4/8 IMPACT WRESTLING REPORT: Kenny Omega in the main event, Cardona vs. Jake Something, Sabin vs. Deaner, more

IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT
APRIL 8, 2021 (RECORDED)
AIRED ON AXS TV
REPORT BY DARRIN LILLY, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Commentators: Matt Striker, D-Lo Brown

-A recap package of last week’s events including Kenny Omega’s attack on Rich Swann and James Storm’s 1000th Impact match aired.

-A clip of Don Callis, Kenny Omega, Doc Gallows, and Karl Anderson arriving backstage played.

-The weekly show open ran.

(1) TENILLE DASHWOOD (w/Kaleb) & ALISHA EDWARDS & NEVAEH vs. ROSEMARY (w/Black Taurus & Crazzy Steve) & JORDYNNE GRACE & HAVOC

Alisha and Jordynne started it off, with Jordynne getting the best of it. Rosemary and Tenille faced off, but Tenille bailed to the floor. She was stopped by Black Taurus and Crazzy Steve, leading to Havoc putting her on a table. Kaleb took Tenille off the table then got hit with a dive from Jordynne. Tenille recovered and gave Jordynne a neckbreaker in the ropes. Nevaeh tagged in and aggressively attacked Jordynne.

Jordynne battled her way out of trouble and made the tag to Rosemary. Rosemary cleaned house and attacked Alisha. Rosemary had Alisha tied up in the ropes. Alisha made a comeback and got an elbow drop for a two count. Rosemary hit a sit-out powerbomb on Alisha, but Nevaeh broke up the pin attempt. Havoc and Nevaeh slugged it out on the apron. Nevaeh Russian Leg Sweeped Havoc into a table that was set up on the floor. Rosemary hit the Red Wedding on Alisha for the victory.

WINNERS: Rosemary, Jordynne Grace, and Havoc in 8:00.

(D.L.’s Take: Fun opening match. The focus was on Rosemary, who is in line for a title shot.)

-D’Lo and Striker appeared on camera and ran down matches for Hardcore Justice and tonight’s show.

-Gia Miller interviewed Matt Cardona. Cardona talked about Brian Myers rejecting a match with him. Cardona said it was fine because he wasn’t here to fight or team with Myers. He said he asked Scott D’Amore for a tough match, so Scott gave him a match tonight against Jake Something. Cardona finished with his “Always Ready” catchphrase. [c]

-A vignette similar to the one from last week aired. Clips were shown of a music nightclub and a mysterious woman (we never saw her face). “Let’s Get Wilde” was written on a mirror in red lipstick. This seemingly teased the return of Taylor Wilde, who wrestled in TNA years ago. A graphic appeared that said “Coming Soon. Impact Zone April 2021. Let’s Get Wilde”.

-Deonna Purrazzo was backstage attempting to talk to Susan. Susan teased changing into Su Yung.

(2) MATT CARDONA vs. JAKE SOMETHING

After some back-and-forth action, the match spilled to the floor. Cardona took control with a dropkick to the outside. Jake ran right into Cardona and knocked him down. Jake took over with power moves. Cardona battled back with a neckbreaker. Cardona hit a clothesline on Jake in the corner, but Jake fought back. Cardona came back with the bootwash to Jake in the corner. Jake hit a sit-out powerbomb on Cardona for a two count. Cardona and Jake both went over the ropes at the same time.

Brian Myers ran down and attacked both wrestlers. Myers slammed Cardona on the stage, then ran Jake into the post and ran his eye into the ring steps. Myers took the mic and said he changed his mind and accepted the match against Cardona at Rebellion.

WINNER: No contest in 5:00.

(D.L.’s Take: Good match while it lasted. DQ’s are rare in Impact, so this was fine. I was happy to see Jake Something get more TV time as a singles competitor.)

-XXXL confronted Trey Miguel backstage. Trey insulted them. Larry said Trey sounds like a guy that lacks passion and called him a joke. XXXL walked off. [c]

-Violent by Design vignette. Eric Young said that Deaner failed himself and the group last week. Young said there would be consequences. Young said Deaner wouldn’t fail tonight and he would go it alone. He said if Deaner failed, there would be more severe consequences. Young and Deaner ended with the “the world doesn’t belong to them, it belongs to us” catchphrase.

(3) XXXL (Larry D & Acey Romero) vs. SAMI CALLIHAN & TREY MIGUEL

The camera now shakes during XXXL’s entrance. Trey’s music played but he didn’t come out. His music played again and Trey finally came out. The announcers explained it as Trey was coming to face XXXL, not to team with Sami. Trey brawled with Larry. XXXL double teamed Trey, but Trey made a comeback. Sami made a blind tag. Sami clotheslined Acey off the apron. Trey and Sami had a stare down. [c]

XXXL had the upper hand but Trey made a comeback. Sami blind tagged in again, then he and Trey argued and got in each other’s face. Trey tagged in and got the advantage over Acey. Sami and Trey had another stare down then hit a double dive to XXXL on opposite sides of the ring. Trey put Larry in an hourglass leg lock submission for the tapout win. Sami tried to raise Trey’s hand, but Trey brushed him off and left the ring.

WINNERS: Trey Miguel and Sami Callihan in 9:00.

(D.L.’s Take: Solid match. Trey shined as always. Another chapter in the ongoing Sami/Trey storyline.)

-Swinger’s Palace. James Storm, Chris Harris, and Chris Sabin were playing Blackjack. Storm and Sabin got up to get ready for Sabin’s match. Storm gave Harris his chips and told him to win some beer money. [c]

(4) CHRIS SABIN (w/James Storm) vs. DEANER

Striker said that Sabin and Storm have been partying lately. The match started off fast with Sabin getting the better of things. Sabin had Deaner in a submission, but Deaner escaped then attacked Sabin in the corner and choked him over the ropes. Sabin tried to make a comeback but Deaner continued the attack. Deaner worked on Sabin’s neck. Sabin and Deaner collided and were both down. Sabin started getting the upper hand and hit a series of moves.

Deaner rolled through a cross body block attempt and was able to get momentum. Deaner got a powerbomb for a two count. Deaner rolled up Sabin but had his feet on the ropes. As Deaner argued with the referee, Sabin put Deaner in a cradle shock for the win.

Eric Young appeared on the screen. Young said that winning and losing wasn’t important tonight but Deaner had set the trap. The camera pulled back to reveal that Young and Joe Doering had attacked Chris Harris in Swinger’s Palace. Swinger and his women left the set. Back in the ring, Rhino speared Storm and Deaner attacked Sabin. Young said the blood would be on Storm’s hands. Young was about to attack Harris with a chair and the screen went to static.

WINNER: Chris Sabin in 6:00.

(D.L.’s Take: Good match. Deaner has really grown into his heel role. Sabin was very crisp in the ring and looked great. Good angle at the end too.)

-Backstage Josh Alexander approached Ace Austin and Madman Fulton. Alexander said he was finally getting an X Division title match. TJP joined in and wanted a title match also. Tommy Dreamer came in to break things up. Dreamer set up a match for Hardcore Justice with Ace & Fulton vs. TJP and a mystery partner vs. Alexander and a mystery partner. [c]

-Eric Young was walking backstage and got stopped by Tommy Dreamer. They agreed to get partners for a tag team match at Hardcore Justice.

-Video package of Jazz talking about her career as pictures and video footage was shown. She ended by talking about her recent return to Impact and that she wanted a title match so badly that she put her career on the line. She predicted a win over Deonna Purrazzo on Saturday. Really well done.

-Gia Miller interviewed Purrazzo. Purrazzo said she wouldn’t be here without the women before her. She said she was building a new foundation for the new generation and this was the Age of the Virtuosa. Gia questioned if Purrazzo was on top due to Susan and Kimber Lee helping her. Purrazzo said that she would face Jazz by herself and retire her. [c]

-Dreamer stopped Brian Myers backstage. Myers said he was the new Innovator of Violence, but Dreamer disagreed. Dreamer said that Jake Something wants a match against Myers at Hardcore Justice. He booked Myers against Jake in the first ever “Blind Games Match” (a blindfold match). Myers walked off and said the match was stupid.

-D’Lo and Striker appeared on camera and ran down the matches for Hardcore Justice:

• Ace Austin & Madman Fulton vs. TJP & a mystery partner vs. Josh Alexander & a mystery partner
• Knockouts Weapons Match to determine a number one contender
• Shera vs. Hernandez
• Deonna Purrazzo vs. Jazz
• Violent by Design vs. Team Dreamer

(5) RICH SWANN & WILLIE MACK & EDDIE EDWARDS vs. KENNY OMEGA & DOC GALLOWS & KARL ANDERSON

Mack had his ring entrance first, followed by Eddie, then Swann. The Good Brothers entered together, followed by Callis (with his own classical music entrance) and finally Omega came out after Callis took the mic and introduced him. Callis called Omega the greatest athlete alive and the best wrestler in history.

Omega’s team attacked Swann’s team at the bell. Omega had the upper hand over Swann, but Swann fired back. The Good Brothers tripped Swann on the outside. Omega dove but accidentally took out The Good Brothers. Eddie, Mack, and Swann all took turns hitting dives on the Good Brothers and Omega on the outside. [c]

Back from the break, Swann’s team was in the ring taking turns hitting moves on Anderson. Anderson made a tag to Doc. Doc got the advantage on Eddie. Striker said the Good Brothers were bad role models for kids. Omega continued the attack on Eddie. Striker said Omega was everything that was good about wrestling, but D’Lo said Omega was an ass. Doc had Eddie in a headlock. Eddie battled out of the corner and dropkicked Doc.

Mack and Anderson tagged in. Mack hit a series of moves on Anderson. Mack hit the Samoan drop on Anderson and Omega then hit them with the standing moonsault. Doc got the advantage over Mack after a distraction. [c]

After the break, Omega had Mack down. Anderson tagged in. He missed a charge into the corner. Doc tagged in and kept Mack from making a tag. Mack was in the heel corner. Omega stomped Mack from the outside. Doc and Mack traded big punches. Doc knocked Mack down with a boot. Omega tagged in and continued the attack on Mack. Omega landed punches and chops, then attacked Mack in the corner. Omega had Mack in a chin lock.

Mack got to his feet but Omega stopped a comeback. Omega tried to slam Mack, but Mack didn’t go up. Anderson accidentally hit Omega with an elbow drop. Mack finally made the tag to Swann as Omega tagged Anderson. Swann went wild and cleared the ring. Omega was sitting on the top rope and Swann caught him with a rana. Mack and Swann double teamed Omega. Eddie tagged in. Omega hit a rana on Eddie. The Brothers and Omega triple teamed Eddie. Omega scored a two count after a suplex. Eddie hit a German suplex on Omega. The match broke down and all the wrestlers were in the ring and trading moves.

Omega hit Swann with a V-Trigger. Omega’s team hit a triple splash on Eddie. Everyone was down. Callis shouted instructions to Omega. Swann tagged in. Omega hit him with a German suplex. Omega attempted to go for the One Winged Angel but Swann escaped. Swann landed a dive on Omega and went for the pin, but Callis pulled his foot to break the count. Anderson tagged in and attacked Swann from behind. Mack clotheslined Doc over the ropes. Swann and Eddie double teamed Anderson. Swann hit the Phoenix Splash on Anderson for the win. The announcers said that Swann was ready for Omega at Rebellion. The faces celebrated in the ring afterwards.

WINNERS: Rich Swann & Willie Mack & Eddie Edwards in 23:00.

(D.L.’s Take: Really good action and it had the feel of a big match. The inter-promotional aspect of the match was cool. Omega was in for a lot of the match and did more than I thought. Swann was great in his role and has much needed momentum going into the big match at Rebellion.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: A good edition of Impact that flew by. The show was highlighted by the main event, which was a good match and had star power. It was a good move to give Swann the spotlight and momentum going into the unification match. The rest of the show did an effective job of setting up Hardcore Justice and Rebellion. The Violent by Design angle was good as well. Nice video packages of the newcomer (likely Taylor Wilde) and the Jazz retrospective. No AEW Paid Ad this week.

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NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S IMPACT WRESTLING REPORT: 3/30 IMPACT WRESTLING REPORT: Callihan vs. Larry D, James Storm vs. Eric Young, hype for Impact’s move to Thursday night, more