By Jason Powell
Impact Wrestling on PopTV
Taped in February in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios
Impact opened with a recap from last week and teased the veterans tag team, the fury unleashed, and the ten-man tag match. The return of Magnus that was hyped as a cliffhanger last week was shown in clips as part of the footage… The broadcast team was Jeremy Borash, “Pope” D’Angelo Dinero, and Josh Mathews… Separate shots aired of Braxton Sutter and Allie, and KM and Sienna arriving at the building… The Impact opening aired…
1. Reno Scum vs. Laredo Kid and Garza Jr. vs. Abyss and Crazzy Steve (w/Rosemary). Late in the match, Steve cut off Garza on the ropes and tied him up in the tree of woe, but Luster the Legend stopped him from following up. Luster threw Steve into Garza. Scum followed up with this finisher on Steve and got the win. Moments before the pin, Mathews said he was leaving and was shown talking on his phone while he walked backstage…
Reno Scum beat Laredo Kid & Garza Jr. and Abyss & Crazzy Steve.
Powell’s POV: A cool finish with the toss into Garza followed by the Scum finisher. Scum hasn’t really clicked, but they have a nice looking finish.
Backstage, McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Andrew Everett, who said he deserved an X Division Title shot after winning last week. Gregory Shane Helms and Trevor Lee showed up and objected. Helms tried to book him in a four-way match. Everett suggested Helms be the fourth man in the match. Helms initially declined, but he gave in once Everett accused him of being scared…
[Q2] [C] Bruce Prichard came to the ring and recalled asking fans to tell them who the number one contender should be. They showed Lashley, Matt Morgan, James Storm, and EC3 backstage, Storm was announced as the number one contender based on a fan poll. EC3 headed to the ring. Prichard asked if he had something to say. EC3 told him to read it again. Prichard said he didn’t stutter and confirmed that Storm would face Lashley for the Impact Wrestling Championship next week. EC3 questioned whether he’s in a rigged system.
Powell’s POV: Considering this show was taped long before the opened the fan voting, yes, I’d say he’s in a rigged system.
Prichard said they took EC3’s own suggestion to put it in the hands of the people. Prichard said the fans chose Storm. EC3 said he has torn tendons, bled, and broken his back for the company. He asked if Prichard was going to hold one loss over his head. Prichard said he couldn’t speak for the people, but he could give him a suggestion. Prichard suggested EC3 go backstage to the dressing room and find a mirror and ask himself what happened to EC3.
EC3 turned around, but Prichard turned him back toward him and continued his speech. Prichard said the loss to El Patron wasn’t about losing the match, it was about how he lost the match. Prichard said he didn’t just lose, he tapped out. Prichard had his arm around EC3 and told him to ask the man in the mirror whether he tapped out of the match or himself. EC3 thanked Prichard and said he would do as he said and figure out how to prove to him, the people, and himself what he is truly capable of. Prichard wished him luck. They shook hands…
Powell’s POV: Am I the only who wanted EC3 to slap the piss out of Prichard? Obviously, Prichard’s track record in the pro wrestling business speaks for itself if you follow the business closely enough to know about it, but I still wonder what the casual viewers think. It’s not like they’ve really explained who Prichard is or why he has this stroke or why EC3 or anyone else would put up with him being so blunt.
A video package on Jeff Jarrett aired. It featured Karen Jarrett speaking highly of her husband and promising great action on Impact Wrestling. She said there will be change… Ring entrances for the mixed tag match took place…
[Q3] [C] 2. KM and Sienna vs. Braxton Sutter and Allie. Mathews returned to the broadcast table. Borash said the time he was away was the best ten minutes of his life. Mathews said if that is true then he needs to get a life. Mathews said that if his team loses the main event then he would leave the broadcast booth. Allie tagged in late and leapt onto Sienna, who caught her. However, Sienna stumped over the legs of KM, and Allie fell on top of her and got the win…
After the match, Kongo Kong headed to the ring and was revealed as the “fury” wrestler from the videos. Kong toss Stutter across the ring and then performed a Samoan drop. Laurel Van Ness came out wearing her wedding dress. Allie hit her a couple times, but Sienna attacked Allie from behind and performed the AK47 on her. Laurel hit Allie with her shoe repeatedly… [C]
Powell’s POV: Kong looks like a parody of a wrestler at first glance. He has big trunks that he pulls over his big belly. I’m all for wrestlers coming in all shapes and sizes so hopefully he will impress, but I can’t help but feel that he stands out in a negative way upon first viewing. I’m ready to see what comes next for Laurel as the same joke every week has run its course. I can’t stress enough that Allie needs to talk more at the next tapings. That was the key to her popularity and for some reason we barely heard from her at these tapings.
[Q4] The broadcast team hyped their 10-man tag main event…
3. Knockouts Champion Rosemary vs. Santana Garrett in a non-title match. Garrett got a couple of near falls early. Rosemary wrapped her legs around Garrett’s neck and hung backward over the ropes. Rosemary dominated a stretch, but Garrett came back with a Great Muta-like handspring elbow in the corner. Later, Rosemary avoided a handspring moonsault and hit the Red Wedding (F5) for the win…
Rosemary defeated Santana Garett in a non-title match.
Angelina Love and Davey Richards made out backstage. Love told the anonymous camera guy that Eddie Edwards and his wife deserve every bit of suffering they give them… [C]
Powell’s POV: Garrett is a popular independent worker in the Florida area. Scott Hall was a big booster of hers at one point. She has a good look and I’m not sure why the company hasn’t used her more often. The broadcast team was more focussed on their feud and the main event than the actual match.
[Q5] Ring entrances for the X Division match took place…
4. Andrew Everett vs. Marshe Rockett vs. Suicide vs. Gregory Shane Helms (w/Trevor Lee). Helms wore his regular attire of a green jacket, t-shirt, and jeans, though he did have kneepads over his jeans. He immediately ducked to ringside once the match started. Helms entered the ring and rolled up Suicide for a two count, then raced back to ringside. At one point, Mathews told Borash that Magnus was carrying around bags for his wife while noting that she worked for another touring outfit in Orlando.
Helms returned later and broke up Suicide’s pin attempt and tossed him to ringside. Helms removed his jacket. Helms boasted to the crowd after performing a move. Everett recovered and got the better of Helms, who then raked his eyes. Suicide prevented Helms from leaving the ring, then Everett caught Helms with a kick that knocked him to ringside. In the end, Everett performed a shooting star press on Rockett and pinned him. Everett approached Helms afterward, but Lee attacked him from behind. Lee and Helms roughed up Everett, who came back with a Frankendriver on Lee…
Andrew Everett defeated Marshe Rockett, Suicide, and Gregory Shame Helms.
A Matt Morgan “Make Impact Great” video aired. He spoke about how it’s the greatest show on earth, nonstop action, and nonstop entertainment. Morgan then listed his own attributes… [C]
Powell’s POV: A good segment. They are doing a nice job of consistently pushing Everett. The story of Helms and Lee deciding whether Everett is title shot worthy is silly, but I like that they have chosen to focus on one X Division babyface rather than having them trade wins and losses randomly.
[Q6] 5. Davey Richards (w/Angelina Love) vs. DJZ. Z did his obnoxious BroMans noise before the match, which makes no sense now that he’s a babyface. Richards celebrated with Love at ringside early on. Z kicked him through the ropes. Z worked over Richards on the floor and made the ridiculous BroMans noise again. Z remained in offensive control until Richards caught him with a kick and then applied the ankle lock for the win…
Davey Richards beat DJZ.
After the match, Eddie Edwards ran out, but security stopped him. Alisha Edwards entered the ring and tackled Love and then hit her with repeated punches. Security kept Eddie and Davey apart…
Powell’s POV: I know Z has bigger things to worry about and I sincerely wish him well in his recovery from colon surgery, but I wish he would ditch anything related to BroMans now that he’s a babyface. Meanwhile, this was a good followup to the Richards vs. Edwards match from last week.
The video package for Veterans of War aired… At ringside, Mathews boasted about how his team would win and then they would have a celebration and fans will have to listen to him forever… Lashley made his entrance for the main event.
[Q7] Bram made his entrance, then Eli Drake and Tyrus made their entrance. Chris Adonis was the first man out for his team. Matt Morgan was out next. Alberto El Patron made his entrance… [C] Magnus made his entrance as the fourth man of the team…
6. “Team Borash” Magnus, Matt Morgan, Alberto El Patron, and Chris Adonis vs. “Team Mathews” Lashley, Bram, Eli Drake, and Tyrus in an eight-man tag. Borash and Mathews bickered throughout the match. Mathews spoke about building a ring in his backyard while Borash had a radio show in Minnesota. El Patron had a run of offense on the heels. Mathews yelled that his team needed to get it together.
[Q8] [C] Tyrus splashed Adonis coming out of the break and then slammed him before tagging in Lashley, who covered him for a two count. The heels isolated Adonis for several minutes. He finally made a hot tag to Morgan, who worked over the heels with his signature moves. Morgan had Bram pinned off a chokeslam, but Tyrus broke it up. El Patron ran in and performed his superkick on a kneeling Tyrus. Lashley speared El Patron. Adonis performed a spinebuster on Lashley. Drake took out Adonis. Magnus powerbombed Adonis and then put him in the cloverleaf. Bram broke it up.
Morgan caught Bram with the Carbon Footprint and then Magnus performed a top rope elbow drop on Bram and pinned him. Borash celebrated his win at ringside by dancing and motioning for Mathews to get out. Magnus celebrated with Borash and motioned for Mathews to leave. Borash told Mathews not to let the door hit him on the ass on the way out. El Patron stood on the desk and mocked Mathews. The babyfaces came out and mocked Mathews and celebrated in the ring. Broash hyped that they would be live with three title matches next week, and Pope stressed “and no Josh” to close the show…
Powell’s POV: The big celebration felt over the top. After all, they got rid of an obnoxious broadcast team member, not a tyrannical heel authority figure. That said, the eight-man tag main event showcased some star power and was fine. Magnus didn’t seem to be as over as they seemed to anticipate he would be and his reintroduction was odd in that they made such a big fuss over it last week by making it a cliffhanger only to show the footage of his return in clips rather than picking up where they left off.
It will be very interesting to see what changes are made at the tapings next week compared to the first batch under the Jeff Jarrett and Dutch Mantell led creative team. The first batch of shows were a big step back from the quality shows that were produced last year. Of course, the company also lost Drew Galloway, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Mike Bennett, and Maria shortly before the tapings. Although they reintroduced Morgan and Magnus late in the tapings, they are also attempting to get over a lot of new talent and had mixed success in that area. I will have more to say about this show in my members’ exclusive audio review on Friday.
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