Impact recap & reactions: Rich Swann returns for revenge

The latest episode of Impact Wrestling (Sep. 8, 2020) featured the Motor City Machine Guns defending the tag titles against the Rascalz, Tommy Dreamer battling Eric Young in Old School Rules, and a surprise appearance from Rich Swann.

Let’s roll through the episode from beginning to end.

Josh Mathews and Madison Rayne handled commentary duties.

New champ speaks. Eric Young opened the show in the ring. When Rich Swann pinned him at Slammiversary, EY had to take immediate action by injuring Swann. That started the ball rolling right over Eddie Edwards. Young winning the Impact World Championship was 100% inevitable.

Enter Alisha Edwards. She got in Young’s face to call him a coward for injuring wrestlers on purpose. It is only a matter of time before Eddie returns to whoop ass and take back the title. Alisha added a personal note about Eddie not being able to take his child for a walk because of EY’s action. Young coldly replied, “I don’t care.” Slap!

After Alisha slapped Young, he set her up for a piledriver. Tommy Dreamer ran in to save the day with a kendo stick. He despises scumbags who intentionally injure people to take out their livelihood. Dreamer challenged Young to any type of match he wants. Young accepted for tonight.

Moose took a flight to his destination in an effort to take back his stolen TNA Heavyweight Championship from EC3.

Rosemary, John E. Bravo, and Taya discussed the wedding. Rosemary will need to spend her time resurrecting an official for a demon ceremony. Taya took charge of the planning to make it the perfect wedding of the century.

TJP defeated Chris Bey. X-Division champ Rohit Raju observed from ringside. It was a chess match of an athletic contest. TJP shined with his mix of submissions, high flying, and slams. In the end, Bey attempted a slingshot sunset flip, but TJP kept his balance and leaned forward for the winning pin to trap Bey.

Locker Room Talk with Madison Rayne. Johnny Swinger was back as co-host. Kylie Rae and Susie were the guests. Rayne tried to twist Rae’s time in Wrestle House as ducking the Knockouts champion. Deonna Purrazzo and Kimber Lee sauntered on the scene. That was payback for the interruption of last week’s black tie affair. Purrazzo and Lee issued a tag team challenge for next week. Rae and Susie happily accepted.

John E. Bravo was on the phone planning his wedding when Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz interrupted. They told Bravo that he needs to learn to be John E. Man. Stop taking orders from Taya.

Brian Myers was out in the ring to offer the time-honored tradition of a handshake to Willie Mack. Mack should be a true professional and show respect for those that paved the way. Mack came out ready to wrestle. After Myers cheated in their previous contest, Impact officials allowed Mack to make a rematch right then. Myers protested, since he hadn’t tanned or oiled up yet as preparation.

Brian Myers defeated Willie Mack. Myers wrestled in street clothes for the impromptu bout. Mack dissed Myers’ handshake attempt. Mack was rolling after a spinebuster. He tussled with Myers in the corner and pulled Myers’ shirt off. When Mack turned to throw the shirt, Myers kicked him in the nuggets. The referee was focused on the shirt and missed the low blow. Myers capitalized with a lifting DDT to win.

Jordynne Grace believes it is important to be graceful in defeat. That’s why she didn’t ruin Purrazzo’s black tie affair. Grace was perturbed by the appearance of Tenille Dashwood, so she took the interviewer to find the scoop about where she has been. Grace knocked on Dashwood’s locker room door. It was answered by Kaleb, the personal photographer. He informed Grace that Dashwood will be at Impact next week.

Hogan and Steelz got into an argument with Taya. Taya told them to mind their business about Bravo. They literally clapped back at each other. Taya challenged Steelz to a match.

Impact Tag Team Championship: Motor City Machine Guns retained against Rascalz. Dez and Wentz attacked before the bell. MCMG slowed it down by focusing on Wentz’s knee. Dez got the hot tag, but the Rascalz missed Hot Fire Flame. MCMG regrouped to take out Dez with a flurry of kicks then finished Wentz with a teamwork slam maneuver to win.

After the match, The North attacked the champs. MCMG turned the tide, then Ace Austin and Madman Fulton ran in to do destruction. Josh Alexander had beef with Ace and Madman, but Ethan Page refocused the group to continue the beatdown on MCMG. The Good Brothers entered the fray to clean house. Dez and Wentz took to the air to knock down the group of bad guys. The good guys all argued. It seemed like pride got in the way of thanking the Good Brothers for their help.

RVD and Katie Forbes announced their new talk show debuting on Impact next week. The next segment showed Sami Callihan in his ICU headquarters. He promises to hack RVD’s show.

Taya defeated Tasha Steelz. Steelz was feisty, but she couldn’t compete with Taya’s size advantage. Taya won with a spear and Road to Valhalla. Hogan attacked Taya after the match. Bravo had been on the phone then realized he needed to help Taya.

Moose visited his high school football coach, but the coach hasn’t seen EC3. The coach then spewed lines about controlling the narrative and you’ve been warned. It was like he was brainwashed. Moose was spooked then tossed aside random jabrones wearing EC3 merch.

Rhino met with Heath outside the venue. He was happy Heath was there, however, Heath’s actions are upsetting Impact management and not getting him any closer to a contract. Heath wants to continue with the ads to build support, but he is running out of money. Rhino knows where to get cold hard cash.

Old School Rules: Eric Young defeated Tommy Dreamer. This was a non-title special challenge. A kendo stick, steel chain, streets signs, chairs, trashcan, table, and more were utilized. Young turned the tide by clipping Dreamer’s knee. Young then weakened the knee with a kendo stick and chair. Dreamer stayed alive with a DDT and had Young on his shoulders for a table spot. Young escaped, hit a low blow, whacked Dreamer with his hockey mask, then won with a piledriver.

After the fight, Young did more damage to Dreamer’s knee. Out of nowhere, Rich Swann hobbled to the ring to smack Young with crutches. The two yelled at each other from afar with gruff voices.

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This edition of Impact Wrestling was a mighty fine show. The matches were really good. The promos did well to set up contests for later that evening. It all felt natural and not forced for story purposes.

The big news is the return of Rich Swann. As expected, it looks like his retirement will be postponed to get his hands on Eric Young. I’m mixed about Swann limping to the ring. On one hand, I like that he is still selling the injury. It would be too soon to come back healthy. On the other hand, Young got handled by a one-legged man. Swann did have a crutch to swing, but Young could have overcame that obstacle easily enough. The moment delivered in terms of excitement for their future fight.

Impact was not so smooth promoting the main event during the broadcast. They kept showing a graphic to imply it would be a title bout, despite Dreamer saying it wasn’t about the belt. During the introductions, the ring announcer stated it was non-title. Josh Mathews casually mentioned on commentary that it was Old School Rules. For all that talk in the beginning by Dreamer that Young could chose the match stipulation, it ended up being Dreamer’s specialty. Go figure.

TJP continues to impress me. His blend of styles is very entertaining. TJP is world champ material inside the ring. The tag title bout was popping. I bet the Motor City Machine Guns and the Rascalz could have ten matches in a row with each one being exciting in a different way. It was nice to see Taya get back on the winning track. I’m wondering if she will go through a character progression for the wedding. Taya was sort of positioned as the babyface against Tasha Steelz, but Taya’s harpy behavior toward John E. Bravo is too off-putting to root for her at this moment in time.

Share your thoughts on Impact Wrestling. Who stole the show? Which match was your favorite? Did Rich Swann’s return make you pop?

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