MCMAHON’S IMPACT WRESTLING REPORT 11/9: Edwards vs. Fantasma (GHC Title), Sydal vs. Dutt

MCMAHON’S IMPACT WRESTLING REPORT
Nov. 9, 2017
Taped from Ottawa, Ont. (Aberdeen Pavilion)
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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— The Impact signature aired.

— A cold open with Borash and Mathews in the ring. Borash said this was a historic broadcast because the show was taking place in Canada for the first time. Impact is back to using the green ropes after red and white at Bound for Glory. Mathews and Borash ran down the card.

— A recap video aired on Bound for Glory.

(McMahon: That video made the show feel a lot better than it actually was. Only one line of El Patron’s promo aired — which was about all you needed — and they highlighted the right things.)

— Eli Drake came to the ring with Chris Adonis. Borash said his victory on Sunday was not one that most men would be proud of, but Drake sees things differently. The crowd was chanting, “E-LI DRAKE” as Adonis took the mic. Adonis told everyone to sit down and shut their mouths for him and Eli Drake.

Drake took the mic and told the crowd that Bound for Glory went just as he said it would. He compared himself to Babe Ruth calling his shot. The crowd began chanting, “Johnny!” Drake told El Patron that he hasn’t been mistreated by the company until he’s been mistreated by Eli Drake.

Drake said Impact gave him the night off because he was banged up after Bound for Glory. Drake said there is no one left to challenge him for the title. Drake said he was getting out of the country if he had the night off. Petey Williams’ music played and he walked onto the stage. The crowd chanted, “Petey!” Williams told Drake he wasn’t out there to stop him from leaving Canada, because no one wants him there. Williams asked if Drake really said there was no one there for him to beat? Williams said that Drake has never beaten him. Williams said he was a two-time X Division champion and he’s the Canadian Destroyer. Williams challenged Drake to a title match tonight.

Drake told Williams that Impact management gave him the night off. Drake asked the people if they wanted to see Williams vs. Drake? He said let’s do it, but not tonight. Drake said maybe next week if they can work out the details. Williams said that management maybe gave Eli Drake the night off, but Williams didn’t. Williams walked to the ring and took out Chris Adonis with a kick. Williams hit the ring and Drake attacked him. Williams took down Drake with a leg sweep. Williams picked up Drake and almost hit a Canadian Destroyer but Adonis pulled Drake out of the ring.

(McMahon: Eli Drake’s shirt was really cool, I’m not sure if that was a new design or not but I don’t recall seeing it before. Just slapping a plate on the GFW Title belt looks horrendous. Honestly, they should have just gone back to the old belts. It literally looks like someone just slapped a bumper sticker over the GFW logo. 

Petey Williams is really good. I’m a fan. But he doesn’t feel like a big enough star to be challenging for the World Title. Also, all you need to do is come out on stage and ask for a World Title shot? Williams challenging makes sense in Canada, but what happened to him getting screwed out of the X Division Title on Sunday night at Bound for Glory? It feels like Impact is just leaving a loose end out there. Williams should be a central focus of these shows because he will get a major reaction in Canada, that was proven on Sunday, but he should be going 1-on-1 with Trevor Lee for the X Division Title, not challenging for the World Championship.)

— Johnny Impact was shown arriving earlier today, screeching his car into the parking lot and then staring at the camera for a few seconds before walking into the building.

(McMahon: Nothing about Johnny Impact is cool, from his name down to his facial expressions, mannerisms and promos. He’s a total cheeseball. Who gets out of their car and stares awkwardly like that before walking, awkwardly, towards a building? I’m not sure if it’s overacting or what it is, but it always feels like he’s trying way too hard. You can’t take away what he can do in the ring, because he’s an incredible athlete, but everything about his character feels corny.)

[c]

— Borash said it will happen next week, Petey Williams vs. Eli Drake for the Impact Global Championship.

— Jimmy Jacobs walked out and joined the announce team. Mathews took a selfie with him. Borash said they don’t really have time right now, because there is a match coming up, and Jacobs said he would gladly join them for a match.

(1) SONJAY DUTT vs. MATT SYDAL

Sydal and Dutt shook hands before locking up. Borash plugged GWN. Mathews asked what brought Jacobs to Impact? He said the same thing that brings anyone to Impact? The action. Jacobs began doing play-by-play and Borash said that was his job. Dutt and Sydal traded holds. Mathews said Jacobs was being unprofessional by interrupting the broadcast, and Jacobs said he has been hearing that word a lot lately, about how “unprofessional” he’s been. Jacobs was upset that Borash wasn’t paying attention to him, so he left. Sydal hit a standing moonsault for a two count. Sydal began working Dutt’s left leg. Dutt rolled into a dropkick for a two count. Sydal went to the top rope but Dutt sprung up and clipped Sydal with a right cross. Dutt brought Sydal off the top with a superplex.

[c]

Dutt was throwing kicks to Sydal’s leg back from the break. Sydal hit a huge front kick to the chest for a near fall. Sydal locked in a submission but Dutt made it to the ropes. Dutt hit a tornado DDT. Dutt missed a dive off the top. Sydal took down Dutt and went to the top, hitting a shooting star press for the win.

WINNER: Matt Sydal via pinfall in 15:00.

(McMahon: This was a really good match, and showed that the X Division guys don’t need to rely on being a fast-paced spotfest. These two guys told a really simple story, but I thought the commentary missed out. They were talking about Jimmy Jacobs, Eli Drake, Petey Williams, plugging BFG replays and they were ignoring the fact that Sydal was working over Dutt’s leg, and will Dutt be able to come back from that?)

After the match, ECIII’s music played and he came out on stage with the Impact Grand Championship. ECIII told the crowd to chant for Matt Sydal. ECIII said he came out there to offer Matt Sydal congratulations on another win, and then mockingly said, “yippee!” ECIII said Sydal wins over and over, but when the lights are brightest, he comes up a little short. ECIII asked if Sydal came to Impact undefeated? And he beat Bobby Lashley? And then he choked. ECIII said that Sydal choked at BFG as well. ECIII told Sydal he has a ton of talent, he’s not like the abundance of losers that have been coming back to Impact. ECIII said Sydal is missing a killer instinct. ECIII said he’s pound-for-pound, round-for-round, the best guy in the company. ECIII said that he’s a killer, and Sydal is a nice guy. ECIII said in another life, Sydal could have been reborn a winner. ECIII’s music played and he left.

(McMahon: Good promo, and an ECIII-Sydal feud is an intriguing one. I’m glad to see them sticking with ECIII as a heel coming out of BFG. He’s better suited in that role. The content of his promo was also easy enough for people to understand. It wasn’t convoluted and confusing. This is a storyline I can get behind.)

— Johnny Impact was shown walking backstage.

[c]

— An overhead of the building was shown from the outside. Mathews and Borash reset the show and plugged the GWN. Mathews threw to a match from 2004 as the GWN Flashback Moment of the Week. This was back in the weekly PPV days. Amazing Red, Sonjay Dutt & Hector Garza vs. Petey Williams, Eric Young and Bobby Roode.

(McMahon: This was somewhat jarring. The commentary of Tenay and West were so much more emotional and so much more exciting than the Borash/Mathews team. The crowd was more into the match (it was also bigger). The action was insane.)

[c]

(2) EL HIJO DEL FANTASMA vs. EDDIE EDWARDS [c] — GHC World Title match

Mathews said this match will be contested under Pro Wrestling NOAH rules, which is one fall and a 60-minute time limit. The big difference is a 20 count on the outside. Edwards and Fantasma shook hands to begin the match. Edwards chopped Fantasma. After a whip off the ropes, Fantasma hit a dropkick. Edwards hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a believable near fall at the 6:00 mark. Fantasma hit a vicious-looking knee on Edwards’ chin for a two count. Edwards lands a dropkick, sending Fantasma to the floor. Edwards hit a dive through the middle rope. Fantasma then hit a dive through the middle rope. Edwards tossed off his elbow pad and hit Fantasma with a clothesline and then a Tiger Driver for a two count. Fantasma kicked Edwards but Edwards came back with a Boston Knee Party. Edwards picked up Fantasma and hit Diehard Flowsion for the win.

WINNER: Eddie Edwards via pinfall in 10:00.

After the match, Edwards celebrated as they threw to a replay of the finish. Edwards and Fantasma shook hands and embraced in the ring with Fantasma raising Edwards’ hand and bowing to him.

(McMahon: They made this match feel like a really big deal. Borash did in-ring introductions and a representative from Pro Wrestling NOAH, Masayuki Uchida, was in the ring prior to the match, holding the championship and Borash said he was sanctioning the bout. They did a nice job making this feel like it was a big moment, with the title defended in North America for the first time.)

— OVE was shown backstage with Sami Callahan. They looked to be using their own camera.

[c]

(3) SAMI CALLAHAN & OVE vs. RAY STEELE, PHIL ATLAS & MARKUS BURKE

Right at the bell, Callahan jumped across the ring and kicked Burke. Dave Crist whipped Callahan and Jake into Burke in the corner. Atlas tagged in as Burke rolled to him in their corner. Atlas fired off on Dave Crist but Jake and Callahan came in and hit Atlas with a triple boot as Atlas came off the rope. Dave Crist pinned Atlas after their finisher.

WINNER: OVE & Sami Callahan in 2:00.

LAX’s music hit and they hit the ring with Homicide for a 3-on-3 brawl. Callahan avoided Homicide and then spit at LAX in the ring. Konnan climbed into the ring to be with LAX.

(McMahon: This is another feud that has potential and has a new layer added with Callahan joining OVE and Homicide brought back into the fold for LAX. Callahan was good here and looked really legitimate as a badass for OVE to play off of. I’m just not sure who are the heels and who are the babyfaces. Sunday felt like more of a double turn, and OVE was playing less to the crowd tonight, so I think that was the intention.)

— McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Hakim Zayne, the winner of Global Forged. He said winning Global Forged makes him important. Johnny Impact charged in and took Zayne out. He grabbed the camera and said he didn’t come to the arena tonight for a wrestling match, he came for El Patron’s blood.

(McMahon: Johnny, you mean you’re not going to take El Patron to “Slam Town?”)

[c]

— They aired the Pluto TV Rewind of the Week, which is the same thing as the flashback thing from earlier. It was the guy from “The Best Damn Sports Show, Period” yelling that wrestling is fake before he was attacked by Roddy Piper.

(4) ALLIE vs. K.C. SPINELLI — from Border City Wrestling

Spinelli shoved Allie but she came back with slaps. Spinelli hit Allie in the gut. Mathews made a poutine and bacon joke. Spinelli missed a splash and Allie came back with a clothesline for a two count. Spinelli dropped Allie across the top rope. Borash said Spinelli wants to earn a spot on the Impact roster, and beating Allie could do that for her. Spinelli hit a neckbreaker for a two count. Spinelli went for a few covers in a row, but they were all two counts. Allie hit two clotheslines and an elbow, followed by a trifecta of diving elbows in the corner for a two count. Allie hit a superkick and a codebreaker for a two count. Spinelli hit a huge lariat for a two count. Spinelli went to the top rope for a moonsault but Allie moved and then hit an Death Valley Driver for the win.

WINNER: Allie via pinfall in 7:00.

Allie looked genuinely shocked after the match and Mathews seemed surprised she got the win.

(McMahon: Airing matches from different promotions like this doesn’t work. We’ve been through that. But this one at least had a good story behind it, with Borash talking about how Spinelli wanted to beat Allie so she could earn a spot on the Impact roster. Because of that, it didn’t feel like some random match in a different promotion. It felt like something that had some consequence to it, and that added to the match. The near falls at the end were also really good, and you could tell the crowd in attendance was into them.)

— El Patron was shown walking outside the building on his cellphone. The cameraman said Impact wants to fight him, and El Patron told him to be careful what he wishes for.

[c]

— Allie was interviewed backstage about being excited she won a match. Allie said Gail Kim as a big announcement next week and she’s excited to find out what it’s going to be.

— McKenzie Mitchell tried to interview El Patron but Impact dove in out of nowhere and a brawl ensued. El Patron threw Impact into a table at catering. People (slowly) cleared out as the brawl continued. El Patron threw Impact into a forklift. Braxton Sutter talked out of a trailer and Impact got shoved into him. Impact attacked Sutter and then Sutter fought back. Caleb Konley came in out of nowhere and he began brawling with Sutter while Impact and El Patron kept brawling by the crew area. El Patron hit Impact with an unprotected garbage can shot to the head. El Patron and Impact began brawling outside. Impact was throwing good, stiff working punches. Impact hit El Patron with a garbage can. El Patron grabbed Impact’s face and said the Impact Title is not his, it’s El Patron’s. The brawl continued and then brawled back inside the building. Security ran in to break up the fight but both men beat up security. Impact began choking out El Patron. With his head up against a metal wall, Impact charged El Patron’s head with his knee. Impact again went for a choke but El Patron grabbed his hair. El Patron threw Impact into the men’s room and tried walking away. He climbed a ladder that was setup backstage up onto the roof of what looked like a bathroom facility. El Patron kicked the ladder down so Impact couldn’t climb up but Impact jumped up onto a drink machine and then kicked El Patron’s hands as he was trying to hang on. Security came to check on El Patron, and Impact leaped off the roof of the restroom onto El Patron and security below.

[c]

The brawl continued back from the break. El Patron said this was his company. Impact and El Patron were on the staging right at the entrance. They fought out onto the aisle and down into the arena. People appeared to be booing. Patron whipped Impact into the metal stairs. Security poured down the ramp to separate them.

El Patron grabbed a mic and said Impact was his company. El Patron said he signs security’s checks, so if they wan to get paid, stop Impact. Security, inexplicably, listened to him. El Patron said management screwed him. El Patron said if the people want to see a fight, they needed to cheer for him. El Patron told Impact to get in his ring and they can start the battle. So, Impact got into the ring. El Patron walked to the ring but then backed off, not getting in.

Impact grabbed the mic and said El Patron wasn’t the pride of Mexico, he wasn’t even the pride of his own father. El Patron charged the ring and they brawled again, with security trying to break it up. El Patron blinsided Impact with a punch while security had a hold of him, and then he DDT’ed Impact twice. El Patron told the two security people in the ring to leave. When they tried to walk out, he clotheslined both of them. El Patron hit Impact on the cross armbreaker in the ropes. Referees ran down and tried to get him to release the hold. Borash, with no emotion, said, “Impact’s arm could be broken.”

El Patron’s music played as Impact was tended to in the ring by referees.

(McMahon: That was a fun brawl, which we don’t see a lot of. The editing was all over the place — you could see that the arena was empty as they fought through the curtain — and El Patron’s promo was heavily edited, probably because he rambled on like he did at BFG on Sunday. I’m not a fan of Impact making El Patron the centerpiece of the show. You obviously can’t trust him for reasons outside the ring and even tonight, he apparently went wildly off script for them to edit the promo in the way they did.

That being said, overall, this was a fun show and felt like a new creative direction. I’m going to give it a 7.5/10.)