SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
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Overall – MISS (barely): Most of the HITs on this episode of Impact Wrestling come from decent shorter skits and promos while the bulk of the show, the wrestling, is either uninspired, like the Rascalz and Pagano and Murder Clown match, or a match that exists just to set up another angle so the results are meaningless, like the Daga and Dr. Wagner versus Reno Scum match. One match, Josh Alexander versus Hijo del Vikingo is definitely worth a watch and has whetted my appetite for TJP versus Hijo del Vikingo next week. Elgin and Eddie also have some brutal moments in the first match of their best-of-five series.
Josh Alexander vs. Hijo del Vikingo – HIT: This is an excellent match that pits the high-flying Hijo del Vikingo (Son of the Viking) against the power and technical acumen of Josh Alexander. While there are a few messy spots from Vikingo, there is an awesome spot where Josh Alexander whips Vikingo towards the guardrail and Vikingo leaps onto the guardrail, then steps over the crowd onto the guardrail of the elevated section, where he moonsaults back onto Josh Alexander. The match ends when Alexander applies a double underhook and lifts Vikingo, but Vikingo counters with a hurricanrana for the pin. After the match, the crowd threw money into the ring (a lucha libre tradition to reward a great match).
The Rascalz vs. Pagano & Murder Clown – MISS: I was really looking forward to this encounter since I am a fan of Pagano. Unfortunately, they delivered a mostly boring, lackluster match. Pagano and Murder Clown dominated The Rascalz (Dez and Wentz) for most of the match, until The Rascalz hit a downed Murder Clown with a Swanton-Spiral Tap combo for the win.
Moose vs. Taurus – MISS: Earlier in the day Moose directed a promo at Rhino stating that he doesn’t make excuses, then promptly made an excuse blaming Rhino for Moose getting pinned by Taurus last week. I got a kick out of that. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the match. It is slow and plodding for most it, although it does pick up a bit near the end. Moose did garner a lot of heat which is good on him. Moose wins with the No-Jack-Hammer-Needed spear. After the match, Rhino runs in and Gores Moose. This feud seems like it’s stalled and I’m ready for them to move on to new opponents.
Joey Ryan promo – PUSH: Joey Ryan responds to RVD’s slight against him last week, saying that he was hurt by RVD’s comments, but he wonders if RVD is actually worried that Katie Forbes wants to touch “IT” instead. So, my favorite guilty pleasure is about to feud with my least favorite act right now. I am morbidly curious to see how this will turn out.
Madison Rayne vs. Kiera Hogan vs. Jordynne Grace – PUSH: This is just another obstacle for Grace to overcome get to Taya Valkyrie. Madison and Kiera double teamed Grace for most of the match but it was for naught when Grace hit Kiera with the Grace Driver for the win. Taya, who was on commentary for the match, was none too pleased with the outcome. I also felt bad for Kiera who took some gnarly looking bumps. When a former wrestler on commentary takes a sharp breath after a bump, you know something went awry.
Ace Austin promo – HIT: Man, is Ace easy to hate. He says he is done with Trey Miguel after he pinned Trey in last week’s tag match, and as a result, he also beat Tessa Blanchard. Ace says he also beat Tessa when he won the X Division title since she was in the ladder match that he won it in. Looks like he has his eyes set on the World Champion.
Willie Mack and Johnny Swinger backstage – HIT: Swinger REALLY wants to tag with Willie Mack. He even has a tag team name picked out, the Mack and Pack Connection. Mack wants nothing to do with Swinger (which is probably smart) since Rich Swann is his one and only partner. Let’s see how long this will last.
TJP and Fallah Bahh backstage – HIT: TJP gets Fallah to debut his new ring gear (which is nice). There is some neat interaction between the two and they have good chemistry together. Too bad TJP will eventually betray Fallah since I don’t trust the little bastard. TJP also mentions he is facing Hijo del Vikingo next week which, for me, will be appointment viewing.
Reno Scum vs. Daga & Dr. Wagner Jr. – MISS: Another match I was hoping more from due to Dr. Wagner’s involvement. It’s not a horrible match by any means but all it does is set up an attack by OVE (Madman Fulton, Jake and Dave Crist), likely to set up a match with Tessa, Daga, and Dr. Wagner Jr. Daga wins, but before he does. Wagner landed on his head while preforming a cannonball to the outside in a scary spot.
The Undead Realm Chronicles, “Suzie” Saga – HIT: This story finally is getting back on track (much to the chagrin off many of you I’m sure). Rosemary apparates before Suzie who has been wandering around searching for “something” that she feels is nearby. Rosemary says that maybe what she is looking for can be found in the midst of battle inside of the ring and convinces Suzie that she’ll make her a warrior and that they will start with a “friendly” exhibition match next week. Rosemary makes this whole thing work with her delivery, and Suzie has done a good job acting like a naïve, almost doll-like child.
Michael Elgin (1) vs. Eddie Edwards (0) – Best of Five Series – HIT: This is the first match of the best of five series between these two, so I fully expected them to hold back a lot for later matches in the series. Elgin pretty much dominates the match putting Eddie behind the eight-ball in the series early on. There is a brutal looking spot where Eddie goes for a Tiger Driver but Elgin counters by standing up and dropping Eddie right on his head. I’m glad for the replay since it let me see how Eddie took the bump, but in real time, it looked like Elgin killed him. The ending is just as brutal. Elgin applies the cross face to Eddie and as Eddie starts getting out of it, Elgin takes off his elbow pad and repeatedly elbows Eddie on the side of his head into unconsciousness. Elgin reapplies the cross face and the ref calls the match in favor of Elgin. I look forward to seeing how Eddie rebounds from this loss.
Melissa Santos on Twitch – HIT: I try to catch the first run of Impact on Twitch when I can and I wanted to give Melissa Santos, who hosts the show and interacts with fans during commercials, a shout out. She does a wonderful job of running down the previous segment adding some of her own commentary to what just happened. I got a kick this week with fans in the chat giving her a primer on Dragon Ball Z. They had compared her husband Brian Cage to Son Goku and her to Goku’s wife Chi-Chi, something that embarrassed her since chichi is a slightly vulgar way of saying “breasts” in certain Hispanic communities. Its just one of the fun little ways companies can directly interact with fans.
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