We’re right in the path of a big snow storm that is scheduled to start tonight and go into Tuesday.  I’ll be around as long as I can be, but there is a chance we’ll lose power.  If so, we’ll be heading to a hotel but there might be some delays.  Takeover should be fine tonight, but after that it might be touch and go for a bit.  Last week was fine though so maybe this will be too.

KB

We’re back to the good ones here as NXT returns with another Takeover event. This time around we have Vengeance Day, which isn’t the best name but maybe the obvious St. Valentine’s Day Massacre is a little too violent for them. Believe it or not, the card is stacked as we have three title matches plus the two Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals. Let’s get to it.

Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: MSK vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

We’ll start with a good one here as I’m actually not sure who is going to win this thing. MSK debuted in the start of the tournament and have made it all the way to the finals. This certainly works for me as I’ve been a fan of the team since they debuted in Impact Wrestling and now they might actually win something. At the same time, the Veterans lost in last year’s finals and it seems that they are due.

I’ll go with MSK to win in an upset though, as they would make for a more interesting matchup against Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch. This is one of those matches that could get some time with some awesome near falls at the end and that’s where NXT’s tag team division shines. The good thing is that they are building up some new teams (like these two) and the future might be a bit brighter. See how nice it is when there is a problem and the promotion actually addresses it?

Women’s Title: Io Shirai(c) vs. Toni Storm vs. Mercedes Martinez

Did you realize that Shirai has been champion for over eight months? It always seems like she is ready to lose the thing at any given time but here she is again, getting rather close to the elite level of Women’s Champions. This is quite the task though as you could see either one of these two taking the title. That’s exactly the point of something like this though and NXT has set things up well.

I’m tempted to pick Martinez here as she has gotten the least hype out of the three but I’ll take Storm to win here. This is more along the lines of a gut feeling as they have been building towards Storm taking the title. They could go multiple ways here, but I’ll go with Storm winning. It gets the title off of Shirai, though I’m not sure what is next for her either. But yeah, Storm wins here.

North American Title: Johnny Gargano(c) vs. Kushida

This has been built up for a long time now and I wasn’t sure if they were ever actually going to do it. Kushida is my favorite guy out of New Japan and while he isn’t the same as he was there, I still like seeing him out there and getting a bit of a push like this. Above all else, it’s nice to see someone new getting a shot at the title.

As nice as it is to see Kushida getting a chance like this, Gargano keeps the title. We’ve done the thing with him losing the title in a hurry far too often already so they need to have him retain here. Gargano needs the win more than Kushida here as it’s not like Kushida is going to lose anything by taking the loss here. He’s been playing with the house’s money for this entire feud so Gargano going over here is fine.

Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez vs. Ember Moon/Shotzi Blackheart

Yes, believe it or not a team with no history together has made the finals of a Dusty Classic. That is as much of a tradition as the tournament itself because WWE really, really likes that idea. This time around we do at least have a regular team included, though I have a bad feeling that it isn’t going to matter, which tends to be the case throughout the history of the tournament.

In other words, yeah Blackheart and Moon win here because they’re a more logical team to lose to Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler. I’m rather sick of seeing the thrown together teams winning here but I guess it makes for a better story or something. Granted that might not be the case when you see the same thing taking place so often but it’s likely taking place here so I’ll go with Blackheart and Moon.

NXT Title: Finn Balor(c) vs. Pete Dunne

And then we cap it off with a dream match as these two seem like they could have an absolute classic. The cool thing about NXT: it is more likely than not that they will. This is going to be a hard hitting fight and they are going to get the time that they need to make it work out as well as they could. It’s a match I would have preferred to see a year or two ago, but I’ll certainly take what I can get.

As for a winner……dang it where’s a quarter I can flip? I’ll take Balor here, but my goodness this one could go either way. I’m not sure how this one is going to end but they are going to beat the living fire out of each other and it’s going to be absolutely awesome. This feels like a Takeover main event and that’s about as good of an accolade as you can give to a match these days.

Overall Thoughts

This is as stacked of a card as there has been in a long time and that’s a great thing to see. I want to see how almost everything goes and it’s nice to have the hype back for these shows. It has all of the potential in the world and it’s even better to have Takeover’s reputation behind the whole thing. Just go with what works here, and that means following Takeover’s tried and true formula.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Unforgiven 2006
Date: September 17, 2006
Location: Air Canada Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Attendance: 16,105
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

I can’t believe it but I’m actually looking forward to this show as it has a stacked card. We have a double main event of John Cena challenging Edge for the WWE Title in a TLC match, plus DX vs. the McMahons/Big Show inside the Cell. Throw in Trish Stratus’ retirement match and you have a heck of a show. Let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on the double main event while talking about how the thirst for revenge can be unquenchable. Makes perfect sense.

Intercontinental Title: Jeff Hardy vs. Johnny Nitro

Nitro is defending and has Melina in his corner. Feeling out process to start and we pause for a NITRO SUCKS chant. Neither can get a hiptoss so Hardy armdrags him into an armbar for a change. That works so well that Hardy does it again but this time Nitro is up with a forearm into the corner. Cue Melina screaming, which is likely to be a theme throughout the match. Jeff takes him down for the legdrop between the legs to send Nitro outside, followed by right hands in the corner back inside.

There’s the slingshot dropkick but it’s way too early to try the Swanton. Instead Hardy baseball slides him to the floor but Nitro catches him with a dropkick on the way back inside. Nitro starts working on the knee by driving it into the mat and hitting a hard kick (cue the scream). Some cranking on the knee ensues with a modified Indian Deathlock, followed by a chop block. As commentary tries to figure out where Pat Patterson is at the moment, Morrison misses a corkscrew moonsault, allowing Hardy to grab a rollup for two.

JR has to cut Lawler off from talking about Melina’s moist looking skin as Hardy knocks Nitro off the top. The Swanton bangs up the knee though and it’s a pretty delayed two. Nitro starts cranking on the leg again but Melina gets on the apron for no apparent reason. That means a big crash as Hardy kicks Nitro into her, meaning a rollup gets a near fall. Melina pops up with her boot off and knocks Hardy silly so Nitro can retain.

Rating: B-. This got some extended time and it was a good choice for an opener. They did their thing until the ending, which was a bit off but served as a fine way to keep the title on Nitro. There is nothing wrong with sending two young(ish) guys out there and having them put on a good match to start things off and that is exactly what they did here.

Teddy Long is here in case John Cena loses and has to go to Smackdown.

Matt Hardy comes up to Jeff Hardy in the back and tells him good job. Lita comes in for the Team Xtreme reunion but mocks both of them for not being champions.

Umaga vs. Kane

Armando Alejandro Estrada is here with Umaga and hypes up Umaga before the match. Kane slugs away to start and they’re on the floor in a hurry with Umaga getting the better of things. Back in and the running headbutt keeps Kane in trouble, followed by the running Umaga Attack in the corner to make it worse.

Kane comes back with his own right hands but charges into the Samoan drop to cut that off. It’s time for the middle rope thumb to the throat but Kane sits up to avoid it, giving us a great shocked look from Estrada. Some headbutts rock Umaga and Kane suplexes him out to the floor. There’s a clothesline over the barricade and they brawl into the crowd for the double countout to continue the feud.

Rating: C-. There’s nothing wrong with a power brawl and Umaga kept looking good, though the ending didn’t exactly make me want to see them keep fighting. Umaga dominated most of the match and while what we got was acceptable enough, there was only so much that you could get out of a seven minute match which ended in a bridge to the next match.

Post match they fight onto the stage and then…..into the back, drawing a rather negative reaction from the fans.

Vince and Shane McMahon fire each other up and insult Canada.

Tag Team Titles: Spirit Squad vs. Highlanders

Kenny and Mikey are defending for the Squad. Rory sunset flips Mikey for an early two and it’s already time to slow down a bit. Mikey’s head is sent into Robbie’s in the corner and the Highlanders start taking turns on his arm. Kenny comes in and gets backdropped in a hurry so the Highlanders can take over on him as well. Some slingshot knees connect in the corner and Rory does exactly the same for two.

That’s enough for Kenny to bring Mikey back in so Rory ax handles him in the chest. A dropkick puts Mikey on the floor but Robbie’s dive completely misses. Back in and a running clothesline takes Robbie down as the champs take over. Kenny grabs the chinlock before handing it off to Mikey for the front facelock.

Something like Poetry In Motion misses but Kenny is smart enough to knock Rory off the apron to break up the hot tag. That means another chinlock but the guillotine legdrop only hits mat. The hot tag brings in Rory to clean house and Kenny is tossed over the top onto some more of the Squad. Everything breaks down and Johnny gets in the Johnny Go Round from behind to retain the titles.

Rating: C-. This could have been on almost any given edition of Raw and that’s all it was supposed to be. It’s not like the Highlanders, or any team at the moment, means much at the moment so it makes sense to have such an average match. Raw’s tag division has never been the strongest, but Smackdown is absolutely smashing it by comparison at the moment.

We get the long recap of D-Generation X vs. the McMahons/Big Show inside the Cell. Vince McMahon wouldn’t shut up about Montreal so he got in a war with Shawn, who eventually got HHH to join him against Vince and his cronies. Shane McMahon got involved as well so DX beat the two of them without much effort, meaning it was time to up the stakes. Vince hired Big Show and a few other goons, so it’s time to put them in the Cell.

D-Generation X vs. Vince McMahon/Shane McMahon/Big Show

Inside the Cell. DX gets smart by kicking Show low before the bell and the fight is on in a hurry. Shawn sends Shane out to the floor and there’s another double low blow to keep Show down. Shane gets catapulted face first into the Cell so Shawn unloads on him as HHH hammers Vince in the face. We have our first blood as Shane’s bloody forehead is sent into the Cell again.

Vince is loaded up for the top rope elbow but Show is up to take care of DX in a hurry. HHH manages to send Show into the steps and drops a knee on Vince’s head but Shane is back to clothesline Shawn outside. Vince is busted as well as Show chokeslams HHH and then sends Shawn face first into the Cell on the floor. Shawn gets lawn darted into the Cell to make it worse, leaving HHH to get hit with Shane’s Coast To Coast.

HHH’s earn injury from Raw is busted open again, leaving Show as the only one not bleeding. HHH gets catapulted into the Cell so Show hits the cobra clutch backbreaker on Shawn. Vince covers but picks him up ta two, allowing HHH to come back in and clean house. Shane is back up with a torture rack neckbreaker (where did he learn that) to HHH. It’s Shawn back up with an enziguri to knock Shane to the floor….but Vince is taking his pants down.

That’s broken up by HHH but Show takes over again. Show’s splash hits Vince by mistake though and there’s a low blow to cut the big man down again. Some chairs are brought in with HHH wrapping one around Shane’s neck for a top rope elbow from Shawn. Show makes another save and brings in the steps but HHH gets in a chair shot. That sends Show into the steps and a superkick puts him over the top rope. As in draped over the top rope, so DX pulls his shorts down. Vince goes face first into it, setting up Sweet Chin Music and a sledgehammer broken over the back finally finishes Vince off.

Rating: B+. I was surprised at the lack of any interference, leaving this as two people having to fight off three and looking like they came through a war in the process. This felt like what they billed it up as and that’s a great thing to see. I had a good time with the match and it should finish up the DX vs. McMahons war because there is nothing left for the two sides to do to each other. Heck of a fight here and even the Vince face shot made sense in the context.

The McMahons are taken out on stretchers.

We recap Trish Stratus vs. Lita for Lita’s Women’s Title, but it is also Trish’s retirement match. Therefore, we get a nice video package on her career (at least once she became a wrestler), during which she really did become one of the most important female wrestlers ever. Lita found out about the retirement though and leaked the news to WWE.com, sending Trish over the edge. Now it’s one last fight against her biggest rival. For the title. In her hometown.

Women’s Title: Trish Stratus vs. Lita

Trish is challenging and gets a heck of a hometown pop. We get a THANK YOU TRISH chant to start and there’s the spinning headscissors to put Lita on the floor. The Thesz press of the apron hits Lita and there’s an anklescissors off the steps. Back in and Lita starts choking a bit and hits the chinlock to keep Trish down. That works for all of five seconds so Lita uses the evil by pulling her down by the hair.

Trish comes back with a few kicks to the ribs but charges into an elbow in the corner. Lita goes up so Trish follows her for a slugout, only to have both of them fall out to the floor in a crash. Back in and Lita misses the moonsault to give Trish two but Stratusfaction is countered with a shove over the top and outside again. Back in and Lita snaps off a suplex for two, setting up some more kneedrops.

A few right hands have Lita staggered though and dang the fans are into every single thing Trish does here. Lita kicks her down again though and we hit another chinlock but this time Trish fights up for the slugout. This time the Stratusphere pulls Lita off the top and the Chick Kick gets two. The Stratusfaction is blocked…so Trish switches into a Sharpshooter for the submission and the title.

Rating: C. The wrestling was absolutely not the point here and that’s fine. This was all about letting Trish have one more moment on her way out (because, again, the “time honored tradition” is nonsense) and that’s what she had here. Trish was a huge star in WWE and it was great to see her get a well deserved sendoff. Lita isn’t going to be hurt by the loss and the fans REALLY liked what they got here. Not a good match or anything, but a great moment.

Randy Orton says that was nice but no one cares about Trish’s retirement. Now watch what made him the youngest World Champion ever, right here in this building.

Carlito vs. Randy Orton

They fight over a lockup to start and Carlito spits in his face, setting up some left hands to the floor. Back in and they strike it out with Carlito knocking him down and hitting a Lionsault for two. Orton manages to snap him throat first across the top though and a dropkick puts Carlito on the floor.

They come back in with Orton hitting the always devastating Garvin Stomp, setting up the always present chinlock. Carlito fights up and hits a quick springboard elbow but walks into the backbreaker. Orton tries a suplex but Carlito flips out and grabs the Backstabber. For some reason Carlito loads up a springboard but dives right into the RKO for the pin.

Rating: C-. Another Raw level match here and there was little reason for Carlito to try that springboard other than to set up the ending. Carlito’s face turn has had lukewarm results at best so far, even after pairing him with Trish. Orton has been kind of floating around for a bit as well and I’m not sure what he is supposed to do next. This felt like a filler match and that’s not a good sign.

We recap John Cena vs. Edge in a TLC match. Cena has been chasing Edge’s Raw World Title but only has one last chance. Therefore it’s Cena’s Raw career vs. Edge’s title in Edge’s match’s hometown. Sounds like a pay per view main event worthy of a music video to me, which is why the main event gets the music video treatment here.

Raw World Title: Edge vs. John Cena

Tables, Ladders And Chairs, with Edge defending. Edge gets a rather nice reception but Cena is booed out of the building, which is about all you could expect. Cena grabs a headlock to start and is loudly booed again. Some shoulders put Edge down for the same reaction so he slaps Cena in the face. They start slugging it out and head to the floor with Edge’s chair shot hitting the post.

Back in and Edge hits a DDT to cut off Cena’s offense to put him onto the ropes. A few ladder shots to the head have Cena in more trouble but he avoids a charging ladder shot in the corner. Edge gets thrown into the ladder in the corner and it’s time for a table. You don’t try to suplex Edge through a table though as he powerbombs Cena through it instead. With Cena down on the floor, Edge runs up the ladder in the corner to hit a dive to take him out.

Back in and Edge can’t hit the Conchairto, instead sending Edge’s head into a chair. Then Edge gets crushed inside the ladder, setting up the STFU inside the ladder (that’s a versatile ladder). Cena then mixes things up a bit by FU’ing the ladder onto Edge and climbing up (that’s a REALLY versatile ladder) for the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Another table is loaded up but Edge caves his head in with a chair and puts Cena on the table. Then he puts a table on top of Cena on top of that table.

That takes some time though and Cena shoves Edge off the top for the next crash. Back in and Cena climbs the ladder, only to have Edge climb another ladder and spear him down. Edge climbs this time, but Cena powerbombs him into the side of a standing ladder for a nasty crash. They’re back on the floor, where a hard chair shot to the head puts Edge down again. Back in again and Cena climbs the ladder, only to have Lita come in and shove it down and through a well placed table at ringside.

Edge goes up but Cena comes back in, earning himself a chair shot from Lita….which knocks Cena into the ladder to knock Edge down again. That earns Lita an FU, allowing Cena to climb again with Edge down on the floor. Edge runs back up to go after the title but Cena FU’s him through the double tables. With Edge mostly destroyed, Cena pulls down the swinging title for the win.

Rating: A-. This felt like the big blowoff to a pretty special feud as Cena beats Edge at his own game on the perfect stage. It was a violent and hard hitting match, which is all you could ask for in something like this. Cena overcame the odds and won the title back in grand fashion, with the big spot at the end being the memorable moment to make it feel all the more special.

Overall Rating: B. It’s a two match show but those two matches were awesome and that’s enough to rate this one pretty high. The opener works rather well too and there is nothing bad on the whole card. Some of the stuff was pretty clearly filler, but when almost a third of the show is made up from the two awesome main events, it makes for one of the better single brand pay per views in recent memory.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Smackdown
Date: September 15, 2006
Location: DCU Arena, Worcester, Massachusetts
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re on the way to getting ready for No Mercy and the big story coming out of last week was Finlay attacking Batista to cost him the World Title. The post match beatdown would suggest a hoss fight between Finlay and Batista, which could make for one heck of a brawl. I’m not sure what else to expect from this one so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Here’s Finlay, with the Leprechaun (under a sheet), to get things going. Finlay reminds us that he loves to fight and we see a clip of the end of last week’s show with Batista being left bloodied. Back in the arena, Finlay talks about taking Batista’s manhood…but here’s Bobby Lashley to interrupt. What Finlay did last week was an act of cowardice and the luck of the Irish has just run out. Cue Teddy Long to make the main event with the winner facing King Booker at No Mercy for the title. The brawl is nearly on with the Leprechaun attacking Finlay by mistake. Finlay throws him to the floor.

Post break, William Regal fires up Finlay before the main event.

Gregory Helms vs. Matt Hardy

Non-title and Matt comes in through the crowd to jump Helms from behind. The Side Effect sends Helms out to the floor but he’s right back in with an elbow to the face. Matt is bleeding from the nose as a result and Helms grabs a half crab. That’s enough to make Matt crawl over to the rope so the chinlock goes on. Matt suplexes his way to freedom and hits the middle rope legdrop for two. The referee gets bumped off the kickout though and Helms hits Hardy low for the DQ.

Rating: C-. I’m glad to see the champ actually win a match but I’m not sure where this is going to go. I don’t need to see Hardy feuding with the Cruiserweight Champion when he isn’t a cruiserweight, but who else is supposed to feud with Helms for the title at this point? The match was fine, though I’m not sure where Helms is going next.

Rey Mysterio and his rather young son Dominik are here. Dean Malenko says hi.

Jimmy Wang Yang is tired of the “Orientals” straight off the boat not being able to pronounce things. He’s a real redneck from Georgia though.

The Miz vs. Scotty 2 Hotty

Scotty knocks him down to start but Miz is back up with a running shoulder. Miz flips out of a hiptoss and snaps off a good armdrag. The stomping ensues in the corner and a neckbreaker lets Miz choke. JBL freaks out over Cole comparing him to Miz, especially when Cole lists off Miz’s reality shows as accomplishments. JBL: “SO WAS HULK HOGAN’S SON NICK!” Scotty fights up with a flying forearm and the Worm is loaded up but Miz bails to the apron before Scotty…..whatever it is that he does. Miz snaps his neck across the top and hits a swinging neckbreaker (the Mizard of Oz) for the pin.

Rating: D+. I know it’s not that big of a deal but Miz got in a few moves here and looked a bit more polished than usual. Miz has a very long way to go but there is a charisma to him that makes me want to keep watching him. If nothing else, hearing JBL lose his mind over everything Miz does is worth a laugh.

Remember John Cena being in the Marine? He’s still in it.

Brian Kendrick vs. Kid Kash vs. Idol Stevens

Paul London, Ashley, KC James, Michelle McCool and Jamie Noble are all at ringside. Kash and Stevens slug it out to start but commentary ignores the match to talk about King Booker being invited to ECW next week. Kash and Stevens start double teaming Kendrick but get in the required fight over the cover. Kendrick fights up and dropkicks them both down but Kash’s release suplex cuts him off. Stevens is sent outside though and it’s a tornado DDT to give Kendrick the pin on Kash.

Rating: C. It was a short match but the time was spent on nothing but action, which is all you can hope for in a match like this. Kendrick and London continue looking good and it’s nice to have a few teams challenging them for a change. I’m not sure I can imagine them losing the titles, but it’s nice to have something going on instead of having the champions floating around.

William Regal is talking to King Booker and Queen Sharmell. Finlay comes in and Booker wants to talk about the #1 contenders match. The Court cannot be shaken up but Finlay is fighting tonight.

Rey Mysterio leaves Dominik in the locker room to watch his match. Oh Rey, you glorious moron.

Rey Mysterio vs. Mr. Kennedy

Non-title. During Rey’s entrance, Chavo and Vickie Guerrero go into the locker room to watch the match with Dominik. Kennedy takes him to the mat and grabs a chinlock as Cole goes into a rant about the Guerreros. Rey’s springboard crossbody is broken up and Kennedy slams him down, setting up a reverse chinlock. Back up and a hard whip into the corner gives Kennedy two more, followed by a spinebuster to cut Rey off again.

Kennedy keeps mixing things up (thank you) with a seated abdominal stretch. Mysterio gets up again and this time it’s the wheelbarrow bulld….actually a DDT for a change, followed by a kick to the head for two. Back up and Kennedy catapults him chest first into the buckle (which Cole sees as head first into the post, despite the foot and a half between the two). Rey is right back with the 619 to send Kennedy outside and a springboard corkscrew dive takes Kennedy down again.

We take a break and come back with Kennedy stomping away in the corner. Rey’s back is sent hard into the corner with his back bending around the post for a nasty landing. The standing abdominal stretch goes on this time as JBL explodes about dealing with problems while in the ring and yells at Cole for defending Mysterio. Those rants are still great. Kennedy puts Rey down but misses the Kenton Bomb, allowing Mysterio to get two off a springboard seated senton. Cue the Guerreros with Dominik for a distraction though and Kennedy grabs the rollup pin.

Rating: C+. This was kind of a weird one as they were building to a good match but it was pretty clear that something was going to happen with the Guerreros and Dominik. That’s what should have happened but I was into the match and the ending is a bit annoying. Still though, good stuff here as they continue the idea of Rey being distracted and don’t have a champion lose.

We get a special message pair for by MVP’s worldwide fan base.

MVP talks about how he is not scared to sign a contract with Smackdown. Teddy Long needs to bring the check and sign him up.

Vito vs. William Regal

Regal is so angry at Vito’s actions last week that he dropped the lawsuit to set up this match. Vito grabs a headlock so Regal rolls him up, meaning it’s time for the blurry censoring. JBL loses it again over what he is having to watch as Regal forearms Vito down without much effort. JBL: “WHY CAN HE NOT KEEP HIS DRESS DOWN??? HE’S LIKE HALF OF OUR DIVAS!” Vito makes the comeback and pulls the dress up, only to get taken down into a hammerlock. Back up and Vito sends him outside so Regal tries a sunset flip, only to have Vito sit down on it (with the dress going over Regal’s face) for the pin.

Rating: D. Regal and JBL made this a lot easier to sit through and I guess it’s an upgrade over having Vito beat up jobbers in the same way over and over again. At least he’s sticking with the lower level stuff and it’s not like this is taking up any serious time week to week. It’s not funny, but it could be a heck of a lot worse.

Regal’s stunned face makes up for a lot of this.

Raw Rebound.

King Booker isn’t happy with Teddy Long, who isn’t overly worried. Booker promises to beat everyone but here’s Vito to interrupt. That doesn’t please Booker, so Vito says try him. Teddy makes the match for next week so Vito raises the dress. So much for everything I said a few minutes ago.

Sylvester Terkay vs. Todd Smith

Smith grabs a headlock to start and gets shoved down for his efforts. Terkay knees him in the ribs as we hear about how awesome Terkay is at everything. A belly to back suplex puts Smith down for some forearms to the face (JBL on Terkay and Elijah Burke: “We have not seen an interracial team as good as this since the APA.”) and an armbar makes Smith tap. Smith would do a bit better when he bulked up, grew a heck of a beard and changed his name to Ivar.

Fit Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley

The winner gets King Booker, on commentary with Queen Sharmell (and William Regal off headset), for the title at No Mercy. They take their time to start with Lashley backing him into the corner. A shoulder puts Finlay down and the cover sends him bailing out to the floor. Back in and Finlay sends him outside for a change but gets run over again.

We take a break and come back with Finlay working on the leg, which he damaged during the break. The leg is sent into the post and we hit the half crab as Cole accuses Booker of sweating Crisco. For some reason this is deemed racist so we’ll cut back to Lashley kicking Finlay in the face to start the comeback. A clothesline to the back of the head gives Lashley two and a torture rack goes on.

Lashley drops down into a backbreaker for two so Regal throws in a chair for a distraction. Finlay grabs the Shillelagh but can’t swing it, as Lashley gorilla presses him instead. Regal offers another distraction so the Leprechaun throws Finlay the Shillelagh again but this time the referee sees him hit Lashley for the DQ.

Rating: C. These two know each other rather well and they had a nice match here, as Finlay stays strong and Lashley gets to move on to something bigger and more important. What we got here did its job well enough and could set up some issues with Booker and Finlay going forward, even if it’s a little early to consider breaking up the Court so far.

Post match the beatdown is on but here’s Batista (from his car in the parking lot, with his music playing) with a pipe to go after Finlay. Lashley spears Booker to the floor (Booker: “I’M GONNA BUST YO A**!”) to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. It’s more of the same from Smackdown as there are enough things going on around here to make me like the show but at the same time, a lot of the stuff just makes me want to move to anything else. The show was far from terrible, but at the same time, the lower card still has some major holes. Fix those things up and this is probably the best show going at the moment, assuming it isn’t already.

ECW on Sci Fi
Date: September 12, 2006
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 17,298
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz

Oh yeah I’d say this is a special one. I know that this isn’t the original ECW and it is pretty much the same in name only, but it has to be an especially cool moment for these guys to make it to the World’s Most Famous Arena. We’re still setting up Hardcore Holly as Paul Heyman’s newest enforcer against the combined powers of Rob Van Dam and Sabu. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Paul Heyman, now billed as the Father Of Extreme Championship Wrestling, and with his bodyguards, to open the show. He talks about how everyone is here to witness something special because this is the center of the universe. Heyman talks about how important this building is to a kid who grew up in New York and he thanks….himself for making this happen.

Who else is he supposed to thank? Five years ago, he listened to the people and ECW went out of business. Now he is listening to Vince McMahon on how to grow ECW and it has gone from the Bingo Hall to the Garden. Cue Sabu to take out the bodyguards and get in a few shots on Heyman until the guards get up to pull him off. The guards get Heyman out so Heyman makes Sabu vs. Big Show in an Extreme Rules match for the title. Sabu dives onto the guards. You could hear how special this was to Heyman and that’s pretty cool.

Rob Van Dam vs. Hardcore Holly

It’s a brawl to start with Holly backdropping him to the floor and hitting a dive of his own. Rob kicks away but misses the spinning kick from the apron for the big crash. Back in and Holly chokes away on the ropes but a middle rope elbow….well it wasn’t supposed to connect as Van Dam raised his boot but it did connect with Van Dam’s face anyway so it was kind of a weird landing. Rob kicks him down and hits the monkey flip out of the corner, only to get crotched on top. The top rope superplex is broken up though and Van Dam loads up the Five Star but here are Test, Stevie Richards and Mike Knox for the DQ.

Rating: C-. Holly may not be much of a threat to Van Dam but he’s fine as a hard hitting villain who could make him break a sweat. That’s all he needs to be, but ECW could use an imposing or at least threatening heel wrestler outside of Big Show. Test and Knox aren’t exactly people who are going to be top level villains and that can only go so far.

Post match the big beatdown is on until Sandman and Tommy Dreamer make the save. Richards takes the beating. The Old vs. New feud may not be the most original idea but what else are they supposed to do with these guys?

Video on the Marine.

CM Punk vs. Shannon Moore

Fallout from Punk calling him a poser last week. Moore slaps him in the face to start but Punk grabs the Vice in the corner. Some knees set up the strikes to the face into the Rock Bottom. The Anaconda Vice makes Moore tap in a hurry. Thank goodness, as I don’t think I could handle Moore as someone supposed to be taken seriously.

Post break, Kelly Kelly comes up to rub CM Punk’s chest and say what a big fan she is. She would love to go to one of those wild and crazy nightclubs with Punk but she’s only 19. Mike Knox comes in to get rid of her.

Rene Dupree vs. Balls Mahoney

Kevin Thorn and Ariel are at ringside. Dupree gets sent into the corner for the snap jabs to start but Dupree hits him in the face. A middle rope elbow gets two and the French Tickler makes its return (with Tazz not wanting to sing). Back up and they slug it out with Mahoney’s sitout spinebuster getting two. A Cactus Clothesline puts both of them on the floor so it’s chair time, with the referee taking it away from Mahoney. Ariel offers a distraction and Thorn sends Mahoney off the apron and head first into the steps to give Dupree the pin.

Rating: D+. Much like Moore, am I supposed to take Dupree seriously? It wouldn’t seem to be the case, but it also doesn’t make ECW look all that important. These guys weren’t being featured on WWE TV for a reasons and they feel like people who are there because WWE has nowhere else to put them. The repackaging can only do so much, but at least they’re trying. Kind of.

Matt Striker doesn’t like the fans drinking giggle water and watching Sandman. That isn’t good, so the choice is yours: cheer Sandman or come to class and learn.

We look back at HHH vs. Vince McMahon from last night, including Big Show coming in to help the McMahons beat down DX.

ECW World Title: Big Show vs. Sabu

Show, with Paul Heyman and security, is defending and it’s Extreme Rules. Sabu whips out a table and chair and after a break, Show swats the chair out of the air. Show knocks him down and sends Sabu to the floor for the beatdown from security. Back in and some headbutts put Sabu down and a running clothesline does it again. Sabu gets smart by kicking him low and now the thrown chair works a bit better.

Show is crotched on the ropes and a jumping kick to the face puts him on the floor. The fans want tables but have to settle for Show running Sabu over again. The chokeslam through the table is countered into a DDT through the table for two instead and some more chair shots put Show through a table at ringside. Show gets posted and Sabu sets up another table but Sabu’s dive is countered into a chokeslam through said table. Back in and the cobra clutch backbreaker retains the title.

Rating: C-. The matches are fine enough for what they are but how many times can we see these two do the same thing? Sabu isn’t going to win the title and we established that a pretty long time ago. Show needs a new challenger, but other than Rob Van Dam, who is there to do that right now? I get why they needed to do a title match in MSG but they need something different to do going forward. I’m just not sure what that is.

Overall Rating: D+. While the Garden is the big point here, and it’s really cool that ECW got to do something there, it’s also not a good show or a good sign for their future. ECW really, really needs to upgrade their roster and I’m not sure how important it is for WWE to send more talent over here. The old vs. new stuff is fine enough and Show works as a champion, but he needs challengers and a lot of the card is pretty weak. I’m not expecting WWE to make that better though and that’s why ECW keeps feeling like it’s in big trouble long term.

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Smackdown
Date: February 12, 2021
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re less than two weeks away from Elimination Chamber but you might not realize it around here. There has not been a single Smackdown match announced for the show but that might be changing this week. Roman Reigns apparently has a big announcement and that could be a good thing. Seth Rollins is back too so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Here are Roman Reigns, Jey Uso and Paul Heyman for a chat with Adam Pearce, who is already in the ring. Reigns tells Pearce that he isn’t waiting on him so let’s get on with this. Pearce doesn’t call any shots around here and Reigns isn’t waiting on Pearce or Edge. Reigns knows that Edge hasn’t announced his Wrestlemania match because he knows Reigns will beat him all the way onto a Legends contract.

No one is taking the title from him so Edge is holding out hope that someone pulls a miracle before Wrestlemania. Speaking of contracts, Pearce has one in his hand and that is for Reigns’ title defense inside the Elimination Chamber. Reigns hands Heyman the mic, who says Reigns’ contract says he has to defend the title AT Elimination Chamber rather than INSIDE the Elimination Chamber. Instead, the winner can receive a title shot on the against Reigns, who won’t be in the Chamber itself.

Pearce seems to laugh it off but Heyman asks what he’s going to do about it. Fire Reigns this close to Wrestlemania? Last year’s show didn’t have Reigns and it was the lowest attended Wrestlemania of all time. Pearce says it’s time to start the qualifying process, and there are going to be two names who don’t need qualifying matches. Those would be Jey Uso and Kevin Owens, the latter of whom has Reigns outside the ring and in Pearce’s face. Reigns doesn’t think Pearce gets this but Heyman says it’s going to be on Reigns’ time.

Post break Pearce is freaking out over having to get all of the qualifying matches together but Sonya Deville has an idea: a tag team qualifying match with the winning team both getting into the Chamber. Pearce likes the idea, which is good because Sonya has already booked it.

Commentary confirms that the winner of the Chamber match will face Reigns that night.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio vs. King Corbin/Sami Zayn

Before the match, Sami talks about how he and Corbin don’t get along but tonight they’re working together so WWE can’t give the Mysterios the spots in the Chamber. Rey and Dominik start fast by sending them to the floor for the double dives and we take a break. Back with Dominik rolling Sami into the corner and hitting a running elbow. Sami is right back with the Blue Thunder Bomb for two and it’s off to Corbin. Everything breaks down and the double 619 hits Corbin, with Rey taking him to the floor. That leaves Dominik to be suplexed into the corner, setting up the Helluva Kick for the pin at 7:33.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure how much drama there was to this one and that’s ok. The Mysterios continue to have problems and a showdown at Wrestlemania wouldn’t surprise me. Zayn and Corbin inside the Chamber should work out wee as they’re the perfect kind of midcarders who could beef things up a little bit.

Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode come in to see Deville and Pearce. They want in the Elimination Chamber, and are even willing to be in different pods. Sonya gives them a chance, in another tag team qualifying match, against Cesaro and Daniel Bryan.

We look back at Bianca Belair talking to Sasha Banks last week when Carmella and Reginald interfered, earning Reginald a whipping.

Reginald brings Sasha Banks some wine but Banks isn’t buying it. She takes the drink anyway and keeps talking to Kalisto.

Here’s Big E. for a chat. He is going to be a fighting champion and, after a Gorilla Glue reference, he mentions being past the Apollo Crews chapter….and here’s Crews to interrupt. Crews accepts the challenge, but Big E. was going to issue the challenge to anyone here except Crews you see. Big E. was looking forward to Michael Cole accepting the challenge but Crews implies Big E. is scared. Big E. lowers the mic and says he has beaten Crews time after time so go back to catering and get your paycheck. Crews gets in his face and a lot of arguing ensues, with Big E. saying they’re done so bring out the next challenger.

Intercontinental Title: Big E. vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Nakamura is challenging and Big E. powers him around to start. That earns him some kicks down and the champ is in some trouble. It’s already time for the Kinshasa but Big E. pulls him into the Big Ending. That’s broken up and Nakamura kicks him in the back of the head. Another Kinshasa is loaded up but Crews runs in to dropkick Big E. for the DQ at 3:24.

Rating: C-. No time for much here as we continue to build towards Crews’ final showdown, likely at Elimination Chamber. That should work out well as Crews at least has a bit more of a background after that US Title reign. I liked how serious Big E. got, but saying Crews can’t have a match isn’t the most heroic thing to do. I don’t think there’s a turn coming or anything, but it didn’t quite feel right.

Video on Seth Rollins.

The locker room comes to the ring for Rollins’ return. After a break here’s Rollins, with BURN IT DOWN again. He’s still in the suit with the one glove though so I’m getting mixed messages here. Rollins is glad to be back and knows that things have changed since he sacrificed himself at Survivor Series. The thing that has changed the most though is him though, because he has become a parent for the first time. He is now the father of a beautiful, perfect baby girl, who has changed his life in ways he never dreamed of.

Rollins sees the talent around here and he wonders where he fits in. Now he knows where that is: Rollins is the great leader that Smackdown needs to push it into the future. Leadership isn’t about what they can do for him but what he can do for them. Everyone walks out as Rollins talks about being a leader and a mentor. Rollins says all you have to do for a better Smackdown is embrace the vision. The lights come back up and he realizes that only Cesaro is left at ringside. Then Cesaro shakes his head and leaves as well, only to have Rollins run to the floor and chop block him. The beatdown is on until referees break it up.

Video on the Elimination Chamber.

Bayley vs. Liv Morgan

Ruby Riott is here with Morgan, who starts fast and hammers away. Bayley misses a clothesline and Morgan hits a middle rope dropkick to the floor, meaning it’s time for a trip to the floor. A dive off the steps takes a bit too long for Morgan and Bayley sends her hard into the barricade instead. Back in and Bayley hits a shoulder breaker to rock Morgan but it’s an enziguri to give Morgan two. Cue Billie Kay to offer Riott her resume, which Riott throws away. The referee gets rid of them though and it’s the Rose Plant to finish Morgan at 3:45.

Rating: D+. The story continues and that’s one of the things I really wish WWE would stop. Bayley beat one half of the Riott Squad thanks to Billie messing up last week and now she did it to the other half this week. It was no secret that they were going in this direction after last week and that’s because WWE is pretty repetitive. That’s not good and it wasn’t even much of a match in the first place.

The Street Profits were at Daytona Motor Speedway this week.

Street Profits vs. Otis/Chad Gable

During the entrances, the Profits say they want the titles back and Otis/Gable train for the smoke. Gable takes Dawkins to the mat to start but Dawkins manages to reverse. They send each other into opposite corners for a standoff so Ford comes in instead. An armdrag into an armbar has Ford flailing around but it’s back to Dawkins to take Gable down. That doesn’t last long as Otis gets the tag and starts to throw Profits around. Ford low bridges Otis to the floor to break up a clothesline though and it’s the Cash Out to finish Gable at 4:50.

Rating: C+. This was a pretty snappy match and that was a nice surprise. Gable and Otis work well together and I could go for seeing them develop a bit more in the future. The Profits continue to be great and you know the rematch for the titles has to be coming sooner rather than later. Everyone was working here though and the pretty short amount of time flew by.

Here’s Sasha Banks to talk about Wrestlemania. She has been dealing with Bianca Belair, who is like a little sister. Cue Belair to say Banks isn’t the boss of her. Those are fighting words so here are Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler to interrupt. Jax can’t believe how big their egos are and asks Shayna if she cares about Belair’s pick. Belair shows us the MY HOLE clip from Raw so the brawl is on. Baszler is knocked down so Jax is tripped onto the apron, meaning she has to stop herself from shouting about….well you get the idea. Belair and Banks take out Baszler as well and the two stand tall.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Bobby Roode/Dolph Ziggler vs. Daniel Bryan/Cesaro

Non-title. Ziggler takes Bryan down for an early two but Cesaro comes in for a double slam. It’s off to Roode, who has to avoid the YES Lock, and gets sent outside. Cesaro is right there and is whipped into the steps. Sami Zayn and King Corbin come out to watch and we take a break.

Back with Bryan in trouble as Roode snaps off a suplex for two and hands it back to Ziggler. Bryan takes Ziggler down but Roode decks Cesaro, allowing Bryan to grab a rollup for two. Roode’s spinebuster gets two more on Bryan but Ziggler misses a charge in the corner, allowing the hot tag to Cesaro. Everything breaks down and Bryan hits Roode with the running knee. The Fameasser gets two on Cesaro but he’s right back up with the Swing into the Sharpshooter to make Ziggler tap at 11:04.

Rating: C+. Another good match between talented teams, even if the Tag Team Titles get their annual smack in the face for the sake of some qualifying matches. In this case I’m not sure who else could have taken the loss, but I would have preferred it not to be the champs. Bryan and Cesaro winning was mostly but not entirely obvious and that’s a nice feeling.

Post match Jey Uso, Sami Zayn and King Corbin all come in for the brawl. Everyone goes at it until Kevin Owens runs in for the Stunnerfest. Roman Reigns watches from the back as Owens sits down, saying that he’s coming for Reigns to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This show worked well for me for one reason: those tag team qualifying matches. Both of them were pretty good, but the real reason they were nice to see was they were different. Instead of the usual four singles matches, they actually threw in something fresh for a change and that’s nice to see. Not so much the idea was brilliant, but it was a change from the norm and I can absolutely go for that over the same old stuff that they do all the time. The rest of the show was fine enough, but I like that they’re actually taking some different paths week to week.

Results

Sami Zayn/King Corbin b. Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio – Helluva Kick to Dominik

Big E. b. Shinsuke Nakamura via DQ when Apollo Crews interfered

Bayley b. Liv Morgan – Rose Plant

Street Profits b. Chad Gable/Otis – Cash Out to Gable

Cesaro/Daniel Bryan b. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode – Sharpshooter to Ziggler

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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NXT UK
Date: February 11, 2021
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd

This week is about revenge as Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews are facing the Hunt, after the monsters attacked them more than once over the last year. That makes for one of the better built feuds around here in a long time and hopefully the match lives up to the hype. Other than that, Meiko Satomura is making her debut in something that is likely to feel a bit more awesome. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening recap looks at the Hunt, guided by Eddie Dennis, attacking Webster and Andrews but not being able to win the Tag Team Titles. They have taken out their aggression on Webster and Andrews again, setting up tonight’s street fight.

Andrews and Webster have attacked Wild Boar, meaning Dennis will be taking his place.

Opening sequence.

Meiko Satomura vs. Isla Dawn

So Dawn gets to be designated victim #1 of “Japan’s Final Boss/The Best In The World”, which is one heck of a pair of great monikers (ignore the likely Shane McMahon lawsuits). Satomura grabs a headlock to start to take Dawn down as Kay Lee Ray is watching from a distance. Back up and Satomura kicks her down, setting up a wristlock.

Some knees to the ribs don’t have much of an impact though as Dawn snaps off a suplex for two. Dawn goes up but gets superplexed back down, followed by a shot to the face for two more. A quick Saito suplex gives Dawn her own two but Satomura is back with a cartwheel kick to the head. Scorpio Rising (kind of a step up ax kick) finishes Dawn at 5:22.

Rating: C. That’s all it needed to be as Satomura shrugged off everything Dawn threw at her and then won in the end with a cool named finisher. Having Ray out there made sense too as there was no reason to act like Satomura isn’t going straight to the title picture. Great debut here, with Satomura feeling like the star she is supposed to be.

Earlier this week, Rampage Brown and Joe Coffey sat down at the Performance Center. Johnny Saint popped in on a screen to make a match between the two of them at some point in the future.

Video on Dani Luna, who is really strong.

Video on Aoife Valkyrie, who has feathers.

Meiko Satomura is ready for Kay Lee Ray.

It’s time for Supernova Sessions, with Noam Dar talking about how he says he’s great because he knows he’s great. The guest this week is Sha Samuels, who Dar describes as his lifelong friend. Samuels seems to agree but goes into a rant about how NXT UK made him into someone else instead of being himself. After Samuels cuts off Dar from telling a story, Sid Scala comes out to interrupt. Samuels doesn’t think much of him but Dar has a suggestion: Samuels getting a shot at the Heritage Cup. That will be taken under advisement but Dar still can’t tell that story.

Nina Samuels (no relation to Sha….at least I don’t think) accepts Xia Brookside’s challenge for a rematch, but if Xia loses, she is Nina’s assistant for a month.

Video on Trent Seven trying to lose weight to get his Cruiserweight Title shot.

Amale vs. Piper Niven

Niven ax handles her in the chest to start and hits a low crossbody. Cue Joseph Conners for a distraction though and Amale is able to get in a kick to the head. That’s not going to work either though as Niven sends her into the corner for the Cannonball. The Piper Driver finishes at 2:20.

Gallus has signed to defend the Tag Team Titles against Pretty Deadly in two weeks.

Ben Carter is back next week, plus Sha Samuels gets a Heritage Cup shot and Rampage Brown vs. Joe Coffey.

Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews vs. Primate/Eddie Dennis

Street fight but hold on as the fight has started in the back with the Hunt and Eddie Dennis attacking Webster and Andrews. With Andrews having been crushed by an anvil case, Webster is brought to the ring but says ring the bell anyway. Webster jumps over Primate and sends Dennis outside, where Webster gets whipped by Dennis’ belt. Primate rips at Dennis’ face as they fight up towards the entrance…..and Andrews moonsaults off the set onto all of them.

They wind up back at ringside with Andrews being dropped onto the barricade. Primate adds a diving clothesline and it’s time to head back inside, with all four having a chair. Andrews gets hit in the knee but Webster grabs his helmet to clean house for two on Dennis. Primate is back in to beat on Webster, allowing Dennis to miss a kendo stick to Andrews.

The Stundog Millionaire drops Dennis but Primate gets in a stick shot to Andrews’ bad knee. Webster is down on the floor so Primate sends Andrews knee first into the chair, setting up a leglock from Dennis. The chair to the knee is loaded up but Webster takes it away and starts the big comeback. A sunset bomb plants Primate on the floor and Dennis can’t quite get to one of the weapons. Webster and Andrews can though and it’s a big beatdown with the sticks to the back.

A table is sent in and set up but Andrews dives onto Primate instead, banging up the knee in the process. Webster dives onto Dennis for two with Primate making a save this time. Andrews has to save Webster from being sent through the table but dives into a spear to put him down in a hurry. Primate misses a spear to send himself through the table though, setting up a Swanton and shooting star press to give Andrews and Webster the stereo pins at 16:02.

Rating: B. That’s the kind of brawl they needed to have and it’s great to see a team like Andrews and Morgan have another signature win after they lost the Tag Team Titles. So many teams will lose the belts and then fade away, which seemed to be what was happening with them. This helped a lot and while it would have been better with Wild Boar in there instead, they did what they needed to do and the match worked better than I would have bet on.

Overall Rating: B-. Above all else, this week felt important and that isn’t something you can say around here very often. The main event came off as a big deal and Satomura felt special, which is exactly how they should have gone. Throw in setting up a pretty stacked card for next week and a title match for the week after and this was a rather nice use of an hour. That has been the case more often than not lately around here as NXT UK is becoming one of the more consistent shows around.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Impact Wrestling
Date: February 9, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown

It’s the go home show for No Surrender and that means we are almost out of the Tommy Dreamer Main Eventer phase. It hasn’t been the worst stretch in the world but it also hasn’t been thrilling television either. Odds are that this is going to be the biggest push of them all that could make for a rough stretch. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Josh Alexander/Suicide/Trey Miguel/Willie Mack vs. Blake Christian/Ace Austin/Daivari/Chris Bey

These eight will be in a Triple Threat Revolver Match (basically a gauntlet) at No Surrender for the #1 contendership to the X-Division Title. Alexander top wristlocks Christian down to start and hits a slam for a bonus. Austin comes in to increase the competition a bit so Alexander drops Trey onto him for two. It’s off to Bey as the pace picks up but things start to break down a bit with Austin missing a dive onto Bey.

Mack’s attempt at a dive onto both of them is broken up and Daivari unloads on Mack in the corner. That just earns him a Samoan drop into the standing moonsault, which only lands on Daivari’s knees. Bey comes back in for two off an elbow to the back and it’s time for the rotating heel beatdowns. Christian hits a dropkick to the back of the head for two and Daivari grabs a chinlock with a knee in the back.

That’s broken up in a hurry and it’s back to Miguel, who kicks Blake down in a hurry. Miguel grabs a Muta Lock but pulls up on his knees instead of bridging back. Bey breaks that up so Alexander comes in for a bunch of northern lights suplexes. The ankle lock has Austin in trouble but Christian makes the save with a 450. Mack’s standing moonsault hits Christian but it’s off to Bey and Austin to beat on Suicide. That’s broken up as Suicide dropkicks Bey to the floor, only to accidentally get knocked outside by Miguel. With Suicide down, Miguel pulls Christian into the Hourglass for the tap at 11:57.

Rating: C+. Take eight people, have them fly all over the place and let them do their thing. This was a nice preview for Saturday, even if the concept sounds a little weird (not necessarily a bad thing). I can always go for such an all over the place match like this and it worked out well enough here.

Post match Sami Callihan pops up on screen to ask how fast Trey is going to leave after things start going badly again. Threats are implied.

Various wrestlers wish Tommy Dreamer a Happy Birthday, including Gail Kim. There’s even a graphic.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Kimber Lee vs. ODB

Deonna Purrazzo and Susan are here with Lee. The bell rings and Lee bails to the floor for the conference, with the advice leading her to….puff up her chest and bounce off of ODB. Lee is knocked down and kicked in the face, followed by a hard chop in the corner. ODB’s Dirty Dozen is broken up (good) and Lee grabs a full nelson with her legs. ODB fights up but gets sent into the corner over and over as we take a break.

Back with ODB hammering away and hitting a splash in the corner. There’s the Cannonball for two and now the Dirty Dozen works. A middle rope Thesz press gets two but Lee kicks her in the head. ODB slams her off the ropes but Purrazzo and Susan get on the apron. Cue Jordynne Grace and Jazz for the brawl, allowing ODB to dive off of the apron to take out Susan and Purrazzo. Lee is right back up with a rollup for the pin at 12:01.

Rating: C-. I have never been an ODB fan and I don’t see that changing anytime soon, but she did her thing well enough here to get by. You can probably set up the six woman tag for No Surrender (assuming it hasn’t already been booked) and that will work out fine. ODB hasn’t been the focus here so it’s not the worst thing, but just don’t have her become the main point of the feud.

We go to Swinger’s Palace where Fallah Bahh is out of money. His offer of a slightly used cookie is turned down and he is thrown out, leaving Swinger to hit on Alisha Edwards. Swinger: “I’m Terry Taylor!” He also has the wad of money, because money is something to be held for months on end instead of, you know, used for money things.

Susan rants to Purrazzo and Lee about what just happened and it’s time to set up the six woman tag.

Here’s Cousin Jake for a chat. He thought that things were going great around here for the Deaners but now things have fallen apart. Cue Violent By Design to get an answer on their offer from last week. Eric Young tells him to be the best version of himself but Jake says he’s going to stand for….something. The beatdown is on and the Pillmanizing is on but Cody says hang on. Eric says ok, because it can be Jake vs. Cody at No Surrender.

Rohit Raju says he and Mahabali Shera have been friends for a long time and at No Surrender, Raju is getting the X-Division Title back.

Tony Schiavone and Tony Khan talk about the Forbidden Door being opened up, with Khan realizing that he was the Forbidden Door. Who knows who is going to show up next??? We run down this week’s Dynamite card. Khan will even be back in Nashville soon enough to mess with Impact some more.

The Good Brothers know Chris Sabin/James Storm are great but they’re not the Good Brothers. Tonight it’s a Magic Killer and a Too Sweet.

Kiera Hogan vs. Nevaeh

Tasha Steelz and Havok are here too. Nevaeh wins a slugout to start and hits a Hennig necksnap into a sliding lariat for two. A clothesline gets the same as commentary tries to figure out what kind of shoes Kiera is wearing. Kiera slugs away but gets caught with a belly to back faceplant, setting up a side slam for two more. Hogan tries another slugout and gets kicked in the head for two more, followed by an STO to put her down again. With nothing else working, Steelz comes in for a Codebreaker on Nevaeh and the DQ at 5:46.

Rating: D. Well that wasn’t much. They have pretty clearly established the story already as the champs can’t beat Havok and Nevaeh in a fair fight so they keep finding ways to get out like this. That works out well enough, but it doesn’t exactly make for some interesting television. I’m not sure when we’ll be getting to the title match, but I’m also not sure how interesting it is going to be.

AEW stars wish Tommy Dreamer a Happy Birthday. These aren’t quite as polite.

Fire N Flava yell at Scott D’Amore about the referee costing them their singles matches against Havok and Nevaeh. D’Amore has a solution: a different referee for their No DQ title defense at No Surrender. He shuts the door on them and the screaming continues anyway.

Here are XXXL, Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb With A K for a chat. They’re ready for their No Surrender tag match with Decay and that’s why Dashwood is here: she can beat up Rosemary for them! Dashwood doesn’t understand what kind of a name Decay is because that sounds like they need a dentist. Kaleb With A K issues a challenge to any member of Decay, which really doesn’t seem like the best idea. Cue Decay, with Rosemary saying they have found someone new to play with them.

Black Taurus vs. Kaleb With A K

Taurus is a monster in a bull mask from AAA and fits in rather well with the team. Kaleb gets tossed into the corner and it’s a pop up Samoan drop to crush him again. Something like a fisherman’s suplex spun into a powerslam finishes for Taurus at 58 seconds. I’ve been impressed by Taurus before and he looked great here.

Brian Myers pays off Hernandez, who wants to get paid up front before their No Surrender tag match. Fallah Bahh sees the money being exchanged and seems to have an idea.

Tag Team Titles: Good Brothers vs. James Storm/Chris Sabin

Storm/Sabin are challenging. Sabin grabs Anderson’s arm to start and armdrags him into an armbar. Storm comes in to hammer away in the corner and the rapid tags continue with the Boys being sent outside. We take a break and come back with Sabin kicking Anderson in the back of the head to give Storm two. Sabin comes back in but the tag brings in Gallows to put the champs in control for the first time.

Some shots to the ribs have Sabin in trouble in the corner and it’s back to Anderson for a chinlock. Gallows puts on his own chinlock as Private Party and Matt Hardy come out to watch. That’s enough of a distraction for Sabin to get over to Storm for the tag as as everything breaks down. Storm hits a Backstabber on Anderson but Private Party runs in for the DQ at 10:47.

Rating: C. This only had so much time to get anything going and the ending didn’t help things, but Sabin and Storm felt like they could have had a chance at taking the titles. Granted it might not have been the biggest chance because of the No Surrender title match coming up, but it’s better than nothing. I’m not sure how much of a future the team has though, as Alex Shelley being back would seem to get rid of their future. Still though, not too bad here.

Post break, Matt Hardy promises Private Party a bonus if they win the titles. Scott D’Amore comes in to say there’s a problem so the title match on Sunday is now a triple threat with Chris Sabin/James Storm added in. Matt freaks out.

We run down No Surrender, which seems like it has had about 15 matches added.

Moose doesn’t like that this match is taking place because Swann promised him the title match first. Violence is teased but D’Amore cuts Moose off and says he can be gone in a hurry. Moose says he can hurt Swann whenever he wants so they yell at each other until Dreamer tells them both to shut up. He pulls out his phone and reads a text from Moose that he got back in July after their match. Moose said Dreamer still had it and he got it as a result.

They are all in wrestling and love this business, which is why he doesn’t wrestle for money anymore. All Dreamer wants is to help the men and women in the back because somewhere, fifty years ago, a Dreamer was born and now there are a bunch of dreamers in the back. For three hours on Saturday, fans are going to have a chance to forget everything else so Dreamer signs. They hug to end the show as Moose leaves. Dreamer’s promo was great, but it doesn’t get around the idea that Dreamer has been one of the major focuses for the last few weeks.

Overall Rating: C. These Impact Plus specials have been a heck of a bonus for the company as there is really very little that separates them from a regular pay per view. Aside from the main event, No Surrender might as well be a low level pay per view and that’s a nice thing to have. Impact only runs a handful of pay per views in the first place so giving us something to bridge that gap helps a lot.

That being said, I think I’ve made my issues with Dreamer’s continued presence and pushes well known enough over the years so I’ll spare it again. Other than that, the show still has some weak spots, mainly around the women’s division. The talent is completely there but the stories they are telling aren’t exactly working at the moment. Upgrade that and get on to Swann vs. Moose and this show gets a heck of an upgrade in a hurry.

Results

Willie Mack/Suicide/Trey Miguel/Josh Alexander b. Blake Christian/Ace Austin/Daivari/Chris Bey – Hourglass to Christian

Kimber Lee b. ODB – Rollup

Nevaeh b. Kiera Hogan via DQ when Tasha Steelz interfered

Black Taurus b. Kaleb With A K – Spinning powerslam

Chris Sabin/James Storm b. Good Brothers via DQ when Private Party interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Final Battle 2020
Date: December 18, 2020
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

This is the biggest show of the year and this is one of the more uniquely put together pay per views I’ve seen in a long time. The company has only been back for a short while now and a lot of the top stars have snot been around since the relaunch. The card is still pretty full though and maybe they can pull off a good one. Let’s get to it.

Commentary welcomes us to the pre-show and has some bad news: EC3, Kenny King and Bandido have been Coronavirused off the show so some things have to be changed.

Pre-Show: Tony Deppen vs. LSG vs. Josh Woods vs. Dak Draper

One fall to a finish, lucha rules and the winner gets a TV Title match later tonight. Deppen and LSG are thrown outside before the bell so it’s Woods vs. Draper to start things off. The other two get back on the apron as Woods and Draper go to the grappling to start. An exchange of headlocks doesn’t go anywhere so LSG tags himself in to dropkick Draper.

Deppen comes in as well and it’s time to run the ropes with LSG. A dropkick puts LSG down but he sends Deppen outside for a dropkick through the ropes. That means Woods and Draper can come back in to exchange rollups for two each but Draper knocks Deppen into the corner with a shot to the face. A suplex gives Draper two but the Magnum KO is broken up with some elbows to the jaw.

Deppen gets tossed around and Draper gets in some trash talk to Woods to draw him in. That doesn’t even matter this time as Draper muscles Deppen up for an apron superplex and another near fall. The running knee misses though and Deppen gets out to the floor, allowing LSG to come back in and strike away.

A springboard forearm to the face gets two on Draper but Deppen is back in with a springboard Codebreaker to Woods. Draper and LSG go to the corner, only to have Woods come back in for a Tower of Doom. That means Draper and Woods can slug it out until Draper grabs a Doctor Bomb for two. They’re knocked outside though and it’s Deppen jumping back in to roll LSG up for the pin at 11:43.

Rating: C+. This was all about the action and that’s a good way to get things going on a show like this one. It’s exactly the same idea of the cruiserweights back in WCW and it is always going to work here. Deppen winning is a bit of a surprise, but that’s the kind of thing you can get away with in a four way like this. Nice stuff to get us going.

Pre-Show: Foundation vs. Fred Yehi/Wheeler Yuta

It’s the first ever Pure Rules tag match, you have five seconds to get out of the ring after the tag and a save counts as a rope break. If you make a save when you are out of breaks, it’s a DQ. Tracy Williams and Rhett Titus are here for the Foundation. Yehi and Williams go with the grappling to start with Williams wristlocking him into the corner for the tag off to Titus.

Yehi takes him down into the Koji Clutch but the rope is reached in a hurry for the first break. Yuta comes in and Williams pulls him straight into the Texas Cloverleaf, sending Yuta to the ropes to even things up. We get some miscommunication on a tag so Yehi has the chance to come in and German suplex Williams. Titus comes in and gets caught in a Koji Clutch, with Williams making the save, good for the second rope break.

The rapid fire saves are on and we’re down to just Yehi and Yuta having one left. Titus dropkicks Yuta off the top and out to the floor in a big crash. That means Williams and Yehi come in and strike it out, with Yehi having to counter a piledriver attempt. Yehi Downward Spirals him into the Koji Clutch and the ropes aren’t there for a save. Titus can’t save him either so he sends Yuta into the hold for the break in a smart move.

It’s back to Titus vs. Yuta for an exchange of crucifixes for two each until Yuta snaps off a bridging German suplex for two more. Yehi gets in a shot of his own and Yuta’s top rope splash gets another two. The hot tag brings in Williams for a hard clothesline and a Death Valley Driver. Williams stuffs Yuta with a piledriver and Yehi makes the save for the last break. Yuta gets caught in the Crossface, with Williams using the ropes for extra leverage (perfectly legal) for the tap at 13:51.

Rating: C. The rope breaks were a nice touch but that’s about all there was to this. The Pure Rules are a nice idea but they aren’t exactly the most inspiring alternative to everything else going on. Williams and Yehi continue to be fun to watch every time but the other two were just kind of there, which is kind of a problem when they do it almost every week.

Respect is shown post match.

The opening video talks about how everything stopped this year but some wrestlers are picking up the mantle of honor. Tonight they are willing to do whatever it takes on the biggest night of the year.

Tag Team Titles: Mark Briscoe/PCO vs. Foundation

The Foundation (Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham) are defending and PCO is here because Jay Briscoe was moved into another match due to Coronavirus issues, which wound up being changed anyway. We get the Code of Honor and it’s Lethal vs. Briscoe to start things off, with Lethal saying this is wrestling instead of fighting. Mark isn’t having any of this wristlocking and starts chopping away, sending Lethal out to the floor for a breather.

Back in and it’s PCO coming in to say he wants to break Lethal’s arm (again). That’s enough to make Lethal stay so PCO takes him down into a cross armbreaker. A rope break lets Lethal bail out to the floor as the champs can’t get anything going so far. Gresham comes in and tries to go after PCO’s leg, which goes as well as you would expect. PCO tosses him back to the floor and the challengers start cleaning house, including Briscoe’s running cannonball off the apron to drop Lethal.

The champs are rammed into each other and Mark uses a chair as a launchpad for a flip dive over the corner onto everyone else. PCO’s top rope flip dive completely misses Lethal so it’s Mark suplexing Gresham for two. Lethal comes back in for a dropkick/German suplex combination to drop Briscoe and it’s time to stomp him down into the corner. Briscoe pops back up and brings in PCO to clean house.

What looked like a low blow puts Gresham down again and the champs are in trouble. The Froggy Bow hits Lethal’s raised knees as the PCOsault hits clean, allowing Lethal to make the save. PCO and Lethal slug it out until Gresham launches Lethal over for a cutter to hit PCO for two. The champs manage a Doomsday Device on PCO and Gresham’s shooting star press gets a near fall. PCO monsters up but Lethal offers a distraction, allowing Gresham to roll PCO up and retain at 12:50.

Rating: B-. This was a good choice for an opener as PCO and Briscoe are always fun for a watch and the Foundation do feel like one of the best teams around. The Foundation vs. the Briscoes would have been better but there is only so much you can do when the pandemic is changing everything on such a short notice. Good match here though and the right result given the situation.

Commentary explains some of the card changes due to the Coronavirus.

Rey Horus vs. Dalton Castle

Horus was supposed to defend the Six Man Tag Team Titles but a change had to be made, with Castle, again with the Boys, stepped in. Castle goes with a fast rollup to start but gets kicked away to give us a standoff. Horus avoids a charge in the corner to put Castle on the floor as frustration sets in early. Back in and Castle takes him down for a quick splash, setting up some forearms to the ribs.

They head outside with Horus managing a kick to the chest, followed by a kick to the chest. Now the big flip dive connects and Castle is in even more trouble. Castle gets sent hard over the barricade and it’s a running kick to the face to give Horus two. A tornado DDT gives Horus two more but Castle catches him on top. Something like a reverse Neutralizer gets two on Horus and there’s a release German suplex for the same. Castle goes up but Horus runs the corner for a super victory roll and the pin at 9:10.

Rating: C. Castle’s near downward spiral continues around here as now he’s losing to the lesser known luchadors. The ending certainly took me by surprise, which is a nice thing in this case, as Horus gets a nice rub out of the whole thing. There was some good enough action, but it’s one of those matches that is likely just going to come and go without making much impact.

We recap Matt Taven/Mike Bennett (OGK) vs. the Righteous. Taven and Vincent had been in the Kingdom but Vincent turned on him to strike out on his own. Then Taven went out of action for the better part of a year due to a knee injury. Now they’re both back and it’s time for the two of them to kill each other. Bennett and Bateman are here to make it a tag match.

OGK vs. Righteous

The Righteous has Vita VonStarr in their corner. The brawl is on in a hurry with Bennett saving Taven from a suplex and driving Vincent into the corner. Bateman gets in a cheap shot from behind and we settle down with Bateman driving Taven into the corner. That just earns him an enziguri and it’s a hot tag to Bennett to clean house. Vita tries to come in for a distraction though and Bateman plans Bennett with a Side Effect to take over.

Vincent’s running forearms in the corner have Bennett in more trouble and a spinning Russian legsweep gets two. Bateman comes back in with some shots to the face but it’s too early for Vincent to try Redrum. Instead he slaps on the guillotine choke but Bennett powers out with a suplex. The double tag brings in Taven to clean house on Bateman, including a Russian legsweep into a flipping neckbreaker.

That’s enough of that though as Taven heads outside and unloads on Vincent. A springboard shot to the face puts Bateman down again and Just The Tip connects. The Climax is broken up though and Vincent slingshots in, only to get caught in a backbreaker. Bateman runs Taven over again though and it’s Redrum (Swanton) connecting for two. Bennett makes the save and everyone is down again. Taven and Vincent get into the big brawl that they have been needing to have but they kick each other down.

That’s good for a double tag so Bennett can spear Bateman down. The spike piledriver connects but Taven’s knee gives out again, meaning no cover. Instead Bennett punches Bateman off the top for a crash to the apron. A Death Valley Driver onto the apron drops Bateman again as Taven is back up with a knee to Vincent. The Aurora Borealis (frog splash) hits knees but Taven pulls Vincent into a choke, sending Vincent over to the rope. Bennett is back up though and Vincent is held over the apron for Aurora Borealis to crush him again. Back in and a Backpack Stunner/running boot combination finishes Bateman at 16:20.

Rating: B. This was the first match that felt like something that belonged on the pay per view (save for maybe the opener) as Taven vs. Vincent has become a heck of a feud. Bennett already feels FAR more important here than he ever did in WWE and that’s great for him. Bateman is a good monster enforcer as well and the match worked out rather well. I still can’t get my head around how much better Taven is as a face. It’s nothing I ever would have bet on and this has been working rather well. Good match here, with everyone looking solid.

Post match Vita hits OGK with a double low blow and it’s time to zip tie Taven to the ropes. Vita headscissors Taven to make him watch as Bateman puts a board between Bennett’s feet. A chair shot crushes the ankle in a Misery style destruction.

Danhausen vs. Brian Johnson

If Danhausen (who apparently debuted September 13, 1993 at 12:37am and weighs “at least” 300lbs despite being rather skinny) wins, he gets a contract. They shake hands and Danhausen kicks him in the face for a very early two. A middle rope hurricanrana gets two on Johnson and Danhausen demands his music be played. That’s what he gets as he hits a running kick off the apron, only to get caught with a hanging cutter back inside.

Johnson isn’t pleased but he grabs a mic and says Caprice Coleman sucks at his job. The trash talk and stomping ensues and Johnson wants to know why the Honor Club Girls aren’t cheering for him. A slam into a fist drop gets two on Danhausen but he takes the mat and drives Johnson into the corner for swearing (a big negative in Danhausen’s eyes). Johnson clotheslines him down again though and it’s time to grab the microphone again.

More shouting ensues as Johnson isn’t happy that he finally made it to Final Battle and is being stuck doing this. A clothesline gets two and Johnson can’t believe it. Danhausen makes the comeback with a running shot in the corner and a German suplex into another German suplex gets two….and let’s grab a jar of teeth. The Goodnight Hausen (GTS) gets two as Johnson gets a hand on the rope.

Johnson bails to the floor and gets taken down with a suicide dive but Johnson kicks the rope on the way back in. The jar of teeth (just go with it) is poured into Danhausen’s mouth but he grabs a quick rollup for two anyway. The teeth go into the referee’s eyes though, meaning there is no cover off Johnson’s neckbreaker finisher. Rating: C+. I actually liked this as Danhausen is enough of a screwy guy to make you believe that he’s just kind of out there. They didn’t do anything too far here (the teeth are certainly a thing) and Johnson ran his mouth so much that you wanted to see him lose. This was much more about the angle than the wrestling and that’s fine in a match like this, though I could see people not being pleased.

TV Title: Dragon Lee vs. Tony Deppen

Deppen is challenging after winning a four way on the pre-show but comes in holding his neck. Amy Rose, the manager of Lee’s faction, joins commentary. They go to the mat to start with neither being able to get much of an advantage. Deppen grabs an armdrag but gets sent to the floor for the suicide dive. Back in and Lee chops away in the corner as Rose is speaking about 90% Spanish. Deppen manages a step up kick to the head to put Lee on the floor, setting up a suicide flip dive. A springboard missile dropkick gives Deppen two but Lee pounds him right down in the corner.

We hit the chinlock for a bit, with Deppen fighting up and slapping away to take over. Lee is back with the snap German suplex and a moonsault northern lights suplex (geez) which leaves both of them down. They slug it out from their knees with Lee getting the better of things, only to miss a charge in the corner.

Deppen loads up a superplex but gets knocked down for an Alberto double stomp. Back up and Deppen scores with a running knee to the face and the kickout leaves him shocked. Lee blasts him in the face though and his own running knee gets two. That’s enough for Lee, who hits Incineration (another running knee) to retain at 11:50.

Rating: C+. Lee’s offense is fast paced and exciting enough that it is easy to see why Ring of Honor wants to push the heck out of him. Deppen looked good here as well, as he made the most out of the opportunity he was given. The match wasn’t exactly in doubt but they made something out of very little so well done all things considered.

We look at Jay Briscoe and Shane Taylor arguing backstage because their matches with EC3 and Mexisquad were canceled. This was announced earlier in the night and while that’s not a great way to go, like so many other things on this show, what else are they supposed to do?

Jay Briscoe vs. Shane Taylor

The lockup doesn’t go anywhere as they shove each other around with little avail. Shane sends him into the corner and unloads with rights and lefts but Jay is right back with a headlock. Jay tries to run the ropes and is knocked down hard with a shoulder. More rights and lefts set up a big right hand to knock Jay silly, meaning it’s time to head to the floor.

Jay sends him into the barricade and scores with a good superkick before heading back inside. Shane slugs away again but gets caught with a dropkick. One heck of a right handdrops Jay again though and it’s time for a slugout. Jay’s snap jabs set up an impressive Death Valley Driver and here’s Mark Briscoe for support.

Shane is up first but Jay slaps on a choke to put Shane down. Two arm drops have Shane in real trouble but he makes it over to the rope for the break. Jay’s big clothesline gets two and the neckbreaker is good for the same. Shane is back up and hits him in the face, setting up the package piledriver. Welcome To The Land finishes Jay at 13:41.

Rating: B-. This was about hitting each other really hard but also about building Shane up as a main eventer. They had a good power brawl here and beating Jay still means quite a bit in Ring of Honor. They don’t have many people at that level or even close to it so giving Shane a win on a show like this means a lot for his future around here.

We recap Jonathan Gresham defending the Pure Title against Flip Gordon. Gresham is the first holder of the new version of the title and he says there is more to wrestling than flips. Gordon doesn’t love this company as much as he does and it’s time for both guys to prove themselves.

Pure Title: Jonathan Gresham vs. Flip Gordon

Gordon is challenging. They lock up to start with Ian saying this is like Thunder Road vs. Born To Run. Gresham grabs a hammerlock, which sends Gordon straight to the rope for the first break. With that out of the way, Gresham takes him to the mat to work on the leg, which sends Gordon over to the ropes for a second break in three minutes. Gresham tries a headlock takeover this time before switching to a crucifix.

Back up and Gresham works on the wrist a bit more as Gordon has barely done anything so far. Gresham ties up the arm and twists the foot around at the same time before letting Gordon up. A standing armbar goes on so Gordon drives him into the rope, which counts as the final rope break. Gordon finally scores with a spinning kick to the head to put Gresham down for the first time.

Gresham can’t hit a springboard hurricanrana so Gordon superkicks him down for two, with Gresham using a rope break of his own. Gordon gets knocked away but is fine enough to duck a middle rope crossbody with Gresham banging up his knee on the landing. That gives Gordon a target and the Figure Four goes on, with Gresham breaking it up in a hurry. A dropkick to the leg sets up a half crab but Gresham slips out again. This time Gresham kicks Gordon in the arm and they’re both down for a bit.

Gordon is right back on the leg so Gresham makes the rope for the second time. Another kick to the leg sets up a Falcon Arrow into Submit To Flip (STF) but Gresham elbows his way out. Back up and they slug it out with Gresham kicking him in the arm again. Gordon wins a slugout by going with the closed fist, which is good for his first warning. An enziguri into a German suplex (with Gresham raising the bad leg) gets two on Gordon but he knocks the leg out again and grabs another half crab.

That’s switched into another STF but Gresham crawls to the floor for the break. Back in and Gresham sets him on top for another kick to the arm, setting up a top rope belly to back superplex for another near fall. Gresham hits a running shot to the head for two, followed by a running shot to the head for two. Another one is loaded up but the referee stops it because Gordon can’t defend himself at 24:37.

Rating: B. I’m not wild on Gordon most of the time but he brought it here and they had a heck of a fight. Gresham was losing the technical battle, or at least close to it, and went with the hard shots to the head to win instead. It’s a good story for the match and Gresham didn’t cheat to win after a long match, making this one of the better things the Pure Title has done since it was brought back. Heck of a match here and pay per view worthy.

Post match Gordon declines the handshake and walks away.

We recap Brody King vs. Rush. King has been on a roll since Ring of Honor returned and Rush is finally back after his long hiatus. It isn’t much of a main event, but again you can’t hold that against them here.

Ring of Honor World Title: Rush vs. Brody King

King is challenging. They go with the striking to start with Rush’s shoulder putting him on a knee. King is back up with a clothesline to the floor and that means the suicide dive. Rush is whipped hard into the barricade twice in a row, meaning it’s time to grab some chairs. King slams him down onto said chairs, which isn’t a DQ because they weren’t used in an offensive manner. There’s a backsplash onto Rush onto the chairs and it’s time to go back inside.

King stomps away in the corner and hits the Cannonball for two, only to have Rush come back with a running knee to the face. They’re right back to the floor with Rush sending him into the barricade and slamming the door in the barricade on King’s head. Rush whips away with an electrical cord and then uses it to choke away. King is down so Rush asks the camera if it missed being in his house.

Back in and King unloads with chops in the corner, only to get taken down for his efforts. The running taunting kick to the face has King in more trouble and there’s a belly to belly to put King into the corner again. King heads up top but Rush catches him with a top rope superplex for two more.

The swinging Boss Man Slam gives King two and it’s time to chop it out again. Rush knocks him into the corner again and tries the Bull’s Horns, only to get cut off by a spear. The Ganso Bomb is loaded up but here is Dragon Lee (Rush’s brother) for a distraction. Bestia del Rey (Rush/Lee’s father) comes in to chair King down, meaning the Bull’s Horns to retain the title at 16:35.

Rating: B. Pretty good brawl here with both guys hitting each other rather hard. The ending seemed designed to set up something for later, though I’m not sure I can imagine Rush keeping the title that much longer due to the immigration issues. King does have a claim to a rematch due to the cheating but I’m not sure if he’ll be first in line. I know this didn’t quite feel like a Final Battle main event, but as has been the case all night, it’s understandable.

Post break La Faccion celebrates but the Foundation comes out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. All things considered, this is the about all you could have asked for. I know the show was lacking a lot of the way of storyline development, but there was only so much they could have done. It felt more like a collection of matches than a show if that makes sense, though it’s quite the collection of matches for the most part. Nothing is bad, and I liked what we got here for the most part. Ring of Honor works best when they’re just focusing on the wrestling and that’s what they did here in a show that felt like it belonged on the Final Battle stage.

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NXT
Date: February 10, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett

It’s the go home show for Takeover: Vengeance Day and it’s still tournament time with three more Dusty Classic matches before we can finally wrap up the brackets for the time being. These things have dominated NXT TV for a few weeks now and I can’t wait for the them to wrap up so we don’t have to spend so much time on them every week. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinals: MSK vs. Legado del Fantasma

Joaquin Wilde and Wes Lee start things off and go to the mat for some arm cranking. Wilde takes over on the leg but gets pulled into an armbar. That’s enough for the early tag to Nash Carter, who hits a Bronco Buster in the corner. Carter dropkicks Wilde into the corner and it’s off to Raul Mendoza to crank on the arm. Some double kicks have Mendoza in the corner and Lee stays in, only to get caught with a double suplex.

Wilde is hiptossed onto the ropes to set up a moonsault for two but Lee is over for the tag to Carter to pick up the pace again. Wilde isn’t having this though and knocks both of MSK outside as we take a break. Back with Lee cleaning house and kicking Mendoza out to the floor. A backdrop puts Wilde on the floor as well and it’s the push moonsault to take Legado out. Lee adds the big flip dive but he tries another one and gets kicked in the head.

Back in and Mendoza walks the rope for a missile dropkick, setting up Wilde’s reverse hurricanrana. Mendoza grabs a swinging suplex for two and puts Carter in a fireman’s carry. That lets Wilde use Carter’s back for a 450 but Lee small packages him in a hurry. Mendoza is smart enough to drop Carter onto the cover for two and MSK is in more trouble. The Russian legsweep/big boot is broken up though and the spinebuster/Blockbuster combination finishes Wilde at 12:58.

Rating: B-. There were good parts here but it didn’t have the best flow or chemistry throughout. The good thing is that MSK can wrestle the high flying style and hang in there just fine. MSK has looked good in the tournament so far and it’s nice to see someone getting a push right out of the blocks instead of having to go through a bunch of squash matches to get there first.

Mercedes Martinez talks about how it has taken twenty years to get here and now she is going to show the world what she can do.

Xia Li vs. Cora Jade

Boa is here with Li as well. Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro come out to try and talk sense into Li, but she has a spinning kick to the face to give Jade for the pin at 46 seconds. Li’s entrance was about three times that long.

Post match Li beats on Jade some more, so Carter goes up to yell at Tian Sha for ruining Li. That sends Li up to throw Carter off the stage and then Sha chokes Boa. Li beats up Catanzaro as well. Having a little extra backstory has made this story work a good bit better.

William Regal is happy with the Dusty Classic but finds Scarlett in his office. She wants Santos Escobar’s time to be up next week. Regal agrees.

Here’s the Way, with Johnny Gargano in a wheelchair because of his broken arm. Gargano says this is the result of Kushida’s attack last week and we see a clip of Kushida kicking the arm. After Candice LeRae moves her hands from over Gargano’s eyes and the Way turns him back to the camera, Gargano says this is ruining his life. He is a known power walker but now he can’t swing his arms. And he hates wheels! Anyway, Gargano can’t defend the NXT Title on Sunday and Kushida should be suspended.

Cue William Regal to say Gargano was medically cleared yesterday but Gargano has an X-RAY showing the longest bone in his arm. The arm is broken horribly but Regal says that’s of a fight arm and Gargano’s left is in the sling. Also, if it’s that bad, Gargano would be in extreme pain.

Regal says Gargano has two options: he can either have Austin Theory as the surrogate to defend the title tonight or just forfeit the title outright. Gargano begs for more time but Regal says we can just ask Kushida, who is in the ring. Kushida cleans house, including superkicking Gargano who popped to his feet. That earns him a superkick back into the chair as Kushida clears the ring.

Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinals: The Way vs. Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon

We’re joined in progress with Ember working on Candice’s arm and handing it off to Shotzi for a backsplash. The shoulders in the ribs keep Candice in trouble but she avoids a charge and brings in Hartwell. A side slam gets two on Blackheart and Candice comes back in to work on an armbar. It’s already back to Hartwell, who mocks Ember but manages to drag Shotzi back to the corner.

Candice elbows her down for two more and the armbar goes on again. This time Blackheart jawbreaks her way to freedom and it’s straight back to Moon to pick up the pace. Candice gets knocked into the corner so Blackheart kicks Hartwell for two more. Blackheart gets knocked to the floor though and Candice walks the ropes for a hurricanrana to send Moon into Blackheart outside.

We take a break and come back with Shotzi coming in off the hot tag and starting to clean house. The running reverse cannonball to the back gives Shotzi two and Moon is back in. Moon’s knees are laid up for a bulldog to Candice and another near fall as frustration sets in. This time it’s Ember getting caught in the wrong corner, with Hartwell holding Moon up for Candice’s Lionsault.

A shot to the face is enough for the hot tag back to Blackheart though and things pick up all over again. Everything breaks down but Candice drops Shotzi, setting up Hartwell’s top rope for her own two. That goes to Shotzi though, and it’s an Eclipse to Candice. Hartwell covers Candice for protection so Blackheart’s top rope backsplash hits both of them for the pin at 14:17.

Rating: C-. This gave us the right and fairly clear ending but they didn’t have a smooth match out there. It had multiple botches and both teams didn’t look all that great. Then again, it isn’t like they have much experience together so you can only expect so much. The ending made sense with Hartwell wanting to save Candice more than win, even if it might not appeal to Candice herself. Blackheart and Moon work well enough as a team, but this was none of the four’s best night.

Post match Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai come out for the staredown. William Regal comes in to say the winners will also get a future Women’s Tag Team Title shot. I thought they had said that before. Oh well.

Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa talk about the hard match they had last week. Tonight they have the Grizzled Young Veterans, which is a better name for them. They’re winning tonight and then doing the same on Sunday. Class dismissed, and Ciampa storms off, leaving Thatcher smiling a lot.

Santos Escobar isn’t worried about Karrion Kross. He isn’t apologizing either, even when a nervous Wilde and Mendoza come in. Escobar tells them to go pay Kross a visit.

Video on Finn Balor being untouchable as NXT Champion, which got Pete Dunne’s attention. The two have been going at it since, with Dunne even breaking Balor’s fingers. Now it’s time for the big showdown on Sunday.

Kushida vs. Austin Theory

No entrance for either of them and the slugout is on early. Johnny Gargano offers a quick distraction so Theory can take over, including a good looking dropkick. Kushida’s hiptoss is blocked so he throws Theory down and nails the basement dropkick. Theory gets taken down by the arm, which has Barrett fuming over Kushida’s hatred of all things arms. More kicks to the arm set up Kushida tying the arms around his legs and dropping backwards.

The arm is twisted around some more and then snapped down over Kushida’s shoulder, followed by a kick to the shoulder. Theory manages to knock him off the apron though and we take a break. Back with Kushida still in trouble and Theory sending him flying with a fall away slam. The referee checks on Kushida, which seems a little premature, especially since he grabs a rollup for two.

Kushida hits a springboard back elbow into a release German suplex. It’s time to work on the arm some more, this time with a Stunner of all things to send Theory outside. Kushida follows and gets run over but manages to slap on a cross armbreaker on the apron. That’s enough for Gargano to nail the superkick for the DQ at 11:57.

Rating: C. The ending was the right call as this was much more about setting up Takeover than the match itself. I could go for a lot more of Theory and Kushida, either on their own or against each other because they really are that good. Theory has all the tools you could hope for and you don’t get that kind of a talent very often. Go with what works, like Kushida vs. Gargano on Sunday.

Post match the beatdown is on with Gargano going to get a chair to break Kushida’s arm. As he goes around the ring though, someone pulls Theory underneath the ring. Gargano comes back and pulls out Dexter Lumis, who scares Gargano up the ramp. Theory is scared into the Hoverboard Lock from Kushida, who does the same thing to Gargano for a bonus. Lumis comes in to Silence Theory at the same time so Kushida can pose with the title.

Toni Storm talks about beating Io Shirai in the Mae Young Classic. She can do it again and after Sunday, it’s Toni Time.

We get an Imperium video, introducing everyone on the team.

Karrion Kross has taken out Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza. Next week it’s Escobar’s turn.

Cameron Grimes is back, in a rather nice car. He pays security a lot of money to park it and then walks into the arena, where he hands some wrestlers some money as well. Grimes (now with glasses) gets in the ring and tells people to get up, promising a reward for anyone who does (Vic: “Sit down Barrett.”). Two months ago, Timothy Thatcher left him laying and injured so Grimes has been out of action.

While he has been hurt, he started playing a lot of video games and that meant trips to Game Stop. It was so great that he invested and now he has SO MUCH MONEY. Then he invested in Dogecoin and now he’s even MORE RICH. The clothes start to come off as Grimes rants about how William Regal can kiss his grits. I could absolutely go for this as it’s an angle that works every time and Grimes is perfect for the thing. Also, how often do we get something this topical?

Johnny Gargano says Kushida better be ready for Takeover because that’s Johnny’s world.

Io Shirai talks about winning the Women’s Title in a triple threat match and she can do it again. She is a different person than when she lost to Toni Storm and now this title reign will never end.

Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinals: Timothy Thatcher/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Before the match, Zack Gibson says these two are as dumb as they look. When have either of them ever had a team end well? The Veterans are winning the trophy so they will be recognized as….whatever Gibson was going to say before Ciampa kicked James Drake in the face. It’s a big brawl on the floor before the bell with the Veterans beating them down and then switching places so the beating can continue.

They finally get inside for the opening bell with Gibson taking Thatcher down and bringing in Ciampa. The stomping ensues again so it’s back to Thatcher, who allows the tag off to Drake. Thatcher gets knocked into the corner and Gibson comes back in, allowing Drake to pull Ciampa to the floor. Ciampa is sent into the steps and then double teamed onto the apron as we take a break.

Back with Ciampa still down after being checked by the medics during the break. Gibson takes Thatcher down into a chinlock for a bit before loading up a Doomsday Device. That’s broken up though and Ciampa blasts Drake as Ciampa gets back on the apron. There’s the hot tag and house is cleaned, including a bunch of clotheslines. Some German suplexes have the Veterans down again and Ciampa gets two on Drake.

We settle back down with Drake having to power Ciampa into the corner to block the Fairy Tale Ending. Gibson and Ciampa slug it out with Gibson hitting him in the throat, setting up a swinging suplex. Drake comes in and uses Ciampa as a launchpad to take Thatcher down, followed by the Doomsday Device. Thatcher breaks that up as well but the Veterans put him down on the floor. Willow’s Bell is blocked and the Ticket To Mayhem hits Ciampa for the pin at 11:39.

Rating: C+. The ending helped but the injury spot felt pretty wedged in. Ciampa was right back up like nothing was wrong later and it’s not like the Veterans beating Ciampa and Thatcher is some huge upset. I’m not sure why they needed the injury deal when some simple cheating would have worked just fine, but it’s not like it ruined anything. The Veterans moving on makes sense and as long as that works, there isn’t much to complain about here.

Post match MSK and the Veterans glare at each other.

Commentary stands up and hypes Takeover, with everyone in each match coming to the stage for a staredown. Finn Balor and Pete Dunne stare each other down in the ring to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show did a nice job of setting up Takeover, though I never need to think about the Dusty Classic again. Adding in the prize for the women helped, though it wasn’t exactly a groundbreaking change. The wrestling was good here and I’m glad Gargano vs. Kushida is back on, plus the Grimes stuff has me giddy with how fun it could be. Nice show here, but Takeover is the main course on Sunday.

Results

MSK b. Legado del Fantasma – Spinebuster/Blockbuster combination to Wilde

Xia Li b. Cora Jade – Spinning kick to the face

Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon b. The Way – Top rope backsplash to LeRae

Kushida b. Austin Theory via DQ when Johnny Gargano interfered

Grizzled Young Veterans b. Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher – Ticket to Mayhem to Ciampa

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