IMPACT! Wrestling Review - November 11, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Bullet Club (Chris Bey and El Phantasmo) def. FinJuce in an Impact World Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

Hikuleo is pretty good from what I've seen of him, but I think Bey and Phantasmo have even better chemistry as partners and should be the team to represent Bullet Club in IMPACT. Of course, FinJuice are great as well, so unsurprisingly, this was a really fun opener with plenty of entertaining action. Bullet Club vs. The Good Brothers is an interesting matchup considering Good Brothers' ties to the group. By the way, when are we getting the payoff to that Kenny Omega vs. Jay White tease from Slammiversary?

Minoru Suzuki def. Kaleb with a K

Needless to say, this was complete destruction. Kaleb is the ultimate enhancement guy in IMPACT, so he was a fine opponent for Suzuki to beat in his first singles match. They're building to Suzuki vs. Josh Alexander and this successfully made him look like a killer. I would've used Suzuki's short time in IMPACT to book him in more matches like the one we're going to see with him and Alexander, but I understand what the intent was here and it worked.

Decay (Rosemary and Havok) def. The Undead Bridesmaids

This was designed to get Decay back on track following their loss of the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship at Bound for Glory. Speaking of the new champs, The IInspiration came out halfway through to watch from the ramp. I'm glad this was more of a squash than it was competitive. There was no need for Kimber Lee and Brandi Lauren to score much offense. I know they've reinvented themselves with this new gimmick, but there's no need to book them to look strong at all. In a backstage promo later on, The IInspiration scolded The Undead Bridesmaids for losing and will face them next week.

Mercedes Martinez def. Madison Rayne

Rayne unsuccessfully challenged Mickie James for the Impact Knockouts Championship last week, so it was fairly obvious Martinez was winning here as well. Martinez has been more of a heel than a babyface so far in IMPACT (as illustrated when she attacked James), so I don't blame the crowd for being relatively quiet for this contest. What we got from them was solid, but it ended before they could really get going. I liked how Martinez didn't predictably show respect for James afterward and instead left her laying.

Rohit Raju def. Rocky Romero

What a week for Romero. He just faced off with Bryan Danielson in a top-notch opener on AEW Dynamite and now this on IMPACT! Wrestling. That's not even including the work he's also done in Ring of Honor, MLW and of course New Japan Pro-Wrestling this year. I still feel Raju doesn't get enough credit for being as talented as he is, so I was happy he got a chance to showcase his skills here. They had excellent chemistry together and Raju picking up the big win was the right call.

Eddie Edwards def. Matt Cardona and W. Morrissey in an Impact World Championship No. 1 Contender's Three-Way Match

Edwards and Morrissey both have established issues with Moose, so while Cardona was the odd man out to an extent, he didn't feel out of place in this main event because of his star power. He would have been a perfectly fine first challenger for Moose at Turning Point, and I'm sure we'll get Moose vs. Morrissey at some point, but Edwards made the most sense because of their history and because this will give them a chance to finally finish off their feud that started before Bound for Glory. This was a well-worked main event but not the most thrilling three-way I've seen recently, even in IMPACT.

Overall Show

The opening and closing matches having stakes combined with the enjoyable in-ring action made this a quality show. There wasn't anything overly exciting this week, but Raju vs. Romero was a treat and everything served a purpose. Plus, the continued build for Turning Point was well done. As I've said before, IMPACT's consistent storytelling from week to week is so refreshing and they always do an effective job of making the two hours matter. They've found a formula and rhythm that work, resulting in shows that are rarely below average.

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