IMPACT! Wrestling Review - December 6, 2018

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Mack def. Jake Crist to Qualify for the Impact X-Division Championship Ultimate X Match at Homecoming

I haven't seen too much of the Crist brothers in action to get a great feel for how they are in singles competition, but this was a fun little match while it lasted. It would have benefited from the oVe interference being to kept to a minimum, but it an enjoyable opener, nonetheless. I was actually surprised Crist qualified over Mack, if only because I believe Mack would be a better addition to that bout and I highly doubt Crist is winning the title.

Allie def. Heather Monroe

Apparently the story with Allie is that as a result of traveling to the "undead realm" a few months ago, she lost her soul and has since become a minion of Su Yung's. Her gradual descent into the darkness has been well done in recent weeks and I love the modifications she's made to her appearance and in-ring work to signify her change in character. This was an extended squash to give her a decisive victory. Afterward, Allie finally turned on Kiera Hogan, and I assume this will lead to Rosemary returning and siding with Hogan against Allie and Yung.

Desi Hit Squad def. Damien Hyde and Manny Lemons

​I might be wrong with the names of Desi Hit Squad's opponents, but that was what it sounded like. At any rate, it doesn't matter to me who Desi Hit Squad consists of, I couldn't care less about them either way. Based off the crowd's reaction to this, I don't think I'm alone in feeling that way. They are perfectly fine in the ring, but it's a dead gimmick and they aren't exciting whatsoever. It's annoying how much television time is devoted to these guys each week.

Ethan Page def. Matt Sydal to Qualify for the X-Division Championship Ultimate X Match at Homecoming

When Sydal spent more time preparing Page for this match than himself, it was obvious that Page was going to win. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened, but the bout itself was well-wrestled. Granted, the crowd had zero incentive to cheer for one guy over the other, but it felt like a standard exhibition between two partners who both wanted to be a part of Ultimate X. Sydal seemed surprised by Page's victory afterward but showed him respect before walking to the back.

Impact World Champion Johnny Impact and Taya Valkyrie def. Moose and Impact Knockouts Champion Tessa Blanchard

I'm sure Johnny and Taya have partnered up in other promotions (Lucha Underground, perhaps?), but this marked the first time they've teamed together in IMPACT. Needless to say, they had excellent chemistry and this was an entertaining main event with them, Moose and Blanchard. All four of them played their roles well and it succeeded in furthering the feud between Valkyrie and Blanchard with Valkyrie submitting Blanchard for the victory. Afterward, Killer Kross teased coming to the aid of Valkyrie before facing off with Brian Cage, so expect them to clash ahead of Homecoming.

Overall Show

IMPACT has been doing a commendable job of building up their Homecoming pay-per-view on January 6th and it's shaping up to be a strong show. That said, these editions of IMPACT! Wrestling haven't exactly been lighting the world on fire. The two hours never cease to fly by and I'm liking a lot of the stories they're telling at the moment, but not every episode is exciting as it should be and the weekly product feels like it's missing something as a result. Hopefully they can recapture that same spark they had going into Slammiversary and Bound for Glory prior to Homecoming, but otherwise, this was a solid show.