By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
Impact Wrestling TV
Taped in Albany, New York at the Albany Armory
Aired October 20, 2022 on AXS TV
Highlights from last week’s Impact Wrestling show aired…
Bullet Club members Juice Robinson and Chris Bey were hanging out backstage. Bey walked over to the parking lot to find his tag team partner Ace Austin. Austin was then unconscious in the middle of the Impact Parking lot. Security and Tommy Dreamer ran over to check on Austin. Bey and Robinson blamed Bully Ray for doing this…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt were on commentary. Dave Penzer was the ring announcer…
Entrances for the opening match took place. Tommy Dreamer got in Bully Ray’s face to question whether or not he attacked Ace Austin. Juice Robinson put on athletic tape as he was walking to the ring because he wasn’t prepared to wrestle tonight…
1. Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer vs. “Bullet Club” Juice Robinson and Chris Bey. Bey and Dreamer started out the match with chain wrestling. Bey hit Dreamer in the gut with his shoulder followed up by a double stomp combo. Dreamer hit Bey with a vertical suplex and then tagged in Robinson. Juice asked for Bully to be tagged in, which Dreamer allowed to happen. Juice pummeled Ray with strikes in the corner. Bully came back with a series of chops and punches.
Bey distracted Ray a bit. Dreamer tagged back in. Bey shoved Dreamer to his corner and hit him with a dropkick. Robinson hit Dreamer with a body slam at ringside. The ticker at the bottom of the screen showed a mainstream news report of Chris Bey signing a contract extension with Impact. Bey and Robinson cut the ring in half on Dreamer. Dreamer got a window of opportunity by hitting Bey with a cutter. Robinson and Bully tagged in.
Ray gave Bey a backdrop and hit Robinson with a side slam for a two count. Dreamer and Bey dumped each other to ringside. Robinson hit Ray with a spinebuster for a two count. Robinson went for a dive, but Bully caught Robinson into a Full Nelson which allowed him to nail Robinson with the Bully Bomb for the victory.
Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer defeated The Bullet Club via pinfall in 6:23.
Bully Ray got in Chris Bey’s face to continue to defend himself, saying that he has no clue what happened to Ace Austin and that he’s still trying to turn a new leaf. Bey guardedly accepted Bully’s plea and backed down…
John’s Thoughts: Short and sweet tag team match who’s goal was to continue to sow seeds of doubt in the Bully Ray trust storyline. Dreamer was good in his return and it helps that we aren’t seeing him wrestle every week like he once did before the whole Dark Side of the Ring stuff happened. Cool seeing Robinson wrestle away from Dave Finlay as it’s a fresh look for him (I just wish he weren’t in the boring Bullet Club faction. Heck, Finn Balor is doing more fun old school Bullet Club stuff in Judgment Day these days). I’m surprised that Robinson took the pin too, because it’s usually Chris Bey taking the pins to protect the visiting Bullet Club wrestlers. What Impact continues to do well post BFG is telling this Bully Ray story. What makes it easy to do is Bully being such a top-tier talker and character actor.
Heath [Slater] and Rhino were hyping each other up backstage. They cut a promo about how they are coming after the Kingdom. Rhino said he’s going to rip the kingdom apart with a gore, gore, gore…[c]
An ad aired for the January Hard to Kill PPV…
Tommy Dreamer and Bully Ray were in the locker room. Dreamer told Bully to look him in the eyes and tell him that he didn’t lay out Ace Austin. Bully told him just that, but looked annoyed that Dreamer still doesn’t trust him. Bully said there’s no way he could have attacked Ace because he was near Dreamer getting ready for his first match back in Impact in a long time.
Dreamer said he just had to ask. Moose showed up and called Bully Ray a scumbag. Tommy Dreamer called Moose a bastard, saying that Moose wasn’t accepted in both the Impact and NFL locker rooms. Dreamer said maybe Moose attacked Ace to put blame on Bully. Moose said he’s a scumbag like Bully, and if Moose did attack Ace, he’d deny it “too” (like Bully)…
Entrances for the next match took place…
2. Mia Yim vs. Taylor Wilde. Wilde and Yim soaked in the crowd chants to start. Yim dominated the early collar and elbow. Wilde came back with her own collar and elbow shove. Yim and Wilde traded armdrags. Both women ended up in a stalemate, which led to both women trading a fist bump. Wilde hit Yim with an armdrag and Monkey Flip. Wilde put Yim in an armbar. Yim recovered and took down Wilde with a dropkick.[c]
Yim dominated Wilde with alternating roundhouse kicks. Yim hit Wilde with a delayed vertical suplex for a two count. Yim got a two count off a lariat. Yim hit Wilde with a vertical suplex. Rehwoldt hyped up Impact’s lame ass throwback show (Weren’t Gallows and Anderson the ones that produce both that and Southpaw? I forget). Wilde reversed a Crossbow Stretch into a pin for a two count.
Wilde and Yim traded running forearms. Wilde rallied back with dropkicks and a huracanrana. Wilde put Yim in a reverse crossbow. Wilde reversed Eat Defeat into two rollups. Yim hit Wilde in the corner with a Yakuza Kick and cannonball for a two count. Wilde blocked another Seoul Food. Wilde hit Yim with the Wilde Ride (Bridged German Suplex) for the clean win.
Taylor Wilde defeated Mia Yim via pinfall in 9:26 of on-air time.
Mickie James made her entrance after the match. James welcomed Wilde back to Impact. James talked about seeing Wilde enter TNA back in 2007 and how Wilde quickly climbed ladder of success while Mickie was climbing the ladder in a different company. Mickie said they are in the same company now. Mickie said she wants to wrestle people she loves, admires, and respects in this last rodeo. Chelsea Green, Deonna Purrazzo, and Gisele Shaw ran out to beat down James and Wilde before James could challenge Wilde.
Jordynne Grace ran out and gave Shaw a spinebuster. Shaw, Purrazzo, and Green retreated to the back…
Honor No More were shown backstage looking confused. Hannifan noted that they were confused due to Eddie Edwards being gone for two weeks. PCO looked the most confused, but he always looks confused because he’s PCO…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Great match. Yim has been protected strong in Impact, to the point that Wilde getting such a clean pin makes me think we’re at the end of Mia’s time in Impact (which has been reported before Bound for Glory). If this is the end of the line for her, she had a nice short run back in the company that put her on the map. In all honesty, I’d see her having the most success in either WWE or sticking in Impact, but I won’t blame her if she wants to travel with her husband Keith Lee. Back to this match, Taylor Wilde hasn’t missed a beat at all. She even seems better than her early TNA days (and even better than her last short stint in Impact about a year ago). If they were going to have Yim lose clean to Wilde, I hope Wilde is sticking around past the Mickie career-threatening match. If Wilde could continue to wrestle this well she’ll be a nice addition to what is arguably the best overall women’s division in pro wrestling.
Mickie James, Taylor Wilde, and Jordynne Grace cut a promo backstage to challenge Shaw, Purrazzo, and Green to a match next week…
Footage from “last week” aired. Jason Hotch was chatting with a random woman backstage, arguing about some guy stealing his spot in the Call Your Shot match. The woman asked to “say his name”. Say his name and he appears, “I believe in Joe Hendry” clap clap. Hendry was summoned by the words being said. Hendry said people don’t lose, they learn, and [this] week Hooch will have a learning opportunity against Joe Hendry…
Joe Hendry made his entrance to his “I Believe in Joe Hendry” theme song. The crowd did Hendry’s arm wave with him. Hendry got a mic for a promo. He said when you’re Joe Hendry live is different, you can command large rooms of people with just your words. He said he’s a good talker, but a better listener. He said he is hearing from the people “we believe”. He said they believe in 252 pounds of pure motivation, the answer to all life’s problems, they believe in Joe Hendry…
3. Joe Hendry vs. Jason Hotch. Hendry gave Hooch a series of shoulder tackles. Hendry gave Hooch a delayed vertical suplex while leading the crowd in his theme. Hendry hit Hooch with a Military Press Slam. Hotch gave Hendry a body slam and kick to the back. Hotch complained about not believing in Joe Hendry. Hendry no sold the slam by standing up and smiling. Hendry planted Hotch with a Uranage for the win.
Joe Hendry defeated Jason Hotch via pinfall in 1:54.
The camera showed fans cheering for Hendry and doing Hendry’s arm wave…
John’s Thoughts: Nice return to Impact for Joe Hendry. Hendry did try to be a bit more serious in Ring of Honor, but I always felt like that was holding him back because he’s so good as the singing motivation guy. He also seems to be keeping himself in good shape too, looking like a whole powerhouse. I’ve always been a huge fan of Hendry’s work and I’m surprised his catchy gimmick has never fully caught on with the masses. As much of a hidden gem as he is, and as crowded of a roster as AEW has, I feel like they can make an exception to sign good ol’ Joe. This guy can stand out and has an energy to him that can propel him to the top of that card despite the cluttered roster (I wouldn’t relegate him to Ring of Honor because being in Ring of Honor now is like being in purgatory).
Hannifan sent the show to the Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week. It was a segment from Impact Wrestling back in July 2013. Bully Ray was trying to convince Chris Sabin not to cash in Option C on his world title. Hulk Hogan was also in the ring. Chris Sabin cut a promo to say that he will become world champion. Sabin handed the X Title to Hogan.
The flashback then went to The 2013 Destination X show where Chris Sabin challenged Bully Ray for the World Title. Of course, the flashback cut into a REF BUMP. This led to a brawl between Main Event Mafia and Aces and 8’s. Rampage Jackson was there too. Sabin won the world title after hitting Bully in the head with a hammer…
Frankie Kazarian was shown walking backstage with his X Title…[c]
Scott D’Amore made his entrance to his theme. D’Amore talked about how the X Division is not about limits, it’s about no limits. D’Amore recapped Kazarian ending Mike Bailey’s historic reign as X Division Champion. D’Amore said Kazarian made history too by becoming X Division Champion in three different decades. D’Amore said that Kaz shocked the world by cashing in Option C and tonight they are making that official. D’Amore introduced Frankie Kazarian to the ring.
Hannifan noted that Opton C has a 50% success rate so this is considered a gamble. D’Amore said that before they make this official, he has to warn Kaz that there’s no turning back because the belt will be vacated and there will be a tournament to crown a new X Division Champion. D’Amore said that Kazarian will challenge for the title at the next Impact Plus show, Overdrive, and that a new X Division Champion will be crowned that day too. D’Amore said Kaz is like family to him and he wants to know if Kaz really wants to cash in.
Kaz said he’s never been more sure than anything in his life. Kaz talked about winning his first X Division title in 2004. He said that’s when he arrived as a player in pro wrestling. He said he then won against Speedball Mike Bailey who he sees as one of the best today. Kaz said winning against Bailey made that win as special as the first. Kaz said the moment he won, he couldn’t stop thinking about Option C. He said he’s loved wrestling, but wrestling hasn’t always loved him back. He said what he does thank pro wrestling for is giving him his wife Traci Brooks and a son named Rebel, and therefore Impact gave him those.
Kaz said everything he does in the ring is for his family. The crowd chanted “Frankie” and Kaz said he loves them too. He said he’s not happy though, because he never won the big one. He said that eats at the pit of his stomach. He said he sees contemporaries like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and Kurt Angle having success, but Kaz said he thinks he’s better than those three. He said he’s always a bridesmaid, never the bride. Kaz said all of those blood, sweat, tears will be for nothing if he doesn’t become world champion, which is why he’s cashing in Option C. Kazarian was attacked by Steve Maclin from behind.
Maclin hit Kaz with the Tree of Woe spear. Josh Alexander ran out to run off Maclin. Hannifan confirmed that Kaz is no longer X Division Champion and is now the number one contender. Hannifan plugged the world title match at Overdrive…
John’s Thoughts: Mixed thoughts. That was a great delivery by Frankie. One of the better promos I’ve heard Frankie deliver (because it’s usually Christopher Daniels cutting the promos for their tag team). That said, this is a similar and inferior storyline to the Bully Ray story where you have an older veteran going after Josh Alexander. What makes Bully’s story way way better is that they are taking the time for plot and character development there. This feels rushed. On top of that, Bully has all the credibility and ethos of being a world champion. Kaz can say he’s better than AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and Kurt Angle, but given how they were contemporaries, that is a tough sell to the fans on Kazarian being the best of the 5 (and it didn’t help that not too long ago, he was getting his ass kicked by Omega, Gallows, and Anderson on a weekly basis). My guess is that they only have Kaz under short loan, but they shouldn’t have ended Bailey’s historic run to get here. They could have had Kaz take the same route as Bobby Fish did, and it would have been better than this current build because they aren’t trying to retroactively write a story.
Alisha Edwards and Honor No More ran into Eddie Edwards in the parking lot. Eddie reminded Alisha that either Honor No More or their relationship ends after Bound for Glory. Eddie said every one will find out in a bit what will end. Eddie walked past Honor No More into the arena…[c]
Frankie Kazarian complained to Josh Alexander about helping him, saying that he could have taken care of Steve Maclin (it sure looked like he couldn’t!). Josh said he agrees that Kaz can take care of himself. Kaz said as a former tag team champion, he could have easily have found some backup. Kaz told Alexander that he does have one piece of advice, don’t trust Bully Ray…
Eric Young and Deaner made their entrance. Hannifan noted that he’d be wrestling the man that eliminated him from Call Your Shot. His opponent was Rich Swann, who was back in happy dancing mode…
John’s Thoughts: Ugh. I get it, Swann won’t give up the mid-card dance act. What makes it weird here is right before Swann’s feud with Kenny Omega, he had a blood feud with Eric Young, who both threatened to cripple and kill Rich Swann at points in the story. Now you have Swann all happy-go-lucky in front of the man that threatened his career and health. Ugh. The only reason I’m complaining is Rich Swann is a main event player. He is one of the best pro wrestlers in the world. He can main event big shows on a dime; yet, he’s seemingly complacent. If anything I hope they turn this into a story, which they teased doing before ultimately going with Eddie Edwards at Bound for Glory as the world title contender.
4. Eric Young (w/Deaner) vs. Rich Swann. Swann hit Young with a lariat. Young hit Swann with his signature wheelbarrow neckbreaker. Young worked on Swann with methodical offense. Hannifan reminded viewers that Swann become world champion by beating Eric Young. Rehwoldt noted that Eric Young has an “army” now. Young continued the methodical offense. Swann came back with a backfist and calf kick combo. Young came back with a thumb to the eye. Swann reversed a pile driver with a backdrop.
Swann hit Young with a Lethal Injection. Deaner tried to distract Swann. Young grabbed Swann, but Swann reversed into a Victory Roll for the win.
Rich Swann defeated Eric Young via pinfall in 3:16.
Swann was about to dance up the ramp, but he was grabbed by one of Young’s generic cultists. Deaner tossed Swann in the ring. Young was about to hit Swann with a Spike Piledriver, but the lights went off. (This was long enough so I can assume he didn’t teleport). The lights came on and Sami Callihan was in the ring. Callihan swung around his bat to chase Deaner and Young away. The segment ended with Callihan doing his thumbs up thing…
Heath and Rhino were shown hyping each other up backstage…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Well, that was ok. No where near the blood feud levels of two years ago, but I guess they are keeping Swann simmering. They put all this effort into building up Young as this cult leader, only to have him lose quickly in the two times he’s been in the ring. I guess. I kinda hope they put Sami Callihan over him too because there’s more money in the Death Machine. Only thing that’s kinda odd is they invested a lot of TV time and production into trying to salvage Violent By Design, but it looks like they aren’t even going to take advantage of that investment.
A Hard to Kill ad aired…
The Major Players, Matt Cardona and Brian Myers, cut a promo backstage. Cardona talked about how he came back from a life threatening bicep injury. He also noted that he was the Digital Media Champion before leaving (It was actually Rich Swann). He said he’s proud of his friend Brian Myers being the 2nd longest reigning Digital Media Champion. Cardona reiterated that he’s the number 1 longest reigning. Cardona said it was time for the Major Players to collect. Myers said they are coming to collect the Impact Tag Team Championships…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in from the commentary table. The following segments were advertised for next week. Taylor Wilde, Mickie James, and Jordynne Grace vs. Gisele Shaw, Deonna Purrazzo, and Chelsea Green, and Trey Miguel vs. Alan Angels in an X Division Championship Tournament match. Hannifan hyped up Josh Alexander vs. Frankie Kazarian at the Overdrive show…
Heath and Rhino came out to Rhino’s theme. The Kingdom made their entrance next…
5. “The Kingdom” Matt Taven and Mike Bennett (w/Maria Kanellis) vs. Heath and Rhino for the Impact Tag Team Championships. Rhino rallied with right hands and a knee on Bennett. Rhino dumped both Kingdom members to ringside with lariats. The Kingdom tried to head to the back. Rhino and Heath dragged them back to ringside. Rhino gave Bennett a shoulder tackle in the corner. Heath and Rhino cut the ring in half on Bennett. The Kingdom were able to turn the tables after Taven gave Rhino a chop block.
Taven tagged in and worked on the left leg of Rhino. Bennett raked at Rhino’s eyes after Taven distracted the ref. Maria raked at Rhino’s eyes when Bennett distracted the ref. Hannifan argued that Taven wasn’t legally tagging in and fooling the ref by slapping himself for the noise. The Kingdom cut the ring in half on Rhino, while also focusing on Rhino’s injured leg. This lasted for a few minutes.[c]
The Kingdom continued to cut the ring in half on Rhino. Rhino got an opening after avoiding Taven’s moonsault. This allowed Heath and Bennett to tag in with Heath’s tag being the hot tag. Heath hit Bennett with a series of lariats and a crescent kick. Taven broke up Heath’s pin. Bennett hit Heath with a forearm and Taven hit Heath with a springboard crossbody to give Bennett a two count. Bennett gave Heath an elbow for a two count. Heath escaped a Hail Maria attempt and took down Heath and Rhino.
PCO, Vincent, and Kenny King ran to ringside. Maria went for the distraction, but Rhino grabbed Maria by the hair. Bennett punched Rhino. Maria pulled out a bag of mystery powder from her shirt. Maria accidentally hit Bennett with a handful of powder. Heath hit Bennett with a Zigzag. Taven hit Heath with a spinning crescent kick. Rhino hit Maria with a Gore after Taven dodged. Heath hit Taven with the Zigzag for the victory.
Heath and Rhino defeated The Kingdom via pinfall in 10:05 of on-air time to become the new Impact Tag Team Champions.
Heath and Rhino high fived the fans at ringside. All of a sudden, Honor No More’s theme played as Eddie Edwards made his entrance to meet up with the rest of Honor No More at ringside. Taven put his hands on his head saying “oh no”. Honor No More met up with Eddie in the ring as Maria was recovering at ringside. Eddie reiterated Alisha’s ultimatum about Honor No More or his marriage ending. Eddie talked about how they broke down the doors as Honor No More and he owes it to them to give his answer publicly. The crowd did a mild “na na na na goodbye” chant.
Eddie said he’s been asking himself if Honor No More is worth saving. He said all he sees in the ring is failure. Eddie berated The Kingdom for just failing. He asked them if they were still loyal to Honor No More. Bennett and Taven said they were loyal and family. He then berated King and asked him if he was loyal after failing to get the X Title. King said he’s loyal. Eddie said that Vincent is the peacekeeper and wonders if Vincent is loyal to Honor No More or PCO? Vincent hung his head and didn’t answer.
Eddie yelled at PCO for costing him the title. Eddie said he was distracted dealing with PCO’s bullshit. Eddie asked PCO if he’s loyal? The crowd chanted “no”. Eddie said PCO’s silence says a lot. Vincent put the black sack over PCO’s face to pull him away. Eddie said PCO isn’t a monster, PCO is a bitch. PCO ripped off the bag and gave Eddie a lariat. PCO dumped King to ringside. PCO beat up Taven and Bennett. Hannifan said the freak is unleashed. Vincent tried to calm down PCO but he choked him. The Kingdom gave PCO stereo superkicks, but he no sold it by not falling.
Vincent hit PCO in the back with a chair, which he no sold. PCO punched the chair into Vincent. PCO gave The Kingdom a flip dive. PCO choke slammed Vincent into the chair. Hannifan reminded viewers that PCO stands for “Perfect Creation One” (or Pierre Carl Ouellet if you’re a fan of the Quebeccers of old school WWF). PCO’s theme played as he stood tall to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: A whole lot of meh to close the show. It wasn’t bad or horrible, it just felt fairly meh. The match was fine. Rhino looked good after a long layoff. Like Dreamer, he was refreshed after not seeing for a long time where before he was wrestling every week. I’m just not excited about Heath and Rhino reliving their Cheese and Cracker days on Smackdown, and Rhino doesn’t have the Cheese wiz this time. Looks like they are setting them up for a feud with the Major Players, and I only wish that Heath and Rhino would take Cardona and Myers’ example to reinvent themselves, but at this point I’ve kinda given up on Heath living up to the potential he showed in that segment against Drew McIntyre from 2020.
The closing segment felt like it was 4 months too late. They just kept dragging Honor No More along to the point where this segment meant nothing. I guess the silver lining is that Honor No More is no more, but it’s worse now because Vincent, Bennett, Taven, and Kanellis are presumably gone from the company (with the Kingdom appearing in AEW already). Now we’re left with PCO, King, and Eddie. PCO as a top singles babyface is a huge plus at least. His babyface run should be fun.
Impact continues to put on good shows week to week, and I would still say this is a good show. There were a few things that have to be tightened up that weren’t great on this show, but I’m confident that Impact will find a way to fix things next week. What does help is without Honor No More sucking up valuable TV time, they have more time to flush out stories across the board. The best stuff in Impact continue to be, at this point, the Bully Ray storyline and the Knockouts Division. Credit to Impact, actually telling a complex story with over 50 year old Bully Ray.
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