Impact’s next special event, Victory Road, runs this Saturday night. So this Thursday’s episode of Impact was a busy one in order to help advance the storylines that will culminate at that show and create some new matches to round out that card. It made for a show that felt chaotic at times. But there were still some good matches to help even out the pace, including a fun main event featuring many of the rosters top dogs… and Brian Myers.

 

Match 1: Violent By Design (Rhino and Deaner (w/ Joe Doering and Eric Young)) vs. Decay (Crazzy Steve and Black Taurus)

This was a good, physical match. Rhino and Deaner used some dirty tactics to trap Steve in their corner and then put the hurt on him for several minutes. But when Deaner took a page out of Steve’s book and started biting his opponent, Steve went…. well, crazy. He was looking to take out Deaner, but a distraction by Eric Young turned things around. Until miscommunication between Deaner and Rhino led to Rhino getting laid out with the VBD flagpole.

 

Steve took advantage, and hit Deaner with a Flying DDT to get the pin.

After the match, Young berated Rhino for costing the team the match. But when he stuck his finger into Rhino’s face, the man-beast didn’t take too kindly to that. Which prompted Deaner and Doering to lay swarm and put the boots to him. Young delivered the death blow, breaking the flagpole over Rhino’s back and leaving him flat.

This was a good opener, but really was all about the closing angle. If it hadn’t been announced that Rhino has re-signed with the company, this could easily have been a way to write him out. But perhaps this means he’ll now go to war with the faction instead.

Winners: Decay

At Swinger’s Palace, Alisha gave Swinger the news that Bound For Glory would be taking place in Las Vegas, and wondered how he would compete against the real casinos for the roster’s money. He said he would take it up with Scott D’Amore.

TJP came in and was confronted by Petey Williams, who blamed TJP for costing Petey his match against Steve Maclin last week. Petey challenged TJP to a match and left. Once again, Swinger was great here with his old-school references, including a running gag of name-dropping various former owners of the company.

Gia Miller interviewed Christian Cage and his team of Chris Sabin, Josh Alexander, Eddie Edwards, and Sami Callihan, who will be competing in a 10-man tag team match in the main event. They said that they are all ready to fight tonight. They all had messages for their opponents tonight, and for their opponents at Victory Road.

 

Match 2: TJP vs. Petey Williams

They started this one with a few minutes of some nifty technical wrestling, and Petey getting a slight edge right before heading into commercial. Back from the break, and Petey was still in control, including hurting TJP with the Tree of Wo! Canada.

 

But TJP avoided a corner charge and Petey hit the buckles hard, allowing TJP to recover. He hit Petey with a Springboard attack, but couldn’t follow up with the Mamba Splash. They jockeyed for position, reversing and countering each other’s finishers. After an exchange of slick rollup attempts, Petey was able to thwart one of TJP’s and reversed the move so that his weight rested on TJP’s shoulders, and he got the pin.

After the match, the two of them gave each other a respectful nod, seemingly having quashed any beef. But then Steve Maclin ran into the ring and attacked them both from behind. He smashed Petey with the Crosshair Dive and then smashed TJP with his very own broom.

This was a really good match. Maclin continues to be an intensely vicious beast. They’ve done well to keep him looking strong, so hopefully they keep that up.

Winner: Petey Williams

The Flashback Moment of the Week saw Chris Sabin beat Austin Aries for the X-Division Championship back in July 2013. He’s hoping to do the same this weekend over Josh Alexander at Victory Road.

Gia Miller interviewed the Good Brothers. She noted that Anderson needed Gallows’ help last week to beat Rich Swann in a Bunkhouse Brawl, but Anderson said that since there were no rules, he did nothing wrong. And that Swann would have done the same if the Good Brothers hadn’t laid out his buddy Willie Mack, preventing him from being there for Swann. As they tried to leave, Willie Mack and Swann surprised them and beat them down with Mack’s crutches, which he apparently doesn’t need anymore.

Gia Miller interviewed Rich and Swann who were trumpeting about their beatdown of the Good Brothers. Impact Executive Vice-President Scott D’Amore said that the two of them would have a chance to not only beat the Good Brothers at Victory Road, but also to end their Tag Team Championship reign.

 

Match 3: John Skyler vs. Laredo Kid

Before the match, John Skyler sarcastically congratulated the Laredo Kid for beating him on BTI last week. He said he would even things up in their rematch, which was next.

Visually, this one was interesting. Because Skyler looks like he’s really big. But Laredo Kid – who is a luchador – looks like he’s just as big, if not slightly bigger. So this wasn’t the traditional big man vs. little man battle, but it had that kind of style. Kid struck early with some flying moves and quick offense. But he got caught on the floor with an Overhead Suplex. In the ring. Skyler took control for a bit, but Kid fought back. Desperate for an answer, Skyler grabbed hold of Laredo’s mask with the intent to tear it off Laredo’s head. Laredo gave up his hands to keep his mask on, and so couldn’t defend against a Schoolboy Rollup and got pinned.

This was solid if unspectacular. Kid had some nice flashy moves so he’s likely to become a big fan favourite. Skyler looks like a beefier Brian Myers, but has more personality, though that’s a pretty low bar. Still, he does jerkface heel pretty well.

Winner: John Skyler

 

It’s All About Me segment

Tenille Dashwood introduced her co-hosts Kaleb and Madison Rayne, and then welcomed Taylor Wilde to the show. Wilde brought Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering with her, much to the chagrin of Dashwood et al. Dashwood tried to shut things down, but Wilde wouldn’t let her. Wilde basically verbally manipulated Dashwood into agreeing to a match at Victory Road and left. This wasn’t good.

Earlier today, Matt Cardona attacked Rohit Raju and Shera as they entered the building and had to be held back by security. This was because Raju hit Chelsea Green two weeks ago.

Gia Miller asked Scott D’Amore what could be done to resolve the issue. As D’Amore was answering, Cardona came up to him and requested a match against Rohit at Victory Road to settle things once and for all. D’Amore said that to ensure it would be settled definitively, the match would be No Disqualification.

 

Match 4: “Drama King” Matthew Rehwoldt vs. Trey Miguel

Trey tried for some razzle dazzle, but ate a huge Dropkick for his troubles in the opening seconds. He tried for some more, and this time, he got Clotheslined hard over the rope. A third attempt saw him get dropped on his face on the apron. And then a fourth saw him get Arm Wringed over the top rope. Time to change things up, Trey. Rehwoldt then got even more aggressive, battering, whipping, and stretching Trey like this was 80s Saturday morning wrestler and Trey was local enhancement talent.

Trey finally used some quickness to mount some offense and at one point nearly pinned Rehwoldt. But Rehwoldt was a machine that kept beating on Trey. But after Trey thwarted a top rope attack, Rehwoldt was a bit stunned. Trey then took Rehwoldt down, grabbed his legs, and locked on a Cross-Leg Submission Lock, and Rehwoldt quickly tapped.

After the match, Deonna Purrazzo ran into the ring, came up behind Trey, and hit him with a low blow. This brought out Mickie James who brawled with Purrazzo until a bunch of referees and security guards separated them. As they tried to take Purrazzo to the back, Mickie climbed to the top turnbuckle and hit a big dive onto Purrazzo, Rehwoldt, and the security team on the floor.

The match was a weird one as it really made Trey look weak up until the quick ending out of nowhere. But the post-match brawl was good and James and Purrazzo really showed some fire.

Winner: Trey Miguel

They recapped the events from last week when Tasha Steelz and Savannah Edwards physically stole and walked away with Havok and Rosemary’s Knockouts Tag Team belts. In the back, Steelz said that she was the true champion so was just taking what was rightfully hers. And that at Victory Road, that will be confirmed when they beat Rosemary and Havok.

They showed the clip from last week when Bullet Club member Hikuleo and Chris Bey Pillmanized Juice Robinson’s leg. Backstage, they crowed about what they did and said they would take FinJuice out for good at Victory Good. Bey started off rough and only semi-comprehensible, but they did manage to get in the Too Sweet promo at the end.

 

Match 5: Christian Cage, Josh Alexander, Chris Sabin, Eddie Edwards, and Sami Callihan vs. Ace Austin, Mad Man Fulton, Brian Myers (w/ Sam Beale), Moose, and W. Morrissey

After a bit of a feeling-out process and a couple of minutes that saw Austin take the brunt of the beating, all ten men rushed into the ring and squared off, leaving the referee to try to calm everyone down as the show headed to a commercial.
The referee failed to do so, as when the show returned, there was a brawl going on both inside the ring and on the floor. Things finally settled down and the action went back into the ring. There, Sam Beale sacrificed himself, taking a Cactus Special from Callihan, but that was only to allow Myers to blindside Callihan and take control.

The advantage then switched back and forth, as someone would get trapped in the wrong corner for a bit, then find a way to break loose and make a tag, and the pattern would continue. After Eddie got kicked down by Moose off the top to the floor, he was in jeopardy for several minutes, taking punishment from every one of his opponents in succession.

Edwards finally got the tag to Christian who cleaned house and nearly pinned Myers after 20 corner punches and a Frog Splash. Later, the match devolved into a parade of finishers. Finally, it was down to Christian and his opponent at Victory Road, Ace Austin. Christian tried for the Killswitch, but Austin used the referee as a blocker and low-kicked Christian.

Eddie stopped Ace from doing any more damage, Superplexing him onto everyone else as they all brawled on the floor.

 

Brian Myers tried to get a sneaky win over Christian, but got caught and Speared. But before Christian could pin him, Alexander ran in and hit the C-4 Spike on Myers for the pin. After the pin and again during the babyfaces’ celebration, Alexander and Christian kind of gave each other some knowing looks, possibly hinting at something further to come?

This was fine for what it was, though having the babyface team win cleanly doesn’t particularly provide much drama going into Victory Road. Christian and Ace Austin – the main event for Victory Road – had very little interaction in this one other than near the end, and even there, it seemed to be less of a focus than the possible planting of the seeds for a future Christian-Alexander match.

Winners: Christian Cage, Josh Alexander, Chris Sabin, Eddie Edwards, and Sami Callihan

 

Impact Wrestling - September 16th, 2021
3.5

Skyway Studios - Nashville, TN

On a normal week, this would have been a fine episode, highlighted by the Petey Wiliams vs. TJP match and the fun main event. But as a “go home” show for this Saturday, not so much. Indeed, Thursday’s show did nothing to make this Saturday’s world title match between Christian Cage and Ace Austin seem must-see. The other builds were fine – even if they were only announced this week, most of them seemed like logical developments to the storylines. But if the world title match is positioned as the least interesting thing, that can’t be seen as a particularly successful episode.