Welcome to another edition of POINTS OF IMPACT—a breakdown of the top moments of this week's edition of Impact Wrestling.
This segment will fill you in on the most important parts of the show worth checking out or keeping up to date with, in case you missed this episode of Impact Wrestling.
Without further ado, let's inspect the biggest takeaways of the week!
IMPACT WRESTLING: FEBRUARY 16, RESULTS
#5 - Road to 50 Remains Untravelled
Johnny Swinger’s Road to 50 took an amusing turn this week. Swinger has yet to make a dent in the challenge, which stipulates that when he gets 50 wins, Impact management will grant him a World Championship match. This week, Swinger’s opponent was…
…Barry Horowitz.
Yes, that’s right, Barry Horowitz. The acclaimed jobber, at 63 years of age, stepped into an Impact Wrestling ring to face Johnny Swinger, and actually emerged victorious. After a standard comedy style match, Swinger’s sworn enemy the Demon would distract Johnny Swinger long enough to allow the perennial enhancement talent to get the W via a roll-up.
It was cheesy, incredibly so, but it didn’t outstay its welcome. A fun way to fill time.
#4 - Qualifiers Conclude
Speaking of upset victories and distractions, the two remaining spots in the 4-man Number One Contender’s match at No Surrender were filled this week. Steve Maclin picked up the win against Rhino after hitting the War Machine with his tag partner Heath’s finisher the Wake Up Call, and later in the evening, Heath himself would advance to No Surrender, after a PCO-based distraction left Eddie Edwards vulnerable long enough for Heath to hit the Wake Up Call and get the win.
After the match, PCO and Edwards would brawl, with PCO emerging victorious, but Edwards exiting the ring soon enough to avoid a PCOsault. As commentary said, the past of Eddie Edwards continues to haunt him, even when he’s in world title contention.
#3 - Promos and Squashes
It was a lighter load for the Knockouts division this week, but the women still had segments worth paying attention to. A pre-taped promo featuring James Mitchell and the Hex addressed the Hex’s past in Impact, and also came with the news of Allysin Kay (formerly Sienna) facing Taya Valkyrie next week, and the confirmation of a Knockouts Tag Championship match at No Surrender.
The other notable women’s segment of the evening saw Mickie James join commentary, to watch as her No Surrender opponent Masha Slamovich took on Alisha. As any regular Impact viewer might come to expect from an Alisha match, this was a squash, with Slamovich winning via a Snow Plow. After the match, Slamovich would lock a Rear Naked Choke onto Alisha, which James broke up, only to end up in the Choke herself.
Impact hasn’t forgotten the Mickie tapping out at Hard to Kill thread, and this writer is glad of it. Giving Slamovich that edge, in using the choke, shows her to be a smart competitor, and convincingly puts James in danger. Their match at No Surrender is almost certainly guaranteed to be a hit.
#2 - Finesse Time
Impact kicked things off with a great preview of things to come at the PPV, as Bullet Club’s Chris Bey, accompanied by Ace Austin, took on Kushida, accompanied by the Motor City Machine Guns.
The chemistry shown between the Ultimate Finesser and the Timesplitter in tag matches definitely carried over to singles action, with the two men working an excellent paced, back and forth affair. Kushida worked over the left arm of Bey (we learnt from commentary that Bey is predominantly left-handed) and Bey used his youth and agility to stay in the match and land big offense.
The veteran guile of Kushida was the deciding factor however, as his limb work paid off, scoring the win with a Hammerlock roll-up.
(Ease up on the roll-ups, Impact.)
#1 - A Main Event Fit for a King
If this writer is honest, I’ve never been too interested in Kenny King’s work. He’s athletic, he’s a great heel, a solid hand in any company he’s in, those are things I will admit about King as a worker. But I’ve never really came away from a King match impressed by it because of what King offered.
Until this week.
King put on a great performance in the night’s main event, taking on Rich Swann after the two exchanged words backstage previously. Swann was on excellent form as ever, selling his ass off, springing around the ring, a defiant babyface. But a babyface needs a great heel to go up against, and King more than filled the role.
He matched Swann in athleticism, speed and resilience, and has, in my opinion, one of the better Tiger Drivers in the industry at present time. It would not be a victorious night for King, his Royal Flush being countered into a pin to give Swann momentum going into No Surrender, but he earned at least one new fan in this writer with his performance.
King would attack Swann after the match, only for Impact World Champion Josh Alexander to make the save. Swann would attempt a kick to King, only for King to duck out of the way, letting the boot of Swann connect with the jaw of Alexander, rocking the champion and adding tension between the two men before their match at the PPV.
It wasn’t the best episode of Impact I’ve seen, but it more than entertained me. Good stuff.
What did you think of this week's episode of Impact Wrestling?
Do you think any other moments stood out on this show?
Drop your thoughts in the comments below!
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