Impact Wrestling – October 15, 2014: They’ve Given Up
Impact Wrestling Date: October 15, 2014 Location: Sands Bethlehem Events Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz
So after nothing of importance happened this week, we’re ready to get back to some actual wrestling business. The main story is Bobby Roode earning a shot at Lashley’s world title at some point in the future. Other than that we’re a mere five months from the next scheduled PPV, but at the moment we only have twelve weeks of TV to go as there’s still no new deal announced. Let’s get to it.
Here’s Angle to open things up. The roster is great right now but last week the playing field got manipulated and that’s not cool. He asks Lashley to come out for a chat and asks him why he turned down Roode’s challenge. Lashley gives the obvious answer: Roode had his shot and lost. He gets in Kurt’s face and asks if the boss wants a shot. Angle says they’ll fight one day, but not tonight. Instead, tonight there’s a #1 contenders match between Eric Young, Jeff Hardy, Austin Aries and Bobby Roode. Angle knows Bobby has beaten all of them, but the winner gets another shot.
Team 3D Hall of Fame package.
Magnus cuts off Matt Hardy talking about his brother. They introduce themselves and a match is made for later. It’s as basic as it sounds.
Knockouts Title: Madison Rayne vs. Havok
Before the match, Madison says she doesn’t care what Taryn Terrell thinks of her running last week. We actually get stills from Bound For Glory of Havok beating Velvet. I’m surprised they actually referenced the show. Havok shoves her around to start and easily catches a cross body into a slam. She hooks a lifting full nelson followed by a backbreaker for good measure. The dominance continues with another backbreaker and then a third backbreaker just to mix things up.
They finally mix things up with Havok loading up that arm crusher that hurt Gail but Hebner won’t let it happen. Madison nails a baseball slide to the back and avoids a charge into the post. Back in and Havok blocks a suplex and we get an evil laugh. Madison blocks some charges in the corner and gets two off a middle rope dropkick. Havok will have none of this side roll stuff from Rayne and a chokeslam (Harlot Slayer) retains the title at 6:18.
Rating: D+. This wasn’t a bad match but it felt WAY longer than it actually was. Havok is a pretty awesome monster and can actually move unlike Awesome Kong. Above all else though, she’s actually different than all the other girls. That’s been one of the biggest issues for the Knockouts for years and Havok is finally a breath of air.
Angle congratulates D-Von and they suck up to each other a bit.
Eric Young likes his odds of winning tonight.
Matt Hardy vs. Magnus
Matt comes out to the song starting with Jeff’s voice. Magnus takes him into the corner to start and rudely smacks his jaw. Matt responds by getting run over with a shoulder but he comes back with a swinging neckbreaker. An early Twist of Fate attempt sends Magnus running out to the floor and we get a breather. Hardy follows him out and is lifted up into a powerbomb, sending him back first into the post and then the apron.
Back in and Magnus gets two off a suplex and starts working on the spine. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Matt avoids a middle rope elbow. Hardy nails some clotheslines and a bulldog gets two. There’s the Side Effect and a moonsault is good for two more. Another Twist is countered and a victory roll gets the same treatment, giving Magnus two. Magnus goes up but dives into an RKO (called the Twist of Fate here even though it was missing a twist) for the pin at 5:54.
Rating: C. This was just a match here and nothing all that interesting. Matt didn’t look bad though and it’s kind of nice to have a wrestling match instead of doing the same brawling and weapons stuff that the Hardys have been using for all these weeks. Magnus’ downward spiral continues but Bram will be around to pick him back up soon enough.
We get Ethan’s promo from Sunday, saying his new bodyguard will be here tonight.
BroMans/Angelina Love vs. Menagerie
It’s DJZ/Jesse and Steve/Knux/Rebel here. DJZ gets in a quick smack to Rebel’s trunks before nailing knux to take over. Knux cartwheels away and nails DJZ with some right hands and a splash in the corner. He slams Steve onto DJZ for two but the heels take over with Jesse coming in to hammer away. DJZ hits a pair of running knees in the corner for two. Jesse misses a charge into the post and it’s off to the girls.
Rebel starts cleaning house but hits a horrible looking dropkick. DJZ spanks her again, earning him a big boot from Knux. A double clothesline puts both girls down until it’s off to Steve for an attempted kiss on Angelina. Jesse makes the save with a gorilla press but Steve slides down and hooks a tornado DDT for the pin at 5:14.
Rating: D. This show is starting to drag. It doesn’t feel like there was any thought put into this episode and that they just picked a bunch of guys that haven’t been on the show recently and threw them into a card. Knux is a guy I like more each time I see him but Steve is just a warm body at this point.
Roode and Aries are all serious about who wins tonight. Respect is out the window when they fight.
Brodus Clay comes out as EC3’s new body guard. The reveal is really weak due to Clay’s debut actually taking place on last week’s show but being edited out for some reason. Ethan says trouble follows him around and names Clay as Tyrus, which he says about five times. That brings Carter to current issues, like Bully Ray going into the Hall of Fame. After what Ray did to his aunt, Ethan thinks Ray should be thrown out of the Hall of Fame immediately.
He’s beaten every member of the Hall of Fame but we have to stop for the dueling chants with the fans. This brings out D-Von for an interruption. I’m the only Hall of Famer you haven’t beaten, I’m not scared of your bodyguard, you’re going through a table, etc. Bram jumps D-Von with a trashcan lid as D-Von is coming to the ring and the beating is on.
After a break, Carter and Tyrus are still in the ring with Ethan being thankful of Bram. Ethan thinks that counts as a win, so he’s now beaten all four members of the Hall of Fame. They don’t feel like leaving yet so why not give Tyrus a match of his own right now so he can be undefeated too.
Tyrus vs. Shark Boy
And there’s no Shark Boy. We go to the back and find Shark Boy eating doughnuts on a couch. I guess this is a joke about him being fat a few weeks ago. Shark Boy hammers away but starts feeling tired. He drinks some water and gets nailed by a headbutt to the chest. There’s the overhead suplex and a Tongan Death Grip slam is enough for the pin at 1:50.
Video from the bigger matches from Sunday.
Jeff Hardy says it’s time to get the title back.
Bram tells the interviewer to keep his nose out of what he did.
Recap of the Tag Team Title series, leading to a video on the Wolves being a team for a long time. They mention facing the winners of a tournament we haven’t heard about yet.
Eric Young vs. Bobby Roode vs. Austin Aries vs. Jeff Hardy
The winner gets a title shot at some point. Young cleans house to start but gets caught by Hardy in a lockup. Roode shoves Aries into Hardy for a collision before missing a dive onto Young. Aries telegraphs a suicide dive and gets nailed by Young, allowing Hardy to hit Poetry In Motion onto the Canadians. Aries is the only man standing and he wants a three way count but Young slides back in. Hardy kicks Aries down but misses a slingshot dropkick in the corner as we take a break.
Back with Roode chopping Young and planting him with a spinebuster. We get the first reference I’ve heard that this is an elimination match, though TNA making this up as they go wouldn’t surprise me. Aries nails Young with a discus forearm for two as Hardy gets back in. Young plants Aries with a DDT and goes up but Roode breaks up the elbow drop. Aries and Roode load up a double superplex on Young but Hardy makes it the required Tower of Doom spot.
Jeff covers all three guys for two each and takes his shirt off, only to have Aries break up the Swanton. Young knocks Roode off the top but misses a moonsault and Hardy does the same with a Swanton attempt. A Roode Bomb to Young and a brainbuster to Hardy give us a double elimination at 15:15, leaving us with Aries vs. Roode for the title shot.
They slug it out with forearms in the middle of the ring and Aries gets the better of it. Roode kicks him in the ribs and both guys counter finisher attempts. Aries is sent to the apron but he nails some more forearms. He goes up top but the Roode Bomb is countered into a rollup which is countered into a Crossface. Aries is in trouble but he rolls back into the Last Chancery, only to have Roode make the ropes. A neckbreaker snaps Roode’s neck off the top rope and a missile dropkick sends him down again. The brainbuster is countered with a knee to the head, setting up the Roode Bomb for the pin at 19:50.
Rating: B. It’s a good match but I can’t count how many times I’ve seen TNA do this same kind of match with the same batch of spots. You knew there was going to be a Tower of Doom and you knew there was going to be an exchange of finishers spot at the end. Roode was clearly going to win given how the stories have gone, but you can say that about a lot of matches.
Hardy and Young come back out to pose with the other two.
Overall Rating: D. TNA has given up. They gave their biggest show of the year to Wrestle-1 and now they give us this follow-up show which felt like they threw it together in about five minutes. They basically took everything they had left over and said “go make a show” while tacking on a main event. The big match was good, but Roode might as well have been cutting promos on Lashley already given how obvious it was that he was winning. The show itself wasn’t bad on paper, but it’s clear that TNA has stopped putting in effort. Maybe that changes next week, but this show felt like they’ve given up.
Results
Havok b. Madison Rayne – Harlot Slayer
Matt Hardy b. Magnus – Twist of Fate
Menagerie b. BroMans/Angelina Love – Tornado DDT to Jesse
Tyrus b. Shark Boy – Tongan Death Grip slam
Bobby Roode b. Austin Aries, Jeff Hardy and Eric Young – Roode Bomb to Aries
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Impact Wrestling Date: October 8, 2014 Location: Sands Bethlehem Events Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz
It’s the go home show for Bound For Glory, meaning we’re going to be told the same things we’ve been told for three months now: it’s in Tokyo and they’ve never been there before. As for your regular TV show, it’s Team 3D vs. the Hardys vs. the Wolves for the Tag Team Titles in a Full Metal Mayhem match. That has the potential to be one of the more entertaining matches we’ve seen in a long time on this show and probably better than all of Sunday’s show put together. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of the Tag Team Title series and Roode vs. Lashley.
Roode comes out early and says he wanted to get out here fast to get this off his chest. He knows he can beat Lashley if he gets one more match and he didn’t hear Lashley say no. Roode calls out Lashley for the challenge but gets MVP and King instead. MVP talks about how everyone that has gotten their shot at Lashley has gone down. That list would include Roode so he gets no shot. They’re about to leave but Roode asks them how the drive to the arena went tonight.
Roode wants to know which one drove Lashley’s car and which one fed him grapes in the back seat. He goes on about how the two of them are just lackeys and he won’t be one of those ever again. Roode will do anything else to get that shot and he means anything. MVP has an idea: if Roode can beat the two of them in one match, he’ll get his title shot. If he loses though, he never gets a shot again. That’s cool with Roode and the match is on.
We recap Havok taking the Knockouts Title from Gail Kim last week.
We actually get four matches announced for Bound For Glory: Team 3D vs. Abyss/Tommy Dreamer, Havok vs. Velvet Sky for the Knockouts Title, Samoa Joe vs. Kaz Hayashi vs. Low Ki for the X-Division Title and Sanada/James Storm vs. Tajiri/Great Muta. I don’t think we’re going to hear anything else later on.
Angelina Love vs. Madison Rayne vs. Taryn Terrell
Winner gets a title shot at some point in the future. It’s a brawl to start with all three going at it until Angelina gets double teamed. Taryn and Madison trade rollups for two each as the fans don’t seem all that interested in the near falls. Angelina throws Madison to the floor and hits a jawbreaker for two on Terrell. Love goes shoulder first into the post and gets caught by a neckbreaker for two. A middle rope clothesline drops Madison before Taryn goes up for a high cross body to take down both other girls. Back up and Madison grabs a quick rollup and a handful of tights for the pin on Taryn at 4:10.
Rating: D+. This was every multi-Knockouts match you’ve ever seen and the formula is getting old. All you get is some heel champion and then a three or four way match for the title shot. There’s no personal issue between the girls and no reason to see them fight each other besides winning a match here or there. Mix it up a bit already.
Havok comes out post match and destroys Terrell as Madison runs.
Lashley doesn’t sound thrilled with the deal MVP made with Roode.
We recap Sanada turning to James Storm and attacking Muta back in New York.
Low Ki/Tigre Uno vs. Great Sanada/James Storm
Here’s your Bound For Glory build. Sanada takes Ki down to start but gets kicked in the chest for two. Off to Tigre who kicks Sanada down as well and grabs a rollup for two of his own. Storm gets in a cheap shot and comes in without a tag to work on Tigre’s back. Sanada comes back in for a chinlock until Tigre pops up and nails a dropkick.
A double tag brings in Low Ki to face Storm and it’s kicking a go-go. Ki double stomps him for two but Manik offers a distraction, allowing Storm to hit a Backstabber for two. Uno makes a blind tag and gets launched into a hurricanrana on Storm for two. Everything breaks down and Sanada mists Tigre, setting up the Last Call for the pin at 6:20.
Rating: C+. This was a pretty solid little match but man alive I can’t wait to get done with Bound For Glory so TNA can stop acting like going to Japan is the most amazing thing in the history of wrestling. The show is just a huge step away from everything they’ve been doing for the last few months and feels far more like a Wrestle-1 show instead of TNA’s biggest event of the year.
Gunner asks Shaw if he’s ready for his match with Bram tonight. Shaw takes his shirt off and shows Gunner the tattoos he got to look like Gunner. Gunner asks why Shaw can’t just be himself and Shaw asks why Gunner won’t be more supportive.
Bram vs. Samuel Shaw
No DQ. Shaw nails him with a trashcan lid to start and dropkicks a trashcan into his face to take over. A chair is wedged between the top and middle rope but Bram avoids being whipped into the steel. They head back outside with Shaw still in control by nailing Bram with a chair over and over.
Back in and Bram gets in a Singapore cane shot to the head but Shaw counters a superplex attempt onto steel chairs into a sunset bomb onto the steel instead. Shaw loads up the choke but gets elbowed in the face and sent into the chair wedged in the corner. A shot to the head with the steel rod is enough to give Bram the pin at 5:17.
Rating: D+. This is one of those stories that isn’t going anywhere and isn’t doing anything for Gunner or Shaw. They’re trying something with being obsessed with various people but Shaw just isn’t an interesting character no matter what they do with him. Bram has something to him but he needs to do stuff besides hardcore.
Brittany comes out to check on Shaw post match.
Roode is ready for his handicap match.
The Wolves and Team 3D yell at each other about who is greater.
Bobby Roode vs. MVP/Kenny King
King and MVP don’t get entrances, which is a common problem tonight. Roode has to beat both guys to get the win. MVP gives Roode one more chance to leave but Roode punches King in the face instead. The double teaming starts early and King gets two off a spinwheel kick. We actually hear about three interpromotional matches featuring MVP, Manik and EC3 facing three Wrestle-1 guys whose names are sped by very quickly.
Roode gets sent to the floor and MVP steps on Roode’s lower back. They head back in where King hits MVP by mistake to give Roode an opening. He backdrops King to the floor but gets kicked in the face by MVP. A fisherman’s suplex gets two but MVP misses the Drive By and gets rolled up for the pin at 5:24. So it’s Roode vs. King now but MVP offers a cheap shot so King can hit a quick suplex for two. Roode nails a few clotheslines to come back though and the Blockbuster puts King down again. King sends him face first into the buckle but springboards into the Roode Bomb for….nothing as Lashley comes in for the DQ at 7:40.
Rating: D+. This was ok at best as the ending wasn’t really a big surprise. They weren’t about to get rid of Roode as a World Title contender, as I’m sure TNA would never go back on its word for a stipulation. The match wasn’t bad as soon as MVP was gone, the ending wasn’t really in doubt.
Tenay makes a point to say that Roode had to pin or submit both guys to win. That at least makes Lashley look a bit less stupid. Lashley spears Roode down after the match.
EC3 says Spud has one more chance to apologize.
Here’s Ethan Carter to talk about being undefeated for a year in TNA and says he has victory after victory after victory (x15). History is written by the winners and this novel is written by Ethan Carter III. He demands Spud get out here right now for his apology. Spud says they’re best friends and that he knows Ethan better than everyone else. She knows Ethan’s favorite color is green because he likes money, that he likes his hotel rooms at 71 degrees and that the fans chanting YOU CAN’T WRESTLE gets on his nerves.
Spud does Ethan’s responses to the chants for him but Ethan cuts him off. He brings up Spud fainting when it was time to protect Dixie and calls Spud a loser just like everyone else in this audience. Spud finally mans up and says he’s a Rockstar and not a loser. Carter shoves him down and slaps Spud a few times until Spud finally fights back with a slap of his own. Carter smiles at him and says Spud has heart, which is what makes this so much sweeter. He fires Spud and let’s get away from this as fast as we can. The jumping from one segment to another is WAY too fast tonight.
Another video on the Tag Team Title Series.
We run down the PPV card again.
The Trio is pleased when Angle comes in to yell at them. Roode is going to get another #1 contenders match next week and MVP is banned from ringside.
Tag Team Titles: Hardys vs. Team 3D vs. Wolves
The Wolves are defending and this is Full Metal Mayhem, meaning TLC. Richards has a somewhat bad leg coming into this but he seems to be fine. It’s a big brawl to start of course with Matt hitting what looked like the Side Effect to Eddie on the apron. Bully hammers on Jeff on the floor as weapons are being sets up on the floor. Matt goes for a climb but Ray comes in for a save with a Rock Bottom.
Davey breaks up Ray’s attempt and DDTs him, only to have D-Von nail Richards a second later. Matt gets enziguried into a German suplex onto a pair of open chairs. Eddie throws Jeff into the air and Ray catches him in a Cutter for a 3D. They chop it out but Matt is back up to take both guys down. We get the Tower of Doom with Ray electric chairing Matt who superplexes Edwards. D-Von bridges a piece of barricade between the apron and some overturned steps but Davey headbutts him onto the barricade.
Ray saves his partner from a dive and powerbombs Richards down, only to miss a middle rope backsplash. He comes right back with another powerbomb to send Richards onto the barricade, giving Richards one of the most shocked looks I’ve ever seen. Back with Jeff taking a ladder to the face and D-Von cleans house with a chair.
Richards comes back with a chair of his own but this time it’s Jeff popping up to take over. The Whisper in the Wind and Swanton have Ray in trouble but he pops right back up for a brawl with Jeff on the floor. The Twisting Stunner has Ray in trouble and Jeff brings out another table. He bridges it between the turned over steps and the apron with the legs up. Jeff misses the legdrop though and crashes through the table, leaving him in a huge heap on the floor.
Back in and Ray goes up, only to have Edwards set up a ladder of his own next to it. Bully kicks him down but Matt comes in with a ladder of his own. All three go up and slug it out with Edwards getting slammed off the top. Mat and Ray grab for the belts but send them swinging around before knocking each other off with Matt flying into a ladder.
Davey and Matt slug it out with Hardy getting the better of it and bringing in another table. Everyone heads outside again with Matt climbing about halfway up a huge ladder to legdrop Davey through a table. Richards has taken one heck of a beating here. D-Von cleans house with the ladder and brings in the big ladder to make thing even more fun. Team 3D loads up What’s Up but Edwards shoves D-Von to the floor.
Davey goes up the big ladder but gets shoved onto the floor and head first into the barricade. The Hardys make another save with chairs and put Ray on two tables. Jeff goes up top of the big ladder but Davey shoves it over, sending Hardy into a HUGE splash onto Ray for a horrible looking crash. Davey and Matt slug it out on top of the ladder but Edwards makes a save and powerbombs Matt through a table, allowing Davey to take down the belts for the win at 23:52.
Rating: A. I came into this show thinking this match wasn’t going to be able to live up to its hype and they got me. This was an AWESOME match with a ton of high spots and some insane looking bumps. The fact that they didn’t save this for Bound For Glory shows you just how much they don’t care about that show this year. Excellent match and one of the best things TNA has done in years.
Overall Rating: C. The main event helped this show a lot but it felt like we’re being dragged onto some side trip to Tokyo. The fact that none of the matches were mentioned until four days before the show should tell you all you need to know about Bound For Glory this year. Lashley, Hardy, Aries and Roode aren’t on the show but we’re supposed to pay full price for the show?
That’s one of the more annoying things about TNA at the moment: their main stories aren’t bad but we have to pull off to the side for a meaningless pay per view. The Full Metal Mayhem match was really entertaining in a car crash way, but that’s exactly what it was supposed to be. That being said, where is the tag division supposed to go now other than making more makeshift tag teams? Decent show, but we can’t really get anywhere until we’re back from Japan.
Results
Madison Rayne b. Taryn Terrell and Angelina Love – Rollup with a handful of tights
James Storm/Great Sanada b. Tigre Uno/Low Ki – Last Call to Uno
Bram b. Samuel Shaw – Steel rod to the head
Bobby Roode b. MVP/Kenny King via DQ when Bobby Lashley interfered
Wolves b. Hardys and Team 3D – Richards pulled down the belts
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Impact Wrestling – October 1, 2014: Turn Out The Lights Cause The Party’s Over
Impact Wrestling Date: October 1, 2014
Location: Sands Bethlehem Events Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz
We’re closing in on….whatever TNA builds to anymore. The main stories at the moment are the Wolves choosing the stipulations for the final match in the Tag Team Title series and Austin Aries having a match against any champion he chooses. In theory he’ll pick the World Title but stranger things have happened in wrestling. Let’s get to it.
We open with a video on Roode vs. Lashley from a few weeks back where Lashley retained the belt.
Roode arrived earlier today and says he didn’t get the job done. It’s been a hard fourteen days but he’s back tonight.
Here’s Austin Aries to open things up. He’s going to get right to the chase and challenge his champion for a title match tonight. As soon as he won he knew who he wanted to face, but let’s make this interactive. Aries polls the fans on his potential opponent. They’re not wild on him facing Gail Kim, a bit better on the idea him facing the Wolves, about the same on Samoa Joe…..and we don’t get the last option as Joe cuts him off.
Joe says if Aries is going to fight anyone tonight, it’s going to be him. Aries isn’t sure what to think about this so he runs down his resume. He thinks the fans are interested in seeing Aries vs. Joe and that’s cool because the X-Division is everything that’s right about wrestling. It’s about the abilities inside these ropes, so let’s do it.
X-Division Title: Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries
Feeling out process to start as the lights are overly dim, likely hiding the empty seats. Joe takes him to the mat to start but Aries pops up for a slugout. Joe growls at him and runs Aries over with an elbow. The champ sends him into the buckle and nails the enziguri before setting Aries on the top rope. The MuscleBuster is countered with a back rake but Aries misses the middle rope dropkick. Aries comes back with a forearm to the back of the head and a slingshot hilo for two as we take an early break.
Back with Aries’ suicide dive being blocked by a kick to the head. Joe drives knees into the head and snaps off a powerslam for two. The standing choke has Aries in trouble but he fighs out with a jawbreaker for two more. There’s the Last Chancery for a few seconds before Aries tries the Brainbuster.
Joe is just too fat though so Aries nails him with a discus forearm. Another brainbuster attempt is countered by a boot to the chest to send Aries outside, but he slides back in for a quick suicide dive to take Joe down. Back in and Aries hits a missile dropkick and the running corner dropkick to set up a bad brainbuster for two. He tries another Last Chancery but Joe counters into the Clutch for the submission at 15:23.
Rating: B. Good hard hitting match here with a good wrestling move for the ending. Aries seems to have wasted his title shot but at least we got a good match out of it. Joe is beating a lot of guys and has become a strong X-Division Champion, but there really isn’t anywhere for him to go, which is the problem with the lack of a division.
Spud talks to EC3 in the back and says they haven’t hung out in weeks despite being best friends. EC3 says Spud has failed him and now can just follows him to the ring.
We look at the ladder match in the Tag Team Title series from two weeks ago.
The Wolves are in the back and have told Angle their stipulation for the third match but he won’t say what it is.
Here are Spud and EC3 with Spud having to kneel and hand him a microphone. Spud agrees that he’s Ethan’s best friend, but Ethan says their relationship is employer/employee. There’s no world in which they’re friends because Spud spends his time reading comic books and watching wrestling. The people here aren’t with Spud and Carter rips on Spud’s haircut. Spud: “I wanted it to look like your’s sir.” Ethan tears up Spud’s suit and blames him for what happened to Dixie. He tells Spud to cry and then slaps him, but Spud can’t bring himself to fight.
Cue Eric Young for a save and what would be considered a big reaction for a crowd this small. Eric says he’s the reason for what happened to Dixie but Eric asks him to leave. Young tells Spud to listen to the fans because Ethan is going to keep doing this until Spud stands up and hits him. Carter nails Young and stomps away in the corner as Spud bails to the floor. A referee comes in and we’ve got a bell.
Eric Young vs. Ethan Carter III
Young gets backdropped to the apron for his strut but comes back in with a dropkick for two. A clothesline puts Ethan on the floor for a plancha and a Thesz Press takes Carter down back inside. Carter comes back with a snap suplex for two but Spud can’t bring himself to get in a cheap shot from the floor. Young gets caught in a chinlock but he finally escapes with a belly to back suplex. A forearm and clothesline put Ethan down and the top rope elbow gets two. Eric loads up the piledriver but Spud gets on the apron, allowing Carter to nail a low blow. The 1%er gives Ethan the pin at 5:45.
Rating: C-. Not much to see here as it was more about Spud being abused than anything else. Carter has the potential to be a huge deal for TNA but he doesn’t really have much to do at this point. Spud’s face turn is coming soon but I’m not sure where they can go with him after that. His size will kill him but he could be good for a few matches here or there.
Mr. Anderson thanks Chris Melendez for everything he’s done. The trio sees a weakness in Melendez but they’re going to stand up to him.
We recap Gail Kim going after the recently debuted monster Havok. She’s destroyed everything in sight and beat up Kim a few times already.
Knockouts Title: Gail Kim vs. Havok
Gail is defending and Havok jumps her from behind on the way to the ring. The champ comes back with some forearms to the face but Havok just rams her back first into the apron. Havok sends her face first into the post and we haven’t even had a bell yet. She gets sent into the steps before they keep brawling on the floor. Havok rams Gail shoulder first into the post and puts on a hammerlock spinebuster on the floor. The trainer comes out to check on Gail as Havok leaves. No match.
Quick recap of the Tag Team Title Series.
Here are the Wolves to talk about being behind the entire series but always overcoming the odds. Now they’re in control though and the last match is going to be…..interrupted by Team 3D. Ray does the usual sucking up to the Wolves but says they’re really not that great. They may be the World Tag Team Champions but they’ll never be Team 3D. The Wolves aren’t going to pick the last match in this series, but before Team 3D can make the pick, here are the Hardys to interrupt.
The Hardys talk about how awesome they are and say the Wolves should step aside and let the legends make these decisions. Matt says no one is going to talk about the Wolves in twenty years but Davey cuts them off and says they’ve beaten both teams. They’ll win again too because their time is now. The brawl is on and we get tables, ladders and chairs brought in but Angle comes out to stop the brawl. The Wolves have to make their decision right now and of course it’s Full Metal Mayhem. It’s close enough to the TLC match the fans were wanting.
Anderson and Melendez find MVP and Kenny King in the back and a match is made for later.
Gail has a separated shoulder but says she’s wrestling tonight anyway.
Manik vs. Shark Boy
Seriously. Shark Boy hammers away to start and sends Manik out to the floor with a shot to the face. Some clotheslines do the same and a backdrop sends Manik flying. Back in and Manik grabs some suplexes for two and a knee drop gets the same. A Frog Splash is enough to pin Shark Boy at 3:10.
Rating: D. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but it’s good to see Manik look good in his first match under the new gimmick. Storm has something going for him with this idea but I have a bad feeling a lot of his heat is going away for the sake of putting Great Muta over at Bound For Glory. Shark Boy looked WAY out of shape.
Team 3D thinks the Wolves are crazy for picking Full Metal Mayhem.
Mr. Anderson vs. MVP
Feeling out process to start until Anderson takes him into the corner for a chop and clothesline. MVP sends him out to the floor, causing Melendez and King to stare each other down. Back inside with MVP throwing Anderson across the ring for two before cranking on the arm. Anderson avoids a knee drop and grabs the rolling fireman’s carry for two. He loads up the Mic Check but King offers a distraction. Melendez takes care of him but MVP grabs a rollup for the pin at 5:40.
Rating: D+. Not bad for the most part here but it was much more about setting up something down the line. Melendez is getting a nice push to start but I’m not sure if there’s enough skill for him to be able to sustain it. Anderson and MVP don’t have anything to do so it’s better than nothing for them.
Here’s Bobby Roode to talk about being the longest reigning TNA World Champion ever. He brings that up a lot because it means so much to him. You’re only as good as your last match though and his last match was a losing effort against Lashley. This brings out the champion and the rest of the Trio but Roode won’t let him say anything.
Roode talks about coming so close to winning the title but there’s one moment that stood out: kicking out of the spear at two. It gave Lashley a look that he’s never had before because Lashley has never been terrified before. That look made Roode believe he could beat him so Bobby wants one more match. Lashley looks like he’s about to say yes but MVP says no for him.
Knockouts Title: Havok vs. Gail Kim
Gail is defending and says bring it on. Havok charges to the rings and the fight starts in the aisle. The champ hammers away but gets dropped face first on the mat. An armbar makes Gail scream and a shoulder breaker on the good shoulder gets two. The Rings of Saturn go on but Gail still won’t quit. Instead she rolls over a bit and knees Havok in the face, only to have the arm rammed into the mat. Gail sends her into the corner and actually outs on a Figure Four around the post. Back in and a high cross body gets two but Eat Defeat is countered into another hammerlock slam. A chokeslam gives Havok the title at 5:00.
Rating: C. This is a hard one to grade as they only had one idea to go with but that was kind of the point of the match. Havok is fine for a monster that can own the division for awhile in the vein of Awesome Kong until someone can rise up to beat her. Nothing great here but it served its purpose.
Overall Rating: C-. The opening match does a lot of good for this show but there’s just nothing there for the rest of it. With Bound For Glory being basically a non-existent show, there’s nothing for these shows to build towards other than the next TV show. That’s actually something you don’t get anymore outside of NXT, but there’s so much uninteresting stuff filling in the rest of the show that it drags things back down. It’s not bad but TNA can’t get to the new year and some fresh stuff fast enough.
Results
Samoa Joe b. Austin Aries – Koquina Clutch
Ethan Carter III b. Eric Young – 1%er
Manik b. Shark Boy – Frog Splash
MVP b. Mr. Anderson – Rollup
Havok b. Gail Kim – Chokeslam
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Impact Wrestling – September 17, 2014: Who’s Left?
Impact Wrestling Date: September 16, 2014
Location: Manhattan Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz
This is the No Surrender special, which doesn’t really need to exist as we’re only a few weeks away from Bound For Glory. The card is fairly stacked though as we have a ladder match to continue the Tag Team Title series and Bobbly Lashley defending against Bobby Roode. Maybe we’ll even start building up the biggest show of the year. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of the tag team series. The Hardys and Team 3D have won a match each and the first team to two wins are the Tag Team Champions.
The winner gets a title shot at some point in the future. Havok destroys everyone in sight to start so the rest of the girls try to gang up on her. That goes as well as you would expect it to and Havok puts on Madison and Taryn in succession. The Beautiful People work together against Brittany and Rebel but Havok puts Brittany out. Rebel low bridges Angelina to the floor, leaving Rebel, Havok and Velvet. Rebel goes to the middle rope but gets shoved out onto the steps for the elimination. Velvet tries some kicks and a sleeper but Havok snapmares her over and slams Sky to the floor for the win at 6:00.
Rating: D+. This was your usual battle royal but they did a great job at making Havok look dominant. She sold the big beatdown a little bit but not enough that she stopped looking like a monster. The division has needed a new story for a long time and this might be just what it needed.
Gunner tells Samuel Shaw that his foot is fine and suggests that Shaw ask Brittany out. Shaw says he can’t because he’s fixated on someone else. It’s going to be Gunner isn’t it?
Here are MVP and Kenny King for a chat. MVP talks about how Lashley is going to win tonight and the headlines tomorrow will read Roode Awakening. He shifts over to someone else who has been making headlines: Chris Melendez. The Wounded Warrior comes out and they offer Melendez a spot on their team to carry their bags. Melendez turns it down, saying he doesn’t need to be handed anything. King takes this as Melendez saying he’s better than them. Kenny calls him peg leg and wants a referee out here right now.
Chris Melendez vs. Kenny King
MVP nails Melendez after the bell and we take a break ten seconds in. Back with King still in control and kicking Melendez in the back of the head. Some right hands get King two and it’s off to a chinlock. A legdrop gets another two for Kenny and he picks Chris up, only to be countered into a sunset flip for the pin at 6:58.
Rating: D. This was a squash with Melendez getting in one move the entire match. King continues to be a hanger on with the other two members of the trio as he just doesn’t do much for me. Melendez is getting a nice push, though he hasn’t had the chance to show us much other than rookie level skills. That’s not a knock on him or anything as he is a rookie, but he needs more ring time.
King beats Chris down post match until Mr. Anderson makes the save.
Video on Roode vs. Lashley.
Anderson checks on Melendez, who says he isn’t hurt or injured.
X-Division Title: Homicide vs. Samoa Joe
Joe is defending. Feeling out process to start with Joe taking Homicide into the corner and firing off some kicks. A chop to the back and the knee drop gets two but Homicide gets in a few shots of his own to take over. He stats working on Joe’s neck until Joe catches him in a release overhead belly to belly suplex into the corner. A snap powerslam gets two for Joe but Homicide goes back to the neck. He loads up the Gringo Killa but Joe gets underneath him for the Koquina Clutch for the submission at 5:45.
Rating: C-. The match was way too short to mean much but it wasn’t bad while it lasted. Homicide is a guy where I just don’t get the appeal. I don’t care for his style and his matches don’t do anything for me. Joe is a decent X-Division Champion and it’s nice to see the title actually defended more than once every few months.
Post match James Storm and the Great Sanada come out to beat up both guys. A low superkick lays out Homicide and Manik comes out in completely new attire to nail Homicide with a frog splash.
The Wolves talk about how this series is about their legacy and how they’re climbing ladders to prove themselves.
Eric Young and Bobby Roode reminisce about how insane this year has been.
Wolves vs. Hardys vs. Team 3D
This is a ladder match and only the Wolves can’t win the series here. The Wolves charge the ring to start the brawl and an ECW chant already starts up. The champions send the Hardys and Team 3D to the floor for back to back suicide dives. We get the first ladder brought in but Richards has to stop to kick Ray in the head. Ray and Matt both get hit by the ladder with Ray being driven back into the corner.
Jeff kicks the ladder into the Wolves and hits a Whisper in the Wind to put both champions down. We get the required helicopter spot with the ladder on Ray’s head before he just drops the ladder on Richards’ back. What’s Up crushes Davey even more but Matt breaks up an attempt to get the tables. Edwards stops Matt from pulling down the belts but D-Von pushes the ladder over to send both guys into the ropes.
We take a break and come back with Ray powerbombing Jeff onto a pile of ladders, knocking another ladder into Eddie and Matt’s faces. Ray sets up a ladder but the Wolves powerbomb him down for a save. The Wolves, D-Von and Matt all climb up until Davey and D-Von knock each other off and Matt hits a Twist of Fate on Eddie. Jeff loads up a ladder in the corner and tries to jump over it but Ray gets up and superplexes him down with Jeff’s feet hitting the titles on the way down.
Davey hammers away on D-Von in the corner until Ray slaps him HARD across the back to set up a Doomsday Device. Now the Hardys start cleaning house with the ladder and hit double Twists of Fate to Team 3D. Matt moonsaults Ray and Jeff Swantons D-Von in a cool spot. Poetry in Motion crushes Eddie against a ladder as the Hardys are in total control. They lay Davey onto a ladder and Matt holds it up for a splash from Jeff.
Team 3D comes back with tables but the Wolves bring in chairs (fans: “TLC!”). Davey double stomps Matt through a table at ringside, leaving Eddie to climb for the belts. Jeff is right there with him but Davey shoves the ladder over, sending Jeff ribs first onto a ladder. Eddie pulls down the belts to tie the series up at 18:10.
Rating: B. I think we’ve established that these three teams are going to be awesome no matter what they do. It’s obvious that they’re setting up a TLC match (even though that’s what this was) for the final match and that’s the logical choice. Unfortunately I’m not sure where they can go after this as the division could crash back down to earth after Bound For Glory. Still though, at least it’s great stuff while it lasts.
Gunner vs. Bram
They lock up to start and the fight quickly heads to the floor. Gunner hammers away and gets two off a headbutt back inside. An exploder suplex gets the same but Bram gets in some shots to the knee to take over. Samuel Shaw comes out to offer support as Bram cannonballs down onto Gunner’s leg. Gunner comes back with a clothesline and some headbutts, but his knee gives out on a powerbomb attempt. Shaw comes in and accidentally hits Gunner again, giving Bram the pin at 4:08.
Rating: C-. This was a decent power brawl as both guys can work a similar style well enough. I’m not sure where this story with Shaw and Gunner is going, but I have a bad feeling it might be Gunner as Shaw’s latest obsession. Shaw has outlived his usefulness at this point as the insanity has basically been written off, leaving him as just kind of odd. He’s nothing special in the ring either so I’m not sure why he’s still around.
Gail Kim is ready for Havok.
TNA World Title: Lashley vs. Bobby Roode
Lashley is defending and I’ll only refer to Roode as Bobby. The champion shoves him down to start and leapfrogs over Roode with ease. Roode clotheslines him out to the floor to get himself a breather but MVP trips Bobby up to change control again. Things backfire though as the referee ejects MVP as we take a break.
Back with Roode not being able to get a fisherman’s suplex due to his back. He holds his back and screams, prompting Tenay to say “I’m sensing his back is hurt!” Lashley throws him across the ring but gets caught in the Crossface until King makes the save. Eric Young comes out to deal with King and the Crossface goes on again. Lashley powers out with relative ease and there’s the spear for a very close two. The shock on Lashley’s face at the kickout is good stuff.
A quick Roode Bomb gets two and both guys are spent. They slug it out until Roode grabs a spinebuster for two. The powerslam gets two for Lashley and he has nothing left. Roode gets back up and Roode Bombs Lashley over the top and out to the floor for a big crash. Back in and Lahley slams Roode off the top but Roode jumps over the spear. He injures his leg though and can’t Roode Bomb the champ, setting up the second spear to retain Lashley’s title at 17:07.
Rating: B. The match got better as it went on, but who in the world is left for Lashley to fight? There are three shows left before Bound For Glory and Lashley has cleaned out the entire main event scene. I’m really not sure who they’re going to put him against at the show unless he’s going to fight some guy from Wrestle-1 that maybe five American fans have heard of. The match was good stuff here and probably could have headlined Bound For Glory.
A quick video for next week announces MVP vs. Robbie E vs. Magnus vs. Abyss vs. Austin Aries for a future World Title shot, though no date is given. Only MVP and Aries come off as good challengers there and MVP vs. Lashley would be one of the weakest main events I could think of.
Overall Rating: B. This was one of the best shows they’ve had in a long time with two long and good matches and nothing really bad. Impact is actually really entertaining right now and easy stuff to sit through as they’ve cut out most of the stupid stuff and just let the wrestling act for itself. That being said, they’re running out of time before the PPV and we only have a few matches even penciled in. The build is going to be weak at best and that’s not good when the show is already in a weird place due to not airing live in America. Really solid show this week.
Results
Havok won a battle royal last eliminating Velvet Sky
Chris Melendez b. Kenny King – Sunset flip
Samoa Joe b. Homicide – Koquina Clutch
Wolves b. Team 3D and Hardys – Edwards pulled down the title belts
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Bram b. Gunner – Pin after Samuel Shaw accidentally hit Gunner
Lashley b. Bobby Roode – Spear
Impact Wrestling – September 10, 2014: Holding Out For A Hero
Impact Wrestling Date: September 10, 2014
Location: Manhattan Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz
We’re getting close to the end of this set of tapings with two more regular episodes and the No Surrender special next week, because we need a PPV style special three and a half weeks before Bound For Glory. As for tonight we’ve got the second match in the tag team series and maybe we’ll even get something for BFG. Counting tonight there are only five shows left before the biggest show of the year so you would think they would have something ready by now. Let’s get to it.
We open with the New York Color Guard playing the Star Spangled Banner. This was originally going to be the September 11th episode but it’s still a cool thing to see.
Chris Melendez vs. DJZ
Melendez walks around the rings high fiving fans before DJZ comes to the ring. In case you’re not familiar with Melendez, he has an artificial left leg. DJZ takes over to start with a quick kick to the ribs and a faceplant for good measure. Melendez comes back with a clothesline and neckbreaker to send DJZ out to the floor. DJZ comes back by snapping Chris’ throat across the top rope but Melendez nails him with more clotheslines and a side slam. A Samoan drop ends DJZ at 2:52. Melendez looked fine though it’s clear he’s still a rookie.
After a break here’s Bobby Roode with something to say. Roode loves the feeling of standing in this ring right now. However he needs to thank his best friend Eric Young. Eric always brought the best out in Bobby Roode and will always be a World Champion in Roode’s eyes. Roode talks about getting his title shot next week at No Surrender but here’s the Trio to interrupt.
MVP talks about the movies but says Lashley is reality. There is no happily ever after and Roode doesn’t get the girl or the World Title. Roode says you can see the fear and doubt in MVP’s eyes. Lashley has no fear or doubt in his eyes though because Lashley knows he can beat Roode. Bobby goes into the usual TNA talk about heart and desire to be the best and says there isn’t a thing MVP can do to stop him. The beatdown is on until until Joe and Young make the save. A six man is made and Joe wants to do it right now.
Kenny King/Lashley/MVP vs. Samoa Joe/Eric Young/Bobby Roode
The fight is on as we come back from a break with Joe diving through the ropes to take everyone out. Back in and Joe runs King over before hammering away in the corner. King nails him with an enziguri and a neck snap across the top rope. Kenny goes up but misses a dive with a big crash onto the mat via Joe just stepping to the side. Off to Young vs. MVP with Eric getting two off a belly to belly.
King clotheslines Young from the apron and it’s off to Lashley for the dominance. Something like a fisherman’s suplex gets two on Eric and it’s off to King for a chinlock. For some reason we get tweets from Taz on the bottom of the screen during the hold. Lashley leapfrogs Young and puts on a cross armbreaker.
Eric powerbombs him to escape and makes the tag off to Roode to clean house. The Blockbuster gets two on MVP but Joe gets speared down by Lashley. Eric’s missile dropkick knocks Lashley to the floor for a big dive. Back in and MVP misses the Drive By and gets caught in the Roode Bomb for the pin at 9:13.
Rating: C+. The action was good here though I still have no reason to be interested in Roode vs. Lashley, especially when it’s next week. I’m assuming we’re going to have a screwy finish to set up a rematch at Bound For Glory where Roode gets the title, but it’s very hard to say given how this company goes most of the time.
BroMans/Velvet Sky vs. Menagerie
The BroMans now have the Beautiful People with them. The Freak is on the floor for this one. Steeve chases Robbie around to start and it’s quickly off to Jesse. Knux comes in with a cartwheel and a big slam before it’s back to Steeve. Robbie gets in a right hand on the floor as DJZ is running around like a crazy man.
Velvet comes in for some slaps before it’s back to Jesse who immediately tags Robbie. Rebel comes in to face Velvet but the BroMans break up a sunset flip attempt. Knux runs both of them over with a cross body, leaving Steeve against Velvet. Sky gets kissed and Steeve dives onto all three BroMans. Rebel slams her down but gets distracted by Angelina, allowing Velvet to roll her up with a handful of trunks for the pin at 4:40.
Rating: D. I’m in the minority but I actually like the Menagerie. Steeve continues to be worthless but at least Knux is good and Rebel is gorgeous. The BroMans hooking up with the Beautiful People is a decent enough idea and will probably lead to some decent jokes down the line. The wrestling wasn’t great but the expectations for this weren’t exactly high coming in.
Kurt Angle has an opponent for EC3 tonight and doesn’t think Carter will like it.
Team 3D wants the Tag Team Titles.
Angle is in the ring and likes the direction TNA is going in now. However there’s one malcontent that Angle wants to deal with right now. He asks EC3 to come out here right now so here’s Carter to complain about Team 3D putting Dixie through the table. Ethan, in pink pants, blames everyone for what happened and mentions injuring Angle several months back. Angle promises to take care of Ethan in due time but as for tonight, Ethan gets a street fight RIGHT NOW.
Rhino vs. Ethan Carter III
It’s a brawl to start with Rhino throwing Carter out to the floor and into the barricade. The weapons are thrown in and Rhino is sent into the barricade as well. Back in and Rhino nails him with a kendo stick but a low blow stops a chair shot. Carter whips him with a belt and wedges a trashcan in the corner. We get a Hogan hand to the ear for no apparent reason before Ethan nails him in the back with a chair. A quick belly to belly drops Carter but the Gore hits the trashcan. The 1%er onto the chair pins Rhino at 5:25.
Rating: C-. The New York crowds have been awesome but I can’t wait to get to another city so we don’t have to have a hardcore match almost every week. We get it: this was ECW’s building. Let it die already. I can’t really see much more for Rhino in TNA after this but he wasn’t exactly a long term guy anyway.
Chris Melendez talks about performing in front of his hometown crowd and turning DJZ’s confidence into a victory.
The Knockouts are in the ring for the announcement of the covergirl for the 2015 Knockouts calender. Angelina thinks it’s her but Velvet wins. Angelina is shocked but Havok comes out to destroy everyone. She holds up the title belt and the Beautiful People look terrified.
Bound For Glory is still coming to Tokyo. Nothing has changed in the week since they told you that.
James Storm and Sanada are at their house in the woods where Manik is tied up. Storm rips Manik’s mask off and tells the cameras to leave.
Clips of Lashley’s win in Bellator MMA.
Gail looks for Havok.
James Storm/Great Sanada vs. Austin Aries/Tajiri
Sanada and Tajiri get things going in a technical sequence. Off to Aries for a top rope ax handle followed by some chops in the corner. There’s the Last Chancery but Storm makes a quick save. Aries hits the suicide dive to take both of them down but Storm offers some cheating to take over. A knee and legdrop get two on Aries but he escapes the Eye of the Storm and nails the discus foreman. Off to Tajiri for the handspring elbow and a superkick to Sanada. Tajiri tries the Mist but gets caught in the Tarantula for his efforts. Storm spits beer in Tajiri’s face though, allowing Sanada to superkick Tajiri for the pin at 7:03.
Rating: C. I’ve always liked Tajiri and I’m digging this Storm alliance. He’s a great talker and someone that is capable of being a top star in the company if TNA would quit cutting off his legs. In theory this leads to Muta getting involved at Bound For Glory, though I’m not sure who he would be teaming with.
The Hardys have beaten Team 3D in a tables match before so Team 3D better be ready.
Kim finds Havok and gets beaten up as a result. They’re still fighting after we get back from a break with Gail spearing Havok on the ramp. Havok beats up security for trying to break it up.
We run down the No Surrender card for next week, including Roode vs. Lashley, Joe defending against Homicide and a Knockouts battle royal.
Tag Team Title Series: Team 3D vs. Wolves vs. Hardys
The Wolves are defending but only 3D can win the titles here. This is a tables match where only one person has to go through a table for the win. Everyone quickly heads outside and the fans already want tables. Bully and Matt hammer away on each other inside with Matt getting caught in What’s Up. Team 3D wants tables and draws the loudest pop of the night so far. The Wolves try to baseball slide the table into their faces but get blasted with it instead. The Hardys’ baseball slide connects though and we take a break.
Back with D-Von moving the table to save the match, earning him a dropkick from Eddie. Ray tries a Doomsday Device to Edwards but Jeff and Davey make the save. Davey fights off both members of Team 3D but walks into a hard double shoulder. The Hardys set up a table in the corner but Jeff misses a dropkick to drive himself through the table instead. Team 3D loads up another table on the ramp and try a suplex on Matt until the Wolves hit stereo suicide dives for the save.
Jeff bridges a table upside down between the steps and the apron and sets up the legs to make it even more dangerous. Edwards takes him down with a big dive though and it’s Matt vs. Davey in the ring now. Team 3D breaks it up and slides in the table that Jeff set up outside. The Wolves take them out though and break the corner off the table in the process. Jeff dives over the top to take out Bully and Matt gives Eddie an elevated Twist of Fate out of the corner. Eddie is laid on a table and Jeff nails a Swanton through for the win at 15:16.
Rating: B-. It’s a really good main event though not as good as the regular match they had a few weeks back. The series is the best thing TNA has going right now and while it’s not going to last long term, it’s enjoyable while it’s lasting and that’s all it needs to do. Goods tuff here and I’m sure the finals at Bound For Glory will rock.
The Hardys climb a ladder and make the obvious choice for next week.
Overall Rating: C+. TNA’s roll continues as this was another solid episode. The main event stole the show of course and you can pencil in the final match for Bound For Glory. The midcard stuff is starting to shape up for the show as you can see most of the card fro here. On the other hand, the main event scene is kind of a mess and I have almost no idea where they’re going.
In theory Roode loses next week by shenanigans and there’s a rematch in Tokyo, but that’s about as lame of an idea as they could go with. Of course there’s always the multiman option if they really want to make the show feel lame. TNA really needs a hero to stand up for them that isn’t named Angle or Hardy. Right now Roode or Joe (and that’s a bigger stretch than Joe in a medium t-shirt) are their best options and that doesn’t exactly get my hopes up. Good stuff this week but they need to firm up more plans for Bound For Glory.
Results
Chris Melendez b. DJZ – Samoan drop
Eric Young/Bobby Roode/Samoa Joe b. Lashley/MVP/Kenny King – Roode Bomb to MVP
BroMans/Velvet Sky b. Menagerie – Rollup to Rebel
Ethan Carter III b. Rhino – 1%er onto a chair
James Storm/Great Sanada b. Tajiri/Austin Aries – Superkick to Tajiri
Hardys b. Team 3D and the Wolves – Swanton Bomb to Edwards
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Impact Wrestling – September 3, 2014: I Feel Nothing
Impact Wrestling
Date: September 3, 2014
Location: Manhattan Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz
We’re still in New York and things are actually going well for TNA, at least on screen. Last week we saw a really good tag team match and the World Title scene is starting to take shape. That being said, Bound For Glory is getting closer and closer and there really isn’t much taking shape for the biggest show of the year. Other than penciling in the finals of the tag team series, there isn’t a major challenger on the horizon for Lashley. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of last week’s main event. Team 3D gets to pick the stipulation for the next match.
Here’s the Trio with something to say. MVP says Lashley is about to become the Bellator World Champion and says no one can stop him. This brings out Samoa Joe to praise MVP for his skills as a hype man. Joe says Lashley isn’t the toughest man in the world, the city, or even in this ring. He wants to drop these belts and have a fight right now. King gets in Joe’s face and the brawl is on. Referees break them up and MVP makes Joe vs. Lashley later.
Video on Taryn Terrell vs. Gail Kim. They make this sound WAY bigger than it really is.
Knockouts Title: Gail Kim vs. Taryn Terrell
Gail is defending and quickly takes her down to start. A rollup gets two for Terrell and a middle rope clothesline gets the same. Gail comes right back with a top rope hurricanrana, followed by a DDT on the arm. She misses the charge in the corner though and falls out to the floor. Taryn loads up the steps but gets caught in a neckbreaker onto the steel which knocks both girls silly. Back in and Eat Defeat gets two, followed by an RKO for the same for Taryn. Gail is staggered so Terrell goes up for a high cross body, only to have Gail roll through to retain at 6:00.
Rating: C+. The match was decent but the fans chanting THIS IS AWESOME shows how lame womens’ wrestling has been lately. It was entertaining but awesome is a stretch to put it mildly. This was miles beneath the stuff they did a year or so ago but it still wasn’t bad. The division is pretty horrible anymore though as there’s barely a division to speak of.
We might get a solution to that here though as Havok debuts and destroys Taryn with White Noise and Gail with a one arm chokeslam.
MVP tells Eric Young to watch out for Roode tonight.
The BroMans try to get a phone signal to find out who they’ve been matched up with on their dating game.
Here’s EC3 to rip on the fans cheering for Dixie being powerbombed through a table. The Carter charity is ending and Rhino will be the first victim. Carter has a list of demands: the firing of Bully Ray, the banning of the words violence and extreme, and the ending of YOU CAN’T WRESTLE chants due to him proving his skills. The fans start a CM Punk chant and Ethan says he’d love to beat him too. Rhino jumps the barricade and beats Carter up, only to have SPud pull Ethan to the floor. Rhino wants a fight right now and Carter says it’s on….against Spud.
Some chick is admiring Samuel Shaw when Gunner comes up to ask about Shaw putting on Gunner’s uniform. Shaw says he wanted to look like a hero and Gunner says it’s cool.
Samuel Shaw/Gunner vs. Bram/Magnus
Shaw nails a nice dropkick on Magnus to start before it’s quickly off to Gunner for a double back elbow. Bram comes in and rams Gunner face first into the buckle for no effect, so Gunner does the exact same thing to the Brit. A finger to the eye stops Gunner so Shaw tags himself in, much to Gunner’s annoyance. Shaw and Magnus clothesline each other and a double tag brings in Gunner to run over Bram. A slingshot suplex gets two on Bram but Gunner has to nail Magnus. Gunner hurts his knee coming off the middle rope, allowing Bram to clip him for a pin at 4:02.
Rating: D+. I’m still not sure where they’re going with Gunner and Shaw and I really don’t care for the most part. Shaw is a character instead of a wrestler and that’s ok for the most part, but this story really doesn’t make very interesting television. This story has been going on for months now and it really hasn’t gone anywhere yet. The characters aren’t the best in the first place, making the whole thing really tiring.
MVP reminds Roode of his past issues with Young.
The BroMans aregue some more until the Beautiful People come up as their dates. DJZ is told to get them on the guest list for every club.
Eric Young vs. Bobby Roode
These two got out of a cage at the same time so this is a singles match for the next World Title shot. Tenay tries to explain MVP’s comments by saying Roode was a bigger deal in Team Canada but that Young was never subservient to Bobby. That’s true, but there’s no mention made of the time where Roode owned Young’s TNA contract and treated him like a slave. Feeling out process to start until Young takes him down with a headlock.
An early piledriver attempt is countered with a backdrop and Roode kicks him in the face to take over. Young backflips over the corner and goes up top for a missile dropkick and two. Roode comes right back with a Blockbuster and the spinebuster for two each. A wheelbarrow suplex gets the same for Eric, even though he missed the accompanying neckrbeaker.
Young busts out a moonsault for another near fall but he gets caught in the Crossface. He rolls out for two and nails a DDT on Roode for the same. There’s the top rope elbow but Bobby kicks out again. Eric’s piledriver is countered into a pinfall reversal sequence, capped off by Roode hitting the Roode Bomb for the pin and the title shot at 8:17.
Rating: C. The match was good but there wasn’t much emotion to this for the most part. It also doesn’t help that Young just does not feel like a main eventer and the ending wasn’t really in doubt. I’m also not a fan of how far back TNA goes for its history. They’re bringing up issues these guys had about ten years ago for the backstory and if you weren’t around back then, none of what they’re talking about makes sense.
They shake hands post match.
Lashley stares Roode down in the back.
To no one’s surprise, Team 3D picks a tables match for the second match in the tag team series. Ray has lost track of how many Tag Team Titles they’ve won.
Homicide vs. DJZ vs. Craazy Steve vs. Low Ki vs. Manik vs. Tigre Uno
Winner gets an X-Division Title shot at some point in the future and this is one fall to a finish. Low Ki hammers on Tigre to start before hitting a kind of spinebuster for two. A fisherman’s suplex gets the same with all four other guys making the save. Off to Manik vs.Homicide with the masked man being sent into the ropes for a tag to DJZ.
Steve comes in with a sunset flip for two on DJZ before everything breaks down. DJZ and Steve are sent to the floor with Low Ki and Tigre being backdropped after them. Manik and Homicide trade some suplex attempts until Manik jumps into a cutter. The Gringo Killa gives Homicide the title shot at 4:32.
Rating: D+. Well that happened. There’s no story, there’s no psychology, there’s absolutely nothing we haven’t seen before. This division is such a disaster at this point as it’s back to the old habit of some big multiman match to set up a one off title shot and then do it all over again. That gets really old really fast and we reached that point a long time ago.
Sanada comes in and superkicks Manik while James Storm watches from ringside. They drag the unconscious Manik to the back.
Austin Aries is in the ring to talk about his skin being green from the mist attack last week. He calls out Sanada and Storm but James insists that this is the GREAT Sanada. He welcomed Sanada with open arms, just like he will with Manik. Storm instills a vision of greatness in these people, all led by the legend himself.
Sanada is going to be the greatest man that ever came out of Japan and the man people think of instead of the Great Muta. Aries doesn’t like the word great being thrown around this much and says both guys have ticked off a lot of people. He didn’t come here alone, so here’s Tajiri to help in the fight. The good guys clean house and Storm slaps some sense into Sanada. Tajiri looks less intimidating without his goatee.
Spud isn’t sure why he’s facing Rhino but Ethan threatens to fire Spud if he doesn’t go out there.
We recap Chris Melendez’s debut last week. He debuts next Wednesday.
Rockstar Spud vs. Rhino
Rhino throws him into the corner to start and then gorilla presses him down. Spud gets in a few shots to the back and Rhino just gets mad. The Gore misses and Spud brings in a trashcan. He takes too long to pose though and the Gore ends Spud at 2:34.
Carter leaves Spud behind.
Bobby Lashley vs. Samoa Joe
Non-title. The brawl starts on the floor with Joe sending Lashley flying off a suplex. Back in and Joe nails a few Facewashes followed by the running boot to the face. Joe puts on a guillotine choke but Lashley drives him into the corner and scores with a neckbreaker. We hit the chinlock on Joe for a bit before Lashley leapfrogs him into a clothesline. Back to the nerve hold for a few moments before Joe plants him for two. Lashley powerslams him off the top but misses the spear. Joe puts on the choke but has to deal with Kenny King. The distraction lets Lashley hit a full nelson slam and the spear for the pin at 6:43.
Rating: D+. Another watchable match but not much more than that. TNA really needs to work on its big showdowns as these matches that are supposed to be huge come off more like filler. This didn’t do anything for me and just made the X-Division Champion look weaker than the World Champion.
Overall Rating: C-. The wrestling wasn’t bad but this show felt like it went on forever. The problem for TNA right now is it feels like they’re just spinning their wheels and waiting for Bound For Glory to get here, but the more shows like this, the less interesting it sounds. Other than the Aries vs. Storm feud, nothing on here feels like it matters or holds any interest. They’re just people going out there and then moving on to next week. It isn’t terrible, but there’s no emotion to it and that makes for some very long shows.
Results
Gail Kim b. Taryn Terrell – Kim rolled through a high cross body
Bram/Magnus b. Gunner/Samuel Shaw – Clip to Gunner
Bobby Roode b. Eric Young – Roode Bomb
Homicide b. Tigre Uno, Manik, DJZ, Craazy Steve and Low Ki – Gringo Killa to Manik
Rhino b. Rockstar Spud – Gore
Lashley b. Samoa Joe – Spear
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Impact Wrestling – August 27, 2014: Again, Just Let Them Wrestle
Impact Wrestling
Date: August 27, 2014
Location: Manhattan Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz
We’re still in New York for about the sixth straight week and there are some big deals to get through tonight. First of all we’ve got the first match in the tag team series between the Wolves, Hardys and Team 3D with the winners getting to pick the next stipulation. There’s also the fallout from Roode and Young escaping the cage last week at the same time, meaning there’s no #1 contender. Let’s get to it.
The opening video talks about the tag team series and the six man cage match from last week.
Angle is in the crowd and makes EC3 vs. Rhino tonight and hypes up the three way tag. We don’t have a #1 contender yet but he’s going to be working with both of them to figure out who is the best choice.
Here’s the Trio with something to say. MVP rants against Angle for thinking that he knows how to book a show and then makes fun of New York for thinking it’s a tough town. He goes on and on about police choking people (reference to an incident in New York when this was taped) and says everyone would be flatter than Miley Cyrus. MVP calls Lashley the King of New York and here’s Tommy Dreamer to interrupt.
Dreamer praises each member of the Trio and says they’re all better than this. He tells Lashley that he’s finally reached his potential, earning him a right hand from King. Dreamer pulls him to the floor and chases him off with a Singapore cane but Angle cuts them off. Kurt makes Dreamer vs. Lashley in a New York City street and the bell rings right now.
Lashley vs. Tommy Dreamer
And we take a break right after the bell. Back with Dreamer nailing Lashley in the face with a trashcan lid and hitting him in the legs with a Singapore cane. Lashley blocks one of them and suplexes Dreamer down on the ramp. Dreamer is sent into the barricade as Tenay hypes up Bellator.
They head inside with Lashley suplexing Dreamer down. MVP offers a distraction for no apparent reason but Lashley spears King by mistake. Some trashcan shots to the head have Lashley in trouble and a Downward Spiral into the can has the champion reeling. There’s the DDT for two but Dreamer dives into a clothesline. The spear ends Dreamer at 9:39.
Rating: D+. I hope that’s it for the ECW tribute portion of our show. This was the now regular hardcore brawl of the week and it really isn’t interesting me. The fans chanting ECW for Dreamer’s comeback told you everything you needed to know about this: they wanted to see ECW guys instead of whatever TNA is doing and TNA is fine with feeding that mindset.
Madison Rayne is ready for Taryn Terrell.
HAVOK is coming next week.
Samuel Shaw is at Gunner’s apartment and drawing the New York skyline. Gunner heads downstairs and Shaw keeps drawing. Shaw looks at the door after Gunner leaves and gets up. He examines Gunner’s military shirt and that’s that.
Madison Rayne vs. Taryn Terrell
#1 contenders match. They trade rollups to start until Madison grabs a headlock. A monkey flip puts Madison down as Tenay shills the Knockouts swimsuit calendar. Terrell sends her to the floor but misses a dive off the apron. Back in and Madison sends her into the buckle. Taz talks about where he’s going to pin the pictures from the calendar because that’s what TNA commentary is like.
A dropkick gets two for Madison and a side roll gets the same. Rayne gets two more off a northern lights suplex but Taryn reverses into a snap suplex of her own. More suplxes and a running neckbreaker get two for Taryn and she nails a high cross body for the same. Madison scoops the legs and puts her feet on the ropes for two. The referee catches her, allowing Terrell to hit an RKO for the pin at 6:00.
Rating: D+. This wasn’t the Knockouts’ best offering but Taryn is a good choice for the next title shot. Rayne acting heelish is kind of interesting but it’s not like it’s going to matter given how this division goes. Not much to see here, though I’m very glad to see something besides a four way for the shot.
Bobby Roode goes into a dressing room and finds Eric Young eating fruit. Eric says no matter what happens with the #1 contendership….and he can’t finish that thought as Angle interrupts and asks the cameras to leave.
Shaw puts on Gunner’s military shirt when Gunner comes back in. He sees Shawn in the shirt and gets a salute. A ticked off Gunner tells Shaw to take it off or he’ll take it off for him.
Homicide/Manik/DJZ vs. Low Ki/Tigre Uno/Crazzy Steve
It’s a brawl to start and we quickly hit the high spots. Tigre bounces into a huricanrana to put DJZ on the floor, drawing in Manik. A faceplant puts Manik down as well but DJZ shoves Manik off the top. Off to Homicide to work on Tigre’s arm and DJZ gets in a shot of his own. Tigre headscissors DJZ into Homicide and the hot tag brings in Low Ki. Manik gets caught in the corner but grabs a Black Widow on Ki.
In a SCARY counter, Low Ki counters the fireman’s carry gutbuster by driving his feet into Manik’s face with some incredibly momentum. That looked SICK. Steve comes in and hits a big plancha to take Homicide down. Tigre monkey flips DJZ out to the floor and dives onto the pile. Manik loads up a dive but is nice enough to stop and let Low Ki kick him in the head. The Ki Crusher pins Manik at 6:55.
Rating: C. This was exactly what you would expect it to be with all six guys going insane with their spots. It’s not a great match or anything but this was in the same vein of the old WCW lucha six man matches. Good stuff here as sometimes it’s nice to just turn off your brain and watch people jump a lot.
Angle has a solution for the Young/Roode issue.
Rhino talks about EC3 saying money can’t buy happiness. Tonight it’s bought Carter a lot of pain because he isn’t going to forget what Carter did to him. There will be a GORE GORE GORE.
Bobby Roode is in the ring and announces that he’ll be facing Eric Young next week for the #1 contendership. He invites Young to come down to the ring and Bobby goes through their history together, ranging from Team Canada to their battles. Roode doesn’t bring up the time where he basically owned Young in exchange for sex with Traci Brooks but maybe it’s implied. He respects Eric more than anyone (the required line in TNA) and it’s going to be an honor to face him. Young can’t wait to face Roode here in New York City and they’ll tear the roof off the building next week.
The BroMans play some wrestling match game on their phones.
Rhino vs. Ethan Carter III
Rhino charges to the ring and hammers away to start, just as you would expect him to do. They head outside with Carter being sent into the barricade and getting hammered. The carpet is an odd thing to see at a wrestling event. Back in and Carter takes over with some stomps in the corner. An elbow drop gets two and Ethan slowly hammers away. Ethan gets two more off a corner splash and we hit the chinlock.
Rhino fights up and hits some hard shoulders followed by something resembling a TKO. He loads up the Gore but Spid grabs his leg, allowing Ethan to hit a low blow for two. There’s a belly to belly suplex but Spud breaks up another Gore attempt. This one allows Ethan to bring in a chair for the DQ at 6:20.
Rating: C-. This was just your basic match here as Ethan continues to not get pinned. They’re giving him a nice push here and one day he could be the guy that carries the company. Granted he might be carrying it into the grave but at this point that won’t be put on whoever is the next big guy. Decent match here but nothing special.
Post match Carter loads up a chair but Spud asks him not to do it. Ethan nails Rhino anyway and Spud looks concerned.
James Storm comes out to introduce the new version of Sanada. He says he’s the leader of a new revolution of people that need a rebirth. Sanada will be the first of many.
Great Sanada vs. Austin Aries
Sanada comes out in blue and yellow with shiny gear and yellow face paint ala Great Muta. Aries grabs a wristlock but Sanada spins his way out of it in a nice counter. A crucifix gets two for Aries and there’s the Last Chancery, sending Sanada crawling to the ropes. Back up and Sanada chops away in the corner before choking away on the mat. A pair of backbreakers get two for Sanada and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Aries sends him into the corner and rams Sanada back and forth between two buckles.
A neckbreaker across the middle rope sends Sanada to the floor and Aries nails a very fast suicide dive. Aries nails the discus forearm and the corner dropkick but Sanada breaks the brainbuster by biting Austin’s finger. Sanada takes him up top, only to get knocked off. Storm crotches Aries on the top rope, allowing Sanada to mist Aries in the face. How the referee didn’t see either of those things is beyond me. A low superkick gives Sanada the pin at 6:15.
Rating: C+. This was your usual good match between these two and I really like the idea of Storm heading a stable as the evil veteran mentor. It’s better than having every story built around drinking if nothing else. You can see Sanada vs. Muta at Bound For Glory from here and that’s not the worst idea in the world.
Video on war veteran Chris Melendez who lost a leg in Iraq. Melendez has a prosthetic leg and is working to become a pro wrestler.
Angle is in the ring with Mr. Anderson and Team 3D to introduce Melendez. Kurt talks about working as hard as he did to win an Olympic Gold Medal but it pales in comparison to Melendez being willing to die for this country. Melendez is now a member of the Impact Wrestling roster. Anderson asks the members of the Wounded Warrior Project here tonight to applaud for Melendez.
A guy from the Wounded Warrior Project called Anderson about Melendez and asked Anderson to train him. Anderson didn’t have a ring to train them in, so he sent Melendez to the Team 3D Wrestling Academy. Melendez met with Team 3D and they offered to train him for free. D-Von asks the fans to welcome him to the roster and Melendez gets a standing ovation.
Hardys vs. Team 3D vs. Wolves
This is the first match of a Tag Team Series where the first team to win two matches wins the Tag Team Titles. Whoever wins each match gets to pick the stipulation for the next match. This is just a usual triple threat tag. Richards and Ray get things going after a break. The champions (the Wolves) start on Ray’s arm but he comes back with right hands to Davey’s head. A hard chop puts Richards down and Davey says bring it on. That earns him another chop but the fans aren’t interested in starting a 3D chant.
The tag brings in D-Von but Eddie kicks him right back into a tag to Ray. Matt tags himself in and things are already breaking down. Poetry in Motion has Eddie in trouble but Davey comes out with a clothesline to break it up. Team 3D lays out Davey for two as Ray leaves rather than loading up their namesake. Now it’s the Hardys working over Davey with Jeff kicking him in the back for two.
Matt works over the arm but everything breaks down again. The Wolves duck a double clothesline from the Hardys and hit stereo suicide dives on Team 3D, only to have Poetry In Motion take them down, followed by a moonsault from Matt to take everyone down again. Back in and Eddie enziguris Matt into a German suplex but Jeff makes a last second save. Eddie breaks up the Twist of Fate and D-Von tags himself in.
The Wolves throw him into a kick to the chest and hit the double top rope double stomps for two. Davey escapes a Twist of Fate and kicks Matt in the head, only to miss a top rope double stomp. Now the Twist connects on Richards, setting up the Swanton from Jeff. Edwards kicks him down though and rolls up D-Von for two. 3D out of nowhere is enough to pin Edwards at 9:06.
Rating: B+. That might be a bit high but I was really digging this match. It was exactly what it was supposed to be and you can pretty much guarantee that each team will get to win a match before the big showdown at the final. Odds are we’ll be getting a tables match next and hopefully it’s as good as this.
Overall Rating: B-. I liked this show more than I thought I would have with some good stuff making up for some of the weaker moments. TNA is starting to get it together, though I’ll need to see a lot more good before I give them the benefit of the doubt. There’s some good stuff for next week, but there isn’t much set up for Bound For Glory. There are seven more weeks, but you would think we would know some of the matches already. Good show this week though.
Results
Lashley b. Tommy Dreamer – Spear
Taryn Terrell b. Madison Rayne – RKO
Low Ki/Tigre Uno/Craazy Steve b. Homicide/Manik/DJZ – Ki Crusher to Manik
Rhino b. Ethan Carter III via DQ when Carter used a chair
Great Sanada b. Austin Aries – Low superkick
Team 3D b. Hardys and Wolves – 3D to Edwards
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of ECW Pay Per Views at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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Impact Wrestling – August 14, 2014: Uh…..What Do We Do Now?
Impact Wrestling
Date: August 14, 2014
Location: Manhattan Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz
It’s kind of a new era in TNA as Dixie Carter, at least in theory, is off TV for a very long time. Last week Team 3D powerbombed her (kind of) through a table in the big moment that people had been waiting to see for years. Now we’re getting ready for Bound For Glory but there really isn’t anything set up in advance. There are about two months left but only one episode lets on Thursdays. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Dixie being put through a table.
Here’s a very happy Ray to open things up. He thanks all of us for believing in him until he put Dixie through a table. Ray needed all of the fans’ help to do it but there is one man in particular he needs to thank. Rick had Scott, Hawk had Animal, and he has D-Von. This brings out D-Von who says it feels good to be home in New York City. Now that Dixie is gone, it’s time to get down to business.
Cue the Hardys and it’s time for an old school showdown. Matt says it’s been twelve years since the four of them were all together and congratulates the two of them on being inducted into the Hall of Fame. He brings up the first ever tag team table match in 2000 (wasn’t that done before in ECW?) and Bully helps him through their history of ladders and TLC matches. The fans want to see it one more time and all four seem totally cool with the idea.
Recap of Joe winning the X-Division Title last week.
Joe talks about being tasked with revamping the X-Division.
Manik vs. Crazzy Steve vs. Tigre Uno vs. DJZ vs. Low Ki vs. Homicide
Elimination rules with tags and the winner gets an X-Division Title shot next week. Steve and Tigre start things off with DJZ tripping up Steve from the floor. Tigre slams Steve down and hits a Phoenix Splash for the elimination in less than a minute. Manik comes in to flip around a lot, only to get caught in a nice springboard armdrag. Manik comes back with a springboard dropkick of his own and a tiger suplex into a gutbuster for a fast pin to get us down to four.
Everyone not named DJZ has a staredown in the middle of the ring until DJZ hits a springboard dropkick to take down Low Ki and Homicide. Manik catches himself in the ropes but gets cradled by DJZ for the third elimination in less than three minutes. The veterans double team DJZ and tags turns hammering on him until Homicide hits a Gringo Killa for the pin, getting us down to two.
They hammer away on each other until Homicide sends him to the floor, setting up a flipping suicide dive to send Low Ki into the barricade. A running knee to the face in the corner gets two for Homicide as the fans think this is awesome. Low Ki blocks a Gringo Killa and kicks Homicide into the corner. The Ki Crusher gives Low Ki the title shot at 7:02.
Rating: D+. So why in the world did they not just do Low Ki vs. Homicide? The match was nothing special due to how fast everything had to go and it was really annoying to sit through. Nothing to see on the match but at least they got the major two guys in there at the end for the longest time.
Here are a banged up Spud, Ethan Carter III and Rhino to address their future. Spud nearly cries when talking about the travesty of Dixie being put through a table. He freaks out when the fans won’t give him a moment of silence but Ethan takes the mic. Carter demands Bully’s termination from the company but here’s Kurt Angle to interrupt. Kurt tells them to shut up because this isn’t Nashville. They’ll either wrestle tonight or get thrown out.
Ethan yells a lot so here are the cops. Spud freaks out because he has a British passport, meaning he has diplomatic immunity. This doesn’t quite work and he’s quickly taken down and handcuffed. Ethan freaks out again and talks about having more money than he’ll ever need. He tries to bribe the cop and is arrested as well, drawing a big smile from Kurt.
Samuel Shaw says the trouble between Gunner and Mr. Anderson is his fault but Gunner says it’s Anderson’s prejudices. Gunner wishes Shaw luck tonight.
Ethan and Spud are thrown out of the building.
Back from a break and they’re still in the building and offering bribes. Rhino is being ejected as well but now they’re thrown out onto the street.
Mr. Anderson vs. Gunner
They shove each other to start until Anderson runs him over with a shoulder. Gunner does the same and it’s an early standoff. Anderson gets muscled down to the mat but spins out and cranks on a hammerlock. Back up and they slug it out until Shaw comes in to brawl with Anderson for the DQ at 2:52.
The Beautiful People aren’t quite on the same page for the fourway tonight.
We get a clip from after Impact with Bully Ray singing Ding Dong The Wicked Witch Is Dead. Dixie may have a broken back and will be interviewed next week.
Knockouts Title: Taryn Terrell vs. Angelina Love vs. Gail Kim vs. Velvet Sky
Kim is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Big brawl to start with the Beautiful People taking early control. Terrell gets beaten down until the Beautiful People head outside where Gail takes them both out with a cross body from the apron. Terrell dives onto all three and everyone is down. Fans: “BETTER THAN DIVAS!” Back in and the Beautiful People get in an argument over who gets the pin, allowing Gail to send both of them into the corner. Angelina breaks up In Yo Face but gets taken down by Taryn, allowing Gail to make Velvet Eat Defeat to retain at 4:48.
Rating: C. Well that happened. It’s happened a bunch of times in the Knockout division and there’s almost no reason to care anymore. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen the Knockouts have a fourway match and it’s really not interesting anymore. Also, they couldn’t give a title match more than five minutes? Let something like this feel big instead of rushing it along and maybe it means something.
The Trio isn’t worried about Dixie Carter.
MVP/Kenny King/Lashley vs. Austin Aries/Bobby Roode/Eric Young
Roode and Lashley get things going as the fans are behind Aries. King comes in to nail Roode instead and tells Lashley that he’s got this one. Bobby comes back with some clotheslines but King bails to avoid a Crossface. Aries gets the tag and shoves King into a backbreaker from Roode, followed by a slingshot elbow for two. It’s off to Young vs. Lashley with Eric’s piledriver attempt being easily countered. Lashley misses a charge and falls to the floor but King crotches Eric to slow things down.
MVP comes in and tries a few covers but opts for just nailing Young in the face instead. Eric rolls over and tags in Aries to clean house, including a missile dropkick to King. Lashley’s spear is countered into the Last Chancery and everything breaks down. MVP beats on Roode but walks into a piledriver from Young. Lashley picks Young up for a powerslam but Aries escapes one of his own before nailing Lashley with discus forearms. The running dropkick in the corner looks to set up the 450 but MVP nails Aries in the back with the crutch, setting up the spear from Lashley for the pin at 8:12.
Rating: C+. This was good stuff and I continue to wonder who gets Lashley (assuming he’s still champion) at Bound For Glory. Young isn’t going there and Aries had his shot, so you would think it’s Bobby Roode. I’m not sure you go with him, even though he seems like the best option. That’s one of TNA’s major problems: they can’t build a face to save their lives.
H_V_K is coming. We should be getting the other letters soon.
The Wolves have loved watching the Hardys and Team 3D for years and they’ll enjoy it again tonight. They’d be glad to give Team 3D a shot.
Here’s Abyss with something to say. He demands that Bram get out here right now with his Janice. Abyss gets what he wants plus Magnus as a bonus. Bram stands in front of him as Abyss says possession doesn’t mean anything to him so give Janice back. Bram says she’s his now and that it drives him wild to hit Abyss with Janice.
Abyss asks if Bram wants to get extreme and the fans are entirely behind him. He wants the match to have tacks, glass, barbed wire, and Janice hanging above the ring. Bram accepts the challenge and Magnus says Abyss doesn’t get many women except Janice. The fight is on but Bram clips Abyss and takes Janice with him.
In a very dark and creepy vignette, James Storm is at his farm with Sanada and calls him weak, confused and lost. Storm says he is Sanada’s glory and salvation. He yells at the cameraman to leave. Awesome segment.
Hardcore Justice is next week.
Hardys vs. Team 3D
You would think this would get a bigger build. Team 3D has the old school camouflage on. D-Von cranks on a headlock on Matt but walks into an elbow to the jaw. Off to Jeff vs. Bully with Ray nailing him in the jaw as we take a break. Back with Jeff taking over but Bully breaks up an attempt at Poetry in Motion. D-Von puts Jeff in a chinlock before it’s back to Ray for some hard elbow drops.
A neckbreaker gets two for D-Von and there’s the reverse 3D for two more. We hit a bearhug from Bully on Jeff, who gets backdropped when trying to escape. Ray goes to the middle rope and taken down with a nice hurricanrana for two. The hot tag brings in Matt to hammer on D-Von with a bulldog getting two. There’s the Side Effect for two more as everything breaks down. Matt takes a clothesline and Jeff gets crotched going for the Whisper in the Wind.
D-Von loads up a superplex but Matt pulls him away, setting a Doomsday Device with Jeff nailing a Whisper in the Wind instead of a clothesline for two. Bully breaks up what appeared to be a double superplex and there’s the real Doomsday Device for two on Matt. What’s Up nails Matt and it’s table time but Jeff dives on Team 3D to break it up. Back in and the Twist of Fate sets up the Swanton to D-Von for two. The announcers undersell the kickout before 3D ends Matt at 16:57.
Rating: B-. The match was good but is little more than nostalgia. That being said, this was far better than almost anything else that TNA’s tag division does these days as it’s nice to have more than two teams at a time. Throwing these four with the Wolves into a three way would get a big reaction and could draw a nice audience. Assuming there’s more than a two hour build that is.
They embrace to end the show.
Overall Rating: B-. There were some issues with this show (short matches for one thing) but the energy and storytelling is getting good. I still don’t trust TNA due to how many times they’ve burned me over the years, but they’re hot going into the move to Wednesdays. This wasn’t great or anything, but it’s a good sign that they have something to do after getting rid of Dixie. Solid show this week and a nice surprise.
Results
Low Ki b. Homicide, Manik, Tigre Uno, DJZ and Crazzy Steve – Ki Crusher to Homicide
Mr. Anderson b. Gunner via DQ when Samuel Shaw interfered
Gail Kim b. Angelina Love, Velvet Sky and Taryn Terrell – Eat Defeat to Sky
Lashley/MVP/Kenny King b. Austin Aries/Eric Young/Bobby Roode – Spear to Aries
Team 3D b. Hardys – 3D to Matt
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of ECW Pay Per Views at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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Impact Wrestling – July 17, 2014: Please, Let It Go.
Impact Wrestling
Date: July 17, 2014
Location: Manhattan Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz
We’re finally to the New York tapings which are a prety big deal for the company. The company will be here for five weeks plus however many they tape at an upcoming set of tapings. The main story at this show will be Bobby Lashley defending the World Title against Jeff Hardy, who won a battle royal last week to earn the shot. Let’s get to it.
We open with a video on Hardy vs. Lashley, focusing on how Lashley is a destroyer and Hardy can be insane when need be.
Kurt Angle is in the crowd and welcomes us to the show. He shows us the six sided ring which makes its return tonight.
Taz is also in the balcony and compares TNA to ECW because their locker rooms have the same look in their eyes. He throws in his ECW catchphrases.
Here are Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer to get things going. They talk about how they helped get ECW on the map back in 1997 and this place feels like ECW did when it took the world by storm. Ethan Carter III and Rhyno break things up with Ethan saying that Bully will not be putting his aunt through a table here, just like he couldn’t in Texas or Pennsylvania. The fans chant YOU CAN’T WRESTLE, but Carter responds with “YES I CAN” and “I’M VERY GOOD!” Dreamer says Carter doesn’t know where he is and the brawl is on.
Rhino/Ethan Carter III vs. Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer
Joined in progress after a break. Ray drops Carter with a neckbreaker for two. The camera seems to be lower than usual this week. It’s quickly off to Rhino to stomp away but Dreamer elbows him in the jaw. Carter comes in again and is easily dispatched by a double elbow to the jaw. Ray brings Rhino in as everything breaks down.
Spud comes out in a bright orange jacket for a distraction and Carter takes over on Dreamer in the corner. Rhino plants Tommy with a spinebuster for two but Carter gets sent face first into the middle buckle, allowing for the hot tag to Bully. Ray beats up both villains on his own and everything breaks down again with Rhino taking over. Dreamer grabs Spud in but gets rolled up by Carter for the pin at 6:40.
Rating: C-. The match was fine but I’m over these attempts to bring ECW back from the grave every few years. Yeah the live crowds like it, but it makes the company look like it’s desperate to get whatever blood they can out of ECW’s corpse. The match was ok, but does pinning Tommy Dreamer really help Ethan?
The trio arrives.
Kurt Angle puts Austin Aries in a gauntlet match with the X-Division Title on the line and Aries gets to start.
James Storm slaps Sanada and dares him to fight, but says Sanada just does what Great Muta tells him. He calls Sanada a choke artist and leaves.
X-Division Title: Gauntlet Match
This is over the top elimination until there are two left and it becomes a singles match. There are eight men in this with 90 second intervals and it’s champion Austin Aries vs. Eddie Edwards to start. Feeling out process to start until Aries takes him down by the leg and goes into the corner. That goes nowhere as Manik is in at #3. Aries is knocked to the floor through the ropes meaning he’s still in as Manik speeds things up. He goes to the middle rope but Gets caught by Eddie, only to have Aries run in and dropkick Manik in the face.
Aries misses an elbow drop and it’s Davey Richards in at #4. The Wolves of course team up with Davey taking Aries down with a backbreaker and Eddie adds a top rope knee to the chest. Aries and Manik are in trouble as DJZ is in at #5. Edwards nails DJZ, Aries elbows Edwards, Richards drops Aries and Manik dropkicks Edwards. A top rope hurricanrana from Manik takes DJZ out but Manik is eliminated as well as we take a break.
Back with Tigre Uno and Crazzy Steve added to the match and no one else having been eliminated. Sanada is in at #8 to complete the field and he cleans house to take over. Crazzy Steve starts spraying silly string and the blinded Tigre Uno is eliminated. Edwards dumps Steve but Sanada puts out both Wolves to give us a rematch from last week with Aries vs. Sanada in a regular singles match for the title.
Austin sends Sanada to the floor and hits a huge suicide dive to take him out. A slingshot hilo back inside sets up the Last Chancery but Sanada makes it to the ropes. Aries can’t suplex him over the ropes and back inside and Sanada shoulders him in the ribs and hits a springboard chop to the head. Sanada’s tiger suplex gets two but he misses the moonsault. Two discus forearms and the corner dropkick set up the brainbuster to retain Aries’ title at 16:45.
Rating: C+. The match was fine but Aries cleaning out the division before he’s likely dropping the title for a title shot doesn’t do anything for the belt. All it does is set up another tournament between people who didn’t beat the champion to get the belt. That’s the same thing that happens to the title every year and is a major problem with Option C.
Aries helps Sanada back to his feet.
Eric Young and Bobby Roode have formed an alliance and want to get their hands on MVP.
James Storm calls Sanada a loser and beats the tar out of him. Sanada is left laying and Storm calls Muta a fraud.
MVP/Kenny King vs. Eric Young/Bobby Roode
MVP can’t walk and says he has half a leg but is going to wrestle under protest. Eric starts and takes King into the corner for some right hands to the jaw. It’s quickly off to Roode who doesn’t have such great luck as King takes over. King tags in MVP who immediately bails to the floor when Roode gets to his feet.
MVP gets in and tags out to King so the match can continue. Young is taken down and MVP comes in for some actual contact with an elbow drop and something resembling a flapjack. Back to King for a legdrop but Young avoids an elbow drop. A quick cross body allows for the tag off to Roode, who dares MVP to come in. Everything breaks down and MVP hits Roode with a crutch for the DQ at 6:25.
Rating: D+. This was more about filling in time before we get to the big showdown between Roode and MVP, likely at Bound For Glory. The match was nothing special, though I’m not crazy on the idea of two former world champions getting beaten down by a one legged man and Kenny King.
MVP and King destroy both guys with the crutches.
Brittany vs. Madison Rayne
No DQ and no countouts. They slug it out to start until Madison goes to the corner, only to get caught in an armbreaker over the ropes. Thankfully the referee doesn’t count or ask her to break it up. The fight goes outside with Brittany backdropping Madison on the ramp and kicking her in the ribs.
Back in and Brittany rams Madison’s head into the mat before getting two off a Russian legsweep. Madison is thrown back to the floor as the fans chant for Christy Hemme. Brittany tries a reverse DDT on the floor but gets suplexed instead. Back in and Madison hits a package DDT (think a fisherman’s DDT but with Madison not going backwards at all) for the pin at 6:40.
Rating: C. This was more aggressive than usual but I’m really not caring about these two. Brittany was something different when she had a crush on Madison but now she’s just another heel who doesn’t win a lot of matches. At the end of the day, it’s impossible to crack through into the top level of Knockouts and it’s stopping Brittany, just like it has everyone else.
Dixie Carter says Bully is all bark but she’s all bite.
Austin Aries tells Angle that he created Option C for the respect he has for the X-Division Title. Next week he gets to turn in the title for a future shot.
TNA World Title: Bobby Lashley vs. Jeff Hardy
Lashley is defending. Hardy tries to hammer away to start but realizes he has to speed things up. He sends Lashley out to the floor and hits a big dive, only to have Lashley trip him up on the steps and send Jeff face first into the steel as we take a break. Back with Lashley in control and choking Jeff on the middle rope. He puts Hardy in a torture rack but some right hands get Jeff free.
A running forearm drops Lashley and a dropkick does the same as the fans chant for CM Punk. Hardy’s headscissors out of the corner is caught in the powerslam but Jeff comes back with a Twisting Stunner and Twist of Fate. The Swanton get two and Jeff takes it back to the floor and rams Lashley’s head into the steps. Hardy goes up for a Swanton to the floor but lands on the steps. Jeff is done and the spear retains Lashley’s title at 12:45.
Rating: C+. This was a win that Lashley needed to get as Jeff Hardy is the guy that is always hanging around the main event and could take the title at any time. They’re actually building Lashley up as a major force and he’s coming off like a monster instead of a guy just keeping the title warm for MVP. That Swanton the steps was insane too.
Kurt Angle says Lashley is the man but stops Dixie from going to the ring. She says let go of her so she can go talk to her people.
Angle comes in and yells at MVP before putting him in a falls count anywhere match with Roode next week.
Here are Dixie, Spud, Ethan and Rhino so Dixie can make fun of the New York fans. She goes on and on about how she humiliated Tommy Dreamer and how embarrassed she is for the people that cheer Bully Ray. She’s going to keep putting Ray through table after table until he understands that this is her company. Cue Bully and Dreamer with a table and Dixie’s cronies are quickly cleared out of the ring. The fans chant YES but Ethan hits Bully low for the save. Rhino and Spud get Dixie into the crowd but D-Von returns to help beat down Ethan. What’s Up sets up a 3D through the table to end the show.
Overall Rating: C+. The show was entertaining for the most part though there were some flaws. The ECW stuff is something they need to cut out as fast as they can. It’s pure nostalgia, but do you really want to have your company looking like it’s all about dragging ECW out of its grave? As long as it’s limited to guys like the Dudleys, Rhino and Dreamer it won’t be horrible, but it doesn’t need to happen.
Other than that the show was actually good stuff with the main event scene starting to take shape as Lashley has main event players lined up for him to run over. It’s probably setting up a showdown at Bound For Glory with…..well you would think Roode but MVP might be getting that spot. Either way the show did its job and that’s a good thing.
Results
Ethan Carter III/Rhino b. Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer – Rollup to Dreamer
Austin Aries won a gauntlet match – Brainbuster to Sanada
Eric Young/Bobby Roode b. MVP/Kenny King via DQ when MVP used a crutch
Madison Rayne b. Brittany – Package DDT
Bobby Lashley b. Jeff Hardy – Spear
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Wrestler of the Day – January 31: Fit Finlay
Today we look at one of the most well traveled wrestlers of all time: Fit Finlay.
Of course Finlay got his start in Europe, working for his father’s promotion in Ireland. It’s almost impossible to find anything that regional, but there’s some more available stuff from his time in England. Here’s a match against Young David, more famous as the British Bulldog, from March 12, 1982.
Fit Finlay vs. Young David
Finlay is Irish Middleweight Champion. As is traditional with British wrestling, this is under a round system (eight five minute rounds here) and it’s 2/3 falls. The ring is fall smaller than most that you would see in America. David cranks on the arm to start and gets a quick one off a sunset flip. They hit the mat for some arm work until Finlay grabs a wristlock. David spins around and grabs one of his own as we’re firmly in technical mode here.
Finlay comes back with a leg lock as the well dressed crowd looks on intently. David grabs a wristlock but Finlay bridges out and snapmares David down. Off to an arm lock by Finlay as this is being treated as something serious. It’s very interesting to see something as different as we’re getting here. Finlay goes back to the wristlock and even a David slam can’t break the grip. A snapmare puts Finlay down and the first round ends.
The match is clipped to the start of round four (every version I can find of this has the clip) and they stare each other down. Finlay takes over with some elbows to the back of the head before bending David’s leg around Finlay’s neck. David escapes by KICKING HIM IN THE FACE but it’s right back to the hold. Finlay drops a leg on David’s leg and cranks on it even more until the Young one spins out to escape.
Not that it matters as Fit grabs the leg again and we can hear some fans shouting boring. David escapes again and, say it with me, it’s right back to the hold. The round ends and they actually shake hands while going back to their corners. No clipping here so it’s straight to round five. They put their heads together and try to ram the other for a few moments until Finlay grabs a front facelock.
A hard whip across the ring has David in more trouble and Finlay puts him over his shoulder for a backbreaker submission hold. David won’t give up because he’s a good blue eye (British term for face) but Finlay clubs him down and pins him for the first fall. Apparently the sixth round automatically begins after the previous fall.
Finlay cranks on the arm but David falls on top of him in a slam attempt for two. Now it’s David slamming Fit down as the fans get into it a little bit. A cross body out of nowhere is good for a pin on Finlay to tie things up. Due to the fall we automatically start round seven and it’s Finlay tripping David down to the mat. David reverses to a chinlock before hitting his powerslam (impressive as he’s TINY here) for one.
Finlay goes right back to the armbar before David kicks him in the chest to escape. They slug it out and a quick suplex gets two for David. Back to the leg hold by Fit but David reverses into a body scissors. Finlay pushes off the mat but can’t break the hold, even as he’s standing on his feet. He finally flips David down and grabs a standing arm hold, only to be backdropped down for two. Finlay does the same thing to him and the round ends with Finlay throwing David down.
Last round now and both guys are clearly tired. Finlay cranks on the arm again before they slug it out with forearms from their knees. David grabs a headlock and cranks on it so much that Finlay can’t slam him for the break. A piledriver, the high spot of the match, gets two on Finlay but he comes right back with a suplex for the pin and the match.
Rating: C+. This is an entirely different kind of match and I would understand why most fans today would find this boring. That being said, it’s actually entertaining when you get down to the style here. You had two guys working on each other’s bodies for thirty seven minutes until any big move was going to beat the other. Well other than the piledriver but you get the idea. It’s not my style of wrestling but it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re interested in something that is as pure as you’re going to find.
Since he wouldn’t get to WCW for thirteen years and stuff from England is really hard to find, we’ll stop in New Japan for a tag match from April 30, 1992. You should know most of the people involved.
Eddie Guerrero/Negro Casas vs. Fit Finlay/Chris Benoit
Finlay and Casas get things going with Finlay cranking on a headlock before driving Casas down with an armbar. Casas changes it to a leg lock but Finlay quickly makes it to the ropes and takes it to the floor for a quick chop off. Back in and we hit the chinlock on Casas before it’s off to Benoit for a moderate pop. Casas rolls out of an armbar and we get the match that would be the backbone for several WCW shows for years to come.
Eddie charges right at Chris with a dropkick but it’s off to Finlay almost immediately. Casas comes back in as well and slugs it out with Finlay, which is a stupid idea no matter who you are. A few hard shots send Casas flying across the ring but he punches Finlay square in the jaw to get a breather. Eddie comes back in for a double team leg crank, only to miss an elbow drop.
Back to Benoit who drops Eddie with an enziguri but takes too long going up, allowing Eddie to score with a superplex. Eddie’s top rope splash (not the amphibious type yet) hits Benoit’s knees but he comes back with a victory roll for two. Finlay gets the tag and hits a hard shoulder to Eddie’s ribs in the corner and a Vader Bomb for two. Eddie easily makes the tag to Casas who takes Finlay to the floor and sends him into the barricade.
Finlay sends him into something much more painful: a Benoit clothesline. Back inside and it’s Benoit hammering on Casas but getting taken down by a headscissors to pop the crowd. Benoit reverses a crucifix attempt into a slam and hits the Swan Dive for two. Eddie and Casas get in some double teaming on Finlay before taking him to the floor to drop him onto the barricade.
Everything breaks down with Finlay and Benoit sending the opponents together, only to have them reverse into stereo dropkicks. Everyone but Eddie heads over the barricade so Eddie hits a HUGE springboard plancha to take them out. It’s Eddie vs. Benoit in the ring again with Guerrero reversing a tombstone but being reversed back into it for two.
Casas makes the save and launches Eddie into a dropkick on Benoit for two but Finlay makes the save. Everything breaks down again and Benoit accidentally baseball slides Finlay. Back in and Eddie’s springboard missile dropkick hits Casas, allowing Benoit to reverse an Eddie hurricanrana into a sunset flip for the pin.
Rating: C+. Not the best match in the world to start but the last four minutes or so were very exciting. Finlay didn’t look used to this style yet but he was still looking decent out there. Benoit vs. Eddie is a match that you can’t mess up no matter how hard you try and Casas was fine so the match worked quite well.
It was off to America and WCW for Finlay, who was immediately placed in a feud with fellow European tough guy William Regal. The two would meet in a match ahead of its time on August 29, 1996: a parking lot brawl.
Belfast Brawler vs. Steven Regal
This is joined in progress and is in the parking lot with a circle of cars around them. It’s a rematch from Uncensored and they fight over a cinder block. A bumper comes off a car and it goes into Regal’s stomach. Very stiff shots here. It’s so weird to see Regal being all young and flexible. Finlay gets choked by a seatbelt and Regal does as well.
I know this probably sounds commonplace by today’s standards but this was unheard of at the time. It helps that it’s a very stiff fight also and feels more like a street fight than a match called a street fight. Finlay goes through a windshield and the throw punches until Regal grabs a bumper. Tombstone (Finlay’s finisher) on the concrete doesn’t work so Regal tries a Piledriver of his own on the car. They’re on a wide shot here as Regal manages to get the Piledriver on the hood for the pin. Brain: “He’s out of gas!”
Rating: B. Like I said by today’s standards this isn’t a great match but for its time this was awesome stuff. They were pounding on each other out there and it made people want to watch WCW and find out what was going on here. Good stuff overall and a rather fun match which is still talked about today.
After a few months off TV, Finlay would come back and do very little. Eventually he would get a TV Title shot on May 9, 1998.
TV Title: Fit Finlay vs. Booker T
Fit takes him into the corner to start and hits a hard kick to the champion’s back. Finlay cranks on the leg as Tony is thrilled to have Nitro back to three hours next week. Booker fights up with a good looking spin kick to the face before backdropping Finlay to the floor. Back in and Finlay hits a hard clothesline, only to be taken down by a running forearm. The ax kick puts Finlay down and the whip spinebuster does the same. There’s a flapjack from the champion as Benoit saunters down to the ring. The distraction lets Finlay tombstone Booker down for the pin and the title.
Rating: D+. Nothing special here but it furthers the Booker vs. Benoit feud, which has already had developments since the last time we saw them. Over the last week, Booker and Benoit traded the TV Title at some house shows, but neither of Benoit’s two wins were acknowledged tonight. Instead we need Finlay to get the title. That’s not a knock on Finlay, but he hasn’t done anything of note in months and he gets a title?
Finlay would defend the title against random opponents for a month and a half before dropping it back to Booker T. The rest of the year wouldn’t go anywhere for Finlay and he would head into 1999 with nothing going on. Eventually WCW would start doing hardcore stuff and a tough guy like Finlay would be perfect for something like that. The first big hardcore match was a junkyard battle royal at Bash at the Beach 1999.
Junkyard Invitational
Ciclope, Jerry Flynn, Johnny Grunge, Hak, Horace Hogan, Brian Knobbs, Fit Finlay, Hugh Morrus, La Parka, Steven Regal, Rocco Rock, Silver King, David Taylor, Mikey Whipwreck
It should be noted that no one knew who was going to be in this match until it starts and it just starts with no intros or anything. And yes, they’re actually in a junkyard with almost no lighting. This must be THRILLING for the live audience too. Oh and Hak (Sandman) made the invitation. Now remember, we have no idea who is in this, you can’t see anything, and since they’re in a real junkyard it’s all over everywhere. We go to an aerial shot for no apparent reason.
Public Enemy, who are here for one night only, throw a car over off a pile of them. Jimmy is running around with his helmet. We have sparks. No idea how to call this because YOU CAN’T SEE ANYTHING. Ciclope (I think) dives off a car with a swanton that misses, sending him into another car. Steven Regal and Dave Taylor are here and no one can believe it. Seriously this looks like an action scene from a bad movie and since they’re in fighting clothes rather than ring gear, it’s almost impossible to tell who is who.
It’s very clear that most guys are just walking around and not really doing anything. Occasionally they’ll do something but it’s not very much at all. Morrus jumps off a car and misses an elbow to Finlay. Various weapons shots go around and La Parka has a tail pipe. Bobby: “I hit a guy from behind with a transmission once but never a tail pipe.” Some luchador dives off a car onto a bunch of people.
Horace throws Rocco through a windshield. Heenan goes into a used car salesman pitch which is kind of funny. La Parka has a chair. This is just boring anymore. Finlay hits people with various objects. No one has gone for the exit yet. Tony and Bobby suggest ways to escape. Morrus misses a charge at a car. Finlay gets all superheroish and blocks a shot with a garbage can as a shield.
Dave Taylor gets a tire put over him and is stuck on the ground. Rocco and Horace finally try to get out. Rock gets halfway over the gate but Horace makes the save. Finlay rams a bumper into someone’s chest. Taylor finally dances out of the tire. Hak gets smacked in the head with something and just keeps walking. He and Finlay go over by a Chevy and Finlay is put in it. Someone comes over with a forklift and picks up the Chevy. Finlay gets out of it and the car gets crushed, exploding for no apparent reason at all. Finlay kicks over a barrel of fire and climbs out as something else blows up.
Rating: N/A. This wasn’t wrestling. I don’t know what it was but it wasn’t wrestling. I’ve seen a lot of stupid stuff in my time, but this very well may have been the stupidest. I mean seriously, who in the world thought this was a good idea? This apparently cost over $100,000 to put on, no one in the audience would have been able to see the video of this (remember that they more or less had to sit around for fifteen minutes) and about four of them got hurt in the process and were out for a long time. So freaking idiotic. This company deserved to fail
Unfortunately Finlay would be injured later in the month at a house show, putting him out for most of the year. Again in 2000, Finlay would have nothing to do and would be done with the company in November. That was pretty much it for Finlay as an active wrestler for several years as he would spend most of 2001-2005 as a trainer, basically building the Divas division from the ground up. Eventually he would return to the ring in late 2005 and win the US Title shot on the July 14, 2006 episode of Smackdown. He would defend it against old rival William Regal at the 2006 Great American Bash.
US Title: Finlay vs. William Regal
Lashley was supposed to get the shot here but was sidelined by legitimate high liver enzymes. JBL goes on a hilarious rant before the match. “LIVER ENZYMES??? AS MUCH AS I’VE DRANK I’M LUCKY TO HAVE A LIVER!!! MY LIVER LOOKS LIKE JAKE ROBERTS’ AND MY LIVER ENZYMES HAVE NEVER BEEN HIGH!” I’m having issues having Cole as a neutral commentator. Regal is worried about Horny (not yet named) interfering. Regal goes a-leprechaun hunting and before the match starts.
Regal says he’ll just leave but Finlay tries to roll him up anyway. They lock up and go all the way to the floor without breaking it. They walk around and back up the steps and into the ring without breaking that lockup. Regal grabs a single leg and works the leg but that gets him nowhere. Regal throws him to the floor and here’s Horny! He pops Regal in the leg and JBL freaks out. “I want one for Christmas!”
Regal loses track of him and stands on the steps instead of, you know, GETTING IN THE RING. Horny sneaks up on him and Regal nearly jumps out of his skin. Back in Finlay gets a clothesline for two and it’s off to a nerve hold. This heel vs. heel thing is only kind of working so they’re going for comedy. JBL gives us a European soccer lesson as Finlay takes over. Regal gets in some kicks and a butterfly suplex for two.
Horny is back! He bites the fingers of Regal and Regal has to rake the eyes of the tiny leprechaun to escape. Back in and Finlay takes over, working on the hand. Regal gets in a shot to the leg to break the momentum. This is a highly technical match to go with the comedy which is an interesting mix. Regal hooks a chinlock but Finlay fights out with some shots to the ribs.
Back to the floor and you can hear them hitting each other incredibly hard. This was the same thing they did back at Uncensored 96, although this is a more entertaining match. Now Finlay hooks the chinlock. Regal throws him into the corner and they ram heads. In a great old school heel move, Regal drops to a knee, putting his leg on Finlay’s throat, while he talks to the referee. Exploder suplex puts Finlay down and there’s a knee drop for two.
The fans call this boring. I call them uncultured slobs. This is a European style match and it’s entertaining to see a different perspective. Regal runs off the apron and gets crotched on the apron skirt. Finlay hammers him back into the ring and takes Regal’s shoe off. It’s possible Horny stole it. Finlay misses a charge and hits the post. The fans are loudly booing now. Regal gets the Irish club that I can’t spell. Horny slips Finlay Regal’s boot though and a shot with that is enough for the pin to keep the title on Finlay.
Rating: C-. I’m going to be in the fairly extreme minority here but I enjoyed this. The technical aspect of it is really good but the comedy stuff is going to be very hit or miss. To be fair though, this was a hard one to work out as the styles really clashed. I was entertained by it though and that’s the point of this.
2006 would continue to be a good year for Finlay as he would get his only PPV main event in a four way for the Smackdown Title at No Mercy.
Smackdown World Title: Booker T vs. Lashley vs. Finlay vs. Batista
No tagging here. Cole talks about the numbers and JBL replies with this gem. JBL: “QUIT WITH THE MATH!!! I count money jackass!” Batista goes after Booker as Finlay throws Lashley to the floor. Finlay hooks up with Booker as Cole keeps talking about percentages. Lashley back in now and he throws Finlay to the floor. Batista is down in the corner. Spinebuster gets two on Booker.
Finlay pulls Lashley to the floor and a double teaming begins. Back in and the double team is on Batista until Finlay double crossed Booker. JBL freaking out is great but Cole is just awful at giving him stuff to play off. We’re down to Finlay vs. Booker with the pale one taking over. Lashley tries to get in but Finlay casually knocks him away. Booker is knocked to the floor so Finlay works on Big Dave’s arm.
Batista hits a Samoan Drop but Finlay hangs on. Cool. Lashley comes in but Finlay takes him down too. Cole calls Finlay Lashley because they look so much alike. Half crab to Lashley but Booker superkicks Finlay down for two. Booker takes Batista down with another sweet kick for two. Big Dave sideslams him down for two. Their one on one match is over as Lashley clotheslines Booker to the floor.
Finlay brings in a chair but Lashley kicks it away. Horny comes in to low blow Lashley and the club to the head gets two for Finlay as Booker saves. Everyone gets in for a bit and Batista hits a Jackhammer to take Finlay out so it’s face vs. face. Batista is like screw fighting and spears him down for two. Lashley comes back and somewhere (even Cole isn’t sure where) Batista gets his head busted open.
Batista gets thrown to the floor as does Finlay but Booker comes in with a Bookend for two. Just the two of them in the ring now and Bobby counters a suplex for two. Booker doesn’t know what to do here so he takes his hair down. Finlay breaks up the ax kick and gets two. Batista hits spinebusters on everyone and a Batista Bomb to Finlay. Lashley spears him for no apparent reason, allowing Booker to steal the pin on Finlay.
Rating: B-. Not bad here at all with the formula working pretty well. I like the four man matches much better than three man as you get more combinations out of it. Booker winning was obvious but it was still good enough at times. Finlay was really impressive here as he ran most of the match, which is what he’s great for.
A few months later, Finlay would be entered into his biggest storyline ever. Vince McMahon was revealed to have an illegitimate son in the form of Hornswoggle, but this would eventually be retconned to Finlay really being the father but having Vince hide the fact for reasons that were never quite explained. JBL attacked Horny, setting up a Belfast Brawl at Wrestlemania XXIV.
John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Finlay
This is a Belfast Brawl which means street fight. Finlay was revealed to be Hornswoggle’s dad and JBL beat up the tiny man as a favor to Vince. Tonight it’s about revenge. Horny comes out with Finlay to appeal to the kids. Finlay charges at the ring and gets drilled by a knee to the head. JBL pounds away on the floor but gets sent shoulder first into the steps. We head inside for the opening bell and Finlay slides right back out to find some trashcans.
As he gets back in though JBL CRACKS him with a can and picks up some cookie sheets. Now the steps are brought in but JBL can’t powerbomb Finlay onto them. Some cookie sheet shots to the head put JBL down for two but a big boot does the same to Finlay. JBL stops to yell at Horny, allowing for the shot with that Irish club that I can’t spell. Since this is a WWE hardcore style match, it’s table time.
The table is set up in the corner but Finlay picks up the steps instead. JBL bails to the floor and beats on Horny, only to be rammed into the announce table by Papa Horny for his efforts. A trashcan lid to the head stops Finlay and gets two back inside, allowing JBL to pick up a trashcan and LAUNCH IT at Horny. That looked great.
Speaking of trashcans, a shot to JBL breaks up the Clothesline and Finlay blasts him with a lid for good measure. JBL is sent through the table for two and the fans are pleased. Finlay picks up the steps but gets blasted in the knee by a kendo stick, allowing JBL to knock him out with the Clothesline for the pin.
Rating: C+. This was fine. The whole point of this was to have a power brawl with some basic weapons which is what we got. I’m really not sure on JBL winning as the fans were solidly behind Horny and Finlay, but at least the match was entertaining and there were some hard shots in there. Good stuff here.
The partnership with Hornswoggle would continue in an actual team at Night of Champions 2008 where the pair actually received a Tag Title match.
Smackdown Tag Titles: John Morrison/Miz vs. Finlay/Hornswoggle
Please make it short. They already did that didn’t they? Do I need to explain to you why this is a dumb match? And the fans pop for the challengers because that’s what Satan told them to do. The tall guy and the Monday Night Delight start us off. Ross and Foley are a weird pairing on commentary. Horny is listed at 4’4. Why did Vince wonder why we didn’t like the company in 08?
We do get a spot that I haven’t seen before as Morrison jumps over the rope and gets crotched on the ring skirt. I’ve never seen that before. Finlay starts throwing Horny into Miz and Morrison as a projectile. This is a comedy match that forgot the comedy. How weird is it to think that two years later Miz could be a potential MITB winner? I wouldn’t be surprised if he won it. Miz and Morrison were really starting to get good here but wouldn’t hit their stride for a few more months.
Horny comes in and beats up Miz, hitting a Stunner and a bulldog. None of these do anything of course since HE IS TINY. The problem becomes clear here very soon: the heels have to either beat up Horny or have him get the hot tag. Finlay beats up everyone after such a tag and the fans care for some reason. Horny goes up for the splash and Morrison finally realizes how stupid this is and more or less chokeslams him to the mat, ending this annoyance.
Rating: D. I mean seriously, it’s a freaking midget and an old man against a good and young team. Was this really the best option they had? They wanted this to make this a serious match and it just completely failed. It was a hybrid comedy match and mess and just didn’t work. They wanted Horny to be something serious and it just didn’t work so of course they kept going with it forever.
It would soon be off to ECW where Finlay would be one of the old guys putting over the youngn’s, including in a Championship Scramble at the Bash in June 2009.
ECW Title: Christian vs. Tommy Dreamer vs. Jack Swagger vs. Mark Henry vs. Finlay
This is a Scramble match which is more or less a gauntlet. Every three minutes someone else comes in and whoever gets the final pin is champion but you have to pin the champion for the pin to count. Uh…sure. Christian and Swagger start us off. Wow it’s weird to see Swagger as champion before Christian. I miss the pushups.
Ok so if Swagger pins Christian he’s IT more or less? I guess that makes sense. I’m assuming that there will be a clock once everyone comes in. Striker implies a heel turn for Christian but nothing ever came for that. The clock begins far before three minutes is up and it’s Finlay. Striker talks about Irishmen from centuries ago as no one cares at all. Swagger pokes Finlay in the eye and rolls him up to become IT.
Christian and Swagger do a nice little sequence that gets two for the Canadian. He beats Christian down as Dreamer is number four. Dreamer beats up everyone with incredibly basic stuff but throws out a Sky High. Ok apparently it’s not Swagger that has to lose the title as it’s just the last pin. Uh…that kind of makes sense I suppose.
They blow a spot where Christian is on the mat and Dreamer gets thrown onto him. It just looked really awkward. Finlay finally comes back to life and hits the Celtic Cross on Swagger to become IT. Finlay and Dreamer don’t work well together to put it mildly. And here’s Henry to suck the life out of the match. Ok so now we have five minutes left and whoever gets the last fall is champion. Got it.
Dreamer takes the World’s Worst Finisher with 4:15 to make Henry IT. Everyone not named Dreamer beats Henry up and the people start booing for some reason. Finlay hits a freaking suicide dive onto Swagger. Have to love old men flying all over the place. Henry teases a top rope dive but for the sake of the gravitational pull, Swagger saves him and gets the pin to become it with about 2:20 to go.
I like knowing how much longer to go at times and this is one of them. Christian hits the Killswitch on Swagger but Dreamer DDTs him at 1:20 to become IT. It becomes a big mess now which makes sense at least. On instinct Dreamer goes for a cover which they don’t point out the stupidity of. Everyone goes for covers but the clock runs out and Dreamer retains. He screams “I WON???” in a funny moment.
Rating: C+. These matches are hard to call but I liked it. Thankfully they haven’t killed them by having them every two weeks or something like that. This still feels fresh though and it comes off as a good way to be different. Also it makes Dreamer look like a competent champion and not a jobber which I can’t complain about. This worked but was still a little bit weird.
We’ll wrap it up with a win from Smackdown on January 22, 2010.
Finlay vs. Batista
Batista, the heel here shoves him into the corner to start but Finlay comes out with some hard right hands before raising a boot to stop Big Dave. Finlay slugs him down and hits the rolling fireman’s carry followed by a running seated senton. They head outside with Batista gouging at the eyes and throwing Finlay over the announce table for the very fast DQ.
Finlay is a guy that was never a focus of an American company but he could work a very physical style and make anyone look interesting. His British and European stuff certainly isn’t for everyone but it’s a very different style and interesting if you can get into the style. Finlay in America was a very tough guy who worked an entertaining style and that’s all a veteran like him was supposed to be. He’s an underrated talent who really has been all around the world.
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