Well, that was a bloody good way to end a show. Specifically, the final segment of Thursday night’s episode of Impact Wrestling that saw Sami Callihan, Moose, and Steve Maclin in a contract signing before they face off in a Barbed Wire Massacre match at tomorrow night’s Victory Road special event. The violent ending of the show – which saw Moose and Maclin laid out in the ring while Callihan, face dripping with blood, screamed maniacally into the camera – should be a good indicator of the levels of intense and extreme action that tomorrow’s main event promises. It was a highlight ending to a show that otherwise featured many other strong matches, and a lot of good build-up for tomorrow night.

 

Match 1: Brian Myers (c) vs. Bhupinder Gujjar – Ladder match for the Digital Media Championship

Gujjar beat up Myers early on, but Myers countered the Gargoyle Spear with a knee to the face. After dropping Gujjar hard on the apron, Myers went to get the ladder, and the match levelled up. One example is Gujjar hitting the Gargoyle Spear, sending Myers backwards hard into the ladder.

 

Gujjar started to climb the ladder but Myers tipped it over, sending Gujjar hard into the ropes. After that, Myers used the ladder to good effect, dropping it on Gujjar’s face – busting him open – and then whipping him into the ladder propped up in the corner.

Later, Myers got even more aggressive, taking Gujjar off the ladder hard with a German Suplex, and then heaving him with a Powerbomb onto a ladder which he’d laid down on the steel ring steps – ouch. But Gujjar fired up and pulled Myers off the ladder and chucked him to the floor. But when he climbed up to retrieve the title, Myers scrambled back into the ring and low-blowed him. Then Myers wrapped up Gujjar’s leg to the ladder, preventing the challenger from climbing any higher. With Gujjar trapped, it was easy pickings for Myers to scaling to the top and retrieving his title.

This was good. Gujjar really played the underdog role well, and his selling – particularly after his face got smashed open – was stellar. Surprising that they didn’t give him the win here, as this storyline really feels like it should have climaxed here with a big babyface win. Myers was less boring than normal.

Winner, and still Digital Media Champion: Brian Myers

In the back, Impact World Champion Josh Alexander was talking with Rich Swann when Heath walked in. He was regretful that he accidentally cost them the Tag Team Championship last week, but said that they had to regroup and show a unified front against Honor No More. Swann and Alexander agreed, and said they would have his back during Heath’s open challenge street fight tonight. But Heath said he wanted to do it alone, so while he appreciated their offer, he was going out there alone tonight.

They showed a clip of Steve Maclin attacking Sami Callihan at a Wrestling Revolver show last weekend.

 

Match 2: Zicky Dice (w/ Johnny Swinger) vs. Jordynne Grace

In a quick and definitive squash, Grace walloped Dice with some strikes before hitting a big German Suplex and putting him away with a Grace Driver.

Winner: Jordynne Grace. Flawless victory.

A video package aired for Max the Impaler, who Grace faces tomorrow night at Victory Road. Max was hand-selected as Grace’s opponent by Masha, who had that right thanks to a Pick Your Poison stipulation.

 

 

Match 3: Black Taurus vs. Mia Yim vs. Trey Miguel vs. Laredo Kid vs. Alex Zayne

These three and a few others will be in a ladder match at Victory Road with the winner getting an X-Division Championship match at Bound For Glory on October 7th.

This started off fast with Miguel and Zayne in there, coming to a standoff before they both got surprised with a High Cross Body by Yim. Yim then tried her luck against Black Taurus, but ate a huge headbutt for her troubles. Kid and Taurus did some fancy lucha stuff on each other, but then they ate Somersault Dives by Miguel and Zayne. That sequence ended with Yim hitting a Somersault Dive from the top to the floor, taking out all of the other four.

Yim nearly got the win after a Package Piledriver on Zayne, but Miguel and Kid broke it up with simultaneous kicks to her face. A number of fast sequences and moves followed by pretty much everyone. Kid hit the ground hard after missing a Twisting Somersault Splash on Zayne. Then Zayne went for a Cinnamon Twist on Kid, who got his knees up. This led to Taurus dispatching Kid to the floor, then hitting Hell Hole on Zayne for the pin.

 

This was really fun and everyone got a chance to shine. Zayne hasn’t had a chance to show off his personality at all, but he can do some exciting stuff in the ring, so we’ll see what the future holds for him. Taurus winning may be a sign that he goes on to win at Victory Road, too, and earn an X-Division Championship match. This may be the right time to give Taurus a title – he’s such a unique star, the more spotlight on him the better.

Winner: Black Taurus

A Violent By Design video aired. Eric Young and Deaner were in a field at night with a bunch of VBD recruits. After making them declare that they are violence, Young and Deaner beat them all down. The video ended with an aerial shot showing Young and Deaner reveling among the bodies.

A video aired hyping Joe Hendry’s imminent arrival to Impact. Words can’t do justice to how brilliantly cheesy this was. Just watch the video. Tremendous.

 

Heath’s Open Challenge to Honor No More

Heath was in the ring and called out any member of Honor No More to come out for a Street Fight. PCO came out to answer the call, but the rest of HNM came out and stopped PCO from coming down the ramp. Eddie Edwards told PCO that the match wasn’t going to happen, and that PCO doesn’t have the freedom for independent thought, because he belonged to HNM. Heath, meanwhile, tried to goad PCO to disobey Edwards and have the fight. After Heath insulted PCO some more, the monster broke loose and made his way to the ring, leading to:

 

Match 4: Heath vs. PCO (w/ Vincent) – Street Fight

Heath jumped over the top rope to attack PCO, but a distraction by Vincent allowed PCO to recover and take over, blasting Heath with hard shots on the entrance ramp. Heath fought back with a Back Body Drop on the ramp and then used the guardrails and a chair to smash PCO’s head with. They fought into the crowd where a garbage can, a metal door, and a soft drink were used as weapons. PCO then took out a dolly of chairs and strew them all over the floor, likely for use later. They fought on the entrance stage, and then Heath threw PCO right off of it and into the sea of chairs. That looked incredible.

 

PCO was down and presumably out, so the rest of HNM re-emerged and surrounded Heath. But then Josh Alexander and Rich Swann ran to the ring brandishing chairs and chased HNM away. As this chaos was going on, Vincent tried to attack Heath, but Heath disposed of him. Just in time to see PCO rise from the dead and stalk his way to the ring, Frisbeeing chairs at Heath while making his way there. When he got in the ring, he Chokeslammed Heath, and then made another heap of chairs in the ring. PCO clamped on a Mandible Claw that seemed to have Heath out. PCO went for a Swanton to end things, but Heath moved and PCO crashed hard on the chairs. Heath got up and hit the Wake Up Call onto the chairs to get the win.

This was a fun brawl. PCO is 54 years old and he’s taking some crazy violent moves like he’s an indy wrestler one third of his age. At some point, after all this teasing of tension between him and Edwards, PCO is going to turn on HNM and become a huge babyface.

Winner: Heath

 

Match 5: Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) vs. the Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley)

The winners of this one will earn a Tag Team Championship match against Matt Taven and Mike Bennett of Honor No More at Bound For Glory.

The Guns used their speed and experience to get the best of Aussie Open early on, but eventually they got caught up in the powerful clutches of the Aussies, who crashed the Guns into one another hard. This led to an extended beatdown of Shelley, as the Aussies literally passed his body back and forth to deliver the punishment.

 

Shelley eventually broke free and was able to tag in Sabin, who was on fire and able to turn the tide, nearly getting the win a few times.

But Sabin’s momentum would get stopped after a Brutal Driver out of nowhere by Fletcher. Aussie Open double-teamed Sabin, but Shelley ran in to break the count at the last second. Aussie Open hit some more nifty double-team moves, but Sabin refused to be pinned. Sabin escaped AO’s finisher (the Coriolis) and after an extended period where all four men were fighting in the ring for forever, the Guns hit Skull and Bones to get the win.

This was good, though the lack of any attempt by the referee to enforce rules made it a bit chaotic and somewhat frustrating in the end. There were some nifty double-team moves, but it kind of became a series of spots more than an actual wrestling match. That said, this was a good match for fans to get acquainted with Aussie Open if they didn’t know who they were. The Guns continue to seemingly reverse in age.

Winners: The Motor City Machine Guns

In the back, Gia Miller asked Tasha Steelz what she felt about having to face Killer Kelly tomorrow night at Victory Road. Steelz was confident about her chances, highlighting that Savannah Evans would be in her corner with a chair, and they would not hesitate to use it. They dismissed Gia and walked off. As Steelz was walking in front and jabbering on, she didn’t notice when Evans got violently yanked off=screen by someone from behind. When she finally did notice, Killer Kelly appeared in front of her and they exchanged cryptic threats.

In a pre-taped promo, Gisele Shaw predicted that she would beat Mickie James at Victory Road, thereby forcing her into retirement. And that the spotlight would shine forever on herself.

 

Barbed Wire Massacre – “Hold Harmless” contract signing

Impact Executive Vice-President Scott D’Amore was in the ring. He explained that the Hold Harmless contract effectively indemnifies Impact Wrestling and the other participants in tomorrow night’s Barbed Wire Massacre match should a competitor get severely injured.

He then introduced each of the combatants in that match to come to the ring. Moose and Steve Maclin made their ways to the ring and sat down after exchanging some words. But Callihan was nowhere to be seen when his entrance music played.

Moose and Maclin didn’t seem too upset by Callihan’s absence. Moose took the mic and warned Maclin that he was going to be put through hell when he was in the ring with Moose. Maclin said that as a Marine, he’s been through actual hell and Moose can’t scare him.

As they jawed at each other, Sami’s music hit again and Callihan made his way to the ring.

Callihan said that Moose and Maclin made a mistake when they joined forces against him at Against All Odds. And that he was going to get his revenge at Victory Road. Callihan took out a pen wrapped in barbed wire, but before he could sign the contract, Maclin sucker=punched him, stabbing him in the head with his own pen, bloodying up Sami.

Maclin and Moose then combined forces and beat up Sami. Moose tied him up in the Tree of Woe, and Maclin was going to blast him with the Crosshairs – but as he charged in, Moose surprised Maclin and hit him with the Spear.

Moose set up a table in the corner and was going to Spear Sami through it, but Sami moved and Moose crashed through the table. Sami then hit the Cactus Special on Moose, signed the contract with his own blood, and screamed out a warning to both of his downed opponents to close out the show.

 

 

Impact Wrestling - September 22, 2022
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The Factory - Dallas, TX

If the measure of a “go-home” show is whether or not it makes you interested in watching the major card it’s leading to, then this week’s episode was a winner. The closing segment really drove home the vitriolic anger between Moose, Maclin, and Callihan. The 5-way match was fun and exciting. And PCO continues to amaze with the risks he’ll take with his own body. Impact continues to deliver a strong product, and with Bound For Glory coming up in a few weeks, hopefully the momentum will continue.