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Impact Wrestling Reviews

Mass for the Present Time – IMPACT – May 12th, 2022 Review

BySteph Franchomme

May 14, 2022 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Here is the case. Rebellion time is over, Under Siege time is over. No more reason to shout May Day. The Road to Slammiversary is there, just in front of you. You can choose to take a back seat and wait for the opportunity to come to you. Or you can come to the ramps, show them all who you are and win your chance to put your name in the company’s history book. It’s because wrestlers have seized opportunities since Day One that TNA/Impact Wrestling is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary… And the case continues…
On the menu, this week, from Newport, NY, the challenger for the IMPACT World Championship at Slammiversary will be determined in a 20-Man Gauntlet for the Gold Match. The first Ultimate-X Qualifier match will see Kenny King face off Chris Bey. The IMPACT Knockouts World Tag Team Champions The Influence will compete against Gisele Shaw and Alisha. Tomohiro Ishii will team up with IMPACT World Champion Josh Alexander against El Phantasmo and Jay White. 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

Tom Hannifan and The Drama King Matthew Rewholdt were on commentary. On ‘BTI’, X-Division Champion Ace Austin defeated Aiden Prince (BTI is now available only on Impact Wrestling YouTube and Facebook channels at 7.30 PM EST/12.30 AM GMT and on Impact Plus).

  • Tom Hannifan and Matt Rehwoldt opened the show from the ring. They told us that tonight’s main event will feature the return of the Gauntlet for the Gold, a 20-person Gauntlet for the Gold match-up for a chance at the Impact World Championship. We saw Moose, Sabin, Morrisey, Edwards, Shark Boy and others speak on their desire to win the Gauntlet.

  • Honor No More’s Kenny King defeated Bullet Club’s Chris Bey to win a spot in the Slammiversary Ultimate-X Match. Maria was on commentary and offered a little help to King in order to him winning the match…

  • Backstage, Alisha Edwards was knocking on Gisele’s door telling her they were next. Shaw came out and asked her why she was so bossy. Doesn’t she know you can’t rush perfection? Alisha said she knows but they are next and said “chop-chop” as they make their way to the ring.

  • IMPACT Knockouts World Tag Team Champions The Influence defeated Gisele Shaw & Alisha Edwards.

  • Violent By Design cut a promo, assuring that they will recapture the championships they lost to the Briscoes and they’ll do it quickly.

  • TNA/Impact Wrestling Hall of Famer and Impact Wrestling Official Gail Kim was in the ring. She reminded us that Impact will be celebrating 20 years at Slammiversary and announced the first-ever Queen of the Mountain match for Slammiversary 20. The five competitors for the match will be Knockouts Champion Tasha Steelz, Chelsea Green, Jordynne Grace, Deonna Purrazzo, but before she can announce the final participant, Tasha Steelz came out. Tasha said wow a few times before telling Gail she’d do anything to take the title off of her.

  • She asked her if it was because she beat the last of her generation not once but twice. She said Gail was going to announce the fifth person before she so rudely interrupted. Gail doesn’t have to announce the final competitor because Tasha will do it. Tasha announced Savannah Evans as the final entrant. Gail denied Savannah an opportunity because all of the competitors are former Knockouts World champions. Gail announced Mia Yim as the final competitor for the Queen of the Mountain match. Tasha said once again she brought someone off the street to cut the line and get an opportunity and she thinks she’s taking things personally. If Gail wants to get personal, they can get personal before Tasha got in Gail’s face. Mia Yim interrupted to make the save and a brawl broke out. Mia took out Tasha and Savanah. She celebrated momentarily before Deonna came out to attack her. We got a 3-on-1 beatdown until Jordynne and Taya came out to even the odds. Jordynne had the final shot when dropping Tasha with a spinebuster. The faces stood tall.

  • Backstage, Rich Swann told Gia Miller the opportunity to win the Gauntlet for the Gold doesn’t come every week. He’s a champion who lost and never got a rematch, so he knows how hard it is to become a Champion. Swann talked trash to Cardona for calling his title the Digital Media World Championship because it’s not a World title, but he’d love to have it. Swann said when it comes to tonight, he’s ready to fight. All. Night. Long.

  • IMPACT World Champion Josh Alexander & Tomohiro Ishii defeated Bullet Club’s El Phantasmo & Jay White

  • The Briscoes responded to VBD, saying they aren’t afraid of Joe Doering, they’ll knock the cowboy hat off his dang head and cut him down like a big ass tree. They added the titles aren’t going anywhere as Mark barked at the camera.

  • Eric Young won the Gauntlet For The Gold match.

The Nygma’s Nutcracker(s) of the Week

– Gauntlet for the Gold Match

The Rules: Two men will start it off, and every 90 seconds, a new participant will enter the ring. A participant is eliminated when they go over the top rope and both their feet hit the floor. When it is down to the final two competitors, the match turns into a normal one where the winner can only win by pinfall or submission.

The List of Entrants: Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Eddie Edwards, Vincent, Steve Maclin, Shark Boy, Raj Singh, Trey Miguel, Bhupinder Gujjar, Shera, W. Morrissey, Eric Young, Johnny Swinger, Heath, Black Taurus, Rhino, Moose, Rich Swann, Matthew Rewholdt, and PCO.

The Match: Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley were the first two participants, pitting the Motor City Machine Guns against one another. After a handshake, they locked up. Sabin and Shelley hit one another with a series of fast-paced moves. Sabin hit an armdrag on Shelly. Shelley locked in an arm submission. The two kept the fast-paced action going as Eddie Edwards entered the ring. Shelley and Sabin ganged up on Edwards. They sent him off the rope, but Edwards kicked the two and delivered a couple of chops to the pair. Sabin dropkicked Edwards and Shelly hit a DDT on him. The two charged at him in the corner, but Eddie escaped. Sabin kicked Edwards in the head to save Sabin.

The next entrant was Edwards’ fellow Honor No More teammate Vincent. Vincent and Shelley exchanged blows as Edwards and Sabin went at it. Vincent swiftly took down Shelley and he and Edwards teamed up on him. Shelley held Edwards in place as Sabin kicked him in the head. Sabin and Shelley delivered a few lariats to Vincent before they kicked him to the mat. The fifth entrant was Steve Maclin who went right after Sabin and delivered a chokeslam to him. Maclin delivered a backbreaker to Shelley. Edwards and Vincent told Maclin to go after Shelley and he sent him into Sabin in the corner. Vincent went through the ropes and went off the top rope to hit Shelley with the RedRum. Honor No More tried to toss Shelley out of the ring.

Shark Boy was the next entrant. He delivered a lariat to everyone in the ring. He attacked Maclin with a Chummer but Honor No More gained the advantage over Shark Boy. Vincent charged at him in the corner to deliver an elbow, but Shark Boy moved out of the way. Shelley and Sabin delivered a double superkick to Vincent and delivered a series of fast-paced double offence moves to Edwards. Shark Boy Chummered both members of Honor No More. During the break, Edwards tossed Shark Boy out of the ring and eliminated him from the match. Raj Singh and Trey Miguel both entered the match as well. The next participant was Bhupinder Gujjar. Gujjar stared down at Raj Singh, then delivered a sling blade to Maclin. Singh took down Gujjar. Gujjar threw Singh over the top rope, but Singh landed on the apron. Singh tried to push him off but was unsuccessful. He dropkicked Singh and Singh was eliminated. Meanwhile, Maclin threw Sabin over the top rope onto the apron. He rolled back into the ring.

Shera was the next entrant and went straight for Gujjar, hitting him with a series of punches. Shera dominated Gujjar in the corner. Maclin dominated Sabin in the opposite corner. Maclin delivered a shoulder breaker to Trey Miguel and attempted to toss him out of the win, but failed. W. Morrissey was the next entrant, beat down everyone in the ring and dominated. Shera grabbed Morrissey by the throat, but Morrissey hit him in the head and took him out. Morrissey tossed Vincent over the top rope, but he landed on the apron. Morrissey kicked Vincent off the apron to eliminate him. Edwards attacked Morrissey’s knee. Miguel went after Edwards, but Edwards knocked him down. Sabin tried to eliminate him, but Miguel hung on to the top rope.

VBD’s Eric Young was the next entrant. He hit Morrissey with his mask and delivered a piledriver to him. He tried to hit Gujjar with the mask, but Gujjar ducked. Gujjar sent him over the top rope, but he landed on the apron and slipped back into the ring. Young tried to send Gujjar over out of the ring, but Gujjar hung on. Gujjar tried to lock in the head scissors, but Young delivered a kick to take him out. Young then went after Sabin. Maclin was attacking Miguel. Edwards and Morrissey were both down as officials checked on Morrissey after taking the piledriver. The next entrant was Johnny Swinger, being pushed to the ring on a mini-ring on a cart. He got in the ring but was immediately eliminated.

During the commercial break, Heath, Rhino, and Black Taurus entered the ring. Alex Shelly was eliminated by Eddie Edwards and Maclin eliminated Miguel. After the break, Rhino was beating up Black Taurus. Moose was the next entrant, Black Taurus charged at him, but Moose flipped him over the top rope. Moose then eliminated Rhino. Amongst all of the action in the ring, Edwards was eliminated. Heath tried to eliminate Moose, but Moose kneed him in the head to escape. Heath and Moose exchanged blows. Moose kicked Heath in the face, and then tossed him over the top rope. Moose, Maclin, Young and Sabin still remained in the ring while Morrissey was still on the outside.

The next entrant was Rich Swann who went right for Moose and delivered a series of chops. Moose grabbed him by the throat, but Swann escaped. Swann kicked Moose in the head as he was on one knee. Swann went for another kick but Moose caught it. Swann delivered a series of offensive moves, then hit the cutter off the ropes. Swann was fired up and tried to eliminate Young, but Young hung on. Matt Cardona’s music hit, but he didn’t show. Matt Rehwoldt unexpectedly got up from commentary, entered the ring, tossed Swann out of the ring and eliminated him. Hannifan said Rehwoldt is a surprise entrant in the match. He tried to eliminate Sabin but was unsuccessful. He and Young double-teamed on Sabin.

PCO was the last entrant. He dove into the ring to take out Maclin. He went for Young and then attacked Rehwoldt. Sabin came at him, but he tossed him into the corner. He was fired up. PCO delivered a DDT to Maclin. Rehwoldt tried to attack PCO, but PCO countered and tossed him out of the ring. Morrissey was back in the ring and stood toe to toe with PCO. The two exchanged punches with one another. Morrisey and PCO grabbed each other by the neck. As the two were distracted by one another, Maclin took advantage and tossed them both over the top rope.

The final four participants were Moose, Sabin, Maclin and Young. Maclin charged at Sabin, but Sabin moved out of the way. Young hit Sabin with a forearm. Moose hit Young with a dropkick when the lights went out all of a sudden. When they came back on, Sami Callihan was standing in the ring, facing Moose with a baseball bat in hand. He hit Moose with the bat to eliminate him from the match and cost him his shot as revenge for breaking his leg last year. He then left the ring. Maclin started going after Sabin and delivered multiple kicks to the midsection. Maclin and Young faced off, then started beating up Sabin in the corner with some kicks. They sent Sabin off the ropes, but Sabin countered and hit them both with a double lariat.

Sabin tossed Maclin over the top, but Maclin landed on the apron. Maclin tried to suplex Sabin out of the ring, but Sabin escaped. Sabin got Maclin down to one knee and delivered a dropkick to take him out. The final two were Sabin and Young. Young knocked Sabin to the mat and went to the top rope. He hit an elbow drop and went for the pin, but Sabin kicked out. Both men were down on the mat and the crowd cheered for Sabin. Young beat down Sabin and went for another pin, but Sabin kicked out again. Sabin hit a tornado DDT and went for the pin, but Young kicked out at two. Sabin rolled up Young, but Young kicked out again. Young delivered a piledriver to Sabin for the win.

The Weekly “Enigma For a Nygma”

Shark Boy is dark… I think we haven’t seen him in the Impact Zone since Slammiversary XV (but I may be wrong). He was, in fact, in the Swinger’s Dungeon, as revealed earlier this week in an exclusive video. He took part in a dark match at Under Siege, teaming up with W. Morrissey and Jordynne Grace against Swinger, Zicky Dice and one of the GutCheck winners, Jackson Stone. Does that mean the Dungeon is not worth having a member card?

The Nygma’s Noticeable Facts/Awards of the Week

– Queen of The Mountain

If you remember well when I talked to Rosemary at the end of last year, she told me there was one match she was looking forward to taking part in, it was the Queen of the Mountain. If Impact Wrestling has translated most of his stipulation matches to the women (Monsters Ball, Ultimate-X, Last Knockout Standing…), King of the Mountain was probably the last. I’m a bit sad she is not in this first-ever Queen of the Mountain match.
Some of you will say, what is a King of The Mountain match? The five competitors in the match start out as “ineligible” to win. In order to become “eligible”, a wrestler must score a pinfall or submission on an opponent. The opponent who submits or is pinned is forced to spend two minutes in the “penalty box” cage. More than one wrestler can be in the cage. This often results in wrestlers fighting inside the cage or forming some sort of alliance.
Once “eligible”, the wrestler may win the match by retrieving the match’s prize (usually a championship belt) and hanging it on the hook suspended above the ring with the aid of the ladders. An official maintains possession of the belt and circles the ring, staying out of the action as much as possible. When a wrestler wishes to hang the belt, he must retrieve it from the official. Once the belt is in play, any other wrestler who is eligible may attempt to steal the belt and hang it. Once the belt has been dropped and no wrestler is attempting to hang it, a referee returns the belt to the official. We’ll see if these “old” rules (the last KOTM match took place in 2016) are still available…

– The World Champion vs a TNA Original

Since yesterday, I’ve read a lot of mixed reviews on EY winning the match and going to Slammiversary for the World Championship. I understand but I respect the choice. At Slammiversary 20, it had to be about a TNA Original. I was expecting Chris Sabin but I was suspecting Eric Young to be that person. We’ll all agree there’s a load of valuable contenders in the roster but that PPV is not a usual PPV… 20 years, damn it…

– Slammiversary 20

Already three matches set, I think the party will be unique on its own…

To be eNYGMAtic…

For a post-PPV Fallout episode, it was very good. Action-wise, it was great. Like I was saying in the intro, we are on The Road to Slammiversary so, if history has to be made, it can start now. Not a lot of promo segments but enough to build up what’s necessary as we’re now 5 weeks away for the PPV.
When I explained the title of this review to someone I will shut the name up, he replied to me, you’re so French… Maybe. A ballet by Maurice Béjart is not French, it’s universal. That’s not going to make me change the review, or the title I give to each of them. That’s not going to make me change, period. Dilate your minds, please… I’ve taken enough shots for a lifetime, and probably more, to be sure I will always stand tall.
On this “Nygma Wants a Sassy Night in Her Bed” note, until next week (if I want), take care, stay safe, watch wrestling, and never EVER forget to stay #eNYGMAtic…

All pics, videos, and screenshots courtesy of Impact Wrestling, Fite TV, Fight Network, and AXS TV. Photocollage 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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