IMPACT! Wrestling Review - November 5, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Moose def. Willie Mack

Moose is coming off a big win over Ken Shamrock at Bound for Glory, so it only made sense for him to win here as well. The match itself was well wrestled and I liked the chemistry they had together. Although it wasn't a barn burner, they made the most of the time they had and it was smart for this to be positioned as the opener. With Moose's competition gradually getting tougher, I hope a move to the main event scene is in his future.

Michael Elgin def. Fallah Bahh

These two had a hell of a hard-hitting affair before Bound for Glory and this was equally entertaining. As the commentators acknowledged, Bahh has gone through quite the transformation in the past year and can absolutely be viewed as a threat to a guy like Elgin. While I never felt the outcome was in doubt, he looked great in defeat. This was a very good match as Elgin's consistently excellent performances continue.

Ken Shamrock def. Joey Ryan

Well, this was interesting, to say the least. I didn't know what I was expecting in the first place, but it ended up being total throwaway with the two stalling in the time in the beginning and then Ryan doing his dumb penis shtick. I was shocked Shamrock actually sold for that nonsense, but at least he put him away immediately afterward. If Shamrock is indeed sticking around, I'm curious who his next program will be with.

Impact Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie def. Madison Rayne (Non-Title)

Jordynne Grace pinned Valkyrie in a tag team match on last week's show, so they're clearly building to them facing off for the title again. Therefore, while it was obvious Rayne wasn't winning here, I was surprised they went with this matchup in the first place considering they're both heels. It was perfectly fine for what it was, but I wasn't a fan of the shenanigans toward the end with Johnny Bravo interfering. Valkyrie should be able to win some matches on her own, especially those that don't mean as much such as this one.

Petey Williams def. Bhupinder Singh

I honestly can't even remember the last time I saw Williams on IMPACT! Wrestling. However, with these tapings emanating from Canada, it was only appropriate that he was in action. He and Singh had a decent albeit completely forgettable match. I'm not even sure what purpose this served aside from giving the crowd something to cheer for, but the post-match attack from Williams and the referee with no legs was pretty cool. I have no clue whether this was a one-off for that referee or not, but the fans loved him.

Rich Swann, Tessa Blanchard, Daga and Tommy Dreamer def. oVe

Sami Callihan's Impact World Championship victory celebration was cut short by Dreamer, who challenged oVe to an impromptu eight-person tag team match. All of the babyfaces have established issues with oVe, so the matchup made sense and was entertaining despite not getting a lot of time. I could still do without Dreamer wrestling as a regular on IMPACT! in 2019, but that didn't bother me as much as Swann pinning Callihan for the victory. I have no problem with Callihann and Swann rekindling their rivalry over the world title, but it was definitely questionable for Callihan to get beat one week removed from winning the world title.

Overall Show

The first two matches were above-average, but the three matchups that followed weren't nearly as notable. The show bounced back with the main event, even though I wasn't a fan of the finish. While this wasn't on the level of the AXS TV debut last week, it was still a solid show with some successful angle advancement and hype for next week's episode, which will feature The North vs. Eddie Edwards and Marufuji next week.