Impact Wrestling continued its journey to Victory Road on September 18 with another packed episode that continued top rivalries, ignited new feuds and determined Tommy Dreamer's fate as he chased a championship opportunity.

Was The Innovator of Violence able to defeat Ace Austin and earn an opportunity to challenge friend Christian Cage at the live event? 

That question dominated the discussion Thursday night. Find out the answer with this recap of the September 2 presentation.

The Influence vs. Taylor Wilde, Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering

The Influence's Tenille Dashwood, Madison Rayne and Kaleb with a K hit the ring to kick off the show, battling Taylor Wilde, Rachael Ellering and Jordynne Grace in a six-person mixed tag team match.

The babyfaces controlled early, with Grace taking the fight to Kaleb, before Rayne tripped up Thicc Mama Pump and allowed the heels to seize control of the bout.

Grace eventually created separation and made the tag to Wilde. The babyfaces fended off the heels, culminating in Ellering kicking Kaleb's arms to break his grip on his partners and Wilde delivered a German suplex to the only man in the contest for the win.

Result

Wilde, Grace and Ellering defeated The Influence

Grade

C

Analysis

In theory, this should wrap up Wilde's feud with The Influence and allow her to move on to other things. That she pinned Kaleb likely means that will not be the case, though.

The feud has been effective in giving a lot of talented people something to do, but no one has really emerged better than they were prior to it. It's been treadmill booking of sorts, with no forward progression but lots of entertaining booking. That works for a while, but it's time to take things to the next level for all involved.

This  was an energetic sprint of a match with a feel-good outcome. Sometimes, that's all a show needs to get things off to a solid start.

Decay vs. Fallah Bahh and No Way

As No Way and Fallah Bahh made their way to the ring for their scheduled tag team match against Decay's Crazy Steve and Black Taurus, one of the members of the conga line attacked Rosemary and revealed herself to be Tasha Steelz.

Steelz and Savannah Evans beat The Demon Assassin to the backstage area, ensuring the match was a fair contest.

Taurus rocked No Way early, showcasing his speed agility, which are rarities for a performer of his size. The fun-loving tandem of No Way and Bahh halted his momentum and cut him off from his partner, showing frustration and intensity as the fans showered them in jeers.

Taurus downed No Way and made the tag to Steve, who teed off on the massive Bahh. He ultimately slowed him by biting his head and delivering a jumping DDT from the middle rope for the win.

Result

Decay defeated Bahh and No Way Out

Grade

C

Analysis

The actions of the performers themselves, coupled with the words of the commentators, suggested Bahh and No Way are en route to a heel turn. Dismayed by the lack of love from the fans for them in relation to a darker act like Decay, they showed a different attitude throughout Thursday's match.

It would be an interesting booking choice if nothing else. We are in an era when the smiling good guy isn't nearly as over as the layered or charismatic villain, so a heel turn that sees them embrace the fans' dislike would be welcome.

Decay, on the other hand, remains incredibly over with the fans, and their win here to continue their opponents' descent into frustration made sense.

Josh Alexander's Open Challenge

After a backstage confrontation that saw them agree to an alliance, Moose and W. Morrissey attacked Eddie Edwards in the middle of the ring, leaving him in a heap and announcing to the company a seemingly insurmountable force.

In a pre-taped video package, Eric Young chastised Rhino for costing Violent By Design several victories of late and said the only way to exorcise his sickness is for him to suffer first.

Back in the Impact Zone, X-Division champion Josh Alexander made his way to the ring to see who had accepted his one challenge. The answer? Former champion Jake Crist, who was making his return to the promotion.

Crist took control of the bout on an inverted DDT, but his dominance was short-lived as Alexander fired off Chaos Theory and scored the clean pinfall victory with the C-4 spike piledriver.

After the match, Alexander staked his claim to being the greatest X-Divison champion of all time. This brought out Chris Sabin, who reminded Alexander of his successes and challenged him for a title shot at Victory Road.

Result

Alexander defeated Crist

Grade

A

Analysis

Beating former champions is a great way to establish Alexander in his role as the top competitor in the division and as one of the most credible wrestlers in Impact. And Sabin taking exception to his claims of being the best instantly elevates the X-Division title.

More importantly, it sets up Alexander vs. Sabin in a high-profile title match with greater stakes beyond a championship belt.

A win for Alexander takes him one step closer to proving himself as an all-time elite X-Division competitor, but a loss will see Sabin etch his name in the history books as the first nine-time X-Division champ.

That match should be a hell of a battle and a show-stealer on any card.

Rohit Raju and Shera vs. Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green

The rivalry between Matt Cardona and Rohit Raju continued this week when the former WWE intercontinental champion teamed with Chelsea Green to battle Raju and Shera in a mixed tag team match.

Green and Cardona rolled early, executing a nice spot from the former into a side Russian leg sweep for two. Green outwrestled Raju, frustrating him and keeping him off-guard.

Shera entered the match but refused to combat Green. Instead, he paired off with Cardona, allowing Raju to rock Green with a jumping knee to the face for the win.

Result

Raju and Shera defeated Green and Cardona

Grade

B

Analysis

This worked as well as it did because of Raju's antics during and after the match.

He sold Green outwrestling him perfectly, showing just enough arrogance when he had the upper hand before selling the disbelief when she got the best of him. Then, moments after he pinned her shoulders to the mat, he yelled, "This is on you!" at Cardona.

Not only does that absolve himself of the disgusting antics, but it also enhances the rivalry with The Long Island Broski.

We have seen Cardona turn it up more than once during his brief time with Impact to considerable success. Now that the love of his life has been assaulted by Raju, it will be interesting to see how he responds and just how much it intensifies their rivalry.

Rich Swann Targets The Good Brothers

The Good Brothers made their way to the ring, where Karl Anderson wasted little time talking about the Impact tag team champions’ success. Part of that included recalling their assault on Rich Swann and Willie Mack a week ago that ended with the latter being hospitalized.

Swann entered the Impact Zone and was ready to attack the champs, but security separated them.

Backstage, executive vice president Scott D'Amore announced a Bunkhouse Brawl for next week's show between the former world champion and Anderson.

Grade

C+

Analysis

The promo segment escalated the heat between The Good Brothers, Swann and Mack and set up a big main event-worthy match for next week.

That is solid booking. Not only does next week's card benefit, but one of the rivalries that will inevitably lead to a big championship match will also be heightened because of it. 

Besides, Good Brothers vs. Swann and Mack should bring some hard-hitting fun come their title showdown.

Ace Austin vs. Tommy Dreamer

Tommy Dreamer's quest for a showdown with Christian Cage culminated in a high-stakes main event Thursday against No. 1 contender Ace Austin. If he defeated The Inevitable, The Innovator of Violence would be added to the Victory Road main event.

He attacked like a competitor with everything to gain, but interference from Madman Fulton on the floor halted his momentum and he never regained it.

Austin dominated the action, and just when it looked like Dreamer might mount a comeback and cash his ticket to Victory Road, the former X-Division champion caught him with The Fold for the pinfall victory.

Result

Austin defeated Dreamer

Grade

A

Analysis

Dreamer was chasing a goal, but Austin snuffed it out.

Yes, he had the assistance of Fulton but his dominance throughout was such that it isn't a stretch to believe he would have won even without the help. He was nearly flawless and his Fold finisher is the sort of move that can be hit from out of nowhere with devastating results.

Austin has been one of the MVPs of Impact for a few years now, and he is every bit as talented as he claims to be. He probably won't win beat Christian at Victory Road, but another superb performance will go a long way in proving to company officials that he belongs in that spot consistently.