Loads of Championship matches this week, oVe vs. LAX for the GFW Tag Team titles right from Tijuana, Sonjay Dutt vs. Trevor Lee in a Last Man Standing match for the X-Division title, El Hijo del Fantasma vs. Ethan Carter III for IMPACT Grand Championship, and Johnny Impact vs. Low Ki for the #1 contendership for the GFW Global Championship. We’ll also know Bobby Lashley’s choice between wrestling and MMA.
This week on GFW Impact Wrestling is brought to you by Miss “Doctor Frenchy” Steph.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za3PEySOoWI]
Braxton Sutter vs. Garza Jr.
Braxton Sutter didn’t appreciate that Garza Jr. took care of Allie after her tag team match last week. Sutter went right for a submission lock, but Garza Jr. got out of it easily. Loads of back and forths, chops and strikes, until Garza Jr. decided to stop the action to get his pants off. Sutter stopped him and brought him to the second rope for a neckbreaker. Garza Jr. rallied with flying clotheslines before losing the pants while blowing a kiss to Allie and sending his pants to her.
An infuriated Sutter was brought to the outside where Garza Jr. dropped him on the steel steps. Garza Jr. then went for a suicide dive and stopped himself in order not to hit Allie. Sutter brought him back to the ring, hit a sit-down powerbomb for a near fall. Garza Jr. connected with a spinning kick and a moonsault from the second rope to get the win.
Garza Jr. held the ropes to make Allie enter the ring and take care of Sutter. But he started to yell at Allie, blaming her for the loss. He tried to leave the ring but came back to hug her. But when he wanted to walk out with her, she held back, before following him unhappily.
GRAND Championship Match: Ethan Carter III vs. El Hijo del Fantasma
Each match consisted of three timed rounds, with a team of judges to determine the outcome based on points, if there is no winner via pin or submission within the time limit. Dutch Mantell, Scott D’Amore and AAA’s Hector Guerrero were the judges of the match.
Round One
Carter refused to shake the hands of Fantasma. Multiple corner rope breaks to start the round until EC3 dropped Fantasma after a shoulder block. But the luchador rallied with 3 hip tosses on the Champion. Carter went for punches and chops, continued with the TK3 to the floor. The round ended with EC3 smashing Fantasma into the apron. All judges agreed to give 10 points to Carter and 9 to Fantasma. Score after round 1: Carter 30- 27 Fantasma
Round Two
EC3 attacked again with a suplex and a headlock to keep Fantasma to the ground. He threw the luchador into the corner, tried to charge but misses. Fantasma rallied with a running double knee, a hurricanrana from the top rope and a splash off the top rope, as the bell rang. This time, all judges agreed to give 10 points to Fantasma and 9 to Carter. Score after round 2: Carter 57- 57 Fantasma
Round Three
Carter again went on Fantasma with 2 powerbombs but was unable to get the pin. Fantasma countered a charge from the Champion, jumped to the apron and kicked him, reached the top rope for a crossbody. The action went to the outside when both wrestlers jumped into the fences. Back in the ring, Fantasma grounded Carter with an armlock, but EC3 hit another TK3 for a near fall. Fantasma sent Carter to the outside with a boot to the face followed by a suicide dive. Back to the ring, Carter connected with a running knee, the One Percenter, but the bell rang before Carter was able to get the pin.
Scott D’Amore gave his 10 points to Carter, Mantell to Fantasma, but Guerrero gave them to Carter. Carter won the match with 86 points, Fantasma couldn’t believe Guerrero didn’t give him the victory and tried to attack him. Fantasma rushed back to the ring to confront Carter, but a good friend of Fantasma joined him to attack Carter, Pagano. Eddie Edwards came to save Carter and stared at the belt, teasing a future match between him and the Champion.
LAX and oVe crashed in Tijuana
As announced last week, oVe earned a title shot at the GFW World Tag Team Championships against LAX in Tijuana, Mexico, at The CRASH promotion event. As Konnan owns the company, the match ended up being a Fatal 4-Way tag team bout with LAX, oVe and 2 local teams. Ohio versus Everything nearly had the match but Homicide interfered to help LAX retain the titles. We could see the look of sadness on Jake and Dave Crist’s faces.
Back in the Impact Zone, oVe confronted LAX. Konnan told them as they are a long way from Ohio, they had better bounce. The Crist brothers left but the story is nothing but over between these two teams.
Grado can stay in the USA…
After a quick match against William Weeks (one big boot to the face for the pin), Grado waved the Impact Zone goodbye as he was about to leave the country. But here came Joseph Park with a bad news (it’s not a mistake from my part…). Park opened a sports division in his lawyer’s office and got a visa for Grado. So Grado could stay in the country… Parks promised him big and huge…
While Johnny Impact promised to bring Low Ki to Slam Town, Lashley was in Jim Cornette’s office to ask for his release. Cornette tried to make him change his mind and offered Lashley to settle his issues with Moose later tonight.
Falls Count Anywhere X-Division Title Match: Sonjay Dutt vs. Trevor Lee
Lee attacked Dutt before he could even reach the ring. Big kick to the face from Lee, throw into the ring post from Dutt, this match was going to be rough. In the ring, Lee stomped Dutt off the ring and grabbed a chair he sent in the ring. But Dutt sent him back out. Dutt connected with a big kick, but a double clothesline and kicks sent both wrestlers back to the outside.
Dutt hit a tornado DDT by Dutt and tried to reach the top rope, but got dropped by Lee who nailed a superplex from the top rope. Dutt rolled outside, but Lee sent him against the steel chairs, grabbed a chair, threw it on Dutt who dodged it. Dutt rallied, threw Lee thrown into the barricade, which broke, and hit a standing moonsault.
Back from break, Dutt and Lee were going outside. Caleb Konley was waiting for this moment to attack Dutt, smack him with a garbage can. Lee tried for another garbage can but shot Konley who was holding Dutt. A busted open Dutt rallied with a kick and smacked Lee with a garbage can lid. Lee went for a tornado DDT off the wall but got dropped between the legs on a barricade. Konley and Lee continued her team work to weaken Dutt. Lee got the final pin, holding Dutt’s pants and a post. Trevor Lee is the new X-Division Championship and fled with Konley, title in hands. (Trevor Lee was not yet a 3-time X-Division when I had the chance to talk to him exclusively, but you can read the interview here)
Taya Valkyrie vs. Amber Nova
Amber Nova tried but Taya was unbreakable. She countered a hurricanrana from Nova into a powerbomb before her signature elevated double chicken wing facebuster for the win.
Number One Contender Match for the GFW Championship: Low Ki vs. Johnny Impact
Before the match, backstage, Eli Drake and Chris Adonis stated two “dummies” were trying to come to his title. Even if these “dummies” were competing for the first-ever against each other. The beginning of the fight was a little messy, with Impact dropping Ki to the mat and Ki tossing Impact to the corner. Low Ki gained momentum with a dragon sleeper on Impact tied up in the ropes.
After a load of kicks from both, Impact stopped Ki and hit a big kick to the back and a German suplex. Ki caught him while trying to reach the top rope. Ki met him on top with elbow strikes and locked him in another dragon sleeper with Impact licked in the Tree of Woe.
Johnny tried to rally but Ki hit a big dropkick. Impact seemed to be done as Ki was going for the Warrior’s Way but missed. Impact was able to go for the End of the Worlds for the win. Even if Low Ki made the match, he lost it a very disappointing way.
At Victory Road, Impact will face Eli Drake for the GFW Global Championship. And the Champion had a lot to say to him after the match. But Adonis was waiting behind him in the ring and put him in the Adonis Lock while Drake made his way to the ring. Drake hit the gravy train in the middle of the ring before holding his title up high.
Jim Cornette was still trying to keep Lashley in the company while Taya told Karen Jarrett what she did in the ring tonight was “what a true Queen looks like!”
Bobby Lashley’s choice
Lashley in the ring said he’d prefer to do both MMA and wrestling, but he’s been forced to make a choice. Lashley decided to go back to MMA with American Top Team to win the Heavyweight Championship. So tonight was his last night in the Impact Zone and he will show his dominance one last time by taking care of Moose. Ugly attack between the two, Moose was quickly outpowered. Lashley sent him outside with a powerbomb on the floor. Lashley tried to spear him through a barricade, but Moose got his foot up and dropped Lashley.
In the crowd, Moose was being choked in the bleachers as they were throwing haymakers back and forth. Moose grabbed a garbage can and hit Lashley with it. Up to the stage, Lashley hit a neckbreaker on Moose who quickly recovered with a kick. Back in the ring, Moose tried to finish Lashley but American Top Team stopped him and choked him out. Security was sent out of the ring as Lashley and ATT posed over a beaten Moose. What a bad way to say goodbye… if it was a real goodbye…
Still on the good path, with another good episode full of action for the third week in a row. With a Victory Road special event coming in 2 weeks, it was time to set the scene for it. I can’t help but think oVe will be GFW Tag Team Champions sooner than later. And at the same time be sad to know it was Low Ki’s last match with GFW this week. This pioneer of the X-Division had been a huge part of the history of TNA/GFW/Impact Wrestling and a delight to watch wrestling.
All pics and screenshots courtesy of GFW Impact Wrestling.