Impact Wrestling – January 16, 2015: Here We Go Again
Impact Wrestling Date: January 16, 2015
Location: Manhattan Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Taz
This is the debut on Fridays which will be their regular night. The big story coming out of last week is Lashley taking the World Title back from Bobby Roode and what appeared to be the formation of another heel stable as Eric Young turned on Roode and seemed to join forces with MVP, Kenny King, Samoa Joe and Low Ki. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of last week’s four title matches with Aries and Lashley winning the X-Division and World Titles respectfully.
Josh is in the control room and says we’re going to see this show in a way we’ve never seen before. It’s going to be more interactive and behind the scenes than ever before. Taz thinks the idea sounds cool. The two of them will be in various locations throughout the night.
Roode says nothing is more important than the title and Eric Young cost him the belt last week. He doesn’t know why, but he wants Eric Young one on one tonight. They kept this simple and Roode sold the intensity very well.
Here are MVP, Joe, Low Ki, King and a woman I don’t recognize. Taz and Josh are in a booth and are shown on a split screen. MVP says you can’t keep a good man down and after a quick lane changes, he’s right back in the driver’s seat. He’s always known it was him against the world since the day he started wrestling. He knew he had to surround himself with people he knew, so he went to the family. These men traveled the roads with him 500 miles a day for a hot dog and a handshake. They are known as the Beat Down Clan and they’re “nobody to F….mess with.”
MVP introduces Young but emphasizes that he is not part of the BDC. The fans tell Eric that he sold out, but he’s all serious and says that doesn’t matter. Young, with a haircut, says MVP did something for his family that made Eric change his opinion. Eric had a brother once. He took care of Roode and even gave him one of the first title shots. Where was his title shot when Roode won the belt? Maybe Roode was afraid of losing again, because Young is a world class man and friend. When Young was laid up, he only got a text message from Roode, but MVP called him up and told him the truth.
MVP says he planted a seed in Young and it grew to a sequoia. Now it’s time for the World Champ, but Lashley doesn’t come out to his music. MVP introduces him again but gets Kurt Angle in wrestling gear, sporting a big knee brace. He says Young is going to pay for his sins tonight when Roode gets his hands on him. Angle promises to make every one of them tap. Joe gets out of the ring and gets right in Kurt’s face but gets a punch to the jaw. The entire BDC gets in his face but security breaks it up. Angle wants Joe right now and apparently that’s good enough.
Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe
This is joined in progress after a break with Joe working on the knee and slapping on a leg bar. He switches it up to something like a figure four as we go split screen to see a producer trying to find Lashley but there’s no one in his dressing room. Angle escapes the hold and starts rolling the Germans. Joe shrugs it off and hits the corner enziguri, only to have the Clutch countered into the ankle lock. That’s quickly escaped as well but the Angle Slam (what knee injury?) gets two. There’s the ankle lock again but this time the roll through takes out the referee. A low blow sets up the Clutch and Angle taps at 6:15 shown.
Rating: C-. It really amazes me how fast TNA can go from establishing a new hero (well as new as Angle can be) to having him lose in the middle of the ring. No it wasn’t clean, but couldn’t they have made this wait a bit longer? TNA seems terrified of the idea of building up a hero and this felt like even more of the same for yet another heel stable.
The BDC comes in to beat down Angle but Roode makes the save with a chair.
Back from a break with Roode sitting in the ring in the chair. He says this has already gone too far, which the fans agree with due to their ROODE GOT SCREWED chant. He’s been here a long time and this ring is his home. Roode may live for wrestling, but tonight in New York City, this is about payback. Another short but intense promo from Roode.
Taz and Matthews are in the booth again to talk about Impact: Unlocked tomorrow morning about 10am. This is a behind the scenes look at TNA, including power rankings and special features like this. We see an interview with Magnus, talking about doing this to provide for his family. His son looks up at him and he wants to make him proud. Another clip says he’d be fine with being a free agent in a market like this.
We look at JB getting his hair shaved last week.
Spud apologizes to JB but Borash isn’t really upset. He knows Carter will get what’s coming to him one day.
The Revolution is in a balcony to watch the next match.
Hardys vs. Wolves
Winners get a title shot against the Revolution. Matt and Eddie get things going with the Hardys quickly taking over, allowing for a tag to Jeff (big reaction). A nice headscissors takes Davey down and a double belly to back suplex gets two. The Hardys hit clotheslines from either side but everything breaks down and the Wolves send both Hardys into opposite corners with Matt getting tied in the Tree of Woe.
A drop toehold from Eddie sets up an elbow to the back from Davey for two. Davey fires off the kicks in the corner but misses the top rope stomp, allowing Matt to hit the Side Effect. It’s off to Jeff vs. Eddie as everything breaks down again. The Wolves throw Matt to the floor but he DDTs both guys down. Jeff is next to a different corner so he walks across the top rope (think Old School or Elix Skipper’s cage walk) to get to the other corner and dive on everyone else.
Back in and the Swanton hits Eddie’s knees and ReDRagon’s Chasing the Dragon (with a Falcon’s Arrow instead of a brainbuster) gets two on Jeff. The Hardys make a blind tag and Eddie takes another Side Effect. Jeff gets crotched on top and Eddie hits a Twist of Fate for two but Jeff Swantons in for the save. Poetry in Motion hits Eddie and the Twisting Stunner sets up an elevated Twisting Stunner for the pin at 10:00.
Rating: B. This was really entertaining and good if you don’t mind your tag match having almost no tagging. It got a lot better near the end but I could go for other teams besides the Hardys getting title shots. I can live with it though as long as it doesn’t lead to Jeff vs. Matt again.
Next week is Feast or Fired and Bram says he’s going to feast.
Eric Young is worried about Roode coming for revenge.
Ethan Carter III and Tyrus take over the production booth. Carter: “Ground control to major bald please.” They want the cameras on Jeremy Borash and we see his mostly bald head. Carter knows JB thinks he’s Heisenberg and tough now, so how about they have a match next week. JB has thirty minutes to decide.
Lashley has arrived.
Bobby Roode vs. Eric Young
No DQ and it’s a brawl in the aisle to start. Taz sums up the feud in simple terms: “The guy in the green screwed over the guy in the black and the guy in the black is ticked.” Back from a break with the fight in the crowd and a split screen showing Lashley going into his dressing room with no comment. Young takes it back to ringside and stomps on Roode’s head before chopping him against the barricade. Eric Young just looking all stoic doesn’t make me care about him TNA.
More forearms stop Roode’s comeback attempt, because Heaven forbid a good guy gets the crowd going. Two chairs are brought in and Young puts one in the corner. Back in and Roode fires off some right hands before nailing a nice spinebuster. The Roode Bomb onto a chair is countered and Young sends him head first into the corner chair. A piledriver onto the chair is enough to pin Roode at 10:11.
Rating: C. I could barely see a good chunk of the match but more importantly, TNA WILL YOU FREAKING LET A HERO LAST MORE THAN A FEW WEEKS??? Stop turning everything over to the heels over and over and over and over and over. It’s been nearly thirteen years of this same stuff and it’s gotten them onto the same network as Bathroom Kings (yes that’s really a show). Is a hero that doesn’t have to job to Eric Young so much to ask for?
MVP comes out and says maybe someone will visit Roode in the hospital.
Aries says it’s a battle to keep his X-Division Title tonight. If you back him into a corner, he’s going to get really dangerous.
We recap last week’s battle royal with Awesome Kong returning for the showdown with Havok. Again, Havok winning like five matches doesn’t make her Kong’s equal.
Brooke is mad about what Robbie said after how he performed on the Amazing Race.
Brooke Adams/Taryn Terrell vs. Beautiful People
All three BroMans are at ringside. DJZ takes a quick picture and we instantly see it on screen. He’s no Tyler Breeze. Adams hammers away on Angelina to start before taking Velvet down by the arm. Terrell comes in for a suplex and the Beautiful People are “dropkicked” to the outside, setting up Taryn’s bit dive to take out everyone on the floor. Back in and a middle rope clothesline drops Velvet, but Robbie gets on the apron to distract Brooke, letting Velvet grab a rollup with a handful of trunks for the pin at 2:30.
Post match Kong appears to destroys the Beautiful People and DJZ. Havok comes out for the showdown but security breaks it up.
JB turns down Carter’s challenge but Carter says JB is TNA. He should take the challenge because no one respect him. JB snaps and says he’ll fight Ethan next week.
Taz and Josh are going to preview something for next week. I’m not sure about this studio thing as it makes me feel like I’m watching a recap show. It’s not bad but it’s going to take some getting used to.
Manik tells a camera to follow him. They go to see James Storm, who tells Manik to leave them. Storm says it’s time for the world to be introduced to his newest disciple: Koya (formerly Mahabali Shera). Koya means lost in Hindi, but now Koya has been found. Next week, the world will see what he is capable of. The guy looks good if nothing else.
Video on Feast or Fired. It’s something like Money in the Bank with four briefcases, one for a shot at every title (other than the Knockouts) and one with a pink slip.
X-Division Title: Low Ki vs. Austin Aries
The BDC is at ringside. Aries took the title from Low Ki last week. The champ starts fast by backdropping Low Ki over the top but Ki’s feet get caught in the ropes to make the crash even worse. Back in and Aries gets two off the Pendulum Elbow and the Last Chancery sends Ki running for the ropes. Low Ki bails to the floor for a breather and meeting with the BDC. Why not just have them interfere now to give Ki the title? You know it’s coming because they’re a heel stable and therefore they have to win titles.
The advice works as Aries’ suplex is countered with Low Ki dropping him over the ropes. A big chop gets two but also ticks Aries off, causing him to fire off even harder chops of his own. The discus forearm sets up the running corner dropkick, but Ki knees out of the brainbuster. Austin crushes the knee and hooks the Last Chancery, only to have the BDC get on the apron. The referee misses Ki tapping out and the BDC gets on the apron, with MVP crotching Aries. Ki gets up and Ki Crushes his way to the title at 6:48.
Rating: C+. Why would you want to be a face in this company? You might get to hold a title for a few weeks, but at the end of the day, this company is about heels ruling everything around and long stories with them on top instead of letting anyone stand up as a hero. Also, well done on throwing titles around again. That’s always a good idea.
The BDC is still in the ring (of course) and call out Lashley. The champ comes out this time and MVP takes credit for everything Lashley has done. He makes the mistake of saying the title belongs to the BDC but Lashley isn’t cool with that. MVP says Lashley owes the team some thanks but Lashley turns to walk away.
MVP goes to stop him but Lashley tells Hassan (MVP’s real first name) to let him go. That’s ok with MVP, who brings up their time together in WWE. He wants one hug for the road though, which Lashley reluctantly gives. MVP kisses him on the cheek and the beatdown is on. Lashley gets hit in the face with the belt and MVP leaves with the title.
Overall Rating: C-. I’m getting really, really sick of heel stables, especially when you can almost guarantee they’ll be in power by March. This is all TNA does and it’s almost all they’ve done since they debuted. I’m tired of being told to wait and see where it goes, because it ALWAYS GOES THE EXACT SAME WAY.
Look what we had here: one story dominating about 80% of this show, the heels completely dominating the entire show, and most of the heroes getting beaten down. This is after Dixie’s reign of terror, which came after the Aces and 8’s, which came after Immoral. It just never ends and TNA makes it harder and harder to want to stick with them every single week.
Results
Samoa Joe b. Kurt Angle – Koquina Clutch
Hardys b. Wolves – Elevated Twisting Stunner to Edwards
Eric Young b. Bobby Roode – Piledriver onto a chair
Beautiful People b. Brooke Adams/Taryn Terrell – Rollup with a handful of trunks
Low Ki b. Austin Aries – Ki Crusher
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Impact Wrestling – January 7, 2015: Destination: About the Same
Impact Wrestling Date: January 7, 2015
Location: Manhattan Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Taz, Josh Mathews
It’s a new era in TNA as they’re off SpikeTV and onto Destination America, meaning they’ll be lucky to have half the audience they had before. However, they seem to actually be trying to have a new beginning, which may help them a lot in the long run. The main story here is Roode vs. Lashley III for the title, which should be a solid main event. Let’s get to it.
Before we get started, remember that next week the show will move to its regular time slot on Friday at 9pm EST.
We open with a very cool video showing the roster coming to the arena and looking over New York City. Roode, Storm and MVP give the roster pep talks before we get a Lashley vs. Roode staredown. Kenny King throws a punch at Roode and the brawl is on outside the arena. I mean the entire roster is brawling and being recorded by handheld cameras. They head into the arena and it’s just a massive war. After about five minutes, TNA boss Kurt Angle comes out and asks the fans if they want this fight to continue. He asks where all the champions are and says all titles are on the line tonight.
Angle has one more announcement to make but MVP gets in the ring and cuts him off. The fans tell MVP to shut the F up and the censoring is just a big off. MVP turns his back on Angle to offer him a free shot but Angle just spits. This isn’t the same Angle who used to make people tap out and threw people everywhere, because his in ring career is over. Angle says he’s stepped down as executive director, but he’s been reactivated as a wrestler, meaning it’s him vs. MVP tonight in a street fight. Starting NOW, even though both guys are in street clothes.
Kurt Angle vs. MVP
Both guys are in street The bell rings and Kurt knocks him to the floor as we go to a break eight seconds in. I really wish they would cut that out and just start the match after the break. Back with MVP kicking Angle in the face and no commentary. Kurt rolls some Germans but gets caught in something like Lesnar’s Kimura.
Angle counters with a headscissors and grabs more Germans, only to have MVP go after the knee that put Angle on the shelf for so many months. The commentary here is light years better than with Tenay and Taz as there aren’t any lame jokes and they’re actually focusing on the match. It’s nothing great but I’ll take average over whatever TNA had before any day. Back in again and Angle grabs the ankle lock, only to be pulled down into a side choke. MVP is wrestling a submission styles here and it’s only kind of working. Kurt counters into the ankle lock again but MVP gets up, only to take the Angle Slam for the pin at 11:20.
Rating: D+. This was quick and didn’t need to be a street fight. I understand the idea of bringing Angle back in but I really hope he wraps up his in ring career soon. He just gets hurt way too easily and I really don’t want to see him get hurt even worse next time. The match was too short though and the stipulation wasn’t necessary.
MVP rants to Kenny King after a break and wants to talk to Lashley.
Taz and new commentator Josh Mathews welcome us to the show. The new idea is there are cameras everywhere and they’re pulling the curtain back. I can hear Cornette’s rants from here.
Ethan Carter III (with Tyrus) doesn’t like not being on the show yet. He’s a man of honor and doesn’t break commitments he made. His first commitment: to take Rockstar Spud apart piece by piece, starting tonight. Tyrus is sent to secure the target.
Matthews is glad to be here and throws it to Tenay, who is hosting a new show called Impact Wrestling Unlocked, which sounds like Impact with stats and facts etc.
Tenay had an interview with James Storm about the Revolution and how surprising it’s been to him. Storm says that was the idea, because he’s knocked everything this company has given him out of the park. The group’s members just flock to Storm because he’s preaching the truth to them. Tenay loved the Feast or Fired cash in but wants to know about the future. Storm gets in his face and talks about the devil being less scary than he is before whistling a lot. I still really like this idea and I want to see where it goes.
Tag Team Titles: James Storm/Abyss vs. Wolves
The Revolution took the titles from the Wolves back in late 2014 using a Feast or Fired contract (TNA’s version of Money in the Bank). Actually we’re not done though as the Hardys come out in street clothes as we go to a break before the bell. The match starts with the Hardys just on the floor as spectators as Edwards backdrops Storm onto Abyss, setting up stereo suicide dives. They work so well that the Wolves hit them three more times in a row as the rest of the Revolution (Manik and Sanada) just stand around watching.
Back in and the Wolves start double teaming Storm until Abyss pulls Richards to the floor and chokeslams him onto the apron. I love stuff onto the apron. Richards is in trouble for a good twenty seconds before he rolls over and tags in Edwards to fight off both champions. Storm misses a charge into the corner but gets kicked in the head and caught in a backpack Stunner for two. They’re keeping a very fast pace here and it’s working quite well. The Wolves’ painted claw marks on their chests are working as well.
Abyss tries a double chokeslam but the Wolves backflip out for a cool counter before a top rope double stomp gets two on Storm. Richards is pulled to the floor and Abyss catapults Edwards into a Storm DDT for two. Sanada and Manik try to come in but the Hardys make a save to prevent the DQ. Jeff and Abyss get in a tug of war over Storm’s noose and the distraction lets Storm superkick Edwards to retain at 6:13.
Rating: C. Nice fast paced match here but it didn’t have the time to go anywhere. I’m not sure why we needed the Hardys out there and I really don’t care to see them in the tag division. Storm has something here with the Revolution but does he need to be stuck in another tag team? Let him go after something on his own for a change.
Package on Roode vs. Lashley I.
Carter tells a camera to come with him.
Back from a break with MVP yelling at Lashley about not having his priorities straight. He takes credit for all of Lashley’s success and says he leads this team. Lashley pins him up against the wall and says this is about getting the title back. This calms MVP down a bit.
Jeremy Borash tries to bring out someone for an interview but gets cut off by Ethan Carter III. He brags about his accomplishments and does Tyson’s Kidd’s FACT bit. Carter does one up him a bit though by going to some fans with a mic to do the dueling chant lines. Carter apologizes for slapping JB a few weeks back and asks Spud to get out here right now. Tyrus drags Spud through the entrance and throws him into the ring, where Carter says it’s time to cut the rest of Spud’s hair. His SCALP chant doesn’t quite get off the ground.
JB tries to intervene and actually slaps Carter, earning him a splash from Tyrus. Spud tries to cover him up, but Carter has another idea. It’s going to be Borash getting his hair cut and Carter busts out the clippers to shave off a big chunk of JB’s hair. Spud freaks out but this didn’t have the emotion they were going for.
King talks to MVP in the back but the audio is so low I can’t make out what they’re saying. MVP holds up his phone and that’s enough for King.
Video on Lashley vs. Roode II with Roode taking the title.
Package on the history of the X-Division and the sound quality is lacking again. The voiceover is barely audible unless I turn the volume up far higher than it needs to be on the rest of the show. The video turns into a focus on Low Ki, who has been in the division since it started.
X-Division Title: Austin Aries vs. Low Ki
Ki is defending. Feeling out process to start as Mathews mentions Low Ki being the first ROH Champion and plugging WWE Hall of Famer Edge being on Taz’s debut podcast in the span of ten seconds. They trade headscissors as Taz lists off some Brooklyn landmarks. Aries kicks Ki to the floor but charges into a kick to the head for a nice counter. Back up and Aries fires off forearms to send Ki to the floor for a suicide dive. That’s a move they need to tone down as it’s the fifth use of it in less than an hour.
The missile dropkick looks to set up the brainbuster but Ki counters into a kind of dragon sleeper. Aries grabs the ropes and heads up top, only to get kicked in the head again. Not to be outdone, Aries kicks Ki down from the top and plants him with a brainbuster to win the title for a sixth time at 6:18.
Rating: C+. Good but not great match here and I’m not wild on Aries getting the title back. Again, it’s something we’ve seen before and nothing I really need to see repeated. The matches are going to be entertaining, but they need some fresh talent in that division. Swap some of the roster around and give Aries some fresh competition, because they can only do the same matches so many times.
Knockouts Title: Battle Royal
Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, Taryn Terrell, Madison Rayne, Gail Kim, Havok, Rebel
Taryn Terrell is defending. Before the match, Robbie E. is welcomed back to TNA after competing on the Amazing Race. He didn’t win a million dollars due to his horrible partner, but at least he still looks like a million dollars. Robbie rips on Brooke a bit more until Taryn’s entrance cuts him off. Gail goes after Havok to start before the Beautiful People put Rebel out. Madison saves herself on the apron but get dumped by Havok.
Velvet eats defeat and Taryn knocks Angelina out as this is a very lame battle royal. Like even lamer than most battle royals. We’re down to Havok, Terrell, Kim and Sky with Havok taking a double dropkick. Brooke comes in through the crowd and jumps Robbie. Terrell and Kim dump Velvet before Havok throws out Gail, only to get thrown out by Terrell to retain at 4:58.
Rating: D-. This was REALLY dull stuff and just there to get to the ending. I know they’re trying to make Havok out to be a monster, but I don’t think she’s had ten matches in TNA so far. How dominant of a monster can she be with such a short resume? I mean, it’s not like she’s Kong or anything.
Post match Havok jumps Terrell and puts her in a bearhug but the lights go out. They come back up…..and KONG IS BACK! She stares Havok down and chokeslams a referee for old times’ sake.
TNA World Title: Lashley vs. Bobby Roode
Roode is defending and starts fast, only to be driven into the corner for some hard shoulders to the ribs. A delayed vertical suplex gets two on the champ but he comes back with the Crossface to send Lashley to the ropes. I hope they’re not going with the idea of using the same hold over and over again until the other guy taps out. Mix things up a bit and build to a finisher instead of just starting it at first.
They head outside with Roode being sent into the barricade but coming back with a hard clothesline. We get an inset camera shot of MVP and King in the back with two masked men. Security won’t let the masked men come in so the security guy gets beaten down as we go to a break. Back with Roode in a chinlock followed by a bearhug. Taz and Mathews actually explain how Lashley is softening up the midsection for the spear later on. I haven’t heard actual analysis from TNA since I don’t remember when.
Roode fights out and they stare each other down for a cool visual. The champ takes over with a clothesline and a big spinebuster for two, only to jump into a Davey Boy powerslam (to go with the delayed vertical suplex from earlier. Nothing but good can come from watching British Bulldog matches) for the same. Lashley hammers away in the corner but gets powerbombed down for another near fall. Now we get to something new as they hit each others’ finishers for two each.
Cue MVP, King and the masked men as Roode grabs the Crossface. Lashley just stands up for the break, only to walk into the Roode Bomb for two. Back to the Crossface (cross forehead actually) but King pulls the referee out and decks him with a right hand. Angle comes out to brawl with him but gets beaten down. The masked men unveil themselves as Low Ki and Samoa Joe. Eric Young comes in with a chair….and turns on Roode with a bunch of chair shots. Lashley spears Roode down for the pin and the title at 20:00.
Rating: B-. I liked the match utnil the ending, which feels like yet another heel stable. Eric Young as a potential big bad drives me insane because…..how do I put this…..NO ONE CARES ABOUT ERIC FREAKING YOUNG! The match was good and I’m assuming this sets up Lethal Lockdown with Team Roode vs. Team MVP or Lashley. Not the worst idea but I’m terrified of another heel stable, especially if there’s going to be a leader with authority.
Overall Rating: C+. I’m torn on this one as I really liked the energy and some of the tweaks they made (commentary was WAY better tonight), but it feels like they’re resetting a lot of what they did back in December. Aries is X-Division Champion again and Lashley has the World Title back? So why put it on Roode in the first place other than to just give it a feel good moment?
The ending…..erg. This is the frustrating part about TNA: they can’t help but go back to the same ideas that we’ve seen so many times before to diminishing results each time. The idea might work for awhile at first, but then it overstays its welcome and turns into the same idea they’ve always had. Hopefully that’s not where they’re going with this, but TNA doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt.
The rest of the show worked pretty well though as they focused on the wrestling and advanced stories where they needed to. The Revolution is still awesome and Storm is nailing the cult leader character, especially with that creepy whistling. They also did a good job of introducing a lot of the new people. I’d call this a good first effort on a new channel, but the ending makes me nervous.
Results
Kurt Angle b. MVP – Angle Slam
James Storm/Abyss b. Wolves – Last Call to Edwards
Austin Aries b. Low Ki – Brainbuster
Taryn Terrell won a battle royal last eliminating Havok
Lashley b. Bobby Roode – Spear
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of the Royal Rumble at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Today we’re looking at a kicking machine called Low Ki.
Low Ki got his start in 1998 and we’ll pick things up with him as a jobber on Jakked, October 28, 2000.
Crash vs. Loki
Crash easily takes him down to start and grabs a headlock, only to have Loki kick the knee out. A big kick to the face puts Crash down for two as the announcers ignore the match to talk about T&A vs. the APA. For once I can live with that given what we’re watching instead. Loki grabs a chinlock but Crash elbows out and drops Low Ki with a shot to the face. A dropkick does the same but Low Ki scores with a backbreaker. His moonsault only hits mat though, setting up a Bodog from Crash for the pin.
Rating: D+. Just a squash here but Low Ki got in some decent offense of his own. It’s always nice to see him doing ANYTHING but kicking everyone in sight, which gets really old after awhile. The match was fine, but what exactly can you expect from a match on the 2am syndicated show?
One of Low Ki’s main haunts was Jersey All Pro Wrestling. We’ll take a look (my first at the promotion) at a three way he had on July 20, 2001.
JAPW Light Heavyweight Title: Low Ki vs. Minoru Fujita vs. Xavier
Low Ki is defending and also holds the JAPW Heavyweight Title. Xavier was an early ROH World Champion but never really did anything anywhere else. This is turned into a three way dance before the match but I could barely understand what Low Ki was saying due to bad audio. Xavier mocks Fujita for being Japanese and gets double teamed for his efforts. A nice DDT sends him out to the floor but Low Ki jumps Fujita and sends him out onto Xavier.
That’s fine with Ki who takes both guys out with a suicide dive. Back in and Ki misses his cartwheel kick in the corner but he kicks Xavier’s knee out to keep control. He backdrops Fujita to the apron but eats an elbow to the face, allowing Fujita to hit a basement dropkick for two. Xavier finally heads over to suplex both guys down but gets caught in a German suplex to give Fujita two. A cross armbreaker has Xavier in trouble but Ki makes a save. Ki starts kicking a lot (of course), including dropkicking Fujita’s knee out but missing a big kick to the head, setting up a bow and arrow on the champ.
Xavier talks trash but Ki kicks him from the hold and everyone is down. Back up and Xavier throws Ki out to the floor before hitting a pumphandle facebuster for two on Fujita. Everyone is back in now as Xavier loads up a neckbreaker on Fujita, only to have Ki kick him in the face, knocking Fujita to the floor in the process. The Ki Crusher to Xavier retains the title.
Rating: C. This was fast paced and exciting enough while it lasted. It’s very much a product of its time as this was the big thing you would see around this time: cruiserweight three ways with a bunch of spots and a hot ending. It’s entertaining enough though, even if it doesn’t seem that original anymore.
Low Ki would also be the first ROH World Champion. Since I have no interest in covering the 60 minute Iron Man match that he won to become champion, here he is at a show called Road to the Title on June 22, 2002.
Amazing Red vs. Low Ki
It’s so strange to see such low production values in ROH. Both guys have already fought earlier tonight as this is part of a round robin tournament. They tentatively shake hands to start but Red smacks him in the face. Ki comes back with some hard shots to the face as this is quickly in a slug fest. The fans are WAY into this as the guys do some flips (Red diving over Ki’s Matrix for the big spot) and the announcers lose their minds.
Ki kicks Red into the corner and nails a HARD kick to the chest. Red comes right back by ducking another kick and tripping Ki down for a standing shooting star press for two. A hurricanrana doesn’t work for Red and Ki nails a Liger Kick to take over again. Ki tries a cartwheel kick in the corner but eats a top rope dropkick to put both guys down. Another kick to the face puts Red down on the apron and a third kick sends Red crashing into the barricade.
Back in and Ki slams him down by the hair for two but Red sends Ki face first into the buckle and out to the floor. Red’s big dive is countered by a knee to the face but the Ki Crusher is countered into a small package for two. Ki’s powerbomb is attempts is countered into what was supposed to be a reverse Frankensteiner. It looked more like a big crash but points for trying.
The Infrared (corkscrew moonsault) misses and Ki just nails him with a European uppercut. The Ki Crusher into the corner sends Red crashing out to the floor. Back in and Red blasts him with an elbow to the jaw but his super hurricanrana is countered into a top rope Ki Crusher for the pin.
Rating: B. Well that was exciting. It may not be the most technically sound match in the world and it has barely any psychology to be seen, but sometimes there’s nothing wrong with just having two guys one up each other with high spots and impactful moves. Fun stuff here and that’s all it needed to be.
Low Ki would head to TNA and appear in its first ever match. He would also appear in the main event of the second show ever for the first X-Division Title on June 26, 2002.
X Title: AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Low Ki vs. Psicosis
Yes it’s just the X Title here as this isn’t an official division at this point. Ok so from what I can tell, two people start it off and when one is pinned, someone else comes in. When you lose twice, you’re eliminated. That’s a pretty cool concept actually. Styles and Psicosis start things off with AJ taking over quickly. A superkick gets two but Psicosis hits an elbow to the face to take over. Guillotine legdrop gets two on Styles but he pops back up and hits the Clash for the first pin on Psicosis.
Low Ki comes in immediately and fires off kicks, but AJ nips up from the mat and ranas him down. That was AWESOME. Low Ki reverses a German and kicks AJ’s head off to take over again. The Clash is broken up and AJ is launched into the post. Low Ki goes up top and Germans AJ down into a dragon sleeper (nowhere near as smooth as it could have been). AJ grabs the rope to escape so Low Ki kicks Styles in the head again. Low Ki misses a BIG flip dive and AJ clotheslines his head off. A German suplex into a belly to back facebuster gets the pin on Low Ki to get Jerry Lynn in to face Styles.
Lynn immediately clotheslines AJ down and hits the Cradle Piledriver to give him his first loss. This took less than ten seconds.
Psicosis comes in with a missile dropkick to the back of Lynn’s head to take him down fast. They fight over a go behind until Lynn snapmares him down, followed by a headscissors. Lynn gets a boot up in the corner and a middle rope bulldog gets two. Psicosis sends him to the floor and hits a somersalt plancha to take Lynn out. Back in and a spinwheel kick off the top gets a close two. Ricky Steamboat is going to take over as referee once we get down to two. Psicosis goes up again but jumps into a dropkick. Lynn hits the Cradle Piledriver to eliminate Psicosis.
Low Ki is back in next and it’s time to kick. To recap it’s Lynn with zero losses and Styles/Lynn with one each. Low Ki kicks Jerry down and hits a Muta Elbow for two. Lynn gets up a boot in the corner but Low Ki kicks him in the face and ranas him off the top. Jerry rolls through that into a sunset flip for two and it’s time for more kicks. Lynn says bring it on and hits an enziguri to take Low Ki down. They slug it out and Lynn backdrops him to take over. Jerry goes to the apron and avoids a shoulder to the ribs so he can hit a kind of Fameasser.
Cradle Piledriver is broken up and Low Ki grabs an arm hold. Lynn counters into a HARD powerbomb for two and loads up a brainbuster. Low Ki counters into a fisherman’s buster but Lynn counters THAT into a DDT for no cover. Cradle Piledriver hits out of nowhere and it’s down to Styles vs. Lynn. Styles has to get two falls to win the title while Lynn only has to get one.
Styles runs in and hits a quick kick but the Clash is countered into a rana. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets two for Jerry and both guys are down. Lynn is sent to the apron but his sunset flip only gets one. AJ pops up top and hits a springboard moonsault for two. Jerry snaps off a tornado DDT for a two count and they’re both down again. Styles hits a DDT of his own for two but he charges into a running Liger Bomb out of the corner for two for Jerry. Cradle Piledriver is countered into the Clash and it’s one fall apiece, meaning Steamboat takes over and it’s next fall wins the title.
Both guys are down for a bit before they head to the corner. We get a pinfall reversal sequence which would make Flair and appropriately enough Steamboat jealous. There are about ten near falls in a minute and they clothesline each other to put both guys down again. They head to the floor and Lynn hits a WICKED Irish Whip into the barricade to send Styles flying.
AJ is like screw the pain and hits the moonsault into the reverse DDT on the floor to take over again. Back inside and Jerry breaks up a springboard to hit an Elevated DDT for a VERY close two. Lynn loads up the Cradle Piledriver but AJ counters into a rana. The rana is countered into a powerbomb but Lynn rotates him further than that, sending AJ’s face into the mat in a SWEET move.
Both guys are down again but it’s Lynn up first. Another Cradle Piledriver is countered into an FU into a backbreaker for two for Styles. Lynn counters a suplex into a brainbuster for two of his own. There’s a sleeper but AJ escapes and goes up top, only to get crotched and superplexed for two for Jerry. Lynn loads him up top again but AJ shoves him off and Spiral Tap gives him his first of many X Division Titles.
Rating: A. This was AWESOME and a total star making performance for AJ. Matches like this one were the ones that got the company on the map (eventually) and this was excellent even ten years later. Lynn vs. AJ was the first big feud as they would go at it for months, over that title and another one eventually. Great stuff here and an actual new idea for a match.
He had another shot at the title at Weekly PPV #8 on August 7, 2002.
X-Division Title: Low Ki vs. AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn
Styles and Lynn are tag champions and Styles is X Champion. I’ll only refer to Styles as a champion in this though for the sake of clarity. Lynn and Low Ki take out Styles to start and immediately brawl with each other. Low Ki fires off kicks at Lynn but Jerry catches one of them and AJ kicks Ki in the head. Lynn hooks Styles in an inverted Gory Special but gets dropkicked down by Low Ki.
A Muta style elbow gets two on the champ for Low Ki but Styles does his awesome nip up into a rana to take over. There’s a torture rack to Low Ki but AJ keeps going with it and hits a kind of reverse AA into a facebuster. Lynn pops up and takes AJ down but Styles comes right back with a McGillicutter to take Jerry down. A rana from AJ is countered into a kind of powerbomb facebuster for two by Jerry.
Low Ki is sent to the apron but he slingshots in to roll up Jerry as Jerry German suplexes AJ which gets a double two count. Cool spot. Lynn and Low Ki chop it out as AJ is down. AJ tries a suplex on Low Ki but gets caught in a Dragon Sleeper. Lynn tries for a save but gets caught in the same hold. Jerry suplexes Low Ki down but AJ saves. AJ goes up but Jerry DDTs him off the top for two.
Styles and Low Ki slug it out but Low Ki kicks him in the face to take over. AJ hits his moonsault into the reverse DDT for two and then loads up a superplex on Low Ki but Jerry turns it into a Tower of Doom for two. All three guys get an awesome looking rollup for two, followed by AJ and Lynn trading very close two counts again. Low Ki rolls up Lynn, but Jerry kicks out, sending Low Ki into the Styles Clash position. Jerry breaks it up for some reason but the setup looked good.
Aj goes to the corner but Low Ki puts him in the Tree of Woe and in the Dragon Sleeper at the same time. Lynn’s tornado DDT to Low Ki is countered into a dragon sleeper on the ropes but AJ kicks him in the head and covers Lynn for two. A neckbreaker gets two on Lynn but Low Ki tries the Ki Crusher on AJ. Styles counters that but Low Ki hooks the Styles Clash on Styles. Jerry hits a Ki Crusher on Low Ki and you know what’s coming next. The cradle piledriver gets two on Lynn and the fans are digging this a lot.
Low Ki accidentally kicks the referee and is thrown to the floor by both opponents. Jerry and AJ collide to put both guys down and AJ falls to the floor in pain. Scratch that as he brings in a chair which he caves in Lynn’s head with a chair. AJ goes up but as he climbs, Low Ki covers Lynn. In a pretty questionable ending, the referee gets to two, AJ hits Spiral Tap on Low Ki, Low Ki comes up off Jerry, goes back down on Jerry, and the referee counts one more time (as in the referee slaps the mat only once more) for the three count and Low Ki is champion.
Rating: B. Bad ending aside, this was a fun match which showed off what TNA was good at: high flying matches with guys going so fast it’s almost impossible to keep up with what’s going on. I missed a few spots because I couldn’t type fast enough to keep up with them. Low Ki was by far the most popular guy in the match so going with him as champion was the right move. AJ and Lynn would keep feuding for awhile longer.
We’ll jump ahead a bit to Weekly PPV #43 on May 7, 2003 with Ki a member of XXX.
Triple X vs. AJ Styles/D’Lo Brown
From May 7, 2003. Triple X is Elix Skipper/Low Ki and the winners go on to a #1 contenders match later tonight. Brown and Low Ki trade strikes to start until Brown grabs a slam and drops some elbows. A blind tag brings in AJ for a springboard missile dropkick and a knee drop for two. Low Ki has to kick someone before he explodes so he takes over with a cartwheel kick.
Off to Skipper but AJ nips up into a hurricanrana for two. Brown comes in and slams AJ onto Skipper’s chest but Low Ki comes back in for some chops. Skipper is back in almost immediately and gets suplexed down. A flapjack gives Brown even more of a breather and he dives into a tag to Styles. The good guys chop Elix down but he pulls Brown to the floor and sends him into the barricade.
Back inside and Low Ki kicks AJ in the head to stagger him again before Skipper comes in again for some forearms. Styles counters the Play of the Day and makes another hot tag to Brown. Everything breaks down and D’Lo hits a double shaky head legdrop. A Cactus Clothesline sends Brown and Skipper to the floor but Brown slides back in to catch a cartwheeling Low Ki in the Sky High for the pin.
Rating: D+. Nice finish to a boring match. I’m not sure why this match was on the set as there were some much more interesting tag matches. There’s a good chance this was based on the name power instead of the match itself, which is understandable given how long it would take to watch every match.
Ki spent a lot of time in Japan, including this match in Pro Wrestling Noah on August 28, 2004.
Low Ki vs. Kotaro Suzuki
They shake hands to start and Ki backs him up to the ropes for a clean break. A hammerlock has Ki in trouble but he spins out into a wristlock, only to have Suzuki do the same to him. They try a test of strength with neither guy maintaining an advantage until Ki climbs the ropes and puts on a cross armbreaker in the ropes. Both guys fall to the floor to break it up and we reset again.
Back in and Ki rips off some chops but gets kicked backwards to give Suzuki his first quick advantage. A backdrop and chop put him on the floor again with Ki following, only to take a 619 with Suzuki sliding into the ring and spinning back into a kick to the face. That was a very cool looking spot. Low kicks him again for two and they slug it out with both guys ACTUALLY SELLING. When did we leave Japan?
We hit the chinlock on Suzuki for a breather before a springboard spinning kick to the face drops Suzuki for two. Ki hammers away even more but Suzuki flips out of a snapmare and nails a running dropkick. A middle rope seated senton and high cross body get two each on Ki and there’s a botched Black Widow, only to have Ki right next to the ropes.
Suzuki dives into a kick to the shoulder but he’s still able to break up the moonsault. A spinning super Frankensteiner drops Ki again and the 619 gets two. Ki knocks him off the top but misses a moonsault, only to kick him in the back of the head for two more. The Ki Crusher is enough for the pin.
Rating: B-. This wasn’t quite as exciting as the Red match from earlier but it’s still entertaining enough to get through the fifteen minutes they had. Again it was in the “let’s hit each other hard” style which can work if given the right pairing. Suzuki looked good here and Ki was able to hang with him well enough.
It’s back to TNA now with Ki as Senshi. We’ll start at Lockdown 2006.
Christopher Daniels vs. Senshi
Senshi seems to be a surprise opponent. Daniels isn’t sure what to do so Senshi fires off rapid fire strikes to send Daniels into the corner. Senshi keeps escaping whatever Daniels tries but a kick to the face finally puts him down. A flying knee in the corner misses and Senshi hits a flapjack to put the Fallen Angel back down. Senshi does his signature kick to the back for two and it’s off to a modified camel clutch.
A suplex gets two for Senshi as the fans are split. They chop it out with Daniels taking a small advantage. Senshi hits a double chop to send Daniels down to his knee but gets caught in a sunset flip attempt. Senshi hits a quick Warrior’s Way for two and Daniels is in trouble. Daniels gets caught in a rear waist lock but he elbows out of it. Christopher hits a kind of suplex into the cage wall followed by a running STO for two. Blue Thunder Bomb gets the same.
Senshi kicks him down HARD for two. He’s getting frustrated which shouldn’t surprise anyone. Daniels hits a Death Valley Driver out of nowhere followed by the BME but it only gets two. He puts Senshi on the top but his superplex is blocked by punches to the ribs. Daniels responds by ramming Senshi’s head into the cage. Well when all else fails, go with the simplest method. Angel’s Wings off the top is countered but the Warrior’s Way off the top misses as well. Angel’s Wings is countered again with Senshi flipping forward and putting his feet on the ropes for the pin.
Rating: B-. Another good match here as I continue to like Daniels more and more when he’s not facing AJ Styles. Senshi is a very acquired taste for me and I still don’t care for him most of the time. Here though he was using something other than kicks which is the key to him being more interesting. He wouldn’t be around for weeks after this though as they wanted to give him a stronger introduction or something like that.
Senshi picked up the X-Division Title on Impact around this time and defended against a mystery opponent at Victory Road 2006.
Rating: D. Oh man this was dull and the crowd knew it. They would do some mat stuff, Senshi would throw some kicks, Kaz would try to get something going but then would get stuck right back on the mat. This was terribly weak and I still don’t get the appeal of Senshi’s style. It’s 90% kicks and it went nowhere at all.
Here he is as part of the BIZARRE Kevin Nash X-Division story from Destination X 2007.
Rating: D. Match was just barely ok due to it being really weird. The whole ending submission idea was really out there and it held things way down. The psychology was way off also as they were doing very little arm work other than here and there and it made the whole thing not work for the most part. As a regular match this was fine but with the gimmick (third in a row to start things off) it got dragged way down.
One more TNA match from this stretch at Bound For Glory 2007.
LAX vs. XXX
This is an Ultimate X match and the winners get a Tag Team Title shot at some point in the future. XXX is Elix Skipper and Senshi who teamed together with Christopher Daniels and are the heels in this one. Homicide hammers on Skipper in the corner to start while the other two fight on the floor. Senshi dives back in to take down Hernandez and Skipper stops Homicide from pulling down the X.
Hernandez gets back up and starts throwing people around like only he can. An over the shoulder backbreaker drops Skipper and Homicide goes for the X again, only to have Senshi climb the ropes and kick Homicide down. Senshi cranks on a dragon sleeper to hold Hernandez against the ropes but the big guy just powers out of it. He shrugs off a bunch of strikes from Senshi and bull rushes him out to the floor. Homicide adds a big flip dive and LAX is in full control again.
Skipper tries to go up but Hernandez just stares him all the way up. Elix gets pulled down and the big man starts climbing but can’t pull the X down, allowing Skipper to dropkick him down. Senshi goes up and is pulled down into a powerbomb, leaving Skipper and Homicide to go to the top of the tress. Elix knocks Homicide back down and hits a HUGE dive onto Hernandez.
Homicide and Skipper go across the ropes but Homicide pulls him down in a huge neckbreaker to put all four guys on the mat. It’s Homicide and Senshi up first with Senshi tying him in the Tree of Woe for a sick looking Warrior’s Way. Both guys head to the floor and Hernandez Border Tosses Skipper over the top to take both of them down. Hernandez goes up and grabs the X for the win.
Rating: B. This took some time to get going but once they just started hurting each other it got awesome in a hurry. LAX was a great combination and they both worked well together here. XXX was hanging in there but at the end of the day, neither of them were any sort of match for Hernandez’s power. Good high spot fest to open the show.
We’ll skip a lot of Japan stuff and get to Ki in FCW as Kaval. From FCW TV on February 25, 2009.
Paul Lloyd vs. Kaval
Lloyd is Justin Gabriel in his FCW debut. Kaval takes him into the corner to start and we actually get a clean break. Paul does the same but nails Kaval with a right hand. That earns him a kick to the ribs and another to the chest as Kaval takes over. Lloyd grabs a Russian neckbreaker as Josh Matthews actually lists off the Japanese companies Kaval worked for. A Liger Kick drops Paul again and the Warrior’s Way (top rope double stomp) is enough for the pin.
Rating: C-. Just a quick match here that was just a step above a squash. Lloyd was a guy in trunks at this point who had a dad called the Pink Panther back in South Africa. The match was nothing special and Kaval is starting to get into the period that I can’t stand where he’s almost all kicks.
We’ll jump ahead nearly a year due to an injury to Kaval. Here he is against another FCW newcomer on FCW TV, February 8, 2010.
Kaval vs. Bryan Danielson
Danielson is just a guy in trunks here who gets a WAY bigger reaction than any other newcomer. The announcers of course acknowledge his previous success with the future Bad News Barrett putting him over huge. They shake hands to start and we get an early stalemate. Barrett gets in a great line about Danielson with “Pick a place in the world. Bryan Danielson has been there and won a title.” Kaval takes him down with a test of strength and breaks Bryan’s bridge with two knees to the ribs.
Back up and Bryan works on a wristlock until another kick knocks him away. Now it’s Danielson taking over with the kicks but eating a dropkick to put him right back down. Bryan fires off kicks of his own in the corner but gets kicked (noticing a pattern here?) across the ring and down for two. Back to Kaval’s arm now as Bryan starts busting out the submission stuff. He puts Kaval’s arm on the mat and steps on the other arm to drive it down as well in a painful looking spot.
A butterfly suplex puts Kaval down but he comes back with more kicks to the chest. The arm gives out on an Irish whip though so it’s back to the kicks. Were you expecting anything else? Kaval tries a sunset flip but intentionally rolls out for a standing Warrior’s Way. A sitout butterfly powerbomb sets up a cross armbreaker on Kaval but he’s quickly in the ropes. Danielson’s Swan Dive hits feet but he heads up for a butterfly superplex, only to be shoved down for the Warrior’s Way and the pin.
Rating: B. This is a great example of a one dimensional wrestler against a well rounded wrestler. They started off by trading kicks but Bryan easily shifted into the arm work followed by some high flying and suplexes. Kaval on the other hand was almost all kicking, which is fun for awhile but makes you roll your eyes by the end.
Danielson would make it to the first season of NXT while Kaval would be on the second. Here he is on NXT, July 27, 2010.
Kaval vs. Husky Harris
This should go short as it’s getting close to 10:45 and we have a poll to do. Kaval was at a Lady Gaga concert apparently with Laycool. We talk about the Cowboys for a bit regarding the Dez Bryan/Roy Williams incident which was overblown. Kaval uses stuff other than kicks here which is a nice perk for him. Laycool gets knocked to the floor and Kaval checks on them. A reverse suplex and the back splash end Kaval.
Rating: C-. Kaval uses stuff other than just kicks here which is a big step up for him. That’s his main issue: he needs to vary up his offense which is what he did. Harris is still not someone I can get into but I can tolerate him more now than I could before. This was fine for what it was and Kaval showing concern for his pros was cool.
Kaval would win the competition and earn a title shot on PPV. He picked the Intercontinental Title for no apparent reason and had his shot at Survivor Series 2010.
Intercontinental Title: Kaval vs. Dolph Ziggler
Kaval is more famous as Low Ki and won NXT Season 2 to get any title shot he wanted. In his first win, he beat Dolph on Smackdown and picked to challenge for this title tonight. A quick elbow gets two so Dolph takes over with a forearm in the corner. There’s the Hennig necksnap and a mini AA for two for Dolph. A handspring elbow takes Dolph down and Kaval pounds away in the corner until a Vickie distraction lets Dolph take him down.
Kaval comes back with a handspring into a kick to the face in the corner which looked pretty awesome. Kaval goes up with his back to the ring, allowing Dolph to put on a sleeper on the top rope for some reason. Dolph gets knocked back and Kaval misses a big flip dive, allowing Dolph to hit the Fameasser for two. The sleeper goes on (on the mat this time) but Kaval escapes and is launched to the top rope where he springs off and hits a spin kick to the face in ANOTHER awesome looking move. Ziggler misses a charge in the corner and gets rolled up for two before Ziggler gets a rollup of his own with tights to retain.
Rating: C-. Kaval tried here but this crippled whatever he had as far as momentum was going. He would be gone before the end of the year and I can’t say I blame him. The match here was ok enough but the chemistry didn’t click at all. Also, why would you pick a match for the IC Title when you can pick whatever you want?
That loss pretty much signaled the end of Kaval and it was back to TNA, including this match at Destination X 2011.
Rating: B. Can’t really complain here as this was what the X-Division was built on. The fans got their flips and probably the best possible outcome here with Aries arguably being the best guy here. I’d expect to see all of them again in the future which is probably the best thing, especially with how weak the division has been lately. Fun match.
Another injury would keep Ki from doing much for awhile so we’ll head to NJPW Wrestle Kingdom VII on January 4, 2014.
Junior Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi vs. Low Ki
This is the Cruiserweight/X-Division Title. Devitt is an Irish wrestler and defending. These three are the only men to hold the title since June of 2010 with Devitt holding it far longer than either of the other two. He’s held it the second most combined days in the title’s history, but is still about three years behind Liger’s total. Low Ki, a member of Chaos, comes to the ring in a suit with two handguns, looking like Agent 47 from the Hitman video game series. Apparently he’s going to be wrestling in the suit.
Kota is taken out as soon as the bell rings and I have a feeling this is going to be one of those matches I can barely keep up with and can do little more than play by play. Low Ki and Devitt run the ropes as fast as I’ve ever seen with Ki running the champ over. Kota comes back with a running shot to Ki before backflipping over Devitt and ducking a kick from Ki, giving us a standoff. Kota hits a pair of kicks to Ki’s chest, sending him to the floor and giving us a showdown. Devitt and Ibushi shake hands and we’re ready to go.
Kota drops to the mat as they run the ropes but Devitt hits a dropkick to his ribs, knocking Ibushi to the floor. Ki comes back in to jump the champion but Kota follows him in and sends Ki back outside, setting up a springboard moonsault to take him down. Back in and Kota fires off kicks to the chest for two on Devitt before hooking a chinlock. A back elbow gets two on Devitt but the Prince goes to the apron for an enziguri, only to be pulled to the floor by Ki.
Back in and Low chokes away on Kota for two before they slug it out. Ki uses kicks (shocking) for two but Devitt is back in. Low Ki kicks him in the chest for two and slaps on an abdominal stretch. The champ’s sunset flip is blocked but Kota comes back with a springboard missile dropkick to send Low Ki to the outside again. Devitt follows up by sending Ibushi to the floor before taking both of them out with a nice flip dive. All three guys are back in now and Devitt hits running clotheslines and dropkicks on both challengers. A top rope Boom Drop gets two on Ibushi as the crowd is WAY into this.
Devitt hits a spinning enziguri on Low Ki but Ki jumps out of a reverse suplex attempt. Prince kicks Kota in the head but Ki hits a rolling Liger Kick to send Devitt to the floor. Kota and Low Ki trade what look to be suplex attempts until Kota dropkicks him out to the floor again. Ibushi hits a HUGE springboard corkscrew moonsault to take everyone down and pop the crowd something fierce.
The challengers slug it out on the ramp with Kota kicking Ki in the head. Back inside and Ibushi tries a top rope moonsault but has to land on his feet, only to immediately hit a standing moonsault for two on Devitt. The pin was somewhat botched as Devitt didn’t kick out fast enough and the referee had to slow down on the count. A half nelson suplex gets the same on Prince and Kota follows up with a sitout Last Ride for two more with Ki making the save.
Low Ki escapes a snap German suplex and stomps Ibushi’s chest for another near fall before finally taking off the suit jacket. The Ki Krusher (modified Muscle Buster) gets another two count with Devitt making the save. He was late again though and the referee had to pretend to dive out of the way as Prince came off the top. Devitt loads up what looked to be a top rope hurricanrana but gets crotched into the Tree of Woe.
Before Ki can stomp on his face, Kota springboards up to the top for a hurricanrana on Ki for a VERY close two. Ibushi misses a Phoenix Splash and rolls into a top rope double stomp to the back from Devitt, but Ki hits a hard running dropkick to send Prince into the corner for two. Ki loads up a top rope Ki Crusher on Devitt but gets kicked to the floor. Kota goes up for something as well but gets DDTed from the top by Devitt to retain the title in a sweet looking finish.
Rating: B. Take three guys, have them fly all over the place for fifteen minutes, listen to the crowd going nuts. It’s nothing but a collection of spots and near falls but it wasn’t supposed to be anything more than that. Low Ki was slightly more interesting than usual and Ibushi was fine as the high spot guy. Devitt’s timing seemed a bit off but the match was still very entertaining and the most fun all night.
We’ll wrap it up on Impact, November 19, 2014.
X-Division Title: DJZ vs. Low Ki vs. Tigre Uno vs. Manik
The title is vacant coming in and this is one fall to a finish. Tigre and Manik fight to the floor, leaving Low Ki to kick DJZ across the ring but Manik comes back in to jump Ki. DJZ dropkicks both of them down as Tigre comes back in to speed things up. A quick dropkick gets two for Uno but Manik suplexes him down and puts on a surfboard. As he has Tigre in the air, DJZ covered Manik, only to have Low Ki hit a Warrior’s Way onto Tigre, crushing everyone else at the same time for a scary looking landing.
Manik charges into Low Ki’s kick to the face but DJZ elbows Ki in the face. Tigre sends Manik to the floor and hits a huge twisting springboard moonsault to take everyone down. Back in and Low Ki gets Tigre in the Tree of Woe but Manik breaks up a top rope double stomp. DJZ hits a tornado DDT on Ki but Manik dives onto DJZ for the save. Manik covers, looks DIRECTLY AT TIGRE, and stays there while Tigre dives on him. Come on man. Tigre and Ki go up top and a Ki Crusher off the top gives Ki the title at 5:58.
Rating: C+. Of all the multiman cruiserweight spot fests that I’ve seen, this one is the most recent. That’s really all there is to it. They did some spots, there was no flow to the match, they did a lot of stupid stuff that got on my nerves and one guy hit a big move for the win. That’s every almost cruiserweight match in this company for months now and this was just another on the list.
Low Ki is an interesting guy as he’s capable of having a highly entertaining match if he’s given the right opponent. However, when he gets into that one dimensional kicking offense, he can be a nightmare to sit through. I don’t remember a guy who ever got as obsessed with one style of offense as he does at times and it makes him look like a gimmick wrestler instead of someone capable of doing something special. His early stuff is usually better than his modern stuff, but he’s still worth checking out.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of the Royal Rumble at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Impact Wrestling – November 19, 2014: Last One Out, Lock Dreamer In
Impact Wrestling Date: November 12, 2014 Location: Sands Bethlehem Events Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz
And so, it ends. Well at least on SpikeTV. Tonight is the last episode of Impact Wrestling on the major network before it takes two months off and returns on a network in about 40 million less homes. To be fair though, it’s better than no network at all…..in theory. Tonight is about setting up Roode vs. Lashley III so let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Roode taking the title from Lashley a few weeks ago, followed by Lashley being driven insane by not being champion.
Here’s Roode to get us going. He talks about having a few real friends in wrestling and two of them are Eric Young and Austin Aries. Now Lashley is going around trying to put those two out of wrestling. If Lashley wants a shot at the title, he can certainly have one, but not tonight. Tonight isn’t about the World Title or professional wrestling. Instead it’s about fighting with no referee and no rules. Roode calls Lashley out right now and the fight is on in the aisle. They fight into the stands and Lashley misses a big chair shot. Security breaks them up after only a few seconds though.
Ethan Carter says he’s giving Spud a chance to prove that he’s a man tonight.
The next show on SpikeTV is in two weeks on December 3 for a best of the year show.
Video on Havok’s dominance, which has spanned about five matches. Taryn and Gail are ready to slay the best.
Knockouts Title: Havok vs. Gail Kim vs. Taryn Terrell
Havok is defend and this is one fall to a finish. The challengers go right at Havok but get dropped with a double clothesline. Havok throws Gail onto Taryn and then sends her shoulder first into the post. A spinebuster plants Taryn but Gail tries AJ Lee’s Black Widow on the champ. Havok is in trouble and Taryn adds an Indian Deathlock for good measure. Somehow Havok powers out of it and they all fight to the floor with Havok catching Terrell, only to have Gail dive on both of them as we take a break.
Back with Havok still on the floor and Taryn rolling Gail up for two. A running flip neckbreaker puts Gail down again but Havok pulls Taryn from the ring and drops her throat first across the barricade. Gail heads outside also but gets spinebustered onto the floor. Back in and Havok splashes both girls for two but Gail is up first and drapes Havok across the top rope.
A kind of Fameasser from the top puts Havok on the floor but Taryn jumps Gail from behind. Terrell takes her to the top but Havok comes back in to make it a Tower of Doom. The champ stacks them up again but misses a middle rope splash. Taryn and Gail break out of a double chokeslam attempt and hammer away until Gail scores with a DDT. A cross body gets two each before Eat Defeat and an RKO get two for Terrell. Gail rolls up Taryn but gets caught in a sunset flip to give Terrell the title at 14:32.
Rating: B-. This was the best Knockouts match in awhile but it doesn’t mean what TNA wants it to be. First of all, as mentioned, Havok has won something like five matches in TNA over the course of six weeks with one of those being a battle royal. That’s hardly taking the title off Roode after seven months. Also, Terrell pinned Gail, which likely sets up a showdown later. It’s a good match but nowhere near the moment they were hoping for.
MVP rants at Kenny King about being called a manager. King sounds pleased.
Recap of Joe vacating the X-Division Title last week. There’s a fourway for the title later tonight.
Recap of the opening brawl.
Roode isn’t going to let his friends get taken out or be intimidated by Lashley. Now the champion is challenging Lashley to a fight. Didn’t he do that already?
Kenny King vs. Chris Melendez
Melendez shoves him into the corner to start and King mocks the mechanical leg. Chris finally hammers away but walks into an elbow in the corner. A hiptoss sends Kenny to the floor but he jumps up and kicks Chris in the face. Melendez gets snapped down across the top rope but Chris comes back up with a mechanical kick to the chest. A fisherman’s suplex gets two for Chris and he kicks King in the face, only to have MVP come in with a chair for the DQ at 5:05.
Rating: D. I probably should but I just do not care about Chris Melendez. It’s amazing how he’s come this far, but after you get over the shock of seeing someone being able to do this, he’s just a green wrestler that can’t do much in the ring yet. The match was nothing special and just there to set up stuff (likely a tag match) for the future.
MVP goes after Chris’ good leg until Mr. Anderson makes the save.
Spud agrees to meet EC3 tonight.
Melendez is sent to the hospital but Anderson wants revenge. Kurt Angle says he’ll deal with it.
Here are EC3 and Tyrus to address Spud. Carter likes the idea of Spud trying to come across the pond and make himself big. Along the way Spud has picked up some friends like Eric Young, who is now in the hospital and Jeremy Borash, who Carter slapped so hard that the entire Borash family died. Well tonight, Spud can fight Carter for one night only. Cue Spud in a suit that looks like a brick wall (seriously) and Carter even has Tyrus go to the floor.
Spud gets right in his face and Ethan offers a free shot but Spud can’t do it. Instead he kicks Carter low and then hits him in the face as the brawl is on. Carter gets the better of it and takes Spud down as the fans tell him that he can’t wrestle. Spud pulls himself up but Carter lets him go from the 1%er. Spud pulls himself up again but Tyrus comes in for the Tongan Death Grip into a clothesline. Now Ethan (busted open a bit) gets a mic and threatens to rip Spud apart until he decides to stop. First up, Ethan cuts off some of Spud’s hair and holds it up like a trophy. Nice segment here.
Angle yells at King but gets jumped and beaten down by MVP. Even King thinks that was too far.
Bram vs. Tommy Dreamer
Hardcore of course. They start in the aisle as Dreamer looks older than ever. Bram slams him down on the ramp and nails Tommy with a trashcan. Dreamer is already busted open so Bram fires off more right hands, only to get sent into the post. Tommy hits Bram with the old WWE spinner US Title for a bizarre moment. We take a break and come back with Bram sending Tommy face first into the steps.
Back in and we hit a chinlock before Dreamer gets a boot up in the corner to stop a charge. Some kendo stick shots and Russian legsweep gets two for Tommy and he crotched Bram on an opened chair. A clothesline knocks Bram out of the chair for two and Tommy ties him in the Tree of Woe. Dreamer shouts T-N-A and hits a basement dropkick into a trashcan but Bram counters the DDT with a legsweep.
The top rope elbow with the chair is blocked with a raised boot and Dreamer’s DDT gets two more. Now it’s a barbed wire chair but Magnus runs in with a Rock Bottom to plant Dreamer. The Brits load up something else but Al Snow of all people runs in for the save. Dreamer gets up and grabs the cheese grater as Snow punches Magnus up the ramp. Bram’s cut is grated open even worse but he comes back with a low blow and sends Tommy face first into the barbed wire chair in the corner. An inverted DDT pins Dreamer at 14:54.
Rating: F. It got fifteen minutes, Bram needed help to beat Tommy Dreamer, Al freaking Snow ran in (wearing wrestling gear for some reason) and Tommy Dreamer is STILL ON MY TV IN 2014. I would love to know what Dreamer has on the management of this and all those other wrestling companies he works for because it must be gold.
Angle is going to deal with MVP once and for all.
Sheera asked Manik what he needs to do to get Storm to like him. Manik tells him to awaken.
X-Division Title: DJZ vs. Low Ki vs. Tigre Uno vs. Manik
The title is vacant coming in and this is one fall to a finish. Tigre and Manik fight to the floor, leaving Low Ki to kick DJZ across the ring but Manik comes back in to jump Ki. DJZ dropkicks both of them down as Tigre comes back in to speed things up. A quick dropkick gets two for Uno but Manik suplexes him down and puts on a surfboard. As he has Tigre in the air, DJZ covered Manik, only to have Low Ki hit a Warrior’s Way onto Tigre, crushing everyone else at the same time for a scary looking landing.
Manik charges into Low Ki’s kick to the face but DJZ elbows Ki in the face. Tigre sends Manik to the floor and hits a huge twisting springboard moonsault to take everyone down. Back in and Low Ki gets Tigre in the Tree of Woe but Manik breaks up a top rope double stomp. DJZ hits a tornado DDT on Ki but Manik dives onto DJZ for the save. Manik covers, looks DIRECTLY AT TIGRE, and stays there while Tigre dives on him. Come on man. Tigre and Ki go up top and a Ki Crusher off the top gives Ki the title at 5:58.
Rating: C+. Of all the multiman cruiserweight spot fests that I’ve seen, this one is the most recent. That’s really all there is to it. They did some spots, there was no flow to the match, they did a lot of stupid stuff that got on my nerves and one guy hit a big move for the win. That’s every almost cruiserweight match in this company for months now and this was just another on the list.
MVP calls someone and leaves a voicemail about burning the place down.
Here’s Angle to call out MVP. He talks about watching MVP cheat his way to the top when he was in charge but here’s MVP to cut him off. MVP is sick of being here but mocks Angle for running to the Board of Directors when something goes wrong. Angle isn’t going to fire him and the fight is on. Kenny King comes out to help but MVP shoves him away and keeps stomping before hitting the Blackout Kick (Drive-By) to send Angle outside. Anderson comes out to get King but Lashley takes him down. This brings out Roode to take out King and brawl with Lashley to end the show.
Overall Rating: C. This show had some decent wrestling but it felt like any other show for TNA. At the end of the day though, you can see one of the things that has held them back for years right there front and center: an old, past his prime guy living on nostalgia got the longest match of the night, including longer than two matches with new champions crowned.
Maybe the time off will do TNA good, but they need to stop doing stupid stuff like having Tommy Dreamer around to score nostalgia points from a tiny number of people they might bring in. They have a big roster but can’t fit them in because of stuff like that. That’s a badly run business and it’s killed them for years. I’m hoping it gets better on the new network, but 12 years have taught me not to get my hopes up for TNA.
Results
Taryn Terrell b. Gail Kim and Havok – Sunset flip to Kim
Chris Melendez b. Kenny King via DQ when MVP interfered
Bram b. Tommy Dreamer – Inverted DDT
Low Ki b. Tigre Uno, DJZ and Manik – Top rope Ki Crusher to Tigre Uno
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Impact Wrestling – November 5, 2014: Well That Happened
Impact Wrestling Date: November 5, 2014 Location: Sands Bethlehem Events Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz
We might be getting close to the end of Impact’s run as there are only a handful of episodes left before their TV show runs out. We keep hearing about various other networks that want to pick TNA up but there’s never anything definitive about them. As for the show tonight, we’re likely setting up Roode vs. Lashley III and finishing the tag team tournament. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Lashley vs. Roode from last week with Roode winning the title.
Angle is in the ring to start the show and says there’s a new World Champion in the house. Roode comes out and talks about how this is all he ever wanted to do since he was a kid. Now he gets to be the best because he’s the World Champion. He’s proud to be here in the ring with the best ever in Kurt Angle and is proud to be our champion.
Cue Lashley with MVP and King for the big showdown. MVP calls Lashley the most dominant champion in TNA history but Roode is just a guy that needed help from Angle to win the title. He keeps talking though and says Lashley only became champion because MVP hurt his knee. MVP wants a shot and Kurt agrees, seeing where this could be going. Roode agrees and Lashley doesn’t look pleased.
Quick video on the tournament final.
Joe and Low Ki say they’ll prove everyone wrong when they work together to win the tournament.
Tag Team Tournament Finals: Samoa Joe/Low Ki vs. Hardys
Winner get a title shot at some point in the future. Jeff and Ki get things going with Hardy taking a kick to the knee. They both start slowly until Ko grabs the arm, only to get nailed in the back. Off to Matt for an arm wringer of his own before Joe comes in for some right hands to pound Matt down in the corner. The non-brothers take over with their strikes until it’s back to Jeff for a front facelock.
Matt comes right back in with the middle rope elbow to the back for two. A double belly to back suplex gets two with Joe making a quick save. Jeff headscissors Ki out of the corner but charges into some boots in the corner. A Shining Wizard misses but Ki kicks Jeff in the back of the head to take over. Back to Joe for the knee drop for two as we take a break.
Back with Jeff nailing the Whisper in the Wind to drop Joe next to him. A double tag brings in Matt and Ki with the Side Effect connecting for two. Another Side Effect gets the same result and a bulldog/clothesline combination takes down both X-Division guys. Ki crotches Matt on the top to break up a moonsault, setting up the top rope Warrior’s Way for two.
Back up and a Twist gets two on Ki as everything breaks down. Joe breaks up Jeff’s Twist and kicks him in the head. The Twist from Matt is countered with the Clutch but Jeff Swantons Matt to break it up. Most people would have just kicked Joe but that’s not how Jeff rolls. Things settle back down and Ki can’t hit the Ki Crusher on Jeff. Back to Matt for Poetry in Motion followed by the Swanton and a moonsault from Matt for the pin at 14:38.
Rating: B-. Good match but it doesn’t hold up that well after the tag team series rocked the house for so many weeks. Also I’m not all that wild on seeing the Hardys again but they’re still good enough in the ring and over with the crowd so it’s not the worst idea in the world. At least we don’t have the potential of champions that hate each other again.
James Storm is with Davey Richards in the back and says he wants an answer in a week.
Roode says MVP suspended him months ago but now he can take care of MVP once and for all. He won’t hide as champion and he’ll prove why he’s TNA’s MVP.
We recap Gunner and Samuel Shaw’s long running story with Brittany catching Shaw’s eye and breaking the team up.
Here are Shaw and Brittany to rip on Gunner and Christy Hemme, who never appreciated Shaw’s artistic genius. Neither of them can ever do the things that she can do, which include licking Shaw’s face. Cue Gunner to say Shaw turned on him for a girl. Crazy attracts crazy though and that’s another problem for Shaw. His biggest problem though is that Shaw wanted to be Gunner instead of just being like him. Gunner calls them creepy again and the fight is on. Brittany saves her new man by jumping on Gunner’s back, allowing Shaw to hit him low. Shaw puts on gloves and chokes Gunner out.
An Indian wrestler named Mahabali Shera is coming to TNA. We get a nice package on his international accomplishments and how sure he is that he belongs on the roster.
We recap the opening segment.
MVP tells Angle that this is all about him (MVP) despite what Angle thinks.
D-Von/Tommy Dreamer vs. Bram/Magnus
Time for the ECW tribute match of the week. The old guys jump the Brits from behind to start and take over early on. They get back to ringside for a baseball slide from Dreamer and a beer shot to Magnus’ head. Back in and Magnus hits D-Von in the knee with his metal rod as the weapons are brought in. Dreamer gets a flashback with a drop toehold onto the chair. A trashcan shot puts Dreamer down again and Bram adds a chair to the back.
The Brits backdrop Dreamer down but D-Von comes back with some chair shots of his own. We get the Tower of Doom out of the corner with Dreamer taking the worst of it but D-Von taking almost nothing at all. Magnus comes back with some kendo stick shots to Dreamer’s back. Tommy fights up and sends Magnus into a trashcan in the corner, setting up a DDT for the pin at 9:40.
Rating: D. GO AWAY TOMMY DREAMER! If you want to go to your “it’s not ECW!” ECW tribute promotion then fine, but stop bringing him around and having him beat World Champions. Dreamer stopped mattering years ago and has been doing a legends tour for what feels like forever. I used to like the guy but man alive how many times can he do the same thing?
Gail Kim wants her title back.
Here’s Spud for a chat. He doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him, even though he’s had to do some things that he isn’t proud of. When he won British Boot Camp, he had no friends and nothing to do in TNA. Then he became Dixie Carter’s Chief of Staff and he loved every bit of it.
He would have done anything for the Carters but then his best friend Ethan turned into a complete and utter wanker. Ethan said Spud’s suits make him sick but he isn’t changing for anyone, especially Ethan Carter III. Carter calls himself a 1%er, so Spud is Mr. 99% and has these people behind him. JB talks about Spud growing up on British Boot Camp and says he’s with Spud.
This brings out Ethan and Tyrus with Carter calling everyone in the crowd a loser. The villains get in the ring and Ethan demands an apology from Spud but the Rockstar says no. Tyrus grabs him from behind and Spud apologizes….for Ethan being so worthless. Ethan goes after JB for some reason and slaps him, only to have Spud get in some shots from behind. Eric Young runs in to save Spud from the double teaming.
Knockouts Title: Havok vs. Gail Kim
Gail is defending and has a bad shoulder. The brawl starts in the aisle with Gail getting in some shots, only to have Havok try to ram her shoulder first into the post. Gail comes back with some kicks but Havok just runs her over. The bell hasn’t rung yet as Gail is sent face first into the post. Havok drags her up the ramp and throws Gail off the stage. We get a maniacal laugh as medics check on Gail. No match.
Post break Gail says let’s fight.
Knockouts Title: Havok vs. Gail Kim
Havok sends her shoulder first into the buckle to start and slams Gail down on the arm. Gail’s rollup is blocked but she dropkicks Havok into the corner. They head outside with Havok missing a dive off the apron and landing on the steps. Havok comes right back by sending Kim face first into the steps but the champ breaks up the count at nine.
Back in and Gail hooks on something like the Black Widow, only to be countered into a kind of Samoan drop. Gail gets slammed down but pops back up for a top rope cross body and two more. Eat Defeat is countered into a spinebuster on the arm for another two. The chokeslam is countered into Eat Defeat for two but Gail jumps into the chokeslam to retain the title at 6:35.
Rating: C. The match wasn’t bad but I’m just not interested in Gail Kim anymore. There’s almost nothing left for her to do and it’s not interesting anymore. It didn’t help that the story was almost identical to what they did the first time. Havok is a good monster and whoever gets to slay her is going to be a big star.
Shera is at TNA when Manik comes up to him. Manik is very nice and asks to hear some more about Sheva. I’m not sure where this is going.
Lashley leaves as MVP asks if Lashley is really mad.
TNA World Title: Bobby Roode vs. MVP
Roode is defending of course. A quick suplex gets two on Roode and a clothesline sends him outside. Back in and the crowd is completely behind Roode, only to have MVP take him down with a facebuster. Ballin Elbow and a fisherman’s suplex get two and we hit a crossface chicken wing on the champion.
Bobby fights up and avoids the running boot in the corner, setting up a Roode Bomb attempt. MVP flips out though and avoids a Blockbuster before kicking Bobby in the face for two. The Drive By misses and Bobby gets two off a rollup. Now the running boot connects but the Playmaker is countered into the Roode Bomb for the pin at 6:55.
Rating: D+. Well that happened. This felt like a post show dark match instead of the TV main event with Roode beating him in a hurry and barely being in any real trouble. It’s clear that we’re going to get Lashley vs. Roode III eventually so this was little more than a pit stop for the champ.
Post match Lashley comes in and spears Roode down. He walks past MVP to end the show.
Overall Rating: C-. If TNA is about to wrap up, this is the perfect way to start going out: potential to be interesting but tripping up too many times on the way there. The wrestling wasn’t bad tonight, save for the stupid ECW match. That’s another thing TNA has done to death over the years: try to imitate some other company in hopes of generating nostalgia. It works for awhile, but then TNA just can’t let it go and be its own company. The show was good enough tonight but as usual lately, TNA seems to be content sticking with basics instead of trying to do anything special.
Results
Hardys b. Samoa Joe/Low Ki – Moonsault to Low Ki
D-Von/Tommy Dreamer b. Magnus/Bram – DDT to Magnus
Havok b. Gail Kim – Chokeslam
Bobby Roode b. MVP – Roode Bomb
Bound For Glory 2014: Some Thing Never Change
Bound For Glory 2014 Date: October 12, 2014
Location: Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz
Official subtitle: TNA sends its B team to Japan for a tape delayed Wrestle-1 show with matches first mentioned on TV four days ago that has nothing to do with current storylines that they have the nerve to ask you to pay $50 for while shouting about how this is all about giving the fans the best. FEEL THE ELECTRICITY! Let’s get to it.
The opening video talks about how this is a night unlike any other and how the biggest stars of both promotions are going at it. We also get a video on the Muta vs. Sanada feud.
The arena isn’t very big and only holds about 2,000 people.
JB welcomes us to the show and we’re ready to go.
Manik vs. Minoru Tanaka
It’s back in a four sided ring. Feeling out process to start until Tanaka scores with a nice dropkick. Manik comes right back by sending him out to the floor but misses a plancha. He goes under the ring though and sneaks up on Tanaka for a neckbreaker. A dropkick gets two for Manik and he cranks on the arm while holding a chinlock.
Tanaka gets suplexed down for two as Tenay talks about Manik being the youngest non-Japanese wrestler to ever perform in New Japan. There’s something close to a story here as Tanaka used to mentor Manik at the start of his career. Not that there’s any hostility or anything but they did know each other before this. A missile dropkick and knee drop get two for Tanaka but Manik dropkicks him back to the floor. Tanaka blocks another dive with a kick to the face and hits a middle rope moonsault to send Manik into the barricade.
Back in and Manik avoids a charge and hits another missile dropkick before throwing him into the air for a kick to the face. Tanaka gets his knees up to block a frog splash before yet another running dropkick sends Manik into the corner. A superplex into a hiptoss gets two on Manik as the fans are finally getting into this. They trade some nice rollups until Manik plants him with a brainbuster for another near fall. Manik gets the same off a gutbuster but walks into a kick to the head followed by a cross armbreaker for the submission at 9:57.
Rating: B-. This was actually a solid back and forth match but it sums up the problem with this entire show: I have no reason to care about these guys and the entire show is going to be based on the action. Something tells me the rest of the card isn’t going to be this solid, and this match wasn’t even all that great. Still though, good opener.
We’ll be looking at great moments in Team 3D’s history, starting with Slammiversary 2006 against Rick Steiner and Animal. They couldn’t even get one of the 3D vs. Steiners matches? We see the last three minutes or so.
Ethan Carter III talks about stabbing Spud in the heart with his words on Wednesday. Spud knew he was on borrowed time when he allowed Dixie to be sent through a table. Ethan has a replacement for Spud though and he’ll debut on Wednesday. He’s ready to start EC3 Year 2 with a win over a former sumo wrestler tonight.
We recap Ethan’s rookie year in TNA where he still hasn’t submitted or been pinned.
Ethan Carter III vs. Ryota Hama
Before the match Ethan is pleased with the respect the fans show him here. He speaks “Japanese”, meaning very slow English, talking about how he’s rich, undefeated and good. Carter talks about beating every TNA Hall of Famer at their own game so he’s going to slam Hama tonight. He says slam ham over and over again and declares himself huge in Japan.
Hama is disturbingly fat and dresses exactly like Rikishi. He powers Carter into the corner with ease of course so Carter bails to the floor. Tenay tries to give us a brief history of Japanese wrestling as Carter gets dropped with a shoulder block. Back in and Hama runs him over out of a sumo position but misses a big fat splash. Carter of course can’t slam him and a big elbow drop gets two. A running Umaga attack in the corner gets the same but Hama misses a seated senton. Carter still can’t slam him and Hama falls on top for two. We get the required Stink Face but Carter comes back with a 1%er for the pin at 6:00.
Rating: D. Remember when I said it wasn’t going to stay as good as the opener? I was correct earlier than I thought with this standard comedy match. Go back and watch any given Rikishi match and you’ve seen the same match you got here. Nothing to see here but at least Carter won.
Team 3D vs. Beer Money from Lockdown 2009.
MVP talks about how awesome the Japanese wrestlers are and how they put fear in the hearts of sports entertainers. He doesn’t know much about Sakamoto but the little bit he’s seen hasn’t impressed him. Tonight though, Sakamoto will be impressed.
MVP vs. Kazma Sakamoto
Remember Tensai’s worshipper? Well he returns here as a, ahem, star. MVP is the huge face here due to his time in New Japan. He takes Sakamoto down as Tenay recaps Sakamoto’s time in WWE. Sakamoto runs from MVP as we really haven’t had a ton of contact yet. MVP gets in a shot to knock Sakamoto out to the floor as Tenay’s history lessons continue.
Back in and MVP drops some knees on the face for two but Sakamoto comes back with uppercuts. A few kicks to the legs have MVP in trouble and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Sakamoto misses the Ballin Elbow and gets clotheslined in the corner. MVP nips up and hits the real Ballin Elbow followed by a fisherman’s suplex for two. Sakamoto misses a running knee and gets his leg kicked out, setting up a Shining Wizard for the pin at 8:02.
Rating: C-. Nothing special here as it was just a step above a squash for MVP. Sakamoto never posed a threat here and MVP was over like free beer in a frat house. This was another short match that didn’t mean anything and was there for the live crowd instead of the PPV crowd, but that’s the case for the entire card.
Samoa Joe talks about how awesome the X-Division is and how tough a night his opponents are in.
X-Division Title: Samoa Joe vs. Kaz Hayashi vs. Low Ki
Joe is defending. Hayashi is probably best known in America as a low level cruiserweight guy about fourteen years ago. Ki takes over to start but Joe crushes both guys in the corner and kicks Kaz in the head. There’s the chop to Hayashi’s back but he fires off right hands to the champ’s face and knocks Joe to the floor. The fans are behind Low Ki as he kicks both guys down and gets two on Joe. Both challengers head to the floor and get taken out by a big dive as we see the crowd sitting still yet chanting at the same time.
Back in and Low Ki chops at Joe but the champ busts out his powerbomb into the crab into the STF until Hayashi remembers he’s in this match and puts Joe in a Crossface without breaking the hold on Ki. Hayashi hits a kind of Zig Zag for two on Joe with Ki making the save. A quick Warrior’s Way gets two on Kaz and they head outside so Joe can nail a double dive. Back in and Kaz charges into a Rock Bottom out of the corner but Low Ki breaks up the MuscleBuster. That earns him a Koquina Clutch and Ki passes out to retain Joe’s title at 10:30.
Rating: C+. Not bad for the most part here but it didn’t mean anything for the most part. This was the same three way style match TNA has done a dozen times with Hayashi just being a warm body to fill out the match. The fact that the winner was already spoiled with the TV tapings didn’t help either.
Joe thanks the fans in Japanese and says they’re here to bring the world together for the fans. He is Samoa Joe and he is professional wrestling.
Another great Team 3D moment: putting Dixie through a table.
Dreamer says he’s going to do the hardcore thing one more time with Team 3D. He looks like he’s about to cry because that’s all Tommy Dreamer does anymore.
Jiro Kuroshio/Yusuke Kodama vs. Andy Wu/El Hijo del Pantera
Wrestle-1 match and I have no idea who any of these guys are. Wu, a guy that moves a lot, starts with Kuroshio and Andy ducks a kick to the face. Kuroshio wrestles in a jacket for some reason. Off to Kodama and Pantera for a gymnastics demonstration capped off by a hurricanrana from Pantera. An armdrag puts Kodama on the floor for a big flip dive from Pantera. Back in and Kuroshio slams Pantera down and adjusts his hair during the cover.
Kuroshio gets two more off a standing corkscrew moonsault but stops to check his hair. Back to Kodama for a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two on Pantera as this just keeps going. Pantera finally crawls over for the hot tag and Wu speeds things up a bit with flips. Kodama gets double teamed into a 619 for two from Pantera. Wu dives over the top onto Kuroshio and Kodama kicks Patnera in the face for two. Kuroshio hits a big flip dive to take out Wu and Kodama nails a corkscrew moonsault for the pin on Pantera at 9:20.
Rating: C+. Well that happened. I still have almost no idea who any of these people are and I have almost no reason to care about any of them but, Kuroshio does indeed wrestle in a jacket. It was your regular cruiserweight style tag match and odds are I won’t remember it in about fifteen minutes.
Video on Team 3D’s career and how much they deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.
We see Tommy Dreamer’s induction speech and, say it with me, he cries. Team 3D doesn’t have a ton to say here other than how hard they’ve worked to get here and how glad they are to be here. You would think they could at least throw on a suit though.
Team 3D vs. Tommy Dreamer/Abyss
No stipulations here for a change. I’m sure the rules will be enforced too. Dreamer has a headband on to pay homage to Terry Funk. Long intros fill even more time and the fans want tables. Ray speaks some Japanese and we get handshakes from everyone but Abyss. Dreamer and D-Von do some basic stuff to start before it’s off to Abyss and Ray. Tenay gets on my nerves even more by talking about the Full Metal Mayhem match from Impact. They slug it out very slowly until Ray nails a Rock Bottom.
Abyss pops up with a chokeslam but Ray pops up. Ray avoids a splash and D-Von comes in to clothesline Abyss out to the floor. The reverse 3D plants Dreamer as they’re still in about second gear. Dreamer takes What’s Up and it’s table time. The tables are much smaller here and we get the required ECW chant. The fight heads outside and Abyss rings the bell on Ray’s head. They fight around the arena and now it’s time for all of the weapons.
We get duels with chairs and kendo sticks but Dreamer DDTs Ray as Abyss chokeslams D-Von. Dreamer is thrown into a trashcan in the corner and the Black Hole Slam gets two on Ray. Abyss nails him in the ribs with a few chair shots but D-Von hits his spinebuster for two on Abyss. D-Von goes up to drive Abyss through a table, only to have Ray powerbomb Dreamer through it instead. Abyss busts out the tacks and walks into 3D onto said tacks for no cover. Dreamer brings in the cane and takes a 3D of his own for the pin at about 13:00.
Rating: D+. This show is getting old in a hurry. This was the same hardcore brawl we’ve seen a dozen times before with nothing new and no doubt as to who was going to win. Tenay mentioning the great Full Metal Mayhem match makes me want to just go find a copy of that match instead, which is a really bad sign for your biggest show of the year.
Post match Team 3D says they love Japan
Velvet says this is her first time in Japan (it isn’t even her first time this year) and says she isn’t afraid of Havok.
We recap Havok winning the Knockouts Title.
Knockouts Title: Havok vs. Velvet Sky
Velvet is challenging and is suddenly a face over here. Havok is from Defiance, Ohio. Velvet fires off kicks to start and hits a few middle rope ax handles. The champ comes back with shoulders in the corner and a backbreaker. Off to a bearhug followed by a slam but Velvet fights back with almost no effect. A headscissors puts Havok down and a middle rope cross body gets two. Not that it matters as Havok grabs another bearhug for the submission at 6:00.
Rating: C-. This actually wasn’t half bad with Velvet fighting instead of getting squashed. It still wasn’t any good but Havok is a good choice for a monster champion. Whoever eventually beats her is going to look like a big deal and that’s the whole point of building up a monster as champion.
James Storm is sitting in what looks like a temple, talking about cutting down Great Muta for the sake of the Revolution.
We recap Muta/Tajiri vs. Sanada/Storm. Muta mentored Sanada but Storm turned Sanada to the dark side. Tonight it’s about revenge. This is the only match that has gotten any sort of a build.
Great Sanada/James Storm vs. Tajiri/Great Muta
Storm gives a great speech about turning one of Japan’s own against them. That little bit of storyline actually felt really refreshing. Muta sprays mist to start and gets things going with Sanada. They fight over a leglock on the mat until Muta comes up and works on the arm. It’s back down to the mat and Sanada sprays Mist at Muta but only hits air. Off to Tajiri vs. Storm with James taking a bunch of kicks. Tajiri grabs the beard but it’s quickly back to Sanada, only to have him get low bridged out to the floor.
Sanada kicks Tajiri to the floor and then under the ring as things slow WAY down. Tajiri has taken mist off camera and is blinded back inside. Storm and Sanada start slowly double teaming as we’re waiting on the hot tag to Muta. A dropkick gets two for Sanada and we hit the nerve hold.
Back up and Sanada pulls out a white stick of some kind of nail Tajiri again. Tajiri comes right back with a kick and tags in Muta to clean house. Muta hammers on Sanada and drops an elbow for two, only to get caught in Closing Time. Storm drops a top rope elbow and Sanada’s moonsault gets two. Everything breaks down and Storm is backdropped to the floor. Tajiri superkicks Sanada down and it’s a double mist and the Shining Wizard to give Muta the pin at 10:50.
Rating: D+. I just sat through this whole show for an eleven minute main event. Storm not taking the pin is a good thing, but it’s not like this match means anything at the end of the day. However, there’s one thing that stands out above all this: at the end of the day, the two oldest guys on the show stood tall to end the show. Some things never change.
Storm chokes Muta with the bullrope so Team 3D makes the save to end the show. That would be four guys at least 41 years old ending the show.
Overall Rating: D+. Here’s the thing: the show itself was just ok. Some of the matches weren’t bad but for the most part it was just the same kind of matches we’ve seen in other forms dozens of times. It wasn’t a bad show or anything but it’s totally forgettable with nothing standing out as a great or even very good match. The opener is the best match and the X-Division Title match is good depending on your taste but I’ve seen it done too many times.
That brings us to the big problem: this is Bound For Glory, not some One Night Only show. The Global Impact Japan show was better than this with more title matches, two title changes and cost $15 compared to $50 for this one. The stalling was just pathetic and made me feel like I was watching a low rent show from a low rent promotion.
TNA rolled the dice here and I can get the idea behind it, but not for Bound For Glory or when TNA is in the spot they’re in. They don’t have another live event for three months and the only thing you hear about TV is “it’s coming”. This show might have helped set up stuff in Asia, but if there’s no product in America, there’s nothing to ship out to Asia. The problem is this show was all for the Japanese fans, and the last thing TNA should be doing right now is flipping off their loyal fans, which are the only things keeping them going. This was a bad idea but the intentions were good at least.
Results
Minoru Tanaka b. Manik – Cross armbreaker
Ethan Carter III b. Ryoto Hama – 1%er
MVP b. Kazma Sakamoto – Shining Wizard
Samoa Joe b. Low Ki and Kaz Hayashi – Koquina Clutch to Ki
Jiro Kuroshio/Yusuke Kodama b. El Hijo del Pantera/Andy Wu – Corkscrew moonsault to Pantera
Team 3D b. Abyss/Tommy Dreamer – 3D to Dreamer
Havok b. Velvet Sky – Bearhug
Great Muta/Tajiri b. Great Sanada/James Storm
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Today is a guy who has potential if he’s used right: Zema Ion.
Ion got his start back in 2004 but we’ll pick things up at the Super Indy VI tournament on May 11, 2007 with Ion wrestling under the name Shiima Xion.
Super Indy Quarterfinals: Ruckus vs. Shiima Xion
They trade wristlocks to start until Ruckus backflips into a headscissors. Ion comes right back with a hurricanrana and armdrag of his own to take over. Ruckus kicks him to the floor but gets slammed onto the concrete. Ion loads up another one but Ruckus slips down the back and posts Ion instead. Ruckus gets nailed in the face and nailed with a shooting star off the apron.
Back in and Ruckus flips a lot with a kick to the face getting two. He hooks Ion in a sunset flip but reaches down to grab Ion’s neck for kind of a reverse Crossface. Zema blocks a handspring elbow with a knee to the back but walks into a front flip neckbreaker. Ruckus misses a moonsault legdrop to give Ion two but a Fillipino Destroyer (a kind of reverse Dirty Deeds) for the pin.
Rating: D+. One guy did some moves, another guy did some moves, Ion beat him with a stupid looking move. This was the definition of the indy style that I really don’t care for: there’s no psychology or flow to the match and it’s just doing moves for the sake of doing moves. That gets old fast but thankfully it wasn’t that long of a match.
We’ll jump ahead to TNA now, starting with Destination X 2011.
Rating: B. Can’treallycomplainhereasthiswaswhattheX–Divisionwasbuilton. ThefansgottheirflipsandprobablythebestpossibleoutcomeherewithAriesarguablybeingthebestguyhere. I’dexpecttoseeallofthemagaininthefuturewhichisprobablythebestthing, especiallywithhowweakthedivisionhasbeenlately. Funmatch.
Ion would be back in TNA for Genesis 2012.
X-Division Title: Zema Ion vs. Kid Kash vs. Austin Aries vs. Jesse Sorensen
I didn’t know this but it’s elimination rules. The fans seem to like Jesse the most. Aries chills on the floor to start and Sorensen cleans house. A northern lights gets two on Ion and Aries comes in. This is one of those matches where there’s no point in trying to keep track of everything that’s going on. Kash and Aries are sent to the floor and after Ion is put up top it’s the Tower of Doom! That hasn’t been used in awhile.
Aries goes up top but Ion shoves him down to the floor onto Kash. Ion hits a big corkscrew plancha to the floor to take the two of them out. Sorensen of course follows in the customary series of dives. Still gets a great reaction from the crowd too. Jesse gets two on Aries back inside. Ion gets sent into the corner so Kash tries a superplex, but Aries is whipped into the corner to send Kash crashing. Ion stands up and hits the 450 on Kash to put him out first.
Aries busts out the 450 on Sorensen for just two. The fans are WAY behind Jesse here. Top rope cross body gets two on Aries. A suplex into a cutter kind of move gets the same as Ion breaks up the pin because he’s an idiot. Ion goes after Jesse but walks into a small package for the second elimination to get us down to one on one. Aries rolls up Sorensen but Ion has the referee.
Brainbuster is countered into the Game Changer (Test Drive into a DDT) but Ion’s distraction keeps it at just two. Aries breaks up something off the top but runs into a boot in the corner. Ion is ducked out of sight on the floor. Sorensen goes up but Ion crotches him, letting Aries dropkick him and a middle rope brainbuster keeps the title on Aries 10:59.
Rating: C+. I was really liking this until the ending. Sorensen has been built up for awhile now and the fans are clearly behind him, but they need to pull the trigger on him if they’re going to. Restocking the division is a good idea, but if all the guys keep losing it’s not really going to do them any good. The match was fun though and a high flying match to open the show is a tried and true idea.
Here’s a double shot at Destination X 2012.
X-Division Title Tournament Semi-Finals: Zema Ion vs. Flip Cassanova
Ion stares down Sorensen as he comes through the curtain. That could be an incredible moment when they have their match. Hopefully this match is short though as Cassanova was downright dangerous on Impact. Ion kicks him in the head to start and clotheslines Flip down. Ion misses a clothesline and Cassanova sends him to the floor, followed by a flip dive.
That gets Cassanova nowhere so Ion pounds him right back down. Cassanova gets sent to the floor for a baseball slide to send him down again. Back in and Flip kicks Ion down and hits a namesake moonsault for two. The flip dive that he won with on Impact misses here and Ion ends this with a modified Gory Bomb.
Rating: D+. This was just a step above a squash. Now hopefully we never see Cassanova and his dangerous self for a LONG time. He didn’t have the chance to screw much stuff here and for the sake of Ion, that’s a very good thing. Ion looked decent here, which is about how he’s looked the entire time he’s been around: not bad but nothing great.
And the second match that night.
X-Division Title: Mason Andrews vs. Kenny King vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Zema Ion
It’s Ultimate X and the title is vacant coming in. Ion puts in some hairspray and goes for a quick win, only to be brought down just as quickly. He runs to the corner but dives at the three guys instead. That goes just as badly as Ion dives into three dropkicks at the same time. Things start speeding up and Dutt is the only one left. He goes up but King breaks it up. Ion breaks up the breaking up and it’s Andrews vs. Ion at the moment.
King comes back in and counters an Andrews DDT by suplexing him into Ion who was in the Tree of Woe. King and Dutt slug it out on the apron and a cartwheel kick knocks Dutt to the floor. Kenny goes for the belt but Dutt takes him down with a springboard dropkick. Dutt fires off a standing shooting star but hits his arm on the rope in the process. Keep that in mind. Ion makes a run for the belt but Andrews and King make the save. The two saviors go to the corner and Andrews suplexes King down.
Dutt is being takes out of the match because of his arm/elbow/shoulder. Ion goes for the belt but gets brought down into an atomic drop from Andrews. King and Ion go to the floor with Andrews hitting a flip dive over the top to take both guys down. Andrews goes for the title but King hits a springboard spear to take him down in a good looking spot.
Here’s Dutt again, after having his arm/elbow/shoulder being popped back into place. King and Andrews go for the belt but they knock each other down. Ion and Dutt go up top onto the structure which makes my fear of heights cringe. They slug it out up there and slip down onto the cables, but Ion sprays Sonjay with the hairspray. That knocks Dutt down and Ion wins the title.
Rating: B-. This was pretty good and I can live with Ion as the champion. Unfortunately his main feud is going to be months away as Sorensen isn’t going to be ready for a long time. As for now that, he’s ok I guess but King probably would have been the best choice. Still though, decent match and a solid performance from Dutt as he worked through injury. That’s probably the first feud too, which should be good.
Time for a title defense at Hardcore Justice 2012.
X-Division Title: Kenny King vs. Zema Ion
King is challenging. Feeling out process to start with King finally taking over with a headlock. A backslide gets two as does La Majistral. Back to the headlock and then out to the floor with King hitting a sweet flip dive off the apron. They head back inside for a second but King is knocked back outside where the champ hits a flip dive of his own. Ion hits a neckbreaker for two and it’s off to a chinlock.
That only lasts a few seconds as Ion chokes instead. Now we get a longer lasting chinlock followed by a DDT for two. King comes back with an atomic drop and things speed up a bit. A high collar throw puts Ion into the corner and out to the floor. King hits a BIG corkscrew dive to the floor which gets two back in.
The modified F5 is broken up but King puts on a half crab of all things. A kick similar to Trouble in Paradise misses and a flipping backbreaker gets two for Ion. King hits a knee to the head for two and knocks the hairspray out of Ion’s hand. They head to the corner and King sets for some kind of sunset flip but gets countered into something like a shoulderbreaker for the pin by Ion to retain at 11:03.
Rating: D+. Ion is really freaking boring. At the end of the day all he has is big hair and that’s nothing interesting at all. I get that they want to wait on Sorensen to come back and take the title from him in a big moment, but do we have to sit through him as champion that long? Nothing to see here and Ion winning was a letdown as he was shown up in this match.
Here’s the opener from Bound For Glory 2012.
X-Division Title: Rob Van Dam vs. Zema Ion
Ion is defending and is obsessed with his hair. There’s no story here because there wasn’t time to get one together. Literally the Thursday before the show, Van Dam came out and said he was challenging for the title here. The fans are entirely behind Rob here as you would expect them to be. Feeling out process to start as Rob goes after Ion’s hair to take over. A few kicks to the face send Zema outside but he’s able to run away from Rob’s dive.
Back in and Rob ducks a clothesline but gets caught by a low dropkick. The ring is very loud here. Something like a Whisper in the Wind gets two for the champion but he gets crotched on the ropes and kicked back out to the floor. Rob takes a well deserved bow as this has been mostly one sided so far. The champ comes back in by diving through the ropes into a tornado DDT for a pair of near falls.
Rob gets shoved off the top and down onto the barricade, setting up a big flip dive from Ion. Zema throws him back in and blocks a monkey flip with a kind of hot shot. A missile dropkick gets two on Rob and the champion puts on an abdominal stretch to slow things down. That goes nowhere so they slug it out until Rob throws him into the air for a dropkick to the ribs. Rolling Thunder sets up the Five Star for the clean pin and the title.
Rating: C+. I liked this more than I thought I would with Ion being a perfectly adequate foil for the feel good title win. Rob broke a bit of a sweat here but there wasn’t a huge doubt as to who was winning. Ion had been champion for three months at this point and there wasn’t much else he could do with it so giving it to Rob to make him look like he still means something is a good idea.
Zema was in the Ultimate X match at X-Travaganza.
Zema Ion vs. Mason Andres vs. Rubix vs. Kenny King
In case you couldn’t tell, this is Ultimate X. Tenay says this is “just the 29th time we’ve unleashed Ultimate X.” Yep, just 29 in ten years. By comparison, there have been 14 TLC matches in 13 years. The idea here is there are two ropes crossing way above the ring, forming an X. At their intersection there’s a big red X and whoever pulls that down wins. You have to use the ropes above the ring to pull yourself to the X to pull it down as the ropes are about seven feet above the top ropes of the ring.
Everything breaks down to start with Ion being sent to the floor. Rubix and Andrews go at it with Rubix taking him to the mat with an armdrag. King takes Rubix down with a sidekick but Ion is back in to take Kenny down as well. Andrews and Ion head down to the floor with King hitting a spinning springboard legdrop on Rubix back inside. Everyone is on the floor now as Taz keeps up his stupid jokes by calling Rubix Rubic like the cube.
Andrews and Ion are back inside with Mason going up, only to be pulled back down by Zema. Rubix comes back in with a sweet dropkick to Ion, sending him out to the floor. Rubix drops a slingshot legdrop on Andrews but Mason comes right back and pounds away on Ion in the corner. Ion slams Rubix down off the top as the match slows down a lot. King goes after Rubix’s mask in the corner but Andrews suplexes him off the top to save Rubix’s identity (which would be Jigsaw from Chikara).
Andrews stops Rubix from going for the X as Taz keeps the stupid running joke going. King dives out onto Rubix so Andrews dives down onto King to take both guys down. Ion hits a BIG corkscrew dive off the top onto Andrews and King to a rather weak reaction from the crowd. Rubix climbs up the structure in the corner to dive onto all three guys before heading back inside to go after the X.
It’s Kenny making the save though by pulling Rubix down into the Royal Flush to send Rubix to the floor. Ion crotches King in the corner but Kenny sends Zema to the floor to break up a superplex. Andrews manages to pull King down but Ion stops him from climbing across. Rubix comes back in and hits a dropkick on Ion and a tornado DDT on Andrews at the same time. Everyone is in a corner now and it’s Andrews going up, only to be pulled down into a German suplex by Rubix.
Rubix goes to the corner, only to be shoved down by Ion. Rubix and King team up to stop Ion with Rubix sending Ion into the structure in the corner. A dropkick takes King down but Andrews drives a knee into Rubix’s head. Ion and Andrews go across the ropes and meet in the middle above the ring with Andrews pulling Ion down in a Downward Spiral. In an anti-climactic ending, Rubix goes up and pulls down the X….but apparently he has to touch the mat. King catches him on the way down and steals the X to win.
Rating: B-. This was fun but the highspots were kind of lacking. It’s definitely entertaining, but again this doesn’t really mean anything and it was pretty clear that King or Ion was going to get the win. King stealing it was a nice touch but this was lacking the huge death defying nature of most of the Ultimate X matches.
Here’s a triple threat match at Lockdown 2013.
X-Division Title: Kenny King vs. Christian York vs. Zema Ion
King is defending. York knocks the champion down to start before clotheslining Ion down as well. King goes to the floor to let the other guys fight, only to have York dive out onto him, ramming King into the barricade. Ion loads up a dive of his own but runs into a boot from York. King tries to use Ion’s body as a springboard but slips off and rams his head into the guardrail in a SCARY looking landing. Ion dives on both York and King anyway before heading back inside with York.
Thankfully King is still alive and comes back in to break up a York cover before pounding away on Christian in the corner. Ion is down on the floor as York chops away at King, only to be poked in the eye. Zema comes back in with a quick rana off the top rope for two on York. A moonsault gets the same result and Ion is frustrated.
York hits a quick legdrop on King for two but Ion baseball slides King to the floor. A slingshot into a DDT gets two on York for Ion as King gets back in. Ion is sent out to the entrance ramp where King drops a leg to keep him down. York pulls Ion back inside for two and all three men are back inside. King loads up a top rope fallaway slam on Ion, only to have York add a powerbomb to make it a Tower of Doom. Christian gets control by hammering away on all three guys, including a suplex on King for no cover.
The Mood Swing neckbreaker gets two on Ion for York and a Capo Kick sends King into the corner. In an interesting combo, York DDTs King as Ion neckbreakers York, with Zema getting two on both guys. York hits a top rope double stomp to Ion’s back and a corner roll at King. Kenny comes back with a kick to Ion’s head but York rolls through the Royal Flush for two. Not that it matters as another attempt at the Flush ends York to retain the title at 11:10.
Rating: C. This was good, but at the same time it came off much more like a collection of spots rather than a coherent match. I’m not wild on matches like that, especially when there are that many botches. The one with King at the beginning was scary with him slipping down and nearly breaking his neck in the process. That’s scary stuff.
We’ll jump ahead a bit to Ion cashing in his Feast or Fired briefcase for a shot at the X-Division title on Impact, February 6, 2014.
X-Division Title: Austin Aries vs. Zema Ion
Ion gets two early near falls before a baseball slide to the back puts Aries down again. Austin comes back with a chop but is sent into the barricade to put him down again. A slingshot DDT gets two on Aries but Ion misses a corkscrew moonsault, allowing Aries to hit a discus forearm and a release belly to back suplex. There’s the running corner dropkick and a brainbuster retains Aries’ title at 2:11.
Ion was in action at X-Travaganza II.
Ultimate X Qualifying Match: DJZ vs. Rashad Cameron
DJZ takes him into the corner but hides from the threat of a right hand. Cameron gains control and cranks on a headlock, causing DJZ to yell about Cameron touching his hair. Naturally Rashad pulls him down by the hair before putting on DJZ’s headset. He throws the headphones in the air for a distraction and chops DJZ down, only to have his dive attempt broken up. DJZ stomps in the corner and gets two off a flapjack.
We hit the chinlock and Tenay throws a big wrench into the whole concept of the night. Apparently these are NOT qualifying matches, at least not in the traditional sense. Only Cameron can qualify for whatever reason, meaning that if DJZ wins, both guys’ night is done. The idea is current X-Division guys vs. outsiders and only the outsiders can qualify. So if the TNA roster wins in a sweep, there’s no Ultimate X? How do they manage to screw up something this easy? Why do they need to make something this simple so complicated? Such is life in TNA.
Anyway, Cameron fights out of a chinlock but gets dropped ribs first onto the top rope. The fans chant DJ CHICKEN LEGS as DJZ misses a charge and falls out to the floor, setting up a big flip dive (Tenay’s words) to take DJZ down again. Back in and a high cross body and hurricanrana get two each for Cameron. With DJZ hunched over, Cameron jumps backwards from the middle rope into a cutter. I’ve never liked that move. Cameron misses a top rope splash but comes back with a small package for the pin.
Rating: C. The match wasn’t bad but DJZ really doesn’t do anything for me in the ring. The story here though was how hard my mind was blown by the stipulations. Insiders vs. outsiders is a fine idea, but why in the world would you not just let the winners into Ultimate X? I don’t see the benefit of having the active roster guys get nothing for a win, but to be fair there’s a lot of stuff about TNA I don’t get.
Slammiversary 2014 was held in Dallas so it’s time for some Von Erichs.
Bro Mans vs. Ross Von Erich/Marshall Von Erich
Marshall wrestles barefoot like Kevin did. This is DJZ and Jesse for the team tonight. Marshall cleans house on DJZ to start but can’t hook the Claw. A powerslam puts DJZ back down and it’s off to the older Ross for some dropkicks. Jesse breaks up something off the top rope and DJZ hits a nice flip dive to take Ross down on the ramp.
Back in and Jesse nails a dropkick bur Ross avoids a second one and makes the hot tag to Marshall. Everything breaks down and Ross hits a missile dropkick to put both guys down. Jesse brings in a chair but gets it dropkicked into his face, setting up a series of basic double team moves from the brothers. Not that it matters as DJZ brings in the chair for the DQ at 5:07.
Rating: D+. Well that was a waste of pay per view time. The Von Erichs looked ok at best but it’s clear that they need ring time more than anything else. They didn’t know how to finish a match yet and it looked like they needed to get through a bunch of spots instead of bringing the match to a close. Not terrible, but the ending really didn’t work for me.
One more messy X-Divison match on Impact, September 3, 2014.
Homicide vs. DJZ vs. Craazy Steve vs. Low Ki vs. Manik vs. Tigre Uno
Winner gets an X-Division Title shot at some point in the future and this is one fall to a finish. Low Ki hammers on Tigre to start before hitting a kind of spinebuster for two. A fisherman’s suplex gets the same with all four other guys making the save. Off to Manik vs.Homicide with the masked man being sent into the ropes for a tag to DJZ.
Steve comes in with a sunset flip for two on DJZ before everything breaks down. DJZ and Steve are sent to the floor with Low Ki and Tigre being backdropped after them. Manik and Homicide trade some suplex attempts until Manik jumps into a cutter. The Gringo Killa gives Homicide the title shot at 4:32.
Rating: D+. Well that happened. There’s no story, there’s no psychology, there’s absolutely nothing we haven’t seen before. This division is such a disaster at this point as it’s back to the old habit of some big multiman match to set up a one off title shot and then do it all over again. That gets really old really fast and we reached that point a long time ago.
Ion doesn’t do much for me. He’s a guy that’s just kind of there with all of his flips and stereotypical X-Division style and that gets old after awhile. I like him FAR better as the annoying DJZ but the in ring work just isn’t there. He’s much better suited for an indy company that a big one like TNA, but the DJZ character works fine.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Impact Wrestling – September 24, 2014: Fill Em Out If You Got Em Boys. We Got A Tournament!
Impact Wrestling Date: September 24, 2014
Location: Manhattan Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Tazz
We’re wrapping up the summer in New York and three shows left before Bound For Glory. The interesting thing for tonight is a tournament for a future title shot which may or may not be at the biggest show of the year. Granted at this point it looks like that’s Lockdown anymore as Bound For Glory is shaping up as another One Night Only level show. Let’s get to it.
We open with a video on Roode vs. Lashley from last week where Bobby almost won the title.
JB explains the tournament concept: five qualifying matches with the winners facing each other in a five way later tonight. The winner can challenge for any match they choose and the matches are surprises. This would fit better if they all hadn’t been announced on TNA’s website. MVP, Magnus, Austin Aries, Abyss and Robbie E. will all have qualifying matches.
Video on MVP.
Gold Rush Tournament Qualifying Match: MVP vs. Low Ki
Low Ki gets a video as well, talking about wanting to push the roster over the years. Feeling out process to start with MVP shoving Low Ki into the corner. He rams Ki into the buckle but gets kicked hard in the chest to send MVP across the ring. A slam out of the corner gets two for MVP but Ki fires off some chops and kicks to the chest. MVP opens up his vest and says hit me harder so Ki snaps off one of the hardest chops I’ve ever seen. MVP comes back with a knee to the ribs and a kick to the face to send Low Ki out to the floor. We actually get a plancha to take Low Ki before going to a break.
Back with MVP still in control with a facebuster and the Ballin Elbow. Low Ki gets back up and is thrown into the air, only to land in a standing position on MVP’s shoulders and jump forward to dropkick MVP in the back. Awesome looking move. A kick to the head gets two on MVP before Ki sends him outside for a big springboard dive. Back in and Ki tries a cartwheel kick but MVP takes out his leg. The Drive By is enough to send MVP to the finals at 13:05.
Rating: C+. This was a stiffer match than usual with both guys hammering on each other. Ki looked good with that spot of landing on MVP’s shoulders looking incredible. MVP needed a big win as he’s almost only been a talker for the last few months with only a handful of matches here and there.
The BroMans argue over whose girlfriend is hotter. They agree to disagree but Robbie brags about being in the tournament and then being on Amazing Race with Brooke starting this Sunday. He plans on switching between both girls but Jesse points out that cameras will be everywhere. Like the one filming them right now. They point out said camera and Robbie runs. This was actually kind of funny.
Quick tribute to Eric the Actor from the Howard Stern Show, a big wrestling fan who passed away over the weekend.
Video on the Tag Team Title series. The Wolves will pick the final stipulation next week.
Robbie E. comes out for his match and says he’s a huge star all around the world.
Gold Rush Tournament Qualifying Match: Robbie E. vs. Tajiri
The fans chant WELCOME BACK to Tajiri, suggesting that this was taped out of order with other shows. A big kick sends Robbie out to the floor but he sends Tajiri’s ribs into the apron. Back in and we hit the chinlock for a bit before Tajiri pops up with his namesake handspring elbow for two. There’s the Tarantula but the Buzzsaw Kick misses. Robbie gets two off an implant DDT but the referee gets bumped, allowing Tajiri to blow the mist and hit the Buzzsaw to advance at 3:40.
Rating: D+. I’m a fan of Tajiri’s and he’s about the same guy he was back in ECW at this point. That’s very impressive given that he’s in his 40s now and still goes just as well. He’s a guy like Rhino where you know what you’re getting and he doesn’t shift from that, but he can still make it work.
Spud insists there are no problems with he and Ethan Carter III and takes a call from him. The funny bit here: he shows the phone and it says “EC3 – BEST FRIEND”. After a break he’s still on the phone and tries to stand up to Ethan but gets talked down. Much like Robbie, he runs when he sees a camera on him.
Gold Rush Tournament Qualifying Match: Austin Aries vs. Knux
The fans are entirely behind Aries who tries a test of strength for some reason. Aries rolls away so Knux does a handstand, only to have Aries spin around. Taz changes the story again by saying Rebel and Knux are dating, even though I thought they were brother and sister before. Knux gets taken down by a wristlock so he nips up to a huge response. Knux takes a bow so Aries tries a brainbuster to stop the fun. The big guy shoves him off so Aries dropkicks the knee out and takes over in the corner.
Aries knocks him to the floor but Knux blocks the suicide dive with a big boot. Back in and Aries fires off more kicks to the leg to send Knux outside again. The suicide dive connects, but it’s with the Freak and Craazy Steve instead of Knux. Back in again with Knux getting two off a huge side slam. The Sky High is countered with a hurricanrana and Aries nails the corner dropkick. Knux is too big for the brainbuster so Austin hits some discus forearms and another corner dropkick before getting the big man up for the brainbuster and the pin at 7:04.
Rating: C. I liked this match better than I was expecting to but the Menagerie makes me smile most of the time. Knux is a talented guy but he can only go so far as the leader of a failing carnival. To be fair though it’s very nice to look at Rebel….who may or may not be his sister and/or girlfriend depending on what week it is.
Video on Roode vs. Lashley from last week.
Gold Rush Tournament Qualifying Match: Mr. Anderson vs. Magnus
Magnus jumps him to start and slams him face first into the mat for some early two counts. We hit the chinlock for a bit before a clothesline gets two on Anderson. Back up and a double clothesline puts both guys down before Anderson wins a slugout. Magnus grabs a belly to back suplex into a slam for a close two. He loads it up again but Anderson reverses into the Mic Check for the pin at 6:50.
Rating: D. Really basic match here until the last 45 seconds or so. These guys are the low level main event wrestlers in TNA right now as they’re both former World Champions but neither guy has anything going for him. The match wasn’t terrible but it really didn’t feel like they had any interest in trying out there.
Quick video on set of the Knockouts calendar shoot.
Video on Team 3D going into the Hall of Fame.
We recap the tournament so far.
Video on Gail Kim vs. Havok for next week. This is designed to make Havok look like a monster.
Gold Rush Tournament Qualifying Match: Abyss vs. Samuel Shaw
The fans chant “Dexter Morgan” at Shaw. Abyss knocks him down and grabs a chokeslam but Shaw kicks him in the ribs to escape. Instead Abyss grabs him by the throat again and shoves him out to the floor in a big crash. Shaw fights back on the floor and rams Abyss into the steps.
He goes after Abyss’ arm in what is called a smart move by ramming it into various objects. This idea works in theory, but it would make more sense to go after the arm Abyss uses for his big moves. To be fair though, Shaw is a bit out there. Shockingly enough, Abyss makes a comeback using moves with his strong arm, including a chokeslam to put Shaw on the floor. Shaw grabs a chair and blasts Abyss in the head, which Hebner somehow doesn’t see. Back in and the Black Hole Slam ends Shaw at 6:35.
Rating: D+. Well now that that formality is out of the way, let’s get on with the main event. This was the usual tournament match where a big name beats up someone that has no chance of beating them. At least they kept it short as there’s no real reason to sit through a long match which isn’t very good and has no surprise to it.
Gold Rush Tournament Finals: Austin Aries vs. Abyss vs. Tajiri vs. MVP vs. Mr. Anderson
Winner gets a shot at any title at anytime and it’s one fall to a finish. MVP stays in the ring while everyone else brawls on the floor but Abyss will have none of that. Instead MVP bails to the corner so Abyss can beat up Anderson to start. It’s off to Tajiri who wins a kickoff with Anderson before missing a charge into the corner. Anderson misses a charge of his own and hits the post, giving Tajiri a rollup for two. Aries comes in and grabs on Tajiri’s head but Taijri scores with the handspring elbow for two.
Back with Aries countering the Tarantula but getting kneed in the back to block the suicide dive. Anderson comes in for the rolling fireman’s carry for two but it’s off to Abyss. Aries escapes the chokeslam and slaps MVP for a tag. MVP doesn’t want to come in so Aries catapults him in over the top but MVP tags out to Tajiri.
Abyss brings in Anderson who is quickly caught in the Tarantula. Mr. slams Tajiri down off the top but MVP tags himself in. Anderson looks right at him before MVP hits the Drive By for two as Aries makes the save. Everything breaks down and MVP loads up the Drive By on Aries, only to get rolled up for the pin at 15:12.
Rating: C. The match was ok but we’ve seen all these guys once tonight so this was kind of repetitive. Aries winning is the best option, even though we’ve seen him vs. Lashley before. I can’t imagine he’d pick Joe, even though it would be an entertaining match. This wasn’t bad but it didn’t work all that well.
Overall Rating: D+. Well that was different. This was literally a one idea show and they’re already recycling challengers for the World Title. You have to assume it’s the World Title, but there was that one time when Kaval went after the Intercontinental Title instead of the World Title like a sane person. It’s now clear that Bound For Glory isn’t going to be an important show this year, which is a shame given that they usually do something big with it. Then again TNA needs to worry about staying alive at this point and how would the biggest show of the year help them do that?
The wrestling wasn’t great tonight and I’m not a fan of one concept shows. This felt much more like a One Night Only and that’s not something you want to do. TNA survives off Impact anymore and now they’re going with that one idea formula which has worked SO well before. Nothing much to see here and it could have been spread out over a few weeks to set up some other stuff.
Results
MVP b. Low Ki – Drive By
Tajiri b. Robbie E. – Buzzsaw Kick
Austin Aries b. Knux – Brainbuster
Mr. Anderson b. Magnus – Mic Check
Abyss b. Samuel Shaw – Black Hole Slam
Austin Aries b. Abyss, Mr. Anderson, MVP and Tajiri – Rollup to MVP
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TNA One Night Only – X-Travaganza II: Time For A History Lesson
X-Travaganza II
Date: August 1, 2014
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 1,400
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Jeremy Borash
It’s another One Night Only show with a look at the X-Division again. The first show was the first entry in the series and is still one of the better shows produced. The idea here is a series of singles matches with the winners going to an Ultimate X match at the end of the show. There’s actually a prize for the winner that matters too, as the Ultimate X winner gets an X-Division Title shot at some point in the future. Let’s get to it.
We open with the usual package from the show we’re about to see.
Low Ki talks about how his martial arts skills will help him win.
Video on Chris Sabin with nothing being said.
Ultimate X Qualifying Match: Low Ki vs. Chris Sabin
Sabin hides in the corner to start and then heads outside. Back in and Sabin takes over for a bit but stops to pose on the ropes. Low Ki chops Sabin out to the floor before chopping him in the corner back inside. Sabin finally comes back and drops Low Ki ribs first across the top rope. Off to an abdominal stretch on Ki’s weakened ribs followed by a running knee to the same target.
Sabin hooks a bodyscissors before putting Ki in the Tree of Woe and nailing a baseball slide for two. Ki comes back with a kick to the chest for two of his own and a springboard kick to the head gets the same. After doing nothing on the floor, Ki takes him back inside but Sabin drives him into the corner to counter the Ki Crusher. The second attempt works far better though and is good for the pin on Chris.
Rating: C-. I liked this better than I expected to but I still don’t care for Low Ki all that much. The guy just doesn’t do it for me with all those kicks. It was clear that Sabin was going through the motions and didn’t have a ton of interest in having a good match. That’s not the best way to go out, but man alive how was he World Champion a year ago?
We’re getting a list of Top X-Division Moments throughout the night, including all of Destination X 2011.
Austin Aries says he isn’t a sucker and is ready for his 2/3 falls match tonight against Sanada. He isn’t going to complain about cutting his foot on a shell at the beach, or being car lagged from driving up from his house, or being blinded by Sanada’s shiny clothes. Aries promises to take the title back tonight.
Ultimate X Qualifying Match: DJZ vs. Rashad Cameron
DJZ takes him into the corner but hides from the threat of a right hand. Cameron gains control and cranks on a headlock, causing DJZ to yell about Cameron touching his hair. Naturally Rashad pulls him down by the hair before putting on DJZ’s headset. He throws the headphones in the air for a distraction and chops DJZ down, only to have his dive attempt broken up. DJZ stomps in the corner and gets two off a flapjack.
We hit the chinlock and Tenay throws a big wrench into the whole concept of the night. Apparently these are NOT qualifying matches, at least not in the traditional sense. Only Cameron can qualify for whatever reason, meaning that if DJZ wins, both guys’ night is done. The idea is current X-Division guys vs. outsiders and only the outsiders can qualify. So if the TNA roster wins in a sweep, there’s no Ultimate X? How do they manage to screw up something this easy? Why do they need to make something this simple so complicated? Such is life in TNA.
Anyway, Cameron fights out of a chinlock but gets dropped ribs first onto the top rope. The fans chant DJ CHICKEN LEGS as DJZ misses a charge and falls out to the floor, setting up a big flip dive (Tenay’s words) to take DJZ down again. Back in and a high cross body and hurricanrana get two each for Cameron. With DJZ hunched over, Cameron jumps backwards from the middle rope into a cutter. I’ve never liked that move. Cameron misses a top rope splash but comes back with a small package for the pin.
Rating: C. The match wasn’t bad but DJZ really doesn’t do anything for me in the ring. The story here though was how hard my mind was blown by the stipulations. Insiders vs. outsiders is a fine idea, but why in the world would you not just let the winners into Ultimate X? I don’t see the benefit of having the active roster guys get nothing for a win, but to be fair there’s a lot of stuff about TNA I don’t get.
Video on Sanada which we’ve seen a few dozen times.
Ultimate X Qualifying Match: Rubix vs. Kenny King
Only Rubix can qualify. They circle each other for awhile until King takes him into the corner (popular opener tonight) for some knees to the ribs. Rubix comes back with AJ Lee’s Black Widow before nailing a dropkick to send King outside. King avoids a dive and nails a quick suplex to take over. Back in and King hits a running elbow in the corner and slaps on a chinlock.
It doesn’t last long, much like everything else tonight, allowing Rubix to nail a quick hurricanrana to send both guys back to the floor. Back in again and Rubix scores with a missile dropkick, only to get caught in a German suplex for two. Rubix hits another kick but charges into the Royal Flush for the pin.
Rating: C-. This wasn’t bad but it’s the same going through the motions that all three matches have done so far. Rubix is a guy I’ve enjoyed in the few matches he’s been in around here, but he doesn’t seem like someone that’s going to be around long term. I still don’t get why neither of these guys is going to Ultimate X either. King gets bragging rights, which he really shouldn’t be pleased with.
Highlight reel of big moves in X-Division.
Sonjay Dutt promises to get another shot at the X-Division Title tonight. Spud comes in and says it’s his night instead. Ethan Carter comes in and makes a match between them. Spud and Dutt leave and Ethan says he’s won almost all his matches, making all of them five star quality. Therefore, he’s going to put up $25,000 of his own money for a ladder match tonight.
Ace Vedder (Trent Barreta) is going to prove himself.
TJ Perkins, the man under Manik’s mask, talks about being homeless to follow his dreams.
Ultimate X Qualifying Match: Ace Vedder vs. Manik
Only Vedder can qualify. Tenay acknowledges that both guys used to wrestle under different names. I get the idea with Manik but I don’t get why Vedder changed from Greg Marasciulo. They start fast for a change with Manik putting on AJ Lee’s Black Widow. Quick pause for a history lesson here.
Back in the USWA, Dutch Mantell gave a rookie named Steve Austin a great wrestling lesson: he handed him a chair and said sit in the back and watch every single match all night long. Austin did just that and started to catch onto something: if you watch a match, you know what’s been seen that night. For example, if everyone had been working an arm that night, he would work a leg or a lower back. Why would he do that? Because the fans aren’t going to cheer as hard if they saw the same thing twenty minutes earlier.
This is the second person to use a unique submission move in two straight matches. Yeah that might be a move Manik likes to use and it does look cool, but when we just saw Rubix use it, I don’t want to see it again. You hear about wrestlers today playing video games or something like that during the show until their match is up and this is what happens as a result.
Remember what I said about taking someone into the corner being a popular way to start a match? It’s the same idea. There are dozens of ways to start a match, and any competent wrestler should be able to use a ton of them. However, if no one is paying attention, there’s a good chance they’ll repeat stuff and the fans are going to get bored. That’s not what a wrestler is paid for and it’s a problem that happens WAY too often in wrestling today.
Anyway, Vedder escapes the hold and puts on an armbar before kicking Manik in the ribs. Manik rolls out of the armbar and hooks a hurricanrana before doing the Ultimo Dragon handstand in the corner. They head outside and Manik sends him face first into the apron and nails a dive from the ring. Ace heads back inside and nails a dive of his own before running Manik over with an elbow for two.
Manik does his hanging in the ropes spot before avoiding a charge to send Ace back out to the floor. A slingshot dropkick drops Vedder and a missile dropkick back inside has him in big trouble. The fans are bordering on dead for this. Manik suplexes him down but takes too much time going up and gets slammed down. Ace’s tornado DDT gets two and Manik’s lifting powerbomb gets the same. Manik misses a top rope splash and Vedder hits a running boot to the back of the head for the pin.
Rating: C-. The match wasn’t bad but this show is dragging worse than a trailer with no wheels. There’s no reason to care about most of these guys as these are one off matches with no stories behind them. I have no reason to care about any of these matches because there’s almost no character to any of these guys coming in and the old guys have nothing to gain by winning. These kind of shows can work with good matches but this is almost all mediocre, making it hard to sit through.
Bad Influence says they’re awesome and will win the $25,000 in a ladder match against the Wolves. Ok there’s no way that won’t be awesome.
Video on Sonjay Dutt.
Ultimate X Qualifying Match: Sonjay Dutt vs. Rockstar Spud
Only Dutt can qualify. They finally lock up after a minute with Dutt flipping around a lot to counter a wristlock. Spud crawls around on his knees as Tenay compares Dutt to the Chicago Cubs. Sonjay whips him into the corner, does a Bushwhacker march for some reason, and nails a running clothesline. A standing moonsault gets two on Spud but he breaks up a springboard dive to take over.
Spud misses a top rope legdrop but keeps hammering away and puts on a neck crank. The Rockstar goes up again but misses a splash. Dutt nails a Downward Spiral into the middle buckle for two, followed by a middle rope missile dropkick for the same. Spud comes back with a slam and goes up a third time. It’s a missed elbow on this attempt and the moonsault double foot stomp gets the pin for Dutt.
Rating: D. See, Spud’s comedy only works when someone else in the match is bouncing off of him. In this case, Dutt was wrestling the match straight, making Spud look like an unfunny dolt who had no business being in the ring. In other words, he looked like himself. The match was dull and this formula really needs a break.
Video on Ultimate X from Victory Road 2008.
Petey Williams is back for one night only and declares tonight old school.
Video on Tigre Uno.
Video on Petey Williams, focusing on the Canadian Destroyer.
Ultimate X Qualifying Match: Petey Williams vs. Tigre Uno
Only Williams can qualify. They trade arm work to start (of course) before Petey drives him into the corner. A bouncing hurricanrana takes Williams out to the floor and a big corkscrew dive puts him down again. Back in and Petey puts on a half crab before changing over to a Crossface and then the Rings of Saturn. That goes nowhere so Williams puts him in the Tree of Woe and stands on Tigre’s crotch to sing O Canada.
Tigre comes back with an enziguri, counters a German suplex and nails another enziguri for good measure. In a quick ending, Tigre goes up and tries what looks to be a seated senton splash but it turns into a low blow for the pin. Petey pops up and seems surprised by the ending and doesn’t sell the move.
Rating: D. You bring Petey Williams back and he doesn’t even try the one move that people remember him for? Tigre Uno is one of the few guys in the X-Division that can actually do anything and he gets to beat a single guy and then go home for the night? This concept continues to make less and less sense every match.
Rashad Cameron says he’s the best and won’t stop until he has the title. Simple but not terrible promo here.
Another video on an Ultimate X match from 2003.
Here’s Ethan Carter III to introduce the ladder match. He talks about how it’s been all flips and kicks and dives tonight, but now it’s going to be kicks and flips and dives with LADDERS. Ethan goes on about how you can’t grab the brass ring because it’s on his finger as this is clearly filling time.
Bad Influence vs. Wolves
Ladder match for $25,000 and this HAS to be more interesting. It’s a brawl to start with the Wolves easily getting the better of it. The villains come back and send the Wolves into the barricade as they start isolating Richards in a sound strategy. Bad Influence tries to bring in a ladder but are forced to drop it to avoid a double baseball slide. Back in and the Wolves take over on Kaz before dropping Daniels ribs first onto the steps.
Kaz gets back up and grabs a ladder but gets in a tug of war with Davey. Eddie comes over and helps by pulling the ladder, and Kaz, into the post. Back in again and the Wolves hammer away on Daniels in the corner before throwing him out onto Kaz. Instead of climbing though, the Wolves try a double suicide dive but Bad Influence gets up a ladder for a block.
Two more ladders are brought inside and all four guys climb as fast as they can. That only lasts a few seconds as everyone is rammed into the steel and come down in a bunch of heaps. Daniels throws out a ladder and Kaz drops another on the mat. Daniels suplexes Kaz onto Eddie onto the ladder before Daniels drops a leg of his own. Davey stops a Kaz climb and runs him over with a ladder.
The ladder is wrapped around Bad Influence’s heads and kicked very hard in a spot that wasn’t as impressive as it should have been. Both Wolves try to climb but Daniels and Kaz are right back up for the save. Kaz kicks both of them into the ladder in the corner so Bad Influence can climb, only to get shoved down onto the ropes. Richards goes up top but gets kicked in the head. An attempt at a top rope Angel’s Wings is countered and Daniels lands hard on the ladder. Davey nails a top rope double stomp onto Daniels onto the ladder. There’s the powerbomb/Backstabber combo to Kaz, allowing Eddie to climb up for the win.
Rating: B. That might be a bit high but this was so different than everything else I’ve had to sit through tonight that it was much more entertaining. These are teams that know how to entertain a crowd and that’s exactly what we got for about sixteen minutes. They didn’t do anything unique or special but there’s nothing wrong with using spots that have been done before as long as they haven’t been seen in awhile.
Ethan comes out to congratulate them and start a Wolves chant but takes the check back. The Wolves kick him in the head and take the check.
We recap Sanada taking the X-Division Title from Austin Aries at the last One Night Only in Japan. This is the first time they’ve brought these things up from a previous show and it’s a nice change of pace.
X-Division Title: Sanada vs. Austin Aries
Sanada is defending and this is 2/3 falls. Aries starts in a crane position and they hit the mat for an early standoff. Sanada spins out of a wristlock into one of his own before they head back to the mat. The champion avoids a basement dropkick and Aries is getting frustrated. They run the ropes and this time it’s Sanada missing a dropkick, allowing Aries to lounge on the top rope. Another lockup goes to the champion as he pulls Aries down into a rolling cradle for two.
Sanada heads to the apron and they fight over a suplex, only to have Aries snap his throat across the top rope to put the champion on the floor. The suicide dive is blocked by a forearm (looked more like Aries tripped) and Sanada’s moonsault gives him the first fall in about five and a half minutes.
After a quick rest period, Sanada tries another moonsault to start the second fall (why he didn’t cover when Aries seemed to be unconscious isn’t clear) but gets shoved off the top and into the barricade. A neckbreaker onto the middle rope sends Sanada back to the floor but he beats the count at nine. Aries hits a middle rope dropkick to the back for two and the frustration is setting in.
Off to a figure four stump puller of all things on Sanada. After he drops back for a two count, Aries takes Sanada into the corner but the champion just unloads on him with forearms. Sanada loads up a springboard but gets knocked into the barricade to put him in trouble again. Aries nails a top rope ax handle to the floor but Sanada beats the count back in again.
With nothing else working, Aries tries a moonsault (looked good too) but only hits the mat. The champion gets a breather and comes back with a springboard chop to the head to put both guys down. Aries hits a quick knee crusher and a belly to back suplex followed by the running dropkick in the corner. Austin is all ticked off and loads up the brainbuster, only to have Sanada counter into a bridging rollup for the pin to retain.
Rating: B. I was really getting into this one at the end but the 2/3 falls stipulation caused some issues here. Aries not being able to pin Sanada was a great story as his mastery kept being one upped every time, but throwing everything at him just to get a single fall didn’t work. Still though, VERY good match here with an excellent story being told.
Video on the history of Ultimate X. This one is more in depth and has people talking about how dangerous but amazing the match is.
Low Ki says he’s done everything he wanted to do but when he comes back to TNA, he feels that desire to win one more match.
Ace Vedder talks about not being scared of anyone in the match.
Sonja Dutt calls himself an OG of the X-Division.
We recap how all four guys got to Ultimate X.
Rashad Cameron vs. Low Ki vs. Ace Vedder vs. Sonjay Dutt
The winner gets a future X-Division Title shot. In case you’ve never heard of Ultimate X, there will be a metal tower at each corner of the ring. Two red cables cross the ring and a big red X hangs at their intersection. You have to climb the towers and use the ropes to get to the X in the middle. The first person to pull it down is the winner. It’s one of TNA’s signature matches but isn’t used as much as it used to be.
We have Cameron vs. Dutt in the ring and Ki vs. Vedder on the floor to start. The pairings switch places and Ki crotches Vedder in the corner before pulling him down into a dragon sleeper while in the Tree of Woe. Dutt tries to climb but Cameron gets up for a save. That’s fine with Dutt as he knocks Cameron off the ropes and down onto the floor in a big crash. Ki and Dutt fight in the corner before having to work together to dropkick Cameron off the ropes and down to the mat.
Everyone is down until it’s Vedder chopping it out with Sonjay. Ki is thrown to the floor as Sonjay superkicks Ace down. Back in and Low Ki goes up, only to have Cameron climb after him. Vedder will have none of that and superplexes Cameron down to the mat. All four are down again with each guy in a corner. Dutt kicks Ki in the back of the head and Cameron hits a kind of reverse hurricanrana to drop Vedder. Dutt stops Low Ki from going for the X but gets sent outside by Cameron.
Now it’s Ki dropkicking Cameron out to the floor but a standing sliced bread #2 from Dutt drops Ki. Sonjay goes to the floor and climbs the tower instead of the buckle, only to climb above the ropes. Vedder goes up on the opposite side and this is rather terrifying. They chop it out as the structure is shaking. Sonjay actually puts on a camel clutch before sliding through one of the holes in the structure to stop Cameron. He takes too long though, allowing Low Ki to sneak in behind them and pull down the X for the win.
Rating: B-. Good match but as someone terrified of heights, that stuff at the end with Vedder and Dutt was nerve racking. They did some good high spots but nothing that hadn’t been done before. I was hoping for more from Cameron and Vedder, but Dutt and Ki were the most popular guys in the match and had to be the guys to take it.
As a total sidebar that I can’t imagine was intentional, Low Ki was tipped off as the winner for a reason that has nothing to do with the match. Ki was the odds on favorite for one reason: he was the first man introduced in the competition. Here’s the problem with One Night Only competitions: outside of bracketed tournaments, someone in the opening match has advanced to the finals and won the competition all but one time. James Storm did it at Joker’s Wild I, Gail Kim did it at Knockouts Knockdown, and now this. The lone exception was Joker’s Wild II with Ethan Carter III.
Overall Rating: C-. I’d be hard pressed to come up with a show where the last hour bailed out the first hour and forty minutes more than this one. The worst part of this is that the first six matches weren’t all that bad, but having them back to back had me begging for this show to be over. They needed to mix up the big matches with the qualifying matches to give us a break. Either that or have four qualifying matches and cut out the whole insiders vs. outsiders thing which didn’t need to happen. It’s not a terrible show but it’s very hard to get to the good parts.
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Impact Wrestling – August 14, 2014: Uh…..What Do We Do Now?
Impact Wrestling
Date: August 14, 2014
Location: Manhattan Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz
It’s kind of a new era in TNA as Dixie Carter, at least in theory, is off TV for a very long time. Last week Team 3D powerbombed her (kind of) through a table in the big moment that people had been waiting to see for years. Now we’re getting ready for Bound For Glory but there really isn’t anything set up in advance. There are about two months left but only one episode lets on Thursdays. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Dixie being put through a table.
Here’s a very happy Ray to open things up. He thanks all of us for believing in him until he put Dixie through a table. Ray needed all of the fans’ help to do it but there is one man in particular he needs to thank. Rick had Scott, Hawk had Animal, and he has D-Von. This brings out D-Von who says it feels good to be home in New York City. Now that Dixie is gone, it’s time to get down to business.
Cue the Hardys and it’s time for an old school showdown. Matt says it’s been twelve years since the four of them were all together and congratulates the two of them on being inducted into the Hall of Fame. He brings up the first ever tag team table match in 2000 (wasn’t that done before in ECW?) and Bully helps him through their history of ladders and TLC matches. The fans want to see it one more time and all four seem totally cool with the idea.
Recap of Joe winning the X-Division Title last week.
Joe talks about being tasked with revamping the X-Division.
Manik vs. Crazzy Steve vs. Tigre Uno vs. DJZ vs. Low Ki vs. Homicide
Elimination rules with tags and the winner gets an X-Division Title shot next week. Steve and Tigre start things off with DJZ tripping up Steve from the floor. Tigre slams Steve down and hits a Phoenix Splash for the elimination in less than a minute. Manik comes in to flip around a lot, only to get caught in a nice springboard armdrag. Manik comes back with a springboard dropkick of his own and a tiger suplex into a gutbuster for a fast pin to get us down to four.
Everyone not named DJZ has a staredown in the middle of the ring until DJZ hits a springboard dropkick to take down Low Ki and Homicide. Manik catches himself in the ropes but gets cradled by DJZ for the third elimination in less than three minutes. The veterans double team DJZ and tags turns hammering on him until Homicide hits a Gringo Killa for the pin, getting us down to two.
They hammer away on each other until Homicide sends him to the floor, setting up a flipping suicide dive to send Low Ki into the barricade. A running knee to the face in the corner gets two for Homicide as the fans think this is awesome. Low Ki blocks a Gringo Killa and kicks Homicide into the corner. The Ki Crusher gives Low Ki the title shot at 7:02.
Rating: D+. So why in the world did they not just do Low Ki vs. Homicide? The match was nothing special due to how fast everything had to go and it was really annoying to sit through. Nothing to see on the match but at least they got the major two guys in there at the end for the longest time.
Here are a banged up Spud, Ethan Carter III and Rhino to address their future. Spud nearly cries when talking about the travesty of Dixie being put through a table. He freaks out when the fans won’t give him a moment of silence but Ethan takes the mic. Carter demands Bully’s termination from the company but here’s Kurt Angle to interrupt. Kurt tells them to shut up because this isn’t Nashville. They’ll either wrestle tonight or get thrown out.
Ethan yells a lot so here are the cops. Spud freaks out because he has a British passport, meaning he has diplomatic immunity. This doesn’t quite work and he’s quickly taken down and handcuffed. Ethan freaks out again and talks about having more money than he’ll ever need. He tries to bribe the cop and is arrested as well, drawing a big smile from Kurt.
Samuel Shaw says the trouble between Gunner and Mr. Anderson is his fault but Gunner says it’s Anderson’s prejudices. Gunner wishes Shaw luck tonight.
Ethan and Spud are thrown out of the building.
Back from a break and they’re still in the building and offering bribes. Rhino is being ejected as well but now they’re thrown out onto the street.
Mr. Anderson vs. Gunner
They shove each other to start until Anderson runs him over with a shoulder. Gunner does the same and it’s an early standoff. Anderson gets muscled down to the mat but spins out and cranks on a hammerlock. Back up and they slug it out until Shaw comes in to brawl with Anderson for the DQ at 2:52.
The Beautiful People aren’t quite on the same page for the fourway tonight.
We get a clip from after Impact with Bully Ray singing Ding Dong The Wicked Witch Is Dead. Dixie may have a broken back and will be interviewed next week.
Knockouts Title: Taryn Terrell vs. Angelina Love vs. Gail Kim vs. Velvet Sky
Kim is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Big brawl to start with the Beautiful People taking early control. Terrell gets beaten down until the Beautiful People head outside where Gail takes them both out with a cross body from the apron. Terrell dives onto all three and everyone is down. Fans: “BETTER THAN DIVAS!” Back in and the Beautiful People get in an argument over who gets the pin, allowing Gail to send both of them into the corner. Angelina breaks up In Yo Face but gets taken down by Taryn, allowing Gail to make Velvet Eat Defeat to retain at 4:48.
Rating: C. Well that happened. It’s happened a bunch of times in the Knockout division and there’s almost no reason to care anymore. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen the Knockouts have a fourway match and it’s really not interesting anymore. Also, they couldn’t give a title match more than five minutes? Let something like this feel big instead of rushing it along and maybe it means something.
The Trio isn’t worried about Dixie Carter.
MVP/Kenny King/Lashley vs. Austin Aries/Bobby Roode/Eric Young
Roode and Lashley get things going as the fans are behind Aries. King comes in to nail Roode instead and tells Lashley that he’s got this one. Bobby comes back with some clotheslines but King bails to avoid a Crossface. Aries gets the tag and shoves King into a backbreaker from Roode, followed by a slingshot elbow for two. It’s off to Young vs. Lashley with Eric’s piledriver attempt being easily countered. Lashley misses a charge and falls to the floor but King crotches Eric to slow things down.
MVP comes in and tries a few covers but opts for just nailing Young in the face instead. Eric rolls over and tags in Aries to clean house, including a missile dropkick to King. Lashley’s spear is countered into the Last Chancery and everything breaks down. MVP beats on Roode but walks into a piledriver from Young. Lashley picks Young up for a powerslam but Aries escapes one of his own before nailing Lashley with discus forearms. The running dropkick in the corner looks to set up the 450 but MVP nails Aries in the back with the crutch, setting up the spear from Lashley for the pin at 8:12.
Rating: C+. This was good stuff and I continue to wonder who gets Lashley (assuming he’s still champion) at Bound For Glory. Young isn’t going there and Aries had his shot, so you would think it’s Bobby Roode. I’m not sure you go with him, even though he seems like the best option. That’s one of TNA’s major problems: they can’t build a face to save their lives.
H_V_K is coming. We should be getting the other letters soon.
The Wolves have loved watching the Hardys and Team 3D for years and they’ll enjoy it again tonight. They’d be glad to give Team 3D a shot.
Here’s Abyss with something to say. He demands that Bram get out here right now with his Janice. Abyss gets what he wants plus Magnus as a bonus. Bram stands in front of him as Abyss says possession doesn’t mean anything to him so give Janice back. Bram says she’s his now and that it drives him wild to hit Abyss with Janice.
Abyss asks if Bram wants to get extreme and the fans are entirely behind him. He wants the match to have tacks, glass, barbed wire, and Janice hanging above the ring. Bram accepts the challenge and Magnus says Abyss doesn’t get many women except Janice. The fight is on but Bram clips Abyss and takes Janice with him.
In a very dark and creepy vignette, James Storm is at his farm with Sanada and calls him weak, confused and lost. Storm says he is Sanada’s glory and salvation. He yells at the cameraman to leave. Awesome segment.
Hardcore Justice is next week.
Hardys vs. Team 3D
You would think this would get a bigger build. Team 3D has the old school camouflage on. D-Von cranks on a headlock on Matt but walks into an elbow to the jaw. Off to Jeff vs. Bully with Ray nailing him in the jaw as we take a break. Back with Jeff taking over but Bully breaks up an attempt at Poetry in Motion. D-Von puts Jeff in a chinlock before it’s back to Ray for some hard elbow drops.
A neckbreaker gets two for D-Von and there’s the reverse 3D for two more. We hit a bearhug from Bully on Jeff, who gets backdropped when trying to escape. Ray goes to the middle rope and taken down with a nice hurricanrana for two. The hot tag brings in Matt to hammer on D-Von with a bulldog getting two. There’s the Side Effect for two more as everything breaks down. Matt takes a clothesline and Jeff gets crotched going for the Whisper in the Wind.
D-Von loads up a superplex but Matt pulls him away, setting a Doomsday Device with Jeff nailing a Whisper in the Wind instead of a clothesline for two. Bully breaks up what appeared to be a double superplex and there’s the real Doomsday Device for two on Matt. What’s Up nails Matt and it’s table time but Jeff dives on Team 3D to break it up. Back in and the Twist of Fate sets up the Swanton to D-Von for two. The announcers undersell the kickout before 3D ends Matt at 16:57.
Rating: B-. The match was good but is little more than nostalgia. That being said, this was far better than almost anything else that TNA’s tag division does these days as it’s nice to have more than two teams at a time. Throwing these four with the Wolves into a three way would get a big reaction and could draw a nice audience. Assuming there’s more than a two hour build that is.
They embrace to end the show.
Overall Rating: B-. There were some issues with this show (short matches for one thing) but the energy and storytelling is getting good. I still don’t trust TNA due to how many times they’ve burned me over the years, but they’re hot going into the move to Wednesdays. This wasn’t great or anything, but it’s a good sign that they have something to do after getting rid of Dixie. Solid show this week and a nice surprise.
Results
Low Ki b. Homicide, Manik, Tigre Uno, DJZ and Crazzy Steve – Ki Crusher to Homicide
Mr. Anderson b. Gunner via DQ when Samuel Shaw interfered
Gail Kim b. Angelina Love, Velvet Sky and Taryn Terrell – Eat Defeat to Sky
Lashley/MVP/Kenny King b. Austin Aries/Eric Young/Bobby Roode – Spear to Aries
Team 3D b. Hardys – 3D to Matt
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