Impact: Focus turns to Turning Point

Bob Kapur

Impact: Focus turns to Turning Point

This Saturday, Impact Wrestling presents Turning Point, which airs exclusively on the Impact+ streaming service. It’s curious timing, since they’ve only had two weeks of build for some of those matches. This week’s TV did some service to the major storylines, but in the end, didn’t do enough in terms of being a “go-home” show to fully-bake some of the others.

Match 1: Tenille Dashwood (w/ Kaleb) and Madison Rayne vs. Havok and Neveah

Madison and Tenille were a bit awkward, teaming up for the first time, and Kaleb’s snide comments to Rayne after she got out-muscled by her larger opponents didn’t help matters. Dashwood fared a little better, even hitting her low dive on Havok and getting a near-fall. Madison This only angered Havok, so Tenille panicked and tagged in Madison who didn’t want to try to take on the giantess. Her fears were justified, as it wasn’t long before she was double-teamed and pinned after a Tombstone by Havok.

It was fun to see Rayne back in the ring, but this was all about boosting Havok and Neveah as strong contenders for the Knockouts Tag Team Championship which starts next week.

Winners: Havok and Neveah

Gia Miller interviewed the Good Brothers about their Tag Team Championship match against The North this Saturday at Turning Point. The North interrupted them and they made fun of Page’s “Karate Man” online persona, leading to an exchange of slaps before Page left in shock.

They showed an ad for Talkin’ Shop-a-Mania II, the Good Brothers special that airs this Friday. If you’re a fan of their humour, you’ll probably like it.

Tommy Dreamer was interrogating Larry D, who denied shooting John E. Bravo, and was dismissed. Cody Deaner was up next, and he was upset about his loss to Johnny Swinger last week. Deaner denied shooting Bravo, but before Dreamer could dismiss him, cliffhanger music played and the scene ended. It’s a good thing these segments are real quick hits, because this investigation is not as fun as the Wrestle House segments or the wedding planning shenanigan segments were.

Match 2: TJP vs. Rohit Raju (c) – for the X-Division Championship

TJP took it to Raju on the floor before the ring introductions, and drew first blood with a big suplex on the entrance ramp. Raju ran into the ring, but was immediately caught by TJP who took control. The sneaky Raju used the ref as a distraction and capitalized, hitting a big jumping Stomp onto TJP’s mid-section. Coming back from the break, and Raju was still dominating, getting a close count after a couple of big spinning kicks. Raju had control for several minutes, but a desperation block of a suplex attempt bought TJP some space and he hit a big dropkick and a springboard splash to turn the tide. He locked on a deep Surfboard and turned that into a pin attempt, but Raju kicked out with only inches to spare. Raju turned up the heat, hitting a couple of big power moves, and tried for a Crossface, but TJP was able to escape. He hit a Nutcracker and then went to the top. But Raju rolled out of the way of a Mamba Splash attempt and TJP hit the mat hard. He was still able to lock on an Ankle Lock, and Raju crawled to the corner to grab his title belt to use as a weapon. The ref snatched it away, and as he turned around to put the belt back in the corner, he didn’t see Raju hit TJP with a blatant low blow.

He followed that up with a huge running knee and got the pin. The stipulation for this match was that if TJP lost, he would not get another title shot as long as Raju was champion, so it looks like they’re going to do something else with him, or he’s going to cost Raju the title in some fashion down the road.

This was a solid by-the-numbers match that made both guys look good. In front of a live crowd, this would have been really hot – TJP is a very sympathetic babyface, and Raju has an unlikeable quality that would really rile up an audience.

Winner, and still X-Division Champion: Rohit Raju

Backstage, Fallah Bahh was still obsessing over his stolen wad of cash when he was confronted by Hernandez. Hernandez accused Bahh of shooting Bravo, with the motive that Bravo was going to tell Hernandez that Bahh had stolen his money. Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz barged in and came to Bahh’s defense. Their friendship act was all a ruse, though, and they managed to pick his pocket and steal the wad of cash right from under his nose.

The Rascalz were in the Treehouse, but before they could start the party, they found out that they were being evicted in a week. Not just from the Treehouse, but apparently (as said by Josh Matthews), this meant they will be leaving Impact Wrestling entirely.

Match 3: Acey Romero (w/ Larry D) vs. Chris Sabin

Sabin tried to jumpstart the match, but ran into the wall that is Acey. Sabin got thrown to the floor and while Acey distracted the ref, Larry D put the hurt on Sabin on the outside. Sabin tried to chop down Acey by hitting dropkicks to Acey’s legs, but the big man wouldn’t go down. More dirty hits from Larry on the outside had Sabin in jeopardy and Acey pressed the advantage. Sabin rolled out of the way of a big elbow smash and then hit a boot to the head and was eventually able to put Acey down to the floor. He hit a slingshot dive attack that took down both Romero and D, and then nearly got a pin after a flying body press on Acey back in the ring. A trio of enziguris finally put down Acey for good. After the match, XXXL double-teamed Sabin, leaving him laying.

This was good. XXXL are really developing as a bad guy team, and Sabin can always deliver.

Winner: Chris Sabin

Backstage, Sami Callihan came into Chris Bey’s dressing room. They seemed to be on the same page as it came to Bey’s match with Eddie Edwards, and started to concoct a plan.

Tommy Dreamer was interrogating James Mitchell who admitted that he had plenty of motive to shoot Bravo, but didn’t. Dreamer seemed to accept this, and was intrigued when Mitchell said he may know who did. Cue the suspenseful cliffhanger music.

Match 4: Eddie Edwards vs. Chris Bey

This was the classic clash of styles between Edwards’ power against Bey’s quickness and high-flying. Edwards did a good job of grounding Bey with his blue-collar offence for a while, but Bey was able to turn things around with a nice flying spin kick. Edwards tried for a Tiger Driver, but Bey reversed it into a hurancarana in a nice move. Bey went for the Bey Blade, but Eddie avoided it, and after Bey crashed on the mat, he was easy pickings for a roll-up pin by Eddie.

After the match, Bey slid back into the ring with a steel chair, but before anything could happen, the lights turned off. When they came back on, Sami Callihan was in the ring, and he blasted Edwards with a baseball bat. Rich Swann ran down to make the save, and after dispatching Chris Bey who made a move on him, he took it to Callihan. Ken Shamrock joined the fray and the brawl was on. Bey allied himself with Callihan and Shamrock, pounding both Swann and Edwards with the chair. Callihan set up Swann for a baseball bat assault, but the Rascalz ran in to save him.

The match was fine, and it’s helping build the storyline that everyone is bucking to be a contender for Swann’s title. Shamrock and Edwards could be a good hard-hitting feud once they actually have a match.

As an aside, it was interesting to note that the commentators acknowledged Don Callis’ appearance at AEW’s Full Gear this past weekend, and mentioned Kenny Omega by name. Let the theory-spinning commence.

Winner: Eddie Edwards

Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb reluctantly asked Jordynne Grace if she would team up with her for the Knockouts Tag Team Championship tournament. Grace said that she wasn’t going to team up with someone she couldn’t trust. But Dashwood could prove she was trustworthy if they teamed up at Turning Point this Saturday. Tenille agreed.

Backstage, Swann went into the Rascalz dressing room and thanked them for the save. They told him about their impending eviction, so he proposed they have a match to close things out. He proposed he and Trey team up against Dez and Wentz next week, and they all agreed.

The Flashback Moment of the Week was from Turning Point 2009, when the British Invasion beat Beer Money with the assistance of Eric Young and Kevin Nash to retain the Tag Team Championship.

Gia interviewed Deonna Purrazzo about being in a No Disqualification match against Su Yung at Turning Point. She and Kimber Lee said they were going to be fine. Suddenly, spooky music played and Kimber Lee was no longer behind Purrazzo. Purrazzo went to look for her, and found her laid out in a locked room with an ominous message scrawled on the window in Su’s signature scrawl.

James Mitchell told Tommy Dreamer to leave the investigation to him, but Dreamer insisted he proceed. Mitchell left the room and Havok entered. Dreamer tried to get Havok to admit to shooting Bravo, but before she could answer, the scene ended.

Match 5: Reno Scum vs. Fallah Bahh and Crazzy Steve

Luster the Legend got flattened early on by Bahh, but Reno Scum’s size let them take control and batter Steve for a while. They hit him with a few big moves, the most deadly of which was the Pit Stop. Steve eventually got the tag, and Bahh rampaged all over Reno Scum. He caught Adam Thonrstowe off the top and hit a Samoan Drop, but only got the 2-count. He went for the Bahhnzai Drop, but missed and crashed hard, leaving him prone for a double-team move by Reno Scum to end the match.

This was a good showcase for Reno Scum, and potentially signals they may be moving up the ranks soon.

Winners: Reno Scum

Backstage, Chris Sabin asked James Storm to watch his back while Alex Shelley is injured. Even though Sabin isn’t a big beer-drinker, Storm said that he would.

Willie Mack was with Dr. Forman, and the diagnosis was that he had a bruised larynx, but was cleared to wrestle. Moose ran in and attacked him, but Willie fought back. They will fight at Turning Point.

Match 6: Josh Alexander (w/ Ethan Page) vs. Karl Anderson (w/ Doc Gallows)

They were at a stalemate in the first minutes, with Alexander getting the edge technically, but going into the commercial break, Anderson hit a fast clothesline that tumbled Alexander to the floor. Back from the break, and Anderson was in control, whipping Alexander around, until Alexander pulled a shady move and gouged Anderson’s eyes. He threw a blinded Anderson back into the ring and methodically picked him apart with stomps, chops, and knees. Alexander locked on a submission stretcher, but Anderson was able to power out of it, and then he hit a standing neckbreaker that bought him some recovery time. They exchanged punches, and Anderson had enough to turn things around, punctuating the comeback with a huge Spinebuster. A series of reversals ended with a huge Pump Kick by Alexander, and he looked to finish off Anderson with a Piledriver. Anderson was able to fight out of it and reverse it with a back body drop. Another exchange of fists ended with a big clothesline by Anderson. He was going to finish things off, but Ethan Page interfered from the outside, leading to a 4-man brawl. The teams kept fighting until security ran down and broke it up.

This was a good match. Alexander really can deliver in the ring, and Page is the perfect counterpoint to him, personality-wise. The ending moments helped set the plate for their match on Saturday.

Winner: Karl Anderson

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