wrestling / TV Reports
Jeremy’s Impact Wrestling Review 11.3.20
Loading...Hello there, Impact fans! It’s Tuesday and that means it’s time for another episode of Impact Wrestling. I’m Jeremy, and y’all know how this works. It’s gonna be a stressful day for a lot of people, so hopefully tonight’s show can take our minds off of things a bit. After all, folks…we have a murder to solve! Let’s get right to it.
On a personal note: Please don’t devolve into toxic political arguments. We’re here in this particular thread to be toxic about wrestling, folks. At least keep the topic straight! (Just kidding, folks. Just be cool; thanks.)
As a reminder, the GoFundMe for Larry’s daughters is still active and if you can make a donation, that would be awesome. Thank you so much to everyone who’s done so thus far.
* Previously on Impact: The engagement and wedding planning for John E. Bravo and Rosemary is detailed, specifically how Bravo turned into an absolute Groomzilla and was awful to everyone, thus creating a ton of suspects for his murder. We also have people like Hernandez and Rosemary as suspects based on their motivations. Then we get the wedding and everyone going Han Solo before Bravo finally gets shot.
* We start in with Scott D’Amore and Tommy Dreamer, who appears to be wearing a Sherlock Holmes coat. Bravo is apparently not dead; he’s in a medically induced coma and is critical but stable. Dreamer is in fact being Sherlock and everyone’s a suspect. D’Amore says he’ll want to be shot by the time this is done, and then…
WE OWN THE NIGHT! (AKA Title Sequence!)
Knockouts Championship Match
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Su Yung
We’re starting off with a title match once again! This is Deonna’s rematch after she lost the title to Su at Bound For Glory. Deonna attacks as Su was putting her glove on and they start brawling which ends with Deonna in control. She comes off the ropes but Su dodges and gets her on her shoulders, Deonna counters the Panic Switch into the armbar but Su gets out quickly and takes hold of Deonna, throwing her across the ring and then doing it again. Su goes for the Mandible Claw but Deonna counters and flips Su Yung to the ground. Deonna starts to work the arm with a legdrop and leg submission, then she twists the arm down and stomps the elbow. Purrazzo continues to work the arm, whips Su across the ring but Su reverses. Kick to Deonna, upside down rana sends Deonna into the turnbuckle. Back elbows by the champion, Thesz press and punches. Kimber Lee tries to help Purrazzo recover but Su with a charging palm strike. Su goes off the ropes but Deonna follows in for an elbow, and then Deonna off the ropes but Su with an elbow of her own. And they do it one more time with Deonna hitting a back elbow. She comes off but turns and ducks Su, double clothesline takes both women down. Ref count gets to seven but Deonna up and she kicks Su in the gut, cradle piledriver attempt reversed by Su into a backdrop, Deonna with a sunset flip but Yung gets out, Mandible claw! She’s got it locked in! Kimber throws a chair into the ring and Yung turns to stare at Lee. Deonna goes for the chair but Yung stomps on it! They play tug of war with the chair, Deonna gets hit in the gut with it and the ref calls for the bell in a DQ finish.
Winner: Deonna Purrazzo (4:04)
Rating: **
Thoughts: Obviously, there was almost no time here for them to get anything going. What we got was competent; we know that they can go against each other based on their Bound For Glory match. This was just to whet appetites and create the match for Turning Point and it was fine for that.
* After the match Su hits Kimber with the chair, throws it into Deonna’s hands and kicks it into her face. Purrazzo rolls out of the ring as Su Yung flips.
* Josh and Madison break down the events of the opening match and then look at this week’s show including:
– Tommy Dreamer investigates Bravo’s shooting
– Locker Room Talk with Jordynne Grace & Tenille Dashwood
– Ethan Page vs. Doc Gallows
– Eddie Edwards & Rich Swann vs. Eric Young & Sami Callihan
* Heath and Rhino are backstage and Heath is trying to hide that he’s hurt. D’Amore shows up excited with the contract and says what a road it’s been. He congratulates them on winning at Bound For Glory and asks if Heath is feeling good. He says they can sign and Heath will be in action next week; Heath says let’s just sign and they can worry about next week later. D’Amore questions Heath’s condition and says he wasn’t moving the best in the Gauntlet match. Rhino says he was nervous, and D’Amore says everything he asked for is in it. As soon as Heath is healthy, it’ll be waiting. He says they’ll get Heath rehabbed but that this is carnie stuff. Heath slowly stands up and says he’ll be back, as he walks painfully along.
Meanwhile, Barrister R.D. Evans has come in to complain about Purrazzo’s rematch. He says it’s not the rematch they wanted, and D’Amore snarks at Evans but says he doesn’t want to fight. D’Amore concedes and says to tell his client that a Knockouts Championship Match will take place at Turning Point with an Anything Goes, No DQ stipulation. Anything goes, whether fingers down the throat or mist to D’Amore’s face or Purrazzo getting blown up…whatever works. Evans is chastened and looks extremely nervous as he goes to tell Deonna, and D’Amore is enjoying this a bit too much for it not to be funny.
* Back from break and Swann walks up to Edwards. They commiserate a bit and Swann says he’s pumped to be tagging with Edwards. Eddie asks if Swann is ready and says he’s proud of Swann. He has his own history with both men and tonight, they’ll take care of business. They sing together and Swann walks off, pumped.
Chris Bey vs. Trey Miguel
The two circle and lock up, trading counter holds which end with Trey in a wristlock on the ground, into a headlock and a slap to the chest. Tornado springboard armdrag but Bey ends up on his feet. They go into the ropes and Bey leaps up onto Miguel’s shoulders but gets launched ass-first to the ground. They start flipping a bit, Bey ducks a clothesline but trade armdrags. Bey takes control with a dropkick that sends Trey into the corner. He moves in and gets kicked, but stomps on Trey and chokes him against the bottom turnbuckle for a four-count. Bey whips Trey across the ring, Trey goes up and flips over, catches Bey and snapmares him, misses a kick but hits a moonsault for a two-count. Trey charges in but gets sent over the ropes, kick to the head of Bey and a shot to the gut, he flips over with a sunset flip and Bey rolls through, but gets sent to the outside with a dropkick. Trey comes off the ropes but Bey is in, Try lands on the apron and leaps over Bey as Bey goes to the outside. Bey hangs Trey on the ropes and legsweeps him, springboard elbow to the back of the head and Bey gets two. Kick to the back of Trey and Bey picks him up, Trey fights back but Bey stops him with a kneelift. Whip reversed by Trey, he comes in, catches the boot but Bey rakes the eyes and he knocks Trey down. Elevated stomp to Trey, and another one. Bey stands on Trey’s shoulder blades to showboat and the ref checks on Trey. Bey goes for a stomp but Trey slips out, kick to Bey and a flip, then a kick to the head. Both men down, the ref count hits four before Bey is up. He charges right into a back elbow, then charges into a boot. Trey on the second turnbuckle, dodges Bey and trips the leg, reverse 619! Back kick and a cutter, pin gets two for Trey! Trey’s looking frustrated now, he goes up top but gets crotched by Bey. Bey climbs up top, he goes for a superplex but Trey fights out and sunset flip powerbomb but Bey hangs on and lays in some punches. Bey gets free and kick to Bey’s head! Miguel charges in but kick by Bey, flying cutter! Pin gets three.
Winner: Chris Bey (6:24)
Rating: ** 1/2
Thoughts: They had a good match given that they had about six and a half minutes to put it on. Tonight looks to be a bit more angle-heavy, at least in the early goings. But anyway, solid work here as we would expect from these two guys, and Bey getting the win is a good statement for his X-Division title hopes.
* Back from break and it’s time for Locker Room Talk! Madison Rayne is there with Swinger, and she says she’s surprised he’s not a prime suspect in Bravo’s shooting. Swinger says that the allegations are flying like him in his matches, but he’s innocent and he pumps up his biceps. Rayne says her guests are Jordynne Grace and Tenille Dashwood, both of whom need a tag team partner. Swinger makes a two-for-one special joke and Rayne shuts him up, the introduces Grace who shoves a Swinger hug aside and sits down. Next up is Tenille with Kaleb with a K. Swinger complains about Kaleb being here, calling it a sausage party. Kaleb compliments Madison and Madison asks Jordynne about her lack of a partner. Grace says she and Alisha didn’t click but she has time left and is confident she can find a partner. Madison points out that they’re both really talented and could partner up, but they don’t get along. Grace acknowledges their issues but says she knows Tenille will do what it takes to win. She suggests that they could be the team to beat, but Tenille asks Madison to be her partner. Madison is surprised and flattered, while Grace is incredulous. Tenille compliments Madison’s look and says she sees a “star from afar.” Madison is 100% into it and says she’s busy, but she thinks they can make it work. Kaleb goes to take a picture and asks Jordynne to get out of the shot. Grace gets up and asks to see the camera, then chucks it off screen and walks off. Kaleb is shocked: “HOW DARE YOU?” Tenille hands over her phone and Swinger tries to get in the shot, as Madison calls for the end of the segment.
* Dreamer is interviewing senior referee Brandon Tolle because he’s not convinced he didn’t shoot Bravo. He points out that Bravo berated him after the result of Fallah Bahh vs. Swinger but sends him out. Cody goes to sit down, but Swinger takes his spot. They both need to go because they both have a match next, against each other as it turns out. Dreamer gets excited and yells “MATCH TIIIIII–” but it’s the wrong show. Dreamer tells them to go have their match but come back after because they’re both still suspects.
* We’re back from break and it’s another Defeat Rohit challenge. Rohit addresses us nimrods at home and crows about beating five of the best in the world to retain his champion. He calls himself the Mocha-Skinned Manimal and just…no, Rohit. No. Anyway, he’s the reigning and defending X-Division champion and some things don’t change, which leads to the latest Defeat Rohit Challenge. Rohit calls for fresh meat, and it’s TJP coming out with his coffee to the ring.
TJP gets a mic and talks about all of Rohit’s names for himself and likes “Man of Opportunity” best. He’s here for his opportunity, and Rohit says his opportunity was finished at Bound For Glory even if TJP didn’t get pinned by him. He gives Rohit the opportunity to get the hell out of his ring. TJP says everyone that he’s beat have one thing in common: none of them are TJP. Rohit says he’s trying to be polite but he’s taking his time and spotlight at every turn. He says he clawed and scratched and worked hard without fanfare and without being anyone’s special pet project. He earned this and now he shines, but who the hell is TJP? TJP says Rohit clawed and fought and good for him, but he did it with shortcuts. TJP has put in the work, 22 years’ worth. He says he’s been wrestling longer than Rohit has been watching wrestling. He brings up selling out Arena Mexico at 18, being the youngest gaijin in New Japan history, being Cruiserweight Champion and X-Division champion. He says he put in the work, he was homeless and accomplished all that. Wrestling couldn’t beat him and the world couldn’t beat him, so why does Rohit think he can?
Rohit says that’s glorious and says all the accomplishments are the achievements of a has-been. They’re all past tense and he’s presently, currently X-Division champion. He says that TJP is frankly pathetic. TJP goes to speak but then sets down the mic. Rohit tells him to leave and TJP steps out of the ring because it ain’t about him. TJP gets back in and grabs the mic but Rohit cuts him off and says he’s all about him. TJP throws his tea in Rohit’s face and they start brawling! Rohit chokes TJP on the ground but they get back up and trade punches. TJP takes control and throws Rohit out of the ring, then grabs the title and picks it up and Rohit seethes and rants.
* Gia Miller is backstage with Chris Sabin and asks about XXXL’s attack on Alex Shelley. Sabin says Alex will be fine, but he’s more interested in all the tag teams playing divide and conquer against them because they know they can’t beat the Guns as a unit. He says if they want to isolate him, they’ve got him. He challenges either Acey or Larry to face him one-on-one and he’ll show them why he’s the one of the best in the world.
* Back from break and Rohit is PISSED and ranting at D’Amore. He complains about no first-class fights, no solo catering and then TJP’s actions. TJP comes up and they start yelling at each other until D’Amore breaks it up. He tells TJP to stop throwing around teabags and Rohit to stop running his mouth. Rohit says TJP won’t leave him alone; TJP wants one last shot because Rohit’s never pinned him. D’Amore proposes one more match, but it will be the last match between them. He walks off and they talk trash before going their separate ways.
Ethan Page vs. Doc Gallows
The Good Brothers are pimping all their merch including their whiskey, all available at Shop Impact. Bell rings and we’re off. Lockup and Page gets shoved to the mat. Some trash-talking and Page with a kick to the gut followed by first, he comes off the ropes but gets shoulder tackled to the ground and rolls out of the ring pissed. Page talks with Alexander and gets calmed down, then climbs back into the ring. Lock up and Page gets thrown into the corner, Gallows with strikes to the chest and he whips Page into the ropes and takes him down. Page back out of the ring and he’s pissed. He grabs his title belt and gets refocused, then rolls in. Gallows mocks the Karate Man stuff and decks Page, who rolls out yet again. Alexander distracts Gallows and Page slides in to attack LG, knocking him down and laying in stomps. He mounts Gallows and lays in the punches, then chokes him against the middle rope. Page backs off and distracts the ref as Alexander gets a shot in. Anderson goes for Alexander and that distracts the ref again as Gallows takes back control with a punch. Page fires back with kicks and a knee to the gut, DDT by Page gets two. Page with a rear chinlock, Gallows up and elbows out but comes off the ropes into a big dropkick that gets two. Gallows in the corner and Page beats on him a bit, then follows him to another corner and hits a couple shoulders to the gut. He mocks Karl a bit and LG takes control, striking hard but Page blatantly rakes the eyes. He pounds on Gallows and locks in another rear chinlock, Gallows to his feet and fights free. Page charges at him but eats a back elbow, a boot and then three clotheslines! Hard whip into the corner and a charging back elbow, he comes off the ropes with a flying shoulder tackle. Big front kick takes Page down and he lies in wait as Page gets to his feet but Alexander grabs the boot. The partners fight outside as Gallows hits a charging Page with a superkick for the three-count.
Winner: Doc Gallows (6:18)
Rating: ** 1/4
Thoughts: Pretty decent stuff here, all in all. Page looked pretty competitive against Gallows but the loss puts the Good Brothers in a position to be The North’s first challengers for their current title reign. It was perfectly proficient here and did what it had to.
Alexander attacks Gallows immediately after the bell and they double-team LG, but Anderson in now. Anderson with the Gun Stun to Page and Gallows sends Alexander over the ropes.
* Gia Miller is backstage with Swoggle and asks how it feels to be back. Swoggle says it feels amazing and he’s always been pushed to the Island of Misfit Toys. Impact is that island and it’s home for him. He pimps his book and says he’s always been viewed as a joke, but now is not that time anymore. Now is time to make history and be viewed as a professional wrestler. Myers comes in and mocks Swoggle, calling him a sideshow freak. Swoggle says he’s fine with how Myers threw him out in the Gauntlet match, but it’s not fine the way he’s been acting, treating Dreamer like he does. Myers says he’s watched Swoggle steal money anywhere he goes and it’s not happening here because he runs Impact. He mocks Myers’ book and shoves Swoggle down then walks off.
Johnny Swinger vs. Cody Deaner
No entrances here. Lockup and Swinger with a wristlock, reversed and put into a headlock. Dreamer off the ropes with a bodyblock, he goes for a hip toss but Swinger blocks it. Swinger flexes, Cody does the same and then clotheslines the Swingman. Swinger calls for a time-out but no luck, as Cody stomps on Swinger then pauses for a beer, then more stomps. He goes in but Swinger grabs Cody and pulls him headfirst into the turnbuckle, then chokes him with his headband. Swinger chokes Cody against the ropes and pulls on his face, then decks Cody in the corner and climbs up for a ten-count punch. But Cody grabs Swinger and hits an inverted atomic drop, followed by a regular atomic drop. A couple jabs from Cody, a shot to the gut and a clothesline. Cody gets the hat, TURNS IT AROUND and goes in for the Deaner DDT but Swinger rakes the eyes and goes outside. He puts on the fanny pack and grabs a chair, he raises it high and Cousin Jake grabs it. The ref tries to get the chair from Jake and Swinger hits Cody with the fanny pack, getting the pin.
Winner: Johnny Swinger (4:03)
Rating: * 3/4
Thoughts: Pure time filler and the kind of thing you’d expect to see on Impact Xplosion. It had no time and wasn’t stellar for the time it got.
* Moose is backstage heading to the ring as we go to break.
* We’re back from the break and Moose is making his entrance with the TNA World Championship in a snazzy-looking suit. He says that the past few months, he hasn’t been taken seriously nor has the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. But that shouldn’t be a problem anymore. He says some people say he didn’t earn it and grabbed it out of a trash can, but at Bound For Glory he went to hell and back and killed a man who some of us say is the greatest TNA Heavyweight Champion in the company’s history. (Wait, do people really say that? I like EC3 but come on.) He says he controlled his narrative and is born again. He lays the title on the ground and says they’re going to look at his last couple of years in Impact: Undefeated in PPVs, he beat Rob Van Dam, he beat Rhino, he beat Ken Shamrock, he beat Tommy Dreamer, and at BFG he beat EC3. But nobody talks about it; all they talk about is the Impact World Champion, Rich Swann. He congratulates Rich and says around his waist, he has what Moose believes is still the second-most important championship in Impact. He says to ask EC3 what pain really feels like. He says most of them probably don’t remember, but he’ll show them what pain looks like. He shows the video from last week of Moose attacking Willie Mack with the title. He says that he knows Mack is a good friend of Swann’s and that if Mack wakes up, he should ask Mack what pain really feels like. He says they’ve been warned — and HERE COMES WILLIE MACK! He runs into the ring and attacks Mack. They go outside and Moose gets a cheap shot, slamming Mack into the camera man. The jacket comes off and Moose beats on Mack for a bit. He’s about to go but he changes his mind and chokes Mack with the camera cables. Mack is down as we cut away.
* Backstage, Chris Bey walks up to Swann and congratulates him on the Impact World Title win. It’s time to jump up on it, jump up on those two feet and tell management he’s ready to defend the title against Chris Bey. Swann says he sees a lot of himself in Bey, but Bey can’t finesse him. It takes a bit more to get a championship opportunity than that. Opportunities are earned. In comes Eddie Edwards and he says it’s time. They walk off, leaving Bey hanging.
* Dreamer has done a thorough investigation and narrowed down his list to ten people. James Mitchell says it’s abject nonsense and can’t believe anyone would accuse him because he’s a complete angel. Everyone laughs at that and he says who is he kidding; he’d blame himself. Taya says she’s been a perfect angel and has been on her best behavior, which Dreamer says makes her a suspect. He says they don’t have an answer tonight, but they will have an answer. The list includes referee Brandon Tolle, Taya, Larry D, Swinger, Havok, Bahh, Cody, Rosemary, Mitchell, and Hernandez.
* Josh and Madison hype up and next week’s Impact, which include:
– Last Chance X-Division Championship Match: Rohit Raju vs. TJP
– Chris Sabin vs. Acey Romero
– Madison Rayne & Tenille Dashwood vs. Havok & Nevaeh
They also break down the Turning Point card:
– No Disqualification Impact Knockouts Championship Match: Su Yung vs. Deonna Purrazzo
– Moose vs. Willie Mack
Eddie Edwards & Rich Swann vs. Sami Callihan & Eric Young
Swann starts against Callihan as the bell rings. They go for a lockup but Callihan kicks Swann in the gut and takes control, knocking him down and then slamming him into the turnbuckle. Callihan measures Swann for a shot and lets loose, then manhandles him in the corner for a ref four-count. Sami pulls Swann into the middle of the ring but Swann fires back, comes off the ropes and cartwheels over, leapfrogs a charging Sami and goes under before hitting a dropkick. Callihan out of the ring and Young charges in, Eddie with chops and the babyfaces beat on him until he goes outside. Swann with a dive but they move and he stops short, Eddie with a dive through the ropes on Young! Swann with a senton off the apron to take down Callihan! And we’re off to break.
Back from break with Swann in control of Sami and he tags in Eddie. Sami whipped into the ropes, comes off into an inverted atomic drop by Edwards, clothesline by Swann, Boston crap and flipping legdrop and Eddie gets a one-count. Eric Young talks trash and distracts Eddie but so Sami can get a shot in. They trade punches, Eddie comes off the ropes and gets kicked by Young which allows Sami to take over. He tags in EY and holds Eddie so Young can kick him in the head. Hard shot to the face from Young and a series of elbow drops, followed by a crossface. He picks Eddie up and throws him into Callihan’s boot, then tags Sami in. Rake down the chest and they both stomp at Eddie for a bit. Sami tags in EY, who hits an elbowdrop on the held Edwards. Young with a neckbreaker and cover for two. Young picks Eddie up and pulls him to the hostile corner, Sami tags in and snapmares Eddie into a chinlock. Eddie bites Sami to get out of it to no avail. He powers to his feet but Sami grabs Eddie’s hair and pulls him over to tag in Young who nails a shot on Eddie. Eddie fires back with shots to EY and comes off the ropes but gets caught with a back elbow for a two-count. Young tags in Sami and holds Eddie against the ropes for a kick. Sami with a wristlock and whip across the ring, Sami with a baseball slide counter and hits a Blue Thunder Bomb but can’t make the cover! Callihan is able to tag out and EY knocks Swann off the apron to cut off the tag. He whips Eddie, reversed and Young flips over the turnbuckle to the apron, runs to another corner and clips up but EATS A FLYING KICK! Eddie climbs up, goes for a superkick but EY fights out of it. Edwards comes back and hits the superplex! He’s crawling for the corner and Sami tags in in time to try and stop the tag, but Eddie gets free and tags Swann! Swann in hot, he takes Young off the apron and hits Sami with a couple of clotheslines. Callihan gets a boot up to stop a charge and goes to the second rope but Swann with a kick to the head! Eric Young runs in and gets a heavy kick for his troubles! Swann with a leaping superrana from the floor and Sami lands right on EY! Swann makes the cover, but Young breaks it up. Young picks Swann up, he and Sami go for a double suplex but Eddie is in to save Swann and get him to safety. He goes on the attack but Young grabs the boot and Callihan kicks Eddie down. They go for Swann, he handsprings into the ropes and off into a double cutter! Callihan rolls away from Swann, who tags in Eddie and hits a takedown BUT EY WITH A FLYING NECKBREAKER! Swann with a leaping spin kick to Young! He goes to pick Sami up but Sami clotheslines him hard! Young grabs Eddie and they go for double piledrivers, but the babyfaces counter! Boston crab and sharpshooter in tandem! Callihan goes to tap but Young physically stops him! Young pushes Eddie off and into Swann to break up the holds. Young goes for the piledriver again but Eddie counters and catapults Young over the ropes. He grabs Callihan, Callihan ducks a clothesline and goes for a backslide, Eddie out but eats a kick then fires back with a jumping kick! Sami on the second rope, leaping kick! Backpack Stunner from Eddie gets two, Callihan tries to kick out but Eddie turns it into a single-leg crab! Sami goes to tap and Rich Swann holds Young back as someone is running to the ring! It’s Ken Shamrock, who attacks Swann and throws him into the ring steps. Eddie goes to help and gets rolled up by Callihan. Eddie kicks out, but Callihan with the piledriver and gets three!
Winner: Sami Callihan & Eric Young (10:57)
Rating: ** 3/4
Thoughts: This was a very good main event that gave everyone a chance to shine. There were some really fun spots and Callihan and Young look to be on a fairly good page here, while Swann and Edwards had some great teamwork as well. The Ken Shamrock run-in was not surprising considering he didn’t come out with the heels, and Callihan looks increasingly likely to be Swann’s first challenger.
The heels celebrate in the ring as we go to black.
