When Impact Wrestling aired last night on Twitch and AXS TV, it had been 6 days since Kenny Omega won the world championship and Don Callis promised they would appear on Impact this week. Omega’s interview segment would close the show but we also saw the final 1st round match of the Knockouts tag title tournament, Josh Alexander take on Chris Sabin, and we continued the build to Saturday’s Final Resolution event on Impact Plus.
If you haven’t seen it, the entire full show has been put up on Impact’s YouTube page here:
Impact 12/8 Quick Results:
- Chris Sabin defeated Josh Alexander
- Brian Myers defeated TJP
- Eric Young defeated Cody Deaner
- Knockouts Tag Team Tournament (1st Round)
Taya Valkyrie & Rosemary defeated Deonna Purrazzo & Kimber Lee - Chris Bey & Moose defeated Rich Swann & Willie Mack
Here are 9 takeaways from Impact 12/8:
Kenny Omega Explains Why He Has Arrived In Impact Wrestling
Josh Mathews’ sit-down interview with Kenny Omega and Don Callis would close the show. First, Don Callis explained the relationship between him and Omega and how he was trained by Omega’s Uncle the Golden Sheik. Callis explained that just as Omega’s Uncle used to take care of him, Callis does the same for Omega.
He talked about the history of their early days in the business, up to Callis getting back into the industry after a 13-year hiatus. They talked about Callis being there when Omega won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, about Callis’ role in booking Chris Jericho vs Kenny Omega in the Tokyo Dome. Finally, Callis explained that he is the “Invisible Hand” behind Omega’s whole career.
What is Kenny Omega doing in Impact?
Omega was asked what he is doing in Impact. He explained that he is now something of a collector, with the AEW World Championship being the prized gem of his collection. Callis and Omega insinuated there were titles in Impact that Omega was interested in collecting.
Omega’s comments were likely heard by Impact World Champion, Rich Swann. Just before Omega’s interview segment, Swann was seen being told he could not visit the luxury bus that Omega and Callis were in because he “wasn’t on the list.”
Has Omega come to collect Rich Swann’s title?
Tony Khan Purchases Advertising Time On Impact Wrestling
Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone were both on Impact Wrestling this week as well. Khan purchased advertising space on the show and a commercial of sorts aired. The AEW President said if he wanted to, he could shut down Omega’s appearance on the show but he’s chosen not to. He continued to say that he knows Omega will be on Dynamite tomorrow and then invited Callis to come on as well. Khan and Schiavone then hyped up this week’s episode of Dynamite on TNT.
The Many Challengers To Rich Swann’s Impact World Championship
The last we saw of Rich Swann on this week’s show, he was angrily leaving the building after being denied access to Omega and Callis. While Swann likely feels disrespected by the AEW World Champion, he has plenty of challengers waiting for his title. On Saturday, Chris Bey will challenge Swann for the belt. The self-proclaimed TNA World Champion, Moose, is also waiting in the wings and has made no secret that he considers Swann’s belt secondary to his.
This week’s main event saw Swann team with his longtime friend, Willie Mack against Moose and Chris Bey. Moose and Bey were not on the same page at all, with Moose using his partner as a weapon and tossing him against their opponents.
The finish of the match came when Mack missed a frog splash and Moose delivered the Lights Out spear. Instead of going for the pin, however, Moose got in the full mount position and started delivering elbows to Mack’s head. Moose has been winning matches via referee stoppage this way as of late. Swann came to Mack’s rescue but this allowed Bey to swoop in and pin Mack for the win.
Saturday night at Final Resolution, Chris Bey has a chance to become Impact World Champion.
Dissension Between The North?
It appears there is a little dissension brewing between Ethan Page and Josh Alexander. This week’s show was opened up by Josh Alexander taking on Chris Sabin in singles competition. The finish of the match came when Alexander was in control but Page was yelling instructions from the outside. As Alexander was listening to Page, Sabin scored a pinning combination and got the 3-count for the win.
As for the Motor City Machine Guns, they are working on their path back to the tag titles now that Shelley has returned. They defeated Team XXXL last week and said the North was next.
Eddie Edwards Gets A Measure Of Revenge On Sami Callihan
The feud between Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan has been reignited. Callihan recently tried to recreate the infamous baseball bat incident from a few years ago and busted Edwards wide open. With Edwards out of the picture, Alisha Edwards ditched her tag team with Tenille Dashwood to focus on getting revenge. Alisha attacked Sami last week and confronted him this week.
Callihan cut a promo about being the Draw and the history between him and Edwards. Alisha then came out to confront him and the distraction allowed the returning Eddie Edwards to attack from behind. The attack sends Callihan scrambling away from the ring area.
Taya Valkyrie & Rosemary Advance In KO Tag Title Tournament, Eliminate Deonna Purrazzo & Kimber Lee
Knockouts champion Deonna Purrazzo and her run-in buddy, Kimber Lee, were perhaps too distracted with Su Yung in the build-up to this match. They enlisted Father James Mitchell to abduct the undead bride last week. They had stiff competition in the 1st round of the KO tag title tourney, however, when they faced two former KO champions, Taya Valkyrie and Rosemary.
Rosemary would pick up the win for her team after hitting a double-undertook sit-down slam. She and Taya will now face Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz in the semi-finals.
Cody Deaner Unable To Get Revenge On Eric Young
Eric Young and Joe Doering have been attacking everyone in Impact Wrestling as of late. This included Cody Deaner, who took special offence to it considering the history between him and Young in the business. He said he wanted to prove to Young that he isn’t a nobody and requested that Cousin Jake not interfere in their match tonight.
While Deaner fought valiantly, it wasn’t enough to defeat the former world champion. Young picked up the winning with a devastating looking piledriver.
After the match, Young and Doering continued the attack on Deaner. Cousin Jake looked to make the save, but they took him out too. Finally, Rhino would come out with a lead pipe to make the save and end the post-match attack.
Brian Myers Defeats TJP
TJP is the latest wrestler in Impact Wrestling to take issue with Myers’ attitude towards the rest of the roster. He confronted Myers last week, leading to this week’s singles match between the two. Myers pulled out the victory after delivering a spine buster followed by a lariat. That’s 4 straight wins in singles matches for Myers, having defeated Swoggle, Crazzy Steve, Fallah Bah, and now TJP.
Larry D Can Get Out of Attempted Murder Charges If He Defeats Tommy Dreamer At Final Resolution
Larry D was recently revealed as the person who shot John E Bravo. While the Team XXXL member says he was set up, Dreamer still challenged him to an Old School Rules match at Final Resolution. If Larry D wins, he will not be charged with attempted murder. If Tommy Dreamer wins, Larry D will be charged with attempted murder. When Larry D asked Dreamer how such a match stipulation could take place, Dreamer just answered that he can do whatever he wants.
Lineup For Saturday’s Final Resolution On Impact Plus
Here are the matches confirmed for Saturday’s Final Resolution event on Impact Plus:
- Impact World Championship
Rich Swann (c) vs Chris Bey - Karl Anderson vs Ethan Page
- Knockouts Championship
Deonna Purrazzo vs Rosemary - Tenille Dashwood & Kaleb vs Eddie Edwards & Alisha Edwards
- Old School Rules
(If Larry D loses he’s charged with attempted murder, if he wins, he’s not)
Larry D vs Tommy Dreamer - Eric Young vs Rhino
- X-Division Championship
Open Challenge (Defeat Rohit Challenge)
Rohit Raju (c) vs TBA - Hernandez vs Fallah Bah
- The Sea Stars vs Havok & Nevaeh
