IMPACT! Wrestling Review - January 26, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Sami Callihan, Ken Shamrock, Chris Bey and Moose Attacked Impact World Champion Rich Swann, Tommy Dreamer and Willie Mack

Swann mentioned that the upcoming No Surrender special on February 13th will fall on Dreamer's 50th birthday and because of that he'd like to defend the Impact World Championship against him on that show. Is it random? Yes, but at least he tried to justify it. Besides, it's a one-off main event for Dreamer, and although I'm not in favor of that usually in 2021, Swann should be able to get a decent match out of him. The rest of this segment played out nicely and set the stage for the night's eight-man tag team main event.

Matt Cardona and Josh Alexander def. Ace Austin and Madman Fulton

Cardona will be a great fit for IMPACT if the showing he had in this match was any indication. Obviously, both he and Alexander have a ton of tag team experience (just not together), while Austin and Fulton have been teaming since the summer. This was a fun opening match with Cardona scoring the winning pinfall. As we all expected, he interacted with Brian Myers backstage afterward, so them feuding is only inevitable.

Brian Myers def. Eddie Edwards by Disqualification

I've said this before, but I appreciate how Myers has been positioned as a credible competitor since coming to IMPACT. He hasn't been undefeated by any means, but he's held his own against everyone on the roster and has racked up his fair share of victories. He's been winning a bit more lately and this was another win for him as well albeit via disqualification. Edwards' character is taking another turn, but considering he's already out of his mind, I don't know what more he would do aside from turning heel and I don't think that's the answer. Matt Striker said something about the Edwards of old coming back, for what that's worth.

Rosemary def. Tenille Dashwood

​These two faced off one-on-one prior to Hard to Kill and this was another quality contest from them. It wasn't on the level I thought it should have been given how talented both of these ladies are, but I enjoyed it for what it was. Rosemary and Crazzy Steve have been teasing going back to their darker roots recently and I'm all for it. I loved the duo during their Decay days and it gives them a much-needed edge.

Havok and Nevaeh Crashed the Fire 'N Flava Fest

Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz are the perfect people to be holding the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship now that it's back. They're all over the shows usually and are always entertaining. That said, this segment dragged on a little longer than it needed to, especially since the end result was underwhelming. Why are Fire 'N Flava still feuding with Havok and Nevaeh? They already beat them three times and the matches aren't good enough to justify the rivalry continuing.

Joe Doering def. Cousin Jake

Man, Jake just can't catch a break, but I guess that's the point. The story they're telling is that he loses a lot and may consider a spot in Violent by Design after losing again here. Young spared him afterward and threw one of their shirts on him. The match itself was decent and put more heat on the heels. I don't think Jake will end up joining them, but he should get his time to shine at some point unless IMPACT has zero plans for him on his own.

Impact World Champion Rich Swann, Trey Miguel, Willie Mack and Tommy Dreamer def. Sami Callihan, Ken Shamrock, Moose and Chris Bey

Well, it looks like Miguel is already back in IMPACT after only two months away. It was reported that The Rascalz were done with the promotion and I believe that included Miguel, but I'm not sure if he didn't want to join his partners in NXT or if they didn't offer him a deal or whatever the case was. Honestly, IMPACT might be a better place for him at the moment as he has plenty more he can accomplish as a singles star. This was an enjoyable main event and a great return for Miguel. It's just a shame that a win over Callihan doesn't mean more after how he's been booked since he lost the world title a year ago.

Overall Show

IMPACT is reshuffling the deck coming out of Hard to Kill and the road to No Surrender has begun. James Storm and Trey Miguel are back, Matt Cardona has debuted, and AEW's Private Party are challenging for the Impact World Tag Team Championship at No Surrender. Some new feuds are kicking off, but it will take time for a few of them to get going. This edition of IMPACT! Wrestling wasn't as exciting as last week's and there weren't any above-average matches, but the two hours were effective on the whole in regards to moving several of the storylines forward.