Impact Wrestling – Sin Alberto
IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling
Impact Wrestling
Date: April 19, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Sonjay Dutt
It’s the go home show for Redemption and I’m really struggling to think of what’s going to be on the card. There’s the three way for the World Title with Austin Aries suddenly needing two more opponents because Alberto El Patron reverted to his high standards of bailing. Other than that though, I’m not sure what there is on the show, save for Scott Steiner getting a pay per view title shot in 2018. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
We look at Alberto El Patron’s press conference fight with Austin Aries on WrestleCon Friday and subsequent no show that night. Instead we saw a triple threat match with Aries facing Pentagon Jr. and Fenix. Aries lost the match and agreed to a rematch for the title at Redemption for the title. Really, that’s their only option and there’s nothing wrong with going this way.
Opening sequence.
Su Yung/Braxton Sutter vs. Fallah Bahh/Kiera Hogan
The villains attack from behind to start but a pair of crossbodies put them down. Sutter dives into a belly to belly from Bahh and there’s the rolling splash for good measure. The women officially get things going as we hear about seeing the Aries vs. Fenix vs. Pentagon match in its entirety tonight. In other words, they’re editing around Alberto, which again is their only option.
Yung actually puts Bahh down and even drops him again with a cannonball off the apron. Back in and Sutter gets a turn with some stomps and a chinlock. A Samoan drop not only gets Bahh out of trouble but sets up the double tag to the women. Kiera butterfly suplexes Yung but she pops up to kendo stick Bahh in the back. When that has no effect, Sutter sends the angry Bahh to the floor, leaving Yung to hit the Samoan driver for the pin at 6:19.
Rating: D+. I really don’t get Bahh. I mean, I get the idea that he’s huge and can move fairly well, but you would think he’s a Yokozuna level guy and that’s just not the case. Maybe he’s just a crowd favorite and that’s fine, especially when they’re not pushing him past the midcard. If he stays there, there’s nothing wrong with that and let the fans have some fun.
Post match Allie runs in and jumps Allie but Sutter’s distraction turns it into more of a fair fight. Referees break it up with no one really getting the better hand.
Clip of Rhyno winning the NWA World Title at Bound For Glory 2005.
LAX isn’t worried about Scott Steiner because he’s so nuts that he might not even show up.
The announcers preview the rest of the show.
Jimmy Jacobs is tired of Johnny Impact being handed everything because of how he looks. What about someone like Kongo Kong? Tonight, Kong is going to rip everything away from Johnny and Johnny won’t be so gorgeous anymore.
OVE is here to destroy everything and this Sunday is about Eddie Edwards, Moose and Tommy Dreamer. This feud still does very little for me.
From Bound For Glory 2011: Kurt Angle successfully defends Bobby Roode to retain the World Title because Hulk Hogan decided that Roode wasn’t right. Somehow they didn’t realize this until after spending months setting Roode up as the new star.
Here’s KM to issue an open challenge. Erg. He lists off a bunch of famous jobbers, even name dropping ECW’s Musketeer, as desired opponents.
KM vs. Brian Cage
KM can’t get out of this and we’re ready to go. Cage dropkicks him in the side of the head to start and hits some corner clotheslines. An apron superplex sets up a top rope elbow and the F5 for the pin at 1:37. KM didn’t get anything in.
Redemption card rundown. The show doesn’t look half bad (though not exceptional), mainly because of the Lucha Underground additions.
Video on Jacobs and Kong. Yeah yeah Jacobs is brilliant and innovative and all that. Kong is still a big fat tub of goo and there’s no fixing that.
Kongo Kong vs. Johnny Impact
Johnny throws some kicks to start as he’s not sure what to do with a monster like this. That’s only going to last so long though as Kong sends him into the corner and gets in a belly to belly. A legdrop misses though and Johnny knees him in the face. The standing shooting star gets two on Kong and Johnny slides through his legs for an enziguri.
Another splash in the corner rocks Johnny but he jumps over the steps on the floor. Instead Kong knocks him out of the air and crushes Johnny against the steps. Kong doesn’t like being yelled at so he throws the referee down and put the steps on the apron. Johnny is lawn darted into the steps to draw blood as the match is a DQ at 7:20.
Rating: D. I can get behind the story here but my goodness KONG IS NOT GOOD. This could be almost anyone in Impact but for some reason he’s getting the spot against any and all common sense. It’s not like Kong is anything special in the ring and it’s not like Jacobs is a great promo. Why is he sticking around at this level?
Video on Allie vs. Yung.
Video on Matt Syday vs. Petey Williams. Sydal is enlightened now thanks to Josh Matthews but Petey has a cool finisher and won a briefcase in Feast or Fired.
Video on Eli Drake and Scott Steiner getting a Tag Team Title shot. I get that Steiner is the replacement for Chris Adonis, but was no one else available? KM perhaps?
Drake is ready to win the titles. Steiner comes in and agrees with him.
We run down the rest of the card.
From Impact Wrestling vs. Lucha Underground.
Austin Aries vs. Fenix vs. Pentagon Jr.
Non-title. Pentagon does CERO MIEDO at Fenix so Aries chills on the ropes. An early exchange of strikes to the face gives us a triple knockdown with Aries being knocked outside Back up and the other two slug it out until Aries is back in with the middle rope elbow to Fenix’s back for two. Aries DDT’s Fenix but Pentagon gives him (Aries) a Backstabber for two at the same time. Pentagon kicks Aries in the ribs to take him down but here’s Fenix with a rolling cutter. With the other two on the floor, Fenix hits a big springboard flip dive to take them both down.
Back in and Fenix flips over Aries before hitting a German suplex for two. They’re certainly moving so far. Pentagon comes back in but gets caught with a neckbreaker across the ropes. The Last Chancery goes on but Fenix makes a save as we take a break. Back with Pentagon breaking the same hold on Fenix as the double teaming begins on Aries. As you might expect, that leads to both of them attempting a pin and the fight is on. A double superkick sends Aries outside and a pumphandle driver gives Pentagon the pin on Fenix at 9:52.
Rating: B. If this is any indication of what these three can do in a twenty minute match, we’re in for a treat on Sunday. The lack of the title being on the line helped here as you would have expected Aries, the biggest American star of the three, to win here but Pentagon is more interesting. It also helps set things up for the pay per view, which isn’t the most thrilling on paper.
A big Redemption hype video takes us out.
Overall Rating: D+. Well, they tried. The lack of Alberto and all the stuff that probably had to be put into the show in his place didn’t help things, but this wasn’t a great show on its own. Some of the stuff is intriguing but at the same time there’s stuff on there that doesn’t make me think this is a major promotion. I mean, really, Scott Steiner in 2018? There’s enough stuff to make me want to watch though and this show highlighted it, but the bad outweighs the good tonight.
Results
Su Yung/Braxton Sutter b. Fallah Bahh/Kiera Hogan – Samoan driver to Hogan
Brian Cage b. KM – F5
Johnny Impact b. Kongo Kong via DQ when Kong shoved the referee
Pentagon Jr. b. Fenix and Austin Aries – Pentagon Driver to Aries
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I actually get Steiner on the PPV given he was MAD over at the WrestleCon show. It’s not the most ideal but it’s more like capitalizing on something that has a bit of buzz. And if you had to put him anywhere on the card, surrounded with guy 3 who can carry a match is a better idea than one on one.
Not that I’m defending it. But I get the intention behind it.