7/26 Impact Wrestling TV Results: Moore’s review of Impact World Champion Brian Cage vs. Michael Elgin in a non-title street fight, Kiera Hogan vs. Jordynne Grace, Rich Swann vs. Jake Crist for the X Division Title, Moose in action

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

Impact Wrestling on Pursuit (simulcast on Twitch TV)
Taped July 19-20 in Windsor, Ontario at St. Clair College

Impact started off with an introductory teaser video that was narrated and presented the storylines being focused on this week’s Impact. The teaser had an orchestra theme with stock footage of orchestras and classical music spliced in the video. The teaser was followed by the Impact Wrestling theme song (small note, Johnny Impact doing a Starship Pain is still featured in the intro video)…

John’s Thoughts: A nice experimental addition to Impact from your traditional highlight teaser. This is not going to do much to draw in new viewers by any means, but it does make the show look higher quality to the current viewers.

Josh Mathews and Don Callis were on commentary. Josh welcomed viewers to Impact emanating form St. Clair College in Winsor, Ontario, Canada. Jordynne Grace and Kiera Hogan made their entrances. Madison Rayne also made her entrance to join the commentary table for the upcoming match. Josh noted that Kiera has changed her attitude along with her hair color (now blue). Josh also said that Kiera was the “Girl on Fi-ya”…

1. Jordynne Grace vs. Kiera Hogan. Don Callis joked that Josh is nervous and doesn’t sit next to beautiful women often (outside of kayfabe, Madison is Josh’s wife). Grace threw Kiera all over the ring. Kiera went for a suicide dive but Grace caught Kiera flying and hit her with a belly to belly suplex. Kiera blocked a uranage attempt from Grace. Kiera stomped on Kiera’s hand on the apron. This led to Kiera successfully nailing Grace with a suicide dive (could have been disastrous, but Grace was there to make sure the move was executed safely).

Josh said that Madison and Kiera might be “frenemies”. Callis said that Josh talks like a school girl. Kiera got Grace back in the ring and for a two count. Kiera gave Grace several kicks to keep Grace under control. Grace gave Kiera a strong right hand and Kiera matched Grace with a strong right hand of her own to maintain control. Kiera caught Grace with a hip attack. Grace countered Kiera’s running meteora with a spinout sitout power bomb. Grace nosold Kiera’s slaps and returned the favor with two body slams.

Kiera fought out of Grace’s Samoan Drop attempt. Kiera walked right into a Michinoku Driver. Kiera kicked out at two. Kiera regained control with a front kick and arm bar on the apron. Kiera followed up with a series of three baseball slides to the head of Grace in the corner. Kiera trapped Grace in the corner but Grace held on to the corner to cause Kiera to slip. Grace hit Kiera with a Vader Bomb for a two count. Kiera escaped a Grace Driver attempt from Grace and knocked Grace to the outside with a superkick.

Grace dodged a kick and planted Kiera to the ringside floor with an Electric Chair Drop. Grace beat the ten count and Madison threw Kiera in the ring to help her break the count. Jordynne Grace beat Kiera right after that with a jackknife pin.

Jordynne Grace defeated Kiera Hogan via pinfall in 8:56.

Jordynne Grace posed at the top of the ramp while also staring at Rayne on her way up the ramp…

John’s Thoughts: A good match bell to bell. Kiera is not only shining as a heel, but she’s put on a good matches for a good while now with a plethora of opponents. I like the finish as it was different, gave Grace a win, and protects Kiera with Grace being the better woman for the night by beating Kiera without employing a cliche finisher. Madison Rayne suddenly acting like a different person on commentary is a bit jarring. That said Rayne is WAY better at playing the “Queen Bee” heel than she was playing a pretty vanilla babyface. A good secondary women’s feud going on here.

Josh Mathews and Don Callis checked in from the commentary table which was set up right next to the entrance ramp. Josh Mathews hyped Tessa Blanchard vs. Sami Callihan for number one contendership of the World Title. Josh Mathews said this was happening on the Impact Plus “Unbreakable” show next week. Josh then ran through the advertised segments on this show including Brian Cage vs. Michael Elgin in a non-title Street Fight…

Brian Cage was cutting a promo in the locker room. Long story short, Cage said he was going to send Elgin to the hospital… [c]

An ad aired for Impact Wrestling’s End of Summer Southern California Tour (If this were in NorCal, I would have reports for you guys. Can’t make the 300 mile trip this coming month)…

Taya Valkyrie and John E Bravo were at Rosemary’s “Lair” in a scene similar to a few weeks ago where Taya was trying to suck up to Rosemary and ask for her assistance in taking care of Jessika Havok and Su Yung. Rosemary rejected Taya’s request this time noting that their contract expired at Slammiversary. Rosemary said she has no interest unless Taya offers up the Knockouts Title on a platter. Rosemary left. John E told Taya that he’ll take care of this (somehow)…

OVE’s entrance theme played as Sami Callihan made his entrance for an in-ring promo. Sami asked for Tessa Blanchard to join him in the ring. Tessa made her entrance and joined Sami in the ring. Sami said when he first heard he was wrestling Tessa at Slammiversary he thought it was going to be a cakewalk. Sami said Tessa showed that night she has heart, spunk, and fire. Sami then talked about how he and Tessa and himself won the Mash-Up tournament and a one-on-one number one contender’s match as the prize. Sami said people want to boo sami and talk crap online, but they should see him as a hero because Sami did give everyone equality. Sami talked about how male talent in the back turned down the chance to wrestle Tessa Blanchard (a shot at Eli Drake?).

Sami said he gave everyone what they wanted, equality, and they set the wrestling world on fire with the Sami vs. Tessa match. Sami said this isn’t intergender wrestling, it’s pro wrestling. Sami said as a pro wrestler to another “Tessa Blanchard, I respect you”. Sami said he’s going to shake Tessa’s hand showing the respect she deserves. Sami then hyped his upcoming match with Tessa at Unbreakable. Sami held out his hand. Tessa was reluctant but Sami reiterated that he is just asking for a respectful handshake. Tessa accepted.

No real funny business, other than as Sami was about to leave he said “see ya there toots.” as he gave Tessa a slap on the behind (complete with the microphone unintentionally amplifying the sound of the booty tap). Understandably so, Tessa didn’t like this so she gave Sami a forearm and then mounted Sami to rain down punches on him. Sami escaped but Tessa went to the top rope and gave Sami The Magnum to leave him lying. Tessa stood tall over Sami as she did a thumb up to thumb down. Josh went back to hyping the Impact Plus Unbreakable event… [c]

John’s Thoughts: Really good promo segment by Sami. Sami did a good job righting ship in terms of his character in this Sami vs. Tessa feud. When they started this feud, it just looked like Sami was picking up the male chauvinist ball that Disco Inferno left for him with no rhyme or reason. Sami delivered a lot of exposition to explain his motives and thus retconning this whole feud with Tessa into making sense. Tessa is still a way better heel than babyface, but she’s just a damn good pro wrestler so she can make a top tier babyface too just through talent alone (though, I notice they give her a lot less promo time. Especially after she came off so odd when she was very bubbly on her first night as a babyface right after the her match with Gail Kim).

The Crist Brothers were shown yelling at Madman Fulton backstage and telling him to “stick to the plan”. Sami barged in and asked The Crist Brothers why they didn’t execute any plans to help him take care of Tessa Blanchard a few moments ago. Dave Crist quoted Sami and said that he told them to “Stay here, dumb asses”. Sami recollected himself and cut a promo to the camera. He said he tried to treat Tessa as a equal, but Tessa sucker punched him and try to make a name off the draw. Sami said that if Tessa wants to be a “tough guy” then the doctor needs to send his monster. Sami challenged Tessa to wrestle Madman Fulton next week. Sami then said OVE will take over everything… Everything… EVERYTHING!!! Sami then did his thumb catchphrase…

A guy was already in the ring for the upcoming match. Moose made his entrance wearing a flashy red and gold robe…

2. Moose vs. Ray Steele. Since poor Ray didn’t get an entrance and is looking very generic at the moment, one can assume he’s the designated enhancement wrestler for the night; and that he was. Moose dominated poor Ray all over the ring. Moose gave Ray a boot, snake eyes, and spear for the win.

Moose defeated Ray Steele via pinfall in 0:58.

Moose took a mic after the match. Moose said he sees things clearer now. Moose said if you want an opportunity in this company then you should just not be loyal to the company. Moose talked about how Impact picks certain people to give opportunities to and all those people and how they all aren’t here now (I’m assuming he’s talking about Johnny Impact, Austin Aries, Pentaon Jr, and Eli Drake who were the most recent champions). Moose said he’s put the company on his back since he got here. Moose said he gave himself the name “Mr. Impact Wrestling” and is here day in and day out. Moose bragged about beating RVD. He said he came to “crappy” windsor, Ontario wanting a contendership match and instead they gave him a piece of garbage (Ray Steele).

Moose pointed at Don Callis and said Callis is the reason Ray Steele is going to have to start a GoFundMe. Moose gave Steel a power bomb on the ring apron. Josh Mathews went into his somber voice and said this was uncomfortable. Moose walked up the ramp and pointed at Don Callis saying that this is on Callis’s hands…

John E Bravo found Jessika Havok backstage. John E tried to intimidate Havok at first, but then he went on to “seduce” Havok. Havok looked like she was going to move in for a kiss but Havok moved in for a choke on John E and slammed him against some storage containers. John E said he was then going to do this the hard way as he retreated… [c]

John’s Thoughts: Mixed thoughts on Moose’s promo. It was delivered well. It was also a bit confusing as to what the end goal of this is going to be. He was getting very metta talking about pushes and bringing up Impact’s departures over the last few years. Moose complaining about not getting “opportunities” reminded me of some of Dolph Ziggler’s recent promos where you just don’t really care about what the guy is talking about because there is needless breaking of the forth wall (And when you think of it, Babyface Moose was the Dolph Ziggler of Impact). Anyway, it was well delivered, and I’m intrigued to see where it goes. I just have my doubts on anything that reminds me of Dolph Ziggler.

A video package aired recapping the Tag Team Championship triple threat at Slammiversary…

A Rascalz That 70s Show ripoff segment aired. They acted high as usual. Wentz talked about how he’s going to have to leave this week’s show a bit early because he has Jonas Brothers tickets and he was “Burning up” to see them. Gail Kim popped up in the scene and said she’s going with Wentz because she really likes the Jonas Brothers. Gail Kim agreed to go with Wentz and pre-game before the concert. Dez and Trey continued to act like scrubs… [c]

John’s Thoughts: “And I’m slipping into the lava… And I’m trying to keep from going unda…”. Sorry, Impact managed to pop me for once with these segments by referencing the Jonas Brothers. Don’t hate! I have broad music tastes. Anyway, the Rascalz may be good for a giggle here and there, but these guys are way to talented to be treated as comedy goofballs. This is a constant complaint people have about Vince McMahon’s cornball comedy that weighs on talented wrestlers like an anchor. I mentioned last week, Trey changed up his look (by cosplaying as Sami) and looked way more credible than this low-budget stoner act. All three Rascalz have shown glimpses of main event potential (with Dez being the best bet) yet this comedy crap keeps them buried and only good for a few esoteric chuckles.

The Impact Plus Flashback Match of the Week was James Storm vs. Bobby Roode in a no-DQ match from Bound for Glory 2012…

Melissa Santos tried to interview Kiera Hogan but Madison Rayne interrupted and called Kiera a loser. Kiera mocked Madison for not winning a match since 2011 (I don’t get that joke? Madison has done nothing but win all the time including being 2-0 over Taya and 3-0 over Tessa if my memory serves me correct). Madison and Kiera were bickering. Melissa Santos wanted her microphone back. Madison and Kiera then told Melissa to be quiet and do her job. Melissa just gave up on the interview and walked away… [c]

Ace Austin met with Alisha Edwards at a stairwell as he tried to impress her with a magic trick. Austin flourished his signature ace card. Alisha told Ace she saw how he did that (that was rude…). Austin said if he can turn this little piece of paper to money then can he use the money to take Alisha on a date. Austin then did a money flourish with fire and a piece of paper. Alisha continued to act rude by telling Austin she thinks she knows how he did that (as magician we run into hecklers like this all the time, ugh). Alisha blew off Austin and walked off. Some random lady walked down the stairs and asked Austin that she wants to see a trick. Austin said she wasn’t his type. The lady wondered if he didn’t like brunettes. Austin said only single girls were his type (but isn’t Alisha Edwards married?)…

John’s Thoughts: Word of advice to people who go watch magic shows. Don’t act like Alisha Edwards. That was hella rude. Magicians put in the tough work to practice and perform these tricks and all you do is complain about how you know exactly how it’s done (when you don’t even know what you saw). Respect the art! Sorry, I digress. I used to run into these people all the time when I performed street magic. Haven’t practiced in over three years, but I can always get back into it whenever. In my mind, Ace Austin was the babyface of that segment and Alisha was the mega heel.

Willie Mack made his entrance first. Rob Van Dam made his entrance next to his crappy ass TNA theme. Josh Mathews noted that RVD allowed Willie Mack to use the Five Star Frog Splash and call it the Six Star Frog Splash (even though RVD kept complaining about how Rich Swann and Willie Mack steal his moves). Of course, Rob Van Dam was likely very very stoned which made his entrance take longer than it should have. I took him a while to even get out of the gates…

John’s Thoughts: I’m not sure why, but I never really thought of Mack as a RVD tribute or anything. He can do a Frog Splash, but I saw that as a tribute to Eddie Guerrero if anything. In fact, Willie Mack’s traveling gimmick is that he’s a Stone Cold Steve Austin tribute (and I believe he even got Austin’s blessing to use the gimmick).

3. Willie Mack vs. Rob Van Dam. The commentators talked about how RVD not only was a pioneer to using Yoga, but also a pioneer of using Medical Marijuana. Callis said RVD is the first wrestler to be on the cover of High Times. RVD dominated early on. RVD no sold a shoulder block. RVD took down Mack with a spinning crane kick. RVD took down Mack and went for a pin but Mack nailed RVD with a nasty spinning heel kick. Mack mocked RVD’s thumb thing. Mack locked RVD in a side headlock.

Mack and RVD then shared a traditional cruiserweight stalemate sequence. RVD shook Mack’s hand and gave him a shove. Mack came back with a forearm. Both men traded forearms. RVD pulled Mack outside and gave Mack a pump kick. RVD threw Mack into the steel post, then followed up with a Cannonball to ringside. Mack stopped RVD’s momentum with a pop up punch. Mack put RVD in the corner and attacked him wiht a few kicks followed by the imploding cannonball. Mack hit RVD with his signature Samoan Drop-Moonsault combination for a two count.

RVD sidestepped Mack and gave him a front kick. Mack used the knees to block a split legged moonsault. Mack followed up on RVD with a lungblower for a two count. RVD staggered Mack and gave him a springboard Sobat. RVD gave Mack a top rope cannonball for a two count. RVD hit Mack with a series of lariats and a kick. RVD hit Mack with a rolling thunder. Mack surprised RVD with a crucifix pin attempt. Mack hit RVD with a neckbreaker to leave both men lying. BOth men got up and traded strikes. Mack caught RVD with a T-Bone suplex. RVD got a two count of his signature leg scissors pin attempt. RVD set up Mack three quarters away from him in the ring with a heel kick to set up the Five Star Frog Splash for the victory.

Rob Van Dam defeated Willie Mack via pinfall in 12:21.

RVD’s crappy music played. RVD posed for the crowd to a good reaction. RVD helped Mack to his feet and gave him a handshake. Josh hyped Rich Swann vs. Jake Crist for the X Division title for next week… [c]

John’s Thoughts: The match was ok. It wasn’t terrible. That said, this is not the RVD we all grew up and remember. He’s a step slower these days. He was pretty good at Slammiversary and can still execute his signature spots on a dime. In my opinion, I credit Moose for carrying RVD at Slammiversary. I don’t think it’s the Marijuana (though that may magnify the issue), but RVD just seems like age and ECW-life has finally caught up with him. This is magnified when you see Tommy Dreamer and Sabu looking way better in the ring, with Dreamer looking better than his old self at times.

An ad aired for the Impact Southern California Tour…

Ace Austin was trying to impress Alisha Edwards again with more tricks. Austin had a “levatating box”, which may or may not be the classic “Dick in a box” trick. Austin said he swears there’s a “bird” in there. Before Alisha could open the box and put her hand in it, the random Indiana Jones cosplay guy, Stone Rockwell, showed up and said he hopes there isn’t a bird really in there. Rockwell opened the box and grabbed Austin’s “bird”. Rockwell said the bird was malnourished and they need to find it food. Austin looked like he was in pain “for some reason” as he was dragged along with his “bird” in a box…

Justin Timberlake’s Thoughts: 1) Cut a hole in the box. 2) Put your junk in that box. 3) Make her open da box. And that’s the way you do it! Seriously, if you haven’t seen that skit/music video you should check it out. Impact has hit some fun 2000s references tonight.

Josh Mathews hyped the upcoming main event matches…

John’s Thoughts: Now that I got control back from Justin Timberlake, I think they’ve done a solid job over the past few weeks finally doing something with Ace Austin. He’s getting promo time and making the most out of it.

Impact cut to an LAX skit. Ortiz was shown taking sips of some sort of alcohol. There was an “Only in TNA” censor blur on it (Did Patron or Crown Royal finally crack down on Impact for drinking their product on TV?). Konnan said he’s worried about Ortiz being drunk and he understands because Santana is not here at the moment. Ortiz said he’s mad at The North for taking out Santana. Ortiz called them scrubs. Ortiz said Santana has a torn MCL and won’t be ready for their match against the North in two weeks. Konnan said Daga was taking Santana’s place. Suddenly Daga entered the scene and gave handshakes. Ortiz ranted and said that Daga is an athlete and not a killer. Daga said he’ll show Ortiz. Ortiz wasn’t assured as he walked away after taking a sip of his censored alcohol…

Rich Swann was shown getting ready backstage… [c]

John’s Thoughts: Interesting, they’re selling the Santana injury and Ortiz is still around for now. Not sure how long though given how LAX is due for a bigger payday whereever else they end up. Anyway, I hope they stay in Impact for Impact’s sake, but that’s just me. Anyway, Daga’s a good athlete as Ortiz pointed out, but he’s never really caught my attention and I’ve seen a ton of his matches over the years. He’s presented as a “Mexican guy who wrestles like he’s from Japan”, which is fine, but he never really stood out personality wise. Lucha Underground gave him a giant ass sword once and that went nowhere.

Melissa Santos interviewed Michael Elgin about his upcoming Street Fight. Elgin said Impact wrestling was stupid because Elgin shouldn’t have to prove anything. Elgin said he thinks Cage is scared and that’s why it’s non-title. Elgin said Cage calls himself the machine, but Elgin keeps breaking the machine. Elgin said instead of being in the hospital to get ready to face Elgin, that Cage only gets “ready” for Melissa…

OVEhhhhh, Ohio vs. Everythhhhhhhh (We only heard it twice tonight, but I’m still recovering from last week where that theme played every ten minutes or so)…

4. Rich Swann vs. Jake Crist for the X Division Championship. Child referee was the referee of the match. Callis noted that Rich Swann has a huge advantage here being arguably the best athlete in Impact. Jake took down Rich early on with a headlock and held on to it for a sequence. Jake maintained head control for about two minutes of hooking on the lock. Rich escaped and gave Jake a few armdrags. Rich and Jake had a stalemate sequence next to show off their counters. Jake spilled to the floor and Swann caught him with a running corkscrew plancha. Dave Crist ran out and ate a cross kick from Swann. Jake caught Swann with a Tope into a Tornado DDT on the floor. [c]

Jake distracted the referee so Dave could get a cheap shot in on Rich. Jake raked his forearm over Swann. Josh Mathews told Don Callis that the Crist Brothers remind him of the hyhenas from the new Lion King movie. Callis mocked Josh for acting like a nerd. Callis said he only watches wrestling, not cartoons. Jake locked in a headscissors submission on Rich. Jake also raked the eyes of Rich. Jake then went over to the Camel Clutch. Jake used a cross kick to knock Swann into the corner.

Swann fended off Jake wiht kicks. Swann hit Jake with a roll into a flying lariat. Rich SWann hit Jake with the Road Dogg punch combo into his signature backfist combo. Jake countered a running Rich with a DVD for a two count. Jake surprised Rich with a power slam into the turnbuckle. After trading punches, Rich hit Jake with Trouble in Paradise. Rich hit Jake with a Randy Savage Elbow for a two count. Jake recovered and staggered Rich on the top rope with a kick. Jake hit Rich with a Superplex into a Neckbreaker for a two count.

Jake hit Swann with a Sunset Flip bomb for a two count. Josh noted that this was Jake’s first time competing for singles gold in a singles match. Jake and Rich traded back kicks. Rich set up Jake in the corner with a kick and Frankensteiner. Rich hit Jake with his Phoenix Splash finisher. Jake rolled near the ropes so Dave could put Jake’s foot on the bottom rope for the pinfall rope break. Rich chased Dave into the ring to nail both Crist brothers with a Lethal Injection. Rich went high risk but as the ref was distracted with Dave, Madman Fulton shoved Rich off the top rope into Jake’s cutter. Jake hit Rich with a Sliced Bread Cutter to pick up the victory.

Jake Crist defeated Rich Swann via pinfall in 12:15 of TV Time to become the new Impact X Division Champion.

Jake sold the shock of the win after the match. Dave Crist and Madman Fulton were elated for Jake winning. Josh Mathews acted outraged and said that Jake stole the X Division Title. Callis argued that Josh was being biased. Dave and Fulton hugged Jake after the match heading into break… [c]

John’s Thoughts: A good match with a lot of interference, but the interference makes sense given how the Crist Brothers have been presented as over the past few years. This outcome truly surprised me as I didn’t hear of a title change coming out of the last set of tapings. This is a good title change in my opinion. On one hand it takes the title away from Rich, who rarely defends the thing (Yet has all of Impact’s greatest matches). On the other, this is a huge chance to build up the Crist Brothers as credible. They can play off of last week’s moment when Jake turned on Sami for a moment. I would really like to see that attention to detail and usually you can trust in Sami to pay attention to those kind of details.

The Crist Brothers playfully ran up to Sami to rub Jake’s win in Sami’s face. They were looking for Sami’s approval. Jake said “I did it”. Sami yelled “No” and said that OVE did it. Sami said OVE became X Division Champion. Sami said he’s happy for Jake. Sami then looked legit happy. Jake then had a bad (or totally intentional) choise of words by telling Sami that Sami couldn’t beat Rich. This caused Sami to roll his eyes. Jake said his new names should be “The Golden Draw”. Sami said that was stupid. Sami said the belt is not Gold, “It’s silver dumbass!”. Jake licked the belt and said it tastes like white gold. Dave agreed. Sami acted annoyed and said his problem is “TESSA BLANCHARD!!!”. Sami left. Fulton and Dave gave Jake high fives. Dave’s jaw dropped as he was shocked that Fulton acted like a human by giving Jake a high five.

John’s Thoughts: I really liked that segment. That segment added a lot of layers to all the players involved. Sami’s juggling between trying to be a respectful person, a cult leader, a friend, and Tessa Blanchard all at the same time. Jake is finally starting to build an identity for himself. Dave’s always been impressive with his subtle acting ability. I even liked the nice piece of Fulton humanity in the end and Dave’s selling of it. I really like that they can go many directions with all the OVE memebers now.

Don Callis and Josh Mathews checked in on commentary. Josh Mathews hyped the Unbreakable Card which features Sami Callihan for number one contendership, Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin in a “dream match” (what?), and Petey Williams, Scott Steiner, and Jordynne Grace teaming up. Callis noted that it was Petey Pump, Poppa Pump, and Momma Pump all coming together. Josh also hyped The North vs. The Rascalz for the Tag Titles next week. He also noted that Tessa Blanchard accepted Madman Fulton’s challenge for next week…

Brian Cage’s entrance theme played for the main event and there’s about six minutes left at the top of the hour. Cage’s theme played but noone came out. Cage showed up, but was crawling down the ramp, being chased by Michael Elgin. Elgin had a chair in hand. Elgin whacked Cage on the back with the chair as Cage rolled down the ramp. Elgin continued to chase Cage to the ring. Callis called Elgin a piece of garbage. Elgin took a mic while Cage was writhing in pain. Elgin complained about this being non-title. Elgin asked if a machine lies down like this and doesn’t put his title on the line. Cage said he just has to break the machine and why wait. Elgin continued to beat up cage and he hit Cage with a con-chair-to.

Independent Wrestler security guards ran out and were all easily beat up by Michael Elgin. Elgin wrapped a chair around Cage’s neck and was about to con-chair-to him again with the chair sitting up. Melissa Santos ran out to stand between Elgin and her husband (I think they’re married now because Taya mentioned this on Impact a few weeks ago during an Impact segment). Elgin tried to order Elgin to the back. Suddenly The Midnight Rhino ran out and ate steel chair to the face, courtesy of Michael Elgin. That failed. As Elgin was beating up one Midnight Rhino, another Midnight Rhino ran out and unmasked. This one unmasked to show that he’s the actual Rhino.

Rhino gave Elgin a Gore. This caused Callis to yell Gore several times, as he should. Josh said Rhino is here. Rhino climbed to the crowd seats and unzipped his sweater to reveal a Impact Wrestling shirt. Rhino did his Rhino poses as he celebrated with a fired up crowd to close the show…

John’s Thoughts: Another good segment on this overall good show. Impact did a good job here putting heat back on Elgin after several weeks of him taking a step back. They showed him selling a lot during the Muta match and last week he wasn’t as invincible has he was while Cage was in the hospital. This was the Michael Elgin that has had a strong start in Impact Wrestling as the guy who puts people in the hospital. It helps that Elgin is also very confident on the mic these days. It astonishes me that Rhino gets these strong reactions whenever he shows up these days. He may be more over in 2019 than he ever was in his ECW run. Rhino has an odd but strong NXT run. Rhino also found a personality inside of a can of cheese whiz. I can’t say I’m looking forward to a Rhino vs. Elgin feud heading into BFG, but eh, let’s see where it goes? I guess? Where does that leave Cage?

Anyway, this was a really strong episode of Impact and may have been one of the most enjoyable Impact episodes I’ve seen. Even the bad part like the smoke circle had a Jonas Brothers reference that popped me, despite the Rascalz still looking like underutilized scrubs. Ace Austin had development, all of OVE had development, storylines were developed, this was a satisfying show.