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This week’s Impact comes to us from Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia.
The action begins with an exclusive match on BTI.
Crazzy Steve vs Dirty Dango
Steve hits an Atomic Drop and sends Dango toppling to the floor. Dango turns the tide with a back suplex on the apron. Steve tries to bite Dango but gets driven into the steel ring post. Dango crashes and burns on high-risk offence. Steve quickens the pace with a running cannonball in the corner. Steve successfully bites Dango and rolls him up for two. Dango delivers a thumb to the eye before connecting with the inverted DDT to win.
A usual good match from these two. Nothing fancy, just a decent match. Grade C
After the match, Director of Authority Santino Marella vows to teach Dirty Dango a lesson when they face off on July 16th in Windsor. Heath blindsides Dango with a Wake Up Call from behind.
There are only 9 days left until Slammiversary! We continue on the Road to Slammiversary now!
Match 1: Eddie Edwards w/Alicia Edwards vs Frankie Kazarian
The men go after each other as soon as the bell rings. Kaz chops Edwards and whips him into the ropes, but Edwards hangs on and he throws Kaz out of the ring. Edwards distracts the referee, allowing Alisha to deliver a tornado DDT to Kaz on the outside. Kaz chases Alicia and Edwards goes after Kaz and hits him with a clothesline. Moments later, Alisha clubs Kaz in the back and the distraction gives Edwards an opportunity to strike. Kaz bounces back with a slingshot DDT on the ring apron. Kaz almost puts Edwards away with his signature springboard leg drop. Edwards goes for the Blue Thunder Bomb but Kaz counters into a pinning predicament for two. Edwards connects with a Tiger Driver but it’s not enough to keep Kaz down. Alisha provides yet another distraction and the referee goes down after incidental contact with Kaz & Edwards. Kaz is setting up for the Flux Capacitor when Alisha attacks him with a kendo stick. Edwards hits the Boston Knee Party to win.
A great match. Kazarian and Eddie always have great matches with whoever they are paired up with, so together, they put on incredible matches. Hopefully, this will be a rivalry that doesn’t go stale and they can keep it fresh. Grade B
Backstage Interview:
Lio Rush tells Gia Miller that he’s here in IMPACT Wrestling for one reason and that is to win the X-Division Title. As he prepares to challenge Chris Sabin at Slammiversary, Rush will team with Nick Aldis to battle the Motor City Machine Guns in tonight’s main event. Aldis warns Rush to not let his ego get in their way of scoring the victory.
Backstage Promo:
Frankie Kazarian lays out the challenge to Eddie Edwards for a rubber match at Slammiversary. But in order to even the odds, he’s going to have his wife and the original Knockout, Traci Brooks, in his corner.
Match 2: Sami Callihan & Rich Swann vs Champagne Singh & Shera
Singh and Shera are in control early as they cut off the ring and wear Swann down. Singh hits him with a modified Facebuster but Swann uses his quickness to break free and make the tag to Callihan. The pace quickens as Callihan gets 2-for-1 on his opponents. Swann hits a handspring cutter on Shera before double superkicks to Singh. Swann connects with an assisted Cactus Driver on Singh to score the victory.
An OK match. I'm not a fan of Singh and Shera but I enjoy watching Sami & Swann. Grade C-
Backstage Interview:
Moose and Brian Myers are watching a monitor backstage. Gia Miller wants to know if they are scouting the opposition. Myers tells her that they are the best tag team in Impact. Moose says that he will get revenge next week. Moose tells Myers that they need to defeat Sami & Swann to make a statement heading into the 4-way match for the Impact Tag Team Championship at Slammiversary.
Backstage Promo:
Dirty Dango says that he hasn’t watched wrestling since the 90s. He says that a random guy walking down the street has more charisma than 90% of the locker room. He says that Santino is a one hit wonder and he will never be hit by Heath’s finisher again. He says that Heath doesn’t want to become another Santino.
Match 3: Angels w/The Design (Deaner & Kon) vs Jonathan Gresham
Gresham dropkicks Angels off the apron to gain the early advantage. Angels hits an arm drag to create some much-needed separation, then connects with a half & half suplex. Angels almost puts Gresham away with a Northern Lights suplex. Both men exchange a series of pin attempts before Gresham locks in the Octopus to win by submission.
A bit of a disappointing match. I expect more from Gresham’s matches. Grade D
After the match, Jonathan Gresham offers his hand to Angels but Deaner doesn’t want Angels to shake it. Angels defies Deaner’s wishes and shakes Gresham’s hand. Deaner is furious as Angels leaves without The Design.
Backstage Promo:
Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz confront ABC. Wentz challenges Bey to a singles match next week, and if Wentz wins, the Rascalz will be added to the 4-way match at Slammiversary.
Backstage Segment:
Trinity confronts Deonna Purrazzo after Purrazzo hesitated to come to her aid last week while she was being attacked by Gisele Shaw and Savannah Evans. Trinity accused Purrazzo of not wanting her to be 100% at Slammiversary. Trinity says that she doesn’t need Purrazzo’s help. Purrazzo says that she will hold an open challenge for the Knockout’s championship next week to remind Trinity of who she is facing at Slammiversary.
Match 4: The Good Hands (John Skyler & Jason Hotch) vs PCO w/Scott D’Amore
PCO hits a double clothesline, then dives over the top rope to take out both of his opponents on the floor. PCO continues the assault with a De-Animator to Hotch. Back in the ring, PCO soars with the PCO-Sault on Skyler to win.
Typical end for this one. There was no way that PCO was going to lose this one. A standard PCO squash match. Grade D
After the bell, Hotch slaps D’Amore in the face. D’Amore fights back and takes out Hotch with Sky High. D’Amore is about to deliver the Canadian Destroyer when Bully Ray interrupts. Maclin blindsides both D’Amore and PCO with a steel chair. Bully joins the fray as Maclin handcuffs D’Amore to the ropes. D’Amore is forced to watch as Bully and Maclin drive PCO through a table. Bully and Maclin drag PCO into the bowels of Atlanta’s Center Stage. Maclin pours battery acid down PCO’s throat before Bully lights him on fire.
Backstage Segment:
Scott D’Amore is walking backstage, looking for PCO. Gia Miller asks D’Amore how this affects their match at Slammiversary. D’Amore says that he doesn’t care.
Match 5: Gisele Shaw w/Jai Vidal & Savannah Evans vs Courtney Rush w/Jessicka
A reverse DDT from Rush puts her in the driver’s seat. Vidal provides a distraction from ringside, allowing Shaw to capitalise and gain control. Shaw hits a running uppercut, covers Rush for two. Shaw grabs Rush by her throat, then delivers a German suplex. Rush counters the knee strike into a modified Samoan drop. Evans sends Jessicka crashing into the steel ring steps on the outside. Vidal gets up on the apron but Rush knocks him down. Shaw traps Rush in a pinning predicament with her feet on the ropes to win.
An OK match. Nothing special. A lot of outside interference and distraction. The usual sort of match we have come to expect from Gisele and co. Grade C-
Backstage Segment:
Kenny King and Sheldon Jean are walking backstage. A woman walks up to them and asks King for a picture. She then puts a dollar bill in his pants. King runs her off. Another woman appears and King tells her to not say his name. Joe Hendry appears and King tells him that he has made his life a living hell. King says Hendry has no friends and he has burnt all his bridges. Hendry says that all he has to do is say his name. Yuya Uemura is here to back up Hendry.
Main Event Match: Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & ALex Shelley) vs Nick Aldis & Lio Rush
Shelley chases Rush on the outside but he walks right into a clothesline from Aldis. Back in the ring, Aldis and Rush are in total control as they wear Shelley down and prevent him from making the tag. Rush hits a snap suplex but Shelley counters the follow-up into a submission. Rush quickly backs Shelley into his corner before tagging Aldis into the match. Aldis knocks Sabin off the apron before he and Rush alternate strikes on Shelley. Shelley fights free and sends Rush face-first into the top turnbuckle. Shelley creates some much-needed separation, then makes the tag to Sabin. The pace quickens as Sabin goes on the attack. Sabin takes Rush off his feet with a missile dropkick. The Guns hit Rush with the Magic Killer for two. Rush flies over the top rope, colliding with the Guns on the floor. Rush connects with a modified driver on Sabin, followed by a top rope elbow drop from Aldis but it’s not enough to keep Sabin down. The Guns rebound as they deliver double team offence to Rush but Aldis breaks up the pin attempt. Aldis looks to submit Shelley with the Kingsley Cloverleaf but Sabin breaks it up with a superkick. Rush delivers a low blow to Sabin while the referee’s back is turned. Rush hits Sabin with the Final Hour to win.
A really good main event. A nice mesh of styles from Aldis and Rush, they seemed to have good chemistry as a team. The Guns were as good as ever. This was definitely the match of the night. Grade B+
Another great episode of Impact. Slammiversary is shaping up to be a good PPV. The Guns are still showing that they can put on great matches even at 20 years in Impact. Kazarian also showed that he can still put on great matches. Impact is probably the best American based promotion at the moment and more people need to watch it.
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