IMPACT Bound For Glory 2020 Match Ratings From Sean Ross Sapp

 

The Deaners defeated The Rascalz
5/10 (Short)

• Matt Striker is on commentary with Don Callis. This is an upgrade.
• Television doesn't do Cousin Jake/Jake Something justice. He's enormous.
• The Deaners get the win with TQG in about four minutes. This was kind of abrupt.

X-Division Championship
Rohit Raju (c) defeated Trey Miguel, Jordynne Grace, TJP, Chris Bey & Willie Mack
5.75/10

• Willie Mack and Jordynne Grace are great additions and contrasts in this match.
• TJP has holds on three people when Grace grabs him. Raju picks each one of them apart.
• Rohit Raju has delivered in this role so well.
• Willie Mack is throwing spinning shit now. Wow. 
• Raju gets punched around by everyone. Jordynne does a suicide dive on two opponents, then a Mack tope con giro hits. 
• Bey poses for a while, which makes everyone else have to stand around, but the dive that followed looked good.
• La Magistral slam? Well then. 
• Rohit Raju screamed "EQUALITY" and stomped Jordynne Grace's face.
• Grace hits her finish, but the pin is broken up.
• Raju throws Grace off the top rope onto a pile outside.
• Raju steals a pin on Trey and retains.
• Mathews, not aware the mic is hot, asks for help for their audio issues.
• I felt like this match could have been a few minutes shorter. 

Call Your Shot Gauntlet
Rhino wins
4/10

• A whole lot of production and audio errors on Bound For Glory. We hear commentators on a hot mic when we're not supposed to, and we flat out see them go to Heath and Rhyno and air an outtake where they reset the shot.
• Last year, WWE offered Rhino double his downside guarantee to stay. He said if they doubled that, he'd consider it. He wanted to wrestle.
• Holy Jesus, Shawn Daivari might be the most ripped dude in wrestling.
• Tenille is next. Her theme is great. Kaleb is such a good addition to her act.
• Havok is next, I think Kaleb is in this match now. He gets powerbombed and eliminated by Havok.
• Larry D lives about 30 minutes from me. Good to see him in there. 
• Crazzy Steve and Acey Romero are next.
• Brian Myers is in, Steve is out. 
• Swoggle is in. Myers and Swoggle toss Daivari, then Myers throws out Swoggle.
• At this point, "battle royal participant" should be in Tommy Dreamer's twitter bio. He's painted up like Animal. That mini-Doomsday Device spot popped me. Hornswoggle was on the second rope and Dreamer was on his ass with Myers on his shoulders. 
• Alisha, then Kiera Hogan. Taya is out next. Fallah Bahh.
• XXXL toss out Taya.
• James Storm is back! He looks great. Reno Scum are both in and get good offense. Heath is in next. 
• Sami Callihan told me he's lost 25 pounds in the last 7 or 8 weeks ahead of BFG. Hernandez is in now.
• You're best off just watching at the final four: Heath, Rhino, Storm and Callihan. 
• Callihan superkicks out Storm and tosses out Heath. 
• Not big on the "let my opponent hit me" thing with stakes like this. 
• Rhino kicks out of a piledriver, and spears Callihan for the win. 
• I don't know that I needed 26 minutes of that.

Unsanctioned Match
Moose beats EC3
5.5/10
Angle 6/10

• They're FIGHTIN' in a cinematic match and EC3 is bleeding.
• EC3 avoids a chair shot and tackles Moose. 
• Moose boots EC3 in the head.
• EC3 chucks Moose into a tabled guard rail. 
• EC3 says Moose needs to become what he's capable of before calling himself a champion.
• EC3 gets flashbacks from the One Percenter, and gets speared.
• There's a lot of clips cut in to this. 
• Moose goes off and pounds EC3 from mount.
• I wasn't quite sure the purpose of this EC3/Moose feud or even this match, but if it brings out an aggressive side of Moose, I'm for it.
• EC3 sacrificed himself so Moose could be what he used to be.

• Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but it seems like EC3 was sacrificing himself so Moose could return to his familiar aggression. Meanwhile EC3 is actively running from his familiar persona.

Ken Shamrock (w/ Sami Callihan) defeated Eddie Edwards
6/10

• Ken Shamrock is inducted into the Hall of Fame before the show. IMPACT really milks The Rock's video. Bret Hart, Chael Sonnen, Mick Foley all send in videos, too.
• Shamrock's strikes are LIGHT inside the ring, and HEAVY outside of it.
• Shamrock is 50something taking Tiger Drivers.
• This is slow paced but it works really well. They pick it up.
• Edwards hits Boston Knee Party and applies a Half Crab.
• Callihan hacks the lights off, and has the bat he hit Edwards with in the ring.
• Eddie disposes of him, but Shamrock hits a Belly to Belly suplex and the Ankle Lock for the win.

IMPACT Wrestling Tag Team Titles
The North defeated Good Brothers, Chris Sabin (c) and Ace Austin & Madman Fulton to become champions
7/10

• North attack MCMG, and Alexander lays out Shelley with a double underhook piledriver. Shelley is taken out of the arena.
• Hear me out: Sabin is at a disadvantage but not a huge one. The nature of this match is that he's going to have a bunch of people breaking up pins on him anyway
• More wonky camera work or production misses shots.
• Early on, this is already the best match on the show. 
• Action all over the place. The North is such a cohesive unit, and Good Brothers have good double team offense. Ace & Fulton are the underrated team here, but both bring their own thing.
• Ace Austin is going to be a big singles star one day.
• Sabin's Cradle Shock is always a delight. 
• Great spot where the North repeatedly punch Fulton with Ace on his shoulders. 
• The North are tag team champions again!!!! Alexander pinned Karl Anderson after a belt shot. I did NOT see that coming.

IMPACT Knockouts Championship
Su Yung defeated Deonna Purrazzo (c) (w/ Kimber Lee) to become champion
7/10

• Deonna gets on the mic, and Kylie Rae isn't here. Deonna Purrazzo issues a challenge to anyone.
• Su Yung answers the challenge. I hope that Undead Realm horseshit isn't coming back.
• If Impact Wrestling knew that Kylie Rae couldn't work this show tonight, it feels dirty to promote it up until the switch on the second-to-last match. That was a major match with a ton of build.
• Deonna Purrazzo's new gear kicks ass.
• There's some good back and forth here, but I feel terrible that these two have to overcome the IMPACT bait and switch. 
• They're acting like Madison Rayne has been out of the ring for ages. She wrestled on Slammiversary! She's been on a dozen IMPACT shows in the last year. They're making this about whether or not Madison wants to face Deonna. Yeesh,
• Deonna ties Su Yung up in the Paradise Lock. Really great stuff.
• They're going at it. You can tell they don't want to be "the match that was changed."
• Su Yung hits a Pedigree but Josh telegraphs the "NEW CHAMPION."
• Purrazzo accidentally knocks out the ref, so Yung doing the Dudebuster doesn't get counted.
• A great series of transitions in and out of the Mandible Claw and armbar. 
• Really good match that got better as it went on. 
• Yung wins with the Panic Switch.
• Wow. Su Yung beat Purrazzo for the Knockouts title?
• Impact Wrestling is bringing back the Knockouts Tag Team Championships in January at Hard To Kill.

IMPACT World Championship
Rich Swann defeated Eric Young (c) to become champion
8/10

• Swann and Eric Young have had an amazing feud with a couple of really great performances
• Good on Josh Mathews saying if Eric Young just walks out on the match, IMPACT will book another for Tuesday.
• Swann does a nice flip off the apron onto Young, but jams his shoulder trying to handspring on the apron.
• Eric Young did a second rope wheelbarrow neckbreaker. LORD.
• Swann did a full revolution on a back body drop and hit face first.
• Death Valley Bomb doesn't win it for Young.
• Swann fights back and gets a frog splash, but Young hits a flying elbow on Swann's back. 
• Swann handsprings, but jumps right into a Rack Neckbreaker.
• Swann wins with a Phoenix Splash! Very good match.

Rating Guide
10- Perfect, 9- MOTY Territory, 8- Excellent, 7- Great, 6- Good, 5- Average to above average, 4- Slightly below average, 3 or below: Poor

Each match starts at a 5 and slides up and down based on entertainment, execution, time, environment, reaction and stakes. The ratings are in no way an indication of a "star rating," which is a completely different system. A standard, non-offensive "TV match" lands at a 5. The gap between 5.75-6 is generally the largest, with anything reaching 6 being recommended viewing.
These are opinions, and incredibly inconsistent ones that may change upon a second viewing, or sitting on the match for a period of time. Don't take them too seriously, and have (and share) your own!