Impact Wrestling on Pop TV
Thursday, June 22
Stage 7, Film City
Mumbai, India

Sony Six Way X-Division Elimination Match
Matt Sydal def. Suicide, Davey Richards, Eddie Edwards, Trevor Lee, Braxton Sutter

Trevor Lee saved some face after being squashed last week by pinning both Braxton Sutter and Suicide (before he was last eliminated by a Sydal Shooting Star). Richards and Edwards both got disqualified for using a chair, teasing their mixed Full Metal Mayhem match coming up at Slammiversary. Considering a Dutt vs. Low Ki 2 out of 3 falls rematch was set for Slammiversary this would appear to set Sydal up as the next contender after the July 2nd supershow. Fun match, nothing particularly special but entirely pleasant. The X-Division needs some Xavier and Everett flippy goodness after Slammiversary though. Sydal was awarded a trophy after the match by Scott D’Amore, Bruce Prichard, and the CFO of Sony Pictures India.

Laurel Van Ness and Sienna def. Allie and Rosemary

The most interesting thing about this match was how into Allie and Rosemary the crowd were. KM and Sutter interfered causing Sienna to pin Rosemary in the chaos. While the X-Division has seen renewed focus since the start of the current Jarrett regime, the Knockouts have really taken a backseat. These four are the right crew to build around but they’ve been getting very little real screen time nor nearly enough time to showcase their skills properly. The crazy wedding dress Laurel character has more than outstayed it’s welcome and should be phased out. The division needs a more serious Laurel at the moment. Nothing match.

Sonjay Dutt came out and had a little Indian celebration for his title win. He thanked the fans and vowed to be the best X-Division champion there ever was. Low Ki interrupted him and said Sonjay got lucky. Low Ki requested a rematch and Dutt obliged, upping the ante by making it a 2 out of 3 falls match. They shook on it before Low Ki decked Dutt (as well as Shera). A bit of edge going into Slammiversary was much needed for these two and they’ll have a chance to steal the show under 2/3 Falls. It certainly felt like they had more in their tank after last weeks match. It does always depend which Low Ki shows up – slow, methodical Low Ki or exciting, explosive Low Ki.

Mahabali Shera def. KM

These two have been having something of a prolonged dispute on Xplosion as well as Impact. It’s been mediocre even by Xplosion standards. Shera’s ribs were injured by Low Ki in the segment prior but he soldiered through the pain. Simple match, Shera’s ribs prevented some of his power offense but he hit the Sky High for the win. KM and Kongo Kong destroyed Shera afterwards.

Jeremy Borash and Joseph Park had a training montage that involved Mega Power handshakes, pool dives and freeze frames. It was the best thing on this show.

Moose announced that former Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams (who appeared on Impact a few weeks back) would be his partner vs. Eli Drake and Chris Adonis at Slammiversary. The original announcement got some decent media attention so I guess this worked in that regard. It’s remarkable how Adonis is a considerably blander version of Eli Drake. Adonis and Drake left Moose laying this week so at least he needs a partner this time.

James Storm and Alberto El Patron def. EC3 and Lashley by Disqualification

EC3 and Lashley didn’t entirely get along, which was nice considering they spent much of last year at odds. Pretty formula tag team main event with a couple of heat segments allowing El Patron and Storm to have some shine. I’d have liked something a little more dynamic and ambitious, none of the exchanges made me particularly interested in either of the upcoming singles matches that this was meant to preview but it was a fun main event nonetheless. The DQ finish (when EC3 decided to whip the referee) was a cop out. At Slammiversary EC3 will face James Storm in a Strap Match while El Patron will go toe to toe with Lashley in a TNA vs. GFW title unification match.

Final Thoughts:

They’ve done a pretty good job of pushing Slammiversary pretty hard while also giving all the matches a decent amount of time to gestate naturally but none of the major disputes are firing on all cylinders. The storytelling has all been pretty basic – which is fine – but it’s lacked a hook, it’s been missing any sort of emotional punch. The Slammiversary card as it is right now certainly has a tonne of variety but few of the matches feel must see in a any real regard.