‘Impact Wrestling’ Review (April 21st 2020)
Welcome to this week’s Impact Wrestling review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have part 1 of the two week Rebellion card, so let’s shut the hell up and dive right in.
Match #1: Rhino, Tommy Dreamer & Crazzy Steve def. oVe (Dave Crist, Madman Fulton & Jake Crist)
The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:
Dreamer and Jake square off. Jake gains control, taking Dreamer down to the mat. Dreamer attempts to nip up but can’t quite make it happen. Rhino and Steve give him the assist in completing the nip up. Steve cannonballs into Dave. Dreamer builds momentum with a big cutter to Jake but Fulton breaks up the pin attempt. Jake connects with a series of superkicks on Dreamer for one. Rhino mini-gores Dave in the corner, followed by a belly-to-belly suplex. Things break down as the referee loses control. Fulton catches Steve in mid-air and sends him crashing to the floor. Rhino clotheslines Fulton the outside. Rhino hits Dave with the Gore to win.
My Opinion: 2.6 out of 5 – This was a perfectly solid match that rested on the crazy-ass Crazzy Steve for its back-bone. Tommy did his beached-whale routine and Rhino ran for Detroit trustee, so Steve had to handle the ass-whoopin’s. Actually, they all did fine here. The match was nothing special, but it did keep its footing the whole way through, at least this match was consistent.
Match #2: Rascalz (Dez & Wentz) def. XXXL (Larry D & Acey Romero) & TJP & Fallah Bahh
The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:
Dez uses his amazing agility to gain control in the early going. The Rascalz hit TJP with double superkicks. Fallah hits Wentz with a splash but Acey breaks the pin. Fallah connects with a huge belly-to-belly suplex on Larry. The pace quickens as the Rascalz trip up Acey, causing him to collide with his own partner. The Rascalz are looking to finish off Larry but TJP pulls Dez out of the ring. Larry connects with a strong uppercut to TJP. Dez takes out Fallah with a handspring Pele. Acey hits Dez with a Pounce for a near fall. Dez connects with one final top rope corkscrew to put Larry away.
My Opinion: 3.2 out of 5 – The match had enough action to keep you entertained, but this always felt like a tag match for the sake of having one, rather than deciding who should be the next contender for the tag titles. The lighter guys looked great and the big guys were okay, but no one looked awful. It came, it went and that’s about it.
Match #3: Willie Mack def. Ace Austin – X-Division Championship Match
The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:
Ace is the master of mind games and refuses to lock up with Willie from the opening bell. Willie doesn’t fall for it and follows the champ to the outside. Ace turns it around by trapping Willie in the Tree of Woe. Ace launches himself off the top but Willie catches him in mid-air. Willie hits a Samoan Drop, followed by a standing Moonsault. Willie begins to pummel Ace, forcing the referee to pull him off. Ace hangs up Willie on the ropes to gain control. Willie reverses a high-risk maneuver into a sit-down powerbomb for two. Willie hits the Stunner but Ace lands on his feet and immediately follows up with The Fold. Willie kicks out at two as Ace looks on in disbelief. Willie counters another Fold attempt into a super Stunner for yet another near fall. Willie goes Coast-to-Coast but instead of going for the pin, he crashes and burns with a Six-Star Frog Splash attempt. The referee stops Ace from using the ropes for leverage on a pin. Willie hits Ace with a unique Stunner on the top, followed by the Six-Star Frog Splash to win.
My Opinion: 3.6 out of 5 – This was really good. The moves were in the right places and the atmosphere was there, even with no crowd. Willie came across like a star and Ace was as fine a foil for Willie to defeat for the strap. As a prize fight, this was very satisfying, especially with the right man winning in grand fashion.
Match #4: Kylie Rae def. Kiera Hogan
The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:
Kylie almost locks in her signature STF, Smile to the Finish, in the opening moments of the match but Kiera gets to the ropes. Kylie hits running double knees in the corner. Kiera cuts off the Kylie Special with a mid-air forearm shot. Both women exchange superkicks in the middle of the ring. Kylie builds momentum with a series of clotheslines. Kylie connects with the Kylie Special but Kiera kicks out at two. Kiera hits a vicious roundhouse kick for a near fall of her own. Kylie forces Kiera to tap with Smile to the Finish.
My Opinion: 3.2 out of 5 – Rae beat Hogan and it was the right call. Both fighters kept the pace up for nearly ten minutes and made it all look like it hurt like Hell. There’s some strong shots and strikes thrown here, but a convincing submission was the clincher in this being a sleeper hit.
Match #5: (Main Event) Ken Shamrock def. Sami Callihan – Unsanctioned Match
The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:
Callihan jumpstarts the match by hitting Shamrock with a dive before the opening bell. Callihan hits a vertical suplex on the outside. Shamrock drives Callihan into the steel ring post, followed by the guardrail. Shamrock launches himself off the stage, crashing into Callihan on the concrete floor. Callihan retreats to the backstage area. Shamrock falls into his trap as Callihan attacks him from behind with a steel chair. Callihan chokes his opponent with a chain. Shamrock turns the tide but gets blindsided by oVe members, Madman Fulton and the Crists. Fulton repeatedly kicks a steel garbage can into the back of Shamrock. Callihan shockingly fights off his former brothers from oVe. Both Callihan and Shamrock agree to finish the fight outside in the parking lot. Callihan attempts a sleeper but Shamrock fights if off. Shamrock locks in his signature Ankle Lock. Callihan will not tap but eventually passes out due to the pain.
My Opinion: 3.1 out of 5 – This was a decent brawl that saw Ken really put in a memorable performance. I’m fine with Ken winning, as he got his revenge and Sami can take a loss, whereas Ken needs to have a big win every so often to justify bringing him in (unless they make losses an angle). The bookers stuck that nasty cinematic wrestling stuff in the second half (musical score and all), but the brawl was still good. Over-all, this was a strong climax to the show, even if the match sorta sputtered once it got all cinematic.
News Of The Night:
- Michael Elgin claimed he will be the World Champion after the both Tessa Blanchard and Eddie Edwards stayed home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The North will defend the Tag Titles in Canada against a native team.
- Rich Swann was there to celebrate Willie Mack’s title win while Johnny Swinger tried to kiss Mack’s ass.
- Here is the card for part 2 of next week’s Rebellion show:
Cousin Jake vs. Joseph P. Ryan (Joey Ryan)
Trey vs. Rohit Raju vs. Suicide vs. Chris Bey
Havok vs. Rosemary – Full Metal Mayhem
The Fate Of The Impact World Championship
Final Verdict: 3.2/5
This was a solid show that kept me entertained, but I still longed for a bit more from this.
