Impact: Moose and Sabin brawl, the Elite get hunted, and woo-hoo it’s Francine!

Bob Kapur

Impact: Moose and Sabin brawl, the Elite get hunted, and woo-hoo it’s Francine!

With the “forbidden door” having been opened, it’s an interesting time to be an Impact fan. Not only are new players coming into the mix, but old favourites are returning to the company as well. This week, those types of appearances – along with some strong matches, including a great main event – made for some interesting storyline developments, fun segments, and (did we mention, woo-hoo!) Francine!

To start the show, Gia Miller was outside of Impact Executive Vice-President Scott D’Amore’s office, as apparently he has something big planned for tonight. D’Amore joined her, but was tight-lipped and wouldn’t spill any details. Tommy Dreamer came up and reminded D’Amore that they still hadn’t determined a number one contender for World Champion Kenny Omega. D’Amore took a phone call, and had to run to go get someone, so told Dreamer to figure out a solution to find a contender.

Match 1: The Good Brothers vs. Chris Bey and “Switchblade” Jay White

The ring introductions took a long time, giving the announcers time to talk about the burgeoning feud between the Elite and the Bullet Club. White and Bey were doing pretty well for themselves, but Gallows’ power slowed them down, and then mowed them down. Bey sold Gallows’ corner punches better than anyone else; normally they look a bit goofy, but he made them look really good. He also took a huge Gallows clothesline really nicely. But he used some quickness and aerials to get out of danger and tagged in White, who ran wild on the Good Brothers. After some back and forth, all four men battled it out. Gallows hit White with a Superkick that sent White to the floor. Then Bey got caught coming off the top and Gallows hit him with a big Chokeslam. A Magic Killer later, and it was all over.

It’s surprising that they would have Bey and White lose so convincingly. White did okay, but there was nothing about him that really stood out as anything special, and the clean loss didn’t help. Maybe it’s time to send him back through the forbidden door?

Winners: the Good Brothers

Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan said that despite losing at Slammiversary, they were going to regain their Knockouts Tag Team Championship soon. Fallah Bahh came up to them with a bouquet of flowers. He invited Tasha to Homecoming like it was the prom. She accepted, meaning that she will team up with him in the mixed tag team tournament at the show. In saying yes, she threw some shade at Hogan, blaming her for the loss of their titles, and there was clear tension between them.

Match 2: Kaleb (w/ Tenille Dashwood) vs. Taylor Wilde

This match was Taylor’s first in a while – despite coming back to the company a few months back, she hasn’t been on TV for a while. Kaleb outmuscled Wilde and whipped her around for a while, and it looked like it was going to be a rough night for Wilde. Despite being in complete control, Kaleb felt he need to try to cheat, but missed a shot with a loaded purse, and Wilde was able to send him to the floor. There, she was able to put him down with a big Tornado DDT on the floor. Back in the ring, she hit him with an ugly Reverse Hurancarana, dropping him on the back of his head, and then followed that up with a German Suplex, bridging it for the pin.

This was a good showing for Wilde – who takes a beating better than just about anyone in the company, making every move she takes look like it was viciously painful. Hopefully they move her up the card and away from the lame comedy of Kaleb and Tenille.

Winner: Taylor Wilde

In the back, Chris Bey wasn’t happy about his loss earlier, saying that’s now how he wanted his first match in the Bullet Club to go. Jay White corrected him, saying that Bey wasn’t part of the Bullet Club just yet and the loss suggested that Bey may never be. White told him that he may be able to redeem and prove himself, and pulled him aside to discuss it.

Josh Alexander cut a promo saying that he wants to face top contenders for his X-Division Championship, and he didn’t want a show to go by without a match. D’Amore came up to him and said that he would oblige, and set up Alexander to defend against Black Taurus on Saturday.

Gia Miller interviewed Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo, and asked her if she was stretching herself too thin, by agreeing to matches for AAA and NWA in addition to her Impact obligations. Purrazzo was offended by the question, saying that Gia wouldn’t ask Kenny Omega the same, even though he has multiple titles in different companies. Purrazzo said that she can handle it all, and has been training with Invicta FC’s Alesha Zappitella to help with that. Zappitella joined her and said that Purrazzo can indeed handle it because she’s a great athlete. Purrazzo said that for an additional challenge, she was going to compete at Homecoming in the mixed tag tournament, but she wouldn’t tell Gia who her partner will be.

Match 3: No Way, Fallah Bahh, and FinJuice vs. Ace Austin, Mad Man Fulton, Rohit Raju, and Shera

The babyfaces started off with some fun spots as the four babyfaces beat up Fulton and amping up the crowd. But some dirty tactics by Raju allowed his team to take over for a bit. Until Bahh did a big Sit-Down Splash on Austin’s chest – ouch! The match went out of control after that, with a parade of finishing moves being hit, ending with a big Fosbury Flop by Austin onto everyone else on the floor.

He went for another big aerial move, but Finlay shoved him off the apron and Austin fell onto everyone again. This left Finlay and Raju in the ring, and Finlay got the best of it, pinning Raju after hitting Trash Panda (a Suplex Drop into a Neckbreaker).

This was fun, and was the first match that really got the crowd loud and raucous, particularly for No Way and Bahh.

Winners: No Way, Fallah Bahh, and FinJuice

Gia Miller tried to get some words from Impact World Champion Kenny Omega, but as always, Don Callis intercepted her. This time, though, instead of brushing her off, Callis introduced Omega and the champ came out. But he confused Gia for a fan, and some comedy ensued. As Callis and Omega goofed on her, Tommy Dreamer walked up to them. He told them that in two weeks, there would be a Battle Royal, with the winner challenging Omega for the title at Emergence on August 28th. Callis and Omega were, naturally, displeased by this turn of events.

A preview vignette aired for the Drama King.

Backstage, FinJuice were cutting a promo, saying they wanted to regain the Tag Team Championship, when they were attacked by Bey and White. White and Bey threw them around into walls and doors. White rammed Finlay with an equipment case, and told him he’d never beat him. FinJuice were left laying in pain as Bey and White left.

In-ring segment with The Elite

Kenny Omega came to the ring, accompanied by Don Callis and the Good Brothers. Callis cut a promo, putting over Omega and the Brothers and their recent winning ways. He protested Dreamer making Omega defend against the winner of the battle royal. The lights went out, and Sami Callihan came out on the ramp, carrying a baseball bat. Sami said that Omega shouldn’t complain about having to defend the title, but rather that he should be worried that it will be against Sami. But Sami said he didn’t want to wait – because he would get a chance to beat up Omega next week, when he teams up with two partners against Omega and the Good Brothers. Sami told them to watch their backs because you never know when he’d attack.

After he said that, Frankie Kazarian – the Elite Hunter – ran into the ring from behind and started waylaying the Elite.

Sami joined him and they cleaned house, sending the Elite scrambling. The commentators speculated that Kazarian was the person Scott D’Amore was talking to on the phone earlier. The crowd chanted “Welcome back” to Kazarian, and as he left the ring, Kazarian told the crowd “This is my house. This will always be my house.”

Sami and Kazarian got to the back and Dreamer came up to them, saying that he would find a partner for them for next week’s match. Dreamer whispered the name of who he had in mind. Kazarian was fine with hit, but Sami said it would never work.

A vignette aired for the returning Su Yung and Kimber Lee who was transformed during her interactions with James Mitchell and is also doing a Back from the Undead Realm kind of thing.

Brian Myers and Sam Beale were discussing Myers’ plan for the mixed tag tournament. He said he needed to find a partner that would make it easy for him to beat his team’s first round opponents of Tommy Dreamer and Rachael Ellering. Myers said he asked Raven for advice on how to mess with Dreamer’s head, and Raven suggested Myers ask Beulah McGillicutty to be his partner. But Sam screwed things up, so Myers called Francine instead and fortunately put her on speaker phone, thereby making this my favourite Brian Myers segment ever. Francine was offended at not being Myers’ first choice, so declined. Myers blamed Beale and stormed off.

Match 4: Deaner and Rhino (w/ Violent By Design) vs. Rich Swann and Willie Mack

VBD attacked right at the bell, but Mack and Swann were able to come back and get the advantage, including Swann doing a Twisting Somersault Dive off the top onto Rhino and Deaner on the floor. They were in control of Deaner after the commercial break, but a distraction by Eric Young on the outside allowed Deaner to cheap shot Swann and take over. Deaner and Rhino beat up Swann for a while until he finally got the hot tag to a fresh Mack who dominated Deaner, hitting a Samoan Drop and a Standing Moonsault for a near fall. But again the numbers game helped VBD, as another distraction by Young put Mack in some trouble. But he and Swann were able to boot and rally, and after dispatching Deaner, were able to put Rhino down with a Cutter-450 Combo.

This was good. It’s interesting to see where they go with VBD now, losing this match outright so soon after losing their titles. Wonder if this will shake things up, perhaps with a split, or maybe Eric Young will clean house and bring in some new members? With all the Elite vs. Bullet Club stuff going on, it may be a bad time for Mack and Swann to be in the tag team hunt.

Winners: Rich Swann and Willie Mack

Laurel Van Ness and Matt Cardona entered Swinger’s Palace to get the inside track on the betting odds for the Homecoming tournament. Since there were openings, Alisha Edwards suggested that the casino field a team. Petey Williams and Jordynne Grace then came in and said they were going to be in the tournament and they were the odds-on favourite. W. Morrissey then came in and told Alisha to give her husband Eddie a warning that Morrissey was going to destroy him this Saturday. As usual, Swinger had some funny lines; tonight’s it was mistaking Morrissey for Big John Studd.

Gia Miller interviewed Eddie Edwards who had no kind words for Morrissey. He said that during their Hardcore Match, Morrissey would know that Eddie Edwards is Impact Wrestling. After he was done, Tommy Dreamer came up to Eddie and said he needed a favour: to team up with Kazarian and Sami next week. Eddie was reluctant to team up with Sami, but he trusted and respected Dreamer enough that he agreed to do it.

Match 5: Moose vs. Chris Sabin

This was a rematch from Slammiversary where Sabin came out victorious. Early on, it looked like history would repeat itself as Sabin had Moose confused with quick rollups and a submission attempt. But Moose solved that equation, catching Sabin coming off the apron, and swinging him face-first into the ring steps – ouch.

Moose continued to beat on Sabin in the ring, hitting a nice Standing Dropkick, and then alternating between wear-down moves, power moves, and just old-fashioned beating him up. At one point, he hit a deafening chop on Sabin that sounded great. Moose continued the beatdown, forcing Sabin to use some desperation tactics like biting Moose’s hand. This angered Moose who got reckless and ended up chopping the ring post hard. As Moose dealt with that pain, Sabin capitalized by hitting Moose with a flying dive from the top rope to the floor. Back in the ring, the intensity picked up, with Sabin hitting Moose with a series of punches and kicks, and then a big Tornado DDT off the top – but Moose kicked out! Moose eye-raked his way out of a Cradle Shock attempt, and then whipped Sabin topsy-turvey into the corner. As a groggy Sabin found his way back to his feet, he was prone for a big Spear by Moose that put him down for the count.

After the match, Moose shoved Sabin aside, so Sabin retaliated with a couple of flying dives. They fought it out on the floor until security ran down and pulled them apart.

This was really good, and was especially heightened by the crowd reactions who were really into it throughout. After Sabin got the win last time, perhaps they’ll go one more time for a rubber match, which would be welcome, as these two have good chemistry together.

Winner: Moose

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