Impact Wrestling aired its June 15th episode that saw Sonjay Dutt make history by winning the X-Division Championship for the first time in his career, by defeating Low Ki in the main event.
The episode that was taped in Mumbai, India also saw EC3 (Ethan Carter 3) come to the ring dressed in Indian attire and introduced as Ethan Singh 3 – a segment that drew a great reaction from the Indian fans.
Besides, the promotion also aired several video packages hyping up Slammiversary XV that goes down on July 2nd. Elsewhere on the card, Indian star Mahabali Shera emerged victorious in the ‘10-Man Sony Six Invitational Gauntlet Battle Royal’.
Furthermore, Impact Wrestling announced that former NFL star DeAngelo Williams has signed with the promotion and has commenced his training for a performance that will go down very soon. It’s intriguing to note that all signs within the professional wrestling industry point to Williams teaming up with Moose in order to take on the team of Eli Drake and Chris Adonis.
Additionally, the episode also featured James Storm, LAX, Josh Matthews’ public sparring session, Braxton Sutter vs Trevor Lee, appearances by Moose, Lashley; and last but not the least, the main-event. Sonjay Dutt took on Low Ki for the X-Division Championship, which was followed by a celebration inside the ring. Below is the full recap of Impact Wrestling (June 15th, 2017)
#1 10-Man Sony Six Invitational Gauntlet Battle Royal
The episode commenced with a vignette that hyped the X-Division headlining matchup between Low Ki and Sonjay Dutt, following which the ‘10-Man Sony Six Invitational Gauntlet Battle Royal’ began with Suicide and Matt Sydal as the first two participants.
Impact Wrestling commentators, Jeremy Borash and Josh Matthews – both of whom are presently involved in a feud against each other – will not get physical with one another before their fight at Slammiversary. Besides, it was also revealed that ESPN host Robert Flores and the company’s former colour commentator Don West will be calling the action at Slammiversary XV.
Onto the match, Matt Sydal got the better of Suicide with a couple of quick-fire monkey flips following which he almost eliminated Suicide, only for the latter to counter and then get struck by a huge heel kick by Sydal.
Davey Richards was the 3rd entrant in the match and went on to take down both Suicide and Sydal. Nevertheless, Sydal got back in control with a hurricanrana, but got caught unawares by Suicide and knocked down. KM was the 4th entrant in the match and commenced his trash-talk after entering the fray.
Matt Sydal then knocked down KM and Davey Richards. KM was almost eliminated by Suicide, however, Richards eliminated Suicide off the ring apron with a dropkick. Swoggle was the 5th entrant and attempted a few chops to Sydal and KM. Swoggle also tried the chops on Richards, but received a kick to the mid-section.
Furthermore, Eddie Edwards entered the fray at number 6 and went on to attack his former ‘Wolves’ brethren. Edwards and Richards eliminated one another and brawled outside the ring. Rockstar Spud entered at number 7 and had a few back-and-forth exchanges with Sydal and Swoggle, following which he attacked Swoggle in the corner, while yelling, “I never meant to pull your pants down”.
Kongo Kong then entered the mix at number 8 and eliminated Matt Sydal by knocking him off the apron, and also eliminating Rockstar Spud.
Moose entered at number 9 and while he was en-route to the ring, Rockstar Spud eliminated Swoggle from the outside. Nevertheless, KM and Kongo Kong joined forces and eliminated Moose from the matchup.
The hometown boy, Mahabali Shera, made his way to the ring at number 10 and evaded a Kongo charge, eliminating the latter from the gauntlet showdown. Additionally, Borash announced a Mixed Tag Team Full Metal Mayhem Match that will see Eddie Edwards & Alisha take on Davey Richards & Angelina Love at Slammiversary XV.
As per gauntlet battle royal rules, the winner between the last two remaining participants would be decided via pinfall. KM got the better of Mahabali Shera in the initial exchanges, and went on to taunt the fans who were out to support their hometown hero. Nevertheless, Shera hulked up and after a strong clothesline on KM, he went for the Sky High, only to be countered for the pump handle slam. However, KM was unable to complete the pump handle slam and instead ate a Sky High at the hands of Shera.
Mahabali Shera won the 10-Man Sony Six Invitational Gauntlet Battle Royal
Shera was then presented the Sony SIX trophy by the company’s Indian CEO NP Singh, Bruce Prichard and Scott D’More. Shera’s family was in attendance at the event and the big man from India went on to celebrate the biggest moment of his career thus far with friends and family in India.
Moving on, the feud between Borash and Matthews continued with the latter hyping up his upcoming sparring session and the former introducing a video package that promoted the episode’s main event. The package showed Sonjay Dutt hyping up his showdown against Low Ki by stating how important it is for him to win the X-Division title, besides revealing that if he fails in his bid to win the belt, this may be the last time for him.
Furthermore, Impact Wrestling also hyped up DeAngelo Williams, who has now signed with the promotion and begun his training.
Additionally, LAX revealed their plans of invading local professional wrestling promotions in Orlando and their desire to take advantage of the local promoters. A brief video package aired with LAX being shown at WrestlePro - with the full segment set to air next week.
The next segment saw Ethan Singh 3 aka Ethan Carter 3 come to the ring and claim that he had discovered that a few of his relatives were born in India. He then went on to praise Indian history. Nevertheless, EC3 did a run-of-the-mill ‘heel’ swerve by calling India a third world hell-hole and insulting the country’s culture, whilst simultaneously talking disparagingly at Impact Wrestling.
He then proceeded to attack the Indian translator whipping the latter with a leather strap, which led to James Storm coming down to the ring. Storm rescued the translator and grabbed the strap, only for EC3 to scurry out of harm’s way in the end.
#WhenInMumbai Ladies and Gentlemen... #ESINGH3 on #IMPACTIndia pic.twitter.com/9vxfd5Jlgz
— IMPACT WRESTLING (@IMPACTWRESTLING) June 16, 2017
This segment was followed by Jeremy Borash and Josh Matthews having their usual verbal back-and-forth, following which a video was shown that saw Swoggle push Rockstar Spud’s head into a plate and run away.
# 2 Josh Matthews vs Sandeep Tahkon
Josh Matthews’ sparring session commenced and he cut a promo on his Slammiversary opponents Jeremy Borash and Joseph Park, stating that by joining forces with Scott Steiner he would eliminate Borash and Park from Impact Wrestling.
Matthews’ opponent, Sandeep Tahkon, was introduced as an athlete who has competed in the Olympics, wrestling and cricket. The Indian fans then rained down chants of ‘You can’t wrestle’ on Matthews. Matthews controlled the majority of the brief matchup and then hit a Swanton Bomb and a Steiner Recliner to defeat Tahkon via submission.
Josh Matthews def. Sandeep Tahkon via submission
The match was done but Matthews refused to release the submission hold that in turn led to Mahabali Shera coming out to rescue Sandeep. Shera attempted to put out Matthews, only to be interrupted by Lashley who came down to the ring in support of Matthews.
Lashley attacked Shera, after which Matthews got Shera in the Steiner Recliner. Alberto El Patron’s music hit and he entered the fray, rescuing Shera, and sending Matthews and Lashley out of the ring.
The aforementioned segment was followed by Impact Wrestling hyping up Slammiversary XV yet again, and then saw the promotion hype the match between Josh Matthews and Scott Steiner on the one hand, and Jeremy Borash and Joseph Parks on the other. The segment saw Steiner cut a trademark ‘Big Poppa Pump’ promo on his Slammiversary opponents.
#3 Braxton Sutter (w/Allie) vs Trevor Lee
Sutter took on Lee, in what was an incredibly brief matchup. Lee threatened Allie only for Sutter to play the knight in shining armour and rescue her. Sutter defeated Lee after a swinging neckbreaker.
Braxton Sutter (w/Allie) def. Trevor Lee
The segment was then followed by Sienna and Laurel Van Ness cutting a promo on Allie, whilst accusing her of not being as innocent as she pretended to be. Sienna challenged Allie to a Tag Team Match next week, wherein the former will team with Laurel Van Ness, while Allie will team with her new friend Rosemary.
The aforementioned segment was then followed by Low Ki hyping his main-event matchup against Sonjay Dutt, whilst stating that he intends to kill Dutt’s dream.
Furthermore, several Impact Wrestling stars were featured in a video package hyping up Slammiversary XV. This was followed by Impact Grand Champion Moose coming down to the ring and initiating a promo on Eli Drake, that led to Drake and Chris Adonis coming down to the ring. Drake accused Impact Wrestling management and Bruce Prichard in particular for the less than desirable state of career right now, besides stating that Moose is indeed sucking up to management.
The verbal battle was then followed by a brief tussle that saw Moose single-handedly drive Drake and Adonis out of the ring. Moose then revealed that he would announce the name of his tag team partner next week, for his upcoming match against Drake and Adonis at Slammiversary. The segment was followed by the second part of Steiner cutting a promo on Jeremy Borash and Joseph Park on the phone.
#4 Main Event: X-Division Championship Match - Low Ki vs Sonjay Dutt
Dutt still had the eye patch on, only to get it ripped off by Low Ki a few moments in. Low Ki then targeted Dutt’s injured eye with a most prominent strike. The matchup saw both competitors take their brawl into the stands, with outside exchanges ending when Low Ki slammed Dutt into the steel steps.
The action then resumed inside the ring, and Dutt executed a beautiful superplex on Low Ki. Nevertheless, Dutt failed to get the pinfall then and got his sunset flip reversed into a double foot stomp that saw Low Ki get the upper hand once again.
The closing moments of the match saw Low Ki carry Dutt right across the ring, only for Dutt to hit him with a Tornado DDT. Dutt would then execute a huge splash on Low Ki and score the 1-2-3 for the win.
Sonjay Dutt def. Low Ki, and won the X-Division Championship
The match was followed by a huge celebration inside the ring, with Dutt’s fellow Indian star Mahabali Shera carrying him atop his shoulders.
