Impact recap & reactions: Gallows & Doering in awesome hoss fight

Impact Wrestling (Aug. 19, 2021) featured Christian returning to the Impact Zone after nine years, Melina entering the Forbidden Door for in-ring action, and Luke Gallows battling Joe Doering in an epic hoss fight on the go-home to Emergence.

Luke Gallows and Joe Doering were given the main event slot, and they tore the house down in a hoss fight supreme. It may up end on the short list for Hoss Fight of the Year candidates across all promotions.

The action kicked off with the big men throwing heavy blows in a stalemate. Doering clotheslined Gallows out of the ring, but Gallows dragged Doering under the ropes onto the floor to brawl around the ringside area. Back in the ring, the hoss fight resumed with hammering hits. Doering showed his impressive strength on a delayed vertical suplex to Gallows.

The match progressed with more slobberknocking. The action carried up to the stage. Gallows exploded for a sitdown double-handed chokeslam. Both beasts crashed through the stage.

You would think that would be a fitting end for a draw. Well, think again, my friend. After medical personnel assessed the situation, Gallows exited out of the hole first. He was too weary to stand. That didn’t stop the Big LG from crawling back to the ring as a statement of heart. Once Doering was revived, he followed in a slow walk. The referee used discretion not to do a count-out, because everybody wanted to see a winner.

Both men were back in the ring standing upright for the climax. Doering charged into a big boot. Gallows went high-risk for a flying attack, but Doering clotheslined him out of the air. Doering fell on top for the winning pin in the war of attrition.

Fantastic fight from both men. This clash went above and beyond the average hoss fight to deliver the goods. The drama of crawling back to the ring for a final showdown is the kind of thing that makes fans latch onto an emotional connection with Gallows and Doering. It was 100% badass. I also appreciate how Karl Anderson and Violent by Design were ringside, but Impact went for the straight-up match with no interference. It was all about the hosses unleashing their hoss appeal for the world to enjoy.

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

Matt Striker and D’Lo Brown were on commentary.

Josh Mathews and Gia Miller opened in the ring hyping Christian Cage as the new Impact World Champion. All of a sudden, W. Morrissey and Eddie Edwards burst out from backstage to brawl ringside. Sami Callihan jumped in with his bat, but Morrissey goozled him. Edwards made the save. Tension was teased when Callihan and Edwards both grabbed the bat, but they quickly refocused to eject Morrissey over the ropes. Edwards sassed Callihan about not wanting his help. Once Edwards exited, Callihan took took the mic to demand his scheduled match start the damn show.

Sami Callihan & Chris Sabin defeated Moose & Ace Austin. This was a tag team teaser to hype the four-way #1 contender bout at Emergence. Callihan was in control with a powerbomb to Ace. As he set up for a piledriver, Sabin tagged himself in to take the win via Cradle Shock driver.

Afterward, Sabin tried to justify his actions. Callihan shrugged it off to raise Sabin’s hand in victory. A second later, Callihan kicked Sabin in the gut then put him down with a piledriver to stand tall.

Highlight recap of Good Brothers beating Jon Moxley & Yuji Nagata at the NJPW Resurgence PPV. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows hit a Magic Killer to Moxley onto a chair then finished Nagata in the ring with a Magic Killer to win. The Bullet Club tag team Guerrillas of Destiny entered the ring for a heated staredown, but the Good Brothers slipped out without engaging in a physical altercation.

The Good Brothers were pleased at beating up Moxley. As for the GOD, it isn’t worth it for them to start that beef. Gallows hyped his hoss fight versus Joe Doering in anticipation of their tag title defense against Violent by Design and Rich Swann & Willie Mack at Emergence.

Callihan sarcastically spoke about becoming best friends with Sabin as teammates. Once Sabin poked the Death Machine, it became fair game for his post-match piledriver. Callihan took credit for Christian’s title win, since he was the one to wear down Kenny Omega. Edwards interrupted to clarify that he is not friends with Callihan. Eddie doesn’t want any help from him. Callihan ta-ta’d his way out of the scene.

Matt Cardona defeated Shera. Chelsea Green and Rohit Raju were ringside. In a pivotal moment of momentum for Cardona, Rohit hopped onto the apron as a distraction. Green yanked Rohit down and slapped him across the face. Cardona finished with a flying leg lariat.

Madison Rayne returned to host Locker Room Talk with Johnny Swinger as co-host. Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb Konley were guests. Rayne referred to herself in the third person when asking why Dashwood aligned with her. It was all about finding the perfect partner to go after the Knockout tag titles. As influencers, their name will be The Influence. The ladies also talked Konley into standing up for himself toward Scott D’Amore. Rayne revealed she will have a singles match against Taylor Wilde at Emergence.

Josh Alexander intends to be the face of the company as X-Division Champion. Kenny Omega did not treat Impact as a priority. Christian is a legend, but that doesn’t mean he will carry the Impact banner into the future. Jake Something entered the scene for trash-talk before challenging Alexander at Emergence. Since Alexander wasn’t worried, Jake wanted to give him a reason to pay attention. Jake walked away to find D’Amore, who was arguing with Konley. Jake wanted a match, but D’Amore lamented that Impact doesn’t have catering full of wrestlers waiting around. (Shots fired at WWE!) After Konley incidentally stated that he is medically cleared, D’Amore booked Jake versus Konley in no DQ.

Christian returned to Impact for the first time in nine years. (Full details.) He was proud to bring the Impact World Championship back to where it belongs. Christian wanted to put the past behind him, so he retired the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Brian Myers came out to hype the title defense at Emergence. He tried to engage in tricky fisticuffs, but Christian saw it coming. Myers backed out.

Melina and Trey Miguel gabbed about the Treehouse and the splits.

Highlights were aired of Deonna Purrazzo winning the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship from Faby Apache at Triplemania XXIX.

Melina defeated Brandi Lauren. (Full details.) Melina used a Muta Lock variation for the submission win.

Afterward, Purrazzo jumped Melina. The Drama King entered to give Purrazzo’s the numbers advantage. Trey Miguel ran in for the save. It was later announced that there would be a mixed tag bout between Melina & Trey and Purrazzo & Drama King at Emergence.

John Skylar brushed off the idea that his victory over Matt Cardona was an upset. He’s not shocked at being the better man. The distraction from Rohit Raju didn’t matter in the end. Skylar was still the one who did the work to win. The cameras cut over to Juice Robinson on the floor in pain with David Finlay yelling for help. It looked like someone clipped Juice’s knee.

Jordynne Grace won a powerlifting competition breaking records. She was supported by her husband, Jonathan Gresham, and her friend, Rachael Ellering. Grace will be participating for the national title in November.

No DQ: Jake Something defeated Kaleb Konley. Domination. After a huge sitdown powerbomb from Jake, he speared Konley through a table. Alexander came out afterward for a staredown.

Su Yung held the blue locks of Kiera Hogan’s hair. Kimber Lee hoped Su was pleased. That was the first soul collected, but it won’t be the last.

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The go-home episode for Emergence did its job setting up matches to fill out the card and hyping the big draws. Christian’s return to the Impact Zone was effective as a feel-good moment that wrapped up the TNA title storyline and put the focus on the future. And that main event, whew wee, was hossilicious. Gallows and Doering went to war. That’s a rematch I would pay to see.

It’s amusing how all of Impact treats Sami Callihan like dirt. He’s more than earned that reaction. It is nice to see consistency in wrestling characters, instead of having everyone easily forget about Callihan’s numerous misdeeds to accept him as a babyface. I’m not saying Callihan is a face, but it seems like Impact is tweaking his alignment to tweener psychopath Death Machine who gets cheered.

The Forbidden Door was in full effect with promotion and highlights. It was neat to see packages showcasing NJPW Resurgence and AAA Triplemania XXIX, along with commercials for NWA Empowerrr and NWA 73. I would be remiss not to point out that Impact painted a false narrative for the Purrazzo highlights in AAA. They completely ignored crooked referee Hijo del Tirantes’ blatant cheating to assist Purrazzo. The story Impact told was like seeing a totally different match than what actually happened.

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

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