IMPACT Bound for Glory Review - October 7, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Pre-Show: Impact Digital Media Champion Brian Myers def. Dirty Dango

This was an open challenge from Myers. Dirty Dango answering it was a pleasant surprise worthy of the pre-show. He's been busy this year in the NWA teaming with JTG. Time will tell if he'll be sticking around in IMPACT or if this was just a one-off. Either way, this was a nice match between two veterans. Myers has been perfect in this role as Impact Digital Media Champion and I'm glad he didn't drop the title here.

Pre-Show: Tommy Dreamer Inducted Raven Into the Impact Hall of Fame

Raven may not be the same level of star as other Impact HOF inductees such as Sting and Kurt Angle, nor is he one of the first people that comes to mind when I think of the company's history, but he was an important player in the early years of TNA. Dreamer being the one to induct him was fitting given their memorable rivalry and I thought Raven did well with his induction speech.

Frankie Kazarian def. "Speedball" Mike Bailey to Win the Impact X-Division Championship

Bailey is up there with Josh Alexander as IMPACT's best wrestlers of 2022 because the man hasn't missed in the ring this year. I'm happy he had the chance to shine on IMPACT's biggest stage, even though he fell short. That said, there's no shame in losing to one of IMPACT's greatest X-Division wrestlers ever in Kazarian, who is still under contract to AEW for those curious. It's pretty cool that he'll seemingly have another extended run in IMPACT if this was any indication of the quality of matches he'll be having.

Mickie James def. Mia Yim in a Career Threatening Match

It has been well known for a while now that Yim's contract expired at this event (or at least this weekend, she may have had more matches at the post-Bound for Glory TV taping), so the outcome of this contest was never in doubt for me. Despite that, they worked hard and delivered a good match. I remember seeing them face off at an independent wrestling show almost exactly 12 years ago and it's awesome to see how far Yim has come since then. I'm looking forward to whatever she does next.

The Death Dollz (Jessicka and Taya Valkyrie) def. VXT to Win the Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship)

As I've said before, I haven't been into the Jessicka storyline at all, but the storyline has played out logically with her and Valkyrie developing chemistry as partners while slowly winning Rosemary over. Purrazzo is a terrific talent and Valkyrie is super skilled as well, but there was nothing about this that stood out as special (which is the case for most of these Knockouts World Tag Team Championship matches). VXT losing the belts is interesting, though. Could Purrazzo and Chelsea Green be on their way out of IMPACT?

Impact World Tag Team Champions Honor No More (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) def. The Motor City Machine Guns

This was one of the matches I was most excited for coming into this show and they definitely delivered. I don't remember these teams ever having a chance to mix it up because Taven and Bennett went their separate ways months before Motor City Machine Guns reunited in Ring of Honor in 2016. They were given an ample amount of time and made the most of it. This was wonderful tag team wrestling and I'm slightly surprised Honor No More retained with both men's contracts expiring this weekend, but maybe there will be a rematch one of these weeks on IMPACT! Wrestling.

Bully Ray Won the 20-Person Call Your Shot Gauntlet Battle Royal

IMPACT has had a few of these in recent years at Bound for Glory, and while it manages to get everyone on the card, they're all usually the same and by that I mean they're basic and uninteresting. I still don't like that these are intergender because there are always spots that are way too unbelievable and it's hard to take the women as legitimate threats to win the whole thing. The ECW reunion did nothing for me, either. Bully Ray taking home the trophy was a questionable call, to say the least. Does IMPACT really need Bully Ray in 2022, let alone in the Impact World Championship picture?

Impact Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace def. Masha Slamovich

Grace and Slamovich should absolutely be in the conversation for the best women's wrestlers in the world today after this outing. They busted their asses and put forth an excellent effort. I was pulling for Slamovich to become champ and continue her undefeated streak, but Grace being the one to hand Slamovich her first loss doesn't bother me one bit. Hopefully it isn't long before we get a rematch. I'm curious if Grace will still be holding the gold by the time James contends for it.

Impact World Champion Josh Alexander def. Eddie Edwards

This feud never once felt hot to me in the weeks preceding this pay-per-view, even with all of the Honor No More stuff (not to mention that the tacked-on story with Alisha threatening to leave Edwards if he lost was rushed since they haven't interacted in months before last Thursday). Despite all that, this was a top-notch main event. It was as well-wrestled as you'd expect and I appreciated that they kept the shenanigans to a minimum. Much like with Grace vs. Slamovich, I thought we might get a title chance and didn't, but Alexander getting the moment he didn't get last year makes sense. Thank the lord Bully Ray didn't turn heel afterward and cash in his title shot on Alexander to capture the championship. That would have been classic TNA booking.

Overall Show

First and foremost, it was insanely stupid of IMPACT to run their biggest pay-per-view of the year the same weekend of WWE's Extreme Rules event and on the same night as WWE SmackDown and AEW Rampage. They couldn't have settled for another Saturday or Sunday in October? Sadly, no one will be taking about Bound for Glory this year, which is a shame because this was a solid show. It wasn't IMPACT strongest effort on pay-per-view in 2022, but there was plenty of above-average action across the card. However, Bully Ray being back doesn't leave me overly optimistic about where the product is headed.

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