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IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT
JULY 22, 2021 (RECORDED)
NASHVILLE, TENN. AT SKYWAY STUDIOS
AIRED ON AXS TV
REPORT BY DARRIN LILLY, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Matt Striker, D-Lo Brown
-Slammiversary recap video.
-Intro video.
(1) CHRIS BEY vs. ROHIT RAJU (w/Shera)
This was the first TV show with fans since March of last year. During the introductions, a clip was shown from Saturday of Bey and Rohit in the dressing room. Bey thought Rohit had accidentally left his shirt behind, but Rohit said it wasn’t his. Bey looked and it was a Bullet Club shirt. Bey and Rohit traded the advantage. Rohit took Bey to the mat, but Bey made a comeback. Bey landed a kick then missed a flying leg drop. Rohit got the upper hand.
Rohit got a two count after a clothesline to the back of Bey’s head. Rohit suplexed Bey, then applied a chin lock. Rohit connected with a series of moves, but missed a cannonball. Bey came back with a series of kicks and a flying elbow. Bey got a two count after a flying clothesline. Rohit hit a DDT. Rohit got a Russian Leg Sweep into an STF submission on Bey. Rohit kicked Bey, but Bey came back with the RKO for the win.
WINNER: Chris Bey in 7:00.
(D.L.’s Take: Fast paced action. Good opener.)
Backstage, Jay White introduced himself to Bey and asked if he got his message. White said he and the Bullet Club were always looking for guys that have potential and could be something. Bey said he is already something and always walks alone. White asked how that worked out at Slammiversary. White said to consider the offer, but do it soon because it expires.
-Mickie James was shown walking backstage. [c]
-Gia Miller was outside of Kenny Omega’s dressing room. She knocked and Don Callis came out with the Impact belt. He gloated and asked Tommy Dreamer and Scott D’Amore how it felt that they still have the belt and the power. He talked up Omega, but said he wasn’t happy. Gia asked his thoughts about Jay White showing up. Callis said he likes to know what’s going to happen, but no one told him about this. He said maybe White would try to join the Elite or maybe he was here to stab people in the back. Callis said that anyone who stepped to Omega would have to deal with the Invisible Hand.
-D’Lo and Striker ran down the matches for tonight.
-Mickie James walked to the ring. Clips were shown of her confrontation with Deonna Purrazzo at Slammiversary. Back in the ring, fans chanted “welcome back!” Mickie said it was good to be back. She said it felt good to kick Deonna in the mouth too. She said that Slammiversary didn’t turn out how she wanted. She invited Deonna to come out. Deonna’s music played and she entered the ring.
Mickie thanked Deonna for coming out and said she hadn’t wanted things to get physical. She said her intentions were real and she had an honest desire to have Deonna at the NWA Empower show. Mickie said she considered Deonna to be one of the best. The fans applauded. She asked Deonna to be part of history. Deonna took the mic. She said she came out to give Mickie the benefit of the doubt. She wanted to give Mickie the chance to do the right thing.
Deonna said that Mickie was out here for herself. Deonna said everyone wanted a piece of her. Deonna said she wanted Mickie to grovel at her feet and apologize. Deonna threatened to slap Mickie. Gail Kim walked to the ring. Gail said it would be a great idea for Deonna to appear at the Empower show. Mickie asked if Deonna wanted to cement her legacy. She asked Deonna to please come to Empower and stuck out her hand. Deonna shook her hand. [c]
-Vignette with someone lighting candles. The words “Long live the drama king” were painted on a canvas.
(2) MATT CARDONA & JAKE SOMETHING & CHELSEA GREEN vs. BRIAN MYERS & SAM BEALE & TENILLE DASHWOOD
Jake and Beale started the match. Jake overpowered Beale with a running splash. Cardona and Myers tagged in. Cardona got the upper hand. Tenille caused a distraction that let Myers get the advantage. Beale and Myers suplexed Cardona. Chelsea got the hot tag and clotheslined Tenille. Chelsea hit a lung blower on Tenille. Myers broke up a pin attempt. Everyone brawled in the ring. Chelsea went for the un-prettier but was distracted by Kaleb. Taylor Wilde pulled Kaleb off the apron. Beale tried to slam Chelsea. Chelsea escaped and hit the un-prettier on Beale and got the pin.
WINNERS: Matt Cardona & Jake Something & Chelsea Green in 5:00.
(D.L.’s Take: Short match but lots of fun. The fans really reacted to Chelsea.)
-Clips of W. Morrissey’s win over Eddie Edwards at Slammiversary.
-Eddie Edwards backstage promo. Eddie said that he had Morrissey beat until he pulled out a chain. Eddie challenged Morrissey to fight in the parking lot. [c]
(3) EDDIE EDWARDS vs. W. MORRISSEY – Parking Lot Brawl
Eddie was waiting in the parking lot and Morrissey charged out of a back door. They brawled around the parking lot and production truck in front of fans. Eddie threw an ice chest at Morrissey, but Morrissey dropped Eddie with a kick. Morrissey threw Eddie into the production truck. Morrissey hit Eddie with a trash can and choked him with cables. Morrissey stomped Eddie. The fans chanted “Eddie!” Eddie got to his feet and pulled out two kendo sticks. Eddie hit Morrissey with the sticks. Morrissey fled back to the building. [c]
WINNER: No contest in 3:00.
-Gia Miller stopped Brian Myers, Tenille, Sam Beale, and Kaleb. Gia said they dropped their last two matches. Myers said he would put Tenille under the learning tree. Tenille said there was no way she would team with Myers at Homecoming. She complained about Taylor Wilde and walked off with Kaleb. Beale vowed to find Myers a partner for Homecoming. Beale said he was happy that he would be able to talk to a girl. He turned and said “Hi Gia!” with a big smile. She walked away.
-Jay White walked to the ring. The fans were enthusiastic and chanted “Switchblade!” White said he hadn’t even introduced himself. The fans chanted “Switchblade!” again. White said he is Switchblade Jay White, the number one asset in all of pro wrestling, the last rock and roller, the man who single handedly sold out Madison Square Garden, the first ever Grand Slam Champion, the Never Openweight Champion, and the real belt collector. The fans ate it up and cheered along.
He said he was in Impact for one man: David Finlay. He said Finlay was hiding from him, but they would meet at Resurgence on August 14th. White said that Finlay’s father must be disappointed in his son. He said that Finlay’s career peaked when he beat White, but he would never beat White again. White said he was here to see Bullet Club’s greatest fans. The fans chanted “too sweet”. He said he didn’t mean the fans, he said he meant the guys still throwing up the two sweet sign like it’s 2013.
He said the Good Brothers were desperate to rejoin the Bullet Club because that’s the only time they were relevant. He said the Good Brothers weren’t good enough anymore to be in the Bullet Club. He said the Good Brother’s application to rejoin was a “no”. He invited them to appeal his decision. Kenny Omega’s music played and Omega, Callis, and the Good Brothers walked to the entrance stage. Omega’s head was bandaged. The fans chanted “you got fired” at Callis.
Callis got angry and took off his jacket. Omega told Callis to calm down. Callis said that White was always one of his favorites when he called the matches for New Japan. Callis said he remembered what the real Bullet Club was good because it had the Good Brothers and Omega in it. He said while White was in the dojo washing people’s backs, Omega and the Brothers were selling out the Tokyo Dome. He said the new Bullet Club sells dozens of shirts. He said White should be asking permission to join The Elite.
White said “Don, you don’t even work here anymore, do you?” Fans chanted “you got fired!” again. White said if you talk about the old days, don’t forget about the time that White beat Omega. The fans chanted “You beat Kenny!” Omega said Don and he would get back to this. Omega and Callis left the stage. The Good Brothers said they wanted to talk about how unthankful White was. They took credit for the Bullet Club and asked where was their thank you letter.
The Good Brothers stepped in the ring. They said White should be more thankful. They talked about their big houses. They said White had a nice little starter house. Anderson said White should just say thank you. White said all they ever did was talk and they still do. White said their career peaked in 2012. White said he is everything they wish they could have been. The Good Brothers attacked White and beat him down. Chris Bey ran down for the save and took on the Good Brothers. White and Bey ran the Good Brothers out of the ring. White and Bey stood in the ring.
-Gia Miller interviewed Josh Alexander backstage. She asked what was next for him. He said he would keep on taking on challengers. He said Impact needed to change and they needed a champion to be proud of. Omega and Callis walked through the door behind Alexander and accidentally bumped him. Omega mocked Alexander and asked if he was the X Division guy, “the lightweight”. Omega apologized for interrupting and said it wouldn’t happen again. [c]
(D.L.’s Take: This could be the slow build for an Omega vs. Alexander match.)
-The Good Brothers were backstage and complaining about Jay White being ungrateful. They said Chris Bey was disrespectful. They asked if White wanted to team up with his “young boy” Chris Bey and have a match next week. They predicted hitting the Magic Killer.
(4) FINJUICE (David Finlay & Juice Robinson) vs. ACE AUSTIN & MADMAN FULTON
Finjuice controlled the early part of the match and double-teamed Ace. Fulton got in the ring and they all brawled. [c]
Ace had the advantage over Finlay. Fulton tagged in and overpowered Finlay. Ace and Fulton double-teamed Finlay. Ace got a two count after a kick. Ace had Finlay in a chin lock and a Dragon sleeper. Ace took Finlay to the mat. Finlay made the tag to Juice. Finlay knocked Fulton over the top rope and dove onto him. Juice hit Ace with a series of punches. Fulton caught Juice, but Juice got out and rolled up Fulton for the win.
WINNERS: Finjuice in 10:00.
The teams brawled after the match. Finjuice was about to go for the Doomsday Device, but Rohit and Shera ran in and broke it up. The heels beat up Finjuice and celebrated afterwards.
-Rich Swann and Willie Mack promo. Swann said that Violent by Design said they had a bullseye on them because they lost the tag team belts. Swann said he and Mack know about losing titles but they took responsibility for it. They challenged VBD to a match next week and said they aren’t hard to find. The lights flickered and VBD appeared and beat up Swann and Mack. Deaner bit Swann. Eric Young said “We found you. And next week, we end you”. [c]
-Gia Miller was following Moose backstage. Moose knocked on Scott D’Amore’s door. Scott answered. Moose said that Chris Sabin got lucky at Slammiversary and demanded a rematch. Sabin appeared and said they could fight right now. Sabin said it would be next week’s main event. Sabin said he couldn’t wait to beat Moose again, then walked off. Moose just glared.
-D’Lo and Striker ran down the matches for next week:
- BTI pre-show match: Steve Maclin vs. Trey Miguel
- Deaner & Rhino vs. Rich Swann & Willie Mack
- Jay White & Chris Bey vs. The Good Brothers
- Fire N Flava made their ring entrance, followed by Decay. [c]
(5) ROSEMARY & HAVOK (c) (w/Crazzy Steve & Black Taurus) vs. FIRE N FLAVA (Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz)—Impact Wrestling Knockouts Tag Team Title match
Rosemary and Kiera started it off. Rosemary and Havok double teamed Kiera. Tasha tagged in and dropkicked Havok. She tried for a bulldog but Havok threw her off. Havok did a backbreaker on Tasha. Havok and Rosemary took over on Kiera. Tasha used the distraction to get the advantage on Rosemary. The crowd chanted for Rosemary. Kiera tagged in and landed a series of punches on Rosemary. Kiera kicked Rosemary hard.
Tasha chopped Rosemary, then followed it up with punches. Tasha taunted Rosemary with a booty shake then continued to punch her. Rosemary battled back but Tasha cut her off. Kiera and Tasha tagged in and out. Rosemary fired up. Rosemary and Tasha hit a double cross body block. Both made tags. Kiera and Havok battled. Rosemary hit a Scorpion Death Drop on Kiera. Kiera accidentally kicked Tasha and sent her out of the ring. Rosemary speared Kiera and got the win.
WINNERS: Rosemary & Havok in 10:00.
(D.L.’s Take: Decent match to conclude an action-packed show.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: The show was light on in-ring action, but was still a really good show. The Mickie James/Deonna Purrazzo segment was good and the fans were really into the Jay White/Elite segment, which featured excellent mic work. A seed was planted for a potential Kenny Omega vs. Josh Alexander match. Impact is on a roll following up on Saturday’s strong Slammiversary show.
NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S IMPACT WRESTLING REPORT: 7/15 IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT: Final hype for Slammiversary, X Division tag team match, Moose vs. Hernandez, more
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