By Jason Powell
GFW Impact Wrestling Hits
Lashley, Low Ki, and Trevor Lee vs. Alberto El Patron, Sonjay Dutt, and Matt Sydal: A good main event that helped set the stage for three of the bigger matches on next week’s Destination X event. It was interesting to hear Josh Mathews tease an announcement from Bruce Prichard for next week that Mathews said will rock the company to its core. Does it involve El Patron, who is still indefinitely suspended at last check? Keep in mind that his character has been acting heelish in recent weeks and these shows were taped prior to the incident that led to his suspension, so it’s possible it has nothing to do with El Patron.
Sienna and Gail Kim opening: Sienna performed well during her solo portion of the segment. Karen Jarrett still came off as unlikable even in this small dose, but at least her segment served a purpose in that she introduced Kim as Sienna’s challenger for next week. It was odd that the camera focussed on Karen’s face after she announced Kim, as that seemed like the right time to show a shocked look from Sienna. Even so, the brawl was solid and this one of the bigger women’s match the company has at this point. I’m not sure good of an idea it is for Kim to talk about winning and then retiring with the championship, as it sounds a little selfish. Perhaps they could tweak if she wins the championship by saying that she intends to stick around as long as she’s champion, as that would give her title matches an extra hook.
Laredo Kid and Garza Jr. vs. El Hijo De Fantasma and Naomichi Marufuji: My initial thought was that the match was random with nothing at stake and no storyline, but it turned out to be a good tag match. It was also framed well by the broadcast team in terms of it being about the two teams testing themselves against one another. The Laredo Kid cradle DDT was a thing of beauty and it felt odd that Marufuji simply kicked out at two without much fanfare. Again, though, and entertaining match.
Taiji Ishimori vs. ACH in a Super X Cup semifinal match: Fun while it lasted. The match lasted less than six minutes and they didn’t run the wrestler profile video packages that they’ve aired prior to the previous matches.
LAX vs. VOW in a street fight: The street fight was ugly at times, yet never dull. Konnan thanking the creative forces for booking them in their specialty match again is hopefully something that will be pinned on Bruce Prichard once he officially becomes a heel.
Grado and Joseph Park vs. Kongo Kong: The highlight of the match was actually the pre-match game of rock, paper, scissors between Grado and park, which featured both men using the same play all three times. The post match angle with Tyrus coming out to confront Kong was a nice teaser for a battle of super heavyweights and they were wise not to give away any physicality.
GFW Impact Wrestling Misses
None: Not a home run show, but still a good edition of Impact with plenty of hype to set up the Destination X event for next week. Plus, the absence of the Swole Mates is a Hit in and of itself.
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