IMPACT! Wrestling Review - May 3, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Michael Elgin, Johnny Impact and Pentagon Jr. Confronted Each Other

When Elgin mentioned during his promo that Brian Cage was hospitalized after Rebellion on Sunday night, he wasn't kidding. Cage's injury was legitimate, so here's wishing him a speedy recovery. I've never been the biggest Elgin fan, but we'll see what he brings to the table in IMPACT. I enjoyed his back-and-forth with Johnny Impact, though Pentagon getting involved in the world title scene is somewhat random considering he just lost the Impact World Tag Team Championship at Rebellion.

Ace Austin def. Petey Williams

These two have teased going one-on-one for weeks, so I was happy it finally happened here. The Canadian crowd was solidly behind Williams throughout and it was well wrestled. Ace has been impressive since his arrival in IMPACT and having him work with Williams is a great call. Given how cleanly Austin beat Williams, I don't know if the feud will continue, but I definitely wouldn't be opposed to more matches between them.

Rosemary def. Kiera Hogan by Disqualification

There was a time where Rosemary was one of my favorite characters in all of IMPACT, but she hasn't been the same since coming back from injury, at least from a booking standpoint. As I've said before, her rivalry with Yung feels like it'll never end, and I'm not sure whether she's supposed to be a babyface or a heel right now given her recent issues with Hogan. Was Hogan refusing to help her meant to be a heel turn for her? I'm so confused. Either way, the match was merely a backdrop for Yung's beatdown on Rosemary.

Fenix def. Eddie Edwards

I guess this means The Lucha Brothers are once again singles competitors. Hey, I'm not complaining, but I honestly thought their loss to LAX at Rebellion marked the end of their stint in IMPACT as their debut in All Elite Wrestling draws near. Apparently not, but that's excellent news for IMPACT if that's the case. Nevertheless, this was a really fun match while it lasted. Clearly, the focus was on Killer Kross and how he now has his sights set on Edwards.

Rob Van Dam Attacked Ethan PAge

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I wasn't particularly high on RVD during his last stint in IMPACT. He didn't come across as motivated whatsoever, and now he's almost a decade older. Plus, I heard he didn't look all that good at April's United We Stand pay-per-view, so I don't high hopes for the remainder of his run in the company. This was a decent segment on the whole that I assume was designed to set up a future match between the two, but I was left wondering where Page's tag team partner Josh Alexander was to save him.

Michael Elgin def. Johnny Impact and Pentagon Jr. in an Impact World Championship No. 1 Contender's Three-Way Match

It didn't matter if Impact won or lost here because he earned a shot at the Impact World Championship by winning Ultimate X at United We Stand. And yes, that event happened when he was the Impact World Champion, so he had a title opportunity even though he was already the champ. And no, that doesn't make any sense. As for the match itself, they weren't given a ton of time to work with, but at least it was all action from bell to bell. It would have been foolish for Elgin to lose in his first match in IMPACT, so obviously the outcome was the right one.

Overall Show

I found Rebellion to be a pretty entertaining event on the whole with two major title changes, but this didn't feel like a hot followup show whatsoever. It was certainly solid, though, with RVD returning, Elgin making his in-ring debut for IMPACT in the main event, and Edwards vs. Fenix and Williams vs. Austin both being above-average outings. Plus, a ton of stuff was advertised for next week's episode, so I have faith IMPACT will be able to maintain momentum coming out of their latest quality pay-per-view.