Impact Wrestling set the stage for its Victory Road event, producing a go-home episode Thursday night headlined by a blockbuster 10-man tag team match.

What went down when world champion Christian Cage teamed with X-Division champion Josh Alexander, Chris Sabin, Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan to battle top contender Ace Austin, Madman Fulton, W. Morrissey, Moose and Brian Myers?

Which team would build momentum for itself ahead of Saturday's Impact Plus event?

Find out now with this recap of a loaded September 16 AXS TV broadcast.

Decay vs. Violent by Design

Violent By Design's Rhino and Deaner, accompanied by Eric Young and Joe Doering, sought to reverse their recent fortunes as they battled Decay's Black Taurus and Crazzy Steve. They set themselves up to do that early, working over Steve and cutting him off from his partner. 

Steve responded to Deaner biting his fingers, though, by hulking up and mounting a comeback. A misfire between Violent By Design, this time a shot by Deaner to Rhino, allowed the former circus clown to deliver a jumping DDT for the win.

After the match, Young browbeat Rhino for his role in the defeat, only for the Man-Beast to stand up for himself. Deaner attacked, rocking him with a cheap shot. Doering joined in while Young watched. EY buried Rhino under the VBD flag to end the segment.

Result

Decay defeated Violent By Design

Grade

C

Analysis

Decay continued their recent run of success, setting themselves up for tag team title contention, but this was all about the evolution of Violent By Design.

Rhino always felt shoehorned in, and with his dismissal from the faction, one has to wonder if Heath is closer to a return. It was the former WWE star disappearing from television because of injury that opened the former ECW champion up to join VBD in the first place.

That Heath's departure was preceded by a backstage beatdown at the hands of VBD only sets the stage for a tag team feud between Doering and Deaner and the reunited team of Rhino and Heath. That feud would bring another tandem to the tag division and give it a secondary program outside the title picture, something that is always appreciated.

Petey Williams vs. TJP

After TJP cost Petey Williams a match against Steve Maclin, The Canadian Destroyer sought a measure of revenge as he battled his fellow former X-Division champion in singles action. The fans' appreciation for the in-ring exploits of both men was represented in a "both these guys" chant.

A back-and-forth match, that featured TJP taking advantage of Williams' frustration midway through, culminated in an exchange of rollups. Williams, the grizzled veteran, shifted his weight and scored the win to the dismay of his opponent.

After the match, Maclin attacked both competitors, driving his shoulder into the midsection of Williams and using TJP's broom against him. The Silent Assassin stood tall to close out the segment.

Result

Williams defeated TJP

Grade

C+

Analysis

There was some damn solid technical wrestling going on here and some excellent facial expressions/body language from the godfather of the X-Division. TJP was his typically dependable self, delivering the sort of technical, countering and submission-based action you expect from him.

The abrupt finish hurt the overall impact of the match, but the arrival of Maclin, and his beatdown of both men, was a nice exclamation point on the segment.

Might we see Williams and TJP put their recent differences behind them and join forces to confront Maclin?

Laredo Kid vs. John Skyler

Backstage, Rich Swann and Willie Mack returned and attacked The Good Brothers. After a meeting with Scott D'Amore, they officially booked an Impact Tag Team Championship match against Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson this Saturday at Victory Road.

Still smarting after his loss a week ago on Before The Impact, John Skyler made his way to the ring and cut a promo claiming Laredo Kid got lucky in beating him. He challenged the luchador to a rematch, and the masked phenom hit the ring to make it official. 

Skyler put forth a punishing offensive, but Kid fought back late, unloading with a series of forearms. The desperate heel pulled at the mask of his opponent and scored a rollup with a handful of tights for the win.

Result

Skyler defeated Kid

Grade

C+

Analysis

A match between two new faces in Impact and a nice little feud between them to boot.

Skyler living off the momentary fame his victory over Matt Cardona brought him is a good touch, as was his assertions that his loss to Kid was a fluke. His cheating to get the win was the icing on the proverbial cake, his presentation as a heel as effective as possible.

The rubber match between the two should be good fun if Impact pursues it. Given the way the heel won here, it would appear that will be the case.

Trey Miguel vs. Matthew Rehwoldt

Earlier today, Matt Cardona attacked Rohit Raju. Later, he met with Scott D'Amore, who admonished him for his actions before booking a no disqualification match between the enemies for Saturday's Victory Road.

Back in the Impact Zone, Matthew Rehwoldt battled Trey Miguel as their feud continued.

The Drama King dominated the action, targeting the left shoulder of the former X-Division champion, approaching the match like a smarter, more evolved and cerebral wrestler than he was during his time in WWE. When Miguel attempted a comeback, Rehwoldt delivered a fireman's carry spinebuster for a close two-count.

Miguel avoided the Director's Cut, brought Rehwoldt to the mat and forced a submission hold to earn the hard-fought victory.

After the match, Deonna Purrazzo hit the ring and delivered a low blow to the victor, only for Mickie James to follow and ignite a brawl that required security to (attempt to) break it up. The future Hall of Famer launched herself off the top rope and wiped The Virutosa and security team out on the floor.

Result

Miguel defeated Rehwoldt

Grade

B

Analysis

Miguel and Rehwoldt had a deceptively good match that allowed the latter show off in-ring abilities that were oftentimes overshadowed by his singing voice or entertainment value elsewhere. Here, he looked like he belonged in the ring with one of the best wrestlers in Impact Wrestling, and furthermore, he nearly defeated him.

The meat of this segment, though, came in the post-match brawl between James and Purrazzo. Theirs is a match that has been expertly built to in recent months, with anticipation building with every passing week. 

Red-hot angles like this, featuring intensity from both women, are a big reason why. Give us Purrazzo vs. James now because that one could, and should, steal any show it appears on.

10-Man Tag Team Match

Impact world champion Christian Cage and Ace Austin may compete for the top prize in the company Saturday night on Impact Plus, but they found themselves on opposite sides of the main event Thursday night; a blockbuster 10-man tag team match encompassing some of the top stories and feuds in the promotion.

Cage captained a team featuring X-Division champion Josh Alexander, Eddie Edwards, Sami Callihan and Chris Sabin against Austin, Madman Fulton, Moose, W. Morrissey and Brian Myers.

Momentum was on the babyface side early, but a big dropkick from Moose to Edwards sent the former world champion crashing to the floor. After several moments of oppressive offense by the heels, Edwards created separation and tagged Cage into the match. Captain Charisma unloaded on Myers, delivering a frog splash only to have his pinfall attempt broken up by Morrissey.

The action broke down, with each competitor hitting signature offense until Edwards delivered a superplex off the top rope and on to the other wrestlers in the match on the floor. Back inside, Cage delivered a spear to Myers and Alexander, who is now the legal man for the babyfaces, and delivered the underhook piledriver for the win.

Result

Alexander, Cage, Callihan, Edwards and Sabin defeated Moose, Morrissey, Fulton, Myers and Austin

Grade

A

Analysis

This was a perfect conclusion to an episode that was all about setting the stage for Victory Road.

Impact typically does a great job of executing these go-home shows, highlighting the stars and feuds adequately and creating buzz for the upcoming event. This was no different, and this match, in particular, was the perfect representation of it.

Here, we had Sabin and Alexander coexisting ahead of their X-Division title match, Edwards and Callihan doing the same before they battle Moose and Morrissey, and Cage sharing the ring with top contender Austin.

There were so many moving pieces and everything meshed well, resulting in an action-packed main event and a great showcase for Alexander, who continues to look like the star of Impact's future.

Cage vs. Austin and Sabin vs. Alexander should be superb offerings this Saturday night at Victory Road, a show that is shaping up to be one of the best Impact events (at least on paper) in quite some time.