IMPACT! Wrestling: Josh Alexander returns to the ring

If anyone saw the IMPACT Sacrifice event on March 5th, it was a very entertaining show. Josh Alexander made his comeback and challenged Moose to his belt at Rebellion. Impact is now showing the road to the Rebellion PPV.

Tonight promises the reunification of the Motor City Machine Guns and Josh Alexander’s return.

Recap:
The Influence is the new Knockouts Tag Team champion

Tasha Steelz wins the Knockout Championship

VBD is the new Tag Team Championship

Heath gets squashed by Moose. Josh Alexander comes back

Josh Alexander Promo

The crowd chants, “New World Champ!” Josh Alexander wants revenge on Moose. He calls IMPACT his home. It was Josh’s son that inspired Josh to come back and get revenge.

Honor No More’s theme plays and the whole gang comes out. Eddie mocks Josh about his comeback. Eddie tells Josh to tell the truth and the truth is that he was handed everything.

Josh tells Eddie he was the heart and soul of Impact. Josh risked it all to be a champion.

Eddie blames the Impact crowd for turning him heel.

Josh tells Eddie that he is lazy. Taven yells at Josh about all his accolades. Josh tells Taven that when he wins a title he puts the company out of the business.

Josh challenges the whole stable to a fight. He starts pummeling them and suplexing Vincent. HNM overcomes him until Rhino, Swann, and Mack come to his rescue.

Scott D’Amore comes out yelling. Scott books Rich Swann and Eddie in the main event. Kenny King and Willie Mack are booked in a match right now. All stables are banned from ringside.

Kenny King vs. Willie Mack

King starts off with some advantage over Mack until Mack throws on the arm drags and dropkicks. Mack planchas over the rope on King. Kenny King answers back with a drop toe hold into the turnbuckle and a bulldog over the ropes. Willie Mack hits a power slam and a standing moonsault, but King rolls out of the way. King hits a bow and arrow submission and a camel clutch. King’s second camel clutch ends in a low blow from Mack. Mack fires back with an axel kick, a Samoan drop and a moonsault. Only a two count on the pin. King hits his own power slam for a two count. King hits a T-bone suplex. Mack dodges a top rope dive. Mack hits a stunner. Mack hits the Six Star Frog Splash for the win.

Willie Mack via the Six Star Frog Splash.

Review: 2.75/5 * – Great back and forth. How is Honor No More a credible threat if they keep getting their heads handed to them? Kenny King and Willie Mack need a push.

Rebellion is April 23rd.

Moose confronts Scott D’Amore asking him to punish Josh Alexander for interrupting his main event. Scott says he had everything planned out for Josh to fight Moose and he is ecstatic that he is back.

John Skyler vs. Ace Austin vs. Crazy Steve

Trey Miguel is on commentary. The winner of this match gets to be part of the triple threat at Impact Rebellion for the X Division title. Ace Austin did not get an entrance theme (weird). Ace Austin tries to set up a deal with John Skyler, but John attacks Austin. Crazy Steve is a wild bullet ramming into everything. Ace Austin is the target of both wrestlers’ punishment, but Mad Man Fulton rescues him. Ace gets control with some rushing forearms. Crazy Steve hits a reverse tarantula on Skyler.

Skyler recovers and hits a middle rope spear and a tiger bomb pin on Crazy Steve. Skyler and Steve battle in the corner. Ace Austin comes in with some bouncing spin kicks. Ace and Steve fight in the corner until Steve bites Skyler’s forehead. Ace hits a long blockbuster on Steve. Ace Austin gets the win.

Ace Austin via The Fold

Trey holds up the X division title and tells Ace “it’s not going to happen.”

Review: 2.5/5 *- This match wasn’t the best the X-Division could give, but it made a great lead up to Rebellion’s triple threat match.

Bhupinder Gujjar is being interviewed by Gia Miller when Raj Singh asks him to return his calls. Larry D comes out to confront Bhupinder. Larry D admits he doesn’t work for Impact anymore, but he should have been put in the show. Raj stands between them and gets punched. Bhupinder stares down Larry D.

Violent By Design gives a promo about power and control. The only reason that the Good Brothers had the title for so long was because VBD had planned it the whole time. It was all by design.

The Influence (Madison Rayne and Tenille Dashwood), Tasha Steelz, and Savannah Evans vs. Mickie James, Chelsea Green, and The IInspiration (Cassidy Lee and Jesse McKay)

Chelsea has a cast on her arm from her match with Deonna Purrazzo at Sacrifice. Cassidy and Tenille get into fisticuffs first. The Influence trade off blows on Cassidy. Savannah gets in and choke lifts Jesse until Jesse hits a jaw breaker. Evans hits a big Samoan drop and a leg drop. Tasha goes to pummel town on Jesse. Madison keeps Jesse from tagging by putting her in a choke hold. Dashwood hits a snap suplex and cuts the ring off for Jesse. Tasha goes for Jesse, but Jesse drops her. Mickie James goes in fists and feet flying until Tasha hit a cutter on her. Kaleb knocks Chelsea off the apron and she kicks him in the crotch. Mickie hits her Mick DDT on Tasha  for the win.

Mickie James via her finisher DDT

Review: 2/5 *- this was a decent story match that had Chelsea Green do absolutely nothing for her team (except kick Kaleb in the crotch). 

Jonah has a promo where he talks about his match with PCO. He doesn’t think PCO is a monster and he showed the whole world that PCO is human.

The Bullet Club: Good Brothers, Chris Bey, and Jay White promo

Karl Anderson and Doc talk about their loss at Sacrifice to VBD. They are putting the tag teams on notice. They tell the Briscoes to watch themselves for their match.

Jay White talks about his win over Alex Shelley. He says Alex failed at Sacrifice. He calls Alex Shelley down to the ring.

Alex comes to the ring. He calls him by his old NJPW name, Jamie White. Alex calls Jay the best wrestler in the world. Alex says it hurt him when Jay couldn’t shake his hand at the end of the match. Jay says that Shelley does not know the man Jay had become. Everything that happens in pro wrestling happens because of Jay. Shelley says he shaped the industry and that Jay White happened because of him. Alex Shelley has some amazing mic skills.

Chris Bey asks Shelley why he came out to the ring. Chris Bey says he is alone. Shelley calls out Chris Sabin. the Motor City Machine Guns reunite. Sabin says Motor City is the best tag team in Impact history. He challenges Jay White and Chris Bey to a match next week.

Josh Alexander tells Scott D’Amore that he needs a match with Eddie Edwards. He says Matt Taven will face him in the main event next week. The You Tube title is misleading. It says the Taven and Alexander match is happening tonight. Lame!

Gia Miller is talking to Deonna Purrazzo. She asks her if she thinks she went too far in her match with Chelsea. Deonna says she will never show mercy to anyone. She has a career of breaking arms. Giselle Shaw and Lady Frost argue about who will face Deonna. Deonna books a triple threat next week for both titles.

Rhino will face off against Maclin next week.

Rich Swann vs. Eddie Edwards

Rich Swann dives on Eddie before he can make it to the ring. The bell starts and Eddie hits a shoulder tackle. Maria Kanellis is on commentary. Rich hits a good head scissors. Eddie hits a big double arm overhead suplex. Eddie hits a snap suplex. Swan deflects a shoulder tackle and hits a 619 on Eddie, but misses a somersault to the outside of the ring. So far there have been two commercial breaks during this five minute match. What gives?

Swann hits a double pin attempt from behind. Eddie nails a fireman’s carry slam. Swann hits a big head scissors from the apron to send Eddie to the concrete floor. Both men exchange chops until Swann hits a rolling forearm and a spinning neck breaker. Swann only gets a two count. Swann hits a jumping rana on Eddie who is sitting on the turnbuckle. Eddie gets Swan into a backpack stunner and floats over to a single crab submission. Swann gets the bottom rope. Eddie starts teasing Swann and they exchange super kicks and spin kicks. Both are knocked out.

Swann turns a tiger driver into a rana pin for two. Swann goes for the backflip crossbody. Swann goes for the backflip again and Eddie hits a modified Thunder Mountain. Eddie hits his powerbomb finisher, but Swann kicks out. Swann hits two cutters, but Eddie kicks out at the two. Swann hits his charged face kick and goes for the corkscrew. He misses the Phoenix Splash. Edwards hits the Boston Knee Party. He hits the diehard driver for the three count.

Eddie Edwards wins via the Diehard Driver

Honor No More Celebrates in the ring.

Review: 3/5 *- this was a thick and meaty match that actually made me believe that Eddie has more than just a few lariats and shoulder tackles. Both men put on a great struggle, but the importance behind the main event was lacking. Swann does not have a strong rivalry with Eddie. This match was to prove that Eddie could get wins for his stable. 

Show review: Impact wants me to believe that Honor No More is a credible threat that is disrupting the business. I don’t believe it yet. They are acting like hooligans who are easy to beat and not that dangerous.  Josh Alexander facing off against Moose has better story impact on the show.

Impact has been giving us some really heavy matches that are filled with excitement. I enjoy the heck out of it. Now they need to give Honor No More some skin in the game or risk losing them to mediocrity.

Next week: Josh Alexander will face off against Matt Taven.