IMPACT 1000 Review - September 21, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Alan Angels def. "Speedball" Mike Bailey, Ace Austin, Rich Swann, Samuray del Sol and Impact World Tag Team Champion Zachary Wentz in an Impact X-Division Championship No. 1 Contender's Ultimate X Match

Much like Feast or Fired last week, it's cool that they brought back another IMPACT staple, the Ultimate X match, for the big 1,000th episode celebration. It was chaotic and enjoyable as always with the usual high-risk spots. The finish looked botched in person, but it probably went as planned watching it back now. I didn't expect Angels to win because Chris Sabin hadn't won the X-Division title at this point in the taping, so it makes more sense in retrospect.

Jake Something def. Dirty Dango

This had a time limit of 10 minutes, and had it gone to a draw, TNA original Chase Stevens would have served as the judge. This was all new information to me as none of this was explained in the building at the time it was taped. The live audience was not informed. I also wasn't aware TNA used to have a clock on the screen for matches back in the day, so that was a nice nod to the past. This was an average outing that ended in a matter of minutes, but I'm glad Something went over decisively.

Eric Young def. Kenny King by Disqualification; Team Canada (Young and Scott D'Amore) def. King and Sheldon Jean by Disqualification; Team Canada and America's Most Wanted def. King, Jean and The Design

Young vs. King was barely getting started when Jean interfered and caused the contest to be thrown out. The same thing happened in the subsequent tag team match, which resulted in the eight-man tag team match we ended up getting (acting authority figure for the night Shark Boy was the one who restarted it both times). It was all about the nostalgia, similar to Team 3D's in-ring return last week, but the fans were into it and it was what it needed to be. Chris Harris is obviously retired, so this America's Most Wanted reunion was a memorable moment, especially alongside Team Canada.

Josh Alexander def. Impact World Tag Team Champion Trey Miguel

This took place later in the taping, so the crowd was quieter than they were for most of the other matches. Despite that, Alexander and Miguel had great chemistry and produced a very well-wrestled match. Post-match, Alex Shelley saved Alexander from The Rascalz (unlike last week), leading to the announcement that it will be Alexander vs. Shelley for the Impact World Championship at Bound for Glory as expected. I'm really looking forward to that one.

Awesome Kong, Impact Knockouts World Champion Trinity, Gail Kim, Mickie James and Jordynne Grace def. Gisele Shaw, Savanah Evans, Deonna Purrazzo, Tasha Steelz and Angelina Love

This was another instance where it wasn't as much about the wrestling as it was seeing so much of IMPACT's biggest female stars from the past and present share the ring. It was quite the spectacle, to say the least. This received plenty of time and everyone got their time to shine, specifically Kong (who was clearly limited with what she could do) at the end. It's only appropriate that the X-Division closed out the first part of IMPACT 1000 and the Knockouts closed out the second part given how integral both divisions have been to the company's history.

Overall Show

It was another newsworthy night for IMPACT with, in addition to everything discussed above, Bailey being announced as Will Ospreay's opponent at Bound for Glory (which is going to be something special) and the Feast or Fired winners opening their briefcases. Crazzy Steve got the Impact Digital Media Championship shot, Moose got the Impact World Championship shot, Chris Bey got the Impact World Tag Team Championship shot, and Yuya Uemura was "fired" (we'll see if that sticks). It was an entertaining episode for the second straight week and the whole taping was a blast to attend. With IMPACT 1000 out of the way, they can begin to lock in the card for Bound for Glory next month.

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