SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Final impact – HIT: This was another good show. It was chock full of storyline developments as a multitude of acts are getting built up. Those who aren’t involved in anything major are currently involved in the Wrestle House skits doing their own stuff outside the proper narrative of the show, sort of like ancillary content that you can either thoroughly enjoy, or fast forward without missing anything if it isn’t your cup of tea. The wrestling today was solid, but nothing special since these are the preliminary steps to build to the future.
Eddie Edwards (c) vs. Trey Miguel – Impact World Championship match – HIT: This was a good solid back and forth match to start the show. Trey Miguel was Eddie Edwards first challenger to accept Eddie’s open challenge and Trey continued to show his newfound aggression this match, including a questionable moment when he held a hold a little too long. Is it foreshadowing a heel turn perhaps? This was just the first step in Eddie’s journey as champion, successfully retaining when he pins Trey after the Boston Knee Party. After the match, Eric Young came out and Eddie invited him into the ring, but Eric is planning on doing things on his own time. Solid stuff overall.
Wrestle House, Crazzy Steve vs. Acey Romero (yes, there is wrestling in this) – HIT: Yup, love this. Not all the gags land but everyone seems to be having a blast. The cast realized that they are in a reality show and find out they can’t leave and that they are stuck in a purgatory of some sort. Tommy Dreamer appears and is revealed to be the house’s owner. They are all apparently stuck there until Rosemary… sullies… John E. Bravo. What ensues is a bunch of slapstick, meta, and character-based humor as the cast look for a place to sleep, there being only six bedrooms. This led to the first conflict of the show when Acey Romero discovered a ring out back and tried claiming it as his “bed”. Crazzy Steve beat him to it though so Tommy Dreamer declared it “Match Time” and the match to settle their differences was set. It was determined Kylie Rae was to referee. It wasn’t much of a match, mostly played for comedy, but I loved the rest of the cast at ringside’s commentary as they shout at the guys in the ring. Some other developments included, Cousin Jake becoming infatuated with Susie, Johnny Swinger claiming Steve as his “young boy’, and a rift developing between Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie with Bravo left undecided with whom he should room with. This won’t be for everyone but for those who enjoy this kind of stuff, it is extremely entertaining and something I will be looking forward to in the weeks to come. Oh, and there was an “Abyss” cameo.
Rohit Raju schemes – HIT: Rohit Raju begins to set his plans by finding TJP and Fallah Bahh in the back where he manipulated TJP into coming after the X Division Championship. Rohit went to Chris Bey to warn him about TJP and solidifying his partnership with Bey. Seeing Rohit manipulate his pawns as effortlessly as Sheev Palpatine manipulated everyone in Star Wars is truly a sight to behold. That’s how I saw it anyway.
The North promo – HIT: An enraged Josh Alexander cut a passionate promo over what the championships meant to The North. Meanwhile, Ethan Page was so devastated, he couldn’t say a word. While that part was played for a bit of a laugh, I loved their follow-up to their loss (that I still maintain shouldn’t have happened, but I’ll wait to see what develops).
EC3 video promo – HIT: And speaking of impassioned promos, EC3 continues to knock it out of the park, distancing himself from his past incarnations as the TNA EC3 and WWE EC3. Great work from him as he continues to reinvent himself.
Moose backstage interview – HIT: Gia Miller interviewed Moose and brought up EC3’s attack. He brushed her off, but magnanimously offered another invitation to challenge him for the TNA Heavyweight Championship. Heath showed up saying that the TNA championship committee had given him a title shot. Moose responded by saying that there is no TNA championship committee. Heath quickly pointed out that with no championship committee, there was no championship. Moose relented and agreed to face Heath next week. Scott D’Amore, impressed with Heath’s tenacity and his conning of Moose, agreed to let the match happen, and if Heath won, he’ll open up a roster spot. It looked like D’Amore adlibbed a line Heath wasn’t expecting which popped him (a shot at Paul Heyman). Good set up for a match next week.
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Kimber Lee – HIT: This non-title match stemmed from the pull apart scuffle last week where Deonna Purrazzo hit Kimber Lee. While there was some good back and forth early, the match was basically a showcase of Purrazzo’s wrestling prowess as she dismantled Lee’s arm and tapped her out with the Fujiwara Armbar. After the match, Jordynne Grace came to the ring with her arm in a sling, but removed it and attacked Purrazzo, rolling Purrazzo out of the ring and tossing her the belt, and claiming the ring as her own. Grace did sell her that her arm still hurt though. More Grace versus Purrazzo? I won’t complain.
Wrestle House, Cody Deaner vs. Cousin Jake – HIT: Did I forget to mention there were more of these? This time, Cody Deaner was laying on the floor, unable to sleep, since Cousin Jake was snoring up a storm. His own snoring woke him up and he accused Cody. Eventually, Tommy Dreamer is revealed to have been in the bed with Cousin Jake and declares “Match Time”, but in the morning since he’s tired. Then we get an animated rooster (the bane of my gods-damned existence, living in Miami-Dade) crowing to symbolize the morning and waking the cast. Like the previous match, this is a light-hearted affair, but I can’t lie, I wanted to see the snoring Jake get his ass kicked. Jake won and Alisha Edwards, who refereed the match, called it for “this Deaner” since she can’t tell them apart. This is a bunch of characters allowed to be characters. (BTW, I didn’t mean to imply that the roosters in Miami are animated, they are real. Just last week I drove up to the Walmart in Kendall and there were three hens and a rooster perched on a shopping cart in the parking lot. At least they weren’t gators, but I digress.)
Katie Forbes picture reveal – WHY?: I can’t believe they dragged poor Sami Callihan into this. Sami ran across Katie Forbes in the back and she mistook him for a fan. Sami reminded her that he was a champion once (which to me was just adding insult to injury). She wasn’t having it, but she did mention her website to him. Later, Sami confronted Ken Shamrock over what was going on with Shamrock, but a discombobulated Shamrock just bailed (I don’t blame you Ken, get as far from this story as possible). Forbes showed up with Rob Van Dam and accused Sami of “perving” on her. Sami blew them off. Once in the ring, Forbes unveiled her pictures, but they had been hacked by Sami who superimposed his head over Forbes’s. Forbes then threw one of the most annoying and totally unbelievable, tantrums ever. I am not critical of the content of the story, but to pull it off you need some nuance from the performer, and Katie Forbes is extremely lacking in that department. This was a wretched segment and there has to be a lot of good work from Sami and RVD to salvage what I fear will be a debacle.
Rascalz Treehouse – MISS: Total miss for a Treehouse episode as I find a lot of them to be. It does reinforce the idea that Trey Miguel is pulling away from Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz since he refused to join them, preferring to sulk alone. Instead, Suicide joined them, and bad weed humor ensued. There was some value here since it gives us a different perspective on what is going on with Trey, but ultimately this was a waste of time.
Rich Swann satellite interview – PUSH: Rich Swann joins Josh Mathews and Madison Rayne via satellite to discuss his medical situation, but he sidesteps the issue to drag it on for another week. His work was fine, if rather maudlin. There was nothing here to gravitate to.
Reno Scum vs. The Good Brothers – HIT: The match itself was fine, the whole purpose being to make the Good Brothers, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson look strong against a lower-mid-card team in Reno Scum, Adam Thornstowe and Luster the Legend. The Good Bros won with Magic Killer. Ace Austin, who came out to watch the match, came to ringside to distract the Good Bros from a sneak attack from Madman Fulton. The Good Bros recovered quickly however, and the two parties brawled to the back. A camera caught up with them and they did a little backlot brawling until an errant move took out the camera and ended the show. That was a cool, seldom used visual to close thing out and things were furthered between these two groups.
I know Impact is trying new things, but the whole Wrestle House thing is a groaner. I don’t know if this is just filler or they think this will catch on, but I haven’t talked to anyone who has liked it. It just seems to insult your intelligence. Maybe society is this dumbed down now? I hope not.