8 Ups & 3 Downs From IMPACT Wrestling (2 Sep)

2. Ohio Versus Everything

Jake Crist returned on last night's IMPACT Wrestling, answering Josh Alexander's open challenge for the X Division Title. Though unsuccessful, Crist delivered a stellar outing against the 'Walking Weapon', arguably his greatest in IMPACT.

The match was a more technical affair than what we're used to seeing out of Jake. He targeted the knee of Alexander, chop blocking him a la Ric Flair. Although this didn't lead to much, it was a needed change of style for Crist to stand firmly against Josh.

As the match progressed, the typical Josh Alexander came out of his shell, executing three consecutive German suplexes, before a C4Spike ended the match. Chris Sabin confronted Josh after the match, challenging Alexander to a title match at Victory Road, citing Josh's requirement to officially crown himself one of the X Division's greatest athletes.

This was a simple segment that benefitted from coming straight after a decent encounter. Crist acted like a completely different challenge for Josh, forcing the champion to slightly up his game. As for the aftermath, Sabin works great as a quote-unquote heel, saying how he'd become the inaugural nine-time X Division Champion should he emerge victorious. It's a superb story for Alexander and Sabin to bounce off.