1/21 Impact Wrestling TV Results: Moore’s review of new Impact World Champion Tessa Blanchard and Trey Miguel vs. Taya Valkyrie and Ace Austin, Jessicka Havok vs. Rosemary, Moose vs. Rhino vs. Taurus in a Triple Threat

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

Impact Wrestling TV
Taped January 17-18, 2020 in Mexico City, Mexico at Fronton Mexico
Aired January 21, 2020 on AXS TV

[Hour One] Not sure if this was here in past weeks, but Impact suddenly aired a “Viewer discretion is advised” disclaimer to start of the show. Is this likely due to the Katie Forbes segment from last week? After the disclaimer, they aired the “…previously on Impact” video package which aired clips from last week’s Hard to Kill aftermath, featuring the Josh Mathews and Tessa Blanchard sitdown interview…

The show cut right to the Fronton Mexico Entertainment Complex where Tessa Blanchard made her first in-arena entrance as Impact World Champion. Josh Mathews and Don Callis were on commentary. Josh Mathews recapped Tessa Blanchard winning the World Championship at Hard to Kill.

Tessa got a decent reaction, but they had the camera at an odd angle so you couldn’t see the crowd reacting to Tessa (they just did quick cuts to small groups in the crowd cheering). Tessa said it feels damn good to be standing in the ring as World Champion “aqui” (here) in Mexico. Tessa said it’s been a journey to get here, but the thing about journeys is when it seems like it’s the end, it ends up being the beginning. Tessa said winning this title is just the beginning. There was a small group of the Mexican fans chanting “you deserve it”.

Tessa talked about having a target on her back and how Sami Callihan has a rematch upcoming for the title. Tessa said if there’s one person backstage that needs to watch their back it’s Sami. Tessa said she had a tough fight with Sami at Hard to Kill. Tessa said what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and she’s looking forward to ending this feud once and for all. Tessa talked about a locker room full of competitors who deserve a shot at the title. Tessa told Sami to get his ass out here for the match now so she can move forward from this business. The crowd was chanting random things at this point.

Taya Valkyrie and John E Bravo made their entrance. Josh talked about Taya being the longest reigning overall champion in Impact/TNA history (which is true, she quietly surpassed Bobby Roode’s world title reign and she has been Knockouts champion for about 370 days minus tape delay). Josh noted that Taya and Tessa also feuded in Mexico too. The crowd showered Taya in a “Wera Loca” chant. Taya said Sami can’t come out now but someone else better is out. The Queen of Queens, the Wera Loca, Taya Valkyrie. The crowd gave Taya a huge babyface reaction.

Taya talked about being the longest reigning Knockouts Champion in history. Taya said that it’s been a year since they’ve been in the ring on Impact together and since then Tessa has made a lot of press and history. Taya translated to the crowd that Tessa is the first woman to become a men’s world champion. Taya said that people are calling Tessa an inspiration to a generation. Taya pointed out that Tessa hasn’t fought a woman in about eight or nine months. Taya noted that Taya beat Tessa for the knockouts championship. Taya also pointed out that Taya beat Tessa for the AAA Queen of Queens title at the AAA MSG Hulu Theater show.

Taya said it looks like Tessa is running away from the Knockouts division and can’t hang with the Knockouts anymore. Taya said Tessa didn’t make history because the only person in the ring making history is Taya. Taya noted that the world title is coming off as a consolation prize for Tessa. Tessa told Taya to put Taya’s money where her mouth is. Both women held up their titles at each other. Suddenly, Ace Austin made his entrance to join the segment. He looked like a sleazy movie producer with a cane and button up shirt.

Ace talked about how each person in the ring now had a good night at Hard to Kill. Ace congratulated Tessa for becoming world champion. Ace noted that he and Taya have something in common, Tessa hasn’t beaten either of them. Ace pointed out how Tessa lost to him at Bound For Glory in the ladder match for the X Division Championship. Ace noted that the final moments of the match had her and Ace at the top of the ladder and Ace came out “on top’. Ace said he can do that again both in the ring “or maybe in the hotel”. Tessa clocked and beat down Ace Austin for that comment. Taya pulled away Tessa and the two heels put the boots to Tessa with the numbers advantage.

A serious Trey Miguel ran out to ground and pound on Ace Austin, evening things up. Tessa got some ground and pound on Taya. Trey put Ace in retreat after hitting him with a superkick. Taya also rolled away in retreat. Josh Mathews introduced the show and said, “welcome to Impact Wrestling in Mexico City’. The Impact intro theme aired…

John’s Thoughts: Ouch. Awful timing for Impact. If Impact knew the date they were going to have Tessa Blanchard win the title belt, then why would they schedule her first weeks and first promos in front of a crowd that won’t give her a top babyface reaction due to the expected language barrier? Tessa actually cut one of her best babyface promos in the ring, but the crowd didn’t know how to react, both because they probably aren’t following Tessa’s story and the obvious language barrier. That was made worse by Taya Valkyrie coming out, cutting a great promo, and the crowd turning on Tessa in favor of Taya due to Taya being a bigger star in Mexico. Odd segment, even though everyone who had mic time did a good job. Ace Austin was the best because he brought the heel heat that this segment desperately needed. Ace Austin is an unsung hero in Impact over the past few months. I liked Trey Miguel here too, coming out more serious than he’s been before his feud with Austin.

Josh Mathews and Don Callis checked in from their commentary booth at the Fronton Mexico Entertainment Complex. Josh announced that the main event of this show is Taya Valkyrie and Ace Austin vs. Trey Miguel and Tessa Blanchard. Callis called this a “super dream match” and said he’s most interested in seeing Austin interact with Blanchard. Josh noted that Sami hasn’t revealed when he’s cashing his rematch. Josh then announced that Rob Van Dam will talk about his Hard to Kill win over Daga tonight. Josh also announced an “animal” matchup, Taurus vs. Rhino vs. Moose.

John’s Thoughts: Wow. That got a chuckle out of me. That is the most animal themed match you can get in wrestling. A moose vs. a rhino vs. a bull.

Josh recapped Rich Swann’s injury from last week’s Impact plus show. Josh pointed out that Rich Swann twisted his ankle which left Willie Mack alone to wrestle for the tag titles at Hard to Kill. Callis noted that Mack made him a believer and Mack put in one of the best individual sports performances that Callis has ever seen. Josh cut to a Jimmy Jacobs interview with Willie Mack.

A video package aired with highlights of Willie Mack’s night at Hard to Kill. Jacobs congratulated Mack for a star making performance at Hard to Kill. Mack talked about how the North tried to get into his head for a while and things got worse when Swann messed up his ankle. Mack said the positive he got from his loss is more confidence and he’s looking forward to Swann coming back. Jacobs noted that Swann is going to be out for a while and wondered what Mack is going to do in the meantime. Mack said he’s just going to push forward and wait for Swann to come back.
Johnny Swinger showed up to offer his services to be Mack’s tag partner. Swinger said he’s giving Mack a chance to ride his coattails. Swinger said their tag team name can be the Mack and [Fanny] Pack connection. Swinger said this team will draw so much money from the “mizarks”. Mack said “nah, I’m all right” because he has Swann as a tag partner. Swinger said Swann’s good, but he doesn’t have the years of experience that Swinger has. Mack asked Jacobs for permission to leave the interview and Jacobs said it was fine. Swinger tried to tempt Mack by saying Mack can have the pick of four “rizzats”. Swinger sat down and told Jacobs that Mack is being smart because Mack is just “Kayfabing” everybody… [c]

John’s Thoughts: Tough luck for Impact because Rich Swann was really emerging as the company’s top babyface over the last few months. That said, so far they’ve been doing a solid job building Willie Mack up to the highest levels as he’s every been in Impact. Mack proved at Hard to Kill that he can relied upon to put on a main event level match (sadly, it looks like there’s a good chance that we might not get that Cage vs. Mack match that I keep hyping from the California Indies). Mack is also doing a solid job on promos, coming off as a relatable every-man.

They aired the “viewer discretion advised” graphic again before the show went back to air. Taya Valkyrie was ranting to John E backstage. Madison Rayne and Kiera Hogan asked Taya to keep her end of the bargain they made a few weeks ago. Taya promised Kiera and Madison that if they helped her leading up to Hard to Kill and if Taya came out as champion, that Kiera and Madison would get title shots. Taya quickly blew them off saying she’s busy now. Taya made a compromise by saying Rayne can Wrestle Kiera. Taya said she’ll wrestle the winner first and the loser second…

Moose made his entrance. Josh Mathews noted that people used to snicker when Moose called himself “Mr. Impact Wrestling” (well? He was the lamest babyface in the world at the time who would either get beat up by various groups or get kicked in the balls every week). Don Callis noted that Moose saw success in the NFL because he was under a coaching system. Callis said because of that he thinks Moose really needs a manager.

1. Moose vs. Rhino vs. Taurus. Moose wakled away saying he was “out of here”. Taurus and Rhino did some chain wrestling to start the match. Rhino took down Taurus with a shoulder block. Moose annoyed Rhino by holding his foot. Josh noted that Mooose was playing the role of “pest”. Taurus got some shots in on Rhino but Moose yanked at him from ringside to to annoy Taurus. Moose was posing with the crowd and acting like a douche at ringside, doing jumping jacks and stuff. [c]

Rhino and Taurus continued to wrestle while Moose hung out with the fans at ringside. Moose also tripped up Rhino and Taurus whenever he could. The crowd gave Moose “Culero” (asshole) chants. Moose and Taurus made a truce and surrounded Moose. Moose ran in the ring and posed. The crowd did their “ey puto” chant to Moose. Rhino and Taurus surrounded Moose and wombo comboed him with punches. They took down Moose with a slam. Taurus went for the pin and Rhino pulled him off. Rhino argued that they were supposed to fight each other after getting rid of Moose. Moose and Rhino continued to eat up Moose. Taurus pulled Rhino off of Moose when he went for the pin.

They both argued again and Rhino yelled “English, not spanish”. Moose then slammed Taurus and Rhino in the corners. He pummeled both men with gut punches and boots. Rhino blocked a Moose suplex. Moose came back with a thumb eye poke. Taurus blocked Moose’s suplex. Moose jabbed his thumbs in Taurus’s eyes and threw him in the steel post. Rhino recovered and suplexed Moose. Rhino rallied at Moose with shoulder blocks. Taurus broke up a pin attempt by Rhino with a double stomp. Taurus gave Rhino some strikes in the corner. Taurus hit a corkscrew crossbody on Rhino for a two count.

Moose caught Taurus on the top rope with a Go to Hell. Josh Mathews hyped the TNA No Place Like Home themed show for Wrestlemania Weekend. Rhino ended up hitting Moose with a Belly to Belly. Moose pulled the ref in front of him to prevent Rhino from attempting a gore. Moose then gave Rhino a low blow because the referee was distracted. Moose was about to give Taurus a German Suplex. Taurus escaped which allowed Rhino to Gore Moose. Taurus headbutted Rhino to steal the pin from him and the win.

Taurus defeated Moose and Rhino via pinfall in 9:54 of on-air TV Time.

John’s Thoughts: A fun triple threat and one of Rhino’s better showing on Impact since his return. Lots of fun character stuff here, especially from Moose. Mixed thoughts on Moose taking the loss, but I’m totally okay with it if it leads to what Don Callis heavily teased on commentary throughout the match, Moose getting a manager. Moose has proved that he’s a strong talker by himself, but I feel like having a manager would give him some good ethos to move on to the main event. I remember being very high on Moose in Ring of Honor when he had Stokely Hathaway and Veda Scott doing all his mic work.

Gabby Loren interviewed Jordynne Grace about her future goals following her loss to Taya at Hard to Kill. Grace talked about continuing to go after the Knockouts Championship. Grace noted that Taya only defended the title because John E Bravo tripped her up. Grace talked about knocking John E out at the Impact Plus show the night before and pinning Taya. Grace said that if there’s going to be a number one contender’s match between Kiera Hogan and Madison Rayne, then that’s the match that Grace has to be in…

The camera cut to Joey Ryan backstage where a guy was telling him to enter the banos (bathroom). Joey opened the bathroom door and it was the same initial “Wrestler’s Court” scene from a few weeks ago, just this time Tommy Dreamer was speaking in Gringo Spanish and wearing a sombrero (I don’t blame Dreamer because that’s exactly how I would speak Spanish too, maybe even wearing a sombrero). Joey Ryan simply walked away saying “yeah, I’m not doing this again”…[c]

John’s Thoughts: That was nice. When Joey Ryan has stayed away from his non-stop penis act, I’ve actually been a fan of him playing the straight man character in Impact. I keep saying that this guy can do so much more, but he’s limited with his viral penis meme thing.

Joey Ryan made his entrance. His opponent was legendary Exotico wrestler Maximo. Maximo is a former CMLL World Champion and held that title for over 800 days. He currently works for AAA. Josh asked Don to explain what an Exotico was and Callis didn’t follow through (and Exotico is an LGBT/transgender wrestler). The commentators noted that Maximo is the son of the legendary Super Porky…

2. Joey Ryan vs. Maximo. Joey Ryan started out the match with his usual lollipop but, where a fan eats his lollipop that’s been in his mouth. Maximo then led the crowd in an “ey puto” soccer chant. Joey also did his oil thing, as he always does. Joey asked Maximo to touch his penis. Maximo instead kicked Joey in the hamstring. Maximo and Joey then had a traditional lucha libre chain wrestling sequence. Maximo did a bit of a dance after the exchange.

Maximo dominated Joey with slams, followed by shimmys. Maximo hit Joey with an elbow drop. Maximo hit Joey with an Atomic Drop, but Maximo sold the knee because of Joey Ryan’s penis. Joey dropkicked Maximo outside and hit him with a suicide dive. Maximo avoided touching Joey’s magnetic penis. Maximo blocked Joey’s CQC combo and then kissed Joey on the lips. Maximo rolled up Joey for the two count. Joey dragged Maximo’s hand to his dick and then did the penis suplex on Maximo. Joey the pulled out the lollipop and hit Maximo with Sweet Tooth Music for the pinfall win.

Joey Ryan defeated Maximo via pinfall in 3:33.

John’s Thoughts: It’s kinda like mad libs every week. Maybe I should just copy and paste my Joey Ryan match reviews every week and just change the name of the opponent. I kid, but not too much. It’s the same damn penis match every week. I also am not afraid to point out, Joey Ryan has a lot more to offer. I used to review this guy having good and different matches every week four years ago. Again, Joey Ryan vs. Ricky Reyes in a LAPD match was a legit good main event. Can we please move on from Joey Ryan’s dick? I’ve probably seen this match close to 50 times at this point when you include California indie shows.

Gabby Loren tried to interview Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes. Katie was covered up more than she usually is. She wore a t-shirt with a black bar on it that said (censored). RVD said the Maximo vs. Ryan match was a match that would make him embarrassed to call himself a pro wrestler. RVD said that maybe it isn’t a bad thing that people steal his moves because when they don’t use his moves you get a match like Maximo vs. Joey Ryan. Gabby tried to ask a question but RVD simply walked away with Katie…[c]

Michael Elgin was cutting a promo backstage. He said the only time he speaks is when he’s speaking truth. Elgin noted that he defeated Eddie Edwards via pinfall twice at the New York tapings. Elgin then cut to footage pointing out that Eddie Edwards tapped out at Hard to Kill (he did a single tap). Elgin said it’s far from over between Elgin and Eddie…

[Hour Two] Jessika Havok, Susie Yung, and James Mitchell made their entrance. Susie continued to wander around like a child. She told the camera “hola, me llamo Susie”. Josh Mathews noted that Su Yung died in Mexico once (ugh). Callis jokingly tried to explain how Susie died and came back to life. Josh Mathews said “you can’t make this stuff up”…

John’s Thoughts: Are the commentators in on the Undead Realm joke? Because they seem like they’re not fully on board with this incoherent supernatural story either. Is this just one of the concessions they had to give up in Jimmy Jacobs’s Impact contract, that he gets to lead his own “Undead Realm” division? I’m joking of course. What I’m not joking about is Thank God they took Taya Valkyrie and the rest of the division away from this weird and directionless division where they wrestle for absolutely nothing.

3. Jessika Havok (w/James Mitchell, “Susie” Yung) vs. Rosemary. Callis said he like’s Susie but is disturbed by the creepy uncle known as James Mitchell. Callis noted that Rosemary is trying to stooge off Rosemary to stay away from “uncle creepy”. Mitchell and Havok tried to keep Susie from wandering off. Rosemary hit Havok with a huracanrana at ringside. Rosemary and Havok brawled at ringside.

John’s Thoughts: I don’t think this is a Mexico thing, because a lot of crowds recently have been unresponsive to “undead realm” division matches. There aren’t even cat calls though. The only one who seems to get a reaction is Susie Yung who does a great job as the Susie character.

Rosemary and Havok continued to brawl. Josh Mathews noted that “you would think James Mitchell would lock Susie up in the back” because she’s such a liability (No kidding! I totally agree!). Havok planted Rosemary with a Samoan Drop on ramp. Rosemary escaped a hangman DDT. Rosemary hit Havok with a flying axe handle. Callis said he hopes Mitchell isn’t Susie’s legal guardian. Rosemary hit Havok with a sling blade. Rosemary locked Havok in a Muta Lock. Callis noted that Rosemary doesn’t have the full bridge on the Muta Lock.

Mitchell slammed on the mat which actually gut a portion of the crowd to chant “Susie Yung!”. Havok recovered and hit Rosemary with a hip attack in the corner. Callis called Mitchell “satan’s half wit nephew”. This cracked up Josh. Callis said he only cracks these jokes because he doesn’t like Mitchell dating back to the ECW days. Havok gave Rosemary a shortarm lariat and running knee. Rosemary hit Havok with a jawbreaker. Mitchell went to the apron, but het took Green Mist from Rosemary. The distraction allowed Havok to pull Rosemary from off the top rope and hit her with a pile driver for the victory.

Jessika Havok defeated Rosemary via pinfall in 6:31.

Mitchell rolled around in pain from the green mist. Havok got Mitchell to his feet and wiped away some of the mist. Mitchell and Havok then celebrated. Mitchell then yelled “we have to find Susie” and he ran to the back. Callis said if you’re in Mexico right now and you see a demented old person chasing after a beautiful young woman down the street, please call the police…

John’s Thoughts: Again, why does the James Mitchell keep bringing Susie to wrestling shows when all she does is become a liability? Ugh, Susie is doing such a good job too with this character. I also really dig Callis making fun of Mitchell for being a creepy old man. Joking aside, Impact just continues to beat a dead horse with their lack of ability to write a logical supernatural story. I also feel bad for Havok, who was doing such a good job outside of the “undead realm” division, only to get dragged into this hell hole. I simply want to see Rosemary in a different company (even as a leader of the Nightmare Collective or Butcher and Bunny). Rosemary used to be arguably Impact’s top star and over the past two years she’s been buried by the crap ass “undead realm” writing.

Gama Singh was coaching Rohit Raju and Mahabali Shera backstage. Gama wondered where Raj Singh was. Rohit pointed out that Shera knows. Shera said he sent Raj on a “Spiritual journey”. Gama wondered why he wasn’t consulted on sending his son to a “spiritual journey”. Shera said he didn’t need Gama’s permission. Shera walked away and Rohit tried to make light of the situation. Gama slapped Rohit in the face…[c]

It was time for the latest That 70s Show smoke circle segment with Trey Miguel, Dezmond Xavier, and Zachary Wentz. Dez and Zach joked about Trey being excited to team up with a girl. Dezmond tried to read Trey’s thank you letter to Tessa. Zach wiggled around a bag, talking about how he scored drugs in Mexico. Zach claimed it was Peyote. Trey didn’t want to do drugs so he walked away. They then aired a drug trip montage for Zachary and Dezmond. Zach and Dez got scared when Pagano and Murder Clown joined the circle, so they stormed off. Pagano said something and the segment ended…

John’s Thoughts: Ugh. And they were doing such a good job with Trey’s serious character too. The problem is still that these segments still come off as low budget and not genuine. If they want to get their stoner references in, can they not take the Matt Riddle approach of doing organic stoner promos? Look at Riddle’s “BroSerweight” promo as an example of a great stoner promo. Ugh. Why does it feel like I’m reviewing a weird TNA show this week? Is Scott D’Amore trying to troll the viewers? I kid, I kid.

Eddie Edwards was cutting a promo. He’s now taped a paper smiley face on his Call Your Shot Trophy (at one point they were saying he named the Trophy “Timmy the Trophy”). Aside from that, he pretty much was straightforward in his promo, complaining about Elgin claiming that Eddie tapped out. Eddie talked about how he’s still holding his Trophy. Eddie Edwards was about to “call his shot” and cash in his trophy for the April 19 PPV, but Elgin cut off Eddie and claimed that Eddie was holding his trophy. The two men bickered with Elgin continuing to bring up the points from his prior promo. Eddie shoved Elgin. D’Lo Brown and a bunch of random backstage people broke the two apart…

Gama Singh introduced his “Indian Soldier” Rohit Raju and Mahabali Shera. He’s been putting more energy into these promos recently…[c]

4. Willie Mack vs. Rohit Raju (w/Gama Singh, Mahabali Shera). Mack dominated the early cruiserweight sequence to start off the match. Mack hit Rohit with a body slam followed by a dropkick. Shera got on the apron to prevent Mack from hitting Rohit with a dive. Rohit caught Mack with a pay dirt for a two count. Rohit hit Mack with a smooth leg sweep into a double stomp combo. Mathews noted that Mack is from South Central Los Angeles (That’s where my dad’s business was and right next to my home town in LA. Loved growing up around there).

Mack recovered and hit Rohit with a forearm and running face wash in the corner. Shera pulled Rohit to ringside. Mack hit Rohit and Shera with a flip dive to ringside. Mack hit Rohit with his Samoan Drop and Moonsault combo for the two count. Mack did the Macarena before the sault. Rohit blocked Mack’s Stone Cold Stunner. Rohit hit Mack with a cannonball. Rohit dodged a dive from Rohit. Counters ensued. Mack hit Rohit with the Stone Cold Stunner for the win (in the California Indies, Mack’s gimmick is that he pays homage to past wrestlers. Stone Cold is the one he pays homage to the most).

Willie Mack defeated Rohit Raju via pinfall in 2:48.

Mahabali Shera quickly put the punches and boots to Willie Mack after the bell rang. “Culero” chants ensued. Johnny Swinger ran out for the save and cleared the ring. That was an interesting surprise. Swinger was about to attack Gama, but Shera recovered and gave Swinger Sky High. The DHS held Mack and Swinger in place. Gama hit Swinger and Mack with right hands. Gama then put a few boots to Mack and Swinger. Callis noted that Gama is acting like it’s 1978 all over again with is physical activity in the ring…

The show cut to the Impact Plus Flashback Match of the Week. It was Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin vs. Bobby Roode and James Storm at TNA Genesis. Beer Money won the tag titles after about two or three minutes of fast forwarding my DVR…

Ethan Page and Josh Alexander were talking with someone off camera. Josh talked about how he had his doubts in regards to Page’s plan to handle Mack and Swann. Page bragged about his plan being successful. The camera panned back to show that they were chatting with El Hijo Del Vikingo. Vikingo didn’t care about what they had to say and tried to walk off. Alexander pulled Vikingo back, but Vikingo shoved Alexander to the table nearby. He said some words in Spanish and walked off. Page said he thinks that Vikingo said something about next week in Spanish…[c]

John’s Thoughts: While a bit goofy, Swinger has been one the solid comedy acts that continue to be funny on a weekly basis. Let’s see how he and Mack work as a team because I’m not totally down on this. It’s also good to see Vikingo back. The Impact Tapings in Mexico tend to be disappointing and the AAA guest stars never really leave a lasting impression. Vikingo is one of the few acts from Mexico to really stand out in a good way. In fact, I can see El Hijo Del Vikingo being one of the hot free agents that companies like WWE, AEW, MLW, or even Impact should try to sign over. I’d be okay putting someone like Daga on the backburner if we can get some more Vikingo.

An ad aired for the Impact Plus show dubbed Sacrifice after the old TNA PPV. This is happening February 22…

Josh Mathews and Don Callis checked in on commentary and advertised the following segments for next week: Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin in the first match of a best of 5 series, Madison Rayne vs. Kiera Hogan vs. Jordynne Grace for a shot at the Knockouts Title, and the return of Dr. Wagner Jr…

John’s Thoughts: As much as I like Eddie Edwards best of 5 matches, dating back to his days as an American Wolf, I’m not a huge fan of them booking a Edwards vs. Elgin best of five series. The reason I say that, is the concept has me thinking that Elgin is about to take some losses. Impact did such a great job protecting Elgin from taking too many losses and this has me thinking that he’s going to take 2-3 of them. If I were Impact, I’d book a sweep.

Taya Valkryie and John E Bravo made their entrance first. Josh Mathews reminded viewers that Taya Valkyrie made history by becoming the longest reigning overall champion in Impact History…

5. Taya Valkyrie (w/John E Bravo) and Ace Austin vs. Tessa Blanchard and Trey Miguel in an intergender tag match. This wasn’t a “mixed tag” in that women can wrestle men in this match. Taya pie faced Tessa early on. Tessa came back with a lariat. Ace tagged in and Tessa put him in several side headlock takedowns. Trey tagged in and showed off some agility running the ropes, and so did Austin. Trey hit Ace with a roundhouse and dropkick combo. Trey hit Ace with a Bulldog on the knee. Trey sent Ace outside with a huracanrana. Taya blocked the apron to prevent Trey from hitting a flip dive. Tessa kicked Taya off the apron. Tessa and Trey gave Ace and Taya a suicide dive heading into commercial. [c]

Tessa and Trey were double teaming Ace with tandem offense. Taya tripped Tessa off the apron and threw her into the barricade to prevent Trey from continuing to double team Austin. Austin caught Trey with a cross kick for a two count. Ace hit Trey with a suplex for another two count. Ace continued to suplex and strike Trey to get some two counts. Taya tagged in and beat up Trey for a bit. Taya got a two count on Trey. Trey blocked Taya’s Package Pile Driver. Taya countered Trey’s run with a pop up high knee. The heels traded quick tags to cut the ring in half on Trey.

Ace tied Trey up in the Tree of Woe and gave him roundhouse kicks. The ref was distracted by Tessa who was angered by Taya. This allowed Taya to hit Trey with a shotgun dropkick. Josh noted that Trey got more defined in terms of muscle while Ace Austin got more weight which means he looks stronger. The isolation game continued from the heels on Trey (this included Trey’s paper cut spot). Trey got the hot tag after hitting Austin with an enzuigiri. The ref shoved Tessa back to her corner because he didn’t catch the tag.

The crowd started to chant “culero” (asshole). Austin continued to isolate Trey. Trey escaped a suplex with a kick combo into a double stomp. Both men struggled to craw to their corners. Trey and Taya tagged in. Tessa got the hot sequence by hitting Taya with a crossbody and huracanrana. Tessa hit Taya with a northern Forearm and neckbreaker. Taya dodged a magnum attempt. Ace tagged in and ate a Tornado DDT from Tessa. Trey tagged in. Ace escaped and shoved Tessa into the corner. Trey hit Ace with a sprinboard flatliner for a two count.

Taya tripped Trey off the top rope. Tessa gave Taya a roundhouse followed by a suicide dive to the outside. In the ring, Ace Austin hit Trey with a Slingshot Fold for the victory.

Ace Austin and Taya Valkyrie defeated Trey Miguel and Tessa Blanchard via pinfall in 12:19 of TV Time.

Josh Mathews gave some closing comments to close the show…

John’s Thoughts: A solid matchup that reminded me a lot of the Lucha Underground tag matches I used to review given that a lot of them were intergender, not mixed tag, tag team matches. I really like Impact giving Ace these clean-ish wins. Not all douchebag heels need to be chickenbleep heels. They just have to be despicable human beings, which Ace Austin has done a stellar job at. I’m also a big fan of Trey Miguel outside of the 70s Show segments. He’s showing real singles upside and every time he’s gotten a chance to work outside of the Rascalz, he has shined bright. I’m liking his serious run as of late (minus the tree house).

There were a few good matches and some good stories floating around, but this Impact should be seen as below average with the combination of weird segments in the middle combined with the odd atmosphere of performing in front of a crowd that’s not sure how to react to the English Speaking wrestlers. The biggest example of that was the really good opening promo, which would have been great if it were in Sams Town or Melrose Ballroom, but here it backfired with the crowd not being sure how to react with Tessa and Taya being their de facto babyface. MVP of the show though, Ace Austin, who made the most of his TV time. Willie Mack was solid too in his segment. Jason Powell should be by with a hit list and member’s audio whenever he gets to watching the show. Maybe he thought it was better than I gave it credit for. The benefit of two alternate perspectives.