By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Impact Wrestling Hits
Mike Bailey vs. Chris Sabin: A hell of a show opening match. It was a great back and forth battle with some good near falls that never became as absurd as all of the piledrivers that Orange Cassidy kicked out of during the opening match on Dynamite. Sabin going over was the expected finish given that he’s challenging for the X Division Title at tonight’s Under Siege event, whereas Bailey is wrestling in the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors tournament. I hope they run this one back and give Bailey his win back once he gets back from Japan.
Dirty Dango: Finally, the reinvention of Dirty Dango. He’s an arrogant guy who looks down on the current generation of wrestlers while also conceding that he doesn’t love pro wrestling. I love it. Bonus points for mocking the Digital Media Championship. Okay, so it’s probably not the right move if they really want that belt to matter. It also feels strange that he’s now fighting for a championship he referred to as a toy belt. But it is a terrible championship and I couldn’t help but nod long. Hopefully this character shift comes with a name change.
Steve Maclin and Scott D’Amore’s closing segment: Maclin naming Champagne Singh as PCO’s replacement in the Impact World Championship match at Under Siege was good for a laugh. Singh’s comedically long list of people he wanted to thank was a cute knockoff of Chris Jericho’s 1004 Holds gag. I could do without Scott D’Amore continuing to book himself as a tough guy (his hard rock entrance theme is really too much), but he continue to deliver quality mic work. D’Amore announcing that there would be no replacement for PCO because PCO is healthy enough to work the match was easy to see coming and yet enjoyable at the same time.
Rich Swann vs. Angels: A quality match to help set up The Design vs. Swann, Sami Callihan, and a partner for tonight’s Under Siege event. Angels always impresses in the ring. Unfortunately, he left one lousy mid-card cult faction in AEW only to be placed in another in Impact Wrestling. The post match angle gave the heels their heat back after Angels was pinned clean.
Kenny King and Sheldon Jean vs. Crazzy Steve and Black Taurus: The match was fine with the new duo of King and Jean going over. The post match angle was better with Nick Aldis standing up from his commentary position and working up the live crowd by teasing a “two for one bitch slap special.” King teasing that he wanted to fight Aldis only to bow out was basic heel work, but I got a kick out of King serenading Aldis with “Tomorrow.”
Chris Bey vs. John Skyler: A solid match with Bey beating Skyler after Skyler’s partner Jason Hotch upset Ace Austin in a recent singles match. Skyler lost the match, but it was laid out so that he looked competitive before taking the loss.
Jordynne Grace vs. Alisha: A simple showcase win for Grace heading into her Knockouts Title match.
Impact Wrestling Misses
Taylor Wilde vs. Jessicka: The finish was nonsensical in that Jessicka was halfway through hamming it up in a routine for the crowd when she happened to notice KiLynn King on the apron. The idea was that Wilde took advantage of the distraction, but it looked like she could have hit the dancing Jessicka even without the distraction. The post match angle with Rosemary emerging from the portal of dumbassery (the Undead Realm) using the Courtney Rush persona that she last used since 2016 and never established in Impact was an interesting development. Surprisingly, there were some fans in the live crowd who seemed to understand what was happening. While the broadcast team was no help in explaining it, the backstage segment with Rush and Jessicka summed it up nicely. I’ve been over anything associated with the Undead Realm for a long time. And while this is technically tied to that nonsense, I like the idea of Rosemary shaking things up after all these years.
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