IMPACT! Wrestling Review - October 18, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Michael Elgin def. Fallah Bahh

I've seen plenty of criticism of Elgin over the years (and in most cases it was justified), but to his credit, he has delivered in every match I've seen him have so far in IMPACT. This bout was no exception as Bahh pushed him to his limit and the two had a fun, big-man battle. Of course, Elgin winning was the right call as he'll be facing Marufuji at  Bound for Glory, but Bahh looked credible in defeat.

Impact X-Division Champion Jake Crist def. Chris Bey (Non-Title)

Bey has been making the rounds recently, having competed on IMPACT! Wrestling two weeks ago, 205 Live last week, and IMPACT! again this week. I saw that he also wrestled for Future of Honor earlier this year as well. He's a hell of a talent from what I've seen and I hope he ends up with a contract somewhere sooner rather than later. He obviously wasn't beating the X-Division champ days before Bound for Glory, but it was an enjoyable outing, nonetheless.

Rich Swann def. Impact World Tag Team Champion Josh Alexander and Rhino in a Three-Way Match

This had all the makings of a terrific three-way, but because of time constraints, it ended up being only solid. The wrestling was perfectly fine, but it was apparent that they were rushing to get all of their stuff in. The only thing worth noting about it was that Swann picked up the win to give him and Willie Mack a momentum boost before Bound for Glory. I wouldn't have had him pin Alexander though when Rhino could have easily been defeated.

Sabu vs. Rohit Raju in an Impact X-Division Championship Ladder Match Qualifier Ended in a Double Count-Out

Man, this was complete garbage. I don't mean that in a way where it was an entertaining hardcore match; it was just bad. Raju was a terrible choice to include in this to begin with, while Sabu has no business wrestling in an IMPACT ring in 2019. It didn't last long, mind you, but it was still a waste of time. To make matters worse, the double count-out finish was terrible. On the bright side, neither guy will be competing for the X-Division title on Sunday.

Mahabali Shera Won a Battle Royal to Earn the No. 20 Spot in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet Match at Bound for Glory

I honestly had no idea there was even going to be a Gauntlet match before this happened. I guess it's IMPACT way of getting everyone on the card, but there was no reason for this to end their last show before Bound for Glory. I've mostly been a fan of the intergender stuff with Tessa Blanchard, but it wasn't as effective or as believable here. The eliminations were forgettable, no one had a chance to shine, and Shera winning does nothing for me. Edwards entering at number one will at least make the bout somewhat interesting for a while, if nothing else.

Overall Show

I've been looking forward to Bound for Glory for the past month or so and I have faith that it will be worth watching based off how excellent the on-air product has been in 2019. Unfortunately, I'm no more excited for the event now than I was before watching this episode, which was completely uneventful. The video packages were well done, but everything else was weak and the crowd was lifeless. More of an effort should have been placed on hyping the bigger matches set to take place at the pay-per-view with less focus on the filler. Holding at least one hot angle would have been a better use of the time.