Hard To Kill 2023
Date: January 13, 2023
Location: Center Stage, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s back to pay per view and Impact is actually on a heck of a roll right now. They are getting almost everything right at the moment and I’m wanting to see the show a lot more than I would have expected. We have a double main event as Bully Ray is challenging Josh Alexander in a Full Metal Mayhem match, plus Mickie James’ Last Rodeo continues as she challenges Jordynne Grace for the Knockouts Title. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Kushida vs. Angels vs. Delirious vs. Mike Bailey vs. Mike Jackson vs. Yuya Uemura

This is a bit weird as the pre-show broadcast begins with most of the wrestlers in the ring, including the previously unadvertised Delirious (seemingly replacing Bhupinder Gujjar). Delirious misses (maybe) a charge at the returning Kushida to start and winds up on the floor. Uemura and Kushida are left in the ring to trade arm holds until Kushida hiptosses him into the basement dropkick.

Delirious comes back in to neckbreaker Kushida but it’s Jackson (73 years old) coming in to armdrag Delirious to the floor. Bailey moonsaults onto a pile on the floor, setting up Jackson’s suicide dive (Tom: “FOR THE LOVE OF AARP!”), because of course he does. Back in and Angels takes over but Jackson takes him down by the arm. We hear about Jackson debuting at this venue in 1989 at FORTY years old (Tom: “I was six months old.”) before he goes Old School around all four ropes and then dives on everyone else fighting in the ring. Angels is back up with a suplex to Jackson but Delirious pulls Angels down into a Boston crab.

With that broken up, Bailey comes in with the bouncing kicks to Delirious but Uemura dropkicks him down. The running spinning kick in the corner blasts Uemura, only to have Kenny King run in to break up the Ultimate Weapon. With a bunch of people in the corner, Kushida hits his running front flip kicks, setting up the cross armbreaker to make Angels tap at 7:28.

Rating: C+. As usual, it’s hard to stand out in any way in this kind of a match and, other than Jackson (because geez), no one exactly did. The good thing is that Kushida is back and can be a huge boost to the X-Division, if not its outright champion. I would have expected Bailey to win here so points for throwing in a fine curve.

Pre-Show: X-Division Title: Black Taurus vs. Trey Miguel

Taurus is challenging and Crazzy Steve handles his introduction (for a match originally on the main card). The chase is on outside to start, allowing Miguel to hit some running dropkicks back inside. Back up and Taurus misses a running knee in the corner, allowing Miguel to hit a dive to the floor. Taurus strikes away back inside but it’s too early for Destination Hellhole.

A pop up Samoan drop doesn’t work either as Miguel reverses into a crucifix bomb (sweet) for two of his own. Miguel goes to the ramp for a running charge, only to dive into a Samoan drop. Taurus shrugs off some strikes and hits a heck of a Pounce. The over the shoulder backbreaker gives Taurus two but Miguel backdrops a charge out to the floor. A Code Red on the floor rocks Taurus again and the top rope Meteora gives Miguel two more.

Miguel takes him back inside and tries a springboard hurricanrana, which is countered into a super gorilla press (awesome) but Destination Hellhole is countered into the Lightning Spiral. Miguel’s feet on the ropes are seen though, meaning it’s time for the spray paint. The referee takes that away (art hater) so Miguel whips out another can and blinds Taurus, setting up another Lightning Spiral to retain at 10:15.

Rating: C+. They had some pretty cool spots in there as Taurus can do all kinds of things, including mixing in some power. At the same time you have Miguel really finding his niche as a heel and the spray paint works well for him. Then again with Kushida around, that title could be in some serious jeopardy rather soon.

The roster is on the stage for a tribute to Don West. The show is dedicated to him and we get a ten bell salute (with what sounds like Josh Matthews directing the person ringing the bell).

The opening video talks about how eventually you hit rock bottom, but that doesn’t mean it is the end of you. People can fight back up and overcome everything, because you are hard to kill.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Bully Ray vs. Josh Alexander

Alexander is defending in Full Metal Mayhem, meaning TLC with pins/submissions. Ray hides during the entrances and jumps Alexander from behind to start things fast. A belt shot to the face has Alexander in more trouble and Ray sends a table inside before the opening bell. Ray tosses him inside and demands the bell ring but the bloody Alexander has to say yes first. Sure he’s in, so the bell rings and Ray powerbombs him through a table for two to start fast.

We go old school (of course) as Ray whips out a cheese grater so Alexander gets smart by punching Ray in the face. The grater to the face sends Ray (bleeding as well) outside. Some trashcan lid shots tot he head have Ray in more trouble and there’s the grater to the head to draw the real blood. The thumbtacks are brought in but Alexander chairs him in the back first.

Alexander puts Ray on a table on the ramp and loads up a ladder, only to have Ray tip it over and send him into the ring, onto the tacks. The Bully Bomb is broken up and Alexander hits a German suplex to rock Ray again. A Regal Roll onto the tacks set up a middle rope knee (with chain wrapped around) to the head. The ankle lock goes on but Jason Hotch and John Skyler run in for the save. A 3D onto the tacks gets two on Alexander so the goons zip tie him to the top rope.

Cue Tommy Dreamer for the save with a trashcan shot to Ray. That earns Dreamer a spear through the table in the corner, leaving Alexander to get trash canned in the head. Cue Alexander’s wife Jade (not supposed to be here) to beg him for mercy (Ray: “I WANT TO SEE TEARS!”). Ray demands her wedding ring but gets low blowed instead. Sliced Bread onto the tacks (Jade is a former wrestler so it’s not insane) knocks Ray silly and Alexander is loose. Ray is put on another table and a splash from the ladder drives him through it for two. The ankle lock makes Ray tap at 17:02.

Rating: B-. This is a tricky one as the match wasn’t all that great, mainly due to a bunch of stalling and interference taking away from the action. That being said, I’ll absolutely take this over what would have been a pretty lame regular match between these two. Ray losing should get rid of him, at least at this level, for a good stretch. Alexander gets to retain again, but he needs a better challenger next time. What Ray did in the feud and here as well was far from awful, but it was really hard to get around the fact that it was Bully Ray in this spot at this time.

Victoria/Tara gives Mickie James a pep talk before her Knockouts Title match (now the main event) against Jordynne Grace. Raven pops in to say he wanted to be here in case it’s the end for James (since he was here at the beginning for her).

We recap the Tag Team Title match. All of the teams save for Bullet Club keep attacking each other and trading wins so now the titles are on the line.

Tag Team Titles: Motor City Machine Guns vs. Bullet Club vs. Major Players vs. Heath/Rhino

The Guns are defending under elimination rules and it’s Ace Austin/Chris Bey for the Club. It’s a brawl to start (duh) before the bell as the referee can’t get this down to one wrestler from two teams to make things official. We finally get Rhino beating on Myers to ring the bell with Heath coming in to hammer away almost immediately. Myers gets out of trouble and brings in Cardona for a neckbreaker on Heath.

It’s right back to Myers for two off a knee drop and the lifting Downward Spiral gets two. Heath is back up with the super powerslam, which is enough for the tag back to Rhino to clean house. A quick distraction lets Cardona send Rhino into the corner, setting up the rollup pin to get rid of Heath/Rhino at 3:39.

Bey comes in to roll Cardona up as the pace picks way up. Myers comes in to snap a suplex for two on Bey but it’s back to Cardona for more neckbreakers. An enziguri gets Bey out of trouble though and it’s Austin coming in to kick away. Austin’s springboard missile dropkick sends Myers sprawling and Shelley tags himself in to start on Austin’s leg. A dragon screw legwhip gets two on Austin and we hit the Figure Four.

With that broken up, Austin manages an enziguri and kicks Sabin away, allowing Bey to come in and beat up the Major Players. An assisted Art of Finesse sets up the Fold to pin Myers at 10:23, leaving us with the Guns vs. the Bullet Club. Sabin takes out the Club on his own and it’s Shelley coming back in to double team Austin. Back up and the assisted Art of Finesse hits Sabin but Myers is still here for a distraction. Sabin suicide dives onto Bey and it’s the Dirt Bomb to retain the titles at 13:10.

Rating: B. This was about cramming as many people in there as you could get away with but the elimination rules held a lot. Getting rid of some of those people makes all of the difference in the world and the Guns feel like they won instead of surviving. I’m a bit surprised that they won, but more Guns is not a bad thing.

As the Guns go to leave, Frankie Kazarian comes out for a surprise chat. Kazarian talks about everything he has been doing lately and announces that he has signed a long term deal with Impact Wrestling, meaning he is done with AEW. If he isn’t doing anything in AEW, making the move makes sense for him.

We recap Joe Hendry defending the Digital Media Title against Moose. Hendry has been getting on Moose’s nerves so he’s coming after the title.

Digital Media Title: Joe Hendry vs. Moose

Hendry is defending and they start fast with Hendry elbowing him in the face and grabbing a spinning slam. Moose tosses him over the top and takes it to the floor for a posting. That doesn’t do much to Hendry, who loads up a suplex, walks halfway around the ring, and then drops Moose.

Back in and Moose kicks him down before stomping on various things. A slap to the face wakes Hendry up though and he fireman’s carry tosses Moose out to the floor. Moose is right back with a chokebomb out of the corner for two, followed by a top rope superplex for the same. They get back up and strike it out until Hendry hits a clothesline. The Standing Ovation doesn’t work as Moose hits a release Rock Bottom for two instead.

That’s enough for Moose, who goes to grab the title. With that taken away, it’s a low blow to set up the spear to give Moose the pin and the title. Hold on though as here is Santino Marella (by that name) to announce that he is the new Director Of Authority. Marella, with the thick accent and weird way of speaking, says he doesn’t like cheaters so we’re restarting this thing. Hendry grabs the Standing Ovation to retain at 14:05.

Rating: C+. Well so much for a lot of my enjoyment around this place. Santino has never been someone I particularly care to see and now we’ll have to see his WACKY (and repetitive) comedy every week because he was a thing about twelve years ago. As for the match, good on letting Hendry have a big win, as he is getting somewhere with this run and needed a bigger win to make it work. I’m curious to see how far this version can go, because he seems to have all of the tools.

We look back at Kenny King costing Mike Bailey the pre-show match.

King isn’t sure why Bailey is wrestling when they’re going into the Fight Pit next week. That’s the Bailey King wants and he better bring it.

Masha Slamovich vs. Killer Kelly vs. Taylor Wilde vs. Deonna Purrazzo

For a future Women’s Title match. Slamovich goes after Wilde to start and they fight to the floor, leaving Kelly to forearms Purrazzo. That doesn’t last long and it’s Purrazzo hitting a dive, followed by Slamovich hitting one of her own. Back in and Wilde chokes Kelly in the ropes until Purrazzo comes back in for the save.

Purrazzo and Wilde both grab a half crab on Kelly at the same time but both of them are broken up. After a series of knockdowns, Kelly grabs the Killer Klutch on Purrazzo. Wilde Crossfaces Slamovich at the same time but Slamovich fights up and Snowplows Wilde onto the other two for the pin and the title shot at 9:21.

Rating: C. This was a bit of a mess but it was also weirdly put together. You have Kelly, who was pushed hard for a few weeks and then more or less dropped. You have Wilde, who got a new gimmick about two weeks ago and already lost. You have Purrazzo, who could be slotted into any title match needed but has already had her time with the title. Then you have Slamovich, who lost both of her big matches, as well as a match to Wilde last week. That’s not exactly building her up, but at least she is getting another title shot.

We recap Rich Swann vs. Steve Maclin. While Maclin is all about violence and destruction, Swann is standing up to him and is ready to fight. Now it’s falls count anywhere so they can get more violent.

Rich Swann vs. Steve Maclin

Falls count anywhere and Raven is on commentary. Maclin jumps Swann in the back during an interview and the fight is on fast. A missed charge sends Maclin into a dumpster (Raven: “Yeah that was kind of dumb.”) but he’s right back with a bucket shot for two. They fight outside near the traffic, with Raven wanting to see one of them hit by a car.

Swann is fine enough to hit a cartwheel cutter but they stop to fight against a moving car, which is leaving the arena for some reason. Some shovel shots stagger Maclin and they come into the arena, where Maclin plants him onto the apron for two. They get inside for the first time with Swann hitting a running dropkick into the corner. It’s right back to the floor where Swann hits another cutter for two more.

Back in and Swann kicks away, only to get launched onto the ramp. Swann kicks him off the ramp and hits the splash for two. Maclin staggers up and counters a running hurricanrana off the apron into a Liger Bomb. A missed elbow lets Swann hit a superkick but Maclin hits him with a piece of barricade. The KIA on the ramp finishes Swann at 11:42.

Rating: C. I wasn’t wild on the match itself as it was such a brawl that the wrestling was barely a factor. The good things here were of course Raven on commentary as he has that riffing style that can be hilarious, plus the continued rise of Maclin. There is almost no way anyone else is the next challenger for the World Title and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him win the thing. Not a bad brawl, but what matters is Maclin racking up another win over another former World Champion.

We recap Jonathan Gresham vs. Eddie Edwards. Last year saw Edwards as part of Honor No More and Gresham is all about honor. Now Gresham is back for revenge so let’s have a fight.

Eddie Edwards vs. Jonathan Gresham

Feeling out process to start with Edwards bailing to the floor after getting out technicaled. Edwards brings Gresham outside with him, misses a clothesline, and gets frustrated at Gresham being back inside. Back in and Gresham sends him outside for a change, immediately followed by a fast dive. They get back inside again with Edwards snapping off an overhead belly to belly to take over.

Gresham grabs some armdrags and kicks at the arm before cranking away. Edwards manages a powerslam to escape and a hanging cutter gets two. A neckbreaker gets the same but Gresham is back up and cranks on the arm again. They strike it out until Gresham hits an enziguri into a standing moonsault for two of his own. A Blue Thunder Bomb gets Edwards out of trouble but his arm is all banged up.

The Backpack Stunner is broken up and Gresham sends him outside for the suicide dive. Back in and Edwards loads up a superplex, which is reversed into a choke with Edwards still on the ropes. Edwards is smart enough to drop straight down onto the buckle for the escape and a sitout powerbomb gets two. They go into a pinfall reversal sequence for two each until a tiger driver gives Edwards two more. The Boston Knee Party finishes Gresham at 18:49.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a match as Gresham is a technical master but Edwards is good enough to hold his own against him. That left the idea of Gresham still fighting for honor and Edwards trying to prove he still had it. As a result, you had two guys trying to pick up the win wherever they could until Edwards finally knocked Gresham silly for the win. Good stuff here, which you had to expect from this combination.

Post match the lights go out and (as the chants give away the reveal), it’s the returning PCO, spitting sand out of his mouth. Edwards gets chokeslammed and the monster is back.

We recap Mickie James vs. Jordynne Grace for the Knockouts Title. James wants to prove that she still has it by winning the Knockouts Title one more time. Otherwise, she is retiring, giving us the huge stakes.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Mickie James

James is challenging and some Native American dancers play her to the ring. As a bonus, her family (minus Nick Aldis) is in the front row. After the Big Match Intros, Grace powers her into the corner to start and James can’t even grab a rollup. James slaps her a few times before getting dropped with a heck of a slap from Grace.

Back up and Grace double stomps her out of the corner, meaning it’s time to start the real beating. Grace stomps away and tells James to stay down, only to pull her up in the corner. We’ll call that a mixed message as Grace misses a running knee in the corner and a super bulldog gives James a breather. They slug it out until James kicks her in the face before taking it out to the ramp.

The Thesz press drops Grace again but she blocks the MickDT. James settles for a guillotine but Grace muscles her to the top for a superplex floated into a Jackhammer for two more. James comes back with a flapjack into a nipup and now the Thesz press connects for another near fall. A spinebuster cuts James off and a sitout powerbomb gets two. Grace hits her in the neck of all things but a Tombstone is countered with a headscissors.

The Mick Kick is shrugged off so they hit a pinfall reversal sequence for two each. The Grace Driver is countered into a small package for two and another Mick Kick staggers Grace this time. The MickDT gives us the real near fall but Grace pulls her into a sleeper with a bodyscissors. Mickie powers up again though and Grace misses a charge into the post. That’s enough for Mickie to grab a tornado DDT for the pin and the title at 19:22.

Rating: B. This had the drama it needed but never quite got to the level of epic. What mattered here was having Mickie prove she can still do it against a top star. A lot of that comes from having Grace built up as a monster over the last several months, meaning James’ opponent meant something here in addition to the title. I’m glad this headlined the show as it was the better story all the way up to the show and they certainly delivered with what they were trying to do.

James’ family and Tara get in the ring to celebrate with her to end the show.

No word on why the Death Dollz vs. Gisele Shaw/Tasha Steelz/Savannah Evans didn’t take place.

Overall Rating: B. The show was rather good for the most part with nothing bad, but there were some weak parts in the middle that dragged it down a bit. What mattered was the big matches delivered and I was into seeing Mickie get the title back to end the Last Rodeo. The important thing about Impact is that they aren’t doing anything horrible or even bad, and that is a huge step forward over their more infamous years. Overall, good show and they did what they needed to do to start the new year.

Results
Kushida b. Angels, Delirious, Mike Jackson, Yuya Uemura and Mike Bailey – Cross armbreaker to Angels
Trey Miguel b. Black Taurus – Lightning Spiral
Josh Alexander b. Bully Ray – Ankle lock
Motor City Machine Guns b. Bullet Club, Heath/Rhino and Major Players – Dirt Bomb to Bey
Joe Hendry b. Moose – Standing Ovation
Masha Slamovich b. Taylor Wilde, Deonna Purrazzo and Killer Kelly – Snowplow to Wilde
Steve Maclin b. Rich Swann – KIA
Eddie Edwards b. Jonathan Gresham – Boston Knee Party
Mickie James b. Jordynne Grace – Tornado DDT

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 15, 2022
Location: Charles F. Dodge City Center, Pembroke Pines, Florida
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are less than a month away from Hard To Kill and the title situations are rather interesting. We have the Major Brothers coming after the Tag Team Titles, Jordynne Grace vs. Mickie James set for a title vs. career match and Josh Alexander defending against Bully Ray. That’s a lot to build towards so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Eddie Edwards vs. Delirious

This was going to be last week’s main event but then Josh Alexander vs. Mike Bailey almost hit an hour so it was punted to this week. They go technical to start and that’s good for a standoff. Edwards can’t grab an O’Connor roll but he can chop Delirious down, only to have Delirious come back up with a leg lariat.

An overhead belly to belly cuts that off in a hurry though and Eddie can fire off more chops. Delirious starts running the ropes in that bizarre manner of his so Edwards kicks him in the face. A superkick drops Delirious hard and a tiger driver gets two. Delirious is able to reverse the cover into the cobra stretch but Edwards stacks him up for the pin at 6:33.

Rating: C. This was a pretty solid, technical match with Delirious being able to do his thing with someone as perfectly fine as Edwards. The style seemed to be pointing towards Edwards going clean, though that seems to be a rather fast change over for him. Good enough stuff here, which shouldn’t be shocking given who was in there.

Post match Eddie teases showing respect but plants him with the Die Hard Driver. Yuyu Uemura tries to make a save but gets beaten down. Edwards goes for Delirious’ mask….and Jonathan Gresham of all people comes out for the save. That’s probably a Hard To Kill match.

Josh Alexander was in the fight of his life last week with Mike Bailey, but tonight he is calling out Bully Ray. Scott D’Amore says not so fast because Ray is different than his other opponents. Tommy Dreamer comes in to apologize for being wrong about Ray but Alexander thinks Dreamer is working with Ray. Dreamer is aghast.

Bully Ray vs. John Skyler

A stoic Ray slams him a few times to start and hits a piledriver for the pin at 1:05.

Post match Tommy Dreamer comes out and talks about how the ECW chants mean history. Dreamer was the one person who believed Ray had changed, but now their friendship is done. If Ray wanted to make him look like a fool, good for him and they can just work together on Busted Open Radio. Dreamer goes to leave and Ray tells him to keep doing that, because Dreamer is just a jealous coward.

At the end of the day, Dreamer is a nobody. If D-Von walked in Ray’s shadow, Dreamer was ten feet behind them at all times. Ray is a bigger star than Dreamer everywhere they go. Ray says some people might call Dreamer a failure, which is enough to get him back in the ring. Oh and a few months back, of course Ray laid out Ace Austin and Dreamer believed him then too. Dreamer brings up his mom’s illness but Ray doesn’t care. As he cries, Dreamer seems ready for a fight but Ray walks away this time. This was as interesting as Tommy Dreamer and Bully Ray talking about their past was going to be.

Major Players vs. Decay

This is the fallout from a backstage altercation earlier today. Hold on though as Trey Miguel jumps Crazzy Steve from behind and spray paints his back. Not that it matters as Steve says ring the bell anyway, leaving Taurus to knock Cardona into the corner. Myers comes in to Taurus flips over him and hits an elbow to the face. The Players are sent outside for the big running flip dive from Taurus to send us to a break.

Back with Taurus fighting out of Myers’ chinlock and handing it off to Steve to clean house. The basement Downward Spiral gets two on Cardona with Myers making the save, meaning everything breaks down. Taurus is sent outside and the middle rope G9 finishes for Cardona at 7:54.

Rating: C. You put a team like Decay out there to lose to the Major Players, who seem like they are on the way to the Tag Team Title picture. You need to have them win something here and Decay made the better team look good, even with Trey Miguel getting involved. Now move on to the next big match for the Major Players, as they are already starting their momentum.

We go backstage for a contract signing between Mickie James and Jordynne Grace. It’s Grace up first and she says she’ll let her talking in the ring before signing. James says Grace is assuming the result at Hard To Kill but James has had moments against the all time greats. She is ready to sign but Tasha Steelz, with Savannah Evans, comes in to rant about how Mickie hasn’t beaten her. James vs. Steelz is teased but Grace wants in on this as well. Scott D’Amore makes it a tag match instead.

Last week, Mike Bailey got a hero’s welcome after his long match with Josh Alexander. Then Kenny King came up and spit water in his face.

This week, Bailey says he’ll face King in the ring, but he isn’t playing mind games.

Sami Callihan vs. Angels

The rest of the Design is here with Angels, who charges into a pop up powerbomb at the bell. A Design distraction doesn’t work very well as Sami strikes away and takes Angels to the apron. With that broken up, Angels hits a running STO on the apron to take over for the first time. Back in and Angels grabs a crossface, only to have Sami bite the hand for the escape. A brainbuster gives Sami two but Angels discus clotheslines him down. The frog splash connects for Angels but he misses a second. Sami grabs the Cactus Driver 97 for the pin at 6:55.

Rating: C-. This was indeed a Sami Callihan match as he beat up the lowest level member of the Design without much time to do it. Callihan is still going to need some help to fight the team off, but it’s still going to be a former World Champion against Deaner N Pals. How strong of a story is that going to be?

Post match Sami gets laid out.

Gisele Shaw pitches a reunion with Deonna Purrazzo, who isn’t interested. That lasts about ten seconds before Shaw talks her into going after the Knockouts Tag Team Titles.

Taylor Wilde looks at tarot cards and says she is a bit of everything. She is the Wilde Witch. Better than “person who was here ten years ago”.

Joe Hendry/Bhupinder Gujjar vs. Johnny Swinger/Zicky Dice

Before the match, Hendry talks about the noises coming from Swinger’s Dungeon. In Hendry’s Dungeon, all you hear is people saying WE BELIEVE. Hendry slams Dice down to start and slams Swinger for a bonus. Gujjar tags himself in but here is Moose to go after Hendry. That doesn’t go well, with Hendry drop toeholding him and grabbing the mic, saying he’s at work here. Moose grabs a chair and Hendry heads to the back, saying HR will hear about this. Back in the ring, Gujjar shrugs off a double team attempt and Gargoyle Spears Swinger for the pin at 3:14.

Rating: C. This was much more about the angle than the match and that isn’t a problem. Swinger and Dice not being able to beat up someone up on their own fits them perfectly and I could go for Swinger on a losing streak as he tries to get his fifty wins for a World Title shot. Moose vs. Hendry is an interesting way to go, though I’m not sure I can picture Hendry beating him so soon. Just let Hendry talk more though and he’ll be fine.

John Skyler sits down next to Jason Hotch and it turns out they respect each other. They might as well team up. Finger handshake!

Steve Maclin doesn’t like the lack of rules around here so to get the World Title, it should be by all means necessary. Rich Swann is next.

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

The Guns are challenging and the Major Players are banned from ringside. Rhino shoves Shelley down to start so it’s time for some regrouping. Heath and Sabin come in to go technical, with Heath actually giving him a clean break out of the corner. An exchange of headlocks goes nowhere so Shelley makes a blind tag and helps double team Heath down to take over. Fans: “TAG IN RHINO!”

Heath gets sent into the corner for some double dropkicks but Sliced Bread doesn’t work for Shelley. A powerslam takes Shelley down but the diving tag is cut off as we take a break. Back with Rhino coming in to clean house and the champs take over on Shelley in the corner. Heath ties him in the Tree of Woe and stomps away, only to get sent face first into the middle buckle.

Rhino comes back in to cut off the tag and grabs a bearhug, which is broken up as well. Shelley rolls over and brings Sabin back in to clean house. A tornado DDT gets two on Heath but he breaks up Skull and Bones. The Gore gets two on Sabin but he reverses a second into a sunset flip for the pin and the titles at 16:49.

Rating: B-. They didn’t really have a choice here as, much like Heath and Rhino’s title reign in WWE, I don’t think there was any reason to think they were going to be the next big thing. They had their feel good moment with the win and now the Guns, a much more established team, gets the titles back. Solid main event and the exact right way to go.

The Guns celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a pretty nice show up and down, but that Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer stuff is still a lot to stomach. They are still talking about their time together in ECW and it just makes the show feel old. Alexander vs. Ray should be pretty decent fight but the build on the way there is rather rough. Overall, another completely acceptable Impact show with its usual good points, but enough holding it back from being great.

Results
Eddie Edwards b. Delirious – Rollup
Bully Ray b. John Skyler – Piledriver
Major Players b. Decay – Samoan drop/middle rope Blockbuster combination to Steve
Sami Callihan b. Angels – Cactus Driver 97
Bhupinder Gujjar/Joe Hendry b. Johnny Swinger/Zicky Dice – Gargoyle spear to Swinger
Motor City Machine Guns b. Heath/Rhino – Sunset flip to Rhino

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:

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

From Thanksgiving 2016, loser wears a turkey suit.

Grado vs. Robbie E.

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

Grado is turkey suited.

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

From Thanksgiving 2013.

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

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

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

More wrestlers are thankful for various things.

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

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

From Thanksgiving 2017.

Team Edwards vs. Team Adonis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

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

From Thanksgiving 2007.

Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Chris Sabin

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

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

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

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

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

Overall Rating: C. I never know what to say about these things, especially when it was a bunch of clips from what was little more than a comedy concept. There was a bit of decent action and it is fun to look back at some flashes of different times in the company’s history, but there was nothing worth seeing here. Granted that is kind of the point, but this was still a weird choice for a show.

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

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

AND

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 29, 2022
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are done with Victory Road and that means we are only a little over a week away from Bound For Glory. I’m still not sure why Victory Road was such a necessary show before the biggest night of the year but at least it wasn’t an eventful night, meaning Bound For Glory got even more build. Hopefully that can continue tonight so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Bullet Club vs. Trey Miguel/Laredo Kid

It’s Ace Austin/Chris Bey for the Club, with Juice Robinson in their corner. Austin and Kid start things off with an exchange of wristlocks but hold on as Austin needs to hold up Too Sweet. A quick high crossbody gives Kid an early two so it’s Bey offering a distraction so Austin can take over on the arm. Bey comes in with a backbreaker as we hear about his album coming out around Halloween.

Kid slips away and hands it off to Miguel to fire off kicks at Bey. A northern lights suplex gives Miguel two but Bey is back with a reverse DDT/Downward Spiral combination to drop both of them at once. Austin comes back in and catches Kid with a springboard spinning kick to the face. Miguel pops up for a springboard sunset bomb for two on Austin. Back up and Austin shoves Bey at Miguel for the Art of Finesse, setting up the Fold for the pin at 8:19.

Rating: B. More of the X-Division goodness to open the show and yes, it still works. I can go for more of Austin and Bey as the two of them are very good on their own or as a team. Miguel and Kid are both guys who can do anything with anyone so this was always going to be entertaining while it lasted.

We look back at Bhupinder Gujjar losing the ladder match to Brian Myers last week.

Gujjar says he can’t wrestle this week due to a broken nose, but he’ll be ready for the Call Your Shot gauntlet match at Bound For Glory.

Frankie Kazarian is ready to win the X-Division Title at Bound For Glory. He wants to prove that he still has it.

Someone in a yellow hoodie tries to jump the barricade behind commentary but isn’t named. He looked like he was making a V sign with his fingers so…..Violent By Design maybe?

Bound For Glory/tonight rundown.

Digital Media Title: Brian Myers vs. Crazzy Steve

Steve, with Black Taurus, is challenging. They fight over wrist control to start until Steve goes after Myers’ face. A bite to the face is blocked with a throat snap across the top though and we take a break. Back with Steve hitting a Cannonball in the corner for two but getting caught with the implant DDT for two. Steve comes back with the Upside Down in the corner, which lasts about as long as it can. Myers distracts the referee though, allowing him to poke Steve in the eye. The Roster Cut retains the title at 3:54.

Rating: C-. This was little more than a way for Myers to cheat and retain the title and that is all it needed to be. Myers already won the big ladder match last week so this was a step down for him. The title works well enough for a lower card championship, even if the digital media stuff has already been heavily toned down.

Post match Myers says he has turned the title into the most prestigious title around here. Now he wants better competition so it’s open challenge time at Bound For Glory. That could be a fun reveal.

Johnny Swinger’s ex-fiance shows up and yells at him, despite now being married to John E. Bravo (from Wrestle House 2 apparently). Arguing ensues, with Taya Valkyrie wandering in to wonder what is going on here. Fair question.

The family from the recent Joe Hendry videos are at the reading of their father’s will and want a name said. Cue Joe Hendry, who everyone still believes in.

Rosemary begrudgingly asks James Mitchell for help with the Jessicka issue because she wants the Tag Team Titles back. Taya Valkyrie and Jessicka come in to say they can do it, so Rosemary eventually gives in.

Delirious vs. Black Taurus

Delirious’ dropkicks have no effect so he rams Taurus mark first into the buckles. That doesn’t work either as Taurus steps on Delirious’ bare feet but Delirious starts running the ropes in an odd pattern. Delirious manages to take the leg out and hit a slam, setting up a series of ten legdrops to send Taurus outside. Back up and Taurus hits a pop up Samoan drop and a headbutt. The spinning piledriver gives Taurus the pin at 5:04.

Rating: C-. This was as much as you were going to get out of Delirious vs. Black Taurus in a five minute TV match, meaning it was working with a low ceiling. Taurus getting some momentum is a nice thing to see, even if it is weird to see delirious anywhere but Ring Of Honor. Fine enough match, but what were they expecting to get out of this?

Bobby Fish is here and wants Josh Alexander so he’ll win the Call Your Shot gauntlet in his hometown of Albany.

Mia Yim is ready for Mickie James at Bound For Glory. They fought in one of Yim’s first matches and yes, we have a clip of Mickie beating her probably fifteen or so years ago. Gisele Shaw comes up to mock the idea of Mia beating Mickie so a match is made for next week.

Here is Honor No More for a chat, with the fans being way behind PCO. Eddie Edwards is happy with Victory Road because he showed he can beat Josh Alexander. There were some setbacks on the night though and yes, he is looking at PCO again. PCO lost to the Motor City Machine Guns and he likes to step up too much, so who does he think he is? Vincent puts a bag over PCO’s head to calm him down as Matt Taven takes the mic.

Taven rants about how Impact has tried to hold the team down but now the are Tag Team Champions. At Bound For Glory, Honor No More will leave with the World and Tag Team Titles, with everyone talking about how great Eddie is for pinning Alexander at Victory Road. Maria gives us a video looking at Eddie pinning Alexander over and over, leaving Eddie to rant about how everyone turned on him.

Cue Alexander to say he sees this as any fight he has ever had. He views the title as something that proves he’s the best while Eddie sees it as job security. At Bound For Glory, the only one outnumbered is Edwards. Alexander comes to the ring for the fight, with Heath, Rich Swann and the Motor City Machine Guns coming in to help clear out Honor No More.

Heath/Rich Swann vs. PCO/Vincent

Joined in progress with PCO coming in to make Swann roll around a bit. PCO powers him down though and drops a leg to the back of the head, allowing the tag to Vincent. A basement Downward Spiral gets two but Swann is back up with an enziguri. The tag brings in Heath to clean house with a powerslam getting two on Vincent. Heath sends Vincent into PCO and Swann gets in a cheap shot from the apron so an implant DDT gets two on Vincent. With PCO knocked outside, Swann hits a 450 to finish Vincent at 4:34.

Rating: C. They kept this one quick and that is the right way to go. Vincent is about as low on the Honor No More totem pole as you can get so having a former World Champion pin him is hardly the end of his momentum. It wasn’t much of a match but they continue to make Heath look like a big deal, which is rather impressive given how much of a comedy guy he has been for years.

Moose isn’t happy with Steve Maclin, who comes in for the brawl.

Scott D’Amore tells Sami Callihan that he can’t get in the ring because of a broken orbital bone, so D’Amore lets Sami referee Moose vs. Maclin next week.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Masha Slamovich vs. Allie Katch

Monster’s Ball and they’re still doing the “locked up for 24 hours deal”. They slug it out to start and an early double clothesline takes both of them down. A duel of the trashcan lids goes to Katch as she cracks Slamovich over the head. Slamovich is right back with a German suplex and it’s time to whip Katch with a chain.

We mix things up a bit with Slamovich putting the side of a street sign in Katch’s mouth before going with the more classic double arm crank. A cowbell is pulled out of the trashcan but since that takes some time, Katch cracks her with a trashcan lid to take over. Slamovich shrugs it off and hits an Air Raid Crash into the corner as we take a break. Back with Slamovich driving a chain into Katt’s (very busted open) mouth in the corner before grabbing a chair.

A reverse DDT drops Slamovich and now she is busted open as well. Slamovich is fine enough to kick her in the head and Death Valley Driver Katch into the chair for two. Katch is back up with a trashcan shot to the head to catch Slamovich on top and a Death Valley Driver sends her through the door (yeah a door) in the corner for two.

They fight to the apron and Slamovich Russian legsweeps her through a table to leave them both down. With Slamovich up first, it’s time for the thumbtacks (dang it) but Katch piledrives her onto them for two more. A trashcan full of broken cans is poured out and it’s a Snowplow to drive Katch into the junk on the mat for the pin at 18:44.

Rating: B. These two were having one heck of a fight and I was getting drawn into it, but then the thumbtacks killed off a lot of the interest. It’s still such a stupid spot and something that we’ve seen so many times before. Throw in a piledriver onto the tacks getting two and there was only so much I could get out of the second half of this. Great first half but it fell down pretty hard in the end.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a bit of a weird show with a good opener, a good main event, and almost nothing good in the middle. The idea of having Bound For Glory in eight days is more than a bit much and it’s a very rushed feeling, but at least the card is set. It should be a good major event, but the TV is a bit rough to put it mildly. At least we got two strong matches here though and that’s enough for two hours.

Results
Bullet Club b. Laredo Kid/Trey Miguel – Fold to Miguel
Brian Myers b. Crazzy Steve – Roster Cut
Black Taurus b. Delirious – Spinning piledriver
Rich Swann/Heath b. Vincent/PCO – 450 to Vincent
Masha Slamovich b. Allie Katch – Snowplow onto cans and thumbtacks

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

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

AND

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

Ring Of Honor
Date: April 13, 2022

We’re still in the vault years and that has been a lot of fun so far. There is so much great material throughout Ring Of Honor’s history and it is a blast to pull out some random matches and see what else is in there. I have no idea what to expect here and that is always a nice feeling. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

From the 2nd Anniversary Show, February 14, 2004.

Pure Wrestling Title: CM Punk vs. AJ Styles

For the inaugural title. Feeling out process to start with Punk being sent into the ropes, which counts for the first (of three rope breaks). Styles gets backed up as well and grabs the rope for a reversal, which means a break of his own (even if it didn’t seem intentional). They run the ropes until AJ slips to the floor to go after Traci Brooks (Punk’s manager).

The distraction lets Punk take him down with a dive but Styles sends him into the barricade. They fight into the crowd and you can’t see a thing. It’s Punk in control as they come back to the ring for a Boston crab. Styles uses his second break and we take a break of our own. Back with Styles hitting a discus lariat to send Punk outside for a breather.

Back in and Punk hammers away in the corner before hitting a quick piledriver. Something like a half crab Liontamer sends Styles to the ropes, but apparently he used his last break so he has to climb the ropes instead. There’s the Styles Clash for two but Punk is back with a hammerlock DDT for the same. The Pepsi Plunge is broken up and Styles hits a Pele, setting up the Styles Clash for the pin and the title at 16:37.

Rating: B. Oh come on, it’s Punk vs. Styles in a big time match getting time. Of course this was good, with Punk kicking out of the Styles Clash being quite the surprise. It’s almost weird to see Styles still coming up like this but you can see all of the talent there. The same is true of Punk, who still feels like a bigger deal at this point. Good match, which shouldn’t be the slightest surprise.

From Ring Of Homicide, May 13, 2006.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Bryan Danielson vs. Delirious

Danielson is defending but gets jumped before the bell to start fast. Delirious knocks him to the floor and Danielson needs to get the belt off before getting back in. After more than a few moments, and some OVERRATED chants from the fans, Danielson gets back in and goes after the mask but can’t get the Cattle Mutilation.

Something is censored as Danielson drops a knee and starts working on the arm. Now Cattle Mutilation can go on and we take a break. Back with Danielson coming off the top but diving into a cutter for two. Some strikes to the face get two more before Delirious rolls over into a cobra stretch. Danielson escapes (of course) and hits a middle rope elbow to the face to take over again.

A roaring elbow sets up a dragon suplex for two and the chickenwing has Delirious in a lot of trouble. The foot reaches the rope for the break and Danielson is looking a little frustrated. Delirious sends him into the corner and Shadows Over Hell gets two. The cobra stretch goes on again and this time Danielson needs the rope for a save. Cattle Mutilation sends Delirious to the rope as well but Danielson goes with the small package to retain the title at 24:50.

Rating: B-. They told a story here of Danielson not being intimidated by Delirious and getting in some trouble as a result. Delirious kept hanging on and escaping the Cattle Mutilation so Danielson had to catch him with something quick instead. Good match, as Danielson was on a roll during this title reign and could do nothing wrong.

From the 8th Anniversary Show, February 13, 2010.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Austin Aries vs. Tyler Black

Black, better known as Seth Rollins, is challenging. Before the match, Aries says he wrestled the kind of match he wanted to see last time and the fans didn’t like it. Now he is going to wrestle the match the fans want, but they still won’t like it. Cue Jim Cornette to say if there is a countout or a DQ, the decision goes to the judges, so one of them needs to beat the other. Aries gets sent outside to start and has to glare at Roderick Strong (a judge, along with Cornette and Kenny King for quite the group).

Back in and Black chops away, setting up a clothesline for an early two. Aries starts in on the arm but misses an elbow so Black can punch him down in the corner. Some rollups give Black two each until Aries kicks him into the corner to take over. Some choking on the apron sets up a neckbreaker for two on Black, followed by a missile dropkick for the same. We take a break and come back with Black hitting a superplex and rolling into an F5 for two of his own to leave them both down.

Black knocks him off the apron and over the barricade, setting up the huge dive for the crash. The judges are a bit terrified but Aries is fine enough to hit a Death Valley Driver onto the apron. The Rubik’s Cube gives Black two on the way back in and they slug it out. Aries’ brainbuster gets two more but the 450 hits knees, allowing Black to roll him up for two.

Another strike off lets Black grab God’s Last Gift for two but King gets on the apron for no logical reason. Strong takes him down but knocks Black off the top by mistake, earning himself a superkick. Cornette gets up as well and gets superkicked down too, leaving Black to hit a buckle bomb. The low superkick sets up the Phoenix splash to give Black the pin and the title at 22:40 (with commentary sounding bored).

Rating: B+. Yeah this great and it is easy to see why WWE wanted Black in the fold sooner rather than later. They were going back and forth and the judges were a nice distraction as Black won on his own rather than needing something screwy. Black was clearly the new flavor at this point and giving him the title was the right way to go, with Ring of Honor getting the point (eventually).

Overall Rating: B+. Another heck of a show and exactly what I was hoping for here, as they opened the vault and showed what kind of things they had. You got three pretty random matches here featuring top current stars, which shows you just how much talent and influence Ring Of Honor has had over the years. I had a good time with this and I’m starting to look forward to this show again, even if this isn’t going to last.

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.

Ring of Honor
Date: September 22, 2021
Location: UMBC Event Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are firmly away from Death Before Dishonor and in theory this should be the tapings where we see some fallout. That being said, last week we got some pre-fallout (Fall-in?) with the Tag Team Titles changing hands. Not that it makes much of a difference given how often they have been swapped as of late, but it’s certainly an event. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay welcomes us to the show and runs down the card, with a focus on the Pure Rules division.

Pure Rules Gauntlet Match

No word on how many entrants and lost rope breaks carry over from one fall to another. Eric Martin is in at #1 and World Famous CB is in at #2 with Brian Milonas on commentary. They trade the grappling to start with Martin going to the ropes to avoid a drop toehold, which seems a little dumb. Then he uses the next two in rapid fashion and is out of breaks after less than a minute and a half. Martin kicks CB off the top for a crash to the floor and it’s a running corner clothesline back inside. CB is right back with a kick to the face and a choke with knees in the back for the tap at 3:14.

Delirious is in at #3 and it’s time for more grappling to get things going. They hit the mat with both guys tripping the other for some short form control. CB’s headscissors sends Delirious over to the ropes for a break and it’s time to run the ropes in an awkward manner. A dragon suplex sends Delirious flying but he twists around into a cobra clutch. That’s broken up as well so CB tries a bunch of rollups to no avail. Delirious is right back with a cobra clutch backbreaker into a triangle choke while bending the arm the wrong way (GEEZ) for the tap at 13:23.

LSG is in at #4 and after a break, Delirious’ headlock doesn’t work very well. Instead they just hit each other in the face until Delirious grabs a neckbreaker for two. LSG blocks a suplex though and strikes away, including some running forearms. With Delirious rocked, LSG pulls him into a Muta Lock for the tap at 21:13.

Joe Keys is in at #5 and, after a break, gets taken down by a headlock takeover (popular way to start). Keys snaps off a backbreaker but gets sent into the corner, only to come out with an abdominal stretch. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker keeps LSG’s back in trouble and we hit a half crab. That means LSG needs to use his second rope break so Keys rolls some German suplexes, meaning LSG needs his third and final break. Keys takes him up top for a superplex but LSG turns it into a crossbody for the pin at 30:28.

Brian Johnson is in at #6 and talks about how he is the best and about to rewrite everything around here. Johnson drives the beaten up LSG into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs but LSG is back with Rocket By Baby. A rope break gets Johnson out of trouble so he throws a right hand (one more and he’s disqualified) and throws his feet on the ropes (which is fine because LSG is out of breaks so it doesn’t count….which I think makes sense) to pin LSG and win the whole thing at 32:56.

Rating: C+. These things are always a little weird to grade because it’s a bunch of mini matches in a row. What we got here was good though, with the right person winning. Johnson coming in to beat a worn down LSG for the win is the perfect thing for him and I liked enough of this to make it work. Nothing great, but it wasn’t exactly supposed to be given the circumstances.

Post match Johnson insists on a handshake, because he’s good at being a villain.

Rhett Titus vs. Mike Bennett

Pure Rules again. They go with the grappling to start and try a test of strength to no avail, with both of them kicking the other away. That’s good for a standoff so Titus grabs a headlock to put Bennett in some trouble. The Cobra Twist makes it worse and we take a break. Back with Titus working on the leg and the threat of a Boston crab makes Bennett burn a rope break.

Bennett has to use a second to save himself from another hold so Bennett goes after the arm. That doesn’t work either so it’s time to chop it out instead. Bennett blasts him with a discus forearm to the jaw and Titus has to use his first break. Bennett pulls him back to the mat and snaps off a DDT onto the leg as we take a break.

We come back with Bennett having to use his third break before getting gutwrench suplexed for two. An ankle lock sends Titus going for the ropes again so Bennett ties up the legs again. That’s fine with Titus, who starts a slap fight from the mat. Back up and Titus’ leg gives out but he’s able to block the piledriver. Bennett kicks the leg out again but gets rolled up for two. They fight over a bunch of rollups and trade clotheslines until the time limit expires at 15:00. The judges give it to Bennett.

Rating: B-. They were doing a grappling exhibition here and that worked out rather well. Titus has come a long way over the last year and a lot of that is due to being in the ring so often. Put him in there against better wrestlers and he is going to get better as well. Bennett held his own here too and it was a good main event as a result.

Respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a very wrestling focused show and it worked out fairly well. What mattered here was they focused on something and it was entertaining enough. It was certainly another show from before Death Before Dishonor and it’s nice to see something like this be able to fill in a week.

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.

Ring of Honor
Date: April 14, 2021
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are on the way to the 500^th episode and that is going to be a heck of a show once we finally get there. Other than that though, you never know what you are going to see around here and that is a good thing, at least most of the time. I’m curious to see how they are going to do with the big one, but I’m also curious to see what they have with another normal one. Let’s get to it.

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

Quinn McKay runs down the card.

Delirious (with necessary subtitles) talks about how much Rocky Romero means to wrestling. This includes giving Delirious a scar above his eye and since that scar is forever, it might make him hurt Romero.

Rocky Romero is back after losing the Pure Title Tournament and is ready to beat someone from his past. They have a history together and Romero is ready to win the Pure Title, which he could defend elsewhere. Since that should make him a heel around here, I’m relatively sure that it won’t.

Delirious vs. Rocky Romero

Pure Rules and we hear about how Romero is representing New Japan. They go technical to start with Romero grabbing a full nelson to take over. That’s broken up but so is the chinlock so the grappling continues. Delirious’ headlock takeover keeps Romero down for a bit but he is right back up to grab Delirious’ rope. The threat of a half crab sends Delirious over to the ropes for his first break so he tries to grab the wrist for a change.

Romero sends him outside so Delirious comes back in with his series of forearms. A running clothesline drops Romero again but they both miss a series of clotheslines. Romero nails one of his own and we take a break. Back with Delirious working a hammerlock as commentary talks about the show being on longer than Nitro. It passed that years ago so wouldn’t “longer than Nitro and Thunder combined” sound better?

Delirious is back with cobra clutch so Romero goes straight for the rope for the fast break. Romero grabs an armbar, sending Delirious to the ropes for the second break. That’s fine with Romero, who hits a missile dropkick while Delirious is still in the ropes for two. Delirious is right back with a fisherman’s buster for a much needed breather.

The Cobra Stretch goes on but Romero slips out in a hurry, only to be clotheslined down for two. Delirious grabs a backbreaker and puts the clutch on again but Romero backflips over for two more and a break. They slug it out with a minute left and Delirious punches him down for two more. Back up and Romero flips him over into a cross armbreaker for the tap at 14:51.

Rating: B-. I’m not a fan of either guy but they did their thing here rather well. They played the time limit angle up by the end and I wasn’t sure who was going to pull it of. Good stuff here, and it felt like a wrestling match, which is exactly what they are shooting for with the Pure Rules stuff.

Respect is shown post match.

We look at Brody King debuting his own stable (Tony Deppen/Homicide/Chris Dickinson) to go after La Faccion Ingobernable.

The Briscoes talk about how they were supposed to fight each other last year at the Anniversary Show but the pandemic happened. Then EC3 got Jay’s attention so Mark got PCO to go after the Tag Team Titles. That was a waste of a title shot though, meaning it’s time for them to fight at the 500^th episode.

Rey Horus has been pulled from the main event but Mexisquad is a trio so Flamita is in instead. That needed a meeting?

Jay Lethal is ticked off and ready for Mexisquad tonight. Jonathan Gresham doesn’t seem to be as fired up, but that is a hard level to reach.

Foundation vs. Mexisquad

Jonathan Gresham/Jay Lethal vs. Flamita/Bandido and that sounds rather interesting. Lethal and Flamita start things off with Flamita armdragging him down. That’s fine with Lethal, who pops back up for the basement dropkick. Gresham comes in for a headlock and then snaps off a heck of an armdrag to put him on the floor. Bandido comes in and sends Gresham outside so Lethal can come in as well.

This time it’s Bandido taking Lethal into the corner so Flamita can come in with a top rope ax handle to the arm. The Squad has some communication issues though, allowing Gresham to grab a German suplex. Gresham cranks on Flamita’s leg and it’s off to Lethal for an armbar. Lethal stays on the hammerlock and it’s back to Gresham for a seated abdominal stretch. The Octopus doesn’t work so Bandido tries an enziguri….which hits Flamita.

It isn’t much of an enziguri though as Flamita is fine enough to kick Jay down and bring Bandido back in to pick up the pace. A dropkick to the back breaks up the Lethal Injection to Bandido but Flamita drops Bandido to mess up a double team. Flamita blames the arm but the fight is on anyway, allowing Gresham to take out Flamita on the floor. A powerbomb sets up the Figure Four, with Flamita taunting Bandido instead of making the save. Bandido has to tap at 13:45.

Rating: B. They told the story of the breakup here and that is exactly what they were going for the whole match. I liked what we got here and that is not surprising given how much talent was in here. The Squad didn’t go flying around as much as they usually do and it worked out well anyway. They’re that good, and the Foundation can have a solid match against anyone, so this shouldn’t be a big shock. Rather good stuff here.

Flamita walks out on the team to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a pretty great TV show and that is a good sign going into the big milestone show next week. They are on a roll and know how to make something like this work. Ring of Honor has sneakily turned into a heck of a weekly show and this was one of their better editions in a little while. Rather good show here with both matches worth checking out.

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.

Ring of Honor
Date: December 23, 2020
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

This is going to be a weird one as it’s airing either before or after Final Battle (which is coming….eventually) depending on when your local station airs the show. Therefore I’m not sure what to expect here, but we could be in for a fun show as this place has been hit or miss for a bit. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Dalton Castle doesn’t like Brian Johnson throwing a drink in his face. It’s a good thing this is in the ring because if it was on the street, he would have a sock full of batteries with Johnson’s name on it. Castle has a lot of rage in him and Johnson looks like the right shape to break.

Brian Johnson is tired of people talking about how everything used to be great around here. Why talk about Castle when you can talk about him? Castle already won the World Title and then he laid down and lost. Now it’s time for Johnson to create his own decade of excellence.

Dalton Castle vs. Brian Johnson

Castle tries a very early Bang A Rang but Johnson slips out, only to get taken to the mat for a waistlock. That’s broken up in a hurry as Johnson sends him outside for a dive. Johnson insists that the peacock doesn’t know what’s coming for him and there’s a posting to put Castle down again. Back in and a top rope clothesline hits Castle, allowing Johnson to crank on the arm as we take a break.

We come back with Castle bailing to the floor for a breather, only to be thrown back inside. A slingshot splash gets two as the referee catches Johnson’s feet on the ropes. The armbar goes on, followed by a crank to send Castle’s arm into the mat. A back elbow rocks Johnson though and a clothesline gives Castle a breather.

Johnson snaps the arm across the top rope but Castle catches him on the rope. There’s a running knee to rock Johnson again but he pulls Castle arm first onto the top. Back in and the Kill Shot gives Johnson two as commentary keeps complementing Johnson despite him being annoying. Castle manages to snap off a German suplex and the Bang A Rang finishes Johnson at 10:30.

Rating: C+. Good back and forth stuff here, though I’m a bit surprised Johnson lost. That being said, Castle has lost everything since they came back and probably needed the win more. Having him be the main event jobber is fine, but he needs to win a match or two in order to keep that status. Johnson is getting better and better though and that’s a good sign for his future.

Castle does shake his hand after the match.

Post break, Castle says he has been having some issues, but everything clicked during the match against Johnson.

LSG talks about how he had Jay Lethal beaten but the time limit cost him. If he has to go through Kenny King to establish his legacy, he’s ready to go.

Kenny King is still not quite over the lost to Shane Taylor but he needs to move forward. The back to back losses aren’t acceptable, especially when he’s looking at the World and TV Champions as his stable mates. LSG is good, but just hanging with someone isn’t still good enough. King is ready to treat him like something on the bottom of his shoe. Apparently this match is taking place on Honor Club on Christmas Eve.

Matt Taven wants you to buy Honor Club.

Rhett Titus has had a lot of success in Ring of Honor but he has also had a lot of failures. He has been a champion but then Kenny King walked off. Now the Foundation wants to reward him for fighting and now it is time to go and deal with someone from his own personal history. That starts with Delirious, who was the first man to bust him open. This is a Pure Rules match though and Delirious can’t hang with him there. Titus’ dropkick is waiting for him.

Delirious, through subtitles, talks about his history with Titus and knows that they have to fight again. He doesn’t want anyone to know his motivations but Titus knows him better than most. Delirious has been around Titus for a long time and tonight, as always, Delirious will beat him.

Delirious vs. Rhett Titus

Pure Rules. They go straight to the mat to start with Titus going after the leg early on. That’s broken up in a hurry so they go the test of strength instead. With that broken up, Titus fireman’s carries him to the mat into an armbar. The grappling continues with neither being able to get very far so it’s another standoff.

We take a break and come back with Rhett taking him to the mat for a quickly broken front facelock. Titus slaps it on again for a change and it’s off to a chinlock to keep Delirious down. A gutwrench suplex puts Delirious down but he pops up with a dropkick to the back. The cobra stretch attempt sends Titus bailing over to the ropes so Delirious tries it again, meaning Titus has to burn off a second break in a hurry.

Delirious starts in on the arm for a change, tying it up with his legs and falling backwards to crank on it even harder. Titus manages to get up and sends Delirious outside in a crash but uses his third rope break in the process. Back in and the cobra stretch goes on so Titus has to use a suplex to break out this time. A belly to belly (with the Magnum TA reference) drops Delirious again, only to have him come back with a cobra clutch suplex for two. Titus is right back up as well and it’s a dropkick to finish Delirious at 12:24, which Caprice compares to getting kicked in the face by a horse.

Rating: C. This was a bit of a weird one as there is a history there, but it is the kind of history that was so long ago that you might not remember it. The extra promos before the match helped, but at the same time it isn’t exactly a main event level feud. Titus certainly seems to try though and I can always respect something like that, especially from someone who has been around as long as him.

Delirious has to ice his face before they shake hands to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. I’ve liked a lot of things that ROH has been doing as of late but they are getting into a bit of a pattern which isn’t the most thrilling. Maybe this was just the standby show so they didn’t have to give up any Final Battle results, but promo, promo, match, promo, promo, match is getting a little repetitive. Still a good enough show, but it isn’t exactly thrilling.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: September 23, 2020
Location: UMBC Events Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Caprice Coleman, Ian Riccaboni

It’s the second week of both the return and the Pure Title tournament and things have gone pretty well so far. Having a tournament under these circumstances is one of the smartest (and only) thing that they can do but it’s better than nothing. If it lives up to last week, they’re going to be just fine. Let’s get to it.

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

Quick look at the tournament.

Opening sequence.

Quinn McKay welcomes us to the show and throws us to a clip of Jay Lethal defeating Dalton Castle last week.

Lethal says that’s the first step towards becoming the first ever two time champion. He doesn’t care who he faces next week because he wants the best.

We look at the end of Jonathan Gresham defeating Wheeler Yuta.

Gresham says no one is stopping him and it doesn’t matter who he is facing next week.

David Finlay talks about being part of a big wrestling family but he was never forced to stay in the business. Then he went into the New Japan Dojo and was started from scratch because they break you down. He hasn’t been in Ring of Honor since January 2019 because he hurt his shoulder against the Briscoes and missed eight months. Finlay has been working on a variety of offense, including a leg submission.

Rocky Romero talks about everything he has done in Ring of Honor and everyone he has shared the ring with over the years. He loves the idea of the Pure Title tournament because it is everything he loves about wrestling. Romero has wrestled Finlay because and knows all of his weaknesses and strengths. The experience is what is going to matter here though because he has done this for a lot longer than Finlay. Romero is going to win the tournament and put it on his resume, but Finlay is just going to be a footnote.

Pure Title Tournament First Round: Rocky Romero vs. David Finlay

They trade standing switches to start and that’s an early standoff. Finlay headlock takeovers him down but Romero is back up with a headscissors. They go to the corner where Finlay gets in a kick to the ribs, setting up the chinlock. We take a break and come back with Finlay getting two off a dropkick and faceplanting him down. The camel clutch goes on, with Finlay switching it into a cobra clutch for a change.

Rocky fights up into a springboard tornado DDT for the break though and it’s time to kick away at Finlay’s shoulder. Romero goes up and drives a middle rope knee into the arm. Sliced Bread is broken up and Finlay slams him into the ropes, with Romero’s knee getting banged up.

The leglock goes on but Romero reaches over to use his first rope break. The slugout goes to Finlay but Romero is right back with Sliced Bread for two, plus a warning for a closed fist. Romero slaps on the armbar with kicks on the face but Finlay gets his feet on the rope for the break. Another Sliced Bread is countered into a backbreaker and Finlay hits a Last Shot for the pin at 13:03.

Rating: C+. I’m not much of a fan of either of these two but they had a rather nice match here. This was more what the idea of the tournament was supposed to be and they made it work out rather well. It’s nice to see someone younger get the win and Finlay will probably get something from a match against Jay Lethal in the next round.

Matt Sydal talks about having a mind, heart and soul advantage over everyone here. He took Tae Kwan Do and his foot has a big calcified growth on his foot thanks to an injury to make his kicks even worse. When he was starting with wrestling, Delirious was the first person to open his eyes to see how much more there was to this world. They had a match in 2004 and it meant so much to him. Now he needs to win the title to honor those who came before him.

Delirious, with subtitles, talks about being in Ring of Honor for sixteen years but never winning a title. He is a completely different breed and now things are going to change. This is a different Delirious because there is no crowd to make laugh so he is coming in as a beast. He and Sydal first met in 2004 and they have both won over the years. They are different but they are the same and there is no Delirious without Sydal. Delirious is in the tournament because he is bored and wants to be the best in the world.

Pure Title Tournament First Round: Delirious vs. Matt Sydal

The more muscular than usual Delirious dives after Sydal’s leg to start and it’s time to grapple. With that broken up in a hurry, it’s off to a test of strength for a change of pace. They go back to the mat with Delirious’ leglock being countered into a headscissors, which is countered right back into the leg hold. Sydal reverses into another headscissors but Delirious snaps the arm over the top rope, which counts as a rope break. Delirious is smart enough to stay on the arm and we take a break.

Back with Delirious holding a short armscissors but having used a rope break while we were away. They run the ropes into a double clothesline, followed by some kicks to the face to give Sydal two. Sydal kicks him in the legs and head for two more but Delirious is back with a cobra clutch suplex. They go into a pinfall reversal sequence until Sydal slaps on Delirious’ cobra stretch for the tap at 9:57.

Rating: C. This was a bit shorter than I was expecting but you don’t have to stretch things out a long way to get nice results. Sydal winning is fine as Delirious is kind of the designated wrestler if Ring of Honor is in need of a name. It works out well enough and the match was completely watchable, even with a surprise ending as Sydal is now in AEW.

Overall Rating: C+. They have something nice going on with this tournament and we could be in for a nice long run of matches as a result. It’s very structured and given ROH’s history with storylines, that is hardly the worst idea. As has been the case for most promotions restarting, it’s much more about getting ANYTHING out there so while the tournament may not be for everyone, it’s a lot better than nothing.

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

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

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

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