Read on for my thoughts on last night's Impact Wrestling.
- Opening video:
Oh, yeah, they're definitely going hard with the "things used to be better; let's get back to those days" message.
- Davey/Eddie:
OHH yeah we're off to a good start. I REALLY hope the new regime has these two doing a big fight instead of a match with a bunch of dives and fancy moves, because these two are trying to kill each other.
Davey is absolutely not the forgiving type.
That suplex would have been SICK.
Pretty fun. I can't wait to see it explode in some kind of vile gimmick match.
- Matthews/Pope/JB:
Matthews is such a natural cocky douche. I did like the burial of Smackdown's overly large announce team.
I already like the new management for putting JB at the desk. If anyone knows Impact, it's him. He very well might be the only employee left who's been there since Day One. If it wasn't for James Storm's brief exit, he'd join Borash in that honor.
Name-dropping Tenay was good.
OOOOOHHHHHH the burials of those who are gone begins!!
I'd watch Borash vs. Matthews, honestly.
- Cody/DCC:
And there's our first acknowledgment of GFW.
That was kind of weird. I don't see why DCC cares that Cody might have a match before they do. Unless they're just really embarrassed at how they've fared against Jessie Godderz. I wouldn't blame them!!
- Kingston/Bram vs. Reno SCUM:
Impact vs. GFW, right out of the gate!
Man, DCC just can't catch a break. They jumped the newbies only to get things turned on them.
That wasn't bad! It's good to see a new team make it in Impact, and the bookers clearly are avoiding 50-50 booking where possible.
- Post-match:
Looks like DCC are basically going to be jobbed out. We'll see what that means for them long-term.
- Sienna/McKenzie:
I was hoping for a better writeoff for Maria than a "fake news" reference. Why not just say Maria got fed up with the disrespect and left? Don't even have McKenzie question it.
At any rate, we'll see what the new regime has in store for Allie and Braxton.
- Sutter vs. DJ Z vs. Rockett vs. Konley:
I really hope this is used as a springboard for something more than "X-Division guys do X-Division things." The division NEEDS a new direction.
I'd be fine with Matt Morgan doing a run-in and beating them all, but no idea what they're going to do with him just yet.
I was REALLY hoping for something new from the division tonight. Maybe they're saving it for a future episode. The X-Division has been a real drag on what is otherwise a pretty good show.
At least Allie did something cool.
- Allie/Braxton/Laurel:
Oh, so this IS continuing. I'll give it time. I don't expect them to change EVERYTHING in Week One.
- Hardys:
I didn't expect these two to show up on this show at all! I guess they'll drop the titles to their spot monkeys. I expect Impact just had some footage left over and they're going to do a little with it as they transition into the new era.
- Sienna vs. Ellering:
It will be pretty awkward if Rachael ends up in Impact while her dad's in NXT.
I can really see Dutch getting behind Sienna as a monster.
Ellering's doing pretty well, so maybe they are thinking of using her on a more regular basis.
Rachael's pretty solid!
This is pretty good.
Fine for theoretically establishing Rachael while keeping Sienna relevant. If Rachael's not being signed, this was unnecessarily "50/50."
- Hardys again:
Enjoy these segments while they last! I really wonder how they'll fit into ROH with these gimmicks.
- Prichard/Lashley/Alberto/EC3:
Bruce has maintained he had long-term booking plans that were sullied by Dixie and her obsession with weekly ratings. I liked what he brought to the table as a creative force in what we did see: he's focused on telling a story with a beginning and an end instead of going month by month.
Bruce putting himself over, but what's the endgame?
I'm good with Prichard putting his pedigree behind a really incredible world champion.
Lashley's list of accomplishments is pretty great.
WWHHHHOOOAAAAAAA now THERE'S a big debut! And a surprising one, since there were reports he was off the table with the new regime taking over. Basically Drew Galloway, then Bully Ray were offered this spot, but it ended up going to Alberto. My guess is Impact really wanted to make a big splash on their first show, and to really get people talking again, and that outweighted any potential backstage issues.
Wow. They got right from the really big debut to someone else. I figured they'd just do Lashley/Alberto and put EC3 in something else.
I like the idea of Alberto having to earn a title shot, even with his amazing resume.
I mean, hey, Lashley's got a point.
Poor EC3 hahaha.
- Announcers bickering:
They're going to have to pay this off at some point if they don't want to end up like WWE with the people doing commentary being more important than the wrestlers.
I am curious whom that legend will be. The new regime is well connected.
- Eddie/Angelina:
Good move to focus on Angelina instead of the really bland talkers.
Good work from Love.
Wow, way to bury the former World Champion by saying he doesn't hit hard. I hate that shit.
- More Cody:
Cody throwing his weight around.
I like the GFW plugs. I don't blame Jeff a bit!
Cody vs. Moose could be really good.
- Dutch promo:
God I missed Dutch.
I love the commitment to rebuilding Impact. It's clear this is a big effort instead of a different coat of paint. This is definitely the biggest change since Hogan and Bischoff came on-board.
They're definitely selling a story of who made Impact work in the past coming back to fix things for a new generation. They've got the potential to do just that!
Dutch dropping a LOT of names here.
I wonder what Dixie thinks about all these shots at her regime.
Now THAT was a good promo. Dutch is an all-time great for a reason. If he wasn't here, he'd be absolutely deserving of the WWE HoF.
- Hardys/Decay:
It just dawned on me the Hardys are the Impact tag team champions on TV and the ROH tag team champions off-screen. Whoa.
Oh man! Smokin' Joe might just go over.
Well that was weird AS FUCK.
Ssssoooo... are Decay the champs now? I'm pretty confused.
- Slammiversary announcement:
It's a little odd to do that show in July since June is the actual anniversary.
- Lashley vs. Alberto:
This is a really big match. It's risky to give it away on the first episode of the new regime, because there's no way they can top the star power next week.
Good start.
Not bad so far. Both men are clearly game.
I enjoy Lashley's physicality and out-and-out meanness.
Alberto's still got some good fire. There's no disputing his in-ring ability.
NICE counter to the spear.
Ah I love a ref bump spot.
This is quite the match!
Lashley's strength is just UNREAL.
Man, ANOTHER ref bump? Tough night for them.
That was pretty clever. I think Alberto can be a believable top name, and Lashley looks fine in defeat.
- Post-match:
Lashley is NOT pleased.
I liked that overall. They established El Patron, Lashley, and EC3 as players in the title picture.
More wrestling coming up.
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