Impact Wrestling has been through some rough times in the recent past and unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’d have noticed that most of TNA’s top-tier talent have left the fledgeling enterprise for greener pastures. That being said, the company has been in bad spots many times since its inception in 2002 and have somehow managed to stay in the rat-race of the wrasslin’ business.
As we’d previously reported, Impact’s March 2nd tapings were set to air on March 9th and they did, featuring several impactful (pun intended) segments with the most significant of them all being the promise of a new era as the company celebrates its 15th year anniversary.
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The show started with a video segment that highlighted its past as well as present stars and ended with a motivational line: ’It’s time we all make Impact great’, that was followed by the new intro theme of Impact Wrestling.
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The show started with Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards brawling with one another in a segment that spilled over into the crowd. The friends-turned-foes were eventually separated by the TNA security officials.
This was followed by a so-so segment between Jeremy Borash and Josh Matthews after JB joined Matthews and The Pope on commentary. Matthews drew first blood by insulting JB and said that if he was deserving enough to be a part of the commentary booth, he’d have been a part of it way back.
Borash ignored him and went on to praise his mentor former play-by-play commentator Mike Tenay and stated that owing to the number of enemies Matthews has made backstage, Impact Wrestling is looking to replace him with someone more deserving. JB threw shade at WWE’s firing of Matthews and called him a ‘Ken-Doll with no balls’ (no, seriously!).
Matthews returned fire by bragging about having learnt the ropes of the business under the likes of the legendary Jim Ross and having called Wrestlemania over the course of his career. JB replied that Jim Ross is a close friend of his and unlike Matthews, commentators like Ross and himself actually communicate with the fans and form a bond with them.
This seemingly never-ending segment was thankfully cut-off by Cody Rhodes, who grabbed the mic from JB and called out Moose. However, it was later revealed that the Moose is loose in Japan.
Following this, Borash addressed the fans and informed them that he’s spoken to the new owners and that a new tag-team will make their first appearance on Impact after the commercial break.
#1. DCC vs. Reno Scum
The Death Crew Council (DCC) comprising Bram and Eddie Kingston faced Reno Scum (Adam and Luster) in a match that was over in an instant. Luster came off the ropes with an assisted double foot stomp from his partner and pins Kingston. Meanwhile, JB and Matthews continued the bickering with each other and having cringe-worthy exchanges.
Reno Scum def. Death Crew Council
After the matchup, DCC members had a brief misunderstanding that was quickly sorted out in the ring. This was followed by the Braxton-Laurel Van Ness- Allie saga and hey, Van Ness was still wearing her wedding dress and hanging on to that bottle of champagne. Nice!
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Sienna owing to the absence of Maria Kanellis-Bennett, to which Sienna stated that Maria is in seclusion owing to her nervous breakdown. McKenzie asked whether the rumours of Maria’s contract issues with Impact are the reason behind her absence, to which Sienna denied any such rumours as fake news. Furthermore, she stated that Allie will suffer for what she’s done and her happiness with Braxton won’t last long.
#2. 4-Way X-Division Match: Braxton Sutter with Allie vs. Caleb Konley vs. DJZ vs. Marshe Rockett
Braxton and Rockett started the match and their brawl moved outside the ring, with DJZ and Konley engaging in some high-flying sequences. Rockett then re-entered the ring and hits Konley with a spinebuster along with DJZ failing to land a high-flying move on Rockett.
Marshe Rockett then controlled the action for a bit and jumped off of the top rope but walked into three simultaneous dropkicks from Sutter, DJZ and Konley. They took their attack on Rockett outside the ring. Konley hit a suicide dive on DJZ and Rockett.
Konley hit a back suplex on Braxton while DJZ delivered a tornado DDT on Konley after using Rockett as a boost. Rocket then attacked Braxton after which Allie interfered in the match and leapt off the ropes into Rockett on the mat.
Braxton grabbed Marshe Rockett and pins him after finishing him with a spinning neck breaker.
Result: Braxton Sutter w/Allie def. DJZ, Caleb Konley and Marshe Rockett.
The post-match segment featured Laurel Van Ness yelling at Allie and Braxton and yes, she was still wearing the same dress and has that bottle of champagne. This was followed by a Broken Hardys teaser promo, featuring them prepping for a face-off against their Kangaroo ‘Smokin Joe’.
#3. Sienna vs. Rachael Ellering
Borash referred to Rachael Ellering being a second generation star and introduced her as the daughter of Paul Ellering. He also mentioned The Road Warriors but Matthews feigned ignorance (Impact please minimise the air-time focusing on the JB-Matthews segment!). The matchup itself was fairly entertaining with Rachael hitting a springboard twisting leg-drop that almost got her the victory. A few moments later, Sienna hit the Silencer and put Ellering away with the pinfall.
Sienna def. Rachael Ellering
#4. El Patron’s intro and backstage segments
This matchup was followed by another brief Broken Hardys segment, after which Bruce Prichard (all hail Brother Love!) entered the ring and went on a long rant about how he shall make Impact great again.
This segment involved an epic fail when Prichard actually said ‘TNA is dead’. After which he stated that the new owners have officially named the company Impact Wrestling and that the owners are looking for people who’ve achieved past greatness (yeah right!).
Lashley came to the ring and was put over by Prichard in a brief segment, where ‘The Destroyer’ talked about the long list of opponents he’s beaten. He was interrupted by Alberto Del Rio aka Alberto El Patron, who came down to the ring and listed his long list of accomplishments in the WWE.
EC3 added himself to the scene and insinuated that he wanted to fight Lashley for his Impact Wrestling title. El Patron interjected and told Lashley that he wanted to dance. Brother Love Bruce Prichard booked the match as the evening’s main event.
This was followed by a backstage segment involving McKenzie Mitchell interviewing Eddie Edwards, during which Richards’ real-life partner Angelina Love slapped Edwards owing to his brawl with her beau earlier in the evening.
Back to the ring, Cody Rhodes was back and called Moose out again, laying his GFW Gen title inside the ring and refusing to leave until he gets to fight Moose. Impact security officials try to escort Rhodes out of the ring, but the man eventually left through the crowd.
This segment was followed by Zeb Colter entering the scene on a mobility scooter and boy oh boy what a segment it was! Colter aka Dutch Mantel’s intro segment on Impact included him shooting on all the talent that left the company and why they did so. He finished his segment by eliciting a ‘We The People’ chant from the Impact fans.
This is followed by a video segment involving the Broke Hardys and Brother Nero’s face-off against the kangaroo ‘Smokin’ Joe’. The Broken Hardys used VG1 to transport to their next journey toward championship gold.
The Hardys disappeared and then re-appeared as The Decay, with Abyss, Rosemary and Crazzy Steve rejoicing backstage stating that ‘it worked’. Rosemary went on to say that The Broken Hardys have been Deleted and are now Obsolete. For all of you newbies out there, that means The Hardys have been written off the Impact roster.
#5. Main Event: Impact Wrestling Heavyweight Championship: Bobby Lashley vs Alberto El Patron
El Patron threw several kicks at Lashley after which The Destroyer simply muscles him to the apron and pounded away at the Mexican superstar. The action headed to the outside and Alberto regained control by slamming Lashley’s head into the announcer’s table.
After a high-flying manoeuvre inside the ring, Alberto tried to pin the champ but Lashley kicked out. Lashley then hit an impressive delayed vertical suplex but missed out on the follow-up spear after Alberto countered the spear with a dropkick. After a brief battle on the top rope, Alberto jumped onto his opponent but got caught and side-slammed by Lashley. Meanwhile, EC3 entered the scene and watched the match unfold at ringside.
Lashley was still in control but Alberto hit a backstabber out of nowhere and got a 2-count on The Destroyer. In the sequences that followed, Lashley accidentally hit a Lariat intended for his opponent on the refeere Earl Hebner.
Referee Brian Stifler rushed to the ring to make sure the match is properly officiated after which Lashley falls to the ropes after a failed charge at Alberto. The Mexican star hit him with his signature hanging double foot-stomp and covered him but failed to secure the 1-2-3. After a series of cross arm breaker attempted from El Patron, Lashley hit a spine buster but Alberto didn’t sell it much and quickly hit him with a DDT and then tried the Si kick.
Lashley dragged the referee between them at the last moment and Alberto’s Si kick connected on the referee Brian Stifler. Both referees were down, after which Lashley grabbed his title belt and tried to hit El Patron with it, to which El Patron countered him with a wicked kick.
Alberto then used the belt to strike Lashley over the head, after which he covered him and pinned Lashley 1-2-3.
Alberto El Patron def. Bobby Lashley
#6. Aftermath
After the matchup, Lashley was absolutely furious and went on to argue with the refs whilst Bruce Prichard and Pat Kenney made their way to the ring, trying their best to diffuse the situation. Alberto El Patron stood on the announcer’s table and announced himself as the new champ, with the commentator’s debating as to whether El Patron, was in fact, the new champ owing to the controversial nature of the finish.
Impact later released footage with the two major talking points being Lashley leaving the arena in a dejected manner and El Patron telling Prichard that he is the Undisputed champion regardless of the manner in which the championship fight ended. Viva Mexico! Viva La Raza!!!!
Check out the highlights of the episode below:
