GFW Destination X Review - August 17, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

GFW Knockouts Champion Sienna def. Gail Kim

Sienna and Kim are two of the best women's wrestlers in GFW at the moment, yet this match didn't have a ton of heat because it was announced only one week ago. Despite that, they produced a decent match with Sienna eliciting heat for her drawn-out attack on Kim before Kim battled back and was ultimately thwarted by a returning Taryn Terrell. I'm never high on interference in situations such as this, but this was certainly a shocker that allowed Kim to be protected in defeat and rekindle an old rivalry. Terrell evolved into an awesome performer toward the end of her TNA run two years ago, and she fell off the face of the earth when she "retired," so it's a big plus for GFW that she's back. It was way too early for Kim to regain the gold, so I'm glad Sienna retained the title and can continue ruling the division for the foreseeable future.

Jim Cornette Fired Bruce Prichard

Yes, Cornette is back in GFW. It was hard to care about Prichard's on-air character because it was never officially established what his role was, but the live crowd sure was happy to see him leave. I assume he signed a short-term deal with GFW earlier in the year, so if his departure is legitimate, I can't say I'm surprised. I like Prichard, but Cornette is much more charismatic in my opinion, so I prefer him in this position over Prichard as long as he isn't overexposed. As LAX noted, it is pretty silly Low Ki isn't being given the vacant GFW Global Championship outright considering he is the No. 1 Contender, but at least he'll be entering last in next week's Gauntlet match for the belt.

Dezmond Xavier def. TaiJi Ishimori in the Finals of the Super X Cup

Both of these guys are exceptional athletes and thus I expected nothing less than the thrilling bout they contested here. Although it started out slightly slow, they picked up the pace in the second half and it resulted in a very fun matchup. Xavier is signed to a full-time deal with GFW, so he was the right choice to win the Super X Cup. I'm excited to see him in contention for the X-Division Championship sooner rather than later.

X-Division Champion Sonjay Dutt def. Trevor Lee

Ultimate X matches are a blast, don't get me wrong, but it's a refreshing change of pace to have a Ladder match instead on a Destination X special. Dutt and Lee have had a real good rivalry up to this point and it culminated in a strong Ladder matchup. There were plenty of sweet spots sprinkled throughout and the final stretch was especially entertaining. Lee's newfound alliance with Caleb Konley came completely out of nowhere, but of course it was meant to set up the return of Petey Williams. Similar to Terrell, I'm pumped he's resurfaced in GFW as he can be a valuable asset to an X-Division that is slowly returning to the heights it was once at.

oVe def. Jason Kaid and Zachary Wenst

oVe has been hyped up for several weeks on GFW TV, so fans were a little familiar with them coming into their debut on this show. They have a unique look and appeared to be skilled in the ring, but nothing else about them stood out to me on Night 1. It was weird that the unknown opponents they faced took most of the offense, yet you would think it'd be the other way around since oVe is supposed to be a heel tag team (I think?).

Matt Sydal def. Lashley to Earn a Championship Match of His Choosing

It was the same story Lashley has told before with the likes of Eddie Edwards and Austin Aries among others, but it doesn't take away from how he has terrific chemistry with the X-Division guys and this was another quality contest. Sydal played the classic underdog role to Lashley's Goliath and it led to a cool finishing sequence. I honestly didn't see Sydal emerging victorious, but there's an angle here with Lashley's MMA camp having a point about wanting him to choose one endeavor over the other (the commentary team hammered that home). And how about that Johnny Impact promo that aired afterward for next week?

Overall Show

GFW tends to go all out with their "live" shows by bringing in a bunch of new and old faces and while this night was no exception to that, I'm on board with all of the people who have returned for a change. On the whole, this was an above-average episode thanks to several great matches taking place and the event living up to the hype. GFW is kicking off its latest chapter and I'm looking forward to what else the company has in store in the months ahead.