WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • WRR
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact

Columnist Corner

Impact Wrestling Review - April 27, 2017

4/27/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Josh Mathews Had Jeremy Borash Removed From Commentary

As expected, Borash striking Mathews at the end of last week's episode led to JB being "suspended" indefinitely, and only after two weeks, Mathews is officially back on commentary. That's terrible. I know this might be a part of something Slammiversary-related, but the fact we have to suffer through Mathews' commentary even longer is unbearably bad, not to mention it makes that main event from a few weeks ago completely pointless. This whole angle reeks of Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler from 2011.

Matt Sydal def. Trevor Lee

Sydal was advertised by Impact Wrestling ahead of time on their social media accounts, but I still would have treated his debut like a bigger deal. The commentators didn't exhibit any excitement when he came out, which is a shame because Sydal is a hell of a pick-up for them if he's under contract now. However, I don't think that's the case considering he will be challenging Marty Scurll for the ROH World Television Championship at an event soon. At any rate, this was a fun little match, but it was weird Lee didn't show any signs of wanting to get his X-Division Championship back after losing it last week.

Ethan Carter III Attacked James Storm

As popular as he was as a babyface, EC3 turning heel was long overdue because he is far more comfortable in that role. He cut a good albeit unspectacular promo here, and the same can be said for Storm. I liked the aggression from both men and it was a solid segment, but it wasn't as strong as it could have been. EC3 was laughing at his own jokes, so I hope he stops doing that and stays serious because that's when he's total money on the mic. That said, I'm looking forward to this feud and the matches they'll produce.

GFW Women's Champion Christina Von Eerie def. Ava Storie (Non-title)

Von Eerie previously wrestled for Impact Wrestling years ago as Toxxin and I believe is the real life wife of former star Jesse Neal. I haven't seen too much of her work prior to this point, but she had an impressive outing here and I've heard she's one of the better women's wrestlers on the independent scene today. My only complaint is that she relied a little too heavily on the "Oy!" chants, which would be fine if Reno Scum wasn't already doing that. She is undoubtedly the best addition to the Knockouts division of all the recent signings and could be a real threat to the Knockouts Championship sooner rather than later.

Davey Richards def. Impact Grand Champion Moose by Disqualification

I'm not sure whether Chris Adonis was actually injured or not, but the match was better off with Richards as his replacement. They told a great story with Richards targeting Moose's injured knee throughout and Moose surprisingly made for a believable underdog babyface. The non-finish was fine because it protected both guys, kept the title on Moose, and furthered the feud between Richards and Eddie Edwards. Obviously, NFL players DeAngelo Williams and Gary Barnidge roughing up Richards afterward was designed to get mainstream attention. I didn't agree with it, but I understood why they did it.

Kongo Kong def. Matt Sigmon

Kong continues to kill his opponents and he has grown on me with each passing week. This squash was effective in getting over his dominance and awesome-looking offense for a guy of his massive size. KM currently does nothing for me (that video package of him being a dick at a restaurant was poorly acted), but aligning Kong with him and Sienna helps them elicit heat as well.

Veterans of War def. Fallah Brah and Mario Bokara

One of the Veterans of War previously wrestled as Crimson for Impact Wrestling years ago, though I'm not certain he has improved a ton in his absence. In other words, this was not pretty, at all. The babyfaces didn't sell for the heels whatsoever and the two tandems just didn't have any chemistry. Crimson's post-match promo introducing themselves to the audience was decent, but I'm not sold on this duo quite yet.

Impact Wrestling World Tag Team Champions LAX def. Decay in a Street Fight

What's the difference between a Street Fight and a Monster's Ball? They seem like the same type of match to me. At any rate, this was an entertaining hardcore brawl that played to Decay's strengths and LAX shined as well. I questioned last week why they would rush into doing this match so soon after the feud, but now we know why: Crazzy Steve apparently is WWE/NXT bound. Thus, this might have been his final televised appearance for Impact Wrestling, and if so, he went out on a high note. We'll see where this leaves the rest of Decay.

Overall Show

It's crazy when you think about how well over half of the roster now in Impact Wrestling consists of returning stars or fresh faces. Whether that's for the better or for worse is debatable, but as I've said in the past, I've been enjoying the latest creative direction for the company by and large. There were a handful of enhancement matches on this show, but all of them served a purpose, while the two title matches were well-wrestled. As long as they keep the crap with the announcers to a minimum, Impact Wrestling may be able to maintain this momentum.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    Battle Of The Belts
    Cruiserweight Classic
    Halftime Heat
    Hidden Gems
    Lists/Rankings
    Mae Young Classic
    Mixed Match Challenge
    News
    NJPW
    NWA Shockwave
    Opinion
    Previews
    Retro Reviews
    Reviews
    RJ's Two Cents
    Satire
    SummerSlam Recall
    The Deadly Draw
    Tribute To The Troops
    Women's Eliminator
    Worlds Collide
    WrestleMania Recall
    WWE Draft
    WWE Starrcade


    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    RSS Feed

©2023 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • WRR
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact