By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
Impact Wrestling on Pursuit (simulcast on Twitch TV)
Taped February 15-17, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada at Sam’s Town Casino
A highlight package aired of last week’s Impact Wrestling show…
Josh Mathews and Don Callis were on commentary…
1. Willie Mack vs. Jake Crist (w/Dave Crist). Josh noted that Sami Callihan calls Jake the most underrated wrestler on the roster (but the guy never wins anything). Mack started the match with a Thesz Press and Body Slam on Jake. Mack then hit Jake with a blockbuster. Jake grounded Mack with Savate Kicks and a German Suplex. Jake then hit Mack with a suicide dive, flip dive, and Tope DDT. Josh said the Crist brothers are “so creepy”.
Jake hit a run flip on Mack. Mack caught a flying Jake and hit him with a Samoan Drop, Kip Up, into a standing moonsault. Mack went to the top rope but Dave Crist pushed Mack off the turnbuckle, prompting the child referee guy to call for the DQ.
Willie Mack defeated Jake Crist via DQ in 3:24.
Josh pointed out that the match was called a DQ (for once). The Crist Brothers were about to put the boots to Mack, but Tommy Dreamer ran out for the save with his Kendo Stick (didn’t he give that thing to Eddie. Either that, or can he just take the g-damn thing back?). Dreamer cleared the ring as the crowd gave Dreamer the obligatory “EC-Dub” chant. Dreamer was wearing a Fight Network shirt. Dave yelled “You ruined it all!”.
Dreamer said he’s been trying to write the wrongs of professional wrestling for 30 years. Dave yelled back “why are you still wrestling?”. Dave said he was starting on that goal, right here, in Impact Wrestling, in Las Vegas. Dreamer said “what happens in Vegas, stays in Mother F’n Vegas”. Dave yelled back, “You can’t curse like that, sir!”. Dreamer acknowledged NFL alumni in the front row and then set up a tag team match between him and Mack vs. The Crist Brothers… [c]
John’s Thoughts: I kinda liked the DQ finish and kinda hoped Impact would let the Crist Brothers leave with some heat for once, but the Crist Brothers are never allowed to get heat and this time it was taken away from them by the random Tommy Dreamer. Wasn’t Dreamer in an incomplete feud with Eli Drake last time we saw him? This was the most house showy of house show angles, and it’s because of that, I totally don’t expect the Crist Brothers to leave with any heat.
2. Willie Mack and Tommy Dreamer vs. “OVE” Jake Crist and Dave Crist. Dreaner spat beer in Dave’s face. Dreamer then grabbed a waffle from a fan, put it in his mouth, and rubbed the waffle mouth on Jake’s face. The camera showed NFL alumni Morlon Greenwood and Floyd Little at ringside. Dreamer and Mack hit Dave with a elbow drop. Callis wondered if he was getting Las Vegas Raiders tickets with the NFL guys in the front row. Mack and Dreamer traded quick tags to do tandem offense on Jake.
Jake held Dreamer in place so he could tag in Dave who hit Dreamer with a top rope Senton. The Crist brothers worked over Dreamer. Josh wondered if Glenn Gilberti will find his way into the arena. After a long sequence of the Crist Brothers working over Dreamer, Dreamer escaped by punching Jake on the top rope and hitting him with a Superplex. Mack got the hot tag and took down both Crist Brothers. Mack hit Jake with his inverted Cannonball. Callis said “that’s a whole lot of ass, that’s the only way I can explain that”. Mack hit Dave with his signature Stone Cold Stunner. Dreamer hit Jake with the Death Valley Driver. Mack hit Jake with a Frog Splash for the win.
Willie Mack and Tommy Dreamer defeted OVE via pinfall in 7:47.
The crowd was oddly unreceptive to the babyface team winning…
John’s Thoughts: A feel-good house show level match. It was fine. It doesn’t really do anyone involved any favors though. While Mack gets a win, he’s still not presented as anything special (and I know the guy is really good at connecting with a crowd when given a chance given my exposure to him in Lucha Underground and APW). Jason and I have brought up before, the Crist Brothers are a top tier tag team, but these guys haven’t really won matches against non-enhancement wrestlers in over a year. Do these guys even have a finisher? And why was Dreamer rolled out in this spot? Anyway, this was harmless, a decent match, but nothing special.
Josh Mathews and Don Callis checked in from ringside. Josh said Sami Callihan was going to tell his side of the story later on in this episode (wasn’t he supposed to do that two weeks ago?). Callis said everything Sami says is a lie. Josh ran through some upcoming matches…
Josh Mathews sent things over to “Investigative Reporter” Rolando Melendez. Rolando said people are speculating that Johnny is giving out title shots to people that do him favors. Melendez asked for a title match, purposefully condescending. Melendez continued to ask random questions until Johnny took the mic away from him. Johnny said people can say whatever they want, the only thing that has changed is people’s attitudes. Johnny said he was the most fighting champion in Impact history and only people who deserve it get shots. Johnny said the locker room has to be on their A-game with such a standard. Johnny said he didn’t screw Cage over and it was Moose and Kross’s fault. Johnny said he and Cage are going to take care of Moose and Kross, permanently…
Reno Scum, Adam Thornstowe and Luster the Legend, were shown stretching backstage, getting ready for their return… [c]
The NFL Alumni representatives were shown in the front row. There were some technical difficulties on Twitch because the audio was still Melissa Santos and Don Callis talking on their Skype Call. I think Melissa was also talking to her mom (?), because she’s hosting the skype call from her house…
3. KM and Fallah Bahh vs. “Reno Scum” Adam Thornstowe and Luster the Legend. Don Callis asked Josh Mathews about Reno and Josh said “eh”. Callis said that Luster the Legend was ugly. Josh recapped why Reno Scum has been gone for so long since debuting and he noted that Adam Thornstowe has been injured for a long time (this is true, he healed up but he ended up being injured on and off the last two years). Josh also noted that “Oi” was Reno Scum’s signature chant.
Bahh no-sold all of Adam’s offense and leaned on him like a coffee table. Bahh did the Mutombo finger wag into an alligator roll. KM tagged in and hit Adam with a slingshot splash. Luster tagged in and cut the ring in half on KM, leading to quick tags. Luster rubbed KM’s face in Adam’s armpit. Josh said that makes sense when your tag team name is “Scum”. KM hit Luster with a guillotine leg drop to get a window of opportunity. Bahh got the hot tag and worked on Adam with chops. Bahh tossed Reno Scum into each other.
Josh noted that Bahh was in a main event not to long ago (against Austin Aries). Bahh got Luster on the ground and KM hit Luster with the steamroller. Bahh followed up with the steamroller too. Adam blindsided the fan favorites. Adam hit Bahh with a superman punch. KM cleared Luster from the ring and grabbed Adam off the top rope into a Samoan Drop from Bahh for the win.
KM and Fallah Bahh defated Reno Scum via pinfall in 4:39.
Reno Scum blindsided Bahh and KM after the match, thus confirming that they are heel now. Thornstowe hit Bahh with a running double stomp. Reno Scum then hit KM with a spike curb stomp to leave the babyface lying…
John’s Thoughts: I’m a bit surprised that Impact would have Reno Scum lose after their hyped return, but I’m willing to see where this goes. I haven’t seen Scum work full heel as a team before, but I am confident that they can do well if given a sustained push (and some credibility). Hopefully they don’t end up like the Crist Brothers and Desi Hit Squad, heel cannon fodder.
The Disco Inferno, Glen Gilbertti, was roaming around backstage where he ran into “All Ego” Ethan Page. Disco asked Page for directions to the Impact management office. Page said he didn’t know who disco was. Disco said Callis hired him and “I’m the new ass to kiss around here”. Page pointed at the office across from him. Disco knocked on the door labeled “Creative office” (that’s a bit 4th wall breaking). D’Lo Brown emerged from the office and introduced himself as the new producer. Disco introduced himself as “the new ass to kiss”. D’Lo told Disco to “get yourself over” in the Creative Office.
The unseen person told Disco that he was a week late. Disco said he had big ideas for the X Division. The creative team member asked Disco if he was bringing in Bill Ding, the Evil Architect. Disco said he wanted to make a tournament, where wins and losses matter (Based on the Konnan podcast, this is a jab at Tony Khan). The office members mocked Disco by bringing up The Reverse Battle Royal and Disco’s idea to have Ultimate X involve Tarzan vines. Disco yelled that he once wrote this show with Vince [Russo]. A guy yelled “wrong Vince!”. One guy told Disco that he was hired as an assistant and needs to get them some coffee. Disco said he’s walking away to find Callis… [c]
KM and Fallah Bahh were interviewed backstage. KM yelled that he clawed his way to where he is for two years and so did Fallah Bahh. KM called out the “Scum” for trying to make a name for themselves at the expense of Bahh and KM. Bahh interjected with “Bahh” several times. KM told Bahh to tell em’. Bahh said “Bahh” and pantomimed crushing something with his palms. KM said that might not be legal. Bahh then pantomimed reaching low and ripping something off. KM said if Scum doesn’t understand what Bahh is saying, he feels bad for them for writing a check their asses can’t cash. KM said to welcome to our world…
John’s Thoughts: A simple and effective fiery promo from KM. While they are still doing the Rocket Racoon and Groot act, it’s good to see them taking things seriously for once without a skit.
Josh hyped tickets for Impact’s “One Night Only” Clash in the Bluegrass tomorrow. Josh also advertised Impact working with Rockstar Pro in Ohio on Twitch tomorrow…
Josh ran through the following matches for the United We Stand PPV on FiteTV: Lucha Bros vs. RVD and Sabu in an “Extreme Dream Match”, Rich Swann vs. Yamato (Dragon Gate), Jake Crist vs. Jack Evans (AAA) vs. AR Fox (Lucha Underground) vs. Kotto Brazil (MLW) vs. Pat Buck (WrestlePro) vs. ??? in Ultimate X (I’m guessing for a foam letter hanging over the ring), Sami Callihan vs. Jimmy Havoc in Monster’s Ball, and a Lucha Underground vs. Impact Wrestling eight person tag (even though half of Impact’s team is also Lucha Underground)…
It was time for the Global Wrestling Network Flashback Match of the Week. It was Rosemary vs. Jade (a.k.a. Mia Yim) in Monster’s Ball. Madison Rayne was on commentary. They aired around 11 minutes…
Eddie Edwards was talking to his kendo stick (so is this Tommy Dreamer’s stick?). Anyway, he wrote a smiley face on the stick so now it’s like Plank from Ed, Edd, and Eddy. Eli Drake walked into the personal space of Edwards. Drake explained that all they did in recent weeks was return the favor to each other. Drake gloated about Eddie Edwards winning with a wrestling move and not a stick. Drake said he saw “old Eddie” last week. Drake said both Eddie and Drake won. Drake said now they can win together. Drake called the Lucha Brothers “lack a loons”. Drake proposed a potential tag team. Eddie said he already has a tag team partner, Kenny, and this wasn’t going to happen… [c]
Scarlett Bordeaux was shown sitting in front of a mirror, nearly topless (she had essentially a scarf covering the naughty bits). Scarlett called everyone “5’s” and talked about how everyone is expecting her in-ring debut. Scarlett said next week she’s going to announce her unfortunate opponent. Scarlett put on lipstick and kissed herself in the mirror…
Tessa Blanchard made her entrance as Josh Mathews recapped her interference last week to set up this match…
4. Tessa Blanchard vs. Delilah Doom. Tessa didn’t allow Doom to get into the ring before giving her boots. Doom tripped up Tessa and then gave Tessa mounted punches. Callis noted that Doom might have read the scouting report on Tessa that Tessa costs herself matches sometimes by being a hot head. Doom went for a huracanrana and adjusted into a knee strike. Tessa hit Doom with a sitout power bomb. Tessa hit Doom with a few shortarm lariats. Tessa then hit Doom with a Saito Suplex.
Josh noted that the Vegas odds say that Doom has no chance. Doom rallied a bit with punches but Tessa was too powerful. Tessa threw Doom on the second rope and gave her a shotgun dropkick. Doom got out of the way from an uppercut. Doom hit Tessa with a Tiger Feint Kick. Doom pulled down the straps and actually hit Tessa with a missile dropkick. Doom hit Tessa with a crucifix bomb for a nearfall. Tessa powered through and got Doom in fireman carry. Tessa put Doom down and gave her a basic and effective elbow. Tessa hit Doom with the hammerlock DDT for the win.
Tessa Blanchard defeated Delilah Doom via pinfall in 5:01.
Tessa sung her theme a bit and then went to the camera. She said she knows Impact Management is out for her. Tessa said she’ll get her rematch one way or another. Callis said that puts chills down his spine…
John’s Thoughts: The in-ring was “technically” good, but I don’t understand why they gave Delilah as much offense as she got. Doom comes out looking like the most local, of local competitors, yet she had stretches of offense against Impact’s buzzsaw. Tessa also wasn’t as violent as she usually is in the ring, as we’ve seen from Tessa in the past. Again, this wasn’t a mediocre match (like last week’s Alisha vs. Doom), but I tought Tessa should have ended it in under a minute and make Doom pass out afterwards. Maybe even choke Doom out with a camera wire for old time’s sake.
Melissa Santos interviewed her fiance, Brian Cage (thankfully, Impact doesn’t acknowledge this). Melissa asked Cage if he can work with Johnny in a team. Cage said he is able to work with Johnny due to their long history together (in Lucha Underground and AAA). Cage recapped how he never got his one-on-one rematch with Johnny after having the visual pinfall over him (at homecoming, Johnny’s Survivor co-stars got involved). Cage said he has it in writing now. Cage said he understands Kross and Moose keep getting in the way and when they get rid of Moose and Kross tonight, Johnny better keep his promise. Cage said he was going to make sure that happens… [c]
John’s Thoughts: Cage isn’t the most eloquent of promos, but I like that Impact decided to move away from the “silent drone” approach with him and allow the guy to connect with the audience just like I’ve seen him do in other places. I like that Impact is pushing a really intricate storyline and finding a unique way to make jacked up Cage a sympathetic figure.
Rosemary was shown backstage monologing to herself while cheesy church music played in the background. Rosemary was wearing her oni facepaint. Kiera Hogan and Jordynne Grace walked up to Rosemary. Kiera offered her and Grace’s services to be a part of Rosemary’s “army”. Rosemary called Kiera “Firefly” (I kinda like that better than her WOW name of “Fire”) and advised Kiera to stand back. Kiera went into cheesy melodramatic mode as she recapped the “undead realm” saga. She said Rosemary fought for her once in the Undead Realm and now she’s going to fight for Rosemary. Rosemary said that’s fine but once the Bunny is returned to their side, then Kiera should back off…
Josh Mathews hyped the Rosemary and James Mitchell proposed match as “The Dark War” (oh gawd!)…
John’s Thoughts: Just end this. It’s not even bad now, it’s just boring and it’s holding five very talented women hostage when they should be wrestling meaningful matches. Sadly, I have a bad feeling that this feud might continue since they resigned Madison Rayne and the last time we saw Rayne she was “killed” by Su Yung and sent to the Undead Realm. God help us.
Impact’s designated enhancement wrestler, Ethan Page, made his entrance. Josh Mathews and Don Callis talked about how they don’t know what “All Ego” is all about…
5. Zachary Wentz vs. “All Ego” Ethan Page. Wentz dominated the chain wrestling sequence with flips and leaps. Wentz hit Page with a corkscrew crossbody. Page hit Wentz with a side slam and then soaked up the boos. Page hit Wentz with a series of suplexes. Page locked Wentz in a chinlock. Wentz gained the advantage with a CQC combo, ending with an enzuigiri. Wents hit Page with a PK followed by a standing Shooting Star for a nearfall. Wentz ducked Page, sending him outside. Page caught Wentz off the Tope into a double underhook backbreaker. Page then punted the head of Wentz.
Page called the NFL Alumni “old farts”. Page then jawed with Marlon Greenwood. Page shoved Marlon and Marlon shoved Page back. The referee held Marlon back. Wentz hit a distracted Page with a crossbody and springboard cutter for a nearfall.
Zachary Wentz defeated Ethan Page via pinfall 4:57.
Zachary Wentz gave Marlon Greenwood fist bump and handshake as he headed to the back…
John’s Thoughts: Well, that happened. To rattle off the positive, I do like what they are doing with the Rascalz in term of presenting them (and I’m not talking about hte lame 70s Show gimmick). I like that they’re giving them credibility in different combinations, weather it be as singles or as a tag team. I was afraid they were going to single out Trey as their singles guy, but now it looks like they’re going to mix things up because all three are great singles and tag team talents. As for Page, I kinda feel bad for the guy. Maybe he’s going to head to AEW soon? This also came off like a half-assed attempt at a Sportcenter plug, this time not involving AJ Pierzynski.
Disco Inferno ran into Tommy Dreamer backstage. Dreamer talked about how he’s producing and wrestling in Impact these days. Disco reiterated he’s the “new ass to kiss” and said no body knows what the hell they’re doing around here. Dreamer said he’s currently working with talent relations and currently has a really difficult talent that he thinks Disco can help with. Dreamer sent Disco into a random room and a hawk sound effect played. Disco was freaked out as he yelled at Dreamer that there was an “actual owl” in the room. Dreamer said it was THE “Anthem Owl”. Dreamer said the owl makes $3000 an appearance. Dreamer said the Owl was being a pain because it was in heat. Dreamer sent Disco into the Owl room again and the sound effects made it sound like Disco was getting mauled by the Owl. Disco escaped the room and said “Jesus!”… [c]
John’s Thoughts: I was about to gripe about getting too much Disco on this show, but then that cheap hawk sound effect played, and won me over. Disco isn’t a main event player by any means, but the guy is great as the sad sap. I’m assuming we’re getting a lot of him due to Impact working with the Future Stars of Wrestling promotion in Vegas which he trains wrestlers at. You can’t get me to hate on an Anthem Owl joke. If you remember, Impact used to have a live owl fly to the ring to promote their PPVs. Can we get a Disco (w/Reby Hardy) vs. The Owl in a contract on a pole match?
An Ace Austin vignette aired which included a lot of riffle shuffling and basic card flourishes. They said he was debuting next week…
A Sami Callihan interviewed air. Callihan noted that he’s being painted as the villain of the story. Callihan said he made Rich Swann. Callihan said when Swann was 18, his mother was dead and hit dad got murdered. Callihan said he gave Rich food, housing, and EVERYTHING (pun intended). Callihan said Swann is trying to walk away from the OVE family. Callihan said that Swann is accusing Callihan of using people, corrupting them, and making them in his image. Callihan said Swann used Callhan by using Callihan’s food, money, housing, and everything. Callihan said Rich was put in the hospital because Callihan loves Rich Swann. Callihan said he loves Rich Swann. Callihan said he was welcoming Rich Swann to the OVE Family…
John’s Thoughts: While Impact really stalled this feud as much as they could, I’m glad they finally decided to take a step forward with Sami finally giving his version of his relationship with Rich. Since Callihan’s a good promo, there was no doubt that he would make the promo work. Callihan knows how to make a feud intriguing and I’m looking forward to the next chapter. Hopefully that doesn’t take two more months of stalling.
Melissa tried to introduce Killer Kross and Moose to an interview, but Kross yelled “SHUT UP!!!” causing Melissa to jump (nice!). Moose was wearing some sort of furry bath robe with Dollar Signs sharpie’d on it. Kross told Moose that things aren’t ok between them but fighting is not going to solve anything. Kross talked about how Johnny is trying to play them by causing the same dissension that Kross tried to implement in Cage and Johnny, just this time in Moose and Kross. Kross said he knows Johnny more than Kross even knows Taya and that Johnny always tries to weasel his way out of things. Kross said he promised Moose or Kross a title shot last week and then made sure that neither man got it in the end (good point). Kross told Moose that Kross doesn’t want to end up on the losing end yet again tonight.
Moose said he knows exactly what Johnny is doing. Moose said Johnny is like a hot chick at a bar that winks at everybody and then turns them down when they approach her. Moose said the only difference is that Johnny is ugly as hell and he isn’t a chick. Kross nodded in agreement. Moose said Johnny is promising everybody a title shot from the custodian to the freakin’ cook. Moose said it doesn’t matter who gets the shots because he and Kross are going to take them out. Moose left. Kross gritted his teeth and said “yeeeeeeeahhh, my boy”… [c]
John’s Thoughts: More good stuff as usual from Kross and Moose, and they both do it in different ways. Kross is the eloquent psychopath while Moose is the cocky jock. Thank God that Aries let them free. I really liked both promos on top of Cage’s promo because while it’s setting up Cage to be sympathetic on one hand, ultimately it’s casting an intriguing cloud of doubt over Johnny’s true intentions. They’re making Johnny out to be the worm, and it seems like it’s totally intentional. What makes it intriguing is Johnny is justified on his end so it leaves the viewer holding on to that last benefit of the doubt thread.
It was time for this week’s LAX clubhouse scene. Santana was pacing around and gloating about returning the favor to the Lucha Brothers for disrespecting them. Konnan yelled at Santana and told him not to gloat. Ortiz said they weren’t gloating, they were just treating people that disrespected them equally, weather it be Lucha Brothers or even OVE. Konnan went into yelling mode about his family falling apart. Konnan said he was going to ask for yet another rematch for LAX and he doesn’t want to see LAX on the monitor “cutting their own promos” about this. Konnan left to “handle this”. Santana and Ortiz fist bumped as Ortiz said “we will handle this”…
John’s Thoughts: Even without the cinematic budget, LAX are great actors. Ortiz has kinda creeped in from the shadows as an extremely believable actor and expert talker when he was considered the “quiet one” at first. I wonder if they’re building towards Santana and Ortiz dropping Konnan as a manager due to Konnan being an overprotective satellite parent figure at this point. As entertaining as Konnan can be on the mic, we know LAX can talk now so Konnan isn’t as necessary as he once was when Santana and Ortiz were unknowns.
Josh Mathews pointed out that Konnan wants to pull the strings of LAX and Lucha Brothers. Josh hyped Ace Austin and Scarlett Bordeaux’s announcement. Don Callis said he’d come out of retirement to wrestle with Scarlett. Josh also hyped “the Dark War” (oh good God. Please don’t let this be a cinematic). Josh then ran through the United We Stand card again…
6. Johnny Impact and Brian Cage vs. Killer Kross and Moose. Josh Mathews said Johnny is a fighting champion and doesn’t care if the fans are cheering Cage more than him. Kross and Moose traded elbows early on. Then both men traded kicks. Cage hit Kross with a Tiger Feint Kick (Josh called it a 619, but shouldn’t it be a 5-5-9!!! To quote Melissa). Johnny tagged in and hit Kross with an assisted legdrop. Johnny did his signature parkour spot in the corner. Kross thwarted it with a punch. Johnny returned the favor with a superman elbow.
Moose tagged in and caught John with a knee. Moose told John to stop it. Johnny came back with a huracanrana. Johnny hit a legdrop on Moose. Johnny tagged in Cage for tandem offense on Cage. Moose went for a German Suplex on Cage but Cage ducked to allow Johnny to hit a Flying Chuck. Johnny and Cage hit their opponents with tag team combo moves as the show went to commercial. [c]
Callis said the story so far has been the unity by Johnny and Cage. Cage no sold a few kicks. Cage blocked a Moonlight drive. Cage hit Kross with a Flatliner with Johnny providing a roundhouse to Kross’s head. Cage hit Kross with his signature outside-in deadlift suplex. Johnny missed an Impact elbow but hit a dropkick on Kross. Johnny then hit Kross with a Capoeira kick. Johnny rolled on the ground and got the worst of the move. Callis said he understands how a stinger feels. Kross was shown watching Johnny squirm with a smirk.
Johnny struggled but he tagged in Cage. Cage dominated Kross with a spinebuster. Moose ran in the ring to give Kross a numbers advantage. Moose tagged in and gave Cage a chop. Cage tried to fight out of the corner but Moose caught Cage with his top rope dropkick. Kross threw Cage into the turnbuckle. The referee then held up the non-kayfabe (but kayfabe) “X” symbol. Kross ran through Cage with the Impact Championship belt. The referee brigade surrounded Johnny and slowly tried to get him out of the match.
Cage was a bloody mess. Moose rained on the bloody face of Cage with rapid punches. Moose hit Cage with a senton into the Kip up. The camera showed Johnny and the indie security guards talking to Johnny. Johnny said he lost feeling in his arm. Cage tried to reach for a tag, but nobody came. Kross tagged in and hit Cage with a T-Bone suplex. Cage tried to show fighting spirit by fighting Moose back. He got Moose down, along with himself, when both men took each other out with lariats. Kross tagged in and walked into an F5 by Cage.
Taya Valkyrie ran out to check on her “injured” husband. Cage was staring at Taya and Johnny from the ropes and Taya tried to cry on behalf of Johnny. Kross hit Cage with a Doomsday Saito. Kross put Cage in the Kross Jacket and Moose got Cage to the ground with a spear. Callis noted that Cage was suffering through blood loss. Cage loss due to passing out.
Killer Kross and Moose defeated Johnny Impact and Brian Cage via ref stoppage in 11:21 of TV time.
Callis yelled that Cage passed out due to blood loss. Josh said it looked like a crime scene. The referee and medic brigade carried Johnny to the back while Kross stood tall over Cage. Kross had Cage’s blood on his cheek like it was war paint. Josh Mathews closed Impact by saying Kross’s line of never crossing a killer…
John’s Thoughts: That was really good. With this program involving three lucha underground wrestlers (and Moose), I feel like I’m finally getting that Lucha Underground alternative that I was hoping for when all of these wrestlers showed up in impact. I feel like we get these four in some sort of match every other week for the past few months, but they find ways to vary things up. The beginning part where Cage and Johnny were a well-oiled tag team was well done. This match’s goal was to lay it on thick that Johnny might be the nefarious one here. It was a follow up to the promos all night and the match told that story well. The fact that Impact doesn’t over do blood made Cage bleeding work. Cage was protected huge because Kross and Moose had to hit all their finishers on Cage just to make him pass out. Kross and Moose benefit because in a lot of cases, Cage overcomes situations like this but they really stacked the deck against him with the Johnny angle.
I forgot to report earlier, but Impact’s twitch viewership doubled. I was keeping track of it. During hour 1, it hovered between 12,000-13,750 viewers. The viewership actually rose in the second hour to over 16,000. I’m not sure why their viewership doubled compared to last week, but good for them. Overall, this was a good show with more “eh” parts then we’ve gotten in recent weeks, but the good stuff was really good. Especially this main event storyline where it looks like they’re doing some uncharacteristic long term and intricate storytelling. I like it when wrestling companies don’t treat their viewers like idiots.
Disco Inferno is awesome, he has a goofy Bruce Campbell kind of charm to him