Hot Fire: September 20, 2019

​What’s going on Impact Asylum? Time for another sizzling Hot Fire! Were about 30 days away from Bound For Glory and we still have the Las Vegas tapings to go through to get to that point. For tonight, we’re watching the last episode from the Fronton Arena in Mexico. Without further ado, let’s get right to it.
 
The Rating Scale:
HOT FIRE - Amazing/5 Stars
HOT - Great
WARM - Good
LUKEWARM - Okay/Decent
COLD - Bad
FREEZING - Horrible/1 Star
 
Impact Wrestling September 20th 2019:
 
Street Fight: Tessa Blanchard/Tommy Dreamer/RVD/Rhyno vs OVE:
 
Winner: Tessa Blanchard, Tomm Dreamer, RVD & Rhyno
 
WARM - Colour me surprised, even if the stipulation was barely used, this was a very fun 8 man tag match. They worked to everyone’s strengths so RVD and Dreamer didn’t look too bad and everyone got a moment to shine. Tessa submitting Jake Crist kind of sucks, but based off the matches they announced for next week, it kind of makes sense. At least they didn’t bury Madman Fulton some more. Overall a great opener to the show though.
 

• Ace Austin is backstage in a wheelchair and an arm brace after Eddie Edwards attacked his arm. Ace tells Alisha he wouldn’t miss her match for the world. As she leaves to get ready, Ace winks at the camera.

 

• Jimmy Jaobs is interviewing The North. The North are celebrating LAX leaving Impact, Ethan Page takes out party hats and puts them on Jimmy Jacobs and Josh Alexander. Josh isn’t too impressed but Ethan takes out a pinata and forces Josh to blow into a paper blower.

 
Taya Valkyrie vs Alisha Edwards:
 
Winner: Taya Valkyrie
 
WARM - The match wasn’t the point here as the Ace Austin shenanigans continue, and they’re so ridiculous that it’s actually entertaining. Alisha and Eddie look like morons but I get it because the babyface is always dumb in situations like this. Ace is embracing this character and it really shows. More of this please.
 

• The North are walking backstage and celebrating the departure of LAX. They ask Rhyno and RVD if they want to party, but since they don’t answer, The North brings up the fact that they have a pinata. Rhyno destroys the pinata and The North run off. Rhyno just wants candy but RVD actually wanted to party. This self aware comedy is golden.

 
Mahabali Shera vs Cody Deaner:
 
Winner: Mahabali Shera
 
LUKEWARM - If Shera is here to stay, this is how they need to use him. His time in WWE has definitely improved him but he’s still quite green but if he remains dominant like this in quick matches then it should be fine. I just hope that the Desi Hit Squad is treated seriously after this feud with The Deaners.
 
The Rascalz vs Australian Suicide/Toxin/Arez:
 
Winner: The Rascalz
 
COLD - So this match was EXTREMELY short with no time for anything to really grow organically. I guess this makes The Rascalz look stronger but it was so short that no one really had time to shine. The AAA talent all looked pretty good based off the limited screen time they had and the wrestler with the long hair (Toxin? Impact commentary did a horrible job identifying who was who) reminds me way too much of Psycosis.
 

• Moose is walking in the streets of Mexico to prove he isn’t scared of anything. He beats up a bunch of people in the street as he talks crap about Ken Shamrock.

 

• Jimmy Jacobs is having a sit down interview with Tenille Dashwood. Tenille said she came to Impact because she wants to forge her own path and face the best, especially Taya. She beat Taya in her first encounter and it’s time to do it again. A good promo from Tenille.

 
No DQ: Havok vs Su Yung:
 
Winner: Havok
 
LUKEWARM - Funny how a No DQ match had more weapons than a Street Fight. But besides that, this was just a quick run of the mill hardcore match that was there to get us to the post match segment. Havok has one both encounters if I remember correctly at this point so they need to be careful not to bury Su Yung too much. Just an okay match.
 

• Su Yung and Havok fight to the back, and up a stairwell, where Havok HANGS Su Yung off the guard rail, where she dies and security tries to save her.

 

• Melissa is at her bachelorette party with the locker room. Taya wants to address everyone but everyone starts arguing about champagne. Once everyone has a glass, Taya wants to talk about HER. Joey Ryan arrives as a cop but everyone finds out he’s soon a stripper and starts grinding on everyone. The way Joey Ryan was looking into the camera was HILARIOUS.

 

• Tommy Dreamer and Rich Swann are making sexually subjective comments as Brian Cage is moaning in the background. The camera pans to Brian Cage and it’s him eating a bunch of donuts.

 

• Johnny Swinger vignette. He debuts next week. Oh dear…

 
Rich Swann/Willie Mack vs LAX:
 
Winner: Rich Swann & Willie Mack
 
WARM  - This had a slow start but ended up being a pretty good match. Definitely not the biggest bang but LAX have given us tons of MOTY candidates already. This was a good farewell for LAX as most of the roster came out to celebrate. Although they didn’t really follow the Loser’s Leave stipulation, at least Impact finally acknowledge and paid respect to a HUGE talent like LAX (who are homegrown) on their way. LAX, you will be missed.
 

• Su Yung is in the hospital as she flatlines and medics start doing CPR, they can’t revive her so they leave. The camera slowly zooms in on the bed and Su Yung wakes up from the dead. DUN DUN DUNNNNNN.

 
OVERALL:
 
WARM - This was definitely the best Impact episode from Mexico by a long shot. I have no idea why but these tapings always end up being the worst and these tapings were no exception. I’m excited for Impact finally going to Las Vegas next week. Impact is slowly putting together the card for BFG but I hope they didn’t forget about Elgin as they need to get him hot and relevant for his match with Naomichi Marufugi.
 
This Week’s Impact MVP:
 
LAX - Thank you for all the matches, thank you for all the MOTY candidates, thank you for Barbed Wire Massacre, thank you for the Concrete Jungle Deathmatch, thank you for the cinematic street fight, thank you for LAX. One of the most incredible teams in Impact’s history and Ortiz and Santana took LAX and ran with it until the very end. They will be missed in Impact.
 
Next Week on Impact:

• Johnny Swinger Debuts
• Brian Cage and Melissa Santos’ wedding
• X-Division Title Ladder Match Qualifier: Tessa Blanchard vs Dave Crist
• Mahabali Shera vs Cousin Jake
• Tenille Dashwood vs Madison Rayne

 
That wraps up another edition of Hot Fire! Thank you all for stopping by, make sure to leave your thoughts on the show in the comments below and I will see you all next week with another column. My name’s Fireguy and I’ll talk to you all a little bit later.