Impact Wrestling Rebellion, Night 2 recap: Moose wins TNA Heavyweight Championship

Impact Wrestling continued with Night 2 of their empty arena Rebellion event. Rosemary and Havok went to war in Full Metal Mayhem, Michael Elgin believed he would be crowned new Impact World Champion, and Moose won the TNA Heavyweight Championship in a slobberknocker.

The headline from Night 2 of Rebellion is Moose winning gold. You might be confused why the TNA Heavyweight Championship is involved. I am too. Not that the story was complicated to comprehend, just that I’m left with many questions about the legitimacy of Moose claiming the TNA belt.

The set-up began with the idea that Tessa Blanchard was supposed to defend the Impact World Championship in a three-way against Eddie Edwards and Michael Elgin. That original Rebellion main event was sidelined due to the coronavirus pandemic. Neither Tessa nor Eddie were present for the show. Tessa was stranded in Mexico, while Eddie preferred to stay home with his family. Despite those two not being available, Elgin claimed he would still become the champ at Rebellion.

During Night 2, Tessa Blanchard was interviewed by Josh Mathews. Elgin’s claims were brought up about him leaving Rebellion as Impact World Champion. Tessa would love to shut him up. Unless Elgin plans on coming to Mexico, then he won’t be champ. To be the man, you have to beat the man, even if that man is a woman.

When it was time for the main event, Elgin came out in his ring gear with a mic. Rebellion holds a special place in his heart. That’s the event where he debuted in Impact in 2019. With no Tessa and no Eddie, the only fitting thing to do was to force the referee to raise his hand as ring announcer David Penzer declared him new Impact World Champion.

Lights out. Lights on, and Moose was atop the entrance ramp wearing the TNA Heavyweight Championship. He understood Elgin’s pain of working his ass off and not having any opponents. Moose has been busy beating up TNA veterans, so he proclaimed himself the TNA champ. That led to a match being arranged between Moose and Elgin.

Hold up. That’s not everyone. Hernandez appeared as a TNA star and added himself to make it a three-way.

The main event for Night 2 of Rebellion was now Elgin vs Moose vs Hernandez with the TNA belt as the prize. This fight was a darn good slobberknocker. Much more exciting than it had any right being. The action remained strong through two commercial breaks.

The first cool move was a superplex by Moose to Hernandez then Elgin flying in with a twisting senton onto Moose.

Moose also channeled the Ultimate Warrior for running shoulder tackles and a running splash.

Elgin powered up for a double German suplex.

The closing sequence began when Elgin pounded Hernandez with a buckle bomb then sitdown powerbomb. Moose pulled the referee out of the ring before the three count. Elgin shoved the referee down in anger. Hernandez came flying over the top rope to smash Elgin and the backup referee. Back in the ring, Moose speared Hernandez to win.

For a main event that was slapped together, it turned out to be lots of fun. The path to this match was kind of a joke, but it worked out in the end when those three big men laid heavy lumber on each other. Elgin shined once again, even though, he was not victorious. It is time Elgin gets credit to be in the conversation of best professional wrestler today. I’ll admit that I’m partial to the strong man, since his moveset is right up my alley. His elbow strikes are absolutely vicious.

Now that Moose won, it brings up many questions. Is Impact going to recognize Moose as TNA Heavyweight Champion? Will it become a prop belt? Or will it disappear by next week? Elgin didn’t take the pin, but he did lose. Does that mean Moose gets next crack at Tessa Blanchard for the Impact World Championship? How will Elgin dish out his revenge?

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Let’s blitz through the rest of the results from the show.

The intro monologue for Night 2 of Rebellion was about inventing yourself then reinventing yourself. It had a grumbly voice reminding me of Gollum from The Lord of the Rings movies.

Josh Mathews and Madison Rayne welcomed us from their commentary position.

Chris Bey defeated Suicide, Rohit Raju, and Trey Miguel in a four-way. Top move was Suicide holding up Trey in a vertical suplex position as Bey flew in with a flying crossbody to make it a combo move. The finishing sequence began with a 619 from Trey to Suicide. Trey followed up with diving knees to Suicide. Rohit tossed Trey out of the ring, so he could steal the pin on Suicide. Bey kicked an unsuspecting Rohit then covered him for the win.

Joey Ryan defeated Jake Deaner. Ryan wants to cancel the Deaners over their toxic masculinity. In the end, Ryan hit a superkick, but Deaner kicked out. Ryan went for a second superkick. Deaner caught it then dumped Ryan onto the mat. Ryan reacted with a roll-up to win. Ryan used the ropes for leverage to cheat.

Rosemary was in the bar talking to Taya over the phone. It was ridiculous for Rosemary to be stuck in Full Metal Mayhem. Taya made excuses for not showing up. She was panicking about wearing sweatpants at home. Taya proposed that they celebrate Rosemary’s win with a girls’ trip to Las Vegas, so Rosemary can take advantage of sinful souls.

Havok told a story of the Demon Assassin and the Kaiju Queen. After murdering James Mitchell to save the Undead Realm, their story is not supposed to end in union and harmony. It is supposed to end in violence, chaos, and mayhem.

Full Metal Mayhem: Rosemary defeated Jessicka Havok. Rosemary offered Havok a way out. They didn’t have to fight, but she needs to win so she can go on that trip with Taya. Havok declined the offer and threw a punch. Rosemary caught Havok’s hand then stapled it as the first act of violence. This bout was a physical fight. Rosemary was more methodical in her approach, while Havok was more brute force. Weapons used were a stapler, chairs, street signs, a metal chain, a trashcan, and a lead pipe.

During the bout, a mystery person appeared off to the side.

Madison Rayne revealed it was Nevaeh and sold her as a big deal, but Rayne refused to provide details as to who the newcomer was. Nevaeh did not make her presence felt during the bout.

For the finish, Havok slammed Rosemary onto two open chairs. She began to choke Rosemary with weapons. Rosemary reached down to retrieve a lead pipe. Two whacks to the head and Havok was out cold. Rosemary pinned her to win.

Enjoy the highlights of the bout.

Willie Mack and Rich Swann were interviewed about Mack becoming the new X-Division Champion. Mack said it feels great. Swann knew Mack had everything it takes to be champ. As a former X-Division title holder, Swann welcomed Mack to the championship club. Johnny Swinger rolled by to remind Mack about a title shot. When Swinger wins, all three of them will be in the club.

The show closed with the previously discussed TNA Heavyweight Championship three-way.

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This was a pretty good show. Due to the lack of stars, it didn’t quite live up to special event status. The opening four-way got the mood cooking. Chris Bey is continuing to enhance his profile with another victory. Full Metal Mayhem provided hardcore pleasure without getting dirty. The main event segment made the best out of an unfortunate situation. The match from Michael Elgin, Moose, and Hernandez was surprisingly enjoyable for such a ridiculous scenario bringing back the TNA Heavyweight Championship.

Share your thoughts on Night 2 of Rebellion. Which was your favorite match of the evening? Did Full Metal Mayhem live up to its reputation? Was the main event segment a delight or pure tripe?

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