Earlier today we saw an announcement that Impact Wrestling EMERGENCE, will be a 2 week tv special. We know we’re getting Deonna Purrazzo versus Jordynne Grace, maybe The North want their rematch, and who knows what EC3 will do to force an invitation from Moose; but that’s part of the fun, right?

Eddie Edwards continues his Open Challenge, Heath tries to get a job and lets see if the Good Boners…erm…Brothers, continue to build their issues with Ace and Fulton. Also you know you low key love Wrestle House, don’t deny it. I wonder if there’s an end game for that reality show?

So here’s a little MCMG before the review pops off:

The IMPACT World Tag Team Championships look good on the Motor City Machine Guns!#IMPACTonAXSTV @SuperChrisSabin @fakekinkade pic.twitter.com/HO6CKDAJ1y

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 5, 2020

Ratings:

• TNA Heavyweight Championship: Heath vs Moose (c): Moose retains via Low Blow – ** ¼
• Impact Wrestling World Championship Open Challenge: Eddie Edwards (c) vs Sami Callihan: Eddie retains via Boston Knee Party – *** ¾
• Chris Bey & Rohit Raju vs TJP & Fallah Bahh: TJP wins via Cross Armbreaker – ***

Results:

TNA Heavyweight Championship: Heath vs Moose (c)

Moose dominated a good bit of this match, but we did see some decent comeback attempts from Heath. A Sting style combination, blocks a Big Boot from Moose and goes to town. A few big shots, an evasion in the corner opened up a spot for Heath to hit the Wake Up Call, but the referee was bumped. So Heath got the visible roughly 6 count, but the ref doesn’t come to until right after Moose hits a Low Blow, and gets the pin to retain the TNA title.

Hopefully Heath earns the Impact contract since he should’ve won that match, but I guess we’ll see how that unfolds. Not a bad match for something we assumed would end in shenanigans since EC3 versus Moose seems to be the bigger picture.

Jimmy Jacobs interviews the Motor City Machine Guns. The Guns put each other over in an amusing way, then The North interrupt and things get even more amusing. Ethan Page has a meltdown, Alex Shelley makes some philosophical points and then punctuates things by saying Page looks like he raided Rick Martel’s closet and Josh is Rich Steiner Jr. All in all – solid segment that establishes the rematch for Emergence.

Wrestle House is back and if there's one thing @TheTayaValkyrie can't stand, it's bad personal hygiene. #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/qYKgAhnmiM

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 5, 2020

IMPACTPlus Flashback Moment: IMPACT! AXSTV Debut, Sami Callihan vs Brian Cage, October, 29, 2019, Impact World Heavyweight Championship

I blame PC Tunney…The Good Brothers like White Claws. But Ace Austin gets them arrested. So this is a different angle than I expected.

.@The_BigLG has been ARRESTED thanks to a setup from @The_Ace_Austin!#IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/WTqHlsHL9i

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 5, 2020

Impact Wrestling World Championship Open Challenge: Eddie Edwards (c) vs Sami Callihan

RVD attacks Sami during his entrance while Katie Forbes twerks and holds off security. Callihan still goes down to the ring after RVD and Katie leave, but this sets up an easy excuse for Sami’s loss.

A very good match came from the gimmick angle open. Sami hit an early Piledriver on the apron and slammed Eddie into the barricade a few times to soften him up, which Eddie sold his neck for the rest of the match. Both had great offense and solid references to other styles or wrestlers that matter to them. We know of Eddie’s NOAH history, but Sami hit a Go 2 Sleep variation and Masato Tanaka’s Sliding D.

So great back and forth action, with an ending that created more questions. Sami grabbed a chair, pondered the usage and then got rid of the chair. Eddie took advantage of indecision, hits a normal Boston Knee Party, drops the knee pad, and his the Boston Knee Party to the back of Sami’s head.

A successful defense, with a lot to work with.

Wrestle House is a magical cornball gimmick world that is entertaining in a cringe cheese factor way. Rosemary is great, Taya plays her part well, Alisha is trying to get Susie laid, and Tommy Dreamer is still fantastic in a more reduced capacity.

Chris Bey & Rohit Raju vs TJP & Fallah Bahh

We start off quick with TJP and Chris Bey, and it’s all really solid Junior style stuff. TJP eventually shows his veteran savvy by baiting Bey into some bad moves to make him look dumb. After the commercial, Rohit finally injects in a way that’s beneficial for the team, and helps Bey gain some advantage to tag him in.

The action rarely slows down even when Fallah hits the ring, and this is just a lot of fun to watch. Rohit slows down TJP, so he misses a Swanton Bomb, Bey and Rohit hit two big moves on TJP, but Fallah breaks up the pin. Rohit Shoulder Tackles Fallah to the floor, Bey looks to finish things off as Rohit holds TJP. Fallah grabs Rohit, so TJP can grab Bey out of the sky and lock in the Cross Armbreaker for the submission win.

Rich Swann comes out to make his announcement. He struggles for his words a little, takes us back through his process to get back for Slammiversary, and then announces his retirement. The roster comes out to support Rich and help him out of the ring. As he’s heading up the ramp and the watermark hits for the end of the show, Eric Young side swipes him, gets in a good shot with the crutch and then bails while the roster gives chase.

Overall Score: 7/10

While I think the last 10 minutes being devoted to a most likely fake retirement angle, might rub people the wrong way, or feel too obvious; I still think this was a really solid episode. Pretty good wrestling, angles moving forward, Wrestle House being a great guilty pleasure segment and nice foreshadowing.

On the Chris Van Vilet interview, The Good Brothers talked about not being against singles stuff. So with Big LG being locked up and Machine Gun being a bit pissed off. Karl Anderson versus Ace Austin would be great and a logical way to involve singles matches in a tag team angle. Rosemary basically saying Wrestle House will end once she bangs Bravo, adds even more comedy, especially with a concept of trying to hide it from Taya. RVD going after Sami Callihan is grounds for a solid match, that could help to rocket Sami back into relevance.

Lastly, EC3 claiming he needs to win the TNA championship to burn his old persona and TNA down to the ground is a fantastic way to utilize their stop gap angle. Who would’ve thought they could make reviving the TNA title (even if unofficially) a logical storyline that had decent angles and matches. Impact proving they aren’t “LOL TNA” very much anymore.