‘Impact Wrestling’ Review (June 16th 2020)

Welcome to this week’s Impact Wrestling review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Phil-ling for Nathan on this weeks review and what an interesting week its been for Impact, with tons of speculation surrounding wrestlers who may or may not be joining the Impact roster – whether its a huge work to generate interest in Slammiversary or whether Impact really have secured some big names remains to be seen. But either way I’m looking forward to Impact’s biggest event of the year.

Match #1: Tag Team Champions The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) def Rascalz (Dez & Wentz) – Tag Team Championships

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

The North continued to show why they’re the longest-reigning Tag Team Champions in IMPACT history with a flurry of impressive double-team offense. The Rascalz turned things around as Wentz connected with a running Destroyer on Alexander. Page shut down their momentum by catching Dez in mid-air and sending him into the steel guardrail. The North connected with their signature finisher on Wentz to retain the Tag Team Championships.

My Opinion: 4 out of 5 – Two of the best tag teams around going head to head, what’s not to love? The North are arguably THE best tag team wrestling on TV today with both the talent and charisma to go far, meanwhile The Rascalz are a trio of high-fliers that do everything with style. And their two styles came together perfectly: The Rascalz with the fast-paced, high-impact, high-flying and The North just smash-mouthing their way through the match – though I’m still not sure why The North are being positioned as heels, especially when Ethan Page is on of the nicest guys around!

Match #2: Nevaeh w/ Havok def Kimber Lee

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Neveah made her in-ring debut on IMPACT! as she looked to avenge Havok’s pair of losses to the vicious Kimber Lee. The new duo of Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz were also spotted watching the match from the other side of the guardrail. Kimber Lee targeted the recently reconstructed knee of Neveaeh in the early going. Nevaeh turned the tide with a brutal German suplex for two. Nevaeh hit a modified DDT to pick up the win. Post-match, Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz threw popcorn at Havok in an attempt to provoke the terrifying Knockout.

My Opinion: 2 out of 5 – Too short to really showcase newcomer Neveah’s skills this felt like a slightly longer squash match merely built to put over Nevaeh and show she’s just ad powerful as her friend and tag team partner Havok. If that was the case, it worked. Thought this still felt like an after-thought, or as some might say, an old-school p*ss-break Divas match from WWE.

Match #3: Rhino def Rohit Raju

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Before the match could begin, Rohit Raju attacked Rhino from behind as revenge for Rhino hitting the Gore out of nowhere last week. Rohit was in firm control until Rhino began to build momentum with a big suplex. Rohit launched himself off the top rope but Rhino ducked, allowing him to connect with the Gore for the win.

My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – Now I expected a squash match here, Rhino once again doing his quick gore to win schtick. But that’s not what we got, instead this match made Rohit Raju looked strong against one of the toughest guys on Impact and Rhino put Raju over well – even if there were a few clumsy spots from the former ECW champ. Hopefully this feud continues.

Match #4: TNA World Heavyweight Champion Moose def Hernandez – TNA World Heavyweight Championship

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Self-proclaimed TNA World Heavyweight Champion put his “Title” on the line once again, this time against TNA veteran, Hernandez. The former member of LAX was hot from the start, taking Moose over the top rope with a huge clothesline. Moose showed off his athleticism as he drop-kicked Hernandez off the top to the floor. Back and forth they went as Hernandez connected with a strong back-breaker for two. However, Moose remained one step ahead of Hernandez when he went low with a kick, then hit the Lights Out Spear to win.

My Opinion: 2.8 out of 5 – Two big men going at it in a hybrid style of cruiserweight and smash-mouth wrestling. Hernandez might not look as impressive as he did back in the day but he’s still got it and he has the perfect foil in Moose who’s style matches perfectly. Even if that style is a bit slow and clumsy these days… such a shame that Moose never seems to be taking things seriously – especially in this run as TNA “champ”.

Match #4: Reno Scum (Adam Thornstowe & Luster the Legend) def XXXL (Acey Romero & Larry D)

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

After The North retained their Tag Team Championships earlier in the night, these two larger-than-life teams were competing in an attempt to move up the competitive tag team rankings. Romero brought the fight to both members of Reno Scum, tossing Thornstowe over the top and hitting Luster with a Sidewalk Slam. XXXL made a Thornstowe sandwich in the middle of the ring but Luster cut off their momentum. Luster connected with a Spinebuster on Larry, followed by a double foot stomp from Thornstowe for three.

My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – It’s clear that TNA have an excellent tag team division right now, at least in terms of actual wrestling – though their characters & promos still fall short IMHO. And nowhere is that more apparent than in this match. These two teams put on a great display of wrestling but I still didn’t care about the action because I’m not invested in either team. Maybe they need some pointers from The Rascalz and The North on how to sell yourselves. I can’t fault either teams wrestling however, though I’d have liked this match to have been give more time. But then short matches seem to be de rigueur for all but one US wrestling promotion these days,

Match #5: Ace Austin def Eddie Edwards – Street Fight

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Before Ace Austin and Eddie Edwards join World Champion Tessa Blanchard, Michael Elgin and Trey in the five-way World Championship main event at Slammiversary, they renewed their personal rivalry in a Street Fight on IMPACT! Eddie Edwards didn’t wait for the bell to ring as he attacked Ace from behind to jump-start the match. There were plenty of weapons in this no-holds-barred brawl, including steel chairs, trash cans and more. Ace attempted The Fold on the ramp but Eddie reversed into a belly-to-belly suplex on a steel guardrail. Ace drove a steel chair into the face of Eddie with a sick springboard boot. Eddie was about to suplex Ace through a table when Ace cut him across the eyes with his laminated card. In a moment that was hard to watch, Eddie drove Ace back first into the legs of a table. Eddie was setting up for the Boston Knee Party when Madman Fulton attacked him out of nowhere. Fulton connected with a huge Chokeslam, followed by The Fold from Ace to win. It became apparent that Madman Fulton is now aligned with Ace Austin – but was he the one that attacked Trey?

My Opinion: 4 out of 5 – I’m not going to lie, I love watching Eddie Edwards in these types of non-wrestling matches. When Eddie wrestles he’s kind of boring but when he brawls he’s electrifying.And this was certainly a brawl, with some wince-inducing spots that made this more of a hardcore match than a streetfight – all that was missing was a barbed-wire baseball bat and some thumbs tacks. A great streetfight given ample time but let down by interference, though if this feud builds to an even more hardcore match down the line I’m not complaining.

News of the Night:

1. The Rascalz’ Trey doesn’t thinks tag team partners Dez or Wentz were the ones who attacked him,
2. Trey was attacked backstage. Again.
3. Neveah made her in-ring debut for Impact Wrestling,
4. Next week, Cancel Culture will battle Crazzy Steve and two mystery partners in a six-man tag team match,
5. Susie is questioning whether or not she should be good anymore. (She shouldn;t, bring back Su Yung)
6. Former TNA World Heavyweight Champion EC3’s music played throughout the arena after Moose’s match,
7. Reno Scum revealed that they are no longer working with Ace Austin.
8. Deonna Purrazzo was profiled in a long promo that REALLY sold her as a big name for Impact.
9. Madman Fulton is aligned with Ace Austin.

Final Verdict: 3.8/5

Well I picked a great week to fill in for Nathan didn’t I? One of the strongest weeks I’ve seen from Impact in some time. Two great tag team matches and a vicious main event made for fun watching and I can honestly say I was never bored – something which happens more frequently, for me, watching Impact than I’d care to admit!