By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
Impact Wrestling TV
Taped in Nashville, Tennessee at Skyway Studios
Aired September 16, 2021 on AXS TV
Highlights from last week’s Impact Wrestling show aired…
Josh Mathews and D’Lo Brown were on commentary with Dave Penzer serving as ring announcer…
1. “Violent by Design” Rhino and Deaner (w/Eric Young, Joe Doering) vs. “Decay” Crazzy Steve and Black Taurus (w/Rosemary, Jessika Havok). Taurus hit Deaner with a body slam. Steve tagged in and hit Deaner with a senton. Rhino gave Steve a lariat when Deaner distracted the referee. VBD used quick tags to cut the ring in half on Steve. Steve hit Deaner with a snapmare followed by a headscissors neck wrench. Young got on the apron to distract the referee.
Rhino tossed Steve off the top rope. Rhino held Steve in place but Steve got away, leading to Deaner accidentally hitting Rhino with the VBD flag. Steve hit Deaner with a diving DDT for the victory.
Decay defeated Violent By Design via pinfall in 3:37.
Mathews noted that Violent By Design have been losing a lot of matches recently. After Decay left, Eric Young berated Rhino in the ring. Rhino wasn’t taking it and got in EY’s face. Young tried to leave, but Rhino held Young by the wrist. Deaner blindsided Rhino with a punch. Doering and Deaner put the boots to Rhino. Eric Young slammed the flagpole on the back of Rhino and draped the flag over the fallen Rhino…
John’s Thoughts: Decent story, but it’s a bit odd that they give a lot of TV time over the past month to the “Transformation” of Rhino, only to have VBD lose again and expel Rhino from the group. Eh, that said, VBD has been a bit cold since Eric Young got hurt and is not able to work in main events. I wonder if Rhino turning face leads to the return of Heath [Slater]? Either that, or will Rhino stay heel and finally get a haircut?
The show cut to this week’s Swinger’s Palace segment. Swinger name dropped Jerry Jarrett, Dixie Carter, and the Harris Twins as people he thought was running Impact before Alisha Edwards told him that Scott D’Amore was running the show. TJP and Petey Williams showed up with Petey being mad that TJP distracted him with a conga line. This segment set up a TJP vs. Petey Williams match for later in the show. Johnny Swinger wondered if the “guy from Smashing Pumpkins” (Billy Corgan) was running the show…
Gia Miller interviewed Team Christian, who all were confident at winning their match later in the show…
Josh Mathews and D’Lo Brown ran through the advertised Victory Road card…
John’s Thoughts: No word on where Striker is? I do prefer Josh on commentary these days, so this is actually an upgrade in a sense. They didn’t do their usual camera shot of the announce team in front of a backdrop so I’m wondering if they had to retape something?
2. TJP vs. Petey Williams. Both men started the match with chain wrestling. Petey got to the ropes for separation when TJ went for an octopus hold. TJ took down Petey with a headscissors takedown (thank god he stopped dabbing during that move). After an exchange, Petey caught TJ with a slingshot codebreaker. Petey hit TJ with a draped dropkick. Petey hit Perkins with a side legsweep for a two count.[c]
Petey and Perkins traded advantages. Petey ended up putting TJ in the Tree of Woe and doing his signature O Canada sing along. TJ flipped out of the corner and hit Petey with a Tornado DDT. This allowed him a moment of respite. TJ hit Petey with a boot wash and face wash against the bottom rope. Petey avoided a Swanton, TJ avoided a destroyer. Petey locked TJ in a Sharpshooter. Mathews joked that a part of graduating High School in Canada requires you learn the sharpshooter. Perkins went for a La Magistral Cradle, but Petey pushed his weight down to get TJ’s shoulders on the mat for the surprise win.
Petey Williams defeated TJP via pinfall in 6:00 of on-air time.
Steve Maclin showed up and tossed TJP aside. Maclin put Williams in the Tree of Woe and speared him. Maclin tossed TJ back in the ring and hit TJ with TJ’s broom. Maclin stood tall to end the segment…
John’s Thoughts: A rare win for Petey against a credible opponent, who could use some wins if he’s going to be a credible gatekeeper. This was a solid technical match between two good technical wrestlers. Meanwhile, I continue to enjoy Steve Maclin’s run in Impact where he continues to shine as a dominant monster big-man heel.
The Impact Plus Flashback Match of the week was Austin Aries vs. Chris Sabin for the X Division Championship from an episode of Impact back in 2013. Chris Sabin ended up winning the X Division title after a Super Cradle Shock…
Gia Miller interviewed Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows about Anderson winning the Bunkhouse Brawl last week. Anderson gave credit to Doc Gallows for having his back during the match. Gallows said that Swann was supposed to have Willie Mack in his corner, but Mack was still in the hospital. Gallows said that it was time to put Mack and Swann in their rear view mirror and move on. The Good Brothers left and walked in to Willie Mack who was on crutches. Mack revealed he was okay. Mack and Swann chased The Good Brothers away with crutches…[c]
Gia Miller interviewed Willie Mack and Rich Swann about Mack looking recovered from his injury. Mack and Swann talked about kicking the asses of the Good Brothers. Scott D’Amore showed up and booked Good Brothers vs. Mack and Swann for the tag titles at Victory Road…
John Skyler made his entrance (He actually gets an entrance this time. He’s usually the guy who’s “already in the ring). He had a mic for a promo. Skyler called out Laredo Kid and said that Kid was lucky for beating him on Before the Impact before. Kid said when he beats Kid tonight, it’s not going to be by luck. He said he’s going to beat Kid like he beat Matt Cardona, all by himself. Laredo Kid made his entrance. Josh Mathews congratulated Rich Swann for making the top 10 of the PWI top 500..
3. John Skyler vs. Laredo Kid. Kid hit Skyler with a slingshot crossbody early on. Kid hit Skyler with a jumping neckbreaker. Kid followed up with a suicide dive at ringside. Kid hit Skyler with a slingshot splash for a two count. Skyler caught Kid at ringside with a belly to belly suplex. Skyler worked on Kid with methodical offense. Kid worked on Skyler with punches. Skyler distracted Kid by trying to rip of Kid’s mask. Skyler rolled up Kid for the win.
John Skyler defeated Laredo Kid via pinfall 3:48.
The commentary team pointed out that Skyler got a dirty win…
John’s Thoughts: It’s nice to see Skyler finally be allowed to have meaningful matches and be presented as more than just enhancement talent. He showed a bit of personality here as a chicken heel and didn’t look bad. This is also another big win for him. Beating Cardona was a big win because of how protect Cardona seems to be in Impact. Laredo Kid is geting buzz these days for his work in AAA, so it’s not like Skyler beat some scrub.
The show cut to Tenille Dashwood hosting her “All About Me” talk show, with Kaleb Konley and Madison Rayne as co hosts. Rayne joked about how she felt like she was on this set before. Taylor Wilde was the guest. Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering also showed up. Dashwood and Kaleb said that it was uncomfortable. Dashwood tried to end the segment, but Wilde stopped her to continue the show. Wilde joked about Dashwood being afraid to wrestle Wilde by herself. Wilde challenged Dashwood to a one-on-one match at Victory Road…[c]
An ad aired for Bound For Glory…
Footage from “earlier today” showed Matt Cardona attacking Rohit Raju and Mahabali Shera in the hallway. Gia Miller asked Scott D’Amore if he had thoughts on the Raju and Cardona feud. D’Amore talked about being worried about Chelsea Green injured at home. Matt Cardona showed up and D’Amore berated him for attacking Raju out of nowhere. Cardona asked for a one-on-one match with Rohit Raju. D’Amore said that he’ll book it as long as Cardona doesn’t put his hands on Raju until Saturday. D’Amore said it can be a No DQ match too. D’Amore then walked off saying he was sick and tired of all the madness…
“Drama King” Matt Rehwoldt made his entrance…
4. “The Drama King” Matthew Rehwoldt vs. Trey Miguel. Trey and Matt started off the match with an extended collar and elbow exchange. Trey escaped the move with an armdrag. Rehwoldt came back with a big boot. Rehwoldt worked on Miguel with methodical offense. Rehwoldt gave Miguel a snake eyes on the apron. Trey Miguel went for old school, but Rehwoldt yanked Trey’s elbow against the top rope. Rehwoldt got a two count off a Small Package.
Rehwoldt hit Miguel with a front slam for a two count. Rehwoldt hit Miguel with a back splash in the corner. Rehwoldt worked on Trey with a chinlock. Rehwoldt went back to the methodical offense. Trey ended up using a baseball slide to trip Rehwoldt. Trey followed up with a slingshot dropkick. Trey hit Rehwoldt with a Scorpion Kick and Paige Turner for the two count. Rehwoldt blocked a split legged moonsault. Rehwoldt hit Trey with a nice looking modified Power Bomb.
Trey staggered Rehwoldt on the top rope with a gamengiri. Rehwoldt shoved Migule off the top rope. Rehwoldt missed a Swanton. Trey hit Rehwoldt with a leg trap suplex. Trey put Matt in the Hourglass for the win.
Trey Miguel defeated Matthew Rehwoldt via submission in 7:47.
Deonna Purrazzo showed up and low blowed Trey. Mickie James showed up to save Trey. Mickie hit Deonna with a Thesz Press and punches. Referees ran out to separate both women. Mickie broke away and hit Deonna with another Thesz Press. Rehwoldt pulled Deonna aside. Mickie broke away from security again and hit Matt and Deonna with a dive. Rehwoldt dragged Deonna to the back while Mickie stood tall in the ring as her Hardcore Country song played…
John’s Thoughts: A good clash of paces. Rehwoldt did a good job leading the match at a slow and methodical pace while Trey added the right amount of speed to keep it from being mundane. The real story here was that this was more build towards Mickie vs. Deonna at BFG. In fact, the brawl afterwards was well done with Mickie getting the upper hand over Deonna. I do feel like Impact could do more with Trey Miguel though than just having him be everybody’s random friend. It looked like he was in line for a big push when Miguel re-signed with Impact, but they quickly got him lost in the midcard once he settled in.
A replay aired of Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans stealing the Women’s Tag Team Belts last week…
Steelz and Evans were backstage with the tag belts with Steelz cutting a promo. Steelz said they didn’t steal the titles, Decay stole the titles from Steelz. Steelz said she was taking back what was her and Evans. Steelz hyped Evans as a powerhouse. Steelz challenged Decay to a match at Victory Road…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Steelz is someone who’s surprised me a bit since losing Kiera Hogan as a tag partner. I really like how she’s toned down her attitude and is a bit more serious these days. I hope Impact sees that there’s potential with this Steelz and Evans tag team and that they don’t rack up losses for them, making booking them an uphill battle.
An ad aired for the Impact Plus Victory Road show…
A replay aired of Chris Bey and Hikuleo leaving FinnJuice lying last week…
Chris Bey and Hikuleo were backstage for a promo where Bey hyped up his and Hikuleo’s match against FinnJuice at Victory Road…
Entrances for the ten man tag match took place with about half an hour left in the show…[c]
5. Ace Austin, Madman Fulton, Brian Myers (w/Zikey Dice, Manny Lemons, Sam Beale), W Morrissey, and Moose vs. Christian, Josh Alexander, Eddie Edwards, Sami Callihan, and Chris Sabin. Ace and Sami started off the match with Sami putting the boots to Ace. The face team traded quick tags to cut the ring in half on Ace. Ace managed to get to his corner. All ten men faced off in the ring heading into the commercial.[c]
A brawl ensued at ringside between everyone. Ace went for a disaster kick, but was punched out of the air by Sami. Sami low blowed Beale and gave him a Pile Driver. Myers gave Sami a buzzsaw kick. Fulton tagged in and hit Sami with a deadlift chokeslam. Sami gave Fulton a Bulldog. Alexander gave Fulton a German Suplex. Sabin tagged himself and gave Fulton a Missile Dropkick. Ace tagged in and was slammed by Sabin. Christian and Fulton tagged in. Fulton had the upper hand, but Christian came back with chops and then tagged in Eddie.
Fulton tackled Eddie to the heel corner. Eddie hit Moose with an Atomic Drop and Belly to Belly. Eddie caught Moose with a back elbow. Morrissey distracted Eddie which allowed Moose to dropkick Eddie off the top rope.[c]
Myers worked on Edwards with methodical offense back from the break. Fulton tagged in and kept Eddie isolated. The heels traded quick tags to cut the ring in half on Eddie. Eddie got a window of opportunity after hitting Morrissey with a missile dropkick. Myers and Christian tagged in. Christian got ten punches on Myers in the corner. Christian got a neckbreaker on Myers. Christian hit Myers with a Frog Splash for a two count.
The rest of the wrestlers hit each other with their signature moves. Christian and Ace were alone in the ring. Christian went for a Killswitch, but Ace used his boot for the low blow on Christian. Eddie kicked Ace off the top rope. Eddie suplexed Ace on the pile of wrestlers at ringside. Christian blocked a Roster Cut by Myers and hit Myers with a Spear. Alexander tagged in and hit Myers with a Jay Driller for the win.
Team Christian defeated Team Ace Austin via pinfall in 14:18 of on-air time.
The babyface team stood tall to close the show. Josh Mathews plugged Victory Road and Bound for Glory…
John’s Thoughts: Solid preview for some matchups at Victory Road. I like them giving Alexander the win here because it continues to present Alexander as Impact’s fastest rising star, which is how they’re framing Alexander along with all the good matches he’s been having recently. Christian continues to do well in his role as the TNA Original face of Impact Wrestling (even though Omega was probably better as Champ for his crossover appeal).
Solid episode of Impact as usual. Heck, there’s an argument that can be made that Impact is better these days than NXT because of all the downgrades NXT got this past tuesday (though NXT might be a better show to watch due to production levels). Impact still struggles to be must-see though and they need to find a way to make their weekly show draw in new viewers. As good as their Impact Plus shows have been, I feel like that it hurts them a bit because it forces them to stretch their creative thin, making their weekly show wheel-spinning at times.
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