Impact Wrestling
Date: January 25, 2024
Location: Palms Casino Resort, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re on the second week of the regular show and things got a bit more interesting last week. Nic Nemeth is around and already has a target on his back thanks to Steve Maclin. Other than that, Josh Alexander seems back on top of his game after beating Will Ospreay in a rather good match. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory Of Frank Caiazzo, better known as Francisco Ciatso, an independent wrestler who passed away recently.

Opening recap.

Opening sequence, now with Cross The Line. I miss We Own The Night.

Chris Bey vs. Kevin Knight

Ace Austin is here with Bey, who starts with a headlock. Knight powers out of that and grabs an armdrag, followed by a very enthusiastic slam. That’s not working for Bey, as he sends Knight outside and hits a hard dive. Back in and Knight hits a springboard clothesline for two but Bey catches him in the ropes. A springboard legdrop to the back of the head sets up the Art Of Finesse for the pin on Knight at 6:47.

Rating: C+. Knight was definitely bringing the energy here and it made for a good opener. Bey is someone who can have a good match with anyone and once the ABC stuff is over, I wouldn’t object to seeing him doing something higher on the card. For now though, I’ll settle for him having a nice opening match with an up and comer.

Post match the Grizzled Young Veterans run in to lay out ABC.

Ash By Elegance video.

We look back at Frankie Kazarian snapping on Eric Young last week.

Rich Swann asks what’s up with Kazarian, who blows him off. With Kazarian gone, AJ Francis comes up to say he wants to be in Swann’s corner, but Swann isn’t impressed.

Dirty Dango/Oleg Prudius vs. Damian Drake/Dante King

Alpha Bravo is here with Dango/Prudius. Drake gets ran over and sent outside to start as Dango has a seat on the ramp. Dango bothers to come in and hits a Nightmare On Helm Street to finish King at 1:42. Total squash.

The Grizzled Young Veterans say they weren’t pinned at Hard To Kill so they want a Tag Team Title shot. Santino Marella comes in to say that doesn’t work but ABC comes in to say they want a fight. Santino makes a 2/3 series for the titles, starting next week.

The Motor City Machine Guns and Kazuchika Okada are ready for the System.

Knockouts Title: Trinity vs. Jordynne Grace

Grace is defending and, after the Big Match Intros, gets punched up against the ropes. Trinity pulls her into Starstruck but Grace is right next to the ropes. A splits splash gets two but Grace is back with a spinebuster for two of her own as we take a break. Back with Grace countering a neckbreaker out of the corner, setting up a Vader Bomb for two.

A hanging headscissor driver gives Trinity two as commentary talks about everything else coming on the show. Grace takes her up top for a superplex and then rolls into a Jackhammer for another near fall. Not to be out done, Trinity grabs her full nelson bomb into a rollup for two of her own. An exchange of rollups for two each set up Starstruck but Grace reverses into a cradle for the pin to retain at 11;15.

Rating: B-. It was completely fine and the ending sequence was good, but it never quite got into the next gear. Trinity winning the title and holding it for a good while was a nice moment but it makes sense that Grace is the next big thing. She’s been on top of the division before and having her win here is a good way to establish her dominance.

Post match Gisele Shaw, Jai Vidal and Savannah Evans run in for the beatdown and leave Grace and Trinity laying.

The System is ready to go international tonight.

Josh Alexander is proud of his win last week but Alan Angels interrupts and wants Alexander on his new talk show. Sure why not.

Nic Nemeth vs. Zachary Wentz

Trey Miguel is here with Wentz and this is Nemeth’s first ever match outside of WWE or its minor leagues. Nemeth wrestles him to the ropes to start but Wentz gets in a shot to the face. A handspring knee to the face misses for Wentz but Miguel offers a distraction, allowing Wentz to take it to the floor.

Back in and Wentz chokes away until Miguel gets in a cheap shot of his own. Nemeth fights up and hits a Stinger Splash into a neckbreaker, only to miss a charge into the post. An exchange of rollups sets up Nemeth’s running DDT for two, followed by Wentz’s spinning half nelson slam for two. Back up and the Danger Zone (Zig Zag) finishes for Nemeth at 7:32.

Rating: B-. So that’s how Nemeth got started outside of WWE and he did well enough. I’m not sure what Nemeth is going to be doing in TNA that is different than his time in WWE, but getting in the ring is a good start. Nemeth is a big signing for TNA and it’s good to see him getting to do something, as he’s too good to be on the sidelines for as long as he was in WWE.

Post match Steve Maclin comes in to jump Nemeth but gets Danger Zoned as well.

Crazzy Steve says he doesn’t like listening to people but Rhino comes in to say maybe he should make Steve listen. Rhino shoves him down and Steve laughs.

Decay, in a white room, talk about being back to normal and being glad to be away from their too nice versions.

Dani Luna/Jody Threat vs. MK Ultra

Luna powers Slamovich down to start and Threat adds a basement lariat for two. Things settle down a bit and MK double teams Luna down to take over, including a suplex into a legdrop. Luna runs Kelly over though and it’s off to Threat to clean house. Kelly catches Threat on top though and it’s a double piledriver (that looked good) to give Slamovich the pin at 3:35.

Rating: C. Not much to see here there other than MK Ultra getting a win to reestablish themselves after losing the titles. The title change came out of pretty much nowhere as, again, there is barely anything to the tag division at the moment. Or ever or that matter, but that’s another problem for later.

Motor City Machine Guns/Kazuchika Okada vs. System

That would be Moose/Eddie Edwards/Brian Myers with Alisha Edwards. Shelley and Myers start things off but we get a six way staredown in less than fifteen seconds. We take a break and come back with Okada coming in for a staredown with Moose. The latter runs him over with a shoulder but the spear and Rainmaker both miss.

Sabin comes in to take on Edwards, with a leg crank keeping Edwards in trouble. That’s broken up and everything breaks down and the villains take over on Sabin. Myers grabs the chinlock and we take another break. Back again with Sabin hitting a middle rope double clothesline, followed by a heck of a springboard tornado DDT for two on Edwards. Shelley comes back in and the Guns get to clean house.

Sabin kicks Shelley in the face by mistake though and Edwards hits the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Sabin is fine enough to hit a high crossbody and another DDT allows the tag off to Okada. House is cleaned and a neckbreaker gets two on Moose. There’s the top rope elbow to Moose but the Rainmaker is blocked. Moose cuts him off with a dropkick and they’re both down. Everything breaks down and Edwards hits the Backpack Stunner for two on Shelley. Moose is back in but gets kicked to the floor again. The Rainmaker into Shell Shock finishes Myers at 19:31.

Rating: B. It might have been a bit weird to have the System lose in a six man like this but there is no shame in losing to the Guns and Okada. Myers was out there to take the all as he might be good but he’s not quite on the level as Edwards and the reigning World Champion. It felt like a special match and if nothing else, it’s nice to have the real Okada here for a change.

We see a bunch of people standing around with someone talking about a change. It’s time for a sudden change with a new x-actor. He is Mustafa Ali and he approves this message. Well there’s a big one.

Overall Rating: B. The best thing I can take out of this show is that, at least so far, there hasn’t been a major change from Impact to TNA. While that makes me wonder how necessary the change was in the first place, I’ve liked the shows so far. What matters is keeping up the momentum and they’re doing just that so far, especially with names like Nemeth and Okada around for the time being. Good show here, with the main event being quite awesome.

Results
Chris Bey b. Kevin Knight – Art Of Finesse
Dirty Dango/Oleg Prudius b. Damian Drake/Dante King – Nightmare On Helm Street to King
Jordynne Grace b. Trinity – Cradle
MK Ultra b. Dani Luna/Jody Threat – Double piledriver to Threat
Motor City Machine Guns/Kazuchika Okada b. System – Shell Shock to Myers

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

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

AND

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Impact Wrestling
Date: January 18, 2024
Location: Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s a regular show for the first time in a good while and in this case that means it’s the first weekly show back under the TNA name. We have some new champions, with Moose as the new World Champion and Jordynne Grace as the new Knockouts Champion. That should be more than enough to carry things for a few weeks, but we also have Josh Alexander vs. Will Ospreay II. Let’s get to it.

Here is Hard To Kill if you need a recap.

We open with a long Hard To Kill recap, capped off by the debut of Nic Nemeth.

Kushida vs. Jake Something vs. Trey Miguel vs. Laredo Kid vs. Mike Bailey vs. El Hijo del Vikingo

One fall to a finish. Kushida gets the idea of a bunch of people going after Something but Miguel gets tossed instead. Triple dives take down the villains on the floor before Miguel hits the Lightning Spiral on Kushida. Something is back in to shrug off chops from Vikingo, who is powerbombed over the top onto a bunch of people. Kushida cartwheels into a basement dropkick to Miguel but Vikingo is back in to break up the Hoverboard Lock. Not that it matters as Something comes back in with Into The Void to finish Kid at 5:34.

Rating: C+. This would have been better off as a four way or a triple threat for the sake of giving the match some more space to breathe. They were going for the idea of “total nonstop action” here and that’s a fun way to start. It’s something Impact had been doing for months now and it worked here too. Something continues to look and feel like a force, but having him win something that matters would be nice.

Will Ospreay is ready to beat Josh Alexander again and talks about how TNA made him a wrestler. This was a talk into the camera promo and Ospreay had some fire.

Video on Ash By Elegance, which looks like a perfume commercial.

We look at Gisele Shaw winning Ultimate X at Hard To Kill.

Shaw did what she said she would do and now Jordynne Grace needs to keep her eyes open. Gail Kim comes in to say this is what Shaw can do on her own, but Shaw walks away.

Tasha Steelz vs. Xia Brookside

Brookside rolls out of a wristlock to start and snaps off a hurricanrana. Steelz is back up with a poke to the eye and a headbutt for two. The chinlock goes on before Steelz grabs Three Amigos, which thankfully doesn’t include an Eddie dance. Brookside is back up with a headscissors and a running neckbreaker for one. Steelz’s Codebreaker gets two but Brookside catches her on top with an Iconoclasm into a bridging pin (the Brooksie Bomb) at 5:06.

Rating: C. Nothing exactly great here but it was a way to get Brookside a win to establish herself a little bit here. Brookside is someone who did well during her time in NXT UK but that doesn’t exactly make her a household name. Let her get her feet wet here and she should be off to a nice start.

We look at Joe Hendry’s music video about AJ Francis, which earned him a beating thanks to a laptop shot to the back from DJ Who Kid.

Hendry isn’t happy with the beatdown but again brings up Francis being the Cheez-It Champion, which is the point of the music video. We’ll call it all even, as he even has a new laptop….and has apparently taken out Who Kid.

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Frankie Kazarian/Eric Young

Young goes right after Gibson to start but Drake comes in to work on his arm instead. Kazarian comes in and gets pulled to the floor, where a dive takes him out. We take a break and come back with Kazarian getting pulled back into the corner to cut off a tag attempt. Kazarian suplexes his way out of trouble but Drake pulls Young off the apron in a smart move. Some running shots in the corner rock Kazarian but he ducks an elbow and gets over to Young for the fast tag. Everything breaks down and Grit Your Teeth (double Codebreaker) finishes Young at 9:44.

Rating: C. Much like Brookside, this was a nice way to have the newcomers get a win over some established names. The Veterans are a good team but they’re brand new around here and need to show what they can do. Beating some former World Champions, even if they’re not a regular team, should accomplish that just fine.

Post match a frustrated Kazarian turns on Young, ending their partnership after…five days. Kazarian yells at him a good bit, saying this was supposed to be Kazarian’s year and nailing a Fade To Black.

The System celebrated Moose’s World Title win in Las Vegas. It’s a new beginning for all of them and Moose is only going to be known as World Champion.

Here is Nic Nemeth for a chat. Hard To Kill was a special moment and TNA is back. After the required chant (Nemeth: “I love that.”), Nemeth talks about how he’s intimidated, scared and excited. He picked his time and place and wound up face to face with the TNA World Champion.

Now he’s going to win the TNA World Title and celebrate with everyone in this crowd. He’s gotten to the top before and now he’s going to do it again st Nic Nemeth. Cue Steve Maclin to interrupt, saying it’s his turn to talk. This is his area of operations and all people are going to ask is what happened to Dolph Ziggler. The fight is on and Nemeth drops him in a hurry. That sets up his first big match and gave him a nice intro promo.

Jordynne Grace is happy with her win over Trinity, who interrupts her. Trinity is taking her rematch next week.

Here is Jai Vidal to say he hates this place and no one here can beat him up.

PCO vs. Jai Vidal

PCO knocks him into the corner to start, followed by the chokeslam and PCOsault for the pin at 1:25.

The Motor City Machine Guns talk about knowing Kazuchika Okada, who they want to face the System next week. Okada pops in to say he’s back.

Josh Alexander vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay flips out of a wristlock to start and takes him down, which is good for an early standoff. Alexander’s running shoulder just makes Ospreay nip up, where he can chop Alexander down and hit a standing shooting star press for two. A backbreaker gives Ospreay two but Alexander breaks up a springboard. The running crossbody on the apron sends Ospreay out to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Alexander winning a fight over a suplex and hitting a powerbomb onto the knee for two. A regular backbreaker sends Ospreay to the apron, meaning it’s time to fight over a drive through the table (because there’s a table at ringside). Ospreay hits a tiger driver through said table and we pause for the medics to check on both of them. The referee says we’re continuing but Alexander has to beat the count….where Ospreay hits a springboard missile dropkick to the ribs.

The Oscutter gets two but the Hidden Blade misses. We take another break and come back with Alexander hitting a Tombstone on the ramp. They get back in with Alexander getting two off a super Regal Roll, setting up the ankle lock. Ospreay rolls it into the corner, setting up the Cheeky Nandos Kick.

A super poisonrana sets up the Hidden Blade to give Ospreay two and they both need a breather. Another Hidden Blade sets up the Storm Driver 93 for two more and another breather. A third Hidden Blade is cut off and Alexander runs through him with a clothesline. The C4 Spike is countered but so is Ospreay’s Styles Clash, with Alexander hitting one of his own for two. Now the C4 Spike can finish Ospreay at 22:45.

Rating: A-. This was a heck of a match and it gave Alexander the big win that he has been needing. Ospreay is one of the best in the world at the moment and it means a lot for someone to get that kind of a win over him. Alexander hung in there with him the entire way and then dropped Ospreay on his head for the pin. Great match here and worth a look.

Post match Scott D’Amore comes out and talks about his love for wrestling and how this place was declared dead. Now there is blood pumping through its veins and it has inspired people like Will Ospreay and Trey Miguel and Tasha Steelz. TNA is back and it’s never going away. The old Cross The Line theme plays us out.

Overall Rating: B. This is a show where the main event is going to be the big focal point and not much else is going to matter. The main event more than stole the show and I had a good enough time with the rest of the night. It was a good follow up to Hard To Kill as they were pushing the idea that TNA is back, but it really just felt like the same Impact with a different color scheme. If they can keep that going then they’ll be in a good place, and it started with this show being pretty awesome.

Results
Jake Something b. Kushida, Trey Miguel, Laredo Kid, Mike Bailey and El Hijo del Vikingo – Into The Void to Kid
Xia Brookside b. Tasha Steelz – Brooksie Bomb
Grizzled Young Veterans b. Eric Young/Frankie Kazarian – Grit Your Teeth to Young
PCO b. Jai Vidal – PCOsault
Josh Alexander b. Will Ospreay – C4 Spike

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

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

AND

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

Hard To Kill 2024
Date: January 13, 2024
Location: Palms Casino Resort, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

Somehow, the big story here is the name of the promotion, as Impact Wrestling is gone and TNA Wrestling is back. Other than that, we have a pretty stacked card with a variety of title matches, plus the promise of a major name debuting. That could be multiple people, which opens up some interesting doors. Let’s get to it.

There is a new set, with the old school tunnel entrances coming diagonally down to the ramp.

Pre-Show: Rich Swann vs. Steve Maclin

Feeling out process to start and Swann, in what looks to be Flash Funk tribute gear, shakes his knees. Swann sends him to the floor for an early dive, followed by a middle rope crossbody for two back inside. Maclin gets in a hard forearm though and a backbreaker makes it worse.

Back up and Swann charges into a release Rock Bottom out of the corner for two more. Swann manages to strike away and kicks him in the head for two. Maclin is able to catch him in the corner though and something close to a Twist of Fate gets two more. That doesn’t slow Swann down as he’s right back with a kick of his own, setting up the 450 for another near fall.

Maclin is right back up to knock him off the top and it’s a top rope headbutt for two. There’s another backbreaker to plant Swann and we hit the Boston crab. The rope is grabbed for the break so Swann comes back with a Lethal Injection into a Trouble In Paradise for a rather near fall. The Phoenix splash misses though and Maclin grabs the KIA for the pin at 10:13.

Rating: B-. I can always go for a match that might not reinvent the wheel but is done well. That’s what we had here with two talented wrestlers who got the chance to do a few things and showcase their abilities. Maclin getting reheated isn’t a bad idea and we might be seeing just that in the new TNA.

Here is DJ Who Kid to bring out AJ Francis (formerly known as Top Dolla in WWE). He insults some fans for being broke and then introduces his new music video…which is interrupted by Joe Hendry. We get some introductions but Hendry has a video for Francis! The video focuses on Francis losing quite a bit, falling over the top rope, and absolutely loving Cheez-Its. Back in the arena and Who hits Hendry with a laptop, meaning the double teaming is on. This show hasn’t been the friendliest to the good guys so far.

Pre-Show: The System vs. Eric Young/Frankie Kazarian

The System would be Brian Myers/Eddie Edwards with Alisha Edwards (their stable mates Moose and DeAngelo Williams (former NFL player) aren’t here). Kazarian and Myers start things off but it’s almost immediately off to Young. They grapple into the corner before we get another Kazarian vs. Edwards slugout. Everything breaks down and the System is sent outside but Myers grabs Young’s boot from the floor so the beating can be on back inside.

Young fights out of the backpack Stunner and a double knockdown allow the double tag. Kazarian gets to clean house, including a Backstabber to Edwards and a slingshot cutter to Myers. Edwards is back up with the backpack Stunner into a running elbow for two as everything breaks down. An Unprettier hits Myers and Young adds a top rope elbow for two. Young gets backdropped to the floor, meaning it’s the Roster Cut into the Boston Knee Party for the pin on Young at 8:05.

Rating: C+. The match was ok but having the heel stable just suddenly being a thing is kind of weird. It felt like I missed the team being formed and that makes for kind of a strange situation. At the same time, the people involved are more than talented enough to make this work and what we got went well. Young and Kazarian are more than fine enough to slot in here as a makeshift team to get the System over, but I’m going to need more of an introduction.

Pre-Show: Digital Media Title: Crazzy Steve vs. Tommy Dreamer

Dreamer is defending in a No DQ match. Steve punches him in the face but Dreamer is back with a clothesline out of the corner. A running knee sends Steve outside and there’s a suplex on the floor. Dreamer chokes with a towel and it’s time for some chairs inside. Steve gets in a chair shot to the back and then does it again for good measure. Some choking with the chair ensues and we hit the neck crank.

It’s time for the fork but Dreamer blocks the stabbing and slugs away. That doesn’t last long as Steve cutters him into a chair to take over again. Dreamer is back with a non-chair cutter of his own and some kind of a reverse suplex gets two. That’s not going to work for Steve though as he sends Dreamer face first into a trashcan in the corner. With Dreamer down, Steve tapes his hands together and whips out another fork…..and then a bunch of forks, which he puts under Dreamer’s shirt. The Cannonball crushes Dreamer again and Belladonna’s Kiss gives Steve the title at 11:10.

Rating: C+. The only thing that mattered here was getting the title off of Dreamer and onto Steve. He’s been ready to win something for months now and they pulled the trigger here. Dreamer never once felt like a long term champion and they didn’t bother doing anything crazy. Not exactly a great match, but it got the result they needed and that’s what mattered.

The show proper looks at the rebirth of TNA, with Eric Young narrating a walk through Las Vegas. Young comes into the arena and says this means everything to us, which is why they’re risking it all. With the roster gathered on the stage, he says WE ARE TNA WRESTLING and they are HARD TO KILL.

Tasha Steelz vs. Alisha Edwards vs. Gisele Shaw vs. Dani Luna vs. Jody Threat vs. Xia Brookside

Ultimate X or a future Knockouts Title shot and Brookside is a surprise entrant. Some people go for the corner to start and are quickly cut off by everyone else, as tends to be the case in these matches. Brookside, Threat and Luna are left in the ring but Steelz is back in to take over. Brookside fires off some clotheslines but Shaw kicks her in the face as it’s still way too early for anyone to get much momentum.

Threat beats up Edwards and Luna at the same time until the latter is back with a fall away slam. More suplexes abound and there’s a dive to take out Shaw on the floor. Threat climbs the structure and dives onto a bunch of people before going up again….this time with Alisha on her back. Alisha falls off and Threat does as well, leaving everyone to get a breather.

Back in and Luna and Threat hit some powerbombs to bring people down again. Brookside gets to the wires but gets pulled down in a crash, leaving Alisha to get in a crawl of her own. That’s broken up so Alisha grabs a DDT for a breather. Alisha whips out a kendo stick to start beating on people but Threat plants Brookside and Alisha at the same time. That’s enough for Threat to go up, only to have Shaw jump off of Luna for a spear and the big knockout. Luna Steelz and Shaw all go up at once, with Shaw knocking the other two down and winning at 12:01.

Rating: B-. These matches are basically TNA’s version of the ladder match, meaning there is very little in the way of telling a story or anything more than people going nuts with spots until someone wins. Shaw going over makes sense, as she has been around the title picture for a long time now. At some point she needs to win the thing though, and that might be where we are heading now.

We run down the rest of the card.

We look at the Joe Hendry/AJ Francis/DJ Who Kid segment from the pre-show.

Francis and DJ Who Kid are happy with what they did.

PCO vs. Dirty Dango

Dango has Oleg Prudius and Alpha Bravo with him. After Dango says he hates TNA Wrestling, some orderlies wheel PCO into the arena and electrify him back to life. As you do. Dango hammers away to start but PCO sends him outside for the running flip dive. Back in and the PCOsault is loaded up but Bravo comes in for the DQ at 1:26.

Post match the beatdown is on but Rhino comes in for the save. Cue Santino Marella (because they had to keep HIM) to make it a six man tag with one more addition.

PCO/Rhino/Jake Something vs. Alpha Bravo/Dirty Dango/Oleg Prudius

The brawl is on to start and the ring is quickly cleared, with PCO moonsaulting onto a bunch of people. The DeAnimator hits Dango and we settle down to Something coming in to beat up Dango even further. A hard clothesline puts Dango down again and it’s Rhino coming in to a nice reaction. Prudius gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and Bravo gets to come in and choke away.

The villains start taking turns on Rhino in the corner, which doesn’t last long as he gets back up and makes it over to Something. House is quickly cleaned and PCO is back in for the middle rope legdrop. Rhino and Prudius slug it out but Dango breaks up the Gore attempt. Bravo gets Gores anyway and Something powerbombs Dango onto him to make it worse. PCOsault finishes Bravo at 7:25.

Rating: C. This felt like an Impact match and not much more, but in theory this is relaunch for the brand so it’s time to get as many people on the show as possible. On the good hand, one of them is Something but on the other hand, Santino is still there. Not a bad match at all, and I could always go for more PCO insanity.

Earlier today, an unseen woman arrived.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: MK Ultra vs. Decay

This is a bonus match with the returning Decay challenging. Havok sends Slamovich into the corner to start and Rosemary comes in with a clothesline. Rosemary’s German suplex gets two but Slamovich manages a knockdown of her own. Slamovich slams Kelly onto Rosemary for two and a PK gets the same.

A kick to the face lets Kelly crawl onto Rosemary, who snaps and hammers away on her instead. Havok gets to come back in and clean house but gets caught with a kick to the head. The Snow Plow gives Slamovich one and she can’t believe the kickout. Havok hits a double chokeslam and it’s a chokebomb/running hair plant to pin Kelly for the titles at 6:18.

Rating: C. The match was fine enough, but it runs into the same problem that these titles have always had: there is little story here, as the titles are so often just thrown into random matches like this one. Why are Rosemary and Havok back to their old selves? Eh who cares, but they’re the champs again. That’s the problem with these titles most of the time and that was on display again here.

TNA is working with the NFL Alumni Association for a health program.

We look at Steve Maclin beating Rich Swann on the pre-show.

Maclin says that was the first of many.

Here are TNA executive Scott D’Amore and AAA President Dorian Roldan. The two companies are going to be working together and they’re both rather happy. A highlight reel ensues and they sign the deal.

X-Division Title: El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Kushida vs. Chris Sabin

Sabin (and only Sabin) is defending. The triple lockup doesn’t go anywhere to start so they snap of armdrags instead, leaving us with a standoff. Kushida sends them both down and then out to the floor, setting up a dive to take out Sabin. Back in and Vikingo hits a springboard hurricanrana, followed by the top rope inverted hurricanrana to take Kushida out of the corner.

Sabin is back up with some German suplexes and we get the triple submission, with Sabin letting go to kick Kushida down. Back up and Kushida ties up Vikingo’s arm and suplexes Sabin at the same time. That’s all broken up and Vikingo gets to clear the ring, setting up a moonsault out to the floor to take both of them down.

Back in and a triple clothesline leaves everyone down, with Vikingo getting up first. He stomps down onto Sabin’s ribs but Kushida is back in with the Hoverboard Lock. That’s broken up but Vikingo has to break up one to Sabin as well. Sabin and Vikingo slug it out until Vikingo is sent to the ramp for a springboard Canadian Destroyer. Back in and Sabin German superplexes Kushida down and grabs Cradle Shock to retain at 13:04.

Rating: B+. This was all action as they went nuts for about thirteen minutes straight. There were some very fun spots in there with people flying all over the place until Sabin retained. Kushida being a regular around here made a title change feel possible and that made things more interesting. Best match of the night by far here and rather good stuff.

Newcomer Alex Hammerstone has issued an open challenge and Josh Alexander has accepted.

Josh Alexander vs. Alex Hammerstone

Alexander goes after the powerhouse Hammerstone’s leg to start but the ankle lock is kicked out to the floor. That means Hammerstone can take Alexander out with a slingshot dive but Alexander is right back with another shot to the leg. A dragon screw legwhip takes Hammerstone down but the ankle lock is broken up again. Some chops in the corner make Hammerstone mad and he sends Alexander flying. He right back with a Regal Roll into a middle rope knee to the back of the head, but the ankle lock is broken up again.

Some boots to the face just annoy Hammerstone and he gorilla presses Alexander into a swinging release Rock Bottom. The tweaked knee is still fine enough to powerslam Alexander but he snaps on the ankle lock again. This time a grapevine goes on as well but Hammerstone gets to the rope. Alexander is back up with a quick Nightmare Pendulum (a suplex dropped forward into a Rock Bottom, his usual finisher) for two.

Alexander is smart enough to get over to the rope to avoid the cover so Hammerstone Death Valley Drivers him on the apron. A missile dropkick gives Hammerstone two as the fans certainly approve. Alexander’s discus forearm is shrugged off and Hammerstone powerbombs him for two. Alexander is back with a small package into the C4 Spike for the quick pin at 14:46.

Rating: B. This was the hard hitting fight that you might have expected if you’re familiar with Hammerstone. On the other hand, those who aren’t so familiar with him got a heck of an introduction, as he took one of TNA’s best to a great fight. This was the showcase match for Alexander and it worked very well. Good stuff here and Hammerstone looked like a star.

Video on the four way for the Tag Team Titles, with a new team getting a shot.

Tag Team Titles: ABC vs. Rascalz vs. Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Laredo Kid/Mike Bailey

ABC is defending and Kid is replacing Trent Seven who had travel issues. Austin and Gibson start things off with neither being able to get very far. Drake comes in and gets double armdragged by the champs, with Bailey and Kid coming in to take over on Miguel. Everything breaks down and all our get in for the major staredown.

We settle down to Bailey’s bouncing kicks having Gibson in trouble but Drake’s cheap shot lets the Veterans take over. Bailey gets elbowed in the face for two and we hit the chinlock. The Rascalz and the Veterans get in an argument, allowing Bailey to kick his way to freedom. Kid comes back in and gets to clean house, including a super Michinoku Driver for two on Wentz.

ABC gets to come in and fire off a series of kicks, including a kick to the head/torture rack neckbreaker for two on Wentz. The Veterans are back in with a double kick for two more on Wentz, followed by a Doomsday Device. The cover is broken up as commentary says they can’t remember who is legal. Bailey is back in with a super poisonrana to Drake and the Ultimate Weapon connects, with the Rascalz making the save. A superkick/double stomp combination gives Wentz two and we get the ABC vs. Rascalz slugout. The 1-2-Sweet finishes Miguel to retain the titles at 14:16.

Rating: B-. They had another almost all action match here but this time there were so many people out there that it was hard to keep track of everything. At the end of the day, this was all about the Rascalz vs. ABC and that’s how it wound up, but that didn’t make the other teams seem that important. I’ll take more of the ABC as the champions though, as they really are one of the best teams going today.

We recap the Knockouts Title match, with Trinity defending against Call Your Shot winner Jordynne Grace. That’s pretty much the whole story.

Ash By Excellence (Dana Brooke) is in the front row as the mystery woman from earlier.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Trinity

Trinity is defending and they shake hands to start. Grace easily powers her up against the ropes to start but the threat of a kick Grace backing up. For some reason Trinity tries a test of strength but she does show some intelligence with a mule kick. Grace picks her up and plants her back down for two, followed by a World’s Strongest Slam for the same. It’s too early for the Juggernaut Driver so Trinity is back with a crossbody.

Grace knees her in the face and hits an Alley Oop for two more. Trinity needs a breather but Grace runs her over with a suicide dive into a Jackhammer on the floor for a nasty crash. Trinity manages a shot of her own and they head back inside for a strike off. Grace gets dropped so Trinity hits a split legged moonsault for two more. A full nelson puts Trinity back down but she makes the rope for the break.

With the holds not working, Grace grabs a MuscleBuster for two more. The Rear View puts Grace down for two and they head to the apron for something like a Heatseeker Pedigree from Trinity. A sitout powerbomb into Starstruck has Grace in more trouble…until she muscles Trinity up into a German suplex. The Juggernaut Driver gives Grace the title at 14:34.

Rating: B-. Grace getting the title back is a nice moment and the good thing is she has all kinds of challengers waiting for her. I know Grace has held the title before, but she feels like she has come more than a few feet since her most recent title reign. Trinity has held the title for a good while now and has only been so interesting. There is a good chance that she is back in WWE sooner than later and at least she had a decent one to go out on.

We recap Moose challenging Alex Shelley for the World Title. Much like the previous match, this is a Call Your Show cash in so there is only so much of a story.

TNA World Title: Alex Shelley vs. Moose

Shelley is defending. Moose’s offer of a handshake goes nowhere so Shelley sends him into the corner. A missed charge sends Moose into the post and we hit the logical armbar. Moose isn’t having that and hits a hard dropkick out to the floor to take over. Shelley gets rammed into the barricade and chopped against the ropes but he strikes away anyway. Moose’s arm gets stomped on the apron and the bad arm gets snapped back inside.

The good arm is enough to knock Shelley down though and Moose starts in on Shelley’s arm for a change. Some hard chops connect, with Shelley telling Moose to do it harder. Moose’s powerbomb is countered into a DDT and a dropkick sends him into the corner. A missed charge sends Moose outside and there’s a baseball slide into the barricade. Sliced Bread on the floor doesn’t work but Moose gets rammed into the post. Shelley drops him again with Shell Shock but can’t follow up, meaning we get a nine count.

Back in and Shelley forearms away, setting up a quickly broken Border City Stretch. The arm is good enough for Moose to hit a powerbomb for two and a needed breather. A quick Sliced Bread gives Shelley two and here is the System to interrupt. Chris Sabin and Kushida make the save but DeAngelo Williams stays at ringside.

They fight to the ramp where Shelley plants Moose down by the arm, meaning it’s time to go back inside and stay on the arm even longer. Moose’s headbutt doesn’t get him very far as Shelley blasts him with a clothesline. Shell Shock is loaded up but Moose shoves him off and hits the spear for the pin and the title at 21:29.

Rating: B. There is something classic about power vs. speed and in this case we had the bonus of Shelley wisely picking at the arm throughout. It’s a classic story that worked well again here, with a title change to cap off the show. Moose can be a heck of a juggernaut when he is given the chance and that is more or less what he did here. It might not be a classic, but it felt like a big deal and that is the most important part.

Post match Nic Nemeth sneaks in and superkicks Moose, setting up what used to be called the Zig Zag. Nemeth rips off his shirt to reveal a TNA shirt as the crowd approves to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show was about the rebirth of TNA and for the most part, it went pretty well. I would assume they were treating this as a jump on point for fans, hence having so many people on the show. That worked in that there was some very good action, but there was a good bit that could have been cut to make the show flow a bit better.

Other than that, you have quite a few title changes to go with the solid wrestling, which made the show an entertaining effort. Things will be interesting on Thursday, but for now at least, TNA is starting well with everything they have going on. The good thing is they aren’t starting from scratch and Impact was doing well, but it’s still pretty new for almost everything going on. That’s a weird setup, though they’re off to a good start.

Results
Steve Maclin b. Rich Swann – KIA
The System b. Eric Young/Frankie Kazarian – Boston Knee Party to Young
Crazzy Steve b. Tommy Dreamer – Belladonna’s Kiss
Gisele Shaw won Ultimate X
PCO b. Dirty Dango via DQ when Alpha Bravo interfered
PCO/Rhino/Jake Something b. Alpha Bravo/Dirty Dango/
Decay b. MK Ultra – Sitout chokebomb/running hair plant combination to Kelly
Chris Sabin b. Kushida and El Hijo del Vikingo – Cradle Shock to Sabin
Josh Alexander b. Alex Hammerstone – C4 Spike
ABC b. Rascalz, Grizzled Young Veterans and Laredo Kid/Mike Bailey – 1-2-Sweet to Miguel
Jordynne Grace b. Trinity – Juggernaut Driver
Moose b. Alex Shelley – Spear

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Impact Wrestling
Date: January 4, 2024
Hosts: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

With the relaunch of TNA Wrestling taking place next week at Hard To Kill, it’s time to look back at some of the best moments of TNA. As a result, this week is called the Best Of TNA, meaning it is likely to feature matches from a good many years ago with wrestlers who aren’t around here anymore. But at least the crowd chants will work. Let’s get to it.

The hosts welcome us to the show.

From June 19, 2002, the first match in company history.

AJ Styles/Jerry Lynn/Low Ki vs. Flying Elvises

The Elvises jump them to start but get taken down for a series of dives. We settle down to Yang kneeing Styles in the face for two but Styles splashes down onto him for a breather. It’s off to Lynn for a tornado DDT, only to have Yang send him into the corner for a kick to the chest. Siaki comes in for a shot to Lynn’s face but Lynn is over to Ki without much effort.

Siaki is fine enough to hit an over the shoulder backbreaker and Estrada adds a running shooting star for two. Ki suplexes his way to freedom but Estrada kicks the legal Styles’ head off for two more. Lynn comes back in for a cradle piledriver and we hit the parade of knockdowns. Yang Time (phoenix splash) finishes Styles at 6:23.

Rating: B-. They were right about the total nonstop action part as this was a pure sprint from the start to the finish. Styles got to show off his athleticism while the Elvises, as goofy as they might be, did get to showcase what they were able to do. Seeing Styles take the first loss ever in the promotion is certainly interesting, but what makes it more confusing is the fact that the three loses would be competing for the inaugural X-Division Title the following week. How TNA of TNA.

We look at Christian Cage’s debut at Genesis 2005. That was a big, big deal.

We look at Kurt Angle’s debut at No Surrender 2006. This set up his feud with Samoa Joe, which felt like it could have been that much bigger if they had waited a bit longer. The bloody Joe popping up to take out Angle was a great visual though.

From June 25, 2003.

Chris Sabin vs. Frankie Kazarian

This was dubbed the Battle Of The Futures and they’re both still with the company today. Joined in progress with Kazarian grabbing a suplex and kicking him in the face. A DDT gives Sabin two and Kazarian bails to the floor for the big flip dive. Back in and Sabin gets two off a dropkick and we hit the chinlock.

Back up and they trade rollups for two each until Sabin kicks him in the back of the head for two. Kazarian gets in a shot of his own and goes up, only to have Sabin run the corner and slam him back down for two. Sabin is back up and avoids a springboard dropkick, setting up a backbreaker for two on Kazarian. A tiger suplex gives Sabin two but Kazarian catches him on top with the Flux Capacitor for the pin at 10:33 shown of 11:55.

Rating: B-. Given what these two would go on to become, it should be shock that the two of them had a good match when they were up and comers. It’s a good example of what happens when talent is given a chance to showcase themselves and these two had a good one. Solid match here and a nice hidden gem.

Eric Young joins us in the studio and goes through some of various personae over the years, which really is rather impressive when you look at how much he has done.

From Turning Point 2007.

Knockouts Title: Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong

Kim is defending and we’re joined in progress with Kong missing a charge into the post. They get inside for the opening bell and Kim goes after the arm, only to get swung down with straight power. Kong misses a charge into the corner but she powers Kim down again and grabs a camel clutch.

With that broken up, Kong hits a chokebomb and a running splash in the corner to make it worse. Back up and Kim ducks the spinning backfist before firing off some dropkicks. A top rope backsplash gives Kim two but Kong hits her in the face. The choking is on but Kong shoves the referee down for the DQ at 8:40.

Rating: C+. First off, points for going with the rematch instead of the initial title win. Other than that, you had Kong as the unstoppable force and Kim fighting to hang on, which is as classic of a story as you can get in wrestling. These two always had perfect chemistry together and it’s this feud that made Kim a legend in women’s wrestling. Not a great match here, but you got the idea instantly and that is the sign of something working.

Post match Kong powerbombs the referee.

From Wrestle Kingdom III.

Kevin Nash/Kurt Angle/Masahiro Chono/Riki Choshu vs. Giant Bernard/Karl Anderson/Takashi Iizuka/Tomohiro Ishii

Bernard (better known as Albert/A-Train) runs into Nash to start but can’t get very far. Nash takes him into the corner for the boot choke so it’s off to Iizuka, who gets kicked in the face by Chono. Ishii comes in (looking YOUNG) and gets taken into the corner so the beatdown can be on. That’s broken up so it’s Choshu coming in to work on Anderson’s leg. Angle (big reaction) comes in and gets two off a suplex It’s already back to Choshu, who is driven into the corner so Bernard can get in some shoulders to the ribs. Everything breaks down and Angle ankle locks Anderson for the tap at 7:04.

Rating: C+. There was only so much you could do with eight people and about seven minutes of action so this went as well as it could have gone. Having Angle and Nash there made for a special feeling, but the legends were the showcase here, as tends to be the case. It wasn’t a great match, but it was a nice way to get a bunch of names in the ring.

From Victory Road 2010.

Tag Team Titles: Motor City Machine Guns vs. Beer Money

The titles are vacant coming in and we’re joined in progress with Roode being sent face first into the middle buckle. Standing Sliced Bread gets two with Storm making the save. A hurricanrana puts Storm down but Roode is right back in to roll Shelley up for two. Storm is knocked outside again and this time Sabin hits a springboard crossbody to take him down again.

Storm’s beer accidentally goes into the referee’s eyes so Earl Hebner has to run in and count two off Skull And Bones. Roode rolls through a high crossbody for two more and they trade strikes. Storm and Sabin grab stereo covers and it’s a double pin at 5:37 shown. That doesn’t work for Earl so restart the thing. Beer Money chokes away and Skull and Bones gives Shelley the pin at 7:52 shown of 15:50. I won’t rate about half of the match but the full thing is rather good.

There’s only one way to wrap this up. From Unbreakable 2005.

X-Division Title: Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels

Daniels is defending and gets double teamed to start. He gets back up and yells so some double kicks put him right back down. Joe pulls Styles into a Rings of Saturn but Daniels makes the save. Daniels strikes away at both of them and gets two on Styles. Joe is back up and slugs away before hitting a release Rock Bottom on Daniels. The running boot in the corner is broken up though and Daniels hits a dive through the ropes to take Joe out again. Styles takes both of them down with a big dive and we take a break.

Back with Styles dropkicking Joe for two before Daniels monkey flips Styles…who hurricanranas Joe down. For some reason Daniels decides to slap away at Joe, who chokes him as a result. Styles breaks that up with the Spiral Tap and gets two each as a result. Daniels is back up but the Best Moonsault Ever is cut off, with Joe sending Styles into Daniels in the Tree of Woe.

Joe’s backsplash gets two on Styles but Daniels hits him with a Death Valley Driver to leave everyone down. Daniels and Styles both go to the floor and miss dives, only to have Joe take them both out. We take another break and come back with Joe superplexing both of them at once to leave them all down again. Joe Musclebusts Daniels and takes out Styles, only to go for the title. That allows Daniels to hit an enziguri to the belt to Joe’s head, followed by a Blue Thunder Bomb for two on Styles.

The Best Moonsault Ever gets two more, with Joe making the save this time. Styles is back up with the moonsault reverse DDT for two more but Daniels plants Styles off the top for two. Joe is back up with the powerbomb into the STF on Daniels, who makes the rope. Styles’ torture rack powerbomb hits Joe for two before he rolls into the Styles Clash with Joe making another save. Joe misses a charge out to the floor, leaving Styles to reverse the Angel’s Wings into a backdrop rollup for the pin and the title at 21:45 shown of 22:50.

Rating: A. What else is there to say about this one? It’s probably the best match TNA has ever had and it has its reputation for a reason. If they wanted to show what they can do, there isn’t much of a better choice. It showcased the X-Division, three of the biggest stars the company has ever had and gave us a new champion. This is one of those matches where there is pretty much nothing wrong and the amazing action and pace carry it to an insanely high level.

The hosts wrap it up.

Overall Rating: B. The important thing here was the show focused on the wrestling and almost every division around. In other words, they stayed away from the storylines and angles that dragged everything down for years. Go with what makes things more interesting and focus on the good rather than the bad. There are only so many of these names left, but the flashbacks, with some actual hidden gems in there, made this a rather entertaining show.

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Impact Wrestling
Date: November 2, 2023
Location: 02 Academy, Glasgow, Scotland
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re done with Bound For Glory and ready for a different kind of show after last week’s abridged version of the pay per view. This week’s show is also from the European tour, which should give us a bit of a different feeling. It’s also the go home show for Turning Point, which takes place tomorrow night. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Matthew Rehwoldt and Tom Hannifan welcome us to the show and apparently this is going to be clips of matches from the UK tour rather than a regular show.

Glasgow Cup: Joe Hendry vs. Frankie Kazarian

This is the finals of a one night four man tournament. Hendry (who beat Rich Swann in the first round as opposed to Leon Slater for Kazarian) says his future is bright but he needs to win this match to prove that he belongs. Feeling out process to start with Hendry grabbing a headlock and getting absolutely nowhere.

Kazarian takes him down into a front facelock but Hendry powers it into the corner for the break. Back up and Kazarian grabs a headlock takeover until Hendry powers up again without much effort. Hendry takes his time going up though and gets shoved out to the floor as we take a break.

We come back with Kazarian hitting the springboard spinning legdrop for two, setting up another front facelock. Kazarian cradles him for two and hits a clothesline but it’s too early for the chickenwing. That’s reversed into another suplex, followed by Hendry’s fall away slam. Hendry faceplants him into a cutter for two. Kazarian grabs Fade To Black for two of his own and they trade rollups until Hendry gets the pin at 12:57.

Rating: B-. This did what it was supposed to do: give the UK fans a moment as their star wins a meaningless prize and give Hendry one of the bigger singles wins of his career. They covered the wrestling portion of the show rather well as Kazarian continues to show that he is one of the best hands in all of Impact. Nice opener here and they covered a good bit with one match.

Scott D’Amore comes out to award Hendry the cup.

Deonna Purrazzo, Brian Myers and Moose are ready to take out Subculture.

Joe Hendry is happy with his win and wants more.

Subculture vs. Moose/Brian Myers/Deonna Purrazzo

Webster and Myers start things off and spend a good while posing at each other. Myers runs him over with a shoulder but gets armdragged down for his efforts. Everything breaks down and Luna flips both of them into moonsaults onto Myers for two. Purrazzo comes in and is promptly suplexed, allowing the tag off to Moose. Luna can’t quite power him around so it’s off to Andrews as we take a break.

Back with Moose crotching Andrews on top and Purrazzo comes in for a hard clothesline. Stomping ensues in the corner as Rehwoldt is NOT happy with the fans yelling at Myers. Purrazzo breaks up a tag attempt and Myers grabs a chinlock. Andrews finally fights his way to freedom and it’s Luna coming back in to pick up the pace.

Everything breaks down and a triple bomb out of the corner gets a collective two on Moose. Purrazzo Fujiwara armbars Luna until Andrews makes a delayed save. We hit the parade of strikes to the face and everyone is left laying. Andrews Stundog Millionaires Moose and the women crash out to the floor. That leaves Moose to spear Andrews for the pin at 15:43.

Rating: C+. Subculture has done a lot more than I would have expected after they left NXT UK. At the very least, the fact that they are still together and have found some success in Impact is impressive enough. While I can see how the fans might not be pleased at the UK team losing here, Moose and Purrazzo have title shots coming so other than pinning Myers, there wasn’t much of a way out here for Subculture.

Josh Alexander and Eric Young don’t get along but they’re ready for tonight’s main event.

Grado vs. Trey Miguel

Grado avoids a charge to start and dances around as the fans seem to approve. An early chinlock doesn’t get Grado very far so he shoulders Miguel over and steps on his back. Miguel sends him into the corner where Grado flips upside down and mocks him a little bit. This time Miguel sends him outside but Grado grabs an armbar and lets the fans get in some slaps.

Back in and Miguel hits an elbow to the face but Grado nails a Bionic Elbow. A superkick and moonsault give Miguel two, only to have Grado run him over again. The Wee Boot is blocked so Grado grabs a small package for two, followed by the boot connecting for the pin at 8:41.

Rating: C. Yeah sure. Grado is a big deal in the UK and while I’m not a big fan, it completely makes sense to put him here against someone who won’t be hurt by the loss. It’s another example of giving the fans something to cheer about as they’re going to like just about anything Grado does. This won’t hurt Miguel either so it was about as appropriate as you could get.

Eddie Edwards is ready for Will Ospreay at Turning Point.

Trinity vs. Emersyn Jayne

Non-title. Jayne is billed as the Mother Teresa of Workrate but Trinity kicks her down and drops a leg for two. Trinity’s sliding slap is blocked so she kicks Jayne in the head instead. Jayne is back up with the sliding German suplex to take over and a snap suplex gets two. A northern lights suplex gives Jayne two more but Trinity shrugs it off and hits the bulldog onto the middle buckle. The Rear View gets another near fall but Jayne plants her down for the same. That’s enough for Trinity, who kicks her in the head and grabs a Bubba Bomb into a rollup for the pin at 7:09.

Rating: C+. Jayne certainly had some charisma and will probably get noticed after this kind of a match. Trinity is at the top of the division and likely will be until at least Hard To Kill for the match with Jordynne Grace. Other than that though, this was a match where Trinity wasn’t in a ton of danger to lose. It was a nice way to get the champ on the show though and that is what mattered most.

We look at the whole UK tour.

Trinity is ready to beat Deonna Purrazzo for the last time at Turning Point.

Motor City Machine Guns vs. Josh Alexander/Eric Young

Shelley and Alexander start things off and we get a quick handshake. They fight over wrist control with neither being able to get very far. Shelley’s arm crank sends Alexander to the rope but the C4 Spike and Border City Stretch are both broken up. Shelley bails out to the floor so it’s off to Young and Sabin. More wrist battling doesn’t get either of them anywhere but it gets us to a break.

Back with the Guns knocking them to the floor but Alexander comes in to kick Shelley in the face. The front facelock goes on though Shelley is right back out. Alexander can’t get the ankle lock either so Shelley snaps off a dragon screw legwhip. The Guns take over on Alexander’s leg in the corner and another dragon screw legwhip gives Sabin two. We take another break and come back with Sabin still on the leg and the fans cheering for Young.

Stereo Figure Fours have the Canadians in trouble but both of them are broken up. Alexander gets a quick fisherman’s buster and the tag brings Young in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Alexander rolls some German suplexes but the C4 Spike is countered with a hurricanrana.

A running kick to the face gets two as Young makes a save. The missile dropkick/Downward Spiral combination hits Alexander for two but he’s back with a Sharpshooter on Sabin. The rope is grabbed so Sabin Cradle Shocks Alexander. Young is back in with the top rope elbow to Sabin but the lack of Young being legal lets Sabin kick out. Sabin is back with another Cradle Shock to Young for the pin at 20:23.

Rating: B. This felt like exactly what it was: a big time house show match that got a bunch of former World Champions in the ring in a match that you won’t see on a regular Impact. Young was there for no reason other than to take the pin and that is a fine role for him at this point in his career. The Guns can still go with just about anyone and they did well with the makeshift Canadians here.

Overall Rating: B-. It was a good show, but it’s just a house show that they taped and aired here. I get that they’re on tour and can’t do a usual TV, but we’re now two shows past Bound For Glory and don’t have anything resembling fallout. It’s not a problem yet, though if this kind of thing keeps happening, that will change in a hurry. The matches here were all at least decent, but it is absolutely not a show you need to watch in any way.

Results
Joe Hendry b. Frankie Kazarian – Cradle
Moose/Brian Myers/Deonna Purrazzo b. Subculture – Spear to Andrews
Grado b. Trey Miguel – Wee Boot
Trinity b. Emersyn Jayne – Rollup
Motor City Machine Guns b. Eric Young/Josh Alexander – Cradle Shock to Young

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Bound For Glory 2023
Date: October 21, 2023
Location: Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s the biggest show of Impact’s year and things are getting interesting around here. The main event here will see Josh Alexander challenging Alex Shelley for the World Title that he never lost. Other than that, we have Trinity defending the Knockouts Title against Mickie James, who never lost her title either. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about the quest for glory through victory. The main matches get attention of their own.

X-Division Title: Chris Sabin vs. Kenta

Kenta is challenging and is driven against the ropes for a clean break. They go to the slugout with Kenta getting the better of things and sending Sabin outside. The dive is knocked out of the air though and Sabin hits a high crossbody for two back inside. Kenta bails to the floor and manages to drive Sabin back first into the apron.

Back in and Kenta gets four straight near falls before we hit the chinlock. Sabin gets up and they slug it out until Sabin hits a running shot to get a breather. The missile dropkick puts Kenta down again and a middle rope tornado DDT gets two more. The Cradle Shock is broken up though and Kenta hits his tornado neck snap across the top.

Some running kicks in the corner rock Sabin again but he kicks Kenta in the face. Kenta has to grab the referee to escape the Cradle Shock and then knocks Sabin down for a double stomp. The GTS is blocked and Sabin scores with a superkick. The missile dropkick to the back sets up Cradle Shock to retain the title at 11:28.

Rating: B. As usual, the X-Division stuff is a good choice for an opener as the matches are fast paced and hard hitting enough to get the audience into things. It was a good test for Sabin as Kenta is a known star and now I wonder who is next to come for the title. This worked well and as usual, Sabin can go with anyone.

Here’s what’s coming on the show.

We recap Monster’s Ball, which is a hoss fight that was mainly started over who was supposed to get the Feast Or Fired briefcase. Rhino cost Maclin the case, which Moose wound up getting. PCO is there because he’s a monster and Bully Ray is lurking around as well.

Moose vs. PCO vs. Steve Maclin vs. Rhino

Anything goes and they do the whole “they’ve been locked up for twenty four hours” deal. It’s a brawl before the bell and Moose beats people up with the briefcase. As the spear is loaded up, here is PCO to brawl with Moose instead. Moose backdrops PCO over the top and through a ladder but the other two get back in to keep up the brawling. Maclin Death Valley Drivers Moose into a trashcan in the corner and hits PCO in the back with a chair.

Back in and PCO chokeslams Maclin and hits a suicide dive on Rhino. A middle rope legdrop hits Maclin and the Deanimator makes it even worse. Moose is back in with some release Rock Bottoms to PCO, who keeps popping right back up. With that not working, Moose plants CO onto some cinder blocks covers with thumbtacks (because that’s a thing).

Rhino is back up and wants tables, which the fans seem to like. Naturally it’s a barbed wire table but Maclin posts Rhino to cut him off. Cue Bully Ray to shove Maclin off the top and through the barbed wire table for the huge crash. Back in and PCO DDTs Moose, who catches him on top with some chair shots. Rhino Gores the chair that Moose is holding but it’s enough to put Moose down so that the PCOsault can finish him off at 11:11.

Rating: B-. This was exactly as advertised and that is not a bad thing. Sometimes you need to just let some big people go out there and hit each other really hard which is what we got here. PCO winning is a bit of a surprise but it does make sense given how much this match would suit him. Fun stuff here and they did what they needed to.

Mickie James is ready for Trinity.

We recap ABC challenging the Rascalz for the Tag Team Titles. ABC got cheated out of a title shot and the Rascalz won the belts, but now it’s time for the rematch.

Tag Team Titles: Rascalz vs. ABC

ABC is challenging and this is Chris Bey’s Feast Or Fired cash in. The Rascalz try to jump them to start and we settle down to Miguel vs. Bey with neither being able to hit their big kick. Austin comes in to kick Miguel down for two but Wentz is back in with a neckbreaker. A standing shooting star press gets two on Austin and Miguel neckbreakers him on the apron for a nasty crash. The chinlock goes on back inside but Austin manages to send both champs to the floor for the big dive.

Back in and it’s Bey getting the tag to clean house, including a Downward Spiral/reverse DDT combination. A brainbuster gets two on Wentz and a torture rack neckbreaker/springboard kick to the head combination gets the same. The 1-2-Sweet is broken up and a backbreaker puts Bey down for two. Miguel hits a top rope Meteora so Wentz’s Swanton can get two more. Wentz loads up the spray paint but sprays Miguel by mistake, setting up the 1-2-Sweet to give us new champions at 9:48.

Rating: B-. These guys work well together and we get some history to make the show feel more important. It was a good results too as ABC getting the titles back feels right as they are probably the best team in Impact today. They get their nice moment to win the titles back while having a good match in the process. Nice stuff here, which tends to be the case for ABC.

Quick video on Will Ospreay vs. Mike Bailey, which is more or less Ospreay being a big star and coming in to face one of Impact’s best.

Will Ospreay vs. Mike Bailey

Ospreay takes him up to the ropes to start so Bailey kicks away. A monkey flip puts Bailey down but he knocks Ospreay out to the floor for the moonsault dive. Back in and a hot shot into a big boot puts Bailey on the floor and Ospreay hits a dive of his own. The abdominal stretch goes on for a few seconds before Ospreay chops the heck out of him. Bailey is right back with a missile dropkick into some strikes for two.

A delayed kick to the head rocks Ospreay again but it’s too early for the Flamingo Driver. Ospreay isn’t having that though and scores with a spinning kick to the head for a breather. The Cheeky Nandos kick looks to set up the Oscutter but Bailey backslides his way out of trouble. A poisonrana puts Ospreay on the apron but he’s fine enough to kick him in the head.

The Oscutter connects to send Bailey outside with quite the crash. Back in and the regular Oscutter gets two but it’s too early for the Hidden Blade. Bailey gets back up for a hard exchange of kicks and forearms until the Hidden Blade puts Bailey back down. A top rope Oscutter is cut off by knees to the back though and the Ultimate Weapon gives Bailey two.

Ospreay elbows him in the head but Stormbreaker is countered into a hurricanrana for two more. They go up top where Bailey’s super fisherman’s buster gets another near fall. The tornado kick connects for Bailey but Ospreay pulls him into the Styles Clash of all things for two of his own. Ospreay’s Storm Driver 93 gets two more and the Hidden Blade into another Stormbreaker finishes Bailey at 17:28.

Rating: B+. Yeah this worked, if nothing else because it was two people beating the fire out of each other. They didn’t really need a story here as this was about tearing the house down in something close to a dream match. Bailey was bringing it here and Ospreay is one of the best in the world at the moment so it was going to be a heck of a match no matter what they did. Very good stuff here and worthy of a spot on the biggest show of their year.

Various wrestlers are ready for the Call Your Shot gauntlet.

Call Your Shot Gauntlet

This is basically a 20 person Royal Rumble (two minutes for the third entrant, one minute for every other entrant, regular match when they get down to two) for the title shot of your choice. Jake Something is in at #1 and Eddie Edwards is in at #2. Edwards chops away and Something tells him to keep going before hitting some running shoulders. Something has him in trouble and it’s Kenny King in at #3.

Edwards and King double team Something down until Juventud Guerrera of all people is in at #4. Guerrera takes over on King and Edwards but the former hits a spinebuster to put him down. Johnny Swinger is in at #5 but King plants him with a fireman’s carry facebuster. Guerrera tosses King for the first elimination but here is Crazzy Steve (not in the match) to jump Swinger from behind.

Gisele Shaw is in at #6 and tosses the banged up Swinger. Cue Tommy Dreamer to brawl to the back with Steve as Jody Threat is in at #7. Shaw gets dropkicked off the apron but her goons are there for the save. KiLynn King is in at #8 as Edwards knocks out Guerrera. The debuting Sonny Kiss is in at #9 and gorilla presses Shaw out as Bully Ray is in at #10. Ray and Kiss….have a dance off until Ray punches King.

Matt Cardona is in at #11 as a big surprise but Kiss plays D-Von for a What’s Up. Jordynne Grace is in at #12 as the ring is getting too full. Brawling ensues along the ropes and it’s Eric Young in at #13. Young gets to clean some house and even knocks Edwards out. Joe Hendry is in at #14 and grabs a delayed suplex on Cardona. Brian Myers is in at #15 and quickly gets rid of Hendry. We get the Cardona/Myers reunion and they toss Kiss.

Heath is in at #16 and Wake Up Calls abound…until Myers throws Heath out. Frankie Kazarian is in at #17 but he gets double teamed as well. Rich Swann is in at #18 to save Kazarian and Jonathan Gresham is in at #19. Gresham knocks Threat out but has a staredown with Grace (his wife). Dirty Dango is in at #20 to complete the field…and is immediately eliminated by Something.

That leaves us with a field of Something, KiLynn King, Ray, Cardona, Grace, Young, Myers, Heath, Kazarian, Swann and Gresham. Hold on though as Dango’s goon Oleg Prudius gets to wreck a bunch of people, allowing Myers and Cardona to dump Kazarian. Swann is tossed as well and Young follows him as the field thins a lot. There goes Gresham as well but Something fights out of a double suplex and gets to clean house.

Myers hits Something low to save Cardona though and Something is out. Cardona then tosses Myers and we’re down to King, Cardona, Ray and Grace. King and Cardona are tossed as well so now it’s Grace vs. Ray in a regular match for the title shot. Grace forearms away but gets put down by a single chop. It works so well that Ray does it again but the elbow misses. Instead Grace strikes away and manages the Juggernaut Driver for the pin at 28:57.

Rating: C. This match has yet to be anything that would be seen as good and that was the case again here. Instead, we had another long match with some nice moments and a heck of a reunion between Cardona and Myers. At the same time though, Kiss was only so interesting and that’s about it for the surprise entrants. There were a lot of people here who could have had another match on the show and it isn’t so interesting to see them coming in, doing nothing and then being eliminated. Finally, this match just takes up so much time on the show and it always makes me wonder what else they could have done.

Post match Grace says she’s getting the Knockouts Title shot at Hard To Kill. Well at least they didn’t waste time.

We recap Mickie James challenging Trinity for the Knockouts Title. James had to vacate the title earlier this year due to injury and Trinity has become champion in her absence. Now James wants the title back, though they’re cool with each other.

Knockouts Title: Trinity vs. Mickie James

James is challenging and they fight over wrist control to start. Trinity tries to pull her down into Starstruck but James is right out with with a headscissors. James powers her way off the mat and kicks her in the head but charges into Trinity’s kick to the head in the corner. Back up and they strike it out with stereo crossbodies putting both of them down for a breather.

They crash out to the floor and both beat the count back in with a less than dramatic moment. Trinity hits the Rear View for two and does that annoying wiggle in the corner. James is back with the finger lick to even (?) things up before Trinity hits another kick to the head. The split legged moonsault gives Trinity two but the Mick Kick gives Mickie the save. Trinity’s Bubba Bomb into some rollups get two each so Mickie catches her with a tornado DDT. A slingshot X Factor misses for Trinity and Mickie plants her down again. The MickDT is countered though and Trinity pulls her into Starstruck to retain at 11:24.

Rating: B-. It was good but this didn’t feel like a big time title showdown. They were doing the big moves and felt like they were trying to have the epic fight but it just didn’t work. It didn’t help that they didn’t have any personal issue and went with a straight match. That makes sense for the story but it doesn’t make for the most interesting match.

Respect is shown post match.

Moose is going to cash in his Feast Or Fired briefcase at Hard To Kill. There are two of the biggest matches on the card covered, though having them be cash in matches might not be the best idea.

We recap Alex Shelley defending the World Title against Josh Alexander. Yet again, Alexander never lost the title and is trying to get it back. At the same time, Shelley seems to be insecure despite being an Impact legend who won the title. Alexander is playing into that and Shelley is getting a little edgy.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Alex Shelley vs. Josh Alexander

Alexander is challenging. They go to the mat to start with Alexander getting the better of things before they’re back on their feet. It’s too early for Shell Shock as Alexander sends him outside for a breather. Back in and Alexander grabs a front facelock but Shelley reverses into an armbar. That’s broken up and they forearm it out until Shelley goes after Alexander’s arm (the one that caused him to vacate the title).

A backbreaker gives Alexander two and we hit the double arm crank. Shelley breaks that up as well and stomps on the arm, followed by a backdrop to break up a C4 Spike attempt. The bar arm gets posted and Shelley wraps it around the post again. Alexander chops his way out of trouble and grabs Bret Hart’s Hartbreaker Figure Four around the post. With that broken up, they head back inside where Alexander rolls some German suplexes.

Shelley breaks them up but can’t get the Border City Stretch. Shelley ties up both arms instead but Alexander powers out again. That earns him a face first ram into the middle buckle and Shelley loads up Sliced Bread. That’s countered into another German suplex to give Alexander two and it’s time to go after Shelley’s leg.

They head outside with Shelley Shell Shocking him into the barricade. Back in and a frog splash sets up the Border City Stretch, which is reversed into a quickly broken ankle lock. Shelley hammers away and, after countering a C4 Spike attempt, hits a pair of Shell Shocks to retain at 22:33.

Rating: B+. They had a personal issue here and it helped a lot, though they also kept the match pretty much completely clean. What matters is it felt like a showdown between the two tops tars and now Shelley doesn’t have Alexander’s shadow hanging over him. It might not feel like the biggest match of the year, but it was a heck of a match on the big stage and that worked well.

Post match Alexander puts the title on Shelley and leaves in peace.

Oh and one more thing: Impact is going to be TNA Wrestling again starting at Hard To Kill in January. Because if there is one thing this place was missing, it’s nostalgia for the days when they felt like the most inept promotion in the world a good deal of the time. This is announced in a big video showing a bunch of wrestlers saying they need a change, meaning it’s time to go back where it started.

Scott D’Amore and a bunch of wrestlers are in the ring, with Scott saying WE’RE BACK to end the show with TNA chants. I’m sure there’s some ridiculous branding argument to do this change but….egads man this feels like a very unnecessary step.

Overall Rating: B. As usual, the wrestling worked, which has become the new norm around here. It felt like a big closing point for a lot of stories while also setting up things for Hard To Kill. We still have about two and a half months until the show but there will likely be some smaller shows to bridge the gap. What matters is they delivered on the biggest night of the year and there was only one match that wasn’t rather good. Now just find a way to move forward from here, which is often their biggest problem.

Results
Chris Sabin b. Kenta – Cradle Shock
PCO b. Moose, Steve Maclin and Rhino – PCOsault to Moose
ABC b. Rascalz – 1-2-Sweet to Wentz
Will Ospreay b. Mike Bailey – Stormbreaker
Jordynne Grace won the Call Your Shot Gauntlet last eliminating Bully Ray
Trinity b. Mickie James – Starstruck
Alex Shelley b. Josh Alexander – Shell Shock

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

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AND

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Impact Wrestling
Date: October 19, 2023
Location: Graceland Live, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s the go home show for Bound For Glory and that should mean things are ready to go. This week will be about the final push towards the show and that means we should be in for a lot of talking and some basic matches that advance the card we already have. Impact has done well with these over their last few chances so hopefully it continues here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Mike Bailey vs. Samuray del Sol

Feeling out process to start with Bailey kicking him to the floor. Del Sol fights back but gets sent to the apron, only to duck a charge to put Bailey on the floor. An Arabian moonsault hits Bailey but he’s fine enough to fire off the kicks back inside. The running shooting star press gives Bailey two but del Sol bends backwards to avoid a kick to the face (Bailey pauses in the middle as well for an amazing visual).

They trade kicks to the face and fall out to the floor, followed by a kick off on the apron. Del Sol goes up top but gets kicked back down to the floor, setting up a twisting flip dive. Back in and the Ultimate Weapon is broken up by another kick to the head, setting up a super victory roll for two on Bailey. A flipping powerslam gives Bailey two, followed by the Ultimate Weapon for the pin at 8:51.

Rating: B. This is the same thing that Bailey had been doing while he was X Division Champion, as he and someone else had a high flying match with both of them getting to look good. Bailey is on the way to his biggest match in Impact and seeing teases of what he could do with Will Ospreay has been good. I can’t imagine he wins at Bound For Glory, but at least the preview is working.

Dirty Dango and company doesn’t like how dirty Memphis seems and talks about how he linked up with Oleg Prudius because Alpha Bravo kept screwing up. Dango brags about how great Prudius and Bravo are, saying Bravo will throw himself on a grenade, but Prudius IS the grenade.

Video on Alex Shelley vs. Josh Alexander.

The ABC think the Rascalz are dodge them but they can’t dip, dive, duck or dodge them again at Bound For Glory. The Rascalz defaced their titles with that green paint and it’s going to be as easy as ABC, 1, 2…time champs.

Kenny King vs. Heath

Sheldon Jean is here with King. Heath knocks him into the corner to start and hits a clothesline, setting up a WOO. They go to the floor where Jean offers a distraction, allowing King to get in a right hand. Back in and Heath hits a Cactus Clothesline but comes up favoring his ankle. They get back inside with King going after the ankle but Heath kicks him to the floor.

King gets back in again and Heath hits a clothesline, only to get kicked in the face for two. A double clothesline leaves both of them down, followed by Heath winning a slugout. Heath powerslams him for two so King rolls him up, with feet on the ropes, for the same. The referee catches the cheating though and Heath scores with a spinebuster for two more. Jean offers a distraction, allowing King to kick Heath in the head. The Royal Flush finishes Heath at 8:32.

Rating: B-. The more I see of serious Heath trying to have straight matches, the more impressed I am. He’s actually quite decent in the ring and this run with Impact has shown an entirely different side of him. This was another rather nice match and King gets a push on his way to the likely rematch for the Digital Media Title, though I could have gone with Heath winning and getting a shot of his own.

Frankie Kazarian says Eddie Edwards has to respect him after last week’s war.

Crazzy Steve vs. Black Taurus

No DQ and Steve bails to the floor to start. The chase sends Steve back inside, where Taurus hits a Codebreaker to send Steve outside. We take an early break and come back with a bunch of weapons in play and Taurus hitting a pair of Sling Blades. Taurus loads up an Alabama Slam but Steve spins out into a Canadian Destroyer (that was SLICK) to plant Taurus hard.

Back up and Taurus charges into a backdrop over the top and onto a pile of chairs for a nasty crash. It’s time for the fork but Taurus blocks the stab and they head back inside. Steve grabs the briefcase and rams it into Taurus’ throat, setting up Belladonna’s Kiss for the pin at 9:44.

Rating: B-. This was getting into the wild brawl stage but they didn’t get all the way there. What matters most is Steve staying strong, as he’s one of the better things going in Impact at the moment. It will be nice to see him win the Digital Media Title, as I can’t imagine the idea of keeping it on Tommy Dreamer going forward. For now though, good enough stuff here with the monster Taurus being slayed by the evil Steve.

A bunch of people say they’ll win the Call Your Shot gauntlet match.

Mickie James and Trinity say the best woman will win on Saturday, just like the two of them will do tonight.

PCO/Rhino vs. Moose/Brian Myers

Rhino and Myers start things off with Myers not being able to do much against the power game. Rhino knocks him into the corner, where Moose tags himself in to face PCO. An exchange of shoulders sets up Moose raking the eyes but PCO opens his vest so Moose can chop him. Rhino comes in to ram Moose into the buckle over and over but a cheap shot lets Moose take over.

We take a break and come back with Moose running Rhino over for two. Rhino suplexes his way to freedom though and it’s PCO coming back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and PCO hits a reverse DDT but Moose breaks up the PCOsault. Rhino comes back in but here is Steve Maclin to break up the Gore. Bully Ray comes in to cut Maclin off though, allowing PCO to flip dive onto Maclin. Back in and Moose kicks PCO low, setting up the spear for the pin at 15:34.

Rating: C+. This was the brawl that you put these people in the ring to have and it worked well enough. Three of these four are going to have a big fight at Bound For Glory and it was nice to see a preview for what they’re going to do. It seems there is a chance that Bully Ray will be tied in as well, as they are certainly putting a bunch of the monsters into one match at the pay per view.

MK Ultra is ready to crush Deonna Purrazzo and Tasha Steelz.

Video on Will Ospreay vs. Mike Bailey.

Rhino says he doesn’t trust Bully Ray or need his help. Ray, after Rhino leaves: “You’re welcome.”

Scott D’Amore moderates a sitdown interview between Josh Alexander and Alex Shelley. D’Amore asks for decorum but Shelley isn’t happy when Alexander gets the first question. Shelley doesn’t like Alexander getting the spotlight and says he just came back from a six month vacation.

Alexander brings up Shelley coming and going from Impact over the years but Shelley says he built this house and can come and go as he pleases. Shelley accuses him of trying to get out of the match but Alexander thinks Shelley is going nuts. Alexander thinks Shelley knows he’s a transitional champion….and Shelley storms off to wrap it up. This was the mind games being played as Alexander honed in on Shelley’s insecurities and it worked.

Post break, Shelley jumps Alexander in the back.

Bound For Glory rundown.

Trinity/Mickie James vs. Gisele Shaw/Savannah Evans

Shaw and Evans (with Jai Vidal) jump them to start but James and Trinity are back with the Thesz presses to send them outside. We take a break before the bell and come back joined in progress with Trinity dropkicking Shaw into the corner. James comes in to strike away in the corner before it’s Trinity coming back in for a dancing legdrop. Evans grabs Trinity from the apron though and the villains hit a double suplex for two.

Some forearms in the corner have Trinity in more trouble but she dives over for the tag…as Shaw distracts the referee. As usual, the tag goes through a few seconds later but Shaw cuts Mickie off and cradles her for two. Everything breaks down and Shaw gets sent to the floor, leaving Evans to get kicked into the MickDT for the pin at 9:27.

Rating: C+. This Trinity vs. James story isn’t exactly thrilling me so far but at least they’ve set things up rather well. What matters is having a showdown between the current and former champion and it certainly feels like something that has potential. For now though, James is feeling like a strong challenger and that is a good thing. As for this match, it was about all that you could have expected, with Evans taking the fall and maybe just a little less miscommunication between Trinity than James than I would have bet on.

Mickie and Trinity both grab the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling was good and Bound For Glory is about as ready to go as you can get. I do want to see the show so they have certainly done something right so far. The show itself had enough solid action, though only the opener really stood out. For now though, none of this matters until we get to this weekend though and all they had to do was not screw up here. They managed to pull that off here, so we’ll call this a success.

Results
Mike Bailey b. Samuray del Sol – Ultimate Weapon
Kenny King b. Heath – Royal Flush
Crazzy Steve b. Black Taurus – Belladonna’s Kiss
Moose/Brian Myers b. PCO/Rhino – Spear to PCO
Mickie James/Trinity b. Gisele Shaw/Savannah Evans – MickDT to Evans

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

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AND

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Impact Wrestling
Date: October 12, 2023
Location: Graceland Live, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re just over a week away from Bound For Glory and that means we should be in for some more of the build towards the show. This week will include a five way match to decide the first and last entrants in the Call Your Shot gauntlet match. Some of the other matches need some build to them as well though so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Tag Team Titles: Rascalz vs. Sami Callihan/Rich Swann

Callihan and Swann are challenging. Swann kicks Miguel into the corner to start and Callihan comes in to crank on his legs. A leglock sends Miguel over to the ropes so it’s back to Swann for a kick to the ribs. The rolling splash gives Swann two and he hands it off to Callihan, who gets cheap shotted from the floor. The champs start taking turns on Callihan in the corner, followed by Miguel hammering away with right hands.

Callihan avoids what looks like a top rope double stomp and nails a clothesline, allowing the tag back to Swann. House is quickly cleaned and the Rascalz are sent outside for the flip dive off the apron. Back in and Wentz superplexes Swann for two, complete with a double bicep cover.

We take a break and come back with Miguel grabbing a chinlock on Swann to keep things slow. Something like an Octopus hold on the mat fires Swann up again so Miguel goes back to the regular chinlock. It’s back to Wentz who gives up the tag to Callihan so house can be cleaned. Everything breaks down and a double clothesline/double bulldog combination leaves all four down.

Callihan gets superkicked to the floor, leaving Swann to get caught with a powerbomb/Blockbuster combination for two. Miguel loads up the spray paint but hits Wentz by mistake, allowing Swann to kick Miguel to the floor. A spike piledriver gets two on Wentz so they load it up again, only for Swann to get crotched on top. Callihan gets hit low and the Hot Fire Flame retains the titles at 18:25.

Rating: B. This got a good deal of time and it felt like a big time match. The Rascalz cheating over and over is their thing and it made for a very nice opener. This could have been on Bound For Glory but now we’re going to be in for an even bigger showdown with ABC at the pay per view.

We look at Heath and Kenny King brawling two weeks ago.

Kenny King says Santino Marella and Scott D’Amore are running from him but Sheldon Jean doesn’t get it. King says it doesn’t matter because he’s coming for Heath.

KiLynn King doesn’t like Jody Threat after all of the violence Threat has done, including an attack with a tire iron. Cue Santino Marella to say there was no way to know it was a tire iron, which leaves King to confess to being the one to attack Taylor Wilde. Long Live The King.

Eric Young vs. Dirty Dango vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Jake Something vs. Champagne Singh

The winner is the #20 entrant in the Call Your Shot gauntlet while the person to take the fall is #1. Alpha Bravo is here with Dango, whose catchphrase is cut off by Something’s entrance. We’re joined in progress after a break with Singh and Dango stomping on Something and Young but Grace comes back in to slug away at the villains. She spends too much time posing though, allowing Singh and Dango to take her down.

We pause for Singh and Dango to have a pose off before Singh chokes Grace in the corner. Young comes back in but gets sent outside, leaving Singh and Dango to beat Grace up some more. A double elbow puts Grace down again but Something comes back in to drop Singh. Back up and the double teaming continues on Grace, at least until Singh crotches Dango on top. Grace uses the distraction to German suplex Dango and kind of Jackhammer Singh for two.

Something is back in again with a powerbomb to Dango but Singh steals the cover for two more. Singh catches something on top but Grace is back in to make it a Tower Of Doom. The cover is broken up by Dango’s Last Dance but Young, who is actually in this match believe it or not, cuts Dango off. The top rope elbow hits Dango but Bravo makes the save. Bravo shines a flashlight on Young, who drops him with a right hand. Singh decks Young…..and cue Oleg Prudius (Vladimir Kozlov) to wreck some people, including a headbutt to Something. Dango hits the Dead Ant to pin Something at 9:00.

Rating: C-. This match tried to get better near the end but Young was active for about a minute and a half of the thing and a good stretch was spent as a glorified handicap match. Dango stealing the win fits him perfectly and it makes logical sense for him to win it this way. I could go for Something getting a strong run in Call Your Shot, as he could certainly use the push. Grace and Singh are both just going to be kind of there, while Young will probably be a favorite in the thing. Finally, Prudius is an interesting pick as an enforcer, as he still looks great and can probably be enough of a monster.

Crazzy Steve is still singing about wanting to hurt Tommy Dreamer. He stabbed Dreamer before Dreamer could stab him because he is Dreamer’s angel of death. Steve is ready to show Dreamer about pain.

Mike Bailey understands Jonathan Gresham’s frustrations but he’s focused on Will Ospreay at Bound For Glory. For next week though, the open challenge is on.

Courtney Rush vs. Tasha Steelz

Jessicka and Deonna Purrazzo are here too. They trade arm control to start before fighting over a waistlock. The grappling goes to the mat with Rush slipping out of a headscissors but not being able to grab what looked to be a Sharpshooter. A t-bone suplex drops Steelz again but Purrazzo’s distraction lets Steelz avoid a high crossbody. Steelz kicks her to the floor where Purrazzo gets in a cheap shot like a villain should.

Back in and a double clothesline puts Rush and Steelz down, followed by Rush hitting something close to Flip Flop and Fly. The Sharpshooter goes on this time but Steelz makes the rope for the break. Rush tries to pull her away from the ropes but Steelz pulls her into a Codebreaker for two (that was a sweet counter). Back up and Rush’s spear hits the buckle, allowing Steelz to hit a cutter for the pin at 7:09.

Rating: C. Not a bad match here and what matters is Steelz gets a win to boost her towards the Knockouts Tag Team Title match at Bound For Glory. That tends to be the traditional way to set up such a match, despite it having nothing to do with a tag match. For now though, Steelz gets a boost while Rush loses again. I’m sure something wacky will happen to her in the future though, as that tends to be her norm.

Video on Josh Alexander being forced to vacate the World Title earlier this year and his path back to the title match against Alex Shelley at Bound For Glory.

We look at Josh Alexander and Alex Shelley teaming up in a losing effort in New Japan, where Alexander accidentally hit Shelley.

Bully Ray didn’t like what Steve Maclin has said about him recently but Maclin stands up to him. Ray says cool and walks off.

Bound For Glory/next week rundown.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Eddie Edwards

This is a Killer Impact match, meaning the first fall is pinfall only, the second fall is submission only and the third fall, if necessary, is Last Man Standing. Eddie knocks him to the apron to start but Kazarian hits a quick slingshot Fameasser over the middle rope. A slingshot rollup gives Kazarian two but Eddie pokes him in the eye and grabs a belly to back suplex. Eddie chokes on the ropes but Kazarian comes back with some shots of his own. The springboard spinning legdrop misses though and the Boston Knee Party gives Edwards the first fall at 3:26.

Kazarian takes his time getting up for the second fall and Edwards is right there to suplex him back down. Some shots in the corner have Kazarian down again and a belly to back suplex sends us to a break. Back with Eddie chopping him down but Kazarian slaps him in the face. The chickenwing is broken up so Kazarian goes with an elbow to the face. That’s fine with Eddie, who belly to back suplexes him out to the floor in a nasty crash. More chops have Kazarian’s chest bleeding (geez) and even more have him staggering around ringside.

Back in and Kazarian manages to slug away, setting up a hard clothesline to put Eddie down for a change. Kazarian ties up Eddie’s leg and pulls on his arm for a weird submission (as the blood is FLOWING down his chest). Eddie kicks his way to freedom and grabs a half crab. That’s broken up as well but Eddie is right back with the Backpack Stunner…only to pose enough for Kazarian to grab the chickenwing to tie it up at 17:59 total.

Kazarian shoves Eddie off the top for a crash out to the floor and the slingshot hurricanrana makes it worse. We take a break and come back with Kazarian unloading with a trashcan, which winds up being rather destroyed. Kazarian misses a charge and gets sent hard into a production worker at ringside for an eight count. Eddie suplexes him right back down and then does it again, with Kazarian barely beating the count.

They get back inside where Kazarian grabs a slingshot cutter for a seven count before Kazarian falls out to the floor. Since we need one, Kazarian loads up a table, though he is smart enough to stop and blast Edwards with a cookie sheet. Eddie is fine enough to suplex him onto the steps and we get another near count. Kazarian grabs an Unprettier onto the steps but that’s still not quite enough.

Eddie is laid on the table so Kazarian goes up, only to have Alisha Edwards run in with a kendo stick for the save. Some chairs are piled up in the ring and a top rope superplex drops Kazarian onto them for the big crash. They both get back up and head outside again, with Eddie setting up another table (because you need two). A low blow gets Kazarian out of trouble and a Styles Clash on the stage drops Eddie again.

For some reason Kazarian goes back to ringside, where Alisha’s tornado DDT is pulled out of the air. Kazarian drives them through a table (with Kazarian taking most of the impact) but Eddie is back to jump Kazarian again. They fight on the apron until Kazarian hits Fade to Black through the table at ringside for the win at 33:26 total.

Rating: A-. Yowza that was a heck of a fight and that’s what it was supposed to be. This felt like two people beating the living daylights out of each other until one of them couldn’t get up again. It made Kazarian look like a conqueror and the better man at the end of a feud. The first two falls were very good and then the third fall turned into the brutal fight that it was supposed to be. Heck of a match and one of the best things Impact has done in a rather long time.

Overall Rating: B+. The opener was quite good and the main event was great, with those two matches taking up almost half of the show. That more than makes up for the two middle of the road matches in between and I had a great time with this. That main event is worth seeing if you have time but the opener is more than good enough. This was the wrestling show, which makes sense as they clear some things out on the way to Bound For Glory. Awesome main event on a pretty great show.

Results
Rascalz b. Sami Callihan/Rich Swann – Hot Fire Flame to Callihan
Dirty Dango b. Eric Young, Jordynne Grace, Champagne Singh and Jake Something – Dead Ant to Something
Tasha Steelz b. Courtney Rush – Cutter
Frankie Kazarian b. Eddie Edwards 2-1

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Impact Wrestling
Date: October 5, 2023
Location: Graceland Live, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

The road to Bound for Glory continues as we have a main event of Alex Shelley defending the World Title against Josh Alexander all set. This week, Alexander has a long term warmup match this week against Kon, which isn’t what what I would expect for someone set for the biggest match of the year. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Tasha Steelz vs. Killer Kelly

Kelly has Masha Slamovich in her corner. Kelly crawls at Steelz to start and licks her boot, which has Steelz a little weirded out. Steelz knocks her into the corner with some chops but Kelly is back with knees to the face. A hard kick puts Steelz on the floor but she’s right back in to take over. The chinlock doesn’t long long for Steelz as Kelly elbows her way out and smiles a lot. Steelz sends her outside and baseball slides into Slamovich, allowing Kelly to get two off a rollup.

The camel clutch goes on, with Steelz quickly switching it to a crossface. With that broken up, Steelz tries Stratusfaction but gets blocked, allowing Kelly to make the clothesline comeback. A butterfly suplex into the corner rocks Steelz again and there’s a running corner dropkick for two. Steelz tries to fight up but gets pulled into the Killer Klutch. Cue Deonna Purrazzo to pull the referee out but she didn’t see who did it. The distraction lets Steelz hit the Black Out for the pin at 8:35.

Rating: C. This was designed to set up Steelz and Purrazzo for a Knockouts Tag Team Title match, as the way to get a Tag Team Title match is to win a singles match. The match was a good showcase for Kelly, but the ending was the usual distraction into a pin. It did its job, but it could have been a bit more interesting.

We look at Savannah Evans beating Jessicka on BTI.

John Skyler arrives and runs into Savannah Evans. Skyler asks for Evans to be his partner in Fans’ Revenge tonight. Gisele Shaw knows that Skyler has been asking everyone to be his partner, so she gives him Jai Vidal instead.

Jonathan Gresham says his cheating last week was to prove how bad the referees are. Mike Bailey comes in to call him out on that but Gresham walks away.

Here is Tommy Dreamer for a chat. Dreamer wants and receives Crazzy Steve’s presence, so he can talk about their history together. They were partners and yes it’s true that Steve is really blind. He can see shadows and avoid people by listening. That is an inspiration to Dreamer, because his father was blind too. Dreamer even taught Steve how to drive, which was the first time Steve ever felt normal.

This is about entertaining people and being an inspiration, which is why Dreamer and these people care about him. Steve can have the Digital Media Title shot anywhere and anytime he wants, which gives us a STEVE chant. They hug, and then Steve stabs him in the back with a fork. People come out to check on Dreamer as Steve sings about how the angel of death came to Tommy’s room as we hopefully ignore Dreamer randomly wearing a jacket and the small lump on his back.

Post break we see what we saw pre break.

Dirty Dango/Champagne Singh/Jake Something/Eric Young/Jordynne Grace vs. Brian Myers/Shera/KiLynn King/Jody Threat/Bully Ray

The winning team will face off in a five way for the #1 and #20 shot in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet Match at Bound For Glory. Threat knocks Dango down to start and it’s King coming in, offering a free shot. Shera and Singh come in and try to tag out, with Shera finally bringing Threat in instead. We take a break and come back with Grace suplexing her way out of trouble and wanting Ray. Grace’s suplex to Ray doesn’t work as he easily picks her up for a slam.

The Hogan hand to the ear (he is former family) sets up a missed elbow, allowing Young to come in for a slam of his own. Young hits a dropkick and brings Grace back in for a slugout with Threat. Grace hits a spinebuster but King comes in to deck her from behind. King tosses Threat and kicks Grace in the head but a Neutralizer is blocked. Something gets to come in and clean house, including slamming Ray off the top and then beating up his own partners. Into The Void gives Something the pin on Shera at 10:12.

Rating: C+. The match was mostly just basic wrestling until everything went nuts at the end. It makes sense that the partners are going to fight at some point but giving Something the win is a good sign for his future. Impact seems intent on pushing him and there are worse options out there. I’m not sure if he wins Call Your Shot, but he’s racking up wins rather quickly.

Josh Alexander wanted Kon tonight to test himself before Bound For Glory. Alex Shelley comes in to say he wants to prove himself against the best, so he’ll be Alexander’s insurance policy for one night only.

Video on Mickie James vacating the Knockouts Title before Rebellion earlier this year. Trinity won the title and now Mickie wants her title back at Bound For Glory.

Trinity has seen Mickie James eyeing her title, but it makes sense as Mickie never lost the title. Mickie is one of Trinity’s friends and they can have the match, but Trinity is leaving as champion.

ABC vs. John Skyler/Jai Vidal

Fans’ Revenge, meaning there are fans serving as lumberjacks with straps and Vidal is substituting for an absent Jason Hotch. Skyler insults most of the fans, but the fans around the ring are downright nifty. Skyler shoves Bey against the ropes to start but gets sent outside for some whipping. Bey on the other hand is sent outside and the fans take pictures with him. Vidal tries to break it up and gets whipped as well, sending Rehwoldt into a heck of a rant about how unfair this is.

Back in and Skyler gets beaten up again, meaning it’s out to the floor with him again. This time Skyler stops a fan from whipping him, allowing the rest of the fans to whip him instead. Skyler chops Vidal for a tag and ABC takes him down without much effort. Bey heads outside for some Too Sweeting with the fans, leaving Austin to strike away at Vidal. Another toss to the floor means another whipping but Vidal actually takes over on Austin back inside. Skyler gets to stomp away inside so Bey comes in, meaning Austin’s rollup doesn’t get a count.

Austin is sent outside and doesn’t get whipped, only to have Skyler be sent outside as well for the opposite treatment. Back in and Austin hits a springboard spinning kick to the head, allowing the tag off to Bey. A low bridge sends Skyler outside for the whipping, with Skyler walking around the ring so the pain continues. Skyler finally gets a whip away but Bey nails a flip dive. Back in and Vidal gets kicked in the face, setting up the 1-2-Sweet to pin Skyler at 8:20.

Rating: C. This was a one joke match and they went with that joke over and over. I’m not sure if they needed to keep doing it over and over again, but at least it was something unique for everyone involved. At the same time though, this wasn’t quite the big revenge match as Hotch wasn’t there, but being with your newborn child is a bit more important than any wrestling feud.

Video on Frankie Kazarian vs. Eddie Edwards, who are ready to end their rivalry.

Bhupinder Gujjar vs. Moose

Brian Myers is here with Moose. Gujjar gets powered around to start but Moose misses a spear attempt. Moose avoids a knee though and hits a discus lariat. A powerbomb sets up the spear to pin Gujjar at 2:55.

Post match here is Steve Maclin and post break he says that briefcase is his. He’s the one who climbed up and pulled the briefcase down but then Rhino cost him the case. Maclin wants the briefcase, which has Moose laughing. Moose says it’s two on one with Brian Myers at his side, and since Bully Ray isn’t here, Maclin doesn’t have any help. Violence is threatened but the lights go out and we get some lightning. Cue PCO to clear the ring without much effort but cue Rhino to Gore Maclin.

The Rascalz spray paint the Tag Team Titles, which doesn’t work for Santino Marella. ABC comes in to say they’ll get the titles back at Bound For Glory. Sami Callihan and Rich Swann come in, saying they wants the titles. Santino makes Callihan/Swann vs. Rascalz for the titles next week, with ABC getting the winners at Bound For Glory. Works for everyone but the champs.

Chris Sabin is ready for Kenta, and talks about how similar they really are.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Josh Alexander vs. Kon

Alex Shelley is on commentary and Deaner is here with Kon. Alexander’s early takedown doesn’t work so Kon sends him into the corner and then out to the apron. A top rope shoulder works better for Alexander and we take an early break. Back with Alexander chopping away but getting run over with straight power.

Kon drops an elbow and then adds a big running one for two. Alexander’s abdominal stretch attempt is broken up in all of two seconds as Kon whips him into the ropes for the break. The nerve hold goes on so Alexander gets in his own fast break. A German suplex drops Kon and Alexander strikes away for two.

Alexander misses a moonsault though and Kon hits a running splash in the corner. Kon’s chokebomb gets two but the referee gets bumped. Alexander hits a running crossbody to the back so Deaner grabs a chair. That leaves Alexander to swing, only to hit an interfering Alex Shelley by mistake. Back in and Alexander ankle locks Kon, who powers out. The C4 Spike finishes Kon at 12:49.

Rating: C+. Alexander being in the match makes things feel a bit bigger, even if Kon is the definition of the run of the mill big monster. The deal with Shelley will add in some extra tension to their title match as they’re making me want to see them fight. Just get rid of the Design stuff and it’ll be that much better.

Post match Shelley comes in to give Alexander Shell Shock.

Overall Rating: C+. They are in full on build towards Bound or Glory mode and they either set up matches or advanced some things that were already set up. That means the show was able to stay focused most of the night, but it didn’t make for the most exciting two hours. When you know what you’re getting, it takes away some of the feeling that anything can happen, but they did a good job of building up towards the biggest show of the year.

Results
Tasha Steelz b. Killer Kelly – Black Out
Dirty Dango/Champagne Singh/Jake Something/Jordynne Grace/Eric Young b. Bully Ray/Shera/Brian Myers/KiLynn King/Jody Threat – Into The Void to Shera
ABC b. Jai Vidal/John Skyler – 1-2-Sweet to Skyler
Moose b. Bhupinder Gujjar – Spear
Josh Alexander b. Kon – C4 Spike

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Impact Wrestling
Date: September 28, 2023
Location: Graceland Live, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re done with the 1000th episode celebrations and after all that fun, it’s time to look ahead towards Bound For Glory. The main event is officially set but we need to build up a lot more before the show. As for tonight, Alan Angels is challenging Chris Sabin for the X-Division Title. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

X-Division Title: Chris Sabin vs. Alan Angels

Angels is cashing in his title shot after winning Ultimate X last week. Sabin grabs a headlock to start before pulling Angels into a bow and arrow hold. That’s broken up and they get back to a standoff. Angels chops away in the corner but gets armdragged into an armbar to slow things down a bit. That’s broken up and Angels goes after the arm as well, including a top rope double stomp. Angels’ armbar isn’t so well received, though Rehwoldt isn’t sure which one they think sucks.

Sabin fights up and tries the Cradle Shock but the arm gives out. Angels faceplants him into the Rings of Saturn but Sabin reverses into a cradle for two. A tornado DDT onto the arm sets up the Rings again, only to have Sabin escape again. Angels goes for the title so the referee takes it away, allowing Angels to kick him low. The Halo Strike gives Angels two but Sabin kicks him in the back. Now the Cradle Shock can retain the title at 8:57.

Rating: B. Sabin is one of the rare guys who can have a good match with anyone and he did that here with a game Angels. I like that they got the Ultimate X title shot out of the way rather quickly, as they just had Kushida holding his title shot for such a long time. As usual, the X-Division makes for a good opener and they did well here.

Post match a video from Kenta plays on the screen, saying he’ll be at Bound For Glory. Sabin approves.

Alex Shelley respects Josh Alexander but he needs Alexander to respect the fact that the title is his. At Bound For Glory, step up to the plate and take your best swing, because he’ll be throwing his best pitch.

Rhino vs. Jack Price

Rhino shoulders him down to start but Price manages to take it to the floor. A clothesline drops Price again on the floor, followed by the running shoulder to the ribs back inside. The Gore finishes Price at 2:13.

Post match Steve Maclin jumps Rhino and the fight is on. The threat of a Gore sends Maclin running.

Tasha Steelz is fired up after last week and she’s back to take over the division. Deonna Purrazzo comes in to say it was nice teaming together last week and maybe they should continue that alliance. Steelz is in, because this company LOVES some evil Knockouts teaming up.

Alisha Edwards and Eddie Edwards insist that this is NOT ever with Frankie Kazarian and Traci Brooks. Traci beat Alisha, but Kazarian didn’t beat Eddie. Kazarian comes in and says let’s do it in the ring. Works for Eddie, as they’re going to end it.

Here are Joe Hendry and Yuya Uemura for Uemura’s big goodbye ceremony. Hendry says he’s usually here to be emotional but he’s feeling bad this week. They got the Feast or Fired briefcase and as a result, Uemura is fired. Sometimes you have to be grateful for the memories that you have and he does not regret their team at all. Uemura thanks the fans but here are the Rascalz to interrupt.

They laugh at the fact that Uemura will never be a champion, but it wouldn’t have mattered if he got the Tag Team Title shot anyway because he would have failed. Hendry calls them the second and third best Rascalz but they come back with the Goodbye Song. The fight is on until Santino Marella comes out to interrupt. He isn’t letting this go to waste, because we’re going to have a tag match tonight. This won’t be a title match, but it will be for Uemura’s job.

Joe Hendry/Yuya Uemura vs. Rascalz

Non-title. Uemura strikes away at Miguel to start as the Rascalz aren’t sure what to do. We take an early break and come back with Uemura in trouble. Wentz hits a slingshot hilo for two and a dropkick to cut Uemura down for two more. Uemura gets taken into the wrong corner for some choking and eye raking, much to Hendry’s annoyance. A knockdown gets Uemura out of trouble though and it’s back to Hendry to pick the pace way up.

Back to back fall away slams send the Rascalz flying and then a double fall away slam does it again. A double superkicks drops Hendry though and the Rascalz kick away at Uemura. Some running uppercuts in the corner have Uemura in trouble but Hendry pulls Wentz out of the air. A toss cutter gives Hendry a rather close two so Uemura comes in to strike away, leaving all four of them down. Another toss cutter hits Miguel but Wentz makes the save. Hendry and Wentz go up the ramp, leaving Miguel to kick Uemura low. That and some spray paint to the eyes set up the small package to give Miguel the pin at 10:19.

Rating: B-. They had me buying that they might pull the upset here and it’s nice to see Hendry and Uemura having such chemistry together. They didn’t last long but they were a fun team for a little while. That being said, I’ll take what I can get when it comes to the champions not dropping a non-title match.

Gisele Shaw is ready to beat Trinity tonight and move on to Bound For Glory to win the Knockouts Title.

Deaner blames the liars for the failures of the Design and singles out Eric Young. He will return to his throne in his tower, sitting next to the monster that he can trust. That would be Kon, because the tower will be rebuilt on his shoulders. It starts next week with Josh Alexander. The hero dies in Alexander’s story and oh my goodness these guys are awful.

Tommy Dreamer/Heath vs. Sheldon Jean/Kenny King

Street fight. The brawl starts on the floor with Dreamer grabbing a beer from a fan before getting inside for the opening bell. Dreamer’s middle rope elbow only hits an open chair but Heath is up to deck Jean. King send Heath into a chair in the corner and it’s time to bring in an old ladder.

Heath gets rammed into various metal objects and a spinebuster puts Dreamer through a trashcan. Heath is back up though and cleans house, including the Wake Up Call to Jean. Naturally that means it’s table time with said table being sat up in the corner. King kicks Heath in the head and adds a Blockbuster to Dreamer. The slingshot dive to the floor hits Heath but he’s fine enough to backdrop King on the ramp. They fight to the back, leaving Dreamer to Dreamer Driver Jean through the table for the win at 8:35.

Rating: C+. This was a hard hitting enough fight but there is only so much you’re going to be able to get out of these four having this kind of a match. It was nothing we haven’t seen before but Dreamer could have this kind of a match in his sleep. Heath continues to impress me, as he’s a fine hand for a spot like this and the whole thing did what it needed to do.

Post match Crazzy Steve, sans face paint, runs in to hit Dreamer with the briefcase. Steve says the briefcase is his beginning.

Gail Kim will induct Traci Brooks into the Hall Of Fame.

ABC wants to get rid of the Good Hands before they go after the Rascalz and the Tag Team Titles. Since the Hands always have something to say about the fans, we should do Fans’ Revenge, with fans around the ring carrying leather straps. John Skyler comes in to say not in Memphis because Jason Hotch is home with his new baby. Bey says go find someone else to be your partner then.

Jonathan Gresham vs. Mike Bailey

Gresham takes him up against the rope to start but won’t fire off the chop. They go to the mat with Bailey bouncing out and we have another standoff. Back up and Bailey flips Gresham with a headlock takeover and we take a break. We come back with Bailey hitting a corkscrew Asai moonsault but Gresham atomic drops him back inside.

The Boston crab goes on in the middle of the ring but a strong crawl gets Bailey over to the ropes. They fight over a suplex until Gresham muscles him over for two. Gresham rolls him up a few more times for two more each but frustration sets in. Finally, Gresham grabs a handful of trunks and gets the pin at 12:08.

Rating: B-. I really like that finish as it isn’t something I would have expected. You’ll often see someone go for pin after pin but this time Gresham got sick of the wrestling and went to the cheating. That’s a nice twist and they made it work here, though Bailey dropping a fall before his Bound For Glory match against Will Ospreay is a surprise.

Post match Bailey protests the cheating but Gresham walks away without saying a word.

Moose, with Brian Myers, has his World Title briefcase ready, but he’s been in tag team matches lately. Therefore, he’ll have a warmup singles match next week against anyone who wants to face him.

Steve Maclin comes up to Bully Ray, asking for his help with Rhino. Ray will talk to Rhino, but that’s not what Maclin had in mind. Maclin accuses him of going soft, which doesn’t sit well with Ray.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Gisele Shaw vs. Trinity

Non-title and Shaw has Savannah Evans and Jai Vidal in her corner. They fight over wrist control to start until Trinity kicks her in the face. Trinity slides underneath a clothesline and hits a splits splash for two. We take a break and come back with Shaw hitting a charge in the corner and grabbing a chinlock. That doesn’t last long so Shaw goes up, puts a knee on the back of Trinity’s head, and drives her down for two more. A middle rope double stomp to the ribs crushes Trinity again and it’s time to talk trash to the crowd.

We hit the chinlock again but Trinity fights up and hits some hard forearms. Some shots to the ribs set up a Samoan drop for two, followed by a middle rope crossbody for the same. Shaw is right back with Shock And Awe for two of his own, followed by a shocked kickout face. Shaw’s running knee is blocked and Trinity hits a handing Pedigree for two more. Vidal accidentally trips Shaw down and Starstruck gives Trinity the win at 12:10.

Rating: B-. These two were starting to roll by the end and it made for a solid match. Shaw continues to improve and is looking more comfortable against these bigger stars. That being said, Trinity is going to need someone special to challenger her for the title at Bound For Glory and that is a level Shaw hasn’t reached yet.

Post match the beatdown is on but Mickie James makes the save. Mickie talks about their friendship and says she’s stood beside Trinity before. She never lost that Knockouts Title though and she has a rematch clause. The match is on for Bound For Glory.

Overall Rating: B. This show had a good mixture of in-ring action and building things up for Bound For Glory. They managed to make this work after two weeks that were mainly celebrations and that is not the easiest trick to pull off. In other words, Impact did well again and we are to the point where that is not even close to a surprise anymore.

Results
Chris Sabin b. Alan Angels – Cradle Shock
Rhino b. Jack Price – Gore
Rascalz b. Joe Hendry/Yuya Uemura – Small package to Uemura
Tommy Dreamer/Heath b. Sheldon Jean/Kenny King – Dreamer Driver through a table
Jonathan Gresham b. Mike Bailey – Rollup with a handful of trunks
Trinity b. Gisele Shaw – Starstruck

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

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AND

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