7/18 Impact Wrestling Slammiversary results: Moore’s live review of Ace Austin vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Trey Miguel vs. a mystery person for the vacant Impact World Championship, Jordynne Grace vs. Deonna Purrazzo for the Knockouts Championship, The North vs. Ken Shamrock and Sami Callihan for the Impact Tag Titles, Willie Mack vs. Chris Bey for the X Division Title

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

Impact Wrestling Slammiversary
Aired live July 18, 2020 on pay-per-view and FITE.TV
Nashville, Tennessee at Skyway Studios

Impact started off with the news reporter teaser. The reporter noted that the Good Brothers signed with Impact and are not alone. The reporter also teased the mystery opponent in the world championship 4 way. They aired a video package cold open for the show…

Josh Mathews and Don Callis were on commentary and Josh noted they were ringside. Impact aired from an empty arena Skyway Studios…

1. “The Rascalz” Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz vs. “The Motor City Machine Guns” Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley. Shelley and Wentz started off the match. Josh Mathews could only be heard because there was sound issues with Callis’s headset. He soon joined commentary when the audio cut in at about a minute. Zach and Alex were at a stalemate during the opening chain wrestling. Alex slapped Zach for doing the rascals hand wave. Sabin and Xavier tagged in. Both men traded wristlocks and ended up at their own stalemate.

The commentators talked about Alex Shelley being an underrated wrestler for his innovation (I totally agree). Xavier ended taking Sabin to ringside with a huracanrana. Wentz tagged in and the Rascalz swarmed Shelley. Wentz hit Shelley with a bronco buster. Wentz slammed Sabin and got a two count. The Rascalz traded quick tags to keep Sabin under control and isolated away from Shelley. Shelley managed to grab onto Wentz so Sabin could drop kick him and give him a double PK.

The Machine Guns did the same thing to Dezmond when they got him on the apron. Shelley mocked Wentz with the tranquilo pose. Wentz gave Shelley a series of forearms but Shelley took Wentz down with a single forearm. The guns gave Wentz a double punch and double enzuigiri to give Sabin a two count. The commentators were hyping up the Good Brothers signing with Impact. Sabin baseball slid Dez away. Shelley hit Wentz with a PK in the back for a one count.

Sabin hit Wentz with a suplex for a two count. The MCMG gave Wentz a combination forearm to knock him out. Wentz got a window of opportunity by hitting Shelley with a handstand into a high knee. Sabin and Dezmond tagged in. Dezmond gave Shelley a huracanrana into Shelley to knock Shelley off the apron. Dezmond jumped off Shelley’s back to knock Shelley off the apron again. Sabin fended off Dezmond with boots. The rascalz hit a series of moves into the Guns. Dez held Shelley in a wheelbarrow to get hit by a superkick and double stomp form Wentz. This got Dez a two count.

Wentz hit Sabin with a Codebreaker. Wentz hit Shelley with an axe kick. Shelley blocked a swanton from Wentz with knees. Dezmond escaped a German Suplex from Shelley, leaving Shelley lying during the attempt. Sabin tagged in and dropkicked Dezmond in the back of the neck. The Guns hit Dezmond with another double strike. The MCMG hit Dezmond with a double team body slam. Wentz dropkicked Sabin to break the pinfall. Wentz hit Shelley with a CQC combination. The guns recovered. Shelley  put Wentz in a Chancery with Sabin hitting the dropkick.

The Guns hit Dezmond with a double enzuigiri. The Guns hit Dezmond with a double team Michinoku Driver to give Shelley the pinfall win.

The Motor City Machine Guns defeated The Rascalz via pinfall in 14:17. 

John’s Thoughts: A great tag team match that got really great near the end. I like not putting the Good Brothers here because it allowed them to squeeze another surprise in there. It’a always good to see Alex Shelley back in action especially since the guy was retired at one point. I was afraid they weren’t going to reach that old Machine Gun pace that they were famous for. Thankfully the guns didn’t disappoint. If they can get Alex Shelley in for more than one night, I wouldn’t mind the Guns becoming “mentors” for the Rascalz to elevate them to being more of a serious act (Which I can see having more success than the Guns’ lame “Search and Destroy” faction in ROH).

Josh Mathews and Don Callis checked in from ringside. The commentators hyped up more surprises coming later. Josh Mahtews ran through the Slammiversary card. Josh Mathews continued to call Moose a fake champion…

The show cut to Taya Valkyrie berating John E Bravo in the “bar” area. Taya said the only thing that matters is that Taya wins the Gauntlet match. Taya left and Rosemary threatened Bravo with the same threat that Taya gave, that Bravo needs to help Rosemary instead…

A Moose vs. Tommy Dreamer video package aired…

Entrances for the Moose and Dreamer match took place. Dreamer wore a “Moose sucks eggs” shirt (which Callis noted was a tribute to Terry Funk). Moose gave himself an elaborate movie trailer entrance with stock movie trailer latin choir preluding his entrance theme. Josh Mathews continued to mention Moose not being a real champion. Mathews also pointed out that Moose is carrying a new version of the TNA belt. Mathews noted that Tom Brady and Matt Ryan were Moose’s Quarterbacks in the NFL (Wasn’t it Michael Vick? I forget?). Dave Penzer handled the “formal” in-ring introductions…

2. Moose vs. Tommy Dreamer in an old school rules match for Moose’s TNA Belt. Moose dominated with strikes in the ring. Dreamer took control once the action spilled to ringside. Moose dodged a chair shot and crotched Dreamer on the guardrail. Moose hit Dreamer in the back with a chair shot. Moose then slammed the guardrail on Dreamer’s shoulder. Moose suplexed Dreamer on the ramp. Moose kept calling himself a wrestling God (I don’t think JBL is making his return). Moose took dreamer in the ring and hit him with a kendo stick a few times.

Moose was trash talking which allowed Dreamer to get control of the stick after a legsweep. Dreamer tried to make a dive, but Moose caught Dreamer mid-air with a dropkick.  Callis credited Moose with good leaping ability. Moose put a trash can over the head of Dreamer and dropkicked the trash can into the turnbuckle. Moose went for an impressive running springboard crossbody, but Dreamer caught the flying Moose and hit Moose with a cutter into the trash can.

Moose countered Dreamer and slammed Dreamer to the mat. Moose then went to ringside to drag more chairs in the ring. Callis noted that Moose needs a manager, but Callis refused to manage Moose. Both men traded counters, ending with Moose hitting Dreamer with a Uranage on a pile of chairs. Moose hit Dreamer with a standing Moonsault for a two count. Dreamer rolled away, which made Moose moonsault a pile of chairs. Dreamer gave Moose a DDT for a nearfall. Dreamer sprinkled thumbtacks in the ring.

Moose gave Dreamer a low blow to escape a pile driver. Moose called Dreamer an old piece of garbage. Moose then tried to push Dreamer’s head into the tacks, and Dreamer resisted. Moose talked about how he didn’t like ECW. Dreamer then hulked up, but Moose countered it with a thumb to the eye. Moose then tossed Dreamer into the tacks. Dreamer got to his feet and Moose hit Dreamer with the Spear for the win.

Moose defeated Tommy Dreamer via pinfall in 11:18 to retain his TNA belt.

John’s Thoughts: A better match than I expected from Moose and Dreamer (minus the thumbtacks. Even though MLW has been inactive for months, I’ve had my fill of hardcore cliches for the year). A well wrestled match, but I don’t see Moose really gaining much other than Dreamer probably saying he respects Moose on the next episode of Impact. It was also a bit underwhelming not getting a returning TNA start here given Moose’s TNA gimmick.

Josh Mathews quickly sent the camera to Gia Miller who had a scoop. A car approached Gia, and Johnny Swinger came out. Gia said it’s shocking to see Swinger in the Jaguar. Swinger said the rental company said it was for “Anderson” but Arn wasn’t around, so Swinger took it. Gia said she expected the Good Brothers to show up. Swinger said he’s the only good brother around here. Swinger continued to joke around…

Kylie Rae and Tasha Steelz started out the “Gauntlet” match (which in Impact is more like a Royal Rumble match, just with the final elimination being via pinfall)…

3. The Women’s Gauntlet Match for Number One Contendership of the Impact Knockouts Championship. Tasha and Kylie started off the match and were even. The next person in the match was supposed to be Taya Valkyrie, but John E Bravo made his entrance. Kylie and Tasha tossed Bravo out and Dave Penzer announced that Taya Valkyrie was eliminated (later retconned). Kimber Lee was the next out, who took down Rae and Steelz with strikes and slams.

Kiera Hogan was the next one in and Callis noted that Tasha and Kiera have the advantage now. Kiera and Tasha teamed up on Lee with punches. They then separated to put the boots to the women in the corners. Susie Yung was the next entrant. She gave Tasha, Kimber, and Kiera rising palm strikes. Tasha blocked Susie’s modified Frankensteiner. Kylie superkicked Tasha to eliminate Tasha. Katie Forbes made her trashy stripper entrance and Penzer noted that she was from “Twerk city”.

Forbes gave Lee and Rae lariats. Kiera and Katie then had a twerk off. Katie gave Kiera a knee after the dance. Madison Rayne was the next entrant. Madison cleaned house. Susie tried to say hello, but Madison punched Susie to the mat. Kiera jawed with her former mentor and had a shoving match with Madison. Jessika Havok was the next entrant. Havok took down everyone like flies. Susie tried to say hi again, but took a roundhouse. Havok gave Rae a chokeslam and boston crab.

The Real Taya Valkyrie made her entrance and Josh Mathews noted she was dressed as Captain Hook. Taya dominated the next sequence. Katie tried to slam Taya in the corner, but Taya turned the tables and gave Katie forearms. Alisha Edwards was out next. She was dressed as her Sassy Massy character from WOW, wearing normal clothes. Havok eventually grabbed Alisha and threw her into Kylie. Nevaeh was out next. Nevaeh and Havok cleaned house. Josh noted that with all the teams in the ring, people have been hoping for a return of the Knockouts Tag Titles.

Rosemary was  in next, who gave a spear to Susie. Madness ensued. John E Rosemary made his entrance looking like he was a budget Sting with a lavender wig. Taya accidentally punched Rosemary. John E Bravo saved Rosemary and Taya from Havok by eliminating Havok. Kylie then eliminated John E Bravo (Penzer announced this too). Kylie Rae eliminated Rayne. Josh Mathews noted that Havok was the favorite to win. Naveah and Alisha Edwards were tossed into each other, and eliminated. 

Kylie kicked Kiera off the top rope to eliminate her.  Josh noted that Kiera has been complaining on Social Media about lack of opportunities. Kimber Lee and Kylie Rae brawled. Kylie gave Kimber a lariat to eliminate her. Rosemary put Kylie in a submission. Taya accidentally elimiated Rosemary by attacking Kylie. The commentators wondered if it was actually an accident. Kylie reversed Taya into a modified Code Red to give her the pinfall win.

Kylie Rae won the gauntlet by pinning Taya after 19:20 to become number one contender to the Knockouts Championship. 

The stream then cut off (not just for me, but the chatroom on Fite TV noted that the stream died)…

John’s Thoughts: Ok, while the feed is recovering. Hopefully it recovers. That was an okay royal rumble type of match, but a bit underwhelming and to contrived to really be meaningful. There weren’t any real surprises other than Katie Forbes. The John E Bravo joke was funny, but I don’t think it added much. This came off like one of those WWE Smackdown type of battle royals where rather than be fun, they do the rapid fire elimination thing. They didn’t even allow Kylie and Taya to do anything in the end.

The Fite TV stream died for about five minutes (confirmed on Twitter to be happening to everyone). It cut back to the Willie Mack vs. Chris Bey hype package…

Entrances for the Mack-Bey match took place. Josh noted the story going into the match is weather Bey can win the match without Johnny Swinger’s help. Josh Mathews pointed out that Willie Mack is such a good person, that he called every Impact wrestler’s house to see if they were doing ok during the quarantine. Don Callis talked about how he tought that was creepy and how he doesn’t want anyone calling his house unannounced…

John’s Thoughts: Retroactive update, according to Twitter, while the feed was crashed for a lot of us, Heath Slater made his Impact debut, beating up the Impact standby wrestler Rohit Raju. That sucks that they couldn’t get a lot of eyes on one of their big debuts.

4. Willie Mack vs. Chris Bey for the Impact X Division Championship. Mack and Bey started out the match with a lucha libre agility exchange. Mack ended up hitting Bey with his signature moonsault combination. Mack dominated an gamengiri exchange. Josh Mathews noted that the X Division is not about weight limits, it’s about no limits. Josh Mathews noted that Chris Bey has a new move he wants to use, the Art of Finesse. Bey crotched Mack on the second buckle and hit Mack with a sling blade for a two count. Bey hit Mack with a swinging neckbreaker for a two count. Bey called Mack “Willie Whack”.

Bey dominated for a stretch. Mack countered a dive into a spinebuster to give Mack a moment of respite. Mack gave Bey lariats in the corner. Bey countered Mack into a rollup. Mack gave Bey an exploder for another moment of respite. Bey pulled the referee in front of him to block a Mack dive. Bey dropkicked Mack to crotch him on the top rope. Bey gave Mack a dropkick from the Tree of Woe. Bey hit Mack with a Code Red for a two count.

Mack surprised Bey out of nowhere with the Stone Cold Stunner. Bey avoided the Six Star Frog Splash. Bey hit Mack with a crucifix move. Bey then hit Mack with a springboard cutter for a clean win (did I miss something? That was clean right?).

Chris Bey defeated Willie Mack via pinfall in 10:01 to become the new Impact X Division Champion. 

John’s Thoughts: A good match. A bit surprising though. Did I miss something, because they were building up to Bey needing help, and Bey ended up getting the fairly clean pin from what I saw. Maybe Bey cheated during that one part where Mack almost knocked the ref down, but I didn’t see anything. A bit odd that Mack’s X Division Title run was a bit disappointing. This was also odd because the feud was built around Mack and Johnny Swinger with the X Division Title and Chris Bey hanging around in the background.

The camera cut to Heath Miller/Slater backstage. Heath ran into his old buddy, Rhino. Scott D’Amore told Heath and Rhino that they were making history tonight. D’Amore said Heath looked great in the ring. D’Amore told Heath that Heath called himself the hottest free agent, and Heath is still a free agent. Scott said due to social distancing and the closed set, Heath has to leave. Heath agreed. Rhino told Heath to head home, show up on Tuesday, and Rhino will figure out something. Rhino told Heath to say hello to Heath’s kids for him…

John’s Thoughts: So Impact is going to try to recreate the Rhino-Heath Smackdown storyline from a few years ago? I guess? I loved that storyline back then, but this has cheap retread written all over it. Not a good look when you don’t wanna come off as WWE-lite.

A North vs. Callihan and Shamrock hype package aired…

Entrance for the Tag Team Title match took place…

5. “The North” All Ego Ethan Page and Josh Alexander vs. Ken Shamrock and Sami Callihan for the Impact Tag Team Championships. Alexander escaped Shamrock’s armbar and ankle lock attempts very quickly early on. Callihan tagged himself in. Callihan gave an eye rake to Alexander and then hit Alexander with strikes. Callihan regained control with a knee to the gut. Callihan gave Alexander a pump kick to cause Alexander to accidentally DDT Page. Page was the legal man. Shamrock tagged in a tossed around Page. Callihan and Shamrock cut the ring in half on Page.

Shamrock cleared the ring. Alexander surprised Shamrock with a right hand. The North pummeled Shamrock with clubbing blows. The North cut the ring in half on Shamrock now, trading quick tags and keeping Shamrock under control. Shamrock managed to take down Page and Alexander. Callihan got the hot tag. Callihan hit Page with a superkick and Brainbuster. Page kicked out at two. Alexander distracted Callihan, which allowed Page to dropkick him.

Alexander tagged in and put the boots to Callihan. Callihan was on his knees, taking strikes from Alexander. The North went back to the quick tags and isolation game, this time on Callihan. Callihan got a window of opportunity after Callihan and Page took each other out with roundhouse kicks. Shamrock and Alexander tagged in with Shamrock nailing The North both with dropkicks. Shamrock slammed Alexander for a two count. Callihan tagged in. Like a dumbass, Callihan did his thumb thing which allowed Alexander to escape a pile driver attempt.

The North hit Callihan with a double straight jacket slam and double crucifix bomb for a two count. Callihan escaped a Torture Rack by Alexander and tagged in Shamrock. Shamrock dumped Page outside with a Belly to Belly. Page knocked down Callihan with a roundhouse and called himself a karate man. Page tried to kick Shamrock, but Shamrock grabbed it into the ankle lock. Alexander put Callihan in an ankle lock. Callihan escaped and Alexander going into Shamrock broke Page free.

Shamrock put Page in an ankle lock. Page tossed Callihan into Shamrock to break the hold. Shamrock and Callihan shoved each other a bit. The face team got on the same page with Shamrock kicking Alexander and Callihan hitting Alexander with a GTS and Pile Driver. Page broke up the pin. Shamrock accidentally hit Callihan with a roundhouse. Shamrock gave Alexander a Super Belly to Belly. Shamrock ate dirt when he crashed and burned off a dive attempt. The North ended up hitting Shamrock with the Double Neutralizer for the win. Callihan was too late getting in the ring.

The North defeated Ken Shamrock and Sami Callihan via pinfall in 15:56 to retain the Impact Tag Team Championships. 

Ethan Page took the mic and demanded that Shamrock be taken out the ring. Page talked about no one asking The North about their one year reign. Page talked about how The North took down an entire division. Alexander said he looked in the camera a year ago and told everyone that The North will rewrite history. Alexander said the locker room laughed, but that was fuel to the North. Alexander asked who is laughing now. Page said they are laughing now. Page talked about being the greatest team in Impact Wrestling History.

Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin made their entrance with a mic. Shelley said he was impressed by the North’s continuity, teamwork, and attire. Shelley said he has to disagree with Page about being the best tag team in history. Sabin said when you’re the greatest, you don’t have to remind people about that. Sabin said before the Guns came back, the North may be the greatest. Sabin said this coming week on AXS, it’s The North vs. Motor City Machine Guns for the Tag Team Titles and we’ll see who is the greatest. The Guns theme played to end the segment

John’s Thoughts: An okay tag team match, but nothing too special. Callihan’s return since rehashing the NXT hacker gimmick has been pretty bleh. One constant problem is he keeps losing matches and it’s usually because every time he’s about to hit his finisher, he goes for his dumb thumbs-up thing and the opponents escape his finish. The match was good because of what the North added. Dissappointing form Callihan and Shamrock’s end, and Shamrock has been in strong segments since his return. Anyway, I’m more looking forward to this Tuesday with MCMG vs. The North. I expect the North to go over totally, but the Guns proved earlier on that they are still damn entertaining.

The camera cut to Gia Miller outside of the locker room Gia thought the Good Brothers were here, but Rich Swann came out of the room on crutches. Swann said he was here to support Willie Mack. Swann said he was also here to have an eye on the world title match. Swann said once he’s cleared, he’s coming for the impact world championship…

A hype package aired for Jordynne Grace vs. Deonna Purrazzo…

Entrances for the women’s title match took place…

6. Jordynne Grace vs. Deonnna Purrazzo for the Impact Knockouts Championship. Grace’s entrance theme may be generic as hell, but she did come out in bright and bedazzled red ring gear. Purrazzo’s gear was also bedazzled. Grace dominated early on with a wristlock. Grace slammed Purrazzo to the mat with a takedown. Purrazzo milked the ten count to recover at ringside. Grace took down Purrazzo with two shoulder tackles and a T Bone Suplex. Grace took down Purrazzo at ringside with a suicide dive into a ground and pund.

John’s Thoughts: I don’t wanna come off as crass or anything, but is it just me or is Grace’s ring gear leading to uncomfortable looking wedgies? Big E Langston in WWE used to have this same problem with his ring gear before he switched it up. Is there a double sided tape trick for this or something?

Purrazzo ended up knocking off Grace from the top rope and getting a two count after a meteora press. Purrazzo got Grace in an armbar, but Grace got her foot on the bottom rope for the break. Both women traded counters, with Purrazzo getting in the Fujiwara armbar for a bit. Grace went for a Grace Driver, but Purrazzo countered it into a Juji Gatame. Grace kept her arms clasped so she could get to the ropes for a break. Purrazzo gave Grace’s arm an uppercut and a mat slam to soften up Grace’s arm for future submissions.

Grace got a moment of reprieve after clocking Purrazzo with a forearm. Grace hit a series of tackles and forearms on Purrazzo. Grace hit Purrazzo with a running senton for a two count. Grace sold her injured arm. Grace kicked out of a matchbook rollup and locked Purrazzo in a rear naked choke. Purrazzo put Grace’s shoulder’s on the mat to force Grace to break. Grace stretched Deonna’s back across the ringpost for the allowed 5 seconds. Josh noted that Deonna’s back might be hurting from the senton earlier.

Deonna regained control after dragging Grace’s arm over the top rope. Grace hit Deonna with a Michinoku Driver for the two count. Callis noted that the Driver is Grace’s finisher, but she may not have got all of it due to Deonna injuring her arm. Deonna countered a suplex into an armbar. Grace put Deonna’s shoulder’s on the mat to break the move. Grace sold her arm and gave Deonna a spinebuster to get some time to recover. Grace and Deonna traded strong styles strikes. Grace gave Deonna two body slams. Deonna countered a third with a German Suplex.

Grace returned the favor with a German Suplex of her own on Deonna. Purrazzo hit Grace with a modified snap suplex which Josh said was called the Pendulum. Deonna got a two count on Grace. Grace blocked Deonna with a boot and STO into the buckle. Grace hit Deonna with a meteora and uppercut combination. Grace caught Purrazzo with a Vader Bomb for a two count.

Purrazzo escaped a Grace Driver attempt. Grace pummeled Purrazzo with elbow strikes. Purrrazzo got a jackknife cover for a two count. Purrazzo locked Grace in a butterfly submission, looked like a modified Rings of Saturn. Grace couldn’t tap out so she gave up.

Deonna Purrazzo defeated Jordynne Grace via submission in 15:12 to become the new Impact Knockouts Champion.

John’s Thoughts: Hands down, that women’s match was the match of the night so far (and the match of the night in terms of in-ring for a while was the Guns vs. Rascalz). I expected them to put over Purrazzo strong with Grace looking strong in turn. Both women told that story very well. I didn’t expect the heel to not only win by submission, but make the babyface say “I give up”. That puts Purrazzo over strong and I don’t think Grace loses much because she still looked good and only lost because Purrazzo had the long-game gameplan on Grace’s arm. Great match and best women’s match we’ve seen on Impact Wrestling in a long time (Impact hasn’t had strong in-ring matches with the women because they’ve had a skeleton crew for a stretch, keeping their Knockouts champion off TV for a stretch)…

Josh Mathews and Don Callis pimped out the Slammiversary 2020 DVD. Josh Mathews then announced Bound For Glory for Saturday October 24th. Josh noted he was losing his voice again, which happens at every PPV…

A World Championship 4 way hype package aired…

John’s Thoughts: No Good Brothers, EC3, and Eric Young. So they all get involved next right? They also were foreshadowing the hell out of Aces and 8’s in the last few months. Wait a sec? I hope we don’t get some overbooked TNA finish?

Entrances for the main event world title match took place. Rich Swann danced his way to the ring to reveal he was the fourth wrestler wrestling for the world title. They were teasing like Swann was the final reveal, but some new music started playing. It was a masked wrestler, but the commentators knew it was Eric Young for some reason. Young took the mic and said it was a world class surprise in the ring (He kinda sounds like Sami Callihan when you have both guys in the same company). EY said he won the title at Slammiversary before and will do it again…

John’s Thoughts: Swann being a “return” might be a bit of a let down, but let’s not forget that Rich Swann was the hottest wrestler in Impact Wrestling before his injury, way hotter in the company than Tessa with a more organic crowd reaction (because he was injured before the COVID era). That said, I still would have preferred EC3 returnning in the main event over Swann and Eric Young due to EC3’s solid history in Impact. They were even teasing Eric Young as his comedy Super Eric character in recent weeks.

7. Eddie Edwards vs. Trey Miguel vs. Ace Austin (w/Madman Fulton) vs. Rich Swann vs. Eric Young in an Elimination Match for the vacant Impact World Championship. All the men brawled with EY looking strong. Trey and Swann ended up having a cruiserweight stalemate sequence. Swann got Trey to the mat with a huracanrana. Edwards took down Swann with a Belly to Belly. Madman Fulton caught Eddie and Gave Eddie a chokeslam on the apron. The referee ejected Fulton from ringside. Fulton protested, but Ace convinced Ace otherwise after the ref threatened to DQ Ace.

Swann gave Ace a Frankensteiner off the top rope. Eddie gave Young and Swann Kawada chops. Edwards took down Young and Swann with chops. Edwards power bombed Swann on Young. Ace escaped a backpack stunner. Ace took down Trey and Eddie with educated feet. Swann took down Ace with a Lethal Injection. The wrestlers took turns hitting signature moves on each other, leaving everyone lying. Ace and Trey had a strong style exchange in the center of the ring. Trey dominated with a clean slap. Trey gave Ace a huracanrana. Trey gave Young a huracanrana.

Trey nailed Ace with a Scorpion Kick and Neckbreaker combination. Trey took down Swann with a handstand kick. Trey dove on Swann at ringside and hit Swann with a Code Red. Ace tossed Eddie into Trey to crotch Trey on the top buckle. Edwards planted Ace with a Tiger Driver on Ace. Trey broke up the pin with a meteora. Josh Mathews called out Trey for preventing an elimination. Eric Young eliminated Trey Miguel at 9:35 via pinfall after hitting Trey with a pile driver. 

John’s Thoughts: Thumbs up for the commentary all night. It was mostly good to have Don Callis back. Callis enhances the product with his technical fight knowledge and witty lines. Josh has been good himself and I liked that touch of him protecting his credibility by calling out Trey Miguel for his poor and unwise move in breaking up a pin during an elimination match.

Eric Young dominated for a stretch. Swann rallied against Young. Young countered Swann into a back suplex for a two count. Eric Young was bleeding from the head. Eddie kicked Young and Ace down to be the last man standing at the given moment. Eric Young used Rich Swann like a battering ram, knocking Ace and Eddie off the top rope to a table at ringside. Rich Swann countered a Pile Driver with a Victory Rollup to eliminate Young at 15:38. 

Callis noted that Eric Young milked the Pile Driver too long and it cost him the match. Young attacked Swann after the elimination. Young wrapped a chair around Rich’s leg and put the boots to it. Young then slammed a chair on Swann’s leg against the ringpost. The commentators noted that Young was attacking Swann’s injured leg. The security guards (wearing proper COVID PPE) got in between Swann and Young and escorted Young to the back. Swann rolled in pain in the ring selling the leg. Callis noted that Swann was rising quality of life.

Ace tried to take advantage but Swann snuck in with quick rollups on Ace. Rich Swann staggered and gave Ace punches. Ace used a sweep kick to get Swann down. Ace hit Rich with The Fold for the pinfall elimination at 18:53. Callis noted that we might have seen the end of Swann’s career, or he might need a year off.

John’s Thoughts: Rich Swann is amazing in long form matches like this and he proved why he’s the top babyface in the company, even after being off TV for months. They also found a very creative way to get rid of the surprises in believable fashion. Ace Austin is my pick to win and I think Ace deserves it after having such a good rise as a heel in the company.

Ace and Eddie had a standoff with Ace holding up his laminated card. Both men traded boots and standing strikes. Ace pummeled Eddie with punches. Eddie came right back with his signature Kawada Chops. Ace got some recovery time after kicking Eddie in the head. Eddie countered The Fold with a Belly to Belly suplex. Eddie ducked a Beautiful Disaster Kick. Eddie hit Ace with his finisher, the Boston Knee Party. Ace kicked out at two.

Ace hit Eddie with the Fold. Eddie kicked out at two. Callis pointed out that Ace might not have got a grasp of the hold. Eddie hit Ace with another Boston Knee Party. Eddie Edwards hit Ace Austin with the Die Hard Flowsion (knee trap Emerald Flowsion) for the victory.

Eddie Edwards defeated Ace Austin, Rich Swann, Eric Young, and Trey Miguel via pinfall in 24:25 to become the new Impact World Champion. 

Madman Fulton ran into the ring and blindsided Eddie. Eddie put the boots and beatdown on Eddie. The Good Brothers graphic appeared on the screen as Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows made their entrance. The Good Brothers stared down Ace and Fulton. Ace tried to convince Gallows and Anderson to pummel Eddie. Anderson acted like he was going to join  Fulton and Ace, but Anderson gave a Gun Stun to both Ace and Fulton. After a beatdown, the Good Brothers gave Ace Austin a Magic Killer. Eddie Edwards, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows shared beers with each other to close the show…

But wait? There’s More, EC3 had a graphic that had the number III scratched out in chalk. EC3 was revealed to be the man with the whiskey glass, standing in front of the scratched out III. The show closed with EC3 throwing the whiskey glass at the III…

John’s Thoughts: Ultimately a tad bit disappointing, but that’s only because Impact did such a great job building interest in the show with their teasers. I say that, but Impact actually did a stellar job building up towards this Tuesday’s Impact Wrestling on AXS show. More on that in a bit. As for the match, having Eddie Edwards and Rich Swann in there was a genius move because they are undoubtedly Impact Wrestling’s two best in ring works (the only downside with Eddie is he’s been acting like a dumbass for little over two years and Rich Swann still has Lionel Richie on the mind). I think Eddie and Rich took this main event to a main event level in terms of in-ring.

I thought the eliminations were done really well too. The way they got Rich Swann out was perfect and it allows him to go after World Class Maniac Eric Young (that’s the gimmick he’s using) en route to being a strong champion down the road. Rich Swann was Impact’s hottest wrestler right before he got injured, and I don’t see that slowing down after putting another strong babyface performance. The only thing that was kinda disappointing was Eddie Edwards winning. He and Ace pulled out the finish very well, but I don’t think “Crazy Eddie” is the guy you want to be presenting to the bunch of viewers you wanted to win back over. I’ll give this title run a chance but I hope Eddie doesn’t bring back his Perry Saturn Circa Moppy routine which he’s been doing for a while with a kendo stick. If Eddie stops acting like a cartoon dumb ass, I think he can be a strong world champion. Can we get American Wolf Eddie back? Even if it’s without Davey because Eddie actually has improved in terms of personality. He just won’t stop acting like a dumbass.

Anyway, a good PPV. It’s still tough to recommend a $40 price tag to people given the lower price of PPV that WWE established, but I can’t argue that this was the most hype and logically built PPV this week. WWE’s Extreme Rules is hokey as hell, so Impact almost wins by default even though Extreme Rules hasn’t aired, but WWE also gave them another helping hand by releasing a bunch of talent to them. This show may have been a bit disappointing in terms of those debuts/returns (with a lot of viewers missing the Heath Slater debut in addition to immense expectations), but Impact actually did a solid job building up interest in this Tuesday’s Impact. It was a GREAT hook. Now that you have viewers hooked, I hope Impact really delivers with a solid show on Tuesday (Please! No hokey ass teleportation cinematics with laser beams and zombies like we’ve seen in the past. There’s a reason people mock “The Zombie” and things when WWE did it). Bonus ponts! NO CINEMATICS!  Maybe Jason Powell has different thoughts on the show. You guys will be able to read his hitlist tomorrow and if you’re a member, you get to listen to his audio review. Have a good night, and I hope everyone is staying safe.