Impact results & recap: Bullet Club racking up losses

It’s has been a tough run lately for the Bullet Club in Impact. The Good Brothers lost the tag titles to Violent by Design and failed to regain the gold. “Switchblade” Jay White was pinned for the first time in Impact by Chris Sabin, and then he lost in a three-way with Sabin and Steve Maclin when seeking payback. Most importantly, the Bullet Club as a five-man unit lost to Honor No More at Under Siege.

The Bullet Club had a chance to get back on the winning track during Impact Wrestling (May 12). Chris Bey competed against Kenny King in an Ultimate X qualifier, and White teamed with El Phantasmo to wrestle Josh Alexander and Tomohiro Ishii. Both matches resulted in defeat for the Bullet Club.

Chris Bey and Kenny King opened the show. Bullet Club members and Honor No More members were banned from ringside, however, Maria Kanellis was allowed to join commentary for the match. To no surprise, Kanellis trifled in the finish helping King prevail.

Bey had momentum after a rolling sliced bread. As he climbed the corner, Maria ran over as a distraction. That allowed King to connect on a European uppercut. King backflipped out of the corner then charged forward for a jumping kick. That set up the Royal Flush for victory.

King advances to the Ultimate X match against X-Division champ Ace Austin at Slammiversary on June 19. More wrestlers will join the mix in qualifying matches in the coming weeks.

“Switchblade” Jay White & El Phantasmo did not fare any better than Bey. They lost to Josh Alexander and Tomohiro Ishii later in the evening. Even though White didn’t take the pin, Alexander did stuff him with a C4 piledriver.

Alexander and Ishii found their groove to finish. They played ping-pong with ELP using punches and headbutts. Alexander connected on an airplane spin slam, then Ishii clobbered with a basement lariat. Ishii finished Phantasmo with a brainbuster.

Bullet Club needs to get their stuff together soon, otherwise, they will be viewed as a high-class novelty act in Impact. The Good Brothers will have their turn to right the Bullet Club ship next week against the OGK duo of Matt Taven and Mike Bennett.

In other action from Impact Wrestling:

• Knockouts Tag Team Championship: Tenille Dashwood & Madison Rayne retained against Gisele Shaw & Alisha Edwards. Alisha was close to victory after a low flatliner, but the Influence broke up the pinfall. Shaw entered the ring illegally for fighting, but she only served as a distraction to the referee. That allowed Dashwood to clobber Edwards from behind. Rayne rammed Edwards into Shaw, then the Influence used a double team maneuver to drive Alisha’s head into the mat for victory. Despite defeat, Shaw had the coolest moment of the match with a sliding splits to duck under a kick.

• Violent by Design will regain power and control. Joe Doering and Deaner will take back the tag team championship from the Briscoes, and Eric Young will become #1 contender for the world title.

• Gail Kim announced the first-ever Queen of the Mountain match for Slammiversary. (Full details here.) Participants include Knockouts champ Tasha Steelz, Chelsea Green, Deonna Purrazzo, Jordynne Grace, and Mia Yim. Steelz protested. When she threatened to beat up Kim, Yim entered the scene. Purrazzo bashed Yim. Taya Valkyrie and Grace ran in to even the odds and stand tall with Yim.
• The Briscoes told us that tag titles were attracted to them through the force of magnetism. The gold was stuck to Mark Briscoe’s head. Science! Violent by Design will have their rematch with Joe Doering, but Dem Boys aren’t scared of the big cowboy. The tag belts aren’t going anywhere. Watch this promo for a chuckle.

• Eric Young won the Gauntlet for the Gold. (Full details here.) The 20-man rumble was used to determine the #1 contender to challenge Josh Alexander for the Impact World Championship at Slammiversary on June 19. The final four came down to Moose, Steve Maclin, Chris Sabin, and Young. Sami Callihan made an appearance to hit Moose with a baseball bat leading to his elimination. Sabin dropkicked Maclin off the apron for an elimination. With Young and Sabin as the final two, the rules dictated pinfall or submission to crown a winner. After countering finishers, Young raked the eyes then hit a piledriver for victory.

Any time we get a free Royal Rumble match, I consider that an enjoyable episode of TV. Gauntlet for the Gold was a fun experience with an old-timer in Shark Boy, a cheeky surprise for Drama King, story material with Sami Callihan attacking Moose again, and so many strong participants to provide a sense of unpredictability all the way through. Eric Young wouldn’t have been my choice to win, but he has the ability to heat things up in a hurry. Impact has four weeks to ratchet up the intensity and anticipation, and I believe EY can get the job done.

We’ll close with an amusing exclusive clip with Shark Boy at Johnny Swinger’s sex dungeon.

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