SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT
OCTOBER 14, 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’s show.
(1) EL PHANTASMO (w/Chris Bey & Hikuleo) vs. ROHIT RAJU vs. WILLIE MACK
This was a qualifying match for the X Division Title match at Bound For Glory. ELP charged Mack at the bell, but he missed and sailed over the top rope. Meanwhile, Mack and Rohit battled in the ring. ELP returned and raked Mack’s back. Mack and ELP had an exchange. Rohit knocked Mack from the apron to the floor. Rohit and ELP traded punches. Mack and Rohit fought next.
Rohit rolled to ringside, leaving ELP and Mack to fight it out in the ring. ELP dove on Rohit on the floor. ELP hit a senton on Mack. Rohit knocked ELP off the top rope. Rohit hit a cannonball on ELP and Mack. Rohit got a double stomp from the top on Mack. ELP and Rohit slugged it out. All three traded kicks and punches.
Fans chanted for Mack. Mack connected moves on Rohit and ELP. ELP got a Frankensteiner/senton on Mack, followed by a splash for a two count. Mack got the stunner on ELP. Hikuleo and Bey got on the ring apron to distract the referee. Mack did a flip dive to the floor on Hikuleo and Bey. Rohit rolled up ELP for a two count.
Rohit hit ELP with a jumping knee. ELP hit Rohit low. ELP did a forward piledriver on Rohit for the win. The Bullet Club celebrated after the match. [c]
WINNER: El Phantasmo in 10:00.
(D.L.’s Take: Exciting X Division action to get the show off to a good start. Everyone was given a chance to shine. Curious choice to have ELP advance to the Bound For Glory match since he isn’t a full-timer.)
-Gia Miller interviewed Ace Austin and Madman Fulton. Ace said his business with Christian Cage was far from over. He said the Call Your Shot Gauntlet was the perfect way to get back on track. Fulton vowed to clear the ring in tonight’s battle royal so that Ace could win. Ace said he doesn’t leave things up to chance, he makes his own luck. He said his win was inevitable.
-Josh and D’Lo plugged tonight’s battle royal and the matches for Bound For Glory, as well as the matches for the Digital Media Title.
(2) SAVANNAH EVANS (w/Tasha Steelz) vs. LADY FROST
They showed a clip of Evans winning the Monster’s Ball match at Knockouts Knockdown. Frost attacked Evans at the bell. Fans chanted for Frost. Evans made a quick comeback with power moves. Evans and Frost traded punches with Evans getting the better of it. Evans put Frost in a bear hug. Frost got out and fired back, but Evans cut her off with a big boot. [c]
Evans still had the upper hand coming out of the break. Evans did a Samoan Drop on Frost. Frost made a comeback. Frost stomped Evans in the corner and followed with a dropkick. Evans came back with a clothesline and a full nelson slam for the pinfall victory.
WINNER: Savannah Evans in 8:00
(D.L.’s Take: Mostly a showcase match for Evans, but Frost got in some nice offense as well.)
-As Evans and Tasha were celebrating, Deonna Purrazzo and Matthew Rehwoldt walked to the ring. Deonna took the mic and said that Mickie James picked Masha Slamovich for Deonna’s Pick Your Poison match. She said that Mickie returns to in-ring action next week. Deonna picked Evans to face Mickie next week. Deonna extended her hand and Evans shook it. Deonna said “thank you” and left.
-Steve Maclin promo. Maclin said he controls what we know about him. He said he would let us know more. He talked about ribbon chasers. He said the people chasing the X Division Title were ribbon chasers and they were weak. He vowed to win the X Division Title at Bound For Glory so he would have a target on his back. [c]
-Gia Miller interviewed Gail Kim. Gia said Knockouts Knockdown was a huge success. Gail talked about the highlights of the show, including The IInspiration being granted a Knockouts Tag Team Title match. Rosemary and Havok approached. Rosemary asked if it was a good idea to give the IInspiration the match.
A man delivered a package from Australia from the IInspiration. It was a letter that said they earned the match and it was an honor for Decay to face them. The letter said to read it with an Australian accent. Rosemary said was delighted to bring chaos into The IInspirations’s life.
(3) VSK (w/Brian Myers) vs. RICH SWANN
Myers sent the rest of The Learning Tree to the back before the match. VSK punched Swann at the start. Swann got VSK in a backslide for a two count. VSK gave Swann a neckbreaker over his knee. VSK slammed Swann and splashed him. VSK twisted Swann’s neck. Fans chanted for Swann. Swann made a comeback with a series of punches.
Swann landed a series of kicks. Swann got a neckbreaker on VSK, a kick, and a splash. Swann got the Phoenix Splash for the win. Willie Mack came out to help Swann celebrate.
WINNER: Rich Swann in 3:00
(D.L.’s Take: Basically a squash match, but VSK got in some unique offense.)
Swinger’s Palace Segment: Swinger and John E. Bravo continued to pack. Alisha Edwards entered the room and said she was sorry. Swinger and Hernandez said their goodbyes. Alisha apologized to the Swingarellas for being busy the last few weeks. She encouraged one of the Swingarellas to talk to Swinger. The woman approached Swinger and said she had feelings for him. Swinger said he had been down this road before. He said he wasn’t a one-woman-man. The woman walked off in tears. Alisha called him a monster.
Chris Sabin walked in and Swinger told him “nice match”, then walked off. Sabin said he just wanted to see the place one last time. Swingarella #2 (she said her name was Riley) asked if he could stay instead of going to Las Vegas. Sabin said he had to go to Bound For Glory. Riley said she understood and walked off. Sabin sat in a chair, then a montage of Swinger’s Palace clips played. Sabin was getting emotional and said “I’ll always love this place”. Then the lights went out. [c]
-Heath entered Scott D’Amore’s office and they shook hands. Scott said this has been a long time coming. Heath said he was ready to sign a contract. Scott brought out a contract. Scott said “Welcome to the Impact roster”. Heath asked if Scott could sign a match for Rhino to team with him against Violent By Design. Scott asked if Rhino even wanted to be his partner.
Heath said he would talk to Rhino and try to get in his head. Scott said he would make the match. Heath signed the contract. Heath said “Oh baby!” and shook hands with Scott.
(4) CHRIS BEY (w/Hikuleo & ELP) vs. CHRIS SABIN (w/Finjuice)
Josh said that Bey’s shirts were a big seller since he was in the Bullet Club. Sabin and Bey locked up at the start. Sabin took Bey down and put him in an armlock. Sabin and Bey traded arm drags. Sabin chased ELP off the ring apron. The Bullet Club and Finjuice faced off at ringside. The referee threw them all out.
Bey got the upper hand with punches. Sabin battled back and suplexed Bey. Sabin stomped Bey in the corner and dropkicked him. Bey kicked Sabin and dropped an elbow on him. Bey choked Sabin with his boot. Sabin came back with a sunset flip. Bey landed kicks on Sabin and a clothesline off the top rope. Bey mounted Sabin and punched him.
Bey suplexed Sabin. Bey put Sabin in a chin lock. Sabin made a comeback with a series of moves. Sabin did a unique roll through suplex on Bey. Sabin got the torture rack neckbreaker on Sabin for a two count. Bey connected with a jumping leg lariat. Bey missed a splash off the top rope. Bey and Sabin clotheslined each other.
Bey and Sabin traded punches and chops. Sabin got the Cradle Shock on Bey for the pin.
WINNER: Chris Sabin in 12:00
(D.L.’s Take: An excellent back and forth match that wouldn’t have been out of place on a big PPV.)
-Gia Miller interviewed Trey Miguel. Gia asked about Trey’s match against ELP and Steve Maclin at Bound For Glory. Trey said he was heading into the match more calculating than ever before. Alex Zayne approached and said Trey couldn’t beat him. Trey accepted the challenge. Alex asked if he wanted a taste and Trey replied “I want the whole damn kitchen”. [c]
-The Good Brothers promo. This was in black and white again. Karl Anderson discussed how they do everything together. Doc Gallows talked about how much he was enjoying himself on vacation. Doc said The Meltzer-nator said he was in the running for Booker of the Year. Anderson said he wanted to see The Bullet Club vs. Finjuice in a number one contender’s match.
-Moose was shown walking to the ring. The ring was filled with male and female wrestlers.
(5) 20-Person Battle Royal
The last person in this match gets the number 20 spot in the Bound For Glory Call Your Shot Gauntlet match; the number two person gets the number one spot. Alisha Edwards was eliminated almost immediately. Johnny Swinger jumped over the rope after being stalked by Brandi Lauren and Kimber Lee. Brian Myers threw out Petey Williams.
The Learning Tree caught Myers so he wasn’t eliminated, but Rachael Ellering booted him out right after. Hernandez threw out Laredo Kid. Black Taurus and Hernandez were thrown out. Matt Cardona threw out Matthew Rehwoldt. Raj Singh threw out Rachael Ellering. Jake Something threw out Singh. [c]
Fallah Bahh was eliminated during the break. Brandi and Lee tried to throw out W. Morrissey. Moose stared them down. Ace eliminated Jake Something. Brandi sprayed mist in Madman Fulton’s face. Ace threw out Lee. Fulton threw out Brandi. Fulton threw out Matt Cardona. Ace and Fulton battled Moose and Morrissey. Moose and Morrissey booted Fulton out. The final four were Chris Sabin, Ace Austin, Moose, and W. Morrissey. [c]
All four wrestlers were still fighting after the break. Ace tried to convince Moose and Morrissey to team with him but they turned against him and hurled him over the top rope (the landing looked rough). Moose and Morrissey double teamed Sabin. Sabin got a sliding dropkick to eliminate Moose, who was on the apron. Sabin got an offensive flurry on Morrissey.
Sabin tried to throw Morrissey over, but Moose pushed him back in. Morrissey punched Sabin. Fans chanted to support Sabin. Sabin got a series of punches on Morrissey. Morrissey came back and threw Sabin over the top rope. [c]
WINNER: W. Morrissey in 21:00
(D.L.’s Take: A typical battle royal but it was fine.)
-D’Lo and Josh ran down the matches for next week including:
- Mickie James vs. Savannah Evans
- Alex Zayne vs. Trey Miguel
- Finjuice vs. Chris Bey & Hikuleo
-A highlight package on Minoru Suzuki. It ended with “Coming Soon”.
-Bound For Glory Summit. In a pre-recorded segment, Josh Matthews sat in the ring between Josh Alexander and Christian Cage. The ropes were down and there were no fans. Josh asked Cage about beating Kenny Omega for the Impact Title. Cage talked about getting ready a year ahead to return to the ring. He said he wanted to come back to have classic matches.
Josh asked Alexander about cashing in Option C. Alexander talked about how much the X Division means to him. He said that beating Chris Sabin made him decide to challenge for the World Title. Josh asked if he had any regrets if he loses to Cage. Alexander said “not a single one”.
Josh asked Cage if he saw any similarities between him and Alexander. Cage said he sees the determination, but that’s where the similarities end. Cage said there was no one like him. Josh asked Alexander the same question. Alexander talked about his Canadian background and said he was a huge fan of Cage.
Cage said that Alexander had a tough time channeling his emotions. Cage said he was very familiar with Alexander and had watched him from afar. Josh threw to a clip from an AEW fan fest. A fan asked Cage who was someone outside of AEW he would like to face. Someone said “Josh Alexander” and Cage pretended not to know who he was.
Back in the ring, Alexander said he had no respect for Cage and walked off angry. Cage said he proved his point about Alexander not being able to control his emotions.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Another good episode on the road to Bound For Glory. The in-ring highlight was Chris Sabin vs. Chris Bey. The Swinger’s Palace segment was a pleasant surprise. The Summit was a strong interview segment where both wrestlers talked naturally and seemed believable.
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S IMPACT TV REPORT:10/7 IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT: Cage & Alexander vs. Austin & Fulton, final Knockouts Knockdown hype, more
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.