Impact recap: Maria Kanellis speared by husband Mike Bennett

The Bullet Club is back on track. After their losing streak continued last week, the Good Brothers righted the ship with a victory in tag team action against Matt Taven & Mike Bennett. Maria Kanellis played a role in the finish when she was speared by her husband. Oh my!

Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows had trouble early when OGK focused on isolating Anderson. A rope-running eye poke by Bennett rubbed salt in the wound.

Anderson rallied with a spinebuster to create space for the hot tag. The Big LG cleaned house. The Good Brothers set up a Magic Killer on Taven, but Bennett speared Anderson to prevent execution. The match progressed for momentum back with the Good Brothers. A double-team neckbreaker powerbomb had Bennett down on the mat. Maria Kanellis hopped up from commentary to distract the referee and prevent a three-count.

When Anderson grabbed Bennett for a Stun Gun cutter, Maria entered the ring using her feminine wiles to court Anderson’s attention. Bennett shoved Anderson into Maria. Sweet Karl stopped short. Bennett charged for a spear, but Anderson dodged the attack. Bennett collided to spear Maria by accident. After blaming each other for who was at fault, Anderson pounced for a Stun Gun to win the grudge match.

It seems Anderson finally broke the spell of infatuation to free himself from the curse of Maria. Honor No More will have to come up with new tactics if they plan to best the Good Brothers in the future. That was an important win for the Anderson and Gallows. The Briscoes don’t have a date yet for Slammiversary on June 19, so perhaps this victory can push the Good Brothers to the head of the line for a shot at Impact tag team gold.

In other action from Impact Wrestling:

• Ultimate X qualifier: “Speedball” Mike Bailey defeated Laredo Kid. Bailey connected on a standing moonsault double knee drop then delivered a precision kick to the head. Laredo countered the cover into a crucifix pin. Bailey countered with a pin of his own to trap Laredo for victory. The finish was a controversial in that Bailey and Laredo were under the ropes. The referee could have called for a break, but he missed it.

• Ace Austin offered sarcastic praise for Bailey advancing to the Ultimate X match at Slammiversary. Ace is busy writing history in Japan as the first X-Division champion to compete in the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors tournament. When Ace returns to Impact, he will teach Bailey a lesson.
• Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green are on their honeymoon in the Maldives. Cardona mocked Rich Swann for wanting a shot at the Impact Digital Media Championship. Cardona is always ready but not always available. He is too busy for Swann. Cardona advised that Swann do something to earn a title shot.

• Mia Yim, Taya Valkyrie, & Jordynne Grace defeated Tasha Steelz, Savannah Evans, & Deonna Purrazzo. (Full details.) The match broke down into chaos for the finish. Taya executed a sliding German suplex on Evans to set up Yim hitting Eat Defeat to pin Evans.
• Rosemary and Havok interrupted Locker Room Talk with Madison Rayne and Tenille Dashwood. Decay had their eye on the Knockouts tag titles. The Influence laughed it off and told Decay to earn it.

• Chris Sabin challenged Frankie Kazarian. (Full details.) They were former rivals 20 years ago, so Sabin saw this as a fitting moment to call out Kaz with the 20th anniversary looming large at Slammiversary. The match was made official for next week.
• Eric Young discussed his career arc in Impact. Whether he was given something good or bad, he ran with it. Now, he is the purest form of self heading into Slammiversary to challenge Josh Alexander for the Impact World Championship. This is a good promo package worth watching for EY fans.

• Josh Alexander doesn’t respect everything Eric Young does, but he recognizes Young’s past with Impact. If there was an MVP for Impact’s first 20 years, Young would be in the conversation. At Slammiversary, their match will kick off the next 20 years. The question is who will usher in the next era as face of the company.

• Sami Callihan isn’t that mad about Moose breaking his leg. He’s more upset about the time Moose took from him with the injury. Breaking Moose’s leg in retaliation won’t be good enough. Callihan plans to make Moose’s life a living hell. The Death Machine in coming.

• Masha Slamovich defeated Shawna Reed. Squash win via Snow Plow. Business picked up after the match. Havok entered the ring for a staredown. That hoss fight was announced for next week. Hoss!

• Raj Singh and Shera warned Bhupinder Gujjar that the target is on his back. Gujjar wanted to solve it in the ring. Singh and Shera weren’t biting. They planned to take out Gujjar, then W. Morrissey stepped in to watch Gujjar’s back. After Singh and Shera left, Gujjar said he wanted to take care of this alone. Morrissey advised that there is no shame in accepting help when somebody offers. Gujjar agreed. High five!

• Impact World Tag Team Championship: Briscoes retained against Violent by Design. (Full details.) Joe Doering and Deaner were the VBD pair. Briscoes were setting up a Doomsday Device, but Doering grabbed Mark in the corner. Deaner rolled off Jay’s shoulders for a roll-up, but Jay sat down on top for the three-count. After the main event, Eric Young attacked the Briscoes. Josh Alexander ran out to give the stink eye to Young. That distraction allowed VBD to hit Alexander from behind. The Briscoes re-entered, and the three babyfaces took care of business to clear the ring.

This was a productive episode of Impact Wrestling. A few feuds closed and others picked up. Fresh matchups also percolated for the future. Havok picking a hoss fight with Masha Slamovich and W. Morrissey helping Bhupinder Gujjar are two stories that got me excited. I love hoss fights, so Havok versus Slamovich should be right up my alley. Morrissey continued morphing into a swell fellow babyface by giving the rub of friendship to a potential rising star.

The wrestling action delivered as well. “Speedball” Mike Bailey and Laredo Kid was a high-octane affair. The women’s trios bout had fun moments. Good Brothers and OGK was a competitive duel. The main event entertained with the Briscoes keeping gold. I enjoyed seeing them try to strategically neutralize the powerful force of Joe Doering. That man is a beast.

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