IMPACT! Wrestling Review - April 12, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Moose def. Wentz

Moose feuding with The Rascalz feels like a step down from where he was even one month ago when he was competing for the Impact World Championship, but The Rascalz are an insanely talented group of individuals, so I have no problem with it. Plus, this was a nice little match with Wentz looking really good in defeat before losing. I'd be up for Moose taking on Dezmond Xavier singles action as well.

Rosemary def. Su Yung by Disqualification

This nonsense with the "Undead Realm" was amusing at first, but it's basically run its course by this point. It's just way too hokey and doesn't do much for me at all. Yung vs. Rosemary is the feud that will never seem to end, and this match never left first gear before Kiera Hogan got involved. I guess they're teasing tension between Rosemary and Hogan now? By the way, it was announced afterward that Yung won, but unless Rosemary was counted out, I don't know how that happened because Rosemary was clearly attacked by the undead bridesmaids. I'll chalk that up to a disqualification victory for Rosemary.

The North def. Sheldon Jean and El Reverso

I had no idea that Josh Alexander and Ethan Page were previously a tag team. I thought Alexander would turn on Page immediately after this, but the betrayal never came, so perhaps they'll be a unit for the foreseeable. Honestly, that might be for the best, because it lends some credibility to Alexander right off the bat and finally gives Page something meaningful to do. This was a fun showcase for them as they defeated the pair of enhancement talents with ease.

Madison Rayne def. Tessa Blanchard

Rayne proved in her outing against Jordynne Grace last week that she is still as skilled as she ever was and hasn't lost a step since coming back to IMPACT. She and Blanchard actually competed against each other twice last year and Rayne won on both occasions. This was another quality contest from them with a surprising outcome. I fully expected Blanchard to finally get one over on Rayne here, but thanks to Gail Kim, that didn't happen. That opens the door for more matches between Blanchard and Rayne down the road, so I was happy with the finish.

Impact World Champion Johnny Impact and Impact Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie def. Brian Cage and Jordynne Grace

This was a super solid main event with all four stars putting forth a commendable effort. Grace especially stood out in my opinion and I liked the storytelling with Impact attempting to avoid Cage at every turn. Before the babyfaces could reign supreme and score some sweet justice, referee John E. Bravo blindsided Cage from behind and aided Impact to victory. The commentators played up how Bravo also likely played a factor in Impact beating Cage back at Homecoming in January, so that is some clever long-term booking if true. I usually hate when that type of stuff happens, but it was a cool twist here.

Overall Show

The build to Rebellion in a few weeks has been strong on the whole and that continued on this edition of IMPACT! Wrestling. The main event managed to hype up two different title matches, Alexander and Page successfully reunited, Blanchard and Rayne delivered once again, and Moose and Wentz had an enjoyable opener. Rosemary vs. Yung was a dud, but that was merely a minor blemish on an other entertaining episode.