Andrew’s Impact Wrestling Cali Combat Ratings & Analysis

Tonight’s Impact is more on the TV Special side, with Cali Combat! Two title matches and a No DQ main event!

From last week’s build, we should be in store for a fun night. Rhino/Elgin finally get to square up in the ring, The North get their mystery West opponent and Rich Swann gets an X Division rematch.

Some real potential for great matches here.

Before we get to the review, we need to take a pause for the newest Impact acquisition…

Coming soon…

WATCH HERE: https://t.co/sWu6SEiYN7@TenilleDashwood #IMPACT #CaliCombat pic.twitter.com/FOoQ5sQ1iY

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 24, 2019

Ratings:

• Rhino vs Michael Elgin: Double Count-Out – *** 1/4
• Impact Tag Team Championships: The North (c) vs Reno SCUM: The North retain via Tandem Torture Rack/Slam Combo – ** 3/4
• Alisha Edwards vs Havok: Havok wins via Piledriver – *
• X Division Championship: Jake Crist (c) vs Rich Swann : Crist retains via Rollup w/tights – ****
• Willie Mack vs Trey: Willie wins via Stunner – *** 1/4
• No DQ Match: Tommy Dreamer vs Sami Callihan: Callihan wins via Piledriver through ply wood – ***

Analysis:

Rhino vs Michael Elgin – This match was a pretty damn good match. Rhino proves he can still hang in the ring and is more than just comedy relief with crackers and cheese whiz. Neither guy hit their finish, it was just nice power spots and Elgin tried to pull off some higher spots. After Elgin managed to intercept the Gore with kick, they brawled to the outside. We get the “We Want Tables” chant, but the referee counts to ten and we get a fairly flat finish. Yes everyone stays protected, but the crowd was hot for more, and No Contests are always stupid.

"Rhino, this ain't over!"@Rhyno313 & @MichaelElgin25 BRAWL backstage after their match!

WATCH HERE: https://t.co/sWu6SEiYN7#IMPACT #CaliCombat pic.twitter.com/MoFdlSUd4G

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 24, 2019

Impact Tag Team Championships: The North (c) vs Reno SCUM – The North put out the challenge to any team from the West, and former Impact Tag Champions Reno SCUM answer the call. We got a slightly different match. I don’t mean different as in what went on, but the pacing and the moves were just weird. Alexander missed a catch, but turned it into the Big Swing without much hesitation. But after the commercial break there were definitely some missteps, extra time between moves, and just odd movement. SCUM had a few believable shots at winning, plus the crowd was behind them, but The North did just enough to retain.

Alisha Edwards vs Havok – Well…umm…things happened, tried to happen. Ugh. Still not sure why Alisha gets in the ring, but any points this match gets is just because it’s extending a story line. Granted, the Ace Austin homewrecker angle is dumb. Eddie confronting Ace and then getting caught by Havok is probably just a way to get them to a Mixed Tag match. But god this match was terrible.

X Division Championship: Jake Crist (c) vs Rich Swann –  Rich Swann gets his contractual rematch, and Crist is told by Callihan that he’s on his own for this defense. Crist kicks off the match quickly with a Yakuza Kick, then we get insane amounts of back and forth. Gimmick be damned, Jake is a damn good wrestler, and I appreciate his new attire have his JC initials stylized in a Prince symbol type of thing. Swann did catch Crist with his blitz, his back kick and then a 450 Splash, but the champion didn’t stay down. The heel roll-up with a handful of tights keeps the Golden Draw in tact, but don’t let the heel finish detract from the fact the match was great.

😂Desi Farm Squad is here!👨‍🌾

WATCH HERE: https://t.co/sWu6SEiYN7#IMPACT #CaliCombat @HakimZane @TrueRajSingh @GR8GamaSingh pic.twitter.com/qBa7khydE6

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 24, 2019

ImpactPlus Flashback Moment: Ken Shamrock vs Malice, Guest Referee Ricky Steambot, NWA World Championship, NWA-TNA PPV #1, June 19,2002

Nice that they played Ken Shamrock winning the NWA World Title to add to the Moose feud.

Willie Mack vs Trey – Both of these men are fun in the ring. Trey tried to mess with Willie early, but Willie proved he could keep up with Trey’s athleticism. Every time Trey strung a few moves together, Willie’s size and power advantage would create enough space. Trey pulls off a Cheeky Nando’s Kick, Tiger Feint Kick and goes to the top for a big move, but he gets caught in mid-air by a Stunner…and that’s all folks. Fun match, and not too bad generally speaking.

No DQ Match: Tommy Dreamer vs Sami Callihan – If I said that we knew what this would be, how would that strike you? This wasn’t a bad No DQ match, but it was very much the normal kind of Dreamer match. Samurai duel with Kendo Stick against Baseball bat, White Russian Leg Sweep from Tommy, and a cornucopia of weapons. A surprisingly decent amount of time was given to the match itself. Dreamer had a small hope spot towards the end, but Callihan moved off the ladder, lit up Dreamer with a kendo stick and then hit the Piledriver through a ‘Dayton Table’.

Tessa slides in to make the save for Dreamer when Callihan tried to continue the punishment. Jake Crist helped out Sami, so Tessa gets spiked with the Piledriver and oVe stands tall.

Overall Score: 7/10

TV Specials are hot and cold, but this was one of the better ones. Kicking off with the first official match between Elgin and Rhino for their budding feud had the crowd pretty hot. The bogus finish didn’t help, but later in the show they did announce a rematch for next week, No Disqualification.

Aside from the Alisha Edwards match, every match was decent to pretty damn good. Also the fact that Taya, The Deaners and Desi Hit Squad had some story movement is great that they didn’t get forgotten about. I’m also slightly intrigued to see where this whole Ken Shamrock/Moose angle is going. We all know that Shamrock is a badass MMA Grandpa, but…I honestly don’t know what to make of it.

Personal takes on storylines aside, the matches were solid, the story made sense and this was an enjoyable night of IMPACT.