October 23, 2021
Sam's Town Live @ Las Vegas, NV
For the first time ever...
AEW presentsBOUND_FOR_GLORYMatt Striker and D'Lo Brown welcome everyone to Bound for Glory with a huge night in store. Tony Khan steps out from the curtain with a headset around his neck and a respectful ovation from the crowd.
TONY KHAN: "Back in 2002, TNA came on the scene and in three years time, they would be on the map and noticed by the entire wrestling world. AEW in three years time has made themselves undoubtedly the best destination for professional wrestling in the world.
"Tonight, AEW presents Bound for Glory for the first time ever. And don't worry, Impact isn't going anywhere. Get ready for the biggest Bound for Glory in years. Tonight ends one era and begins another. Tonight you'll see both the Impact and AEW world titles defended. And to honor what put Impact on the map, the X-Division, we are beginning this evening with crowning a new X-Division Champion.
"Unfortunately, Steve Maclin was unable to join us this evening. But I am proud to announce his replacement. Please welcome, a secret no more, BUDDY MATTHEWS!"
Buddy Matthews, a former Cruiserweight Champion in WWE, makes his surprise debut tonight to a big ovation. Matthews, followed by El Phantasmo and Trey Miguel, enter the ring for the opening contest of the evening.
BUDDY MATTHEWS vs. EL PHANTASMO vs. TREY MIGUEL for the vacant X-Division Championship
The crowd is all in for this contest and after various moves to the outside, beginning with Matthews on Phantasmo, Miguel on Matthews, and Phantasmo recovering to get his own in on both men, they garner "this is awesome" chants to kick off the new era of Impact. After a high pace match that included several strikes and near falls, Matthews hits Miguel with a Buddy Law and only gets a two count before Phantasmo breaks it up. Phantasmo and Matthews go back and forth before Phantasmo misses a Frog Splash, only for Matthews to hit a Buddy Law and pin Phantasmo before Miguel's a split second too late from breaking up the pin.
Miguel's hands after covering his face as the official hands Buddy Matthews the X-Division Championship, a first in his career.
Winner, and new X-Division Champion: Buddy Matthews by pinfall (14:28)
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Matt Striker sends it to Gia Miller who invites the SuperKliq to Bound for Glory.
GIA MILLER: "Thanks Matt! I'm joined by Adam Cole and the Young Bucks. They will wrestle Bryan Danielson and FinJuice tonight a-"
Adam Cole snatches the microphone from her.
ADAM COLE: "Hey, if you're not gonna talk directly to us, get outta here sweetheart."
Gia lowers her head and walks out of the shot.
ADAM COLE: "Who's ready for Story Time with Adam Cole bay-bay?"
The SuperKliq acknowledge a pop from the crowd they can hear from the backstage area.
ADAM COLE: "Tony Khan changes the business by bringing Adam Cole to AEW, the hottest free agent in the world. He quickly debuts the second hottest free agent in the world, Bryan Danielson. Kudos to Khan. But the one thing he did was let Bryan Danielson try to steal my thunder. But Bryan could never, because I'm the Boom Master bay-bay.
"Now he throws more of his daddy's money into buying this shithole Impact Wrestling. And to try and pay his daddy back, he only knows one team that'll bring in the big bucks: The Elite. He forces Kenny to wrestle tonight, he forces the SuperKliq to wrestle tonight, and we don't even have a choice. While annoying as hell, that's fine by me. Wrestling comes easy for me and it comes easy for these guys right here.
"Tonight's clockwork. Bryan talks about kicking heads in, but we got the best three superkicks in the biz-ness here with the SuperKliq. So if those three jackasses think for a second they're winning tonight, they got another thing coming. This will be the first and last time you ever see us on this subpar show, so I hope you bought your tickets."
Matt nudges Adam Cole and whispers in his ear.
ADAM COLE: "I get it, you two have been here before. But that's when Don was in charge. That's different. This? This place is like Jon Gruden's emails to me... disgusting and offensive. SuperKliq, out!"
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CALL YOUR SHOT GAUNTLET
ACE AUSTIN vs. BRIAN MYERS vs. MOOSE vs. RICH SWANN vs. W MORRISSEY
To kick the gauntlet off, Rich Swann and Moose are squaring off. After an eight minute classic with little break in action, Moose hits the Go 2 Hell and puts away Rich Swann. Rich Swann has been eliminated.
Before Moose can catch his break from Rich Swann's aerial attack, he has Ace Austin rushing the ring with Madman Fulton trailing behind. Ace Austin is going at Moose but Moose still has some power to use against Austin. However, once Austin pulls the rope down on a charging Moose, Madman Fulton throws Moose into the ringside steps and that changes the complexion of the match. Ace Austin has control and several near falls before he misses a 450 Splash from the top rope and Moose begins gaining momentum. Moose tries running to the ropes but sees Madman Fulton waiting to trip him. Moose stops and turns around as he tosses a charging Ace Austin into a suicide dive on Madman Fulton. Moose goes after Ace Austin and throws him inside, following him in before hitting a Go 2 Hell and pinning Austin. Ace Austin has been eliminated.
Awaiting the next opponent W Morrissey, the music is interrupted by live footage of Morrissey clutching his knee in the locker room. Moose is confused and is awaiting word from the official. As the official is about to declare W Morrissey unable to compete and thus forfeiting, another entrance song hits. Here comes AEW's Brian Cage! Cage is inserting himself in this match against familiar foe Moose from his time in Impact a few years ago. As Moose is stunned from seeing a ghost, he's clipped from behind by Ace Austin. Ace Austin and Madman Fulton attack Moose as Brian Cage takes his time. After the official pulls Austin and Fulton off, he asks Moose if he's ready and after a resilient yes, Cage charges Moose. Cage beats down Moose and finishes him off with Weapon X, pressing down on Moose's chest for the pin. Moose has been eliminated.
Brian Myers, the fifth and final competitor, timidly makes his way to the ring and after avoiding Brian Cage several times, he's finally caught by Brian Cage and he dominates Brian Myers before hitting F-10 and winning the gauntlet. Brian Myers has been eliminated.
Winner: Brian Cage by pinfall (24:49)
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A shot backstage shows W Morrissey being assisted into an ambulance to be taken to the nearest local medical facility, unable to put weight on his knee.
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BRYAN DANIELSON and FINJUICE vs. SUPERKLIQIn a match that is hard to follow, there's various combinations to love ~ except we never see Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson in the ring together. Cole is quick to avoid Danielson twice in the ring. In the closing moments, Cole was against David Finlay who hot-tagged Danielson and Cole was almost caught in a Labell Lock but Danielson eats superkicks from the Young Bucks. After Cole gets an assist to Matt in the corner, all hell breaks loose in the six-man tag. At the very end, Juice Robinson comes out as the hero and hits the Third Eye on Matt Jackson, followed with the Juice Box to pin Matt as Danielson holds Adam Cole off from making the save.
Winners: Bryan Danielson and FinJuice by pinfall (16:33)
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Ahead of the six-way match to crown the first ever Digital Media Champion, a video package displays the new championship along with the five men competing. Tony Khan's voiceover says with the purchase of Impact Wrestling, and their impending debut on YouTube on November 4th, the Digital Media Championship is opening a door of opportunity for up and coming talent. And the video package reveals this match is now a LADDER MATCH! Ringside crew brings out ladders as the five announced competitors make their way to the ring.
Pending the arrival of the sixth competitor... it's AEW's Joey Janela!
LADDER MATCH
CHRIS BEY vs. CRAZZY STEVE vs. FALLAH BAHH vs. JOEY JANELA vs. JOHN SKYLER vs. LAREDO KID for the inaugural Digital Media ChampionshipTo crown the first ever Impact Digital Media Champion with AEW Impact's debut on YouTube in a couple weeks, these six men went for it all. Janela even risked his body as he went for a backpack bomb off the ladder, but it's countered into a Destroyer by Laredo Kid! As the match draws to a close, Laredo Kid, John Skyler, Chris Bey, and Crazzy Steve are battling a top the ladder trying to get the title. Fallah Bahh, one by one, grabs every man off and hits a Samoan Drop on each of them. Fallah Bahh then uses both ladders set up to climb, before John Skyler and Joey Janela team up to double powerbomb Fallah Bahh off the ladder. Taking strength out of both men, they realize it's time to climb the ladder. Skyler begins the climb before Janela tosses the other ladder aside and climbs opposite from Skyler. The two battle at the top before Crazzy Steve decides to use the ladder as a swing, taking Skyler out with a dropkick. Joey Janela can't believe he's alone at the top of the ladder. Janela reaches for the ladder before Chris Bey springboards onto the other side. Chris Bey strikes Janela, preventing him from getting the belt and tries punching him off the ladder. Janela swings with a right of his own, rocking Bey. Janela goes for the backpack bomb once more but Chris Bey uses the momentum to elbow Joey Janela and get on his back to reach for the title, but Janela pushes Chris Bey over his head, over the ladder, and crashing through the table on the outside of the ring. Joey Janela catches his breath and snags the Digital Media Championship from the rung.
Winner, and new Digital Media Champion: Joey Janela (15:31)
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Gia Miller stands by with the #1 contender for the Impact World Championship, and former X-Division Champion, Josh Alexander.
GIA MILLER: "Josh, I wanna ask you about tonight's main event when you challenge Christian Cage for the Impact World Championship, but what's your thoughts on the brand new X-Division Champion Buddy Matthews?"
JOSH ALEXANDER: "Gia, anytime there's a change in management, the culture changes. I'll be vocal for the Impact roster and say the culture isn't good. I've seen Buddy Matthews, Brian Cage, and Joey Janela all take titles and title opportunities from our roster. I've seen the SuperKliq and Bryan Danielson take a premier match on Impact's biggest PPV away from true Impact talent. I saw this coming. I saw Christian Cage take away the Impact World Championship, but only after Kenny Omega took it away from our guys.
"I see the tide changing, and it's not fair. Tony Khan says he's here to only build Impact, but he's stripping everything away from us. Where's Eddie Edwards tonight? Chris Sabin, Deaner, Eric Young, Suicide, Hernandez, Rhino. These are all men who are not on the show tonight. Hell, they weren't even invited. Wasn't Tony Khan all about showcasing talent? He has forty-eight shows a week to showcase HIS talent, but he's taking food off the plates and food away from the families of everyone who built Impact. We rebuilt Impact on our own, we didn't need a billionaire's son.
"My answer to your question, is I hope Buddy Matthews is ready to compete against the best, because I nor the guys in the back are happy with him coming along. And my message to Christian Cage tonight?"
Josh Alexander pauses and looks intently in the camera.
"Christian, you changed. You were here in the early days of Impact, but you left. You've always followed the main stream. But tonight, it's bigger than just you and me for the Impact World Championship. I put a stop to the culture change that's happening. I fight back! Tonight, I'm your worst enemy, and I'm Tony Khan's worst enemy. I put a stop to this, and I put a stop to you."
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The lights go out. Posing are the hottest free agent women tag team in the world: The IInspiration tour has landed in Las Vegas at Impact's Bound for Glory. They strut their way down for their opportunity at the Knockouts Tag Team Titles.
(tbc)
