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Impact Wrestling 6.21 Review: Elgin vs Swann vs Johnny

Posted: Jun 21st, '19, 22:40
by cero2k
Impact Wrestling
June 21st, 2019
Melrose Ballroom, Queens, NY

Opening video - It recapped the ongoing stories between Moose and RVD, Jessicka Havok’s return, Sami Callihan antagonizing the Impact Knockouts, the escalating feud of Eddie Edwards vs Killer Kross, and Michael Elgin taking out Willie Mack and everyone in front of him.

Tessa Blanchard vs Jake Crist - 6/10
Short match, but it was a perfect use of the time to build up Tessa for her next challenge. Tessa and Jake traded control of the match several times, and while Jake seemed dominant, they did a great job having both competitors be at the same level. Tessa hit three superkicks and suckered in Jake into Magnum for the pin victory. The build to Impact’s inter-gender matches is going good and makes the whole story with Glenn Gilbertti worth it in hindsight.

Post-match - The rest of oVe came out to berate Jake Crist, Tessa got out of the way, but locked eyes with Callihan and called him out.

Without wait, Eddie Edwards came out for

Madman Fulton (w/Sami Callihan) vs Eddie Edwards - DUD, but an ok segment
Edwads took out Dave Crist and Callihan, clotheslined Fulton to the outside as they started brawling around the ring before the match would start. Fulton chokeslammed Edwards into the apron and finally tossed him into the ring to ring the bell.

They brawled outside for a bit and then inside the ring, Fulton KILLED Eddie with chokeslams. Eddie made a small comeback, grabbed his new kendo stick, but suddenly, Killer Kross was on the screen with Sandman tied up. Kross tortured Sandman as he teased Eddie Edwards. The distraction gave Fulton the time to recover, hit End of Days, and pin Eddie Edwards.

Backstage, Alisha Edwards tried to talk Eddie out of getting into another crazy war, now with Killer Kross. Eddie didn’t want to listen to her.

Moose vs Tommy Dreamer - 4.5/10
Moose hit the No Jackhammer Needed to pin Dreamer for the win. Ok match, nothing special, Dreamer using a chair felt backwards considering Moose is the heel and it was Moose doing the "kicking the chair into Dreamer's face" spot. Moose looked strong, but he also gave Dreamer a lot.

Post-match - Moose attacked Dreamer with the chair and went for a VanTerminator, but RVD came out for the save before Moose could land it.

Taya and Rosemary Meeting - Taya Valkyrie and Johnny Bravo are looking for Rosemary. Taya told Rosemary that she needs her to deal with Su Yung and Havok. Taya offered Rosemary a shot at the gold if she takes care of the pest.

Johnny Impact Interview - Melissa Santos interviewed Johnny Impact and Johnny Bravo. Impact talked about Elgin making a big mistake attacking him last week after he helped him. He told he gets his payback tonight and after he’s done with Elgin, he’s cashing in his X-Division title shot at Slammiversary.

Knockout’s Championship Match
Taya Valkyrie (C) vs Su Yung (w/Father James Mitchell and Havok) - 6.5/10
This was pretty good and clean given the participants and the people outside the match. Granted it ended in a DQ when Havok attacked Taya, but we got a good short match between Taya and Yung for a while there. The match saw Taya be cocky and strong, she looked to be in another level over Yung.

Post-match - Su Yung seemed mad with Havok for costing her the title. All three ganged up on Taya, but Rosemary came out for the save.

James Mitchell took the mic and told Rosemary that this was a time for celebration and said that at Slammiversary, all four women present are invited to a Monster’s Ball. Everyone except Taya seemed excited for this 4-way Monster’s Ball match.

Ace Austin Promo - He cut a promo in the ring. He was arrogant and brought up that he is the only one in Impact that is still unpinned and undefeated. He said that he is the future of the X-Division and beyond, and soon, Impact will be the Ace Division. He made his intentions clear for the X-Division Championship and made an open challenge. Out came TJ Perkins!

TJ Perkins vs Ace Austin - 5/10
Great fast paced match, but too short to give it a higher rating. Give these two a good 10 minutes please. The match was back and forward, both in and outside the ring. TJP hit Detonation Kick for the win. It was underwhelming for Austin’s first loss, but a great return for TJP. It’s best to get rid of Austin’s streak so he can start a proper feud now, especially since the streak wasn't a thing that had been mentioned at all.

Backstage, Eddie Edwards is looking for Kross before going to commercial.

Rascalz Treehouse Promo - The Rascalz cut a promo from their Treehouse. They talk about their upcoming shot at Slammiversary. Konna joined them and put them over as great upcoming kids, but that they lacked respect. Konnan told them to earn respect in the ring and get work done in the ring. Konnan then asked for a hit at whatever they were smoking. Good promo by Konnan.

Impact Plus Moment of the Week - It was the Mask vs Hair match between Pentagon Jr and Sami Callihan from last year’s Slammiversary.

Eddie and Kross Brawl - Eddie Edwards finally found the hooded man that Kross had, but it was a swerve and Kross blindsided him. They brawled until Alisha Edwards tried to stop Eddie again. Kross was spitting blood asking for more, and it seemed like Eddie drank the blood as he rose with a mouth full of it, scaring his wife away. I can’t imagine this writes off Kross, but it was pretty brutal.

Sami Callihan Promo - He said that he is a calculating man and knew that Tessa wanted to be treated as equal and make history. He challenged Tessa Blanchard to a one-on-one match at Slammiversary and promised to treat her like he treated Pentagon, Cage, and Swann.

Rich Swann vs Johnny Impact vs Michael Elgin - 8/10
Great match given the short time it got. I have to hand it to Impact to making Rich Swann and the X-Division look great in the last months, at the level of the World Title, especially since Brian Cage got injured.

The match was a proper 3-way with a lot of pair up runs and three men spots here and there. Story for a while was that Elgin and Johnny tried to work together against Swann, but then we also had a small story that Swann and Johnny kept Elgin out of the match as they fought themselves. Everyone ended up looking really strong in the match. Finish saw Johnny hit Elgin with a second rope Spanish Fly, but Swann landed a 450 on Johnny from the other corner to get the pin and win.

Post-match - Swann celebrated, but Elgin stood up behind him. Swann got Elgin with a roundhouse kick and a Spinning Back kick on Johnny, but Bravo came in with the big red X and took out Swann.

Elgin and Johnny traded words, but suddenly, the World Champion Brian Cage finally made his return, took out both Johnnys and faced off with Michael Elgin. Elgin went to attack Cage, but Cage took him out with a Jumping Knee and a Powerslam. Cage looks healed and has good motion.

Final Thoughts --
Good show. It wasn’t the go home show, but it did a great job at building some of the final touches to the Slammiversary pay-per-view with the announcement of new matches and the return of Brian Cage. The show inside the ring was really strong, but the matches were not particularly long.