By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
Impact Wrestling Bound For Glory 2022
Aired live October 7, 2022 on FITE.TV
Albany, New York at the Albany Armory
Bound For Glory Pre-show
The pre-show had technical difficulties on YouTube…
The person to accept Myers’s open challenge for the Digital Media Championship is Fandango, now known as Dirty Dango.
1. Brian Myers vs. Dirty Dango for the Digital Media Championship. Dango started the match with his usual overselling and hip movements. Myers ended up stalling by running around. Myers hit Dango with a front kick and then dragged Dango into the ring post. Hannifan introduced the French Commentary team who got some time on the call. Myers dominated Dango with methodical offense. Dango recovered and hit Myers with a dive at ringside.
Dango rallied with strikes and hit Myers with a leg sweep. Dango hit Myers with a Falcon Arrow for a two count. Myers came back with an enzuigiri combo into a Edgeucution for a two count. Dango blocked a Roster Cut with a superkick and Tornado DDT for a two count. Myers ran into a palm by Dango. Myers recovered and came back with a Spear and Roster Cut for the victory.
Brian Myers defeated Dirty Dango via pinfall in around 7:06 to retain the Impact Digital Media Championship.
A Hall of Fame video package aired in tribute of new Impact Hall of Famer Raven…
John’s Thoughts: Decent match. The real story was the surprise of seeing the former Fandango/Johnny Curtis from WWE, who Brian Myers has known since his developmental days back in WWE-FCW. Wouldn’t mind seeing him back on TV. What I do hope is that he drops both the ballroom dancer and Will Ferrell imitator gimmick and reinvent himself, a la Brian Myers.
Tommy Dreamer made his entrance to the podium to induct Raven. Of course, an EC-Dub chant ensued. Dreamer welcomed everyone to Bound For Glory. Dreamer noted that Scott D’Amore told him that we “picked you” for the Impact Hall of Fame. Dreamer said he was so excited to join the Hall of Fame. D’Amore clarified that they picked Dreamer to induct Raven. Dreamer joked that even at the Hall of Fame he’s still jobbing to Raven.
Dreamer talked about how he knew Raven for a long time and how Raven claims to have a MENSA IQ. Dreamer said that Raven wasn’t just influential in Dreamer’s career, but everyone in ECW. He listed the names of ECW wrestlers as well as TNA wrestlers CM Punk and Mickie James. Dreamer started to choke up as he told everyone to thank Raven. Dreamer introduced Raven to the podium. Raven accepted his glass trophy. Raven soaked in the crowd cheers. Raven noted that people know him as a smart ass and dick. He talked about having ADD and being self destructive, not qualities you would want in a pro wrestler.
Raven talked about how he didn’t think he deserve the chairs, but the boos made him feel at home. He talked about how he’s one of the last guys to go through the Territory System. He said that taught him how to be successful. He thank The Grappler Len Denton for helping him get successful. Raven recapped how Denton taught him how to book a show in a serial storytelling fashion. Raven started to choke up, saying the fans are choking him up. He asked them to boo him to make him less nervous. Raven then said that Paul Heyman was influential in his career. Raven talked about how Paul E allowed him to do anything he wanted.
Raven talked about how his greatest feuds in ECW were against Dreamer and Sandman. Raven talked about going to WCW for the money. He said that was good, but his self destructiveness got in the way, leading for him to leave the company early. He said he got clean and sober, and got to WWE, but that was still miserable. He said the one positive is he finally got a chance to see a mental health doctor who provided him help. He said he hopes he’s a better person today. He said after he left WWE, which was lousy, TNA came a calling. He talked about getting about 6 more years in his television career.
Raven said he hated the drive to Nashville, but he was happy in TNA. He said he’s not back in Impact. Raven talked about how he feels like he’s in the hotel California and he can’t leave TNA. Raven then singled out Tommy Dreamer. Raven thanked Dreamer for being the his foil and the partner of his 20 year feud that finally ends tonight. Raven hugged Dreamer and then DDT’d him on the stage. Raven thanked the crowd and said “quote the raven, nevermore”…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in from ringside where they joked about Dreamer taking the DDT. They ran through the advertised Bound for Glory card…
Bound For Glory 2022 Main Card Review
The narrated cold opening of the show aired…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt were on commentary. Dave Penzer was the ring announcer…
1. “Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Frankie Kazarian for the Impact X Division Championship. Both men started out with a Code of Honor handshake. Kaz pressured Bailey to the corner in the collar and elbow. Bailey came back with an armdrag and backslide for a two count. Kaz rolled up Bailey for a two count. Bailey held on to the ropes to block the Crossface Chickenwing. Bailey hit Kaz with a dropkick and Kaz returned the favor with a dropkick of his own. Bailey blocked a Chickenwing with an armdrag. Bailey dodged a guillotine legdrop and gave Kaz a Triangle Moonsault at ringside.
Kaz shoved Bailey to the floor off the top rope. Kaz sent Bailey back in the ring and hit him with a slingshot legdrop for a two count. Kaz blocked the rapid kicks into a cross arm hold. Bailey gave Kaz boots while in the submission to escape the hold. Kaz put bailey in the electric chair which Bailey reversed into a victory roll for a two count. Bailey hit Kazarian with a Knee Plus.
Bailey nailed Kaz with the rapid kicks. Bailey hit Kaz with a standing Red Arrow for a two count. Kaz blocked a chamber kick. Kaz hit Bailey with Back to the Future for a two count. Bailey hit Kaz with an axe and hook hick. Kaz flowed through and hit Bailey with a desperation lariat to leave both men to recover. Both men traded rollups. Kaz hit Bailey with a Body Slam. Kaz missed a springboard leg drop. Bailey hit Kaz with a kick and Meteora Sault.
Bailey hit Kaz with a 720 Tornado Kick. Bailey hit Kaz with Ultima Weapon. Kazarian kicked out (I almost accidentally stopped my stopwatch, good nearfall). Kaz reversed bailey into a Crossface Chickenwing. Bailey got to his feet and dove to ringside to break the hold. Bailey dodged a slide and hit Kaz with an Asain Moonsault. Kaz yanked Bailey into the ring and hit him with a slingshot RKO for a two count. Kaz dragged Bailey to the top rope. Kaz hit Bailey with a corkscrew Spanish Fly for a good nearfall.
Bailey used a pin modification to get a two count. Kaz hit Bailey with a high suplex for a one count. Bailey reversed Back to the Future with a Poisonrana. Kaz caught Bailey with an RKO off the Ultima Weapon. Bailey kicked out but right into the Crossface Chickenwing. Bailey ended up tapping out.
Frankie Kazarian defeated “Speedball” Mike Bailey via submission in 12:30 to become the new Impact X Division Champion.
John’s Thoughts: Great match! Lots of good nearfalls, and I’m not all that mad at Speedball’s memorable run being ended. Kaz put on a good performance last night and today. The nearfalls and finish were more dramatic because it looked like Kaz had no chance. Kaz really pulled out all the stops, complete with the Randy Orton-ish RKO off the Ultima Weapon, which was beautiful. I was sure the match was done with the first Ultima Weapon, and they ended up adding 4 or 5 more minutes of great action to the match. I hope Kaz sticks around in Impact while he’s champion. Christian did that for the most part, and AEW already has too many belts to the point if the X title shows up there it would just depreciate the title in a sea of too many titles.
Gia Miller interviewed Mickie James about her latest career threatening match. James talked about how she picked Mia Yim and she doesn’t want Yim to go easy on her. Mickie said she wants to know she can hang with the likes of the HBIC. She said people are asking if it’s time to pass the torch, but she is the torch and it’s time to burn Albany to the ground…
A Mickie vs. Mia hype package aired…
Entrances for the next match took place…
2. Mickie James vs. Mia Yim. Both women held in a deep collar and elbow to start the match. This ended in a stalemate separation. Yim and James had a wristhold sequence. Both women traded armdrags. James put Mia in a side headlock. Both women traded rollups for another stalemate. Yim used a legscissors to escape a headlock. James escaped with a kip up. James took down Yim with a side headlock takedown. Yim blocked a Tornado DDT attempt. James ended up tweaking her left knee. James hit Yim with a back elbow. Yim countered by hyperextended the injured left knee.
Yim hit James with a few more holds to the injured knee for another two count. James ended Yim’s onslaught with a huracanrana. James got a breather after hitting Yim with a neckbreaker. Mickie rallied at Yim with forearms. Mickie reversed Yim’s run with a Thesz Press. Mickie raillied with axe handle strikes, while selling the injured knee. Mickie hit Yim with a suplex and sold the struggle of performing a kip up. Yim hit James with a buckle bomb and cannonball for a two count. James and Yim brawled to the top rope.
James kissed Yim on the top rope to allow her to hit Yim with a seated senton for a two count. Yim reversed a Mick Kick into a Stretch Muffler. Yim hit James with a Pele Kick and German Suplex for a two count. Yim said Sorry Mickie (a la Shawn Michaels) and hit Mickie with Eat Defeat. James got her hand on the bottom rope for the break. James hit Yim with the injured leg. Yim shoved James away. James dared Yim to come at her. James dodged a cannonball. James hit Yim with a Mick-DT for the victory.
Mickie James defeated Mia Yim via pinfall in 10:56.
John’s Thoughts: Very good match that pulled form multiple playbooks. James wrote the book on being a plucky babyface and part of that playbook is the selling of an injury throughout the match which added to this PPV match. The ending sequence also played a lot into Ric Flair’s career threatening matches complete with Mia Yim channeling her inner Heartbreak Kid. It was a tough act to follow the opening match, but this match did a good job by taking more of a light melodrama approach.
The hype package aired for the women’s tag team title match aired…
3. “VXT” Deonna Purrazzo and Chelsea Green vs. “The Death Dolls” Taya Valkyrie and Jessicka (w/Rosemary) for the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship. Green was dominated early on by Jessicka causing her to tag in Deonna. Deonna shoved Jessicka and dared her to tag in Taya. Taya tagged in, took Deonna to the ground and hit her with a double stomp. Deonna gave Jessicka a cheap shot. Taya hit Purrazzo with the Johnny Mundo sliding German. Green gave Taya a knee to the back. Green and Deonna gave Taya double boots. Green and Purrazzo traded quick tags to cut the ring in half on Taya.
Taya managed to tag out, but Purrazzo distracted the referee to invalidate the tag. Taya hit both Green and Purrazzo with a double suplex. Green gave Jessicka another cheap shot. Taya managed to slip away and tag in Jessicka for the hot tag. Jessicka hit Purrazzo with the “Sick Kick” combo. Jessicka hit Green with the Dusty Bionic Elbow. Jessicka slammed both members of VXT to the mat and hit both of them with a running splash for a two count. Purrazzo hit Jessicka with a Flatliner. Green hit Jessicka with a Rollins Stomp for a two count. Taya gave Purrazzo a spear. Green gave Taya a Pump Kick. Jessicka hit Green with a Sick-ishi Driver (Rikishi Driver) with Taya giving Green a roundhouse to give Jessicka the win.
The Death Dolls defeated VXT via pinfall in 7:23 to become the new Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions.
John’s Thoughts: This match had the tough task of following two very good matches. It wasn’t as intricate as the last two, but the match was still very fun and good in it’s own right. Good isolation work by the VXT team. The star of the match, being Jessicka in her new Jessicka persona. I actually feel like Jessicka has gotten better in the ring, either that or her Havoc moveset was getting very stale after all these years. Anyways, good title change. I like that all three members of the Death Dolls have their distinct personalities. I’m also hoping that Deonna goes back to being a singles wrestler and Green ends up bringing back Matt Cardona to Impact to get back to the whole Impact Players gimmick.
The tag team title match hype package aired…
Entrances for the next match took place. Tom Hannifan noted that Chris Sabin now has the record for being at the most Bound for Glory’s. For the opponents, they’re calling the Honor No More team, “The Kingdom” now (their old tag team name when they were in the faction started by Adam Cole and Matt Hardy)…
4. “The Kingdom” Matt Taven and Mike Bennett (w/Maria Kanellis) vs. “The Motor City Machine Guns” Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley for the Impact Tag Team Titles. Taven gave Shelley a dropkick to start the match. Bennett and Sabin tagged in with Bennett dominating with strikes. Sabin came back with a springboard crossbody. Bennett came back with a mule kick. Sabin hit Bennett with a huracanrana and armdrag into an armbar. Taven tagged in and the Kingdom swarmed Sabin wtih elbows. Taven missed an elbow allowing Shelley to blind tag in. The Guns swarmed Taven with strikes.
Sabin held Taven in a wheelbarrow which allowed Shelley to PK Taven’s arm. The Guns took turns hyperextending Taven’s arm. Sabin hit Taven with a leapfrog axe handle. Sabin locked Taven in an armbar. The Guns traded quick tags to cut the ring in half on Taven. Maria tried to run interference, but it backfired because Shelley was able to hyperextend the arms of both Kingdom members. Bennett took down Shelley with a lariat. Bennett hit Shelley with a feint elbow. Taven gave Shelley a dive at ringside.
The Kingdom traded tags to cut the ring in half on Shelley. Bennett managed to put Shelley in a grapevine Kimura. Shelley escaped. The Kingdom swarmed Shelley with kicks. The kingdom went back to cutting the ring in half on Shelley. Shelley managed to make both Kingdom guys collide into each other to tag in Sabin for the hot tag. Sabin cleaned house. Sabin hit both opponents with a diving crossbody. Sabin kicked off Bennett to Tornado DDT Taven. Bennett accidentally gave Taven an elbow drop. Both Kingdom guys were dumped to ringside.
Sabin hit both Kingdom members a suicide dive. Hannifan noted that both Kingdom members keep hitting each other accidentally. The guns hit The Kingdom with a double Dropkick Flatliner for a two count on Taven. The Guns and Kingdom traded strikes. Bennett and Taven took turns with corner splashes on Sabin. Bennett hit Sabin with a Death Valley Driver. Taven hit Sabin with Just the Tip for a two count. Taven caught Shelley with a Disaster Kick. The Kingdom hit Sabin with a Spike Fear Factor. Shelley broke up Bennett’s pin. Sabin planted Bennett with a cutter. The Guns hit Taven with a double Michinoku Driver to give Sabin a two count.
The Guns hit Taven with a double Yakuza Kick. Maria distracted the Guns. Bennett took down Sabin. Shelley put Taven in the Tree of Woe. Sabin and Bennett traded chest slaps. Bennett hit Shelley with a superkick which he no-sold into a superkick. Bennett hit Shelley with a back elbow. Shelley suplexed Bennett into Taven. Shelley hit Taven with a hesitation dropkick. Bennett fishooked Shelley to knock him off the apron. Bennett accidentally superkicked his wife when Sabin dodged. Taven rolled up Sabin for the victory. Taven’s feet were on the ropes.
The Kingdom defeated The Motor City Machine Guns via pinfall in 16:40 to retain the Impact Tag Team Championships.
Hannifan noted that Maria took one for the team. Hannifan sent the show to a recap of Raven’s hall of fame induction…
John’s Thoughts: Wonderful tag team match. You can never go wrong with a Machine Guns tag team match, especially on PPV. Again, we’ve had a string of good matches, and this match kept up the strong pace of this being a good PPV. Impact should take note. This match was the big “spotfest” of the show and it really benefitted by Impact not opening up the show with a cluttered 6 person X Division match, which allowed the high spots to really stand out in this match. The Kingdom plucked things up heel-style, and it was good. I’m just hoping that Honor No More breaks up soon because the label of “Honor No More” is a career boat anchor at this point.
The Call Your Shot match hype video aired…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in from the commentary table. Hannifan had the Call Your Shot trophy sitting at his desk…
Eric Young was the first entrant in the match (now wearing his old hockey match instead of the weird iron man mask). The 2nd entrant was “The Local Hero” Joe Hendry. “I Believe in Joe Hendry” is his new Impact theme instead of his old “Joe Hendry Makes Things Better” Impact theme…
5. The Impact Call Your Shot Battle Royal. Hendry rallied with European Uppercuts. Young took down Hendry with a running stiff arm. Young worked on Hendry with methodical strikes. Hendry deadlifted Young into a Military Press slam. Hendry hit Young with a squat suplex. Young gave Hendry a few rakes to the eyes. The countdown counted down. Steve Maclin was the 3rd entrant. Maclin gave Hendry a backbreaker. Maclin put Hendry in the Tree of Woe and gave Hendry a spear. Young and Maclin agreed to double team Hendry.
The clock counted down. Rich Swann was the 4th entrant. He took his sweet time to dance to the ring. Swann tripped up both opponents. Swann hit Young with a 450. Swann hit Maclin with a 450 too. Swann and Hendry shook hands. Hendry took down Swann with a Blue Thunder Bomb. PCO was the 5th entrant. Vincent led him to the ring. Young and Maclin tried to double team PCO but PCO nosold them. PCO took them down with lariats. PCO manhandled everyone. Savannah Evans was the 6th entrant. PCO and Savannah faced off. Maclin broke up the confrontation. Johnny Swinger was the 7th entrant. Zicky Dice rolled him over with the WrestleMania Ring Cart. Swinger gave Evans a thumb to the eye and body slam, which caused him to tweak his back. Tasha Steelz was the 8th entrant.
Steelz gave Maclin a cutter. Steelz and Evans took turns giving Swinger strikes. The 9th entrant was Killer Kelly. Kelly went right at Steelz. Kelly then punched everyone. Evans gave Kelly a forearm to the back. Kelly put Evans in a Cobra Clutch. Evans eliminated Kelly and Evans for the 1st and 2nd eliminations. Hannifan noted that Evans had to take one for the team. The 10th entrant was Moose.
Joe Hendry was the 3rd eliminated. Moose made PCO the 4th eliminated. Sami Callihan was the 11th entrant. Sami went right at Maclin and Moose with eye rakes. Callihan gave Maclin a power bomb. Hannifan noted that Callihan was the last eliminated last year while Moose won. Madness ensued. Taylor Wilde was the 12th entrant. Wilde hit Swann with a huracanrana. She then hit Swann with a Torando DDT. Wilde hit Maclin with a German Suplex. Wilde hit Steelz with a backbreaker. The 13th entrant was Gisele Shaw. A random VBD cult member creeped to ringside. A security guard dragged him to the back. Another cult member had to be dragged to the back. Deaner ran out to eliminate Callihan at 5th. The classic Dudley intro played as Bully Ray was the 14th entrant.
Steelz confronted Bully and slapped him a few times. Bully eliminated Tasha with a military press to make her 6th. Tommy Dreamer was the 15th entrant. Bully and Dreamer greeted each other. They both hit Moose and Maclin with stereo Dusty Punches. The 16th entrant was Rhino. Rehwoldt noted the string of ECW wrestlers. An EC-Dub chant ensued as the 3 ECW wrestlers fist bumped. Swinger joined in with his fist (He had a run in ECW right?). They dumped Swinger to make him the 7th eliminated. Bhupinder Gujjar was the 17th entrant. Someone eliminated Dreamer at 8th. Nobody knew who did it. Gujjar cleaned house.
Heath was the 18th entrant. Hannifan noted the Heath and Rhino reunion. Heath took down Moose, Young, and Swann with Zig Zags. Rhino hit Maclin with a Gore. Rhino and Heath hugged. The 19th entrant was Bobby Fish. Hannifan said Fish is “controversial”. Fish gave Bully Muay Thai strikes. Moose blindsided fish. Madness ensued. The 20th and final entrant was the returning Matt Cardona. Cardona decided to wait at ringside. Moose eliminated Rhino at 9th. Maclin eliminated Heath and Moose at 10 and 11.
Cardona went after Bully and tried to beg for mercy. Rehwoldt noted they were feuding in NWA. Bully and Taylor gave Cardona the What’s Up. Wilde ended up giving Bully a big kiss on the lips. Wilde then played the role of D-von in going after the tables. Cardona eliminated Shaw and Wilde at 12 and 13. Gujjar eliminated Cardona at 14. Young eliminated Gujjar at 15 with a cutter. The final 5 were Bully, Fish, Swann, Young, and Maclin. Young and Swann brawled to the apron over the top rope. Swann hit Young with a scorpion and hook kick to eliminate him at 16. Swann, Maclin, and Fish triple teamed Bully. Hannifan noted Bully was the largest man in the ring.
Maclin dumped Swann on the apron. Maclin gave Swann an inside out lariat to eliminate swann at 17. Maclin gave Fish a lariat to eliminate him at 18. The match is now a singles match.
Bully Ray vs. Steve Maclin for the Call Your Shot Trophy. Maclin and Bully traded right hands in the center of the ring. Rehwoldt compared this match to an Overwatch queue (I respect that Rehwoldt is a gamer). Maclin hit Bully with an Angle Slam for a two count. Bully came back with a Uranage for a two count. Bully sidestepped Maclin and hit him with a Bully Bomb for the victory.
Bully Ray defeated Steve Maclin via pinfall in the final elimination of the Call Your Shot Match in 29:18 to win the Call Your Shot Trophy.
Bully posed with his Money in the Cup to end the segment…
John’s Thoughts: Fun Impact Royal Rumble. I’m ok because they kept the comedy to a minimum. There weren’t too many storires forwarded, but the real story was all the returns on this show, mostly from ECW guys, but seeing some like Wilde and Cardona were fun too. The Bully Ray win intrigues me. I have no clue where they’re going with it. You’d think it would have gone to a Impact regular? We’ll see what they do. I do like that I don’t have a clue of what they are doing. Maybe the Josh vs. Eddie match? But they also teased Alisha getting involved there.
Eddie Edwards hugged his kids backstage. Alisha Edwards was also there. Eddie started to rant about trying to continue his Honor No More goals. He said he will win the Impact Championship. One of Eddie’s daughters asked Eddie what will happen if he doesn’t win? Alisha said that won’t happen…
The Impact Knockouts title hype package aired…
Entrances for the next match took place. Masha has new music. Hannifan said that Masha was channeling Bull Nakano with her facepaint. Dave Penzer handled the formal in-ring championship introductions…
6. Jordynne Grace vs. Masha Slamovich for the Impact Knockouts Championship. Grace rallied quick early on with forearms. Masha rolled to ringside and Grace took her down with a lariat. Masha turned the tide with a roundhosue on the apron. Masha hit Grace with a Reverse Thrill of the Kill on the apron. Masha worked on Grace with neck moves. Grace hit Masha with a backdrop and slingshot stomp. Masha blocked a Grace Driver attempt. Masha did a roundhouse, fireman takedown, and stomp for a two count.
Masha hit Grace with a Yakuza Kick in the corner and a PK to the spine. Masha hit Grace with snug ground and pound. Grace same back with some rear guard punches. Both women blocked suplexes with punches. Masha hit Grace with a back elbow and back hook kick. Grace came back with a spinebuster. Both women took each others’ chest chops. They chopped each other until they both crumpled. After trading more chops, they took each other out with stereo spinning backfists.
Grace no sold a few roundhouse kicks and gave Masha a series of body slams. Grace hit Masha with a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Grace hit Masha with a shortarm lariat, but missed a Vader Bomb. Masha hit Grace with a sweep to the head. Masha hit Grace with a Canadian Destroyer for a two count. Masha and Grace brawled to the top rope. Grace hit Masha with a Delayed Superplex and Jackhammer for a good nearfall. Masha escaped a Kinniku Buster attempt and gave Grace a hook kick.
Masha used a Judo takedown to put Grace in a crossface. Grace fought to the ropes for the break. Masha used clubbing blows to hit Grace with a bridged German Suplex for a two count. Woth women staggered each other with strikes. Grace hit Masha with a Vertebreaker for a two count. Hannifan noted how the Vertebreaker targets the neck like the Reverse Thrill of the Kill from earlier. Grace dared Masha to get up and then gave Masha snug slaps and boots. Masha came back with a pump kick. Grace hit Masha with a Grace Driver for a great nearfall.
Masha fought out of a Torture Rack. Grace gave Masha a strong right hand. Masha came back with an Air Raid Crash into the buckle. Masha hit Grace with a Snow Plow. Unfortunately, Grace’s foot was under the rope so a pinfall can’t happen. Masha fired herself up. Masha dragged Grace to the top rope. Grace reversed Masha and hit Masha with a Super Grace Driver for the victory.
Jordynne Grace defeated Masha Slamovich via pinfall in 16:01 to retain the Impact Knockouts Championship.
John’s Thoughts: Wow. Another great match on this show and another different style of match. This was paced similar to how you would see a NXT Takeover main event. Methodical, with a strong payoff with a handful of creative false finishes. I personally would have had Masha continue her streak, but I actually don’t mind Grace coming out on top after such a well fought match. Impact should actually be commended. Heading into Slammiversary when Grace won the title it was random and out of nowhere. Grace was losing a majority of her matches and in a bunch of midcard stories. They’ve done a great job rehabilitating her, turning her into an old school buff badass. Curious to see the next steps of Masha and how she’ll learn from this loss from a storyline perspective.
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in from the commentary table. Hannifan hyped up the Impact Plus Overdrive show for November 18th. Hannifan sent the show to an ad for Impact’s January PPV, which is a Friday the 13th Hard to Kill…
The Josh Alexander vs. Eddie Edwards hype package aired…
Entrances for the next match took place. The Honor No More faction accompanied Eddie to the ring to the Honor No More theme. The camera also showed Alisha Edwards and Eddie’s daughters in the front row. Eddie ultimately sent Honor No More to the back. Josh Alexander made his entrance. Josh Alexander’s wife Jen and son Jet were also in the front row. Dave Penzer handled the formal championship in-ring introductions…
7. Josh Alexander vs. Eddie Edwards for the Impact World Championship. Hannifan noted both men have similar careers in Impact. Eddie dominated the early collar and elbow with Alexander getting a rope break. Both men took their time getting in quick moves while slowly circling each other. Eddie landed a chop, but Alexander came back with a leg takedown. Both men traded headlocks on the ground. Both men took their time to size each other up. Eddie dumped Josh to ringside, but Eddie got annoyed when Josh quickly went back to the center of the ring.
Eddie took his time to argue with fans. Eddie tossed away a Ric Flair wig from one fan. Eddie got back in the ring and took down Josh with a side headlock, but Josh quickly came back with an armdrag takedown. Eddie used a Face Wash to send Alexander to ringside. Eddie followed up with a Plancha on Josh. Josh recovered and sat Eddie on the apron to allow himself to hit Eddie with the Crossbody to the back. Alexander worked on Eddie with chops. Eddie ended Josh’s rally with an Atomic Drop and Belly to Belly.
Eddie worked on Josh with methodical strikes in the corner. Eddie dumped Josh to ringside and hit him with a suicide dive. Eddie ripped apart the mat to expose the hardwood floor. This was at about the 10 minute mark. Josh quickly recovered and hit Eddie with a crossbody Suicide Dive. Eddie crawled to the apron, right in front of the exposed floor. Eddie held on to the ropes to block a German to the floor. Eddie was dumped to the floor and Josh was tripped. Eddie hit Josh with a Die Hard River on the exposed wood floor. Hannifan reminded viewers that Josh almost retired after a 2nd neck surgery, which happened before his Impact career.
Eddie had to recover and drag Josh to the ring. Josh kicked out at two. Rehwoldt noted that Josh had enough time to recover with both men being drained. Eddie caught Josh’s fakeout boot and then rallied at Josh with chops. Eddie put Josh on the top rope. Hannifan wondered if Josh can’t pick up his leg due to nerve damage. Eddie hit Josh with a Backpack Stunner. Josh kicked out, but Eddie went right into a half Boston Crab. Josh got to the bottom rope for a rope break.
Eddie reversed a kick into a power bomb. Alexander pulled out a running Alabama Slam out of nowhere to give him a bit of breathing room. Josh planted Eddie with chained two German Suplexes. Eddie went to the apron and ate a German Suplex from Josh on the apron. Josh then gave Eddie chained German Suplexes at ringside on the mat. Josh then gave Eddie a German Suplex on the entrance ramp. Josh fired himself up. Alexander gave Eddie a forearm and Backbreaker Bomb for a two count. Eddie dropped his hips to block a C4. Eddie hit Josh with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Eddie dropped his kneepads. Josh blocked a Boston Knee Party and hit Eddie with a Styles Clash
The match hit the 20 minute mark. Alexander transitioned the Clash into the Ankle Lock. Eddie whipped Josh to ringside. Hannifan noted the odes to AJ Styles and Kurt Angle. Eddie staggered Josh on the top rope with a Gamengiri. Eddie hit Josh with a Superplex. Josh no-sold it and hit Eddie with a C4. Matt Taven pulled the referee away which knocked him out. REF BUMP!!! Josh dumped Taven and Bennett from the apron. Kenny King hit Josh with a low blow. Security guards and a ref ran out to drive away Honor No More. Eddie hit Josh with a Boston Knee Party for a nearfall.
Josh reversed a Die Hard Driver into a Half and Half Suplex. Eddie went for a Gamengiri on the top rope, but Josh reversed it into a ankle lock. Josh dove right into Eddie’s knee because he had to break the hold while on the top rope. Eddie hit Josh with a Tiger Driver for a two count. Josh’s nose was bleeding at this point. Eddie gave Josh standing chops, while Josh dared him to go for it. Both men traded face slaps.
Josh took down the straps and the chops continued. Both men eventually slowed down. A “take your shirt” off chant ensued for Eddie, for some reason. Josh fired himself up and gave Eddie rapid fire hands. Josh hit Eddie with a discus forearm. Eddie came back with a jackknife rollup. Eddie took down Josh with a stiff clothesline. Josh came back with a discus forearm and C4 Spike. Josh Alexander picked up the clean win.
Josh Alexander defeated Eddie Edwards via pinfall in 28:03 to retain the Impact World Championship.
Honor No More ran out to put the boots to Josh. Rich Swann ran out to fend off HNM, but they still had the numbers game. They dumped Heath and Rich away so they could continue to put the boots to Josh. They set up a table in the ring. Suddenly, Bully Ray walked out with his Call Your Shot trophy. Hannifan noted that Bully was friends with Honor No More due to the Ring of Honor Days. Ray handed the trophy to the referee and stood over a knelt Josh Alexander. Alexander got to his feet and teased a brawl. King yelled to ring the bell. Bully turned on HNM and he and Josh cleared Honor No More from the ring.
Bully picked up the belt and held it over Josh’s head. Bully got in Josh’s head and said that Josh needs to step his game up to step up to Bully Ray. Bully dared Josh to take the title belt from his hand. The show closed with the outro graphic…
All of a sudden the feed kicked back in with Mike Bennett stumbling to the ring. Bully and Josh power bombed Mike through the table. The feed then glitched…
John’s Thoughts: Great match as expected between two of the world’s top in-ring technicians. Only thing that took away from the match was the weird Ref Bump and overbooked Honor No More run-in spot. That felt like they just wanted to shoehorn some vintage TNA booking in there for no reason. It didn’t help, and hurt the match a tiny bit. Just a tiny bit though because the rest of the match was good as expected. The Knockouts Title match set a high bar, so these two succeeded it by adding another layer of drama. I’m also happy that Alisha Edwards didn’t get involved in the end, despite Impact’s last minute hard push to tease her involvement. A red herring.
Looks like they found a creative way to set up Bully Ray as Josh’s next title contender. My guess is this would end up being on Impact Plus’s Overdrive show? I kinda wish it were on regular TV because it’s really tough to build towards those episodic Impact Plus shows that don’t feel important (even though Impact has tried to make them more important in recent years, they just feel too “filler”). As for the rest of the show. Splendid! The pacing of the matches, the variety of the matches, the experience of the wrestlers, and the fact that the show wasn’t 14 or more long matches, this felt similar to an old school NXT Black and Gold Takeover show. Kudos to Scott D’Amore and crew. Hey, I see the memes going around. Can Scott D’Amore get some Dave votes for “Booker of the Year”? Arguably, you can argue that Impact Wrestling is booked, paced, and written WAY better than AEW (and I love AEW, but AEW has gotten a bit too messy in the last half year). This show is definitely worth the price. You got two free shows against it, but if you want that solid no-nonsense wrestling show to enjoy during the weekend, check this out.
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