Right here, right now. Happy Day 156 of 2021. Against All Odds, defy time, defy your limits, defy yourself. Right here, right now. Iron sharpens iron.
On the menu this week, from Nashville, Tennessee, Josh Alexander will try to retain the X-Division Championship against TJP in a 60-Minute Iron Man Match. Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering will once again try to regain the Knockouts Tag team titles from Fire ‘N Flava’s hands. Jake Something will compete against Rohit Raju in a Tables Match. Satoshi Kojima will make his first steps into the Impact Zone against Deaner. Sami Callihan will face off Moose. So no more words, let’s get ready for some action, but your French Enygma Steph way, of course…

The Nygma’s Chart of the Week

D’Lo Brown and Josh Mathews (Matt Striker will be back soon) were on commentary. 

  • 60-Minute Iron Man Match: Josh Alexander and TJP ended in a tie at the time limit. The Sudden Death rule applied. Josh Alexander got the last fall and retained the X-Division Championship.
  • Backstage, Don Callis and The Good Brothers were happy they could turn Callihan and Moose on each other so they didn’t have to actually wrestle them. They saw the cameraman and got mad.
  • Backstage, Josh Alexander talked about how tough Iron Man matches are. Eddie Edwards came up and applauded the match. TJP came up and said they might be destined to do this forever, but if they’re done for right now, he’s grateful. They shook hands. Scott D’Amore showed up, thanked them both for the match and said he is proud they’re on the roster. Alexander said he’s the only Impact talent holding Impact gold, he’s the King of the Mountain and he wants challengers every single night. This led to Ace Austin, Chris Bey, Trey Miguel and Petey Williams arguing over who gets the spot next week against Alexander. D’Amore said he loves this and slipped away as everyone was arguing.

  • Tables Grudge Match: Jake Something defeated Rohit Raju.
  • Backstage, W. Morrissey told Scott D’Amore he wanted a match against Rich Swann. It will be just next.
  • Backstage, Rosemary said last week they took Deonna Purrazzo into their world. She planned on taking the Knockouts title back to the darkness. Havok showed up, and while they’ve been on the same side a lot lately, she still wants the title. Rosemary thought that’s correct, but they’re really hoping Havok would join the family. It’s Rosemary’s turn to take back the title, but maybe Havok wants to go to war one more time to figure that out. If Havok wants the shot, she’ll have to take it from Rosemary. Havok was amenable to that.

  • W. Morrissey vs Rich Swann ended in a no-contest because Morrissey attacked Swann even before the bell rang. Willie Mack came to save his friend from a brutal attack.
  • Backstage, Rachael Ellering was approached by Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb, they tried to form a tag team with her. Jordynne Grace showed up and asked what’s going on, they played off the whole thing, and Ellering headed out with Grace for their tag team title shot.

  • Brian Myers’s “How To Be A Professional Wrestler”, Lesson One.

  • Backstage, Deonna Purrazzo was told by Gia Miller if Havok beats Rosemary, their match will become a Triple Threat. Purrazzo was annoyed at the odds being stacked against her, noting she’s beaten them both and they were handed title shots they didn’t earn. This is the age of the Virtuosa, and the odds are forever in her favour.

  • Fire ‘N Flava defeated Rachael Ellering & Jordynne Grace to retain the IMPACT Knockouts Tag Team titles.
  • Backstage, Sami Callihan was saying he isn’t afraid of Moose when Don Callis arrived. He wanted Callihan to win and brought up how many times Callihan has fallen short. He called him a journeyman, which caused Callihan to send him away before vowing to beat Moose tonight.

  • Papers on an office, a bottle of whisky, Steve Maclin is coming to IMPACT.

  • Backstage, Fire ‘N Flava found out their challengers at Against All Odds would be Susan and Kimber Lee as they were going out of Scott D’Amore’s office.
  • Satoshi Kojima defeated Deaner w/ VBD. Doering and Rhino interfered and Eddie Edwards came to help Kojima.
  • Backstage, Moose was talking to the camera, Don Callis came to say he wants Moose to win and challenge for the title. Moose told Don he stopped listening as soon as Don walked up, he knew what Don’s doing, and told him to warn Kenny Omega to keep the belt shiny for when he takes it.

  • Sami Callihan defeated Moose via DQ when The Good Brothers attacked and hit the Magic Killer to end the match. Don Callis and Kenny Omega came to watch. Omega and Callis walked down laughing as the Brothers left Moose and Callihan on the mat. Some stomps from Omega, and he posed. Omega called both Moose and Callihan losers then posed with The Good Brothers on the entrance ramp.
  • Backstage, they celebrate doing “it”. Scott D’Amore walked up and said that was a flashback to Under Siege. The Good Brothers headed off, as did Omega, so D’Amore and Callis could talk. D’Amore said Callihan won, so he’s in line for a title shot. He made the main event for the PPV a Triple Threat. Callis said he can’t just do that because of their agreement with AEW they need Tony Khan’s approval and Khan hates Sami Callihan. D’Amore was proud that Callis actually read the contract, but he already talked with Tony Khan and Khan will be here next week to figure things out as it pertains to the match. Callis petulantly thought he and D’Amore were a team to end the episode.

The Nygma’s Nutcracker(s) of the Week

– 60-Minute Iron Man Match for the X-Division Championship: Josh Alexander (c) vs TJP

I honestly have been asking myself since yesterday night how I would work this match. I took part in the press pass on Tuesday with both TJP and Josh Alexander and not only I knew the respect each guy had for the other but also how intense this match would be. Honestly, the only thing I wanted to tell you was, watch it. But the problem is some pieces of the match were missing when it aired on Twitch, Facebook Live and YouTube. What was supposed to be 60 minutes turned out to be 40. Luckily, Impact Wrestling decided to put the complete match online just before I started to work on this review. Nonetheless, I remain on my first impression, there’s way more to watch than to say…

Both men went straight for a lockup. Alexander pushed TJP up towards the corner. Alexander broke the hold cleanly. TJP and Alexander traded counters. Back from the first break, neither man has scored the first point. TJP trapped Alexander’s ankle in a hold. TJP then went up high and started working Alexander’s arm. TJP rolled Alexander through with a snapmare. Alexander gained a moment to apply a standing armbar. TJP escaped with a hurricanrana, sending the champion to the outside of the ring. Alexander shifted his focus to Fallah Bahh. TJP came swinging out with an inside-out leg drop from the apron. TJP delivered one amigo, followed by a belly-to-belly suplex. Alexander turned the pace around by torquing TJP’s knee with a dragon screw leg whip. TJP spun out. Alexander had a hard time getting TJP in the Divine Intervention position. Alexander decided to turn it around with two big suplexes. Back from the second break. Alexander picked up the first fall and point.

TJP put on a front facelock. Alexander reversed with a brainbuster. TJP caught him again with the same hold. Alexander got his shoulders up in time before the referee made the count. Breaking out of the hold, Alexander came through with a crossface. TJP found the bottom rope for a break. Alexander tossed TJP out of the ring. Alexander threw him up against a guardrail, then towards the apron. Alexander carried TJP back inside the ring. TJP trapped Alexander in the ropes with an octopus. Alexander returned the favour with a surfboard stretch in between the ropes. Back in the ring, Alexander stayed on top of TJP and kept him cornered. Back from the third break, Alexander still had one point. Both men exchanged counters until Alexander slammed TJP down on the mat. TJP rolled Alexander up in an Indian Deathlock. TJP started to push Alexander’s buttons with a flurry of slaps while keeping him locked down. Alexander fought back with slaps of his own and reversed the hold into an ankle lock.

Alexander stalled for close to a minute or so with a vertical suplex. He drove his knee into TJP’s spine. Alexander trapped TJP again with a backpack submission turned into a backslide pin. TJP looked for a sharpshooter. Alexander found the bottom rope. Alexander spun out of another lockup and turned it into another suplex. Both men were back on their feet. They traded a series of forearm clubs before turning them into stiff chops. Alexander stopped TJP’s momentum by tripping him over towards the turnbuckles. After the fourth commercial break, we were minutes away before Before The Impact transitioned into IMPACT, TJP had Alexander locked up in an octopus submission. TJP kept it on for a couple of seconds before turning his offence into some high-flying action. TJP landed a tornado DDT. Both men went spilling to the outside. Alexander avoided a second tornado DDT with a well-scouted suplex. Petey Williams tried to talk the champion out of hitting the Divine Intervention on the ramp. TJP used this moment of distraction to escape with a hit.

Trey Miguel and Chris Sabin ran out to stop Alexander from applying the same move at the top of the entranceway. TJP took advantage of this second interference by flattening the champion. TJP went crawling back into the ring. Several members of the Impact roster came out to see this match up close. Alexander beat the count and made it into the ring. TJP was up and ready for the Mamba Splash., but missed. Alexander headed to the top. TJP broke his momentum and set him up in the Tree of Woe. Both men exchanged slaps. Eight minutes and counting, TJP hit a springboard off the ropes. Both men collided in the centre of the ring with double clotheslines. Alexander hoisted TJP up with a double underhook. TJP spun out and hit the champion with a Falcon Arrow. TJP cornered Alexander with a boot wash. Alexander looked for an ankle lock. TJP reversed and hit the Detonation Kick.

With four minutes left, TJP hit the Mamba Splash. Alexander and TJP traded ankle lock submissions. TJP turned it into a Figure-Four in the centre of the ring. Alexander found TJP’s ankle during the lockup and switched it into an ankle lock. Alexander ducked an enzuigiri attempt from TJP. Alexander applied more pressure. TJP was having a hard time trying to get to the bottom rope. 40 seconds left and Alexander added more pressure in the ankle lock. Ten seconds left, TJP bridged over and trapped Alexander in a Hail Mary pin.

We headed into Sudden Death with Alexander and TJP throwing wild haymakers at each other after their 30-second break. TJP landed two kick combinations but missed a standing Phoenix Splash/Senton combination. Alexander flew off the top with a perfect moonsault. Alexander looked for a powerbomb to the knee.  Alexander delivered his Divine Intervention. Alexander picked up another fall and point and retained the X-Division Championship.

I will choose the same two words as D’Lo Brown to define that match, instant classic. You know I hate perfection and I think the interference at the ramp and having Petey and Fallah at ringside was not necessary. This match was between these two men. This moment belonged to them. That was just amazing. Watch it, you’ll see if I’m right or not…

 

The Weekly “Enigma For a Nygma”

Tony Khan as The Judge and The Jury… This is IMPACT…

The Nygma’s Noticeable Facts/Awards of the Week

– Gia Miller

Congratulations to her as she will grace IMPACT with her smile and talent for the next three years.

Against All Odds

Four more matches added this week, including 2 title matches. The main event remains unsure, will Sami Callihan be added to it? Or not?

To be eNYGMAtic…

What a way to celebrate my fourth anniversary… The Iron Man Match shadowed what followed even if the episode was not bad. A lot of backstage moments again, but we’re still on a PPV build-up mode. Some new faces coming too, yeah that works…
On this “Nygma Is Going to Bed” note, until next week (if I want), take care, stay safe, go get vaccinated, watch wrestling, and never EVER forget to stay #eNYGMAtic…

All pics, videos, and screenshots courtesy of Impact Wrestling and AXS TV. Photocollages custom made by @frenchnygma exclusively for @steelchairmag.

By Steph Franchomme

News, Reviews, Social Media Editor, Impact Wrestling Reviewer, Interviewer Well, call me The Boss... And French...

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