GFW Impact Review - August 24, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

oVe def. The Heatseekers

As I noted in my Destination X review last week, I wasn't overly impressed with oVe's debut, though this was a significantly better outing from them. They're clearly skilled in the ring, but nothing about their characters stood out to me on Night 1 or here. They were given a bit more time to showcase their skills, and fans in attendance are obviously behind them which is a plus, but I personally need more of a reason to care about them.

Taryn Terrell Addressed Her Actions

Terrell has this awesome presence about her whenever she makes her entrance, but her mic work leaves a lot to be desired. I don't remember how good her promos were before she left the last time a few years ago, but she came across like Beautiful People-lite in this segment, and no one plays that role better than them in GFW. Needless to say, this was a pretty poor promo with a questionable explanation for her actions last week. I still like the idea of Terrell and Gail Kim rekindling their rivalry, but the program isn't off to a strong start.

Laurel Van Ness Proposed to Grado

It was assumed Van Ness only fell for Grado because she was desperate and in "crazy mode" when Grado proposed to her earlier this month, but she was back to being her normal self when she professed her love for Grado here. Of course, this whole segment was silly, but I've somehow found myself enjoying this angle. I guess we'll see if it ends with Van Ness turning on Grado, but what would she get out of it? Meanwhile, a Kongo Kong vs. Mahabali Shera feud doesn't excite me on paper, but I'll reserve judgement until their first match.

Eli Drake Won a 20-Man Gauntlet Battle Royal to Win the GFW Global Championship

Gauntlet Battle Royals are a GFW specialty, and they tend to be rushed more often than not. Although this one was given almost an hour of television time, I don't know if it was entirely necessary. A majority of the matchup featured undercard competitors who had no chance of coming out on top, and few feuds were furthered as well. The in-ring action was largely forgettable unless one of the main stars was involved, but it wasn't a bad bout by any means. Johnny Impact, who made his GFW debut here, had a solid showing and I look forward to seeing what he'll bring to the table after his amazing run in Lucha Underground (where he's still technically the Lucha Underground Champion). The pace didn't really pick up until the final few minutes where Impact, Eddie Edwards and Drake went at it and I loved that Drake won clean. No one deserves this title victory more than him and I'm thrilled the company is finally getting behind him as their top guy.

Overall Show

This entire episode was built around the blockbuster main event and rightfully so considering a new GFW Global Champion was crowned. The match itself wasn't exceptional, but the right person went over and I couldn't be happier. The first hour was total throwaway, but definitely tune into the conclusion of the main event for some fun wrestling and a cool moment. GFW already feels fresher with the world title on a guy who should be at that elite level.