#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!).
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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:
Major rumor about recently released stars HERE
