Impact Wrestling returned to The Asylum in Nashville, TN where Jeff Jarrett and his father Jerry created Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) after the demise of WCW back in 2002. Having survived through multiple ownership battles, roster overhauls, and several network changes, this pay-per-view seemed to symbolize a sort of rebirth for the company…again…as they returned to their roots and are about to embark on another new TV deal beginning this week as they move from Pop TV to the Pursuit Channel (one I wasn’t even sure if my cable provider offered until I searched for it).
The card
featured eight bouts with four titles contested. My only gripe with the show
was if Impact Wrestling was attempting to have a sense of nostalgia surrounding
it, then where were Tommy Dreamer and Raven who laid out Eli Drake on the final
Impact before the event? The only legends that appeared on the pay-per-view
were Abyss and Konnan, aside from those featured in the vignettes produced to
display the history of The Asylum. Nonetheless, this was still an entertaining
event and I continue to be pleased with the vast improvement of the product’s
announce team since the introduction of ECW and TNA stalwart Don Callis on
color commentary.
Ultimate X Match for the X Division Championship
Rich Swann vs. Trey of the Rascalz vs. Ethan Page vs.
Jake Crist of OVE
Winner: Rich Swann
This match came to fruition after Brian Cage utilized Option
C and relinquished the X Division title in exchange for a shot at Johnny Impact’s
Heavyweight Championship. It was apparent that selection of the participants in
this bout was strategically designed to put Trey, Page, and Crist on a major
platform with the veteran Swann carrying them through the match. Swann clearly
shined in this contest and put his full arsenal of high flying acrobatics on
display. In the end. Swann and Trey simultaneously scaled the Ultimate X
scaffolding as Swann just beat him to the center of the ominous structure and
retrieved the title to become the new champion.
Su Yung & Allie vs. Kiera Hogan & Jordynne Grace
Winners: Su Yung & Allie via submission
After Allie “lost her soul” to Father James Mitchell at
Bound for Glory when she entered the undead realm to save Kiera Hogan, she
slowly displayed a much darker character over the past couple months which
culminated in this contest coming to the forefront after fruitless efforts by
Hogan to save her. Yung and Allie controlled the majority of this match as they
prevented Grace from making any impact in this contest and in the end Hogan
fell victim to the mandible claw from Allie. After the conclusion of the match,
the undead bridesmaids carried out a casket for Hogan, however, when it was
opened Rosemary emerged! After she laid waste to Su Yung and the bridesmaids,
she encountered Allie in the ring briefly only to have Allie flee.
Falls Count Anywhere Match
Eddie Edwards vs. Moose
Winner: Eddie Edwards via pinfall
The feud between these former friends finally came to a head
this evening. After Edwards “snapped” backstage shortly after Bound for Glory,
he was “committed” to Shady Acres Mental Institution in Baltimore, Maryland. Edwards
finally made his escape after he was supplied with a keycard by the one and
only Raven-who told him he checks himself in once a month. The bout arrived at its
conclusion as Edwards proceeded to brutalize Moose with a kendo stick late in
the contest. Edwards’ wife Alisha then came down to the ring to seemingly stop
him from inflicting more damage to Moose’s cranium. Instead, Alisha took the
kendo stick from her husband and continued the assault. Edwards put an
exclamation point on his performance as he nailed the DDT to seal the victory.
Willie Mack vs. Sami Callihan
Winner: Sami Callihan via pinfall
Sami Callihan withstood a stunner, a standing moonsault, and
the momentum Willie Mack carried throughout the match to finally execute a
devastating piledriver for the pinfall victory, with a surprisingly minimal
amount of influence from Dave Crist at ringside.
Monster’s Ball Match
Abyss vs. Eli Drake
Winner: Eli Drake
Eli Drake entered this match claiming that he would put an
end to hardcore wrestling by defeating The Monster Abyss. Despite being choke
slammed onto a pile of thousands of tacks which left his back a bloody and
metallic mess, despite being tossed out of the ring and through a table propped
up on the outside, and despite the introduction of “Janice” (Abyss’ 2x4 lined
with nails), Drake got the upper hand after he tossed a handful of tacks into
the face of Abyss late in the contest. Drake proceeded to victimize Abyss with
a plethora of chair shots before he finally broke a boat oar over his head to
earn the pinfall.
Impact Wrestling Tag Team Championship
The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix) vs. LAX
(Santana & Ortiz)
Winners: LAX via pinfall
LAX confronted the Lucha Bros on a recent episode of Impact
boasting how they had beaten every tag team in Impact Wrestling and challenged
them to a match with their titles on the line at Homecoming. This challenge was
much to the behest of their manager Konnan who decided not to accompany them to
the ring for the contest. The action was fast and furious throughout. Unfortunately, it seemed to end very abruptly as Fenix was the victim of a
blitzkrieg as Ortiz hit him with a top rope Code Breaker, then Santana clocked
him with a super kick, and finally both double teamed a dazed Fenix with a suplex that allowed Santana to earn the pinfall victory.
Impact Knockouts Championship
Tessa Blanchard (c) vs. Taya Valkyrie
Winner: Taya Valkyrie via pinfall
The feud between Valkyrie and Blanchard became so heated
leading up to Homecoming that Impact Wrestling instilled Hall of Famer Gail Kim
as the special guest referee. Late in the contest, Blanchard got into a verbal
scuffle with Kim as she was seemingly frustrated with her inability to earn a
pinfall. The war of words quickly escalated as Blanchard decided to shove Gail
Kim. Kim took exception to this and caught Blanchard off guard with her
finisher, Eat Defeat. Taya capitalized and followed up with the Road to
Valhalla to become the new Knockouts Champion!
Impact World Championship
Johnny Impact (c) vs. Brian Cage
Winner: Johnny Impact
Brian Cage decided to implement Option C, made famous by
Austin Aries, back in November as he cashed in the X Division Title for an
opportunity to compete for the World Championship. Brian Cage should receive
credit for putting on a very competitive match despite apparently nursing a
hamstring injury (his hamstring was virtually covered in kinesio tape) which
seemed to limit his typical variety of aerial maneuvers ,a man his size should
not be able to execute.
After a evenly contested match, Johnny Impact attempted
to end the contest as he landed Starship Pain and a top rope Spanish Fly, both
of which Cage kicked out of. Then Brian Cage hit several power bombs and the
Drill Claw, neither of which could put away Impact. Moments later, Cage was
propelled into the barricade at ringside where two former Survivor contestants
sat and proceeded to shove Cage. After Cage laid waste to one of them, he
returned to the ring as the ref remained distracted and was not there to count
Cage’s attempted pinfall.
The conclusion of the match arrived as Johnny Impact
stood on the ring apron with Cage inside standing on the rope in an attempt to
suplex him back inside. I’ll be honest, the end of this match just looked off.
Cage attempted to suplex him multiple times to no avail and his final
attempt saw Impact vault over the top and land on Cage in an awkward pinfall.
The ref’s count even appeared as if it didn’t make it to three before Cage
kicked out, but nonetheless, Johnny Impact’s music echoed through the arena
before the ref made any indication of a pinfall putting an end to the contest.
Cage then swiped the title from the ref and held it up in a brief protest
before he dropped it in front of Impact and walked out of the arena.
After the match, Impact’s wife Taya Valkyrie joined him in
the ring as the two world champs celebrated together. The two walked to the top
of the exit ramp to again pose with their titles as everyone assumed the pay-per-view was over. Just then, Killer Kross emerged from the back to victimize
Johnny Impact. As he was laid out at ringside, Taya tried to avenge her husband
only to be hoisted up by Kross in a power bomb starting position and he proceeded
to vault her into the crowd. The show ended with Kross exiting the arena,
maniacal expression and all, seemingly propelling himself into the title
picture.
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