IMPACT Uncaged Review - February 15, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Impact Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie def. Tessa Blanchard in a Street Fight

I've been thoroughly enjoying this feud over the last several months and thought this was their best bout yet. They took full advantage of the stipulation and went to the extreme by incorporating as many weapons as possible and even pushing the envelope a bit (but thankfully not to the point where it was unnecessary). This was a hell of an effort from both ladies and a fitting conclusion to their long-running rivalry. Now I'm curious to see how Valkyrie's next title feud will top this one (as well as where Blanchard goes from here...perhaps a possible program with Gail Kim?).

Willie Mack def. Ethan Page

Although there was no real rhyme or reason behind this match, it was entertaining for what it was. They worked well together and produced a fun little exhibition. Mack is an incredible athlete for a guy his size and I'm hoping he can find some direction for himself soon. As for Page, it's a shame Matt Sydal left the company because I liked their pairing, and without Sydal, I honestly don't know what you do with Page. He's had a few quality matches up to this point, but that's about it until the company finds a suitable role for him on the show.

Sami Callihan Attacked Impact X-Division Champion Rich Swann

For weeks now, Callihan and oVe have approached Swann about joining their group, which Swann seemed to be considering since he has history with Callihan from years ago. Swann finally decisively turned down his offer here, which logically lead to the two brawling. Callihan then viciously attacked Swann at the top of the stage and laid him out with a brutal piledriver. This was a solid (albeit inevitable) angle that should result in the next chapter of this story unfolding.

Team AAA (Psycho Clown, Puma King, Aerostar, Vikingo) def. Team IMPACT (Callihan, Fallah Bahh, Eli Drake and Eddie Edwards) in a World Cup Elimination Match

I'm not too familiar with the World Cup concept or even what purpose it's supposed to serve aside from giving AAA some extra exposure, but this turned out to be a terrific sprint with everyone playing their roles well. The elimination stipulation was smart to add in as well because it ensured everyone had time to shine and culminated in an excellent encounter between Edwards and Clown at the very end. Plus, Edwards and Drake were able to further their feud with Drake costing Edwards their team the win, setting up a one-on-one match between them for next week.

Impact World Champion Johnny Impact def. Moose, Killer Kross and Brian Cage in a Four-Way Match

I would have liked to see this match receive more time considering the world title was on the line, it was still a strong main event that had the perfect pace with it being all action from start to finish. All four competitors got to share the spotlight and some of the nearfalls were suspenseful, making for an exciting final stretch. The finish was a bit lame (why wouldn't Cage just break of Mundo's pinfall attempt if the referee was clearly fixated on him?), but they did a nice job of telling the story that Cage came close to capturing the championship before narrowly falling short once again.

Overall Show

IMPACT usually delivers with these pseudo-pay-per-views and Uncaged was no exception. Granted, the build left a bit to be desired since I was only looking forward to the four-way and the Street Fight coming in, but both bouts were excellent (especially the Street Fight) and the rest of the show was also above-average with the World Cup exceeding expectations, Callihan and Swann progressing their story, and Mack and Page effectively killing time with good wrestling.