The big advantages:
- Private Party and Matt Hardy made a surprise appearance with Private Party challenging Chris Sabin and James Storm for no. 1 candidate for Impact World Tag Team Championships. Private Party won the fight with interference from Hardy and Jerry Lynn (who was there with Tony Khan in the front row).
- Don Callis promised to return soon, but said that he and Kenny Omega had been focusing on AEW for a while.
- Impact world champion Rich Swann & Moose had a clash and is set to face off soon.
Show recap:
The show began with a recap of Hard to Kill, ending with Kenny Omega defeating Rich Swann in the six-man main event. Don Callis, Omega and the Good Brothers were seen backstage on Saturday, telling them to go back to the hotel and celebrate. Callis then talked about how everyone had a vision of the backstage plans when they saw the outcome of the things they were planning. Callis then said that they would be going to Jacksonville for a while, but be patient, as we will see what he has in store soon. This was an excellent promotion.
Eric Young (with Violent By Design) defeated Rhino (with cousin Jake)
Young controlled the first parts of the fight, but missed an elbow in the middle rope, which led Rhino to hit some poles and a belly-to-belly suplex. As Rhino was going to a Gore, Deaner entered the ring to distract the referee by leading Joe Doering to trip over Rhino and crush his leg on the ring pole. Young took advantage and locked in a leglock, forcing the tap out. Jake tried to save him, but VBD defeated him. Young grabbed a chair and they piloted Rhino a few times, leaving him screaming in the middle of the ring.
This didn’t match anything, but the back angle was a good heating angle. It is a little strange to see Rhino crash, since it is Rhino, but it worked, given what happened to him, to get there.
– Impact world champion Rich Swann and Moose were backstage after the main Hard to Kill event and the interviewer asked them about the fight. Moose attacked Swann and left him lying, saying that he kept his promise, and now he was coming to the World Impact Championship.
– Acey was backstage with Tommy Dreamer while they continued to investigate who shot John E. Bravo. That was awful. They know it sucks, so at least they’re leaning towards it and not taking it seriously.
The Good Brothers / Private Party / segment by Chris Sabin and James Storm
The Good Brothers came and talked about Hard to Kill, saying that they did what they always did when they met with Omega: they are in the headlines worldwide. Gallows said they have been partying since Saturday and will keep the label titles for as long as they want. Sabin came out and said the titles belong to the Motor City Machine Guns because when they lost them, none of them were immobilized. With that in mind, Sabin saw them as the main candidates.
The Good Brothers said Alex Shelley was not there, so although they understand they want to do business with BC, he has no partner. Sabin informed them yes, taking James Storm back to Impact. Storm did a promo on Good Brothers, saying he wanted the tag team titles and would join Sabin to make it happen.
When Storm was almost done, Matt Hardy’s music hit and he left with Private Party. “Big Money Matt” was back at Impact and brought Private Party to Impact for a friendly match tomorrow at Dynamite. Hardy received credit for Impact being still in business because he loaded them in 2016. Hardy also stated that he never lost the titles because they were stripped “In some stupid teleportation angle!” The Good Brothers then noticed that there were two teams in the ring that wanted a chance against them, so maybe they should fight the winner by taking a shot at the title.
This was an excellent segment. Everyone performed well and the arrival of Hardy and Private Party was unexpected and exciting. I like the idea of Private Party job matches at Impact because it will help them get the representatives they need to gain experience.
– Matt Cardona was backstage and talked about how he was at Impact to get an opportunity. He wanted to put fans and himself first.
– Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan, new Knockouts Tag Team champions, were making plans for the Fire and Flava Festival, inviting Tenille Dashwood, who refused to go. Johnny Swinger appeared and startled them. Fallah Bahh said they owed him money, but said it would be better for him to join them at the Festival. Brian Myers came in, refused to go to the Festival and challenged Bahh to a match.
Kimber Lee and Susan defeated Jordynne Grace & Jazz
This game had a sloppy start with Lee pushing Grace into the corner and hitting her with punches. They went to the break when the action spread across the floor and came back with Lee getting the better of Grace. They kept her cornered for a while before Grace made a comeback, hitting Susan with a Vader bomb and going to Jazz. Jazz hit Susan on a DDT, but Lee saved it. Knockout champion Deonna Purrazzo leaped into her apron and hit Jazz with a weak belt shot that prompted Susan to roll to victory.
The case of who shot John E. Bravo was resolved
Taya Valkyrie was backstage and was confronted by Bravo, who said it was she who shot him. Tommy Dreamer confirmed that they found his fingerprints and she admitted doing so to save Rosemary from marrying Bravo. Security then dragged her away. Dreamer said that if she was lucky, she would be taken to Jacksonville Penitentiary (AEW), but if she was unlucky, she would go to Stamford Prison (WWE) for two years with the option of a third in a funny line. While Valkyrie was being removed from the building, Rosemary met with her and asked why. Valkyrie claimed that she was just protecting her and they hugged.
Tony Khan is in impact
Tony Khan and Jerry Lynn from AEW were backstage at Impact with a paid ad from Dynamite. Khan said he wanted to see the Private Party match firsthand and would personally deliver the money from the ad paid next week.
Rich Swann and Moose face off
Impact World Champion came and talked about how Omega wasn’t there tonight, so he had a free night and wanted to fight. Moose came out and said he wanted his chance at the title. Swann pointed out that he was trying to take his chance and he wanted to fight now. Moose refused, saying he dictated the terms of when and where they would fight. They started fighting when the segment went BACK ~!
Rohit Raju rematch against TJP
Scott D’Amore was backstage with Rohit Raju, who was upset about TJP holding the X-Division championship. TJP then entered the title and Raju shouted that there was a stipulation that he couldn’t stand a chance for the title and he violated it by being Manik. D’Amore claimed that everyone knew that TJP was Manik, but he would make up for Raju by giving him a match against TJP. While Raju was happy, D’Amore wondered if he would be happy if he knew it wasn’t a title fight.
– Steelz and Hogan were backstage finalizing plans for the Fire and Flava Festival. Neveah and Havok, whom Steelz and Hogan won on Saturday, showed up, asking for platinum tickets. Steelz and Hogan told them to take the “copper pack” and sit at home and watch with their cats. That was great.
Brian Myers defeated Fallah Bahh
This was not a game at all, as neither of them did much. Myers managed to win after a low blow.
– Ace Austin was backstage and talking about how the focus should be and that nobody wanted to see guys like Josh Alexander. Alexandre appeared and they started a fight. Fulton helped Austin to defeat him, but Matt Cardona ran and made the save.
– Eddie Edwards was backstage being watched by the doctor when Myers came in demanding that the doctor look at him because Bahh poked him in the eye. Edwards stood up and challenged him to a match from a simple and effective angle.
For next week:
- Matt Cardona and Josh Alexander vs. Ace Austin and Madman Fulton
- Joe Doering vs. Cousin Jake
- Tenille Dashwood vs. Rosemary
- The Fire n ‘Flava Fest
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Private Party (with Matt Hardy) defeated Chris Sabin and James Storm to win a chance at Impact Tag Team title
The match started in progress with Isiah Kassidy and Sabin in the ring exchanging several armdrags. Marq Quen came in and soon they had an advantage over Sabin, hitting him with his camel clutch / double tap on the back of the neck. Sabin soon went to Storm, but Private Party hit Silly String on Storm. When Storm spread out, Jerry Lynn and Tony Khan went to the ring and sat in the front row. Khan took notes during the match, as Private Party used jump tactics on Storm to keep control of the match.
Matt Striker commented that he was talking to Kassidy and his grandmother told him to stay away from Matt Hardy. I wonder when Striker got a chance to do that, since he hasn’t met them yet and they just made a surprise debut on the show.
The storm hit Kassidy as a backdrop, but Kassidy landed upright and scored Quen. Sabin also managed to hit a DDT tornado at Kassidy. Sabin almost fell in Quen, but managed to kick. Storm dragged Kassidy to the ground and Sabin jumped at sunset at Quen who launched him into a Storm blower. Kassidy attempted a twist of fate at Sabin, but Sabin responded with a vertical suplex. Quen landed a Fosbury Flop on Storm on the floor.
Hardy distracted the referee when Lynn grabbed Sabin’s feet, holding him in the middle stretcher. Private Party then hit Gin & Juice for pinfall, winning the chance for the tag team title in the future. The Good Brothers went down and faced Private Party, but Storm and Sabin attacked and all three teams started a fight when the show went off the air to end a very solid show.
Final thoughts:
The AEW / Impact partnership and the angle of invasion continue to grow with more crossover between the two programs. Can we expect Impact to respond by sending more fighters to AEW? I suppose we’ll find out soon. I found it quite interesting in general, and a lot of good stories were created, but I can’t help feeling that Impact’s only really hot angle has to do with AEW, and not with any of his own talents.