IMPACT! Wrestling Review - May 27, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Moose and The Good Brothers Interrupted Sami Callihan

Callihan criticized Kenny Omega and The Good Brothers for what happened at Sacrifice, which brought out Moose who brought up how he was the one who won the Under Siege main event and is next in line to face Omega. Good Brothers expected Moose to align with them, but he ended up laying them as I figured he would to set up the night's tag team main event. Everyone played their roles well, and since we don't see this sort of segment often from IMPACT, I was fine with it as it accomplished what it needed to do.

TJP and Fallah Bahh def. Impact X-Division Champion Josh Alexander and Petey Williams

I honestly forgot that TJP and Bahh used to be partners and it was probably less than a year ago that they were teaming up. TJP's been doing great work in the X-Division, but this was a fun little reunion from him and Bahh. Williams and Alexander had quality chemistry as well, so this was an enjoyable affair as you'd probably expect. TJP pinning Alexander sets him up for another Impact X-Division Championship opportunity, though it will be happening on BTI and not on the show itself. Why do an Iron Man match on a show so few people watch?

Rosemary, Havok, Tenille Dashwood, Rachael Ellering and Jordynne Grace def. Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo, Kimber Lee, Susan and Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions Fire 'N Flava

Taylor Wilde went missing beforehand, so Grace filled in for her. Grace wasn't happy with being called upon as a "substitute" and that'll obviously play into her looming heel turn. If you've been following the IMPACT product for an stretch of time, you're aware that IMPACT does this thing where they'll have the champion get pinned in a tag team match and have the champion defend their title against that person. I know every company is guilty of it and I'm fine with it every once in a while, but to do it twice on the same show is odd. Despite that happening here, it was a solid showcase for the super talented Knockouts division. Rosemary appears to be Purrazzo's next challenger before she inevitably faces Wilde at Slammiversary.

Kojima Confronted Violent By Design

Eric Young ran down the brief history of Violent By Design and how every member came to join the group. It was a very good promo from one of the best talkers IMPACT has right now and it caught viewers up to speed on why they're together for anyone who hasn't followed along. Then we got the challenge from the debuting Kojima, who has history with Joe Doering from All Japan Pro Wrestling. That match has since been made official for Against All Odds.

Decay (Crazzy Steve and Black Taurus) def. Johnny Swinger and Hernandez

Are Swinger and Hernandez officially a team, or were they just there to take the loss? They're not a very strong tandem as they're better suited doing the comedy stuff backstage. That said, this served its purpose in giving Decay a victory before they likely collide with Violent By Design soon as teased beforehand. The match itself was total throwaway and there wasn't anything notable about at all.

The Good Brothers def. Sami Callihan and Moose

You had to know this wasn't getting much time when it started so close to the end of the episode, but with the time they had, they produced a solid main event. Moose and Callihan tried to coexist, but I liked how Moose ended up turning on him because it wouldn't have been a good look for The Good Brothers to lose to two people who are currently feuding. It was a necessary wins for The Good Brothers and everyone ganging up on Callihan seems to cement him as a face. I assume Omega vs. Callihan is saved for Slammiversary after Moose loses at Against All Odds.

Overall Show

Omega was absent from this show, but he's made enough appearances lately that I didn't mind him missing this one episode. It was the usual quality edition of IMPACT! Wrestling with successful storyline progression, build for next week and seeds being planted for future matches. Kojima's debut was probably the biggest thing coming out of the show, so while nothing felt must-see, everything made sense and the in-ring action was entertaining on the whole. Decay vs. Swinger and Hernandez can easily be skipped, though. Interestingly, there weren't any singles matches. That didn't make much of a difference, but I can understand the abundance of tag team matches feeling like a lot to some people.

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