Jeremy’s Impact Emergence (Night One) Review 8.18.20

Hello Impact fans and hate-watchers alike. It’s Tuesday, and we’ve got some emerging to observe! (That sounds wrong, somehow.) Anyway, I’m Jeremy as always, and you know how this works. It’s special event night here with the first night of Impact Emergence, and there’s a hell of a card lined up including three titles on the line and more. No need to delay (well, beyond the delay between this coverage article going live and the show actually starting), so let’s get to it!

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.

* A new era is upon us! We get an intro video showing off all the new (re)arrivals and developments in Impact as of late including EC3, Eddie Edwards as World Champion, and then hype for tonight’s matches: Rohit Raju getting the X-Division Title match booked as a triple threat, the arrival of the Good Brothers and their feud with Ace Austin and Madman Fulton, Moose granting Trey a TNA World Title shot, and The North’s rematch for the Impact World Tag Team Titles against the Motor City Machine Guns. Apparently this isn’t night one; it’s CHAPTER ONE. (I dig it.)

WE OWN THE NIGHT! (AKA Title Sequence!)

X-Division Championship Match
TJP vs. Rohit Raju vs. Chris Bey

TJP flings himself over the ropes onto Raju and Bey to get it started! The shirt comes off and Raju is thrown into the ring, where TJP knocks him down and they go into some rope work. Kicks and counters into a legscissors throw by TJP, now Bey into the ring and he ranas TJP. TJP whipped into the ropes, does a handstand, and hits a rana on Bey. Springboard off the ropes to the apron but Raju saves Bey and grabs the legs, which distracts long enough for Bey to take control and hit an elbow drop off the ropes. Bey mounts TJP and lays in the punches, elevated stomps and Raju adds in some boots too. Double whip into the ropes, TJP slips through and shoulder blocks Raju. He slides under and takes Bey down, toe hold variation and he gets Rohit as well! Suplex on Raju while still working Bey’s knee, pin attempt gets two. TJP breaks the hold, then snaps the arm back before Raju comes in with a hard back elbow. Stomps by Raju to TJP’s back and a boot choke against the turnbuckle. Bahh is not happy on the outside as the heels are both up. Bey directs traffic and Raju holds TJP, but he kicks Bey in the gut and slams Rohit down. Gory lock on Bey and reverse leg crap on Raju! He picks Raju up but can’t hold on, so TJP lets him go and goes full submission on Bey but Raju breaks the hold. Elbow to TJP’s face and the double team restarts. Whip into the corner by Bey, Rohit charges in but Bey floats over, Bey gets caught and a Tornado DDT on Bey is countered, another try of one on Raju, but Bey gets a waistlock. Bey jumps with an elbow but TJP ducks and Raju is out of the ring! Bey off the ropes with a springboard slam, he then springboards off the corner and grabs Bey, flips him around into Tombstone position, he connects! TJP now going up top, but Raju shoves him off and climbs up top. But he’s too slow and TJP is up to grab him, Bey gets TJP on his shoulders. He fights through, Superplex to Raju! Floats over into an Octopus, Bey comes in, double abdominal stretch! Raju elbows out but TJP with a stretch flip slam for two! Raju and TJP fighting now, Raju catches a kick and pushes it away, TJP turns it into a back kick on Bey. Raju sweeps the leg, comes off the ropes but TJP dodges the kick and nails a throw slam. All threw down, TJP up first and eats a high knee from Rohit! Raju charges in with a couple of hard shots but the third one misses. Bey runs in but TJP counters with a hard shot, he goes for a submission lift but Bey rolls into a pin for two. Bey misses a kick, catches a second, gutwrench drop for a near fall. Bey grabs TJP for a springboard but TJP counters, reverse lungblower! Raju now in, he runs in, TJP catches him but slides off, TJP slips around and shoves him onto the apron, Bey in now and gets picked up but slides off, slams TJP into Rohit and back into a roll-up with the tights, only two! TJP with a submission now and Raju manages to get up to pull the champ to the ropes. Raju is knocked off the apron, springboard kick takes down Raju, Bey runs in but gets tripped up on the bottom rope, springboard kick to Bey and TJP goes up top! Bey leaps up, TJP drops down and pulls the ankle to crotch Bey, then climbs up there. They battle on the ropes, TJP fights off Raju but he’s right back and saves TJP. Rohit on the top — HE DOUBLE STOMPS BEY! What a shocking betrayal. Raju gets the pinfall and we have a new champion!

Winner AND NEW CHAMPION: Rohit Raju (10:53)
Rating: *** 3/4
Thoughts: Absolute banger to start off the show. TJP got to show off more of his innovative offense than we’ve seen in a while and worked fantastically against both Bey and Raju. The title switch is more than a bit surprising here since Bey was still getting his feet under him as champion, but I’m admittedly curious to see where this goes. The match definitely set the bar for tonight’s show

* It may be a special night but THERE’S ALWAYS TIME FOR WRESTLE HOUSE! The opening sequence continues to be everything that is good about life. The hellhound and Steve’s monkey discuss tonight’s big match between Kylie Rae and Taya Valkyrie. The monkey supports Kylie, while the hellhound is obviously a Taya supporter. Monkey says he’ll support Taya when humans start flying out of his butt, and John E. isn’t having fun anymore, so he leaves. Steve then appears in the confessional booth and says everyone’s losing their minds from being cooped up in the house for so long, and he’s loving every minute of it. Acey then walks into his room and is disgusted by Larry’s smell. It’s literal ring rust, his new fragrance. Acey thought Larry’s signature fragrance was BBQ and meat sweat, but Larry is changing from a caterpillar to a butterfly. He’s dressed fancy now; looks like Rosemary’s still having an effect on Lawrence D, and he walks off.

* Back from break the Good Brothers are backstage. Anderson says that Ace and Fulton have been a thorn in their sides since they showed up in Impact. He says if they wanted to get their attention, it’s been done. He promises them one thing and asks if they realize who they’re messing with. The Big LG and Machine Gun don’t play around and if this is what they wanted, they’ve got it. Gallows says Madman and his little stooge Ace are thorns in their side. He says it wasn’t even the first time he’s been in jail in this city but they lit a fire inside of them and when they’re done kicking their asses tonight they can say thank you, because they’ll be famous.

* Mathews and Rayne run down the rest of the card including the Good Brothers vs. Fulton and Austin, The North vs. the MCGS, Kylie Rae vs. Taya Valkyrie, and Moose vs. Trey Miguel which is next.

TNA World Title Match
Trey Miguel vs. Moose

We get the championship introduction and not gonna lie, I’m a little sad that Moose isn’t shocked that Trey is out here instead of Suicide. They stare off and then charge in, Moose with a chokehold but Try fights out. He goes for a kick but gets shoved into a corner, hits chops to no effect and is thrown into the corner where Moose knocks him down with one chop and we’re on break!

Back from break and Trey hits a bunch of kicks, goes for a whip but Moose counters and sends Try into a corner, then avalanches in. He throws Trey into the ropes, but Trey ducks a clothesline, hits kicks and tries to go into a springboard armdrag. Moose stops it, throws Trey onto the top rope, and dropkicks him outside the ring! Moose out now and talks trash to the camera, then nails a hard chop. He picks Trey up and snake eyes him into the apron. Trey rolled in and Moose follows, he grinds his boot into Trey’s head on the mat. Trey picked up and chucked across the ring, then grabs him by his ear to pick him up. Trey fights back, comes off the ropes and leaps but Moose catches him and hits a fallaway slam. He picks Trey up, whips him hard into the turnbuckle. Moose takes aim and hits a kick to the side of Trey, then takes him down with a chop. Moose chokes Trey and lays in punches for four, backs off and then yanks him up by the ear again. Another toss across the ring and Trey is bumping like a champ here. He fights back with punches and elbows to Moose, comes off the ropes right into a dropkick. Moose goes for the pinfall but only gets two. Another pin gets two again, and then he pulls on Trey’s jaw for four. Moose toying with Trey now and talks trash to him in the corner, ranting about how the match was meant for Suicide and not him. He goes to chuck Trey again but Trey flips to his feet, superkick! Ducks a clothesline, spin enzuigiri and a low dropkick. Standing flip by Trey, dropkick to the back and Trey goes to run into the ropes but Moose grabs his trunks. Kick to Moose, Trey springboards for a DDT but Moose catches him and picks him up into suplex position — DDT BY TREY! Moose out of the ring as Trey gets up, somersault dive BUT MOOSE CATCHES HIM. Slam into the guardrail and power bomb onto the apron. The ref checks on Trey as Moose climbs back into the ring, ref begins the count. Trey slowly getting up, he rolls in at the last minute. Moose is lying in wait, he charges, Trey with the sunset flip attempt but Moose blocks it and hits the Lights Out for three!

Winner: Moose (9:13)
Rating: *** 1/4
Thoughts: Great big man vs. little guy match here, with Trey bumping like there’s no tomorrow and Moose looking dominant. The outcome was never in doubt because of the EC3 feud, but Trey worked really well here and it put Moose over better than all of the previous “title” matches have.

After the match Moose celebrates BUT EC3 IS HERE. He grabs Moose and hits an inverted DDT! EC3 grabs the TNA World Title and walks off with it! Oh, Moose ain’t gonna be happy about that…

* Backstage, RENO Scum show up with Hernandez’s roll of money. He pays them off and they say it’s not enough. He gives them a little more and then they get ready to go, but he says he has more work for them so come see him again.

* Back from break, and we get a vignette from Eric Young showing off his past TNA successes as he talks about his many roles. “I was elite before Being Elite was cool!” He’s been everything from friend to enemy and everything in between, but this is him in his purest form. We see his destruction of Rich Swann, and he says he won’t be told that he’s not good enough, be pushed aside or ignored. He’ll be the first choice and the second choice, and it’s going to take more than two years of non-existence to keep him from getting what he wants. He’ll take it and become his vision, his truth, the one and only.

* The Impact! Plus Flashback Moment of the Week is from the May 11th, 2015 Impact with Kurt Angle vs. Eric Young in a Stretcher Match, which saw Young pick up the win.

* Jimmy Jacobs is backstage with Willie Mack and asks where his head is at with all the Eric Young stuff. He says Swann is his friend inside and out of the ring and is too young to retire. Brian Myers suddenly shows up, says nobody cares and hijacks the camera man and Jimmy. They head over for an interview and he tells Jacobs to ask him anything. He asks if he always plays by the rules, listens to veterans, and what did it get him? Fired with a pregnant wife. He’s sick of being the “good hand” and is disgusted that major decisions in the company are made by an out of touch 70-year-old in a goofy production company. But not anymore; he’s taking his career and the business into his hand and Impact is on warning. Mack comes in and attacks, and we mostly see Myers’ legs and Mack’s ass.

Thoughts: Listen, this is the kind of thing Impact DOESN’T need to do. First off, I get the fact that the camera angle was supposed to inject realism, but it just looked like Mack came in to try and dry-hump Myers. Second, everyone is getting the same story. EC3, Eric Young, and Brian Myers are all basically variations on characters ranting about how they were misused in WWE. That’s a fine storyline for one guy, I can dig that. The more you do it, the less unique it is for the characters and just reminds people that this influx is because WWE cut talent. Find better uses for these guys, Impact. Because this? This ain’t it.

* Back from break and Heath is cutting a promo on Joe Biden for picking Kamala Harris as his running mate on a Tuesday and undercutting the #Heath4Impact campaign. He says that Rhino wouldn’t be attacked by RENO Scum if he wasn’t there. He asks the guy if that was good and is told he has eleven more seconds, so he says “Um…I still got kids!” See, Heath is living off his old gimmick, but at least he’s entertaining.

Ace Austin & Madman Fulton vs. The Good Brothers

Anderson and Austin start off, and Anderson lays into Ace to start off. He runs Ace into the opposite ropes and hits a chop. Ace fights back and kicks Karl in the corner but Anderson fights out and sends Austin into the ropes for a back elbow. Mounted punches to Austin and an ear grab, Gallows is tagged in for a hard shot. Gallows backs Ace up and rubs his elbow into Ace’s face, Karl tagged in for more abuse to Ace. Ace gets a schoolboy pin attempt and a forearm. Kicks to Anderson and Fulton tags himself in to beat on Anderson a bit. Boot chock in the corner and Madman jaws with Doc before getting Anderson into the hostile corner. Ace tagged in and he hits a dropkick on Karl in the corner, pin attempt gets two. Anderson manages to force Ace into his corner and Doc Gallows tags in. Assault in the neutral corner, whip into the opposite corner and he charges in but Ace slips through the ropes and manages to get over to tag in Fulton. The big men face off and Doc with a slap, they start trading blows and neither budge, so they go off the ropes. Double clothesline does nothing, they brawl back and forth until Gallows takes control and batters Fulton in the corner with punches and an uppercut. Whip is reversed, and Fulton bashes Gallows head into the turnbuckle a couple of times before bringing him over to tag in Ace. Fulton holds Gallows while Ace jumps on Madman’s back to batter Gallows with punches. Fulton out and Ace with a punch, but Gallows fires back and floors Ace. Anderson tagged in, Ace whipped into the corner and splashed, followed by a kick by Anderson. Karl jaws at Fulton and Ace takes advantage for a dropkick. He comes off the ropes with a running book and chokes Karl with his knee. Fulton tagged in, chokes Anderson against the ropes. Kick to Anderson’s back and he lays in some punches, picks Karl up and tags Austin in. Austin gets the knees up and Fulton suplexes Anderson back-first on the knees for two. Overhead armlock submission by Austin, he switches it up and uses his card on the webbing of Anderson’s hand. Fulton tagged in, another suplex slam onto Austin’s knees. Austin tagged in, a third attempt at it but Anderson slides out and trips Fulton face-first into Austin’s knees. Whip into the ropes by Austin, reversed and spinebuster by Karl and LG is tagged in! He takes Austin down, knocks Fulton off the apron and picks Austin up for a fallaway slam. Splash into the corner, off the ropes with a running shoulder tackle. Pump kick and he tags in Anderson, Magic Killer but Fulton kicks Anderson to stop it. Gallows gets sent out by Fulton but trips Fulton up and pulls him to the outside, Anderson picks Austin up for a suplex but Austin slips out and hits a spin kick. He tags in Fulton who apparently won the outside fight Fulton picks Anderson put, snake eyes him into Austin’s knee on the turnbuckle! Pinfall attempt but Anderson kicks out at the last moment. Fulton says it’s time, he tags in Austin and Austin picks Anderson up but Karl fights back. They trade blows, Anderson kicks Fulton off the apron and eats a boot by Austin. LG back in his corner and Anderson is rolling over but Fulton pulls Gallows off and sends him into the guardrail but misses a kick and gets his foot stuck. Gallows takes out Fulton, tags himself in against Austin, Magic Killer and we have a pinfall!

Winner: The Good Brothers (10:55)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: Good, solid stuff here to give Anderson and Gallows their first win. Austin and Fulton looked competitive, but this always had to go the Good Brothers’ way, and the heels don’t lose anything by losing here. It got a bit repetitive in parts but delivered in large part.

* WRESTLE HOUSE TIME! Alisha Edwards tells Rosemary that she’s so glad that Taya has a match because she hasn’t had time to do a group exercise. The Deaners agree, and Cody goes into the fridge for a beer but there isn’t any. He bought two extra cases, but THEY TOOK THE BEER. Cody says they have a Whodunit; Jake says it’s actually a Whodidit. Johnny Swinger says he’s straight-edge…okay, on probation. And Alisha only drinks the fancy stuff: Box wine. Acey goes into the fridge and the Deaners accuse him of taking their beer. They’re about to fight and Susie shows up to tell them that breaking a truce is bad. They agree to the truce and bow, and then Lawrence D comes to get some drinks. Susie asks if he agrees to the truce and says he’s a lover, not a fighter. John E. Bravo then shows up as Lawrence flirts with Rosemary, and John E. looks like a sad panda. Lawrence asks about sitting together and Rosemary is reffing but promises they will do something next week. Poor Bravo. Lawrence tells him not to look so hot and gives him a drink. Susie then uncomfortably says hello to Jacob and walks off. Cody asks if the date didn’t go so well and Jake says, “That is correct.”

* We’re back from break and it’s time for the Wrestle House match!

Kylie Rae vs. Taya Valkyrie

Rosemary asks Taya if she’s ready, but she needs a second. Okay, she’s ready and the bell rings, but Kylie just wants to say in the spirit of friendly competition…she extends her hand. But Taya ain’t having it. Taya with a waistlock and she shoves Kylie down. Kylie’s back up and they circle, Taya with another waistlock but Kylie reverses and takes Taya down. She charges in and slams Taya in the corner, runs in but Taya out of the way and lays in punches. Whip into the ropes reversed, Kylie with a tilt-a-whirl armdrag and a superkick. She runs in but Rosemary blatantly trips her and Taya with a kick to the head. She picks Kylie up and slams her into the turnbuckle headfirst, then works the arm and bits Kylie’s hand. Taya with a pinfall for two, and Rosemary tells Kylie to stay down. Kylie fights back but gets knocked down with an overhand blow. Taya showboats and then kicks Kylie in the neck. She yanks Kylie up and shocker her against the ropes in front of Susie. More showboating and mocking of Kylie but the #1 contender fights back, only to be knocked down. She picks Kylie up, whip into the ropes, armdrag by Kylie and a kick to the head plus a pinfall attempt for two. Kylie goes for a punch but Taya with a back suplex for two. Rosemary and Taya lose it and Steve suggests Taya put her feet on the ropes. Taya charges at Kylie but Kylie dodges and Taya almost runs into Rosemary. She turns around into a superkick for three.

Winner: Kylie Rae (4:50)
Rating: **
Thoughts: As a Wrestle House comedy match it wasn’t bad, though these two are obviously capable of far more if given a chance for a real match. It was just kind of there.

After the match, Kylie celebrates while Rosemary checks on Taya. Kylie slips out of the ring and Rosemary slips out to go flirt with Lawrence D, saying she’ll see him next week. Lawrence tells Acey that if he needs to borrow some ring rust, let him know. Meanwhile Steve says that even he can see that Bravo is blowing it. The Deaners say it was an awesome match, but they still have to find out who took the beer. My bet’s on Tommy.

* Back from break and we get add for the Impact! Plus app.

* Madison and Mathews hype up next week’s night two of Impact Emergence which will include:

– Brian Myers vs. Willie Mack
– More Wrestle House
– Why EC3 stole the TNA Heavyweight Title
– Impact World Title Match: Eddie Edwards vs. TBA
– 30-Minute Ironman Knockouts Championship Match: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Jordynne Grace

Impact World Tag Team Championship Match:
The North vs. The Motor City Machine Guns

Just the intros, and then we’re off to break.

Back from break and the match kicks off. Alexander starts off against Sabin and they lock up. Alexander powers Sabin into the corner but he fights back with strikes, only to get thrown into the ropes and body blocked. Alexander sends Sabin into the corner, Sabin leaps over, comes off the ropes and slides under into a heel kick. Punch by Sabin and a wristlock into an Irish whip, Sabin slides out of the ring and yanks Page off the apron, then back up and shoulder blocks Alexander. Leap off the top, Josh catches him and slams him into corner, Page tags in. Sabin taken down and Shelley runs in but gets slammed to the ground. Shelley out and Page starts to work Sabin over with kicks. Josh tagged in, he measures Sabin for a punch and then another. Elbow to the eye and he chokes Sabin against the ropes as Page jaws to the camera. Page in and stomps Sabin, picks him up, hard elbow shot. Josh tagged in but Sabin fights back, comes off the ropes and ducks a clothesline, The North try to take control and Alexander misses and hits Page. Shelley tagged in, he takes Page out of the ring and lays into Josh with punches. Irish whip reversed by Josh but Alex with a low dropkick to the knee. Page in, Sabin in, double team boot and DDT by the Guns. Alexander in but his legs gets caught, taken down and Alex holds the leg as Sabin with a dropkick to the knee, then a leg whip by Shelley and we’re off to break.

We’re back from break and Shelley is working Alexander’s knee. Alexander fights back, but Shelly stops him and works the knee with a single leg crab. Page in and he decks Shelley, takes out a charging Sabin but Shelley knocks him out of the ring. Shelley picks Josh up, goes for a figure four but Josh shoves him off into a shot by Page. Alexander picks Shelley up, assisted DDT gets two. Page tagged in, he stomps Shelley hard and starts to pick him apart with stomps and knees. He talks trash to bait Sabin, then slams Shelley into the hostile corner. Alexander tagged in and they stomp at Alex. Leg submission by Alexander works the knee, Sabin in to break it up with a kick. Alexander tags in Page, measured punch to the gut. Elbow to the back of the head and an elbow lock, picks Sabin up but Sabin with knees to the head. Page tags in Alexander who hits an elevated backbreaker, Page with his own backbreaker and Alexander pins but Sabin breaks it up. Page tagged in and he’s whipped into Shelley, but Shelly gets the boot up. Alexander also charges into a boot, Sabin grabs Page in a uranage hold and sends Alexander over the ropes to the apron where Sabin pulls him down. Downward Spiral face-first into the second turnbuckle by Shelley, who is crawling for the wrong corner! But he gets it right, rolls in and tags Sabin who hits forearms and comes off the ropes with another forearm. Leaping kick, leaping knee, neckbreaker! He goes out to the apron and hits Alexander with a knee, goes up and hits a missile dropkick on Page. He lies in wait, runs in and (kind of) hits a kneelift in the corner. Shelly on the second rope and pulls them open for Sabin to dive through onto Alexander on the outside floor. Shelley goes up top, goes for a double stomp. Page rolls away, Sabin rolls through and grabs Page, Sabin to the top, dropkick/Downward Spiral combo gets two! Shelley back in the ring and he slaps at Page’s head, Page first back and then eats a punch. Sliced Bread #2 but Page avoids it, Alexander in but Shelley with a kick, double front facelock and Sabin flips Shelley into a double Sliced Bread! Sabin with the pinfall on Page for two. Sabin preps to take out Page, Both men up, kicks to Page and Alexander now in. Shelley is taken down, Josh hits Sabin, double front drop and Page with a pin…only two! Page says they’re finishing it. Superkick, punch, kick, they pick Sabin up and go double team action but Sabin rolls through into a roll-up! Two two-falls, kickout by both Page and Sabin and everyone’s down in the ring. Alexander and Shelley up, Shelley goes off the turnbuckle for Sliced Bread but countered again, double-team backbreaker by The North and superkick by Page! Alexander charges at Sabin, eats a boot, Page in for an elbow, Sabin off the top and gets a front facelock on Page, goes up for a DDT! Alexander with some hard shots to Sabin, grabs Shelley but gets countered, Machine Guns with an assisted low dropkick and a pair of kicks to Page. Double superkick to Page, top rope assisted neckbreaker and that gets three!

Winner: The Motor City Machine Guns (14:08)
Rating: *** 1/2
Thoughts: This was off just the tiniest step from their first match, but only due to the fact that the first bout had extra storytelling in terms of The North’s title reign ending. Everyone was on their game here and the in-ring action delivered well, putting this feud presumably to bed for the time being.

The champs pose with their titles as the North rolls out of the ring and exit dejected as we go to black.

8.5

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

The first night of Impact Emergence delivered a hell of a show. The non-Wrestle House matches were all great and featured a title change I didn't see coming, while the Wrestle House content delivered some storyline advancement and a match that was fine by the concept's standards. Night two has a lot to live up with after this week really nailed what it needed to accomplish.