Ratings:
Magnus & Samoa Joe vs. Matt Morgan & Crimson (Buckingham Brawl): **
Austin Aries vs. Mark Haskins: **1/4
Bobby Roode vs. James Storm: **3/4
Tara vs. Gail Kim: *3/4
James Storm vs. Bully Ray: **1/4
__________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Uh oh...Impact invades the UK! Impact invasion! About time. I don't want to see the same damn Impact Zone each week.
Bully Ray has the biggest calves in the world. Who cares? The crowd wants Devon. Roode wants Storm, so Storm came out. Finally, Sting injects some sort of life into this segment. Four-way for the title at AAO. Storm, Hardy, Roode, and Bully. Tonight, Storm gets both Roode and Bully.
Garrett Bischoff on the phone, probably with the mystery trainer.
Magnus and Joe to the ring. Nice ovation for Magnus. Morgan and Crimson on the other side. Great, they wouldn't make Magnus lose in his home country, right? Buckingham Brawl...one-man advantage for the winner of the coin toss. Of course, Magnus and Joe win the toss because it's the UK (and it would give a good reason for Morgan and Crimson to explain any loss).
Never saw one of these before, but Buckingham Brawl means the team winning the coin toss doesn't have to tag in and out, so it can be a handicap match all the way. Losing team still must tag. Got it? Good. Joe nearly landed on Crimson's head when Crimson instinctively sat up while Joe did his running senton splash. I liked this match because there's a ton more action. Lukewarm tag to Morgan, as opposed to a hot tag, I guess. Whoa, Joe with a swift kick to Morgan to break the pin up. Nice double-team finisher from Joe and Magnus. Solid win. Note that Morgan got pinned so Crimson can still say he's technically undefeated. Crowd can go home happy later.
Bischoff segment. Guess we'll find out the trainer for Garrett now. I think I know who it is, BTW, and if I'm right, the crowd will go bonkers. Garrett comes out. Garrett goes on his phone mid-segment? That's a new one. Looks awkward, though. Garrett's trainer is here tonight, so it's likely the main event segment.
Aries goes against a hometown guy, Mark Haskins. Complete with video package on Haskins. Must be so cool for these UK guys to wrestle in front of their home crowd. I'm happy for A-double...he's gotten a nice push in the X-Division, and he's done extremely well with the title. Aries plays the ideal cocky heel. Even though Aries is supposed to be the heel, he's actually getting CHEERED against Haskins! Huh?! So much for hometown advantage.
Nice agility from Haskins...RKO! Oh, I mean Diamond Cutter. I mean Ace Crusher! Shooting Star from Haskins...OH SHIT HE LANDED ON HIS FACE! That looks bad, coulda damaged his neck. Aries punts Haskins. Brainbuster and Last Chancery. Haskins is out. Hope Haskins is OK.
Storm and Roode now. Wait, there's gonna be a STAR WARS edition of Impact? WTF? Anyway, good match here with counters and big moves. Roode gets frustrated. RR shoves Brian Hebner and Hebner shoves back. Hey, Brian learned well from his dad! Bully interferes as Storm goes for the superkick. Cheap win for RR. Bully with a Rock Bottom (a.k.a. Bookend) on Storm -- on the title. Ouch. And Storm has to face Bully later tonight.
Non-title bout between Gail and Tara. Finally, two ladies who can really put on a good wrestling match. Why can't we have this more often? Solid match and win despite attempted Madison-terference.
Oh, so the Bischoff segment is not the main event segment. Crowd's going bonkers because they likely know who the trainer is as well. Eric in for buzzkill purposes. And here comes the trainer!
WOOHOO HULK HOGAN! Vintage markout moment! Hogan takes care of Gunner, so round one to Garrett, I guess.
Storm out for his second match, now against Bully. Lower back taped up. RR comes out to be in Bully's corner, but Sting comes out to even the sides. And Sting's got a black cricket bat! Yes! Ref KO spot, but Sting keeps RR at bay. Last Call superkick for three!
Thought it was a pretty good episode. Lively crowd helped.
Yup, next week is a STAR WARS Edition of Impact. Again in the UK!
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