Impact recap: Bully Ray vs. Moose in scumbag vs. scumbag booked for Over Drive

Bully Ray is a scumbag. Or at least, that’s been Bully Ray in the past during his career in Impact. Bully wants to do things the right way for once in an effort to challenge for the Impact World Championship. Bully has the Call Your Shot trophy with the right for an instant title shot, and he told Josh Alexander that there will be no surprises when he cashes in. Nobody believes Bully. Someone even tried to frame him with an attack on the Bullet Club. Bully suspects Moose as a possible culprit. Those two will get their chance to settle beef in the ring with a match at Over Drive on November 18.

That contest came about as a result of Bully messing in Moose’s business this week. Last week, Moose tripped Chris Bey in the ring and blamed Bully. When the Bullet Club watched the tape, they realized Bully was innocent of that particular misdeed. They aimed to teach Moose a lesson in a contest against Ace Austin.

Match time! Ace started with a stick and move gameplan. His speed and agility frustrated Moose early. That was until Moose finally got hands on Ace for an aggressive powerbomb swing into the ring steps.

Moose dominated for a long stretch until Ace rallied. Ace picked his spot for The Fold, but Moose caught him for a uranage slam. Ace had more fight left in the tank and rallied again. Moose cut it short once more with an inverted gorilla press slam off the turnbuckles. That’s when Bully arrived ringside to mess with Moose. Bully created enough of a distraction to buy Ace recovery time. Moose charged for a spear but collided into the corner when Ace dipped low. Ace pounced for a bridging roll-up pin to steal the win.

After the show, Impact announced that Bully will wrestle Moose at Over Drive. It will be scumbag versus scumbag. Moose claimed he modeled his devious behavior after Bully’s treacherous ways. We know this fight will get ugly. The question will be if Bully has the grit to compose himself and not return to his sleazy form of character’s past.

In other action from Impact Wrestling:

• X-Division Championship tournament. PJ Black defeated Yuya Uemura on the BTI pre-show. Black knocked Uemura off the turnbuckles and hit a crucifix side slam for victory. “Speedball” Mike Bailey defeated Kenny King on the regular broadcast. Bailey countered a crab submission into a roll-up for the sneaky win. Black and Bailey advance to the semifinals. (Full details here.)
• Gisele Shaw was feeling good about posing with the Knockouts Championship last week. When she handed a photo to Deonna Purrazzo and Chelsea Green, they were in the mood to dump her. Green blamed Shaw for last week’s trios loss. Shaw sensed what was coming and dumped VXT first.

• Savanna Evans defeated Jessicka. Tasha Steelz issued an open challenge for Evans, and Jessicka answered. Steelz tried to interfere, but Taya Valkyrie pulled her down from the apron. Rosemary speared Steelz. Evans capitalized on the distracted Jessicka for a full nelson slam to win. Impact decided that victory warranted a Knockouts tag title shot. Steelz & Evans versus Taya & Jessicka was announced for Over Drive. (Full details here.)
• Killer Kelly found fresh meat for her next snack.

• Steve Maclin is tired of everyone jumping the line for a world title shot. He’s beaten “Switchblade” Jay White, Chris Sabin, Moose, and Sami Callihan in Impact. And yet Bully Ray, Frankie Kazarian, and Bobby Fish waltz in to call their shot. Maclin is done waiting. He’s going to take what he wants.

• Matt Cardona and Brian Myers gabbed about their tag title shot against Heath and Rhino at Over Drive. The Major Players joked about Rhino being an ECW relic and how Heath would be better off without his partner. Myers mockingly said, “He’ll never even have to say his name.” Joe Hendry appeared out of a meat locker. Hendry was concerned about Myers neglecting the Impact Digital Media Championship while he has eyes on the tag titles. Hendry spoke to the title itself. If the belt believes, Hendry will be there. Impact announced Hendry versus Myers for the internet title next week.

• Eddie Edwards buried PCO alive. Edwards called out PCO for a fight in the Las Vegas desert. The cinematic scene closed with Edwards shoveling dirt on top of PCO. (Full details here.)

• Mickie James has a match with Chelsea Green next week. Losing to Green was the catalyst for James’ last rodeo journey. Taylor Wilde offered to be in James’ corner to counteract Deonna Purrazzo. James declined. She needs to do this by herself. Wilde hoped James is successful, so that they can finally have a singles match.
• Alan Angels and Big Kon revealed as newest Violent By Design members. Eric Young wrestled Sami Callihan in singles action. When Callihan had the edge for a piledriver, VBD goons surrounded the ring to attack. Angels and Kon pulled down their hoodies as the surprise. Young bloodied Callihan to close the scene. For what it’s worth, Callihan won the match via disqualification. (Full details here.)

• Jai Vidal returned! Vidal plastered photos of Gisele Shaw all over the locker room of Jordynne Grace. The champ was annoyed and offered a title shot for Shaw next week. Grace will give Shaw a moment she’ll never forget.

• Josh Alexander & Frankie Kazarian defeated Aussie Open. The story was whether champion and challenger could co-exist in tag team action prior to their showdown at Over Drive. Alexander and Kaz had zero issues. Everything was hunky dory as a cohesive team en route to victory in a hard-fought battle. For the finish, Alexander suplexed Kyle Fletcher over the ropes, and both tumbled down to the floor. Kaz caught Mark Davis for a slingshot cutter to win.

Impact pulled out a very interesting show this week. The ring work was enjoyable with King versus Bailey in the X-Division style, Evans versus Jessicka in a hoss fight, Young versus Callihan in a slobberknocker, Moose versus Ace in a classic big man versus little man story, and Alexander & Kaz versus Aussie Open in high-quality tag team action. The main event was PPV value. It didn’t have much of a build, so that element of drama was missing. However, the flow and pace were excellent nonetheless.

There were several interesting story elements as well. It was a fluid split for VXT breaking up with Shaw branching into Green fighting James and Shaw challenging Grace. Add in Wilde on deck waiting for James. That shows Impact’s ability to think three and four steps ahead. Even though Edwards burying PCO alive was an average cinematic experience, I like Impact taking risks with these scenes. The cinematic flair gets sprinkled in consistently enough as a nice treat to demand attention. Angels and Big Kon joining Violent By Design demonstrates Impact’s ability to freshen up the roster with revolving additions. Just when they lose talent like the Good Brothers and OGK, new faces pop in with a purpose. I’m not saying Angels and Big Kon are on that same level, but they do provide a way to prevent stale matchmaking.

Little standout moments start with Bey ringside for Ace’s match. I liked Bey’s positive cheerleading to fire up his Bullet Club mate. Lots of wrestlers stand idly by in support and don’t add much beyond interference. Bey felt like a coach actively trying to rally his pal. Also on the plus side, I’m excited for the return of Jai Vidal. He was a hit as the IInspiration’s sassy stylist. Seeing him back in a similar role with Shaw for the Las Vegas taping put a smile on my face. I hope Impact can squeeze Vidal into Wrestle House, assuming that awkward reality experiment returns.

Share your thoughts on Impact Wrestling. What were your favorite matches and moments?