By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
Impact Wrestling Bound For Glory 2021
Aired live October 23, 2021 on pay-per-view and FITE.TV
Las Vegas, Nevada at Sam’s Town Live
Bound For Glory Pre-show
Matt Striker and D’Lo Brown were on commentary. Striker ran through some of the advertised matches to start the show. Striker sent the show to an Awesome Kong video package to celebrate Kong entering the Impact Hall of Fame…
Gail Kim made her entrance to the stage. Gail was standing at a podium where she did the induction speech for Kia Stevens “Awesome Kong”. Kim talked about how she was introduced to Kong by Low Ki and how Kong’s debut match was against her, which led to more matches. Kong talked about fighting for women’s wrestling with Kong. Kim talked about how wrestlers have only a few chances to create magic in the ring and Kong created magic with Kim. Kim talked about her matches with Kong allowing two women of color to shine. Kim thanked Scott D’Amore, Jeff Jarrett, Dixie Carter, and Dutch Mantel for giving her and Kong a chance to shine.
Kim talked about one moment where Kong entered a match with a sore back. Kim joked about threatening to slap Kong if she didn’t get out there. Kim talked about the one time she jokingly told Kia that wrestling Kia took a year off of Kim’s career. Kim said she has total honor to induct a woman she loves at the bottom of her heart. She thanked Kong for being so awesome. Kim talked about Kong’s quote about doing all this for the next generation and Kim said Kong opened the door to the next generation. Kim welcomed Kong to the Sam’s Town stage. Awesome Kong made her entrance.
Kong soaked up a “Thank You Kong” chant. Kong talked about how Gail said everything she was about to say so she’s going to have to speak on the fly. Kong thanked current executives for giving her the award. Kong thanked the fans for keeping Impact/TNA’s name alive. Kong thanked the Lord and Jesus. Kong thanked D’Amore and Mantel for being the Knockouts agents and giving the Knockouts as much time as possible, not shaving off time due to them being women. Kong thanked Dave Prazak and Shimmer for training a lot of the women you see on TV today. Kong talked to the person at home who is brought down by being told they can’t do that. Kong said to go for your dream and don’t let anyone tell you you can’t. Kong thanked Impact for inducting her to the Hall of Fame. The current Knockouts locker room walked out to give Kong a standing ovation…
John’s Thoughts: Classy stuff. A shame that a lot of the wrestling audience will never know the contributions of Kia Stevens (and Gail Kim) to women’s wrestling. Kia is legitimately a pioneer in women’s wrestling along with Kim, putting on the best women’s matches of the 2000’s and arguably all time. Even though Kong had a cup of coffee in WWE I would say that both Kong and Kim are eligible for for their Hall of Fame (I only would support that for the visability) due to their TNA work alone. They didn’t just spark women’s wrestling in TNA, but sparked modern women’s wrestling in general.
A PSA aired featuring wrestlers from multiple companies to promote the “Tag me in” campaign which was a campaign for a mental health charity…
John’s Thoughts: Yo! Cool charity! That video was actually well done. What helped was that a handful of the wrestlers have had their issues well documented, like Kurt Angle or W Morrissey. Mental Health is important and you shouldn’t underestimate seeking help if you are down.
The bell for the pre show match took place with 7 minutes left in the pre show.
Pre Show Match: John Skyler vs. Jordynne Grace (w/Rachael Ellering) vs. Madison Rayne (w/Kaleb Konley) vs. Chelsea Green vs. Fallah Bahh vs. Crazzy Steve (w/Black Taurus) the Digital Media Championship. the various wrestlers paired off. Bahh and Grace took center stage. Bahh no sold Grace’s offense first, but Grace ended up taking down Bahh with a shoulder tackle. Grace hit Bahh with a Vader Bomb for a two count. Skyler took down Grace with a lariat. Green hit Skyler with a missile dropkick. Steve hit Green with a neck wrench. Grace hit Green with a Kinniku Buster. Steve broke up the pin.
Steve hit Green and Rayne with a tarantula. Bahh stacked everyone in the corner and hit them with a corner splash. Skyler tossed Bahh to ringside. Skyler hit Steve with a Fireman Carry Senton for a two count. Skyler hit Green with a Norther Lariat. Grace hit Skyler with a Grace Driver for the victory.
Jordynne Grace defeated John Skyler, Madison Rayne, Fallah Bahh, Chelsea Green, and Crazzy Steve via pinfall in 5:04 to become the Impact Digital Media Champion.
Striker handled the final hype for the main show…
Bound For Glory Main Show
The show started off with a cold open teaser which focused on the life and career of Josh Alexander…
Matt Striker and D’Lo Brown checked in from Sam’s Town Casino…
Entrances for the opening match took place. Someone named Harley Cameron sang the song for Jessie McKay and Cassie Lee…
John’s Thoughts: Hot damn, that song was actually pretty good. Tastes are subjective though, but I personally really liked that R&B beat.
1. “Decay” Rosemary and Jessika Havok vs. “The IInspiration” Jessie McKay and Cassie Lee for the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championships. Rosemary and McKay started the match. McKay tagged in Lee quickly and they did their IIconics pose. Rosemary hit Lee with an awkward sidewalk slam. Havok tagged in and Decay hit Lee with double lariats. McKay tagged in and Havok no sold her offense. Rosemary tagged back in and gave McKay a corner splash. Rosemary bit McKay in the face. Rosemary put McKay in a Tarantula. Rosemary got out and shoved Rosemary off the apron.
Lee hit Rosemary with a suplex into a cover for a two count. Rosemary and McKay took each other out with an X Factor. Havok and Lee tagged in with Havok rallying with power moves. McKay tried to crossbody Havok but she no-sold it. Havok hit the IInspiration with a corner splash and hip attack. Lee pulled the rope down to dump Havok to ringside Lee took out Rosemary with a lariat. McKay hit Rosemary with a forearm in the corner and arm trap suplex. Lee blind tagged herself in and hit Rosemary with a Scorpion Kick. Lee gave Rosemary a bulldog on McKay’s knee for a two count.
Rosemary hit Lee with a Scorpion Death Drop. Havok tagged in and hit Lee with a backbreaker. Rosemary gave Lee a spear. McKay broke up Havok’s pin. Havok took out McKay with a forearm. Havok missed a leg drop on Lee. McKay hit Rosemary with a Yakuza Kick. Havok hit McKay with a Sky High. Havok no sold Lee’s kick. Rosemary tagged in. Lee dumped Rosemary to ringside. Lee hit Havok with a kick combination. McKay tagged in and tossed Havok into the corner. The IInspiration tossed Havok into the ringpost. McKay reversed Rosemary and tagged in Lee. Rosemary couldn’t get the pin because she rolled up the illegal woman. Rosemary walked into Lee’s Knee. The IInspiration hit Rosemary with an assisted Sitout Power Bomb for the win.
The IInspiration defeated Decay via pinfall in 8:58 to become the new Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions.
John’s Thoughts: Not the prettiest of matches at first but there was a lot of hard work and the match was pretty entertaining by the end of it. Both teams played to their strengths with the IInspiration being heel-plucky while Decay were the no-selling powerhouses. The in-ring quality was best when Havok and Lee were in the ring (I hope Cassie Lee gets a chance to shine in singles because at one point I thought she had women’s singles champion potential. For some reason, her in-ring quality regressed from NXT to the main roster of WWE). This result wasn’t surprising given the IInspiration are the hot free agent signing. Looking forward to see if they can show more than they did in their WWE run? If anything they may have my 2nd favorite pro wrestling entrance theme behind Ikeman Jiro’s (I’ll need to hear it again, but I do like me some R&B beats)
Gia Miller interviewed Deonna Purrazzo about Matthew Rehwoldt being banned from ringside. Purrazzo was projecting saying that it’s all Mickie’s fault for ambushing Deonna for months. Deonna talked about how she won the title by herself. She said she doesn’t need Rehwoldt, they just enjoy each other’s company. Deonna said Mickie may be a legend to some people, but not to her. She said she’s going to do what the Virtuosa does best, and break both Mickie’s arms…
A Christian vs. Josh Alexander hype video aired…
Entrances for the X Division Championship match took place…
John’s Thoughts: Side note, it still shocks me that Steve Maclin and Steve Cutler are the same person. Steve Cutler came off as a generic cruiserweight guy in a bland tag team. Steve Maclin is a big ol’ monster heel with tons of charisma.
2. Steve Maclin vs. El Phantasmo vs. Trey Miguel for the vacant X Division Championship. Trey Miguel had black and gold gear (foreshadowing? maybe?). Maclin hit Miguel with a twisting suplex. El P hit Maclin with a dropkick after running the ropes. Trey hit a nice handstand mule kick on Phantasmo to send him to ringside. Miguel went for a tiger feint huracanrana, but Maclin reversed it. Phantasmo tripped Miguel when he ran the ropes to allow Maclin to hit Trey with a northern lariat. Maclin and Phantasmo agreed to take turns striking Miguel. Phantasmo twisted Maclin’s nipples, which Maclin no-sold.
Maclin slammed Phantasmo and called him a bitch. Trey tossed Maclin aside and put Phantasmo in a Muta Lock. Trey managed to hit Maclin with a Scorpion Kick and put El P in a Muta Lock. While in the Muta Lock, Trey hit Maclin with a Northern Lights Suplex. Phantasmo broke up the pin. Phantasmo hit Maclin with a crossbody and moonsault for a two count. Phantasmo did a Old School into a huracanrana on Maclin. Phantasmo raked Miguel in the back. Miguel hit both opponents with a donkey kick and double stomp.
Maclin sent Trey into the corner and caught Phantasmo with a gut punch. Maclin took out both opponents with a DDT to get two counts on both opponents. Maclin put Phantasmo in the Tree of Woe. Trey reversed a suplex from Maclin. Trey missed a dropkick and put himself in the tree of woe. Maclin hit Phantasmo with a tackle. Trey escaped the Tree of Woe. Maclin speared Trey through the ropes to fire up the crowd. Maclin hit Phantasmo with a suicide dive. Maclin then botched a Tope Con Hilo on Trey which Striker tried to cover up by saying it was a diving hip attack.
Phantasmo dropkicked Maclin to knock him off the top rope. Phantasmo hit Maclin with a Asai Moonsault. Miguel hit Phantasmo at ringside with a nice springboard cutter to ringside. Maclin avoided Trey’s meteora. Trey hit Maclin with Code Red for a two count. Maclin got an inside cradle on Trey for a two count. Maclin hit Trey with a modified TKO for a two count. Phantasmo broke up the pin. Maclin dragged Trey to the top rope. Phantasmo raked Trey’s back. Phantasmo hit Maclin with a Sunset Bomb. Phantasmo gave Trey a Frankensteiner onto Maclin. Phantasmo hit Maclin with a superfly splash for a two count.
Maclin hit Phantasmo with a deadlift bomb for a two count. Maclin blocked Trey’s meteora but ate his enzuigiri. Phantasmo kicked Maclin to ringside. Trey rolled up Phantasmo into a jackknife for the two count. Phantasmo went for a low blow, but Trey was wearing a ball cup, which he took out. Trey hit Phantasmo with a Brainbuster and Meteora for the win.
Trey Miguel defeated El Phantasmo and Steve Maclin via pinfall in 13:21 to become the new Impact X Division Champion.
John’s Thoughts: I had a sense Miguel was winning as wrestlers who usually know they’re going to win usually wear gold gear before their championship matches. That said, this was a really well-worked match that was hurt a bit from a dull-ish crowd. I say they were dull for this because they were actually pretty hot for the opening match and even the pre-show match. Maybe they’re just burnt out for a bit and this was the “buffer”. Aside from the dead crowd, the match was great. Maclin really shined as a powerhouse and even pulled out some nice high flying moves at the right moments. It was smart to keep him out of the finish. Trey turned what are usually “too cute” indie moves, and made them very practical which I like. Hopefully Trey gets a meaningful run with the title because ever since resigning with the company, he’s been stuck in limbo with no creative direction.
Gia Miller interviewed Mickie James. James said Deonna is one of her toughest opponents yet. James said Deonna made it personal by invading her house, the house where her son is. James talked about being a lot through the last 8 years. She said she doubted herself during those years. She said Deonna is her toughest challenge yet because Mickie has to prove to herself that she can hold gold again. She said Deonna doesn’t know the heart Mickie is bringing. She said holding the title this time will be so much sweeter…
A hype video aired to hype Heath and Rhino vs. VBD…\
Violent By Design made their entrance first. Heath came out by himself next. Rhino didn’t come out when the ring announcer called for Heath’s tag partner. Deaner and Doering blindsided Heath and gave him cheap shots…
3. “Violent By Design” Joe Doering and Deaner (w/Eric Young) vs. Heath [Slater]. Heath agreed to have the bell ring. Heath rallied against Deaner, but Doering pulled Heath aside. Deaner hit Heath with a blockbuster. Deaner and Doering traded quick tags to maintain a numbers advantage over Heath. Doering got a two count after hitting Heath with a body slam and lariat. VBD continued to dominate Heath. Heath would continue to crawl to his corner, but Rhino never showed up, leading to VBD continuing to dominant. Heath managed to rally a bit, sending Doering to ringside and giving Deaner a lariat.
Suddenly Rhino’s entrance music played. Rhino made his entrance looking like Rhino. He went to his corner and said “tag me”. Rhino took the hot tag and rallied against Deaner. Rhino hit Doering with a belly to belly. Rhino called for the Gore and hit Deaner with the Gore. Rhino hit Deaner with the Gore for the win.
Rhino and Heath defeated Violent By Design via pinfall in 4:59.
Rhino and Heath hugged after the match and held each other’s hands up in victory. VBD retreated up the ramp…
John’s Thoughts: Predictable outcome, but a nice feel-good moment nonetheless. I was kinda hoping for something different, like a Rhino heel turn or a Heath heel turn on Rhino, but I’m okay with the wholesome ending too. I was just hoping for something nuance because the build to their reunion has been so nuance and intriguing, but this was a safe outcome too. I’m intrigued to see what Heath and Rhino can bring to the tag division, especially coming from Heath who’s taken a year off. I hope Heath doesn’t go back to his goofball and high energy promos because I think he’s really stepped up his promos recently by talking in a more natural voice.
Gia Miller interviewed Jordynne Grace for winning the Digital Media Championship. Rachael Ellering was there too. Grace said she’s the first Triple Crown Knockout. Grace thanked Rachael Ellering for having her back and said that Ellering will win the Call Your Shot match. Moose and W Morrissey showed up. Moose said either he or Morrissey are the only choices that will win. Morrissey said Ellering isn’t winning. Moose said he likes Morrissey’s mindset…
A rules video package aired for the Call Your Shot battle royal…
Chris Sabin made his entrance as the first entrant of the match. Sabin came out to his singles wrestler theme as opposed to the Motor City Machine gun theme he’s been coming out to in recent years. Rocky Romero of New Japan Pro Wrestling was the number 2 entrant…
4. The Call Your Shot Battle Royal. Romero and Sabin started the match with a respectful stalemate. Sabin askd for a test of strength, but Romero gave Sabin a kick. Sabin and Romero traded chops. Romero teased a cartoony punch, but gave Sabin an eye poke. Romero went for his rapid fire lariats, but Sabin got out of the corner. Madman Fulton came out at 3. Fulton took down Sabin and Romero with chest chops. Romero put Fulton in a sleeper while Sabin hit Fulton with strikes. Romero and Sabin teamed up trying to dump Fulton to ringside.
Rohit Raju came out at number 4. Rohit walked into a sandwich combo between Sabin and Romero. Raju escaped and sent Sabin into the corner. Rohit hit Romero with a leg sweep. Raju suplexed Sabin on Romero and gave both opponents a double stomp. Raju was scared at first, but asked Fulton to team with him. Fulton agreed and the two put the boots to the other two men. Tasha Steelz was number 5.
Raju convinced Steelz to join his alliance. The heels put the boots to the babyfaces. Rocky Romero was the first elimiated, tossed out by Raju. Rachael Ellering was out at number 6. Ellering hit Steelz with a series of moves Ellering hit Steelz with an awkward TKO. Ellering escaped Fulton’s carry. Raju grabbed Fulton’s hair to prevent elimination, which accidentally eliminated Fulton. Savannah Evans came out at number 7. Steelz and Evans had the numbers advantage over Ellering. Ellering managed to toss Steelz aside and put Evans in a Fireman Carry to the apron.
Ellering eliminated Evans with a big boot. Ellering was eliminated by Steelz. Johnny Swinger was out at 8. Swinger swung his hips at Steelz, leading to Steelz with the ground and pound on Swinger. Melina made her entrance next at 9. Swinger swung his hips at Melina. Swinger caught Melina’s kick. Melina did the splits, but Swinger hit Melina with a facebuster.
John’s Thoughts: It is a treat to see Swinger outside of Swinger’s Palace. Swinger is comedy gold and was hindered by those horrible skits.
The Demon (Dale Torborg, not Finn Balor) came out at 10. Swinger got out a notepad and asked the Demon for an autograph. The demon signed it and eliminated Swinger. The crowd booed (rightfully so). Brian Myers made his entrance at Number 11. Zicky Dice and VSK stuck around at ringside. Myers dominated the demon. Matt Cardona was out at 12. Striker noted how Myers and Cardona are forever connected. Cardona and Myers traded punches. Myers hit Cardona with a Pele Kick. Madness ensued. Laredo Kid came out at 13.
D’Lo noted that 13 is an unlucky number and how it’s tough to use high flying moves in a battle royal. Melina eliminated Steelz. Myers eliminated Melina. Sam Beale made his entrance at number 14. Beale and Myers teamed up to toss Cardona over the top rope, but Cardona resisted. Rich Swann came out at number 15. Swann hit Beale with a Liger Kick. Beale tossed Swann into the ringpost. Beale then surprised his old mentor by eliminating Brian Myers. Myers yelled “you’re a dead man Beale!!!”.
Ace Austin made his entrance at number 16. Ace hit Raju with a handstand kick combination. Raju went back to hugging the bottom rope, which he’s been doing a majority of the match. Ace pulled the top rope down to eliminate Demon. Moose made his entrance at number 17. Moose power bombed Beale on VSK and Dice to eliminate him. The match ensued. Eddie Edwards was number 18. Eddie dumped Moose to ringside, but through the 2nd rope so nobody was eliminated. Moose and Edwards brawled at ringside.
Alisha Edwards made her entrance at number 19. Brown noted her kendo sticks were named Kenny and Kendra. Eddie and Alisha attacked Moose with Kendo sticks. The sticks broke over Moose. W Morrissey was out at number 20. Morrissey shoved Eddie to Moose. Alisha attacked Morrissey with kendo strikes, but Morrissey fought through and elimated Alisha with a press slam. Eddie fought off Moose and Morrissey. Morrissey eliminated Eddie off the apron with a big boot.
Raju tried to team up with Moose and Morrissey, but they didn’t buy it. Moose and Morrissey eliminated Raju. The match continued. Sabin elimated Austin at 26 minutes by tripping him off the ropes. Madman Fulton ran in and hit Sabin with his version of End of Days. That allowed Moose and Morrissey to easily eliminate Sabin. Moose, Morrissey, Swann, and Cardona were the final four. Cardona hit Moose with a Ruff Ryder. Morrissey slammed Cardona.
Swann took down Morrissey with a striking combo. Morrissey put Swann in a fireman carry. Moose used that to lift Morrissey to eliminate Morrissey and Swann. The ring announcer announced that Moose vs. Cardona will be by pinfall or submission. Cardona avoided a Moose tackle and hit Moose with a series of lariats to stagger Moose. Moose came back with a pump kick. Cardona turned Moose inside out with a running lariat. Cardona missed a top rope Ruff Ryder. Moose hit Ryder with a spear for the victory.
Moose won the Call Your Shot Gauntlet match in 29:33.
Moose was handed the generic looking trophy…
John’s Thoughts: Parts of the match were entertaining, parts of the match were forgettable, but overall this match was harmless. Moose getting the Impact version of Money in the Bank puts him in a good position to win his first world title, so that’s a good position for Moose. What didn’t work in this match was some of the random entrants. The intergender aspect also didn’t really mean much because it came off as match filler as opposed to anything really meaningful. What was most surprising was there was a heavily rumored debut that was supposed to happen here. One can wonder if Impact changed their plans last minute because word got out? Either that or he’s not coming. I guess we’ll see.
Gia Miller interviewed Heath and Rhino. Heath said he had his doubts, but Rhino had his back and showed up when he needed him. Rhino said in dark times, Heath never gave up on Rhino. Rhino said “uncle rhino is back”…
A hype package aired to hype the tag team title match…
5. “The Good Brothers” Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. “FinJuice” David Finlay and Juice Robinson vs. “Bullet Club” Hikuleo and Chris Bey for the Impact Tag Team Championships. Bey and Finlay started the match with chain wrestling. Bey and Finlay started the match in a stalemate. Finlay got the first advantage with a drop kick and one count. Juice tagged in and rolled up Bey for a two count. Juice hit Bey with a running senton after Finlay gave Bey a back suplex. Bey hit Juice with a jawbreaker. Hikuleo and Gallows tagged in.
Gallows asked for a Too Sweet, but Hikuleo gave Gallows a kick. Gallows and Hikuleo traded punches. Gallows and Hikuleo traded running tackles and no-sells. Gallows managed to give Hikuleo a throat punch. Hikuleo took down Gallows with a right hand. Bey tagged in but took a knee to the gut from Gallows. Finlay tagged Bey out. Gallows tagged Finlay in. Anderson tagged in to dominate Finlay in his corner. Hikuleo tagged out Anderson.
Hikuleo worked on Finlay with methodical offense. Bey and Hikuleo traded quick tags to isolate Finlay. Juice managed to tag in and work on bey with a series of lariats. Juice gave Bey a backdrop. Juice gave Anderson his signature telegraphed punches. Juice hit Bey with a gutbuster. Bey hit Juice a DDT. All the teams took each other out with signature moves. Robinson hit Bey with a cannonball and hit Anderson with a running palm. Finlay hit Bey with a Superplex. Robinson hit Bey with a frog splash. Anderson tagged in to steal the pin. on Bey
The Good Brothers defeated Bey and Hikuleo, and Finjuice via pinfall in 9:55 to retain the Impact Tag Team Championships.
John’s Thoughts: Well-worked match, but the crowd’s silence showed that this match became a buffer match. I don’t blame the crowd here. Impact didn’t necessarily do a good job building up all these random New Japan Wrestlers (featuring Impact’s Chris Bey). This just felt like a random New Japan match that Impact fans have no context to. So far, Chris Bey hasn’t really gained much rub by hanging around the New Japan wrestlers and in fact he was hotter before he got involved with Jay White and Hikuleo.
A Minoru Suzuki debut vignette aired. It said he’s still “coming soon”…
Gia Miller interviewed Christian Cage about his match against Josh Alexander. Cage said he appreciates what Josh gave up, but Christian also gave up a lot. He talked about helping this company and coming back to pro wrestling after 7 years. He said people are telling him to pass the torch, but he’s not ready to do so. He said it burns his soul at the thought of losing the Impact title. Chrisian said that Josh not only will disappoint the crowd, but he’ll disappoint his wife and child. Christian said the match will end with “and still champion”…
A Deonna Purrazzo vs. Mickie James hype package aried…
Entrances for the Knockouts Championship match aired. In a different change of pace, Dave Penzer handled the formal in-ring introductions…
Mickie jumped the gun. D’Lo thought the bell didn’t rang, but Striker claimed the match started when the pre-match introduction bell rang (D’Lo’s right, that’s not how it is supposed to work). Mickie and Deonna brawled at ringside. Turns out, D’Lo was right before the referee wasn’t counting the ten count. Deonna managed to recover and drag Mickie to ringside. Deonna took out Mickie with a pump kick…
6. Deonna Purrazzo vs. Mickie James for the Impact Knockouts Championship. Deonna dominated Mickie with methodical offense. Deonna dominated for a few minutes. Mickie would attempt comebacks, but Deonna had a counter to all of Mickie’s comebacks heading into the four minute mark. Mickie got a moment of respite after 4 minutes by blocking Deonna’s crossbody with her own crossbody. Mickie got a running boot to Deonna, leading to a one count.
Mickie hit Deonna with a huracanrana. Mickie hit Deonna with a flapjack and did a kip up. Mickie hit Deonna with a stated senton for a two count. Deonna caught Mickie with a Yakuza Kick for a two count. Mickie hit Deonna with a backdrop, a few kick, and her finisher the Mickie DDT. Deonna kicked out at two. Mickie escaped Deonna’s gotch pile driver. Deonna put Mickie in a Fujiwara Armbar. Mickie turned the move to a Butterfly Submission. Mickie got her feet under the ropes for the rope break.
Deonna hit Mickie with an assisted Queen’s Gambit finisher. Mickie kicked out of Deonna’s finisher. Deonna brought a chair into the ring. The referee grabbed the chair and put it on the floor aside (why not toss it to ringside?). Mickie bit Deonna on the top rope. Mickie accidentally gave the referee a seated Senton. REF BUMP!!! Deonna went for a chair shot, but Mickie hit Deonna with the Mick Kick. The referee recovered and counted a two count for Mickie.
Deonna gave Mickie a palm strike on the top rope. Deonna went for a fujiwara armbar, but Mickie held on to the rope for the break. Deonna tossed Mickie off the top rope. Mickie recovered and hit Deonna with a back kick. Mickie hit Deonna with the Stratisfaction for the victory.
Mickie James defeated Deonna Purrazzo via pinfall in 13:17 to become the new Impact Knockouts Champion.
John’s Thoughts: An okay match, but it felt like both women didn’t get much impact out of the big moments as they wanted. There was your usual false finishes and kicking out of finishers, but they felt rudimentary and predictable. Not to mention the crowd wasn’t that into it combined with Matt Striker not providing the best of commentary all night (I think they would have been better off with more of a sports-like call from Josh Mathews). Hear me out, the match wasn’t bad at all. It was well wrestled. Mickie is great at playing the plucky underdog. It was just a handful of factors that made it less epic than all the creative forces wanted it to be. The finish was feel-good at least and Mickie can pass the torch to someone in an upcoming title defense weather it be back to Deonna, or a person that Impact wants to elevate to the women’s main event.
Striker announced Impact Hard To Kill in January which will be in Texas…
A hype package aired for the world title match…
Entrances for the world title match took place 20 minutes after the top of the hour (9:20pm PST, 12:20am EST). Dave Penzer handled the formal in-ring introductions for the Impact World Championship match…
John’s Thoughts: I like the return of the formal in-ring introductions for big matches as they give the match an added level of importance. Jeremy Borash and Christy Hemme used to do this back in the day in TNA and it really added something to the world title matches. NXT currently does a good job with these in their world title matches.
7. Christian Cage vs. Josh Alexander for the Impact World Championship. Christian had his right shoulder taped up with kinesio tape. The match started off with a collar and elbow. Christian pressured Josh to the corner and Josh came back with a shove. Christian kept Alexander under control with a headlock which lasted until Alexander was able to shrug Christian off. Christian slapped Josh which fired up Josh into a double leg takedown. Christian went high risk but was shoved to ringside with a simple push from Alexander.
Alexander worked on Christian with methodical offense. Alexander got a two count after a backbreaker. Christian escaped a fireman carry and Jay Driller attempt. Christian backdropped Alexander to ringside. Alexander reversed a baseball slide into an Ankle Lock. Christian used a drop toehold to trip Alexander into the guardrail. Alexander beat the ten count but walked into Christian’s boots. Christian hit Alexander with a neckbreaker for a two count. Christian worked on Alexander with methodical offense. Christian kept Alexander pressured with chops. Alexander came back with European Uppercuts.
Christian tackled Alexander in the corner. Alexander gave Christian a neck first German Suplex into the turnbuckle. Alexander hit Christian with a european uppercut combo. Alexander backdropped Christian. Josh caught Christian with a big boot. The camera showed Alexander’s wife and son cheering at ringside. Christian escaped a power bomb attempt by Josh. Josh countered Christian’s punches into a Backbreaker Bomb for a two count. Christian hit Alexander with a reverse DDT for a two count. Christian reversed an ankle lock into a rear naked choke. Alexander reversed the choke by pressing Christian’s shoulder’s into the mat for the two count.
Alexander reversed a crossbody into a Fireman Carry Senton. Alexander hit Christian with a knee to the back of the neck for a two count. Christian escaped a Torture Rack by Josh. Christian hit Alexander with a Tornado DDT for a two count. Alexander reversed the Spear into a Chaos Theory for a two count on Christian. Alexander turned a crossface into an ankle lock. Christian tried to kick out, but Alexander reversed the kick into the Sharpshooter. Striker made a Montreal Screwjob reference for some reason. Christian grabbed the bottom rope for the break.
Alexander backdropped Christian off the top rope. Alexander missed a moonsault and walked into Christian’s spear for a two count. D’Lo kept saying “Killswitch Engage” when Christian went for his finisher (isn’t that CM Punk’s old theme?). Christian shoved Alexander off the top rope and hit Alexander with a Frog Splash for the two count. Alexander reversed a Killswitch with a forearm. Christian backdropped Alexander. Alexander tossed Christian into the ringpost. Josh went for a Killswitch, but his arm gave out on him. Alexander put Christian into an ankle lock.
Alexander stepped on Christian’s hand to prevent the rope break. Christian tapped out.
Josh Alexander defeated Christian via submission in 18:52 to become the new Impact World Champion.
Christian recovered and grabbed the world title. Christian put the title on Alexander’s shoulder and gave him a hug. Christian left the ring to allow Alexander to have his moment. Josh’s wife and son joined him in the ring. Matt Striker started to cry (which kinda sounded weird coming from Striker, not necessarily sympathetic…
Suddenly Moose ran out and asked to cash in his trophy…
8. Josh Alexander vs. Moose for the Impact World Championship. Moose hit Josh Alexander with a quick spear for the win.
Moose defeated Josh Alexander via pinfall in 0:07 to become the new Impact World Champion.
The show ended with Matt Striker hyping up next Thursday’s Impact…
John’s Thoughts: Well, that was a surprise, I guess, but a lot of things on this show lacked the big show impact that you would expect from Impact’s “biggest show of the year”. First of all with Christian vs. Alexander. It was a really really good main event match, but it felt like it didn’t quite get into that next gear that would have elevated this show to another level. To their credit, they did a close to 20 minute match that didn’t feel like it dragged, but they didn’t really hit those high points to feel like the match could have gone either way. As for the Moose cash in. I’m happy for Moose. This was a surprise, but again, it wasn’t impactful. It doesn’t help that the whole “Cash in” thing was done a lot better and more creatively two weeks ago on NXT 2.0 when Carmelo Hayes cashed in his contract on Isaiah “Swerve” Scott.
Overall, this was a good PPV, but not anything really must-see. Wasn’t there supposed to be a former WWE Champion making his debut? I wonder if some fans who ordered the PPV would feel slighted? Aside from that there was nothing really must-see about this PPV. It didn’t help that the crowd wasn’t the most energetic and Matt Striker was a bit off tonight. We’ve had some better BFG’s in recent years. The best BFGs were during the years when Sami Callihan or Pentagon Jr were world champs. Those where when Santana and Ortiz were headlining shows and Impact had so much talent all over the card. This show wasn’t bad, but it also could have been a Hard to Kill, or Victory Road, or Sacrifice, or Rebellion. Not even a Slammiversary. Therefore, I can’t give a full-price recommendation. No knock on Impact, it wasn’t bad! Just not worth full-price. I’ll be by later with my audio review of the PPV for the Dot Net Members.
That was a good ppv. Enjoyed the x division title match and main event. Crowd clearly lost steam as the show went on.
Why would fans feel slighted? It’s not like Impact promised a debut here. Any expectations were caused by news sites who just got it wrong!
Impact did not promise anything. Dirtsheets seemingly decided Braun was coming to Impact and ran with it. Impact literally never promoted it
I will check out this event when it comes on dvd. impact is my home promotion but i cant watch the programme since beginning of this year. i will say im looking forward to Hard to Kill as im hoping for an authentic impact ppv with out the pollution of aew……
unless they do impact vs aew lethal lockdown on an aew ppv and show an impact championship match on dynamite im not interested in any further impact aew coolaboration.