By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Impact Wrestling Hits
Kushida vs. Chris Bey: A really good match that helped wash some of the bad taste left by the last two episodes of Impact. I’m not the type of viewer who cares only about match quality, but the last two shows had too much comedy and too many Halloween style gimmick characters for my taste.
Johnny Swinger vs. Barry Horowitz: Just because I felt that Impact went too far with comedy in recent weeks doesn’t mean I don’t see the value in good comedy. It was truly surprising and a fun throwback moment to see legendary enhancement wrestler Barry Horowitz again after all these years. I can’t say I have any sense of nostalgia for the Kiss Demon, but even that character works within the silly storyline world of Johnny Swinger.
Rich Swann vs. Kenny King: A well worked main event with the predictable and correct outcome of Swann going over eight nights before he will challenge Josh Alexander for the Impact World Championship at No Surrender. The angle with Alexander saving Swann from a post match attack only to have Swann accidentally superkick him was a nice way to add some tension between them heading into next week’s go-home show.
Masha Slamovich vs. Alisha: A good squash win for Slamovich with a post match angle that saw her choke out Mickie James heading into their Knockouts Title match. Simple and effective.
Steve Maclin vs. Rhino in qualifying match for the the four-way at No Surrender: Maclin strikes me as the favorite to win the four-way to become No. 1 contender to the Impact World Championship, so it was no surprise to see him win this qualifier. It was a competitive slug fest that went a little further than it really needed to make Rhino look strong in defeat.
Heath vs. Eddie Edwards in qualifying match for the the four-way at No Surrender: I also felt this qualifier looked predictable on paper, but they surprised me by having PCO’s stage presentation distract Edwards to cost him the match. This match was much more about setting up Edwards vs. PCO than it was about Heath winning.
Impact Wrestling Misses
The Design: Deaner pondered the question of whether Sami Callihan’s attempt to join the faction is a ploy. Callihan’s character shaving his head and suffering through weeks of nonsense seems like a lot of work just to get the better of a mid-card cult, but whatever. This storyline never got out of second gear and I’m just anxious for it to be over one way or another.
James Mitchell and The Hex: It’s bad enough that the talented Mitchell has to babble on about the devil (without actually saying the name) being his boss and Rosemary’s father, but then we had to suffer through Allysin Kay saying “Hextinguish” and “Hex marks the spot.” I could easily get behind Mitchell managing Kay and Marti Belle if Impact would just get over it’s obsession with anything that stems from the Undead Realm.
Crazzy Steve challenges Trey Miguel to a Monster’s Ball match: I’m sure they’ll have a good match, but please let this be the end of Miguel defending the X Division Title against Steve and Black Taurus. The company night have something with Steve if they would ever put the work in to give him an actual character so that he doesn’t come off as a wannabe Joker.
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