Smackdown – November 10, 2023: The Last Minute Rush

Smackdown
Date: November 10, 2023
Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Kevin Owens, Michael Cole, Kevin Patrick

Crown Jewel is out of the way and that means it is time to get closer to Survivor Series. That could make for some interesting situations around here, as we already have a WarGames match set on Raw. I’m not sure what they have around here for a Smackdown version, though Damage CTRL vs. etc. is an option. Let’s get to it.

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

Kevin Owens is brought out as the guest commentator since Corey Graves is at home with his new baby. That old excuse?

Here is the LWO (Owens is a fan) to get things going. Rey Mysterio talks about losing his US Title at Crown Jewel, but the reality is that Logan Paul stole it. Paul needed brass knuckles to win the title, but here is Carlito to interrupt. He wants to talk about Crown Jewel, where Santos Escobar left the knuckles on the apron. The argument is on and Escobar walks out, much to Rey’s chagrin.

Bobby Lashley vs. Carlito

The Street Profits and the LWO are at ringside. Lashley runs him over to start and hammers away in the corner as B-Fab is watching backstage. The Hurt Lock is countered with a jawbreaker and Carlito manages a suplex. They head outside where Lashley gets in a posting and we take a break. Back with B-Fab still watching as Ashante Thee Adonis comes up to ask what she’s doing before they leave together. Carlito fights back and the seconds get in a fight outside. Montez Ford gets in a cheap shot to Carlito though and Lashley hits the spear for the pin at 9:28.

Rating: C+. This feels like it was more about the pre-match deal with Escobar than anything here. That being said, despite Carlito’s recent return, he wasn’t in Lashley’s league on his best day so this was the right way to go. Lashley feels like he could be an easy step away from the main event scene again, so beating Carlito, even with an assist, makes sense.

Post match Santos Escobar doesn’t get in to help but Rey Mysterio runs in with a chair for the save. Rey yells at Escobar and checks on Carlito….and Escobar jumps Rey from behind. Escobar gets knocked to the apron but he crushes Rey’s leg in the steps.

Post break Escobar is leaving and says Rey had it coming.

Kevin Owens says he’s turned on a lot of people, but even he wouldn’t turn on Rey Mysterio.

We look at Iyo Sky defeating Bianca Belair to retain the Smackdown Women’s Title at Crown Jewel with an assist from the returning Kairi Sane.

Here is Bayley for a chat. She has had a lot of success since Damage CTRL started and we hear about everything Iyo Sky has done. Then Kairi Sane returned and Bayley would like an explanation. Cue the rest of Damage CTRL, plus Sane. Sky said she had her own plan and it involve Sane helping her keep the title. Bayley brings up her knocking Sane out of WWE back in 2020 (and we get a clip).

Dakota Kai says Sane makes the team stronger and they’re just trying to take some weight off of Bayley. Sane says she respects Bayley as the leader of Damage CTRL. We get the tentative hug but here is Bianca Belair to interrupt. Damage CTRL points out the numbers game so here is Charlotte…..and Asuka. Apparently tonight it’s a six woman tag.

Video on Dragon Lee.

Dragon Lee vs. Cedric Alexander

Joined in progress with both of them running the ropes until Alexander dropkicks him to the floor. Back in and Alexander snaps off a tornado DDT, setting up the running kick to the back of the head. Lee is back with a dropkick to the floor for a running flip dive, followed by a sitout powerbomb back inside. Alexander sends him hard into the corner and they slug it out. Lee hits a basement superkick but charges into a running Spanish Fly. One heck of a Michinoku Driver gets two on Lee but the Lumbar Check is blocked. Destino finishes Alexander at 5:51.

Rating: B-. This is a good example of a match where you knew exactly what you were going to get as soon as the match was announced. They were able to go out and fly all over the place for about six minutes and that made for an entertaining spectacle. Alexander might not be doing anything important at the moment but he can still turn it on when he gets in the ring.

We look at Logan Paul winning the US Title at Crown Jewel.

Here is LA Knight for a chat before his match. Knight says Crown Jewel didn’t go as he planned and he could come out here and say things didn’t go as planned. The fans still seem to like him, so Knight talks about coming within an inch of winning the title. But then Jimmy Uso got involved and Knight was robbed. Roman Reigns needs to give Jimmy a raise but Knight isn’t done with the Bloodline until he wins the WWE Title.

Cue Grayson Waller (Knight’s scheduled opponent) to say Knight is blaming everyone but himself. Maybe Knight just isn’t the guy. Knight calls Waller a jackass and says the Grayson Waller Effect sounds like an STD. Waller doesn’t like being accused of being in his mother’s basement and the fight is on, with Waller taking some water to the face.

LA Knight vs. Grayson Waller

Knight clotheslines him down to start and cranks on the arm, with Waller bailing out to the floor. A slingshot shoulder hits Waller as this is one sided so far. Knight’s swinging neckbreaker seems to wake Waller up a bit as he hits Knight in the face. That doesn’t seem to bother Knight, who backdrops him to the floor, setting up the rams into the announcers’ table. Waller manages to send him into the steps and hit a hard clothesline though and we take a break.

Back with Waller stomping on the back and grabbing a half crab. With that broken up, the rope walk elbow gives Waller two. Knight avoids another elbow though and snaps off some alternating jabs. A DDT gives Knight two and the LA Elbow into the BFT finishes Waller off at 11:24.

Rating: C+. That’s all it needed to be as Knight needed a nice win to give him a boost after last week’s loss. Knight lost the biggest match of his career but he is already at least somewhat back on track. Waller is the definition of someone who can be built back up with a few annoying chats.

Owens gives us a slow motion video looking at his punch to Grayson Waller and Austin Theory two weeks ago. Telestrating is included.

Classic Smackdown moment: John Cena debuts and gives Kurt Angle a run for his money.

We look at Solo Sikoa laying out John Cena and possibly knocking him into retirement.

Owens shows us the punch again….so here are Austin Theory and Grayson Waller in person. They throw an empty water bottle at Kevin Patrick, so Owens says he’s about to get suspended (the penalty for getting physical tonight) and goes after them for the brawl.

Jimmy Uso is ready for LA Knight next week. He calls Roman Reigns, who makes him be a bit more serious.

Damage CTRL vs. Bianca Belair/Asuka/Charlotte

Belair slams Bayley down to start and the villains are sent to the floor in a heap. Charlotte boots Bayley outside as well and we take a break. Back with Charlotte sending Bayley flying with a fall away slam so it’s off to Sane. Belair comes in with a delayed vertical suplex but Sane gets in a shot to the face.

Some double teaming drops Belair on the apron for two and the beating ensues. Belair fights out of the corner but Sane pulls Charlotte to the floor. A shot to Bayley lets Belair get over for the tag….but Asuka pulls away and mists Belair. Asuka and Sane hug, with Bayley and Sky joining in. Charlotte breaks it up and the big beatdown is good for the DQ at 7:31.

Rating: C+. In a way, this felt like a way to turn this into a WarGames match, but they don’t have a ton of time left to make that happen. With only two shows left before Survivor Series, we have two weeks to find Damage CTRL a fourth opponent and announce the match. That could still be done, but that isn’t exactly leaving them a ton of time.

Post match the beating is on, with Shotzi’s save attempt not working well. Belair is back up but the beatdown is on, with the Insane Elbow leaving Shotzi laying. The villains pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a pretty by the book show and that isn’t a bad thing. On one hand, they seemed to set some stages for Survivor Series, but at the same time, it needed to be the kind of show that got things ready rather than getting ready to set things up later. What we got wasn’t bad, but I was expecting a little big more with the show less than three weeks away. Good enough show, even it might not have been the right kind.

Results
Bobby Lashley b. Carlito – Spear
Dragon Lee b. Cedric Alexander – Destino
LA Knight b. Grayson Waller – BFT
Charlotte/Asuka/Bianca Belair b. Damage CTRL via DQ when Damage CTRL attacked Charlotte

 

 

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Impact Wrestling – November 9, 2023: Good Wrestlers Doing Good Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: November 9, 2023
Location: Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re finally back to the regular shows after two weeks of one offs. That means we can get the first week of fallout from Bound For Glory as we start the long road towards Hard To Kill. That also means the road towards the return of TNA Wrestling, which will likely get a lot of talk this week. Let’s get to it.

We open with a Turning Point recap.

Tasha Steelz vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Fallout from their tag team falling apart. They shake hands to start and fight over a lockup with neither being able to get anywhere. Some grappling goes nowhere either so it’s a test of strength instead. A quick pinfall reversal sequence gets two each and they’re back up for the standoff. Steelz snaps off a running hurricanrana and we pause for some dancing. Purrazzo is fine enough to tie her up for a running dropkick, setting up some dancing of her own.

Steelz’ Black Out is broken up and we get another standoff. They fight over more rollups for two each until a double knockdown gives us a breather. Purrazzo pulls her into the Fujiwara armbar but Steelz reverses into her own Venus de Milo. That’s broken up as well so Purrazzo goes for the Fujiwara armbar again, with Steelz raking the eyes to escape. Steelz snaps off a cutter and a second finishes Purrazzo at 9:25.

Rating: C+. I’m not wild on the whole mirroring each other but they made it work well enough here. Assuming you ignore that they were only a team for a few weeks, this was a pretty good fight between two of the better stars in the division. At the worst, it’s nice to see Steelz getting elevated a bit, especially since Purrazzo can’t challenge for the Knockouts Title anymore.

Alex Shelley is ready to give Jonathan Gresham a World Title shot tonight. May the best man win.

We look at the ABC getting the Tag Team Titles back at Bound For Glory.

ABC are ready to be the first TNA Tag Team Champions of this generation. Santino Marella comes in to praise them but here are Kenny King and Sheldon Jean to complain about the lack of Digital Media Title shot. The villains mock the ABC and get a Tag Team Title shot next week.

Digital Media Title: Tommy Dreamer vs. Crazzy Steve

Dreamer is defending. They lock up to start and fight out to the floor before Steve takes it back inside for some chopping. A neckbreaker and knee lift get Dreamer out of trouble but Steve knocks him right back down and sings him a lullaby. Dreamer shrugs off some ripping at the face and slugs away.

A reverse DDT gives Dreamer two but the Dreamer Driver is broken up. Steve hits a Cannonball and goes for the fork but Dreamer bites the arm. Dreamer hits a cutter and stabs him with the fork instead. More stabbing has Steve running away and cackling as the match just kind of ends at about 7:15. I’d assume it was a DQ but I didn’t actually hear a bell.

Rating: C. Well, at least Dreamer didn’t win. I would hope that we are going to be seeing a rematch where Steve wins the title as there is no reason for Dreamer to be a long term champion. Dreamer going violent to even things up is fine, but he needs to drop the title to Steve, who is doing some good stuff right now.

Post match Steve crawls away and laughs some more.

Jonathan Gresham is ready to show that honor rises above the chaos.

Joe Hendry vs. Brian Myers

Before the match, Hendry talks about how a rebranding is coming, but we’ll start it tonight. For years, Myers has been known as Edge’s b****, but now he’s Adam’s b****! Hendry slugs away but an elbow to the face cuts him off. We’re already in the chinlock for a bit before Hendry avoids the Roster Cut.

Myers is sent crashing out to the floor and we take a break. Back with Hendry working on the arm and getting two off a suplex. A swinging slam puts Myers down but he’s right back up with a Russian legsweep for two. Hendry is back with a Trust Fall and we go to another break with Myers in trouble.

We come back again with Hendry slamming him down for two more, only to have Myers post him hard. The chinlock goes on again, until Hendry fights up for the clothesline comeback. Three straight fall away slams give Hendry two but Myers’ implant DDT gets the same. Hendry hits a pop up powerbomb for two, only to have Myers go to the eyes. The Roster Cut finishes for Myers at 17:01.

Rating: B-. These two were getting going at the end and it was working out when they went to the eye rake. Hendry losing again isn’t great to see but what matters is getting him in the ring for a good while. That being said, putting Myers over Hendry is a little weird to see, as Hendry has long since felt like a potential breakout star.

Video on Josh Alexander vs. Will Ospreay.

Ospreay brags about his success and knows what he’s coming up against in Alexander. We’ll see if Alexander has what it takes to beat the best.

Eddie Edwards vs. Eric Young

Alisha Edwards is here with Eddie. They fight over a lockup to start and neither can get very far. Young scores with a dropkick before sliding between the legs. The sunset flip is blocked though and Eddie hits an atomic drop to take over. Alisha even adds some choking before Eddie puts on the chinlock.

A slam puts Young down again but he’s fine enough to avoid a moonsault. Alisha’s distraction doesn’t really work though as Young drops the top rope elbow for two. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Eddie two so Alisha slides in a chair. The referee takes that away so Alisha grabs a kendo stick, which hits Eddie by mistake. Young hits a piledriver for the win at 6:42.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have nearly enough time for it to go anywhere, which is a bit annoying as these two are big enough stars to be able to do something. At the same time, Alisha screwing up isn’t going to go well and we might be in for a little something there. For now though, Young getting a win isn’t a surprise, even if it’s been done to death.

Brian Myers runs into Moose and they argue over loyalty. Heath comes in and is willing to fight both of them.

Sonny Kiss is excited to be here and wants a Knockouts Title shot. Trinity comes in and says she’ll try to make it happen next week.

Dirty Dango/Oleg Prudius vs. Nick Diamond/Storm Grayson

Alpha Bravo is here with Dango and Prudius, the latter of whom is having his first match in over twelve years. Prudius wrecks Diamond as Dango goes to join commentary. Grayson comes in and gets knocked out of the air, allowing Dango to come in for the reverse layout DDT and the pin at 2:38.

Jordynne Grace is ready to win the Knockouts Title at Hard To Kill when Bully Ray comes in. Ray mocks her and offers a handshake but KiLynn King comes in to say Grace got lucky to win. Ray, King’s trainer, tells her to take it down a notch. Steve Maclin comes in to call Ray soft but Ray says Maclin is standing there because Ray lets him.

The Rascalz introduces their third member: Myron Reed.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Jonathan Gresham vs. Alex Shelley

Shelley is defending. Gresham gives him a handshake to start but gets taken into the corner as we go to an early break. Back with Shelley running him over, setting up the chop off. Gresham goes to take off his wrist tape and the distraction lets him get in a low blow. A running dropkick to the knee takes Shelley out and we hit the Figure Four. With that broken up, Gresham grabs at the nose as Hannifan is all over Gresham’s lack of integrity. Back up and they lock hands for a strike off but Gresham hits a shinbreaker.

Gresham stays on the leg with more shots as he mixes things up a bit. Wrist tape choking ensues but Shelley slips out and cranks on the arm. A modified Backstabber puts Gresham down but he’s right back with a dragon screw legwhip. We get a dueling OLD CHAMP/NEW CHAMP chant until Gresham takes out the leg again. Gresham is sent outside though and Shelley hits a slingshot dive (Huh?).

A whip towards the barricade leaves Shelley collapsing to the ground and a running forearm gives Gresham two back inside. Shelley Downward Spirals Gresham into the middle buckle, setting up a tornado DDT. The Border City Stretch goes on, but Gresham crawls over the referee to make the rope. Gresham is back on the knee and a rolling cradle gets two.

They slug it out until Shelley snaps the bad arm. Shelley’s knee gives out as well though and Gresham hits a springboard moonsault. They go into a rather intense pinfall reversal sequence for two each until Gresham gets the Figure Four again. The rope is grabbed again and Shelley superkicks him into the Shell Shock to retain at 24:46.

Rating: B. Heck of a TV main event here as they had a good story going with the arm vs. leg battle. Gresham is someone who can wrestle with anyone and knows how to pick apart a limb. At the same time you have Shelley, who is on an absolute roll right now, giving us an awesome match between two of the better stars Impact has to offer today.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event was rather good and the rest of the show backed it up well enough. While they didn’t do a lot for Hard To Kill, the two main singles title matches are already set so things could be a good bit worse. They set up a few things for next week though and I’ll take some small development over none at all. Good show here, with the main event being by far the best thing.

Results
Tasha Steelz b. Deonna Purrazzo – Cutter
Tommy Dreamer vs. Crazzy Steve went to a no contest
Brian Myers b. Joe Hendry – Roster Cut
Eric Young b. Eddie Edwards – Piledriver
Dirty Dango/Oleg Prudius b. Nick Diamond/Storm Grayson – Reverse layout DDT to Grayson
Alex Shelley b. Jonathan Gresham – Shell Shock

 

 

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Dynamite – November 8, 2023: One Of AEW’s Greatest Strengths

Dynamite
Date: November 8, 2023
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We are a week and a half away from Full Gear and that means we should be getting the final push towards the show. This week that includes MJF defending the World Title against Daniel Garcia and an interesting main event of Jay White vs. Mark Briscoe. Other than that, we have a heck of a showdown between Keith Lee and Samoa Joe for the ROH TV Title. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Tony Schiavone brings in MJF to talk about his lost last week but MJF says it will never happen again. Adam Cole calls him so MJF throws it to a video screen and says MJF should take Samoa Joe up on his offer. MJF isn’t sure why but here is Daniel Garcia (challenging MJF for the title tonight) to laugh a bit. Garcia says tonight, MJF is getting the professional wrestler. With Garcia gone, the Kingdom wheels in Roderick Strong, who offers MJF some tips. MJF walks off, which Strong says is what the devil would do. It’s time to remind people who Strong is.

Opening sequence.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Daniel Garcia

Garcia, with Matt Menard and Angelo Parker, is challenging. MJF hits him in the face to start so Garcia does the same, only to have his friends break up the dance (as tends to be their custom as of late). An armbar has Garcia down and a rollup gives MJF two. We take a break and come back with Garcia hitting a one armed German suplex and dancing a bit.

MJF is right back on the arm before a hammerlock DDT gets two. Garcia kicks the leg out and hits a one armed piledriver for two. They’re doing something there with the arm not working at full strength. The Dragontamer goes on but MJF escapes and grabs the Salt Of The Earth to retain the title at 10:38.

Rating: B-. Not too bad at all here, though Garcia continues to not exactly be the most interesting star in the world. He’s a strong technician, but that doesn’t do much to help his charisma. Thankfully they didn’t let this go on too long, as there was no way to make Garcia feel like a serious threat to the title.

Post match MJF wants to shake hands but Garcia’s friends won’t allow it.

Mark Briscoe is ready for Jay White.

Sting/Darby Allin vs. Outrunners

Allin headlocks Magnum to start but gets take into the corner for a stomping from Floyd. A suplex is broken up and String comes in to clean house. The Scorpion Deathlock finishes Floyd at 2:58. That’s how it should have gone.

We have a sitdown interview (in black and white) between Hikaru Shida and Toni Storm. Shida promises to beat her again as usual but Storm doesn’t seem to buy it. They sign the contract and go face to face.

Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Swerve Strickland

Feeling out process to start until Swerve takes him into the corner for a kick to the leg. Swerve bites the fingers but Penta is back with some chops. A Backstabber sends Swerve outside, where he is able to drop Penta face first onto the steps. Penta strikes away and hits a big running flip dive as we take a break.

Back with Made In Japan and the JML Driver both being blocked, leaving us with a double knockdown. A Death Valley Driver gets Penta two and he drops Swerve hard onto the apron to leave Swerve on the floor. Back in and Swerve reverses a headscissors out of the corner by flipping Penta into the corner. A 450 is blocked and Made In Japan gives Penta two. Swerve is back with his own Death Valley Driver and snaps Penta’s arm. The Swerve Stomp gives Swerve the pin at 13:33.

Rating: B. One of AEW’s greatest strengths is being able to take any two wrestlers out of a huge number available and have them put on a good match. That’s what they did here as these two came pretty close to tearing the house down. If you can get Penta away from doing his CERO MIEDO line over and over again and let him do his thing, he can put in a heck of a performance and that was the case here. At the same time you have Swerve continuing to showcase just how good he really is as his roll continues.

Post match Swerve goes for the mast but Hangman Page runs in to lay Swerve out with a Deadeye off the stage and through some tables. It seems WAY too early for that as it could have come during their Full Gear match instead.

Jay White is ready to beat up Mark Briscoe tonight and hopes MJF is watching.

The Don Callis Family is ready for serious violence next week against Chris Jericho and pals.

Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega are ready to fight next week, but the Young Bucks come in to bring up an idea of the Elite. They think Jericho is just here to get a paycheck, but Jericho thinks he and Omega are a better team. They agree to fight at Full Gear, with Jericho wanting the Bucks’ Tag Team Title shot on the line. That works with the Bucks, but if they win, Jericho and Omega are done as a team and they get back to being the Elite. Omega says he’s beaten the Bucks before so he can do it again.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Keith Lee

Joe is defending and grabs a headlock to start. Lee isn’t having that and runs Joe over with a shoulder. Some choking on the rope keeps Joe down but he’s back up with the snap jabs in the corner. Back up and Lee leapfrogs over him and knocks Joe outside to send us to a break. We come back with Joe taking out the leg, including hitting a dragon screw legwhip. Lee manages a pop up powerbomb for a delayed two but Joe is right back up. Joe pulls him into the Koquina Clutch to retain the title at 11:26.

Rating: B-. This was the hoss match it was advertised as being and that made for a good fight. While I could go for more of Lee being a monster who runs people over, there is little shame in losing to someone as dominant as Joe. That being said, this felt like a match that could have been built up a lot better, but that is the case for a lot of things on AEW TV.

Post match Joe says he’s vacating the title to go after the AEW World Title. After a year and a half and Joe retaining the title when it seemed perfect for Joe to lose, he just walks away from it without putting anyone over? And not even on the ROH show. This has been your weekly reminder that RING OF HONOR MEANS NOTHING.

Orange Cassidy, with Hook, is rather serious and says he has to beat Jon Moxley.

Gunns b. Bollywood Boyz

3:10 To Yuma finishes Gurv at 42 seconds.

Post match the Gunns promise to beat up MJF and win the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles.

Jon Moxley says he’s in for the Full Gear title shot against Orange Cassidy, but he and Wheeler Yuta might crush Cassidy and Hook before they get there.

Wardlow is ready to end MJF.

Julia Hart vs. Red Velvet

This is Velvet’s return after nine months on the injured list. Velvet snaps off some armdrags to start and strikes away in the corner. Hart knocks her out of said corner though and we take a break. Back with Velvet making the clothesline comeback and hitting some running knees. An Iconoclasm out of the corner gives Velvet two but Hart kicks her down. The moonsault finishes for Hart at 8:26.

Rating: C+. Hart gets some momentum back after losing at WrestleDream and still looks like she’s keeping most of her momentum. She seems to have turned a corner in recent months and that moonsault looks good every time. It’s also nice to have Velvet back as you never want to see someone on the shelf, especially for that long.

Post match Hart goes after Velvet but Skye Blue comes out for the staredown. Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale come in to break it up before things get physical.

Mariah May is ready to debut in AEW and is excited about Toni Storm being here.

Jay White vs. Mark Briscoe

The rest of Bullet Club Gold is at ringside. Mark sends him outside to start and White needs an early breather. Back in and Mark chops away, setting up a suplex to put White down again. Redneck Kung Fu puts White on the floor and there’s the Bang Bang Elbow to make it worse. The Club knocks Mark off the top though and we take a break.

Back with White kicking the knee out but getting cut off with a middle rope dropkick. They strike it out with Mark getting the better of things and hitting a fisherman’s buster for two. A dragon screw legwhip over the ropes hits White again and there’s a Death Valley Driver. The Froggy Bow gets two but White snaps off the swinging Rock Bottom. White goes for the knee but the Blade Runner is countered into an exploder suplex. More chops have Mark down again and the sleeper suplex drops him hard. The Blade Runner finishes for White at 14:00.

Rating: B. Another good one here, though I’m not wild on having Briscoe lose so soon after his comeback. Granted it’s against a big name in White who has a major match coming up, but it’s still a bit of a weird choice. That being said, Mark getting to showcase himself is a good thing as he really is one of the better hands in the ring around here.

Post match MJF comes out with the diamond ring to chase White off but he still can’t get the belt back. For the first time ever, MJF has a reason to fight for everyone in the arena and wants to know if White can pull the trigger.

The lights go out and we cut to the back where the masked men are attacking Billy Gunn and the Acclaimed. Anthony Bowens is sent through some glass as we see the person in the devil mask watching. MJF runs to the back, where Samoa Joe pops up to say MJF is running out of friends.

Overall Rating: B. Better show than last week and it’s nice to see things getting a bit back to normal. They had more of a focus this week as they get ready for Full Gear and things got more interesting with the angle at the end. Throw in some good wrestling up and down the card and it made for a good Dynamite. Now just get to Full Gear with the same efficiency and everything should work very well.

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Daniel Garcia – Salt Of The Earth
Sting/Darby Allin b. Outrunners – Scorpion Deathlock to Floyd
Swerve Strickland b. Penta El Zero Miedo – Swerve Strickland
Samoa Joe b. Keith Lee – Koquina Clutch
Gunns b. Bollywood Boyz – 3:10 To Yuma to Gurv
Julia Hart b. Red Velvet – Moonsault
Jay White b. Mark Briscoe – Blade Runner

 

 

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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Daily News Update – November 8, 2023

Make sure you check out a recent review:

NXT – November 7, 2023


Priority Acquisition: WWE Very Interested In Signing Reigning NJPW Champion.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/priority-acquisition-wwe-interested-signing-reigning-njpw-champion/

WATCH: 53 Year Old Former WWE Superstar Surprises Chelsea Green After Monday Night Raw.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/watch-53-year-old-former-wwe-superstar-surprises-chelsea-green-monday-night-raw/

They’re Into Him: WWE Backstage Officials Reportedly Impressed With Monday Night Raw Star.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/theyre-wwe-backstage-officials-reportedly-impressed-monday-night-raw-star/

On The Dotted Line: WWE Announces New NXT TV Deal With Huge Rights Fees Increase.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/d*otted-line-wwe-announces-new-nxt-tv-deal-huge-rights-fees-increase/

Ouch: Monday Night Raw Match May Not Have Ended As Planned Due To Possible Injury.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/ouch-monday-night-raw-match-may-not-ended-planned-due-possible-injury/

That’s A Status: TKO Officially Lists Vince McMahon As “Risk Factor”.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/thats-status-tko-officially-lists-vince-mcmahon-risk-factor/

Improvement: Injury Update On AEW Star Following Five Month Absence.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/improvement-injury-update-aew-star-following-five-month-absence/

 

 

As always, hit up the comments section to chat about what is going on and get on the Wrestling Rumors Facebook page and follow us on Twitter (featuring news stories written by ME).




NXT – November 7, 2023: That Show They Need To Have

NXT
Date: November 7, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re done with Halloween Havoc and now it is time to start getting ready for Deadline. That will be the case this week, as a group of legends will begin considering the participants in the qualifying matches for the Iron Survival Challenge. Other than that, we have the Von Wagner vs. Bron Breakker showdown. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week.

Heritage Cup: Akira Tozawa vs. Noam Dar

Tozawa, with the rest of the Alpha Academy (to counter Dar’s Meta Four), is challenging. Round one begins with Tozawa grabbing the wrist but getting caught in a front facelock. Dar rolls Tozawa up for two and kicks away but Tozawa fires up and kicks him in the head. The Meta Four offer a distraction though and Dar hits a superplex but can’t cover in time. Round two begins with Tozawa striking away but he misses a kick. That’s enough for Dar to grab a rollup and go up 1-0 at 30 seconds of the round and 4:02 overall.

Dar gets in a cheap shot between rounds and we take a break. Back with Round three ending after the time runs out but Dar elbows him in the head a few times after the bell. Round four begins with Dar hitting a running shot to the head for two but Tozawa escapes the ankle lock.

They go outside for a bit and come back in with Tozawa grabbing the ankle lock for the tap to tie it up at 1:39 of the round and 10:18 overall. Round five starts with Tozawa hitting some Helluva Kicks and something close to an angle slam for two. Tozawa blocks a kneebar and hits a German suplex but Lash Legend pulls Dar away from the top rope backsplash. The Nova Roller retains the title at 2:22 of the round and 13:14 overall.

Rating: C+. I for one am shocked that Dar retained the Cup 2-1 as it’s not like he has ever done that before in the history of his reign. I’m incredibly tired of this whole thing as it has been done to death and even when Dar lost the Cup, he got it back due to reasons of pathetic. They’ve covered just about everything they can with this stuff and it would be nice to see them move on already.

Post match Oro Mensah goes after Tozawa but the Alpha Academy makes the save.

Shawn Michaels has allowed Mick Foley to pick some Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying matches. Therefore tonight it’s Fallon Henley vs. Tiffany Stratton and Dijak vs. Tyler Bate.

Lola Vice brags about her win last week but Kelani Jordan says Elektra Lopez plays a big role. Other women argue until Roxanne Perez comes in for the Spanish argument. This was the latest edition of “women who can’t act recite lines that no human would ever use”.

Here is Lyra Valkyria for her first comments as Women’s Champion. She says people will tell you to never meet your heroes but those people have never met Becky Lynch. A lot of people want the title but here is Xia Li from Raw to interrupt. She reminds Valkyria what happened to Becky last night on Raw, so Valkyria says bring it.

Tyler Bate is ready for Dijak.

Fallon Henley is ready for Tiffany Stratton and she’ll do it on her own.

The Alpha Academy will be back next week to be on Supernova Sessions when Drew Gulak and company come in. Insults are exchanged, with Otis telling Gulak to stretch this. The result is Gulak vs. Otis tonight.

A referee says Shawn Michaels has ordered him that there will be a winner between Von Wagner and Bron Breakker tonight.

Iron Survivor Challenge: Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley

They fight over a lockup to start with Henley pulling her away from the ropes for a crash. A half crab sends Henley bailing to the ropes before she goes up top. Henley superplexes her right back down for two and the half crab goes on again. That’s broken up again so Henley hits her in the face as we take a break.

Back with Henley kicking her in the head for two but Stratton picks her up for a LAUNCH through the ropes. They get back in with a sitout spinebuster giving Stratton two, followed by a nasty looking leg crank. Henley gets dropped in the corner but the Prettiest Moonsault Ever misses. Stratton kicks her into the buckle though and a chop block sets up the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the pin at 10:28.

Rating: C+. I like Henley a good bit but it wasn’t her place to win here. Stratton is a far bigger star and it makes a lot more sense to put her forward into the big Deadline match. That match is going to need a big lineup and Stratton being in it makes sense. That being said, I could go for more of Henley as she has a certain spark to her that would work quite well.

The dancing Wes Lee is back and has a list of things to accomplish, but here is Baron Corbin to interrupt. Corbin mocks Lee, who says Ilja Dragunov is going to beat Corbin up.

Bron Breakker says Von Wagner needs to be worried.

Dijak is ready for Tyler Bate.

Von Wagner vs. Bron Breakker

Mr. Stone is here with Wagner. The fight is on fast with Wagner slugging away and kicking him down on the floor. Back in and Wagner hammers away until Breakker knocks him away. The beating is on and Breakker grabs the Recliner, only to have Wagner drive him into the corner for the escape. A big boot gives Wagner two and it’s time to load up the announcers’ table. Breakker is back with a low blow though and it’s time to go after Stone. Wagner makes the save but gets taken down. The spear finishes Wagner at 5:28.

Rating: C. They did the right thing here by having it be a fight instead of a match as this is a personal feud. It was also right for Breakker to go over, as not only is he a bigger star than Wagner but he’s coming in at full strength. Not much of a match, but they beat each other up, as they should have done.

Post match Stone comes in with a chair shot to Breakker and the fans know pain is coming. Wagner makes the save and powerbombs Breakker through the announcers’ table.

Carmelo Hayes looks back at Trick Williams’ return last week but once again denies being the attacker. Williams wants answers tonight and Hayes will give them to him.

The Brawling Brutes walk the streets and say they grew up here, just like OTM. They’ll fight next week.

Elektra Lopez/Lola Vice vs. Roxanne Perez/Kelani Jordan

Hold on as here is Arianna Grace to say she wishes everyone luck. Lopez takes Perez down and grabs a quickly broken cross armbreaker. Jordan comes in to dropkick Lopez but a running hip attack in the corner cuts that off fast. A crossbody gets Jordan out of trouble and it’s back to Perez to pick up the pace. The villains come in for stereo hip attacks to the head but Perez is right back up. Jordan gets to come back in and clean house with Perez hitting Pop Rox on Lopez. With Perez taking Vice out on the floor, Jordan hits the split legged moonsault for the pin at 4:39.

Rating: C. This match had a fast pace but they didn’t exactly have much of a flow going on. It was a string of people being knocked down and getting right back up to do something else. Jordan gets the win to save some face as she seems to be moving up the ladder rather quickly around here. I could go for Perez having a more important feud though, as she hasn’t been doing anything significant as of late.

Post match Grace tries to announce the winners but gets jumped from behind by Karmen Petrovic.

Joe Gacy talks about anger issues.

Ilja Dragunov talks about how hard it was to beat Carmelo Hayes last week but now he’s waiting for Baron Corbin.

Corbin is watching in the back and mocks Dragunov, plus some tag teams who don’t think much of him.

Otis vs. Drew Gulak

All of their friends are here too. Otis shakes his way out of a headlock to start and powers Gulak into the corner. A missed charge sends Otis into the post though and Gulak grabs a triangle choke back inside. The powerbomb escape lets Otis escape with a powerbomb and a hard belly to back suplex drops Gulak again. Some spinning back elbows set up the Caterpillar and a jackknife finishes Gulak at 4:25.

Rating: C. This was little more than a “hey here’s a fan favorite in a short match” match and that’s perfectly fine. Otis has gotten over with his weird antics and he beat up someone who doesn’t do much around here. There is a good chance that we’ll see more from these guys and their friends and that might not be a bad idea.

Tiffany Stratton and Kiana James don’t like Roxanne Perez or Fallon Henley but they both know who is winning Iron Survivor.

Jacy Jayne is at Chase U when some mafia looking people bring in a letter for Andre Chase. With the mafia gone, Jayne opens it and sees something shocking but Chase comes in to take it away. Duke Hudson and Thea Hail come in but Jayne and Chase don’t say anything about what just happened.

Chase dismisses class (because this happened in front of a class) and after everyone leaves, he opens the letter and looks worried. So does the Family own the school or something? Vic: “Sounds like we may have a rematch next week for the tag team gold.” 1. How did he get that out of what we saw? 2. Hudson already said they Tony D’Angelo/Stacks would get a rematch.

Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Tyler Bate vs. Dijak

Bate goes right after him to start but Dijak nails a right hand. Some boots to the face (as in Bate grabs his own boot and swings it into Dijak’s head) stagger Dijak and Bate sends him to the floor for the big dive. Not that it matters as Dijak swings him over the barricade and we take a break.

Back with Bate hitting something like a fisherman’s superplex but walking into High Justice for two. Bate is fine enough to hit the airplane spin for two and they trade shots to the face. The rebound clothesline gives Bate two but Dijak launches him with a release suplex. Dijak goes up but gets flipped backwards…and sticks the landing, setting up the cyclone boot for two. Neither finisher can connect so Bate goes up, only to dive into Feast Your Eyes for the pin at 9:45.

Rating: B-. Match of the night here and that shouldn’t be a surprise. I like Dijak going over in something of a surprise, though again it wouldn’t shock me to see Bate finding a way into the match. For now though, you had Dijak’s pure power against Bate’s variety of stuff and it made for a good fight. They were laying it in near the end and that made things all the better.

The other legends who will make qualifying match picks: Lita, JBL and Jerry Lawler.

Here is Carmelo Hayes, who asks Trick Williams to come out here and talk about what is happening between them. Williams comes out and Hayes says that he understands what Williams is going through. Hayes talks about their history and says there is no him without Williams, who cuts him off. Williams says he did everything to make Hayes a star, with Hayes saying it worked.

That’s true, but Hayes was the only one winning. Where was Hayes when it was Williams’ turn to win? Williams seems to ask him about the attack but Hayes cuts him off and talks about how much he has praised Williams over the years. That sends Williams into a bit of a rant about Hayes not being there when Williams needs him. Williams didn’t see who attacked him but all he knows is he didn’t get his shot at the NXT Title.

Hayes is stuck on Williams not seeing who did it, so Williams flat out asks if Hayes did it. Hayes asks if Williams wants the truth….but here is Lexis King to interrupt. Williams and Hayes tell him to mind his own business, though King says it seems we know who did it. It might be someone else trying to make his name though, and King wants Williams to say what everyone else is thinking. Williams swings at King but hits Hayes by mistake. Vic: “He was aiming for King….wasn’t he?” Williams hugs Hayes, who doesn’t look happy to end the show. That added something, though I’m not sure how interested people are in King.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a bit of a mixed bag, as the wrestling wasn’t the best, but they covered quite a bit of stuff. We had a title match, a grudge match and some qualifying matches, all with the big Hayes/Williams deal at the end. It might not be the most important edition, but I want to see where these things go and that is a good sign on the way to Deadline.

Results
Noam Dar b. Akira Tozawa 2-1
Tiffany Stratton b. Fallon Henley – Prettiest Moonsault Ever
Bron Breakker b. Von Wagner – Spear
Roxanne Perez/Kelani Jordan b. Elektra Lopez/Lola Vice – Split legged moonsault to Lopez
Otis b. Drew Gulak – Jackknife powerbomb
Dijak b. Tyler Bate – Feast Your Eyes

 

 

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

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

AND

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

 




Daily News Update – November 7, 2023

Make sure you check out some recent reviews:

Survivor Series 2004 (2019 Edition)

Monday Night Raw – November 7, 2023


On The Card: WWE Announces Top Match For Survivor Series.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/card-wwe-announces-top-match-survivor-series/

He Would Know: Corey Graves On How He Believed Vince McMahon Would Fire Him On Live TV.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/know-corey-graves-believed-vince-mcmahon-fire-live-tv/

Double Shot: WWE Announces Two New Survivor Series Title Matches.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/double-shot-wwe-announces-two-new-survivor-series-title-matches/

On The Dotted Line: WWE Officially Promotes NXT Stable To Monday Night Raw.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/dotted-line-wwe-officially-promotes-nxt-stable-monday-night-raw/

That’s A Relief: Often Injured WWE Superstar Returns To The Ring Again.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/thats-relief-often-injured-wwe-superstar-returns-ring/

Battle Ready: WWE Announces Lineup For Survivor Series WarGames Match.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/battle-ready-wwe-announces-lineup-survivor-series-wargames-match/

Nope: Former NXT Star Not Returning To WWE, Signs With New Promotion.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/nope-former-nxt-star-signs-with-new-promotion-despite-wwe-discussions-about-possible-return/

 

 

As always, hit up the comments section to chat about what is going on and get on the Wrestling Rumors Facebook page and follow us on Twitter (featuring news stories written by ME).




Monday Night Raw – November 6, 2023: They Had A Good Show

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 6, 2023
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We are done with Crown Jewel and that means we have less than three weeks to go before Survivor Series. There were only so many major changes at Crown Jewel, but the biggest on the Raw side might be Sami Zayn stealing Damian Priest’s Money In The Bank briefcase before the cash-in could take place. Priest won’t be happy with that and we might have some fallout to deal with tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here is Crown Jewel if you need a recap.

Crown Jewel recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Seth Rollins to get things going. Rollins is very glad to still be the World Heavyweight Champion and he has some people to thank. First of all, he thanks Drew McIntyre for a great match and making him a bit better than he was before. McIntyre said that he was not in league with the Judgment Day and that was proven on Saturday. Other than that, Sami Zayn helped him cut off a cash-in attempt so if Sami is listening, get on out here.

Cue Sami, minus the briefcase, which Adam Pearce made him return. Rollins thinks he owes Sami something but Sami cuts him off, saying he was there to help prevent Judgment Day from becoming the Bloodline 2.0 because they hold all but one title around here (Gunther anyone?).

He will fight to prevent Judgment Day from taking over but Rollins says the reality is he runs Raw. Rollins appreciates that but he has gotten Sami a little thank you: a title shot anytime he wants. Sami says he wants to beat a champion at 100% but Rollins knows Sami isn’t at 100% either. Rollins tells him to just say when so let’s do it tonight. They shake hands and Rollins is in.

Judgment Day is NOT pleased.

New Day vs. Judgment Day

Non-title. Kofi jumps over Balor to start and sicks the landing on a monkey flip to up the early frustration levels. Everything breaks down and some stereo running flip dives take out Judgment Day in a big crash. Back in and Woods’ honor Roll gets two on Priest as we take a break. We come back with Woods hitting a missile dropkick and the double tag bringing in Kingston and Priest to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and a superplex into a top rope elbow gets two on Balor with Priest making the save. Balor Sling Blades Woods and the South Of Heaven into the Coup de Grace finishes Woods at 9:10.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure why you would burn through a match like this on Raw as it could easily be a major pay per view title match. Like them or not, New Day is one of the most successful tag teams in WWE history and can still hang with anyone around here. That could have been a big match and probably will be again at some point, but this is a weird way to use the first match.

Earlier, Drew McIntyre arrived and left.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Akira Tozawa

Nakamura strikes away to start but goes up and gets super hurricanranaed back down. The top rope backsplash hits knees but Tozawa snaps off another hurricanrana. Then Kinshasa cuts Tozawa in half for the pin at 2:31.

Post match Otis gets in Nakamura’s face, sending Nakamura bailing.

Video on Natalya.

Adam Pearce hypes up tonight’s four way Intercontinental Title #1 contenders match between the Miz, Bronson Reed, Ivar and Ricochet.

Seth Rollins assures Adam Pearce that he is ready for Sami Zayn tonight.

Miz vs. Bronson Reed vs. Ivar vs. Ricochet

The winner gets an Intercontinental Title shot at Survivor Series. Miz and Ricochet dropkick the monsters to start until Ricochet flips away and dropkicks Miz to the floor. Ivar is back up with a spinning kick to Ricochet but Miz is back in to break it up. Ricochet is draped over the ropes as Reed uses it as a springboard, which is enough to launch Ricochet into a hurricanrana to send Ivar back outside. The monsters crush the other two on the floor and then slam into each other as we take a break.

Back with Reed crushing Ivar in the back and going up, only to have Miz and Ricochet powerbomb both of them down. Miz is back in with a springboard crossbody and spinning DDT to plant Reed for two. Ricochet drops Miz for two but it’s Ivar coming back in with a splash for the save. The monsters drop Ricochet and Miz again before going up (gulp). Ivar’s moonsault hits Ricochet but Miz avoids Reed’s Tsunami, allowing Ivar and Miz to get the double pin at 13:43.

Rating: B-. They didn’t hide the fact that Miz was the likely winner here and that is ok. There is something funny about Miz being able to turn it up like he did here, as he was moving and working harder than usual. While I can’t imagine Miz taking the title from Gunther, he is a fresh challenger with a history of winning matches no one would expect him to win before.

Apparently Ricochet kicked out in time so only Miz wins and gets the title shot. Ivar drops Miz and gives him the moonsault anyway.

The Alpha Academy give Akira Tozawa a pep talk before his NXT Heritage Cup shot tomorrow. They’ll even be there live! Maxxine Dupri comes in and she’s ready to become #1 contender as well.

We look back at the Creed Brothers’ debut last week.

The Creeds and Ivy Nile officially signed with Raw earlier today when DIY came in to set up their match tonight.

Creed Brothers vs. DIY

Julius wrestles Ciampa down to start but Gargano comes in off a blind tag to double team Julius and take over. The Creeds are sent outside where they cut off stereo dives. DIY slips out of the counters but get dropped again as we take a break. Back with Ciampa cleaning house, setting up running kicks to the head in the corner.

Brutus Samoan drops Gargano so Julius can hit a standing shooting star, followed by Brutus’ standing moonsault for two. Gargano fights his way out of trouble and brings Ciampa back in to pick up the pace. Brutus breaks up Meet In The Middle though and cue Ludvig Kaiser to deck Gargano, allowing the Brutus Ball to connect for the pin at 9:39.

Rating: B. It might not have been quite as good as last week’s match against Alpha Academy but the Creeds seem to have proven themselves in two matches. DIY being kept somewhat protected is a good thing as well and now I’m curious to see where they go. While Judgment Day is tied up with the main event scene, if the Creeds run through another team or two, there won’t be anything left for them but going after the titles.

We look at Sami Zayn getting a title shot against Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber in Montreal earlier this year. Jey Uso cost him the match and Zayn wasn’t happy.

Jey comes in to see Sami and apologizes for what happened at Elimination Chamber. Sami says that was then and this is now so Jey gives him a pep talk. As for Jey, he and Cody Rhodes have a Tag Team Title shot next week.

Becky Lynch is ready to fight anyone at Survivor Series after she wins the #1 contenders battle royal tonight. Nia Jax comes in to say no one is throwing her out tonight, which will make her as happy as she has been since she broke Lynch’s face. Lynch laughs that off and says that after that, she went on to headline Wrestlemania while Jax got fired.

Chelsea Green, Piper Niven, Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark seem ready to win the battle royal.

Battle Royal

Nia Jax, Becky Lynch, Piper Niven, Chelsea Green, Shayna Baszler, Becky Lynch, Kayden Carter, Katana Chance, Natalya, Indi Hartwell, Nikki Cross, Zoey Stark, Ivy Nile, Tegan Nox, Raquel Rodriguez, Maxxine Dupri

Hold on though as Xia Li comes in to jump Lynch during her entrance, meaning Li isn’t going to be allowed to compete. After a break, Becky is out as well due to having no memory of what happened. Cross stands in the middle of the ring again as the bell rings, meaning she is tossed pretty quickly. Everyone else fights on the floor as Cross keeps blankly staring. Nox and Maxxine get together and dump Niven but the distraction lets Nia get rid of Maxxine.

Carter and Chance start double teaming Nia but can’t get her out so they switch to Rodriguez instead. That’s broken up as well so Carter, Nile and Chance all go to the apron, with Nile getting rid of both of them. We take a break and come back with Rodriguez and Natalya being sent to the apron but Green can’t get in a double noggin knocker. Instead Green and Natalya switch places, leaving Green to slap both of them. Rodriguez puts Green out and Natalya does the same to Hartwell. Nile dropkicks Natalya out as her nice debut continues. Jax is back in to run a bunch of people over and Nox is out.

Everyone gets together and goes after Jax for the big elimination (and a ROAR from the crowd). We’re down to Stark, Nile, Baszler and Rodriguez…but Jax pulls Nile out to blow off some steam. Baszler and Stark get rid of Rodriguez, leaving them to fight on the apron. The Kirifuda Clutch goes on but Baszler lets go before Stark can flip her to the floor. That leaves Stark to hit a DDT and knock Baszler out for the win at 15:57.

Rating: C. This went long but the relief when Jax was eliminated helped quite a bit. Stark getting a singles match is a fresh way to go and I could go for seeing what she can do in the spot. Other than that, Nile had a very nice debut and seems to be someone WWE wants to push. They could have cut the time down a bit here but what matters the most is getting Ripley a challenger and that was well covered.

Rhea Ripley is ready to face Zoey Stark at Survivor Series but Stark comes in to say she had Rhea beaten at Crown Jewel. Ripley hasn’t forgotten about her and says that while Zoey couldn’t beat one person, Ripley beat four at once.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

We look at John Cena getting beaten by Solo Sikoa and teasing retirement after.

Raw World Title: Sami Zayn vs. Seth Rollins

Zayn is challenging. Feeling out process to start before they go with the grappling. Zayn teases a shot to Rollins’ bad back but just taps it instead to play some mind games. Rollins is sent outside but avoids the dive, leaving them to go toe to toe. We take a break and come back with Rolling chopping away until Zayn hits a middle rope elbow for two.

Rollins fights up again and knocks him outside for a suicide dive. Back in and Rollins fires away with some running forearms in the corner, followed by a Swanton into a Lionsault for two. They head to the apron where Zayn can’t hit a Blue Thunder Bomb, but he can hit a backdrop to send Rollins crashing to the floor.

We take another break and come back again with the Stomp being countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Zayn suplexes him into the corner but the Helluva Kick is countered into a Pedigree for two more. The Stomp is countered into a Liontamer of all things, followed by a regular Boston crab. That’s reversed as well and Rollins small packages him to retain at 20:20.

Rating: B. This was a rather good V main event and they even got in a few teases of a title change. Zayn coming after the title is certainly interesting and seeing him going on a long road to FINALLY winning a World Title could make for a heck of a story. Rollins moving forward to whomever is next is a good way to go, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see the two of them involved in WarGames, likely against Judgment Day.

Post match Judgment Day runs in to jump Zayn from behind and Rollins takes a beating of his own. Jey Uso runs in for the save but gets beaten down as well until Cody Rhodes makes the save. Referees and Adam Pearce come in to break it up, with Pearce saying they can play games if they want. IN WARGAMES! The brawl is on again and Rhodes jumps onto the pile to put Judgment Day down to end the show. They didn’t have much time to set up Survivor Series but this is the match that has been all but ready for months now anyway.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a heck of a show with one good match after another. They covered a bunch of stuff for Survivor Series, with two title matches plus WarGames being set. Raw has to do a lot of things to keep interest going for three hours but they pulled it off here. Pretty awesome show this week and if they can keep up that momentum going into Survivor Series, we could be in for an outstanding show.

Results
Judgment Day b. New Day – Coup de Grace to Woods
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Akira Tozawa – Kinshasa
Miz b. Bronson Reed, Ivar and Ricochet – Rollup to Reed
Creed Brothers b. DIY – Brutus Ball to Gargano
Zoey Stark won a battle royal last eliminating Shayna Baszler
Seth Rollins b. Sami Zayn – Small package

 

 

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

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

AND

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

 




Daily News Update – November 6, 2023

Make sure you check out some recent reviews:

Crown Jewel 2023

Collision – November 4, 2023

Rampage – November 3, 2023

Survivor Series 2002 (2017 Edition)

Survivor Series 2003 (2018 Edition)

Impact Wrestling – November 2, 2023

Ring Of Honor – November 2, 2023


 

He’s Limited: Gunther Set To Miss Upcoming Major WWE Event, Reveals Reason Why.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/hes-limited-gunther-set-miss-upcoming-major-wwe-event-reveals-reason/

Rewritten? WWE Possibly Changes 40+ Year Old Title History.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/rewritten-wwe-possibly-changes-40-year-old-title-history/

LOOK: John Cena Heavily Hints At Retirement Following Loss At WWE Crown Jewel.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/look-john-cena-heavily-hints-retirement-following-loss-wwe-crown-jewel/

Get Back To Us: WWE Reportedly Canceled Vignette For Superstar Return On SmackDown.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/get-back-us-wwe-reportedly-canceled-vignette-superstar-return-smackdown/

They Blew It? Drug Angle May Have Wrecked Potential Wrestling TV Deal.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/blew-drug-angle-may-wrecked-potential-wrestling-tv-deal/

WATCH: An Injured Bryan Danielson Sets Up Major Match Against Former World Champion.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/watch-injured-bryan-danielson-sets-major-match-former-world-champion/

WATCH: Injured WWE Superstar Shares Recovery Update.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/watch-injured-wwe-superstar-shares-recovery-update/

Another One? WWE Reportedly Considering Bringing Back Another Former Star.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/another-one-wwe-reportedly-considering-bringing-back-another-former-star/

Never Before: First Time Ever Detail About WWE Crown Jewel Title Change.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/never-first-time-ever-detail-wwe-crown-jewel-title-change/

They Want Him: WWE, AEW, More Reportedly Set For Bidding War Over 30 Year Old Former World Champion.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/want-wwe-aew-reportedly-set-bidding-war-30-year-old-former-world-champion/

 

As always, hit up the comments section to chat about what is going on and get on the Wrestling Rumors Facebook page and follow us on Twitter (featuring news stories written by ME).

 




Ring Of Honor – November 2, 2023: They Get Better And They Get Worse

Ring Of Honor
Date; November 2, 2023
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Unvasvillee, Connecticut
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’ve had another Ring Of Honor title change on AEW TV and this time around it might actually matter. We might be seeing the new Six Man Tag Team Champions around here for once, though that will not be happening until next week at the earliest. Other than that, we have less than two months to go before Final Battle and that means it should be time to start getting things ready. Let’s get to it.

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

Stokely Hathaway announced that Eddie Kingston is suspended for attacking him. If he tries to touch Hathaway again, he’ll be fired. First: Kingston has wrestled two matches in Ring Of Honor since March so that’s not exactly a huge loss. Two: As long as Kingston has been away, Jerry Lynn has been away even longer and hasn’t been mentioned in the better part of ever.

Here’s a quick preview of what is coming.

Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal vs. The Righteous

Daniels and Dutch start things off with Dutch taking him into the corner for an overly clean break. As Ian gets in the required “the winners of this might be in line for a title shot”, Daniels sends him into the ropes for a running hip attack and it’s off to Vincent vs. Sydal. Vincent is quickly taken down and Daniels adds a running clothesline to the back of the head for two.

Something like a slingshot Meteora gives Sydal two but Vincent sends him into the corner. Dutch gets in a cheap shot from the apron and the villains take over. Vincent’s basement Downward Spiral gets two but Sydal avoids a charge. That’s enough to get over to Daniels for the tag into the house cleaning, with a Death Valley Driver getting two on Vincent. Everything breaks down and Sydal is sent outside, leaving Daniels to get caught with Autumn Sunshine for the pin at 7:24.

Rating: C+. Daniels and Sydal are not the most successful team these days but they are always good for putting someone over in a good match. The Righteous continue to be the resident creepy guys but they aren’t exactly going anywhere at the moment. Granted it might help if they had champions around for them to go after but that isn’t likely to be the case for a good while.

Ethan Page is ready for Josh Woods tonight but he also wants to get his hands on Tony Nese again. The old Ethan Page would get more violent but he’s trying to be a different version. He wants Nese to be watching tonight though because he’ll be thinking of hurting him very badly.

Robyn Renegade vs. Leyla Hirsch

Charlette Renegade is here with Robyn. Hirsch takes her down without much effort to start but Robyn hits some chops in the corner. That’s reversed for some rather hard forearms to the face but Robyn gets two off a faceplant. A rolling German suplex sets up Hirsch’s armbar for the tap out of nowhere at 1:43.

Post match Charlette comes in to jump Leyla but Rachael Ellering makes the save.

Lee Moriarty vs. Darius Martin

No Shane Taylor here after he helped Moriarty beat Martin last week. Moriarty works on a headlock to start but Martin takes him down for an early two. An elbow to the face lets Moriarty send him to the apron and a kick to the ribs makes it worse. Back in and Moriarty starts working on the arm before switching to an abdominal stretch.

Another arm snap seems to wake Martin up and he hits a bulldog into a kick to the head. Martin gets caught up top but misses something, setting up an arm trap neckbreaker for two. The Border City Stretch is countered into some rollups to give Martin two. A release German suplex followed by a frog splash gives Martin the pin at 7:39.

Rating: C+. This is what Ring Of Honor has been needing to do more often: have a match that ties into what they did last week. Moriarty vs. Martin isn’t exactly a red hot feud but they’ve got a little story going, which is a lot better than just random matches that lead nowhere. I’ll take what I can get from these two and they had another perfectly fine match here.

Final Battle ad. They’re hammering home the idea that the show is available for free with an Honor Club subscription which is a very good idea.

Josh Woods vs. Ethan Page

Mark Sterling is here with Woods. They fight over wrist control to start and can be heard conversing in the process. Page armdrags him into an armbar but Woods is right back by sending the arm into the corner. A hammerlock slam gives Woods two but Page gets in a shot for a breather. Cue Tony Nese to watch as Page hammers away and hits a big boot. The Ego’s Edge is blocked though and Woods snaps the arm over the rope to cut Page off. Page is right back with another shot but this time it’s a Sterling distraction to break up Ego’s Edge. Page grabs a small package but Nese turns it over so Woods gets the pin at 5:55.

Rating: C. This didn’t have the time to go very far but it keeps the Page vs. Sterling N Pals feud going. That being said, Page felt like he was on a roll and now he’s fighting Nese and company, which doesn’t feel like that interesting. Nese hasn’t been presented as anything all that impressive (despite being on the show so frequently) and I’ve lost a good bit of interest in Page since this feud began. Hopefully things turn around, but at least there is a story here and that is a lot better than nothing.

We look at the Mogul Embassy winning the Six Man Tag Team Titles on Dynamite.

Slim J vs. Gringo Loco vs. Angelico vs. Metalik

So Slim J and Loco were in a four way last week while Angelico and Metalik had a singles match so this is kind of a merger of two matches. The fans are behind Loco to start and it’s a brawl early on with J and Loco clearing out the other two. Loco sends J outside though and there’s the big running flip dive. Metalik dives onto the pile but Angelico breaks up a springboard.

Back in and Angelico suplexes J for two before cranking on J’s arm. Angelico grabs a nasty looking bridging leglock on J but Metalik makes the save and hits a reverse Sling Blade for two. Loco comes back in and gets caught with Metalik’s rope walk hurricanrana for two more. A series of covers and saves leaves everyone down until J hits Loco with Zack Ryder’s old Zack Attack for another near fall. Everyone gets another two until Angelico and J are the only two left. Angelico rolls J out of the corner and gets a wacky crucifix variation for the pin at 5:45.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t as fun as last week’s insane four way but dang it was entertaining while it lasted. Angelico gets to showcase a bit of his submission prowess, but that might have been better suited in another singles match as he’s getting ready for his World Title shot. Other than that, very fast paced match here and that’s a good thing to put onto a show, especially with this kind of talent.

Sonjay Dutt has known Jay Lethal and Eddie Kingston for a long time and knows the talent Lethal has always had. Kingston on the other hand is a garbage wrestler and here is Stokely Hathaway to say he wants to be there with Lethal beats Kingston. Hathaway will look into when the title match takes place. He’ll email Dutt so look for the Angelfire address.

Rachael Ellering vs. LMK

LMK is Little Mean Kathleen, a popular local star. They fight over wrist control to start until LMK’s running shoulder has no effect. Ellering’s shoulder works just fine, though the fans are not pleased. A gutwrench suplex (LMK screams) gets two but LMK manages a headscissors into the corner. LMK misses a Cannonball though and it’s an uppercut into the Boss Woman Slam to give Ellering the pin at 2:41. LMK certainly had some fire in there.

Wingmen vs. Gates Of Agony vs. Infantry vs. Iron Savages

The Wingmen come out first and keep trying to talk but the other entrances cut them off in a funny bit. We get a nice save from commentary as we’re told the Six Man Tag Team Titles are off being cleaned and polished (as this was taped before the title change). Boulder runs Avalon over to start but misses an elbow, allowing Avalon to get three straight near falls. It’s off to Dean vs. Kaun with the former charging into an elbow in the corner.

Toa sends Dean outside though and it’s back to Avalon as these tags are rather rapid fire. Nemeth’s pendulum DDT gets two on Dean but a clothesline gets him out of trouble. The tag brings in Bravo to clean house as the Gates drop to the floor to avoid tagging Avalon. Bravo hits a wind up DDT on Avalon but the Gates are back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and there’s Boot Camp to Nemeth. The Savages come back in and wreck the Infantry but the Gates tag themselves in and Open The Gates finishes Avalon at 6:24.

Rating: C+. This was similar to the four way from earlier as it was pretty much all action throughout. That’s a lot of fun and the Gates continue their roll, though I do wonder if the Six Man Title win will dethrone the whole thing. Otherwise it would seem to be building to the Gates winning the regular Tag Team Titles, which would at least be an improvement for the division. Either way, fun match here, as ROH seems to want to get as many people on these shows as possible.

We look at Mark Briscoe returning at Rampage.

Nick Comoroto vs. Lee Johnson vs. Action Andretti

Johnson and Andretti go after Comoroto to start and a low bridge sends Comoroto to the floor. The other two trade rollups for two each until Comoroto is back in for the save. Comoroto hits a DDT to Andretti and a one armed gorilla press to Johnson at the same time for an impressive crash. A missed charge doesn’t slow Comoroto down as he suplexes both of them at once. Comoroto gets knocked down though, leaving the other two to slug it out. That’s broken up by a double crossbody but Johnson is back up with a middle rope forearm. Andretti makes the save with a springboard missile dropkick though and pins Comoroto at 5:00.

Rating: C+. That’s quite the choice as Comoroto was looking like a monster throughout this whole thing. I’d assume this was to get Andretti back on the winning ways after his loss to Miro but if you’re going to have Comoroto look that dominant, just let Johnson take the fall. Another action packed match, but the lack of time hurt it.

Charlette Renegade vs. Kiera Hogan

Robyn Renegade is here with her sister. Charlette works on a headlock to start and then runs Hogan over. A flapjack gives Charlette two and we hit the camel, uh, face pull. Hogan is back up with a hip attack and a running dropkick in the corner for two of her own. Charlette gets a rollup with feet on the ropes for two but Hogan grabs Face The Music for the pin at 3:23.

Rating: C. Another short match here as Hogan gets a win despite not doing much lately. The Renegades have not been doing so well lately and they could use a win or two to give them a bit more value. For now though, there wasn’t much to this one but Hogan has improved a bit in recent months.

Rachael Ellering checks on Leyla Hirsch, who doesn’t want to see her. Ellering says no one else was there to help her but Hirsch seems to insist that Maria Kanellis-Bennett has her back. Hirsch says Ellering was wrong and leaves.

Workhorsemen/Cole Karter/Griff Garrison vs. Dalton Castle/The Boys/Gravity

Well this is something and Maria Kanellis-Bennett is here with the villains. Gravity (in a peacock mask) avoids Henry’s charge to start and gets two off a slingshot rollup. Karter comes in and gets elbowed down by Brent, who is powered straight into the corner. A dropkick hits Brent and it’s off to Drake to hit some hard chops.

The Workhorsemen strike away until Drake’s DDT gives Henry two. Brent avoids a charge though and the diving tag brings Gravity back in to pick up the pace. Garrison sends Gravity into the corner though and it’s the Workhorsemen getting to beat Gravity up for a change. That’s escaped with a few rolls though and it’s Castle coming back in to pick up the pace.

Suplexes drop the Workhorsemen and Castle gets to throw some Boys around. Hold on though as Gravity wants Castle to throw him around too, only for Henry to break it up. Drake runs Castle over but the Boys make the save. NOW Gravity gets thrown onto the Workhorsemen, setting up the Bang A Rang to finish Drake at 7:25.

Rating: B-. This was another match where what we got was fun but there was too much going on for it to really work. That being said, I don’t quite get how this is the best use of Castle. He’s still good in the ring and the fans love him, so unless his injuries are still bugging him, he should be a heck of a lot higher than being stuck in this kind of match. Gravity being the willing and enthusiastic partner worked well for him, but Castle felt a level above everyone else here.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Mercedes Martinez

Martinez, with Diamante, is challenging and there is no Billie Starkz to be found. Athena forearms away to start and they go outside, where Athena rips up a sign held by Martinez’s sister. They go back in, where Martinez hammers away in the corner but Athena flips out of a spider suplex. A baseball slide puts Martinez on the floor and there’s a suicide dive to send her into the announcers’ table.

Diamante offers the distraction though and Martinez scores with a right hand to take over. A chair is loaded up and Athena is laid on it, only to kick her way to freedom. Athena superplexes her off the barricade (that’s not something you see very often) and they both beat the count (after waiting around a bit so the referee can get to 19).

They strike it out with Athena getting the better of things until Martinez’s Saito suplex puts them both down. The O Face is broken up and the OG Drop gives Martinez two. Athena blocks the Brass City Sleeper with a bite of the arm though and one heck of a forearm puts Martinez down.

Now the O Face connects but Diamante offers a distraction. Athena takes her out as well and rips off a turnbuckle, only to have Martinez send her into the exposed steel. A fisherman’s driver gives Martinez two (that’s a bit much) but here is a woman in a hoodie to deck Martinez. That’s enough to set up the Wing Splitter to retain the title at 13:30.

Rating: B. Easily the match of the night here, even with the rather obvious Billie Starkz interference at the end. Other than that, the match was the kind of hard hitting fight you would expect from these two. Martinez is dangerous enough to feel like a threat to the title and that is what they needed here. This worked as a main event as the women steal another ROH show.

It’s Billie Starkz, who hands Athena the title as commentary treats this like a big heel turn to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show had it usual ups and downs, including some rather odd choices. First of all, the main event was rather good and it feels like they are stringing more stories together from week to week. The latter is very good as there have been too many one off matches that don’t go anywhere and rarely feel like they matter when the next show airs. Fixing that would give you more of an incentive to watch the next week’s show and that has been lacking for a long time.

At the same time, I’m not sure what was with all of the multi-person matches but my goodness it was overload this week. This week’s show featured a four way, a four way tag, a triple threat and an eight man tag, plus all of the regular matches. That’s 23 wrestlers in four matches, none of which got a significant amount of time. It was a good bit too much and felt like they were trying to get as many people on the show as possible without doing a battle royal of some kind.

Overall, it was a good enough show, but the longstanding underlying problem continues: there is way too much going on in any given show. There were multiple matches that could have been trimmed off of this show without losing anything overly important. The shows are too long and it takes away from the impact some things can make. This week’s show was good and had some improvements, but after a few weeks of shorter shows, that near two hour run time was a bit of a punch to the stomach.

Results
The Righteous b. Matt Sydal/Christopher Danielson – Autumn Sunshine to Daniels
Leyla Hirsch b. Robyn Renegade – Cross armbreaker
Darius Martin b. Lee Moriarty – Frog splash
Josh Woods b. Ethan Page – Small package
Angelico b. Slim J, Gringo Loco and Metalik – Crucifix to Metalik
Rachael Ellering b. LMK – Boss Woman Slam
Gates Of Agony b. Infantry, Wingmen and Iron Savages – Open The Gates to Avalon
Action Andretti b. Lee Johnson and Nick Comoroto – Springboard missile dropkick to Comoroto
Kiera Hogan b. Charlette Renegade – Face The Music
Dalton Castle/The Boys/Gravity b. Workhorsemen/Cole Karter/Griff Garrison – Bang A Rang to Drake
Athena b. Mercedes Martinez – Wing Splitter

 

 

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 – November 2, 2023: One Of Those Kinds Of Shows

Impact Wrestling
Date: November 2, 2023
Location: 02 Academy, Glasgow, Scotland
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re done with Bound For Glory and ready for a different kind of show after last week’s abridged version of the pay per view. This week’s show is also from the European tour, which should give us a bit of a different feeling. It’s also the go home show for Turning Point, which takes place tomorrow night. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Matthew Rehwoldt and Tom Hannifan welcome us to the show and apparently this is going to be clips of matches from the UK tour rather than a regular show.

Glasgow Cup: Joe Hendry vs. Frankie Kazarian

This is the finals of a one night four man tournament. Hendry (who beat Rich Swann in the first round as opposed to Leon Slater for Kazarian) says his future is bright but he needs to win this match to prove that he belongs. Feeling out process to start with Hendry grabbing a headlock and getting absolutely nowhere.

Kazarian takes him down into a front facelock but Hendry powers it into the corner for the break. Back up and Kazarian grabs a headlock takeover until Hendry powers up again without much effort. Hendry takes his time going up though and gets shoved out to the floor as we take a break.

We come back with Kazarian hitting the springboard spinning legdrop for two, setting up another front facelock. Kazarian cradles him for two and hits a clothesline but it’s too early for the chickenwing. That’s reversed into another suplex, followed by Hendry’s fall away slam. Hendry faceplants him into a cutter for two. Kazarian grabs Fade To Black for two of his own and they trade rollups until Hendry gets the pin at 12:57.

Rating: B-. This did what it was supposed to do: give the UK fans a moment as their star wins a meaningless prize and give Hendry one of the bigger singles wins of his career. They covered the wrestling portion of the show rather well as Kazarian continues to show that he is one of the best hands in all of Impact. Nice opener here and they covered a good bit with one match.

Scott D’Amore comes out to award Hendry the cup.

Deonna Purrazzo, Brian Myers and Moose are ready to take out Subculture.

Joe Hendry is happy with his win and wants more.

Subculture vs. Moose/Brian Myers/Deonna Purrazzo

Webster and Myers start things off and spend a good while posing at each other. Myers runs him over with a shoulder but gets armdragged down for his efforts. Everything breaks down and Luna flips both of them into moonsaults onto Myers for two. Purrazzo comes in and is promptly suplexed, allowing the tag off to Moose. Luna can’t quite power him around so it’s off to Andrews as we take a break.

Back with Moose crotching Andrews on top and Purrazzo comes in for a hard clothesline. Stomping ensues in the corner as Rehwoldt is NOT happy with the fans yelling at Myers. Purrazzo breaks up a tag attempt and Myers grabs a chinlock. Andrews finally fights his way to freedom and it’s Luna coming back in to pick up the pace.

Everything breaks down and a triple bomb out of the corner gets a collective two on Moose. Purrazzo Fujiwara armbars Luna until Andrews makes a delayed save. We hit the parade of strikes to the face and everyone is left laying. Andrews Stundog Millionaires Moose and the women crash out to the floor. That leaves Moose to spear Andrews for the pin at 15:43.

Rating: C+. Subculture has done a lot more than I would have expected after they left NXT UK. At the very least, the fact that they are still together and have found some success in Impact is impressive enough. While I can see how the fans might not be pleased at the UK team losing here, Moose and Purrazzo have title shots coming so other than pinning Myers, there wasn’t much of a way out here for Subculture.

Josh Alexander and Eric Young don’t get along but they’re ready for tonight’s main event.

Grado vs. Trey Miguel

Grado avoids a charge to start and dances around as the fans seem to approve. An early chinlock doesn’t get Grado very far so he shoulders Miguel over and steps on his back. Miguel sends him into the corner where Grado flips upside down and mocks him a little bit. This time Miguel sends him outside but Grado grabs an armbar and lets the fans get in some slaps.

Back in and Miguel hits an elbow to the face but Grado nails a Bionic Elbow. A superkick and moonsault give Miguel two, only to have Grado run him over again. The Wee Boot is blocked so Grado grabs a small package for two, followed by the boot connecting for the pin at 8:41.

Rating: C. Yeah sure. Grado is a big deal in the UK and while I’m not a big fan, it completely makes sense to put him here against someone who won’t be hurt by the loss. It’s another example of giving the fans something to cheer about as they’re going to like just about anything Grado does. This won’t hurt Miguel either so it was about as appropriate as you could get.

Eddie Edwards is ready for Will Ospreay at Turning Point.

Trinity vs. Emersyn Jayne

Non-title. Jayne is billed as the Mother Teresa of Workrate but Trinity kicks her down and drops a leg for two. Trinity’s sliding slap is blocked so she kicks Jayne in the head instead. Jayne is back up with the sliding German suplex to take over and a snap suplex gets two. A northern lights suplex gives Jayne two more but Trinity shrugs it off and hits the bulldog onto the middle buckle. The Rear View gets another near fall but Jayne plants her down for the same. That’s enough for Trinity, who kicks her in the head and grabs a Bubba Bomb into a rollup for the pin at 7:09.

Rating: C+. Jayne certainly had some charisma and will probably get noticed after this kind of a match. Trinity is at the top of the division and likely will be until at least Hard To Kill for the match with Jordynne Grace. Other than that though, this was a match where Trinity wasn’t in a ton of danger to lose. It was a nice way to get the champ on the show though and that is what mattered most.

We look at the whole UK tour.

Trinity is ready to beat Deonna Purrazzo for the last time at Turning Point.

Motor City Machine Guns vs. Josh Alexander/Eric Young

Shelley and Alexander start things off and we get a quick handshake. They fight over wrist control with neither being able to get very far. Shelley’s arm crank sends Alexander to the rope but the C4 Spike and Border City Stretch are both broken up. Shelley bails out to the floor so it’s off to Young and Sabin. More wrist battling doesn’t get either of them anywhere but it gets us to a break.

Back with the Guns knocking them to the floor but Alexander comes in to kick Shelley in the face. The front facelock goes on though Shelley is right back out. Alexander can’t get the ankle lock either so Shelley snaps off a dragon screw legwhip. The Guns take over on Alexander’s leg in the corner and another dragon screw legwhip gives Sabin two. We take another break and come back with Sabin still on the leg and the fans cheering for Young.

Stereo Figure Fours have the Canadians in trouble but both of them are broken up. Alexander gets a quick fisherman’s buster and the tag brings Young in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Alexander rolls some German suplexes but the C4 Spike is countered with a hurricanrana.

A running kick to the face gets two as Young makes a save. The missile dropkick/Downward Spiral combination hits Alexander for two but he’s back with a Sharpshooter on Sabin. The rope is grabbed so Sabin Cradle Shocks Alexander. Young is back in with the top rope elbow to Sabin but the lack of Young being legal lets Sabin kick out. Sabin is back with another Cradle Shock to Young for the pin at 20:23.

Rating: B. This felt like exactly what it was: a big time house show match that got a bunch of former World Champions in the ring in a match that you won’t see on a regular Impact. Young was there for no reason other than to take the pin and that is a fine role for him at this point in his career. The Guns can still go with just about anyone and they did well with the makeshift Canadians here.

Overall Rating: B-. It was a good show, but it’s just a house show that they taped and aired here. I get that they’re on tour and can’t do a usual TV, but we’re now two shows past Bound For Glory and don’t have anything resembling fallout. It’s not a problem yet, though if this kind of thing keeps happening, that will change in a hurry. The matches here were all at least decent, but it is absolutely not a show you need to watch in any way.

Results
Joe Hendry b. Frankie Kazarian – Cradle
Moose/Brian Myers/Deonna Purrazzo b. Subculture – Spear to Andrews
Grado b. Trey Miguel – Wee Boot
Trinity b. Emersyn Jayne – Rollup
Motor City Machine Guns b. Eric Young/Josh Alexander – Cradle Shock to Young

 

 

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

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