Impact Wrestling preview (Apr. 12, 2018): Alberto Aftermath

Impact Wrestling returns tonight (Apr. 12) from the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida. It is the eleventh episode from their last set of tapings.

Here’s what’s advertised for tonight:

• The fallout from the Alberto El Patron situation
• Taya Valkyrie vs. Rosemary in a Demon’s Dance
• Moose vs. Sami Callihan
• Josh Mathews vs. Petey Williams
• Fallah Bahh, Richard Justice, & Tyrus vs. KM, Trevor Lee, & Caleb Konley

And as per usual, here are our five questions about Impact tonight:

1) What’s the plan for dealing with the Alberto afermath?

Alberto really seems to ruin everything, doesn’t he?

Last summer, they suspended him in the middle of a taping where he was the champion due to the airport incident with Paige. While that taping wasn’t leading to a pay-per-view (PPV), they were building a match with him and Low-Ki that was supposed to take place on a live special. That didn’t happen.

Now, they’re building a PPV, the first live special since his return, and he went and ruined that too. If you don’t know, he no-showed the Impact vs. Lucha Underground show and they released him.

Problem is, he and Austin Aries were supposed to be the main event of their Redemption PPV.

Now, with two episodes prior to the show, they have to hit the breaks on that build and somehow work towards the replacement match of Aries vs. Pentagon Jr. vs. Fenix for the Impact world title.

This means all the build for the top match won’t be in front of an audience. Everything they’ve filmed in front of an audience was building to the Patron match. So the world title picture won’t get representation in front of a crowd for the better part of weeks. That’s definitely not ideal.

Tonight, they’ll try to capitalize on the buzz this created. Perhaps show Aries cutting a worked shoot promo on Alberto. They’ve advertised that they’re “addressing the controversy” so we’ll see. But whatever it is, it will have to be filmed in studio.

2) Is this the payoff match for Rosemary vs. Taya?

Rosemary and Taya fnd themselves in a Demon’s Dance tonight. That’s no rules and the match must end in pinfall or submission.

It sure feels like a final match. But with the PPV only two weeks away, it felt like this was going to find itself on the card.

It’s possible they figure a way to not end this match, but that’s much tougher when it’s a pinfall/submission only bit. So it’s entirely possible that this feud won’t be represented at Redemption. That’d be odd because I’d be surprised if Taya and Rosemary aren’t on the card.

3) How often will Josh Mathews wrestle?

Josh Mathews challenged Petey Williams for a match this week because he blames Petey Williams for Matt Sydal losing his Grand Championship.

Mathews has wrestled in Impact once prior, but he also still calls the action. Given he’s more and more active in the storylines, perhaps they transition him away from commentary. If that’s the case, he could act as a full time wrestler or serve as a heel manager. (I believe the latter would be the best with him.)

Petey Williams can still go in the ring, so we’ll see how Josh keeps up with the man who’s challenging for the X Division title in two weeks.

4) Where does Moose go from here?

Moose took a hit last week when he lost his world title Feast or Fired case to Eli Drake due to Sami Callihan’s interference.

He will face Sami tonight to try to earn a measure of revenge, but that’s all part of Eddie Edwards’s story with Callihan. Where does Moose go from here?

He went from almost guaranteed a world title win to nothing. That’s a tough pill to swallow. Perhaps he will somehow earn a case back from Drake. But otherwise, he’ll have to find something else to do.

5) Are these alliances in the six man tag a short term thing?

This six man tag between Fallah Bahh, Tyrus, and Richard Justice against KM and the Cult of Lee are a bit random. On the face side, they have the connection of being shamed for their weight. On the heel side, the addition to the Cult of Lee was random since “bully” was never really their shtick as much as “doofus.”

However, these six aren’t doing anything currently so maybe they stick together for a bit longer. Perhaps Bahh and Tyrus remain a team to face the Cult of Lee.

Tonight may give us an indication of the longer plan with these guys.

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