This Sunday, IMPACT Wrestling returns with their second biggest show of the year, Bound For Glory, returning to New York City for the first time for a PPV since 2015’s Lockdown. IMPACT Wrestling continues its strong 2018 with another huge card, as IMPACT World Champion Austin Aries gets set to defend his title against Johnny Impact in the main event. Long time TNA Original Abyss is inducted into the IMPACT Hall of Fame, some huge tag team match ups, Allie heads to the Undead Realm in search of Keira Hogan and Rosemary, and Eli Drake issues a New Yorker Open Challenge. Combine all of this with the widespread rumors of a potential appearance by Chris Jericho, and this could be the most exciting Bound for Glory in years.
MATT SYDAL & “ALL EGO” ETHAN PAGE vs. RICH SWANN & WILLIE MACK
This match came out of nowhere, but despite not having much build promises to be a barnburner. In a recent singles match between Matt Sydal and Rich Swann, “All Ego” Ethan Page made his official IMPACT debut under his proper ring name (having previously portrayed Chandler Park last year briefly) to assist Sydal in the match. This lead to a challenge to Swann for a tag match at Bound for Glory and this past Thursday Swann announced he’d found his partner in Lucha Underground‘s Willie Mack. A couple of fresh faces for some IMPACT fans, but two very talented wrestlers who will only add to this great tag match.
CONCRETE JUNGLE DEATH MATCH: LAX (Konnan, Santana & Ortiz) vs. THE OGz (Eddie Kingston, Homicide & Hernandez)
The brutal war within LAX between the new guard, IMPACT Tag Team Champions Ortiz and Santana lead by Konnan, and the OGz, Eddie Kingston, Homicide and Hernandez comes to a head on Sunday, following a weeks long cease fire as mandated by the Latino mob bosses. With all six men entering this battle, deemed a Concrete Jungle Death Match, it’s bound to get violent and bloody. There’s a chance that we may get some guest appearances by other Latino wrestlers taking sides in this turf war, as Konnan recently stated on his Keepin’ It 100 podcast that former WCW Cruiserweight Champion Juventud Guerrera would be at Bound For Glory this Sunday, but so far has not had any match announced.
ELI DRAKE OPEN CHALLENGE
Another match just made this past Thursday, Eli Drake is continuing his Open Challenge in New York City, but with one stipulation. He’ll face anyone, from any promotion in the world, as long as they’re from New York. It’s already lead to a slew of rumors about who the challenge will be answered by.
IMPACT HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY for ABYSS
No one has been more loyal to TNA/IMPACT Wrestling in the company’s 16 year history than Abyss, a true TNA Original who has been with the company since the first broadcast. The former World Champion will be inducted by his longtime manager, Father James Mitchell.
ALLIE GOES TO THE UNDEAD REALM
Speaking of Father James Mitchell, this past Thursday he was sought out by Allie to inquire about how to traverse dimensions into the Undead Realm, the supernatural landscape that her arch-enemy Su Yung resides in. Earlier this year, Allie lost her best friend Rosemary to Su Yung’s power and just recently lost Keira Hogan as well. Allie is determined to take the war to Su Yung on her own turf, which could lead to an interesting gimmick match (either live or pretaped like Final Deletion segments) – and potentially the long awaited return of “The Demon Assassin” Rosemary herself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xgSZC1Yd68
EDDIE EDWARDS vs MOOSE
What a difference a few months makes. Several months ago, Moose was “Mr. IMPACT”, one of the company’s top faces, chasing the villainy of Austin Aries for the World title. On the other hand, a brutal feud with Sami Callihan left Eddie Edwards a shattered man, who was becoming one of IMPACT’s most unpredictable heels. But since then, Edwards has reclaimed his sanity (but kept his violent edge) and become a fan favourite once again, but his former friend Moose, who helped him find his good path again, has turned on him, now aligning with Aries and Killer Kross. A grudge match in the making, this one will be as physical as anything else on the card.
OvE RULES MATCH: OvE (Sami Callihan, Dave & Jake Crist) vs. BRIAN CAGE, PENTAGON JR. & FENIX
The war between OvE (Ohio Versus Everything)‘s Sami Callihan and the Crist Brothers, Dave and Jake, and the Lucha Brothers (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix) continues to mount, and this time X-Division Champion Brian Cage has joined the fray. This one is an “OvE Rules” match which most likely just means that they can do whatever the want, so expect this to get as out of hand as possible – all six men have been known to do unspeakable things to themselves and each other in the past, and Sunday will be a true test to all of their limits.
KNOCKOUTS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: TESSA BLANCHARD (c) vs. TAYA VALKYRIE
Taya Valkyrie hasn’t been seen in an IMPACT ring since we last saw her taste defeat to Madison Rayne back in June, but she’s back with a vengeance and gunning for the Knockouts title. First, she’ll have to get through Tessa Blanchard, which is no easy task. Tessa Blanchard is arguably the hottest wrestler in the world right now and the new belt collector – she’s the current reigning champion for SEVEN different companies (including IMPACT), holding PCW ULTRA and Zelo Pro Women’s Championships as well as the Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU), Phoenix of RISE, WrestleCircus Lady of the Ring and The Crash Lucha Feminil Championships.
IMPACT WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: AUSTIN ARIES (c) vs. JOHNNY IMPACT
A match up a long time coming, featuring a rejuvenated Austin Aries defending his World title against a peak Johnny Impact. One on one this match has all the makings of an instant classic, but Aries has a new entourage in tow, featuring Moose and Killer Kross, who will undoubtedly come into play at some point. Will Johnny Impact bring his own posse to the ring to even the odds or will he try and be his own Survivor and brave it alone?
