9/15 IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT: Mike Bailey vs. Mascara Dorado, Victory Road hype, more

IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT
SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 (RECORDED)
DALLAS, TX AT THE FACTORY
AIRED ON AXS TV
REPORT BY DARRIN LILLY, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Impact Wrestling Announcers: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

-Clips from last week’s show.

-No intro again, they went right to an arena shot of fans cheering.

(1) MIKE BAILEY (c) vs. MASCARA DORADA — Impact Wrestling X Division Title Match

Hannifan plugged that Impact is now on TikTok. The match started with both trading moves and strikes. Dorada dropkicked Bailey from the ropes. Bailey arm dragged Dorada on the floor, then they traded strikes. Dorada arm dragged Bailey on the floor. Dorada did a dive through the ropes onto Bailey. Back in the ring, Bailey got the upper hand and put Dorada in a leg lock.

Dorada reached the ropes to break the hold. Bailey delivered kicks and a standing shooting star press for a two count. Dorada made a comeback but Bailey came back with a moonsault to the floor. In the ring, Bailey missed his across-the-ring spinning kick. Dorada kicked Bailey. Dorada did a rana off the top (as Bailey straddled the top rope) and got a two count.

Dorada missed a moonsault and Bailey came back with kicks. Bailey connected with the Ultima Weapon and got the pin. They shook hands after the match. Kenny King attacked both wrestlers and threw Dorada out of the ring. King gave Bailey the Royal Flush. King left the ring. Dorada got back in the ring and helped Bailey.

WINNER: Mike Bailey in 9:00.

(D.L.’s Take: A great start to the show. They packed a lot into seven minutes and I felt it could have gone longer. Good post-match angle to tease a future challenger.)

-Violent By Design vignette. The people in the yellow hoods from last week were still in the field. Eric Young and Deaner walked out of the house dressed alike. Young told one of the hooded guys to take off his hood. Eric said “What is my name?” The guy replied “Eric Young” and Deaner beat him down. Young asked another guy the same question and he said Young was the provider. Young asked another guy for his name and the guy said “Dustin”. Deaner beat him down. He asked yet another guy and the guy said “Violence”. The rest of the people all said “I am violence”. The camera pulled back and showed everyone chanting “I am violence”. A door from inside the house closed. [c]

-Scott D’Amore approached Mike Bailey, who was sitting on steps backstage. Scott complimented Bailey and said he had an interesting challenger for Victory Road. He said that Bailey would face Delirious at Victory Road. Scott talked about Bailey’s open challenge. Scott said there would be a Triple Threat Revolver match at Victory Road with Black Taurus, Laredo Kid, Mia Yim, Trey Miguel, Yuya Uemura, Kenny King, Alex Zayne, and Frankie Kazarian to determine a number one contender. Bailey was happy and said he wanted to take on all comers. They shook hands.

-Hannifan and Rehwoldt appeared on camera and ran down the matches for Victory Road and tonight’s show.

(2) BLACK TAURUS & CRAZZY STEVE vs. MOOSE & STEVE MACLIN

Steve bit Maclin’s head. Taurus leveled Maclin. Taurus and Steve double teamed Maclin. [c]

Taurus hit a series of moves on Maclin. Moose took Taurus down from the apron. Moose tagged in and stomped Taurus. Moose and Maclin tagged in and out to keep the advantage on Maclin. Maclin and Moose started to argue. Taurus threw Maclin into Moose and rolled up Maclin for a surprise pin. Moose and Maclin argued. Sami Callihan walked out to the balcony and said he had proof they were working together.

Phone footage was shown on the screen of Moose talking to his lawyer (R.D. Evans) about a deal he struck with Maclin. Moose told Evans he planned on screwing Maclin before Maclin screwed him. Back in the arena, Maclin was mad at first but then said it was the past and there was a new deal and nothing would stop them from tearing Sami apart. Sami played security footage of Maclin on the phone saying he would put a slug in “his” head before he would let him stab him in the back. Moose and Maclin argued then fought. Sami came down and attacked Maclin. He pulled out a barbed wire baseball bat and hit Maclin with it. [c]

WINNERS: Black Taurus & Crazzy Steve in 8:00.

(D.L.’s Take: Short match that mostly took place during the commercial break. It was mostly a setup to advance the combatants in the barbed wire match.)

-Footage from last week of Chelsea Green beating Taya Valkyrie after Jessicka’s mishap.

-Rosemary, Taya, and Jessicka were at a bar setting and argued about who was at fault for last week’s loss. Taya said that Rosemary’s problem with Jessicka is causing an issue. Taya said she liked Jessicka. Rosemary said that Jessicka still wasn’t ready. Taya said she had an idea.

(3) KILLER KELLY vs. ALISA EDWARDS

Tasha Steelz joined the commentary team, after being invited by Kelly last week. Alisha threw punches but Kelly chopped her in the throat and put Alisha in a sleeper hold. Kelly stared at Tasha. Kelly suplexed Alisha. Kelly ran Alisha’s head into the turnbuckle and punched her. Alisha fought back. Kelly put her in a sleeper, but Alisha got out.

Kelly gave Alisha a pump kick, followed by the Killer Clutch for the tap out win. Tasha was irritated on commentary. Savannah Evans was going to go after Kelly with a chair but Kelly got the chair away. Tasha tried to go after the chair and slid in the ring. Kelly and Tasha went face to face on the mat. Kelly mouthed “I’ll see you at Victory Road”. Tasha and Savannah went up the ramp as Kelly smiled creepily in the ring. [c]

WINNER: Killer Kelly in 3:00.

(D.L.’s Take: Good showcase match for Kelly as the feud with Tasha continues to build. They are doing a great job of building up Kelly as a tough contender.)

-Video of people in the hospital. A chair was shown going through the air in slow motion. A man was crying and said his dad was hit with a chair. An older man was unconscious in bed with his family around. They urged him to say the name of who threw the chair at him. Joe Hendry (formerly of Ring of Honor) came through the door and clapped as his goofy “I believe in Joe Hendry” theme music from ROH played. Everyone was happy. The guy in bed even smiled. A graphic came on screen that said “Joe Hednry will motivate Impact Wrestling”.

(4) MATT TAVEN & MIKE BENNETT (w/Maria Kanellis) (c) vs. JOSH ALEXANDER & RICH SWANN — Impact Wrestling Tag Team Title Match

Alexander and Bennett started the match. Alexander threw Bennett around and took him to the mat. Alexander and Swann double teamed Bennett. Taven and Bennett double teamed Swann. Swann gave Taven a rana, but Taven stopped Swann from making the tag. Taven knocked Alexander off the apron. Bennett and Taven double teamed Swann.

Taven and Bennett stomped Swann in the corner. Alexander tagged in and ran wild on Bennett and Taven. Alexander gave Bennett a crossbody block to the outside. Alexander threw Taven into Bennett on the outside. Swann did a moonsault from the second rope to the floor on Bennett and Taven. Back in the ring, Bennett made a comeback on Alexander, but Swann and Alexander quickly regained the upper hand.

Bennett tagged to Taven and escaped the ankle lock. Bennett and Taven double teamed Alexander. Taven got a two count after a running knee. Bennett decked Swann on the outside. Alexander was going for the C4 Spike but he went to knock Eddie Edwards off the apron. Alexander put the ankle lock on Taven. Maria argued with the referee on the apron. Eddie hit Alexander with the kendo stick.

Heath ran in and hit Taven to cause a DQ. Honor No More left up the ramp. Rehwoldt noted that Heath just cost Alexander and Swann the tag team titles. Alexander and Heath argued in the ring.

WINNERS: Matt Taven & Mike Bennett in 8:00 by DQ.

(D.L.’s Take: Basic tag match. It was there mostly to forward the Alexander/Heath/Eddie storyline. A rare Impact DQ but it was for storyline purposes.)

-Jordynne Grace was in her dressing room looking at the wall of photos of her that Masha Slamovich had left last week. Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice delivered a giant pizza box to Grace in her dressing room. Dice also had an envelope for her. Grace revealed that Max the Impaler would be her opponent at Victory Road. Dice said that Grace better deal with Max or Masha was going to kill her. Grace slapped Dice and said she would kill him next week, then she slapped him with a slice of pizza. [c]

-Scott D’Amore approached Alexander, Swann, and Heath backstage and told them they would face Eddie, Taven, and Bennett at Victory Road. He said they needed to be cohesive. Heath said they could do it.

(5) MICKIE JAMES vs. HYAN

They shook hands at the start. Hyan got an early pin attempt. Mickie came back with an attempt of her own. Rehwoldt said it would be a big deal if Hyan was the one who retired Mickie James. Hyan took Mickie down and gave her a legdrop. They traded punches. Mickie gave Hyan a flapjack. Mickie gave Hyan the Thesz press from the top rope, followed by the DDT for the win.

Gisele Shaw’s music played and she walked to the ring. Shaw said that Mickie was begging for matches and wrestling nobodies. She said it was delaying the inevitable so she could hang on to the spotlight. She said that Mickie’s time is up. Shaw challenged her to a match at Victory Road. She said the spotlight will always be on her. They went face to face.

WINNER: Mickie James in 3:00.

(D.L.’s Take: The result was never really in doubt but the “last rodeo” aspect does add a bit of intrigue to each of Mickie’s matches.)

-PCO and Vincent vignette. Vincent pulled a hood off of PCO’s head and asked if he liked being hurt. Vincent talked about carnivals. PCO received more shocks. Vincent made an analogy with the carnival and said he was there to help PCO. He said they were Honor No More, then put the hood back on PCO’s head. [c]

-Brian Myers promo. He said he accomplished more at 23 years old then most people could ever imagine. He said it crashed down and he’s been on a roller coaster ever since. He said that Bhupinder Gujjar has been climbing the ladder of success, but it would come crashing down by Myers. Myers climbed a ladder and called himself the most professional wrestler. Good promo and very well shot.

-Hannifan and Rehwoldt appeared on camera and plugged the matches for next week:

• Ladder Match: Brian Myers vs. Bhupinder Gujjar
• Aussie Open vs. The Good Brothers or Motor City Machine Guns

-They also plugged the lineup for Victory Road:

• Barbed Wire Match: Moose vs. Steve Maclin vs. Sami Callihan
• Jordynne Grace vs. Max the Impaler (w/Father James Mitchell)
• Honor No More vs. Josh Alexander & Rich Swann & Heath
• Mike Bailey vs. Delirious
• Triple Threat Revolver Match

-The Good Brothers did their ring entrance, followed by the Motor City Machine Guns. [c]

(6) MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) vs. THE GOOD BROTHERS (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson)

Shelley and Anderson started the match. Fans chanted “Too Sweet”. Sabin and Doc faced off next. Doc took Sabin to the mat. Sabin pulled Anderson off the apron, then the Guns double teamed each of the Good Brothers. Doc booted Shelley to the mat. Anderson raked Shelley’s eyes, then knocked Sabin off the apron. Doc gave Shelley a series of punches, followed by kicks and elbows.

The announcers noted that this is the first time the Guns have ever faced the Brothers. Shelley fought back against a double team and tagged Sabin. Sabin made a comeback on Doc and Anderson. Sabin gave Anderson a crossbody block for a two count. The Guns did a double dive on the Brothers to the floor. [c]

Shelley gave Anderson a dragon screw leg whip. The Guns double teamed Anderson and worked on his legs. Shelley put Anderson in a figure-four leg lock. Anderson got to the ropes to break the hold. The Guns double teamed Anderson. Sabin put Anderson in a leg lock. Anderson raked Sabin’s nose to break the hold. Shelley tagged in and continued to work on Anderson’s leg.

A dual chant broke out. Anderson gave Shelley a spinebuster. Doc made the hot tag and took on both Guns by himself. Doc gave Sabin a pump handle slam. Sabin got out of the Magic Killer. Doc suplexed both Guns at the same time. The Guns double super kicked Doc, then Sabin did a dive on Anderson on the floor. Sabin got a two count on Anderson after a double team.

Anderson gave Sabin the Gun Stun, but Shelley broke up the pin attempt. The Brothers double teamed Sabin and scored a two count. Fans chanted “This is awesome”. The Guns hit a series of moves on Anderson and super kicked Doc to the outside. Shelley splashed Anderson and Sabin got the pin for the victory. Fans chanted “Both these teams”. Both teams exchanged a Too Sweet at the end and hugged.

WINNER: The Motor City Machine Guns in 20:00.

(D.L.’s Take: A fun match. The Guns continue to be at the top of their game. I know I said it a few weeks ago, but this match might actually be the last of the Good Brothers in Impact.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: This show was all about building to Victory Road, which takes place in eight days. They did a very effective job of it (while still being mindful of Bound For Glory). The lineup looks good for Victory Road, with a few outside names (Frankie Kazarian, Delirious, Max the Impaler) added to keep things fresh. Tonight’s in-ring action was solid and the mic work was good. Another good episode.

---

CATCH-UP: 9/1 IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT: Purrazzo vs. Slamovich, The Good Brothers in action, more