SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
HITS
X-Division Opener: Petey Williams vs. Trevor Lee would have been a blast to see, but instead, four other people were unnecessarily added to this match. Remember when Matt Sydal had a big push a few months ago and beat Bobby Lashley? This is where he landed at the biggest show of the year. Remember Dezmond Xavier winning Super X Cup and vowing to win the X Division Title? This is where he landed. Remember Garza Jr. getting a pretty decent push on TV the past month? Yep. Still, the action was pretty good and more chaotic than anything you’ll see in the Cruiserweight division in WWE. It’s not for everyone, but it got the show off to a nice start. However, it was all downhill from there.
The Atmosphere: One of Impact’s many problems is how bland the shows feel on a week-to-week basis. Getting out of the Impact Zone is always a good thing from an entertainment standpoint (usually not from a financial one). While the crowd wasn’t overly hot throughout the night (blame that on the booking), it’s refreshing to see them wrestle in front of non-jaded fans for a change.
Jimmy Jacobs Debuts: Unfortunately, Jimmy Jacobs received about as lackluster of a reaction as you can get. Very odd. Still, having him show up is a nice get for Impact (especially if he joins their day care center of a creative team) and seeing new talent debut on pay-per-views is a nice way to encourage fans to order future events. Sami Callihan was also on the show and…well, I still have no idea what they were going for on that one.
Eli Retains: The way Eli Drake held onto the gold was amazingly tone-deaf and incompetent, but the fact they didn’t just hand the belt over to Johnny Impact in his first big match (like they did with Alberto El Patron) is cause for a…minor (very minor) celebration.
MISSES
It’s Over, Alberto: If Impact hired C.M. Punk and had him cut a shoot promo and ruin the main event of Bound For Glory, that probably would have been just fine for many paying customers. It would have represented a new era for the promotion and had fans talking about what’s next. But Alberto El Patron? I hate to say it, but his best days were six years ago. His last run in WWE ended with him in the awful League of Nations. Then he joined Impact, had the promotion built around him, and was quickly suspended. On DAY ONE of his return, he’s the top star AGAIN? Complete madness. Having him ruin the main event match was an absolute embarrassment, and if he causes another PR nightmare at any point in the future, it will only further solidify the incompetence of the management team. In two years, does anyone think El Patron will still be a top player in Impact? I highly doubt it. But Eli Drake easily could be (if they don’t go out of business before then). In no way should he be overshadowed by a guy who is most well-known in the wrestling industry because of his toxic personal life relationship. Whoever booked E Patron as the top star of the company doesn’t deserve to have a job in the wrestling industry.
Abyss vs. Grado: It might be time for Abyss to stop being Abyss. Over the past year, I’ve argued that he should be treated as Impact’s version of The Undertaker. Basically, he shows up every few months, he’s treated like a legend within their own company, he works a big match and goes away for a bit. However, after watching this match, I’m not sure he has enough left in the tank to work marquee matches anymore. He looks beyond beat up and should transition to the Joseph Park role full-time to either become a manager or occasional in-ring comedy act. Another knock is that fans likely expected a match similar to Jeremy Borash and Joseph Park vs. Scott Steiner and Josh Mathews from Slammiversary. After all, the build here had the exact same cheese-fest feel (complete with Jim Mitchell…who for some reason didn’t show up) and yet didn’t deliver any laughs for the actual brawl. Plus, the addition of Laurel Van Ness added nothing (even though she has a storyline history with Grado) and they needlessly made Rosemary look like a heel by trying to reform her with Abyss. What? Sloppy. Slow. Embarrassing. Nonsensical.
Chairshots to the Head: LAX and Johnny Impact took unprotected chairshots to the head at this event. While it was never a good idea for a wrestler to take that kind of blow, it’s beyond reckless in 2017. And if a chairshot to the head is done (which anyone with common sense would argue is a horrible idea) then it should at least play into the finish and be a major talking point in the coming weeks on TV. These hits were throaway spots and only used to move right on to the next dangerous stunt. It made Impact look either incompetent or evil.
Production Issues: The audio was amazingly awful in the backstage segments. At least two of the videos should have just been left off the show completely, as they appeared to have been previously recorded. I don’t know if there was a new director in charge, but there was also a lot of bad cuts and missed shots throughout the matches themselves. Overall, this event felt like it was produced in the Asylum-era days.
Commentary Team: Jeremy Borash and Josh Mathews have got to go. Right. Now. Despite calling thousands of matches between them, they are unable to convey genuine human emotion. It’s like having a couple of robots programmed to say things that happened, but without the right tone or feel. They don’t have to go back to Mike Tenay and Don West, but Robert Flores proved in his first and only night on commentary that he’s better than the current duo. They don’t have to bring him in either, but he showed they can be easily replaced.
Overall Show: I went to bed thinking this pay-per-view was about a 5/10. My expectations were so low going into it that I overlooked much of the booking nonsense. I was just pleased that Trevor Lee and Eli Drake held onto their gold, and for the first time since Slammiversary, Impact actually had a different feel to it. The more I think about Bound For Glory, the less I like it. I’m probably a 3/10 now and feel a bit of remorse for giving it a minor hit on the Livecast after the show!
NOW CHECK OUT THIS PREVIOUS COLUMN: IMPACT HITS & MISSES 11/2: Final hype for Eli Drake vs. Johnny Impact BFG main event, Dan Lambert’s promo, Moose, X Division
I guess the booking team got their booking lessons from the Jarrett is Russo era and can’t come up with anything better. A shame because this company cold be, that much better but the bookers for some reason don’t want it to be. Just rehash the same ol illogical booking and shrug it off thinking it’s ‘brilliant’.
You didn’t even watch the show. 🙂 Nice mug shot on the internet bro. What in the heck?
This PPV was a 9/10 and better than anything I have seen on WWE tv in a long while which is not saying a whole lot, as the WWE “PPVS” are well, not very good anymore. I miss the old WWE PPV’s when they didn’t just seem like glorified Raw shows.
Ten out of ten. You sold it a bit short man.