Impact Wrestling
Date: March 16, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

We’re done with Sacrifice and that means it is time to start getting ready for the next major pay per view with Rebellion. Rich Swann is now the sole World Champion and gets to move on to face Kenny Omega at the pay per view. By face I mean be sacrificed to, as AEW begins its march to taking over every other promotion not named WWE because….I’m not sure why that’s what we’re doing but it seems likely. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

FinJuice vs. XXXL

Non-title as FinJuice won the Tag Team Titles at Sacrifice. Larry D. drives Robinson into the corner with the straight power but Robinson is back with a dropkick. Finlay comes in off the top with an elbow to the arm but Acey Romero shrugs off a double bulldog attempt. A running crossbody to Robinson’s back crushes him again but everything breaks down in a hurry. Acey gets double dropkicked out to the floor and the Acid Drop finishes Larry at 3:32.

Rating: C-. That’s all this should have been as the new champs shouldn’t have a problem against a team like XXXL. FinJuice works well together and that kind of chemistry is always going to work. It was fun to see them pick apart the monsters because that is something that can be done for quite a while without losing its appeal.

Post match here are the Good Brothers with Anderson blaming Gallows for the loss. Gallows: “You got pinned.” Anderson: “Beside the point.” They have been busy lately so the loss really wasn’t fair. The champs are willing to give them a rematch, but they’ll have to wait until a Japan trip is over. Ok young boys (Japan reference!)? The brawl is on and FinJuice bail in a hurry.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Sami Callihan is here to expose Trey Miguel’s lack of passion. Miguel thinks anger is the same thing as passion and it was on display last week when he beat up his student Sam Beale. Tonight, Sami is going to embarrass Miguel over his lack of passion.

The Good Brothers complain about FinJuice taking the titles back to Japan without them but Scott D’Amore gives them their rematch at Rebellion.

The Good Brothers leave and Tommy Dreamer comes in to say that not having Tag Team Titles is a problem. D’Amore goes on a rant about how we can’t just team up with Paul E. and run a company into the ground. Hardcore Justice is next month so Dreamer can book it himself. Dreamer has actually already done that so D’Amore says Dreamer is in charge that night. Great, but at least it makes a bit of sense this time. I’m going to hope that Hardcore Justice is a requirement because having that show the same month as Rebellion seems a bit nuts.

Rhino vs. Jake Something

Violent By Design, Chris Sabin and James Storm are all here too. They slug it out to start with Rhino getting the better of things and slamming Jake down by the hair. The people on the floor get in a brawl and Rhino uses the distraction to hit the Gore for the pin at 2:08.

Post match Violent By Design beats Something/Storm/Sabin down.

Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb With A K fire up their team for a 12 woman Knockouts match later. Most of the rest of the team thinks they should be in charge instead and a lot of bickering ensues.

Rohit Raju vs. Mahabali Shera

Raju knocks him into the corner to start and hammers away, only to get rocked by straight power. A shot to the leg takes Shera down and Raju rakes the eyes before starting in on the arm. That just makes Shera mad but he gets kicked in the face. A jumping knee to the head sets up a Cannonball in the corner but Shera is right back with a chokebreaker. Shera misses a charge into the post though and Raju grabs a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 4:05.

Rating: D+. I’m sorry what now? Impact has been building Shera up as this unstoppable monster for weeks now and then he loses to Raju in four minutes? After being beaten down for most of the match? I have no idea what they were going for here but I was much more confused than anything else. Raju has come a LONG way in the last few months, but what was the point in having him almost squash Shera?

Willie Mack comes up to Rich Swann and congratulates him for his win. They need to celebrate this but Swann has something to do first.

Here’s Rich Swann for a chat, carrying both belts. He can’t hold these titles up because the gold is weighing him down. Last Saturday, he and Moose worked hard and Swann was the one on the higher horse. Now he is a double World Champion and that is unthinkable. Swann has partied every day since then but now he has to get serious about the monkey on his back that is Kenny Omega. Now it all comes back around on April 24 as he gets a chance to make up for January. It’s one on one at Rebellion and we will see who the real World Champion really is.

Cue Don Callis to hug Swann and say something to him that we can’t hear. Callis talks about how much he loves history and wants Swann to stop him if he says anything untrue. He has been a Swann guy for a long time now and has fought for him for years. Callis was the one wanted him to have a chance and made sure he was paid every two weeks while he was recovering from a broken leg. Swann nods to acknowledge that this is all true, including that Callis fought for him to get into the Bound For Glory main event.

Swann was the shiny toy but now Callis has moved on to someone else in Kenny Omega. Sure Swann had a great moment at Sacrifice, but maybe he can’t stop thinking about that One Winged Angel at Hard To Kill. Swann is a once in a decade talent, but Omega is a god of professional wrestling. Callis has been there for all of Omega’s greatest moments and he’ll be there shouting ONE WINGED ANGEL on commentary at Rebellion when Omega walks out with both titles. This was great stuff from Callis and he played the mastermind well.

It’s time for Tony Schiavone/Tony Khan to give their weekly Dynamite plug. We run down the card, with Forbidden Door being mentioned three times in the first thirty seconds. There wasn’t much in the way of funny this time.

Eddie Edwards and Matt Cardona are glad to have each others’ backs when Brian Myers comes in. Edwards leaves and Myers says he doesn’t want Cardona here for once. Cardona doesn’t seem phased.

Tenille Dashwood/Fire N Flava/Kimber Lee/Deonna Purrazzo/Susan vs. Jazz/ODB/Jordynne Grace/Havok/Nevaeh/Alisha

Kaleb With A K is here with Dashwood and company. Alisha goes after Dashwood to start but gets dropped with a forearm. Dashwood misses a charge into the corner though and it’s a running hip attack to keep her down. ODB hits the Bronco Buster and it’s off to Susan, who gets caught in the wrong corner by Nevaeh.

Therefore Kimber comes in instead and gets double teamed down by Havok and Nevaeh for an early two. Havok throws Kiera into the corner and we get a Jazz vs. Purrazzo showdown. Everything breaks down in a hurry for the parade of shots to the face until Steelz and Grace slug it out. The two of them hit the big dives and we take a break.

Back with Purrazzo clotheslining Alisha for two but Susan gets dropped with a clothesline. The hot tag brings in Grace to start cleaning house, including a powerslam for a pair of twos on Lee. Everything breaks down again for the parade of secondary finishers until we’re down to Jazz vs. Lee. An STF misses and Jazz pulls her into the STF for the tap at 13:07.

Rating: C. You’re only going to be able to get so much out of twelve people in there at once. It was fine enough while it lasted and Jazz does get a rub out of the pin (Jazz vs. Deonna for the title could work well as an Impact Plus showdown), but nothing really got a chance to shine with so many people in there at the same time.

Ace Austin is rather happy with his win at Sacrifice, even if he told us so. Chris Bey comes in to bring up beating Austin last week, but here is Josh Alexander to say he won at No Surrender. Ace isn’t pleased but here’s TJP, who gets his rematch for the title next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Sami Callihan vs. Trey Miguel

Trey slugs away to start fast but Sami runs him over with a clothesline. They fight to the floor in a hurry and then up to the stage, where Miguel slips out of a powerbomb attempt. Sami gets in a Boston crab on the floor as we take a break. Back with Sami kicking away and sending him outside in another heap. Miguel’s leg is tied around the post and kicked hard, followed by the Junkyard Dog headbutts back inside.

The leg cranking is on but Miguel kicks him away for the breather. Sami goes up top, where he counters a super hurricanrana into a Boston crab while still on the middle rope. That’s broken up so Trey tries a springboard, only to have his leg give out. Trey is fine enough to knock him down for a double stomp and we take another break.

Back with again the chop off until Trey uses the good leg for a Codebreaker. Miguel tries another top rope double stomp and bangs up the knee again, allowing Sami to hit another clothesline. A grab of the leg is broken up by Sami biting Miguel and an STF has Trey in more trouble. Make the a Crossface with Miguel in even more trouble until a rope is grabbed.

Sami chops him up against the barricade but Miguel manages to run the steps for a springboard cutter onto the floor. Back in and Trey gets two off a neckbreaker, with the kickout having Miguel a little screwed up. Trey goes up but the referee gets in the way to check on Callihan, allowing Sami to crotch Trey on top. The package piledriver finishes Miguel at 23:52.

Rating: B. This worked out well with both guys beating on each other for a long time until the screwy finish. I’m not sure where this is going but as long as it doesn’t end up with the two of them as wacky tag team partners, everything should wind up working out. Miguel was working hard here and Sami was a great villain, making this a heck of a match.

Overall Rating: C. Not too bad here but the stories continue to not be the most thrilling in the world. Above all else, it feels like we’re just waiting around while the World Title is kept warm for Kenny Omega, who will….probably not be around here very often. At the same time, you have New Japan holding the Tag Team Titles because we need to show how awesome it is when other companies are here. This leaves Impact with part time World and Tag Team Champions (or probably just one once we get done with Rebellion where the Good Brothers get the titles back) because….uh, guest stars! Not an awful show, but not inspiring.

Results

FinJuice b. XXXL – Acid drop to Larry D.

Rhino b. Jake Something – Gore

Rohit Raju b. Mahabali Shera – Rollup with feet on the ropes

ODB/Jazz/Nevaeh/Havok/Alisha/Jordynne Grace b. Fire N Flava/Kimber Lee/Susan/Deonna Purrazzo/Kimber Lee – STF to Lee

Sami Callihan b. Trey Miguel – Package piledriver

 

 

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Dynamite
Date: March 17, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

It’s time for the next special show as we have a St. Patrick’s Day special. This time around we have the fallout from last week’s big angle with the Inner Circle being laid out by MJF and his new group. Other than that, we have a major showdown with Thunder Rosa and Britt Baker. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

MJF and company arrived at the airport earlier today.

Penta El Zero M vs. Cody Rhodes

During the intros, Penta (through a translator) promises to send Cody onto an early paternity leave. Penta jumps Cody during the entrances and we starts on the floor. Some kicks to the face and leg have Cody in more trouble and they head inside. Cody screams at Penta for chopping him and hits a release gordbuster. The Sling Blade gives Penta two and a Backstabber is good for the same.

Penta starts going after Cody’s bad arm but he’s fine enough to send Penta out to the apron. That means the Disaster Kick out to the floor, setting up the suicide dive. Back in and Cero Miedo is broken up with a superkick into a Canadian Destroyer into the Cody Cutter for two. Cross Rhodes gets two, as does a Vertebreaker, because modern professional wrestling is ridiculous. Cody wraps the leg around the post to set up the Figure Four but Penta makes the rope. Another Figure Four attempt is countered into the arm snap but Cody grabs a sunset flip for the pin at 10:09.

Rating: C+. Yeah I know they did a lot of cool stuff but they completely lost me with the ridiculous amount of kickouts. Sure a lot of people do it these days and it’s still ridiculous. Cody hit two finishers, a Vertebreaker and his submission with Penta surviving everything until a rollup got the pin. There is no need to do that much in a ten minute opening match and it was turning into a near joke.

Post match the Nightmare Family comes out to chase Penta off. QT Marshall gets out late and the Nightmare Family (all six members in the ring to chase off one Penta) is annoyed at him for being late.

The Young Bucks are ready to face Rey Fenix and Pac when Don Callis comes in. He’s heard that their dad wasn’t feeling good so Callis got him a shirt (“Do Not Slap Leg When Kicking”. SEE??? BECAUSE IT WAS A WWE THING AND THAT MEANS IT’S FUNNY TO REFERENCE IT BECAUSE IT MUST BE STUPID!!!). Anyway, Callis wanted to see the Bucks that he saw in Japan but there is nothing elite about them here. As for Kenny Omega, he is now the wrestling god and Omega doesn’t recognize the Bucks because they are just another team with fancy tights. Do they see the same Bucks they saw in Japan? Yay Japan. Again.

Jade Cargill vs. Dani Jordyn

Cargil doesn’t waste time in hitting a jumping knee and we hit the posing. A release German suplex sends Jordyn flying and Jade nips up, setting up Jaded (Glam Slam) for the pin at 1:17. That’s exactly how Cargill should be presented: total dominance with her doing the things she can make look good. Don’t have her trying to run before she can crawl.

Post match Cargill gets in Red Velvet’s face but is held back.

We look back at the big beatdown to end last week’s show.

Here are MJF and company for a chat. Tully Blanchard talks about how great it is to be in the middle of the ring with this bunch of guys. Last week they were in the ring with the Inner Circle and you saw them destroyed. So doesn’t that make this new group the most dominant group? That makes them the pinnacle (that sounds like a name) of professional wrestling. Thirty four years ago, Tully started his career with the best team in wrestling and now he’s ending it with them too.

MJF says now he is Judas and talks about how hard it was to take a backseat to Jericho for six months. Every time Jericho talked, he had to fall back as Jericho’s hairline. MJF sang and danced for Jericho and pretended to like his comedy BS, but it worked as planned. He was plucking Jericho feather by feather and then it was the coup de grace: he convinced everyone that he wanted to take over the Inner Circle. From day one, the plan was to kill the Inner Circle from the inside because he wanted to build something even better.

Tully was right when he called this group the Pinnacle and MJF talks about every member of the team. Then there is MJF himself, because he is the most talked about star in wrestling at 24 year old. He has 25 years plus left in the tank and that must make a lot of people want to put their fist through the screen. The GOAT spot is reserved for him and the Pinnacle is ready to be the backbone of AEW for years to come. And yes, he is better than us and we know it. Good promo here, with MJF selling it to perfection as you would expect.

Jurassic Express/Bear Country vs. Matt Hardy/Butcher and the Blade/Private Party

During the entrances, Hardy talks about how his team loves to make money and how he is building an empire. Matt wants to face Stunt to start but Marko makes him charge into the corner. That lets Jungle Boy comes in with a missile dropkick and everything breaks down in a hurry. The good guys clear the ring and Bear Country LAUNCHES Marko over the top (and he barely got his head down in time) for the huge crash.

Boulder throws Marq Quen but accidentally hits Boy by mistake, allowing Hardy to hit the Side Effect for two. We take a break and come back with Luchasaurus cleaning house with a bunch of kicks. The standing moonsault press gets two on Kassidy and it’s off to Bronson for a suplex.

Luchasaurus does not like Bronson coming in but Marko tags himself in as well as the good guys break down. A brawl breaks out on the floor and Kassidy kicks Marko in the face. Matt cuts off Marko’s comeback attempt and there’s Gin and Juice. That lets Matt tag himself in and hit the Twist of Fate for the pin on Stunt at 8:43.

Rating: C-. The tension between the Express and Bear Country could lead to a decent mini feud, but I’m not sure how much more they can milk out of Hardy. The Big Money Matt character is slightly better than Broken Matt but it’s still Matt Hardy as the focal point in 2021. That is only going to get them so far and it is getting more and more obvious every time he is in the ring.

Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston say they don’t like the Good Brothers, and it isn’t just because Moxley wasted his money on Talk N Shop A Mania. Moxley thinks Karl Anderson has googly eyes like something you see kids making with construction paper. Kingston says this isn’t Tokyo or the Impact Zone because this is their home. The Good Brothers are cowards who die a thousand deaths. Moxley and Kingston are soldiers who will only die once. See you out there. I’m not wild on their matches, but these are two of the best talkers on wrestling right now and they’re a highlight every week.

Christian talks about people who are considered workhorses in this business. He is the kind of guy who makes other wrestlers look better but he isn’t a workhorse. That’s because he is THE workhorse but he only wants one spot. That spot is currently held by the AEW World Champion, who he got to meet last week. Omega is on borrowed time as World Champion and they’ll see each other down the road. He is here to cement his legacy and out work everyone. More good talking here, with Christian not sounding like he did in WWE, which is a welcome result.

Eddie Kingston/Jon Moxley vs. Good Brothers

The Brothers jump Kingston during his entrance but here is Moxley, with his shoulder taped from the barbed wire match, to start the fight. Moxley is sent shoulder first into the barricade and the Magic Killer drops him on the floor. The bell rings and it’s Kingston getting hammered down in the corner. More shots to the face give Gallows two as Moxley is still down on the floor.

Kingston gets in some chops but Gallows kicks Moxley off the apron as we take a break. Back with Kingston hitting a middle rope shoulder to drop Gallows and suplexing Anderson. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Moxley, who hits a running dropkick to send Anderson into the corner.

The running clothesline sets up a piledriver for two and there’s a suicide dive onto Gallows. Back in and Anderson scores with the spinebuster on Moxley, followed by the belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination to plant Kingston. Gallows and Moxley brawl out to the floor, leaving Moxley to small package Anderson for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: C+. I liked this one as they told a good story with Moxley being down for the most part to leave this as a handicap match. The Good Brothers are fine as the enforcers for Omega and that’s all they need to be. This was mainly a one sided match until things picked up in the end, which is the story they were telling. Good enough match here.

Post match the beatdown takes out Moxley and here is Kenny Omega, dancing to the ring (that was great) and Kingston gets a Magic Killer. Kingston gets his ankle Pillmanized and the chair is wrapped around Moxley’s neck. Cue the Young Bucks to make the save but Omega gets in Matt’s face. Omega keeps wanting the Too Sweet, even with the Bucks looking ready to fight. Moxley gets the chair to clear the ring and Omega talks about his shoe. Omega was a bit loopy here and it worked….kind of? The dancing certainly did.

Tony Schiavone brings out Sting for his weekly chat but brings out Darby Allin as well for a change. Allin talks about winning the TNT Title and is here to defending it every week. He wants to pay tribute to the best TNT Champion of all time and will defend the title against any member of the Dark Order. Cue Lance Archer and Jake Roberts to interrupt. Archer wants to know why Sting is always getting the TV time and calls Allin the most indyrific wrestler around here. Roberts tells Allin to go put his hot dog bun back on because he is just a weenie.

Archer and Roberts leave so here is Team Taz, with Brian Cage speaking for himself this week. Cage talks about how great the street fight was and says he respects Sting. With or without the bat, Ricky Starks is wrong: Sting is still the Icon. Cage leaves as the rest of the team yells at him.

Video on Scorpio Sky, who was always the nice guy because no one wanted him to be the star. Now, everything has changed.

Rey Fenix vs. Angelico

Angelico takes him down to the mat to start but Fenix flips out of a wristlock. An armdrag takes Angelico down and we reset a bit. Angelico grabs the arm and starts hammering away on the tape on Fenix’s back. We take a break and come back with Fenix making the comeback and hitting the rolling cutter for two. A fireman’s carry is broken up and Fenix gets sent into the corner. An exchange of kicks to the head sets up Fenix’s crucifix bomb. The Black Fire Driver finishes Angelico at 7:31.

Rating: C+. These guys beat each other up for a few minutes and that was all it needed to be. I’m not sure why this wouldn’t be Fenix and Pac beating up the Hybrid 2 but the less Jack Evans around, the better things can be. Fenix continues to be as entertaining as it gets and I’m looking forward to the Tag Team Title match.

Miro is working out but stops to say he is sick of hearing about Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy. Kip Sabian comes in to say he isn’t done with them and wants the rematch. He also isn’t happy with Miro for bumping into Penelope Ford but Miro says the worst thing you can do is have your wife at ringside (right). Miro leaves and Fenix accepts the rematch on behalf of the team.

John Silver accepts the TNT Title challenge for next week.

The Pinnacle takes over the Inner Circle’s dressing room.

Thunder Rosa vs. Britt Baker

Lights out, meaning anything goes and Rebel is here with Baker. Speaking of Rebel, she hits Rosa from behind with a crutch before the bell and Baker takes it to the stage. The Air Raid Crash on the ramp gets two, as apparently this is falls count anywhere. Baker misses a chair shot against the barricade as we see Hikaru Shida watching from the back. Rosa is back up and throws a chair at Baker’s face and another shot to the back. Baker is sent over the barricade with Rosa following but missing a charge into a chair.

They’re back at ringside with Rebel helping Baker set up a table. A bunch of chairs are thrown inside and Rosa is busted open. We take a break and come back with Baker superplexing her onto the pile of chairs, which leaves her down as well. A delayed cover gets two and Rebel slides in a ladder. Rosa sends Baker face first into the ladder for two and there are the running knees in the corner.

The ladder is put on Baker’s face and a running dropkick crushes Baker in the corner. That busts her open too as commentary can’t believe how this is going. Baker is bleeding hard but manages to send her into the ladder. Rosa is down and Baker goes up….but gets Death Valley Drivered off the top and into the ladder for the huge crash. That’s good for two as well and somehow Baker is back up with a DDT onto the chair. The stomp onto a chair gets the same but Baker, who is covered in blood, smiles.

Rebel slips in the glove….and a bag of tacks as well. Rosa is back up and tries a powerbomb onto the tacks, only to have Rebel offer a distraction. That’s fine with Rosa, who knocks her off the apron and through the table, followed by the powerbomb onto the tacks for two. Baker pulls her down into the Lockjaw but Rosa rolls it into the tacks for the break in a painfully smart move. A hard low superkick rocks Rosa again and they head to the apron with Rosa pulling her off the top. That means a Fire Thunder Driver through the table to finally end Baker at 16:37.

Rating: A. This was everything you could have wanted from the match and more, but above all else it felt like a war. You could feel that these two were going to do everything they could to beat the other, but also to survive as long as they could. It was as hard hitting and brutal of a match as I have seen in a long time and I dug the heck out of the whole thing. I got a lot more out of the violence here than in the barbed wire match and I would not have bet on this coming in. Great match and check it out for sure.

They’re both mostly done to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. That main event bailed out an otherwise pretty meh show, as it was the only thing worth seeing. The good thing is that it is VERY worth seeing and made up for almost everything else. The first twenty minutes of this show had me ready to trash the whole thing but it did get better as it went along. I’m not big on some of the stories they are telling here, but at least they had a classic to wrap it up. Good show, and that is almost entirely attributed to the main event and some solid promos.

Results

Cody Rhodes b. Penta El Zero M – Sunset flip

Jade Cargill b. Dani Jordyn – Jaded

Matt Hardy/Butcher and the Blade/Private Party b. Jurassic Express and Bear Country – Twist of Fate to Stunt

Eddie Kingston/Jon Moxley b. Good Brothers – Small package to Anderson

Rey Fenix b. Angelico – Black Fire Driver

Thunder Rosa b. Britt Baker – Fire Thunder Driver through a table

 

 

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

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AND

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: March 9, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

It’s the go home show for Sacrifice which is one of the rather big pit stops on the way to Rebellion in April. I’m curious to see how they are going to set things up on the way there, as the card is all but set up. You can always use a little bit of an extra push though and that is what we should be in for here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Tasha Steelz vs. Jazz

Kiera Hogan and Jordynne Grace are here too. Steelz talks a lot of trash to start and Jazz doesn’t seem interested in hearing it. Jazz sends her outside without much effort but Steelz is back in with a headlock takeover. That’s reversed into a headscissors, with Steelz escaping and talking more trash. They stay on the mat with the reversals until Steelz has to bail to the rope to get out of a modified Boston crab.

A neckbreaker out of the corner gets two on Jazz and Steelz slaps on the chinlock. Back up and Steelz misses a charge into the post, allowing Jazz to grab a small package for two. The Falcon Arrow gives Steelz two but Jazz makes the comeback and grabs a Samoan drop for two more. A sitout powerslam gets the same as Grace and Hogan get into it. Jazz grabs the STF for the tap at 6:03.

Rating: C-. It’s the same thing you’ve seen time after time and there wasn’t much more to it than that. One half of a tag team beat half of another tag team to set up their Tag Team Title match in a few days. It has been done for years now and while it gets the job done, it doesn’t exactly make me thrilled to see the title match.

ODB is happy for Jazz when Susan comes in to yell. A match is made for tonight.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Trey Miguel talks to his friend Sam (who Sami Callihan made into his student last week), who says Sami isn’t a bad guy. Miguel says Sami is lying but Sam says that’s what Sami said he would say. Sami told Sam to issue a challenge for tonight so Trey will beat a lesson into him.

Video on Moose vs. Rich Swann at Sacrifice to unify the two World Titles. Swann is ready to fight and Moose is ready to be a monster. Believe it or not, Swann thinks Moose is missing the heart.

Mahabali Shera/Rohit Raju vs. Chris Sabin/James Storm

Raju and Sabin start things off with both guys ducking a bit until Raju sweeps the leg for a knockdown. Sabin takes him into the corner though and hands it off to Storm, who gets two off of Sabin’s kick to the back of the head. Storm throws Raju into the corner because he wants to face Shera like a cowboy should. Some right hands in the corner don’t do much to Shera, who kicks him in the face. Striker: “The world just saw that.” Check your viewership Striker. You would be lucky if the population of Lafayette, Louisiana saw that (at least in America).

We take a break and come back with Sabin in trouble for a change and Shera hitting some clotheslines in the corner. Shera’s Cannonball gets two but Sabin fights out of the double team and gets the hot tag to Storm. House is cleaned, including a spinebuster for two on Raju. An assisted tornado DDT gives Sabin two and everything breaks down. Raju hits a jumping knee to Storm but Shera goes after Storm, which has Raju annoyed. Sabin gets in a shot from behind to knock Shera into Raju, setting up the Cradle Shock for the pin at 10:22.

Rating: C+. I’m still not sure when Shera and Raju became a half decent tag team but they’re making it work out well enough. Storm and Sabin are a cool idea for a team and they are doing about as well as you would expect. This was a good match and that is not something I would have expected coming in, so call it a nice surprise.

Reno Scum and XXXL argue as my blood pressure begins to rise. Decay comes in to talk to Larry D., with Acey Romero freaking out. XXXL leaves and Decay vs. Scum seems to be set up for Sacrifice.

Flashback Moment of the Week: the Motor City Machine Guns b. Beer Money and Team 3D.

Deaner survives his punishment and gets another lecture from Eric Young. Chris Sabin and James Storm come up and ask what is going on here. Storm yells at Young and the brawl is on, with Joe Doering coming in to leave Storm and Sabin laying.

Brian Myers storms into Scott D’Amore’s office and demands that Eddie Edwards be fired in exchange for dropping some legal issue. D’Amore makes an anything goes match for Sacrifice instead. I’m not sure if that is what Myers wanted.

Trey Miguel vs. Sam Beale

Sami Callihan handles Sam’s intro, saying he has the heart that Miguel is lacking. Trey turns to yell at Callihan and gets jumped from behind to start. That earns Sam a leglock pulled into a choke for the tap at 43 seconds.

Post match Sami messes with the lights and takes Sam out.

Chris Sabin and James Storm want to get rid of Violent By Design by cutting off the snake’s head at Sacrifice. Jake Something comes in and says he’ll have their back. Sure why not.

It’s time for the AEW ad, with Tony Khan bragging about the Revolution buy rate and running down the Dynamite card. Tony Schiavone handles the other half because these shows have a lot on them.

Scott D’Amore handles the contract signing between the Good Brothers and FinJuice for the Tag Team Title match at Sacrifice. Booze is brought out so D’Amore leaves and lets them handle this themselves. They enjoy some shots (with an ode to Curt Hennig) and the contract is signed. FinJuice throws the drinks into the Brothers’ faces and the brawl is on.

Ace Austin vs. Chris Bey

Madman Fulton is here with Austin and this should be good. Austin heads straight to the floor and grabs a chair but gets back in at nine sans chair. Bey takes him into the corner so Austin shoves him off, only to get headlocked to the mat. Austin slips out of that and takes Bey to the mat again, setting up a double underhook with a knee to the chest for two. Back up and Bey hits a sliding dropkick to the floor, followed by the big running flip dive.

Austin gets in a shot of his own and heads back inside for his own running flip dive. Back in and a running kick to the face gives Austin two but Bey grabs a Code Red for the same. They both miss rapid fire kicks to the head as Striker says people will be talking about this like they talked about Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid. Austin catches him on top with Bey dropping him down to the floor. Bey falls too (Striker: “An avalanche of flesh!”) and we take a break.

Back with a slugout from their knees until Ace hits a spinning kick to the head in the corner. Bey blocks a headscissors attempt but the Art of Finesse is blocked as well. Bey hits a Vertebreaker for two (good grief) and a slingshot DDT gets no cover. The delay lets Austin bail to the floor and gets in a shot of his own to take over. Cue TJP to watch from a chair so Fulton chases him off. Bey cuts off the Fold with a cutter and finishes with the Art of Finesse at 18:19.

Rating: B. This was rather good, Striker’s downright annoying/stupid comments aside. Both of these guys can look good against anyone so it should come as no surprise that they had a really good one against each other. That being said, who in the world said it was ok to use a Vertebreaker for a throw away near fall? If you’re going to use some big move like that then it better be the finish (especially if you are winning the match). Otherwise, just leave it out because it wastes what could be a huge move later on.

Off to Swinger’s Palace where Josh Alexander doesn’t like TJP. Alexander doesn’t like the belt being on a poker table and promises to be coming for the title.

Rohit Raju yells at Mahabali Shera and gets lifted up against a wall. Shera does not owe him a thing.

ODB vs. Susan

Susan complains about ODB’s chest so ODB pulls her into it. Some chops in the corner have Susan in pain and a Bronco Buster connects. A fall away slam sends Susan outside and the match to a break. Back with ODB hitting a running shoulder and hitting the Dirty Dozen in the corner. Susan grabs a full nelson and then pulls ODB down by the hair, allowing her to pour out ODB’s flask. That earns her the Bam to give ODB the pin at 7:28.

Rating: D+. Well I certainly remember why I can’t stand ODB. This was one signature “hey look at this kind of sexual thing I’m doing” move after another and it gets old fast. Throw in the yelling all the time and I’m really not sure why I’m supposed to cheer for her. She is a legend in the division, but that does not mean she was ever fun to watch in the first place.

Post match Deonna Purrazzo and Kimber Lee comes in to beat on ODB but Jordynne Grace and Jazz run in for the save. Fire N Flava come in as well and the heels beat everyone down.

Sacrifice rundown.

Scott D’Amore is glad to get….something signed, but Moose is in the ring to interrupt. Moose wants D’Amore out here for an announcement he has promised. Post break, Moose is threatening to hijack the show (which has about five minutes to go) unless D’Amore gets out here.

Cue D’Amore, who brings out Rich Swann for a staredown. Here’s the announcement: the match at Sacrifice is title for title in a unification match. They hold up their titles but D’Amore isn’t done. Whoever leaves is going to face Kenny Omega in another title vs. title match against AEW World Champion Kenny Omega. Striker: “IMPACT WRESTLING HAS JUST BROKEN THE INTERNET!” No you haven’t, you schnook.

We cut to Don Callis, who is on the phone with Omega, and says it was just like they planned.

Overall Rating: C. This show did well enough to build to Sacrifice, and it helps a lot that the shows are taking place about once a month. Sacrifice feels like a regular pay per view and it helps that it is at a discount price. The wrestling was hit and miss, as tends to be the case here, with Striker dragging things down due to general annoyance, as tends to be the case as well. Not a bad show, but it was just a preview for the important one.

Results

Jazz b. Tasha Steelz – STF

Chris Sabin/James Storm b. Rohit Raju/Mahabali Shera – Cradle Shock to Raju

Trey Miguel b. Sam Beale – Leglock choke

Chris Bey b. Ace Austin – Art of Finesse

ODB b. Susan – The Bam

 

 

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Dynamite
Date: March 10, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We’re done with Revolution and now the question becomes how they handle the bad ending. The logical solution would be to laugh it off and move on but I have a bad feeling they are going to try to turn it into a storyline. What they tried didn’t work and it seems like it would be a better idea to just accept it and move on, but that doesn’t seem like the AEW way. Let’s get to it.

Here is Revolution if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Matt Jackson vs. Rey Fenix

Nick Jackson is here with Matt. They trade the arm work to start as the fans are split early on. Matt takes him down but gets flipped away into a standoff. Fenix gets in a toss to the floor for the dive, followed by a springboard armdrag to take Matt down again. That means the big running flip dive to the floor and then it’s a chinlock with a bodyscissors to Matt back inside. That’s broken up and Matt throws him outside in a crash for a change.

Back in and the reverse chinlock with a knee in Fenix’s back doesn’t last long as he is back up with the chops. A faceplant gives Matt two and he rolls over into the Sharpshooter. That sends Fenix over to the rope for the break and he hits the steps up kick to the head in the corner. There’s the missile dropkick to take Matt down again and a rolling cutter makes it even worse.

Fenix grabs his modified spinning torture rack ‘before dropping Matt down. Back up and Matt hits a running kick to send Fenix outside, where Pac appears to give him some encouragement. Matt’s top rope elbow gets two and the Sharpshooter goes on for a bit longer this time.

Fenix grabs the rope again though and misses a running kick, knocking Nick down instead. Matt goes outside to superkick Pac away from Nick, flips out of a belly to back suplex, and hits two superkicks. That earns Matt a kick from Fenix and they’re both down again. They pull each other up and Fenix wins the slugout to set up the Black Fire Driver for the pin at 12:04.

Rating: B-. It’s always weird watching the Bucks having a singles match but it worked out rather well here. You can probably pencil in Nick vs. Pac for later as they continue building towards the Tag Team Title match, which should be a heck of a showdown. Good stuff here, with the flips looking pretty nice.

Here’s what’s coming later tonight.

Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley are having some drinks with some fire in front of them. Eddie talks about covering his friend when he had this much anxiety and it reminded him of being in jail. Everything went black then and it happened again on Sunday. They talk about how much of a mess the bomb was and think it was from ACME. Impact Wrestling must have paid for the thing. Moxley had an exploding ring match and all he got was this shirt. Yeah it’s a cool shirt but he also got a drinking buddy back. Moxley says if Omega is going to flash a weapon, he better use it. Now please let that be the end of the explanations.

Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Gargis

Before the match, Cody gives his weight belt to a fan in a wheelchair (that’s great). Cody shrugs off Gargis and finishes with the Figure Four in 48 seconds.

Post match Tony Schiavone gets in the ring to interview Cody but Penta El Zero M interrupts, saying (through a translator) that he’s a thousand times better than Cody. If Cody is the Price of Pro Wrestling, then Penta is the Lord of Lucha Libre. Penta says Cody Cody should be lucky that his arm isn’t hurt so badly he can’t pick up his newborn girl. That’s enough to get Cody out into the crowd for the brawl but it’s broken up in a hurry.

Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy are at an arcade and say that they have been at this with Miro and Kip Sabian far too long (yep). But they want one more match to end it all. If they lose, Taylor will be Miro’s butler forever. We’ll make it interesting though, and put a bunch of video games around ringside.

Here’s Sting to praise Darby Allin for their win on Sunday, but Lance Archer and Jake Roberts interrupt. Archer talks about how he was going to be the face of the revolution without getting in a ladder match. If AEW doesn’t give him the time, he’ll take something much worse. The two of them leave and Sting is done in a hurry.

QT Marshall got a little too emotional on Sunday but tonight is about Lee Johnson. Their mics are cut off before the end of their promo (there have been some audio issues throughout the show).

Ethan Page vs. Lee Johnson

Page gets an inset promo and (rather quietly) talks about wanting the spotlight. Feeling out process to start with Page taking him down with ease as some other audio (sounds like a basketball game) keeps coming through and drowning out commentary. Page drops him again and we take a break.

Back with Page working on the ribs as the basketball audio is leaking through even worse than before. Johnson hits a Blue Thunder Bomb for two but gets taken down off the top as we hear Ain’t No Mountain High Enough. Johnson comes up favoring his knee so Page kicks him in the face. That’s enough to send Johnson to the floor so Page throws him back inside for the Ego’s Edge (toss Razor’s Edge) for the pin at 7:48.

Rating: C. The bad week for AEW production continues, even though this is a TNT problem. Page’s win was completely overshadowed here and that’s a shame because he looked fine enough. Page isn’t going to be a top star but he’s a good hand, which is always going to have a place in wrestling.

Post match the beating stays on with QT Marshall not helping Johnson. Dustin Rhodes comes in for the save and the audio is fixed.

Hangman Page has bought a new saddle, Dwight Yoakam on vinyl, donated a bunch of money to the Jacksonville Public Education fund, and bought a big lawnmower. The Dark Order gets on to get ice cream, but 10 has to wait because of the weight limit.

Tony Schiavone is ready to introduce Christian Cage but gets interrupted by Kenny Omega, Don Callis and the Good Brothers. Things have been going great for Omega, who is now the King of the Deathmatch. There was that little thing on Sunday but they will neither confirm nor deny any influence on the explosion. What Callis and company will take credit for is taking away Jon Moxley’s win from Tony Khan.

Either way, it was a win win situation, because either the ring blew up and they left with the title or they left with the title anyway. Cue Eddie Kingston, with Callis saying he has seen Kingston’s talent for a long time now. That’s why he had Kingston in Impact Wrestling, but as usual he screwed it up again. Callis gives him ten seconds to get out of the ring so we get a countdown, with Callis and Omega freaking out about the clock. Omega: “I HAD FLASHBACKS TO THE TIME I HAD DETENTION IN GRADE SCHOOL!”

Omega tells Kingston to take his shot and see what happens, so Eddie decks him with a right hand. The beatdown is on so it’s Jon Moxley and then Christian Cage for the save, though Christian comes out after Omega is left alone in the ring. They go toe to toe and Omega swings, meaning Callis has to save him from the Unprettier. Christian picks up the World Title and Omega panics while leaving. I’m not sure how good of an idea it is to charge fans $50 to see something, have it screw up, and then laugh at people for thinking they would see it. AEW doesn’t have that reputation and it isn’t one they want to develop.

Britt Baker/Hikaru Shida/Nyla Rose vs. Maki Itoh/Thunder Rosa/Ryo Mizunami

Itoh does her song, even as everyone gets in a fight before the bell. She sings anyway and then hits Shida in the head with the microphone to get going. They get inside with Itoh missing a headbutt so Shida can hammer away, meaning it’s off to Ryo for more chopping. Rosa comes in to hammer on Rose but a Rebel distraction lets Rose take over.

We come back from a break with Shida suplexing Ryo into Baker in the corner for two. With everyone else on the floor, Rosa hits a big dive off the top for the huge knockdown. Back in and Itoh’s tornado DDT gets two on Rosa but Rebel’s crutch shot is broken up. Instead Rosa spikes Itoh on her head for the pin at 7:55.

Rating: C. This was a wild match though it was more silly than anything else at times. That isn’t the worst idea and the fans do seem to like Itoh’s deal so fair enough. I’m not sure where the division is going from here but at least they are bringing in someone who is going to get your attention one way or another.

Post match Rosa gets beaten down, including the Lockjaw and a crutch to the head.

Matt Hardy is upset over losing his first quarter money but he has some new signings: Butcher, Blade and Bunny. They’ll be teaming with Private Party this Monday on Dark: Elevation.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. Scorpio Sky

Sky is challenging after winning the ladder match at Revolution. They fight over a wristlock to start until Allin takes him down for some rollups. Sky has to bail into the corner and looks a little surprised by what just happened. Both of them try waistlocks to little avail and we take a break.

Back with Allin fighting out of an abdominal stretch and grabbing a Code Red for two. Sky rolls some German suplexes, including one to send Allin hard into the corner. Sky is sent outside so Allin tries a suicide dive, only to have Sky counter it into a cutter. Back in and the Coffin Drop is countered into a powerbomb but the TKO is countered into a small package to retain Allin’s title at 13:16.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a match and that should not be surprising in the slightest. Both of them are great at what they do and while I’m not wild on Sky losing his title shot so quickly but there is no reason to take the title off of Allin at this point either. Good match here, and that shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Post match Allin goes to help Sky up but gets pulled into a heel hook. Referees break it up but Sky is very pleased.

Here’s what’s coming next week on St. Patrick’s Slam.

Here’s the Inner Circle for their War Council. Chris Jericho talks about how many problems the team has been having lately and it is time to start changing things a little bit. Maybe that even means adding a new member. MJF doesn’t think that’s the best idea but here is Sammy Guevara to interrupt. Sammy needs Jericho to see something and we see him set up a hidden camera, which films MJF talking to the rest of the team about getting rid of Jericho. Back in the arena, MJF says get him. Santana, Ortiz and Jake Hager turn to face Jericho….and then they all turn at MJF.

Jericho says they all knew this was coming because they talk to each other every day. MJF is shoved down and Jericho fires him before threatening a beatdown. He swears he wasn’t taking over Jericho’s Inner Circle….because he was too busy building his own. The lights go out and it’s Wardlow….with FTR, Shawn Spears and Tully Blanchard.

The beatdown is on, including spike piledrivers and handcuffs. MJF busts Jericho open with the Dynamite Diamond and some shots with Floyd the baseball bat leave him laying. Wardlow powerbombs Jericho off the stage and onto a crash pad to end the show. I like the end results, but another stable? They really needed one more?

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling mainly carries this one but the more important part is how many new things got started tonight. In addition to the big ending segment, you also have Cage vs. Omega, Sting vs. Archer/Roberts and Cody vs. Penta. I could go for a lot of that, but more importantly, I hope I can go for the end of the explanations of the ending of Revolution. Either way, good stuff here and I like their momentum coming out of Revolution.

Results
Rey Fenix b. Matt Jackson – Black Fire Driver
Cody Rhodes b. Seth Gargis – Figure Four
Ethan Page b. Lee Johnson – Ego’s Edge
Thunder Rosa/Hikaru Shida/Ryo Mizunami b. Britt Baker/Maki Itoh/Nyla Rose – Reverse Air Raid Crash to Itoh
Darby Allin b. Scorpio Sky – Small package

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Impact Wrestling
Date: March 2, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

We are most of the way to Sacrifice and now we have a main event as Moose will challenge Rich Swann for the World Title. That would be the Impact World Title, as the TNA World Title now seems to be the official secondary title (at least for now) around here. That should be a heck of a match when they get the chance so hopefully the rest of the card looks as good. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Black Taurus vs. Ace Austin vs. Chris Bey

The rest of Decay and Madman Fulton are here and the winner gets the X-Division Title shot against TJP at Sacrifice. Taurus gets jumped to start with both fellow villains standing on his chest in the corner. Some running dropkicks keep Taurus down but he pops up and tosses Bey into Austin into another corner. Back up and Bey offers a distraction, allowing Austin to hit a springboard kick to the head.

That’s enough to send Taurus outside for the stereo dives, meaning it’s Austin vs. Bey grappling away back inside. Austin flips out of a headscissors, followed by Bey doing the same. They both catch kicks at the same time so Bey heads to the apron, where Taurus pulls him down. Taurus catches Austin’s dive and slams him onto Bey on the floor to take over. Back in and Taurus strikes away, including a running elbow for two. Bey sends Austin to the floor and kicks Taurus in the head in the corner.

Taurus loads up a suplex on Bey but Austin is back in with a springboard dropkick to put all three down. I’m not sure why Taurus is down as the dropkick hit Bey, but I guess it makes for a better visual. Taurus Pounces Austin to break up the Fold and a heck of a pop up Samoan drop plants Bey. Austin catches Taurus’ charge though and sends him to the floor, where Taurus is holding his knee. Back up and Fulton grabs Bey, leaving Austin to hit the Fold for the pin at 8:07.

Rating: C+. Austin was the right choice to win here as he is on a roll but this was a good performance from everyone. The X-Division has suddenly gotten pretty sweet again and I could go for seeing more of these people doing their thing. Austin vs. TJP should be a heck of a match and Taurus looked like a heck of a monster here.

Jordynne Grace and Jazz are ready for Deonna Purrazzo and company but here are Fire N Flava to mock their losses. They will be at ringside tonight but Grace says let’s just make it a triple threat.

Brian Myers tries to talk to Matt Cardona, who is refereeing his match tonight. Cardona is calling it straight tonight though because he wants to keep it professional.

Commentary runs down the card.

Tenille Dashwood vs. Havok

Kaleb With A K (still in the neck brace) is here with Dashwood. A shot to the back of the head just annoys Havok, who backs her into the corner as a result. Dashwood’s crawl through the legs is caught so she elbows Havok in the head. The Russian legsweep is easily blocked though and Dashwood is sent to the apron. Havok misses a charge and gets kicked in the face, setting up a neckbreaker over the middle rope.

We take a break and come back with Havok caught in the Tarantula to keep her in trouble. The Taste of Tenille gets two and she sends Havok face first into the mat for two more. Dashwood grabs a full nelson but Havok throws her down and gets a boot up in the corner. A backbreaker into a clothesline gives Havok two and there’s a kick to the head to put Dashwood down again. Kaleb gets up to offer a distraction though and the Spotlight Kick (with Havok leaning over for a long time) finishes Havok at 7:49.

Rating: C-. It’s more of the same from Dashwood, as she still lacks that spark. She continues to go from one random match to another with little in between them. That was the case again here, meaning Dashwood was fine but it was far from interesting. I’m not sure if this is supposed to lead to Havok vs. Nevaeh, but is that really something that is supposed to be exciting?

Post match here’s Nevaeh to beat down Dashwood and Kaleb With A K.

Sami Callihan seems to be in Trey Miguel’s trophy room and says Miguel has no passion. He goes into an office and shoves over I guess Trey’s business partner. Now it’s time to go into Trey’s wrestling school and beat up a bunch of people. One of the students gets in his face but Sami doesn’t want to hear it and beats the student down as well. Another wrestler runs in and Sami backs off before offering to be his teacher instead. Sami tells the camera that the kid is in good hands.

It’s off to Swinger’s Palace, where TJP wants to know the odds on his match with Ace Austin. Cue Madman Fulton and Ace Austin, with TJP winning some bets on Austin asking various questions. Chris Bey comes in and gets in Ace’s face, but Johnny Swinger says no fighting until he gets odds on it. TJP wins a bunch of money off of that too.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Sting b. Rob Van Dam at Sacrifice 2011 to retain the World Title.

Eric Young scolds Deaner for losing to Jake Something last week and Joe Doering punishes him with violence. Young is only doing this because he cares. Deaner: “I know.”

It’s time for the Tony Schiavone/Khan announcement of the week, as they promote Dynamite and Revolution. Khan talks about how it is every promotion against THEM, though he won’t say who THEM is (because he can’t say WWE). Now he is the leader and we get multiple Forbidden Door mentions. More Dynamite plugs wrap us up, with Khan shouting a lot. Then Schiavone goes over a lot of the same material again in a quieter manner. This one felt a lot longer than the rest.

Video on Moose, who is now officially a World Champion. He knew he would always get here and now it is time for Rich Swann to be destroyed by Mr. Impact.

Good Brothers/FinJuice vs. XXXL/Reno Scum

Finlay and Luster trade headlocks to start until Finlay dropkicks him into the corner. Anderson comes in to beat on Larry D. before handing it off to FinJuice for a Russian legsweep/big boot combination. Acey comes in and gets the double kicks in the corner from the Brothers. Finn comes back in but gets sent into the corner, allowing the villains (Maybe?) to take turns. That’s broken up and it’s off to Anderson for the Magic Killer…but they take a bit too long and Thornstowe grabs a rollup for two. Now the Magic Killer connects for the pin at 4:01.

Rating: D. Not much to see here as the point was to build towards the Good Brothers vs. FinJuice, which isn’t exactly an interesting feud in the first place. They didn’t get much time here and that is a good thing, mainly because you might not want XXXL/Reno Scum out there very long. Maybe they should build up FinJuice a bit more other than “they’re from Japan”.

Post match, FinJuice and the Good Brothers have a big staredown.

Rich Swann talks about how Moose may be a monster, but he isn’t a World Champion. On paper, Moose is strong, fast and big, but he doesn’t have the heart.

FinJuice and the Good Brothers argue about how they almost lost. The Brothers want them to carry the bags but FinJuice wants to carry the titles. The title match is set for Sacrifice.

Brian Myers vs. Eddie Edwards

Matt Cardona is guest referee. Myers starts fast and goes after the arm, setting up a belly to back suplex. It’s already back to the arm but Edwards sends him outside, meaning Myers needs to grab a chair. That takes too long though and Edwards hits a big running flip dive over Cardona. We take a break and come back with Myers grabbing a chinlock, snapping Edwards’ throat across the top, and putting the chinlock on again.

Edwards fights up with some chops and a bridging suplex gets two. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets the same but Myers is right back with a Downward Spiral for two. Myers goes up, earning himself a Backpack Stunner for two. A reverse neck snap across the top lets Myers load up his elbow pad with a foreign object for the Roster Cut (oh good grief) and….that’s a DQ as Cardona calls for the bell at 11:05.

Rating: C-. This was more about Myers and Cardona, because that’s what you should focus on when you have Eddie Edwards involved. Myers has gotten a bit better around here, but what are you expecting from someone whose character seems to be built entirely around the fact that he’s mad about being cut from WWE. I mean….the Roster Cut?

Deonna Purrazzo isn’t worried about a triple threat match tonight. Or ODB for that matter.

Here’s what’s coming at Sacrifice and next week.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Kiera Hogan vs. Jordynne Grace

Non-title and there are a bunch of other people at ringside. Purrazzo is sent outside to start and we take a break less than thirty seconds in. Back with Grace getting double teamed in the corner but managing to send Purrazzo outside. Grace hammers away on Kiera, who she has to hold up for a bit. Purrazzo trips Grace down but gets chopped into the corner by Hogan.

The Fujiwara armbar is broken up in a hurry and Grace sends them both into the corner. That earns her a Fujiwara from Purrazzo so a rope has to be grabbed in a hurry. Hogan high crossbodies Purrazzo for two and then gets the same on Grace. Purrazzo takes Hogan down by the leg but pulls Grace down into a failed Fujiwara armbar attempt.

Grace hits a spinebuster on Purrazzo, who manages to block a suplex. A double clothesline sends Purrazzo and Hogan to the floor, meaning it’s time for everyone on the floor to get into a brawl. Grace dives onto everyone and takes Hogan back inside for a beating in the corner. Tasha Steelz saves Hogan from the Vader Bomb though and it’s Purrazzo sneaking in to steal the pin on Grace at 12:24.

Rating: C-. This felt a lot longer than it was and there wasn’t much of a flow to the thing. The ending worked out well enough and I can go for the champ not taking a fall here. It certainly wasn’t terrible or even bad, but this didn’t feel like a main event. Instead it was a bit more flat, which isn’t how you want a main event to go.

Post match Grace and Steelz brawl to the back but here’s ODB to jump Purrazzo. ODB takes her down and poses with the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. I’m not sure what to think of this one as they were trying to focus on a lot of things other than the main event scene and it didn’t go well. There wasn’t much worth caring about with this show and that was getting more and more obvious with each match. Just not a very interesting show and that’s one of the worst things you can say about any given episode.

Results

Ace Austin b. Chris Bey and Black Taurus – The Fold to Bey

Tenille Dashwood b. Havok – Spotlight Kick

FinJuice/Good Brothers b. XXXL/Reno Scum – Magic Killer to Thornstowe

Eddie Edwards b. Brian Myers via DQ when Myers used a foreign object

Deonna Purrazzo b. Jordynne Grace and Kiera Hogan – Rollup to Grace

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: February 23, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

We’re still starting the build to Rebellion but first up we need to get through another Impact Plus special. Things have changed around here though as for once that does not sound like the worst thing. I’m not sure what to expect here but last week’s show was not the strongest in the world. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Jake Something vs. Deaner

Tables match. Deaner goes straight for the bite to the nose as commentary actually tries to compare the two of them. Jake is right back with a running clothesline to the back of the head and it’s time for the first table. That takes a little too long though and the table is dropkicked into Jake’s face. Jake fights back and puts the table over the middle rope in the corner, setting up a Michinoku Driver….in the middle of the ring instead of near the table.

Back up and Deaner avoids a charge to send Jake throat first into the edge of the table. Another table is bridged between the ring and the barricade and they fight to the apron. Jake is knocked to the floor and Deaner tries a flip dive, but Jake pulls it out of the air. With that broken up, Deaner rams the edge of the bridged table into Jake’s chest.

Deaner goes up top but Jake catches him, only to have Deaner escape a superplex attempt. A hair mare brings Jake down but he’s right back with a sitout powerbomb. A powerslam off the steps is broken up so they head to the stage. The Deaner DDT is broken up as well, followed by a powerbomb being escaped as well. Jake staggers down the aisle so Deaner charges….right into a Black Hole Slam to give Jake the win at 9:41.

Rating: C. This was a decent enough tables match and I’m rather impressed by what the Deaners could pull off, as they went from insufferable to this in just a few months. I’m not needing to see these two again and Jake Something is the most indy name you could ask for, but at least they did something nice enough here.

Post match here’s Moose to drive Jake through a table. Moose sits in a chair and says there is not going to be a show until Rich Swann comes out here. Post break, Moose is still waiting but here’s Scott D’Amore instead. Moose isn’t leaving, even when D’Amore says Swann isn’t in the building. Cue Jake Something, with Moose telling him not to do this. D’Amore likes the idea though and yeah we will have a World Title match tonight because the TNA World Title is officially recognized again.

Commentary goes over what’s coming tonight.

Trey Miguel/Willie Mack/Josh Alexander vs. Chris Bey/Ace Austin/Black Taurus

The winning team faces each other in a triple threat match next week to crown a new #1 contender (that’s quite Russoish). Bey and Miguel start, with Striker saying they are the aces of the teams. As you try to get your head around that one, Trey takes Bey down by the arm to start. It’s quickly off to Austin, with Striker not bothering to call him the Ace. Trey sends him into the corner so Mack can send him into the corner as well.

Austin slips out of the swinging slam and it’s Taurus coming in for the battle of the jumps/flips. A hurricanrana puts Taurus down and there’s a dropkick into the corner. Alexander comes in for a Regal Roll but has to knock an invading Bey off the apron. That lets Taurus get up for some chops in the corner but Alexander is right back with his own. Taurus pops up and runs the corner for a twisting flip dive to drop Alexander though and we take a break.

Back with Bey’s running hurricanrana being countered into a powerbomb backbreaker to give Alexander a breather. That’s enough for the hot tag to Miguel to pick up the pace, including a jumping elbow to Austin’s back for two. Everything breaks down with Alexander taking Bey down with a dive. Mack plants Austin and goes up, only to get crotched on top. The Fold drops Mack again but Miguel and Alexander make the double save.

A huge backbreaker plants Miguel but Alexander is right back up with a German suplex to Taurus. Austin counters the ankle lock and Bey plants Alexander with a slingshot DDT. Mack takes Bey down but has to bail out of the Six Star. A heck of a dropkick into the corner sets up the Art of Finesse to finish Mack at 10:50. Striker: “FINALLY!”

Rating: B-. Good action as expected, but I’m trying to figure out the FINALLY. What’s worthy of a finally? Bey, who has already been X-Division Champion, has beaten Mack before and it’s not like it’s some big rivalry. Anyway, if Bey and company were going to win, Mack was the only one to take the fall so this works well enough. As per tradition, the X-Division works rather well.

The winners argue over who should win the triple threat.

A frustrated Trey Miguel walks to the back and Sami Callihan is waiting on him. Callihan asks if Trey is going to give up again but Trey jumps him.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Decay retains the Tag Team Titles over the BroMans at Slammiversary 2016.

Decay talks about how they have been gone for a long time but now it is time for the resurrection of the death dealers. Without death there is no light and they are nature’s pestilence. This felt a lot better than anything the three of them have done in a long time.

AEW’s Tony Schiavone and Tony Khan, this time flanked by a bunch of AEW wrestlers, including Team Taz, Britt Baker, Matt Hardy and more, are glad to be doing more charity work. Khan (who Schiavone calls the Forbidden Door) refers to himself as the Biggest Mark In Professional Wrestling and the wrestlers cut mini promos about how they are ready for their matches this week. Schiavone gives us a more traditional rundown.

Nevaeh tells Havok that she needs some time away and won’t listen to Havok trying to talk her out of it. Nevaeh leaves and here are Kaleb With A K (in a neck brace) and Tenille Dashwood to propose a new team with Havok. That’s a big negative, but Kaleb With A K thinks there’s chemistry.

XXXL vs. Good Brothers

Non-title. Larry runs Anderson over to start but gets sent into the corner for a fall away slam from Gallows. It’s off to Romero, with Striker talking about how Romero looks like Adrian Adonis. With that image out of the way, Romero drives Anderson into the corner and brings Larry back in to choke on the ropes. We hit the chinlock on Anderson but he jawbreaks his way to freedom. The hot tag brings in Gallows and house is cleaned. The Magic Killer finishes Larry at 5:55.

Rating: D+. Pretty much just a workout for the Brothers here, though the Magic Killer on someone Larry’s size was impressive. I can go for seeing a match like this and XXXL have just enough status to make it mean something. If nothing else it meant I didn’t have to hear the Brothers talking and that’s a plus.

We go to Swinger’s Palace, where James Storm and Chris Sabin are making money but Rohit Raju comes in and takes the card they need, costing them a lot of money. Storm is ready to fight but Sabin says this isn’t happening because he loves Swinger’s Palace. A match is set up between Raju and Storm for later.

The Good Bros ask FinJuice about their beers but FinJuice points out that it took them a bit to beat XXXL. FinJuice talk about how great the Brothers are but make a few jokes so Gallows has to hold Anderson back.

Eddie Edwards vs. Brian Myers

Hold on though as Myers comes out in street clothes. Myers has retained a lawyer and is accusing Impact for an unsafe working environment over his eye injury. Therefore Myers can’t wrestle so here’s a replacement.

Eddie Edwards vs. Hernandez

Eddie dives onto Hernandez before the bell and they get inside to get things going. Hernandez is knocked to the floor but cuts off a dive by sweeping the legs, sending Edwards back first into the apron. Myers gets in a few shots to the face and there’s the big shoulder to send Edwards flying. Eddie catches Hernandez on top though and it’s a superplex to bring them back down. The Border Toss is loaded up but Eddie gets out and goes up, meaning it’s a middle rope Boston Knee Party for the pin at 2:30.

Post break Matt Cardona comes up to Brian Myers, who doesn’t want to hear it. Scott D’Amore comes in to say he has talked to the lawyer, See, that contract is rather technical and the clause they use says Myers has to be cleared by an Impact doctor….and he has been so next week it’s Myers vs. Edwards in an Eye For An Eye match. And Cardona can referee! Myers protests and OF COURSE we aren’t doing an Eye For An Eye match because that would be stupid. The company that had a reality show, a whodunit over a split personality and a casino is complaining about something being ridiculous?

Kimber Lee/Susan vs. Jordynne Grace/Jazz

For the #1 contendership to the Tag Team Titles and Deonna Purrazzo is here with Lee and Susan. Jazz flips her way out of Susan’s waistlock and Gator Rolls her for a bonus. Some crossface forearms keep Susan in trouble but Purrazzo grabs Jazz’s leg for a distraction. Cue ODB to jump Purrazzo and that’s good for an ejection as we take a break. Back with Jazz fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught before she can get over to Grace. Forearms in the corner set up Susan’s chinlock to keep Jazz down.

Another comeback attempt is cut off so it’s back to Lee, who is headbutted down in a hurry. Grace gets the tag to clean house and Lee is knocked to the floor. A double gordbuster gets two on Susan and there’s a torture rack to make it even worse. Susan slips out so Grace plants her again with a German suplex. A poke to the eye sets up an ankle lock on Grace, who powers out in a hurry and finishes with the Grace Driver at 10:48.

Rating: C-. The Knockouts Tag Team Titles continue to be a bit of a problem as there are a lot of people involved in the division but there is little reason to have them team up other than they have to. That was the case with Grace and Jazz, but at least Susan and Lee are in the same group. That isn’t quite enough to warrant a team, but you kind of have to deal with it in a division like this.

ODB has been attacked and Grace/Jazz think it was Deonna Purrazzo.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

TNA World Title: Moose vs. Jake Something

Moose is defending but Jake jumps him from behind and literally steals the spotlight during his entrance. They fight on the floor and we take a break, coming back with nothing seeming to have changed. Jake throws him in for the opening bell, with Moose saying bring it on. Moose hits a running charge in the corner and starts choking on the ropes, followed by the trash talking chop in the corner. Jake’s face is sent into the apron and his ribs are sent into the barricade so Moose can chill for a bit inside.

Back in and Jake grabs the wrist for a series of clotheslines. A big one turns Moose inside out but he’s right back up to walk into the Michinoku Driver for two. Jake goes up but Moose nails him with a good dropkick and the top rope superplex is good for the double knockdown. The spear is countered into a sitout powerbomb for two and they’re both down. They get back up for the big slugout with Moose nailing a pump kick. A release Rock Bottom sets up a release Rock Bottom into the discus lariat to knock Jake silly. Now the spear can retain at 6:51.

Rating: C. Jake looked good here and while I’m still not wild on the rather indy name, it was nice to see someone fresh getting to showcase themselves. It was a good power brawl and while the ending wasn’t in doubt, at least they offered a new name in the main event. Now if only Jake can get away from Violent By Design, he might be able to jump up the ladder a bit.

Post match Moose grabs the chair but Rich Swann runs in for the save. Referees break it up so here’s Scott D’Amore to make the title match at Sacrifice on March 13. Striker: “When you make a deal with the devil, you cannot negotiate the price.”

Overall Rating: C. This was a perfectly serviceable show which had some acceptable matches and moved some stories forward. At the same time though there is nothing worth going out of your way to see and Striker was his usual annoying self. In other words, it’s right in the middle and that is kind of an upgrade for the show. The lack of annoying stuff helped a lot too, though I have no reason to believe it won’t be there again next week.

Results

Jake Something b. Deaner – Spinebuster through a table

Chris Bey/Ace Austin/Black Taurus b. Josh Alexander/Willie Mack/Trey Miguel – Art of Finesse to Mack

Good Brothers b. XXXL – Magic Killer to Larry D.

Eddie Edwards b. Hernandez – Middle rope Boston Knee Party

Jordynne Grace/Jazz b. Kimber Lee/Susan – Grace Driver to Susan

Moose b. Jake Something – Lights Out

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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Dynamite
Date: February 17, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

Things were pretty good last week and hopefully that means AEW has some momentum coming into this week. I’m not sure what that is going to mean this time around but we’re rapidly approaching Revolution next month. That show could use a card so maybe we can get some more this time around. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Hangman Page/Matt Hardy vs. Hybrid 2

Matt knocks Evans down to start and Page’s running shooting star press gets two. The BK Bomb puts Hardy in trouble and Evans snaps his throat across the top. Angelico spins over into a rollup for two and he slaps on a front facelock to drag Matt back into the corner. Matt avoids a handspring elbow and the hot tag brings in Page to clean house, including a Ron Simmons spinebuster to Angelico.

Page powerbombs Angelico and the powerbombs a diving Evans out of the air onto Angelico for a scary landing. The Buckshot Lariat is loaded up but Matt tags himself in, meaning it’s a backbreaker/neckbreaker combination for two. A Downward Spiral into a Phoenix splash gets two more but Page Buckshot Lariats both of them at once. The Twist of Fate finishes Angelico at 7:05.

Rating: C. I really cannot bring myself to care about Page and Matt teaming together, mainly because it involves Hardy’s latest character. It comes off more like Hardy’s latest idea, which has been the case so many times now that it is hard to care. Page deserves better than this, and hopefully he isn’t stuck here for more than a few weeks at most.

Post match Matt says he’s glad Page signed with him for 30% of Page’s money. Page breaks the news, saying that Matt should have read the contract. Matt sent it straight tot he lawyer, but here’s the Jacksonville Jaguars’ mascot with a copy of what Matt signed last week. The contract says they’ll be facing each other at Revolution. If Matt loses, Page gets 100% of Matt’s earnings from the first quarter of 2021. Matt: “YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A CARNY! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU BAMBOOZLED ME!”

Matt wants Page’s first quarter earnings up as well and Page shakes on it. The Jaguars’ mascot kicks Page low and it’s Isaiah Kassidy. Matt offers the Hybrid 2 $3,700 to to beat up Matt Hardy so the beatdown is on, but Negative One sends out the Dark Order for the save. Matt has to duck the Buckshot Lariat and runs off. Page gives the Dark Order a thankful look.

So let me make sure I have this straight. Since Kassidy had a copy of the contract, we can assume that Matt was faking his outrage over the different terms. So Page assumed that Matt didn’t know what was going on and felt the need to bring out the Jaguars’ mascot to further humiliate Matt? Who found out about Page’s plans with the mascot and planted Kassidy in the suit after paying/attacking the regular person playing the mascot? That’s quite the wacky plan.

Santana and Ortiz are ready for their first Tag Team Title shot (Really?) because it’s time for the Young Bucks to pay their dues. MJF says of course he wasn’t recording Sammy Guevara last week when there was already a cameraman in the room with the. Chris Jericho doesn’t want to hear it because MJF goaded Sammy into quitting the Inner Circle. The rest of it is Sammy’s fault though and now Sammy has made the dumbest decision of all. Sammy is now dead to him and Jericho never wants to hear that name again. Tonight it’s about bringing gold back to the Inner Circle so let’s go win some championships.

We recap some of the first round of the Japanese half of the #1 contenders tournament for the Women’s Title. That’s quite the effort to set up a title match.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Riho vs. Serena Deeb

Non-title and Deeb has a bad knee coming in. They go the mat to start with Deeb going after the knee in a logical move. That’s broken up and hit the test of strength, with Riho being bridged down and staying up as Deeb lands on her. A shoulder puts Riho down but she’s back up with a cartwheel into a crossbody for two. Riho’s 619 is blocked and a catapult sends her throat first into the bottom rope. We take a break and come back with Riho fighting out of a crossarm choke and snapping off a dragon suplex.

Riho goes up but gets caught coming off the top, allowing Deeb to snap off a dragon screw legwhip out of the corner. A swinging neckbreaker gets two on Riho but she knocks Deeb into the ropes for the 619. Riho’s top rope double stomp to the back gets two but Deeb is right back with a Stretch Muffler. That’s reversed into a rollup for two, followed by a northern lights suplex for two more. The top rope double stomp gets another near fall and they go to a pinfall reversal sequence with Riho rolling her up for the pin at 14:46.

Rating: B. Well you knew Riho wasn’t losing in her first match back. I’m still worried that AEW is going to have her run through everyone again because they see quite a bit in her, though this was quite the match with both of them looking good. I’m not sure why AEW needs two Women’s Champions floating around but this was a heck of a match and Deeb continues to look awesome in almost everything she does.

We look at Jade Cargill and Shaquille O’Neal training for their mixed tag by playing basketball.

Luther vs. Orange Cassidy

Serpentico and Chuck Taylor are at ringside and get in a fight at the bell. Luther hits a pump kick to knock Cassidy to the apron, where Cassidy powerbombs him to the floor. Back in and Chuck Awful Waffles Serpentico (you knew JR is all over that one), leaving Cassidy to hit the Orange Punch for the pin at 1:53.

We recap Team Tazz putting Darby Allin in a body bag and dragging him around the parking lot in a car last week.

Here’s Team Tazz to call out Sting and he’s right there for them. They don’t like the bat so Sting throws it away, meaning the beatdown is on. Brian Cage powerbombs the heck out of him. I cringe every time Sting does something physical these days so hopefully it doesn’t happen too often.

Eddie Kingston wants to get rid of Rey Fenix, but he needs to get rid of Jon Moxley. Pills, drinking and women haven’t done it, so it has to be beating Moxley once and for all, old friend.

JR sends us to a segment from earlier today with “the WWE Champion Kenny Omega.” Kenny, with Don Callis, was at a school earlier today and read the Young Bucks book to a bunch of kids. Kid after looking at the book cover: “Are they in love?” Kenny: “Uh, well they’re brothers so they love each other very much.” Kenny reads a passage about how he boosted business in the Tokyo Dome and they have to leave. They’re rather pleased with the publicity this will get but a kid wants them to stay. Callis says they can’t, but they can play with Michael Nakazawa (thankfully in regular clothes). The kids beat Nakazawa up.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Santana and Ortiz

Santana and Ortiz (with most of the Inner Circle) are challenging and Santana armdrags Nick down to start. Matt comes in and hammers away in the corner, only to get caught in a double team backbreaker. MJF comes up on the apron to go after Matt but the referee catches him and ejects the entire team.

We take a break and come back with Matt hitting a top rope twisting Stunner on Santana. An Iconoclasm into a sitout powerbomb gets two but Ortiz is back with a super Falcon Arrow for the same on Matt. Ortiz gets Nick in a Koji Clutch but Matt makes the save with a top rope elbow. The Bucks send Ortiz outside and the Doomsday Device gets two on Santana.

The buckle bomb into an enziguri sets up the double superkick for two with Ortiz having to make another save. Santana ducks the BTE Trigger though and rolls Ortiz over for a double Stunner on Matt. The Street Sweeper gets two on Nick with Matt having to make a last second save. Santana powerbombs Matt over the barricade into the crowd but Nick grabs a small package for the pin to retain at 13:07.

Rating: B. Another rather good match here, though I didn’t quite get into the near falls as the Bucks had only taken one finisher so they weren’t about to get pinned yet. I’m still trying to get my head around the fact that Santana and Ortiz had never gotten a title shot before, but they did their thing rather well here. Good match, especially for a TV match with rather little build.

Post match the Inner Circle comes back in for the beatdown as Don Callis, Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers watch backstage. Brandon Cutler comes in for the failed save, leaving Jericho and MJF to put their holds on the Bucks for the taps. The Brothers make the very slow motion saves. The Bucks’ parents are in the crowd and the dad shoves Jericho.

Cody and Brandi Rhodes reveal the gender of their baby. It’s a girl. Dang I was hoping for a toaster.

FTR vs. Matt Sydal/Mike Sydal

Cody is on commentary and announces a ladder match for the #1 contendership to the TNT Title. As we see Dory Funk Jr. in the crowd, Mike gets knocked into the corner to start but Matt comes in for some rapid fire shots. Cash takes Mike’s head off for two though and we take a break.

Back with Matt fighting back, only to have a tornado DDT countered into a powerbomb. A dragon suplex gets two on Matt with Mike having to make a save. Matt cleans house, including the top rope Meteora. Mike tries to come in off the top with…..something but he slips a bit (must be a family thing) and crashes onto Dax for two. FTR has had it with these guys and it’s the Big Rig for the pin on Mike at 8:56.

Rating; C-. I couldn’t get into this one as it was more like Matt trying to fight FTR on his own with Mike just kind of being there. FTR beating these guys up was a fine way to go, but the Sydals just aren’t all that interesting. I did get a bit of a chuckle out of Mike slipping up as well, though it was nowhere near as bad as Matt’s debut.

Post match FTR goes for the doctor’s medical bag so they can cut off Mike’s hair. The lights go out and we see a shot of Luchasaurus’ mask. They come back up and it’s Jurassic Express (with Luchasaurus…..well apparently he just got a new mask) to clean house.

Here’s what’s coming next week, in two weeks, and at Revolution.

Jon Moxley keeps hearing about Eddie Kingston’s problems. After everything they have put each other through, Moxley is the only person who still cares about him. Moxley has a lot of things to look forward to, including February 26 when he tries to break Kenta’s neck. Then it’s time for Revolution when he takes the AEW World Title back from Kenny Omega. Kenny can’t run and the time is just about here, because it’s time to pull the trigger.

Jon Moxley/Fenix/Lance Archer vs. Eddie Kingston/Butcher and the Blade

Jake Roberts and the Bunny are here too. It’s a brawl to start with everyone fighting on the floor. Moxley gets caught in the corner for some running splashes but a neckbreaker gets him out of trouble. Archer comes in for some suplexes to Blade but Butcher tries to break up the rope walk. Fenix makes a save of his own and Archer takes Blade down anyway so we can take a break.

Back with Butcher chopping Archer in the corner and Blade bites him in the forehead for a bonus. Moxley gets tired of waiting on the apron and clotheslines Blade out to the floor. Archer crossbodies Butcher and Eddie at the same time and brings Fenix in to pick the pace way up. One heck of a running dive takes out Blade the and the rolling cutter hits Butcher. The Eddie Guerrero dance sets up a frog splash for two but Kingston cuts Fenix off with an exploder suplex.

Everything breaks down and we get the parade of knockdowns until Moxley and Kingston start the slugout. Fenix kicks Kingston in the back of the head and Moxley slaps on the bulldog choke until Blade makes the save. Archer hits a running flip dive to the floor to take out Butcher and Blade, leaving Moxley and Kingston to slug it out again. Kingston hits a spinning backfist but Moxley hits a hard clothesline. The Paradigm Shift finishes Kingston at 11:58.

Rating: B. It’s another good and wild match but they’re starting to wear a bit thin with this style. I know that’s what they do and such, but it would be nice to see them mix it up a bit instead of one wild match after another. That being said, the Moxley vs. Kingston stuff continues to be great because they make you believe everything they’re saying. That’s more than enough to make up for anything else in this match and it’s not like it was bad in the first place.

Post match the Good Brothers come in for the beatdown on Moxley and here are Omega and Moxley. Omega has a contract that gives Moxley a rematch for the title. The rematch is on at Revolution but Omega names the stipulation: an EXPLODING BARBED WIRE DEATHMATCH. Well ok then. Moxley headbutts Omega but gets V Triggered to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. That ending announcement is going to get a lot of differing opinions (as it should, mainly because it’s pretty ridiculous and took away almost every bit of the interest I had in seeing the match) but this was a heck of a show with three pretty awesome matches out of six in total. They also did the rapid fire build to the pay per view, which can work out just fine. I had a pretty awesome time with this show and it did what it needed to do while offering some awesome in-ring work. In other words, it’s AEW.

Results

Hangman Page/Matt Hardy b. Hybrid 2 – Twist of Fate to Angelico

Riho b. Serena Deeb – Rollup

Orange Cassidy b. Luther – Orange Punch

Young Bucks b. Santana and Ortiz – Small package to Santana

FTR b. Mike Sydal/Matt Sydal – Big Rig to Mike

Jon Moxley/Fenix/Lance Archer b. Butcher and the Blade/Eddie Kingston – Paradigm Shift to Kingston

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

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AND

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Impact Wrestling
Date: February 9, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown

It’s the go home show for No Surrender and that means we are almost out of the Tommy Dreamer Main Eventer phase. It hasn’t been the worst stretch in the world but it also hasn’t been thrilling television either. Odds are that this is going to be the biggest push of them all that could make for a rough stretch. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Josh Alexander/Suicide/Trey Miguel/Willie Mack vs. Blake Christian/Ace Austin/Daivari/Chris Bey

These eight will be in a Triple Threat Revolver Match (basically a gauntlet) at No Surrender for the #1 contendership to the X-Division Title. Alexander top wristlocks Christian down to start and hits a slam for a bonus. Austin comes in to increase the competition a bit so Alexander drops Trey onto him for two. It’s off to Bey as the pace picks up but things start to break down a bit with Austin missing a dive onto Bey.

Mack’s attempt at a dive onto both of them is broken up and Daivari unloads on Mack in the corner. That just earns him a Samoan drop into the standing moonsault, which only lands on Daivari’s knees. Bey comes back in for two off an elbow to the back and it’s time for the rotating heel beatdowns. Christian hits a dropkick to the back of the head for two and Daivari grabs a chinlock with a knee in the back.

That’s broken up in a hurry and it’s back to Miguel, who kicks Blake down in a hurry. Miguel grabs a Muta Lock but pulls up on his knees instead of bridging back. Bey breaks that up so Alexander comes in for a bunch of northern lights suplexes. The ankle lock has Austin in trouble but Christian makes the save with a 450. Mack’s standing moonsault hits Christian but it’s off to Bey and Austin to beat on Suicide. That’s broken up as Suicide dropkicks Bey to the floor, only to accidentally get knocked outside by Miguel. With Suicide down, Miguel pulls Christian into the Hourglass for the tap at 11:57.

Rating: C+. Take eight people, have them fly all over the place and let them do their thing. This was a nice preview for Saturday, even if the concept sounds a little weird (not necessarily a bad thing). I can always go for such an all over the place match like this and it worked out well enough here.

Post match Sami Callihan pops up on screen to ask how fast Trey is going to leave after things start going badly again. Threats are implied.

Various wrestlers wish Tommy Dreamer a Happy Birthday, including Gail Kim. There’s even a graphic.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Kimber Lee vs. ODB

Deonna Purrazzo and Susan are here with Lee. The bell rings and Lee bails to the floor for the conference, with the advice leading her to….puff up her chest and bounce off of ODB. Lee is knocked down and kicked in the face, followed by a hard chop in the corner. ODB’s Dirty Dozen is broken up (good) and Lee grabs a full nelson with her legs. ODB fights up but gets sent into the corner over and over as we take a break.

Back with ODB hammering away and hitting a splash in the corner. There’s the Cannonball for two and now the Dirty Dozen works. A middle rope Thesz press gets two but Lee kicks her in the head. ODB slams her off the ropes but Purrazzo and Susan get on the apron. Cue Jordynne Grace and Jazz for the brawl, allowing ODB to dive off of the apron to take out Susan and Purrazzo. Lee is right back up with a rollup for the pin at 12:01.

Rating: C-. I have never been an ODB fan and I don’t see that changing anytime soon, but she did her thing well enough here to get by. You can probably set up the six woman tag for No Surrender (assuming it hasn’t already been booked) and that will work out fine. ODB hasn’t been the focus here so it’s not the worst thing, but just don’t have her become the main point of the feud.

We go to Swinger’s Palace where Fallah Bahh is out of money. His offer of a slightly used cookie is turned down and he is thrown out, leaving Swinger to hit on Alisha Edwards. Swinger: “I’m Terry Taylor!” He also has the wad of money, because money is something to be held for months on end instead of, you know, used for money things.

Susan rants to Purrazzo and Lee about what just happened and it’s time to set up the six woman tag.

Here’s Cousin Jake for a chat. He thought that things were going great around here for the Deaners but now things have fallen apart. Cue Violent By Design to get an answer on their offer from last week. Eric Young tells him to be the best version of himself but Jake says he’s going to stand for….something. The beatdown is on and the Pillmanizing is on but Cody says hang on. Eric says ok, because it can be Jake vs. Cody at No Surrender.

Rohit Raju says he and Mahabali Shera have been friends for a long time and at No Surrender, Raju is getting the X-Division Title back.

Tony Schiavone and Tony Khan talk about the Forbidden Door being opened up, with Khan realizing that he was the Forbidden Door. Who knows who is going to show up next??? We run down this week’s Dynamite card. Khan will even be back in Nashville soon enough to mess with Impact some more.

The Good Brothers know Chris Sabin/James Storm are great but they’re not the Good Brothers. Tonight it’s a Magic Killer and a Too Sweet.

Kiera Hogan vs. Nevaeh

Tasha Steelz and Havok are here too. Nevaeh wins a slugout to start and hits a Hennig necksnap into a sliding lariat for two. A clothesline gets the same as commentary tries to figure out what kind of shoes Kiera is wearing. Kiera slugs away but gets caught with a belly to back faceplant, setting up a side slam for two more. Hogan tries another slugout and gets kicked in the head for two more, followed by an STO to put her down again. With nothing else working, Steelz comes in for a Codebreaker on Nevaeh and the DQ at 5:46.

Rating: D. Well that wasn’t much. They have pretty clearly established the story already as the champs can’t beat Havok and Nevaeh in a fair fight so they keep finding ways to get out like this. That works out well enough, but it doesn’t exactly make for some interesting television. I’m not sure when we’ll be getting to the title match, but I’m also not sure how interesting it is going to be.

AEW stars wish Tommy Dreamer a Happy Birthday. These aren’t quite as polite.

Fire N Flava yell at Scott D’Amore about the referee costing them their singles matches against Havok and Nevaeh. D’Amore has a solution: a different referee for their No DQ title defense at No Surrender. He shuts the door on them and the screaming continues anyway.

Here are XXXL, Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb With A K for a chat. They’re ready for their No Surrender tag match with Decay and that’s why Dashwood is here: she can beat up Rosemary for them! Dashwood doesn’t understand what kind of a name Decay is because that sounds like they need a dentist. Kaleb With A K issues a challenge to any member of Decay, which really doesn’t seem like the best idea. Cue Decay, with Rosemary saying they have found someone new to play with them.

Black Taurus vs. Kaleb With A K

Taurus is a monster in a bull mask from AAA and fits in rather well with the team. Kaleb gets tossed into the corner and it’s a pop up Samoan drop to crush him again. Something like a fisherman’s suplex spun into a powerslam finishes for Taurus at 58 seconds. I’ve been impressed by Taurus before and he looked great here.

Brian Myers pays off Hernandez, who wants to get paid up front before their No Surrender tag match. Fallah Bahh sees the money being exchanged and seems to have an idea.

Tag Team Titles: Good Brothers vs. James Storm/Chris Sabin

Storm/Sabin are challenging. Sabin grabs Anderson’s arm to start and armdrags him into an armbar. Storm comes in to hammer away in the corner and the rapid tags continue with the Boys being sent outside. We take a break and come back with Sabin kicking Anderson in the back of the head to give Storm two. Sabin comes back in but the tag brings in Gallows to put the champs in control for the first time.

Some shots to the ribs have Sabin in trouble in the corner and it’s back to Anderson for a chinlock. Gallows puts on his own chinlock as Private Party and Matt Hardy come out to watch. That’s enough of a distraction for Sabin to get over to Storm for the tag as as everything breaks down. Storm hits a Backstabber on Anderson but Private Party runs in for the DQ at 10:47.

Rating: C. This only had so much time to get anything going and the ending didn’t help things, but Sabin and Storm felt like they could have had a chance at taking the titles. Granted it might not have been the biggest chance because of the No Surrender title match coming up, but it’s better than nothing. I’m not sure how much of a future the team has though, as Alex Shelley being back would seem to get rid of their future. Still though, not too bad here.

Post break, Matt Hardy promises Private Party a bonus if they win the titles. Scott D’Amore comes in to say there’s a problem so the title match on Sunday is now a triple threat with Chris Sabin/James Storm added in. Matt freaks out.

We run down No Surrender, which seems like it has had about 15 matches added.

Here are Rich Swann and Tommy Dreamer for a contract signing, with Scott D’Amore emceeing. Swann signs, but believer it or not, Dreamer has something to say before he does the same. Dreamer thanks Swann for the chance because so many people deserve to be in this spot more than him. He has won two World Titles and beat friends to win the titles. There are no holes in Swann’s offense but there are holes in his defense…but here is Moose to interrupt.

Moose doesn’t like that this match is taking place because Swann promised him the title match first. Violence is teased but D’Amore cuts Moose off and says he can be gone in a hurry. Moose says he can hurt Swann whenever he wants so they yell at each other until Dreamer tells them both to shut up. He pulls out his phone and reads a text from Moose that he got back in July after their match. Moose said Dreamer still had it and he got it as a result.

They are all in wrestling and love this business, which is why he doesn’t wrestle for money anymore. All Dreamer wants is to help the men and women in the back because somewhere, fifty years ago, a Dreamer was born and now there are a bunch of dreamers in the back. For three hours on Saturday, fans are going to have a chance to forget everything else so Dreamer signs. They hug to end the show as Moose leaves. Dreamer’s promo was great, but it doesn’t get around the idea that Dreamer has been one of the major focuses for the last few weeks.

Overall Rating: C. These Impact Plus specials have been a heck of a bonus for the company as there is really very little that separates them from a regular pay per view. Aside from the main event, No Surrender might as well be a low level pay per view and that’s a nice thing to have. Impact only runs a handful of pay per views in the first place so giving us something to bridge that gap helps a lot.

That being said, I think I’ve made my issues with Dreamer’s continued presence and pushes well known enough over the years so I’ll spare it again. Other than that, the show still has some weak spots, mainly around the women’s division. The talent is completely there but the stories they are telling aren’t exactly working at the moment. Upgrade that and get on to Swann vs. Moose and this show gets a heck of an upgrade in a hurry.

Results

Willie Mack/Suicide/Trey Miguel/Josh Alexander b. Blake Christian/Ace Austin/Daivari/Chris Bey – Hourglass to Christian

Kimber Lee b. ODB – Rollup

Nevaeh b. Kiera Hogan via DQ when Tasha Steelz interfered

Black Taurus b. Kaleb With A K – Spinning powerslam

Chris Sabin/James Storm b. Good Brothers via DQ when Private Party interfered

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.

Dynamite
Date: February 3, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

It’s time for another special show because AEW loves itself some special shows. This time around it’s Beach Break, because when you think February, you think of the beach. The big draws this time are a six man tag and a wedding on the beach, one of which feels like a prime location for some wacky shenanigans. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Battle Royal

Jurassic Express, Chris Jericho/MJF, Stu Grayson/Evil Uno, Alex Silver/John Reynolds, Private Party, Acclaimed, Sammy Guevara/Jake Hager, Santana/Ortiz, Young Bucks, Top Flight

Both members have to be eliminated for a change and the winners get the Bucks at Revolution for the titles (though the Bucks can pick their opponents if they win). During the entrances, Sammy Hagar himself predicts Guevara and Hager winning, despite sounding like he has no idea what is going on. FTR isn’t here due to being suspended after last week. The Bucks dive off the stage to take everyone out before the bell. They all get inside with Isaiah Kassidy diving off the top and…..I have no idea as the camera cuts away.

Dante Martin gets put out in a hurry and Hager knocks out Alex Reynolds as we see a replay of Kassidy missing everyone. John Silver manages to eliminate Hager in a big upset and the entire Dark Order celebrates. Matt Jackson and Alex Bowens are tossed out and it’s Luchasaurus getting to clean house. Grayson makes the mistake of trying to get rid of Luchasaurus and is chokeslammed out. Silver and Uno toss Luchasaurus though, only to have Uno get tossed seconds later to get rid of our first full team.

The Silly String is broken up by Darius Martin (JR: “Did you hear that kids? THE SILLY STRING GOT BLOCKED!”) and Marq Quen is out. Silver suplexes Acclaimed down at the same time but they toss him out in a big bump. Nick takes down Jericho and Ortiz with a high crossbody and then knocks out Santana and Ortiz on his own. The Good Brothers are watching from ringside and low bridge Kassidy out to get rid of Private Party. MJF knocks out the distracted Nick and it’s time for a double pose from MJF and Jericho.

We’re down to MJF/Jericho, Guevara, Jungle Boy, Max Castor and Darius Martin. That sets up something like a six man tag with MJF sending Boy to the apron but not out. The rest of the Inner Circle helps on Boy but Martin and Castor make a save. Another attempt is enough to get rid of Boy though and it’s MJF having a staredown with Guevara. Castor breaks that up but Sammy superkicks him down.

Sammy isn’t happy with that, but he’s happy with Castor backdropping MJF out. Martin gets rid of Castor, and we’re down to Martin vs. Jericho vs. Guevara. A double DDT plants Jericho and Guevara so Martin goes after Sammy, with Jericho tossing Sammy out. Jericho sends Martin to the apron though and it’s the Judas Effect for the final elimination at 11:36.

Rating: C+. This worked out better than I would have bet on as they kept it short but also had a nice twist on having the double eliminations deal. I can get that going either way, but it worked out well here and that’s something nice to see in a match that rarely goes all that well given the nature of the thing. If nothing else, having MJF getting more TV time to set things up should be a great thing.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Video on Jade Cargill, or at least her training.

Tony Schiavone brings out Darby Allin and Sting (dig that snow at the beach) for a chat. Hold on though as before they can say anything, Team Taz interrupts from the parking lot. They aren’t happy that Allin is defending the TNT Title against Joey Janela next week. They’re going to be watching and might even get involved. Ricky Starks doesn’t think Sting is an Icon or the Man Called Sting, because Sting will get hurt playing in the jungle. Sting says that’s fine with him, because he’ll be here next week to make sure everything is fair. As for Starks saying he doesn’t see the old Sting anymore, maybe he needs to take a closer look.

Video on Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa, which has been a pretty well built match.

Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa

Rebel is here with Baker. Rosa charges to the ring to start and we’re off in a hurry, with Rosa going after the arm. Some chops in the corner are broken up and Baker takes her down into a crossface chickenwing. A running dropkick in the corner gives Rosa two but she misses a charge into the corner and bangs up the knee. Baker wraps the leg around the rope and pulls the shoulder into the post to keep Rosa in trouble. They fight out to the floor with Rosa sending her into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Rosa hitting a running corner clothesline, followed by some slingshot knees. Baker’s running dropkick gets two and they’re both down for a bit. It’s Rosa up first but her piledriver is countered into an Air Raid Crash for two. We pause for a second for Rosa to tie her top back up but manages to block the Lockjaw. A running stomp into a crucifix has Rosa in trouble but she counters Lockjaw again.

They keep rolling around until Rosa manages a suplex to escape. The Death Valley Driver gets two on Baker and it’s time to crank on the arm, only to have Rebel come in and rip off a turnbuckle pad. The distraction gets Baker out of trouble and it’s the Downward Spiral into the exposed buckle. Rosa is out and Lockjaw is academic to give Baker the win at 13:11.

Rating: B. Rather good stuff here and it’s nice to see Baker getting the big win. I’m still not sure how long it is going to take to get her into the title picture but it seems like something that should have happened months ago. Rosa looked awesome as well and the combination made for one of the better matches the women’s division has seen in the company’s history.

We look at Hangman Page dressing in Matt Hardy’s rather large dressing room but Page says they aren’t a team and have no agreement. Matt proposes a team for tonight and it seems to be on.

Hangman Page/Matt Hardy vs. Chaos Project

Page isn’t having a good week as he lost $400 playing with stocks. Matt hammers Serpentico in the corner to start and it’s off to Page for a running shooting star press for two. Matt’s shirt comes off for the middle rope elbow to Serpentico’s arm. There’s the Side Effect but Luther comes in off a blind tag for a chop in the corner.

Some running shots connect in the corner, including one where Luther hits Serpentico by mistake. Serpentico misses a Swanton though and the hot tag brings in Page to start cleaning house. Luther is sent outside and there’s a discus right hand to Serpentico. The Buckshot Lariat is broken up but Page takes Luther down, setting up the Buckshot Lariat. Hardy tags himself in and steals the pin at 3:55.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure how interesting a Hardy/Page story would be but it’s something for Page to do to bridge the gap to whatever his next big thing is. Hardy has more than a few things going on already so it isn’t like he needs this feud. Page seems to have an issue with teams though and that might be the case again.

We look at the women’s #1 contenders tournament, which will be held in Japan and America. Here are the talent pools (without brackets):

Aja Kong

Yuka Sakazaki

Veny

Emi Sakura

Ryo Mizunami

Mei Suruga

Rin Kadokura

Maki Itoh

Serena Deeb

Riho

Britt Baker

Tay Conti

Thunder Rosa

Nyla Rose

Anna Jay

Leyla Hirsch

Hopefully some of these matches are presented in highlights because fifteen matches in about a month is a lot (assuming it ends at Revolution).

Jericho and MJF have the cooler ready for the celebration with the Inner Circle but they aren’t happy with losing. Jericho leaves and MJF says it’s time for a meeting, with Wardlow closing the door.

Miro, Kip Sabian and Charles Taylor are ready for the wedding.

And now we go to the ring, with Vickie Guerrero escorting Kip Sabian. James Mitchell is the officiant, who commentary doesn’t seem to recognize because….reasons. Jerry Lynn brings out Penelope Ford who is wearing….well not much really. They do their own vows, with Sabian talking about looking at Ford’s chest when she was wearing a one piece with boots and knew she was the one. Penelope says Sabian has the biggest and we’ll just cut her off there.

Taylor hands Miro the ring and Mitchell asks if Sabian takes Ford to have and to group, kayfabing all others for as long as they both shall live. Ford is asked if she takes this dashing rapscallion (that’s a great word) for the same things and she’s in as well. They go to the “speak now” deal but Miro cuts it off because he’s been burned too many times before. Mitchell, as empowered by Tony Khan, says they’re married and Ford can kiss the ball and chain.

It’s time for a toast, with Miro saying he’s been here before and it’s all about love. But what is love? He has no present for them because his knowledge, power and viciousness is their present. Hold on though as there is a big present, which is from Charles Taylor. Miro beats up the box and….there is nothing in it. Even Schiavone doesn’t blame him so Miro goes back to the toast, but the fans sing WHAT IS LOVE in a funny bit.

It’s time for the cake but Taylor decks Sabian as Miro has been shackled to the rope. Ford is sent face first into the cake. Sabian punches Miro by mistake so he beats Taylor down…..and Orange Cassidy is in the cake. Taylor hits Sabian in the head with something and it’s a Beach Break to leave Sabian laying. They had some good tongue in cheek bits here and it worked out rather well. I’m still not sure why the announcers didn’t know who Mitchell was but that’s a minor point at best.

We go to Inside The NBA where Shaquille O’Neal agrees to team with Jade Cargill to face Red Velvet/Cody Rhodes. Shaq demonstrates the Black Tornado, which seems to be the Judas Effect. I was hoping for the Kazam Slam. Anyway the match is on the March 3 Dynamite.

Eddie Kingston vs. Lance Archer

No DQ lumberjack match with Jake Roberts on the floor, but not as a lumberjack. Archer is pulled outside for a beating from Butcher and Blade but the other lumberjacks come over to glare. Then Billy Gunn actually throws Eddie Kingston back in….which doesn’t sit well with Kingston because he wants to fight with the lumberjacks instead. Archer hits the big dive off the apron to take everyone down so we take a break.

Back with Archer going back inside for a full nelson slam and snapping off a suplex. The Bunny comes in for the save but gets loaded up for the Black Out. Kingston makes the save with the spinning backfist to send Archer outside as Roberts takes out Angelico. Back in and Eddie hits an exploder for two so Butcher loads up a table in the corner. That means a brawl between Butcher/Blade and Bear Country, with the table being broken in the corner. Archer catches Kingston on the top for the Black Out and the pin at 9:04.

Rating: B-. There was a lot going on here and it distracted from things a bit, but the brawling they had worked out well. Archer needed the win to boost him back up and there is a good chance that we will be seeing them fight again in one more blowoff. I certainly do appreciate them making it clear that it was No DQ as it can be rather annoying to have a match like this get too insane otherwise. Pretty good stuff here.

FTR is livid about being banned from the battle royal over attacking a dinosaur. Tully Blanchard rants about what it takes to get a title shot….and they pull over a handcuffed and gagged Marko Stunt. Can they pay someone to get rid of him? I’m sure a circus could use him as elephant food or something.

Joey Janela talks about his history with Darby Allin. Next week, the stakes have never been higher though and Janela is winning the title. This could have been far worse.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Jon Moxley/Pac/Rey Fenix

Don Callis is on commentary. Anderson shoulders Pac down to start but Pac comes back with a shot of his own. It’s off to Gallows vs. Moxley with Jon slugging away, only to get hit in the face. Moxley takes him down again and drops an elbow for two but Gallows powers him into the corner for the tag off to Anderson. That’s fine with Moxley, who drives Anderson into the corner for the tag to Pac.

A series of standing moonsaults get two on Anderson but Omega catches Pac on top so Gallows can hit a kick to the head. Pac gets slammed off the top and it’s off to Omega, who can’t hit a suplex. Instead Pac hits a snap German suplex so it’s back to Moxley to hit a release suplex on Anderson. Moxley’s slingshot dive to the floor takes out Gallows and a suicide dive (with Moxley hitting the brakes before he goes flying into something hard) drops the Good Brothers.

We take a break and come back with Moxley countering a powerbomb into a quickly broken Figure Four on Gallows. Moxley low bridges Gallows to the floor and avoids an Anderson charge in the corner, allowing the hot tag to Fenix. Omega is waiting on him so Fenix kicks everyone in the face, setting up a springboard high angle spinning headbutt. Pac comes in for a dropkick to Omega and we get stereo moonsaults to the floor with Pac and Fenix taking down the Good Brothers.

Back in and Fenix moonsaults into a rolling cutter on Omega (that was sweet) for two more. Omega crotches Fenix on top though and it’s a hanging snapdragon to drop Fenix on his head. Gallows kicks Fenix’s head off for two but Pac tags himself back in to strike away, including a sliding kick to the side of Gallows’ head for two. Another superkicks drops Pac though and it’s time for the parade of shots in the corner to crush Pac. Omega hits a Liger Bomb for two on Pac and there’s the V Trigger to rock him again.

The One Winged Angel is broken up so it’s Fenix and Moxley coming back in to beat Omega up. Pac’s great looking bridging German suplex gets two and it’s time for the Moxley vs. Omega slugout. That’s broken up by the parade of shots to the face and Omega hits a Paradigm Shift on Moxley. Pac breaks that up with a 450 so it’s back to Anderson, who gets caught with a Gun Stun from Moxley. Fenix’s double springboard moonsault press gets two but Anderson catches him with a spinebuster. The Magic Killer finishes Fenix at 15:28.

Rating: A-. Now this was the kind of match you would have expected and it makes me want to see more of Pac and Fenix. They more than held their own here and I could go for a lot more of everyone involved. These guys had a heck of a mostly non-stop action match and I wanted to see how it was going to end. Awesome main event here and one of the better matches AEW has had in a long time.

Post match Moxley comes back in to go after Omega but the beatdown is on. Cue Lance Archer to go after Omega and the Good Brothers (that’s interesting), leaving Moxley and Omega alone (JR: “We’re looking for a three count here.”). Moxley gets up but someone jumps him from behind…..and it’s Kenta to jump him from behind for the Go To Sleep (which Moxley doesn’t take well). Kenta is the current #1 contender to Moxley’s New Japan United States Title and Omega seems rather pleased to end the show. I’m not big on Kenta but this felt big and it’s FAR better suited than the Impact stuff.

Overall Rating: A-. This show was a great mixture of stuff throughout the whole night with the main event and surprise at the end. AEW is at its best when they are flying around at a hundred miles an hour and they did it rather well here. They had a heck of a show here and they even made a wedding angle with two of the Best Friends involved work. I’m not sure what more you could ask for here, save for less Chaos Project of course.

Results

Chris Jericho/MJF won a tag team battle royal last eliminating Top Flight

Britt Baker b. Thunder Rosa – Lockjaw

Matt Hardy/Hangman Page b. Chaos Project – Buckshot Lariat to Luther

Lance Archer b. Eddie Kingston – Blackout

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers b. Pac/Rey Fenix/Jon Moxley – Magic Killer to Fenix

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

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

Royal Rumble 2018
Date: January 28, 2018
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 17,629
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Booker T., Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since this show as I can barely remember most of the card. This show features the first ever all women’s Royal Rumble, which really is quite the milestone. Now of course they had to bring in a bunch of legends/former wrestlers who aren’t legends but are called such to fill in the lineup, but there are worse things to do. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Kalisto/Gran Metalik/Lince Dorado vs. TJP/Jack Gallagher/Drew Gulak

They aren’t the Lucha House Party yet but they’re the Lucha House Party. As usual, the arena is still mostly empty because we need to be having a match an hour and a half before the show starts. Kalisto and Gulak start things off with a weak POWERPOINT chant annoying Drew. The announcers talk about the upcoming 205 Live General Manager as Kalisto twists the knee around into something like a reverse Figure Four. Gulak rolls out so it’s Metalik and Gallagher (in his suit of course) coming in instead.

A quick takedown sends Gallagher outside where he insists a fan not boo him. TJP comes in and that earns him a triple dab from the House Party. We settle down to TJP and Dorado exchanging wristlocks until Kalisto comes in for a headlock. The pace picks up again but this time it’s Gulak coming in and flying over the top to the floor. All three luchadors get on the top and it’s a triple moonsault to the floor to pop the dozens of fans in attendance.

Back from a break with TJP dropkicking Dorado out of the air so the heat segment can begin. Gallagher hits a surfboard double stomp on the knees and it’s off to a leg crank. Gulak stomps away and it’s back to TJP to look annoyed at Dorado for not staying down. Instead it’s Gallagher going to the middle rope and looking terrified, allowing Dorado to roll away. After a quick lecture, Gulak comes in as Metalik gets the hot tag to pick up the pace. The rope walk elbow gets two as everything breaks down. The double Golden Rewind sets up a big double dive from Metalik for two on Gulak. A quick Salida Del Sol finishes TJP at 13:13.

Rating: C. For the life of me I don’t get the point in having these matches this early. There’s no one there and while the action was fine, it’s not like there’s anyone to react to them. They had a nice match here though with the dives taking them wherever they wanted to go. 205 Live was still figuring out a bunch of things but the match worked well enough because people who can fly around are always going to be worth a look.

The crowd has filled in now.

Kickoff Show: Luke Gallows/Karl Anderson vs Revival

What a lack of a difference a year makes. Revival is fresh off getting beaten up by a bunch of legends Dawson chops at Anderson in the corner until a dropkick gets him out of trouble. Dawson makes a tag from the floor (not sure if you can do that) and the distraction lets him rake Gallows’ eyes, though it doesn’t really do much. The threat of a right hand sends Revival outside and we take a break. Back with Dawson snapping Anderson’s knee over the middle rope to give the Revival a target.

Anderson gets double teamed in the corner as the announcers ignore the match to talk about Brock Lesnar. The leglocking begins so Anderson kicks him square in the jaw for the break. That’s always going to work but it’s not enough to get the hot tag off to Gallows. Another kick away allows the tag to Gallows so the pace can pick up. House is cleaned but the Magic Killer is broken up as Anderson comes back in for some reason. Anderson is fine enough to hit a kick to the head in the corner, only to have a chop block finish Anderson at 9:14.

Rating: C. Another match that only served as filler for the sake of filling time, which is one of the most annoying things you can have. It’s a match that didn’t need to exist and only served to burn off a little more of the crowd’s energy before we get to the matches that actually matter. The match was fine, though just another match that didn’t serve much of a purpose.

Kickoff Show: US Title: Bobby Roode vs. Mojo Rawley

Open challenge it seems. Roode is defending, having won the title less than two weeks ago. Before the match, Roode talks about winning the title and being the Glorious One. Rawley plants him with a shoulder but Roode is right back with a hard clothesline. A Russian legsweep gets two but it’s way too early for a Glorious DDT. Instead Rawley sends him outside and into the barricade for two as we take a break. Back with Roode still in trouble as Rawley drives knees into the ribs.

We hit the chinlock until Roode belly to back suplexes his way to freedom. The Blockbuster is countered but Roode slips off and grabs a neckbreaker for two more. Now the Blockbuster gets two but the Glorious DDT is broken up again. A spinebuster gives Rawley two and he sends Roode shoulder first into the post. The running right hand is blocked with a boot though and the (not very) Glorious DDT retains the title at 7:37.

Rating: D+. I for one am very glad that we had to sit through this as well, with Roode barely breaking a sweat to retain the title in a match that was never in doubt. Roode isn’t exactly thrilling as a face but even worse is the fact that he got stuck with the US Title of Death, which has hurt just about everyone it’s touched for a long time now.

The opening video talks about the opportunity for all, both in the Royal Rumbles and in the triple threat. Thankfully the rest of the card gets some time as well, even if Brock Lesnar still looms over everyone.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens

Owens and Zayn are challenging in a handicap match as part of the Daniel Bryan/Shane McMahon love/hate Owens/Zayn story which was more about Shane than anyone else. I miss Sami’s heel stuff as he really is someone you want to see get punched in the face. Owens lets Sami start but he tags right back out. It’s another tag a few seconds later as they’re clearly filling in time here. That’s not a complaint as there’s only so much that can be realistically done in a match like this.

AJ takes Owens down without much effort so Kevin slides to the floor and tags Sami in from the floor to a rather nice reaction. Sami headlocks AJ for little avail as Saxton GOES OFF on Graves in the most emotional outburst I’ve ever heard from him. A cheap shot lets Owens take over on AJ with a hard whip into the corner getting two. They head outside (Owens: “We’ll play outside!”) with AJ being whipped ribs first into the barricade.

Back in and Sami grabs a quickly broken chinlock, allowing AJ to come back up slugging away at Owens. A missed Cannonball in the corner bangs up Owens’ knee to put him down for a bit, allowing AJ to pull Sami off the top for a breather. Owens tries to come back in but can’t do much on the knee, meaning it’s back to Sami who charges into a boot in the corner.

The moonsault into the reverse DDT plants Sami but Owens is back up again. This time he throws AJ out of the corner but Styles catches Sami in a hurricanrana to send him outside. AJ grabs the Calf Crusher on Owens until Sami dives in for save. Owens, with his knee fine in a hurry, misses a charge into the post but is still able to superkick AJ into the Blue Thunder Bomb for a close two. Not exactly Sweet Chin Music into the Pedigree in the Cell but not bad. Important note: Sami had pinned AJ with the Blue Thunder Bomb earlier in the week, so the move was suddenly a threat. The little things like that can go a long way.

AJ slips out of a superplex attempt and scores with the Phenomenal Forearm to Sami as Owens makes a save. Sami dives over to Owens for a tag and gets sent outside, leaving Owens’ Pop Up Powerbomb to be countered into a rollup to retain AJ’s title at 15:50. The replay shows that Sami might not have actually tagged, meaning AJ pinned the wrong man.

Rating: C+. This was only going to be so good as you can only make AJ be so much of an underdog before he wins. Owens and Zayn are a great heel act but they just lost almost clean to one guy. Yeah it’s AJ Styles, but that’s not exactly the best way to present them. It doesn’t help that it’s just part of a story involving Shane McMahon as a screwy boss, but you know we’re not escaping him anymore.

Wrestlemania ad. I forgot how sick I got of that song.

Sami and Kevin complain to Shane about what happened and he really doesn’t care.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Chad Gable/Shelton Benjamin

Gable and Benjamin are challenging and this is 2/3 falls. Before the match, the Usos yell a lot about this being their house and how they’re going to win in the Uso Penitentiary. Shelton shoulders Jey down to start and Jey seems rather pleased. Gable comes in but a blind tag lets Jey come in and break up Rolling Chaos Theory. The challengers take a break on the floor before a chop block takes Jimmy’s knee out.

Shelton hits one of his own and it’s time to really work the knee over with a Robinsdale Crunch into a regular leglock. Some stereo running knees to the face drop Jimmy again and the charge continues to knock Jey off the apron as a bonus. Since WWE tends to do the same things over and over, the hot tag comes through a few seconds alter, allowing Jey to speed things up and hit a big dive to the floor.

Back in and a running hip attack in the corner looks to set up the Superfly Splash but Gable is up just in time. Some rollups get two as Shelton comes back in to load up a powerbomb. Chad has to dropkick Jimmy down instead though, leaving Shelton to powerbomb Jey into Jimmy instead. A good looking moonsault to the floor drops both Usos, though it’s not exactly enough to wake the fans up.

The Usos are right back in with superkicks into the Superfly Splash for a very near fall for two on Gable. Jimmy superkicks Shelton and it’s both Usos firing off even more superkicks. A double superkick finishes Gable for the first fall at 12:08. The delay lets Shelton come in and take Jimmy down, leaving Jey to take a powerbomb/apron clothesline from the apron to the floor. Back in and…Jimmy small packages Benjamin for the pin at 13:49.

Rating: D+. The action wasn’t bad but what in the world was the point of the 2/3 falls stipulation? This was a watchable match but it wasn’t anything more than and the fans really didn’t care. I’m not sure what they were going for here and given that the whole show went over four hours, this really could have been cut to shave off nearly twenty minutes total.

Rumble By The Numbers. That never gets old.

Jerry Lawler comes out for commentary.

Men’s Royal Rumble

90 second intervals here, which has hit and miss results. Rusev is in at #1 and Finn Balor is in at #2. Aiden English does Rusev’s intro to a very, very strong reaction. You knew Philadelphia would be a Rusev Day town. Rusev wastes no time in trying to dumb Balor but has to take him down for an elbow instead. The running spinwheel kick cuts Balor off again and it’s Rhyno in at #3. Makes sense in the ECW Arena and I could go for Lawler making fun of ECW forever. Rhyno starts cleaning house and it’s already time for the ECW chants. Clotheslines abound until Rusev spinwheel kicks Rhyno down as well.

Baron Corbin is in at #4 because I couldn’t even avoid him back then. Corbin cleans a bit of the house and catches a charging Rhyno with Deep Six. That’s enough to toss Rhyno but Balor dumps Corbin a few seconds later to get us back to two. Corbin isn’t cool with that and pulls Balor to the floor (not eliminated) for a whip into the barricade. Rusev takes End of Days and everyone is down. Heath Slater is in at #5 and gets dropped on the ramp to put everyone down again.

Elias, with guitar of course, is in at #6 and since everyone is down, let’s have a song! See, now this makes some sense and is a proper way to fill in some time and keep things fresh. After a kick to Slater on the way down the ramp, Elias confirms that the people do indeed want to walk with Elias. You always have to make sure of course. The song is about spitting in the face of the Rocky Statue (TOO FAR!) but the countdown clock cuts him off and it’s Andrade Cien Almas (NXT Champion with Zelina Vega) in at #7. Now that’s a nice move and having it happen the night after he won a classic match makes it even better.

Almas wastes no time in hitting the running knees in the corner but the hammerlock DDT is broken up. Bray Wyatt is in at #8 and walks rather to the ring rather quickly. Before he gets in, he beats Slater up on the floor and sends him into the barricade, meaning Slater still hasn’t gotten in yet. Balor gets up and saves Elias from Sister Abigail but gets knocked down as it’s all Wyatt. Big E. is in at #9 but first, we need to have some pancakes. A single belly to belly drops Wyatt, only to have Rusev pop up with a superkick to Big E.

Tye Dillinger somehow gets #10 again….but hang on a second as Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens jumps him from behind so Sami can take his spot (while knocking Slater down again to continue the running gag). That gives us Rusev, Balor, Slater (on the floor), Elias, Almas, Wyatt, Big E. and Zayn. Nothing of note happens until Sheamus is in at #11 and he even throws Slater inside….and gets clotheslined out just as fast. Sheamus’ shocked face is rather good, though the fans aren’t happy when Wyatt eliminates Slater a few seconds later. Everyone is down again until Xavier Woods is in at #12 so 2/3 of New Day can start to clean house, thereby waking the crowd up a bit.

The fans get way into the countdown as Apollo Crews is in at #13, which should kill the crowd all over again. I’m not sure why they’re so quiet here but maybe they’re waiting for the big finish instead. Again not much happens and it’s Shinsuke Nakamura at #14 to fill up the ring even more. The fans are into Nakamura as he starts cleaning house, including the running knee in the corner to get rid of Zayn for old times’ sake.

Cesaro is in at #15 and gets to clean house as the fans get behind Rusev. They’re quite fickle in Philadelphia. Kofi Kingston is in at #16 and the New Day is at full strength. Apollo nearly gorilla presses Cesaro out but gets sent to the apron himself, allowing Cesaro to uppercut him out. Jinder Mahal is in at #17 because we’re just that lucky. Woods dropkicks him into the corner but gets knocked off the top for the elimination. We didn’t even get anything from the full New Day in the whole thing?

Mahal gets rid of Big E. as well and it’s Seth Rollins in at #18 to a nice reaction. Rollins monkey flips Cesaro out as at least they’re keeping the eliminations flowing. Mahal goes to dump Kofi but Woods is still on the floor, meaning Kofi can land on him instead of the floor. Big E. offers a plate of pancakes for the other foot and a nice case of hopping lets Kofi get back in, complete with Big E. and Woods launching him back in. Trouble in Paradise eliminates Mahal and it’s time to cover him in pancakes. With the celebration rolling, Almas hits Kofi with the hammerlock DDT to get rid of Kofi.

Woken Matt Hardy is in at #19 (King: “Oh brother.”) and he goes straight for Elias with the rams into the corner. Matt and Bray get together and eliminate Rusev, much to the fans’ annoyance. That’s it for the teamwork as they slug it out and then eliminate each other to really clear the ring a bit. John Cena is in at #20, giving us Balor, Elias, Almas, Nakamura, Rollins and Cena. The other five are waiting for Cena and stomp him down, because they’re rather smart. They don’t go for the elimination though, because their intelligence is short sighted.

Cena dumps Elias (because Cena always ruins Elias’ night) and the Hurricane is in at #21, much to Cena’s shock. The Hurri-chokeslam is easily countered into an AA to get rid of Hurricane, who is shocked as well. Aiden English is in at #22 but the fans would rather argue about Cena. Adam Cole, with bad ribs, is in at #23 and you know these fans are going to like him. Balor (hey he’s still in this) eliminates English and it’s Randy Orton in at #24. Cena shrugs off an RKO attempt so Almas takes it instead and gets thrown out as the amount of entrants stays at a nice pace.

Titus O’Neil is in at #25 but no one seems worried about him. At least they know their history. Titus does actually beat up Nakamura in the corner as Cena and Orton have their contractually obligated fight until Intercontinental Champion The Miz is in at #26. That means house can be cleaned, including the YES Kicks to Rollins and Cena. A Skull Crushing Finale keeps Cena down but Rollins superkicks Miz.

Rey Mysterio makes a surprise appearance at lucky #27, marking his first appearance with the company since the night after Wrestlemania XXX. The pace gets to pick up and Cole is eliminated off a headscissors. Miz eats a 619 and it’s Roman Reigns in at #28 to tick the fans off in a bad way. Almost everyone gets a right hand until it’s a showdown with Miz, who took Reigns’ Intercontinental Title on Raw earlier in the week.

Reigns gets rid of Titus but the Miztourage saves Miz, who takes the Stomp from Rollins for the mini Shield reunion. A DoubleBomb onto the Miztourage gets rid of Miz…and Reigns throws Rollins out, though he seems to understand. Goldust of all people is in at #29 and scores with some uppercuts.

Dolph Ziggler is in at #30 (Cole: “I thought he retired or something!” This was after Ziggler vacated the US Title and walked out without ever mentioning what he was doing. And now he’s right back, apparently saying that the US Title means nothing. Anyway the final group is Balor, Nakamura, Cena, Orton, Mysterio, Reigns, Goldust and Ziggler. Cena tries an AA on Ziggler, who flips out and lands on his leg, which probably should have counted as full on impact. Goldust scores with the snap powerslam but Ziggler easily puts him out with a superkick.

Some tuning up the band takes too long though and Ziggler is knocked to the apron so Balor can knock him out. They vacated the title to give Ziggler a two minute cameo. Well done indeed. We’re down to six and that’s a CRAZY deep field, with Nakamura being the least successful in WWE. Balor takes an AA and it’s a 619 to Reigns, followed by an RKO to Nakamura (Lawler: “COVER HIM! COVER HIM! Oh wait….”).

Reigns gets up with a Superman Punch to Orton for an elimination but it’s Mysterio with a double 619 to Reigns and Cena. Balor breaks up a springboard though and Mysterio is out to leave us with four. Everyone is down in a corner until it’s Cena vs. Nakamura and Reigns vs. Balor. Nakamura and Balor are knocked down so it’s a Reigns vs. Cena showdown but nothing happens before the other two are right back up. Nakamura’s running knee in the corner rocks Balor but he gets back in, only to get kicked square in the head.

Reigns is back up for a save this time and NOW we get Reigns vs. Cena for the big showdown. The slugout goes to Reigns but Balor gets up and starts firing off Sling Blades. Kinshasa is cut off with a running double stomp from Balor, only to have Cena pop up and throw Balor out to get us down to three. A Superman Punch puts Nakamura down but he’s right back up to kick Cena to the apron. Another knee sends Cena to the floor and we’re down to Nakamura vs. Reigns. I think you know who the fans are behind here.

They slug it out in the middle and it’s a Superman Punch to put Nakamura in trouble. Nakamura is sent to the apron but comes back with a triangle choke over the ropes. That’s rather stupid, though it’s also broken up with a powerbomb. The spear is cut off by a kick to the face and the middle rope knee to the face drops Reigns. Kinshasa gets blocked by a tackle to the face (called a spear) but the second attempt works just fine. Reigns is out on his feet and Nakamura tosses him out for the win at 1:05:29.

Rating: B-. This is one where you’re going to have to think about things for a bit. First and foremost, the winner is a fine choice. Nakamura hadn’t broken through yet and this is the kind of win that can help him do that (it didn’t, but it could have). Second, the last fifteen minutes or so with the final group was great stuff and full of drama as you could see anyone winning.

The problem is everything else, which isn’t terrible but it’s also not too great. The first part barely meant anything with just Balor being there from the beginning until the end. There were a few nice surprises and it doesn’t drag terribly or anything, but you really could skip about the first half hour and not miss much. It’s a completely watchable Rumble but it’s in the middle of the pack at best.

Post match Nakamura (or Shin as Cole keeps calling him because WWE likes to make Cole sound like an idiot) picks AJ Styles for Wrestlemania to really pop the crowd. Sounds awesome to me and for the most part, it was.

Next year’s Rumble is in Phoenix.

The bosses of the show trade bragging barbs. Watching a year later, I can’t believe how stupid these look now. WWE really thinks that we care about these stupid battling brand arguments. I have no idea why, but but that’s been their narrative for years. Stephanie says that no matter who wins the Women’s Royal Rumble, everyone will be surprised. That’s some nice foreshadowing.

We look at the KFC Colonel Sanders Rumble, with Ric Flair reenacting the 1992 Royal Rumble to win the whole thing. I still think this is some fever dream that they managed to record.

Raw Tag Team Titles: The Bar vs. Jason Jordan/Seth Rollins

Jordan and Rollins are defending after winning the belts on Christmas night. It’s pretty clear that Jordan is filling in for the injured Dean Ambrose and that’s not a bad thing. Rollins and Cesaro start things off with Rolling taking over off a flying mare (you don’t see that one very often). It’s off to Sheamus but a quick Cesaro distraction prevents Jordan from coming in, meaning Rollins is driven back into the corner.

An enziguri gets Rollins a breather as the crowd is eerily silent. Cesaro breaks up the hot tag attempt to Jordan and sends him into the post, leaving Rollins to hit a suicide dive on both challengers. The medics are out checking on Jordan, though that might be making sure he doesn’t fall asleep. Cesaro grabs a chinlock, which is the last thing this match could possibly need. Rollins fights up and tries the springboard but gets clotheslined down by Cesaro.

A Demolition Decapitator and a double backbreaker give the Bar two each and Rollins is in big trouble. Sheamus misses a charge into the post though, giving Rollins a breather as Jordan is STILL down. Rollins gets the Blockbuster on Cesaro, followed by the Falcon Arrow for two. Super White Noise is broken up and Jordan is finally on the apron for a tag. He immediately grabs his head though and tags himself out. That’s fine with the Bar, as the spike White Noise gets the titles back at 12:50.

Rating: D. As you probably guessed, this was Jordan’s last “match”. I know he wasn’t the most thrilling guy in the world, but he was getting the hang of things until his neck just gave out on him and there was no coming back. At least he got a nice run and there’s a very real chance that he could get back in the ring one day. It’s not exactly fair to call the match bad….but it was really quite bad and the fans were just gone in a terrible way.

Here’s what’s coming to the Network.

We recap the Universal Title match. Brock Lesnar is a monster, two other monsters are challenging for his title, Braun Strowman is really strong and broke some stuff.

Raw World Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Kane vs. Braun Strowman

Lesnar is defending. Braun starts fast with running splashes in the corner and a running dropkick to Brock, followed by a knee to his head. Brock then UNLOADS on Strowman with right hands which look a lot like receipts from a former UFC Heavyweight Champion rather than working punches. Lesnar shouts something that sounds like SLOW DOWN as Kane gets back up. Brock grabs a chair which is knocked into his face, followed by a toss out to the floor.

Some shots with the steps put Lesnar and Kane down and it’s time for a pair of tables inside. With one set up in the corner, Strowman chokeslams Kane for two with Lesnar making the save. Three rolling German suplexes….don’t do much to Strowman, who powerslams Lesnar through a table for two. Kane shoulders Strowman through the other table in the corner but again, Strowman is right up. A German suplex sends Lesnar outside but he’s fine enough to hit an F5 to send Strowman through the announcers’ table.

With that not being enough, Lesnar turns the other announcers’ table onto Strowman, literally burying him. Another F5 sends Kane through the other announcers’ table, because we need three of them at ringside. Strowman is back up, because of course he is, and Lesnar isn’t sure what to do. Back in and Lesnar takes two powerslams, only to have Kane make the save with some chair shots to Strowman. Lesnar pops up, sends both of them into each other, and F5’s Kane onto the chair to retain at 11:00.

Rating: D. There were some good power spots in there but this match didn’t need to be on the card either. Lesnar won another match that didn’t do anything for him and then walked off with the title for two and a half months, which was the case for FAR too long. I get the idea of keeping Strowman warm but they’re taking way too long to get anywhere.

We recap the Women’s Royal Rumble. Stephanie McMahon announced that we needed one and everyone nodded along because that’s how WWE works.

Women’s Royal Rumble

90 second intervals, Maria Menunos is guest ring announcer and Stephanie is on commentary. As she comes to the ring, the announcers are all over themselves to suck up to her, with lines like “she’s a trailblazer but would never admit it”. Alexa Bliss and Charlotte (reigning Women’s Champions) are sitting at ringside. Sasha Banks is in at #1 and pre-Man Becky Lynch is in at #2 for a feeling out process to start. Neither can grab a submission hold and it’s a double clothesline, allowing Sarah Logan to come in at #3 and pick the bones.

She goes after Becky first but stops to point at the sign, meaning Becky is staying in. A headbutt drops Banks so everyone stands around until it’s Mandy Rose in at #4. The near eliminations abound as Stephanie gets into full on “person having an unnatural conversation” mode with Corey, making her rather annoying in her own right. Lita is in at #5 (in a #timesup shirt) to really fire the fans up for the first time in awhile.

Sasha and Becky stare her down and we get the slugout, which is rather cool when you consider how much of an inspiration she and Trish Stratus were on the current generation. Stephanie talks about how she and Lita were close over the years….and actually mentions CHYNA, which I didn’t think was allowed. Well I guess it’s cool if you’re Stephanie. Mandy is sent to the apron and hits a knee to Lita, who eliminates her without much effort. Kairi Sane is in at #6 and it’s a double spear to Lynch and Banks.

The Insane Elbow hits Banks and there’s one to Becky as Tamina (all in white for some reason) is in at #7. Lita drops her with a DDT because Tamina isn’t very good, setting up Twists of Fate to Lynch and Banks. There’s the moonsault to both of them and Lita throws Tamina out. Becky gets rid of Lita a few seconds later and it’s Dana Brooke in at #8. She goes straight for Sane in the corner….and actually eliminates her in a pretty big upset. Torrie Wilson is in at #9 and we now have to pretend that she was anything more than eye candy because she wrestled fifteen years ago.

Logan dropkicks her down as a TORRIE WILSON chant begins. A backdrop and dropkick to the knee get rid of Dana and it’s Sonya Deville in at #10. That means a kick to the ribs to get rid of Torrie (yes she looked great, and that’s about the extent of her value here). Liv Morgan is in at #11 and we hear about how much she idolized Lita. That likely applies to almost everyone in the match, which is rather cool given that Lita was in the match.

Things settle down again and it’s Molly Holly in at #12 to a rather big reaction. She dumps Logan with ease and there’s the Molly Go Round to Banks. They both fall to the floor (not out) and it’s Lana in at #13. These people are just coming and going at this point with very little other than nostalgia holding things together. Lana takes Liv down with a rather impressive spear and it’s Michelle McCool in at #14.

The fans immediately chant for the Undertaker as Michelle dumps Sonya. Morgan is out as well and Michelle gets rid of Molly with ease. Lana gets back up and is dumped just as well. Becky and Sasha double team Michelle to little avail as Ruby Riott is in at #15. No one can get anywhere and it’s Vickie Guerrero (the obvious comedy spot) in at #16. A bunch of EXCUSE ME’s earn her an elimination and it’s Carmella in at #17, but Vickie blasts her with the Money in the Bank briefcase to leave her laying on the floor.

Natalya is in at #18 (Stephanie: “Here she comes.” Natalya gets “here she comes”?) but Carmella decks her on the floor before it’s time to start the strutting. The Bexploder puts her down though and everyone is on the mat for a breather. Kelly Kelly is in at #19 and opts for some kicks in the corner as Natalya eliminates Michelle.

It’s Naomi in at #20, giving us Sasha, Becky, Riott, Carmella, Natalya, Kelly Kelly and Naomi. A bunch of Rear Views clean house and a kick to the head drops Banks. Sasha gets sent outside (not out, again) but Becky doesn’t have the same luck as Riott gets rid of her. Jacqueline is in at #21 and goes after Kelly as very little is going on at the moment. Nia Jax is in at #22 and gets rid of Kelly and Jacqueline without much effort. Riott gets tossed as well so Naomi fires off kicks. Jax throws her onto the big pile but Naomi lands on the barricade.

As she tries to figure it out, the injured Ember Moon is in at #23 and slugs away with one arm. Naomi walks the barricade and gets to the timekeeper’s area where she steals Menunos’ chair to crawl over to the steps for the improbable save. Back in….and Nia dumps her with ease. With everyone else on the floor, Beth Phoenix is in at # 24 and it’s time for a showdown.

Beth avoids a charge in the corner but can’t get her up in the fireman’s carry. Another attempt works to a big reaction as Natalya gets back in. They can’t get rid of Nia as they knock her to the floor (enough already) instead. Natalya quickly turns on Beth and throws her out as Carmella comes back in. Having this many women on the floor is ridiculous as you can’t remember who is still in.

Asuka is in at #25 to strike away, setting up the big reunion fight with Ember. Moon is fine enough for a one armed Eclipse but Asuka throws her out a few seconds later. So much for that. Mickie James is in at #26 and grabs a neckbreaker on Natalya. A bunch of near eliminations go nowhere and it’s Nikki Bella in at lucky #27, to a strong pop because we live in a random and chaotic universe. There’s a springboard kick to the face to put Banks down and it’s a spear to Natalya. Nikki throws Carmella out but everyone jumps onto the superwoman known as Nikki until Brie Bella comes out of retirement to come in at #28.

That means it’s time for the YES chants and some horrible running knees. The Bellas get their big moment (because they haven’t had one in a few minutes) and Nia is knocked to the floor (say it with me: without being eliminated). Bayley is in at #29 and gets to clean house until Asuka kicks her in the head. Trish Stratus is in at #30, which is quite the moment, though it was always going to be her or Rousey. That gives us a final grouping of Banks, Natalya, Jax, Asuka, James, Nikki, Brie, Bayley and Trish.

After tackling Natalya, we get the Trish vs. Bellas showdown which I think only WWE believes matters. A double Stratusfaction drops the Bellas and it’s time for a real showdown with Trish vs. Mickie. The Stratusphere is blocked so Trish kicks her in the head for the elimination. Nia gets back in so the big beatdown is on with a couple of kicks sending her to the ropes. Everyone gets together for the elimination in a good moment. Sasha dumps Bayley in a bit of a stab in the back and it’s Natalya grabbing a Sharpshooter on Trish.

That’s broken up because it’s a worthless move here, allowing Trish to kick Natalya out to get us to five. Banks goes after Trish, who kicks her in the ribs and does Sasha’s dance (that works). That’s fine with Banks, who kicks Trish out but turns into Asuka. They decide to go for the Bellas but it winds up being all three going after Asuka in a smart move. Banks says she’s ready for Asuka and loads up the double knees in the corner, only to have the Bellas turn on her.

That leaves Asuka and the Bellas (plus probably fourteen women on the floor as you never can tell) with the former firing off kicks to both of them. Brie gets sent to the apron but Nikki cuts Asuka off with the Rack Attack 2.0. A forearm knocks Brie out though as the sisters fight again. Asuka hits the missile dropkick on Nikki but she’s right back with a kick to the face. They both wind up on the apron with Asuka kicking the leg out (barely) for the win at 58:57.

Rating: B-. I remember being confused about what to think of this one last year and that’s the case again here. The legends needed to be there to flesh out the match and while there were some other options (NXT), I can go with this for the sake of history. This was designed to be more of a history of women’s wrestling over the years and there’s nothing wrong with that. They did a great job of making me want to see who was next as it was a nice mixture of all those generations. Having the nice mixture worked well and the right person won, so it’s hard to complain all that much. Stephanie was fine, though rather unnecessary.

Post match Charlotte and Alexa get in the ring to hold up the titles….and here’s Ronda Rousey to a huge reaction because she’s a star that was rumored to be in Columbia for this show. We get the most awkward sign pointing of all time (there’s an art to it) but Asuka won’t shake her hand. A bunch of staring and then high fiving fans, plus a handshake with Stephanie ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. It wasn’t a very good show, but the two namesake matches delivered well enough and only the Universal Title match was really bad. The big story here was Ronda of course and that delivered (awkward pointing aside) so it’s hard to really call this anything but pretty good. The wrestling wasn’t great overall and, again, the show was way too long but the important stuff worked well and that’s how you get a nice show.

Ratings Comparison

Lucha House Party vs. TJP/Jack Gallagher/Drew Gulak

Original: C

Redo: C

Luke Gallows/Karl Anderson vs. Revival

Original: C

Redo: C

Bobby Roode vs. Mojo Rawley

Original: D

Redo: D+

Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn vs. AJ Styles

Original: B

Redo: C+

Usos vs. Chad Gable/Shelton Benjamin

Original: B-

Redo: D+

Men’s Royal Rumble

Original: A

Redo: B-

Seth Rollins/Jason Jordan vs. The Bar

Original: C-

Redo: D

Brock Lesnar vs. Kane vs. Braun Strowman

Original: B-

Redo: D

Women’s Royal Rumble

Original: B

Redo: B-

Overall Rating

Original: A-

Redo: C+

I don’t remember the last time I was that far off on so many matches. I mean….dang man.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/28/royal-rumble-2018-i-had-fun-again/

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

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