IMPACT! Wrestling Review - August 10, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Sami Callihan and Rich Swann def. ABC in an Impact World Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament Semifinal Match

I assumed ABC would win so we could get them against The Rascalz in the finals, but it actually made more sense for Callihan and Swann to advance so Rascalz vs. ABC can be saved for another time. Will Callihan and Swann end up getting the tag title opportunity at Emergence? Plus, ABC had an out for losing with The Good Hands costing them the win. This was an enjoyable opener with the two teams working as well together as you'd expect.

Diry Dango def. Bhupinder Gujjar

Gujjar has settled into an enhancement role by this point after getting a small push last year. He wasn't overly interesting to begin with, but it's not like he was given many chances to connect with the crowd because of how he's been booked. This was decent while it lasted and was designed to give Dango a win ahead of a match with Jake Something. I'm glad Something is getting his first feud since returning to the company and Dango is a good person for him to work with.

Jody Threat def. Alisha Edwards

Alisha will face Traci Brooks at some point it seems, but it was fine that she lost here because IMPACT is trying to build up Threat at the same time. The match was whatever, but at least it managed to further the Edwards' feud with Frankie Kazarian, who attacked Eddie at ringside toward the end. He also accidentally hit Alisha with a kendo stick afterward, so Eddie will likely be seeking revenge (despite being the heel in this storyline).

Kushida def. "Speedball" Mike Bailey

Kushida is gearing up to challenge for the Impact X-Division Championship soon and thus it made sense to give him a credible win before then over a former champ in Bailey, who isn't doing much of note right now but continues to have standout performances. I appreciated that this was given so much time as it was quite the entertaining affair. It's cool that IMPACT will deliver a lengthy match out of nowhere and have it be a blast.

Brian Myers, Moose and Bully Ray def. Laredo Kid and Black Taurus in a 3-on-2 Handicap Match

Samuray del Sol was supposed to team with Kid and Taurus, but he was attacked backstage beforehand, turning this into a three-on-two Handicap match. Myers, Moose and Bully are the new heel super group, so even with PCO returning toward the end and taking Bully out of the equation, it was logical for Moose and Myers to go over, regardless. This told a solid story and kept things moving nicely. Sol, Kid and Taurus are a hell of a trio on paper, so hopefully we still get to see them team up at some point.

Overall Show

One of my favorite parts of the show was the sit-down interview Tom Hannifan conducted with Crazzy Steve, which provided some insight on him as a person and the legitimate blindness he deals with. It came out of nowhere, but I'd love for it to lead to something significant for him. At any rate, this was an above-average episode on the whole. Kushida vs. Bailey is worth seeking out and the opening and closing matches were also well wrestled. Additionally, Threat vs. Edwards was passable and Dango vs. Gujjar served a purpose. The Emergence build has been well done so far, but it's a shame it's happening on the same day as two other events (AEW All In and NWA 75: Night 2).

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