Impact Wrestling
Date: November 23, 2023
Hosts: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

This is another special show, in this case because of Thanksgiving. Impact has a history of looking back at some, ahem, classic Thanksgiving moments of the years and that is likely going to involve a bunch of Turkey Suit matches. There are worse traditions out there and it’s just goofy fun. Let’s get to it.

The hosts welcome us to the show and we are indeed looking at great Thanksgiving moments over the years.

From 2008.

Sheik Abdul Bashir vs. Rhino vs. Alex Shelley

Bashir is X-Division Champion and helps Shelley for a double team on Rhino. That goes nowhere as Rhyno easily slugs both of them away and scores with a belly to belly for two on Bashir. Clipped to Rhino getting double teamed again but the others keep getting in an argument over scoring the pin (and a $25,000 prize). Bashir rolls Shelley up for two but gets caught in a super atomic drop. Rhino uses the distraction to Gore Shelley for the pin at 2:48 shown.

Post match, Mick Foley tells Shelley he has to put the suit on but Shelley doesn’t want to. See, the women won’t be happy and that would hurt the ratings. That’s cool with Foley, but Shelley is fired if he doesn’t do it. Shelley finally puts it on and Foley makes gibblet jokes. Foley: “Is that a gizzard in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” The suit goes on and more jokes are made. If this is the case, I can go with it more than holding a regular show on Thanksgiving.

We do have some 2023 material as well.

Good Hands/Champagne Singh/Jai Vidal vs. PCO/Johnny Swinger/Jake Something/Mike Bailey

Gravy Train Turkey Trot, meaning whomever loses the fall has to wear the turkey suit. Skyler shoulders Bailey down to start before handing it off to Hotch, who gets kicked in the head over and over. Swinger comes in but gets cheap shotted by Skyler, who gets rolled up for a fast two. It’s off to Singh to beat on Swinger as the villains keep tagging out to avoid the threat of the turkey suit.

Something comes in so Vidal….maybe flirts with him, earning a right hand to the face. Something cleans house and powerbombs Vidal over the top onto a pile on the floor. The big Something dive drops them again but the Good Hands and Singh manage to knock PCO down. That lasts all of two seconds as it’s a chokeslam into the PCOsault to finish Vidal at 5:14.

Rating: C. The match was nothing of note of course but this is one of the few traditions that Impact has which does feel like a fun idea. It’s completely goofy fun and they don’t present it as anything else. Vidal can play a fine enough post match goof and he got pinned by a monster like PCO. Nothing wrong with this and it’s once a year.

Post match Vidal won’t do it so Gisele Shaw and Savannah Evans force him to wear the suit for the sake of keeping the team together.

From 2016.

Grado vs. Robbie E.

They slug it out to start with Grado getting the better of it off the snap jabs. A double clothesline puts both guys down as this is a little less funny than I was expecting. Robbie grabs a rollup for the pin at 2:39.

Aiden O’Shea comes out to make Grado put on the suit and dancing ensues.

From 2013.

Here are all of the winners of the matches tonight plus Velvet who is with Sabin. Roode points this out and Sabin throws Velvet out. Bobby asks everyone what they’re thankful for. Bad Influence is thankful for their intelligence and large endowment. Kaz is thankful that Park isn’t here to drink the gravy or fornicate with the pumpkin pie. Gail is thankful for being the prettiest and most dominant Knockout in the history of the company. Oh and her family too.

Sabin is thankful for his hair, being the best X-Division Champion ever and Velvet Sky. The Bro Mans are thankful for Mr. O Phil Heath, Zema Ion (officially part of the team) and for being the best team ever. Bad Influence: “I’m not sure about that.” Roode says the real Thanksgiving was last month in Canada and the fans will be thankful when he becomes the next champion.

It’s time to eat but here’s Angle to interrupt. He sees a ring full of turkeys, which are fighting words for the people in there. Roode challenges him to a fight which Angle accepts, and here’s his backup. Fernum and Barnes are still in the turkey suits. You can fill in the blanks yourself here: bad guys are destroyed, food is everywhere, Spud panics, turkeys fly. The good guys, Velvet and ODB celebrate to end the show.

From 2017.

Team Edwards vs. Team Adonis

Eddie Edwards, Garza Jr., Allie, Fallah Bahh, Richard Justice
Chris Adonis, Caleb Konley, Laurel Van Ness, KM, El Hijo Del Fantasma

The loser of the fall wears a turkey suit and there’s food at ringside, along with Eli Drake. We’re not ready yet though as the teams sit down at the food tables as Drake insists that everyone has to put on the suit if they lose. He has a statement for JB to read, which pretty much just says everyone play nice.

Justice sticks his finger in Konley’s mouth to start and gets two off a rollup. Laurel comes in and jumps on Justice’s back so it’s off to the women for a change. KM and Bahh are up next with some shots to Bahh’s head taking us to a break. Back with Bahh crossbodying KM and bringing in Garza….WHO TAKES OFF HIS PANTS! I’m rather thankful.

Garza gets punched down though and it’s time for the heel beatdown. Adonis comes in for two off a legdrop and it’s time for a bearhug (on a guy with a bad shoulder). That goes nowhere and the hot tag brings in Eddie to clean house. Everything breaks down in a hurry and KM gets crushed between Justice and Bahh.

We get the big crash to the floor and Justice falls off the apron, only to be caught without much effort. Allie dives onto everyone to break up the pile and everyone is down. Back in and Adonis can’t grab the Adonis Lock, allowing Eddie to roll him up for the pin at 16:04, meaning Adonis gets to wear the suit.

Rating: C-. Oh what were you expecting here? This was all in good fun and nothing more than a comedy match. The match was just there for the sake of having a one off match for a holiday special and as a result, it’s really hard to be harsh on it. Adonis having to wear the suit is fine and it continues a (rather goofy) tradition. It wasn’t anything good, but it’s perfectly harmless.

Post break, Adonis refuses to wear the suit. Security actually stops him as the referee holds up the suit like an executioner’s ax. After a lot of persuading and a GOBBLE GOBBLE (One of us?) chant, Adonis finally puts it on and walks around a bit. Adonis isn’t cool with the chants though and the required food fight, with Adonis hitting Drake in the face with a pie, ends the show. This was actually entertaining as they just went with the simple comedy and it worked perfectly well.

From 2007.

Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Chris Sabin

This is the finals of the Turkey Bowl, with the winner getting $25,000 and the loser wearing the turkey suit. Joe and Sabin double team Styles to start and knock him to the floor. That leaves Sabin to take Joe down but a kick misses, giving us a staredown. Styles gets knocked to the floor again and we take a break.

Back with Sabin charging into a hot shot but Joe comes back in to punch Styles in the face. Styles breaks up the suicide elbow to Sabin though, meaning Joe punches him in the face some more. The drop down into a dropkick hits Joe and we take a break. Back again with Joe countering the springboard moonsault into an Air Raid Crash with Sabin having to make a save.

We take another break and come back again with Sabin hitting a springboard DDT to drop Joe. That earns Sabin a trip to the floor but Styles Peles Joe. The charge into the corner only hits kick to the face though, allowing Joe to hit the Muscle Buster for the pin at 9:33 shown (of the nearly thirty minute match).

Rating: B-. Well it seemed to be a good match, at least from what we saw of the thing. Joe was on another planet at this point and Styles was in his weird phase as Angle’s wacky goon, but it isn’t like he was going to be awful in the ring. Throw in a very talented Sabin and of course this was going to work, even if we missed almost twenty minutes.

Post match we cut to a livid Kurt Angle (AJ’s boss), storming out of his own Thanksgiving dinner. Back in the arena, AJ won’t put the suit on so here is Jim Cornette to order him to do it. After some coaxing, Styles (very slowly) puts the suit on so Tomko and Kurt come out to yell. Samoa Joe and the Outsiders come out to laugh at Angle and pals, meaning the brawl is on. The bad guys are cleared out, with Eric Young coming in to add a turkey leg to Angle to wrap things up. Then Hall got fired and Joe was given a live mic at the pay per view where he went on an all time rant against a lot of people.

Overall Rating: D+. Normally I have a good time with this show, as it’s the definition of goofy harmless fun. Then I went to pull some of the matches from previous reviews and realized that three out of the five matches on this show were on last year’s show, including the exact same main event and post match segment to end the show. They’ve been doing this for over fifteen years and they had to recycle that much in a year? Come on already and put in some more effort than that.

Results
PCO/Johnny Swinger/Jake Something/Mike Bailey b. Good Hands/Jai Vidal/Champagne Singh – PCOsault to Vidal

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

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

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

X-Division Title: Chris Sabin vs. Kenta

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

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

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

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

Here’s what’s coming on the show.

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

Moose vs. PCO vs. Steve Maclin vs. Rhino

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

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

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

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

Mickie James is ready for Trinity.

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

Tag Team Titles: Rascalz vs. ABC

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

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

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

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

Will Ospreay vs. Mike Bailey

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

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

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

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

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

Various wrestlers are ready for the Call Your Shot gauntlet.

Call Your Shot Gauntlet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Knockouts Title: Trinity vs. Mickie James

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

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

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

Respect is shown post match.

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

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

Impact Wrestling World Title: Alex Shelley vs. Josh Alexander

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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AND

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Impact Wrestling
Date: August 24, 2023
Location: Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re done with Multiverse United and other than some good matches, there wasn’t much taking place. Now we are on the way to Emergence and it means we need to firm up a lot of the card. The good thing is that most of the card seems to be set up and now we get to hammer home everything else. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with PCO coming to the ring to beat up Shera and Raj Singh, who had apparently talked trash on Before The Impact. The destruction doesn’t take long, including a Deanimator to put Singh through a table. Bully Ray pops up on the screen to say that he’s not leaving his hotel room, meaning PCO can’t find him. Ray says he’s the biggest star ever around here and PCO is going to learn that Ray is the one to take him out.

Opening sequence.

Trinity vs. Jody Threat

Non-title and threat takes her down into a quickly broken armbar to start. Trinity’s headlock doesn’t work either as Threat sends her hard into the corner for some clotheslines. Back up and Threat wins a slugout, only to have Trinity come back with her bulldog into the corner. It’s Threat’s chance for a comeback with a spear, followed by running knees to the back. Threat gets two off a Michinoku Driver but the F5 is countered into an X Factor to give Trinity two of her own. Something like a Bubba Bomb into a rollup finishes Threat at 5:32.

Rating: C. Trinity wasn’t about to lose on the way towards such a huge title defense so this was more about keeping her even with Deonna Purrazzo after last week. Trinity has established herself as one of the stars of the division and that is nice to see after being away from the ring for so long. Not a bad match, but it kind of came and went.

Jake Something is ready for Sanada at Emergence.

In Memory Of Terry Funk. They had to wait twenty minutes for that?

Multiverse United recap.

Josh Alexander was back in the ring for the first time in five months at Multiverse United and now he wants the World Title back. First though, he has Emergence, but he’ll be watching tonight’s World Title match.

Deaner vs. Laredo Kid

Kon is here with Deaner, who grabs a headlock to start. Kid takes it out to the floor but gets yelled at by Kon, allowing Deaner to hit a clothesline. Back in and Deaner twists the neck before sending said neck into the corner for two. A neckbreaker gets two and Deaner shouts that no one cares about Kid. I uh, wouldn’t talk much man. Deaner misses a charge in the corner and Kid gets two off a driver. Kid goes up top but dives down onto Kon (who hadn’t even done anything) instead. Back in and the Antidote finishes Kid at 4:24.

Rating: C. The action was fine but as usual, it’s almost impossible to care about Deaner’s lame….well existence really. He’s been the same “I’m crazy and evil” guy for months and it still isn’t interesting. Kid could have been anyone here and that’s a shame given how good he really has been almost every time he’s here.

Post match Deaner says that Eric Young tried to start this and it earned him a knife in the heart. Then Young decided to rise again (which apparently is something he can just do) but he doesn’t realize that Deaner is in control because HE IS THE DESIGN. Deaner: “YOU! ME! NO DQ!” Well that’s anticlimactic.

We get a video that looks like it’s from 1999 (complete with pop ups, featuring a variety of wrestling name drops) about how Johnny Swinger is ready for the Digital Media title. As usual, this was rather funny.

PCO looks for Bully Ray and screams a lot.

ABC vs. Good Hands

Before the match, John Skyler talks about how they don’t like being called Good Hands For Hire and insults Chicago a lot. Austin hammer and headlocks Skyler to start until an elbow to the face breaks that up. Hotch comes in and gets knocked away without much trouble. Bey comes in and takes Hotch down for two as things settle a bit. A kick to the back has Hotch in more trouble and we take a break.

Back with Austin cutting off Hotch to block a tag attempt but getting sent into the post for his efforts. A double elbow gets two on Austin and it’s time to work on the arm that went into the post. Skyler ties the arm up in between his own legs or some cranking. Austin’s legs are fine enough to kick his way out of trouble though and it’s back to Bey to take them both down.

A slingshot DDT gets two on Skyler and everything breaks down. Austin’s bad arm is snapped over the top and the Favor (Samoan drop/Blockbuster combination) gets two with Bey making the save. A springboard Fameasser drops Skyler again and the 1-2-Sweet finishes Hotch at 14:01.

Rating: B. This is one of the places where Impact really shines. You had two talented teams who have an issue with each other. They were given almost fifteen minutes and had a clean match with the good guys winning. It’s a great example of not making things too complicated and letting the wrestlers do their things. Very nice match here.

Subculture is ready for the Rascalz.

We get what sounds like a movie trailer for Joe Hendry and Yuya Uemura’s tag match on the Countdown to Emergence.

Video on Trinity vs. Deonna Purrazzo, including their issues with the Coven.

Samuray del Sol vs. Chris Sabin

The fans do the LUCHA dance to start and the two (the wrestlers, not the fans, as there are more than two of them) of them take time to get going. Sabin gets sent outside and then gets sent outside again, allowing Sol to flip backwards into some posing. Back in and Sabin runs him over for a change before starting in on the leg.

Sol misses an enziguri and gets pulled into an STF, sending him straight to the ropes. Sabin ties the leg up again but lets go as it’s not exactly getting him anywhere. We take a break and come back with Sabin working on something like an abdominal stretch on the mat. Sabin ties up the legs and cranks on both arms at the same time as he’s mixing up the holds tonight.

Sol is back up with a crossbody but the Salida del Sol is blocked. Sabin powerbombs him for two and rolls straight into an STF in the middle of the ring. That’s escaped as well and Sol pops up with the Salida del Sol to send Sabin outside. The springboard flip dive connects but Sol’s leg gives out back inside. That’s enough for the Cradle Shock to give Sabin the pin at 17:38.

Rating: B. Remember how the previous match was two wrestlers having a good match? What’s what they did again here and it worked, again. Sabin can wrestle with anyone and Sol showed what he could do multiple times in WWE. I could go with having him around more often and he probably earned a job here if he wants one.

We get the last part of the sitdown interview with Crazzy Steve. He talks about how Tom Rehwoldt is the best at what he does and Steve needs him to help carry his message. Steve talks about how he isn’t crazy but he’s tired of being abandoned and forgotten. If he can’t be the antidote to evil, then maybe he needs to be the plague. Tom says Steve is hurting his hand as Steve goes on about how cruelty is the causal blindness to the pain of others.

Steve says Tom is going to help him tell the people something but Tom calls in security to break it up. Steve breaks up the set and shouts TELL THEM. Steve takes down a member of security and seems to spray mist on him and shouts TELL THEM again. He grabs the camera and says he’s comfortable being evil and the psychopath in the story, but remember the chapter where you f****** made him. It takes a lot to make me interested in something from a longstanding middle of the road star like Crazzy Steve and they have done it in the last three weeks. Nicely done.

MK Ultra, in a mix of English and Russian, say they’re not scared of their first title defense because the more teams coming after them, the more toys to play with. Or maybe more control and pain. Chains are included.

Video on Eddie Edwards vs. Frankie Kazarian, with both o their wives getting involved. We also see the door to the Killer Kowalski School Of Professional Wrestling door closing. That could be interesting.

Emergence rundown.

PCO goes to Bully Ray’s hotel but can’t find him. Why he only looked in the lobby isn’t clear but it might explain the failure.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Brian Myers vs. Alex Shelley

Shelley is defending and we get the Big Match Intros. Myers takes him into the corner to start and slaps Shelley in the face, earning himself a rollup to give Shelley two. Shelley starts cranking on the arm and has Myers wincing quite a bit. Myers is sent to the apron and they fall outside, with Shelley being sent into the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Shelley fighting out of a chinlock. Myers misses a charge into the post and Shelley gets a needed breather. Shelley knocks him down again and it’s a Downward Spiral into the buckle. The Border City Stretch goes on but Myers slips out and hits the implant DDT. Myers gets two more off a spear but Shelley kicks him in the face and hits Sliced Bread #2. The kickout sends Myers right back into the Border City Stretch though and Shelley retains at 14:32.

Rating: B. I kept waiting on something screwy to happen but instead they went with the clean ending again. As usual, there’s no shame in losing to the World Champion and Myers looked good in defeat. That’s about all you can ask for out of something like this and the fact that it was another good match made things even better.

Post match Moose and Bully Ray run in for the beatdown but Kushida and Josh Alexander make the save. We cut to the back where Lio Rush has jumped Chris Sabin. The good guys fight back and the brawl continues to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Maybe it’s that I’m so used to having other wrestling shows be full of interference and shenanigans, but my goodness it was SO refreshing to have a show with clean wrestling and storylines being advanced. This is the definition of a show that doesn’t overthink things and let the talented wrestlers showcase themselves. Awesome show here and a good example of why I have so much fun with this show a lot of the time.

Results
Trinity b. Jody Threat – Rollup
Deaner b. Laredo Kid – Antidote
ABC b. Good Hands – 1-2-Sweet to Hotch
Chris Sabin b. Samuray del Sol – Cradle Shock
Alex Shelley b. Brian Myers – Border City Stretch

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: August 10, 2023
Location: Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re still on the way to Emergence and the card is starting to come together. That being said, we also have Multiverse United coming up in less than two weeks and that card could use some build of its own. Other than that, we have a new monster heel group, though Lio Rush might not be all in. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Tag Team #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Rich Swann/Sami Callihan vs. Bullet Club

Bey takes Swann into the corner to start so Austin can hit a running kick in the corner. Swann gets over to Sami for the tag though and it’s the shoulder breaker into a kick to Austin’s head. Bey is kicked down and the Cactus Driver drops Austin on the apron as the Club is in early trouble.

Bey gets in a shot of his own to put Callihan down and we take a break. Back with Swann being knocked to the floor but Bey’s clothesline hits post. The tag brings Callihan in for a Death Valley Driver before it’s already back to Swann. Bey’s brainbuster is escaped and Austin kicks Bey in the head by mistake.

That doesn’t seem to matter as Swann is sent outside for a double superkick to Callihan. 1-2-Sweet gets two with Swann making a diving save. Austin hits a spinning kick to Callihan’s head and adds a double stomp but cue the Good Hands to break up the cover. Austin gets dropped by Skyler and Callihan (who didn’t see Skyler) hits the Cactus Driver for the pin at 15:16.

Rating: B-. Nice match here, though Austin being fine after a Cactus Driver on the apron was the required eye roll inducing spot. Other than that, this already makes things equal to or even more interesting than anything WWE has had in its tag division in a few months. There are actual teams having issues and a story here, which is more than a lot of places have to offer. Good action too and that makes for a solid opener.

Santino Marella is in the back when the Coven comes in to interrupt (Wilde: “Just the muggle we’re looking for.”). They want the next shot at the Knockouts Tag Team Titles, but here are the Death Dollz to say they want the shot instead. Reasons of “we’re awesome” don’t convince him, so they have a huddle. Santino joins the huddle, and suggests listing off some of their previous wins. Jessicka lists them off, in a Santino accent, and Santino thinks about it. Cue MK Ultra, to say they’ll take them all. This was hilarious.

Bhupinder Gujjar vs. Dirty Dango

Alpha Bravo is here with Dango. Gujjar takes him into the corner to start but Dango elbows him in the face. Some knees to the back set up a chinlock but Gujjar fights up and gets two off a spinebuster. Bravo breaks up the Gargoyle Spear though and Dango hits a reverse layout DDT for the pin at 3:54.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to go very far but it’s good to see Dango getting some wins. I’m not sure how well he fits with Bravo, but at least Dango has a goon with him, which feels rather appropriate. Other than that, Gujjar continues to be a person who exists and not much more, which is kind of a shame as he isn’t bad.

Post match Dango insults the fans until Jake Something interrupts. Something doesn’t like hearing how much Dango hates wrestling so he can get out of here He threatens to make Dango leave but it doesn’t get that far, as Dango leaves on his own. Dango tries a cheap shot and is quickly knocked outside.

The Design talks about Eric Young running off for greener pastures and then coming back. Deaner is NOT a failure and Young will be destroyed.

Johnny Swinger thinks Simon Diamond is back but gets interrupted by Kenny King and Sheldon Jean. King says Swinger is old and talks about how being the Digital Medical Champion means more than being the World Champion. Swinger: “What’s the internet daddy?”

Alisha Edwards vs. Jody Threat

Eddie Edwards is here with Alisha. Threat forearms away to start but gets caught in the ropes for a pull down by the hair. Edwards chokes away on the ropes as Eddie gets in some quality yelling. Threat fights up but Eddie trips her down, only to have Frankie Kazarian jump him from behind. The distraction lets Threat hit Pop Shove It (I think? It’s an F5.) for the pin at 4:38.

Rating: C. Not much to this one as Edwards is still gearing up for her showdown with Traci Brooks. Other than that, it was Threat getting another win to continue boosting her up, as she is starting to feel like one of the gang around here. Other than that, this was another step in Eddie vs. Kazarian and not much more.

Post match Kazarian pulls back the kendo stick to hit Eddie but hits Alisha on the back swing by mistake. Alisha goes straight to the mat like she’s been shot.

Deonna Purrazzo wants KiLynn King next week.

Mike Bailey vs. Kushida

Kushida drops to the mat and tries to pull Bailey down before settling for a wristdrag. A kick to the chest drops Bailey again but the fans are split. The bouncing kicks don’t do much to Kushida, who sends Bailey outside. Back in and we hit the surfboard to keep Bailey in trouble a bit longer. They chop it out until Bailey is knocked outside for a shoulder first ram into the post.

We take a break and come back with Kushida tying up the legs and cranking away with an Indian deathlock (with commentary pointing out that since Kushida had taken out the arm, Bailey would start using his legs so Kushida is staying ahead of him). Back up and the leg is fine enough to hit a springboard moonsault (of course), only to miss something off the top.

Bailey strikes him down and tries the standing moonsault but gets caught in an armbar. That’s reversed into a cross armbreaker but Kushida makes the rope. Bailey kicks him in the face so Kushida hits him in his, only to have Bailey knee him in the face for two. The tornado kick looks to set up the Ultimate Weapon but Kushida pulls him down and hits Back To The Future for the pin at 17:55.

Rating: B. This is one of those setups where you know it is going to be at least good give all of the circumstances. That being said, Bailey’s knee nonsense continues as Kushida worked it over and then bailey was right back up with the springboard moonsault. Other than that, Kushida seems to be on the road to an X-Division Title showdown and that should be very good whenever it happens.

Crazzy Steve has a sitdown interview with Matthew Rehwoldt, with Steve saying he needs his help. Steve has been trying to get Havok and Rosemary back, but now everyone, including Black Taurus, is turning their backs on him. That is normal for him as he has been abandoned before, including his vision, as he is legally blind. He’s been doing this for 21 years and you can imagine what that kind of pressure his bad vision puts on him. When asked about family, Steve says that’s a very interesting story and more on that later. This was surprisingly interesting and I could go for a part two.

We look at Subculture defending the Tag Team Titles in the UK.

Subculture has their eyes on the #1 contenders tournament.

Joe Hendry pops up behind two fans, but they were actually summoning Yuya Uemura, complete with his own song. Hendry wants an explanation and they seem to like the idea of winning the Tag Team Titles together.

Team 3D will be back at Impact 1000. Cool.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Moose/Brian Myers/Bully Ray vs. Black Taurus/Laredo Kid/Samuray del Sol

Hold on though as we cut to the back where del Sol (better known as Kalisto) has been attacked by Lio Rush. We take a break and start the match 3-2, with Myers teasing a test of strength with Taurus, only to grab a headlock instead. Taurus runs him over instead so it’s off to Moose vs. Kid, with the latter headscissoring him to the floor. Back in and Taurus shoulders Ray down but Myers pulls Ray to safety as we take a break.

We come back with Taurus having to fight away from Ray and handing it back to Kid. A tornado DDT plants Moose and there’s a hurricanrana to Ray. Back up and Ray takes Kid down though, allowing Myers to stomp away. Ray goes for Kid’s mask….and PCO is back. Moose is tossed outside and Myers gets crushed with a flip dive, leaving Ray to get chased to the back. Kid frog splashes Myers for a VERY slow two, allowing Moose to take Taurus down. Myers hits the Roster Cut to finish Kid at 16:38.

Rating: C+. Kid and Taurus looked awesome here and it was nice to have the two of them get this much shine. At the end of the day, the villains had to win here before their big eight man tag at Emergence. Other than that, it wasn’t exactly a great match but they kept it moving well enough to hold my interest, so well done.

Post match Ray runs through the back and steals a car. PCO gets to said car but Ray speeds off, leaving PCO screaming to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling was good enough to carry the show here, even if they’re in a weird time as Emergence is coming but is only so big of a show. The whole thing isn’t looking like the biggest even in the world but after that we are on the road to Bound for Glory. For now they need to make the best out of their limited possibilities and it went well enough this week.

Results
Sami Callihan/Rich Swann b. Bullet Club – Cactus Driver 97 to Austin
Dirty Dango b. Bhupinder Gujjar – Reverse layout DDT
Jody Threat b. Alisha Edwards – Pop Shove It
Kushida b. Mike Bailey – Back To The Future
Brian Myers/Moose/Bully Ray b. Black Taurus/Laredo Kid – Roster cut to Kid

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: July 20, 2023
Location: St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are back after a middle of the road Slammiversary, where the big story was the return of Josh Alexander, as he confronted World Champion Alex Shelley to end the show. That should make for a big showdown going forward, and Eric Young is back as a bonus. Let’s get to it.

Here is Slammiversary if you need a recap.

Long Slammiversary recap.

Here is Scott D’Amore in the ring to get things going. He is proud of everything that happened at Slammiversary in his hometown. Getting to stand in the ring with those people is something he will never forget, but as for tonight, he is acting Director Of Authority because Santino Marella is beating up Dirty Dango. We hear about more of the show until the Good Hands come out to interrupt. D’Amore tells them to come in if they have something to say so the Good Hands come in for some threats. That’s cool with D’Amore, who has some guys waiting to face them.

Good Hands vs. Sami Callihan/Rich Swann

Sami hammers on Skyler to start but the Good Hands actually take over, with Hotch hitting a middle rope moonsault to take the two of them out on the floor. We settle down to Skyler taking over on Swann but Hotch gets dropped, allowing Callihan to come in and pick up the pace. The Death Valley Driver gets two on Hotch with Skyler making the save. That earns Skyler a kick to the floor, setting up double knees to Hotch’s face. Swann and Callihan lift Hotch up under the arms for a rather high angle double spinebuster for the pin at 3:54.

Rating: C. The Good Hands got in more than I was expecting here but ultimately Callihan and Swann are a much prominent pairing. I could go for seeing the two of them getting into a bigger story and maybe this is the start of something like that. For now though, nice quick opener and rather different than the longer stuff that has mainly opened the show in recent months.

The Bullet Club are mad about losing their Tag Team Titles and promise revenge on the Rascalz too. Cue the Rascalz to mock them, meaning the brawl is on. Scott D’Amore comes in to say the Club already has a match tonight but the Rascalz can get out of here. With them gone, Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice come in, with Swinger asking what he’s supposed to do now. D’Amore says the fifty wins deal is over, but if Swinger wins his next match, he’ll get a title shot. He can even fight Dice, and we’ll make it Loser Leaves Town!

Eric Young is back and has a story to tell but here is Nick Aldis to interrupt (and TOWER over Young). Aldis says Young can be his colleague in his war against the cretins and internet darlings who are ruining this place. Young isn’t sure about that so they’ll fight tonight instead.

Video on Jake Something, who looks like a star but has the name Jake Something so he’s under a ceiling.

Jake Something vs. Kevin Knight

Knight actually gets an insert promo, promising to show what he can do. Something shrugs off some shoulders to start and then shoulders Knight instead. Some clotheslines rock Knight again but he sends Something to the apron for a heck of a springboard dropkick. We take a break and come back with Something’s Hulk Up being dropped by a basement shoulder.

Knight hits a jumping splash for two but Something fights up and runs him over with another hard shot. Back up and Something turns him inside out with a clothesline but gets caught on top. Knight’s super hurricanrana is countered into a super sitout powerbomb for…two. Either Knight is winning or the producer is a moron. Something cuts him off with a forearm but Knight hits a forearm of his own, followed by a rather awesome pop up dropkick. A high crossbody gives Knight two but Something hits a Boss Man Slam for the pin at 13:39.

Rating: B-. They had me until that sitout powerbomb only got two. It’s a perfect example of a move that either should have been the finish or shouldn’t have been in the match. Knight got a lot in here and has the potential to be a star on his own, while Something has all of the physical tools you could need. Just get a better name and things should be just fine.

Courtney Rush vs. Savannah Evans

Jessicka, Jai Vidal and Gisele Shaw are all here too. Rush gets powered up against the ropes to start and her headlock is countered with a belly to back. Vidal grabs Rush’s leg so Evans can run her over and drop a leg or two. Back up and Rush charges into a spinebuster for two but gets in a shot of her own. Vidal grabs the foot again though, which draws out Jody Threat to carry Vidal to the back. Rush hits a spear for the pin at 3:56.

Rating: C-. The interference and everyone getting involved hurt this a lot and kept taking me out of the match. Rush winning is a good way to go though as she has needed some kind of momentum for a bit. Evans is a big, intimidating monster so beating her once in awhile is a great way to give someone a nice boost. Just cut down on the shenanigans.

Video on Trinity winning the Knockouts Title and how much it means to her.

The Coven isn’t impressed with Trinity but they also want the Women’s Tag Team Titles back from MK Ultra (Masha Slamovich/Killer Kelly).

We get a sitdown interview with Jonathan Gresham, who says if the X-Division is about no limits, it is now about no rules. In Ring Of Honor, he wanted rules…..so maybe this place isn’t for him.

Dirty Dango vs. Santino Marella

Santino grapples him down to start and tries for the armbar, which Dango has to block for a good bit. The threat of a leglock sends Dango to the ropes but this time he comes up with a shot to the face. Back up and Santino snaps off some armdrags but Dango pulls him throat first into the ropes. Some shots to the back have Santino in trouble and a whip into the corner keeps him down. Santino’s back gives out on a slam attempt but he avoids a twisting Swanton. The Cobra is loaded up but here is a guy in riot gear to break it up. Dango rams them together and gets the cheap pin at 5:55.

Rating: D+. This is a good example of a match that missed the point. Dango attacked and insulted Santino, who should have been out for blood. Instead, he was doing armdrags and hiptosses, plus the Cobra. Santino showed he can wrestle and grapple but then he just went into the traditional goofy stuff. Why should I care if he’s doing comedy in such a personal feud? This didn’t work and that’s rough to see.

It’s the returning Johnny Bravo.

Gisele Shaw and Savannah Evans run into MK Ultra and insults are exchanged. Jody Threat drops Jai Vidal off at their feet.

Alisha Edwards and Traci Brooks get into a brawl.

Tag Team Titles: Subculture vs. Bullet Club

Subculture, with Dani Luna, is defending. Webster armbars Austin to start until they flip to a standoff. Andrews comes in to flip around and annoy Bey’s arm. Back up and Bey hits a dropkick and it’s back to Austin for a headscissors. Andrews is back up with a northern lights suplex and we take a break.

Back with Andrews working on an armbar before handing it off to Webster. That doesn’t exactly go well as Austin quickly takes over. Webster is already back to Andrews to pick up the pace but Bey brainbusters him for two. Bey torture racks him so Austin can hit a kick to the head, setting up the torture rack neckbreaker for two more. Webster is back in with a headbutt to Bey so a poisonrana can get another near fall.

Back up and Bey sends the champs outside for the big running flip dive as we take another break. We come back with Andrews hitting his double Pele but the Club hits the Art of Finesse. The Fold is broken up though and the Stundog Millionaire drops Bey. Cue the Rascalz to take Austin out, leaving Andrews to roll Bey up to retain at 19:57.

Rating: B. This got some time and the action was rather good for the most part. Subculture has hit the ground running like few teams ever have around here and that is great to see. Beating the former champs, even after some shenanigans, will take Subculture a long way and now they can wait for their next challenges. Solid match here and I was getting rather into it by the end.

Here is Josh Alexander for his big return speech. Alexander talks about how he had to give up the World Title right here due to a freak injury. Now he wants to win the title that he never lost, and he is 100% medically cleared. Unfortunately he can’t come here and get his title back from Steve Maclin, so now the question is can Alex Shelley beat him.

Cue Shelley to say Alexander has a cool healing factor but let’s cut to the chase. Shelley is the champ but he has to know if he can beat Alexander so let’s do it. Cue Lio Rush to tease Option C so cue Kushida (#1 contender to the X-Division Title) to say no Option C until he gets his shot. Now cue Bully Ray but the distraction lets Moose and Brian Myers to jump Kushida, Alexander and Shelley. Rush teases laying out Shelley but leaves instead to end the show. It got more interesting by the end, but enough of the Option C stuff.

Overall Rating: C+. This show only gave me so much hope for Impact’s future, as this didn’t feel like the rather good stuff that they have been doing in recent months. It’s still a fine enough show, but something was missing here. There were good parts to the whole thing, including the ending and main event, but some of the stuff was rather weak and felt like a step in the wrong direction. Good enough overall, but hopefully they tighten things up again.

Results
Rich Swann/Sami Callihan b. Good Hands – Double high angle spinebuster to Hotch
Jake Something b. Kevin Knight – Boss Man Slam
Courtney Rush b. Savannah Evans – Spear
Dirty Dango b. Santino Marella – Marella was rammed into a helmet
Subculture b. Bullet Club – Rollup to Bey

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: June 29, 2023
Location: Center Stage, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are less than a month away from Slammiversary and that means it is time to start hammering home the card. The big story coming out of last week was the issue between Frankie Kazarian and Eddie Edwards while Bully Ray and Steve Maclin seem to be doing just fine. Throw in Alex Shelley vs. Nick Aldis and we should be in for a big Slammiversary. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

X-Division Title: Chris Sabin vs. Trey Miguel

Sabin, who took the title from Miguel at Against All Odds, is defending. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far until Sabin sends him to the apron. A pull of the leg lets Sabin send Miguel into the apron and we hit the chinlock back inside. Miguel fights up and hits him in the face a few times, only for Sabin to roll away from a moonsault.

Back up and Sabin wins a slugout but Miguel kicks him in the ribs. The Lightning Spiral is broken up and Sabin kicks the knees out in a smart counter. Sabin grabs an STF but Miguel is right there in the ropes. Miguel kicks him down and hits the top rope Meteora but Sabin rolls back into the STF. With that almost broken up, Sabin tries the Cradle Shock but Zachary Wentz (Miguel’s former Rascalz partner) runs in for the DQ at 9:30.

Rating: B-. I wasn’t better on that choice for a run in but I’ll take it over Miguel losing clean again. Miguel had a nice title run but that doesn’t mean you have to beat him into the ground after he loses. The Rascalz, or at least two thirds of them, against the Guns could be worth seeing and it is definitely a change of pace, so well done on a surprise. There is going to be some baggage with Wentz, but some time might have cooled some of it off a bit.

Post match we get the reunion hug and beatdown until Alex Shelley runs in for the save.

Post break the Rascalz say they’re back and coming for the Tag Team Titles.

Trinity vs. Jai Vidal

Gisele Shaw and Savannah Evans are here with Vidal while Deonna Purrazzo is on commentary. Vidal sends her into the corner to start for a slap to the face, only to have Trinity dropkick him into the other corner. A slide into a slap rocks Vidal again so Evans pulls him to the floor. Shaw offers another distraction and Evans gets in a cheap shot for two.

A running elbow gives Vidal two as Purrazzo says she is #1 in the division whether champion or not, but the belt makes the outfits better. Trinity fights up and makes the clothesline comeback, setting up a springboard kick to the face for two. A high crossbody drops Vidal again as Purrazzo talks about which limbs she should go after to slow Trinity down. A hanging faceplant sets up Starstruck to finish Vidal at 5:11.

Rating: C. Trinity gets to beat up a member of Shaw’s team before her big showdown with Purrazzo in a few weeks so the logic makes sense. At the same time, Shaw winning the title in Australia to make the Slammiversary match a triple threat wouldn’t stun me either. It might not be the best idea, but I could see them going in that direction.

Post match the beatdown is on with Purrazzo (eventually) coming in for the save.

Moose and Brian Myers, who have a Tag Team Title shot at Slammiversary (along with two other challenging teams) are ready to win the titles. Moose thinks it’s a guarantee…but calls the Good Hands “dead weight”. Myers says not to worry about it.

On Before The Impact, Zicky Dice, screwy referee, helped Johnny Swinger win a match.

Another referee tells Dice and Swinger that, per Santino Marella, that win doesn’t count and if Dice does it again, he loses his referee’s license. Swinger says they have to work on this.

Lio Rush vs. Jack Price

Somehow this is Rush’s first match on Impact (he’s been on a show co-promoted with New Japan but never just Impact). Rush runs around to start to frustrate Price and then does it again until a jumping enziguri drops Price. A hard shot knocks Rush outside and his hurricanrana is countered. Instead a kick from the apron frustrates Price again, setting up the suicide dive into the barricade. Back in and another kick sets up the Final Hour to finish Price at 3:37.

Rating: C+. If you like the standard Lio Rush match, you’ll like this one. This was his normal stuff with the crazy speed and the kicks, plus the good looking frog splash for the finish. The athleticism has never been an issue for Rush but he has to actually stay somewhere or none of what he can do matters.

Dirty Dango talks about how Santino Marella hit the Cobra out of luck last week because he has no offense. We hear about Jim Cornette slapping Santino around in OVW and he got a job as a result. Now Santino’s daughter is back in the same system and Dango wonders if she’s getting slapped around.

Santino Marella says he’ll take care of Dirty Dango at Slammiversary. Dango questioned his work ethic and what he gave to get here, then he talks about his daughter? Pain is promised. This would have been more effective if Santino hadn’t been doing the whole Santino deal.

Frankie Kazarian yells at Eddie Edwards for last week. He gets that mistakes can happen, but twice in one match? Eddie tries to calm him down but suggests they be opponents instead. Works for Kazarian.

KiLynn King vs. Masha Slamovich

Taylor Wilde is here with King. Slamovich starts fast by kicking her to the floor, only to have her dive cut off. Wilde chokes from the floor, only to have Slamovich roll King up for two. A clothesline gives King two but Slamovich is back with some knees to the chest. More knees and a spinwheel kick give Slamovich two more but King hits a Death Valley Driver for the same. Back up and Slamovich kicks her in the head for another near fall but gets sent outside. Wilde manages a quick posting but cue Killer Kelly to choke Wilde with a chain. Back in and the Snowplow finishes King at 8:10.

Rating: C+. These two beat the fire out of each other and it was a rather fun match as a result. Sometimes you need this kind of a match and it worked well here. You might as well set up the title match at Slammiversary from here, mainly as it isn’t like there are any other viable challengers for the titles at the moment.

Post match Kelly and Slamovich stare each other down until Slamovich ties the chain around her own neck. Then she leads Kelly away by said chain.

Video on Alex Shelley vs. Nick Aldis.

We see a look back at Scott D’Amore’s career. D’Amore talks about how he rose up through the ranks and while he never became a big star, he was trained by some great names over the years. Various stars talk about how good D’Amore was, despite being around some awesome talent. He made a bigger impact as a trainer and coach though and we hear about the success of his students.

We also hear about how many wrestlers D’Amore helped when they had no money etc., with names like Alex Shelley and Kushida praising him. D’Amore says he wasn’t a big star, but he went up and down the road and lasted thirty years in this business. This was a REALLY nice tribute to D’Amore and presented him as a truly good guy who never got his due in wrestling. Fair enough, as he does seem to have been a big deal for a lot of people.

Scott D’Amore hopes he is ready to be back in the ring. The Good Hands come in to challenge him, but D’Amore says he’s wrestling once and that’s it. Instead, he can get them to face PCO next week.

Kenny King vs. Yuya Uemura

Sheldon Jean is here with King. Hold on though as Joe Hendry is in the production truck and says he has some kind of special video prepared. Feeling out process to start until Uemura takes him into the corner for some loud chops. King hides in the corner and a Jean distraction lets King get in a cheap shot to take over.

King kicks him in the chest and grabs a seated abdominal stretch to keep things slow. A spinebuster gives King two but Uemura is right back with a bulldog for the same. Uemura DDTs his way out of a suplex to leave them both down and we take a break. Back with King cutting Uemura off on top but a spinning kick to the head misses. Uemura unloads with forearms until King catches him with the Royal Flush for the pin at 12:10.

Rating: B-. This was exactly what you would expect from a Uemura match as he wrestles well and fights hard but can’t get a win that matters in the slightest. He almost has to be ready to end his excursion but seeing him lose over and over can get more than a bit frustrating. King seems primed for the Digital Media Title shot though and a win like this is a good way to go.

Post match here is Joe Hendry, who thinks King deserves a tribute. As luck would have it, he has a special video about King ready to go! The video looks at his career, but there is one year missing and it was the most successful he has ever been. That would be in 2013, when King was….a male stripper! The fans like the chorus and King is livid.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Here is Nick Aldis to explain his attack at Alex Shelley. Cue Shelley, with Aldis getting on him for superkicking Jimmy Jacobs, making this an UNSAFE working environment. Instead, Shelley can go sit with the fans while Aldis talks. Shelly loves the idea of sitting among the fans so he’ll have a….stand over there with them.

Aldis talks about the ten person tag from a few weeks ago, when Chris Sabin was needing a tag. The only option was for Aldis to come in and clean house, but it had to go to Shelley instead. Aldis isn’t going to have the two of them hold Aldis down because they’ve done that for the last ten years around here. He got to the World Title faster than they did and that is because he represents the good things about wrestling.

The Guns wants to take wrestling to a dark place and that ends at Slammiversary, just like the transitional title reign. Shelley: “OH MY GOD JUST SHUT UP!” Shelley tells him to come out here and shut him up so the fight is on. A posting drops Shelley but Chris Sabin comes in to break up a belt shot. Cue Lio Rush to jump the Guns from behind though and the big beatdown lets the villains hold up the titles to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was exactly what I’m expecting from Impact these days: good action, stories being advanced, but most importantly of all, logic. There is a clear path with these stories and while there are some surprises, they don’t feel so completely out of left field that you’re left wondering if they make sense. The show flows very nicely and it makes things that much easier to watch. Another good show here, and you can see most of Slammiversary already.

Results
Chris Sabin b. Trey Miguel via DQ when Zachary Wentz interfered
Trinity b. Jai Vidal – Starstruck
Lio Rush b. Jack Price – Final Hour
Masha Slamovich b. KiLynn King – Snowplow
Kenny King b. Yuya Uemura – Royal Flush

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: June 22, 2023
Location: Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

Things took a turn last week when #1 contender Nick Aldis laid out World Champion Alex Shelley. This adds quite the wrinkle to their upcoming Slammiversary title match and I’m curious to see how all of that goes. Other than that, Scott D’Amore is ready to get his hands on Bully Ray next month. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

OVE vs. Good Hands/Brian Myers

Before the match, Skyler says OVE stands for Ohio vs. Everything. Well he’ll take everything from tooth decay to an IRS audit over Ohio. Crist kicks Skyler down to start and hands it off to Callihan for a double spinebuster. Fulton comes in for a double chokeslam/World’s Strongest Slam combination (that was cool) to take the villains down.

A Myers distraction takes Crist down though and the Good Hands drop a double elbow for two. Myers comes in with a suplex for one and we hit the chinlock. Crist fights up so Skyler comes back in for a slam to cut it off again. A forearm finally gives Crist a breather and he nips up for the tag off to Callihan. Cue Moose to crotch Crist on top so Callihan and Fulton go after him. The distraction lets Myers hit the Roster Cut for the pin at 5:40.

Rating: C+. Rather formula based match here and the ending helps establish Moose and Myers as a team who could be something down the line. OVE feels almost like a blast from the past but they’re good enough for a spot like this. As long as they’re away from the Design, it’s kind of hard to complain that much.

Eddie Edwards comes up to talk to Frankie Kazarian and says Frankie can trust him tonight in their tag match. Kazarian doesn’t quite buy that so Eddie asks what he has to do. Eddie doesn’t need to worry about it but he swears on the grave of Killer Kowalski that he won’t do anything to Kazarian. That’s enough for Frankie, but he doesn’t seem completely convinced.

Sami Callihan is livid when Rich Swann comes up to him in the back. Callihan wants to know where Swann was and Swann says he was busy at Against All Odds. From now on, Swann has his back as his top priority. Callihan approves.

Here is Dirty Dango for a chat. Dango: “Man do I hate professional wrestling.” And that’s it before his match.

Dirty Dango vs. Bhupinder Gujjar

Dango shoulders him over to start and dances a bit, allowing Gujjar to come back up with a shoulder. Some dropkicks put Dango on the floor for a slingshot dive but the Gargoyle spear misses back inside. Dango hits a layout reverse DDT for the pin at 2:00.

Post match Dango grabs a phone and says something we can’t hear. Cue Santino Marella, with Gujjar sending Dango inside for the Cobra.

The Death Dollz run into the returning Nevaeh and aren’t sure if they should trust her. They don’t have much of a choice though, and it’s time to learn the parts of the story they don’t know. Courtney Rush loves an origin story….so the Dollz runs off without her.

Zicky Dice passes his test to become an official referee. The referee giving him his test treats it as a serious deal but Johnny Swinger gets rid of him. Swinger flat out says this is so he can cheat to get his fifty wins.

Mike Bailey/Jonathan Gresham vs. The Design

Gresham comes in off a very early blind tag to dropkick Angels in the back, allowing Bailey to kick him in the face. Kon comes in to wreck both of them though and Angels adds a half and half suplex. We take a break and come back with Gresham getting away to bring Bailey back in for the kicks to Kon. The bouncing kicks set up the kick to the head and a missile dropkick puts Kon down instead.

Kon is fine enough to muscle Bailey up from the mat for a slam though and the Design takes right back over. That doesn’t last long as Gresham comes in for the save, allowing Bailey to armbreaker Angels. With that broken up, Bailey moonsaults onto Kon on the floor. Back in and Bailey gets caught in a super Spanish Fly, but Deaner stops to yell at Angels. The distraction causes Angels to miss his frog splash, allowing Bailey to hit the tornado kick. The Ultimate Weapon finishes Angels at 9:28.

Rating: C+. This match did one important thing and that is getting us closer to the destruction of the Design. The team has LONG outlived its usefulness (which wasn’t much in the first place) and now they finally seem to be going away. Gresham and Bailey were good enough as a team, but I don’t need them becoming the next dream team to go after the titles.

Flashback Moment Of The Week: Magnus (Nick Aldis) beats Jeff Hardy in the Dixieland match to win the World Title on December 18, 2013.

Gisele Shaw and Gail Kim are going to be on the Amazing Race: Canada. We don’t have any clips or anything similar to hype it up, but it’s true.

Trinity isn’t happy with Gisele Shaw getting a Knockouts Title shot on the upcoming Australian tour but she’s fine with the Slammiversary match being a triple threat if it has to be. For now though, she’ll beat up Jai Vidal next week instead.

Nick Aldis has sent in a statement saying he won’t be here tonight due to fear of his own safety. Alex Shelley comes in and doesn’t buy it, saying he wants Aldis here. Aldis will be here next week so Shelley leaves, only to come back with a superkick when interviewer Jimmy Jacobs runs his mouth too much.

Taylor Wilde vs. Killer Kelly

Feeling out process to start and Kelly seems pleased with the thought of violence. A shot to the throat and a pump kick give Kelly two and a running kick to the chest drops Wilde again. King low bridges Kelly to the floor though and Wilde gets to kick away back inside. The surfboard goes on but is broken up just as fast, allowing Kelly to suplex her into the corner. They fight over a rollup for two each until Kelly pulls her into the Killer Klutch. That’s broken up as well so Kelly grabs a rollup for the pin at 5:08.

Rating: C. Nice back and forth match with Kelly getting a win for a change. I could go for her getting a stronger push as she has felt like someone who could go a lot higher rather quickly. For now at least she is getting a win and if she can find a partner, we could have some fresh challengers for the Knockouts Tag Team Titles. They certainly could use some new challengers so that’s certainly an idea.

Post match the beatdown is on but Masha Slamovich comes in to save Kelly. The villains bail and Kelly seems to approve.

We recap Scott D’Amore attacking Bully Ray last week, setting up the tag match with PCO and Steve Maclin at Slammiversary.

D’Amore says he is no longer the president so he takes off the fancy stuff before saying he isn’t what he once was. His prime, if he had one, wasn’t as good as Ray or Maclin, but he coached a lot of people over the years and is a five time Canadian Heavyweight Champion. He’ll break any rule or cross any line, and since he brought Ray into this company, it’s time he took him out. The sleeves are rolled up and now he’s ready for war. Good promo here, as D’Amore sounds like a man who has to do something.

Here is Joe Hendry to say….extraterrestrials have made contact with Earth. It makes sense to do it now because he is Digital Media Champion. Those aliens are trying to say the two most important words: WE BELIEVE.

Digital Media Title: Joe Hendry vs. Yuya Uemura

Hendry is defending and here are Kenny King and Sheldon Jean to interrupt. The former sits in on commentary as Hendry works on a headlock. Some armdrags have Hendry down, causing him to bow in respect. We take a break and come back with the camera on King before looking at Uemura fighting out of a chinlock. A belly to back suplex gives Uemura two but Hendry is back up to strike it out. Hendry rolls through a high crossbody and it’s the Standing Ovation to retain the title at 9:07.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to get very far as the break and then the camera sitting on King didn’t do it any favors. King vs. Hendry is fine for a likely title feud and it wouldn’t shock me to see King get the title. At some point he has to win something new and the Digital Media Title would work well. As for Uemura, he continues to be a completely fine hand in the ring, though he needs to actually win a few matches at some point before the impact fades.

Slammiversary and Australian shows rundown.

Bully Ray/Steve Maclin vs. Frankie Kazarian/Eddie Edwards

Alisha Edwards is here with Kazarian/Eddie. Maclin and Eddie start things off with Maclin dropping him off a running elbow. Eddie is fine enough to pull him over for a slingshot legdrop from Kazarian. Maclin sends him into the corner where Ray crotches Kazarian against the post and we take a break.

Back with Kazarian being knocked into the corner again as the slow being is on. A suplex gives Maclin two and we hit the reverse chinlock. With that broken up, Eddie comes back in to chop away and a double suplex drops Ray. Eddie’s suicide dive hits Ray and Kazarian’s slingshot hurricanrana takes Maclin down on the floor. Back in and Maclin knocks Eddie to the floor where Ray grabs a chair. Instead Ray chases Alisha off and it’s Maclin chinlocking Eddie again.

An Irish Curse gives Maclin two and Ray comes back in to punch him down. Eddie gets up and crossbodies Maclin for a double knockdown. The tag brings in Kazarian to pick up the pace as everything breaks down. Kazarian drops Maclin for two as Eddie and Ray come in (sans tags) to rake each others’ eyes. Ray shoves Eddie into Kazarian, who is right back with the chickenwing. Eddie is back up and accidentally superkicks Kazarian, allowing Maclin and Ray to hit a belly to back neckbreaker for the pin at 15:31.

Rating: B-. Nice enough main event here, and I kind of like having the teams who don’t like each other not being able to win their first match against each a team of former World Champions. Eddie vs. Kazarian should be a fun match at Slammiversary assuming that is the way they go. Other than that, we had a back and forth match with the action doing well, though it never quite got to that next level.

The winners are happy and the losers aren’t to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event helped but this show wasn’t quite up to the standards of the usual stuff they do around here. Slammiversary is about three weeks away and you can see a lot of the card from here, though that doesn’t make it the most interesting. The lack of Aldis after last week’s big turn didn’t help either and it wasn’t the most interesting offering as a result. It’s not bad, but more of a skippable show than usual this week.

Results
Brian Myers/Good Hands b. OVE – Roster Cut to Crist
Dirty Dango b. Bhupinder Gujjar – Layout reverse DDT
Jonathan Gresham/Mike Bailey b. The Design – Ultimate Weapon to Angels
Killer Kelly b. Taylor Wilde – Rollup
Joe Hendry b. Yuya Uemura – Standing Ovation
Bully Ray/Steve Maclin b. Frankie Kazarian/Eddie Edwards – Belly to back neckbreaker to Kazarian

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: May 18, 2023
Location: Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re almost up to Under Siege and things have started to get all the more interesting around here. Above all else, Steve Maclin has to defend the World Title against PCO, but might also have Alex Shelley to worry about either before or after. Other than that, Trinity has an open challenge for the show and is going to need an opponent. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Trey Miguel vs. Laredo Kid

Non-title. Kid takes him down without much effort to start but they’re right up with a standoff. Back up and Kid sends him outside for the big running dive as Miguel can’t get much going here. Miguel finally uppercuts his way out of trouble and hits a basement dropkick for two back inside. Some slow kicks to the head seem to wake Kid up, meaning it’s a Michinoku Driver into a not so great looking bottom rope moonsault.

The middle rope moonsault to the back gets two but Miguel kicks him away again. A running flip DDT plants Miguel again though and something like a reverse Koji clutch keeps him down. With that broken up, Miguel flips over him and hits a basement dropkick to the back of the head for two more. A loud enziguri sets up a missed Lightning Spiral, only to have Miguel pull off the mask. That’s enough for a rollup with tights to give Miguel the pin at 8:54.

Rating: B-. This was what you would expect from these two as Miguel is one of the more dependable stars in Impact these days and Kid has always been worth a look. That being said, I really could go without seeing the “HE RIPPED OFF THE MASK” for a very long time. It comes off like the emergency exit for a match involving a masked wrestler these days and just feels uncreative.

Post match Miguel insults the crowd and says it’s time to get some respect on his name. Actually, Miguel wants it so much that he is holding this show hostage until he gets his respect. We take a break and come back with Miguel still in the ring until Chris Sabin, the #1 contender to Miguel’s X-Division Title, interrupts. Sabin talks about how Miguel needs to give respect to get it back, and he didn’t give any respect when he defaced the title.

It was disrespectful to everyone who who has held that title before. Sabin is an eight time X-Division Champion and a former World Champion, so at Under Siege, he is taking the title and giving it the respect that it deserves. Now get out of his ring, which Miguel does. This made the title match feel that might more important and that is a great thing, as the X-Division Title rarely gets this much attention.

Trinity is warming up when Jai Vidal interrupts. Gisele Shaw isn’t happy with her, but Trinity says come do something about it face to face. Shaw is injured but will be back next week, where Trinity will be waiting.

Rich Swann and Sami Callihan talk about their history together. They started at a small independent promotion in Philadelphia and became friends. Sure they fight from time to time, but people as close as they are will always come back together. We see some of their fights over the years and Sami says he’ll still call Swann the best wrestler in the world.

Ace Austin vs. Jason Hotch

Chris Bey is here with Austin and Brian Myers/John Skyler are here with Hotch. Before the match, Myers and Skyler threaten Austin for going after one of the Good Hands. They go technical to start with Hotch working on a headlock before running Austin over. That doesn’t seem to bother Austin, who rolls out and kicks him in the back.

A hip toss and armdrag have Hotch in trouble, setting up a jumping legdrop for two. Austin grabs a headscissors, sending Hotch over to the ropes rather quickly. Back up and Hotch sends him throat first into the rope to take over and we take a break. We come back with Austin hitting a running forearm in the corner, only to get caught with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two.

Austin fights up again and looks to set up the Fold but Myers’ distraction lets Skyler pull him to the floor. Bey takes Skyler down but Hotch catches Austin with a Spanish Fly for two. Back up and Myers gets in a cheap shot from the floor, allowing Hotch to grab a rollup for the pin at 11:32.

Rating: B-. Hotch is someone who you haven’t seen much from around here but he actually does live up to the Good Hand moniker. The Hands should be fine enough for an upcoming title shot as Myers is just enough of a threat to make you think that the titles could change hands. Another good match here, as this show is doing rather well so far.

Steve Maclin thanks Champagne Singh and Shera for taking out Heath last week. He needs them to prove their worth again though and it is time to do it right now. Come with him.

We look back at the Coven retaining the Knockouts Tag Team Titles over Jordynne Grace and Deonna Purrazzo last week.

Grace wants to be the face of this division so she wants no doubt when she beats Purrazzo. Alisha Edwards comes in to say she doesn’t believe anything Grace is saying. Grace took Purrazzo out last week on purpose…but the threat of a right hand sends Edwards bailing.

Trinity vs. KiLynn King

Taylor Wilde is here with King. An early kick to the face staggers King and the threat of the Rear View sends her to the apron. Back in and a kick to the head rocks King, setting up the splits splash for two. King finally fights back and ties her in the ropes, setting up a kick of her own to rock Trinity for a change. A backslide attempt doesn’t work for Trinity and King blasts her with a clothesline for two.

King slowly hammers away and hits a high collar suplex, followed by alternating rope choking. Trinity fights back up but gets crotched n top by Wilde, which is enough for an ejection (not a DQ, but an ejection). A high crossbody hits King and a good looking top rope Blockbuster gives Trinity two more.

King is right back with a powerslam for two of her own but Trinity sends her into the ropes. Something like a jumping hanging Pedigree (minus the double underhook) gives Trinity two but King grabs an AA for the same. Trinity knees her in the face though and pulls King into Star Struck (the reverse Rings of Saturn) for the tap at 10:31.

Rating: B. This was a lot of trading moves but they were rocking by the end and while there was almost no way that Trinity was losing, the near falls had me wondering how this was going to end. They did a great job of pulling me in here and the fans seemed rather invested. If nothing else, it showed that Trinity can still go after such a long time away from the ring, which is exactly how you need to get things started. Very good stuff here and they were working hard throughout,.

Post match Jai Vidal interrupts and says everyone knows who Gisele Shaw is. Shaw has a message for her: she accepts the challenge for Under Siege and Vidal goes to slap her. That’s broken up with a twist of the hand and a kick to the head, with Trinity accepting the acceptance.

Steve Maclin, Champagne Singh and Shera jump PCO and beat him down backstage. They put some cement blocks on his back and crush it with a sledgehammer, leaving PCO screaming.

Jessicka is waiting on Rosemary to get back from the Undead Realm when the Coven interrupts. They offer to open the door to the Realm but Rosemary has said they aren’t powerful enough. King (who looks fine after a hard hitting match that absolutely took place right before this took place) says Rosemary isn’t always right and the Coven seems ready to open the door.

Jody Threat vs. Sierra

Threat kicks her into the corner to start and fires off some clotheslines. The release northern lights suplex drops Sierra again and a top rope seated senton makes it worse. Threat grabs a German suplex and finishes with the F416 finishes Sierra at 2:25. They’re certainly trying with Threat so points for pushing someone new.

Eddie Edwards comes up to see Frankie Kazarian before their six man tag. Edwards says follow his lead tonight, with Kazarian agreeing, though he hopes it goes better than Honor No More.

Dirty Dango clears Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice of attacking Santino Marella because they’re too stupid to figure it out. They accuse Joe Hendry, who pops in, with Dango asking if that’s true. Hendry denies it, but says he’s a champion and therefore moving on from all of this. Dango doesn’t like that and gets his shirt ripped open, revealing MISSING CHEST HAIR! Dango tries to deny it….but yeah he did it. Dango: “Case closed bro.”

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Frankie Kazarian/Moose/Eddie Edwards vs. Yuya Uemura/Jonathan Gresham/Alex Shelley

This is everyone in the Under Siege #1 contenders match. Shelley cranks on Eddie’s arm to start before it’s quickly off to Uemura vs. Moose. Uemura armdrags him into an armbar before it’s off to Kazarian to headlock Gresham. Edwards comes back in to headbutt Gresham, only to have Shelley come in off a blind tag to take out the leg. Everything breaks down and Shelley and company clear the ring as we take a break.

Back with Uemura suplexing Eddie and getting over for the tag to Shelley. Shelley comes in to start taking over on Eddie, who enziguris his way out of trouble. Kazarian hits a leg lariat for two on Shelley and hands it back to Moose, who isn’t happy with this. The slow, alternating beatings continue until Shelley goes after Eddie’s bad knee. The Boston Knee Party gets Eddie out of trouble but Shelley knocks him down again, allowing Uemura to come in and clean house.

A suplex gets two on Eddie but he’s right back with the Blue Thunder Bomb for the same. Moose cuts Uemura off with a Randy Orton backbreaker, followed by a standing powerbomb for two. Uemura kicks his way out of trouble though and brings Gresham back in. Moose’s powerbomb is broken up and Gresham rolls him into a failed ankle lock attempt. Gresham cranks the leg out anyway and victory rolls the now legal Kazarian for two.

Shelley comes back in and gets clotheslined, followed by the running forearm. The slingshot DDT gives Kazarian two but Shelley drops Kazarian and Edwards at the same time. Kazarian Backstabs Uemura but gets suplexed hard by Gresham. Uemura dives onto Moose at ringside and we settle down to Shelley Shell Shocking Edwards for the pin at 20:21.

Rating: B. The solid wrestling show wraps up with a solid six man as Shelley gets some momentum built up for Under Siege. This was a bunch of stuff that kept going until the end with Eddie’s knee injury being the main focal point. Other than that, it was a great way to get a bunch of people some shine at the same time, while being unique enough that it felt worth seeing.

Overall Rating: B+. This is the kind of show that you do not get very often and it was a very special watch. It was two hours of awesome wrestling and storylines being advanced. I had a really good time with this show and there was nothing bad throughout. They even had a lack of Design for a bonus. Rather great show here and one of the best Impacts in a long time.

Results
Trey Miguel b. Laredo Kid – Rollup with tights
Jason Hotch b. Ace Austin – Rollup
Trinity b. KiLynn King – Starstruck
Joey Threat b. Sierra – F416
Yuya Uemura/Jonathan Gresham/Alex Shelley b. Frankie Kazarian/Moose/Eddie Edwards – Shell Shock to Edwards

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.

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 11, 2023
Location: Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We are inching closer to Under Siege and the World Title situation is looking interesting. PCO is scheduled to challenge Steve Maclin for the title and that is not exactly sitting well with the champ. Other than that, we have some matches rapidly being set, with Trinity possibly being added to the card. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Masha Slamovich vs. Killer Kelly

Kelly crawls around to start and rolls a kicking Slamovich up for two. Back up and Kelly knocks her to the floor without much trouble, setting up the running kick to the chest. Some clotheslines drop Slamovich again, followed by a delayed release fisherman’s suplex for two. Slamovich runs her over and rips at Kelly’s face for a bit.

We hit the reverse chinlock but Kelly powers up and sends her into the corner for the break. Some Al Snow trapping headbutts set up a suplex into the corner, followed by a German suplex for two. Slamovich kicks her in the ribs for her own two, setting up a sunset driver for another near fall. Kelly shrugs it off and hits a Death Valley Driver, setting up the Killer Klutch. Slamovich is up with a rope walk and flips back onto Kelly for the pin at 8:42.

Rating: C+. Good stuff here, as Kelly continues to impress. Slamovich needed the win more here though, as she has fallen mostly through the floor in recent months. The talent is there, but at some point you have to win something. The same is true for Kelly, though she has never had the big opportunities that Slamovich has already earned. Nice opener here, and a change of pace from the usual fast paced starts to the show.

Kenny King gives Sheldon Jean a pep talk before his match.

We look back at Trinity’s debut last week.

Trinity wants the Knockouts Title and has an open contract for Under Siege. Jai Vidal comes in and grabs a quick photo, much to Trinity’s confusion.

Nick Aldis vs. Sheldon Jean

Kenny King is on commentary. Aldis headlocks him down a few times but it’s too early for the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf. They head outside with King offering a distraction so Jean can get in a cheap shot to take over. Back in and a side kick gives Jean two but Aldis fights up without much trouble. A Michinoku Driver gets two on Jean but he catches Aldis on top. With that broken up, Aldis drops the top rope elbow and the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf is good for the tap at 3:30.

Rating: C. Jean is decent enough to be one of the new designated jobbers whose name we know, though that might not have the longest shelf life. This was of course all about Aldis though, who looked fine in his return. That being said, at some point he is going to have to show that he can be more interesting and that has been an issue for him for years.

Dirty Dango and Joe Hendry are talking about who attacked Santino Marella when Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice come in. Hendry and the two goons accuse each other, setting up Swinger vs. Dango. Well, after they call Santino to make it official. With the villains gone, Dango invites Hendry to his birthday party, where Hendry would be the only guest. Ok then.

We get part three of the Frankie Kazarian interviews, this time talking about his return and quest to become World Champion. Last year he won the X-Division Title again and used Option C but came up short again, though the World Title is still a goal. We talk about the various things he has done, many of which had nothing to do with the title. He is willing to fight anyone around, and now he’s the veteran, which is a spot that he loves to have. This really didn’t tell us much, but getting to know wrestlers a bit more like this is a great idea and that has been the case here.

Decay vs. Good Hands

The Hands introduce themselves and mock the Chicago Cubs like good villains should. Skyler and Steve start things off, with Steve taking him down for a neck crank. Taurus comes in for a modified What’s Up, followed by the running hurricanrana. Steve’s monkey flip is broken up though and a cheap shot (Tom: “Steve was blindsided!” The guy is legally blind so that’s not nice.) lets Hotch take him down again.

Steve’s double finger bite doesn’t work and it’s a belly to back suplex to cut him off. Steve Downward Spirals his way out of trouble, allowing the hot tag to Taurus. With Brian Myers coming out to watch, Taurus cleans house and everything breaks down. Steve dives onto Skyler but gets dropped by Myers. A Stunner over the ropes staggers Taurus into a middle rope G9 (Samoan drop/Blockbuster combination) for the pin at 5:09.

Rating: C+. Kind of a slow match but Myers hooking up with the Good Hands is a better move than having them work for Bully Ray, so they did something smart. Decay losing is a little weird, but it’s a fine enough way to establish the new unit. The Good Hands are, well, good hands, so there should be a place for them for awhile.

Post match Myers poses with the Good Hands.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Sarita/Taylor Wilde b. Beautiful People to win the Knockouts Tag Team Titles.

Steve Maclin is sick of Champagne Singh and Shera screwing up so he fires both of them. Singh and Shera have an idea.

Post break, Singh and Shera jump Heath.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Rhino vs. Steve Maclin

Maclin is defending and we get the Big Match Intros for a nice touch. They hit the stall button for a bit to start before trading arm control. Rhino powers him into the corner and Maclin has to stop for a breather. Some chops into a hiptoss look to set up the Gore but Maclin bails to the floor. That’s fine with Rhino, who crotches him on the barricade, only for a Stunner over the top to cut Rhino off.

Back in and Maclin goes after the leg, with some rams into the apron to make it worse. The middle rope headbutt misses for Maclin though and the slugout is on. Maclin is taken up top for a superplex and a near fall, leaving both of them down. Another Gore is loaded up but Maclin cuts out the leg again in a smart move. Maclin hits his own Gore for the pin to retain at 9:00.

Rating: C+. It was a bit of a slow match but Maclin gets a nice defense under his belt before he has to move on to PCO. Working on the leg was a good enough way to keep the match going and Maclin using the Gore was an even better touch. Maclin might not be the most interesting champion, but he had a perfectly fine title defense here.

Post match Maclin goes after the knee again and takes it out with a chair. Maclin isn’t done though as he wraps the chair around the leg and smashes it with a shovel. That’s FINALLY enough to draw out referees to break it up.

During the break, Rhino was taken out on a stretcher and into an ambulance, with Scott D’Amore there to watch. Maclin pops up and gets in a shouting match with D’Amore, who makes the Under Siege match against PCO No DQ. PCO appeared for the brawl and Maclin ran off.

Here is Joe Hendry for a chat. He was talking to Michael Jordan, who gave him some advice, but Hendry is the expert on wrestling. Hendry is here to hear them say WE BELIEVE and then introduces Dirty Dango.

Dirty Dango vs. Johnny Swinger

Joe Hendry and Zicky Dice are here too. Dango slugs away to start but gets choked on the rope for his efforts. Swinger stops to strut though, allowing Dango to block a stomp to the chest. A Falcon Arrow finishes Swinger at 1:16.

The Design is still mad at Sami Callihan and promises more suffering. The Army Of Violence comes in but Sami is there in disguise and chaos ensues. Much like this horrible story.

Moose isn’t sure what Brian Myers is up to with the Good Hands but doesn’t seem to like the idea. With Moose gone, Myers says he wants the Hands to become a team, so he’ll mold them into champions.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Deonna Purrazzo/Jordynne Grace vs. The Coven

The Coven is defending. Purrazzo and King trade waistlocks to start before Purrazzo’s running hurricanrana takes her down. An armdrag into an armbar has King down and it’s off to Grace for a double hiptoss. An assisted moonsault gets two on King but Grace gets sent into the corner for an elbow to the face.

Grace elbows her way out of trouble but the Grace Driver is blocked. The Vader Bomb connects instead and we take a break with King in trouble. Back with Purrazzo kicking and dodging her way out of the corner, only to get dropped hard onto the apron. The slow beating continues, with Wilde choking in the corner and on the rope. Purrazzo fights out of the front facelock and kicks her way to freedom, allowing the hot tag off to Grace.

House is quickly cleaned until we settle down to Grace jumping over Wilde in the corner. Grace catches her in the corner and hits a MuscleBuster for two, with King making the save. Everything breaks down again and Grace is sent into Purrazzo by mistake, allowing Wilde to get two. With Purrazzo down, a Hart Attack (pump kick instead of clothesline) finishes Grace to retain at 14:29.

Rating: B-. The extra time helped here and the Coven continues to grow into a more respectable team. They already feel like the best team in Impact but given the rather shallow competition, that still leaves them with a lot to cover. For now though, beating two singles stars and keeping the Knockouts Title feud going is a good use of fifteen minutes in the main event.

Post match the Coven goes after Grace but Trinity runs in for the save. A lot of posing ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was the Impact that I like: they had a bunch of stuff they wanted to cover and then did just that. It’s very nice to see them have an efficiently run show like this one which had enough good wrestling to keep me invested and nothing bad to hold it down. Nice work this week, and that is always good to see.

Results
Masha Slamovich b. Killer Kelly – Rollup
Nick Aldis b. Sheldon Jean – King’s Lynn Cloverleaf
Good Hands b. Decay – Samoan drop/middle rope Blockbuster combination to Taurus
Steve Maclin b. Rhino – Gore
Dirty Dango b. Johnny Swinger – Falcon Arrow
The Coven b. Jordynne Grace/Deonna Purrazzo – Pump kick/spinebuster combination 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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AND

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Impact Wrestling
Date: April 27, 2023
Location: Rebel Entertainment Complex, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

The end of last week’s show saw a big announcement as PCO will be getting the first shot at Steve Maclin’s World Title. That alone is going to make for a heck of a showdown at Under Siege, but the card is going to need more than just one match. There are a few options available and we will probably find out some of them tonight so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Masha Slamovich vs. Jordynne Grace

Grace shoulders her down to start and then does it again, setting up a wristlock. Slamovich tries an armbar but gets powered into the corner, where Grace hits the running Vader Bomb for two. It’s too early for the Grace Driver as Slamovich sends her into the rope for a shot to the throat. Slamovich gets in a shot to the face and rips at said face for a bonus.

There’s a neck snap across the top rope but Grace catches her in the corner and hits a MuscleBuster for two. Slamovich charges into a Michinoku driver for two more before Grace pulls her into a rear naked choke. That’s reversed into Slamovich’s choke, plus a leg trap belly to back suplex for two. They go into a pinfall reversal sequence for a series of ones until Grace stacks her up for the pin at 11:02.

Rating: B-. These two work well together, but it is kind of astounding to see how far Slamovich has fallen. Maybe it is the Russian aspect, but she has gone from what seemed to be the next big thing in the division to just kind of there. While it could still change, I’m not seeing much of a reason to believe that she is going to go further than she is right now. At least not for the time being.

We get a look back at Nick Aldis’ history in Impact, which led to him leading to see if he could be a star without being Magnus. Then he became the NWA World Champion for over 1,000 days and now it is time to see if he can still do it around here.

Joe Hendry has a broke nose. No word on how long he might be out.

Here is Steve Maclin for a chat. Maclin gets to the point: he doesn’t want to wait for Under Siege, so PCO can come out here right now. Cue Champagne Singh and Shera to jump PCO, who fights them both off. Cue Santino Marella and we have a match right now.

PCO vs. Champagne Singh

There are no seconds as PCO sends him to the floor to start. There’s the running flip dive to drop Singh but he’s back with a dropkick and Codebreaker. PCO isn’t happy with Singh bringing out money though and it’s a Backstabber out of the corner. The middle rope flipping splash connects and there’s the DeAnimator to make it worse. A reverse DDT sets up the PCOsault to finish Singh at 5:30.

Rating: C. This was what it needed to be, as PCO ran through someone who shouldn’t give him a problem. PCO has taken out much bigger stars around here and it isn’t like Singh or Shera has any real credibility. Nothing match, but PCO looked good in a pretty dominant win and that’s what they needed to do here.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Magnus b. Christopher Daniels on Impact, February 14, 2013.

The Design is mad at Sami Callihan.

The Coven uses magic to weaken Deonna Purrazzo before Taylor Wilde faces her tonight. They laugh a lot.

Here is Johnny Swinger, with Zicky Dice, to face a luchador that Dice has paid for personally. There’s a language barrier though, so Dice goes to get him.

Johnny Swinger vs. El Dinerico

I have a feeling you know what is going on here. A drop toehold and la majistral finishes Dinerico at 27 seconds.

Post break Swinger and Dice celebrate their win but Santino Marella comes in to say that doesn’t count. Swinger fires Dice, who is so upset he speaks Spanish.

Kenny King won a match on BTI and yelled at commentary.

After mocking the guy he beat, King talked to Sheldon Jean, who has untapped potential. Jean doesn’t seem interested, but King eventually intrigues him.

Design vs. Bullet Club

Non-title and it’s Angels/Kon with Deaner for the Design. Angels slugs away at Bey as commentary thankfully says that a lot of people were expecting Sami Callihan to turn on the team. Bey takes over on Angels so it’s off to Kon, who is quickly kicked in the head. Kon runs them both over though and throws Bey outside in a (possibly ankle injuring) heap. We see Santino Marella down in the back and come back to Kon putting Austin in a nerve hold.

Austin fights out of the corner and avoids a charge, setting up a kick to the face. Bey comes back in with a Code Red to Angels but Kon grabs him, setting up a springboard Russian legsweep (that was cool). With Kon on the floor, the Club take turns diving at him to limited avail. Cue Callihan to go after Deaner, leaving the Club to finally drop Kon with a double dive. Back in and the 1 2 Sweet finishes Angels at 8:26.

Rating: C+. It says a lot about the Bullet Club that they were able to get something decent out of these schmucks. The Design continues to be one of the most worthless acts in wrestling and having Callihan come out there to hurt their leader was almost cathartic in a way. Just get the feud over with so hopefully they can move on to anything else, because this is somehow getting less interesting by the week.

Santino Marella was attacked and is told he needs to take some time off. Dirty Dango resigns as assistant Director of Authority (with Santino reminding him that he never such a thing in the first place) to become DETECTIVE of Authority. Someone has to solve the mystery of who jumped Santino you see.

The Death Dollz don’t have the power to get back to the Undead Realm without the Knockouts Tag Team Titles. Crazzy Steve comes in and, after being amazed by how excited Jessicka is about meeting him, suggests that they talk to James Mitchell. Rosemary doesn’t like it but agrees.

Jody Threat vs. Seleziya Sparx

Jody drives her into the corner to start and grabs the wristlock to keep things on the mat. Back up and Threat gets sent to the apron, only to come back with a top rope seated senton. Some corner clotheslines set up a release German suplex, followed by the F416 to finish Sparx at 4:21.

Rating: C. I still do not get the appeal of Threat, who has yet to show me much of anything in her time around here. She’s not bad or having terrible matches, but rather just coming and going without making any real impression. Then again, I do like the idea of putting in some fresh names so points for at least trying something.

Killer Kelly really liked Hardcore War and wants more violence.

We get the first in a series of sitdown interviews with Frankie Kazarian. He got his break in Impact in 2003 and became a star in the X-Division. It was the tale end of the wild west of wrestling though and he didn’t want to become one of the good old boys who clutched to their spot. Then he left in 2014 after doing all kinds of things here, but management was such a mess (we get a clip of Dixie Carter clutching to Hulk Hogan’s leg, begging him to stay) that he decided to walk away. More next week after a more interesting first part than I was expecting.

Here’s what’s coming on future shows.

Knockouts Title: Taylor Wilde vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Wilde, with KiLynn King, is challenging. They circle each other for a bit to start before Wilde takes out the leg to put them both on the mat. Purrazzo reverses into an armbar but it gets broken up for an early standoff. An armdrag into an armbar has Wilde in more trouble but King offers a distraction for the break. Wilde gets in a cheap shot from behind but takes too long posing, allowing Purrazzo to try for the Fujiwara armbar. With that not working, Wilde consults her cards and we take a break.

Back with Wilde being sent outside, allowing Purrazzo to deck King. That lets Wilde get in another shot to take over, with King even getting in the neck snap of retribution. Wilde steps on the hair and pulls up like a good villain, only to be knocked into the corner. They collide in the middle for a double knockdown and they get a breather. Wilde grabs a German suplex but gets pulled into the Fujiwara armbar for the tap at 12:56.

Rating: B-. Another nice back and forth match here as Purrazzo dispatches an early challenger for the title. Wilde taking the loss doesn’t hurt her title reign with King and it was a pretty competitive match. You can probably pencil in King for a title shot of her own and I’ve heard worse ideas for everyone involved.

Post match the beatdown is on but Jordynne Grace makes the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. People who needed to win did so and aside from the Design, there was nothing that felt like a waste of time. In other words, it’s more of the same solid stuff from Impact that we’ve been seeing for months now. What matters is setting up Under Siege and you can see some of those matches coming from here. They still have time to set it up and odds are we’ll be seeing something more next week. For now, it’s a show that did enough good to make me want to see what happens next.

Results
Jordynne Grace b. Masha Slamovich – Rollup
PCO b. Champagne Singh – PCOsault
Johnny Swinger b. El Dinerico – La majistral
Bullet Club b. The Design – 1 2 Sweet to Angels
Jody Threat b. Seleziya Sparx – F416
Deonna Purrazzo b. Taylor Wilde – Fujiwara armbar

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.