Impact Wrestling
Date: April 15, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

We’re almost to Rebellion and the big story out of last week saw Rich Swann get some confidence back when he faced Kenny Omega in a six man tag. This week is going to be about more of the big push towards the show, which should make for an interesting week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Jazz losing a career vs. title match at Hardcore Justice and the six man.

TJP vs. Josh Alexander

Yeah this works. Josh gets taken down to start but TJP can’t break his bridge. TJP grabs a hammerlock on the mat and flips over a few times to crank on the arm so Alexander screams a lot. Back up and Alexander blocks an O’Connor roll but the second gives TJP two. TJP can’t get the Octopus so Alexander plants him with an electric chair drop. As Brown talks about a random kid wearing a One Winged Angel shirt as proof that Kenny Omega is on the American psyche, Alexander hits a knee in the corner and the Gory Special goes on.

With that broken up, the slingshot dropkick misses so Alexander grabs the ankle lock in the ropes. That is countered into a triangle choke on the floor in a pretty awesome sequence. They get back in with TJP hitting a top rope superplex but the Octopus is countered into another ankle lock with TJP bailing over to the rope.

Some boot scrapes in the corner set up a running boot to the face so TJP tries a cross armbreaker. That’s reversed into an ankle lock which is reversed into the cross armbreaker but Alexander is out of that as well. The kneebar sends Alexander back to the rope so TJP goes up for the Mamba Splash, which is again countered into the ankle lock. With that not working either, Alexander grabs Divine Intervention for the pin at 11:52.

Rating: B. These two did their thing just like they did before and it is no surprise that the match wound up working here. The counters into the holds and then those holds being countered as well are amazing to see and that is what they do so well. Throw in Ace Austin on Sunday and they could be in for an instant classic.

Here’s what’s coming during Wrestle Week.

Coming soon: LET’S GET WILDE! Striker: “Tailor made.”

Crazzy Steve vs. Karl Anderson

The rest of Decay and Doc Gallows are here too. Anderson takes him into the corner to start but Steve grabs a backslide, which is enough to send Anderson bailing outside for a breather. We take a break and come back with Anderson slapping on a chinlock. That’s broken up and Steve grabs a rollup out of the corner to set up a low Downward Spiral for two. Steve puts on the Upside Down in the corner but Anderson is right back with the spinebuster for the pin at 7:44.

Rating: C-. Just another match to give the Good Brothers some more momentum on their way to the title match, but what helps here is they are beating someone other than the champs. Granted that might be because the champs aren’t here, but I’ll take what I can get to get away from that tired trope. Not much to the match, though that wasn’t the point here.

Ace Austin and Madman Fulton come in to Swinger’s Palace. Austin hits on Alisha Edwards when TJP and Josh Alexander come in to talk about the odds. Cue Petey Williams for a Scott Steiner math promo. The women are stunned and Petey leaves without saying that the whole thing spells disaster. Swinger thinks he’s going to be the Million Dollar Swing Man.

Here are Eddie Edwards and Willie Mack for a chat. Eddie knows that they can’t win every match and they lost to Violent By Design at Hardcore Justice. For now though, they don’t like Violent By Design attacking Tommy Dreamer before their match. Violent By Design is messing with family and you don’t do that. Cue Violent By Design, with Eric Young talking about how proud he is of what he did. Young brags about doing everything he promises but Eddie says bring it. The fight is teased so here are James Storm and Chris Sabin run in for the save. Storm makes the challenge for an eight man tag at Rebellion (dance metaphors included).

Deonna Purrazzo asks Susan if she is ok but they run into Scott D’Amore, who warns them to stay away from Jazz’s retirement ceremony.

Tenille Dashwood has her own talk show with It’s All About Me. Her guest is interviewer Gia Miller, who points out that this is the same set from Locker Room Talk. Gia gets to ask her questions, who asks about the lack of a Knockouts Title reign. Dashwood brags about her success in everything else and now it is time to do the same in wrestling. After some confusion over who is actually the host of this show, Dashwood wraps it up and Miller is rather confused.

Here is Jazz with Jordynne Grace for her official retirement. Jazz talks about how she came back here in the hope of one more title run but it just didn’t happen. She and Grace worked together but couldn’t quite win the Knockouts Tag Team Titles. They rode hard though….and here is Fire N Flava to interrupt. Tasha Steelz says it is about time for Jazz to retire since she can’t win anything. Grace says they talk too much and issues the challenge. Since Jazz hasn’t officially retired yet (the semantics are strong with this one), let’s go.

Jazz/Jordynne Grace vs. Fire N Flava

Non-title (I think?) and all four are in street clothes. It’s a brawl to start with Grace hitting some running knees to Steelz in the corner. Jazz comes in to drop Hogan with a right hand. A sitout powerslam finishes Hogan at 1:22. So yeah the champs just lost clean in less than a minute and a half for a story that can’t go anywhere because Jazz is retiring. It’s kind of a nice moment but that might be a bit much.

Post match, Jazz retires and thanks the fans. The locker room comes out to slap the ring.

Post break, Scott D’Amore makes Fire N Flava vs. Grace/Jazz for the titles at Rebellion. Fire n Flava is annoyed (as they should be) but Jazz comes in to say she is a woman of her word. She won’t be in the match, but Grace can go for the titles. Jazz just happens to have a woman in mind for her. That’s quite the relief.

Brian Myers vs. ???

Matt Cardona gets to pick Myers’ opponent and it’s…..Jake Something. Jake starts fast by sending him hard into the corner as Striker tries to explain Myers vs. Cardona with some annoying analogy about a pool. Myers gets in a shot but gets knocked to the floor to start the chase. Back in and the Roster Cut finishes Jake at 2:22.

Now Myers gets to pick Cardona’s opponent.

Sami Callihan vs. Matt Cardona

Sami jumps him from behind before the bell and we take a break before the match. Cardona knocks him down for an early two as commentary talks about Kenny Omega vs. Rich Swann. They fight outside with Cardona sending him into the barricade before heading outside. A running charge misses though and Cardona crashes over the top in a heap.

Callihan follows him out for a t-bone suplex and we take another rather fast break. Back again with Sami hitting a hard clothesline for a near fall. Cardona manages Radio Silence for the same but a second attempt is blocked. The Cactus Special is countered but Callihan grabs a suplex for two more. Callihan is frustrated so it’s a thumb in the eye and the package piledriver for the pin at 12:44.

Rating: C. This got some time and they were both working to make this a better match than I was expecting. Losing to a former World Champion isn’t going to hurt Cardona that much, especially with a cheating finish. Not too bad here, with Sami knowing how to do a brawl like this and Cardona being more than good enough to hang with him

Post match Callihan says it is time for some more important things. He calls out Trey Miguel, who comes to the ring but isn’t happy with Callihan validating his passion. Miguel talks about coming out here last week because he had to deal with XXXL. Callihan doesn’t buy it and says they should join forces so he can mentor Miguel to the next level. That’s a no, so Callihan calls him out for a lack of gratitude.

Callihan reveals that he attacked Tommy Dreamer at Hardcore Justice so Miguel could get the shot, meaning the brawl is on…with Miguel being dropped off a clothesline. Miguel tries to get up but gets chaired right back down. A suplex through the open chair and Callihan leaves, though he is pleased with Miguel trying to get up. Just let them team together already so we can complete this story, which has been done to death, already.

FinJuice is ready to come back to Rebellion and beat the Good Brothers. Fascinating indeed.

Here’s what’s coming Wrestle Week, next week and at Rebellion.

It’s time for a press conference for Kenny Omega vs. Rich Swann. Omega isn’t here yet so we’ll question Swann instead. He is ready to face more adversity because he has done it his whole life and will do it again. Mike Johnson of Pro Wrestling Insider brings up Bruno Sammartino vs. Lou Thesz in a title vs. title match never happening and asks if the champ will wrestle on both shows. Tony Khan says of course Omega will and he expects Swann to do the same. Scott D’Amore says it can happen and both bosses guarantee a winner.

Cue Omega and Don Callis, complete with entrance music. Callis is asked when he is going to stop playing both sides, which he says is enough already. He takes over the podium and introduces Omega, who wears a suit better than I would have expected. Omega talks about how he is used to standing at a podium like this but Swann has never been here.

Omega was put on this planet to make a difference while Swann is here because he likes wrestling. Swann is just a means to an end because this match opened the Forbidden Door. Now Swann is taking part in history and Omega offers a handshake. Instead he slaps Swann in the face, triggering the brawl to end the show. This was a good effort on treating the match like a big deal, but the result about as much of a foregone conclusion as you can get. It’s also at least talking about the match and that’s more than AEW has done.

Overall Rating: C. This show went by fast and that’s a good thing as they had a lot to cover. Rebellion is in about a week and a half and the card is coming together. Swann vs. Omega does feel big, but AEW not caring and the result being almost a lock is a lot for them to overcome. The rest of the show was the usual mixed bag, though the opener was very good.

Results

Josh Alexander b. TJP – Divine Intervention

Karl Anderson b. Crazzy Steve – Spinebuster

Jazz/Jordynne Grace b. Fire N Flava – Sitout powerslam to Hogan

Brian Myers b. Jake Something – Roster Cut

Sami Callihan b. Matt Cardona – Package piledriver

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We’re back with another Impact pay per view, even though the point seems to be to make another company’s World Champion look good. This time around the focal point is the invading Kenny Omega, will will team with the Good Brothers against Impact World Champion Rich Swann, Chris Sabin and Moose, after Alex Shelley was forced out of the show for unclear reasons. The rest of the card looks ok so let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Brian Myers vs. Josh Alexander

This was thrown in this week on Impact since every pay per view needs a pre-show match these days. Myers beat Alexander via DQ and bragged about it so we’re having this for the sake of shutting him up. I’m not sure what Impact sees in Myers but there are far worse places he could be than in the pre-show match. Alexander is going to need a boost soon so we could have something going here.

I’m going to take Alexander here as there is no reason for this to drag on for another match. As much as he has been featured, Myers isn’t being pushed to the moon so they aren’t likely to give him anything here. The match will likely be on about the same level as a regular TV match and that’s all it needs to be given where they are here. It probably didn’t need to be here, but Alexander can get your attention well enough.

Eric Young/Deaner/Joe Doering vs. Tommy Dreamer/Rhino/Cousin Jake

It isn’t a good sign when my first reaction to a match is “at least they’re keeping it all here” but that’s about as good as I can go with this. We have Dreamer being Dreamer, the epic Deaners split, Doering (he was big in Japan, right up there with Jesse and the Rippers) and Young as some kind of mastermind because this company loves him very much. It’s also Old School rules, because they can’t say Extreme and Dreamer can’t do much else.

I’ll go with Young and company as for some reason this seems to be one of the upcoming big things. Young is tolerable enough in some spots, though the love affair with Doering isn’t exactly doing much for me. Adding in the turned Deaner isn’t going to make things better, but if they can keep all of this stuff crammed into one match, it could be a lot worse than what we’re getting.

Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan

This feud MUST continue and this time it’s Barbed Wire Massacre because when you think Edwards, you need something like this thrown in. I know this is viewed as some legendary rivalry but it feels like they are just warming it up because neither has anything to do. Edwards is able to carry almost anything to at least watchable, but as soon as I heard the barbed wire deal, I could hear Josh Matthews with his machine gun delivery taking away any impact it might have.

Give me Callihan to win, likely thanks to Ken Shamrock because we need another evil alliance to triumph. Shamrock and Callihan are somewhat intriguing, but I don’t need a Barbed Wire Massacre to make it work. The match should be good enough and odds are Alisha will get involved, but I’ve been over this feud for a good while now because it ran out of steam years ago.

Ethan Page vs. Karate Man

We continue with the “why is this a thing” section, but in this case Page has so much charisma that he can manage to face himself and make it work. I’m going to assume this is a cinematic match and Page’s way out of the promotion, but you never know with something like this. The Karate Man stuff alone is always worth a look, but I’m almost scared of what to see here.

Since they’re facing each other, I’ll go with Karate Man to win and get rid of Page once and for all, which should make your head spin at least a little bit. There is a chance that we could be in for some good jokes here and under the right circumstances, this could be one of the best things on the entire show. Page is awesome at his goofy stuff, and hopefully he gets to showcase himself well on the way out.

X-Division Title: Manik(c) vs. Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju

This is part of one of those stories that works out well almost every time because it’s a classic. Bey and Raju are convinced that Manik is TJP (because Manik is TJP) but can’t beat him or prove it, meaning their frustration factor has increased about 17 fold. Now it’s a free for all for the title, which opens up a few interesting doors as they could go in a few different directions.

I think they’ll play it safe here and have Manik retain the title because there are more places to go with something like this. Manik is someone who can have a good match with anyone and Bey is one of the better young stars around here. Raju has been rather nice as well lately, so we could be in for something good. This might be the match with the most promise on the whole show and I can’t say I’m surprised.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Nevaeh/Havok vs. Kiera Hogan/Tasha Steelz

Who would have thought that a tournament for the vacant titles would come down to two of the only regular teams who happened to be feuding for weeks before the tournament started? Hogan and Steelz have done a nice job of being the most annoying heels imaginable, which made Havok and Nevaeh grabbing them by their throats that much better. This was almost a guarantee for the final, so at least they’re doing the logical thing.

I’ll take Havok and Nevaeh to win here as you need some faces to win on this show. It isn’t the most intriguing match on the show but it was the only way to go to get to the tournament finals. I’m not sure how far these titles can go as WWE hasn’t been able to make theirs work for years now. The match will be the same thing that we’ve seen several times between them now but….yay belts?

Rosemary/Crazzy Steve vs. Tenille Dashwood/Kaleb With A K

This seems to have been added near the last minute and I’m still trying to make myself care about Dashwood. The Instagram deal is fine, but it feels like something you would see at a tiny independent promotion because it’s that easy of a story. There is no doubt that the talent is there, but for some reason it isn’t clicking. You can only get so far with something like this though and I think we’ve reached her current limit.

I don’t see a reason for Kaleb With A K and Dashwood to win here, even though they need it a lot more. Rosemary seems to be building up something with Susan, so unless she interferes and costs them the match, I don’t see a reason to have Rosemary and Steve lose here. The match itself should be another TV level match, which is quite the trend for most of this show.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo(c) vs. Taya Valkyrie

The Knockouts singles division has done well enough for itself in recent months and Purrazzo is awesome as the technical wizard champion. Valkyrie is almost the old guard in a way, despite her title reign not even feeling all that long ago. While her big reign is over, Valkyrie can go in the ring with anyone and Purrazzo is one of the best things going in the company today.

Purrazzo being one of the best things going today is more than enough to keep the title on her here. Beating Valkyrie is more along the lines of beating a challenger of the month, but she just happens to be a really successful challenger of the month. It means something to beat her though and Purrazzo can continue her reign with another rather nice win added to her list.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Rich Swann/Chris Sabin/Moose

This whole invasion (if that’s what you call Omega and Omega alone showing up from AEW) is making me think of Lando Calrissian saying “this deal is getting worse all the time”. So far, the highlight of the feud for Impact is their World Champion escaping with a pin over their Tag Team Champion. Omega and Don Callis have been treated as stars who are gracing Impact with their presence. I know it gives Impact exposure, but this is feeling more like New Japan coming to Ring of Honor every day (and that’s not a good thing).

Of course Omega and the Good Brothers win here, because why would they lose here? I know this is probably heading towards Omega taking the Impact World Title, as that is the best way to continue making Impact look like they don’t compare to AEW in any way. Yes AEW is more important and Omega is a bigger star, but sweet goodness could Impact look much worse so far?

Overall Thoughts

This show looks pretty dreadful on paper as there is nothing of note to look forward to. I’m sure some of the matches will work as Impact tends to shine when they just go to the ring and focus on the wrestling, but nothing on here really jumps out. Hopefully the show winds up working, because this feels like they have almost no reason to do this show other than they have to. It will likely be good enough, but they need to work on spicing things up.

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: January 5, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Madison Rayne

It’s time to get back to the regular shows but we are also on the way to both Genesis and Hard To Kill. That means we could be seeing some good stuff around here, though the idea of building towards two shows at once is rarely something that works out all that well. Maybe they can fix that tonight though as Kenny Omega is here. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Kenny Omega and Don Callis joining forces with the Good Brothers against the Motor City Machine Guns and Rich Swann.

Opening sequence.

Ace Austin vs. Blake Christian vs. KC Navarro vs. Crazzy Steve

Madman Fulton is here with Austin and this is a preview of the Super X Cup at Genesis. Austin chills on the floor to start so the other two rub Steve’s chest. That’s a little too much for Austin, who pulls Steve to the floor so Christian and Navarro start going rather fast. Christian kicks Austin in the face but Austin sends him into the corner. Steve ties Navarro in the upside down Figure Four necklock over the ropes but Navarro is right back with a headscissors.

Navarro takes Austin out, only to have Christian shove him off the top to the floor. Christian’s big flip dive to the floor takes Navarro down but Austin cuts Christian off. That lets Navarro get back inside to dive onto Christian for a change, so Austin flips onto both of them at once. Back in and Navarro hits a running neckbreaker for two on Austin and Christian adds a standing Spanish Fly. Christian’s springboard frog splash gets two on Austin with Steve making the save. Steve Death Valley Drives Navarro into the other two in the corner and a middle rope DDT is enough to give Steve the pin on Navarro at 7:06.

Rating: C+. This was your old school X-Division spot fest, meaning there was almost no way to have anyone stand out and someone won in the end. That being said, it’s also a rather entertaining match because it is non-stop action from bell to bell. They kept things moving and didn’t stay out there too long, which is what matters most in something like this. It’s junk food, but it’s good junk food.

Kenny Omega’s bus is here so make sure you watch the whole show to see what he does!

Here’s what’s coming up tonight.

Sami Callihan hacks the feed and talks about how he is ready for Eddie Edwards. Eddie is trying to say that the good guys win in the end but tonight, Sami is proving the bad guys win. Thumbs up, thumbs down.

We get another paid advertisement from Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone. They’re here to help those less fortunate, meaning Impact Wrestling. We hear the Dynamite card and Khan goes into a rant against Don Callis, saying that he does everything for AEW except wrestling. Callis is a parasite but Khan is a patron of wrestling. He’ll be back to buy another ad next week because his grandmother gave him $100 in a Christmas card and he wants to spend it on something fun (Schiavone isn’t even trying to hide his laughter at that one).

The Good Brothers and Don Callis think Kenny Omega’s is so big. His belt that is. They’re ready for Hard To Kill because they’re friends with chemistry, which is more than the Guns and Swann have ever had.

Here are Cousin Jake and Rhino, with Jake wanting Cody Deaner back because they’re family.

Cousin Jake/Rhino vs. Cody Deaner/Joe Doering

Before the match, Eric Young says Deaner answers to him these days because Deaner has seen the truth. Cody hammers on Jake to start and seems far more intense than he has ever been before. Doering comes in as we hear about how awesome is he again, mainly because he was in Japan. We take a break and come back with Jake still in trouble in the corner. Jake manages to backflip out of a belly to back though and brings in Rhino to hammer away. The offense lasts about ten seconds before it’s already back to Jake though and Cody hits him low. The Deaner DDT finishes Jake at 7:31.

Rating: D+. There wasn’t much drama to this as you have a new heel able so they aren’t going to lose on their first match together. Doering is still his usual self but I can go with something that gets rid of one of the redneck Deaners. It’s not like the team was anything of value in the first place so this is an improvement. Not much of one, but an improvement.

Post match Jake and Rhino get beaten down even more….until Tommy Dreamer comes out with the kendo sticks for the same. Dreamer issues the challenge for the Old School rules match at Hard To Kill. Eric Young and Tommy Dreamer in the same angle and match. Happy freaking new year.

Matthew Palmer didn’t drive this far to become a security guard so he is here to face Moose. If he lasts three minutes, people will know who Matthew Palmer is.

Acey Romero comes in to see Johnny Swinger, who has his own office. Romero says Crazzy Steve sent him to see Swinger about John E. Bravo being framed. Swinger says go ask the Knockouts.

Here are Deonna Purrazzo and Kimber Lee for a chat. Deonna doesn’t understand why Taya Valkyrie has a problem with them. Taya is blaming them for all of her problems, but what happens when Purrazzo takes her out? Cue Taya and Rosemary, who says she is the longest reigning Knockouts Champion ever, and she hasn’t lost any focus on that title. Deonna says Taya has already lost everything she has and her husband isn’t even here anymore. When will Rosemary turn on her too? The only thing she has left is the record but Taya knows Purrazzo is scared of what is coming at Hard To Kill. Just a quick push towards the match.

Rohit Raju tells Chris Bey that his New Year’s resolution is to forgive, so he forgives Bey for costing him the X-Division Title. Bey isn’t impressed but Raju thinks they need to get together and take Manik out.

Post break Raju and Bey go find TJP, who hasn’t seen Manik. They want a tag match against Manik and TJP but he isn’t interested.

Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb With A K comes up to Rosemary and understands what it’s like to split with a partner like Rosemary is going to split with Taya soon. Rosemary isn’t interested.

Knockouts Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Jazz/Jordynne Grace vs. Havok/Nevaeh

Nevaeh and Grace start things off with Grace working on a headlock to take Nevaeh down. That’s broken up so Havok comes in for the hoss fight, with Grace being knocked into the corner. Jazz comes in to slap Havok and stomp away in the corner. Havok sends her into the corner and hands it off to Nevaeh for the running splash.

That’s broken up in a hurry so Grace comes back in for a double back elbow to the face. Jazz is in just as fast and leaves Grace hanging on a tag (how rude) but suplexes Nevaeh down. The neck crank doesn’t last long as Nevaeh makes the comeback in a hurry. A double tag brings in Havok to powerbomb Grace for two as everything breaks down. The Tombstone finishes Jazz at 9:49 to send Havok and Nevaeh to Hard to Kill.

Rating: C-. This tournament has been ok at best and it isn’t exactly thrilling when the finals wind up being two of the only regular teams in the whole thing. Granted I’d rather have that than two random teams who have no history fighting for some historic titles. Grace continues to look like a star, but this was the right choice.

Rich Swann and the Motor City Machine Guns aren’t impressed by Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers. This company was founded on people like the three of them (Swann was 11 years old when the company was founded) and they aren’t letting this happen. Swann talks about how the letters on this title doesn’t say AEW because it says Impact Wrestling World Champion. They’re going to show the three of them that pain is temporary but pride is forever. Shelley is ready to go fight right now so they head to the parking lot.

After walking around security (It took them a month to figure that out?), the trio gets jumped from behind by Omega and the Good Brothers, with Callis shouting a lot. Omega says they were easy to kill and gets in a few more stomps before heading back onto the bus. In other words, Omega and company again look like the smart ones while the good guys are presented as complete morons.

Jazz asks Grace what happened but Grace says it was her fault. Everything is ok and Grace praises Jazz for being awesome. They should face each other at Genesis and the match is on. Grace wasn’t exactly great on the talking here.

Deonna Purrazzo and Kimber Lee ask James Mitchell if he has taken care of Su Yung. Cue…..Susan, who wears glasses and a business suit. Our villains aren’t sure what to do.

Moose vs. Matthew Palmer

Non-title with a three minute time limit. Palmer slugs away to start but gets planted with a standing Rock Bottom (as Josh puts it). The slow beating continues as we’re already down to a minute and a half left. Palmer is tossed around but gets in a jumping knee to the face. Moose kicks him in the face and loads up the spear but here’s Willie Mack for a distraction, allowing the clock to run out at 3:00.

Rating: D. You can only get so much out of something like this and they did a fine enough job of advancing Mack vs. Moose by having Moose humiliated. Palmer was any warm body here and that’s all he needed to be. I’m still not sure what the endgame is with Moose as TNA World Champion and the longer it goes, the more I don’t think Impact knows either.

Ethan Page is on a psychiatrist’s couch but the doctor keeps speaking in what sound like motivational poster cliches. Page thinks everyone around here is out to get him and yells at the doctor for not listening. It’s Karate Man, who calls Page a b****. They argue a bit and the match is made for Hard To Kill.

Here’s what’s coming at Genesis, Hard To Kill and next week.

Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan

They start fighting during the entrances with Sami getting in a few chair shots. Eddie is back with some headbutts but chops the post by mistake. Sami steps over him for a low blow and we take a break before the bell. Back with Eddie getting in his own chair shot as the bell still hasn’t rung. Sami grabs the timekeeper’s hammer and knocks the chair into Eddie’s head.

The chair is thrown at Eddie’s head but Eddie headbutts his way out of a suplex through said chair. Eddie charges into a t-bone suplex through the chair though and they finally head inside for the bell. The slugout is on but Eddie shoves the referee down, allowing Sami to get in some more shots. They rake each others’ eyes and the referee is knocked down again, drawing the double DQ at 1:13.

Post match Eddie grabs Sami’s bat and stalks him but Sami pulls out the hacking phone to show Alisha Edwards trapped in a cage. Eddie goes after her but it’s Ken Shamrock jumping him from behind. Sami comes in and they wrap Eddie in barbed wire for a baseball bat shot to the face. Alisha is blamed as the villains leave to end the show. I really could go with this feud being done for good already as it isn’t quite as epic as Impact thinks it is.

Overall Rating: C-. The AEW addition to the show is rapidly dwindling in value as this show is becoming AEW’s playground. It’s starting to feel like when New Japan would come to Ring of Honor and that’s not a good idea. The rest of the show was the usual hit or miss effort, as there isn’t a big story or feud to point to at the moment. The show is just kind of coming and going most weeks as AEW is treated like this divine intervention that only serves the other company. Not a terrible show, but the sooner Omega and pals are gone, the better it is likely to be.

Results

Crazzy Steve b. KC Navarro, Ace Austin and Blake Christian – Middle rope DDT to Navarro

Cody Deaner/Joe Doering b. Cousin Jake/Rhino – Deaner DDT to Jake

Havok/Nevaeh b. Jazz/Jordynne Grace – Tombstone to Jazz

Matthew Palmer b. Moose – Time expired

Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan went to a double DQ when the referee was knocked down

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

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IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: December 1, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

So now that we know who shot the manager (yes the manager), it is now time to move towards Hard To Kill, meaning there are some stories that need to be set up. Last week’s show ended with Sami Callihan and Ken Shamrock being move evil than usual and we also have the Knockouts Tag Team Titles tournament. We could use something a little better than that so let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Bob Ryder.

Opening recap.

Motor City Machine Guns vs. XXXL

XXL jumps them to start but get low bridged to the floor for a dive from Sabin. Granted the two of them don’t go down but Sabin did hit the dive. Back in and we settle down to Sabin hammering on Larry, as Madison brings up a good point: why isn’t Lawrence D in jail after he SHOT JOHN E. BRAVO? My guess would be something about this match being shot before that segment but there is a good chance they won’t follow up on it anyway.

Acey comes in to slam Sabin but everything breaks down with the Guns kicking both of them down. A double shoulder drops Shelley though and it’s time to stomp away again. Larry gets two off a low superkick but Sabin comes in for the save sans tag. The standing Sliced Bread allows the tag to Sabin so house can be cleaned in a hurry.

Sabin gets driven into the corner though and it’s a backbreaker/running elbow combination for two. Everything breaks down and Larry misses a top rope splash, meaning it’s time for the superkicks. Acey gets knocked to the floor and some running kicks in the corner rock Larry. Skull And Bones (though I’m not sure they still call it that) finishes Larry at 9:23.

Rating: C+. I wouldn’t have bet on this one being so good but the Guns know how to put something like this together rather well and got the best out of the big guys. The Guns might not be the next top stars of the division but if their job is to have make other teams look better than they can otherwise, they’ll have a job around here for a long time to come. Now just figure out something with the Larry/Lawrence deal, please.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

We look back at Sami Callihan and Ken Shamrock attacking Eddie Edwards last week.

Scott D’Amore, with a bunch of security, suspends Ken Shamrock, who really doesn’t seem happy. Revenge is sworn.

John E. Bravo yells at XXXL, screaming that Larry D. should be in jail. Tommy Dreamer, now in a police shirt, comes in to say he’s going to arrest Larry. Since this is ridiculous, Larry asks about Dreamer’s authority. Dreamer pulls out….nothing actually, with Larry pointing out that he isn’t holding a badge. That doesn’t matter, because Dreamer wasn’t a real judge or lawyer but he knows Larry shot Bravo. Larry says he was set up so Dreamer wants to go downtown to straighten things out. A right hand drops Dreamer and XXXL leaves, with Bravo coming in to scream over Dreamer’s unconscious body. Oh the humanity.

Knockouts Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Killer Kelly/Renee Michelle vs. Jazz/Jordynne Grace

Jazz, now bald, and Renee (Drake Maverick’s wife) are making their debuts. Grace headlocks Kelly down to start so Kelly does the same for a standoff. It’s off to Michelle vs. Jazz, with the latter taking her down without much effort. Grace comes back in for a double shoulder to Michelle, who manages to send Grace to the apron. We take a break and come back with Michelle chinlocking Grace.

Kelly comes in to kick Grace in the chest but Grace powers her way out of another choke. The hot tag brings in Jazz to take over on Kelly before handing it right back to Grace. Kelly hits a running dropkick in the corner but can’t get Grace in a fireman’s carry. The Grace Driver connects with Michelle having to make a save. Everything breaks down and the Jazz Stinger finishes Michelle at 12:23.

Rating: C-. It was as exciting as a match featuring Jazz as some legendary partner was going to be. This wasn’t designed to be anything competitive and while Grace and Jazz are kind of a random team, it makes more sense to have them go forward. Michelle and Kelly were just kind of there for the most part and I’m not sure if they are going to be sticking around.

Flashback Moment of the Week: the Motor City Machine Guns retain the Tag Team Titles over Generation Me (Young Bucks) at Final Resolution 2010.

Ethan Page knows everyone saw him lose to Swoggle last week but he has a plan to fix it all. As for Karl Anderson, why does he think it was Page who took out Doc Gallows? Well he did, so Anderson can face Page at Final Resolution. If Page wins, the North can have a title shot. Josh Alexander spends the entire time looking at Page like he has lost his mind.

A nervous Alisha doesn’t seem to care about Tenille Dashwood’s plans for them…because she needs to jump onto Sami Callihan’s back and choke him as hard as she can. Security breaks it up but Sami blows her a kiss.

Johnny Swinger vs. Cody Deaner

Cody clotheslines him out of the corner as commentary goes over everything Tommy Dreamer does around here. Cue Eric Young and Joe Doering to jump Cousin Jake and then Cody for the DQ at 47 seconds.

Post match we get the same beatdown and the same beatdown. We also get the same lack of an explanation of WHO THE HECK JOE DOERING IS (on this show that is, as they only explained it at Turning Point). I’m already not a fan of Young and this is making it even worse.

Deonna Purrazzo and Kimber Lee come up to James Mitchell to ask if he has turned Su Yung into Susie yet. It isn’t that easy so the women offer to get Yung in the ring.

The Deaners rant about Young and Doering because Cody was there to drive Young around when he started wrestling. Next week, Cody is proving he isn’t a nobody. Good luck with that kind of acting performance.

Here are Deonna Purrazzo and Kimber Lee for a chat. Purrazzo says Su Yung can get her rematch right now so here’s Yung….and here’s James Mitchell as Lee and Purrazzo bail. Mitchell talks about how Yung has been a thorn in his side for too long so it’s time to pay. Cue the Bridesmaids so Purrazzo and Lee jump Yung from behind. Yung loads up the mist but Purrazzo hits her in the throat in a smart move. Cosa Nostra knocks Yung out and the Bridesmaids take her away. I liked it.

Moose comes up to Chris Bey in the back and wishes him luck against Swann. Bey says he knows what’s going on here: Moose is nice to him now and gets the first World Title shot. Moose says not quite, because he just hurts people. You take power instead of giving it and when Moose wants the title, he’s taking it too.

Karl Anderson says Ethan Page is on for Final Resolution.

X-Division Title: Rohit Raju vs. Crazzy Steve

Steve is challenging and needs to put his stuffed monkey on the post to start. Raju jumps him from behind and gets punched out to the floor for his efforts. Back in and Steve tries a full nelson before twisting Raju’s neck around. A figure four necklock over the ropes has Raju in trouble but he’s right back with a jumping Downward Spiral.

We take a break and come back with Raju biting Steve’s head in the corner, followed by a fisherman’s suplex for two. Raju hammers away and gets two more off a snap suplex. The armbar doesn’t last long so Raju kicks him down instead. Steve gets in a shot to the face though and a high crossbody gets two. Raju is back with a jumping knee to the face but Steve pulls him down into an Octopus on the mat. The feet in the ropes are good for the break so Steve tries a sunset flip. Raju sits down on it though and grabs the rope to retain at 11:41.

Rating: C. I still can’t get over how much Raju has improved this year. He has gone from someone who has absolutely nothing to offer around here to someone who gives you a perfectly acceptable match more often than not. Throw in some good promos and they have a little something with him. That’s not much, but the improvement is near remarkable.

Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan are looking forward to winning the Tag Team Titles and having all the money. Fallah Bahh comes in to say they stole the money and he has seen the video from last week. The women say they don’t have the money and hide it behind their backs, while saying they’ll have it next week. Bahh leaves and Johnny Swinger comes up to proposition them. It doesn’t go well.

Brian Myers comes up to mock Crazzy Steve and TJP for their plan not working. TJP challenges Myers and it’s accepted for some point in the future.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Willie Mack vs. Chris Bey

We even get a Lucha Underground reference during Mack’s entrance. Bey slaps him in the face so Mack does the same, setting up a nipple twist in the corner. The Thesz press into the right hands keep Bey in trouble but Mack gets sent outside. That’s fine with Mack, who drops him back first onto the apron. Bey knocks him off the apron to tweak the knee though and we take a break.

Back with Bey cranking on said knee and chop blocking him down to cut off the comeback attempt. The half crab doesn’t last long as Mack gets up and blasts him with a clothesline. The swinging slam connects but Mack’s knee is barely holding up. A knee drop gets two on Bey, even though it bangs up Mack’s knee even more. Bey takes out the knee again though and slaps Mack in the face. That just earns him the Stunner to give Mack the pin at 12:57.

Rating: C+. Other than a pretty odd choice for an ending, this worked out well. Granted that shouldn’t be much of a surprise given that the two guys are both rather talented and good at this wrestling thing. Bey shouldn’t be losing on the way to a title shot, but it’s not like he’s the really big threat to the World Title anyway. He shouldn’t be losing, but you’re almost never going to get logical booking.

Post match Moose comes in to jump Mack but Rich Swann makes the save. Bey uses the distraction to take Swann down though and poses to end the show. So….yeah Bey is the #1 contender for Final Resolution and Moose is the big final boss so Mack won here because….Impact?

Overall Rating: C. Well it was better than last week, though that isn’t exactly saying much. Above all else, the biggest improvement was focusing on the stories that aren’t built around….well everything that the Bravo story is built around. The Dreamer stuff is becoming an internal joke and that kind of sort of makes things better, though it still is a low level tag wrestler shooting a manager while an alleged legend investigates, so how much good can come from it? The rest of the show was better, but it’s still not exactly a thrilling show.

Results

Motor City Machine Guns b. XXXL – Skull And Bones to Larry D.

Jazz/Jordynne Grace b. Killer Kelly/Renee Michelle – Jazz Stinger to Michelle

Cody Deaner b. Johnny Swinger via DQ when Eric Young interfered

Rohit Raju b. Crazzy Steve – Rollup while grabbing the rope

Willie Mack b. Chris Bey – Stunner

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Impact Wrestling
Date: November 22, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

We’re done with Turning Point and now things are starting to get a little more interesting. There were two title changes on the show as the Good Brothers and Deonna Purrazzo won the Tag Team and Knockouts Titles (you can figure out which did which). Other than that, the hunt is still on for John E. Bravo’s shooter. Let’s get to it.

Here is Turning Point if you need a recap.

The opening video looks at Turning Point, which did feel like an important show.

Opening sequence.

Moose vs. Willie Mack

Non-title, No DQ and a rematch from Turning Point where Moose won but had the decision overturned for attacking after the bell. They charge at each other to start with Mack hammering away and hitting a dropkick into the corner. There’s the Cannonball to send Moose outside but he tosses Mack over the barricade. Moose whips him into the barricade for a bonus and says this is for Rich Swann. Back in and Moose misses a dropkick but nips right back up.

The second dropkick works and it’s time to stomp away on Mack. There’s a hard whip into the corner but Moose misses a charge into the buckle. The slugout is on with Mack hitting the Samoan drop into the standing moonsault. The Stunner doesn’t work so Mack goes with the swinging slam. Mack misses the Six Star frog splash and Moose nails the spear (now called Lights Out, which is as generic of a name as you can get, as opposed to the good No Jackhammer Needed). Moose hammers away with right hands on the mat until the referee stops it at 10:09.

Rating: C. These two work well together with Moose handing out quite the beating to him in both matches. Mack as the buddy of Swann and taking the beating to set up the title match is a good way to go, though you would expect the bigger guy to be the one waiting after the little buddy was beaten down. Either way, Moose looked great and that’s the point of something like this.

Post match beats on him again. Remember when Eric Young did something like this a few weeks ago and it was nowhere near as effective? Just an observation.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

We go to the Tree House where the Rascalz are sad about being evicted. They remember when Wentz and Gail Kim went to see the Jonas Brothers. Gail pops in….but it’s just a story apparently as Wentz doesn’t remember that. Then there was the time when Moose popped in and beat all of them up. Then the lights go out because they haven’t paid the light bill. See? It must have been Moose.

The Deaners come in to see Detective Dreamer, who is narrowing down his suspects. Cody suggests that Tommy search Johnny Swinger’s fanny pack (where they found a gun at Turning Point).

Suicide vs. Gio

And never mind as here are Eric Young and Joe Doering (who debuted at Turning Point) to jump Gio for the DQ at 41 seconds.

Post match, Young says this is what he promised and the world belongs to them.

Deonna Purrazzo says her and Kimber Lee’s plan has come together perfectly. Now it’s time to win the Knockouts Tag Team Titles. The lights go out and Su Yung has left a message saying bad things happen next week.

Heath and Rhino are in the back with Heath talking about his contract. Rhino tells him to go make it work and walks out of the room to run into Eric Young and Joe Doering. Rhino says it’s not happening with them here so they beat him down. Heath comes out and Eric points Doering at him, with the two of them going into the room. Pain seems imminent.

Brian Myers vs. Crazzy Steve

Fallout from Steve saving Swoggle at Turning Point. Steve drives him outside to start and then snaps off a headscissors back inside. An upside down Figure Four necklock over the ropes has Myers in more trouble and they fight to the apron as the announcers talk about the Knockouts Tag Team Titles tournament. We take a break and come back with Myers slapping on a chinlock to keep Steve in trouble.

A suplex gets two on Steve and Myers isn’t happy with the kickout. That means we hit another chinlock, followed by a sleeper to mix it up a bit. Steve breaks it up and sends him into the corner for some clotheslines, followed by the running senton for two. A Russian legsweep into something like an Octopus Hold on the mat sends Myers straight to the ropes, as he should be doing. Myers pokes him in the eye to get out of a belly to back suplex though and it’s a running clothesline for the pin at 9:08.

Rating: D+. Myers continues to be just kind of there for the most part but at least he’s doing something other than whining about how he should have been used better in WWE. Granted I’m not entirely sure what that new character is, but he’s getting a chance and that’s better than some others do. Steve is just kind of there, but I’ve seen a lot worse.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Madison Rayne/Gail Kim b. Brooke Tessmacher/Tara to win the Knockouts Tag Team Titles on the November 3, 2011 Impact.

Here are the brackets for the Knockouts Tag Team Titles Tournament:

Tenille Dashwood/Alisha

Havok/Nevaeh

Killer Kelly/Renee Michelle

Jordynne Grace/TBA

Kiera Hogan/Tasha Steelz

Sea Stars

Deonna Purrazzo/Kimber Lee

Taya Valkyrie/Rosemary

Johnny Swinger comes in to see Tommy Dreamer and asks to see what’s in the fanny pack. Swinger: “You mean the pharmacy pack daddy?” It’s a gun, so Dreamer declares him guilty before saying we’re bringing back WRESTLERS’ COURT next week. If he’s guilty, why are they going to court?

Knockouts Tag Team Titles Tournament First Round: Alisha/Tenille Dashwood vs. Nevaeh/Havok

Kaleb With A K is here with Dashwood/Alisha. Nevaeh gets sent into the corner and caught with a running clothesline from Alisha. A double suplex takes Nevaeh down again and it’s Dashwood staying in to kick away at the ribs. Dashwood hits a clothesline into a chinlock, though she does make sure to hit a smile for the photos. Nevaeh fights up and the double tag brings in Alisha, who walks into a spinning release Rock Bottom from Havok.

Alisha gets whipped hard into the corner, though Dashwood is distracted by another photo shoot. Back up and Alisha gets in her own whip into the corner, setting up a sliding clothesline. Everything breaks down and Dashwood is sent outside. Alisha is back up with a middle rope X Factor on Nevaeh but Havok catches her in a wheelbarrow, with Nevaeh adding a cutter for the pin at 6:37.

Rating: C-. The tournament could be a bit of a slog as there are only so many teams, but Nevaeh/Havok should be one of the better options available. You can probably guess the finals from here but there are enough possibilities out there to make it interesting and that’s always a good sign. Dashwood and Alisha shouldn’t have been a threat and they didn’t waste time with anything else, so at least it’s off to a good start.

Jordynne Grace is on the phone with her mystery partner, who was retired but agreed to team with her anyway. That could be interesting.

Hernandez vs. Fallah Bahh

They charge at each other to start until Bahh takes him down with a crossbody. Hernandez gets to the apron and scores with a slingshot shoulder though, sending Bahh outside. That means a big dive to crush Bahh as they’re going with the power stuff so far. Back in and Hernandez hits a big clothesline and we’re off to the neck crank.

That lasts as long as the common neck crank with Bahh fighting up and sending him into the corner for the splash. The running hip attack makes it worse but Hernandez is up at two. The Samoan drop is broken up though and Hernandez knocks him down, setting up the top rope splash for the pin at 3:35.

Rating: D+. Now this really needs to be the end of the feud as it wasn’t interesting in the first place and has dragged on FAR too long. I’m not sure why they went with Hernandez winning here as he isn’t exactly presented as anything important, but he does have a bigger history. Then again Bahh hasn’t had a chance, and this wasn’t much better.

Rohit Raju brags to Scott D’Amore about retaining at Turning Point, making D’Amore long for Austin Aries. Raju leaves and TJP comes up, with D’Amore saying it’s so frustrating that TJP can’t ever have another title shot. All D’Amore can think of is what would Dusty Rhodes do. How would he find a way for ANYONE BUT TJP to get a title shot? TJP gets the hint as D’Amore rides away, like a day as midnight approaches.

Video on the Good Brothers winning the Tag Team Titles.

Ethan Page comes up to Scott D’Amore, with the Good Brothers, demanding a title shot. Karl Anderson suggests that Page face a PHENOMENAL opponent, which is cool with Page, as long as it means a title shot when he wins. D’Amore makes the match and insider lingo abounds.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Trey Miguel/Rich Swann vs. Dez/Wentz

It’s the Rascalz’ farewell match. The dancing is on before the match as they’re all friends, though Wentz winces a bit when trying to match everyone else in the splits. We take a break and come back with the opening bell, as Wentz drives Trey into the corner. Wentz reverses a wristlock into a headlock and they fight over wrist control again. They both miss some shots to the face and try dropkicks at the same time, setting up stereo nipups into a standoff.

Dez and Swann come in to shove each other away off an exchange of lockups. Both guys stick a few landings, with Trey saying he can’t do that. Swann catches him with a shot to the face and it’s Trey coming in, only to be sent into the corner for some rapid fire double teaming. We take a break and come back with Wentz kicking Trey in the face, followed by a DDT. Trey is fine enough to get over for a hot tag to Swann though and it’s time to clean house.

Everything breaks down and Swann’s standing shooting star press gets two. All four wind up on their knees in the middle of the ring for a circle slugout. Everyone hits a kick to the face and they’re all down again. Dez and Wentz finally take over on Swann with the rapid fire kicks and the Hot Fire Flame connects.

Trey superkicks Dez into the corner for the save though and everyone is down again. Wentz gets caught in the corner for a Cheeky Nandos kick from Trey and Swann adds the frog splash to Dez. That’s broken up by Wentz, who shouts at Swann a lot. Another Hot Fire Flame misses and Trey hits Dez with the top rope Meteora. Swann kicks Wentz in the back of the head for the pin at 15:48.

Rating: B. It was a good and fast paced match and I’m sad to see the team go. I’ve been a fan of them since the day they debuted but at the same time, they have never won a title around here and you can only get so far without picking up some gold. The company is going to need some help to make up for them being gone, but you kind of have to move on at some point and the Rascalz need to do that at the moment.

Post match everyone hugs and cries, with the Rascalz leaving their jackets on the top rope.

The Rascalz and Swann go backstage and hug….but Sami Callihan and Ken Shamrock jump them for the big beatdown. It’s better than the New Day split, though not quite as emotional.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event and post match beatdown worked well but the rest of the show was pretty hit or miss. This week’s show was far from bad and the focus on the Rascalz worked, but other than that it’s a show meant to build towards things later. That doesn’t make for the best show, though at least it feels like a one off rather than a trend. It helps that they have a good angle to go out on so hopefully it picks up next week.

Results

Moose b. Willie Mack via referee stoppage

Gio b. Suicide via DQ when Joe Doering interfered

Brian Myers b. Crazzy Steve – Running clothesline

Nevaeh/Havok b. Alisha/Tenille Dashwood – Wheelbarrow cutter to Alisha

Hernandez b. Fallah Bahh – Top rope splash

Rich Swann/Trey Miguel b. Dez/Wentz – Kick to the back of Wentz’s head

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

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

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

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

Opening recap.

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

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

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

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

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

Josh and Madison preview the show.

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

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

Fallah Bahh vs. Crazzy Steve

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

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

Kaleb With A K introduces our next match.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kimber Lee vs. Kylie Rae

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

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

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

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

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

Doc Gallows vs. Madman Fulton

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

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

Crazzy Steve b. Fallah Bahh – Rollup

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

Kylie Rae b. Kimber Lee – Smile To The Finish

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

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

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

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

Opening recap, including clips from Victory Road.

Opening sequence.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Myers

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

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

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

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

Commentary talks about Bound For Glory’s bigger matches.

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

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

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

Rohit Raju vs. Jordynne Grace

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

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

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

Rascalz vs. XXXL

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rosemary/Taya Valkyrie vs. Tasha Steelz/Kiera Hogan

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

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

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

Deaners vs. Johnny Swinger/Crazzy Steve

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

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

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

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

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

EC3 drops the TNA World Title off of a bridge.

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

Here’s what’s coming up next week.

Motor City Machine Guns vs. Ace Austin/Madman Fulton

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

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

Jordynne Grace b. Rohit Raju – O’Connor roll

Rascalz b. XXXL – Shove moonsault to Larry D.

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

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

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

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

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s what else is coming tonight.

And now, Wrestle House.

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

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

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

Crazzy Steve vs. Johnny Swinger

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brian Myers vs. Willie Mack

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Larry D. vs. John E. Bravo

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

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

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Deonna Purrazzo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

Eddie Edwards b. Rob Van Dam – Boston Knee Party

Crazzy Steve b. Johnny Swinger – Rollup

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

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

Deonna Purrazzo b. Jordynne Grace 2-1

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 14, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Madison Rayne

It’s the go home show for Slammiversary and that’s actually a pretty nice feeling for once. The shows building towards the pay per view have been well done and if they manage to make it work this time, we could be in for a heck of a show on Saturday. Yeah Saturday, as almost everyone outside of WWE has changed up their pay per view schedule in a pretty smart move. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Rosemary/Kiera Hogan/Tasha Steelz/Kimber Lee/Taya Valkyrie vs. Alisha Edwards/Kylie Rae/Susie/Nevaeh/Havok

Steelz is taken into the corner to start with Havok and Nevaeh starting with the rapid fire double teaming. Lee gets kicked to the floor as the villains are all sent outside early on. That means a big beatdown of Nevaeh, with Susie hitting the flip dive from the apron. Havok tosses Alisha onto the pile and Havok adds the suicide dive. Taya cuts off Rae’s dive though and it’s Kylie getting beaten down for a change.

Rosemary’s bicycle kick into a German suplex from Taya gets two. Taya adds the running knees in the corner as Josh is WAY too excited about the state of the Knockouts division, with Madison having to tone him down. Steelz sends Rae right back into the corner to cut off a comeback bid and it’s Lee coming in for a chinlock. Back from a break with Rae ducking a right hand and diving over for the tag to Susie, which commentary completely ignores. Everything breaks down into the parade of secondary finishers until Rae superkicks Lee into Susie’s Panic Switch for the pin at 13:11.

Rating: C. There’s only so much that you can get out of a match like this but it’s about as good of a preview as you can have for the gauntlet match. There are several options for the win and that could make for some interesting stuff on Saturday. The wrestling was fine enough and there wasn’t much of a point here other than having most of the participants out there.

Post match Susie seems to twitch a bit, but everything breaks down into another big brawl until Kylie stands tall.

Here’s your preview for tonight and Sunday.

Madman Fulton and Ace Austin are in Dayton, Ohio, with Fulton not being happy about being back in OVE territory. Ace says if there is one thing he has learned in his five years in wrestling, it’s that you have to go back to where you started.

Hernandez and Rhino have been arm wrestling around the arena for over a week.

Moose tries to recruit Hernandez and Rhino to be his partner tonight and costs Hernandez the win. Hernandez wants to fight Rhino outside and that’s an easy yes.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Chris Sabin wins Ultimate X at Slammiversary 2013.

XXXL vs. Deaners

Points for the cameras shaking during XXXL’s entrance. Josh likes the idea of hunting, fishing and roasting marshmallows at the Deaner compound. Madison: “….you need to stop.” Jake and Larry collide to start with Jake popping up from the shoulder and getting in a slam. Cody is slammed onto Larry for two but Larry forearms his way over to Acey for the tag. A running clothesline gives Acey two and there’s the Pounce to send Jake into the corner. Larry kicks Cody down into a powerbomb but Jake makes a blind tag and steals the pin at 3:22.

Rating: D+. Well that happened and there isn’t much else to be said about something like this. Again, the tag teams seem to be trading wins back and forth and no one is really gaining anything. It wasn’t a good match or anything either, though XXXL looked decent enough in a short form.

Post match XXXL lays out Jake with a Demolition Decapitator, seemingly turning heel.

Moose asks Rohit Raju to be his partner tonight. Raju agrees, even though he’s the final option.

Johnny Swinger tells Chris Bey that he’s going to straighten things out with management. Swinger goes to the referee, saying that he’s been talking to Cancel Culture (must be taped out of order) and they think he’s a qualified emotional support companion.

Video on Willie Mack vs. Chris Bey for the X-Division Title at Slammiversary.

Bey hits on Gia Miller and calls Swinger, who of course is outside, an idiot. Swinger says the office won’t budge and Bey is on his own at Slammiversary.

Video on Deonna Purrazzo vs. Jordynne Grace.

We get a sitdown face to face interview with Purrazzo and Grace. Purrazzo signs the contract but pauses Grace to tell her what she’s getting into on Saturday. Grace signs and says Purrazzo doesn’t know what she’s into right now. Grace knocks her down and leaves.

Video on Ken Shamrock/Sami Callihan vs. the North.

Shamrock and Callihan know they don’t trust each other but they could win some gold. Callihan is likely to turn on Shamrock anyway, so Shamrock promises to break his neck for trying.

Moose/Rohit Raju vs. Tommy Dreamer/Crazzy Steve

Even commentary points out that Raju is always standing around backstage with nothing to do. Dreamer headlocks Raju to start but gets driven into the corner for trying a hammerlock. A suplex drops Raju though and it’s off to Steve, who gets slammed head first into the mat. Moose comes in for the fall away slam but misses the spear into the corner.

It’s back to Dreamer to lose a slugout as everything breaks down. Raju breaks up Dreamer’s dive and hands it back to Moose to hammer away. Dreamer punches Moose out of the air though and grabs a DDT. The double tag brings in Steve and Raju as the pace picks up a good bit. Everything breaks down again and Raju knees Steve in the face. Steve is right back up with a middle rope DDT to finish Raju at 6:14.

Rating: D+. Another match that was just kind of there as it seems they are scraping the bottom of the barrel of whatever they have left from the taping cycle. That is also true of Dreamer, who somehow gets a pretty big time pay per view match when you have how many people on the roster without much to do?

Austin and Fulton get to the gym in Dayton.

Rhino and Hernandez meet in the parking lot with Rhino wanting the money he won in the arm wrestling. Rhino kicks him low and chokes against a production truck but Hernandez throws something at him and gets in a few shots. A trashcan and a traffic cone are brought in and Rhino hammers away (seemingly at the camera in one shot as we’re in Cinematic Mode). Eventually they’re both spent and agree to split the money.

We recap the World Title situation, with the triple threat match being set up to crown a new champion. This is the same video package we saw last week, or at least really close to it.

Austin and Fulton train, while Austin talks about becoming the World Champion on Saturday. Slammiversary isn’t about the mystery opponent or Edwards or Trey. It’s about Austin becoming the youngest World Champion of all time.

A new Slammiversary vignette suggests three people returning.

Eddie Edwards talks about everyone being different. Everything in his career has led him to Slammiversary, starting with his training at Killer Kowalski’s wrestling school. He was born to be the World Champion and now he’s back here for a reason. Eddie has fought through everything to be here and he has no choice but to win the title.

Slammiversary rundown.

Trey and Wentz sneak into the Dayton gym while Austin is lecturing in the ring. A trashcan shot staggers Fulton and they lock him in a closet. Trey and Ace get in a fight with Trey shoving him over a chair and hammering away. Ace sends him into a wall though and hits him with a broom, followed by a chair to the back. Trey gets in a crotching on the barricade and slugs away some more but Fulton is back up. Wentz returns with a barbed wire chair and the villains bail to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This was a case where they could only do so much with what they had. They didn’t have much left to pull from so they probably had to film some stuff at the last minute. It worked as well as it could have given the circumstances, but it’s a shame that they had to hit a speed bump on the way to Slammiversary. I’m curious about what they’re going to have next week, but Slammiversary still looks good.

Results

Kylie Rae/Susie/Nevaeh/Havok/Alisha Edwards b. Tasha Steelz/Kimber Lee/Kiera Hogan/Taya Valkyrie/Rosemary – Panic Switch to Lee

Deaners b. XXXL – Rollup to Larry

Crazzy Steve/Tommy Dreamer b. Rohit Raju/Moose – Middle rope DDT to Raju

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 30, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Madison Rayne

The Slammiversary shakeup continues as we need to find another replacement now that Michael Elgin is gone. This comes after World Champion Tessa Blanchard was released from the company, meaning the main event is looking quite a bit different than it did just two weeks ago. We should be getting some updates on what is happening here so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Josh and Madison welcome us to the show and get straight to the big story: Slammiversary’s main event will now be a four way for the vacant World Title with Eddie Edwards vs. Ace Austin vs. Trey vs. a mystery opponent. Nicely done on not wasting time with what matters.

Chris Bey vs. Suicide

Johnny Swinger is here with Bey, who knocks Suicide into the corner to start. Bey is sent to the apron but slingshots in and hits some dancing. They run the ropes until Suicide snaps off an armdrag and does some dancing of his own. A dropkick sets up a Lionsault but Bey gets his knees up. Bey clotheslines him down for two but Suicide is right back with a modified Octopus.

That’s broken up so Bey ties him in the ropes for a spinning kick to the head. The middle rope moonsault only hits mat though and Suicide dropkicks him into the corner. A running kick to the face connects and Bey is sent outside, with Suicide trust falling onto Bey and Swinger. Back in and Suicide’s belly to back faceplant connects, but Swinger shoves Suicide off the top. The springboard Fameasser gives Bey the pin at 8:53.

Rating: C. The more I see of Bey, the more I like him. The guy is just good at everything he does and looks smooth every time he’s in the ring. I wasn’t feeling the Swinger pairing to start but having Swinger as the goofy lackey is a good fit for him. Suicide worked well here too and it was a nice match all around.

Josh and Madison preview the show.

Moose doesn’t like Crazzy Steve’s fun and games so tonight he’ll show him what being serious has gotten him.

Swinger volunteers to pay the referee off at Slammiversary but the referee comes in and says he’ll make sure Swinger is banned from ringside.

Reno Scum vs. TJP/Fallah Bahh

Scum jumps them from behind to start but Bahh runs them over, knocking Luster into a rollup from TJP. A double splash gets two on Luster but TJP misses the slingshot dropkick. That lets Luster get in a Pit Stop and TJP gets stomped down a bit. An old school Battering Ram connects but TJP manages an anklescissors to get in the hot tag to Bahh. Everything breaks down with TJP kneeing his way out of a suplex. Now the slingshot dropkick connects and Bahh adds a spinning belly to belly to Luster. A Samoan drop into a frog splash finishes Thornstowe at 4:50.

Rating: C-. TJP and Bahh are figuring out the formula for a team like the two of them and that’s cool to see. I could see them getting somewhere in the future, either short term or long term, and that’s a good thing to see. Reno Scum on the other hand are not such a nice thing to see but that has been the case for a long time.

It’s time for Locker Room Talk, with Johnny Swinger still annoyed at the referee. The guest is John E. Bravo, who has a devil dog and doesn’t seem to get the idea that Rosemary is after him. Rosemary pops up as the second guest and Swinger explains the idea. He seems to think that the chemistry is between himself and Rosemary though, because he likes the heavy makeup (including Aja Kong in the 90s). An argument breaks out, with Swinger dropping a Frenchy Martin reference. Rosemary wants them to kill each other but here’s Taya Valkyrie to offer Rosemary a tag team. She’s down and Taya is pleased.

Video on Deonna Purrazzo vs. Jordynne Grace.

Here’s the North for a chat. Last week they jumped Ken Shamrock, who will never have a tag team partner or a friend because of his rage issues. If Ethan Page was his friend, he would get Shamrock professional help. Cue Shamrock….and here’s Sami Callihan to say who needs friends when you have an enemy. The fight is n with the North bailing but then Sami vanishes. I think I could go for this. Maybe.

Post break, Scott D’Amore is on the phone with some “good brothers” when the North comes in to complain about what just happened. Therefore, it’s a title match against Sami and Shamrock at Slammiversary.

Your Flashback Moment of the Week: Eric Young wins the World Title.

Trey is ready to take out Madman Fulton.

TNA World Title: Moose vs. Crazzy Steve

Moose is defending and insists that we need to hear his ring introductions several times. Steve gets shoved down to start so he strikes away for some more success. It’s enough to pus Moose on the floor but his dive is pulled out of the air for a drop onto the apron. Moose swings him into the steps to draw some blood from the mouth. Forearms to the ribs set up a drop across the top rope to keep Steve in trouble.

A knee to the ribs cuts off a comeback attempt and we hit the abdominal stretch. Moose gets caught grabbing the rope so he puts Steve on top, only to get sunset bombed down. Steve slugs away and grabs a rollup for two. A dropkick to the knee puts Moose down again but he counters a high crossbody into a fall away slam. No Jackhammer Needed retains the title at 8:14.

Rating: C. This was better than I would have ever bet on. The quality wasn’t great or anything, but they set up the spear with all of the rib work earlier in the match. Steve could have been almost anyone here as his offense didn’t really matter, but that’s the point of the story they’re doing with Moose.

Post match the beatdown is on until Tommy Dreamer and some medics come down. Moose kicks Dreamer in the head and hammers away before leaving. Post break, a bleeding Dreamer says he’s been in this business for thirty years (here we go) and has fought thousands of wrestlers. Almost none of them have Moose’s talents but Dreamer knows Moose is in wrestling for a paycheck. Just like Moose didn’t listen to his coaches in the NFL, he isn’t listening to people around here.

Moose created his own title here and that’s not how it works. Dreamer has been beaten up by better over the years. His idol was Dusty Rhodes, who talked about Hard Times. We’re in the hardest times in the world but professional wrestling hasn’t stopped. Moose is the only person who has complained and he has been whining about catering. Dreamer quotes Hard Times and promises to make Moose a footnote in wrestling, just like he was a footnote in the NFL.

It was more fired up than your usual Dreamer promo and it was emotional, but my eyes rolled as soon as he was out there. I’m really not sure who designated Dreamer as the defender of professional wrestling, but hearing him say something similar so many times and then getting beaten up like he has done for his entire career quite interest me. At least the promo was good though.

Hernandez arm wrestles the Deaners for money and has no trouble, despite some slightly cinematic camera angles.

Kiera Hogan vs. Havok

Tasha Steelz and Nevaeh are here at ringside. Hogan hammers away to start but gets thrown down so Havok can scream. A delayed slam drops Hogan again but Havok has to get rid of Steelz. The distraction lets Hogan hammer away and we take a break. Back with Havok breaking a sleeper by driving Hogan into the corner.

A charge hits boot though and it’s time to choke with the long hair. Havok hits a backbreaker and a running knee to the face, followed by running boots in the corner. Steelz jumps up on the rope with Havok’s gas mask though and tosses it in to Hogan. A shot to the face sets up a kick to Havok’s head for the pin at 8:51.

Rating: D+. So what was the point of having Nevaeh out there if she isn’t going to do anything to save Havok in a situation like this? These four have been going back and forth for a few weeks now and it isn’t the most thrilling stuff. Part of that is due to the wrestling, which has only been ok at best.

Moose is ready to sue Dreamer over what he just said.

Slammiversary rundown.

Trey vs. Madman Fulton

Ace Austin is here with Fulton. Trey slides in and avoids Fulton before heading straight outside to jump Austin. Back in and Trey’s enziguri just seems to annoy Fulton but he gets dropkicked into the corner. That just means a chokeslam to Trey and a one handed gorilla press puts him down again. A reverse suplex drops Trey on his ribs but he fires off some shots to the face.

That works for what must have been a good two seconds before Fulton tosses him back into the corner. Trey tries a moonsault and winds up on Fulton’s back with a sleeper. Fulton is right back with a side slam but Trey grabs it again from the mat. That’s broken up as well so Trey hits a middle rope neckbreaker. Some kicks to the head look to set up a springboard tornado DDT but Fulton easily counters with a northern lights suplex. Fulton chokes on the ropes but Trey finds a metal stick and hits Fulton in the head for the DQ at 8:16.

Rating: C+. This was a good David vs. Goliath match and that’s what they should have done. Fulton continues to be one of the best monsters around here in a good while, to the point where storyline wise he should be in the World Title match himself. I’m sure we’ll get some company legend in there instead, but Fulton has now beaten two of the participants in the match. Hopefully that is remembered sooner rather than later.

Post match Trey grabs a chair and beats Fulton down.

We get a quick Super Eric teaser to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. They’re doing a good job of not having anything terrible on these shows and that’s a good sign. There’s nothing on here that is going to blow your mind but I’m moderately curious about who is going to be the fourth man in the World Title match. The show is perfectly competent and that’s more than several other promotions can say at the moment.

Results

Chris Bey b. Suicide – Springboard Fameasser

TJP/Fallah Bahh b. Reno Scum – Frog splash to Thornstowe

Moose b. Crazzy Steve – No Jackhammer Needed

Kiera Hogan b. Havok – Kick to the head

Madman Fulton b. Trey via DQ when Trey used a metal stick

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

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

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

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