Impact Bound for Glory live results: Alex Shelley vs. Josh Alexander

Bound for Glory — Impact Wrestling’s biggest event of the year — emanates from Cicero, Illinois’ Cicero Stadium tonight.

The pay-per-view will be headlined by Alex Shelley vs. Josh Alexander for the Impact World Championship, and Trinity vs. Mickie James for the Knockouts Championship.

Will Ospreay makes his return to Impact, taking on “Speedball” Mike Bailey in a match that could steal the show.

KENTA is also back in Impact for the show, challenging Chris Sabin for the X-Division Championship.

Two Tag Team title matches are set as The Rascalz defend their titles against Ace Austin & Chris Bey while Deonna Purrazzo & Tasha Steelz challenge Killer Kelly & Masha Slamovich for the Knockouts Tag Team titles.

There will be a Monster’s Ball match between Steve Maclin, Moose, Rhino, and PCO in addition to the annual Call Your Shot gauntlet match.

Tonight will see Mike Tenay, Don West, and Traci Brooks inducted into the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame. The inductions are taking place on tonight’s pre-show, which begins at 7:30 PM Eastern.

Pre-Show Hall of Fame inductions:

Traci Brooks

Gail Kim, also an Impact Hall of Famer, inducted Brooks. The two worked together extensively and have known each other since 2000 when they started wrestling school together. She said they wrestled in their first bikini match together (which they hated) and their first hardcore match (which they didn’t know about beforehand).

Brooks came out with husband Frankie Kazarian and their son, Rebel. She did the usual, thanking her parents and brothers. She then thanked Kazarian, her in-laws, and told her son to dream big. She then thanked Kim, who was her also her maid of honor. She also thanked Beth Phoenix, Mickie James, The Beautiful People, So Cal Val and others in addition to a slew of men’s wrestlers, executives, the fans, and others.

Brooks is the third-ever woman inducted. This was a pretty straightforward and emotional speech, but you could tell it meant a lot to her to be inducted.

Mike Tenay & Don West

Scott D’Amore inducted the legendary announcing duo. West, of course, sadly passed away in December of last year after a battle with cancer while Tenay has been out of the pro wrestling spotlight since his Impact/TNA days were done, save for a few appearances with Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

D’Amore told a story about how West accidentally auctioned off a Team Canada jacket prior to 2017’s Slammiversary that was actually D’Amore’s. He said he was the best salesperson in this or any other business. “He had to be. He sold Scott D’Amore memorabilia!”

Both Tenay and West’s families were in attendance. Tenay then accepted the honor, coming out to the old rap-rock TNA theme which I haven’t heard in decades.

Tenay spent the majority of the speech putting over West, his story and how Tenay’s son said West was his favorite announcer. He said in wrestling, you make many acquaintances but not many true friends but to him, West was a true friend.

Tenay told some Bobby Heenan stories and then thanked some people including Eric Bischoff, Zane Bresloff, the Jarrett family, the Sahadi family, Konnan, Keith Mitchell, and others.

He joked his granddaughter asked him if he should be called “Mr. Hall of Fame” and he said it would be a good idea if she wanted to be in the will. He thanked his wife (“the true Hall of Famer in the family”) to close things out and then pitched to Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt. 

This was a good speech and worth checking out on YouTube.

Main Show:

X-Division Champion Chris Sabin defeated KENTA to retain the title

According to Cagematch, this is their first ever singles match but they did share the ring earlier this year on opposite sides of a trios match.

Sabin set the record tonight with his 13th Bound for Glory match. He’s in his tenth reign as champion so the title might as well be renamed after him at this point.

Since this was the opener, you know it would be good with two veterans. This was competitive with KENTA nearly getting the pin with his feet on the ropes after a roll-up and then again after a double foot stomp to the chest. KENTA called for the GTS (in Chicago, no less) but Sabin got out of it, only to be slapped repeatedly. 

Sabin got the pin after the Clothesline from Hell, Michigan and the Cradle Shock for his second successful title defense.

PCO won a Monsters Ball match over Steve Maclin, Moose and Rhino

PCO’s deal is up at the end of this month after another interesting run in Impact. All four men were kept in separate dark rooms for 24 hours with no food, water or light with all squinting when their doors were opened up. Malnourishment going into a fight is no way to go. 

This was a brawl from the start with Maclin attacking Rhino as he came out followed by Moose laying him out. PCO then came out a few minutes later for his last big entrance. Moose’s attire was akin to plaid pajama pants with red sneakers. I kinda like it! He then backdropped PCO over the top rope into a ladder in a gnarly looking spot.

PCO got on a roll, focusing on Maclin. He hit a De-Animator (swanton) onto Maclin as he laid on the outside of the ring in another gnarly spot. I don’t know how long PCO’s body will hold up, but he is certainly going until the wheels not only fall off but explode into flames.

Moose got the upper hand on PCO and spread thumbtacks onto a bed of cinder blocks on the outside of the ring, followed by a power bomb that saw tacks go into the back of PCO’s head. Ouch. 

Rhino re-entered the fray and answered the fans and got not just a table, but a barbed wire table that went unused…for a few minutes. Bully Ray eventually came out and pushed Maclin off the top rope through the table, revenge for Maclin calling him “soft” recently.

PCO and Moose went at it, made more ridiculous with PCO wearing tacks all over his head and shoulders. Moose then got gored by Rhino with a chair in his hands, laying out both of them. PCO then hit another Re-Animator from the top and got the surprise win to end a pretty wild and entertaining match. How about that?

Chris Bey & Ace Austin defeated The Rascalz to win the Impact Tag Team titles

This feud goes back months as Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz cost Bey & Austin the titles at Slammiversary and then again in their subsequent rematch for the titles. Bey & Austin won a Feast or Fired briefcase and, imagine this, a Tag Team title shot was in there. The Rascalz are looking for their fourth defense of the titles they won by defeating Subculture.

Interesting fact: Wentz and Miguel went into this match undefeated as a duo (8-0) dating back four years. While these four have shared the ring a lot in the past around the world, this is only their second-ever tag match against each other and the first in Impact.

Similar to the opener, this was competitive. All four guys showed out thanks to their athleticism and knowledge of each other. The end came when Wentz accidentally sprayed Miguel with spray paint and then got hit with the Art of Finesse/Fold combo to give Bey & Austin their second title run. 

I think they are running behind on time as they went right to an Ospreay/Bailey video package.

Will Ospreay defeated “Speedball” Mike Bailey

This was originally slated for the inaugural Impact x NJPW Multiverse United PPV, but Ospreay had to pull out with a shoulder injury. This is their fourth-ever meeting, but the first outside the UK. Ospreay has won all of them to date.

His NJPW UK/US title was not on the line here. He is scheduled to wrestle as part of Impact’s UK tour for one date for what it’s worth. 

From the start, this had the big fight feeling as the fans kicked it up a notch. Both men were going 100mph at the onset, eventually slowing the pace down for. like, a minute or so. An Ospreay chop knocked Bailey to the floor. However, Bailey avoided a dive, jumped on the top rope, and nailed Ospreay with a twisting leap. 

These two continued to have ridiculous sequences where just as one guy got the advantage, another rallied to regain it like when Ospreay hit an Os Cutter on the ring apron. As Bailey barely made it back in, he hit another one that got two. Later, the two had an incredible “you frickin’ gotta see this” kicking exchange that ended with a Hidden Blade out of nowhere.

Bailey nearly got the win on multiple occasions, including off an Ultimo Weapon and Meteor Rain (flipping fisherman’s buster off the top). Ospreay matched him with a Styles Clash and a Storm Driver ’93. Ospreay followed with another Hidden Blade and a Storm Breaker to get the win to close an excellent match.

As much as Ospreay has got his flowers for being so god damn good at this, Bailey has earned the right to make his name on an even bigger stage. 

Jordynne Grace won the 20-person Call Your Shot gauntlet match

For the uninitiated, this is an intergender match where two wrestlers start and another one enters after two minutes. The final two then go heads up to determine the winner. Eliminations are over the top rope. The winner earns an Impact title shot of their choosing anytime, anywhere over the next year.

Jake Something and Eddie Edwards (the 2020 winner) kicked things off followed by Kenny King (3), complete with a cape. Who doesn’t love a good cape in pro wrestling? Edwards and King used to be in the Honor No More faction and teamed up on Something.

Juventud Guerrera (!) was the fourth entrant, followed by Johnny Swinger (5). Guerrera eliminated King after a sequence and after Swinger randomly hugged the former WCW star, Crazzy Steve attacked both men with a Fest or Fired briefcase. Gisele Shaw (6) came out as security got Steve out of there. Shaw then got Swinger out of there as Steve threatened to attack Swinger with a fork. Tommy Dreamer then emerged to run Steve off as they brawled throughout the crowd.

Jody Threat (7) was up next as these entrances definitely didn’t feel like two minutes each. KiLynn King (8) entered as we’re on a run of female entrants. Guerrera was eliminated by Edwards after stupidly jumping on the ring apron after a move. That led to the debuting Sonny King (9) who tossed Shaw out of the ring.

About 30 seconds later, Bully Ray (10) entered the fray. he immediately squared up with King in a sentence I never thought I’d write in 2023. King danced, Ray danced and then, nothing happened. Matt Cardona (11) returned which led to Ray teaming with King to do the Whazzup drop on the “Indy God.”

Jordynne Grace (12) went face-to-face with old rival Ray, but that got dissipated quickly. Eric Young (13) was up pretty quickly after as these entrance times are all over the frickin’ place. He eventually eliminated Young as Joe Hendry (14) was up next followed by Brian Myers (15). He tossed out Hendry quickly and after hugging Cardona, they tossed out a charging Kiss.

Heath (16) was up next and delivered a slew of Wake Up Calls before getting tossed by Myers. Kazarian (17) and Rich Swann (18) were in next as the ring continued to fill up. Jonathan Gresham (19) came in and got his first elimination on Threat and then got into it with his wife, Grace.

Dirty Dango (20) was the final entrant and was tossed out by Dango virtually the second he got in the ring. Oleg Prudius (the former Kozlov in WWE and Dango’s second) then got in the ring and laid out some wrestlers before security tossed him. Cardona and Myers tossed Kazarian as Gresham and Grace tried to eliminate each other. 

Swann got tossed and then Young got eliminated by Cardona and Myers. Something got rid of Gresham and then went on a run against Cardona and Myers, but a Myers low blow led to his elimination. Cardona then eliminated Myers in a surprise, giving us our final four. Grace eliminated Cardona while Ray took out King, leaving us with Ray and Grace to determine the winner. Again, a sentence I didn’t think I’d type in 2023.

Ray’s power was too much early on, but he kept missing big moves. Grace eventually hit a Grace Driver to get the pin and win, becoming the first women’s wrestler to win it. She then wasted no time in calling her shot: a Knockouts title match at January’s Hard to Kill. Hey now!

This was a fun 30 minutes with some surprises and twists. 

Knockouts Champion Trinity defeated Mickie James to retain

If you’re reading this, you know James never lost the title in the ring and had to vacate the gold earlier this year due to multiple injuries. Trinity has been on a run since debuting with the company in June, defeating Deonna Purrazzo for the title. This a first time ever bout and one has added intrigue considering James’ husband now works on Fridays for WWE.

After the last two matches, the crowd was tired for this early on. An interesting sequence woke them up with Trinity shaking her butt in James’ face in the corner which James retorted to with a lewd gesture to show she was up for it. Or, something like that.

This was entertaining when it was all said and done. After a sequence, Trinity eventually got the tap off her Starstruck submission, reapplying it twice for more leverage. I think this Impact run has been a good experience for Trinity. While she could make her way back to WWE at some point, this run on her own will pay dividends down the road.

– Moose said that no matter what, he is going to walk out of Hard to Kill as the Impact World Champion. He owns one of the Feast or Fired briefcases, you see.

Impact World Champion Alex Shelley defeated Josh Alexander to retain

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but this was a competitive match. The backstory is that Alexander, like James, had to relinquish the title earlier this year due to injury. Shelley defeated Steve Maclin, whom Alexander was set to defend against in April, in June and has defended it ever since.

Shelley worked over Alexander’s surgically repaired arm and also his fingers for some time with Alexander eventually locking in a Bret Hart-esque figure four around the outside ring post to temporarily regain advantage. The injured arm was the focus because even with surgery, it never truly has healed, right?

The closing stretch saw Alexander attempting to ensnare the ankle lock and a leg lock with Shelley escaping and slapping Alexander’s head gear off. Shelley hit Shellshock, but didn’t go for the pin right away and kicked Alexander’s mouthpiece out with a superkick followed by another Shellshock for the definitive pin and win. So, there you go.

Alexander will now face Ospreay at the Bound for Glory TV taping Sunday while we don’t know what is next for Shelley.

Then, we got the most surprising news of the night: Impact is rebranding as TNA starting with January’s Hard to Kill. Yes, you read that right and there’s a video to prove it:

Overall, this was a pretty great pay-per-view leading into what is shaping up to be an interesting year for Impact…err….TNA.