Impact Wrestling – September 27, 2018: They’re Running Out Of Time
IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling
Impact Wrestling
Date: September 27, 2018
Location: Fronton Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews
We’re still in Mexico City and I’m not sure what that means for this week’s show. Last week’s edition wasn’t exactly great and a lot of that is due to just throwing luchadors out there and using them in matches that aren’t much better than something you would see elsewhere. Maybe this week’s will be an improvement though so let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
We open with a recap of last week’s show.
Knockouts Title: Tessa Blanchard vs. Faby Apache
Blanchard is defending, Faby’s Reina de Reinas Title isn’t on the line and thankfully they get the camera right for Tessa’s entrance. Tessa hammers away in the corner to start but has a whip reversed into a reverse X Factor for two. A hurricanrana gives Faby the same and it’s way too early for the hammerlock DDT.
Blanchard gets more aggressive and scores with a clothesline, followed by a Saito suplex. Faby slaps on a kneebar to put Tessa in some trouble and some Angel’s Wings get two. Back up and Faby gets knocked off the top, setting up Magnum (the top rope Codebreaker) for two, followed by the hammerlock DDT to retain at 5:16.
Rating: C-. You can’t expect much out of a story that was set up one week and blown off the next but that’s what we got here. Blanchard getting a win over a big name from AAA is a good idea and helps establish her as one of the biggest women in the world at the moment. I’m not sure who she’s going to face at Bound For Glory though, as other than Yung and Allie, she doesn’t have any major challengers at the moment.
Post match Tessa says she’s now the best athlete in professional wrestling and the diamond of the Knockouts division. Cue Taya Valkyrie on the screen to speak some Spanish before saying she’s lucha royalty. Tessa can’t say anything until she beats Taya so the challenge is made. Everyone may think Tessa is a b****, but Taya respects her. Let’s see who the best is. It’s certainly better than Allie or Su again.
Eddie Edwards comes up to Alisha and tries to make amends but she calls him crazy. Johnny Impact, Eddie’s partner tonight, comes in and says they have to work together. Alisha still isn’t happy.
OVE takes credit for selling out Bound For Glory and mentions that tonight, it’s Jake vs. Brian Cage, which doesn’t sit well with Jake.
Eli Drake is in Mexico City and brags about his Mexican heritage. Next week: he’s challenging luchadors to a fight. I loved them at first, but these open challenges are getting annoying throughout wrestling.
Brian Cage vs. Jake Crist
Non-title. Cage backdrops him to start and knocks Dave off the apron. He makes the mistake of going after Dave though, allowing Callihan to tornado DDT him off the barricade. Back in and Jake starts in on the arm but an armbar is countered into a powerbomb backbreaker. A jumping knee to the face sets up a 619, followed by a top rope elbow for two. Cage gets two more off a sitout Alabama Slam but Jake spin kicks him in the face to knock Cage down in a rare sight. Crist takes him up top and blocks a superplex, setting up a super cutter….for one. That just ticks Cage off so it’s the Drill Claw for the pin at 4:41.
Rating: C. Cage continues to be an absolute monster with one of the best looks you’ll ever see. At the same time though, I’m not sure what they’re supposed to do with him now though as he’s been booked as completely unbeatable. I’m a little worried about what they might do to take the title off of him and where he goes from there, but at the moment he’s just fun to watch.
Post match the beatdown is on but the lights go out. As they come back on, Dave Crist is nowhere to be seen until Pentagon and Fenix appear on the screen, attacking Dave in the back. Cage beats up Sami and Jake to stand tall.
Austin Aries, Killer Kross and Moose are ready to destroy Edwards and Impact tonight.
Classic Clip: AJ Styles/Christopher Daniels vs. LAX from Bound For Glory 2006. Incredible match.
Katarina comes in to see Joe Hendry and Grado, hitting on the latter a bit due to the success of last week’s music video. That’s going to be another access denied. Katarina expected this and introduces MURDER CLOWN (he’s a clown who MURDERS you), who will be facing Hendry next week.
Scarlett Bordeaux (in a rather nice blue dress) is on the roof to recap her time in the promotion so far. She’s introducing a global talent search, with the winner getting her full time attention. I’ve heard worse ideas.
Desi Hit Squad vs. LAX
Non-title and why yes LAX is indeed over in Mexico. Raju and Santana start things off but it’s quickly off to Ortiz for a double belly to back suplex. A running knee to the face cuts Ortiz off though as the announcers talk about being Scarlett’s servant. Singh comes in for a running dropkick/running knee combination to the face in the corner as the fans are really not thrilled with watching LAX get beaten down.
Santana pulls Singh to the floor for a superkick and Ortiz makes the tag a few seconds later. The fans almost politely applaud Santana cleaning a few rooms of the house as the double teaming begins. Ortiz uses Santana for a platform into a moonsault onto Singh with Raju making the save. The legsweep into the Backstabber combination gets two on Santana until Ortiz Death Valley Drives Raju into Singh in the corner. The Street Sweeper gives LAX the pin at 7:29.
Rating: D. I’m not sure what it means when your main appeal as a team is your old manager is funny when he yells at you. That’s about all the Desi Hit Squad is good for and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. They’re just two guys who can do some average moves and that’s not going to get you very far. Dull match here as LAX winning was never in doubt but we had to sit through the Squad’s insomnia curing offense anyway.
Post match King and the OGz pop up on screen to talk about Konnan’s legend, even showing off some old magazine clips of Konnan as a top star in Mexico. Konnan was wearing a mask back then and King happens to have it right now. Then Konnan started leeching off of people like Art Barr and Eddie Guerrero, just like he’s leeching off of LAX right now. The mask is burned after a solid promo from King, who has come out looking like a star in this whole thing.
Abyss Hall of Fame video.
KM is still injured so Fallah Bahh sings him a lullaby (seriously) and puts a blanked over him. As Bahh leaves, KM calls him back and tells him to get revenge for the two of them.
Tessa accepts Taya’s challenge, even though Taya disappeared when Tessa showed up in the first place. Isn’t that interesting.
Kiera Hogan/Allie vs. Undead Maid of Honor/Su Yung
Allie shoves Su into the corner to start but it’s quickly off to the Maid to do the dirty work. Kiera comes in for a low superkick into a backsplash from Allie for a quick two. The Maid is right back with a springboard spinning crossbody for two but Kiera kicks her right back down into the corner.
It’s back to Allie for a running clothesline, only to have Su come in for a kick to the face. Not that the announcers notice this as they’re too busy talking about Bound For Glory’s sponsor. A Backstabber puts Su down but the Maid pulls Kiera off the apron. Allie ducks a running clothesline though and now it’s off to Kiera to clean house. Stereo kicks put the Maid down and Kiera hits a fisherman’s neckbreaker to finish Su at 6:57.
Rating: D+. I really was expecting more from Yung when she debuted, even though she felt like Rosemary Lite at times. That being said, her one Knockouts Title reigns feels like an afterthought now and she’s taking losses in tag team matches to women not even on the upcoming pay per view. That’s a heck of a drop and it shows no signs of slowing down.
Rich Swann wants to see Matt Sydal’s two eyes instead of his third eye. They’re fighting next week. Good for them.
Eddie Edwards/Johnny Impact vs. Moose/Killer Kross
Aries is at ringside. Moose runs from Eddie to start so Kross goes after Eddie instead. Impact comes in after only a few seconds as it’s a lot of staring early on. It’s already back to Eddie so Moose runs again, meaning we get more Impact as they’re certainly tagging fast to start. Kross runs Impact over though and we take a break.
Back with Moose chopping Impact in the corner until an escaped belly to back allows the tag to Eddie. That sends Moose straight to the floor again…before he comes back in and hammers on Eddie in the corner. Make up your mind dude. Eddie fires off some chops of his own but a dropkick cuts him down. Kross’ Texas Cloverleaf is broken up and it’s back to Impact to speed things up.
A leg lariat gets two and the sliding German suplex in the corner drops Kross again. The Countdown to Impact misses and there’s a double clothesline to put them both down. That means another double tag as Eddie comes in to chop Moose. A super hurricanrana gets two as Kross makes the save. Kross sends Impact into the barricade but Impact climbs the thing, rolls back off and hits the Moonlight Drive.
Back in and the Flying Chuck into a Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Moose so Kross comes back in, leading to a four way strike off. Aries comes in with the belt but Impact knocks him down, only to get caught with the Saito suplex. Eddie hits Kross with the kendo stick but walks into a spear to give Moose the pin at 16:25.
Rating: C+. Not the most thrilling main event tag in the world but it did its job just fine. I’m still not sure what everyone not named Impact is going to be doing at Bound For Glory but Eddie vs. Moose seems likely. If that’s the case, this makes sense as an ending as it lets crazy Eddie want a match against Moose, perhaps with the kendo stick legal. At least Impact didn’t do the job here though, and that’s what matters most.
Overall Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this one again as the build isn’t the best in the world. Both the World Title and Knockouts Title matches for Bound For Glory were set up by someone coming out and saying “yo I want a title shot” and that’s not the most thrilling method in the world. Nothing on here was horrible, but at the same time there was nothing that made me interested in seeing Bound For Glory. They have two weeks left and that problem needs to be solved sooner rather than later.
Results
Tessa Blanchard b. Faby Apache – Hammerlock DDT
Brian Cage b. Jake Crist – Drill Claw
LAX b. Desi Hit Squad – Street Sweeper to Singh
Allie/Kiera Hogan b. Undead Maid of Honor/Su Yung – Fisherman’s neckbreaker to Yung
Killer Kross/Moose b. Johnny Impact/Eddie Edwards – Spear to Edwards
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