Impact Wrestling results: Austin Aries vs. Eddie Edwards

This week’s card was highlighted by two strong main event matches and an excellent Tessa Blanchard performance, but the show also dragged with several long interview segments that ate up a lot of time.

The episode opened with a long backstage fight between LAX and the OGz.

Taiji Ishimori & Petey Williams defeated The Desi Hit Squad

Manager Gama Singh introduced the Desi Hit Squad as “the pride and joy of all of India.” Ishimori walked to the ring giving the Bullet Club and nWo’s “Too Sweet” symbol.

This was a good match, highlighted by Ishimori and Williams’ aerial moves. After a hot tag, Ishimori hit a DDT and front-face slammed both members of the DHS (Rohit Raju and Gursinder Singh) in one explosive move. Ishimori also hit a tombstone-like piledriver, dropping Gursinder Singh’s head on his knees, instead of the canvas.

Ishimori got the pin over Raju after he hit a double-arm jumping DDT, handing the Hit Squad its first television loss.

We then got a series of video packages that chewed up about 15 minutes of time, featuring Pentagon Jr., Allie and Kiera Hogan, Eddie Edwards, Austin Aries, Grado, Katarina, and Joe Hendry.

In her interview, Allie demanded a match with Knockouts Champion Su Yung. She said that she was not interested in winning the title, but instead wanted to stop Yung from putting anyone else inside of a casket.

“Leave your belt at home — just bring your undead ass,” Allie said.

Tessa Blanchard defeated Alisha Edwards

Blanchard came across again as a big star. She brings incredible charisma, facials, and ring presence, along with dynamic in-ring wrestling skills. She gorilla press slammed Alisha, Ultimate Warrior-style and then stepped on her back.

“It’s like Tessa is LeBron James and she is playing against high school players,”  commentator Josh Mathews said. “She’s on a another level.”

Blanchard took some punishment in the match, highlighting her selling skills. Alisha hit a crucifix for a pin attempt. But after Blanchard kicked out, she got madder and kicked Alisha in the shin. Blanchard threw Alisha into the bottom rope and then dropkicked her in the back. Blanchard does a great job of staying intense throughout the match and has strong match psychology. She won with a tilt-a-whirl into a DDT.

After the match, she grabbed the microphone and said, “I just made an example of Alisha.”

She called out Allie.

“If you are going after Su Yung and that Knockouts Championship I am going after you,” Blanchard said.

They showed a backstage segment with Scarlett Bordeaux walking to the ring, while the starstruck goofy interviewer from a week ago carried her bags.

There was an extended advertisement encouraging people to buy tickets for Chris Jericho’s Rock and Wrestling Cruise.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Chris Sabin (Team USA) defeated Petey Williams (Team Canada) in a 2006 World X Cup match

Sabin won with his Cradle Shock slam after an exciting match between the two workers. But the feel of the moment was ruined by Kevin Nash, who attacked Sabin after, destroyed his trophy, and then gave him a Jacknife powerbomb. Nash snatched the microphone and said “I proved size matters.” The display was a reminder of how in 2006 TNA was pushing Nash over the younger stars.

We got more Bordeaux, who distracted KM and Fallah Bahh backstage as she walked by. Bordeaux walked into a room where a bunch of fawning men, presumably Impact executives, bent over backwards to accommodate her.

Bordeaux said the other girls were jealous of her and that she didn’t feel comfortable getting into the ring with them, so the men gave Bordeaux her own show called “The Smokeshow,” which is set to debut next week.

Pentagon Jr. defeated Matt Sydal

This was an off-the-charts match with both guys putting on a dazzling show. Pentagon ran under the ring at one point to throw off Sydal, but when he came out — Sydal dropkicked him on the ground in an innovative spot.

Both wrestlers exchanged a lot of superkicks. Pentagon displayed both traditional chain wrestling, submission, and high-flying moves.

“Pentagon may be one of the most dangerous wrestlers to come out of Mexico because he can work any style,” commentator Don Callis said.

Pentagon hit a Death Valley Driver. Sydal hit a standing hurricanrana. Sydal went for a Shooting Star Press, but Pentagon got his knees up. Pentagon then hit the fear factor package piledriver for the win. Mathews and Callis made a big deal about the loss being a big hit to Sydal’s career and they wondered where he goes now.

Backstage, Sami Callihan, who had his head shaved after a loss to Pentagon at Slammiversary, demanded that one of his oVe teammates, the Crist brothers shave their head to show solidarity. Jake Crist volunteered to have his head shaved, so Callihan rewarded him by ordering Dave Crist to have his head shaved instead.

Jake then shaved his brother’s head.

Inside the ring, Konnan, along with LAX’s Santana and Ortiz, showed up. King’s OGz, Hernandez and Homicide, agreed to a street fight on next week’s show. King challenged Konnan to a fight inside the “concrete jungle,” accusing him of going soft.

Konnan accepted. “There is only one group that runs the streets and it is LAX,” he said.

They advertised several matches for next week: Callihan vs Fenix, Allie vs. Su Yung, Johnny Impact vs. Jimmy Jacobs, and Joe Hendry vs. Eli Drake, along with the debut of The Smokeshow.

Impact World Champion Austin Aries defeated Eddie Edwards to retain his title

Aries performed like one of the top guys in the business, showing off some of Ric Flair’s ring psychology and Shawn Michael’s in-ring bumping skills.

Aries stalled a lot to build heat to open the match. After a commercial break, Mathews even said. “For the first time in professional wrestling history, during the commercial break absolutely nothing happened. Austin Aries wants nothing to do with Eddie Edwards.”

Edwards is playing a demented, but likable, good guy, who carries a kendo stick, and comes across as a combination of The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer.

Edwards eventually caught up with Aries and hit him with chops and a headbutt. He chased Aries into the ring, and Aries did a classic Flair impersonation, begging for his life, and as Edwards slowed up to show sympathy, he kneed him in the gut.

Aries threw him outside and hit a suicide dive through the second and third ropes. He brought him back inside the ring, tore off part of Edwards’ shirt, and then chopped him. Edwards has a tendency to oversell with his face, making his expressions of pain looked cartoon-like.

Edwards returned the chops and then hit a double-armed butterfly piledriver. Later, Aries attempted his Last Chancery submission finisher, but Edwards bit Aries’ finger to break the hold. Aries ran outside, grabbed his title belt. and brought it into the ring — but the referee took it away.

Aries put Edwards on his shoulders and swung him around, accidentally knocking down the referee. With the referee down, he grabbed the belt again and went to hit Edwards. Edwards countered with a DDT and covered him for a seven count, but the referee was still knocked out.

Edwards then grabbed his kendo stick and hit the referee. Aries hit a low blow, but Edwards then smashed Aries over the head with the kendo stick. Killer Kross came out and hit Edwards with the Doomsday Saito suplex, then Aries hit a brainbuster. The referee woke up and made the count for the pinfall, likely setting up a match between Edwards and Kross.

Aries and Kross posed in the ring together to close the show.