IMPACT! Wrestling Review - February 25, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Daga def. Rob Van Dam by count-Out

I wasn't overly impressed with the match these two had at Hard to Kill, but I assumed that was because it was put together on the fly due to Brian Cage's injury. Unfortunately, this wasn't much of an improvement. RVD's heel run has been a refreshing change of pace for him, but his matches haven't been significantly better. If anything, Katie Forbes continues to serve as a massive distraction at ringside. The rivalry isn't over yet, but I don't think Daga really gained anything from this count-out win.

Rohit Raju def. Wentz

If the plan is for The Rascalz to feud with Desi Hit Squad, then no thanks. The Rascalz are always fun to watch in the ring, but not even they can get me to care about Desi Hit Squad. What's worse is that Wentz lost to Raju here. I guess they have to give Desi Hit Squad credibility somehow, but I don't see them as any more of a threat despite Raju's win over Wentz. This lasted much longer than it should have.

Knockouts Champion Jorydnne Grace def. Miranda Alize

I knew I had seen Alize somewhere before, and it turns out she was squashed by Awesome Kong on AEW Dynamite two months ago. Obviously, she fared a little better here, but this was mostly about Grace given that this was her first major title defense. Alize showed some skills, though, and looked good in defeat. It looks like Madison Rayne will be next to challenge Grace for her newly won championship.

Eddie Edwards def. Michael Elgin in Match #4 in the Best of 5 Series

You had to know Edwards was winning here to get to that fifth and final match in the series, but the outcome being in doubt didn't bother me much. Rather, it paled in comparison to their other encounters for whatever reason. That may have been because this was taped at a Pro Wrestling Revolver event and the atmosphere wasn't the same, but the performances felt phoned in. Don't get me wrong, it was an entertaining outing, but we know that they are capable of better.

Impact World Champion Tessa Blanchard def. Impact X-Division Champion Ace Austin by Disqualification (Impact World Championship Was Not Defended)

I didn't see their Sacrifice match last weekend, so I don't know how this compared to that, but I thought this was a well-wrestled main event on the whole. It lacked drama in my opinion and I never thought for a second Austin was dropping that title, but they had quality chemistry together and made the most of the time they had (which wasn't much). The non-finish was lame yet expected, and now it seems Taya Valkyrie will be rekindling her rivalry with Blanchard. I'm not sure how to feel about it as a world title program, but maybe it'll be blown off on an upcoming episode of IMPACT! Wrestling before Sami Callihan returns to go back after the belt.

Overall Show

This was far from a poor show, but nothing stood out as special. The main event should have felt more important, but didn't. Even Edwards vs. Elgin wasn't as strong as it usually is, though I'm admittedly ready for that rivalry to wrap up so both guys can move on. The first three matches on the show were hardly anything out of the ordinary, either, so I'd chalk this up to being a mediocre effort overall. Several storylines were furthered, but not in an exciting fashion whatsoever.