United We Stand was a professional wrestling internet pay-per-view (iPPV) event produced by Impact Wrestling that will take place on April 4, 2019 in Rahway, New Jersey. It was the second event in the 2019 Impact Wrestling pay-per-view schedule. Wrestlers from Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) and Lucha Underground - with whom Impact has partnerships with - as well as stars from Major League Wrestling (MLW), Dragon Gate and Wrestle Pro also appeared on the card. The event was also streamed live on FITE TV.
I ordered the show for a mere $20 (a fair price IMO) off of the FITE TV app on my Amazon Fire Stick. The show aired without any streaming hiccups, but I did run into a few instances in the first half of the show where I either could barely hear anything or there wasn't any audio at all, especially in that backstage segment between Moose, Eddie Edwards, and Cage. I tweeted about it last night too, but I'm pretty sure that BotchaMania is going to have a field day in terms of citing the awkward camera cuts and production botches throughout the night. Don't get me wrong. This was a solid show from an in-ring talent perspective, but it came across as an extremely low budget indie show in terms of production and presentation. C'mon now, this is WrestleMania weekend. Everyone has to put their best foot forward and not settle for "just good enough" to be a part of the festivities to ride off WWE's coattails in terms of business for the weekend. Either go balls to the wall with the effort or don't do it at all, in my honest opinion.
There was a pre-show match live on Impact Wrestling's Twitch channel, but I didn't get back in from a food run in time to catch it, nor I was aware they were even doing a pre-show match period. That was some pretty bad advertising on Impact Wrestling's behalf there.
The result from that match saw Fallah Bahh and KM defeat the Heavenly Bodies and Team Espana to win the WrestlePro Tag Team Championships.
Ultimate X Match for a future X Division Championship Match
I was scratching my head at the start of this match to see that the Impact World Champion himself was competing in an Ultimate X Match. This was a welcome surprise, but wouldn't this have been something that Johnny had taken up prior to his World Championship aspirations? I guess they are going the route that Impact did with Lashley a few years prior where he had all of the Impact Wrestling Championships. It's either that or planning long-term where Johnny can get the X-Division Championship after losing it in the near-future and insert himself back into the main event picture by cashing in "Option C" to get another World title shot by vacating that title.
Out of all of the names from Lucha Underground that haven't been scooped up by WWE, I'm shocked that WWE (or any promotion really) hasn't snatched up Dante Fox (AR Fox) and Marty the Moth (Martin Casaus). Two talents that would add an exclamation point to any company's talent roster.
Speaking of talent, both Jack Evans and Kotto Brazil were absent from this match, even though they were advertised to be apart of this opener. I wonder what happened in that regard.
I don't want to say that this match was bad, but it wasn't nothing spectacular nor out of the ordinary in terms of these Ultimate X matches. Given the talent on hand here, I was a little disappointed in what we got here.
No offense in the least to Tommy Dreamer, but I was massively disappointed to see him show up as the last man for Team Impact. I get it - they are in the New York area so they wanted to cater to the old ECW fanbase for the nostalgia pop and they definitely got it for sure. I felt this match was a little too slow in terms of pacing, especially for all of the talent involved. The finish fell flat to me where Moose turned on his own teammates, allowing Marty the Moth to pick up the win over Team Impact.
I didn't have a damn problem with Team Impact picking up the win here as they deserve something with the question of whether or not their show/promotion is getting is another season is completely up in the air. Even the producers are saying that they are under the impression that the show is dead at this stage. It wasn't looking good that Lucha Underground/AAA and El Rey Network granted those talents who were suing them for refusing to release them from their contracts, notably Joey Ryan, King Cuerno, and Ivelisse. I'm anxious to see where those individuals are going to end up by the end of the year.
4-Way match for the Impact Knockouts Championship
Katie Forbes' fineness was a welcome surprise for this match. Every time I see that woman I'm taken back by her beauty, whether it's from catching up on WOW on the DVR on Axis or seeing her on the independent scene from time to time. RVD definitely reeled himself in one hell of a prize. There were a few stumbles in this match all around, but I thought it was decent for what we were given here. Rosemary was lured away by the arrival of Su Yung, which caused them to brawl into the back. I'm guessing they are playing up her role that she played in Allie's "death" on Impact Wrestling last week (done to write her character off their programming as she's signed with All Elite Wrestling). Rosemary's departure signified the finishing sequence that saw Jordynne Grace connect with a Michinoku Driver to Forbes, only for Taya to steal the win to retain her title.
I'm not mad at these "screw job" finishes for Jordynne as it's the same thing that they are doing with Cage against Johnny Impact. In due time, both powerhouses will be holding Impact gold and I think it will be well worth the wait. If I had to complain/critique about anything involving Jordynne Grace is that she (along with Cage at times) sell their opponents' offense a bit too much for my taste. In Jordynne's case, I think it has to do with her still being fairly new to being on "mainstream" wrestling and showing respect to her opponents. Call me old fashioned, but I like to see the powerhouse archetypes in wrestling sell as few moves as possible.
I was saddened at the lack of Salina de la Renta to escort her clients to the ring, but that was minor setback from what we got here in terms of action. This match wasn't as good as some of LAX's high profile feuds and matches over past two years, but it was a solid match nonetheless. Low-Ki returned to Impact here, rocking his Hitman 47 look while Ricky Martinez was thugged out as usual in terms of his ring gear. I hope MLW works with Impact Wrestling more often as those two promotions could really help each other out if they can manage to lend out talent sparingly to enhance their cards and/or storylines.
Intergender Match
This was actually a really good match. I shouldn't have been surprised, given that Tessa Blanchard was involved, but I have to give props for where it's due. There were lots of back and forth between Ryan and Tessa, with Ryan targeting Tessa's arm in hopes to impair her for the long haul of this match's duration. Unfortunately, Joey Ryan had to squeeze in his stupid "dick throwing" spot into this match and that's where I mentally checked out in terms of buying into this match. They went into a sequence of multiple near-falls shortly after this, only for Tessa to crank out the win after connecting the Magnum (Diving Codebreaker) from the top rope.
I could have done completely without seeing Ryan's stupid dick throw spot here, but otherwise this was a solid bout. I'm sure Jim Cornette is somewhere losing his mind about his favorite female wrestler actually selling the infamous "dick spot"...
Singles match for the Impact X Division Championship
I thought this match was the sleeper hit of the entire evening. Lots of back and forth action from both competitors, even though I was still a little saddened that Swann's original opponent (DragonGate's Yamato) was unable to make this event. Flamita was a solid replacement, even managing to make me buy into the possibility that the X-Division Championship could have changed hands here tonight. In the end, Swann got the win, but I wouldn't be opposed to see these two guys face one another again.
I enjoyed Rich Swann's new look here. About time that he distanced himself from the look that a friend of mine described best as "Swann trying out to be an extra on Roots" and more importantly from his ill-fated WWE career.
For me, this match felt like deja vu from what these two guys did EXACTLY in MLW towards the tail end over on MLW Fusion in the same type of match. What I couldn't get over was that they did some of the exact same spots too. Nothing out of the norm here if you're used to these crazy hardcore matches that Callihan has been putting his body through over the last few years since signing with Impact.
I swear wrestlers in general need to stop abusing that piledriver spot while standing on a bunch of chairs. It looks stupid and whoever is willing to take it has to be even stupider.
There was a pre-show match live on Impact Wrestling's Twitch channel, but I didn't get back in from a food run in time to catch it, nor I was aware they were even doing a pre-show match period. That was some pretty bad advertising on Impact Wrestling's behalf there.
The result from that match saw Fallah Bahh and KM defeat the Heavenly Bodies and Team Espana to win the WrestlePro Tag Team Championships.
Ultimate X Match for a future X Division Championship Match
Impact World Champion Johnny Impact def. Jake Crist, Dante Fox, Pat Buck & Ace Austin
I was scratching my head at the start of this match to see that the Impact World Champion himself was competing in an Ultimate X Match. This was a welcome surprise, but wouldn't this have been something that Johnny had taken up prior to his World Championship aspirations? I guess they are going the route that Impact did with Lashley a few years prior where he had all of the Impact Wrestling Championships. It's either that or planning long-term where Johnny can get the X-Division Championship after losing it in the near-future and insert himself back into the main event picture by cashing in "Option C" to get another World title shot by vacating that title.
Out of all of the names from Lucha Underground that haven't been scooped up by WWE, I'm shocked that WWE (or any promotion really) hasn't snatched up Dante Fox (AR Fox) and Marty the Moth (Martin Casaus). Two talents that would add an exclamation point to any company's talent roster.
Speaking of talent, both Jack Evans and Kotto Brazil were absent from this match, even though they were advertised to be apart of this opener. I wonder what happened in that regard.
I don't want to say that this match was bad, but it wasn't nothing spectacular nor out of the ordinary in terms of these Ultimate X matches. Given the talent on hand here, I was a little disappointed in what we got here.
Team Lucha Underground (Aerostar, Drago, Marty The Moth MartÃnez and Daga) def. Team Impact (Brian Cage, Eddie Edwards, Moose, and Tommy Dreamer)
No offense in the least to Tommy Dreamer, but I was massively disappointed to see him show up as the last man for Team Impact. I get it - they are in the New York area so they wanted to cater to the old ECW fanbase for the nostalgia pop and they definitely got it for sure. I felt this match was a little too slow in terms of pacing, especially for all of the talent involved. The finish fell flat to me where Moose turned on his own teammates, allowing Marty the Moth to pick up the win over Team Impact.
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| That was just fucking gross... |
4-Way match for the Impact Knockouts Championship
Taya Valkyrie (c) def. Jordynne Grace, Katie Forbes, and Rosemary
Katie Forbes' fineness was a welcome surprise for this match. Every time I see that woman I'm taken back by her beauty, whether it's from catching up on WOW on the DVR on Axis or seeing her on the independent scene from time to time. RVD definitely reeled himself in one hell of a prize. There were a few stumbles in this match all around, but I thought it was decent for what we were given here. Rosemary was lured away by the arrival of Su Yung, which caused them to brawl into the back. I'm guessing they are playing up her role that she played in Allie's "death" on Impact Wrestling last week (done to write her character off their programming as she's signed with All Elite Wrestling). Rosemary's departure signified the finishing sequence that saw Jordynne Grace connect with a Michinoku Driver to Forbes, only for Taya to steal the win to retain her title.
 |
| That was a welcome surprise last night... |
I'm not mad at these "screw job" finishes for Jordynne as it's the same thing that they are doing with Cage against Johnny Impact. In due time, both powerhouses will be holding Impact gold and I think it will be well worth the wait. If I had to complain/critique about anything involving Jordynne Grace is that she (along with Cage at times) sell their opponents' offense a bit too much for my taste. In Jordynne's case, I think it has to do with her still being fairly new to being on "mainstream" wrestling and showing respect to her opponents. Call me old fashioned, but I like to see the powerhouse archetypes in wrestling sell as few moves as possible.
The Latin American Xchange (Santana and Ortiz) (with Konnan) def. Promociones Dorado (Low-Ki and Ricky Martinez)
I was saddened at the lack of Salina de la Renta to escort her clients to the ring, but that was minor setback from what we got here in terms of action. This match wasn't as good as some of LAX's high profile feuds and matches over past two years, but it was a solid match nonetheless. Low-Ki returned to Impact here, rocking his Hitman 47 look while Ricky Martinez was thugged out as usual in terms of his ring gear. I hope MLW works with Impact Wrestling more often as those two promotions could really help each other out if they can manage to lend out talent sparingly to enhance their cards and/or storylines.
Intergender Match
Tessa Blanchard def. Joey Ryan
This was actually a really good match. I shouldn't have been surprised, given that Tessa Blanchard was involved, but I have to give props for where it's due. There were lots of back and forth between Ryan and Tessa, with Ryan targeting Tessa's arm in hopes to impair her for the long haul of this match's duration. Unfortunately, Joey Ryan had to squeeze in his stupid "dick throwing" spot into this match and that's where I mentally checked out in terms of buying into this match. They went into a sequence of multiple near-falls shortly after this, only for Tessa to crank out the win after connecting the Magnum (Diving Codebreaker) from the top rope.
I could have done completely without seeing Ryan's stupid dick throw spot here, but otherwise this was a solid bout. I'm sure Jim Cornette is somewhere losing his mind about his favorite female wrestler actually selling the infamous "dick spot"...
Singles match for the Impact X Division Championship
Rich Swann (c) defeated Flamita
I thought this match was the sleeper hit of the entire evening. Lots of back and forth action from both competitors, even though I was still a little saddened that Swann's original opponent (DragonGate's Yamato) was unable to make this event. Flamita was a solid replacement, even managing to make me buy into the possibility that the X-Division Championship could have changed hands here tonight. In the end, Swann got the win, but I wouldn't be opposed to see these two guys face one another again.
I enjoyed Rich Swann's new look here. About time that he distanced himself from the look that a friend of mine described best as "Swann trying out to be an extra on Roots" and more importantly from his ill-fated WWE career.
Monster's Ball Match - Sami Callihan defeated Jimmy Havoc
For me, this match felt like deja vu from what these two guys did EXACTLY in MLW towards the tail end over on MLW Fusion in the same type of match. What I couldn't get over was that they did some of the exact same spots too. Nothing out of the norm here if you're used to these crazy hardcore matches that Callihan has been putting his body through over the last few years since signing with Impact.
I swear wrestlers in general need to stop abusing that piledriver spot while standing on a bunch of chairs. It looks stupid and whoever is willing to take it has to be even stupider.
Extreme Rules Tag Team Match - The Lucha Bros (Fénix and Pentagón Jr.) def. Rob Van Dam and Sabu
This was the dream match-up that everyone was staying up for on a work night to see. This match started at roughly 1:21AM and it seemed like they were rushing through spots just to get to the finish. I believe there was an issue with the venue because the finish came out of nowhere and the competitors were left in the dark as the iPPV came to a close. As much I did like what they did with the time that they were given, I wish they were given more time.
On second though, more time could have been to Sabu's detriment (he even had his indie valet, Melissa Coates, here as his "genie" for his ring entrance surprisingly) as he was half-confused or out of place/sync with RVD on some of their spots together. To him and RVD's credit, they both looked great here as I had no idea that Sabu grew his hair back out while RVD is in amazing shape for his age. This is like day and night in comparison to Kurt Angle currently in WWE.
Once again, I just wish they gave these guys more time to work with.
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