MCMAHON’S BOUND FOR GLORY LIVE REPORT 11/5: Impact vs. Drake, AAA vs. Impact, Lashley/King Mo vs. Bonnar/Moose

McMahon’s Bound for Glory Live Report
November 5, 2017
Live from Aberdeen Pavilion (Ottawa, Ont.)
Aired on PPV

Announcers: Jeremy Borash and Josh Mathews

— The Impact signature was shown.

— Alberto El Patron was shown arriving earlier today.

— A video aired hyping all the matches with sound bytes from the wrestlers.

— An exterior shot of the Aberdeen Pavilion was shown as Jeremy Borash welcomed us to the show and said that the show was sold out. Interior arena shots were shown with the crowd.

(1) TREVOR LEE [c] vs. MATT SYDAL vs. DEZMOND XAVIER vs. GARZA JR. vs. SONJAY DUTT vs. PETEY WILLIAMS — Six-Way Match for the Impact X-Division Championship

The match will be held under Lucha Libre rules. Two men are legal at any time, but no tags are required if someone leaves the ring.

Sonjay and Sydal begin the match. The crowd was really into Petey Williams, with a loud “We Want Petey!” chant coming just 2:00 into the bout. Four people hit Lee with sliding kicks in the corner. Lee hit Sonjay with a huge pop-up powerbomb for a two count. Garza Jr. had his right shoulder taped up and he’s holding it as if he was wearing a sling, even as he’s in the ring. Lee began working on Garza Jr.’s arm with an armbar. Williams hit a codebreaker on Lee and a backslide into a near fall. Sydal nailed Williams with a kick to the face. Williams hit a dive on Lee to the outside. Xavier took out everyone with a big dive over the top. Xavier threw Lee into the ring and hit the Final Flash on Lee for a believable near fall but Sonjay broke it up. Garza Jr. hit Sydal with a headbutt. Williams kicked Sydal and put him in a sharpshooter but Sonjay broke it up with a kick. Williams hit Xavier with a Canadian Destroyer but before he could go for the pin, Trevor Lee tossed Williams out of the ring and covered Xavier himself.

WINNER: Trevor Lee retains the X-Division title in 13:00. (**1/2)

(McMahon: I actually expected this match to be a little more up-tempo. It seemed like there were some sloppy spots — uncharacteristically, a few with Xavier — but the crowd made up for some of that with their enthusiasm for Williams. The live crowd has made a huge difference from the typical Impact Zone crowd thus far. It’s a noticeable difference.)

— Eli Drake and Chris Adonis were shown arriving earlier today.

— Hakim Zane, the winner of Global Forged, was shown in the crowd.

— Jeremy Borash and Josh Mathews previewed the Impact Global Title match mater today.

(2) TYSON DUX vs. TAIJI ISHIMORI (w/ Masayuki Uchida)

Borash called Dux the top free agent in Canada. Borash said the winner of this match could get a title shot against Lee. Ishimori hit a dropkick and Dux rolled to the outside. Mathews mentioned that Dux wrestled in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic against Zack Sabre Jr. Dux hit a suplex for a two count. Laurel Van Ness was shown walking through the crowd. She was dressed in a mink coat and was typically crazy. LVN was shown in the crowd again. Mathews pointed out that she was Canadian. LVN was shown sitting on a fan’s lap. Ishimori hit a stomp for a two count. Ishimori tried to grab a guillotine choke but Dux countered into a suplex attempt but Ishimori countered into a crossbody for a two count. Ishimori went to the top rope and hit a 450 splash for the win.

WINNER: Taiji Ishimori in 5:00 (**1/2)

(McMahon: Good match, but the cutaways to LVN took the viewer out of it a little bit, especially considering it led to nowhere. It was good to see Dux in Impact. If he is one of the new talents they are going to utilize, that’s a good sign. I’m also glad they brought Ishimori back from NOAH. I thought he was missed at the last set of TV tapings.)

— Johnny Impact was shown arriving at the arena earlier today.

— Grado saw Abyss backstage and said they don’t need to have this match. Abyss said Joseph is not here. Abyss said Grado would feel pain, suffering and carnage. Abyss said Grado would be exported.

— In-arena: Alberto El Patron made his entrance to a mostly heel reaction. People on the aisle could be seen giving thumbs down. El Patron tried to start a “Si!” chant, but the fans weren’t engaging. There was a battle of boos and Si chants. El Patron said he should be happy tonight because he’s back in Impact Wrestling. El Patron said there is something wrong, though. El Patron said all he’s heard since he’s been back from management is that he’s amazing. El Patron said after bleeding, crying and suffering for Impact and leaving his soul in the ring, the company turned their back on him. El Patron said the cowards in Impact management screwed him and betrayed him. El Patron said the people in the back believed all the lies. El Patron said the police reports will tell you that he didn’t do anything. El Patron said that management still suspended him and stopped paying him. El Patron said management took his title away and he called Drake a paper champion.

El Patron said the company didn’t care about his family and his three babies. El Patron said that after proving them wrong, and showing them that he did nothing wrong, no one in management called him. El Patron said the owner of the company called him to tell him everything he did wrong, but no one called to check on him when he was proven right. El Patron said Impact Wrestling and the fans are wrong. El Patron said what’s wrong is what he’s about to do tonight. El Patron said Impact is filled with cowards and losers. El Patron said Impact is filled with backstabbers. El Patron addressed Jeremy Borash and asked what was up? El Patron told JB he thought they were friends. El Patron began to walk up near the announce table and asked where Borash was three months ago? Borash said that he did nothing wrong. El Patron walked up to the table and Borash tried to leave but then sat back down. El Patron asked Borash if he ever called him? Borash took a mic and said that no he didn’t call or text, and he apologized. El Patron reached out his hand to shake with Borash and Borash shook his hand back. El Patron, said JB would still shake his hand. El Patron said he came to Canada with a plan to make a statement. Borash told Mathews to get security. El Patron said his statement would start with JB. Borash said they should talk about this in the back. El Patron grabbed JB’s head and said, “maybe not.”

El Patron said this is Bound for Glory, and tonight, is going to be amazing. El Patron dropped his mic and walked off.

(McMahon: Wow! That was a really heated promo by Patron. I’m not sure how I feel about using a real-life domestic violence investigation into a storyline, but you know what? Everyone knows what happened. It was clear when he made his ring entrance, before the promo even began, that the crowd was not going to react to him as a babyface. There were segments of the crowd who were cheering “Si!” but it appeared like the majority of the crowd was anti-Patron. Impact was smart enough to realize this ahead of time, I think, and decided to go with him as a heel. You could tell that El Patron was tapping in to some real-life frustrations, and I thought that made it better. There’s also the hook of what he’s going to do later in the show. The big criticism of this segment will be using an actual domestic violence investigation in the storyline.)

— A video package aired on Monster’s Ball.

(3) ABYSS vs. GRADO — Monster’s Ball Match (if Grado loses he’s deported)

Abyss took a microphone and said he smells fear. Abyss asked Grado to dance and the crowd clapped along, so Grado danced before giving Abyss a cheap low blow to start things off. Grado went to the outside and threw in the weapons. Abyss tried to staple Grado’s forehead. Grado hit a sunset flip and Abyss stapled Grado’s head. Abyss threw a barbed wire board into the ring. Abyss positioned the board on the ring apron and on the railing. Borash said he has reports in his ear on El Patron. Abyss threw Grado into the railing. Abyss grabbed a bag of tacks and dumped them in the ring after setting up barbed wire boards in the corner. Grado had a cheese grater and hit Abyss with a low blow. Grado nailed Abyss with a trash can in the midsection and head. Grado climbed to the top rope and Abyss threw a trash can at him, knocking off off the top and to the outside, through the barbed wire board. Abyss went under the ring again and brought out Janice. Abyss missed a Janice shot and Grado hit jabs. Grado nailed Abyss with a cane. LVN was shown again sitting with fans. Grado kicked Abyss and he fell back onto the barbed wire board in the ring. Grado sandwiched the other barbed wire board on top of Abyss. Grado went to the top rope and splashed the boards on Abyss. Grado covered Abyss for a near fall. Grado and Abyss were both bleeding from their arms. LVN crawled into the ring and hit Grado with a low blow as he was about to use Janice. LVN dropped Grado with a DDT and then started punching him on the ground. LVN grabbed Janice and the lights went out. When they came back on, Rosemary was in the ring and spit mist in LVN’s face. Rosemary stared at Abyss, her former Decay teammate. Abyss grabbed Rosemary by the neck and was going to chokeslam her. Rosemary talked him down and began petting his face. Rosemary spit mist in Abyss’ face. Abyss grabbed Rosemary and chokeslammed her on the tacks. Grado rolled up Abyss for a two count … the bell rang, though. The referee said it was only a two count. Abyss hit a sloppy Blackhole Slam on Grado, on top of the barbed wire board, for the win.

WINNER: Abyss in 11:00 (*1/2)

(McMahon: Considering her match with Taya Valkyrie was canceled, this was really good use of Rosemary even though it didn’t result in Grado getting the win. The Blackhole Slam looked sloppy and the timekeeper screwup was unfortunate. Other than that, it was the typical gimmick match. Tacks, barbed wire boards and Janice. I’m not sure what else they can do with a hardcore match, but this felt like Part II of the match at Slammiversary that Steiner was involved in with Mathews and Borash. It’s a lot of the same stuff. On top of all that, the execution was bad. It was slow. Not good.)

— Backstage, McKenzie Mitchell was with Team Impact for an interview. ECIII was the only person not to cut a promo, simply saying, “see you out there.”

— A video aired on the history of Impact vs. AAA.

(4) ECIII, JAMES STORM & EDDIE EDWARDS vs. EL HIJO DEL FANTASMA, PAGANO & TEXANO JR.

Team AAA was more cohesive at the start, working on Eddie Edwards in the corner as ECIII and Storm argued with the referee. ECIII turned his back to his partners, refusing to tag, but remained on the apron. Storm hit Fantasma with a kick to the back of the head. Pagano knocked Storm off the top rope. Pagano hit a springboard bulldog on Storm for a two count. Pagano threw Storm to the outside and Texano whipped him with the bull rope. ECIII was shown on the apron glaring into the ring. Storm hit Pagano with an Alabama Slam. ECIII tags in (at last) and fires off punches and elbows. ECIII splashed Fantasma and Texano in separate corners. Fantasma kicked ECIII. Edwards clotheslined Fantasma over the top rope. Edwards dove and took out Fantasma and ECIII. Texano hit a diving swanton over the top to take out everyone. Storm and Pagano were left in the ring. Pagano hit an elbow. Storm went to the top rope and hit a swanton to the outside, taking out everyone on the ramp. ECIII and Edwards went for a superplex but Pagano and Fantasma made the save, powerbombing them off the top. Storm hit Texano with an elbow off the top. Storm hit Texano with a backcracker. Edwards kicked Pagano. On the apron, Fantasma hit a tombstone piledriver. Pagano hit a legdrop off the top rope. ECIII hit a double low blow on Pagano and Texano and then hit double One Percenters. ECIII tagged in Storm and told him to “kick their head off!” Storm hit Pagano with the Last Call for the win.

WINNER: Team Impact in 16:00. (**)

After the match, ECIII and Storm talked briefly. ECIII was talking to a production person at ringside. ECIII went back into the ring with a beer for Storm and himself. Edwards was on the outside recovering. ECIII and Storm toasted.

(McMahon: The dive spots were different, and unexpected from Storm. There were portions of this match that felt like it was in slow motion. Pagano, in particular, looked like he was going through the motions. This just didn’t feel like the culmination that it was supposed to be.)

— Backstage Eli Drake and Chris Adonis were interviewed.

— Backstage, someone from LAX that was presumed to be Homicide was attacked by a mystery person.

(5) OVE [c] vs. LAX (w/ Konnan) — 5150 Street Fight for the Impact Tag Team Championships

LAX dove on OVE to start the match and there was brawling all over the arena. Santana dove on Dave Crist from the top of some scaffolding near the ring entrance. Ortiz pomerbombed Jake Crist off the stage through a table. In the ring, Ortiz was superplexed by Jake Crist through chairs that were set up in the ring. Jake made a cover but Santana dove in the ring to break it up. There were weapons all over the ring, including tables, chains and ladders. LAX hit their finisher out of the corner on Jake Crist on a pile of chairs but Dave Crist broke it up. Sami Callahan hit the ring and threw power in Konnan’s face. Callahan flipped Santana off the top rope and onto a setup ladder. Callahan piledrove Ortiz off the apron through a table. Callahan rolled Ortiz into the ring and OVE got the win.

WINNERS: OVE retains the Impact Tag Team Titles in 11:00 (**)

After the match, Santana covered up Ortiz as OVE continued the assault. Callahan grabbed a mic and said that they are Ohio vs. Everything. And that was it. Konnan tried to roll LAX out of the ring.

(McMahon: The crowd barely reacted to Callahan’s debut, which was a surprise. Also, was there a double turn here that I missed? OVE attacked LAX after the match, with Santana, sympathetically, covering up Ortiz. Strange finish and it was also a really flat finish because the crowd didn’t respond, at all, to Callahan’s debut. It could have been because of how poorly the secret was kept. Regardless the crowd was red hot earlier in the show, and it feels like the energy has dwindled considerably. The beginning of this match was filled with spots, and the crowd started a “This is Awesome!” chant, but the latter half was flat.)

— A video package aired on Gail Kim.

— McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Gail Kim backstage. Gail said she became the first Knockouts Champion 10 years ago, and she intends on doing the same tonight, retiring on top.

— Santino Marella was shown sitting at ringside.

(6) SIENNA [c] vs. GAIL KIM vs. ALLIE — Triple Threat Match for the Impact Knockouts Title

Sienna tied up Gail and Allie in a submission. Sienna splashed both Allie and Gail in the corner. Allie dropped Sienna on the floor and Gail came around and kicked Allie. Gail Kim was clotheslined by Allie. Allie hit a running dropkick on Gail. Allie hit two elbows and went for a third but Sienna cut her off with a tackle. Sienna tried an AK47 but Gail countered. Allie hit a codebreaker on Sienna. Gail hit Eat Defeat on Allie for a two count. Sienna dumped Allie over the top rope. Gail hit defeat on Sienna for the win off the middle rope.

WINNER: Gail Kim wins the Knockouts Title in 10:00 (**1/2)

Gail Kim celebrated after the match before they cut to American Top Team getting ready in the back.

(McMahon: Congratulations to Gail Kim, who has been great for the company, obviously. But another match that felt flat. The finish came out of nowhere, but it was slow to set up. Then after what was supposed to be this big moment, they cut away seconds later to an American Top Team pre-tape.)

— Jimmy Jacobs appeared on the stage and he walked to the announce desk. Jacobs put on a headset. Borash asked why he was there? Because he doesn’t work there. Jacobs told Borash, “I don’t work here? That’s what you think …” and then he walked off.

(McMahon: It honestly sounds like they are muting the crowd. Either that, or there was no reaction for Jimmy Jacobs and Sami Callahan debuting. The contract between Jacobs return to ROH and debut for Impact are striking in terms of fan reaction.)

— A video aired on American Top Team vs. Moose & Stephan Bonnar.

— Moose and Bonnar were shown backstage. They said they were putting an end to ATT tonight.

(7) KING MO & BOBBY LASHLEY (w/ American Top Team) vs. MOOSE & STEPHAN BONNAR

The MMA guys were taken out quickly and it settled down to Lashley vs. Moose. King Mo nailed Moose with a huge right hand. Colby Covington is ringside for American Top Team, among others. Moose kicked Lashley and chopped him against the cage. Lashley powerbombed Moose into the cage. Bonnar powerbombed Lashley. The dust settled and King Mo and Bonnar were face to face. King Mo has a huge cut on his forehead and he’s bleeding badly. Moose threw King Mo into the cage. Bonnar and Mo square off and Mo scored a takedown. Mo and Bonnar were fighting an MMA style. Bonnar tried for an armbar. The crowd began chanting for GSP. Bonnar and Mo were in the clinch and Bonnar was throwing muy thai knees. Mo went to the ground and Bonnar again went for an armbar. Dan Lambert opened the cage door and ATT hit the ring, attacking Bonnar in the corner. The outside referee was knocked out by ATT and Lambert opened the door. Moose kicked Covington in the face and threw Lashley into the corner, hitting a splash. Moose hit a cross body off the top. Moose kicked Mo out the door. Moose threw Mo into the ringside barrier. Moose missed a dive into the barrier. Lambert rolled King Mo into the ring and then shut the door, locking it shut. Bonnar was in the cage along vs. all of ATT. Bonnar tried for a crossface on Lashley but Covington broke it up. Lashley speared Bonnar. Moose climbed to the top of the cage from the outside and dove off the cage onto Lashley and an ATT member. Moose tried to attack Lambert but Covington broke it up. Lashley speared Moose for the win.

WINNERS: King Mo & Bobby Lashley in 11:00 (**1/2)

ATT celebrated after the match. And that was it.

(McMahon: The worked MMA stuff with Bonnar and King Mo was interesting for a few minutes. It was a little surprising to see the heels get the win here. I assume that means they still do some things with Impact on the next set of TV tapings this week.)

— Johnny Impact was interviewed by McKenzie Mitchell backstage. Impact gave an awkward promo where he talked about what he gave up to be a pro wrestler. Impact said something about his dad saying words to him after BFG. It’s not too late to go to law school.

(McMahon” What?!?!?! This was incoherent rambling more than it was a promo.)

(8) ELI DRAKE [c] vs. JOHNNY IMPACT — Impact Global Title match

Did Jeremy Borash inadvertently spoil the finish? He said Impact dedicated this title win to his dad. Also, the Impact Global Title is literally the GFW belt with a big Impact plate covering the GFW logo. Impact hit a sliding German suplex. Drake dropped Impact on the top rope and distracted the referee, allowing Adonis to interfere. Drake whipped Impact into the railing. Drake whipped Impact into the railing again but he slid underneath it. Drake hit Impact with a neckbreaker off the apron. Drake went for a cover but Impact grabbed the rope. Drake gave Impact a slingshot into the bottom rope. Adonis kicked Impact. Impact sent Drake into the ring post but he missed a kick, kicking the metal post. Drake and Impact trade elbows on the top turnbuckle. Impact hit a standing shooting star press for a two count. Impact moved, and Drake threw himself into the corner. Kick by Impact. Impact went to the top but was distracted by Adonis. Impact set up Drake on the top rope and hit a Spanish Fly for a two count. Adonis threw the belt to Drake as the referee was checking on Impact. … Impact kicked Adonis to take him out. Impact used the title to take out Adonis. Impact went to the top rope and hit an elbow for a two count. Impact countered a Gravy Train into a rollup for a two count. Impact knocked Drake off the top. Impact kicked Drake in the head and then had Starship Pain setup. El Patron came in through the crowd and pulled the referee out of the ring. El Patron said to the official that it was his belt. Impact dove over the top to hit El Patron, but instead nailed the referee. El Patron took off his jacket and nailed Impact with a chair in the head. El Patron took the Impact Title and laid out Drake. El Patron rolled Impact into the ring and hit him over the head so hard with a chair (unprotected) that it broke. El Patron laid Drake over Impact.

WINNER: Eli Drake retained the Impact Global Title in 20:00 (**)

El Patron was shown smiling on the stage as Drake was in the ring and the show went off the air.

(McMahon: Not a good show. In fact, really bad. I’d give it 3/10 at most. There wasn’t any matches that stood out as being great, and at the same time, a lot of it felt flat. El Patron’s interference to ruin the title match … thanks. A screwjob finish is what this company needed right now. Especially from THAT guy.  Although it wasn’t anything special before that, watching him hit Impact over the head — unprotected ‚ with a chair made my stomach turn. Even if it was a plastic chair instead of a metal chair. The booking on the show was below average, at best. If this is what the new “creative” team is capable of, and I do put “creative” in quotes, then I really fear what the rest of the year will look like after this week’s TV tapings.

Also, it’s absolutely inexcusable to make El Patron the focal point of the company. Here’s a guy who is back for his first show since SERVING A SUSPENSION! Did Impact management forget that? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice? You know the saying. I can’t believe Impact officials are naive enough — or dumb enough — to make El Patron the focal point of the promotion. Because it worked out so well three months ago when he was at the center of the company, right? If he screws up again, and he has a long history of doing os, Impact will deserve any negative feedback it gets.)