By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Impact Wrestling TV
Taped in Nashville, Tennessee at Skyway Studios
Aired June 17, 2021 on AXS TV
[Hour One] Impact opened with a recap of the Don Callis and Scott D’Amore related segments from last week and at the Against All Odds event, including Callis firing Sami Callihan…
Gia Miller stood outside of D’Amore’s locker room. Moose arrived and knocked on the door. D’Amore opened the door. Moose said he was screwed at Against All Odds. He said Sami Callihan was fired and he doesn’t give a damn. Moose said he wants his rematch with Kenny Omega at Slammiversary. D’Amore said Anthem executives were coming to the Impact Zone and he didn’t have time to deal with it now, but it would be dealt with. Once D’Amore closed the door, Moose said he’d make time…
The Impact opening aired… The broadcast team of Josh Mathews and D-Lo Brown checked in while ring announcer Dave Penzer handled the opening match introductions…
1. TJP (w/Fallah Bahh) vs. Black Taurus (w/Crazzy Steve). Late in the match, TJP performed a tornado DDT. Taurus rolled to ringside. TJP dove onto Taurus, Steve, and Bahh. TJP rolled Taurus back inside the ring and then hit the Mamba Splash for the win.
TJP beat Black Taurus.
After the match, Moose came out and attacked TJP. Moose dumped TJP to ringside and then set up a chair inside the ring. Moose said D’Amore doesn’t have time for him after he was screwed by Kenny Omega. Moose said he would make D’Amore make time for him by hijacking his show.
Security came out. Moose told them not to enter the ring or he would hurt all of them. Chris Sabin showed up and performed a missile dropkick on Moose. Sabin grabbed the chair and slammed it over the head of Moose. Sabin grabbed the mic and said Moose didn’t need to worry about Omega because he’s looking for a fight. Sabin challenged Moose to fight on the spot. Moose headed backstage…
Powell’s POV: The match felt rather than random in terms of it being a singles match involving two wrestlers from babyface tag teams. Granted, TJP works a lot of X Division matches as well, but I can’t say that I have interest in a Decay vs. TJP and Bahh feud if that’s where this is going. The Moose and Sabin angle was fine aside from the chair to the head. Moose sorta put his hands up. If they made it look good without making contact then good for them, but it sure looked like the chair made contact. If so, shame on Impact and Anthem and any other company that still allows unprotected chair shots to the head after all we’ve learned about head trauma.
Backstage, Ace Austin spoke with Rohit Raju about the Ultimate X match at Slammiversary while Madman Fulton paced. Austin made a pitch for forming an alliance with Raju in the Ultimate X match. Raju was hesitant, but he eventually agreed and shook hands with Austin. Raju said Austin isn’t the only one with an ace up his sleeve. “I think this just got even better,” Raju said… [C]
Chris Sabin was interviewed by Gia Miller in the backstage area. Sabin took issue with Moose hijacking the show and calling himself the wrestling god. Sabin said Moose should consider the possibility that the real wrestling god sent him to humble Moose. Sabin challenged Moose to a match at Slammiversary…
The broadcast team spoke and hyped some upcoming matches and segments…
2. X Division Champion Josh Alexander vs. Madman Fulton (w/Ace Austin) in a non-title match. Fulton picked up Alexander at ringside and dropped him onto the apron, then put him down with a big boot. [C] Alexander performed a double-underhook piledriver and scored the pin.
X Division Champion Josh Alexander defeated Madman Fulton in a non-title match.
After the match, Austin attacked Alexander. Petey Williams ran out to help and performed a Codebreaker on Austin. Rohit Raju ran in and attacked Williams. Trey Miguel ran out and fought off Raju. Mahabali Shera ran out and destroyed Miguel and Williams. Alexander fought Shera and took a chokeslam onto Shera’s knee…
Powell’s POV: Shera is obviously the ace that Raju mentioned earlier. It’s not a great look for the X Division Champion and two other X Division babyfaces to be manhandled by Shera, but I get the story they are telling with Austin and Raju having backup in Fulton and Shera.
Backstage, Deonna Purrazzo bickered with Kimber Lee and Susan. Lee tried to play peacemaker while Susan said Purrazzo wouldn’t be Knockouts Champion without them. Purrazzo told them that she’s done with both of them. Susan called Purrazzo a “typical degenerate millennial”… [C]
Powell’s POV: I really hope this somehow leads to Purrazzo going back to being a badass heel champion who takes on all comers. Her character was at its best when she first arrived and showed zero fear of then babyface champion Jordynne Grace. Since winning the title, Purrazzo is still great in the ring, but her character has become just another fearful heel.
W Morrissey was interviewed by Gia Miller in the backstage area regarding his win over Rich Swann. He said everyone in Impact seems to be under a spell that makes them believe they have friends who will help them get to the top of Impact. Morrissey said Swann’s friend is Willie Mack. He asked how that worked out for him at Against All Odds. He also pointed that TJP had Fallah Bahh watching his back and asked how that worked out earlier in the show. He also noted that Eddie Edwards was watching Kojima’s back at Against All Odds and asked how that played out. Morrissey said these people are not friends, they will only stab you in the back. Morrissey said he learned the hard lesson that the only person he can trust in wrestling and life is himself…
3. Steve Maclin vs. Jason Page. Maclin dominated the match. He picked up Page in reverse DDT position, but ended up slamming him down sit-out style before pinning him…
Steve Maclin defeated Jason Page.
Powell’s POV: Maclin looks and feels like a new man. If I didn’t already know, I don’t even think I’d recognize him as the guy who played Steve Cutler in WWE and NXT. Good for him for reinventing himself.
The backstage camera peeped on a conversation involving Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering. Grace was upset because people think she only won the Knockouts Tag Titles because of Ellering. She ended up storming off… [C]
Gia Miller stood outside Kenny Omega’s locker room door. She knocked on the door and ended up interviewing Don Callis, who said you can love someone and still have disagreements. He said that sums up his relationship with Scott D’Amore. Callis said they have different skillsets. Callis said D’Amore has empathy for the talent, whereas he sees them as numbers on a spreadsheet. Callis said that allows him to make the hard decisions.
Callis said D’Amore loves to announce good news, but someone has to be the heavy. Callis said firing Sami Callihan was inevitable. Miller pointed out that Anthem was sending representatives to deal with the situation and asked if that concerned him. Callis assumed that they were sending someone to thank him. He said they should come bearing gifts because he took care of a problem that should have been taken care of a long time ago…
Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb made their entrance while Brown stated on commentary that he’s disgusted that Callis is a part of the company.
[Hour Two] Rachael Ellering made her entrance…
4. Rachael Ellering vs. Tenille Dashwood (w/Kaleb). Dashwood handed Ellering a t-shirt that had Kaleb and her own images on it. Ellering ended up tossing it to ringside. Late in the match, Dashwood performed a low cross body block in the corner and then picked up a two count. Dashwood showed frustration and slapped Ellering, who fired back with a series of forearms to the head. Ellering performed a uranage slam and a leg drop from the ropes. Kaleb distracted Ellering with his camera light, and then Dashwood hooked her into a pin..
Tenille Dashwood defeated Rachael Ellering.
Powell’s POV: A good back and forth match.
TJP and Fallah Bahh knocked on Scott D’Amore’s office door. Crazzy Steve and Black Taurus showed up. Steve said they were frustrated with the outcome of their last encounter. Bahh called for a tag team match. Steve said that sounded delightful…
Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz delivered a backstage promo and boated about successfully defending the Knockouts Tag Titles at Against All Odds. They encountered a guy named Dan who was wearing an Impact t-shirt while mopping the floor of the studio and asked him if he knows who they are. He saw the title belts and said they were Knockouts Tag Champions, and then they told him their tag team name. They approached another janitor and asked him who the baddest tag team is. He said he couldn’t help them.
Rosemary showed up. Hogan and Steelz started to back away from her and bumped into Havok. Rosemary threw Steelz at the wall, then Rosemary and Havok threw Hogan into a trash bind. Hogan stood up in the trash bind and found a trash bag with “Mickie” written on it…
Powell’s POV: A cute gag playing off of WWE sending Mickie James her belongings in a trash bag. Is it just a joke or is it a tease that James will be returning to Impact? She’s working with the NWA and there have been issues between the NWA and Impact, but you obviously never say never in pro wrestling.
The Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week featured Chris Sabin beating Bully Ray at Destination X 2013. Yes, there was a ref bump and Sabin won the title by hitting Bully Ray with a hammer following a big brawl involving Aces & Eights and Main Event Mafia…
Satoshi Kojima was shown warming up backstage with Eddie Edwards by his side… [C]
5. Satoshi Kojima (w/Eddie Edwards) vs. Rhino (w/Eric Young, Joe Doering, Deaner. The stipulation of the match was that Kojima could earn a tag title shot for him and Edwards with a win. Kojima knocked Rhino down with an elbow and then followed up with an elbow drop. Rhino rolled to ringside by his stablemates. [C]
Late in the match, Kojima went up top and dropped an elbow on Rhino, then covered him for a two count. Kojima fired forearms and elbows at Rhino, who came back with a clothesline. Rhino rallied briefly, but Kojima stuffed a suplex and then DDT’d him. Rhino came back with a suplex, but Kojima dropped him with a cutter. Kojima removed his elbow pad and hit a lariat on his second try and scored the pin…
Satoshi Kojima defeated Rhino to earn an Impact Tag Title shot.
Powell’s POV: A solid match. There wasn’t any mystery regarding the outcome with the one-sided stipulation, but they got where they wanted to get with Kojima and Edwards getting the title shot. Whatever happened to Eric Young punishing the Violent By Design members for losses?
The broadcast team hyped the following matches for next week’s show: Joe Doering and Deaner vs. Kojima and Edwards for the Impact Tag Titles, Kiera Hogan vs. Rosemary, Rohit Raju and Shera vs. Trey Miguel and Petey Williams, and Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo vs. Susan in a non-title match.
Sami Callihan could be heard throwing a fit while the broadcast team spoke. They cut to the ring where Callihan called out Kenny Omega and Don Callis… [C] Coming out of the break, security was in the ring with Callihan, who challenged all five of them.
Scott D’Amore came out and told the security guards to leave the ring. D’Amore joined Callihan inside the ring. He said Callihan could lay him out if he wanted to, but for once he’s on his side. D’Amore said Callihan should not have been fired. He said he’s been on the phone all week and that’s why Anthem sent a representative to the show.
D’Amore asked Callihan to have faith in him. Callihan said he is the soul of Impact. He said he doesn’t like authority, but he would do things his way once. Callihan hit something on his phone. The ICU graphic appeared and Callihan magically teleported away (ugh).
Don Callis came out and said you can’t fix crazy. He said there’s no amount of therapy that can fix Callihan. D’Amore said Callis overstepped his bounds at Against All Odds. Callis said he may have, but he did it for D’Amore. Callis said they don’t wrestle and are better than the wrestlers. Callis said the wrestlers are insects who make them money. D’Amore said Callis fired Callihan to protect Omega.
Tommy Dreamer made his entrance. D’Amore said he didn’t have time him to say he told him so. Callis told him to go back to Philadelphia and the big hall. D’Amore said Anthem was sending a representative from their board and he didn’t have time for his. Dreamer said he’s the person that Anthem sent. Dreamer said Anthem didn’t go around D’Amore, he went to them. Callis called him a stooge.
Dreamer announced that Callihan was reinstated. Dreamer said someone else needed to be fired. He said D’Amore called him when they started with Impact because they vowed to change the company and take care of the wrestlers. D’Amore said they did change things and he does care about everyone backstage.
Dreamer said personal relationships and friendships have been put in front of the company. Callis said D’Amore is a good guy and he can’t help that. Dreamer said Anthem is making a change. He announced that Don Callis was fired by Impact effective immediately. Callis threw a fit and accused D’Amore of not being able to manage his personal relationships. Callis called Dreamer “a Bruce Prichard stooge.” Callis left the ring and said D’Amore and Dreamer should both be fired.
Callis headed to the back. Callihan stopped Callis and said he was a jackal then and is a jackal now. Callihan pointed out that Callis isn’t an executive any longer. Callis tried to claim it hadn’t gone into effect yet. Callihan said he wasn’t there to get violent with him. “Where’s the fun in that, Don?” Callihan asked. Rather, Callihan said he was going to take the person Callihan loves the most, Kenny Omega, and bash his brains in while he makes Callis watch…
Powell’s POV: A good final segment. I still despise the needless teleportation nonsense, but I like the way that Callihan comes off as the anti-hero babyface. He hasn’t changed who he is, he’s just being himself while fighting against Kenny Omega and Don Callis. Overall, a solid show. John Moore will be by with this week’s audio review for Dot Net Members later today.
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