IMPACT! Wrestling Review - May 17, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Glenn Gilberrti Won a Knockouts Battle Royal

I thought the stuff with Gilberrti was done and over with when Scarlett Bordeaux beat him a month or so ago. I was fine with that as Bordeaux's debut match, but I had no desire to see Gilberrti brought back to work with the women again after that. Unfortunately, not only was he involved in this thing, he ended up winning the whole thing (which felt painfully predictable). I realize this will eventually lead to Tessa Blanchard avenging the loss, but is that really necessary for her coming off her huge victory over Gail Kim at Rebellion? The actual Battle Royal was one of the better ones I've seen in recent memory and I liked that Madison Rayne and Taya Valkyrie were able to further their feud, but the result was terrible.

Rosemary def. Su Yung in a Demon Collar Match

As you would probably expect, a Demon Collar match is basically a Dog Collar match where the two women are connected by a chain around their necks. This feud lost a lot of its luster a while ago for me and I didn't particularly care for this contest. It wasn't as hokey as it had the potential to be and I appreciated that there wasn't any outside interference, but it also wasn't awfully exciting, either. I'm sure we'll get some segments in the coming weeks with Rosemary kidnapping Yung, but please let this be the last matchup they have for a while.

Madman Fulton def. Randy Shawn

I've said before how Fulton doesn't do a ton for me, but booking him to look dominant is the smartest thing IMPACT can do to establish him as a threat. This didn't last long at all and Fulton was on offense the entire time. I'm sure he's being built up to lose to someone on the roster, but I'm not sure who. On a side note, I'm familiar with Shawn from his work in Northeast Wrestling years ago, but I haven't seen him in ages.

Killer Kross def. Eddie Edwards

Reportedly, Kross recently requested his release from IMPACT but was denied. I don't know if that happened before or after this was taped, but it's possible they'll be pushing him extra aggressively going forward to make up for his unhappiness. This bout could have benefited more time, but it was enjoyable for what it was and they had strong chemistry. The post-match angle with Kross breaking Kenny (Edwards' kendo stick) was well done and an effective way to kick off a feud between them.

Impact X-Division Champion Rich swann def. Michael Elgin by Disqualification (Non-title)

Say what you want about Elgin, but the guy can guy and this was an excellent match. Their styles meshed exceptionally well, the action was exciting, and they had a hot crowd to boot. Neither of them should have been pinned here, so I was perfectly fine with the non-finish. In fact, it made Elgin look like that much more of a badass with him beating down Swann relentlessly and going so far as to assault a referee. The Mack and Johnny Impact got involved in the post-match brawl, so look for a tag team match to stem from this on an upcoming episode.

Overall Show

In addition to everything above, we also got an update on Brian Cage's condition, and it's not looking good. Granted, the "doctor" was obviously playing it up and noted how Cage isn't any ordinary person, but I can't imagine he'll be back any time soon with it being a spinal injury, so I have no clue what that might mean for the Impact World Championship. The rest of this show was super solid with five meaningful matches, including an awesome main event that you need to check out. I'm looking forward to Valkyrie vs. Rayne for the Impact Knockouts Championship and LAX vs. The North for the Impact World Tag Team Championship next week, but not so much Rob Van Dam vs. Tommy Dreamer for the umpteenth time. I really wish they would let the ECW nostalgia die and leave it in the past.