Impact recap & reactions: W. Morrissey ruins fantasy match

Impact Wrestling (July 1, 2021) featured W. Morrissey preventing a cool match from taking place, Jordynne Grace back together with her tag partner, and Kenny Omega’s Elite standing tall over Team Dreamer.

Darn that W. Morrissey. Impact had booked the fantasy match of Eddie Edwards against Satoshi Kojima as the opener, but it never took place. Kojima was ready and waiting in the ring when Morrissey sent a message on the big screen. The 7-footer has been annoyed at all those phony friendships in the locker room. To prove his point, Morrissey jumped Edwards in the parking lot. It showed that nobody was watching Edwards’ back despite all those that claim to support him.

Unfortunately, this did not lead to Morrissey coming out to fight Kojima. Morrissey said his piece then split. Even though Morrissey’s appearance was short, it was effective in building anticipation for two separate opponents. This should surely pave the way for Morrissey’s next match, but time will tell if it is Edwards or Kojima. I wouldn’t mind seeing Morrissey versus Kojima at Slammiversary on July 17, especially if Kojima’s time in Impact is running out.

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

Josh Mathews and D’Lo Brown were on commentary.

Since Kojima’s match with Eddie Edwards did not take place, the Japanese legend was left all alone. Not for long though. Brian Myers came down to the ring with Sam Beale in tow. Myers stated that there was nothing Beale could learn from Kojima. Myers dismissed Kojima from the ring. That didn’t go over well, and Kojima attacked Myers. Beale aided his mentor for the numbers game to stomp Kojima. Jake Something ran in for the save. An impromptu tag match was made.

Satoshi Kojima & Jake Something defeated Brian Myers & Sam Beale. In the end, the match broke down. Kojima hit a DDT on Beale. Myers hit a Flatliner on Kojima. Jake speared Myers. Kojima ended up winning with a lariat to pin Beale.

Rosemary and Havok requested a Knockouts tag title shot against Fire ‘n’ Flava. Scott D’Amore said he would consider it.

Rachael Ellering defeated Tenille Dashwood. Jazz and Kaleb Konley were ringside. Ellering secured the pin by sitting down on a sunset flip attempt from Dashwood. After the match, Dashwood pounded Ellering. Dashwood and Ellering double-teamed Jazz, so Jordynne Grace ran out to clean house for the save. Ellering held out her hand, but Grace slapped it away. Grace went in for a hug instead. It appears that Grace and Ellering are back together as a team.

Chris Bey was content to be neutral in the X-Division war. Ace Austin and Rohit Raju warned Bey to mind his own business, and everything will be cool.

TJP & Fallah Bahh wrestled Rich Swann & Willie Mack to flesh out the tag team division hierarchy, but it ended in a no contest when Violent by Design beat everybody up.

Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz were annoyed that Rosemary thinks she can get a tag title shot without putting in the work to earn it. D’Amore agreed and made a match next week for Rosemary & Havok to show their stuff.

Team Dreamer had tension among each other between Sami Callihan, Chris Sabin, and Moose, but they agreed to put that aside and focus on winning against Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers.

Chris Bey defeated Petey Williams. Bey exploded for a regular cutter then a springboard cutter to win. Afterward, Ace Austin, Rohit Raju, Madman Fulton, and Shera hit the ring to tenderize Maple Leaf Muscle. Since Bey left them alone, he was allowed to exit in peace. Josh Alexander and Trey Miguel ran in to save Little Petey Pump, but the numbers advantage eventually put them down too. Bey finally decided to lend a helping hand to the babyfaces and cleaned house on the bad guys.

Earlier in the evening, Deonna Purrazzo defeated Kimber Lee via Venus de Milo double armbar in singles action on the BTI pre-show.

During the main show, cameras caught Kimber and Susan in discussion. Despite being dumped by Purrazzo, they can still remain a team to capture the tag titles. If that doesn’t work, then Kimber suggested the last resort backup plan of Su Yung. Susan didn’t know who that was.

It was later announced that Rosemary & Havok will compete against Kimber Lee & Susan next week in a #1 contender tag match.

Jake Something challenged Brian Myers to a match next week with the stipulation that the loser must admit that the winner is more professional.

Steve Maclin defeated Manny Smith. Dominating win. A spear in the tree of woe, a German suplex, and angry elbows set up Maclin’s inverted facelock sitdown driver. The story was Maclin’s rage and aggression. He was already steamrolling Smith, but then he went to a deeper level to inflict pain.

Myers accepted Jake’s challenge. Myers is doing this to show that all his teachings to Beale will pay off.

Kenny Omega & Good Brothers defeated Sami Callihan, Chris Sabin, & Moose. (Full details here.) Tension simmered between Sabin and Moose, which caused Moose to slam Sabin and bail on Team Dreamer. Captain Dreamer argued with Moose. When Moose had his back turned, Don Callis shoved Dreamer into Moose. The result was physicality from Moose to Dreamer. Sabin attacked Moose to protect Dreamer. Back in the ring, Omega hit a snap dragon suplex to Sabin and the Good Brothers closed with a Magic Killer. Omega blasted Callihan with a V-Trigger to prevent trying to break the pin.

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The main event was both entertaining and disappointing. Watching Team Dreamer explode with Don Callis’ mischievous push was very amusing. It added heat for Chris Sabin versus Moose at Slammiversary on July 17. As for seeing Sami Callihan duke it out with Kenny Omega, that part did not deliver. They barely made contact with one another. That’s okay in the big picture, since Omega and Callihan have a contract signing next week for their Slammiversary world title match.

So, Jordynne Grace is back together with Rachael Ellering. I hope that wasn’t the final payoff for Grace’s story. If so, then it was pretty anticlimactic for professional wrestling. It feels too easy to accept. I suspect Grace might boil over again after her next loss.

Maclin’s aggression has my interest. There are only two more TV episodes before Slammiversary. If he is going to be on the card, then a story better start brewing. Most of the roster is occupied in other business, so no obvious candidates jump out to be Maclin’s first victory of value. I guess Crazzy Steve could be the sacrifice?

Jake Something’s stipulation for Brian Myers is one of the lamest stipulations I’ve heard. It’s not anywhere near the same ballpark as Judy Bagwell on a forklift, but it is still pretty lame. Credit to Jake for trying his best to sell the emotion behind the challenge in his promo. Even if Myers loses, he doesn’t have to mean what he says by calling Jake a professional. I did like Sam Beale perking up at the idea of Myers using this match as a way to prove himself as a mentor. It was as if Beale finally felt the love from Myers. That leads me to believe Beale will make sure Myers wins. And then we can have a Sam Beale on a forklift stipulation at Slammiversary.

Speaking of facial expressions, Tasha Steelz takes the cake trying to follow Scott D’Amore’s logic. The shiftiness in her eyes is pure gold.

That gesture is what set Fire ‘n’ Flava apart from the rest as something special. It would be easy to just stand there, but Fire ‘n’ Flava go the extra mile adding little touches to enhance the scene.

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

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