Impact recap & reactions: W. Morrissey blames the fans for turning their backs on him

Impact Wrestling (May 6, 2021) featured W. Morrissey blaming fans for turning their back, qualifier matches for Kenny Omega’s next challenger, and Moose crossing the line with violence.

W. Morrissey (fka Big Cass) followed a surprise debut in Impact with a promo explaining that he is a bad man in an industry full of bad people. Morrissey was back on Impact Wrestling to point the finger at the fans for turning their backs on him.

Morrissey: You may recognize this face, but you do not know the man. You associate this face with a goofy, fun-loving guy, one-half of a catchphrase. But behind what you saw on screen, if you knew what to look for in my eyes, you would see somebody in agony.

I don’t blame any of the fans for the agony I was in. But what I do blame them for is the second I buckled under the pressure, you turned your backs on me. If I wasn’t there to entertain you, I wasn’t worth your time. You were the first to criticize. You were the first to say he’s was done.

And it isn’t just you the fans. It’s every single member of this rotten industry. Every friend I thought I had in this business turned out to be nothing but a fraud, a fake, a phony.

So, it was entirely up to me to rebuild myself after I was shattered into pieces, and I did it. I rose from the ashes. I promised to be bigger and better than I’ve ever been, and I did it entirely on my own. So, now I’m here to make every one of you feel the agony that I once felt. And Willie Mack, at Under Siege, that starts with you.

This is an interesting blurring of the lines by Morrissey. Badmouthing fans is always good for quick heat, however, he’s not necessarily wrong in his assessment either. I’m curious if Morrissey will end up developing as a cult favorite tweener. I’ve enjoyed his brief comeback so far and look forward to seeing him rise up the ranks. That said, I am still rooting for Mack in their match at Under Siege on May 15.

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

Matt Striker and D’Lo Brown were on commentary.

Qualifier: Chris Sabin defeated Rhino. James Storm and Violent by Design were ringside. Rhino charged for a Gore, but Sabin rolled under then trapped Rhino in a magistral cradle to win. Sabin qualified for the #1 contender six-way at Under Siege on May 15.

Brian Myers flipped chairs in anger about losing to Matt Cardona last week. He was going to flip a table, but Rosemary was sitting on it with soothsayer cards. Myers wasn’t interested in her story, so Black Taurus headbutt Myers.

The Good Brothers need to get back on track with wins, so Kenny Omega decided to join them ringside as coach for Luke Gallows versus Juice Robinson. Omega’s planned to pull from his experience coaching high school girls basketball.

Taylor Wilde defeated Susan. Kimber Lee was ringside, so Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb Konley came down to support Wilde. When Lee tried to get involved, Konley put her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Dashwood used the distraction to hit Susan with a neckbreaker in the ropes. Wilde won with a bridging German suplex. Wilde likely would have won anyway, and she wasn’t interested in palling with Dashwood.

Deonna Purrazzo brushed off the idea that she is avoiding Wilde. Rosemary interrupted to call Purrazzo a coward. The champ turned to leave but was blocked by Havoc. Purrazzo proposed Rosemary versus Havoc to become #1 contender. She exited to bring that idea to EVP Scott D’Amore.

Qualifier: Trey Miguel defeated Rohit Raju. Shera was ringside. Trey took a bunch of offense from Rohit then kipped up for a suplex and Hour Glass submission to win. Trey qualified for the #1 contender six-way at Under Siege.

After the match, Jake Something came out for payback by clobbering Rohit and Shera.

Alisha Edwards lost her money at Swinger’s Palace casino. She would do anything to avoid being kicked out. Swinger had an idea. Also, the #1 contender cast gabbed about who will win. Chris Bey tried to get in the heads of James Storm and Chris Sabin by pitting them against each other. It didn’t work, however, it did lead to Storm saying he could beat Moose without Sabin by his side. Storm requested Sabin stay in the casino during his match.

Luke Gallows defeated Juice Robinson. Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson, Don Callis, and David Finlay were ringside. When Robinson had momentum, Anderson and Omega provided distractions on the apron. Gallows recovered to land a big boot and two-handed sitdown chokeslam for victory.

After the match, the Elite put the boots to FinJuice. Eddie Edwards ran in for the save, but he was stomped too.

Purrazzo was on her way out of the building without meeting with D’Amore when the boss man caught her. He heard her idea earlier in the show and loved it. D’Amore booked Rosemary versus Havok in a #1 contender bout to the chagrin of the champ.

El Phantasmo defeated VSK. El Phantasmo came from NJPW to debut in Impact. He was billed as a Bullet Club member. Lots of sizzle in the match. Phantasmo won with a superkick. Matt Striker mentioned rumors that he sues a loaded boot. Phantasmo’s explanation is that he strengthened his foot by kicking trees in Canada.

Rachael Ellering defeated Kiera Hogan. Jordynne Grace and Tasha Steelz were ringside. Ellering escaped a swinging fisherman’s neckbreaker. The two did the dance of ducking clothesline and strikes. Ellering came out on top by snatching Kiera for a spinning side slam.

Callis tried to sweet talk Moose, but it wasn’t working.

Fire ‘n’ Flava were perturbed by Kiera’s lose. The tag champs rolled up to trash talk. Kiera responded by calling Grace a non-factor. They gave all credit to Ellering for Grace winning tag gold. That led to Grace versus Steelz next week.

Qualifier: Moose defeated James Storm. Physical bout with Moose focusing on Storm’s knee. Storm rallied with a Codebreaker and tornado DDT. Moose went back to the leg. Storm was able to hit a superkick, but he was too damaged to make the pin. Moose eventually recovered to hit a spear for victory. Moose qualified for the #1 contender six-way at Under Siege.

After the match, Moose used a chair to stomp Storm’s knee. Sabin ran out to chase Moose away. Commentary planted the seed that it wouldn’t have happened if Sabin had been ringside.

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This episode was a combination of meaningful matches and treading water. All the qualifying bouts had exciting action. In my opinion, El Phantasmo versus VSK was the match of the night. I’m surprised they allowed VSK the opportunity to shine so much in Phantasmo’s debut. It was a performance that makes me want to see both men return to the Impact Zone post haste. On the other side, there was paint-by-numbers tag partner versus tag partner singles fillers in the Knockouts division and with the Good Brothers and FinJuice. Even though matches are fine, the setup isn’t hooking my interest.

Taylor Wilde has been extremely impressive in her return. She wrestles with fire, energy, nimbleness, and flash. It doesn’t look like she lost a step at all after being gone for so long. I’m really looking forward to seeing Wilde challenge Deonna Purrazzo for the Knockouts Championship. The side story with Tenille Dashwood is a tasty appetizer to tide us over until the main course. So far, Dashwood has been very helpful despite Wilde’s protests. In my view, a gesture of gratitude is owed by Wilde.

One thing in particular that didn’t sit well with me was the storytelling with Trey Miguel. It was quite shabby, both in the ring and out. He ate a bunch of Rohit’s heavy moves only to spring back for the win like nothing happened. In the casino, it was as if he was a completely different person than the man who was having passion issues with Sami Callihan. It felt like Trey reverted back to his Rascalz persona, which made that Callihan story pointless.

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

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