Reviews by Dave
By David E Houston II
Show air date: September 23, 2021
After a good match that saw Laredo Kid win the rubber match in his rivalry with John Skyler on BTI, Impact Wrestling on AXS-TV officially got on the road to the number one pay-per-view show: Bound For Glory (BFG) in October.
Option C is Back!
An atypical start as they didn’t start with a match but with “The Walking Weapon” Josh Alexander formally surrendering the X Division champion, exercising Option C and getting a shot at Christian Cage’s World title at BFG. A good exchange between Alexander and Cage. Cage’s Victory Road foe, “The Inevitable” Ace Austin with Madman Fulton, came down and you know a scuffle broke out, with Austin striking Cage in his eye with metal extendable staff.
He Chooses None of Them
A good segment in the back with Gia Miller as Willie Mack will be back in the X Division. Rich Swann announces his entrance into the BFG Call Your Shot gauntlet battle royal, as does “The Most Professional Wrestler” Brian Myers, who brought his trainees–Sam Beale, Zicky Dice, and Manny Lemons, known as The Learning Tree. Swann books himself and Willie into a match with Myers and whichever of his students he chooses. He chooses…none of them.
David Finlay defeated Hikuleo
David Finlay of FinJuice got a win over Bullet Club’s Hikuleo in a “You can also check this out on NJPW World” match. Solid David vs Goliath match, with Matt Stryker making a good reference to a match he witnessed between their respective fathers on a WCW Saturday Night episode.
Just as it looked like FinJuice was finally going to get the upper hand on the BC in their long-running feud with a Doomsday Device clothesline on “The Ultimate Finesser” Chris Bey, El Phantasmo makes his Impact return and they leave FinJuice laying again.
We’ll See!
Great vignette from Eric Young and Violent By Design, offering Rhino an opportunity to apologize and stay in the group after the beatdown they gave him at Victory Road. We’ll see.
Su Yung is Freaking Me Out!
Su Yung is freaking me out. Now they’ve claimed one of the Swingerettes.
Rohit Raju defeated Chelsea Green
Chelsea Green tried to get some payback on Rohit Raju, who put her on the shelf for a couple of weeks in a singles match. Entertaining and well structured with Green relying on speed to offset Raju’s greater strength. Still wasn’t enough as Raju took advantage of the surprise return of his Desi Hit Squad teammate, Raj Singh, and rolled Green up in a tight small package.
They Caught Moose Slipping
Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan caught Moose slipping as they were looking for W. Morrissey, who powerbombed Alisha Edwards at Victory Road.
Rich Swann and Willie Mack defeated Brian Myers and VSK
Myers picked a returning VSK (the third return on this show) to face Swann and Mack. A good TV match that definitely raised VSK’s stock even though he ate the pin when Beale’s attempt to help backfired badly.
How Can He Run an Illegal Casino in Las Vegas?
Johnny Swinger is beside himself with BFG being in Vegas. How can he run an illegal casino in Vegas? References to Paul Boesch, Bob Carter, Bob’s babe daughter, and JJ Dillon. Best character in wrestling and sports entertainment.
Both Women Were Nice on the Mic
A great segment with NWA star and TNA Original Mickie James calling out Knockouts champion “The Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo (who must have killed two grown cheetahs). Both women were nice on the mic and did it without being at all work-shootish. Executive Producer/Vice President Scott D’Amore books the long-awaited match for BFG.
How’s Your Wife?
D’Amore then gets in the middle of a melee with Morrissey, Edwards, and Callihan and books a come as you are street fight for next week. Good segment.”Hey Eddie. How’s your wife?”
KO Knockdown October 9
Gail Kim promotes the October 9 return of the Knockouts Knockdown Impact Plus special. She also has to check Tenille Dashwood, Madison Rayne, and Kaleb with a K–The Influence. They face Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering next week to get a KO tag title shot at KO Knockdown.
Josh Alexander defeated Ace Austin
Alexander added to his run of just great matches, beating Austin in the main event (this was a very good week for TV wrestling). Fulton gives him no time to celebrate and jumps him immediately, bringing out Cage but both are still overwhelmed. This leads to the fourth–and biggest–return of the episode as the “Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels makes a surprise return (a return teased on BTI), saving both.
A good show with good wrestling, intense promos and face-offs, and quite a few names coming back in time for Bound For Glory season.
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