IMPACT Victory Road - October 3, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Rascalz (Dez and Wentz) def. XXXL

Considering this match had no storyline significance, it made sense to serve as the opener to the show. XXXL have grown on me lately, but there's obviously still room for improvement and development. Thus, it was smart to put them with such a talented team in The Rascalz. This was a solid match with The Rascalz picking up a much-needed victory. Unfortunately, I don't see them re-entering the Impact World Tag Team Championship picture any time soon due to how crowded it is at the moment.

Brian Myers def. Tommy Dreamer

I've actually really enjoyed the feud between Myers and Dreamer in recent weeks. I've always been a big Dreamer fan, but as I've said before, there is zero reason for him to be wrestling as regularly as he has been in 2020. That said, this storyline has held my interest and this was a well-worked match, probably one of Dreamer's best in recent memory. Myers winning was the right call, but based on their interaction later in the night, the rivalry isn't over yet.

Willie Mack def. Impact X-Division Champion Rohit Raju by Count-Out in the Defeat Rohit Challenge

The Defeat Rohit Challenge is perfect for Raju depending on how long he's champion for. His reign is just getting started, but he's quickly grown into the role. Mack, meanwhile, excels at pretty much everything he does and thus it was no surprise that this was a quality contest. Mack winning by count-out should set the stage for a rematch on an upcoming episode of IMPACT! Wrestling, if not at Bound for Glory.

Tenille Dashwood def. Jordynne Grace

The last two matches these two had were great and this rubber match was no exception. They received plenty of time and kept the pace consistent throughout. It very well could have gone either way, so that helped make the nearfalls down the stretch more suspenseful. Grace already had her time with the Impact Knockouts Championship earlier this year, so I was happy with the result, even though I'm not entirely sure what's next for either of them.

Rhino and Heath def. Reno Scum

I've missed seeing Rhino and Heath team up after the magic they made on WWE SmackDown together four years ago and I'm in full favor of them teaming again in IMPACT as it's a smart use of both guys. Reno Scum do absolutely nothing for me, but they served their purpose here in putting over Rhino and Heath in what was a perfectly fine match. Scott D'Amore informed Heath afterward that he hasn't officially been signed to a contract yet though, so expect that story to continue heading into Bound for Glory.

Trey Miguel def. Moose

D'Amore brought up to Moose backstage that he hadn't wrestled in nearly a month due to being so obsessed with EC3. That was how the match came about. Moose always works well with the smaller guys, so it was a fun match while it lasted even though it didn't have much juice. Moose has largely been protected this year, so I was pleasantly surprised by Trey winning. EC3's logo distracted Moose before Trey rolled him up, so he loses nothing in defeat.

Josh Alexander def. Impact World Tag Team Champion Alex Shelley, Ace Austin and Karl Anderson in a Four-Way Match

These four teams are set to collide in a four-way tag team match at Bound for Glory for the Impact World Tag Team Championship, so this served as a nice preview of that. It was as excellent as you'd expect it to be given the level of talent involved and was pure chaos from bell to bell. Austin and Madman Fulton haven't had a ton of momentum as a tandem, so I would have preferred for him to win over Alexander, who already held the tag titles for over a year and has credibility.

Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo def. Susie

Kylie Rae will clearly be facing Purrazzo for the Impact Knockouts Championship at Bound for Glory, so there was practically zero chance Susie was winning here. That said, this was all about how Purrazzo would beat her and I thought her methodical dismantling of Susie was really well done. Kimber Lee forcing Rae to watch helplessly from across the ring was a nice touch. It also added to the Purrazzo vs. Rae feud because now Rae has a reason to want to face Purrazzo at the event: to avenge her friend in addition to taking her title.

Impact World Champion Eric Young def. Eddie Edwards

This was a rematch from a recent edition of IMPACT! Wrestling when Young beat Edwards to win the Impact World Championship. Young focused entirely on Edwards' injured knee and they told a great story with that, especially as Edwards attempted to battle back down the stretch. Ultimately, he was unsuccessful as Young's relentlessness was too much for Edwards to overcome. Post-match, Young continued his attack on Edwards before Rich Swann made the save. Despite being predictable, this was a top-notch main event on an otherwise unspectacular special.

Overall Show

While I wouldn't consider anything about this event to be must-see, it was an effective set-up show for Bound for Glory later this month. Most of the matches were pretty predictable and no titles changed hands, but there was solid progression for several storylines and the wrestling was enjoyable on the whole. I like the idea of IMPACT bringing back old TNA pay-per-views as monthly specials on Impact Plus as it gives people an incentive to want to sign up for the service compared to the specials they were doing previously, which were basically taped house shows that had minimal meaning.