‘Impact Wrestling’ Review (Oct 18th 2018)

Welcome to this weeks Impact Wrestling review, the first post-PPV show – with all the fallout that that insues.

Match #1: Taya Valkyrie vs. Katarina

The following is courtesy of ImpactWrestling.com:

Katarina hits a big running kick in the corner. Katarina connects with a DDT from the apron to the inside of the ring. Taya hits Road to Valhalla to pick up the win.

My thoughts: This match was as short and as inteersting as the official description above! A weal opening… but what do you expect after THAT pay per view. A PPV that spent more time plugging the sponsor that generating excitement… Yeah…

Match #2: Ethan Page w/ Matt Sydal vs. Trevor Lee

The following is courtesy of ImpactWrestling.com:

Sydal distracts Lee from ringside, allowing Page to gain control. Lee hits a running kick from the apron to Page on the outside. Sydal tries to recruit Lee but he declines! Page hits a modified backbreaker off the distraction for a very close near fall. Lee connects with a Moonsault for a near fall of his own! Page uses a modified Uranage to score the victory.

My thoughts: Trevor Lee looked a lot more vicious and a lot more focused than last weeks tag match, even if he did get the loss here. Again. Ethan page did nothing to stand out from the rest of the roster. And beyond Lee’s huge kick to Page on the apron there was absolutely nothing outstanding about this match either

Match #3: Killer Kross w/ Moose vs. Tommy Dreamer

The following is courtesy of ImpactWrestling.com:

Dreamer clotheslines Kross over the top rope to the outside. Dreamer attempts to spit water in the face of Kross but Kross counters and sends Dreamer crotch-first into the barricade! Kross hits a vicious suplex to take control of the match. Kross goes to the top but Dreamer cuts him off with a huge Superplex. Dreamer begins to build momentum with a cutter but Moose distracts him on the apron! Moose gets involved in the match but Dreamer takes him and Kross out with a double-team move! Kross turns it around and knocks out Dreamer with two Doomsday Saito Slams to win the match by referee stoppage. After the match, Moose and Kross continue the attack on Dreamer. Eddie Edwards is nowhere to be found after he was brutally attacked by Moose and Kross at Bound for Glory.

My thoughts: Welcome to ECW..! Er… Welcome to Impact..? It’s hard to distinguish the two in terms of this match, which looked and felt like an ECW-style brawl rather than a wrestling match. Which, for those unaware, is actually a bad thing. Promotions need to be moving FORWARD an innovating instead of loooking back and mimicing the past!

Match #4: Allie w/ Kiera Hogan vs. Alisha

The following is courtesy of ImpactWrestling.com:

Alisha hits a running forearm on the ropes. Alisha plants Allie to the mat with some unique offence. Allie gets fired up by punching herself in the face! Allie is enraged and brutally attacks Alisha! Allie connects with the Codebreaker to win. After the match, Allie starts to choke Alisha! Kiera pulls her off, causing Allie to snap out of it. Allie seems to have no idea what she did.

My thoughts: A fast-paced, well-fought match with plenty of hard-hitting action. The saving grace of this episode of Impact up to this point. Let down by the inclusion of the ridiculous evil Allie/underdead realm storyline tie in at the end of the match – just made Allie look like a clone of former Imapct star Chelsea Green’s “Hot Mess” persona.

Match #5: X-Division Champion Brian Cage vs. Rich Swann – X-Division Championship Match

The following is courtesy of ImpactWrestling.com:

Swann hits a running dive off the apron but Cage counters and throws him back-first into the steel post! Cage connects with a huge fallaway slam. Swann hits a springboard kick. Cage catches Swann in mid-air but Swann turns it around into a DDT for a near fall. Swann connects with a series of kicks but Cage is still able to kick out! Cage hits a Pump-Handle Slam for a yet another near fall. Cage launches himself off the top rope but Swann cuts him off with a mid-air cutter! Swann follows up with the 450 Splash but Cage kicks out! Swann goes for the Phoenix Splash but Cage avoids it. Cage hits Weapon X to retain the X-Division Championship.

My thoughts: At least Cage can still impress, literally tossing Rich Swann around like a rag doll at times and then beating the hell out of him at others. Though Swann was no pushover, putting on some oimpressive offence – kicking Cage in the head multiple times: which seems to be the achilles heel Impact are building for Cage, mentioning all the kicks to the head he took at Bound For Glory multiple times – a PPV where he took his first pin because of that. At least that makes sense, unlike a lot of the wins and losses WWE puts their “indestructible” big men through.

News of the Night:

• Rohit Raju to fight his manager Gamu next week
• Scarlett Bordeaux announces her “talent search” isn’t open to just wrestlers, it’s open to everyone
• Eli Drake says he is taking legal action against IMPACT Wrestling because it has become an unsafe working environment
• Jordynne Grace is coming soon to IMPACT Wrestling
• Johnny Impact to defend the World Championship against Fenix next week

Final Verdict: 1.5/5

Well what a comedown after last weeks pre-Bound For Glory show: promos galore, dull matches and a real lethargic feel to the entire show, almost as if filming TV episodes straight after a PPV sucked the life out of the wrestlers involved… Maybe time to stop doing multiple TV tapings now Impact? It’s also probably time to stop with the GWN flashbacks too – because recently they’ve been showing just how bad the current product is. Especially this week.