6 Ups & 2 Downs From IMPACT Wrestling (4 Nov)

4. Sabin Slays The Beast

Chris Sabin vs. Madman Fulton leaned heavily on the typical David vs. Goliath tropes, but it worked. Sabin had just lost to Ace Austin last Thursday (Ace was sporting an I Beat Chris Sabin shirt at ringside, that cocky d*ck), so he was already at a disadvantage mentally. His win wasn't a case of 50/50 booking, but rather a step in the right direction.

There was no benefit to Fulton winning. Sabin would have lost to both guys; so what? That's not an interesting story, so IMPACT certainly made the right call. Fulton was great throughout, adapting his style to counteract Sabin's. When he got down on one knee, thus catching Sabin out of the corner in a Torture Rack, you were reminded of some great technical spots. Fulton isn't used to this; he changed his game well.

Sabin won via sneaky rollup, which, again, hints at another chapter in this story. His evasion of Ace and Madman post-match wasn't cowardly, either. He'd proven his point, getting his win back in the process, so there's no requirement for him to be beaten down, too. That'd be overkill. Should this roll on to 20 November, it's moving at exactly the right speed.