Rebellion 2024: Him And Him And Him

Rebellion 2024
Date: April 20, 2024
Location: Palms Casino Resort, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re back to the main pay per views and that should make for an interesting night. The big main event is Moose defending the World Title against Nic Nemeth, but we also have Josh Alexander vs. Hammerstone in a Last Man Standing rubber match. Other than that we have the usual array of title matches so let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Rascalz vs. Leon Slater/ABC

Slater takes Miguel down to start and runs him over without much trouble. It’s quickly off to Wentz vs. Austin with the former dragging Austin into the Rascalz corner. Austin fights out of trouble and brings Slater back in but Wentz drops him in a hurry. The standing moonsault gives Slater two but Austin fights up without much effort. It’s off to Bey (hometown boy) to clean house, including a springboard spinning kick to the head.

Everything breaks down and Reed hits a double cutter on ABC, setting up the big flip dive over the post. Slater hits his own big dive, only to miss a 450 back inside. All six get inside to slug it out with the Rascalz getting the better of things. Reed hits his running diving cutter to the floor and we hit the parade of strikes to the head. Bey cutters Reed and Slater’s Swanton 450 is good for the pin at 9:04.

Rating: B. Take six talented stars and let them go insane with one spot after another for the sake of warming the crowd up. It was good stuff for what it was supposed to be and the ABC gets back on track. I had a good time with this and that’s not bad for a makeshift team of heroes against the established villains.

Pre-Show: Digital Media Title: Crazzy Steve vs. Laredo Kid

Kid is challenging in a rematch after getting disqualified in his first shot. Kid starts fast and takes him into the corner for an early two. Steve gets smart by going for the mask (how he got under Kid’s skin last time) and the Upside Down makes it worse for Kid. That’s broken up and Kid sends him outside for the middle rope moonsault to stagger Steve.

Back in and Steve hammers away but misses a charge into the corner. Kid strikes away and hits a Michinoku Driver for two of his own. Steve catches him up top for a superplex but goes up top, only to get caught with a bite to the head. A super Spanish Fly gives Kid the pin and the title at 6:45.

Rating: C+. They kept things moving here but the important part is that Kid FINALLY won something. Kid has been treated as the guy who might be able to do something around here for a very long time though he had never actually won anything of note. This isn’t the most important title in the world, but it’s him accomplishing something and that will help going forward.

Pre-Show: Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Decay vs. Spitfire

Spitfire is defending and has Lars Frederiksen with them. Rosemary and Luna start things off with Rosemary taking her into the corner for some biting. The Upside Down has Luna in more trouble but it’s off to Threat for a front facelock. With that broken up, Havok comes in for an exchange of shoulders with Luna. Some kicks to the leg put Havok down and a basement clothesline drops her again.

Havok pops back up and hits Luna in the face, allowing the tag back to Rosemary. That doesn’t last long either as the tag brings Threat back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Threat hits a big flip dive onto Decay at ringside. Lars tells Threat to do it again but Havok cuts her off. A double powerbomb brings Havok down and it’s an assisted sitout spinebuster to finish Rosemary and retain at 10:34.

Rating: C+. These teams have traded the titles so it’s nice to see the champs retain for a change. They got a bit of time to work with here and Spitfire continues to work well together despite not being a team for very long. I’m not sure what is next for Decay, but given the lack of depth in the division, they probably won’t be away from the titles for very long.

Lars poses with the champs.

DJ Ashba plays a rock version of the national anthem.

The opening video shows the people on the card walking through the streets of Las Vegas before shifting to looks at the people in the arena. Nic Nemeth: “F*** the System.”

X-Division Title: Jake Something vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali, with his secret service is defending and gets shoved down by the much larger Something to start. Something cranks on the hand and tells Ali to bring it before running Ali over. They go to the corner, with Ali being laid on top and kicked in the ribs and Something catching him on the shoulder in an impressive feat. A hard clothesline gives Something two and they head outside, where his big chop only hits steps.

Back in and a rolling neckbreaker hits Something, followed by another on the ramp. Something crawls back in and gets caught with another neckbreaker for two. A DDT sets up the standing moonsault but Something wakes up and counters a hurricanrana into a sitout powerbomb.

Something gets two off a Rack Attack so he loads up a superbomb. That’s broken up with a hard shot and Ali German suplexes him onto the apron. The secret service’s distraction lets Ali hit the 450 for two. Something dives onto Ali and the goons and grabs Into The Void for two, with Ali putting his foot on the rope. The desperate Ali goes to the eyes to escape a powerbomb and grabs a rollup, and the rope, to retain at 11:37.

Rating: B-. Ali continues to be a nice mixture of talent and cheating and it’s making for a good title run. TNA has turned him into quite the featured attraction and he feels like a heck of a star. There is a good chance that Ali is going to hold onto the title for a good while and that is not a bad thing. On the other hand you have Something, who is another name who really needs to win something at some point. He shouldn’t have won here, but it needs to happen sooner or later.

We recap First Class coming together and Joe Hendry not being thrilled with them. Therefore, it’s time for Hendry vs. Rich Swann.

Joe Hendry vs. Rich Swann

AJ Francis is here with Swann. Hendry’s video features First Class doing his arm wave, which is proof that the team are fans of his. Swann tries to start fast but gets caught in a fireman’s carry drop for a big crash. They head outside where a Francis distraction lets Swann send Hendry into the steps to take over.

We get violent with Hendry’s eye being sent into the corner of the steps and Swann tears away at it back inside. Swann grabs the double arm crank until Hendry fights up for the comeback. Hold on though as Francis low bridges him and is handed a chain by a “Tik Tok legend”. Former NFL star Shawne Merriman cuts that off and gets in the ring for a staredown with Francis…before decking Hendry. Swann’s frog splash is enough to finish Hendry at 7:26.

Rating: C. Other than the Merriman stuff, this could have been on any given episode of Impact. What matters here is getting First Class a win as the team hasn’t been around very long and needs to do something to establish themselves. If nothing else, major points to Francis for turning his career from a joke into something resembling decent. That’s more than I would have expected and he deserves the credit. Throw in Swann to do the wrestling and it’s a nice combination.

We recap Eric Young vs. Frankie Kazarian. They were partners for a bit before breaking up and getting in a feud. Young got a World Title shot but Kazarian cost him the match and gave him a beating. Now it’s time for Full Metal Mayhem for some violence.

Eric Young vs. Frankie Kazarian

Full Metal Mayhem, meaning TLC but with pins/submissions. They start fast and head outside, with Young taking over and dropping a ladder onto him. Kazarian catches Young setting up a table but can’t hit Fade To Black. They get up onto the apron, where Young bites the hand but gets caught with a Fameasser over the middle rope. A slingshot DDT gives Kazarian two so he throws a ladder at Young for a nasty knockdown.

Young is back up with a hard whip into the ladder in the corner and various metal objects to the head have Kazarian in more trouble. Janice (the board with nails) is whipped out but the big swing misses, as does Kazarian trying to drive him face first into the nails. A spear off the apron and through the table at ringside doesn’t miss for Kazarian though and they’re both down on the floor.

They pull themselves up so Kazarian can get two back inside and it’s time for a slugout. We get a nasty exchange of cookie sheets to the head (those things are dented) until Young grabs a Death Valley Driver for two. Kazarian is back up with a chain to choke away in the corner before tying Young up for the chickenwing.

That’s broken up and Young puts him in a trashcan for the top rope elbow and a near fall. Kazarian’s Unprettier onto a bridged ladder gets the same and it’s time for a table. That takes WAY too long and Young fights off of it and catches him on top but Kazarian grabs a Flux Capacitor. They land in the general area of the table, with Young’s head slamming into the edge (and busting him open) for the pin at 15:17.

Rating: B. They beat the living daylights out of each other here and it was a violent brawl, though that ending was absolutely cringe inducing. Hopefully Young is ok, as you could see the blood flowing immediately. Other than that, it felt like two people wanting to hut each other and Kazarian gets a big win to hopefully end the feud once and for all.

Nic Nemeth is ready to be World Champion.

Here is Steve Maclin for a chat. He has a new contract and got everything he wanted, except for a match tonight. Cue Santino Marella to say we have a new star who just signed in the back. It’s time for his debut match.

Steve Maclin vs. Mike Santana

As in Santana of AEW/LAX fame. Santana strikes away to start and knocks Maclin outside rather quickly. The big flip dive takes Maclin down again but he sends Santana face first into the apron. We hit the chinlock back inside, followed by a running clothesline for two on Santana. The chinlock goes on again before Santana gets tied in the Tree of Woe.

The running shoulder misses and Santana grabs a rolling cutter. A Death Valley Driver gives Santana two but Maclin runs him over. The Jar Headbutt gives Maclin two and a Falcon Arrow gets the same. Now the running shoulder in the corner gets two but Santana is back with Spin The Block (discus lariat) for the pin at 8:04.

Rating: C+. Nice return for Santana here as he looked in good shape and was hitting some nice stuff. That being said, he felt like he was doing the same moves you see in almost every match and that isn’t likely to make him feel like a major star. Maybe he has something else, but at least he won and looked strong in his debut.

We look back at Spitfire retaining the Knockouts Tag Team Titles on the pre-show. Alisha Edwards and Masha Slamovich came out for the staredown.

The System is ready to retain their titles, with Moose bringing in NFL star John Abraham to have his back.

Tag Team Titles: The System vs. Speedball Mountain

The System, with Alisha Edwards, is defending. Myers and Bailey start things off with Bailey firing off the kicks so Myers brings in Edwards. That’s fine with Bailey, who kicks him down as well and hands it off to Seven. They head outside where Seven is sent knee first into the steps as the champs take over for the first time. Myers works on the bad knee back inside but Seven gets in a shot of his own, allowing the tag to Bailey. House is cleaned but Myers shoves Bailey off the top.

Seven hobbles over to chop Myers on top and a superplex sets up Bailey’s shooting star press for two. The tornado kick is broken up by Edwards, who sends Bailey into a table at ringside to cut him off. Edwards takes out Seven’s knee again and hits a tiger driver into a half crab. Bailey superkicks Myers down but his kicks to the chest can’t break the hold.

The bouncing kicks finally break it up, allowing Bailey to hit the springboard moonsault to Myers on the floor. Back in and a spinning kick to the face knocks Edwards into a dragon suplex for two. Seven’s knee gives out on the Birminghammer attempt though and Seven is sent into Bailey.

The Backpack Stunner/top rope elbow gives Edwards two on Seven and everyone needs a breather. Seven is back up with the Seven Star lariat to put Myers on the floor, leaving Eddie to get caught in the Birminghammer/top rope knee combination. Myers makes another save and spears Bailey out of the air on the floor. Back in and the Roster Cut into the Boston Knee Party to Seven retains the titles at 12:57.

Rating: B. This got some time and the champs get a win to keep establishing their reign. Edwards and Myers are a good example of a combination that was throwhen together and happened to win. It wasn’t a great match but it did well enough and had some strong action while it lasted.

We recap Hammerstone vs. Josh Alexander. While Alexander beat him the first time, Hammerstone came back and cheated to win while stealing Alexander’s headgear. Now it’s about revenge and violence in a Last Man Standing match.

Josh Alexander vs. Hammerstone

Last Man Standing. Alexander starts fast and drives him into the corner but Hammerstone uses the power to take over. A German suplex drops Hammerstone though and Alexander plants him on the apron. Hammerstone isn’t having that and does the same thing to Alexander, leaving him down for a change.

They slug it out on the floor with Hammerstone getting the better of things but it’s way too early for a ten count. Hammerstone picks him back up on the apron, where Alexander grabs a half and half suplex to put them both down again. Alexander gets smart by going after the leg and even grabs a Hartbreaker around the post.

With that broken up, Hammerstone grabs the headgear and blasts Hammerstone in the face for a rather near ten. Back up and Hammerstone grabs the torture rack to slow him down, only to reverse into the ankle lock to put Hammerstone down for a change. That’s broken up so Alexander hammers away but can’t hit the C4 Spike.

With nothing else working, it’s time for the thumbtacks and they go up top. Hammerstone Nightmare Pendulums Alexander into the tacks for nine and let’s grab the headgear. They fight to the ramp where Alexander hits another half and half, followed by the C4 Spike for the win at 20:07.

Rating: B. Another match where two guys beat the fire out of each other until one of them couldn’t get up. That is something that works rather well most of the time and I wanted to see Alexander get his revenge. At the same time, Hammerstone feels like someone who could be a big deal around here and losing a series to Alexander is only so much of a good start. That being said, all he has to do is wreck some people and he should be fine sooner than later. Solid fight here.

Jonathan Gresham is still in therapy but seems to accept the octopus mask as his other side.

We recap Jordynne Grace defending the Knockouts Title against Steph de Lander. Grace needed a new challenger and de Lander, as a replacement, won the 8-4-1 match to get the title shot. De Lander’s friend Matt Cardona helped put Grace through a table but now Cardona is out with a torn pectoral muscle, so it’s one on one.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Steph de Lander

Grace is defending and Ash By Elegance is watching in a box. De Lander has the Good Hands to uneven things a bit more. Grace charges at her to start but the much taller de Lander drives the champ into the corner. Some shots to the ribs don’t do much to Grace so they head outside, with de Lander staggering away. Back in and a TKO onto the top rope cuts Grace off and de Lander hammers away to keep Grace down. De Lander picks her up but Grace slips into a sleeper.

That’s broken up as well so de Lander sits her on top for a running big boot. Another whip into the corner has Grace in trouble but she comes back with another sleeper. This time de Lander can’t break it up and they go to the mat but the Good Hands offer a distraction. Grace lets go and accidentally hits the referee, allowing de Lander to get in a hard shot for…no cover as the referee is still down. Jon Skyler takes the referee’s shirt and puts it on for two…and the lights go out.

PCO is here to block the three count (ignore that Grace and de Lander have both moved away so there’s no cover, and apparently Skyler just laid there with his arm up until PCO appeared) and take out the Good Hands without much trouble. De Lander hits on PCO but gets grabbed by the throat, only to have Kon run in for the save (because this feud is still going).

Grace kicks Kon low and lifts him up but the Good Hands make the save this time. Kon goes after Grace’s neck but the lights go out again (come on already) and Sami Callihan is back. The Good Hands are cleared out and the Juggernaut Driver connects, with another referee coming in to count the pin at 12:40.

Rating: C. I have no idea what to think of this but when my first reaction is “WOW” because everything was so nuts, it’s probably not a great sign. They had that much interference and screwiness and not only did the referee just stay out for all of it, but then another referee just runs out there for the count? Total insanity and the match stopped about halfway through. De Lander overpowering Grace was a different way to go as I could go for getting the title off of Grace for a bit. I know she hasn’t been champion long, but she feels like she has been champion so often that it is hard to care about what she is doing again.

Slammiversary is in Montreal on July 20.

We recap Moose vs. Nic Nemeth for the World Title. Nemeth debuted back in January and wants to shake things up. Moose doesn’t care for that and is ready to keep his title.

TNA World Title: Nic Nemeth vs. Moose

Moose, with the System and John Abraham, is defending. Nemeth takes him down without much trouble but Moose powers up. They go outside with Nemeth being sent into the post, followed by a pump kick back inside. Moose gets backdropped onto the ramp though and Nemeth fires back, including the running DDT for two. Alisha Edwards breaks up the superkick, which is enough for the System to be ejected and even things way up.

Nemeth grabs a sleeper but gets driven into the corner a few times. That doesn’t break things up, so Moose goes up and crashes back down to finally get out. They head back outside with Moose loading up the steps but Nemeth manages a Fameasser for a much needed breather. A neckbreaker puts Moose down back inside and Nemeth drops the series of elbows.

The top rope elbow gets two but Moore is back with a Sky High for the same. Nemeth rolls him up for some near falls until Moose plants him with a powerbomb for two more. They go to the ramp, where Moose hits a heck of a powerbomb for a nine count. Back in and Moose tries a moonsault so Nemeth loads up a superkick…but Moose leaves it WAY too short so Nemeth doesn’t even throw the kick.

A Rough Ryder (not a Fameasser Tom) gets two and Moose tries to flip out of a clothesline but can’t quite stick the landing. An actual Fameasser gives Nemeth two and a spear hits Moose for the same. Nemeth misses a superkick so Moose hits a spear (and flips forward, despite Nemeth standing still, giving us another weird visual) for the pin (while picking Nemeth’s shoulder up during the cover) to retain at 17:25.

Rating: C-. I don’t know what was going on here but they were on different planets at times, with some of those spots feeling like they were designed to be jokes rather than attempts at getting them right. Maybe it was bad chemistry or something but this really did not work. Not a good main event, though at least it wasn’t crazy long like Moose vs. Eric Young.

Post match the System comes out to celebrate but a weird video starts playing. It keeps saying LIGHTS OUT and the lights go out (might be a bit more effective if it didn’t happen three or four times tonight)….and it’s Broken Matt Hardy. He takes out Moose and poses with the title to end the show. Oh sweet goodness that’s not a good way to end the show. Bringing back the TNA name was one thing, but bringing back this stuff, which was known for being so campy and ridiculous, just makes my head hurt. It’s ok to move on and do something else, and Matt Hardy is the definition of NOT moving forward.

Overall Rating: C+. The show was going along pretty well but those last two matches did not do this any favors. The Knockouts Title match was a circus and the main event didn’t click at all, but the real story here will be the returns. You had three returns, with Santana doing just fine, Callihan being back and doing the same hardcore stuff he always does, but the focus here is on Hardy.

There is a really good chance that he is going to be a big time player in TNA going forward and…egads can we not? The Broken stuff was fun for about five minutes but then it took over TNA and became the Hardys’ playground. I know it has its audience, but after seeing TNA come a VERY long way, it’s really disappointing to see the chance of Hardy getting even more attention and doing his wacky stuff as he approaches 50 years old.

Overall, this was a pretty good show with some high points, but it was so up and down that it was hard to really like it. You know the people who are going to give you good action in TNA and that was the case here, but some of the decisions and moves that are made around here are just hard to sit through. That very well may be the case with the Hardy return and I’m almost scared of where this is going.

Results
ABC/Leon Slater b. Rascalz – Swanton 450 to Reed
Laredo Kid b. Crazzy Steve – Super Spanish Fly
Spitfire b. Decay – Assisted sitout spinebuster to Rosemary
Mustafa Ali b. Jake Something – Rollup while holding the rope
Rich Swann b. Joe Hendry – Frog splash
Frankie Kazarian b. Eric Young – Flux Capacitor through a table
Mike Santana b. Steve Maclin – Spin The Block
System b. Speedball Mountain – Boston Knee Party to Seven
Josh Alexander b. Hammerstone when Hammerstone couldn’t answer the ten count
Jordynne Grace b. Steph de Lander – Juggernaut Driver
Moose b. Nic Nemeth – Spear

 

 

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