‘Impact Wrestling’ Review (Nov 15th 2018)

Welcome to this week’s Impact Wrestling review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and I’m back with you to discuss and dissect Impact Wrestling, for weeks to come. Okay, I’ll probably just #!$@% about all the things they are still doing wrong, but it’s not like you have to listen to me, anyway.

Match #1: Knockouts Champion Tessa Blanchard vs. Ray Lyn – Non-Title Match

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Tessa is getting frustrated in the early going as it appears that Lyn has her number! Tessa turns it around with a press slam, followed by a cutter. Lyn hits a Hurricanrana off the second rope! Tessa fights off Lyn’s cutter attempt and slams her to the mat! Tessa connects with the Buzzsaw DDT to pick up the victory.

My Take: 2.5 out of 5 – I gave this a good review because Tessa looked as skilled as ever. There’s nothing wrong with Ray Lyn, but Tessa is one of the best in the sport and did wrestled like it here.

Match #2: Tag Team Champions LAX (Santana & Ortiz) w/ Konnan vs. KM & Fallah Bahh – Non-Title Match

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Fallah shows an impressive level of agility to avoid the offense of Santana in the early going! KM and Fallah steamroll over Ortiz. Santana goes for a crossbody but KM catches him! Santana fights out of his grip and connects with a series of kicks for near fall. Santana pushes KM into Fallah, sending him outside the ring. This allows LAX to hit a double-team Lionsault leg drop to win!

My Take: 2.5 out of 5 – LAX looked excellent here and KM finally managed to be interesting, which was some-thing he did more often when he didn’t work for Impact. This match was a solemn reminder of how they need a lot more tag teams for this division to work.

Match #3: World Champion Johnny Impact vs. Matt Sydal w/ Ethan Page – Non-Title Match

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Impact hits a standing Moonsault in the early going. Sydal hits running double knees in the corner. Impact connects with a sliding German before staring down with Ethan Page on the outside! Impact goes for Starship Pain but Page pulls Sydal outside the ring! Impact follows up with a corkscrew press over the ring post to take out Page! Sydal counters the Spanish Fly into double knees off the top rope for a near fall! Impact successfully hits Starship Pain to win!

My Take: 3 out of 5 – These two have had better matches, but this was still good stuff. Sydal had a great outing that featured him looking more well-rounded than ever. If ever there was a time to pull the trigger on Sydal becoming a permanent fixture of the main event, now would be that time, because performances like the one he gave are the kind that gives himself and any-one he wrestles a good name. Why couldn’t this match have just been in the main event and for the title? Twenty minutes of these two for the title would be a fine way to end the card and the show.

Match #4: Su Yung vs. Heather Monroe

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Heather connects with a series of strikes to gain the advantage. Heather hits a double foot stomp into the mat for a near fall. Su connects with a palm strike, followed by the Panic Switch. Instead of going for the pin, Su puts on the bloody glove and locks in the Mandible Claw! Heather is forced to tap out, awarding the victory to Su.

My Take: 2 out of 5 – Su did fine here, but this wasn’t much of a match to really talk about. For all of the talk of the women becoming equal, seeing them get shafted with dull booking kinda puts the kibosh on women making an progress to being seen as talented.

Match #5: X-Division Champion Brian Cage vs. Sami Callihan w/ oVe (Jake & Dave Crist) – X-Division Championship Match

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Callihan hits a Hurricanrana. Jake and Dave Crist get involved at ringside, causing the referee to eject them! Callihan runs off the apron but Cage catches him in mid-air and slams him on the floor! Cage connects with a sit-down Alabama Slam. Callihan hits a running Death Valley Driver into the turnbuckles! Cage hits the F5 but Callihan gets his foot on the rope to break up the count. Callihan delivers multiple kicks, followed by the Piledriver but Cage somehow kicks out! Cage connects with a powerbomb, followed by a devastating Drill Claw to retain the X-Division Championship.

My Take: 3 out of 5 – This was a good match. These two could’ve had a much better match, but the booking only allowed for what could be considered an abridged version of the best brawl that these two can manage. Cage is nearing the kind of momentum that Goldberg once famously had in World Championship Wrestling, despite the stupid decision to have Cage lose his streak at Bound For Glory in a six-man tag. I would have preferred to see these guys have a proper wrestling match, rather than a Time Life commercial with an attitude, but at least the action was strong and entertaining.

News Of The Night:

1. Tessa Blanchard will wrestle Taya Valkyrie for the Knockouts Championship, January 6th on Pay-Per-View at Homecoming.
2. The Rascalz are coming to Impact.
3. Scarlett Bordeaux was saved by a fan and brought the fan backstage.
4. Konnan said The OGz will never return to Impact.
5. LAX wants to give the Lucha Bros. a tag team title shot.
6. Gama Singh is still being booked to berate his pupils, The Desi Hit Squad.
7. Eli Drake told Tommy Dreamer he will destroy hardcore wrestling.
8. Eddie Edwards and Moose continued their rivalry with a brawl backstage.
9. The referees are worried about the working conditions at Impact Wrestling.
10. Scarlett Bordeaux played “Hello T—y” with the sullen referees.
11. Killer Kross wants to help Johnny Impact as an ally, but Johnny refused, for now at least.
12. Katarina will fight Jordynn Grace in two weeks.
13. Su Yung is now aligned with an evil Allie and the two attacked Kiera Hogan.
14. Cage announced that he’s using Option C to cash in his X-Division Championship for an opportunity at Johnny Impact’s World Championship, January 6th at Homecoming.
15. The 2nd Annual Eli Drake Gravy Train Turkey Trot will happen, next week.

Final Verdict: 2/5

I spent more time writing in the News Of The Night section than I did in the actual match section. I felt like I was watching a bad soap opera, rather than wrestling league. I had to write about referees and their concerns! I don’t care about the referees! They suck! Lousy shirts, any-way. As for the wrestling, it was good when it had a minute to catch its breath. By the way, if I had been able to buy TNA/Impact a few years ago, there sure as $#!% would not have been any Scarlett Bordeaux vignettes where she is trying to screw strange men.