IMPACT! Wrestling Review - July 21, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Impact X-Division Champion Chris Bey def. Willie Mack

It's interesting that IMPACT got this rematch out of the way early as opposed to stretching out the feud a few more weeks with Mack in chase mode. It was an enjoyable opener, but much like their encounter at Slammiversary, it didn't reach that next level like I was hoping it would. On the bright side, Bey retained the title in clean fashion and I was happy Johnny Swinger didn't factor into the finish at all.

The Good Brothers Attacked Ace Austin and Madman Fulton

It was nice to hear from Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows here after they only appeared at Slammiversary and didn't speak. They didn't say much, but they established why they came to IMPACT and that they're a top tandem. That very well may be true, but after how they were booked in WWE toward the end, they're going to need to prove themselves all over again I feel. Thankfully, they're off to a solid start in IMPACT by getting the better of Austin and Fulton on back-to-back occasions. It's also a good storyline that keeps Austin busy following his unsuccessful pursuit of the Impact World Championship.

Havok and Nevaeh def. Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz by Disqualification

I thought the only reason these teams were feuding going into Slammiversary was because they were going to be involved in the Knockouts Gauntlet match at the event. Now that Slammiversary has come and gone, I have no desire to see it continue because of how all four women are heels (at least the last time I checked). It was a decent match, but the disqualification ending means the rivalry isn't over yet.

Rhino def. Hernandez

Rhino and Hernandez have been having a friendly rivalry in recent weeks, including a cinematic brawl outside the arena last week. I didn't care to see them go one-on-one here, so I was happy that this ended as quick as it did. The bigger story was that Heath (Slater) was calling Rhino because security wasn't letting him into the building and Rhino didn't pick up because he was distracted with Hernandez. I appreciate that IMPACT is slowly building to them reuniting in the ring as opposed to giving it away right off the bat.

Eric Young Interrupted Impact World Champion Eddie Edwards

Edwards cut a pretty standard albeit heartfelt promo about winning the world title at Slammiversary, but it was all a question of who would interrupt him. Young made as much sense as anyone following his "big" return at the pay-per-view, though I can't say I have an interest in seeing him challenge for the championship again. Edwards brought up how he viciously attacked Rich Swann last Saturday night, so clearly that's the direction IMPACT is going in with them. It was announced that Edwards will defend against Trey next week.

Moose def. Fallah Bahh

Let it be known that most of Moose's matches are (in his mind) for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, even though it isn't an active title sanctioned by the company. Bahh never stood a chance because of how he's presented as a comedy character/tag team wrestler most of the time, so I didn't mind that this was kept on the shorter side. Following his victory, Moose was ambushed from behind by EC3, which was a cool surprise. EC3 is playing a totally different character than the last time we saw him and I'm intrigued to see what he brings to the table as he reinvents himself.

The Motor City Machine Guns def. The North to Win the Impact World Tag Team Championship

I hadn't been this excited for an Impact World Tag Team Championship match in a while and I'm happy it was positioned as the main event as it should have been. The North have been champions for so long that it was going to be a big deal whenever they dropped them and it definitely did feel like one here. This was an entertaining main event with the right result. The North have been terrific champions, but but they've practically wiped out the entire division, so it was time for a change. The Motor City Machine Guns winning their first set of tag titles in IMPACT in a decade is wild.

Overall Show

All eyes were on IMPACT coming off their heavily-touted Slammiversary pay-per-view over the weekend and I'm happy to say they followed up on that hot momentum exceptionally well. All of the new/returning names appeared on this episode and had a significant role (well, except for Heath, but that's clearly building to something), there was some strong wrestling and hype for next week, and the above-average main event featured a title change. This was one of my favorite editions of IMPACT! Wrestling in recent memory. For their sake, I really, really hope they can capitalize off this newfound buzz and get people tuning in on a weekly basis again. They're worth giving a second chance to.