Impact Turning Point recap: Rivals collide in Full Metal Mayhem

Moose and Eddie Edwards collided as rivals competing for the Impact World Championship in the main event of Turning Point (Nov. 20, 2021). It was a primitive clash known as Full Metal Mayhem. The two gladiators vented years of frustration against all hope. In the burning heart, there was an unquenchable thirst. The contest turned into a battle of wills with passion that kills. The victory alone belonged to Moose.

Right at the opening bell, the fight erupted into fisticuffs. Moose took the first major blow on a back body drop over the ropes outside through a table.

The hits kept coming. Moose powerbombed Edwards onto the entrance ramp. Edwards nailed a Death Valley Driver onto the apron. Moose powerbombed Edwards onto the apron then again through a table. The craziest moment came when Edwards connected on a sunset flip powerbomb off a tall ladder onto a separate hanging ladder.

Edwards added creativity to his next line of attack by taping a steel chain around his knee. When Moose went for a spear, Edwards caught him and delivered loaded knee strikes. A tiger driver put Moose down. As Edwards charged for the Boston Knee Party, Moose caught him and countered for a powerbomb into a ladder. Edwards bounced off into the ropes and shot back for the Boston Knee Party. 1, 2, Moose kicked out.

The next method of war was a kendo stick fight. The result was simultaneous head shots knocking both men out. W. Morrissey ran in to repay a favor from Moose. He held up Edwards for a spear. 1, 2, Matt Cardona ran down to pull the referee out of the ring before the three count could be completed. Morrissey and Cardona brawled their way backstage.

Edwards had momentum with a kendo crack to Moose’s head and a DDT. Eddie retrieved scissors to cut off the ring mat and expose the ring boards. The two men did a counter dance only for Moose to kick Edwards in the groin. Moose exploded for a uranage on the wood.

The champ waited patiently for Edwards to arise. Spear! Moose retained the world title.

Let’s jam through the rest of the results from Turning Point.

JONAH debuts. (Full details here.) The man formerly known as Bronson Reed crashed Josh Alexander’s promo and crushed his internal organs. Four jumping sentons and two flying splashes left Alexander a bloody heap.

Impact World Tag Team Championship: Good Brothers retained against Bullet Club. After Luke Gallows sent Hikuleo into the ring steps, Karl Anderson created a referee distraction for Gallows to pull Chris Bey off the ropes. Anderson seized the moment to stack on top and grab the tights on the pin.

Knockouts Championship: Mickie James retained against Mercedes Martinez. The challenger had a chance to win after a spider German suplex off the turnbuckles, but she was too slow freeing herself from the corner. That allowed James recovery time for a kickout. Martinez aimed to end it on a surfboard dragon sleeper. James escaped and hit a DDT. The champ nailed a second DDT with more force for victory.

Afterward, Deonna Purrazzo stormed the ring to attack her nemesis. She locked in an armbar then hit a piledriver to leave James in shambles on the mat. Purrazzo announced that she will have her title rematch at the Hard to Kill PPV on January 8.

X-Division Championship: Trey Miguel retained against Steve Maclin and Laredo Kid. The luchador lauched for a 450 splash, but Maclin got his knees up. Maclin capitalized with his Mayhem driver. On the cover, Trey flew in with Meteora double knees to break the pin. Trey pinned both men at the same time, but Maclin was able to raise his shoulder on the count. Laredo did not, so Trey still won. The reason that matters is the story of Maclin claiming nobody can beat him. He has lost multi-man matches, however, he never took the pin. Maclin’s case still stands despite Trey’s best efforts to shut him up.

Knockouts Tag Team Championship: The IInspiration retained against Decay. Rosemary and Havok unleashed their frightening fury, while Jessie McKay and Cassie Lee relied on tag team tactics. The IInspiration’s teamwork paid off on an assisted powerbomb to Rosemary off the apron down to the floor.

In the ring, McKay sent Havok crashing into the turnbuckles. Lee unloaded a cheap shot boot. McKay rolled up Havok. McKay’s feet were on the ropes for leverage, and Lee held on to those feet adding her weight to prevent a kickout. The referee did not catch it when making the three count.

W. Morrissey defeated Matt Cardona. The 7-footer worked his power advantage, while Cardona created space with his speed. Cardona had an early edge with a neckbreaker on the floor. The tide shifted when Morrissey caught a dropkick through the ropes to swing Cardona into the ring steps.

The conclusion contained controversy. Cardona charged for a leg lariat, but Morrissey popped him over the top into the air. Cardona stopped short from colliding with the referee. Morrissey shoved him into the official anyway. Cardona sprang back to connect on the leg lariat. He had Morrissey covered for at least a count of five, but the ref was down. Moose swooped in to spear Cardona, so Morrissey could pick up the win.

Rich Swann defeated VSK. Brian Myers was supposed to be Swann’s original opponent, but Myers was not medically cleared. The official explanation was a knee injury. Myers claimed elevated enzymes in his liver. Zicky Dice was informed that Myers had a torn scrotum.

That’s a mystery for another day. What wasn’t a mystery was Swann winning. He poured on the offense with a handspring cutter, frog splash, spinning kick, and Phoenix splash for the pin.

Eric Young & Joe Doering defeated Heath & Rhino. The match set up for Rhino to finally get his hands on Young. That he did with a belly-to-belly suplex.

Young had the last laugh on this night. As Rhino set up Doering for a piledriver, Young walloped him the head with his hockey mask for the easy cover to win.

Chris Sabin defeated Ace Austin. High-octane opener. Sabin preemptively struck with a flying dropkick to knock Madman Fulton down to the floor. As payback, Fulton tossed in Ace’s ‘I beat Chris Sabin’ t-shirt as a distraction to pull Sabin against the ropes. Ace put the shirt on for style points as he went for his Fold finisher, but Sabin countered for a Cradle Shock driver to win.

Impact Digital Media Championship: Jordynne Grace retained against Chelsea Green. Pretty good match in the pre-show with strongwoman moves from Grace and counter flurries from Green. Grace powered through in the end to escape an Unprettier setting up an electric chair hotshot into the ropes. The champ finished with a half nelson Grace driver.

FinJuice defeated Rohit Raju & Raj Singh. Decay were supposed to be the opponents of FinJuice for the pre-show opener, but commentary explained their absence as being stuck in Wrestle House. FinJuice put the pedal to the metal for the finish when they connected on a double team flapjack to Singh. David Finlay leapt for a slingshot plancha onto Rohit, then FinJuice closed with a Doomsday Device to Singh.

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Turning Point was an okay show from Impact. The action in the ring was on par with Impact’s level of wrestling, and the main event delivered several painful spots as expected for Full Metal Mayhem.

The issue is that most of the results didn’t seem to settle anything. The Good Brothers and the IInspiration cheated. That allows room for tag title rematches. Trey Miguel failed to pin Steve Maclin, so that feud carries on. W. Morrissey was aided by Moose, so he still needs to prove he is better than Matt Cardona if he wants a future world title shot from Impact management. Heath and Rhino won’t be done with Violent by Design. Due to Brian Myers’ injury, his heat with Rich Swann remains. That one isn’t a product of Impact’s booking though. None of those are a problem by themselves. When stacked up on the same show, then it lessens the impact of the event.

Impact’s next special is a fantasy throwback to their fake IPWF promotion.

That means these feuds will either be hashed out for hot TV starting Thursday or they will linger to pay off at Hard to Kill on January 8.

On the positive side, Full Metal Mayhem was the most engaging match of the evening. Even though Moose’s victory was pretty certain, the novelty of the stipulation kept me wondering what could happen next. Mickie James versus Mercedes Martinez and Jordynne Grace versus Chelsea Green rocked the ring for entertaining bouts. The IInspiration impressed with their cohesive teamwork. Jessie McKay and Cassie Lee are not physical threats in the ring, and yet they exemplify the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. The X-Division finish was a creative way to advance the feud between Trey and Maclin. It looked cool too with Trey soaring in on the Meteora.

Share your thoughts on Turning Point. Which match stole the show?

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