Alrighty so week one of Impact on AXS TV is in the books and there was plenty of good stuff going on.
First off, the new opening video looked fantastic. Looks like they got a new set as well. Slight upgrade. Not sure if I like the red color scheme compared to the blue they were using before. The blue ropes and lighting gave it a more futuristic vibe somehow. The red color scheme has things looking more classic, and there's definitely less pop to it. But I think a part of that might actually be the subpar lighting in the arena. Curious to see if it looks different in other venues or not.
Marufuji vs. Josh Alexander was a solid opening match. It wasn't like edge of your seat action but it was some great striking and some great counters by these two. After his showing at BFG and this week on Impact, I am curious to know how Marufuji is viewed in the puro world these days because there was a time when I thought of him as one of the best talents in the world, but my impression is that his best days are behind him now. Of course, I have to consider he wrestled an inconsistent Michael Elgin and a pretty average wrestler in Josh Alexander. Might not be fair to judge him based off that. And then again, even the best wrestlers have their share of 2.5 or 3 star matches. Anyways…
I really don't know WHAT THE FUCK that Rascalz and Bahh segment was but it was actually, truly funny to me. I've never liked Bahh that much but he starred here. Rascalz are always great. I appreciate that Impact isn't afraid to just openly have some stoner characters.
Jordynne Grace scoring the pin on Taya Valkyrie in the six-woman tag match was actually a pleasant surprise and a positive outcome for me since I would much rather have her contending for the title than Tenille Dashwood. Great gem on commentary in this match as they're talking about Madison Rayne…
Don: Madison likes to boss people, have you noticed that?
Josh: Well yeah, she calls herself the locker room leader.
Don: Bet she keeps her boyfriend or husband in line.
Josh: Yeah, I'd hate to be that guy!
Rob Van Dam cuts a promo saying that without him there'd be no Kenny Omega, Daniel Bryan or Young Bucks...
Wow. I genuinely don't think he had anything to do with influencing or paving the way for any of those guys. Certainly didn't play as big of a role as guys like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero or Chris Benoit. Delusion aside, I like this gives no fucks attitude he's displaying after turning heel at BFG. Solid promo.
I'm thankful that Mack and Swann got the win over Desi Hit Squad. A feud between those two and The North for the titles sounds like something I can get into. I have no love for The Desi Hit Squad tbh. I just can't get into them.
Ugh. Moose. While I'm pretty indifferent to The Desi Hit Squad, I think I actively dislike Moose. I just feel like he can't play his gimmick effectively. It requires way too much talking for a guy who is not that skilled at it. This segment just wreaked to me.
A confrontation between Ken Shamrock and Joey Ryan? Aye. Who is this for? Like really. Who is going to see Ken Shamrock and Joey Ryan in a ring together and say "now I'm interested"? Despite that, the back and forth was pretty well executed. It doesn't change the fact that this match sounds like complete ass unfortunately.
Moving on we have the new X Division Champion Ace Austin continuing the feud with Call Your Shot winner Eddie Edwards in a non-title street fight. I will never not be upset that Edwards has become this boring ass Tommy Dreamer tribute act. I still have love for the guy but man… I want better for him. As for Ace, I see money in the guy for sure. I would be surprised if he isn't Impact World Champion at some point, assuming he sticks around and doesn't get swiped up by a bigger company. This match was alright but it was just basic hardcore mess and nothing special, particularly by 2019 standards. Post-match we got some storyline progression, Alisha agreeing to have dinner with Ace. Very intriguing.
So Su Yung is back in the fray but it seems like she's now snapped out of her zombified state and has no memory of all the undead stuff? Definitely an interesting new development. I missed a ton of the Undead Realm/Su Yung/Rosemary nonsense so I'm pretty out of the loop on what exactly is going on but I think I know enough about it that I can pick up on it now and I'm kind of looking forward to seeing where they go with it.
And the main event, Callihan and Cage in a cage match for the Impact World Championship. I feel it was a pretty underwhelming match if I'm being totally honest. The BFG match was better and I think Callihan winning the title here, rather than at BFG, made it feel more anticlimactic. Besides that circumstantial stuff, I just didn't think the match itself was all that well worked. It was pretty repetitive stuff and yeah, I know Brian Cage is "The Machine" but four Cactus Special piledrivers and then another off the middle rope to win the match is just overkill. To me, the highlight of the whole match was Brian Cage climbing into the cage like a fucking animal. It's a good thing Tessa came out after the match to have the staredown with Sami. That helped make things feel a bit more special and was a great way to punctuate this first week of the AXS TV era. I'm stoked Callihan finally got the title and now we can move towards the culmination of this Blanchard vs. oVe feud which I'm hoping ends with Tessa as World Champion.
I have to say I'm glad I've come back to Impact Wrestling now. Been watching it consistently for a little over a month now and I feel I've gotten everything I could have hoped for out of it. It's absolutely rough around the edges but the company has a charm to it that you don't get from WWE or AEW. Add to that the fact that there's a great match or two each week on TV, an exciting roster and some really refreshing storylines and characters and you've got an enjoyable wrestling product. Also want to mention that the crowd for this show is the best there's been in a while. It's so much better watching this show with a crowd that gives a damn. This new era is promising and if things continue to go how they did this week, I'll have no problem committing 90 minutes a week to this show. Looking forward to next week. The matches announced so far aren't super enticing on paper but I already know there's gonna be fireworks with Eddie, Alisha and Ace Austin and no doubt something crazy is in store for the first week of Sami's reign as Impact World Champion. I can't wait!