IMPACT! WRESTLING - January 25, 2019

REVIEW:  IMPACT! WRESTLING – January 25, 2019:  World Title Fight, Rich Swann faces another challenge, the Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie returns, Page and Miguel square off, and tag team action with The Rascalz and Desi Hit Squad.

We’re south of the border on this week’s edition of IMPACT, as this week’s card features the return of Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie to discuss her injury at the hands of Killer Kross, her husband, Johnny Impact taking on Killer Kross for the World Championship, Rich Swann and El Higo Del Vikingo look to fly high in their match, The Rascalz and the Desi Hit Squad go toe to toe, and Ethan Page vs. Trey Miguel.  Plus, any answers to any other questions we may have.

We begin the show with X-Division Champion facing off against El Higo Del Vikingo.  This match gets off to a quick start.  Lots of back and forth between Swann and the luchador, but in the end, Swann wins the match with a 450 splash, and gets the pin for the win.  Very exciting match to start the show. Just as he finishes up, OVE comes out to confront him yet again.  Callahan once again confronts Swann, and tells him to join OVE.  He’s got a shirt in hand, and tells him to join.  Swann goes to leave, but Callahan says he isn’t going anywhere.  Callahan says that if weren’t for him, Swann would be dead on the highway in Baltimore.  He starts bashing Swann’s family, and asks him where they were when he was homeless.  Callahan tells him that OVE is his real family.  Swann responds that the shirt is the right size, but this---pointing to OVE---isn’t the right fit.  Swann leaves the ring, and Callahan says that wasn’t a ‘no’.   Things are now getting more personal between these two, and Callahan just fired the first salvo.

Melissa Santos---the new backstage announcer---is interviewing Killer Kross about his match with Johnny Impact tonight.  Kross talks about how Johnny knows how to hurt people, but doesn’t have the killer instinct.  Saying that everytime they meet, Kross gets stronger, and Johnny gets weaker.  Melissa talks about Brian Cage keeping tabs on the match, but Moose says that The Machine is having problems at customs, and he won’t be at the arena tonight.  Kross finally ends the interview saying that Johnny’s reign ends tonight.

Back with Melissa Santos again, who’s interviewing Jordynne Grace and Kiera Hogan, who have a rematch with Su Yung and Allie next week.  Jordynne and Kiera say they look forward to taking on the evil duo, and that they’re ready for anything they bring to the ring…or throw.  Melissa asks about the presence of Rosemary in the mix now, and before they give an answer, the screen starts to cut out, and next thing we see is a message from the Demon Assassin saying “The Darkness will take you too.  This is NOT your fight!”. 

Back to the ring where local luchador Keyra takes on the returning Knockouts Champ, Taya Valkyrie.  Keyra wastes no time in going on the attack before the bell rings, and starts working over the Champion.  But Taya is quick to come back on the offense, and starts working on Keyra.  More back and forth, and Keyra lands a kick into the corner to stun the champion.  Taya recovers again, and gets on the attack.  Taya goes to the top rope for a moonsault, but Keyra catches her and takes her down.  She then lands a moonsault of her own, but only gets a two count.  Taya recovers and throws a kick to the gut, but only gets a two count.  At one point, both women are on the top rope, and Taya lands a sit down powerbomb, but only gets a two count.  Taya stomps on Keyra.  Then she puts her chinlock submission hold to score the win with a submission.  After the match, Josh Matthews interviews her about being back.  She lets the fans in Mexico know how happy she is back in Mexcio, and that it means the world to her.  She then talks about how special it is in English.  She then calls out Killer Kross, and says that Johnny will beat him tonight, and calls out Tessa Blanchard, and says that WHEN they let her come back, Taya will be waiting.

Melissa Santos manages to catch Rich Swann before he leaves, and asks him if what Callahan said about his family was true.  But, he said there’s more to the story, and takes off.

We get another cringe segment of the Rascalz talking about their match with the Desi Hit Squad.  Seriously….they’re better than this. 

We see a quick segment of Scarlett Bordeaux working out, and calling out to a guy named Bobo, who gives her a banana…and she swallows the whole thing.  Yeah…that’ll make every man stand at attention.  She debuts in 3 weeks.

Gamma Singh introduces the Desi Hit Squad.  They take on the Rascalz.  Dez and Wentz.  Match starts off with a little back and forth, but the Rascalz soon gain control.  They corner Raj Singh into the corner, get the tag, and Singh gets nailed with a kick to the back of the head, then Dez nails him with a splash.  Wentz continues the attack…but Raj manages to avoid him and make the tag.  Rohit manages to get advantage of the match, and they start working Wentz over.  They distract Dez, and he hops into the ring, but the ref holds him back, while the Hit Squad continue to double team Wentz.  Wentz turns the tables, and kicks Rohit, then does a flip and nails Raj, and Wentz gets the hot tag.  Dez hops in, and is on the offense, working Raj over.  The Hit Squad is out of the ring trying to recover, and Dez bends over to give Wentz a springboard so he can fly out of the ring, and lands a splash on the Hit Squad.  The Hit Squad then get Dez and land a powerbomb, but Wentz gets the save.  Raj gets isolated, and the Rascalz land their signature finisher, the push moonsault for the pin.  Rascalz look good in this match, and build momentum in the tag team division.

Back once again with Melissa Santos as she talks to the Champ.  He talks about how he thinks Killer Kross is a piece of human garbage.  Praises his wife Taya from coming back after Kross attack at HOMECOMING.  Melissa asks about Brain Cage, and Johnny says he isn’t worried about Cage, he’s more concerned with Kross.  She also asks about Moose, and he says he’d rather have Moose out there instead of hiding in the back.  He said tonight, he’s taking a piece of garbage out to Slamtown. 

Taped segment of LAX.  Konnan wanted to have them repeat what they said to the Lucha Bros last week.  And they said that they said if the Lucha Bros. wanted another ass kicking, they’d happily oblige.  Konnan says things like that will cause the family to drift apart.  He said maybe he was trippin’, and all was cool.  He mentions another of newbie talents he wants to see what they got, so he’s going to put one on a team with the Luchas, one with LAX, and see what happens.

Ethan Page and Trey are next up.  Both men get into it early, and Page winds up outside, where Trey lands a great moonsault.  Back in the ring, and Page takes control.  He lands a vicious turnover slam onto Trey’s face.  Page continues to deliver the punishement to Trey.  Trey attempts to fight back and get Page across the ring into the ropes, but Page holds onto the rope, and lands a nasty shot to the face.  Page then slows it down by trying to wear Trey down.  Trey finally gets something of an upperhand by delivering a neckbreaker.  Gets Page in the corner, and starts on the attack.  Trey goes for a splash on Page, but only gets a 2 count.  Page delivers a suplex, but Trey kicks out at 2.  Page picks up Trey and heads to the top rope.  Trey falls out of his hands, and Trey delivers a 619 to knock Page off the rope.  He then delivers his finishing move called “Fresh to Death” in order to score the pin.  Was an alright match, if not a bit on the slow side.  Audience could’ve been more involved.  I know they’re not used to seeing non-lucha matches, but show some spirit, guys!  Trey is a great talent, and he’ll be in the X-Division Title mix for awhile.

We get a replay of Eli Drake’s slam of Eddie Edwards from last week.  We cut to the both of them this week, where Eli comes up to Eddie and tells him that they’re on the same team between IMPACT and Triple A, and they need to be on the same page.  Eli encourages Eddie to get back to the old Eddie.  He also says that he set up a match between the two of them and the Rascalz next week, so he says to Eddie to leave the kendo stick at home.  Eddie tells Eli that he doesn’t like what he’s trying to do.

Main Event time as Killer Kross comes to the ring with Moose, and then the Champ comes down, ready to go.  Both men get right to it, and it’s chippy and ugly to begin with, having a low blow given by Kross, and a punch to the face by the Champ.  Kross gets the edge, and starts landing forearms, but Johnny fights back and lands a Russian leg sweep.  Kross kicks out at one.  Johnny tries to go for a high spot maneuver, but Kross nails him with a knee.  Johnny uses his speed and agility to get ahead of Kross, and nails him with a kick to the head.  Johnny then moves out of the ring to land another high spot off the top rope, but Moose grabs his leg before he can get up there.  Johnny nails Moose with a kick and sends him into the guard rail.  Kross takes advantage of the situation to nail Johnny.  Then we head to the break.

Back from the break, and Kross has been in control.  He lands an elbow as Johnny was hainging in and out of the ring ropes, but only gets a two count for the pin.  Kross continues to work Johnny over.  He lands a DDT, but only gets a 2 count.  Match has slowed to a crawl now…fans seem only semi into it.  Johnny fights back a little with a kick to the head…he tries for a flying DDT, but Kross  catches him and drives him into the mat.  Kross gets Johnny into a cobra clutch, but it’s not on correctly, and Johnny breaks the hold.  They trade blows back and forth, and then Johnny lands a kick to the head again.  Goes for the pin, and only a 2 count.  The crowd “ooh’d” and “aww’d” that exchange.  Johnny tries to go for another big move, but Kross kills the momentum quick.  Kross lands a huge clothesline, and goes for the pin, but only gets a two count.  Kross gets him into the Crossjacket, but Johnny manages to break the hold, but Kross gets Johnny into a leg lock.  Johnny reaches for the ropes, and gets there, but Kross breaks the hold and gets him into the Crossjacket again, but there’s a rope break.  Kross misses a move, and Johnny capitalizes.  Johnny tries to go for Starship Pain, but Kross nails him from behind.  Kross gets nailed by a spear through the ropes, and only gets a 2 count on the pin, due to the fact Kross had his foot on the ropes.  Johnny went for Starship Pain again, but Kross again disrupts the move.  Just as Kross gets the Crossjacket on Johnny again, Brian Cage comes out of nowhere to clothesline both men, and the match ends in a no contest.  Then a brawl breaks out between all 4 men, where each of them take advantage of the others’ backs being turned.  Eventually, the fight breaks up as Kross and Moose leave the ring, as Johnny and Cage argue in the ring at the end of the match as the show goes off the air.  Match was a bit slow, and the crowd only popped a little for a couple of spots, otherwise, they were mostly dead the whole night. But I expected more. 

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This show had some highs and lows.  One of the big highs is watching Rich Swann.  He's a natural talent in the ring, and a good holder for the X-Division Championship.  Vigkingo was a worthy opponent, and a local lucha that gave Swann a good match.  But Swann is the man in the X-Division right now, but I have a feeling Sami Callahan will be hunting for that title soon.  Their story is coming along nicely.  It was also a good match to start off the show, try and get the crowd into it.  Really hard to get a Mexican audience invested in an American wrestling product when they're so used to the lucha libre style.  I guess that's why it's been hard for them to get any real audience reaction.  They crowds just seem dead to me.  

Melissa Santos made her debut tonight as the new backstage announcer, replacing the departed McKenzie Mitchell, who is seeking new opportunities.  Melissa has experience at Lucha Underground, so not a bad place to get her start with IMPACT.  She's also decent on the mic, and doesn't come off stiff.

The Rascalz are a great tag team, and I see a bright future for them, but for the love of whatever...STOP, STOP, STOP with the stoner segments---the laugh track is horrible, the fake smoke is over the top cheesy, and they just come off as BEYOND Spicoli stupid.  They're better than this.  Need to fine tune the gimmick OUT of the ring.  But the IN RING product is good.  The Desi Hit Squad is a joke, and I don't see them being tag champions anytime soon.  Not unless they get a boost of confidence.  Gamma Singh is the whole gimmick for that team.  Just doesn't translate well to the fans when the manager has to carry the heat for the team.  Okay, Cornette did that with the Midnight Express, but THOSE guys could go in the ring.  I haven't seen much from the Desi Hit Squad to make me go "wow".

Good to see Taya Valkyrie back.  And Keyra was a pretty decent local opponent for her.  Allowed Taya to tap into her Lucha background and put on a fairly decent match tonight.  She's telling the story well of her and Tessa, and we KNOW they are FAR from over.  And she hasn't forgotten Killer Kross, either.

Jordynne and Kiera look like a solid tag team were they ever to decide to bring back the Knockouts Tag Titles.  But Rosemary being back is being felt by EVERYONE in the Knockouts Division NOT named Taya or Tessa.  

Ethan Page and Trey were a so-so match tonight.  It served the purpose of getting Trey over, who is an exceptional talent, and as I have stated before, will be in the mix for the X-Division Title down the road.  Page is on his own with Sydal injured for the time being.  This will be make or break with Page to see if he can develop on his own.  Tonight was not a good start for him.  The match seemed slow, and didn't get the audience fired up unless Trey did some high spot.  

I guess we're getting two new Luchas that have been on Konnan's radar next week in a tag match to see what they can do with the Lucha Bros and LAX.  I think THAT will be the match next week of the whole show.

Eli Drake continues to do great mic work, making sure he sells his next feud with Eddie Edwards.  

Don't know about any of YOU...but I could watch Scarlett Bordeaux eat bananas all day.  Looking forward to seeing what SHE brings to the ring in 3 weeks.

Johnny Impact and Killer Kross is not a match I would've put out on tv for free, but it happened.  Kross is a good heel....just not long on personality, or does enough to generate the heat he SHOULD get.  Moose did more than that in his feud with Eddie.  Kross has the look and the will to be a top heel...just doesn't always come off that way in the ring, like it does backstage sometimes.  Just some fine tuning, and he needs to crank up the personal level...start terrorizing Taya at some point...really drive that personal blood feud aspect home.  As for Cage...he's still in the mix too, only now, he has no sides but his own.  He's not a heel, but he's pissed off like one.  I have a feeling a triple threat for the title will be coming up at the next PPV.  As for the match itself.  It seemed slow, and tended to meander a bit.  I get Kross is the slow-paced, power based, ground and pound guy, and Johnny is the high flyer and risk taker, who's quick on his feet.  But this match was SLOW...and there was no real life to it from a crowd perspective.  Now, I can chalk that up to this being a Mexican audience, and they're used to seeing wrestling in a different presentation, but still...it just seemed to drag.  The brawl at the end of the match was the best part.

Anyway, that does it for MY review.  Hope you guys enjoyed it.  Please subscribe and comment below if you've got any thoughts.  I'd greatly appreciate it, as I do with every blog you read!  

Until next week....