9 Ups & 2 Downs From IMPACT Wrestling (23 Sep)

1. No Regrets

It was refreshing to see the typically mundane show-opening promo brought to a new level on last night's IMPACT Wrestling.

Josh Alexander formally vacated the X Division Title, handing the title over to Scott D'Amore. D'Amore had noted how Alexander will officially no longer be the X Division Champion as of this segment, with Christian Cage following up saying he could leave this situation with nothing should he lose in their World Title clash at Bound For Glory. This made the decision for Josh far easier; because he nearly lost his career six years ago via neck injury, he can't regret anything in his career. Christian, however, did lose his career for seven years. This in itself provided all the story that's required for the 23 October pay-per-view.

Ace Austin and Madman Fulton caused a brawl to break out thereafter, where Ace jabbed Cage in the eye with his cane, having already chastised Josh for constantly following in his shadow. Perhaps that was an AEW-style tease to help build a future World Title match between the two further down the line.

Explosive, engaging, and exciting, this was far preferable to any other show-opening slog as of late. It set the main plot for the evening wonderfully.