'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABgf/2gAIAQEAAAAAjSL/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAE/9oACAECEAAAACf/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAF/9oACAEDEAAAAGf/xAAiEAADAAAEBwEAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMABQYSBBEhI0FCUdL/2gAIAQEAAT8A1G08uNUvwcK7j2qB33Ar5PX4SMS0dklJI5k/NgG9v1j/xAAXEQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACAQAD/9oACAECAQE/AEqOZp3/xAAXEQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgAD/9oACAEDAQE/AIC+tlBv/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Looking back at the three hours of action, I'd have to say that Homecoming was a pretty good show from start to finish. There was certainly a lot more good than bad overall. But that said it was far from the perfect show. In fact, while the show started off great, it ran out of steam by the end.
That said, some of the action in the pay-per-view was great. If you discount the main event, I'd have called the overall show a definite positive. The main event felt way too overbooked with contestants from Survivor interfering.
Anyway, before we get into specifics for the event, let me invite you to leave a comment and let me know what you thought of Homecoming overall. Do you think Impact Wrestling continued their hot streak of pay-per-views that began with Redemption last year?
I have mixed feelings.
#1 Best: A dream match delivers
How often it happens that a dream match is advertised and yet it fails to live up to one's expectations, right? Cast your mind back to AJ Styles vs. Nakamura at WrestleMania 34. I'm glad to report that LAX vs. The Lucha Brothers was just as advertised. There wasn't a weak moment in the match, at all.
In fact, I'd go so far as to call it an early contender for Match of the Year. Many expected the Lucha Brothers to go over in this match, but LAX continued their dominant streak. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the first of many matches between the teams, considering the overwhelming response.
What a great time it is to be a fan of Tag Team Wrestling. That is unless you're watching Drake Maverick urinating on Bobby Roode's glorious robe.
Anyway, you must watch this match if you haven't.
#1 Worst: Nothing could follow this spectacular match
Match placement is always an integral component of a pay-per-view. This is why Gargano vs. Ciampa matches would main event TakeOvers, going after the actual championship match. Otherwise, the crowd is spent by the time the main event comes around. I personally thought that the two title matches that followed the tag team match suffered as a result.
Especially in the case of the Knockouts, there wasn't anything particularly wrong with the match. It was just that it could not follow the amazing performance from the tag teams. Maybe it should have happened earlier during the show.
Some may say that it devalues the singles championships to do so. But LAX has been a huge draw for the company and one of the reasons why fans tune in to Impact Wrestling on a weekly basis.
So maybe they are deserving of the main event spot.
#2 Best: Monster's ball
This is the irony of the whole situation. For someone who's been as outspoken about not liking the hardcore style of professional wrestling, Eli Drake was in a pretty cool hardcore match at Homecoming. Of course, his opponent was the master of the genre, Impact Hall of Famer, Abyss.
The referee had a pair of gloves on, which indicated that thumbtacks would be introduced later during the match. The tacks actually played quite an important role in the match, from the referee getting impaled in the eye with the said tacks to Eli Drake taking a massive plunge on the tacks. It was a pretty brutal affair overall.
Eli Drake went over in this match but I really want to see him enter the title picture once again, because not only is the man entertaining, he is a very popular superstar. And the world title picture needs a reboot.
#2 Worst: The world title match
I've had the opportunity to interact with Johnny Impact in the past and I must admit that he's one of the nicest guys in professional wrestling. I know how much a husband and wife title reign means to Impact and Valkyrie and I'm really happy for the two of them. But something about the main event match just seemed off.
Maybe it was the fact that both men were babyfaces. Maybe it is the fact that everyone felt that it was time for a change in guard and for Cage to be Champion. Maybe it is the fact that the two men did not have the same chemistry against each other, that they seem to have with other opponents.
While I cannot confirm what the reason was, let me list out something that I absolutely hated. Involving the contestants of a reality show in the main event match of your pay-per-view is not a very good idea!
#3 Best: The return of Rosemary
Rosemary has become a cult figure of sorts in the Impact Wrestling roster lately. Fans gravitate towards her more than any other superstar in wrestling! Whenever I've published interviews with her, her 'Hivelings' always like and retweet the piece to no end. She's been missing from the roster for a while now.
She made a huge return at Homecoming, emerging from the coffin that Su Yung brought out. Most fans saw this coming but it was still a great moment, all said and done. The crowd was ecstatic when she came out to face Dark Allie.
Here is a storyline we can all sink our teeth into, because of the similar nature of both characters. I'm intrigued to find out if Rosemary can find it in herself to bring Allie back on the path of light again.
I quite like the fact that her full face paint look is back!
#3 Worst: Botch?
The X Division title match at the top of the show was everything that it promised to be. That is, until the very end. It just seemed like the title came off in Rich Swann's hand. I don't know if he was supposed to win the title or not.
I could see that many other fans who were watching on Fite TV had the same question. Was Rich Swann really meant to win the title, or did it accidentally come off before it was intended to? That said, I'm glad that Swann has the title and I'm sure he'll take the Championship and the division to new heights in the days that follow.
Aside from the awkward finish to the match, I would have predicted Swann winning the title anyway. This is because none of the other superstars are as established as him.
So, the predictability was another minus.
#4 Best/worst: Killer Kross' post-match run in
The main event was a little underwhelming as has been discussed. But when Johnny Impact and Brian Cage were done slugging it out, a new contender would emerge. Killer Kross emerged from the curtain and lay a beat down on Johnny Impact. This is what he had meant all along, in the lead up to the event.
I just don't know if I want to see an Impact vs. Kross feud, coming up. It may be a great mid-card feud, but is it worthy of main eventing a card? I mean no disrespect to Kross when I say this, but not at the moment at least.
That said, I've been digging Killer Kross' character work and I loved how he lay the beat down on Taya Valkyrie after the main event. He's certainly one of the heels in the roster to look out for.
Also, McKenzie Mitchell looked absolutely gorgeous at Homecoming, didn't she?:
Send us news tips at [email protected]
