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I thought this week's episode of Impact Wrestling was a great show. It's just a shame that only around 4000 people would tune in to watch the action unfold on Twitch.
I really hope that Impact Wrestling manages to find a new home because the quality of the show deserves a much better audience. At a time when RAW and SmackDown Live have reached their lowest points in many respects, I still think that Impact Wrestling puts on good quality professional wrestling.
That said, it was a show that had its faults and I'll expand upon them in this article. If you were among the 4000 individuals that watched the show, what did you think of the action?
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Feel free to voice your thoughts, views, and comments in the section right below.
#1 Best: The Rascalz vs. LAX & Laredo Kid
The main event match did not happen in the main event spot, but right before the Cage-Elgin altercation. I thought that the match was exactly how we expected it to be because of the men involved- fast and furious. LAX can do no wrong when they're in the ring, and Laredo Kid matched them when it came to intensity and sheer fury.
And then you have The Rascalz who can just do it all when the situation demands it. I also love the fact that the three of them will battle it out to determine which two go on to Slammiversary to challenge for the tag team Championships. Also, The Rascalz and LAX are almost guaranteed to steal the show and then some, when the bell rings.
It's a good thing that we get to see such action on a weekly basis from a company that so many have just written off as irrelevant. Anyone who watches the show is sure to become an Impact Wrestling fan!
#1 Worst: The Deaner as babyfaces
The Deaners and The North had a solid match at the top of the show, but whenever The Deaners tried to get the crowd going, the crowd wouldn't respond. I really think that the two men need a run as a heel unit before they get over with the audience.
Both of The Deaners can wrestle, but their characters are so 90s WWE in a sense, that I don't really know if a crowd will necessarily cheer for them in the year 2019. They did get some polite applause but unless they turn heel soon, even this is bound to diminish.
Otherwise, they need to work with a heel team that just runs them down. Someone like Eli Drake could make them look like chumps and build sympathy for these two good-natured dudes.
Unfortunately, Eli Drake is no longer associated with the company at the moment.
#2 Best: Heel heat for Michael Elgin
Michael Elgin put Brian Cage out of commission to such a degree that he had to take a leave of absence from competition. And this week, in the main event spot, you had Brian Cage return to take his frustrations out on Elgin. Only he'd be brutalized by Elgin to such a degree that, in kayfabe, his medical status is suspect again.
Elgin is such an exemplary wrestler that sometimes the crowd could gravitate towards him and actually cheer for him following his matches. This problem was rectified by the fact that Elgin actually went a step too far this week. He would attack senior Impact Wrestling official Don Callis.
And then Brian Cage would emerge from the ashes and face off against Michael Elgin. I absolutely loved everything about the confrontation we saw. The two men will put on a great match at Slammiversary 2019.
#2 Worst: Shots fired at WWE and 205 Live
I am not the biggest fan of Impact Wrestling taking shots at WWE. I mean they are putting on quite the show in their own right and do not need to resort to underhanded tactics to get a cheap pop.
TJP said that he needed to stretch his legs because he had been chained up in a basement for three years before this. It is clearly a reference to his time in WWE, something that he did not seem to enjoy at all, to any degree.
I was also critical about Cody Rhodes taking a shot at WWE during Double or Nothing because it just comes across as petty and paints your company in a negative light. While it may get the cheap pop, it'll draw more brickbats than praise for Impact Wrestling in the long run.
Do you agree with the following assessment?
#3 Best: Eddie Edwards confesses his sins
Eddie Edwards is at a point in his career where he seems to be lost and directionless. So he came to a church and confessed all his sins to a priest, and lo and behold, the priest was suddenly replaced by Killer Kross.
I thought that the piece was so well made and so well directed that it could have been the best thing on the whole show. I love how every single match for Slammiversary has been hyped in a different way.
Kross and The Priest then had a brief exchange that was creepy and unsettling and reminded us exactly why Killer Kross is one of the best in the business. It is honestly a shame that it seems unlikely that he'll stick around with Impact Wrestling.
I love Eddie Edwards' new character and in my opinion, the troubled, confused soul is very easy to like.
#3 Best/Worst: The build for the Monster's Ball
I am certain that the Monster's Ball match that takes place at Slammiversary will be a really good contest indeed. I'm not entirely sure that I'm enjoying the build with the uneasy alliance between Rosemary and Taya Valkyie.
I'm also not entirely sold on the fractured relationship with Havok and Su Yung, both of whom are out of control at the moment, in storyline. It's been too soon since they were paired as a unit to tease a breakup angle already.
I'd have loved to see a one-on-one program between Taya and Rosemary for the Knockouts Championship because their last contest was actually quite a great match. This feud just seems a little confusing and I'm not sure that everyone is into it.
That said, it is far from bad and I'm certain that the eventual match will be great when it happens at Slammiversary.
#4 Best: Sami Callihan mauls Tessa Blanchard
I have been very critical of Impact Wrestling's foray into intergender wrestling because of how easy it is to predict the results. The woman always defeats the man and this leads to the outcome being spoiled before the bell rings. I can understand why this happens, because a man hitting a woman is not a sponsor-friendly image, even if it is choreographed and orchestrated.
Sami Callihan does not care about sponsors, does he? He mauled Tessa Blanchard and left her lying in a heap in the middle of the ring. This was certainly needed because it's a visual that we haven't seen before.
Now that Blanchard has garnered sympathy, the crowd is urging her on to win at Slammiversary in the match against Callihan. And now, when she actually beats Callihan up, the crowd will be thrilled.
Here's an unrelated picture of Alexa Bliss.
