IMPACT Bound for Glory Review - October 21, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Impact X-Division Champion Chris Sabin def. KENTA

This had no storyline support as it was randomly announced as a "dream match" of sorts a few weeks ago, I would imagine because Lio Rush is currently out of action and that's what Sabin regained the gold at IMPACT 1000 and not here. Perhaps that was the plan all along, but either way, I'm not complaining that we got this because it was an awesome opener and better than any Ultimate X match they could have done when they don't have plans for the title. Sabin is the perfect fit as X-Division champ right now.

PCO def. Moose, Steve Maclin and Rhino in a Four-Way Monster's Ball Match

This also didn't have much going for it because Maclin and Rhino were the ones feuding and Moose and PCO were thrown in there because they don't have much else going on. At least it was better than them being random entrants in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet. This was a wild, well-worked hardcore brawl that didn't overstay its welcome. All four put forth a commendable effort. I'm surprised PCO went over because he has gone on in the record in recent months saying he was done with IMPACT after Bound for Glory, unless that's changed.

ABC def. The Rascalz to Win the Impact World Tag Team Championship

The Rascalz cost ABC the tag titles several months back, so it was only fitting that the story concluded with ABC beating them to get the belts back here. They had the super enjoyable outing you'd expect from them and had terrific chemistry. The spray paint stuff is tired (both in IMPACT with The Rascalz and in AEW with The Outcasts), but at least it backfired with The Rascalz during the finish to cost them the win. IMPACT is lucky to have both of these tandems on their roster.

IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay def. "Speedball" Mike Bailey

Ospreay calls himself the United Kingdom champ, but I believe it's still officially the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship according to New Japan Pro-Wrestling. At any rate, this lived up to the hype as being an exceptional piece of business. Ospreay is among the very best in the business today and Bailey is a tremendous talent in his own right. They worked a very "indie" style in that there were a ton of kickouts and it was largely a spot-fest, but I was thoroughly entertained and thought it was over on multiple occasions. Obviously, I don't think Ospreay signs with IMPACT when he becomes a free agent next year, but I'd love to see him make more appearances for the promotion in the months ahead while he still can.

Jordynne Grace Won the 20-Person Call Your Shot Gauntlet Battle Royal

These Call Your Shot Gauntlet Battle Royals are typically throwaway year after year, but this one actually exceeded my expectations. The intergender stuff wasn't egregious, some stories were told, and the surprise entrants were fun. Bully Ray eliminated Grace last year, so Grace eliminating Bully to win it this year made sense. Post-match, she announced she intends to cash in her title shot at the Impact Knockouts World Championship at Hard to Kill.

Impact Knockouts World Champion Trinity def. Mickie James

The build to this bout suffered from not having a compelling dynamic. It sold itself on paper in that Trinity and James are two notable names and James was never beaten for the belt earlier this year (she had to relinquish it due to injury), but that also left this match without a clear fan favorite (both are equally popular). That hindered the crowd reaction. They had a good match that could have been better. I would have been fine with whoever went over, but it's cool that IMPACT is running with Trinity as the face of the Knockouts division when it would have been easy to make her a placeholder champion in James' absence.

Impact World Champion Alex Shelley def. Josh Alexander

Similar to the Knockouts title match, Shelley and Alexander are also both babyfaces, but Shelley leaned heel in the weeks preceding the pay-per-view and thus their storyline was more intriguing. I thought Shelley would either cheat to win or snap on Alexander if he lost, so I was pleasantly surprised Shelley won clean to legitimize him as champ, giving Alexander his first singles pinfall loss in two years (a statistic I wasn't previously aware of). They had a strong, no-nonsense main event. There was no major angle to close out the show with these two, but there was a video package that aired afterward that certainly got people buzzing (more on that below).

Overall Show

All right, lots to unpack. The Impact Hall of Fame inductions of Traci Brooks, Mike Tenay and Don West aired on the pre-show, and the speeches by Brooks and Tenay were wonderful. An Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship match with MK Ultra defending against Deonna Purrazzo and Tasha Steelz was scheduled for this show I thought, but it didn't air on the pre-show or the main card and apparently it was made a dark match, possibly due to time constraints. The event itself was excellent. There was plenty of above-average wrestling across the card, but Ospreay vs. Bailey stole the show. IMPACT has done an impressive job of rebranding itself as a wrestling-centric product with consistent storytelling the past five years... making it all the more puzzling why they're reverting to the TNA initials, which was announced at the end of this event. I realize TNA is what fans will always know IMPACT as, but ditching the TNA stench was long overdue and bringing that back (even if the product has vastly improved under new management) feels like a step backward. I'm hesitant, but maybe it won't ultimately matter. Nonetheless, Bound for Glory was a succesful show in my book.

SEE MORE: IMPACT Reviews