Impact Wrestling Bound for Glory 2022 Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction, Highlights
Impact Wrestling presented its biggest show of the year, Bound For Glory, Friday night from Albany, New York, headlined by Josh Alexander defending the world title against No. 1 contender Eddie Edwards.
That battle of Impact pillars topped a card that also featured Knockouts champion "The Juggernaut" Jordynne Grace defending against the unstoppable Masha Slamovich and the latest Call Your Shot battle royal for a guaranteed chance at championship gold whenever the victor sees fit.
What went down, and how did it shape Impact Wrestling moving forward?
Find out now with this recap of the October 7 extravaganza.
Match Card
1 of 10- Impact World Championship Match: Josh Alexander (c) vs. Eddie Edwards
- Knockouts World Championship Match: Jordynne Grace (c) vs. Masha Slamovich
- Impact World Tag Team Championship Match: The Motor City Machine Guns vs. The Kingdom (c)
- X-Division Championship Match: Frankie Kazarian vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey (c)
- Knockouts World Tag Team Championship Match: Death Dollz vs. VXT (c)
- Mia Yim vs. Mickie James
- Call Your Shot Gauntlet Battle Royal featuring: Sami Callihan, Moose, Steve Cutler, PCO, Bobby Fish, Tasha Steelz, Gisele Shaw, Killer Kelly, Bhupinder Gujjar, Rich Swann, Eric Young, Johnny Swinger, Joe Hendry, Heath, Savannah Evans and More
- Countdown to Bound For Glory: Brian Myers Open Challenge for the Digital Media Championship
- Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame Induction: Raven
Digital Media Championship Open Challenge: Brian Myers vs. Dirty Dango
2 of 10
Brian Myers brazenly issued an open challenge for the Digital Media Championship Friday night as part of the Countdown to Bound For Glory, and fellow WWE alumni Dirty Dango (aka Fandango) answered.
Despite the surprise, Myers controlled a portion of the match, working his opponent over until the man who defeated Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 29 mounted a comeback and had The Most Professional Wrestler reeling.
Myers recovered, dodged the Down and Dirty top-rope leg drop, and scored the win off a spear and the Roster Cut.
This was some good, old-fashioned wrestling that did not try to be unnecessarily flashy but featured some hard work from two grizzled veterans whose time together as far back as WWE developmental nearly two decades ago prepared them for this.
Myers winning was the right call, especially if Dango isn't going to be utilized beyond this round of tapings, and a win over a recognizable face only serves to strengthen his title reign.
Result
Myers defeated Dango
Grade
C+
Top Moments
- Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt poked fun at the "midlife crisis" hairdo of Dango, a fun knock on their buddy from WWE.
Impact Hall of Fame Inductee: Raven
3 of 10
One of the most influential characters in pro wrestling history took his rightful place in the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame just prior to the start of the main show.
Raven, a former world champion and one of the men responsible for the revolution that was ECW, delivered a thoughtful speech that thanked Len Denton and Paul Heyman specifically and touted his feuds with Tommy Dreamer and Sandman as some of the best in wrestling history.
When it appeared he was about to quash his beef with Dreamer, he dropped his longtime foe with an Evenflow DDT to put an exclamation point on his induction.
To those around long enough to see the grunge experience that was Raven in ECW, or saw his underrated work in WWE's hardcore division or those first few years in Impact, his influence is obvious. To those who have not, do yourself a favor by logging into Peacock or Impact Plus and checking out everything you can.
A mastermind, a cerebral performer whose attention to detail is his greatest attribute, he is absolutely deserving of this honor and should definitely take his place in the WWE Hall of Fame sooner rather than later.
Grade
A
Top Moments
- "Even when he cannot wrestle, I'm still doing the job for Raven," Dreamer joked as he started his induction speech.
- "Raven believed in people," Dreamer said before listing the names of men and women who benefited from his influence over the years.
- "It was joy to my soul," Raven said of the boos he attracted over the years.
- Raven put over Len Denton and Paul Heyman for their immeasurable influence on his career.
- "I want to thank him for being my partner in a 28-year feud that finally ends tonight," Raven said before dropping Dreamer with an Evenflow DDT. "Quoth the Raven, nevermore."
X-Division Championship Match: "Speedball" Mike Bailey vs. Frankie Kazarian
4 of 10
"Speedball" Mike Bailey sought to continue the best year of his career by defending the X-Division Championship against All Elite Wrestling's Frankie Kazarian in the night's opening contest.
The challenger, himself, entered the match a former X-Division champion and one of the early pillars of Impact Wrestling.
Kazarian attempted to ground Bailey, thus negating his speed and high-flying ability. The champion fought back, though, and had his challenger reeling following a barrage of kicks, a tornado DDT and a standing torneo for two. Kazarian answered by turning him inside out with a lariat.
Bailey delivered the Ultimo Weapon to the previously injured ribs, but Kazarian shot his shoulder off the mat just in time to avoid defeat, much to the shock of the fans. He recovered and applied the cross-face chicken wing, only for Bailey to throw his body in a way that sent both men to the floor.
The back and forth continued with Kazarian digging into his bag of tricks and pulling out the Flux Capacitor for two. Bailey answered with the poison rana moments later and tried for the shooting star press. Kazarian caught him midflight, delivering a cutter, then tapping him out with the cross-face chicken wing for the win and his fifth X-Division Championship.
This was a fantastic match to start things off.
Bailey made good on his reputation as one of 2022's best wrestlers while Kazarian proved that, while he has been cast aside in AEW, he is still uber-talented and capable of hanging with the best this business has to offer.
It was certainly a surprising call to go with Kazarian at the expense of Bailey but if it leads to a rematch between the two that ultimately sees Speedball get the gold back, it was the right one.
Result
Kazarian defeated Bailey to win the title
Grade
A
Top Moments
- Kazarian countering the Shooting Star Press with a cutter was right out of the Randy Orton/Evan Bourne playbook but is so rarely executed that it still drew a huge pop leading into the finish.
Mickie James vs. Mia Yim
5 of 10
Mickie James continued her Last Rodeo tour, battling Mia Yim in a high-stakes singles match. Win and she would continue her path to the Knockouts Championship. Lose, though, and she would be forced to retire.
James overcame a focused attack on her left knee to fight back, with the crowd in Albany red-hot for the all-timer. Yim cut her off, though, delivering a powerbomb into the turnbuckle. An attempt at a superplex was halted with a kiss to play some mind games and a Thesz Press for two.
Later, Yim tried for the corner cannonball, but James evaded it and delivered the Mick-DT for the hard-fought victory.
This was a really strong match enhanced by an audience that has fully invested in James' Last Rodeo storyline. Yim was great as the aggressor and de facto heel, and James was fantastic, selling her knee injury and getting the fans to believe in her ability to score the comeback win.
It remains to be seen if Yim re-ups with Impact, but she should, if only because the Knockouts division is better with her and the promotion provides her the best opportunity to succeed at a high level. Especially after performances like this one.
Result
James defeated Yim
Grade
B
Top Moments
- Hannifan told the story of Yim traveling to Virginia at age 18 to train at the same school as James, establishing the connection between the competitors and how much the future Hall of Famer means to the HBIC.
Knockouts World Tag Team Championship Match: Death Dollz vs. VXT
6 of 10
After a dicey start to their partnership, Taya Valkyrie and Jessicka challenged VXT's Deonna Purrazzo and Chelsea Green for the Knockouts World Tag Team Championship.
A hot start by the challengers gave way to Green and Purrazzo seizing control by working over Valkyrie. A hot tag to Jessicka, though, turned the tide back in the favor of the Death Dollz, much to the delight of Rosemary, who rooted her friends on from ringside.
The challengers rolled, with Valkyrie delivering a spear that sent Purrazzo to the floor and Jessicka delivering the Sick-ishi Driver to Green for the win and titles.
This one did not mess around. It was nonstop action, with the closing minutes being particularly good.
The outcome was quite surprising as Purrazzo and Green are higher-profile performers, but Impact appears to be invested in the Jessicka persona, and giving her a title win to pay off her comeback and the story with Valkyrie fits what the company is trying to do.
Where that leaves The Virtuosa and Hot Mess remains to be seen moving forward as their direction is somewhat cloudy from here.
Result
Death Dollz defeated VXT to win the titles
Grade
C+
Top Moments
- The finish, which saw Valkyrie connect with a kick to the back of Green's head, right into the Sick-ishi Driver, was really cool and popped the crowd.
Impact World Tag Team Championship Match: Motor City Machine Guns vs. The Kingdom
7 of 10
The Impact World Tag Team Championship was at stake in the night's fourth contest as The Motor City Machine Guns' Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin challenged Matt Taven and Mike Bennett of Honor No More.
The champions, known also as The Kingdom, dominated the action by isolating Shelley and working him over while Sabin had no choice but to watch. They utilized quick tags and expert tandem maneuvers to keep Shelley on the defensive.
A hot tag to Sabin sparked a much-needed babyface comeback as the former world champion took the fight to the opposition.
Soon, back-and-forth action defined the match, with neither team seizing control of the match despite flurries of offense. The finish came when Bennett accidentally rocked wife Maria Kanellis with a superkick and Taven took advantage of the distraction with a rollup and used the ropes for added leverage to score the win.
Well, there is your match of the show. Even with some great stuff still to come, it is difficult to imagine anything touching what the Machine Guns and Kingdom were able to put together here. The action was nonstop, the crowd was red-hot and the competitors had fans biting on every false finish and near-fall leading to the fantastic finish.
Kanellis, as always, did what was necessary to ensure the win, even if it meant taking an errant kick and bumping off the apron.
The right team went over while Sabin and Shelley added to their sparkling resumes with yet another extraordinary performance.
Result
The Kingdom defeated The Motor City Machine Guns to retain
Grade
A+
Top Moments
- The superkick to Kanellis was a great spot and had the crowd thinking it might give way to the Machine Guns defeating The Kingdom, but it was really the spark the heels needed to ignite their successful title defense.
Call Your Shot Gauntlet
8 of 10
Order of entry: Eric Young, Joe Hendry, Steve Maclin, Rich Swann, PCO, Savannah Evans, Johnny Swinger, Tasha Steelz, Killer Kelly, Moose, Callihan, Taylor Wilde, Gisele Shaw, Bully Ray, Tommy Dreamer, Rhino, Bhupinder Gujjar, Heath, Bobby Fish and Matt Cardona
The Call Your Shot Gauntlet match was competed under battle royal rules for the most part, becoming a one-on-one match when it dwindled down to the final two competitors. Several ongoing storylines were present, including Steelz's program with Killer Kelly, while some fun spots elsewhere helped enhance what could have otherwise been an exercise in the mundane.
An ECW reunion featuring Dreamer, Rhino and Bully Ray, and the return of Cardona, gave way to a showdown between Ray and Maclin for the Call Your Shot trophy.
Despite riding a wave of momentum into the show, Maclin succumbed to a Bully Bomb as the former two-time world champ scored the win and future championship opportunity.
This was a better-than-expected match, thanks to the creative layers at play. Impact did a great job of interspersing different feuds and rivalries through to keep things from playing out like a predictable battle royal.
Bully Ray winning the whole thing and securing a future title shot was certainly an interesting choice given how red-hot Maclin had been entering the show. Whether it was the right one or Impact should have stayed more predictable, remains to be seen, especially after Bully was seen nursing his knee in the immediate aftermath of the contest.
Result
Bully Ray won
Grade
B
Top Moments
- "...and Eric Young doesn't give a damn about any of that," Hannifan said as Young interrupted him running down Hendry's accomplishments.
- Maclin interrupted a showdown between Evans and PCO, to the dismay of the fans.
- Young's Violent By Design devotees hopped the guardrail and attempted to enter the ring. Their distraction allowed Deaner to hit the ring and eliminate Callihan.
- Two-time world champion Bully Ray entered to a huge ovation and gorilla pressed Steelz on to the VBD lackeys.
- Swinger attempted to join Dreamer, Rhino and Bully Ray in an ECW reunion but was unceremoniously tossed.
- An enormous pop for the return of Matt Cardona welcomed the former Digital Media Champion back to Impact Wrestling.
Knockouts Championship Match: Jordynne Grace vs. Masha Slamovich
9 of 10
Knockouts champion Jordynne Grace entered the arena in the best shape of her entire career, ready to prove herself to be the one woman Masha Slamovich could not overcome.
An intensely physical match ensued, with Slamovich seizing control early, only for Grace to chop her way back into the match. Slamovich cut her off and delivered a Canadian Destroyer for two, her inability to put the champion away showing a crack in her typically confident exterior.
Grace fought back and delivered a Vertebreaker but was unable to secure the win, her own confidence shaken as Slamovich proved equally as resilient. The Grace Driver followed moments later and, again, Slamovich kicked out.
The challenger answered with the Air Raid Crash into the corner and the Snow Plow, only for Grace to land with her foot under the rope, preventing a count.
The champion, proving resilient, delivered the Grace Driver from the middle rope and did the unthinkable, knocking Slamovich off and ending her unbeaten streak.
The combatants beat the hell out of each other in this show-stealer of a match. As great as the tag team title match was earlier, this felt like a bigger deal and Grace and Slamovich treated it as such.
This was a fantastic, hard-hitting battle for the Knockouts title. Grace and Slamovich were both brutal, delivering quality false finishes off of escalating moves before the emphatic finish.
Some will argue that Masha should have won here, but she was protected in that it took a massive finisher from the ropes to put her away. There was no shame in losing how she did, and if she bounces back and wins the title, all will be right.
From the moment she walked through the curtain, it was clear that this was as much Grace's night as it was anyone's. She capitalized and delivered one of the best performances of her career. This was a genuinely great match.
Result
Grace defeated Slamovich to retain the title
Grade
A
Top Moments
- Slamovich folded Grace up with a modified package piledriver on the ring apron.
- The chop-off in the center of the ring was particularly intense and brought the crowd to its feet.
- Grace delivered a superplex, floated over and added a jackhammer for a near-fall.
- Chants of "you can't beat her," rained from the stands following another near-fall from Grace.
Impact World Championship Match: Josh Alexander vs. Eddie Edwards
10 of 10
Eddie Edwards, leader of Honor No More and No. 1 contender, challenged Josh Alexander in the night's main event for the Impact World Championship.
Edwards delivered a plancha over the top and on to Alexander at ringside, gaining the first sustained upper hand of the match. He dominated from there, working over The Walking Weapon before pulling up the padding on the floor and exposing the wood underneath.
After kicking Alexander's leg out from under him, he delivered the Diehard Driver on to the exposed floor, drawing chants of disbelief from the fans. Edwards worked over the left leg of Alexander, but the champion fought through and delivered consecutive German suplexes on the apron, then the floor and, finally, the ramp.
Alexander survived a Blue Thunder Bomb in the center of the ring, then delivered the Styles Clash before floating over into the ankle lock. Edwards powered out, sending the champion to the floor.
Alexander delivered the C-4 Spike, but Matt Taven and Mike Bennett pulled the official to the floor and knocked him out. Edwards delivered the Boston Knee Party but could not keep Alexander down as a second referee only smacked the mat twice.
Later, as the action intensified, Alexander cut off the Boston Knee Party attempt and rocked Edwards with a right hand. A spinning right hand followed, and the C-4 Spike earned Alexander the victory.
After the match, Honor No More attacked Alexander until Rich Swann and Heath hit the ring. Bully Ray made the save from there and teased cashing in his title opportunity before helping to clear the ring of the heels. He handed Alexander the Impact title to close out the show.
The main event was an intense battle between two grizzled veteran competitors who are among the best in the business. There is a reason Impact has repeatedly turned to Edwards for these matches, and Alexander has been atop that company's mountain for the last two years.
They brought the physicality that a match of this type demands, and the punishing Alexander endured only further cements his status as a double-tough babyface champion, too. It was the type of match that belongs at the top of a pay-per-view card.
The introduction of Bully Ray to the main event scene is sure to be a controversial one, but he is a known name, still works hard and is in fantastic shape. If his body can hold up, he can be a benefit to Impact Wrestling.
Result
Alexander defeated Edwards to retain
Grade
A
Top Moments
- Alisha Edwards and her two children with her husband, Eddie, watched from ringside.
- Alexander mounted a comeback beginning with his low crossbody through the ropes and on to Edwards, wiping him out at ringside.
- The suplexes by Alexander on the apron, floor and ramp were impressive.
- The image of Alexander laying, literally, in a pool of his own blood following what appeared to be a broken nose was both uncomfortable and reflective of the hard-hitting nature of the match.
- A defiant, pissed-off Alexander removed his headgear and rocked Edwards with open-hand strikes.
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