IMPACT! Wrestling Review - March 31, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Impact World Tag Team Champion Josh Alexander def. Eddie Edwards

I assume the point of this match was to give Edwards an extra momentum boost ahead of his shot at Impact World Championship at Rebellion (which of course is no longer happening), but he lost. I know Tessa Blanchard saved him afterward to hype the night's main event of Blanchard vs. Ethan Page, but it was still strange for Edwards to lose. At the very least, it was a well-wrestled, enjoyable opener.

Kylie Rae def. Casandra Golden

Rae has made a handful of appearances for IMPACT since Bound for Glory, so I can't say I'm surprised that's where she ended up. It's a shame she left AEW, but she'll be a quality addition to IMPACT's stacked Knockouts division. This was a solid showcase for her that didn't last longer than it needed to. For those curious, yes, she's still playing the happy-go-lucky character she had in AEW.

Moose def. Kid Kash

I was a fan of Kash during his last stint with IMPACT, so it was cool to see him back. Unfortunately for him, he was promptly squashed by Moose, who has been targeting the TNA Originals as of late. I assume this angle was building to him having a match on the TNA: There's No Place Like Home show, which has since been canceled. If nothing else, it's giving Moose some dominant wins in the meantime.

Rich Swann Offered an Update on His Injury

Swann has been out injured since before Hard to Kill weekend in January, and with all of IMPACT's upcoming events canceled for the foreseeable future, it doesn't look like he'll be back any time soon. Ace Austin interrupted his update and, interestingly enough, he alluded to how Willie Mack has held Swann down. Mack vs. Austin is happening soon for the Impact X-Division Championship, so getting Swann involved in the angle makes sense.

Sami Callihan def. Tommy Dreamer

I don't think Callihan taking shots at WWE in his pre-match promo wasn't entirely necessary, but then again, he wasn't wrong. Regardless, I have no desire to see Dreamer all over IMPACT programming in 2020. These two feuded for a time in 2018, so this had a "been there, done that" feel to it. I appreciate Dreamer putting talent over, but it doesn't mean much at this point. Rhino attempted to make the save for Dreamer post-match but was attacked by oVe for his efforts.

Cody Deaner def. Joey Ryan

This "Cancel Culture" gimmick Ryan is doing right now is certainly...something, I'll give him that. I don't think it's made his matches any more entertaining, but I'll give him credit for trying. Meanwhile, The Deaners do nothing for me, so I personally couldn't have cared less about this. Deaner winning was an odd call if the intent is to build up Ryan. Perhaps this was designed to show how Ryan is better with Rob Van Dam than he is on his own.

Impact World Champion Tessa Blanchard def. Impact World Tag Team Champion Ethan Page (Non-Title)

Intergender wrestling isn't for everyone and it usually isn't for me, but Blanchard has been doing it so often over the last year that this didn't bother me. Sure, Page is a bigger dude than Callihan and Austin (both of whom Blanchard holds victories over), but he also has never been positioned as a top-tier talent on his own, so this was believable in my opinion. It was a quality main event with the predictable interference from Alexander that set up Edwards making the save. Blanchard and Edwards proceeded to lay out Michael Elgin, but I don't see their alliance lasting long considering they'll soon be opponents.

Overall Show

It's sad watching these shows knowing Lockdown, TNA: There's No Place Like Home and Rebellion have been canceled, so all of this build is irrelevant for the time being. There's no word on when they'll be able to tape TV again, but they do have this batch of tapings from earlier this month at least through the next several weeks. As for this edition of IMPACT! Wrestling, it had a nice pace and mostly everything served a purpose. The opener and main event provided the best wrestling on the show while Rae announcing that she's signed with IMPACT was noteworthy.