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: NOVEMBER 9, 2023 RESULTS
#5 - Fork You!
Crazzy Steve cashed in his Feast Or Fired briefcase this week, challenging Tommy Dreamer for the Digital Media Championship. The two had a match that could best be described as walk-and-brawl, but to say it was boring would be, in my opinion at least, incorrect. Steve's portrayal of this new instability of his is conveyed excellently by his in-ring style, clubbing blows, vicious clawing, etc. And Dreamer, at this point in his career, isn't the master of playing the underdog he once was, but he more than rises to the task here.
The match's finish centred around Steve's recent weapon of choice, the fork. After various unsuccessful attempts at using it on Dreamer, Dreamer would, apparently pushed too far by his former friend, turn Steve's weapon on him, losing by DQ, but keeping the Digital Media. A crazed Dreamer would look on as a laughing, blood-covered Steve staggered up the ramp. I'd bet on this feud not being over yet.
#4 - Adam's B**ch
Old rivals would do battle once more this week, as in the fallout of the Call Your Shot Gauntlet at Bound For Glory, Joe Hendry and Brian Myers faced each other in singles action. Hendry, fresh off of winning the Glasgow Cup, and defeating Simon Miller, cut a promo about how it wasn't only Impact that was rebranding, it was Myers too. According to Hendry, Myers was rebranding from Edge's B**ch to Adam's B**ch.
The match itself was what you'd expect from the two, Myers playing the crafty veteran heel, Hendry the self-absorbed yet loveable powerhouse, who, in a particularly impressive spot, nailed several fallaway slams in a row. It was Myers who would take the day however, attacking the eyes of Hendry out of sight of the referee, and then landing the Roster Cut Lariat to get the pin.
#3 - Ride Or Die Young
Eddie Edwards, accompanied as always by Alisha, faced off against Eric Young this week, the two having a match the kind of quality you'd expect from the two men involved. Edwards and Young have been two consistent beacons of excellence for years now, and so even in times like this when they stick to the formula, it's a load of fun to watch.
Edwards as the cautious, slightly cowardly but ruthless heel was peer tested successfully earlier this year with his feud against PCO. And with Young finally done with the Design, he's free to play a new version of the unstable babyface he's played throughout his career, only now with more emphasis on unpredictability as a threat rather than comedic moments. Alisha would attempt to interfere with a kendo stick shot, but would accidentally nail Eddie instead of EY, who took advantage and hit a beautifully-bumped-for Piledriver on Edwards to get the win.
#2 - Virtuosic Flava
In further fallout from BFG, Deonna Purrazzo and Tasha Steelz did battle this week in singles action, opening Impact with an absolute banger of a match. With the two attempting to settle beef that arose when their recently formed team fell apart at BFG, unsuccessful in their challenge for the Knockouts Tag titles against MK Ultra, this match started as friendly competition. The two grappled back and forth, showing off their mat skills, one-upping each other, before egos overpowered sportsmanship. Incensed at having Deonna lock in the Fujiwara Armbar on her, Steelz's ego took over, eye rakes and shoving following.
It was Steelz, in what felt like an upset, who won this match, nailing not one but two cutters in quick succession, defeating the Virtuosa (somewhat) clean, and continuing her singles momentum. This match is, at the time of writing, up in full on Impact's YouTube channel. Watch it. It's engaging and entertaining from start to finish.
#1 - But What About The Rules?
In the night's main event, The Foundation, Jonathan Gresham, faced off against a founding face of Impact's reputation, and arguably the modern wrestling style, Alex Shelley, for the Impact World Championship. Given a match by Shelley after ages spent complaining about the lax standards and enforcing of rules in wrestling, Gresham played the cowardly, conniving heel perfectly here, targeting the left knee of Shelley early on, including with his signature repeated mat slams, while Shelley went for Gresham's arm, weakening his submission potential, and setting up for the Border City Stretch.
Shelley's timing and experience was what pushed him forward in this match, picking his spots to inflict as much damage as possible when running on instinct just earned him more pain in his knee, and a bigger hole to climb out of. After a thrilling exchange of roll ups and grapples, and with the two men having thrown almost everything they had to give at each other, Shelley would earn the win with the ShellShock, another successful title defence for the Motor City native.
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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