By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
Impact Wrestling TV
Taped in Dallas, Texas at The Factory
Aired September 15, 2022 on AXS TV
Highlights from last week’s Impact Wrestling show aired… Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt were on commentary. Dave Penzer was the ring announcer…
1. “Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Mascara Dorada for the Impact X Division Championship. Bailey and Dorada started off with stalemate lucha exchanges. Both men traded forearms with Dorada getting the upper hand. Dorada hit Bailey with a bulldog and missile dropkick. Bailey avoided a baseball slide and hit Dorada with a Plancha into an armdrag. Both men traded forearms at ringside.
Dorada won the exchange with a armdrag. Dorada hit Bailey with a suicide dive. Bailey avoided a double stomp. Bailey reversed a huracanrana into a sunset flip for a two count. Bailey put Dorada in a spinning reverse Deathlock. Dorada got to the bottom rope for a two count. Bailey hit Dorada with a step thrust kick and axe kick. Bailey hit Dorada with a corkscrew Red Arrow. Dorada ducked Bailey’s Chamber Kick and hit Bailey with a lungblower.
Dorada dumped Bailey to the apron. Bailey avoided a baseball slide and hit Dorada with a top rope Asai moonsault. Dorada blocked the 720 Tornado Kick. Dorada and Bailey exchanged right hands on the 2nd rope. Dorada hit Bailey with a springboard Frankensteiner for a two count. Bailey got his legs up to block a Lionsault. Bailey hit Dorada with a Chamber Kick and Thrust Kick combo. Bailey hit Dorada with a 720 Tornado Kick. Bailey hit Dorada with Ultima Weapon for the victory.
Mike Bailey defeated Mascara Dorada via pinfall in 8:05 to retain the Impact X Division Title.
Bailey and Dorada shared a bow and handshake after the match. Kenny King ran out and gave both Dorada and Bailey a lariat. King dumped Dorada to ringside and hit Bailey with the Royal Flush. King backtracked up the ramp while Dorada checked on Bailey…
John’s Thoughts: Nice match as usual from Bailey and cool to see Dorada traveling the companies and having competitive matches again as opposed to seeing him as enhancement fodder for years in WWE’s 24/7 division. Dorada is very unique in all his tightrope moves which makes him stand out. I like the Kenny King attack afterwards as it adds gives Bailey a constant story to follow as opposed to him simply moving on from opponents. It also separates King somewhat from the cluttered Honor No More faction.
The show cut to a cinematic at Eric Young’s dilapidated cabin. The yellow sweater cultists were lined up in front of the cabin. Somber country music was playing in the background. Eric Young and Deaner stood in front of the presumed cultists. Young told one of the men to put his hood down. The man said “Eric Young”. This caused Deaner to beat him down. Young asked another man the same question. That man said “The Designer”. Young approved.
Young said he’s the Designer and everyone is here to witness the revival of violence. Young asked another man for the man’s name. The person said “Justin”. This caused Deaner to attack Justin. They showed Deaner also biting Justin. Young asked everyone else for their name. They all said “I am violence”. They all chanted “I am Violence” as Eric Young did the opened arm pose…
John’s Thoughts: To Impact’s production team I’ll give them credit. That was well shot and well produced. The content was actually pretty good too. If Joe Gacy in NXT would have had a character like this instead of his bathrobe ninja brigade, I wouldn’t hate his segments so much. As I mentioned last week, I feel like cult leaders are just a bit played out these days. This is very similar to EC3’s Control Your Narrative cult, except they wear yellow hoodies instead of black hoodies. I was just hoping that with Eric saying he was “leaving” that we’d get Eric playing a fresher character, or even his tried and true “World Class Maniac” character. Instead they are trying to salvage the beaten down Violent By Design faction, by turning it into Control Your Narrative 2.0, sorta like Fight Club.
Mike Bailey was wincing a bit backstage after getting attacked. Scott D’Amore showed up and said he really likes Bailey’s performances during his string of good matches. D’Amore said he was just getting off the phone with a person that D’Amore thinks would be a good opponent for Bailey at Victory Road. D’Amore said that he was talking to [former Ring of Honor head booker, Hunter Johnston,] Delirious and Delirious wants a title shot at Victory Road. D’Amore said he also has something else to talk about.
Bailey asked if he’s done something wrong? D’Amore said in fact, Bailey has done too much right. D’Amore said at Victory Road he’s bringing back the Triple Threat Revolver match. D’Amore said Kenny King, Trey Miguel, Black Taurus, Laredo Kid, Yuya Uemura, Alex Zayne, and Mia Yim will be in the match. D’Amore said someone else from “Jacksonville” wants to get in the match too and we’d be seeing the return of Frankie Kazarian in that match (Return? Wasn’t he a weekly regular on Impact a month or so ago?). Bailey said he did say he’d take on all comers. Bailey shook D’Amore’s hand…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in on commentary. They announced D’Amore’s recent X Division additions to the Victory Road card. Both men then ran through upcoming segments…
Entrances for the next match took place…
2. “Decay” Black Taurus and Crazzy Steve vs. Steve Maclin and Moose. Crazzy Steve bit Maclin in the face to start (oh look, I have two Steves in one match). Taurus tagged in and Crazzy Steve tossed Taurus into Maclin.[c]
Taurus gave Maclin a splash in the corner. Moose gave Taurus a lariat. Maclin and Steve traded hard tags in the corner to cut the ring in half on Taurus. Moose was arguing with a fan. Taurus tossed Maclin into Moose to knock Moose off the apron. Taurus rolled up Maclin for the win.
Decay defeated Steve Maclin and Moose via pinfall in 1:52 of on-air time.
Maclin and Moose shoved each other after the match with Hannifan noting that it looks like both men are clearly not on the same page. Sami Callihan appeared on the balcony and cut a promo. He said as much as he’d like to see Moose and Maclin beat the hell out of each other, he has a bigger point to make. He said he’s calling bull crap on Moose and Maclin saying they don’t work together. He then ordered the production crew to air a video on the big screen.
The big screen showed Moose having a face time meeting with his lawyer RD Evans. Moose asked if the “thing” he has with Maclin is legally binding. RD asked Moose if Moose signed anything? Moose said no and it was just a verbal agreement. RD said it’s quid pro quo then. Moose said it doesn’t matter because he just wants to screw Maclin over before Maclin screws him, just like he did to W Morrissey. This fired up Maclin. Callihan mocked Moose throwing Maclin under the bus. Maclin told Sami this means nothing, and they have a new deal now, leading to Sami getting torn apart.
Sami then aired another video of Maclin talking on the phone. Maclin said he’s going to put a slug in Moose’s head before Moose stabs him in the back (I’m assuming this is a metaphorical slug, not an actual bullet). Moose and Maclin then traded punches in the ring. Maclin tossed Moose into the guardrail. Sami appeared and tossed Maclin into the guardrail.
Sami revealed a barbed wire bat from under the ring. Sami dodged Maclin which caused Maclin to knock Moose off the apron. Sami hit Maclin in the gut with the bat. Maclin rolled away to avoid a shot to the head. Sami Callihan stood tall as his entrance theme played…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Mixed thoughts. To start with the positives, I thought Sami was better here. In fact, this was better use of Sami’s hacking. He actually used his hacking to do actual hacking (as opposed to “magic”) to get footage. All the while, staying in his Death Machine persona. The negatives aren’t with this feud, but with Moose and Maclin’s overall involvement at this point. The “are they or aren’t they aligned” story isn’t intriguing and has no stakes. Sami, rightfully so, just treats it as he is in a 2-on-1 situation worst case and best case he can make them go at each other’s throats. It’s not like either of them teased going babyface. There’s no stakes. I also feel like Moose and Maclin are dragged down to the mid-card as a result because they aren’t getting any character development (Maclin was on a bit of a roll, while Moose was world champion before Alexander).
A replay aired of Jessicka [Havok] accidentally costing Taya Valkyrie her match last week against Chelsea Green. They cut to Rosemary, Taya, and Jessicka backstage. Rosemary said she was right and that Jessicka is still a distraction. Jessicka claimed that Rosemary distracted the ref and Taya has something to say about it. Rosemary asked Taya what she has to say. Taya nervously said that the real problem is Rosemary’s beef with Jessicka. Taya said that Jessicka is “sick and fun”. Jessicka reiterated her “Siiick” catchphrase and said she is also ready. Rosemary said Jessicka still needs to prove it. Taya said she has an idea…
Alisha Edwards made her entrance presumably to lose her latest match. Tasha Steelz joined the commentary table…
John’s Thoughts: I wonder? What is Alisha Edwards’s win-loss record in Impact. I also wonder if she has an anti-Goldberg losing streak? Kinda like Brian Myers in WWE a few years ago.
3. Killer Kelly vs. Alisha Edwards. Kelly dominated the early collar and elbow. Kelly hit Alisha with a throat punch. Kelly put Alisha in a draping sleeper. Kelly was constantly staring at Tasha. Kelly hit Alisha with a delayed vertical suplex. Alisha managed to avoid a move in the corner. Alisha was about to use Eddie’s backpack stunner on Kelly, but Kelly reversed it into a sleeper. Kelly had to break since it was on the ropes. Kelly hit Alisha with a pump kick and followed up with the Killer Clutch for the tapout victory.
Killer Kelly defeated Alisha Edwards via submission in 2:14.
Kelly continued to glare at Tasha Steelz after the match. Steelz ordered Evans to go after Kelly with a chair. Kelly stepped on the chair and Evans claimed that her arm still hurts. Steelz crawled in the ring to get the chair, but then shared glares with Kelly while in the crawling position. Tasha left as Kelly’s theme played…
John’s Thoughts: Simple build towards an eventual Kelly vs. Steelz match. Impact has been putting so much production into Kelly’s repackage, that I can’t see any other result than her going over strong in this feud. What I wonder is how do they protect Tasha Steelz in the process because Tasha has done a good job over the past few years after breaking apart from her team with Kiera Hogan. I wonder? Are they teasing an alliance with the whole crawling and voyeurism thing we saw when they were both in the ring?
There was a random man lying in a hospital with a bunch of his family members around him. He was apparently hit with a thrown chair while also having bite marks on him (Ok, this is a parody of the whole Ace Steel thing). The dying man was trying to let out some words. Oh my god! All of a suddenly “The Local Hero” Joe Hendry made his Impact return and led the random people in the doctor’s office in a musical bit. The dying man flatlined, but nobody cared because they were all fired up with Joe Hendry’s musical energy. The graphic said that “Joe Hendry will motivate Impact”…
John’s Thoughts: Yoooooo! Yoooo! Mah boi Joe Hendry, the local hero and the karaoke pro wrestler. I’m double happy too because I just randomly mentioned him this week in my NXT review because the worlds “local hero” reminded me of Joe Hendry, whom I haven’t seen on TV in a long while. I was saying that he’d be a great addition to NXT Europe. Hey, this is better. We get Joe Hendry back sooner and I’m happy he’s in his karaoke gimmick as opposed to his more serious Ring of Honor persona.
Entrances for the next match took place. While Rich Swann was dancing to the ring, the picture-in-picture showed that Heath tried to offer to have Josh’s back in the upcoming match but Josh refused saying he already has Rich Swann there…
4. “Honor No More” Mike Bennett and Matt Taven (w/Maria Kanellis) vs. Rich Swann and Impact World Champion Josh Alexander for the Impact Tag Team Championship. Josh Alexander dominated Bennett with chain wrestling moves. Rich tagged in and the face team worked on Bennett with tandem offense. Taven tagged in blindly which allowed him and Bennett to hit Rich with alternating strikes. Hannifan noted that Alexander is a tag team specialist and former member of The North tag team. Hannifan also noted that Bennett and Taven were tag team champions in New Japan and Ring of Honor.
Swann hit Taven with a huracanrana. Taven knocked Alexander off the apron with a back elbow. Taven hit Swann with a crescent kick for a two count. Bennett gave Rich a wheelbarrow into Taven’s kick and slingshot legdrop. Bennett got a two count. Bennett and Taven traded quick tags to isolate Rich Swann. Swann reversed a suplex into a crossbody on Bennett with allowed Alexander to get the hot tag. Alexander hit Bennett with a rolling senton. Alexander hit Bennett with a front kick and crossbody to the back. Alexander backdropped Taven onto Bennett. Swann tagged in and hit HNM with a Triangle Moonsault.
Swann hit Bennett with a roundhouse off Alexander’s German Suplex for a one count. Bennett avoided Josh’s ankle lock to tag in Taven. Taven hit Alexander with a disaster kick. Taven and Bennett alternated strikes. Bennett hit Alexander with a Brainbuster. Taven hit Alexander with Just The Tip. Swann broke up Taven’s pin. Bennett tossed Swann into the ringpost. Alexander blocked a moonsault with his knees. Alexander went for his finisher, but Eddie Edwards ran out on the apron and was knocked off by Josh. Taven went for the Climax, but Alexander reversed it into an ankle lock.
Maria go ton the apron which allowed Eddie to hit Josh in the head with a kendo stick. Tom Hannifan still calls the stick “Kenny” for some reason (Eddie hasn’t called the stick that since joining Honor No More). Taven wanted to get the pin, but the ref was distracted by Bennett at this point. Heath ran in and gave Taven a Zig Zag. The ref saw this and DQ’d Josh and Swann.
Honor No More defeated Josh Alexander and Rich Swann via DQ in 6:54 to retain the Impact Tag Team Championship.
Heath looked dumbfounded in the ring as Honor No More’s theme played. Dave Penzer actually did the DQ ring announcement. Swann and Alexander looked disappointed at heath…
John’s Thoughts: A little bit overbooked. I felt like they could have gotten to the same result without Eddie running out, if their goal was to sow seeds of dissent between Josh Alexander and Heath [Slater]. Hey, and if Eddie did interfere, I would have liked to see Taven get a pin over the world champion to give him some credibility. Anyways, I’m curious about why they are pitting Heath against Josh? On the surface, I could care less due to Heath being pretty small in Impact’s big picture. On the other, this might be a sign of Impact trying to do more with Heath? Maybe? Not sure why Josh Alexander is seemingly so standoffish against him though. I do hope that this doesn’t lead to Heath joining Honor No More, because Honor No More doesn’t need more members it needs less. Honor Less More, please!
Jordynne Grace was still staring at the Masha’s Gonna Kill You wall from last week where it was written all over Jordynne’s 8 x 10s plastered all over the wall. Johnny Swinger showed up holding a huge ass pizza box. Grace said she didn’t order pizza. Zicky Dice said he actually ordered the pizza for Swinger from a place in Dallas.
Dice said he was actually here to deliver an envelope to Grace. Grace opened up the envelope and it was a picture of indie wrestler Max the Impaler, Grace’s pick your poison opponent. Dice said that Max looks tough, but if Grace can’t beat Max, then Masha is going to kill Grace at Bound for Glory. Grace took a pizza slice and slapped it on Zicky’s face, with Grace saying she’ll kill Dice next week. Swinger laughed, saying that slaps like that would make Grace fit well in the Swinger Dungeon…[c]
Heath met up with Rich and Josh backstage, apologizing for costing them the tag title match. Rich said he’s totally fine and understands what Heath’s mission is against Honor No More. Scott D’Amore showed up. He said he can’t get enough of Heath blindsiding Honor No More. D’Amore said he’s booking The Kingdom (D’Amore still calls them The Kingdom) and Eddie Edwards vs. Rich, Alexander, and Heath in a six person tag. D’Amore said Alexander, Heath, and Rich need to get on the same page to beat a cohesive team like Honor No More. Heath said he thinks they can co-exist…
John’s Thoughts: Well, it’s not a 10 or 8 man, but it’s still a homogeneous cluster television match. Does Honor No More only exist to wrestle multi person tag matches on Impact Plus shows? And lose most of the time? They might be winning this one too because it looks like they’re laying it on thick that Heath is going to cost them the match, but we’ve also seen them go the other way and just make Honor No More look like chumps too.
Mickie James made her entrance for another Career Threatening Match. Her opponent Hyan, from Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling promotion, was already in the ring…
5. Mickie James vs. Hyan. Hyan started the match with a rollup for a one count. Mickie came back with a jackknife rollup for a two count. Hannifan noted that Hyan was trained by “The Inaugural TNA Legends Champion” Booker T (a toy belt which he awarded himself in a suitcase). Mickie hit Hyan with a snapmare and running boot. Hyan came back with an armdrag and Wasteland. Hyan hit Mickie with a legdrop for a two count.
Mickie and Hyan traded right hands. Mickie hit Hyan with a flapjack. Mickie botched a seated senton, but managed to graze Hyan with knees. Mickie hit Hyan with the Mick-DT for the win.
Mickie James defeated Hyan via pinfall in 2:40.
Gisele Shaw made her entrance after the match in street clothes to confront Mickie. Hannifan noted that Gisele likes to steal the spotlight and here it’s disrespectful. Gisele took the mic and said it’s a shame that Mickie is begging for matches and wrestling nobodies. Gisele said Mickie is only wrestling nobodies because she’s trying to delay the inevitable. Gisele said she’s here to tell Mickie that Mickie’s time is up. Gisele challenged Mickie to a match at Victory Road. Mickie agreed and got in Gisele’s face. Gisele said that Mickie’s spotlight is over and the spotlight will belong to Gisele Shaw…
John’s Thoughts: As expected, Mickie won another stepping stone match. As I mentioned, I really like that they are starting Mickie from the bottom of the ladder against local enhancement talent. Speaking of which, more wrestlers who aren’t threatening retirement should be pushed on this ladder as it adds sports realism to a wrestler’s journey (kinda like UFC prelims). Match-wise, a bit rough, but the story was about Mickie climbing the ladder. On the other side, when Booker T speaks about his standout students, he always points out Rok-C, Athena, and Hyan. Rok-C and Athena are stellar so I’m curious if Hyan lives up to Booker’s hype. We just never really see her on televised wrestling shows. I would like to see what see can do.
Vincent was still roaming around PCO in a dark room. PCO is still getting “electrocuted”. Vincent talked about how a sword swallower at a freak show can accidentally stab his heart and collapse to the floor. Vincent said an event like that to D’Amore would be an “attraction” but to fans it’s “entertainment”. Vincent said nobody is there to give a helping hand to the dying sword swallower. Vincent said he, PCO, and Honor No More are here to support the dying sword swallower…[c]
Brian Myers was cutting a promo in front of a ladder backstage. Myers said he understands that Bhupinder is young and got a taste of early success, and how that makes you feel like it will never end. Myers said he felt the same when he was 23. Myers said it all came crashing down on him. He said he’s rode the rolller coaster of success and failure better than anyone in wrestling. Myers said Bhupinder is climging the ladder of success, but next week the Digital Media Champion and Most Professional Wrestler will cause that ladder to crumble…
John’s Thoughts: Awesome and simple promo. I hope we get more of Myers turning things up like this. Maybe we’ll see more of that if Matt Cardona returns to continue what they were going to do before Cardona got hurt.
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in from the commentary table. They announced the following matches for next week: Brian Myers vs. Bhupinder Gujjar for the Digital Media Championship and Aussie Open vs. [The winner of the Bullet Club vs. MCMG match]. The following matches were added to Victory Road: Jordynne Grace vs. Max the Impaler (w/James Mitchell), Honor No More vs. Alexander, Swann, and Heath in a 6-person-tag, Mike Bailey vs. Delirious, and the Triple Threat Revolver match. Rehwoldt plugged more G1 replay matches on the AXS NJPW show…
Entrances for the main event took place…[c]
6. “The Motor City Machine Guns” Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley vs. “The Good Brothers” Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson. Shelley and Anderson started the match in a stalemate. Gallows and Sabin tagged in. Gallows punched out of Sabin’s wristlock. Sabin came back with a missile dropkick. Gallows came back with a right hand. Shelley blind tagged in and took down Gallows with an assisted drop toehold. The guns hit Anderson with roundhouse kicks. Shelley ran right into a big boot from Gallows. Anderson and Gallows traded tags and worked on Shelley with methodical offense.
Shelley managed to tag in Sabin after whipping Gallows into Anderson in the corner. Sabin hit the Good Brothers with a crossbody. Sabin dumped Gallows to ringside and hit Anderson with a superkick. Sabin hit Gallows with a PK. Sabin hit Gallows with a high crossbody for a two count. The Machine Guns hit the Good Brothers with stereo Planchas heading into break.[c]
Shelley hit Anderson with a deep Dragon Screw. Sabin and Shelley took turns hitting Anderson’s legs on the ropes with dragon screws. Hannifan noted that Kenny King used the same strategy against Anderson. Shelly put Anderson in a Figure Four. Sabin hit Anderson with a front kick and got a two count. Sabin put Anderson in a Indian Deathlock. Anderson escaped with an eye poke. Shelley tagged in and put Anderson in a heel hook.
Shelley put Anderson in a headlock. Anderson got out and hit Shelley with a spinebuster. Sabin and Gallows tagged in and cleaned house with right hands. Gallows hit both guns with a corner splash and lariat. Gallows kicked down both Guns with kicks. Gallows hit Sabin with a pump-handle slam. Sabin escaped a Magic Killer. Gallows managed to hit both Guns with a double suplex. The Guns dumped both good brothers to ringside. Sabin hit the Good Brothers with a dive.
Anderson avoided a dive from Shelley. Shelley held Anderson in place for Sabin’s missile dropkick for a two count. Anderson managed to nail Sabin with a Gun Stun. Shelley broke up the pin. The good Brothers swarmed Sabin with strikes and gave Sabin a double back suplex to give Gallows a two count. Anderson tagged in. Sabin blocked the Gun Stun. The Guns hit Gallows with their signature basement dropkick combo. The Guns hit Anderson with Skull and Bones to give Sabin the win.
The Motor City Machine Guns defeated The Good Brothers via pinfall in 14:36 of on-air time.
Rehwoldt noted that The Guns will face Aussie Open next week. The Guns and Good Brothers shared a Too Sweet and hug after the match. Hannifan closed the show hyping the build toward BFG.
John’s Thoughts: Fun tag team match as expected from both teams. I wouldn’t mind seeing these teams face off somehow down the road without a commercial break because I feel like they could take things up a gear given the level of match we get involving the Machine Guns. My guess is that this is the last we’ve seen from the Good Brothers in Impact (for now at least) so It’ll be interesting to see what’s next for Gallows and Anderson. We know Anderson is feuding with Tama Tonga in New Japan, but we also heard their former faction leader Finn Balor said that they’ll be back in WWE “when the time is right” due to Anderson and Gallows being in constant contact with Balor (is that tampering? I kid, I kid).
As I continue to push, Impact is a show that people should be checking out if they want solid pro wrestling that doesn’t insult your intelligence. I’ve been praising them in this sense ever since they did the Ring of Honor crossover and they’ve pruned a lot of their low-budget crappy segments. Even the cringy segments these days are either kept at a minimum or kept isolated away from the larger universe. Jason Powell will be by later today with his Impact Wrestling audio review for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).
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