By Jason Powell
GFW Impact Wrestling on Pop TV
Taped July 5, 2017 in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios
[Q1] Footage aired from “earlier today” of Joseph Park and Grado arriving at the Impact Zone. Park asked if Grado was ready to pop the question. Park handed a reluctant Grado a suit to put on… A video recapped the major events from last week’s show… The opening video aired… The broadcast team was Jeremy Borash, “Pope” D’Angelo Dinero, and Josh Mathews. Borash noted they were three weeks out from Destination X…
1. Eli Drake, Chris Adonis, and EC3 vs. Eddie Edwards, Naomichi Marufuji, and Moose. Borash said it was Impact Day in the city of Orlando (when this show was taped). The city mayor Buddy Dyer served as the guest ring announcer for the match. Adonis was working over Edwards heading into a break. [C]
[Q2] Late in the match, Marufuji caught EC3 and Adonis with nice kicks to the head. Adonis came back with the Adonis Lock, but Edwards broke it up. Drake took out Edwards, then Moose took out Drake with a powerbomb and a senton. EC3 tried to hit Moose with the Grand Championship title belt, but Moose kicked EC3, who dropped the belt. EC3 followed up with a low blow and followed up with a double underhook slam and scored the pin…
Eli Drake, Chris Adonis, and EC3 beat Eddie Edwards, Naomichi Marufuji, and Moose.
Powell’s POV: A solid six-man tag match. At the same time, it’s a random six-man tag match with Moose and EC3 having the only established issues between the teams. At least the finish of the match played into that feud. Perhaps Drake could have sold viewers on the match, but we’ll never know because one of the best talkers in the company rarely gets mic time.
Backstage, McKenzie Mitchell was distracted by a heavyset man warming up. He introduced himself as Richard Justice. He said he was warming up because he’s the “standby wrestler.” He said his job is to fill the time if they go short. Mitchell said that’s the stupidest thing she’s ever heard. Justice said it’s not stupid, it’s very valuable, and he needs to stay ready because he could be called at any time…
A vignette aired with the Crist Broters saying “they won’t be overlooked, brothers, brothers, killing it every night, killing it, welcome to what we do best and tonight that’s kill it.” There was also a woman in the video who said “we have no choice.” They closed by saying “OVE” and a graphic listed them as coming soon…
The broadcast team hyped Alberto El Patron challenging LAX to a gauntlet match, the Rosemary vs. Sienna match, and Lashley calling out Bruce Prichard… [C]
Powell’s POV: I’m not sure what OVE stands for or who the woman was, but the men featured in the video are Dave and Jake Crist. They worked as Irish Airborne in Ring of Honor and on the independent scene. The new gimmick appears to be darker and reminded me a bit of Sanity in NXT.
[Q3] Borash hyped one of the Impact Wrestling live events for next weekend… Borash narrated footage of last week’s segment involving Alberto El Patron and LAX, and hyped that El Patron will face Homicide, Ortiz, and Santana in a gauntlet match in the main event. Borash also recapped Matt Sydal winning a three-way match last week, calling out Bruce Prichard, and being speared by Lashley…
Lashley headed to the ring in street clothes. Mathews said Lashley intended to call out Bruce Prichard to demand a championship match. Lashley said there was a pecking order when he started in the pro wrestling business, meaning you started at the bottom and worked your way to the top. He said things seem to be different in GFW. He said there are guys who come in on day one and demand a title shot, which he finds ridiculous. Lashley said he will break in half anyone who tries to step in front of him for a title shot. Lashley called out Prichard, saying he wanted him to let everyone know that he will be getting a title shot at the Destination X themed edition of Impact.
Bruce Prichard walked onto the stage with Tyrus playing his bodyguard. Prichard said he appreciated what Lashley said, but he thought he addressed it last week. Matt Sydal came out without entrance music, walked past Prichard, and entered the ring. Sydal said he remembered what Lashley did to him last week and he won’t be ignored. Lashley shoved him down and went for a spear, but Sydal caught him with a knee and then followed up with a shooting star press. Prichard was shown talking to Tyrus on the stage before they went backstage. Sydal’s music played as he celebrated before going to the back while Lashley rolled to ringside…
Powell’s POV: A flat segment with the live crowd failing to get behind Sydal even after he got the better of Lashley. In fairness to Sydal, it didn’t seem like the crowd was into much of anything even before he came out.
The broadcast team recapped the previous segment and then set up a video package on Davey Richards for the Super X Cup. Richards sad he has been wrestling for 23 years. He said he feels like his legacy has been defined as being one of the best wrestlers in the world. Regarding opponent Taiji Ishimori, Richards said anyone who comes over from Japan has earned the right to be in the ring. He said the dojo system is meant to weed out the weak. He said people have left in the middle of the night. He said he knows this because he lived in a Japanese dojo. He said he and Ishimori are cut from the same cloth. Footage aired of Ishimori, who said he wants to win and he will beat him…
2. Davey Richards vs. Taiji Ishimori in a Super X Cup first round match. The Super X Cup trophy was at ringside. Ishimori came out to generic music wearing a “6” mask and with Pro Wrestling Noah listed on the video wall. He removed the mask once he entered the ring. Mathews noted that Richards didn’t want to be in the tournament because he considers himself a world champion, not an X Division competitor.
[Q4] Borash noted that the the finals of the Super X Cup will take place on August 17. Mathews noted the he and Tyrus will be hosting a post show on Facebook. “Oh, that’s all we need is more Josh talking smack,” Pope said. Get it? Richards tried to bring a chair into the ring, but the referee stopped him. Late in the match, Richards went up top and howled before Ishimori avoided his double stomp. Richards put him in Tombstone position, but Ishimori countered into the same position and dropped Richards onto his knees. Ishimori followed up with a shining wizard for a two count. Ishimori slammed Richards and then followed up with a 450 splash for the win. The second round will feature ACH vs. Ishimori, and Drago vs. Dezmond Xavier…
Taiji Ishimori defeated Davey Richards to advance to the second round of the Super X Cup.
Separate shots aired of Sienna and Rosemary walking backstage while Borash hyped their Last Knockout Standing match… [C]
Powell’s POV: A good, competitive match between two talented guys who would not have been out of place in the finals of the tournament. GFW is going to miss Richards, who was granted his release this week so that he can pursue his goal of becoming a doctor.
The broadcast team recapped the Lashley, Prichard, and Sydal segment. They cut backstage where Prichard, with Tyrus standing by, announced Lashley vs. Sydal for the Destination X themed show with the winner of the match earning a shot at the title he desires…
[Q5] 3. Sienna (w/KM) vs. Rosemary in a Last Knockouts Standing match for the GFW Unified Knockouts Championship. Rosemary set up a table in one corner of the ring early on. She tried to whip Sienna into it, but Sienna reversed it, but Rosemary stopped short of the table. Sienna set up another table at ringside. Both women ended up with chairs in the ring and slammed them together. Sienna rolled to ringside. Rosemary followed and they fought into the crowd. Rosemary put Sienna in a leg scissors while hanging over the fence just off the main floor. Sienna tapped, but it didn’t matter due to the rules of the match. [C]
Sienna picked up Rosemary on the apron in powerbomb position and simply dropped her on the floor. Referee Brian Hebner counted as both women were down, but they both got back to their feet. Inside the ring, Sienna charged Rosemary, who hit her with a chair. Rosemary waited for Sienna to get up. Sienna grabbed the title belt and swung it, but Rosemary ducked it and then performed the Red Wedding on a chair that was set up in the middle of the ring. KM entered the ring and picked up Sienna and placed her standing upright in the corner. Rosemary chased KM to ringside.
[Q6] Rosemary went to ringside and pulled a trashcan out from underneath the ring. She placed the trashcan between the legs of Sienna, who was up against the table set up in the corner. Rosemary went to the top rope. KM climbed onto the ring apron. Rosemary sprayed mist in to the face of KM. Sienna picked up a trashcan and threw it at Rosemary, who fell through a table that was set up on the floor. The referee counted Rosemary down…
Sienna defeated Rosemary in a Last Knockout Standing match to retain the GFW Knockouts Championship.
Powell’s POV: A good brawl with strong effort from both women. Rosemary shines in hardcore style gimmick matches and this was no exception.
Backstage, Joseph Park was shown talking to Grado, who said said he did a cast study on the Hollywood Newlywed Game and everyone who wore the suit he gave Grado got a yes. He said all the boys are using it on the Grindr app. Grado corrected him and said the app is Tinder…
Backstage, EC3 spoke about beating Moose with his new move the ECD – the Ethan Carter Driver. He called it the most vicious finishing move in wrestling today… Borash hyped Moose vs. EC3 for the Impact Grand Championship for next week…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Alberto El Patron, who was accompanied by his father and brother again. El Patron spoke about his handicap match with LAX. He said they don’t know what they want or who they are working for. He said Konnan was crazy when he met him 25 years ago in Mexico and he’s still crazy. He said he would destroy LAX one by one until he gets to Konnan… [C]
Footage aired of Rosemary going through the table in the Knockouts match…
Trevor Lee headed out wearing the X Division Championship, which he stole from Sonjay Dutt a few weeks ago. Lee took the mic and introduced himself as the champion. Lee said he scoured the globe and ended up finding the best high flyer in Mexico. Octagoncito made his entrance. Mathews said a lot of people thought Lee was going to fly in Rey Mysterio. Borash called Octagoncity the premiere mini in Mexico, but said calling him a viable opponent was a stretch due to the size difference…
[Q7] 4. Trevor Lee vs. Octagoncito. Lee wore the belt while wrestling the match. Lee held Octagoncito with one hand while Octagoncity swung and missed repeatedly. Octagoncity performed a a series of revolutions before taking Lee down with a headscissors. Lee ended up at ringside and took the intentional count-out…
Octagoncito beat Trevor Lee via count-out.
After the match, Sonjay Dutt ran out, but several referees and Bruce Prichard came out and escorted Dutt to the back…
Powell’s POV: It would have been nice if even one of the broadcast team members had pointed out the obvious, which is that X Division wrestlers beat heavyweight wrestlers occasionally, so why couldn’t Octagoncito give Lee a run for his money? Sure, they were trying to sell him as an underdog, but they did so at the expense of their own credibility.
At the LAX clubhouse, Konnan spoke with his crew about the gauntlet match. He told Homicide that he was putting him in the ring first. He said El Patron had injuries they know about and can focus on. He told Homicide he wants him to cripple El Patron…
Grado and Joseph Park made their entrance. Grado wore a terrible orange suit. Grado called for Laurel Van Ness to come out. Laurel came out. Sienna tried to stop her, but Laurel headed to the ring while Sienna gave up and went backstage. Gradeo told Van Ness she’s the most beautiful woman he’s ever laid eyes on. He said they have a connection. He said she’s intelligent. Park whispered in his ear, then he said she’s knockout gorgeous. Grado said she would make him the happiest man alive if she said yes to the question he was about to ask.
Grado got down on one knee and proposed complete with a ring. The crowd cheered. Allie came out and jumped up and down on the ring apron. Braxton Sutter came out and made Allie go backstage, which drew boos. Kongo Kong came out before Laurel could answer. Park left the ring. Kong got in Grado’s face. Grado ended up running away. Kong picked up Van Ness and then put her back on her feet…
Borash hyped the gauntlet match main event… [C] Borash hyped the upcoming live events… Ring entrances for the main event took place…
[Q8] 5. GFW Champion Alberto El Patron vs. Homicide, Ortiz, and Santana (w/Konnan, Diamante) in a non-title gauntlet match. El Patron suplexed Homicide and followed up with a frogsplash to eliminate him from the match in short order. Ortiz was the next man in for LAX. [C] El Patron had Ortiz down, but other LAX members knocked him off the top rope while the referee was distracted. They fought on the ropes and El Patron ended up hitting his double stomp on Ortiz and pinned him.
The final man in for LAX was Santana. El Patron got his hands on Konnan briefly, but he turned and caught Diamante as she was diving at him off the top rope. El Patron threw her over the top rope onto Homicide on the floor. Santana caught El Patron with a German suplex for a two count. El Patron came back with a tornado DDT and then applied a Cross Arm Breaker. The other LAX members ran in and attacked El Patron for the DQ.
Alberto El Patron beat Homicide, Ortiz, and Santana in a non-title gauntlet match.
The LAX members roughed up El Patron after the match and tied his hands behind his back and shoved part of a Mexican flag in his mouth. El Hijo de Dos Caras ran out, but he was quickly outnumbered. Dos Caras ran out with a chair, but he remained at ringside due to the numbers. “Veterans of War” Mayweather and Wilcox ran out and made the save. El Patron worked over the LAX members with a chair. El Patron, VOW, and El Patron’s family stood tall to end the show…
Powell’s POV: El Patron dominated the match and made the badass LAX faction look soft. I realize he’s the GFW Champion, but he beat three men with ease. VOW making the save is fine given that they are likely to feud with LAX over the tag titles. However, I don’t get the sense that fans feel anything for Alberto’s masked father and brother. Perhaps that will change in time, but they don’t mean anything to most American viewers at this point. Overall, the show had some good in-ring moments this week, but there’s a low budget feel to Impact compared to last year. Check back later today for John Moore’s GFW Impact Wrestling Hit List and an All Access audio review of the show.
OVE stands for Ohio vs. Everyone, a play on their Ohio Is 4 Killers stable on the indys.