By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Join me for live coverage of Impact Wrestling Bound For Glory on Sunday night as the show airs on pay-per-view television and the Fite TV app.
Impact Wrestling Hits
LAX and OGz confrontation: The cease fire storyline that prevented these teams from getting physical was a great way to build anticipation for the war these teams will have on Sunday. Konnan and King are terrific talkers who not only did a good job of carrying the storyline, they actually managed to keep this viewer engaged despite the campiness of the kid being run over by a car storyline and the mob bosses angle. I just hope that Impact’s quest to emulate Lucha Underground doesn’t result in a character being killed off in the Concrete Jungle Death match.
Johnny Impact, Fallah Bahh, and Eddie Edwards vs. Austin Aries, Killer Kross, and Moose: This match took place an hour into the show and it was the first match that felt relevant to Sunday’s pay-per-view. It was a good six-man tag match and a nice teaser for the Impact World Championship match and Edwards vs. Moose at Bound For Glory. Aries pinning his challenger on the go-home show left me leaning toward Impact getting the win on Sunday.
Tessa Blanchard vs. Keyra: A minor Hit for a brief yet entertaining match. I’m surprised there wasn’t some type of angle involving Blanchard and her BFG challenger Taya Valkyrie. I realize Valkyrie wasn’t at the taping, but she really needed a sit-down interview or something to make their rushed match feel more significant.
Trevor Lee vs. Jack Evans vs. Puma King vs. Petey Williams: Evans should be a star. He’s done well for himself in Mexico, but I always felt like he could have thrived if given the right push in the United States or Japan. Putting that aside, this was an entertaining opener, though I’m not really sure what purpose it served on the go-home show.
Grado vs. Maximo: A fun comedy match with Grado being a good target for what can best be described as Maximo’s in-ring sexual harassment. Wait, are we allowed to laugh at that in 2018 or are we required to due to the suggested preferences of the Maximo character? I’m so confused. Either way, I got a kick out of it even though it had nothing to do with BFG. I actually hope they revisit this oddball pairing if Impact returns to Mexico.
Impact Wrestling Misses
Rohit Raju vs. Gursinder Singh: Here’s hoping Raju defeats Gama Singh in a loser leaves town match and gets a quality singles push in the X Division. Raju is the only part of this act that I enjoy. And this was yet another first hour match that had nothing to do with BFG.
Allie and Father James Mitchell: While it’s always a treat to see the Sinister Minister, the storyline that Su Yung’s casket is a portal to the Undead Realm is ridiculous and just isn’t what I want to see from this company. So Allie will have a chance to save Kiera Hogan on Sunday. I like Hogan and all, but I’d be a lot happier if Allie pulled out Rosemary instead. And I’d be downright giddy if Impact just gave up on this supernatural nonsense by chalking it up to the characters suffering from mass hallucination caused by an acid trip.
Check below for the latest Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast with Jason Powell and guest Chris Harrington.
Hey I like the supernatural stuff (can’t wait for Rosemary to return) and cannot stand the LAX stuff (my absolute least fave wrestling team in years). But it’s nice that there’s both of these things in this show at present to appeal to us both eh?
I’ve been saying that I thought if the LU wannabe material was appealing to the masses and just wasn’t for me then it would be a different story. Nothing about their viewership numbers or the critical reception of their recent shows suggests that’s the case.