IMPACT Bound for Glory Review - October 24, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Pre-Show: The Deaners def. The Rascalz (Dez and Wentz)

I thought Cousin Jake was supposed to be in the Call Your Shot Battle Royal? I'm not complaining that he wasn't, but that dawned on me while watching this. Nonetheless, it was a perfectly fine pre-show match. I don't understand why The Rascalz continue to lose whenever it matters most. Unless they're splitting up (which they shouldn't), I thought it was a strange move to put The Deaners over The Rascalz.

Impact X-Division Champion Rohit Raju def. Trey Miguel, Willie Mack, TJP, Chris Bey and Jordynne Grace in a Six-Way Match

IMPACT is known for kicking off its pay-per-views with an X-Division spot-fest and that's exactly what this was. That said, it was very fun and everyone had a chance to shine. I thought Grace was walking out with the title, but I'm actually glad Raju retained instead. I have to give him and IMPACT props as he was a guy I couldn't have cared less about when he first branched off on his own because of his past in Desi Hit Squad (they were terrible), but he's really come into his own lately as a pest heel champion and it will mean more when he eventually loses it, possibly to Grace.

Rhino Won the 20-Person Call Your Shot Battle Royal

These things are almost always a mess and, truth be told, this was, too. However, it was almost so ridiculous that it was enjoyable. It had its fair share of surprise entrants, but the biggest of the bunch was James Storm, who we haven't seen in IMPACT in almost three years. I still want him to WWE at some point, but I'd be all for him having a return run in IMPACT for a bit. The rest of this was passable, though the intergender stuff didn't work as well as it has in other matches in my opinion. You had to know either Rhino or Heath were winning because their spots on the roster were on the line, but my guess is that it was supposed to be Heath but an injury led to Rhino winning instead. Here's hoping he's okay and not too hurt if he actually is.

Moose def. EC3 in an Unsanctioned Match

This was given the cinematic treatment, so I'm honestly not even sure if Moose won or not. This was laid out like a fight, so there isn't much I can say or analyze about it other than the storytelling aspect of it was well done. While not incredibly exciting, it did show that Moose can bring out that aggression when he wants to and that he's more than a fake TNA World Heavyweight Champion. I wonder if this will mark the end of Moose's TNA character, but either way, this felt like a write-off for EC3 as he prepares for his run in Ring of Honor.

Ken Shamrock def. Eddie Edwards

Shamrock was inducted into the IMPACT Hall of Fame earlier in the evening before the pay-per-view went on the air and one person who sent in a video congratulating him on the accomplish was Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, which was super cool. The idea behind this match was probably to put Shamrock in there with someone who can go, and it worked. Granted, it was far from a barn burner, but it was entertaining enough, though I could have done without the shenanigans from Sami Callihan. That said, I understand it was done to protect Edwards in defeat, so the feud may not be over yet. This stood out from everything else on the show up to this point because the style they worked, so I appreciated that.

The North def. The Motor City Machine Guns, The Good Brothers, and Ace Austin & Madman Fulton in a Four-Way Tag Team Match to Win the Impact World Tag Team Championship

The North ambushed Alex Shelley beforehand on the stage, so Sabin had to defend the tag titles on his own and Shelley never came back out. There was no way this was going to be anything less than great given who was involved and it was just that. They constantly kept things moving and the action was excellent. The North were the last people I thought would come out on top with the titles, just because they're fresh off a year-long title run, but I assume this puts both Motor City Machine Guns and Good Brothers in chase mode. As for Austin and Fulton, those guys can't win a match to save their lives apparently.

Su Yung def. Deonna Purrazzo to Win the Impact Knockouts Championship

I may be in the minority on this one, but I am no fan of the Su Yung character. I can't remember her having many standout matches as Su Yung previously, and although this was pretty good (largely thanks to Purrazzo in my opinion), I have no desire to see her have another Impact Knockouts Championship reign. Yes, Rosemary is character-based too, but she's had more memorable matches in IMPACT than Yung has. The interference hindered the quality of the contest and I hated the outcome. Purrazzo recently announced she signed a long-term deal with the company, so it's certainly a questionable decision to take the title off of her at this point in time. By the way, what the hell happened to Kylie Rae? Her absence was never explained.

Rich Swann def. Eric Young to Win the Impact World Championship

The story these two have told over the past three months has been fantastic and made a match I wouldn't have thought anything of six months ago into a genuine pay-per-view main event. Young has been on fire as the unhinged heel while Swann has been brilliant as a babyface, so the dynamic here was perfect. It could have easily gone either way, so that added to it as well. This had a strong layout and played out wonderfully. Swann winning the title was the right call and it made for a feel-good moment to close out the event.

Overall Show

IMPACT has been producing some strong content since Slammiversary and it's been terrific to see them maintain that momentum. That show was built more on shocking moments, debuts and returns, whereas this was a straight-up wrestling show and most of the matches delivered. I will say, it felt like it was lacking something on the whole. I don't know if it was the atmosphere of the empty building or what, but it didn't come across like the promotion's biggest pay-per-view of the year at certain points. It wasn't the greatest IMPACT event I've ever seen, but the three hours were worthwhile and I'm looking forward to seeing where they go from here with several of the storylines.