Impact recap & reactions: Ken Shamrock has gone crazy with violence again

Impact Wrestling (Jan. 26, 2021) featured a big surprise return with Trey Miguel, more AEW crossover, and Ken Shamrock losing his mind again.

Let’s start by diving into the madness from Shamrock. His latest eruption of violence took place after his team with Sami Callihan, Moose, and Chris Bey lost to Trey, Rich Swann, Willie Mack, and Tommy Dreamer in the main event. The World’s Most Dangerous Man took out his frustration on referee Brandon Tolle. An ankle lock we shall go. Tolle screamed in pain.

After Impact went off the air, Shamrock continued his rampage. Callihan had been acting as Shamrock’s handler in getting his violent streak back. When Shamrock reapplied the ankle lock to Tolle, Callihan slapped Shamrock to let go.

Shamrock responded with a punch to the kisser. Callihan decided this lunatic wasn’t his problem anymore. Another ankle lock to Tolle. Security chumps ran into the ring one-by-one for Shamrock to slam, suplex, and knockout. Shamrock yelled in rage.

Whatever caused Shamrock’s blood to boil, the good news is that he has calmed down. I feared he might be roaming the streets like the Incredible Hulk with a path of destruction behind him. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. Shamrock spent the afternoon playing with his puppy.

Perhaps all Shamrock needed was a Snickers.

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Let’s run through the rest of the show down from beginning to end.

Matt Striker and D’Lo Brown were on commentary.

Rich Swann opened the show by calling Tommy Dreamer to the ring. Swann wanted to thank Dreamer for all he has done for the business, so he offered Dreamer a title fight on his 50th birthday for February 13 at No Surrender. Sami Callihan, Chris Bey, and Moose all came out to protest. Fisticuffs ensued. Willie Mack evened the odds. Ken Shamrock came in from behind to destroy all the good guys.

Swann, Dreamer, and Mack chatted with Scott D’Amore to request a match against Callihan, Bey, Moose, and Shamrock in the main event. D’Amore had a fourth member for their team already sitting in his office. The babyface crew was happy with who they saw as the mystery man.

Matt Cardona & Josh Alexander defeated Ace Austin & Madman Fulton. The bout broke down in the end. Alexander connected on a ripcord elbow to Fulton. Cardona charged at Austin, then Austin inadvertently tossed Cardona into the air to hit Fulton with a leg lariat to win.

Rohit Raju was speaking to a mystery man of his own about assisting him next week against TJP. If Rohit can win, then he will surely get an X-Division title shot.

Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone returned for another AEW paid commercial. Khan views Impact as his own personal fantasy league. He already has #1 tag team contenders in Private Party.

Matt Cardona greeted Brian Myers, but Myers was annoyed at Josh Alexander choosing his Jannetty over him.

Brian Myers defeated Eddie Edwards. Myers was in control and charged for his finishing clothesline, but Edwards thumbed Myers in the eye and bit his forehead. The referee disqualified Edwards. The announcers were bewildered by Edwards’ uncharacteristic behavior.

Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz were concerned about their Fire ‘n’ Flava Fest being a dud. Ticket sales were low. Johnny Swinger walked by with ladies. That gave Kiera an idea.

Matt Hardy wants Private Party to become tag champs in Impact and AEW. That means more money in everyone’s pocket. He offered a bounty bonus to inspire them to win the belts.

Rosemary defeated Tenille Dashwood. Crazzy Steve and Kaleb Konley were ringside. Tenille was aggressive and used cheating tactics with help from Kaleb. Rosemary fought back to win with a butterfly buttbuster.

Larry D was out of jail and very angry. Rosemary and Steve walked by. Rosemary mouthed off, Steve stepped up, and Larry knocked Steve out with a right hand. Larry and Acey Romero backed away from Rosemary, since they didn’t want to hit a woman.

Kiera and Tasha invited Johnny Swinger and his girls to the party. John E. Bravo also was given a ticket. They stopped short of inviting Fallah Bahh. He was out of money to buy a ticket.

Deonna Purrazzo was pleased with her victory over Taya Valkyrie. Kimber Lee and Susan were pleased with their win over Jordynne Grace and Jazz. Grace and Jazz entered with a rebuttal. That led to Grace accepting a match against Susan.

Fire ‘n’ Flava Fest. The celebration was whack. The catered meal was white bread and a slice of yellow cheese. Nevaeh and Havok crashed the party to get physical.

Chris Sabin and James Storm shared a beer. They plan to stick together as a team to go after Matt Hardy, Private Party, the Good Brothers, and the Impact tag titles. Storm and Sabin switched to shots of whiskey to celebrate the arrangement.

Referee Brandon Tolle wanted his money back from the garbage Fire ‘n’ Flava Fest. Request denied.

Joe Doering defeated Cousin Jake. Doering powerfully pummeled Jake. He won with a DVD into a clothesline.

Violent by Design put the boots to Jake. Doering was going to break Jake’s ankle with a chair, but Young stopped him. EY dropped one of their towels on Jake’s chest. It appeared to be a symbolic gesture of recruitment.

The mystery partner for the main event turned out to be Trey Miguel.

Rich Swann, Willie Mack, Tommy Dreamer, & Trey Miguel defeated Sami Callihan, Ken Shamrock, Moose, & Chris Bey. Trey paid dividends for his squad by countering a piledriver from Callihan into a hurricanrana pin to win.

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This episode of Impact Wrestling was filled with plenty of intrigue. The surprise of Trey Miguel was cool. Eric Young’s crew, Eddie Edwards, Larry D, and Ken Shamrock all have pending stories to explore their rage. I’m not sure where each tale is heading. Edwards is the most confusing one for me. I hope Impact doesn’t turn him into a bad guy. He did well carrying the ball for Impact in a pinch last year, and I thought he deserved to keep the top belt for longer.

My favorite move of the evening was Joe Doering’s finisher. That was a dope 1-2 combination with the DVD into clothesline while still holding his opponent’s arm. Doering is growing on me as a beast in the ring.

We’ll close with an update from Taya in prison.

Share your thoughts on Impact Wrestling. What was your favorite match? Who stole the show?

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