10/25 Moore’s Impact Wrestling TV Review: Johnny Impact vs. Rey Fenix for the Impact World Championship, Kiera Hogan vs. Su Yung, Gama Singh vs. Rohit Raju, Trevor Lee vs. Sami Callihan

By John Moore, Prowrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)

Impact Wrestling on PopTV
Taped October 15-16 in New York City, New York at the Melrose Ballroom

A recap video package aired of last week’s Impact Wrestling show followed by the Impact intro theme…

Josh Mathews and Don Callis were on commentary. Josh Mathews said that viewers should text their friends since Johnny Impact is wrestling Fenix in New York City…

Impact started off with Scarlett Bordeaux doing a stripper dance on the entrance ramp for a few fans in the front row. Josh Mathews said Scarlett wasn’t on the run sheet. Don Callis said Scarlett’s on his run sheet. Josh reminded viewers that Scarlett’s talent search was open to the general public. Scarlett hung around the ring for the upcoming entrances.

Trevor Lee made his entrance and actually played things straight. The Ohio trio of Sami Callihan, Jake Crist, and Dave Crist made their entrance next. Dave Crist bent over the ring ropes for an extended period of time to get some extra stare in on Scarlett’s cleavage. Sami pulled Dave away, so he could do their OVE entrance routine. Scarlett took a seat at some sort of Ikea custom looking chair at the entrance stage…

John’s Thoughts: It’s cool that Trevor Lee playing it straight, but we have been burned before with teases of “real” Trevor Lee pushes, so I won’t hold my breath. Fingers crossed that they finally do right by this blue chipper? Even Impact’s best creative regime ever, Dave Lagana and Matt Conway, did this gem wrong.

1. Trevor Lee vs. Sami Callihan (w/Jake Crist, Dave Crist). Sami blindsided Trevor before the bell, which for some reason in Impact means it’s time to ring the bell (Impact really needs to hire a QA manager to point out and extricate some of the dumb s*it they do. Don Callis seems good for that job. Give him a pay bump). Sami stomped a mudhole in Trevor in the corner. Sami went for a series of corner splashes, but Trevor caught Sami by surprise with a darting dropkick. Trevor used some shootfighting techniques on Sami in the corner. Sami regained control with the help of Jake tripping Trevor.

Sami hocked a loogie in his hand so he could slap Trevor in the chest. Josh said that Sami gets fined by Impact a lot but it doesn’t hurt him because Sami could get his cult followers in Ohio to donate money to cover the fine. Trevor and Sami traded CQC moves. Sami reversed Trevor’s Sunset Flip into a DVD. Josh noted that Sami runs an independent promotion called Rockstar Pro in Ohio. Trevor made it to a vertical base during a Sami headlock. The camera focused on Dave Crist being infatuated by Scarlett.

Sami hit Trevor with a draping Cross Rhodes. Callis noted that Callihan wanted to send a message to Cage. Callihan got distracted by Dave being distracted by Scarlett. Lee caught Callihan with his innovative crossbody powerslam. Callis said that Dave was being a “prevert”. Scarlett left the stage. Lee hulked up and knocked Jake from the apron. Lee hit Jake with an impressive top rope Triangle Moonsault. Lee hit Callihan with a standing double stomp. Jake tripped Lee off the top rope while Sami distracted the referee. Callihan hit Lee with a pile driver for the victory.

Sami Callihan defeated Trevor Lee via pinfall in 10:41.

Dave was selling being tripped off the apron. Brian Cage made his entrance during the post-match. Jake went for a flip dive but was caught by cage before he could get lift. Cage Jackknife Bombed Jake on Dave. Callis said that Cage looked jacked. Callihan tried to hit Cage with a bat but Cage stole the bat from Callihan. Cage taunted Callihan by calmly giving him the bat back. Cage said give me your best shot. Cage ducked the bat shot and gave Callihan an F5 (Thank God! In LU when he did that he would no sell pipe shots to the head). Jake and Dave pulled Callihan away to prevent Cage form hitting Sami with a Drill Claw. The Crist Brothers pulled Sami into retreat…

John’s Thoughts: In all honesty, that might have been Trevor Lee’s best showing in Impact Wrestling in his three years in this company. This was also probably his best showing since a match he had against Bobby Lashley, Eddie Edwards, and Drew Galloway. I remember this match exactly because ever since then he’s been treated as an incompetent and cornball redneck stereotype. It’s going to be tough because Lee’s been damaged so much to the point where you ask yourself is this worth it. Hopefully they finally get it right with this guy. As for OVE, why are these guys being made to look so weak in 3-on-1 situations with Cage? I know Sami picked up the protected win over Cage, but it’s been two weeks where Cage has dominated the supposed powerhouse trio.

Eddie Kingston was backstage ranting and hollering about the old men mob bosses ordering the OGz not to touch Konnan and “The boys” (The young LAX duo). Kingston talked about how embarrassed he felt. Homicide reminded Kingston that the bosses said that they can’t touch Konnan. Kingston said he knows and it’s time to reload and regroup. Kingston calmed down when a light bulb flashed in his head. He said he got something and found a way that they can attack Konnan (indirectly?)… [c]

Gama Singh was doing resistance band bicep curls while Rohit Raju was massaging Gama’s back. Rohit asked Gama how this is supposed to prepare Rohit for fighting against Gama. Gama yelled not to question him. Gama said it’s the ultimate test, to fight “The Great Gama Singh”. Gama asked Rohit if he was ready. Rohit said he was ready with a solemn tone…

Josh Mathews and Don Callis checked in from the upper deck of the Melrose Ballroom. Callis said that Gama calls his knockout right-hand punch, “The Greetings from Mumbai”. Josh ran through the upcoming matches on the show. For some reason Kiera Hogan is wrestling Su Yung again (so the Kiera character wants to kayfabe die again? Alright.). Josh said he likes “Psycho Rabbit” Allie. Callis and Mathews were interrupted by Eli Drake. Callis tried to send Drake to the back since Drake is suing the company. Drake told Callis not to make things personal which implied that he was threatening physical harm on Callis. Callis took off his headset and cowered away saying that Drake should do commentary…

Some random team called The New Heavenly Bodies showed up (I think this was that team that Jeff Jarrett was really high on when he first rolled out Global Force Wrestling). They came out to the same generic entrance music that Impact gave La Parka. Josh Mathews said you can see these guys wrestle on Impact’s twitch specials. Josh Mathews reminded viewers of Kingston’s claim that he can get to Konnan earlier. Josh asked Drake why he was suing Impact? Drake said that it’s due to Impact being an unsafe working environment. Drake also talked about how he defeated LAX earlier this year to become a tag team champion…

2. “The Latin American XChange” Santana and Ortiz (w/Konnan) vs. “The New Heavenly Bodies” Gigolo Justin and Desirable Dustin in a non-title match. Eli Drake said it’s an overarching problem that things are unsafe in Impact. Drake also brought up La Parka using a chair against Drake. LAX isolated one of the bodies with quick tandem offense. The bodies managed to gain an advantage and brawl with LAX on the outside. One guy got a one count on Ortiz. The bodies initiated a methodical isolation sequence on Ortiz. Josh tried to use the bodies to plug the Twitch channel.

Santana managed to get in for the hot tag sequence. Santana hit one guy with a tope dropkick. They then hit the other guy with a Power Bomb death drop and moonsault-leg drop combo. The guy that looks like Dash Wilder broke up a pinfall. After some brawling, LAX hit the Dash Wilder looking guy with the street sweeper for the win.

The Latin American XChange defeated The New Heavenly Bodies via pinfall in 5:54.

Josh asked Drake if he was suing Impact because he was mad at his open challenge backfiring. Drake said he dominated the open challenge and it’s already in the past…

John’s Thoughts: Well that was… a match… Maybe this was supposed to be an ad for their Twitch channel due to Josh constantly bringing it up? Kinda like what WWE was doing with Finn Balor and Jinder Mahal the past few months for the Mixed Match Challenge? Anyway this was well wrestled by LAX as usual but forgettable. So forgettable that Josh Mathews didn’t bother to tell us which Heavenly Body was Justin and which was Dustin. Also, why is Drake just roaming around in Impact for no real reason? He’s not as bad as Jimmy Jacobs was earlier in the year, but he’s getting close.

Tessa Blanchard confronted Taya Valkyrie in the makeup room regarding Taya’s accusations in the past few weeks. Tessa said she doesn’t care about what Taya says or thinks about her. Taya said Tessa must care because she was busting in here like a “chica loca”. Tessa brought up all of Taya’s excuses and reminded Taya that in the end Taya is not the champion. Tessa said she doesn’t need shortcuts. Tessa said she was putting the title on the line next week. Tessa said diamonds are forever. Taya said she’ll see Tessa next Thursday… [c]

John’s Thoughts: They really need to do a video package or something to turn Taya babyface because Tessa comes off as the believable and honorable one in this whole picture. Impact can check out Lucha Underground Season 4 Episode 9 for how LU did this for Johnny and Taya there. Aside from the flawed Taya characterization, at least Tessa is still looking like a star and Taya and Tessa can put on great matches that don’t involve murder, zombies, and finger lasers. But going back, Tessa’s right. Tessa didn’t cheat. The referee just really wanted to make sure the Comda logo was showing. Not to mention, Tessa’s early run in Impact included her getting screwed over due to incompetent referees to Taya just comes off as pissy.

Konnan, Santana, and Ortiz were strolling backstage. They were randomly confronted by Matt Sydal and Ethan Page. Sydal tried to hype Ethan Page while also continuing to advertise his third eye thing. Sydal said he’s not afraid of the Tag Team Champions and not afraid of a legend like Konnan. Konnan said it sounds like Sydal has been consuming the hallucinogenic mushrooms and or the Peyote because that’s what hippie white boys like Sydal like to do these days. Konnan then sarcastically said that Sydal was being a bit gangsta by standing up to LAX. Santana made Sydal flinch. Santana walked away calling Sydal and Page “scrubs”. Ortiz walked away mocking Sydal’s third eye finger point. Konnan said “I thought so”…

John’s Thoughts: Okay, upon Sydal and Page randomly looking like they are about to be the next Tag Team title contenders, I was already writing this upcoming feud as a waste of time due to the makeshift Sydal and Page tag team. After Konnan’s wit shined again, I kinda wanna see this feud last a few weeks if only to have Konnan rip into Sydal’s crappy third eye character like he did here. Remember when Konnan tore the Crist Brothers to shreds due to them being two babyface a-hole dweebs? That led to Impact changing course on the Crist Brothers and I wouldn’t mind seeing Konnan tear Sydal to shreds to redirect his character. Plus, I just get a kick out of Konnan’s genus wit.

McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Moose and Killer Kross about their upcoming match against Fallah Bahh and KM. Moose’s random wardrobe attire of the week was a black jacket that looked two sizes too small for Moose. It kinda looked like a BDSM Gimp jacket. Moose said McKenzie Mitchell looks stunning like usual. Moose talked about putting KM on the shelf for a few weeks while Bahh only speaks gibberish around the locker room. Moose said when they’re done with Bahh, he might actually speak in English. Killer Kross said Heath Ledger’s dog chasing a car line from the Dark Knight. Kross said that Kross is not a car but a freight train of annihilation. Kross said everyone in the business is on this train and the destination is doomsday. Kross said his White Rabbit (his LU wizard character) catchphrase of “Tick Tock”. Moose said “Tick Tock” in a goofy way…

John’s Thoughts: Random thought, why is Killer Kross still teaming up with the goofy, but awesome, Moose character? If I remember correctly, Kross only teamed up with Aries due to Aries paying him to be his personal hitman. Aries is gone. Now they’re just a standard heel tag team cutting heel promos from the ’80s.

A Fenix sit-down interview aired. Pictures of Fenix’s early Lucha Libre career were spliced in the interview. Fenix said when he first put on the mask he felt 100% confident in himself for the first time. Fenix said he felt the explosiveness and passion coming from the Lucha Libre. Fenix said he first wrestled in America for Lucha Underground. Fenix said Konnan has been a huge part of his life (Konnan personally scouted Penta and Fenix and brought them into AAA and LU as top prospects). Fenix said Konnan has been with him and his brother since Fenix was 15. Fenix said he’s willing to admit that Pentagon is “the guy” and the person supporting him.

Fenix said that Pentagon is like his brother, father, and best friend all rolled into one. Fenix said they always look to get better. Fenix started to get emotional in saying that he loves Pentagon and Penta is his hero. Clips of Fenix doing his innovative parkour moves were shown with Josh Mathews and Don Callis sound bites. Fenix said he wants to be the best. Fenix said people believe in him that he’s the best and he’s here to prove that. Fenix said the title was on the line tonight and it’s inside his soul to win it. Fenix said he can’t wait to fight with respect and honor. Fenix said “Sorry Johnny, because Fenix has come here to become ‘the best'”… [c]

John’s Thoughts: Yo! Impact management and WWE, take note of this. Whoever produced this sit-down video package deserves a pay raise, a promotion, and should do all the vignettes for Impact from this day forward just like this. This was the best video package I’ve seen Impact do in a long time. Fenix is a below average live promo, but the advantage of the sit-down interview, as mastered in UFC, is you can make a nervous public speaker look like the best talker in the world because you have edit and retake control to scrub all the bad parts and leave the golden parts. This was great. This also proves my point before BFG that the OVE vs. Team Lucha Underground match was a waste of time because Cage, Pentagon, Fenix, Sami Callihan, and the Crist Brothers as a unit can all be easily positioned in main event pictures and for some reason they were hidden in a throwaway trios match.

Rich Swann and Willie Mack were shown getting s—faced over what looked like Rum and Cokes. Swann saluted to BFG and the BFG after party. Mack saluted to Swann’s good match against Cage. Mack said he really wants Rich Swann to be his first singles opponent on Impact and they can still be homies afterward. Swann liked the idea and said it was time to show Impact what’s up. Swann said it was time to show the world what’s up. Rich Swann wanted to get more cocktails and Mack chugged his so they can go get more…

The Desi Hit Squad theme played as Josh Mathews cut to some clips of Gama Singh in Stampede Wrestling. Mathews said Gama is a former NWA Canadian Champion. Mathews said Gama is legit…

Gama Singh was in the ring to cut one of his boring ass promos for himself this time. He actually put more enthusiasm in his promo for himself (can you blame someone for feeling being in an Impact/TNA ring is not worth it?). Gama said the wrestler he is introducing is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Gama said he’s defeated UK wrestler Marty Jones for the UK Championship, Abdullah the Butcher for the West Indies Heavyweight Championship, Bad News Brown for the All-Africa Heavyweight Championship, Bret Hart in Stampede, Dynamite Kid for a world mid-heavyweight championship, Owen Hart for the commonwealth heavyweight championship, and the list goes on and on. The crowd chanted “Boring”. Gama said this is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, the Great Gama Singh and his opponent was just “Rohit Raju”…

John’s Thoughts: As bad as Gama’s been in his entire Impact run because he always sounds like he’s about to fall asleep while cutting promos, I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that this was hilarious in a Chris Jericho “ARMBAR!!!” sort of way. If he did this every week it would get old quick, but this was great for the moment. Good work, Gama.

3. Gama Singh vs. Rohit Raju. Callis said Gama’s resume is legit and a legend in South Africa. Josh Mathews said Gama is 64 years old. Callis said Gama has shot fire balls. Gama shoved Rohit early on. Gama got a hammerlock on Rohit early on. The crowd chanted “you still got it” because of course they would. Gama then locked a headlock after the collar and elbow. Gama pulled at the hair of Rohit. Rohit complained about Gama’s dirty fighting. Gama poked Rohit in the eye. Rohit then gave some of his slaps to Rohit. Rohit held back Gama’s hand and Don Callis yelled that Rohit was attacking a 64-year-old man. Suddenly a random man in a turban ran in and the ref called for the bell (I didn’t hear a bell).

Rohit Raju defeated Gama Singh via an apparent DQ in 1:50.

The mystery attacker hit Raju with a gutbuster. Gama then pinned Rohit for the faux pinfall that the mystery man counted. A “you deserve it” chant happened. I think they inserted canned boos because there was this weird boo buzzing noise but the crowd looked unreactive aside from the few chanting “you deserve it”. Gama gave Rohit Raju a hug. Josh Mathews wondered if Rohit Raju passed “the ultimate test”…

John’s Thoughts: I did a little bit of research and I think this mystery man might be Gama’s son, Gama Singh Jr. The only pictures online of Gama Jr. are with him and Jinder Mahal because Gama Jr. and Jinder are cousins and grew up together and trained by Gama Singh. Again, I’m not 100% on this because Gama Jr doesn’t have pictures online but the bald guy next to Jinder Mahal kinda looks like the mystery man and it would make sense.

McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Johnny Impact about his upcoming title match (Uh oh. Hennigan’s cutting an interview. I kid). Johnny said he can’t say enough about Fenix that hasn’t already be said. Johnny said he’s seen Fenix compete in wars. Johnny said Fenix is acrobatic and exhilarating, almost as good as Johnny. Johnny said Fenix is one of his best friends. Johnny said Fenix was at his wedding and he got the married couple an outdoor BBQ pit as a gift because Fenix knows that Johnny and Taya like to grill chicken outside.

Johnny said Fenix being concerned about a homie’s macros goes way beyond friendship. Johnny said Fenix is family and every family fights. Johnny said this time family is fighting in the ring in front of the nationwide audience for the Impact world championship. Johnny said he understands Fenix’s journey and how much this match means to Fenix. It’s inspiring. Johnny said he’s motivated to fight hard tonight to defend the Impact World Championship. Johnny ended the interview by saying “may the best man win”… [c]

John’s Thoughts: Cool. Two weeks in a row and Johnny is finally starting to break away from his bad promo habits and sound like a main eventer should. He does still sound awkward, but more like a human being and he’s coming off as relatable. Again, I’m higher on his world title run now because this is a chance for him to sink or swim and right now he looks like he’s trying hard to swim. The best part of this interview is he avoided his weird crunchy voice he reverts to and his oddball insults like Turd cutter or Douche Rocket…

Scarlett Bordeaux was shown viewing a tablet while in a bathtub because for some reason Impact feels all her backstage scenes need to look like softcore porn parodies. Scarlett advertised her fan auditions. Impact then aired a clip montage of the fan submissions. Fans actually sent in videos, ugh. One guy wanted to show Scarlett his “talent”, kung fu. One guy was good at making a cup of coffee. The kung fu guy started stripping (I told ya! People are sending in dick pics!). One guy was reading a back of a DVD box. Coffee guy made a cup of coffee and said it was good before spitting it out. One guy cosplayed as a boat skipper?

The show cut back to Scarlett where told viewers the email address where you can send your video submissions…

John’s Thoughts: Now let’s think of this logically. Why would people send in “talent” videos? On one hand, are there really nerds out there who think they have a shot at getting some from Scarlett after sending in their nerdy dating video? On the more logical end, maybe they just want to end up on TV; but why would you want to look stupid on Impact F’n Wrestling’s weekly TV show? Alrighty then. Only in TNA? Impact superfans confuse me sometimes. Other times they make me laugh.

KM and Fallah Bahh were out first for the upcoming match. Moose and Kross came out to Austin Aries’s newer Impact theme except Austin Aries was edited out of their video wall. Moose was suddenly wearing a red silken jacket…

4. KM and Fallah Bahh vs. Moose and Killer Kross. KM and Moose jawed with each other. KM rained punches on Moose and hit a flurry of offense on Moose. After a dropkick, Moose went into ground and pound on Moose. Moose tagged in Kross after thumbing the eye of KM. KM got Kross to the mat. Kross and KM traded mounts. KM shoved Kross to their corner so Bahh could tag in. Bahh hit Kross with a twisting splash on Kross. KM and Bahh took their time doing their steamroller roll on Kross. They got Moose to the ground so Bahh could do his modified People’s Elbow, which was a foot to the mouth.

KM caught Moose and Kross with a flip dive to the outside. Bahh hit Kross and Moose with a dive from the apron. Kross was bleeding from the back. Kross started to no sell a series of Bahh lariats. Mathews said Kross is fired up after seeing his own blood. Callis said seeing his blood turns Kross on (that’s such a Matt Striker line). Bahh went to Moose to knock him off the apron which allowed Kross to blindside Bahh with a clothesline. Moose went into the ground and pound on Bahh. Moose yelled that he was shoving his boot into Bahh’s face because Bahh put his foot in Moose’s mouth. Don Callis got distracted by a Fallah Bahh fan wearing a panda mask.

Bahh no sold Moose’s corner chops. Moose spat and yelled that “I’m Mr. Impact Wrestling and you’re just a fat piece of shit!”. They censored the “shit” (I thought this was “after dark”?). Bahh turned the tables and then dominated Moose with a series of flailing punches. Bahh grounded Moose with a running crossbody. Moose bit the head of Bahh and dragged him into his corner so Kross can isolate him with kicks and knees. Kross taunted KM by dragging Bahh to an inch of the tag only to turn it into a Cross Arm Breaker.

Bahh “Bahh’d” up on Moose with the noselling. Bahh caught Moose and hit him with a Belly to Belly. Kross tagged in to knock KM off the ropes and prevent a tag. Bahh countered Kross into a Samoan Drop. Eddie Edwards ran in to choke Moose with a Kendo stick. The referee didn’t catch this and wondered why Moose was gone. Kross managed to dispose of Bahh from the ring and lock in the Kross Jacket on KM. KM passed out.

Moose and Killer Kross defeated KM and Fallah Bahh via ref stoppage in 9:39.

Kross went into a seated focused pose after the match. Kross then marched to the exit where Eddie Edwards dragged Moose…

John’s Thoughts: A pretty good tag team match. The only thing I would have taken out were the comedy house show spots that Bahh and KM were doing early on in the match. There were other problems, but only harmless nitpicks. Kross and Moose did give up more offense than expected, but I really liked the fire Bahh showed here to show that Bahh is more than just a mid-card comedy act when he wants to be. This carried over from his surprise show-stealer with Austin Aries.

The cameraman caught up with Moose and Eddie Edwards who brawled to the rooftop of the Melrose Ballroom. Impact decided to go with the more-practical shaky cam instead of the cinematic cam with this one. Josh said “Moose has Kenny” when Moose used the kendo stick to beat up Edwards. Moose yelled “time to fly Eddie” as he tried to toss Eddie like a lawn dart off the roof, I guess? Eddie escaped but ran right into a step ladder that Moose held up. Moose then started to choke Edwards against the roof railing as Eddie cried and reached out to “Kenny”. Moose said Kenny can’t save Eddie now. Eddie clawed at Moose’s eyes so he could get his Kendo stick. After being hit a few times Moose closed the door on Eddie and Eddie cried because he couldn’t get past the door (for some reason Eddie didn’t push the one-way handle that you could obviously see on the door, so it wasn’t locked). Eddie acted crazy with his mouth open…

Josh Mathews introduced this week’s Global Wrestling Network match of the week which was a match on TNA Impact in 2008 between four WWE guys. It was Sting vs. Kevin Nash vs. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe. I think Joe won via submission? Two more WWE guys, Booker T and Kurt Angle, ran out because TNA matches always need to end with a run-in. Booker T had his red toy belt with him (which Booker has joked about in the same way himself on his podcast). Mike Tenay set this up as the Main Event Mafia vs. The TNA Originals. They only aired like two minutes so this was harmless…

A Jordynne Grace debut vignette aired that showed Grace training in the gym. It said she’s coming soon…

Josh Mathews hyped up some of the upcoming matches… [c]

Josh Mathews recapped the Moose and Eddie Edwards roof brawl and said that we haven’t seen from Eddie Edwards since Bound for Glory (which was two weeks ago). The show cut to Eddie Edwards having a heart-to-heart. Alisha Edwards walks in on Eddie and straight up yells at him for no good reason (I actually feel bad for Eddie here). Alisha was yapping and acting extra bitchy (for a lack of a better term). Eddie Edwards shut Alisha up by shoving his face on Alisha and forcing a kiss on her. Eddie then said “you drive me crazy” and walked away…

John’s Thoughts: So Alisha is mad at her husband for possibly having a mental problem? Nobody came out of this segment looking better let alone good. What’s the goal here? Does Impact not remember the quiet and confused fans in what was a hot crowd after that strange feud with Tommy Dreamer?

Kiera Hogan and Allie made their entrance. Josh Mathews joked about what he could sell his soul for. Josh reminded viewers that Allie is “soulless” and her soul is stuck in the “undead realm” (So Kiera still has a Soul despite Allie and Kiera going through the exact same process?). Su Yung made her entrance and was billed as from “off the grid”…

John’s Thoughts: Even Josh and Don can’t talk about this “undead realm” stuff with a straight face. They’re treating Lucha Underground and Matt Hardy’s Broken Universe brainchild like they’re just “gimmicks” that can be mass produced like a “Fake” Razor Ramon. What makes this worse is they can’t even get their fan-fiction logic straight with things like Allie having half a soul, no soul, finger lasers, zombie killing, etc. Also, why is Kiera fighting Su Yung again? Shouldn’t she be afraid she might “die” again?

5. Kiera Hogan (w/Allie) vs. Su Yung. Kiera pummeled Su Yung before the bell and was rewarded by the child referee guy with the ringing of the bell; because of course he would. Kiera hit a series of running hip attacks and dropkicks on Su. Kiera caught Su with a Buzzsaw kick for a nearfall. Su turned the tide in her favor after pulling at Kiera’s hair against the ropes. Kiera countered the Tree of Woe with a sit-up but Su Yung countered the counter with a neckbreaker.

Su Yung pulled out the bloody glove from her bra. Callis said the glove looks like a dead bird. Callis said the glove is full of blood and pus. Kiera recovered and hit a series of running moves on Su. Kiera caught Su with a back kick. Kiera countered a roundhouse with an ugly but effective power bomb. Kiera did a flip counter to Su but Su followed through with a palm strike. Su Yung went for a Panic Switch on Kiera but Allie pulled Kiera away. Allie yelled at Su for a bit with Su staring at her. Allie then slowly backtracked saying “I can’t help you right now” to Kiera.

Callis said that Allie was a “Soulless coward” and she needs to go back to Jim Mitchell. Kiera fought Su with a series of forearm strikes. Su used a kick to trap Kiera on the second rope. Su hit Kiera with a hanging Pedigree. Su Yung hit Kiera with the Panic Switch for the pinfall victory…

Su Yung defeated Kiera Hogan via pinfall in 4:55.

Su Yung decided not to send Kiera to the undead realm this time…

Johnny Impact and Fenix were shown in different locations getting ready for the main event…

John’s Thoughts: I get it now. Su Yung is one of the most talented character wrestlers on the Impact roster, but sadly they’ve turned her into the female Bray Wyatt complete with a crab walk. You know things are bad when the commentary team are trying to scramble and explain some of the illogical stuff they’re seeing on TV. The major detriment here is lack of exposition for some of their supernatural story aspects. What makes LAX’s cinematic universe work is Konnan is really tact in even overdoing the exposition in his promos, probably a technique he brought over from LU. Maybe Impact creative should watch a season of Lucha Underground and mimic some of the logical things they do? Or, just not make Su Yung the Bray Wyatt in their bad B-movies. Or stop making bad b-movies!

Josh Mathews announced Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie next week in a BFG rematch for the Knockouts Championship. They also announced Wille Mack vs. Rich Swann as well as LAX vs. Sydal and Page for the Tag Team Championship…

John’s Thoughts: Hold up a sec. So Mack and Swann beat Sydal and Page at BFG and are having an exhibition singles match? That’s fine. What’s not fine is Sydal and Page are 0-1 in their entire run as an Impact tag team and they are rewarded with a Tag Team Title match? Only In TNA? Thank God this Fenix vs. Johnny Impact match should be good because I’m expecting some Lucha Underground in-ring greatness devoid of TNA headache-inducers.

Fenix made his entrance and was billed as “The Mexiking”. The crowd gave Fenix “animo” chants. Callis noted that Fenix and Johnny are equals athletically. Josh Mathews mentioned that Fenix is the current AAA Mega Champion and former AAA Fusion. Josh also mentioned that Fenix won all of Lucha Underground’s belts. Josh said unlike his brother, Fenix hasn’t won a title in Impact Wrestling…

6. Johnny Impact vs. Rey Fenix for the Impact World Championship. Fenix and Johnny tried early on to grab the opponent’s legs. Fenix managed to get Johnny in a Full Nelson. Johnny used his agility to slip out of Fenix’s chain wrestling. Johnny landed a clean roundhouse on Fenix. Johnny and Fenix then showed off some cool parkour flip dodges. Johnny and Fenix waited a bit to soak in the dueling chants. Johnny changed his game plan and locked Fenix in a headlock. Fenix countered with a head-scissors headlock. Fenix and Johnny kip’d up to signify a stalemate.

Johnny overpowered Fenix with punches. Fenix and Johnny then traded more flip dodges. Suddenly Fenix was inhabited by the soul of Tony Hawk as he did some sick springboard twisting crossbody from the stage to Johnny. Fenix hit a series of kicks on Johnny. Johnny hit Fenix with a backbreaker. Fenix blocked Johnny’s signature running knee. Johnny then ran and hit Fenix with a smooth looking Flying Chuck. [c]

Johnny had Fenix locked in a crippler crossface back from the break. Fenix escaped with a jawbreaker. Josh cut to a replay showing that Johnny might have tweaked his knee during the stopped running knee and successful Flying Chuck and this might play a factor in the match. Fenix powered through Johnny’s Kick. Johnny and Fenix somehow turned a monkey flip into a jump to the top rope. Fenix landed a top rope standing Frankensteiner on Johnny. Johnny blocked a tope by rushing in for a standing Spanish Fly on Fenix. Fenix countered Starship Pain with a rollup.

Johnny came back at Fenix with a tackle and series of punches. Johnny yelled “welcome to Slam Town”. The showboating allowed Fenix to recover and nail Johnny with a knife edge throat chop. Fenix flipped over Johnny into a German Suplex. Johnny countered Fenix’s springboard armdrag with a sequence that ended in a kick and standing Shooting Star. Johnny counted down which gave Fenix time to escape the Impact Elbow. Johnny hit Fenix with the Moonlight Drive for a nearfall. Josh noted that Johnny rarely hits the Impact Elbow because of the countdown part. Don and Josh then rationalized that the move was low risk-high reward for Johnny due to Johnny’s ability to do a judo roll if the move misses.

Fenix hit Johnny with a shortarm roundhouse and high springboard headbutt. Fenix hit Johnny with the slicing Sobat and a [more-phenomenal-than-AJ’s] forearm. Fenix hit Johnny with a rolling thunder elbow. Johnny blocked Fenix’s Kinniku Buster with a kick into a Tornado DDT. Fenix landed on his feet for the no sell. Fenix yelled “Animo” and hit Johnny with a slicing Sobat. Johnny countered the Kinniku Buster into a DDT. Johnny used his signature running knee to set up Starship Pain for the pinfall win.

Johnny Impact defeated Fenix via pinfall in 11:36 of TV time to retain the Impact World Championship.

Josh Mathews talked about the respect that Johnny showed to Rey Fenix. Fenix and Johnny hugged on the ground after Johnny’s title win. Johnny pointed in approval at Fenix before he left the stage. Eddie Kingston, Homicide, and Hernandez ran in to put the boots and punches to Fenix. Callis said this was sick because Fenix just went through a war. Callis said the OGz were “back jumpers”. Before Homicide could jab Fenix with a fork, the production team had Pentagon Jr’s entrance music cued up as Pentagon Jr. cleared the ring with a steel chair in hand. Josh Mathews said to check Impact’s website for updates…

The show cut to Killer Kross backstage under red lighting. Kross was having a conversation to someone off screen. He said people use the word “crazy” a lot to describe people. Kross said he finds the word offensive because it insinuates that someone isn’t intelligent when the word is used on them. Kross said that he might call “you” crazy because “you” (the unseen person) wants to change things. Kross said you can’t change things because Kross is the change and all paths lead to damnation. Kross walked away and the cameraperson panned down to show that Kross was talking to a knocked out Johnny Impact who had his world title and Kross’s calling card on him. This also might explain why Johnny wasn’t able to save Fenix from the OGz attack. The show closed…

John’s Thoughts: After that match, are Impact (and other companies) not convinced that Fenix might be up there as one of the top 5 in-ring performers in the world? The guy can do it all (Lucha Libre, American, Strong Style, submission, etc). Put Fenix in the ring with another world class talent and you get an instant classic. It’s a bit odd that they rushed to this PPV worthy match but I give Impact credit for treating this like a big deal and using it as a draw for their move to late night programming. Josh Mathews and Don Callis were extra good all night (as usual) and were especially in analyzing Fenix and Johnny’s match like they were analyzing a sporting match. Great match. I’m just disappointed in the end it looks like they are going to put Fenix and Pentagon back into a trios feud with OGz. Again, Fenix and Pentagon are good as a tag team but they are GREAT as singles (not to mention, it would be cool to turn Pentagon heel since he’s good at playing it).

Kross and Johnny has me intrigued a bit, but I also feel they are rushing to it with no transition of Kross out of the Moose tag team. I get it, Moose will be a stooge at ringside, but they were doing such a good job initially at building up Kross as the psycho loner only to have him put on the backburner as a heater for Austin Aries. Kross really needs that hot singles feud (which is why I recommended Tommy Dreamer last week due to the “innovator of violence” symmetry they could have drawn from). While there was a lot of small pieces of crap here and there on this show, there was a lot of good stuff on this episode. What Impact producers need to do is set up a pro-con list for this episode and try to build future tapings around the pros that were obtained from here. Make sure to check out Jason Powell’s thoughts on Impact via the Hit List and Members’ Exclusive Audio Review.

Check below for the latest Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast with Jason Powell and guest Jerry Lynn.

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