Impact Wrestling Review - June 1, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

GFW Global Champion Alberto El Patron Crashed Ethan Carter III's Celebration

You would think EC3 won a championship and not just become the No. 1 contender to a title based off the over-the-top celebration with the mariachi band, but that's exactly why this worked. It didn't drag on for too long, either, and El Patron crashed it at the perfect time. I'm glad they announced El Patron vs. EC3 in a Six Sides of Steel match for later in the night at the start of the show, but why not advertise that marquee matchup at least one week out?

Impact Grand Champion Moose def. Eli Drake

As I've said in the past, these Impact Grand Championship matches aren't my cup of tea, but Moose and Drake worked well together and produced a pretty good match. That said, I feel like most of these Moose matches are the same with him selling an injury and then winning by the skin of his teeth. Drake probably should have won this based off how he had the upper hand throughout the third round, but you knew he wouldn't given Moose still has to defend against Chris Adonis.

Allie def. Amber Nova

Allie could have wrestled a great match the moment she stepped foot in Impact Wrestling over a year ago, but I liked how the storyline with her pretending not know how to wrestle has gradually progressed over the last six months and now she can have normal matches. This was a solid showcase for her, more so character-wise than from an in-ring standpoint. Allie is such a fun character and it helps that she's over with the audience.

Impact Wrestling World Tag Team Champions LAX def. Veterans of War in a No Disqualification Match to Win the GFW World Tag Team Championship (Impact Wrestling World Tag Team Championship Was Not Defended)

Why did this match have no disqualifications? And because there were no disqualifications, why did LAX do everything behind the referee's back? And why didn't the other members of the group interfere from the get-go? Those questions hindered my enjoyment of the match, but it was decent for what it was otherwise. I figured Veterans of War would win to set up a title unification match at Slammiversary, but I'm glad LAX are being kept strong.

X-Division Champion Low Ki def. Andrew Everett

It was high time we had the X-Division Championship defended in a one-on-one affair and not a giant multi-man match, so I liked this a lot. They were given an ample amount of time and I appreciated how it wasn't one long spot fest. Low Ki and Everett told a solid story with Everett working from underneath, though I can't say many of the nearfalls down the stretch were all that believable because fans have been given no incentive to think Everett had a chance to capture the title. It looks like Low Ki is being set up for a feud with Sonjay Dutt (who he inadvertently injured a few months ago), and that could be great.

GFW Global Champion Alberto El Patron def. Ethan Carter III in a Six Sides of Steel Match

Aside from the fact this was announced earlier in the evening and not advertised in advance, this was an entertaining main event with plenty of back-and-forth action that the crowd was invested in. EC3 is definitely more comfortable in the heel role, and maybe that's why I thought this was better than their initial encounter. I don't know if the cage was necessary, but they more than made the most of the environment by using it to their advantage. The drama down the stretch was well done and EC3 didn't lose much in defeat. That said, unless EC3 rekindles his rivalry with James Storm, I'm not sure what he'll be doing at Slammiversary.

Overall Show

With Slammiversary a little over a month away, the championship main event for the pay-per-view has finally been set in stone, so I assume the rest of the card will fall into place in the coming weeks. As for this edition of Impact Wrestling, it was rather newsworthy with four title matches taking place and all of them were well-wrestled. Plus, there wasn't anything below-average elsewhere on this episode, so I'd suggest giving it a watch. My only complaint is that nothing was announced for next week's show (I don't think, anyway) other than how it will emanate from India.