By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Impact Wrestling Hits
Bound For Glory go-home show: Every segment built up the pay-per-view or played into the Rosemary and John E Bravo wedding that will take place on next week’s show. Impact did a very nice job over the last several weeks of establishing the Bound For Glory lineup and focusing heavily on those matches on each edition of Impact. I was surprised that we didn’t get more from Eric Young and Rich Swann on the go-home show. It felt like this was a great time for a strong Swann go-home promo. Ultimately, though, Impact told a really nice story with Young and Swann that started at the Slammiversary pay-per-view.
Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. The North: This didn’t really feel like it belonged in the main event slot on the BFG go-home show. I suspect it was due to Gallows and Anderson’s special aired right after Impact on AXS TV. Ultimately, it was a well worked tag team match with a cheap finish that was logical given that both teams are challenging for the tag titles in the four-way at the pay-per-view. The post match brawl with the Machine Guns and the team of Ace Austin and Madman Fulton that resulted in Gallows and Anderson standing tall worked for the pay-per-view and served as a lead-in to the Talk’n Shop special.
Rohit Raju, Chris Bey, and Jordynne Grace vs. Trey Miguel, Willie Mack, and TJP: Raju continues to be highly entertaining as the cowardly champion. I have no doubt that he would do well if he played a serious champion, but there’s no denying that he plays this role well. The match served as something of a preview for Bound For Glory, as all six will be in the scramble match for the X Division Title. As such, it was logical for Raju to have a meltdown with Bey and then drop the match to Miguel to make him seem vulnerable heading into the pay-per-view.
Heath vs. Rhino vs. Cousin Jake vs. Hernandez vs. Alisha Edwards for the 20th spot in the Call Your Shot battle royal: Impact drifting back into intergender wrestling does nothing for me, but perhaps I’m in the minority. Either way, Edwards’ involvement in this match was creative in terms of having her pick her spots rather than just mixing it up with the much larger male wrestlers. She also played into the finish when Rhino accidentally Gored her and was then distracted as he was rolled up and pinned. The match was nothing to write home about, but they kept it brief and it had the hook of the gauntlet battle royal implications (Hernandez is now the 20th entrant, while Rhino’s loss makes him the first entrant).
EC3 and Moose interviews: The two Jimmy Jacobs segments served as good hype for whatever EC3 and Moose are doing at Bound For Glory. No matter what happens on Saturday, I pray that EC3 finally makes good on his threat to destroy the defunct TNA Title belt.
Impact Wrestling Misses
Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan: This was a logical matchup with Callihan’s character wanting to soften up Edwards heading into his Bound For Glory match with Ken Shamrock. Edwards and Callihan work well together and this was no exception, but the finish with Callihan using his hacker phone was an eye roller. I’m still not sure why Callihan and Shamrock have been aligned as heels or why Callihan doesn’t have a match of his own at BFG. I just hope that Callihan ditches the hacker gimmick and gets back on track post BFG.
Rosemary vs. Havok: A predictable match given the stipulation that Rosemary was fighting to get James Mitchell back to officiate her wedding. It’s a good thing that the wedding is taking place next week, as the wedding related segments have been running on fumes.
Join John Moore for his live review of Impact Wrestling Bound For Glory on Saturday right here at ProWrestling.net.
Be the first to comment