look good enough out there, but there is still something missing that is keeping him from breaking through to that next level. I’m not sure if this feud warranted a ladder match, but at least they had a decent one.

Heath comes up to Josh Alexander and Rich Swann to apologize for messing up last week. They have a six man tag at Victory Road, but Heath has an open challenge street fight against any member of Honor No More tonight. Swann offers help but Heath has to do this himself.

Victory Road rundown.

We look at Steve Maclin invading a Wrestling Revolver show to try to get to Sami Callihan.

Jordynne Grace vs. Zicky Dice

Johnny Swinger is here with Dice, whose boot to the ribs is quickly caught. Grace slaps him in the face a few times and the Grace Driver finishes Dice in 43 seconds.

Video on Max the Impaler, who is facing Grace tomorrow night as per Masha Slamovich’s choice.

Black Taurus vs. Mia Yim vs. Laredo Kid vs. Alex Zayne vs. Trey Miguel

One fall to a finish. The fans are behind Yim, who stands back as the four guys get into separate brawls. We settle down to Miguel trying to cover Zayne for some near falls but Yim middle rope dropkicks both of them down. Taurus comes back in to headbutt the heck out of Yim so Kid comes in with a very spinning headscissors to put Taurus down on the floor. There’s the big dive into a hurricanrana, followed by stereo dives from Zayne and Miguel.

Yim hits one of her own and is the only one left standing on the floor. We take a break and come back with Miguel sending Kid into Zayne in the corner. Taurus lifts Kid up for a double hurricanrana to Zayne and Miguel before a series of strikes puts everyone down. Back up and Yim powerbombs Zayne and Protect Yo Neck gives her two. Taurus gets up to clean house and the over the shoulder piledriver finishes Kid at 11:45.

Rating: C+. This is where the X-Division tends to shine: taking a bunch of people and letting them go nuts for a little while. The match doesn’t mean much for the #1 contenders match at Victory Road because the bigger names are involved in that one, but this was a nice way to fill in some time and do a bunch of high spots.

Eric Young tells the new Violent By Design to prove themselves to him. They chant answers in unison and he beats them all up.

A couple is arguing when the wife says that their kid isn’t his. The dad wants the name said, and cue Joe Hendry for the music video. This is still funnier than it should be.

Here is Heath for an open challenge to a street fight with any member of Honor No More.

Heath vs. PCO

Street fight. Well hang on a second though as Eddie Edwards comes out and doesn’t want PCO to do this. Not that it matters as Heath talks PCO into it anyway. Heath dives onto PCO, who pops up and hammers away, much to Vincent’s (at ringside too) delight. PCO gets backdropped onto the ramp and they fight on the floor up to the stage.

A cart full of chairs is shoved around until PCO throws them onto a bunch of already set up chairs. That takes too long though and Heath DDTs him on the stage. A big toss off the stage sends PCO into the chairs so here is Honor No More to surround Heath. Rich Swann and Josh Alexander come in for the save and the fight is on.

With everyone else down, Vincent chairs Heath down but Heath pops back up for a Wake Up Call. PCO gets up, with a bunch of chairs hanging off of him, and wins a slugout inside. The chairs are piled up and PCO Mandible Claws him down, only to miss the Swanton onto said chairs. Heath hits a Wake Up call onto the chairs for the pin at 9:09.

Rating: C. This was half match and half angle advancement but giving PCO a big win was a good idea. Heath isn’t exactly a top star but he is starting to get somewhere with the serious stuff. He’s still a bit goofy, though he is starting to figure things out and that is more than I would have bet on. PCO seems likely to split off from the team at some point though and having him get a nice face run could be interesting.

Aussie Open vs. Motor City Machine Guns

The winners get a Tag Team Title shot at Bound For Glory. Shelley and Fletcher start things off with the bigger Fletcher shouldering him down. That earns him a crank on the arm and it’s off to Sabin for a knee drop. The even bigger Davis comes in to power Sabin into the corner but some kicks break that up without much trouble.

The Guns clear the ring and some kicks to Fletcher leave him down on the floor. Back in and the Aussies drive them together for a crash as we take a break. We come back with Fletcher hitting a delayed vertical suplex for two on Shelley. The beating doesn’t last long as it’s off to Sabin to clean house.

A missile dropkick/Downward Spiral combination gets two on Fletcher as everything breaks down. The Aussies plant Sabin for two as Shelley makes the save, only to be sent outside. The assisted Iconoclasm gets two on Sabin but Coriolis is broken up. Shelley is back in and Skull And Bones finishes Davis at 14:21.

Rating: B-. This was a fast paced tag match between two talented teams so of course it wound up working out. The Guns can do well against anyone and Aussie Open are a good, young team. While seeing the Aussies get a chance at Bound For Glory would have been nice but the Guns are the team with the legacy around here and make for a bigger match.

Tasha Steelz aren’t having anything of Killer Kelly, who is sitting in Steelz’s locker room. Steelz isn’t sure what to think about that.

Gisele Shaw is ready to beat Mickie James and end her career.

Victory Road rundown.

And now, a contract signing, with Scott D’Amore emceeing. D’Amore brings out the three participants in Barbed Wire Massacre, with Moose, Steve Maclin and Sami Callihan…the latter of whom doesn’t show up. That’s cool with Moose, who compares Maclin’s time in the military with what is coming for him tomorrow night.

Maclin talks about how Moose has no idea what he is talking about and has never seen the things Maclin has seen. Tomorrow will be mayhem for all but here is Callihan to interrupt. Sami mocks both of them and has a seat, saying that the two of them made a grave mistake by crossing him.

Maclin wants Sami to sign….so Sami busts out a barbed wire pen. That takes too long so Maclin jabs Sami in the head with the other pen and it’s time to turn over some furniture. Sami gets tied in the Tree of Woe but Moose spears Maclin down. Another spear only hits table though, allowing Sami to sign in his own blood to end the show. This was every violent contract signing you would have expected.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty nice show this week, even if having another big event just a few weeks before Bound For Glory still feels off. I could go for having a focus on the major show but thankfully we can get to that next week. This show didn’t have a ton of big stuff but they did the minor stuff well enough and that’s good for a week.

Results
Brian Myers b. Bhupinder Gujjar – Myers pulled down the title
Jordynne Grace b. Zicky Dice – Grace Driver
Black Taurus b. Laredo Kid, Mia Yim, Trey Miguel and Alex Zayne – Over the shoulder piledriver to Kid
Heath b. PCO – Wake Up Call onto a pile of chairs
Motor City Machine Guns b. Aussie Open – Skull And Bones to Davis

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 15, 2022
Location: The Factory, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re rapidly approaching Victory Road and then Bound For Glory, meaning some of the shows’ major matches have already been announced. With some of the bigger shows on the way, it would make sense to give them that much extra attention. There’s a good chance of getting some more added to the cards this week so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening recap.

X-Division Title: Mascara Dorada vs. Mike Bailey

Bailey is defending. They trade armdrags to start before both block one at the same time. An exchange of countered hurricanranas gives them a standoff and they chop it out until Bailey is knocked to the floor. The slingshot dive misses and Dorada wins a chop off outside. Back in and a heck of a suicide dive drops Bailey, setting up a missed top rope double stomp back inside.

Bailey pulls him into a kneebar but Dorada is in the ropes rather quickly. The running twisting shooting star gives Bailey two so Dorada sends him to the apron. That means the missed dive, allowing Bailey to hit the big springboard moonsault for the huge crash on the floor. Back in and Dorada catches him on top with an enziguri, setting up a jumping super hurricanrana for two. A Lionsault (minus the running) hits Bailey’s raised boots though and Bailey kicks away, setting up the Ultimate Weapon for the pin at 8:06.

Rating: C+. This is Bailey 101 and it’s still working well. Bailey is going to do the same stuff every week and have a pretty good match, though when you’ve seen one or two of them, you’ve probably seen them all. Dorada was built up with a win last week and then puts Bailey over here. That’s a good enough way to go, but Bailey needs a big challenger soon or this is going to get stale.

Post match Bailey shows respect to Dorada. Cue Kenny King to jump both of them from behind and the beatdown is on.

We go back to Violent By Design (because of course we are) where Deaner beats up one of the nameless guys in yellow. Someone else names Young the Designer and he’s cool with that. Then they all say their name is Violence and Young seems pleased. This is a nightmare right? It has to be. There is no other reason for this stupid thing to continue so I’m convinced that I’m dreaming.

Scott D’Amore gives Mike Bailey a title defense against Delirious at Victory Road. At the same show, there are a bunch of people in a #1 contenders match, including Mia Yim and Frankie Kazarian. Bailey is happy.

Here’s what’s coming at various shows.

Decay vs. Moose/Steve Maclin

Decay knocks Maclin into the corner to start and Taurus gets to stomp away. Moose gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and comes in to demonstrate proper stomping technique. Maclin comes back in but gets rammed into Moose, allowing Taurus to grab a rollup pin at 1:51. Well they got me there.

Post match Sami Callihan pops up to promise violence at Victory Road. We also see a clip of Moose saying he was going to screw Maclin over before Maclin can do it to him. Maclin promises to hurt Callihan at Victory Road, but Callihan has a clip of Maclin promising to screw Moose over. Violence ensues until Callihan comes in to leave them both laying.

We look at some miscommunication costing Taya Valkyrie a match against Chelsea Green last week.

Rosemary and Jessicka argue over the loss, with Taya Valkyrie thinking it might have been Rosemary’s fault. Jessicka needs help though and Taya has an idea.

Alisha vs. Killer Kelly

Tasha Steelz is on commentary. Kelly drives her into the corner to start but Alisha punches her way out. That earns Alisha a choke on the ropes into a release fisherman’s suplex as Steelz brags about herself nonstop. A missed charge in the corner looks to let Alisha grab a Backpack Stunner but Kelly grabs the rope. Kelly pump kicks her, setting up the Killer Klutch for the tap at 2:14.

Post match Steelz grabs a chair but Kelly takes it away and stares at her.

Some people are sitting around a dying man in a hospital bed. The man tries to say something….and Joe Hendry bursts through the door, turning it into a Hendry music video. The man dies but no one seems to notice.

Tag Team Titles: Josh Alexander/Rich Swann vs. Honor No More

Honor No More is defending. Bennett gets knocked into the corner by Alexander to start and Swann comes in with a running legdrop. Back up and Swann gets taken into the wrong corner so Taven can come in, allowing him to knock Alexander off the apron like a true villain should.

A catapult into a kick to the face gives Bennett two and we hit the corner stomping. Swann fights out of the corner and dives between the legs though, allowing the hot tag to Alexander. House is cleaned, including the running crossbody to the back to knock Bennett outside. Swann dives onto both champs and it’s a spinning kick into a bridging German suplex for two on Bennett back inside.

The threat of an ankle lock sends Bennett over to Taven as everything breaks down. Just The Tip gets two on Alexander but he gets his knees up to block a Lionsault. Maria gets on the apron so Eddie Edwards can run in and kendo stick Alexander, only to have Heath come in with the Wake Up Call to Taven for the DQ at 6:58.

Rating: C+. The Heath issues with Alexander continue and I’m curious to see where that is going. They have built Heath up rather well but at some point he needs to actually win something. The match was pretty good at least, which shouldn’t be surprising given who was involved, though the Heath part is what matters.

Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice bring a Serious Pizza to Jordynne Grace but accidentally suggest that Masha Slamovich is going to destroy her. This earns Dice a match with her next week.

Heath tries to apologize to Josh Alexander and Rich Swann but Scott D’Amore comes in and seems to make a six man tag. Maybe?

Mickie James vs. Hyan

James gets rolled up for a fast two to start and a Wasteland into a legdrop gets the same. Mickie slips out of a suplex though and strikes away, including the flapjack into the top rope Thesz press. The MickDT finishes at 2:36.

Post match Gisele Shaw comes in to steal the spotlight, plus challenge her to Victory Road. Sure.

Vincent recharges PCO again.

Brian Myers talks about how he and Bhupinder Gujjar have a lot of similarities but he’s ready to climb the ladder next week.

Here’s what’s coming up on various shows.

Motor City Machine Guns vs. Good Brothers

Shelley and Anderson start things off as the fans seem more into the Brothers. With nothing going on, Gallows and Sabin come in with Sabin getting a boot up in the corner. The middle rope dropkick staggers Gallows and the Guns start the double teaming. Gallows finally kicks Shelley in the face and it’s Anderson coming in to hammer away.

The big elbows set up Gallows’ chinlock for as long as you would expect a chinlock to last. Back up and Sabin avoids a charge in the corner, setting up the hot tag to Shelley. Everything breaks down and the Guns hit stereo baseball slides as we take a break. We come back with Anderson getting taken down with a dragon screw legwhip and then Shelley doing it again in the corner.

The Figure Four stays on the leg but Anderson grabs the rope for the break. Sabin goes old school with an Indian Deathlock so Anderson rakes the eyes to break it up again. Shelley grabs a front facelock but gets caught in a spinebuster to give Anderson a breather. Gallows comes in and gets to kick away, including a pumphandle powerslam.

Everything breaks down and Gallows is sent outside for some kicks to the face. A missile dropkick/Downward Spiral combination gets two on Anderson but Gallows is back in for the belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination for two on Sabin. Shelley is back in for the Dream Sequence and the Skull and Bones finishes Anderson at 18:10.

Rating: B. It was a good match and felt like something of a dream showdown, which it more or less is given how successful both of them have been. At the same time, this feels like a match that was designed to write off the Good Brothers, who lost clean after losing their titles. That might be the best thing too, as there is nothing left for the team to do. As for the match, they pretty much tore it up, which is what happens when two good teams get to put in the time.

Too Sweets are exchanged to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Solid show this week with the main event carrying things, as it tends to do. Other than that, they kept things moving with shorter matches that didn’t drag things down too much. What matters here is getting things ready for Victory Road so we can move on to Bound For Glory, even if it is more than a little strange to have them back to back. Good show here, and now we get to move on to the bigger stuff.

Results
Mike Bailey b. Mascara Dorada – Ultimate Weapon
Decay b. Moose/Steve Maclin – Rollup to Maclin
Killer Kelly b. Alisha – Killer Klutch
Honor No More b. Josh Alexander/Rich Swann via DQ when Heath interfered
Mickie James b. Hyan – MickDT
Motor City Machine Guns b. Good Brothers – Skull and Bones to Anderson

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Impact Wrestling
Date: September 8, 2022
Location: The Factory, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re still on the way to Victory Road and that means we should get some stuff being built up this week. That could go in a few different ways but we do at least have the main event set. In other words, it is probably time for Josh Alexander to keep dealing with Honor No More, who will be terrorized by Heath even more. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening recap.

Ace Austin/Chris Bey vs. Aussie Open

Aussie Open is getting around as of late. The Aussies jump them to start and Bey is kicked out to the floor without much effort. Austin is right there for the save, including a handstand on the apron. Bey is back up with the big running flip dive but the Aussies catch them inside with a double spinebuster ram into each other. We settle down to Fletcher slamming Austin and running him over with a shoulder.

Back up and Austin avoids a charge in the corner, allowing the rolling tag off to Bey. A standing Sliced Bread drops Fletcher and everything breaks down, with Austin hitting the big running flip dive to Davis on the floor. That leaves Bey to frog splash Fletcher for two but Davis is back in to send Austin outside. Some forearms to the head rock Bey, setting up the Coriolis (kind of a double Death Valley Driver) for the pin at 7:05.

Rating: C+. Good start to the show here and a nice way to establish Aussie Open as big deals. The Bullet Club still means something and it is a good idea to have the Aussies beat them clean. Aussie Open already has exposure coming off of AEW so push them for a bit, especially if they won’t be around that long.

Here’s what’s coming tonight and at Victory Road.

Honor No More is ready to keep winning, with Kenny King wanting the X-Division Title. Eddie Edwards is going to crush Heath once and for all.

The Good Brothers want their Tag Team Titles back but the Motor City Machine Guns come in to say they want the dream match. Let’s do it at Bound For Glory. Or we’ll make it next week.

Mickie James vs. Raychell Rose

Mickie grabs a headlock and armbar to start but gets taken into the corner for a knee to the ribs. Back up and Mickie kicks her away and hits the top rope Thesz press for two. The MickDT finishes Rose at 3:15.

Rating: C-. Just a step above a squash here as Mickie begins her climb up through the ranks one more time. That is something that has some potential and now I’m wondering who else she is going to get to face on the way there. Nothing match of course, but it’s the start of a long story.

Kenny King breaks up a chat between Scott D’Amore and Mia Yim because he wants another X-Division Title shot. D’Amore says not so fast but he’ll have an idea next week. King is also getting a warmup match and it’s next.

Steve Maclin insists that there is no alliance with Moose and he’ll prove it.

Kenny King vs. Yuya Uemura

King takes him down without much trouble and Uemura’s shoulders have no effect. Uemura gets taken down by the head but slips up and drops an elbow for two. Back up and King pulls him off the top for a nasty crash though and we take a break. We come back with Uemura fighting out of a chinlock and hitting a dropkick. A Saito suplex gives Uemura two but King is back up with a spinebuster for the same. They head outside with Uemura being sent into the steps but Mia Yim comes out to yell at King. A kick to the head rocks King, allowing Uemura to get up top for a high crossbody and the pin at 12:30.

Rating: C+. This was about getting Uemura a win to start his time around here and if it builds up Yim in whatever she’s doing is a nice bonus. I’m not entirely sure where this is going but it is a good thing to have Uemura getting established. He is a guy with some buzz at the moment so let him see what he can do with a nice win to start.

Flashback Moment Of The Week: Bobby Roode b. Sting at Victory Road 2012.

Sami Callihan is ready for barbed wire at Victory Road.

Doering finds Eric Young and says he still believes in violence. Then a bunch of people in yellow hoodies come up behind Doering and shout VIOLENCE over and over. WHY IS THIS STUPID THING GETTING BOOSTED UP AGAIN???

Taya Valkyrie vs. Chelsea Green

Rosemary, Jessicka and Deonna Purrazzo are all here too. Taya kicks her in the face to start and hits a running crossbody for two. Believe it or not, Taya talks trash but Green sends her outside. A running shot cuts Taya down though and Green chokes away back inside. Taya is back up with some strikes to the face, including a hard knee. Green kicks her in the head but Taya is pulls her down to go after the leg. That means a quick distraction so Purrazzo can trip Taya, setting up the Unprettier to finish for Green at 6:30.

Rating: C. This continues the issues between Rosemary/Jessicka/Taya, as the former two were nowhere to be seen when Taya was in trouble. The match wasn’t much to see but Green getting the boost is a good sign. She hasn’t quite been able to maintain momentum so seeing it keep moving forward for another week is a good thing.

Jordynne Grace isn’t intimidated by Masha Slamovich. She goes into her locker room and finds MASHA’S GONNA KILL YOU painted on a wall.

Vincent talks about resurrecting PCO and how their voices are in unison. They are together in Honor No More.

Digital Media Title: Bhupinder Gujjar vs. Brian Myers

Myers is defending and gets taken down for some forearms to the face to start. A basement superkick gives Gujjar two but it’s too early for the Gargoyle spear. Myers manages a quick posting and we take a break. Back with Gujjar hitting something like a Sling Blade and a Samoan drop gets two. Myers manages an enziguri and hits the implant DDT for two before going to grab the title. That doesn’t work as Gujjar takes it away and belts Myers for the DQ at 8:31.

Rating: C. And so it continues. The Digital Media Title sounded like something that could have been a fun idea, or at least a nice change of pace, but it is nothing more than a lower midcard title with Gujjar vs. Myers being a boring feud. I’m sure we’ll get something else between these two as this feud just has to continue.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Gail Kim comes up to Savannah Evans and Tasha Steelz to put the latter on commentary, as per Killer Kelly’s request.

Scott D’Amore makes a ladder match for the Digital Media Title in two weeks.

Eddie Edwards vs. Heath

Edwards jumps him before the bell but Heath punches into the corner to get out of trouble. That doesn’t last long as Edwards knocks him around and chokes on the rope for a bit. Back up and Heath manages a toss to the floor and we take a break. Back with Edwards hitting a forearm to the face for two and grabbing a chinlock. Heath fights up and stereo crossbodies put them both down. Back up and Heath hits a DDT for two, followed by the Wake Up Call, which draws out Honor No More. The distraction lets Eddie hit a low blow so the Boston Knee Party can finish Heath at 12:15.

Rating: C+. Heath is a weird case as he is clearly in over his head against Honor No More but he is inspired to keep fighting because of what happened to his friend. That being said, there is no reason for him to be beating Edwards or really coming close to doing so. Let him go over other members of the team, but this was about as much as he should have been able to do against someone on Edwards’ level

Post match Eddie grabs the mic and says Honor No More wants to know which side Josh Alexander is on in this war. Cue Alexander to say this isn’t a war because no one is pulling any strings against Honor No More. Alexander says his side is across from Eddie so the fight is on. Cue Honor No More for the beatdown, with Heath and Rich Swann running in for a failed save attempt. The big beatdown ends the show.

Overall Rating: C. I wasn’t really feeling this one as there wasn’t much that kept my interest this week. The wrestling was fine and they advanced enough stories, but nothing was exactly jumping off the page. Victory Road isn’t looking overly interesting and that isn’t going to leave much time for Bound For Glory. Not a bad show here, but one of their weaker efforts in recent weeks.

Results
Aussie Open b. Ace Austin/Chris Bey – Coriolis to Bey
Mickie James b. Raychell Rose – MickDT
Yuyu Uemura b. Kenny King – High crossbody
Chelsea Green b. Taya Valkyrie – Unprettier
Brian Myers b. Bhupinder Gujjar via DQ when Gujjar used the title belt
Eddie Edwards b. heath – Boston Knee Party

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.