Sports
IMPACT Wrestling Results: Winners, Grades and Highlights from September 22
0 of 6Credit: Impact WrestlingThe women of Impact Wrestling took center stage Tuesday night on AXS TV as the company continued its build to the October 24 Bound for Glory pay-per-view.In the night’s main event, Tenille Dashwood made her return to the squared circle after a months-long hiatus, battling former Knockouts Champion, Jordynne Grace.Speaking of…
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Credit: Impact Wrestling
The women of Impact Wrestling took center stage Tuesday night on AXS TV as the company continued its build to the October 24 Bound for Glory pay-per-view.
In the night's main event, Tenille Dashwood made her return to the squared circle after a months-long hiatus, battling former Knockouts Champion, Jordynne Grace.
Speaking of KO champions, Deonna Purrazzo accompanied Kimber Lee to the squared circle for a showdown with Susie, who had No. 1 contender Kylie Rae backing her up.
Who emerged from those two matches victorious, building a head of steam for themselves as they journey to the biggest show of the company's calendar year?
What else went down over the two-hour broadcast?
Find out now with this recap of the September 22 episode.
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Credit: Impact Wrestling
The challenger to Rohit Raju's X-Division Championship would be determined in the night's opening match between former champion Chris Bey, TJP and Trey Miguel of The Rascalz.
Raju made his presence felt prior to the bell, looking to play mind games with the competitors.
TJP made the first real impact, trapping Trey in a Sharpshooter while simultaneously locking Bey in a camel clutch. He followed up moments later with the three amigos suplexes but Trey downed him with head-scissors. Trey followed up with a neckbreaker for a near-fall.
Bey caught Miguel soaring through the air with a cutter but TJP broke up the fall. The former WWE cruiserweight and X-Division champion applied a kneebar to Bey but Miguel soared through the air, crashing down on TJP for the win.
After the match, Raju impatiently ordered the bell rang. When it was, he wasted little time rolling Miguel up and holding the tights for the successful “title defense.”
Result
Miguel defeated TJP and Bey; Raju defeated Miguel to retain his title
Grade
B
Analysis
This was a great bit of booking as Miguel, Bey and TJP busted ass for a title opportunity, only for the slimy heel Raju to score a tainted win.
Raju is a classic bad guy, the type that knows he cannot hang with the top stars around him, so he cheats to win every match he is in and retains the title. It is a timeless bit of booking that will never go out of style and, ultimately, will leave the audience begging for the insufferable champion to get his comeuppance.
That time will come, possibly at Bound for Glory as Impact appears to be headed for a Fatal 4-Way title defense for the current titleholder.
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Credit: Impact Wrestling
A week after exhibiting personality traits of her terrifying alter ego Su Yung, the oft-oblivious Susie battled Kimber Lee in singles action. Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo and top contender Kylie Rae were at ringside with their respective associates for the contest.
Lee controlled heading into the commercial break but Susie fought back with some punishing forearms to the chest. Lee cut her off, though, and applied a crippling submission, working the left knee, foot and ankle of her opponent.
Lee followed up with a Boston Crab that had Susie screaming in agony.
Susie dodged a blind charge into the corner and unloaded with a barrage of chops and an open-hand strike. She pounded away at Lee but fell prey to a sit-out powerbomb for two. Susie recovered and put Kimber Lee away for the pinfall victory, again seemingly reverting to her Su Yung personality.
Rae talked her friend back to reality, then sent Purrazzo scurrying to the floor. Infuriated by Purrazzo's bullying of Susie, Smiley Kylie challenged The Virtuosa to a Knockouts Championship Match at Bound for Glory.
Result
Susie defeated Kimber Lee
Grade
B
Analysis
This was a really, really good wrestling match between the criminally underrated Lee and Susie, who showed some outstanding intensity as she walked the fine line between her innocent babyface character and second, more haunting personality.
Fired up, pissed off Kylie Rae is awesome and exactly what she is going to need to be in order to wrest the title away from the excellent Purrazzo. We saw a flash of it here and, hopefully, we see more of it come October 24 and Bound for Glory.
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Credit: Impact Wrestling
Backstage, The Rascalz' Wentz and Dez approached Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson demanding respect and the opportunity to prove they belong in the ring with them. A match was made between the two teams for a later date.
Elsewhere, EC3 cut another promo about controlling the narrative, this time centered around cell phones.
Taya Valkyrie approached Rosemary and asked where she was a week ago when she lost to Kiera Hogan because of interference from Tasha Steelz. The Demon reminded her bestie that she was beaten down backstage. Their back-and-forth gave way to Johnny Bravo addressing his groomsmen (and Alisha Edwards).
A tense confrontation backstage between Tommy Dreamer and newcomer Brian Myers led to The Innovator of Violence telling The Most Professional Wrestler not to disrespect the company because it is a new opportunity for a fresh start.
Grade
B
Analysis
Impact does the cuts from one vignette to another very well, packing a segment of television with secondary storyline developments that affect the undercard and its vast array of stars and talent. It keeps their stories moving forward without relying on the same crop of stars to compete week in and week out.
Earlier, we saw the latest #HeathForImpact video, a hilarious bit of comedy that featured Cameo videos from the likes of David Hasselhoff, Flava Flav, Nancy Kerrigan and Chuck Norris. Like these short videos, it continued the Heath character's quest for employment in Impact.
WWE would be wise to check out this show, see how it manages to spotlight characters and stories without overexposing them, and figuring out how to implement the same sort of thing on Monday and Friday nights.
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Credit: Impact Wrestling
Cody Deaner and Cousin Jake made their way to the squared circle for some in-ring action when Impact World Champion Eric Young attacked from out of nowhere.
He brutalized and punished Deaner before Jake made the save. Young, infuriated but calculating, waited for Jake to turn his back and jumped him instantly. Young punished the Deaners, trapping Jake in a submission and threatening to break his ankle.
Impact Executive Vice President Scott D'Amore appeared and found himself in danger of incurring the wrath of Young when Eddie Edwards came from out of nowhere, fighting Young off and sending him to the sanctuary of the floor.
Grade
B
Analysis
Eric Young continues to look like a totally unhinged, yet strangely cerebral villain who is as dangerous as any heel in the company. He brutalized The Deaners and while some will argue it makes the tag team look weak, they are fairly far down the pecking order in the tag division and really lose nothing in the way of credibility by taking an ass-whooping at the hands of the world champion.
Edwards' return sets up a rematch between him and Young for Victory Road, the in-between before Bound for Glory.
A solid way of highlighting Young as the unstoppable force of chaos and destruction.
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Credit: Impact Wrestling
The weeks-long feud between Sami Callihan and Rob Van Dam wrote its latest chapter Tuesday night when the former world champions battled in singles competition, with the stipulation that RVD's girlfriend Katie Forbes would receive five minutes alone with Callihan if Mr. PPV picked up the win.
A hot, hard-hitting start to the match gave way to Van Dam driving the air out of Callihan with Rolling Thunder on the arena floor. Back in the ring, and within the official confines of the match, Callihan recovered and wrestled control of the match away from his opponent.
Commentators Josh Matthews and Madison Rayne questioned whether future Hall of Famer Van Dam was becoming the victim of Father Time; if he was not quite the competitor he once was. All while RVD regained the upper hand, driving his feet into the chest of his opponent with a short corner dropkick.
RVD worked a body scissors but Callihan fought out and engaged his rival in an exchange of strikes. The action broke down and just as Callihan looked to deliver a piledriver, Forbes hopped up on the apron and sprayed the protagonist with hairspray, allowing Van Dam to score the win off a rollup.
After the match, Forbes and Callihan beatdown Callihan, per the prematch stipulation. Taunting and a mid-ring makeout allowed Callihan to recover, blast RVD with a chair and deliver a devastating piledriver to Forbes.
Result
Van Dam defeated Callihan
Grade
A
Analysis
Van Dam benefitted from the interference of Forbes and won the battle, but Callihan won the war by finally getting his hands on Forbes. The quality of the match was secondary to whether or not it delivered the desired outcome, which it did.
The question now is whether the competitors have settled their differences or if Impact can get one more high-profile match out of them. Callihan has gotten everything he wants, but that loss may leave a bad taste. And the heels will almost certainly be seeking revenge.
Is there enough meat on the proverbial bone for a few more weeks of television or is it time for the two sides to go their separate ways. We will find out in the coming weeks.
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Credit: Impact Wrestling
Photographer extraordinaire Kaleb Conley interrupted ring announcer David Penzer and introduced Tenille Dashwood for her main event against former Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace.
A tenacious and focused Grace took the fight to Dashwood early and often in Tuesday’s main event. Dashwood, though, slowed her opponent’s offensive momentum and seized control of the match. An ill-advised attempt at a suplex allowed Grace a momentary reprieve but an inverted DDT.
Grace fought back with a Michinoku Driver for a near-fall. Dashwood weathered the storm and delivered the Taste of Tenille for another near-fall.
The former Knockouts Champion recovered and set Dashwood up for the Grace Driver when Konley hopped up on the apron and provided a perfectly timed distraction. Tenille capitalized and delivered the Spotlight Kick for the pinfall victory.
Result
Dashwood defeated Grace
Grade
B
Analysis
A hard-fought, physical match with the potential for rematches to come, thanks to the controversial finish.
Conley’s interference paid dividends and ensured Dashwood picked up the win, despite the fact that Grace had clearly earned it. Dashwood needed the win to re-establish herself as a threat in the division, but the argument could certainly be made that Grace could not afford a loss coming off consecutive defeats at the hands of Deonna Purrazzo.
The feud will almost certainly continue but the question now is whether or not Grace can regain some momentum before they clash next.
In the closing moments of the show, Eddie Edwards was seen leaving the building when the camera went black and he was brutally assaulted, left lying in a heap in an apparent cliffhanger of sorts.
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