IMPACT! Wrestling Review - June 16, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Impact World Tag Team Champions The North def. The Rascalz (Wentz & Dez)

The North are almost at the one-year mark as Impact World Tag Team Champions, so there was a real possibility of them dropping the titles in this match after being stuck in quarantine in recent months. Alas, The Rascalz couldn't get the job done, but at least it was an enjoyable opener. The Rascalz are awesome babyfaces and always look good in defeat, but I fear that they'll be labeled as losers since they can never win whenever it matters most. Considering they lost clean here, I don't see them being afforded another opportunity at the titles any time soon.

Nevaeh def. Kimber Lee

I've heard a lot about Lee's reputation from the independent scene and remember her from her time spent in WWE/NXT, but she has yet to really impress me. Don't get me wrong, she's a good addition to the company's already-stacked Knockouts division, but she hasn't stood out as being anything special up to this point. Nevaeh and Havok are who they're focusing on right now and clearly the duo are headed for a tag team match against Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz eventually.

Rhino def. Rohit Raju

​I'm all for Rhino working with the younger guys and helping them get over, but Raju is not that guy. He's perfectly serviceable in the ring, but so much damage was done from his time spent with Desi Hit Squad that it's difficult to take him seriously on his own. Not even Raju ambushing Rhino from behind before the bell rang was enough to make me think he had a chance of beating Rhino. It was a decent match that was thankfully kept on the shorter side.

Moose def. hernandez

Moose is still acting as if the TNA World Heavyweight Championship belt that he's in possession of is on the line in these matches and considers them official title defenses, but since it's technically not an active title, I don't label them as such in my reviews. Despite that, this has been a great gimmick for Moose and I'm interested to see which TNA Original will eventually beat him (or if he'll go undefeated until he faces Tessa Blanchard for the Impact World Championship). As for this match, it was solid as their similar styles meshed nicely.

Reno Scum def. XXXL

XXXL are slowly but surely growing on me with the work they're putting in, but it's apparent that the quality of their matches depends on who they're working with. Reno Scum have always bored me to tears and are below-average in the ring, so as a result, this was a fairly abysmal match. I was hoping XXXL would pick up the victory and start building momentum, but no such luck.

Ace Austin def. Eddie Edwards in a Street Fight

Didn't these two have a Street Fight toward the tail end of their feud late last year? They beat the holy hell out of each other here and have always had strong chemistry, so I can't say I'm surprised they delivered in this main event. Austin is on a roll at the moment and the decision to put him over his longtime rival was the right one. Madman Fulton aided him to victory and officially aligned himself with Austin afterward, with Madison Rayne basically revealing that he was the one who attacked Trey twice backstage.

Overall Show

IMPACT is going all in on promoting a recently released WWE star (and now at least one former world champion) for Slammiversary and so far the hype is working because it's getting people talking. I still say it's Eric Young, but EC3's entrance music being played following Moose's victory on this show made me want to see him pop up as well. As for this edition of IMPACT! Wrestling, the two hours were average on the whole, though the opening and closing matches were entertaining. Plus, that Deonna Purrazzo video package running down her history with the promotion was really well done.