Austin Aries vs. Moose (IMPACT 7/22/18)
Wrestling as theater seems to have gone out of vogue in recent years. The majority of great matches I experience as of late feel like they are chiseled out of stone in front of you. Through stiff striking and solid fundamentals, they figure out a great match. Rarely do matches feel designed. Pieced together in a way where little is left to chance but without losing that sense of urgency or excited that comes from a match feeling like a series of lifeless motions so the performers can get to the major spots of the match. Moose and Aries simply put on a tightly packaged, Classic world championship match that stood out by being great in a way we don’t see often these days.
Before we get too far into it, Curtis Granderson comes out which…which is very TNA. Slammiversary this year takes place in Toronto so Granderson is a good choice all things I consider I suppose. Apparently he is a wrestling fan and has attended multiple Impact shows. His official role was “title holder” which is a good bit tbqhwy. His presence adds to the Entertainment Factor of the whole deal. It is corny but in an endearing way.
The way the match is worked Aries has to work as the Flair-esque champion against the much bigger babyface Moose. Even going as far as Flair Flopping on the outside. Moose was coming in hot during this so it was a neat little spot. Aries has all the talent to compete but he has to do what he has to do to keep his strap against someone that could steamroll him if he gives him the opening. A lot of the match features Aries on the offense, laying in a variety of top notch strikes, and tossing in shortcuts when necessary.
It goes to both wrestlers’ credit that they manage to not make a mockery of the circumstances. They create understandable situations that puts Aries in these advantageous positions. Moose is as explosive as they come which leads to some great little comebacks. His dropkicks have such air, he throws a nice headbutt, and at one point he catches Aries in a lawn down position out of nowhere and drilled the champion into the middle turnbuckle. That explosiveness also leads to Moose being caught in bad positions. Whether it be tossing himself over the guardrails or CRASHING and BURNING on a dive onto the ramp. An asinine bump that it brings a tear to your eye.
That ramp bump is part of why I see this match as wrestling as theater. Everything in this match is exaggerated and played to the nosebleeds. They deliver a big callback spot with Aries tope that is both gnarly when Moose stops it the first time and wicked when Aries hits it the second. Moose tossing Aries into the crowd onto some employees is a great moment that isn’t this wild bump or amazing feat of strength. Moose lifts Aries’ weight as a warmup at the gym. The way the match has ebbed and flowed up to that point gets the endorphins flowing once you see Aries get tossed through the air.
The finish? Yeah, that’s pro wrestling baby. I won’t go into it but dang this match is so fun. It is so well structured. Everything feels larger than life. And they managed to do it in Impact Wrestling, maybe the singularly most difficult promotion to produce that kind of feeling.
Spandex Are Still Cool 