wrestling / TV Reports
Jeremy’s Impact Wrestling Review 7.21.20
Loading...Happy Tuesday, good readers! It’s time for some more glorious Impact Wrestling action. I’m Jeremy, and as always you all know how this works. Slammiversary was this past weekend, and it was a momentous event. We have a host of new champions, several new arrivals, and let’s just not talk about how I did in my predictions. In fairness, it was a tough show to predict, but good on 411 reader Will for, I believe, literally predicting every match correctly. Anyway, we have quite a show tonight including an Impact Tag Team Championship match and much more. No need for more of my blathering on; let’s just get down 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.
* Previously on Impact No wait, it’s an EC3 video! He talks about how we’ve been controlled our whole lift by entertainment, corporations, even love. Do you think what you’re supposed to think, feel what you’re supposed to feel? Buy what you’re supposed to buy, think what you’re supposed to think? Do you allow this world to walk over you, or do you fight back against those who demean you, degrade you, try and cancel you? Find purpose. Control your narrative. Live in this moment, because tonight he’s living in this moment and we have been warned.
We own the night! (AKAA new title sequence!)
X-Division Championship Match:
Willie Mack vs. Chris Bey
Mack is getting another shot at defeating Chris Bey after losing the title at Slammiversary. Bey aggressive right at the bell with a running dropkick, he pulls Mack to the center of the ring for one and then mounts with punches! Mack turns it around and starts battering Bey with blows, they get to their feet and Bey with a shot to Mack. Mack fires back, blocks a Bey shot and decks Bey, then floors him with a punch. Bey begs off and then pulls Mack down face-first into the bottom rope. Mack out of the ring, Bey’s up and leaps over the ropes but gets caught by Mack and slammed down to the ringside floor. Mack with a vise to the dome and throws Bey in, follows along and slingshot senton. He picks Bey up and nails an elbow to the head, gets Bey in the corner and nails him, then charges in but Bey dodges. Bey with a neckbreaker off the corner and pin attempt gets two. Headlock by Bey wearing Mack down, but he’s fighting back and he gets to his feet. Elbows back Bey off and a hard chop dazes Bey. Mack whips by into the ropes but Bey dodges and changes direction, comes off the perpendicular ropes with a low kick to the knee and a stomp to the back. Bey showbots and goes for a no-look standing moonsault but Mack dodges! Mack hits his own no-look moonsault and talks trash to Bey. He lies in wait, kick to the gut, Stunner countered and Bey comes off the ropes to be pushed into the air for an elevated uppercut! Mack climbs the turnbuckle, leaps but Bey rolls out of the way! Mack and Bey both down, get up slowly and Bey with a springboard cutter for three!
Winner: Chris Bey (5:37)
Rating: ** 1/4
Thoughts: It was shorter than I expected, but a nice little match to kick off Impact. It never kicked it into the next gear or anything, but the action was crisp and there were some solid moments.
* Josh Mathews and Madison Rayne break down the events of Slammiversary, talking about the new faces and returns, as well as the new champions, and what’s coming tonight. Mathews says EC3 “does not work here” but will be here tonight. The main event is The North defending the Impact Tag Team Titles against the Motor City Machine Guns, and my fingers are dreading that one already. Eddie Edwards, fresh off his Impact World Title win, will be here and will address his big win. Wow, Mathews says that the World Title Match turned into “The Ultimate Horror Story” for Rich Swann, and somewhere Vince McMahon just broke a glass in frustration.
….I’m kidding. Vince McMahon doesn’t watch Impact! He should, and might wanna take notes, but he doesn’t. Anyway, they break down Eric Young’s assault of Rich Swann and talk about The Good Brothers’ arrival and guess who’s headed to the ring!
* The Good Brothers come out to the ring, but we’re off to break!
* Back from break, Anderson takes the mic and does a little Scott Hall joke. He asks LG how much protein he’s been on since the break because he’s massive. He says that for months the rumors were circulating and people were wondering where LG and Anderson were going to fall. And it’s safe to say that they’re beyond excited to be standing in an Impact ring. He says they’ve arrived and they made Slammiversary trend worldwide as we see recaps of their appearance and assault of Ace Austin and Madman Fulton at the end of the show and celebrating with Edwards. Karl says he got text messages from people in all sorts of companies and we have not only the best tag team in the world, there’s the best big man in the industry right now and the best wrestler in the world. Karl says they turned Impact upside down and hands it over to Doc, who says Karl isn’t wrong. They trended #1 worldwide and there’s a reason for that: them. Good Brothers shirts are already sold out, and they ran their own PPV (available August 1st!). There’s a reason for all of this and they’re here to show the recipe: a Magic Killer, a 1-2-3, and they don’t even need a Too Sweet. They ask to get beered and Karl catches Doc’s beer for him.
They go to crack them open but here comes Austin Ace and Madman Fulton! Austin asks the new guys what’s up and says they haven’t been formally introduced. He’s going to forgive them for what happened at Slammiversary because he gets it; they wanted to make a statement. He says he’s going to get in the ring and give them a chance to apologize, because they’re the guys and the Brothers had to stand up to the guys. He says Fulton is the best big man in the business and Doc acknowledges Fulton has good hair. Austin tosses the cane and asks if they have some more beers to share with the apology. The Brothers won’t apologize and Austin smacks the beer out of Anderson’s hand. Fulton laughs, and they start brawling! Anderson is beating on Austin in the corner as Gallows clotheslines Fulton out of the ring. Anderson chucks Austin over the top and Doc mockingly says ‘We’re sorry!’ as an angry Austin and Fulton back off. Impact hypes up Talk’n Shop A-Mania as the Good Brothers pose.
* Backstage, Heath is there and he is trying to get in, but security is stopping him. He asks if Heath has a last name and Heath says he can’t use it anymore so it’s just Heath now. His name isn’t on the list and Heath gets on the phone.
* Rhino’s phone rings but Rhino isn’t paying attention because he’s yelling with Hernandez about the money they split last week over the arm wrestling/Backlot Brawl. They’re going to put it all up in a match tonight and Rhino walks off — apparently leaving his phone sitting on the chair seat as we go to break.
* We get a promo for Impact Plus.
* Backstage, Chris Bey is glad his match with Mack is over and flirts with some ladies including a masseuse. He has one of the women put his shades on and asks if she wants a drink, then insults her while he’s pouring it. Rohit Raju walks in and takes the glass, denies he’s clout chasing and says he’s here to toast the X-Division champion. Raju points out that as the regular “last resort” tag team partner and suggests that Bey could use him to watch his back, saying he’s better at it than Johnny Swinger. Bey says if he ever feels in danger, maybe he’ll give Rohit a call.
Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz vs. Havok & Nevaeh
Tasha & Nevaeh are starting it off. Some jawing from the heels, and Nevaeh knocks Kiera off the corner before decking Tasha. Suplex by Nevaeh and a kick to the back into a crucifix cover for 1. Havok is in, she picks Steelz up for a backbreaker and holds her for a diving clothesline from Nevaeh. Havok picks Tasha up but she slides out and tags in Kiera, who runs right into a big boot. Kiera off the ropes, she ducks a boot and hits a dropkick that does nothing. Clothesline turns Kiera inside out and gets two. Havok yanks Hogan into the corner, tags in Nevaeh, who flips Hogan over and hits a snapmare. Tasha grabs Nevaeh in the corner, distracting her enough for Kiera to take her down. Tag to Tasha and they double team Nevaeh in the corner, Kiera back in and she stomps on Nevaeh. Tasha back in, double whip into the turnbuckle and she stomps on Nevaeh. Kiera back in once more, she gets a two-count. Tag to Tasha, but Nevaeh is fighting back. Tasha cuts it off, she whips Nevaeh into the corner, Nevaeh reverses, Tasha up to the top rope and jumps over Nevaeh. Nevaeh hits a clothesline, then comes off the rops into a pump kick for two. Kick low and Tasha off the ropes into a back elbow, and Kiera distracts the ref so the tag is missed! Tasha drags Nevaeh back to the other side of the ring, goes for a big punch but Nevah counters. Tags are made, Havok in hot and she back elbows Tasha, big kick to Kiera, hard clothesline and she charges in to hard knees against both the heels in the corners. She lies in wait as Hogan gets up, charges but Hogan ducks. Sleeper hold as Tasha pulls Nevaeh down off the apron! They battle inside as Tasha gets a steel chair out, Havok goes for a piledriver and Tasha nails Havok in the back for the DQ!
Winner: Havok & Nevaeh (6:06)
Rating: ** 1/2
Thoughts: This was a good, solid tag team match that pitted the two teams effectively against each other. The finish was a bit abrupt but the work was good; these two teams match up against each other better than I would have expected a few weeks ago.
After the match, Nevaeh gets the chair from Tasha and drives her out of the ring while Havok Tombstones Kiera.
* The Impact Flashback Moment of the week is Lashley vs. Edwards for the TNA World Title, which led to our new champion’s first World Title win. Looks like we’re sticking with the longer Flashback “Moments” for now.
* Backstage, Sami Callihan is looking for Ken Shamrock and finds him. He’s not happy about their Slammiversary loss in the World Tag Team Championship match. Sami says it’s on Shamrock, not him, and Shamrock says to shut up. He puts it on himself and says he’s harder on himself than Sami will ever be. He says if Sami wants to talk to him, talk to him next week and stalks off.
* Rob Van Dam is here with Katie! He says there’ve been a lot of changes — all for the better, he thinks. He asks Katie what she thinks and Katie is tired of wearing clothes so she’s happy. She says she was trying to punish the fans but ended up punishing herself. She has a new website so the fans can see her without having to see them. She says next week we’ll get to see her photos for Free-99 and dances.
Rhino vs. Hernandez
They give up their money to the ref and Hernandez turns around INTO A GORE! GORE! GORE! The match is over.
Winner: Rhino (0:04)
Rating: NR
Thoughts: That’s about how long I want a Hernandez match to last, so I’m not gonna complain.
* The North is backstage with their Tag Team Titles and are angry because they don’t have a time to celebrate despite being the etched in history as greatest tag team in Impact history, Josh says. He says they’ve decimated an entire division, and it belongs to The North. Page points out they decimated it until Slammiversary, when the MCMG showed up and want to make a statement off the champs. He asks why they’re the best tag team in the world: because fans clamor for them and the internet talks about how they invented tag team wrestling? Their chemistry, the idea that they changed the game: opinion! Fact: The North have been tag champs for a year and they’re the only team in company history to do that. Page says if the Guns wanna be the best in the world, they have to take the belts from them tonight.
* Up Next: Eddie Edwards speaks!
* Back from break and we get a promo for — someone? Not gonna lie, I couldn’t tell who that was. Sounds like an ex-WWE guy, the mask had an M on it. Mike Bennett? Hard to say.
* Moose appears in a video talking about what he just did: beat Tommy Dreamer at Slammiversary. He says things eventually evolve, and that’s exactly what the title has done. We see Kylie Rae talk about her win and being an underdog, which she doesn’t mind because they underestimate her. Bey talks about how he just made history and he dreamed about it since he was a bitty baby. The North talk about the MCMG again and say they already know who the greatest tag team in the company is, and they are the greatedt champions. Alex Shelly say there was a Machine Gun-sized hole in the tag division, and Sabin says they just want to prove they’re the greatest of all-time. Shelley puts over the North but say they can’t be champions forever, and the time has come. Purrazzo talks about prophesying her win and said the endgame was her Knockouts Championship win. Finally we see Eddie Edwards celebrating backstage after his win with everyone.
* Gia Miller is backstage outside Purrazzo’s locker room and knocks on the door. Deonna opens the door and steps out. Gia asks what the plan is now, and Deonna says she’s already told everyone she’s the greatest technical wrestler in the world. She painted a masterpiece on the way to her title win, and it looks like Grace’s shoulder separated so there’s no one to compete against. Cue Kylie running up looking all adorable, and she introduces herself and notes that she won the #1 contendership. She’s super-excited and says Deonna has an opponent. She extends her hand, Kylie excitedly shakes, and of course it goes into the armbar attempt. But Kylie gets out of it and they brawl until it gets broken up.
* Eddie Edwards is coming out to the ring, and we see highlights from the match at Slammiversary. Eddie says the title in his hand feels right. He can once again call himself the Impact World Champion. He takes a second to look at the belt and then says he talked about his journey heading into Impact. All the broken things in his journey brought him back to the World Championship. Now that journey is over and it’s time for a new journey to begin. He says over the past couple of years there’s been something missing: stability. His goal is to be a champion the boys and the company can be proud of, and he has a duity to be a champion the fans can be proud of. The only thing harder than becoming champion is staying champion. He notes it’s only been defended a couple of times the last couple of years, and the last title defense was five months ago. But that’s about to change and while people have called him crazy in the past, as World Champion he will defend it every week against anybody who feels they deserve a shot. He will be our fighting champion. He says he’s living proof that anything is possible, and his new journey is to bring stability and credibility to the title.
The music starts and Eric Young makes his way out to the ramp. Young starts to talk but Eddie cuts him off and says he doesn’t know what EY thinks he deserves after he did what he did to Rich Swann. He says Swann is in the hospital and may never walk again, and the only thing Young deserves is a good old-fashioned ass-kicking which he’s happy to give. Young says Eddie is proud as a peacock talking about who he is and is going to be. Young says it’s pathetic to think that Eddie has any power or sway in that world title, because this place belongs to Young. He says Eddie should thank him that his crosshairs targeted Swann and not him; that’s what happens when you stand between Young and what he deserves. He asks Eddie if he honestly thinks what’s happening has anything to do with what he thinks or his journey. None of that matters to Young; the reason they’re standing there talking about the title is because he made it so. Edwards dives through the ropes and attacks Young as officials come to break it up, but Young with a cheap shot! Young backs off as Eddie is held back.
* Gia Miller is backstage with Moose and asks about Eddie saying he’ll talk on all challengers, and will Moose do the same. Moose says that no disrespect, but that’s a dumb question and she should know the answer: no. His title is the most prestigious in all of wrestling and you have to get invited by him to challenge for it. Gia Miller points out all the new talent, including EC3. Moose says EC3 is too busy trying to control his narrative to get a shot. He instead invites Fallah Baah to challenge tonight.
* Back from break, Eddie Edwards is backstage when Gia asks who he’s defending his title against first. Eddie says he did the Open Challenge because Impact has the best wrestlkers in the world and he’ll defend it against anyone. Trey walks in and says he doesn’t mean to interrupt, and he may have missed his opportunity but suggests that they face off next week for the title. Edwards agrees and we have a match.
TNA World Title Match:
Moose vs. Fallah Baah
TJP is here to support his partner. After the introductions, they lock up without either side getting an edge. Moose yells he’s the best in the world and shoves Baah’s head; Baah responds with a punch, and Moose backs Baah into the corner. Baah ducks the punch, starts hitting chops and whips Moose across the ring. Moose reverses, charges in but Baah rolls out of the way, charges into a choke hold but fights out and hits a couple of chops. He runs into the ropes and comes off right into a big boot. Chop by Moose, a forearm to the head and chop. Moose off the ropes and he takes Fallah down. Moose in control Baah back to his feet and fires off with punches to the gut but Moose takes him down and hits an elbow drop. He grinds his boot into Fallah’s face, then chokes him against the ropes. He insults Baah in the corner, hits a big chop and backs up, then charges in for a running uppercut. Moose goes to run back to the opposite corner to charge again, but Baah chases after and hits a charging elbow! Another one knocks Moose down and then a butt splash to the downed Moose! Baah with Moose on his shoulders, but Moose rakes the eyes. Lights Out finishes it.
Winner: Moose (3:37)
Rating: * 3/4
Thoughts: Too short to really mean anything but they worked all right. This was a pretty typical “Moose dominates a guy” match that has been the norm during his “title reign.”
After the match Moose is celebrating — BUT EC3 IS IN THE RING! He grabs Moose and floors him with an Inverted DDT, rolls out of the ring and then walks away.
* The Good Brothers are outside heading away, and Doc wonders what time last call is during a pandemic. They get approached by Austin and Fulton in a van and thet talk trash. As the Good Brothers approach, Reno Scum attack from behind and it turns into a brawl that Gallows and Anderson quickly win. Fulton drives the van away before the Brothers can get them.
* Another promo for Impact Plus hypes the service’s offerings.
* We’re at John E. Bravo’s house and he walks in with Rosemary, who is impressed. She says he did a good job, and it’ll be nice to be alone. Bravo sounds hesitant, but Rosemary says she can teach him how to cook: “You’ve heard of Hell’s Kitchen, right?” She says all you need is a pinch of Rosemary. He says “As long as you don’t mind using a little extra virgin olive oil. Extra extra virgin. Rosemary says it’ll be fine; they’ll take care of him. She asks if he could have anything in the world, what would it be? Of course, this is when Taya shows up on the stairs to berate him. She comes down into the apartment and Bravo says she got them the house. Taya is wonderfully oblivious and Rosemary is amazingly frustrated. She turns it around and says three’s a crowd unless it’s a good party, and since Taya loves a good party She snaps her fingers and summons Kylie Rae, The Deaners, XXXL, Alisha Edwards, Crazzy Steve, Johnny Swinger, and Susie. Susie introduces herself and Swinger replies, “Hi, I’m Ricky Martel.”
Taya throws a fit as Steve wanders around the host, walking into the lounge where there’s a reality show-style camera set up. Next Week: WRESTLE HOUSE.
* Madison and Josh speculate on what Wrestle House is, and then break down next week’s card so far:
* The Good Brothers vs. Reno Scum
* Impact World Title Match: Eddie Edwards vs. Trey
Impact World Tag Team Titles Match:
The Motor City Machine Guns vs. The North
We get a brief recap of the match being announced at Slammiversary and the introductions before we go to break.
Alex Shelley is starting off against Ethan Page. They circle and go into a lockup, Shelly and Page with some chain wrestling that ends with Page hitting a back elbow and locking in a headlock. Shelley sends Page off into the ropes, they do some acrobatic fun and Shelley Shelly blocks a boot, dodges another and then Page dodges a chop before it momentarily slows down. Page talks trash and tags in Josh Alexander, Sabin in as well. Alexander with a kneelift and a wristlock, Sabin flips out and locks in a headlock. Alexander sends him against the ropes, a bodyblock does nothing to Josh nor does a second one so Sabin hits a kick to the gut. Sabin locks in an octopus-style submission and rolls it into a failed pin attempt. Alexander off the ropes into an armdrag and another, he slams Josh’s arm into the mat and then continues to work the arm. Tag in to Shelly, who goes to the top for a double axehandle to the arm. Alexander manages to shove Shelly back into Sabin and both go down. He picks Shelley up, pulls him to the North’s corner and tags in Page who smacks Alex down. Shelley reverses an Irish whip, Page holds onto the ropes and slides out of the ring bit eats a kick to the face from Sabin. Alexander in, gets knocked down and eats a stereo kick on his knees! The Guns go over the ropes to the apron, pair of kicks to Page and we’re off to break.
Back from break and Shelley off the ropes with a crossbody to Page for a two-count. Shelley slams Page into the neutral turnbuckle, measures up and lays in fists and chops. Irish whip reversed by Page, Sabin slips out the ropes and Page hits the turnbuckle, Shelly hits Alexander but Page with a shot. He tags in Alexander and throws him into Shelley on the apron! Page knocks Sabin off the apron as Alex slams Shelley into the apron on the other side and lays in a shot. He rolls Shelley in, locks in an overhead elbowlock and tags in Page, who kicks Shelley hard a couple of times. Page sends Shelley into the corner, shoulder block and Josh in for a fist to the head. Alexander mocks Sabin, goes for a suplex but Shelley turns it into a shoulder bar. Alexander counters with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, pin broken up by Shelley. Shelley gets double-teamed in the corner, Josh tags Page in and he lays in the boots. Alexander chokes Shelley from the outside as the ref counts and Page mocks Sabin. Page decks Shelley and tags in Josh, who kicks at Shelley and hits a kneedrop to the back of the head. He mocks Shelley and goes for a urenage hold, Shelley tries to elbow out but Josh gets the tag and hits a backbreaker followed by Page with a spinning backbreaker. Pinfall, Sabin breaks it up. He picks Shelley up, goes for a suplex, holds him up as Josh tags in and hands Shelley off so Alexander can finish the suplex off. He walks over Shelley, goes up top, moonsault but Shelley rolls out of the way! Shelley crawling to his feet, goes and makes the hot tag! Page in, Sabin knocks down Alexander and hits a second-rope rana and then jumps up top, missile dropkick! He hits a couple of elbows, comes off the ropes as Alexander gets in the ring. Sabin ducks a double clothesline, shoves Alexander into Page, kick to Alexander, grabs him and uses Page as vertical leverage for a spinning DDT! Sabin springboards into a tornado DDT for two. He lies in wait, Page in the corner and Sabin and Shelley with double kicks! Shelley tags in, Sabin through the ropes under Shelley to dive onto Alexander, Shelley to the top rope and he leaps but Page rolls out of the way and Shelley rolls to his feet. Counter moves into a back somersault reverse cutter (I’m sure there’s a better name for that but whatever) and gets a near-fall. Sabin back in, Page is defiant against the two of them and eats a couple of kicks. Modified swinging reverse STO, another nearfall but Shelley floats over into a crossface. Sabin blocks Alexander and locks in a cloverleaf. Page rolls Shelley into a pin for two, Sabin breaks it up. All four men down, Alexander goes out to the apron and so does Sabin. Shelley and Page answer the ten count and make the tags, Alexander and Sabin trade punches. Sabin with a kick, off the ropes but clothesline does nothing. Jumping knee staggers Josh, Alexander smacks Sabin down then charges at Shelley but gets Flatlinered into the turnbuckle. Page with a running shoulder tackle, Sabin with a Shining Wizard. Sabin with a waistlock on Alexander, reversed, Sabin goes into the ropes for a springboard but Page holds him there! Alexander grabs him and tags Page, double team slam and Page knocks Shelley off the apron. They hit the assisted cutter into a wheelbarrow suplex, Shelley breaks it up! Alex Shelley tossed out of the ring, they get Sabin up, he eats a series of strikes and Page prepares for the double-team but Sabin turns it into a roll-up! Three-count and new champs!
Winner: The Motor City Machine Guns (14:10)
Rating: *** 3/4
Thoughts: Well, that was badass. These two teams work fantastically against each other and there was a lot of great back-and-forth action. The Guns pick up the win and end The North’s record-setting tag team title reign; good on them.
Ethan Page is distraught and Alexander is in shock as Shelley and Sabin celebrate their victory to end the show.
This week’s post-show teaser has Jimmy Jacobs heading out the door, only to have Heath slip in the open door and walk inside.
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