Photo Credits-Sports Illustrated, F4W Online, Cageside Seats
While Impact isn’t talked about nearly enough, they have multiple marquee talents up and down their roster. One part is the established legends, like Tommy Dreamer and Rhino. Their talented Knockouts roster, including Deonna Purazzo, Mercedes Martinez, and Mickie James. Perhaps their strong suit of the X-division with performers like Rohit Raju, Ace Austin, or Trey Miguel.
What often gets lost in the shuffle is their main event picture. While not as deep as the rest of the roster, the main event has been in good hands thanks to Moose.
Moose started off the year strong, teaming with Rich Swann and Chris Sabin to face off against Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers. This match showcased what Moose could do on a bigger scale, the performance highlighted by a spanish fly from the top rope.
Moose continued to pick up steam, declaring himself the TNA World Champion, despite the title being retired long ago. He became so dominant that the only option was to put him into a title unification against Impact World Champion Rich Swann. Even though Moose lost the match and his belt, this failed to slow his momentum.
Several months later, Moose earned himself a shot at the Impact Championship, this time facing off against Kenny Omega. He also earned the distinction of having the only Impact match at Daily’s Place, AEW’s homebase. Moose found himself on the losing end once again, but impressed against one of the best in the world, in what was probably Kenny Omega’s best match in Impact.
His Impact run would slow down after facing Omega, but this gave Moose the opportunity to work with New Japan and face Tomohiro Ishii at Resurgence. In his first match for the promotion in five years, Moose worked with Ishii in a brutal, hard-hitting affair, putting on another great match. Moose would also face Juice Robinson at Battle In The Valley, seeming to make more frequent appearances for NJPW.
Moose got the chance to return to the spotlight, winning the Call Your Shot Gauntlet battle royal at Bound For Glory, earning the opportunity to challenge for any title at any point. He would waste no time, dethroning newly crowned Impact Champion Josh Alexander on the same night. This marked the first time Moose won the grand prize in Impact after grinding for the better part of five years.
He followed up one of the best heel moves of the year by cutting a magnificent promo on the next episode of Impact. Moose made several references to the industry’s top stars like The New Day, Becky Lynch, and Roman Reigns. This promo did a magnificent job of establishing Moose as a top star in the industry, one which Impact will be heavily invested in for years to come.
The best part is that Moose’s title reign has only just started. He has only defended the tile once on Impact programming, defeating Eddie Edwards in a spectacular hardcore match to close Turning Point 2021. He will defend the title for the first time in 2022 at Hard to Kill against both Matt Cardona and W. Morrissey.
Moose has the potential to become the unstoppable heel champion of Impact, with his run should look very similar to Bobby Lashley’s. He should be running through the roster with ease, making it all the more impressive when someone can finally dethrone this unstoppable machine. Either way, Moose has earned his spot and isn’t looking to give it up any time soon.
