7/28 IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT: Rich Swann vs. Kushida, Austin vs. Edwards, more

IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT
JULY 28, 2022 (RECORDED)
LOUISVILLE, KY AT OLD FORESTER’S PARISTOWN HALL
AIRED ON AXS TV
REPORT BY DARRIN LILLY, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Impact Wrestling Announcers: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

-Clips from last week’s Alex Shelley win over Chris Sabin and the post-match attack.

-Weekly show intro.

(1) ACE AUSTIN (w/Chris Bey) vs. EDDIE EDWARDS (w/Kenny King)

Eddie attacked Ace from behind, but Ace quickly rebounded and worked Eddie’s arm. Ace pulled out the playing card and gave Eddie a paper cut between the fingers. Eddie re-grouped on the outside and they brawled on the floor. Eddie chopped Ace then threw him back in the ring. Back in the ring, Eddie suplexed Ace and got a two count.

Eddie chopped Ace again. Ace rolled up Eddie for a two count. Ace continued his comeback. Ace avoided Eddie, who sailed to the floor. Ace did a dive over the top rope onto Eddie. Ace gave Eddie a flying leg drop for a two count. Fans chanted “Let’s go Ace!” Eddie gave Ace the backpack stunner and got a two count.

Fans chanted “Eddie Sucks”. Ace took Eddie down, then was about to go for The Fold. Bey pulled King off the apron. King pushed Bey down. Ace kicked King. Bey did a dive in the ring to the floor on King. Bey and King were ejected and fought up the ramp. Eddie suplexed Ace into the corner. [c]

Eddie worked on Ace’s arm and clotheslined him. Fans chanted “This is awesome”. Ace made a comeback. Eddie clotheslined Ace. Eddie missed a Boston Knee Party and Ace came back with a kick and a close two count. Eddie powerbombed Ace and gave him the Tiger Driver for a two count. Eddie gave Ace the Die Hard Driver and got the pin.

WINNER: Eddie Edwards in 17:00.

(D.L.’s Take: The Honor No More vs. Bullet Club feud continues. Good match and it really picked up at the end. Fans have been wanting to cheer Ace Austin and they got the chance in this match.)

-Rehwoldt and Hannifan appeared on camera and ran down the card for Emergence and the matches for tonight.

-Heath was stopped by Gia Miller for an interview. Heath said you can’t do the right thing and you have to fight dirty. He said Honor No More took Rhino out for months. Heath vowed to hit all of them with the Wake Up Call. [c]

-Clip of Josh Alexander watching last week’s main event, then being attacked by Shera and Raj Singh when he tried to make the save.

-Gia Miller interviewed Josh Alexander. Alexander talked about facing Shera tonight and Alex Shelley at Emergence. He talked about beating Joe Doering. He said he can’t back down from a challenge. Shelley walked up. He said that the big wrestlers don’t make the best wrestlers. He said technique and skill make the best wrestlers. Shelley said he wanted Alexander to come out of his match with Shera unscathed.

(2) TREY MIGUEL & LAREDO KID vs. JOHNNY SWINGER & ZICKY DICE

Dice bought Swinger out on the mini-WrestleMania style cart. Footage was shown of Swinger and Dice arguing with Kid backstage. Dice attacked Trey at the bell, but Trey came back with a dropkick to the knee and a move that was like the 619. Kid and Trey dropkicked Dice, who regrouped on the floor. Swinger and Dice put on masks with spikes, because they thought it made them look alike.

Hannifan said they looked like Demolition mixed with Pulp Fiction. Trey did a dive on Dice on the ramp. Dice clotheslined Trey on the floor. Back in the ring, Swinger and Dice had the advantage on Trey. Trey dropped Dice with a handspring kick. Kid tagged in and ran wild. Kid fought off Swinger and Dice. Kid finished off Dice with a splash from the top rope.

WINNERS: Trey Miguel & Laredo Kid in 5:00.

(D.L.’s Take: Fun comedy match. It would be cool to see the team of Trey and Kid against serious opponents. This was short and didn’t overstay its welcome.)

-Clip from BTI: Bhupinde Gujjar beat Vincent, after Vincent was distracted by Heath’s music.

-Brian Myers ran into Gujjar backstage. Myers claimed that someone else already got the spot for the Digital Media title shot. Crazzy Steve and Black Taurus walked up. Myers said that Taurus took the challenge for the title shot. Myers said that Scott D’Amore would have to approve the match. Scott walked through quickly and said “match approved” and walked off. Steve and Taurus were happy and walked off. [c]

-Tasha Steelz (with Savannah Evans) joined the commentary team. Hannifan said the next match was a special showcase match featuring wrestlers from Ohio Valley Wrestling. Tasha said she picked the two women to see what they’ve got.

(3) TIFFANY NIEVES vs. JADA STONE

Hannifan talked about the history of OVW. Tiffany pulled Jada down by her hair. Tiffany slammed Jada and got a two count. Tiffany sat on Jada and pulled her hair. Jada trapped Tiffany into the corner and made a comeback. Stone gave Tiffany two kicks and got a two count. Jada missed a split-legged moonsault. Tiffany gave Jada a DDT. Tasha said she was impressed with Tiffany. Tiffany got the pin using the ropes.

The lights went off in the arena. The entrance video showed Killer Kelly. Tasha asked “Who is this?” Kelly walked slowly around ringside and into the ring. Tiffany got in Kelly’s face and pushed her. Kelly dropped Tiffany with a kick and put her in a sleeper hold. Kelly followed by dropkicking Jada, who was in the corner. Kelly gave Jada a forward piledriver. The fans were quiet but clapped. [c]

WINNER: Tiffany Nieves in 3:00.

(D.L.’s Take: A basic match that was pretty much a backdrop to introduce Killer Kelly and perhaps set up a feud with her and Tasha. The presentation was well done and Kelly was impressive.)

-Violent By Design vignette. Eric Young said that Deaner and Doering failed last week and didn’t get rid of the sickness. Deaner said they didn’t expect Kushida to show up. Young told them to get rid of the Motor City Machine Guns first, then Kushida.

-Video package on Alex Shelley. Highlight clips were shown, along with comments from Chris Sabin, Scott D’Amore, Kushida, Jimmy Jacobs, Johnny Gargano, Trey Miguel, and Sami Callihan talking about Shelley’s influence and accomplishments. Scott noted that this was Shelley’s first world title shot in Impact and he has never won a world title. Very well done.

(4) JOSH ALEXANDER VS. SHERA (w/Raj Singh)

This was a non-title match. Alexander put Shera in an abdominal stretch, but Shera powered out. Alexander kicked Shera and clotheslined him over the top rope after the third attempt. They fought on the outside. Alexander gave Shera a crossbody block to the back, knocking him off the apron. Singh interfered behind the referee’s back.

Shera punched Alexander, but Alexander put Shera in an ankle lock and got the submission for the win.

WINNER: Josh Alexander in 3:00.

(D.L.’s Take: Short and sweet. Shera got a little offense, but it was mostly a showcase for Alexander to look strong going into Emergence.)

-Gia Miller interviewed Moose. Moose denied there was an alliance between him and Steve Maclin. He said he didn’t need Maclin’s help against Sami. Moose grew frustrated by Gia. He said that he and Maclin were not a thing, then he walked off.

-Honor No More was backstage. Eddie Edwards said that Impact was trying to screw them. He said they were a group that takes what they want, then they walked off. Vincent confronted Scott D’Amore and asked what he was going to do about Heath attacking him twice. Matt Taven demanded a tag team title shot. There was a commotion and they ran off. Eddie asked where was Mike Bennett. Scott told Eddie that being a leader involves a lot of problems. Scott walked off and Eddie screamed “This isn’t over!” [c]

-Chelsea Green and Deonna Purrazzo were looking at pictures on a phone. Chelsea said she would be gone next week. They talked about Deonna’s bachelorette party. Havok walked in and said she was fun at parties. Rosemary and Taya walked in and tried to get her to leave. Havok talked about how fun she was. They finally got Havok to leave, but she stormed back and told them to spell her name Jessicka with a “C” and a “K” on the party invitation.

-Raj Singh was still in the ring and ranting about Josh Alexander. The lights went off. When they came back on, Sami Callihan hit him with a bat and gave him a piledriver. Fans chanted for Sami. Sami said he didn’t give a damn if Moose and Maclin were a team, but they both had a date with the Death Machine.

-Ric Flair Moment of the Week: It was the hilarious and classic Ric Flair/Jay Lethal verbal showdown from 6/17/10.

-Gia Miller interviewed Mia Yim. Mia said she came back to Impact to show that she can go with the best. She said she was better than before. She said she respected Jordynne Grace, but she would show her why they call her the HBIC. She vowed to win the title at Emergence. She got cut off by a technical difficulty and they cut back to Hannifan and Rehwoldt at ringside. “Loss of video” appeared on the screen. They cut to a frantic Scott D’Amore and showed Honor No More attacking the production truck. [c]

-Scott D’Amore was still arguing with Honor No More. He said they had gone too far. Bennett said that Scott never wanted them there. He was holding his neck, apparently from an attack. Scott said he would give them a five on five match against Bullet Club at Emergence. He said if they win, they get a title shot, but if they lose, they disband. They agreed and walked off.

-Hannifan and Rehwoldt appeared on camera and ran down the matches for Emergence. The matches for next week’s TV show include:

• Deonna Purrazzo vs. Rosemary
• Impact Wrestling Digital Media Title Match: Brian Myers vs. Black Taurus
• Gisele Shaw vs. Masha Slamovich
• Derby City Street Fight: Doc Gallows vs. PCO

Hannifan and Rehwoldt also plugged the NJPW show that was following, as well as the Impact matches from the Ric Flair’s Last Match PPV.

-Rich Swann and Kushida did their ring entrances. [c]

(5) RICH SWANN vs. KUSHIDA

Fans chanted for Kushida at the start. They shook hands. Kushida took Swann down early. Swann put Kushida in headlock. A dual chant broke out. Swann and Kushida had a back and forth exchange that ended in a stalemate. Kushida worked on Swann’s arm. Swann threw Kushida to the mat. Kushida hit Swann with palm strikes. Swann regrouped on the outside. [c]

Kushida had the advantage coming out of the break. Kushida worked on Swann’s arm. Swann caught Kushida with a crisp dropkick. Swann chopped Kushida. They exchanged strikes. The action spilled to the floor. Swann accidentally chopped the post. Back in the ring, they exchanged kicks and chops.

Swann gave Kushida a series of punches. Kushida kicked Swann’s knee. Swann put Kushida in a chin lock. They both collided. Kushida got a series of moves on Swann. Kushida put Swann in an armbar. Swann finally reached the ropes to break the hold. They exchanged offense. Fans chanted “This is awesome.” Swann delivered two kicks and neckbreaker.

Swann got a two count after a kick. Swann missed a Phoenix splash. Kushida targeted Swann’s arm and went for the Hoverboard Lock. Swann gave Kushida a suplex. After an exchange, Swann gave Kushida a rana off the top rope. Kushida kicked Swann. Kushida put Swann in an armlock on the top rope and suplexed him down. Swann tapped to the armlock.

WINNER: Kushida in 20:00.

(D.L.’s Take: A great back and forth main event. Nice debut for Kushida and it was fun to see Swann back in a main event. Kushida looked sharp and refreshed after a not-so-great stint in NXT.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: A solid edition of Impact. Nothing too newsworthy and not the strongest in-ring show, but it was a strong build to Emergence. The show-long angle with Honor No More was good. I really enjoyed the Alex Shelley video, which was a textbook way to build up a world title challenger and match. Other wrestling leagues should definitely take note. I liked Killer Kelly’s (re)debut as well. The show was capped off by a really good main event.

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CATCH-UP: 7/21 IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT: Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley, Bailey vs. Deaner, more