July 25th, 2018

One of the biggest events in Impact's calendar has come and gone; all that's left now is to discuss what went on and see where we go from here. First of all this will be a little different then when I do this type of article for WWE events, because this was my first Impact PPV in a long time. I will point out now that for what it's worth this was one of the better PPV's I have seen in a while comparing it of course to the recent WWE events. Looking at all the action every match lived up expectations and some even defied expectations, because you didn't really know what to expect. As I mentioned in the predictions I have been watching Eddie Edwards for a long time at this point and didn't really know that he had in him what we have been seeing which is a credit to both the company and Eddie for showing just how good he can be. 

The two matches I wanted to focus on were the 5150 Street fight and the Mask vs Hair match. Let's go in order and talk about the street fight first and all I have to say is WOW! I didn't expect that match to be as well put together as it was and part of me thought that the OGz might've won, but I am glad that they didn't and continued the feud another way. In my opinion Santana and Ortiz are two of the main success stories as the company continues to bring itself back from the dark ages. This might be a stretch but my guess in the New Japan section seemed to have panned out so I'll try again by saying that after this match I think LAX showed enough to be leaders of Impact's continued growth and movement toward stability. 

Looking at the company as a whole there have been four names tied to the change in perception within Impact Wrestling and that has been the feud between Eddie Edwards and Sami Callahan which then included Tommy Dreamer & Pentagon Jr. This feud has really given glimpse into how important long term booking is  to Scott and Don the only unanswered question is has this long term story arch found it's end. I don't think there is a question that after the show stealing performance that Pentagon and Sami put together the side feud is likely over between these two. I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but as I mentioned before I don't remember the last time I heard an international star get the reactions that Pentagon has been getting on Impact. I think they chose the right winner and that both men have come out of this looking great.

Flipping the coin I don't think that Impact Wrestling has ever seen someone like Sami Callahan who I think enjoys showing people just how evil he can be. Also I think that Sami can be compared to Juice Robinson based on the fact lack of success both men had with WWE and the opportunity they are getting to succeed with different companies. Overall I think that giving Impact another shot due to my dissatisfaction with the WWE has been a good decision as I don't think there has ever been a better time to be a fan of this company. For years I have been preaching the idea that we should all want to see Impact succeed as it would provide the wrestlers another stable place for them to work. I will admit that I have made jokes and not spoken very highly of the company, but now at least under the management of Don Callis, Scott D'Amore, and Anthem Sports they are giving us a reason to not just pay attention, but also to enjoy. 

In my opinion the best decision they've made so far is to not try and be a distant second to Vince and instead to be their own company. Though management has to undo a lot of bad that has been done the name and identity of the product in recent years I think that if this show is any indication the future might actually be bright for Impact Wrestling.