By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
Impact Wrestling TV
Taped in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 2300 Arena
Aired April 21, 2022 on AXS TV
Highlights from last week’s Impact Wrestling show aired…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt were on commentary. Dave Penzer was the ring announcer…
Entrances for the opening match took place…
1. Impact Tag Team Champions “Violent By Design” Eric Young and Deaner (w/Joe Doering) vs. “Decay” Crazzy Steve and Black Taurus in a Non Title Match. Taurus dominated the early part of the match with strikes. Deaner distracted the referee so Young could get a cheap shot in. Young and Deaner traded quick tags to cut the ring in half on Taurus. Taurus tagged in Steve after Young missed a top rope leg drop. Steve hit Deaner with a snapmare and neck wrench.
Steve hit Deaner with a cannonball after knocking Young off the apron. Steve hit Deaner with a Tornado Pedigree. Young broke up Steve’s pin with an elbow drop. Young dumped Taurus to ringside by avoiding a tackle. Doering gave Taurus a slam and toss into the steel steps at ringside. While the referee was distracted with Doering, Young hit Steve with the VBD Flag. Deaner hit Steve with the Deaner DDT for the victory.
Violent By Design defeated Decay via pinfall in 4:42.
John’s Thoughts: A well wrestled match. I’d just rather see a handful of these wrestlers in a better position. Decay is dead at this point and could use some reworking. Young and Doering are great, but I’d rather see them as singles stars as opposed to being relegated to the tag division (When are we getting our Doering single’s push?). Rebellion has a really good card, but the tag title gauntlet is the match I’m least hyped for. There was just no real story push and it feels like the “get everybody on the show” match.
A hype package aired to hype the Moose vs. Josh Alexander match…[c]
An ad aired for the Impact Plus Under Siege Show which is set for May 7th. One notable part of the commercial is that Jay and Mark Briscoe were shown in the ad…
During the break, Rosemary and Havok checked on Steve and Taurus in the back. Hannifan noted that Taurus seemed injured. Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans ran in to attack Rosemary and Havok…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in from the commentary table. The commentary team ran through the advertised Rebellion PPV card. Hannifan also announced that Moose will give a “formal apology to Josh Alexander’s family” on this week’s show for intimidating Josh’s son and spearing Josh’s wife…
Brian Myers, Chelsea Green, and “Alwayz Ready” Matt Cardona made their entrance. Cardona and Myers wore their new “Major Players” shirts. A replay aired of last week’s segment where the Major Players beat down W Morrissey. The Major Players got a mixed reaction. Cardona said that it was fitting for him to be in the ECW arena because he’s the “Deathmatch King”. Cardona said he’s about Buzz, Money, and Gold, and he’s here as the Digital Media Champion. He said he also needs some tag team gold. He said he couldn’t find a better partner than the man he broke into the business with.
Myers agreed that he and Cardona haven’t seen eye-to-eye in Impact, but they do now. Myers said he’s currently the best version of himself that he’s ever been, as the most professional wrestler. Cardona said he’s at his best too, with his hot wife Chelsea Green. Green said Impact should take this group in. Green said they were all great individually, but together they are the strongest unit in pro wrestling. Green said she was the only person who could take out Mickie James. Cardona said he and Myers “got the tables” to take out W Morrissey for good. Myers talked about how they were the most decorated team in Impact even though they weren’t a formal team yet, but they are a team now.
Suddenly, ECW’s Little Guido (a.k.a Nunzio) and Tony Mamaluke of the Full Blooded Italians made their entrance. Cardona laughed at the FBI showing up and said that he was in the ring with “fellow” ECW originals (Ey, to give Cardona credit, Woowoowoo Zack Ryder was born on WWE-ECW). Guido talked about how many wrestlers over the generations have bled blood just so the next generation could step in the ring. Guido said that Cardona better not disrespect this building, because the building belongs to the fans. Guido said they don’t look like Major Players, but rather Major sissies or Major idiots.
Cardona yelled that they are Major Players and the hottest team in pro wrestling. A Major Sissies chant ensued. Cardona yelled that the FBI haven’t been relevant since ECW died 20 years ago. A quick brawl ensued with Guido clearing the Major Players from the ring. Guido challenged Cardona for a match for the Digital Media Championship…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A really strong character establishing promo to establish the rebranded Major Brothers, not Major Players. Cardona’s rebranding was key here and I thought he came off really well. I don’t blame pockets of the crowd for cheering because Cardona’s heel work has been commendable. I was a bit apprehensive about the latest Edge Head reunion, but I’m willing to give this Major Player thing a chance now that Cardona and Myers have elevated their game.
2. “Alwayz Ready” Matt Cardona (w/Chelsea Green, Brian Myers) vs. Little Guido (w/Tony Mamaluke) for the Impact Digital Media Championship. Cardona teased a Code of Honor handshake, but Guido saw the trap coming. Guido gave Cardona a Dragon Screw and a few armdrags. Tony distracted Cardona which allowed Guido to dropkick Cardona. Myers shoved the bottom rope into the groin of Guido to stagger him. Cardona gave Guido a wrecking ball dropkick. Cardona worked on Guido with methodical offense.
Cardona hit Guido with a Broski Boot for a two count. Guido avoided a corner splash and chopped Cardona. Guido gave Cardona a legsweep and shotgun dropkick. Guido hit Cardona with a Sicilian Slice for a one count. Myers distracted the referee which allowed Cardona to low blow Guido. Cardona hit Guido with the Ruff Ryder Leg Lariat for the victory.
Matt Cardona defeated Little Guido via pinfall in 4:57 to retain the Impact Digital Media Championship.
Myers choked out Mamaluke a bit. The Major Players set up a table in the corner. Before the Major Players could do anything, W Morrissey walked to the ring to take down both Major Players. Chelsea Green managed to turn the tables by low blowing Morrissey. Myers was about to pile driver Morrissey, but Jordynne Grace ran out for the save. Cardona tried to blindside Grace, but Grace saw it coming and gave Cardona a lariat. Grace asked Morrissey to chokeslam Cardona. Morrissey choke slammed Cardona through the table. Morrissey and Grace stood tall with Mamaluke and Guido to end the segment…
The Honor No More faction (sans PCO) were cutting a promo backstage. They all took turns hyping up themselves for upcoming matches…[c]
A Jonah promo aired where he was in a random gritty area. Jonah said he warned PCO but PCO didn’t listen, so he had to put away PCO for good. Jonah said that if Tomohiro Ishii doesn’t want to listen, he has to be put away too. Jonah said it’s the Top Dog vs. The Stone Pitbull at Rebellion. Jonah said it’s going to be a dog fight…
Mahabali Shera got a televised entrance for the next match…
3. Mahabali Shera (w/Raj Singh) vs. Gabriel Rodriguez. Shera hit Rodriguez with a toss and a Sky High for the win.
Mahabali Shera defeated Gabriel Rodriguez via pinfall in 0:25.
John’s Thoughts: Oh look. Shera’a back. This guy always seems to make his random returns, only to disappear randomly for months. Not really looking forward to his feud with the extremely green Bhupinder Gujjar. Bhupinder hasn’t gotten his obligatory weekly segment for weeks right? I haven’t noticed, but I assume the time was better allotted to someone who could have used it.
Gia Miller asked Bhupinder if he regrets not teaming with Raj. Bhupinder said he doesn’t need Raj. He said he’s here to make his mark in Impact Wrestling. He said he’s happy for Shera and Raj as long as they stand out of the way of his business…[c]
Moose argued to Scott D’Amore backstage for forcing him to give a public apology to Josh Alexander’s family. D’Amore condescendingly said that he actually wished that Moose didn’t give an apology so he could strip Moose of the title belt. Moose said he needs Scott to ensure that he’s safe during the segment later. D’Amore noted that Jen, Josh’s wife, wasn’t ensured safety at Destiny Pro Wrestling when Moose speared her. D’Amore said that Moose has the best “assurance” when Scott D’Amore ends up being at the public apology in person. He said he’s looking forward to see Moose eat crow…
Eddie Edwards, Matt Taven, Maria Kanellis, Mike Bennett, Kenny King, and Vincent made their entrance. Chris Bey, Jay White, and The Good Brothers came out next…
4. “Honor No More” Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, Kenny King, and Vincent (w/Eddie Edwards) vs. “The Bullet Club” Jay White, Chris Bey, Doc Gallows, and Karl Anderson. Vincent and Gallows started the match with Gallows dominating with his power. Gallows tagged in and gave Vincent a lariat. Vincent raked Gallows to the eyes and tagged in Bennett. Gallows and Bennett had a bit of a stalemate. Taven and White tagged in to some applause. Taven and White ran the ropes with Taven taking down White wtih a dropkick.
King and Bey tagged in. Hannifan noted that Bey was trained by King, yet both men never fought each other in a sanctioned match. Neither man could land a move on each other for a stalemate. Bey managed to hit King wiht a shotgun dropkick. King gave Bey a knee to the fact. Bennett tagged in and gave Bey a Brainbuster for a two count. Honor No More cut the ring in half on Bey with quick tags. Karl Anderson got distracted by Maria, which allowed Taven to hit him with a suicide dive. [c]
Anderson hit Bennett with a spinebuster. White cleared King and Vincent from the ring with DDTs. White hit Vincent with a Final Cut suplex for a two count. Vincent managed to get a moment of respite by hitting White with a legsweep. Gallows tagged in and cleaned house. Gallows hit Bennett with a shoulder tackle and high kick. Taven broke up the Good Brothers Magic Killer. Everybody ended up taking turns hitting each other with signature moves. The Good Brothers were left alone in the ring with Bennett. Anderson hit Bennett with a Gun Stun. Gallows tagged in so the Good Brothers could hit Bennett with the Magic Killer to give Gallows the win.
The Bullet Club defeated Honor No More via pinfall in 9:20 of on-air time.
John’s Thoughts: A good PPV preview match between the two larger factions in Impact. One interesting note is that Honor No More seems to lose all of their matches unless your name is Eddie Edwards (and even Eddie lost a match recently). With the dust settling from AEW purchasing ROH, we might be in store for some reworking of Honor No More in the near future.
Steve Maclin was sitting down backstage cutting a promo. Maclin talked about how Jay White and Chris Sabin are a part of different “clubs”. Maclin said he was a part of a club too (the Marine corps). Maclin said in the club he was in they all had each others’ back and fought for each other. Maclin brought up Jay White being untrustworthy after what he did to the Guerrillas of Destiny. Maclin hyped up potentially winning the match at Rebellion…[c]
An ad aired for the Impact Rebellion PPV…
The cameraperson caught up with Jessie McKay and Cassie Lee at a backstage lounge. The IInspiration took credit for getting rid of Kaleb. They then hyped up how they were going to win the tag titles again on the Rebellion pre-show…
Taya Valkyrie was in a hallway cutting a promo. Taya talked about how she never lost the Reina de Reina’s title when she was last in AAA (she was stripped of the title in her last two reigns. Once Vampiro stripped her of the title for no reason. The other was when she signed with WWE). Taya talked about living for the tradition of Lucha Libre. She said she’s going to be a 4 time champion at Rebellion…
Entrances for the next match took lace…
5. Ace Austin and “Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Laredo Kid and Impact X Division Champion Trey Miguel. Ace worked on Trey with methodical chain wrestling. Trey fought back with an armdrag. Kid and Speedball tagged in. Kid managed to hit Mike with a huracanrana. Kid followed up with a scary suicide dive on Bailey.[c]
Ace and Bailey cut the ring in half on Kid with quick tags. Kid managed to turn the tables by kicking away both opponents. Miguel tagged in and hit Ace with a sereis of clotheslines. Trey hit Ace with a back kick and low dropkick. Bailey and Trey brawled to the top rope. Ace staggered Trey on the top rope with a kick. Ace and Bailey hit their opponents with stereo flip dives. Trey huracanrana’d Bailey off the apron. Trey hit Ace with a twisting backbreaker.
Bailey hit Trey with a standing moonsault. Kid hit Bailey with a missile dropkick. Ace hit Kid with a disaster kick. Miguel reversed Ace’s Fold into a Victory Roll for the win.
Trey Miguel and Laredo Kid defeated Ace Austin and Mike Bailey via pinfall in 5:55 of on-air time.
Ace quickly gave Trey a back suplex after the match. Ace asked Bailey to join him in beating up Trey. Bailey teased hitting Trey with a Buzzsaw Kick when Ace held him in place, but instead he gave Ace a high Buzzsaw Kick. Bailey did a ready stance and bowed to the crowd…
John’s Thoughts: That match was a fun and fast spotfest. I’m surprised they paid off the world’s most obvious turning of Bailey on Austin on the go-home show as opposed to the PPV where it would have made sense. I’ve also been really surprised with how little TV time and attention Trey Miguel has been given as X Division Champion (he did have a little bit of something with Maclin, but that ended quick). I wonder if Impact’s more excited to put the belt on Speedball Bailey soon?
Tom Hannifan and Matt Rehwoldt checked in from the commentary table. Hannifann noted that the Women’s Tag and X Division Title matches are happening on the Rebellion pre-show. Hannifan and Rehwoldt ran through the Rebellion main show card again…
The show cut to Vincent opening up the trunk of a car to retrieve jumper cables. Some random stock opera music was playing in the background. Vincent walked to a random warehouse to see an unconscious PCO. Vincent attacked the cables from a charger to PCO’s headgear. Vincent gave PCO random words of encouragement to revive him. PCO ended up reviving from the electricity with Vincent acting super hyped…
John’s Thoughts: Looks like they’re going all-in on the Frankenstein’s Monster thing. I wonder? With Honor No More’s status being up in the air with the whole AEW thing, are they considering moving Vincent and PCO away from the group as babyfaces? That wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Honor No More is too congested to begin with and after losing so many matches in Impact since their debuts, PCO and Vincent could use a bit of a reset. The former Vinny Marseglia can’t even get any mic time with all the talkers ahead of him in Honor No More.
Scott D’Amore and random security guards surrounded the ring. Impact World Champion Moose made his entrance in a sport’s coat. Moose’s attorney, RD Evans, was in the ring with him. Evans demanded that the ECW Arena crowd show some uncharacteristic respect to Moose. Evans read a prepared apology on behalf of Moose. Evans noted that Moose took sensitivity training. Moose cut off Evans and said the apology sounded insincere. Moose crumpled up the apology paper. Moose said Scott was right and that Josh deserves a sincere apology.
Moose talked to the camera and said he’s sorry, sorry for showing the people how much of a loser Josh is. He said that Josh was exposed for not being a protector to his wife and a role model to his son. Moose said he’s not going to apologize for whooping Josh’s ass at Bound for Glory. Moose said Josh can’t even protect his family. He said he’s going to hurt Josh and send Josh’s sorry ass home for more than just a month. He said after he beats Josh, Josh will beg Moose to show his wife and kid what a real man looks like. Josh Alexander made his entrance in street clothes.
Josh gave one guard a big boot and gave another an Exploder Suplex. Scott D’Amore teased getting in Josh’s way, but instead he happily let Josh in the ring to attack Moose. Moose and Josh brawled after a bit of a staredown. Evans distracted Josh which allowed Moose to get a cheap shot in. Josh recovered and hit Moose with a few big boots. Moose regained control after two Uranages. Moose dragged a covered table to ringside. Alexander elbowed his way out of Moose’s uranage. Alexander staggered Moose on the apron and hit Moose with a Jay Driller through the table at ringside. Josh Alexander picked up the title belt and laid it over Moose. Josh walked away standing tall to end the segment…
John’s Thoughts: Solid go-home segment with Moose driving home everything antagonistic he’s done to Josh leading up to Josh seeking revenge. It all culminated well with Alexander drilling Moose through the table. After all this build, it makes total since for catharsis that Alexander regains the title and becomes the face of the company (especially after he signed a new deal with Impact).
Impact continues to deliver with the no-nonsense shows. There’s goofy things like Frankenstein monsters and Johnny Swinger on occasion, but it wasn’t out of control like a year or so ago where they kept doubling down on esoteric comedy and supernatural stuff. This was a simple and effective go-home show. The spotlight was on the matches, not the writing. Looking forward to what is a really good PPV on paper.
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