Impact Wrestling
Date: June 22, 2023
Location: Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

Things took a turn last week when #1 contender Nick Aldis laid out World Champion Alex Shelley. This adds quite the wrinkle to their upcoming Slammiversary title match and I’m curious to see how all of that goes. Other than that, Scott D’Amore is ready to get his hands on Bully Ray next month. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

OVE vs. Good Hands/Brian Myers

Before the match, Skyler says OVE stands for Ohio vs. Everything. Well he’ll take everything from tooth decay to an IRS audit over Ohio. Crist kicks Skyler down to start and hands it off to Callihan for a double spinebuster. Fulton comes in for a double chokeslam/World’s Strongest Slam combination (that was cool) to take the villains down.

A Myers distraction takes Crist down though and the Good Hands drop a double elbow for two. Myers comes in with a suplex for one and we hit the chinlock. Crist fights up so Skyler comes back in for a slam to cut it off again. A forearm finally gives Crist a breather and he nips up for the tag off to Callihan. Cue Moose to crotch Crist on top so Callihan and Fulton go after him. The distraction lets Myers hit the Roster Cut for the pin at 5:40.

Rating: C+. Rather formula based match here and the ending helps establish Moose and Myers as a team who could be something down the line. OVE feels almost like a blast from the past but they’re good enough for a spot like this. As long as they’re away from the Design, it’s kind of hard to complain that much.

Eddie Edwards comes up to talk to Frankie Kazarian and says Frankie can trust him tonight in their tag match. Kazarian doesn’t quite buy that so Eddie asks what he has to do. Eddie doesn’t need to worry about it but he swears on the grave of Killer Kowalski that he won’t do anything to Kazarian. That’s enough for Frankie, but he doesn’t seem completely convinced.

Sami Callihan is livid when Rich Swann comes up to him in the back. Callihan wants to know where Swann was and Swann says he was busy at Against All Odds. From now on, Swann has his back as his top priority. Callihan approves.

Here is Dirty Dango for a chat. Dango: “Man do I hate professional wrestling.” And that’s it before his match.

Dirty Dango vs. Bhupinder Gujjar

Dango shoulders him over to start and dances a bit, allowing Gujjar to come back up with a shoulder. Some dropkicks put Dango on the floor for a slingshot dive but the Gargoyle spear misses back inside. Dango hits a layout reverse DDT for the pin at 2:00.

Post match Dango grabs a phone and says something we can’t hear. Cue Santino Marella, with Gujjar sending Dango inside for the Cobra.

The Death Dollz run into the returning Nevaeh and aren’t sure if they should trust her. They don’t have much of a choice though, and it’s time to learn the parts of the story they don’t know. Courtney Rush loves an origin story….so the Dollz runs off without her.

Zicky Dice passes his test to become an official referee. The referee giving him his test treats it as a serious deal but Johnny Swinger gets rid of him. Swinger flat out says this is so he can cheat to get his fifty wins.

Mike Bailey/Jonathan Gresham vs. The Design

Gresham comes in off a very early blind tag to dropkick Angels in the back, allowing Bailey to kick him in the face. Kon comes in to wreck both of them though and Angels adds a half and half suplex. We take a break and come back with Gresham getting away to bring Bailey back in for the kicks to Kon. The bouncing kicks set up the kick to the head and a missile dropkick puts Kon down instead.

Kon is fine enough to muscle Bailey up from the mat for a slam though and the Design takes right back over. That doesn’t last long as Gresham comes in for the save, allowing Bailey to armbreaker Angels. With that broken up, Bailey moonsaults onto Kon on the floor. Back in and Bailey gets caught in a super Spanish Fly, but Deaner stops to yell at Angels. The distraction causes Angels to miss his frog splash, allowing Bailey to hit the tornado kick. The Ultimate Weapon finishes Angels at 9:28.

Rating: C+. This match did one important thing and that is getting us closer to the destruction of the Design. The team has LONG outlived its usefulness (which wasn’t much in the first place) and now they finally seem to be going away. Gresham and Bailey were good enough as a team, but I don’t need them becoming the next dream team to go after the titles.

Flashback Moment Of The Week: Magnus (Nick Aldis) beats Jeff Hardy in the Dixieland match to win the World Title on December 18, 2013.

Gisele Shaw and Gail Kim are going to be on the Amazing Race: Canada. We don’t have any clips or anything similar to hype it up, but it’s true.

Trinity isn’t happy with Gisele Shaw getting a Knockouts Title shot on the upcoming Australian tour but she’s fine with the Slammiversary match being a triple threat if it has to be. For now though, she’ll beat up Jai Vidal next week instead.

Nick Aldis has sent in a statement saying he won’t be here tonight due to fear of his own safety. Alex Shelley comes in and doesn’t buy it, saying he wants Aldis here. Aldis will be here next week so Shelley leaves, only to come back with a superkick when interviewer Jimmy Jacobs runs his mouth too much.

Taylor Wilde vs. Killer Kelly

Feeling out process to start and Kelly seems pleased with the thought of violence. A shot to the throat and a pump kick give Kelly two and a running kick to the chest drops Wilde again. King low bridges Kelly to the floor though and Wilde gets to kick away back inside. The surfboard goes on but is broken up just as fast, allowing Kelly to suplex her into the corner. They fight over a rollup for two each until Kelly pulls her into the Killer Klutch. That’s broken up as well so Kelly grabs a rollup for the pin at 5:08.

Rating: C. Nice back and forth match with Kelly getting a win for a change. I could go for her getting a stronger push as she has felt like someone who could go a lot higher rather quickly. For now at least she is getting a win and if she can find a partner, we could have some fresh challengers for the Knockouts Tag Team Titles. They certainly could use some new challengers so that’s certainly an idea.

Post match the beatdown is on but Masha Slamovich comes in to save Kelly. The villains bail and Kelly seems to approve.

We recap Scott D’Amore attacking Bully Ray last week, setting up the tag match with PCO and Steve Maclin at Slammiversary.

D’Amore says he is no longer the president so he takes off the fancy stuff before saying he isn’t what he once was. His prime, if he had one, wasn’t as good as Ray or Maclin, but he coached a lot of people over the years and is a five time Canadian Heavyweight Champion. He’ll break any rule or cross any line, and since he brought Ray into this company, it’s time he took him out. The sleeves are rolled up and now he’s ready for war. Good promo here, as D’Amore sounds like a man who has to do something.

Here is Joe Hendry to say….extraterrestrials have made contact with Earth. It makes sense to do it now because he is Digital Media Champion. Those aliens are trying to say the two most important words: WE BELIEVE.

Digital Media Title: Joe Hendry vs. Yuya Uemura

Hendry is defending and here are Kenny King and Sheldon Jean to interrupt. The former sits in on commentary as Hendry works on a headlock. Some armdrags have Hendry down, causing him to bow in respect. We take a break and come back with the camera on King before looking at Uemura fighting out of a chinlock. A belly to back suplex gives Uemura two but Hendry is back up to strike it out. Hendry rolls through a high crossbody and it’s the Standing Ovation to retain the title at 9:07.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to get very far as the break and then the camera sitting on King didn’t do it any favors. King vs. Hendry is fine for a likely title feud and it wouldn’t shock me to see King get the title. At some point he has to win something new and the Digital Media Title would work well. As for Uemura, he continues to be a completely fine hand in the ring, though he needs to actually win a few matches at some point before the impact fades.

Slammiversary and Australian shows rundown.

Bully Ray/Steve Maclin vs. Frankie Kazarian/Eddie Edwards

Alisha Edwards is here with Kazarian/Eddie. Maclin and Eddie start things off with Maclin dropping him off a running elbow. Eddie is fine enough to pull him over for a slingshot legdrop from Kazarian. Maclin sends him into the corner where Ray crotches Kazarian against the post and we take a break.

Back with Kazarian being knocked into the corner again as the slow being is on. A suplex gives Maclin two and we hit the reverse chinlock. With that broken up, Eddie comes back in to chop away and a double suplex drops Ray. Eddie’s suicide dive hits Ray and Kazarian’s slingshot hurricanrana takes Maclin down on the floor. Back in and Maclin knocks Eddie to the floor where Ray grabs a chair. Instead Ray chases Alisha off and it’s Maclin chinlocking Eddie again.

An Irish Curse gives Maclin two and Ray comes back in to punch him down. Eddie gets up and crossbodies Maclin for a double knockdown. The tag brings in Kazarian to pick up the pace as everything breaks down. Kazarian drops Maclin for two as Eddie and Ray come in (sans tags) to rake each others’ eyes. Ray shoves Eddie into Kazarian, who is right back with the chickenwing. Eddie is back up and accidentally superkicks Kazarian, allowing Maclin and Ray to hit a belly to back neckbreaker for the pin at 15:31.

Rating: B-. Nice enough main event here, and I kind of like having the teams who don’t like each other not being able to win their first match against each a team of former World Champions. Eddie vs. Kazarian should be a fun match at Slammiversary assuming that is the way they go. Other than that, we had a back and forth match with the action doing well, though it never quite got to that next level.

The winners are happy and the losers aren’t to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event helped but this show wasn’t quite up to the standards of the usual stuff they do around here. Slammiversary is about three weeks away and you can see a lot of the card from here, though that doesn’t make it the most interesting. The lack of Aldis after last week’s big turn didn’t help either and it wasn’t the most interesting offering as a result. It’s not bad, but more of a skippable show than usual this week.

Results
Brian Myers/Good Hands b. OVE – Roster Cut to Crist
Dirty Dango b. Bhupinder Gujjar – Layout reverse DDT
Jonathan Gresham/Mike Bailey b. The Design – Ultimate Weapon to Angels
Killer Kelly b. Taylor Wilde – Rollup
Joe Hendry b. Yuya Uemura – Standing Ovation
Bully Ray/Steve Maclin b. Frankie Kazarian/Eddie Edwards – Belly to back neckbreaker to Kazarian

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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Impact Wrestling
Date: June 15, 2023
Location: Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re done with Against All Odds and my goodness things went nuts. First of all, Alex Shelley actually won the World Title from Steve Maclin in a heck of a surprise. If that’s not enough for the Motor City Machine Guns, Chris Sabin won the X-Division Title from Trey Miguel, cementing them as maybe the best tag team Impact has ever had. Nick Aldis is waiting for Shelley at Slammiversary so let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Against All Odds.

Here are the Motor City Machine Guns to a heck of a reception. Chris Sabin talks about how he had a dream that the two of them went into Against All Odds and came out with the gold. Not tag team gold as you might expect, but instead he won the X-Division Title and Alex Shelley won the World Title. Then Sabin realized that it was a dream come true. Shelley: “Yup.” Shelley talks about how he ugly cried when he won the title because he was finally good enough to win the big one.

When he mentors someone, they become World Champions, like Kazuchika Okada, Trey Miguel, Kushida, the Young Bucks, Seth Rollins or Jay White. At some point though, it needed to be his turn and he had to prove it to himself. Now he can say he is a World Champion and he did it because of the fans, everyone in the locker room, everyone in New Japan, everyone in Ring Of Honor and people like Sabin. Shelley: “Ask me if I’m a World Champion.” Sabin: “My friend, my brother, are you a World Champion?” Shelley: “Yup.”

This is the Machine Gun Era, but here is Nick Aldis to interrupt. Aldis says the two of them did it at Against All Odds and he was one of those people who was there cheering for Shelley when it was his night. He’s proud of Shelley and yes, Shelley deserves the title. When Aldis first got here, he was drowning and was going to be on a list of “remember that guy” names. Then Shelley pulled him up, so you can add his name to the list of World Champions that Shelley mentored.

Aldis kept climbing though, and now it’s the two of them for the World Title, and no matter who wins, there will be a World Champion that this company will be proud of. As Shelley’s friend though, Aldis is going to do everything he can to make sure it’s him. Cue Trey Miguel to interrupt because he isn’t happy with the lack of respect. Sabin invites him in to say this to his face, but Miguel turns him down.

Cue Kenny King and Sheldon Jean, with King saying Miguel is the only one out here telling any truth. King accuses the three guys in the ring of jumping the line and getting a bunch of shots, so Sabin invites the other three in to see what happens. The villains come towards the ring but cue Gisele Shaw/Savannah Evans/Jai Vidal of all people to interrupt. Shaw says the spotlight should be on her and asks Shelley if he deserves all of this. Shelley: “Yup.” He thinks her problem is with Trinity so here is Trinity to interrupt.

Vidal threatens Trinity, who threatens him right back, so here id Deonna Purrazzo to interrupt. Purrazzo says she now has over 500 days as Knockouts Champions so she should be in the World Champion discussion. Trinity: “Until Slammiversary.” Cue Santino Marella to make the big ten person tag match for later tonight. This took about twenty minutes and it’s been happening more recently around here. Please don’t be the new norm, because it’s way too WWE instead of Impact.

Steve Maclin is livid about his loss and shouts that he should still be the World Champion. He shoves the camera away.

We look at Sami Callihan hitting Deaner in the face with a baseball bat and piledriving him onto a barbed wire board to beat him at Against All Odds.

Deaner wants to know who should be blamed for the Design’s loss. That would be Angels, who doesn’t like being bossed around this much. He has done everything Deaner has asked, and then Deaner (accidentally) hit him in the face with a baseball bat at Against All Odds. It was Deaner’s fault that they lost so the argument is on. Kon says this is exactly what Callihan wants so they need to get it together. Cool. Just do it on another show.

Moose vs. Rich Swann

Swann tries to move around to start but gets sent into the corner a few times. Some dropkicks stagger Moose a bit and a middle rope version staggers him even more. The low bridge sends Moose outside but he pulls a dive out of the air and powerbombs Swann onto the apron. Moose doesn’t let him go though and sends him into the barricade, followed by a toss powerbomb into the ropes.

We take a break and come back with Moose chopping away in the corner. Moose’s release Rock Bottom gets two and they head outside, where Swann ducks a chop that only hits post instead. Back in and Moose charges into a boot to the face, setting up a DDT to leave them both down.

Swann goes up top but gets superplex back down for a huge crash. We take another break and come back with Moose running the corner, only to dive into a cutter in some great timing. Swann’s Lethal Injection gets two but the middle rope 450 misses. The powerbomb gives Moose two but another spear is countered into a jackknife cover for the pin at 17:32.

Rating: B. These two were going back and forth and as usual, power vs. speed works well. It also helps to have this much extra time, allowing them to get things going more than usual. At the same time, it is a little strange to see Moose getting pinned clean, though I could go with more of Swann getting a singles push, as he is one of those recently untapped resources that Impact has.

On BTI, Heath took out Champagne Singh and Shera.

Heath talks about how he came here and then got hurt for 11 months. Then he had to save his best friend from a cult. Then Rhino got hurt, but then he came back and they won the Tag Team Titles. Now though, Rhino is hurt again, so he has to figure out what is next for him. Everyone is getting a wake up call.

Moose is annoyed when he runs into Brian Myers, who brings up Moose’s recent losses. Moose doesn’t want to hear this, but Myers offers to reform their team, which has Moose thinking.

Here is Bully Ray for a chat, complete with a piece of paper in his hand. Ray says he is a victim of the atrocious management around here, along with a victim of unnecessary violence at Against All Odds at the hands of Scott D’Amore. He is a victim of the system around here, and now he demands justice.

Cue D’Amore, with Ray demanding answers. D’Amore says when you’re a jerk to everyone, someone is going to be a jerk back. D’Amore mocks him for having a letter of complaint but reveals that he went before the board. They told him he was unbecoming of a president, which has Ray looking near stunned. Now all Ray wants is him to apologize, but D’Amore apparently has to take a leave of absence as president.

That’s music to his ears, with Ray saying D’Amore’s bosses screwed D’Amore over. Then D’Amore takes him down for some not so great right hands, which draws out Steve Maclin for the save. The beatdown is on, with Ray choking with a chair. The lights go out though and the lightning means it’s PCO time. A punch knocks the chair into Ray’s face and Maclin is knocked outside as well. Hold on though, as D’Amore has made one more match: a tag match between the four of them at Slammiversary.

Post break Maclin yells at Ray, who tells him to act like a Marine. Ray says that PCO (or maybe D’Amore) is just a man, but Frankie Kazarian pops up to say he’s a man who just beat them both up. Eddie Edwards (with Alisha Edwards) comes in to get between them and a match seems to be teased. With Ray and Maclin gone, Kazarian wants to know what is up with that. Eddie says they don’t like each other, but they’ll always have a bond, so they’re good. Kazarian (and Alisha) is confused but they’re at peace.

Decay vs. Bullet Club

Non-title. Austin gets taken into the corner for a kick to the head from Taurus and Steve gets in some hair pulling of his own. A kick gets Austin out of trouble but Taurus comes in sans tag and headbutts him down. Steve bites both champs but gets kicked out of the air for his trouble. Bey comes in and it’s the Art of Finesse into the Fold to finish Steve at 3:08.

Rating: C. I could have gone for more of this but that is the case with most of the matches the Club has these days. They really have gone into the area of being a great team, which is more than I was expecting when they were put together. This was shorter than it should have been, as Decay can put on a good match when they are given the chance, which isn’t the case in a match that barely breaks three minutes.

Post match the Club goes to the back and runs into the Motor City Machine Guns, with a showdown teased.

We get a preview of an upcoming documentary on Bhupinder Gujjar.

Gujjar is excited when Dirty Dango comes in to say no one would want to watch that. He’s assuming that Gujjar will sit around and hope that someone makes him a star. Gujjar calls him a bitter a****** and leaves. Dango: “I thought the backstage interview girls were supposed to be hot. No?”

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Trinity/Motor City Machine Guns/Nick Aldis/Deonna Purrazzo vs. Kenny King/Sheldon Jean/Savannah Evans/Trey Miguel/Gisele Shaw

Purrazzo and Shaw go to the mat to start and come up to a standoff with some trash talk. Shaw runs into an elbow to the face and Trinity comes in to unload with forearms. Shaw drives her into the corner though and it’s Evans coming in for some slams. Trinity breaks that up and Purrazzo comes back in for a Fujiwara armbar. Shaw’s save is cut off by Trinity with Starstruck but Miguel makes a save.

We take a break and come back with Aldis fighting out of King’s headlock. Sabin comes in to forearm Miguel and twists Jean’s knee across the middle rope for a bonus. Miguel sends Sabin into the corner and Jean’s knee is fine enough to come in for some elbows to the chest. Sabin is sent outside for a big group stomping, with Sabin’s partners being held back by the referee.

Back in and King stays on Sabin’s arm, allowing Miguel to come in for a front facelock. King cuts off a comeback attempt but a middle rope tornado DDT plants King for a breather. Shelley gets the hot tag and picks up the pace, including an overhead belly to belly to Miguel. A super atomic drop has Miguel gyrating quite a bit so Shelley pulls him into the Border City Stretch. Everything breaks down and King kicks Shelton by mistake. Aldis gives King a Michinoku Driver and Shell Shock finishes Jean at 18:38.

Rating: B-. This was a long match and at the end of the day, all that mattered was getting Shelley a win. Shelley got his big moment earlier in the night and he gets a pin as champion here. The Trinity vs. Purrazzo match is already set, though adding Shaw in wouldn’t be a crazy idea given what they have been doing. At the same time, another Miguel vs. Sabin match, maybe in something like Ultimate X, would fit in nicely at Slammiversary as well. All in all, there was a lot going on here, but it could all be setting up things for later.

Post match Aldis holds the title up to Shelley….and then blasts him with it to turn heel and end the show. That’s going to be better for him, as the respectable former champion was only so good.

Overall Rating: C+. They went in a rather different direction here with some LONG talking segments and only three matches. There was a lot of television time given to the matches and there were ten people in the main event, but it was like bunching several things together in some big lumps. I’m hoping that this isn’t the new norm as it’s not bad, but it’s not as good as it was before. Go with more acting and less talking, as it suits Impact a lot better. The Machine Guns era is off to an ok start, but they might be going in a shaky direction.

Results
Rich Swann b. Moose – Jackknife rollup
Bullet Club b. Decay – Fold to Steve
Motor City Machine Guns/Nick Aldis/Trinity/Deonna Purrazzo b. Gisele Shaw/Savannah Evans/Trey Miguel/Kenny King/Sheldon Jean – Shell Shock to Jean

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: June 8, 2023
Location: Western Fair District Agriplex, London, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

Somehow this is the go home show for Against All Odds, despite being less than two weeks removed from Under Siege. The main event of tomorrow’s show will see Steve Maclin defending the World Title against Alex Shelley, so odds are the hard push is on tonight. Other than that, Bully Ray is still the big bad and needs someone to come after him. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Chris Bey vs. Jason Hotch

Ace Austin, Brian Myers and John Skyler are here too. Before the match, Myers and Skyler promise that after Against All Odds, the Tag Team Titles will be in good hands. Hotch tries a rollup to start but gets suplexed down for his efforts. Bey chops away in the corner but a springboard is countered with a shove over the top to the floor. Back in and Bey hits a backdrop before kicking him in the head. The Art of Finesse is countered into a heck of a Blue Thunder Bomb to give Hotch two. Bey is back with a kick to the face but Hotch tries la majistral. That’s fine with Bey, who stacks him up for the pin at 7:36.

Rating: B-. The word I think of when I see a Bey match is “smooth”. He can make anything he does in the ring look good and that was the case again here, as he and Hotch got to go out there and do their thing for a bit with nothing looking bad. The title match should be good as well and I could go for more of any combination of these guys.

Post match the beatdown is on, with the champs being left laying.

Heath is back and ready for the 8-4-1 match. Tonight, he’ll take out Champagne Singh to get ready for tomorrow.

Dirty Dango talks about how he has money now and doesn’t need to be the dancing clown again. He doesn’t like wrestlers texting him but he’ll happily take money to not show up. The idea of shaking hands with sweaty awkward 18-35 year old men in some armory somewhere sounds like ALL KINDS of fun. A 5X Dirty Dango shirt won’t cover up the smell so take a shower ok? He doesn’t care about winning the Digital Media Title. If he wins it, he’ll list it on eBay and use the proceeds to go to Hawaii. With a girl. This stuff is glorious.

Champagne Singh vs. Heath

Shera is here with Singh. Heath takes him into the corner for some forearms to start but Shera offers a distraction. That lets Singh snapmare him into the ropes to start banging up the ribs, giving Singh a target. Heath slips out of a powerbomb and hits a powerslam, setting up the Wake Up Call for the pin at 2:51.

The Design promises war with Sami Callihan, Jake Crist and whomever else they can find. Yeah yeah blood and violence and carnage and all that good stuff.

Here is Joe Hendry to say he’s ready to face the man who broke his nose, Sheldon Jean. That would be the reality star under the tutelage of another reality star, Kenny King. It isn’t that simple for Jean, especially because we believe.

Joe Hendry vs. Sheldon Jean

Non-title and King is here with Jean. Hendry takes Jean down fast to start but a King distraction lets Jean get in a kick to the face. We take a break and come back with Hendry powering out of a guillotine choke and hitting a suplex. The fall away slam looks to set up the Standing Ovation but King offers a distraction. Not that it matters as a powerbomb sets up the Standing Ovation finishes Jean off at 7:32.

Rating: C. Jean meets the description of a good hand and that should be enough to keep him on the roster for a long while to come. Eventually he’ll get a win or two and that is all he needs to make him a bit of a star. Hendry on the other hand has so much charisma and now he is backing up up with a better look and the ability in the ring.

Post match Hendry calls out Dirty Dango, who appears to say that he hates pro wrestling. He’ll pass on the fighting (it’s his day off), but Hendry has a new video about Dango, who seems to have lost his mind. Hendry plans to figure out what happened to make Dango nuts, sending us into a hilarious history of Dango’s career (he started by pinning Chris Jericho 1-2-3, then he was impersonating a cop with Breeze, then he couldn’t get laid on Total Divas). With the song over, Jean and King jump Hendry but Santino Marella comes out to make the save with the Cobra to Jean. Those songs are AMAZING and this was great again.

Gisele Shaw and company brag about taking out Jordynne Grace and think it should be a warning to Trinity. This is her house, and rent is due. Revenge is sworn at Against All Odds.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Death Dollz vs. The Coven

The Coven is defending. Wilde can’t do much with Jessicka to start so it’s off to Rush, who yells at King during the staredown. Rush takes her down but gets sent into the corner so King can take over. A swinging suplex gives King two but Rush gets over for the tag to Jessicka. That’s fine with Wilde, who sends her into the corner to take over as well as the Dollz can’t keep anything going here. Jessicka clotheslines her way to freedom and brings Rush back in to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and King gets in a cheap shot to Rush, setting up a big boot/spinebuster to retain at 6:25.

Rating: C. As usual, the lack of depth in the division causes problems around here, as it’s hard to get around the fact that the division is the champs and whomever they are defending against at the moment. This should get rid of the Dollz for the time being, but who is there left for the Coven to face? I’m sure some wrestlers will be thrown together, but that doesn’t help the underlying problem.

Video on Alex Shelley becoming #1 contender and finally getting his World Title shot last August. Now he knows what it takes to come up short and that was a learning experience. We hear about the wrestlers that Shelley has mentored or influenced over the years but when is it about him? It doesn’t need to be this week, but Shelley almost has to win the title, just based off of how it has been built up.

Steve Maclin talks about all of the wrestlers who want the title but Bully Ray interrupts. Ray says he likes Maclin, who just won’t listen. Don’t worry though, because he won’t come for Maclin’s title until Slammiversary.

Killer Kelly vs. Masha Slamovich in a Dog Collar match is set for Against All Odds.

Bhupinder Gujjar vs. Trey Miguel

Non-title. Gujjar takes him down to start but Miguel hits a kick to the face. With Miguel on the floor, Gujjar loads up a dive, which is knocked out of the air. Back in and a slingshot splash sets up a Lionsault to give Miguel one. Gujjar knocks him down again but misses a frog splashes, allowing Miguel to kick him down. Miguel misses what looked to be a top rope double stomp but comes right back with the Lightning Spiral for the pin at 5:19.

Rating: C. This was just a quick “Trey Miguel is great” win before he defends the title again tomorrow. Miguel is getting pretty high up there with some of the records and it’s pretty awesome to see him doing so well. If nothing else, having someone with a consistent track record holding a title is a good thing, and I’d like to see Miguel move up a bit after losing the title.

Post match Miguel says he doesn’t respect Chris Sabin and declares himself the a different kind of champion. He promises that tomorrow, he’ll win again and there will be no “yeah but’s” this time around.

Johnny Swinger brags about how great he is in the ring and talks about his daddy, Donny Swinger, telling him “Swing Sonny”, sometimes it’s time to pass the heat onto someone else. Like Russo! Either way, he blames “crooked referees paid off by Gene Simmons and Bob Seger”. That’s why he’s going to have Zicky Dice become a referee, and then he’ll have a strap around his waist. This man is a genius.

Trinity and Deonna Purrazzo are ready to fight at Slammiversary, but they’re ready to fight Gisele Shaw and Savannah Evans tomorrow night too. It’s too bad that Jordynne Grace is out of action indefinitely, but this is a dangerous business.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Moose/Rich Swann vs. Jonathan Gresham/Nick Aldis

Swann and Gresham start things off with Swann kicking him in the face. Aldis comes in and gets caught with a headscissors but ducks an enziguri. The King’s Lynn Cloverleaf is blocked though and it’s Moose coming in. Moose misses a charge and gets punched in the face before Aldis grabs an armbar.

We take a break and come back with Gresham hitting Moose in the ribs, allowing Gresham and Aldis to start working on the arm. Moose powers Gresham away though and it’s Swann coming back in for a rolling splash. It’s back to Moose for a heck of a whip into the corner to leave Gresham grabbing his chest, followed by a near chop to tag Swann back in.

A quick taunt of Aldis is enough for Gresham to be pulled back into the wrong corner. He slips out of what looked to be a powerbomb though and the diving tag brings in Aldis to pick up the pace. Moose gets dropped so Aldis’ top rope elbow can get two but it’s a double clothesline to put both of them down. Everything breaks down and Swann’s Lethal Injection gets two on Gresham. It’s back to Moose off a blind tag though and a powerbomb finishes Gresham at 13:31.

Rating: B-. This was a nice preview of the 8-4-1 match and that’s all it needed to be. We could be in for some interesting combinations in the match so throwing together a random tag match like this is what makes sense. Aldis continues to look good in his comeback and Swann/Gresham are both capable of doing whatever they need. Moose hasn’t been featured as much recently so this was a nice return to form.

Post match the brawl is on again, with Heath running in to help take Moose out. Aldis and Heath brawl to the floor so Swann loads up a dive, only to get caught by Bully Ray. PCO runs in for the slugout and hits the big dive through the ropes, allowing him to stand tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Impact was in a really weird spot this week as they had two regular shows to build up the next monthly special. That isn’t a ton of time and they more or less opted to just go as fast as they could without going too in-depth with much of anything. Instead they had two good matches and some other stuff in the middle that worked out well enough. Tomorrow’s card has potential and I could go for seeing what they have in store. Things can get back to normal next week, and if the last few weeks are any indication, we should be in for a very nice build to Slammiversary.

Results
Chris Bey b. Jason Hotch – Rollup
Heath b. Champagne Singh – Wake Up Call
Joe Hendry b. Sheldon Jean – Standing Ovation
The Coven b. Death Dollz – Big boot/spinebuster combination to Rush
Trey Miguel b. Bhupinder Gujjar – Lightning Spiral
Moose/Rich Swann b. Jonathan Gresham/Nick Aldis – Powerbomb to Gresham

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 18, 2023
Location: Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re almost up to Under Siege and things have started to get all the more interesting around here. Above all else, Steve Maclin has to defend the World Title against PCO, but might also have Alex Shelley to worry about either before or after. Other than that, Trinity has an open challenge for the show and is going to need an opponent. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Trey Miguel vs. Laredo Kid

Non-title. Kid takes him down without much effort to start but they’re right up with a standoff. Back up and Kid sends him outside for the big running dive as Miguel can’t get much going here. Miguel finally uppercuts his way out of trouble and hits a basement dropkick for two back inside. Some slow kicks to the head seem to wake Kid up, meaning it’s a Michinoku Driver into a not so great looking bottom rope moonsault.

The middle rope moonsault to the back gets two but Miguel kicks him away again. A running flip DDT plants Miguel again though and something like a reverse Koji clutch keeps him down. With that broken up, Miguel flips over him and hits a basement dropkick to the back of the head for two more. A loud enziguri sets up a missed Lightning Spiral, only to have Miguel pull off the mask. That’s enough for a rollup with tights to give Miguel the pin at 8:54.

Rating: B-. This was what you would expect from these two as Miguel is one of the more dependable stars in Impact these days and Kid has always been worth a look. That being said, I really could go without seeing the “HE RIPPED OFF THE MASK” for a very long time. It comes off like the emergency exit for a match involving a masked wrestler these days and just feels uncreative.

Post match Miguel insults the crowd and says it’s time to get some respect on his name. Actually, Miguel wants it so much that he is holding this show hostage until he gets his respect. We take a break and come back with Miguel still in the ring until Chris Sabin, the #1 contender to Miguel’s X-Division Title, interrupts. Sabin talks about how Miguel needs to give respect to get it back, and he didn’t give any respect when he defaced the title.

It was disrespectful to everyone who who has held that title before. Sabin is an eight time X-Division Champion and a former World Champion, so at Under Siege, he is taking the title and giving it the respect that it deserves. Now get out of his ring, which Miguel does. This made the title match feel that might more important and that is a great thing, as the X-Division Title rarely gets this much attention.

Trinity is warming up when Jai Vidal interrupts. Gisele Shaw isn’t happy with her, but Trinity says come do something about it face to face. Shaw is injured but will be back next week, where Trinity will be waiting.

Rich Swann and Sami Callihan talk about their history together. They started at a small independent promotion in Philadelphia and became friends. Sure they fight from time to time, but people as close as they are will always come back together. We see some of their fights over the years and Sami says he’ll still call Swann the best wrestler in the world.

Ace Austin vs. Jason Hotch

Chris Bey is here with Austin and Brian Myers/John Skyler are here with Hotch. Before the match, Myers and Skyler threaten Austin for going after one of the Good Hands. They go technical to start with Hotch working on a headlock before running Austin over. That doesn’t seem to bother Austin, who rolls out and kicks him in the back.

A hip toss and armdrag have Hotch in trouble, setting up a jumping legdrop for two. Austin grabs a headscissors, sending Hotch over to the ropes rather quickly. Back up and Hotch sends him throat first into the rope to take over and we take a break. We come back with Austin hitting a running forearm in the corner, only to get caught with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two.

Austin fights up again and looks to set up the Fold but Myers’ distraction lets Skyler pull him to the floor. Bey takes Skyler down but Hotch catches Austin with a Spanish Fly for two. Back up and Myers gets in a cheap shot from the floor, allowing Hotch to grab a rollup for the pin at 11:32.

Rating: B-. Hotch is someone who you haven’t seen much from around here but he actually does live up to the Good Hand moniker. The Hands should be fine enough for an upcoming title shot as Myers is just enough of a threat to make you think that the titles could change hands. Another good match here, as this show is doing rather well so far.

Steve Maclin thanks Champagne Singh and Shera for taking out Heath last week. He needs them to prove their worth again though and it is time to do it right now. Come with him.

We look back at the Coven retaining the Knockouts Tag Team Titles over Jordynne Grace and Deonna Purrazzo last week.

Grace wants to be the face of this division so she wants no doubt when she beats Purrazzo. Alisha Edwards comes in to say she doesn’t believe anything Grace is saying. Grace took Purrazzo out last week on purpose…but the threat of a right hand sends Edwards bailing.

Trinity vs. KiLynn King

Taylor Wilde is here with King. An early kick to the face staggers King and the threat of the Rear View sends her to the apron. Back in and a kick to the head rocks King, setting up the splits splash for two. King finally fights back and ties her in the ropes, setting up a kick of her own to rock Trinity for a change. A backslide attempt doesn’t work for Trinity and King blasts her with a clothesline for two.

King slowly hammers away and hits a high collar suplex, followed by alternating rope choking. Trinity fights back up but gets crotched n top by Wilde, which is enough for an ejection (not a DQ, but an ejection). A high crossbody hits King and a good looking top rope Blockbuster gives Trinity two more.

King is right back with a powerslam for two of her own but Trinity sends her into the ropes. Something like a jumping hanging Pedigree (minus the double underhook) gives Trinity two but King grabs an AA for the same. Trinity knees her in the face though and pulls King into Star Struck (the reverse Rings of Saturn) for the tap at 10:31.

Rating: B. This was a lot of trading moves but they were rocking by the end and while there was almost no way that Trinity was losing, the near falls had me wondering how this was going to end. They did a great job of pulling me in here and the fans seemed rather invested. If nothing else, it showed that Trinity can still go after such a long time away from the ring, which is exactly how you need to get things started. Very good stuff here and they were working hard throughout,.

Post match Jai Vidal interrupts and says everyone knows who Gisele Shaw is. Shaw has a message for her: she accepts the challenge for Under Siege and Vidal goes to slap her. That’s broken up with a twist of the hand and a kick to the head, with Trinity accepting the acceptance.

Steve Maclin, Champagne Singh and Shera jump PCO and beat him down backstage. They put some cement blocks on his back and crush it with a sledgehammer, leaving PCO screaming.

Jessicka is waiting on Rosemary to get back from the Undead Realm when the Coven interrupts. They offer to open the door to the Realm but Rosemary has said they aren’t powerful enough. King (who looks fine after a hard hitting match that absolutely took place right before this took place) says Rosemary isn’t always right and the Coven seems ready to open the door.

Jody Threat vs. Sierra

Threat kicks her into the corner to start and fires off some clotheslines. The release northern lights suplex drops Sierra again and a top rope seated senton makes it worse. Threat grabs a German suplex and finishes with the F416 finishes Sierra at 2:25. They’re certainly trying with Threat so points for pushing someone new.

Eddie Edwards comes up to see Frankie Kazarian before their six man tag. Edwards says follow his lead tonight, with Kazarian agreeing, though he hopes it goes better than Honor No More.

Dirty Dango clears Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice of attacking Santino Marella because they’re too stupid to figure it out. They accuse Joe Hendry, who pops in, with Dango asking if that’s true. Hendry denies it, but says he’s a champion and therefore moving on from all of this. Dango doesn’t like that and gets his shirt ripped open, revealing MISSING CHEST HAIR! Dango tries to deny it….but yeah he did it. Dango: “Case closed bro.”

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Frankie Kazarian/Moose/Eddie Edwards vs. Yuya Uemura/Jonathan Gresham/Alex Shelley

This is everyone in the Under Siege #1 contenders match. Shelley cranks on Eddie’s arm to start before it’s quickly off to Uemura vs. Moose. Uemura armdrags him into an armbar before it’s off to Kazarian to headlock Gresham. Edwards comes back in to headbutt Gresham, only to have Shelley come in off a blind tag to take out the leg. Everything breaks down and Shelley and company clear the ring as we take a break.

Back with Uemura suplexing Eddie and getting over for the tag to Shelley. Shelley comes in to start taking over on Eddie, who enziguris his way out of trouble. Kazarian hits a leg lariat for two on Shelley and hands it back to Moose, who isn’t happy with this. The slow, alternating beatings continue until Shelley goes after Eddie’s bad knee. The Boston Knee Party gets Eddie out of trouble but Shelley knocks him down again, allowing Uemura to come in and clean house.

A suplex gets two on Eddie but he’s right back with the Blue Thunder Bomb for the same. Moose cuts Uemura off with a Randy Orton backbreaker, followed by a standing powerbomb for two. Uemura kicks his way out of trouble though and brings Gresham back in. Moose’s powerbomb is broken up and Gresham rolls him into a failed ankle lock attempt. Gresham cranks the leg out anyway and victory rolls the now legal Kazarian for two.

Shelley comes back in and gets clotheslined, followed by the running forearm. The slingshot DDT gives Kazarian two but Shelley drops Kazarian and Edwards at the same time. Kazarian Backstabs Uemura but gets suplexed hard by Gresham. Uemura dives onto Moose at ringside and we settle down to Shelley Shell Shocking Edwards for the pin at 20:21.

Rating: B. The solid wrestling show wraps up with a solid six man as Shelley gets some momentum built up for Under Siege. This was a bunch of stuff that kept going until the end with Eddie’s knee injury being the main focal point. Other than that, it was a great way to get a bunch of people some shine at the same time, while being unique enough that it felt worth seeing.

Overall Rating: B+. This is the kind of show that you do not get very often and it was a very special watch. It was two hours of awesome wrestling and storylines being advanced. I had a really good time with this show and there was nothing bad throughout. They even had a lack of Design for a bonus. Rather great show here and one of the best Impacts in a long time.

Results
Trey Miguel b. Laredo Kid – Rollup with tights
Jason Hotch b. Ace Austin – Rollup
Trinity b. KiLynn King – Starstruck
Joey Threat b. Sierra – F416
Yuya Uemura/Jonathan Gresham/Alex Shelley b. Frankie Kazarian/Moose/Eddie Edwards – Shell Shock to Edwards

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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Threemendous II
Date: July 31, 2009
Location: American Legion Post #308, Reseda, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Joey Ryan, Human Tornado, Chris Hero, Rick Knox, Chuck Taylor, Colt Cabana

This is the sixth year anniversary show from Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and that means we should be in for a big card. The more PWG I see, the more fun I tend to have, though they did get better as time went on. This is still relatively early in their history so things might still be a bit shaky. Let’s get to it.

Colt Cabana and El Generico are in the back, with Cabana saying Generico’s English and Spanish are both terrible. Cabana tells him to cut a promo on someone who isn’t good, so -Generico stumbles through some very broken promos on Kenny Omega and Chuck Taylor. At Cabana’s prompting, Generico talks about wanting to relieve himself in their ears and eat their children. They both crack up as Generico says he thinks that was a muy good promo. Generico continues to be hysterical.

Cutler Brothers/Charles Mercury vs. LTP/Brandon Gatson/Johnny Goodtime

Before the match, LTP busts out an NES Track & Field Power Pad for a bit of a warmup. The Cutlers and Mercury work out a bit during their Big Match Intros as the fans certainly seem to like Goodtime. Gatson is described as a newcomer and Robinson has to be held back before the bell, which Excalibur describes as “engaging in some homoeroticism”. Dustin Cutler and Gatson start things off, with Dustin backing him into the corner to start the triple teaming.

A double shoulder drops Gatson as Joey Ryan does NOT want to talk about his title match in tonight’s main event. Gatson fights back with a corner clothesline and it’s Goodtime coming in for a basement dropkick to the side of Mercury’s head. Commentary goes into a variety of movie and book spoilers as LTP dropkicks Mercury into the corner for a running corner dropkick.

It’s back to Goodtime, who takes Brandon Cutler down for a slingshot dropkick to the side of the head. A quick low bridge sends Goodtime crashing out to the floor and the good guys are in trouble fast. Goodtime gets triple teamed, setting up Dustin’s chinlock as commentary talks about X-Men comics. Mercury drops a bottom rope knee before grabbing a reverse chinlock to keep Goodtime in trouble.

Goodtime kicks away and enziguris his way to freedom, allowing Gatson to come in and clean house. Dustin cuts off Gatson’s handspring elbow and the Cutlers chop away at Gatson in the corner. A slingshot cutter gets Gatson out of trouble, allowing Goodtime to dive onto Dustin (with a nasty crash). LTP springboards off Gatson’s back for the huge dive, setting up Gatson’s Sasuke Special onto everyone.

Back in and Goodtime Falcon Arrows Brandon Cutler….for no count as the referee says he isn’t legal. Excalibur: “What the h*** are you doing???” Eh ok point for a funny line. Goodtime hits a top rope double stomp to the back of Brandon Cutler’s head as everything breaks down. Dustin hits a heck of a swinging Downward Spiral on Gatson and Brandon plants LTP with a German suplex.

Everyone is down until it’s LTP getting up top, only to have his high crossbody caught by the Cutlers. One heck of a double fall away slam sends LTP flying but Goodtime dropkicks both Cutlers down. They’re right up though and grab a wheelbarrow Codebreaker combination, setting up a running spike Tombstone to finish LTP at 16:49.

Rating: B. This was the “let everyone go nuts” match and it worked very well as an opener. What mattered here was getting the fans even more excited for the show (granted not that hard around here) and they made that work very well. Fun match, even if it wasn’t exactly going by your classic textbook structure.

Scott Lost vs. Alex Shelley

Lost jumps Shelley from behind during his posing session and a chop puts him down again. Shelley manages a suplex though and starts cranking on the arm. That’s reversed into a broken up Scorpion Deathlock and Shelley shoulders him into the post. Shelley cranks on both arms before sending it into the post again. Back up and Lost manages a double stomp out of the corner to take right back over.

They chop it out until Shelley manages a kick to the head but Lost kicks him back as commentary makes NBA Jam references. Lost manages a spear on the floor and we hit the reverse chinlock back inside. Shelley gets dropped chest first onto the apron for one and we hit the bodyscissors to stay on said chest. That’s reversed so Shelley can slam Lost’s face into the mat a few times as the NBA references continue.

Shelley gets caught in a chinlock but manages to send him hard into the corner. A big kick to the head gives Shelley two but Lost is fine enough to crotch him on top. With Shelley still on top, he ties Lost’s arm around the buckle and armbars it back on the mat. That’s broken up with a gutbuster but Shelley is right back with a series of rollups for two each.

Another rollup sets up a cross armbreaker on Lost, which is reversed into a Sharpshooter. Shelley realizes he’s right next to the rope for the break and they’re out to the apron. Lost breaks up Sliced Bread and grabs a Stunner to put Shelley down hard. Back in and an elbow to the face gives Lost two more but Shelley kicks him in the head. An Air Raid Crash (Human Tornado: “That n**** dead.”) gets two on Lost and a reverse brainbuster drops him again. A frog splash gets two more but Shelley is right back up on top, where the second frog splash finishes Lost at 16:13.

Rating: B. These two beat on each other for a long time until Lost just couldn’t kick out anymore. Shelley is one of those wrestlers who can work with anyone and make it look good. Lost is someone who you don’t hear much about outside for PWG but he’s usually fine when he’s in the ring. Good match here, as the show is off to a great start.

Chris Sabin vs. Bryan Danielson

Before the match, Sabin compliments Danielson’s entrance music as the coolest in wrestling. They fight over wrist control to start with Danielson getting the better of things as commentary talks about the murder of Rikidozan. Sabin slips out of something like a chickenwing and grabs an armbar, which doesn’t get him very far. Danielson is taken into the corner for a clean break before Sabin’s headlock is called boring.

Sabin sends him to the apron for a legsweep (best strike in No Mercy so it works here too) to the floor, naturally setting up a dive. We hit the chinlock back inside before Sabin switches to something like a crossface. Some chops have Danielson reeling and a Vader Bomb elbow gets two. Sabin grabs an octopus hold on the mat but Danielson is back up with a kick to the chest.

More kicks have Sabin in more trouble and it’s time to work on the leg. That doesn’t last long as Danielson opts to rip at his face instead. Back up and Danielson wins a kick off, setting up a surfboard with a dragon sleeper (egads). With that broken up, Sabin slips out of a superplex attempt and ties Danielson in the Tree of Woe. A running dropkick and a running forearm rock Danielson again as he falls out.

Stereo crossbodies leave both of them down for a bit before it’s time to chop it out. Sabin snaps off a suplex neckbreaker but Danielson knocks him hard into the corner. A jumping knee rocks Sabin again and a springboard missile dropkick sends him down. With Sabin favoring his ankle (which Danielson might not have seen), Cattle Mutilation goes on but Danielson switches to the hard elbows to the face. After a rear naked choke doesn’t work very well, Danielson slaps on Cattle Mutilation again to make Sabin tap at 17:55.

Rating: B+. This was about two people beating on each other for a long time until one of them finally broke down. Danielson is a far bigger singles star than Sabin, but this wasn’t anything resembling an easy win. Sabin can go with just about anyone in the ring and he looked rather good here, even in defeat. Heck of a match here, as they beat each other up rather well.

Post match Danielson checks on Sabin, who has to be helped to the back.

Chuck Taylor vs. Colt Cabana

Taylor hides in the corner to start so Cabana sits down in another corner. Back up and Cabana drops the towel before Taylor grabs a headlock. Cabana sends him into the corner and seems to do the JYD Juke. Taylor backs off a bit and the fans are not pleases with his cowardice. A wristlock takes Taylor down….so he offers Cabana money in exchange for Taylor getting to slam him.

Then Taylor whips out an invisible grenade, which is too much even for Cabana. The grenade is sent outside and the pin comes out, meaning Taylor has to dive on it on the floor. With the grenade taken care of, Taylor goes back inside for a test of strength. Cabana easily takes over but some spit in the eyes lets Taylor take over for a change. With Cabana on the mat, he tries to give Taylor a hug but Taylor cranks on the leg instead.

Back up and Cabana sends him into the corner, allowing Cabana to get in some posing. Taylor misses a flip out of the corner and fakes an injury, allowing a small package to get two. Cabana: “SMALL PACKAGE!” Then he small packages Taylor and they roll around for a series of near falls.

The referee gets knocked down so Cabana sits on his back and kind of rides him into the corner. All three wind up in the corner for some rather suggestive thrusting. Taylor isn’t a fan so Cabana drops him with a right hand (Commentary: “Shades of Matt Classic right there.”) and a clothesline gets two. Taylor is right back up with a rollup and grabs the rope for the pin at 11:11.

Rating: C+. This was the weakest part of the show so far and even then it was completely fine. They went in a different direction here with the comedy (some of which was rather bad), as you probably guessed from the people involved. Cabana is capable of having a more serious match but go with what the people want, which is why he was on the show. Taylor was less than serious as well, but at least they didn’t go back to the grenade later.

Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards

They go straight to the strikes to start before running the ropes and trading leapfrogs. Strong ducks the big kick and they strike it out until the fight heads to the floor. Back in and Strong kicks him down for two before more chopping ensues. Richards kicks away to take over again and we hit the chinlock, followed by a running knee to the ribs. More strikes put Strong into the corner but he raises a boot to cut off a charge.

They forearm it out again until Richards hits a handspring kick to the head. The Texas Cloverleaf doesn’t last long so Richards kicks him down, only to get blasted with a dropkick. Strong picks him up and tosses him with a release suplex into a backbreaker for two. The Falcon Arrow gets the same and Richards is sat on the apron. Strong charges into a kick to the head and a missile dropkick sends him into the corner again.

Richards strikes away and gets two off a sliding clothesline. Strong is right back with a quick Stronghold but Richards crawls over to the rope. Back up and the tiger driver is blocked, allowing Richards to hit a pop up kick to the chest. A bridging German suplex gives Richards two and the Cloverleaf goes on again. That’s broken up so Strong kicks him in the head, setting up a gutbuster. Back to back Sick Kicks set up the tiger driver to finish Richards at 12:27.

Rating: B. This was another hard hitting match between two people who know how to do that style rather well. I’ve never been much of a Richards fan but he was doing his thing here well enough. At the same time, I wouldn’t have bet on Strong winning and it’s nice to see him beat someone in a match like this one.

Young Bucks vs. Two Skinny Black Guys

The Bucks’ Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line and the Guys are El Generico and Human Tornado. Matt and Tornado start things off as commentary talks about a bunch of wrestlers going to In And Out Burger (as you should). Tornado takes him down and works on the leg for a bit before it’s off to Nick instead. That doesn’t go well for Nick either, as Tornado steals his bandanna and poses a bit.

Generico comes in and gets headscissored down, setting up a dropkick into the corner. The rope walk sets up Nick’s rather spinny wristdrag as Generico can’t get anything going. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker puts Matt down though as Taylor complains about promotions not booking him. Tornado comes in for a no hands Scorpion Deathlock (that’s a new one) on Matt but he standing Sliced Breads himself out of trouble.

It’s back to Nick to slam Generico and the Bucks hit their stereo basement dropkicks. The fans turn on the Bucks, which has Excalibur rather surprised. As the fans suggest that the Bucks keep doing the same thing, they do the same thing with another double basement dropkick. Generico finally gets a boot up in the corner and the hot tag brings in Tornado (Fans: “LET’S GO BLACK GUYS!”) for the house cleaning.

Everything breaks down and the Guys stomp away in the corner and Nick gets kicked low, allowing a clothesline out to the floor. Tornado hits a big flip dive to the floor and Matt is down for a bit. Matt manages to shove the Guys into each other and a huge dive drops Tornado inside. Nick hits a top rope flipping Stunner for two on Generico as commentary tries to count knees.

Generico Michinoku Drivers Matt for two and more shots to the face leave everyone down again. Nick and Tornado strike it out until Generico gets low bridged to the floor. More Bang For The Buck hits Tornado for two, with Generico having to make the save. With Generico on the floor, Tornado gets his head kicked off but Generico runs back in with the corner brainbuster on Nick. Matt gets suplexed by Tornado, who dives over to pin Nick at 19:54.

Rating: B+. This is the kind of all action matches that you would expect and that is how it should have gone. Let the Bucks go out there and go nuts while Tornado and Generico get to do the same. It was four guys running around and hitting everything they could, which is what tag wrestling has become in modern times. Very exciting stuff here though, as everyone was getting to work their best style.

Respect is shown post match. Matt says that the Guys are the hottest tag team in the world right now and they beat the Bucks 1-2-3 here. The Bucks are still the champs, but the Guys have earned a title shot, which seems set for next month. After everyone else leaves, Chuck Taylor comes in to lay Generico out, saying he and Kenny Omega deserve the Tag Team Title shot. Taylor issues the challenge to face Generico one on one next month, with the winner getting the shot at the titles.

PWG World Title: Joey Ryan vs. Chris Hero

Hero, with Candice LeRae, is defending and this is Guerrilla Warfare, meaning anything goes. They strike it out with Hero getting the better of things and running Ryan over. A backsplash crushes Ryan and Hero talks trash to him in the corner. Ryan’s comeback is cut off rather quickly but he pulls Hero off the top. Now it’s Ryan hammering away for a change but Hero is out before even a one count.

Back up and Hero hits a Liger Bomb for two before sending him to the floor. A chair is wedged in the corner but Hero is sent into it instead in quite the irony. Hero is busted open as Ryan takes him back inside for some chain shots to the head. They’re right back on the floor with Hero scoring with an elbow to take over.

Back in and Ryan uses a trashcan to block another elbow, allowing him to wrap Hero’s arm around the post. The arm is sent into the corner and Ryan ties it behind Hero’s back for a slam. The tie starts to come loose though, meaning Ryan needs to hit him in the head a few more times. Hero manages a shot of his own, followed by a chair to the head to knock Ryan silly. Ryan is busted open pretty badly as well and Hero slides in a table.

Actually we’ll switch that to having it on the floor, with Hero taking too long to put Ryan on top. Back in and a trashcan shot knocks Hero silly again before Ryan brings in some chairs. They both go up but LeRae shoves Ryan down and hits a top rope double stomp to his back. Hero’s Blockbuster gets two and Ryan’s superkick gets the same. They head up again for a headbutt off until Ryan slams him down onto the chairs for two.

The Hero’s Welcome (Cross Rhodes) gets two more and now it’s Hero’s turn to grab the chain. The chain is wrapped around Ryan’s neck for a piledriver and another near fall, so Hero grabs an STF (with a cravate). Ryan manages to get out and hits a Psycho Driver before knocking LeRae down as well. Hero is fine enough to hit a dropkick through the ropes but misses a dive through the table.

That’s enough for two back inside but the superkick with the chain misses. Hero blasts him with the discus elbow for two more, then ties the chain around Ryan’s neck to hit a second discus elbow. With that and the third elbow getting two each, Hero chokes him out with the chain to retain at 43:20.

Rating: B+. This was long but didn’t feel like it was dragging, which is a heck of a trick for a match this long and violent. They beat each other up for a long time and there were times where I was buying the idea of Ryan getting the title. Hero felt like a monster out there though and it should take a special challenger/performance to beat him. Rather good stuff here and maybe the best thing on a stacked show.

Post match Hero brags about his win until Ryan says he promised to shake Hero’s hand no matter what. Hero brings out the best in him but he doesn’t like how Hero talks to the crowd. The fans aren’t happy with Ryan praising Hero but do applaud the handshake and the hug. Then Hero lays Ryan out to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. The more I watch of PWG, the more I get the appeal. They put on some incredibly entertaining shows, though you are not exactly going to be getting much in the way of storylines. Instead, this is all about one action based match after another and it was a three hour show that flew by. Check this out of you can find it, as it was one of the easiest shows to watch that I’ve seen in a long time.

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Impact Wrestling
Date: January 5, 2023
Location: Charles F. Dodge City Center, Pembroke Pines, Florida
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re back after last week’s Best Of 2022 event with the first show of 2023. That means we are just over a week away from Hard To Kill and the card is mostly set. There is always room for a little more effort though and now we might be getting to do just that. If nothing else, getting some of the lower card built up should help so let’s get to it.

In Memory Of Don West.

Opening recap.

Masha Slamovich vs. Taylor Wilde

Deonna Purrazzo is on commentary. Wilde is in all black and apparently has a new attitude, as seen on Before The Impact. Purrazzo doesn’t think much of Wilde’s resume, asking how long it has been since Wilde was a champion. Fair enough really, as it was a long time ago. They grapple to the mat to start with Slamovich spinning out of a wristlock into an armbar.

Wilde avoids a charge in the corner though and some choking has Slamovich in trouble. As Purrazzo complains about Hannifan talking about everything else coming tonight, Wilde sends Slamovich face first into the apron. That earns hear a northern lights suplex and a forearm to the face, followed by a suplex to send Wilde into the corner for two.

Back up and Wilde strikes away at the ropes, setting up a double clothesline (ignore Slamovich seemingly forgetting to stick her arm out until they had already collided). Wilde is back up with a Codebreaker but Slamovich pulls her throat first into the top rope. Slamovich stops to yell at Purrazzo though, allowing Wilde to grab a small package for the pin at 8:20.

Rating: C+. What in the world happened to Slamovich? She was the unstoppable monster for so many months and then just doesn’t stop losing. You would have thought she would get the Knockouts Title at some point in there, but now it would seem almost sad to see this version of her as champion. As for Wilde, it’s almost weird to see her getting a win like this, but if they are going to do something with her, it makes sense to start after that kind of a change.

Post match Slamovich beats up security.

Sami Callihan wants the Design but isn’t sure if they want him.

We look back at Rich Swann and Steve Maclin brawling last week.

Swann challenges Maclin for Hard To Kill with no DQ, no countouts and falls count anywhere. Be ready to fight all night long.

Black Taurus vs. Anthony Greene

Crazzy Steve introduces Taurus, promising that he will crush Greene (you may remember him as August Grey in NXT) with his hooves. Greene starts fast with a running hurricanrana so Taurus hits him rather hard in the corner. A powerslam gives Taurus two but Greene sends him outside. Greene clothesline Taurus down and declares himself the best thing in wrestling as we take a break.

Back with Greene hitting a dropkick to the back for two, followed by a springboard spinning crossbody. A suplex into a German suplex gives Greene two more but Taurus grabs some Sling Blades. Taurus hits a pop up Samoan drop and Destination Hellhole finishes Greene off at 9:07.

Rating: C. Taurus wasn’t going to lose on his way to a title match at Hard To Kill so the ending wasn’t exactly in doubt. Greene did well enough in his debut and will probably be part of the X-Division for awhile, but I’m not sure how far he is going to go. He never became the biggest star on 205 Live but maybe he’ll fit in better around here.

Post match Trey Miguel runs in to jump Taurus and gives him the spray paint treatment.

Kenny King invaded Mike Bailey’s dojo and beat up his students as Bailey wasn’t there (Impact LOVES the school invasion angle.).

Bailey is ticked and wants King in a Pit Fight (anything goes, fists taped, knockout or tap out).

Jonathan Gresham vs. Ernest R. Anthony

Gresham shakes his hand to start and they wrestle to the mat in a hurry. A dropkick sends Anthony into the corner but he comes back with a shot to the face. That earns Anthony an ankle crank before tying up the arm and twisting the ankle around again. With Anthony helpless, Gresham stacks him up for the pin at 3:40.

Rating: C. There is something special about watching Gresham pick someone apart and completely destroy them. The limb twisting and cranking can be great as Gresham makes it look so easy. I could go with watching him pick people apart around here too, and that seems to be what we’ll be getting for a good while to come.

Tasha Steelz yells at Savannah Evans about their recent losses. Gisele Shaw, with Jai Vidal, comes up to offer herself to the team. This doesn’t go well for Steelz, but Evans is interested.

The Design says if Sami Callihan wants to join, he has to start by recreating himself. Callihan can start next week by shaving his head, if he’s interested.

Video on Josh Alexander’s Impact Wrestling World Title, now the longest on record.

Here is Moose for a chat. He does bad things to people and at Hard To Kill, Joe Hendry is getting a taste of that. Moose has done anything he needed to get here, going from hero to villain, but now he knows what he is supposed to be. On Friday 13, he’s going to be Hendry’s first adversity and take the Digital Media Title while knocking the smile off his face. Moose takes the jacket off and wants the fight right now, so he says Hendry’s name.

Cue Hendry, who says there is nothing worse than a grumpy Moose. The real Moose is inside this one, so tonight let’s let the Moose loose. Hendry has a new song for Moose, including various mistakes and clips of Moose dancing as part of IPWF. The fans chant for Dancing Moose, which has Moose saying he believes….that he’ll beat Hendry up at Hard To Kill. Moose: “NOW PLAY MY D*** MUSIC!” I Believe In His Dancing plays again and Moose is furious. Hendry’s songs are always great and this was no exception.

Mickie James gives us a long look at her career, going from training to TNA (as part of the Gathering) to WWE. We hear about the Trish Stratus feud before she came back to TNA as Hardcore Country. Then she met Nick Aldis (Mickie: “I’m a lookin and I’m a likin! Then he spoke with a British accent and MIND BLOWN!”) and he became the love of his life, leading to the birth of their son.

She thought her career was over but then she went back to WWE. It was great but she wasn’t done. That brought her back to Impact Wrestling and she had one more great run. Now she wants to do it one more time and give the fans someone to believe in. This was REALLY good and one of the best things Impact has done in a long time, as it was all Mickie, who told her story very well. I really have no idea what happens with her title match and that’s a nice feeling.

And now the other side of fun, with a retrospective on Don West, who passed away last week from brain cancer. There are some really cool old school TNA clips here, with West’s voice blasting over them, which makes them feel all the more special.

Matt Cardona vs. Chris Sabin

Brian Myers and Alex Shelley are here too. Sabin spins out of a wristlock to start and an armdrag makes him complain about some bicep pain. Another armdrag into an armbar keeps Cardona in trouble until he sends Sabin outside. The dropkick through the ropes drops Sabin again and we take a break.

Back with Cardona whipping him hard into the corner, setting up the neck crank. That’s broken up and Sabin’s sunset flip gets two, only to have Cardona blast him down again. Sabin fights up and this the Tree of Woe dropkick but gets sent shoulder first into the post. The Reboot takes too long though and Sabin backdrops him to the floor as we take another break. Back again with Sabin’s tornado DDT getting….nothing as Myers distracts the referee.

Sabin takes out both Major Players with a suicide dive, followed by a high crossbody for two on Cardona. A distracted referee is enough for Cardona to get in a low blow and Sabin gets cut off again. There’s a suplex into the corner, with Cardona nailing back to back Reboots. The middle rope missile dropkick wakes Sabin up for some reason and he nails an enziguri. The Cradle Shock finishes or Sabin at 18:07.

Rating: B-. This got a lot more time than I would have expected and that was kind of nice for a change. Cardona is best known for his antics but he is more than capable of having a solid match against a variety of opponents. Then you have Sabin, who is one of the better hands that you can find in Impact’s history. Good stuff here and better than I was expecting (certainly longer at least).

Bully Ray (not supposed to be here this week) interrupts commentary’s preview of upcoming shows and demands a mic. Ray wants Josh Alexander (also not supposed to be here) right now but gets Scott D’Amore instead. D’Amore finds it interesting that Ray is willing to deal with Alexander now after no showing Alexander’s challenge a few weeks back. He cuts Ray off from the “you brought me back” speech and brings up Ray calling him for a job, saying he was a changed man.

D’Amore left this industry twelve years ago and didn’t like what he saw when he looked in the mirror. Then he came back five years ago and wanted to write a new story. The hope was that Ray could do the same, but look at what he is now. D-Von won’t be in the same room as Ray without getting a big bag of money and Ray’s only friend, Tommy Dreamer, is in the hospital. Alexander is coming back to a locker room that respects him and family that loves him. No matter what happens at Hard To Kill, Ray is going home alone.

Ray says that doesn’t leave him sad or pathetic, but rather a three time World Champion. They yell at each other a lot until D’Amore is ready to fight. D’Amore says he built up this locker room (Ray: “A locker room full of nobodies.”) and then nails Ray. Cue Ray’s lackeys to grab D’Amore though and it’s a low blow into a powerbomb through a table to leave D’Amore laying to end the show. Commentary being aghast doesn’t quite hold up when D’Amore hit him first, but we have to continue the BULLY RAY IS THE MOST EVIL MAN EVER story somehow.

Overall Rating: B-. There were some very good parts in here (the opener, the main event and that awesome Mickie James video), which are enough to outweigh some of the weaker stuff. I really don’t care for Bully Ray being in the main event/title picture, but they are doing the right things to make fans want to see Josh Alexander take him out and save the company. Hard To Kill is a two match show and those two matches have been set up very well.

Results
Taylor Wilde b. Masha Slamovich – Small package
Black Taurus b. Anthony Greene – Destination Hellhole
Jonathan Gresham b. Ernest R. Anthony – Arm and leg trap cradle
Chris Sabin b. Matt Cardona – Cradle Shock

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: November 24, 2022
Hosts: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s Thanksgiving and that means we are in for a special Best Of show around here. That’s about as logical as you’re going to get for this time of year as there is no reason to believe that anyone is going to pay attention to a show on such a big holiday. You never know what you’ll see on something like this but let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

The hosts welcome us to the show and promise us some great Thanksgiving moments, plus a look at Overdrive.

We’ll start with Thanksgiving 2008, with Rhino pinning Alex Shelley in a triple threat match also involving Sheik Abdul Bashir. As a result, Rhino gets $25,000 and Shelley has to wear a turkey suit, as enforced by Mick Foley with threats of firings/bad history lessons.

Wrestlers say what they are thankful for (Joe Hendry is thankful for mirrors because he gets to see who he really is).

Deaner asks Eric Young if this is the end of Violent By Design but doesn’t get an answer. It’s time for an answer to the unanswered questions so they have to go back to where it all began. How about before that when the team doesn’t exist?

We go back to Thanksgiving 2007, at the Angle household, featuring Kurt and Karen as pilgrims and Jeremy Borash, Tomko and AJ Styles as guests (it was a weird time). They pray (with gold medals on the plates) and Styles eats during the prayer. People keep opening their eyes during the prayer, with Karen and JB making faces at each other. Robert Roode and Traci Brooks come in, as do James Storm and Jackie Moore (with beer). Chris Harris arrives and complains about the directions.

Eric Young shows up, a bit under dressed, and breaks a bunch of stuff. Kurt stands up to yell, revealing that he’s wearing the World Title, and sends Eric to the kid’s table (Eric gets lost on the way). Then the X-Division arrives, with Sonjay Dutt trying to get donations for starving children. Storm and Young get in a drinking contest and Styles leaves as Black Reign (Dustin Rhodes) and Rellik (that’s overused joke spelled forwards) arrive. Reign lets his rat Misty into the food and we take a break.

Back with Young and Storm rather drunk (Young has found a wig and they have both lost their shirts). Jay Lethal (as Black Machismo) arrives as Kurt looks like he wants some cyanide. Then So Cal Val arrives, so Lethal gives her his jacket to walk on. Kurt tries to restore order as Awesome Kong shows up and sits at the other end of the (really long) table. She eats food that may or may not be wax and, since there are a bunch of tables, Team 3D arrives, with food being thrown at them.

A bunch of people leave to get away from Team 3D, who were invited by someone other than Kurt. They sit at the kid’s table and take food from Kurt’s daughter, who says they suck (I would have paid to see her put through a table). Then Kevin Nash and Scott Hall arrive and Karen takes pies to the face. Everyone else shows up and the food fight is on. This was HILARIOUS in a wrestling way.

We look at Mickie James beating Taylor Wilde at Overdrive. Then Deonna Purrazzo comes out to yell at her and sets up the next match in James’ Last Rodeo.

From Thanksgiving 2016, loser wears a turkey suit.

Grado vs. Robbie E.

They slug it out to start with Grado getting the better of it off the snap jabs. A double clothesline puts both guys down as this is a little less funny than I was expecting. Robbie grabs a rollup for the pin at 2:39.

Grado is turkey suited.

We look at the end of Josh Alexander beating Kazarian with the C4 Spike to retain the World Title at Overdrive. Then Bully Ray came out, announced he was officially challenging at Hard To Kill in January, and beat up Alexander in front of his family. Then, with Alexander zip tied to the rope, Ray pulled Alexander’s wife over the barricade….and just threatened her because Alexander was loose. After the show, Ray grabbed the title but Rich Swann came out for the save. Scott D’Amore came out and threw stuff at Ray while asking what was wrong with him. Great segment. Why does it need to be Bully Ray and not someone new?

From Thanksgiving 2013.

Here are all of the winners of the matches tonight plus Velvet who is with Sabin. Roode points this out and Sabin throws Velvet out. Bobby asks everyone what they’re thankful for. Bad Influence is thankful for their intelligence and large endowment. Kaz is thankful that Park isn’t here to drink the gravy or fornicate with the pumpkin pie. Gail is thankful for being the prettiest and most dominant Knockout in the history of the company. Oh and her family too.

Sabin is thankful for his hair, being the best X-Division Champion ever and Velvet Sky. The Bro Mans are thankful for Mr. O Phil Heath, Zema Ion (officially part of the team) and for being the best team ever. Bad Influence: “I’m not sure about that.” Roode says the real Thanksgiving was last month in Canada and the fans will be thankful when he becomes the next champion.

It’s time to eat but here’s Angle to interrupt. He sees a ring full of turkeys, which are fighting words for the people in there. Roode challenges him to a fight which Angle accepts, and here’s his backup. Fernum and Barnes (a couple of losers who lost the Turkey Bowl) are still in the turkey suits. You can fill in the blanks yourself here: bad guys are destroyed, food is everywhere, Spud panics, turkeys fly. The good guys, Velvet and ODB celebrate to end the show.

More wrestlers are thankful for various things.

We look at Kenny King going after Mike Bailey at the overdrive pre-show and losing a six way match as a result.

King is going to take out Bailey before going after the X-Division Title.

From Thanksgiving 2017.

Team Edwards vs. Team Adonis

Eddie Edwards, Garza Jr., Allie, Fallah Bahh, Richard Justice
Chris Adonis, Caleb Konley, Laurel Van Ness, KM, El Hijo Del Fantasma

The loser of the fall wears a turkey suit and there’s food at ringside, along with Eli Drake. We’re not ready yet though as the teams sit down at the food tables as Drake insists that everyone has to put on the suit if they lose. He has a statement for JB to read, which pretty much just says everyone play nice.

Justice sticks his finger in Konley’s mouth to start and gets two off a rollup. Laurel comes in and jumps on Justice’s back so it’s off to the women for a change. KM and Bahh are up next with some shots to Bahh’s head taking us to a break. Back with Bahh crossbodying KM and bringing in Garza….WHO TAKES OFF HIS PANTS! I’m rather thankful.

Garza gets punched down though and it’s time for the heel beatdown. Adonis comes in for two off a legdrop and it’s time for a bearhug (on a guy with a bad shoulder). That goes nowhere and the hot tag brings in Eddie to clean house. Everything breaks down in a hurry and KM gets crushed between Justice and Bahh.

We get the big crash to the floor and Justice falls off the apron, only to be caught without much effort. Allie dives onto everyone to break up the pile and everyone is down. Back in and Adonis can’t grab the Adonis Lock, allowing Eddie to roll him up for the pin at 16:04, meaning Adonis gets to wear the suit.

Rating: C-. Oh what were you expecting here? This was all in good fun and nothing more than a comedy match. The match was just there for the sake of having a one off match for a holiday special and as a result, it’s really hard to be harsh on it. Adonis having to wear the suit is fine and it continues a (rather goofy) tradition. It wasn’t anything good, but it’s perfectly harmless.

Post break, Adonis refuses to wear the suit. Security actually stops him as the referee holds up the suit like an executioner’s ax. After a lot of persuading and a GOBBLE GOBBLE (One of us?) chant, Adonis finally puts it on and walks around a bit. Adonis isn’t cool with the chants though and the required food fight, with Adonis hitting Drake in the face with a pie, ends the show. This was actually entertaining as they just went with the simple comedy and it worked perfectly well.

Delirious and Yuyu Uemura yell at each other in….something and Japanese.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Steve Maclin wants the World Title but he is being held captive by his own company. From now on, it’s mayhem for all.

From Thanksgiving 2007.

Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Chris Sabin

This is the finals of the Turkey Bowl, with the winner getting $25,000 and the loser wearing the turkey suit. Joe and Sabin double team Styles to start and knock him to the floor. That leaves Sabin to take Joe down but a kick misses, giving us a staredown. Styles gets knocked to the floor again and we take a break.

Back with Sabin charging into a hot shot but Joe comes back in to punch Styles in the face. Styles breaks up the suicide elbow to Sabin though, meaning Joe punches him in the face some more. The drop down into a dropkick hits Joe and we take a break. Back again with Joe countering the springboard moonsault into an Air Raid Crash with Sabin having to make a save.

We take another break and come back again with Sabin hitting a springboard DDT to drop Joe. That earns Sabin a trip to the floor but Styles Peles Joe. The charge into the corner only hits kick to the face though, allowing Joe to hit the Muscle Buster for the pin at 9:33 shown (of the nearly thirty minute match).

Rating: B-. Well it seemed to be a good match, at least from what we saw of the thing. Joe was on another planet at this point and Styles was in his weird phase as Angle’s wacky goon, but it isn’t like he was going to be awful in the ring. Throw in a very talented Sabin and of course this was going to work, even if we missed almost twenty minutes.

Post match we cut to a livid Kurt Angle (AJ’s boss), storming out of his own Thanksgiving dinner. Back in the arena, AJ won’t put the suit on so here is Jim Cornette to order him to do it. After some coaxing, Styles (very slowly) puts the suit on so Tomko and Kurt come out to yell. Samoa Joe and the Outsiders come out to laugh at Angle and pals, meaning the brawl is on. The bad guys are cleared out, with Eric Young coming in to add a turkey leg to Angle to wrap things up. Then Hall got fired and Joe was given a live mic at the pay per view where he went on an all time rant against a lot of people.

Overall Rating: C. I never know what to say about these things, especially when it was a bunch of clips from what was little more than a comedy concept. There was a bit of decent action and it is fun to look back at some flashes of different times in the company’s history, but there was nothing worth seeing here. Granted that is kind of the point, but this was still a weird choice for a 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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Impact Wrestling
Date: October 27, 2022
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are on the way to Overdrive in a few weeks and that means we need an X-Division Title match. The tournament begins here with the finals at Overdrive and we should be in for something good. Other than that, Frankie Kazarian is coming for the World Title and Josh Alexander will need to deal with him. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Mike Bennett and Matt Taven come in to yell at Scott D’Amore about everything that has gone badly for them. They don’t want to be in that kind of situation again, so he fires them.

Opening sequence.

X-Division Title Tournament First Round: Alan Angels vs. Trey Miguel

They fight over arm control to start with neither being able to get very far. Angels breaks up a rope walk wristdrag and Miguel gets kicked outside. Back in and a reverse Sling Blade gives Angels two but Miguel is back up with a handspring enziguri. The running knees give Miguel two and Angels’ DDT out of the corner gets the same.

Miguel slips out of a superplex attempt and it’s the Cheeky Nandos kick to knock him silly. Angels is fine enough to knock him him and grab an Octopus hold on the mat, followed by a frog splash for two. Back up and Miguel kicks him in the face, setting up the Lightning Spiral for the fast pin at 8:20.

Rating: C+. Impact has long since figured out that the idea of having an X-Division match open the show is going to work every time. The fans get behind Miguel, who can fly around like few others and make you care about him with ease. Other than that, you have Angels, who is still known enough from AEW and fits in well as a first round victim for a bigger star.

Bullet Club comes in to see Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer because they think Ray took out Ace Austin last week. Ray denies it again and Chris Bey vs. Dreamer seems to be set up. The Club leaves and Dreamer tells Ray to stay away because he’s why this is happening.

VXT and Gisele Shaw want to get rid of Mickie James and then get the Knockouts Tag Team Titles back.

Tasha Steelz vs. Rachelle Steele

Savannah Evans is here with Steelz. Steele gets kicked in the face to start but Steelz grabs the mic, saying she shouldn’t be in the ring with someone so lame. Evans is told to come in and take care of this, so Evans hits a clothesline for the DQ at 1:56. Steelz doesn’t seem to mind.

Post match Evans powerbombs Steele.

The Motor City Machine Guns come up to Heath and Rhino to ask for the Tag Team Title shot they were promised. Heath and Rhino tell them to go to management, which works for the Guns.

Post break, the Guns come up to Scott D’Amore but the Major Players are already there. D’Amore doesn’t want to listen to the arguing so he makes Shelley vs. Cardona for later tonight.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Chris Bey

Ace Austin is here with Bey. They both miss clotheslines to start and Bey can’t hit his spinning kick to the face. Cue Bully Ray to get on the apron to yell at Austin as we take an early break. Back with Bey hitting a double stomp to the back and a standing moonsault gets two.

Dreamer’s arm goes into the post and Bey gives it a Codebreaker, setting up a DDT for two more. Bey gets caught on top though and here is Moose to yell at Ray. The referee gets distracted and Moose trips Bey, who thinks it was Ray. The Death Valley Driver is broken up and the Art of Finesse finishes for Bey at 10:24.

Rating: C. The ending was a huge relief as I was worried they would have the ECW guys beat the Bullet Club again. I’m not big on Dreamer in the first place and it would have been way too far to have he and Ray get wins over these guys in some combination -over back to back wins. Not a great match, but it’s all about the storytelling anyway.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Bully Ray b. Sting to retain the World Title at Slammiversary 2013.

Aussie Open wants the Tag Team Titles so anyone can come get them next week.

Tommy Dreamer tells Bully Ray to calm down but Ray isn’t going to do that. He’s tired of no one believing him, including Dreamer. They’re good though.

Matt Cardona vs. Alex Shelley

Their respective partners are here too. Cardona jumps him before the bell and they head outside with an exchange of rams into the apron. Back in and Shelley works on the arm but Cardona grabs a neckbreaker for two. The chinlock goes on for a bit before an elbow to the jaw takes Shelley down again. The Reboot misses though and they forearm it out. A tornado DDT gives Shelley two with Myers putting the foot on the rope.

Myers comes in so Sabin kicks him out, leaving Cardona to rake Shelley’s eye. Radio Silence connects for two and a rollup with tights gets the same. With nothing else working, Cardona grabs the Digital Media Title but the referee gets distracted, allowing Shelley to grab a DDT onto the title for two in a rather hot near fall. Back up and Myers hits Shelley in the head with the belt for the pin at 8:43.

Rating: C+. There was a lot packed in here but they made it work well enough anyway, with both guys keeping up with all of the quick near falls. The Major Brothers getting the title shot isn’t a bad idea, though it wouldn’t surprise me to see this winding up as a triple threat. Entertaining stuff here as the Major Players are a good team when they get the chance.

Post match the beatdown stays on but Heath and Rhino make the save.

Rich Swann and Josh Alexander are in the back when Gail Kim interrupts. She tells Alexander to watch his back and Steve Maclin jumps him from behind. Frankie Kazarian makes the save.

Post break, Kazarian says he’s looking out for Alexander to make sure Overdrive stays on. Neither of them are looking for a partner, but they’ll team together against Aussie Open next week.

Raj Singh vs. Joe Hendry

Before the match, Hendry talks about how this is Las Vegas, where people lose everything they have every day. Tomorrow, someone is going to have to tell their wife that they lost the house, the car and the kid’s college fund….but he saw Joe Hendry. It’s ok because the wife believes in him too and we start fast with Hendry taking him down for a pat on the head. A fireman’s carry faceplant (the Trust Fall) drops Singh, who makes the mistake of saying Hendry’s name, making him rise back up. The Standing Ovation (high spinebuster) gives Hendry the pin at 1:47.

Eric Young tells Deaner that he’s supposed to learn things. Now it’s time to beat up beat up Sami Callihan.

We get a sitdown interview with Eddie Edwards, who says Honor No More is no more. Eddie still believes that there is no honor in this company but there are still problems. Like PCO.

Here’s what’s coming on upcoming shows.

VXT/Gisele Shaw vs. Mickie James/Jordynne Grace/Taylor Wilde

Green rolls away from James to start so it’s off to Shaw instead. James runs her over with a shoulder and it’s off to Purrazzo to power Wilde down. Wilde kicks Purrazzo’s leg out and tilt-a-whirl slams Green for two. Everything breaks down and the heroes clear the ring as we take a break.

Back with Green taking Wilde down and hammering away before Shaw fires off some knees to the face. Wilde gets away without much trouble and the hot tag brings in James to clean house. That lasts for all of ten seconds before Shaw gets in a cheap shot to take James down in the corner. Shaw grabs a chinlock before Shaw grabs a chinlock, only to have James fight up with a clothesline.

The real hot tag brings in Grace to clean house, including a spinebuster for two on Purrazzo. Everything breaks down but James gets driven back into the corner. A powerbomb/something like a Blockbuster combination gets two on James and Grace runs Shaw over for touching the Knockouts Title. Back inside and James DDTs Green for the pin at 15:17.

Rating: C+. They kept things moving here with a longer match than I would have guessed. James is probably on her way to a huge showdown with Jordynne Grace, maybe at Hard To Kill, and she might have to go through the rest of VXT to get there. Good main event here, as Grace and James are turning into some of the bigger stars in the whole company.

Overall Rating: C+. Overdrive isn’t exactly looking great so far but they are doing some good stuff on the way there. That is the kind of thing that you do not get to see very often but they are managing to pull it off. There were some good enough matches on this one, though the Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer stuff is still dragging a lot of the rest down.

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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Impact Wrestling
Date: October 6, 2022
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s the go home show for Bound For Glory, which is tomorrow for whatever reason they have come up with this time. That is one of those things that is always a little weird and I can’t quite get into the idea here either. The good thing is that the card is already set so we should be in for the hard sell this time around. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Antonio Inoki.

Opening recap.

Kenny King vs. Frankie Kazarian

They fight over a lockup to start and go long enough that it has to be broken up in the corner. Some armdrags take King down but it’s way too early for the chickenwing, meaning Kazarian has to settle for a hammerlock. The Royal Flush is countered as well and Kazarian takes him down with a clotheslines. That just earns him a dropkick out to the floor, followed by the springboard spinning legdrop to give King two back inside.

The seated abdominal stretch goes on for all of three seconds before King gets caught in a backslide for two more. The strike off goes to Kazarian and a neckbreaker gets two, followed by his own springboard spinning legdrop for two of his own. King is back up with a toss into the corner and a bridging t-bone suplex for another near fall. A tiger driver gets two more but Kazarian pulls him into the chickenwing for the pin at 9:20.

Rating: C+. As expected, this is what you get when you take two talented stars and put them in the ring against each other with a bit of time. Both of them can work well with anyone and they did it again here, with Kazarian getting the momentum going into tomorrow’s title match. King doesn’t have anything going on at the moment so it isn’t like a loss is going to do anything to him.

Video on the history of the X-Division Title match, with a look at the numbers of both Mike Bailey and Frankie Kazarian’s title reigns over the years. That’s a nice twist on things.

Bound For Glory/tonight rundown.

Video on Josh Alexander vs. Eddie Edwards for the World Title.

Mike Bailey is ready for Frankie Kazarian. They’re pushing the heck out of this match and we’re not even thirty minutes into this show.

Mia Yim vs. Gisele Shaw

Mickie James is on commentary. Yim armdrags her down to start as James praises both of them. Shaw gets sent outside for a breather/some yelling at James, allowing Yim to grab a guillotine choke back inside. That’s broken up and Yim is sent outside, allowing Shaw to hit the big dive as we take a break.

Back with Yim striking away until an exchange of kicks to the head gives us a double knockdown. Yim is up first with a dropkick into the corner but Eat Defeat is countered with a whip into the corner. A backbreaker into a flatliner gets two on Yim, who is right back with Eat Defeat for the pin at 10:44.

Rating: C. This was a nice warmup match for Yim, who has a big one coming up with James at the pay per view. That’s all you need to do sometimes and I’m sure James will get to have a staredown or something after the match. They kept this one simple and it worked just fine for everyone involved.

Post match Mickie gets in the ring and stares Yim down.

Video on the Call Your Shot gauntlet.

Video on Killer Kelly…who is attacked by Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Raven jumps Jeff Jarrett on January 23, 2003.

Brian Myers walks through the back and mocks potential challengers for the Digital Media Title. Also, a guy in yellow runs by shouting I AM VIOLENCE.

Video on Masha Slamovich vs. Jordynne Grace.

Moose vs. Steve Maclin

Sami Callihan is guest referee and Moose is still very banged up from Barbed Wire Massacre. They slug it out to start with Maclin taking him to the mat and firing off right hands. Maclin chops away in the corner and Callihan doesn’t bother watching what is going on. Moose gets knocked outside for a suicide dive and somehow Maclin’s head is busted open. Both of them are down on the floor so Sami shouts ARE YOU OK.

Back in and Moose goes after the cut open head but stops to yell at Callihan, allowing Maclin to chop away. More wound ripping staggers Maclin though and a hot shot keeps him in trouble. A discus forearm rocks Moose though and Maclin puts him in the Tree of Woe for the running shoulder and a VERY delayed two. Moose catches him on top with the chokebomb but this time Sami won’t even count. The spear connects for two but Callihan Cactus Driver 97s them both and puts Maclin on top for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: C+. What are you supposed to say here? This was an angle somewhat disguised as a match and nothing more as Callihan was the focus of this thing. The three way feud has gone on longer than I thought they could make it work and it is still decent enough, but I’m not sure how you pay this off after you have already done a barbed wire match.

Three guys argue over who should get the last spot in Call Your Shot but they go to Scott D’Amore’s office….and Joe Hendry comes out, having gotten the final spot. Dancing ensues.

Swingerellas vs. Death Dollz

Johnny Swinger, Zicky Dice and Rosemary are all here and the Dollz are Taya Valkyrie/Jessicka. Brunhilde (yes Brunhilde) gets choked into the corner to start and it’s off to Riley (I think?) who gets caught a sliding German suplex from Taya. The Sickishi Driver finishes Riley at 1:32.

VXT isn’t worried about the Death Dollz.

Matt Taven vs. Alex Shelley

Mike Bennett, Maria Kanellis and Chris Sabin are here too. Taven takes him into the corner and unloads with right hands to start but the Climax is countered. The Border City Stretch is countered as well and Taven bails to the floor for an early breather. Back in and Bennett trips Shelley down so Sabin distracts Taven to keep things even.

That’s fine with Shelley, who kicks Taven in the back on the floor. Back in and Taven goes to the eyes, setting up a backbreaker as we take a break. We come back with Taven hitting another backbreaker for two and cranking on both arms. Taven misses a Lionsault as the fans are split with their cheering.

Shelley rolls him up and grabs the Border City Stretch but can’t keep it on. An elbow drops Shelley but he Downward Spirals Taven into the middle buckle. A Maria distraction lets Taven go up but Aurora Borealis hits knees. Since that isn’t enough cheating, Bennett offers a distraction so Just The Tip can give Taven two. Back up and Shell Shock gives Shelley the pin at 13:20.

Rating: C+. They had too much interference for this to really take off but they gave Shelley the pin to set up the title match on Friday. Taven continues to be underrated in the ring and Shelley is still one of the best hands in all of Impact. It’s also nice to have one match between the tag wrestlers instead of doing it over and over so I’ll take what I can get here.

Bound For Glory rundown.

Josh Alexander is ready for Eddie Edwards….who pops up after the interview for the face to face showdown. With Alexander gone, Alisha Edwards come in to say this isn’t Eddie and either Honor No More is done or they are.

It’s time for the contract signing between Masha Slamovich and Jordynne Grace with Scott D’Amore as emcee. Scott talks about how great both of them are and Masha signs without saying a word. Grace respects her and how she got here, but Grace isn’t ready to give up the title. We hear about Grace’s accomplishments but she knows Masha hasn’t had the chance to learn from losing. That is a lesson to be learned and Grace is teaching it to her tomorrow night. Masha says something in Russian, which is translated to “Masha’s gonna kill you”. The brawl is on and the Snowplow sends Grace through the table to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. They had something of a strategy here as there was almost nothing to do to get ready for Bound For Glory so they didn’t go too far with anything. This show was about holding everything together until the pay per view and there were enough good matches to make the show enjoyable. Nothing great, but Friday is all that matters this week.

Results
Frankie Kazarian b. Kenny King – Chickenwing
Mia Yim b. Gisele Shaw – Eat Defeat
Steve Maclin b. Moose – Cactus Driver 97 from Sami Callihan
Death Dollz b. Swingerellas – Sickishi Driver to Riley
Alex Shelley b. Matt Taven – Shell Shock

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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Emergence 2022
Date: August 12, 2022
Location: Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

I usually don’t do these shows but the Alex Shelley/Josh Alexander segment from this week’s Impact actually got me to check it out. This is the latest non-pay per view pay per view special from Impact and the card looks good enough to be worth a watch. In addition to the World Title match, Honor No More faces Bullet Club and has to disband if they lose. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Digital Media Title: Bhupinder Gujjar vs. Brian Myers

Myers is defending and stops to insult Chicago before the match. How great can this place be? DOES ANYONE ELSE HERE HAVE A BLUE CHECK MARK BY THEIR NAME??? They fight over wrist control to start until Gujjar takes him down and drops a jumping knee. It’s too early for the Gargoyle Spear though and Myers bails to the floor, setting up a quick fight on the floor.

Myers kicks the rope for the low blow on the way back in, setting up a suplex for two. Gujjar shoves him off the top though and scores with a missile dropkick into a ripcord knee. There’s a Samoan drop for two on Myers but he’s right back with an implant DDT for two. Myers hits a spear of his own for two but the roster cut misses, sending Myers into the corner. That’s fine with him though as Gujjar gets kicked into the buckle, allowing Myers to grab a rollup for the pin at 7:22.

Rating: C. Completely run of the mill match here and that was a fine enough way to ope things up. Gujjar continues to be ok enough in the ring but Myers is a good bit more interesting and offers more options going forward. I’m surprised to see Gujjar take a pin, but at least he has a bit of an out with the kicking into the buckle.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles; Taya Valkyrie/Rosemary vs. VXT

Valkyrie/Rosemary are defending and has Jessika in their corner. Taya sends Green up against the ropes to start and flips her into the corner, allowing the tag off to Purrazzo. Rosemary comes in for some choking in the corner but charges into an elbow to the face to put the champs in trouble for a change.

The fight goes to the floor where Jessika misses a clothesline and gets dropkicked into Rosemary, as there is no such thing as competent help these days. Back in and Green elbows Rosemary in the face over and over before cranking on both arms at once. They both hit big boots at the same time though and it’s a double knockdown. The hot tag brings in Valkyrie to start cleaning house but Green reverses Road To Valhalla into a rollup for two.

Stereo German suplexes drop VXT and Rosemary spears Purrazzo. The Stomp hits Rosemary though and Green dives onto Jessika. Rosemary comes back in for a Road To Valhalla/X Factor combination but Green makes the save. Jessika offers a distraction but Rosemary mists Taya by mistake. A double suplex (yes a double suplex) gives Green the pin and the titles at 8:00.

Rating: C. I’m not sure if I should be surprised by that one or not, but I’ll go with the result that doesn’t give us arguing champions. Valkyrie and Rosemary were kind of a thrown together team and while VXT are still new, they do feel like a regular team. The division still needs help, but at least they have some fresh teams out there for a change.

The opening video talks about how to change, everything has to emerge. We also get the usual look at the big matches.

X-Division Title: Mike Bailey vs. Jack Evans

Evans is challenging, because there is no way he would be champion in 2022. Bailey bows to him to start but gets rolled up when offering the handshake. Evans bails out to the floor as Bailey is frustrated, leaving commentary to tell us about Evans’ history in the company. Back in and they rollups to start, followed by an exchange of dropkicks.

Stereo crossbodies put both of them down before they trade kicks to the legs. Bailey gets the better of that (of course) to send Evans outside, setting up the required big dive. Back in and Evans hits a springboard spinning kick to the face, setting up the quickly broken Muta Lock. Evans kicks him down again but Bailey flips over him out of the corner and hits a kick to the face. The running corkscrew shooting star press gives Bailey two but Evans is right back with a Falcon Arrow for the same.

An exchange of kicks to the head means a double knockdown and they get a breather. Back up and Bailey kicks him outside, which of course means a big springboard moonsault (as X-Division champions tend to do). Evans shrugs that off and hits a Blockbuster for two back inside. Bailey catches him on top but it’s a German superplex to bring Bailey crashing down. The moonsault misses for Evans though and Bailey kicks him into the Ultimate Weapon for the pin to retain at 12:32.

Rating: C+. As I have said before, you know what you’re getting with the X-Division these days and they did it well anyway. This was a good way to get the crowd into the show and have Bailey get another win. Not a classic or really anything lose as the usual X-Division selling issues were all over the place, but it did its job just fine (as usual).

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Eddie Edwards gives Honor No More their weekly pep talk, though Maria takes over this time.

We recap Steve Maclin vs. Sami Callihan. Sami has recently returned and thinks Maclin and Moose are working together, which they deny. Tonight is Callihan’s chance for revenge.

Steve Maclin vs. Sami Callihan

Callihan jumps him in the aisle and the fight is on outside with Callihan suplexing him on the ramp. A chair is thrown in and the referee gets decked, leaving Callihan to take Maclin down again. They fight into the crowd and then go backstage. The bell never rang so no match.

We recap Kushida/Chris Sabin vs. Violent By Design. Violent By Design is going after the Motor City Machine Guns but since Alex Shelley is busy tonight, Kushida is filling in to team with Sabin.

Kushida/Chris Sabin vs. Violent By Design

Eric Young and Deaner for Violent By Design here with Joe Doering in their corner. Young starts with Kushida and then drops to the floor just after the bell. Kushida takes him into the corner back inside so it’s quickly off to Deaner. That works for Kushida, who tries the Hoverboard Lock but goes with a tag to Sabin instead. Sabin holds Deaner up so Kushida can get a running kick to the arm but it’s right back to Young.

That’s fine with Kushida as well, as he catches Young up top with a running kick to the head. Deaner starts doing something though and catches him on top, setting up a double slam to take over. A Russian legsweep sets up Young’s knee drop for two and Sabin gets knocked off the apron to make it even worse.

The villains spend too much time setting up a double team though and Kushida uses both of them as a launchpad (cool) for the tag off to Sabin. House is cleaned, including a tornado DDT and a running kick to the face for two on Deaner. Young saves Deaner from the Cradle Shock but Kushida kicks Deaner in the face to break up the dive. Instead, Sabin hits the suicide dive onto Young and Kushida kicks Deaner into the Cradle Shock for two with Young making a save.

Everything breaks down and Young sends Kushida outside, setting up a running neckbreaker to drop Sabin. Deaner hits a top rope headbutt into Young’s top rope elbow but Kushida makes a diving save of his own. Kushida hits the double handspring elbow to leave everyone down. They all slug it out from their knees and then keep it going on their feet until Violent By Design gets kicked down. The Dream Sequence knocks Deaner silly and another version hits Young. The Skull And Bones is loaded up so Deaner grabs the flag, allowing Doering to shove Kushida off the top. Young piledrivers Sabin for the pin at 12:42.

Rating: C+. Nice tag match but words don’t describe how happy I am to see Violent By Design getting another win. The team who are managing to drag down anything they do and make anyone seem worse is getting a win on a major show because this team has to keep going. How lucky we all are.

We look at VXT winning the Knockouts Tag Team Titles on the pre-show.

VXT brags about their title win.

Here is Kenny King, in street clothes, with a chair to deal with Heath. After promising that Honor No More will beat the Bullet Club tonight, King gets distracted by Sami Callihan and Steve Maclin fighting in the crowd. Cue Heath who, after ducking a chair shot, hits the Wake Up Call to leave King laying. Heath says Bullet Club can handle itself, but if Honor No More is still around, the Wake Up Call is waiting for them.

Bandido vs. Rey Horus

AAA showcase match and believe it or not, Chicago likes Bandido a lot. Respect is shown to start before Horus’ running shoulder has no effect. Well no negative effect, as it makes Bandido do the Eddie Guerrero dance. Horus takes him down with a headscissors but Bandido is right back up with a superkick. Neither can follow up and we have an early standoff. Bandido kicks him in the face again to send things outside and of course the big running flip dive connects.

Back in and Horus kicks him down for two but gets Three Amigos for his efforts, setting up a handstand flipped into a backsplash. Horus manages to send him outside for the big running (no flip) dive, followed by a top rope spinning splash for two back inside. Bandido is right back with the one handed gorilla press and a running kick to the face for two. Not to be outdone, Horus gets a running start and flips up into a DDT out of the corner to put them both down again.

This time Horus takes him to the corner, where Bandido gets in a shot of his own and apron superplexes Horus down hard. Bandido cranks on both arms at once before grabbing a pop up cutter. Horus rolls up for a faceplant though and they trade kicks to the face for a double knockdown. After a double situp (nice), Bandido knocks him down and hits a frog splash for two. The satellite DDT gives Horus two but Bandido hits X Knee, setting up the 21 Plex for the pin at 12:57.

Rating: B-. Much like the X-Division Title match earlier, you have this match for one reason and one reason only. These guys are going to pop the crowd with their insane offense and look great doing it, so it makes sense to bring them in for a pick up in the middle of the show. As usual, Horus was very good but Bandido was better, but it was the awesome showcase as usual.

Moose again insists that he and Steve Maclin aren’t a team but here are Sami Callihan and Moose to brawl. Moose helps Maclin beat him down and they come into the arena with the double teaming continuing. D’Lo Brown and security come in for the save and here is Scott D’Amore to say let’s do this No DQ with Moose banned from ringside.

Sami Callihan vs. Steve Maclin

No DQ. Sami gets in a cheap shot to start fast and Maclin gets rammed into the steps over and over early on. Maclin is already busted open so it’s time to choke away in the corner. A good shot to Callihan lets Maclin tie him up in the Tree of Woe on the barricade, followed by a suplex on the floor.

Maclin bothers to throw him inside and piles up the chairs, one of which is used to crack Callihan in the back. Some shots to the face take too long though and Callihan gets in a suplex onto the open chair. The chair is pelted at Maclin’s head and hangs around it as Sami is starting to look confident.

Maclin has to low blow his way out of the Cactus Driver 97 and it’s time to pull out a toolbox (oh dear). Instead of using it though, Maclin plants him with the KIA to set up a sleeper. That’s broken up as well so Callihan stomps him low over and over. Callihan grabs some zip ties and ties Maclin’s hands behind his back, setting up the Cactus Driver 97 to give Callihan the pin at 11:23.

Rating: C. I’m still not sure what to think of a lot of these brawls as there is only so much you can get out of the violence. It’s what Callihan thrives on though and you can probably pencil him in for either a showdown with Moose or a handicap match at Bound For Glory (or maybe a three way). Either way, Callihan is going up and Maclin is going down, the latter of which I wouldn’t have bet on seeing.

Long recap of Honor No More vs. Bullet Club. Honor No More is tired of not getting their Tag Team Title shot but Bullet Club is tired of Honor No More. Therefore, it’s title shot vs. Honor No More’s future in a ten man tag.

Honor No More vs. Bullet Club

No DQ and that would be Eddie Edwards/Matt Taven/Mike Bennett/Vincent/PCO (with Maria) vs. Ace Austin/Chris Bey/Hikuleo/Good Brothers. It’s a huge brawl to start, because it shouldn’t be anything else. Everyone goes to the floor early on until Gallows runs over Taven and Bennett back inside. Edwards and Vincent fight up and stomp Anderson down in the corner but Austin and Bey come back in to clean house.

PCO cuts off Bey’s dive and chokeslams him onto the apron and does the same to Austin (in the ring this time as he’s being a nice monster for once). It’s Hikuleo coming in this time and knocking PCO into the corner, setting up a missed charge to put PCO on the floor. Bey hits a dive but Taven cuts off Hikuleo from doing the same. Austin is back up with a running Fold to Taven off the apron onto the pile on the floor (that was awesome).

Somehow we’ve gone about seven minutes without any weapons so the Good Brothers bring some in, as you had to know was coming. Gallows and Austin take turns knocking people down for two each before Bennett and Taven take Hikuleo down by the leg. Honor No More gets together to take Bey down but the PCOsault only hits the trashcan.

Now it’s Gallows being taken into the crowd to continue his beating but he gets up to brawl with PCO. Gallows shoves PCO off a barricade and through….something, which seems to get rid of him for the time being. Back at ringside and we get the required table being set up, with Vincent hitting Redrum off the top to drive Gallows through. Gallows is back up WAY too soon to save Anderson but the Magic Killer is broken up. A spear takes Gallows down and the Climax onto the trashcan gives Honor No More the pin at 15:23.

Rating: B-. Another wild match here and the only ending they could have had. You don’t need to do anything ridiculous like get rid of Honor No More here, as the team hasn’t really gotten off the ground yet. Give them at least some kind of a title shot and see what they can do, as it isn’t like Bullet Club losing is going to be a big problem.

We recap Jordynne Grace vs. Mia Yim for Grace’s Knockouts Title. Yim won the title shot and the two of them have been having problems teaming together, so now it’s time for a showdown over the title and respect.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Mia Yim

Grace is defending and, after the Big Match Intros, takes Yim down with a headlock. Back up and Grace leapfrogs over her a few times before dropkicking the knee out. A German suplex drops Yim but she is back up with a basement dropkick of her own. Grace bails outside and that means a big running flip dive to take her down again.

Back in and Yim grabs a guillotine choke, only to get taken down with a heck of a suplex. They head up top so Grace tries a sunset bomb but gets blocked, leaving her to settle for a Liger Bomb and a big crash. Yim is right back up with some kicks to take over but Grace busts her spine for two. A Muta Lock goes on until Yim breaks the hand grip and starts slugging it out with Grace for a change.

Yim gets the better of it and comes back with a springboard tornado DDT for two. That isn’t cool with Grace, who comes back with a MuscleBuster for two of her own. Grace puts her up top and gets caught with Code Blue for another near fall. Eat Defeat is loaded up but gets countered into a pinfall reversal sequence. With that not working, Yim tries a kick to the head but gets pulled into the Grace Driver for the pin at 13:23.

Rating: B. These two beat the fire out of each other until Grace caught her in the end. That is the kind of match that makes both of them look good and they did so here. Grace is likely to head into Bound For Glory with the title and it is hard to imagine that she isn’t facing Masha Slamovich, or at least she should be, which should be good.

Post match respect is almost shown until Masha Slamovich interrupts and gives Grace the death warrant.

We recap Josh Alexander defending the World Title against Alex Shelley. After beating Chris Sabin in a #1 contenders match, Shelley has his first ever one on one World Title shot. It turns out that Alexander was inspired by Shelley, but Shelly wants to be the champion no matter what. They had a great contract signing too and that was enough to make me watch the show.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Josh Alexander vs. Alex Shelley

Alexander is defending. A fight over a lockup goes nowhere as they seem to have quite a bit of time. Shelley grabs a headlock and grinds away for a bit before changing gears and kicking at the knee. The knee gets tied up but Alexander fights up and switches into an armbar. Alexander starts cranking away again until Shelley slips out and hammers away in the corner. An armbar doesn’t work well for Shelley but he takes Alexander outside and stomps on the arm.

With the arm sufficiently worn down, Shelley goes back to the leg with a leglock on the mat, only to switch into another armbar. Thankfully commentary is right there to explain the idea of breaking Alexander down, as that is why you have a broadcast team. Alexander fights out and throws Shelley down for a double breather. Shelley hits him in the bad arm so Alexander uses the good one to hit him in the face.

A t-bone suplex sends Shelley flying but he’s fine enough to hit a Downward Spiral into the buckle. Shelley’s frog splash gets two, only to have Alexander pull him into the ankle lock. The rope gets Shelley out of trouble and the ankle is good enough to hit Sliced Bread for two. An Air Raid Crash gets two on Alexander, who rolls straight out to the floor.

Standing Sliced Bread rocks Alexander again and the Border City Stretch has Alexander in big trouble back inside. With that broken up, Shelley hits some chops to put Alexander down on one knee. Shell Shock is countered into some rolling German suplexes and Alexander falls on top of him for two.

Another enziguri is countered into the ankle lock, which Alexander switches into a Sharpshooter. That’s countered into the Border City Stretch but Alexander rolls out into a Tombstone for a rather near fall. Back up and the C4 Spike is countered so Alexander settles for a Shell Shock to Shelley. With Shelley knocked silly, the C4 Spike can retain the title at 27:32.

Rating: A-. This match went long and never felt like it did, as they knew how to get the most out of each other. Alexander is still great at being able to make it feel like everyone is working hard to take the title from him while Shelley is able to put together a match with anyone. What matters is they had me believing that Shelley could pull it off and in a way, I wanted him to. Alexander is heading into Bound For Glory as champion though and that should work well. Heck of a match here and a worthy main event.

Overall Rating: B. This felt like an In Your House style show with a great main event and a big showdown in the ten man tag. They didn’t go through a lot of their big matches and a good chunk of this show was designed to set up things for later, but they had a good show on the way there. I was convinced to watch this show and I wound up liking what I saw, so well done on doing so well with what you have. Check out the main event, but don’t skip the rest of the show if you have a chance.

Results
Mike Bailey b. Jack Evans – Ultimate Weapon
Violent By Design b. Chris Sabin/Kushida – Piledriver to Sabin
Bandido b. Rey Horus – 21 Plex
Sami Callihan b. Steve Maclin – Cactus Driver 97
Honor No More b. Bullet Club – Climax onto a trashcan to Gallows
Jordynne Grace b. Mia Yim – Grace Driver
Josh Alexander b. Alex Shelley – 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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AND

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