IMPACT! WRESTLING - January 11, 2019

REVIEW:   IMPACT! WRESTLING – JANUARY 11, 2019:  HOMECOMING FALLOUT

We are BACK!!  Thankfully, with IMPACT’s  deal with TWITCH, we’re able to keep going with our review of IMPACT! Wrestling!  Now on Friday nights, you can expect reviews to happen later on in the evening.  I thank EVERYONE for reading the blog, and viewing my reviews of IMPACT!  It’s a new year, so let’s see what 2019 has in store for us, shall we?!

Tonight…we have the fallout from HOMECOMING.  Johnny Impact is pissed, Killer Kross has a lot to answer for, and Tessa Blanchard is in action as well, and will we see Rosemary make another appearance with Allie making an appearance on the show?

The show begins immediately with the Champ Johnny Impact coming out, saying that Kross’ attack on Taya Valkyrie put her in the hospital.  He’s vowing revenge on Kross.  Just then, Brian Cage’s music hits and he enters the ring.  Cage reminds him that he had Johnny beat, and everyone knows it.  Cage wants a rematch and wants in NOW.  Johnny gets in the face of Cage, and asks him if he wants his rematch right now, and Cage says ‘yes’.  Just then, Kross comes out, calling Johnny an “Imposter Champion”, and tells him that Cage was right…Cage had him beat for a count of 10…so, technically, he beat him 3 times last night.  Kross says that when Taya gets out of the hospital…he’s gonna put right back in there.  Johnny loses it and tries to go after Kross, but Cage pushes him, Johnny lands a superkick on Cage, knocks him down, then leaps out of the ring for a suicide dive on Kross.  Johnny gets back into the ring, and gets clotheslined by Cage.  Kross climbs back into the ring, and stares down Cage…but Kross clothelines him, but to no avail.  Cage gets back up, knocks down Kross.  Kross exits the ring, learning to fight another day.  As for Cage…he lifts up the IMPACT World Title as the crowd cheers…Johnny slowly gets up, and looks at Cage as Cage exits the ring and heads up the ramp.  The show is off to a hot start.

During the break, Johnny is getting checked on, and Cage comes back, demanding his rematch.  Johnny finally says ‘yes’ to the rematch.  He just wants to handle Kross first.  Cage agrees, but warns Johnny NOT to screw him.

We get tag team action next as the Rascalz get to face the Lucha Bros. in action.  Match starts off with Pentagon and Dezmond Xavier gauging each other, until they lock up.  Pentagon manages to get Dez out of the ring.  As Pentagon goes for a suicide dive, Dez grabs him and drops him on the rope.  Action moves back inside, and Pentagon and Fenix working well together, with  a lot of back and forth between Dez, Pentagon, and Fenix.  Being a lucha rules match, there are no tags, and Fenix finally comes in to quell the Razcals’ offense after they hit a bronco buster on Pentagon.  Wentz on the offense against the Lucha Bros. after the break, taking it to them with kicks and high spot moves.  The action moves out of the ring once again, as Fenix and Pentagon landing reverse moonsaults on the Razcals.  Dez is tossed back into the ring, deliver a double kick, and a splash, but just as they go for the pin, Wentz breaks it up.  The Rascalz have Fenix in the corner, delivering kicks, but Pentagon nails Dez with a kick.  Wentz responds, but Fenix lands a slam on Dez, and Pentagon goes to work.  Just as Pentagon is ready to be pinned, Fenix saves the day with a cutter.  Pentagon then grabs Wentz into a piledriver, and Fenix grabs Dez.  Pentagon delivers the finisher, as Fenix hits another cutter.  Lucha Bros. score the win, and give props to the Rascalz at the end of the match.  Good match, lots of action, very lucha style.  The Rascalz proved they can keep pace with the Lucha Bros., and can be a real threat in the tag team division in the future.

Kross is interviewed backstage, and vows to destroy Johnny, and rid him of his body.  They have a match in the main event tonight---no disqualification.

Josh Matthews brings out new X-Division Champion Rich Swann, who won the Ultimate X match at HOMECOMING.  Fans chant “you deserve it” to him.  Swann talks about all the sacrifices he made to get to this point in his career, when he’s inturruped by Sami Callahan.  He reminds the crowd of their long history.  Callahan let’s Swann know that he’s got an offer, and better take it.  He pulls out and OVE shirt, and tells Swann to put it on.  And just then, Willie Mack’s music hits, and he runs out, and attacks Sami Callahan.  Rich Swann tries to pull Mack off of Callahan.  He doesn’t want a war between the two.  The refs come in to hold everyone back, but we wonder what did Callahan mean when he invited Swann to “come home”.

This turns into a match between Callahan and Willie Mack.  Both men trade blows, and no one gains the upperhand.  A double clothesline sends both men down.  Callahan then gets up to pound on Mack, but Mack responds with some chops.  Callahan rakes the eyes, and tries to nail Mack, but Mack fights back.  Both men run the ropes and slide out of the ring, but Callahan catches Mack inside the apron, and pounds on him, but Mack again fights back.  Mack escapes the apron, and pounds on Callahan.  Both men outside the ring, and Mack delivers a vicious side slam on the ring apron.  Callahan rams Mack into the ring steps.  Amazed the refs hasn’t issued a countout at this point.  Just then, Callahan climbs back into the ring to beat the count.  Callahan disposes him to the outside again.  Both men battle up the ramp.  Callahan again rakes the eyes, and readies Mack for a pile driver.  He delivers it.  Honestly…if there was a countout to be made, the ref hasn’t delivered one.  Some ref.  Now Callahan gets back into the ring and the ref finally counts.  Mack barely gets back into the ring to beat the 10 count.  Don’t know why…not like the ref was doing a good job of that to begin with.  Both men trade blows again.  Mack is on the offense, but Callahan fires back.  However, Mack delivers a samoan drop, followed by a standing backflip for a pin, but Callahan kicks out.  Mack goes for a pile driver, but Callahan reverses it, delivers a clothesline, and goes for the pin, but Mack kicks out.  Callahan tries to go for a finisher on Mack, but Mack lands a sitting powerbomb, goes for a pin, but Callahan kicks out.  Mack head for the ropes, but Callahan hits a powerbomb and a knee to the face, but can get the pin on Mack.  He nails Callahan in the corner with a rolling back flip.  Callahan goes for the eyes again, but Mack reverses and attempts a pin.  Several reversals result in no pins.  Finally, Mack gets Callahan rolled up, and scores the win with a pin. 

LAX is celebrating their win at HOMECOMING with Konnan by making their coffee “Irish”.  They talk about their big victory at the PPV.  It was the best match of the show, and now they’ll celebrate. We see an interaction between LAX and OVE backstage.  Could be the next challengers for the Tag Team Champions.

Scarlett Bordeaux enters the ring for her strip show.  Clad in a lacy number.  She gets on the mic, and announces that she’ll reveal the winner of her talent search next week.  Now she wants to celebrate the switch to Pursuit Channel.  She was hoping that they’d be edgier.  And just as she counts down to strip, out comes the Desi Hit Squad to stop the strip show.  Gama Singh tells her to save the strip show for  next week when they win the talent contest.  Rohit says that Gama wanted to see her naked.  Gama slaps him for his troubles.  Just as they appeal to Scarlett, out comes Big Poppa Pump.  Scott Steiner comes out and says that the Desi Hit Squad has ruined his night by not allowing the Freaks to let them get their freak on.  The Hit Squad attacks Steiner, but he responds by attacking the Hit Squad on his own.  She interrupts the beat down, and says she plans on giving the crowd a show.  And if they wanted one…all they had to do is ask.  Steiner grabs the chair and sits down as Scarlett does her thing.  She does her dance up the ramp, and Scotty applauds her.  Seeing Big Poppa Pump back is a big surprise.  He looks good, though. 

Tessa Blanchard is up next, and she comes out very no nonsense against a local gal apparently, and dominates her from the outset.  This was a statement match to let everyone know she’s not done with Taya Valkyrie yet.  Easy squash match victory.

McKenzie is interviewing Eddie Edwards.  Eddie says he’s done with Moose, he got his revenge, and ready to move on with the next challenge with Kenny (his kendo stick).  Suddenly, Eli Drake comes out, and asks Eddie whether or not he wants to pick up the hardcore “flag”…especially after what he did to Abyss and Tommy Dreamer.  I think Eli is looking to destroy ANYONE with a hardcore bone in their body---and Eddie seems like he’s next on the list.

We see Dark Allie and Su Yung by a coffin.  Allie talks about how she killed the Bunny, and that she’s not coming back.  And that Rosemary’s return means nothing.  Allie says she doesn’t need the Shadow.  Just then, lighting flashes, and Allie and Su see a message on the coffin:  “One more chance to rejoin the Shadow – R”.  Rosemary is giving Allie a chance to renounce Su…before the Dark War begins.

Main Event time as Killer Kross and Johnny Impact square off in a no DQ match.  This has become a blood feud.  The bell rings, and Johnny is all over Kross, pounding on him.  Kross manages to get up and strike back, but Johnny and him continue to trade blows until Kross delivers a suplex.  Both men continue to trade blows, then Kross delivers Johnny outside.  As Kross goes to continue the offense, Johnny strikes back and gains the upper hand yet again.  Johnny then runs Kross through the guard rail.  He goes to the ring, and pulls up the apron, and grabs a table from underneath.  As Johnny tries to grab Kross for the table, Kross attacks with a chair.  Then he grabs Johnny, puts his head in the folds of the chair, then rams him into the ringpost.  Kross then attacks the referee.  Kross continues the attack, nailing Johnny on the guard rail with an atomic drop, then drills him with the chair.  Fans are chanting “Kill, Kross, Kill”, as he tries to keep his composure, it seems.  But then he drags the steel stairs to the other side of the ring where Johnny is.  Kross then puts Johnny’s head on the stairs, and goes to grab a chair and slam Johnny’s head with it, but Johnny moves, and the pain from the chair allows Johnny to mount a comeback.  He then asks the crowds for chairs, and the crowd starts handing out chairs.  He covers Kross a la Terry Funk.  Then Johnny delivers this moosault with a chair off the steel stairs onto Kross.  But Kross uncovers himself and gets up.  They face off, and they start throwing chairs into the ring.  Both men toss chairs in the ring, hop in, then throw chairs at each other, knocking chairs out.  Johnny then superkicks Kross.  Delivers a semi DDT on the chair, and Kross sits in the chair, taunting Johnny to give it to him…Johnny then delivers a superkick with a chair to the face.  Kross smiles.  Johnny now throws more chairs on Kross, hits him  a couple of more times.  Just as Johnny goes for Starship Pain, Moose comes out, tosses Johnny onto the table.  Johnny’s hurt.  Moose tosses him into the ring, and Moose gets him into a chokelock, and Kross wins the match as Johnny passes out.  After the bell, he holds onto the submission hold…then finally breaks it.  Moose and Kross hug and celebrate in the ring as the show goes off the air.  Fairly brutal match with some moves I thought would’ve REALLY caused some damage NEITHER of these guys would’ve gotten up from.  But it secures the new story going forward. 

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Overall, this show was not bad to kick off the post HOMECOMING shows, and their debut on Pursuit/Twitch.  Not any real drag in it, and it got right down to business in a hurry.  Unlike RAW, IMPACT is doing a decent job of juggling as many storylines as possible, giving them all their time on the show, and not overexposing their talent.  Not everybody needed to be in the ring, a lot of the segments were short, but moved their stories along, and it felt like a nice pace, time wise.  The promos weren’t dragged out, and we got a few good matches out of it.  The Lucha Bros/Rascalz match was very entertaining, showing that the tag team division in IMPACT has a leg up on WWE.  The Rascalz showed they could hang with the luchadores, and will be title contenders in the future.  Willie Mack/Sami Callahan was a good match, with both men displaying their abilities.  And Johnny Impact proved he could hang in a gimmick match with Killer Kross.  Many may sell Johnny short, but the man can go if given a platform to strut his stuff. 

So, what do we take away from this post HOMECOMING episode:

-          Taya was hurt (probably kayfabe) in Killer Kross’ attack on the husband and wife champions.  We’ll get an update next week.  But also regarding the Knockouts Champion, Tessa Blanchard said she was not done with Taya yet, and is due a rematch.

-          Johnny has A LOT on his plate.  The World Champion not only has to deal with his former buddy Brian Cage down the road in a rematch, but Killer Kross has made it personal with Johnny…looking to destroy him once and for all---just to prove a point.  Moose interfering in the match means that he could possibly be inserting himself into the title picture.  And we can’t forget Cage.  Will he help Johnny put down Kross and Moose, or just wait for them to utterly demolish Johhny, then circle the body like a buzzard and pick the bones. 

-          Sami Callahan isn’t done with Willie Mack OR Rich Swann as yet.  Now…what’s the deal with Swann and Callahan.  For weeks, Swann has warned Mack about not facing Callahan and the OVE, because he’s been down that road.  He couldn’t tear them apart tonight, and it makes you wonder if he’s just going to wash his hands of it all, or help his buddy down the road. 

-          Eddie Edwards went hardcore to defeat Moose at HOMECOMING, and came out the other side, ready to face new challenges.  Seems like it didn’t take long, as Eli Drake showed up, warning Eddie about bearing the flag of the Hardcore Style.  Eli is STILL looking to eliminate hardcore wrestling at all costs.  He took care of Tommy Dreamer and Abyss---is Eddie Edwards next?

-          After their victory over the Lucha Bros….what’s next for LAX?  It seems like OVE is going to insert themselves into the conversation, what with the verbal altercation in the back tonight.

-          Is Scott Steiner sticking around?  And…could HE be the “winner” of Scarlett Bordeaux’s talent search?  Curious as to who she’s chosen…we’ll find out next week.

-          Allie says she killed the Bunny, and she’s never coming back.  They know the Demon Assassin is back, and won’t rest until she claims victory in the Dark War.  Dark Allie got her warning tonight.  Both Dark Allie and Rosemary are set on a collision course.  Su Yung isn’t safe, either, as Rosemary owes her as well.  Kiera Hogan AND Jordynne Grace could play a big part in this war before it’s said and done. 

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Until next week!