iMPACT: Old foes, new foes, all leading to Bound for Glory

Sully Khan

Josh Alexander vs Eric Young
Josh Alexander vs Eric Young

Wendy Choo, Rosemary and Tasha Steelz vs. Masha Slamovich, Sol Ruca and Jordynne Grace

Grace and Choo started the match for their respective teams. Grace wasted no time, delivering offense before Rosemary got in for some two-on-one offense to counter. A hot tag brought Sol Ruca in for Grace and she quickly got distracted by Tasha Steelz. Choo’s team isolated Sol Ruca in their corner – a valid tag-team strategy.

Ruca sustained a lot of attacks from the three but was eventually able to steal momentum with a Soul Snatcher to Rosemary. She then tagged in Slamovich to recover. Jordynne Grace tagged herself in shortly after and won the match for her team, surprising her teammates. Slamovich looked noticeably ticked.

Gia Miller caught up backstage with Josh Alexander to find some explanation to his actions last week. Alexander was with Sinner and Saint, two fellow Canadians, forming the Northern Armory.

Nic Nemeth took to the ring after the first commercial break to speak ahead of his match with Joe Hendry at Bound for Glory October 26th in Detroit.

Nemeth is a much more likeable character as compared to his character in WWE (Dolph Ziggler). He spoke about the match with Hendry, almost conjuring him into the ring. The Scotsman reinforced that he was the #1 contender for Nemeth’s TNA title. He lauded Nemeth, called him “one of the best”. Nemeth said the respect was mutual, even bringing Shawn Michael’s belief in Joe Hendry to light.

First Class interrupted to a roar of “boos” from the crowd, claiming that they were the main event of the upcoming PPV. The former NFL nose tackle claimed he made Hendry and this turned into a tag match made official by the one and only Director of Authority, Santino Marella.

Tonight’s main event would be Nemeth and Hendry against, as Marella put it, “Fist Clash”.

Out of a commercial break, Heather Reckless was seen getting a makeover courtesy of Ash by Elegance.

Josh Alexander vs. Eric Young

The World-Class Maniac came out to a warm applause in Nashville, near his hometown of Franklin, Tenn.

Young and Alexander are both season veterans and Alexander took the advantage, wearing down his opponent with heavy hits and chops, using the outside of the ring as a weapon as well.

Young came back with a big right hand out of the corner after taking some hits against the conrer but the Canadian came back with some joint manipulation in the center of the ring. Alexander resisted two counts, showing the resilience he’s built his career off of. The interference came just as Young looked to get a finisher from the top rope.

Travis Williams and Icarus caused more interference, unnoticed by the referee, giving the Northern Armory the victory. there was a post-match three-on-one beatdown of Young. Maclin was shown knocked out and zip-tied backstage.

Gia Miller caught up with Grace to ask about the match earlier but they came upon a disturbing scene in someone’s dressing room. Photos all over the wall with a black marker are never an innocent scene.

Mike Santana came out and called out Moose immediately. Santana said he does everything in his life with intent and purpose. He asked for Moose to come out and was promptly interrupted by the Face of the Franchise. Moose came out with five security guards , calling Santana a “dumbass”.

That’s rich, coming from a guy who repeatedly used sneak attacks on Santana.

Moose refused a fight and The System came up behind Santana. The ABC and the Hardys came in to aid Santana. The unmistakable Santino Marella again came out to announce a Bound for Glory between Mike Santana and Moose. He also asked The System to keep an eye on the upcoming tag match with implied implications for the PPV.

The Hardys vs. ABC

The Hardys have always been one of my favourite tag-teams. Brother Nero in particular is one of the wrestlers I myself looked up to as a little kid. Just the complete disregard for his own safety whenever he’d get in the ring. At least, he sold it that way. But he always got back up… in life, and in the ring.

This match was a clash of the generations. Do you want to feel old? Matt and Jeff Hardy are 50 and 47, respectively. Ace Austin is 27 and Chris Bey is 28. It’s like when you’d wrestle with your dad in the backyard. Or, did you? I never did so maybe that analogy doesn’t work.

Despite their age and how many ring wrinkles their bodies have, Matt and Jeff can still throw down. A beautiful Plot Twist on Chris Bey preceded the System interrupting the match and forcing the referee to call the match.

Santino Marella popped out again and announced a triple-threat tag-team Full Metal Mayhem match for the TNA World Tag Team Titles at Bound for Glory: The Hardys vs. ABC vs. The System.

Jason Hotch vs. Leon Slater vs. Laredo Kid

X-Division Champion “Speedball” Mike Bailey joined the commentary team for this three-way singles match. Jason Hotch interrupted his own name being announced, calling out Speedball.

Triple-threat matches like this are always so exciting. The three competitors simultaneously went for a drop kick, touching boots in the center of the ring.

Slater got the win for a shot at Speedball’s title next Thursday.

Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace surprised the crowd as they were expecting the being the main event. She got right to it, asking for Masha Slamovich to come out after not being able to find her backstage. Grace asked about the Kill Wall being back. Slamovich accepted the challenge Grace laid out for her earlier and claimed she’d win at Bound for Glory. She handed Grace an envelope with a picture, marking Grace as her next conquest.

Nic Nemeth and Joe Hendry vs First Class

Thursday night’s main event had the sparks flying before the bell even began. First Class had the upper hand early, isolating the TNA World Champion in their corner. Nemeth was unable to get a tag before a sustained beating. He mounted some offense on AJ Francis, getting close to a tag but the powerhouse kept him from doing so. A power slam to Francis finally allowed Nemeth to tag Hendry.

He took out KC Navarro and showcased his strength, picking up Francis with Nemeth looking on. He delivered a Danger Zone before Nemeth tagged himself in. Navarro and Nemeth exchanged offense before Nemeth delivered a Standing Ovation and then a Famouser to score the victory.

Amazing play to use each other’s finishers in their tag match, preceding their title match October 26th.

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