Impact Wrestling
Date: June 9, 2022
Location: Osceola Heritage Park, Kissimmee, Florida
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are rapidly approaching Slammiversary and that means it is time to start filling out the card. The main event is set but we still need to add in a few more spots here and there. This includes another name in the Ultimate X match, plus a likely Moose vs. Sami Callihan match. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening sequence looks at Sami Callihan attacking Moose last week.

Callihan wants Moose.

Opening sequence, again featuring a classic TNA theme. I could go for more of these things.

Tenille Dashwood vs. Rosemary

Madison Rayne is here too. Rosemary knocks her into the corner to start and a ram into the buckle makes it worse. Dashwood manages to get in a shot of her own though and pulls Rosemary outside for a crash to take over. Back in and the Upside Down doesn’t get Rosemary very far as Dashwood clotheslines her down.

A full nelson is broken up though and a double clothesline gives them both a breather. It’s Rosemary up first with something close to the Last Chancery but Dashwood slips out. Rayne offers a quick cheap shot but Rosemary grabs a rollup for the pin at 6:04 anyway. Ignore Rosemary’s shoulders being down.

Rating: C. Pretty run of the mill match here with a bit of a wonky ending. Rosemary not having Havok here was a bit weird as they might not have the brightest future together. Dashwood and Rayne are still fine as heels, but it is still kind of hard to get invested in the division as it pretty much doesn’t exist.

Post match the beatdown is on but Taya Valkyrie comes in for the save. Rosemary and Taya don’t exactly seem to trust each other.

Slammiversary rundown.

The Good Brothers have come to the Briscoes’ chicken farm and we get some rapid fire clips of them looking around the place, including dealing with manure, talking to Mark’s (I think) son and chasing around a chicken. Then they run into Papa Briscoe, who tells them to get out. Violence is teased but the Briscoe Brothers come in via their truck and the big fight is on. Jay gets tied in a tree, but Papa grabs a wrench to keep the Brothers (Good that is) from throwing a cinder block at his head. Papa continues to steal every scene he is in for any promotion.

Heath says Rhino needs surgery and will be out for months. Revenge on Honor No More is promised.

Steve Maclin vs. PCO

PCO starts fast with a running clothesline and somehow winds up on the floor instead of Maclin. A dive takes Maclin down and PCO’s mouth is busted, but he hits another dive for good measure. The PCOsault is broken up so Maclin knocks him off the top and hits a dive of his own as we take a break.

Back with Maclin pulling PCO’s shoulder into the post a few times and grabbing a top rope superplex for two. PCO gets all fired up though and hammers away, including a DDT. The Cannonball sets up the Deanimator but another Cannonball hits steps. Maclin hits a running spear against the barricade and then crushes PCO’s arm in the step for a bonus. The shoulder is WAY messed up (looks dislocated) but PCO beats up the medical people. That lets Maclin hit a chair shot to the ribs, followed by a DDT onto the chair for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: C+. The Maclin push continues and beating PCO means a little something. I’m curious to see how far he can go, as we might be seeing him getting into the main event scene. It isn’t like there is anything else of note for him to do, so maybe there is an opening for him in there.

Post match PCO sits up and goes after Maclin, who runs off scared.

Flashback Moment Of The Week: Samoa Joe retains the World Title in King of the Mountain at Slammiversary 2008.

Tasha Steelz, with Savannah Evans, yells at Deonna Purrazzo for not helping her last week. Purrazzo says she doesn’t need their help so the two of them storm off. Chelsea Green comes in to laugh.

Matt Morgan pops up as this week’s cameo and talks about what his time meant here. Vincent comes in to mock him before leaving.

Joe Doering vs. Josh Alexander

Non-title and the rest of Violent By Design is here. Doering shoves him down to start but Alexander is back up with a headlock. A belly to back suplex doesn’t get Doering out of trouble but he kicks out of the ankle lock without much effort. Doering gets in a running shoulder to drop Alexander for two and then sneers a lot. We hit the neck crank for a bit but Alexander is right back up with a middle rope knee. Some rolling German suplexes have Doering in trouble so the Violent By Design flag is thrown in. That’s fine with Alexander, who hits Doering with the flag for the DQ at 6:30.

Rating: C. Not much to see here other than Alexander snapping a bit on the way to the pay per view title match. Doering is still someone where I don’t get the appeal as he is the big monster of a team run by Eric Young. That is only going to get you so far and we passed that point a long time ago.

Post match Alexander cleans house and stares down Eric Young, who backs off.

Moose isn’t worried about Sami Callihan’s mind games, even as the lights flicker.

We look at Ace Austin joining the Bullet Club in Japan.

Austin and the Bullet Club were happy and then beat up an angry Alex Zayne.

Moose goes hunting for Sami Callihan….and actually finds him, setting up the brawl in the back. Callihan is busted open but Moose finds that he is locked in an area backstage. Callihan reveals that he has the key and beats Moose up before locking him in.

Matt Cardona insists that he is the REAL Digital Media Champion but since he is hurt, he hands it off to Brian Myers. That’s fine with Myers, who will defend against Rich Swann at Slammiversary.

Slammiversary rundown, with Alex Zayne being added to Ultimate X.

Honor No More vs. Frankie Kazarian/Motor City Machine Guns

That would be Matt Taven/Mike Bennett/Eddie Edwards for Honor No More. Bennett and Edwards trade headlocks to start for an early standoff. Bennett gets sent into the corner for some alternating shots to the face, allowing Sabin to come in and kick him down. That’s broken up and it’s off to Taven, who takes over on Sabin without much trouble. Kazarian comes in as well with a neckbreaker for Taven before cranking on Edwards’ arm. Everything breaks down and the good guys take over, including the springboard spinning legdrop to Bennett as we take a break.

Back with Shelley Stunning Edwards over the top rope but Bennett pulls the leg to cut him off. Everything breaks down again and Sabin gets launched into a powerbomb to take him down too. Bennett hits Edwards by mistake but Sabin and Kazarian are pulled to the floor to break up a hot tag attempt. Some shots to Shelley’s head seem to wake him up so Edwards kicks him in the head.

Edwards kicks Bennett by mistake though and now the hot tag can bring in Kazarian to clean house. Kazarian flips out of a double belly to back suplex and hands it back to Shelley to pick up the pace even more. Everything breaks down (again) and Sabin hits a cutter on Taven. The parade of dives is on until Sabin gets triple teamed inside.

Kazarian is back in to take Edwards down for two and Sabin hits a middle rope tornado DDT for two on Taven. A slingshot cutter hits Taven but Bennett cuts Sabin off. The Clothesline From Hell, Michigan (clever) hits Bennett but a low blow lets Edwards grab the Die Hard Driver for the pin on Sabin at 20:27.

Rating: B. This got the time to go somewhere and it shouldn’t be a surprise that it worked. Impact has the kind of roster that allows them to do something like this and it worked well as a main event. Sometimes you need to just let wrestlers have the chance to wrestle and the Machine Guns vs. OGK with the other two involved was always going to go well. You can mix and match the combinations for one good pairing after another here and that is a good sign for the future of this story. Good stuff, as Honor No More gets a boost on the way to Slammiversary.

Post match Heath runs in with a chair for some revenge but Kenny King and Vincent come in to build up the numbers again. Heath’s ankle is Pillmanized over and over to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event helped a lot here and we got a good show as a result. Slammiversary is all but set and now they have another week to get in the final push. They still need to make Slammiversary work though and that is the tricky part. Some good build can help though and that is what they did here, though next week will matter more.

Results
Rosemary b. Tenille Dashwood – Rollup
Steve Maclin b. PCO – DDT onto a chair
Joe Doering b. Josh Alexander via DQ when Alexander hit him with a flag pole
Honor No More b. Kazarian/Motor City Machine Guns – Die Hard Driver to Sabin

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Impact Wrestling
Date: June 2, 2022
Location: Osceola Heritage Park, Kissimmee, Florida
Commentator: Tom Hannifan

We’re closing in on Slammiversary and in this case that means even more Eric Young. I’m not sure what that is going to mean, but the good thing is that things haven’t been too terrible so far. Young is set to challenge Josh Alexander for the World Title at Slammiversary but the show needs some more buildup first. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at last week’s main event, with Violent By Design beating Josh Alexander and the Briscoes.

We get a new opening sequence, complete with a THIS IS TNA voiceover, albeit set to the current roster.

Mia Yim vs. Savannah Evans

Deonna Purrazzo is on commentary and Tasha Steelz is here with Evans. The entrances let commentary explain the still rather complicated Queen Of The Mountain rules. Yim fires off knees to start and sends Evans down early. Evans is right back with a DDT for two as Purrazzo talks about how she never needed an insurance policy. Hannifan: “You don’t remember Matthew Rehwoldt?” Purrazzo: “No.”

Yim fights out of a chinlock but gets powerbombed down to cut her off. There’s a World’s Strongest Slam to give Evans two but she misses a charge into the post. A cannonball gives Yim two, only to have Evans come back with a fisherman’s suplex for two of her own. Evans is sent outside so Steelz grabs Yim, only to have Jordynne Grace run down to cut her off. The distraction lets Yim hit Eat Defeat for the pin at 7:41.

Rating: C. More momentum building here, though I have no idea how you build momentum for something as zany as Queen of the Mountain. I’m not sure how great of an idea it is to bring back a match that screams RUSSO as much as this one, but at least they have something going on. Perfectly fine opener here, as Yim gets established again.

Slammiversary rundown.

Earlier today, Shark Boy told Eddie Edwards to treat Impact with more respect. Chris Harris of all people came in to break it up.

The Influence annoys Rosemary and offers her some makeup. Rosemary says they’ll need it after she bites their faces off. The rest of Decay comes in to scare them off.

Kenny King vs. Blake Christian

Trey Miguel is on commentary and King’s Ultimate X spot is on the line. King strikes him into the corner to start but Christian flips around and hits a kick to the face. They head to the floor and neither can get anywhere, with Christian using the steps to jump over him. Back in and a kick to the head puts King on the floor, setting up the big suicide dive as we take a break.

We come back with King hitting a t-bone suplex for two and we hit the seated abdominal stretch. Christian fights up and hits a dropkick to the back, setting up a quick splash for two. King knocks him away and comes back with a springboard Blockbuster. The spinebuster gives King two more but Christian manages to drape him over the top. There’s a splash to King’s back but the 450 hits raised knees. The Royal Flush finishes King at 13:00.

Rating: C+. This was your weekly X-Division match and as usual, it worked out fairly well. I was half thinking that they were going to pull a surprise here but King is the bigger name and the logical choice to be in the title match. Christian has been around for a bit but he hasn’t had that match or moment that makes him stand out from the pack. He is still good, but nothing has really jumped off the page yet (with an emphasis on the last word).

Jack Evans of all people is in the Ultimate X match.

Bhupinder Gujjar thanks W. Morrissey for having his back last week and says he has Morrissey’s back anytime. We pan over to PCO, who is losing his mind (I think, as it’s hard to tell).

Matthew Rehwoldt vs. Rich Swann

Swann’s newly won Digital Media Title isn’t on the line, but Matt Cardona has stolen the title anyway, which is in no way or shape code for hiding the fact that this show was taped first. Rehwoldt takes him down to start and poses but Swann goes to the test of strength offer, meaning it’s time to alternate hands into some dancing. Swann dropkicks him to the floor but Rehwoldt gets in a kick to the head to take over back inside. Some kicks rock Rewholdt again but he’s right back with a fireman’s carry slam for two. That’s fine with Swann, who hits a Lethal Injection into a phoenix splash for the pin at 5:14.

Rating: C-. This was kind of a weird short form story as Rehwoldt hasn’t been involved in anything for months and then gets a random match with Swann. They didn’t do anything nutty here and it’s fine for Rehwoldt, a former wrestler, to be able to hang in there for a few minutes like this. Not a stand out match or anything but it filled in its time well enough.

On BTI, Alisha Edwards was given an envelope by Masha Slamovich.

Edwards reveals that it was an 8×10 of herself with a red X drawn through it. Gisele Shaw comes in to suggest that Edwards is in trouble.

Here are the Good Brothers for a chat. After confirming that his skinny jeans look good, Karl Anderson talks about getting to face the Briscoes at Slammiversary. We hear about all of the places they have won gold over the years, from Las Vegas to Tokyo to London to Saudi Arabia. The Briscoes have won a lot but they can’t touch the Good Brothers. Sure they might be the Delaware State Sack Racing Champions, but the Good Brothers were at Madison Square Garden.

Anderson has a special video though: the top ten things the two of them have done here in Impact Wrestling. 10-7 are a variety of Magic Killers, but then we get to 6-2, which is THAT TIME WE BEAT THE BRISCOES! #1 is…actually cut off by the Briscoes themselves as things get a bit serious. Dang I wanted to know what was on top. Jay calls the Good Brothers soft, because the Briscoes are the ones out there putting in the work every day.

They’re still on the farm working hard because that is what they do, but Anderson wants to tell us what was #1: it was THAT TIME WE BEAT THE BRISCOES. The fight is on with the Briscoes clearing the ring to send the Brothers running. Despite the Good Brothers physically towering over the Briscoes (that’s still weird to see), this feels big and like an actual major tag team showdown. It’s also weird to see the Brothers as someone I don’t mind, but stranger things have happened.

Josh Alexander is ready for Eric Young, but not so ready for getting jumped by Violent By Design.

Come to some upcoming shows. The fact that these shows are happening is almost hard to fathom when you consider how low Impact reached at some point.

Josh Alexander wants Joe Doering next week but Scott D’Amore tries to talking him out of it. Alexander gets the match anyway.

Matt Taven/Mike Bennett vs. Rhino/Heath

Eddie Edwards is on commentary. Bennett and Rhino start things off with Rhino shouldering him down early on. Heath comes in to crank on the arm before it’s off to Taven. That doesn’t go well either as Taven is knocked outside and we take an early break. Back with Heath in trouble as we keep looking at Edwards and Hannifan on commentary.

Bennett drops an elbow for two and we hit the chinlock to keep Heath down. That’s broken up though and a missed charge/enziguri…isn’t enough for Heath to bring Rhino back in. A clothesline drops Taven though and now the hot tag brings Rhino back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Taven Climaxes Rhino for the pin at 9:44.

Rating: C. Honor No More continues to kind of just be there without much of note going on. Odds are they’ll be in for a high enough profile match at Slammiversary and that is about the best you could ask for from them. They need something to do and maybe that is what they get in the coming weeks.

Post match Honor No More runs in for the big beatdown on Heath and Rhino, complete with a bunch of chair shots to Rhino’s knee. Frankie Kazarian and the Motor City Machine Guns make the save.

Post break Rhino is put in an ambulance with Heath riding along. Kazarian and the Machine Gus want Honor No More so Scott D’Amore tells them to find two partners who have been in Impact at any time ever to settle this.

Slammiversary/next week rundown.

Moose/Steve Maclin vs. PCO/W. Morrissey

Matthew Rehwoldt joins commentary for the first time. PCO isn’t having any of Maclin’s headlock to start so it’s off to Moose vs. Morrissey instead. That means an exchange of chops in the corner with Morrissey getting the better of things and handing it back to PCO. Everything breaks down with PCO and Morrissey cleaning house with running splashes in the corner.

There’s a double chokeslam to Maclin and Morrissey gets to choke Moose with a boot. A cheap shot allows Maclin to come back in though and it’s time to start working on Morrissey’s knee. The standing leglock goes on but Morrissey uses the good leg to kick Maclin out to the floor. PCO comes back in to clean house, including the Cannonball to Maclin.

The Deanimator crushes Maclin on the apron and a belly to belly puts Moose down. PCO’s running flip suicide dive drops both of them again but the PCOsault misses back inside. That doesn’t seem to bother PCO as he is right over for the tag to Morrissey so everything can break down. Morrissey gets tied up in the Tree of Woe so Maclin can hit a spear in the corner, followed by a suicide dive to PCO. Back in and a double arm DDT finishes Morrissey at 14:19.

Rating: C+. The match itself was good and I’m glad Maclin got a win, but this was kind of a weird set of pairings. It felt almost like something you would get if you pulled names out of a hat and then aired it as the main event. I’ve heard of worse ideas for matches and it worked well, but it felt fairly random.

Post match Moose spears PCO but Sami Callihan appears and baseball bats Moose down.

Overall Rating: C+. Another solid enough week here as we move that much closer to Slammiversary. They had some good enough action here, but they also set up another match for the pay per view and advanced some of the stories that were already made. Impact might not be flashy a lot of the time, but it is doing enough efficiently to make things work, as they did again here.

Results
Mia Yim b. Savannah Evans – Eat Defeat
Kenny King b. Blake Christian – Royal Flush
Rich Swann b. Matthew Rehwoldt – Phoenix splash
Matt Taven/Mike Bennett b. Heath/Rhino – Climax to Rhino
Steve Maclin/Moose b. PCO/W. Morrissey – Double arm DDT to W. Morrissey

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 26, 2022
Location: Osceola Heritage Park, Kissimmee, Florida
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are well on the way to Slammiversary and that means it is time to build towards the matches that are already set for the show. This includes the World Title match of Josh Alexander defending against Eric Young, which will probably be built up a bit more this week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s main event, with the Briscoes retaining the Tag Team Titles over Violent By Design. This set up a post match staredown also involving Josh Alexander, likely setting up a six man tag this week.

Opening sequence.

Ultimate X Qualifying Match: Alex Shelley vs. Trey Miguel

We get a respectful handshake to start until Shelley grabs a hammerlock. Miguel spins out of that in a hurry though and we’re at a standoff. A whip into the ropes doesn’t work for Shelley, as Miguel is right there with a few kicks to the arm. Shelley sends him outside though and there’s the baseball slide to stagger Miguel. The chop hits the post though and Miguel grabs a middle rope moonsault as Shelley grabs his hand.

Back in and Shelley is fine enough to knock him out of the air and start cranking Miguel’s leg around the rope. A dragon screw legwhip makes Miguel scream and the Motor City Stretch makes it even worse. That means Miguel needs a rope for the break and a dropkick has Shelley in trouble for a change. Miguel grabs his leg before firing off the kicks to the chest anyway and grabbing a dragon sleeper.

Shelley slips out so Miguel dropkicks him in the back of the head for two. A Downward Spiral into the middle buckle drops Miguel as well though and they grab hands for the slugout. Miguel gets the better of a strike off but misses the top rope Meteora. Shelley grabs a scoop brainbuster for two before Miguel counters Shell Shock into a crucifix for the pin at 12:26.

Rating: B. This was the technical exchange that was bound to be great because the two people in the match were that good. Miguel can look excellent when he has the right opponent and that is where Shelley comes in. Shelley is one of the smoothest and most talented wrestlers in the world so this was destined to work very well.

The Briscoes and Josh Alexander are ready for Violent By Design. The Good Brothers come in and want a Tag Team Title shot, which is cool with the Briscoes.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Masha Slamovich vs. Havok

Rosemary is here with Havok. They slug it out to start with Havok sending her into the corner, only to miss a charge. Slamovich hits a heck of a spinwheel kick in the corner, followed by a hard kick to the head. Something that is supposed to be the Snow Plow (closer to a suplex slam) finishes Havok at 1:28.

Rosemary isn’t sure what to do.

Trey Miguel is fired up about his win but Kenny King comes in to say the title is coming his way at Slammiversary. Black Christian doesn’t think much of King and challenges him for the Ultimate X spot. Deal.

Rich Swann thinks Matt Cardona is ducking him so Swann is coming for him. As for Matthew Rehwoldt, if he wants to throw Swann out of Gauntlet For The Gold, come see him face to face.

Chelsea Green vs. Jordynne Grace

Green gets her to give chase to start and then pulls her down by the hair back inside. Commentary explains the idea of the Queen Of The Mountain match, which even they admit is pretty complicated. Grace fights back up and hits a backbreaker but Green knocks her to the floor for a flip dive off the apron.

We take a break and come back with Grace being sent face first into the middle buckle for two and then gets four more for a bonus. The hard spinebuster gets Grace out of trouble and she grabs a sleeper in the corner. With that broken up, Grace hits some shots tot he face and a torture rack spun into a powerbomb gets two. The MuscleBuster is broken up so Green hits a facebuster, with Grace bridging up for the kickout. Grace’s electric chair is broken up but she’s fine enough to hit the Grace Driver for the pin at 11:26.

Rating: C. Just a match here, with the ending surprising me a bit. Green doesn’t exactly win much around here and it would be nice to have her get a bit of a boost. Granted at the same time, Grace winning is always a good thing and the Queen of the Mountain match is…well it might have pinfalls involved but that might only be in stages 3, 19 and G.

Honor No More complains to Scott D’Amore about the unsafe working environment that caused Maria Kanellis to get hurt. They want the Good Brothers at Slammiversary but they’re taken with the Briscoes instead. Eddie Edwards issues threats.

Deonna Purrazzo doesn’t want Mia Yim coming in and making a name off of her but Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans come in. Steelz offers to let Purrazzo at ringside for Evans vs. Yim next week.

Chris Sabin vs. Frankie Kazarian

Kazarian runs him over with a shoulder to start and grabs a headlock on the mat. Back up and a headlock takeover puts us in about the same spot so Sabin goes after the arm as we hear about Kazarian’s history in the company. The headlock takes Sabin back down but he fights up in a hurry and tosses Kazarian outside in a big crash. Back in and a high crossbody hits King, setting up a hard clothesline for two.

The crossarm choke goes on for a bit, followed by a quick German suplex. Kazarian is right back with a shot to the face, setting up a springboard spinning legdrop. The slingshot DDT gets two more on Sabin but he’s right back with a running boot to the face. Kazarian tries to go up but gets belly to back superplexed back down. Back up and stereo crossbodies put both of them down but Honor No More runs in and decks Kazarian for the DQ at 10:25.

Rating: B-. This is a match that was going to work because of the talent involved but the ending didn’t help things. It was nice to have Kazarian back for a one off as he looks as good in the ring as he ever has been. Odds are the ensuing tag match should be good as well, while also giving Honor No More something better to do.

Post match the big beatdown is on so Honor No More poses.

Post break Honor No More rants about how Impact has no respect. Heath and Rhino come in for the yelling and likely match setup.

Shera/Raj Singh vs. Bhupinder Gujjar/W. Morrissey

Singh and Gujjar start things off with Gujjar hitting a dropkick followed by a Sling Blade. It’s already off to Morrissey for a shot to the face before it’s right back to Gujjar for the slingshot elbow. Shera gets in a shot from behind though and Gujjar is in trouble for the first time. Gujjar belly to belly suplexes his way to freedom though and the hot tag brings in Morrissey to clean house. The powerbomb is broken up by Shera as everything breaks down. Morrissey chokeslams Raj and the middle rope spear gives Gujjar the pin at 5:17.

Rating: C. I can see the potential in Gujjar, but at some point he needs to do something other than feuding with Shera and Singh. The story is pretty much little more than Singh wanting Gujjar to be on his team but Gujjar keeps saying no, repeat for several weeks. There is something to Gujjar, but he needs to get out of this story already.

Moose is ready for his tag match next week, whether or not Sami Callihan is out to get him. He knows what Sami is doing but here is Steve Maclin, Moose’s partner next week, to tell him to be ready. The lights flicker but no one is here.

Here is what’s coming next week.

Briscoes/Josh Alexander vs. Violent By Design

Alexander and Deaner start things off with an exchange of arm control until Deaner grabs a headlock. That’s reversed into an armdrag into an armbar before Jay comes in to stomp away in the corner. Mark comes in and gets taken into the corner though, allowing Young to choke away. That earns him a backdrop and everything breaks down, with Jay hitting a big flip dive to the floor. Mark adds the Bang Bang Elbow and we take a break.

Back with Young elbowing Jay in the back but Jay gets over for the tag to Alexander without much trouble. That lets Alexander hammer away on Young in the corner but a Deaner cheap shot puts Alexander down again. Alexander’s neck gets caught in the corner for a dropkick to the back, leaving his nose busted.

A backbreaker/neckbreaker combination gets two on Alexander but he fights out of trouble without much effort. The hot tag brings in Mark to clean house and the Froggy Bow gets two on Young. Jay gets to clean house and there’s Redneck Boogey for two on Deaner. Young gets in a flag pole shot to Mark so the Deaner DDT can get two. Everything breaks down and Deaner gets in a hockey mask shot to Mark, setting up Young’s piledriver for the pin 17:09.

Rating: B. I can go for having Violent By Design in a six man tag like this as they should know how to cheat to win. While I don’t need to see them get another title shot, they can be used to boost things up a bit on the way to the Slammiversary main event. Other than that, the Briscoes are gearing up for the big title match against the Good Brothers, while Alexander wasn’t really a factor here, making it kind of a pointless, yet still good, match.

Overall Rating: C+. There are some good parts to the show and I like the Honor No More stuff getting a little more attention. We also had some Slammiversary matches moved forward and I could go for seeing where some of the stories go. Some of the matches need some more work, but this was a solid enough step towards the pay per view and had enough good action to go with it.

Results
Trey Miguel b. Alex Shelley – Crucifix
Masha Slamovich b. Havok – Snow Plow
Jordynne Grace b. Chelsea Green – Grace Driver
Frankie Kazarian b. Chris Sabin via DQ when Honor No More interfered
Bhupinder Gujjar/W. Morrissey b. Raj Singh/Shera – Middle rope spear to Singh
Violent By Design b. Briscoes/Josh Alexander – Piledriver to Mark

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: May 19, 2022
Location: Promowest Pavilion, Newport, Kentucky
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We are on the way to Slammiversary and as of last week, we have a new #1 contender. Eric Young won Gauntlet For The Gold to earn the title shot against World Champion Josh Alexander, but that leaves a lot of the card to be filled in. This week will feature the Briscoes defending the Tag Team Titles against Violent By Design in an Under Siege rematch so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s Gauntlet For The Gold, with Eric Young beating Chris Sabin to win the title shot.

Opening sequence.

Ultimate X Qualifying Match: Laredo Kid vs. Mike Bailey

The winner moves on to Slammiversary. They trade legsweeps and no counts to start before flipping to their feet. An exchange of armdrags sends Bailey outside but he blocks a dive with a kick of his own. Back in and the fans are behind Bailey as he kicks Kid down for two more. The exchange of kicks goes to Kid and he grabs a neckbreaker for two.

Kid sends him outside for a suicide dive into the barricade and Bailey is in trouble for a change. Back in and back to back moonsault elbows to the back give Kid two but Bailey kicks him to the floor. That means another big flipping dive (you may notice a pattern here) and a missile dropkick gives Bailey two more back inside.

Bailey’s big kick to the head is countered into a powerbomb for two but Kid has to avoid the Ultimate Weapon. Bailey catches him on top but gets headbutted back down. Kid misses a dive though and a kick to the head gives Bailey two, setting up a pinfall reversal sequence to give Bailey the pin at 8:11.

Rating: C+. I’m still only kind of feeling Bailey as that bow he does at the beginning is hardly the most appealing thing. He can have a pretty good X-Division style match though and that is what they’re going for here. I wouldn’t be surprised if he leaves Slammiversary with the title, but coming in I would have said something similar about Kid. There is talent in this division, and now they are starting to feature them a bit more often.

Ace Austin, in Japan for the New Japan Best Of The Super Juniors, is glad that Bailey has qualified because Bailey deserves punishment for his lack of loyalty. He has already won his first match in the tournament and that is because he is the best in the world. After the tournament, he is heading straight for Nashville to retain the title at Slammiversary.

We get a weird Slammiversary ad, featuring Josh Alexander hearing something and leaving his locker room. Eventually he finds a coat over a crate featuring the old TNA logo.

Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green, on the beach, laugh at the idea of being inside Rich Swann’s head. Cardona may be always ready but he’s not always available, because they are on their honeymoon. Green is ready to get the Knockouts tItle back at Slammiversary.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Deonna Purrazzo/Tasha Steelz/Savannah Evans vs. Jordynne Grace/Taya Valkyrie/Mia Yim

Purrazzo and Grace trade wrist control to start and it’s an early standoff. That means Steelz and Valkyrie come in with Valkyrie getting the better of things without much trouble. Some running knees in the corner crush Steelz and we take a break. Back with Grace hitting a running elbow to crush Steelz in the corner, setting up a delayed vertical suplex for two.

Evans comes in for a cheap shot though and it’s Purrazzo taking Grace into the corner. A butterfly suplex gives Evans two and the beating is on. Grace suplexes her way out of trouble though and the tag brings in Yim (the fans approve). There’s a Cannonball to Steelz and everything breaks down. Purrazzo gets in a shot to Yim to take over but Taya grabs the sliding German suplex. Eat Defeat gives Yim the pin on Evans at 11:23.

Rating: C. Evans taking the fall here was the logical way to go as she isn’t in the Queen of the Mountain match so there is no point in having someone else take the loss. Giving Yim the pin to get her a bit more over in the fans’ eyes and she is already one of the more interesting players in the division. Now just don’t make the Queen of the Mountain stuff its usual mess and they could be going somewhere.

Post match the lights go out…and it seems to have just been a glitch. Well that’s not nice teasing.

It’s time for Locker Room Talk with Tenille Dashwood as this week’s guest host. This week they are talking about the locker room itself, as they are glad to have gotten rid of some of the worse people. Cue Johnny Swinger, still in his mini Wrestlemania III ring cart, with Zicky Dice pushing him. Decay pops in and wants their Knockouts Tag Team Title shot but are told to go earn it. Dice thinks he recognizes Havok from the Dungeon and pain ensues.

Chris Sabin is disappointed by last week but he’s glad to be here for twenty years. There is one person he remembers from the start and he wants that match next week. That man: Frankie Kazarian.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Chris Sabin defeating Frankie Kazarian to retain the X-Division Title, June 25, 2003.

Eric Young talks about wanting to go to Wrestlemania III when he was a kid but his parents were too poor. We go through his career, including some cool old footage from his Team Canada days, plus his time in the Band. Then he turned into a star and went up to the top of the company, which he will do again at Slammiversary.

Josh Alexander acknowledges what Young has done and thinks he might be the MVP of the first twenty years of Impact. Alexander asks who gets to usher in the next era in Impact, but knows it’s going to be him.

Matt Taven/Mike Bennett vs. Good Brothers

The rest of Honor No More and the Bullet Club are here too, with Maria Kanellis-Bennett on commentary. Bennett and Anderson lock up to s-tart and slug it out as commentary brings up Maria’s history with the Good Brothers in Japan in 2015 but she moves on as fast as she can. It’s off to Gallows to clothesline Taven down before Anderson comes back in to whip Taven into the corner.

A blind tag lets Bennett come back in for a double hot shot though and the villains take over. Taven’s missile dropkick gets two and Bennett is smart enough to dropkick Gallows off the apron like a good villain should. We’re right back to the chinlock but Anderson pops up without much trouble.

The hot tag brings in Gallows to clean house, including something like a spinning Big Ending to Taven. The chokeslam is broken up though and Taven hits a Lionsault for two. Bennett superkicks Taven by mistake though and it’s the reverse 3D for…no count as Maria gets up on the apron. Maria comes in and Bennett accidentally spears her down by mistake. The Gun Stun finishes for Anderson at 10:36.

Rating: C+. Oddly enough, the Good Brothers are working slightly better as faces. Maybe it’s the lack of being the cool heels but this is an upgrade over what they have been doing. Maria costing Honor No More the match is a way to keep them a bit stronger, though the team continues to not exactly do much.

Sami Callihan is glad Moose broke his leg because it gave Sami the better part of a year to think about what he could do to Moose.

Masha Slamovich vs. Shawna Reed

Slamovich unloads on her in the corner to start and the Snowplow is good for the pin at 51 seconds. As usual.

Post match Havok comes out for a showdown with Slamovich.

We get part two of the Josh Alexander’s Slammiversary ad, as he looks at the crate with the old TNA logo. He opens the crate and we get a highlight package of the company’s history.

Raj Singh and Shera yell about Bhupinder Gujjar not joining them. Gujjar comes in and says let’s settle this in the ring. Singh laughs about him being by himself, but W. Morrissey comes in to say Gujjar isn’t alone. Deal.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoes vs. Violent By Design

The Briscoes are defending and it’s still bizarre to see them here. Doering and Mark start things off with Doering shoving him down. Jay comes in and locks up with Doering, who hands it off to Deaner pretty quickly. The champs take over on Deaner and put him in the corner for some elbows to the face. Deaner gets stomped down in the corner before being thrown outside. The Bang Bang elbow connects but Doering gets in a shot to the face as we take a break.

Back with Jay getting slammed and elbowed for two but he manages to get over for the tag to Mark. That means house can be cleaned, including Deaner being thrown off the top for two. A powerbomb gets the same but Doering posts Mark on the floor. Doering spinebusters Jay for two and Deaner’s top rope headbutt is good for the same. Mark is back in but the Doomsday Device is broken up. While Mark is dealing with Doering, Jay rolls Deaner up to retain at 13:58.

Rating: C+. After watching them for years, it is great to see the Briscoes on a slightly bigger stage and they are every bit as good here as they are in Ring of Honor. They are instantly the best team around here and that could be the case for a long time to come. Violent By Design isn’t the most thrilling team and now that they’re gone, the Briscoes can move on to someone else, perhaps the Good Brothers.

Post match Eric Young comes in to help with the beatdown but Josh Alexander comes in for the save to end the show and probably set up the six man next week.

Overall Rating: C+. We’ll call this one good enough, as Impact is on its way to Slammiversary and that could be a solid show. What matters is that they are setting up the card, or at least the pieces of the card, and you can see some of the show from here. Young vs. Alexander could be turned into something big, though they still have a long way to go to make it happen. Nice show this week, as they aren’t coming off of a bad post pay per view show for a change.

Results
Mike Bailey b. Laredo Kid – Rollup
Jordynne Grace/Taya Valkyrie/Mia Yim b. Deonna Purrazzo/Tasha Steelz/Savannah Evans – Eat Defeat to Evans
Good Brothers b. Matt Taven/Mike Bennett – Gun Stun to Bennett
Masha Slamovich b. Shawna Reed – Snowplow
Briscoes b. Violent By Design – Rollup to Deaner

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 12, 2022
Location: Promowest Pavilion, Newport, Kentucky
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re done with Under Siege and that means we need a new #1 contender. Josh Alexander successfully defended the World Title against Tomohiro Ishii so now it’s time for something new. That means the return of the Gauntlet For The Gold, a huge gauntlet match, to crown a new #1 contender. Let’s get to it.

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

Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt are in the ring to hype up the Gauntlet For The Gold.

Video on Gauntlet For The Gold.

Ultimate X Qualifying Match: Chris Bey vs. Kenny King

The winner is in the Ultimate X X-Division Title match at Slammiversary and Maria Kanellis-Bennett is on commentary. King takes him down with a headlock to start but gets armdragged into an armbar. A dropkick puts King on the floor, where he gets knocked down again for a bonus. Back in and King hits some running knees in the corner for two, followed by a snap powerslam for the same.

The neck crank goes on for a bit before King misses a springboard spinning legdrop. Bey’s torture rack neckbreaker gets two but King grabs the Chin Checker into the tiger driver for two. That has Maria VERY fired up and in full cheerleader mode but Bey cuts her off with a slingshot DDT for two of his own. Standing Sliced Bread plants King and Bey goes up, only to have Maria offer a distraction. The Royal Flush sends King to Slammiversary at 8:35.

Rating: C+. Good choice for an opener here as there was almost no way that this wasn’t going to work. King is someone with enough of a resume around here that he is going to tie into the history and feel like a viable challenger so the win is a good idea. Bey losing is a bit weird, but maybe he can get back in there some other way.

Gisele Shaw and Alisha Edwards don’t seem to get along before their Knockouts Tag Team Title shot. Yes, another thrown together team.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Influence vs. Alisha Edwards/Gisele Shaw

Edwards and Shaw are challenging and it’s Edwards rolling Rayne up for some near falls to start. Everything breaks down early and stereo Thesz presses have the champs in trouble as we take a break. Back with Edwards beating on Dashwood until a Rayne distraction cuts her off.

Dashwood grabs a neckbreaker for two and the champs take turns choking in the corner. Rayne’s neckbreaker gets two of her own but Edwards gets over for the hot tag to Edwards without much trouble. House is cleaned, including a spear for two on Shaw. Edwards tags herself back in though and it’s the double Stroke to retain the titles at 11:07.

Rating: C-. With the IInspiration gone, I continue to not exactly see the need for these titles to exist. Until some more teams are built up, they are glorified vanity trophies for the Influence and no one else. As usual, there just isn’t that much depth to support them and it shows more and more every time they get to face another thrown together tag team.

Violent By Design promises to get the Tag Team Titles back next week. For tonight though, Eric Young is winning the Gauntlet For The Gold.

Here is Gail Kim for a chat. She is excited about the 20th anniversary Slammiversary, which means we need something historic. This time around that is going to mean the first ever Queen Of The Mountain match. The five names participating are Tasha Steelz, Chelsea Green, Jordynne Grace, Deonna Purrazzo and….here are Steelz and Savannah Evans to interrupt.

Steelz can’t believe how much Kim is doing to take the title from her but she knows that Evans is going to be the fifth entrant. Actually no, because the fifth entrant is…..MIA YIM! That sends Steelz over the edge but the lights go out and Yim, with minions, is here for the save. Purrazzo comes in to help beat Yim down but Taya Valkyrie and Grace make the real save.

Rich Swann is ready for Gauntlet For The Gold but he also doesn’t think much of Digital Media Champion Matt Cardona.

Bullet Club vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Josh Alexander

Jay White/El Phantasmo for the Club. White and Alexander start things off but we’ll go with Phantasmo before anything can happen. Phantasmo actually takes him to the mat, which isn’t ok with Alexander. That means Phantasmo gets sent into the corner for the tag to White, who gets to face Ishii. White gets run over with a shoulder but it’s too early for the brainbuster. Instead White runs him over and gets to pose a bit, as he likes to do.

The choking on the ropes ensues and it’s back to Phantasmo, only to have Ishii get fired up. Some double teaming slows Ishii down though and it’s White chopping him in the corner. Ishii finally gets in a shot of his own though and the hot tag brings in Alexander to run over Phantasmo. Everything breaks down and the C4 Spike hits White, with Phtantasmo making the save. It’s back to Ishii, who German suplexes Phantasmo and Alexander decks White. The sliding lariat sets up the brainbuster to finish Phantasmo at 10:32.

Rating: B-. Pretty good match here, as the Bullet Club takes a hit. That being said, losing to the World Champion and a star like Ishii is hardly a devastating loss. White vs. Alexander has to be at least a candidate for the Bound For Glory World Title shot assuming it is still a possibility and keeping the two of them mostly apart here was a good idea. Alexander’s roll continues though, and I’m not sure who is supposed to stop him.

The Briscoes, the new Impact Tag Team Champions, are ready for Violent By Design again next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Gauntlet For The Gold

Royal Rumble style, twenty entrants, two minute interval to start then ninety seconds each (weird), regular match when it gets down to two. Chris Sabin is in at #1 and Alex Shelley is in at #2 by the power of coincidence. A battle over wrist control doesn’t get either of them anywhere as commentary talks about the history of Gauntlet For The Gold. Neither can get the better of anything and it’s Eddie Edwards in at #3.

The Guns wisely start in together on Edwards but he clothesliens both of them down in a bit of a surprise. Vincent, also of Honor No More, is in at #4 to give us a mini tag match. Oddly the Guns get the better of things when their odds are worse and it’s Steve Maclin in at #5. The Guns are dropped again and it’s Maclin working with Honor No More (though he doesn’t seem happy to do so) until Shark Boy makes his return at #6.

The Chummer hits Maclin and the Guns are back up to help clean house. A double Chummer hits Honor No More and we take a break. Back with Shark Boy gone, Raj Singh having come in at #7, Trey Miguel having come in at #8 and Bhupinder Gujjar coming in at #9. Gujjar beats up and elimiantes Singh, because that is the only reason these two exist around here.

Shera is in at #10 and slugs it out with Gujjar with Shera getting the better of things. W. Morrissey is in at #11 and gets to clean house, including eliminating Shera and Vincent. Eric Young is in at #12 and hits Morrissey with a hockey mask, setting up the piledriver. Young blocks Gujjar’s skinning the cat attempt and tosses him out and Maclin hits Miguel with an Irish Curse.

Johnny Swinger, in a mini Wrestlemania III ring cart (as powered by Zicky Dice in a hilarious bit) wacks to the ring like a Bushwhacker, is in at #13, gets tossed, and wacks his way out as we take another break. Back again with Black Taurus having come in at #14, Heath having come in at #15 and having to be saved by Rhino at #16. The Gore hits Edwards and he gets tossed out as we see Shelley being eliminated during the break.

Moose is in at #17 and tosses Taurus and Rhino in short order. Heath slugs away at Moose and gets tossed as well but it’s Rich Swann in at #18 to get the numbers back up a bit. Swann hits Moose with a Lethal Injection but Young slows him down with a low blow. Matt Cardona’s….music plays, as Matthew Rehwoldt is in at #19 to toss Swann from behind. PCO is in at #20 and gets to clean some house, including eliminating Rehwoldt.

Morrissey and PCO get the big slugout (with Morrissey TOWERING over him) until Maclin tosses both of them in an impressive feat. That gives us a final four of Moose, Young, Maclin and Sabin, with Moose being the only one standing. Then the lights go back and it’s Sami Callihan (who returned at Under Siege) to get rid of Moose. Rage seems to be implied as we’re down to three.

Maclin and Young start stomping on Sabin in the corner but he’s back up with a double clothesline. Sabin manages to send Maclin to the apron though and some dropkicks put him down,meaning it’s Sabin vs. Young in a regular match for the title shot. Young knocks him down and hits the top rope elbow for two, plus a clothesline for the same. Sabin is back with a tornado DDT for the same but the Cradle Shock is countered into a piledriver to give Young the pin and the title shot at 36:34.

Rating: C+. The best thing that you can say about a match like this is that it didn’t drag and they managed to make it work here. They even had some comic relief with Swinger and Shark Boy in there to make things a bit more fun. As for Young winning….I guess it works, though it doesn’t exactly feel like something that should be headlining what is often their best show of the year. Maybe it winds up working, but it isn’t exactly exciting.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was built around one match and that match wound up doing rather well. That is a rare change of pace for Impact, as they rarely come out hot after a bigger show. Hopefully they can keep that up, as Slammiversary could be quite the success if they put everything together well. They have a main event set, and while it could be good, they might have their work cut out for them to make the card feel that important. It can be done, but it won’t be the easiest trick.

Results
Kenny King b. Chris Bey – Royal Flush
Influence b. Gisele Shaw/Alisha Edwards – Double faceplant to Edwards
Tomohiri Ishii/Josh Alexander b. Bullet Club – Brainbuster to El Phantasmo
Eric Young won Gauntlet For The Gold last eliminating Chris Sabin

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 5, 2022
Location: Majed J. Neshewat Convention Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s the go home show for Under Siege, which has come up rather fast after Rebellion took place just a few weeks ago. Last week saw Tomohiro Ishii announced as the new #1 contender to Josh Alexander, which should be a nice trial by fire for the new champion. It’s time for the final push towards Under Siege so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Tonight it’s Monster’s Ball with PCO vs. Jonah and they actually bring back the “they’ve been locked away for 24 hours” deal, which I don’t remember them using in years.

Brian Myers vs. W. Morrissey

Tables match. Morrissey hits a running splash in the corner and goes outside to load up the first table. That is broken up with a slingshot dive to the floor but Morrissey fights up again. Another table is loaded up but Myers is right back to cut him off as we have a theme going here. Instead Myers sets up his own table, only to have to escape a powerbomb attempt. Back in and a big boot drops Myers again so Morrissey loads up the powerbomb.

Cue Matt Cardona for the save bur Morrissey fights back and hits a double chokeslam. Now it’s Chelsea Green for a distraction so Cardona can get in a Digital Media belt shot. Cardona puts a bunch of toys on the table but Morrissey fights up again. Green grabs Morrissey by the hair so the Players can grab a table and charge, only to hit the post and have it break (which would have been as unique of an ending to one of these things as I have seen in a long time).

Cardona tries to escape but gets cut off by Jordynne Grace, who takes him back to the ring to put him down. A powerbomb/big boot combination puts Cardona through a table (remember neither are in the match) and Myers is back up to break a piece of a table over Morrissey’s back. That doesn’t count either (fair enough) and Morrissey plants him with a Boss Man Slam. Morrissey has had it with Myers and powerbombs him over the top and through a table for the win at 10:41.

Rating: C+. I liked that they had some creative stuff in here for once and the big powerbomb finish looked good. Morrissey is almost channeling Sid (minus the charisma) here and that is not a bad use for him. Grace and Morrissey as a team could grow on me, though I would hope the Players would go over them in the end, as Cardona and Myers as major heels could go somewhere.

Willie Mack and Rich Swann are ready for the Bullet Club but the Major Players come in to ask about what happened to Brian Myers. This seems to set up Swann vs. Matt Cardona.

Here’s what is coming tonight and at Under Siege.

X-Division Title: Ace Austin vs. Rocky Romero

Austin is defending and takes him into the corner to start, only to miss a shot to the face. Romero takes him down with a headlock takeover, followed by some Forever Clotheslines. That’s broken up with a kick to the face though and we take a break. Back with Austin knocking him out to the floor, leaving Austin to lay over the top rope. Romero switches places with him though and it’s a hurricanrana off the apron to take over. Austin’s kick to the face is countered into a half crab but Austin is right to the rope. Back up and a kick to the face sets up the Fold to retain the title at 10:53.

Rating: C+. This is what you bring in Romero for: he can make someone look pretty good without putting all of the focus on himself or winning a major match as his reputation is enough to carry him. Austin gets a nice title defense and some momentum as he goes into New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors so this worked out well. I’m not the biggest Romero fan but this was a very fine effort from him.

Post match here is Trey Miguel to chase Austin off. The rematch is officially on for Under Siege.

Josh Alexander is ready to face Tomohiro Ishii at Under Siege because he wants to face the best in the world.

EGV is still coming.

Masha Slamovich vs. Damaris

Damaris hammers away in the corner and gets suplexed out for her efforts. The Snowplow finishes for Slamovich at 49 seconds.

Raj Singh and Shera threaten/growl at Bhupinder Gujjar for not joining up with them.

The Briscoes yell about Violent By Design having two more days as Tag Team Champions.

Violent By Design isn’t having any of the Briscoes trying to take their titles and power.

Bullet Club vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack

Jay White/Chris Bey for the Club here. White chops Swann into the corner to start but it’s quickly off to Mack for a facebuster/bulldog combination and an early near fall. Swann comes back in to chop at White until Bey gets in a cheap shot from the apron. Something like an F5 onto the top rope staggers Swann and the Club takes over.

White is smart enough to knock Mack off the apron, meaning Swann’s backdrop doesn’t set up a tag. Not that it matters as Swann gets over for the tag a few seconds later and house is cleaned. The Samoan drop from Mack sets up a splash from Swann which sets up a standing moonsault from Mack for two on Bey. White cuts off Swann though and it’s a half and half to drop Mack. The Art of Finesse gives Bey the pin at 6:49.

Rating: B-. White and Bey continue to make almost everything look easy while Swann and Mack are very smooth in their own right. This is a match that I could have gone with going a lot longer and it’s kind of a shame that it got so little time. It’s also nice to give another Bullet Club pairing a win rather than just the Good Brothers for once, as that has been done for so long.

Post match Honor No More runs in for the beatdown but the Good Brothers come in for the save. Rehwoldt uses this time to recap the Bullet Club’s week in New Japan, which is absolutely live and not a voiceover whatsoever.

Tasha Steelz/Savannah Evans are walking through the back when the lights flicker. Decay starts haunting them and Evans is taken away, leaving Havok’s voice to say that Steelz is hers at Under Siege.

Deonna Purrazzo is ready for Taya Valkyrie and the AAA Reina de Reinas Title at Under Siege.

Steve Maclin vs. Tomohiro Ishii

They go straight to the forearm off to start until Ishii wins a battle of the shoulders. A powerslam sends Maclin outside and we take a break. Back with Ishii winning another exchange of forearms but Maclin grabs a backbreaker to take over. An elbow to the face sets up a chinlock, with Ishii actually using the rope for the break.

Ishii fights back up and chops away in the corner but Maclin hits an Angle Slam for two. The Boston crab goes on so Ishii grabs the rope again. Maclin slips out of a German suplex attempt and hits one of his own for two so Ishii blasts him with a clothesline. The brainbuster gives Ishii the pin at 12:53.

Rating: C. This wasn’t a great match but it gave Ishii a nice win on his way to the title match this Saturday. It’s a quick build to said title match and Ishii could have used another win but his reputation should make up for some of that. Other than that, you have Maclin taking a loss and I’m really not sure about that, especially coming off of his triple threat win at Rebellion.

Johnny Swinger tells Zicky Dice to dive into his training, as some women go into Swinger’s Dungeon. Swinger suggests a better finisher and offers to teach him all the crabs. Dice doesn’t think that will work, but he does accept….a certain kind of gag as another woman comes up with a whip. This joke is somehow working for me.

Under Siege rundown.

Jonah vs. PCO

Monster’s Ball and the fight starts in the back with Jonah jumping him from behind. They fight up the steps and make it into the arena, where PCO can’t chokeslam him off the stage. PCO slugs away to take over but gets suplexed onto the ramp. We take a break and come back with the two of them in the ring, surrounded by a bunch of weapons. Commentary talks about the history of the match, saying people like Abyss, Jeff Hardy and Tommy Dreamer put it on the mat. If you ignore that the match had been around for about six years before Dreamer was involved in one, sure.

Jonah gets in a sledgehammer shot to the neck but somehow doesn’t kill PCO, who is back with a hurricanrana. Jonah sends him into a ladder in the corner and it’s time to set up a table on the floor (which is far more devastating than a SLEDGEHAMMER). PCO fights back and slugs away, setting up a DDT onto the trashcan. The running flip dive through the ropes takes Jonah down again and the Deanimator connects on the apron.

The middle rope legdrop gives PCO two and Jonah is sent head first into a chair in the corner. Jonah plants him back first onto some open chairs for two and tells him to die. It’s thumbtacks time (because of course it is) and a powerbomb onto the tacks gives Jonah two. PCO catches him on top though and it’s a sledgehammer shot to knock Jonah through the ringside table. Back in and the PCOsault finishes for PCO at 17:57.

Rating: C+. It was the same kind of brawl that you have seen under different names for years now but at least they got a good deal of time and it felt like a blowoff between two monsters who have been going after each other for a long time now. PCO getting the win is a bit of a surprise but this was a heck of a fight to (in theory) wrap up the feud.

Overall Rating: B-. They had a pretty good build towards Under Siege here, which is a rather thrown together show but I don’t think it has the highest expectations in the first place. What matters here is we got some good action and you can see where some of these feuds are going in the next few weeks. I’m liking Impact most of the time these days and that was the case again here with another good effort.

Results
W. Morrissey b. Brian Myers – Powerbomb through a table
Ace Austin b. Rocky Romero – The Fold
Masha Slamovich b. Damaris – Snowplow
Bullet Club b. Rich Swann/Willie Mack – Art of Finesse to Mack
Tomohiro Ishii b. Steve Maclin – Brainbuster
PCO b. Jonah – PCOsault

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: April 28, 2022
Location: Majed J. Nesheiwat Convention Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re done with Rebellion and the big story is that Josh Alexander got the World Title back from Moose in a heck of a main event. Other than that, we are less than two weeks away from Under Siege and need to get a card together pretty fast. Odds are we’ll be seeing a bunch of rematches so let’s get to it.

Here is Rebellion if you need a recap.

The opening recap looks at Rebellion in rapid fashion.

Opening sequence.

Here is Violent By Design for a chat. Eric Young talks about desiring power and control, and that is exactly what they went and got. Now they have defeated seven teams and are the permanent Tag Team Champions. If you are being honest, their success shouldn’t surprise you and there is no team anywhere that can take them down.

Cue Heath and Rhino to say they want the Tag Team Titles (with Rhino’s voice getting a bit high) but here are the Briscoes to interrupt. Jay says Dem Boys are in the house and you should have known that they were going to be back after that BS at the Multiverse of Matches. They have won titles everywhere they have gone and this will be no different. Heath tells them to get in the back of the line but Jay says they don’t do that for anyone. Young says this isn’t “an us” problem so the other two can figure this out and come find the champs.

Briscoes vs. Heath/Rhino

For a future Tag Team Title shot. Mark starts fast and clears the ring, setting up the big flip dive to the floor. The brawl is on outside until we settle down so Mark can suplex Heath for two. Heath manages to kick Jay outside though and Rhino gets in a clothesline as we take a break with the Briscoes in trouble.

Back with Jay getting elbowed down and Rhino grabs the nerve hold. Heath switches to his own chinlock and pulls the hair to keep Jay away from the tag. That lasts all of eight seconds as the tag brings Mark in for Red Neck Kung Fu. Everything breaks down and Jay hits the neckbreaker onto Rhino, setting up the Froggy Bow for the pin at 9:57.

Rating: C+. I can always go for more of the Briscoes and while this might not be WWE or AEW, it is great to see them getting on a bigger platform. I’m not sure if they are going to be around long term but just seeing them in Impact is a good sign. Now just get them into the title picture permanently (if they’re staying) and things should pick up a lot.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Moose comes in to see Scott D’Amore and isn’t happy with getting his rematch on five days’ notice. D’Amore tells him to go win his title back.

EGV is coming.

VSK vs. Bhupinder Gujjar

VSK tries to jump him to start but Gujjar gets a running start and hits an elbow to the face. That’s enough to send him outside so Gujjar is right there with a dive to take him out. Back in and VSK gets in a shot to the face as some rather young children seem to be chanting for VSK. The chinlock goes on and lasts as long as expected, with Gujjar fighting up for a Sling Blade. What looks to be a powerslam is broken up but the second attempt works, setting up the middle rope spear to give Gujjar the pin at 4:32.

Rating: C-. This was ever Gujjar match but not as interesting. The guy just doesn’t have that much of note in the ring and is serviceable at best. It also doesn’t help that his story is involving two other people who haven’t been seen as big deals either, making it feel as low level as you can get around here.

Post match here are Raj Singh and Shera, with the latter beating up VSK again.

Ace Austin calls himself Trey Miguel’s greatest weakness but here is Rocky Romero to offer him a spot in the New Japan Best of the Super Juniors. Austin likes the idea but tells Romero to leave. This gets Romero to challenge him for a title match next week. Austin says get in line, but Romero is off to talk to Scott D’Amore. Mike Bailey comes in to offer Austin a handshake but Austin walks away.

Steve Maclin wants the World Title shot at Under Siege.

Honor No More vs. Motor City Machine Guns/Mike Bailey

Eddie Edwards/Mike Bennett/Matt Taven for Honor No More here, with the rest of the team at ringside. Bailey and Taven start things off but it’s a brawl less than fifteen seconds in. Taven tosses Sabin into a powerbomb from Edwards but Bailey flips over them and starts kicking away. A Kenny King distraction lets Taven and Bennett take over on Bailey and Edwards adds the suicide dive as we take a break.

We come back with Bailey kicking Taven down but Edwards in in for the save. As expected, the tag to Sabin goes through mere seconds later and it’s time to clean house. The Dream Sequence hits Bennett and it’s time for the exchange of strikes to the face. Bailey and Bennett chop it out with Bailey getting the better of things and hitting the running shooting star press. The Guns set up Bailey for a double Dream Sequence and it’s time for the series of dives to the floor. Back in and a Kenny King distraction breaks up the Ultimate Weapon and Bennett Spears Shelley. The Die Hard Driver finishes Bailey at 11:05.

Rating: C+. I can always go for a good six man tag and they had the talent in here to make it work. It’s a good sign to see Honor No More picking up a win and there is something satisfying about seeing Bailey getting knocked around. The Guns being back is nice to see too, leaving me pretty happy with everything going on here.

Post match Sabin and Bailey aren’t getting along. With the Guns and Bailey gone, here are the Good Brothers to take out Honor No More.

Josh Alexander says it’s time to shut Moose up for good. He’s ready to face whoever Scott D’Amore has in store for the title shot at Under Siege too.

Here is new AAA Reina de Reinas Champion Taya Valkyrie for a chat, though Matthew Rehwoldt is still trying to find the words to deal with Deonna Purrazzo’s loss. Taya talks about her passion and creativity being held captive for a long time (seemingly talking about her time in WWE) but now she knows who she is. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to reach the top again and now she is the champ again. Cue Purrazzo to jump Taya from behind though and the Fujiwara armbar goes on. Decay comes in for the save.

Tasha Steelz/Savannah Evans b. Decay

It’s a brawl around ringside before the bell until they head inside with Steelz being driven into the corner hard enough that the referee has to check on her. She’s fine enough to get splashed by both members of Decay before handing it off to Evans. The Upside Down is broken up by a grab of Rosemary’s throat and things slow down a bit. Rosemary claws her way out of a fireman’s carry though and it’s Havok coming in with a Death Valley Driver. Everything breaks down and a Havok backbreaker sets up a Rosemary spear finishes Evans at 4:51.

Rating: C. This was a quick one and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Havok as the challenger of the month. She makes for a good monster and hasn’t gotten much focus in recent years so it could be worth a shot. Sometimes you need to mix it up a bit and that is what we might be getting as Rosemary has already had her chance.

It’s time for It’s All About Me with the Influence bragging about their win. Gisele Shaw comes in and says she smelled cheap perfume and insecurity. A match with Dashwood is made for next week.

Vincent is ready to bring PCO back to fight in the coliseum, meaning Monster’s Ball, against Jonah.

Here’s what’s coming next week and at Under Siege.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Moose vs. Josh Alexander

Alexander is defending. Moose starts fast and powers him into the corner but Alexander switches places and chops away. That doesn’t last long as Moose sends him to the floor and we take a break. Back with Moose sending him ribs first into the apron and adding an apron powerbomb. Some shots to the face set up a chinlock with a knee in Alexander’s back.

That’s broken up and Alexander wins a slugout but can only roll so many German suplexes. The C4 Spike doesn’t work so Alexander grabs a Sharpshooter like any good Canadian. Moose makes the rope and gets back up for the exchange of forearms. Alexander rolls over into the ankle lock but Moose sends him into the corner, setting up the release Rock Bottom. A buckle bomb drops Alexander but Moose doesn’t launch the spear. Instead he tries another powerbomb, which is reversed into one from Alexander (with what seemed like a camera cut). The C4 Spike retains Alexander’s title at 16:10.

Rating: B-. These two work well together and they did it again here, though there wasn’t the same energy that the title match had over the weekend. It’s good to see Alexander pick up another win to really establish himself as champion, even if it is something that he already covered on Saturday. Now it is on to Under Siege for Alexander, as Moose might need to go away for a bit to reenergize.

Post match Tomohiro Ishii comes out to stare down Alexander and seems to be the challenger for Under Siege. Works for me.

Overall Rating: C. I wasn’t exactly feeling this one but Impact has a history of not having the strongest shows post pay per views. It doesn’t help that they had to jump right into the build for Under Siege in two weeks, but the card does seem to be made up of logical steps. This wasn’t a great show though and the best match, the main event, was done better just a few days ago. Not worth a watch, but that might be a one off problem.

Results
Briscoes b. Heath/Rhino – Froggy Bow to Rhino
Bhupinder Gujjar b. VSK – Middle rope spear
Honor No More b. Motor City Machine Guns/Mike Bailey b. Die Hart Driver to Bailey
Decay b. Savannah Evans/Tasha Steelz – Spear to Evans
Josh Alexander b. Moose – C4 Spike

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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Rebellion 2022
Date: April 24, 2022
Location: Majed J. Nesheiwat Convention Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s back to pay per view for Impact and this time they have made me want to see what they have to offer. The main event is a long awaited showdown between Moose and Josh Alexander for the World Title, after Moose took the title at Bound For Glory and then went after Alexander’s family. The rest of the card looks pretty good too so let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Eddie Edwards vs. Chris Bey

Bey is replacing an injured Jonathan Gresham. There are no seconds here for a change and the fans are behind Bey, complete with the TOO SWEET/HOWEVER YOU SPELL THE WEIRD BARKING THING THEY SAY AFTER TOO SWEET chants. Feeling out process to start with Bey grabbing a headscissors but getting taken down with a shot to the face. An overhead belly to belly suplex drops Bey again but he fires off some kicks to send Edwards outside.

There’s the big running flip dive, sending Rehwoldt into a weird Inception reference. Edwards hits a running knee for two, only to have Bey come back with a running clothesline. Some YES Kicks rock Edwards but he’s back with a failed tiger driver attempt. A Backpack Stunner gets Edwards out of trouble for two but his Blue Thunder Bomb is countered into a cutter for two. The Art of Finesse misses though and Edwards’ tiger driver gets two. The Diehard Driver is enough to finish Bey at 9:22.

Rating: B-. This is the right way to open up a show, as they had a hard hitting, fast paced match until one of them got caught with a big move to shut them down. They had some bigger names in this one than you would see in most Kickoff Show matches and it was a good, back and forth match. Edwards beating Bey is a big win as Bey has had some moments lately, though hopefully Bey doesn’t have to start from scratch again.

Pre-Show: Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Influence vs. IInspiration

The Influence is defending and jumps the IInspiration before the bell. We settle down to McKay vs. Rayne to start but it’s quickly off to Lee to send Rayne into the corner. Dashwood comes in to send Lee face first into the mat as we’re told Rebellion starts in about seven minutes. Good thing they didn’t waste time letting us think this might be some epic match.

Lee manages a rollup for two on Dashwood and they knock each other down for a double breather. The double tag brings in McKay to go after Rayne but has to send Dashwood into her in the corner. A bulldog Rayne face first onto McKay’s knee for two but Dashwood sends the IInspiration into each other. The Spotlight kick gets two on Lee, who kicks the belt out of Rayne’ hands for two. The Idolizer is broken up with a spear and the Clap (double Stroke) retains the titles at 6:35.

Rating: C. It doesn’t help that this is the Knockouts tag division for all intent and purpose but they were given no time here and the clock made it even more obvious. You can only get so far when you’re going home as soon as things start cooking and that caught them here. I’m not sure who comes after the titles next, but this is about it for the IInspiration going after the belts for the time being.

The opening video talks about how everyone has a spirit in them that wants to rebel and win, which they’ll try to do tonight.

Steve Maclin vs. Jay White vs. Chris Sabin

These three have been fighting back and forth for a few weeks. Stat during the entrances: White has competed in 3 triple threats, Maclin has competed in five, and Sabin has competed in SIXTY EIGHT. Dang that’s a bit nutty. Maclin has a skull painted on his face for some unexplained reason and it’s White bailing to the floor to start. Sabin gets run over with a shoulder and punched down, only to send Maclin to the apron.

White pulls him down and Sabin runs both of them over on the floor to pick up the pace a bit. Back in and Sabin hits a spinning crossbody to drop White but Maclin hits some backbreakers to take over. They all head outside with White dropping Maclin ribs first onto the apron and taking Sabin down as well. Back in and White suplexes Sabin into Maclin in the corner for two but Sabin kicks both of them down.

A double high crossbody leaves Sabin the only one standing before he chops away at both of them. The tornado DDT gets two on White but Maclin drops Sabin as well to put everyone on the mat. White’s swinging Rock Bottom gets two on Maclin but the Tower Of Doom is broken up.

Sabin knocks White into the Tree of Woe and missile dropkicks Maclin, who puts Sabin in the Tree of Woe as well. Maclin spears White but misses another to Sabin, sending Maclin flying out to the floor. That leaves Sabin to counter the Blade Runner into a rollup for two (how he beat White at Multiverse of Matches) before hitting the Cradle Shock….but Maclin rolls Sabin up for the pin at 12:05.

Rating: B-. At some point you have to pull the trigger on someone and Maclin has come a pretty long way in recent months. Having him pin Sabin is a big enough deal but giving him a win over White (even without pinning him) means even more. I’m glad to see Maclin getting a chance after having his chance cut in WWE through no fault of his own, and it seems like he’s making the most of it too. Good for him and a pretty sweet opener.

We run down the rest of the card.

Josh Alexander arrived with his wife and son, with the former talking about how important tonight is for him. Scott D’Amore comes in and gives Alexander a bit of a pep talk.

We recap Taya Valkyrie vs. Deonna Purrazzo for the AAA Reina de Reinas Title. Valkyrie returned at Multiverse of Matches and challenged Purrazzo for the title, but also wants revenge for Purrazzo beating her for the title in the first place.

Reina de Reinas Title: Taya Valkyrie vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Purrazzo is defending and the fans are behind Valkyrie to start. An armdrag into the corner doesn’t get Valkyrie very far so she runs Purrazzo over for two instead. The Shinsuke Nakamura sliding German suplex drops Purrazzo but she manages to pull Valkyrie head first into the post. Back in and a clothesline gives Purrazzo two and it’s a Downward Spiral into a Koji Clutch. Valkyrie powers out and bails to the floor for a breather, setting up a Russian legsweep to drive both of them back first into the apron.

They get back inside where Valkyrie hits her own clothesline for two but Road To Valhalla is broken up. The standing moonsault connects but Valkyrie goes straight to the rope to escape the armbar. Purrazzo goes up and dives into a sitout powerbomb, setting up an STF. That sends Purrazzo to the ropes for a change but she is right back with a kneebar. With that broken up, Valkyrie slips out of the Queen’s Gambit and hits the Road To Valhalla for the pin and the title at 9:02.

Rating: C+. They had to take at least one of the titles off of Purrazzo sooner or later and you had to know Valkyrie was getting the AAA title as soon as she showed up at Multiverse of Matches. Purrazzo had a heck of a ride up to the top but had to come down eventually. Next up will probably be dropping the Ring of Honor Women’s Title and that is the way this should go. If nothing else, it is nice to have Valkyrie back though and hopefully she sticks around with Impact for a bit.

Tasha Steelz isn’t worried about Taya Valkyrie or Rosemary, the latter of whom doesn’t know what is coming for her tonight.

We recap the X-Division Title match, which is more about Mike Bailey vs. Ace Austin with champion Trey Miguel trying to remind us that he is there too.

X-Division Title: Mike Bailey vs. Ace Austin vs. Trey Miguel

Miguel is defending. Austin talks too much trash to start and gets double teamed down, allowing Bailey and Miguel to take turns kicking him in the back. A missed dropkick makes it even worse for Austin, who is sent outside. Austin is able to break up Bailey’s handspring but Miguel takes Austin down with a suicide dive. Bailey takes down both of them with a springboard moonsault but Miguel strikes away back inside.

The big stomp to Bailey’s back is cut off as Austin powerbombs Miguel onto Bailey instead. That doesn’t work well for Austin as he is sent outside, leaving Miguel to avoid the Ultimate Weapon. Now it’s Bailey being sent outside so Miguel counters the Fold into a rollup for two (how Miguel beat Austin on Impact), leaving Bailey to hit a great moonsault to Austin. Miguel isn’t having that and dives onto both of them on the floor, giving them a much needed breather.

Back in and Bailey uses Miguel to set up a German suplex to Austin. Bailey’s double knees take both of them down, leaving Bailey to hit Austin with the Ultimate Weapon for two as Miguel makes the save. Some rollups get two each and it’s Miguel hitting the top rope Meteora for two on Bailey with Austin pulling the referee out. The Fold hits Miguel to give Austin the pin and the title at 10:24.

Rating: B. As expected, this was all action with the three of them not stopping for the ten minutes that they had. Austin getting the title back is interesting, but it is hard to imagine Bailey isn’t champion by Bound For Glory at the very latest. Total sprint here and I had a good time with it, as you kind of had to expect, even with the changes to to Jonathan Gresham’s injury.

Honor No More says they’ve had a great night so far and they’re ready to win the Tag Team Titles.

We get a vignette for EGV, complete with some binary code.

Jonah vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Battle of the monsters time and they go nose to nose to start. Ishii fires off forearms but Jonah knocks him back with just one. Jonah eventually runs him over and then hits the Vader standing splash to drop Ishii again. Some elbows to the neck let Jonah send him into the corner for some forearms to the head and the chinlock goes on.

Ishii fights up and starts his growling but Jonah forearms him back into the corner. That’s broken up again but Jonah is way too big for the brainbuster. Ishii wins the slug out in the corner and they slug it out again until Ishii goes after the knee to take him down. Back up and Ishii sends him into the ropes for a German suplex, setting up a hard lariat for two.

The sliding lariat is blocked though and it’s a shoulder to drop Ishii for a change. The Jonah Bomb gets two and a hard clothesline is good for the same. One heck of a spear cuts Ishii down but he avoids the Tsunami. Now the sliding lariat can connect for two and the brainbuster finishes Jonah at 14:35.

Rating: B-. Ishii isn’t at his former speed anymore and this is a formula that has been done many times, but my goodness they beat each other up here and I was surprised by the ending. Jonah continues to be an absolute beast and it gives Ishii a big boost to beat him. I’m not sure if that is the right move, but dang it was a fun monster fight.

Violent By Design is ready for all comers.

Tag Team Titles: Gauntlet Match

Violent By Design is defending and there are eight teams in total. The Major Players are in at #1 and Jordynne Grace/W. Morrissey are in at #2, because irony tends to be strong in gauntlet matches. Grace hits Myers in the face a few times and manages a suplex from his knees (egads) before handing it off to Morrissey vs. Cardona. With that not working, Grace comes back in as Morrissey gets in a chase on the floor. The melee lets Cardona roll Grace up for the pin at 2:17.

Hold on though as Morrissey chokeslams both of them and Grace hits the big dive through the ropes. The powerbomb through the table is broken up by a Green low blow but Morrissey is wearing a cup. That means Green is powerbombed through the table and the fans seem to approve. The Good Brothers are in at #3 and the Magic Killer finishes Cardona at 6:36 (total). Zicky Dice/Johnny Swinger are in at #4 and, after Dice hits Swinger by mistake, the Magic Killer finishes Dice at 8:41.

Willie Mack/Rich Swann are in at #5 and jump the Brothers to start in a hurry. Swann headscissors Anderson to properly start fast and it’s Mack adding a corner splash. Anderson rips Swann’s face though and it’s Gallows coming in to miss a charge into the corner. A big boot cuts Swann off though and Gallows hits those weird weird punches in the corner. Gallows suplexes him down and grabs a chinlock, with Swann jawbreaking his way to freedom.

The hot tag brings in Mack to clean house, including the Samoan drop into the standing moonsault for two. Anderson is back up with the spinebuster for the same and everything breaks down. A pop up right hand gives Mack two on Anderson but Gallows catches him on top. With Swann down, the Magic Killer finishes Mack at 19:20. Mike Bennett/Matt Taven are in at #6 and it’s a Gun Stun to rock Bennett early. A suplex to Taven is loaded up but Bennett trips Anderson down, allowing Taven to get the pin at 21:48.

Hold on though as the Brothers go after the rest of Honor No More so Taven dives….and hits his teammates. That means a Magic Killer on the floor leave Taven down as Heath and Rhino are in at #7. We start with Bennett getting punched in the corner but Maria’s distraction lets Bennett discus forearm his way out of trouble.

Taven hits a middle rope dropkick for two and Bennett puts on a chinlock with a knee in the back. Back up and stereo crossbodies put both of them down and the hot tag brings in Rhino. A double superkick staggers Rhino and Heath runs into him by mistake to make it worse. The Proto Pack is loaded up but Rhino Gores Taven down for the pin at 25:58.

Violent By Design is in at #8 to complete the field. Young clothesline Rhino down for a fast two and it’s a double kick to the head so Doering can come in. A double clothesline gives Rhino a breather and it’s heath coming in to kick Young in the face. The Wake Up Call connects but Deaner puts the foot on the rope for the save. Everything breaks down and Heath powerslams Young off the top for a change of pace. Doering breaks up the Gore though and it’s a piledriver to finish Heath and retain the titles at 33:02.

Rating: C+. This was long and there were parts where it felt like they were stretching, but Good Brothers vs. Mack/Swann was a good match in the middle of the whole thing. I’m not sure they needed to do the eight team thing when some of the teams were either thrown together or a joke, but the match needed to fill a quota so here we are. The division does have a bit of depth though so there might be something for the future.

We recap Tasha Steelz vs. Rosemary for the Knockouts Title. Steelz won the title last month and Rosemary won a battle royal to get the shot. They have some history so this is a bit personal.

Knockouts Title: Tasha Steelz vs. Rosemary

Steelz, with Savannah Evans, is defending and Havok is here with Rosemary. They start fast with Rosemary taking her into the corner and then throwing her right back out, complete with some screaming. The Upside Down goes on so Steelz bails out to the floor, where she slaps Havok for some reason.

Havok goes after her instead so that’s enough for an ejection. The distraction lets Steelz get in a cheap shot on Rosemary and the beating is on, including something like the Rings of Saturn. Rosemary makes the rope so there’s a Codebreaker to drop her again. A bite to the trunks slows Steelz down and a reverse DDT gives Rosemary two.

Steelz is back with Stratusfaction and the Blackout gets two, only to miss a frog splash. Rosemary sprays some mist in the face though and a spear connects for a VERY close two, meaning it’s time for Rosemary to be frustrated. She goes back up but this time it’s a running springboard cutter right back down. Steelz grabs a Michinoku Drive to retain at 11:44.

Rating: C+. Rosemary is a good person to have in the division because you can put her into any spot and she’ll be at least enough of a threat to make the match interesting. Steelz wasn’t about to lose the title so soon though and now she has a good first victory under her belt. Rosemary had some nice spots in there and that’s about all you can ask for here.

Slammiversary is coming to Nashville on June 19.

Long recap on Josh Alexander vs. Moose for the World Title. Moose stole the World Title at Bound For Glory with the Call Your Shot title match. Then Alexander had to go through the roster, got sent home, and then came back to go after Moose. That caused Moose to go after Alexander’s family, including spearing Alexander’s wife at an independent show. Now the title match is on, after a heck of a video to recap a months long feud.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Moose vs. Josh Alexander

Alexander is challenging and his son comes out with him in Alexander cosplay. They go nose to nose to start with Alexander taking him down for some knees to the ribs. The very early ankle lock sends Moose bailing out to the floor, where he yells at Alexander’s family. Alexander comes out after him and Moose gets in a cheap shot to take over for the first time. Back in and Alexander gets sent hard into the corner, where he ducks a chop and chops away.

That doesn’t work for Moose, who hits a heck of a dropkick to take over before dropping Alexander face first for two. They head outside again where Alexander gets in a posting, only to be sent hard into the barricade. Back in and Alexander snaps off a belly to belly suplex to put both of them down. Some running boots to the face rock Moose to send him outside again, setting up a running crossbody through the ropes to drop him again.

Back in and the C4 Spike is blocked so Alexander rolls ten straight German suplexes. Moose gets in a shot of his own though and the Sky High gets two. A pump kick staggers Alexander but he counters a crossbody into the ankle lock. The rope is grabbed so Alexander kicks him in the head, which just wakes Moose up. They chop it out until Moose hits a Rock Bottom for no avail. Back up and Alexander wins a slugout, setting up a C4 Spike for a very close two.

Another C4 Spike is blocked and Moose bites Alexander’s head. That’s enough to set up a top rope superplex for two more and Moose is frustrated. The spear is countered into a Styles Clash of all things and the ankle lock goes on. Moose rips the turnbuckle pad off to escape, allowing Moose to kick him low. Now the spear can connect for a VERY close two so Moose takes off the top turnbuckle as well. A buckle bomb into the exposed turnbuckle looks to set up another spear but Alexander cuts it off. The C4 Spike is enough to give Alexander the pin and the title at 23:50.

Rating: B. They got the result right, it came after a hard fought match, and Alexander is the champion as he should have been a long time ago. This felt like a pay per view showdown and Alexander won because he is the better man. Much like the previous match, I’m not sure how much drama there was here, but it was a great way to close up the show.

Alexander’s family comes in to celebrate with him to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. As has been the case for a little while now, Impact can deliver on the big stage. That’s what they did again here and I liked what we got almost all the way up and down the card. Nothing on here was really anything close to bad and they got the ending right. While their TV can be hit or miss (though it has been more hit lately), the company’s pay per views are usually quite good and this is the latest entry on that list. Check this out if you haven’t been with Impact in a bit as it’s a rather good show.

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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AND

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: April 21, 2022
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s the go home show for Rebellion and we should be in for a solid night. The card is mostly set with the World Title being more than ready, so now it might be time to focus on just about everything else. I’m actually looking forward to the pay per view and if they can get in one last push, we should be in for a nice Saturday. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Violent By Design vs. Decay

Non-title and it’s Eric Young/Deaner vs. Black Taurus/Crazzy Steve. Taurus hits Deaner in the face to start but Young gets in a cheap shot from the apron to take over. A running knee in the corner gives Deaner two but Taurus knocks him down and brings Steve in to clean house. Steve dropkicks Young off the apron and hits the Cannonball for two on Deaner, with Young dropping a top rope elbow for the save. Everything breaks down and Taurus is sent into the steps. The distraction is enough for Young to break a flag over Steve’s back, allowing Deaner to grab the DDT for the pin at 4:38.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one and the champs cheat to win. Decay is going to be in the elimination match for the titles at Rebellion but it is still a little hard to buy that Violent By Design would need to cheat to beat them. At least it was short though, which is how I tend to like my Violent By Design.

Video on Moose vs. Josh Alexander, which has turned into something of an epic feud.

During the break, Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans jumped Rosemary and Havok as they checked on the rest of Decay.

Rebellion rundown.

Here are the Major Players (Chelsea Green/Brian Myers/Matt Cardona) for a chat. We look back at the three of them combining to put W. Morrissey through a table last week before Cardona says it is appropriate that he is in the ECW Arena because he is the Deathmatch King. Now he and Myers think they need some tag team gold around here, with Myers saying that they’re on the same page now. Green talks about how they were all you could talk about on their own, and now they’re united.

Cue Guido Maritato and Tony Mamaluke, better known as the FBI in ECW, to interrupt. Guido rants about how the Major Players are disrespecting this building and thinks the shirt says MAJOR SISSIES. The FBI clears the ring and Guido wants a Digital Media Title shot RIGHT NOW.

Digital Media Title: Matt Cardona vs. Guido Maritato

Cardona is defending and gets taken to the mat to start. A fireman’s carry takeover has Cardona messed up so he bails to the floor, where he almost hits Green in the face. The distraction lets Guido get in a shot but Myers offers a distraction of his own, allowing Cardona to kick a rope low on Guido. Back in and Cardona gets a bit more serious with some choking and the Reboot. Guido fights up as well and hits the Sicilian Slice, only to have Myers offer a distraction. The low blow and Radio Silence finish for Cardona at 4:56.

Rating: C. As much as I absolutely never need to see another ECW tribute or return again, they kept this short and Cardona won in the end so it could have been a lot worse. Cardona and Myers could make for a force around here and it is kind of amazing to see Cardona coming this far. This isn’t the same thing as having Hawkins and Ryder together again, so I’m curious enough about where this is going.

Post match the table is loaded up but W. Morrissey runs in and…gets taken down by Green’s low blow. Jordynne Grace of all people runs in for the save and cleans house, allowing Morrissey to chokeslam Cardona through the table.

Honor No More is ready to win all of their matches at Rebellion and mock Bullet Club for a bonus.

Jonah talks about how he hurt PCO and now he’ll do the same to Tomohiro Ishii at Rebellion.

Shera vs. Gabriel Rodriguez

The toss into the corner sets up the Sher Kamur for the pin at 16 seconds.

Bhupinder Gujjar isn’t regretting his decision to not join Raj Singh.

Moose is ready to go and make a public apology but wants assurances that Josh Alexander won’t attack him. Scott D’Amore isn’t impressed but he’ll be at ringside anyway.

Honor No More vs. Bullet Club

Vincent/Matt Taven/Mike Bennett/Kenny King vs. Jay White/Good Brothers/Chris Bey here with the rest of Honor No More at ringside too. Anderson shoulders Vincent down to start and hands it off to Gallows to do the same. Bennett comes in to get punched in the corner but avoids an elbow, allowing White and Taven to come in.

Taven dropkicks him down but spends too much time saying his name, allowing White to hit a chop. King comes in to trade missed dropkicks with Bey, with the latter being knocked into the corner. A Bennett brainbuster plants Bey and Taven gets two off a neckbreaker. Taven misses a charge though and the hot tag brings in Anderson to really clean house. Honor No More is sent outside and we take a break.

Back with Anderson and Bennett knocking each other down, setting up the double tag to White and Vincent. The spinning suplex gives White two but Vincent is back with a Russian legsweep for the double knockdown. The hot tag brings in Gallows to clean house as everything breaks down. Bey hits a big running flip dive to the floor, leaving Bennett to get Gun Stunned into the Magic Killer for the pin at 12:48.

Rating: C+. This was the kind of insanity that you might have expected and there was almost no way that Honor No More was going to win, especially without its ace in the match. Other than that, the Bullet Club instantly feels bigger because of White being around. He’s a star and the kind of person you can build around for a long time to come, assuming he wants to stick around. Good match here, with a lot of people getting to shine.

Steve Maclin is ready for Chris Sabin and Jay White at Rebellion because he is in a club of his own (meaning the military).

The IInspiration were having a signing earlier before stopping to talk to the camera. They’re glad that Kaleb With A K is gone, as now they can get the Knockouts Tag Team Titles back.

Taya Valkyrie is back for the Reina de Reinas Title, and maybe to shut Deonna Purrazzo up a bit.

Ace Austin/Mike Bailey vs. Trey Miguel/Laredo Kid

Austin forearms Miguel in the face to start and goes after his arm to limited avail. Bailey comes in to run the ropes with Kid, who sends him outside for a heck of a suicide dive. Back from a break and it’s Austin driving a shoulder into Kid’s ribs in the corner. Kid fights up and strikes away though, allowing the hot tag off to Miguel.

Everything breaks down and Kid’s springboard is broken up with a kick to the head. Bailey and Austin hit their stereo running flip dives but Miguel is back up to kick them both down. Back in and Bailey spends too much time setting up a kick and gets dropkicked down. That leaves Austin to load up the Fold, which is countered into a rollup to give Miguel the pin at 9:25.

Rating: B-. It’s the kind of a match that is going to be entertaining and high speed every time, even if it isn’t exactly a classic formula. It’s a bit of a weird choice to give the champ the pin going into the title match, but maybe Austin can get the win back at the pay per view to even it up. I’ll take that over Bailey, who still hasn’t clicked for me.

Post match Austin wants Bailey to deck Miguel but Bailey strikes Austin down instead to stand tall.

Another Rebellion rundown.

Vincent excuses himself from an Honor No More huddle so he can go find some jumper cables. He finds PCO and electrocutes him back to life, because PCO is not human.

Here is Moose, with his lawyer RD Evans, for the public apology. The statement, to Josh Alexander’s family, is rather formal and includes some information about Moose’s title reign. That’s not good enough for Moose, who cuts it off and wants a better apology. He is sorry that he exposed Alexander as a horrible father and husband, plus for the beating that Alexander is getting at Rebellion. Moose isn’t sorry for sending Alexander home for more than a month. Then Alexander is going to beg Moose to come to his home and show his wife and son what a real man is.

Cue Alexander for the brawl with Moose, who gets in a cheap shot to set up a chokeslam. The table is set up at ringside but Moose takes too long, allowing Alexander to hit the C4 Spike through said table to end the show. I have no idea why the table was needed when a regular C4 Spike inside would have worked just fine but that’s modern wrestling for you.

Overall Rating: B-. They’re doing a good enough job of setting up the pay per view, which has been built up long enough that it needs to just take place already. The good thing is that they haven’t burned me out on any of the feuds, with Moose vs. Alexander being timed about as well as it could have been. There was enough good wrestling on here to keep me interested and Rebellion still has my attention so it’s a success all 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: April 14, 2022
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re back to a regular show after last week’s Multiverse Of Matches special. With less than a month to go before Rebellion, it’s time for some of the final push towards the pay per view and the build could use some help. The main event will see Moore defending the World Title against Josh Alexander and things have already gotten personal. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Josh Alexander on the hunt for Moose.

Here is W. Morrissey to say he’s glad to be here on his own terms. We hear about him having a bad time here last time at the lowest point of his career when he was taken out by EMTs. Now he is back, clean and sober, and for the first time he knows he is not alone because of everyone here. The people gave him a second chance and opportunities so he is going to take every one of them.

Cue Brian Myers to interrupt and say that he isn’t impressed. Myers thinks Morrissey is going to be taken out of here again so the chase is on, with Morrissey catching him without much effort. A table is set up at ringside but here is Chelsea Green for a distraction so Matt Cardona can come in and take Morrissey down with a Digital Media Title shot. Green offers a slap off the apron so it’s a double powerbomb through the table. So at least Morrissey now has an actual challenge for a change.

We run down the Rebellion card.

Ring Of Honor Women’s Title: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale is challenging in another of Purrazzo’s Champ Champ Challenges. Purrazzo throws her down by the hair to start and then pounds away in the corner. Nightingale scores with a superkick for a quick two though and we take a break. Back with Purrazzo taking her down by the hair but getting caught with a standing bulldog for a breather.

A Pounce sets up a Cannonball in the corner to give Nightingale two more but Purrazzo kicks her in the face. The armbar is broken up so Nightingale comes back with the Babe Bomb (Death Valley Driver) for two. Nightingale loads up a clothesline but gets pulled into the Venus de Milo to retain Purrazzo’s title at 9:31.

Rating: C. This was another match to make Purrazzo look good before she probably meets her demise as the Champ Champ. What matters here is that they got Nightingale on TV again, as I would be shocked if she doesn’t get signed somewhere based on her most recent appearances. Not much drama here, but Purrazzo picking someone apart is fun.

We look back at Nick Aldis/Mickie James beating Chelsea Green/Matt Cardona at Multiverse of Matches.

James says she isn’t done with Green because this is just getting started. Green pops up behind her and the fight is on until Cardona grabs James from behind. A few hard shots leave James laying.

Tasha Steelz isn’t scared of Rosemary and hasn’t forgotten their history together. Now things have changed and it’s time for Steelz to get her revenge. Hold on as Decay pops up on screen and says their flavor tastes of Steelz’s own decay. I’m not sure what that means but it sounds good so I’ll take it.

Jonathan Gresham vs. Rocky Romero

Non-title and they shake hands before we get going. A headlock takeover doesn’t get Romero very far so they’re back up with a standoff. Romero takes him down again and Gresham is starting to look a bit frustrated. A whip into the corner is countered by a quick drop to the mat (that’s a new one) and Gresham knocks him down as we take an early break.

Back with Gresham working on a hammerlock as Eddie Edwards is watching backstage. Romero fights out and starts working on the arm, setting up the required exchange of chops. The Forever Clotheslines are broken up and they’re both knocked down again. Gresham gets knocked to the floor for the running hurricanrana but Gresham is right back up with the suicide dive. Back in and Gresham grabs a rollup with the limbs trapped for the pin at 10:44.

Rating: C+. Take two talented guys and give them some time on television and you get a positive result. That was the case here, as they had a nice match with some good action. Gresham has become the guy in recent weeks around the wrestling world and he keeps putting on one nice match after another. Romero might be hit or miss for you, but this was a nice look at both of them.

Post match they shake hands again.

Video on Josh Alexander vs. Moose, with the latter stealing the World Title at Bound For Glory with the Call Your Shot title match. Then Alexander had to go through the roster, got sent home, and then came back to go after Moose. That caused Moose to go after Alexander’s family, including spearing Alexander’s wife at an independent show. Now the title match is on, after a heck of a video to recap a months long feud.

Mike Bailey is training when Ace Austin comes in to suggest their partnership continue at Rebellion, but Bailey doesn’t seem interested.

Alex Shelley vs. Steve Maclin

Chris Sabin is here with Shelley, who grabs a headlock to start before switching to a front facelock. Back up and Maclin gets in a few shots, only to be sent out to the floor. They get back in with Shelley chopping away and starting on the arm. Maclin gets sent outside but they switch places, allowing Maclin to hit a suicide dive. A backbreaker gives Maclin two and it’s time to stay on the back.

Shelley fights up and hits a running forearm, setting up Sliced Bread for two. The Downward Spiral into the buckle sends Maclin outside again, where he is fine enough to hit a running knee to the face. Shelley grabs Sliced Bread off the barricade to drop Maclin again but the top rope double stomp misses back inside. Maclin’s rollup with feet on the ropes is broken up by Sabin so Shelley grabs Shell Shock for the pin at 10:00.

Rating: C+. Maclin continues to be someone who has come a long way in Impact. He was never given a real chance to shine in WWE and it is nice to see him getting this kind of a chance somewhere else. Putting him in there with someone as good as Shelley is going to give him a lot of help and he looked good here in defeat.

Madison Rayne used a chair to beat Jesse McKay on BTI. Then the Influence fired Kaleb With A K, allowing W. Morrissey to powerbomb him through a table.

Gisele Shaw apologized to Rayne for her loss, meaning Kaleb With A K, but Rayne points out that he was fired. Shaw seems to imply violence.

Video on Moose, who will do anything he wants to win and then keep the World Title. If that means taking out Josh Alexander’s family, so be it. Now he’s ready for Alexander at Rebellion.

Here is Honor No More for a chat. Eddie Edwards talks about the wrestling history in Philadelphia, from ECW to Ring of Honor, with the most passionate fans in wrestling. Honor No More knows that isn’t the truth though because these are the most fickle fans in all of wrestling. They don’t care about any of these people because they want to see the next shiny thing.

Mike Bennett runs down the city and Matt Taven can’t believe that so many people turned on him when he was saving Ring of Honor. Cue the Bullet Club to interrupt, with Jay White not thinking much of Taven. Everyone knows Bullet Club is the best and they think we should be seeing some Thank You’s to the Club. They talk about how they put the Kingdom on the map in Japan in 2015. Anderson: “Hi Maria.”

That’s not cool with Bennett, but Maria talks about how they won’t bother saying they’re for live because Honor No More is more original than that. The big brawl is on in the ring and then onto the floor, with PCO hitting a top rope flip dive. PCO is in the main event so let’s get his opponent out here.

Jonah vs. PCO

Everyone else is gone as Jonah sends PCO into the corner for the running splash. A backdrop puts Jonah on the floor and it’s time to brawl outside. Jonah misses a charge into the post and PCO hits a neckbreaker. PCO’s neck is banged up though….so he grabs a roll of duct tape and wraps it around his neck as a makeshift brace. That’s a new one and the delay lets Jonah knock him down again.

We take a break and come back with Jonah working on a waistlock. A buckle bomb is no sold and it’s a running clothesline to drop Jonah. They get back up and slug it out again, with Jonah’s Tombstone getting one, meaning it’s time for the real beating. PCO DDTs Jonah and a high crossbody gets two, followed by some middle rope headbutts. A top rope headbutt gets two but the PCOsault misses. The DeAnimator only hits apron to knock PCO silly and the Tsunami finishes for Jonah at 14:02.

Rating: C. PCO is one of the most unique guys in wrestling and a win over him still means something. That was the case for Jonah here, as he got his second win over PCO in another monster brawl. Jonah is getting somewhere and could be a star if he is able to get a chance higher up on the card, as WWE continues to look odd for letting him go.

Post match PCO sits straight up so Jonah unloads on him and grabs a chair to keep up the beating. Another Tsunami onto the chair keeps PCO down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was another good show for Impact and I want to see Rebellion more than I did in the last few weeks. Hopefully they are going to have one more push next week and then blow the whole thing off at the pay per view. Another efficient show here with some solid action but without giving away the big stuff for the important show. Nice job here.

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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