Jeremy’s Impact Wrestling Review 10.6.20

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. We’re coming off a strong Impact+ show in Victory Road, which saw Eric Young retain his title in vicious fashion against Eddie Edwards plus a lot more. That puts us fully on the road to Bound For Glory with plenty of build to do and matches to make. I’m excited for this week and I hope you are too.

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 North defeat Ace Austin and Madman Fulton in last week’s main event. The Good Brothers come down and get attacked, only to be saved by the Motor City Machine Guns. Eddie Edwards and Eric Young do battle at Victory Road for the Impact World Title, with Young coming out victorious. Rich Swann comes out to make the save after the match.

WE OWN THE NIGHT! (AKA Title Sequence!)

Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Myers

This is a rematch from Victory Road, where Myers came out successful. They stare down in the middle of the ring, and Myers throws his mask at Dreamer before attacking. Dreamer reversed an Irish whip and hits a back elbow, then a bodyslam. Myers clotheslined out of the ring and Tommy goes with. He picks Myers up, Myers headfirst off the ring steps and then off the apron. Dreamer with fists to the head, Myers fights back with shots to the gut and a whip to the ring, but Dreamer stops himself and hits a back elbow on a charging Brian. Clothesline on the outside and the ref tells Tommy to take it back inside. Dreamer goes for a chop but Myers misses and Tommy hits the ringpost. Suplex onto the ramp by Myers, and he rolls into the ring and calls for the countout. Ref is counting and Myers warns Tommy not to get in, but Tommy misbehaves and gets assaulted with punches and kicks for his trouble. Myers chokes Dreamer against the bottom rope, then hits a back suplex in the middle of the ring for two. Sleeper hold on Dreamer, and Dreamer fights to his feet. A few shots and then Dreamer comes off the ropes, but Myers follows and slides out of the ring to trip Tommy. Clothesline in the corner, then he grabs Tommy by the legs and yanks him into the center of the ring. Armlock by Myers, and Tommy has to fight to his feet. Dreamer breaks the hold, hits a sunset flip off the ropes for two but Myers with a quick back elbow to stop Tommy’s momentum. A stomp to Dreamer and elbows as Myers rails that he’s the most professional wrestler. Elbow to the back of the neck, and Myers with a chinlock that Dreamer fights out of. Myers with a knee to the gut and he whips Dreamer but gets reversed; Myers floats over but gets caught into a powerslam! Both men down, the ref counts and gets to four before they’re up. Dreamer takes control with rights and lefts, charges in on Myers in the corner but gets a back elbow. He manages to get a cutter, pinfall gets two. Myers stops Dreamer’s momentum with a big kick, scoop slam gets two. He stomps on Dreamer and goes up top, elbow drop MISSES! Dreamer goes for the DDT, Myers spins out, goes for his, Dreamer spins out and hits a DDT for two. Dreamer goes to the second rope, goes for an elbow and Myers moves! Myers DDT, near fall! Myers rolls out of the ring, goes under the rope, and gets a kendo stick! Dreamer dodges the kendo stick, hits legsweep. He goes for the kendo attack but Myers begs off and then rakes the eyes! He gets the kendo stick and waffles Dreamer repeatedly for the DQ.

Winner: Tommy Dreamer (9:22)
Rating: * 3/4
Thoughts: So, is Myers’ thing in Impact just that he’s going to have multiple matches in meaningless mini feuds with guys? It happened with Willie Mack and now it’s happening here. This was a repetitively laid out match that didn’t really do anything for anyone. I’m hoping that Myers destroying Dreamer means that the feud is over.

After the match, Myers continues to hit Dreamer until officials including D’Amore come out. Myers walks off as Dreamer is tended to.

* Josh and Madison react to what just happened and hype up Bound For Glory, live on PPV on October 24th. They break down the BFG card with Eric Young vs. Rich Swann, the four-way Tag Team Title match, and Deonna Purrazzo vs. Kylie Rae. Tonight, we have Rich Swann talking, Austin & Fulton vs. the Machine Guns, Kylie Rae giving an update on Su Yung, and EC3’s funeral for the TNA World Title.

* Backstage, Moose is looking for the TNA World Title in a montage. At least I think it’s the TNA Title; he’s checking places that the title couldn’t possibly be.

* John E. Bravo is backstage with the wedding party and says the wedding is costing him a fortune. He demands money from the group and while no one is very happy about this, Fallah Bahh says it’s his responsibility and he knows where to find some. The Swingman mocks Bahh, and Deaner says if it weren’t for Fallah Swinger would have to give up his gimmick table money. Swinger and the Deaners start to jaw off at each other and Swinger recruits Crazzy Steve for a match. Steve: “Young boy? I’m 107!” Everyone’s in on the idea, except Bravo who just wants to know who’s booking the fondue fountain.

* Rohit Raju is out for the Defeat Rohit challenge. He gets a mic and says that it’s time to gather everyone: the gremlin kids and Ma and Pam Nimrod and let them know the X-Division Champion is here with another opportunity. He says he’s the most sharing, caring, kindest wrestler on the Impact roster. He’s handed out opportunities just like we hand out excuses on how our lives suck. He says it’s not his problem if his opponents can’t take advantage of their opportunities. He’s figured out this chess game has gone from the last resort to the first-round draft pick. And now everyone’s jealous of him, but he’s there to give everyone a chance. He calls for a challenger, and we get…Willie Mack! Mack wants another shot, and he gets onto the apron.

Rohit tells Mack he already had his opportunity at Victory Road and they had a great match, but his opportunity is gone and lost. The Defeat Rohit challenge isn’t for him anymore, and Rohit calls for a new challenger: JORDYNNE GRACE!!!

Rohit Raju vs. Jordynne Grace

Rohit starts by stretching and yells that he’s the champion; we do things on his time. He stalls but eventually the belt is grabbed by Willie Mack and Grace rolls Rohit up! Grace is X-Division Champion!

Winner: Jordynne Grace (1:20)
Rating: N/R
Thoughts: Didn’t expect that to happen, but I’m 100% here for Grace as X-Division Champion (when it happens, because apparently it’s not happening now).

But wait, Rohit is yelling that the ref didn’t raise the title up and so the match wasn’t for the title. Grace won, but Rohit is still champion. Grace is pissed and Rohit gets on the mic, saying that it was a hard-fought win but she didn’t get the X-Division Title because it wasn’t for the belt. He goes wild on the stage and raises the title high as Grace and Mack look pissed in the ring.

* Backstage, D’Amore is there to congratulate Rohit. He says he’s made the most of his opportunity and hasn’t done any ducking and hiding; he’s giving opportunities which are the hardest thing to get in this business. He says Rohit is so giving, and what can he do more; he could give them more opportunities. So, at Bound For Glory, he’s giving Rohit what he wants: a match against Willie Mack, TJP, Trey Miguel, Chris Bey, and Jordynne Grace in a six-way scramble. That’s so much opportunity! Rohit doesn’t look too excited about that as we go to break.

* Back from break, Bahh approaches Hernandez and asks if he’s up for another arm-wrestling match. Hernandez asks if he has money and he says yes; they collide with each other and Bahh spills his coffee on Hernandez. Hernandez is pissed and walks off.

XXXL vs. The Rascalz

This is also a rematch from Victory Road. XXXL attack the Rascalz when they’re on the turnbuckles and the bell rings! Dez is in the ring and fires off punches but gets crushed between Acey and Larry. They pick Dez up and pull on either side, then throw him in the air to land hard. Wentz tries to get in the ring and gets taken out by Larry as we go to break.

Back from break and Acey is choking Dez against the ropes. Dez fights back with headbutts and a kick but gets smacked down and pulled into a back suplex. He covers and gets two. Acey with an uppercut and Larry chokes him in the hostile corner, then tags in for a shot to the forehead. Bodyslam and a stomp to Dez, followed by a chinlock. Wentz tries to hype Dez up, and Dez fights free then comes off the ropes with a crossbody, caught and picked up for as gorilla press into a kick. Dez gets covered, kickout at two. Larry picks Dez up and chucks him through the ropes. Ad Larry distracts the ref, Larry attacks Dez and Wentz comes around for the save. Dez back into the ring and he gets his neck wrenched by Larry D. Dez fights back, punch gets caught so he hits a kick but Larry knocks him down. Kick to Larry’s head, Dez flips over and tags in Wentz who goes for a Codebreaker that gets caught! Larry shoves Wentz who comes right back with kicks and strikes! Enzuigiri pits Larry in the corner, Wentz charges in with a dropkick and then a low dropkick to the knee! Acey gets dropkicked off Larry’s back, shooting star press gets two! Wentz locks in a sleeper on Larry, who gets to his knees. Wentz locks the knees briefly but Larry gets to his feet; Dez is in and they unleash kicks and a stomp off the ropes to Larry. Wentz hits Acey, then turns around into a choke lift by Larry. Dez with a leaping enzuigiri, Acey in but misses Wentz and hits Larry with a clothesline. Superkick to Acey, Hot Fire Flame and that’s three.

Winner: The Rascalz (6:29)
Rating: ** 1/4
Thoughts: Not a bad match, and one that worked to both teams’ strengths. XXXL have been showing a bit more with their more heelish streak and the Rascalz are always fun. Can’t complain too much about this, it surpassed my expectations.

* Backstage, Bahh walks up to the showers where Hernandez is cleaning up. The smell seems not great from his reaction. He sneaks in and looks for the cash roll, finding it and pulling it free. With a devious grin, he slips away.

* Jimmy Jacobs is at the Foreman Physical Therapy Clinic with Doctor Foreman asking about Rich Swann’s rehab. Swann is behind them working out and Foreman says that he’s ready for Bound For Glory. Swann comes over and says he’s feeling better, he’s feeling 100%. And then ERIC YOUNG ATTACKS! He targets the ankle and brutalizes it, grabs a kettle ball, and slams it into Swann’s ankle (just off camera). Young walks off as Swann lies in pain.

* Gia Miller is backstage with the Machine Guns reacting to that attack by Young. Shelly says it’s pretty dangerous, and they’re saying that being from Detroit. He says all the tag teams are gunning for them, but tonight they have Austin and Fulton. He says Austin reminds him of himself and Madman is a big boy. Sabin says Fulton looks like he’s from the Borderlands video game series, and the Good Brothers interrupt. He tries to sell them a Good Brothers hat and says tonight the Guns have Austin and Fulton, but they’ve done that and are undefeated in Impact. Shelley says the Brothers don’t have any tips for them and the Guns are better. Gallows says he meant what he said when he said there’s a target on their back. They’re going to put a bullet through it, but they will make sure nothing bad happens tonight so they can take the titles at BFG.

Rosemary & Taya Valkyrie vs. Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz

Rosemary yells at Kiera and Tasha to shut up, and Taya charges into plant Kiera with a spinebuster followed by punches. She picks Kiera up and rams her hard into the corner, then hits a couple of overhand slaps. Whip across the ring and a charging clothesline, followed by a hip attack and then charging double knees! She pulls Kiera into the middle of the ring, pin attempt gets two. Kiera tries to get to her corner to no avail, Taya tags in Rosemary and gets whipped into Kiera. Taya follows and whips Kiera into an Exploder suplex. Kiera manages to tag Tasha, who runs in but right into a sidewalk slam. Rosemary with shots to Tasha in the corner, whip across the ring and Rosemary charges in with a clothesline followed by another Exploder suplex. Pin attempt gets two. Rosemary picks Steelz up, throws her into the corner and then charges in but Tasha misses! Tasha charges into a back elbow and Rosemary hits the Upside Down for three before Kiera kicks Rosemary right in the head to break it up. Rosemary down on the outside and Kiera goes right after her, head slam into the apron and she rolls Rosemary in. Tasha makes the tag and Kiera wails on Rosemary before throwing her into the corner. Elevated boot choke, she showboats which gives Rosemary some recovery. Rosemary goes to charge in but Kiera with a low dropkick that sends Rosemary into the bottom turnbuckle. Tasha tagged in, she charges in with a couple of strikes and Kiera tagged back in. She takes down Taya, low charging dropkick to Rosemary and pin gets two. Kiera with a side headlock but Rosemary fights out, only to get knocked down. Kiera tags in Tasha, assisted cartwheel neckbreaker and Tasha pins for two. Tasha is pissed at the ref and then shoves at Rosemary, mocking her. Kick to the knee and then one right to the head. She comes off the ropes but Rosemary sits up and spooks Tasha! Tasha rolls scared out of the ring and gets chased by Rosemary, right into a clothesline by Kiera. Hogan rolls Rosemary in, Tasha cinches in a headlock. Havok and Nevaeh are watching in the back as Tasha gets back suplexed. Rosemary crawls to her corner, Tasha gets the tag but so does Taya! Taya with chops to both women, she whips Tasha into the ropes and hits a flying clothesline. Kick to the arm of Kiera, kick to the gut and a knee. She dodges a clothesline and hits a Thunder Bomb for two. Strait jacket stomp and Tasha in with a kick to break up an STF. Rosemary is in and takes Tasha down, goes for a sidewalk slam but Kiera rakes the eyes. Tasha tags in, double Irish whip but Taya holds on, she pulls the two into each other! Back suplex to Tasha, she tags in Rosemary and turns into strikes by Kiera. Rosemary with a German suplex to Rosemary, picks up Tasha but eats a Codebreaker! Tasha hits Taya and jaws off but turns around into a spear. Double underhook into a sit out slam for three!

Winner: Rosemary & Taya Valkyrie (9:15)
Rating: ** 3/4
Thoughts: That was incredibly fast-paced and an impressive effort by all involved. Tasha and Kiera frankly got more offense than I expected, but the right team won in the end of course to continue their storyline.

The Deaners vs. Johnny Swinger & Crazzy Steve

Steve starts off this match against Cousin Jake, who offers Steve a beer. Steve has a drink and he likes it. He asks Swinger if he wants some, but then gives it to the monkey. Swinger yells at Steve to be serious and tags in. He locks in a wristlock which Jake no-sells and reverses. Atomic drop by Jake, right into a fist by Cody and they team up on assaults before Cody tags in. Cody pulls Swinger up but gets chopped in the throat and he locks in a front facelock. Steve holds up an international object and asks if Swinger wants it right in front of the ref. Swinger waves it off but gets Cody in the corner and climbs up, then calls for it. Steve gets a spoon, then a fork and Swinger yells “Not yet!” now that the ref can see. Cody carries Swinger out of the corner into an inverted atomic drop. He goes for the tag but Swinger stops him and locks in a chinlock. Steve throws in another foreign object and Swinger is pissed as the ref takes it away. Swinger goes into the fanny pack and it’s all empty. He grabs the monkey to attack but Steve isn’t down with that, he turns around into a Dreamer DDT for the pin.

Winner: The Deaners (2:49)
Rating: N/R
Thoughts: A comedy match that was a little too eye-rolling for my tastes. I’m okay with wackiness, but this just didn’t land.

* We get a recap of Deonna Purrazzo’s win over Susie and assault after the match that broke Susie’s arm while Kylie was held down by Kimber. Backstage, Gia asks Kylie about the whole thing and she says “Again,” as in she saw it again. She saw it the first time at Victory Road and it happened to Susie who doesn’t do anything to anyone and she couldn’t do anything. Kimber shows up to mock Kylie and asks if her smile is turning upside down? She says Kylie shouldn’t be worried about Susie, because all she did was see her own fate. Kimber said she doesn’t know Susie all that well because Susie’s bad. Kylie flips out and goes apeshit on Kimber, then realizes what she’s done. If Kylie turns into another Susie/Su Yung and they become a tag team that way, I will be 100% on board.

* Backstage, D’Amore is excited and shuts off his ringer and takes his headset off. He’s with Heath and says that he appreciates his tenaciousness. He says Rhino was right, Heath is a good dude and the right mix for Impact. Heath says he’s busting his butt and got an opportunity; despite his breaking some rules (or bending them), he’s grateful for the opportunity. D’Amore says they want to grow together and puts over #Heath4Impact. He says it’s time to get something on paper which is always the hard part, and Heath has his own deal ready as come up by his agent, friends, and family. D’Amore looks it over and says Heath clearly used a lawyer, there’s a lot of legalese and a lot of zeros. D’Amore says negotiations are always a give and take as he rolls his sleeves up. He says this is all just show and here’s the thing; this is a great base and they’ll have to change a lot including the number because he can’t be serious. He has a great future, but his past — he needs to have done something. He can do that here, and Heath says he knows that. He says D’Amore should appreciate the offer and he’s brought a lot of eyes to the company, so he should look at it again. D’Amore says he doesn’t want to disrespect him, but it’s not like he won an Olympic gold medal. He says if they sign D’Amore’s offer, they can work toward this. Heath says he may not be an Olympic gold medalist but he wasn’t a Sunday morning jobber either. D’Amore says that’s true, but Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays. PPV, when he made them, he probably did them. He stands up and throws the contract in the air and walks away, as Heath looks pissed.

* Rhino is looking excited as Heath walks up and asks how it went; Heath says it didn’t go good at all. He didn’t sign a contract, but when he was on Raw with McIntyre, he nailed it and they offered him a deal. But he came here on Rhino’s request and where is he? No contract, sneaking into buildings. “Thanks, Terry!”

* EC3 is somewhere with the title and congratulates Moose for controlling his narrative and finding his way to the funeral of the century. But alas, he’s too late. He must break his attachment to material possessions and the past. He must break his attachment to the legacy of the TNA Championship. He tosses it into the water and says, “Free Moose.”

* Ken Shamrock is backstage looking pissed and tells Sami Callihan that Eddie Edwards didn’t deserve what happened at Victory Road. Sami says it’s business and business is booming. 45 million likes of Shamrock beating Eddie’s ass. Ken says it’s Sami’s thing, not his, and Sami says he’s back to his old self and people love it. Sami asks who’s next and shoves Ken, who snaps and grabs Sami. Sami points at a backstage guy and says he’s next, and Shamrock goes apeshit and beats the guy’s ass as Sami eggs him on.

* Josh hypes Bound For Glory and reacts to EC3 tossing the TNA World Title in the water. Next week we get:

– Health update on Rich Swann
– Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz vs. Havok & Nevaeh vs. Rosemary & Taya Valkyrie
– Kimber Lee vs. Kylie Rae
– Madman Fulton vs. Doc Gallows

The Motor City Machine Guns vs. Ace Austin & Madman Fulton

We get introductions and then go to break.

Back from break and the bell rings. Austin is up first against Sabin, they circle and do some light counter wrestling before breaking apart. Lock back up and Sabin with a wristlock, Austin flips through but Sabin keeps it locked in. Austin steps over and hits Sabin in the head, then tosses him into the ropes for a dropkick as Fulton bellows menacingly. Austin with an Irish whip reversed by Sabin and a dropkick followed by an armdrag into an armlock. Austin fights out, comes off the ropes into a sunset rollup as Shelley makes the tag, punt to Austin’s ribs and a double kick to Ace. Shelley with a wristlock that turns into a kick into the shoulder, Ace turns into Sabin grabbing the arm and snapping it against the ropes. Sabin tags in, leapfrog into the held arm of Ace. Shelley tagged in, goes up for an axehandle to the arm. Wristlock and Ace is pulled into the corner, Sabin tagged in for another axehandle to the arm. More tags, double kick to Ace on his knees. Shelley taunts Madman and picks Ace up, he jams the arm over his shoulder and then does it again. He taunts Ace, another arm jam but Ace turns it into a sleeper. Shelley with a back suplex that Ace floats out of, he falls back into his corner and Fulton tags in, tilt-a-whirl snake eyes into Austin’s knee and a big-ass boot. He stalks Shelley, slams him head-first into the turnbuckle a couple of times as Ace talks trash on the outside. Third head slam and then one into the middle turnbuckle. “You’re a machine gun; I’m a damn bazooka!” Good line, Fulton. He stomps Shelley’s hand and then goes for a suplex but Shelley with knees to Fulton’s head! He grabs the arm but Fulton picks Shelley up and Ace tags in, elevated legdrop and a pin gets two before Sabin breaks it up. Ace with a wristlock and he uses the card like a weapon between the fingers. Ace measures the other hand and stomps it, then tags Fulton in. Shelley pushed into Fulton in the corner, elevated Sleeper on the turnbuckle and Sabin comes in, only to get stopped by Ace and thrown into an elevated sleeper of his own. Fulton jams Shelley’s arm over his shoulder and tags in Ace. Fulton goes to hand Ace a card, drawing the ref’s attention as Ace pulls his own card behind the ref’s back but Shelley counters with a shot to the face. Shelley falls back into Fulton on the apron who grabs the hair, but Shelley grabs a handful of… uh… Fulton. Ace charges in but Shelley dodges and Ace hits Fulton! Ace says he didn’t mean it and Shelly recovers enough for to get a boot up when Ace charges into the corner. Ace with a back elbow and goes in again, but Shelley rolls out of the way and dives to tag in Sabin! Sabin in hot and he takes Ace down, dropkick to Fulton’s knee, high knee and spinning back kick to Ace then an enzuigiri and a flying elbow to Ace in the corner. Sabin up top and a missile dropkick to the back of the head. Running DDT and pin gets two before Fulton breaks it up. Sabin with a wristlock, Ace pushes him into the ropes and hits a drop-toe hold, then a dropkick. Sabin up in time and grabs Ace, but Ace with an enzuigiri. He goes after Sabin but Sabin with a kick and Shelley is tagged in. So is Fulton, he goes after the Guns but they pull the ropes down and he’s on the outside. The Guns double-team Ace, Sabin sent to the apron, Shelley with a Downward Spiral into the bottom turnbuckle. Sabin up top but Fulton strikes and takes down Sabin. Ace with a kick to Shelley, Fulton grabs him up but Shelley slips off the back into a sleeper, Sabin off the top but gets caught by Fulton in a choke, Sabin gets free and hits two diving dropkicks. Double kick to Fulton’s head, double back suplex, Shelley pins for two, Ace dives in to break it up but Shelley moves. Kick to Ace, he goes off the ropes into an inverted atomic drop, held dropkick to Ace’s face. Double elbow to Fulton, double suplex but Fulton blocks it and suplexes both Guns! And here come the North, they go to get in the ring with a chair. The ref gets the chair away and the Good Brothers come down and start brawling with The North! Gallows with an uppercut to Fulton, double superkick to Fulton and they grab Fulton, inverted facelock into a crossbody to Fulton and Shelley gets the pin!

Winner: The Motor City Machine Guns (12:56)
Rating: *** 1/4
Thoughts: This match got some time to build and made the most of it. It was high-flying action nicely juxtaposed with Fulton’s power offense and the tease of the four-man feud without any real effect on the match other than the uppercut from Gallows. Great main event to close out the show.

After the match, the Brothers jaw at the Machine Guns from the ramp and we cut to black.

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

Impact didn't get off to the best start this week, but it picked up nicely as the show went on and set some good stuff up for Bound For Glory. The main event match was fantastic and Taya & Rosemary vs. Kiera & Tasha surpassed expectations, while the segment stuff mostly worked. It's not the absolute best episode we've seen as of late but there was a lot of good stuff here.