IMPACT! Wrestling Review - July 7, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Impact X-Division Champion "Speedball" Mike Bailey def. Alan Angels

Angels literally left AEW a week ago when his contract with the company expired and wasn't renewed, so this was a hell of a turnaround and a great way to kick off the first show coming out of Against All Odds. I didn't think he would win (nor should he have), but he had a chance to showcase his skills and I thought they had a terrific opener. I'd love to see more from Angels in IMPACT as I think he's a fantastic fit for the X-Division.

Eric Young Confronted Deaner and Joe Doering

This took place immediately following the opener when Deaner and Doering beat up Bailey and Angels. They called out Josh Alexander and were instead confronted by Young, who we haven't seen since Slammiversary. I was expecting Young to condemn their actions in his absence and officially turn on them (or vice versa), but they only teased a little tension instead. They're smart to drag this out for a few weeks if that's the direction they're headed in. This segment also established that they still have unfinished business with Alexander.

Trey Miguel def. Laredo Kid

Miguel just came up short of beating Bailey for the X-Division title in an awesome match at Against All Odds. There was no reason behind this bout other than to get Miguel back in the winning column, but much like the opener, it was an awesome X-Division outing. Kid is very talented and Miguel is one of IMPACT's best in my opinion. This gave me hope that Miguel won't fade into the background now that he's failed to regain the X-Division title a few times now, but it all depends on who his next program is with.

PCO def. Black Taurus

Taurus got back in the winning column with a victory over Laredo Kid on the Against All Odds pre-show, and now it's clear that was designed to build him up so he could lose to PCO here. This was a fun, physical hoss fight and PCO was very over in front of this crowd. The company is obviously in the process of turning him babyface, so I assume his split from Honor No More is inevitable.

Rich Swann def. Shera

Apparently Shera confronted Swann backstage following Swann's loss of the Impact Digital Media Championship at Against All Odds. Maybe it aired during the actual event and I'm just remembering, but I'm pretty sure it was social media/digital exclusive. Either way, that was how this bout came about. Shera has never impressed me personally and he again didn't have a great showing here, but Swann carried him to a competent contest and picked up the rebound win.

Mia Yim def. Deonna Purrazzo in an Impact Knockouts World Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

I really thought they'd save this for the next Impact Plus event (which is confirmed to be Emergence), but I have no issue with them giving it away here and positioning it as the main event. Not only because they deserved it, but also because they killed it and had the best bout on the whole show. This was an excellent outing with several close nearfalls, above-average action and an invested crowd. It could have gone either way by the end, but I'm glad Yim won to keep her momentum going.

Overall Show

It was announced that Emergence, the next Impact Plus event, will take place on August 12th, so IMPACT has a much longer build for that show than they did for Against All Odds. There weren't a ton of moving parts on this episode, but stuff was set up for next week as well for Emergence and it was a solid follow-up edition of IMPACT! Wrestling coming off Against All Odds. Above all else, there was plenty of exceptional wrestling throughout the night and the main event in particular is worth checking out.

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