IMPACT Under Siege Review - May 15, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Brian Myers def. Black Taurus

Myers' ability to have a quality match with almost anyone on the roster is a credit to how talented he is, and it helps when his opponent is equally talented such as Black Taurus. It worked perfectly as an opener because it was well-wrestled and had a nice pace to it. It's so refreshing to see Myers win more often than he loses. I hope he's turned some heads with his IMPACT run and showing people that he's more than the perennial jobber WWE presented him as for so long.

Taylor Wilde and Tenille Dashwood def. Susan and Kimber Lee

Dashwood has been coming to Wilde's aid in recent weeks even though Wilde never asked for her help. In fact, the only reason this match happened was because Susan asked for it, not because Wilde and Dashwood wanted to team. They didn't show any signs of dissension here, but I'm sure Dashwood turning on her is only inevitable. Them feuding for a month or two should keep Wilde busy before contending for the Impact Knockouts Championship. The match itself was fine for what it was, only existing to give Wilde and Dashwood a win and move their story along.

Ace Austin & Madman Fulton def. XXXL, Rohit Raju & Shera, and TJP & Petey Williams in an Impact World Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Four-Way Tag Team Match

This was a cool clash of styles with all four teams working well with each other. I don't know if this was intended to be a one-off for TJP and Williams as a duo or not, but they had terrific chemistry as partners and I wouldn't mind seeing them continue to team up. The tag team division hasn't been on the same level as the X-Division lately, but this was a solid showcase for everyone involved, nonetheless. Austin and Fulton should be fun challengers for FinJuice, even if they don't take the titles from them.

W. Morrissey def. Willie Mack

This was Morrissey's first major competitive singles match since coming to IMPACT and probably his first since facing Daniel Bryan back at WWE Money in the Bank 2018 (not counting his stuff on the independent scene). All in all, he looked good. He was on offense for a while, so while it wasn't the most exciting affair, it served its purpose in making Morrissey look dominant. Additionally, Mack played his role very well as the sympathetic babyface. Rich Swann returning afterward gives Morrissey his next big feud. I do feel bad for Mack, who is almost always put in a position to put other people over and prepare them for a feud with Swann. Mack's going to have to snap on Swann at some point, right?

Fire 'N Flava def. Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering to Win the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship

I figured this would be your typical title rematch where the champs beat the former champs and moved forward, but they've told an interesting story with Grace since Rebellion that's had me invested. Fire 'N Flava have been calling Grace the weak link of her team and then she was pinned here, making me think a heel turn might be coming (unless they're playing hot potato with the titles which I don't want to see). They had an even better match than they did at Rebellion with both teams looking great. WWE needs to take notes on how to handle their own set of women's tag titles.

Impact X-Division Champion Josh Alexander def. El Phantasmo

I had high hopes for this match and they delivered. Alexander has been awesome on his own in 2021 and Phantasmo is such a fantastic for the current X-Division. I knew Phantasmo wasn't winning considering Alexander just won the title at Rebellion (the Knockouts tag titles were a different story), but he still had a hell of an outing in what was a blast of a bout. I'd love to see these two continue to clash, but even if not, Alexander has a plethora of opponents he can defend against in the stacked X-Division.

Impact X-Division Champion Deonna Purrazzo def. Havok

I don't think anyone actually thought the title was in jeopardy of changing hands here, especially as Purrazzo prepares to face Wilde at some point. That said, it was a fresh match and a smart way to keep Purrazzo busy before then. I personally don't care about Havok, but she held her own here. Purrazzo, on the other hand, has been doing outstanding work in IMPACT and has managed to bring the best out of competition. In the end, Havok couldn't overcome the interference and fell to Purrazzo, so it did what it needed to do.

Eddie Edwards and Impact World Tag Team Champions FinJuice def. AEW World Champion and Impact World Champion Kenny Omega and The Good Brothers

This was another one of those Omega six-man tag team matches that I thought would be more exciting on the whole than it was. Yes, they picked up the pace down the stretch, but the first half or so was fairly basic. The Good Brothers are what they are, but even Omega felt slowed down. The heat segment felt like it lasted forever, but that might have been just me. I especially enjoyed the interactions between Omega and Edwards and would love to see them work a singles match eventually. Thankfully, it looks like that could be the case considering Edwards pinned Anderson for the win. It also furthers the story that The Good Brothers have been holding Omega back.

Moose def. Chris Sabin, Sami Callihan, Chris Bey, Matt Cardona and Trey Miguel in an Impact World Championship No. 1 Contender's Six-Way Match

The best part about this match, aside from the entertaining action, was how there were a number of different outcomes IMPACT could have gone with. Callihan was clearly the favorite, which was why The Good Brothers interfered and cost him the win. Obviously, IMPACT is building to Omega vs. Callihan at some point, but the question is when. Instead, it was Moose who went over, which is interesting because I figured he'd be the one to ultimately take the title from Omega. Maybe IMPACT is doing it now because they think Moose might leave when his contract is up soon? Regardless, this was an excellent main event. There was a constant flow of wrestling and everyone had their time to shine. Omega has plenty of opponents lined up to challenge him it seems.

Overall Show

The first few matches felt like they could have happened on any ordinary edition of IMPACT! Wrestling, but the second half of the show was really where the money was. Purrazzo vs. Havok was an average outing as expected, but the Knockouts Tag Team Championship match was very good and had a surprise title change. Meanwhile, the six-man tag team match, Alexander vs. Phantasmo, and the main event are all worth checking out. The IMPACT product has been firing on all cylinders in recent months and I was glad that Under Siege kept the momentum rolling. Here's hoping they have another newsworthy Slammiversary show in store come July 17th.