10/7 IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT: Cage & Alexander vs. Austin & Fulton, final Knockouts Knockdown hype, more

IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT
OCTOBER 7, 2021 (RECORDED)
NASHVILLE, TENN. AT SKYWAY STUDIOS
AIRED ON AXS TV
REPORT BY DARRIN LILLY, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown

-Clips from last week

-Show intro video

(1) HIKULEO & CHRIS BEY & EL PHANTASMO vs. JUICE ROBINSON & DAVID FINLAY & CHRIS SABIN

Sabin and Bey started the match. After they exchanged moves, Juice and ELP tagged in. A box in the corner of the screen showed The Good Brothers watching the match. ELP hit a flurry of moves but Juice turned the tide. Juice spit at Hikuleo and Bey. The babyface team made quick tags to keep the advantage on ELP. Bey finally made the tag but accidentally hit ELP. Juice teed off on Bey and ELP.

Bey floored Juice with a spin kick. Hikuleo tried to suplex Juice, but he escaped and tagged in Finlay. Finlay and Hikuleo exchanged moves. Finlay battled Bey and ELP by himself. Sabin made the hot tag and ran wild on the Bullet Club members. Sabin hit a tornado DDT on ELP. Sabin and Finjuice hit a triple dive to the outside on the Bullet Club.

Finjuice and Sabin triple-teamed Bey in the ring. ELP and Finlay fought at ringside. Hikuleo choke slammed Sabin and ELP splashed Sabin. Sabin kicked out of a Bey pin attempt. Sabin had the advantage on Bey but ELP hit him low, leading to Bey getting a spinning cutter and a pin. [c]

WINNERS: Hikuleo & Chris Bey & El Phantasmo in 9:00.

(D.L.’s Take: Fast moving tag team match and an effective way to open up the show. The ending left the door for this feud to continue.)

-Knockouts Knockdown promo.

-Gia Miller interviewed Josh Alexander. Alexander said it would normally be an honor to team with Christian Cage. He said he’s studied Cage and Cage thinks he can get in his head. He said he would take care of Ace Austin and Madman Fulton tonight and Cage would see what he would be dealing with at Bound For Glory.

-Josh and D’Lo previewed the matches for tonight and the bracket for the Knockouts Knockdown tournament.

-Heath made his way to the ring. Fans chanted for Heath and said “Welcome back”. Heath said he missed the fans and talked about being out of action for a year. He said last year he was so close to getting his Impact contract but the rug got pulled out from under him. He thanked his family and the doctors. He said that he lost his best friend (Rhino) and he didn’t hear from him after he got injured.

Heath said it wasn’t the Rhino that he knew and said that Eric Young had brainwashed him. He asked Rhino to come out and talk. Fans chanted for Rhino. Instead the Violent by Design music hit and the team walked to the stage. Eric said that the Rhino that Heath knew is gone. Eric said he made Rhino stronger and more pure. Eric said he speaks for Rhino now.

VBD got in the ring. Eric said that Rhino belongs to him. Heath said Rhino didn’t belong to anyone. Eric said that Rhino is gone forever. Eric told Heath to leave the ring and never come back. Heath said he wouldn’t. Eric told him to leave or it would force their hand. Heath fought all three members of VBD. Joe Doering clotheslined Heath down and Deaner punched Heath.

Doering and Deaner held Heath and Eric punched him and got in his face. Fans chanted for Rhino. Eric hit Heath with the VBD flag pole, then draped the flag over Heath. Josh asked “Where is Rhino?” on commentary.

-Gia Miller interviewed Willie Mack and Rich Swann. Mack said he felt good about his chances of winning his upcoming match. Zicky Dice and Manny Lemons walked up and interrupted. Swann said they looked like idiots. Swann said he would go to Scott D’Amore and ask for a match tonight. Dice and Lemons walked off and joined Brian Myers, VSK, and Sam Beale. They bragged about getting a match tonight and Myers said it was a bad idea. Myers said he wouldn’t be watching tonight and walked off. [c]

(2) KIMBER LEE & BRANDI LAUREN & LADY FROST vs. TASHA STEELZ & SAVANNAH EVANS & MERCEDES MARTINEZ

Frost and Martinez began the match. They traded the advantage. Brandi and Evans tagged in. Evans gave Brandi the big boot, then choked her. [c]

When the action resumed, Tasha had the upper hand on Brandi,. Tasha and Evans made quick tags to keep Brandi in the corner. Fans chanted “We want Mercedes”. Kimber Lee tagged in and clotheslined Tasha, who had hesitated to make a tag to Martinez. Evans broke up a pin attempt and the match broke down. Mercedes got in the ring and booted Lee. The referee made her leave because she wasn’t legal. Tasha rolled back in and got the pin on Lee.

WINNERS: Tasha Steelz & Savannah Evans & Mercedes Martinez in 10:00.

(D.L.’s Take: Solid tag team match to set up the matches for the Knockouts Knockdown special.)

-Tasha and Mercedes argued after the match. Alisha Edwards ran to ringside and attacked Lee and Brand with a kendo stick. Security took her to the back.

-Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week: James Storm vs. Christopher Daniels from Genesis 2013.

-Backstage Alisha was angry and said she wanted Kimber Lee. Gail Kim said she would face Lee, Savannah Evans, and Jordynne Grace in a Monster’s Ball match at Knockouts Knockdown. Alisha was happy and said she was bringing the kendo stick. [c]

-All About Me segment. Tenille Dashwood was joined by Kaleb with a K and Madison Rayne. Madison talked about them becoming the number one contenders for the tag team titles. Havok and Rosemary teleported onto the set. Tenille got bleeped for a long time. Everyone pretended to be shocked. Kaleb said “mature content warning”. Rosemary asked them if they felt lucky going into the match. Tenille tried to wrap up the show. Rosemary said the show was theirs. She creeped out Madison and Tenille. The Influence ran off the set. Rosemary and Havok laughed then wrapped up the show.

-Moose and W. Morrissey backstage promo. Moose said the heroes in this story don’t save the day, they get sent to the hospital. Morrissey said they weren’t about friendship, they were an alliance. Moose said when he and Morrissey were the last two wrestlers standing, they would kick each other’s asses.

(3) BLACK TAURUS vs. STEVE MACLIN vs. PETEY WILLIAMS

Maclin attacked Petey at the bell, then attacked Taurus. Taurus came back with offense on Maclin. Petey and Taurus faced off. Petey tripped Taurus into the ropes and dropkicked him in the back. Taurus connected with a spinning dive on Maclin to the outside. Petey hit a dive on Taurus and a rana on Maclin to the outside.

Petey leg dropped Taurus on the apron. Maclin got the upper hand on Petey and Taurus. Petey made a comeback on Maclin. Maclin gave Petey a backbreaker. Taurus made a comeback on Maclin. Petey and Maclin squared off next. Petey hit a running knee on Maclin. All three wrestlers traded moves. Petey DDT’d Maclin.

All three wrestlers were down. They got to their feet and traded punches. Taurus took Maclin down and got a two count. Petey hit a codebreaker on Taurus. Taurus caught Petey with a crossbody block. Taurus accidentally sailed over the top rope. Maclin charged Petey in the corner. Petey hit the destroyer on Taurus. Maclin got the Mayhem For All on Petey and got the pin.

WINNER: Steve Maclin in 8:00.

(D.L.’s Take: A fun dose of X Division action. With this win, Maclin advances to the X Division match at Bound For Glory.)

-Gia Miller interviewed Christian Cage. Cage said he and Alexander had their work cut out for them tonight. Cage said that Alexander would realize that he isn’t in Cage’s league. He warned Alexander to keep his emotions in check. Christopher Daniels approached. He said he was there to right the wrongs of his past. He said he wants to make it official that he wants a shot at the Impact title, whether it’s in Impact or AEW. [c]

-Swingers Palace segment. Boxes were stacked up. Swinger said it was the saddest day of his life. Hernandez packed up a picture of Dixie Carter. Fallah Bahh walked in. He said they got what they deserved. Swinger held up a giant promotional Jeff Jarret poster. He asked John E. Bravo if they won it in a bet. Bravo said “No, we lost it”.

(4) RICH SWANN & WILLIE MACK vs. ZICKY DICE & MANNY LEMONS

Dice and Lemons attacked Swann and Mack at the bell. Mack made a comeback on Dice. Mack and Swann double teamed Dice. Swann kicked Lemons and ran him into the corner. Mack pinched Lemons in the chest. Fans chanted “Squeeze the lemons”. Swann kicked Lemons. Dice got in some punches, but Swann kicked him. Swann got a neckbreaker off the ropes for the pin.

WINNERS: Rich Swann & Willie Mack in 3:00.

Myers, Beale, and VSK attacked Swann and Mack after the match. Myers got the Roster Cut on Mack. VSK gave a brainbuster to Swann. [c]

(D.L.’s Take: A fun squash.)

-Knockouts Knockdown promo.

-Clips from last week’s Deonna Purrazzo/Mickie James brawl on the farm.

-Gia Miller was outside of a boardroom. Mickie charged into the room and attacked Deonna. Gail Kim helped to separate them. Scott D’Amore declared that they couldn’t attack each other before Bound For Glory. Gail offered them both Pick Your Poison Matches where they could pick each other’s opponent. Deonna objected. She and Matthew Rehwoldt left the room.

-Josh and D’Lo ran down the matches for Knockouts Knockdown including the tag team title match and the brackets for the tournament.

-Ace Austin and Madman Fulton did their ring entrance. Josh Alexander was next, followed by Christian Cage. [c]

(5) CHRISTIAN CAGE & JOSH ALEXANDER vs. ACE AUSTIN & MADMAN FULTON

Cage and Fulton squared off to start the match. Fans chanted for Cage. Cage and Fulton exchanged punches. Fulton double clotheslined Cage and Alexander. Ace tagged in and chopped Alexander. Alexander backdropped Ace. Fans chanted “Walking Weapon”. Alexander suplexed Ace. Alexander elbowed Fulton on the apron, but got sent to the floor by Ace.

Fulton distracted Alexander, which allowed Ace to get the upper hand on Alexander. [c]

Alexander and Ace traded moves until Ace caught Alexander with a kick. Alexander fought out of the corner and sent Ace to the floor. Cage tagged in and choked Ace over the middle rope. Cage snapped Ace’s neck on the top rope, then punched him in the corner. Cage got a reverse DDT on Cage. Fulton and Ace trapped Cage in their corner.

Fulton choked Cage on the bottom rope. Cage tried to fight back but Fulton cut him off. Fulton had Cage in a headlock. Fulton prevented Cage from making the tag. Ace scored a two count on Cage. Cage speared Ace. Alexander made the hot tag. He punched Fulton and suplexed him. Ace and Fulton double teamed Alexander.

Cage threw Ace off the top rope. Cage ran Fulton into the ring steps on the outside. In the ring, Alexander put the ankle lock on Ace, but Ace got out. Alexander hit the Chaos Theory suplex on Ace, but Cage made the blind tag and got the killswitch on Ace for the pin. Cage and Alexander faced off after the match.

WINNERS: Christian Cage and Josh Alexander in 16:00.

(D.L.’s Take: Solid tag team match and a good prelude to Bound For Glory.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: A fun show that served the dual purpose of promoting Bound For Glory and this weekend’s Knockouts Knockdown special. The show did a good job of both without giving away too much. An easy and entertaining watch.

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NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S IMPACT TV REPORT: 9/30 IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT: Morrissey vs. Edwards Street Fight, Daniels vs. Fulton, X Division action, more