IMPACT! Wrestling Review - August 2, 2018

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Allie and Kiera Hogan def. Impact Knockouts Champion Su Yung and Undead Bridesmaid

Allie put her issues with Yung to the side a few months ago after being sidetracked by Tessa Blanchard, so she looked to rekindle that rivalry here. It was a fairly well-wrestled tag team affair with all four women (including the undead bridesmaid) holding their own and having solid showings. Allie pinning Yung for the win sets her up for a future title shot, but it doesn't look like Blanchard is done with Allie based off how she attacked her afterward.

The OGz def. Local Athletes

Of course, this was your typical squash match with Homicide and Hernandez hitting their signature spots and going over in swift and decisive fashion. Their feud with LAX is far from over seeing as how they left them laying at Slammiversary despite being defeated. I liked the brawl the two teams had here, and if their original encounter was any encounter, the eventual rematch should be equally excellent.

Desi Hit Squad def. Fallah Bahh and K.m.

The tag team theme of this show continued with this decent outing between Desi Hit Squad and K.M. and Bahh, which was a rematch from a few weeks ago. This was along the same lines as their first matchup in that Bahh and K.M. largely went for comedy and Desi Hit Squad still have a ways to go, but they looked fine. The result was what it needed to be with Desi Hit Squad on the rise in the tag team division at the moment.

Impact World Champion Austin Aries def. Dustin Cameron

Knowing he was facing a a student from Anthony Carelli's (Santino Marella) Battle Arts Academy, Aries didn't bother preparing whatsoever and instead wore his street clothes for this title defense. Aries plays the arrogant prick role to perfection and he did everything he could to make this as enjoyable as possible. Aries got somewhat physical with Carelli afterward, so it will be interesting to see if that leads to anything at some point. Additionally, Aries will defend his Impact World Championship against Eddie Edwards next week.

Scarlett Bordeaux Addressed the Audience

I honestly thought this was a much better promo from Bordeaux than what she said during her debut last week. I love the logic that she isn't afraid to strut her stuff because that was how God made her. Granted, this didn't last long at all, but it didn't need to. It made an impression on the audience and I was once again impressed by her presence and the cadence of her promo. Like I said last week, if she is at least passable in the ring, she can be a breakout star in the Knockouts division.

Eli Drake and Trevor Lee def. Grado and Hendry

As the fourth tag team match on this show, I honestly didn't care too much about this, especially since Grado is a glorified comedy character. Hendry has potential, though, and I hope he can break out on his own down the road. Lee and Caleb Konley were afterthoughts in this whole thing, but it didn't hurt that they walked away with a win. Above all else, please let this mean Drake can move on from this feud and be put in a program more meaningful.

Pentagon Jr. and Fenix def. oVe

I'm happy the Sami Callihan vs. Pentagon program is continuing because they had a hell of a match at Slammiversary. Plus, oVe work such a fast pace during their matches and the chemistry Pentagon has with them is awesome. This was another highly entertaining match between them and they told a nice story down the stretch with the babyfaces having to overcome the odds to emerge victorious. Those final few minutes were just fantastic.

Overall Show

Good lord, did Teddy Long book this show or something?! Of the six matches on this episode, five of them were tag team matches, and the other one was more of an angle than an actual match. That isn't necessarily a bad thing because everything served a purpose for the most part and held my interest, but it just seemed strange. This was still an enjoyable edition of IMPACT! Wrestling on the whole, though, even if only the main event is worth seeking out.