By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
Impact Wrestling TV
Taped in Nashville, Tennessee at Skyway Studios
Aired November 10, 2020 on AXS TV
Highlights from last week’s Impact Wrestling show aired…
Josh Mathews was on commentary by himself to start the show…
Kaleb Konley was in the ring providing ring introductions for Tenille Dashwood…
1. Tenille Dashwood (w/Kaleb Konley) and Madison Rayne vs. Jessika Havok and Naveah. After deliberation, Rayne agreed to start the match against Naveah. Naveah dominated the wristlock chain wrestling. Rayne escaped with an armdrag series. Naveah gave Rayne a snapmare and blockbuster for the two count. Dashwood tagged in. Konley mocked Rayne by saying it looked like it was her first day on the job. Dashwood and Naveah traded standing switches.
Dashwood tripped Naveah and gave Naveah a noogie. Havok tagged in. Dashwood tried to make Havok do breathing exercises to no avail. Havok grabbed and lifted Dashwood. Dashwood escaped by using a sleeper, but Dashwood was also slammed into the buckle. Dashwood gave Havok an Emma-mite sandwich. Rayne tagged in. Havok dragged Rayne in by the hair when Rayne took her sweet time on the apron. Neveah tagged in and got a two count after hitting Rayne with a lariat after a Havok backbreaker on Rayne. Havok and Naveah traded taggs to keep Rayne under control.
Rayne got a bit of momentum by hitting Havok with an enzuigiri. Rayne went for Cross Rayne on Havok, but Havok reversed it into a tombstone pile driver for the victory.
Havok and Naveah defeated Tenille Dashwood and Madison Rayne via pinfall in 5:07.
John’s Thoughts: Havok and Naveah finally pick up a win. It just feels like this powerhouse tag team loses way more often than they win, especially to Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz. I like they way they’re doing the setup matches for this tag team tournament as they are presenting the established tag teams as having chemistry while showing the weaknesses of makeshift tag teams. Very efficient.
Josh Mathews checked in from his commentary set by himself. He acted worried about Madison Rayne being pissed off after losing her match. Josh did note that Rayne will check in and will call the rest of the show with him. Josh then plugged Impact Plus’s Turning Point show. Josh ran through advertised segments for this show and Turning Point…
Gia Miller interviewed The Good Brothers on their thoughts on facing The North at Turning Point for the Impact Tag Team Championships. Anderson did some standard hype for their tag team title opportunity. Ethan Page interrupted the interview. Anderson mocked Page for knowing karate again. Page and Anderson then respectfully traded slaps…[c]
An ad aired for The Good Brothers Talk n’ Shop A Mania 2…
Tommy Dreamer and Larry D were sitting at a table where Dreamer continued his investigation as to who shot John E Bravo. Dreamer used a lie detector and conclused that Larry D didn’t shoot Bravo. Cody Deaner was next on the lie detector. Deaner then ranted about losing his match last week to Johnny Swinger. Dreamer brought up Cody saying he wanted to kill Bravo one time. Deaner said he didn’t kill Bravo and the show cut to the entrances for the next match…
Josh Mathews welcomed Madison Rayne back to commentary. Rayne blamed her loss on being too worried about the commentary booth…c
2. Rohit Raju vs. TJ Perkins for the Impact X Division Championship. Mathews noted that if Perkins loses, he can’t get another X Title shot while Rohit is reigning champion. Perkins and Raju brawled at ringside before the bell. Perkins gave Rohit a suplex on the entrance ramp. After the bell rang, Perkins slammed Raju’s knees to the mat. Perkins dominated Raju for a minute or two. Raju managed to trip up Perkins and work on Perkns a bit.
Perkins regained control after a huracanrana. Rohit dragged the referee in front of him to distract Perkins. Raju slammed Perkins to the mat and gave Perkins a double stomp heading into commercial break.[c]
Perkins escaped a back suplex and gave Raju a boot. Raju recover and took down Perkins with a series of stiff kicks for a two count. Raju kept Perkins under control with boots and gave Perkins a vertical suplex for a two count. Raju dominated for a stretch. Perkins got a moment of respite after planting Raju with a tornado DDT. Perkins rallied with strikes and a dropkick. Perkins caught Raju with a flying forearm. Perkins locked Raju in a surfboard submission. Raju kicked out when the surfboard became a pin attempt.
Perkins caught Raju with a wrecking ball kick. Raju staggered Perkins on the top rope with a palm strike, leading to Perkins being left in the Tree of Woe. Perkins tossed Raju off the top rope using his core strength. Raju came back with a arm trap DDT for a two count. Raju turned the kickout into a crossface. Perkins hit Raju with a double underhook into a codebreaker. Raju countered a Mamba Splash into a crossface.
Perkins reversed the crossface into his own kneebar on Raju. Raju grabbed the title belt, causing the refere to get distracted when the ref went to toss the belt to ringside. Raju used the distraction to low blow kick Perkins in the balls. Raju hit Perkins with a knee to the side of the head for the pinfall win.
Rohit Raju defeated TJ Perkins via pinfall in 9:25 of on-air time to retain the Impact X Division Championship.
Madison Rayne pointed out that TJ P no longer can get an X Title shot while Raju is champion…
John’s Thoughts: Another nice win for Rohit Raju, who slowly and surely is starting to wash away the stank of being the comedy goofball of the Desi Hit Squad. He’s a chicken-bleep heel, but he’s owning that classification and really putting in good performances. In terms of in-ring, this was solid by both men and one of the better TJP singles matches that I’ve seen in a long time. Hopefully they get things right with TJ down the road because TJ has top tier heel potential in him if presented correctly. The bigger story here though is Raju who they are giving the ball and he’s running with it. What it took him to get this good is better promos and his promos have gotten way better from when he used to call himself the “sun” or whatever that was.
Fallah Bahh quickly hid the wad of cash after Shawn Hernandez exited form Tommy Dreamer’s lie detector room. Hernandez claimed that Bahh shot Bravo because Bravo threatened to rat Bahh out to Hernandez in regards to the wad of cash. Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz walked up to Hernandez and defended Fallah Bahh. Hernandez ended up walking off. Kiera asked Bahh if they were “gucci”. Bahh thought that Kiera was referring to his shirt. Kiera said it was more like “we good”. Bahh ended up disappointed after figuring out that Kiera and Tasha stole Hernandez’s wad of cash…[c]
They cut to a Rascalz 70 show Treehouse segment where the Rascalz were disappointed over getting eviction letters. Josh noted that the Rascalz said they were “leaving Impact”…
3. Acey Romero (w/Larry D) vs. Chris Sabin. Romero manhandled Sabin early on. Larry D got cheap shots in on Sabin. Acey dominated Sabin during the early stretch of the match. Sabin ended up getting momentum after taking out Romero and D with a dive. Sabin hit Acey with a crossbody for a two count. Romero reversed a running Sabin with a Uranage. Sabin avoided a running senton by rolling aside. Sabin took out Larry D with a PK from the apron.
Sabin took down Romero with three enzuigiris for the victory.
Chris Sabin defeated Acey Romero via pinfall in 6:23.
XXXL get their heat back by leaving Sabin lying after the match…
John’s Thoughts: A shame that Impact doesn’t want to utilize XXXL any higher than a midcard enhancement team, but I also understand the importance of giving Chris Sabin something to do while Alex Shelley is out injured (it sure beats the partner-less tag team specialist jobbing like they tend to do in WWE). My guess is that Sabin ends up beating up Larry D in no time.
Sami Callihan was backstage sucking up to Chris Bey, who was facing Eddie Edwards. Bey proposed a possible alliance between he and Sami. The show cut to commercial as Sami told Bey a plan…[c]
Tommy Dreamer had James Mitchell hooked up to the lie detector. Mitchell said he had perfect motivation to want to see Rosemary suffer. Mitchell said he didn’t kill Bravo because guns aren’t his style and he wouldn’t want to waste any of John E’s virgin blood. Dreamer said Mitchell has always been a straight shooter, but the lie detector is detecting some deception. Mitchell said he didn’t shoot Bravo but he may know who did…
4. Chris Bey vs. Eddie Edwards. Bey worked on Eddie with quick moves and dominated the early match. Eddie Edwards kicked out at two after a spinning heel kick. The commentary team hyped up Chris Bey participating in the New Japan Super J Cup. Edwards cornered Bey with Kobashi chops. Bey reversed a Tiger Driver with a huracanrana. Bey hit Edwards with a handstand kick. Edwards reversed a springboard cutter into a sit-down pin for the victory.
Eddie Edwards defeated Chris Bey via pinfall in 4:57.
Eddie Edwards dared Chris Bey to come at him with the chair. Sami Callihan then “hacked” the lights off. Sami Callihan was in the ring after the lights came back on. Sami beat down Eddie with a bat. Rich Swann ran out and had the upper hand over Sami and Chris. Ken Shamrock ran out and took down Rich with punches. Sami teased hammering a chair into Rich’s head. The Rascalz ran out to clear the heels from from the ring, sending them into retreat…
John’s Thoughts: An interesting way to present Rich Swann’s potential challengers. I’m assuming the Rascalz and Chris Bey are being added as friends to the opposite sides. Let’s see where that goes. I also hope that the Rascalz being “evicted” from the Tree House means the end of the That 70’s Show ripoff segments.
Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb Konley walked up to Jordynne Grace asking Grace if Grace would end up being Dashwood’s tag partner given that the tag team tournament is next week. Kaleb asked first, but Grace demanded that Dashwood demand it herself. Dashwood mumbled her request at first, but then reluctantly asked Grace to be her tag partner. Grace said that at Turning Point Dashwood will get a chance to win Grace’s trust…[c]
An ad aired for Impact Turning Point…
Rich Swann high fived all three Rascalz members backstage and thanked them for helping him in the last segment. Dez brought up their “Eviction” notice. Rich Swann recommended that The Rascalz go out with a bang. Rich Swann proposed a match next week between Dez and Wentz and Trey Miguel and Rich Swann. Trey joked about Dez and Wentz needing to talk things over because they don’t have last names. The Rascalz agreed to the match for next week…
The Impact Plus Flashback Match of the Week was Beer Money Inc. vs. The British Invasion from Turning Point 2009. Kevin Nash and Eric Young ended up knocking out James Storm at ringside to leave Bobby Roode alone for the loss. Nick Aldis picked up the win to retain the TNA Tag Titles…
Gia Miller interviewed Deonna Purrazzo and Kimber Lee about Deonna’s no-DQ rematch at Turning Point for the Knockouts Championship. Deonna talked about never wrestling in a No-DQ match before and it being Su Yung’s wheelhouse. Kimber Lee and she and Deonna can handle this somehow. Deonna said she always has a plan. Deonna said she’s going to become two-time champion on Sunday. The camera panned back to show that Kimber Lee disappeared. Deonna then walked to the hallway where Kimber Lee was slammed on a window. On the window written in lipstick (?) was, “I think UR alone now”…[c]
The show cut back to James Mitchell and Tommy Dreamer backstage. Mitchell brought Jessika Havok to sit in front of Dreamer to be interrogated. Dreamer joked that Havok and Mitchell have a bit of “heat”. Dreamer brought up Havok being mad at Rosemary for resurrecting James Mitchell. Havok said Dreamer should be asking Rosemary questions. Dreamer asked Havok if Havok shot Bravo and the show cut away with the cliffhanger…
Luster the Legend and Adam F’n Thornstowe made their entrance for the next match…
5. Fallah bahh and Crazzy Steve vs. “Reno Scum” Adam Thornstowe and Luster the Legend. Bahh and Luster started off the match. Bahh took down Luster early on with a running crossbody. Steve tagged in and hit Luster with a running senton. Luster gave Steve a whip and then tagged in Adam. Reno Scum cut the ring in half on Steve. Adam gave Steve a standing moonsault for a two count. Reno Scum traded tags to keep Steve isolated. Steve got momentum after biting Adam’s head. Steve crawled over and tagged in Bahh for the hot tag.
Bahh tackled both opponents. Bahh gave Luster a Belly To Belly. Bahh caught Adam and hit Adam with a Samoan Drop for the two count. Luster caught Steve at ringside and slammed Steve into the ringpost. Reno Scum hit Bahh with a Double Stomp Curb Stomp to give Adam the victory over Bahh.
Reno Scum defeated Fallah Bahh and Crazzy Steve via pinfall in 3:45.
John’s Thoughts: I don’t think Reno Scum picking up a win here means much given that Reno Scum are just in the same boat as XXXL as the midcard heel tag team that’s there to put over more important wrestlers. I’m curious as to why they don’t try Reno Scum as singles wrestlers because I think there’s a lot of potential there, especially in regards to Luster the Legend. Luster’s promos may not be the best but I’ve seen this guy have great matches with many of the wrestlers you see in in bigger singles situations. This guy is in the same boat as Brian Cage, Rich Swann, Jeff Cobb, and other california standouts in terms of having good singles matches.
Chris Sabin was backstage asking for someone to be his tag team partner. The camera panned back to show James Storm. Storm said the Devil inside of him has been asleep for too long. Storm agreed to team with Sabin. Sabin and Storm toasted. Sabin then acted like one bottle of beer was too much for him. Storm said to team with Storm, you have to drink with Strom. Storm ended the segment with his “sorry about your damn luck” catchphrase…
John’s Thoughts: A fun addition to Impact if he can stick along. Storm is one of the best promos in all of pro wrestling and can definitely enhance the product. I hope his “Devil Inside” line wasn’t a potential foreshadowing of him possibly bringing back his failed cult leader persona when he led “The Revolution” faction.
A Talk N’ Shop A Mania ad aired…
Willie Mack was being checked on by a doctor backstage. The doctor cleared Mack to wrestle. Mack was then attacked by Moose. Mack turned the tables and choked Moose with the stethascope. Mack said he’d see Moose’s ass at Turning Point…
Josh Mathews and Madison Rayne checked in from their commentary set. The commentary team ran through the Turning Point and next week’s advertised cards…
Entrance for the main event took place. Karl Anderson has his own singles entrance music…
6. Karl Anderson (w/Doc Gallows) vs. Josh Alexander (w/Ethan Page). Alexander took down Anderson with a single leg takedown. Alexander then overpowered Anderson in the collar and elbow. Anderson turned the tide and gave Alexander a chop. Alexander came back with some strikes. Anderson took down Alexander to ringside with a lariat.[c]
Anderson was dominating Alexander back from break. Alexander got the advantage after Page got cheap shots in at ringside. Alexander dominated the next few minutes of match. Anderson turned the tables after hitting Alexander with a series of lariats and a running senton. Anderson hit Alexander with a spinebuster for a two count. Josh Mathews hyped up the Good Brothers show this weekend.
Alexander used punches to fend off Anderson from executing a Superplex. Anderson ducked a diving knee from Alexander. Alexander came right back with a running boot. Anderson used his weight to block a Tiger Driver. Anderson gave Alexander a backdrop. Alexander and Anderson traded stiff jabs with Anderson winning out with a lariat for a two count. Alexander blocked a Gun Stun attempt. Page grabed the feet of Anderson. Page then stormed the ring for the DQ.
Karl Anderson defeated Ethan Page via DQ in 10:37 of on-air time.
Gallows stormed the ring to rain punches on Page. Gallows used punches to fend off The North. Impact security guards ended up breaking apart the teams to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: A standard and effective way to keep both teams strong heading into their tag team title encounter. I actually wouldn’t mind seeing Page and Alexander wrestle a few years from now as singles stars given that both men have singles potential. The North vs. Good Brothers should be a highlight from the Impact Plus show this weekend.
On another note, maybe I missed it, but did we finally get an Impact show without Scott D’Amore all over it, let alone at all? Wowzers! Aside from that, this was a middle of the road show that did a decent job keeping a few stories hot. The slight hype for the Impact Plus show didn’t seem as jarring as it did the last time they tried to weave it into their regular weekly show.
” I also hope that the Rascalz being “evicted” from the Tree House means the end of the That 70’s Show ripoff segments”
Other sites are indicating they are being “evicted” from Impact entirely. Amicable parting of ways. Which I understand, they have plenty of midcard tag teams: Reno Scum, XXXL, The Deaners…don’t need 4 “enhancement” teams on the roster.
I don’t know if I buy that rumor. They’re getting featured pretty prominently going out the door, if so. That feels kinda anti-booking-101. Plus isn’t Wentz romantically linked to Kimber Lee? I don’t know, I’ll just have to see it to believe it.