Dynamite
Date: May 5, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We are less than three weeks away from Double Or Nothing and the card is pretty much non-existent so far. You can probably guess where things are going, but it would be nice to start setting things up. Now, forget about all of that because it’s BLOOD & GUTS, which is going to be one of the biggest matches in Dynamite history, as we get an old fashioned WarGames match with the Pinnacle vs. the Inner Circle. Let’s get to it.

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

We even have a parental advisory on this one. Oh yeah this is going to be big.

Michael Nakazawa/Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston

Hold on though as Don Callis says Kenny Omega isn’t here tonight so Nakazawa (in his work clothes with the headset, because apparently he is too stupid to know he has a match) can wrestle it alone. Commentary says they saw Omega here earlier today as Moxley and Kingston make their entrances….and get jumped from behind by Omega. Nakazawa hammers on Moxley to start and Omega comes in to send him into the corner.

That’s too much for Moxley, who comes in to knock Nakazawa down as well. An Omega distraction lets Nakazawa hit Kingston low ans the double teaming in the corner is on again. The Kitaro Crusher gives Omega two but Kingston comes back with the chops out of the corner. An enziguri puts Kingston back down but he comes back with a clothesline.

That’s enough for the hot tag to Moxley and house is cleaned in a hurry. A German suplex into a piledriver gets two on Nakazawa with Omega making the save. Moxley chokes Nakazawa as Kingston holds Omega off, but Omega walks out instead of coming in. A half nelson suplex/running clothesline combination finishes Nakazawa at 8:04.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure what you were expecting from this match as Kingston and Moxley are top level stars and they were in a glorified handicap match. I’m still not sure why Moxley and Kingston wanted this match instead of a title match of some kind but logic can be iffy in wrestling at best. It went as you probably would have expected though, and thankfully they didn’t go in some weird direction.

Post match here are the Young Bucks (looking like they raided a Hawaiian shirt store) for a distraction, allowing the Good Brothers to come in for the beatdown. Kenny Omega and Brandon Cutler come in as well, with Omega giving Kingston the One Winged Angel.

Cody Rhodes vs. QT Marshall

Arn Anderson and the Nightmare Factory are here too. Cody starts fast and hammers away, including the drop down uppercut. It’s time for the belt but the referee takes it away, allowing Marshall to pull out his own belt and get in a whipping. Cody fights back and heads up top, only to have Marshall run the corner for a superplex back down. A German suplex drops Cody again so Marshall sends him outside.

For some reason Marshall thinks it is a good idea to go after Anderson, who sends him into the post and crushes Marshall’s head against the steel. That’s good fro an ejection and we take a break. Back with Cody chopping away until stereo crossbodies put them both down. Marshall kicks him down but Cody pulls his trunks for a little blurring, followed by a DDT to plant Marshall again.

The Cody Cutter is countered into the Cross Rhodes to give Marshall two Marshall calls for a Diamond Cutter but Cody fights out, only to get buckle bombed. Cody reverses a Tombstone but Marshall reverses a Tombstone but Cody reverses a Tombstone into one of his own for two more. Cross Rhodes gets two more on Marshall so Cody, with his eye bleeding, puts on the Figure Four for the tap at 12:08 (which Cody promised he wouldn’t do to Marshall when this started).

Rating: B. And that should be it for Marshall, as he was built up for one match and then lost. That is probably for the best as there is very little that is going to make me care about Marshall as anything more than a low level midcarder who is a good hand in the ring. In other words, it’s a similar situation to Cody vs. Shawn Spears from a little over a year ago.

Post match, Anthony Ogogo comes in to drop Cody.

We look back at Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page jumping Sting and Darby Allin last week.

Sky says that Steve’s time is over and SHOWTIME is done. Page talks about his history with Allin, but admits no one has seen their matches. The face paint is there to cover a dent he left in Allin’s face and the metal in his elbow is from Page as well. Cue Allin to jump both of them, including climbing a ladder to hit a Coffin Drop on Page. Sky hits Allin with a trashcan though and they send Allin HARD down a flight of stairs for a scary looking crash. The medic comes in to check on Allin, who is holding his arm.

Britt Baker vs. Julia Hart

Baker starts fast with a Sling Blade and an Air Raid Crash. Lockjaw finishes Hart at 1:28. As effective as you would need it to be.

We get a new Technique With Taz, breaking down and criticizing Christian’s bad leg strength and footwork. Christian will be in trouble against Brian Cage.

Jurassic Express vs. Varsity Blonds vs. SCU vs. Acclaimed

The winners get a future Tag Team Title shot, even though SCU seemed to secure one last week. Caster’s rap says the Varsity Blonds are going to be on Dark Side of the Ring in ten years. Kazarian takes Jingle Boy down to start but he comes back up with a headlock. That goes as long as the average headlock is going to go so Boy grabs a backslide for two instead. Caster and Pillman tag themselves in as everything breaks down to send us to a break. Back with Caster getting two on Daniels and Bowens coming in for a belly to back suplex.

Daniels fights out of the corner though and grabs a running STO but Luchasaurus tags himself in to clean house. Pillman gets chokeslammed and Garrison is chokeslammed onto him but Kazarian comes in to chop away. Everything breaks down again and Boy plants Pillman but gets caught on top. Daniels dives off the apron for a Downward Spiral to take Luchasaurus down to the floor, leaving Kazarian to clothesline Boy down. Pillman rolls Kazarian up for two but Daniels is back in for the BME to finish Pillman for the pin and the title shot at 9:10.

Rating: C+. I’m never sure what to make of these things as you can only get so much out of eight people out there flying around and doing their thing. SCU winning was the obvious ending and the only right way to go, though I really can’t imagine them getting the titles back next week. Still though, fun match with the energy you would have expected.

Video on Jon Moxley vs. Yuji Nagata. Moxley is ready to fight him and respects no one. Uh, yay New Japan (I’m aware that Nagata is a legend).

Kenny Omega, with Nakazawa holding his belts, comes out to hype up Blood & Guts but he isn’t overly interested. He would rather find out who he is facing at Double Or Nothing, so Tony Schiavone announced a #1 contenders match between Orange Cassidy and Pac for next week.

Omega laughs off the idea of Cassidy being in the match but here is Cassidy to interrupt. That sends Omega into a less than serious speech about how Cassidy is a joke who ripped off Omega’s sunglasses look. Omega takes the sunglasses and gives them to Nakazawa, because they look better on him anyway. Cassidy can come see him when he grows up in about ten years. I’m curious about Pac vs. Omega. Cassidy vs. Omega headlining a pay per view though….egads.

Here’s Miro to say that he is facing Darby Allin for the TNT Title next week, no matter how injured Allin is. Miro is going to make him even more injured.

Pinnacle vs. Inner Circle

Blood & Guts, meaning WarGames with the same rules: each team sends in one man for five minutes. After the time is up, the team with the advantage (Pinnacle) sends in its second man for a two minute advantage). The teams alternate until everyone is in and then it’s first submission wins. Sammy Guevara starts for the Circle and walks into Dax Harwood’s spinebuster for….well a cover but no count as Harwood’s instincts took over for a bit there.

Sammy hits a springboard kick to the face and they head outside of the ring (with a bit of space between the ring and the cage) to send Harwood into the cage over and over. The beating continues (with Sammy’s arm cut) until Shawn Spears comes in with a chair to give the Pinnacle an advantage. A Sky High plants Sammy and the VERY bloody Harwood is up to chair Sammy in the head. The beating continues until Ortiz is in to even things up. House is cleaned and Sammy is back up on the top (as in the middle of the rope).

Harwood winds up on the other rope and Ortiz tosses a chair at his back, sending Harwood into the super Spanish Fly. Things slow down a bit until Cash Wheeler gives the Pinnacle the advantage again. An assisted brainbuster plants Ortiz and Sammy gets sent into the cage. Spears puts Sammy in a Sharpshooter and Ortiz gets Gory Bombed into the cage. That’s enough to have him fall down between the cage and the mat to send him to the floor.

Santana comes in to start cleaning house, including a swinging Rock Bottom on Wheeler. We take a break and come back with Wardlow in as well (and Ortiz back in the ring) to clean house. Jake Hager evens things up again and starts wrecking everyone, including making Spears tap to the ankle lock. We get the big Hager vs. Wardlow showdown with Hager being sent over the ropes and then into the cage.

They keep fighting by the steel and it’s MJF coming in to complete the Pinnacle. Hager gets taken out at the knee as Wheeler is bleeding from the face as well. Chris Jericho comes in to complete the entire field and now it’s the big staredown on opposite sides of the rings. They charge at each other and the fight is on with Jericho choking Spears in the corner.

We take another break and come back with the ring mat having been pulled up and a double spike piledriver planting FTR. Sammy goes Coast To Coast with a dropkick into a chair to knocks Spears even sillier. Jericho hits MJF with a turnbuckle ala WarGames 1992 and there’s a fork into MJF’s bloody head. Jericho decks MJF in the forehead but Wardlow is back up to clean some house.

Chair shots and a clothesline take him down so the Inner Circle can pose….as we take a third break. Back with MJF on the roof and Jericho putting on the Walls, only to get caught with a low blow. MJF grabs the Salt Of The Earth until Jericho escapes, only to put it back on again. With that broken up, MJF loads up the Dynamite Diamond to knock Jericho silly. MJF shouts that he is going to throw Jericho off the top unless the Inner Circle surrenders, so Sammy gives it up at 34:19.

Rating: B. It was violent, it was bloody, and above all else, it felt like a WarGames match rather than what we get in NXT (which I also like a lot, despite it not being WarGames). The problem here was the length, as this went on FAR longer than it needed to, making it feel like they were stalling for time. Something to remember: the two (arguably) best received WarGames (1991/1992) both clocked in at less than twenty four minutes. Both this and the NXT versions went on about ten or more minutes longer than they needed to. Go with quality, not quantity.

Now that being said, I had a great time with most of this and was excited coming in. They got the essence of the match a lot better than NXT does and it felt like you were watching a modern WarGames match. If that is what they were going for, then it was certainly a hit and probably the best version in nearly thirty years. For a free TV main event, this was an absolute success, though it did need some adjustments to get to the next level.

Post match, MJF shoves Jericho off the cage and through the steel (completely real steel of course) set. I actually laughed at how weak of a landing that was. They might as well have had a big sign with an arrow pointing to the crash pad. Everyone panics about Jericho as MJF stands on the cage and shouts THANK YOU to Jericho to end the show. If they can’t make those big spots look better, they really need to stop trying them.

Overall Rating: A-. This show was built around one match and that match delivered for about the last 40 minutes of the show. On top of that you had the four way tag and some stuff set up for both the coming weeks and Double Or Nothing. I had a very good time with this show and it felt like something special, which is the point of a show like this. Now it’s time to get ready for Double Or Nothing, but dang they did a nice job of making this feel like an event on its own.

Results

Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston b. Michael Nakazawa/Kenny Omega – Half and half suplex/running clothesline combination to Nakazawa

Cody Rhodes b. QT Marshall – Figure Four

Britt Baker b. Julia Hart – Lockjaw

SCU b. Acclaimed, Varsity Blonds and Jurassic Express – BME to Pillman

Pinnacle b. Inner Circle when Sammy Guevara submitted

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

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Dynamite
Date: April 28, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It is the go home show for Blood & Guts but we also have Double Or Nothing coming up in just over a month. That show certainly could use some build, or at least some matches announced, and there is a good chance we get at least one match announced here. You can probably guess a few of them, but the actual announcements would be a good idea. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Hangman Page vs. Brian Cage

Page, who apparently got jumped by a high schooler, gets jumped by Cage here. The rest of Team Taz comes in for the beatdown and the Dark Order is here for the save. Page is ready for the match anyway so Cage drives him into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs. A toss over the top sends Page crashing onto the concrete, followed by a belly to back drop onto the apron.

Back in and Cage does the curls into the standing fall away slam, followed by the standing moonsault onto knees. Cage is fine enough to hit the apron superplex for two and they head back inside. Page manages to post him but Cage is right back with a powerbomb into a buckle bomb into the Drill Claw for the pin at 5:48.

Rating: C. Well that was surprising. It isn’t a clean loss so it isn’t like this crushes Page’s future or anything, but I’m not sure what this means for Page’s chances to go after the World Title at Double Or Nothing. Cage needed a win like this to get him back on track, though it is kind of a strange way to go. That being said, it’s also the kind of a story that can be adjusted in a hurry so we’ll have to see where it goes.

The Elite is all together in the back of a limo to celebrate Kenny Omega’s Impact World Title. They talk about Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston attacking their trailer last week, but Omega says they will be here every week because they are not afraid. The horn goes off and everyone freaks out, but the driver says it was his fault for hitting a wrong button. Omega says Kingston can fight….Michael Nakazawa tonight.

Matt Sydal/Mike Sydal vs. Young Bucks

Non-title and if the Sydals win, they get a future title shot. If they lose though, they don’t get another shot while the Bucks have the titles. Don Callis is here with the Bucks and then on commentary as the Elite is getting more official. Mike spins out of a wristlock to start but Matt does the same of his own. A legsweep takes Matt Jackson down though but a standing moonsault hits raised knees.

Matt Sydal comes in with an armbar and wraps his leg around Matt Jackson’s head to keep him down. Thankfully Mike comes back in but gets dropkicked down by Matt Jackson as we take a break. Back with Mike and Nick hitting a double clothesline but Matt Jackson switches places with Nick and the referee doesn’t seem to notice. Thankfully he does after Matt Jackson nips up, though he doesn’t actually do anything about it, as Mike hits an enziguri.

Matt Sydal comes in with a brainbuster for two on Matt Jackson before having to escape a Meltzer Driver attempt. A standing corkscrew moonsault gets two on Matt Jackson and a double standing hurricanrana takes the Bucks down. Another hurricanrana pulls Nick off the top but Matt Jackson slips out of a super hurricanrana to send Matt Sydal crashing down. With the referee distracted, Mike gets punched low (ala Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat, which thankfully commentary points out as I wasn’t a fan) and a double superkick puts Matt Sydal on the floor. The BTE Trigger finishes Mike at 10:04.

Rating: C+. Name issues aside, they did the right thing here by not having a bunch of unnecessary drama drawn out over too much time. The Sydals are not the most successful team and it is fine to have them put up a bit of a fight and then lose. It is going to take something special to take the titles from the Bucks and there is no reason to set up the title match that isn’t going to go anywhere.

Post match here is SCU to interrupt. Kazarian talks about how they promised to split up when they lost again but that has not happened yet. They are the #1 contenders and now they are the big threats to the titles. So whenever the Bucks have the guts, SCU will be waiting. Simple and to the point here.

Jade Cargill knows that everyone wants to manage her but she is her own boss. And “that b****”.

Orange Cassidy vs. Penta El Cero Miedo

Orange breaks up the Cero Miedo shout but Penta won’t let him put his hands in the pockets. They do the gestures again as I’m wondering why no one is, you know, hitting the other. Penta throws the glove to the translator and does Cero Miedo for the third time. Cassidy takes the sunglasses off and tosses them to Trent, who doesn’t catch them. The hands go into the pockets and Cassidy does the lazy kicks, followed by an armdrag with his hands in said pockets.

A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker takes Cassidy down and Penta bites his fingers. Cassidy reverses that into a crucifix for two and knocks Penta outside….where he catches a suicide dive into a gorilla press. If that isn’t impressive enough, Penta switches to a one hand version and drops Cassidy onto the apron. Back from a break with Penta chopping in the corner and managing to block the tornado DDT. A brainbuster plants Cassidy for two and the Pentagon Driver gets the same.

Penta can’t snap the arm though as Cassidy tries to get his hands in his pockets. Back up and a Canadian Destroyer drops Cassidy again but he counters the Fear Factor into the Beach Break. Penta’s shoulders aren’t down though so no count, meaning Penta can come back with a superkick. Cassidy shoves him away from the top though and hits a top rope DDT, followed by the very tornado DDT for two. Hold on though as Alex the Translator gets on the mic to say something about Trent’s mom. Cassidy pulls him inside and, after a mic shot, hits a quick Orange Punch to finish Penta at 13:05.

Rating: B-. The opening was a bit annoying but then it went into a heck of a match with the two of them beating on each other rather well. I’m not sure I can get my mind around someone like Penta, who should be a huge star, losing to Cassidy, but at least it had some interference. It helps that they cut off the mom joke too, so we’ll call it a success.

Britt Baker brags about being #1 contender.

Tony Schiavone brings out the Pinnacle and the Inner Circle, who come out flanked by motorcycle riding security guards, for the final push towards Blood & Guts. Shawn Spears yells at Sammy Guevara to start, asking if he is ready for this match. Sammy takes the mic away from him, saying he doesn’t believe Spears. Guevara says he remembers Spears failing over and over again and he’ll fail at Blood & Guts.

FTR calls out Santana and Ortiz, saying that Santana has a new daughter at him. Uncle Dax wants her to know that her daddy isn’t coming back home. The fight is almost on but MJF calls them off so he can talk to Chris Jericho. It was Jericho that caused this company to be founded but next week, it is time for MJF’s family to take the Inner Circle’s place. When MJF is looking down at Jericho’s bloody body, he will thank him for the spot.

Jericho talks about everything he was doing when he was MJF’s age, including jerking the curtain in WCW and working in Mexico. These people have his back, including Jake Hager, who kept him from being assassinated in Abu Dhabi. MJF is going to have to kill him to make him quit, so next week the war is on and MJF is going to be looking up from the only spot he deserves. Intense stuff here, but they probably had one promo too many.

Eddie Kingston vs. Michael Nakazawa

Or not as Kenny Omega comes out for a distraction and Nakazawa hits Kingston in the back with a laptop. That doesn’t work and Kingston takes him out, meaning here is Omega to send out Brandon Cutler. Jon Moxley jumps Cutler and it’s time to Pillmanize Omega’s ankle. Cue Don Callis to say don’t do it and they can have whatever they want. That’s a tag match with Kingston/Moxley vs. Omega/Nakazawa next week. The deal is made and there is no match this week.

Taz is proud of Brian Cage for winning earlier tonight. Christian Cage comes in and says Taz talks a lot but can’t back it up. Taz is going to be right there basking in the glory of everything that his boys do. Christian represents everything Taz wishes he could do and now Christian isn’t going to let Taz leach off of him too. So send the tam one man after another and Christian will teach them the same thing: they would be better off without Taz.

Penelope Ford vs. Kris Statlander

Kip Sabian and Orange Cassidy are here too. It’s a slugout to start with Statlander grabbing a gorilla press to drop her hard. Ford rolls outside and pulls Statlander with her, only to miss some slingshot knees. Back in and Ford gets in a shot to the face, setting up the connecting slingshot knees.

We take a break and come back with Statlander hitting a running elbow in the corner, followed by a knee to the head. Statlander hits the Solar Eclipse (kind of putting herself in a Rocker Dropper and backflipping Ford onto her face) for two but Ford is back with a few shots of his own. The guys get in a fight on the floor and it’s the Big Bang Theory to finish Ford at 7:53.

Rating: C-. Not exactly a classic here but it got Statlander back on her own and that’s a good thing. She has one of the most unique looks in the company and it makes sense to want to give her a spot. I’m not sure if she is going to rise up the card anytime soon, but at least she is doing something here, even with the shenanigans at ringside.

10 talks about how important the TNT Title was to Brodie Lee. Tonight, he is winning it back in Lee’s honor.

Factory vs. Nightmare Family

That would be Nick Commarado/QT Marshall/Aaron Solow vs. Dustin Rhodes/Billy Gunn/Lee Johnson. The Factory comes in on a bus, because of course they do. It’s a brawl to start (because of course it is) and the very taped up Billy Gunn gets run over by Commarado. Dustin comes in and we take an early break.

Back with Dustin taking Marshall down and handing it off to Johnson to take over. Everything breaks down with Johnson cleaning house, setting up a bit corkscrew flip dive to take the Factory down on the floor. Hold on though as Nick Ogogo hits Billy and Johnson in the ribs. Back in and Marshall steals the pin on Johnson at 6:36.

Rating: C-. This match did a nice job of making Commarado seem like a beast and that’s about it. The rest of the people involved just aren’t very interesting and Marshall having a stable still feels weird. It makes sense from a creative standpoint, but it’s hard to find interest in a guy who is best known as being Cody’s friend. The action was fine, but seeing another group battle is a little tiring.

Post match Commarado cleans house with the cowbell but the Gunn Club runs in for the save. The brawl is on and Marshall bails from the bus, where you can see Cody Rhodes’ blond hair waiting. Cody breaks out of the door and they head up top, with Cody slapping on the Figure Four as Aubrey Edwards, who is there for some reason, tells him to stop. All well and good, but please stop trying to make me care about Marshall as a thing. It’s not working, no matter how much of a bus he has.

Kip Sabian runs into Miro, who annihilates him, including some choking with a chain and slamming his wrist in a door.

Here’s what’s coming in the next few weeks, including New Japan’s Yugi Nagata challenging Jon Moxley for the New Japan US Title on May 12.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. 10

Allin is defending and has Sting with him to counter the Dark Order. 10 powers him around to start, including spinning a headlock into a backbreaker. Darby’s chop block doesn’t do much as 10 throws him down again and we take a break. Back with 10 hitting a gutbuster but getting pulled into a Fujiwara armbar.

Allin cranks back on the fingers but 10 manages to send him outside. A drive sends Allin into the barricade and it’s time for Sting and the Dark Order to yell at each other. Cue Ethan Page to post Allin, allowing 10 to hit a slingshot wheelbarrow suplex for two. The full nelson goes on but Allin climbs the ropes and flips backward to retain at 12:08.

Rating: C+. Allin continues his roll and 10 did well in the Brodie Lee tribute match, which worked out fine for a main event that wasn’t quite as big as some of the others. Sting still feels a little weird as a manager but at least he served the purpose of evening things out here a bit. You can probably pencil in Page as the next challenger, which would at least give him something to do other than sit and watch.

Post match Allin holds up the Brodie armband in a nice moment but here is Page again. The distraction lets Scorpio Sky chop block Sting and put him in a heel hook while Allin has to watch. Lance Archer makes the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. There was a lot, like a whole lot, on here and that was both a good and a bad thing. The good part is they set up a lot more for next week’s big show, which was looking like a one match card coming in here. It is great to see that there is going to be more next time for the sake of the main event not being an hour long, though that brings us to the down side.

This show was exhausting, with one thing after another happening, often in the same segment. AEW needs to work on its pacing, because it feels like a month’s worth of stuff is being crammed into every week. Nothing has a chance to sink in because it’s a match and then and angle or two in the aftermath probably twice a week. Just let things slow down and breathe a bit because this is getting tiring to watch. The show is still entertaining, but at some point people just get a little worn out for no necessary reason.

Overall, the show was fun and kept my attention, with a lot of people getting some focus that they usually wouldn’t. Granted that might be due to the President’s speech to Congress tonight, and is so that is the right move. People are more likely to be watching that so why bother wasting material? They still need to cool it a bit with having so much on the show, but it was still pretty good stuff.

Results

Brian Cage b. Hangman Page – Drill Claw

Young Bucks b. Matt Sydal/Mike Sydal – BTE Trigger to Mike

Orange Cassidy b. Penta El Cero Miedo – Orange Punch

Kris Stalander b. Penelope Ford – Big Bang Theory

Factory b. Nightmare Family – Punch to Johnson’s ribs

Darby Allin b. 10 – Rollup out of the corner

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.

Is there anything else to talk about this week?

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/new-column-expedition-belt-collecting/

Rebellion 2021
Date: April 25, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

Rich Swann vs. Kenny Omega, title for title. I would talk about the rest of the show but none of it matters in the slightest, which you would know if you have been watching the TV shows. Nothing else has gotten any significant attention in the build, which does make some sense. Hopefully it lives up to the considerable hype. Let’s get to it.

The opening sequence focuses on Omega vs. Swann, with Omega talking about how being the best goes so far beyond being the best in the ring. The rest of the card gets far less attention.

X-Division Title: TJP vs. Ace Austin vs. Josh Alexander

Austin, with Madman Fulton, is defending. Alexander and TJP go after the champ to start with Austin kicking Alexander in the head. TJP gets taken down so Alexander goes for the ankle lock on Austin. That’s broken up so Alexander gets caught in TJP’s Octopus hold. With that not lasting long either, TJP sends them both outside where Austin bails out of a Lionsault. Striker goes into a speech about how Ace Austin isn’t in the new Micro Brawler series while TJP is, which will have Austin wondering why a kid is playing with TJP and not him. Brown: “Actually Austin is in the series too.” And we move on.

With Alexander on the floor, Ace loads up the (special edition) playing card on TJP’s hand but the referee takes it away. Alexander comes back in and captures Austin’s arm for something close to a German suplex as Striker talks about how we don’t need two referees. Everyone is back in and Austin monkey flips TJP into Alexander’s powerbomb but kicks Alexander in the ribs, allowing TJP to snap off a hurricanrana instead.

TJP is back up with a running boot to Austin in the corner, setting up a superplex/Russian legsweep combination to put everyone down at the same time. Back up and Alexander goes for the ankle lock on Austin but gets pulled into TJP’s kneebar. That’s fine with Alexander, who grabs an ankle lock on Austin at the same time.

Everyone escapes as I try to get my head around the odds of holds like that only happening in TJP matches. With that broken up again, we get another triple submission with the same result. The Fold is broken up so Alexander hits Divine Intervention on TJP with Austin making the save. Alexander locks Austin’s ankle but TJP comes in with the Mamba splash. Fulton breaks up the cover, leaving Alexander to hit Divine Intervention to pin Austin at 11:11.

Rating: B. That’s all this should have been and it worked out well. Above all else, they didn’t stop with the action and that is how they set the match up over the last few weeks. I like Alexander winning the title as he has needed to show that he can do something without Ethan Page. Now he can go and have one good match after another with just about anyone so I’m certainly pleased with the result. Now hopefully they can come close to living up to this level.

We run down the card that you already paid to see.

Violent By Design is ready for an eight man tag, even with Eric Young injured. He talks to someone we can’t see and says that they are getting the chance to start something. Whoever it is isn’t ready for the full thing, but they can do something tonight.

We recap Violent By Design vs. Chris Sabin/James Storm/Willie Mack/Eddie Edwards. Violent By Design are all evil and want to hurt people so the other four are standing up to them. Eric Young is hurt though and we are going to need a replacement.

Violent By Design vs. James Storm/Willie Mack/Eddie Edwards/Chris Sabin

The mystery partner is….W. Morrissey, better known as Big Cass (that is a horrible ring name). Sabin kicks at Rhino’s arm to start as Eric Young is sitting on the stage in a chair. It’s off to Storm, who shoves Deaner into the corner so Morrissey can come in. Morrissey looks great as Storm punches him in the face and then catches him on top. A big boot knocks Storm to the floor and Morrissey knocks the rest of the team off the apron.

It’s off to Doering to run Storm over for two but Storm hits a running neckbreaker on Rhino. Mack comes in off the hot tag to clean house as everything breaks down. Deaner and Rhino get caught in the Tree of Woe for some running kicks, followed by Storm’s top rope elbow to Deaner for two. Morrissey tags himself in and starts running people over, including taking out Sabin’s leg on the apron.

Storm cannonballs off the apron to drop Rhino and Sabin catches Deaner on top….for the superplex onto the pile (with Deaner slipping so the landing wasn’t great). Back in and Mack Stunners Doering to the floor but Morrissey is back in for the East River Crossing and the pin on Mack at 10:07.

Rating: C. Morrissey is the story here and he looked good at what he did. The question, as usual though, is what is going on in his head. If he can have the mental side of things down, he could be quite the asset. That and if you don’t bring Enzo Amore in as well, because that comes off as little more than a rehash of something that was only so good in the first place. Good debut here and a fun match, though I’m not sure how far the team can go without Eric Young.

We recap Brian Myers vs. Matt Cardona. Myers seemed to want to reform the team but Cardona wanted to do something on his own for once.

Brian Myers vs. Matt Cardona

Myers slaps him in the face instead of shaking hands so Cardona unloads on him in the corner. The Reboot is loaded up but Myers bails to the floor and takes Cardona out with him. Myers gets sent over the barricade, where he manages to snap Cardona’s back over the steel. Cardona gets hit in the head and they go inside for some elbows to give Myers two. The chinlock with a knee in the back goes on for a bit until Cardona fights up to make the clothesline comeback.

They head outside again with Cardona nailing Radio Silence to put them both down. Myers is up first with a spear and they head back inside with an elbow giving Myers two. Cardona is back with an Unprettier for two and can’t believe the kickout. More Radio Silence is broken up and Cardona’s knee buckles on the landing. The referee calls for help and Myers checks on Cardona….before decking him. The Roster Cut finishes Cardona at 9:48.

Rating: C. I’ve seen worse as they both brought the anger and intensity. Throw in the pretty well done false injury angle at the end and they had some good stuff here. Cardona and Myers need to get away from each other, but the ending seems to suggest that we aren’t done yet. And get Myers a better finisher, because it’s still just a clothesline.

Tony Khan is here and lists off all of his AEW job titles. He has Aubrey Edwards here as his referee for the main event but Scott D’Amore has Brian Hebner. Khan: “What’s your last name again?” They’ll both referee the main event.

We recap Fire N Flava defending the Knockouts Tag Team Titles against Jordynne Grace/Rachael Ellering. Grace needed a partner after Jazz retired so Ellering debuted to get the title shot.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Jordynne Grace/Rachael Ellering vs. Fire N Flava

Fire N Flava is defending but here is Jazz to second the challengers, which Striker treats as the biggest thing that he has ever seen. Ellering powers Hogan around to start and lifts her up to block a headlock attempt. Grace comes in to throw Hogan around as well but it is too early for the Grace Driver.

Steelz comes in for a kick to Grace’s face for two before taking her into the corner for the stomping. Hogan comes in to stomp away but Grace powers her way over for the hot tag to Ellering. House is cleaned and everything breaks down, with the champs being sent to the apron for stereo missile dropkicks for stereo near falls.

Grace is back up and backdrops Steelz over the top but she grabs a cutter on Ellering on the way down (while crashing onto the apron). Grace leaves a dive mostly short and Hogan dives onto everyone at once. Steelz and Grace knock each other down on the floor as Ellering forearms Hogan into a fisherman’s suplex swung forward into a spinebuster (that’s a new one) for the pin at 9:24. Jazz added nothing here.

Rating: D+. Sure why not. It’s not like the titles have any meaning or that there are more than a few regular teams to go after them in the first place. Ellering and Grace winning doesn’t change much but you had to take the titles off of Fire N Flava sooner or later so this works as well as anything else. The botches didn’t help things and the ending was flat, but it could have been miles worse.

We recap Sami Callihan vs. Trey Miguel. Trey came back recently and Sami wants him to show more passion. This has involved hurting him over and over so tonight it’s Last Man Standing so Miguel can show his heart.

Trey Miguel vs. Sami Callihan

Last Man Standing. Sami starts fast by sending Miguel outside in a huge crash for a seven count. That works for Callihan, who follows him out but gets caught with Sliced Bread on the floor. Miguel swings into a hurricanrana to send Sami down again but the suicide dive only hits barricade. Brown: “Where is Sami going now?” Striker: “Mentally? Physically? Spiritually?”

They head up to the stage with Miguel being powerbombed onto an anvil case. It’s time to open said case with Sami finding and throwing away a wrench. Instead he pulls out some chains to wrap around his fists to knock Miguel down again. The wrench is put into Miguel’s mouth because we need to do something out there in a Callihan match. They head inside with a bunch of weapons included, including a table being turned upside down with the legs being set up.

Callihan isn’t having any of Miguel’s comeback and slams him onto the open legs for the scary spot of the night. Miguel is sat on top with Sami throwing a chair at him, setting up a super piledriver not through the table, because that table is very sturdy. They both beat the count and head outside as Striker quotes the Bible about never turning back.

Sami sets the steps on their side on the floor and piledrives Miguel onto the side for another nasty crash. The steps are laid on top of Miguel but he slips out the other side, which Striker thinks is like a magic trick because Striker is easily impressed. A huge cutter from the apron through the table is enough to finish Sami at 15:35.

Rating: C+. Yes there were a lot of impressive spots and Miguel showed heart, but if a super piledriver onto a table doesn’t finish you, why in the world should someone try a wrestling move on you? That slam onto the steps looked great though and Sami is going to be at his best in something like this, so I’m not surprised that this wound up working out as well as it did.

We recap FinJuice vs. the Good Brothers for the Tag Team Titles. FinJuice took the titles from the Brothers and then went back to New Japan, so tonight is the big rematch. The Good Brothers want their titles back and are extra serious this time.

FinJuice vs. Good Brothers

The Brothers are challenging with Doc Gallows looking rather Jesse Venturaish during their entrances. Finlay takes Anderson down to start and Robinson gets dropped onto him for two as the champs take over early. Anderson shrugs off the arm cranking and it’s off to Gallows for the rights and lefts in the corner. A double bulldog gets two on Gallows but he’s back up to power Finlay into the corner.

Gallows hits a kick to the head for two and we hit the chinlock. Some hammer elbows keep Finlay down until Gallows puts him on the middle rope. That’s fine with Finlay, who scores with the middle elbow elbow to the jaw. The hot tag brings in Robinson to clean house, including a backsplash to Gallows. A dive to the floor takes Gallows down again and the jabs put Anderson down as well.

Everything breaks down, with Striker talking about FinJuice being influenced by the Hart Foundation, Demolition and….the Smoking Gunns? Gallows is knocked to the floor so FinJuice can load up a Doomsday Device, only to have Gallows break it up. The belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination gets two on Robinson but Finlay is back in to break up the Magic Killer. A small package Anderson to retain at 10:32.

Rating: C+. And with that, we have proof of which team is the most Japan of all time. I’m rather surprised at the lack of a title change but it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Young Bucks being brought in to become the bestest tag team ever in the history of ever. Good enough match, but hearing all of the Japan references and having FinJuice leave for a month didn’t help my interest.

Don Callis is ready to see Kenny Omega win the Impact World Title because he is in Rich Swann’s head. Callis and Omega are family but Swann is an orphan who isn’t going home with his toy. Callis has envisioned this for years and tonight it is reality.

We recap Tenille Dashwood vs. Deonna Purrazzo for the Knockouts Title. Purrazzo is the unstoppable champion who cam make anyone submit while Dashwood is obsessed with herself and wants the title to prove her great she is.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Tenille Dashwood

Purrazzo is defending, Susan, Kimber Lee and Kaleb With A K are all here. Purrazzo goes straight for the arm to send Dashwood bailing away in a smart move. A clothesline gives Purrazzo two and it’s time to wrap Dashwood’s arm around her own throat for a chinlock. Back up and they trade shots to the face, setting up the Tarantula on Purrazzo. A high crossbody (warranting a three sentence description from Striker) gives Dashwood two but Purrazzo is right back with the German suplex.

Dashwood is right back with an STF but Lee offers a distraction, drawing Kaleb With A K over. The brawl is on outside and Dashwood hits the Spotlight Kick. Lee pulls Dashwood to the floor to break up the count, allowing Purrazzo to hit an exploder back inside. The Fujiwara armbar is countered with a quick roll so Purrazzo settles for the Queen’s Gambit and the pin at 9:47.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have time to go very far with everything else going on. At the same time, there is only so much that you can do with a heel vs. heel match without the most detailed reason for a feud. Purrazzo is rapidly cleaning out the division but odds are some free agents/the returning Taylor Wilde should give her some fresh opponents.

Post match the beatdown seems imminent but Taylor Wilde returns and cleans house, setting up the staredown with Purrazzo.

We run down the upcoming Impact Plus slate, capped off by a video for Slammiversary in July, featuring Samoa Joe, Chelsea Greene and Mickie James.

We recap Kenny Omega vs. Rich Swann, World Title vs. World Title. Omega came in and was treated like the greatest thing ever so Impact World Champion Swann didn’t think much of it. Then Omega pinned him in a six man tag, setting up the title vs. title match. Swann has as much chance of winning tonight as I do of winning the 1958 Hong Kong Cha Cha Championship so let’s get to the inevitable.

Impact Wrestling World Title/AEW World Title: Rich Swann vs. Kenny Omega

Title or title, Eddie Edwards, Willie Mack and Tony Khan are here, Mauro Ranallo is on commentary, there is a referee from each company and Don Callis does an amazing over the top introduction for Omega, listing off every legend he can think of, all of whom are beneath Omega. Swann gets knocked down to the floor in a hurry but is right back with a dropkick to the floor. There’s the big flip dive to take Omega down again but he is right back with a belly to back suplex onto the apron.

They head back outside with Swann loading up the handspring cutter onto the apron but loses momentum and lance on his head instead. Back in and a buckle bomb rocks Swann again, meaning it’s time to work on Swann’s back injury. Various shots to the back, including some rather big knees, keep Swann in trouble. The Kitaro Crusher is avoided though and Swann kicks him in the head. Ax handles to the back are shrugged off and it’s a hurricanrana to drop Omega again.

A super hurricanrana gets one on Omega and he goes up again. This time Swann follows but has to backdrop his way out of a superbomb (with Omega almost landing on his head). The Phoenix splash gives Swann two but Omega is back with the Dr. Willy Bomb. The V Trigger looks to set up the One Winged Angel, with Swann escaping in a hurry. Another V Trigger connects in the corner, followed by another into the snapdragon. Another snapdragon connects but Swann is back up with the handspring cutter.

Swann tries it again but Omega pulls the Impact referee into it instead. Omega grabs a chair, which the AEW referee takes away. Swann hits the handspring cutter into la majistral for one, with Omega reversing into a cradle of his own for two. Another V Trigger misses and a spinning Michinoku Driver gets two on Omega. The Phoenix splash misses and it’s a V Trigger into an electric chair dropped into a German suplex for two more (ok that was cool).

Omega hits a Jay Driller for another near fall so, after some trash talk to Eddie Edwards, it’s another V Trigger. Swann gets fired up and manages a suplex for a breather but the Phoenix splash misses. Another V Trigger sets up the One Winged Angel to give Omega the pin and the title at 22:57.

Rating: B+. It’s a very good match, even with the ending that you knew was coming. Omega was always winning the title so he can do the belt collector deal, though I could have gone with at least trying for a little more drama. This match was built up as “Swann can’t beat Omega so watch Omega win the title” and that’s exactly what happened. They had some good action and tried, but this was all about getting to the ending that you knew was coming. That being said, points for not going too insane with everyone out there, even including the completely unnecessary ref bump.

Overall Rating: B. You had a rather good opener and an even better main event with nothing too horrible in between. This was actually quite the pay per view, as is usual for Impact. I’m really not sure where this goes for them in the future, but for now at least they had a rather good show. Just find the right way forward with Omega and the title and we’ll see what they can do, but they didn’t have a choice with the ending. Rather good show, book ended by a pair of awesome matches.

Results

Josh Alexander b. TJP and Ace Austin – Divine Intervention to Austin

Violent By Design b. Eddie Edwards/Chris Sabin/Willie Mack/James Storm – East River Crossing to Mack

Brian Myers b. Matt Cardona – Roster Cut

Rachael Ellering/Jordynne Grace b. Fire N Flava – Fisherman’s spinebuster to Hogan

Trey Miguel b. Sami Callihan – Callihan could not beat the ten count

FinJuice b. Good Brothers – Small package to Anderson

Deonna Purrazzo b. Tenille Dashwood – Queen’s Gambit

Kenny Omega b. Rich Swann – One Winged Angel

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Impact Wrestling
Date: April 22, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown

It’s the go home show for Rebellion and I’m curious to see how they push the rest of the card. The main event is long since set but we need more of the card being built up. We should be in for a good pay per view but some of that is going to be based on a good go home show. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a video on Rich Swann vs. Kenny Omega, including last week’s press conference.

Opening sequence.

Decay vs. Good Brothers

Rosemary is here with Decay. Anderson and Steve start things off with the former firing off some uppercuts. Steve gets smart by grabbing the arm and brings in Taurus to chop away in the corner. Decay takes turns on the arm but Andreson gets Taurus over to the corner so Gallows can hammer away.

A shot to the mask sets up Anderson’s chinlock, followed by Gallows’ elbows to the chest and a chinlock of his own. That’s broken up as well and the hot tag brings in Steve to pick up the pace. A low Downward Spiral gives Steve two and everything breaks down. Taurus is sent outside and Steve gets pulled out of the air for the Magic Killer and the pin at 5:14.

Rating: C-. The wrestling wasn’t great but this was exactly the point they were going for. You wanted the Brothers to look strong going into the title match and beating Decay is a fine enough way to do just that. There was no point in having Decay be any real kind of a threat here and they didn’t bother doing anything ridiculous.

Post match the Brothers thank FinJuice for giving them the motivation and pouring the gasoline on them to make their fire hotter. FinJuice better have enjoyed their shiny titles in Roppongi (because it’s in Japan) because on Sunday, it’s a Magic Killer and new champs.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

We get some predictions on Rich Swann vs. Kenny Omega, with most of the Impact wrestlers predicting Swann walks out with both titles.

Video on Violent By Design vs. James Storm/Chris Sabin/Willie Mack/Eddie Edwards on Sunday. Granted based on the video, you would think it was James Storm vs. Eric Young, but this was more intense than most of their recap packages, which is a good thing.

Susan vs. Tenille Dashwood

Deonna Purrazzo and Kaleb With A K are here too. Susan wins a test of strength to start but gets reversed into a sunset flip for an early near fall. Purrazzo offers a distraction from the floor though and we take a break. Back with Dashwood caught in a full nelson and getting slammed down onto her face. Susan shouts at her about something, with Dashwood seeming confused. A slugout goes to Dashwood, who sends her into the corner for the Taste of Tenille. The Tarantula sets up the Spotlight Kick to finish Susan at 8:07.

Rating: D+. This was little more than a squash to boost Dashwood up a little more before the pay per view. Dashwood looked fine here, but there is nothing here that makes me think we are in for some classic on Sunday. At the same time, what in the world has happened to Su Yung? This Susan stuff is really dull and seems like a horrible waste of her talent. Why would you take someone who was unique and interesting and make them the exact opposite? Find something else for her to do and get rid of this stuff.

Post match Dashwood calls Purrazzo into the ring and says she has done more for women’s wrestling than Purrazzo, who wouldn’t be here without her. So keep the title shiny because Dashwood has a photo shoot ready for it. Purrazzo looks ticked.

Brian Myers isn’t stuck in the past like Matt Cardona, so on Sunday, Myers is taking him out.

More wrestlers make Swann vs. Omega picks.

Video on Swann vs. Omega.

Sami Callihan says Trey Miguel threw everything away. He saw something in Trey and now it is time to make an example out of him. This Sunday it is Last Man Standing as Callihan is going to give him a chance to get back up…..before making sure he can never walk again.

Shera vs. Jake Something

Rohit Raju is here with Shera and I do like the rain looking graphics around the arena during Jake’s entrance. Shera slams him down to start and drops a heavy elbow for two. Back up and Jake slugs away, setting up the discus forearm for a knockdown. Raju offers a distraction though and Shera hits the Sky High to finish Jake at 3:22.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here with Shera getting a random match to give him a push. I’m not going to buy that going anywhere because there is no reason to think it is going to matter, but at least they are trying something with him. Speaking of Something, Jake has fallen through the floor and given his ring name, I’m not at all surprised. It’s the difference between one off indy appearances and a regular national promotion, but that has been lost on today’s generation.

Trey Miguel talks to his fellow trainer at his wrestling school and rants about how he has to prove himself to Sami Callihan for some reason. He’s ready to show who he is on Sunday.

We hit the Trey training montage.

Video on Josh Alexander vs. TJP vs. Ace Austin for the X-Division Title at Rebellion.

Here’s Rich Swann for a chat, with Striker saying that anyone who has ever put a piece of wrist tape on their wrist before a match has something in common with him. As someone who has never wrestled, I feel rather detached from the following segment. Swann talks about how he made a mistake last week when he tried to shake Omega’s hand last week, so get out here right now.

Kenny Omega and Don Callis pop up on screen to talk about how excited they are to have Omega win a third title. He needs a bigger house and another Swiss bank account. Goodbye and good night, bang. They leave….and here’s the returning Moose. He’s here to congratulate Swann because he has had a long time to think about what happened at Sacrifice.

Moose has some advice for Swann, who should be ready for this match because he took the TNA Title from a wrestling god. Swann has been shown what pain really feels like and Moose is bigger, stronger and faster than Omega. The only advantages Omega has are his three stooges, so Swann better not lose those titles.

More predictions.

Taylor Wilde is coming back and we actually see her for a change.

Kiera Hogan vs. Jordynne Grace

Tasha Steelz is here with Hogan. Grace jumps her to start and grabs a quick torture rack. That doesn’t last long so Grace sends her into the corner and comes out with a MuscleBuster, which draws in Steelz for the DQ at 1:55.

Post match the beatdown is on but the debuting Rachael Ellering runs in for the save to be Grace’s partner. Grace: “Rachael Ellering is going to be my partner at Rebellion!” In case you weren’t paying attention.

From Rebellion 2020: Chris Bey wins a four way match.

FinJuice mocks the Good Brothers for their excuses and now it is time for them to lose again.

Video on Omega vs. Swann.

Here’s what’s coming with Wrestle Week.

Commentary runs down the Rebellion card.

Eric Young vs. Eddie Edwards

The rest of Violent By Design, James Storm, Chris Sabin and Willie Mack are all here. Young is wrestling this on a torn ACL, which isn’t mentioned by commentary. They grapple against the ropes to start until Eddie snaps off a headlock takeover. An atomic drop into an overhead belly to belly send Young flying and we take a break.

Back with Edwards working on a front facelock but Young fights up and gets Eddie’s leg tied in the rope. That’s enough for Young to send him outside and it’s time to tease the big brawl. Back in and we hit the chinlock on Eddie for a bit. Young goes up but gets superplexed back down for the big crash. They slug it out with Eddie getting the better of it but Young slips out of the Backpack Stunner.

Instead Eddie hits a Blue Thunder Bomb as Striker thanks everyone for being so nice to him around here. As I try to fathom someone liking Matt Striker’s commentary, Young is back with a Death Valley Driver for two of his own. A tiger driver gives Eddie two more but Young rolls outside before the Boston Knee Party. Everyone gets in a fight on the floor, leaving Young to small package Eddie for the pin at 15:05.

Rating: C+. Pretty good main event here, especially considering Young’s injury. I wouldn’t have bet on them being able to do something this well all things considered but it worked out. Having the ending go the way it did was a surprise and one that I’ve always liked. There is something cool about going with one big move after another and then finishing with a quick cradle. Good match, and Young’s injury makes it more impressive.

The big brawl is on as Striker goes nuts hyping up the pay per view to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. I was hoping for something other than Swann vs. Omega getting the focus here but that’s ALL they did with this show. It is certainly the biggest match on the card but egads it’s kind of hard to get interested in a match that AEW has given all of the focus of a 3:30am infomercial about buying real estate for no money down. The rest of the show was just kind of there, as this was all about the title match. That’s a logical idea, but it wasn’t the most entertaining night in the world.

Results

Good Brothers b. Decay – Magic Killer to Crazzy Steve

Tenille Dashwood b. Susan – Spotlight kick

Shera b. Jake Something – Sky High

Jordynne Grace b. Kiera Hogan via DQ when Tasha Steelz interfered

Eric Young b. Eddie Edwards – Small package

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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We haven’t been around for one of these in a little while. Impact Wrestling is back with another of its quarterlyish pay per views with Rebellion, and this time it is al about the guest star. The big main event is AEW World Champion Kenny Omega vs. Impact Wrestling World Champion Rich Swann in a title for title match. Impact has done everything it can to make this interesting and it has gone about as well as you would expect. Maybe the rest of the show can make up for it. Let’s get to it.

Tag Team Titles: FinJuice(c) vs. Good Brothers

Let’s get this out of the way to start: FinJuice is not very interesting. They’re talented in the ring, but their characters in Impact boil down to “we’re from New Japan and like wrestling.” Unless I’ve missed something, there isn’t much more to them than that. I understand why it’s a big deal to have the titles defended in New Japan for Impact but it doesn’t do much for the champs. The Good Brothers aren’t much better, but at least they’re around.

Without much drama, the Good Brothers win the titles back here, ending the quick excursion title reign. That way we can have the titles on Dynamite as well as the Good Brothers get to speak in insider terms and hang out with Omega even more while making young boy jokes. It worked so well the first time so why not let them do it again since they’re having so much fun?

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Fire N Flava(c) vs. Rachael Ellering/Jordynne Grace

The titles go more and more in the same vein as the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles as we have another thrown together team getting a title shot. Ellering debuted on Impact as a replacement for the retired Jazz so sure let’s have a title match. These titles have not exactly gone well, though Fire N Flava are rather good as the annoying heels who talk WAY too much.

I’ll go with the champs retaining here, just for the sake of not dealing with someone who wasn’t in the promotion three weeks ago becoming a champion. I’m still not sure how necessary these titles are, but there are enough women on the show that it makes some sense. I just wish they would do a better job setting up teams, especially given how many options they have. But yeah, the champs retain here, as they should.

Trey Miguel vs. Sami Callihan

This is Last Man Standing and hopefully this wraps up their feud before they suddenly become best friends who kind of hate each other but work together anyway. It’s a tired trope and you see it enough today all over the place but you know it’s probably coming. They should be able to have a good match though as Miguel can do anything and Callihan is made for this kind of a brawl.

I’ll take Miguel to win here as it would pay off the idea of him having no heart, especially if he can survive a package piledriver or two. Callihan is already a former World Champion so the loss isn’t going to do much damage. Go with what makes sense here, which hopefully means they go in different directions after the match. Miguel is someone with a lot of potential and he doesn’t need to be bogged down with Callihan as his partner.

Matt Cardona vs. Brian Myers

I’m not sure what to think of this one as they have done a decent enough job of keeping this from being Zack Ryder vs. Curt Hawkins, but what we’re getting still isn’t all that great. These two are just kind of there in the ring, though they do their things well enough. I don’t know if I really need to see the match, but this is the logical way to go for both of them.

I think I’ll go with Cardona winning here, as I don’t think Impact is ready for the devastating power of a guy with a running clothesline as a finisher. Cardona is more interesting than Myers, who can stick around as a gatekeeper for the midcard, which is where he fits in best. The match itself should be fine, though I’m scared about how annoying Matt Striker is going to be.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo(c) vs. Tenille Dashwood

Dashwood really is one of the weirdest cases in all of Impact, as she should be the top star given all of the potential she has, but for one reason or another it has never clicked. It feels like it has taken forever to get us to her having a big time title match and I’m really not sure if she is actually going to win the title. This could go either way, but what should be a coronation is feeling more like an obligation.

I’ll go with Purrazzo to win here as she seems like someone who could be champion for a very long time to come. There is not much of a reason to put the title on Dashwood here other than “hey maybe we should make Dashwood champion”. Hopefully they figure that out, because Purrazzo is being turned into quite the champion. I don’t know who takes it off of her, but hopefully they have some time before they need to figure it out.

Violent By Design vs. Chris Sabin/Eddie Edwards/James Storm/Willie Mack

I’m curious as to how this one is going to go as Eric Young has a torn ACL. He is capable of having a decent match even on one leg, but I’m not sure if this match has been taped in advance or not. This is a match that has been set up fairly well so hopefully the match goes as good as it could. The match should be a solid one, assuming they don’t do anything nuts, which they should be able to pull off here.

This could go either way, but with Young hurt and going away for a pretty long time, there is little reason to have Violent By Design here. Therefore, I’ll take the motley crew to win here, which makes sense given the situation. Above all else, they could have a way to write off Young here, which could go in a few different directions. Just have a violent match with the right people going over and everything should be fine.

X-Division Title: Ace Austin(c) vs. TJP vs. Josh Alexander

This is the first Impact match in a good while that I have been looking forward to this much. These guys are all talented and capable of coming up with something awesome. They have been feuding over the title for a little over a month now and this is the logical way to go. As long as they are given time and the chance to have a great match, this is all but destined to steal the show.

I’ll go with a hunch here and say Alexander wins. You really could go in any of the three ways to walk out with the title. Madman Fulton can help Austin out a bit but I think someone winds up tapping to Alexander to give him the title for the first time. The good thing about this match is that you really could go with any of them, meaning that if the match is given the chance to shine, we should be in for an awesome match no matter what happens.

Impact Wrestling World Title/AEW World Title: Rich Swann(c) vs. Kenny Omega(c)

And now we have the match that Impact has treated as the biggest match of all time and AEW casually acknowledges if they have nothing else to do because Lost In Space was a rerun this week. This seems to be part of AEW’s grand plan to make Omega the champion of all things, meaning you should be able to see how this one is going. Granted you should have been able to see that from the second Omega showed up in Impact.

Omega could win this match if he showed up to work without his pants, so of course he is walking out with the titles. This is what AEW thinks is some kind of amazing story and if they just have to make Impact look weak to do so, I’m sure Impact will go along with it because that is what they do. The match will be good, but Swann has as much of a chance at winning as I have of being Miss Nevada 1972.

Overall Thoughts

The more I look at this card, the less interested I am in the show. The main event and Tag Team Title match don’t do much for me as the endings are just about obvious. There are interesting parts on the show, but I’m not sure how many of them are going to live up to the hype. Then again, Impact has a great record of having good shows with bad builds, so maybe they can pull it off again here.

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Impact Wrestling
Date: April 15, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

We’re almost to Rebellion and the big story out of last week saw Rich Swann get some confidence back when he faced Kenny Omega in a six man tag. This week is going to be about more of the big push towards the show, which should make for an interesting week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Jazz losing a career vs. title match at Hardcore Justice and the six man.

TJP vs. Josh Alexander

Yeah this works. Josh gets taken down to start but TJP can’t break his bridge. TJP grabs a hammerlock on the mat and flips over a few times to crank on the arm so Alexander screams a lot. Back up and Alexander blocks an O’Connor roll but the second gives TJP two. TJP can’t get the Octopus so Alexander plants him with an electric chair drop. As Brown talks about a random kid wearing a One Winged Angel shirt as proof that Kenny Omega is on the American psyche, Alexander hits a knee in the corner and the Gory Special goes on.

With that broken up, the slingshot dropkick misses so Alexander grabs the ankle lock in the ropes. That is countered into a triangle choke on the floor in a pretty awesome sequence. They get back in with TJP hitting a top rope superplex but the Octopus is countered into another ankle lock with TJP bailing over to the rope.

Some boot scrapes in the corner set up a running boot to the face so TJP tries a cross armbreaker. That’s reversed into an ankle lock which is reversed into the cross armbreaker but Alexander is out of that as well. The kneebar sends Alexander back to the rope so TJP goes up for the Mamba Splash, which is again countered into the ankle lock. With that not working either, Alexander grabs Divine Intervention for the pin at 11:52.

Rating: B. These two did their thing just like they did before and it is no surprise that the match wound up working here. The counters into the holds and then those holds being countered as well are amazing to see and that is what they do so well. Throw in Ace Austin on Sunday and they could be in for an instant classic.

Here’s what’s coming during Wrestle Week.

Coming soon: LET’S GET WILDE! Striker: “Tailor made.”

Crazzy Steve vs. Karl Anderson

The rest of Decay and Doc Gallows are here too. Anderson takes him into the corner to start but Steve grabs a backslide, which is enough to send Anderson bailing outside for a breather. We take a break and come back with Anderson slapping on a chinlock. That’s broken up and Steve grabs a rollup out of the corner to set up a low Downward Spiral for two. Steve puts on the Upside Down in the corner but Anderson is right back with the spinebuster for the pin at 7:44.

Rating: C-. Just another match to give the Good Brothers some more momentum on their way to the title match, but what helps here is they are beating someone other than the champs. Granted that might be because the champs aren’t here, but I’ll take what I can get to get away from that tired trope. Not much to the match, though that wasn’t the point here.

Ace Austin and Madman Fulton come in to Swinger’s Palace. Austin hits on Alisha Edwards when TJP and Josh Alexander come in to talk about the odds. Cue Petey Williams for a Scott Steiner math promo. The women are stunned and Petey leaves without saying that the whole thing spells disaster. Swinger thinks he’s going to be the Million Dollar Swing Man.

Here are Eddie Edwards and Willie Mack for a chat. Eddie knows that they can’t win every match and they lost to Violent By Design at Hardcore Justice. For now though, they don’t like Violent By Design attacking Tommy Dreamer before their match. Violent By Design is messing with family and you don’t do that. Cue Violent By Design, with Eric Young talking about how proud he is of what he did. Young brags about doing everything he promises but Eddie says bring it. The fight is teased so here are James Storm and Chris Sabin run in for the save. Storm makes the challenge for an eight man tag at Rebellion (dance metaphors included).

Deonna Purrazzo asks Susan if she is ok but they run into Scott D’Amore, who warns them to stay away from Jazz’s retirement ceremony.

Tenille Dashwood has her own talk show with It’s All About Me. Her guest is interviewer Gia Miller, who points out that this is the same set from Locker Room Talk. Gia gets to ask her questions, who asks about the lack of a Knockouts Title reign. Dashwood brags about her success in everything else and now it is time to do the same in wrestling. After some confusion over who is actually the host of this show, Dashwood wraps it up and Miller is rather confused.

Here is Jazz with Jordynne Grace for her official retirement. Jazz talks about how she came back here in the hope of one more title run but it just didn’t happen. She and Grace worked together but couldn’t quite win the Knockouts Tag Team Titles. They rode hard though….and here is Fire N Flava to interrupt. Tasha Steelz says it is about time for Jazz to retire since she can’t win anything. Grace says they talk too much and issues the challenge. Since Jazz hasn’t officially retired yet (the semantics are strong with this one), let’s go.

Jazz/Jordynne Grace vs. Fire N Flava

Non-title (I think?) and all four are in street clothes. It’s a brawl to start with Grace hitting some running knees to Steelz in the corner. Jazz comes in to drop Hogan with a right hand. A sitout powerslam finishes Hogan at 1:22. So yeah the champs just lost clean in less than a minute and a half for a story that can’t go anywhere because Jazz is retiring. It’s kind of a nice moment but that might be a bit much.

Post match, Jazz retires and thanks the fans. The locker room comes out to slap the ring.

Post break, Scott D’Amore makes Fire N Flava vs. Grace/Jazz for the titles at Rebellion. Fire n Flava is annoyed (as they should be) but Jazz comes in to say she is a woman of her word. She won’t be in the match, but Grace can go for the titles. Jazz just happens to have a woman in mind for her. That’s quite the relief.

Brian Myers vs. ???

Matt Cardona gets to pick Myers’ opponent and it’s…..Jake Something. Jake starts fast by sending him hard into the corner as Striker tries to explain Myers vs. Cardona with some annoying analogy about a pool. Myers gets in a shot but gets knocked to the floor to start the chase. Back in and the Roster Cut finishes Jake at 2:22.

Now Myers gets to pick Cardona’s opponent.

Sami Callihan vs. Matt Cardona

Sami jumps him from behind before the bell and we take a break before the match. Cardona knocks him down for an early two as commentary talks about Kenny Omega vs. Rich Swann. They fight outside with Cardona sending him into the barricade before heading outside. A running charge misses though and Cardona crashes over the top in a heap.

Callihan follows him out for a t-bone suplex and we take another rather fast break. Back again with Sami hitting a hard clothesline for a near fall. Cardona manages Radio Silence for the same but a second attempt is blocked. The Cactus Special is countered but Callihan grabs a suplex for two more. Callihan is frustrated so it’s a thumb in the eye and the package piledriver for the pin at 12:44.

Rating: C. This got some time and they were both working to make this a better match than I was expecting. Losing to a former World Champion isn’t going to hurt Cardona that much, especially with a cheating finish. Not too bad here, with Sami knowing how to do a brawl like this and Cardona being more than good enough to hang with him

Post match Callihan says it is time for some more important things. He calls out Trey Miguel, who comes to the ring but isn’t happy with Callihan validating his passion. Miguel talks about coming out here last week because he had to deal with XXXL. Callihan doesn’t buy it and says they should join forces so he can mentor Miguel to the next level. That’s a no, so Callihan calls him out for a lack of gratitude.

Callihan reveals that he attacked Tommy Dreamer at Hardcore Justice so Miguel could get the shot, meaning the brawl is on…with Miguel being dropped off a clothesline. Miguel tries to get up but gets chaired right back down. A suplex through the open chair and Callihan leaves, though he is pleased with Miguel trying to get up. Just let them team together already so we can complete this story, which has been done to death, already.

FinJuice is ready to come back to Rebellion and beat the Good Brothers. Fascinating indeed.

Here’s what’s coming Wrestle Week, next week and at Rebellion.

It’s time for a press conference for Kenny Omega vs. Rich Swann. Omega isn’t here yet so we’ll question Swann instead. He is ready to face more adversity because he has done it his whole life and will do it again. Mike Johnson of Pro Wrestling Insider brings up Bruno Sammartino vs. Lou Thesz in a title vs. title match never happening and asks if the champ will wrestle on both shows. Tony Khan says of course Omega will and he expects Swann to do the same. Scott D’Amore says it can happen and both bosses guarantee a winner.

Cue Omega and Don Callis, complete with entrance music. Callis is asked when he is going to stop playing both sides, which he says is enough already. He takes over the podium and introduces Omega, who wears a suit better than I would have expected. Omega talks about how he is used to standing at a podium like this but Swann has never been here.

Omega was put on this planet to make a difference while Swann is here because he likes wrestling. Swann is just a means to an end because this match opened the Forbidden Door. Now Swann is taking part in history and Omega offers a handshake. Instead he slaps Swann in the face, triggering the brawl to end the show. This was a good effort on treating the match like a big deal, but the result about as much of a foregone conclusion as you can get. It’s also at least talking about the match and that’s more than AEW has done.

Overall Rating: C. This show went by fast and that’s a good thing as they had a lot to cover. Rebellion is in about a week and a half and the card is coming together. Swann vs. Omega does feel big, but AEW not caring and the result being almost a lock is a lot for them to overcome. The rest of the show was the usual mixed bag, though the opener was very good.

Results

Josh Alexander b. TJP – Divine Intervention

Karl Anderson b. Crazzy Steve – Spinebuster

Jazz/Jordynne Grace b. Fire N Flava – Sitout powerslam to Hogan

Brian Myers b. Jake Something – Roster Cut

Sami Callihan b. Matt Cardona – Package piledriver

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Dynamite
Date: April 14, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It’s time for Dynamite to be on their own on Wednesday nights as the Wednesday Night Wars have come to an end. This is also an interesting time for AEW as the last few shows have seen a slip in their audience and some of their shows have not been quite so well received. AEW has a very good track record of correcting their issues though and maybe they can do it again. Let’s get to it.

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

The Young Bucks talk about how they picked friendship last week. They’re tired of others taking their credit so it is time to bring back the old Young Bucks, which they demonstrate by cutting the tassels off of their gear.

Mike Tyson is ready to be the guest enforcer this week but MJF comes up to say the Pinnacle isn’t happy with him. Tyson thinks MJF is his enemy, even while MJF tries to talk him into thinking it’s Jericho. MJF offers him a blank check but Tyson rips it up….and then eats part of it. That’s too far for MJF, who says he’ll remember that.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Tag Team Titles: Rey Fenix/Pac vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are defending and Don Callis comes to the ring with them before going to commentary. Pac takes Matt to the ground to start and rides him a bit before it’s off to Fenix vs. Nick. The pace is picked up with neither of them being able to get very far until a shot to Fenix’s back takes him down. A backdrop into a powerbomb doesn’t work as Fenix snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor.

The Bucks are sent outside for the back to back dives, followed by a series of kicks to rock Matt for two. Nick comes back in with the slingshot X Factor to Fenix and a double hiptoss sets up a double dropkick for a very lazy two. It’s back to Pac for a brainbuster on Nick as everything breaks down. The Bucks hit stereo apron powerbombs and then take it back inside for a running knee to Pac. A hyped up back rake keeps Pac down and we take a break.

Back with Pac backdropping Matt out to the floor, where he pulls Fenix off the apron. Pac knocks Matt away though and brings in Fenix to pick up the pace, including a double cutter for two on the Bucks. Everything breaks down and Fenix grabs the Blue Thunder Bomb for two on Matt.

The big flip dive takes Nick down on the floor as Pac grabs a German suplex for two. They head outside again with Fenix and Nick hitting stereo poisonranas. Back in and a top rope superplex drops Matt, setting up the Black Arrow for two with Nick driving Pac into the cover for two. Pac is sent to the floor so the Bucks take off Fenix’s mask and hit a double superkick to retain at 23:23.

Rating: B. The action was good but the mask stealing is a pretty cliched way to deal with a luchador. It didn’t help that there was no drama about a title change whatsoever. Now that the Elite is complete or whatever we’re doing here, it is going to be a long time before the champs actually get beat. Fenix and Pac looked good, but I’m not seeing them getting the titles anytime soon.

Hangman Page goes to get some egg rolls as John Silver and the Dark Order work on physical therapy for Silver’s shoulder injury.

Chris Jericho talks about knowing Mike Tyson for years, even back to when Tyson knocked him out years ago. Now, Jericho knows he needs some help and Tyson was the first person he called. Tonight, Tyson is the enforcer but Tyson says he’ll call it down the line, including knocking Jericho out if he has to.

Jade Cargill vs. Red Velvet

It’s a brawl to start with Velvet slipping out of a powerbomb and kicking Cargill in the face. Cargill gets low bridged to the floor and Velvet hits a big dive. That’s fine with Cargill, who fall away slams Velvet into the wrestlers at ringside. Back in and Cargill slams her again as we take a break. We come back with Cargill missing a charge into the corner but some clotheslines don’t put her down. Velvet finally manages to drop her with a wheelbarrow bulldog into the standing moonsault for two. The moonsault only grazes Cargill’s back so she’s up with Jaded (Glam Slam) for the pin at 7:40.

Rating: C-. They’re keeping this stuff fast and safe and that is a good idea for these two. Cargill still has all of the charisma and ability to play to the camera in the world but she is going to need a lot more ring time. Velvet isn’t the one to carry her that much farther, but they are doing something smart by letting them have such basic matches.

Britt Baker and Rebel give us an update on Baker’s rankings as she marches towards the Women’s Title.

Anthony Ogogo vs. Cole Carter

This is Ogogo’s, a bronze medalist in boxing, in-ring debut. After some quick grappling, Ogogo finishes with a punch to the ribs for the referee stoppage. That seemed rather fast.

Dax Harwood vs. Chris Jericho

Cash Wheeler, Tully Blanchard and Sammy Guevara are here and Mike Tyson is guest enforcer. They go straight to the brawling to start and the fight heads outside. Back in and Harwood nails him with a clothesline before it’s right back to the floor. This time Jericho stabs him in the head with a pen and then does his steal the camera bit. That takes too long so Harwood whips him into a barricade and gets in an argument with Tyson as we take a break.

Back with Jericho hitting a top rope ax handle into a lariat for two. Harwood runs him over again but misses a diving headbutt, allowing Jericho to grab the Walls. That’s broken up so Jericho misses the Judas Effect, allowing Harwood to German suplex him for two. The Codebreaker connects for Jericho but here are the Pinnacle and Inner Circle to fight. Wheeler goes for the bat so Tyson knocks him out. A Guevara distraction lets Jericho hit the Judas Effect for the pin at 13:14.

Rating: C+. This was a fine enough way to continue the build towards Blood & Guts, though it’s kind of a downgrade after they started with the huge brawls. That being said, the brawl on the stage made sense and it would have been weird to not have this wind up being some big mess. Tyson was fine in his role, and leaving it simple for him is the right idea.

Post match Jericho makes Tyson a member of the Inner Circle.

The Elite talks about everything they are doing now. This is the old version of them and that means the gold will follow. Like the gold they already had? Be prepared to be surprised again. And Callis superkicks the camera.

Thunder Rosa wants the NWA Women’s Title.

Kris Statlander vs. Amber Nova

Statlander starts fast with a boop each for Nova and the referee. Schiavone talks about his time being booped and it’s Statlander hitting a running elbow in the corner. The Big Bang Theory finishes Nova at 2:48.

Post match, Statlander and the Best Friends strike the pose.

Team Taz is ready to go get Christian’s response but Taz thinks Ricky Starks should stay backstage. Brian Cage agrees, but Taz tells him to do the same.

Here is Christian for an open challenge but Taz and company interrupt. Taz asks for an answer so Christian says no, sending Taz into a rant about how he never liked Christian or “his friend”. He even accuses Christian of wearing Taz’s colors and promises vengeance. Powerhouse Hobbs comes to the ring and the brawl is on, with Hobbs getting the better of things. Hobbs sends him into the barricade and then drops him onto the steps to leave Christian laying.

Video on Tay Conti vs. Hikaru Shida before their title match next week.

TNT Title: Matt Hardy vs. Darby Allin

Allin is defending and this is Falls Count Anywhere. Matt grabs a chair to knock Allin down to start and they head outside, where Matt sends him face first into the apron over and over. They head back inside with Allin already bleeding from the back. A neckbreaker gives Hardy two and he chairs Allin down again. Allin’s neck is put in the chair but the Twist of Fate is countered with a chair ram into Hardy’s neck.

Some chair shots to the back have Hardy in more trouble….and here is the Hardy Family Office to go after Allin. The Dark Order comes in for the brawl and here is Sting to get in on things. We take a break and come back with Sting and Lancer Archer having a staredown, with Archer going over to give Isaiah Kassidy the Black Out. Allin pounds on Hardy and Sting throws him the bat to make it worse.

A low blow cuts that off though and a Twist of Fate with the chair around Allin’s neck gets two. Not two weeks off the show as it probably should, but a two count. Hardy takes it backstage in front of Tony Khan and BJ Whitmer, with Allin being legdropped through a table for two. Back to the stage, where Allin slips out of a Razor’s Edge for a low blow of his own. Allin gets in a few shots with the bat to knock Hardy onto the announcers’ table. The Coffin Drop puts Hardy through the table to retain at 16:30.

Rating: C. So they started the match, then they did something completely different with Sting/Archer/everyone else, then they got back to the match where Allin survived a lot, hit him with the bat and won with a huge Coffin Drop. This felt like two segments crammed together and it only kind of worked, as I lost track of the match for a long portion. It was energetic and some of the spots were pretty good, but I don’t care about Hardy and the Twist of Fate onto the chair being a minor annoyance for Allin left me rolling my eyes more than anything else.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was all over the place and that might not be the best thing in the world. They did a few things rather well, mainly involving the stuff in the ring, but other than that, this was kind of a crazy one with one thing happening after another. I’ll give them points for not focusing on the Elite as much, but I’m not really sure what the big deal of this show was supposed to be. The Bucks would make the most sense, but they were gone about halfway through the show. It felt like they were just throwing stuff out there and while a good bit of it worked, the show felt tossed together and that isn’t like them.

Results

Young Bucks b. Rey Fenix/Pac – Double superkick to Fenix

Jade Cargill b. Red Velvet – Jaded

Anthony Ogogo b. Cole Carter via referee stoppage

Chris Jericho b. Dax Harwood – Judas Effect

Kris Statlander b. Amber Nova – Big Bang Theory

Darby Allin b. Matt Hardy – Coffin Drop through the announcers’ table

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: April 8, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown

It’s the first show on a new night as Impact is back on Thursdays. As a result it is time for a stacked card, including the first ever Kenny Omega match around here. Throw in the fact that we are less than three weeks away from Rebellion and it is time to start setting up the card. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Jordynne Grace/Havok/Rosemary vs. Tenille Dashwood/Nevaeh/Alisha Edwards

There are all kinds of people at ringside. Grace drives Alisha into the corner to start but she is right back with a quick Downward Spiral for two. A Jackhammer gets two on Alisha and it’s off to Rosemary to scary Dashwood out to the floor. The chase lets Havok knock Dashwood down but Kaleb With A K gets her off the table. Grace hits a big dive onto Kaleb but gets taken into the corner for some rapid fire stomping.

Dashwood charges into some boots though and Grace rolls over for the tag off to Rosemary. House is cleaned in a hurry and Rosemary catches Alisha in the Upside Down. Alisha is back up as everything breaks down again. Nevaeh Russian legsweeps Havok off the apron and through the table at ringside, leaving Rosemary to hit the Red Wedding to finish Alisha at 7:49.

Rating: C-. As usual, there is only so much you can do when you have this many people involved in a match, especially including everyone on the floor. The match wasn’t bad by any means, but it is just a preview of the Hardcore Justice match. Thankfully they didn’t stay out there too long, as I’ve rarely gotten the idea behind seeing people wrestle on one show to get to see them wrestle on another show later in the week.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Matt Cardona wants Brian Myers but tonight he’ll settle for Jake Something.

Coming soon: Let’s Get WILDE.

Susan seems to have some Su Yung flashbacks.

Matt Cardona vs. Jake Something

Cardona’s headlock doesn’t last long so Jake powers him out to the floor for a running shoulder. A basement dropkick puts Jake outside again but he’s right back in to run through Cardona without much trouble. Cardona flips out of a suplex and grabs a neckbreaker for a breather and hits a quick faceplant to rock him again. Radio Silence is countered into a sitout powerbomb for two and they crash out to the floor over the top. Cue Brian Myers to jump both of them at the same time for the DQ at 4:59.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to get very far but it was nice to see Cardona being treated as someone who is just being himself instead of some former WWE star. He is starting to fit in around here and that is a great thing for a change. Hopefully we are getting something better with the Myers feud though, because it isn’t exactly thrilling stuff so far. Jake continues to just be there, probably because his last name is Something.

Post match Myers hits Cardona in the face with the steps, possibly taking out Cardona’s eye. Sure he’ll fight Cardona at Hardcore Justice.

XXXL laughs at Trey Miguel but he isn’t teaming with Sami Callihan. More insulting seems to make Miguel think about it though.

Eric Young blames Deaner for last week’s loss but worry not, because Deaner can make up for it tonight.

XXXL vs. Sami Callihan/Trey Miguel

Well in theory at least because there is no Miguel. Actually scratch that as yes there is, and he charges into the ring to go after both monsters on his own. Trey sends them to the floor and loads up a dive but Sami tags himself in and we take a break. Back with Acey planting Trey with a side slam. XXXL picks Trey up and drops him down for a crash but Sami comes in for the save. Trey tags himself back in and they glare at each other, setting up the stereo dives. Back in and Trey grabs the Hourglass to make Larry tap at 7:47.

Rating: D+. Yeah we’re going with this story again because it is something that just cannot go away forever. I’m not sure why people find this interesting, but for some reason the tag partners who hate each other keeps coming up over and over. Now it’s Sami and Trey, because there was nothing else that could be done with them and this is as good as we can get because reasons. Nothing match of course, because this is all about the tired idea that we’ve forever, because of course it is.

Chris Harris and James Storm have a good time at Swinger’s Palace.

Chris Sabin vs. Deaner

Sabin starts fast with some rollups for two each before working on the arm. Deaner gets more serious by choking away in the corner but Sabin is back with a dragon screw legwhip. A running boot in the corner sets up a fisherman’s driver for two. Deaner’s rollup gets two as Sabin’s foot is underneath the rope so he sends Sabin into the corner instead. A pull out into a sitout powerbomb gets two but Deaner’s rollup with feet on the ropes only gets two. Sabin is right back with the Cradle Shock for the pin at 5:35.

Rating: C-. Another match which was designed to continue the story of one of the weaker stables going on at the moment. I’m still not getting into Violent By Design and Young’s brainwashing of a guy who was a redneck pest about three months ago. Sabin is still good for almost anything though and it is nice to see him back in the ring on his own for a change.

Post match Eric Young pops up on screen and Chris Harris has been attacked. Rhino comes in and Gores Sabin as Young shouts again like he does every single week.

Josh Alexander tells Ace Austin about a triple threat match for the X-Division Title. TJP comes in and is rather happy about it as well but here’s Tommy Dreamer to make a hardcore triple threat tag match for Hardcore Justice with TJP, Austin and Alexander getting to pick a partner.

Post break, Eric Young comes up to Tommy Dreamer and doesn’t like him being in charge at Hardcore Justice. Dreamer says he’ll get some friends and fight Violent By Design at Hardcore Justice too.

Video on Jazz’s career and how she went everywhere in the industry.

Deonna Purrazzo is ready for Jazz, because she is ready to take over the foundation that Jazz has built. She is even willing to face Jazz on her own.

Tommy Dreamer catches up with Brian Myers and makes it Myers vs. Cardona a hardcore blindfold match.

Here’s what’s coming at Hardcore Justice.

Willie Mack/Rich Swann/Eddie Edwards vs. Kenny Omega/Good Brothers

Don Callis handles Omega’s entrance. It’s a brawl to start with Swann and Omega being left alone. Omega tries a dive to the floor but takes out the Good Brothers by mistake. Swann and company hit their own dives and we take a break. Back with Anderson getting triple teamed, including a flipping legdrop to the back of the neck getting two. Gallows comes in to drive Edwards into the corner as Striker thinks the Good Brothers are bad role models.

Omega drives Edwards’ face into the mat and it’s back to Gallows for a chinlock. This lets Striker talk about how great Omega is and saying if you don’t like him, there is more than enough wrestling around. So yeah, if you don’t like what you’re seeing here, change the channel. Edwards gets up and brings in Mack to clean house The standing moonsault hits Anderson and Omega at the same time but Gallows takes him down and hammers away.

We take another break and come back again with Omega dropping an elbow on Mack before handing it off to Anderson, who misses a charge. Striker talks about how obnoxious it gets to have Omega and the Brothers praising Japan all the time. Yeah imagine a wrestler trying to sound smarter and cooler than everyone else. And imagine them getting to do commentary for two hours a week.

A chinlock keeps Mack in trouble but Omega falls down on a slam attempt. Mack hits a double clothesline to Anderson and Omega, allowing the hot tag to Swann. A double bulldog gets two on Omega and everything breaks down. Omega drops Edwards and it’s time for the parade of people hitting each other in the face. The V Trigger drops Mack and a triple splash (with Striker pointing out that they did it in Japan) gets two on Edwards with Swann making the save.

The tag brings in Swann and for the slugout with Omega, who tries the quick One Winged Angel. Swann escapes, with Striker saying that means Swann can escape the One Winged Angel. Swann’s 450 gets two and Callis has to break up the pin. No matter as the Boston Knee Party to Anderson sets up the Phoenix splash for the pin at 22:26.

Rating: B-. It was an entertaining enough match and they did a nice job of making Swann seem like a bit more of a threat to Omega. Now granted this might have raised his chances of winning from zero percent up to about a third of a single percent because Omega is absolutely walking out with another title, but at least they tried. The other people were just kind of there, but Edwards vs. Omega could be interesting.

Overall Rating: C. This is one of the better Impacts in a bit, mainly because they were doing a rapid fire build towards Hardcore Justice and couldn’t waste a bunch of time. I’m still not wild on a lot of the things that they are doing at the moment, but at least they have something to do and that is more than you can say about them for the last few….well months probably.

Results

Rosemary/Jordynne Grace/Havok b. Tenille Dashwood/Nevaeh/Alisha Edwards – Red Wedding to Edwards

Matt Cardona vs. Jake Something went to a double DQ when Brian Myers interfered

Trey Miguel/Sami Callihan b. XXXL – Hourglass to Larry D.

Chris Sabin b. Deaner – Cradle Shock

Rich Swann/Willie Mack/Eddie Edwards b. Kenny Omega/Good Brothers – Phoenix splash to Anderson

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

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Dynamite
Date: April 7, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

Believe it or not we have a big six man tag here with the Young Bucks and Jon Moxley teaming up to face Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers. That certainly has potential, as does the next step in the Inner Circle vs. the Pinnacle. Throw in the explanation from QT Marshall about his new group and….you’ll realize that this place has a lot of stables. Oh and Mike Tyson is here again. Let’s get to it.

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

The Inner Circle arrived in some very expensive cars.

Opening sequence.

Max Caster vs. Hangman Page

Page doesn’t seem to like the rap and sends Caster into the buckle over and over. Caster gets in some right hands of his own but Page takes him down and hits a backsplash for two. They head outside where Page sends him into the barricade but stops to yell at Anthony Bowens. Back in and Page sends Caster outside again, this time setting up a slingshot dive. Caster is sat on the barricade for a clothesline, followed by a stare to get Bowens to put the boom box down.

The distraction lets Caster start in on the arm with some knee drops and a hammerlock with a crossface. That doesn’t last long as Page is back up with a spinebuster into an exploder suplex for two. They head to the apron for a slugout until Caster charges into a belly to back drop. Page goes up again but Bowens offers another distraction, allowing Caster to grab a superplex.

Zack Gibson’s Shankly Gates has Page in trouble but he’s out in a hurry and clotheslines Caster out of the air. The boom box comes in again for a distraction, allowing Bowens to slide Caster the chain. One heck of a right hand gives Caster two but the Mic Drop misses. Bowens breaks up the Buckshot so Page takes him out, followed by the Buckshot Lariat to finish Caster at 10:04.

Rating: C. That’s kind of a long time to beat a tag guy (who was somehow #3 in the rankings). Page is the #1 contender for whenever he gets the title shot and at least he had to take care of both of the Acclaimed here. The match was fine enough, though it didn’t exactly make Page look like the guy who is ready to take on Omega.

Tony Schiavone brings in the Death Triangle for a chat. Before they can say anything, here are the Best Friends (now complete with Kris Stadtlander), with Orange Cassidy showing us a clip from May when the Triangle took them out. The Triangle laughs them off but Pac is willing to give them another beating. Trent says the boys are back in town and now they have an alien with them. I’ll consider that a Toy Story reference as we wrap things up, basically with an announcement of what is next for both group.

Urban Meyer, coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, talked with Mike Tyson earlier.

Here’s the Inner Circle for a chat. After a break, Chris Jericho says they’re back in black after a beatdown from the Pineapple. He apologizes for the bad things they did but that was because of MJF (My Jerkoff Friend). Jericho talks about being bad in chemistry, to the point where his high school teacher asked him if he was on dope. No one is smart at chemistry, but Jericho is smart at people. He didn’t let MJF into the Inner Circle to help him up, but rather to keep him under Jericho’s thumb.

Then MJF outsmarted them, but then Jericho put his face in a toilet. Jericho knows that MJF is going to be the great one one day but he wants to be the great one now. Instead, be better than Peter Avalon, be better than Michael Nakazawa and be better than that scarf, because it is old and is sucks. Jericho was doing the scarf thing five years ago so why is MJF stealing his s***?

MJF is the one who ran to the back to ask how he did, which is called being a mark. Actually, from now on we’re going to call that being a Max. Then there is the Pinnacle, which is quite the lineup. You have Tully Blanchard, who is nothing more than the third string member of the Four Horsemen, right between Ole Anderson and Paul Roma (OUCH). Then there is FTR, who he can’t tell apart. They’re like the Jonas Brothers, in that they’re talented but no one can remember who is which.

Then you have Shawn Spears, and the only thing Jericho knows about him is the phone call Jericho got from him when WWE fired him ten years ago. Finally there is Wardlow with a million dollar brain and a thirteen cent body (yes that is what Jericho said) and is so stupid he has to strip to count to 21. Jericho: “I’ve seen him do it.” They are going to turn the Pinnacle into a human centipede and on May 5, it’s Pinnacle vs. Inner Circle in a Blood & Guts match. Jericho was showing the fire here and his face turn should breathe some new life into him.

Christian Cage talks about bringing Kazarian up to another level last week. Taz comes in and offers him a spot on Team Taz but leaves pretty quickly, telling Christian to sleep on it.

Bear Country vs. Jurassic Express

Bear Country is sent outside to start, where they catch Boy’s dive. They can’t catch Luchasaurus though and it’s time to head back inside. Boy’s top rope hurricanrana is cut off so Luchasaurus dives at them and….bounces off of them, making Bronson and Boy stagger around a bit.

We take a break and come back with Boy taking a backdrop and being powered into the corner. A few elbows get him out of trouble and a few slides between the legs are enough for the hot tag to Luchasaurus. The hot tag brings in Luchasaurus to clean house with strikes but Bronson catches him on top with a superplex. Boy breaks up the cover and mostly hits a slingshot tornado DDT.

Luchasaurus covers Boulder but Bronson picks up Boy and drives him into the cover (while not looking great in the process) for a save of his own. A double Cannonball in the corner crushes Luchasaurus but he sits up to avoid some kind of electric chair splash. Boulder gets kicked in the face and sent to the floor, leaving Bronson to take a chokeslam. Luchasaurus’ standing moonsault is good for the pin at 8:58.

Rating: C-. This was rather messy with not much of a flow or anything, plus some ugly looking sequences and spots. They were kind of lumbering around and trying to go a little bit faster than they should have. Throw in the moves they were doing not quite working and it wasn’t the best thing in the world. At least Jurassic Express won, even if they aren’t getting close to the titles anytime soon.

QT Marshall talks about how sick he is of Cody Rhodes, who was stuck behind Ted Jr. in WWE. That’s why Cody went to the indies and surrounded himself with small guys so he could stand out for once. Marshall has surrounded himself with men, like Aaron Solow who will never be someone’s boyfriend (Bayley’s ex), Commarado, who will never be just a body guy, and Ogogo, who is a household name in the UK. This is Marshall’s factory now. Nice promo, but it’s still QT Marshall leading a stable.

Sting comes out for a chat but here’s Jake Roberts to cut him off before Sting can say a word. Jake says Sting is insane if he keeps trying the same thing and expecting something else. Cue Lance Archer to say how awesome he is and how sick he is of Sting getting the mic time. Sting takes the mic and says he’s tired of Archer being left out too. So why isn’t Jake telling him how to do it? Sting tells Archer to make it showtime and leaves.

Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky are watching from the rafters.

Taz cuts off Ricky Starks and Brian Page because they need to focus on Christian.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. JD Drake

Allin is defending and has Sting in his corner. Drake knocks him to the floor with a single chop, where Ryan Nemeth goes after Allin. That earns him a stalking to the back from Sting and we take a break with Allin still in trouble. Back with Allin rolling outside but Drake tosses him into the ropes (from the floor) and nails a hard clothesline. Drake’s Cannonball against the barricade only hits barricade so Allin takes out Cezar Bononi (because Drake has multiple friends too).

Back in and Drake gets him in the Tree of Woe, meaning the Cannonball can connect this time for two. Drake misses a moonsault that wouldn’t have connected even if Allin had stayed in the same place so Allin goes up top. That brings Drake up with him so Allin bites his finger for the break. The super Code Red sets up the Coffin Drop to retain at 9:13.

Rating: C. Not too bad here and it’s nice to see Allin having an actual title defense. Drake is someone with potential, though I’m not sure where he (and his friends) fit in other than being new jobbers. This was fine for a one off match and that’s all it needed to be, though I’m curious as to what Allin’s next actual feud will be.

Post match the Hardy Family Office runs in for the beatdown but Sting and the Dark Order makes the save. Tay Conti comes in for the brawl with the Bunny.

Video on Kenny Omega’s issues with the Young Bucks, who used to be friends, then they weren’t friends, then they were friends, then they weren’t friends, then Don Callis talked to them a lot, and now it’s complicated.

The Pinnacle jumps Chris Jericho and bring him into the ring for the beatdown. The spike piledriver plants him as we see the Inner Circle locked in their dressing room. They break through the door and we come back to the arena where MIKE TYSON saves Jericho and beats up Shawn Spears in the corner. The rest of the Inner Circle comes in for the real save and Jericho poses with Tyson (who is in pretty good shape here).

Britt Baker and Rebel think that Baker deserves a Women’s Title shot because the rankings are nonsense. She is going to be getting her wins up because rankings aren’t based on things that matter like merchandise sales and star power.

The Bunny vs. Tay Conti

The Hardy Family Office, the Dark Order and Hikaru Shida are all at ringside. The brawl is on in a hurry with Bunny hammering away and yelling a lot. Conti is back up with a capture suplex, allowing Excalibur to compare her to Akira Maeda. Bunny is fine enough to send her into the apron and then nail a running dropkick against the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Conti hitting a spinning backbreaker but missing a running knee in the corner. Down The Rabbit Hole is broken up and a failed Matt Hardy distraction lets Tay hit the TayKO for….two. Bunny gets in a neck snap over the top and knocks down Shida to take away her kendo stick. Shida takes it back though, allowing Conti to hit a superplex. The DDTay finishes Bunny at 7:43.

Rating: C+. Conti is on a roll as of late and Bunny got in enough to carry her half. It seems that Conti is the next challenger for Shida, though I have no idea if she would wind up taking the title because Shida seems likely to be the champion for the rest of time. Maybe Conti is the one, but it’s not like there is a reason to believe it at this point. She has been awesome as of late though and this was more good stuff.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Video on Jade Cargill vs. Red Velvet.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Young Bucks/Jon Moxley

Don Callis is on commentary. Matt and Anderson start things off as JR calls it a six man tag instead of a trios match. Actually we’ll make it Omega vs. Matt instead, meaning a lot of trash is talked. The lockup doesn’t go anywhere so it’s off to Nick to crank on Omega’s arm. A hurricanrana puts Omega on the floor so it’s Anderson coming in. Everything breaks down for a bit and it’s the triple dives to take down Omega and the Brothers.

Back from a break with Matt making the hot tag to Moxley so house can be cleaned, including snapping off some German suplexes. Anderson manages to take Moxley into the corner for two, setting up a big boot to drop him again. Moxley manages to come back up with a neckbreaker and the hot tag brings in Nick to face Anderson. Nick sends Omega to the floor and cleans house on the Brothers until Anderson snaps off a spinebuster. Matt comes in to hiptoss Omega a few times, setting up a DDT to plant him.

Matt can’t bring himself to superkick Omega though, instead asking if he is ok. That earns him a slap from Omega so Matt takes Omega down and hammers away. The rung is cleared out again and Omega grabs the snapdragon on Matt. There’s another snapdragon but Moxley breaks up the V Trigger. Matt piledrives Omega but stops to check on him, only to go with More Bang For Your Buck for two.

Anderson makes the save so the Bucks clear the ring again. The BTE Trigger is loaded up on Omega but can’t do it. Moxley comes in instead for the Paradigm Shift into the rear naked choke….but the Bucks superkick Moxley. Eddie Kingston runs in for the attempted save but gets laid out by the Brothers. A Magic Killer to Moxley is enough for Omega to get the pin at 16:25.

Rating: B-. You knew it was coming and now we’re finally here. The big Bullet Club reunion that….well I guess someone must find it fascinating. It’s the big heel stable again and odds are they are going to hold the titles for a long time to come against a variety of challengers. The story makes sense but it’s not exactly thrilling stuff. At least we’re finally here now after months of “well maybe the Bucks are going to do something” and that’s an improvement. I guess.

Post match the Bucks hit a double superkick on Moxley and the big hug ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The big angle at the end wasn’t exactly inspiring but the rest of the show was pretty good for the most part. They need to find something to do other than big group beatdowns though, because there were quite a few on this show alone. AEW has a bad tendency to repeat things in their angles and post match segments (which happen in almost every match) and it would be nice if they could mix it up a bit. It’s starting to get tiring and that is never a good feeling. It’s still a very energetic show, but it needs to have something fresh in there for a change.

Results

Hangman Page b. Max Caster – Buckshot Lariat

Jurassic Express b. Bear Country – Standing moonsault to Bronson

Darby Allin b. JD Drake – Coffin Drop

Tay Conti b. The Bunny – DDTay

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers b. Jon Moxley/Young Bucks – Magic Killer to Moxley

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