Hola Knockout fans and welcome to this week’s Impact recap. I know I probably sound like a broken record having to constantly apologize for getting these Write-Ups so late but time management on Fridays (and even Saturdays) has never been my strongest suit due to my commitments outside the site on those days. But anyway, let’s talk about Impact and the two in-ring returns from Allie (since Under Pressure) and Katarina Leigh.
Prior to the tag match, Alicia Atout interviews Madison Rayne and Allie to ask how they have prepared themselves to take on someone like Su Yung and one of her Undead Bridemaid. Rayne says she has faced nearly every Knockout who has ever stepped foot (true that!) in the Impact Zone but when it comes to an opponent like Su Yung, there are so many unknowns.
Rayne says despite the darkness Yung carries, she feels comfortable having a partner in Allie who has already walked through that darkness and was able to come out on the other side. Allie reflects on Rosemary’s previous warning, about letting the darkness consume her but says she has no regrets. Instead, Allie says she learned that you need to have both light and darkness. While Yung may think she killed Allie back at Under Pressure, Allie says that in reality, Yung only brought out another side of Allie to life.
The team of Allie and Madison start off strong against Yung and the unnamed Undead Bridesmaid. The babyfaces land a fury of punches and sliding elbow to start things off. After the tornado tag team action fades out, Allie turns her focus to the Undead Bride, catching a (rather slow) kick to land a forearm, chop and corner splash before taking the Undead Bride down with a Leg Sweep.
Allie goes for the cover but only gets a two count. When the Knockouts get to their feet, the Undead Bride whips Allie to the ropes, where Yung manages to grab a handful of Allie’s hair. The small distraction helps set up for a double team attack from the heels. Su Yung is tagged in and whips Allie across the ring via hair pull and follows up with a grounded submission.
Allie fights free and takes Su Yung down with a clothesline, setting up for a hot tag scenario. Both Yung and Allie make the tags to their respective partners but its about Rayne who lands aggressive forearms, big boot, and a Cutter, which I think her husband Josh Matthews referred to it as “Chance of Rayne”. We love puns here! The outside Undead Bridesmaids try to get involved but Allie takes them down with a dive from the ring apron.
Back in the ring, Yung sets Rayne up for the Panic Switch but in doing so accidentally blinds the referee when Rayne boot comes in contact. Rayne reverses the Panic Switch and lands the Cross Rayne but the referee still can’t see. Suddenly, Tessa Blanchard comes out to attack Rayne from behind. Blanchard sets Rayne up for the Hammerlock DDT but Allie runs in to make the save with a big boot and tosses the third generation Knockout to the outside and then to a guardrail.
Back in the ring, Rayne counters the Undead Bridesmaid manuever with the Cross Rayne, covers and gets the win for her team! Wait a minute though, wasn’t Su Yung the legal woman before Blanchard’s run-in attack and the referee went blind?
In our second Knockouts match, Katarina does battle against Rebel. Well as I mentioned in the Thoughts section last week, this spoiler completely bypassed my memory! Katarina’s love interest Grado is at ringside to offer support and a funky intro with his fair lady. I still miss “Hands of the Wicked” damn it!
Rebel starts off with a headlock takedown but Katarina reveres with head scissors. After a few attempts by both women, Katarina trips Rebel and runs the ropes for a tilt-a-whirl headscissor. Rebels respinds with a kick to the midsection and forearms. Rebel sends Katarina to the ropes for a flapjack and displays some stregnth when mounting Katarina over her shoulders before dumping onto the mat.
Rebel goes for a corner handspring strike but Katarina moves out the way. Katarina climbs to the second rope for a Tornado DDT for a near three count. She climbs the turnbuckle again but misses a crossbody. Rebel takes advatange, landing a running knee strike and leg drop on Katarina. Rebel scoops Katarina up for a suplex but the latter slips from behind to counter with a back breaker to pick up the win! Naturally, Grado celebrates the win with his lovely lady.
Backstage, the celebration continues for our couple when Katarina reveals Grado’s best friend, Joe Hendry, has arrived in Impact Wrestling! Hendry says that Impact is the place to be and congratulates Grado on all his success inside and outside the ring, eyeing Katarina. Grado is all smiles, embraces and welcomes his mate to close out the segment.
Before we close out, Impact also aired a very short video vignette hyping the arrival of a new Knockout. The top speculated name going around is Scarlett Bordeaux but hey, maybe more vignettes will air before we get a confirmation!
Thoughts:I think this week’s tag match was all right for what it was. Now it wasn’t perfect by any means: that referee bump felt like too much a stretch for me, the Undead Bridesmaid (who may or may not have been KC Spinelli) was moving at a slow pace and then there was that bit of confusion as to who legal towards the end of the match. Still, I did appreciate some storytelling this week, such as Allie showing a more aggressive side to her when she attacked Tessa Blanchard and the Undead Bridesmaids, Blancahrd still wanting to one up Rayne after two defeats and the Yung/Rayne rivalry continuing to build.
The second Knockouts match didn’t run as smoothly for me. Again, some parts felt slowly paced and some moves just weren’t fully connecting. Now I’ve always had a soft spot for Rebel as I’ve always considered her as Impact’s true home grown talent. She has certainly improved over time but I just don’t see her doing much outside of a jobber role for now.
I can’t say I’m familair with Joey Hendry (if anyone else is, please share in the comments!) but hey at least we’re getting to see some new direction for this pairing! Will three be a crowd for Impact’s It Couple?
And of course, the real excitement and talk this week is of the Knockout coming! Impact always tends to give a fair buzz whenever they put vignette for talent coming in; think Havok, the Dollhouse, Raquel, Mike and Maria Kanellis. I’m with the majority in thinking that this is for Scarlett Bordeaux but I’m wondering how they’ll introduce this new Knockout and what role she’ll play. Let the speculation begin!
What did you think of this week’s Impact? Did you enjoy seeing Allie and/or Katarina back inside an Impact Wrestling ring? What are your thoughts on this new Knockout? Let us know in the comments below!
