SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
TOP TIER FEUDS
(1) Eddie Edwards vs. Eric Young
New Developments: Young defeated Edwards to capture the Impact World Championship after hitting Edwards in the head with his hockey mask. Even though he lost the match, Edwards was kept strong due to the fact that the commentary team kept emphasizing that Edwards was probably exhausted from defending the title each week. Being hit with the hockey mask and selling a knee injury also helped keep Edwards as a viable challenger to the threat that Young will pose as the new champion. After the match, Young chop blocked Edwards and continued to attack his knee.
Highs & Lows: This has been a great feud that has helped build Edwards as a face of the brand for Impact, establish contenders for the Impact World Title, and make Young an evil heel that you want to see defeated. I would have liked to see more of an indication that the weekly challenges were affecting Edwards before this match, perhaps by starting to show the fatigue a little more in his match against RVD last week. Overall this has been a great build up and a great first match between these two.
Start of Feud: July 18, 2020
Forecast & Prediction: With Young going after Edwards’s knee so violently after the match, I would expect to see Edwards take a couple weeks away from TV. Edwards will still have a rematch clause, so the feud will continue.
(2) EC3 vs. Moose
New Developments: Moose was shown in a room backstage when a TV turned on of its own free will. EC3 was on the TV and said that he was giving Moose an allotted amount of time to find the TNA World Title and take it back, otherwise EC3 would send it back to him piece by piece. Moose ran out of the room, asking for the police to be called because there was a hostage situation. Moose then was seen in several backstage segments throughout the show asking if anyone had seen EC3. After the main event, a segment showed Moose finding a room with a corkboard full of pictures of him with a map that seemed to tell Moose where to actually find EC3.
Highs & Lows: Moose showed quite a bit of personality throughout the night and became a compelling character in this drama with EC3. His concern for the TNA Heavyweight Championship seemed genuine. While EC3’s videos continue to be great, the final segment has me very interested to see more of Moose as he hunts down EC3.
Start of Feud: July 18, 2020
Forecast & Prediction: With this week’s developments, I think we have to wait even longer to see these two in the ring, probably Bound for Glory. Moose will probably continue to follow clues to track down EC3 for the next few weeks, adding an interesting twist to this feud.
MIDDLE TIER FEUDS
(1) Deonna Purrazzo vs. Kylie Rae
New Developments: Purrazzo hosted a black-tie celebration honoring her victory over Jordynne Grace in their 30-minute Iron Man Match last week. Purrazzo was about to compare herself to Michelangelo and Donetello before she was interrupted by Jordynne, who told her to enjoy her title reign while it lasted. Jordynne was then interrupted by the return of Tenille Dashwood. Tenille said that she was coming after the Knockouts Title, when the entire cast of Wrestle House teleported into the ring. Kylie Rae avoided an attack from Deonna and then super kicked Kimber Lee. Kylie Rae and Susie will be on Locker Room Talk next week.
Highs & Lows: This segment was a lot to take in with a lot of moving pieces. More Knockouts have been added back to the mix with the return of Tenille and the Wrestle House cast. No one got to finish a complete thought throughout the segment because there were three separate interruptions, each by different people or groups. The reintroduction of Tenille and Kylie could have been much more effective if it took place over a couple weeks instead of a couple minutes.
Start of Feud: September 1, 2020
Forecast & Prediction: The match between Purrazzo and Kylie Rae will be fun to watch when it happens, but I think it’ll be closer to Bound for Glory before it actually happens. Along the way I’d expect to see Kylie Rae take on Kimber Lee and a tag match with Purrazzo and Kimber Lee taking on Kylie Rae and Susie. Kylie Rae and Susie will be on Locker Room Talk next week, so the feud will probably continue there.
(2) Rascalz (Dez & Wentz) vs. Ace Austin & Madman Fulton
New Developments: Madman Fulton looked strong and menacing against the much smaller Dez and Wentz. After a relatively short match, Dez pinned Austin for the clean win. After the match, the Motor City Machine Guns came out on the stage and challenged the Rascalz to a match for the Impact Tag Team Titles next week.
Highs & Lows: Good match that highlighted what the Rascalz are capable of in the ring, especially against larger threats.
Start of Feud: August 25, 2020
Forecast & Prediction: It seems like this feud was set up to give The Rascalz have one more shot against the Guns next week. This match also really built up Madman Fulton, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Austin and Fulton go their separate ways for a while into singles feuds.
(3) Rohit Raju vs. Chris Bey vs. TJP
New Developments: TJP confronted Raju backstage challenging him to a match, since Rohit had stated last week that he wanted to give opportunities to all challengers. Rohit pointed out to TJP that Bey still had a rematch clause, but that TJP might be able to convince Bey to put that rematch clause on the line in a match. Chris Bey and TJP are set to face off next week.
Highs & Lows: The triple threat match at Emergence was great and really highlighted TJP’s creative offense. TJP and Rohit have stood out in this three-way feud while Bey has been pushed aside.
Start of Feud: August 18, 2020
Forecast & Prediction: While no stipulation has been officially announced, I would expect that this match will determine the number one contender for the X-Division Title. TJP has looked so good recently that I would imagine that he will come out with the win and challenge Rohit.
LOWER TIER FEUDS
(1) Sami Callihan vs. RVD
New Developments: RVD and Callihan faced off to start this week’s episode of Impact. When recapping RVD’s match last week against Eddie Edwards, the announcers pointed out that RVD seemed to have lost a step due to age. This match seemed incredibly sluggish and had some questionable wrestling psychology throughout the match. Callihan picked up the win with a roll-up but was attacked after the match by RVD and Forbes.
Highs & Lows: Both wrestlers came across looking dumb because nearly every time one of them built momentum, they went for a taunt, which swapped the momentum to the other guy. The officiating in the match was also terrible with Katie Forbes interfering in the match no fewer than five times, directly in front of the ref. The build to the match has mostly been cringe-worthy and this match didn’t do much to help the feud. The timing seemed off throughout the match and the two didn’t seem to have any in-ring chemistry.
Start of Feud: July 28, 2020
Forecast & Predictions: With the post-match beat-down, I’m hoping we can take a few weeks away from this feud. Unfortunately, we will come back to this feud to eventually finish the feud.
(2) Willie Mack vs. Brian Myers
New Developments: Myers was interviewed backstage and invited Willie Mack to meet him in the ring and shake his hand.
Highs & Lows: I like the build of Myers’s gimmick of being the “Most Professional Wrestler” when all he’s done so far in Impact is complain about his previous booking and grabbing tights to win. Myers needs to build on his heelish tendencies in matches and put less emphasis on how he was treated in WWE in order to get this character established properly and taken seriously.
Start of Feud: August 18, 2020
Forecast & Prediction: With these two guys meeting face-to-face next week, we’ve probably got a couple more weeks left in this feud. Myers will probably continue to find a way to complain about someone Mack being unprofessional.
(3) Rhino & Heath vs. Reno Scum
New Developments: Rhino came out alone to start the match as a 2-on-1. After getting a few quick hits in, Reno Scum was able to build a significant advantage over Rhino. Heath was disguised as a cameraman, set the camera down, and attacked Thornstowe from behind, allowing Rhino to pick up the win.
Highs & Lows: While I don’t like the revival of a previous WWE storyline, I like what this match did to further Heath’s “official” entrance into Impact. I really liked the finish to the match. The wrestler masquerading as a cameraman is a tired gimmick, but it worked really well in this instance. The camera crew is all wearing face masks, so it makes sense that Reno Scum wouldn’t have seen Heath at ringside. I have also never seen the cameraman gimmick utilized where they actually show the footage from wrestler’s camera when they set it down.
Start of Feud: August 25, 2020
Forecast & Prediction: Reno Scum will probably want an official tag match against Heath and Rhino to make up for Heath blindsiding them. Perhaps the match will have a stipulation that gives Heath an official Impact contract.
(4) Jordynne Grace vs. Tenille Dashwood
New Developments: Tenille made her return to Impact during Deonna Purrazzo’s black tie celebration after interrupting Jordynne (who had interrupted Purrazzo). Jordynne called out Tenille for being gone for so long and the two briefly fought on the ramp (before being interrupted by Wrestle House teleporting in the ring).
Highs & Lows: As I wrote earlier, this segment was a mess with a lot happening. I’m ready for the next couple of weeks when Tenille and Jordynne can have their own segments without constant interruptions.
Start of Feud: September 1, 2020
Forecast & Prediction: I think we’ll have a couple weeks of promos and interviews before these two actually get into the ring with one another. Whoever comes out of this feud will most likely become the number one contender to the Knockouts Title, ready to take on either Deonna Purrazzo or Kylie Rae.
CONCLUDED, FORGOTTEN, OR DORMANT FEUDS
- Deonna Purrazzo vs. Jordynne Grace – CONCLUDED
- Eric Young vs. Rich Swann – DORMANT
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