wrestling / TV Reports
Cook’s Impact Bound For Glory 2020 Review
Rich Swann
Loading...Hey kids! Steve Cook here with you for the biggest show of Impact Wrestling’s year, Bound For Glory! Slammiversary made people take notice, the TV show’s been picking up steam, and tonight we’ll see if Impact can keep that momentum rolling with another big event.
We start with Eric Young in prison. He promises to burn this mothereffer down.
Josh Mathews welcomes us to Bound For Glory! He is joined on commentary by Don Callis.
X Division Championship Six-Way Scramble: Rohit Raju (c) vs. Chris Bey vs. Trey Miguel vs. TJP vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Willie Mack: Somebody’s got a pretty bad cough going tonight, I heard that on the Countdown to Glory show too. Spoiler Alert: Six people in a scramble match is going to be tough for me to recap. Raju wants to go outside, but it kept inside. Jordynne laying the leather to Willie Mack! Bey & TJP get the ring to themselves for a second, then Miguel hits TJP with a missile dropkick. Trey with a dropkick to Bey, reverse 619 and a kick takes him down. Mack comes in with Trey, funky arm drag and a big shoulderblock! Grace in now with Mack, shoulderblocks, the fourth one takes Willie down. Mack with a twisting slam on Grace, TJP comes in, gets Mack & Trey in deathlocks, gets a chancery on Bey, side headlock on Grace, Grace fights out, locks in a sleeper. Raju breaks all this up. He’s the X Division Champion, baby! It’s quality! Raju putting the boots to Grace & keeping everybody else out of the ring. Suplex to Grace, two count. She’s got some spunk, don’t she! Mack trips Grace, pulls her out of the ring, comes in and forearms Raju out of his boots! Clothesline to Miguel, Big kick to Bey! Raju now eating punches from everybody. Mack with the kip up and the standing moonsault gets 2 when everybody comes in. Back fist by Grace, then a tope suicida onto TJP & Raju! Willie follows them out with a hilo! Trey’s next, revesals with TJP, Electric Chair by TJP on the apron, Bey dropkicks Trey off! Bey with a cross-body! TJP runs into a flying knee from Raju, a schoolboy gets a 2.78. Crucifix slam gets two. Jordynne & Trey in there now, they go up top, Bey knocks Grace into the Tree of Woe. They all fly off the top, Raju proclaims equality before delivering the ghetto stomp. Mack breaks up the count there. Raju eats a Stunner, Bey hits a corner cutter on Mack, big kick to the back by Trey, TJP with the octopus stretch, Jordynne breaks that up but gets put in a knee bar by TJP! Trey breaks it up but gets locked in a submission of his own. Jordynne breaks that up. Grace Driver on Trey gets two! Grace goes up top, thrown onto multiple folks! Mamba splash by Bey on Trey, but Raju breaks up the count, knocks Bey out and gets the pin on Trey!
Winner: Rohit Raju
Match Rating: ***1/2
Typical X Division craziness. I can’t hate on that!
Josh wants some help with the audio issues. Meanwhile, John E. Bravo and his peeps are having themselves a bachelor shindig. Johnny Swinger name-drops Nick Gulas. To be honest, I had a harder time keeping up with this than the X Division match.
Heath & Rhino get a countdown, then start their conversation! Tremendous. Rhino tries to apologize to Heath, who is hearing none of that because Rhino has nothing to apologize for. They’re at Bound For Glory!
Call Your Shot Gauntlet Match: Rhino is first. Second, making his return to Impact Wrestling, Daivari! He’s been working out, that’s for sure. Daivari goes to work on Rhino in the corner. Rhino fighting back, big 80s style hip toss! Daivari runs away from the Gore attempt. Rhino apparently will be fined for knocking over the lights, but if he’s fired he won’t have to worry about that, right? Rhino clotheslines the ring post, Daivari rams his hand into the announce booth. Number 3 is Larry D, who doesn’t look quite as heavy as usual when he’s in there with Rhino. He & Daivari work over Rhino, then Crazzy Steve comes out as Number 4. He goes right after Larry D, continuing their issues from Wrestle House! I don’t know if they had any, but it seemed like most people in Wrestle House had issues. Speaking of XXXL, Acey Romero is Number 5, and Crazzy Steve is surrounded! Ooof, they run into him from each side. At Number 6, it’s Tenille Dashwood! Business is picking up! There’s something going on in the ring, but who the heck cares when Tenille is walking out? I sure don’t! Kaleb with a K enters the ring and he’s trying to do things with XXXL! Havok is Number 7, and she’s less shy about getting in the ring than Tenille is. Tiltawhirl headscissors, Kaleb with a K gets sent out over the top, which I don’t think matters. Number 8 is Brian Myers, who ends up on the apron but hip tosses Crazzy Steve outta there. Tenille & Havok going at it. Number 9 is Swoggle! He goes right after Daivari, and he & Myers eliminate Daivari! Myers promptly drops Swoggle to the floor, eliminating his buddy. Tommy Dreamer out here wearing Road Warrior Animal paint at number 10, and he even got an Animal type of haircut for the occasion. That’s dedication to your dedication right there. Swoggle is back in here for some reason…ah, for a mini Doomsday Device on Myers.
Alisha is Number 11, and Callis puts over her mean streak. Myers tosses Dreamer out, Alisha canes Myers, Myers no-sells that and tosses Alisha out! Kiera Hogan is number 12, Myers & Tenille take some pictures together, and Myers tosses her out! Hogan works Havok over, and Taya Valkyrie is out at number 13. Taya laying in shots to XXXL, who run into each other. Running ass into both in the corner, then the double knees. Fallah Bahh is at number 14. He’s got some cash hidden in his shirt, which Josh tells us he stole from Hernande in the shower. I probably don’t need to know more about that. Havok tosses Kiera into Tasha Steelz, who hits the trash can pretty hard. Taya tosses Havok out, and nunber 15 is none other than James Storm! An Impact Wrestling legend has come home for the evening! Longnecks & Rednecks! Storm goes after XXXL, they try to double team him, but that ends poorly for them. Superkick to Larry D, who eventually tumbles out! Adam Thornstowe is number 16, representing those Reno Scum. Myers goes after Storm, trying to add to his elimination total. Luster the Legend is number 17, and Reno Scum is taking this thing over. Heath is number 18, or 17 according to Josh. He tries to irish whip Romero, that doesn’t work, but eventually he does get Romero outta there. Myers tossed over the top by Heath! Sami Callihan is number nineteen, and that’s bad news for some people. Sami tries to eliminate Storm, that doesn’t work, but there is a lot of loud screaming going on over there. Here comes Hernandez at number twenty!
Reno Scum & Hernandez going after Fallah Bahh. The wad of cash remains in Bahh’s possession, but he gets eliminated nonetheless. Hernandez leaves to get his cash, didn’t see if he went over the top or not but I’m thinking not. Thornstowe goes over the top. We’re down to Rhino, Heath, Storm, Callihan & Luster. Yeah, Luster wasn’t long for that world, so we’re down to four. Heath seems to have injured his knee, I didn’t get a real good look at it. Storm tries to geam up with Sami, who’s having none of that. Storm’s out, and Heath is now out! Sami doesn’t care about Heath’s kids!
Sami & Rhino are our final two, and it’s a regular match now. Sami with the piledriver, and it’s 2.92! Sami wants to use the chair. The referee doesn’t let him, and Rhino delivers the GORE GORE GORE!
Winner: Rhino
Match Rating: ***
Rhino gets a trophy and gets to call his shot! He also still has a job. Heath gets a job too, right? If his knee isn’t exploded that would be good for him. If his knee is exploded he’s going to need a job more than ever. Stay tuned to 411Mania for updates on that development.
Gia Miller is with The North. Josh Alexander has some thoughts. Champions rise to the occasion, they are champions that reinvented Impact’s tag division. Tonight at Bound For Glory, they take what is rightfully theirs. Ethan Page says they will hurt somebody tonight. He hasn’t had his gold in 94 days. Tonight, the North climbs back on their throne as the best tag team in the world and as Impact World Tag Team Champions.
Undisclosed Location Match: TNA World Champion Moose vs. EC3: Moose arrives while EC3 is beating up some jabroni in a darkened warehouse with a ring. Not sure why Retribution is on the outside of the ring cheering for EC3, but it’s a thing. Moose walks in, screaming for EC3. The man arrives and we have a staredown. Exchange of punches, chokeslam by Moose. Exploder by EC3 while Retribution pounds the mat. EC3 works Moose over in the corner, but Moose fights back with a low blow. He silences Retribution & the song that was playing during EC3’s offensive onslaught. Punches by Moose while the music gets all slow & dramatic. EC3 has been busted wide open by gawd, and Moose gets a chair. Moose wants some answers. Why has EC3 been tormenting him? EC3 blocks the chair shot, starts punching away on Moose, but Moose comes right back with a kick to EC3’s face. Moose rammed face first into the post, then whipped into a propped up guardrail. Back to the song from earlier as EC3 goes back on the offensive. Moose rammed into the ringpost again. EC3 tells Moose he’s becoming who he’s supposed to be, who is apparently somebody that gets rammed into ringposts. The TNA World Championship means something in the annals of history. He wants Moose to become an animal, a killer, somebody that deserves to be TNA Champion. He doesn’t deserve it now. EC3 teases his old finisher with a glimpse back to the old days, doesn’t do it. Moose spears him. Moose beats EC3 with the belt repeatedly, asking EC3 if this is what he wants. Moose pounds away on EC3. Apparently this is exactly what EC3 wants. Retribution chants Moose. EC3 tells Moose to control his narrative. Moose thanks him, and knocks him out with the TNA Championship belt.
Winner: Moose
Match Rating: N/A
I’m kind of over the whole cinematic thing, but they were telling an interesting story there. One wonders where Moose will go from here, and if Impact was just a pit stop for EC3 on the way to the ROH Wrestling bubble.
Earlier tonight, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson inducted Ken Shamrock into the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame. Apparently Rock has a special uniform he wears for Hall of Fame inductions and Presidential endorsements.
Josh establishes that Heath is now officially on the Impact roster.
Eddie Edwards vs. Ken Shamrock (w/Sami Callihan): Sami still selling that Gore Gore Gore while hyping up the World’s Most Dangerous Man. Shamrock with the early strikes. Knee right to Eddie’s face. Kenny works Eddie over on the mat, trapping the arm and landing blows to Eddie’s head. Shamrock going for a rear naked choke, Eddie doing all he can to block it and gets the mount. Eddie tries to get up but Shamrock goes for the ankle. Rope break, and Kenny kicking away on Eddie now. The Irish whip gets nothing for Edwards but a big punch from Shamrock. Outside the ring now, and Shamrock just kicking the guy. Big knee! Shamrock landing some big punches on the outside. Back in the ring and it’s more of the same. Edwards swats at Callihan, which just leads to more shots by Shamrock. Edwards fighting back with forearms and a Blue Thunder bomb. Edwards goes after Shamrock’s knee with some modified dragonscrews, and dropkicks him out of the ring. Callihan tries to tend to Shamrock, but Edwards dives onto both of them! He tosses Shamrock into the ring, goes up top, hits the missile dropkick for two. Tiger bomb from Edwards gets two, but Shamrock gets a hold of Edwards’ arm! Edwards gets out, back elbow and both men are down now. Backpack stunner by Eddie! Shamrock keeps his legs scissored around Edwards while Edwards struggles to get his senses and tries a choke. Eddie fights out. Hits the Boston Knee Party, and locks in a half crab! Callihan on the apron, pushes a button and the lights go out! The lights go on, and Callihan has the baseball bat! Eddie has the Singapore cane, and canes Callihan out of the ring! Shamrock is back up, hits the belly to belly suplex and locks in the ankle lock! Edwards taps!
Winner: Ken Shamrock
Match Rating: ***1/4
Of course you’re not going to beat somebody the night they go in the Hall of Fame! This was a real throwback style of match that I dug a lot. Something different than what we usually see on Impact.
Tag Team Championship Match: Motor City Machine Guns (c) vs. The Good Brothers vs. The North vs. Ace Austin & Madman Fulton: The Guns’ entrance gets interrupted by an attack from The North! Josh Alexander with a double underhook piledriver on Alex Shelley on the stage! They’re in Tennessee, so that might be the end of that man’s career. Chris Sabin is apparently going to go it alone here, which might not be the smartest strategy but it’s a title match! Sabin going at it with the North, Ethan Page with a big dropkick. Ace Austin tags Page and works over Sabin. Madman Fulton tags in, chokes Sabin from the top rope, then stomps the man. Manhattan Drop followed by a big boot. Alexander tags Fulton & punches away on Sabin. Page tags in, mocks Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows while continuing the onslaught on Sabin. Frequent tags by the North now, Sabin actually had an offensive move, and Alexander misses the moonsault! Fulton tags Alexander and takes Sabin into his & Ace Austin’s corner. Legdrop splash combo gets two when Ethan Page breaks the count up. Delayed vertical suplex. Sabin fights back, taking out Fulton with a DDT. Tag to Karl Anderson! The Machine Gun is a house of fire! Spine buster to Austin, tag to Gallows! Fulton breaks up a pinfall, and the two big boys go at it. Fulton gets knocked outside, and the North comes in for the double team. They both get clotheslined. Sabin tags Doc, he’s going after the North! Karl tags Alexander, and it’s Chris Sabin vs. the world right now. Anderson almost gets the pinfall with a rollthrough on a cross-body by Sabin. They exchange shots, Austin tags Anderson & gets tagged with a dropkick by Sabin. Sabin gets Page & Austin with PKs, fosbury flop onto Alexander! Cradle Shock on Austin, count is broken up by Ethan Page. Page tossed outside, Sabin up top, Austin follows him up…superplex attempt is foiled. Page tags in, Alexander helps out, and there’s a double Iconoclasm into a T-Gimmick for two! Malfunction at the Junction for the North, and Anderson tags Sabin. Gallows in there too, misses Austin in the corner, Austin doesn’t miss with the kicks & sends Gallows outside. Austin & Fulton isolating Anderson, I don’t know what they’re setting up, but it doesn’t work. The North takes them out, Anderson with the neckbreaker on Alexander! Tag to Gallows, Magic Killer is blocked, as is the Gun Stun, Anderson goes for a rollup, gets pushed off, Page hits Anderson with one of the belts, and Alexander covers for three! New (old) champions!
Winners: The North
Match Rating: ***3/4
A pity there was no Alex Shelley in that match, but Sabin put in enough effort for at least three guys. Good stuff from all involved.
Rosemary & Havok are off to the Undead Realm, so they’ll see Taya & John E. at the altar. John E. is growing tired of Taya’s talking from the looks of things. I’m sure this won’t lead to anything bad.
Knockouts Championship Match: Deonna Purrazzo (c) (w/Kimber Lee) vs. Kylie Rae: Madison Rayne is here on commentary on this one, and refuses to accept Josh’s rose, that he took from Don’s jacket. Something seemed amiss when Kylie was scheduled to make the second entrance, and her music played without her showing up. Deonna gets the microphone, and she isn’t surprised that Kylie didn’t show for her big match. She agreed to defend the championship though, and issues an open challenge! This might have been a bad idea. It’s not Susie answering the challenge…it’s Su Yung!
Knockouts Championship Match: Deonna Purrazzo (c) (w/Kimber Lee) vs. Su Yung: Well, if Deonna’s strategy involved getting Kylie out of the picture, I don’t think this worked out the way she planned. Su tosses Deonna around the ring & pounds her down in the corner. Deonna rolls out of the ring and gets on the apron. Su joins her, they exchange blows & Deonna gets side slammed on the apron! THE HARDEST PART OF THE RING! Now Su has a steel chair, Kimber Lee makes sure that doesn’t get too involved. Su keeps control in the ring until she runs into a back elbow. Never mind, she head scissors Deonna off the top rope and gets two. Deonna starts working over the arm of Su and finally gets some momentum going for herself. Koji clutch on Su now, that’s turned into a cross arm-breaker. Su gets out, Deonna still has the advantage until she misses the knee drop. Su runs into a Deonna elbow in the corner. The Virtuosa wraps Su on the bottom rope like she’s a ball, and kicks her to the floor! Called the Paradise Lock according to Madison. Rolling german suplexes by Deonna, goes for a suplex but Su reverses into a DDT! Both women slow to get up, but it’s Su who gets the advantage. Thesz press & piston-like right hands! Splash in the corner and a bulldog by Su. Deonna rolls outside, but Su follows her out and rams her into the ringpost. She sets Deonna on the chair, climbs the apron, dances around & hits the cannonball! Pedigree? OK. Cover gets two. She pulls out a lovely looking sock and puts it on her hand…Deonna avoids it, after a couple of near misses, the referee gets taken out! Su with the Yoshitonic, but the referee can’t count. Kimber in the ring, takes the chair, whacks Su with it! They set Su up for the same armbreaking move that Deonna did to Susie, but Su gets out of it, grabs a hold of Deonna, mists Kimber & locks in the mandible claw! Deonna reverses into the arm bar! Su manages to get the mandible claw on, Deonna has to break the hold. Pump kicks by Deonna. Su with a stunner, hits the Panic Switch! Three count, new champion!
Winner: Su Yung
Match Rating: ***1/4
Kylie’s absence leads to a different version of her best friend winning the Knockouts Championship. We’ll surely hear more about this later at 411mania.com. Wasn’t Kylie on some of those Indianapolis shows?
The Knockouts Tag Team Championship will return in January! They’ve got enough teams to do that, that’s for sure. Hard To Kill will take place on January 16, 2021.
World Championship Match: Eric Young (c) vs. Rich Swann: We’ve seen two straight championship changes tonight. Will we see a third? EY going for that leg because duh. Gets it on the third attempt, but Swann reverses into a headlock. The leg looks fine when Swann does some flips and dropkicks. Young goes outside to contemplate. Swann follows him out and chops him around the ringside area. Young continues to stall, Swann continues to press the issue with things like dives & chops. Swann charges Young on the outside, Young back drops him over, with Swann ending up head first on the apron! Doesn’t look like good news for Swann’s neck, and Young has every intention of following up on that. Neckbreaker off the top rope gets a couple of near falls. Young tries to twist Swann’s head off like he’s the Giant in 1995. Swann almost fought back before getting back dropped upside down & inside out. EY continues to target that neck, and tells Swann to GO AWAY. Neckbreaker gets two. Big stomps in the corner. Eric tells Rich to STAY DOWN. Swann fights back, but Young gets him into the Death Valley Driver for two. This world belongs to Eric Young. EY stomping away on Swann, right to that neck. Big ol’ punch sends Swann down in the corner. Young talking that trash and smacking Swann down across the ring. He’s not holding back with those strikes. Eventually, Rich gets to that point where he can’t stands it no more. He also spits, which Frank Talent wouldn’t like. Swann fights back! Big ol suplex off the top! He’s got some blood in that saliva, just one of those wonderful visual. Clothesline & kicks from Swann. Rana off the top! Rich goes up top…froggy splash gets two! Swann places Young up top, but Young starts biting the man’s face! Top rope elbow right to the back! Cover gets two, but Young locks in the Crossface! Not a great move for the neck, no sir. Swann finds the ropes. They exchange punches. Swann gets the advantage, big kick, handspring, but Young catches him and hits a torture rack neckbreaker for two! Young gets an elbow in the corner, and he goes back to that leg with an ankle lock! Swann goes back to the ropes. Young goes for the piledriver, Swann reverses into a rollup for two. Kick to the jaw of Young, another one, and a cartwheel into a handspring into a standing 450 gets two! Swann going up top, gets crotched by Young! Into the Tree of Woe, and Young’s just going after that foot now. Swann reverses into a cutter! Handspring into a cutter, he goes up top…Phoenix Splash! New Champion!
Winner: Rich Swann
Match Rating: ****
The storybook ending for Rich Swann! Here comes the locker room to celebrate!
Promotions typically like to end their biggest show of the year with a happy ending, the babyface that’s been put through so much over the past several months rising to the occasion and overcoming the despicable heel. It’s Storytelling 101, and that’s exactly what Impact did here. Damn good match too.
– Joe Martel and Eric Sutter are back with the latest WrestleTakesMania to discuss Saturday night’s Bound For Glory PPV and why they were disappointed with the show, the Rock appearing on the show, Kylie Rae being MIA, the genius of the Rich Swann injury angle, a preview for WWE Hell in a Cell, and more. You can see the full video below.
