IMPACT Emergence Review - August 20, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Matt Cardona def. Rohit Raju

I honestly would have had Raju beat Cardona had Cardona not just lost to John Skyler recently, but with the feud apparently continuing past this match based on what happened afterward, maybe it can still happen eventually. Nonetheless, this was a good opener with Raju giving it a hell of an effort and looking credible in defeat. Props to Cardona for coming off as motivated since arriving in IMPACT and wanting to work with (and also attempting to elevate) everybody.

Decay (Crazzy Steve, Black Taurus and Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions Rosemary and Havok) def. Fallah Bahh, No Way, Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans

I don't mind most of the intergender wrestling IMPACT tends to do, but we just got a ton of it at Homecoming and I didn't think this match needed it. Thankfully, it was kept limited at the beginning, but I wouldn't be putting Decay in undercard comedy crap. It was also a weird match to be putting Steelz and Evans in with it being their first time teaming. They lost, so it's not like they'll be getting a tag title shot out of this. The in-ring action was decent and it gave Decay a win, but this felt unnecessary otherwise.

Steve Maclin def. Petey Williams

This has been a perfectly solid, logical midcard designed to get Maclin off to a nice start in IMPACT. Williams has credibility and is a seasoned veteran, so Maclin can only benefit from working with him. We hadn't seen Maclin in a truly competitive contest up to this point in his IMPACT run, but I got to see more out of him here in a singles capacity than I ever did during his WWE NXT run and I thought he held his own and was impressive. Needless to say, Maclin winning was the right call.

Madison Rayne def. Taylor Wilde

I believe these two had a singles match or two back in the day in TNA. I'm talking around 2009 or 2010, which was over a decade ago. The fact they can still go in 2021 is pretty damn cool. This wasn't the most exciting affair as it started out fairly slow, but I enjoyed it while it lasted. I wasn't a fan of all the overbooking during the finish, but I understand it was done to protect Wilde in defeat and establish this new trio of Rayne, Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb with a K as credible.

Ace Austin def. Moose, Sami Callihan and Chris Sabin in an Impact World Championship No. 1 Contender's Four-Way Match

I knew this would be fun and they did not disappoint. Sabin and Moose have been feuding for most of the summer, so they worked well together as expected. Throw the talents of Callihan and Austin in there as well and you have yourself a chaotic four-way with minimal, if any, dull moments. They busted their asses, kept the crowd engaged, and everyone got their time to shine. I love the result as Christian vs. Austin at Victory Road has the potential to be a show-stealer and another breakout performance for Austin.

Impact X-Division Champion Josh Alexander def. Jake Something

Alexander has been producing banger after banger as champion and this was no exception. We've obviously reached a point where he's beaten basically everyone in the X-Division and now he has to look to the heavyweight division for more challengers. Jake is an underrated talent in my opinion (the dumb name doesn't do him any favors) and he gave it a great effort. This was a hell of a hoss fight that the crowd was hot for and both guys came out of this looking like stars. This was an absolute blast of a bout. Is Alexander going to pursue Option C and trade in his title for a shot at the Impact World Championship at Bound for Glory?

Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo and Matthew Rehwoldt def. Melina and Trey Miguel

I love the heavy hype IMPACT has been done for Purrazzo vs. Melina next weekend at EmPowerrr. It's a match I'm looking forward to and IMPACT doing as much as they have on their end to build it up has been much appreciated. That said, this mixed tag team affair paled in comparison to everything else on the card. That isn't to say it was bad by any means, and it was decent, but it was basic stuff for the most part. I liked Miguel's involvement (he still needs a notable program to sink his teeth into again) and keeping the heels strong with the win made sense if IMPACT plans to keep Purrazzo and Rehwoldt together.

Impact World Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers def. Violent By Design (Rhino and Joe Doering) and Rich Swann & Willie Mack in a Three-Way Tag Team Match

Violent By Design lost their tag titles to Good Brothers at Slammiversary and didn't get a rematch until now. Unfortunately for them, this was a three-way also involving Swann and Mack, so it wasn't exactly fair, though Swann and Mack did beat Violent By Design recently on IMPACT! Wrestling. I was surprised by how plodding this was in the early goings, but once they picked up the pace a bit, it was better. The story is that Eric Young is frustrated at Rhino for taking the loss, so we'll see what comes of that and if he'll be booted from the group.

Impact World Champion Christian Cage def. Brian Myers

I swear I saw these two go one-on-one on an episode of WWE Superstars back in 2010 or so. It's crazy to think that they're still doing their thing over a decade later like Wilde and Rayne. Christian came out of retirement like he never left while Myers has always been a better worker than most give him credit for. Therefore, this was a quality contest. I never expected Christian to lose, mind you, but as a main event, it delivered and was what it needed to be. As previously mentioned, I can't wait for Christian vs. Austin at Victory Road and everyone else Christian will be able to work with in IMPACT.

Overall Show

I have no idea why IMPACT would run a show opposite of WWE SmackDown and Night 1 of Ring of Honor's Glory by Honor event, but maybe they had to get one more Impact Plus special in before the end of the month and next weekend wasn't an option. No one was talking about the show on social media as a result, but putting that aside, this was an easy thumbs-up show. Christian will elevate the product by being around and working with everyone as Impact World Champion (him against Austin next month will be a banger) and I'm digging what's going on with the rest of the product as well. The three hours breezed by and the in-ring action on the whole was above-average.

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