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Impact Wrestling has certainly had its shares of ups and downs through the years. The new impact management under Anthem, Scott D'Amore and Don Callis has taken several steps in the right direction. The change was evident at Redemption. It was a great night of professional wrestling.
What did we think of the show overall, you ask? It certainly wasn't a perfect show. Not by a long shot, we thought.
However, it was a promising show. One that proved that Impact is back on the right track and can perhaps one day, relive their lost glory.
So, for your benefit, we will pick out the best and worst of Redemption, Impact's first pay-per-view of the year 2018.
#1 Best: Tessa Blanchard
Tessa Blanchard is one of the hottest independent wrestlers in the world right now. She's also the better half of one Ricochet, and it was believed that she would be WWE bound very soon indeed. Imagine our surprise then when she showed up at Redemption. She joined Mathews and Callis on commentary and informed us that she had arrived.
Blanchard's arrival is a huge coup for Impact Wrestling. The Knockouts Division needed someone like her to take her to go to the next level. Imagine the feuds she could have with Allie and Rosemary.
As Blanchard proved in the limited amount of time she spent on commentary, she is a natural on the mic as well. We're certainly thrilled to find out what's next for this talented young lass.
#1 Worst: Taya Valkyrie vs. Kiera Hogan
This was not Taya Valkyrie's best match. And much of it probably had to do with her opponent. Kiera Hogan was not ready for a stage as big as Redemption at this point in her Knockouts career. Taya did her best but the match was a total dud.
Thankfully, we had Tessa Blanchard on commentary to distract us from the travesty that this match turned out to eventually be. It was the worst match in an otherwise good night of professional wrestling.
#2 Best: Eddie Edwards absolutely snaps
Impact Wrestling's hottest topic of conversation has been the real life injury that Eddie Edwards sustained at the hands of Sami Callihan. Impact Wrestling managed to transition the storyline into a fantastic feud between the two men. Throw in oVe, Moose and Tommy Dreamer and you have a match made in the pits of hell.
The match was everything you would expect it to be, but what made waves was the fact that Eddie Edwards snapped at the end of the match. Hitting Callihan with a kendo stick, he busted the man up. We saw a darker side of this white-meat babyface.
Edwards even accidentally hit his wife Alisha Edwards. We've no idea where Impact Wrestling is going with this story, but we are quite intrigued.
#2 Worst: Way too many botches and slip-ups
All of the botches that occurred during the course of the night pretty much happened in the same place- in one corner of the ring. Aerostar slipped and fell, as did Brian Cage and also Fenix. We wonder if the ropes were extra slippery with sweat. These were pretty awkward to watch.
Thankfully, the wrestling wasn't too bad and that eclipsed these botches. Special marks to Eli Drake who moved more gracefully than we've ever seen him, climbing the ropes like he never has in the past.
#3 Best: Brand New World Champion
Impact Wrestling capped off the night with a great main event match. What's more...they cemented their relationship with Lucha Underground by putting the title on Pentagon Jr. It was the right thing to do, not merely because of the association. The shock value was pretty immense as well!
Can we also talk about just how good Austin Aries is, at his age? He seems like he hasn't missed a beat since he was in his prime, and pulled off some amazing spots during the incredible main event.
#3 Worst: Top stars not on the Redemption card
Johnny Impact is perhaps the top babyface in all of Impact Wrestling at this point in time. Last we saw him, he was in a feud with Kongo Kong. We thought he would seek retribution at Redemption. He was shockingly nowhere to be seen at all.
Rosemary is perhaps the most over Knockout in the entire Impact Wrestling roster, with her 'hivelings' in attendance wherever she decides to go. While she kept tweeting about the proceedings through the night, she was nowhere to be seen on the card much either.
#4 Best/worst: Brand new tag team Champions
LAX are one of the hottest acts in Impact Wrestling right now. The crowd is always hot for them, and they always bring their A-Game to the dance. They dropped their titles to Scott Steiner and Eli Drake this week. We wonder if it was a good or bad decision.
Considering how thin the roster is, our gut tells us it was the right call. Now LAX has new opponents to work with. Steiner even pulled off a Frankensteiner during the amazing match.
At the same time, we wonder if LAX needed the titles as they currently stand. Defeating a team with Steiner and Drake would have been a huge step up.
Let's hope Impact Wrestling carries on the momentum from Redemption, right into next week too!
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