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IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT
SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 (RECORDED)
TAPED AT THE IMPACT ZONE
AIRED ON AXS TV
REPORT BY DARRIN LILLY, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
-Black and white graphic and photo to honor the passing of former TNA voiceover announcer Barry Scott.
-Recap of last week’s events with Tommy Dreamer vs. Eric Young and the return of Rich Swann.
-Impact opening.
(1) DEONNA PURRAZZO & KIMBER LEE vs. KYLIE RAE & SUSIE
Josh Matthews and Madison Rayne were the announcers. Josh welcomed everyone to the show and said they wanted to remember and honor the former voice of TNA Wrestling, Barry Scott. Deonna and Kylie started it off. They went back and forth with Kylie getting the first pin attempt with a roll up. Kimber Lee tagged in and Kylie took over with an armdrag, then tagged in Susie. After some double teaming, Kimber Lee kicked out of a pin by Susie. Deonna interfered from the outside to turn the tide in Kimber Lee’s favor. Deonna tagged in and stayed in control of Susie. Kimber Lee tagged back in and continued to work on Susie. Susie mounted a comeback on Deonna, but it was cut off. Kylie eventually got the hot tag and went to town on Kimber Lee. Deonna broke up a pin attempt but was thrown out of the ring by Kylie. Kylie tagged out to Susie. Susie turned the tide, hit the Panic Switch (Su Yung’s finisher) on Kimber Lee to get the win. Susie looked like she might transform into Su Yung but she didn’t.
WINNERS: Kylie Rae & Susie in 8:00.
(D.L.’s Analysis: Uh oh, something’s up with Susie. Perhaps Kylie is about to be introduced to Su Yung? We got just a taste of Kylie vs. Deonna, which should be really good when we get to the title match).
-Josh and Madison appeared on camera to run down the night’s matches.
-Trey Miguel confronted Rohit Raju backstage and asked for a title shot. Rohit said TJP and Chris Bey were in front of him. Trey said he’d “smoke” TJP. [c]
-Backstage John E. Bravo was on the phone and was interrupted by Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan. They asked if they could be the best men at the wedding. Fallah Bahh was coming out of a room and Bravo said Bahh would be the best man.
(2) XXXL (Larry D & Acey Romero) vs. THE DEANERS (Cody Deaner & Cousin Jake)
Acey attacked Cody at the outset then tagged in Larry, who stomped and slammed Cody. Acey tagged back in and stayed in control. Cody escaped Larry and tagged in Jake. Jake got a Bossman slam on Larry for a two count. All four wrestlers were in the ring at the same time. Jake slammed Larry, but then got punched by Larry, who scored the three count.
WINNERS: XXXL in 4:00. [c]
(D.L.’s Analysis: Fun tag match that may have signaled the end of this feud. Could be fun to see these two teams move on to other opponents).
(3) TREY MIGUEL vs. TJP
Trey and TJP traded the advantage early with quick moves. The action gradually picked up even more with both wrestlers exchanging moves, including more innovative offense from TJP. TJP started getting the advantage with submission holds. After doing some high flying moves, TJP worked on Trey’s leg. TJP dropkicked Trey out of the air. Trey battled back with a spinning kick to the back of the head. Trey dove on TJP to the outside. Back in the ring, TJP hit a quick superplex, then got TJP into an octopus hold. TJP got a leglock on Trey, but Trey made the ropes. TJP gained the advantage and worked the leg. TJP got a DDT off the top rope. The action was back and forth at a furious pace until Trey got a splash off the top rope for the pin.
WINNER: Trey Miguel in 7:00.
(D.L.’s Analysis: Super match that was very hard to keep up with. Both wrestlers were pretty much non-stop. TJP continues to shine with his innovative offense. I like that Trey is still part of the Rascalz but still branches out on his quest for individual gold).
-Backstage, The North, Madman Fulton, and Ace Austin were beating up The Rascalz until officials broke it up. [c]
-The doctor informed the Motor City Machine Guns that the Rascalz wouldn’t be able to compete tonight. The Good Brothers approached and offered to take the Rascalz place.
-Rich Swann’s music played and he made his way down the ramp on crutches. In the ring, he took the mic and asked Scott D’Amore to come out. Rich said he watched at home as the guy who ended his career won the world title. He asked Scott to let him return to Impact to fight Eric Young. Scott said he’d like to see it, but Rich wasn’t medically cleared. Rich said he’d be ready by Bound For Glory. He said he was the only person who had pinned Eric Young, so he deserved the shot. Scott said Rich might be crippled if he had the match. Rich asked Scott to put himself in Rich’s shoes. He begged Scott for a chance and said if he didn’t get it, you might as well take him behind the barn and put him down. Eric Young’s music started and he hit the ring. Scott tried to hold him back but he shoved Scott down. Rich attacked Eric and Eric fled the ring. They yelled at each other as Eric warned Rich not to take the match. Scott took the mic and told Rich to get ready because on October 24th, he should take that piece of (bleep) out. Rich smiled and he and Eric continued to shout at each other. [c]
(D.L.’s Analysis: Good intensity by Rich and he was believable in wanting that title shot. Everyone played their role well).
-Taya Valkyrie and Rosemary were backstage. Taya wanted to know why Rosemary didn’t help her last week against Tasha and Kiera. Rosemary agreed to help her this week and said she would meet Taya out in the ring.
(4) BRIAN MYERS vs. WILLIE MACK 45:00
This was the third match in the series. Willie started with a flurry of punches and they battled back and forth. Willie clotheslined Brian out of the ring then dove over the top on Myers. Myers turned the tide and got a leg sweep on the ramp. Back in the ring, Myers had the advantage and scored some two counts. He tore the turnbuckle off of one of the corners, then cut off a Willie comeback. Willie back suplexed his way out of a chinlock and battled back with some high-powered offense, eventually scoring a two count. Myers turned the tide and got a two count of his own. Exploder suplex by Willie. Myers rolled to the outside. Willie threw him back in but got caught with a low blow coming back in. Willie kicked out of a pin after a DDT from Myers. Myers went to the top, but got caught. Myers eventually accidentally charged the exposed turnbuckle, leading to a pin by Willie after the stunner.
WINNER: Willie Mack in 8:00.
(D.L.’s Analysis: A good blow-off to this feud. Both men worked well. Looking forward to what’s next for both).
-Backstage, Rosemary was with Havoc and Nevaeh. Rosemary said she would need Havoc’s consent to resurrect the one person who could officiate their demon wedding. Havoc said she wouldn’t do it. Havoc attacked Rosemary but Nevaeh broke it up. [c]
-Moose caught up with Scott D’Amore backstage. He said that EC3 had been stalking him and even brainwashed his high school football coach. Scott implied all of this was in Moose’s head then walked away. Moose contemplated it, then an EC3 video suddenly played on the wall. EC3 threatened to go psycho on the TNA title belt and said time was running out. Moose got on the phone and called the “Demo God”. He asked if he remembered that time his belt got stolen and wanted advice on how he handled it. He said thanks and said the next time the bubbly is on him. He said to himself that he knew exactly what he had to do.
(D.L.’s Analysis: Fun reference to “The Demo God”. Moose is so great in his role).
-Rhino was backstage and let Heath in the back door.
-Photoshoot with Kaleb taking pictures of Tenille Dashwood. They were interrupted by Jordynne Grace. Kaleb said it was a closed set. Tenille said Jordynne was jealous. Jordynne said they had a match next week and walked off. Tenille and Kaleb resumed the photoshoot.
(5) KIERA HOGAN (w/Tasha Steelz) vs. TAYA VALKYRIE
Taya took over at the outset and eventually threw Kiera out of the ring. Back inside, Taya continued the onslaught. Kiera made a comeback and got a two count. Taya took over again and threw Kiera out. Taya went on offense again. Tasha pulled Kiera out of the ring then got on the apron and argued with Taya, then attacked her, which the referee didn’t see. Kiera connected with a kick to the head, suplex, and bridge for the pin and the win.
WINNER: Kiera Hogan in 3:00.
(D.L.’s Analysis: Fun match that was pretty much a backdrop to further the wedding storyline. They made a big deal about Kiera scoring a win over the longest reigning Knockouts champ, so it looks like she could be seeing some title shots in the future).
-Rhino confronted Hernandez backstage and asked for an arm wrestling rematch. Rhino made sure Hernandez had his back to the door. Heath snuck up from behind and stole the roll of money that was on the table. Rhino walked off after Heath left the room. [c]
-Backstage, Chris Bey confronted Rohit and said he was owed a rematch. Rohit pointed out that Bey had been beaten by TJP. TJP and Trey entered the conversation. Rohit said the easy way to solve it would be for the three to have a match to determine who was the number one contender. They all agreed.
-Josh ran down the matches for next week, which include:
-Kimber Lee vs. Susie
-Triple Threat: TJP vs. Chris Bey vs. Trey Miguel, with the winner to get an X Division title shot
-Jordynne Grace vs. Tenille Dashwood
(6) THE NORTH (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) & MADMAN FULTON & ACE AUSTIN vs. THE MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) & THE GOOD BROTHERS (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows)
Anderson and Ace started it off. Anderson had the advantage and tagged to Doc. He tagged Anderson back in as they double teamed Ace. Anderson slapped Sabin in the chest to tag him in. The Guns double teamed Josh Alexander, then Ethan Page. Ace took over on Shelley, but the Guns double teamed him as well. Fulton entered the ring and was fought off by the Guns as well. [c]
Josh and Shelley battled it out. Josh tagged in Page, who eventually tagged in Fulton. They continued to work on Shelley. Shelley battled back on Fulton but was cut off. Ace tagged in and continued to work on Shelley. Fulton was going to tag in, but Page intercepted it and got in the ring. Ace tagged in. Anderson tagged in as Page tagged in for his team. Anderson went wild on Page and Josh. He tagged in Doc and they double teamed Page. Sabin tagged in and fought the North by himself. The match broke down and Sabin dove onto Ace and Fulton outside. The Guns squared off with the North. The Good Brothers got back in the ring and were cleaning house. The North worked on Sabin and had him down, then Ace snuck in a tag and stole the pin.
WINNERS: The North, Ace Austin, and Madman Fulton in 12:00.
Tensions flared between all the teams after the match.
FINAL THOUGHTS: The main event was chaotic but fun. This could go a number of ways, including a four-way or a rematch between The North and The Guns. Another fun show from Impact, with storylines for the wedding, Moose, and Rich Swann-Eric Young being forwarded. Next week looks to be another good show; I’m especially looking forward to that X Division match.
I thought this was a very strong episode. Good wrestling and advancing storylines. Isn’t that all you can ask for?