Last week, Jim Cornette announced Eli Drake will have to defend the GFW Championship against Matt Sydal, who earned a shot at the Championship of his choice at Destination X. Impact is also going to Mexico today as we’ll have the chance to watch some extracts of Lucha Libre AAA Triplemania XXV where GFW was represented by Moose, Bobby Lashley and Rosemary, among others.
This week on GFW Impact Wrestling is brought to you by Miss “Doctor Frenchy” Steph.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXBvO01pCZE]
Caleb Konley and Trevor Lee vs. Petey Williams and Sonjay Dutt
Williams interfered in Dutt vs. Lee match at Destination X, Lee and Dutt interfered in Konley vs. Williams match last week. It was time to make things right, the good old tag team way. Dutt got off on Konley with a hurricanrana. He tagged in Williams who grounded Konley. Lee stopped Williams when tagged in with an elbow. But Williams rallied quickly and fought off both Lee and Konley. Dutt was tagged back in, but Lee decided to leave the ring and go backstage. Dutt brought him back, but Lee tagged in Konley. Lee tried a sneak attack while Dutt was working on Konley, but Dutt moved and hit his partner.
Lee and Williams then put both Lee and Konley in the Tree of Woe, Williams went for a double stomp but Lee was able to send Williams to the mat from the second turnbuckle. The action moved to the apron where Lee beat down Williams until he was able to tag in Dutt. The X-Division Champion grounded Konley with a tornado DDT using Lee’s chest as a springboard. The end of the match was a little messy, with attacks everywhere. But Williams hit the Canadian Destroyer on Konley, followed by a big splash by Dutt for the win.
LAX (Santana and Ortiz) w/ Konnan and Diamanté vs. Jon Bolen and Zachary Wentz
What to say… LAX trashed their opponents, threw Wentz into a grounded Bolen. Street Sweeper for the win. The only matter of interest in this match was oVe watching the match backstage. They came to the ring to tell LAX they are a family because they’ve been a tag team since birth. They were decided to prove they’re the best tag team in the world, and to do so they have to beat LAX.
Konnan grabbed the mic and told only LAX is dictating the terms of its matches. Konnan suggested oVe to come to Tijuana, hometown of CRASH Wrestling, if they want to get a title shot. Dave Crist answered Konnan that proposition sounded like their kind of place because they are Ohio versus Everything.
Taryn Terrell and GFW Women’s Champion Sienna w/ KM vs. Gail Kim and Allie w/ Braxton Sutter
An infuriated Gail Kim attacked Taryn Terrell right in the match, but SIenna rushed to save her partner. Kim was in control but Sienna made her fall from the top rope. The Women’s Champion connected with a flapjack. Terrell and Sienna really had Kim under control until she was able to tag in Allie.
Allie on fire hit some flying clotheslines on Sienna, a Codebreaker and a Sliced Bread #2 variation. KM interfered when Allie tried to reach the top rope, Braxton Sutter chased him backstage. Allie grounded Sienna with a crossbody but the Champion rolled her for the pin and the win.
Terrell and Sienna continued to attack Kim and Allie after the match but Rosemary came to help the good girls and ground Sienna and Taryn Terrell. But a Snow White’s Evil Queen-like silhouette appeared. Here came Taya Valkyrie.
Taya strolled to the ring, making Sienna and Terrell stop attacking Kim and Allie as if they were fascinated. Taya faced off the bad girls, with Terrell hiding behind Sienna, but surprisingly Taya attacked Rosemary, grounding her with an elevated double chicken wing facebuster. Sienna and Terrell joined Taya to celebrate and taunt Kim and Allie.
Jim Cornette GFW State of the Union
Jim Cornette came to the ring to talk up the company with its new stars and focus on competition. He predicted Sydal to become Global Champion tonight. Johnny Impact made his way to the ring to tell Cornette he wanted to face the winner of Sydal vs. Drake match. Even if Impact lost last week the right to be the #1 contender… He hypes tonight’s main event between Drake and Sydal, then predicts Sydal will be tonight’s winner.
Cornette was unable to give a full answer because the whole LAX rushed to the ring. Konnan told Impact he felt like there’s some “white privilege” going on around here if Impact automatically gets a title shot. Low Ki pushed the button even further, claiming he wanted to be ahead of the line and insulting Impact. Impact punched Ki and the brawl started. Security tried to separate them, but only Cornette could when he threatened LAX to be suspended if they didn’t leave the ring. Low-Ki vs. Impact was announced for next week for the #1 contender ship for the Global Championship.
Because Laurel Van Ness is Canadian, Grado dumped her because she can’t help him stay in the USA. The wedding was off but The Disfigured Bride was back.
The AAA Triplemania Experience
Jeff Jarrett, Karen Jarrett, Johnny Impact, DJ Z, Lashley, Moose, and others talked about the event. DJ Z was coming back from injury and was happy be back in the ring and wrestle in front of such a large crowd. Moose and Lashley talked about the gauntlet match and how Moose eliminated Lashley. “That’s why I don’t have any friends in wrestling,” stated Lashley.
Jarrett and Borash talked about Johnny Impact currently holding 3 of the AAA’s titles and being a Superstar out there. Impact defended all three titles in a ladder match against El Hijo del Fantasma and Texano Jr. and retained all of them.
The Rosemary- Sexy Star situation was quoted by Jeff and Karen Jarrett. While Jeff talked about “some unnecessary drama”, Karen called it upsetting and disgusting. A backstage video showed Jeff Jarrett arguing with La Parka while Vampiro tried to be the peacemaker. Despite this issue, Jeff Jarrett ensured the relationship between GFW and AAA is still strong, both short and long-term.
Tons of vignettes, with Dezmond Xavier talking about his background, Pagano coming soon, Eddie Edwards winning the GHC championship in Pro Wrestling NOAH, Garza Jr. and his uncle, Richard Justice still suffering from Kongo Kong splash last week.
Matt Sydal vs. Eli Drake w/ Chris Adonis (GFW Championship Match)
Is Drake able to be the Champion without Adonis by his side? Here was the question remaining unanswered after the match. Sydal was powerful as usual. But Adonis and Drake’s distraction plans obviously cost him the title. Drake stalled Sydal’s attacks right in the match. First distraction came when Drake grabbed the referee’s pants to allow Adonis to strike Sydal. But Sydal sent Adonis to the barricade. Drake took advantage of the situation to work Sydal on the mat. Second distraction when Adonis grabbed a chair and tried to whack Sydal.
Sydal tried to rally but Drake stopped him with a neckbreaker. Drake sent Sydal into the bottom rope, trying to choke him, but Sydal was able to roll to the floor and throw Drake into the ring post. Back in the ring, Drake continued to attack Sydal, keeping him to the ground to avoid his high-flying manoeuvres and slow the pace. Sydal battled back with kicks and a standing moonsault when Drake missed a clothesline. He continued with an elbow, a hurricanrana and double knees from the top rope for a near fall.
The third distraction was the good one. Adonis put the title on one side of the ring and then threw a chair to the other side of the ring to distract the referee. Drake grabbed the belt, tried to hit Sydal who answered with a knee to the face. Adonis rushed to the apron, distracting the referee again. Drake hit Sydal in the head with the belt, connected with the gravy train for the win.
Last week, I was stating GFW was on the right path. This episode confirmed my idea. When Impact is offering good action, less backstage segments and interesting stakes around its titles, it works. And it works really well. A really good episode with this brood of the new talents offering something new and mostly something good. Three big matches have already been announced for next week, oVe vs. LAX for the GFW Tag Team titles, Sonjay Dutt vs. Trevor Lee in a last Man Standing match for the X-Division title, and Johnny Impact vs. Low Ki for the #1 contendership for the GFW Global Championship. A little bird is telling me some changes will happen next week…
All pics and screenshots courtesy of GFW Impact Wrestling.