The Road to Bound For Glory began Thursday night as Impact Wrestling presented an episode centered around new No. 1 contender Josh Alexander and his decision to give up the X-Division Championship in pursuit of the Impact world title, held by Christian Cage.

Mickie James appeared on Thursday's episode, as tension between her and Deonna Purrazzo escalated; Chelsea Green and Rohit Raju wrote the latest chapter in their intergender rivalry; and Bullet Club's Hikuleo battled David Finlay in a grudge match.

Who emerged victorious and which competitors built momentum ahead of the October 23 pay-per-view? Find out with this recap of this week's show.

Josh Alexander Addresses His Bound for Glory Challenge

Executive vice president Scott D'Amore kicked off the show by introducing X-Division champion Josh Alexander, who is exercising Option C, meaning he will voluntarily vacate his title for a shot at the Impact World Championship.

Alexander discussed his lengthy journey to the top of Impact and said he has done everything he could with the X-Division title. Cage made his presence felt, seemingly prepared to talk his prospective opponent out of the match when Ace Austin and Madman Fulton interrupted.

Austin taunted Alexander, who reminded The Inevitable that he took the X-Division title from him. The heels delivered stereo cheap shots to the babyfaces, leaving them reeling to close out the segment.

Grade

C+

Analysis

This introduced the career-altering decision made by Alexander, kept Austin involved to provide a heel foil ahead of Bound For Glory, and set up a match for later in the show between Alexander and Austin that would answer all questions about the rightful No. 1 contender.

Cage is great at this sort of thing, still being unequivocally the babyface but showing enough of a heel edge that he can seamlessly fill that role if needed when the PPV hits the airwaves.

A solid, if unspectacular, start to this week's show.

Hikuleo vs. David Finlay

The rivalry between Bullet Club and FinJuice continued this week in singles competition as Hikuleo battled David Finlay.

The big man dominated the action, but Finlay fought from underneath and scored the pinfall victory with a jackknife roll-up.

After the match, Juice Robinson returned to thwart a two-on-one beatdown by Hikuleo and Chris Bey, only to fall victim to a sneak attack at the hands of the returning El Phantasmo.

The reunited members of Bullet Club stood tall to close out the segment.

Result

Finlay defeated Hikuleo

Grade

C+

Analysis

Hikuleo needs these reps in order to improve his in-ring game, and matches like this—against a talented worker such as Finlay—will do just that.

The biggest takeaway from this segment was the return of ELP and the strengthening of Bullet Club ahead of Bound For Glory. The question now is: Who will step up to aid the outnumbered FinJuice?

The answer to that should help elevate a story that feels like it hit a wall a few weeks back when Jay White disappeared from the equation.

Rohit Raju vs. Chelsea Green

Matt Cardona may have sidelined Shera but that did not mean Rohit Raju didn't have an insurance policy in store for him and his fiancee, Chelsea Green, when he battled Green in a rare intergender match.

Green fought her way back into the match after several moments of Raju dominance, dropping him with a Thesz press and adding a German suplex.

The return of Raj Singh and a cheap shot to Cardona on the outside allowed Raju to capitalize on the distraction and score a roll-up victory on Green.

Result

Raju defeated Green

Grade

C+

Analysis

Who knows where this is heading in the long term, but Raju is a consummate heel. He's an opportunistic cheater who brags as if he won the match clean when he knows he cheated to secure the victory, which includes reintroducing Singh as backup.

Furthermore, he selflessly sold everything for Green, who looked like a total badass as she hung in there with a former X-Division champion.

Inevitably, she will get the win and her pairing with Cardona will move on, but for now, there are far worse things they can be doing than working with one of the workhorses of Impact.

Rich Swann and Willie Mack vs. Brian Myers and VSK

The product of a backstage confrontation from earlier in the show, Willie Mack and Rich Swann battled Brian Myers and VSK, who were accompanied by Zicky Dice and Sam Beale.

Myers and VSK slowed Mack's momentum and worked him over with some concentrated offense, but the big man fought back and rocked Myers with a forearm.

A hot tag to Swann sparked a babyface comeback and a major error by the bumbling Beale saw him shove the former world champion off the top rope and onto VSK for the victory.

Result

Swann and Mack defeated VSK and Myers

Grade

C

Analysis

There was some in-ring action to like about this one, particularly on the part of VSK, but the finish nearly ruined the entire match. It was too hokey and gimmicky, even as the performers involved looked to do something fresh and interesting.

No one really comes out of the ordeal looking good. Swann lucks his way into a win, the heels look like simpletons, and the result is a tag team match with no immediate benefit to speak of.

Everyone involved is better than that and has earned better than that.

This was a rare miss for a company that has been consistently good for the last year.

Mickie James Returns to the Impact Zone

Mickie James returned to the Impact Zone and called out Knockouts champion Deonna Purrazzo.

After weeks of mounting tension, James officially laid down the challenge for a championship match against The Virtuosa in Las Vegas. Purrazzo denied her, saying the legendary competitor has not earned a title opportunity against the top star in the division.

The women came to blows until D'Amore appeared and granted James the match at Bound For Glory, much to the dismay of the titleholder.

Grade

A

Analysis

This was the segment and announcement that fans have been waiting for.

James and Purrazzo have been in the midst of the best feud in the entire company for the last month, so the formal announcement of their long-awaited match is reason to be excited for all fans of women's wrestling.

The contest is going to be excellent. James is a veteran of these high-profile matches and Purrazzo is the most consistently excellent female wrestler in the business. Her reign has been superb and should culminate in another show-stealing performance, this time involving a genuine main eventer.

Josh Alexander vs. Ace Austin

Ace Austin benefited from Madman Fulton's interference to seize control of his match with Josh Alexander in the main event of this week's show.

Alexander delivered four suplexes to Austin but he answered with a DDT to recapture control of the bout. The action broke down late, with more interference from Fulton backfiring, before Alexander delivered the C-4 for the pinfall victory. 

After the match, Christian Cage made the save but Fulton and Austin jumped the babyfaces. From out of nowhere, Impact legend Christopher Daniels made the save and cleared the heels out to bring the show to its end.

Result

Alexander defeated Austin

Grade

B+

Analysis

Alexander and Austin have great in-ring chemistry and almost always deliver when called upon. That they had a good, competitive match to help propel The Walking Weapon into his main event run was no surprise.

The stunner was the return of Daniels, whose career will forever be linked to Impact. One of the most decorated and celebrated stars in the long and illustrious history of the company, he helped lay the foundation for the X-Division as we know it.

Now head of talent relations for All Elite Wrestling, the 51-year-old is nearing the end of his in-ring career so it makes sense that he would return to a promotion that has been integral to his success over the last 20 years.

What the endgame is for The Fallen Angel remains to be seen.