Andrew’s Impact Wrestling Ratings & Analysis: 11/19/2019

This IMPACT! has the 6 person gauntlet match! Who will become number 1 contender?

Now even though there are other things going on this episode, most people’s attention is one place and one place only.

#1 Contender Gauntlet Match

How will Tessa fair against five proven commodities? Who pulls number 1? Who is the Ironman or Ironwoman?

Well before we find that out, let’s get an update on RVD’s status tonight!

.@TherealRVD was scheduled to return to IMPACT tonight but we received this message from him. #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/ntL0OJNmQM

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) November 20, 2019

Ratings:

• The Rascalz (Dez & Wentz) vs Reno Scum vs Desi Hit Squad vs The Deaners: Rascalz win via Hot Fire Flame – ***
• John E. Bravo & Taya Valkyrie vs Jordynne Grace: Grace wins via Vader Bomb – * 1/2
• Johnny Swinger vs Buck Gunderson: Swinger wins via Swinger Neckbreaker – N/A
• #1 Contender Elimination Match: Moose vs Micheal Elgin vs Rich Swann vs Daga vs Brian Cage vs Tessa Blanchard: Tessa wins via Code Red – **** 1/2

Analysis:

The Rascalz (Dez & Wentz) vs Reno Scum vs Desi Hit Squad vs The Deaners – We have a four team match for what is most likely positioning in the tag team division, but we know what to expect here. This match was paced out well, Reno Scum got early offense on the Rascalz, most notable Pity City, then the Deaners got some time to shine, even the Desi Hit Squad didn’t look awful. But we have car crash dives on the outside, and eventually the Rascalz take advantage of teams slowly getting back into the ring. Double Superkick followed by Hot Fire Flame means things are looking up for the Rascalz.

– Fight afterwards with Reno Scum attacking the Rascalz, Trey tries for the save, but then Ace Austin lays out Trey. Trey’s mom is still in the crowd and will continue to be a point of interest for Ace.

John E. Bravo & Taya Valkyrie vs Jordynne Grace – So this match wasn’t intended to be serious, especially with Bravo involved. Bravo got beat on, Taya wouldn’t tag in and Jordynne made an example of him. So it was entertaining from a comedic aspect cause Bravo is such a dweeb, but it wasn’t really a match.

-Desi Hit Squad get berated by Gama and take their frustrations out on Fallah Bahh who’s just sitting backstage eating his salad.

A power struggle has emerged between @WeAreRosemary and Father James Mitchell over @realsuyung. #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/xBojR66kZr

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) November 20, 2019

ImpactPlus Flashback Moment: Cody vs Eddie Edwards, TNA World Championship, IMPACT! 10/20/2016

.@TheTreyMiguel's mom has entered the treehouse! #IMPACTonAXSTV @DezmondXavier @zachary_wentz pic.twitter.com/tutQPyZ2aq

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) November 20, 2019

Johnny Swinger vs Buck Gunderson – It’s a squash match…no one cares. Swinger is amusing since he’s the throwback wrestler even before their Throwback Show.

-Ken Shamrock comes out to give Swinger the receipt for shitting in his favorite bag last week. 

#1 Contender Elimination Match: Moose vs Micheal Elgin vs Rich Swann vs Daga vs Brian Cage vs Tessa Blanchard – Now this was a long match since it was gauntlet style, but damn was this good. Daga and Moose started things off, and Daga more than held his own against an established talent. Moose caught him with a timely Go to Hell and then the Spear gave him the first win. Rich Swann was the next to come out, and this was a great back and forth match. Swann showed off his agility and manged to win with a Crucifix Rollup that he even added a Jacknife bridge for complete pinfall. Michael Elgin comes out next and this goes a decent amount of time. Swann got busted open, and Elgin hit a plethora of power moves. The finish became a little obvious since the referee kept getting in Elgin’s way, so he got frustrated and started throwing the referee around. So Elgin gets disqualified, but Elgin hits the Elgin Bomb for the visible 3 count and to make a point. Cage comes out taking initial pity on Swann’s condition, but Swann fires back with some strikes and we get a much more competitive match than Cage expected. Cage of course wins with Weapon X, but Swann did get some good time in there and hit a few Lethal Injections and 450 Splashes, so Cage was a little worn down. Tessa coming out last gave Brian a similar reaction where he didn’t really take it super seriously, but Tessa reminded him about how good their Wrestle Circus match was last year. The final leg went through 2 commercial breaks, but was still great stuff. The fact the Cage kicked out of the Buzzsaw DDT and Magnum, meant Tessa needed to pull off something new, and Cage looked to finish things with Weapon X again, but Tessa flipped it into a Code Red, and TESSA IS NUMBER 1 CONTENDER!

Overall: 7.75/10

So much like when Raw and SmackDown had gauntlet matches, it felt very much like a 1 match show. There was a little more to enjoy, like the Suzie story, RVD being an ass, Johnny Swinger getting some comeuppance and Taya proving her diva champion stigma well. But if this gauntlet fell flat, the show would’ve been a tough sell.

Everything about the gauntlet made sense, Moose got a decent win and lost to a rollup, which isn’t really clean. Elgin got himself disqualified so he doesn’t look weak by taking a direct loss. Cage had some damage on him before facing Tessa, and she still barely pulled off the victory. So Swann and Tessa come out of this looking fantastic, and no one’s stock drops at all.

This was just a great cap to a decent show. Plus with next week’s throwback episode, this was an awesome way to end canon with great stuff.