wrestling / TV Reports

Cazer’s Impact Wrestling Review 5.19.22

May 19, 2022 | Posted by Andrew Cazer
Impact Wrestling Mark Briscoe Image Credit: Impact Wrestling
7
The 411 Rating
Community Grade
12345678910
Your Grade
Loading...
Cazer’s Impact Wrestling Review 5.19.22  

It’s time for another episode of Impact wrestling folks. The last few weeks Impact has been knocking it out of the park with consistently good to great shows. This week we have an interesting card on tap, I have my reservations but there are certainly a few things i’m excited for. We’ll see Bennett and Taven (The OGK) take on The Good Brothers in tag team action. We’ll also see Tasha, Savanah, and Deonna take on the team of Taya Jordynne and Mia Yim! The Briscoes will defend their newly won Impact tag team championships as VBD have demanded their rematch. This time it’ll be Doring and Deaner with Eric at ringside so perhaps this could be the pairing VBD need to assemble to recapture what they recently lost. Finally we’ll see Laredo Kid take on Mike Bailey in an Ultimate X qualifying match. All this and more so we have a very interesting card on tap, we could have another very good show on our hands. Let’s get to it.

Ultimate X Qualifying Match
Laredo Kid vs. Mike Bailey

This should be a great opening contest between two really fun Impact X-Division superstars. I love it when Impact opts to open with a solid X-Division contest. Relatively ‘slow’ grappling between these two early given who they are, and finally it starts to pick up, Laredo Kid with an interesting grapple into a roll up for two. They continue to exchange unique grapples and holds. We have some fan screeching over every high spot. Laredo Kid teases the dive but Bailey dodges and knees him in the face leading to more screams. Bailey sends Kid back into the ring and covers him for two. Bailey lifts Laredo up and kicks him right in the chest dropping him to the mat. Bailey drops Laredo Kid in the corner and lands on him with the leaping knees for another two count. The screaming will be horrible if it lasts all night long but if it’s a Speedball superfan I suppose i’m ok with it. Bailey with a chop in the corner, he sends Laredo to the other side and runs into a boot. He then runs into a strike, Laredo dragged back into the ring and hit with a series of kicks, Kid with a series of kicks of his own and a neckbreaker to Bailey. Bailey rolls to the outside, Kid off the ropes again no dive he waits in the ring and kicks Bailey from the apron, Laredo Kid with a HUGE springboard moonsault onto Bailey and he nearly leaps into the front row hardly hitting Bailey and fortunate to not be injured. Kid tosses Bailey back into the ring and hits him with a leaping forearm in the corner. Kid drops Bailey and hits a springboard moonsault, he chants uno mas and the crowd joins in. Rehwoldt tells us it means no more and Hannifan says we are fortunate he married into learning that language…ok. Laredo Kid looks for a jumping rana off the ropes but Bailey rolls through for a two count. Bailey with another roll up for two then dumps Laredo to the outside. Bailey with a springboard moonsault to laredo kid on the outside. Bailey tosses Laredo back into the ring and heads to the top rope. Bailey with a missal drop kick and leaps right to his feet. Bailey with a running twisting shooting star onto Kid for a two count. Laredo to his knee and Bailey winds up a kick but he takes too long and Laredo blocks it and sends him into the corner following with a chop. Laredo rolls through into a superman forearm he heads to the corner and goes for another but Bailey catches him with a kick to the face. Bailey goes for ultima weapon but Laredo moves and rolls up Mike Bailey for the two count! Laredo Kid with the driver and covers for a two count. Laredo heads up top but Bailey cuts him off, Laredo slaps him in the face they both get up top and exchange forearms. Laredo Kid headbutts Bailey sending him to the mat. Laredo to the top and again Bailey cuts him off. Kid tries to shove him off again but this time Bailey fights back with forearms and an uppercut, Bailey with the moonsault off, Laredo Kid goes for a sunset flip pin but Bailey dodges and hits the moonsault with the knees to the chest. Bailey with a kick to the head and covers but Kid kicks out at two, they exchange roll ups, Bailey locks the arms and gets the victory. Baileys leg was under the bottom rope but the official missed it. Questionable call. Remove all referees and replace them with robots who don’t make mistakes.
Rating: ***
Review: This was a solid opening match and they had me questioning if maybe Laredo Kid could actually win here. Of course he came up short and it makes sense but I enjoy that they made it back and forth enough to give me the thought Speedball might actually lose. It wasn’t as good as some of the REALLY hot opening X-Division matches we’ve seen in the past but it was quite good. 

– Ace Austin abruptly cuts off the end of Baileys victory and cuts a promo promising that Bailey and King will lose when they challenge him for the championship. Ace says he’s been busy promoting Impact making history in New Japan but he still has his sights set on Ultimate X where he will retain.

– We see a promo featuring Josh Alexander sitting in the back hearing the chants from fans chanting ‘TNA’ Josh wanders around searching for something as the chants get louder. He finds a black towel over a Box that reads ‘TNA’. They promote that we’ll be remembering the history of TNA at Slammiversary.

– Matt Cardona is recording a selfie promo on his honeymoon and says that he’s too busy on his honeymoon to defend his championship against Rich Swann. Cardona says that he’s going to go back to hanging out with the hottest woman on the planet. Chelsea says she’s not only the hottest woman on the planet but the future Knockouts Champion when she wins the Queen of the Mountain match. Chelsea mentions she won’t be watching the women’s tag match tonight because she will be busy getting busy with Cardona.

Taya Valkyrie, Jordynne Grace, & Mia Yim vs. Tasha Steelz, Savanah Evans, and Deonna Purrazzo

This is a bit of a preview match to the upcoming Queen of the Mountain match. It’s not all the same participants of that match but enough to get the point across. We’ll also see Deonna and Taya continue their beef as well as Jordynne’s heat with Tasha and Savanah. Jordynne and Deonna kick this one off exchanging wristlocks before Deonna whips Jordynne to the mat, Deonna with a moonsault Jordynne moves just in time Deonna lands on her hands to catch herself. Both women tag out in comes Taya and Tasha both champions in the match. Taya sends Tasha to the mat and walks over her before sending her into the ropes and catching her with an immediate splash. Taya with a kick to the mid section of Tasha in the corner and finishes with running knees in the corner. Taya sends Tasha into the ropes and hits her with a modified blue thunder bomb, she covers for a brief two count. Tasha to her feet and sent into the corner as Taya tags in Jordynne. Jordynne with a splash in the corner sending us to commercial.

Back from break and Jordynne sends Tasha into the corner with a spear and repeated shoulder blocks. Jordynne with a chop to Tasha in the corner then a delayed suplex that seems to go forever before the crowd even starts counting noone seems to know how long its been but roughly thirty seconds. Jordynne shows off her guns before covering for two as Savanah breaks up the pinfall at two. Mia and Taya try to get involved allowing Deonna and Savanah to get involved. Deonna tags in and stomps away at Jordynne in the corner. Evans tags in and hits Jordynne with a stiff forearm sending her into the corner. Evans with a spear to Jordynne then a butterfly suplex. Evans covers for two. Tasha tags in and kicks at Jordynne in the corner and follows with an uppercut then a running kick. Tasha twerks and covers for a two count. Tasha with a headlock and Jordynne seems calm as she slowly works her way out of the hold. Tasha looks for a suplex but Jordynne hits a snapsuplex of her own allowing her to maybe make the tag but instead she goes after Tasha. Tasha attempts a cutter but she runs into Jordynne instead and she kind of just flops Tasha onto the mat before tagging in Mia. Mia runs wild on Evans and Deonna on the corner then hitting a big boot on Tasha in the corner. Mia with a twerk of her own then a cannonball in the corner. Mia picks Tasha up for a powerbomb and covers for two before Deonna breaks it up. Savanah into the ring and hits a big boot on Jordynne. Taya with a german suplex but she turns right into a cutter from Tasha. Mia with a full nelson suplex on Tasha. Deonna back into the ring and Mia hits a pele kick sending Deonna into the ropes Deonna counters out with a pump kick and she lifts Tasha up dragging her to the corner so Evans can tag in. Evans gets sent into the middle rope by Mia. Mia sets her up and allows Taya to hit a running German through the middle rope. Mia with eat da feet on Evans, she covers and picks up the victory!
Rating: **3/4
Review: This was a solid six women tag match but it had it’s moments I wasn’t really feeling. It’s pretty awesome how quickly Mia has regained steam while returning to Impact. The women’s division has really gotten much better over recent months and it was great before. 

– Backstage for Locker Room Talk with Madison Rayne and Tenille. Things have changed up slightly but it’s still the same. Madison says the lockerroom is Zen now that the Iinspiration are out of here. Tenille mentions Swinger and Madison says it’s funny because he just didn’t show up for work today. Swinger shows up and he’s dropped off by Zicky Dice. Swinger tells them they can come to the dungeon and do a little rolling around. Dice says he’d love that but Madison said noone hit his buzzer pink panther. Rosemary and Havok show up and say that The Influence haven’t beaten them yet. Tenille says they need to win a match to get a chance, Madison tells them to win a match and they’ll think about it. Zicky tells Havok he recognizes her from the dungeon and she slaps him down. Rosemary says that they’ll be hearing from them soon enough.

– Sabin is backstage and says the future is now and he challenges Frankie Kazarian to a match. He says the battle of the futures is now. We get a flashback to Sabin vs. Kazarian in 2003.

– Eric Young cuts a promo about his first experience at Wrestlemania seeing Ricky the Dragon Steamboat wrestle. He tells us his story of beginning his training and eventually getting a chance in Impact then joining Team Canada and getting slapped around by the coach. He fast forwards to when he was afraid of being hired and not making money. He runs with it like he’s run with everything he’s been given. He says he’s worked with people on both ends of the spectrum, he’s been discarded like a piece of garbage and now he’s here at his realest and purest self. He says he’s not in someone’s plan this is what he believes and what he was meant to be. Eric says for him this is a war call and the truth.

– Josh Alexander is backstage with Gia to discuss his upcoming match with Eric Young. Josh says he doesnt respect everything that Eric does but he recognizes what he’s done for this company as he’s done it all. Josh says that Slammiversary is a celebration of the previous 20 years but it’ll also be the celebration of the next 20 years. Josh asks who will usher in the next generation of this company, Eric Young or Josh Alexander. Josh says if Eric wants to become champion he better bring the fight of his life.

Honor No More vs. The Good Brothers

This should be a lot of fun, Mike Bennett and Matt Taven are fun to watch as are The Good Brothers. The traditionalist in me will ask as always who are the babyfaces. Now that that’s out of the way i’m here for this match regardless of the alignment of the superstars. Maria is here on commentary and talks trash as the Good Brothers make their way to the ring. Maria says that the boys are going to win tonight. Bennett and Anderson start this off, lockup with neither gaining full control. Karl and Bennett exchange forearms as Hannifan asks about her history and relationship with Karl Anderson. Hannifan asks if their history bothers Bennett. Maria says that history doesn’t matter as Anderson backs Taven into the corner with an uppercut. Gallows tags in and they send Bennett into the ropes and drop him with a double shoulder block. They taunt over Bennett as Hannifan says it feels like the OGK were jealous of the Good Brothers. Gallows sends Bennett into the corner but he fights out with a rake of the eyes of Gallows and tags in Taven. Taven off the ropes but runs right into a lariat from Gallows. Gallows covers for a two count but goes right back to work with elbows to the chest of Taven. Gallows brings Taven to the corner and tags in Anderson who kicks Taven in the mid section before raking at his nose. Anderson with strikes to the face of Taven before sending him into the corner with some intensity. Gallows taunts Taven before hitting him with an uppercut. Karl sends Taven into the ropes but he counters with a strike. Karl with a chop but Taven makes the blind tag to Bennett. They send Karl into the top rope before Bennett drops Gallows off the apron. Taven sends Karl face first into the announce table then sends him back into the ring. Bennett covers for a two count. We get an extended shot of the commentary team for some reason. Bennett bounces off the ropes multiple times before stopping with a thumb to the eye of Karl. Taven tags in and he hits Karl with a big boot, Bennett with a forerarm, Taven with a dropkick and covers for two. They back Karl into the corner and Bennett tags in locking in a chinlock on Karl. Bennett drops Gallows off the apron and then locks the chinlock back in. Karl with a spinebuster to Bennett to break free. Both men make tags, Gallows with a clothesline to Taven, another, then a big boot and a splash in the corner. Gallows with a running shoulder block to Taven then a superkick to Bennett. Gallows lifts Taven up and drops him, he covers for a two count but Bennett breaks it up. Karl into the ring they go for the magic killer but Bennett spears Karl. Taven with a roll up for two, Gallows goes for a chokeslam but Bennett with a superkick to the knee, he takes out Gallows, Taven with a moonsault and covers for two. They send Gallows into the ropes and go for a double team move but Bennett hits Taven with a superkick. Anderson tags in and they catch Bennett in the corner with a splash then a double team neckbreaker. Gallows drops Taven off the apron, Karl covers for two but Maria breaks it up and gets on the apron. She and Karl stare eachother down Karl says to get Maria out of here. He lifts Mike up for another gun stunn, Maria gets in the ring Bennett goes for a spear on Karl, he hits Maria instead. Bennett is so upset, Karl says he did it and hits him with the gun stun and covers him for the victory.
Rating: ***
Review: This match was good, but i’ve got to drop it down a notch for the goofy booking. I actually LOVED it even if it was cliche and goofy but I want to remain consistent and usually when we get a finish like this I am critical. The way Bennett reacted was hilarious and not in a great way but I loved it. I am interested to see where they’re going with this Karl Anderson/Maria angle even if it has ‘reality show’ old school Macho Man/Miss Elizabeth vibes I am a sucker for that stuff. This got a lot of time uninterrupted I was surprised we didn’t get a break at all during the action. 

– We get a Sami Callihan vignette where he tells Moose that he’s going to be making his life a living hell like he did to him in the past.

Masha Slamovich vs. Shawna Reed

Another Masha squash incoming, over under on two minutes or less. Masha charges her in the corner and stomps away at her. Masha launches Reed across the ring and waits for her to get up. Masha with a running boot to the face of Shawna. She pulls her to the center of the ring and covers for two before lifting her up. Masha lifts Shawna up and hits the snowplow for the victory. If you had the under it probably hit.
Rating: N/A
Review: Another quick Masha squash. It’s never bad but I can’t say much until we see here move past this onto an actual angle. As I type that the lights go out. The tell tale signal that an angle is about to begin. 
Post match: Havok comes out to the ring and gets into the face of Masha. Unexpected after the backstage segment with the influence but you’d expect these two could have a pretty sweet match. It’s not the first one i’d ask for but I can see where it’ll be very entertaining and a step in the right direction.

– Raj Singh is backstage with Shera and he says the bullseye is on the back of Gujar and they are coming for him. Gujar walks up and says he’s done with this, he says if they have a problem lets solve it in the ring. Raj says this is laughable and calls Gujar disrespectful. He asks if Gujar is going to do this alone, W. Morrisey walks up and asks who said he’s by himself. Raj says it looks like he has a big friend but he has a lion. Shera gets in Morrisey’s face and says NEXT WEEK. Gujar says he doesn’t need Morrisey’s help, Morrisey says there’s no shame in accepting help when somebody offers. It’s like a PSA mixed with an angle and I dig it. They shake hands.

Impact Wrestling World Tag Team Championships
Violent By Design vs. The Briscoe Brothers

Eric Young accompanies VBD to the ring and they talk more about the importance of his upcoming match with Josh Alexander. I must say as much as I am not a fan of that match, I am enjoying this build and it makes plenty of sense leading up to Slammiversary. Mark and Deaner kick this off. Deaner talks trash to Mark as he gets in his ninja stance. Deaner decides to tag in Doring. Mark stares him down for a moment back to ninja stance and we get a lock up. Mark backed into the corner but he dodges Doring and hits him with a chop. Doring shoves Mark into the corner and Jay tags in. Jay locks up with Doring and ducks a lariat from Doring. He attempts a shoulder block but Doring isn’t shaken and he hits Jay with a forearm to the back. Deaner tags in and lays into Jay with a chop in the corner. He sends Jay to the other side and Deaner runs into an elbow. Jay with an elbow to Deaner as he explodes off the ropes. Mark tags in and kicks Deaner to the midsection. Mark lifts Deaner up and drops him with a suplex. Mark wipes his hands clean and covers Deaner for a two count. Deaner to his feet and he exchanges chops with Mark. Jay tags in and catches Deaner with a boot in the corner. They hit Deaner with a sweet tag team combination finished by a double stomp from Mark. Jay headbutts Deaner into the corner and stomps away at him before choking him in the corner. Mark tags in and gets some shots in before lifting Deaner up and lays into him with some shots to the head. Jay tags in and hits Deaner with a series of rights and lefts to the midsection. Deaner sent to the outside and Mark hits a diving neck breaker to the outside. Jay goes for a dive but he’s stopped by a running crossbody from Doring who taunts as we go to commercial.

Back from break and Doring drops Jay with a powerslam right into an elbowdrop and cover for two. Doring sets Jay up in the ropes and tags in Deaner they hit a combo kick to the head of Jay as Deaner covers for a two count. Deaner distracts the ref as Eric hits Jay in the face from the outside. Eric waves the flag on the outside as Deaner tags in Doring. Doring with a kick to the stomach of Jay. Doring sends Jay face first into the corner and sets him up in the turnbuckle tagging in Deaner. Deaner with a kick tot he back of Jay as he’s set up in the turnbuckle. Deaner taunts Jay before choking away at him as the ref counts to four. Mark tries to get the crowd behind his brother and it inspires Jay to fight back and make the tag. Mark ducks a shot from Deaner and lays into both members of VBD with shots before Doring lifts him up, Mark fights free and sends Doring to the otuside. Deaner sends him into the ropes but Mark jumps to the outside taking out Doring. Mark back inside and hits Deaner with a couple shots before setting him up on the top turnbuckle. Mark with an openpalm uppercut. Mark sends Deaner off the top and covers him for a two count. Mark with a kick to Deaner in the corner, Deaner sends Briscoe into the opposing corner, Deaner to his feet, Doring tries to take out Mark’s feet but he dodges it and Jay takes out Doring. Mark with an overhand chop and Jay comes in they hit the double team neckbreaker powerbomb. Mark covers for a two count but some how Deaner kicks out. Mark and Doring fight on the outside, Doring sends him face first into the post. Deaner drops Jay with a forearm. Doring tags in and lifts up Jay, Jay fights back with forearms of his own but he runs right into a spinebuster from Doring. Doring to his feet and lifts up Jay before tagging in Deaner. Deaner to the top and hits a diving headbutt. Mark manages to make the save even though Doring tries to break it up. Mark fights back and hypes himself up only to run into a shoulder from Doring. Jay with a superkick to Doring then a rana. Doring to the outside. Deaner and Jay in the ring, Jay with a rolling elbow to drop Deaner. Mark sets up Deaner for the doomsday device but Doring cuts it off. Deaner fights free but Jay rolls him up for the victory as Doring is distracted. Eric hits the ring and they beat down The Briscoes after the match.
Rating: ***1/4
Review: I thought this was a solid tag team match and a decent main event tag title match. I didn’t think it was necessarily anything out of this world but it was good. I am glad it isn’t the usual make VBD the tag champs to try and make Eric look strong going into the PPV by proxy. The Briscoes deserve a healthy run as champions to continue establishing them as one of Impact’s top tag teams.
Post Match: Josh hits the ring to make the save as Eric and VBD continue their assault. Eric and Josh stare eachother down and Josh talks for a moment before Eric smiles and slowly backs away. Deaner drops Josh from behind and VBD continue their assault. The Briscoes send Eric to the outside evening the odds, they send Deaner and Doring to the outside with the help of Alexander. Eric hops on the ramp and Josh grabs the tag belts handing it to the Briscoes to close the show as they stare down VBD.

7.0
The final score: review Good
The 411
Another solid episode of Impact that was entertaining from top to bottom. The show opened up really strong and did lag a little bit in the middle as we went a stretch of like 30 minutes without any in ring action or at least it felt that way. Outside of that it was a good show with some good matches throughout.
legend

article topics :

Impact Wrestling, Andrew Cazer