IMPACT! Wrestling Review - September 13, 2018

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

KM and Fallah Bahh Interrupted Impact World Champion Austin Aries, Moose and Killer Kross

I loved the sit-down set-up in the ring where Aries, Moose and Kross made themselves comfortable because it felt like a throwback thing for a bunch of heels to do. It was a lot more effective than having them stand around and cut the same promo. KM and Bahh were the last people I expected to interrupt them, but this turned out to be a solid segment that led into Aries offering Bahh a shot at his Impact World Championship later in the night.

The Lucha Brothers def. Cult of Lee

The amazing chemistry that Pentagon and Fenix have (because they're brothers, obviously) always makes their matches exciting, especially when they have the right opponents to work with. Well, Trevor Lee and Caleb Konley are excellent wrestlers and thus it was no surprise that this was a really fun match. The Lucha Brothers are on a hell of a roll right now, and if we do end up getting them and Cage vs. oVe at Bound for Glory, I'm extremely excited for it.

Alisha def. Katarina

Of course, this wasn't much of a match at all, because before they could even make contact, Grado and Joe Hendry emerged on the stage and distracted her with a video that mocked her for deceiving them and even took a small shot at her WWE past. Alisha then proceeded to roll Katarina up and win in quick fashion, which honestly might have been for the better because I'm not sure if this would have been any good had it been a true matchup.

Impact World Tag Team Champions LAX def. The Fraternity (Non-title)

If my memory serves me correctly, it's been a while since the tag team champs were in action on IMPACT! Wrestling (due to their feud with The OGz taking place largely through vignettes and promos), so this was a fine showcase for them against a team I knew nothing about coming into this contest that made a solid first impression (even though there were a few rough spots). The post-match interaction between LAX and The OGz was well done as they prepare for their all-out war at Bound for Glory.

Impact X-Division Champion Brian Cage def. Kongo Kong (Non-title)

While this wasn't as strong as their previous encounter (which admittedly exceeded expectations by a country mile because of how abysmal Kong is), it was still a decent match that mostly existed to give Cage some shine as champion and also lead into his announcement that he has agreed to team with The Lucha Brothers against oVe at Bound for Glory. Keeping this short and sweet was a smart move.

Impact World Champion Austin Aries def. Fallah Bahh

Needless to say, Bahh was never at any point considered a serious threat to the title, despite Josh Mathews' best efforts to make it seem like the belt was in jeopardy down the stretch. Bahh actually scored more offense than I thought he would, but because of the size difference, it was excusable. Plus, the crowd was into the action, so it was a nice little main event while it lasted to get more heat on the new heel trio. That was the case afterward as well when they laid out both Bahh and KM.

Overall Show

I noticed going into the show that this edition of IMPACT! Wrestling wasn't as heavily hyped as it usually is, so I can't say I was disappointed by the lack of excitement on the episode. The Lucha Brothers vs. Cult of Lee was easily the highlight of the night, but at least everything else served a purpose in either furthering an angle or setting up matches for Bound for Glory. The pay-per-view isn't for another month, so there is plenty of time for the card to come together.