IMPACT Rebellion: Part 2 Review - April 28, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Chris Bey def. Rohit Raju, Suicide and Trey in a Four-Way Match

Although nothing was up for grabs, this free-for-all was designed to showcase the stars of the X-Division and kick off the evening on a high note. There was total nonstop action (see what I did there?) and everyone looked good. The TNA: One Night Only event didn't happen over WrestleMania weekend as planned, but I assume Suicide will be around at least for a little bit. Bey was the right winner as he's the freshest face of the bunch.

Joseph P. Ryan def. Cousin Jake

If there's any upside to this new gimmick for Joey Ryan, it's that he's not doing the dumb penis shtick for right now. I can't say this match did much for me personally, but it was decent. I just would have shaved off a few minutes because it felt overly long, but I understand they wanted to kill time. Ryan picking up the victory was the only outcome that made sense. I'm not sure what Ryan does now, however, especially if they have a limited roster to work with.

Rosemary def. Havok in a Full Metal Mayhem Match

Originally, Jordynne Grace was supposed to defend her Impact Knockouts Championship against Taya Valkyrie in a Full Metal Mayhem match, but neither woman could attend the taping and thus the contest had to be changed. I can't say I've ever really cared for the matches Rosemary and Havok have had together, and despite basically being a TLC matchup with a different name, this didn't feel epic by any means. They definitely tried, but it felt like they were going through the motions and nothing looked smooth.

Moose def. Hernandez and Michael Elgin in a Three-Way Match

In case you missed it, Eddie Edwards and Impact World Champion Tessa Blanchard couldn't make the show, so the scheduled Impact World Championship three-way match was canceled. Moose and Hernandez replaced them and I liked how they set this up logically. Elgin obviously has a legitimate claim at being champion, Moose has been on a roll for a while, and Hernandez is the one TNA alum Moose hasn't beaten yet. I thought it was a well-worked three-way between three hosses with a nice pace. I fully expected Elgin to win, so Moose pinning Hernandez for the victory was a pleasant surprise. It was never directly stated that the winner would be next in line for a shot at the Impact World Championship, but I'm sure an official update is coming soon. I'd be shocked if they go months without a world champion (even though WWE has gotten away with it for so many years with Brock Lesnar). On a side note, Moose's cosplay of The Ultimate Warrior was tremendous.

overall Show

It's unfortunate that the two top advertised matches for Rebellion had to be canceled, but it's even worse that those same stars may not be a part of IMPACT programming for many months if the company did indeed tape months worth of shows a few weeks ago. As for Part 2 of Rebellion, it didn't come across as a pay-per-view whatsoever due to the changes, even with a Full Metal Mayhem match on the card. If you look at it as a glorified edition of IMPACT! Wrestling, it's solid. I enjoyed the opener and the main event, but the two matches in the middle can easily be skipped over in my opinion.