IMPACT! Wrestling Review - December 10, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Rob Van Dam def. Rhino (Tommy Dreamer Served as Special Guest Referee)

RVD and Rhino have been at odds since RVD turned on Rhino at Bound for Glory, and while I've been digging RVD's recent run as a heel, I really hope this was the blow-off to their feud. It was beyond boring and featured absolutely nothing exciting whatsoever. It honestly felt like they were wrestling in slow motion and Dreamer didn't add anything as the special guest ref, either. RVD winning was the correct call, but that's about the only positive thing I can say about this.

Moose def. Acey Romero

We haven't seen a ton of Romero in IMPACT since he signed two months ago, but he seems to be pretty talented. I liked how he took Moose to his limit and scored an ample amount of offense before eating defeat. He can be something if built up the right way. As for Moose, I'm ready for him to take the next step. He picked up that big win over Ken Shamrock at Bound for Glory but has been spinning his wheels since then. I really feel like IMPACT failed to capitalize on any momentum he had coming out of that event.

Fallah Bahh def. Raj Singh

I've noted many times before how The Desi Hit Squad does nothing for me, but Bahh is entertaining enough that this was passable. He showed good fire and carried Singh to a competent contest. Thankfully, this didn't overstay its welcome and had the right result. TJP saved Bahh from a Desi Hit Squad beatdown (sans Mahabali Shera for some reason) afterward, setting the stage for a future tag team match. The commentators mentioned how this marked TJP's return, though I honestly don't really remember him ever being gone to begin with.

Rich Swann and Willie Mack def. oVe, The Rascalz and Reno Scum in an Impact World Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Tag Team Open

The North are in need of new challengers and this was an effective way of determining them. It was all action and the four teams made the most of the time they had. The frantic pace made it fun and I appreciated how Swann continued his recent roll by picking up the winning fall. They're clearly telling a story with Swann and Mack, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out. Remember, Killer Kross did try to drive a wedge between the two many months ago, but that angle was cut short before it could go anywhere.

Tessa Blanchard def. Madman Fulton by Disqualification

I had an issue with these two facing off a while back because of the significant size difference. It's awesome that they're building up Blanchard as a threat to the men and I'm excited to see her vie for the Impact World Championship at Hard to Kill, but this was a bit too unbelievable for my liking. On the bright side, it didn't last long at all and solely existed so oVe could beat up Blanchard before Shamrock made the save.

Impact World Champion Sami Callihan def. Ken Shamrock by Referee Stoppage (Non-Title)

I was curious how Shamrock would fare against Callihan and it was not a nice mix at all. What an underwhelming main event, and that's completely on Shamrock. He had a poor showing here and failed to hang with Callihan. He lost to Moose at Bound for Glory, so him losing to Callihan by referee stoppage wasn't a big deal. The post-match angle with Fulton viciously attacking Shamrock seemed to write Shamrock out of storylines, but time will tell.

Overall Show

IMPACT has been putting out some strong shows lately on AXS TV, but this was not one of them. The "Pick Your Poison" gimmick with Blanchard and Callihan had potential but ultimately fell flat, as neither match was well wrestled in the slightest. I enjoyed the Tag Team Open and Moose vs. Romero was decent, but everything else came across as being fairly mediocre to me. Here's hoping they can bounce back with a better effort next week.