By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Impact Wrestling TV
Taped in Nashville, Tennessee at Skyway Studios
Aired November 3, 2020 on AXS TV
Impact opened with a recap of last week’s wedding angle, which concluded with John E Bravo being shot…
Impact authority figure Scott D’Amore was shown getting an update via phone. Tommy Dreamer showed up and asked for an update. D’Amore told him that Bravo was in “critical but stable condition” and added that he was in a medically induced coma. Dreamer put on a Sherlock Holmes hat to go along with the jacket and said he was launching a criminal investigation. D’Amore said he’ll wished he had been shot by the time this is done…
Powell’s POV: I can’t believe Scott D’Amore found his way onto Impact television. Yes, that’s sarcasm. That said, he’s doing a nice job as the authority figure, so while it does seem like he’s on the show more than he needs to be, at least he’s playing his part well. By the way, John Moore and I swapped roles this week, so he will be by with your Impact Wrestling Hit List on Wednesday. We’ll get back to normal next week.
The Impact opening aired… Josh Mathews and Madison Rayne were on commentary, and David Penzer was the ring announcer…
1. Su Yung vs. Deonna Purrazzo (w/Kimber Lee) for the Knockouts Championship. Mathews noted that the Knockouts Tag Title tournament starts in two weeks and the champions will be crowned at the Hard Justice pay-per-view. Late in the match, Yung applied the Mandible Claw on Purrazzo. Lee slid a chair inside the ring. Yung released the hold and the referee didn’t seem to care about the chair. Yung and Purrazzo fought over the chair. Yung won the battle and hit Purrazzo with the chair for the disqualification.
Deonna Purrazzo defeated Su Yung by DQ in a Knockouts Title match.
Powell’s POV: A weak finish, so it’s good that the put this in the opening match slot. It would have been a lot more annoying had they saved the match for the main event and used this finish.
The broadcast team spoke in front of the Impact backdrop. They addressed the Knockouts Title match briefly, then Mathews said they were praying that Bravo would be okay. Rayne hyped Locker Room Talk with Jordynne Grace and Tenille Dashwood as her guests. They also hyped previously advertised matches…
Rhino helped an injured Heath take a seat in a conference room. Scott D’Amore arrived with Heath’s contract and applauded Rhino for winning the Call Your Shot battle royal. D’Amore said Heath needed to sign the contract and then he’d be right back in the ring next week.
Heath implied that he wanted to sign and wrestle later. D’Amore said everything that Heath asked for was in the contract and then added that it would be waiting for him once he was healthy. D’Amore said they would help him rehab and get him ready, but he said Heath wanting to sign while injured was “carny stuff.” Heath winced as he stood up and said he’d be back.
After Heath and Rhino left, RD Evans showed up and told D’Amore that he needed to make things right after Yung was disqualified in Purrazzo’s title rematch. D’Amore said he and Evans got off on the wrong foot and he doesn’t want to fight. D’Amore announced that Yung and Purrazzo would meet in an anything goes, no DQ match at the Turning Point special that will stream on Impact Plus. Evans wasn’t pleased by the match stipulation. D’Amore laughed once Evans started walking away… [C]
Powell’s POV: So this explains why they went with the cheap finish to the Knockouts Title match. Meanwhile, I could do without D’Amore always being booked to be the smartest guy in the room, but at least he’s playing it straight and there are no signs of him becoming a heel authority figure.
Backstage, Rich Swann and Eddie Edwards spoke about teaming up in the main event…
2. Chris Bey vs. Trey Miguel. Miguel performed a reverse 619 and followed up with a neckbreaker that led to a two count. A short time later, Miguel went up top and was cut off by Bey. They fought for position. Miguel went fo for a sunset bomb, but Bey held onto the ropes. Bey threw a kick at Miguel, then leapt from the middle rope and performed a cutter on the way down that led to the pin…
Chris Bey defeated Trey Miguel.
Mathews hyped upcoming segments… [C]
Powell’s POV: A nice match with a clean finish. No complaints. I hope we see future matches between these two.
Madison Rayne hosted Locker Room Talk with Johnny Swinger as her co-host. Rayne introduced Jordynne Grace and Tenille Dashwood as her guests and noted that neither woman had been able to find a tag team partner for the Knockouts Tag Title tournament. Swinger tried to hug Grace, who pushed him away. Kaleb accompanied Dashwood.
Grace said she and Alisha Edwards didn’t really click as a team, but she was confident she could find the right partner. Rayne said Grace and Dashwood are talented, but they just don’t get along. Grace said being in the ring with Dashwood made her realize that she will do anything to win.
Grace said maybe the winning team was in the room. Dashwood agreed, then asked Rayne to be her partner. Kaleb asked Grace to leave so that he could take a photo of Dashwood and Rayne. Grace grabbed his phone and dropped it before leaving…
Tommy Dreamer interrogated one of the referees. He showed footage of Bravo complaining about the referee’s work during a past match. Dreamer dismissed the referee. Cody Deaner entered the room to be interrogated, but Johnny Swinger cut him off and took the seat. Dreamer ended up telling them to go have their match and then return once it was over because they were both suspects…
X Division Champion Rohit Raju stood in the ring for a Defeat Rohit Challenge. Raju delivered a boasting promo and noted that he beat five wrestlers at Bound For Glory to retain the title. Raju called for “fresh meat” for his challenge.
TJP made his entrance dressed in street clothes while carrying a drink in his hand. TJP said he was there to answer the challenge. Raju said TJP had his opportunity at Bound For Glory. Raju said he was giving TJP the new opportunity to get the hell out of his ring.
Raju took a serious tone while saying that he scratched and clawed his way to the top of the X Division despite not being anyone’s pet project. TJP said he’s put in the work and ran through some of his credentials. TJP added that he was homeless. He said the world couldn’t beat him and asked why Raju thought he could.
Raju said TJP is a has-been who was speaking in past tense. Raju said TJP is pathetic. TJP dropped his mic. Raju told him to leave. TJP started to leave, but he returned when Raju started barking at him that it was no longer about him. TJP pulled the lid off his drink and threw what Mathews said was hot tea at Raju. TJP cleared Raju from the ring, then posed with the X Division Title belt…
Powell’s POV: Raju got to show a little range in that segment. He started with his usual approach of being a cowardly heel who wants to take on lesser opponents in his challenge, then got to deliver a more serious promo once he and TJP turned up the intensity. TJP is still miscast as a babyface, but I enjoyed the segment and look forward to their match.
Backstage, Gia Miller interviewed Chris Sabin, who said Alex Shelley will be just fine. He spoke about how other teams have played the divide and conquer game by injuring Shelley and isolating him. Sabin issued a challenge to Acey Romero or Larry D to meet him in a singles match… [C]
Backstage, Raju vented to Scott D’Amore about the segment with TJP, who showed up. TJP asked for one more shot at the title since Raju didn’t beat him in the six-way scramble at BFG. D’Amore booked Raju vs. TJP for the X Division Championship. D’Amore said TJP wouldn’t get another title shot if Raju beat him…
3. Doc Gallows (w/Karl Anderson) vs. Ethan Page (w/Josh Alexander). Gallows was dominant to start, which led to Page going to ringside and stalling a few times. Later, Page used a distraction from Alexander to go on the offensive. Gallows came back. Alexander grabbed the leg of Gallows from ringside. Anderson went after Alexander, who ran him into the ring post. In the ring, Gallows took out Page with a superkick and pinned him.
Luke Gallows beat Ethan Page.
After the match, Alexander rushed the ring and attacked Gallows. Page recovered and joined in on the attack. Anderson entered the ring and hit a Gun Stun on Page, then Gallows clotheslined Alexander over the top rope, leaving the Good Brothers standing tall in the ring…
Mathews hyped the main event… [C]
Powell’s POV: There wasn’t a lot to the the match, but it was still successful in terms of keeping the feud between the teams alive.
Swoggle was interviewed backstage by Gia Miller. Swoggle, who held a copy of his (excellent) autobiography, said it was amazing to be back in Impact. He said he was viewed as a joke, but now it’s time for him to make history in the business. He said it’s time for him to be viewed as a professional wrestler.
Brian Myers showed up and called Swoggle a sideshow attraction freak. Swoggle said it’s fine that Myers threw him out of the battle royal, but the way Myers is acting is not okay. Swoggle said Myers isn’t being himself. Mathews took Swoggle’s book and said he was renaming it, “My Run In Impact Wrestling Was Short… And So Am I.” Myers shoved Swoggle to the ground…
4. Johnny Swinger vs. Cody Deaner (w/Cousin Jake). Deaner set up for a DDT, but Swinger raked his eyes. Swinger rolled to ringside and grabbed a chair and his fanny pack. Swinger wound up with the chair, but Jake took it away. While the referee was tied up with Jake, Swinger hit Deaner with his fanny pack and then pinned him…
Johnny Swinger beat Cody Deaner.
A suit wearing Moose was shown walking backstage with the TNA Title belt… [C]
Powell’s POV: Mathews told the story that Swinger’s fanny pack is loaded. This match didn’t do much for me, but it makes sense to put two of the comedy acts together in a feud.
Moose made his entrance with the TNA Title belt in hand. Highlights aired of Moose’s win over EC3 in their cinematic from Bound For Glory. In the ring, Moose said he and the TNA Title haven’t been taken seriously over the last few months. He said that shouldn’t be a problem anymore.
Moose said some people say he didn’t earn the title and that he pulled the title out of a trashcan. Moose said he went to hell and back and damn near killed a man who some say is the greatest TNA Champion in history. Moose said he controlled his narrative and is now born again.
Moose claimed that he’s unbeaten in pay-per-view matches and recalled beating Rob Van Dam, Rhino, Ken Shamrock, Tommy Dreamer, and now EC3. Moose said no one talks about his accomplishments, they talk about Rich Swann.
Moose said Swann carries the second most important title in the company. Moose set up a clip on the big screen of him hitting Willie Mack with the TNA Title belt in the parking lot. Moose said he knows Mack and Swann are friends. He told Swann to ask Mack what pain feels like, then said Swann had been warned.
Willie Mack charged the ring and attacked Moose. They fought to ringside where Moose regrouped and knocked Mack down. Moose threw punches at Mack, then wrapped a camera cable around his neck and choked him with it…
Powell’s POV: I can get behind Moose challenging Swann for the Impact World Championship, but this TNA Title nonsense is not enhancing the storyline in any way. Moose is a quality challenger and a potential world champion. But no matter how they have him spin holding the TNA Title, it’s still a defunct title belt that he pulled out of the trash.
Backstage, Chris Bey sat down next to Rich Swann and congratulated him on becoming the Impact World Champion. Bey said it was time for Swann to go to the office and let them know that he wants to defend the title against him.
Swann said he sees a lot of himself in Bey, but he can’t finesse him. He said championship opportunities are earned in Impact. Eddie Edwards showed up and then he and Swann headed off for their tag match while Bey was left flustered…
Tommy Dreamer stood backstage in front of Johnny Swinger, Havok, Cody Deaner, the referee, Hernandez, Fallah Bahh, Larry D, Rosemary, Taya Valkyrie, and James Mitchell. Dreamer told them that he had narrowed down his investigation and believed one of them shot Bravo. Mitchell and Valkyrie both claimed to be angels. Valkyrie said she’s been on her best behavior. Dreamer said that’s what makes her a suspect. Mug shot style photos aired of each suspect…
The broadcast team spoke about the Bravo angle and then hyped the following matches for next week’s television show: Rohit Raju vs. TJP for the X Division Title, Chris Sabin vs. Acey Romero, Madison Rayne and Tenille Dashwood vs. Havok and Nevaeh.
Mathews and Rayne hyped Young vs. Purrazzo in a No DQ match, and Willie Mack vs. Moose for the Turning Point on Saturday, November 14… Ring entrances for the main event took place…
5. Rich Swann and Eddie Edwards vs. Eric Young and Sami Callihan. Edwards took out Young with a suicide dive, then Swann performed a flip dive onto Callihan heading into the final commercial break. [C]
Late in the match, Young and Callihan set up for double piledrivers, but Swann and Edwards countered into submission holds. Callihan was going to tap out, but Young stopped his partner and the heels eventually escaped the holds.
Swann and Young ended up at ringside, leaving Edward and Callihan in the ring. Edwards performed a backpack stunner for a two count, then immediately applied a single leg crab. Swann held Young from entering the ring.
Ken Shamrock ran out and hit Swann from behind, then dumped him at ringside. Edwards was distracted by Shamrock and was rolled up for a two count. Callihan followed up with a piledriver and scored the pin.
Eric Young and Sami Callihan defeated Rich Swann and Eddie Edwards.
After the match, Mathews said that if Young, Callihan, and Shamrock rule the world then we’re all in trouble…
Powell’s POV: A good tag team main event. Mathews did a good job of pointing out that all four men held the Impact World Title. He also framed the heels as a pair of super villains. It was wise for the heels to go over, a they need the heat as potential challengers for Swann. I’m still not sold on the idea that Shamrock is more valuable to Impact as a heel than he was as a babyface, but we’ll see where it goes.
Overall, a solid edition of Impact. It’s hard not to assume this will be a poorly viewed episode due to the election. It’s possible that this will be an alternative for some and others will watch on delay via DVR, but the company was wise not to give away any major storyline developments on this episode. I will have more to say about Impact in my weekly audio review for Dot Net Members on Wednesday morning. John Moore will be by on Wednesday afternoon with his Impact Wrestling Hit List.
I guess Wednesday hasn’t come around yet.No Impact hit list? I know that out of the 6 shows on TV ( Raw, Smackdown, NXT, AEW, ROH & Impact), Impact comes in at 7th place (minimum). But there are fans of Impact out here. If you can direct me to the 11/3 Impact hits & misses, I’ll apologize here in print. But as usual, Impact gets the short end of the stick.
John Moore is simply running behind on some things this week and it’s not just Impact. He’s also late with his NXT audio review. Things come up. People have lives. I appreciate that you check out the site, but please stop turning everything into a slight against Impact. We do what we can.
It just seems like when something or someone is running late, Impact gets the short shrift. And it’s not just you guys. Impact has been the red-headed step-child since its inception. AEW is the flavor of the month, as far as I’m concerned. Once it hits 20 years as a promotion, then I’ll put it on the same level as Impact. Fans & writers have wanted Impact to die ever since it came into existence. But still it survives. I’m sorry if this makes me seem like an Impact apologist, but I’ll keep defending the company until it gives me reason not to. .
Impact isn’t a wrestling show. It’s bad dinner theater that’s now doing a murder mystery as part of their low grade variety show.
I guess that the MJF & Jericho song & dance didn’t smack of a variety show? But Impact fans are used to the double standard.