By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Impact Wrestling Hits
Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Doc Gallows, and Karl Anderson vs. Ace Austin, Madman Fulton, Ethan Page, and Josh Alexander: Dez and Wentz were originally slated to team with Shelley and Sabin, but they were taken out in an injury angle, which opened the door for Gallows and Anderson to replace them. While I like Dez and Wentz, The Good Brothers are bigger stars, so I’m surprised the company didn’t just advertise them for this match from the start. Putting that aside, this was a good eight-man tag team main event with a strong sequence of rapid fire big moves late in the match. The finish with Austin tagging himself in and stealing the pin was a good finish from a storytelling standpoint. It led to The North being upset with Austin and Fulton, while the Guns and Good Brothers bickered at ringside. Is this leading to a four-way for the tag titles?
Eric Young and Rich Swann: Intense Swann is so much better than happy go lucky Swann. The Young vs. Swann feud has been excellent and their match feels like the worthy main event of the Bound For Glory pay-per-view. Part of me likes that the company wasted no time in making the announcement despite the fact that the show is over a month away. At the same time, it feels like they could have told a longer story with Swann trying to talk his way into the match. Ultimately, though, Impact is telling a good story with Young and Swann, who should deliver a strong main event match next month.
Deonna Purrazzo and Kimber Lee vs. Kylie Rae and Susie: A quality tag match to start the show. The latest tease for Susie reverting to her Su Yung persona by using her signature moves was well done and props to the company for fighting off any urge to use their bad special effects. You do have to turn your brain off when it comes to the idea that Rae is not familiar with Su Yung or just assume that she never watched Impact before signing with the company. I suspect we’ll see the return of Yung once Rae finally gets her title shot against Purrazzo.
Trey vs. TJP: The match was well worked and concluded with a clean finish. It was another match orchestrated by X Division Rohit Raju, whose attempts to avoid defending his title will likely backfire and end up resulting in him eventually being forced to defend the title against Trey, TJP, and Chris Bey in a four-way. Impact seems to be moving away from the TJP and Fallah Bahh tag team. If that’s the case, this would be a good time to turn natural heel TJP.
Willie Mack vs. Brian Myers: This was the best outing for Mack and Myers so far. Mack got a win back, while Myers has the out of running into an exposed turnbuckle before Mack pinned him. It will be interesting to see if this is the end of the feud or if they intend to keep it going.
Kiera Hogan vs. Taya Valkyrie: A soft Hit for Hogan getting an upset win over Valkyrie, albeit with help from Tasha Steelz. The broadcast team did a good job of putting over Hogan’s win while also telling the story that Valkyrie struggling without help from Rosemary and John E Bravo.
Moose: I got a kick out of Moose calling “The Demo God” to get advice on how to recover a stolen title belt. Moose followed up by saying that “the bubbly” is on him next time they meet.
Impact Wrestling Misses
Acey Romero and Larry D vs. Cody Deaner and Cousin Jake: The ring work was fine. But I’m still not sure how Impact creative wants viewers to feel about Team XXXL. They seemed to be heels at one point, but there was nothing particularly heelish about them during Wrestle House or in terms of the way they won this match. The Deaners are set in their mid-card comedy roles, but Romero and D feel like they are directionless at the moment.
Jordynne Grace and Tenille Dashwood: A minor Miss. Why does Grace care so much about Dashwood not showing up for work? The feud looks good on paper and should get better once they start having matches, but the storyline build has been strange thus far.
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