Hola Knockout fans and welcome to this week’s Impact recap. After making her return to Impact in winning fashion against Rebel last week, Taya Valkyrie threw down the gauntlet and challenged Madison Rayne to a match-up this week. How will the Knockouts square off during our final night in the Impact Zone? Let’s find out.
Taya starts things off with a waist lock takedown and then bounces Rayne’s head onto the ring canvas. Rayne responds with an arm drag and head scissors takedown but Taya maintains the advantage when she tosses Rayne across the ring and then body slams her.
She takes Rayne to the top of a turnbuckle but Rayne sneaks in a kick and hits a Tornado DDT off the top corner! The Knockouts get back to their feet where Rayne lands strikes to the chest and brings Taya down with an elevated cutter.
When Rayne gets a two count, she runs the ropes for another head scissors takedown but this time Taya catches her and counters with a backbreaker. “Get up Madison” yells Lucha Royalty as she runs the ropes to land a running hip and knee attacks on Rayne.
Taya gets a two count over Rayne and sets up for the Road to Valhalla but Rayne reverses with a roll-up cover for a near three count. Kick to the midsection from Rayne as she goes for the Northern Lights Suplex but Taya counters a strike to the back.
Taya boots Rayne face first to the mat but it isn’t enough to put her away. Instead, Rayne picks up the win with a standup enziguri and Crossroads combination.
Post-match, Rayne grabs a mic to give a victory speech. She says that her return to Impact has been an emotional whirlwind. She continues by saying that she is a believer in capitalizing moments and that is exactly what she has been doing within the last few weeks – creating moments.
After picking up the win over Taya this week, Rayne says she wants to create another moment, one that will be dedicated to her daughter at home and to the all of fans that have followed her in this journey. Rayne promises to slay the Undead Bride to become a six-time Knockouts Champion.
The lights go dim following Rayne’s speech and the laughter of the current Knockouts Champion Su Yung is heard throughout the Impact Zone, although she never appears.
The LAX Clubhouse is in full celebration this week after they captured the Impact Wrestling Tag Team Championships by defeating Z & E (DJ Z and Andrew Everett) while under the wing of their new head coach King.
The celebration gets a cut short when a returning Konnan asks to speak to King. He says a lot of things haven’t been making sense and asked for Homicide. King explains that to Konnan that Homicide has only been in contact with him because the group is just trying to Konnan a chance to recuperate.
Konnan holds no punches and raises his suspicions towards King, giving him a fair warning should he come across any evidence that he was behind the attack that put him away.
Thoughts: So I know that I missed out on recapping Impact last week and I am truly sorry for that, more so when we had a semi-return that involved Rebel and a No DQ match between Tessa Blanchard and Kiera Hogan.
Of course, compared to Rebel, Taya’s match against Madison Rayne was a step up. Hearing Rayne’s post-match interview really showed much she has matured from her Queen Bee persona. (Still, miss the Killer Queen theme!) I keep going back to that promo Tessa Blanchard cut a few weeks about Rayne wanting to relive one more glory moment and so far, that is the story Impact has been telling.
I really want to root for Rayne at Slammiversary to have that good feel moment for all her dedication, through the good and bad, that she’s given for the company but I think Su Yung is still coming out on top. The Knockouts division has been on rebuilding stage for the longest time and I think the best way to do this is by establishing some of the new names they’ve been able to acquire and keep.
Now if I’m honest, I’m surprised that Tessa Blanchard wasn’t the one in the title picture for Slammiversary. I’m wondering if they’ll find a way to include her on the card given the push she has been given but will see as we enter these next set of tapings away from the Impact Zone. Hopefully, the fans from Canada will come across more alive on television than those in the Impact Zone ever could.
What did you think of this week’s episode of Impact? Are you excited to for this year’s Slammiversary? What would like to see happen in the upcoming weeks? Let us know in the comments below!
