Cazer’s Impact Wrestling Review 8.11.22

We are only 24 hours away from Impacts next live event Emergence and the build has been solid. Now we look to close things out with a banger of a go home show. As we approach the epic encounter between Alex Shelley and Josh Alexander for the Impact world championship the two will go face to face and sign a contract for their match. Seems like a last minute thing given the match is tomorrow I feel like Scott should’ve locked this match up sooner but alas.

We will also see some quality in ring action as we have Kenny King taking on Karl Anderson to give a preview of the multi-man tag set for Emergence. We’ll also see X Division champion Mike Bailey go one on one with Rocky Romero ahead of his title defense against Jack Evans tomorrow. Cody Deaner will go one on one with Kushida before their tag team match tomorrow. Mia Yim will face off with Madison Rayne fresh off a couple of AEW appearances, Yim is challenging for the Knockouts world championship tomorrow but first she must defeat a former champion in Rayne. Finally the action in the Knockouts division continues as Killer Kelly makes her long awaited Impact wrestling debut. All this and more set for tonight’s final impact ahead of Emergence.

– We get a recap of Honor No More’s promo from last week and the main event between PCO and Gallows in the Derby City Street Fight.

Kenny King vs. Karl Anderson

This could be the final time we see Honor No More as a unit in Impact. I’ve been calling for the separation for a bit but i’m curious if it will really happen. This should be a good bit of fun between King and Anderson. King is joined by Honor No More but Anderson comes out solo, only accompanied by his TWO championships. Gallows is missing due to his injuries from his match last week. Honor No More were only there for the entrance as both teams have been banned from ringside. Grappling to begin and Rehwoldt reminds us that Heath could always get involved, kind of wish he didn’t foreshadow there. Nice exchange of moves with neither getting the upper hand so they separate and Karl gives a little clap for King. Karl with a shoulder block and ducks under a leapfrog before sending King to the mat with an armdrag. King to his feet quickly but they exchange pinfall attempts both only scoring a two count. Again they separate expecting a bigger pop than they got for the wrestling exchange. Test of strength teased but King with a kick to the midsection instead. Karl with an uppercut and the crowd joins him for a too SWEET chant. King drapes the leg of Anderson across the rope and begins to target the knee with a chop block. King works the knee even more kicking at it before hitting a modified DDT on his leg. King covers for two and follows with a headbutt as Karl grabs as his knee. King runs into a forearm but King sweeps the leg and nails Karl with a kick to the head and covers for two again. King with a submission attempt and transitions into a suplex attempt but Karl fights back with a dragon screw attacking Kings knee. Both to their feet and Karl with an uppercut then a series of elbows. King off the ropes and runs into a clothesline. Karl with a powerslam and a senton but his knee is giving him trouble. Karl walks right into a shot to the knee from King. King runs into a forearm then Karl hits a running dropkick, apparently the knee was fine just for a moment. Karl clutches at the knee after and lifts King up but King counters out and hits a scorpion kick to Karl. Karl in the corner and King with an exploder suplex and locks Karl right into a submission. Karl gets to the bottom rope to break the hold. King lifts Karl up onto the shoulders and sends him face first into the turnbuckle. Karl counters into a gun stun. Post match King grabs a chair and attacks the leg of Karl Anderson setting his knee up in a chair but Heath makes the save.
Rating: ***
Review: This would’ve been a notch better if the selling was just a bit better at points. I get segments of adrenaline allowing you to attempt a move or two but I wasn’t buying it much here. The post match attack was fine but odd that noone bothered to make the save, i’d imagine the ban ends after the bell rings. Heath has gotten a fair bit out of picking Honor No More apart so it serves a purpose was just weird there was no save. 

– Alex Shelley hype video and he tells us it’s his time to shine after letting others do so for so long. He says walking out of Emergence as champion will make every sacrifice worthwhile. I am so pumped for this match as a fan of Alex Shelley. I am not expecting a win but just him being in the Impact World Championship conversation feels well deserved.

Deaner w/ Joe Doering vs. Kushida

Deaner and Doering have been giving Shelley and Sabin hell for a while now, Kushida being the great friend he is has Shelley’s back. He and Sabin will be teaming up to take on VBD tomorrow night hopefully that will be enough to keep them out of Shelley’s hair during the main event. Deaner runs right into some quick offense from Kushida. Kushida locks in a wristlock and goes right to a headlock. Deaner shoves Kushida into the ropes but he returns with a shoulder block then an armdrag. Deaner drops Kushida and then stomps at him before taunting. Kushida with a running palm strike then another in the corner to Deaner. Deaner on the apron and Kushida drops him off with a handspring. Kushida goes for the hoverboard lock outside the ring but Deaner escapes. Kushida runs into Doering but Sabin is quick to have his partners back. The distraction allows Deaner to hit Kushida from behind with a forearm as we go to break.

Back from break and Deaner has Kushida backed up into the corner and nails him with some strikes before setting him up for his little kick to the butt gimmick. That corner spot is always dumb to me. Deaner with a cover for two. Kushida fights back with chops to Deaner but Deaner rakes the eyes. Deaner sends Kushida into the corner then runs into a boot and a series of kicks. Kushida with a running crossbody then a pele kick. Kushida lifts Deaner up and attempts a submission but Deaner counters he attempts an armdrag but Kushida counters right into a dropkick. Kushida attacks the left arm but Deaner fights back and hits Kushida with an elbow to the spine followed by a shot to the knee and a clothesline. Deaner covers for two. Deaner heads up top but Kushida stops him and heads up top as well. Kushida looking for the top rope hoverboard lock but Doering distracts him, Sabin drops Doering but Deaner counters sending Kushida to the mat. Deaner attempts a diving headbutt but Kushida moves and locks in a double wristlock suplex pinfall attempt for the victory.
Rating: ***3/4
Review: This was a really solid fun match between Kushida and Deaner. I am typically not fond of Deaner but he’s been really good in recent weeks granted his opponents have also been good.

– Our Impact Flashback moment of the week is a match between Shelley and Sabin that highlights Shelley stealing the victory with a roll up. I wonder how many times these two have gone back and forth and traded wins. Smart to highlight a Shelley victory ahead of his match with Alexander.

– Brian Myers is backstage with the digital media championship gloating about retaining but Gujar challenges him. Myers says no at first but after some more talk from Gujar Myers tells him if he wants to be a verified wrestler he will see him at Emergence.

BREAKING: @Myers_Wrestling vs @bhupindergujj4r goes down at #CountdownToEMERGENCE for the @IMPACTWRESTLING Digital Media Championship!#IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/KFqLMsAS3N

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 12, 2022

– Eric Young tells Violent By Design he gave them many chance to rid this business of a sickness but they’ve failed. He tells them tomorrow they have one chance to redeem themselves. Eric says this world doesn’t belong to them or us, it belongs to him. Wild how Deaner and Doering made it backstage and Deaner changed so quickly. Eric’s promos are always neat.

Tiffany Nieves vs. Killer Kelly

Tiffany got a full fledged entrance despite being the jobber. This leads me to believe this match will be about two minutes long. Kelly with an extended entrance to signify she’s a badass as she puts in the mouth guard and slaps herself in the face to amp herself up. Nieves tells Kelly to bring it and nails her with a STIFF slap, Kelly laughs it off and blocks the second and sends Nieves right to the mat before nailing her with a kick to the face. Kelly sends her to the corner and lays into her with strikes before nailing her with a dropkick int he corner. Kelly kicks the arm out and locks in the killer clutch forcing Nieves to submit.
Rating: N/A
Review: Kelly with the one minute squash. Solid for what it was. It’ll be a little bit before we see how much she really brings to the table here at Impact but the future of the Knockouts division with her and Masha making the move up could be intriguing. 

.@Kelly_WP has arrived on #IMPACTonAXSTV! pic.twitter.com/yKePGJAByr

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 12, 2022

– Another recap package highlighting the feud between Honor No More and The Bullet Club. Eddie Edwards is backstage with the rest of Honor No More and he tells them in 24 hours they get to battle for their existence. Eddie tells them that they’ve been there before working in companies that don’t want them but yet they are still here. Eddie tells Kenny that he didn’t win but Karl limped out of his match up. Eddie says it’s not about one of them it’s about all of them together. Eddie tells PCO he has proven himself after his match with Doc Gallows last week. Eddie says that Honor No More has all the momentum they will need and that Taven and Bennett will get their tag team title match. Eddie says more importantly they will continue to spread their message and show everyone in the business that there truly is Honor No More. Nice little spirited promo from Eddie to get his group ready for their big match tomorrow. 

Madison Rayne vs. Mia Yim

Mia Yim looks to gain some momentum ahead of her championship match against Jordynne Grace tomorrow. Madison has no support as Masha has taken out both Gisele Shaw and Tenille in recent weeks. Lockup and Mia backs Madison up into the corner as the crowd is firmly behind Mia. Rayne backs Mia up into the corner but the referee forces a break as she has her hands all up in Mia’s face. Rayne with a wristlock but Mia with a cartwheel to counter into a submission of her own. Rayne with a headlock and they continue to exchange holds with neither getting an immediate advantage. Mia gains control and drops Madison with a series of arm drags, Mia off the ropes and sweeps the leg before bouncing off the ropes with a dropkick that sends Madison to the outside. Mia chases Madison on the outside but Madison tricks Mia and sends her face first into the post, ouch that looked like it hurt. Madison covers for a two count then sets Mia on the ropes with a choke. Madison with a forearm to the chest of Mia and then hits her with a running forearm. Madison cover for two. Mia fights back with weak strikes but Madison lays into her with a knee to the face sending her in the corner. Madison runs into a kick from Mia then she locks in the tarantula for a brief four count. Mia jumps for a dropkick but Madison moves just in time. Madison with a norther lights suplex and covers for two. Madison tosses Mia by her hair before setting her up and smashing her head face first into the canvas then rolls through into a pin. It was unique but it was clunky. Madison heads up top and attempts a rana but Mia catches her and drops her with a powerbomb. Both women slow to their feet but Madison runs into a dropkick from Mia, then another into the corner. Mia with a cannonball in the corner then pulls Madison out and covers but Madison gets the rope break. Madison with the crucifix bomb and rolls up Mia for a two count. Mia with a pele and then eat defeat, Mia covers for the victory.
Rating: **3/4
Review: This wasn’t a bad match but at points it wasn’t really as smooth as you might expect from these two. 

.@MadisonRayne is set to take on @MiaYim!#IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/34vkCXwtHD

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 12, 2022

– Chelsea and Deonna are backstage and they say they have one party done but when they win the Knockouts World Tag Team Titles they’re going to party like it’s 1999.

– Jordynne is backstage with Mia and they talk about their lack of success as a knockouts tag team. Mia tells Jordynne she has the shortest reign ever as knockouts tag team champion and she hopes she’s used to having short reigns before walking off.

X-Division Championship Match
Rocky Romero vs. Mike Bailey

Not a whole lot of story behind this one but Rocky is accepting Bailey’s open challenge and we’re getting a good match. Bailey offers a handshake and Rocky accepts. They exchange holds both attempting early pinfall attempts before standing face to face for an ovation from the crowd. Bailey sweeps the leg but Romero to his feet, they are both quick exchanging arm drags then both attempting dropkicks at the same time. Romero kicks out the foot of Bailey and covers for a two count before telling Bailey he was that close. They exchange kicks to the leg, Bailey with a dropkick. Bailey sent to the apron and Rocky hits a forearm dropping Bailey off, he attempts a baseball slide but Bailey moves and attempts a moonsault but Rocky moves, back into the ring and Bailey runs into a boot from Rocky. Rocky attempts a top rope rana but Bailey counters into a cartwheel and stands face to face with Romero to another ovation as we go to commercial.

Back from break and Bailey kicks the steel post attempting to kick Romero and Romero follows immediately with a rana outside of the ring. Rocky with a knee to the back of Bailey and he heads up top before dropping a knee right onto the forearm of Bailey. Bailey with a dropkick to Romero then a series of kicks once he gets to his feet. Bailey with a twisting shooting star press and covers for two. Bailey attempts a kick to the side of Rocky but he catches his leg, Bailey counters and nails Rocky with a kick then attempts a handspring but Rocky drops him and goes after the arm of Bailey. Rocky chops Bailey before sending him into the ropes. Rocky with an uppercut then a tornado DDT and covers for two. Bailey with his combination kicks but Rocky rebounds with a big clothesline. Rocky runs right into a superkick from Bailey and both men are down as we go to our second commercial.

We are back and Rocky/Bailey are exchanging kicks to the thigh. Rocky back at the arm of Bailey before clotheslining him to the outside and following up with a tope. Bailey with a pump kick and follows with a moonsault to the outside on Rocky. Bailey heads up top but Rocky breaks it up with a slap to Bailey. Bailey hung up on the ropes and Rocky with the dropkick before covering for two. Bailey with a running kick to the chest of Rocky then a moonsault with the knees to the chest of Rocky. Bailey with a kick to the head and covers for two. Bailey attempts his spinning kick but Rocky blocks it and hits a tornado DDT. Rocky holds on and rolls through into an armbar but Bailey rolls him up forcing a break of the hold. Rocky ducks a superkick and hits a knee to the face of Bailey then a modified sliced bread into a cover for two. Rocky with a proper sliced bread attempt but they botch a bit and Bailey rolls through, Rocky covers, Bailey kicks out and goes for ultima weapon but Rocky moves. Rocky goes for the forever clothesline but Bailey catches him with a kick in the corner then Ultima weapon. Bailey covers for the victory. Post match Bailey with the knuckle bump to Rocky.
Rating: ****1/4
Review: The result was never really in question but these two still delivered a really good match. Rocky is a great opponent to give Bailey a significant victory as champion. It’s incredible how some people can botch and make everything look smooth, the one hiccup here was quickly adjusted to.

– Scott D’Amore comes out and says he’s always going to be a coach deep down inside and tomorrow two wrestler’s he has coached will come out to square off for the Impact World Championship. He runs down their accomplishments as he announces Alex Shelley then Josh Alexander and they make their separate entrances.

Scott hypes up both competitors before they sign. He tells them that Josh has issued his right to sign first. I mean ok. Josh grabs the mic and promises it will be one hell of a match and tells a story of the first match he ever went to and Shelley was on the card. Josh says the reason he remembers Shelley more than anyone else, he saw Shelley as someone unafraid to be unique alongside all of his talent. Josh says the day after that he stepped in the ring for the first time, seems like a quick jump. Josh says they’ve never wrestled but he’s wrestled dozens of the Alex Shelley copycats along the way. Josh says it will be his honor to beat the real Alex Shelley tomorrow night before signing the contract. Shelley says he has copious amounts of respect for Josh. Shelley runs down their history and similar trajectories. Shelley says that Josh is the best this company has to offer and he’s beaten them all. Shelley talks about the Alex Shelley copycats and asks how Josh is better than any of the clones. Josh laughs and says he’s more of a Chris Sabin guy prompting an “oooh” from the crowd. Josh says he’s more of a guy who has won the big one before. Josh asks why Shelley hasn’t been able to win the big one despite all of the opportunities to do so. Josh asks if the problem is Shelley and it’s self sabotage. Josh says he didn’t get it until he became champion but it comes with pressure and he thinks Alex is scared. Josh says he doesn’t want to beat Alex Shelley at his best he needs to beat Alex Shelley at better than his best because him at his best hasn’t been good enough to get the job done in the past. Josh spitting fire. Shelley tells Josh he’s had zero world title opportunities over the years. Shelley says he’s not going to argue about his passion but at his core Sabin represents this company more than anyone. Shelley says Sabin paid a price to get to the top of the mountain but Josh has a fused neck and a number of torn ligaments so he’s paid a price as well. Shelley tells Josh that these injuries wont even be what takes him out of his title match it will be Josh’s mind that costs him. Shelley tells Josh he will go back to being a little mark when he faces Shelley and all Shelley will see is an Alex Shelley mark. Shelley spitting flames back. Shelley tells Josh he’s not leaving with the title but he’ll give him a consolation prize and hands over the contract before telling Josh “There’s your Alex Shelley autograph” and Shelley walks away.
Well I’ll be damned it didn’t end in a brawl or anyone going through a table. This was very well done and a good way to put a cap on their short feud. I’d love it if they can just wrestle with no outside interference tomorrow but I don’t know if that’ll be the case. Either way that match is sure to bang.

7.8

The final score: review Good

The 411

Another really solid episode of Impact and a good go home episode. The closing segment was well done and avoided the traditional pro wrestling tropes so I appreciate that greatly. The Rocky Romero/Bailey match was great and most of the wrestling on this show was good. They did a good job getting me excited for Emergence tomorrow night.