Impact Wrestling
Date: October 7, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Lo Brown

We are just over two weeks away from Bound For Glory and if you don’t know all of the card so far, you can probably guess what is coming on the show. There is still a lot of work to do though, including Eddie Edwards needing to deal with Moose. That could go in a few different directions so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Bullet Club vs. FinJuice/Chris Sabin

It’s Chris Bey/Hikuleo/El Phantasmo for the Club. Bey takes Sabin into the corner to start but we actually get a clean break. They go back back and forth with neither actually getting anywhere so Phantasmo comes in to take Robinson down. A standing moonsault hits Robinson he’s back up with an atomic drop. The non-Club starts taking turns on Phantasmo’s arm. Robinson has to fight off everything at once but Bey finally knocks him down to take over. Hikuleo teases coming in but jumps down to rake Robinson’s back instead.

Somehow Robinson survives and gets over to Finlay to pick up the pace. That just earns him a shot to the face though as everything breaks down in a hurry. Sabin high crossbodies Bey and Phantasmo at the same time and it’s a triple dive to take out the Club on the floor. A Dominator spun into a DDT gives Sabin two on Phantasmo but Hikuleo is back with a chokeslam. Phantasmo adds the top rope splash for two but Sabin is back up with a backslide. Hikuleo offers a distraction though and it’s a low blow from Phantasmo, setting up the Art of Finesse for the pin on Sabin at 8:47.

Rating: C+. I can always go for a six man tag and that’s what we got here with everyone getting to have their chance. There is always something about taking this many people and putting them in the ring for a showcase. The fact that they have some international star power makes it that much better.

Josh Alexander says it would usually be an honor to team with Christian Cage but tonight is about getting rid of Ace Austin and Madman Fulton before Bound For Glory.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Here is Heath for a chat. The fans seem happy to have him back as he has been out for a year. Last year at Bound For Glory, he was ready to get his Impact contract but he had to sit at home. Thank goodness he had some little girls to be doctors for daddy. While he was out though, he saw Rhino joining Violent By Design and that isn’t the real Rhino.

What he wants right now is to talk to his best friend but he gets Violent By Design instead. Eric Young asks what Heath doesn’t get because the team made Rhino better. The fans tell Young that he isn’t Rhino but Young goes on a rant about how that Rhino isn’t coming back. Heath is going to lower his eyes, leave the ring and never come back. That isn’t happening so the beatdown is on with Heath being buried under the flag.

Willie Mack, with Rich Swann, is ready to win the X-Division Title back. Brian Myers’ Learning Tree comes up and a tag match is teased for later.

Post break, Myers tells the Learning Tree that they’re on their own.

Brandi Lauren/Kimber Lee/Lady Frost vs. Tasha Steelz/Savannah Evans/Mercedes Martinez

Martinez powers Frost into the corner to start but gets wristdragged back down. The threat of a right hand sends Frost off to Lauren, who bites Evans’ hand. We take a break and come back with Lauren in trouble in the corner but clotheslining her way to freedom. The hot tag brings in Lee to clean house as everything breaks down. The illegal Martinez cleans house until Steelz steals the pin on Lee at 9:38.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one and a good chunk of it was spent in the break. The double Su Yung deal isn’t the most interesting idea as it doesn’t make Yung look all that unique, but if Yung isn’t around, it doesn’t matter that much. It was a fine way to set up some stuff at Knockouts Knockdown, but not exactly great on its own.

Post match here is Alisha Edwards to clean hour with a kendo stick.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Christopher Daniels b. James Storm at Genesis 2013.

Alisha Edwards rants about Kimber Lee so Gail Kim puts the two of them, Savannah Evans and Jordynne Grace in a Monster’s Ball match for Knockouts Knockdown. Works for me.

It’s time for It’s All About Me, with Tenille Dashwood and company. Tenille and Madison Rayne are excited to win the Knockouts Tag Team Titles at Knockouts Knockdown so here are their opponents: Decay. We get a weird beeping noise and Decay is ready to retain, but we’re out of time. That’s not cool with Decay, who says this is their show now. The Influence runs off in fear. There is some pretty awesome chemistry between these four, though that could just be Rosemary being scary and funny at the same time.

Moose and W. Morrissey are ready to get rid of Eddie Edwards, just like they did Sami Callihan. For now though, they’re going to be in the Call Your Shot at Bound For Glory. They’re still not friends either.

X-Division Title Tournament First Round: Black Taurus vs. Steve Maclin vs. Petey Williams

Maclin takes over to start but Taurus takes him down with a Sling Blade. With Maclin on the floor, Williams hits a running dropkick to Taurus’ back. A slingshot hurricanrana to the floor takes Maclin down but Williams has to deal with Taurus. The distraction lets Maclin hit an Angle Slam to Williams, followed by something close to a Death Valley Driver on Taurus.

Maclin goes after Williams though, allowing Taurus to fight back and powerslam him for two. Williams’ crucifix gets two on Taurus, followed by a running knee. Maclin runs both of them other but gets caught with a DDT to put everyone down. We get the three way strike off until Taurus hits Maclin with a running crucifix bomb (or close to it). Taurus ties Williams in the Tree of Woe but gets sent outside. Williams slips out and gives Taurus the Canadian Destroyer but walks into Mayhem For All to send Maclin to Bound For Glory at 7:13.

Rating: C+. The multi-person theme continues this week and this time around we get Impact continuing to push Maclin, which is a good thing. Above all else, Impact is trying someone new and maybe it works in the end. Maclin might not be the most thrilling, but he also isn’t bad and is being treated as something important. That’s something any promotion needs to do at times and it’s working well enough here.

Christian Cage says Josh Alexander can scout him tonight but keep his emotions in check. Christopher Daniels comes in to say he’s here to win the World Title. It can be in Impact or AEW, but he’s coming for the belt.

Johnny Swinger is panicking over Swinger’s Palace being shut down so they’re cleaning out the closet. This includes a photo of Dixie Carter (Swinger approves) but here is Fallah Bahh to say his money paid for a lot of this stuff. He’s glad they’re being shut down and leaves, as John E. Bravo finds a poster for a Jeff Jarrett DVD set. Swinger: “Did we buy this?” Bravo: “Won it. In a lawsuit.”

Rich Swann/Willie Mack vs. Manny Lemons/Zicky Dice

Lemons (so that’s his name) and Dice jump them to start and get knocked down without much trouble. Dice gets caught in the wrong corner, allowing Swann to plant him with a bulldog. Mack chops away and then twists Lemon’s nipples to mix things up a bit. Fans: “SQUEEZE THE LEMONS!” Everything breaks down and Mack holds Lemons up for a middle rope Blockbuster from Swann for the pin at 2:44. As much trouble as Mack and Swann should have had with these two.

Post match Brian Myers and the rest of the Learning Tree comes out to beat down Mack and Swann.

We look back at Mickie James vs. Deonna Purrazzo at James’ horse farm last week.

James and Purrazzo get in a fight in Scott D’Amore’s office. Scott gives them a no contact clause until Bound For Glory and the match is off/the title is stripped if they fight before them. They can do a Pick Your Poison series as well, with James picking Purrazzo’s opponent at Knockouts Knockdown.

Here’s what’s coming at Knockouts Knockdown.

Christian Cage/Josh Alexander vs. Madman Fulton/Ace Austin

Cage and Fulton start things off with Fulton powers him down without much effort. Back up and Christian scores with some right hands to the jaw to knock Fulton into the corner. That doesn’t seem to matter as Fulton clotheslines both of them down and hands it off to Austin, who is quickly backdropped. Austin gets in an elbow in the corner and a superkick gets two on Alexander as we take a break.

Back with Austin kicking him in the head for two more but Alexander gets over for the tag to Christian. A few rooms of the house are cleaned but Fulton runs Cage over to cut that off in a hurry. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Fulton powers him into the corner again. It’s back to Austin for a springboard DDT but Christian spears him out of the air.

The double tag brings Fulton and Alexander, with the latter hitting a torture rack spun into a powerbomb for two. Some rolling German suplexes get two on Alexander but everything breaks down. Austin has to kick away Alexander’s ankle lock so Alexander grabs Rolling Chaos Theory, only to have Cage tag himself in. The Killswitch finishes Austin at 16:30.

Rating: B-. This was your above average main event tag match to advance the biggest match of Impact’s year. As a result, it worked out rather well, a lot of which is due tot he four people involved here. Good match here, with Cage playing some mind games as Alexander was rolling until the ending.

Alexander isn’t happy to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. What matters here is the fact that they have a target with Bound For Glory (and another with Knockouts Knockdown) and they are moving in that direction. You can see most of the card from here and now it is time to build up what is missing. Another fine show here and it did what it was supposed to do while including some solid enough action as well.

Results
Bullet Club b. FinJuice/Chris Sabin – Art of Finesse to Sabin
Tasha Steelz/Savannah Evans/Mercedes Martinez b. Brandi Lauren/Kimber Lee/Lady Frost – Butterfly suplex to Lee
Steve Maclin b. Steve Williams and Black Taurus – Mayhem To All for Williams
Rich Swann/Willie Mack b. Manny Lemons/Zicky Dice – Elevated Blockbuster to Lemons
Christian Cage/Josh Alexander b. Madman Fulton/Ace Austin – Killswitch to Austin

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

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

AND

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

International Showdown
Date: March 19, 2005
Location: Coventry Skydome, Coventry, England
Attendance: 3,400
Commentators: Dean Ayass, Eamon D’Arcy

So this is a British independent show that was recommended to me and it sounded worth a look. There are a bunch of names on the card and some of the matches do sound good. Several of them are from TNA so there will at least be some star power on the show. Let’s get to it.

This was presented by the Wrestling Channel, which sounds like quite the awesome concept.

Johnny Storm promises to beat up all three opponents in his fatal four way.

The ring is rather small and I think I like that.

Jonny Storm vs. Petey Williams vs. Chris Sabin vs. Spud

The ring announcer says a bunch of stuff but commentary drowns it out. Spud is better known as Drake Maverick and this is one fall to a finish. Sabin flips Spud down by the arm to start and they fight over wrist control. An armdrag into a rollup gives Spud one so Sabin rolls him up as well for a standoff. Williams and Storm come in, much to the fans’ appreciation. Williams takes him down for a basement dropkick to the back of the head but gets sent outside, where he has to block a sunset bomb.

Sabin gets in and sends Williams outside, leaving Spud to hit a big dive to the floor. Storm hits his own running flip dive onto the pile and then goes back in for a running DDT on Spud. It’s back to Sabin for a powerslam into a running Swanton to crush Spud for two. That leaves Storm to hit a Michinoku Driver into a middle rope moonsault for two of his own, with Williams making a save.

Somehow Spud is able to get back up for a neckbreaker on Storm, who superkicks him down so Williams can steal the near fall. The Canadian Destroyer is broken up though and Sabin hits a reverse DDT for a breather. Storm comes back in as everything breaks down, setting off a rapid fire exchange of rollups for two each. Since it’s required, we hit the Tower of Doom (or something close enough to it) to leave everyone down.

It’s Sabin up first with an enziguri to Williams, setting up a running Liger Bomb for two. Sabin goes up so Storm catches him with a super poisonrana, leaving Spud to make the save this time. Storm misses a running enziguri on Spud, who grabs a spinning DDT for two. Back up and Sabin springboard missile dropkicks Spud to the floor, only to get caught in the Canadian Destroyer to give Williams the pin at 11:27.

Rating: B-. Take a bunch of high fliers, put them in a match and have them do their high spots for about ten minutes. It worked in WCW and it worked very well here too. This was a fun match and the fans were into it, so what more can you ask for? The Canadian Destroyer was still amazing at this point so the ending was the right call, with neither of the British wrestlers taking the fall either. Nice opener, and a good start.

Everyone poses together after the match.

Spud says that was amazing and he wants to face everyone again.

Steve Grey vs. Mal Sanders

This is under British Rules and a legend named Tony Scarlo is guest referee. Grey debuted in 1969 and Sanders debuted in 1977. Sanders headlocks him to the mat to start as we hear about their history together. Grey literally bounces his way to freedom and then rolls out of a wristlock. A headstand counter lets Grey work on the wrist so Sanders cartwheels out. That’s broken up as well so Sanders takes him down again as the technical off continues.

They keep up the feeling out process as the first round ends (An explanation of British Rules would be nice. A lot of fans will know them, but that isn’t going to be everyone). We start round two with Grey’s leg giving out on a slam attempt but he kicks Sanders onto the referee. That means Sanders gets to slap the referee in the back of the head a bit and we’re back up.

Sanders grabs a bodyscissors and lifts Grey up to drop him down, which commentary says was what old British wrestlers would call a piledriver. Another battle of the wristlock goes nowhere so Grey takes him down into a hammerlock instead. That’s broken up and we’re right back to another standoff. Round two ends with Grey on his back and in need of some help.

We start round three with a battle of sunset flips going nowhere so they’re back up again. Sanders blocks a victory roll though and walks around with Grey hanging from him for a unique visual. Grey gets out and ties up the legs for something like an Indian Deathlock. That’s broken up as well so Grey hiptosses him down, only to get caught in a hammerlock. Back up and they trade crossarm chokes to end the round.

We start round four with Sanders changing to strikes to mix things up. A clothesline puts Grey down and a snapmare gives Sanders…nothing, as Grey has his foot on the ropes (Off a snapmare?). Sanders takes too long going up for an ax handle though and gets punched out of the air but Grey STILL can’t keep anything going. Instead Sanders hits a running shoulder, only to get tossed hard out to the floor. Back in and Grey hits a crossbody for the pin out of nowhere at 17:19.

Rating: C. This is kind of hard to rate as it’s much more for the British audience, leaving outsiders with two older guys having a match which wasn’t great. That being said, it was nice to see something different and that’s what we got here. It felt like something you’re not going to see elsewhere and that’s rather nice to see when British wrestling would go on to become so popular in the coming years.

Here’s Bill Apter for a live Apter’s Alley. He has a special Lifetime Achievement Award to present, but here is Greg “The Truth” Lambert, dressed like a judge, to interrupt. Apter thinks he looks like Harry Potter but Lambert offers him some praise. That doesn’t last long though as Lambert needs to yell at the fans, prompting Apter to tell him to GET TO THE POINT. Lambert talks about how Apter is a has been whose most recent magazine fell apart.

Violence is teased but Lambert thinks he knows someone who deserves that award: FWA Heavyweight Champion Alex Shane (with entourage). The rather tall Shane talks about how much better he is than the fans and knows he’ll have five women tonight while the fans are at home with WWE Divas in the Caribbean. Shane is ready to take care of Raven tonight, but Apter cuts him off to bring out the real recipient of the award: Mick Foley!

We pause for a good while to soak in some chants before Foley is presented with the award from Apter. These two know each other rather well, as Apter apparently shot Foley’s wedding video and did a Cookie Monster voice to calm down Foley’s son. Shane gets in Foley’s face and calls him an old washed up piece of censored, which Foley says is true. Foley will be celebrating his 40^th birthday soon and he doesn’t wrestle anymore, but he has stepped aside so people on this show can steal the show like never before.

That’s ok, but Foley will NOT stand for Shane in the middle of a cheap pop, especially right here in Coventry, UK! Foley suggests violence but offers Shane the chance to leave, with Shane actually bailing. After some thank yous from Foley, he gets a nice send off, with Apter wishing him a nice day as the Cookie Monster. Foley leaves, allowing Lambert and Shane to sneak in from behind and hit Apter low. That brings Foley back for the save and to call out some help for Apter. With Apter gone, Foley says you haven’t seen the last of him tonight. Sounds ominous.

CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe

Well ok. They’re both from Ring of Honor here, which is quite weird to hear. Even stranger: Punk with his blonde hair. Joe is looking downright slim here (even showing signs of abdominal muscles) and Punk’s right leg is heavily taped. Feeling out process to start and they fight over wrist control until Joe takes him to the mat. Punk heads outside for a breather as commentary tries to understand the concept of straightedge. Back in and Punk gets hit in the face, which the fans refer to as being “b**** slapped*.

That’s good for another trip to the floor but Punk is back in to actually win a test of strength. An exchange of armdrags sets up some kicks to Joe’s chest, which just get on his nerves. Joe shows him how to throw some kicks, including a jumping enziguri to drop Punk. Back up again and Punk grabs another headlock takeover, which is reversed into a headscissors. Joe kicks him down again and drops a big knee for two.

A heck of a facewash in the corner puts Punk in even more trouble and he charges into a Rock Bottom to make it even worse. Punk is back up with a snap across the top into a slingshot hilo (that’s a new one). Some rapid fire chops into a basement dropkick to the back of the head sets up the chinlock on Joe. That’s broken up in a hurry as well so Punk snaps off a Russian legsweep, only to be sent outside. One heck of a suicide dive rocks Punk and a running boot against the barricade makes it worse, setting up a near fall back inside.

Punk is back with a hammerlock DDT and a Lionsault for two so Joe snaps off a powerslam for the same. The powerbomb into the STF has Punk in more trouble and Joe drops a backsplash for another near fall. Punk snaps off a tornado DDT (which he doesn’t swing all the way around, landing on his stomach) and frustration is setting in.

With nothing else working, Punk loads up the Pepsi Plunge (middle rope Pedigree, his old finisher) but Joe isn’t feeling that and slips out. A hurricanrana into a HARD clotheslines gives Joe two and they’re both down again. It’s Punk up first with some kicks and a Shining Wizard for two, but Joe blocks the Pepsi Plunge again. Instead, Punk’s leg gets kicked out and it’s the MuscleBuster to give Joe the pin at 20:45.

Rating: B. Oh like this wasn’t going to be good. These two have awesome chemistry together and I always wanted to see them get to do something in WWE. They had a long match and beat each other up but Punk still can’t beat Joe no matter what he does. Awesome match and these two could have a good match against each other in their sleep.

Respect is shown post match.

In the back, Punk says he’s banged up but his pride hurts more than anything else. He keeps getting up and tomorrow is another day. Joe can hit him over and over again but Punk is going to keep fighting him until he makes Joe feel like he does right now. One day, Punk will prove that straightedge means he is better than you. Punk got fired up in the end after starting kind of lame.

Doug Williams/James Tighe/Scorpio vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Tiger Emperor/Yoshinari Ogawa

The latter team is from Pro Wrestling Noah, where Misawa/Ogawa recently lost the Tag Team Titles to (2 Cold) Scorpio/Williams. Believe it or not, Misawa gets by far the biggest pop of the six. The handshakes take a long time until Williams works on Emperor’s wrist to start. Tighe comes in to trade arm cranking and armdrags. That leaves us with a standoff until Tighe gets sent to the apron, only to come back in with a missile dropkick. The big dive takes Emperor down again and it’s off to Scorpio for a pretty ineffective front facelock. Misawa comes in and you can tell the fans are in a bit of awe.

Scorpio gets driven into the corner and elbowed in the face, setting up a quickly broken chinlock as commentary keeps rifling off everyone’s resumes. Ogawa gets the tag and walks into a superkick, allowing a tag back to Williams. The grappling is on with Williams going full British to pull him into a headlock. Ogawa reverses into a headscissors until they roll apart for a standoff. Scorpio and Emperor come back in with Scorpio grabbing a suplex for two. Emperor is right back up with a dropkick to the floor and it’s back to Tighe.

That’s about it for the good things for the non-Noah guys, as Misawa grabs a camel clutch. Ogawa chops away in the corner and Emperor adds a spinning moonsault for two. Tighe pops up and brings Williams back in for some knee drops, followed by a belly to back suplex. Scorpio gets two off the standing moonsault and adds a powerbomb into the springboard somersault legdrop and another near fall. Ogawa is back up with a dropkick, allowing the tag back to Misawa to clean house.

Williams doesn’t seem to mind and gutwrench suplexes Misawa for two. It’s already back to Ogawa, who gets knocked off the top and crushed with a top rope knee. Tighe comes back in with a high crossbody for two of his own, only to miss his moonsault. Emperor grabs a quickly broken Black Widow but walks into a Side Effect. Misawa and Ogawa are sent outside, leaving Emperor to get hit with a bunch of running shots in the corner.

Scorpio’s moonsault and Williams’ top rope knee drop gets two more, with Misawa coming in for the save. Williams hits a sitout powerbomb for two on Emperor, who is right back up with a handspring elbow. That doesn’t go so well either as Williams reverses into a German suplex (that was sweet) for two more. It’s back to Misawa and Ogawa to stagger Williams though and Ogawa grabs a top rope hurricanrana for another near fall. A 619 gives Emperor two more but Williams snaps off Rolling Chaos Theory to FINALLY put Emperor away at 23:45.

Rating: B+. This was long and showcased everyone involved, which is exactly what they were shooting for. It’s always great to see a real legend like Misawa and Scorpio is an all time favorite as well. The one setback here was the ring size, as that tiny thing just does not work for a six man tag. Still though, awesome match with everyone getting to show off a bit in the good amount of time that they had.

A lot of respect is shown post match.

In the back, Scorpio, Doug Williams and James Tighe are all proud of their win over legends like that. Williams and Scorpio are ready for all challengers.

Raven vs. Alex Shane

Raven’s Rules, with Shane’s goons barred from ringside and Shane’s FWA Title not on the line. Commentary lists off Raven’s accomplishments, capped off by saying “he even had a good match with the Big Show”. Before the bell, Raven says he hasn’t been in England long but he likes what he has seen. He isn’t happy with what Shane did to Bill Apter tonight though and it is time for some revenge. Shane jumps him to start and sends Raven into the corner, including a ram into the exposed buckle.

Raven is already busted open so he tries the Raven Effect, sending Shane bailing to the floor. That’s fine with Raven, who grabs a chair and knocks Shane right back outside. They fight into the crowd with Raven carrying him near the fans, only to be sent into the hockey boards. Now it’s time to head up into the balcony, with Shane stopping to do Raven’s pose. That’s never a good idea, and Raven hits him low for a toss down to the floor.

Shane mostly lands feet first so he survives, with Raven having to climb down to allow him to recover. They get to the entrance stage where the Raven Effect and a powerbomb are both broken up, meaning it’s time to get back into the ring. Shane hits him low but gets drop toeholded face first into the open chair. The corner clothesline into the running bulldog gets two on Shane. Raven gets sent into the chair as well though and it’s a cutter to put him back down.

Another drop toehold sends Shane into the chair (it’s not a good sign to use the same spot three times in about a minute and a half) but the referee takes the chair away from Raven. That doesn’t make a ton of sense, but Shane kicks the chair into the referee’s face. Cue Shane’s goons to go after Raven, meaning Mick Foley comes back for the save. House is cleaned and Foley grabs the Mandible Claw on Shane. That’s enough to set up the Raven Effect, with Foley grabbing the referee’s hand for the count at 15:57. I guess that counts.

Rating: B-. This was pretty good as Raven has probably done something like this about a hundred times. It helps that it is also Raven was freshly released from WWE and not as banged up as he would come to be later. It was a fine match that probably gave the fans a bigger thrill than came through on the broadcast.

Post match Foley says Shane learned never to mess with him and his friends, and Raven learned never to dare Foley to do something. Foley then does a funny Diamond Dallas Page impression….and Raven does a puppet show with the socks that fans have thrown into the ring. Hold on though as Raven wants ONE MORE cheap pop, which has Foley talking about a woman’s rather large chest. Foley: “And I love looking at them, RIGHT HERE, in Coventry, England!”

NWA TNA X-Division Champion Christopher Daniels has been in wrestling for a long time and he finally gained the glory he had been craving. AJ Styles is not taking that away from him tonight. I had forgotten how lame the original X-Division Title design really was.

NWA TNA X-Division Title: AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels

Daniels is defending and yeah I think this is going to work. They go face to face to start but Daniels punches him down early. AJ is back up but misses the dropkick half of the drop down into the dropkick. Back up and Styles is fine enough to hit a slam into the jumping knee drop. There’s a surprisingly delayed vertical suplex for two on Daniels as the fans are split down the line. AJ goes up but dives into an exploder suplex. Daniels drops an elbow and hits his own delayed brainbuster for two.

AJ is fine enough to nip up for a hurricanrana, only to charge into a hot shot. The Arabian moonsault sets up what would become known as the Bank Statement. They head outside with Daniels winning a strike off and grabbing a reverse cravate back inside. AJ is right back with a backbreaker into a gutbuster, only to get pulled into a Koji Clutch. That’s good for two arm drops but AJ makes it over to the rope for the break.

Back up and AJ blasts him with a discus lariat to put both of them down. A top rope elbow to the face sends Daniels outside and AJ is right there with the running flip dive. They head back inside with Daniels scoring with an STO to put both of them down. AJ loads up the moonsault into the reverse DDT, gets blocked, and then does it again for two. Daniels is right back up with the release Rock Bottom into the BME for his own near fall.

The Pele drops Daniels though and they’re both down for a bit. They go to a pinfall reversal sequence until Daniels has to go to the rope to break up the Styles Clash. Daniels scores with the Angel’s Wings for two and he can’t believe the kickout. Last Rites is countered and AJ pulls him up into the Styles Clash for a very near fall. Daniels is right back up and grabs Last Rites to retain the title at 20:38. Ignore AJ’s foot being underneath the rope.

Rating: B+. This is another good example of “well what else were you expecting”. These two were the hottest things in the world at this point not named John Cena and Batista and it would only get better when Samoa Joe joined the fray. It was another awesome match between two people who had a lot of awesome matches against each other. Hence why they were in a main event on a pretty big show.

After waiting a bit, they shake hands to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Yeah this was awesome and that’s not exactly surprising given who was on the show. You had basically an indy all star show with some local stars thrown in. The fact that the locals were all quite good as well made it even better. This was a heck of a show and absolutely worth checking out. We were in a great time in wrestling at this point and you could see both the present and the future right here. Definitely check this out if you get the chance.

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

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

AND

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 16, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

We’re on the way to Victory Road and ultimately Bound For Glory, which should make for a pair of back to back big shows. The main story this week is a ten man tag with most of the biggest feuds in the company being thrown into one big match. That should be enough to set up Victory Road so let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap sets up the ten man tag, as there isn’t anything else worth mentioning on the show.

Opening sequence.

Violent By Design vs. Decay

Rhino/Deaner for the team here, with everyone else at ringside. Rhino jumps Black Taurus to start and it’s already off to Deaner to kick away at the ribs. That’s broken up with an elbow in the corner and Crazzy Steve comes in for a backsplash. Deaner takes him into the corner though and the villains start taking turns in a violently designed way. Steve neckbreakers his way to freedom and bites Deaner in the head so Eric Young gets on the apron. The distraction lets Deaner…accidentally hit Rhino with a flag, setting up Steve’s middle rope DDT for the pin at 3:36.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have time to get going and was all about the storyline anyway. The idea of having Rhino’s troubles with the team continue is only kind of interesting, but Rhino is better than some of the options that Impact has. You know what you’re getting with him, but he still does his thing at a completely acceptable level.

Post match Young yells at Rhino, who isn’t having this. Young goes to turn away but Rhino grabs him by the wrist. That’s too far for the rest of the team and Rhino is beaten down. Seems like the team is minus a member.

We go to Swinger’s Palace, where Johnny Swinger seems happy that they’re heading to Las Vegas. That being said, he thinks Dixie Carter is still running this place and the idea of Scott D’Amore, the guy from Team Canada, being in charge, has to be a rib.

TJP is happy with winning money off of Steve Maclin beating Petey Williams last week. Williams comes in and I think we have a match for later.

Johnny Swinger thinks Billy Corgan runs the company.

Team Christian Cage is ready because none of them are afraid to fight. Chris Sabin tells Josh Alexander that they’re on the same team tonight but that changes at Victory Road. Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan are willing to work together tonight too. That’s why Cage likes the team. As for Ace Austin, he better be ready, but it won’t be enough.

We run down the Victory Road card.

TJP vs. Petey Williams

TJP goes technical to start but gets taken down into a front facelock. That’s broken up so Williams goes with a headscissors on the mat instead. TJP is back up as well and hangs in the ropes to annoy Williams again, earning TJP a Codebreaker to the floor. Back in and the tilt-a-whirl Russian legsweep drops TJP as we take a break.

We come back with TJP having to fight out of a chinlock and grabbing a DDT out of the corner. The boot scrape in the corner sets up a missed Swanton but Petey can’t hit the Canadian Destroyer. Instead he grabs the Sharpshooter, which sends TJP over to the ropes. TJP loads up la majistral but Petey drops down for the pin at 9:30.

Rating: C+. They were having the near technical marvel you would expect and that is a good thing. Williams can be a fine member of the roster and it is nice to see him do more than just the Canadian Destroyer. TJP can work well with anyone and they had a rather nice, albeit a bit short, match here.

Post match Steve Maclin comes in to wreck both guys.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Chris Sabin wins the X-Division Title on July 4, 2013.

The Good Brothers say Rich Swann might have had a chance in last week’s Bunkhouse Brawl but Willie Mack is still in the hospital. Cue Swann and Mack to take them out in a hurry.

Post break, Mack says he’s back because it’s time to take out the Brothers and win the Tag Team Titles. Scott D’Amore comes in to make the title match for Victory Road.

Here is John Skyler for a chat. Laredo Kid beat him on Before The Impact so he’ll beat him now.

John Skyler vs. Laredo Kid

Skyler swats away a handshake offer to start so Kid slaps him in the face. With Skyler knocked to the floor, Kid takes him down with the suicide dive. Back up and Skyler snaps off a belly to belly before taking Kid inside. Kid manages a double clothesline for a double knockdown, setting up a slugout. Skyler goes for the mask like a villain should, setting up the rollup for the pin at 3:46.

Rating: C-. Another short match here and that’s probably a good thing. I like that they are actually building up someone new with Skyler, as they could use some fresh faces. Even if Skyler isn’t going to break through to the next level, it is nice to see Impact taking a shot at someone. Maybe they get something out of him, but at least it isn’t the same people over and over again.

It’s time for It’s All About Me with co-guests Madison Rayne and Kaleb With A K. Since this show is a little backwards, here is “host” Taylor Wilde, who brings in Rachael Ellering and Jordynne Grace. They don’t seem to like each other but Wilde asks what happened when she and Dashwood wrestled. Dashwood shouldn’t be scared of a match at Victory Road so the match is on.

Earlier today, Matt Cardona jumped Rohit Raju and Shera as they arrived.

Scott D’Amore yelled at Cardona so the match is made for Victory Road, No DQ. That’s cool with Cardona.

Matthew Rehwoldt vs. Trey Miguel

They fight over a lockup to start until Rehwoldt goes after the eyes to take him down. A running clothesline puts Miguel on the floor and Rehwoldt drops him face first onto the apron for a bonus. Back in and Rehwoldt twists him down by the arm for two, setting up some knees to the back for the same.

Miguel fights up and kicks him in the face so a springboard missile dropkick can connect for two. A split legged moonsault misses though and the Director’s Cut gives Rehwoldt two of his own. Rehwoldt misses a Swanton for the big crash and it’s a suplex into the Hourglass to give Miguel the pin at 7:49.

Rating: C. Much like the earlier matches, this was a way to bring in some fresh people and see what they can do. Rehwoldt might not be a top star, but he can go fill in some time on the show without being the same people we’ve seen over and over again. Perfectly watchable match and it’s always nice to see Miguel get a win.

Post match Deonna Purrazzo comes out to hit Miguel low. Mickie James runs in for the save and brawl, setting up the big dive off the top to take out the pile.

Tasha Steelz says she and Savannah Evans didn’t steal the titles because from Decay they had the titles stolen from them at Slammiversary. If the champs want them back, come get them at Victory Road.

We recap Hikuleo showing up last week and attacking Juice Robinson. At Victory Road, it’s Hikuleo/Chris Bey vs. FinJuice.

Bey says he and Hikuleo do whatever they want around here. On Saturday, one shot will be too sweet.

Victory road rundown.

Team Christian Cage vs. Team Ace Austin

Austin: Ace Austin, Madman Fulton, Brian Myers, Moose, W. Morrissey
Cage: Christian Cage, Sami Callihan, Eddie Edwards, Chris Sabin, Josh Alexander

Myers has Sam Beale and his prospects with him. Callihan and Austin start things off with Callihan taking him into the corner and stomping away. Eddie comes in to chop Callihan down and we get the rare Sami/Eddie collaboration. We get the big ten man staredown and that’s enough to take a break.

Back with everyone brawling on the floor until Callihan throws Austin back inside to keep up the beating. Hold on though as Beale comes in, earning himself a low blow, allowing Myers to get in a cheap shot of his own. Fulton sends Callihan into the corner but he gets in a shot of his own to put Fulton down. Sabin and Austin come in to pick up the pace with Sabin taking over. Now Cage is willing to come in to uppercut away at the also legal Fulton.

This lasts all of a few seconds before Cage has to slip out of a slam. Eddie comes in to help take Fulton down but it’s off to Moose, who gets caught in a belly to belly. Moose tosses Eddie outside though and we take another break. Back with Eddie not being able to sunset flip Austin, as Fulton comes in and keeps Eddie in trouble. Morrissey finally comes in to rip at Eddie’s face and the villains keep alternating the beatdown.

A big elbow keeps Eddie in trouble and Morrissey chokes with the boot in the corner. Eddie is fine enough to hit a running clothesline out of the corner and it’s time for the parade of secondary finishers. Austin kicks Christian low and goes up but Eddie catches him on top with a superplex onto the pile. Back in and Christian can’t hit Myers with the Killswitch but Alexander can hit Divine Intervention for the pin at 21:18.

Rating: B. This was about as efficient of a match as you could have as it was taking so many feuds and putting them all together. That opens up a lot of doors, as you can have some fresh matches while also pushing towards what is already set for Victory Road. Good action here too, with the ending sequence building up Alexander as well. Is it that insane to think he might be the Bound For Glory title challenger?

The winners pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Impact has been doing some rather watchable stuff over the last few months, but it has been so far under the radar that it does not get the credit it deserves. This did a nice job setting up Victory Road, albeit partially by rapid firing matches to the card. To be fair, that is often the best way it can go and we had a good show as a result. Nice job again, which has been the norm around here for a long time.

Results
Decay b. Violent By Design – Middle rope DDT to Deaner
Petey Williams b. TJP – Cradle
John Skyler b. Laredo Kid – Rollup
Trey Miguel b. Matthew Rehwoldt – Hourglass
Team Cage b. Team Austin – Divine Intervention to Myers

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

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

AND

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

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

We are almost up to Victory Road and that means Bound For Glory is not too far away. Victory Road should be good on its own, but there are a few other things to get to first. The shows have been good enough as of late and if they can keep that going, or even improve on it, we could get some where. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Tasha Steelz vs. Rosemary

Savannah Evans and Havok are here too. Steelz grabs a rollup to start so Rosemary bites her in the face to even things up. There’s the Upside Down to put Steelz in more trouble but she avoids a top rope dropkick. Some running shots in the corner set up a running kick to the chest to give Steelz two and we hit the chinlock. As tends to be the case with chinlocks, Rosemary is back up in a hurry so Steelz drops her with a jumping knee. Stratusfaction gets two and Steelz dodges a desperation spear. Not that it matters as Rosemary is right back up with the spear for the pin at 4:40.

Rating: C-. This was mostly a squash until Rosemary hit the spear. That’s a bit of a weird way to go with an established name like Rosemary but it isn’t like Steelz is some unknown loser. Steelz got to show off some different offense here as she is rarely in the ring by herself in a featured spot like this one.

Post match Evans gets in the ring but Steelz steals the Knockouts Tag Team Titles. The distraction lets Evans nail Rosemary and Havok from behind so the villains can run off.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Ace Austin is ready to win the World Title but walks off to talk to Scott D’Amore. Ace has an idea for next week: Christian Cage vs. Madman Fulton. D’Amore thinks it needs to be bigger and we have a ten man tag.

Post break, Ace and Fulton recruit Brian Myers to their team, who agrees without a second thought.

Rhino is still in prison with Violent By Design as Eric Young tries to cleanse him. Young pours water over Rhino’s head and declares him new.

Rich Swann vs. Karl Anderson

Bunkhouse Brawl, meaning street fight, so there are some plywood boards set up in the corner and weapons at ringside. Swann starts fast by flip diving onto Luke Gallows and then sending Anderson through one of the boards in the corner. There’s a kick to Anderson’s head on the ramp and Swann whips him hard into the apron. A low blow cuts Gallows off again and Anderson gets one of his own. Swann takes a bit too much time though and Anderson unloads on him with a trashcan lid. There’s a suplex onto the ramp to keep Swann in trouble and we take a break.

Back with Anderson wedging a chair in the corner but getting thrown face first into it instead. Not that it matters as Anderson throws him through a board in the corner because the Elite doesn’t sell their head hitting a chair. Anderson misses a running trashcan lid shot and crotches himself though, allowing Swann to make the comeback. Gallows offers a distraction though and a spinebuster cuts Swann down again.

The Gun Stun is blocked with a handstand so Anderson blasts him with a clothesline. A table is loaded up but Swann kicks Anderson in the face and goes up top. That’s broken up thanks to a distraction though and they switch places, with Anderson coming off the top with a Gun Stun (not) through the table to finish Swann at 13:38.

Rating: B-. Anderson’s selling issues aside, this was a hard hitting brawl with Swann fighting for revenge for his friend. The numbers game caught up with him in the end though as we continue the build to the big Tag Team Title match (and likely change). This is an easy story but it is working out well, assuming you can ignore Anderson shrugging off being sent head first into a chair.

We get a sitdown interview with Mickie James, who didn’t like Deonna Purrazzo attacking her at NWA 73. She’s bringing back Hardcore Country to go after Purrazzo.

Matthew Rehwoldt talks about how this is art and he is coming for Trey Miguel.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Chris Sabin wins the X-Division Title at Bound For Glory 2013 in Ultimate X (with the help of a ladder).

Josh Alexander doesn’t think as much of Chris Sabin being an eight time X-Division Champion because it means he’s an eight time loser. Christian Cage comes up to introduce himself and gets Alexander on his team for next week. Alexander seems interested in the World Title.

Rohit Raju says Chelsea Green wanted to be kneed in the face last week because she wanted a real man to take control. Well that was disturbing.

Chris Bey vs. David Finlay

Rematch from two weeks ago where Bey cheated to win. Bey hides in the corner to start and then goes to the floor to hide again. It’s kind of easy to see a professional wrestler outside of the ring though and Finlay goes outside to chop away. Bey flips out of a belly to back suplex and runs back inside, only to get elbowed in the face. A backsplash gives Finlay two but Bey is back with an elbow to the back of the head. Bey hits a corner enziguri into a top rope clothesline for two but the Art of Finesse is blocked.

Now the belly to back suplex can connect and a Rock Bottom backbreaker gives Finlay two more. An STF has Bey in big trouble and we’ll switch that to a Crossface like the cool kids do these days. Make that the Rings of Saturn, with Bey finally making it over to the ropes. Bey jumps over him in the corner though and grabs a spinebuster for two. Some YES (or BEY in this case) kicks rock Finlay but here is Juice Robinson to break up Bey’s cheating pins. The distraction lets Finlay get his own pin at 8:43.

Rating: B. I liked this one a good bit and that shouldn’t be a surprise. Bey has been a consistently solid star and Finlay is rather talented as well. They got some time on their own and the ending was the right way to go as it tied into what they did before. Good match here, as the story continues without much in the way of ridiculous moments.

Post match the beatdown seems imminent but Hikuelo, the giant Bullet Club member, comes in for the save. Robinson’s leg gets Pillmanized to make it worse.

We go backstage for the Chris Sabin/Josh Alexander contract signing for the X-Division Title match at Victory Road. Sabin respects Alexander and signs. Alexander points out the eight losses and says Sabin isn’t winning again before signing as well. Scott D’Amore says they’re both great and gets a handshake as Alexander leaves without incident. Christian Cage comes in and gets Sabin on his team as well.

TJP, Fallah Bahh and No Way come in to Swinger’s Palace and don’t like the odds on Steve Maclin vs. Petey Williams. It’s time to fix that.

Steve Maclin vs. Petey Williams

Maclin doesn’t waste time and counters a crossbody into a suplex. A butterfly backbreaker has Williams in more trouble but he chokes back up with chops and right hands. Williams German suplexes him out of the corner into the spinning Russian legsweep. There’s the dropkick through the ropes into a dive onto Maclin, setting up the slingshot Codebreaker. The Canadian Destroyer is loaded up but here are No Way, Fallah Bahh and TJP, and the Conga Line, to interrupt. Maclin’s reverse inverted DDT driver is enough to finish the distracted Williams at 3:29.

Rating: D+. Not much of a match as it didn’t exactly have time to go anywhere before the distraction finish, but Maclin winning in the end is the right call. They might have a little something here with Maclin and that is a good thing for Impact. The company needs some stars who haven’t had a big run yet and Maclin could fit that bill. That being said, a second straight distraction finish might not be the best way, especially when he needed a save against Petey Williams.

Williams glares at TJP, who doesn’t seem to think much of it.

We look at W. Morrissey and Moose taking out Eddie Edwards last week.

Eddie Edwards doesn’t care about the odds but Sami Callihan comes in to interrupt. Christian Cage comes in to break that up and gets them on his team as well. Sami is in, but Eddie says it’s one or the other.

W. Morrissey and Moose interrupt Ace Austin’s interview to say they’re in for next week. That’s cool for Austin.

Victory Road rundown.

Moose vs. Eddie Edwards

Moose runs Eddie over to start and sends him straight into the corner. Eddie chops his way out of the corner and snaps off the rapid fire chops to get a breather. That’s too much for Moose, who runs him over again. They head outside with Eddie getting posted as we take an early break.

Back with Eddie catching him with an enziguri on top, setting up a super hurricanrana. They chop it out until Eddie manages to turn him inside out with a clothesline. A missed charge in the corner lets Eddie hit the Boston Knee Party but Morrissey puts Moose’s foot on the ropes. Back up and Moose hits the spear for the pin at 10:26.

Rating: C. This was shorter than I was expecting but at least they let Moose get a win. You don’t see that enough anymore and again, the numbers game plays a factor. They are definitely focusing on that idea more and more lately and it is a different way to go around here. At least there seems to be a focus, and that is a good thing.

Post match the beating is on but Chris Sabin runs in for the save, setting off a rapid fire series of people involved in next week’s ten man tag. Alisha Edwards comes in to try and save Eddie but gets caught by Morrissey. Cue Sami Callihan with a bat each for himself and Eddie and the ring is cleared again. The bats are clinked together and Christian’s team is complete to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This started to go downhill a bit near the end but at least they had a good enough first hour to carry the show. What we got here was a lot of stuff to set up future shows but there was enough here to make it work on its own. It’s a solid show, which has become the norm around here more often than not.

Results
Rosemary b. Tasha Steelz – Spear
Karl Anderson b. Rich Swann – Gun Stun onto a table
David Finlay b. Chris Bey – Rollup
Steve Maclin b. Petey Williams – Reverse inverted DDT driver
Moose b. Eddie Edwards – Spear

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

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

AND

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 2, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

We’re still on the road to Victory Road and that means more of Ace Austin, which is not a bad thing. Tonight we have Tommy Dreamer vs. Austin with Dreamer possibly being added to the World Title match if he wins. That’s the kind of threat that Impact might actually follow up on, which doesn’t give me much hope. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Daffney. That was a really hard one.

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Madison Rayne/Kaleb With A K/Tenille Dashwood vs. Taylor Wilde/Rachael Ellering/Jordynne Grace

Ellering and Kaleb With A K start things off with Rachael wrestling him into the corner without much effort. A release gutwrench suplex drops Kaleb With A K for two and it’s Grace coming in for some standing clotheslines. Rayne gets in a cheap shot though and Dashwood gets to come in and take over. Grace powers out of a chinlock by slamming Rayne backwards but Kaleb With A K cuts off a tag.

A kick to the face cuts that off without much effort though and Wilde comes in to clean house. Wilde’s tornado DDT gets two on Kaleb With A K with Dashwood having to make a save. Back up and Rayne has to grab Kaleb With A K’s hands to block a German suplex, only to have Ellering break it up, meaning the German suplex can give Wilde the pin at 5:04.

Rating: C. This is a good example of how to do intergender wrestling, as Kaleb With A K was a perfect fit to take this kind of a beating. It can be put together well without going too far into being ridiculous and that’s what they pulled off here. That is quite the trick, so well done on making it work.

We look at Deonna Purrazzo retaining the Knockouts Title at NWA Empowerrr and then attacking Mickie James at the 73rd Anniversary Show.

Deonna Purrazzo and Matthew Rehwoldt don’t care for Mickie James or Trey Miguel.

Tommy Dreamer talks about the time he took the ECW World Title from Christian Cage, though Cage pops up to say Dreamer didn’t pin him in that match. That’s true, but Dreamer just wants one chance to be the face of Impact Wrestling. He asks Cage to not get involved tonight because he wants to do it himself. Sure.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Black Taurus/Crazzy Steve vs. No Way/Fallah Bahh

The rest of Decay is here, as is No Way’s Conga Line. Actually hold on as part of the Conga Line attacked Rosemary, because it’s Tasha Steelz in disguise. We come back from a break for the opening bell, with Steve slugging away at Bahh in vain. Bahh throws him down with ease and it’s off to No Way vs. Taurus. A Sling Blade drops No Way and a hard right hand has him in more trouble.

No Way gets in a quick tag to Bahh and sunset flips Taurus, who gets crushed by Bahh’s splash. A belly to belly lets No Way come back in for two and Bahh hits the running hip attack in the corner. Bahh drops No Way down into a legdrop for two on Taurus but a double clothesline gives him a breather. The hot tag brings in Steve to slug away as everything breaks down. Steve bites Bahh in the head and a middle rope DDT is good for the pin at 6:45.

Rating: C-. Totally run of the mill tag match here and that’s about all there is to say. No Way was playing things a bit more heelish here, which is kind of weird when you have him doing the dancing deal before the match. It might be nice to see him doing something else, because right now he’s the same guy he was in WWE but with a different company name at the top of his contract.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Christian Cage b. Sting at Final Resolution 2007.

W. Morrissey doesn’t like Sami Callihan for saving Eddie Edwards. He does have a bit of respect for the two of them for hating each other….and here is Moose to interrupt. Moose agrees with everything Morrissey has said since he got here. Neither of them like Sami Callihan, but Moose is looking for an alliance instead of a friend. Glaring ensues.

Steve Maclin is very intense and wants Petey Williams next week.

Here is Moose for a chat. He doesn’t like that everyone, like Eddie Edwards, wants to be a hero. They have a long history together, but Moose is a different guy now. So get out here so Moose can teach him that the hero doesn’t always save the day. Cue Eddie so the brawl can be on. W. Morrissey runs in for the beatdown and a double powerbomb leaves Eddie laying. No Sami Callihan for the save, as per Eddie’s request.

No Way and Fallah Bahh didn’t know anything about Tasha Steelz attacking Decay. TJP comes in to reform the team with Fallah Bahh and is cool with No Way too. They’ll head to Swinger’s Palace next week.

Eric Young is ready to cure Rhino and chains him up in a prison.

X-Division Title: Josh Alexander vs. Jake Crist

The returning Crist is challenging after Alexander wanted to fight any former X-Division Champion. Alexander drives him into the ropes to start and catches a charging Crist in a powerslam. Crist sends him to the apron so Alexander goes up top, only to be pulled back down for a neckbreaker. The front facelock goes on for a bit and Jake plants him down again. Crist grabs the front facelock again but this time Alexander strikes his way to freedom in a hurry. Alexander rolls some German suplexes to knock Crist silly and Divine Intervention retains the title at 5:36.

Rating: C. Not much to see here, other than Alexander ending Crist with those suplexes. This was little more than a workout for Alexander, who is going to need someone special to take the title from him. That’s kind of a problem, but I’m curious to see where they go with the whole thing.

Post match Alexander is asked why he put the title on the line. That’s because he has to so he is challenging people for the title. Cue Chris Sabin to say he is a big Alexander fan but Alexander is a one time champion, compared to Sabin’s eight title reigns. The challenge is on for Victory Road and Alexander is down for that. Makes as much sense as anything else right now.

Sam Beale is offering Brian Myers’ offer to find a new wingman and we see some applications. One of them looks like David Arquette.

The applicants are here and Brian Myers isn’t impressed. He makes a few random cuts, including one who likes Mojo Rawley. We get down to two, with one of them being Zicky Dice of minor NWA fame. The two of them (Dice and Manny Lemons) will be back next week.

Rohit Raju/Shera vs. Matt Cardona/Chelsea Green

Raju and Cardona start things off but it’s quickly off to Shera to run Cardona over instead. The big elbow crushes Cardona and it’s back to Raju, who is quickly slammed down. Green comes in to work on Raju’s arm before kicking some non-existent dirt into his face. A headscissors sets up a slap to Raju, who brings in Shera. That’s fine with Green as she slaps Shera into Radio Silence from Cardona. Raju posts Cardona though and a jumping knee finishes Green at 3:33.

Rating: C-. Just a quick match here but you’re only going to be able to get so much out of Green working on the arm and slapping the heels in the face. This feud has been going on for a little while now and it isn’t all that interesting, but at least they are doing a few things to keep it fresh. Now just find a way to keep it from being so dull and we might get somewhere.

Su Yung and Kimber Lee have turned Brandi Lauren into one of them. Maniacal laughter ensues but Yung doesn’t seem pleased.

Here are the Good Brothers for a chat because we can’t escape them for a week. Karl Anderson tells the fans to sit down and shut their fat mouths. He knows the fans feel like they are seeing some rock stars but be quiet for a bit. They aren’t happy with Rich Swann and Willie Mack stealing a pin on them last week but Mack got powerbombed through a table for what he did. Mack is in traction right now so now his name is Willie Lack The Ability To Walk. Cue Rich Swann with a chair but referees are out there in a hurry to break it up.

Post break, Rich Swann has to be held back again so Scott D’Amore gives Swann a Bunkhouse Brawl with Karl Anderson next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Ace Austin vs. Tommy Dreamer

If Dreamer wins, he’s in the World Title match at Victory Road and Madman Fulton is here with Austin. Dreamer is wrestling in a Dusty Rhodes mask because reasons. Austin takes him down for a kick to the back to start so the mask comes off to make things serious. A Cactus Clothesline puts them on the floor and Dreamer posts him hard. Fulton saves Austin from going into the barricade though and Austin kicks Dreamer in the face.

Back in and a powerbomb gives Austin two but Dreamer crotches him on top. A neckbreaker out of the corner gives Dreamer a breather and the slugout is on. Dreamer hammers away in the corner and bites Austin’s head, setting up a powerslam for two. An enziguri drops Austin again but he’s right back up with a springboard Fameasser for the same. Back up and Austin charges into a cutter but Fulton breaks up the cover. Dreamer posts Fulton but gets caught with the Fold for the pin at 7:44.

Rating: C. It probably isn’t a good sign when I have a sigh of relief that the good guy loses. This was your usual Dreamer match, as he doesn’t do much outside of his hits. Dreamer is fine enough in the ring and can do his usual stuff, but it is a good idea to keep him limited. Now if they can keep him limited from talking too, we should be in better shape.

Overall Rating: C-. Pretty run of the mill show here without much of anything standing out. They did a nice enough job of building Victory Road, but there was nothing that really grabbed me. What makes me a little more hopeful though is the fact that this feels like a one off instead of a new normal. Impact has actually built up some good will in recent months and that is rather nice to see.

Results
Jordynne Grace/Rachael Ellering/Taylor Wilde b. Kaleb With A K/Tenille Dashwood/Madison Rayne – German suplex to Kaleb With A K
Black Taurus/Crazzy Steve b. No Way/Fallah Bahh – Middle rope DDT to Bahh
Josh Alexander b. Jake Crist – Divine Intervention
Rohit Raju/Shera b. Matt Cardona/Chelsea Green – Jumping knee to Green
Ace Austin b. Tommy Dreamer – Fold

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

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

AND

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 26, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

Emergence has come and gone and that means it is time to start the path towards either Bound For Glory or whatever other one off show is taking place before then. Christian Cage is still the World Champion, having vanquished the horrible threat of Brian Myers. That means he needs a new challenger and we might be able to find out who that is tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Emergence.

Opening sequence.

Chris Sabin vs. Sami Callihan

Fallout from the Emergence #1 contenders four way. The brawl starts on the floor before the bell and Sami hits a powerbomb inside. The bell rings with Sami winning a slugout but being sent outside for the running flip dive from the apron. That doesn’t last long for Sabin, as Callihan powerbombs him into the post. Sami is having none of these chops from Sabin and pokes him in the eye before heading back inside. Sabin gets kicked off the ropes and it’s off to something like an Indian Deathlock.

That’s broken up so Sami takes him up top, only to get shoved back down. The missile dropkick gives Sabin two and it’s an exchange of strikes to the head for a double knockdown. They slug it out again until Sami takes his leg out, setting up a curb stomp. The Cactus Special gets two but Sabin is back with a kick to the face. Sabin grabs the Cradle Shock for the pin at 7:53.

Rating: C+. I continue to be impressed by Sabin’s resurgence, even though it shouldn’t be that big of a surprise. Sabin is still one of the more talented in-ring stars Impact has and he has looked great in most of his matches. Throw in Sami doing well enough and I’m liking this section of the card fairly well.

Post match here is Moose to take Sabin out. Moose loads up the chair and baseball bat over Sami’s face but Eddie Edwards runs in for the save.

Taylor Wilde doesn’t like Tenille Dashwood, Kaleb With A K or Madison Rayne. Violence is promised.

Sami Callihan wants to know what was up with that from Eddie Edwards. Eddie says they have helped each other once and now they’re done. Sami: “No hug?”

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Here is Mickie James to hype up NWA Empowerrr. She runs down the card, including Deonna Purrazzo defending the Knockouts Title against Melina. We get a video on the match but here are Purrazzo and Matthew Rehwoldt to interrupt. Purrazzo can’t wait to represent women’s wrestling, but who wants to see a movie when they know the ending? Mickie talks about how Rehwoldt cost Melina her match at Emergence and Purrazzo says she might be underestimating Melina a bit. For now though, the fight is on but Trey Miguel runs in to take out Rehwoldt. Melina comes in to go after Purrazzo and the good women stand tall.

Brian Myers explains how to customize your gear. Sam Beale thinks Myers is trying to avoid talking about losing the World Title match but Myers isn’t hearing it. Maybe it’s time for an open casting call, with Beale asking if he is in charge of that.

Chris Bey vs. David Finlay

No seconds for a change and Finlay goes right after Bey in the corner. Bey tries to pick up the pace but walks into a dropkick for a trip to the floor. Back in and Bey sends him throat first into the middle rope for a breather. We take a break and come back with Bey choking and kicking away but Finlay is back up with a European uppercut.

Bey pulls him into a sleeper to cut that off though and then switches into a cravate. Finlay suplexes his way to freedom and they head outside, where Finlay sends him into the apron. Back in and a running elbow connects in the corner, setting up a chokebreaker for two. Deep Six gets two on Bey but he grabs a rollup out of the corner and uses the ropes for the pin at 11:52.

Rating: B-. Just like in the opener, there is no reason to be surprised by these two having a good match as they are both that talented. They went back and forth until Bey cheated to win like a good villain should. That’s how these two should go and it keeps the story going for at least a few more weeks.

Josh Alexander got a good fight from Jake Something at Emergence but Jake ran into the greatest X Division Champion of all time. Now he’s ready for his next challenge.

Here is Christian Cage for a chat. He beat Brian Myers at Emergence and now he’s ready for Ace Austin. Christian looks at the title…..but nah, Austin isn’t beating him for the title. Cue Tommy Dreamer, with Christian asking what is going on with Dreamer’s hair. Dreamer talks about how he didn’t like Kenny Omega and Don Callis being around here but now he knows Christian really cares about wrestling (I’m not sure I get the connection but Dreamer hasn’t been all there for years).

The seven years Christian was out of action was a dark time in wrestling and Dreamer thanks him for being so great for all these years and representing Impact Wrestling. Oh and Dreamer would love one more match with Christian. Cue Ace Austin and Madman Fulton, with Ace introducing himself to Christian.

Ace is a prodigy but Christian is the one making all the towns for both companies. He’ll get to keep doing that, but after Victory Road, Christian’s bag is going to be about ten pounds lighter. Christian says Ace should stand on his toes so he can be seen over the top rope. The brawl is on with Dreamer and Christian clearing the ring.

Eric Young says Rhino needs to be cleansed through violence.

Ace Austin wants a match with Tommy Dreamer next week. Scott D’Amore is fine with that, but if Dreamer wins, Victory Road is a triple threat.

Taylor Wilde vs. Kaleb With A K/Tenille Dashwood/Madison Rayne

Taylor dives onto the three of them on the floor to start fast and kicks Kaleb With A K (in his neck brace) in the chest for two. The numbers game gets the better of her but Wilde sends the women into the corner to break it up. Wilde rolls Rayne up but a Spotlight Kick finishes Wilde at 3:08.

Rating: D+. There wasn’t much else that could have been done here and the match worked out about as well as could have been expected. Wilde losing sets up a few different singles matches down the line and it’s nice to see her having an actual story. Nothing to it from a match standpoint, but it moved things forward.

Post match the beatdown is on but Rachael Ellering and Jordynne Grace make the save.

Brandi Lauren is asked about Melina vs. Deonna Purrazzo but Su Yung and Kimber Lee abduct her.

Steve Maclin beat the returning TJP on BTI. Petey Williams made a save.

TJP isn’t happy with Petey Williams helping him because Fallah Bahh is his partner. Petey comes in and TJP isn’t going to thank him. They agree to stay out of each others’ ways.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Christian Cage b. Monty Brown (the Big E. prototype in a lot of ways) at Destination X 2006.

Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green are ready for Mahabali Shera and Rohit Raju. Green even has the shirt to prove it.

Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans didn’t lose at Emergence. Fallah Bahh and No Way come in and agree to take care of each others’ problems next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Rich Swann/Willie Mack vs. Good Brothers

Non-title. Anderson sends Swann into the corner to start and hits him in the face for a bonus. Swann snaps off a headscissors to escape and it’s Mack coming in for a splash/legdrop combination. It’s off to Gallows, who misses a running shoulder in the corner so Swann can start in on the arm. Gallows isn’t having that and takes Swann into the corner to unload.

That doesn’t last long though as Swann gets away from Anderson and brings Mack back in to take over. Anderson gets in a few shots but Mack hits him in the face, allowing the hot (not really) tag back to Swann. House is cleaned again, including the rolling splash for two. Anderson’s spinebuster gets the same but Swann counters the Gun Stun into a rollup for the pin at 6:45.

Rating: C. There’s your title match setup because almost every company has to do this anymore. Mack and Swann winning the titles (which they almost have to eventually) will be a cool moment and it will be nice to see them finally pull it off. If they have to take them from the Good Brothers too, it makes things even sweeter.

Post match the brawl is on again, with Mack being sent into a chair in the corner and getting taken down by the Magic Killer. Mack is put through a table to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The opening two matches made this show work and the rest of the card was enough to keep it going. This was another pretty good show and they have me somewhat interested in seeing where the stories go. I’m not sure where things are heading for Bound For Glory, but I want to find out and that means they are doing well.

Results
Chris Sabin b. Sami Callihan – Cradle Shock
Chris Bey b. David Finlay – Rollup with feet on the ropes
Kaleb With A K/Tenille Dashwood/Madison Rayne b. Taylor Wilde – Spotlight kick
Rich Swann/Willie Mack b. Good Brothers – Rollup to Anderson

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

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

AND

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 19, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown

We have a new World Champion around here and it happens to be someone who doesn’t actually work here (again). Christian Cage wont he World Title from Kenny Omega during the first edition of AEW Rampage. I’m not sure what that is going to mean for the future, but Brian Myers is the #1 contender so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Christian Cage defeating Kenny Omega to win the World Title last Friday. Cage is pleased with his win.

Josh Matthews and Gia Miller are in the ring to talk about Cage’s win but here are Eddie Edwards and W. Morrissey to brawl around ringside. Eddie hits the suicide dive but Morrissey is right back up take him down. Cue Sami Callihan to go after Morrissey, which is finally enough for security to get Morrissey out of there. Sami grabs the mic and says Eddie can thank him later. He has a match tonight and he doesn’t feel like waiting so get them out here RIGHT NOW.

Opening sequence. I thought they had forgotten.

Sami Callihan/Chris Sabin vs. Ace Austin/Moose

Madman Fulton is here with Austin/Moose and these four are in a four way at Emergence to crown a new #1 contender. The fans are behind Sami (“DEATH MACHINE!”) but Austin armdrags him down for some early annoyance. A running shoulder drops Austin though and Sami catches him in a running Death Valley Driver. The good (ish) guys start working on Austin’s arm, including Sabin snapping it over his shoulder. Austin’s springboard spinning kick to the face misses and Sabin knocks Moose off the apron.

We take a break and come back with Moose chopping Sabin so hard that his eyes bug out. A rake of said eyes draws Sami over but Sabin gets caught in the wrong corner again. Sabin manages a sunset flip out of the corner for two though and the hot tag brings in Sami to start cleaning house. Everything breaks down and Sabin hits a top rope tornado DDT to plant Moose. Sami takes too long with the THUMBS UP thing though, allowing Sabin to tag himself back in. The Cradle Shock finishes for Sabin at 10:48.

Rating: C+. This was a nice little preview of their match at Emergence and that’s all you needed out of a match like this one. What interests me the most here is how Sabin has revitalized his career. He has always been talented and treated like a big deal but now he is having the matches to back it up at this level. That’s a great thing to see and Sabin has been making it work every week.

Post match, Sami takes out Sabin, as he should.

Here’s what is coming tonight.

We look at the Good Brothers beating Jon Moxley/Yuji Nagata at New Japan Resurgence.

The Good Brothers are happy with what they did and tonight, Doc Gallows is going to take out Joe Doering.

Sami Callihan says Chris Sabin was fair game as soon as the match ended and he wants the World Title. Eddie Edwards comes up by Sami says they aren’t friends.

Shera vs. Matt Cardona

Rohit Raju and Chelsea Green are here too. I don’t hear a bell but Shera shoves him around to start anyway. Shera gets tossed outside though and Cardona hits a running dropkick through the ropes to rock him again. Raju grabs the foot though and Cardona gets kicked in the face as we take a break. Back with Shera dropping a big elbow for two and slapping on the chinlock. Cardona makes the comeback but charges into a backbreaker for two. A missed charge sends Shera into the corner but Green has to deal with Raju. Another missed charge lets Cardona hit the middle rope Radio Silence for the pin at 9:38.

Rating: C. It’s almost surprising to see how far Shera has fallen from the dancer into the monster into the jobber to the stars. I wouldn’t exactly call it a bad thing, but it’s kind of hard to fathom. What matters most here though is Cardona continues to find his place around here, which didn’t seem likely when he first debuted.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Christian Cage wins the World Title from Jeff Jarrett in February 2006.

It’s time for the return of Locker Room Talk with Madison Rayne, who has to wake up Johnny Swinger. Anyway, the guests are Tenille Dashwood (Swinger approves) and Kaleb With A K, who are on the set of It’s All About Me. Since Rayne is supposed to ask her questions, she would like to know why they got together last week. Dashwood says they always wanted to but this was the perfect time, so it is time to take over the division. To be fair, it has been a few months since we had a new dynamic duo. Swinger and Kaleb With A K argue though (Kaleb With A K: “Go back to AOL!”) and a match seems likely to wrap it up.

Josh Alexander isn’t scared of Jake Something. Cue Jake to say he’ll give Josh a reason to be scared.

Post break, Jake Something and Kaleb With A K come up to Scott D’Amore to complain about things so they can face each other in a No DQ match tonight.

Here is Christian Cage to the big hero’s welcome. Christian says they’re going to make him blush and the nostalgia is strong around here. Yes he wrestles for AEW, but it was an honor to bring these titles back here where they belong. Impact gambled on him in 2005 and he was able to win World Titles, which was all he ever wanted. The YOU DESERVE IT chants come and go before Christian thinks it is time to retire the TNA Championship. That’s about the past, because the Impact Wrestling World Title is what matters right now. He hands the title off….and here are Brian Myers and Sam Beale to interrupt.

Myers talks about how this is really nostalgic and thinks we need Shark Boy or a Brown Bag Special. He has been killing it for a year around here and tomorrow night, he is taking the World Title. Christian says it’s nice to see Myers finally get out of Matt Cardona’s shadow and he even has his own guy to check his spelling. Myers has to learn how to lose because he knows how to win. He might be the most professional wrestler, but Christian is the BEST professional wrestler. The fight is on and Christian cleans house in a hurry. Nice segment to build a not that interesting title match.

Trey Miguel meets Melina and seems impressed. Melina….not so much.

We look at Deonna Purrazzo becoming the AAA Reina de Reinas Champion.

Melina vs. Brandi Lauren

Lauren is sent into the corner to start but gets up an elbow to the jaw. Melina hits an elbow of her own, followed by a quick middle rope crossbody. There’s a running knee to the back into a DDT and the Muta Lock goes on. Melina turns it over into the California Dream (Muta Lock with Melina on her stomach and pulling down) for the tap at 2:07. Just a squash.

Post match, Deonna Purrazzo runs in for the fight, with Matthew Rehwoldt and Trey Miguel running in as well. The good ones clear the ring.

We look at John Skyler beating Matt Cardona with a bit of an assist from Rohit Raju.

Skyler says of course that isn’t a surprise that he won and no, he didn’t need Rohit Raju’s help. Speaking of help, someone seems to need it and we go over to see a downed Juice Robinson.

We look at Jordynne Grace dominating a powerlifting competition, with Rachael Ellering in the crowd. She’s going for a national championship soon.

Jake Something vs. Kaleb With A K

No DQ and Kaleb With A K has a neck brace on (complete with a bowtie). Jake powers him into the corner to start and snaps off a belly to belly. There’s a Batista Bomb to plant Kaleb With A K again and it’s table time. A spear through said table finishes for Jake at 2:04.

Post match Josh Alexander comes out for the staredown.

Su Yung and Kimber Lee are still evil.

Emergence rundown.

Doc Gallows vs. Joe Doering

Karl Anderson and the rest of Violent By Design are here too. They waste no time in going to the slugout, which sends them outside. Doering is sent into the steps and we take a break. Back with Doering managing a German suplex as we hear about Doering’s time in All Japan. A slightly delayed vertical suplex drops Gallows again and they head outside to keep up the brawling. Gallows throws a char at Doering’s face, which isn’t a DQ because….I guess this is no DQ?

Back in and a double shoulder puts them back on the floor. Gallows wins the next brawl and they fight up the ramp, where Gallows hits a sitout chokebomb through the stage for the big crash. A few minutes later, they pull themselves out and go into the ring (with Striker doing his usual annoying over hype). Gallows goes up but dives into the lariat for the fast pin at 15:03.

Rating: D. It was slow, it wasn’t very interesting, and the rules weren’t exactly clear. The big spot in the middle was good, but if there was ever a spot to go to a no content, they went sailing past it by going back inside. Gallows just isn’t very good in the ring and Doering isn’t much better, leaving us with a way, way, WAY too long match here.

Violent By Design poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. I really wasn’t feeling this one, but it did a decent enough job of setting up Emergence. The opening match was pretty good but the long main event and a few short matches didn’t help things. I’ve seen far worse shows, but this was a bit of a downgrade off of what we have been seeing from Impact lately. They can start setting up Bound For Glory next week though, and that’s what matters in the near future.

Results
Chris Sabin/Sami Callihan b. Moose/Ace Austin – Cradle Shock to Austin
Matt Cardona b. Shera – Middle rope Radio Silence
Melina b. Brandi Lauren – California Dream
Jake Something b. Kaleb With A K – Spear through a table
Joe Doering b. Doc Gallows – Lariat

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

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

AND

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 5, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

We’re still in the middle of the Kenny Omega Era and that means he needs a new #1 contender. That is what we get to find out next week, but for now we still have some more things to cover first. Since this is modern wrestling, the Bullet Club is involved, as Jay White and company are fighting against the Elite, including a six man tag this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Chris Bey vs. Juice Robinson

Jay White and David Finlay are here too. Bey dropkicks him into the corner at the bell and Robinson gets stomped down in a hurry. Robinson gets sent outside and something like a 619 on the mat takes him down again. Back in and Robinson catches Bey’s kick to the ribs, only to get pulled into a sleeper. Robinson slips out so Bey hits a Fameasser for two. Robinson is back with a spinebuster for a breather and they’re both down for a bit. The Cannonball crushes Bey in the corner as Finlay beats up White on the ramp. Bey has had it with this and hits the Art of Finesse for the pin at 5:17.

Rating: C. This was a showcase win for Bey, who gets back on track after his surprising loss. Robinson in a pretty one sided match was quite weird to see but at least they had a point with Bey. I could go for more of White later in the night though as he is one of the few people to have gotten my attention around here as of late.

Post match, White officially gives Bey the Bullet Club shirt.

The Elite isn’t worried about tonight’s six man tag because they’re that much better. Violent By Design comes in to say they are enacting their rematch clause at Emergence. The Good Brothers aren’t scared.

Fire N Flava insist everything is fine and they’re prove it tonight.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Video on Homecoming, with the debuting Matthew Rehwoldt (Aiden English) and Deonna Purrazzo winning the tournament.

Here is Matthew Rehwoldt, in a crown (Fans: “YOU STILL SUCK!”), to introduce his queen, Deonna Purrazzo. Fans: “NO ONE LIKES YOU!” Purrazzo lists off her accolades and gets a “NO ONE CARES” chant. Cue Mickie James to interrupt, with Purrazzo being annoyed at her spotlight being stolen. Mickie wants to get the contract for Empower signed but Purrazzo wants to know her opponent first. Cue Melina of all people and both of them sign the contract. Purrazzo introduces herself as the Virtuosa but Melina says she’s looking forward to taking the title.

Taylor Wilde accuses Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb With A K of reporting her as a suspicious person and tried to get her in trouble with immigration last week. She wants Dashwood next week.

Kimber Lee, now looking evil like Su Yung, sits next to Yung (who she refers to as “Mother”) and asks if she can take a soul.

Jake Something vs. Trey Miguel vs. Rohit Raju vs. Daivari

The winner gets an X-Division Title shot and Shera is here with Raju. It’s a brawl to start and Raju hits a dive onto something and Daivari. Miguel dives onto them as well, leaving everyone but Something to sit on the apron. Something hits a running crossbody against the ropes to all of them as we take a break.

Back with Daivari and Raju double teaming Something against the ropes until Something shrugs them off without much effort. Miguel is back in with some dropkicks, setting up a slugout with Raju. The Muta Lock has Raju in more trouble….and Miguel manages a swinging neckbreaker on Daivari at the same time without breaking the hold. Something comes back in to break it up but Daivari is back in with a missile dropkick. Not that it matters as Something is back with the swinging Boss Man Slam to finish Daivari at 8:09.

Rating: C. This is how you have a match like this as they didn’t spend a lot of time on crazy spots and just got to the point. What matters here is getting Something into the title picture, which is at least some….never mind. Josh Alexander has cleared out the division so bringing in someone fresh is the best thing that they can do at this point. I doubt he wins the title, but at least it’s a fresh match.

Post break, Rohit Raju and Shera yell at Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green.

Josh Alexander is ready for a match with Jake Something because Jake earned the shot. Daivari comes in and gets a non-title match next week for the chance at a future title shot.

Fire N Flava vs. Jordynne Grace/Rachael Ellering

Grace and Ellering have matching gear. Fire n Flava jump them to start to little avail as they get shouldered down in a hurry. The bell rings and Grace hits a spinebuster for two on Steelz as the fans are behind Grace and Ellering. A backsplash gives Ellering two but Steelz slips out of Grace’s MuscleBuster. That’s enough to get Grace down into the corner for some stomping from Hogan, setting up a chinlock from Steelz.

Grace is right back up with a double snap suplex and the hot tag brings Ellering back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and some running knees in the corner rock Hogan. Ellering gets two off a Vader Bomb but Hogan is back with a superkick for two of her own. Steelz gets sent back outside and it’s the assisted swinging Rock Bottom to finish Hogan at 5:22.

Rating: C-. Another loss for Fire N Flava here, but at least Grace and Ellering are starting to feel more like a team. It’s almost like putting these wrestlers together with no backstory or history and expecting them to instantly click isn’t a good idea. They’re getting better at this, but thankfully the division doesn’t have many teams to clear out at the moment.

Post match Hogan and Steelz stare each other down until Savannah Evans (rather tall woman) comes in to lay Hogan out. Steelz stands by and watches before leaving with Evans. So much for Fire N Flava.

Frankie Kazarian says he’ll come after the Elite no matter where they are and he’s coming for them tonight. He isn’t worried about Sami Callihan and Eddie Edwards, because it’s about getting to the Elite.

Violent By Design tells Scott D’Amore about the Tag Team Title match at Emergence but Willie Mack and Rich Swann walk out of his office. We’ll make it a three way match at Emergence instead.

Steve Maclin vs. Jah-C

Maclin jumps Jah-C for turning his back on him and the beating is on in a hurry. Jah-C gets stomped down in the corner and then gets tied in the Tree of Woe. A spear gets two, with Maclin pulling him up. Maclin does it again for a bonus, setting up the reverse inverted sitout DDT driver (NAME THAT ALREADY) for the pin at 2:28.

Post match the beatdown stays on, with Maclin grabbing a chair. Petey Williams comes in for the save to continue Maclin’s first actual competition.

It’s time for All About Me, with Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb With A K in a neck brace. This week’s guest is Dr. Ross Forman, Impact’s resident doctor. Forman asks Kaleb With A K about his injuries and then suggests a specialist. That’s it for Forman, so here is Scott D’Amore instead. We hear about the accusations from Taylor Wilde, but she’ll drop the investigations in exchange for a match with Dashwood. Date to be determined.

We look back at Moose vs. Chris Sabin from last week.

Chris Sabin says he has been in wrestling for 21 years but no one has ever made him as emotional as Moose. The difference is that Sabin is a former World Champion and he’s going to win the battle royal, meaning he can win the title again.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Elite vs. Sami Callihan/Eddie Edwards/Frankie Kazarian

Don Callis is here with the Elite and handles Kenny Omega’s introduction, as usual listing off all of the wrestlers beneath him. The brawl is on before the bell and everyone heads to the floor for the sake of violence. Callihan and Omega get inside to officially start but it’s off to Kazarian for a clothesline instead. The springboard legdrop gets two on Omega as Striker screws up by saying that Homecoming was last night. Omega gets in the Kitaro Crusher and we take a break.

Back with Gallows working on Kazarian, allowing Omega to choke on the ropes. Kazarian springboards his way to freedom though and the hot tag brings in Eddie to pick up the pace. Omega breaks up a middle rope hurricanrana though and an elbow drop gets two. It’s back to Gallows for the chinlock before the Good Brothers knock the other two off the apron. The triple splash gives Gallows two but Gallows charges into a boot in the corner.

A middle rope dropkick allows the tag to Callihan to start cleaning house. Everything breaks down and we hit the parade of secondary finishers, including the belly to back/neckbreaker combination for two on Callihan. There’s the spinebuster to plant Edwards but he’s back with a Blue Thunder Bomb to Anderson. Callihan piledrives Omega on the apron and it’s the Boston Knee Party to finish Anderson at 12:57.

Rating: B-. This was your standard main event six man, which is going to work most of the time. They are lining up a bunch of possible challengers for Omega and a battle royal is as good of a way to pull one out in a hurry as you are going to have. I can’t imagine Omega loses the Impact World Title before he loses the AEW World Title, but it is a good idea to get rid of one challenger.

Post match, everyone else leaves so W. Morrissey runs in to lay Edwards out to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I’ve been saying this for a few weeks now but Impact is doing a nice job of putting things together and then executing them. It wasn’t a blow away show but it advanced stories and helped boost things up for Emergence. Impact is in a groove now and I could go for that for a pretty long time to come.

Results
Chris Bey b. Juice Robinson – Art of Finesse
Jake Something b. Trey Miguel, Rohit Raju and Daivari – Swinging Boss Man Slam to Daivari
Jordynne Grace/Rachael Ellering b. Fire N Flava – Assisted swinging Rock Bottom to Hogan
Steve Maclin b. Jah-C – Lifting sitout implant reverse DDT
Sami Callihan/Frankie Kazarian/Eddie Edwards b. Elite – Boston Knee Party to Anderson

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

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

AND

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

Slammiversary 2021
Date: July 17, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown

This show has become the highlight of the Impact Wrestling calendar as I have had a better time with it than Bound For Glory for a long time now. With some luck, that can continue this time around as the show is pretty well stacked. We have the main event of World Champion Kenny Omega defending against Sami Callihan in a No DQ match, plus a few mystery spots to be filled. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Fire N Flava vs. Rosemary/Havok

Fire N Flava are defending and commentary talks about how nice it is to have fans back. Havok misses a charge at Steelz to start but is right back with a swinging sitout Rock Bottom for two. Hogan comes in to slap Havok in the face and shout a lot, which goes as well as you might expect. It’s off to Rosemary for a t-bone suplex into the Upside Down, much to the fans’ delight.

Hogan sends Rosemary outside and dances a lot as Striker laughs about knowing one of the debuting wrestlers. Back in and Rosemary finally runs Steelz over to hammer away, only to be taken down for more dancing. Hogan hits a running shoulder in the corner as commentary reminds us that the pay per view starts in about seven minutes. In other words, don’t worry about the chance that this match is going long.

Rosemary avoids a charge and brings in Havok to clean house. Steelz’s running hurricanrana is countered with a buckle bomb but Havok misses a charge into the post. That lets Hogan hit a running kick to the face, leaving Steelz to dive onto Rosemary and Decay at ringside. Rosemary comes back in to distract Hogan, allowing Havok to get back up. The choke doesn’t work on Havok, who pulls Hogan into the Tombstone for the pin and the titles at 8:10.

Rating: C. Perfectly watchable opener here and nothing more than that. What matters here is getting the titles off of Fire N Flava, who have held them quite a while already. Rosemary and Havok might not be the long term solution as champions but it is nice to see someone new getting a shot. Good way to get the crowd warmed up too so well done.

The opening video features Sami Callihan looking off as we see clips of the company’s history. I know Impact is kind of a joke in wrestling, but they do have a rather deep history, including Sami winning the World Title. He wants it back tonight.

X-Division Title: Chris Bey vs. Ace Austin vs. Josh Alexander vs. Trey Miguel vs. Petey Williams vs. Rohit Raju

Alexander is defending in Ultimate X, with commentary saying that wrestling skill has little importance here. It’s a big brawl to start (as it should be) with Bey going for the belt early and getting caught just as fast. Alexander is left alone so Austin comes back in and gets German suplexed. Raju goes up top and jumps for the belt, only to crash down. Bey comes in and hits a big running flip dive back to the floor. Williams follows with the slingshot hurricanrana and Miguel hits some kind of a running DDT.

Raju and Austin go up at the same time until Austin gets shoved down onto the pile for the huge moonsault crash. That leaves Raju to bust out a grappling hook and climbs up, taking WAY longer than it would have had he just gone as usual. Williams makes the save, sending Striker into a more complicated than necessary metaphor about Williams being the foundation of the division. After Williams clears Raju out, here is Bey to take Williams down as well. Bey and Miguel wind up going for the belt at the same time, though Miguel is a lot further away.

An attempt at a hurricanrana doesn’t quite work so Miguel kind of spears Bey down instead to drop everyone. A Tower of Doom is loaded up but they have to stop to prevent Raju from pulling the title down with a hook. Everyone else is down so Raju grabs a chair and tries the hook again, only to get dropkicked down by Miguel. Williams comes back in for a Sharpshooter on Miguel, with Raju adding a Crossface for the tap. That means nothing so Alexander goes up, only to get caught hanging upside down with the belt behind him.

Therefore, Bey is fed up to him for an ankle lock as Alexander is still hanging from the X. It makes no sense but DANG that is an awesome visual. At the same time, Bey chokes Austin, who headlocks Williams, who still has Miguel in the Sharpshooter. Raju lets go and chairs Alexander down to get everyone a needed breather. Austin goes up and tries for the belt but slips a bit, allowing Bey to dive off the top with a cutter to put them both down again. Williams is back up with the Canadian Destroyer on Raju and a running version drops Miguel.

That lets Williams go up but Bey Bey get son Alexander’s shoulder to cut him off…and gets planed with another Canadian Destroyer. Well that worked. Alexander isn’t having any of this Destroyer stuff and gives Williams the C4 to knock him silly. Raju breaks up Alexander and Miguel’s slugout, meaning it’s a Downward Spiral to plant Miguel off of Alexander’s shoulders. That lets Raju go up but Miguel makes the save and takes him down.

Alexander superplexes Miguel down though, meaning he and Bey can go up at the same time. They wind up hanging upside and pull the belt down at the same time, only to have Austin springboard in and…completely crash without grabbing the title. The distraction lets Alexander knock Bey down and retain at 15:46.

Rating: B+. Yeah this was pretty awesome with everyone trying something and a bunch of insane spots. The match isn’t supposed to have much of a story or flow to it and that’s perfectly fine. This is the company’s version of the ladder match and they nailed it here, though I have no idea who takes the title from Alexander at this point. Whoever does is going to let him move up to the main event scene though, as there is nothing left for him to do.

We run down the card, which still does not feel necessary at a pay per view.

Don Callis rants about how unfair it is for Kenny Omega to be put in a No DQ World Title match. Callis goes on about how Omega is great enough to beat Sami Callihan and how he has been around for everything Omega has done. He’ll be here tonight for the One Winged Angel that beats Callihan and then his work here will be done.

We recap Matt Cardona and a mystery partner vs. Brian Myers/Tenille Dashwood. This is really Cardona vs. Myers with the women being added to prevent it from being another singles match.

Matt Cardona/??? vs. Brian Myers/Tenille Dashwood

Oh of course it’s Chelsea Green, which they didn’t actually try to hide in the first place. Sam Beale and Kaleb With A K are here with Myers Dashwood. Green is still in the arm cast but she’s going anyway. It’s a brawl before the bell until we settle down to the guys starting fast. A faceplant staggers Myers and Cardona clotheslines him to the floor. Cardona misses the dropkick through the ropes but clotheslines Kaleb With A K and Beale anyway.

That lets Myers grab a Downward Spiral onto the ramp to knock Cardona silly though and the villains take over. Back in and Dashwood adds some choking, allowing Beale to get in a right hand from the floor. We pause for a heel photo op and Myers slaps on the quickly broken chinlock. Instead Cardona reverses the suplex into the neckbreaker, only to have Dashwood break up a potential tag.

The Roster Cut is cut off by a spear though and it’s off to Green to beat up Dashwood. Green has to stop to slap Myers though and gets neckbreakered over the middle rope. Dashwood tries to hit Cardona low….but hurts her arm because she he is wearing a cup. Said cup goes onto Myers’ face, allowing Green to hit her own Canadian Destroyer. Cardona flip dives onto the guys, leaving Green to hit Dashwood low for a change. A jumping Unprettier gives Green the pin at 5:57.

Rating: D+. Not much to this one, though it wasn’t like the surprise was really supposed to be a surprise. Impact all but flat out said it was going to be Green and she was the only option that would have made sense here. Green is going to be a fine addition to the division, especially if she is going to be working for Ring of Honor at the same time.

We recap W. Morrissey vs. Eddie Edwards. Morrissey is a monster who hurt Edwards’ partner Satoshi Kojima and Edwards is the heart of the company who is standing up to him. That needed a full recap video?

W. Morrissey vs. Eddie Edwards

Eddie isn’t about to be shoved down by a much bigger Morrissey so the slugout is on. A fall away slam sends Edwards flying and it’s already time to choke on the ropes. One heck of a big boot puts Edwards on the floor but he counters another big boot and sends the leg into the post. Back in and Eddie hits a Stunner over the ropes, only to have Morrissey send him hard into the barricade. A reverse curb stomp plants Eddie back inside and there are some forearms to the chest in the ropes.

Eddie manages a suplex and starts chopping away in the corner. They head outside, where Morrissey catches a suicide dive, setting up a chokeslam onto the apron. Morrissey takes him up the ramp but gets backdropped, setting up the Boston Knee Party to rock Morrissey again. Back inside and Morrissey is fine enough to hit a release F5. Morrissey takes him up top for a superplex but gets reversed into a sunset bomb.

Eddie finally has an opening and catches Morrissey with a running knee, plus the Blue Thunder Bomb for two more. Morrissey is back with a kick to the chest for two but a jackknife rollup gives Eddie another two. A missed charge sends Morrissey outside, where he unlaces his boot, allowing him to pull out a chain. One shot to the head rocks Eddie and a powerbomb gives Morrissey the pin at 11:01.

Rating: B-. I’m not surprised that this was good but I’m surprised that Morrissey is working well as a monster. Morrissey did not have the best reputation coming into Impact and it is nice to see him far exceeding what was expected of him. He really is feeling it at the moment and this is a good sign for his future. Beating a former World Champion makes anyone look better and it certainly does with Morrissey.

Moose talks about making mistakes which cost you in the end. It might be driving a hundred miles an hour without your seat belt on or going all in with a bad hand, or it might be asking to face him on the big stage. Chris Sabin made a mistake and tonight he faces the consequences.

We get a vignette for the Drama King, which is the former nickname of Aiden English.

A fan has won a contest to be here and is excited for the rest of the show, but here are Shera and Madman Fulton to interrupt. Cue Scott D’Amore to say normally he would be upset by this, but let’s have a match instead.

FinJuice vs. Shera/Madman Fulton

We start fast with Robinson hammering away on Shera. A hard clothesline drops Robinson but Fulton tags himself in. Arguing ensues and it’s a double flapjack to drop Fulton. Shera is sent outside so an assisted Stunner can put Fulton down for the pin at 1:18. Well that was quick.

We recap Moose vs. Chris Sabin. Moose is a bully who wants to show that he is the big star but Sabin is standing up to him.

Moose vs. Chris Sabin

Sabin starts fast to start and strikes away but gets caught with a running elbow in the corner. That doesn’t seem to make much of a difference as he is right back with some dragon screw legwhips. Moose’s leg is slammed into the apron but he is fine enough to catch Sabin on top. Sabin snaps off another dragon screw legwhip and the Figure Four makes the leg even worse. A grab of the throat gets Moose out and he is right back with Snake Eyes for a breather.

Moose tosses him outside with ease and he sits Sabin on the apron for some loud chops (egads). The third chop is teased but Moose flips off the crowd instead. That wakes Sabin up but Moose knocks him right back down and takes it back inside. Moose rips at Sabin’s face so Sabin bites his way to freedom in a smart move. The fall away slam cuts Sabin back down but he avoids the middle rope moonsault.

Sabin sends him outside for a drive into the barricade and the tornado DDT connects for two back inside. With nothing else working, Sabin goes up top, only to have Moose run the ropes for a super fall away slam with a floatover to land on top of Sabin. They head outside again with Sabin charging into an apron bomb, followed by some swings into the barricade to knock him silly. That’s good for nine but Sabin is right back in with a victory roll for the surprise pin at 11:58.

Rating: B. Now this was about all you could ask for. They knew the story they were telling coming in and then had good execution on the rest of the stuff. They didn’t need to do anything complicated here as Moose is a monster and Sabin was fighting from underneath. The match was well put together and both guys were feeling it. Rather well done.

We recap the pre-show title change.

Rosemary is VERY happy with the title win and says Decay is family. Some things fade away, but eventually, all things decay. DECAY! DECAY! DECAY! I think we got it after the second DECAY.

We recap the Tag Team Title match. Violent By Design have the titles and everyone else wants them, meaning it’s a bunch of four way brawls to set up the title match.

Tag Team Titles: Violent By Design vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack vs. Good Brothers vs. Fallah Bahh/???

Violent By Design (Joe Doering/Rhino) are defending and Bahh’s mystery partner is….No Way, minus the Jose but with the Conga Line (mainly made up of Swinger’s Palace). Swann and No Way start things off and, after a quick show of respect, they shout a lot. Anderson isn’t having this and tags himself in to run No Way over. Bahh comes in to run Anderson over and drop No Way down onto him for a bonus.

Mack and Swann take No Way’s place for a double back elbow. That doesn’t make much of a difference as Anderson takes Swann into the corner so Gallows can come in and hammer away. The big boot gets two and we’re already in the chinlock. An elbow drop gets two and Anderson comes back in to mock the fans (which must be nice after such a long time). Gallows hits a fall away slam into the corner and more posing ensues.

The beating continues as Anderson grabs a quickly broken chinlock. It’s already back to Gallows, who knocks Bahh and Mack off the apron but misses an elbow. An enziguri puts Anderson down and Swann reluctantly brings No Way back in. House is cleaned, including a lifting Downward Spiral for two on Anderson. The spinebuster cuts that off though and it’s Doering making the save, even wisely dragging Anderson to the corner for the tag.

The slugout with Gallows is on (again) but everyone else comes in to make it a big brawl. Swann is left alone to kick Bahh in the head but Doering comes back in to clothesline No Way for two. It’s back to Rhino but Anderson hits a quick Gun Stun, setting up the Magic Killer to give the Brothers the pin and the titles at 10:34.

Rating: C. You can only get so much out of a match with this many people and so little time. Throw in the debut of No Way being its own thing and the limits are even harder. The Good Brothers winning the titles might not be the most pleasant thing, but it does make the most sense. Violent By Design was fine, Swann and Mack will get the titles eventually, and No Way and Bahh were thrown together. The Good Brothers are a main event team and they should be champions as a result.

We recap Deonna Purrazzo’s reign of amazingness. She has run through everyone in front of her and that means she needs a fresh challenger. It’s mystery opponent time.

An Invicta FC (MMA) champion is here.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo vs. ???

Purrazzo is defending against…..Thunder Rosa, who is a heck of a surprise. We get the THUNDER ROSA/VIRTUOSSA dueling chants to start and they lock up hard to no avail. The technical exchange on the mat doesn’t work either and we have our second standoff. Both try armdrags and glare at the other for daring to go for it. Rosa counters a Gory Stretch into a sunset flip for two and Purrazzo isn’t pleased.

Two more quick near falls have Purrazzo backed into the corner, where she sends Rosa to the apron. Purrazzo comes back with Divorce Court to put the arm in trouble, but Rosa’s feet are fine enough to hit a middle rope missile dropkick. A running dropkick in the corner sets up a butterfly suplex for two on Purrazzo, who pulls her into a quickly broken Fujiwara armbar. Purrazzo grabs it again but has to settle for a quick suplex instead.

Rosa comes back with an AA for a delayed two, followed by a top rope double stomp to the back (EGADS) for the same. They slug it out and trade kicks to the head until Purrazzo grabs a victory roll for two. Back up and Purrazzo knocks her down again, setting up the Queen’s Gambit (cradle piledriver) to retain at 10:47.

Rating: C+. This felt like it was becoming a great match but it didn’t get the chance to go that far. What we got worked but there is a good chance that this was a one off for Rosa. It was smart to get one of the biggest available names for Purrazzo rather than going with what would have felt like a predictable (yet good) Mickie James match. Nice stuff here, but it could have been better with more time.

Post match Mickie James is back to a big WELCOME BACK chant (and Striker saying “THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE FOR PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING” because he has to be a pest every time). Purrazzo says this is her division, but Mickie invites her to NWA Empower (their version of Evolution). Purrazzo: “Why don’t you do everyone a favor and grab your trash bag and go home?” Mickie kicks her in the head to send Purrazzo running.

Bound For Glory is October 23 in Las Vegas, featuring wrestlers from New Japan, AAA and more.

We get a long video on Kenny Omega defending the World Title against Sami Callihan. Omega is the evil champion but Callihan is taking away the rules, which scares Omega and Don Callis. Impact is sick of Callis and Omega and are allowing the crazy Callihan to have a shot. Callihan is ready to make this a violent fight and the match is No DQ.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Kenny Omega vs. Sami Callihan

Omega, with Don Callis, is defending and it is No DQ. Callis lists off Omega’s greatness, including saying he is the King of the Deathmatch and better than Terry Funk. Callihan jumps Omega to start and hits the Cactus Special for an early two. As Callis joins commentary, Callihan sends in a bunch of chairs but Omega blocks a fork to the head. Omega’s sunset flip is blocked and Callihan busts out a pizza cutter to slice Omega open.

Another rake across the head makes it even worse and a Death Valley Driver sends Omega outside. Callihan follows but gets caught with a trashcan to the head, allowing Omega to grab some weapons of his own. More shots put Callihan down and the moonsault with a trashcan onto the leg keeps him in trouble. The chair is wedged in the corner so Omega loads up….the One Winged Angel, which is countered into a rollup. The kickout sends Callihan head first into the chair though and he’s busted open too.

Omega grabs a fork to stab the head, as well as the inside of the mouth. They head outside with Callihan chopping the post, meaning Omega can load up the table. The Snapdragon off the apron is broken up, as is the piledriver from the apron. Instead, Callihan piledrives him through the table and throws in a piece of plywood. A trashcan to the head rocks Omega again and a side slam onto the top of the open can makes it worse.

Callihan sends him hard through the board in the corner for two and it’s time for a chair wrapped in barbed wire (Callis: “Never would have happened when I ran this place!”). Omega manages a V Trigger though and another one gets two. A bunch of stuff is piled up in the middle of the ring and Omega hits a superplex through all of it. Another V Trigger sets up a failed One Winged Angel attempt and Callihan Tombstones him onto the barbed wire chair for two.

Omega rolls outside and throws salt in Callihan’s eyes, causing Callihan to take the referee out. The blind Callihan gets belt shotted and piledriven but there is no referee. Cue the Good Brothers but Eddie Edwards and Chris Sabin cut them off. Callihan hits a package piledriver for two so it’s time for the bag of thumbtacks. Callis gets up for a distraction so Omega can throw tacks in Callihan’s eyes. Another V Trigger connects, followed by another V Trigger with tacks on the knee. Omega puts the tacks in Callihan’s mouth for another V Trigger and the One Winged Angel onto the tacks retains the title at 27:33.

Rating: B. I’m never sure what to give something like this but the violence was good, as it was supposed to be. The match didn’t feel like the nearly half an hour it got, but the V Triggers and the easy kickoff off the Tombstone onto the chair were a bit much. I liked what we got and while there wasn’t much drama, I’m not sure how much there could be in something like this.

Post match the lights go out and we’ve got New Japan’s Jay White (Bullet Club leader) to stare down Omega. Striker: “Social media is exploding right now!” Omega and the Good Brothers throw up Too Sweet as FinJuice runs out…and the show ends. White would beat down David Finlay and leave to end the night.

Overall Rating: B+. I tend to say this every time but it tends to be the case every time: Impact is at its best when it focuses on the in-ring product instead of everything else going on. This has been the case for a long time now and it is not a bad thing. They can make this stuff work well as they did here and they have some momentum going forward into the new TV cycle. Keep this up and they might be able to get somewhere, though I have no reason to believe it will last. Heck of a show here and worth a look if you have the chance.

Results

Josh Alexander won Ultimate X – Alexander pulled down the title

Matt Cardona/Chelsea Green b. Brian Myers/Tenille Dashwood – Unprettier to Dashwood

W. Morrissey b. Eddie Edwards – Powerbomb

FinJuice b. Shera/Madman Fulton – Assisted Stunner to Fulton

Chris Sabin b. Moose – Victory roll

Good Brothers b. Fallah Bahh/No Way, Rich Swann/Willie Mack and Violent By Design – Magic Killer to Rhino

Deonna Purrazzo b. Thunder Rosa – Queen’s Gambit

Kenny Omega b. Sami Callihan – One Winged Angel onto thumbtacks

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

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

AND

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

There is something cool about the idea of an anniversary show. If nothing else, it reminds you just how long a promotion has been around, which can often be lost when you don’t think about it very often. Impact Wrestling has somehow been around nineteen years this month and it very well may be around for a lot longer to come. They tend to make the most of their anniversary shows so maybe there is some optimism here. The fans are back in person too so let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Fire N Flava(c) vs. Rosemary/Havok

It’s another thrown together team challenging for the titles but at least there is a theme this time. Fire N Flava have been together for a good while now and feel like they have held the titles for the better part of ever, so it is certainly time for some fresh blood in there. Granted that has been the case several times before as Impact has yet to pull a trigger that lasts.

We’ll go with a title change to start things off hot. The pre-show is often where you put a change like this so maybe they have something here. It’s an idea that has worked before and Rosemary/Havok winning the titles would be a nice moment. Just go with something fun to energize the crowd in their first match back. It has worked before and it can work here too.

Matt Cardona/??? vs. Tenille Dashwood/Brian Myers

We might as well start with this one as it is going to be the underlying theme of the show: a bunch of people coming over from WWE. The idea here is a mixed tag and the tease is that Cardona’s partner is a “hot mess”. Assuming no shenanigans, you should know what that means and it could make for a fun moment, though I’m not sure how long such a change would last.

Since this should be an easy one, I’ll take Cardona and Chelsea Green/Laurel Van Ness. They’re engaged to be married so putting them together in a mixed tag match should be pretty much a layup. Green never got a chance in WWE and it would make sense to have her go back to the place where she had her greatest success. I’m not sure if she is going to stick around, but for a one off moment, it should work out well.

Eddie Edwards vs. W. Morrissey

Awful name aside, Impact has done a heck of a job with Morrissey, who has gone from a cross between a joke and a cautionary tale to a pretty good power monster. That is hard to do but they have managed to pull it off, so well done with the career rehab. Morrissey has done his part as well and I’m curious to see what is going to happen when he has his first major match.

When I say curious, I mean how well will his first win go, as Morrissey should win here in pretty dominant fashion. Edwards knows how to make a comeback and get the fans behind him, but ultimately this is going to be Morrissey dominating and then winning in the end with Edwards getting in a few flurries. That’s how it should be, as Edwards has been a made man in Impact for years now.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo(c) vs. ???

This is one of those where it is hard to make a pick because I don’t even know what to expect. It could be just about anyone who used to be in WWE, or someone we haven’t seen before, or someone from Impact’s past. That leaves you with quite a few options and it could go in a bunch of directions. I’m not sure what to do with this because it isn’t an easy pick to make, so a guessing we will go.

I’ll take……oh why not Mickie James to return and win the title. James is certainly a legend and she was teased for a return a few weeks ago. It isn’t like there are that many big names available for Impact, and it would be weird to have someone come in as a mystery opponent for a title shot and lose. The new reign might not last long, but it would be a good spot for James to return and put Purrazzo over down the line.

Chris Sabin vs. Moose

Here we have a grudge match as Impact squeezes everything they can out of the Motor City Machine Guns. Sabin is indeed a former World Champion and a tag team legend, but this feels like a heck of a downgrade for Moose, who was challenging for the World Title last month. Moose seems ready to be at the top of the company, but that has been the case for years now so it isn’t like anything changes.

Of course I’ll take Moose here because why in the world would you take Sabin? Moose needs a rebound win and it isn’t like Sabin has been a singles star in the better part of ever anyway. Much like Morrissey vs. Edwards earlier, Sabin gets in some offense before losing to the monster with the (maybe) brighter future. It’s an easy match and story to set up and the people are talented enough to make the execution work.

X-Division Title: Josh Alexander(c) vs. Petey Williams vs. Chris Bey vs. Trey Miguel vs. Ace Austin vs. Rohit Raju

We’ll continue the theme of matches where you cannot begin to guess who is going to win with any certainty as this is the Ultimate X mess. It is a great way to get the title off of someone who is ready to be rocketed up the card, but at the same time, a champion retaining here is considered a huge feather in their cap (or headgear in Alexander’s case). It could go in a lot of ways and that is good….I think.

That being said, I’ll throw in a bit of a curve here and say Bey wins. He has been featured multiple times in the build to the match and other than Alexander has stood out more than anyone else in recent weeks. I’m not sure about this whatsoever, but at least there is something here to get the crowd hyped. Alexander may very well retain, but he seems ready to move on to the main event scene.

Tag Team Titles: Violent By Design(c) vs. Good Brothers vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack vs. Fallah Bahh/???

Now this has some possibilities, as they have a few different ways to go. Violent By Design is getting a big push, but I could easily see then non-Bahh teams walking out with the titles. That makes things all the more interesting and hopefully Impact goes with something that keeps the interest going. That does not necessarily mean a title change, but I don’t think I would be complaining about one.

As much as I want to take Swann and Mack to win here, ultimately I think the titles go back to the Good Brothers because….well because they need to do something to validate their existence on two shows. The team is going to be every bit as annoying as they were before, but they are treated as the biggest team in Impact today and it would make sense to put the gold back on them. Oh and since TJP is out, we’ll go with Hernandez as Bahh’s partner. Why Hernandez? Eh why not?

Impact Wrestling World Title: Kenny Omega(c) vs. Sami Callihan

That leaves us with this as the Omega Saga continues. Omega is the World Champion of what feels like everything outside of WWE these days and now he gets to defend his second most well known title. Callihan has been treated as the big threat to the title in the last few weeks and Omega seems a bit shaken by what is waiting on him. Your tastes on Callihan may vary, but they have made him feel like a real threat to the title.

I’m still going to take Omega to retain though, as I think it’s too soon for Omega to start dropping titles. He is coming up on the title defense against Hangman Page (unofficially but come on) and I can’t imagine him taking a loss before we get to that one. Omega needs to be seen as invincible heading into that match and AEW has done a good job of making that the case so far. Dropping this title to Callihan isn’t what is best for AEW and ultimately, that is what is going to matter.

Overall Thoughts

While nothing really jumps off the page here, I’m interested enough by what they are offering to make this show intriguing. It is ultimately going to come down to how well the matches are executed and who they have coming in as a surprise, but this could wind up being another quality Slammiversary. If they can avoid the post-Slammiversary decline from last year, we could be in for the start of something good around here.

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

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

AND

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