IMPACT! Bound for Glory Review - November 5, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

X-Division Champion Trevor Lee def. Matt Sydal, Petey Williams, Sonjay Dutt, Garza Jr. and Dezmond Xavier in a Six-Way Match

I wasn't too found of how IMPACT! gave this match away on free TV literally days ahead of the pay-per-view, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of this bout. It was wrestled under lucha libre rules, so all six men mostly weren't in the ring simultaneously. That slowed down the pace a bit early on, but the crowd was hot for the exciting action, nonetheless, and this worked as the opener to the event. I hate to see the X-Division relegated to this spot every year because it exposes how badly booked the division is by the company, but they never cease to deliver on the big pay-per-views. Williams was obviously over huge in front of his home country crowd, so while I would have had him finally regain the gold here, Lee cheating him out of the win definitely led to major heat for him.

Taiji Ishimori def. Tyson Dux

Dux was touted by the commentators as the "hottest free agent in Canada" at the moment, and I remember being surprised that WWE didn't pick him up following his performance in the Cruiserweight Classic. As for Ishimori, we saw quite a bit of him in the Super X Cup over the summer. They competed a nice little match, but Laurel Van Ness' bit in the audience lasted way longer than it should have and distracted viewers from the matchup at hand.

Alberto El Patron Lashed Out at IMPACT! Management

Personally, I would have preferred if El Patron was cut from the company all together (I honestly don't think he's worth all the trouble he's been this year), but if they were going to bring him back, it was best to turn him heel. He was miscast as a babyface from the get-go, and having him go after the powers that be made sense given he was suspended and stripped of his title after all. What confused me, however, was a majority of the audience siding with El Patron. I fully expected them to boo him out of the building, but Canada crowds are like no other, I guess.

Abyss def. Grado in a Monster's Ball Match

We've seen so many Monster's Ball matches in IMPACT! over the years that I've almost become desensitized to them, and it didn't help that Grado has largely been a comedy character throughout his tenure. That said, I commend them for their effort in the first half of this match and trying to make it as extreme as possible. They incorporated a variety of weapons to pop the crowd, but this completely went off the rails once Van Ness got involved. Rosemary attacked her for no apparent reason, and then seemingly sided with Abyss for no apparent reason. Yes, they have history in Decay, but she was just a babyface as of last week. What was with the sudden turn? Not only that, the finishing sequence looked awful and the bell ringing prematurely was also an unfortunate flub.

Team IMPACT def. Team AAA

I never really cared too much about this "supremacy" storyline coming into the event, so although I wasn't incredibly invested in who won, it was a well-wrestled match where all six stars played their respective roles well and the crowd came alive down the stretch. They told a story with Ethan Carter III and James Storm slowly starting to trust each other, which ultimately led to them scoring the victory. Speaking of Storm, I selfishly hope he's on his way out of the company once his contract expires and returns to NXT.

Impact Tag Team Champions oVe def. LAX in a 5150 Street Fight

I'm not sure why IMPACT! opted to book a Monster's Ball and a Street Fight on the same show, but at least this was way better than Abyss vs. Grado from earlier in the evening. They put their bodies through hell and put together a fun hardcore brawl on the whole. I'm a big fan of Sami Callihan's, so I was disappointed by the flat reaction he received from the audience when he showed up. He's a good fit in oVe and might help with the group's progression in the long run.

Gail Kim def. Sienna and Allie in a Three-Way Match to Win the Impact Knockouts Championship

I was enjoying the four-way feud that we had over the title in recent months with Kim, Sienna, Allie and Taryn Terrell, so while Terrell's abrupt departure from the company is a shame, the remaining women made the most of situation and had a solid three-way match. The crowd sat on their hands for the better part of the bout, but they were behind Canada's own Gail Kim and it was smart to have her win in her final BFG matchup. She immediately vacated the title last year after winning it, so it remains to be seen how long she'll hold it this time around.

Lashley and King Mo def. Moose and Stephan Bonnar in a Six Sides of Steel Match

The purpose of this feud was for the wrestlers to prove to the MMA fighters that they are every bit as legitimate as they are. Does the heel team winning mean everything Dan Lambert said about wrestlers was true? The match itself was a total mess filled with interference from American Top Team. I give Bonnar credit for holding his own, but this was trying to be so many different things and failed as a result, in embarrassing fashion no less. Please let this be the end of the program.

Impact Global Champion Eli Drake def. Johnny Impact

These two previously had a quality contest on an episode of IMPACT! Wrestling that was marred by a fluky finish with Chris Adonis getting involved. Thus, he should have been banned from ringside during the rematch. Instead, he continued to interfere and it dragged down the match. Drake and Impact worked well together otherwise, but there was no saving this once El Patron surfaced and attacked both men. It felt like something you would see in WCW. This is far from the first time they have done something like this in the main event of Bound for Glory, so while it didn't surprise me, it did end the evening on a very sour note for me.

Overall Show

I was willing to give this company a chance as they enter yet another new era (or so we're told), but they failed miserably. The few pay-per-views IMPACT! does produce a year are usually forgettable anyway, but this was downright deplorable. The opener was entertaining and then it was all downhill from there. I forgot to mention that Jimmy Jacobs also appeared during the broadcast and crashed commentary, getting even less of a reaction than Callihan, which is saying something. Why would anyone believe they're turning their on-air product around for the better after this atrocity? It would have been a bad show regardless, but the fact it was their "biggest event of the year" made matters even worse.