IMPACT! Wrestling Review - July 19, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Eddie Edwards and Moose def. Rohit Raju and Cody Deaner in a Mash-Up Tournament First Round Match

Edwards and Moose had a heated rivalry late last year that spilled into the first month of 2019, so I was surprised to see them work as well together as they did together here. Raju and Deaner had no chance from the get-go, but at least it was a decent little match with a fun pace. Again, it would have been nice to see more dissension between former friends/foes Edwards and Moose, but this was a solid opener otherwise. Afterward, The Deaners and Desi Hit Squad brawled to continue their feud that I don't care about.

Jake Crist and Wentz def. Impact X-Division Championship Rich Swann and Madman Fulton in a Mash-Up Tournament First Round Match

You had to know some sort of shenanigans would go down as soon as you saw that Crist and Fulton were on opposite teams. I'm slightly shocked this lasted as long as it did considering how obvious the outcome was, but Crist and Fulton revealing they were in cahoots the entire time was a logical and well-done angle. However, I believe Crist and Fulton should have switched partners because I wasn't a fan of Swann eating an unnecessary pin.

Michael Elgin and Willie Mack def. Ace Austin and Stone Rockwell in a Mash-Up Tournament First Round Match

Elgin and Mack have somewhat similar styles and therefore made for a terrific team here. Austin was originally supposed to partner up with Aiden Price, but Price left Austin hanging high and dry before the bout because Austin insulted him. Austin found a less-than-suitable replacement in Rockwell, who is a comedy character (but a quality one at that). Unlike the other first round tournament matches, this was thankfully kept on the shorter side and was treated more like a squash in favor of Elgin and Mack.

Sami Callihan and Tessa Blanchard def. Trey and Dave Crist in a Mash-Up Tournament First Round Match

I believe Callihan and Blanchard were the first team announced for this tourney and I think we all assumed at that very moment that they were winning this thing coming off their excellent outing at Slammiversary. The two of them trying to coexist here along with Dave refusing to go down to Callihan's "Finger Poke of Doom" and Trey's flurry of offense easily made this the best bout in the first round of the tourney. This played out perfectly.

Havok def. Impact Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie and Madison Rayne in a Three-Way Match (Non-Title)

This could have been a really good match given the talent level involved, but it ended up being a very forgettable three-way due to only being five minutes in length. It didn't help that what we got wasn't all that exciting, either. I understand why Havok would win and pin Rayne over Valkyrie, but it was weird timing as Rayne just turned heel one week removed from her heel turn.

Sami Callihan & Tessa Blanchard def. Jake Crist & Wentz, Michael Elgin & The Mack, and Eddie Edwards & Moose in a Four-Way Tag Team Match in the Finals of the Mash-Up Tournament

The elimination stipulation reminded me of what WWE is doing nowadays on Raw and SmackDown Live nowadays due to their dumb edict about there being no wrestling during commercial breaks, but I didn't hate it here. In fact, it made the final two teams going at it that much more suspenseful. Everything that came before it was a ton of fun and Elgin turning on Mack was exactly what his character would do. With their win, Callihan and Blanchard will now face each other one-on-one at the Unbreakable event on August 2nd where the winner will become the new number one contender to the Impact World Championship. That could be where Blanchard beats Callihan after losing to him at Slammiversary, but is Blanchard vs. Brian Cage really a believable match if that's what it comes to? I guess time will tell.

Overall Show

This like a filler show coming off the hot Slammiversary pay-per-view two weeks ago, as the almost entire episode centered around the Mash-Up Tournament and not much else. That said, a few storylines progressed and we now have our main event for the Unbreakable event in two weeks. Although it was an interesting concept, I would recommend skipping through all the first round matches and instead just checking out the main event.