IMPACT! Wrestling Review - May 6, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Chris Sabin def. Rhino to Qualify for the Impact World Championship No. 1 Contender's Six-Way Match at Under Siege

These are two TNA OGs right here. However, Rhino is a bit older than Sabin, so Sabin made more sense to advance to Under Siege. I assume that spot would have gone to Eric Young instead if he was currently cleared to compete. Nonetheless, this was a perfectly solid opener with good work from both men. It's easy to forget that both of these guys were world champions at one point in their IMPACT careers.

Taylor Wilde def. Susan

Yes, it seems silly that Wilde would go from facing Kimber Lee to Susan, but it actually makes sense assuming IMPACT wanted to showcase that Wilde doesn't have any ring rust on her despite being out of wrestling for almost a decade. She wasn't going to have that competitive match with a character like Susan, so that was a good call by IMPACT to have her face Susan in her second match back. It was what it needed to be and gave Wilde another momentum-building victory. The story is that Deonna Purrazzo hasn't been at ringside because she views Wilde as a threat to her Impact Knockouts Championship.

Trey Miguel def. Rohit Raju to Qualify for the Impact World Championship No. 1 Contender's Six-Way Match at Under Siege

I like Raju, but there was no way Miguel was losing this after getting that big win over Sami Callihan at Rebellion last month. That said, this was a very fun match from two guys that are killing it right now. Despite the unpredictability surrounding the outcome, Raju gave it a great effort and looked credible in defeat. I doubt they'll do it, but Miguel vs. Kenny Omega would be something special. I'd honestly pull the trigger on doing that matchup soon with the roll Miguel finds himself on at the moment.

Doc Gallows def. Impact World Champion Juice Robinson

Of Gallows and Karl Anderson, I'd much rather see Anderson in a singles match than Gallows. Gallows is decent but he feels limited with what he can do, nor is he very interesting at this point. Robinson, on the other hand, is much better and more dynamic, so while I didn't like that he lost, I understood it because you have to give the heels some heat if they're going to get another opportunity at the Impact World Tag Team Championship eventually. Expect Anderson to beat David Finlay next week as well.

El Phantasmo def. VSK

I'm very familiar with VSK from the many matches he's had for Dark and Dark: Elevation since last year. The funny thing is that he hasn't stood out to me at all in AEW and yet he had an excellent showing here. Phantasmo was also awesome and came off like a star. I haven't seen much of his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but if he's here to stay for a little while, he'll be an excellent addition to the X-Division. This was very fun while it lasted.

Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champion Rachel Ellering def. Kiera Hogan

Ellering has looked good since coming to IMPACT, first at Rebellion and now in this match. Hogan is very talented in her own right, so this was unsurprisingly a quality contest. It's amazing how women's tag team titles can actually feel important when handled the right way (cough, WWE, cough). I also liked how their backstage interaction later in the show set up Jordynne Grace vs. Tasha Steelz for next week.

Moose def. James Storm to Qualify for the Impact World Championship No. 1 Contender's Six-Way Match at Under Siege

After the interaction Moose had with Don Callis backstage earlier in the evening, I thought The Elite might try to screw Moose out of a win here to set up Omega vs. Moose for down the road. That didn't happen, but I still wouldn't do that match any time soon considering Omega shouldn't be pinned for the Impact World Championship before he drops the AEW World Championship. Nonetheless, this was a strong story-based main event with great work from both men. Moose has officially found his footing as a main event-level heel, while Storm is an excellent babyface when he has to fight from underneath. Are Storm and Sabin's days as a team numbered?

Overall Show

IMPACT! Wrestling has been a consistently solid show for a while now, but I don't think I've enjoyed the product on a week-to-week basis as much as I have recently. They have a compelling main event story that half of the roster is involved in and it makes everything easier to follow. The IMPACT roster wants their top title back and are fighting each other for a shot at it. It's that simple. The women's division also has a few different stories going on at the moment, the tag team and the X-Division are heating up, and we're getting some new names thrown in the mix (W. Morrissey, El Phantasmo, Taylor Wilde and even Kenny Omega to an event). IMPACT has successfully made Under Siege feel like a must-see event on Impact Plus next Saturday and they still have one more week to add more matches.