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IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT
OCTOBER 27, 2020 (RECORDED)
THE IMPACT ZONE
AIRED ON AXS TV
REPORT BY DARRIN LILLY, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Madison Rayne
-Bound for Glory highlight package with dramatic music.
-A backstage fight between Rich Swann and Eric Young was joined in progress. They fought on the stage and at ringside, using the rails and ring steps. Eric choked Swann with a t-shirt. In the ring, Swann caught Eric with a superkick. Referees and officials, including Scott D’Amore, finally hit the ring and broke it up. They took Eric up the ramp as he screamed that he wanted a rematch. Swann said if he wanted a rematch he was ready right now. Scott agreed and they fist bumped.
(1) RICH SWANN (c) vs. ERIC YOUNG – Impact Wrestling World Title match
Swann was in dress slacks and no shoes. Eric was in his regular wrestling attire. Swann met a charging Eric with chops. Eric missed a splash off the top rope. Rich landed a clothesline and kicks. Josh said this would be Eric’s only rematch. Swann hit a handspring and splash for a two count. Eric turned it around with a powerbomb for a two count. Swann delivered a handspring into a cutter, then a spinning splash off the top rope for the pin and the victory.
WINNER: Rich Swann in 3:30.
(D.L.’s Analysis: It certainly seemed like the Swann/Young feud is over. Looking forward to seeing who will be the next challenger).
-Josh and Madison ran down the matches for the rest of the show.
-Nevaeh was backstage standing next to a door. A despondent Havoc came out and said “He’s back, the wedding is on” and she walked off. Nevaeh said she had a bad feeling about this.
-Several of the Knockouts were backstage outside of Scott D’Amore’s office. Kaleb with a K said the Knockouts tag team tournament would start in three weeks. Alisha Edwards said she needed a partner. Everyone walked away from her. Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan taunted Alisha about having no friends. Jordynne Grace returned and stood up for Alisha. She agreed to team with Alisha against Tasha and Kiera. Alisha was thrilled and sang “Jordynne Grace wants to be like me”.
(2) BRIAN MYERS vs. TOMMY DREAMER – Hardcore Halloween match
Dreamer was dressed in Road Warrior Animal attire including facepaint and a vest with spikes. The match was no DQ with falls counting anywhere. This was largely a brawl (surprise!) with weapons being used including Dreamer’s spikes, a walker, the ring bell, and a trash can. Myers hit Dreamer with a sign to gain the advantage. [c]
Back in the ring, Myers was beating up Dreamer. Myers ate an apple and spit it at Dreamer. Myers continued the onslaught with kicks and a chair. Dreamer fired up with a series of punches but was cut off with a kick. Dreamer pushed Myers into a pile of thumbtacks and candy corn. As Dreamer was setting up a table, Myers clotheslined Dreamer into the tacks/candy corn. Myers took a kendo stick and said he was going to end Dreamer’s career. Swoggle climbed out of a trash can that was in the ring and grabbed Myers’ crotch with BBQ tongs. Myers turned around into a Death Valley Driver through a table from Dreamer for the pin. Dreamer and Swoggle posed afterwards.
WINNER: Tommy Dreamer in 12:00.
(D.L.’s Analysis: Decent match that was mostly comedy. I’m hoping Myers moves on to something else quickly because he has a lot to offer).
-Gia Miller interviewed Rhino and Heath. Rhino held the battle royal trophy and said he and Heath would go after the tag team titles when Heath gets healthy. Heath said he would officially sign his contract next week. Gia asked if he got hurt at Bound for Glory but Heath denied it. He winced in pain as they were about to walk away. [c]
-Backstage, Hernandez and Reno Scum caught up with Fallah Bahh. Bahh said he didn’t have the money roll. Reno Scum tore off his shirt to check. Bahh said he stole it for John E. Bravo. Luster the Legend punched Bahh in the stomach as they left. Afterwards, Bahh pulled out the money roll from his tights. He said he had a bad feeling about this.
(D.L.’s Analysis: Uh oh. He’s the second person to have a bad feeling about the wedding…)
(3) XXXL (Acey Romero & Larry D) vs. THE RASCALZ (Dez & Wentz)
The Razcals delivered double flips and superkicks to XXXL at the start. Acey did a Samoan Drop on Wentz. XXXL double teamed Wentz in the corner. Wentz fired back on Acey with punches and kicks, but Acey cut him off. Larry D continued to work on Wentz. Wentz eventually made the hot tag to Dez, who took it to Larry D with exciting offense. Josh mentioned The Rock’s Hall of Fame induction speech for Ken Shamrock. The match broke down and all four fought in the ring. Larry splashed Dez off the top rope for the pin.
WINNERS: XXXL in 6:00.
(D.L.’s Analysis: Good match. Looks like XXXL may be contenders for the tag team titles).
-Scott D’Amore sat in a boardroom with Barrister R.D. Evans, Deonna Purrazzo, and Kimber Lee. Evans said he could shut Impact down on behalf of his client Purrazzo unless Scott went to the ring and stripped Su Yung of the Knockouts title. He gave Scott until the end of the night. Scott said Evans could learn about having leverage, then said he would head to the ring right now. [c]
-Gia Miller interviewed the Motor City Machine Guns. Alex Shelley took off his neck brace and said his neck would hurt for about two months. Chris Sabin said they would get their rematch when Shelley was better. Acey Romero showed up and said that XXXL should be the number one contenders. Larry insulted the Guns. The Guns told them to leave, but they got jumped by XXXL.
-Scott D’Amore was in the ring. He said despite the threats from Evans, Su Yung was the rightful Knockouts champion. Purrazzo, Kimber Lee, and Evans walked to the ring. Evans said they would take this to court and it could be tied up for years. Scott said Purrazzo deserved her day in court but she could resolve the issue by taking a rematch and wrestling for the belt next week. They conferred and Evans announced that Purrazzo had agreed to the match. The lights went out and Su Yung walked to the ring. Su Yung attacked and put Evans and Lee in the mandible claw while misting Scott. Deonna kicked Su to break it up, but Su took her down with the mandible claw too.
-Backstage, Rich Swann was with the Rascalz and Willie Mack. Swann said that he thought it would be a night of celebration but he was champion now, so he never had the night off. They joked and celebrated. Moose showed up and wanted to know why Swann was celebrating being second best. Moose said as the TNA champion, that made him number one. He said Swann had a rough upbringing so he was probably just happy having any gold. The Rascalz held Swann back from attacking Moose and carried him off. Willie Mack was still there and challenged Moose. Moose said he would say when. The Rascalz hugged Swann as he departed to a photo shoot. Ken Shamrock and Sami Callihan were already in the room. Sami said that Swann would be hearing a lot from both of them. Swann and Shamrock had a staredown as he and Sami left the room. [c]
-Clips of people congratulating Ken Shamrock on being inducted in the Impact Hall of Fame, including Bret Hart, Mick Foley, and of course The Rock.
(D.L.’s Analysis: At this rate, I halfway expect that footage of The Rock to show up in the opening montage every week).
-Backstage The North were giving advice to security guys. The Good Brothers showed up. The North called the Brothers the worst investment in Impact history. The Brothers made fun of Ethan Page and Page slapped Gallows. Security broke them up.
-Impact Flashback Moment of the Week: Rohit Raju vs. Willie Mack all the way back from Victory Road 2020 a few weeks ago.
-Jimmy Jacobs walked into a room with Rohit Raju. Jacobs said he thought there was a party happening there. Rohit said Jacobs was the first to arrive. Rohit bragged about his victory at Bound for Glory. Jacobs said that Rohit stole that match from TJP. Rohit ordered him to get out. [c]
-John E. Bravo confronted Fallah Bahh (who was wearing a Ghostbusters Stay Puft Marshmallow Man costume). Bravo said that Hernandez was now after him to get the money roll that Bahh has. Bravo said that he would tell Hernandez that Bahh has it. Bravo said Bahh was no longer his best man and Bahh was dead to him, then he stormed off. Johnny Swinger showed up and laughed that he had a bad feeling about this.
(4) TASHA STEELZ & KIERA HOGAN vs. ALISHA EDWARDS & JORDYNNE GRACE
Jordynne took Tasha down with a test of strength and shoulder tackles. Jordynne was going to dive on Tasha to the outside, but Alisha threw Tasha back in the ring. Alisha took over on Kiera, but Kiera made a comeback. Jordynne and Alisha double teamed Kiera. Kiera caught Alisha with a superkick. [c]
Tasha and Kiera continued to work on Alisha. Alisha could have made a tag but decided to stay in. Tasha and Kiera took over on Alisha again. Alisha finally made the tag to Jordynne, who took on Kiera and Tasha by herself. Kiera broke up a pin attempt then was thrown out of the ring. Alisha tagged back in. She accidentally ran into Jordynne and got rolled up by Tasha for the win. Jordynne and Alisha pushed and argued afterwards.
WINNERS: Tasha Steelz & Kiera Hogan in 10:00.
(D.L.’s Analysis: Good match. Tasha and Kiera are really clicking and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them win the tournament. Could Alisha and Jordynne be headed towards one of those “unlikely partners” angles?).
-Willie Mack was in the parking lot and was giving a video shout out to a fan’s nephew, when Moose knocked him out with the TNA title belt. Moose took the fan’s phone. [c]
-Taya and Rosemary talked about the wedding backstage. Taya said that Bravo has turned into a complete lunatic. She said that Rosemary could back out, but Rosemary said she had something much better planned. Alisha showed up and asked Taya if she made it on time. Taya said she had a bad feeling about this. Alisha said “why does everyone keep saying that?”
-Josh and Madison were on camera and previewed next week’s show, which includes:
- Chris Bey vs. Trey Miguel
- Su Yung vs. Deonna Purrazzo
- Ethan Page vs. Doc Gallows
- Rich Swann & Eddie Edwards vs. Eric Young & Sami Callihan
-An altar was set up inside the ring. Wrestlers surrounded the ring. Swoggle walked down the aisle, followed by the Deaners, Swinger with Alisha, Taya with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man/Bahh, John E. Bravo, the returning Father James Mitchell, and finally Rosemary (with Crazzy Steve).
Mitchell officiated the ceremony. He asked if anyone objected to the marriage and no one did. Bravo and Rosemary exchanged vows. Bravo said they were destined to be together forever and no one would ruin this day for him. Rosemary said no mortal from this realm or the next can stop us from getting what we want. Mitchell said “so far so good”.
Swoggle presented the rings. Bravo said “I do” and Rosemary said “we do”. Mitchell pronounced them man and wife and said they may now kiss. Right before they kissed, the lights went out. There was the sound of commotion, what sounded like a gunshot, and a flash of light. When the lights came back on, Bravo was laid out on the mat with what appeared to be a gunshot to his chest. Wrestlers were screaming and shocked (except Johnny Swinger). Tommy Dreamer kneeled over Bravo, said “Who shot Bravo?” and screamed “NOOOOOOOOOOO!” as the Impact logo appeared and the screen faded to black.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Oh, Impact. I knew they would come up with a twist for the wedding, but this was a surprise. Fans who watch Impact regularly have come to expect things like the Undead Realm and Wrestle House, so this appears to be their latest out-of-the-box idea to get people talking (a takeoff of the famed “Who Shot JR?” storyline from the TV show Dallas). In the subsequent weeks we will likely get an investigation into the main suspects, who could include Hernandez, Rosemary, Havoc, Taya, Crazzy Steve’s monkey, and Sue Ellen, among others. It could be fun. If you’re into that type of thing.
As for the wrestling, this felt like a “new season” style show, with the storylines being reset. There is intrigue about who will be the next challenger for the Impact World title, the Knockouts tag team title will be taking place, and Moose is back in the mix after being sidetracked with his lengthy EC3 feud. Impact has set the table for some interesting upcoming shows.
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