Impact Wrestling
Turning Point 2020
November 14, 2020
Nashville, Tennessee
Skyway Studios

Watch: FITE.TV

Impact Wrestling delivered their latest Impact Plus monthly special this past Saturday (November 14) with Turning Point, where Rich Swann defended the Impact World title against Sami Callihan in the main event.

Eddie Edwards def. Daivari

This was Daivari’s first one-on-one singles match in Impact since April 9, 2009. Physically, he looked great, and this was a pretty solid opener. The match was worked at a decent pace and revolved around Eddie’s left arm, with Daivari applying various holds and slamming him into the ring posts. You never felt Daivari had a chance of winning, which hurt the match slightly, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Eddie got the win with the Boston Knee Party after the ref saw through Daivari’s leverage pin attempt. ***

Taya Valkyrie & Rosemary def. Tenille Dashwood & Jordynne Grace

With the tournament to crown new Knockouts Tag Team champions starting on Tuesday, it made sense that we’d get a tag offering on this show. The story here was simple – Grace and Dashwood don’t get on, and Dashwood is a terrible tag wrestler because she’s too busy having pictures taken by Kaleb Konley and reminding everyone that it’s all about her.

The story was told well and the work was basic but well done. Tenille jumped off the apron when Jordynne went for a tag, allowing Rosemary to hit her with the spear, the tarantula in the corner and then a double underhook driver for the win. **3/4

Brian Myers def. Swoggle

My expectations for this match were low to say the very least. While the match was little more than a glorified squash, it was far better than it had any right to be as far as I was concerned. Swoggle started hot with a hurricanrana and a lope to the outside before Myers took control. Myers proceeded to beat him down (perhaps for too long in some people’s books) and cut off any attempted comebacks at the pass, eventually sealing the victory with a low lariat. **1/2

Chris Sabin & James Storm def. XXXL

I’ll admit that while I’m usually a very cynical individual, I did mark out for Chris Sabin and James Storm, both part of my favorite tag teams in Impact history, teaming up for the first time. That old rivals turned friends business would usually be lost on me but I dug this a lot.

The action was fine but also sloppy in places and probably XXXL’s worst performance in a while after a period of improvement. Sabin and Storm’s combo moves were nice though and a series of kicks on Acey Romero got them the win. **1/2

Impact X-Division Championship
Rohit Raju (C) def. Jake Something (w/Cody Deaner)

Rohit Raju is my favorite thing in Impact right now, in case you weren’t aware. God made us all equal and then he made The Desi Hitman the sequel.

My undying appreciation for Raju probably clouds my judgment a little here but I thought this was really fun, albeit a bit brief. Something’s hoss stylings worked well with Raju and, in a nice touch, Raju got a clean victory under his belt. After knocking Something off the top rope with a cross chop, Raju hit a jumping knee and then a running knee for the victory. I’d like to see what these guys could do with some more time. ***

Post-match, Eric Young and Joe Doering hit the ring, with Doering laying out Deaner and Something. Doering’s run in AJPW came to a bit of a sad end as he was beset by injuries but he looked in great shape here and if he’s back to a good level, he’s a great pickup for Impact.

Willie Mack def. Moose by DQ

A good entrance can make a massive difference to any wrestler and that’s something I’ve become ever more conscious of during the pandemic era. Moose’s entrance, with the spotlight, robe and hummable music is great and definitely one of the promotion’s best. That doesn’t stop him from being a questionable bloke, but it felt worth mentioning.

In many ways, this was another glorified squash. Mack got offense in but generally less than he normally does as Moose dominated and ‘looked to send a message’ to Rich Swann, who he looks set to face in the Hard to Kill main event on January 16. Willie managed to avoid Moose’s first spear attempt but he wasn’t as lucky the second time, with Moose appearing to get the win with some follow-up ground-and-pound. The ref later overturned that to a Mack win via DQ because Moose continued his attack in quite the clunky moment, but the match served its purpose. ***

Impact World Tag Team Championship
The Good Brothers def. The North (C)

The North set the record for the longest run with the belts in their first reign; their second ends after just 21 days. After making their debuts at Slammiversary, this was the first big two-vs-two title match that The Good Brothers have had and it felt important they produced a good showing and they definitely did in probably my favorite match of the night.

Gallows and Anderson made a good start before the match settled into a fairly predictable format, with The North making quick tags and working over Anderson in their corner. He eventually made the hot tag to Gallows, who looks in the best shape of his career right now, and then it all broke down in the closing stretch. The North hit the double team neutralizer on Gallows for a nearfall before The Good Brothers got back in control, Anderson putting The North down with a Spinebuster and a Gun Stun, before he and Gallows hit the Magic Killer for the win. ***1/2

Impact Knockouts Championship – No Disqualification Match
Deonna Purrazzo def. Su Yung (C)

Impact had to change their plans for the Knockouts title after the Kylie Rae situation at Bound for Glory, switching Su Yung into the match and giving her the title reign they were going to give to Rae. Cutting Yung’s runoff at only three weeks seems it a bit short but Purrazzo is their best candidate as champion right now and it made sense to put the title back on her.

I wasn’t sold on how well Purrazzo would fair in a No Disqualification setting giving the more technical style she usually works but this was really good. There was a strong level of physicality throughout and it told an effective story of Purrazzo being more prepared for Yung this time. After Yung hit a Pedigree on the entrance ramp she looked to secure the win back in the ring but Purrazzo blocked the mist attack with a canvas. She then locked up the Venus de Milo and after a weird spot where she broke that up, Purrazzo hit a Gotch-style piledriver for the win. ***1/4

Impact World Championship
Rich Swann (C) def. Sami Callihan

Swann and Callihan have worked together a number of times in Impact and other promotions and that chemistry paid off here in a strong main event that really picked up down the stretch.

Swann was dominant in the early going before his knee buckled on a backflip, with Callihan then working over the knee and ankle through the middle portion of the match. The match was pretty methodical at that point but as Swann began to mount his typically excellent babyface comebacks, the pace picked up. They teased the finish from Bound for Glory that won Swann the title, where he powered out of the tree of woe to land a cutter and the Phoenix Splash, but Callihan cut him off and nailed him with a piledriver on the apron.

They did a countout tease after Swann hit an innovative handspring cutter on the outside, with Swann the first back up. Swann’s initial attempt at the Phoenix Splash was cut off by Ken Shamrock’s arrival at ringside, but the Hall of Famer was taken out by Eddie Edwards. Back in the ring, Swann connected with a seires of kicks to put Callihan down to one knee before connecting with one final strike to retain his title. ***1/2

The slow start and the fact Callihan was never a serious threat to win drag my rating down but this was a strong main event.

Final Thoughts

While perhaps lacking the same top end as Victory Road, Turning Point was another solid monthly special for Impact. It was a breezy watch at just over two-and-a-half hours, storylines were advanced, there was a strong natural escalation as the card progressed and there were two title changes, which is important for these shows moving forward.