IMPACT! Wrestling Review - May 24, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Sami Callihan def. Fallah Bahh

This would have been a total squash win for Callihan a few months ago, but Bahh has actually been positioned as more of a threat in recent months and has had his fair share of issues with oVe. Bahh held his own here and I liked the chemistry he had with Callihan. They put together a super solid match where the interference from the rest of oVe not only gave Callihan a necessary victory but also protected Bahh in defeat.

Impact Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie def. Madison Rayne

The last match these two was way too short to be anything special, so at least this was an improvement. That's about the only positive thing I can say about it, because it largely felt average. Valkyrie spent a majority of the matchup on offense and it never seemed to reach that next gear. Rayne has been firing on all cylinders since returning to IMPACT, but this wasn't one of her finest outings. I assume Rosemary will be next to challenge Valkyrie for the gold now that Rayne, Tessa Blanchard and Jordynne Grace have all fallen short.

Impact World Tag Team Champions LAX def. The North

There aren't many tandems left in IMPACT's tag team division, so I'm surprised they rushed into LAX vs. The North so quickly. This was a very entertaining encounter that was on its way to being great before the botch. It looked like the referee was waiting for the pinfall to be broken up, and because it wasn't broken up in time, he hesitated while counting. It just looked really bad, but thankfully they made up for it with the fun finishing sequence.

Glenn Gilbertti Fought Ashley Vox in an Exhibition Match

As I noted in last week's review, Gilbertti feuding with the Knockouts division does absolutely nothing for me. This angle is essentially a rehash of what Andy Kaufman did decades ago, and although it was the perfect gimmick for him at the time, there is no need for Gilbertti to be on IMPACT TV as much as he is. Seeing Blanchard get her hands on him eventually will be satisfying, I guess, but it's a step backward for her coming off her huge victory over Gail Kim at Rebellion.

Dez def. Rohit Raju, Austin Ace and Petey Williams in a Four-Way Match

Ace and Williams have been feuding on and off for weeks, though the involvement of Dez and Raju felt random. This was all action from start to finish and was a blast for as long as it lasted. Needless to say, it would have benefited from more time. The Rascalz appear to be back on track coming off the training montage that aired for them earlier in the show, so Dez winning was the right call.

Rob Van Dam def. Tommy Dreamer

I'm sorry but it's just sad to see two guys well past their prime fighting in the main event of IMPACT! Wrestling in 2019, regardless of whether this was the iconic ECW Arena or not. This was an embarrassing effort, and although a portion of the audience apparently enjoyed it, all they did was hit their signature spots and attempt to produce something passable. Unfortunately, they failed. I also rolled my eyes at Sabu returning afterward to even the odds for the ECW alumni against The North and Moose. There's simply no value in reuniting the ECW guys yet again at the expense of the current roster.

Overall Show

I can usually find a few things from these IMPACT episodes that I like, but this was a poor show on the whole in my opinion. Ending the night with RVD vs. Dreamer was a dumb decision, Valkyrie vs. Rayne could have been better, the storyline with Gilbertti is a waste of television time, and the other three matches, while well-wrestled, weren't long enough to feel memorable. Here's hoping they can bounce back next week with Eddie Edwards vs. Killer Kross in a Street Fight as well as Rich Swan and The Mack vs. Michael Elgin and Johnny Impact.