Andrew’s Impact Wrestling Match Ratings & Results 4/14/20

Impact Wrestling go home…ish? If you didn’t know, Rebellion is going to be filmed as a two episode TV Special for 4/21 & 4/28; as opposed to a Pay-Per-View. Not sure if there will be any card changes, but maybe we’ll find that out tonight?

What we do know is; we get some Tenille versus Taya and a 4 way tag team match. Plus Johnny Swinger will be facing M. Jackson, cause young bucks need to learn.

So let’s see what Impact is giving us to work with.

IMPACT Ratings:

• Johnny Swinger vs M. Jackson: Swinger wins via Foot On Ropes Cradle – **
• Dez & Wentz vs XXXL vs Reno Scum vs Fallah Bahh & TJP: TJP wins via Kobe Splash – ***
• Hernandez vs Rohit Raju: Hernandez wins via Border Toss – N/A
• Ace Austin vs Trey: Ace wins via Cradle w/Tights – ***
• Tenille Dashwood vs Taya Valkyrie w/John E. Bravo: Tenille wins via Sunset Flip Cradle – *** 1/4

IMPACT Results:

Johnny Swinger vs M. Jackson

Okay so the “young buck” turned out to be 70 year old southern wrestling veteran “Action” Mike Jackson. Jackson took it to Swinger, and he was in control for the better portion of the match. This was one of those amusing matches where the chickenshit comedy heel gets beat up by a joke wrestler.

The best part of all this; Madison and Josh Mathews on commentary. Josh tries to take a shot at Madison losing her match last week, and she cuts back with; “Remember when you lost on a reality show and never wrestled again”. That was a nice burn, only increased by the fact we know those two are married. So the match was mediocre but amusing, Swinger winning by cheating is perfect for his gimmick.

Ace Austin backstage segment with Trey eventually getting involved; and keeping that angle with his mom alive. 

.@TheTreyMiguel is well aware of the mind games @The_Ace_Austin plays, he knows how big a scumbag Ace is. #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/U8sYXKYBlA

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) April 15, 2020

Dez & Wentz vs XXXL vs Reno Scum vs Fallah Bahh & TJP

We did get an early commercial here, but it wasn’t a bad match. Reno Scum controlled a bit of the match, The Rascalz duo took a few of the bigger bumps, XXXL were…present; and TJP eventually tagged in when things started to break down. So they picked a spot, didn’t take too much punishment and take advantage of the chaos. TJP unveils his Kobe Splash and they are…official?…unofficial? number one contenders.

The match wasn’t bad for what it was, just felt like it never really picked up.

ImpactPlus Flashback Moment: Gail Kim vs Tessa Blanchard, Rebellion, April 28,2019

We see Rohit complaining about his match against Hernandez. Gama pulled rank and Rohit isn’t feeling it. So I wonder if Desi Hit Squad will be dissolving soon.

And again, I realize Cancel Culture is kinda cringe awfulsauce…but goddamn do I enjoy it.

.@JoeyRyanOnline interrupted a recap of his defeat to @CodyDeaner with the latest update from @TherealRVD and @TheKatieForbes. #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/SaPT4mHpfg

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) April 15, 2020

Hernandez vs Rohit Raju

Super Mex makes another appearance! Rohit gets fed to Hernandez, and Hernandez looks like he’s been fed too much; if you catch my meaning. It was a joke of a squash match, and yay, it’s over.

OH MY CHRIST! This Madison Rayne talk show is fantastic. Kylie is adorable, Swinger is a creep, and Kiera plays bad girl so well. This may have been a little a cringe to some, but I loved everything about it. 

.@MadisonRayne used the debut of her new show Locker Room Talk to stir the pot between @HoganKnowsBest3 and @IamKylieRae. #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/4z6QSptjiC

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) April 15, 2020

So we get a cutaway to the Qatar Pro Wrestling match between Michael Elgin and Eddie Edwards. It looked like it was edited a bit, so I won’t rate it as a match. But it was interesting seeing Eddie play heel, Brian Cage made the save for Elgin and then Elgin wins with Middle Eastern Championship. Weird world when Michael Elgin is playing face. 

Ace Austin vs Trey

This was what you would mostly expect from an X Division match. A lot of fun and fast spots; but oddly, there were a lot of mistimed beats. Lots of extra steps or longer waiting periods, so that was unexpected. Both of these guys are usually pretty good, but it just wasn’t as smooth as it usually is.

Ace winning via a dirty pin doesn’t hurt his credibility a ton; but it does make one wonder why he’s still positioned highly when he can’t get the job done.

Tenille Dashwood vs Taya Valkyrie w/John E. Bravo

This match made a lot of story sense. Taya has been frustrated and trying to prove a point since losing her title. Added with the fact she’s been abusing John E. Bravo; meant they both had something to prove tonight.

Bravo got involved early and often; tripping Tenille on the top rope and then using the rope to hang her after a submission attempt. So Taya dominated most of this match. Tenille had a few small bursts, but they were cut short by Bravo’s involvement or Taya’s hatred for her current situation.

Taya hits a Road to Valhalla after the second commercial break, but Tenille grabs the ropes. Now irate, Taya goes to get a chair, the referee takes it from her; she tries to land a Fireman’s Carry move, but Tenille Sunset Flips; and picks up the pinfall.

Taya beats the ever living hell out of Tenille with weapons for a while. Eventually Jordynne Grace comes out for the save and Tenille gets rocked. Maybe Taya beat her so hard she’ll go back to bubble popping Emma.

Shamrock and Callihan contract signing was the main event. Callihan carried the verbal aspect since Shamrock played up the strong silent thing. The campy ICU magic powers and the TV Face minions was interesting, but could easily bore people. 

Long and short, solid contract signing segment, but not for everyone. It did confirm though that Shamrock vs Callihan is the main event of Night 1. 

Overall Score: 7.5/10

I personally don’t like when shows end with 10+ minutes of contract segment/promo; but it was more tolerable than most. There were a few solid matches, some great build to the Rebellion matches and I loved the Talk Show and Cancel Culture segments.

So yeah, as a go home for a bigger event, this sold everything pretty well. Everything from Kylie’s Knockout Official special event debut, to a four way X Division match with Suicide had some hype. It’s hard to be annoyed with how well Impact crafted the stories here. Each angle is building nicely, the Talk Show has some legs and Madison on commentary was beyond gold tonight.

Damn good show Impact!