SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
TOP TIER FEUDS
(1) Eddie Edwards vs. Eric Young
New Developments: Young attacked Edwards after he successfully defended the Impact World Title against RVD. After taking Edwards down and stomping him repeatedly, Young finally announced that he was challenging for the title next week during the open challenge. Later in the night, Edwards called out Young challenging him to a fight right away. Young rejected the offer but the two still engaged in a pull-apart brawl outside the ring.
Highs & Lows: Even with Edwards facing a new challenger every week, Young has seemed like a credible threat that is looming in the background just waiting to strike. Even though both Edwards and RVD are involved in feuds with other wrestlers, I’m glad that Edwards was kept strong and picked up the clean win and avoided the cheap and easy distraction finish. The pull-apart brawl was good enough to show the intensity of the feud that may have seemed lost over the last few weeks with Edwards never actually engaging with Young’s challenges or threats.
Start of Feud: July 18, 2020
Forecast & Prediction: I think that Edwards will retain against Young next week, but probably won’t win the match clean. Edwards has been a good champion so far and I’d hate to see his reign end after only a little over a month. With Young announcing his challenge ahead of time, it could be an opportunity for Swann to come back to get some revenge against the man who sent him into retirement.
(2) EC3 vs. Moose
New Developments: EC3 put out yet another great video and highlight reel where he went over his first win of the TNA World Title against Kurt Angle. He said that winning the title was the last time he was truly happy and that ever since that moment, the title has been a weight that has been dragging him down. He then said that he needs to destroy the title to free himself and challenged Moose to lose all of the extras that are holding him back from being his best.
Highs & Lows: EC3 continues to post great videos building up his return. The idea that EC3 not only wants to destroy the TNA Title to free himself and make himself better, but that he wants Moose to get past the theme songs, robes, and monikers in order to become his best self is a nice take on the character. Moose continues to be booked strong, making the build-up to this match even better.
Start of Feud: July 18, 2020
Forecast & Prediction: I think EC3 will eventually find a way to destroy the title, but I think there are a few more weeks left in this feud. There is a good long-term build toward what could be a very good match.
SECOND TIER FEUDS
(1) Deonna Purrazzo vs. Jordynne Grace
New Developments: Purrazzo won the 30-Minute Iron Man 2-1 in the final seconds to retain the Knockouts Title. The match was well executed with each of the falls being earned. Grace looked strong and had control over the match until a late ref bump prevented her from taking a 2-0 lead and allowed Purrazzo to hit Grace with the belt, get a quick pin, and a final tap out for the win.
Highs & Lows: The build and the match were very well done. Both women looked great throughout the lead up to the match and both come out of the match having added something to their character and were not damaged from the outcome. This is exactly what you would hope from both competitors in order to build a strong Women’s Division, or frankly any division within the company.
Start of Feud: July 18, 2020
Forecast & Prediction: Both women can move on to new challengers and can hopefully build up other Knockouts and continue to make the division stronger. This feud can be revisited in a few months due to the fact that Purrazzo ultimately had to resort to heel tactics in order to retain the title.
(2) Rascalz (Dez & Wentz) vs. Ace Austin & Madman Fulton
New Developments: The Rascalz were guests on Locker Room Talk as were Ace Austin and Madman Fulton. The Rascalz continued to bring up Austin and Fulton’s loss to the Good Brothers last week until Austin and Fulton left the talk show. The two teams have a match scheduled for next week.
Highs & Lows: Decent start to the feud with good banter between the two teams.
Start of Feud: August 25, 2020
Forecast & Prediction: I’d like to see this go a few weeks to also get Trey into the mix as well. The match next week should be a good indicator as to if this will just be a one-and-done or a longer feud.
LOWER-CARD FEUDS
(1) Sami Callihan vs. RVD
New Developments: RVD had a good match but lost clean against Eddie Edwards to start out Night Two of Emergence. Later in the show Sami Callihan had a segment where he talked about how RVD wasn’t at his best that night because Sami was in his head. He then said that he will be in the ring waiting for RVD next week.
Highs & Lows: While the feud has mostly been cringe-worthy, Sami’s segment at Emergence was good enough and seems to signal that this might be coming to an end soon.
Start of Feud: July 28, 2020
Forecast & Predictions: Let’s finish the feud next week and move on to better things. I think Sami will get the win against RVD and could challenge Eddie Edwards for another shot at the Impact World Title, this time at 100 percent.
(2) Willie Mack vs. Brian Myers
New Developments: Myers and Mack had a solid, hard-hitting match. Myers won with a handful of tights on a roll-up pin.
Highs & Lows: The match between the two was pretty good, especially considering how poorly Myers was utilized in WWE over the last few years. I like the build of Myers’s gimmick of being the “Most Professional Wrestler” when all he’s done so far in Impact is complain about his previous booking and grabbing tights to win. Myers needs to build on his heelish tendencies in matches and put less emphasis on how he was treated in WWE in order to get this character established properly and taken seriously.
Start of Feud: August 18, 2020
Forecast & Prediction: I think both guys will move on to other feuds from here. Mack is protected from the loss due to Myers’s cheating and I don’t know if either guy would benefit from a second match.
(3) Rhino & Heath vs. Reno Scum
New Developments: Rhino cut a backstage promo challenging Reno Scum to a match against Heath and himself. Heath had a segment later encouraging the audience to make their voice be heard to get Heath into the match next week.
Highs & Lows: Rhino’s promo was good enough. Rhino and Heath had great chemistry together when they were on Smackdown a few years ago, so it’ll be nice to see them together again. I’m pretty sure that Heath needed to team with Rhino to get his WWE contract, so it’s curious that they would go back to a very similar story line.
Start of Feud: August 25, 2020
Forecast & Prediction: I wouldn’t imagine this feud will last very long, but that it’s more of a hook to get Heath involved in Impact instead of trying to get a contract.
CONCLUDED, FORGOTTEN, OR DORMANT FEUDS
- Motor City Machine Guns vs. The North – CONCLUDED
- The Good Brothers vs. Ace Austin & Madman Fulton – CONCLUDED
- Rohit Raju vs. Chris Bey vs. TJP – CONCLUDED?
- Eric Young vs. Rich Swann – DORMANT
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.