By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Impact Wrestling Hits
John E Bravo and Rosemary wedding: The teases that something was going to go wrong throughout the show was a fun way to set up the straight forward (at least by pro wrestling standards) wedding. The bit at the end with Bravo being shot means that we know the next kooky sports entertainment style side story that Impact will tell. I enjoy a good whodunnit even if this is super campy. I can’t say that I will enjoy this silliness by the time the story is done playing out, but for now I am actually looking forward to seeing where it goes.
Dez and Wentz vs. Team XXXL: A bounce back win for Dez and Wentz after inexplicably losing to Cody Deaner and Cousin Jake on the Bound For Glory pre-show? Nope, another loss for The Rascalz duo. I don’t get it. It’s not like a story of frustration was told, as we saw them in happy go lucky mode while hanging out with Rich Swann later in the show. Ultimately, though, this was a well worked and entertaining match despite the fact that the Rascalz trio continue to be wasted.
RD Evans: It was a nice surprise to see the talented Evans cast as “the barrister” for Deonna Purrazzo. It also gave Scott D’Amore another excuse to put himself on television, not that he seems to need much of a reason these days. I suppose this segment was cathartic for D’Amore given that Impact is being sued by Jeff Jarrett and Joey Ryan. If nothing else, at least the angle set up the Bound For Glory rematch for next week rather than simply giving it away on this episode (more on that later).
Jordynne Grace and Alisha Edwards vs. Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz: A simple story with the established tag team beating the makeshift tag team. It was announced during the show that Knockouts Tag Title tournament starts in three weeks. The story told in this match was that Grace and Edwards aren’t going to work as a team, so it will be interesting to see who Grace ends up paired with.
Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Myers in a Hardcore Halloween match: A minor Hit for more of the same from Dreamer and Myers, only Dreamer is now paying tribute to Road Warrior Animal. I hope Dreamer lives a long and happy life, but when his time comes and someone wants to pay tribute to him, will they dress up like Dusty Rhodes and Road Warrior Animal and then lose most of their hardcore matches? Anyway, holiday themed gimmick matches don’t do much for me, but they played it pretty straight and the finish with Swoggle legitimately surprised me.
Impact Wrestling Misses
Rich Swann vs. Eric Young for the Impact World Championship: Impact has a bad habit of giving away rematches on the first edition of Impact coming out of their pay-per-view events. It’s especially frustrating when they deliver a crap finish at the pay-per-view and then give away the decisive finish on the television show, but that wasn’t the problem here. In this case, they gave away the pay-per-view main event rematch without even advertising it in advance. There’s something to be said for creating an anything can happen feel, but there’s a lot more to be said for building up big matches with the goal of creating interest and driving more viewers to the show.
You gave the wedding a hit? To each their own, I suppose. I’d put that in the top 5 worst segments of the year myself, though. Wrestling ‘murders’ ruin my viewing experience.
It was basically a Hit because I set the expectation bar so low. I assumed we’d get the usual interruptions and chaos, but they just went straight forward with it… until a man was shot.