By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Impact Wrestling Hits
Michael Elgin vs. Eddie Edwards: This was the second match of their best of five series and I like the idea of putting babyface Edwards in the do or die position by having him fall behind two matches to one. The match was solid and yet there was nothing particularly memorable about it, though I suspect they are saving their best work for deeper in the series. Fortunately, this was the last show from the Mexico tapings. Aside from some “Eddie” chants, the atmosphere for both matches was rough. The fans were respectful and got a little better as this match went on, but you can only expect them to care so much about wrestlers they presumably don’t follow on a regular basis.
Daga vs. Madman Fulton: A soft hit for a decent match with the big man going over thanks in part to a distraction caused by the Crist Brothers. The live crowd knew and liked Daga, so the atmosphere was better for this match than others. It doesn’t seem like either wrestler is much of a factor creatively. They end up in fairly random matches and don’t get much storyline support. It’s hard to blame the creative team in this case, as neither man has stood out enough to warrant more creative attention.
Fallah Bahh vs. Ethan Page: A soft Hit for the simple formula of a tag team champion losing a singles match to presumably set up the need for a tag title match. I’ve called out WWE for overusing this approach at times in the past, but Impact is much better about using it in moderation.
Impact Wrestling Misses
Taya Valkyrie vs. Jordynne Grace for the Knockouts Championship: I really wanted to like this because Valkyrie shined as a personality throughout her lengthy title reign and it seemed like the opportunity was there to make the person who finally beat her. And while Grace surely gains something from the win, I don’t feel like viewers were given much of a chance to connect with her character during the long build to the title change. Unfortunately, Valkyrie dropping the title to Grace just didn’t pack the punch that it should have.
The Undead Realm returns: Su Yung choked Mitchell to death and then he was happy when he woke up in the Undead Realm. So why didn’t Yung end up in the same place when Jessicka Havok choked her to death? And why has Mitchell been so concerned about Yung returning anyway? Havok didn’t just show that she could beat Yung in a pro wrestling match, she literally killed her, so why was he so fearful of her, especially if he wanted to return to the Undead Realm? Will this idiotic nonsense ever end?
Rob Van Dam vs. Joey Ryan: The best thing I can say about this match is that Van Dam didn’t take the penis plex. Ryan’s penis bit is comical if you see it once or twice a year. It just doesn’t work when the gag is broadcast on television so often.
Mahabali Shera and Rohit Raju vs. Willie Mack and Johnny Swinger: A soft Miss for the execution. After several weeks of Swinger pushing to team with Mack, it was given away without warning and resulted in Swinger being pinned in a forgettable match. I think the idea was to make it seem like Swinger manipulated the situation to make the tag match happen, but it didn’t even come off that way since he legitimately saved Mack from a two-on-one attack and the ring announcer quickly announced that the tag match would take place. While it’s all fairly harmless because this is considered an undercard program, it still felt like they could have done more to make Mack and Swinger teaming together for the first time feel a lot more fun.
The morbidly obese “Performance Artist” as women’s champ is the perfect definition of this horrible promotion that won’t die.
Why in the hell would you want a promotion to die because you don’t like it? When all you have to do is simply not watch it and watch something else!