Impact Bound For Glory preview: Shelley vs. Alexander, Trinity vs. James title fights

Impact is sharpening the knives with Bound For Glory on Saturday, October 21. The card is stacked with championship bouts and exciting matchmaking. Tensions rose and anger overflowed on the go-home episode heading into the PPV.

The Bound For Glory lineup includes:

• Impact World Championship: Alex Shelley (c) vs. Josh Alexander
• Knockouts Championship: Trinity (c) vs. Mickie James
• X-Division Championship: Chris Sabin (c) vs. Kenta
• Impact World Tag Team Championship: Rascalz (c) vs. Ace Austin & Chris Bey
• Knockouts Tag Team Championship: MK Ultra (c) vs. Deonna Purrazzo & Tasha Steelz
• Will Ospreay vs. Mike Bailey
• Call Your Shot Gauntlet: Jake Something at #1, Dango at #20, Bully Ray, Brian Myers, Eric Young, Jordynne Grace, Joe Hendry, Frankie Kazarian, KiLynn King, Kenny King, Jody Threat, Gisele Shaw, Eddie Edwards, and more (winner earns the right for a shot at any title at any time)
• Monster’s Ball: PCO vs. Rhino vs. Steve Maclin vs. Moose
• Impact Hall of Fame: Mike Tenay & Don West inducted by Scott D’Amore, Traci Brooks inducted by Gail Kim (pre-show)

The Bound For Glory PPV goes live at 8 pm ET streaming through Fite TV.

Alex Shelley defends the Impact World Championship against Josh Alexander in the main event. Alexander is competing for the title he never lost. The belt was vacated due to injury. Shelley and Alexander are friends in general, however, there can only be one world champion. It just so happens that Shelley holds the gold now that Alexander has returned.

Shelley has a chip on his shoulder, since he has yet to beat Alexander. They previously wrestled at Emergence on August 12, 2022. For that match, Alexander was champion, and Shelly was challenger. The Walking Weapon prevailed with the C4 spike piledriver.

Alexander has a sense of entitlement about regaining the world championship. Part of that is self-confidence, and part of that is deserved after proving he was the best as the longest reigning titleholder in Impact history. Alexander’s attitude has added weight to the chip on Shelley’s shoulder, as has Impact rolling out the red carpet for Alexander over Shelley. The Motor City Machine Gun is out to prove that he is not a transitional champion. Shelley’s emotions overloaded to explode in attacking Alexander during a sitdown interview. Being in separate rooms couldn’t even stop the fisticuffs, for crying out loud.

Picking the winner of this match is a tough call. Shelley is performing at the peak of his abilities. Alexander hasn’t shown any rust since his comeback. If Shelley keeps the title, there are a lot of fresh directions still at play. If Alexander becomes a three-time world champ, Impact will have to get creative to keep his run interesting. Alexander has already triumphed over much of the roster. In the end, I think Impact rolls the dice on Shelley remaining at the top. The question is how he gets the job done. Alexander hasn’t been pinned or submitted in a singles match since Moose ambushed him on October 23, 2021.

Whoever holds the title in victory from this main event might not leave the show as world champion. Moose currently holds the Feast of Fired briefcase for a title match, and the winner of the Call Your Shot Gauntlet will earn the right to a title match. Both can be cashed in on a moment’s notice.

The Call Your Shot Gauntlet is similar to a Royal Rumble. The list of participants includes Jake Something, Dango, Bully Ray, Brian Myers, Eric Young, Jordynne Grace, Joe Hendry, Frankie Kazarian, KiLynn King, Kenny King, Jody Threat, Gisele Shaw, and Eddie Edwards out of 20 total. Surprise entrants are expected and can range from superstar debuts to flashback gimmick characters, like the KISS Demon from WCW. Jake enters first and Dango enters last due to Vladimir Kozlov helping the fancy dancer cheat in a qualifying match.

Trinity and Mickie James are set to clash for the Knockouts Championship. Their story is similar to the world title scenario, however, the friendship has remained strong. James vacated the Knockouts Championship due to injury, Trinity won the gold in her absence, and James wants it back. Impact set up a story opportunity for tension, but Trinity and James didn’t take the bait. They tagged together on the go-home episode to beat Gisele Shaw & Savannah Evans. There were no instances of miscommunication or betrayal. The closest thing we saw was James playing a little bit of mind games grabbing the title belt after the contest. This PPV bout is all about the dream match vibe that sells itself.

Also in the dream match realm, Chris Sabin defends the X-Division Championship against Bullet Club’s Kenta from NJPW. This is a first-time singles clash. Will Ospreay versus “Speedball” Mike Bailey isn’t a first-timer, but it is a match many are excited to see. You got to love Impact’s use of the Forbidden Door.

On the tag team tip, Ace Austin & Chris Bey finally have their shot at revenge to take the Impact Tag Team Championship from Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz. The Rascalz rely on cheating ways, so ABC needs to a tight game plan to account for any bullshit.

Tasha Steelz and Deonna Purrazzo formed an alliance to watch each other’s back, and that led to a shot at the Knockouts Tag Team Championship. Masha Slamovich and Killer Kelly embrace the challenge to serve out destruction.

To top off the card, Impact booked a Monster’s Ball match. PCO, Rhino, Steve Maclin, and Moose will rumble in a four-way hardcore fight. The competitors were locked in rooms with no light, no water, and no food for 24 hours to build the aggression to fight like monsters.

Maclin tried to kill the French-Canadian Frankenstein and end the career of Rhino, so both big men are out for revenge. I’m not really sure why Moose is in this match. Bully Ray would have been a better fit based on the story. Instead, he is in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet. That doesn’t mean we don’t have to keep an eye on Bully. He has gone soft in fear of PCO, and he also saved Rhino from Maclin on the go-home. That was way out of step for Bully’s current Impact character. Rhino had no desire to let bygones be bygones and doesn’t trust Bully.

The only championship not on the Bound For Glory card is Tommy Dreamer with Digital Media gold. That doesn’t mean he won’t make an appearance backstage. Anything can happen on an Impact PPV. Dreamer has two men in particular coming for him. Former champ Kenny King finally dealt with Heath, who cost K-I-N-G King the title in the first place. King defeated Heath on the go-home episode with help from Sheldon Jean. Crazzy Steve has a guaranteed shot at the Impact Digital Media Championship, and he set up the feud by stabbing Dreamer in the back with a fork. On the go-home, Steve settled other business with former ally Black Taurus in a No DQ match. When Taurus turned the tables to stab Steve with the fork, Steve manipulated his Decay friendship to win on a flying DDT.

The clock is ticking toward Bound For Glory. Get in the mood by watching Frankie Kazarian versus Eddie Edwards in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Killer Impact match. The first fall was pin, the second fall was submission, and the third fall was Last Man Standing. Alisha Edwards interfered, so Kaz put her through a table. The final blow from Kaz en route to victory was a Fade to Black piledriver through a table. Eddie was down for the count.

Share your thoughts and predictions on the Bound For Glory card.