IMPACT! Wrestling Review - October 12, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Impact World Tag Team Champions The Rascalz def. Sami Callihan and Rich Swann

The Rascalz defending against ABC was always the logical match for Bound for Glory, but what made the outcome even more obvious was that it was reported weeks ago that Callihan became a free agent at the end of September, making this his IMPACT... swan song (I'm sorry, I had to). This was the entertaining outing you'd expect from these teams and a big win for The Rascalz as they beat two former world champs. If this was indeed it for Callihan, he went out on a high note. He's done all there is to do and I'm looking forward to seeing where he pops up next.

Dirty Dango def. Jake Something, Eric Young, Jordynne Grace and Champagne Singh in a Five-Way Match to Earn the No. 20 Spot in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet

No only will Dango enter last in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet at Bound for Glory by virtue of his victory, Something will have to enter first as a result of being pinned. I wasn't a fan of last week's intergender 10-person tag team match, but this was better because Grace can obviously hang with all four of these guys. It was your average multi-person match with everyone getting a chance to shine at one point or another. The most memorable part about it was the former Vladimir Kozlov from WWE (now going by his real name Oleg Prudius) showing up at the end and helping Dango win.

Tasha Steelz def. Courtney Rush

Steelz is a good worker, but personally, it's tough for me to get invested in her matches, probably because I just care about her as a character and her latest team with Deonna Purrazzo feels forced. It's clearly IMPACT's way of keeping Purrazzo busy until her contract expires at the end of the year, but I'm not sensing any chemistry between her and Steelz. This was a well-worked match with Steelz continuing her winning ways. She and Purrazzo will challenge MK Ultra for the Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship at Bound for Glory.

Eddie Edwards def. Frankie Kazarian in a 2-Out-of-3 Falls Killer Impact Match

The first fall could be won by pinfall, the second fall could be won by submission, and the third fall was Last Man Standing. The reason there were so few matches on this show was because this took up a ton of time, but it needed to given the stipulation. I'm actually surprised this wasn't saved for Bound for Glory, but perhaps its length is exactly why it didn't and because it got to take center stage on this show. Putting them in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet would be a waste, though. Nonetheless, this was an excellent main event. The hardcore stuff worked here because it was the blow-off to their lengthy feud and both guys had strong showings.

Overall Show

I appreciated the main event getting as much time as it did because I guarantee you it would've been significantly shorter had it happened at Bound for Glory. Speaking of which, the build for the pay-per-view hasn't been hot by any means, but the card sells itself, leaving the weekly shows feeling lukewarm. This was an improvement over last week thanks to the main event, the entertaining opener, and the surprise debut of Prudius during the five-way.

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