11/9 Moore’s Impact Wrestling TV Review: First show after Bound For Glory, Johnny Impact’s search for Alberto El Patron, Eddie Edwards vs. El Hijo Del Fantasma for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, Sonjay Dutt vs. Matt Sydal, OVE in action

By John Moore

Impact Wrestling on PopTV
Taped November 6, 2017 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada at the Aberdeen Pavilion

Right after the Impact signature played, we were taken straight to the Aberdeen Pavilion where Josh Mathews and Jeremy Borash were in the center of the ring instead of their dark commentary room. Borash talked about how this was a historic broadcast as Impact emanates from the capital of Canada, Ottawa. Josh then ran through the card which included a one-on-one X Division match (thank goodness…), Sonjay Dutt vs. Matt Sydal. The graphic then said Eli Drake was in the Impact Zone (we’re still calling this the Impact Zone?). Borash talked about history being made tonight with the GHC Heavyweight Championship being defended in North America for the first time between El Hijo Del Fantasma and Eddie Edwards. Borash talked about Johnny Impact being in the arena tonight to respond to being screwed by Alberto El Patron. They cut to a Bound for Glory video package. A BFG highlight package aired with epic trailer music…

Back to the Impact Zone, Eli Drake made his entrance. The video wall had an image of his belts. The belts are still the GFW Belts just with a giant “Impact” parallelogram sticker slapped on it, it seems. Chris Adonis was with Drake. Josh Mathews talked about how Alberto El Patron ruined the main event of Bound for Glory (which rings true in a shoot and kayfabe sense). Eli Drake received a mixed reaction. Chris Adonis said he wants everyone to sit down, shut their mouths, and to show respect for Chris Adonis. Adonis said to also show respect to the “one man revolution”, Canada’s favorite wrestler (which drew some cheers), the defiant one, and the guy who didn’t get help from anybody to be the Impact Global Heavyweight Champion, E…li…Drake.

John’s Thoughts: I like the return of the “Heavyweight” part of the title, but the Global part isn’t great since the TNA/Impact “Global Champion” was what Eric Young changed the name of Booker T’s Red Belt to when he won it as “World Elite” Eric Young. It also alludes to Global Force. Didn’t Lashley throw that belt in the trash last year?

The camera cut to anti-Eli Drake signs in the crowd. Drake told everyone to quiet and it was time to talk to ya. Drake said everything went exactly as he said it would and he called a home run like Babe Ruth did. Drake said people didn’t think he’d come out as champion. He called everyone a dummy. Drake said Johnny Impact has it in his head that he was prepared to take on Drake. Drake talked about how people told Morrison the wrong damn story. Drake he’s the namer of dummies, the man with undeniable kavorka, and a perpetual motion machine of badassery called E..li..Drake. Drake said everything was perfect except Alberto El Patron who wanted to stick his nose in here and put his mark on the title. Drake said all Patron did was put Drake’s mark on the title by shedding Drake’s blood. In the latest “Only In TNA” moment, the ringside camera decided to zoom in on the plates of the Championship which still have the giant “GFW” logos on it.

John’s Thoughts: Wait? This promo has been good so far but I have to crack up with the fact that they slapped a giant sticker to cover the central Global Force part, only to draw attention to the fact that this is still a Global Force title with Global Force logos all over the title. Only in TNA in a stupid, yet funny way!

Drake told people to check out his stitches on twitter. Drake said Alberto argues about being mistreated by the company. Drake said he hasn’t been mistreated until he’s been mistreated by Eli Drake. Drake said given his injuries the Impact management gave him the night off. Drake said the reason is there are no title contenders so the people backstage have to throw poop on the walls to find a new challenger. Drake said it may only be DOO DOO because that’s all they’re going to find against Eli Drake. Drake then said he didn’t want to stay in Canada anyway.

Suddenly the Canadian National Anthem instrumental started playing as Canadian Destroyer Petey Williams made his entrance. Williams came out dressed in literally a Canadian flag and Canadian ring gear. Jeremy Borash talked about how great it was for Petey Williams to stand up for the country of Canada. Williams said he isn’t here to stop Drake from leaving since nobody wants him here anyways. Williams then told Drake that Drake hasn’t beaten everybody since he hasn’t beaten Williams. Williams said he’s the two time X Division Champ, the man, the move, the Canadian Destroyer. Williams said he’s never won the Global Championship and wants a title shot right here right now in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Williams got the hometown pop.

Drake teased a championship match but then said not tonight. Drake said maybe next week but he has the night off. Williams said he didn’t give Drake the night off and he marched to the ring. Chris Adonis tried to run defense but only ate the boot of Williams. Drake mounted punches on Williams who was entering the ring. Williams did a head-scissors reversal into a side Russian legsweep. Williams was about to hit a Destroyer but Adonis pulled Drake out in retreat. They then showed a car speeding into the parking lot. It was Johnny Impact.. [C]

John’s Thoughts: Strong promo segment as usual by Eli Drake and it’s great that he’s been given consistent time to cut promos and establish his persona to the Impact audience. While I have positive feelings with the segment, I have mixed feelings about Petey Williams as the next World Title challenger. I like the matchup because it’s fresh and Williams is a spectacular wrestler. I don’t like that there was no pivot of him away from the X Division and no build to an encounter with Drake. I’m also not sure how I feel of what is essentially a “Captain Canada” persona, literally dressed in a Canadian flag. I like that it gives him a strong cheap pop, but it’s overall esoteric. I wonder if this will captivate United States viewers in the long run since it’s region specific. I get doing a “Captain America” thing in America, but are we going full-on Canada company here?

They showed Eli Drake tossing the Canadian flag before the break. Borash announced that Eli Drake will defend his title against Petey Williams next week on Impact. Borash and Mathews were at their commentary table at ringside. Jimmy Jacobs joined the commentary team. He said he was there to take a selfie with Josh Mathews. Borash talked about how it wasn’t the right time to discuss things since they have to call a match. Jimmy Jacobs treated himself to a seat at the commentary table. Borash asked Jimmy Jacobs if he was joining the X Division. Jacobs rambled and brushed off Borash…

1. Sonjay Dutt vs. “Reborn” Matt Sydal. Sydal bowed down to Dutt and Dutt shook Sydal’s hand. Borah reminded viewers that you could watch Impact content on the free GWN app with freemium content. Mathews then talked to Jimmy Jacobs and asked why he was in Impact. Jacobs continued to deflect answering questions. Sydal locked down Dutt with a headlock into an armbar. Dutt used the head-scissors. to escape the armbar. Jacobs joked about being called “unprofessional” and told Borash and Mathews to grow up. Josh Mathews mocked Jacobs’ silver fingernail polish. Jacobs said they call him “princess” because he always gets what he wants.

Jacobs told the commentators to pay attention to the match. Sydal used a side headlock takedown on Dutt. Dutt made it too his feet. Dutt slipped away and hit Sydal with a huracanrana. Dutt got a side armbar takedown on Sydal. Jacobs said they should be paying attention to him so he decided to walk away. Dutt hit another huracanrana on Sydal. Sydal tripped up Dutt and hit a standing Shooting Star. Dutt tried to hit a few low kicks on Sydal. Dutt used a dragon screw legwhip on Dutt. Sydal yelled “namaste” and he locked in a Muta Lock on Dutt.

Mathews talked about how Sydal was a Yoga practitioner. Sydal got a half crab locked in on Dutt. Dutt made it to the ropes for a rope break. Sydal used the ropes to torque on the leg of Dutt. Sydal went for La Magistral cradle and Dutt kicked out. Dutt shoved Sydal away and hit Sydal with a nice rolling front dropkick. Dutt countered a kick into a huracanrana. Sydal hit Dutt with a side facebuster to get a two count. Sydal went to the top rope and ate a jumping fist from Dutt. After trading punches, Dutt hit a superplex on Sydal from the top rope. [C]

Dutt and Sydal traded low roundhouse kicks. Dutt hit a front kick. Sydal scrapped Dutt with an axe kick to the chest. Sydal ducked a Dutt kick and rolled into a Rolling Sobat kick which led to a nearfall. Sydal hit Dutt with a side Russian Legsweep and a nice modified ankle lock/half crab hybrid. Dutt made it to the bottom rope for the rope break. Sydal chased Dutt outside and slammed Dutt’s ankle on the barricade to continue to work on the ankle. Dutt made it to his feet limping. Dutt managed to hit Sydal with an enziguri and tornado DDT. Dutt struggled to get to the top rope. Sydal recovered and hit a modified package piledriver on Dutt. Sydal hit Dutt with Air Bourne for the pinfall win.

Matt Sydal defeated Sonjay Dutt via pinfall in 10:37 of TV Time.

Borash talked about how Sydal must be at the top of the X Division rankings after that win. Suddenly, Ethan Carter III made his entrance. Carter had a microphone. EC3 received a favorable reaction. He told the crowd that they should chant to Matt Sydal because he’s here to celebrate another Sydal win. EC3 then sarcastically cheered Sydal. EC3 said that’s what Sydal does, he wins. EC3 said when the lights are brightest and the moment is big, he comes up a little short.

EC3 said Sydal came to this company undefeated and he beat the unbeatable Bobby Lashley to become contender to the championship. EC3 pantomimed choking in saying that Sydal choked. EC3 talked about how Sydal also choked at Bound for Glory in his X title match. EC3 said Sydal has talent unlike the cavalcade of losers that come back to this company. EC3 said Sydal has it all but he’s missing something, a killer instinct. EC3 said EC3 has the killer instinct and he’s the guy pound for pound the best guy here there and everywhere. EC3 said he’s the grandest champion of the company and he’s the top one percent of the industry. EC3 said he’s a killer and Sydal is a “nice guy”. EC3 said maybe in another life, Sydal could have been reborn as a winner. They then cut to Johnny Impact backstage “on a rampage”… [C]

John’s Thoughts: I’m glad we’re back to singles matches in the X Division and hope this remains the norm. The wrestlers are allowed to tell stories as opposed to performing as glorified circus monkeys doing flips. The Jacobs stuff was purposefully distracting but it was quick and painless as opposed to Laurel Van Ness being the focal point at Bound for Glory. Dutt and Sydal also showed that they were solid veterans in that they relied on telling a story in the ring with minimal use of high spots. I’m also intrigued to see where they go with the pending Sydal and EC3 feud and hope that creative does something meaningful with it.

Borash talked about how great it was to be broadcasting internationally. They then cut to an ad for the Global Wrestling Network. Mathews talked about going deep into the vault and they were going to show us a match between Hector Garza, Amazing Red, and Sonjay Dutt against Team Canada.

Extra Match: Hector Garza, Amazing Red, and Sonjay Dutt vs. Eric Young, Bobby Roode, and Petey Williams (w/ Scott D’Amore). Williams was working heel and he did a side Russian Legsweep to Red. Williams distracted the ref so D’Amore could get a cheap shot on Red. Williams locked in a reverse chinlock as the crowd tried to rally Red. A younger Bobby Roode tagged in and put the boots to Red and hit him with a suplex. Don West talked about how this PPV back in the day cost $9.95. West talked about how great it was not to pay $30 or $40 for a PPV.

John’s Thoughts: If TNA PPV’s that were decent back then cost $9.95 then why do I have to pay $40 for a (creatively) half-assed PPV in 2017? What a gyp!

Roode and Williams double teamed Red after Garza tried to even up the odds. Red hit both Eric Young and Roode with a huracanrana and DDT combo. Garza made the hot tag and hit Williams with a side slam. Roode hit Garza with a sitout powerbomb. Dutt hit Roode with a senton huracanrana. Young hit a Wheelbarrow DDT. Red hit Young with the Code Red for a nearfall. Williams countered with his modified Code Red, the Canadian Destroyer. Garza came in and kicked Williams. Garza hit a backtoss on Williams. Roode went for a Razor’s edge on Dutt but Dutt countered into a huracanrana. Hector Garza hit Roode with a corkscrew moonsault for the victory.

Hector Garza, Amazing Red, and Sonjay Dutt defeated Eric Young, Petey Williams, and Bobby Roode via pinfall.

John’s Thoughts: Smart decision to give preview content of past TNA events which you can find on Impact’s GWN. I still feel the service is not worth the subscription price in comparison to other streaming apps of the same genre. In fact, I still herald that the Pluto TV app is the better of the two Impact Wrestling apps. Pluto is free, it doesn’t contain a lot of the TNA crap you get from TNA since they pick greatest hits, and it works on Chromecast/Roku/Streaming TVs.

El Hijo Del Fantasma made his entrance. Eddie Edwards followed… [C]

Back from break, you had the Noah executive person, Jeremy Borash, and the referee in the center of the ring. Borash handled the ring introductions and treated this like a legit World Championship match. Borash introduced Noah executive director, Masayuki Uchida, who presented the title belt…

John’s Thoughts: Nice! I like the nice touch of them treating the GHC Heavyweight Championship with respect and admiration. I don’t remember 100 percent, but I could swear that Impact didn’t even do formal ring introductions for their own Global Title match at Bound For Glory. That aside, I hope they give these guys time. Edwards has good matches against anyone, even bad wresters. I’ve watched Fantasma wrestle in person and I’m really high on his ability. Fantasma is a hidden gem in the industry. Here’s hoping for some mean ass horizontal suicide dives.

2. Eddie Edwards vs. El Hijo Del Fantasma for the Global Honored Crown (GHC) Heavyweight Championship. Josh Mathews said this match is contested under “Noah rules” which means there’s a 60-minute time limit. Fantasma and Edwards shared handshake to start. Josh Mathews recapped how Fantasma hit The Thrill of the Kill on Edwards on the ring apron at Bound for Glory. Fantasma and Edwards traded hammerlocks. The two wrestlers had a traditional stalemate after a chain wrestling sequence. Fantasma caught Edwards with a back elbow. Edwards hit Fantasma with a belly to belly. Edwards chopped Fantasma in the corner.

Fantasma flipped out of the corner and hit a tilt a whirl backbreaker on Edwards. Fantasma locked in a armbar on Edwards. Fantasma grounded Edwards with a dropkick. Fantasma ran into a few boots but he adjusted and tried to victory roll Edwards. Fantasma caught Edwards with a few knees. Fantasma hit Edwards with a frankensteiner. Fantasma was staggered on the top rope by an Edwards kick. Edwards hit Fantasma with a superplex. Edwards caught Fantasma with a Blue Thunder Bomb to get a nearfall. Fantasma hit a few huracanranas on Edwards and caught Edwards with a knee.

Fantasma went for his Arrow from the Depths of Hell but he ran into a Edwards kick. The commentators pointed out that Edwards tried to return the favor on Fantasma on the apron. Edwards caught Fantasma with a kick after Fantasma escaped a Tiger Driver. Edwards hit one of his signature Suicide Dives. Josh Mathews pointed out that under “Noah Rules” there is a twenty count instead of a ten. Mean-ass suicide dive #2, after a replay, King Cuerno/Fantasma hit his Arrow from the Depths of Hell dive.

John’s Thoughts: I know that the commentators and I hype up this suicide dive so much, but it’s so fun to see in-person. The guy moves so fast that he looks like a red (or in this case purple) blur in the air. Best suicide dive in the biz.

Edwards went for another Tiger Driver but Fantasma countered with a victory roll. Fantasma ran right into an Edwards Lariat. Edwards finally hit a Tiger Driver on Fantasma. Fantasma blocked the Shining Wizard with a single leg dropkick. Fantasma caught Edwards with a kick. Edwards sidestepped Fantasma and hit the Boston Knee Party. Edwards then finished Fantasma off with a (botched) Die Hard Flowsion.

Eddie Edwards defeated El Hijo Del Fantasma via pinfall in 9:56 to retain the GHC Heavyweight Championship.

Edward and Fantasma shook hands afterward and Fantasma held up Eddie’s hand in victory after the match. They then cut to a random black and white hand camera where Ohio Vs. Everything Sami Callahan, Dave Crist, and Jake Crist were shown from an undisclosed location. The Crist Brothers had their Halloween masks on. Callihan did his thumbs up and down hand sign.

John’s Thoughts: The finish looked botched, but I may be wrong on that given the camera angle. Edwards makes the Emerald Flowsion a bit complicated. Anyways, a fun match as expected given that Edwards rarely puts in a bad match. If you going in knowing that Fantasma isn’t your typical high-flying luchador, you would know that he’s capable of these high workrate encounters. Good world title match, so much that the GHC Championship already seems more prestigious than the GFW Championship (Yes, I said GFW since there are still GFW logos on the belt. Maybe Impact needs more metal stickers).

A highlight package aired of Moose and Stephan Bonnar vs. King Mo and Lashley. There were some enhancement wrestlers in the ring. OVE made their entrance. Borash talked about how Sami Callihan has changed the game everywhere he’s appeared. Josh Mathews said Sami Callihan started wrestling at Heartland Wrestling in Cincinnati, Ohio.

3. Sami Callihan, Dave Crist, and Jake Crist vs. Phil Atlas, Marcus Burke, and Ray Steele. Callihan gave the first guy a pump kick. He wasn’t Atlas since Atlas had Atlas written on his tights in the corner. That was Burke according to Mathews. Steele tagged in and ate a clothesline. Callihan isolated Steele in his corner and the trio hit a triple kick on the dud. Dave Crist hit a twisting neckbreaker on Steele. Atlas tagged in.

Atlas managed to get a few strikes in on Dave. Sami and Jake ran in to take down Atlas. Dave put Atlas in an Electric Chair position as Callihan lifted Jake up into a cutter to give Dave Crist the victory.

Sami Callihan, Dave Crist, and Jake Crist defeated Phil Atlas, Marcus Burke, and Ray Steele via pinfall in 1:54.

Sami and Jake did the thumbs down hand sign on the top rope. Their celebration was cut off by LAX’s entrance theme. Konnan, Santana, and Ortiz made their entrance from the crowd. Borash asked in regards to Homicide “where is he?” which means he’s going to show up behind OVE. Surely enough, Homicide blindsided OVE to give LAX the numbers advantage. Santana hit Sami Callihan with a cutter. Homicide went for the Gringo Killer (vertebreaker) but Sami rolled away and spat in the direction of LAX. LAX celebrated in front of an excited crowd…

John’s Thoughts: Wow! Inject some Sami Callihan and finally the Crist Brothers have a cool factor to them. It helps that Sami’s wearing his Jeremiah Crane gear as opposed to that odd singlet he wore as Sami Callihan. OVE don’t come off as dorks anymore. What added to that is they stopped asking the crowd to chant their stupid tag team name, and they finally beat up enhancement wrestlers without selling. Good to see Homicide finally back and not “selling LAX beer” as was the explanation for his absence. Hopefully he can wrestle since for some reason he’s had less contact on LAX’s opponents than non-wrestler Konnan. Now that the Ohio guys are cool and heels, a trios feud between them and LAX can be really fun to watch. I can’t wait.

McKenzie Mitchell interviewed “Global Forged” winner Hakim Zane. Hakim Zane started to cut a bad promo until he was run over by a running Johnny Impact (LOL! Take that Global Forged!!!). Morrison told McKenzie that he was sorry and he threw his glasses at the knocked out Zane. Morrison grabbed the camera and asked for Alberto. He said he didn’t come back for a wrestling match, he came back for what Alberto did, he came back for blood. He said he wasn’t leaving until he finds Alberto. They showed a camera with Allie getting ready for a match at Border City Wrestling…

John’s Thoughts: That must have been some in joke as to how much that Global Forge thing sucked. Moving along, Johnny was good there. He is a terrible promo when having to cut a traditional wrestling promo and I liked what WWE did when he was less talk and more action in his feud against Ron Killings. We saw some of that in that last segment and he came off as less cheesy. Best of all, he’s not going to take Alberto to Slam Town.

They showed the Pluto TV rewind of the week. It was Roddy Piper using a fire extinguisher on Chris Rose from the Best Damn Sports Show Period, back when TNA was on Fox Sports Net…

4. Allie vs. KC Spinelli from Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Allie tried to go for a handshake but Spinelli slapped the hand away to draw heat. Spinelli slammed Allie on the ground with a belly to back. Spinelli did a snapmare into a headlock. Allie stood up and did her pouty face. Spinelli shoved Allie. Allie came back with forearms. Spinelli punched Allie down low and took Allie down. Borash talked about how Impact had matches which were all from Canada in this episode. Josh Mathews talked about how Canadian Bacon is just called bacon in Canada. Mathews and Borash then came to the conclusion that they both love Poutine (gravy, cheese curds, and french fries).

Spinelli dominated Allie. Allie fired up and hit an elbow on Spinelli. Spinelli hid behind the ropes and took over the match again. Spinelli tossed around Allie with the hair. Allie reversed Spinelli and dropkicked her butt which sent Spinelli into the turnbuckle. Spinelli returned the favor with a neckbreaker. Spinelli came back with some back elbows. Allie ducked another elbow and took down Spinelli with some clotheslines. Allie gave Spinelli some running low elbows.

Spinelli came back at Allie with a fisherman buster. Allie gave Spinelli a kick and codebreaker for a nearfall. Spinelli came back at Allie with a rolling elbow. Spinelli started yelling while adjusting her attire. Spinelli missed a moonsault. Allie hit Spinelli with a Death Valley Driver for the win.

Allie defeated KC Spinelli via pinfall in 7:10.

Allie gave the referee a hug after the match…

John’s Thoughts: It’s a bit odd to see “rookie wrestler” Allie (gimmick-wise) have a high workrate match, but at least she tried to keep up the timid facial expressions. That was a well worked match. I am still not a fan of the non-Impact footage. I thought we were past this BS. Did they somehow run out of footage already and now they are trying to stretch out material again? I’m kidding, I’m kidding.

Alberto El Patron was shown walking around in the streets of Canada. Alberto wore a red tracksuit. The cameraman told Patron that Johnny Impact was looking for him. El Patron said he’s Alberto El Patron and he’s going to kick Johnny’s tresero (ass) so Johnny better be careful what he wishes for, perro… [C]

Allie was shown fangirling over being in the ring with Gail Kim. Allie said she hears that Gail Kim has a huge announcement next week. She said she hopes it isn’t bad. She said Gail isn’t retiring right? Allie said she’s excited to hear what Gail Kim has to say. Back at the Impact Zone, the commentators ran over next week’s card. Josh Mathews talked about American Top Team and Lashley returning next week. Josh talked about Petey Williams vs. Eli Drake for the Global Championship. They then hyped LAX vs. OVE in a trios match…

They cut to McKenzie Mitchell who wanted to ask Alberto El Patron about Johnny Impact. Alberto said “Johnny who?”. Right after Alberto said that, Morrison flew in his direction like a missile and through some curtains. Johnny and Alberto brawled. Alberto threw Johnny into tables. They brawled in the back. Johnny fell into and randomly beat up Braxton Sutter. Johnny and Alberto teamed up to beat up Braxton Sutter and Caleb Konley for a little bit. Johnny and Alberto went back to brawling. Braxton Sutter and Caleb Konley then brawled out of the scene. (that was random, and Sutter lives!!!)

Alberto hit Johnny in the back of the head with a trash can. Johnny and Alberto brawled into the streets of Canada. Johnny focused on calculated punches across the face of Alberto. Johnny then hit Alberto with a (protected) trash can shot to the head. Some cursing was bleeped. Alberto turned the tide and shoved Johnny’s head into a container outside. Alberto whispered into Johnny’s head that “that’s not your title, that’s mine”. Alberto and Johnny then tried to fight off the “security” guys. After fighting off the security, Johnny Impact locked in a rear naked choke which turned Alberto purple. Johnny and Alberto continued to brawl. Alberto escaped a choke by pulling Johnny’s long hair. Alberto tried to fight Johnny off with a slippery floor sign. Alberto tossed Johnny into a restroom. Alberto tried to climb a ladder for some reason, probably to try to escape on some roof.

Alberto tried to kick a ladder at Johnny and walked away. Johnny used his parkour to climb on top of the roof without a ladder. They Alberto was hanging off a roof until Johnny kicked him off. Johnny then hit a high crossbody from the top of the roof. [C]

John’s Thoughts: Aside from the hilarious and random Caleb Konley and Braxton Sutter sighting, that was very cool and something we don’t see on Impact often. We haven’t seen Johnny Impact like this in a long time and this reminds me of when he added more of an edge to him in that feud against Ron Killings on his way out of WWE. This type of Johnny is the type of Johnny that we also should have gotten at the end of Lucha Underground season 3 where they faltered with him vs. Prince Puma.

Alberto had the upper hand over Johnny back from the break. They then camera cut and Johnny turned the tide and fought to the Gorilla Position. Johnny and Alberto brawled to the Impact Zone. Alberto threw Johnny into the metal stairs. The indy security guards walked in. They cut to an edited El Patron promo. El Patron talked about how he owns this place and this is his company. Alberto told the security that he signs their checks. Alberto told the security if they want to get paid tonight they have to stop that crazy guy Johnny. El Patron said he doesn’t have the title because the people in the back screwed him. Alberto asked Johnny to enter the ring so they can have a fight. Johnny entered the ring.

Alberto teased entering the ring and then pulled back to boos. Johnny grabbed the mic and said Alberto calls himself the pride of Mexico, but he’s not even the pride of his own father. That pissed Alberto off and Alberto stormed the ring. The security guys tried to hold both men back. Alberto fought the security off and got a cheap shot to the gut of Johnny and gave him two consecutive DDTs. Alberto told the security that if they want to get paid tonight then they should get out of here. Alberto clotheslined the security and gave Johnny a Cross Armbreaker on the ropes. The referees ran out to break off Alberto. Johnny sold an arm injury in the ring as Impact closed with Alberto whiping his sweat on the Impact Wrestling logo…

John’s Thoughts: That was one of the better Impact Wrestling segments that we’ve seen in a while, especially after that horrid last set of tapings at Orlando. My favorite part was the different type of fighting used and it seemed a bit more real. Good job by Johnny and Alberto for putting on a good brawl.

Moving on to Alberto, I’m still not high on them using him in the position he’s in since he’s more trouble than he’s worth. Are they going with him somehow legally owning some stake in the company via a storyline or something? Anyway, Alberto’s fine, but he’s a risk. Trying to make his domestic violence issues a worked shoot is a slippery slope as well. I can’t help but think that Bobby Lashley should have been put in this position. Lashley’s equally badass. Plus, you can count on him to put on a great promo without ranting.

As for this episode, there were a few nits here and there; but overall, this was a fun episode and I’ve haven’t said that about this show in what seems like forever. It might be relative and based on this show’s low standards, but we saw minimal BS here. In fact, this show was way better than Bound for Glory, and you didn’t have to pay for it. There were good matches, good stories, the babyfaces looked strong while the heels didn’t look like scrubs. The best part is we got a world championship match that was treated with respect and without outside TNA shenanigans. Make sure to check out Jason Powell’s Impact Wrestling Hit List and his members’ exclusive audio review to see if his thoughts differ from mine.