IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 15, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Madison Rayne

We’re just over a month away from Bound For Glory and I think you can see where the main event is going. Last week saw Eric Young vs. Tommy Dreamer because reasons, but Rich Swann made the save. I’m curious about some of the things around here though and if they can live up to the hype, they’ll be fine. Let’s get to it.

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

In memory of Barry Scott, the guy with the amazing voiceover.

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Kimber Lee/Deonna Purrazzo vs. Susie/Kylie Rae

Rock, Paper Scissors determines that Kylie gets to start with Purrazzo and it’s an exchange of wristlocks to get things going. Lee comes in and gets headscissored down in a hurry, followed by an armdrag into an armbar. It’s off to Susie, who whips Kylie into Lee into the corner but Purrazzo gets in a knee to the back to cut her off. The leg crank goes on but Susie is right back up with a sunset flip out of the corner for two on Purrazzo.

Lee is right back in to pull on both arms at once before Purrazzo comes back in and gets flapjacked. The double tag brings Rae back in to clothesline Lee down. The Kylie Special is blocked so Kylie settles for a dropkick instead. Purrazzo hits Lee by mistake but Lee is fine enough to German suplex Rae into the corner. Unfortunately that would be the Susie corner, so Lee German suplexes her for two. Susie pops back up with Su Yung’s Arachnarana into the Panic Switch to finish Lee at 8:16.

Rating: C. This is the higher end of the Knockouts division and I’d like to see where some of these things go. There are a few stories that could get interesting in a hurry, including Rey going after Purrazzo’s title and Susie trying to hold back the evil. Throw in the rest of the division being built up and they’re onto something nice.

The announcers preview the show.

Rohit Raju tries to get away from Trey Miguel, who would like an explanation from Raju for trying to play all of his challengers against each other. That is out of Raju’s control, but Trey is going to go smoke TJP and then get his title shot.

Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan annoy John E. Bravo and insist that they are not his best man. It’s Fallah Bahh, who can suddenly speak English.

XXXL vs. Deaners

Just like in Wrestle House, Cody offers Acey Romero the truce, but this time he gets kicked in the face. A backsplash from Acey gives Larry two and Cody is in a lot of trouble early on. Some shoulders to the ribs keep Cody down but he avoids the Best Hand In The House. The hot tag brings in Jake and everything breaks down. Acey takes out Cody with the Pounce but gets slammed by Jake. The Best Hand In The House finishes Jake for the pin at 4:00.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t big on this pairing at Wrestle House and that is still the case back in the arena. They don’t have the best chemistry together but above all else, their matches aren’t anything worth seeing. XXXL are fine as a middle of the road team and the Deaners are a gimmick team in their own right, which doesn’t exactly make for the best pairing.

Trey Miguel vs. TJP

This should be good. They lock hands to start and take each other to the mat until TJP gets caught in a headscissors. That doesn’t last long and they get up for an early standoff. TJP slips out of an electric chair but gets kicked down and hit with a standing moonsault for two. Trey gets taken down into a Sharpshooter with the arms trapped before going back to crank on the legs alone.

A double underhook crank doesn’t keep Trey down long so he goes up, only to get dropkicked out of the air. Trey’s spinning enziguri drops TJP though and we get a double breather. A hurricanrana sends TJP outside and Trey hits a suicide dive, only to take too long coming back in. TJP superplexes him down into the Octopus before rolling into a kneebar. The rope is grabbed so TJP kicks away at the leg to keep it in trouble. Trey gets in some knees to the chest though and hits a top rope Meteora for the pin at 7:15.

Rating: C+. Yeah this was the kind of match you would expect these two to have. I’m not sure where the X-Division is going at the moment but I’m hoping it doesn’t involve hanging the title high in the air and requiring someone climbing something to get it. If nothing else, we are all but guaranteed a multiman match at bound For Glory, though I’m not sure who is going to be included. That’s a good thing in this case.

Ace Austin and Madman Fulton and the North have laid out the Rascalz.

Post break, the Motor City Machine Guns aren’t thrilled that the Rascalz can’t be cleared for later. The Good Brothers come in and offer their assistance but the Guns aren’t sure.

Here’s Rich Swann, in a walking boot and on crutches, for a chat. He asks for and receives Scott D’Amore’s presence because he needed to give something up a few weeks back. Then he saw Eric Young moving up to the top of the company so he wants something: the World Title shot at Bound For Glory. Swann brings up beating Young at Slammiversary but D’Amore says he can’t because that leg is too bad.

Swann talks about D’Amore being a wrestler and wanting to have the chance. He grew up in Baltimore and needed the heart of a lion and the fire of a dragon. D’Amore is thinking about it but here’s Young to shove him down. Swann snaps and goes after him but Young bails and threatens violence at Bound For Glory. D’Amore gets up and makes the match at Bound For Glory, which you can now book in less than ten minutes.

Taya Valkyrie wants to know where Rosemary was last week when she was getting beaten down. Rosemary: “How many resurrections have you accomplished?” Taya wants her there tonight, but Rosemary says she has some things to do first, so Taya needs to help her. We have a reluctant deal.

Brian Myers vs. Willie Mack

Hey it’s this match….again. Willie starts fast with the armdrag and sends Myers outside for the slingshot dive. Myers grabs a Russian legsweep onto the ramp and they head back in for the punching and shouting. We hit the chinlock, followed by a jumping elbow for two on Mack. Myers is already frustrated so a turnbuckle pad comes off but it’s back to the chinlock instead of more evildoing.

Mack suplexes his way to freedom and it’s the swinging slam into a legdrop for two. Back up and a Michinoku Driver gives Myers his own two, only to get suplexed down again. Myers bails outside but gets thrown back in, where he kicks the rope low into Mack. The Implant DDT gets two but Myers misses a charge into the exposed buckle, allowing Mack to hit the Stunner for the pin at 7:59.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure I needed to see this match twice but we were lucky enough to get a trilogy. Mack is someone who could go a pretty long way while Myers is a fine enough hand, though he is still getting away from the idea of “THEY DIDN’T TREAT ME RIGHT IN WWE”. You need more than that and Myers is….kind of doing that? Maybe?

Rosemary asks Havok to try and help her resurrect James Mitchell but gets beaten down instead. Rosemary smiles.

Moose talks to Scott D’Amore about EC3 stealing his title and brainwashing his high school football coach. D’Amore tells him to get out of his face and accuses Moose of being insane. Moose isn’t pleased. An EC3 video pops up on the wall where he threatens to destroy the TNA World Title.

Post break, Moose calls “the Demo God” and asks what to do when your title is stolen. He likes what he is told and says next time, the bubbly is on him.

Rhino sneaks Heath in.

Jordynne Grace interrupts Tenille Dashwood’s photo shoot. Dashwood isn’t happy but they have a match next week anyway.

Kiera Hogan vs. Taya Valkyrie

No Rosemary, but Tasha Steelz is in Kiera’s corner. Kiera is taken into another corner for some stomping as the beating is on fast. Taya sends her outside and then kicks away back inside. Josh calls this back and forth, though Hogan hasn’t had any offense yet. Kiera sends her into the corner and hits a running basement dropkick for two to get something going. Taya throws her outside in a heap, followed by the running hip attack in the corner. Tasha pulls Kiera outside for a breather so the referee checks on Kiera, allowing Tasha to get in a kick to the head. Kiera grabs the bridging fisherman’s neckbreaker for the pin at 3:14.

Rating: D+. Tasha and Kiera continue to be the annoying tag team of the month, which is an idea that I don’t really need to see again. That being said, they’re good at being annoying and that’s all the need to be. The idea here was that Taya was shaken up without Rosemary and the ending wasn’t clean as the manic soap opera continues, which sounds rather appealing.

Rhino challenges Hernandez to some arm wrestling but it’s a ruse for Heath to steal Hernandez’s money. This is straight out of a bad comedy, as Heath is two feet from Hernandez, who somehow can’t see him.

Chris Bey asks Rohit Raju for his title rematch but TJP comes up for his title shot. Raju says Trey should get the shot so here’s Trey as well. Instead of a title match, we’re getting a triple threat #1 contenders match. The champ panics a bit as they all leave.

Good Brothers/Motor City Machine Guns vs. North/Ace Austin/Madman Fulton

Anderson and Austin start things off with Anderson being sent into various corners. Gallows comes in to kick away and Austin gets beaten down again. A chop counts as a tag to Sabin, who comes in to forearm it out with Alexander. Page gets struck down and some kicks do the same to Austin. The villains are sent outside and we take a break.

Back with Alexander knocking Shelley down for two and handing it off to Page for a shot to the throat. Fulton gets in a few shots of his own and Shelley’s chop just annoys him. The rotating beating continues with Alexander knocking Shelley down a few more times. That lasts all of a few seconds and it’s Shelley fighting over to the corner in a hurry for the hot tag to Anderson.

The spinebuster gets two on Page and it’s back to Gallows for the power. There’s a belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination to Page as everything breaks down. Anderson cutters Fulton but Austin dropkicks Gallows. Alexander takes Shelley into the corner and then clotheslines Gallows to the floor. The Northern Assault hits Sabin but Austin comes in to steal the pin at 14:00.

Rating: C. They did their thing, two teams have a claim to a title shot and the Good Brothers can still be around to do their thing. That’s a nice use of the time they had and the wrestling itself was fine enough. I can go with the idea of not trying to do more than you need to and they did that here. Also, more of the North and Austin is always a good idea.

Everyone is annoyed at each other to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Kind of a nothing show here as they were more into setting up stuff for the future rather than anything important this week. It wasn’t a bad show and I’m curious to see parts of Bound For Glory but we that’s quite a ways off at this point. They have lost something since the really good Slammiversary build but Eric Young was kept to a minimum here. Pretty skippable week, which hopefully isn’t a trend.

Results

Kylie Rae/Susie b. Kimber Lee/Deonna Purrazzo – Panic Switch to Lee

XXXL b. Deaners – Best Hand In The House to Jake

Trey Miguel b. TJP – Top rope Meteora

Willie Mack b. Brian Myers – Stunner

Kiera Hogan b. Taya Valkyrie – Bridging fisherman’s neckbreaker

North/Ace Austin/Madman Fulton b. Motor City Machine Guns/Good Brothers – Northern Assault to Sabin

Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 8, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

We’re in a new world around here as Eric Young is the World Champion again. That would seem to set up a big showdown against Rich Swann at Bound For Glory, which hopefully means this doesn’t last too long. Other than that, we have the Motor City Machine Guns defending the Tag Team Titles against the Rascalz and the continuing mind games between EC3 and Moose. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Eric Young for his first interview as champion. Young talks about how world class he is with everything and then he rolled over everyone to become World Champion. Cue Alisha Edwards to call Young a coward for injuring people. Eddie Edwards is going to come back and take Young out because he’ll fight anyone. She isn’t afraid of Young and it’s because of Young that Eddie can’t hold their child. Young: “I don’t care.”

Alisha slaps him so Young loads up a piledriver but Tommy Dreamer (oh no) comes in for the save. Dreamer talks about how the Edwards and Rich Swann are family and he isn’t letting this happen. If Young wants to be some monster, come end his career tonight. We’ll make it Extreme Rules, Old School Rules, Hardcore or whatever. Young says he’ll see Dreamer tonight. Can I see something in a mallet to the head?

The announcers run down the card.

Moose gets on a plane (where you can be followed by a camera crew) to go get his TNA World Title back.

Rosemary, John E. Bravo and Taya Valkyrie are wedding planning, with Rosemary saying she doesn’t know many people who can officiate a demon wedding. Taya says she has this so Rosemary teleports away, leaving Taya to make some rather big plans (a twenty layer cake is mentioned).

TJP vs. Chris Bey

They starts fast with TJP slugging away and hitting a big backdrop. Bey slips out of an armbar attempt and here’s Rohit Raju to watch from ringside. A headscissors out of the corner sends Bey to the floor for the Wrecking Ball dropkick and it’s time to work on Bey’s arm. The good arm hits TJP with a clothesline though and we take a break. Back with Bey in control but having to glare at a cheering Raju. The Gory Stretch is countered into a rollup though and TJP slaps on a quickly broken Muta Lock.

Bey kicks him in the back of the head and puts on an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up with a belly to back suplex and some rolling single underhook suplexes keep Bey down. Bey’s springboard kick to the face is countered into a rollup for two as Madison leaves to do Locker Room Talk. Bey tries a rollup but TJP reverses into a sunset flip for the quick pin at 10:37.

Rating: B-. They kept things moving at a very fast pace here and that’s what they needed to do. I’m not sure where they’re going with the Bound For Glory title match here but you can almost guarantee that there will be a lot of people involved. That isn’t a bad thing in this case, but I could go for a match like this on the big stage instead of some big mess.

It’s time for Locker Room Talk and Johnny Swinger has a new jacket. He insists that Wrestle House wants him back, which Rayne says makes it sound like jail. The guests this week are Kylie Rae and Susie, with Madison accusing Rae of trying to hide from Deonna Purrazzo. Madison tries to bring up Susie being Su Yung but here are Purrazzo and Kimber Lee, with Purrazzo complaining about the interruption last week. Tag match next week.

John E. Bravo is trying to find an elephant but Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan come in to ask about their invitations. They want him to be a man and stand up to Taya but Taya wouldn’t like that. The two of them are going to be his groomspeople and teach him how to be a man.

Here’s Brian Myers to talk about getting off on the wrong foot with Willie Mack. He has been around the world and wrestled in all fifty states. There is nothing to be ashamed about to lose to him but Mack wouldn’t go with the time honored tradition of shaking his hand. Mack needs to come out here and do it now, so here’s Mack to say he isn’t here to shake hands. He would rather put his hands around Myers’ throat and shake that. They’re having a rematch right now, but Myers isn’t ready. Mack: “Didn’t they tell you to always bring your gear if you’re a professional?”

Willie Mack vs. Brian Myers

Mack elbows him to the floor to start and follows with a dive. Myers sends him face first into the apron a few times though and takes it back inside to yell and stomp. A suplex gives Myers two and we hit the chinlock. Mack fights up with the swinging slam into a legdrop for two of his own. The standing moonsault gets the same but the Stunner is broken up with a rake to the face. Mack hits a standing Sky High but Myers gets in a low blow, setting up an implant DDT for the pin at 5:26.

Rating: C-. I still don’t quite see the star power in Myers but he used to be in WWE and has a podcast so I guess he’s worth pushing. Mack continues to look and feel like a star and I could go for more of him, but hopefully he winds up getting some kind of a win here. The handshake deal is fine, though back to back losses aren’t the most encouraging.

Jordynne Grace doesn’t get why Tenille Dashwood just showed up and thinks she gets a title shot. Grace goes to find her but gets Dashwood’s personal photographer (Caleb Konley), who says she is too busy.

Taya yells at Tasha and Kiera for getting in someone else’s business. They yell back and both sides are called Boo Boo, making me lose any and all interest in the whole thing.

Tag Team Titles: Rascalz vs. Motor City Machine Guns

The Rascalz are challenging and dropkick the Guns off the apron to start fast. That means stereo dives to take them down again and it’s time to take it back inside for some running charges to Sabin in the corner. The rapid fire kicks get two and a running kick to the chest gives Wentz two. Shelley comes in to take over on Wentz’s leg though and he can’t even be whipped across the ring. The Guns take turns kicking at the knee in the corner and Sabin drives the knee into the mat. Sabin cuts off the comeback in the corner and Shelley knees the knee again.

We go old school with a spinning toehold from Shelley as Sabin grabs an Octopus Hold on Dez. Shelley tries a Figure Four instead as Dez escapes and makes the save. An enziguri allows the hot tag to Dez, who kicks Sabin in the back of the head to take over. More kicks in the corner get two as everything breaks down. Wentz’ middle rope Meteora onto Dez’s knees gets two and it’s a jumping knee to Sabin’s face. The Guns are back in with the Dream Sequence to Dez and the ASCS Rush to Wentz. The double Death Valley Driver retains the titles at 8:38.

Rating: B. Yeah this worked and that is hardly a surprise. They actually did something else before getting to the fast paced and high intensity offense, which is works the best for all of these guys. I’m not sure why we can’t get that more often in a match like this and it worked well here. Good stuff and I could go for another.

Post match the North runs in and beat down both teams. Ace Austin and Madman Fulton run in for the staredown but the Good Brothers come in for the real save. The Rascalz dive onto the villains and it’s a three way staredown.

Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes are rather happy because next week, it’s the Whole F’N Talk Show. Just what we need.

Sami Callihan says this is 2020 for him: he won the match and then got beaten up again last week. Katie Forbes messed things up for him so maybe she is just too much for him. Next week there is a new talk show though and Sami promises to hack it. Well at least he’s an honest hacker.

Tasha Steelz vs. Taya Valkyrie

Kiera Hogan and John E. Bravo are here. The yelling turns into the slugout to start and Taya hits a running basement dropkick for two. Kiera gets a trip from the floor so Tasha can take over as Bravo is wedding planning on his phone. Taya hits a sitout powerbomb and a knee to the chest gets two. A spear into the Road to Valhalla finishes Tasha at 3:39.

Rating: C-. They kept things fast here and that was a good thing given how Steelz isn’t the best in the ring most of the time. The Bravo distraction is going to be interesting and I’m curious to see where they go when they finally have him stand up to Taya, assuming he actually does.

Post match Kiera jumps Taya, which is enough to get Bravo off the phone for the late save.

Moose winds up at I believe his high school football coach’s office and asks if has seen EC3. That’s a no, but the coach tells him to control his narrative. Some guys in EC3 gear appear and Moose runs.

Flashback Moment of the Week: EC3/Eddie Edwards b. Mike Bennett/Moose on August 11, 2016.

Heath and Rhino meet up in the parking lot but Heath is in trouble with management. The ads are going to continue but they are expensive. Rhino knows where he can get money though.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Eric Young vs. Tommy Dreamer

Non-title and anything goes. Dreamer slams him down to start but misses the kendo stick shot. They head outside with Dreamer being sent into the steps, followed by a chain over his eyes. That earns Dreamer a posting and it’s time to peel back the ring mats. Dreamer comes back with some weapons shots and they head back inside. Young bites his way out of a superplex attempt and the catapult sends Dreamer throat first into the bottom rope. A middle rope elbow with a chair is blocked with a raised boot and Dreamer grabs the cutter.

They slug it out from their knees but Young goes after the leg to take him down again. Young gets sent into the trashcan in the corner and Dreamer’s DDT gets two. It’s table time but Young gets in a low blow. Dreamer crotches him on top, only to have Young hit him in the head with the hockey mask. The piledriver finishes Dreamer at 10:08.

Rating: D+. So that’s how Young’s first match as the World Champion goes: fighting Tommy Dreamer for ten minutes and needing to survive because Dreamer needed to hang in there for that long against the World Champion. I’m not sure who thought this was a good idea but I’m sure Dreamer cried about it a bit. Not a good match of course, but how often can Dreamer do anything above this level anyway?

Post match Young wraps a chair around the leg and beats on it with the kendo stick. Rich Swann limps out with the crutch to make the save. Young yells at Swann to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was up and down all show with some good stuff being dragged down by a lot of negatives. In other words, Eric Young vs. Tommy Dreamer is not a main event I need to see. It was far from a bad show and it seems that we are going to be seeing Swann getting the World Title shot at Bound For Glory. That works well enough, assuming I can take that much of hearing about Young’s greatness.

Results

TJP b. Chris Bey – Sunset flip

Brian Myers b. Willie Mack – Implant DDT

Motor City Machine Guns b. Rascalz – Double Death Valley Driver to Wentz

Taya Valkyrie b. Tasha Steelz – Road to Valhalla

Eric Young b. Tommy Dreamer – Piledriver

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

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

It’s a big show this week after the two weeks of big shows as the World Title is on the line again. This time it’s Eric Young challenging Eddie Edwards because this company sees something in Young as a major star. I’m not sure what that something is but I’ve yet to actually see it. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Sami Callihan vs. Rob Van Dam

Katie Forbes is here with Van Dam but her gyrating distracts Rob, allowing Sami to knock him off the apron. Rob gets sent into the barricade as Josh asks if Father Time has finally caught up with Van Dam. Josh can be a little slow on the uptake at times. They get back in and Katie’s need for attention lets Sami kick him in the face again. Katie finally does something right by grabbing Sami’s foot but the slingshot legdrop only hits apron. Another trip puts Sami down as Madison thinks Katie might cause Van Dam a lot of trouble.

Now the spinning kick to the back over the barricade connects and it’s a faceplant back inside. Rolling Thunder hits knees though and a low cutter drops Van Dam again. Katie gets on the apron AGAIN but this time it actually works as Rob hits a running kick to the back of the head. The split legged moonsault connects but the Five Star takes way too long. A hanging cutter out of the corner plants Van Dam for two so Katie just comes in this time. Even commentary is begging for the referee to eject her as Rob gets a rollup, which Sami reverses for the pin at 7:22.

Rating: C-. Katie got annoying here and that’s what they were going for. I could see them doing something where Katie is the reason Van Dam is losing and he refuses to admit that he’s gotten old. It could go a few ways and if it means Katie is off TV for a little bit, I guess I can just suffer through the horrible, tragic loss.

Post match Katie yells at Sami so Rob jumps him from behind. Katie adds a running hip attack in the corner and holds the chair over the face for a running dropkick from Rob.

The announcers preview the show.

Hernandez beats Fallah Bahh at arm wrestling and gets paid. Reno Scum comes in and wants the money for looking for Heath. There’s no sign of him but Hernandez says no pay until they beat Rhino.

Rosemary, Taya Valkyrie and John E. Bravo rant about everything going on with the three of them as of late.

And now, Wrestle House.

Everyone is trying to get Johnny Swinger out of a room because Crazzy Steve got to dress him (thanks to winning last week). Susie promises not to make fun of him so he finally comes out, dressed like a clown. Swinger: “Matt Borne is laughing at me.” Tommy Dreamer comes in and makes Bravo the referee between Rosemary and Taya.

Reno Scum vs. Rhino

The brawl starts in the aisle with Rhino fighting away but getting caught in the corner. Some right hands to the face have Rhino in trouble as we take a break. Back with Rhino being sent into the corner so Luster can punch him down. A falling headbutt gets two and we hit the chinlock. Thornstowe’s cheap shot from the floor cuts off the comeback so Rhino goes outside and Gores Thornstowe down. The referee gets distracted….and the cameraman (ahuh) comes in with the Wake Up Call to Luster, giving Rhino the pin at 7:14.

Rating: D+. It’s not like there is anything else of note for Heath to do so letting him team with Rhino again is fine enough. Rhino has been doing nothing but playing the hits for years around here so it’s not like it’s taking apart some other big story. That and the Heath4Impact stuff is a lot better than VINCE DIDN’T USE ME RIGHT.

Post match Scott D’Amore sends security out to get rid of Heath.

An EC3 promo interrupts Moose. EC3 says Moose can come find him, or the TNA World Title will be sent back to him piece by piece. Moose freaks out and tells a production worker to call the cops. After Moose leaves, the guy reveals a Control The Narrative shirt so that isn’t likely working.

Karl Anderson tells some guys a story about Doc Gallows falling asleep in a bar when the Rascalz are told to come over. They can’t because they have Ace Austin and Madman Fulton tonight. The Good Brothers don’t seem to mind and plug their future beer.

Back at Wrestle House, Swinger tries to tell Bravo that if he plays his cards right, he could get Taya and Rosemary. Bravo doesn’t listen to Swinger, who leaves.

The Deaners and XXXL get in a fight over the beer and we go cinematic as they fight around the house. Dreamer gets in a plug for Impact and a ping pong match breaks out breaks out between Cody and Acey. Larry punches the wall by mistake, followed by the ping pong ball going into Cody’s mouth. Cody is thrown into a trashcan but comes back to slug away at Acey…who is knocked into an elevator. Cody takes the stairs and then steals a bicycle, allowing him to miss a clothesline on Acey.

Back upstairs, Cody gets a long running start (as in long enough for Acey to get back upstairs and talk to Larry) but the charge misses, allowing Acey to pull Larry out of the way. Cody is back and they fight into XXXl’s room, where they find the beer bottles. A DDT plants Larry, which turns him into Lawrence. Jake knocks him out but Susie pops in. The violence brings out a flash of Su Yung, allowing Susie to walk out…with very bloody hands. Dreamer names her the winner and runs off. This stuff is such goofy fun.

Rascalz vs. Madman Fulton/Ace Austin

Dez and Wentz for the Rascalz. Dez rolls away from Fulton to start and gets on the monster’s nerves with a slap to the face. More escapism allows the tag off to Wentz for some double team striking to put Fulton down for two. Fulton finally gets back up and stomps away at Wentz’ back, allowing Austin to slingshot in with a legdrop.

The playing card cuts the finger and it’s back to Fulton for some corner choking. The referee yells at him, allowing the tag to Dez who gets to kick away at everyone. That ticks Fulton off and he misses a charge out to the floor. Wentz hits a dive over the top onto Fulton and Dez hits the Final Flash to finish Austin at 4:51.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have much time, which is a shame as I like everyone involved in the match. It’s nice to see the Rascalz get a pin, though it is kind of amazing to see how far down Ace has fallen since Slammiversary. They didn’t have a lot of time here but we got some good stuff out of what they had.

Post match the Motor City Machine Guns come out and praise the Rascalz for a bit. This turns into a challenge for a title match to next week but Ace and Fulton jump the Rascalz from behind. The Guns make the save.

Deonna Purrazzo is annoyed at how under dressed people are for her black tie celebration. No Willie Mack, shoelaces do not count. Purrazzo is annoyed but asks Kimber Lee to be her security for the match.

Rohit Raju is admiring the X-Division Title. TJP comes up to ask about a title shot but Raju says he has to beat Chris Bey. That sets off some rhyming and TJP leaves.

Rosemary vs. Taya Valkyrie

John E. Bravo is referee. Taya starts the trash talk by calling Rosemary an emo kid who shops at Hot Topic. Rosemary comes back by mocking Slam Town and the slapping begins. Bravo breaks up the brawl so Taya kicks her in the chest to set up the running hip attack. More yelling at Bravo lets Rosemary drive her into the corner and then hit a spear. A lot of yelling ensues but a double kick to the head sets up a double knockdown. Both of them miss charges into the corner but Taya grabs the Road To Valhalla for the pin at 3:35.

Rating: C-. It was weird to see a Wrestle House match go this long but it helps that you had two of the better options in the ring. This worked out well enough, though I’m surprised that it actually had a clean finish. They needed to have something definitive like this so this was not only surprising, but kind of necessary.

Post match Bravo tries to check on Rosemary but she shoves him away. Bravo whips out a ring and says he can manage Taya and marry Rosemary too. Everyone is stunned and Taya gives her blessing. Rosemary: “You do know we’re a demon right?” Rosemary accepts. Kylie Rae says that’s sweet but can we get back to the Impact Zone now? Taya says sure and they get in the ring.

The Deaners are very banged up and want beer, but they realize there was only one bottle under Larry’s bed. We cut to Crazzy Steve who admits he took the beer because he couldn’t read the labels. Back in the ring, Taya is congratulated for finding an activity they all liked. They all touch hands and warp away. I guess they ran out of taping.

The ring is surrounded and Kimber Lee introduces Deonna Purrazzo for her celebration. We start with a toast and Purrazzo talks about how she has painted a masterpiece since she debuted. No one is ruining her night but here is Jordynne Grace to congratulate her on her wins. Enjoy the title reign, because it isn’t going to last. Cue Tenille Dashwood, who says it’s great that everyone is here for her return. Tenille is coming for the title but Grace goes to get in her face. The Wrestle House Crew appears in the ring and Susie and Kylie Rae clear the ring with ease. Rae winds up with the Knockouts Title.

Brian Myers is ready to offer Willie Mack a handshake next week. Moose comes in to ask if Myers has seen EC3 so Myers sends him down the hall.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Eddie Edwards vs. Eric Young

Eric is challenging and wears a mask to the ring because…well it isn’t like anything else makes him stand out. Eddie isn’t waiting but charges into an elbow to start. He’s fine enough to snap off an overhead belly to belly for two and there’s a chop in the corner. Eddie snaps the throat across the top to send Young outside and we take a break. Back in and Eddie punches him to the apron and they both go outside.

That goes fine for Eddie as they go back up to the apron, where Young snaps off a neckbreaker to take over. Back in again and another neckbreaker gives Young two and it’s time to stomp away. Another neckbreaker gets another two and we hit the neck crank. A heck of a forearm rocks Eddie but he snaps off the Blue Thunder Bomb to put both guys down. Eddie strikes him into the corner but Young gets up and chokes him from the middle rope. The Backpack Stunner gets Eddie out of trouble and an enziguri in the corner rocks Eric again.

Young knocks him off the top though and the top rope elbow gets two. They strike it out and Eddie kicks him off the apron to the floor. Eddie dives onto hit but hurts his knee on the landing. Back in and Eddie gets two off the tiger driver with a grab of the knee messing up the cover. Eric rolls to the floor from the threat of the Boston Knee Party so Eddie hits a dive, messing up the knee even more. Back in and Young grabs the title, which is quickly taken away. That lets Young hit Eddie with the hockey mask, setting up the piledriver for the pin and the title at 15:41.

Rating: C. I think my thoughts on Eric Young are well known enough at this point so allow me to say GAH! Of all the people they have available on this roster, they pick ERIC YOUNG to win the World Title? Are people really that fascinated by his big bugged out eyes and calling himself a maniac that he should be the top man in the promotion? This is rather frustrating as Eddie hadn’t even been champion long, but I guess Young is more interesting because….I really have no idea actually. Uh, Canada? I guess? Maybe?

Post match Young stays on Eddie by cranking on the knee until security breaks it up.

Post copyright notice, Moose finds a stalker style collection of photos of himself, including some from yesterday and at his hotel. A bunch of threads come together over a map, where Moose says he needs to go. He pulls down the board and finds a message behind it saying YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a weird show overall as they were jumping all over the place. I kind of liked that though, as you had a nice mixture of stuff as they seem to be on a fresh taping cycle. The show was rather energetic and I liked some of it, aside from the result of the main event. That being said, more Kylie, Rosemary, Rascalz and Dashwood are certainly good things so hopefully they keep this up next time.

Results

Sami Callihan b. Rob Van Dam – Rollup

Rhino b. Reno Scum – Wake Up Call to Luster the Legend

Rascalz b. Madman Fulton/Ace Austin – Final Flash to Austin

Taya Valkyrie b. Rosemary – Road To Valhalla

Eric Young b. Eddie Edwards – Piledriver

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

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

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

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s what else is coming tonight.

And now, Wrestle House.

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

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

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

Crazzy Steve vs. Johnny Swinger

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brian Myers vs. Willie Mack

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Larry D. vs. John E. Bravo

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

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

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Deonna Purrazzo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

Eddie Edwards b. Rob Van Dam – Boston Knee Party

Crazzy Steve b. Johnny Swinger – Rollup

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

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

Deonna Purrazzo b. Jordynne Grace 2-1

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 11, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

We are coming up on Emergence and that could make for some good stuff around here. It might be a little soon after Slammiversary but the question now is what will actually take place on the two weeks of specials. Throw in Wrestle House and we could be in for some good stuff. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap, focusing entirely on Rich Swann’s retirement and Eric Young attacking him last week.

We open in the back with Willie Mack attacking Eric Young. Security can’t break them up and they fight into the arena, eventually getting into the ring where referees and security break it up. Mack says they’re scheduled to have a match tonight so let’s do it right now. Young says on his time and tries to leave but Mack goes after him. They get inside and the bell rings.

Eric Young vs. Willie Mack

Young stomps away to start but Mack hits a running elbow in the corner. The Stunner over the top rope slows Mack down but he sends Eric outside without much trouble. There’s the slingshot dive to take Young down again as Mack is all fired up. Young bites him in the head to get out of trouble on the top, setting up the top rope elbow for two. Some shots to the back of Mack’s head get two but Mack pulls him out of the air for a northern lights suplex. Young knocks him down in a hurry though and we hit the chinlock.

Mack fights up again with the swinging slam into the legdrop. The standing moonsault gives Mack two and they’re both down. The Stunner is countered with a rake of the eyes but Mack grabs the Stunner. There’s no cover though as Mack goes for a chair instead and lays it over (not around) Young’s leg. That takes too long though and Young crotches him on top, setting up the piledriver for the pin at 8:32.

Rating: C. This went well enough and it protected Mack to have the match won but go for revenge instead of the pin. That’s what he should be doing and it keeps Young strong, which has to appeal to someone….somewhere I guess. It’s a good enough story and if we get Swann’s big emotional return to the ring (maybe at Bound For Glory), they’ll be as fine as you can be in an Eric Young story.

Here’s what’s coming up tonight.

The Good Brothers go hunting for Ace Austin and Madman Fulton.

It’s time for Wrestle House. Taya Valkyrie and John E. Bravo call everyone into the main room so they can watch her greatest hits, as determined by a house vote of course. Kylie Rae thinks the votes may have been fraudulent and Cody just drinks. Various people make excuses to go away and we start looking at Taya’s Impact debut.

Johnny Swinger tells Crazzy Steve a story about Lord Littlebrooke but Steve is staring at Rosemary. Steve thanks him for being a good mentor and goes to sit next to Rosemary. She offers to pick back up where they left off and brings up Decay. Steve accuses her of being jealous of Taya with Bravo and Rosemary glares.

We cut to elsewhere in the house, where Cody and Alisha are getting Jake and Susie ready for their date, presumably with each other.

Reno Scum jump Rhino and take Hernandez’s money.

Kimber Lee vs. Jordynne Grace

Grace runs her over a few times to start and gets two off the side slam. Some hard whips into the corner don’t have Lee in that much trouble as she avoids a charge. Back from a break with Lee cranking on Grace’s knee and then chopping away in the corner. A suplex doesn’t work as Grace reverses into one of her own, setting up a spinebuster for two on Lee. They go to a pinfall reversal sequence for some near falls until Lee grabs a German suplex for two. Madison leaves commentary to do Locker Room Talk as Lee headbutts Grace off the top, only to have her Swanton hit knees. The rear naked choke finishes Lee at 8:27.

Rating: C-. Grace getting some wins with the choke would look to set up some kind of a big match against Deonna Purrazzo for the title later on. That’s a good idea as you can only do so much with Grace’s power and it is quite the relief to see that she is getting to expand her horizons a bit. Lee continues to just be kind of there, but it could be worse.

It’s time for Locker Room Talk, with Rayne knowing how happy everyone is to have it back. They even have their first sponsor: the Heath4Impact campaign, as Heath needs to be on the show. Rayne: “His money is as good as anyone’s.” That brings us to the guests: Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes, with the latter dancing in.

Madison is glad to have them back in their, ahem, natural state but they can’t control themselves and Madison walks out. They decide to have their own show, with Katie asking Rob for his favorite things about her. He likes quite a bit, but here’s Sami Callihan out of nowhere to jump him. Katie helps Rob though and the double beatdown is on.

Trey surprises the other Rascalz by wearing the Suicide mask but here’s Moose, who doesn’t like Wentz’s EC3 hoodie. Moose glares at him but gives Suicide a TNA Title shot next week without knowing who he is.

Back to Wrestle House, with Rosemary ignoring Taya’s matches and thinking about the jealousy thing Steve mentioned. She uses some magic to get Larry D.’s attention and Larry seems interested. Alisha gives Susie dating advice as she sits down to dinner with Jake. Susie mentions some stomach issues, which was the only excuse Alisha could think of to get her out of the Taya watchalong earlier. Back in the main room, Larry can’t stop staring at Rosemary. Acey asks what’s wrong and offers popcorn, but Larry says there are things more important than food. That means it’s MATCH TIME!

Larry D. vs. Acey Romero

Cody is referee. Romero promises to show tough love and hits a jumping clothesline. A running dropkick drops Larry again but the backsplash misses. The Best Hand In The House finishes Acey at 1:28.

Larry dedicates his win to Rosemary.

Deonna Purrazzo challenges Jordynne Grace to a 30 minute Iron Woman match at Emergence.

Video on the North vs. the Motor City Machine Guns. The Guns came back for the North and took the Tag Team Titles. Now the North wants them back.

Nevaeh/Jessika Havok vs. Tasha Steelz/Kiera Hogan

No DQ and Steelz/Hogan jump them from behind during the entrance. They head inside for the opening bell and Havok pulls Steelz out of the air to slam her down. Havok elbows Steelz out of the corner for a running knee as Hogan blasts Nevaeh with some kind of club. Nevaeh is fine enough to save Havok from a double teaming and snaps off a suplex to Steelz. Havok misses a charge and goes knees first into the steps on the floor, allowing Hogan to save Steelz again.

A running basement dropkick in the corner hits Nevaeh for two and it’s time to choke on the ropes. Havok makes a save and Nevaeh snaps off a suplex to Hogan, meaning it’s time to set up a table on the floor. All four wind up back inside for the slugout until everyone but Havok is kicked down. Havok isn’t about to be double suplexed but she can be low bridged out to the apron. A few kicks put her through the table and a fisherman’s neckbreaker finishes Nevaeh at 7:50.

Rating: C. The match was fine but it’s still a story that doesn’t exactly offer the biggest thrills. They treated it like the big blowoff though and that’s the best thing they could have done here. It wasn’t much of a feud between the two teams but at least they had someone win instead of just having them stop fighting.

The Good Brothers ask Scott D’Amore where Fulton and Austin are and promise to hold the ring until they get here. D’Amore is getting Hall and Nash vibes.

EC3 pops up on screen in front of Moose, promising to destroy him. That is the warning.

Suicide vs. Dez

It isn’t clear if this is still Trey, but Wentz is with Dez. They fight over wrist control to start but here are the Good Brothers to take out Dez for the DQ at 1:04.

The Good Brothers beat up everyone involved and it’s time to call out Fulton and Austin. The two of them pop up on screen to say they aren’t in the arena tonight. Austin will fight, but they’ll do it on his time (second use of that line tonight). Say the first night of Emergence. The Brothers are down.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Eddie Edwards b. Cody on Impact, October 2, 2016.

Rohit Raju comes in to warn Chris Bey that he might have to defend the X-Division Title against TJP at Emergence. Fallah Bahh will be there too, so put Raju in to make it a triple threat and protect the title. Bey seems to agree.

Brian Myers is still coming to be a professional.

Back to Wrestle House and Jake says he thought of Susie as the Undead Bride for so long. That turns her into Su Yung for a bit and this time Jake is the one with the bad stomach. Alisha comes in and wonders what happened, with Susie suggesting Alisha gave her bad advice. You know what that means.

Susie vs. Alisha Edwards

Steve is referee and Alisha doesn’t like the bad advice suggestion. Alisha shoves her away and gets slapped, triggering the catfight. A double clothesline puts both of them down, sending Steve into a count of seven, nine, potato. Back up and Alisha hits a clothesline but Susie gets a rollup for the pin at 1:55.

Post match Taya comes in to say it’s time to go watch her match of winning the Knockouts Title. Kylie smiles a lot and says they would all rather go to sleep. Taya calls her a loser and Susie points out that Kylie has beaten her twice. Dreamer pops up for MATCH TIME but Rosemary threatens him (ok good for a chuckle). Taya says next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Here’s Eddie Edwards to say he’ll face Eric Young right now, so get out here. It’s Brian Myers instead and he’ll take the title shot right now. In his hands, that title becomes a championship.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Eddie Edwards vs. Brian Myers

Eddie is defending and chases Myers into the ropes to start. Some stomps in the corner have Myers in trouble as Josh reminds us of Myers’ completely forgotten Tag Team Title reign. Myers’ headlock doesn’t last long so he goes with choking on the ropes instead. Eddie sends him outside though and we take a break.

Back with Eddie hitting an atomic drop into an overhead belly to belly. Myers grabs him for a posting though and sends him back first into the apron. A knee to the chest gives Myers two and we hit the chinlock. With that broken up, Myers kicks at the head and slaps on another chinlock, this time with a knee to the back. This time Eddie fights up and sends him outside for the suicide dive but comes up holding his knee.

Myers whips him back into the barricade for a near countout but Eddie gets back in without much drama. Eddie snaps off a suplex and hits some forearms, followed by the Backpack Stunner for two. Myers’ implant DDT gets the same but Eddie superkicks him into a tiger driver for another near fall. The Boston Knee Party misses but then connects to retain at 10:24.

Rating: C. This was as good of a match as you were going to get with someone best known as Curt Hawkins getting a World Title shot. I know he’s not the same guy anymore, but you’re going to need to give me something more than calling him the professional to shake his reputation. He’s fine in the ring and knows how to talk, but fans are going to see him as Hawkins for a good while and this wasn’t exactly the match to shake that feeling. It wasn’t bad, but it was only so interesting with zero drama.

Eddie celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The weekly World Title matches are starting to take a bit of a toll on the show. I like the idea behind them but you can only get so far with the lack of drama and feeling like we need to check an item off a list every week. Then you have the Wrestle House stuff, which is entertaining enough for something different but at some point it needs to go somewhere. The show was fine, but they’ll need Emergence to work to give us something a little more substantial.

Results

Eric Young b. Willie Mack – Piledriver

Jordynne Grace b. Kimber Lee – Rear naked choke

Larry D. b. Acey Romero – Best Hand In The House

Tasha Steelz/Kiera Hogan b. Nevaeh/Jessika Havok – Fisherman’s neckbreaker to Nevaeh

Dez b. Suicide via DQ when the Good Brothers interfered

Susie b. Alisha Edwards – Rollup

Eddie Edwards b. Brian Myers – Boston Knee Party

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 21, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

We’re done with a decent enough Slammiversary and the big story is all of the new people around here. I’m not sure what that is going to mean going forward but they have enough momentum that having just a so so pay per view isn’t going to derail them. We have about four months before Bound For Glory so there is a lot to get through before then. Let’s get to it.

Here is Slammiversary if you need a recap.

EC3 tells us how we have been controlled for our whole lives, either by corporations, politicians, those that love us or someone else. Are we going to fight back? Control your narrative, like he is going to do. You have been warned.

New opening sequence.

X-Division Title: Willie Mack vs. Chris Bey

Bey is defending in a rematch from Slammiversary, which rarely works well for the former champion. Bey wastes no time in hitting a running dropkick in the corner before hammering away on the mat. Madison talks about losing on Saturday because she wanted to live a day in the life of Josh Matthews. Egads. Mack fights back with a right hand but gets sent throat first into the bottom rope.

That’s enough to send him to the floor but he pulls a slingshot dive out of the air and slams him down hard. Back in and Mack elbows away in the corner, only to miss a charge. Bey’s neckbreaker out of the corner gets two and we hit the chinlock. A double stomp to the back lets Bey rap a bit, only to miss a standing moonsault. Mack doesn’t like Bey trying his move and hits a pop up right hand. The Six Star misses though and the Art of Finesse retains the title at 5:35.

Rating: C. They kept this moving here and while it wasn’t great, the action was fast enough for a start. I’m not sure what is next for Mack, but losing twice in three days, including clean here, isn’t the best look for his future. Bey is quite good as well though and has several challengers lined up, all of whom could have some awesome matches with him.

Slammiversary recap/show preview. This includes saying that Rich Swann’s night turned into “the ultimate horror story.” Do you REALLY want to reference that show?

Here are the good brothers, with Karl Anderson getting in a Scott Hall “Hey yo.” Anderson: “I’ve always wanted to say that.” After talking about how big “The Big LG” Doc Gallows looks, Anderson talks about how they took over Slammiversary and how they’re the best in the world. They are here to take over and dominate everyone, which is why their shirts have sold out and why Slammiversary was trending #1 worldwide.

They’re ready for some beers but here are Ace Austin and Madman Fulton to interrupt. The Good Brothers showed up and came straight after the top guys, because the best in the business is looking right at them. Austin slaps the beer out of Anderson’s hand and the fight is on, with the Brothers cleaning house with all of no effort.

Heath (Heath: “I’ve got a last name. I just can’t use it anymore.”) can’t get into the building.

Rhino and Hernandez agree to a match for all of the arm wrestling money. Didn’t they do that last week?

Bey and his two handlers are having some champagne when Rohit Raju comes in and takes the glass to give a toast to the new champ. He offers his services to watch Bey’s back, insisting that he is better than Johnny Swinger. Bey will keep that in mind.

Kiera Hogan/Tasha Steelz vs. Nevaeh/Havok

Steelz and Nevaeh start things off with Steelz getting suplexed down and crucifixed for two. Havok comes in for a backbreaker into a sliding clothesline, meaning it’s off to Hogan. That earns her a big boot from Havok and a Hennig necksnap from Nevaeh. Hogan gets in a cheap shot from behind to put Nevaeh in the corner though and the stomping is on.

Nevaeh blasts Steelz with a clothesline and elbow to the face, allowing the unseen tag to Havok. A swinging neckbreaker is enough for the seen tag to Havok meaning it’s some running hip attacks in the corner. Everything breaks down and Steelz hits Havok with a chair for the DQ at 6:05.

Rating: C-. It feels like we see these teams fighting every week or so anymore and that makes things feel rather repetitive. Commentary was talking about bringing back the Knockouts Tag Team Titles and while the division is getting some more depth, that doesn’t mean it needs another pair of titles running around. Develop it first, because right now you have these four and maybe a few other makeshift teams. That’s not enough for titles.

Post match Havok Tombstones Hogan.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Eddie Edwards b. Bobby Lashley to win the World Title on Impact, October 6, 2018.

Sami Callihan blames Ken Shamrock for the loss on Sunday. Shamrock says talk to him last week.

Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes are back and Forbes is tired of wearing clothes. Next week, everyone gets a free preview.

Hernandez vs. Rhino

They hand the money to the referee and Rhino hits a Gore for the pin at 19 seconds.

The North wants to know when they get their celebration. They have dominated tag team wrestling for a year but then the Motor City Machine Guns show up and get treated like royalty in one night. If the Guns want the celebration, come take the titles.

Brian Myers (Curt Hawkins) is coming.

We get some rapid fire promos from everyone who won on Sunday. They’re all happy and proud and looking forward to the future.

Deonna Purrazzo talks about proving herself on Sunday when Kylie Rae comes in. She’s the next challenger so Deonna goes for the armbar but Rae slips out and the brawl is on.

Here’s Eddie Edwards for his first comments as champion. Eddie talks about the journey to get here and now it is time for a new journey to begin. He wants to be the kind of champion that you can believe in and things are about to change. There has not been a title defense in five months so he is going to change that by defending it every week. He is living proof that anything is possible and he wants to give the title credibility.

Cue Eric Young but Eddie cuts him off, saying Young deserves a beating for what he did to Rich Swann. Eric says Eddie is lucky that it was Rich in his cross hairs instead of Edwards. None of this has anything to do with Eddie because Eric made all of this. The fight is on and referees break it up, allowing Young to get in a cheap shot. Hopefully we can get Young out of the way sooner than later.

Moose isn’t putting up his title every week like Eddie because this title is too prestigious. He isn’t worried about EC3 but he’ll face Fallah Bahh tonight.

Eddie isn’t worried about Eric Young but here’s Trey, who requests and is granted a title shot next week.

TNA World Title: Fallah Bahh vs. Moose

Moose is defending and TJP is here with Bahh. Moose shoves him away to start so Bahh fires off some chops in the corner. A running boot to the face rocks Bahh though and a shoulder drops him. There’s a boot across Bahh’s face but Bahh is back up with a running elbow in the corner. The Samoan drop is broken up with a rake to the face and No Jackhammer Needed retains the title at 3:38.

Rating: D+. This is an idea that is going to work for the time being as Moose can spear half the roster until he gets to face someone noteworthy (and by that I mean EC3). It’s a funny gag and they can drop the TNA deal whenever it’s done so it isn’t a big deal going forward. Bahh is still big but you can really tell how much weight he has lost, which is quite impressive.

Post match EC3 jumps Moose from behind with an inverted DDT.

In the parking lot, Ace Austin and Madman Fulton taunt the Good Brothers. Cue Reno Scum to jump them from behind, allowing Austin and Fulton to escape.

Rosemary and John E. Bravo come into a rather nice house. Rosemary seems to hint at something between them but Bravo doesn’t get it, meaning the frustration is on. Cue Taya Valkyrie, much to Rosemary’s annoyance. Rosemary snaps her fingers and various wrestlers start appearing. Next week: Wrestle House! I’ve heard worse ideas.

Tag Team Titles: The North vs. Motor City Machine Guns

The Guns are challenging. Page and Shelley start thinks off with Shelley cranking on the arm. That’s reversed into a headlock and it’s an early standoff. Sabin comes in but his shoulders bounce off of Alexander. An Octopus hold doesn’t work much better so Sabin goes with the armdrags to take over. It’s already back to Page to pound Shelley but everything breaks down and the champs are sent outside as we take a break.

Back with Shelley striking away at Page in the corner but an Alexander distraction lets Page get in a shot to the face. Alexander holds Shelley so Page can stomp away as the champs take over. Shelley’s elbow to the head just earn him a half nelson backbreaker with Sabin coming in for a save. The handoff suplex puts Shelley down again but Alexander misses a moonsault. There’s the hot tag to Sabin and the pace picks up in a hurry.

The champs are sent into each other and Sabin’s tornado DDT gets two on Page. Sabin dives onto Alexander on the floor and Shelley’s standing Sliced Bread gets another two. Shelley’s spinning Downward Spiral sets up a Gargano Escape on Page, with Sabin grabbing a Texas Cloverleaf on Alexander at the same time.

They’re both broken up at the same time and it’s Sabin slugging it out with Alexander. Everything breaks down again and it’s a cutter into a wheelbarrow suplex to plant Sabin for two more. Shelley is sent outside and Sabin gets kicked in the head, but the Northern Assault is countered into a small package to give the Guns the titles back at 14:14.

Rating: B. This really was the kind of a main event that would have been better off with a crowd there to spice it up. They had a good match, though it didn’t quite hit the level that they were shooting for. The North losing after such a long reign is fine, but having the title match so soon after the Guns’ return didn’t exactly let the title change get the build that it needed.

Jimmy Jacobs leaves but Heath sneaks inside to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The main event was good but you could tell that some of the fire was missing from the past few weeks. That isn’t the biggest surprise as you could go a long way based on the mystery appearances. The problem though is you then realize that two of the big names were Heath Slater and Eric Young, which doesn’t have the same pop once you get over the surprise. It’s still a fine show, but it wasn’t what it was over the last few weeks.

Results

Chris Bey b. Willie Mack – Art of Finesse

Havok/Nevaeh b. Tasha Steelz/Kiera Hogan via DQ when Steelz used a chair

Rhino b. Hernandez – Gore

Moose b. Fallah Bahh – No Jackhammer Needed

Motor City Machine Guns b. The North – Small package to Page

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

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

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

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

Hidden Gems #11
Date: 2007, 2011, 2016, 2017

Since it took me the better part of forever to get through with the Christmas stuff, I might as well pick up the pace a little bit here. This time around it’s just a collection of matches and with this, I’ll have everything from 2007 until the present, at least until they add even more stuff to this amazing lineup of stuff. Let’s get to it.

Jamin Olivencia vs. Tommaso
Date: March 10, 2007
Location: Davis Arena, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Dean Hill, Kenny Bolin

From Ohio Valley Wrestling. Jamin is an OVW legend and this is Tommaso’s (Ciampa of course) debut. Just to mess with me, Tomasso has hair and they go with a lockup onto the mat. A rollup gives Tommaso two and Jamin gets his own for the same. Jamin’s shoulder gets two more and it’s off to a headlock for some of the most obvious spot calling I’ve ever seen. Back up and Tommaso hits a Samoan drop and a whip into the corner for two each. The chinlock goes on for a bit but Olivencia gets up an elbow in the corner. Jamin’s top rope elbow misses though and it’s a reverse DDT to finish Olivencia at 3:31.

Rating: C-. There was nothing great or even noteworthy here but they were working at a fast pace and had a lot of energy. Having Tommaso win is a good way to set him up for the future, though he wouldn’t be in OVW for very long. This is another historical curiosity and that’s what this series specializes in.

To FCW!

Grand Royale
Date: January 16, 2011
Location: FCW Arena, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Matt Martlaro, Byron Saxton

The winner gets a Florida Heavyweight Title shot against Masion Ryan, Rotundo is Bo Dallas, Orlov is Alex Kozlov and the other names you don’t know aren’t important enough to talk about. This is a different kind of match as everyone stands on the floor to start and a bell rings. Everyone tries to get in and whoever is in after thirty seconds has a battle royal.

A bunch of them get in and Li is thrown out almost immediately. That leaves twelve names in the ring and a battle royal breaks out. Maddox is sent over the top and grabs the post as Sandow is sent out. The near eliminations continue as Maddox saves himself again. For some reason Hunico tries a springboard and gets knocked out for his efforts. Steamboat is put out and Leakee is sent out after him.

We take a break and come back with Rotund eliminating Mahal, which saves Cannon at the same time. Maddox follows him out as the fans are behind Cannon. We’re down to Woods, Rotund, Cannon, Raines, Rollins and Owens. Rollins is sent out in a hurry and Cannon clotheslines Owens out.

Woods and Cannon fight on the ropes while Raines and Rotundo do the same on some other ropes. Everyone heads to a corner until Woods starts going after Raines. The yet to be named Honor Roll misses Raines, who puts Woods out. Cannon dumps Rotundo but gets tossed by Raines for the win at 15:42.

Rating: D. This was just a battle royal and not a very good one. The problem is that the match didn’t really age well as a lot of the names aren’t that well known and we were never given a list of who was in there, meaning it was a lot of figuring it out as the match went on. It certainly wasn’t great, though the fans stayed into it, which you have to expect in a match like this.

We’ve hit two big developmentals so let’s head down to NXT for the next three matches.

NXT Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Eric Young vs. Samoa Joe
Date: October 30, 2016
Location: Palladium Theater, Los Angeles, California

Nakamura is defending and this is an NXT house show so no commentary, though it’s shot like the TV show. Joe gets a nice pop, likely because he’s from Los Angeles. Or because he’s Samoa Joe. Nakamura on the other hand gets a roar and a superstar pop because he was still awesome at this point. If nothing else, it’s cool to see the full Nakamura entrance again. After some Big Match Intros, we’re ready to go.

Nakamura and Joe go nose to nose but Young breaks it up in what might not be his smartest move. Young locks up with Nakamura in the corner and gets the wavy arms treatment and a COME ON as Joe stands back and watches. Young yells at Joe instead and gets punched out to the floor, leaving us with the showdown the fans want to see. Joe works on a wristlock but Young pulls Nakamura outside and screams at him a lot.

Back in and Young hits Joe in the face, earning himself an enziguri in the corner. The Facewash makes it worse but Nakamura is back in for Good Vibrations on Joe. Young gets some much weaker Vibrations of his own but it’s Joe coming in with the snap jabs. That’s broken up again as Young takes Joe’s place and the fans switch between TNA and SUPER ERIC chants.

Joe is back in and kicks the super out of Eric until Nakamura comes back in, meaning it’s Eric heading outside this time. The knees in the corner rock Joe but he’s fine enough to powerslam the returning Young for two. The STF into the Crossface requires a save from Nakamura but Joe blocks the reverse exploder. Young is back up with a belly to back suplex and the top rope elbow for two on Nakamura, though the fans weren’t exactly buying the near fall.

Nakamura gets caught on top but is fine enough to reverse the MuscleBuster into a sunset flip. Joe isn’t happy with being countered and Rock Bottoms Nakamura out of the corner, setting up the non-finishing version of the Koquina Clutch. The backflip rollup gets Nakamura out of trouble and it’s the middle rope knee for Young. With Joe knocked outside, Kinshasa to Young retains the title at 15:07.

Rating: B-. This was straight out of the triple threat playbook with two in and one out for the most part but it still worked well. What mattered here was giving the fans the thrill of seeing Nakamura and Joe while Young was there to take the fall. I don’t think anyone ever really bought the title as being in jeopardy and that isn’t surprising given where this was and the kind of audience they were in front of. Still good though and it’s cool to see a different version of NXT.

Post match Nakamura and Joe go nose to nose but Joe leaves so Nakamura can celebrate for a good while. Nakamura thanks the fans to wrap it up.

Bobby Roode vs. Kota Ibushi
Date: October 30, 2016
Location: Palladium Theater, Los Angeles, California

Same show obviously so no commentary again. Roode gets quite the reception here (duh) but Ibushi gets the “oh dang we’re really seeing this guy” reaction. Just because he can, Roode throws his robe on the ring announcer’s face. They circle each other to start but Roode hits the GLORIOUS pose to offer some frustration. Roode takes him down and does the pose again as they’re taking their time to start here.

A shoulder puts Ibushi down and we hit the BEER! MONEY! Chants. Ibushi knocks him outside and strikes his own GLORIOUS pose, which is just too far for Roode (it’s all he’s got so you have to protect it). That just earns him a hurricanrana to the floor but Roode breaks up a springboard attempt to put Ibushi on the floor. The referee starts the count and EGADS I had forgotten how annoying the “fans count ten on every count” thing was.

Back in and Roode drops a knee to the face, followed by a middle rope elbow to the back of the neck. As usual, Roode doesn’t do anything flashy but he does it so efficiently that it works. A big clothesline takes Ibushi down and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up through the power of CHINLOCKS CAUSE COMEBACKS and it’s time for the slugout, with Ibushi hitting a dropkick for the double knockdown.

Some kicks to the chest drop Roode and it’s the running shooting star press for two. A springboard missile dropkick sends Roode outside and that’s just not a good place to be. The perfect springboard moonsault takes him down again with the fans insisting that Roode didn’t make the count back in. Speaking of back in, they head back in and Roode grabs a heck of a spinebuster for two. Fans: “THIS IS GLORIOUS!”

A rollup with feet on the ropes gives Roode two but Ibushi is right back with the sitout Last Ride for the same. The fans want them to fight forever because apparently they have that much time to watch these two kill each other. The Phoenix splash misses though and Roode drops him with the Glorious DDT for the pin at 16:14.

Rating: B. I liked this one better than the triple threat as Roode is so efficient in the ring and took Ibushi’s high flying down through better technique and relying on what worked for him. I know Roode isn’t the most consistent performer but the more I watch him, the more I can see what people find appealing about him. He’s not going to get the big push, but he’s perfect for something like this or a midcard push somewhere down the line.

We’ll head to the UK to wrap it up.

United Kingdom Title: Pete Dunne vs. Mark Andrews
Date: June 8, 2017
Location: Brighton Centre, Brighton, England

Dunne is defending and there is no commentary again. This is shot differently though as it’s one or two handheld cameras, meaning we keep seeing shots running around the ring to get a better angle. It’s so strange to see that on a WWE show. They fight over the arm to start until Dunne takes him down and cranks on the leg. Just to show off a bit, Dunne pulls on the arm at the same time.

A rope grab gets Andrews out of trouble and it’s a basement dropkick to put Dunne on the floor. That’s a very bad idea as he forearms the heck out of Andrews and cranks on the arm again. We run around the ring to get a shot of Dunne stomping away in the corner and then working on a hammerlock. There’s a stomp to the arm and the BRUISERWEIGHT chants continue.

Andrews’ legs are fine enough for a hurricanrana to the floor, setting up the big running flip dive. Back in and Andrews hits a jumping double stomp to the ribs but Dunne shrugs off the forearms. A tornado DDT works a bit better for Andrews but Dunne is right back up with kicks to the head. The slugout is on with Dunne getting the better of it, only to have the X Plex countered into a hurricanrana. Stundog Millionaire rocks Dunne again but Fall To Pieces misses. The Bitter End retains the title at 9:38.

Rating: C+. They were working but I don’t think anyone was buying the idea of Andrews as a threat to the title. Dunne had only been champion for a few weeks at this point so he wasn’t losing here. Andrews is the kind of high flier who can get the fans behind him but Dunne is a different kind of wrestler and not losing in this spot.

Overall Rating: C. This was a total mixed bag with all kinds of matches up and down the list. Developmental is a different world from the main roster as you get to see these people trying and seeing what they can do without all of the restrictions that the main roster puts on them. It makes for some fun matches and situations as these shows have their own worlds and continuities. I had a good time with this, though the matches were all over the place both in star power and quality.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

One Night Only: Amped Anthology Part II
Date: September 15, 2017
Location: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Cyrus Fees, Chael Sonnen

You might remember that I did this about a year ago and for some reason I never got around to doing the other three parts. Maybe because the first part wasn’t very good and I really didn’t care that much. These have been on my list for a long time though so I might as well get to them. This is the previously unreleased Global Force Wrestling TV show that never made air because GFW never went anywhere. We’re in full on title tournament mode and this would be episodes 5-8, as with commercials taken out the four hour long episodes equal about three hours. Let’s get to it.

Here’s the original if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of last week’s tournament matches, none of which were anything special. You know, like this entire promotion. A preview for tonight’s matches are included too. Not the worst idea in the world, as always.

The announcers preview the show.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Reno Scum vs. Los Luchas

I remember Scum from Impact and I never quite got it. They weren’t bad but they’re just another heel team. Scum jumps them to start and it’s Adam Thornstowe (partner of Luster the Legend) beating on Phoenix Star (partner of Zokre) in the corner. The double teaming begins with a knee drop and a quickly broken chinlock as Star is already in trouble. Zokre makes a blind tag though and comes in with a springboard crossbody to Adam as the pace picks up in a hurry.

It’s already back to Phoenix, who gets taken down by a running clothesline. Adam comes back in with a slingshot hilo and the neck crank only lasts a few seconds. Instead Adam hits a standing moonsault for two but Star flips out of a belly to back suplex and it’s back to Zokre. The Luchas hit a double 619 on Adam and a handspring kick to the face sends Luster outside. Adam dives onto Zokre and Luster, followed by Phoenix diving onto all three of them. Cyrus brings up a good question: at what point is taking out your own partner not worth the effort?

Back in and a springboard Blockbuster into a Backstabber (cool) has Adam in more trouble with Luster having to make a save. Some dives are broken up so Zokre is tied in the Tree of Woe with Phoenix being Razor’s Edged into him for a unique looking crash. A Death Valley Driver puts Zokre down and it’s a top rope Stomp to Phoenix to give Adam the pin at 9:12.

Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows explain the idea of a thing called the Bullet Club and how they do whatever they want because it’s fun.

Here’s Jeff Jarrett for a chat. He thanks the arena and the wrestlers in the back, because this place is nothing without them. Finally, he thanks the fans as well because they’re the biggest reason any wrestling promotion works. We’re in the middle of several tournaments right now, and names like Shelton Benjamin, the Killer Elite Squad and the Bullet Club will be in some of those tournaments.

This brings out Bobby Roode, so Jarrett takes off the jacket. Roode mocks the fans for the THANK YOU JEFF chants. For what? Messing up TNA and starting another two bit promotion? Nobody cares about this place and Roode already made Killer Kross tap out to advance in the tournament. Jeff says GFW is about competing, so Roode’s next opponent is Eric Young. Cyrus: “They’re both currently in NXT.”

Chris Mordetzky (Chris Master) and Brian Myers (Curt Hawkins) have both wrestled around the world and it’s looks and power vs. skill. Chris thinks he’s a top star while Meyers is a role player. Myers isn’t impressed.

Reno Scum is proud of winning and Christina Von Eerie, apparently their manager, wants to talk strategy.

We recap the Jarrett vs. Roode segment.

Roode isn’t sweating Young.

GFW World Title Tournament First Round: Chris Mordetzky vs. Brian Meyers

Cyrus again tells us that Myers is on Smackdown as Curt Hawkins. A power exchange goes to Chris (well duh) and he posts Myers out to the floor. Back in and Chris starts in on the back with a powerslam as Nick Aldis watches to find out who he faces next. The camel clutch goes on and Myers is thrown down for trying to escape.

A hard slap to the face puts Myers down so he slaps Chris right back and they’re both down. Myers makes his comeback with some right hands and a running forearm, followed by a Downward Spiral for two. Chris gets a slow two off a sitout spinebuster but the Adonis Lock is blocked. A spear sends Chris to the floor but he kicks the ropes for a low blow on the way back in. Now the Master Lock can go on to make Myers tap at 8:47.

Rating: D+. This is where the problem comes with GFW. While I can get behind the idea of two unknown teams fighting for the Tag Team Titles, this was Curt Hawkins vs. Chris Masters in a battle of former WWE jobbers. I’ve seen them both for a long time in WWE and I don’t want to see either of them here. It doesn’t help that Myers is just a guy while Master is the EXACT same thing that didn’t work in WWE. What’s the appeal here?

Post match, Chris goes to the back and talks trash to Aldis.

The second episode begins so we hit the opening sequence again.

Another preview.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Misterioso Jr./Cielo vs. Teaze N Sleaze

It’s Kenny Klimax (King) and Juicy Joey (Ryan) and we start with some stripping until it’s Ryan getting armdragged down by Cielo. Jr. comes in for a sunset flip off a Cielo dropkick as the announcers talk about Joey’s infamous suplex. King comes in and gets kicked down into a standing moonsault for two as the masked guys are certainly starting fast here. A Joey distraction lets Kenny get in a cheap shot from behind as the team you’ve actually heard of takes over.

It’s back to Joey for some chest rubbing and Kenny throws in some dancing as Cielo continues to take a pretty weak beating. Joey spends a little too much time posing and charges into a knee, meaning it’s a hot tag to Jr. Everything breaks down with Joey having to break up a cover off a moonsault press. A superkick from Joey sets up the Royal Flush to give Kenny the pin at 6:37.

Rating: D. This didn’t have much time and that’s the best option for the guys in there. King and Ryan are little more than a comedy act and while that’s a good thing to have around, it’s not the most important thing to spend time on. Cielo and Misterioso were fine, but you already have Los Luchas around here and they’re a step or two better.

Video on Shelton Benjamin, who lists off his career resume and amateur background.

We get a tribute to Roddy Piper, who passed away less than a week before this was taped. Jeff Jarrett and Brian Granstaff (the writer/star of Roddy’s last movie, which happened to be about wrestling) come out with Jarrett talking about everything Piper did over the years. Piper would come into a territory at one level and then leave at the main event level. He was supposed to be here tonight but we’re celebrating him instead. Brian talks about all the F bombs that Piper dropped on the set of the Christian film in a funny story.

We see some clips of Piper talking about the movie and see the teaser trailer. Back in the arena, we get a ten bell salute. This was a very nice tribute to Piper and felt like something kind of special, especially with the stuff from the wrestling movie. I’d rather they do this than try to make it into some kind of an angle.

Video on TJ Perkins, of course now known as TJP. He was homeless for awhile as he pursued his dream and now he’s part of the Nex Gen tournament.

The announcers recap the tournaments. Chael is ready to personally do a run-in if that’s what it takes to make Mordetzky champion.

Video on JR Kratos, a muscular indy guy sounds nowhere near as intimidating as you would expect from his name. He’s ready to face a veteran like Shelton.

GFW World Title Tournament First Round: JR Kratos vs. Shelton Benjamin

Kratos forearms him into the corner to start but gets caught with an early Dragon Whip (Not named here as the announcers are too busy praising Shelton. That’s a good idea, but they need to pay more attention.). A quick posting cuts Shelton off though and Kratos gets two off a delayed vertical suplex.

The chinlock doesn’t last long as Shelton fights up with some right hands and the Stinger Splash into a Samoan drop for two. Kratos is right back with a powerslam for the same and a running knee to the face. He takes way long going up though and gets suplexed right back down. Paydirt (still don’t like that move) finishes Kratos at 6:00.

Rating: D. Kratos has a good name and a good look and that’s about it for his major positives. There’s only so much that you can get out of a name like Shelton against a newcomer and the ending wasn’t exactly in doubt. Kratos came off like an inexperienced (though not terrible or anything) rookie and that’s not going to work against a pretty big star like Shelton. Not the worst match by any stretch, but nothing you need to see.

We get a preview for “next week”. That’s not a criticism as this isn’t being presented in its intended format.

Episode seven begins with a video on the Bullet Club vs. the Killer Elite Squad.

The announcers preview things again.

Video on Andrew Everett, who is a heck of a high flier. Jarrett says Everett makes him think of the first time he saw AJ Styles, which is quite the praise.

Nex Gen Title Tournament First Round: Andrew Everett vs. TJ Perkins

The bell rings with Perkins’ music still playing as they want to get moving. Everett hits a dropkick to start but gets headscissored down. Chael brings up Prince Iaukea of all people, praising him as the best moving smaller wrestler in years. Just….stick to getting beaten up in MMA dude. Perkins sends him outside but Everett switches places and hits the springboard shooting star for the first big spot of the match.

Back in and a springboard splash misses but Everett kicks him down for one anyway. Perkins slaps on a quickly broken Black Widow before getting two off a crucifix. There’s a slingshot hilo for some Eddie Guerrero flavor and Perkins stays on the arm. A dropkick to the back gives Perkins two more and we hit the bow and arrow hold. Everett gets in a forearm to the face though and a springboard missile dropkick has Perkins in trouble.

That means a standing shooting star press for two but Perkins dropkicks him out of the air for a breather. Some rolling suplexes look to set up a frog splash, which only hits Everett’s raised knees. A Falcon Arrow sets up the 630 but it takes WAY too long, with Perkins rolling away in more than enough time. Perkins frog splashes the arm and a cross armbreaker makes Everett tap at 10:46.

Rating: B. Match of the night by far here with both guys hitting a bunch of high flying spots over a pretty decent amount of time. Perkins was a bigger deal and a more well rounded worker here though, with the arm work actually playing into the finish. That’s what makes a match like this work so well and Perkins was nailing it here, with Everett more than holding up his end.

Earlier today, the Bullet Club arrived and promised to win tonight.

Earlier today, the Killer Elite Squad was at the hotel and promised to win tonight.

Here’s Bobby Roode with the TNA King of the Mountain Title to complain some more. It was his responsibility to be here for the fans, even though Jeff Jarrett is playing mind games with him. Jeff made him qualify for the World Title tournament so he beat the hometown here Kevin Kross. Now he has to beat the crazy man Eric Young, who only belongs in an insane asylum. This brings out Young to chase Roode off and scream a lot, reminding me of how much I couldn’t stand this version of Young. Roode comes in and the fight is on with Young getting the better of it until referees break it up.

Perkins is proud of his win and Everett comes in to congratulate him. Well thank goodness he was happy with the match and not distraught over being eliminated from the tournament.

Shelton may have a concussion and is on his way to the hospital.

The announcers recap and preview.

Video on Nick Aldis, who has been successful everywhere he’s gone and is ready to be the star.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Killer Elite Squad vs. Bullet Club

The Squad is Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer. It’s Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson, with Amber Gallows as the Bullet Babe, for the Club here. The fight starts on the floor (well duh) with the Squad taking over until it’s Archer and Anderson slugging it out inside to officially get things going. A choke suplex and clothesline have Anderson in trouble and it’s off to Smith for a camel clutch.

Anderson fights out and uppercuts his way to freedom but Archer kicks him in the face and drops a leg for two. Smith’s belly to belly gets two and the Squad goes high/low for two more. A missed charge in the corner lets Anderson hit an enziguri and it’s off to Gallows so house can be cleaned.

Some kicks to Archer’s face put him down and Gallows is all fired up. Gallows hits a reverse full nelson slam but walks into a Hart Attack for another near fall. The Killer Bomb (powerbomb/full nelson slam combination) is good for the same with Anderson coming in for the save. Smith and Anderson go to the floor, leaving Archer to miss the moonsault. The Magic Killer gives the Club the win at 9:13.

Rating: C. This was fine for four big, power guys beating each other up for a little while. The Club was white hot at this point so it makes perfect sense to have them win here. At the same time, the Squad is an awesome team who was coming into their own at this point. I could go for more of these two on a bigger stage, though maybe in another year or so.

Here are the final four for the Tag Team tournament:

Bollywood Boyz

Bullet Club

Teaze N Sleaze

Reno Scum

Preview for the final show.

Episode eight opens with a preview for tonight’s show. These things don’t work so well in marathon form.

The Akbars (Ali and Omar) are tired of being discriminated against, including when they were eliminated from the Tag Team Title tournament “last week”. Tonight, they’ll unleash some of that anger.

Los Luchas and Sonjay Dutt are ready for their six man tag.

Akbars/PJ Black vs. Sonjay Dutt/Los Luchas

Ali and Phoenix start things off and it’s an early double 619 to Ali’s head. Sonjay and PJ come in with Black underestimating Dutt’s flipping abilities. A hurricanrana has Black in trouble so he dropkicks Dutt outside where the Akbars can beat on him. Back in and Omar works on the armbar before Black comes in for a chinlock. Dutt fights up and hits a Downward Spiral into the middle buckle, setting up the hot tag off to Phoenix so things can pick up.

Everything breaks down and the Luchas hit some fast dropkicks. A moonsault and a Swanton hit the Akbars, followed by Dutt diving onto Black. The big running flip dives have the villains in even more trouble but Omar hits Zokre with a release fisherman’s suplex. Dutt is back in with a tornado DDT, followed by Phoenix spearing Ali down. Black comes back in with a top rope double stomp to put Phoenix away at 7:56.

Rating: C. Just a fun match with a bunch of people flying around to pop the crowd a few times and that’s a good idea later on in a taping like this. Dutt is an entertaining guy to watch and there’s a reason he was being pushed all the way to the X-Division Title at this point. Good little match here, which is often one of the best things you can do.

Post match the Akbars beat the Luchas down and Black adds a superkick to Dutt.

Video on Nick Aldis, who has become more complete now that he has a child.

Here’s Chael Sonnen in the ring for his Bad Words talking segment. His first guest is the future World Champion, Chris Mordetzky. Chris talks about Sonnen beating British MMA fighter Michael Bisping, so now Mordetzky is going to beat a British wrestler in Nick Aldis. Then after winning the match, he can go to Aldis’ house and tell Nick’s wife Mickie James to make him a steak (Sonnen used the same line to hype a fight). Aldis comes out to say there’s a problem if Chris ever brings up Mickie again. Sonnen: “She doesn’t know how to make steak?” The brawl is on with the Master Lock leaving Aldis laying.

After Aldis is taken out, MMA fighter Phil Baroni is in the crowd so Sonnen insults him, leading to the referees having to hold Baroni back.

Video on Eric Young and Bobby Roode’s history together. They used to be friends and then rivals, but tonight they’re fighting for a shot at the World Title.

Cyrus asks Sonnen about what just happened and gets blown off.

Video on Amber Gallows, who might be in the Women’s Title tournament. Karen Jarrett gets to talk, because….I have no idea actually. Were there no female wrestlers who could talk here?

GFW World Title Tournament First Round: Bobby Roode vs. Eric Young

Roode’s King of the Mountain Title isn’t on the line. They slug it out to start with Young getting the better of it off a backdrop. The fight heads outside with Sonnen talking about Young wearing pink while also being in charge of Sanity in NXT. My goodness the timing is odd here with a mix of original commentary and redone material. Roode dropkicks him off the apron and stops to pose before slapping on a waistlock.

Back up and they run the ropes with neither being able to get anywhere. That means a double clothesline for the double knockdown and it’s time to slug it out again. Young slides between Roode’s legs and hits the belly to belly. The top rope elbow gets two but the piledriver is countered into Roode’s spinebuster.

Roode stays on him with the Crossface but Young is too close to the ropes. A Falcon Arrow gives Roode two more so he yells at the referee, allowing Young to score with a big boot. The piledriver is countered again, this time into a failed Roode Bomb attempt. Young tries a sunset flip but Roode drops down into a cradle with a grab of the rope for the pin at 9:13.

Rating: C+. You had to expect that two people who knew each other this well would have a good match and that’s what they did here. Roode cheating to win fits him perfectly and it’s pretty clear that he’s going to the finals to face Aldis. Young losing is always nice to see, especially when he’s this version, which drove me absolutely up the wall for a long time.

Here are the updated brackets:

Nick Aldis

Chris Mordetzky

Shelton Benjamin

Bobby Roode

In the back, Aldis can’t get to Mordetzky to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Just like last time, this was perfectly watchable but nothing that I’ve going to think about after about ten more minutes. The wrestling was fine, the stories, while few and far between, were acceptable and while commentary wasn’t very good, it certainly wasn’t horrible. The problem is that it’s just not a show you need to see and is more of a curiosity than anything else. Having four straight episodes would seem like a bit much but it actually doesn’t drag at all. It’s fine, but not worth your time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: April 25, 2018
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson

After a few weeks of insanity on the main roster, it’s rather nice to see how things are going down in NXT. This week we have the first defense of the North American Title as Adam Cole defends against Oney Lorcan, but there’s a slightly bigger title match. Tonight we have Aleister Black making his first defense of the NXT Title against Johnny Gargano. The shenanigans should be high with this one. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s the Undisputed Era to open things up, with Roderick Strong officially announced as a Tag Team Champion. Adam Cole talks about how much gold the team has, which is what happens when you back the team into a corner. NXT has fought against them from the start but ladies and gentlemen, here they stand.

Bobby Fish talks about having the deck stacked against them every time but they’re always winding up in front. Strong says he isn’t here to pat himself on the back so everyone else can do it for him. For once he did something for himself by taking the safer long term prospect. All Pete Dunne cares about is the United Kingdom Championship so how long would it be until he turned on Strong?

During the match, Strong had an epiphany: it’s always Roddy vs. the world, but why fight on your own and come up short? They are done being backed into a corner and now they can’t be stopped. Cole is ready to defend the North American Title on his own, just like he won it. It’s not like he needs any help defeating Oney Lorcan. Now why is it so hard to get an explanation for actions like the one Strong just gave us?

North American Title: Oney Lorcan vs. Adam Cole

Cole is defending and has heavily taped ribs. Lorcan is smart enough to go for a waistlock to send Cole bailing to the floor. Mauro’s analysis: he doesn’t think Cole is at 100%. On the way back in, Lorcan shoulders him in the ribs to keep the champ in trouble. Cole comes back and stomps him down before hitting a chinlock.

The fireman’s carry neckbreaker plants Lorcan again but he’s right back up with a running elbow. The running Blockbuster gets two and Cole gets dropped ribs first onto the top rope. Cue Kyle O’Reilly with a trainer to throw up the X, followed by a belly to back suplex to put Lorcan on the apron. Cole is just fine and the Last Shot retains the title at 5:54.

Rating: C-. They did the smart path here with the Lorcan staying on the bad ribs. Having someone come out and throw up a fake X is a smart idea and something I don’t remember seeing before. The Undisputed Era could be around for a long time and that’s going to make things interesting in the future. These first few title defenses aren’t the most thrilling but the logic was sound.

Post match Danny Burch runs in for the save but gets superkicked down.

Video on Shayna Baszler.

We look at Candice LeRae defeating Zelina Vega last week.

Video on Bianca Belair, who faces Candice next week.

Heavy Machinery vs. Tino Sabbatelli/Riddick Moss

I don’t say this often (if ever) in NXT but yes, again. Knight headlocks Moss to start and double shoulders put Sabbatelli and Moss on the floor early on. Back in and Heavy Machinery rams them into each other before standing on their chests to pose. Things finally settle down and Moss hammers Dozovic into the corner to take over. It’s back to Sabbatelli to throw some punches but Dozovic launches him to the floor. Moss comes back in and slugs away but Sabbatelli walks away, leaving Moss to take the Compactor for the pin 4:07.

Rating: D+. Good. Not only is the team finally done after not having any chance to go higher than they were, but now we don’t have to watch this match anymore. There’s nothing left for Sabbatelli and Moss to do as they’re not all that interesting as so many of their stories were about that car. Sabbatelli could be ok on his own, but neither is exactly jumping off the page at me. Splitting the team is the right move, even without much upside.

Post match Heavy Machinery calls out the War Raiders, saying they’re going to eat all the steaks and lift all the weights. If the Raiders are ready to face them, Heavy Machinery is ready for war.

Video on the women’s division.

Dakota Kai doesn’t want to talk about Shayna Baszler and her injury. Baszler comes in and demands that Kai looks at her. Kai came all the way here but needs to understand that the women’s division under Baszler is Kai’s worst nightmare. If they go through with this, Kai rising up to fight Baszler could be money.

Kona Reeves is coming.

Video on Lacey Evans. Dang there are a lot of these tonight.

Next week: TM61 vs. Street Profits and Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong.

NXT Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Aleister Black

Black is defending.

Hang on though as Tommaso Ciampa, now with face paint (or maybe tape), jumps Gargano from behind. Johnny fights out of White Noise through a table though and dives onto Ciampa. The beatdown is on until Ciampa gets in a low blow. White Noise through another table leaves Gargano laying. A stretcher is brought out with Candice LeRae out to help her husband too. We follow the stretcher to the back with Kassius Ohno (in a Larry Sweeney shirt) holding Gargano’s hands. The ambulance leaves and Ciampa is shown standing on a production truck, watching it leave. Heck of an angle here and the rematch will rock.

Back in the arena, here’s an angry Aleister Black to take a mic. Black calls out Ciampa but gets….Sanity? Eric Young says Gargano provided hope in the chaos. Out of the chaos we will find sanity but Black cuts him off, asking if Young is looking for the title. If so, let’s do this.

NXT Title: Aleister Black vs. Eric Young

Young is challenging. They take each other down and Young grabs a headlock. That goes nowhere so Young elbows him down instead. Black knocks him to the floor and moonsaults into the seated pose to remain calm. Back in and Young gets caught in an armbar but Alexander Wolfe offers a distraction to get him out of trouble. Some choking has Black down and Young gets two off an elbow.

Black fights out of the chinlock and hits a big boot for a breather. A running knee knocks Young silly and more strikes make things even worse. Black gets two off a Lionsault to a standing Young and grabs something like an Octopus hold, albeit with Young standing straight and Black hanging to the side. A Death Valley Bomb gets Young out of trouble for two and he goes to the top. That’s broken up so Young tries his slide through the legs into the sunset flip, only to eat Black Mass to retain the title at 8:51.

Rating: B. It’s amazing how much easier Young is to watch in this role. He has more than enough skill to make the matches work and keeping his talking short is the best idea NXT could have for him. Black was strong here as well, showing that he can work with anyone and hitting Black Mass is going to get him out of any trouble. Good match here and better than I was expecting.

Post match the rest of Sanity gets Black Mass as well to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was about setting things up for the future and oh my did they do a good job with that. On top of the great angle with Ciampa and Gargano, there’s the potential for War Raiders vs. Heavy Machinery, someone coming up to challenge Undisputed Era and Kai vs. Baszler (that’s more long term). I’m interested in all of those things and that’s a rare feeling to have. Takeover: Chicago should be a lot of fun and as usual, I fully believe NXT can pull that off.

Results

Adam Cole b. Oney Lorcan – Last Shot

Heavy Machinery b. Tino Sabbatelli/Riddick Moss – Compactor to Moss

Aleister Black b. Eric Young – Black Mass

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

NXT
Date: September 27, 2017
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

It’s NXT bay-bay as Adam Cole is making his in-ring debut tonight against Sanity’s Eric Young. While you can almost book the screwy finish from here, that doesn’t mean it won’t be entertaining along the way. Other than that we’re starting to get ready for the next Takeover in Houston. Let’s get to it.

William Regal opens the show by announcing a four way for the vacant Women’s Title at Takeover: Houston. Kairi Sane is already in the match and in two weeks, we’ll be having three qualifying matches for the other spots.

Opening sequence.

Here’s a ticked off Sanity to open things up. They wrote the book on showing up to make their mark and all that matters is the chaos. Tonight, Young is taking Cole to the edge of Sanity.

Lars Sullivan vs. Oney Lorcan

This should be hard hitting. Before the match, Lorcan says he doesn’t like Sullivan coming in here like he owns the place. Lorcan gets run over to start but comes back with a dropkick. Sullivan easily shrugs it off though and sends Lorcan outside with ease. Back up and Sullivan gets sent outside again, where he catches Oney’s over the top dive in midair like he’s nothing.

Lars charges into an elbow in the corner so Lorcan hammers away, including some running European uppercuts. Those are shrugged off too though and one heck of a clothesline turns him inside out. The standing Boss Man Slam ends Lorcan at 2:54. This was a heck of a fight and Sullivan looked more like a monster than usual.

Lars goes after him again but Danny Burch pulls Oney out.

Ruby Riot is ready to face the Iconic Duo again but she is NOT friends with Nikki Cross.

Heavy Machinery vs. Demitrious Bronson/Patrick Scott

Scott and Knight start things off and I’ll let you guess which one is tossed down. Knight lifts him up in a wristlock so it’s off to Bronson, who gets run over with a double shoulder. Bronson gets in a good looking dropkick but dives into an overhead belly to belly. Otis even stops for a little dance and it’s the Compactor for the double pin at 3:15.

Rating: D+. I like Heavy Machinery a lot as they’re just a fun act. They don’t come off as anything more than two big guys who can do impressive power stuff and there’s no reason to try anything else. Not everything has to be some high concept and this is as entertaining as it can be for what it is.

Regal gave Johnny Gargano a rematch with Andrade Cien Almas in two weeks. He also has a special idea for Houston.

Roderick Strong is ready for his NXT Title shot next week. Drew McIntyre knows what he’s in for. It may be business, but all business is personal. It’s personal to him because he wants to be NXT Champion.

Liv Morgan vs. Vanessa Borne

Both of them say they’ll be the next Women’s Champion. Feeling out process to start until Liv gets two off a backslide. Vanessa’s clothesline is avoided by a Matrix so Borne just slams her head into the mat a few times. A drop toehold sends Borne into the ropes and an enziguri makes things even worse for her. Back up and Borne lifts her up, only to get caught in a Codebreaker for the pin at 3:42.

Rating: D. As usual, Morgan makes sense on paper but she really isn’t doing much for me. Then again I’m not sure how strong they’re going to push her as there are far better options to go after the Women’s Title. I could see her in the four way but she didn’t really show me anything here. The same is true for Borne, who didn’t stand out in the Mae Young Classic either.

We look back at Velveteen Dream interrupting Aleister Black last week.

Black doesn’t want to see someone acting like they’re special in this age of individuality.

Video on Fabian Aichner from the Cruiserweight Classic.

Fabian Aichner vs. Kassius Ohno

Ohno cravates him to the mat but gets caught in an armbar. A big boot sends Aichner to the floor but he comes right back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. One heck of a springboard dive to the floor takes Ohno down and there’s the old NXT chant. The aggressive Aichner can’t pick him up for a powerbomb (shocking) and Ohno grabs a small package for two. A powerslam drops Ohno but he avoids a double springboard moonsault. The Cyclone kick puts Aichner away at 4:49.

Rating: B. If he doesn’t have one already, I’d be stunned if Aichner doesn’t get a job out of this. He showed off a great mixture of power and speed here which isn’t something that’s done this impressively most of the time. Ohno getting the win makes sense but Aichner was definitely the star here.

Drew McIntyre is ready for Strong and whomever is next.

Video on Kairi Sane winning the Mae Young Classic.

Adam Cole vs. Eric Young

Cole’s normally tiny arms are already starting to look bigger. Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly and Sanity are all at ringside. Before the match, Cole asks how this place survived without him. You can feel the change in the air and the shock to the system is the three of them. Cole says they are undisputed and this is their era. So there’s the name for the first time.

They stare at each other to start with Cole demanding that Young fight him. Young takes him down without too much effort and grabs a swinging neckbreaker. The guys get in a staredown on the floor though and Cole gets in a cheap shot to take over. Cole’s chinlock doesn’t last long so he enziguris Young to the floor instead.

Another staredown on the outside lets Cole knee him in the back and we hit the second chinlock. That goes nowhere so Young fights up and hits another neckbreaker. The fight on the floor finally breaks out so Young dives onto them instead of dropping the top rope elbow. Back in and a running knee to the face ends Young at 5:35.

Rating: C. The ending was actually a bit of a surprise as it’s far more of a clean finish than I was expecting. You had to give Cole the upper hand to end this one and him winning was the right call. Young didn’t really lose clean anyway and it’s not like this is heading anywhere other than a really big tag match, likely having Undisputed Era winning the Tag Team Titles at some point in there.

Overall Rating: B. The main event was actually one of the weaker matches on this show as the opener and Ohno vs. Aichner were both really entertaining. This was more about showing some of the new talents around here and setting up stuff for the future. They set up the NXT Title match next week as well, making this quite the use of an hour.

Results

Lars Sullivan b. Oney Lorcan – Standing Boss Man Slam

Heavy Machinery b. Demitrious Bronson/Patrick Scott – Compactor

Liv Morgan b. Vanessa Borne – Codebreaker

Kassius Ohno b. Fabian Aichner – Cyclone kick

Adam Cole b. Eric Young – Running knee to the face

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Complete 2002 Monday Night Raw Reviews in either E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/07/21/new-e-bookpaperback-kbs-complete-monday-night-raw-2002-reviews/

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

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