Impact Wrestling Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from May 27

Violent By Design stunned the wrestling world last week when Rhino cashed in his Call Your Shot trophy and, along with Joe Doering, captured the world tag team titles from David Finlay and Juice Robinson.

The devious and destructive faction addressed the audience Thursday night , headlining another explosive edition of Impact Wrestling.

A blockbuster 10-Knockouts tag team match, the debut of Japanese legend Kojima and a show-starting promo from Sami Callihan rounded out the show.

Who emerged with momentum on their side as Against All Odds on June 12 draws near? Find out with this recap of the May 27 episode.

Sami Callihan kicked off this week's show, one week after coming to the aid of Moose against Kenny Omega and The Good Brothers. He informed Moose afterward that his actions had nothing to do with him and were instead due to Impact Wrestling being his company.

The Death Machine expressed displeasure with Omega and insisted that Don Callis is afraid of him and what might happen if the All Elite Wrestling and Impact world champion gets in the ring with him.

Instead of Omega, Moose entered the Impact Zone and came face-to-face with Callihan.

After Moose pointed out he has the next title opportunity, Callihan rightly pointed out that The Good Brothers are attacking him and not Moose because The Elite know he is more dangerous and more unpredictable.

The Good Brothers interrupted and warned Callihan to stay out of Omega and Moose's business, taking the No. 1 contender's side. Moose rocked Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson, clearing them from the ring and standing tall alongside Callihan.

        

Grade

C+

         

Analysis

The promo did little to further the tension between Callihan and Moose, but it was a great example of the heels trying to manipulate the situation only to get outsmarted.

Backstage, Don Callis exercised his powers as executive vice president and booked Moose and Callihan to battle The Good Brothers in the night's main event, a star-studded tag bout that should do wonders to advance the story in a way this didn't.

This was a solid start to the show, even if it was rather uneventful.

Following a confrontation in Swinger's Palace last week between Petey Williams and TJP, a tag team match was booked pitting Williams and current X-Division champion Josh Alexander against The Submission Magician and his partner, the massive Fallah Bahh.

Alexander and Williams controlled the fight coming out of the commercial break, downing Bahh and working him over on the mat so he could not maximize his power advantage. They expertly picked the big man apart until he fought back and sat on the chest of the X-Division champion.

Bahh finally tagged TJP into the match. The former champion teed off on his opponents but Alexander caught him with a suplex. Bahh made the save, wiping Alexander out.

The Walking Weapon tried a ripcord but ate a Samoan drop from Bahh. A frog splash from TJP to the champion earned the win and kept him in contention for a title shot.

       

Result

TJP and Bahh defeated Alexander and Williams

    

Grade

C+

    

Analysis

Though TJP scored the win over Alexander, Matthews interestingly suggested TJP and Bahh's victory set them up for a potential shot at tag team champions Violent By Design. This, despite the fact that such a win would seem to put him squarely on a collision course with Alexander. 

Either way, it was interesting to see TJP and Bahh score that victory given the momentum that was on Alexander's side coming off his X-Division title win.

Backstage, Gia Miller interviewed W. Morrissey, who cut a fantastic promo about being left behind by his friends and co-workers and laughed at by fans who took videos of him as he suffered a seizure in Philadelphia rather than helping him.

When the topic turned to Rich Swann, the former world champion attacked, intensifying his young rivalry with Morrissey to close out the segment.

Elsewhere, Jordynne Grace took exception to being chosen as a substitute for Taylor Wilde in the 10-Knockouts tag match, but she agreed to fill the hole on the babyface team for the next match.

Grace, Rachael Ellering, Rosemary, Havok, and Tenille Dashwood battled Knockouts champion Deonna Purrazzo, Kimber Lee, Susan and Knockouts tag team champions Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan in the contest.

After the babyfaces sustained control early, Steelz hung Grace up on the top rope and took control for her team. 

Back from the timeout, the heels worked over Grace, cutting her off from her teammates and keeping her grounded. She finally escaped, rolled into her corner and tagged Rosemary into the match. The face-painted competitor steamrolled the competition until a cheap kick to the face by Steelz halted her momentum.

The heels replicated their success on Rosemary, but she tagged Ellering into the match and the second-generation wrestler exploded into the contest, partnering with Grace to take the fight to Purrazzo.

The action broke down, with the heels fighting among themselves. Meanwhile, back inside the ring, Rosemary pinned Purrazzo to score the win.

         

Result

Grace, Ellering, Rosemary, Havok, and Dashwood defeated Steelz, Hogan, Lee, Susan, and Purrazzo

     

Grade

B

          

Analysis

Morrissey cut the promo of his life with Miller. He was intense, passionate, and he spoke from the heart with fury.

It was real for him and, as is always the case in professional wrestling, promos that come packed with a hint of reality will always be the most believable. The inevitable match with Swann will be extraordinary.

The Knockouts tag team match was fun and combined a couple of stories within its framework.

Fire 'N Flava's Hogan and Steelz ended up brawling with Lee and Susan at ringside, suggesting there may be a battle of heel teams sooner rather than later. Then there was the continued dissension between Grace and Ellering that appears destined to end with the former's heel turn. Meanwhile, Dashwood continues to search for a permanent tag partner but to no avail.

The biggest takeaway was Rosemary's pinfall victory over Purrazzo. Typically, a win of that magnitude earns a title opportunity. With Against All Odds right around the corner, do not be surprised to see The Demon Assassin challenge The Virtuosa for the gold.

A backstage segment saw Scott D'Amore announce a 60-minute Iron Man match between Josh Alexander and TJP for next week's Before The Impact, making it the first of its kind to air on the pre-show.

Violent By Design made their way to the ring to address the fans, one week after securing the world tag team titles.

Eric Young ran down the process behind bringing Joe Doering, Deaner and Rhino together in VBD. 

"Impact Wrestling belongs to us. All wrestling, from the East coast to the West coast, will all belong to us," he said. As he mentioned Mexico and then Japan, the lights went out and the legendary Kojima made his way to the ring.

He came face-to-face with familiar foe Doering and uttered the words: "Against All Odds."

Doering nodded and the match was made official.

        

Grade

A

           

Analysis

Young running down the birth of Violent By Design and how he brought the group of stars together was a nice touch and a reminder to fans of what the faction is all about.

If Young and Co. are embarking on a major push, it is exactly the sort of promo you want to book to reintroduce the faction as a threat beyond the tag team division.

The emergence of Kojima and his short-but-sweet challenge to Doering should produce a great, hard-hitting match come June 12.

Alexander and TJP's feud may not necessarily be worthy of an Iron Man match, but one would be hard-pressed to find two other stars capable of tearing the house down and delivering an hour of quality professional wrestling. It's definitely a match worth tuning into next week's BTI prior to Impact for.

After a backstage interaction between Crazzy Steve and Violent By Design's Deaner, the former circus clown and partner Black Taurus battled Johnny Swinger and Hernandez in tag team action.

The brief sprint of a match concluded with Steve catching Swinger with a jumping DDT for the win.

         

Result

Decay defeated Swinger and Hernandez

        

Grade

D

          

Analysis

This was a quick, harmless squash tag match that put the spotlight directly on Decay as they jockey for position in the tag team division and prepare for a feud with Violent By Design, as hinted at by the interaction prior to the match.

The idea of the smaller Steve and the hybrid worker Taurus throwing down with bruisers like Doering and Rhino creates an interesting first matchup for the new champs, if that is the direction the company takes.

Moose and Sami Callihan worked over their opposition early in Thursday's main event, but Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson seized control, downing the latter and cutting him off from his partner.

Gallows worked a big headlock but a jawbreaker by The Draw allowed him to create separation and make the tag to Moose.

The No. 1 contender to the Impact world title exploded into the bout, wiping Gallows out with a springboard crossbody. As the babyfaces rolled, tensions between Moose and Callihan boiled over. There was a miscommunication spot between them that left Moose dismayed at ringside and allowed The Good Brothers to deliver the Magic Killer to Callihan for the win.

After the match, Moose delivered the Lights Out Spear to leave Callihan lying to close out the show.

         

Result

The Good Brothers defeated Moose and Callihan

        

Grade

C+

         

Analysis

This was a much quicker match than one would have imagined, with time restrictions clearly their part. 

Still, the talent managed to tell the story: The dissension between the babyfaces leading to the miscommunication, and Moose laying his partner out after the loss.

Moose is challenging Kenny Omega for the Impact title at Against All Odds, but one would be hard-pressed not to see Callihan as the real threat to dethrone The Cleaner somewhere down the line—perhaps at Slammiversary on July 17.

To do so, he may have to go through Moose, a match that would pit two of Impact's cornerstones in a high-stakes main event.