Impact Wrestling Presents: Bound For Glory 2019

By Steve Ward

Impact Wrestling’s biggest event of the year emanated from Chicago this evening for the 15^th incarnation of Bound For Glory. This event held significance on a multitude of levels for Impact Wrestling as they continue to push to remain relevant in what is becoming an ever crowded pro wrestling landscape with the emergence of AEW. Additionally, this was Impact’s final event before their debut on AXS TV after spending the past year on Pursuit Channel. While I’m happy to see they continue to maintain a network deal, this move will make it more difficult for their fan base to access their weekly program as it is mostly limited to satellite TV providers. The card was stacked this evening as it provided a healthy mix of young, lesser known talent, some WWE outcasts, and several ECW originals while all titles were contested.

Call Your Shot 20-Person Gauntlet Match
Winner: Eddie Edwards

This match began with Eddie Edwards and Adam Thornstowe of Reno Scum. Every minute another competitor entered and would need to be thrown over the top rope in order to be eliminated. The final competitor would have the opportunity at the title of his or her choice. In addition to many Impact Wrestling regulars, there were many surprises including Swoggle (who made his entrance as he chased Johnny Swinger, another blast from the past, from below the ring), Sabu, Tommy Dreamer (not really a surprise but the Innovator of Violence needed a mention in the article), former AEW star Kylie Rae, and the newly signed Joey Ryan. The exhilarating opening contest came down to a final four of  Madman Fulton, Mahabali Shera, Eddie Edwards, and Fallah Bahh. Bahh was quickly eliminated by Shera and then Edwards caught Fulton off guard and knocked him over the top rope to bring us to the last two men standing. Once this occurred the match became a standard one on one contest. Edwards made short work of Shera as he executed the Boston Knee Party for the pinfall victory.

Knockouts Championship
Tenille Dashwood vs. Taya Valkyrie (c) w/ John E. Bravo
Winner: Taya Valkyrie via pinfall

Despite the noticeable and unexplained departure of her husband Johnny Impact amid rumors he’s signed with WWE, Valkyrie has continued her reign of dominance with former referee John E. Bravo (Johnny Bravo) in tow. This evening she defended her title against Tenille Dashwood (formerly known as Emma in WWE) who made her surprising debut recently instead of signing with AEW. In the closing moments, Dashwood hit the Spotlight, however, her pinfall attempt was thwarted by Bravo who dragged the champ to the ropes for the break. After Bravo was ejected from ringside, Dashwood attempted another Spotlight to no avail as Valkyrie was able to trap her in the Road to Valhalla for the pinfall.

Impact Tag Team Championship
Rob Van Dam & Rhino vs. Rich Swann & Willie Mack vs. The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page)
Winners: The North

As this frenetically paced match began to wind down, RVD and Rhino seemed poised to solidify a victory. Rhino was squared up in the corner prepared to execute a Gore as RVD shocked the crowd and super kicked him in the face. RVD then laid waste to Mack and Swann as he delivered super kicks to them as well and proceeded to exit the arena. This allowed Alexander to hoist Swann up in a fireman’s carry and propelled him into the arms of Page who power bombed him to set up the pinfall.

Marufugi vs. Michael Elgin
Winner: Michael Elgin

Japanese legend Marufugi of Pro Wrestling NOAH squared off with Michael Elgin who made a name for himself in New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor. Michael Elgin greatly impressed in this bout with his surprising high flying ability mixed in with the strong style focus of the match. Marufugi displayed great resilience as he withstood multiple buckle bombs and a Splash Mountain Bomb to answer with several onslaughts of vicious knee strikes. The conclusion of this match arrived after Elgin executed yet another buckle bomb followed by an inverted Death Valley Driver for the victory.

5-person X-Division Ladder Match
Tessa Blanchard vs. Ace Austin vs. Acey Romero vs. Daga vs. Jake Crist (c)
Winner: Ace Austin

Yes, you read that participant list correctly, Tessa Blanchard after weeks of feuding with OVE, was a contestant in this bout. In the closing moments, Tessa and Jake Crist scaled the ladder simultaneously. As the two jockeyed for position at the top of the ladder, Tessa propelled Crist off of the ladder and through a table. As Tessa had the belt at her fingertips, Ace Austin jumped to the ladder from the ropes with his baton in hand and struck Tessa in the head causing her to fall from the ladder. This action left Austin unopposed as he retrieved the title to become the new X-Division Champion.

Ken Shamrock vs. Moose
Winner: Moose via pinfall

55-year old Ken Shamrock came out absolutely shredded and did not look anywhere near his age physique-wise. Shamrock was in line to finish off Moose several times, however, Frank Trigg who was in Moose’s corner proved to be the difference. Trigg drew the attention of Shamrock and the referee several times and even removed one of the turnbuckle covers exposing the dreaded steel beneath. Moose managed to withstand multiple ankle lock submission attempts and finally drove Shamrock into the exposed turnbuckle busting him open. This supplied Moose the opening he needed to land the spear and cover The World’s Most Dangerous Man for a hollow victory.

Impact World Championship
Brian Cage (c) vs. Sami Callihan
Winner: Brian Cage via pinfall

There were plenty of narratives leading into this contest. After months injured at home, Cage made his return to Impact several weeks ago to propose to and subsequently marry Melissa Santos. On the edition of Impact where the two tied the knot, Callihan struck Santos in the head with a champagne bottle intended for Cage. Then to make matters worse, Callihan and OVE handcuffed Cage to the ropes on the most recent episode of Impact and let him watch as his wife was the recipient of a Cactus Special. Needless to say, this bout was full of pure, unadulterated violence. The bout reached it’s conclusion shortly after Callihan introduced a bag of tacks to the fray. Callihan delivered a Cactus Special that Cage kicked out of following a one count and proceeded to destroy “The Draw.” First, he power bombed Callihan onto the tacks and immediately followed up with a Drill Claw for the pinfall.

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IMPACT WRESTLING PRESENTS: BOUND FOR GLORY 2018 Recap

Impact Wrestling presented Bound For Glory this evening from a sold out Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York. While the venue was comparable in size to the Impact Zone utilized when tapings have been done at Universal Studios in Orlando, the rabid New York wrestling fans brought an energy comparable to a much larger audience. The card boasted seven matches, with two titles contested, in addition to Allie’s trek into the “undead realm.”

Rich Swann & Willie Mack vs. Matt Sydal & Ethan Page

Winners: Rich Swann & Willie Mack

This bout featured the debut of Willie Mack of Lucha Underground fame and the re-branding of Ethan Page as fans may recognize him from his previous portrayal of Joseph Park’s (Abyss) cousin Chandler Park. Mack was immediately serenaded by the fans with chants of “Return of the Mack” which he obliged by putting his gravity defying agility, especially for a 280lb man, on full display.  The action was fast and furious in this contest and came to it’s conclusion as Rich Swann hit a awe-inspiring Phoenix Splash from the middle turnbuckle on Matt Sydal for the pinfall.

Eli Drake Open Challenge

Eli Drake vs. James Ellsworth

Winner: Eli Drake

The “Chinless Wonder” shocked the fans in attendance as he answered the challenge of Eli Drake. Despite Drake showering New York with insults, the crowd wasted no time greeting Ellsworth with a “F#ck you Ellsworth” chant. This match didn’t last long as Drake was able to overcome the No Chin Music to obliterate Ellsworth with the Gravy Train two times.

Drake proceeded to run his mouth after the bout insisting that he came to New York for hall of fame caliber competition. It didn’t take long for the music of the new Impact Wrestling Hall of Famer, “The Monster” Abyss to resonate throughout the venue. Abyss wasn’t finished after he hit promptly hit the Black Hole Slam on Drake as he proceeded to retrieve a table from beneath the ring and thwarted Drake’s offensive attempts with a choke slam through it.

Impact Women’s Championship

Tessa Blanchard (c) vs. Taya Valkyrie

Winner: Tessa Blanchard

Tessa Blanchard was challenged this evening by the returning Taya Valkyrie (real life wife of Johnny Impact) and she was ready to bring the fight. This was easily Blanchard’s stiffest competition to date in her tenure with Impact Wrestling. Valkyrie hit the Road to Valhalla and Blanchard the Buzzsaw DDT, but these signature maneuvers were not enough to put either lady away. This match did not reach it’s culmination until Tessa landed a devastating Codebreaker that she initiated by propelling herself from the top turnbuckle to finally put away Valkyrie for the pinfall to retain her title.

Moose vs. Eddie Edwards

Winner: No contest

This “contest” didn’t last long as Killer Kross attacked Eddie Edwards from the crowd, acquiring a kendo stick from ringside, leading the referee to call for the bell. As Moose and Cross beat Edwards in the center of the ring, the crowd was shocked by the entrance of “The Innovator of Violence” Tommy Dreamer. This immediately lead us to an impromptu tag team match.

Tommy Dreamer & Eddie Edwards vs. Moose & Killer Kross

Winners: Tommy Dreamer & Eddie Edwards

Moose attempted to punish Edwards with a kendo stick strike only to have Edwards get the best of him with a Schoolboy rollup for the pinfall. There was no celebration as Moose and Kross quickly laid waste to Edwards after Dreamer had been dropped on his head by Kross. Edwards suffered a spear from Moose and then was taken to the outside of the ring to be unceremoniously power bombed on the hardest part of the ring apron.

Sami Callihan & OVE vs. Pentagon Jr., Fenix, and Brian Cage

Winners: Sami Callihan & OVE

This match was contested under OVE rules which essentially meant there were no rules.  After OVE was able to take the Lucha Bros out of the equation it left Cage in a one on three situation-for those familiar with Cage’s body of work, these are odds he would typically be comfortable with.  OVE proceeded to hit Cage with a plethora of super kicks before Callihan shocked the fans in attendance and hit him with a piledriver to become the first man to pin Cage in Impact Wrestling.

Concrete Jungle Death Match

The OGz vs. LAX

Winners: LAX

The ring itself was a true spectacle in this contest as the mat, apron, and turnbuckles were all removed leaving a stripped down squared circle. Earlier in the evening, Konnan was “taken out” changing the dynamic of this match to a handicapped bout. Just as things began to look dire for LAX, their music hit and Konnan made his way to the ring to help even the odds. Konnan turned the tides of the match as he Irish whipped  King through a table propped up in the corner of the ring. King was then set up for the Street Sweeper by Ortiz and Santana to score the pinfall for LAX.

Allie Goes to the “Undead Realm” in Search of Su Yung Vignette

This segment was just weird and looked like something out of a low budget horror film. It was also apparent that this segment was presented at this juncture of the evening to allow the crew to reassemble the ring for the main event. Essentially, Kiera Hogan was taken to the undead realm by Su Yung and Allie sought the assistance of Father James Mitchell to gain entry there so she could rescue her. Allie, with an axe in hand, proceeded to take out several undead bridesmaids until she finally found Kiera in a coffin leading to another encounter with Su Yung. As Allie and Kiera made it back to the entrance of the realm, James Mitchell wouldn’t allow them to leave. Rosemary then emerged to fend off Su Yung allowing their escape.

Impact World Championship

Austin Aries (c) vs. Johnny Impact

Winner: Johnny Impact

The fans in attendance were at a fever pitch for this encounter with the world title on the line. Johnny Impact and Austin Aries certainly were primed for this bout as they both brought their A-games to the table. One of the highlights of the match occurred on the outside of the ring as Impact leapfrogged a charging Aries, landed with one foot on the guardrail and the other on the ring apron (this was possible due to the incredibly close proximity between the ring and the crowd), and countered with a backflip. The conclusion of the match came after an incensed Johnny Impact, moments after his wife was knocked down outside the ring by a diving Aries, took down the champ and ascended to the top turnbuckle to finish him with Starship Pain for the 1-2-3! Your winner and the new Impact World Champion, Johnny Impact!

-Steve Ward

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