By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Impact Wresting Hits
Madman Fulton vs. Eddie Edwards: A logical main event given that Fulton revealed his alliance with Ace Austin last week while helping him beat Edwards in a street fight. Fulton has been elevated into a more high profile position as Austin’s muscle, so he basically had to win this match. But that’s two television main event losses in a row for Edwards, who desperately needs some wins between now and Slammiversary since he’s in the five-way elimination main event match for the Impact World Championship.
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Alisha Edwards: The dominant win that Purrazzo’s character needed while being built to serve as the top challenger for the Knockouts Championship. I’m guessing that Impact wanted to make a bigger fuss over Purrazzo’s first television match since her return. Keep in mind that this match was added to the show when the company pulled the advertised six-man tag match that featured the now terminated Joey Ryan. Impact made the right call and they did a nice job of piecing the show together on short notice.
Taya Valkyrie vs. Susie: Yes, it was another loss for Susie. And yet as much as I’ve grumbled about the outcome of Susie’s matches feeling too predictable, it felt like we took a step forward with her being more competitive. On a side note, it’s great to see Valkyrie back at these tapings. She has her heel act down and really plays it to perfection.
Moose and Crazzy Steve: Steve was fun as he taunted Moose backstage about being a fake champion. He even followed up Moose’s challenge to a match by boasting that he could be the fake world champion. I know I’m not the only one who finds it strange that we see the fake TNA Champion every week, yet the actual Impact World Champion has only appeared on the show once via Skype since the pandemic started. Impact is advertising Blanchard for Slammiversary. If she’s not going to be there due to the travel ban or for any other reason, I hope the company will get out in front of the situation and let their viewers know whatever their fallback plan is.
Chris Bey, Johnny Swinger, and Rohit Raju vs. Willie Mack, Cody Deaner, and Cousin Jake: A minor Hit. The actual match gave Bey a win over X Division Champion Mack. That’s really the only thing about the match that felt significant. I did enjoy Swinger’s search for a tag team partner. Swinger had plenty of fun one-liners and continues to be a fun comedy act. Sadly, though, the biggest laugh I got was out of disbelief when the camera showed a social distancing sign on the wall just as Swinger literally bumped into Taya Valkyrie.
The North attack Ken Shamrock: Ethan Page shooting his mouth off about Shamrock only to find out that Shamrock was standing behind him was fun. I also got a kick out of the way that Page cowered in fear of Shamrock while Josh Alexander stepped up and got in the face of the MMA legend. Alexander’s match challenge turned out to be a set up for two-on-one attack, but I like the way the segment showed off the difference in personalities between Page and Alexander. Will Shamrock find a partner and challenge The North for the tag titles at Slammiversary?
Impact Wresting Misses
Tasha Steelz vs. Nevaeh: An average match with a lazy finish. Kiera Hogan standing on the apron to distract Nevaeh felt generic, and the rollup pin looked soft. I enjoy the work of both wrestlers and they had some good moments during this match, but that finish was weak.
Aces & Eights tease: I like the way Impact is teasing wrestler returns as the big selling point of Slammiversary, but I can’t say that the return of this faction excites me in any way. There are members of the old Aces & Eights faction that I’d be happy to see again as individuals. My concern is that Impact creative is overvaluing the appeal of a faction that was interesting while it was being formed and then fizzled out once the major players were revealed.
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