‘Impact Wrestling’ Review (July 25th 2019)

Welcome to this week’s Impact Wresting review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have a few big matches to cover, so let’s not waste any-time on Brad Pitt killing Charles Manson and get right to the wrestling.

Match #1: Jordynne Grace def. Kiera Hogan

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

The match is about to get started when Madison Rayne interrupts and joins Josh Mathews and Don Callis on commentary. Kiera goes for a dive but Jordynne catches her in mid-air and connects with a suplex on the floor! Kiera attempts another dive, this time connects, and regains control of the match. Jordynne hits a powerful sit-down powerbomb! Jordynne connects with a modified Grace Driver for a near fall! Kiera hits a series of running dropkicks in the corner for a two count. Jordynne hits Kiera with an Electric Chair on the floor. Kiera is about to get counted out when Madison leaves the announce desk to throw Kiera back in the ring! Jordynne gets Kiera in a pinning predicament and scores the pinfall to win!

My Opinion: 3 out of 5 – This turned out quite well for the time given and made both women look legitimately skilled. Yeah, that’s a sentence you wanna read again. Grace did well as the power-house while Hogan did well all her own. Over-all, this was a nice little match that served as an appetizer for a bigger match to happen between these two later (hopefully).

Match #2: Moose def. Ray Steele

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Moose drapes Steele across the ropes, then follows up with the No Jackhammer Needed Spear to win in dominant fashion!

My Opinion: 1 out of 5 – This was another damn squash match.

Match #3: Rob Van Dam def. Willie Mack

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

It’s a stalemate in the early going as both men are matching each other move for move. RVD launches himself off the apron, crashing into Willie on the floor! Willie hits a delayed running Senton in the corner, followed by a standing Moonsault for a two count! RVD goes for the split-legged Moonsault but Willie gets his knees up and follows up with a Lung-blower! RVD hits Rolling Thunder but Willie counters into a pin for a very close near fall! RVD connects with the Five Star Frog Splash to score the victory!

My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – What started out as slow but good developed into a much faster, more exciting match that might have given the victory to the wrong person, but the wrong person does draw money… Mack and RVD work well together and could make for a successful series of matches, but I was hoping the angle would be RVD losing to the stars of the future and building toward a big victory at Bound For Glory to help re-legitimize him for the current era of wrestling. It’s almost a shame that such a big pairing occurred randomly on a card, but it’s still a great match to have. All in all, this bout was good when it had to be and great at just the right time.

Match #4: Jake Crist def. Rich Swann – X-Division Championship Match

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Swann soars through the air with ease, crashing into Jake on the floor! Dave Crist appears at ringside and distracts Swann! Jake takes advantage and hits a DDT on the floor to take control! Jake connects with a Death Valley Driver. Swann hits his signature top rope elbow drop but Jake somehow kicks out at two! Jake hits a Superplex, followed by swinging neckbreaker for a near fall of his own! Swann connects with the Phoenix Splash but Dave puts Jake’s foot on the rope from ringside, breaking up the pin! Swann takes out both Crist brothers with a double cutter! The referee is removing Dave from the ring when Madman Fulton pushes Swann off the top rope into a cutter from Jake! He follows up with another cutter to score the pin and win the X-Division Championship!

My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – Well, talk about a surprise twist. I enjoyed seeing a new champion emerge during a strong match that had a wide array of action, but not having the match be built as something more than the next thing on the card… I’m really abusing the ellipsis this time, but like the Disney Princess scene from Ralph Breaks The Internet, I’m a freakin’ princess too! Crist is a unique choice to upend Swann, although not the best choice. I’m excited to see what happens next and, thanks to an excellent match, the X-Division Title has another chapter in its history worth reading.

Match #5: (Main Event) Brian Cage vs. Michael Elgin – Street Fight Match

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Brian Cage’s music hits for the Street Fight main event against Michael Elgin. Cage crawls out and it appears Elgin has attacked him backstage! Elgin continues the assault in the ring with a steel chair. Elgin gets on the mic and refuses to fight Cage in a non-title match. Elgin hits Cage with a vicious Con-chair-to as security attempts to break it up. Elgin takes them all out and clears the ring. Melissa Santos comes out to save her husband. The Masked Man appears but Elgin takes him out with the steel chair! But then, a second masked man comes to the ring and takes off his mask – it’s the returning Rhino! Rhino hits Elgin with the Gore and celebrates in the crowd as IMPACT goes off the air!

My Opinion: 0 out of 5 – False advertisement seems to be every promoter’s favorite technique this year. Why? That would have been a great main event. Screw it.

News Of The Night:

1. Rosemary won’t help Taya Valkyrie fend off Havoc’s attacks without a title shot.
2. Sami Callihan and Tessa Blanchard had a great promo where Sami both praised and insulted Tessa to start a brawl between the two that Tessa won.
3. Havoc kicked John E. Bravo’s ass when he tried to hit on Havoc to aid Taya Valkyrie in her war with Havoc.
4. The North fight The Rascalz for the Impact Tag Team Titles, next week.
5. Kiera Hogan and Madison Rayne argued after Hogan’s loss earlier.
6. Ace Austin is doing a gimmick where he hits on women, including Alisha Edwards.
7. Ace Austin and Stone Rockwell might be feuding after Stone grabbed Ace’s penis while it was in a box (I’m not kidding).
8. Ortiz is going to team with Daga (Santana is injured) to give LAX it’s re-match with The North for the Impact Tag Team Titles in two weeks.
9. Jake Crist is being teased as wanting to take over oVe now that he is the X-Division Champion.
10. Rhino returned to Impact Wrestling and attacked Michael Elgin.
11. Tessa Blanchard fights Mad-Man Fulton, next week.

Final Verdict: 3.5 /5

There was plenty of quality wrestling, but far too many promos. The matches still need to be a bit longer (need more matches too). Impact does well when it just shows good matches, but not quite as good when it goes for compelling television, so this show was a mixed bag in that regard, because there was more talking then there should have been.