4 Ups & 7 Downs From This Week's Impact Wrestling (May 24)

1. Storytelling Is Key

After a few weeks of antagonising Taya Valkyrie over her Knockouts Championship, Madison Rayne finally received her title opportunity against Wera Loca. The wait was worth it as the match was rather good. Not exactly a five star instant classic, but it made for a decent watch.

The story throughout was Taya working on the leg of Madison, sort of stealing a move right out of The Queen Bee’s arsenal – Rayne has used a single leg Boston crab to defeat Valkyrie in a previous encounter, a move that the champion even used during this match. That tactic proved to work for Taya as it prevented Rayne from doing certain moves throughout the contest, namely a vertical suplex.

A stiff knee strike and a Road to Valhalla facebuster marked the end of Madison’s championship aspirations for now, and also the end of what was quite the match. A well-built story can do wonders for any rivalry really. As long as the workers involved are able to do that, then you’re likely in for an alright match.