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Impact: Eddie Edwards wins a shot at ‘honor’ and ‘glory’

Bob Kapur

Honor No More have had a great deal of success against the Impact Wrestling roster over the past few months. Despite that, none of the members of the faction have had an opportunity to win a championship in the company. That will change on October 7th, as Eddie Edwards won a 6-man Elimination Match on Thursday night’s episode of Impact, to earn the right to challenge Josh Alexander for the Impact World Championship at Bound For Glory.

 

 Match 1: Black Taurus  vs. Laredo Kid vs. Ray Horus vs. Trey Miguel

Crazzy Steve joined the commentary team for this one, and that was… interesting. All three of the smaller wrestlers tried to keep Taurus out of the ring and focus on fighting each other. And when they did, the action was fast and frenetic, with lots of lucha-inspired action. When Taurus was able to get in there, that didn’t change, but he was also able to add some power moves into the mix, and it was fun to watch him beat the heck out of everyone. There were some really amazing moves in this one, including some giant Moonsaults by Kid and Horus, and a stellar Hurancarana by Trey that saw him leap over the top rope to deliver it.

 

In the end, though, Taurus hit Destination Hellhole – a Powerbomb Piledriver – on Laredo Kid to get the win.

This one was a mile-a-minute affair with tons of high spots. Some of the commentary made it seem that Taurus is in for a big push. If so, this was a good way to start the ball rolling, as he was really showcased well here. Though, everyone really got a chance to shine big.

Winner: Black Taurus

In the back, Johnny Swinger and some trainees were watching the replay of Killer Kelly’s debut from last week, and Zicky Dice appeared to be crushing on Kelly. Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans barged in and blasted them for not being enamoured by her matches. As she did, Kelly walked in, and they exchanged words. Savannah Evans stepped up to Kelly, who challenged her to a match for later tonight.

In his dressing room, Impact World Champion Josh Alexander was talking to Rich Swann, who will be competing in tonight’s 6-way match to determine who will face Josh for the title at Bound For Glory. Alexander said that while he couldn’t root for any of the match participants, he had lots of respect for Swann and would relish the chance to face him. Vincent walked in and told Josh that Eddie Edwards would be winning the 6-way, and tried to play mind games with Josh.

 

Match 2: Kenny King (w/ Vincent) vs. Heath

Heath fared well early on, but got distracted by Vincent and started chasing him around ringside, and this left him prone for a Flying Corkscrew Dive by King.

 

During the commercial break, King hit a Blockbuster, and he continued beating on Heath after the ads. Heath fought back, thwarted an attempt by Vincent to interfere, and then dropped King with the Wake Up Call for the pin.

After the match, Honor No More came down and they swarmed Heath and beat him down in the middle of the ring. Eddie Edwards ordered PCO to hit the final blow, but PCO hesitated. This allowed Heath to make a run for it, hitting Mike Bennett with the Wake Up Call on his way to safety.

The match was quite short and mostly took place during the commercial break, which was unfortunate. The teasing of PCO’s face turn continues, and based on the fan reaction tonight, if and when he does leave the faction, he’s going to be a huge fan favourite.

Winner: Heath

Backstage, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, and KUSHIDA laid down a warning for Violent By Design, who they face in a triple tag match next week. They dubbed themselves as Time Machine, playing off the names of the tag teams Shelley has with each of them – i.e. the Motor City Machine Guns with Sabin and the Time Splitters with KUSHIDA.

They announced that tickets for Bound For Glory – taking place in Albany NY on October 7th – will go on sale tomorrow.

In a stairwell, Honor No More were all angry about what happened with Heath earlier on. Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, and Maria were also angry that they haven’t heard when they will be getting their Tag Team Championship match, which they earned when HNM beat Team Impact at Emergence. They went to Impact Executive Vice-President Scott D’Amore and asked when they would get their match. D’Amore told them that Doc Gallows was injured so the match would have to wait until he is medically cleared. Maria accused Scott of stalling and told him to make Karl Anderson defend the titles in a handicap match. D’Amore talked about Honor No More always wanting a numbers advantage. So he booked a match between Anderson and Mike Bennett for next week. If Anderson wins, then Maria would be banned from ringside for the title match when it does happen. Maria and her men were obviously not pleased by this news.

 

Match 3: Savannah Evans (w/ Tasha Steelz) vs. Killer Kelly

Savannah used her size and power advantage to hurt Kelly with a couple of big moves. But Kelly psyched out Evans by getting right in her face and creepily smiling at Evans repeatedly.

 

Evans hit a couple of big moves, including a really brutal looking German Suplex. But Kelly recovered and locked on the Killer Klutch. Evans tried to fight it, but ultimately had no choice but to tap out. Kelly stared down Steelz after the match.

This was okay. Until Kelly got the submission on, Evans actually seemed to be dominant for most of the match. Kelly’s mystique really seems to be from her entrance and exit lighting and her smile more than anything she does in the ring. We’ll see how long it is before the novelty wears off, but it’s fine for now.

Winner: Killer Kelly

In their den, Rosemary, Taya Valkyrie, and Jessicka weren’t happy about losing the Knockouts Tag Team Championship at Emergence. Rosemary wasn’t thrilled with Jessicka, saying that her former personality Havok would have ensured they retained. But she said they would regroup and regain the titles. Jessicka said that she would start their journey back to the titles when she has her first match next week. Taya was excited, but Rosemary didn’t seem too optimistic about Jessicka’s chances. Rosemary said that she would mentor Jessicka to help her prepare for the match.

Backstage, Gia Miller interviewed Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace, and asked her about receiving a death warrant from Masha Slamovich. Grace said that she was ready and willing to take on Masha. Gia noted that Grace was prepared to shake hands with Mia Yim after their match at Emergence, so what is the status between them. Grace said that she respects Mia, but before she could compliment Mia further, the new Knockouts Tag Team Champions, Deonna Purrazzo and Chelsea Green barged in. They insulted and mocked Grace, who said that she would take them on 1-on-2. Mia Yim walked in and said that she would team up with Grace, and challenged the champs to a title match. Purrazzo and Green got shamed into agreeing to the match and stormed off. Afterwards, Grace and Yim shook hands in a show of mutual respect.

 

Match 4: Chris Bey vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey (c) – for the X-Division Championship

They started off with a few fast-paced sequences, with rapid wrestling moves/gymnastics. Things slowed down a bit – and, really, these two at a slower pace are still faster than pretty much anyone else – with them exchanging big moves: a Standing Shooting Star Knee Press by Bailey and a Flatliner by Bey. Then they sped up again, with Bailey hitting a Springboard Moonsault to the floor, to which Bey responded with a huge Somersault Dive to the floor that he actually overshot on. Bey then lay Bailey over the top rope and hit a Double Stomp, and a Powerbomb for a very close 2-count.

Later, they had a big strike exchange that saw Bailey drop Bey right in the corner. This positioning left Bey prone for the Ultimo Weapon and the 1-2-3.

This was a very fast-paced X-Division style match, with lots of death-defying aerials and jaw-dropping spots. If there’s a complaint about Bailey’s matches it’s that there isn’t a lot of selling going on. That can really diminish the specialness of the big moves to the point that they can seem to be wasted.

Winner, and still X-Division Champion: “Speedball” Mike Bailey

The Flashback Moment of the Week came from Victory Road 2021, when Christian beat Ace Austin to retain the Impact World Championship.

In the back, Digital Media Champion Brian Myers was confronted by Bhupinder Gujjar. Myers tried to blow him off and deny him another chance at the title. But Gujjar was hearing none of it. After Gujjar caught and blocked a sucker punch, he yelled at Myers, saying that he was angry at Myers and his quest for the title was far from over.

 

Match 5: Eddie Edwards vs. Steve Maclin vs. Moose vs. Sami Callihan vs. Bandido vs. Rich Swann – Eliminator match

The rules of this one were that only two men could be in the ring at the same time, anyone can tag anyone else, and eliminations could come from pinfall, submission, count-out, or disqualification. The winner will challenge Josh Alexander for the World Championship at Bound For Glory.

Bandido and Swann delivered a fun routine early on, leading to a stalemate, and then Eddie and Sami tagged in to add some more aggression into the mix. That helped, and after a bit, things picked up when Swann hit a Flying Dive that wiped out both Eddie and Maclin on the floor.

Moose and Maclin appeared to be on the same page, tagging in and out to take turns beating up Swann. Swann got the tag to Callihan, who fared well for a bit with his wild style, but Maclin and Moose teamed up again, and Moose hit an Assisted Spear on Callihan and pinned him.

Immediately afterwards, Maclin abandoned the partnership, surprising Moose with a roll-up from behind to pin him.

 

Moose confronted Maclin afterwards, but before they could come to blows, Sami ran in and dragged Moose out of the ring, and then threw Maclin through the ropes and onto Moose. Sami and Moose fought their way up the ramp while Bandido took over on a dazed Maclin, pinning him after a 21-Plex.

After another taste of Bandido and Swann, Eddie tried to insert himself into things, but tagged out when he lost the edge over Bandido. Bandido nearly got a pin on Swann after a Standing Spanish Fly and again after a Pop-Up Cutter, both of which looked great. Swann hit a Cutter of his own and a Phoenix Splash. But Edwards tagged himself in, whipped Swann hard into the turnbuckles, and then hit a Boston Knee Party on Bandido, stealing the glory and the pin from Swann.

The whip into the buckles hurt Swann, so Eddie was feeling pretty confident in this now 1-on-1 situation. He pummeled Swann, whipping him from buckle to buckle and just toying with him. Swann fired up, though, and turned the tide, surprising Eddie with a Hurancarana, and then nearly pinning him after a Boot to the Head.

Eddie then went under the ring and got a Singapore cane, and he clocked Swann in the head behind the referee’s back, but Swann kicked out! Swann tried to mount a comeback, but Eddie hit a Blue Thunder Bomb and a Boston Knee Party, and ended things with the Die Hard Driver to get the pin.

 

After the match, Honor No More came to the ring and celebrated with Eddie.

This was a good match that was able to meld the ongoing Moose-Sami-Maclin match with the bigger picture of the Eliminator match. Ultimately, Eddie was the right person to win, and this could be the start of a bigger storyline with Honor No More finally winning some gold. Another emerging story in this one was the crowd’s response to Bandido. They loved everything he did, and even when he was in there with the popular Swann, he was the one getting cheers. It may behoove Impact to put him in a prominent program, and strike while the iron is hot?

Winner, and new number one contender for the Impact World Championship: Eddie Edwards

 

 

Impact Wrestling - August 18, 2022

Cicero Stadium - Chicago, IL

The 4-way opener and the 6-man main event were both really good matches, and the X-Division Championship was also solid. With the main event now set at Bound For Glory, the next few weeks should be all about building out the rest of the card. Hopefully those plans will include Black Taurus and Bandido, as both of them made big impressions during their matches tonight. On the other hand, has the bloom already fallen off the rose that is Killer Kelly? The jury is still out.

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