IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

I feel like I always need to confirm that Impact Wrestling still does pay per views. This is their spring offering, though it isn’t clear who is rebelling against what. Lately the company has been rebelling against the idea of going with anything fresh and it has become a bit of a chore to watch. That being said, their pay per views tend to be much better than television because it’s all about the in-ring product, which is usually an improvement. Let’s get to it.

Knockouts Title: Taya Valkyrie(c) vs. Jordynne Grace

We’ll start off with a match that could go either way as Valkyrie seems like someone they want as a long term champion but Grace is a monster who no one has been able to slow down yet. Now the problem with that is that once she loses, a lot of that momentum goes sailing out the window. I’m also thinking that the show taking place in Canada isn’t going to do Grace’s chances any favors as Valkyrie is of course Canadian.

I’ll take Grace winning though, as it might be a bad night for Valkyrie and her husband. The division has been needing some fresh blood for a long time now and Grace could be it. Let her run some people over for a few weeks or months before losing it back to someone else. Like the best female in the world not working for WWE (or perhaps including that batch) in Tessa Blanchard. But yeah, Grace wins here, as she should.

X-Division Title: Rich Swann(c) vs. Sami Callihan

This story has been more interesting than I would have guessed as Callihan oddly grows on me more and more. Swann is a good choice for the title as he can wrestle that X-Division style, but there comes a point where Callihan has to win something and that hasn’t been the case yet. He’s been chasing the title for a few months now and this might be the night he gets there.

So yeah I think Callihan gets the title here as there’s little reason to not give it to him. You can even go somewhere with the issues between Swann and Willie Mack. It’s a good idea to give Callihan something as he’s going to have suitors and putting a title on him could make him happier. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him move towards the World Title scene sooner rather than later either. For now though, the X-Division Title will do.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros(c) vs. LAX

This is Full Metal Mayhem, which loosely translates to TLC With Pins. These teams have been feuding for months now with LAX dropping the titles and then turning heel, meaning it’s time for a major gimmick match to blow it off. LAX has looked like stars over the last year and getting them against a team like this, one of the best in the world (maybe even the best), has done nothing but good things for them.

I’m basically flipping a coin here but I’ll take the Lucha Bros to retain. We can worry about no one but LAX being on their level later, because this match is going to rock. These four work so well together and the Lucha Bros can turn anything they do into a classic. I’ve been nearly drooling over this match since I first heard about it and that’s not going to change now. It should be great and could go either way but I’ll take the Bros to retain.

Gail Kim vs. Tessa Blanchard

I’ll spare you another rant about Impact’s obsession with Kim and go with how well this match has been built up. The story started months ago but thankfully they’ve waited until the pay per view to actually set it up. As worried as I am about where this match is going to go, the story has been well done and I’m hoping that the match itself is as good as the buildup has been.

As for the winner, I’m going to do something probably not that bright and give Impact Wrestling the benefit of the doubt. I’ll take Blanchard for the win, because there is no reason whatsoever to go with Kim. She’s retired and not likely to wrestle again and Blanchard could be one of the biggest stars in the company very soon. Go with what makes sense instead of giving Kim another tribute that she doesn’t need.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Johnny Impact(c) vs. Brian Cage

Somehow this feud feels like the third (or arguably fourth) biggest match on the show and that’s not a good sign. I haven’t been a fan of this one since it started nearly four months ago and it hasn’t gotten much better. For some reason it just isn’t interesting and I don’t know how much better this match is going to make things. Their match at Homecoming was good, but I need something more to make me care than Impact suddenly turning heel.

I’ll go with Cage winning, because he’s been built up so much that he has to win the title at some point or there’s nowhere for him to go. Now hopefully that means that the story is done between these two, because there is no need for it to stretch on into the summer. The feud hasn’t been very interesting in months and Lance Storm as guest referee isn’t the cure. Cage wins, and I’ll try to make myself care.

Overall Thoughts

And that’s it. Seriously the show has five matches announced and we’re less than forty eight hours away. They’ve also announced a live Smoke Show from Scarlett Bordeaux which will likely set up a sixth match but egads man. How do you only have five matches set up when you had more than two months to get the show ready? I’m sure it will be fine (Impact pay per views always are) but we’re in for a mystery box show and that’s not the most thrilling.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: April 5, 2019
Location: St. Clair’s College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

So in the middle of all the insanity that is Wrestlemania weekend, we have this show in pursuit of anyone remembering that it’s actually taking place. That’s kind of a shame actually as things are pretty decent at the moment with Johnny Impact’s overdue heel turn already paying dividends. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap serves its lone function.

Opening sequence.

Petey Williams vs. Trey Miguel vs. Idris Abraham vs. Jake Crist vs. Aiden Prince vs. Ace Austin

Great. Williams is back. One fall to a finish so everything is insane to start with Austin being the last man standing, earning him a quadruple superkick until it’s Austin vs. Abraham alone in the ring. Williams replaces Abraham in a hurry with Petey grabbing a German suplex for two. Now it’s Prince taking Williams’ place and suplexing Austin for two. Abraham and his huge afro are back in with Trey spinning away from him. Crist is back in with a Death Valley Driver but Abraham drops him with a Blue Thunder Bomb.

Not to be outdone, Austin drops a frog splash for two on Abraham and drops Miguel with a swinging neckbreaker. Williams’ swinging Russian legsweep gets two on Miguel and the Sharpshooter goes on. That’s broken up so it’s O Canada to Crist in the corner. Austin puts Prince over Crist in the corner and it’s the Tower of Doom to bring everyone down. The Canadian Destroyer gives Petey two on Austin and it’s Prince flip diving onto Austin and Abraham on the floor. Back in and Williams hits a super Canadian Destroyer to finish Crist at 8:35.

Rating: C+. So you know every match with all of these people thrown into a match with everyone hitting their spots and moving on? This was the most recent one of them that I’ve seen. There’s nothing to separate them from the rest of their kind and Petey Williams is far from inspiring.

LAX and Konnan want to use Full Metal Mayhem to earn respect from the Lucha Bros.

Taya Valkyrie doesn’t care that she lost to Jordynne Grace last week. Madison Rayne comes in and says she wants a title match. Jordynne comes in and wants her rematch for the title but Taya makes a #1 contenders match for later tonight for the Rebellion title match.

Announcers’ preview.

OVE vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack

Sami Callihan/Madman Fulton for OVE. Swann, now clean shaven, goes straight after Callihan to start and flips over him into the dropkick. Mack comes in, shrugs off a cheap shot from Fulton, and hits a 619 to Callihan’s ribs. Fulton’s second interference works a bit better and it’s Sami scoring with a clothesline to send us to a break. Back with Fulton suplex slamming Swann for two but Mack comes right back with a spinebuster.

A standing moonsault gets two but Fulton breaks up the hot tag attempt. The neck crank goes on for a bit until the break allows the hot tag off to Swann. Everything breaks down and Fulton is hurricanranaed to the floor, leaving Callihan to take a Lethal Injection. The Phoenix Splash misses and everyone but Mack heads outside, meaning it’s a big flip dive onto all three. Back in and Mack breaks up a Cactus Piledriver but gets slammed down by Fulton. The Cactus Piledriver finishes Swann at 14:01.

Rating: C+. This was mainly about making Fulton look like a monster and….they only kind of did that. Granted when you’re as big as Fulton, the monster thing is already included so it’s not the biggest deal in the world. This story has been going on for a long time now and I’d assume that Callihan gets the title soon. Like at Rebellion maybe.

Post match the beatdown is on until Tommy Dreamer makes the save with a chair.

Johnny Impact gets annoyed at being asked questions about Brian Cage and threatens to John Stossel Menendez. Killer Kross comes up and puts his arm around Menendez, saying he should get a title shot someday. Johnny looks worried.

Moose invades the Rascalz’ room and brings a female friend, with an invitation to bring a bunch of animals in as well.

GWN Classic Moment of the Week: Full Metal Mayhem at Bound For Glory 2011.

Rosemary goes to Allie’s grave and rants about Kiera Hogan and James Mitchell, plus her father Kevin Sullivan, all of whom are to blame. Then she disappears.

Jordynne Grace vs. Madison Rayne

The winner gets the Knockouts Title shot t at Rebellion. Grace throws her down with ease to start and then does it again even harder. Rayne’s middle rope crossbody bounces off of her so a rollup works a little better. An enziguri gives Rayne two but Grace Pounces her right back down.

Some knees to the back set up a not quite giant swing as Rayne’s back is in trouble. A backbreaker into a side slam keep Rayne down but the Vader Bomb misses. Rayne gets two off a high crossbody and she gets in a rear naked choke. That’s broken up as well and a torture rack into a spinning powerbomb gives Grace two. Grace has had it and the Grace Driver finishes Rayne at 8:48.

Rating: C. This is why Rayne was brought back in. She’s not the best in the world, but you’re going to get a good match from her and everything she does looks fine. Couple that with a resume and a pretty good promo and it’s easy to see the value in her. Put her in there with the newer talent and see what she can do for them.

Post match here’s Taya for a fight with Grace but Johnny comes out for a distract so Taya can beat her down. Johnny goes up for the Countdown To Impact but Cage makes the save.

Josh Alexander is coming and is presented like a psychopathic killer in amateur wrestling gear.

Josh recruits Ethan Page as his partner.

Rohit Raju vs. Fallah Bahh

Raju has both Singhs with him but there’s no KM. Bahh jumps over an early legsweep attempt and hits the spinning belly to belly. The charge hits post but Bahh is fine with a Samoan drop. There’s a running crossbody to set up the Banzai Drop but Singh knocks Bahh down, giving Raju the pin with feet on the ropes at 2:59.

Post match here’s Scarlett Bordeaux to slap Raju and it’s a double splash in the corner. Scarlett’s running hip attack (after pulling the dress up) lets her celebrate with Bahh.

The Deaners, a couple of rednecks, get Impact contracts.

Swann vs. Callihan for the X-Division Title is set for Rebellion.

Video on Gail Kim’s Hall of Fame career and the current feud with Tessa Blanchard.

Tessa Blanchard says Gail was great in the era of bra and panties match. Now people like Gail and Madison are trying to relive their glory days. This is Tessa’s era and in this era, Gail isn’t a legend.

Eli Drake/Eddie Edwards vs. LAX

Before the match, Konnan gets in an argument with Drake and punches him, meaning it’s an early ejection. The fight is on and we do that really annoying thing of taking a break less than twenty seconds in. Back with Santana punching Eddie until a blind tag lets Drake come in and take over. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets two on Ortiz and it’s back to Eddie for a headbutt, which might hurt him more given the thickness of that hair. Drake gets two off a neckbreaker but Ortiz is right back with a middle rope dropkick for a breather.

It’s back to Santana to pick up the pace as everything breaks down. A tiger driver gives Eddie two on Santana with Ortiz making the save. That means a rolling cutter into a Codebreaker into a superkick into the double belly to back faceplant for two on Eddie with Drake making the save. The Street Sweeper is loaded up but here are the Lucha Bros for a distraction. That’s enough for Drake to get in a shot with Kenny, setting up the Boston Knee Party to finish Ortiz at 10:55.

Post match the Lucha Bros runs in and beat down LAX, with Santana being powerbombed through a table to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Nothing was bad on here, though nothing was must see either. That’s not a bad place to be for a show like this with very little importance. Rebellion is looking like any Impact pay per view: a solid card up and down but nothing that I’m overly excited to see. I’ll take a good but not great card over nothing shows though so they’ve moved to a nice new reality.

Results

Petey Williams b. Trey Miguel, Idris Abraham, Jake Crist, Aiden Prince and Ace Austin – Super Canadian Destroyer to Crist

OVE b. Rich Swann/Willie Mack – Cactus Piledriver to Swann

Jordynne Grace b. Madison Rayne – Grace Driver

Fallah Bahh b. Rohit Raju – Rollup with feet on the ropes

Eddie Edwards/Eli Drake b. LAX – Boston Knee Party to Ortiz

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: House Of Glory

Culture Clash 19
Date: April 6, 2019
Location: NYC Arena, Jamaica, New York
Commentators: Matthew Ryan Shapiro, JD, Ben Venuto

This is Amazing Red’s House of Glory promotion and as usual, I have no idea what to expect from this show as I’ve never seen the promotion before, but that’s the point of the weekend. The card looked good though and that’s enough to get me to check out the show. Hopefully it’s as solid as it looks, but you never can tell. Let’s get to it.

The announcers welcome us to the show. For some reason, almost no commentators have been shown all week.

Smiley vs. Leroy Green

Casket match (Who starts with a casket match?), with Green seemingly wanting to save Smiley from some evil stable. Green starts fast with a reverse hurricanrana and a regular hurricanrana and it’s already time for the casket. The fans chant for Smiley, which one commentator says is the fans being behind Green. Back in and Smiley takes over as the announcers explain a bit more of the backstory with Green going after the House of Gangone stable, of which Smiley seems to be a member.

Smiley whips him into the casket and pulls out a kendo stick for a beating. Green hits a quick superkick and takes the stick away to beat on Smiley instead. A modified Backstabber sends Smiley outside, where he finds a chair to throw at Green’s head. Smiley puts the chair on Green’s face and beats on it with the stick, eventually breaking it in half. Green is right back up and ties him in the ropes, where Smiley spits in his face. A pull of the ropes sends Smiley into the chair but he’s fine enough to hit a brainbuster onto the turnbuckle.

It’s time to set up a door between the ring and the barricade but Green backdrops his way out of trouble. Smiley is fine enough to hit a pair of buckle bombs and a running powerbomb onto the ramp. Green gets back up again and spears him through the doors for the big knockdown. Back in and Green rips off the mask before pulling out Smiley’s old mask (a smiley face mask), which Smiley puts on. Before we can find out the impact, Green knocks him into the casket for the win at 15:16.

Rating: C-. The action was good but they threw you into what seemed like a big story pretty fast. Commentary explained as much of it as they could though and I wasn’t lost so it could have been worse. Smiley wasn’t very good and while Green was better, neither of them exactly came off as anything special.

House of Glory Title: Anthony Gangone vs. Robby Eagles

Gangone, with his left hand in a cast, is defending and seems to be the top heel in the promotion. He has three belts (the House of Glory Title and both CZW Tag Team Titles since his partner Amazing Red suddenly retired) and a bunch of people with him, including two guys to rap his theme song. Gangone’s minions distract Eagles to start and a thumb to the eye has him in early trouble.

The threat of a right hand makes Eagles duck and Gangone gets two off a DDT. Dreams By The Waterfall (something out of a torture rack) is broken up and Eagles knocks him into the corner for his first offense. What appeared to be Sliced Bread is broken up so Eagles goes with a middle rope Downward Spiral instead. A 450 misses but Eagles slips out of a package piledriver and nails an enziguri. Gangone kicks him in the face again and hits a package facebuster for a rather near fall.

Eagles’ low superkick again looks to set up the 450 but Gangone rolls to the ropes. That’s fine with Eagles as he jumps down and puts on a cross between an Indian deathlock and a Figure four. The goons distract the referee though and the tap isn’t seen but the goons do get ejected. As the goons argue, a mystery woman (the announcers don’t know her name) comes in and kicks Eagles low, setting up Dreams By The Waterfall (torture rack flipped forward into a knee to the face) to retain the title at 9:54.

Rating: C+. Pretty nice match here with Gangone as a good cult style leader. You need a bunch of minions to make something like that work and Gangone had it covered with at least five people helping him out. I wasn’t wild on his in-ring work but he was getting the character stuff down and that’s what matters more.

Post match the goons surround Gangone as he sits in the middle of the ring and talks about all of his injuries. The fans still boo him no matter what he does and now Amazing Red has retired due to a serious injury. WWE even put out a video with wrestlers like Ricochet and Sasha Banks thanking him for everything he’s done. Gangone says he’s going to break character (erg) because Red retiring just showed that he was weak of body and mind. Without Gangone, this place wouldn’t exist and even his house needs to learn that. Gangone yells at his goons, saying none of them matter without him.

That was quite a bit and straight out of the Sting vs. NWO years, complete with a Scorpion Death Drop. It didn’t make a ton of sense but I’m assuming that the story will be addressed on whatever regular shows this promotion does. It’s a lot to throw at you at once and for what is supposed to be a showcase show, I’m not sure it’s the best idea to have commentary saying they don’t get it either.

Juba vs. Ryan Burgandy vs. Evander James vs. Big Daddy Cruise vs. Kai vs. Matt Travis

The winner is the #1 contender to the Crown Jewel (midcard) Title. Burgandy might be five feet tall but his shirt says that he’s really big (and his theme music is a cover of Larger Than Life). Cruise is a big ladies man, because that’s the most original gimmick in the world. Juba, the biggest man in the match, starts slamming people and shoves away everyone trying to get on him at once.

Cruise hits a sitout powerbomb for two on James and Travis hits a heck of a German suplex for two on Cruise with Kai making the save. Travis and Kai go at it for a bit with Kai getting two off a brainbuster. Juba comes back in and starts throwing smaller humans around until Cruise comes in for some better luck. Evander teases a dive but instead just goes to the floor for a right hand to Juba. Travis and Burgandy hit shooting stars off the top to take out everyone else, leaving us with the two of them going inside.

That doesn’t last long as James comes back in with a Meteora to Burgandy in the corner. Kai comes in with a superkick for two but Cruise makes a save. Cruise’s Michinoku Driver gets two with Juba making the save this time. Burgandy manages to German suplex Juba for two and tries a shooting star to a standing Juba….who doesn’t seem to see him coming and they collide. Juba’s spinning fall away slam plants Burgandy but Travis comes in and steals the pin at 8:53.

Rating: C-. Like so many shows this weekend, this was a bunch of people in the ring at once and everyone trying to get in whatever they can in the limited time they have. It’s not a bad match but it could have been better with some more time for the people to shine. Or just less people involved.

Post match a bunch of people from CZW invade and beat down the people from the match. CZW owner DJ Hyde says he’s coming for his Tag Team Titles and if you want a real show, come see their stuff. He’s coming for Gangone and Red as well. Oh and screw the fans. The locker room comes out to chase them off. Ken Broadway, apparently a rather soft spoken guy, swears a lot and says come back and fight. While he has a mic, Broadway asks if he can take Red’s place against Fenix in the main event. That’s an affirmative.

Low Ki/LAX vs. Great Muta/Pentagon Jr./Tajiri

Diamante is here with LAX. Since the curtain doesn’t quite fit in the entrance, you can see LAX walking around before their entrance. Pentagon and Ortiz start things off and the dueling chants are on in a hurry. Pentagon shows him CERO MIEDO and gets sent into the corner for a running elbow. That just means a Sling Blade and the Karate Kid pose, sending Ortiz bailing into the corner.

It’s off to Tajiri vs. Santana for a feeling out process with Santana taking him to the mat. The big kick sends Santana outside and it’s time for Muta vs. Low Ki. Muta takes him down so Low Ki has the legs up to hold him off as the slow pace continues. Muta’s full nelson into a Fujiwara armbar has Low Ki down again and a Kimura sends Low Ki to the rope. The power drive elbow connects and it’s back to Tajiri, who grabs Low Ki by the tie. Well you knew that was coming.

A slap to the back of the bald head ticks Low Ki off enough that he drags Tajiri into the corner as the heat segment begins. It’s a quick heat though as Tajiri kicks at the leg and brings Pentagon back in. Low Ki kicks him down and goes after the mask with Tajiri making the save. LAX goes into their sequence of suplexes and splashes for two, which somehow fires Pentagon up enough for the hot tag to Muta.

A Shining Wizard sends Santana into the corner but Low Ki drops Muta with a springboard kick to the head. Everything breaks down and Low Ki gets triple teamed for a bit and double red mist takes out LAX. Low Ki goes up for the stomp but dives into the green mist, setting up the Shining Wizard for the pin at 16:44.

Rating: C. Oh come on like the quality of the match matters at all here. This was all about Muta and that’s all it needed to be. It’s a great moment as you don’t get to see a legend like that every day. This was a completely acceptable match and the mist at the end made it all the cooler. The rest of the match was fine too, but just seeing Muta was a great treat.

Post match LAX demands their music be played, which goes on for some time.

Crown Jewel Title: Mantequilla vs. Kikutaro

Kikutaro is challenging. Mantequilla (Spanish for butter) has a cape and is called the Lucha Hero. The early exchange of wristlocks (in slow motions) goes to Mantequilla in the form of some armdrags and Kikutaro wants a timeout on the floor. Back in and Kikutaro gets his own armdrags but the third is blocked to give Mantequilla two.

Kikutaro goes with the comedy in the form of a kick and two fingers to the back of the tights. Back in and they trade superhero poses before three armdrags have Kikutaro in trouble. Kikutaro charges into some raised boots in the corner so he throws the referee into the corner for a Stinger Splash on Mantequilla. Another charge into the boot knocks Kikutaro cold so Mantequilla rolls him over, but Kikutaro keeps rolling to stay on his stomach.

Mantequilla finally gets him up into the corner and whips the referee at him for a missed splash. Kikutaro gets two off a sitout AA but he misses a moonsault. The champ misses a Swanton so they trade low blows and rather soft chops. Double eye pokes are both blocked, as are more low blows. A hug is offered and Kikutaro hugs the referee to show his sincerity. Of course he chops Mantequilla, earning himself a crucifix bomb for two. A spinning palm strike retains the title at 16:17.

Rating: D. The World Title match gets less than ten minutes and this breaks sixteen? I’ll give them this much: it actually didn’t feel that long. I don’t think anyone was believing that the title was changing hands here and I could see Mantequilla having a better match against a serious opponent. It wasn’t the worst, but much longer than a comedy match should be going.

Boss Rob Blatt brings out new Women’s Champion Bobbi Tyler for a chat. Rob leaves and Bobbi introduces herself to the crowd, saying she can’t wait to get out of this horrible country. If any of the women in the back want a title shot, they can come to London and get one because she’s never coming back to this disgusting city again. This brings out former champion Sonya Strong, who grabs the title and says Bobbi better understand that no one else is taking the title. A belt shot knocks Bobbi out.

Sonya Strong/Violette vs. Kris Stadtlander/Nikki Adams

Sonya and Violette don’t have the best history together and Kris is an alien. Sonya headscissors Kris down to start and it’s already off to the partners. Violette slaps Nikki in the face and gets pulled down into a choke. Commentary compares Nikki to the crazy people you see muttering to themselves in the frozen food section. That’s certainly some unique character analysis. Sonya stomps away in the corner and blocks a powerbomb out of said corner before handing it back to Violette for some shoulders to the ribs.

We hit the chinlock for a few moments until Adams fights up and gets over for the tag in a hurry. A Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Sonya and something like Eat Defeat (knee instead of foot) is good for the same. Adams hits a cutter on Violette as everything breaks down. Sonya German suplexes Kris to send her outside but kicks Violette by mistake, leaving Sonya vs. Adams. With Adams tied in the Tree of Woe, here’s Bobbi to distract Sonya again. It’s enough for Kris to kick Sonya in the back of the head, allowing Adams to steal the pin at 8:45.

Rating: D+. This was fairly messy, though it’s a lot better than some matches you’ll see on a show like this. The women were far more polished than others and Kris stood out, even with the rather bizarre ALIEN gimmick. I know this isn’t the most down to earth (no pun intended) promotion in the world, but an alien? Really? It’s certainly unique but it doesn’t exactly fit.

Ken Broadway vs. Rey Fenix

After the wrong music plays, we’re ready to do. Broadway gets rapped to the ring live and makes it rain in the ring. Fenix shakes his hand but doesn’t seem all that impressed so he starts firing off the kicks. A headscissors is countered but Fenix sends him outside for an early breather. Back in and Broadway slams him down for another trip to the floor, this time capped off by a suicide dive.

A missile dropkick gives Ken two (somewhat impressive as Broadway has some size) and a suplex is good for the same. Fenix misses a charge in the corner but spins to the apron, setting up a springboard missile dropkick for two. Broadway gets knocked outside and it’s a suicide dive to send him into the barricade for the big crash. Back in and Fenix hits his several springboards wristdrag but Broadway is right back with a gutbuster.

The Backstabber gets two more but Fenix ties him in the ropes and goes up. In your HE SHOULDN’T BE ABLE TO DO THAT move, Fenix walks the ropes and kicks Broadway in the face, setting up a running Canadian Destroyer. Broadway is on his feet before Fenix though and hits the Currency (Penalty) Kick for the very fast pin at 8:21.

Rating: C+. Well ok then. The ending was as sudden as anything I can remember in a long time as Fenix was making his big comeback and then a single kick to the chest puts him away. That’s not exactly the kind of finisher you would expect from someone called the Self Made Savage or someone of his size. Either way, it’s quite a win for Broadway and Fenix got to be his usually impressive self.

Post match they shake hands and Broadway thanks Fenix for the match. Fenix says Broadway won with honor and thanks the fans. This has been a crazy weekend for Fenix but the fans are a great reason to come here and fight like he did tonight. He’ll be back and he wants a rematch, which gets a handshake from Broadway. After Fenix leaves, Broadway calls out Gangone because the World Title is his.

Private Party vs. Juicy Product

That would be Isaiah Kassidy/Marq Quen vs. JT Dunn/David Starr because DAVID STARR MUST APPEAR ON EVERY WRESTLEMANIA WEEKEND SHOW EVER (not a bad thing as I like the guy)! Private Party has a very energetic entrance and the fans seem to like them. Before the match, Private Party has everyone involved say YEAH very loudly. Starr works on Quen’s arm to a standoff to start. Quen gets taken down by the leg into a rollup for two and gets his lip busted open somewhere in there. Fans: “SAY YOU’RE SORRY!”

Instead, Quen dropkicks Starr in the face and back for one and it’s off to Dunn for some double teaming. A double elbow drops an invading Kassidy and it’s time for the Party to take a breather on the floor. The breather seems to work as they come back in with a camel clutch/stomp combination to Starr, sending Starr and Dunn to the floor. That means a big flip dive to the floor….and Never Gonna Give You Up (the Rick Roll song) starts playing. As everyone dances, Starr and Dunn jump the Party to take over.

The song starts again so Dunn can dance while Starr keeps stomping. Actually make that both Starr and Dunn dancing together, complete with a kiss. And now, with that out of the way, we get back to a normal tag match with Quen being worked over in the corner (Yes, we’re just supposed to go back to a normal match. Why does this surprise you?).

A double dropkick gets two but it’s Quen fighting back with forearms and a double dropkick of his own. The hot tag brings in Kassidy and everything breaks down. A heck of a Swanton gets two on Starr but Dunn comes back in with a top rope double stomp to Kassidy’s back. Kassidy gets powerbombed onto Dunn’s knees but Quen is back up with a bunch of kicks to the head.

Starr blasts Kassidy with a clothesline but a shooting star onto his back puts everyone down. The Party is up first with a pop up Codebreaker on Dunn and another shooting star to the back gets two as Starr makes a save. Starr gets in a knee to Quen’s face to set up an RKO from Dunn for two as frustration sets in. The Party gets back up and Dunn is sat on top for a hurricanrana into a cutter to give Quen the pin at 18:00.

Rating: B. Completely and utterly WHAT THE CENSORED moment in the middle aside, I liked this match more than anything else on the show. Starr continues to live up to his name and Dunn was quite the performer as well. Private Party is a fun team and I could see them going somewhere with some more seasoning. The announcers mentioned that they had wrestled a host of top level teams so there’s clearly something there.

Overall Rating: C. This show was a hard one to rate as you have some good action and VERY deep stories, but that second part is the problem: for newcomers, you’re going to be very lost if you don’t pay very close attention, and even then there’s a lot you’re going to miss. The House of Gangone seems to be connected to everything on the show and there’s a lot of moving parts.

The show itself was a nice mixture of stuff, though they could have trimmed some of the time down by not having so many angles and lost post match sequences. It didn’t feel like a show designed to draw in new viewers, which is kind of a weird choice for a show on this big of a stage. I liked it well enough, but I could use a history lesson to know how all of this ties together.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WrestleCon

WrestleCon: USA vs. The World
Date: April 5, 2019
Location: New York Hilton Midtown, New York City, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Dan Barry

This is a new one as WrestleCon is running a pair of shows and there’s a theme to this one. It’s a pretty simple idea here and the name alone should explain things. We’ll be seeing some interesting matches here and WrestleCon knows how to do these things quite well most of the time. Let’s get to it.

If there was an opening sequence, it didn’t make the feed.

Emil Sitoci (World) vs. Brian Pillman Jr. (USA)

Sitoci was on the WXW show yesterday. Pillman goes right after him to start and sends Sitoci to the apron for a springboard dropkick to the floor. The fans chant for Papa Pillman as Sitoci sends him into the barricade. It’s time to wrap the leg around the post (Excalibur: “The ACTUAL hardest part of the ring ladies and gentlemen.”) so Sitoci can bring him back inside for a knee to the knee.

A spinning toehold sets up a Figure Four as Sitoci certainly knows how to work on a leg. Pillman grabs a rope and they chop it out with a powerslam getting two on Sitoci. A superplex attempt is broken up and Pillman nails a high crossbody to a big reaction. The knee to the jaw sets up a swinging neckbreaker for the pin on Sitoci at 7:55.

Rating: C. Pillman has a lot of potential and is already looking better than he should. He’s been a regular in MLW and right now he’s just in need of ring time. I hadn’t seen Sitoci before yesterday and he’s been a rather nice surprise. He’s not great or someone I want to see being signed to WWE, but he seems to be quite the star in WXW and wherever else he works.

USA – 1

World – 0

Maxwell Jacob Friedman (USA) vs. Ethan Page (World)

Before the match, Page sings You Are My Sunshine in reference to MJF singing it on the Rosie O’Donnell Show as a child in a video that recently made the rounds. MJF freaks out and they fight around the ring with Page dropping him face first onto the apron. Page’s fingers get caught in the turnbuckle hook to make Page scream and it’s time to start in on the arm.

The armbar goes on but Page uses the free arm to start up the song again for the break. MJF goes right back to the armbar and grabs the rope like a true heel. Why is that such a lost art? The referee kicks the arm away and Page swings with the right arm instead. MJF doesn’t seem to mind as he hits a top rope double stomp to the arm and slaps on a Fujiwara armbar. Page makes the rope so it’s a hanging piledriver to put him away at 6:19.

Rating: C-. I hate to admit it, but MJF is growing on me. He’s not too bad at all in the ring and does a nice job of breaking a limb apart in an old school style. I’m starting to see the potential in what he does and while the gimmick has been done before, it’s something that works quite well because it’s a classic. I want to see him get punched in the face and that means he’s doing his job quite well.

USA – 2

World – 0

David Starr (USA) vs. Daga (World)

Daga is a replacement for Susumo Yokosuka, a Dragon Gate talent that got pulled. They start fast with the flipping and near dives into an early standoff. Daga snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor and there’s a suicide dive. Back in and a tilt-a-whirl faceplant into a rolling kick to the head gives Starr two but Daga is right back up with a series of forearms. Starr headbutts the arm for a smart counter so Daga kicks him in the face for two. The brainbuster to the knee gives Starr another near fall and Daga nails a pop up Death Valley Driver.

Rating: B-. Starr is another guy who has grown on me a lot since I started watching this kind of wrestling. He has a charisma that can make whatever he does work and his in-ring abilities are quite good as well. He’s around on almost every show and I like him more every time I see him. That’s hard to do but he’s pulled it off.

USA – 3

World – 0

Darby Allin (USA) vs. Black Taurus (World)

Bonus match. It’s a creepy guy with half his face painted vs. a man in a bull mask. Taurus feels things out a bit before slapping the taste out of Allin’s mouth to send him outside. Back in and La Majistral gives Allin two and he sends Taurus outside for a quick suicide dive. Taurus shrugs it off and hits a Shining Wizard back inside, setting up an armbar.

Allin pops up and hits a bottom rope corkscrew splash, only to get his head taken off by the Rainmaker. Pete Dunne’s Bitter End gets another two but Allin backdrops him to the floor. The Coffin Drop connects but a second attempt hits knees back inside. A spinning sitout brainbuster finishes Allin at 7:18.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this one, though that might be due to me not being overly familiar with either guy. I’ve seen them both before but neither of them are top stars. It’s nice to get something different involved though and the World side needed a win after such dominance so far.

USA – 3

World – 1

Jiro Ikemen (World) vs. Rich Swann (USA)

The very energetic and flamboyant Ikemen is a replacement for Masato Yoshino. Swann is even wearing the X Division Title but it’s not on the line. Hang on though as Swann walks through the crowd to get to the ring for his own energetic entrance. Ikemen wrestles in his jacket and they dance into a handshake. Swann knocks him down with a shoulder but Ikemen pops up for a pose, including a good look at the jacket.

The flip over Ikemen sets up a dropkick to the floor, where Swann makes sure he’s ok. After the confirmation, he kicks Ikemen in the ribs and tells the crowd that he is NOT ok. They start the chase around the ring with Ikemen hiding under the ring and slipping around to the other side for a running flip dive. Back in and Ikemen slaps on a half crab but makes sure to show off the inner lining of the jacket. A rope is grabbed and Swann is back up for a series of strikes to the face, with a big kick sending Ikemen outside.

Of course that means the flip dive to follow and a frog splash gets two back inside. Swann’s missed charge in the corner lets Ikemen hit an Arabian press for two of his own. A jumping hurricanrana brings Ikenem off the top and Swann’s stepover kick to the face gets a fall so near enough that the referee seemed to have to stop early. They exchange kicks to the leg with Swann’s knee giving out to set up the Figure Four. That’s broken up so Ikemen hits a moonsault for the pin at 9:19.

Rating: B-. Another match that I enjoyed with someone I’ve never seen before. Swann is one of the smoothest talents going today so you knew he was going to be doing his part here. Ikemen’s thing with the jacket is certainly unique so it was a nice mixture here of two people who can do the goofy stuff mixed with the serious wrestling.

USA – 3

World – 2

Rascalz (USA) vs. Robbie Eagles/Adam Brooks/Australian Suicide (World)

Well ok. The Rascalz are Trey Miguel/Zack Wentz/Dezmond Xavier. The Aussies are replacing more Dragon Gate talent who couldn’t make it due to visa issues. Suicide popped up on what is probably the last episode of Lucha Underground. We get some dueling international chants with Wentz doing Jim Duggan’s pose for a funny bit. The Americans flip off the international fans and everyone goes at it to start (I’m sure you saw that coming.) with Miguel sending Brooks outside but having to deal with Eagles. Suicide comes back in for a headscissors on Miguel so it’s off to Xavier for a dropsault to send him outside.

Brooks is back in with a series of Canadian Destroyers and a Meteora to crush Wentz on the apron. The big Fosbury Flop takes everyone down but the Rascalz are right back to take over only to have Suicide come back with a shooting star (not a press because there’s no cover) onto all three of them. Back in and another Canadian Destroyer sends Wentz outside, only to have Dezmond hit his moonsault kick to the head but Brooks comes in for the save. Miguel missile dropkicks him down, setting up Wentz’ top rope double stomp for the pin on Brooks at 6:48.

Rating: C+. It was fun while it lasted but I was hoping for some more of this one. The Rascalz have been a blast since I saw them for the first time in Impact so I was happy to see them on the card. Eagles impressed me yesterday at the Supershow so this was a rather nice match all around. It’s also nice to see the wrestlers finally going somewhere with the US vs. the World theme, which hasn’t been happening yet.

USA – 4

World – 2

LAX (USA) vs. Hart Foundation (World)

That would be Teddy Hart and Davey Boy Smith Jr., meaning Hart brings a cat with him. The Harts (replacing Brooks and Eagles) have been awesome in MLW so this should be a lot of fun. Fellow Foundation member Brian Pillman Jr. is in the crowd cheering instead of walking out with them due to reasons of the Pillman Family being a little odd.

They exchange poses in the corner to start and then shake hands before jumping LAX from behind after a minute and a half of stalling. Santana’s leg gets wrapped around the post and the Hartbreaker from Smith makes it even worse. Hart gets in a suplex on Ortiz and then yells about MLW being better than Impact. They get inside for the first time and Hart hits his moonsault elbow for two as it’s Ortiz in trouble early.

Smith hits a very delayed vertical suplex and it’s off to the chinlock. The surfboard goes on and Smith even kicks Ortiz forward for a crash onto the mat. Hart snaps off a powerslam but stops to yell at the referee before slapping on a Rings of Saturn. Ortiz tells him what he can suck and the hold is broken, triggering a SUCK MY **** chant from the crowd. Ortiz finally gets over for the hot tag as everything breaks down. Santana gets sent outside and an assisted Canadian Destroyer finishes Oritz at 10:39.

Rating: B. I like both teams and they worked a much more standard formula here, which works well when you have such talented people in there. The Harts have been one of the biggest surprises of the last year as the MLW crowd loves them and they’re having some awesome matches. LAX is LAX, so this was a very nice showcase all around.

Post match, Ortiz says that somehow, someday Hart will suck his ****. Hart: “I’m not going to address the sucking the ****.” He swears a lot and thanks the fans while ripping on New York. Hart also puts over Highspots for giving him a chance. He did NOT suck anything for a job here or in any big company. Smith says this is USA vs. the World but we’re all family.

USA – 4

World – 3

Sammy Guevara (USA) vs. Puma King (World)

The announcers can’t stand Sammy, which is rather easy to understand. There’s actually a story here as Sammy went through King’s bag a few weeks ago. They tease a handshake before it’s an exchange of double middle fingers. Sammy heads outside and reaches into the cameraman’s pocket to pull out a middle finger. They trade some flips without much contact and indeed it’s more middle fingers. A double dropkick gives us a double knockdown and it’s Puma being sent outside for the first flip dive.

Back in and Puma hits a superkick but hang on as he needs a mic. Puma tells us to subscribe to his YouTube channel (a Sammy trademark) so Sammy knees him in the face. That’s enough for Sammy to say f*** Puma’s YouTube channel. Now he’s going to go do some more spots and pin him. Sammy sends him to the floor for an apron moonsault and hits a super hurricanrana for two back inside. King is fine enough to hit a pendulum powerbomb for the pin at 8:57.

Rating: D+. This one is going to depend on your tastes and that’s perfectly fine. I get Sammy’s heel stuff and after all of the back and forth technical stuff that we’ve seen tonight, it’s fine to go with some comedy. King has been entertaining every time I’ve seen him and Sammy is certainly good when he’s doing his stuff. I wasn’t wild on the YouTube/middle finger stuff over and over, but it could have been worse.

USA – 4

World – 4

Brian Cage (USA) vs. Masato Tanaka (World)

Tanaka’s shoulder and crossbody don’t work as Cage catches him for some curls. Instead the forearms in the corner work a bit better until a sliding kick to the face take Tanaka down. The corner clotheslines set up a chinlock until Tanaka fights up and grabs a DDT. Cage hits the apron superplex and a top rope elbow for two, followed by the buckle bomb. Tanaka is right back with a brainbuster for two of his own but the frog splash hits knees.

Cage’s dead lift German suplex into a Death Valley Driver gets two more. Tanaka’s rolling elbow sends Cage into the ropes for the rebound lariat and they’re both down again. They trade the hard shots to the face again until Tanaka knees him down for two off the Sliding D. A second attempt is cut off with a clothesline and Cage’s buckle bomb sets up the Drill Claw for the pin at 9:50.

Rating: C+. This was very similar to Tanaka vs. Eddie Kingston from yesterday’s show and that’s not a bad thing. It was two big, strong guys hitting each other in the head until one of them couldn’t get up. Cage winning is fine as it seals the competition for America and while it doesn’t mean much, it’s the smart way to go to wrap things up. Nice hard hitting match here, which is all it should have been.

USA – 5

World – 4

Overall Rating: C. Well that was….short. The whole thing was barely two hours and I’d kind of like more than that for a $15 show. It was perfectly watchable but felt more like a supplement to yesterday’s Supershow. There might be one or two matches in there worth seeing (the Harts vs. LAX was a nice treat) but it’s certainly not worth going out of your way to see. I’m pretty disappointed in this as there was no standout show and the time really hut things.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: March 29, 2019
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re still in Las Vegas and on the way to the both United We Stand and Rebellion, meaning it’s hard to say what we’re going to be seeing in the next few weeks. I’m hoping we get something fresh in the main event again like last week, as a break from the seemingly never ending World Title story was a welcome change of pace. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap and preview, this time with narration for a change. Apparently this is a special called Against All Odds. Shouldn’t that be something a little better known?

Opening sequence.

Here are LAX and the Lucha Bros for an unsanctioned fight, meaning the Tag Team Titles aren’t on the lines. The fight is on in a hurry with a worried Konnan watching from ringside. Security is out in a hurry and the fans want to seem them fight. The Bros superkick security and manage to sneak up on LAX with a pair of chair shots. Now it’s table time but LAX gets up with a pair of spinebusters to put them through the tables instead. The champs are down and LAX pose with the titles to win this round. This almost has to set up Full Metal Mayhem, which is almost all there is left.

Post match LAX and Konnan are very happy.

The announcers tell us that there has indeed been a challenge for Full Metal Mayhem. That certainly makes sense. The usual preview ensues.

Glenn Gilbertti vs. Scarlett Bordeaux

This is Scarlett’s in-ring debut. Before the match, Glenn offers Scarlett a way out of this but that’s not happening. Scarlett goes for some early rollups for two and sends Glenn outside, leaving her alone for some rather seductive sitting. Back in and Glenn throws her down by the hair but misses an elbow. A Stunner to the elbow gives Scarlett a breather and a high crossbody gets two. Glenn has had it and clotheslines her head off for two. We get the Garvin Stomp as Callis is losing his mind at all of this.

Glenn stops to dance but misses a charge in the corner and gets forearmed in the face. A running hip attack sets up a dancing Stinkface, which thankfully is over in a hurry. Glenn’s Russian legsweep into the Village People’s Elbow gets two more and he goes for the ten punches in the corner. Glenn: “I’m going to give her the ten punches in the corner.” Technical term I believe. As you might guess, he takes too long though and gets powerbombed down for the pin at 6:20.

Rating: D. This was about what you would have expected, though I’ll give them points for having an actual match instead of some lame comedy segment with a fluke pin. Scarlett being a trained wrestler helps a lot as she can do something like this to go along with all of her more signature stuff. It wasn’t good by any means, but it did everything it needed to do.

Taya Valkyrie isn’t sweating Jordynne Grace. Johnny Impact is thinking about some low carb popcorn while Cage fights Killer Kross tonight.

Post break some fans laugh at Gilbertti.

GWN Flashback of the week: Lethal Consequences vs. Beer Money from Against All Odds 2009.

We recap Gail Kim attacking Tessa Blanchard, which has forced Gail to resign.

Tessa Blanchard is happy Gail is here to apologize because she has the company by the balls. Gail may be a legend but legends come and go. Diamonds are forever.

Madison Rayne is coming back. Good? I guess? She’s fine but this isn’t exactly a game changer.

The Lucha Bros are down for Full Metal Mayhem.

Here’s Tessa to gloat about Gail Kim’s forced apology and resignation. She talks about how it’s a night for justice so Gail needs to get out here right now. Here’s a sad Gail, with Tessa saying how bad it must be to have everything taken from you. Gail apologizes but Tessa wants to know what the apology is for. Even more defeated, Gail says she’s sorry for the attack that cost her the Knockouts Title.

Gail resigned earlier today so Tessa has an apology of her own. She’s sorry that Gail’s era is known for bra and panties matches while Tessa’s era is breaking barriers. Gail is ready to leave, but there’s one more thing: she’s out of retirement and coming for Tessa. The beatdown is on and a scared/angry Tessa bails. They’ve set this up very slowly and logically….but egads I never need to see Gail around here again.

We recap last week’s main event with Rich Swann retaining the X-Division Title over Sami Callihan but being attacked by the newest OVE member, Madman Fulton.

OVE….I guess you would say mentally initiates Fulton by breaking him down and getting him to think like Sami.

Knockouts Title: Taya Valkyrie vs. Jordynne Grace

Grace is challenging. The fans are behind Grace as she busts out a cartwheel into a crucifix to start. Taya gets up a knee in the corner for a breather but walks into a hard shoulder for two. More strikes have Jordynne in trouble so she snaps off a German suplex to drop Taya on her head. They fight outside with Grace going head first into the post, followed a running knee in the corner for two. Taya chokes in the corner but stops to pose again, asking if the fans are entertained. A good spear gets one more on Grace and we take a break.

Back with Grace snapping off a suplex and avoiding a charge to send Taya into the post. That means a Vader Bomb for two but the Johnny Impact slide between the legs gets Taya out of trouble again. The moonsault misses but Taya is fine enough to block the Grace Driver (that needs a better name). Taya comes up holding her ribs though and here’s Impact to help her out for the countout at 12:45.

Rating: C-. They didn’t have much here but the important thing was having Grace beat her up long enough to warrant a rematch, which they certainly did. It’s not a bad match at all and having the rematch set up is perfectly fine. The Knockouts division is really pretty diverse at the moment and they’re running several stories at the same time, which is a lot harder than it sounds. Well done indeed and hopefully they keep it up.

Post match Cage comes out before Impact and Taya can escape. Killer Kross comes out to choke and post Cage as we take a break.

Brian Cage vs. Killer Kross

Joined in progress with Cage hitting a hard clothesline to get himself out of trouble but Kross posts him again. A hammerlock slam stays on Cage’s arm and a DDT on the arm makes it even worse. Cage has to block a cross armbreaker and sends Kross to the apron for the apron superplex, which is quickly countered into an arm crank over the shoulder. Back in and we hit another armbar as it’s almost all Kross so far.

Another armbreaker is blocked with a rope break and Cage manages to send him outside as we take a quick break. We come back with Kross grabbing the Krossjacket choke but getting rammed into the corner. Cage’s powerslam gets two but he can’t manage a suplex. The Doomsday Saito gets one on Cage and he’s fine enough for a powerbomb backbreaker for two of his own.

There’s an F5 for two with Impact sneaking back in to put the foot on the ropes. Taya gets in a low blow and it’s another Doomsday Saito for….three at 15:32? I’m confused because Cage kicked out and Kross looked stunned but the referee called for the bell anyway. That sounds like a twist and maybe Johnny has a cheating referee.

Rating: C+. This was more about the angle than the match and they did that well enough. It’s smart to have some kind of screwiness at the end to cost Cage the win before his title match, which isn’t something that companies (and by that I mean WWE) tend to always get right. Kross looked dominant, though having him as Impact’s muscle still isn’t the greatest story in the world.

Post match Impact Pillmanizes Cage’s arm and kisses Taya.

The fight is on and Allie gets the better of Rosemary but can’t bring herself to actually stab her. Rosemary fights back and goes to stab Su but Mitchell has a clever to Kiera’s throat. The master comes in and it’s Kevin Sullivan of all people (makes sense really) to say Rosemary knows how this is going to end. All of this is for nothing because it’s never ending.

Su pops up with her Freddie Kruger razor glove but Allie shoves Rosemary out of the way and gets STABBED THROUGH THE THROAT, complete with blood. Kiera shoves Mitchell away (which I guess she could just do) and goes to hold Allie with Rosemary. Allie morphs back into her old self and says it’s ok and vanishes, leaving a furious Rosemary to end the show.

This was out of the Broken Hardys playbook and I liked it. Thank goodness they just got rid of Allie (while leaving a slight door open for her return) and gave us some closure to the story instead of something lame like her just leaving. The story has been over the top so far so keep it that way until the ending. I get why you might not like this one but if you’re into some off the regular path stuff, it worked.

Overall Rating: C. You could say this one was all over the place with storyline advancement, man vs. woman in something that wasn’t as comedy based as you would have thought and MURDER. That being said, this show blew by with nothing being overly bad and two major matches being set up for Rebellion. The best thing here was having enough variety that it wasn’t boring, which is a good sign. Now if only Rebellion can be awesome, they’ll be in an even better place. This show was good enough with nothing but, though nothing was really high quality. Call it a mixed bag, but certainly not a boring one.

Results

Scarlett Bordeaux b. Glenn Gilbertti – Powerbomb

Jordynne Grace b. Taya Valkyrie via countout

Killer Kross b. Brian Cage – Doomsday Saito

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: February 22, 2019
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re on to Las Vegas now after a pretty good run down in Mexico. The question now is where we go from here as the road to….is it the New York show or the April pay per view now? Either way the main event scene isn’t likely to be great, which has been the problem for far too long now. At least we can get the Tag Team Title stuff going again though, which has been great every time. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Uncaged, which was one of their better shows in a while.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Johnny Impact for a chat. He said he’d be a fighting champion and he has been, then he said he’d retain the World Title last week and he did that too. Last week he did everything he said he would and beat three people, so it’s time to move on. This brings out Moose, who seems to disagree. Moose doesn’t want to hear this crying because other people cost him the World Title last week. Cue Killer Kross to say he hates Moose and his outfits. The clothing is too far as Moose gets in Kross’ face. Impact decides that that they can have a match right now for the #1 contendership. Here’s a referee and we’re ready to go.

Killer Kross vs. Moose

Impact is on commentary. Kross shoulders Moose down but Moose nips up so it’s a running clothesline in the corner to actually do some damage. Moose gets two off a rollup and yells at the referee, allowing Kross to score with a low blow. They fight to the floor where Kross throws coffee in Impact’s face, leaving Moose to kick the champ in the jaw. That’s enough to draw Johnny inside to jump both of them for the no contest at 4:10, though he hit Moose first so that should be a DQ. It won’t be, but it should be.

Rating: D+. This was an angle instead of a match, though I’m getting really tired of the whole No Contest that should be a DQ finish. It’s as basic of a wrestling rule as you can get but it’s ignored because this is the only thing they can think of. Have Moose and Cage beat on Johnny and have the referee throw it out or something, but stop making this stuff up as you go.

Post match Brian Cage comes in for the save.

Announcers. Preview.

Don Callis has hired Glenn Gilbertti (Disco Inferno) for the Las Vegas shows. I smell unfunny comedy.

Konnan fires up LAX.

Impact thanks Cage but says he can’t have a title shot with those tow running around. They should team up to get rid of Moose and Kross but Cage doesn’t trust him. Impact has a contract though and Cage seems interested.

GWN Flashback Moment of the Week: the six man interpromotional match from the Impact vs. Lucha Underground WrestleCon show. That’s certainly different.

The Rascalz are in their circle when Gama Singh comes in to say they can’t beat the Desi Hit Squad. Drugs are exchanged and they can’t keep up with Gama. Uh, Gama is a heel right?

Reno Scumm is coming back.

Desi Hit Squad vs. Rascalz

The Rascalz (Trey Miguel/Dezmond Xavier here) aren’t themselves after the previous segment. Raj rolls Dezmond up for a very fast two and the villains take over in the corner. Xavier gets in a dropkick but Trey is too high to tag. Instead he gets tagged in and starts the kicks with no issues, because the Rascalz are a weird team. Everything breaks down and the Squad’s wheelbarrow DDT combination gets two on Miguel. Not that it matters though as the Rascalz hit a double 619 in the corner, setting up Trey’s top rope Meteora for the pin at 6:13.

Rating: C-. I guess the good Desi match was a one off because this was nothing all that noteworthy. The Rascalz are still a good team and they have more than enough time to be advanced somewhere else. Right now they’re just being put out there as the fun act and there’s nothing wrong with doing that for a long time.

Eli Drake says the Book of Eli says don’t raise your hand to him, which is what Eddie Edwards did last week. He’s coming down on Eddie for not listening to him and tonight, he’ll show Eddie the way. Hardcore wrestling makes you a loser and no one can stop him.

Sami Callihan comes in to see the injured Rich Swann. The beatdown last week was out of love because Rich’s big brother is here. Callihan called Swann from Japan when Swann needed him because Swann is the most talented person Sami has ever met. A nurse comes in to say Callihan has to leave because this is family only. Callihan leaves and Swann looks confused.

Eli Drake vs. Eddie Edwards

Drake hides on the floor from the threat of Kenny the kendo stick for a long time (smart) before we’re finally ready to go. An early shoulder has Eddie in the corner though he seems more happy than anything else. Eddie is right back up with a hiptoss and armdrags because he can do the wrestling when he wants, as opposed to when Drake wants. Drake gets sent outside and Eddie crotches him against the post for the funny visual. Instead of covering though, Eddie has a seat on the ramp for a few moments.

Back in and Eddie ducks his head, allowing Drake to hit a running DDT but the middle rope elbow misses. Drake tries a Lionsault of all things but crash lands, allowing Eddie to hit the backpack Stunner for two. A Blue Thunder Bomb gets the same but the Boston Knee Party is countered into the Gravy Train which is countered into a rollup to give Eddie two.

Rating: B-. I like the idea of this feud and they’re getting into some more complicated stuff with it. Eddie wanting to be crazy and violent but allowing himself to go back to his roots (which are still inside him) is an interesting story and I’m wondering where it’s going. Drake getting to talk is a very good thing and the more of it we get to see, the better.

Tessa Blanchard isn’t getting a rematch for the Knockouts Title and blames Gail Kim. Impact management can’t protect Gail forever though and Tessa will get to her one way or another.

Gilbertti can’t get inside.

Alisha Edwards vs. Delilah Doom

Post match Doom goes after Tessa and gets Batista Bombed for her efforts. The Buzzsaw DDT makes it even worse.

Ace Austin is coming. Cool.

Doom wants to fight Tessa next week.

Impact is partnering with the NFL Alumni Association for some charity work. Nothing wrong with that.

James Mitchell comes in to see Allie, Su Yung and an Undead Bridesmaid. He’s here to offer a deal: Su’s dark army against his own. If Su wins, she gets Allie free and clear (Doesn’t she already have that?) but if Mitchell’s team wins, they (not sure who he’s with, though it’s likely Rosemary) gets Su.

Taya Valkyrie thinks Tessa whining is funny. Tessa can cry like a baby all she wants but Taya isn’t helping her.

Tag Team Titles: LAX vs. Lucha Bros

Rating: B. These four can do now wrong, even if it’s with a shorter form match like this one. They beat each other up with one big spot after another and it’s nice that they didn’t spam the moves as much this time. LAX will be back later on due to pure talent but it makes more sense to go with the Lucha Bros right now as they’re just that good.

Post match Konnan congratulates the champs and tells LAX to do the same. LAX offers the handshakes but get taunted instead, meaning it’s a beatdown and unmasking to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. There’s more than enough good wrestling to carry a show on here and that’s what matters most. The storytelling is still a weakness, but if they focus more on the action than on the stories, they can have a way forward. Now unfortunately that kind of a show doesn’t have the best track record, but I’d rather they do something well than do something weak over and over.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: February 8, 2019
Location: Fronton Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

Things are starting to pick up around here with one of the biggest matches we’ll be seeing in Mexico as LAX defends the Tag Team Titles against the Lucha Bros. That could be a heck of a match with four guys who can work well together and tear the house down with the right amount of time. It’s likely to be better than the World Title feud, which still isn’t doing anything of note. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap opens while serving as a recap.

Opening sequence.

Willie Mack/Rich Swann vs. Crist Brothers

The Brothers jump the gun before the bell and take over to start, though I’m not sure the match ever officially got underway. Mack gets sent outside and it’s Swann caught in the wrong corner for the double teaming. That doesn’t last long though as Mack comes back in and sends the Brothers outside for the running flip dive. Back up and the Brothers drop Mack onto the apron, setting up a Crossface back inside.

Mack crawls over and bites the rope for the break (that’s certainly different) so Dave superkicks him into a rollup for two. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Jake goes with a chinlock to mix things up a bit. It’s back to Dave and a double clothesline allows the hot tag to Swann. Everything breaks down and Rolling Thunder into a splash gives Swann two but the Brothers are right back up with a spike Tombstone for the same. A double Stunner from Mack sets up a double handspring cutter from Swann, setting up the middle rope 450 to finish Jake at 9:40.

Rating: C. The ending came a bit out of nowhere but Mack and Swann work very well together, meaning this was a pretty nice little match. Swann vs. Callihan could be interesting and the backstory being filled in will help them out a lot. What we got here was good though, which tends to be the case in openers on this show.

We recap the ending of last week’s main event with Brian Cage allowing partner Johnny Impact to get speared down.

The Lucha Bros promise to win the titles.

Next week: Impact defends against Killer Kross, Moose and Brian Cage.

GWN Flashback Moment of the Week: LAX returns. This was during the time when Bruce Prichard and Dutch Mantell were around. Remember any of that? I’m not sure why you would, but you might for reasons of self induced pain.

Allie vs. Kiera Hogan

Allie is looking for Rosemary during her entrance. Su Yung and Jordynne Grace are here as well. Kiera goes straight at her in the corner with some running elbows and a clothesline gets two. A choke shove sends Kiera into the corner though and Allie gets two of her own off a sliding clothesline. The announcers ignore the match to talk about anything else in the coming weeks, even ignoring Kiera hitting a superkick for two.

Allie misses one of her own and Kiera hits something like an Edge O Matic. Su tries to throw in the bloody glove so Grace takes her out without much effort. With Kiera down, Allie thinks about the glove but realizes it would summon Rosemary, allowing Kiera to get up and hit the fisherman’s neckbreaker for the pin at 5:22.

Rating: D. Hey look: Allie loses again, which really shouldn’t be much of a surprise anymore. Like I said last week, if she and Su don’t ever win anything, why is she someone that needs to be dealt with? Allie being scared of Rosemary is fine and the story hasn’t gotten old and stale yet, but they need to find a better way to tell it pretty soon.

Johnny isn’t happy with the announcement of the four way when Cage comes in to say he’ll see him next week.

Rob Van Dam and Sabu will face the Lucha Bros at United We Stand (the Wrestlemania weekend show). That would have felt old ten years ago and now it’s even worse.

Allie and Su go looking for Rosemary and a new message appears: “The witching is upon us. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

Rohit Raju vs. Trey Miguel

Raju isn’t happy with the rolling around to start and yells at the fans as Callis says Raju wants to be like Gama Singh but would be lucky to be like Sonjay Dutt. Trey’s chinlock doesn’t last long so he springboard dropkicks Raju outside instead. A suicide dive is countered though and a faceplant onto the apron has him in trouble. Raj Singh gets in some cheap shots from the floor and it’s time to strike it off.

Raju actually gets the better of it with a shot to the knee and a right hand to the head for two. Trey is right back up with a double stomp to the back as this is getting more time than I was expecting. There’s a 619 in the corner, followed by a jumping neckbreaker for two on Raju. Back up and a sitout gordbuster gets two on Trey and a sliding knee to the back of the head (ala Adam Cole) is good for the same. The other Rascalz superkick Raj, leaving Trey to hit another 619 into a Meteora for the pin at 8:28.

Rating: C+. I….liked this? I’m not sure how to handle a world where a match featuring someone from the Desi Hit Squad actually entertains me but that’s what happened here. It’s no masterpiece or anything but what we got was fun enough and kept me entertained. Just keep it to singles matches and things can be completely adequate.

We look at Team AAA before the World Cup match.

Scarlett Bordeaux makes her in-ring debut in Las Vegas.

Sami Callihan vs. Puma King

Puma has been entertaining in MLW. Sami jumps him from behind to start but King is right back up with a superkick and it’s time to make some noise. There’s a running flip dive to the floor as the fans seem rightfully impressed by King. They head outside with another kick to the face keeping Callihan in trouble. He’s able to grab a tornado DDT on the floor though, leaving King outside for a near countout.

Back in and Callihan gets two off a Batista Bomb and it’s time to start stomping on the ankle. Or maybe to tear at the mask, like a heel should do in this situation. Sami lets him up so it’s the spit chop instead, with the announcers not exactly seeing the appeal. King gets tied in the Tree of Woe but manages to get his legs free for something like an ankle hurricanrana to escape. They both fall to the floor in a crash with Sami laughing (of course) as we take a break.

Back with Puma still in trouble and Sami showing some swagger for a change. King is fine enough to hit a spinebuster and an enziguri but can’t follow up. A victory roll into an elbow (just an elbow) keeps Sami in trouble and something like a Blue Thunder Bomb gets two. Some strikes to the face and ribs rock Sami so he bounces off the rope for a hard clothesline. La majistral gives King two as Sami grabs the rope, which feels out of place in this match. Back up and King hits some superkicks but takes a shot to the ribs, setting up the Cactus Piledriver to give Sami the pin at 17:26.

Rating: C. Another back and forth match here, though as usual it didn’t have much in the way of a flow to it as Sami was kind of going from spot to spot. Normally that’s not a great thing but it kind of fits with Sami, who is more about the violence and hurting people than getting a win. King continues to be fun and I could go or some more of him.

Video on Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie before their street fight next week. As usual, Tessa comes off like a complete star here, even if Gail Kim is going to get involved somehow.

Eli Drake runs into Eddie Edwards in the back and brags about getting the win last week in their tag match. Next week they’re in the World Cup match but Eddie doesn’t want to hear about it. He’ll do his thing and Eli can do his, but Eli wants to see the old Eddie next week. Eddie doesn’t seem to buy the idea.

Rundown of next week’s big show.

Killer Kross and Moose are ready for next week’s title match and seem ready to work together. Moose thinks they could be co-World Champions but Kross doesn’t seem interested. This treated Moose like a bit of an idiot, which isn’t the right fit for him.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. LAX

The Lucha Bros are challenging and get a big over the top entrance, which looks almost more like Chinese New Year than anything else. The Bros jump the gun again and it’s an early Pentagon Driver attempt being broken up, followed by a double belly to back suplex from the champs. That’s the first seventeen seconds so we’re in for a fast one here. The assisted moonsault is broken up and Pentagon hits a Codebreaker on Ortiz to set up Fenix’s top rope double stomp to the back.

Santana and Pentagon do the big staredown as the fans are WAY into this one, shocking no one at all. The other two get back int o break things up and Fenix kicks Santana out to the floor. Ortiz and Fenix slug it out with chops going upside the others’ heads until Santana comes in with a high crossbody. Fenix dropkicks both champs down and we take a break. Back with Fenix hitting Ortiz in the face to stun him on top as we’re actually in a standard match for a change.

Ortiz gets a spinebuster on Fenix and it’s off to Santana and Pentagon with more chops ensuing. The champs get the better of it this time as the announcers are doing a rather nice job of explaining how different these teams are with Konnan being a huge difference maker. A quick Pentagon Driver gets two on Santana as Konnan is starting to panic. The spike Fear Factor misses and rolling cutters take out both Bros at once.

A Codebreaker into a superkick into the double flip into a faceplant (how LAX retained at Homecoming) gets two on Fenix. There’s the Street Sweeper to Fenix but Pentagon makes the save, setting up the spike Fear Factor on Santana. Fenix suicide dives Ortiz as Pentagon gets two, followed by a regular Fear Factor for the same. The Bros have had it and it’s another spike Fear Factor with another dive to Ortiz to give us new champions at 14:11.

Rating: B+. I don’t think it’s as good as commentary was hyping it up to be but this was a very entertaining match with everyone just going insane, as they should have. I know the ending was a bit repetitive but there’s something to be said about dropping someone on their head over and over until they just don’t get up anymore. It’s the same idea that Edge had at New Year’s Resolution 2006 when he kept spearing Cena over and over until he won. Why go with something other than your biggest weapon if you have the chance?

Post match Konnan doesn’t know what to do. LAX gets up and Konnan tells them to shake hands. They do, though a little shoving takes place before LAX gives the Bros the ring to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked this show more than I was expecting to and it was a rather fun night. The main event was the feel good moment for the crowd and that’s a great way to go. Next week’s big show is already set up and we had a good night here as what might be the high point of the tapings. One really good main event is better than a lot of tapings get so I’ll certainly call this one a success, even with a pretty lame Allie vs. Hogan match (though to be fair, that’s more the story than the wrestling). Good stuff here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: February 1, 2019
Location: Fronton Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re still in Mexico and last week, that was a good thing. There’s all kinds of extra talent to throw in there and you never know what kind of surprises you’re going to find. Some of the stuff around here has been rather good as of late and there’s a strong chance they’ll keep that going. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks back at last week’s big stories. As usual, the main event scene doesn’t feel like anything that stands above the rest in the slightest.

Opening sequence.

Lucha Bros/Taurus vs. LAX/Daga

It’s a big staredown to start until Santana and Pentagon actually get things going. There’s no contact in the first minute so Fenix flips in to dropkick Santana down. Everything breaks down (well duh) and Daga hits the big flip dive onto Taurus. It’s back to Santana and Pentagon for a chop off as I’m very glad they’re going with lucha rules here as it’s the only logical move. Santana backflips into a rolling cutter for two on Taurus and Ortiz gets two off a splash.

A little miscommunication lets Fenix come in with a dropkick to Ortiz’s back but he grabs a Blue Thunder Bomb to drop Fenix. The double tags bring Taurus and Daga back in with Daga getting two off a bridging German suplex. Ortiz sends Taurus outside and it’s time for the parade of dives. Fenix hits a CRAZY high one and we take a break. Back with all six inside and a spike Fear Factor finishes Ortiz at 14:53. The post break stuff was less than a minute.

Rating: B-. Exactly what it needed to be here as we continue to move towards the big rematch with the Lucha Bros likely winning the titles in Mexico for a cool moment. These guys are incredibly entertaining and that’s exactly what a match like this was supposed to be. Just let them go nuts and set up the big match down the line while waking the fans up for the start of a show. Exactly what it should have been.

Post match Pentagon lays out the challenge for the rematch next week. It’s on.

The announcers preview the show.

Killer Kross and Moose are fired up for their tag match with Brian Cage and Johnny Impact. A lot of shouting ensues.

Konnan tells Santana and Ortiz to be ready for next week. He wants them to keep it professional and they’re cool with that.

GWN Flashback of the Week: a triple threat tag match for the Tag Team Titles with a date not important enough to mention. LAX retained though.

Su Yung/Allie vs. Kiera Hogan/Jordynne Grace

Grace isn’t about to get jumped from behind and shrugs both of them off without much effort. Allie gets thrown into Yung and it’s Hogan coming in for two off a splash. A dropkick sends Yung into the corner for a running hip attack (Hogan keeps pointing at them so it makes sense that she would attack with them). Grace comes in for a fall away slam and it’s off to Allie, who gets dropped in a hurry as well. Yung tries some mist but Allie uses the distraction to nail a superkick on the floor and take over for the first time.

Back in and Su seems to freak out a bit but it’s just a way to draw Kiera in. See, she’s crazy and smart at the same time. A double leg snap keeps Grace in trouble and we hit the chinlock. Grace starts shrugging off clotheslines and runs Allie over, allowing….well nothing yet as the lights go out. They come back up with Rosemary having taken Yung’s place and reaching out for a tag. Allie panics though and walks into a fisherman’s neckbreaker to give Hogan the pin at 7:33.

Rating: D. I like the idea of the Dark Allie story with Rosemary wanting to go into the world of darkness to save her friend, but it loses a ton of steam with Allie losing so many times. She’s not a threat and she’s not menacing, but for some reason I should want to see her vanquished? Neither Allie nor Yung have been mentioned in the Knockouts Title hunt so they’re not on a reign of terror or anything, so why should I need to see Allie be saved?

Scarlett Bordeaux knocks Bobo into a pool. This has been your eye candy moment.

Rascalz vs. Eddie Edwards/Eli Drake

Xavier and Wentz for the Rascalz here. Eli has to talk Eddie out of swinging the Singapore cane so Eddie goes in alone to start with Wentz. Eddie works on the arm so Drake tags himself in and gets armbarred for his efforts. A springboard spinning crossbody gives Wentz two and it’s time for the double teaming to begin. Xavier gets two off a double stomp to the back and Wentz adds a slingshot hilo for two of his own.

Eddie is back in and Drake pulls Wentz off the top, much to Eddie’s annoyance. Therefore it’s back to Drake for a side slam and we hit the chinlock. Wentz fights up and hits a handspring knee to the face to drop Eddie. Drake breaks up a hot tag attempt though and comes back in, only to allow the hot tag a few seconds later.

The Rascalz load up a double DDT but Drake reverses into a double northern lights suplex….which gives Wentz two as I guess it was reversed into the DDT after all? It didn’t quite look to connect but close enough. Eddie makes the save and dives onto Wentz before grabbing the stick. The referee isn’t letting that happen so Drake takes it away and knocks Xavier silly. The Gravy Train connects for the pin at 8:36.

Rating: C. I can live with the Rascalz losing to a pair of former World and Tag Team Champions with cheating involved. Drake and Edwards could lead somewhere interesting and I can always go for more Drake on this show, as he’s one of the best things around. The Rascalz are as well and they’re going to be fine going forward.

Post match Eddie isn’t sure what to think.

We look back at Tessa Blanchard attacking Gail Kim.

Tessa sends in a response via Twitter and promises to come back on February 15 to get her title back.

We look back at Sami Callihan offering Rich Swann a spot in OVE.

Swann talks about having no family when he was 18 when he met Sami. They traveled the roads together and became a family. Then Swann learned more about Sami and who he was, so while Swann will always care for him, they aren’t family anymore.

Taya Valkyrie is ready for Tessa and we might as well just make it a street fight.

Fallah Bahh vs. Psycho Clown

Clown is a pretty big star in Mexico so this isn’t a comedy match. He even has Dr. Wagner Jr.’s mask, which is a serious deal around here. Bahh runs him down with the power of the gut to start so Clown forearms him without much avail. Clown gets knocked outside and splashed as Callis doesn’t seem comfortable with clowns in general.

A tear at the mask just annoys Clown, who ties Bahh in the ropes for a top rope double stomp. Clown hits a suicide dive into a running flip dive but Bahh, apparently not a Del Rio fan (And who is?), shrugs it off and hits a belly to belly. A running splash in the corner crushes Clown but a regular version misses, allowing Clown to grab la majistral for the pin at 5:39.

Rating: D. I’ve never cared for Bahh so someone beating him isn’t exactly going to make me care all that much. Clown is a name in Mexico and is going to be involved in the upcoming World Cup competition, but a win over a comedy guy is hardly the way to make him seem like a big deal.

Cage and Impact agree to work together tonight.

Clown fires up Team AAA for the World Cup match against Team Impact.

Preview of next week’s show.

Killer Kross/Moose vs. Johnny Impact/Brian Cage

This still feels like a midcard feud. Moose shoves Impact down and strikes some poses before shouldering him to the mat and doing it again. Impact snaps off a hurricanrana so Moose nips up. A dropkick works better for Johnny so it’s off to Kross vs. Cage, the latter of whom has to tag himself in. Cage shoulders away and slams Kross down but Impact tags himself in as well.

A Moose cheap shot lets Kross throw Impact with a suplex and the villains take over. Kross and Moose take turns stomping away in the corner, which isn’t the most dastardly offense. Moose sends him into another corner to mix things up a little bit before handing it back to Kross for a dragon sleeper. A belly to back suplex gives Moose two but Johnny finally rolls away and makes the hot tag off to Cage.

Everything breaks down and Moose hits the middle rope chokebomb on Cage as Impact tags himself back in. The running knee to the head gets two on Moose and there’s a 619 for good measure. Cage gets in the way of the Flying Chuck though and the near fight lets Moose hit a spear (Cage saw it coming and did nothing to stop it) for the pin (again, with Cage not moving) on Impact at 11:46.

Rating: C-. Again, it’s still just a fine match with nothing beyond that, especially as far as interest goes. The wrestling was watchable and the story has made sense, but there’s nothing going on that makes me want to see where this is going. There’s no reason this needs to be for the World Title, but where else is it supposed to be right now?

Cage leaves on his own to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This show was all over the place but what worked was quite good and the bad stuff was more just not my taste than anything else. The stuff they’ve built up for the future sounds good though and that’s one of the best things that you can get out of a show like this. Just let the big stuff deliver and the show will get a lot better.

Results

Lucha Bros/Taurus b. LAX/Daga – Spike Fear Factor to Ortiz

Kiera Hogan/Jordynne Grace b. Su Yung/Allie – Fisherman’s neckbreaker to Allie

Eli Drake/Eddie Edwards b. Rascalz – Gravy Train to Xavier

Psycho Clown b. Fallah Bahh – La majistal

Moose/Killer Kross b. Johnny Impact/Brian Cage – Spear to Impact

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: January 18, 2019
Location: The Asylum, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re still in Nashville and that means the fallout from last week’s medium sized angle. Moose cost Johnny Impact his non-title match with Killer Kross, but Brian Cage is still lurking. We also get to find out who Scarlett Bordeaux’s new talent is, which could be a disaster. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the big stories, with the three way feud over the World Title getting some extra focus, including Moose interfering.

Opening sequence.

KM vs. Caleb Konley

Konley jumps him from behind but gets kicked in the face. We cut to Cage rampaging through the back and looking for Johnny as it sounds like the bell rings. Cage comes into the arena anyway and drops KM, which counts as the DQ at 1:39. So now I’m hearing phantom bells.

Post match Konley gets taken down as well and Fallah Bahh gets powerbombed out of the corner. KM gets an F5 on the ramp and Cage beats up the referee, who he blames for a bad count at Homecoming, as a bonus. Cage wants his title shot and he’s going to be watching next week’s title match with Kross in Mexico City. This brings out Johnny but Kross and Moose jump him on the stage. Cage watches the beatdown before slowly walking up to make the monsters leave. He carries Johnny to the ring but Moose and Kross come in to beat them both down. Pretty good stuff.

Post break Cage says he only cares about the World Title but he’ll beat Moose up tonight.

Eddie Edwards vs. Ethan Page

Eli Drake is on commentary. They trade some shots to the face as Drake goes on a rant about how he was told he stepped up at Homecoming, suggesting that he doesn’t do that every single week. Fair point. An overhead belly to belly sends Ethan outside and Drake is impressed. Page sends him into the steps to take over and we take a break.

Back with Eddie still in trouble in the corner until he catches Page on top. That means a super hurricanrana and a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. With Drake singing the Wolves’ theme, Eddie hits a suicide dive to keep Page in trouble and sending Drake into an anti-dive rant. Despite being in full control, Eddie grabs a kendo stick and blasts Page, followed by a swing at the referee for the DQ at 11:08.

Rating: C. As usual Drake was the most entertaining thing about this match and I’m so glad that he’s FINALLY getting something more interesting than the Tommy Dreamer/Abyss feud. Eddie is better than this but at least he’s done something other than talk about hardcore in the last five years. Their match should be good because there’s talent there and I’ll always take that.

Post match Eli grabs the mic and says Eddie is just a few sandwiches away from being Tommy Dreamer. Eddie used to be great and now he’s just another hardcore guy. When was the last time he was in the title scene? Maybe he should go back to the green tights and the old Eddie because that guy is great. This could be interesting.

GWN Flashback Of The Week: a six man cage match from 2003 featuring Abyss and CM Punk. How random.

OVE wants Rich Swann to come home but it’s also time to get the Tag Team Titles back. LAX vs. OVE was the bloodiest feud of 2017 and it’s back tonight.

The Rascalz are in their smoke circle, with a laugh track. Various unfunny shenanigans ensue.

Allie vs. Jordynne Grace

Su Yung and Kiera Hogan are here as seconds. Grace throws her down with a German suplex go start and a delayed gordbuster gets two. Yung’s distraction lets Allie get in some choking but it just fires Grace up. The Codebreaker out of the corner is blocked and Grace finishes her with a pumphandle driver for the pin at 2:36. I really don’t see the need to have Allie lose clean in less than three minutes.

Post match Allie and Jordynne leave but the lights go out and Rosemary is back, with Yung having disappeared. The terrified Allie bails in a hurry.

Moose vs. Brian Cage

Cage hammers away to start and the referee is thrown down early on. A shoulder sends Moose outside and he chops the post by mistake, allowing Cage to start in on the hand. Moose tries a charge but gets caught in a powerbomb against the apron. Back in and Moose starts hammering on the knees because an apron bomb means nothing.

Some cannonballs down onto the leg keep Cage down until he uses the good leg to kick Moose outside. Moose is fine enough to wrap the knee around the post, followed by dropkicking the knee in the corner. Cage gets up for the forearm slugout until Moose takes him down with a dragon screw legwhip.

Back from a break with Moose hitting a pop up powerbomb into a backsplash but Cage pops up. The pop up powerbomb into a discus lariat gives Cage two but Moose catches him on the top with the chokebomb. Moose takes his time getting a chair (proper weapon selection is a thing) so Cage knees him in the face and hits the Drill Claw for the pin at 15:33.

Rating: B-. That’s a good way to make Cage seem like a monster and the kind of guy who should be right back in the World Title scene. Both of these guys are great at beating each other up and they had an entertaining match as a result. This isn’t really a hard concept and thankfully they didn’t do anything more than what they should have.

Taya Valkyrie is still banged up but will be back next week in Mexico City.

Killer Kross has hurt Johnny’s wife and he’ll take the title next week.

Tessa Blanchard rants about Gail Kim costing her the title and beats up a backstage worker. Gail Kim, who just happens to be here, pops up and a fight starts. Gail gets choked out without much effort.

Post break Tessa gets suspended. I’m sure Gail isn’t going to get in trouble though, because she’s Gail Kim.

Rich Swann vs. Trey Miguel

Non-title. Trey grabs a wristlock which goes as far as an opening wristlock is going to go. Rapid fire nipup get Swann out of trouble and they trade armdrags for a standoff with Miguel not exactly being intimidated. Swann gets sent outside for a dive and they head back in for more striking. A jumping hurricanrana brings Miguel off the top and a rather nice frog splash gets two. They hit a pinfall reversal sequence with Miguel getting a few more twos, followed by a heck of a superkick for two more. Swann kicks him right back though and the middle rope 450 finishes Trey at 5:49.

Rating: C+. Miguel really is fun to watch and it’s cool to see Swann looking motivated again. This was a nice little match as the X Division is finally feeling like it matters again. Swann is a good choice for a champion as he has the work and the charisma to be a star, which has been missing from the division for a long time.

Post match OVE comes out to offer Swann the shirt again. Before he answers, here’s LAX to start the main event.

LAX vs. OVE

Non-title and the brawl starts on the floor. Santana gets taken down on the floor and it’s Jake taking Ortiz inside to rip at his face. Sami cheap shots Ortiz from the floor and the chinlock goes on again as Dave kicks Santana on the floor. A middle rope dropkick gets Santana out of trouble and the house is cleaned with Ortiz tagging himself in.

LAX hits the double suicide dives but Santana gets caught with a superplex into a sitout powerbomb combination. He’s fine enough to hit a rolling cutter on Jake, setting up a Codebreaker from Ortiz. A superkick sets up a double belly to back faceplant to finish Jake at 7:08.

Rating: B-. Good while it lasted but I was hoping for a bit more than that. LAX is on another planet right now as they can do no wrong with only the Lucha Bros being able to hang with them at the moment. With Mexico City coming up, I think you know what might be coming up next.

Post match LAX heads to the back where the Lucha Brothers congratulate them. Ortiz offers them a rematch for the titles. Konnan: “WHAT??? WHAT ARE YOU DOING???”

Overall Rating: C+. A few minor booking choices aside, this was an entertaining show with a lot of stuff making sense and matches that I want to see in Mexico City. They’re doing better since Homecoming and that makes for some good television. Now if only they could get people to watch the shows.

Results

KM b. Caleb Konley via DQ when Brian Cage interfered

Ethan Page b. Eddie Edwards via DQ when Eddie used a kendo stick

Jordynne Grace b. Allie – Pumphandle driver

Brian Cage b. Moose – Drill Claw

Rich Swann b. Trey Miguel – Middle rope 450

LAX b. OVE – Double belly to back faceplant to Jake

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Homecoming
Date: January 6, 2019
Location: The Asylum, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

It’s back to pay per view tonight with a show in the old stomping grounds. This isn’t a One Night Stand kind of deal or anything like that as it’s a pretty standard pay per view card with only the venue being old school. The main event will see World Champion Johnny Impact defend against Brian Cage where shenanigans could be a factor. Let’s get to it.

The opening video, narrated by Johnny Impact, looks back at the old days in the Asylum and talks about how good it can feel to go home. This aired at the end of Impact and was released on the YouTube page.

X-Division Title: Ethan Page vs. Jake Crist vs. Trey Miguel vs. Rich Swann

The title is vacant coming in and this is Ultimate X, meaning there’s an X made of rope above the ring with the title hanging in the middle. First one to crawl over and pull down the title is champion. It’s a brawl to start with Ethan heading up for the title in a hurry but falling down onto Miguel instead. Page isn’t done and shoves Miguel off the top and onto the other two.

That earns him quite the reaction but it’s way too early for the climb. Back in and Crist scores with some kicks until Miguel takes him down with a neckbreaker. The fans are VERY appreciative here and we get an IMPACT WRESTLING chant. Page gets caught in the corner and it’s Miguel and Swann kicking him in the ace before climbing up. Instead of going up on his own, Crist fails at an attempt at a double cutter. He gets smart the second time though and crotches them both before hitting the cutter on the second attempt.

With the three of them down, Page goes for a climb but makes a rather dumb decision by dropping down into an elbow on Crist. Miguel goes up until Page pulls him down into a backbreaker. Crist legdrops Page and then hits a running DDT onto the floor on Page. Swann follows them out with the big flip dive and the fans are rather pleased. Swann and Miguel climb the structure with the former being pulled down and Miguel moonsaulting onto Crist and Page.

Everyone staggers back inside and it’s a double powerbomb/Meteora combination to destroy Page again. Swann gets taken outside for a Tombstone on the ramp from Crist, who dumps him up onto the stage to keep him even further from the ring. That gets Crist close to the title so Page spears him off the top for the huge crash.

Swann is right back up with a hurricanrana to bring Miguel off the top. Miguel hits a hurricanrana of his own but Swann lands on his feet and sprints up to grab the title for the win at 13:55. The title seemed to fall down so that might not have been the planned finish. It wouldn’t have been the first time.

Rating: B. This was the insanity that it needed to be with one big spot after another. Swann winning is the right call too as he’s the top star of the division at the moment and someone who could be the big deal that it’s needed for a long time. The other three all looked awesome too here, if you can ignore some rather dumb actions here and there.

The announcers run down the card for a good while as the structure is taken down.

Brian Cage talks about how Impact is getting the serious version tonight. He’s sacrificed everything to get here and there’s one outcome: Cage walking out as World Champion.

We recap Allie/Su Yung vs. Kiera Hogan/Jordynne Grace. Allie sacrificed her soul to save Rosemary but kind of got ripped off, resulting in her being turned into Dark Allie, which she doesn’t seem to mind. Kiera is still determined to save her friend and Grace just showed up earlier this week to even things out.

Jordynne Grace/Kiera Hogan vs. Su Yung/Allie

Grace snapmares Allie down to start and hits a low crossbody for an early two. It’s already off to Yung, who gets dropkicked down upon entry. A running hip attack in the corner gets two and it’s back to Allie, who bails to the floor instead of fighting Kiera. The confusion is enough for Yung to get in a cheap shot on Hogan by sending her into the buckle. The double beatdown is on and a hangman’s neckbreaker out of the Tree of Woe makes it worse for Hogan.

Yung climbs the buckles for a headscissors and Allie gets two off a Backstabber. Kiera comes back with some forearms to Yung and an awkward looking collision puts both of them down. It’s enough for the hot tag to Grace and house is cleaned in a hurry. Everything breaks down and the evil ones get taken down by a dive. Back in and Allie rakes Grace’s eyes so Hogan can tag herself in.

A fisherman’s suplex gets two and it’s back to Grace for a powerbomb to Yung and a World’s Strongest Slam to Allie at the same time (though she BARELY held them up). That’s only good for two on Allie, who mists Grace in the really evil act. The Codebreaker hits Hogan but Allie wants Su’s bloody glove. The Mandible Claw finishes Hogan at 8:58.

Rating: D+. This was exactly what I was expecting and that’s the right call. Allie and Yung have some staying power as heels, at least until Rosemary is back to save Allie’s soul. The match wasn’t the point here and Allie pinning Hogan makes sense. Now just get Rosemary back and see where things go.

Post match Yung beats on Hogan even more and here are the bridesmaids with the coffin. Rosemary pops out though and punches some bridesmaids before growling at Yung. Rosemary crawls inside and stares at Allie, who is rather panicked. She reaches to touch Allie’s head and Allie bails in a hurry.

We recap Eddie Edwards vs. Moose. They were friends until Moose got hurt and claimed Eddie didn’t care. Moose turned on him and sent Eddie over the edge, putting him in a mental hospital. Raven of all people (I don’t get it either) got Eddie out of the hospital and it’s time for a Falls Count Anywhere match.

Eddie Edwards vs. Moose

Falls Count Anywhere. Eddie jumps him during the entrances, as he should because he’s not the kind of guy who would wait for a bell here. Moose catches the suicide dive though and Eddie gets TOSSED into the steps. Back to back powerbombs on the floor and apron give Moose two and it’s time to load up the steps, plus a piece of barricade between the ring and the regular barricade.

Another powerbomb is countered and Eddie takes it back to the floor, this time heading into the crowd. The fans want them to come OVER HERE, though I’d settle for a camera staying on them. What looked like a beer can to Moose’s head makes him walk even more but Moose whips him into some steps to the upper deck. Eddie of course hits a dive off the balcony but would rather chop Moose than cover him.

Back to ringside with Eddie getting knocked off the apron, sending him face first into the barricade. A bunch of chairs are thrown in and Moose posts Eddie to keep him down. Eddie is busted open (as he should be) and Moose bites at the cut (as he shouldn’t be). For some reason Moose goes up, allowing Eddie to pelt a chair at his head. The chairs are piled up and a top rope superplex drops both guys onto them for the huge crash.

Rating: B-. This was pretty close to the violent fight that it should have been and hopefully it wraps up the feud once and for all. There’s no reason to keep things going and Eddie winning is a pretty definitive finish. Alisha accepting Eddie’s violence and helping with the beatdown was a nice touch, especially since there was no Raven to get involved here.

Sami Callihan promises to destroy Willie Mack tonight. Mack is in over his head and has made the mistake of looking for a fight with the wrong man. It’s still not clear why Sami isn’t attacking Willie’s buddy Rich Swann but Mack wants to fight anyway.

Willie Mack vs. Sami Callihan

Dave Crist is here with Callihan. Mack starts fast and snaps off a hurricanrana before hitting a running flip dive onto Crist and Callihan for the early control. Back in and Swann hits a running seated Blockbuster but a Crist distraction lets Sami ram him face first into the apron. There’s the running kick to the side of Mack’s head and it’s time for the OVE SUCKS chants. Back in and Sami hits the spit chop in the corner before we hit the chinlock. Mack jawbreaks his way to freedom but Sami rakes the eyes.

That goes nowhere for some reason but another Crist distraction lets Sami roll him up for two. A Samoan drop into a standing moonsault gives Mack two of his own, setting up a running hip attack in the corner. When did that become the most popular move in wrestling? The Sky High gives Mack two more but Callihan scores with a powerbomb into the V Trigger for two.

The Stunner out of nowhere gives Mack two more as Sami has to get his foot on the ropes. Mack goes up and thanks to a third Crist distraction, it’s a super Death Valley Driver for one. A hard lariat gives Sami another one as Mack is getting all fired up. Another lariat turns Mack inside out and the Cactus Piledriver gives Sami the pin at 10:13.

Rating: C+. Mack has developed a habit of stealing the show and he came close here. Sami winning makes the most sense here as Mack isn’t ready to beat someone like him, but Mack is rapidly becoming one of the most entertaining guys in the division. If they keep treating him well, he’s going to be just fine for a long time.

Eli Drake stands in front of a cage where Abyss was born nearly twenty years ago. He’s ready to get rid of hardcore and laughs off the idea that he’s afraid. Tonight is Monster’s Ball and he has monster balls, so hardcore ends tonight.

We recap Eli Drake vs. Abyss. Drake claimed that the company was an unsafe working environment and decided to destroy hardcore wrestling. He went after Joseph Park to get rid of Abyss, which earned him an offer for Monster’s Ball at Homecoming. This of course turned into an ECW reunion with Tommy Dreamer and Raven laying Drake out on the go home show.

Abyss vs. Eli Drake

Monster’s Ball, meaning hardcore. Abyss throws in a bunch of weapons before the bell so Drake gets in a staple gun shot to take over. For some reason he tries a sunset flip and gets stapled in the chest. Abyss loads up two tables at ringside but Drake knocks him into the crowd. The breather lets Drake kick him low and drive an anvil case into Abyss’ head to really take over.

Back inside and some garbage can shots to the head rock Abyss all over again. A running metal sign shot is countered into an overhead belly to belly though and Drake goes FLYING through the tables. That looked awesome, even if it was telegraphed (not a bad thing in this case). It’s time for thumbtacks but Drake elbows his way out of the chokeslam. Drake picks up some tacks but hits the referee in the face by mistake. The Black Hole Slam gets two as the referee isn’t quite blinded.

Rating: C. Standard weapons match here, though that overhead belly to belly through the tables was great. Drake winning doesn’t save the whole story but it saves my head from exploding. He’s WAY too talented to be stuck in a feud like this and him losing to the mostly retired guy would have been one of the worst ideas they could have had. That and a lack of ECW legends helped this a lot.

Killer Kross finds tonight’s main event interesting. A series of events have led us here but after tonight, Option C will be replaced by Option X. Tick tock.

We recap LAX vs. the Lucha Bros. LAX have held the Tag Team Titles for a long time and now want the huge match. Konnan doesn’t think they’re ready though and has walked out, meaning LAX is on their own. This could be the match of the night by a mile if it goes as people are expecting.

Tag Team Titles: LAX vs. Lucha Bros

LAX is defending and there’s no Konnan in sight. Fenix and Santana start things off in a feeling out process. A very fast armdrag sends Santana into the ropes for a kick to the back from Pentagon and it’s a double superkick on Santana with Fenix hitting a crazy hard suicide dive on Ortiz. Santana gets back up and sends Fenix outside for a kick to Pentagon’s head, followed by the backsplash from Ortiz.

Pentagon goes outside as well and Santana hits a top rope Asai moonsault to take him right back down. Back in and a Lionsault/legdrop combination gets two on Pentagon as they’ve certainly started fast. Fenix saves his brother from a double suplex and the champs are sat outside on the ramp. Pentagon throws a charging Fenix onto both of them before hitting his own no hands flip dive onto the pile.

Back in and a Codebreaker/top rope double stomp combination gets two on Ortiz. Santana comes back in and hits a reverse powerbomb into a top rope splash but Pentagon runs in for the crazy save with a step up Canadian Destroyer (GEEZ) to put everyone down. Ortiz and Pentagon slap it out and it’s a series of running kicks to put all four down again.

The Bros get back up first with the spike Fear Factor to Santana, though Ortiz is a bit late with the save and Santana has to kick out on his own. The Street Sweeper hits Pentagon with Fenix diving in with a dropkick for the save. A rolling cutter into a Codebreaker into a superkick finishes Fenix out of nowhere to retain the titles at 10:48.

Rating: B+. It’s the most entertaining thing on the card so far but this didn’t hit the heights they should have reached. It needed another five to ten minutes as I was expecting this to be nearly twice as long. What we got was good, but it wasn’t built up, making the match feel like it was designed to be a classic instead of just being a classic. Very good, but it could have been a lot more.

Post match Konnan comes out to say he was wrong about LAX, but right about this being a great match.

Gail Kim doesn’t like Tessa Blanchard but she’ll call it down the line.

We recap Taya Valkyrie vs. Tessa Blanchard. Tessa has had to escape with the title multiple times now and has cheated more than once. Therefore, Gail Kim is back as guest referee, and because we haven’t seen her in a long time and that just won’t do.

Knockouts Title: Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie

Tessa is defending Gail Kim is guest referee. An early toss doesn’t get Tessa very far as she charges into a boot in the corner and there’s a double stomp to keep the champ in trouble. A knee to the face sends Tessa outside but she whips Taya into the barricade. Tessa adds a dropkick to drive her into the barricade and we hit the seated armbar back inside. Taya’s neck is bent around the ropes and Gail has to yell at Tessa to break it up. A heck of a clothesline out of the corner puts Tessa in trouble and a straitjacket suplex gives Taya two.

The double knees in the corner get two more and Taya reverses the Buzzsaw DDT into a northern lights suplex. They’re showcasing Taya being equally strong here, which isn’t something Tessa is used to. Taya misses a moonsault and there’s a spear (because every wrestler needs a spear). Tessa can’t believe the kickout and accidentally runs Gail over. The Buzzsaw DDT connects for no cover because Gail is suffering from retired wrestler syndrome.

Tessa grabs the title for the tug of war with Gail, who accidentally hits Taya in the head with the belt. That’s good for two so Tessa shoves Gail in no the brightest move. Gail shoves her into a rollup for two and they seem to botch the setup for a Codebreaker out of the corner. Therefore they do it again with the Codebreaker connecting the second time around. Gail counts two so Tessa drives her into the corner. That’s enough for Gail, who hits Eat Defeat to set up the Road To Valhalla to make Taya champion at 10:36.

Rating: C-. They botched some spots pretty badly and Gail was WAY too much of the focus here. There’s a good chance that it’s going to set up Tessa vs. Gail, which would be treated as a bigger match that whatever Taya is doing. The wrestling could have been better too and the match got bogged down by everything they had going on here. At least there were a few good moments, but way too much focus on Gail, as usual.

The announcers talk about the move to the Pursuit Channel. As a bonus, it’s also going to be on their Twitch channel, which is WAY overdue.

Johnny Impact says tonight isn’t about friendship because it’s about the World Title. He’s a fighting champion instead of a paper champion. There have been a bunch of people he’s thought deserved a shot and he’s given them those shots. Tonight, he’s doing it again with Cage.

We recap the World Title match. Impact finally won the World Title at Bound For Glory and Cage cashed in Option C by trading in his X-Division Title for a shot at the World Title here. Cage has gotten more serious and is almost unstoppable to put Impact in trouble.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Brian Cage vs. Johnny Impact

Cage is defending and has Terminator gear on for an even more intimidating (though slightly goofy) look. Feeling out process to start with Impact moving around as much as he can to avoid the pain but Cage counters a slingshot into an overhead suplex to take control. Some corner clotheslines connect until Impact avoids a charge, setting up a springboard spear for two. Impact’s armbreaker is broken up without much effort and a pair of monkey flips put him in even more trouble.

The chinlock doesn’t last long so Impact goes up, only to get caught with a Cheeky Nandos kick. An electric chair gives Cage two and it’s back to the chinlock. Impact fights up again and sends him outside for the big flip dive off the top, with his knee going right into Cage’s face/chest. Cage is fine enough to hit a superkick into a release German suplex. Impact scores with the Moonlight Drive and they’re both down for a breather. Starship Pain is countered into an F5 for two and we get some NEW CHAMP chants.

A buckle bomb looks to set up Weapon X but Impact reverses into rollup for two. The discus lariat gives Cage a very close near fall so Impact hits a quick Flying Chuck. Starship Pain works this time but Cage is up at two again. The super Spanish Fly doesn’t even get one and it’s a powerbomb into a buckle bomb into a helicopter bomb for two, breaking Cage’s momentum on the near fall.

Weapon X connects for two with Johnny having to get his foot on the rope. Cage gets knocked to the floor and goes after the Survivor contestants (Impact was on the show), meaning the referee has to check on them so Cage’s Drill Claw only gets two. Cage’s apron superplex is countered into something like a DDT for a very close count that is called three to retain the title at 19:12.

Rating: B. They were rocking with some of those near falls and then we had to get the Survivor goofs involved to set up the botched ending really brought things down though and there wasn’t much they could do to recover from things. Cage losing like that didn’t help things very much either either, though they had built up enough good will before then that it didn’t sink things. Good match, though the big problems hold it back a lot.

A furious Cage throws the title at Impact and storms off. Taya comes out to celebrate with an annoyed Johnny but here’s Killer Kross to jump Impact. Kross powerbombs Taya off the stage into the crowd to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a rather good show for the most part with almost everything working at least in some way. Some of the matches weren’t as solid as others and the Knockouts Title left a lot to be desired. There were a few matches and moments that could have been better, but what we got was more than good enough. The problem for this company has always been consistency though, and I’m not exactly thrilled by what we might be getting going forward. It’s a rather good show overall, but it needed a few more steps to be great.

Results

Rich Swann b. Jake Crist, Ethan Page and Trey Miguel – Swann pulled down the title

Su Yung/Allie b. Kiera Hogan/Jordynne Grace – Mandible Claw to Hogan

Eddie Edwards b. Moose – DDT

Sami Callihan b. Willie Mack – Cactus Piledriver

Eli Drake b. Abyss – Paddle to the head

LAX b. Lucha Bros – Superkick to Fenix

Taya Valkyrie b. Tessa Blanchard – Road To Valhalla

Johnny Impact b. Brian Cage – DDT off the ropes

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6