IMPACT! Wrestling Review - March 15, 2018

​By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Sami Callihan def. Fallah Bahh

Callihan has been a hot topic in the wrestling world over the past few weeks for his ruthless attack on Eddie Edwards, and to IMPACT's credit, they've been getting all the buzz they possibly can out of it. Edwards' injury looked brutal, but he reemerged after this match and forced oVe and Callihan to flee from the ring, so it obviously isn't going to keep him out for long, if at all. Oh, and as for the match between Callihan and Bahh, it was mostly comedic relief, though it was a fine way to further Callihan's recent momentum.

Alberto El Patron Interrupted McKenzie Mitchell's Interview with IMPACT World Champion Austin Aries

The whole purpose of this segment (in addition to hyping Aries' book Food Fight) was to drive home how Aries is a vegan and El Patron eats meat, or something like that. It felt like something we would have seen a number of years ago in WWE with either Daniel Bryan or CM Punk (it would have been alcohol in his case), but it was a simple segment that established tension between the two. Both men played their roles well and I liked how Aries stood up to the slimy El Patron instead of taking his crap. This was also more effective in the backstage setting than if it played out in front of the live crowd.

Abyss Attacked Kongo Kong

I haven't been the biggest fan of this feud up to this point, but I really enjoyed the culmination of the angle here with James Mitchell returning to confront Jimmy Jacobs before bringing back Abyss. Mitchell, despite being out of the public eye in the wrestling world for a while now, obviously still has it and his back-and-forth with Jacobs on the mic was great. Next week, Abyss and Kong will battle in the infamous Monster's Ball match, which I have a feeling will be either very good or very bad.

Rosemary vs. Taya Valkyrie Ended in a Double Count-out

These are two of the best women's wrestlers IMPACT currently has on their roster, so as expected, this was a quality contest. Rosemary has such strong support from the fans that it was easy for Valkyrie to elicit heat from the audience while beating down on the former Impact Knockouts Champion. We're so early into the feud that it would have been ridiculous for there to be a clean finish, so I was content with the double count-out. Valkyrie continued to look dominant afterward by laying out Rosemary on the top of the ramp.

Impact X-Division Matt Sydal Granted Josh Mathews the Impact Grand Championship

Apparently, Mathews has been Sydal's "spirit guide" this entire time, and for some reason, I'm not shocked considering this is IMPACT after all. But seriously, why? I was so happy when that atrocious angle between Mathews and Jeremy Borash wrapped up last year and Mathews went back to being a straightforward commentator (for the most part), but this puts him back in a regular role on the show and I'm not thrilled about it whatsoever. Worse yet, he's a champion! I realize this was designed to garner major heat, but it's the wrong type of heat in my opinion. Hopefully this storyline doesn't have a long shelf life.

Petey Williams, Moose, Ethan Carter III and Eli Drake Won Feast or Fired Briefcases

I've always hated the Feast or Fired concept because it's Money in the Bank-lite and the matches themselves are typically a train wreck. Unsurprisingly, this was no exception. It basically consisted of a handful of wrestlers with zero direction at the moment and ended up being one giant mess. In fact, the biggest highlight of this whole thing was EC3 reaction's to when he won his briefcase. He glared into the camera and shrugged, which was hilarious. Even he knows he's getting fired. That said, I'm genuinely curious who gets what title shot, because they're not nearly as predictable.

Overall Show

Last week's Crossroads special was terrific, yet the company was back to their old tricks with the return of Feast or Fired and Mathews being revealed as Sydal's "spirit guide." We'll see where that storyline goes, but I'm not optimistic about it as of now. The rest of the show was solid with Abyss and Mitchel returning, Rosemary and Valkyrie as well as Callihan and Edwards furthering their respective feuds, and Aries and El Patron setting up their championship clash for Redemption. Next week, Allie will defend her Knockouts title against Sienna (where has she been lately?) and Kong and Abyss will face off in a Monster's Ball matchup.