3 Nights Of Impact Wrestling
One of the greatest matches took place at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens.
Impact Wrestling has delivered three home runs on pay-per-view this year, with Bound For Glory most recently exceeding high expectations. The roster’s performance is always astonishing considering the schedule of PPV followed by two nights of Impact tapings. That means some of these wrestlers are letting it all hang out three nights in a row.
I can attest to which ones because I was seated front row at the Melrose Ballroom in New York City. You can check out my thoughts on the Impact Wrestling VIP experience here. Below are my observations and crowd reactions to some of the wrestlers and matches:
- Killer Kross is the next big thing in pro wrestling. He has the look, charisma and in-ring skills to be the future of Impact Wrestling. His intimidating appearance will captivate casual viewers, and diehards are quickly seeing his potential between the ropes. After demolishing Tommy Dreamer and Eddie Edwards, he faced Johnny Impact for the world title and held his own with the champ. It seems like his alliance with Moose will continue sans Aries, and that is definitely a good thing as the hulking monsters make for a scary duo. If you need more evidence that Kross is the real deal, check out his promos from House of Hardcore.
- Ethan Page’s former theme song has been stuck in my head since the fans around me sang “It’s not confidence it’s all ego” during his matches. He was very over with our section and actually thanked them while walking up the ramp after his last match of the tapings.
- Rich Swann is a beast. The charismatic high flyer competed thrice, tearing down the house time after time. He’s clearly having a blast in Impact Wrestling, which is wonderful to see after he considered stepping away from the business earlier this year. It remains to be seen whether he and Willie Mack will be full-time partners moving forward, but if they are, the tag team division will receive a huge shot in the arm.
- The crowd was not happy with James Ellsworth answering Eli Drake’s New York Open Challenge. People were obviously expecting Chris Jericho after various teases since Slammiversary and Y2J’s penchant for showing up places “unexpectedly.”
- Tessa Blanchard and Taya Valkyrie faced off twice, a decent bout at Bound For Glory done even better at the second night of taping. Although the buildup to their match was lackluster, they have solid chemistry in the ring and come off as the biggest stars in the women’s division. I’m glad they’ll be continuing their feud in the months to come.
- Eddie Edwards and Moose had one of the greatest matches I’ve ever seen in person at the second night of taping. (Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg at WrestleMania 33 is the other, by the way.) They brawled all over the ballroom, incorporating the fans into the action. If you were disappointed that they ended up in a tag team match at the PPV, go out of your way to catch this fight on Impact in the next few weeks.
They had one of the better stories heading into BFG after Moose’s shocking heel turn. It’s one of those instances where I didn’t understand it at the time, but after letting it play out, I’m fully on board. And this is coming from a guy who believed Moose should have beaten Austin Aries at Slammiversary to become the face of the company.
Now I see Moose in a whole new light. He’s a fresh, fantastic villain who astutely tiptoes between comedy act and monster. His gaudy outfits, perpetual grin and newfound foul mouth have revitalized his character, while his stellar in-ring work remains intact, if not polished up now that he plays the heel role. Eli Drake often draws comparisons to The Rock, but Moose is beginning to more closely resemble The Great One.
- OvE defeating Brian Cage and the Lucha Bros was an upset. The enthusiastic crowd was hushed when Sami Callihan got the three count on the undefeated Cage, which is crazy considering Cage ate a dozen superkicks beforehand. But that just goes to show how strong the X-Division Champion has been booked and how popular he is with the Impact faithful. As for Callihan’s OvE brethren, it appears as though Jake and Dave Crist will have more of a featured role in the weeks to come. Callihan joining them at last year’s BFG did wonders for their careers, but it’s definitely time for them to develop their own identities.
- Shoutout to the guy with the “Calm Down, Ohio Sucks” sign.
- The Concrete Jungle Death match is the sickest thing I’ve ever seen. Before the bell even rang, the OGs noticed that one of the wooden boards was uneven. The production team tried to fix it, but it was useless because LAX’s entourage immediately hopped around the ring, anyway. I’ve read criticism about the danger of booking this match, and while I agree the conditions were risky, it does make sense considering this was the hottest feud heading into the show. I mean, c’mon now, they were fighting for Richie!
- Fans were split for the Austin Aries-Johnny Impact main event, even with the gorgeous Taya rallying support for her hubby at ringside. The first few minutes felt like a shoot, which who the hell knows whether that was the case or not considering the outcome. As usual, Aries and Johnny gave one helluva performance, including everybody losing their minds with Johnny’s leapfrog between the apron and guardrail, followed by a moonsault. It’s a shame the aftermath has stolen the spotlight away from such a great match. Perhaps that was Aries’ intention. After all, nobody talks about McGregor’s loss.
- Speaking of the former champion, the crowd was chanting Fuck Austin Aries the night after BFG.
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