By Jason Powell
Impact Wrestling Hits
Alberto El Patron vs. Eli Drake: Normally, I would complain about the stupidity of the babyface putting his No. 1 contender status on the line for no reason whatsoever, but the value of the GFW Title is actually lower than that of Global Force Gold (sorry, too easy). The match was main event worthy and this is the best use the new creative regime has made of the talented Drake. Hopefully this match opened some eyes because he is one of most entertaining acts on the roster.
Matt Sydal vs. Eddie Edwards: It’s always nice to get a quality match to open the show. It was a bit odd to see a guy who the company has invested a lot in lose to a guy who was an undercard wrestler in WWE a few years back. I’m cool with the idea of trying to elevate Sydal if they believe in him, but I hope this wasn’t a case of creative getting overly excited about a former WWE wrestler at the expense of one of their top talents. The post match angle with Davey Richards was nicely done and kept the best feud in Impact moving forward.
Magnus vs. Matt Morgan for the GFW Title: Why didn’t they give Morgan the type of push that Kong is getting? Sid Vicious made a career out of looking dominant in squash matches and I’ve never understood why Impact has never taken that approach with a heel run for Morgan. Surely they could build up to a big match involving the most physically impressive wrestler on their roster against Alberto El Patron or another top babyface. The match was solid considering how little these guys have worked lately, and the low blow finish solidified Magnus as a heel.
KM video: The KM name is still the least creative thing since Mr. JL in WCW. Actually, it’s less creative, as at least Jerry Lynn’s masked character had the mister thing going for it. Fortunately, they are doing a nice job of establishing him as a prick bully in these out of the ring segments. He plays the part well and is standing out as the best of the additions of the relatively unknown wrestlers to the casual audience.
EC3 vs. John Bolen: A simple squash win for EC3. The return of squash matches to Impact is a positive. In some cases, it gives newer talent such as Kongo Kong a chance to shine. In this case, it spotlighted EC3 and gave the show some star power without giving away a meaningful match.
Impact Wrestling Misses
Giving away matches without hype: There are times when it makes sense to create the anything can happen feeling on a wrestling show. However, it feels like Impact is giving away some quality matches that they would have been better off advertising in advance. The only thing I recall being advertised for this edition was the women’s match for a championship no one cares about. They gave away Sydal vs. Edwards with zero build in the opening match, then they gave away Magnus vs. Matt Morgan and El Patron vs. Eli Drake off of brief in-show angles. These are matches that the company would be better off building up and advertising at least a week out.
Christina Von Eerie vs. Sienna: It was odd to see Von Eerie introduced last week only to turn around and lose her title clean this week. Von Eerie seems like an obvious opponent for Rosemary. Sure, they could still get there, but it feels like they opted to go with Sienna simply so that she could continue her wrestler vs. non-wrestler feud with Karen Jarrett.
Rockstar Spud video: “Why did he do it? Why me? I never meant to pull his pants down.” That’s an actual quote from this oddball vignette. As if that wasn’t bizarre enough, Spud apparently developed a painkiller issue in one week. This was bizarre and not in a “so bizarre it’s good” way. Spud and EC3 had one of the most entertaining feuds in Impact history. He’s such a strong talent that it’s sad to see him wasted in the undercard.
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