IMPACT! Wrestling Review - April 5, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Petey Williams def. Jake Crist, Trey, Idris Abraham, Aiden Price and Ace Austin in a Six-Man Scramble Match

I honestly don't know what purpose this was supposed to serve aside from potentially showcasing the X-Division. There wasn't even a future title shot on the line, so again, this felt random, especially when none of these dudes have beef with each other at the moment. On the bright side, it was all action and the crowd was into everything they did, not to mention how I'll never complain about getting to see the Canadian Destroyer (let alone one off the top rope). This was a nice return to IMPACT TV for Williams.

oVe def. Impact X-Division Champion Rich Swann and Willie Mack

I was never overly impressed by Madman Fulton (f.k.a. Sawyer Fulton) in NXT, but I thought he fared well for himself here and IMPACT did the right thing by booking him like a monster. On the whole, this was a good match and I appreciated the storytelling tidbits that were incorporated throughout with Swann and Sami Callihan. Callihan pinning Swann for the win was logical considering he'll be vying for the X-Division Championship at Rebellion later this month.

Jordynne Grace def. Madison Rayne in an Impact Knockouts Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

Rayne was recently granted her release from Ring of Honor. She actually took a shot at the company during a backstage promo on this show. As for the match itself, I liked it a lot. It felt like Rayne was determined to prove that she is still a top talent and she certainly succeeded. Meanwhile, Grace is great as well, so this turned out to be a really strong matchup. Brian Cage saving Grace from Johnny Impact and Taya Valkyrie afterward should set up a mixed tag team affair for a future episode.

Rohit Raju def. Fallah Bahh

I apologize for sounding like a broken record, but Desi Hit Squad do absolutely nothing for me, regardless of who they're up against. Bahh and KM are a fun undercard act, but even Bahh wasn't enough to get me to care about this. I was surprised Raju won, but all that did was lead into the post-match angle with Scarlett Bordeaux and Bahh teaming up to take Desi Hit Squad out.

Eddie Edwards and Eli Drake def. LAX

I would have loved to see this receive more time than it did, but for what it was, this main event was a treat. Edwards and Drake remain on the same page for now, but you have to wonder when the other shoe will drop and Drake will turn on Edwards. LAX are always entertaining and they constantly find ways to get crowds engaged in their matches. The Lucha Brothers interfering at the end to cost LAX the win furthered their feud effectively heading into Rebellion.

Overall Show

Rebellion is coming up quickly and IMPACT has put together quite the card for the event over the past month. This show featured solid storyline progression and plenty of quality in-ring action. Raju vs. Bahh was the only match I had zero interest in, but at least it was kept relatively short and sweet. Unfortunately, no one was talking about this episode thanks to NXT TakeOver: New York taking place the same night, but it was a thumbs-up show that deserves more attention.