8 Ups & 3 Downs From IMPACT Wrestling (12 August)

by Adam Morrison

1. Josh Prevails, Jake Provokes

As a match, Josh Alexander vs. Daivari was nothing. If the latter won, he'd earn an X Division Championship match. Problem is, that was never going to happen. IMPACT was hardly going to end Josh's impeccable run just to give Daivari a meaningless win.

This did work, though, in the sense that it built the perfect arc for Alexander's next title clash with Jake Something. Josh worked wonderfully vs. the veteran Daivari, working a more vicious style. He was was nimble than usual. His flying Cross body while Daivari was sat on the ring apron was executed to such perfection, whereas his match-winning C4 Spike was sold blissfully.

The former Sheik Abdul Bashir didn't do much of interest here, but he didn't need to. Because Jake Something was stood on the stage, it told the whole story. Jake is desperate to lift his first championship in IMPACT Wrestling, as evidenced by him shoving the X Division Championship into Josh's shoulder post-match. A slight heel turn tease is essentially what this was.

So while the match could have been more, the story heading into Emergence is now a little more than two babyfaces having a friendly fight over the strap. The match will bang, too, which helps.

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Can be found raving about the latest IMPACT Wrestling signing, the Saints Row franchise, and King Shark in The Suicide Squad.