IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: October 13, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Madison Rayne

We’re almost up to Bound For Glory and that means it’s time to add in a few more matches before building up everything that has already been set. The show is still lacking that one big match to really make it feel special and I’m not sure what could fill in that role. That’s kind of a problem on the biggest show of the year. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Moose is yelling at Scott D’Amore for being put in a match in an undisclosed location. D’Amore reminds him that it will also be against an opponent who doesn’t work here for a title he never won. Moose has no time for this and storms off.

We cut to EC3 saying Moose is controlling his narrative. EC3 holds up the title and we cut to Moose, saying he knows where he needs to go.

Opening sequence.

Rosemary/Taya Valkyrie vs. Tasha Steelz/Kiera Hogan vs. Nevaeh/Havok

Rosemary waistlocks Nevaeh to open things up but gets rolled up for a fast two. It’s quickly off to Taya vs. Nevaeh with Taya being taken into the corner. Havok comes in for a splash as Tasha and Kiera are talking trash from the apron. Taya gets knocked into the corner and Kiera comes in for a running shot to the face. That’s broken up with Taya driving Kiera into the corner for the tag off to Rosemary.

It’s off to Nevaeh even faster and a suplex gets two on Kiera. A double whip into the corner has Nevaeh in trouble and Tasha grabs a chinlock. Nevaeh hits a belly to back faceplant and it’s off to Havok to clean house. Everything breaks down and it’s Taya cleaning house, including a big dive off the top to take out Havok, Nevaeh and Kiera. Tasha teases a dive but has to stop when she realizes that the referee is checking on everyone so it’s a little dancing instead. Rosemary cuts her off with a spear and it’s a Wing Clipper (needs a name) for the pin on Steelz at 9:17.

Rating: C-. This was a little too messy and it wasn’t the best thing in the world as a result. You can only get so far with this many people running around, though Taya and Rosemary continuing to win is a good idea. The problem is they don’t really have anything to accomplish, though I’m curious to see where the wedding story is going from here.

Post match Havok and Nevaeh stare down Rosemary and Taya. Didn’t we do that match earlier?

Josh and Madison preview the show.

John E. Bravo yells at the wedding party about everything being so expensive. Johnny Swinger brags about beating Buddy Landel in Mid-Atlantic but Crazzy Steve tries to break things up. A match is made for later. For the first time we have the date confirmed for two weeks from now.

Rosemary appears to Havok, who she needs to bring back Father James Mitchell to officiate the wedding. Havok knows this is going to keep going so next week they can have a match. If Rosemary wins, she’ll bring Mitchell back but if Havok wins, Rosemary lets all of this go and Mitchell stays gone. Deal.

Fallah Bahh vs. Crazzy Steve

The referee checks Bahh for weapons so Steve starts gyrating his hips. Steve wants Bahh to take his shirt off to reveal the hidden money but Bahh drives him into the corner. A running crossbody hits Steve but Bahh makes sure to grab his chest to make sure the money is there. Steve is back with a sleeper and pulls Bahh’s shirt off to reveal the money. A rollup pins Bahh at 2:47. These wedding matches still make me chuckle.

Rhino comes to see Heath, who is now in the Call Your Shot battle royal at Bound For Glory. If either of them win, Heath has a contract, but if neither of them win, Heath never has a chance around here. They have a match later tonight so Heath runs off to get ready. Scott D’Amore comes in to ask when Rhino is going to tell Heath the other part: if neither of them win, Rhino’s contract is done too.

Kaleb With A K introduces our next match.

Tenille Dashwood/Tommy Dreamer/Brian Myers/Cody Deaner/Johnny Swinger vs. Cousin Jake/Hernandez/Alisha/Rhino/Heath

The winning team will face off in a five way next week for the #20 spot in the Call Your Shot battle royal. Swinger and Heath start things off, with Swinger getting in some Hindu squats. There’s no contact to start so it’s off to Tenille vs. Alisha with Tenille grabbing a headlock. Tenille takes her down for a basement clothesline and it’s time to start the trash talk. Cody comes in so Alisha tags Hernandez…who hands it right off to Rhino instead. Cody grabs a headlock (Cody: “I’M GONNA BEAT RHINO!”) but Rhino runs him over with a shoulder.

Jake and Dreamer come in with Jake hitting his own running shoulder. It’s off to Hernandez to bearhug Tommy, who bites his way to freedom. Hernandez knocks all of the opponents off of the apron but Dreamer pulls Myers in, which counts as a tag. Heath comes in for a jumping knee and neckbreaker to Myers, who is right back with a shot to the face. Swinger tags himself in and the Wake Up Call gives Heath the fast pin at 7:18.

Rating: D+. This was fine for what they were going for here as there was no reason to do anything more than have a quick match with Heath getting the pin. The battle royal should be a good enough match and it doesn’t need to be anything more than that and a way to fill in some time. Heath continues to be amusing and he fills in that role rather well.

Sami Callihan and Eddie Edwards get in a fight in the back until Ken Shamrock comes in to lock Eddie’s ankle.

Eric Young asks Jimmy Jacobs thinks will happen to Rich Swann if he tries to wrestle at Bound For Glory. Young wants some answers about Swann so he’s going to the ring tonight to get them.

Kimber Lee vs. Kylie Rae

Deonna Purrazzo is here with Lee. Rae gets taken into the corner to start as the camera cuts are on fire to start. The threat of a Crossface has Lee fighting Rae off and she bails outside when Rae tries a running knee in the hurricanrana. A hurricanrana into a kick to the face gives Rae two but Lee tries a German suplex off the apron. Naturally that’s blocked so Lee settles for a powerbomb onto the apron instead.

Back in and some eye rakes have Rae down again but she grabs the leg for a failed STF attempt. Lee gets two off a delayed vertical suplex and it’s time to crank on the leg. That’s reversed into a cross armbreaker but Lee is right back out with a basement clothesline. Rae makes the comeback and gets two off the Kylie Special but Lee grabs a pop up sitout powerbomb for the same. A short arm clothesline puts Lee down again but Rae has to get rid of Purrazzo. That’s fine enough though as the STF finishes Lee at 9:49.

Rating: C. The wrestling wasn’t so much the point here as they were all about setting up the title match at Bound For Glory. They did a nice job of making you believe that Rae is a threat to Purrazzo, though she is a completely different kind of beast. Rae is getting better and better every time she is in the ring so hopefully that continues at the pay per view.

Post match Rae won’t let go so Purrazzo comes in, only to get beaten up as well.

Here are the Good Brothers for a chat. They’re glad to be here and they know they’re the best. They still need the titles though and those are coming at Bound For Glory.

Doc Gallows vs. Madman Fulton

Karl Anderson and Ace Austin are here too. Gallows knocks him into the corner to start but gets caught with Snake Eyes. A clothesline puts Gallows on the floor but he pulls Fulton out there with him. They fight up the ramp and it’s a double countout at 1:19. Fair enough, though quite disappointing.

Actually never mind as they’re continuing after the break and it’s now a street fight. Fulton hammers him down and sends Gallows into the barricade. A trashcan is put over Gallows’ head for a shot with a stick but Gallows is back with a beer shot to the head. Some chair shots have Fulton down but he comes back with a big boot. Fulton wedges a chair in the corner but charges into it, allowing Gallows to chokeslam him through some more chairs for the pin at 9:40 total.

Rating: D+. It’s a pure garbage brawl and the break in the middle didn’t help things. Fulton has cooled off a lot in recent weeks and while he’s still a big deal, he isn’t on the level of the Good Brothers. Then again, based on how things are going around here at the moment, the Good Brothers are probably the biggest stars in the promotion, which is kind of a weird way to go.

Here’s what’s coming at Bound For Glory and next week, much of which will lead into the pay per view.

Here’s Eric Young to complain about how he has to deal with a bunch of nonsense eleven days before Bound For Glory. He wants to hear that Rich Swann quit and wants to hear it right now. We cut to Scott D’Amore, who gets a phone call from someone who has done something for him. D’Amore has something to do and, after a break, D’Amore is coming to the ring. Young demands that D’Amore say he has the night off at Bound For Glory. D’Amore says that Young did extensive damage to Swann’s leg, which is enough for Young.

Eric goes into a rant about how D’Amore works for him now, so D’Amore asks what happened to Young. D’Amore remembers when Young was in Team Canada and being treated like garbage everywhere else. But now he’s this? What happened? Not that it matters, because Swann is going to be cleared for Bound For Glory and the title is on the line. Young snaps and beats the heck out of him in the corner until Swann runs out for a Lethal Injection to send Young running.

Moose drives to a bridge and finds EC3 holding the TNA World Title. EC3 says Moose is a mix of every wrestling personality he has ever seen. The fight is on, with EC3 knocking him down and picking up the title again. EC3 asks who Moose is and says it wouldn’t be so funny if it wasn’t so sad. Moose gets back up and hammers him down to take the title back. A bloody EC3 laughs as Moose leaves with the title.

Overall Rating: D. This company is limping into its biggest show of the year and this was another really bad step on the way. The biggest problem is Bound For Glory just feels like a collection of matches instead of anything important. The top three matches are a four way for the Tag Team Titles, EC3 and Moose fighting over a title that doesn’t count, and Eric Young vs. Rich Swann in a match that feels like it should be for the X Division Title.

What on here seems like it’s something important? Maybe the ten person tag to set up a five way to set up the last entrant in a battle royal for a future title shot? Or the six way for the midcard title? The show isn’t coming off like an important pay per view but rather some kind of a packed gimmick show that doesn’t actually have a gimmick. Slammiversary felt important and interesting. This feels like a show we have to get through. That shouldn’t be happening, but it’s all we have.

Results

Taya Valkyrie/Rosemary b. Tasha Steelz/Kiera Hogan and Nevaeh/Havok – Wing Clipper to Steelz

Crazzy Steve b. Fallah Bahh – Rollup

Cousin Jake/Hernandez/Alisha/Rhino/Heath b. Tenille Dashwood/Tommy Dreamer/Brian Myers/Cody Deaner/Johnny Swinger – Wake Up Call to Swinger

Kylie Rae b. Kimber Lee – Smile To The Finish

Doc Gallows b. Madman Fulton – Two handed chokeslam through chairs

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: October 6, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

The march to Bound For Glory continues and that means we have some stuff to set up. It also means more of Eric Young as World Champion and that isn’t exactly the most inspiring material in the world. Last week’s focus was on the tag division, though I’m not sure if that’s going to carry over here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap, including clips from Victory Road.

Opening sequence.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Myers

They trade shots to the face to start with Dreamer taking it outside in a hurry. Myers is sent into the steps and they brawl around a bit, as you probably expected. Dreamer’s chop hits post and a suplex onto the ramp bangs him up even more. Back in and a belly to back suplex sets up the chinlock on Dreamer, who has already lost his bandanna. The armbar goes on for a bit before Myers has to elbow him down again. Some elbow drops set up the trash talk and it’s back to the chinlock.

Dreamer fights up and catches him with a powerslam out of the corner. The cutter gives Dreamer two but Myers is back with the Michinoku Driver for the same. Myers misses a top rope elbow and gets DDTed for two. Dreamer misses a middle rope elbow (or close to it) and gets implant DDTed for two (what great symmetry) and Myers’ frustration is setting in. Myers grabs a kendo stick but Dreamer takes it away. That means Myers begs off…but then takes it away and canes Dreamer for the DQ at 9:22.

Rating: D. And that’s a Tommy Dreamer match, consisting of brawling, Dreamer laying around a lot and then the wacky ending, all while Dreamer isn’t as important as various companies think he is. Myers beating Dreamer up for eight minutes and then going into that lame of a finish doesn’t help anyone, but odds are we get a rematch at Bound For Glory because…well it’s Dreamer and we owe him something I guess.

Post match the beating continues until Scott D’Amore comes out for the save.

Commentary talks about Bound For Glory’s bigger matches.

Moose looks for the TNA World Title in various random places.

John E. Bravo is spending a fortune on the wedding and asks the wedding party to help pay for it. That isn’t happening, but Fallah Bahh says he’ll find the money. The argument is on and a tag match seems teased.

Here’s Rohit Raju with another opportunity. He has given more chances than people have had excuses for why their lives are terrible. Everyone wants this title so let’s see who is answering the Defeat Rohit challenge. Cue Willie Mack, but Raju says he had his chance at Victory Road. We need a fresh challenger.

Rohit Raju vs. Jordynne Grace

Raju stalls in the corner, because we do things on his time. After a minute of stalling, Mack grabs the title from the floor, allowing Grace to roll him up for the pin at 1:14.

And no Grace isn’t champion because it was non-title. Raju praises her for the win but makes it VERY clear that he is still champion. We follow Raju to the back, where Scott D’Amore makes a six way title match with Raju defending against Grace, Mack, TJP, Chris bey and Trey Miguel. D’Amore being all fired up and excited for Raju is funny.

Fallah Bahh challenges Hernandez to another arm wrestling match but bumps into him to spill a drink, sending Hernandez off a huff.

Rascalz vs. XXXL

Dez and Wentz for the Rascalz here with Wentz being shoved off the top during the entrances. That leaves Dez to be pulled apart and dropped down and we take a break. Back with Acey knocking Dez into the corner and throwing him down with a suplex. Larry comes in for a chinlock, followed by a splash for two.

Dez’s attempts at fighting up actually staggers Larry enough for the tag off to Wentz. House is cleaned and a standing shooting star gets two on Larry. The Rascalz strike Larry down and Acey clotheslines him by mistake. Acey is superkicked to the floor, leaving Larry to get caught with the shove moonsault for the pin at 9:56.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here and that’s hardly surprising. The Rascalz might get back into the Tag Team Title picture after Bound For Glory and now that the North aren’t the champions, they might actually have a shot. XXXL is hardly the most thrilling team but at least they serve a purpose well enough.

Fallah Bahh steals Hernandez’s money while Hernandez is in the shower. Is anyone ever going to SPEND that money? Or maybe put it somewhere else?

We go to Rich Swann’s medical clinic to see how his physical therapy is going. The doctor says he’s doing fine but Eric Young, disguised as a medic, jumps him and destroys the leg again.

The Motor City Machine Guns are ready for Ace Austin and Madman Fulton when the Good Brothers come in. Threats are made and the Brothers say they’ll be watching the main event so nothing goes badly before Bound For Glory.

Rosemary/Taya Valkyrie vs. Tasha Steelz/Kiera Hogan

They shout at each other to start until Taya knocks Kiera down and hammers away. There’s the running hip attack in the corner and the running knees in the corner make it even worse for Hogan. Rosemary comes in for an exploder suplex, which accidentally sends Hogan into the corner for the tag. Steelz walks into a suplex as well and the Upside Down goes on.

Hogan makes a save and it’s Rosemary getting stomped in the corner. Steelz loads up a baseball slide but Rosemary just growls at her to cut things off. A suplex puts Steelz down and the hot tag brings in Taya to clean house. Everything breaks down and it’s a parade of superkicks into a German suplex to drop Hogan on her head. A double underhook drop (Angel Garza’s Wing Clipper) finishes Steelz at 9:15.

Rating: C-. Total formula tag match here and it worked out well enough. I’m not wild on some of the women’s tag teams but Rosemary and Taya are entertaining enough. Granted more of that is in their backstage antics and you only get so much of that live. Hogan is the better of the villains here and Steelz is dragging her down, but not all that much.

Deaners vs. Johnny Swinger/Crazzy Steve

Jake throws Steve a beer to start and Steve’s monkey gets a sip as well. Swinger doesn’t approve and comes in, only to get caught in an atomic drop. The comeback doesn’t take long as Swinger gets Cody into the corner, where Steve offers a fork and a spoon. Swinger: “NOT YET!” The chinlock goes on for a bit before Swinger goes to grab Steve’s monkey. That doesn’t work so well as Cody grabs the Deaner DDT for the pin at 2:59.

We look back at Victory Road, where Deonna Purrazzo broke Susie’s arm.

Kylie Rae gets rather emotional about Susie’s injury when Kimber Lee comes in to laugh at her. Rae snaps and knocks her out before panicking over what she just did.

Scott D’Amore finally agrees to sign Heath because he recognizes Heath’s determination. They both have a proposal, with D’Amore rolling up his sleeves. Heath can’t be serious about this because it’s not like he won an Olympic gold medal. Maybe Heath should sign and work towards this instead. Heath isn’t sure but D’Amore gets up and storms off with no contract.

Post break Rhino asks Heath how it went, with Heath yelling at him for saying how much greener the grass was here. Drew McIntyre is mentioned as Heath leaves, with Rhino looking stunned.

EC3 drops the TNA World Title off of a bridge.

Sami Callihan loses his mind over the video of Ken Shamrock beating down Eddie Edwards receiving “45 million likes”. It means the old Shamrock is back and he needs to beat someone else up. Like the production guy who walks past them.

Here’s what’s coming up next week.

Motor City Machine Guns vs. Ace Austin/Madman Fulton

Non-title. Sabin and Austin trade some quickly broken wristlocks to start with Austin not being able to nip out of one. A dropkick into an armbar keeps Sabin in control and it’s off to Shelley for a running kick to the chest. The Guns stay on the arm with Shelley cranking away, only to get caught in a sleeper. That’s broken up but Austin brings in Fulton to start cleaning house.

Shelley gets sent face first into the buckle a few times and it’s a side slam/springboard legdrop combination for two. Austin busts out the playing card to cut Shelley’s fingers before handing it back to Fulton for the choking. Sabin’s save attempt just gets himself choked as well but Shelley grabs Fulton low. That’s enough to make Austin hit Fulton by mistake and it’s Sabin coming in off the hot tag to clean house.

A missile dropkick to the back of the head staggers Austin but he kicks Sabin in the head. Everything breaks down and Fulton is low bridged to the floor. Fulton is back up to shoves Sabin off the top but the Guns are fine enough to strike away and put Fulton down. The Dream Sequence hits Austin but Fulton suplexes both Guns. Cue the North to get on the apron but the Good Brothers get rid of them. Skull and Bones finishes Fulton at 12:57.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have the champs lose here so that’s certainly a plus, though I’m not wild on the monster taking a fall to anyone. You were waiting for the interference too, but they got me into the match enough that it wasn’t the worst feeling. Pretty good match, though the four way is going to need to be nuts.

The Guns and the Brothers yell at each other to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This show is at the weird lull before Bound For Glory as the show is set up but now we need to pause for a bit until we get to the pay per view. That makes for some weaker shows, including stuff like this with Dreamer getting ten minutes, the Deaners and XXX both getting matches and the stuff with Hernandez continuing. It wasn’t a terrible show, but just get to Bound For Glory already.

Results

Tommy Dreamer b. Brian Myers via DQ when Myers used a kendo stick

Jordynne Grace b. Rohit Raju – O’Connor roll

Rascalz b. XXXL – Shove moonsault to Larry D.

Deaners b. Johnny Swinger/Crazzy Steve – Deaner DDT to Swinger

Motor City Machine Guns b. Ace Austin/Madman Fulton – Skull and Bones to Fulton

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 15, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Madison Rayne

We’re just over a month away from Bound For Glory and I think you can see where the main event is going. Last week saw Eric Young vs. Tommy Dreamer because reasons, but Rich Swann made the save. I’m curious about some of the things around here though and if they can live up to the hype, they’ll be fine. Let’s get to it.

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

In memory of Barry Scott, the guy with the amazing voiceover.

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Kimber Lee/Deonna Purrazzo vs. Susie/Kylie Rae

Rock, Paper Scissors determines that Kylie gets to start with Purrazzo and it’s an exchange of wristlocks to get things going. Lee comes in and gets headscissored down in a hurry, followed by an armdrag into an armbar. It’s off to Susie, who whips Kylie into Lee into the corner but Purrazzo gets in a knee to the back to cut her off. The leg crank goes on but Susie is right back up with a sunset flip out of the corner for two on Purrazzo.

Lee is right back in to pull on both arms at once before Purrazzo comes back in and gets flapjacked. The double tag brings Rae back in to clothesline Lee down. The Kylie Special is blocked so Kylie settles for a dropkick instead. Purrazzo hits Lee by mistake but Lee is fine enough to German suplex Rae into the corner. Unfortunately that would be the Susie corner, so Lee German suplexes her for two. Susie pops back up with Su Yung’s Arachnarana into the Panic Switch to finish Lee at 8:16.

Rating: C. This is the higher end of the Knockouts division and I’d like to see where some of these things go. There are a few stories that could get interesting in a hurry, including Rey going after Purrazzo’s title and Susie trying to hold back the evil. Throw in the rest of the division being built up and they’re onto something nice.

The announcers preview the show.

Rohit Raju tries to get away from Trey Miguel, who would like an explanation from Raju for trying to play all of his challengers against each other. That is out of Raju’s control, but Trey is going to go smoke TJP and then get his title shot.

Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan annoy John E. Bravo and insist that they are not his best man. It’s Fallah Bahh, who can suddenly speak English.

XXXL vs. Deaners

Just like in Wrestle House, Cody offers Acey Romero the truce, but this time he gets kicked in the face. A backsplash from Acey gives Larry two and Cody is in a lot of trouble early on. Some shoulders to the ribs keep Cody down but he avoids the Best Hand In The House. The hot tag brings in Jake and everything breaks down. Acey takes out Cody with the Pounce but gets slammed by Jake. The Best Hand In The House finishes Jake for the pin at 4:00.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t big on this pairing at Wrestle House and that is still the case back in the arena. They don’t have the best chemistry together but above all else, their matches aren’t anything worth seeing. XXXL are fine as a middle of the road team and the Deaners are a gimmick team in their own right, which doesn’t exactly make for the best pairing.

Trey Miguel vs. TJP

This should be good. They lock hands to start and take each other to the mat until TJP gets caught in a headscissors. That doesn’t last long and they get up for an early standoff. TJP slips out of an electric chair but gets kicked down and hit with a standing moonsault for two. Trey gets taken down into a Sharpshooter with the arms trapped before going back to crank on the legs alone.

A double underhook crank doesn’t keep Trey down long so he goes up, only to get dropkicked out of the air. Trey’s spinning enziguri drops TJP though and we get a double breather. A hurricanrana sends TJP outside and Trey hits a suicide dive, only to take too long coming back in. TJP superplexes him down into the Octopus before rolling into a kneebar. The rope is grabbed so TJP kicks away at the leg to keep it in trouble. Trey gets in some knees to the chest though and hits a top rope Meteora for the pin at 7:15.

Rating: C+. Yeah this was the kind of match you would expect these two to have. I’m not sure where the X-Division is going at the moment but I’m hoping it doesn’t involve hanging the title high in the air and requiring someone climbing something to get it. If nothing else, we are all but guaranteed a multiman match at bound For Glory, though I’m not sure who is going to be included. That’s a good thing in this case.

Ace Austin and Madman Fulton and the North have laid out the Rascalz.

Post break, the Motor City Machine Guns aren’t thrilled that the Rascalz can’t be cleared for later. The Good Brothers come in and offer their assistance but the Guns aren’t sure.

Here’s Rich Swann, in a walking boot and on crutches, for a chat. He asks for and receives Scott D’Amore’s presence because he needed to give something up a few weeks back. Then he saw Eric Young moving up to the top of the company so he wants something: the World Title shot at Bound For Glory. Swann brings up beating Young at Slammiversary but D’Amore says he can’t because that leg is too bad.

Swann talks about D’Amore being a wrestler and wanting to have the chance. He grew up in Baltimore and needed the heart of a lion and the fire of a dragon. D’Amore is thinking about it but here’s Young to shove him down. Swann snaps and goes after him but Young bails and threatens violence at Bound For Glory. D’Amore gets up and makes the match at Bound For Glory, which you can now book in less than ten minutes.

Taya Valkyrie wants to know where Rosemary was last week when she was getting beaten down. Rosemary: “How many resurrections have you accomplished?” Taya wants her there tonight, but Rosemary says she has some things to do first, so Taya needs to help her. We have a reluctant deal.

Brian Myers vs. Willie Mack

Hey it’s this match….again. Willie starts fast with the armdrag and sends Myers outside for the slingshot dive. Myers grabs a Russian legsweep onto the ramp and they head back in for the punching and shouting. We hit the chinlock, followed by a jumping elbow for two on Mack. Myers is already frustrated so a turnbuckle pad comes off but it’s back to the chinlock instead of more evildoing.

Mack suplexes his way to freedom and it’s the swinging slam into a legdrop for two. Back up and a Michinoku Driver gives Myers his own two, only to get suplexed down again. Myers bails outside but gets thrown back in, where he kicks the rope low into Mack. The Implant DDT gets two but Myers misses a charge into the exposed buckle, allowing Mack to hit the Stunner for the pin at 7:59.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure I needed to see this match twice but we were lucky enough to get a trilogy. Mack is someone who could go a pretty long way while Myers is a fine enough hand, though he is still getting away from the idea of “THEY DIDN’T TREAT ME RIGHT IN WWE”. You need more than that and Myers is….kind of doing that? Maybe?

Rosemary asks Havok to try and help her resurrect James Mitchell but gets beaten down instead. Rosemary smiles.

Moose talks to Scott D’Amore about EC3 stealing his title and brainwashing his high school football coach. D’Amore tells him to get out of his face and accuses Moose of being insane. Moose isn’t pleased. An EC3 video pops up on the wall where he threatens to destroy the TNA World Title.

Post break, Moose calls “the Demo God” and asks what to do when your title is stolen. He likes what he is told and says next time, the bubbly is on him.

Rhino sneaks Heath in.

Jordynne Grace interrupts Tenille Dashwood’s photo shoot. Dashwood isn’t happy but they have a match next week anyway.

Kiera Hogan vs. Taya Valkyrie

No Rosemary, but Tasha Steelz is in Kiera’s corner. Kiera is taken into another corner for some stomping as the beating is on fast. Taya sends her outside and then kicks away back inside. Josh calls this back and forth, though Hogan hasn’t had any offense yet. Kiera sends her into the corner and hits a running basement dropkick for two to get something going. Taya throws her outside in a heap, followed by the running hip attack in the corner. Tasha pulls Kiera outside for a breather so the referee checks on Kiera, allowing Tasha to get in a kick to the head. Kiera grabs the bridging fisherman’s neckbreaker for the pin at 3:14.

Rating: D+. Tasha and Kiera continue to be the annoying tag team of the month, which is an idea that I don’t really need to see again. That being said, they’re good at being annoying and that’s all the need to be. The idea here was that Taya was shaken up without Rosemary and the ending wasn’t clean as the manic soap opera continues, which sounds rather appealing.

Rhino challenges Hernandez to some arm wrestling but it’s a ruse for Heath to steal Hernandez’s money. This is straight out of a bad comedy, as Heath is two feet from Hernandez, who somehow can’t see him.

Chris Bey asks Rohit Raju for his title rematch but TJP comes up for his title shot. Raju says Trey should get the shot so here’s Trey as well. Instead of a title match, we’re getting a triple threat #1 contenders match. The champ panics a bit as they all leave.

Good Brothers/Motor City Machine Guns vs. North/Ace Austin/Madman Fulton

Anderson and Austin start things off with Anderson being sent into various corners. Gallows comes in to kick away and Austin gets beaten down again. A chop counts as a tag to Sabin, who comes in to forearm it out with Alexander. Page gets struck down and some kicks do the same to Austin. The villains are sent outside and we take a break.

Back with Alexander knocking Shelley down for two and handing it off to Page for a shot to the throat. Fulton gets in a few shots of his own and Shelley’s chop just annoys him. The rotating beating continues with Alexander knocking Shelley down a few more times. That lasts all of a few seconds and it’s Shelley fighting over to the corner in a hurry for the hot tag to Anderson.

The spinebuster gets two on Page and it’s back to Gallows for the power. There’s a belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination to Page as everything breaks down. Anderson cutters Fulton but Austin dropkicks Gallows. Alexander takes Shelley into the corner and then clotheslines Gallows to the floor. The Northern Assault hits Sabin but Austin comes in to steal the pin at 14:00.

Rating: C. They did their thing, two teams have a claim to a title shot and the Good Brothers can still be around to do their thing. That’s a nice use of the time they had and the wrestling itself was fine enough. I can go with the idea of not trying to do more than you need to and they did that here. Also, more of the North and Austin is always a good idea.

Everyone is annoyed at each other to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Kind of a nothing show here as they were more into setting up stuff for the future rather than anything important this week. It wasn’t a bad show and I’m curious to see parts of Bound For Glory but we that’s quite a ways off at this point. They have lost something since the really good Slammiversary build but Eric Young was kept to a minimum here. Pretty skippable week, which hopefully isn’t a trend.

Results

Kylie Rae/Susie b. Kimber Lee/Deonna Purrazzo – Panic Switch to Lee

XXXL b. Deaners – Best Hand In The House to Jake

Trey Miguel b. TJP – Top rope Meteora

Willie Mack b. Brian Myers – Stunner

Kiera Hogan b. Taya Valkyrie – Bridging fisherman’s neckbreaker

North/Ace Austin/Madman Fulton b. Motor City Machine Guns/Good Brothers – Northern Assault to Sabin

Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 8, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

We’re in a new world around here as Eric Young is the World Champion again. That would seem to set up a big showdown against Rich Swann at Bound For Glory, which hopefully means this doesn’t last too long. Other than that, we have the Motor City Machine Guns defending the Tag Team Titles against the Rascalz and the continuing mind games between EC3 and Moose. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Eric Young for his first interview as champion. Young talks about how world class he is with everything and then he rolled over everyone to become World Champion. Cue Alisha Edwards to call Young a coward for injuring people. Eddie Edwards is going to come back and take Young out because he’ll fight anyone. She isn’t afraid of Young and it’s because of Young that Eddie can’t hold their child. Young: “I don’t care.”

Alisha slaps him so Young loads up a piledriver but Tommy Dreamer (oh no) comes in for the save. Dreamer talks about how the Edwards and Rich Swann are family and he isn’t letting this happen. If Young wants to be some monster, come end his career tonight. We’ll make it Extreme Rules, Old School Rules, Hardcore or whatever. Young says he’ll see Dreamer tonight. Can I see something in a mallet to the head?

The announcers run down the card.

Moose gets on a plane (where you can be followed by a camera crew) to go get his TNA World Title back.

Rosemary, John E. Bravo and Taya Valkyrie are wedding planning, with Rosemary saying she doesn’t know many people who can officiate a demon wedding. Taya says she has this so Rosemary teleports away, leaving Taya to make some rather big plans (a twenty layer cake is mentioned).

TJP vs. Chris Bey

They starts fast with TJP slugging away and hitting a big backdrop. Bey slips out of an armbar attempt and here’s Rohit Raju to watch from ringside. A headscissors out of the corner sends Bey to the floor for the Wrecking Ball dropkick and it’s time to work on Bey’s arm. The good arm hits TJP with a clothesline though and we take a break. Back with Bey in control but having to glare at a cheering Raju. The Gory Stretch is countered into a rollup though and TJP slaps on a quickly broken Muta Lock.

Bey kicks him in the back of the head and puts on an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up with a belly to back suplex and some rolling single underhook suplexes keep Bey down. Bey’s springboard kick to the face is countered into a rollup for two as Madison leaves to do Locker Room Talk. Bey tries a rollup but TJP reverses into a sunset flip for the quick pin at 10:37.

Rating: B-. They kept things moving at a very fast pace here and that’s what they needed to do. I’m not sure where they’re going with the Bound For Glory title match here but you can almost guarantee that there will be a lot of people involved. That isn’t a bad thing in this case, but I could go for a match like this on the big stage instead of some big mess.

It’s time for Locker Room Talk and Johnny Swinger has a new jacket. He insists that Wrestle House wants him back, which Rayne says makes it sound like jail. The guests this week are Kylie Rae and Susie, with Madison accusing Rae of trying to hide from Deonna Purrazzo. Madison tries to bring up Susie being Su Yung but here are Purrazzo and Kimber Lee, with Purrazzo complaining about the interruption last week. Tag match next week.

John E. Bravo is trying to find an elephant but Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan come in to ask about their invitations. They want him to be a man and stand up to Taya but Taya wouldn’t like that. The two of them are going to be his groomspeople and teach him how to be a man.

Here’s Brian Myers to talk about getting off on the wrong foot with Willie Mack. He has been around the world and wrestled in all fifty states. There is nothing to be ashamed about to lose to him but Mack wouldn’t go with the time honored tradition of shaking his hand. Mack needs to come out here and do it now, so here’s Mack to say he isn’t here to shake hands. He would rather put his hands around Myers’ throat and shake that. They’re having a rematch right now, but Myers isn’t ready. Mack: “Didn’t they tell you to always bring your gear if you’re a professional?”

Willie Mack vs. Brian Myers

Mack elbows him to the floor to start and follows with a dive. Myers sends him face first into the apron a few times though and takes it back inside to yell and stomp. A suplex gives Myers two and we hit the chinlock. Mack fights up with the swinging slam into a legdrop for two of his own. The standing moonsault gets the same but the Stunner is broken up with a rake to the face. Mack hits a standing Sky High but Myers gets in a low blow, setting up an implant DDT for the pin at 5:26.

Rating: C-. I still don’t quite see the star power in Myers but he used to be in WWE and has a podcast so I guess he’s worth pushing. Mack continues to look and feel like a star and I could go for more of him, but hopefully he winds up getting some kind of a win here. The handshake deal is fine, though back to back losses aren’t the most encouraging.

Jordynne Grace doesn’t get why Tenille Dashwood just showed up and thinks she gets a title shot. Grace goes to find her but gets Dashwood’s personal photographer (Caleb Konley), who says she is too busy.

Taya yells at Tasha and Kiera for getting in someone else’s business. They yell back and both sides are called Boo Boo, making me lose any and all interest in the whole thing.

Tag Team Titles: Rascalz vs. Motor City Machine Guns

The Rascalz are challenging and dropkick the Guns off the apron to start fast. That means stereo dives to take them down again and it’s time to take it back inside for some running charges to Sabin in the corner. The rapid fire kicks get two and a running kick to the chest gives Wentz two. Shelley comes in to take over on Wentz’s leg though and he can’t even be whipped across the ring. The Guns take turns kicking at the knee in the corner and Sabin drives the knee into the mat. Sabin cuts off the comeback in the corner and Shelley knees the knee again.

We go old school with a spinning toehold from Shelley as Sabin grabs an Octopus Hold on Dez. Shelley tries a Figure Four instead as Dez escapes and makes the save. An enziguri allows the hot tag to Dez, who kicks Sabin in the back of the head to take over. More kicks in the corner get two as everything breaks down. Wentz’ middle rope Meteora onto Dez’s knees gets two and it’s a jumping knee to Sabin’s face. The Guns are back in with the Dream Sequence to Dez and the ASCS Rush to Wentz. The double Death Valley Driver retains the titles at 8:38.

Rating: B. Yeah this worked and that is hardly a surprise. They actually did something else before getting to the fast paced and high intensity offense, which is works the best for all of these guys. I’m not sure why we can’t get that more often in a match like this and it worked well here. Good stuff and I could go for another.

Post match the North runs in and beat down both teams. Ace Austin and Madman Fulton run in for the staredown but the Good Brothers come in for the real save. The Rascalz dive onto the villains and it’s a three way staredown.

Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes are rather happy because next week, it’s the Whole F’N Talk Show. Just what we need.

Sami Callihan says this is 2020 for him: he won the match and then got beaten up again last week. Katie Forbes messed things up for him so maybe she is just too much for him. Next week there is a new talk show though and Sami promises to hack it. Well at least he’s an honest hacker.

Tasha Steelz vs. Taya Valkyrie

Kiera Hogan and John E. Bravo are here. The yelling turns into the slugout to start and Taya hits a running basement dropkick for two. Kiera gets a trip from the floor so Tasha can take over as Bravo is wedding planning on his phone. Taya hits a sitout powerbomb and a knee to the chest gets two. A spear into the Road to Valhalla finishes Tasha at 3:39.

Rating: C-. They kept things fast here and that was a good thing given how Steelz isn’t the best in the ring most of the time. The Bravo distraction is going to be interesting and I’m curious to see where they go when they finally have him stand up to Taya, assuming he actually does.

Post match Kiera jumps Taya, which is enough to get Bravo off the phone for the late save.

Moose winds up at I believe his high school football coach’s office and asks if has seen EC3. That’s a no, but the coach tells him to control his narrative. Some guys in EC3 gear appear and Moose runs.

Flashback Moment of the Week: EC3/Eddie Edwards b. Mike Bennett/Moose on August 11, 2016.

Heath and Rhino meet up in the parking lot but Heath is in trouble with management. The ads are going to continue but they are expensive. Rhino knows where he can get money though.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Eric Young vs. Tommy Dreamer

Non-title and anything goes. Dreamer slams him down to start but misses the kendo stick shot. They head outside with Dreamer being sent into the steps, followed by a chain over his eyes. That earns Dreamer a posting and it’s time to peel back the ring mats. Dreamer comes back with some weapons shots and they head back inside. Young bites his way out of a superplex attempt and the catapult sends Dreamer throat first into the bottom rope. A middle rope elbow with a chair is blocked with a raised boot and Dreamer grabs the cutter.

They slug it out from their knees but Young goes after the leg to take him down again. Young gets sent into the trashcan in the corner and Dreamer’s DDT gets two. It’s table time but Young gets in a low blow. Dreamer crotches him on top, only to have Young hit him in the head with the hockey mask. The piledriver finishes Dreamer at 10:08.

Rating: D+. So that’s how Young’s first match as the World Champion goes: fighting Tommy Dreamer for ten minutes and needing to survive because Dreamer needed to hang in there for that long against the World Champion. I’m not sure who thought this was a good idea but I’m sure Dreamer cried about it a bit. Not a good match of course, but how often can Dreamer do anything above this level anyway?

Post match Young wraps a chair around the leg and beats on it with the kendo stick. Rich Swann limps out with the crutch to make the save. Young yells at Swann to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was up and down all show with some good stuff being dragged down by a lot of negatives. In other words, Eric Young vs. Tommy Dreamer is not a main event I need to see. It was far from a bad show and it seems that we are going to be seeing Swann getting the World Title shot at Bound For Glory. That works well enough, assuming I can take that much of hearing about Young’s greatness.

Results

TJP b. Chris Bey – Sunset flip

Brian Myers b. Willie Mack – Implant DDT

Motor City Machine Guns b. Rascalz – Double Death Valley Driver to Wentz

Taya Valkyrie b. Tasha Steelz – Road to Valhalla

Eric Young b. Tommy Dreamer – Piledriver

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 25, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

It’s the second and final night of Emergence and that means we’re in for a big match. This time around it’s going to be a thirty minute Iron Man match for the Knockouts Title as Deonna Purrazzo defends against Jordynne Grace. The World Title is on the line as well, plus the usual Wrestle House shenanigans. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Eddie Edwards vs. ???

Eddie is defending against….Rob Van Dam with Katie Forbes. Yeah that’s a little better than Brian Myers. Eddie goes to the arm to start and snaps off an overhead belly to belly. They head outside in a hurry with Rob sending him into the barricade but a kiss from Katie slows things down. Eddie hits a suicide dive but another distraction lets Rob get in a posting. That means the spinning kick to the back as Eddie is on the barricade, meaning Katie needs to dance.

They bother heading back in for a change with Rob sending him throat first into the middle rope. The split legged moonsault gives Rob two but the Blue Thunder Bomb plants Van Dam again. Eddie grabs the tiger driver for two more as Madison insists that Rob and Katie owe her a couch. Rob shoves him off the top for a crotching and Rolling Thunder connects. The Five Star misses though and the Boston Knee Party retains the title at 7:51.

Rating: C. Not as good as you would expect, but then again why would you have any kind of expectations for Van Dam in 2020? Watching him wrestle is better than watching Katie do anything though so at least there was a minor positive. Unfortunately for Eddie this seems to be leading to an Eric Young match and….I’m really not sure why.

Post match Eric Young runs in and jumps Eddie from behind. Eric shouts NEXT WEEK because the World Title goes through him.

Here’s what else is coming tonight.

And now, Wrestle House.

The Deaners are throwing a toga party and insult Johnny Swinger.

We cut to Swinger, who is in his leopard print toga. Crazzy Steve isn’t sure about this, but Swinger says follow his lead and they’ll have every woman in the house.

The party is on with a lot of dancing and drunkenness. Kylie Rae is rather happy and sober but Taya isn’t happy with her for still being #1 contender. The Deaners and XXXL bury the hatchet over the beer, followed by Steve getting powder thrown in his eyes. Steve says he’s blind and it’s Swinger’s fault. Match time and we’ll even make it a blindfold match with the loser having to dress like the winner next week. Tommy Dreamer: “Let’s get to it.”

Crazzy Steve vs. Johnny Swinger

Cousin Jake is referee. Steve honks his horn a bunch and Swinger falls for it, allowing Steve to beat him up. Swinger does the point for the crowd noise thing but they send him into an empty corner, allowing Steve to get the pin at 1:23.

Eddie Edwards goes Eric Young hunting and quotes Batman, saying we can get nuts.

Rhino thinks you should vote Heath4Impact. And then he’ll get to Reno Scum.

Here’s Eddie in the ring to say Eric is trying to send a message. He can have the title shot next week but let’s get nuts right now. Cue Eric to say everything is by design, but maybe it wasn’t a single, solitary act of violence. We’ll do everything next week. That’s fine with Eddie, but he isn’t waiting until next week to give Eric his beating. Referees and Scott D’Amore come out for the save and D’Amore gets shoved down. Eric says he has Eddie right where he wants him.

Rohit Raju talks about how it took him a long way to get to this title but he made it work despite not being the popular guy or knowing the right people. Now he is giving people opportunities, but it is his time.

It’s off to Locker Room Talk, with the Rascalz now serving as Madison Rayne’s co-hosts. After some references to smoking, Madman Fulton and Ace Austin come in as this week’s guests. They don’t like being asked about the losses to the Good Brothers and violence seems imminent. They wind up walking out instead, leaving Madison to turn down an invitation to the Tree House.

Sami Callihan says last week was 2020 in a nutshell. He would have won the World Title last week if Rob Van Dam hadn’t jumped him. Then Van Dam lost tonight because Sami is in his head. Next week, Sami is going to be waiting in the ring so Van Dam can come see him.

We get a long video on EC3’s successes in Impact Wrestling and winning the World Title over and over. As long as the TNA World Title exists, he can never be free. Moose is hiding behind words and is a false idol. Now he is coming for Moose and to change everything. You have been warned.

Brian Myers vs. Willie Mack

They go with the grappling to start as Josh suggests that Madison Rayne hasn’t wrestled more than thirty minutes combined in her life. Thankfully Madison calls him out for not really having a career as Mack shoulders Myers down hard. Myers comes back with a chop and choking on the ropes, followed by a kick to the back for two.

Mack’s running hurricanrana into a dropkick sends Myers into the corner and it’s time to shove it out. A double leg takedown has Mack in trouble and Myers sends him throat first into the top rope. We hit the chinlock and then a reverse chinlock to take things in another direction. Mack fights up but is elbowed straight back down as Myers is getting frustrated.

The third chinlock goes on but Mack is back up with a heck of a Pounce for the double knockdown. Mack’s spinning slam into a jumping legdrop gets two. The Samoan drop into the standing moonsault gets the same but Myers breaks up a superplex attempt. That means a top rope elbow can give Myers two, followed by an enziguri for the same. Back up and Myers slips out of a Rock Bottom and grabs an O’Connor roll with trunks for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: C. Not too bad here and Myers needs a win to give him some credibility around here. You can’t get very far coasting off a tag team with Zack Ryder from last year so the win could give Myers some much needed capital. Mack will be fine as it was a cheating win, though he has been in a bad way as of late and needs a win of his own.

Heath says we have one week to get Heath4Impact trending so he can team with Rhino against Reno Scum next week.

It’s back to Wrestle House with the Deaners thinking that Lawrence D. is the Stefan to Larry D.’s Steve Urkel. Allie gets in Rosemary’s face and accuses her of using Lawrence to hurt John E. Bravo. Dreamer asks Bravo about it but he says Rosemary isn’t his girl.

Lawrence is laying on a table for Rosemary, who gets a bit sick at the sight of him. Rosemary, after taking his hand away from her face, says it wasn’t supposed to go this far but here’s an angry Bravo to interrupt. Bravo slaps him and that turns Lawrence back into Larry. Match time.

Larry D. vs. John E. Bravo

Acey Romero is defending and a shot to the face drops Bravo. The Best Hand In The House finishes him at 34 seconds.

Rosemary tries to console Bravo, who admits he has feelings for her. Taya comes up and is stunned and blames Rosemary for everything. Next week, they fight for everything, including Bravo.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Purrazzo is defending in a thirty minute Iron Man match. They lock up to start and Purrazzo even goes to the mat without it being broken. Grace goes to the wristlock and powers Purrazzo down by the arm. Purrazzo reverses into one of her own and is taken down in a hurry. A headlock takeover works a bit better for the champ but it’s reverses into a headscissors. Purrazzo nips up and gives graceful bow before getting shouldered down. A faceplant sets up a half crab on the champ, sending her over to the rope as we take a break.

Back with no falls and Grace sending her hard into the corner. There’s no clock but Josh says we have a little over twenty minutes left. Some hard whips to the corner have Purrazzo in trouble but they head outside where she gets in a pump kick for a breather. The clock shows eighteen minutes left as Purrazzo finally starts in on the arm. The arm gets draped over the top rope and it’s off to a standing armbar. Grace gets her foot in the ropes for the break and we hit fifteen minutes to go. Purrazzo hits a short arm clothesline and we take a break.

Back with Purrazzo cranking on the arm even more, which is so interesting that we got to a full screen replay of Grace’s arm being stomped on the steps during the commercial. Purrazzo takes her down by the arm with nine minutes left and the cranking continues with eight minutes left. Grace comes back with some forearms and puts her on top for a running palm strike into a superplex. They pull themselves up so Grace can win the slugout, setting up back to back backsplashes or two.

The rear naked choke goes on and Purrazzo is out for the first fall with….a need for a clock but Josh says about 4:30 to go. Back up and Purrazzo gets a Downward Spiral into a Koji Clutch but Grace makes the rope again. We have two minutes left and they strike it out until Purrazzo has to elbow out of the Grace Driver.

Grace runs over the referee and now the Grace Driver connects for no count. That means a check on the ref so Purrazzo gets in a belt shot to tie it up at about a minute left. Purrazzo covers for two and grabs the armbar, which is broken up with a rollup. A bridging German suplex gives Purrazzo two and the Fujiwara armbar makes Grace tap with two seconds left.

Rating: B-. It was good enough but this felt like they were going off of a textbook of how to have an Iron Man match instead of doing anything interesting or unique. It isn’t bad by any means (the production value was, with the clock being up for about five seconds at a time and not even a scoreboard) but they were treating this like some kind of an epic and it was just a match that got more time than most.

Overall Rating: C+. I wasn’t feeling this one as the show probably didn’t need to go two weeks. The Wrestle House stuff took away from the special feeling as well as that is as goofy as you can get (in a rather entertaining way). The main event was nice but it’s nothing worth going out of your way to see. Not a bad show, but it definitely didn’t feel like a big night.

Results

Eddie Edwards b. Rob Van Dam – Boston Knee Party

Crazzy Steve b. Johnny Swinger – Rollup

Brian Myers b. Willie Mack – O’Connor roll with trunks

Larry D. b. John E. Bravo – Best Hand In The House

Deonna Purrazzo b. Jordynne Grace 2-1

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 11, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

We are coming up on Emergence and that could make for some good stuff around here. It might be a little soon after Slammiversary but the question now is what will actually take place on the two weeks of specials. Throw in Wrestle House and we could be in for some good stuff. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap, focusing entirely on Rich Swann’s retirement and Eric Young attacking him last week.

We open in the back with Willie Mack attacking Eric Young. Security can’t break them up and they fight into the arena, eventually getting into the ring where referees and security break it up. Mack says they’re scheduled to have a match tonight so let’s do it right now. Young says on his time and tries to leave but Mack goes after him. They get inside and the bell rings.

Eric Young vs. Willie Mack

Young stomps away to start but Mack hits a running elbow in the corner. The Stunner over the top rope slows Mack down but he sends Eric outside without much trouble. There’s the slingshot dive to take Young down again as Mack is all fired up. Young bites him in the head to get out of trouble on the top, setting up the top rope elbow for two. Some shots to the back of Mack’s head get two but Mack pulls him out of the air for a northern lights suplex. Young knocks him down in a hurry though and we hit the chinlock.

Mack fights up again with the swinging slam into the legdrop. The standing moonsault gives Mack two and they’re both down. The Stunner is countered with a rake of the eyes but Mack grabs the Stunner. There’s no cover though as Mack goes for a chair instead and lays it over (not around) Young’s leg. That takes too long though and Young crotches him on top, setting up the piledriver for the pin at 8:32.

Rating: C. This went well enough and it protected Mack to have the match won but go for revenge instead of the pin. That’s what he should be doing and it keeps Young strong, which has to appeal to someone….somewhere I guess. It’s a good enough story and if we get Swann’s big emotional return to the ring (maybe at Bound For Glory), they’ll be as fine as you can be in an Eric Young story.

Here’s what’s coming up tonight.

The Good Brothers go hunting for Ace Austin and Madman Fulton.

It’s time for Wrestle House. Taya Valkyrie and John E. Bravo call everyone into the main room so they can watch her greatest hits, as determined by a house vote of course. Kylie Rae thinks the votes may have been fraudulent and Cody just drinks. Various people make excuses to go away and we start looking at Taya’s Impact debut.

Johnny Swinger tells Crazzy Steve a story about Lord Littlebrooke but Steve is staring at Rosemary. Steve thanks him for being a good mentor and goes to sit next to Rosemary. She offers to pick back up where they left off and brings up Decay. Steve accuses her of being jealous of Taya with Bravo and Rosemary glares.

We cut to elsewhere in the house, where Cody and Alisha are getting Jake and Susie ready for their date, presumably with each other.

Reno Scum jump Rhino and take Hernandez’s money.

Kimber Lee vs. Jordynne Grace

Grace runs her over a few times to start and gets two off the side slam. Some hard whips into the corner don’t have Lee in that much trouble as she avoids a charge. Back from a break with Lee cranking on Grace’s knee and then chopping away in the corner. A suplex doesn’t work as Grace reverses into one of her own, setting up a spinebuster for two on Lee. They go to a pinfall reversal sequence for some near falls until Lee grabs a German suplex for two. Madison leaves commentary to do Locker Room Talk as Lee headbutts Grace off the top, only to have her Swanton hit knees. The rear naked choke finishes Lee at 8:27.

Rating: C-. Grace getting some wins with the choke would look to set up some kind of a big match against Deonna Purrazzo for the title later on. That’s a good idea as you can only do so much with Grace’s power and it is quite the relief to see that she is getting to expand her horizons a bit. Lee continues to just be kind of there, but it could be worse.

It’s time for Locker Room Talk, with Rayne knowing how happy everyone is to have it back. They even have their first sponsor: the Heath4Impact campaign, as Heath needs to be on the show. Rayne: “His money is as good as anyone’s.” That brings us to the guests: Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes, with the latter dancing in.

Madison is glad to have them back in their, ahem, natural state but they can’t control themselves and Madison walks out. They decide to have their own show, with Katie asking Rob for his favorite things about her. He likes quite a bit, but here’s Sami Callihan out of nowhere to jump him. Katie helps Rob though and the double beatdown is on.

Trey surprises the other Rascalz by wearing the Suicide mask but here’s Moose, who doesn’t like Wentz’s EC3 hoodie. Moose glares at him but gives Suicide a TNA Title shot next week without knowing who he is.

Back to Wrestle House, with Rosemary ignoring Taya’s matches and thinking about the jealousy thing Steve mentioned. She uses some magic to get Larry D.’s attention and Larry seems interested. Alisha gives Susie dating advice as she sits down to dinner with Jake. Susie mentions some stomach issues, which was the only excuse Alisha could think of to get her out of the Taya watchalong earlier. Back in the main room, Larry can’t stop staring at Rosemary. Acey asks what’s wrong and offers popcorn, but Larry says there are things more important than food. That means it’s MATCH TIME!

Larry D. vs. Acey Romero

Cody is referee. Romero promises to show tough love and hits a jumping clothesline. A running dropkick drops Larry again but the backsplash misses. The Best Hand In The House finishes Acey at 1:28.

Larry dedicates his win to Rosemary.

Deonna Purrazzo challenges Jordynne Grace to a 30 minute Iron Woman match at Emergence.

Video on the North vs. the Motor City Machine Guns. The Guns came back for the North and took the Tag Team Titles. Now the North wants them back.

Nevaeh/Jessika Havok vs. Tasha Steelz/Kiera Hogan

No DQ and Steelz/Hogan jump them from behind during the entrance. They head inside for the opening bell and Havok pulls Steelz out of the air to slam her down. Havok elbows Steelz out of the corner for a running knee as Hogan blasts Nevaeh with some kind of club. Nevaeh is fine enough to save Havok from a double teaming and snaps off a suplex to Steelz. Havok misses a charge and goes knees first into the steps on the floor, allowing Hogan to save Steelz again.

A running basement dropkick in the corner hits Nevaeh for two and it’s time to choke on the ropes. Havok makes a save and Nevaeh snaps off a suplex to Hogan, meaning it’s time to set up a table on the floor. All four wind up back inside for the slugout until everyone but Havok is kicked down. Havok isn’t about to be double suplexed but she can be low bridged out to the apron. A few kicks put her through the table and a fisherman’s neckbreaker finishes Nevaeh at 7:50.

Rating: C. The match was fine but it’s still a story that doesn’t exactly offer the biggest thrills. They treated it like the big blowoff though and that’s the best thing they could have done here. It wasn’t much of a feud between the two teams but at least they had someone win instead of just having them stop fighting.

The Good Brothers ask Scott D’Amore where Fulton and Austin are and promise to hold the ring until they get here. D’Amore is getting Hall and Nash vibes.

EC3 pops up on screen in front of Moose, promising to destroy him. That is the warning.

Suicide vs. Dez

It isn’t clear if this is still Trey, but Wentz is with Dez. They fight over wrist control to start but here are the Good Brothers to take out Dez for the DQ at 1:04.

The Good Brothers beat up everyone involved and it’s time to call out Fulton and Austin. The two of them pop up on screen to say they aren’t in the arena tonight. Austin will fight, but they’ll do it on his time (second use of that line tonight). Say the first night of Emergence. The Brothers are down.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Eddie Edwards b. Cody on Impact, October 2, 2016.

Rohit Raju comes in to warn Chris Bey that he might have to defend the X-Division Title against TJP at Emergence. Fallah Bahh will be there too, so put Raju in to make it a triple threat and protect the title. Bey seems to agree.

Brian Myers is still coming to be a professional.

Back to Wrestle House and Jake says he thought of Susie as the Undead Bride for so long. That turns her into Su Yung for a bit and this time Jake is the one with the bad stomach. Alisha comes in and wonders what happened, with Susie suggesting Alisha gave her bad advice. You know what that means.

Susie vs. Alisha Edwards

Steve is referee and Alisha doesn’t like the bad advice suggestion. Alisha shoves her away and gets slapped, triggering the catfight. A double clothesline puts both of them down, sending Steve into a count of seven, nine, potato. Back up and Alisha hits a clothesline but Susie gets a rollup for the pin at 1:55.

Post match Taya comes in to say it’s time to go watch her match of winning the Knockouts Title. Kylie smiles a lot and says they would all rather go to sleep. Taya calls her a loser and Susie points out that Kylie has beaten her twice. Dreamer pops up for MATCH TIME but Rosemary threatens him (ok good for a chuckle). Taya says next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Here’s Eddie Edwards to say he’ll face Eric Young right now, so get out here. It’s Brian Myers instead and he’ll take the title shot right now. In his hands, that title becomes a championship.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Eddie Edwards vs. Brian Myers

Eddie is defending and chases Myers into the ropes to start. Some stomps in the corner have Myers in trouble as Josh reminds us of Myers’ completely forgotten Tag Team Title reign. Myers’ headlock doesn’t last long so he goes with choking on the ropes instead. Eddie sends him outside though and we take a break.

Back with Eddie hitting an atomic drop into an overhead belly to belly. Myers grabs him for a posting though and sends him back first into the apron. A knee to the chest gives Myers two and we hit the chinlock. With that broken up, Myers kicks at the head and slaps on another chinlock, this time with a knee to the back. This time Eddie fights up and sends him outside for the suicide dive but comes up holding his knee.

Myers whips him back into the barricade for a near countout but Eddie gets back in without much drama. Eddie snaps off a suplex and hits some forearms, followed by the Backpack Stunner for two. Myers’ implant DDT gets the same but Eddie superkicks him into a tiger driver for another near fall. The Boston Knee Party misses but then connects to retain at 10:24.

Rating: C. This was as good of a match as you were going to get with someone best known as Curt Hawkins getting a World Title shot. I know he’s not the same guy anymore, but you’re going to need to give me something more than calling him the professional to shake his reputation. He’s fine in the ring and knows how to talk, but fans are going to see him as Hawkins for a good while and this wasn’t exactly the match to shake that feeling. It wasn’t bad, but it was only so interesting with zero drama.

Eddie celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The weekly World Title matches are starting to take a bit of a toll on the show. I like the idea behind them but you can only get so far with the lack of drama and feeling like we need to check an item off a list every week. Then you have the Wrestle House stuff, which is entertaining enough for something different but at some point it needs to go somewhere. The show was fine, but they’ll need Emergence to work to give us something a little more substantial.

Results

Eric Young b. Willie Mack – Piledriver

Jordynne Grace b. Kimber Lee – Rear naked choke

Larry D. b. Acey Romero – Best Hand In The House

Tasha Steelz/Kiera Hogan b. Nevaeh/Jessika Havok – Fisherman’s neckbreaker to Nevaeh

Dez b. Suicide via DQ when the Good Brothers interfered

Susie b. Alisha Edwards – Rollup

Eddie Edwards b. Brian Myers – Boston Knee Party

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

I’m not bothering with anything complicated here.

http://www.wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-the-gfw-invasion-was-really-bad/41459/

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 16, 2015
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: D’Angelo Dinero, Josh Matthews

It’s the final night of the invasion as we’ll be having Lethal Lockdown between TNA and GFW for total control of the company. This is likely going to be a one match show for the most part as nothing else of note has been announced. There’s also the chance that someone could turn on their company. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the invasion leading up to tonight’s showdown inside the cage.

Jeremy Borash is in the ring for the contract signing between Dixie Carter and Jeff Jarrett. Yes they’re really saving this for the same show as the blowoff match. Since this is TNA, shouldn’t the signing be delayed? Dixie talks about how Jeff is still causing all this trouble because of how he left the company years ago.

It was Jeff’s action that led him out of TNA and Dixie was hoping that they could work together again. That didn’t happen though and it’s all in the past. Dixie is here to fight for this company going forward and it’s going forward without Jarrett. Jeff says this is a moment in history, but it’s summed up by one man: Eric Young.

Eric is a TNA original who hates Jeff’s guts and is under contract to Dixie, but he’s siding with Global Force Wrestling. What more proof does Dixie need than that? Tonight Jeff is going to take over his second wrestling company and Dixie will be out in the cold where she belongs. The papers are sealed in a briefcase but Jeff punches Jeremy Borash when he tries to take it. Dixie can hang onto it for now because the Jarrett’s will pick it up later.

Jeff Hardy drives Ethan Carter III and Tyrus to the arena. He’s sent to the back for his assignment for the night. Carter will be there when he’s watched ten to twelve cat videos on his phone.

We’re actually getting a series of videos throughout the night on the history between Dixie Carter and Jeff Jarrett. Someone, please, hit me in the head with something very very hard. I don’t think I can take this all night.

We get a quick recap of Mahabali Sheera vs. the Revolution.

Abyss vs. Mahabali Sheera

Sheera is now a dancer and dances with a guy in a Bigfoot costume at ringside. Abyss isn’t interested in dancing and attacks from behind. They’re quickly on the floor to start with Sheera ramming him into the steps, only to eat a splash back inside. We hit the neck crank for a bit before Sheera fights up, only to eat a chokeslam. The swing from Janice misses though and Sheera chokeslams him for two. Cue Storm with a chair but he hits Abyss with the cowbell by mistake. A quick Sky High (more like treetop high) gives Sheera the pin at 5:06.

Rating: D. So after spending all these weeks treating Sheera like he’s supposed to be a big deal, he’s a dancer. That’s the big idea they came up with after all this time? The guy has a look and some international appeal and he’s a dancer. Well done on giving him the definition of the dead on arrival gimmick guys. Abyss was his normal self here, which is fine for a first win for Sheera, but I can’t take him seriously with this dancing nonsense.

We IMMEDIATELY cut away to Ethan and Tyrus in the back. The champ promises a party tonight.

Here are Ethan and Tyrus to introduce Jeff Hardy, who is wearing a black suit covered with Ethan Carter faces. After Ethan cracks jokes, Jeff is forced to tell the fans to stop cheering for him. The fans don’t comply but Carter gives Jeff credit for trying. This brings out Rockstar Spud, who says this looks too familiar. When he came to this company, he did everything Ethan told him to do so he could get his foot in the door. This however is JEFF FREAKING HARDY, a man that makes the crowds go crazy. Ethan decks Spud and the three of them leave. Spud comes after Ethan but Tyrus lays him out. Jeff is forced to hit Spud.

More Dixie vs. Jeff history, including Jeff becoming the new TNA boss a few months back.

Jeff Jarrett tries to recruit Drew Galloway to GFW. TNA is a man down, so why should Drew stick around?

Earl Hebner is going into the TNA Hall of Fame.

Knockouts Title: Brooke vs. Lei’D Tapa vs. Awesome Kong vs. Gail Kim

Brooke is defending and this is one fall to a finish. Gail and Brooke go after the giants to start and are quickly thrown to the side. Tapa and Kong slug it out until Brooke and Gail beat on Tapa for a bit. Kong adds a splash and we take an early break. Back with Tapa dropping Gail face first off the barricade but Kong dives off the apron to crush Tapa with a cross body.

Gail and Brooke fight in the ring until Kong misses a charge at Tapa and takes out the champ. Tapa slams Gail down inside but Kim kicks away at the knee. Kong comes back in with a top rope splash to Tapa. Brooke’s top rope elbow hits Kong and all four are down. The giants are sent to the floor, leaving Brooke to try a sunset flip on Gail, who sits down on it for the pin and the title at 12:21.

Rating: C-. Who else? Who else could it have been but Gail Kim? She fits in so perfectly with the theme of the same tired ideas that we’ve seen dozens of times in TNA as they seem to be on their last legs (the most recent time that is), so why not just put the belt on her again so she can bore the fans to sleep one last time.

Drew gives Team TNA one more pep talk.

Ethan blames Hardy for having a World Title match next week. Jeff better help him retain the title or else.

One last Dixie vs. Jeff video, this time on Jarrett’s betrayal.

Team TNA vs. Team GFW

TNA: Lashley, Eddie Edwards, Davey Richards, Drew Galloway, ???

GFW: Sonjay Dutt, Chris Mordetzky, Jeff Jarrett, Eric Young, Brian Myers

It’s Lethal Lockdown, meaning WarGames. The first two will fight for three minutes until Team GFW sends in its second man for a two minute advantage. The teams alternate until all ten are in, which is when the roof, covered in weapons, lowers. First pin or submission after everyone has entered wins.

Sonjay sends Davey into the cage to start but Richards slugs away. That’s fine with Dutt who bites Davey’s hand and kicks him in the chest to take over. Davey kicks him in the ribs and tries a Texas Cloverleaf, but here’s Eric Young to give GFW the advantage. The slow beating continues until Drew Galloway is in to tie it up. Josh already gets his history wrong by saying Drew is the one that figured out Karen Jarrett was behind the attacks (Drew accused Jeff and Karen confessed).

Back from a break with Brian Myers in for GFW and the invaders in control. Lashley evens things up and this is really not the most even match. A bunch of spears clean house and TNA just waits around for Chris Mordetzky to make it 4-3. They all punch and kick each other until Eddie Edwards evens things up again. TNA takes over again because GFW is Eric Young and a bunch of career jobbers. Jeff Jarrett completes Team GFW and it’s time for a lot more punching. After two more minutes of nothing, Bram comes in as the tenth man.

The weapons are lowered and we take a break. Back with nothing having changed and everyone going for the weapons. The GFW guys take over for a bit until Lashley cleans house. Jarrett tries to escape but gets destroyed by every member of Team TNA until the GFW guys make the save with weapons. TNA shrugs it off like it’s nothing again, capped off by Galloway giving Myers a Future Shock on a trashcan for the pin at 31:30.

Rating: D-. This was one of the most boring, uninteresting, lamest gimmick matches I’ve seen in years. The GFW guys were a bunch of jobbers who couldn’t keep control even when they had a man advantage, mainly because they’re Eric Young, a mostly retired Jeff Jarrett, and three guys who have never won anything significant. That’s the big invading GFW force and we spent a fourth of the show kicking and punching before some lame weapons spots and a DDT end the thing. No high spots, next to no drama, no surprises, and TNA gets to beat a bunch of guys beneath them. Horrible match and nothing I ever want to think about again.

The Jarrett’s are carried out and Dixie comes to the ring for the big hero celebration to end the show.

Overall Rating: F. The best match was an average at best four way with an uninteresting ending. If this is supposed to be their big story that makes me want to care about TNA for months to come, they’re even dumber than I thought. This invasion is making me pine for the days of the Alliance as at least you got some good action in there on occasion. I was begging for this show to end and that’s never a good sign. Horrible show with one of the lamest major matches I’ve seen in years.

Results

Mahabali Sheera b. Abyss – Sky High

Gail Kim b. Brooke, Lei’D Tapa and Awesome Kong – Rollup to Brooke

Team TNA b. Team GFW – Future Shock to Myers

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 9, 2015
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: D’Angelo Dinero, Josh Matthews

The invasion is on in full force but there’s a chance we’re just a week away from it ending. Last week both sides agreed to a winner take all match to air a week from tonight with the winning side owning all of TNA. Other than that we’re just a few weeks away from Bound For Glory and the card hasn’t been announced yet. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s events, including the challenge for the winner take all match, as well as Ethan Carter III retaining over Matt Hardy and winning Jeff Hardy in the process.

The announcers talk for a bit before Ethan and Tyrus come to the ring. Ethan talks about the invasion before saying he really doesn’t care. There’s a rare instance of a wrestler speaking for the masses. Last week Ethan entered God Mode and defeated Matt Hardy to earn Jeff, so now he would like his personal assistant out here. Jeff isn’t allowed music but is asked to bring Ethan and Tyrus some water.

Unfortunately he gets the temperature wrong with a totally unacceptable 73 degrees instead of 72. Ethan throws the water on him in a “first day rib” before handing him a big Ethan Carter head on a stick to hold up. Jeff has to read an introduction off a card, making sure to call Ethan very handsome. The champ approves before announcing himself/Tyrus vs. Matt Hardy/Rockstar Spud.

Tyrus/Ethan Carter III vs. Matt Hardy/Rockstar Spud

Matt beats Tyrus up to start before getting to do the same to Ethan. A Russian legsweep gets two and it’s off to Spud for some Poetry in Motion, though Carter catches him in midair. Matt helps him out though and a double suplex gets two on Ethan. Tyrus does his job by pulling Spud out to the floor and drives him spine first into the apron to take over. Back in and both villains work over the ribs and back to show some common sense. Spud tries to fight back but gets taken down again with a drop toehold.

Jeff is told to get in a shot with the sign but he holds it up instead. The distraction lets Matt come in off the tag and house is cleaned, including a clothesline for two on Tyrus. Spud doesn’t have the same level of luck on Tyrus as he’s thrown across the ring with ease. Ethan pulls Jeff in the way of Matt’s right hand and tells his new assistant to hit Spud with a chair. Jeff won’t do it so Tyrus picks Spud up and hits the spike to the throat for the pin at 7:30.

Rating: C-. This story isn’t very interesting. That’s the best way to put it: there’s no real reason to care about this story because Jeff can’t get in the ring at the moment. Once he does, that’s the best they can do? Jeff Hardy vs. Ethan Carter III? That’s really not a great match on paper, as I’m sick and tired of seeing Jeff Hardy on top of the promotion, especially when he can’t even stay healthy because he’s off on a dirt bike somewhere.

We recap Brian Myers and Trevor Lee stealing the Tag Team Titles from the Wolves last week.

Drew Galloway and the Wolves are ready for war.

Taryn tells Rebel to take out one of the Beautiful People.

The Dollhouse jump Madison Rayne until the Beautiful People make the late save.

Here are the Jarretts for their weekly interview. Tonight they start by winning the man advantage in next week’s winner take all match and then next week they complete the hostile takeover. First up though, he wants Bobby Roode to come out here and return the King of the Mountain Title. Roode brings out the belt and says he’s not giving the belt up because it belong to TNA and the fans.

Bobby takes his shirt off but Karen tells them to chill out because they’re acting like children. Karen reminds Jeff that he’s a week away from everything he wants and tells Roode that everyone in TNA is outnumbered. The two of them have worked together a lot over the years and Roode needs to think about that.

Eli Drake talks to Kenny King and Jesse Godderz about the invasion but Galloway comes up and says it’s time to get serious. They question how good he is in a war so Galloway introduces them to three men who will stand up for TNA: Micah, Tigre Uno and Robbie E., who are promptly beaten down.

Ethan yells at Jeff Hardy for not hitting Spud with the sign. As punishment, Jeff gets to sell some new EC3 merchandise.

Jesse Godderz/Kenny King/Eli Drake vs. Robbie E./Micah/Tigre Uno

So I guess Bram beat the face turn out of King last week. Micah and King start but a single butterfly suplex sends King off for a tag to Jesse, who is run over by Robbie. Tigre comes in for some headscissors on Drake before it’s back to Micah to start in on the arm. Micah is taken into the corner and some triple teaming has him in trouble. That only lasts a few seconds before a double clothesline allows the tag to Uno. Tigre grabs a tornado DDT on King before the BroMans are both tagged in. Everything breaks down and we hit the parade of secondary finishers, capped off by the Boom Drop finishing off Jesse at 7:00.

Rating: C. It was fine and a pretty decent six man but this six guys doing moves to each other for a few minutes. It’s rarely a good sign when you have a match going on for the sake of having a match going on but that’s what these six guys were doing here. The invasion and the impending (still potential) cancellation has crippled this show, which didn’t really have a lot of energy in the first place. However, what does it say when a match with barely any story is one of the better things they’ve aired in a few weeks?

Knockouts Title: Gail Kim vs. Brooke

Brooke is defending but the announcers immediately start bowing down to Gail, just in case we forget that she’s the most awesome and amazing Knockout of all time. A headlock has Gail in trouble to start and Brooke kicks her out to the floor. Back in and a middle rope X Factor gets two for the champ but Gail grabs an armbar/headscissors combo to slow things down.

They roll around on the mat until Brooke lays on Gail’s back and puts on a chinlock at the same time. It’s kind of like a bad Last Chancery but the way she’s looking makes it look like the hold wouldn’t have much effect. Both of them try cross bodies but here’s Lei’D Tapa to grab the title belt. The Tess Shocker gets two but Brooke lets up when she sees Tapa with the title. She dives on Tapa but stops to pose, allowing Tapa to hit her with the belt for the DQ at 6:08.

Rating: C-. The match was good enough except for the fact that NO ONE CARES ABOUT LEI’D TAPA. No one cared about her when she somehow got the Gut Check win over Ivelisse, no one cared about her first run in TNA and no one cares about this run in TNA. She’s just there to look intimidating and can’t do anything else, basically making her a less talented version of her uncle. As for the match between the female Lance Storm and Billy Gunn, I’ve seen worse but taking the title off Taryn and putting it on Brooke was a bad idea and killed whatever momentum they had.

Post match Awesome Kong comes out and beats up Tapa before picking up the title.

Jeff Jarrett gives Team GFW a pep talk.

Jeff Hardy talks to Galloway about standing up for TNA but Ethan comes in to give him gear to clean. Hardy tells Galloway to take the title away soon. That sounds like a Bound For Glory tease.

Tag Team Titles: Brian Myers/Trevor Lee vs. Wolves

Myers and Lee are defending after winning the belts last week. The Wolves meet them in the aisle and clean house, followed by a double suicide dive to take the champs down. Back in and the brawling continues with Trevor hitting a kind of running belly to belly (that’s a very new one) for two on Edwards as we get into a standard formula. Eddie fights out of the double teaming and makes the tag to Davey for the “make a guy DDT his partner” spot, followed by a superplex for two on Lee.

An enziguri into a German suplex gets the same with Myers making a save. Myers hits a quick downward spiral to set up Lee’s German suplex for two on Edwards as the tagging has already been forgotten. Edwards avoids a running knee to the face and the powerbomb/Backstabber combination plants Lee. Sonjay Dutt makes the save and decks the referee but here’s Earl Hebner to shove Dutt down, leaving Edwards to tombstone Lee to regain the belts at 7:10.

Rating: C. WELL THAT WAS POINTLESS. We just spent a week freaking out over Myers and Lee winning the belts and the Wolves have them back a week later? As usual, TNA has to rush through everything because they’re about to be canceled and they think the worst invasion of all time is going to be enough to save them. This lack of drama over the belts didn’t make me care and continues to make the GFW guys look like losers who have to cheat to come close to being on TNA’s level.

Here’s Sgt. Chris Melendez to say he doesn’t mind missing his leg. He’s still on his last leg so he’s willing to fight Eric Young one more time. Young brings out the leg with the words “my leg” written on it like a trophy. If Melendez is a hero, Young never wants to be one because heroes always fail. Kurt Angle learned what it was like to face Eric Young and now he’s out on his couch. Melendez says he’ll never quit because he’s always here to fight. Young offers to fight right now but shoves Melendez down. He’ll fight Chris again but Eric will never give the leg back.

Team TNA is ready for the captains’ match tonight.

Josh Matthews sits down with Mahabali Sheera, who can’t believe he’s here. He arrived and met Manik, who introduced him to James Storm and the Revolution. Sheera promises that he’s coming for James Storm and will get his revenge. Some of this was in whatever foreign language he speaks but thankfully there were some subtitles. He gets Abyss next week.

Drew Galloway vs. Chris Mordetzky

Lumberjack match and the winner’s team gets the one man advantage next week. Drew clotheslines him down and we take a break less than a minute in. Back with Galloway and Mordetzky taking turns being sent outside for some interference from the lumberjacks before Chris scores with a big clothesline. A camel clutch doesn’t get Chris very far so he plants Drew with a Sky High for two. Both guys go outside again and the lumberjacks stand around because they can’t even get that job right.

Back in and the Future Shock puts Mordetzky down but the GFW lumberjacks pull Drew to the floor. The Wolves take them down with suicide dives but Jarrett runs in with the guitar. Cue Eric Young to take it away though, only to have him knock Drew cold to give Mordetzky the pin at 11:58.

Rating: D+. Oh joy we get more Eric Young. So I guess the question now is does Bobby Roode join TNA to counter Young or does the combined forces of Team Canada take TNA down for good. Mordetzky is fine in the ring but he sounds like a shop teacher in a 90s high school movie. Not a good match here but at least we’re getting close to the end of this stupid invasion.

Overall Rating: D. What is on this show that I should care about? We have a boring invasion where most of the wrestlers are either WWE rejects or people that have to cheat to even stay on the level of TNA’s midcard. We have Ethan Carter III vs. the Hardys in a feud over Jeff being a personal assistant. We have the Knockouts doing their thing which seems destined for ANOTHER Gail Kim title reign. Finally we have Chris Melendez vs. Eric Young XIV or so over whatever Melendez has left.

That’s almost all of TNA right now. There is almost nothing else going on with this show and for the first time, I really don’t care about anything on this show. On top of that, we have three shows before Bound For Glory and I doubt we’ll get anything announced next week either. I’m actually hoping they go away for awhile, if nothing else so they can get some fresh ideas in here. Really dull show this week as the lame stories are dragging down some actually watchable wrestling.

Results

Tyrus/Ethan Carter III b. Matt Hardy/Rockstar Spud – Spike to Spud’s throat

Robbie E./Micah/Tigre Uno b. Jesse Godderz/Kenny King/Eli Drake – Boom Drop to Godderz

Brooke b. Gail Kim via DQ when Lei’D Tapa interfered

Wolves b. Brian Myers/Trevor Lee – Tombstone to Lee

Chris Mordetzky b. Drew Galloway – Pin after Eric Young hit Galloway with a guitar

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 2, 2015
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Angelo Dinero

It’s full on war now as the Global Force roster attacked several TNA wrestlers last week with Karen Jarrett revealing that she was behind the attacks on Drew Galloway and Bully Ray in recent weeks. In addition to the invasion, it’s almost time for Bound For Glory, which really hasn’t been set up yet. Let’s get to it.

The Hardys and Ethan Carter III arrived earlier. Carter defends against Matt Hardy tonight and if he retains, Jeff Hardy is Carter’s personal assistant.

We recap Karen Jarrett being revealed as the evil mastermind last week.

The Jarretts lead the GFW roster to the ring. Jeff talks (again) about returning on June 24 and being inducted into the Hall of Fame. He brags about all the success the GFW/TNA show had but Karen cuts him off to explain that she did everything for all the hard work her husband has put in for GFW. Yes she set these wheels in motion and had Chris Adonis take out Bully Ray. Jeff is building a new empire and no one in the back can compete with these boys. Adonis issues an open challenge to anyone in the back so here’s Lashley.

Lashley vs. Chris Mordetzky

Lashley throws him down to start and then drops Chris with a clothesline. The Mordetzky Lock (full nelson) is quickly countered into a full nelson slam but Mordetzky nails a Polish Hammer (double ax handle to the chest) to take over. We hit the chinlock before they head outside with Lashley being sent into the steps. Back in and a butterfly suplex seems to annoy Lashley more than hurt him. A double clothesline puts both guys down and it’s Lashley up first with a German suplex. The spear is countered into a spinebuster but Lashley easily blocks the full nelson. Now the spear connects but here’s GFW for the DQ at 8:57.

Rating: D+. Totally meh match here as this was nothing to see and just a match to show that Mordetsky is part of GFW’s roster. I still have no reason to care about a group of people who have been around for a month and range from no one interesting to WWE rejects. Nothing to see here.

Lashley gets destroyed so here are the Wolves for a failed save. Jeff says bring out the surprise so here she is with the Tag Team Title Feast or Fired briefcase. She says Magnus gave it to her, which apparently you can just do.

Tag Team Titles: Wolves vs. Brian Myers/Trevor Lee

Wait a minute because Earl Hebner won’t do it, earning him a right hand from Jeff. Another referee is forced to ringside and the match is on. Trevor dropkicks Edwards down for two as this is actually a regular match for a change. Myers comes in for a slam of his own but the Wolves come back with stereo submission holds, only to break them up to go after Sonjay Dutt. Myers brings in a pipe but the distraction lets Lee blast Davey with the briefcase for the pin and the titles at 2:35. There’s your token title win to make this invasion IMPORTANT.

Bobby Roode only cares about winning the King of the Mountain Title tonight.

Long recap of everything that just happened.

Ethan Carter III talks about his love of stories and how tonight, Matt’s story of going for the World Title ends tonight.

King of the Mountain Title: PJ Black vs. Bobby Roode

Black is defending and Roode stops to brag about being a TNA original. This is TNA’s house and Roode is bringing the title home. It’s a brawl on the floor to start as Matthews mistakenly says Black won the title last week. They get inside for some chops but Black blocks a suplex and sends Roode outside for a suicide dive. A springboard clothesline drops Roode and we take a break. Back with Roode winning a slugout and getting two off a spinebuster.

The Roode Bomb is broken up and Gabriel gets two off a reverse DDT. Black’s top rope Lionsault hits knees though and Roode slaps on the Crossface, only to have Dutt come out for a distraction. It doesn’t work this time though as Roode puts the Crossface back on. Drew Galloway takes Dutt out and Black….is free because Roode let it go for no apparent reason. Black’s springboard is countered into the Roode Bomb for the pin and the title at 13:15.

Rating: C+. The match was fine but what does this title change mean? That would be nothing, because the title has no important lineage and has been thrown out there for some meaningless changes. It’s the old Russo idea that you can get people to care because the title changes without the idea of making people care about the title in the first place.

Post match GFW chases Roode off and Jeff rants about everything going on here. Cue Dixie and OH DEAR GOD SHUT UP! They’re going back and forth about stabbing each other in the back and all the mistakes each other has made like ANYONE cares. Jeff brings up his ownership stake and Dixie proposes a winner take all match. Jeff agrees and Drew Galloway comes out to be on Dixie’s team. Drew wants to stand up for TNA and the Wolves and Lashley come out to join him in Team TNA.

Dinero and Matthews talk about what just happened.

Here’s the returning Kenny King with a mic in hand. He’s been going through an identity crisis in the last year but now he’s just here on his own. Kenny doesn’t want to be the kind of guy who jumps someone from behind and uses a numbers advantage to beat someone down. He issues an open challenge to anyone from any roster to come fight him right now.

Bram vs. Kenny King

Bram goes right after King to start but Kenny takes him down with a nice dive. He tries it once too often though and eats a clothesline to give Bram control. King comes back with a running elbow in the corner, followed by an enziguri to put Bram in the corner. Bram ducks another dive though and the Brighter Side of Suffering gives Bram the pin at 3:37.

Rating: D+. So King comes back, turns face, and loses in less than four minutes. That being said, this match was nothing to see but it calmed me down a lot after the stupid hostile takeover stuff had me losing my mind. This was something different than that one big story, though it was stupid in its own way.

The Hardys say Matt will win the title. Has there been a more tacked on feud than this in recent years?

Here’s Velvet Sky with something to say. She’s been keeping to herself since she got back for a reason. The Knockouts division has been evolving constantly and so has she. The Dollhouse is out of control and Taryn is going to pay. Velvet tells Taryn to come out here but she comes up on screen to say how sick she is of being compared to Velvet as the hot blonde in TNA.

Taryn has been in movies and on TV but Velvet looks like a Hot Topic reject. This is Taryn’s house and now she has to play with Taryn’s dolls. Cue the Dollhouse, who quickly beats Tarn down. Angelina Love and Madison Rayne come out and yes, the Beautiful People are back.

Video on Matt Hardy vs. Ethan Carter III in Full Metal Mayhem, which of course set up tonight’s regular match.

Dixie gives Team TNA their pep talk. It’s Lethal Lockdown in two weeks for full control.

TNA World Title: Matt Hardy vs. Ethan Carter III

Ethan is defending and if Matt loses, Jeff Hardy is Ethan’s personal assistant. Josh: “EC3 and Matt Hardy have been rivals for quite some time.” No Josh, they haven’t been. Feeling out process to start until Matt hits a running Diamond Cutter (called a neckbreaker) for two. A big clothesline puts the champion on the floor and it’s off to a break. Back with Carter missing a middle rope elbow but putting on a sleeper.

Matt fights up and nails some clotheslines, followed by the Side Effect. The referee gets bumped off the Twist of Fate attempt though and there’s no one to count. A belt shot to Matt’s head gets two because Matt WILL NOT DIE, which seems to be code for WILL NOT STOP DRAGGING OUT OBVIOUS ENDINGS. Jeff gets in a cheap shot on Carter to give Matt two but they ram heads and Carter falls on top for two. Tyrus grabs Matt’s leg and gets chaired by Jeff, only to have Ethan hit a TKO on Matt for two more. The referee gets distracted again and a low blow and sunset flip retain Carter’s title at 13:17.

Rating: C. Wow you know what that wasn’t? Epic. You know why it wasn’t? Because they did the big gimmick match three weeks ago and this company is too stupid to figure out that they shouldn’t do things in that order. The match was fine but I have no reason to care about Matt Hardy as a lame duck challenger before we get to the Bound For Glory and whatever they have planned there.

Jeff now has to work for Carter and is forced to raise the champ’s hand to end the show.

Overall Rating: F. I’ve sat through a lot from TNA over the years. I survived Immortal, THEY, all of Russo’s nonsense and Dixieland. Tonight, for the first time, I got mad at them over how bad things got. This invasion is one of the worst written, lamest attempts at doing something that I’ve ever seen. Case in point: if the blowoff is in two weeks, the whole story lasted five shows. Even the WWF InVasion, one of the most botched stories ever, ran several months before the big ending.

Instead, TNA has decided that we care about the power struggle (because they’re too stupid to run ANYTHING BUT A POWER STRUGGLE) between Jeff and Dixie, leaving Ethan Carter III, a guy who could have been a much bigger deal for them, fighting the Hardys in a midcard feud. We’re a month away from Bound For Glory and their big story is going to be blown off on TV two weeks beforehand.

If TNA is going down, and I’m sure they won’t because these morons somehow back their way into deal after deal to keep this mess going another six months, they’re going out as only they can: with no idea of how to run a good show, bad storytelling, stupid decisions, and the wrong people on top because those people think the fans care about them. This was a disaster and I absolutely hated it.

Results

Lashley b. Chris Mordetzky via DQ when the GFW roster interfered

Brian Myers/Trevor Lee b. Wolves – Lee pinned Richards after a briefcase to the head

Bobby Roode b. PJ Black – Roode Bomb

Bram b. Kenny King – Brighter Side of Suffering

Ethan Carter III b. Matt Hardy – Sunset flip

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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