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

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

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

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

Petey Williams vs. Killer Kross

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

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

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

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

The announcers give their regular preview.

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

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

Desi Hit Squad vs. KM/Fallah Bahh

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

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

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

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

Eli Drake vs. Joe Hendry

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

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

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

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

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

Andrew Everett vs. Dezmond Xavier

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

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

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

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

Video on Pentagon Jr. vs. Sami Callihan.

Greg Osborne vs. Sami Callihan

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

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

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

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

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

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

Allie/Kiera Hogan vs. Tessa Blanchard/Shotzi Blackheart

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

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

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

OVE is still looking for Pentagon.

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

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

The announcers run down the pay per view card.

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

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

Video on Austin Aries vs. Moose.

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

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

One more Slammiversary run down ends the show.

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

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

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WCPW Loaded Episode 5
Date: August 8, 2016
Location: 02 Academy, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England
Commentators: Alex Shane, Dave Bradshaw

This is What Culture Pro Wrestling, which is a promotion created by Whatculture.com, a pop culture site with a bunch of top ten lists and such. For some reason they started a wrestling promotion in the UK and it’s been getting some solid reviews. Solid enough that someone asked me to take a look at them so let’s get to it.

As is almost often the case with indy companies, I have no idea what to expect coming into this and know nothing about the promotion.

We open with a graphic saying these wrestlers aren’t accurate portrayals of their real lives. “Our ring is actually a young single father. Sometimes his mind wanders when he lies awake at night. What happens when he gets too old to do this? Who will provide for Little Timmy then?” Oh this is going to be FUN.

A guy (presumably a boss) is on the phone with Roman (oh yeah I’m going to like this) and says he can’t hire Roman until he’s clean. Apparently his name is Adam Pechitti and he’s the GM. I love it when promotions that love to poke fun at WWE always goes with the exact terminology WWE uses. Anyway, WCPW Champion Big Damo has injured someone named Rampage so we need a new #1 contender. Therefore tonight, it’s Douglas Williams vs. Aaron Stevens (Damien Sandow). The announcement is done in less than two minutes (counting the earlier graphic) so they’re already on a roll.

The set is simple with a ramp and three screens, the middle one featuring the company logo. Works for me.

Noam Dar vs. Will Ospreay vs. El Ligero

Dar has a Star Wars theme (DAR WARS!) so hopefully he impresses me a bit more than he did in the Cruiserweight Classic. As the announcers talk about Dar nearly beating Jay Lethal to take the ROH World Title, we get some dancing with the ring announcer. Ligero is a bull themed luchador. Ospreay was in that really well received match with Riccochet a few months back and then had the match against Vader as a result.

Dar dances around a bit at the bell and I can’t understand British chants. An EL LIGERO chant starts up but it’s quickly off to ALL THESE GUYS. The only contact in the first minute and half is a few handshakes. Being so polite is quite British of them. They finally get things going and everything misses until it’s a standoff for a round of applause. Ospreay starts firing off some strikes as the announcers talk about Will feeling the pressure of being considered one of the best in the world.

Ligero is sent outside but Dar can’t get anywhere on Ospreay’s knee. The announcers debate what the fans might be chanting with one of the commentators saying he speaks fluent What Culture fan. Ligero kicks Ospreay in the face as they’re doing the two men in, one on the floor formula. Dar comes back in and catches Ligero in a kneebar (I’m really not wild on this move towards submission cruiserweight wrestling). The save doesn’t work for Ospreay as he gets caught in a kneebar at the same time.

Dar and Ligero exchange strikes until Ospreay moonsaults into a double kick to the head to put all three down. Ospreay starts picking up the pace and sends Dar outside so he can kick Ligero in the corner. That sets up a big running flip dive over the corner to take Dar out again, assuming you ignore most of the dive missing him completely. Something like a Phenomenal Forearm drops Ligero but he ducks a Rainmaker as New Japan’s influence hits another promotion (it’s still just a freaking clothesline).

Dar comes back in and dropkicks Ligero out of the air but Will makes the save. A rollup into a faceplant drops Ospreay but it’s Ospreay making a save of his own at two. All three are down for the FIGHT FOREVER chant and it’s time for the strike off. Ospreay does one of those WAY too complicated flips into a kick to the head (which didn’t appear to connect) before the Oscutter (springboard into a cutter) is good for the pin on Dar.

Rating: B. That was the only possible option for the ending as Ospreay was definitely stealing the show here and being treated like the top star. The announcers hyped this up a lot more than it deserved but that’s what you’re going to get for a long indy triple threat. This was a lot of fun though and Ospreay looked like a star, which was the entire point. If you’re a fan of this style, you’ll LOVE this match.

A heel stable called the Prospect talks about how bright their future is. Whoever the leader (his name might be James R. Kennedy) is who welcomes a new member named Drake.

Joseph Conners comes up to a guy named Joe Hendry (seems faceish) and they seem to be a team having issues. It seems that they’re arguing over who gets the most spotlight during their entrance and Conners is getting sick of this whole thing. He leaves Hendry on his own and Joe looks frustrated.

Joe Hendry vs. Alex Gracie

Gracie has Prospect with him. Hendry seems very popular and his entrance video is him singing a wrestling themed version of AC/DC’s TNT (“Cause I’m Joe Hendry, I’m dynamite, Joe Hendry, I’m always right, Joe Hendry, my first name is Joe!” Oh I think I’ve got a new favorite indy promotion.).

Joe takes him straight to the mat to start and it’s time for a Prospect meeting on the floor. Back in and they seem to botch something so Hendry goes with a hard clothesline to drop Gracie for two. Sometimes you just need to hit someone really really hard. As the announcers make jokes about being attracted to each other (it fits in context), another Prospect member sneaks in for an Eat Defeat/Russian legsweep combo to take over on Hendry.

We hit the chinlock for a bit before Prospect is right back on Hendry. Back in and they chop it out with Hendry making a comeback but getting distracted by Prospect. Eat Defeat looks to set up something from the top but Joe grabs a fall away slam for the quick pin. Seriously, a fall away slam?

Rating: D+. It’s pretty clear that Hendry is much more of a character than a wrestler and there’s nothing wrong with that. The in ring part wasn’t great but at least the pre-match was really entertaining and made me want to see more of Hendry. Prospect seems to have potential as well but a clean loss doesn’t help them.

Post match Prospect beats on Hendry until Conners makes the save. Both guys get interview time but Hendry says this is Conners’ chance to talk. Conners thinks there are problems but it’s Prospect behind those problems. They have each others’ backs though and that’s all that matters. Hands are shook and things seem to be fine.

Grado runs into someone not important enough to name and they both take off their shirts. Insults are exchanged but they quickly apologize. The announcers say the other guy’s name is Martin Kirby. Good enough.

Here’s General Manager Adam Pacitti with something to say. He gets right to the point: there’s going to be a women’s division and it starts RIGHT NOW.

Bea Priestly vs. Nixon Newell

Bea is the heel here and both women are rather good looking. Feeling out process to start as they work on wristlocks with no one getting the upper hand. A chop and strut out of the corner make Newell even more popular and Bea rolls outside for a breather. Bea sends her into the post and licks Nixon’s face to freak the announcers out.

Back in and things slow down a lot, as you might expect when a heel takes over. A really weak looking kick to the back gets two for Bea but a better looking kick to the face gets the same. To crank up the gross factor, Bea takes the gum out of her mouth (Who chews gum while wrestling?) and puts it in Nixon’s mouth.

Possibly due to the high levels of WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, Nixon gets a near fall of her own off a Shining Wizard. Bea gets the better of an exchange of kicks to the face and drives a knee to the face for two. Nixon gets all aggressive again and headbutts her down, setting up a really sloppy looking Canadian Destroyer for the pin.

Rating: D+. This was better than a lot of women’s matches you’ll see outside of WWE but there was a lot of room for improvement. Then again, this was just the debut for the division so it’s not like they have anywhere to go but up. Both women looked passable out there and seem to mainly be needing polish, which will come over time.

Liam Slater and Johnny Moss, a new team, are getting ready for their match when James R. Kennedy comes in to recruit Slater to Prospect. Moss basically throws him out because he wants to fight Prospect tonight.

Prospect vs. Liam Slater/Johnny Moss

It’s Drake/Lucas Archer for the team here. The announcer compares Prospect to New Day or the Freebirds as they regularly change members. I actually like that as everyone knows who those teams are and there’s no reason to act like this is anything new or to act like they don’t exist. Also, and perhaps above all else, they don’t pretend like WWE is some horrible promotion. It comes off like WWE exists, they’re good, but check out this new promotion as well because it can entertain you as well. That’s really refreshing and it’s nice for a change. Slater isn’t very big and looks to be the speed guy while Moss is built like a tank.

Moss headlocks Drake to start and it’s off to the very skinny Archer, who loses some chest skin in the corner. Slater comes in and the announcers bill him as Moss’ protege. That makes a bit more sense as Moss really doesn’t look like he needs much help. Some technical stuff puts Drake down but he knees Liam down to take over.

It’s back to Moss a few seconds later so the announcers can keep sucking up to him. Slater gets kicked in the head though and it’s time for the double teaming to begin. That goes nowhere though as it’s off to Moss who cleans house with a double suplex. A jumping tombstone plants Archer and Drake gets pulled out of the air, setting up an avalanche headbutt from Liam for the pin on Archer.

Rating: C. This was ALL about Moss who looked really impressive. He’s basically Ryback with the great look and in ring abilities to make it work even better. I had a lot of fun watching him while the other three were just kind of there. Prospect is a group that looks good on paper but haven’t actually been the most impressive in the ring.

Some guy who calls himself a Prince leaves a hotel and insists that some guy who he refers to as his servant carry him to the arena. The servant reluctantly agrees.

Douglas Williams is offended that Aron Stevens is called a fellow wrestling legend. I’d be offended by that as well. Williams goes on a short rant about British wrestlers going overseas and turning their backs on wrestling. “Let’s make ourselves great again.”

Douglas Williams vs. Aron Stevens

Stevens is of course Damien Sandow/Aron Rex. The winner gets a WCPW Title match at some point in the future. Before we get going, Stevens uses his towel to wipe down the top rope for far longer than is necessary. A wristlock sends Williams out to the floor and I think the fans call him boring. To keep the fans entertained, Stevens does a cartwheel. Back in and Aron sends him into the corner a few times before going back to the wristlock. I’m so thrilled that Stevens is bringing that cutting edge generic offense to the UK.

Stevens is sent outside as the announcers bicker over Youtube subscribers. We hit a figure four necklock as the USA chants begin. The fans want Aron to do some very horrible things to Williams but settle for a suplex. I think you can guess the chant for that one. Williams goes up and tries something like a Swanton but lands SQUARE ON HIS HEAD.

Thankfully he’s not dead and Stevens can hit a few clotheslines, followed by a running flip neckbreaker for two. Williams tries a running knee but his leg gives out (the leg injury might explain the crash) so Stevens sits down on a sunset flip for the pin and the title shot. The count might have been a bit fast too as Williams looked badly hurt.

Rating: D+. Aron Stevens is just not very interesting. He got over with the whole stunt double thing and the solution now is to take away everything that made him popular in the first place? The match was messed up by the injury and Williams not being able to continue but everything before then didn’t work well either. It doesn’t help that I haven’t seen Stevens do anything great since he left do WWE and this didn’t change that trend.

Post match Adam Blampied comes out with the WCPW Title and talks long enough until Big Damo can come out and hit Stevens low. Trash talking ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I had a lot of fun with this one. Like, a lot of fun with it. I’m actually looking into going to see this promotion when I’m in Orlando for Wrestlemania weekend and they’re making their American debut. They’re far from perfect but they come out with a confidence that you don’t see a lot of promotions have. Their in ring work could use some polish but the fans care and they clearly have some money to spend on imported talent. This was a lot of fun though and you get a bunch of stuff on a single episode. Good show here and a promotion I liked WAY more than I was expecting to.

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