Impact Wrestling
Date: August 24, 2023
Location: Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re done with Multiverse United and other than some good matches, there wasn’t much taking place. Now we are on the way to Emergence and it means we need to firm up a lot of the card. The good thing is that most of the card seems to be set up and now we get to hammer home everything else. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with PCO coming to the ring to beat up Shera and Raj Singh, who had apparently talked trash on Before The Impact. The destruction doesn’t take long, including a Deanimator to put Singh through a table. Bully Ray pops up on the screen to say that he’s not leaving his hotel room, meaning PCO can’t find him. Ray says he’s the biggest star ever around here and PCO is going to learn that Ray is the one to take him out.

Opening sequence.

Trinity vs. Jody Threat

Non-title and threat takes her down into a quickly broken armbar to start. Trinity’s headlock doesn’t work either as Threat sends her hard into the corner for some clotheslines. Back up and Threat wins a slugout, only to have Trinity come back with her bulldog into the corner. It’s Threat’s chance for a comeback with a spear, followed by running knees to the back. Threat gets two off a Michinoku Driver but the F5 is countered into an X Factor to give Trinity two of her own. Something like a Bubba Bomb into a rollup finishes Threat at 5:32.

Rating: C. Trinity wasn’t about to lose on the way towards such a huge title defense so this was more about keeping her even with Deonna Purrazzo after last week. Trinity has established herself as one of the stars of the division and that is nice to see after being away from the ring for so long. Not a bad match, but it kind of came and went.

Jake Something is ready for Sanada at Emergence.

In Memory Of Terry Funk. They had to wait twenty minutes for that?

Multiverse United recap.

Josh Alexander was back in the ring for the first time in five months at Multiverse United and now he wants the World Title back. First though, he has Emergence, but he’ll be watching tonight’s World Title match.

Deaner vs. Laredo Kid

Kon is here with Deaner, who grabs a headlock to start. Kid takes it out to the floor but gets yelled at by Kon, allowing Deaner to hit a clothesline. Back in and Deaner twists the neck before sending said neck into the corner for two. A neckbreaker gets two and Deaner shouts that no one cares about Kid. I uh, wouldn’t talk much man. Deaner misses a charge in the corner and Kid gets two off a driver. Kid goes up top but dives down onto Kon (who hadn’t even done anything) instead. Back in and the Antidote finishes Kid at 4:24.

Rating: C. The action was fine but as usual, it’s almost impossible to care about Deaner’s lame….well existence really. He’s been the same “I’m crazy and evil” guy for months and it still isn’t interesting. Kid could have been anyone here and that’s a shame given how good he really has been almost every time he’s here.

Post match Deaner says that Eric Young tried to start this and it earned him a knife in the heart. Then Young decided to rise again (which apparently is something he can just do) but he doesn’t realize that Deaner is in control because HE IS THE DESIGN. Deaner: “YOU! ME! NO DQ!” Well that’s anticlimactic.

We get a video that looks like it’s from 1999 (complete with pop ups, featuring a variety of wrestling name drops) about how Johnny Swinger is ready for the Digital Media title. As usual, this was rather funny.

PCO looks for Bully Ray and screams a lot.

ABC vs. Good Hands

Before the match, John Skyler talks about how they don’t like being called Good Hands For Hire and insults Chicago a lot. Austin hammer and headlocks Skyler to start until an elbow to the face breaks that up. Hotch comes in and gets knocked away without much trouble. Bey comes in and takes Hotch down for two as things settle a bit. A kick to the back has Hotch in more trouble and we take a break.

Back with Austin cutting off Hotch to block a tag attempt but getting sent into the post for his efforts. A double elbow gets two on Austin and it’s time to work on the arm that went into the post. Skyler ties the arm up in between his own legs or some cranking. Austin’s legs are fine enough to kick his way out of trouble though and it’s back to Bey to take them both down.

A slingshot DDT gets two on Skyler and everything breaks down. Austin’s bad arm is snapped over the top and the Favor (Samoan drop/Blockbuster combination) gets two with Bey making the save. A springboard Fameasser drops Skyler again and the 1-2-Sweet finishes Hotch at 14:01.

Rating: B. This is one of the places where Impact really shines. You had two talented teams who have an issue with each other. They were given almost fifteen minutes and had a clean match with the good guys winning. It’s a great example of not making things too complicated and letting the wrestlers do their things. Very nice match here.

Subculture is ready for the Rascalz.

We get what sounds like a movie trailer for Joe Hendry and Yuya Uemura’s tag match on the Countdown to Emergence.

Video on Trinity vs. Deonna Purrazzo, including their issues with the Coven.

Samuray del Sol vs. Chris Sabin

The fans do the LUCHA dance to start and the two (the wrestlers, not the fans, as there are more than two of them) of them take time to get going. Sabin gets sent outside and then gets sent outside again, allowing Sol to flip backwards into some posing. Back in and Sabin runs him over for a change before starting in on the leg.

Sol misses an enziguri and gets pulled into an STF, sending him straight to the ropes. Sabin ties the leg up again but lets go as it’s not exactly getting him anywhere. We take a break and come back with Sabin working on something like an abdominal stretch on the mat. Sabin ties up the legs and cranks on both arms at the same time as he’s mixing up the holds tonight.

Sol is back up with a crossbody but the Salida del Sol is blocked. Sabin powerbombs him for two and rolls straight into an STF in the middle of the ring. That’s escaped as well and Sol pops up with the Salida del Sol to send Sabin outside. The springboard flip dive connects but Sol’s leg gives out back inside. That’s enough for the Cradle Shock to give Sabin the pin at 17:38.

Rating: B. Remember how the previous match was two wrestlers having a good match? What’s what they did again here and it worked, again. Sabin can wrestle with anyone and Sol showed what he could do multiple times in WWE. I could go with having him around more often and he probably earned a job here if he wants one.

We get the last part of the sitdown interview with Crazzy Steve. He talks about how Tom Rehwoldt is the best at what he does and Steve needs him to help carry his message. Steve talks about how he isn’t crazy but he’s tired of being abandoned and forgotten. If he can’t be the antidote to evil, then maybe he needs to be the plague. Tom says Steve is hurting his hand as Steve goes on about how cruelty is the causal blindness to the pain of others.

Steve says Tom is going to help him tell the people something but Tom calls in security to break it up. Steve breaks up the set and shouts TELL THEM. Steve takes down a member of security and seems to spray mist on him and shouts TELL THEM again. He grabs the camera and says he’s comfortable being evil and the psychopath in the story, but remember the chapter where you f****** made him. It takes a lot to make me interested in something from a longstanding middle of the road star like Crazzy Steve and they have done it in the last three weeks. Nicely done.

MK Ultra, in a mix of English and Russian, say they’re not scared of their first title defense because the more teams coming after them, the more toys to play with. Or maybe more control and pain. Chains are included.

Video on Eddie Edwards vs. Frankie Kazarian, with both o their wives getting involved. We also see the door to the Killer Kowalski School Of Professional Wrestling door closing. That could be interesting.

Emergence rundown.

PCO goes to Bully Ray’s hotel but can’t find him. Why he only looked in the lobby isn’t clear but it might explain the failure.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Brian Myers vs. Alex Shelley

Shelley is defending and we get the Big Match Intros. Myers takes him into the corner to start and slaps Shelley in the face, earning himself a rollup to give Shelley two. Shelley starts cranking on the arm and has Myers wincing quite a bit. Myers is sent to the apron and they fall outside, with Shelley being sent into the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Shelley fighting out of a chinlock. Myers misses a charge into the post and Shelley gets a needed breather. Shelley knocks him down again and it’s a Downward Spiral into the buckle. The Border City Stretch goes on but Myers slips out and hits the implant DDT. Myers gets two more off a spear but Shelley kicks him in the face and hits Sliced Bread #2. The kickout sends Myers right back into the Border City Stretch though and Shelley retains at 14:32.

Rating: B. I kept waiting on something screwy to happen but instead they went with the clean ending again. As usual, there’s no shame in losing to the World Champion and Myers looked good in defeat. That’s about all you can ask for out of something like this and the fact that it was another good match made things even better.

Post match Moose and Bully Ray run in for the beatdown but Kushida and Josh Alexander make the save. We cut to the back where Lio Rush has jumped Chris Sabin. The good guys fight back and the brawl continues to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Maybe it’s that I’m so used to having other wrestling shows be full of interference and shenanigans, but my goodness it was SO refreshing to have a show with clean wrestling and storylines being advanced. This is the definition of a show that doesn’t overthink things and let the talented wrestlers showcase themselves. Awesome show here and a good example of why I have so much fun with this show a lot of the time.

Results
Trinity b. Jody Threat – Rollup
Deaner b. Laredo Kid – Antidote
ABC b. Good Hands – 1-2-Sweet to Hotch
Chris Sabin b. Samuray del Sol – Cradle Shock
Alex Shelley b. Brian Myers – Border City Stretch

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

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

AND

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

So I reviewed this last week as usual and for some reasons completely forgot to publish it.  I’m not sure how that happened but here you go.

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 17, 2023
Location: Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are three days away from Multiverse United and ten days away from Emergence so we should have some building to do this week. That should make for a pretty easy path forward tonight and there are more than enough stories to go around. There might even be room to announce some more matches so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

KiLynn King vs. Deonna Purrazzo

No entrance for Purrazzo (odd) and Taylor Wilde is here with King. Purrazzo’s arm cranking doesn’t work to start so she rolls King up for two and tries the Fujiwara armbar. With the rope saving King, Purrazzo snaps off a running hurricanrana to send her outside, setting up the baseball slide. Back in and King loads up a Tombstone but flips her forward into a kind of reverse sitout powerbomb (always thought that would be a good finisher, with or without the sitout) for two.

King kicks her out to the floor, where Purrazzo Russian legsweeps her into the apron. Back in and a forearm off doesn’t go very far so Purrazzo grabs another quickly broken Fujiwara armbar. A kick to the face gives Purrazzo two but King’s DDT gets the same. Purrazzo Downward Spirals her into a Koji Clutch, which King stacks up for another near fall to break it up. King’s Neutralizer gets two more but the King’s Curse is countered into the Venus de Milo for the win at 8:29.

Rating: C+. King’s work is impressing me as she has the size to stand out and does well with just about anyone. She could be something on her own, as she has already proven herself in the tag team with Wilde. Then you have Purrazzo, who is a rather polished star and I could go with seeing her face anyone on the roster. Nice roster here, and it’s nice to see something other than the usual fast paced opener for a change.

Trinity is shown watching from the back.

Kenny King isn’t worried about Johnny Swinger challenging for the Digital Media Title. We won’t talk about him, so we’ll talk about Heath wanting to come after the title too. King will just beat them both up.

Bully Ray interrupts Santino Marella and wants protection from the madman who is PCO. He is scared of facing Black Taurus in a No DQ match tonight but Brian Myers and Moose come in, with the former wanting to face Alex Shelley tonight. Moose calls Kushida a coward so Kevin Knight (mentored by Kushida) pops in. He gets a match with Moose as a result and here is Shelley, who will face Myers for the World Title next week.

Killer Kelly vs. Savannah Evans vs. Jessicka

Their respective partners are all at ringside. Jessicka and Evans argue as Kelly crawls around, earning herself a big shove down. Back up and Kelly takes over on both of them before getting two on Jessicka. Evans snaps off a German suplex to Kelly but Jessicka grabs a release side slam for one. The choke goes on Jessicka, who slams Kelly down without much trouble. Evans drops Jessicka but Kelly AA’s Evans onto her for the fast pin at 3:50.

Rating: C. They didn’t have much time for this one but it helped boost up the four way Knockouts Tag Team Titles match at Emergence. There isn’t much else that can be done to set up a match like that one so this worked out well enough. I’m not sure about having one of the champions win, but Kelly winning is a nice thing to see.

Dirty Dango mocks Jake Something for crawling back to Impact after working on “outlaw mud shows”. Maybe after they have a match, Something can go back to working the VFW halls for another year or so. These continue to sound like Jim Cornette as an annoyed wrestler and that works well.

Moose vs. Kevin Knight

Moose powers him around a few times to start but misses a chop in the corner, allowing Knight to chop away. The chokebomb gives Moose a fast two and he steps on Knight’s head for the good old heel embarrassment. Knight slips out of a powerbomb and hits a superkick, only to dive into a release Rock Bottom. Moose slowly stomps away and adds some slaps, which fire Knight up for the running forearm. That’s fine with Moose, who LAUNCHES him over the top and we take a break.

Back with Knight getting in a shot to the knee and snapping off a super hurricanrana. Another kick to the face sends Moose outside, where another hurricanrana takes him down again. Knight’s springboard flip dive drops Moose again as the fans seem to be divided. Back in and Knight gets some rollups for two, followed by a Code Red for the same. Moose isn’t having that and hits a powerbomb into the spear for the pin at 14:11.

Rating: B. I got into this one by the end as Knight was fighting with everything he had against the powerhouse Moose. That is a match type that has worked for the better part of ever in wrestling and they had a good match here by playing with the same idea. Knight is someone who has impressed almost every time he is out there so put him out there a bit more often.

The Rascalz are ready to win the Tag Team Titles and get another step tonight. The Bullet Club comes in to accuse them of sending the Good Hands after them. Santino Marella comes in to make Good Hands vs. Bullet Club for next week.

Kon vs. Eric Young

Deaner is here with Kon. Young’s right hand in the corner doesn’t work to start as Kon drops him with a shot to the face. Kon sends him to the floor for a shot from Deaner, setting up a nerve hold back inside. Young fights up and hits a backdrop (with commentary implying is a big deal) into a Death Valley Driver for two. A spinebuster cuts him off and Kon loads up the chokeslam, only to have Young slip out. The piledriver is loaded up so Deaner comes in for the DQ at 4:47.

Rating: C. The more I see of the Design, the more obvious it is that they are not very good. Kon is a generic big man and Deaner is one of the worst master villains I can remember. Why these guys have been going on for so long is beyond me, but I’d assume we are heading for the big blowoff where Young defeats them for good. It can’t come soon enough, as this stuff isn’t working.

Post match the beatdown is on, including a DDT onto a chair.

We get a new music video on Joe Hendry and Yuya Uemura, who are now a team.

We get part two of the sitdown interview with Crazzy Steve, who was raised in an abusive home. His dad yelled at him a lot until one day he fought back and dealt with him. His mom had a lot of health issues but was his biggest fan. Then one day, after twelve years in the business, he got to Impact Wrestling. Three weeks before he signed though, his mother took her own life. So why talk about all this now? More on this later. I’d like to know myself so they’re doing this right.

Chris Sabin is ready to get his hands on Lio Rush at Emergence and then he’s coming for the X-Division Title. Samuray del Sol comes in to say he wants Rush too, but for now he has to settle for facing Sabin next week.

Bully Ray vs. Black Taurus

No DQ and Taurus runs him over a few times to start fast. Right hands in the corner send Bully outside so Taurus hits him with a slingshot dive. Bully gets in a shot of his own and we take a break. Back with Taurus unloading with a chair inside before sending Bully face first into a ladder in the corner. Taurus plants him again and hits a twisting senton for two. Another one is loaded up but only hits ladder, allowing Ray to steal the pin at 8:04.

Rating: C. The violence didn’t have a chance to get cranked up and the break in the middle of a match that wasn’t that long in the first place didn’t help things. The Ray vs. PCO showdown should be a heck of a spectacle, but this wasn’t exactly a great way to get me ready for it. Give it more time and less of a break and it could have been better, but this didn’t work so well.

Post match PCO is here so Bully puts him through a table…to no avail, sending Bully running.

Eddie Edwards is mad at Frankie Kazarian for hitting Eddie’s wife Alisha with a kendo stick last week. Frankie comes in to say it was an accident and a match seems to be made for next week, amid the pull apart that is.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Tag Team Titles #1 Contenders Tournament Finals: Sami Callihan/Rich Swann vs. Rascalz

The Rascalz are sent outside in a hurry to start and Callihan hits Miguel with a Death Valley Driver onto the apron. Thanks to the power of modern wrestling, Miguel is back up in less than ten seconds for Swann’s big running flip dive. The Rascalz poke them in the eyes and hit stereo middle rope moonsaults to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Callihan being knocked to the floor so Swann can get double teamed with some rapid fire kicks. A kick to the chest gives Miguel two but Swann gets over to Callihan for the hot tag. The pace picks up but it’s a Codebreaker into a neckbreaker into a running shooting star press for two on Callihan. The catapult is countered into a piledriver to drive Miguel into Wentz in a rather unique spot.

Swann comes back in to pick it back up, with an ax kick into a side slam getting two on Miguel. The catapult/middle rope double stomp works on Swann and a 619 connects in the corner. Callihan is back up for the save and all four are down. Some knees to the head rock Miguel but Wentz makes a save of his own. The referee is distracted so it’s spray paint to Callihan’s eyes. Swann is sent outside and it’s Hot Fire Flame to finish Callihan at 14:02.

Rating: B-. I get that it’s their thing and all that jazz, but I’m rather sick of the spray paint ending. It’s been done to death and the Rascalz aren’t even the only people using it in wrestling at the moment. That being said, it was a heck of a match as the tag division continues to roll. The Rascalz getting the titles from Subculture wouldn’t be a shock and I could go for Swann and Callihan getting an early shot if the title change takes place.

Overall Rating: B. This was one of their stronger shows in a bit, with good action throughout and some stuff being set up for Emergence. It’s nice to see things getting back on track after a few weeks that weren’t as good as they had been coming in. Impact can be a heck of a treat when it’s on and they certainly were this week, so well done all around.

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

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

AND

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 27, 2023
Location: St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re still in Windsor for the Slammiversary fallout and this time we have a big main event with Nick Aldis vs. Eric Young. Other than that, it seems that World Champion Alex Shelley has all kinds of people coming after him and that could open up quite a few doors for the future. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Trinity/Dani Luna vs. The Coven

King powers Trinity into the corner to start but Trinity grabs a running neckbreaker for two. Luna comes in and rolls her up for two more so it’s off to Wilde for a change. A running basement clothesline hits Wilde for two but a cheap shot from the apron lets the villains take over.

King’s forearm from the floor rocks Luna and a clothesline back inside does it again. Luna forearms her way out of trouble though and it’s back to Trinity for a bulldog into the corner. Everything breaks down and Luna and King fall to the floor, Trinity to grab a Bubba Bomb into a rollup for the pin on Wilde at 8:32.

Rating: C. Pretty basic match to start here and it seemed to be more a way to get Trinity in the ring than anything else. The Coven already seems to be falling down and I’m really not sure why. It isn’t like the Knockouts tag division has any depth so weakening one of the few good teams is quite the questionable choice.

Post match Deonna Purrazzo comes out to say she’s getting her rematch.

We look back at the end of last week’s show, with Lio Rush refusing to attack a downed Alex Shelley.

Rush asks Moose and Brian Myers why they’re aligned with Bully Ray, who comes in to yell at Rush for having too many questions. Rush needs to decide which side he’s on.

We look at Johnny Bravo returning to side with Dirty Dango.

Dango and Bravo aren’t worried about Santino Marella (though Dango might have dated his daughter). As for Bravo, he was trained by Villano VI in Mexico.

Johnny Swinger vs. Zicky Dice

Loser Leaves Town. The Fingerpoke puts Dice down for two but he small packages Swinger for two of his own. They exchange eye rakes and hair pulls until Dice gets two off a slam. Swinger teases walking out but Dice stops him and lets him get into the cart. The posing Dice gets clotheslined down though and a rollup with feet on the ropes gives Swinger the pin at 3:15.

Rating: C+. Oh like this was supposed to be anything serious. These two know how to do their stuff perfectly well and Swinger turning on Dice to get what he wants is exactly how this whole thing should have ended. Swinger is going to need a new goon and I’m not sure who that is going to be, but this was a lot of fun as the legendary team ends.

On Before The Impact, Yuya Uemura pinned Kenny King in a tag match.

Uemura wants the Digital Media Title, which Joe Hendry likes because he can get the title back. Santino Marella makes a triple threat title match.

Nick Aldis promises to beat Eric Young.

Gisele Shaw vs. Masha Slamovich

Jai Vidal, Savannah Evans and Killer Kelly are here too. They fight over arm control to start with Slamovich taking her to the mat. A clothesline gives Slamovich two but Shaw sends her crashing out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Shaw elbowing her down in the corner and hitting a double stomp for two.

The chinlock goes on but Slamovich slips out and fires off some shots to the face in the corner. A full nelson backbreaker into a spinning faceplant gives Shaw two but Slamovich kicks her in the face for two more. Everyone on the floor gets in a brawl though and the distraction lets Shaw hit a running knee for the pin at 10:25.

Rating: C+. Shaw needed the win here and beating one of the Knockouts Tag Team Champions should go a long way towards setting up a future title shot. The new champs need new challengers and Shaw/likely Evans would be a nice fit. The first match went well enough though and I could go for more from the teams.

Video on Jake Something.

Impact is going to the UK for three shows in October. Good for them for getting to expand like that.

Traci Brooks wants Alisha Edwards in the ring for five minutes but Frankie Kazarian tries to talk her out of it.

Moose/Brian Myers vs. Time Splitters

For you non-old school fans, that would be Kushida/Alex Shelley. Kushida ducks Moose’s chop in the corner and forearms away. The leglock keeps Moose slowed down but he powers out of an armbar. Myers comes in and the Splitters take turns working on the arm, with Kushida smashing it into the mat. Everything breaks down and Moose drops Shelley on the floor as we take a break. Back with Myers grabbing a chinlock on Shelley but Shelley reverses into a cradle….for the pin at 8:24.

Rating: C+. That’s the most out of nowhere finish I’ve seen in years and I kind of love it. At the very least, it shows the fans that there is a chance for a match to end at any given time. That’s kind of the point of wrestling and you don’t see it often enough so points for throwing a bit of a bone in there. Not everything has to be some huge finishing sequence with signature moves. Nice job here, just for a quick ending.

Post match Bully Ray comes in for the beatdown, with Josh Alexander making the save. Lio Rush comes in to uneven things again but Chris Sabin makes the real save.

Flashback Moment Of The Week: Eric Young b. Nick Aldis to win the World Title in 2014, which was NOT a ripoff of Daniel Bryan, the bearded popular star, doing the same thing earlier in the week.

Heath laid out Alan Angels on Before The Impact.

Alan Angels says Heath thinks he is a rock star but Angels IS a rock star.

The Rascalz are coming for the Bullet Club and then the Tag Team Titles. They run into Mike Bailey, who thinks they shouldn’t act like idiots.

Zachary Wentz vs. Mike Bailey

Trey Miguel is here with Wentz. Bailey strikes him down to start and we hit the early headlock. Wentz slides outside and cuts off a dive to take over. Back in and Bailey slips out of a suplex and elbows him down. The standing shooting star press gets two and a kick to the head gives bailey two more.

There’s the springboard moonsault to the floor but Wentz is right back with a backbreaker onto the apron to cut Bailey off fast. Back in and Bailey kicks away again but Miguel pulls Wentz away from the tornado kick. Miguel gets ejected, with the distraction letting Wentz spray paint Bailey’s eyes. A headlock driver finishes Bailey at 6:15.

Rating: B-. The action was good here and it’s always nice to see bad things happen to Bailey. The important thing here though is that the Rascalz are getting a nice push after reuniting. They were a big deal before the team originally split and now we get to see what they can do in a different format here.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Eric Young vs. Nick Aldis

They fight over arm control to start, with Young armdragging him into an armbar. Neither can throw the other outside so Young tries the piledriver, sending Aldis outside and us to a break. Back with Aldis taking over on the floor, including an elbow to the face for two. Aldis pumphandle suplexes him for two and we hit the chinlock.

Young fights up and hits some shots to the face, setting up a belly to belly suplex for two. Aldis is fine enough to crotch him on top and grab a superplex for a near fall of his own. A Michinoku driver gives Aldis two more and we hit the King’s Lynn cloverleaf. The rope is reached and Young grabs the piledriver for the pin at 12:38.

Rating: C+. That feels like a way to write Aldis off TV, as he lost completely clean in a fairly prominent match. Aldis was doing his normal stuff here, meaning it was only so interesting. On the other hand you have Young, who is almost a folk hero around here and having him get a win like this is going to get a nice reaction.

Post match Deaner and Kon run in to beat Young down. Deaner hits his DDT and sits on Young’s chest to end the show. I know there was the whole murder thing, but is that really important enough to make this story worthwhile again?

Overall Rating: B-. This show was more like the ones Impact has been doing in recent months and that is a good thing. They set up some stuff for Resurgence next month and now we should be in for some more positive stuff going forward. For now though, I’ll take a nice enough show which set things up and closed a few things off at the same time. Nice job.

Results
Trinity/Dani Luna b. The Coven – Rollup to Luna
Johnny Swinger b. Zicky Dice – Rollup with feet o the ropes
Gisele Shaw b. Masha Slamovich – Running knee
Time Splitters b. Moose/Brian Myers – Cradle to Myers
Zachary Wentz b. Mike Bailey – Headlock driver
Eric Young b. Nick Aldis – Piledriver

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

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

AND

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

Slammiversary 2023
Date: July 15, 2023
Location: St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

Impact is back to pay per view and the show is looking rather good on paper. The main event will feature Alex Shelley defending the World Title against Nick Aldis in what could be a heck of a match. Other than that, we may be in for a major surprise return as Scott D’Amore needs a tag partner and put in a phone call last week to close Impact. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Gisele Shaw/Jai Vidal/Savannah Evans vs. Jody Threat/Death Dollz

Jessicka and Evans go with the power lockup to start, with Jessicka shoving her around. Vidal comes in and gets hit in the head, followed by Shaw getting rammed into the buckle over and over. It’s off to Rush, who gets cheap shotted so the villains can take over. Vidal lays her over the middle rope for a running shot to the ribs but Rush reverse DDTs Evans. The hot tag brings in Threat to clean house, including a running knee to Shaw in the ropes. Vidal gets suplexed and Rush hits a spear for the pin at 5:34.

Rating: C. This was very quick and to the point, which didn’t leave them much time to get going. There is only so much that can be done with six people in less than six minutes, but they managed a short form story. Rush getting the win over a glorified lackey in Vidal makes sense and should start the night out on the right foot.

Pre-Show: Digital Media Title: Joe Hendry vs. Kenny King

King, with Sheldon Jean, is challenging. Before the match, Hendry says Stripper Kenny wants to strip him of the title, but that isn’t going to happen because the people believe. King charges to start and gets caught in a delayed vertical suplex. With King on the floor, Jean slips Hendry a Chippendale’s tie for some choking.

King gets two off a suplex of his own before grabbing a guillotine. Hendry powers up and does some hip gyrating while still managing a backdrop at the same time. The Standing Ovation connects but Jean puts the foot on the rope. King misses a dive onto Jean but he grabs a rollup (with Jean holding the feet) for the pin and the title at 6:09.

Rating: C-. What a weird match. It’s not just the result (Hendry losing here is beyond questionable and almost into the world of idiocy) but they rushed through everything and the ending game out of absolutely nowhere. The stripping deal was hardly an interesting story and I really wasn’t feeling a lot of this one.

The opening video talks about legacies and dreams with everyone having their own path. We get some clips of the stars on tonight’s show, complete with some classic audio, with most of the Steiner Math promo. I get what they’re going for, but that’s not exactly the most serious promo for something that should be pretty important.

Kushida vs. Alan Angels vs. Jake Something vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. Kevin Knight vs. Mike Bailey

Ultimate X for a future X-Division Title match. Something is a surprise and runs some people over to start but Knight climbs onto Something’s shoulders in a failed attempt. Instead Something powerbombs Knight onto the pile at ringside before running over Gresham and Bailey.

A quadruple dropkick staggers Something until Gresham and Bailey get to clean house. Hold on though as the team isn’t sure who gets to go after the X, so Angels super Spanish Flys both of them down. Angels gets dropkicked down onto a pile on the floor but Bailey climbs onto the structure and hits a gigantic moonsault onto everyone else.

Something starts getting back up so it’s a bunch of chair shots to put him back down. Back in and Angels goes for the X but drops down to poisonrana Knight instead. Gresham gets low blowed by Angels, who climbs up just like Kushida. Angels is knocked down though and Kushida gets the win at 11:13.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t one of the better Ultimate X matches as it was more about stopping Something, who didn’t really go for the win anyway. Kushida getting the win is fine as more Kushida is always a good thing, but these matches are all about the stunts and the drama, with the latter not really being around this time.

Former Team Canada member A1 is here.

We run down the card as the structure is taken down.

Kenny King brags about winning the Digital Media Title and says this is the only title that matters.

We recap the Knockouts Tag Team Title match. The Coven, the champions, attacked Killer Kelly so Masha Slamovich, her former rival. Kelly and Masha are being presented as a certain kind of team without anything ever being flat out said.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: The Coven vs. Masha Slamovich/Killer Kelly

The Coven is defending. Kelly shoves Wilde around to start and invites her to start fighting. Everything breaks down quickly, with the champs in early trouble. Slamovich comes in and gets Russian legsweeped for two, allowing King to come in and toss her into the corner. Slamovich gets in a double stomp and hands it back to Kelly, who is sent throat first into the middle rope.

King misses a middle rope backsplash though and it’s Slamovich coming back in to clean house. Wilde grabs a Codebreaker into King’s German suplex to slow Slamovich down but she misses the running knees. Everything breaks down again and Wilde’s Witch’s Wrath (swinging fisherman’s neckbreaker) gets two as King and Kelly fight outside. That leaves Slamovich to hit the Snowplow to finish Wilde for the pin and the titles at 9:02.

Rating: C+. This got better near the end and while there still isn’t much of a division to be seen, it is nice to see a pair of actual teams for a change. The Coven has been quite the addition to the division and Kelly and Slamovich could do well too. It helps that they feel like teams rather than two women being thrown together, so this felt like an important title match. If nothing else, Slamovich finally winning something is nice to see, as she felt like the next big thing in the regular Knockouts division.

We recap Bully Ray/Deaner vs. Scott D’Amore/???, which is much more about Ray vs. D’Amore. Ray hates how D’Amore runs the company so D’Amore is finally standing up for himself. Deaner is replacing Steve Maclin and D’Amore’s original partner PCO was set on fire, so it’s mystery partner time.

Bully Ray/Deaner vs. Scott D’Amore/???

Big Kon is here with the villains and former NHL enforcer Darren McCarty, who doesn’t like Ray either, is guest enforcer. We get the old Team Canada theme and…..Eric Young is back as the mystery partner, despite dying in December. Young and Deaner (the guy who MURDERED him last year) start things off as we get the explanation of “eh, looks like Young is back”.

Ray comes in and gets his arm cranked before it’s off to D’Amore, who has Ray backing up. It’s off to Deaner, who gets leg lariated down and legdropped for two, setting up a reverse 3D for two. A Sky High gives D’Amore two but Kon and McCarty have a staredown, allowing Deaner to take over on D’Amore. Now Ray is willing to come in on beat on D’Amore, meaning it’s time for the crowd to sing O CANADA in a great touch.

Ray yells at the referee….who walks out on the match, meaning McCarty is now the full on referee. Some left hands to the jaw wake D’Amore up enough to spear Ray down, allowing the tag off to Young. The piledriver hits Deaner but Kon pulls McCarty outside. A1 (still in the crowd) takes out Kon, leaving McCarty to Stun Ray. A three man What’s Up means the good guys can get the tables and Ray is chokeslammed through. D’Amore Canadian Destroys Deaner, setting up Young’s top rope elbow for the pin at 11:49.

Rating: C+. This was a goofy match and that’s what it needed to be. There were multiple changes to the match and while Ray got beaten up, it felt like it let the door open for a D’Amore vs. Ray showdown later on. For now though, it was nice to have Young back, as at least he gets to be around here rather than waiting and waiting and waiting for his WWE return.

Nick Aldis is ready to beat Alex Shelley because he is a closer, and he’s ready to close Shelley’s book.

We recap Lio Rush challenging Chris Sabin for the X-Division Title. Sabin won the title for the ninth time last month and now Rush is here to get it for the first time.

X-Division Title: Lio Rush vs. Chris Sabin

Sabin is defending….and gets jumped on the floor before the bell. The medical staff comes out to say Sabin can’t go but Sabin says he’ll do it anyway. The bell rings and Rush knocks him down again, setting up a spinning kick to the head. Rush hits the Final Hour for two, followed by a second for the pin and the title at 1:18. I’m going to assume Sabin is injured or something, as this is a very odd way to go otherwise.

In the back, Alex Shelley has nothing to say about what just happened.

Tag Team Titles: Subculture vs. Rich Swann/Sami Callihan vs. Bullet Club vs. Moose/Brian Myers

The Club (Chris Bey/Ace Austin) is defending, Subculture (Mark Andrews/Flash Morgan Webster) has Dani Luna in their corner and it’s one fall to a finish. Bey and Andrews start things off by trading some flips until Austin comes in for a headscissors. Webster comes in for a pair of flipping dives and a near fall. A standing moonsault drops Austin so it’s off to Callihan to throw Swann at Austin.

Moose and Myers both come in but stereo powerbombs are broken up. The Club clears the ring but Bey’s running flip dive is countered into an apron powerbomb from Moose. Austin knees Moose in the face from the apron but Callihan shoves people onto the pile on the floor. We settle down to Webster striking away at Swann and Callihan until the latter grabs a Death Valley Driver.

Swann misses his middle rope 450 and the Club hits a springboard kick into a torture rack neckbreaker. Moose and Myers are both back in to clean house until Andrews kicks both of them away. The Stundog Millionaire hits Moose and Webster’s Shadows Over Malice (Swanton) gets two. We hit the parade of strikes to the face until Swann and Bey cutter Moose out of the air. The 1-2-Sweet is broken up and here are the Rascalz to go after the Club. Webster hits his standing Sliced Bread #2 on Austin, setting up Fall To Pieces (shooting star press) to give Andrews the pin and the titles at 10:35.

Rating: B-. A few weeks ago, Subculture’s match against the Motor City Machine Guns seemed to be enough to get them a job and that seems to be the case. If nothing else it got them the titles here in an entertaining match. Much like the Ultimate X match, there was only so much to be seen here with so many people flying around, but what we got was a lot of fun.

We recap Eddie Edwards vs. Frankie Kazarian. They’re both veterans and have split the first two matches, as Kazarian doesn’t seem to like Eddie’s lack of respect. This is the “here are two veterans who are going to have a good match” match and their wives are both here too.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Eddie Edwards

Kazarian has Traci Brooks and Edwards has Alisha Edwards. They start fast with Kazarian snapping off a hurricanrana into a headlock. Back up and Kazarian chops away but Alisha offers a distraction. Traci does it right back, allowing Kazarian to hit a Backstabber for two. Edwards drops Kazarian hard to the floor and a suplex gives Edwards two back inside.

Kazarian comes back with a release German suplex and Edwards is sent outside. The diving hurricanrana drops Edwards again but the women nearly get into it, allowing Eddie to hit a big dive. The fans are all over Eddie, complete with BOSTON SUCKS chants, so Kazarian makes the comeback with some shots to the face.

Kazarian drops a springboard spinning legdrop for two but Eddie is right back with the backpack Stunner for two. A nice looking top rope superplex drops Kazarian again and they’re both down. Both miss the others’ finisher so Kazarian sends him to the apron and slingshots him back into a cutter for two.

The referee gets bumped and a double clothesline leaves both of them down. Alisha tries to bring in the kendo stick so Traci takes her down. With the women out, Kazarian gets the chickenwing to make Eddie tap but there’s no referee. Kazarian goes to check on him and gets kendo sticked in the head. The Boston Knee Party finishes for Eddie at 17:43.

Rating: B. I’m not sure there is a way for these two to have an actually bad match, so giving them this much time on a big stage was a near guaranteed success. It might not have been some epic showdown, but it was a solid back and forth match between two talented stars. You can run a match like this anytime and it will work, as it did here.

We recap Trinity challenging Deonna Purrazzo for the Knockouts Title. Trinity has shown up and is ready to be the new star, but Purrazzo is saying not so fast.

Knockouts Title: Trinity vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Purrazzo is defending and has a live violinist play her to the ring. They trade armdrags to start before Trinity has to roll away from a Fujiwara armbar. The threat of the Rear View sends Purrazzo outside so Trinity takes her down with a slingshot flip dive. Back in and Purrazzo starts in on the arm and the cranking has Trinity in trouble. Trinity tries to go up top but gets pulled into a leg/neck crank to keep her down.

With that broken up, Trinity manages a kick to the face into a Samoan drop. A springboard kick to the face gives Trinity two but Purrazzo is back with a leg trap Tombstone for the same. The Queen’s Gambit is blocked so Purrazzo settles for the Fujiwara armbar. Trinity makes the rope and hits a slingshot X Factor. The split legged moonsault gets two but Purrazzo is right back with a Queen’s Gambit on the apron for two. Back up and Trinity quickly pulls her into Starstruck for the tap and the title at 14:26.

Rating: B-. I’m not sure what was missing here but it didn’t quite get to the next level. Trinity is crazy athletic and feels like a star but the match felt like a pretty firm downgrade from the usual great Knockouts stuff. She did win in a good match here and it makes sense to go with her early on, so well done here, even if it could have been better.

We recap Alex Shelley defending the World Title against Nick Aldis. Shelley finally won the title last month and Aldis doesn’t like the lack of respect since his return. Aldis turned on him, and now it’s time for a title showdown.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Nick Aldis vs. Alex Shelley

Shelley is defending and spits water in Aldis’ face to start fast. Aldis powerbombs him hard out of the corner and the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf is on in less than a minute. With that escaped, Aldis grabs some suplexes but Shelley dragon screws the leg. Aldis is knocked to the floor but cuts off the baseball slide by tying Shelley in the ring skirt.

Shelley gets posted and sent into the barricade but manages a Stunner over the ropes for a needed breather. It’s off to Aldis’ arm for a change, with Shelley wrapping it around the post to take over. Aldis’ fingers are bent into the turnbuckle but he rakes the eyes for a needed breather.

Shelley is right back to the bad arm but Aldis clotheslines him down. The top rope elbow is countered into a superplex, followed by a standing Sliced Bread to plant Aldis. Shelley snaps the fingers, which are good enough to piledrive Shelley for two. The top rope elbow gets the same so let’s bring in the title. With the referee taking it away, Aldis hits a low blow into a Michinoku Driver for two but Shelley kicks the belt away. A DDT onto the belt busts Aldis open and Shell Shock retains the title at 16:33.

Rating: B. It was another rather good match but I don’t know if it was going to draw in that much interest. Shelley winning the title was a very cool moment, but he doesn’t quite feel like the top star. The same is true for Aldis, who has made a career out of having the tools without making fans care all that much. The wrestling was fine and Shelley using Aldis’ cheating against him was good, but I never really got pulled into it.

We get a video on the match….and Josh Alexander is back to stare Shelley down to end the show. Well there’s Bound For Glory.

Overall Rating: B-. I’m not sure what it was but I couldn’t get into this show. The wrestling was fine to good, but nothing on here made me all that interested in what they were doing. The show had all kinds of title changes though and that should give them a lot of momentum going forward. They need something of a top story though and while Shelley vs. Alexander looks good on paper, I don’t know how well it will go in reality. Completely watchable show and you won’t feel like you’ve wasted your time, but not a great one.

Results
Jody Threat/Death Dollz b. Gisele Shaw/Jai Vidal/Savannah Evans – Spear to Vidal
Kenny King b. Joe Hendry – Assisted rollup
Kushida won Ultimate X
Masha Slamovich/Killer Kelly b. The Coven – Snowplow to Wilde
Eric Young/Scott D’Amore b. Deaner/Bully Ray – Top rope elbow to Deaner
Lio Rush b. Chris Sabin – Final Hour
Subculture b. Moose/Brian Myers, Rich Swann/Sami Callihan and Bullet Club – Fall To Pieces to Austin
Eddie Edwards b. Frankie Kazarian – Boston Knee Party
Trinity b. Deonna Purrazzo – Starstruck
Alex Shelley b. Nick Aldis – Shell Shock

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 4, 2023
Location: Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

The road to under Siege continues and we should be in for a fun ride on the way there. With the main event already set up, there are still some spots that need to be filled in and some of those are likely to be covered this week. That should make for an interesting and important show so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

BREAKING NEWS: Trinity (formerly known as Naomi) has signed with Impact Wrestling and will be here with a live mic tonight.

Bhupinder Gujjar/Yuya Uemura vs. Brian Myers/Moose

Gujjar takes over on Myers to start and sends him into the corner. Uemura comes in to take Myers down and a knee drop gets two. It’s off to Moose, who gets knocked outside with Myers being sent into him. Gujjar and Uemura hit stereo dives to the floor to take them both down, followed by a middle rope bulldog to drop Moose back inside.

Moose powers him down and hands it back to Myers. The Roster Cut is countered into a belly to belly though and the double tag brings in Gujjar to plant Moose for two. The Gargoyle Spear misses but so does Moose’s spear. Gujjar hits a Sling Blade for two with Myers making the save. The spear gives Moose the pin on Gujjar at 6:47.

Rating: C+. Moose and Myers are actually turning into a nice heel team and I would not have bet on that being the case. Neither of them have much else to do so putting them together is a fine enough way to go. Gujjar continues to feel like a star in the making and Uemura is as solid of an up and coming hand as they have around here. Nice opener and better than I was expecting.

Steve Maclin/Champagne Singh/Shera are ready for whomever is dumb enough to team with PCO. Singh gives the interviewer money as she leaves (she seems surprised).

Dirty Dango is trying to figure out who attacked Santino Marella (he has a chart with strings attacking pictures, including who looks to be Tony Chimmel, Vladimir Kozlov and Tyler Breeze among several others). Dango summons Joe Hendry, who has a magnifying glass and asks about the hair Dango found at the crime scene last week. Worry not because Dango lost it (the 16 energy drinks in 36 hours might have caused the problem). Dango has a prim suspect though: Mike Tenay. Hendry thinks it might have been Trey Miguel, who doesn’t like Santino. A hug ensues.

Sami Callihan vs. Deaner

The rest of the Design is here with Deaner, who says Sami made a huge mistake by hitting him in the face with the baseball bat (which Sami has here). The fans think Deaner deserved it, which he says is giving Sami a false sense of hope. We’ll change things up instead.

Sami Callihan vs. Kon

The chokeslam plants Callihan and Angels stomps away behind the referee’s back until we get the opening bell. Sami quickly fights back and sends Kon the floor, where Kon trips him down to take back over. Kon runs him over and we take a break. Back with Kon dropping a knee for two and grabbing a bearhug. Callihan fights out and takes over but has to take out Angels. Deaner gets up on the apron with the baseball bat and gives Callihan the thumbs down, allowing the army of violence (the guys in yellow hoodies) to jump Callihan for the DQ at 10:21.

Rating: C-. Yeah I knew this feud wasn’t going to be over yet because I’m not that lucky. I still have no idea what is seen in either the Design of this feud in general but it has been going on for months now with no real end in sight. I’m sure Sami will have to go through all of them one by one before getting to face Deaner in what will be the most thrilling fight ever. Just get away from this stuff already and move on entirely.

Post match Deaner stares at Sami, who calls him a b****. The baseball bat to the face knocks Sami out.

Trey Miguel isn’t happy with being accused of attacking Santino Marella and thinks Dirty Dango had something to do with it. Joe Hendry wants to check Trey’s hair but finds nothing, leaving a confused Miguel to talk away.

Nick Aldis wants the World Title and he’s willing to work to get there. He doesn’t just get handed a title shot around here because the title is more valuable than that. Kenny King comes in to ask if Aldis is on the fast track or the easy train. Aldis thinks King is acting like a gatekeeper so Aldis will knock on that gate on his way to proving a point. King says he isn’t Scott D’Amore but seems interested.

Alisha Edwards vs. Jody Threat

Threat hits her in the face to start and hits some corner clotheslines. Threat misses a charge into the ropes but is right back with a German suplex. The F416 finishes Edwards at 2:56. That’s quite the defeat for someone who was being pushed a bit with Eddie Edwards.

The Motor City Machine Guns are excited that Chris Sabin will be getting an X-Division Title shot at Under Siege. They’ll always be a team but they can be successful on their own as well. Sabin is cool with getting a title shot at Under Siege (Sabin: “Which must be named after my second favorite Steven Segal movie.” Shelly: “What’s your first?” Sabin: “Under Siege II.” Shelley has to cover his face off that one.). With Sabin going after the X-Division Title, Shelly is going to go win the World Title.

We get the second part in the series of sitdown interviews with Frankie Kazarian, who talks about what he did when he left Impact in 2014. He went to Ring Of Honor and had to prove himself again, which was fine with him. Then he went to what would become AEW, but after having some success there as a team, it was time to prove himself back where he started, but on his own. He bet on himself and his future is here. These have been good and this worked too.

Steve Maclin/Champagne Singh/Shera vs. PCO/???/???

PCO is ready to go it alone but here are Heath and Rhino to say they’ll be the partners. Singh tags himself in to save Maclin from having to face PCO, earning a stomping in the corner. Rhino comes in and actually gets punched into the corner, only to chop his way to freedom. It’s off to Heath, who gets sent into the corner by Shera to take over.

Maclin comes in to stomp away but walks into a powerslam. That’s enough for a double tag to bring in PCO to beat up Singh, including a running flip dive through the ropes. Everything breaks down and Rhino Gores Maclin, leaving Heath to Wake Up Call Singh. The PCOsault finishes at 6:57.

Rating: C+. Nice match here and Singh played his role of designated loser rather well. Heath and Rhino are a good choice to put in here as the fans like them and they work well together as a team. Stringing out Maclin vs. PCO is a good idea, as Maclin can be scared of him until the title match and then escape with a win. This was a perfectly fine use of about ten minutes and that’s always nice to see.

The Coven is using magic on Deonna Purrazzo and Jordynne Grace.

The Death Dollz summon James Mitchell, who says the Coven isn’t powerful enough to block their access to the Undead Realm. He’ll fix it but won’t say what it costs. Rosemary, cleaver in hand, gives Jessicka an hourglass, saying they’ll be back before the sand runs out.

Jonathan Gresham vs. Mike Bailey

They shake hands to start but there seems to be some tension. Both catch the other’s kick before Gresham grabs a headscissors on the mat to take over. That’s broken up and they grapple against the ropes as we take a break. Back with Gresham kicking him in the face before snapping off an armdrag on what seems to be a banged up arm.

They go to a test of strength with Gresham getting him to the mat and cranking away on the hands. Bailey’s legs are fine enough to kick away but misses the big one to the head. Bailey goes for the arm as well before hitting the moonsault knees. The rapid fire kicks to the chest rock Gresham to send him outside, setting up the moonsault to the floor.

We take another break and come back again with Bailey kneeing him down for two. Gresham starts back in on the arm but gets kicked in the face for his efforts. They trade forearms until Bailey scores with the tornado kick. The Ultimate Weapon misses and Gresham slaps on the Octopus for the tap at 13:24.

Rating: B. Commentary kept hyping up how good these matches have been and yeah they’re not wrong. There is a chemistry that works here and it is amazing how much better a Bailey match can be when he doesn’t spend half of it not selling a leg injury. Gresham taking him down and getting him into the Octopus for the win worked, though I could go with not seeing these two together again for a bit.

Rich Swann comes up to Sami Callihan in the back, which doesn’t have Sami happy. Sami gets to the point: is Swann going to help him or not?

Steve Maclin complains to Scott D’Amore about Rhino, so he can defend the title against Rhino next week.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Here is Trinity (formerly Naomi, not the Trinity from the old TNA days) for a debut chat and the fans seem happy to see her. She’s glad to be back and is happy to be in Impact, where she can glow. The reason she chose Impact is the most storied women’s division in wrestling and she wants a piece of it. She’s hear to make an impact and wants the Knockouts Title.

Cue Deonna Purrazzo, who says Trinity invoked her. She knows what it is like to be in a new place, so if Trinity wants a title shot, it isn’t something she can just walk out on. Trinity says facing her will make Purrazzo wish she got fired. Cue Jordynne Grace to say everyone wants to see the two of them fight, but she has the next title shot. Grace and Purrazzo argue but Trinity says she’s waiting on the winner. Trinity leaves them to stare each other down to end the show.

It was a good way to debut, but they treated Trinity like this huge arrival and….she’s just not that big of a star. She’s certainly a name, but this isn’t Becky Lynch showing up. That is one of the good signs for the Knockouts division: it has the depth and history that this isn’t the single most important moment that has ever happened. It’s still a cool moment though, if nothing else because of how she left WWE.

Overall Rating: B-. Another solid show here as they did their thing and started boosting up Under Siege. I’m curious to see where a lot of these stories are going and that makes for a good sign, as things are interesting enough that I want to keep watching. Considering Under Siege is a lower level show, Impact seems to be on something of a roll and the Trinity debut should be a nice boost that will get some extra attention. Good show this week, which is a long running trend.

Results
Moose/Brian Myers b. Bhupinder Gujjar/Yuya Uemura – Spear to Gujjar
Sami Callihan b. Kon via DQ when the Army of Violence interfered
Jody Threat b. Alisha Edwards – F416
PCO/Heath/Rhino b. Steve Maclin/Champagne Singh/Shera – PCOsault to Singh
Jonathan Gresham b. Mike Bailey – Octopus

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: February 23, 2023
Location: Osceola Heritage Park, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s the go home show for No Surrender and the card is set up. There is one thing though that we need to cover, which involves who gets to talk first in a live edition of Busted Open Radio. Therefore, we have a Beat The Clock Challenge between Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Motor City Machine Guns vs. Jonathan Gresham/Mike Bailey

Non-title and Gresham takes Shelley down by the leg to start. Bailey comes in and kicks away at said leg, with Gresham and Bailey taking turns on it. Shelley manages to knock Bailey outside though and it’s the Guns taking over for a change. Back in and the limping Shelley strikes away at Bailey, who comes right back with the bouncing kicks to Sabin.

Gresham and Sabin slug it out until Gresham does one of those stupid looking deals where he sends the Guns together and kicks Sabin, making him dragon screw legwhip Shelley. The Guns are back up with a Death Valley Driver/neckbreaker combination, followed by a Magic Killer for two on Gresham. Gresham suplexes Sabin and brings Bailey back in for the kicks, plus an Indian Deathlock to Shelley.

With that broken up, Shelley escapes Skull And Bones, leaving Gresham to Figure Four Shelley. That’s broken up as well and the Guns are sent outside for the double dive. Back in and Gresham gets the Figure Four again, with Bailey hitting the moonsault knees to Sabin. Bailey gets knocked down though and Sabin powerbombs him onto Gresham for the save. Gresham hits Bailey by mistake and the Guns strike away (gee Shelley’s knee healed up fast), setting up the Dirt Bomb for the pin on Gresham at 12:56.

Rating: B. This was the fast paced and all action match, though Bailey’s horrendous selling issues were spreading around here. The Guns did their thing and won as they should have, with Gresham and Bailey continuing to have their issues. It was the kind of fast paced match that you should open a show with, but my goodness sell the leg already.

Video on Rich Swann vs. Josh Alexander, with Swann wanting to get back to the top of the mountain. Alexander isn’t so sure, but does want Swann to get a title shot.

We look at Gisele Shaw and Jai Vidal getting chilied by Deonna Purrazzo on Before The Impact.

Deonna Purrazzo mocks Gisele Shaw for being bad luck and promises to break her arm at No Surrender. B****.

Beat The Clock Challenge: Tommy Dreamer vs. Jason Hotch

John Skyler is here with Hotch and promises that Dreamer is going down to one good hand. Dreamer misses a charge into the corner to start and a neckbreaker gives Hotch two. Hotch goes up top but gets caught in a super Death Valley Driver for the pin at 1:15. Well that was quick.

Joe Hendry had a meet and greet earlier today and the fans are behind him against Moose at No Surrender.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Allysin Kay

Jessika, Rosemary and Marti Belle are here too. They fight into the corner to start with Valkyrie getting the better of things and grabbing something like a reverse Koji Clutch on the mat. With that broken up, Valkyrie hits a spear for two as Kay can’t get much going so far. Kay gets kicked down in the corner to set up the running knees for two.

We take a break and come back with Kay whipping Valkyrie into the corner for a change, only to miss a charge. Valkyrie hits her hip attack, earning herself one heck of a right hand. A not so great blue Thunder Bomb gives Valkyrie two and we hit something like an STF. The rope gets Kay out of trouble and she reverses a sunset flip into a sunset driver for two. Belle offers a distraction so Kay can nail a kick to the head. With Rosemary dealing with Belle, the AK47 finishes Valkyrie at 10:34.

Rating: C. It’s good to give Kay, who is already a former Knockouts Champion, a reheating as she hasn’t been around in a long time. You need to have her built back up to make the Hex a reasonable threat to the Death Dollz and they made that work here. Valkyrie was working here and dominated most of the match too, making Kay look better in the process.

Santino Marella emcees a contract signing between Josh Alexander and Rich Swann. Alexander says Swann doesn’t have it in him, sending Swann into a speech about how he was hurt before but came back through all of his injuries. He’ll win the title tomorrow, but here is Steve Maclin to say he’s getting it anyway. Referees break up the ensuing fight.

Deaner/Callihan vs. Yuya Uemura/Frankie Kazarian

The rest of the Design is here too. Deaner has Callihan start with Kazarian and tells him to do the right thing. Callihan decks Kazarian to start so now Deaner is willing to fight for himself. Kazarian strikes his way out of trouble and brings Uemura in for an armbar. Callihan comes back in and Deaner gets in a cheap shot from the apron to take over. With the chinlock broken up, Kon pulls Kazarian off the apron to prevent the tag but Deaner misses a Swan Dive.

That’s enough for the tag to Kazarian as the pace picks way up. The springboard spinning legdrop hits Deaner but Callihan is back in with a suplex. Kazarian rolls between them and brings Uemura back in as everything breaks down. With Deaner down in the corner, Callihan tags himself back in and sends Uemura outside. A spinebuster drops Kazarian but Deaner tells Callihan to stop the Cactus Driver. The distraction lets Kazarian grab the chickenwing for the win at 9:43.

Rating: C+. Fast paced match here but egads the Callihan/Design stuff is falling flat. It feels like something we have seen so many times and there is no reason to care about whatever they do. Callihan still feels like something of a star, but the Design is as much of a dollar store version of the evil cult as you can get. Just get on with Callihan turning on them and move on already.

Video on Mickie James defending against Masha Slamovich at No Surrender, with Jordynne Grace looming over the whole thing.

Callihan wants to know how that was Deaner’s step #5, with Deaner saying it was about loyalty. Callihan is still in this, and tomorrow night, he can prove himself at No Surrender. Just remember: the Design chooses him, not the other way around.

Beat The Clock Challenge: Bully Ray vs. Bhupinder Gujjar

The clock is set at 1:15 and Ray hasn’t even bothered to put his knee pads on properly. The Good Hands immediately come in for a distraction so Ray can hit Gujjar with a chain for the pin at 30 seconds to win the challenge. I’ll take something short from Ray and Dreamer as this sets up the two of them talking at No Surrender.

Post break Tommy Dreamer gives Gujjar a pep talk.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

X-Division Title: Trey Miguel vs. Crazzy Steve

Steve, with Black Taurus, is challenging in Monster’s Ball and they’ve both been held without food, water or light for twenty four hours. There are weapons at ringside because we need to ramp up the violence. Steve chops away to start and takes him to the floor for the hard right hands.

We take a break less than a minute in (as that has now swept through wrestling) and come back with Steve being sent face first into some chairs on the floor. A big chair shot only hits post though and Steve sends him into the chairs instead. Back in and Miguel hits a fast running dropkick to take over again, meaning it’s time for a chain. More weapons are thrown in but Steve staple guns Miguel low for a breather. Steve Cannonballs into Miguel, in a trashcan, in the corner as we take another break.

Back again with Miguel grabbing a swinging neckbreaker for a breather of his own. A fork (yes a fork) to Steve’s face is blocked but Steve is busted open anyway. It’s time for the bag of tacks (of course) but Steve blocks the Lightning Spiral. The Black Hole Slam onto the tacks gets two on Miguel, with Steve pulling him up at two. That takes too long though and Miguel kicks away, setting up a stomp to the back to send Steve into the tacks.

It’s table time (because of course) but instead a double clothesline puts them both into the tacks again. With nothing else working, Miguel pulls out a metal spike, only for Steve to pull out Janice (a 2×4 with nails sticking out). With Miguel terrified, Steve Death Valley Drivers him through the table in the corner for two.

Steve gets caught on top though and a chair to the head puts him in more trouble. A quick Canadian Destroyer onto the tacks rocks Miguel again though and a delayed cover gets two. Janice to the forehead busts Miguel open even more but he gets in a low blow. A Roll of the Dice through a barbed wire table (with Miguel hitting back first) knocks Steve silly and retains the title at 22:31.

Rating: B. Your taste in hardcore/violent wrestling is going to determine everything here. There wasn’t much of anything new here but they did beat each other up and it felt like the big finish to the feud. Miguel gets to prove he can go in a different direction and looks stronger as champion as a result. The ending left a good bit to be desired, but they had a very violent match on the way there.

Overall Rating: B. The middle left a good bit to be desired, but with a pair of solid matches, Dreamer vs. Ray being kept under two minutes combined and a nice push towards No Surrender, this was another very nice use of two hours. I don’t even know why I’m surprised anymore, but Impact is rapidly approaching being the best weekly wrestling show. They have put in the work and made their show that much better, so well done on all sides with another quality show this week.

Results
Motor City Machine Guns b. Jonathan Gresham/Mike Bailey – Dirt Bomb to Gresham
Tommy Dreamer b. Jason Hotch – Super Death Valley Driver
Allysin Kay b. Taya Valkyrie – AK47
Frankie Kazarian/Yuya Uemura b. Callihan/Deaner – Chickenwing to Callihan
Bully Ray b. Bhupinder Gujjar – Right hand with a chain
Trey Miguel b. Crazy Steve – Roll of the Dice through a barbed wire table

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

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AND

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Impact Wrestling
Date: February 16, 2023
Location: Osceola Heritage Park, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We are some amount of days away from No Surrender and that means it is time for some other qualifying match for the #1 contenders match. Other than that, hopefully we get more build towards Josh Alexander defending the World Title against Rich Swann. Also hopefully, we get less build towards the eventual Tommy Dreamer vs. Bully Ray showdown. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory Of Jerry Jarrett.

Opening recap.

Chris Bey vs. Kushida

Yeah this works and Ace Austin/the Motor City Machine Guns are the seconds. Kushida takes him down without much trouble to start with Bey having to bail to the ropes. Bey picks up the speed and sweeps out the leg before hitting a kick to the head. They head outside with Kushida getting sent into the apron, only to kick the arm out on the way back inside.

The arm is slammed into the mat and Kushida twists it around for a bonus. Bey heads outside and manages something like an apron 619. A double clothesline puts them both down and it’s a double dive back in at nine. Kushida goes after the arm again but Bey manages a torture rack neckbreaker for two.

A front flip double kick to the face sends Bey outside and the BIG flip dive drops him again. Back in and Kushida kicks at the bad arm but Bey gets in a quick knockdown. The Art of Finesse is broken up and Kushida gets a cross armbreaker, only to get reversed into a cradle for two. Kushida grabs an arm trap into a small package for the pin at 11:42.

Rating: B. Oh like this wasn’t going to be really good. Kushida can still go with anyone and Bey looked great even in defeat. It was the kind of back and forth match that you need every so often, with Kushida’s submission stuff against Bey’s athleticism and quickness. Heck of an opener here and every bit of what I was expecting.

Tommy Dreamer and Bully Ray have a sitdown with Santino Marella. The solution is a live Busted Open Radio segment at No Surrender with their fellow host Dave Lagreca moderating. They argue over gets to go first with Santino making a Beat The Clock Challenge next week with the winner getting to go first. When they talk.

No Surrender #1 Contenders Qualifying Match: Rhino vs. Steve Maclin

Maclin elbows him in the face a few times but Rhino takes it to the corner for some chops. Rhino gets the better of the battle over a suplex but it’s too early for the Gore. They go outside with Rhino being sent shoulder first into the post as we take a break. Back with Maclin getting two off a clothesline and then choking on the ropes for a bonus. A bunch of stomps set up the chinlock, followed by Maclin missing a middle rope headbutt. Rhino’s belly to belly gets two and the spinebuster follows. The Gore is loaded up but Maclin spears him down for two, setting up Heath’s Wake Up Call to give Maclin the pin at 11:04.

Rating: C+. The ending was little more than a formality as Maclin gets to run over someone else on his way to the likely World Title shot at Rebellion. Rhino got in his usual stuff before falling, which is the only way this should have gone. Decent match too as Maclin continues to shine in pretty much whatever he does.

Masha Slamovich doesn’t think Mickie James is taking her seriously enough so she’ll prove herself tonight against Alisha.

Here is Johnny Swinger, with Zicky Dice saying he has found one opponent with a record worse than theirs.

Johnny Swinger vs. Barry Horowitz

Swinger goes after the leg to start but misses a charge. Horowitz hammers away and rakes the chest, meaning it’s time for a good old pat on the back. Cue the Demon of all people as Horowitz grabs an abdominal stretch into a rollup for the pin at 2:08. This story is hilarious.

Moose, with a baseball bat, promises revenge on Joe Hendry.

Post break Moose goes after Hendry’s car but finds out that it’s Santino Marella’s. As a result, Marella gives Moose…..a Digital Media Title shot in a Dot Combat match at No Surrender. This would be the latest “sure why not” booking around here.

No Surrender #1 Contenders Qualifying Match: Heath vs. Eddie Edwards

Edwards hits a shoulder to start but Heath sends him into the corner for a splash. With Edwards bailing to the floor, Heath hits the flip dive off the apron. Back in and Edwards hits his own dive, meaning it’s time to choke back inside. The reverse chinlock doesn’t last long as Heath is back up with a powerslam for two. A spinebuster gets the same but Edwards catches him up top. The superplex into the tiger driver gets two so Edwards loads up the Diehard Driver. Cue the thunder though and the distraction lets Heath hit the Wake Up Call for the pin at 7:32.

Rating: C. More serious Heath continues to be fine and it’s cool to put him in a #1 contenders match. He even has a reason to go after Maclin for using the Wake Up Call earlier this week. On the other hand you have Edwards and…well yeah PCO is going to actually kill him at some point so enjoy him while you can.

Post match PCO chases Eddie Edwards off.

Deaner says he and Sami Callihan are facing Yuya Uemura and Frankie Kazarian next week. It’s Sami’s fifth step out of seven.

James Mitchell and the Hex are ready to destroy the Death Dollz and win the Knockouts Tag Team Titles.

Masha Slamovich vs. Alisha

Mickie James is on commentary. Slamovich starts fast and runs Alisha over with the Snow Plow finishing at 1:34. Exactly what it should have been.

Post match Slamovich stays on Alisha so Mickie goes in, only to get choked out.

Crazzy Steve says Trey Miguel’s TM logo now means That Moment when Steve took over his mind. Steve wants a shot at the X-Division Title in Monster’s Ball.

Santino Marella makes Mike Bailey vs. Jonathan Gresham at No Surrender. Dirty Dango says that next week, the two of them can team up to face the Motor City Machine Guns. With the two of them gone, Barry Horowitz comes in and says he wants the same deal as Johnny Swinger: win fifty matches and get a World Title shot. That works for Santino, who gives Horowitz Rhino next week. Actually, Horowitz will just leave 1-0 instead.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Kenny King vs. Rich Swann

King punches him down to start but Swann manages a kick to the apron. That means the running flip dive to take King down again as things settle a bit. Swann’s splash is cut off though and King drops him face first onto the turnbuckle. King grabs a backbreaker for two but Swann manages a DDT to send us to a break.

Back with Swann hitting a rolling clothesline into a running kick to the head for two. King hits a spinebuster for two of his own, followed by a powerslam for the same. The poisonrana gets Swann out of trouble and they’re both down for a bit. Swann’s big kick to the head is countered into a half crab to make Swann scream a bit. With that broken up, they trade kicks to the head for two until Swann misses a 450. King grabs a tiger driver for two but the Royal Flush is countered into a small package to give Swann the pin at 14:30.

Rating: C+. Another completely acceptable and at times good match between two talented wrestlers. The ending wasn’t in real doubt as the #1 contender isn’t going to lose, but King can wrestle a fine match with just about anyone. Swann continues to build momentum to being the challenger of the month, but doing something notable with Josh Alexander sounds like a better idea.

Post match King stays on Swann and grabs a chair but Josh Alexander runs in for the save. Swann grabs the chair and swings at King but hits Alexander by mistake to end the show. That’s something for them at least as that match has felt almost forgotten so far.

Overall Rating: B-. This show did a nice job of building up No Surrender, as we FINALLY got something with the World Title match. Other than that, the rest of the show got a boost as well, including Bully Ray vs. Tommy Dreamer. That thing is getting dragged all the way to Rebellion so it could take some time to really do much. I liked this show, with the Horowitz stuff being a great surprise. Impact continues to roll with another good one and I’m having more fun with the show almost week after week.

Results
Kushida b. Chris Bey – Small package
Steve Maclin b. Rhino – Wake Up Call
Barry Horowitz b. Johnny Swinger – Abdominal stretch rollup
Heath b. Eddie Edwards – Wake Up Call
Masha Slamovich b. Alisha – Snow Plow
Rich Swann b. Kenny King – Small package

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

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

AND

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: December 8, 2022
Location: Old Paristown Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

The slow build towards Hard To Kill continues as we still have over a month to go before the show. That means a lot more Bully Ray, who dominated the first fourth of last week’s show and will probably be around again this week. Other than that, it might be nice to hear some more from the World Champion Josh Alexander, so let’s get to it.

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

We look at Deaner killing Eric Young off last week.

Deaner talks about how Violent By Design is a movement, not a group of people. Now it is time to take out Sami Callihan.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Motor City Machine Guns vs. Heath/Rhino

Heath/Rhino are defending. Rhino powers Sabin around to start but Sabin is up with a middle rope spinning crossbody for two. Heath comes in and gets his arm worked over but manages to send Shelley into the corner. Shelley charges into a raised boot in the corner, only to have Sabin twist Heath’s leg around the rope to take over. A dragon screw legwhip gives Sabin two and Shelley grabs the logical Figure Four.

Heath slaps his way out of trouble and gets to the rope, setting up a powerslam. Rhino and Sabin come in off the double tag to pick up the pace, with Rhino’s spinebuster getting two. Everything breaks down and Heath is sent outside, leaving Rhino to TKO Sabin for two more. Sabin takes out Heath’s knee again…and the Major Players come in for the double DQ at 8:30.

Rating: C+. This was starting to cook when the ending cut things off. The Players are a more interesting option right now and odds are this sets up a three way down the line. That isn’t the worst idea as the Players should have been Tag Team Champions a good while ago. Beating the popular champs and the Guns would be a nice way to get there, as this match showed what the other two can do on their own.

We look at Bully Ray going full villain on Josh Alexander and everyone else.

Alexander rants to Scott D’Amore and says he’s dealing with this his way tonight. With Alexander gone, Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice come in, with Swinger saying he wants a title shot. D’Amore says win fifty matches and it’s his. Swinger: “So you’re saying there’s a chance!”

Mickie James and Jordynne Grace have a tense but respectful photo shoot together.

Savannah Evans vs. Taya Valkyrie

Tasha Steelz and the rest of the Death Dollz are here too. Steelz powers her down to start as commentary makes Steiner Math references. Taya is knocked to the apron where she lands in the splits, only to be sent to the floor. We take a break and come back with Tay fighting out of a chinlock. A clothesline and Blue Thunder Bomb give Valkyrie two and it’s off to some weird double leglock. Taya switches into something like an STF but Evans grabs the hair to escape. A hard knee to the face rocks Evans, who is right back with a full nelson slam for the upset pin at 10:21.

Rating: C. Just when I had my “Evans never wins anything” loaded up, Evans goes and wins something. You do need to give her something like this every now and then, though it’s more than a little weird to see her beat someone as successful as Taya. Still though, interesting result that can do a lot more for Evans that it would have for Valkyrie.

Video on Ace Austin and Chris Bey in the New Japan Super Junior Tag League.

Moose attacks Bhupinder Gujjar as a message to Joe Hendry.

Delirious wants Eddie Edwards. The match is set for tonight.

Kon vs. Sami Callihan

The rest of Design (yes Design, minus the Violent By) is here with Kon. Callihan strikes away to start and pokes Kon in the eye to cut him off. Kon hits a hard shot in the corner and the stomping is on. A spinebuster lets Kon hammer away even more and we hit the nerve hold. Back up and Sami hits a running forearm for one but Kon pulls him outside. The chokeslam onto the apron rocks Sami again but he fights back anyway. The Design offers some distractions though and Kon hits a Death Valley Driver for the pin at 6:24.

Rating: C. This was ok, though calling it The Design and having a former member of the Ascension as part of the team in 2022 is a bit hard to grasp. Kon is an acceptable enough power guy but he isn’t likely to light the world on fire. Sami is going to need some help to fight these guys off and that probably doesn’t bode well.

Josh Alexander blows off Tommy Dreamer. He’s learning.

Trey Miguel spray painted his former pupil Jason Hodge on Before The Impact.

Miguel doesn’t find spray painting people, or the X-Division Title for that matter, disrespectful. Crazzy Steve comes in to say he paints with blood and Miguel seems to have a new challenger.

Here is Josh Alexander, in gear, for a chat. He wants to get out some of this aggression so it’s open challenge time, and he’ll even put the title on the line. So get out here Bully Ray, because he still has his Hard To Kill shot no matter what. Ray pops up on screen to make sure he understands everything. He’s busy right now though, as he is looking at photos of himself terrifying Josh Alexander and Alexander’s wife, so he’ll see Alexander at Hard To Kill. Instead here is Mike Bailey to say he’ll take the shot.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Mike Bailey vs. Josh Alexander

Alexander is defending and runs Bailey over with a shoulder to start. Back up and an exchange of shoulders goes nowhere so they run the ropes, with Bailey scoring off a kick to the chest. A knee to the ribs puts Bailey down as well but he’s right back with the bouncing kicks to send Alexander outside. There’s the big running flip dive to keep Bailey in control as we take a break.

Back with Alexander driving some knees into the back and cranking on both arms. Alexander gets two off a backbreaker but Bailey dropkicks his way out of trouble. The back is fine enough for the running corkscrew shooting star press for two on Alexander. Not that it seems to matter as Alexander is back up with some rolling German suplexes. The ankle lock is broken up in a hurry though and Bailey kicks the arm. An armbar stays on the arm and Alexander can’t get out, leaving Bailey to hit a poisonrana.

We take a break and come back with Alexander working on the back some more. The C4 Spike is countered into a hurricanrana for two and Bailey kicks him down. Bailey misses the Ultimate Weapon but Alexander still can’t hit the C4 Spike. They crash out to the floor and Bailey kicks him off the apron. The running moonsault to the floor drops Alexander again and they go back inside to slug it out. Both of them fall outside again and we take a break.

We come back again (over thirty minutes in now) with Bailey snapping the arm across the top rope. The Flamingo Driver is countered into a torture rack slam though and Alexander slaps on the ankle lock. With that broken up, Bailey gets his feet up in the corner, setting up the Ultimate Weapon. Bailey suddenly remembers that he is supposed to have a sore ankle though and they’re both down. Back to back kicks to the chest keep Alexander down and a third second sets up moonsault knees to the same chest. Bailey, WITH THE BAD KNEE, is fine enough to try the bouncing kicks, earning himself more rolling German suplexes.

We take another break and come back again with Alexander getting the ankle lock in the ropes. Since that doesn’t count, Alexander goes with the Angle Slam as we’re told that Eddie Edwards vs. Delirious will be moved to next week. Alexander misses a moonsault but is back up to catch Bailey with a super Angle Slam for another double knockdown. The ankle lock goes on again and Bailey can’t flip his way out. Alexander even gets a grapevine but Bailey manages to make the rope.

They both go up top as we have four minutes left in the hour time limit. Bailey knocks him off the top and hits the Ultimate Weapon for two more. Back up and Bailey kicks away, only to have the Flamingo Driver countered into a Styles Clash. The ankle lock goes on again, sending Bailey to the ropes again. We have a minute left and Alexander hits back to back C4 Spikes to retain at 59:50.

Rating: B+. Well that came out of nowhere. This was the long, epic style match that you do not see on television in any promotion save for once in a very long while. These guys beat each other up and if you ignore Bailey’s still absurd selling issues, it was pretty awesome. Alexander takes out another name and they even surprised me by not going to the time limit draw in the end. Bailey will probably be back, but for now this worked rather well as a big time surprise.

Overall Rating: B. This is a show where the main event was almost all that mattered as it took up nearly half of the show. They have a few weeks left before Hard To Kill and this was a way to burn a week off with a great main event without much in the way of major angle advancement. Good show here, even if it was just a one off change of pace.

Results
Heath/Rhino vs. Motor City Machine Guns went to a double DQ when the Major Players interfered
Savannah Evans b. Taya Valkyrie – Full nelson slam
Kon b. Sami Callihan – Death Valley Driver
Josh Alexander b. Mike Bailey – C4 Spike

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

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

AND

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: December 1, 2022
Location: Old Forester’s Paristown Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We are back to the regular show after last week’s Thanksgiving special. That means we need to start getting ready for whatever the December show will be, plus Hard To Kill. The latter of these shows will likely be headlined by Bully Ray challenging Josh Alexander for the World Title, but we need something else besides that. Let’s get to it.

The opening recap looks at Bully Ray teasing being good and then going all evil as he goes after the World Title.

Here is Bully Ray, complete with the broken Call Your Shot trophy to get things going. He isn’t sure if these Kentuckians will understand him (to be fair, they are in Louisville) so he tries to keep it simple. Ray shows up at Bound For Glory, ran the gauntlet, and earned the title shot. He told Josh Alexander that he was coming for him on January 13 and they shook hands, with Alexander accepting the match. The fans chant for Alexander, which has Ray saying he agrees with these morons.

As great of a wrestler as Alexander is, he isn’t as smart as Ray. Maybe people have forgotten who he is. He ran Hulk Hogan out of Impact, he made sure Sting couldn’t challenge for the World Title again and he put Dixie Carter through a table. So why would Alexander let his wife get that close to Ray? Alexander is going to be gone for a few weeks, but he better be at Hard To Kill so Ray can win the title for the third time. Cue Rich Swann to jump Ray and start their scheduled match fast. Ray’s speech made sense and he can always talk, but Bully Ray as Impact’s top villain in 2022 is still not exactly a great image.

Bully Ray vs. Rich Swann

We’re joined in progress and Ray runs Swann over to cut him off. Ray hammers away in the corner and elbows Swann in the head as the ring has a weird echo for some reason. A sitdown splash misses for Ray but he’s fine enough to crotch Swann on top. The neck crank is countered with a jawbreaker and the middle rope 450 gives Swann two. That’s enough for Ray, who grabs his chain and blasts Swann for the DQ at 5:43.

Rating: C. Well at least Ray didn’t pin him clean. This was about continuing Ray as the biggest villain in the company and he does it well enough. Swann didn’t get in much offense here, but he has fallen quite a long way from when he was World Champion. Keeping this short was a smart idea and it did what it needed to do.

Post match Ray beats on Swann with a chair and zip ties him to the bottom rope. Tommy Dreamer runs out for the save but Ray shoves him down. Cue Scott D’Amore to yell at Ray and hit him with his suit jacket. Ray grabs the chair again but gets chased off by the combined forces of….D’Amore and Dreamer. Hold on though as Ray grabs the mic and agrees with D’Amore than he’s a piece of s***. Ray: “But you’re the guy who hired me.”

That’s about ¼ of the show and it has been all about Bully Ray so far.

Trey Miguel doesn’t care that people are unhappy with him and he spray paints his logo on the X-Division Title.

Moose vs. Bhupinder Gujjar

Moose is sent into the corner to start and Gujjar strikes away, even managing to send Moose outside. That works fine with Moose, who blasts him with a clothesline as we take a break. Back with Gujjar winning a slugout but getting planted right back down. A ripcord knee and Sling Blade look to set up the Gargoyle Spear…but Moose just steps aside. The spear gives Moose the pin at 7:53.

Rating: C. Moose needed the win to get back on track after the loss to Ray at Overdrive and Gujjar has enough status to make this mean something. Gujjar still needs a win of his own as his biggest claim to fame so far is almost winning the Digital Media Title a few times. Another good enough match, even if it didn’t need a break in the middle.

Post match Moose throws Gujjar outside and then talks about knowing what Bully Ray really was. These idiot fans wouldn’t listen to him though and no, he didn’t lose at Overdrive. Moose: “I don’t want any of you to say his name.” Cue Joe Hendry but Moose says he was talking about Bully Ray (of course). Hendry heard “say his name” and that is the same as someone saying WE BELIEVE. Moose wants Hendry out but Hendry, from a current champion to a former one, knows a cry for help when he hears one. The fight is on but Gujjar is back with the Gargoyle Spear.

Mike Bailey isn’t worried about Kenny King and nothing is changing.

Video on Mickie James and the Last Rodeo, as she is ready for Deonna Purrazzo tonight. Purrazzo is ready to end James’ career.

Steve Maclin vs. Frankie Kazarian

Maclin wins an early slugout but Kazarian is back with a springboard elbow to the face. That doesn’t last long as Maclin knocks him out to the floor in a heap and a running knee to the back makes it worse. Kazarian slips out of an Angle Slam though and some running forearms have Maclin reeling.

The chickenwing is blocked so Kazarian settles for the springboard spinning legdrop for two instead. The slingshot Fameasser over the middle rope keeps Maclin in trouble and he slingshots himself into a cutter for two more. Then Maclin hits him with a chair for the DQ at 7:20 (second of three matches to end with a chair shot DQ tonight).

Rating: C+. These two could have had a better match with more time but at least we got something out of them. Kazarian is one of the good hands around here as he can work well with anyone while Maclin should be next in line for the World Title. He has been built up well and with one big push, a title reign is far from out of the question.

Post match Maclin wrecks Kazarian, including the KIA on a chair.

Tasha Steelz rants about the Death Dollz winning the Knockouts Tag Team Titles at Overdrive and seems to blame Savannah Evans. That doesn’t work for Evans, so Steelz says we can do Evans vs. Taya Valkyrie next week.

Eddie Edwards is done talking about his marriage or PCO or anything in the past. He did everything to build for the future….and then runs into Delirious of all people, who stares at him.

The Motor City Machine Guns ask Heath and Rhino about their Tag Team Title shot. Heath says they’ll get it set for next week, which works for the Guns. Rhino talks about tearing their hearts out to amp up the insanity a bit.

Here’s what’s coming on upcoming shows.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Mickie James

Feeling out process to start with Purrazzo taking her to the mat to start and working on an armbar. Back up and they trade armdrags into a pinfall reversal sequence. They both miss some kicks and it’s a standoff as we take a break. We come back with James taking her into the corner for some chops, followed by some rather hard rams into the turnbuckle.

That earns her a hard elbow to the face and more elbows to the chest give Purrazzo two. The chinlock goes on for a bit but Mickie is right back up with the hurricanrana out of the corner. A running kick to the chest gives James two but Purrazzo kicks her off the top as we take a break. Back with Purrazzo getting two off a brainbuster and grabbing the reverse chinlock.

That’s broken up and James sends her outside, setting up the Thesz press to the floor. A missile dropkick drops Purrazzo and a neckbreaker gives James two. The tornado DDT is blocked and Purrazzo’s pump kick gives her a near fall of her own. The Fujiwara armbar goes on but Mickie gets over to the rope fast enough. They trade rollups until James grabs the tights for the pin at 23:00.

Rating: B. This felt like a main event level match and while there wasn’t a ton of drama about James losing, it was a good journey throughout. The ending with the cheating from James is certainly interesting, as she might be getting more desperate to keep her career alive. I could watch these two wrestle multiple times and it would likely continue to be high quality stuff.

Post match Jordynne Grace comes out to praise James and issue the challenge for the title vs. career match at Hard To Kill. We’re on, and I wouldn’t be complaining about that headlining the show.

We go to the jail with Eric Young and Deaner looking at each other. Young says Deaner is in this thing to get rid of the sickness, which might be in this room. A knife is thrown on the table and they fight with Young narrating about the sickness. Young goes for the eye but Deaner busts him open and stabs him (with Young’s encouragement) to get rid of the sickness once and for all. The stable still isn’t very good but the lack of Young might help.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event bails this show out as it was only ok until then. Throw in Bully Ray dominating the first fourth of the show and Violent By Design getting the closing segment and this wasn’t the most thrilling stuff at the start and the finish. That being said, 20 minutes of Purrazzo vs. James works and it made the show a good watch.

Results
Rich Swann b. Bully Ray via DQ when Ray used a chain
Moose b. Bhupinder Gujjar – Spear
Frankie Kazarian b. Steve Maclin via DQ when Maclin used a chair
Mickie James b. Deonna Purrazzo – Rollup with tights

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

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AND

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Impact Wrestling
Date: August 11, 2022
Location: Old Paristown Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s the night before Emergence and that means it is time for the big final push towards the show. That could make for a good episode, as we might be seeing some Emergence build, plus some time for the people who don’t usually get the chance to shine. Oh and a contract signing, just because. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at last week’s wild street fight.

Opening sequence.

Karl Anderson vs. Kenny King

Anderson’s Never Openweight Title isn’t on the line and no one is at ringside. King snaps off some armdrags into an armbar to start, which lasts all of a few seconds. Back up and they both miss kicks to the head, giving us another standoff. A back elbow to the face drops King but he snaps the leg across the middle rope to take over.

The seated abdominal stretch has Anderson in trouble but he fights up and twists King’s knee for a change. A running backsplash hits King and the Rocket Kick gets two. King kicks the leg out again and grabs a leglock, sending Anderson straight to the ropes. Back up and Anderson grabs a Gun Stun out of nowhere for the pin at 7:54.

Rating: C+. These guys did well and Anderson getting the win should give him some momentum on the way to Emergence is a good idea. There is a chance that the knee injury will play into the big showdown tomorrow night so this very well could have been setting things up. Nice opener though, as the Club is always going to get a reaction.

Post match King chairs Anderson in the leg but Heath runs in with a Wake Up Call before Pillmanization can occur.

Here’s what’s coming tonight and tomorrow.

Video on Alex Shelley finally becoming #1 contender.

Deaner vs. Kushida

Joe Doering and Chris Sabin are here too. Kushida snaps off an armdrag to start but a second one misses, allowing Deaner to stomp away. Back up and Kushida handspring kicks Deaner out to the floor but it’s too early for the Hoverboard Lock. Doering offers a distraction though and Deaner gets in a cheap shot.

We take a break and come back with Deaner raking the eyes to cut off some chops. Kushida goes right back after the arm but a knee and clothesline take him down. Doering’s distraction is cut off by Sabin though, allowing Kushida to grab a hammerlock northern lights suplex for the pin at 9:49.

Rating: C. Not too bad here, as Kushida is going to be good for at least a decent match every time. It takes something special to get around the mess that is Violent By Design but Deaner tends to be the easiest to watch. Just drop the team already though, because this is awful and going nowhere.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Alex Shelley b. Chris Sabin at Genesis 2009 to win the X-Division Title.

Bhupinder Gujjar AGAIN challenges Brian Myers for the Digital Media Title and finally gets the shot at Emergence.

Eric Young yells at Violent By Design and promises to get rid of Chris Sabin and Kushida at Emergence.

Tiffany Nieves vs. Killer Kelly

Nieves slaps her in the face to start so Kelly hits a kick to the face to take over. A running basement dropkick in the corner sets up a choke (the Killer Clutch) to make Nieves tap at 1:23. They’re doing a nice job at rebuilding the Knockouts division.

Eddie Edwards gives Honor No More a pep talk before tomorrow.

Madison Rayne vs. Mia Yim

Rayne drives her into the corner to start until Yim grabs a hammerlock. That’s broken up with a faceplant but Yim is fine enough to grab a rollup for two. A chase around the ring goes badly for Yim as she gets posted, setting up some choking on the ropes. Rayne charges into a boot though and the Tarantula has her in trouble.

Another faceplant gives Rayne back to back near falls but a hurricanrana is countered into Yim’s sitout powerbomb. Some dropkicks send Rayne into the corner for the Cannonball but Rayne counters the package piledriver. A crucifix bomb gives Rayne two so Yim is back up with an enziguri. Eat Defeat finishes Rayne at 9:25.

Rating: C+. It’s almost weird seeing Rayne on national TV twice in a week but she was working well enough here. Rayne is someone who has become a legend in Impact just due to how long she has been around and the championships she has won and she is always good for a match like this. Yim is a threat to Jordynne Grace this week though and it makes sense for her to get the win here.

VXT is ready to win the Knockouts Tag Team Titles.

Jordynne Grace wants to make sure Mia Yim is ready for tomorrow but they get catty over their recent tag matches.

X-Division Title: Mike Bailey vs. Rocky Romero

Bailey is defending. They go with the rapid fire technical off to start and that’s a standoff. Neither can get anywhere off an armdrag or a dropkick so Romero dropkicks the knee out and rolls him up for tow. Back up and they trade kicks to the legs until Romero sends him outside. That doesn’t last long and it’s Bailey blocking a middle rope hurricanrana by landing on his feet for another standoff.

We take a break and come back with Bailey kicking the post by mistake, allowing Romero to hit the Forever Clotheslines. Bailey’s leg is fine enough to kick him down again, setting up the running corkscrew shooting star press for two. Romero’s springboard tornado DDT gets the same and Bailey gets blasted with a clothesline. Back up and Bailey hits a superkick for a double knockdown and we take another break.

We come back again with Bailey hitting an Asai moonsault before kicking Romero down back inside. The moonsault knees to the chest give Bailey two but Romero Falcon Arrows him into a cross armbreaker. The standing shooting star press drops bailey for two more but Sliced Bread is countered into a rollup. More Forever Clotheslines are countered with a shot to the face and the Ultimate Weapon retains the title at 19:04.

Rating: B. This was the latest Bailey showcase match and it rather well, especially for a match on free TV. Bailey isn’t my taste but he can do some impressive looking stuff in the ring, which is exactly why he is in this kind of a spot. At the same time you have Romero out there doing the good version of his thing, which worked well. Nice stuff here.

Emergence rundown.

Here is Scott D’Amore to run the contract signing between Alex Shelley and Josh Alexander. D’Amore talks about how he has coached both of them and introduced Shelley, who is finally getting his World Title shot. Alexander gets quite the hype as well and D’Amore is really excited about the dream match.

Before signing, Alexander talks about going to his first wrestling show in 2005 and Shelley was on the card. Alexander knew that Shelley was special because he stood out in a world where it was hard to be unique. The next day, Alexander stepped into a ring for the first time and over the next seventeen years, he has seen all kinds of Shelley copycats. It will be an honor to get in the ring with him and Alexander signs.

Shelley talks about the similarities in his career and asks why Alexander isn’t just another of those copycats. Alexander: “I’ve always been more of a Chris Sabin guy. You know, someone who has actually won the big one.” Alexander thinks Shelley might be self sabotaging himself because he’s too talented to never be World Champion.

Shelley talks about the injuries that the two of them have had over the years and says that the problem for Alexander is who he is across the ring from tomorrow night. When Shelley gets in the ring, he won’t be looking at the champ, but rather at an Alex Shelley mark. Shelley promises to win the title but has a consolation prize. He signs the contract and hands it to Alexander. Shelley: “There’s your Alex Shelley autograph.” Shelley walks off to end the show.

This was GREAT and one of the best contract signings I’ve ever seen. They came in with little story beyond “Shelley has never had a title shot” and turned it into a personal story without ever going too far into hatred. Shelley isn’t really known for talking but he blew it away here and I want to watch the match. Great stuff and far, far better than I would have bet on seeing.

Overall Rating: B-. Rather good show here and I’m actually on the fence about watching Emergence. I had no interest in watching coming in and they might have talked me into it so well done on all accounts. Impact has come a long, LONG way in the last few months and that was on display again here. Good show with an awesome closing segment so well done.

Results
Karl Anderson b. Kenny King – Gun Stun
Kushida b. Deaner – Hammerlock northern lights suplex
Killer Kelly b. Tiffany Nieves – Killer Clutch
Mia Yim b. Madison Rayne – Eat Defeat
Mike Bailey b. Rocky Romero – Ultimate Weapon

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

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

AND

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