GFW Impact preview (Aug. 3, 2017): Time to move on from the Grand Championship?

GFW Impact returns tonight (Aug 3) with their fifth episode from their last set of tapings. As per usual, here are our five questions about Impact tonight.

1) Is it time to move on from the Grand Championship?

EC3 and Moose are in a feud that has been going on for awhile. It’s not rooted in anything except for the fact they don’t like each other. That’s fair. That’s the root of the majority of wrestling feuds. EC3 picking up a tag team win over Moose last week is what led us to tonight’s Grand Championship match between the two.

That’s all well and good. EC3 is still a top guy in Impact and Moose is an impressive athlete and has been booked well since coming in. But that gimmick title doesn’t seem to be doing any one any favors.

If you don’t recall, the Grand Championship is defended in a World of Sport style, with three rounds and judges grading each round. The only time this style is used is in the championship matches and they don’t incorporate the style into the story. There aren’t any specialists in this. They just rotate regular guys in and out.

It makes me wonder if it’s time to rechristen it as a different secondary title.

2) What’s Bruce Pritchard’s angle in this X Division story?

Weeks ago, Trevor Lee stole Sonjay Dutt’s X Division title and has been pretending to be champion himself. He’ll wrestle with the belt on and hold open challenges where he finds major jobbers to beat. He’s been entertaining in the role.

Sonjay Dutt has understandably tried to get at Lee to get his title back. What’s odd is Bruce Pritchard keeps using security to hold Sonjay back and banning him from the building.

The announcers put over the fact that it’s an odd move for the boss. And Bruce isn’t really a heel nor face authority figure. He’s kind of a dick to everyone. So maybe that’s just part of that. But it doesn’t help the story they’re trying to tell.

Trevor Lee is hosting another challenge tonight. We’ll see if Dutt if finally is able to get his hands on the faux champ or if Pritchard holds him back again.

3) What’s next for Rosemary?

Last week, the Demon Assassin was unsuccessful in her attempt to win the unified women’s title. Despite plenty of interference from KM, Rosemary will likely need to get in the back of the line when it comes to the championship. That was her rematch after losing the Knockouts title at Slammiversary.

But where does that leave Rosemary? The Impact Knockouts division isn’t incredible large. There’s Gail Kim, who will likely have a program with Sienna, though that doesn’t rule out a feud with Rosemary at one point. Then there’s Allie and Laurel Van Ness. That’s pretty much it.

There was a story prior to Slammiversary involving Allie and Rosemary’s unlikely friendship that has been forgotten as of late. Those two have had big feuds on the indie scene so that’s certainly a well they can go to.

Whatever they find, it should be substantial. Rosemary is one of the best women they have currently. The last thing that should happen is she gets lost in the fray.

4) Who’s headed to the Super X Finals?

The first round of the Super X cup is in the books. Now the next two weeks will hold the semis.

Tonight it will be Drago vs. Dezmond Xavier and that should be a barn burner. If I had to guess, I’d say Drago goes on to the finals because he’s super popular. But Xavier is the only person left representing Impact so that could be a reason he goes on.

The match next week is Taiji Ishimori vs. ACH. There are some awesome possibilities for the finals.

5) What’s the end game to the Alberto El Patron issues with LAX?

For the last five weeks, GFW champion Alberto El Patron has had major issues with Konnan and LAX. When the champ declined their offer to join them, Konnan sent LAX after his family. Last week, Patron found allies in the tag team Veterans of War.

But what’s next? How does Alberto eventually get his victory over LAX? He’s already defeated them in a gauntlet match. And they don’t have a single’s star for him to fight. While this story started out with intrigue, it feels like it’s starting to stall. Perhaps tonight will give us an idea of where this is all going.

GFW Impact airs tonight at 8 EST on Pop TV. Who’s watching?