Impact recap: Heath’s open challenge street fight was wild fun

Heath is scheduled for a trios match alongside Josh Alexander and Rich Swann versus Honor No More’s Eddie Edwards, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett at Victory Road (full card) on Friday, September 23. But first, Heath had a little business to attend to on Thursday night’s episode of Impact Wrestling. He issued an open challenge for a street fight against any member of Honor No More. It was a hoot and a half of wild fun.

Heath explained the deal to partners Alexander and Swann. He apologized for ruining their chances at tag team gold last week. Alexander and Swann made it water under the bridge to focus on their trios fight. They offered to watch Heath’s back in the street fight, but the redhead rebel wanted to roll solo.

When the time came, PCO stepped up to answer the call. Honor No More rushed out to stop the French-Canadian Frankenstein. Edwards forcefully said that PCO belongs to him. Heath goaded the monster into making his own decision. PCO did just that and marched to the ring.

Heath attacked with a slingshot plancha to start the match. PCO returned fire for a neckbreaker on the ramp and added two standing leg drops. Heath retaliated with a back body drop on the hard floor. The action spilled into the crowd. Heath threw a chair at the monster and a tossed a drink in his eyes. PCO dished out trashcan violence. Perfect Creation One went haywire hurling chairs to form a pile of steel. On stage, Heath connected on a DDT then shoved PCO to free fall onto the chairs.

With PCO down, Honor No More made their move to surround the ring. Alexander and Swann arrived with chairs to clear the area. Alexander snatched Edwards for an ankle lock until he was pulled to safety by his pals. Vincent swooped in from behind to wallop Heath with a chair. Vincent went for Sliced Bread, but Heath blocked to counter for the Wake Up Call. Back to the match at hand.

PCO rose up from his pain-induced slumber with chairs hanging from his arms. The monster planted Heath on a chokeslam. He took out a black glove for the mandible claw. Heath appeared to be incapacitated atop a pile of chairs. PCO went for a flipping senton to finish. Heath rolled away, and PCO crashed onto the steel. Heath hit the Wake Up Call on the chairs to win.

That was a big win for Heath, and he did it in an entertainingly chaotic manner. It’s a little surprising PCO lost after the vignettes dedicated his brainwashing from Vincent, however, this will likely be another straw in Edwards’ craw to kick him out of the group. Once PCO turns babyface, then the real fun can begin for the French-Canadian Frankenstein.

In other action from Impact Wrestling:

• Impact Digital Media Championship ladder match: Brian Myers defeated Bhupinder Gujjar to retain. Myers was crafty on the finish for a low blow then taping Gujjar’s leg to the ladder preventing upward mobility. Myers climbed the ladder to retrieve the title prize. (Full details here.)

• Jordynne Grace defeated Zicky Dice. Power squash to embarrass Dice. Grace finished with the Grace Driver. The next scene had Father James Mitchell with a hype job for Max The Impaler in the Pick Your Poison bout against Grace at Victory Road.

• Taurus defeated Trey Miguel, Laredo Kid, Alex Zayne, and Mia Yim in a five-way contest. This was a preview for the Triple Threat Revolver match at Victory Road. Taurus speared Laredo and pummeled Zayne with a piledriver for victory.

• Violent By Design returned with another intriguing vignette. Eric Young’s recruits are part of the revival of violence. They are seeds that will take root, grow, and spread. The group chanted, “I am violence.” They made a V hand sign with the middle two fingers, then Young and Deaner beat them all up.

• The second Joe Hendry intro vignette is funnier that first. Enjoy! (Full details here.)

• Tag team #1 contender: Motor City Machine Guns defeated Aussie Open. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley outlasted Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis to win via Skull and Bones. MCMG will wrestle Matt Taven & Mike Bennett for the Impact tag titles at Bound For Glory on October 7. (Full details here.)

• Tasha Steelz planned on beating up Killer Kelly prior to Victory Road. Steelz and Savannah Evans went on the hunt with a chair. Kelly was a step ahead for mind games. Evans vanished from the back, then Kelly was sitting in front of Steelz on that same chair. Steelz backed away to wait for their match.

• Gisele Shaw applauded Mickie James’ amazing career. James inspired a generation, but it is time to hand off the torch to Shaw. Lots of people will be upset at James’ retirement, however, Shaw is actually doing her a favor. James can have the spotlight of being the best mother in the world to her son. In Impact, the spotlight belongs to the Quintessential Diva.

• Sami Callihan, Moose, and Steve Maclin were on hand for a contract signing to release Impact and each other from liability in the case of injury during Barbed Wire Massacre at Victory Road. Fisticuffs ensued. Callihan was stabbed in the head with a pen, but he was the one standing tall to close the show. Callihan signed the contract with his own blood. (Full details here.)

Chalk up another productive episode of Impact Wrestling. Instead of placeholder filler for the go-home to Victory Road, Impact developed other storylines in the ring. Brian Myers and Bhupinder Gujjar had a quality ladder match as a potential blow-off to their feud. The Motor City Machine Guns and Aussie Open competed in a fresh matchup with important stakes on the line. The street fight with Heath and PCO was a blast of fun. The five-way X-Division bout was hot action, but it should have had a prize on the line, such as entering last in the Triple Threat Revolver.

The vignettes are pushing forward for life after Bound For Glory. Joe Hendry should have the fans dancing upon his arrival to the Impact Zone, while Violent By Design should have the fans cowering upon their return. I didn’t recognize any of the VBD recruits, but it would be cool to see them showing up in Impact affiliated indies to spread Eric Young’s message of violence. The main event segment did well to get hyped for Barbed Wire Massacre madness at Victory Road.

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