By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Impact Wrestling Hits
Josh Alexander vs. Ace Austin for the X Division Championship: A hot match involving two of Impact’s best wrestlers. It was legitimately surprising to see Austin lose clean again after dropping the title following such a brief title reign. Nevertheless, the match was very well worked and I hope the company comes back to it again at some point.
Sami Callihan vs. Eddie Edwards in a six-way qualifier: The match had a “been there and done that” feel given how many times these two have faced one another over the years. But the finish with Kenny Omega and The Good Brothers attacking both men could set the table for something new, namely the longtime enemies put their differences aside to team up against Omega and The Good Brothers at some point. The only negative is that the outcome is oddly listed on the Impact website as Callihan winning by disqualification even though Omega and the Good Brothers attacked both men. I guess we’ll see if that’s amended next week.
Chris Bey vs. Jake Something in a six-way qualifier: A good match with a finish that allowed Bey to advance while offering double protection to Something in the form of Rohit Raju interfering followed by Bey using the ropes for leverage. It felt like a meaningful win for Bey without doing any additional damage to Something, who has now lost three television matches in a row.
Brian Myers vs. Matt Cardona in a six-way qualifier: A soft Hit for a solid match. They did a nice job of carrying over Cardona’s storyline knee injury from Rebellion into this match. It’s hard to be excited about Cardona being in the six-way match let alone him challenging for the title while he’s still stuck in Zack Ryder mode, but it does feel like a more realistic possibility than heel Myers winning the six-way and challenging Omega.
Taylor Wilde vs. Kimber Lee: Lee continues to be a reliable role player as the set-up woman for Deonna Purrazzo. It’s nice to see Wilde again, but I can’t help but feel confused by her presentation. Wilde was reintroduced with a series of rock club style vignettes. Yet for some reason, the Canadian born Wilde wore red, white, and blue gear and a Rosie the Riveter bandana backstage. There’s nothing wrong with her look other than that it doesn’t really mesh with those reintroduction vignettes. Again, though, it’s nice to see her back and she’s looked good in the ring despite the long layoff.
W Morrissey vs. Sam Beale: A quick squash match. While Morrissey was a quality replacement for Eric Young at Rebellion, it’s encouraging to see that he’ll apparently be his own man in Impact rather than a regular member of Violent By Design. While they could have made him a babyface and leaned into his real life battle with alcoholism, it’s probably better to showcase him as a heel given that he’s so much bigger than everyone else on the Impact roster.
Impact Wrestling Misses
None: A good show with a couple of fresh faces, good wrestling, meaningful matches thanks to the qualifier stips, and a post main event attack that put heat on the top heels. Bonus points for the announcement of El Phantasmo coming to Impact next week.
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