IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 6, 2018
Location: Rebel Sports Complex, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

Things are getting interesting around here again as we now have a three headed monster on top of the promotion. Last week Moose joined forces with Austin Aries and Killer Kross as the trio beat down Eddie Edwards. That means that Eddie is going to need some help in this fight and that could be anyone. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Cage retaining the X-Division Title over Fenix and beating up OVE, the LAX issues, Tessa Blanchard winning the Knockouts Title and the Edwards issues.

Opening sequence.

Petey Williams vs. Rich Swann

Rematch from last week and Matt Sydal is on commentary. Swann dances to start and offers Petey the chance to retaliate but gets rolled up instead. A drop toehold puts Swann in the ropes for a dropkick to the back but O Canada is reversed into a German suplex out of the corner. Swann gets shoved to the floor for a slingshot hurricanrana but it’s way too early for the Canadian Destroyer. The lifting Downward Spiral works a little better but Swann reverses another Destroyer attempt.

A Lethal Injection gives Swann two but Petey takes the leg out and grabs the Sharpshooter. Sydal says pain is just a state of mind as Swann makes the rope. Petey hits a Russian legsweep into a crucifix but Swann is right back up with a shooting star press for two of his own. Williams bails to avoid the middle rope Phoenix splash so Swann kicks him in the head. It’s Phoenix splash time but Sydal sits on the ramp for a distraction, allowing the Destroyer to finish Swann at 7:52.

Rating: C-. Every week I watch these non-Cage X-Division matches and I try to not lose even more interest in everyone involved. That’s not working as Sydal and Williams aren’t doing a thing for me and haven’t in a long time. Swann is a little better but that’s not exactly saying much. The match was fine but the characters and story aren’t there.

Post break Sydal tells Swann that he’s trying to help him but Swann tells him to stay away.

Desi Hit Squad vs. Joe Hendry/Grado

Hendry’s new song is about his platonic love with Katarina. Raju gets elbowed down to start and the good guys dance into a double elbow drop. Hendry suplexes him for the same but Grado walks into a neckbreaker. A legsweep gives Singh two but he charges into a boot in the corner, allowing the hot tag off to Hendry. Everything breaks down and Hendry hits the fall away slam on both of them at once. Callis: “Even Grado couldn’t screw this up!” Grado proceeds to miss a cannonball, setting up a wind-up knee into the Sky High to give Singh the pin at 5:00.

Rating: D. As usual, it’s a bad sign when the match being short is the best thing about it. Grado is much more acceptable in small doses and Hendry has all the makings of a midcard star but the Hit Squad is just so average and mediocre that it’s hard to watch them. Now just get Hendry away from this mess and see what he can do. The songs alone will give him a spot for as long as he wants it.

Post match Katarina yells at Grado for losing and says she loves Hendry. She goes to kiss him but Hendry says Grado is his best friend so Katarina is out. That earns Hendry a slap as my head hurts all over again. Dang it we were this close to that story being done.

Post break Hendry and Grado laugh a lot.

Classic Clip of the Week: Bully Ray wins the World Title at Lockdown 2013.

Video on Su Yung vs. Tessa Blanchard set to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, which is far more eerie than you might think. Of note: Tessa first appears on the word “diamond”, which is the kind of little touch that makes these things that much better.

Bob sings to Scarlett Bordeaux when KM and Fallah Bahh come in to thank her for helping them. She flirts with them a bit and they have an idea.

Here’s Eli Drake for a chat. Drake talks about all the dummies around lately, like those two last week that took the Gravy Train. Let’s see if anyone who can come out here and impress him. Cue Stone Rockwell, an Indiana Jones style character from a show on the Impact Twitch channel. Drake wants to hear about his latest adventure but cuts him off. Rockwell wants to be a World Champion so Drake wants to get him off to a hot start.

Eli Drake vs. Stone Rockwell

Gravy Train in 12 seconds. I’m not sure where this is leading but Drake is always entertaining.

The Lucha Bros invite Cage to team with them again OVE and Sami Callihan but they’re fine if he doesn’t.

Aries, Moose and Kross are in the back and throw an interviewer out. Alisha Edwards comes in and the trio leaves.

Knockouts Title: Su Yung vs. Tessa Blanchard

Tessa is defending and grabs a very early rollup. The Panic Switch is broken up but Tessa has to bail from the bloody glove. Tessa: “SHE’S CRAZY!” Back in and Su throws her around a few times but gets her legs tied up in a modified Indian Deathlock. The running dropkick to the back gives Tessa two and a hanging DDT out of the corner rocks Yung again. Tessa can’t bring a chair in so she sits it down, only to be knocked into said chair.

Yung cannonballs her off the apron to knock Tessa out of the chair in a big crash. Back in and Yung takes her to the top, only to get pulled back down with a super cutter (supposed to be a neckbreaker but close enough). Back from a break with Tessa firing off right hands but getting hurricanranaed into the corner. The Panic Switch is broken up again and the hammerlock DDT retains Tessa’s title at 12:40.

Rating: C. Tessa was extra aggressive here and that’s something she needs to do every now and then. The point of her character is that she knows she’s better than everyone else so having her show what she’s capable of doing when she needs to makes her seem all the more dangerous. Yung losing again isn’t a good sign for her, as she doesn’t exactly have the best record.

Post match the Undead Bridesmaids bring out a casket with Tessa’s name on it. Yung jumps her from behind and hits the Panic Switch. Allie and Kiera Hogan run out for the save. Thankfully Tessa gets up and yells at the two of them as turning Tessa face would be a really bad idea.

Time for your weekly reminder that Impact will indeed be in Mexico for tapings next week.

Cage doesn’t like Sami Callihan and OVE. He’s the Machine and will take them apart.

Konnan and King go to see their bosses, who aren’t happy over the kid being run over two weeks ago. Konnan blames King, who says he can’t believe the hypocrisy around here. Everyone is against him and he did what has to be done to make money. It was ok when Konnan and the bosses did it but not when King does the same? The bosses say there’s a ceasefire until October 14 in New York City (at Bound For Glory). There will be a six man final war with Konnan getting involved too. King won’t shake hands.

The announcers preview next week’s card.

Zachary Wentz/Ace Austin/Trey Miguel vs. OVE

OVE cleans house to start but Wentz knees Callihan in the face. A big flip dive takes the villains out and Miguel dives onto everyone else. Fans: “THIS IS IMPACT!” Egads that’s bad even for a wrestling chant. Back in and Jake kicks Miguel in the face a few times before handing it off to Dave. Everything breaks down and Austin gets kicked in the head, sending him into a hanging Downward Spiral. The All Seeing Eye finishes Austin at 3:44.

Rating: C-. Well it was certainly energetic, which is more than you would have expected out of a short squash. OVE has grown on me a lot and while I’m still not big on them, they’re far better than they used to be. The jobbers all looked good here and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of them in the future.

Post match Callihan piledrives Austin and says they’re the best trio in the world today. Their war with Fenix and Pentagon will never end and if Cage wants in, bring it on.

Here are Aries, Kross and Moose (in a very shiny shirt) so the latter can explain himself. Aries introduces Moose as Moose Money, which is going to need some time to sink in. Moose says Eddie is a fraud because he was the one who had Eddie’s back through everything. When Moose was in the hospital with a concussion, Kross and Aries were the only ones who cared.

Moose thanks Aries for being the greatest man who ever lived and Aries thanks Moose for listening. No one is taking the World Title but here’s Johnny Impact to interrupt. Aries agrees that Impact is a nobody but says that while Impact looks the part, Aries is the part. Impact announces that he’s getting the World Title shot at Bound For Glory but Aries wants to do it right now.

Johnny is smarter than that and, after plugging Boone the Bounty Hunter, asks Aries to come fight out here. An insult to bananas brings Aries onto the ramp but the numbers take Impact down. Kross chokes him out and Aries adds a Figure Four. With Impact out, Aries Pillmanizes his throat against the post to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was a little weaker than some of the previous shows, mainly with the not so great wrestling and the storylines that aren’t the best in the first place. It’s not a terrible show or anything but it’s a show that didn’t do anything for me and nothing on it is really interesting or memorable. The build for Bound For Glory could be good though and that’s the more important thing going forward.

Results

Petey Williams b. Rich Swann – Canadian Destroyer

Desi Hit Squad b. Joe Hendry/Grado – Sky High to Grado

Eli Drake b. Stone Rockwell – Gravy Train

Tessa Blanchard b. Su Yung – Hammerlock DDT

OVE b. Zachary Wentz/Ace Austin/Trey Miguel – All Seeing Eye to Austin

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 19, 2018
Location: St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

It’s the go home show for Slammiversary and for once I’m actually interested in where we’re going. The build for the show has been rather good so far and that could make for a solid pay per view. They can still hammer in a few more things tonight but really, Sunday is all that matters at this point. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a rapid fire recap of the big stories.

Petey Williams vs. Killer Kross

The Canadian fans are behind Petey, who gets driven into the corner early on. Petey tries to strike away but gets tossed with a t-bone suplex as Kross laughs. Another t-bone drops Williams but he avoids a charge to send Kross shoulder first into the post. A Codebreaker and a tornado DDT have Kross rocked so he comes right back with a hard Saito suplex.

The Krossjacket (a not great looking choke) has Petey in trouble but Kross lets him go. Kross bends over and puts Petey in position for the Canadian Destroyer (as in he puts Petey in position to give Kross the Destroyer) before slamming him down. The Krossjacket knocks Petey out at 5:03.

Rating: D+. I’m not feeling the choke finisher but this was a very effective match and something they should have done rather than the Fallah Bahh match two weeks ago. Kross feels like a monster and that’s exactly what they should be going for with him. Let that kind of evil flow and see how far up the ladder he can go. I liked this WAY more than the Bahh match and Kross looks like he could be a player.

Post match Kross leaves the card on Petey’s chest.

The announcers give their regular preview.

Madison Rayne talks about her daughter wanting to grow up to be a superhero like her mom. Or maybe a ballerina.

Joe Hendry is at a photo shoot when Grado and Katarina come in. Grado isn’t happy with Hendry for flirting with Katarina but Hendry has a surprise.

Desi Hit Squad vs. KM/Fallah Bahh

So yeah, KM and Bahh are back on the same page again. Raju jumps Bahh to start and has as much success off a crossbody as you would expect. Singh comes in and gets crushed by Bahh’s crossbody so Raju gets in a few more cheap shots. Bahh sends the Squad into each other and it’s off to KM (whose full name of Kevin Matthews is mentioned, possibly for the first time ever around here) to clean house. The Squad gets put down so Bahh and KM do the rolls over them twice in a row. Gama Singh offers a distraction though and it’s a rake to the eyes into a rollup to pin Bahh at 4:34.

Rating: D. The Hit Squad is still fine, though not exactly great. Bahh is exactly the same person he’s been since his debut, though you could say that his charisma has gotten better. KM….actually wasn’t too bad here. Imagine that: you let him wrestle an actual match instead of being a clueless putz and his value goes up. The Squad will probably win the Tag Team Titles one day and while I understand why, it’s not the most inspiring thought in the world.

Video on the LAX civil war, which is actually an awesome story so far.

King doesn’t think anything of Konnan who has turned his back on the Latino nation to join his nice white friends in his white neighborhood. Yeah he put the hit out on Konnan because he had the OG’s in his back pocket. Nobody wants the three of them there so they’ve got nothing to lose. They’re taking over.

Eli Drake vs. Joe Hendry

Drake has kind of been lost in the shuffle of late. Hendry sings his own music about making things better, featuring a video of people celebrating in various ways. To be fair, that’s a heck of an entrance and a rather catchy song. The fans chant LOCAL HERO (Hendry’s nickname) but hang on though as Hendry has a video about Eli Drake with Hendry singing about how big of a dummy Drake really is. Apparently Drake likes to dress up like a woman, complete with what looks like regular photos.

Drake isn’t happy and decks Hendry before the bell with the referee starting the match as Drake is choking in the corner. Hendry gets in a jumping knee to the face but misses a charge in the corner to take him right back down. A pair of neckbreakers take Hendry down but he’s right back up with one of his own. Hendry’s DDT gets two but Drake takes him down without much trouble. The Gravy Train is countered into a rollup to give Hendry the pin at 3:50.

Rating: C-. Hendry is someone with a lot of upside as the singing will carry him for a long way and he has a great look. Once you get him away from Grado things can get better, but for now there’s a big upside to him. That’s what has gone well for Impact as of late: bringing in some fresh names who can make an impact in a hurry.

Hendry celebrates with Katarina, much to Grado’s annoyance.

The new LAX knows that the OG’s helped get them here but it’s their time now.

Andrew Everett vs. Dezmond Xavier

And here’s Eddie Edwards to attack the referee at 15 seconds. The bell rang so yes, this was a match.

Eddie says the time has come for Tommy Dreamer and no matter what the stipulation is, pain is coming for Dreamer. There will be blood and Eddie is going to taste it straight from Dreamer’s head. Then Eddie will be the new Innovator of Violence and Dreamer’s never ending nightmare. This was very good and if you just get rid of the Dreamer factor, it’s that much better.

Recap of last week’s Madison Rayne/Su Yung incident.

Rayne is in a funeral home with pictures of her and her family. She opens the casket and finds herself but a man comes up from behind her. His face is in Yung style paint and Madison runs away, finding a girl looking for her mom. Madison panics and is suddenly outside in the woods. Blood falls from the sky and the bridesmaids appear with Yung saying Rayne’s time has come.

Video on Pentagon Jr. vs. Sami Callihan.

Greg Osborne vs. Sami Callihan

Osborne is from Australia and has a boomerang. Callihan wastes no time in kicking him down in the corner but stops to get Pentagon’s mask from the Crist brothers. A double eye gouge sets up the Cactus piledriver for no cover. The fans sing the Goodbye Song and Sami puts the mask on Osborne. Sami starts a Pentagon chest but calls it bull, eventually accepting the hair vs. mask match. Wasn’t that accepted weeks ago? A low superkick sets up Get Out Of Here for the pin on Osborne at 4:09.

Rating: D. Just a squash here with Sami’s ranting being a good chunk of the match. Callihan is fine in short bursts like this and the violence works far better than seeing him trying to wrestle. Throw him in there with someone as good as Pentagon and the match should be a lot of fun.

Post match Sami promises violence on Sunday. Pentagon pops up to say bring it so OVE gives chase.

The OG’s are ready to take back what’s theirs.

Allie doesn’t like Tessa Blanchard but is ready for the tag match tonight.

Tessa is ready to take care of Allie for messing with her plans.

Allie/Kiera Hogan vs. Tessa Blanchard/Shotzi Blackheart

I’m glad to see Shotzi again. Kiera and Tessa start things off with Blanchard taking her into the corner and slapping Kiera in the chest. They switch places and do the same thing, followed by Kiera armdragging her down. Blackheart comes in and misses a charge to send her to the floor. Allie gets two off a snap suplex with Tessa shouting DON’T MESS THIS UP FOR ME.

Tessa kicks Kiera in the face and comes in, only to have stereo big boots give us a double knockdown. The hot tag brings in Allie to clean house on Shotzi with a Russian legsweep getting two. A Tessa distraction lets Shotzi grab a neckbreaker but the Best Superkick Ever puts Shotzi down. That’s enough for Tessa, leaving Allie to hit the Codebreaker on Shotzi for the pin at 7:03.

Rating: C. The division is getting better and better with Tessa clearly being a star (albeit pretty close to a Charlotte clone) and Allie being someone the division could be built around for a long time. Kiera has turned into a nice featured player and Shotzi got my attention as soon as she debuted. Good stuff, though nothing that hasn’t been done before.

OVE is still looking for Pentagon.

Scarlett Bordeaux, now named and shown, debuts next week. This works in a variety of ways.

Video on the international four way, featuring the return of Johnny Impact.

The announcers run down the pay per view card.

Video on Brian Cage vs. Matt Sydal, including Kongo Kong costing Cage the X-Division Title a few weeks back.

Santana talks about having history with Homicide. They’ve known each other for years now and Homicide has made the wrong decision.

Video on Austin Aries vs. Moose.

The search for Pentagon continues and the Crist brothers find him….or rather Sami tied up in Pentagon’s mask. The real Pentagon shows up and seems to break the brothers’ arms but the editing is so fast that it’s hard to tell.

Here’s Moose for the hard sell promo for Sunday’s main event. Moose has been away from the Impact Zone for a long time and wants Austin Aries down here now. Bring the banana with you too. Aries pops up on screen to say chill a bit because we don’t need a moose on the loose. He’s not coming out right now and Moose can just wait until Sunday. Cue Aries from behind (smart move) and the beatdown is on. Moose gets up behind Aries though and tosses him into the corner. A swing with a chair misses and Aries runs. This company has a history of not great main event builds and that’s true here, but it was good enough.

One more Slammiversary run down ends the show.

Overall Rating: B+. I want to see Sunday’s show more than I did when I came in so I don’t know how this could be anything but a success. They did exactly what they wanted to do here with some watchable wrestling but the pay per view build was what really mattered. As long as Sunday can live up to the hype they’ll be fine, but this company has a history of choking at the finish line. Hopefully they break the streak here though, as the show looks rather good. Very well done this week and the best Impact has looked in a LONG time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 14, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

It’s another big night this week with a double main event. First up we have Moose vs. Eli Drake in a #1 contenders match with the winner getting a World Title shot against Austin Aries at Slammiversary. Other than that we have Brian Cage challenging X-Division Champion Matt Sydal, which sounds like a way for Impact to find a way out of giving Cage the title. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at both matches, which is really all that matters on this show.

Opening sequence.

Grado comes out for a match but here’s Eddie Edwards to jump him with a kendo stick. Eddie rants about losing his chance to kill Sami Callihan last week and blames Tommy Dreamer, who he promises to expose. Cue Dreamer, who is somehow being featured again on a show in 2018. Dreamer says things have changed since his time but Eddie asks if Dreamer would change anything he ever did.

That earns an admission that Tommy is a hypocrite but he tells Eddie to leave it alone. Eddie says he hasn’t talked to his wife in a week and Dreamer says he knows. As you might expect, Eddie isn’t happy that Dreamer is talking to his wife and violence almost breaks out. Tommy shoves him down and gets caned in the head, because we’re probably getting Eddie vs. Dreamer at Slammiversary for some reason. Eddie beats on Dreamer even more before leaving without looking sorry.

Post break Dreamer is livid and leaves, saying he’s done around here.

The announcers preview the rest of the night.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Rebel

More kicks have Rebel in trouble and Taya mocks the LET’S GO REBEL chants. Rebel avoids a charge in the corner and scores with some forearms but a running knee to the face doesn’t warrant a cover. A middle rope moonsault misses and Taya spears her down, setting up the Road To Valhalla for the pin at 5:42.

Rating: D. Just a squash here with Rebel not exactly being the toughest of competition. Taya is kind of being left out in the cold at this point with Yung running the division and Allie being the only real challenger around, unless they actually try to trot Madison Rayne out there again. I mean, it would be a long stretch so you can probably pencil it in at this point.

Post match Taya calls out Madison Rayne for next week. So yeah, they really are going with Madison as the next #1 contender. Sure why not.

The classic clip of the week: the Unbreakable triple threat. I’ve heard of worse ideas.

Sydal says he isn’t worried about Cage because the muscles are just hiding inner weakness.

Callihan says last week was a win because Eddie is about to lose everything.

Cult of Lee vs. KM/Fallah Bahh

The huge Bahh rubs his stomach and shoves Lee down so it’s off to Konley instead. KM comes in to break up some double teaming and they crush the Cult against each other. Bahh and KM roll over the two of them on the mat but Bahh hits him by mistake, allowing the Cult to dropkick Bahh down. A rollup gives Lee the pin on KM at 3:25.

Rating: D-. So we have a comedy team breaking up before they’ve had any kind of success whatsoever. Well that’s good actually as the team was one of the worst and least funny that I’ve seen in a very long time. I don’t get the appeal of Bahh and I don’t get why KM isn’t working in a mouse trap factory somewhere. At least they didn’t get a title chase or anything.

Post match KM shoves Bahh down and says he’s done.

Video on Moose vs. Drake.

King has gotten LAX a Tag Team Title match next week. Diamante still isn’t convinced and doesn’t join in on the celebration. She leaves with LAX and King sits down, saying that the world is his.

From Philadelphia in the ECW Arena.

Moose vs. Eli Drake

No entrances or special hype as the match just starts with Drake jumping Moose from behind. They head outside where Moose whips Drake into the barricade but misses a charge. Drake gets in a not great looking Death Valley Driver onto the apron but gets chopped rather hard back inside.

A basement corner dropkick has Drake in more trouble and the chokebomb out of the corner gives Moose two. Drake powerbombs him for two and scores with Blunt Force Trauma. Thank goodness he got a better finisher than that weak looking thing. Moose (with Josh saying he has a stupid name) misses a charge into the post but still slips out of the Gravy Train. A spear gives Moose the title shot at 8:48.

Rating: C-. Why do I have a feeling that the lack of entrances or introductions is because this was just a regular match at a house show that they slapped a stipulation on to make things easier? This was just a regular match and there was hardly any urgency or drama, though Moose winning is an interesting idea. I doubt he wins the title, but it wouldn’t completely stun me.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Kiera Hogan

No DQ. Kiera wastes no time in pulling her to the floor and ramming Tessa face first into the apron over and over. Back in and a right hand puts Tessa on the floor again, followed by a baseball slide into a hurricanrana. Tessa gets in a flapjack on the ramp though and a dropkick to the back gets two inside.

We hit an abdominal stretch for a few moments but Kiera is right back out with some forearms. That just earns her a beating and Tessa grabs a chair. A hammerlock DDT gives Tessa two and she’s so annoyed at the speed of the count that the referee gets shoved down. Kiera gets in a chair shot and a low superkick for two but Tessa grabs a half nelson and spins Hogan face first into the chair for the pin at 8:07.

Rating: D+. I like both of them but this wasn’t much to see. Tessa getting the win and getting to be aggressive are a good thing but it’s nothing all that great, especially after Yung and Allie have been showing better aggression as of late. I do however like the multiple stories in the Knockouts division and pushing Tessa is a good idea.

Video on the X attacker.

The announcers accuse Petey Williams but Callis wants to let the investigation takes its course.

El Hijo Del Fantasma vs. Jake Crist

Jake stomps away in the corner and grabs a dragon sleeper to keep Fantasma in trouble. With that going nowhere, Jake goes with a choke in the corner until Fantasma grabs a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. A rollup gives Fantasma the pin at 3:20.

Rating: D. Another match that didn’t have time to go anywhere here and wasn’t exactly interesting in the first place. I remember being really into OVE when they debuted and were just doing cool moves but now they’re just heels who shout a lot and call it being villains. Fantasma isn’t much better but he’s a little bit ahead of either Crist.

Post match Dave Crist and Callihan come in to beat Fantasma down. They go for the mask and here’s Pentagon Jr. for the save. That’s kind of interesting.

X-Division Title: Matt Sydal vs. Brian Cage

Cage is challenging. Sydal circles him to start and chants a lot. There’s no contact in the first minute but things pick up in a hurry with Cage grabbing him by the head and lifting him up for a fall away slam, albeit after some human sized curls. Some corner clotheslines rock Sydal but here are Jimmy Jacobs and Kongo Kong.

The distraction lets Sydal knee Cage in the face and choke with his leg. Cage catches a boot though and grabs a capture suplex, followed by a superplex for two. The discus lariat misses so Cage settles for a buckle bomb. Sydal goes to the floor and Cage throws him back in, only to be sent into the steps by Kong to give Sydal the countout win at 6:04.

Rating: D. Well that wasn’t exactly surprising. Unfortunately it also wasn’t exactly good, engaging, entertaining or a match that managed to keep Kongo Kong off my TV. I’m not exactly thrilled by Kong vs. Cage, but I’m not exactly thrilled by much of anything involving Kong. Cage could win the title later, but I’d expect him to be more towards the World Title scene than anything else.

Overall Rating: D. Bleh indeed. This was a bunch of short matches, none of which were very good, and a lot of angle advancement which isn’t the most thrilling in the world. I really don’t need Dreamer and Kong being pushed into pay per view feuds but some of the other stuff does get my attention. Aries vs. Moose should be fun and the Knockouts division could be interesting, though they need another big time face in there. While not horrible, it certainly wasn’t good and nothing on it was particularly required viewing.

Results

Taya Valkyrie b. Rebel – Road To Valhalla

Cult of Lee b. KM/Fallah Bahh – Rollup to KM

Moose b. Eli Drake – Spear

Tessa Blanchard b. Kiera Hogan – Spinning faceplant into a chair

El Hijo Del Fantasma b. Jake Crist – Rollup
Matt Sydal b. Brian Cage via countout

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 10, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentator: Josh Matthews

We’re still dealing with the Redemption fallout while also starting the build towards Slammiversary. Tonight’s big deal is Eli Drake cashing in his Feast or Fired briefcase for the World Title shot against Pentagon Jr. You also have Austin Aries roaming around near the title and some other people aren’t far behind. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with Josh Matthews in the studio talking about Sami Callihan wrecking a recent ceremony in Don Callis’ honor. Apparently Sami is livid at Callis for throwing in the towel to save Eddie Edwards at the WrestleCon show and wanted revenge.

There’s currently a meeting going on regarding Sami’s future. We’ll cut into whatever to let you know the outcome.

It’s off to the ceremony in Toronto with Anthony Carelli (Santino Marella) giving Callis an award. Cue Sami to attack Callis and beat him down while busting him open. Fine angle, but Callis has been on camera around here for less than a month. That’s quite a lot of faith to bet on fans caring about something like this.

The regular opening video talks about Drake vs. Pentagon.

Opening sequence.

Andrew Everett/DJZ vs. LAX

Santana and DJZ start things off with a rather speedy exchange until Ortiz comes in for some double teaming to take over. It’s off to Everett for a failed fireman’s carry gutbuster as Santana is keeping his eyes open for anyone trying to interfere. Santana’s cutter gives Everett two and Josh gives us updates on the meeting: it’s still going on. I’ll take nothing new Josh over nitwit/stupid/self praising Josh. Everett rolls over into a kick to Santana before rolling over to DJZ for the tag.

DJZ sends them together so Ortiz DDTs Santana in that spot that is still so stupidly contrived. A double kick takes DJZ down but a double kick takes LAX down. Everything breaks down and DJZ tornado DDTs Ortiz, only to walk into a Santana superkick. Everett hits a very good looking top rope Asai moonsault to drop Ortiz but Ortiz is up a few moments later for a suicide flip dive. The Street Sweeper is broken up and DJZ rolls Ortiz up for the pin at 8:28.

Rating: B-. This is a good idea as there’s only so much you can do with a two or three team tag division. Everett and DJZ aren’t breaking the mold or anything we haven’t seen before but the division needs bodies right now and there’s nothing wrong with that. LAX’s downward spiral is interesting and I’m kind of curious to see what’s behind the whole thing. Nice match too.

Grado is still waiting on his girlfriend but Joseph Park says he smells a rat. Cue Katie Lea Burchill/Winter (now known as Katarina) name she’s going by now to hug Grado and say she’ll see “James” (Park) later.

Austin Aries wants Eli Drake to win tonight because he knows he can beat him.

Rohit Raju vs. Grado

Before Josh can say it: WHO IS THE DESI HIT SQUAD AND WHY SHOULD I CARE? Raju jumps Grado while he gives Katarina his hat but can’t suplex the rather rotund one. Some running boots to the face in the corner give Raju two and we hit the chinlock. Grado is back with a side slam and a falling splash, which Josh calls unique. That would be true, if Ortiz didn’t do the same thing in the previous match.

We go split screen for a second to show that the meeting is still going. Grado takes too much time with his dancing punches and gets kneed in the face. A swinging fisherman’s neckbreaker gets two but Grado is right back with an elbow to the head and the Cannonball for the pin at 5:39.

Rating: D. I never cared for Grado in the first place and now I’m not sure if he’s supposed to be a heel or a face. By nature he’s a face but if you put a hot manager with anyone, it’s going to make them a heel almost by default. Unless Katarina is with him to stay in the country or just using him or something, I’m not sure I get this.

Joseph Park is the latest X victim. Given that one of his finishers is called Weapon X, Cage is a possible suspect.

Video on Tessa Blanchard, who has wrestling in her blood and has to be the best.

Eli Drake and Scott Steiner are in the back with Drake saying tonight, he becomes the new belt collector. Steiner doesn’t like the idea of Drake saying he’ll do this himself.

Drago vs. Aerostar vs. Taiji Ishimori vs. El Hijo Del Fantasma

Lucha rules and the winner gets a future X-Division Title shot. Now that’s all I ask. Ishimori and Fantasma are sent to the floor in about thirty seconds, leaving Drago and Aerostar to trade covers. The other two replace them in a hurry and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets two on Ishimori. A good looking middle rope moonsault to the floor drops Drago and we take a break.

Back with Drago kicking Fantasma in the mask and hitting an ankle scissors to take Fantasma down again. Ishimori comes back in with a Regal roll for two on Drago. All four get back in and Fantasma superkicks Drago down. Ishimori drops Fantasma as well and all four are down for a bit. Drago is sent outside for a dive from Ishimori, followed by a dive each from Fantasma and Aerostar. Back in and Aerostar powerbombs Ishimori into the corner for two but the Thrill of the Kill gives Fantasma the pin on Aerostar for the pin at 16:43.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have the energy or the pace as last week’s six man but thank goodness they did something about giving us a new #1 contender. You can’t have these guys out there doing all kinds of crazy stuff and popping the crowd and not move them up, at least a little bit. Good match here, as you probably expected.

Eddie Edwards goes into the meeting and demands that Callihan not be fired. Management tells him to do what he has to do away from the Impact Zone.

From House of Hardcore in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Moose vs. Kongo Kong

Joined in progress with Moose hitting a dropkick but getting thrown to the floor. Kong follows him out and whips Moose into the barricade as Josh talks about Callihan and Edwards over and over. Kong’s waistlock doesn’t get him very far so he sends Moose shoulder first into the post. Moose switches to a more simplistic offense by shouldering him down but Jimmy Jacobs comes in with a chair for the DQ at 6:08.

Rating: D. Leave it to Kong to pull the good match streak to a grinding halt. I still don’t care for these matches from outside promotions but at least they have something here where it’s continuing a storyline with people we know. Unfortunately one of those people is Kong and I still have no clue why he’s getting so much time, unless he works for dirt cheap.

KM wants Fallah Bahh to become the best man that he can and we get shots of them screaming into the camera.

Montage of KM training Bahh to make him lose weight while eating various bad food. Bahh passes out.

From Pro Wrestling Noah and if what I can find is correct, this is from June 4, 2017.

Brian Cage vs. Takashi Sugiura

Joined in progress with Cage hitting a delayed vertical suplex, followed by a standing moonsault for two. Josh: “If the Avengers ever needed a new member, and they do after Infinity War, they should get Brian Cage.” That’s getting rather close to a spoiler. Cage hits the apron suplex for two more but Sugiura knees him down and hits some running knees in the corner.

A superplex attempt is broken up but Sugiura snaps off a top rope hurricanrana to put both guys down. There’s a buckle bomb to drop Sugiura and an F5 gets two. A German suplex and running knee give Sugiura the same but Cage blasts him with the Tornado Claw for two more. The Drill Claw is good for the pin on Sugiura at 7:49.

Rating: C. They really couldn’t find another match from within the last ten months and had to go this far back? The World Tour idea is fine but come up with something a little more recent. The match was watchable, though telling me who Sugiura was would have been nice, albeit completely beyond Josh’s capabilities. As someone who doesn’t watch Noah, I have no idea if that was a big, middle of the road or meaningless win for Cage, because I don’t know if Sugiura is an all time great, a midcarder, or a jobber. I’m sure I could find it, but Josh and Impact need to be telling us these things. Why that’s so much to ask, I’m not sure.

From Destination X 2009, Suicide wins the X-Division Title.

Allie is looking in a mirror and has flashbacks to last week. She finds a doll with a note pinned to it and opens it up. While we don’t see what it says, Allie looks a little disturbing when she looks in the mirror, almost like something is trying to take control of her.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Eli Drake vs. Pentagon Jr.

Pentagon is defending and Steiner isn’t here with Drake. They trade catchphrases to start and Drake sends him into the corner to stand on his head. Back to back Sling Blades give Pentagon two as Aries is watching in the back, banana in hand. A powerslam cuts Pentagon off as we’re told that next week, House of Hardcore will present Edwards vs. Callihan in a street fight. At least there’s a storyline reason for going to another promotion this time.

We hit the chinlock for a bit before Pentagon headscissors Drake out to the floor. A superkick to the ribs knocks Drake out of the air and the Codebreaker out of the corner gets two. The Gravy Train doesn’t work and Drake misses a top rope Lionsault, allowing Pentagon to hit the Pentagon Driver for the pin at 7:09.

Rating: D+. Uh, where’s the rest of this match? Pentagon defends against a guy who was World Champion about three months ago and it’s barely hyped up and seven minutes long with a clean finish? We didn’t deserve a little more than that for a match like this? Anyway at least the briefcases are already done instead of having them hanging over our heads like the Money in the Bank briefcases so score one for Impact.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was on a roll in the first hour and then rolled off a cliff in the second with some bad matches and lame ideas that didn’t go anywhere. They’re doing a better job of setting up the other promotions’ matches as they seem to have a point now, at least some of the time. The show was watchable but they need to put it together in a better order to really make things work. That and get a louder bell. Seriously I had to rewind four matches tonight to hear where they started. Get something louder.

Results

Andrew Everett/DJZ b. LAX – Victory roll to Ortiz

Grado b. Rohit Raju – Cannonball

El Hijo Del Fantasma b. Aerostar, Taiji Ishimori and Drago – Thrill of the Kill to Aerostar

Moose b. Kongo Kong via DQ when Jimmy Jacobs interfered

Brian Cage b. Takashi Sugiura – Drill Claw

Pentagon Jr. b. Eli Drake – Pentagon Driver

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 3, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

Things are starting to get more interesting around here and a lot of that is stemming from the World Title scene. Pentagon Jr. won the World Title at Redemption and now a nice list of people are starting to go after him. It seems that Austin Aries is at the top of the list, but there’s also Scott Steiner, who is getting to be a bigger and bigger name as the weeks go by. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a rather detailed recap of last week’s show.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Eli Drake with the Tag Team Title and the World Title Feast or Fired briefcase. Standing on the middle rope, Drake talks about all the dummies that he sees around the arena tonight. Why are they dummies? That’s because they’re booing one half of the World Tag Team Champions. He’s out here with the briefcase and now he wants to talk about becoming a two time World Champion.

Then Austin Aries and Pentagon Jr. want to come out here and talk about being champion, but that doesn’t matter because they’re not E-Li-Drake. Eli is cashing in his briefcase next week and Pentagon can take a one way trip on the Gravy Train while Drake takes the World Title back. Cue Pentagon for CERO MIEDO and trash talk ensues. Things don’t get physical and they both leave.

The announcers run down the card.

Earlier today, Kiera Hogan said she was ready to challenge Taya Valkyrie to a rematch. Tessa Blanchard came and laughed at her for thinking that any of it mattered. All that matters is Tessa and that’s not changing.

Grado is back (erg) and talks to Joseph Park about his (Grado’s) newest hot woman. Cue Austin Aries to mock them both and give Grado a banana.

OVE vs. KM/Fallah Bahh

KM runs Jake over to start as the announcers talk about an upcoming seminar in Pittsburgh later this month. Jake drives him into the wrong corner and it’s off to Dave for some choking. KM manages to suplex them both at the same time and it’s off to Fallah for a big man crossbody. Both Crists are down so Bahh rolls over the two of them in succession and then does it again for good measure. Jake pops up and superkicks Bahh down for a rollup and the pin at 3:43.

Rating: D+. So Bahh and KM are the newest oddball tag team, meaning you can probably pencil them in for a title run later in the year. Just by being a team they’re already in the top four (at worst) teams in the division and that’s a problem for this promotion. At this point, it might be a good idea to just drop the Tag Team Titles. You have two hours a week and that’s not enough to make those work very well, especially not with the low level of attention they put on the belts.

Moose promises to win the World Title this year. Jimmy Jacobs comes in and laughs the idea off so Moose chokes him. Jacobs issues a challenge for Moose to face Kongo Kong next week. Tell me they wouldn’t have him go over Moose too.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Kiera Hogan

Rematch from Redemption. Taya wastes no time in sending her face first into the buckle but misses a charge. Kiera knocks her to the floor but here’s Tessa to jump Hogan for the DQ at 2:43.

Tessa beats the heck out of Hogan post match.

Video on Brian Cage.

From World Series Wrestling in Australia.

Brian Cage vs. Brodie Marshall vs. Mick Moretti vs. Slex

It’s not mentioned but this is a Wrestle Circus Ringmaster Title match with Cage defending. At least Josh explains who the three people are and it’s a big brawl to start with Marshall being sent outside. Marshall crawls away from Moretti (sounds like an Ivory tribute) but it’s Cage coming back in with a running hurricanrana. Cage backdrops Marshall and it’s time for a pose down with the fall smaller Moretti.

Marshall takes an F5 and Slex hits Cage by mistake, meaning his days are numbered. Moretti’s F5 to Cage is no sold and he carries Moretti and Marshall at the same time for a double fall away slam. A big no hands flip dive takes all three down but Slex gets two off a springboard spinning kick to the face. Moretti hits a fisherman’s buster on Slex for two but Cage hits a buckle bomb to drop Slex. There’s a German suplex to Cage but he pops back up and hits the Drill Claw on Slex to retain at 7:57.

Rating: D+. This might as well have been Cage beating up three jobbers in the Impact Zone. The wrestlers were fine but I know as much about them as I do about any given local competitors, which is what TNA never understands: I need a reason to care about these people and at the same time, a reason to believe they’re a threat to Cage. That wasn’t the case here and that’s really annoying.

Drago/Aerostar/El Hijo Del Fantasma vs. Dezmond Xavier/DJZ/Andrew Everett

Lucha rules. Fantasma and Xavier (who has done nothing after winning the Super X Cup last year) start things off and it’s a standoff, allowing Aerostar to come in with a springboard hurricanrana. Things speed up in a hurry and the luchadors clear the ring without much effort. Everett scores with a springboard spinning kick to the face and let’s hit those upcoming date announcements because it’s not like there’s anything going on in the ring at the moment.

Fantasma chops Everett to slow things down and a kick to the face gives Drago two. Things speed up again as Everett goes to the floor and it’s off to Dezmond for a Backstabber. Everett and Dezmond try stereo Lionsaults from the same rope (cool) but only hit mat. It’s off to a four way submission until Aerostar breaks it up, likely due to the high levels of implausibility. Stereo Octopus Holds are broken up with stereo kicks to the face, followed by Xavier hitting a cartwheel into a moonsault onto the floor.

DJZ, with the horn, hits a dive of his own. Fantasma adds his suicide dive and Aerostar hits a springboard trust fall to take us to a break. Back with the luchadors down and the three Americans going to the top (same corner) for a trio of top rope splashes/dives for three near falls. Aerostar is back up with a springboard backsplash for two on DJZ, only to have Dezmond backflip kick Aerostar. Everett catches Aerostar on the top and the DZT is good for the pin at 16:32.

Rating: B-. It was fun, as most lucha matches are, but this went longer than it needed to go. These things don’t need to go very long as you get the idea in the first half. Why go longer and lose the impact that they can have later? And as a bonus, why are none of these people going after the X-Division Title? Could it be because there’s a certain group that goes after that title and these guys aren’t in it for whatever reason?

They do the big post match handshake. It wasn’t THAT good of a match.

Aries asks Drake about cashing in next week and wishes him luck. Not that it matters as he’s coming for the title no matter what. He knows he can beat Drake too.

We look at Ultimate X from Destination X 2012 with Zema Ion (DJZ) winning the title.

KM and Bahh argue with KM saying he can change Bahh’s life and make him cool. As they talk, we see someone else down in the back. The X symbol is seen again.

Last Friday, Eddie Edwards was released from jail when Tommy Dreamer came up and had him get in a car. Eddie: “Really?”

X-Division Title: Taiji Ishimori vs. Matt Sydal

Sydal is defending. They start slowly until Ishimori sends him to the floor for a teased springboard dive. Back from a break with Sydal grabbing an inverted Muta Lock, followed by a spinwheel kick. Double knees in the corner rock Sydal but he goes right back to the leg in a smart move.

The standing moonsault hits Ishimori’s legs but he has to roll through the 450. With that not working, the Tombstone into the double knees to the chest rock Sydal again. Not that it matters as he pops up and pulls Ishimori off the top for the front flip into the rollup to retain at 11:55.

Rating: C+. Nice match but I’m still not sure how interesting Sydal is as champion. The third eye and all that jazz doesn’t exactly thrill me and while his matches are good, they’re nothing all that great. Ishimori is a case of I’ve seen him a few times and I don’t need to see him again. He’s perfectly fine, but these ten minute matches aren’t going to let him showcase how good he can be.

Dreamer talks to Eddie about wasting so much time of his life trying to beat one person and says you can’t do this in 2018. You can however continue talking about ECW. It’s only been seventeen years.

Rosemary doesn’t want Allie at ringside with her tonight because that’s how it has to be.

LAX is panicking because they’ve lost everything, including the money and the girls. Maybe sell the clubhouse?

Su Yung vs. Rosemary

Yung tries to jump her on the floor and the fight starts on the outside with Yung being sent into the steps. The Panic Switch plants Rosemary on the floor and here come the army of demonic bridesmaids with a casket. There was no bell so no match.

Allie comes out for the save but the bridesmaids pull her away. Rosemary is back up and grabs the kendo stick to point at Yung. Su spits in her eyes and hits a Panic Switch off the stage through a table. Rosemary is put in the casket to end the show. Why do I have a feeling this is going to turn into Rosemary as Yung’s minion?

Overall Rating: C+. I liked this more than I was expecting to as it feels like they’re starting to turn things up a few notches. It’s nice to see them do something fresh and while they’re still doing some of the stories from before Redemption, at least they’re starting to go in some different directions with those stories. Better than what they’ve been doing lately and I can more than take that.

Results

OVE b. Fallah Bahh/KM – Rollup to Bahh

Kiera Hogan b. Taya Valkyrie via DQ when Tessa Blanchard interfered

Brian Cage b. Brodie Marshall, Mick Moretti and Slex – Drill Claw to Slex

DJZ/Andrew Everett/Dezmond Xavier b. Aerostar/El Hijo Del Fantasma/Drago – DZT to Aerostar

Matt Sydal b. Taiji Ishimori – Front flip into a rollup

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: April 26, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re past Redemption and that means it’s time to get ready for Slammiversary. What that means is kind of up in the air at this point but it really could go in a variety of directions. Above all else though, we have a new World Champion as Pentagon Jr. defeated Austin Aries and Fenix in a triple threat match on Sunday. Let’s get to it.

Here are the Redemption results if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Redemption, including results from every match.

Earlier today, Austin Aries talked to the roster and said he’s still the Grand Champion so it’s now the top title. Aries makes a bunch of excuses and Moose calls him out on them before walking out. The rest of the people leave as well. Sounds heel turnish to me.

Opening sequence.

The pay per view set is now the regular set.

Brian Cage vs. Trevor Lee

Lee drops to the floor for a meeting with Caleb Konley to start before a shoulder drops him to the floor again. Cage throws him around and shrugs off a forearm but a Konley distraction lets Lee kick him outside. Back in and a bridging German suplex gives Lee two and Konley adds in some choking. That’s enough for Cage who Hulks Up and hits a powerslam, followed by the apron superplex. The Drill Claw puts Lee away at 5:04.

Rating: D+. Cage is starting to run through some bigger names and it wouldn’t shock me if the names get bigger and bigger as we move forward. There’s a certain monster quality to him and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him near the World Title picture within the next year or so. Lee isn’t going to lose anything by getting destroyed here, but it was nice to have him get in some offense.

A livid Eddie Edwards arrived earlier today and ran into Tommy Dreamer (in a Lucha Underground shirt). Tommy told him to go be with his wife but Eddie shoved him out of the way.

Here’s Eddie in the arena to talk about putting Sami Callihan in the hospital. He’s not done though because he wants to put OVE in there right next to Sami. Cue OVE for the 2-1 fight and Eddie runs through them before grabbing the kendo stick. We cut to the hospital room where someone in a wheelchair with balloons covering his face rolls up to Alisha Edwards’ bed. It’s a very banged up Callihan, who says he wants to talk.

OH MY GOODNESS how stupid can Eddie be? A few weeks ago he sees OVE in his wife’s hotel and then LEAVES after checking on her for a few seconds. Now he leaves her IN THE SAME HOSPITAL WHERE CALLIHAN IS STAYING??? My goodness I know he’s a face in wrestling but Sting would find this dumb.

We look at Sunday’s main event.

Classic clip: the Steiner Brothers vs. Team 3D at Bound For Glory. I really wouldn’t point out that one half of your Tag Team Champions was old eleven years ago.

Video on DJZ, who is back after over a year away.

Moose vs. Braxton Sutter

Sutter’s pre-match promo is cut off by Moose’s music. Moose throws him into the corner to start and dropkicks him out to the floor in a heap. Sutter gets in a whip to send Moose into the barricade, followed by a suplex into the corner for two. That earns Sutter a running elbow and running dropkick in the corner, followed by a spear for the pin at 3:32.

Rating: D. Nearly a total squash here, which makes sense as Sutter has announced that he’s done with the promotion. It’s not like Sutter has done anything of note in the company and now that he and Su Yung seem to be done, there’s no reason to not have him go out on his back like this.

Post match the fans chant HAPPY BIRTHDAY at Moose. He wants Pentagon Jr. and the World Title.

Matt Sydal promises to retain the X-Division Title against Taiji Ishimori. A commotion is heard and we go to see someone (not clear who) unconscious with an X on their chest.

LAX wants the titles back but also want to know what’s happened to Konnan.

Knockouts Title: Taya Valkyrie vs. Allie

Allie is defending. Taya wastes no time in jumping Allie and hammering away in the corner. Allie’s comeback is cut off in very short order as Taya powers her down without much effort. A running dropkick in the corner only hits buckle and Allie is in even more trouble. Taya is all fired up but the Road to Valhalla is broken up, allowing Allie to hit the superkick and Codebreaker to retain at 4:17. That was pretty much all of her offense.

Rating: D. Nothing to this one and Taya deserved more than that in a title shot. Allie shrugged off everything Taya threw at her and won with her regular stuff in short order. The match needed more time, but then we wouldn’t have been able to plug the Steiner Brothers vs. Team 3D match and that’s WAY more important.

Post match Su Yung appears, flanked by a bunch of dead brides. They load up a casket but Rosemary appears for the showdown. The lights go out again and Su is gone.

Slammiversary is in Toronto.

KM yells at Fallah Bahh, his partner for next week. Why in the world are these two getting TV time?

Eddie goes to the hospital to see Alisha, who isn’t happy with him leaving her there. He goes into Callihan’s room and beats the heck out of him until a bunch of doctors make the save. This crazy Eddie character is actually working for me.

Video on Kongo Kong vs. Johnny Impact from last week.

Tag Team Titles: Eli Drake/Scott Steiner vs. LAX

Drake and Steiner are defending. Before the match, Steiner says he promised he’d win “last night” (which he says twice) because he’s world famous. Konnan was at Taco Bell due to a discount on burritos so we know his priorities. The champs stall on the floor for a long time before Ortiz drives Drake into the corner to start. Santana comes in for a chop of his own but gets taken outside and sent into the steps by Steiner as we take a break. Back with Steiner getting two off a belly to belly as he picks Santana up.

The fans chant for LAX but get cut off when Steiner “hits” a belly to belly superplex (not rotating enough and nearly falling backwards). It’s back to Drake (thankfully) for a chinlock as we hear that Edwards has been arrested. Well duh. Santana rolls over for a tag so Ortiz can get two off a short DDT. The Death Valley Driver gets two more on Drake but the Street Sweeper is countered into a powerslam (ala Rick Steiner back in the day) to pin Ortiz and retain the titles at 10:54.

Rating: D+. Steiner continues to be scary with some of those near botches, but at least they have a “big name” on the roster now right? Steiner does offer some star power but really, how much is he going to be able to offer without maiming someone? I can’t imagine that he’s going to be around very long but I’m still not a fan.

Post match Drake holds up the World Title briefcase and suggests that he’s cashing in right now. Actually it’s just a warning, but here’s Aries anyway. Back from a break, Aries says he’s healing from a dislocated elbow and looks at the “suitcase”. The fans chant for Aries, who says he wishes they were here on Sunday. The Grand Championship is what matters now but he’ll get the World Title back soon enough.

Drake wants to fight Pentagon, Aries and the Easter Bunny because it means he’s getting the title back. Cue Pentagon Jr. to say CERO MIEDO (zero fear) but Steiner and Drake beat down Pentagon and Aries. They fight back and clear the champs out of the ring, leaving Aries and Pentagon to stare each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. I wasn’t feeling this one, as there wasn’t a lot in the vein of storyline advancement and the wrestling was nothing of note. Allie and Rosemary continue to be an interesting team but really, there’s not much else to go on here. That being said, they have a ton of time to get ready for the next pay per view so it’s not like this needed to be incredible. Not the worst, but nothing that pulled me in.

Results

Brian Cage b. Trevor Lee – Drill Claw

Moose b. Braxton Sutter – Spear

Allie b. Taya Valkyrie – Codebreaker

Eli Drake/Scott Steiner b. LAX – Powerslam to Ortiz

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Redemption 2018
Date: April 22, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

It’s the first pay per view in nearly six months (Not counting the nothing One Night Only shows because….well who does really?) and the main event as changed about ten days ago due to Alberto El Patron having high levels of Alberto El Patron. Now it’s Austin Aries defending the World Title against Pentagon Jr. and Fenix in a rematch from Impact Wrestling vs. Lucha Underground. Let’s get to it.

Here’s the go home show if you need a recap.

The opening video is what you would expect: wrestlers wanting to be redeemed, which means winning matches in their feuds.

There’s a new set (an elevated video screen with vertical rectangular metal structures on both sides) and it looks….I guess better. There will be new belts tonight as well.

Drago vs. Aerostar

Not a bad idea to start with what should be the most entertaining match on the card. Drago goes for the arm to start as we hit the token technical stuff. That goes nowhere so it’s an early standoff with Drago going with a superkick, earning himself an enziguri. A corkscrews moonsault sends Drago outside, which of course means a big suicide dive. You knew that was coming.

Back in and Drago nails another superkick to send him outside, meaning it’s time for Drago to hit his own suicide dive. They head inside again for more kicks (more than I would have expected here) but Drago gets sidestepped to the floor. One heck of a corkscrew dive drops Drago on the floor for two, only to have Drago hit a hanging DDT for the same. This time it’s Aerostar getting the better of a strike off as the lack of psychology is starting to show here.

Aerostar sends him outside again for a suicide dive and the fans sing about the match being lucha. That’s good for two back inside and Drago is right back up with a kick to the ribs. Kind of basic so he goes with a dropkick to the side of the head for two of his own. La majistral gets Drago two more but Aerostar is right back up with a rolling cutter. With that not working, Aerostar is right back up with a springboard Codebreaker for the pin at 11:35.

Rating: C+. Good choice for an opener here, even though Aerostar seemed a little banged up at the end. They went with the right idea here to go with the entertaining stuff instead of starting with something a little more flat. These two could have a good match in their sleep and that’s all this needed to be in an opener.

Josh Matthews tells Matt Sydal that he’s taught him everything he can and now Matt is free. They’re cool with this but I’m hoping Josh gets a better fit for a client soon.

Callis makes fun of Josh.

We recap the Tag Team Title match. Eli Drake won the Feast or Fired Tag Team Title briefcase but Chris Adonis walked out on the company. Therefore, Scott Steiner was brought in to be Drake’s partner because NO ONE ELSE was available.

Santana and Ortiz are in the clubhouse with Santana getting a phone call saying someone named King has taken out Konnan.

Tag Team Titles: Eli Drake/Scott Steiner vs. LAX

LAX is defending but there’s no Konnan. Ortiz starts with Drake and takes him into the corner, meaning we get some early double teaming to put the champs in control. Steiner, covered in tattoos, comes in for some knees to the face and suplexes before handing it right back off to Drake. A double back elbow drops Ortiz again and the villains are in control. Ortiz grabs a DDT for a break and it’s off to Santana as things speed up. A cutter into a double dropkick has Drake in trouble as Santana is rolling.

Scott catches him on top though and snaps off the Frankensteiner (to a rather limited reaction) but Ortiz is back up with a superkick for the save. Santana starts speeding things up again and Ortiz breaks up a superplex. Instead he pulls Drake down for the Street Sweeper but Santana dives onto Steiner instead. The Gravy Train pins Ortiz for the titles at 8:01.

Rating: D. Well of course that happened. I’m going to go on a hopeful limb and suggest that this reign is done by the end of the next tapings but odder things have happened. I’m also sure that Steiner doing a hurricanrana is enough to prove that HE STILL HAS IT while others will point out how this spot could go to someone who needs the rub, but why let that get in the way?

Trevor Lee vs. Taiji Ishimori vs. El Hijo De Fantasma vs. Dezmond Xavier vs. DJZ vs. Brian Cage

One fall to a finish and lucha rules. DJZ headlocks Xavier to start but Xavier hits a dropkick for a breather. Hang on though as DJZ has to hit the horn for some noise. Xavier goes after Ishimori with a flip dive so Trevor comes in, only to be tossed as well. Fantasma is in next and hurricanranas Dezmond into the corner. DJZ tags himself in and hits a springboard missile dropkick as the fast tags continues.

Fantasma hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on DJZ but Lee is in with a clothesline to put him down. The fans want Cage, possibly because they know the match is over as soon as he comes in. Lee makes the mistake of forearming Cage in the face and the fans tell him that he f***** up. A belly to back suplex gets two on DJZ but he rolls over and makes the hot tag off to Cage so pain can begin.

Cage starts throwing people around and moonsaults Lee for two. Xavier and DJZ superkick the heck out of him though and Cage is down on the floor with Ishimori moonsaulting onto him for good measure. The DDT from DJZ plants Cage again and DJZ has to save Dezmond from the Thrill of the Hunt.

Ishimori’s spinning kick to the head gets two on DJZ but Cage is back in. Just to show off, it’s a fall away slam to Fantasma and a Samoan drop to Ishimori at the same time. Lee comes back in with a crossbody for two, leaving Fantasma to suicide dive Dezmond. Cage is back in with Weapon X on Ishimori, followed by the Drill Claw to end Dezmond at 12:58.

Rating: C. Total spot fest here with the right ending as Cage needs a win like this. They’re placing him into a good spot and if that means he’s going to be a top name, I can live with that very easily. It’s not like the rest of the division has much left to do so let these guys be cannon fodder. That’s all well and good and the Drill Claw still looks awesome.

Allie is ready to get her hands on Su Yung and prove that she’s not a paper champion. She’s proven herself time and time again and is ready to go it again here. Tonight, she fights for her redemption.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Kiera Hogan

Taya runs her over to start but gets sent outside for a walk around the ring as Tessa Blanchard joins commentary. She’s officially a Knockout and the announcers seem very happy. Back in and Taya shoves her way out of the corner and slowly kicks away while shouting trash talk.

Taya chokes a lot as Tessa talks about how she’s the real wrestling royalty around here because she has the real wrestling pedigree. A hard knee to the face knocks Kiera silly for two but she gets in a jawbreaker for a breather. We go split screen so we can look at Tessa talking as Kiera gets two off a double stomp to the back. Taya folds her in half with a Saito suplex for two more and Kiera is rocked again. The Road to Valhalla is good for the pin on Hogan at 8:15.

Rating: C. I liked this a little more than I was expecting to but the focus being on Blanchard made this feel a lot more like an Impact match than anything else. Tessa is a good addition to the roster though, which needs all the help it can get at the moment. Not too bad, even with the stupid split screen involved.

Petey Williams is talking about his odds of winning the X-Division Title when Scott Steiner comes in to talk numbers. See, the best years of his career were when Petey looked like him, because it made his wife want to make love. Scott: “How is your wife anyway?” They’re going to Cracker Barrel after the show.

We recap Matt Sydal vs. Petey Williams. Sydal has become enlightened and won the X-Division and (now defunct) Grand Championship. Petey on the other hand pulled down a briefcase and was champion ten years ago, but does have a cool finisher. That’s all there is to this one and that’s not much to go on.

X-Division Title: Petey Williams vs. Matt Sydal

Sydal is defending. Feeling out process to start with an exchange of holds and near falls on the mat as the announcers discuss the history of the shooting star press. Sydal takes him down again though and avoids an early Destroyer attempt, followed by a standing moonsault for two.

Petey is back up and can’t hit the Codebreaker but can hit a Russian legsweep for two. Something like a TKO puts Sydal down but he sends Petey into the corner. It’s WAY too early for the shooting star though and Petey slaps on the required Sharpshooter. Petey gets kneed in the face and a top rope hurricanrana gets two.

Sydal’s shooting star hits knees and the comeback is on. The Canadian Destroyer connects this time but Sydal rolls to the floor. Back in and a super Canadian Destroyer is blocked (because death would ensue) but another shooting star is broken up, only to have Sydal grab a pumphandle rollup to retain at 12:01.

Rating: C+. This was about as good as it was going to get because Williams has nothing more than the Canadian Destroyer. Really, other than that slingshot of his, there’s nothing else to offer. I’m not sure how many times I can make myself care about this story again, but a fresh story might be nice. Sydal winning was the right call though so I have few complaints.

Tommy Dreamer quotes Martin Luther King Jr. to talk about how violence is for everyone and we’re in a new era of wrestling.

We recap OVE vs. Moose/Eddie Edwards/Tommy Dreamer. Sami Callihan crushed Eddie’s face with a baseball bat and bragged about it so Edwards went after the trio. Realizing that wasn’t going to work, Eddie got some friends and we’re getting a six man hardcore match to settle things.

Tommy Dreamer/Moose/Eddie Edwards vs. OVE

Anything goes and the good guys are in street clothes. OVE wastes no time with an early cheap shot attempt, only to get taken down with a hard shot. Eddie dives onto Callihan and it’s time for the wild brawl early on. A trashcan lid to Callihan’s head has Sami in even more trouble as Moose beats on Jake. There goes the ECW chant because it’s still not allowed to die. Dave gets caught in the Tree of Woe but Sami superkicks Tommy down for the save.

Eddie gets sent back first into a chair for two as control changes. It’s time to go after Eddie’s face with Callihan ripping away. The announcers rip on Dayton, Ohio for a bit as Moose and Dreamer are laid out on the floor. Back in and Callihan has a pair of chairs laid on the mat for the All Seeing Eye onto the steel. Moose runs in for the save and it’s time for some high rising dropkicks.

Jake gets a trashcan put on top of him for a running delayed dropkick in the corner. This time it’s Dave making a save but Jake pulls out the duct tape. That earns him a toss through a table at ringside so Dave pours out the thumbtacks. That’s fine with Eddie as Moose lifts Dave up for a powerbomb and the Boston Knee Party from the top drives him down into the tacks.

Dave is placed on a table and Moose tries a splash, only to have Jake dive in with some hands to the head (supposed to be a cutter) and everyone is down. Back in and Sami grabs the Get Out Of Here (double underhook shoulderbreaker) for two of his own and it’s baseball bat time. Cue Dreamer with the barbed wire bat for a shot to Sami’s ribs. The DDT plants Sami but a low blow and small package end Dreamer at 13:05.

Rating: B-. This one depends on your taste for hardcore matches but at least the right guy took the fall. Dreamer was the perfect choice to take the fall as there’s no reason for Eddie or Moose to get pinned. You can have Eddie vs. Sami in the big blowoff later anyway, so this was the right call. Somewhat above average hardcore match but nothing that hasn’t been done better.

Post match Eddie uses the barbed wire to bust Sami open and duct tapes him to the ropes. Eddie rubs Sami’s blood all over himself and loads up the bat but Dreamer steps in. That goes nowhere as Eddie wrecks everyone with a kendo stick. Cue Eddie’s wife Alisha and Eddie hits her with the stick by mistake for the big horrible moment. We hit the Owen Hart voices as Alisha is tended to.

Fenix is ready for the World Title.

Austin Aries, still billed as the Grand Champion and carrying all his belts, felt what Pentagon and Fenix were all about in New Orleans. He knows what they are and they’re not the World Champion. Aries is the new standard bearer of professional wrestling but tonight he could lose the title without losing the fall. He can beat anyone one on one and tonight he’ll beat them two on one.

We recap Allie vs. Su Yung. Allie won the Knockouts Title back and became a bit more serious so Braxton Sutter proposed to her again. Allie said no so Sutter brought in Su Yung, an evil demonic bride, to torment her. Tonight the title is on the line.

Knockouts Title: Su Yung vs. Allie

Yung is challenging and Sutter does her introduction. Su drives her up against the ropes to start but Allie gets in a few shots of her own. Sutter grabs the leg though and Allie gets tied in the Tree of Woe for some kicks to the ribs. A neck snap across the top rope puts Allie on the floor, followed by a flip dive to crush her again.

Back in and Allie scores with a Codebreaker for a breather. That’s enough to get her fired up and Allie hits a running forearm to a seated Yung. The Best Superkick Ever connects but Sutter gets on the apron for a distraction, earning himself a right hand. Yung loads up the Panic Switch but Allie reverses into a sunset flip to retain at 7:17.

Rating: C. This was an Impact match and I can’t say I’m surprised. Allie retaining the title is a good call but I’m not sure where she goes from here. She just beat Yung clean and even beat up Sutter in the process. I’m not sure how that necessitates a rematch so it’s off to Rosemary in theory, which is similar to what we just saw. Not bad, but nothing that needed to be on pay per view.

Post match Su is livid so Sutter proposes to her. Su seems to continue it but takes him down with a Mandible Claw.

The announcers recap the show.

Slammiversary is in Toronto on July 22.

We recap the main event, which again focuses on Alberto walking out. With him gone, Aries needed a challenger so we get a rematch from the WrestleCon show, which is really about all they could do.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Austin Aries vs. Pentagon Jr. vs. Fenix

Aries is defending. We hit the trash talk to start (well duh) and it’s Aries starting fast with a bunch of chops all around. Remembering that they’re brothers, Fenix and Pentagon send him outside but Pentagon is right back up with a Sling Blade. Aries is back in and getting kicked in the face soon thereafter, followed by a jumping cutter to Pentagon.

A smart Aries steals the near fall and grabs the Last Chancery, only to have Fenix springboard in with a missile dropkick for the save. Pentagon heads outside and it’s Fenix chopping the heck out of Aries. For a change of pace, Aries chops the head out of Fenix. Aries gets two off a forearm as it sounds like one of the announcers is opening a can. Pentagon comes back in and gets bulldogged for two, followed by the Last Chancery with Fenix making another fast save.

That sends Pentagon outside so Fenix throws Aries at him, earning his brother a hurricanrana. Fenix isn’t about to be shown up though and busts out a corkscrew plancha to the floor to drop them both again. Back in again and Fenix drops a Swanton for two on Pentagon, who pops up to German suplex both guys. He can’t quite break Aries’ arm though as Fenix makes a save. Now why wouldn’t he want the World Champion taken out?

Pentagon beaks up Aries’ running corner dropkick and Backstabs his brother for two. This time it’s Fenix getting back up with a superkick to Aries but Pentagon’s Fear Factor (package piledriver) gets two with Aries making another save. Pentagon is fine enough to block a suicide dive so Aries sends him into the crowd instead.

Back in (again) and the 450 hits both challengers, including Pentagon taking some hard knees. That’s enough for the two of them and it’s time for the brother double teaming, including a double superkick. Pentagon lays Fenix out though and snaps Aries’ arm. The Fear Factor gives Pentagon the pin on Aries and the title at 16:15.

Rating: B. Good match here and that’s all you can ask for in a big time main event. The surprise title change isn’t shocking enough to be too far and you can probably pencil in Pentagon dropping it no later than Slammiversary. That being said, it’s really cool to see Pentagon getting some more exposure like this as he’s been a gem to watch down in Lucha Underground. Strong main event here.

The brothers embrace to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. That’s your run of the mill Impact pay per view: completely watchable with nothing too terrible and a solid main event. The problem is the same as well though: there’s nothing worth going out of your way to see and it’s just not a stand out show. Impact has definitely shifted more towards finding the safe middle ground and I’ll take that over the train wreck that we usually get. I liked the show enough and wasn’t bored so I’ll take what I can get. Not great, but certainly good.

Results

Aerostar b. Drago – Springboard Codebreaker

Eli Drake/Scott Steiner b. LAX – Gravy Train to Ortiz

Brian Cage b. Dezmond Xavier, DJZ, Trevor Lee, Taiji Ishimori and El Hijo Del Fantasma – Drill Claw to Xavier

Taya Valkyrie b. Kiera Hogan – Road to Valhalla

Matt Sydal b. Petey Williams – Rollup

OVE b. Tommy Dreamer/Moose/Eddie Edwards – Small package to Dreamer

Allie b. Su Yung – Sunset flip

Pentagon Jr. b. Fenix and Austin Aries – Fear Factor to Aries

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: April 12, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Sonjay Dutt

We’re past Impact Wrestling vs. Lucha Underground and that means we need to hit the hard push towards Redemption. Now that being said, there’s the whole fact that Alberto El Patron has been dropped from the main event due to being Alberto. Hopefully they’ve had time to record something to address the situation, as otherwise a big chunk of this show will be a big waste of time. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of the Impact vs. Lucha Underground show, including the announcement of Alberto no showing and the new Redemption main event of Austin Aries defending the World Title against Fenix and Pentagon Dark. Really, that’s better for everyone all around.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Eli Drake with both briefcases….and an apology? He didn’t think much of the Tag Team Title briefcase but now he realizes he could have all the titles in this company in no time. At Redemption he’s picking up the Tag Team Titles but here’s LAX to interrupt. Konnan gets straight to the point of asking who Drake’s partner is going to be. Drake brings out Scott Steiner, looking like a grandfather more than anything else.

Steiner talks about how awesome the Steiner Brothers were and brags about being a World Champion on the NWO (wrong stable). They’ll win the titles but LAX doesn’t want to hear about it. Konnan laughs all of this off and says Steiner might beat Drake down before they even get to the match. Eli doesn’t care and says they’ll win anyway, but Konnan says play the LAX music so everyone can leave. Bringing Steiner in makes my head hurt, as it costs money and ignores the rest of the roster, many of whom could benefit from something like this.

The announcers talk about how awesome WrestleCon was and plug the rest of the card.

From December 1, 2016, Rosemary defeats Jade in a Six Sides of Steel match to win the Knockouts Title.

Sami Callihan vs. Moose

Moose wastes no time in hitting some running splashes in the corner, followed by a running hesitation dropkick. He can’t suplex Callihan to the floor though and gets clotheslined outside instead. A suicide dive sends Moose into the barricade but he’s right back with a weak apron powerbomb. The second attempt looks a little better so Sami is right back with a low blow to send us to a break.

Back with Sami hitting a running boot in the corner and walking into a powerbomb for his efforts. The chokebomb out of the corner gets two as the crowd is almost eerily quiet for this. Sami eventually pulls him down into a sunset bomb but walks into the Game Changer for two. Not that it matters as Sami hits him with the baseball bat for the DQ at 14:10.

Rating: D+. I’m just not feeling Sami and I never have. He’s a pretty standard brawler (though I’ve seen him crank it up before). At the same time, this is a pretty solid waste of Moose. He went from a Feast or Fired World Title case to getting beaten up by OVE. Maybe it’s me not caring for OVE whatsoever, but that’s quite the significant downgrade.

Post match the beatdown is on until Eddie Edwards runs in for the save. He’s beaten down as well so here’s Eddie’s wife Alisha to cover him up. The lights go out and it’s Tommy Dreamer (ERG) coming in for the real save with the kendo stick. Dreamer talks about fighting a war for his entire career so it’s a six man House of Hardcore match at Redemption. Cross promotion is fine, but my goodness why does it have to be Dreamer?

Josh Matthews vs. Petey Williams

Before the match, Josh blames Petey for the loss the Grand Championship and preventing Matt Sydal from being the World Champion. Tonight, he destroys the Destroyer. Josh hides in the corner to start and then bails to the floor and there’s no contact in the first two minutes. Sydal offers a distraction and Josh forearms Petey in the back so the chase is o again. Another distraction lets Josh forearm him down again but Petey is right back up with the Sharpshooter as Dutt is in stitches. That’s broken up with a distraction so Petey loads up the Destroyer, drawing in Sydal for the DQ at 3:57.

Rating: F. I’m not sure what the point of this one was but I know it was rather stupid. Matthews and Sydal’s spirit animal/spiritual guide thing isn’t working for me as Matthews should have been more like Michael Cole to Sydal’s Miz. Williams isn’t exactly thrilling me either but it’s not like much depth in the first place.

Petey gets beaten down post match.

Video on Brian Cage beating Bobby Lashley twice in a row.

Johnny Impact is tired of Kongo Kong and Jimmy Jacobs interfering so here they are again. Impact wants a fight next week and it seems to be set.

We recap KM insulting Richard Justice (who is TOTALLY above being mocked) and setting up a six man tag tonight.

KM/Cult of Lee vs. Fallah Bahh/Tyrus/Richard Justice

Bahh cleans house to start by running Lee over and rolling over him for good measure. Justice comes in for some lefts and rights as we seem to be firmly in the comedy match zone to start. A few shots keep Justice in the wrong corner but it’s off to Tyrus in short order. Tyrus gets two off a Big Ending and everything breaks down. The Tongan Death Grip into a Banzai Drop puts KM away at 5:26.

Rating: D. Well that happened. They set up the match last week and then blew it off here with almost nothing significant happening. I get the idea here, but Justice has been there as a joke for months now (and not a very funny one at that) so I have it kind of hard to make myself care about his feelings being hurt. Nothing match of course.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Rosemary

This is a Demon’s Dance match, which seems to be another anything goes match. They waste no time in starting the brawl and head straight to the floor. Taya can’t hit the Road to Valhalla on the ramp but Rosemary can’t get the Red Wedding there either. Back to ringside with Taya throwing a bunch of chairs inside.

One gets wedged into the corner but Taya puts a second onto Rosemary in the corner, setting up some running knees. Another shot drives a chair between Rosemary’s legs for two but she’s right back up with a Sling Blade onto another chair. Now it’s ladder time but Taya gets in a suplex instead of being thrown into the steel.

The second attempt works better for Rosemary though and now it’s time for a table. Back in and Rosemary misses a charge into the chair to give Taya two. They head to the corner and neither can hit a super version of their finisher through a table. Instead Rosemary PILEDRIVES HER OFF THE MIDDLE ROPE THROUGH THE TABLE, which thankfully is good for the pin at 10:13.

Rating: B. These two beat the heck out of each other with that finish being a sight to behold. In theory this puts Rosemary on a path towards a match for the Knockouts Title but seeing her vs. Allie is almost hard to picture for some reason. If nothing else I don’t want to see her vs. Su Yung in a battle of too similar characters, so maybe Allie is the easier call. Either way, very fun brawl here with a nearly scary finish.

Here’s the same video that opened the show.

We wrap up the show with nearly ten minutes of highlights from Impact Wrestling vs. Lucha Underground. I’m guessing this was all they could do to replace an Alberto segment. If so, that’s perfectly understandable.

Overall Rating: D+. The main event helped but there’s only so much you can do with the rest of this show. It wasn’t the worst show in the world but my goodness I don’t even want to imagine how bad the show would have been with some more focus on Alberto. The stories are developing, though they’re just nothing that I’m all that interested in at the moment. Hopefully Redemption is a lot better, but at the moment I’m not exactly thrilled.

Results

Moose b. Sami Callihan via DQ when Sami used a baseball bat

Petey Williams b. Josh Matthews via DQ when Matt Sydal interfered

Tyrus/Fallah Bahh/Richard Justice b. KM/Cult of Lee – Banzai Drop to KM

Rosemary b. Taya Valkyrie – Super piledriver through a table

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: April 5, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sonjay Dutt, Josh Matthews

Things continue to change around here as many names seem to be either debuting or departing. There’s a lot going on at the moment, including the build to the first regular pay per view in about six months. It’s time to really start the build towards Redemption and a lot of that could take place tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Brian Cage beating Bobby Lashley in a big upset with the rematch taking place tonight. Austin Aries vs. Alberto El Patron gets some focus as well.

Opening sequence.

Here’s an annoyed Bobby Lashley to rant about everyone wanting to prove themselves against him. He’s not going to have Cage out here saying he proved something by winning once on a fluke. Come out here and do it again.

Bobby Lashley vs. Brian Cage

Lashley knocks Cage off the apron before a bell and hammers away without taking off his hat and shirt. Cage shrugs it off and gets two off an F5 but Lashley hides behind the referee to avoid the discus lariat. A low blow gets two on Cage and Lashley hammers away in the corner while Dutt mocks Josh for losing his title last week.

Cage grabs a German suplex and a Death Valley Driver for two more, followed by the apron superplex to drop Lashley again. Lashley gets in a superplex of his own for two and the spear is good for the same. Instead it’s the Drill Claw to put Lashley away at 8:06 for Cage’s second straight win over him.

Rating: C+. Nice power match here and another good way to make Cage look like the new monster now that Lashley is on his way out. There’s a good chance that this is Lashley’s last match with the company and that’s probably the best all around. There’s nothing left for him to do around here so go back to WWE and see what you can do there.

The announcers preview the show.

Here’s Allie for a chat. Allie isn’t afraid of Su Yung and ACTUALLY SWEARS as she demands that Yung come out here for a fight.

Allie vs. Su Yung

Non-title. Allie hammers away to start but the superkick is blocked with a kick to the ribs. Back from a very early break with Allie getting stomped down in the corner. Yung brings in the kendo stick but Allie knocks it away. A running dropkick sends Yung into the corner but here’s Braxton Sutter to beg Allie’s forgiveness. Allie doesn’t care and gets two off a Codebreaker but Yung hits her with the kendo stick for the DQ at 7:44.

Rating: D. Not a good match but clearly just there to advance us to the likely title match at Redemption. Yung is a more sinister Rosemary and that’s a good way to play off of Allie. She can be a good first title defense as Allie needs to get away from being Gail Kim’s fangirl for a long time. There’s potential in Allie, but she needs some big wins.

Rosemary wants to face Taya next week and finish this once and for all.

Matt Sydal and Josh Matthews rant about Austin Aries and want to get rid of him once and for all. Sydal is ready for Petey Williams at Redemption but next week, Josh will face Petey himself. Egads.

KM sends Richard Justice to the ring for a match.

Post break, KM comes to the ring and berates Justice for being a fat embarrassment to wrestling. Well yeah. After some more fat jokes, Justice starts crying. KM: “I’m sorry I have to say this to your face. I would have said it behind your back but my car only has a half a tank of gas.” Fallah Bahh comes in with Josh saying fat shaming is bad. The Cult of Lee comes in and beats down Bahh, bringing in Tyrus for the real save. A six man is likely for next week.

Eli Drake is ready to win the other briefcase so tonight he can swim in gold like Scrooge McDuck.

Taiji Ishimori vs. Johnny Impact

They fight over wristlocks to start until Johnny takes over with a headlock and front facelock. A dropkick puts Impact on the floor as the announcers try to dub him Johnny Gorgeous. Ishimori’s middle rope moonsault to the floor puts Johnny down again and they’re both a bit winded.

Back in and Johnny wins a slugout before taking Ishimori down without too much trouble. A standing shooting star gives Johnny two but his sunset bomb is countered into a hurricanrana for two. Not that it matters as Impact is right back with a running knee to the face, followed by Starship Pain for the pin at 7:55.

Rating: C+. Not bad here but the hyping of “FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER” was a bit of a stretch here. They’re both good, but I need something a bit stronger for that to be the match’s selling point. Johnny winning helps set him up for Kongo Kong, because Impact Wrestling is the kind of promotion where you have Alberto El Patron fighting for the World Title and Kongo Kong feuding with Johnny Impact.

Post match here are Jimmy Jacobs and Kong to destroy Impact. Johnny fights back and hits a dive to clear out the villains.

Long video on Aries vs. El Patron. Aries recently returned and won the World Title after fighting to get where he is. Alberto talks about being from Mexico and having to fight for his one shot. He was stripped of the World Title and needs a chance to get it back on his own (this is talked about with shots of the domestic violence headlines shown).

They both know they can’t get in the other’s head and they both need to be ready for the fight of their lives. Aries knows he can’t intimidate Alberto because he’s been on the biggest stage so he’ll just have to beat him. It’s about redemption for both of them. This ran nearly eight minutes and was really good stuff as there’s actually a story there.

Moose would love to win another briefcase.

Classic Clip: Kurt Angle vs. Jay Lethal from No Surrender 2007. That’s still a great job of putting someone over and I’m sure Angle had something to do with the decision.

LAX doesn’t care who leaves with the briefcase.

Moose vs. Eli Drake

Winner gets both briefcases. Moose wastes no time in dropkicking Drake outside and then lawn darting him onto the apron. Drake posts him though and we take a break. Back with Drake hitting a guillotine legdrop and hitting a powerslam. The E-LI-DRAKE elbow gets two and we hit the chinlock.

Drake gets the same off a neckbreaker but misses a charge and gets caught with a buckle bomb. The Game Changer hits the referee (erg) so here’s OVE to take out Moose. Cue Eddie Edwards for the save and Jake Crist takes a powerbomb from Moose. Drake picks up the bat and hits Moose in the face for two, followed by the Gravy Train for the pin at 13:38.

Rating: C. I’m so over OVE. They’re not entertaining, they’re not very good, and their whole thing is hitting someone in the face with a bat, which apparently doesn’t work very well. The match was just a match until the ending, when things got a little stupid. I like Drake winning though as he’s the more interesting of the two (better promo at least) and thankfully they’re leaving him in the main event at least for now.

Overall Rating: C+. Nice show this week with some good wrestling and story advancement as they’re getting ready for what should be a solid pay per view. They also got some stuff ready for next week, which is always a welcome addition to any show. Just deliver on what you’ve set up and things will be fine.

Results

Brian Cage b. Bobby Lashley – Drill Claw

Allie b. Su Yung via DQ when Yung used a kendo stick

Johnny Impact b. Taiji Ishimori – Starship Pain

Eli Drake b. Moose – Gravy Train

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: March 22, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Sonjay Dutt

It’s time to find out what happened last week in Feast or Fired. Tonight is the opening of the briefcases and that means three people are getting title shots while a fourth is getting fired. The firing isn’t the biggest surprise in the world but there’s still some interest elsewhere. Let’s get to it.

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

The case holders (Eli Drake, Moose, Petey Williams and Ethan Carter III) arrive as Josh recaps last week’s match.

Recap of Feast of Fired, in case the spoken version didn’t do it for you.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Alberto El Patron to say he can fight even if he’s in a suit. He’s ready to fight a real champion in Austin Aries, but Aries doesn’t know who really is the greatest man that ever lived. Cue Aries to talk about how they’re no so different. They’re willing to punch people in the face and they love professional wrestling.

Aries is the truth though and the title match is on for Redemption. Alberto says they both have something to prove so the title match is on. Did we really need to establish that twice? Aries says he’s short but the chip he’ll stand on makes him bigger. El Patron goes to leave as Austin’s music plays, but Aries says to play Alberto’s, because his won’t be playing to end Redemption.

The hosts are in the studio to preview the show with Josh thankfully not holding the Grand Championship.

Trevor Lee vs. Fallah Bahh

Lee makes the mistake of shoving Bahh and falls to the power of the belly. Bahh steps over his back but a Caleb Konley distraction lets Lee knock him to the floor. Back in and we hit a very quick neck crank for two (yes off a neck crank) before Lee thinks it’s a good idea to try a sunset flip. That earns him the sitdown splash so Konley tries to come in. Bahh rolls over both of them in a row but takes too long going up, allowing Lee to roll him up from the middle rope for the pin at 5:28.

Rating: D. Bahh is rapidly falling into the trap of wrestlers his size: he does the same stuff over and over again and the impact goes away. We get it: he’s big, he shouts a lot and he rolls over people. That’s only going to get you so far and Bahh is already there. I’ve never gotten the appeal and while he’s not terrible, if you’ve seen one of his matches, you’ve seen all of them.

OVE is stalking Alisha Edwards (Eddie’s wife) in her hotel. Eddie sees it and runs off as OVE gets to her door.

Petey Williams is ready to open his briefcase and become X-Division Champion again once and for all.

X-Division Title: Rohit Raju vs. Matt Sydal

Sydal is defending and has Josh Matthews in his corner, meaning Sonjay is alone on commentary. Matt takes him into the corner but lets him out with a peace sign. An armbar allows them to turn up the pace a bit until Sydal charges into an elbow. That’s about it for Raju at the moment as Matt takes him down into a Muta Lock.

As usual it’s not enough for a submission so Raju comes back with a neckbreaker as we take a break. Back with Sydal getting two off a standing moonsault but Raju hits a running knee to the head. A German suplex cuts Raju off and the shooting star connects to retain Sydal’s title at 11:24.

Rating: C. Raju is another example of Impact not knowing how to introduce new characters. He just showed up a few weeks ago and the company acts like we know who he is. I’m assuming he had some videos put up on YouTube or their website, but TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT HIM! If he’s good enough to get a title shot and be in Feast or Fired, he’s worthy of an explanation.

Moose is ready to become World Champion and is glad he gambled on Feast or Fired.

Eli Drake is ready to get his World Title back. They can strike him down but he’ll be back even stronger. He’s the Obi-Wan Kenobi of Impact Wrestling.

Knockouts Title: Allie vs. Sienna

Allie is defending and Sienna jumps her before the bell. A crossbody is pulled out of the air and Sienna gets two off a slam. Forearms work a bit better for Allie and a Codebreaker (actually called that) gets two. Sienna gets the same off a discus lariat but Allie slips out of the AK47 and superkicks her down to retain at 3:55.

Rating: D+. What happened to Sienna? She used to be the most dangerous woman in the division and now she’s losing clean in about four minutes. On the other hand, Allie is on a roll and even though it’s a year late, it’s nice to see her getting to showcase her skills. There’s a ton of value in Allie and it’s about time Impact is giving her a chance.

Post match Braxton Sutter comes out to try and reconcile with Allie, only to call her Laurel by mistake. Allie’s sideways glare is great. Sutter proposes and Allie doesn’t seem impressed, but the debuting Su Yung comes in from behind and beats her down. A twisting Samoan Driver leaves Allie laying, much to Sutter’s delight.

Ethan Carter III says he’s going to get the World Title shot but a bunch of people walk by, saying he’ll be fired.

Classic Clip: Abyss vs. Mick Foley in Monster’s Ball from Bound For Glory 2009.

Eddie arrives at the hotel (of course with cameras waiting on him), runs into the room and finds….his wife safe in bed. Then HE LEAVES, only to bump into Sami Callihan (dressed as a maid) so the brawl can break out. Sami gets the better of it and Alisha comes out to check on Eddie, earning herself the thumbs down from Callihan. I’m still trying to get over Eddie LEAVING HIS WIFE IN A HOTEL ROOM WHEN A GROUP OF CRAZY PEOPLE ARE STALKING HER.

The announcers preview the rest of the show.

We recap Jimmy Jacobs/Kongo Kong vs. Joseph Park, who has become Abyss again. Tonight it’s Monster’s Ball.

Abyss vs. Kongo Kong

Anything goes and Abyss has James Mitchell in his corner. Abyss wins an early slugout but Kong runs him over and pounds away. A trashcan to the head puts Kong on the floor though and we take a break. Back with Kong getting slammed off the top and Abyss grabbing the bag of tacks.

Rating: D. If this is their big idea to make Kong into the next big thing, they need to go back to the drawing board. By that I mean they need to get rid of Kong and find anyone else because he’s not going to work no matter what they try. Next up likely means a World Title chase because that’s what would annoy me the most.

It’s time to open the briefcases so Williams, Moose, Drake and Carter are in the ring.

First up is Eli who gets….a Tag Team Title shot. Drake: “What am I supposed to do with this?”

Next up is Williams who gets….an X-Division Title shot. He seems happy.

Before we open the final two cases, Moose says he’s winning. Carter says see you never Moose because he’s about to be fired. It’s Moose getting the World Title shot and Carter has reality set in very quickly. He’s frozen in place and can’t open the case, eventually saying that’s not his case. It’s Ishimori’s case but JB opens it instead.

Carter thinks it’s a joke and calls this whole thing a dumb idea. Is King of the Mountain next? He’s held this company on his perfectly symmetrical back for years now. Carter goes into a crazed rant about all of his accomplishments, including being Dixie Carter’s nephew. He finally calms down….and then beats JB up with the briefcase. Brian Cage comes in for the save and it’s a Drill Claw to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. The two main focal points of this show were the Feast or Fired reveals and Monster’s Ball. That would come down to a major result that was spoiled nearly two months ago and a match with one of the most low rent acts I’ve ever seen in this or any other company. What exactly were they expecting to work about this show? Yung’s debut was good and the opening segment worked well, but other than that, this was a pretty lame show.

Results

Trevor Lee b. Fallah Bahh – Rollup

Matt Sydal b. Rohit Raju – Shooting star press

Allie b. Sienna – Superkick

Kongo Kong b. Abyss – Top rope splash

Remember to check out my new forum at steelcageforums.com, follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

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