WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • WRR
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact

Columnist Corner

Impact Wrestling Review - May 25, 2017

5/25/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ethan Carter III, Magnus and James Storm Confronted Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion Lashley

It's been a while since Lashley last appeared in front of the crowd if my memory serves me correctly, and although I wish we would see more of him, he definitely comes across as one of Impact Wrestling's sole special attractions. He carries himself like a world champion, and his promo here was solid in addressing his upcoming challengers. EC3, Magnus and Storm cut good promos as well in hyping their No. 1 Contender's Triple Threat match for later in the night. By the way, doesn't Bruce Prichard know that Triple Threat matchups automatically feature no disqualifications?

KM and Kongo Kong def. Braxton Sutter and Mahabali Shera

As I've noted before, Shera does absolutely nothing for me, as it doesn't look like he has improved at all in his few years with Impact Wrestling. That said, I'm not surprised he's being pushed at the moment with the company beginning their tour of India in two weeks. The match itself was decent enough and everyone played their roles well for the most part (including the women at ringside) with the heels furthering their recent momentum by picking up the victory. Rosemary coming to Allie's aid afterward was interesting, though I'm sure it will lead to a title unification match between Rosemary and Sienna at Slammiversary.

Veterans of War def. Fallah Bahh and Mario Bokara in a GFW World Tag Team Championship Tournament First Round Match

We've seen Bahh and Bokara compete on Impact Wrestling a handful of times in the past, but they've largely been utilized as enhancement talent and this match was no different. I honestly found them to be more impressive than Veterans of War, who feel generic beyond their patriotic gimmick. They are quite the powerhouses, though, so there is that. Them advancing was predictable, and I expect them to go all the way by beating LAX to become the new GFW World Tag Team Champions considering LAX already have gold in their possession.

Joseph Park vs. Josh Mathews Went to a No Contest

You had to know Mathews' apology to Jeremy Borash wasn't genuine based off the nature of his character, and Borash was the only one who bought into the act at first. Basically, the first half of this segment was a total waste of time (much like this entire feud between commentators). The crowd was shockingly silent for Scott Steiner's return, unless they were poorly mic'd or something. The Pope played him up as a major badass on commentary, but it fell flat because no one knew who he was. What a train wreck.

Eddie Edwards and Alisha def. Davey Richards and Angelina Love

This has easily been my favorite feud in Impact Wrestling as of late and I thoroughly enjoyed this mixed tag team match. Of course, both teams (who are legitimate married couples in real life) had great chemistry together and the in-ring action was entertaining. I liked that Alisha pinned Love to score the win and earn some credibility for herself in the process, only for the heels to then avenge the loss by attacking Edwards and Alisha and putting the latter through a table.

Ethan Carter III def. Magnus and James Storm in a Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship No. 1 Contender's Three-Way Match

Most of this match consisted of the two heels being up on Storm until tension was teased and then the alliance went to hell. It was a simple formula, but it was a nice change of pace from what we usually see in three-way matches with each of the competitors cycling in and out. Due to Prichard laying the No Disqualification stipulation (although it's implied in every multi-man match) earlier in the evening, they broke out some weapons and used them to their advantage. The final few minutes were excellent with all three men going back-and-forth and the best part was that any one of them could have come out on top. I won't say EC3 vs. Lashley is set in stone for the title at Slammiversary until the situation with Alberto El Patron and his previously announced title shot is cleared up.

Overall Show

It was interesting that they did the top two matches back-to-back in the second hour, so the last half of this show was very good. There wasn't too much to write home about in the first hour that didn't involve the world title picture, but it was an average episode on the whole. Next week's edition of Impact Wrestling will feature Low Ki vs. Andrew Everett for the X-Division Championship and the finals of the GFW World Tag Team Championship tournament, and then they're off to India, so I appreciate how they've been advertising several matches in advance to give viewers something to look forward to.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    Battle Of The Belts
    Cruiserweight Classic
    Halftime Heat
    Hidden Gems
    Lists/Rankings
    Mae Young Classic
    Mixed Match Challenge
    News
    NJPW
    NWA Shockwave
    Opinion
    Previews
    Retro Reviews
    Reviews
    RJ's Two Cents
    Satire
    SummerSlam Recall
    The Deadly Draw
    Tribute To The Troops
    Women's Eliminator
    Worlds Collide
    WrestleMania Recall
    WWE Draft
    WWE Starrcade


    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    RSS Feed

©2023 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • WRR
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact