MCMAHON’S GFW IMPACT REPORT 9/7: Drake vs. Sydal for the GFW Title, two tag matches

MCMAHON’S GFW IMPACT REPORT
Sept. 7, 2017
Taped from Orlando, Fla. (Universal Studios)
Aired on Pop TV

Announcers: Josh Mathews & Jeremy Borash

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Immediately following tonight’s Impact Wrestling, tune in to the PWTorch Livecast. Mike McMahon and Andrew Soucek will discuss tonight’s show with callers. Listen at www.pwtorchlivecast.com and call the show at 515-605-9345 or email impactlivecast@gmail.com

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— A new GFW signature aired.

— Eli Drake and Matt Sydal were shown arriving at the building earlier today.

— The Impact opened montage aired.

(1) PETEY WILLIAMS & SONJAY DUTT vs. TREVOR LEE & CALEB KONLEY

They keep calling Dutt and Williams “X-Division originals,” which sounds weird. Have they ever explained what the X Division stands for? Dutt began the match with Konley. Dutt and Williams worked well as a team, tying up the opponents in the corner. Dutt hit Konley with a huge DDT for a near fall. Later, with Lee on the outside, Dutt scored the pin on Konley.

WINNER: Sonjay Dutt & Petey Williams in 9:00

After the match, the babyfaces celebrated in the ring as highlights were shown.

McMahon: Decent opener. However, I can’t get over the absurdity of Dezmond Xavier winning the Super X Cup, which was billed as being a big deal, and then totally disappearing for the show for almost a month. He won the tournament on the live episode, which was August 17, and I don’t think we’ve seen him since? It’s ridiculous and really, really poor planning. 

[c]

(2) LAX (Ortiz & Santana) vs. JOHN BOLAND & ZACHARY WENTZ

LAX dominated from the opening bell. oVe was shown backstage watching LAX in the match. Mathews called the LAX clubhouse the “LAX hospitality room.” Santana kicked Boland in the head. Santana picked up the win after LAX hit their top-rope finisher.

WINNER: LAX in 2:00.

After the match, oVe emerged onto the stage. Dave Crist took a mic and from the ramp, said that LAX claims to be family, but oVe are actually brothers. Crist said they’ve been a tag team since birth. Crist said they needed to take the titles to prove they were the best tag team in the world. Konnan asked if oVe’s name was “ovaries?” Konnan said it looked like they crawled out of a meth lab, and he told them to come to Tijuana to wrestle in Crash if they wanted a chance at the titles. oVe said that sounds like their type of place. Borash said the match would happen in Mexico.

McMahon: Good showcase for LAX, and oVe was solid in the promo at the end. I don’t know who oVe is, or what they stand for, so the character development could be better. I’m also not a fan of them earning a title shot so soon, but it speaks to GFW’s lack of depth in the tag team division. That could change when Reno Scum gets healthy and maybe they bring in some more AAA talent. 

[c]

— Highlights of Taryn Terrell attacking Allie was shown.

(3) GAIL KIM & ALLIE vs. TARYN TERRELL & SIENNA (w/KM)

Sienna controlled the early portion of the match, taunting Gail Kim. Allie tagged in and hit Sienna with Sliced Bread for a two count. Allie looked to the corner and Gail told her to go to the top rope. Allie went to the top and KM tripped her. Braxton Sutter ran down and attacked KM, they brawled to the back. Allie came off the to but Sienna caught her and rolled her up for a three.

WINNER: Sienna & Taryn Terrell in 5:00

After the match, Taryn attacked Allie. Sienna joined in. Gail Kim was relatively incapacitated in the corner. The heels continued the beat down until Rosemary’s music played and she cleared the ring, taking out both heels with clotheslines and then tried for a Red Wedding but Taryn clipper her knee. The heels double-teamed Rosemary. The lights then went out and Taya Valkyrie made her debut, coming to the ring as Sienna and Taryn looked stunned. Sienna stood toe-to-toe with Valkyrie. After a few moments, she turned and nailed Rosemary.

McMahon: Wresting does this a lot, and it’s incredibly stupid. So Taya Valkyrie is a heel. She came out, faking like she was going to help the babyfaces, and then took out Rosemary. But when she came to the ring, Rosemary was being taken care of by Sienna and Taryn. So why did the heel need to come to the ring and reveal herself as a heel? It makes no sense. This isn’t a problem only in GFW, but around wrestling in general. There’s no logic behind it. If she wanted to see Rosemary get beat up, she could have remained backstage and watched it on a monitor, because what brought her to the ring was Rosemary getting beat up. If she hits the ring and immediately starts the attack on Rosemary, then it can be explained that she saw her opening and took advantage. But they teased that she would square off with Sienna. Why? She was a heel and the babyface was being beaten up. Why come out and reveal that if you’re strategically trying to do something as a wrestler? She should have remained backstage until Sienna was in trouble.

— A video aired hyping Eli Drake vs. Matt Sydal for later tonight

[c]

— Jim Cornette came to the ring. Cornette said if he was a betting man, he’d bet that Matt Sydal would win the GFW Title tonight. Johnny Impact came to the ring as Cornette was trying to thank the fans for “inviting GFW into their homes.” Impact and Cornette shook hands as Impact played to the crowd. Cornette asked why he was out there, where he wasn’t scheduled to come out?

Impact said that he’s the man. Impact said he wanted the winner of tonight’s main event for a title match. Cornette said there is a lot of competition, but he had confidence in Impact. After that, Impact said he had a lot of respect for Matt Sydal, and no respect for Eli Drake.

Low Ki and LAX came to the ring. Konnan said Impact’s AAA Title was worthless and said it was all because of white privilege. Cornette said no one was being discriminated, and Low Ki would have to wait his turn. Cornette told Low Ki he was in line for a title shot, and Low Ki said he was in front of the line. Low Ki and Impact argued. Impact said Low Ki didn’t earn a title shot. Low Ki shot back that Impact just showed up. Low Ki said this wasn’t WWE or Lucha Underground, “this is GFW bitch!” Impact attacked Low Ki and he had to fight LAX 1-on-5. Impact held his own before security rolled in to break up the brawl.

[c]

— Backstage, Jim Cornette booked Low Ki vs. Johnny Impact in a No. 1 contender match.

— A recap aired of Laurel Van Ness telling Grado she was Canadian. Joseph Park told Grado to tell LVN the truth. Grado said the wedding was off. He said it’s not LVN, it’s him. Grado said every end was a new beginning. Grado told LVN to smile because it happened, not be sad that it was over. LVN began going crazy again.

McMahon: We’re going to get crazy Laurel Van Ness back! It’s been a guilty pleasure, but she has been awesome in that role. This was actually a neat angle to give that character some new life.

— A recap video aired of GFW at TripleMania. Jeff Jarrett’s comments were shown as part of the video package, as was Karen Jarrett. D.J. Z’s return was also part of the package. Moose eliminated Lashley and they were shown brawling.

McMahon: It’s interesting that they showed Jarrett as part of the package. The didn’t show him stumbling down the ring steps, which was wise, but they did show him. This was a good way to showcase the GFW stars in front of a huge crowd and a big arena, which makes them feel like a bigger deal, but it’s also a noticeable contrast when the show immediately click backs to the Impact Zone. However, I really liked the story they told with Lashley and Moose in this video package. 

[c]

— Back from the break, more videos on TripleMania aired, highlight Johnny Impact in a three-way ladder match.

McMahon: The attendance keeps growing. It was 25,000 in the last segment, and Impact said 30,000 in this segment. 

[c]

— Back from the break, the video on the Rosemary incident aired. Karen Jarrett, Jeremy Borash, Jeff Jarret and others were quoted. Jeff Jarrett was shown screaming at La Parka. Jarrett said in an interview that Lashley was livid. Jarrett said La Parka was trying to calm things down (this was said as Jarrett was shown literally trying to fight La Parka). Borash said the companies will exist together.

McMahon: I’d much rather see stuff like this than 15-minute in-ring promos. The length of this package also explains why so many matches were shown at the beginning of the broadcast. Jarrett had to be shown as part of the video. He played an integral role, especially in the Rosemary segment.

— A video package aired on Dezmond Xavier.

McMahon: HE LIVES!!!!!! Joking aside, this was a really good video package that told us Xavier’s story. The more GFW does things like this, the better.

[c]

(5) ELI DRAKE (w/Chris Adonis) vs. MATT SYDAL — GFW Championship match

After some trading offense early, Drake settled in before the show went to a break.

[c]

Back from the break, Eli Drake teased using a chair but told the referee he was just kidding. Back in the ring, Drake booted Sydal in the gut. Drake settled in with a headlock that Sydal tried to power back from as Borash pushed some Shop Impact merch. On the outside, Sydal chopped Drake but Drake caught him and rolled him back into the ring. Drake had Sydal’s arm and was kicking him on the ground. Drake tried to drop a knee but missed. Sydal ducked a clothesline and flipped Drake over his back. Borash said Sonjay Dutt vs. Trevor Lee in a Falls Count Anywhere match for the X Division Title would happen next week. Sydal hit double knees for a near fall. Chris Adonis threw a chair in the ring but it was a distraction, because he had the belt on the apron for Drake to use. Drake missed, Sydal landed a kick for a two count. Sydal went to the top rope for a shooting star press but he needed to jump to the apron to take out Adonis. Drake then hit Sydal with the belt when he tried to climb for a second time, and Drake got the pin after a Gravy Train.

WINNER: Eli Drake in 20:00

After the match, Drake celebrated.

McMahon: An OK match to close the show. I thought some of the tag matches earlier were better, but they did a nice job here. Still, with the announcers already talking about the No. 1 contender match next week, and so much made of Impact vs. LAX, it feels like Sydal was an afterthought before this match even began.