By John Moore
Impact Wrestling on PopTV
Taped August 2017 in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios
Before the graphic that shows the company’s international partners, they showed an “In Memoriam” slide for the recently passed Bobby Heenan. The show then went to an intro teaser showing highlights form the Low Ki vs. Johnny Impact match. Next in the teaser was recaps from the Bobby Lashley and Dan Lambert business. The teaser ended with American Top Team doing their Ginyu-like pose…
John’s Thoughts: Right off the bat, that was a well-produced video package for the Low Ki and Johnny Mundo. The camera angles used reminded me of the slick angles they would use in Lucha Underground matches while the editing reminded me of WWE’s high quality recap videos.
Johnny Impact entered the Gorilla Position pissed off at everyone. Borash said that Johnny is looking for Eli Drake. By the way, Jeremy Borash and Josh Mathews were on commentary. Johnny wore a Boone the Bounty Hunter shirt with an eagle on it (I’d take the American Eagle as a mascot over Anthem’s dumb owl one). Johnny yelled out and told Eli Drake to give him his title shot right here right now. Mundo said he’s not leaving until Drake gets his meathead ass to this ring. Samoa Joe’s TNA music played as KM made his entrance. KM had a mic for a promo and he was in his ring gear.
KM said he sees Impact calling Eli Drake. KM said has a better idea. KM said Impact should wish with one hand and crap in his other hand to see which one happens first. KM tried to speak but he was drawing massive heat. KM said there’s a rumor that Eli Drake is still in Mexico. Johnny said that was days ago and he saw Drake car in the parking lot. Johnny said Drake knows how angry Johnny is and is probably pissing himself scared in an office of someplace. KM told the fans that they suck. The crowd responded by saying that KM sucks. KM then told Impact his catchphrase “are you calling me a liar?”. Referee Brian Stiffler entered the ring. Impact said he was calling KM a liar and the kid in the front row is calling KM a douche rocket. Impact said a few other people in the crowd are calling KM a douche rocket.
Johnny Impact got the crowd to chant Douche Rocket. Impact said he loves these guys. KM said they don’t matter and he has an idea. KM said Eli Drake may be here or he may not be here, it doesn’t matter. KM said he’s here with a referee. KM told Impact to put his title shot on the line against the only member of the Impact roster. Impact said he agrees. Impact then asked the crowd if they want to see Johnny Impact vs. KM for the GFW Championship match at Victory Road. Impact had to look at KM’s trunks to figure out his name. Impact then told the crowd to give him an “Impact” chant in five seconds. At one, Impact gave KM a superkick to kick off the match…
John’s Thoughts: Johnny Mundo is pulling a Dolph Ziggler here. Being an idiot by putting his title shot on the line for no good reason and no pressure. That aside, Mundo and Impact were strong on the mic!
1. Johnny Impact vs. KM for the GFW Global Championship number one contendership. Impact hit an early standing shooting star. Josh Mathews questioned Mundo for putting his title shot on the line. KM tripped Impact off the springboard. KM manhandled Impact around the ring. KM hit a full nelson slam on Impact to get the nearfall. KM tossed Impact and he landed on his feet. Impact hit a single leg dropkick and running knee. Impact hit a standing corkscrew moonsault on KM for a nearfall. Impact played to the crowd which allowed KM to get a rollup with his legs for leverage. The ref caught the legs. Impact hit KM with a flying chuck kick. Impact started the countdown to hit KM with a high risk 450 Judo Roll to pick up the win.
Johnny Impact defeated KM via pinfall in 2:57 to retain is GFW Title Shot.
Borash said Impact just solidified his spot at victory road (It was solidified before, Mundo just decided to put it on the line for no good reason). They then showed highlights of Johnny’s Judo Roll in their “G-motion” filter. They cut to Jeremy Borash and Josh Mathews in their commentary room. Josh Mathews said we were going to see highlights from Eli Drake’s title defense in Mexico. Pagano was shown talking to a mystery person backstage as El Hijo Del Fantasma (a.k.a. King Cuerno) as warming up. Jeremy Borash then hyped Taya Valkyrie after the break… [C]
John’s Thoughts: Quick and painless win for Impact. I liked that he didn’t do the complete countdown and instead had the crowd do it while he focused on KM. KM didn’t look bad either. Going back to the promo, that opening promo segment was probably some of the best mic work that I’ve seen Johnny HenniMundPactSonTro do ever. Especially as a babyface. I’ve said that Johnny has been great when heavily scripted but he was good in engaging the crowd tonight. On the other side, KM drew great heat. It’s odd too? They gave KM such a huge buildup initially only to have him fall into obscurity as Sienna’s male valet who just gets beat up by Gail Kim. KM can be a strong mid-card to main event heel if they utilize him correctly.
After the commercial, they showed a Taya Valkyrie highlight package. Ava Storie came out for the next match. Taya Valkyrie followed. I love her entrance theme! Taya now has fans blowing at her during her entrance (a la Johnny Mundo) to blow up her coat to look like a daunting cape. Josh Mathews said Taya is so strong that her entrance was longer than her match last week.
2. Taya Valkyrie vs. Ava Storie. Storie tried to hype up the crowd with claps. Taya dominated the lockup. Taya gave Storie a roundhouse in the corner and a low kick to Storie’s back. Taya hit Storie with the Jeff Hardy thigh legdrop. Taya then kicked Ava in the thigh in the corner. Taya’s Glam Slam is now called “The Road to Valhalla” (Man! I love that name!). Taya hit the Road to Valhalla on Storie to pick up the win.
Taya Valkyrie defeated Ava Storie via pinfall in 1:19.
John’s Thoughts: Wowzers! I’m liking this new version of Taya. On Lucha Underground, they brought her in to play the role that Melina was playing on the show (since Melina had a sudden departure with that promotion) which was as a pest/valley-girl girlfriend of Mundo. Here she’s a dark Norse goddess with kickass music and a great name for a finisher. If she sticks around in Impact Wrestling, I see some great matches and programs in the horizon for the women’s division. Just keep Karen Jarrett the hell away from this! Maybe that can be a perk of Jeff being out of creative. Sonjay isn’t a suck up right?
After the highlights, Taya grabbed a mic for a promo. She said Lucha Royalty has arrived. She said her name is Taya Valkyrie and she came for one reason and that was the Knockouts Championship. Taya asked for Karen Jarrett to not waste her time (Taya’s right! Karen is a waste of TV time!). Decay’s entrance theme as Rosemary made her entrance. Rosemary has a new layered haircut, half skull facepaint, and was doing Crazzy Steve’s mannerisms. Rosemary also had this cute anime bunny in a cemetery on her t-shirt that said “my spirit animal” (nice!).
John’s Thoughts: I want that shirt!
Rosemary did a sadistic laugh as the crowd chanted her name. A handful of children in the crowd had her signs and face paint. Rosemary said there was laughter in “our” head laughing at Taya requesting a title shot before the hive’s demon mother. Rosemary called Sienna a “She Skunk” and said she just gets help from the mad bride (Laurel Van Ness) and her speed bump cousin (KM). Rosemary said the only one that deserves a title shot is “us” (Rosemary and her hive mind). Taya and Rosemary brawl. Sienna ran in and joined the brawl. They started off double teaming Rosemary but Taya and Sienna then had issues with each other. Allie then ran to the ring. She wore the same bunny shirt as Allie. Taryn Terrell then ran in. The heels got on the same page. Gail Kim ran in last to even the odds and clear house. Josh Mathews said the battle lines were drawn…
They then cut to a cinematic showing oVe approaching LAX’s strip club/Sexnasium. They walked right past Homicide who picked up his cell phone to call Konnan. Homicide told Konnan that he’s going to love this surprise. Homicide then said “brrrrrrrrryat”… [C]
John’s Thoughts: The run-ins were bad TNA/WCW levels of run-in. That aside, it was a good visual to see how strong the Knockouts Division has gotten in the past few months. At one point it was just Sienna and Rosemary. Taya, Taryn, Gail, and Allie make this good competition to WWE Raw and SmackDown’s division and I never thought they’d get there. Taya can cut a good promo and Rosemary has become the new Jeff Hardy of Impact with the way that the kids are gravitating towards her.
Right after Homicide said “brrrrryat”, oVe was shown getting some of da bootay and lap dances in LAX’s sexnasium. We heard Konnan talking about a plan. Konnan said oVe are their welcomed guests. Konnan then asked for the senoritas to lure oVe to the VIP room so he can send his boys in to have a little chat with the Crist Brothers. Jake asked Dave what they were going to do. Dave said they were going to wait for LAX to come into the room so they can talk. Santana, Ortiz, and Homicide then confronted the Crist Brothers. Dave told LAX that last week LAX showed them how big their balls were (what? Dave has the strangest quips!). All five of them then argued about balls. They then challenged each other to a match next week Homicide stood in-between them to calm things down and told the “base heads” to get out. Homicide said they got em’. Homicide said it was time to party in Tijuana. They then cut to Eli Drake in Mexico who walked past two women in sombreros…
John’s Thoughts: So let me get this straight. Konnan’s huge diabolical plan was to have his strippers use the poon to lure Ohio vs. Everything into a sex room so that LAX can ambush them by talking about balls? Huh? At least Lucha Underground’s Vampiro character would beat people with a stick in his creepy sex dungeon (I’m borrowing that joke from Will Pruett’s season 2 Lucha Underground reviews).
Josh Mathews introduced us to “Global Forge – Episode 2”. Scott D’Amore was in the “GFW Studios” looking at footage from his Windsor, Canada dojo. They showed more of his trainees cutting promos about “it”. One of the guys had a regular American accent, but then he did this bad African accent when he tried to act. More guys talked about “it”. D’Amore talked about wanting to see the real stories. The Jewish wrestler talked in Hebrew and about being “a shooter”. One guy worked his ass off. This is just a low budget TNA Gut Check. Josh Mathews hyped up a Moose interview for after the break… [C]
The unseen interviewer guy had a squeaky voice and asked the trio of Gail Kim, Rosemary, and Allie if there was a team forming. Allie took control by saying that Miss Taryn was mean to Miss Gail and super mean to her demon friend. Gail Kim said that was just a sample and their opponents should have been sent out on stretchers. Rosemary couldn’t contain her joy and said “we” have so many toys we can choose from: hacking, chops, smash, blood, gore, etc. The excitement caused Rosemary to fall on her ass. Rosemary said “we” (Rosemary and her hive mind) love Gail. Rosemary gave Gail a surprise big hug. Rosemary told Allie to “come bunny!”. Allie then hopped away with them like a bunny!
John’s Thoughts: Yay! OG Allie’s back! Rosemary is working out as a babyface. And Gail Kim isn’t super Gail anymore. All is swell in the Knockouts division!
They then cut to a highlight package from the Sonjay Dutt vs. Trevor Lee title match from last week. This led to a Petey Williams interviews where he talked potentially having the match of his career with Trevor Lee due to Lee’s ability. Williams said he was a two time X Division Champion and he talked about being in Team Canada. They showed Petey giving AJ Styles the Canadian Destroyer. Petey said he never cowered to get the title and Trevor Lee brings shame to the title. Petey said the title is about guys who want to be the best wrestlers in the world. Petey said he was going to bring prestige back to the title when he beats Trevor Lee at Victory Road. Petey said “Canadian Destroyer”…
A Bound For Glory hype ad aired where wrestlers talked about BFG. The PPV commercial aired with a clip that said the PPV was airing from the Aberdeen Pavilion in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Bound For Glory had a giant maple leaf behind it and instead of GFW, the logo interestingly said “Impact Bound For Glory”…
Jeremy Borash then cut to a Grado skit where Grado was shown working for Park, Park, and Park…
John’s Thoughts: Just wondering? Are Park, Park, and Park Joe Park, Abyss, and Judas Mesias? The sons of James Mitchell? I’m kidding!
Grado was shown exercising and getting ready for an independent show in Cleveland. Grado talked about making dolla bills. Grado said it takes a lot of money and the schedule is tough. He then said dolla dolla bill a few times. They cut to Jeremy Borash who said that Joseph Park told him that Grado is the hottest wrestling free agent…
Pagano then made his entrance to some generic rock music. Borash talked about how Pagano main evented TripleMania in 2016. Josh and JB talked about the events from last week that set up this match. Josh Mathews talked about Eddie Edwards becoming the first American to win the Noah GHC Heavyweight Championship… [C]
3. Pagano and El Hijo del Fantasma vs. Eddie Edwards and Ethan Carter III. Fantasma had the word chocolate written on his butt. Ewww! Eddie Edwards took down Fantasma with a shoulder block. Jeremy Borash used this to hype Pop TV having a show called “The Goldbergs”. Mathews comically exclaimed “Goldberg!”. Edwards hit Fantasma with a sitout F5. EC3 tagged in and showered Fantasma with punches and kicks. Ethan tossed in Pagano into the ring and laid the punches on Pagano. Fantasma caught EC3 with a kick and kicked Eddie off the apron. Fantasma clotheslined EC3 in his corner and traded quick tags with Pagano to isolate EC3 away from his corner.
Jeremy Borash talked about how Fantasma is a Technico while Pagano is a Rudo in AAA yet here they are united against a common enemy. EC3 turned the tables on Pagano and laid some chops on him. Fantasma made the assist and gave EC3 a chop. EC3 took down Pagano and Fantasma with a double clothesline. EC3 tried for the hot tag but Fantasma tripped Eddie Edwards off the apron. Pagano hit EC3 with a corkscrew shoulder block. Jeremy Boash reminded the viewers that Pagano was speaking to a mystery person. Mathews said that Pagano might be using the mystery person as an insurance policy just like Fantasma utilized Pagano last week.
Ethan gained some breathing room by hitting Pagano with a TKO. Eddie Edwards cleaned house with a hot tag. Eddie hit Fantasma with a backpack stunner. Fantasma hit EC3 with a kick. Eddie caught Fantasma with a kick and EC3 hit a neckbreaker. Eddie Edwards hit a blue thunder bomb on Fantasma but the referee was distracted with the action outside so Stiffler couldn’t count the pin. The mystery man showed up. It was El Texano Jr! El Texano Jr. gave Eddie Edwards a sitout power bomb. This allowed Fantasma to pick up the pinfall win over Eddie Edwards.
El Hijo del Fantasma and Pagano defeated Eddie Edwards and Ethan Carter III via pinfall in 6:36.
The trio of El Texano Jr, El Pagano, and El Hijo Del Fantasma stood tall over Eddie Edwards. The rudos put the boots to Eddie. Texano hit Eddie Edwards with his bull rope. They then did the same thing to EC3. There were some (canned) boos. James Storm ran in for the save. Fantasma, Pagano, and Texano retreated up the ramp. Storm gave Eddie Edwards a handshake but not EC3. James Storm then drank some Bud Light with the fans. Jeremy Borash then hyped Eli Drake’s GFW title defense in the AAA promotion in Irapuato, Mexico…
John’s Thoughts: That wasn’t a bad match. Pagano’s vignettes were just like oVe’s and so was his debut. It was a bit of a dud because he’s just Fantasma’s little buddy. It also looks like they’re setting up a trios feud of US/GFW vs. Mexico/AAA. GFW/TNA also had some nice attention to detail, which is something we usually don’t see from them, by having James Storm show animosity with Ethan Carter III.
Johnny Impact was still pissed and was looking for Eli Drake. He ran into the AAA Rudo trio of Fantasma, El Texano Jr (which translates to “The Texan Jr”), and Pagano. Fantasma said Eli no esta aqui, Eli esta Mexico. Fantasma then translated himself by saying Eli is not here, he’s in Mexico. El Texano stood up and said he doesn’t know what Johnny is doing here. He said he doesn’t like Johnny in his Country of Mexico and in AAA. Texano said he doesn’t like Johnny. Johnny Impact then said he’s going to put his number one contendership on the line against Texano (what? Why?). Texano then said that Johnny was divertido (funny)…
John’s Thoughts: Johnny has been great on the mic tonight, but I don’t know why they are making him out to be an idiot by putting his title on the line against any random dude? Texano didn’t even ask for the shot! Moving along, here’s a little background info on The Texan, El Texano Jr. is the longest ever reigning AAA champion (mostly due to lack of title defenses). His character is he’s a cowboy from Texas. Think of him as a Mexican James Storm. Unlike Storm, Texano’s promos suck in both English and Spanish (so much that Lucha Underground had their commentators and several wrestlers explicitly say that he lacks personality and charisma on their show). That said, he’s a really underrated performer in the ring since he can put on some great in-ring performances. He even had a good match last night on LU against Dante Fox!
4. Kongo Kong vs. Mahabali Shera. Shera did his usual offense of punches and clotheslines but Kong didn’t sell. Shera tried to use his third move, the body slam, but Kong was too strong. Kong then nosold a shortarm lariat. Kong gave Shera a belly to belly. Kong manhandled Shera all around the ring. Shera was taken down with a clothesline. Kong tried to win by stepping on Shera but Shera kicked out. Kong then walked over Shera. Shera went again for the body slam but to no success. Shera shook up Kong a bit with his repeat offense. Shera managed to corner Kong.
Shera was backtossed on the apron. Shera then uncharacteristically went for a springboard move but slipped off and fell onto Kong (I usually don’t do this but I’ll give Shera an A here for effort). Kong fell and Shera got a nearfall. Shera went for the AA but Kong escaped and gave Shera a headbutt followed up by a cannonball. Kongo Kong hit his signature splash for the win.
Kongo Kong defeated Mahabali Shera via pinfall in 3:51.
After the match. Eli Drake cut a promo from Mexico. He said “Hola, Como Estas”. Drake said in America he says “Dummy Yeah” but in Mexico he says “Tonto, Si!”. Drake said he’s in AAA, where Johnny Impact has called home and made an Impact, pun intended. Drake was shown hitting an invincible tonto button. Drake said he went to knock on Impact’s door and Impact didn’t answer. Drake said Impact ran away from Mexico once he heard Drake was coming to Mexico. Drake said he doesn’t blame Impact since Johnny Mundo hears the gravy train on the tracks, coming to run Impact over, “Train de Gravy-o”. Drake said people in AAA will see what a true Global Champion looks like since his championship is Global. Drake said no one can take what’s his away from him, not because Johnny isn’t talented enough, but because Drake won’t let Johnny have a chance at doing so. Drake said that’s not an insult, that’s a fact of life. Tonto! Si!
John’s Thoughts: Oh mah freaking goodness! It’s a non-Christmas miracle. The Impact gods have blessed Eli Drake and Allie with their voices back! Can we get like one or two more of those type of GFW Champion promos per week because that was a nice slick piece of business and it made Drake out to be a big deal as well as confident.
They cut to a Moose interview. Moose talked about Lashley being a two-sport athlete. Moose said he’s a two-sport athlete too. They showed Moose in both his Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts jerseys. They cut to clips of Dan Lambert and American Top Team. Moose said he knows ATT is a great MMA training building. They showed Clips of Moose eliminating his own teammate in the trios battle royal. Moose said he’s going to give Lashley’s manhood the benefit of the doubt. Moose said he’s going to get his payback. Moose said he is going to drag Lashley’s bitch ass (bleeped) in the ring so he can dare Lashley to finish what he started. Moose said “Lashley’s a bitch!”. The Bound For Glory PPV ad aired again…
John’s Thoughts: I’ll give it up to Impact Wrestling tonight. They are doing a great job with the video packages! Hopefully they continue to use these simple yet well edited packages to hype up things in later weeks.
El Texano Jr. came out first for his upcoming match. It sounded like there were some canned boos again since 1/3 or the Impact zone fans were obviously cheering Texano yet the sound mixing had that boo sound effect. Mathews talked about Texano being famous in both Lucha Underground and AAA. They gave Johnny his vintage John Morrison fan and slow motion entrance. Jeremy Borash talked about how it doesn’t make sense that Johnny is constantly putting his title on the line. Josh has said the same thing throughout the show too. Josh
John’s Thoughts: That’s interesting. I like that JB and Josh aren’t insulting the intelligence of the viewers and agreeing that Mundo’s character is illogical with his constant contendership defenses with no reasoning behind it. I’m going to postulate a bit and assume that there might be conflicting creative visions here. I also give Impact Wrestling some credit for improvising some retroactive continuity in repairing some of their logic gaps by taking advantage of their post-produced commentary.
5. Johnny Impact vs. El Texano Jr. for the GFW Global Championship number one contendership. Texano cornered Impact. Impact tried to turn the tables but Texano used the ropes for protection. Texano gave Impact a huge slap. Impact came back with a double leg takedown and some punches. Johnny caught Texano with a single leg dropkick and standing shooting star. Texano went to ringside for a breather. As Texano made reentry to the ring, Johnny caught Texano with a running huracanrana. Johnny then yelled “moonlight” right before hitting Texano with the Moonlight Drive. Impact hit two more Moonlight Drives on Texano.
Johnny Impact put Texano into position for his 450 Judo roll but Texano rolled out of the way and hit Mundo with the Rough Ryder Leg Lariat. Texano slowed down the action and gave Mundo a stiff right hand. Texano stopped an incoming Johnny and kicked him off the top rope, sending us to commercial. [C]
John’s Thoughts: This is truly bizzaro! Johnny Mundo vs. El Texano Jr? I’m reviewing a Lucha Underground match on GFW/TNA Impact. Wowzers!
Some curse words were bleeped out as Texano dominated Johnny Impact at ringside. Texano gave Johnny a strong Irish whip into the ring steps. Texano gave Impact snake eyes on the ring barricade. Jeremy Borash hyped up oVe vs. LAX for the GFW Tag Titles next week. Texano did a smooth roll into a reverse figure four on Johnny Impact. Impact rolled to the ropes to earn a rope break. Texano hit Impact with a body slam. Texano tried to go high risk but was kicked off the top rope. Johnny Impact then hit Texano with an Asai Moonsault. Impact and Texano traded fatigued punches in the center of the ring. Texano used rope momentum to land a strong forearm. Impact used his feet to get a leaping forearm. Texano came back with a forearm. I think Texano called Mundo a puto, but it was censored.
Johnny Impact gained some recovery time after dropkicking Texano to the outside. Impact went for his Asai Moonsault assault again but Texano was wise to it and pulled Impact off. Texano hit a high angle slingshot Senton on Impact. Texano hit Impact with some chop clotheslines. Impact lifted and crotched Texano on the top rope. Johnny Mundo hit Texano with a flying Chuck kick. Texano tried to get a rollup. Texano caught Impact with a boot. Impact placed Texano on the second rope and hit an innovative baseball slide German Suplex on The Texan. Johnny Impact hit The Texan with Starship Pain to pick up the victory.
Johnny Impact defeated El Texano Jr. via pinfall in 10:00 of TV time to retain his GFW Global Title shot.
They showed clips of Johnny Impact’s Starship Pain in their “G-Motion” filter. Jeremy Borash then hyped up Eli Drake vs. someone in a Triple A ring in Irapuato, Mexico… [C]
John’s Thoughts: Even though there was some shoddy booking that led up to that Texano vs. Johnny Impact match, the match was fun. As I said in my previous thoughts, Texano is really good in the ring and what Impact Wrestling has to do if they are going to utilize him more frequently is hide his microphone weaknesses and spotlight his strength which is is in ring work. Texano does a strong job getting either a heel or babyface reaction from the crowd between the bell. Johnny Impact continues to showcase why he’s one of the most innovative and fun wrestlers to watch.
Laurel Van Ness was shown in the crowd. She was dressed normally but had makeup spread all over her jaw. She acted crazy and was sitting on people in the audience. She also acted crazy. Borash said he’s assuming that she’s looking for a husband. Borash then transitioned to talking about the huge brawl between the women from earlier on…
Taya Valkyrie, Taryn Terrell, and Sienna entered Jim Cornette’s office, but instead of Cornette being there, Karen Jarrett was filing some papers in a bright neon folder. Sienna demanded a trios match with her team against Rosemary, Allie, and Gail Kim for next week. Karen Jarrett said the tables have turned. Karen said she will enjoy watching the three of them get their asses beat. Karen then granted the trio their match and yelled at them to get out. Sienna told Taryn and Taya to stay out of her way. Taya bodied up Sienna for a bit to show they weren’t on the same page. Then they all walked off…
Jeremy Borash and Josh Mathews were shown in their dark commentary room. Josh recapped the last knockouts segment. Borash then cut to a AAA feed. JB went over some quick facts about Drake’s opponent, who was named Bronce. Borash said Bronce is the youngest member of the AAA roster and an up-and-comer. Borash said Bronce has been wrestling since the age of 11. Josh joked that there are no labor laws in Mexico.
6. Eli Drake vs. Bronce for the GFW Global Championship. Instead of a bell, AAA used a horn. Bronce went for a handshake but Drake went for a test of strength. Drake mocked Bronce by reaching taller than Bronce could reach. Bronce then retaliated against Drake but Drake ran through him. Drake went for a rainmaker but Bronce countered. Drake caught Bronce but Bronce eluded Drake and kicked him onto the second rope. Bronce kicked Drake off the rope.
Drake continued to use his power to his advantage but Bronce obtained minimal damage due to solid evasion technique. Bronce gained the first pin attempt by blocking a Drake neckbreaker. Drake blocked a huracanrana and hit Bronce with a buckle bomb. Drake did his E-li Drake catchphrase and then put the boots to Bronce. Josh Mathews said Bronce rhymes with Pierce Brosnan which he used to segue to a plug for the Thomas Crown Affair movie airing after Impact on Pop. Drake gave Bronce a elbow strike on the apron.
Bronce tried to make a comeback with forearm. Drake hit a nice popup reverse power slam. Drake chopped Bronce from the camel clutch position. Bronce hit Drake with a huracanrana. In a smooth transition, Drake blocked a huracanrana right into Gravy Train position. Eli Drake hit Bronce with the Gravy Train to pick up the win.
Eli Drake defeated Bronce via pinfall in 4:33 to retain the GFW Global Championship.
Josh Mathews and Jeremy Borash hyped up the huge main event for next week between Johnny Impact and Eli Drake. Drake circled the ring and held his title up in the air. After that, a Victory Road hype video package aired with Jim Cornette, Petey Williams, Konnan, and Johnny Impact hyping up Victory Road…
John’s Thoughts: The match was pretty basic. It’s good that Drake got to look good and Bronce did some nice lucha things. What was a huge upgrade over past non-Impact footage is the fact that we got an actual match as opposed to the usual Jeremy Borash/Jeff Hardy music video format that we got in the Hardy expedition for gold and Crash promotion footage. Here’s hoping they minimize the music video highlights and we get more of this type for the bigger matches.
This was a refreshing show to watch after weeks of shaky Impacts. There were nitpicks here and there but that’s all they really were. We got some solid in-ring action tonight with Johnny Impact having two strong matches on the show. El Texano had to take the loss but at least he had a good showing in his Impact Wrestling debut. Impact Wrestling had a good night as far as video packages were concerned. Another nice thread woven throughout this show is the women’s division getting a bit of the spotlight. This was a fun and non-offensive show to watch and I would say to check it out. Let’s see if Jason Powell finds this show as solid as I did when he comes by later today with the Impact Wrestling Hit List and Audio Review…
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