IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 12, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

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

The opening preview, narrated this week, talks about the tournament, but Moose cuts things off and throws it to the still amazing TNA voiceover guy who talks about how great Moose is. This includes various clips of names like Christopher Daniels, Robert Roode, Jeff Hardy, Dixie Carter and Hulk Hogan praising someone, who of course is Moose and this is in no way doctored. This was great and an actually unique opening.

Opening sequence.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Mad Man Fulton vs. Hernandez

The Crists are in Fulton’s corner. Fulton drives him into the corner to start so Hernandez takes the bandanna off to show that he’s serious. Some running clotheslines don’t do much to Fulton but a Pounds takes him down as the shouting ensues. Fulton gets two off a suplex and it’s time to choke on the ropes as the announcers debate the validity of Moose’s title reign. Hernandez fights out of a chinlock but gets sent head first into the mat for his efforts.

Jake Crist gets in a cheap shot and we hit the chinlock again. Fulton misses a heck of a middle rope headbutt and Hernandez is back with a backsplash. The Crists get involved so Hernandez throws Jake at Fulton. Hernandez goes up top, shoves Fulton down, and hits a top rope splash for the pin at 8:54.

Rating: C. Not a bad power match here though I would question having OVE lose AGAIN, especially with the numbers advantage. The story of them being all messed up with no leader is fine and makes me wonder why they’ll bring in to replace Sami Callihan, but how much of an advantage do you need to beat Hernandez.

Michael Elgin doesn’t understand why there is a tournament when he has proven himself time after time.

Fulton is freaking out and the Crists are ready to come to blows. Crazzy Steve comes in to say he’s ready to fight next week. Joseph P. Ryan comes in to say the word Crazzy is offensive to crazy people.

The announcers preview the rest of the show.

Kylie Rae vs. Tasha Steelz

Steelz is an NWA regular. There’s no handshake to start and Kylie spins out of a wristlock. A headscissors gets Kylie out of a headlock on the mat so Steelz headstands up. It works so well that Kylie does it as well, albeit with a smile. A series of clotheslines sets up the chinlock on Rae so she powers up and drives Steelz into the corner. More clotheslines stagger Steelz but she sends Rae out to the apron for a breather. The Kylie Special gets two but Tasha rolls away from the STF. Steelz’s high crossbody gets two as Josh praises Steelz quite a bit. A springboard bulldog is blocked though and the STF finishes Steelz at 6:56.

Rating: C-. It’s hard not to like Kylie a little bit with the gimmick being so similar to Bayley. That’s something that works well if you have the charisma to build it up. What matters most here though is the rebuilding of the Knockouts division, which is suddenly looking rather deep. It’s certainly looking better than what we had a few months or even years ago.

Rohit Raju is ready to get his big break. He’s tired of being a joke and it’s changing tonight in the tournament. This is an interesting case as Raju on his own it’s too bad. It’s just how far down he’s been for so long. Maybe the lack of the rest of the Hit Squad will help though.

Susie comes up to Kylie in the back for a second introduction. Susie understands that Rae’s last night’s “again” and thinks Rae sounds like a ray of sunshine. Kylie: “I like her.”

Kimber Lee vs. Havok

Kimber screams at her so Havok screams back. Lee: “Nope.” Havok grabs her by the hair but gets chopped in the corner. That’s broken up and Havok hits a sitout powerbomb for two. Some kicks to the head rock Havok and we hit the choking on the ropes. Back from a break with Havok whipping her hard into the corner. That’s reversed into an Octopus in the ropes as Nevaeh comes out to watch. Lee’s Swanton gets two, as does Havok’s spinning side slam. Havok sees Nevaeh and the distraction lets Lee bust out some brass knuckles. A loud scream scares the referee so Kimber can use the knuckles for the pin at 8:47.

Rating: C. Just like in the previous one, I’m interested in how they’re rebuilding the division. That could go a long way and with so many talented people out there, the division could go in a lot of directions. This wasn’t a great match or anything, but the Knockouts are getting more depth than the WWE women’s division has had for a good while now. Granted having one division to two helps a lot.

Video on Kiera Hogan. She’s been learning from her mistakes and is waiting for the perfect opportunity.

It’s time for Locker Room Talk with Ken Shamrock, who doesn’t think much of Johnny Swinger. Shamrock talks about how he’s had a lot of feuds since he’s been been and he’s ready to hurt people. The only thing that matters is getting the World Title, so here’s Elgin to hit him in the head with a chair.

Sami Callihan is used to people trying to follow in his footsteps and that’s all Elgin is doing now. Next week, Sami is ready to take out Elgin in the tournament.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Trey vs. Rohit Raju

They’re both on their own. They fight over arm control to start with neither being able to get much of an advantage. Trey runs him over with a shoulder but an elbow to the face cuts him down. A sitout facebuster into a boot scrap to the face sends Raju outside where he catches Trey with a shot to the face.

Back in and a Steve Austin elbow connects for two as the announcers bicker about Moose again. Raju’s running Downward Spiral gets two more and it’s a snap suplex for the same. Trey fights up for the slugout and hits a running neckbreaker for the double knockdown. A kick to the face gives Trey two and he catches Raju on top with the Cheeky Nandos kick. The 619 connects but Raju knees him out of the air. Not that it matters as Trey small packages him for the pin at 10:19.

Rating: C+. That’s the right result but what matters most here is having Raju as a solo act. That might be the key to him the entire time as there was nothing happening with the Hit Squad and everyone knew it. Again, it’s a mentality of trying something different instead of hammering away with the same thing over and over when it doesn’t work. Well done for a change.

Cody Deaner tries not to go insane in self isolation. He’s been training in the woods and trying to have someone to share a beer. Then he wrestled himself and a stuffed animal to make himself feel better.

We go back to the Battle Arts Academy in Canada for the North’s Tag Team Title defense. Ethan Page knows that Josh Alexander wasn’t happy with last week’s opponents so the ring announcer gets to pick this week. We get two more very skinny guys and Alexander isn’t pleased again. Ethan Page gets a bunch of nicknames ala Apollo Creed, though Alexander points out that Creed died in Rocky IV.

After hearing about Page being voted the sex symbol by a fishing magazine, Page superkicks the first schmo (as commentary calls him) out cold. That means Page has to pick him up for the offense, which doesn’t please Page. In other words, it’s a Weekend At Bernie’s match until Page super gorilla presses him into a backbreaker. Northern Assault finishes in a hurry. These have been funny and well done on making something out of nothing.

Rosemary yells at the cards in a bar and talks to her stuffed lion (for Taya) and stuffed bunny (for the Bunny). John E. Bravo comes in to say he misses how Taya smells but Rosemary is the one really obsessed with her. Rosemary doesn’t look convinced.

Flashback Moment of the Week: AJ Styles beats Matt Hardy at Victory Road 2011. They haven’t been airing as much of these things and that’s a good thing.

Chris Bey talks to Johnny Swinger about Willie Mack saying he was the leader of the Mack And Pack Connection.

Post break, Swinger comes up to Mack and says he’s not the weak link of the team. Swinger: “I’m not the Shawn Michaels of the team.” The title match is on for next week.

TNA World Title: Suicide vs. Moose

Moose is defending despite not actually being champion. Suicide grabs a rollup for an early two and an armdrag has Moose on the floor in a hurry. Back from a break with Moose yelling at the referee and getting hit in the face. They head outside with Moose whipping him into the barricade to take over.

Back in and a reverse press slam off the top has suicide in trouble again. As Josh wonders how many former World Champions aren’t pleased with Moose, Suicide gets kicked off the apron in a big crash. Suicide is swung into the barricade and it’s time to start celebrating. After getting back in at nine, Suicide gets knocked right back to the floor.

They switch places though and Suicide hits a namesake dive, followed by the cannonball off the apron. Back in and a headscissors puts Moose down again but he stomps Suicide down in the corner. The referee gets bumped so Suicide strikes away, including a running palm strike. The Code Breaker connects for no count so it’s a sunset flip for two. Back up and a low blow into No Jackhammer Needed retains the title at 16:14.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure how smart it was to have Moose need to cheat to beat a video game character but that has never stopped Impact before. Moose won and looked rather villainous in doing so, which I’ll take over a lot of other options. This is a gimmick that could go on for a good while, though the idea of Moose having trouble with a bunch of the older wrestlers who are classified as TNA Originals could get tiresome.

Overall Rating: B-. What got my attention the most around here is a fresh take on a lot of things. They’re bringing in new talents and presenting some fresh concepts, which is one of the best things that could be done. Impact has had such a bad reputation for so long now that it’s nice to see them do something different. I’ll take what I can get at this point and this was a fun, engaging show that made me want to see more. You don’t get that often around here and hopefully it is here to stay.

Results

Hernandez b. Mad Man Fulton – Top rope splash

Kylie Rae b. Tasha Steelz – Smile to the Finish

Kimber Lee b. Havok – Brass knuckles to the head

Trey b. Rohit Raju – Small package

Moose b. Suicide – No Jackhammer Needed

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

TNA Special
Date: March 31, 2020
Location: Coca Cola Roxy, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: David Penzer, Scott D’Amore

Now this is interesting as the idea is to help get things ready for the There’s No Place Like Home special. However, the show, which was scheduled to air over Wrestlemania weekend, has been canceled. Therefore we have this as a stand alone show, which could go a bunch of ways. Let’s get to it.

We get the old TNA Cross The Line opening.

Here’s a video of TNA highlights, featuring the awesome voiceover guy they always had. There was a ton of talent around here and they had some good moments, which show you just how sad it is that they wound up being such a disappointment.

We get a quick welcome from commentary and the old TNA World Title is in front of them. I’ve picked that thing up before and it took me two hands to hold it.

Hernandez vs. Chase Stevens

Hernandez runs him over to start but it’s too early for the Boarder Toss. Instead Stevens snaps off a German suplex as commentary hypes up Friday’s pay per view. Stevens manages a hurricanrana for two, only to get caught in the Boarder Toss for the fast pin at 2:06.

Pay per view hype/show rundown.

Video on the Knockouts. They really were treated as a big deal way before any other major women’s division so well done there.

Gail Kim is excited about the show.

Video Ultimate X, which was going to return at the pay per view. Unlike King of the Mountain, this one didn’t seem far more complicated than it needed to be and felt like a great signature match.

Ace Austin is ready to defend the X-Division Title in an Ultimate X match. Austin risked it all in Ultimate X before but it was before he hit his stride. Now there’s nothing he won’t do to retain his title. He knows a thing or two about nonstop action you see.

Johnny Swinger/Kid Kash vs. Suicide/Manik

Kash and Swinger hammer away to start but it’s a double dropkick from Manik (who is clearly TJP) taking over. Poetry In Motion hits Swinger and we take an early break. Back with Manik snapping Swinger’s arm but it’s off to Kash to take over in the corner. Swinger’s elbow to the face gets two and a double shoulder drops Manik again.

Kash forearms him in the face over and over for two more but Manik finally rolls over for the hot tag to Suicide. That means superkicks can abound and an enziguri gets two on Swinger. Everything breaks down and it’s Manik and Suicide doing the stereo Andrade posing in the ropes. A pair of dives take out Kash and Swinger again, setting up a high crossbody to Kash. Suicide’s Swanton finishes at 10:24.

Rating: C-. This went a bit longer than it needed to but it was fine as a callback to some of the previous generations. That being said, of all the people they could do something with, they picked Manik? It’s not like he was anything significant in the company but it wasn’t a bad match or anything.

A bunch of wrestlers are asked about the King of the Mountain match and no one knows the rules. Willie Mack got it but Tessa Blanchard thought it was a giant rib (fair enough). Eh kind of funny, mainly because it’s true.

Raven talks about the Clockwork Orange House of Fun match and how it is only funny when someone gets hurt. Wouldn’t Monster’s Ball make a lot more sense here?

Rhino vs. Mad Man Fulton

This is a regular match before they have the Clockwork Orange match at the pay per view. They fight to the floor early on with Fulton getting the better of things. Back in and Fulton chokes a bit, followed by the chinlock, allowing commentary to plug Impact Plus. Fulton misses a top rope headbutt and the comeback is on, including the belly to belly. The Gore is loaded up but OVE runs in for the DQ at 3:52.

Rating: D+. Just a match here and it’s kind of weird to build up a hardcore match with a regular match, even if Sabu was going to be involved on Friday. The match wasn’t terrible, but these two not having weapons as a crutch hurt things a lot. Not the worst, but I’ve seen something similar far too many times now.

Post match the beatdown is on but Tommy Dreamer runs in for the save. Yes, Dreamer, who was mainly part of TNA as part of a nostalgia run for ECW, is now part of the entire company’s nostalgia run. Does this surprise anyone? Anyway the lights go out and it’s Raven making the save. At least that’s someone who was a big success in TNA. Raven takes Dreamer out for old times’ sake. Raven leaves so here is almost everyone else on the show so far with Kash hitting a big flip dive. Hernandez hits an even bigger dive to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. What a weird little show. The idea here was to hype up Friday and they did that to a degree, but it was also kind of a look back at everything great that TNA did. While you can argue over how smart it is to have a nostalgia show for something that was such a mess at times, there is definitely a history there. This show didn’t really make me care about Friday’s show, but it did make me miss TNA a little so….well done? Maybe?

Results

Hernandez b. Chase Stevens – Boarder Toss

Manik/Suicide b. Kid Kash/Johnny Swinger – Swanton to Kash

Rhino b. Mad Man Fulton via DQ when OVE interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: March 24, 2020
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

It’s the final night in Las Vegas before we head over towards Atlanta for what is now the last set of TV tapings available. We’re on the way towards Rebellion and that likely means a lot more “show is canceled” graphics. It’s not like they have much of a better choice so it’s as good as they can do here. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Sami Callihan being revealed as the Realityislost hacker and attacking Ken Shamrock, who had just been announced as the newest Hall of Fame inductee.

Opening sequence.

Willie Mack vs. Chris Bey vs. Acey Romero vs. Daga vs. Rohit Raju vs. Jake Crist vs. Cousin Jake vs. Trey

One fall to a finish and the winner is the #1 contender to the X-Division Title. It’s a brawl to start (of course) and soon it’s Romero running over Bey and Crist on his own. A backsplash crushes Bey but a double missile dropkick puts Romero on the floor. That leaves Trey and Bey to trade missed dropkicks and it’s a quick standoff. Bey knocks Trey to the floor but gets crushed by Raju’s running splash in the corner.

Jake takes Bey’s place and hits a running shoulder to Raju in the corner as the one on one sequence continues. Mack slams Crist and the standing moonsault connects. Mack’s running flip dive takes out Jake and Crist, meaning it’s Daga and Trey going back inside. Bey joins them and gets powerbombed by Daga with Raju making the save. Daga and Raju miss each other a lot so Romero replaces Raju. That means Daga tries to slam him for some reason of general stupidity, leaving Romero to go up top.

The Tower of Doom sends Romero crashing down and Daga’s top rope splash gets two. We go into the parade of strikes to the face until Trey ties up Crist’s legs and suplexes Bey at the same time. Raju makes the save but can’t tornado DDT Jake. Mack’s fireman’s carry spinebuster plants Jake instead but Daga grabs Mack in a northern lights suplex. The dives are on in a hurry but Crist breaks up Romero’s attempt. That just earns him a Pounce, setting up Romero’s big dive to take out everyone else. Back in and Jake spinebusters Crist, only to have Mack hit the Six Star Frog Splash for the pin at 10:44.

Rating: C+. There isn’t much else you can do in this kind of a match as it’s a bunch of insanity until one person finally gets the win. Mack going after Ace Austin could be interesting and it wasn’t like there was another realistic option, save for perhaps Daga. It was as good as it could have been and a nice way to start the show.

Dave Crist tries to fire up Mad Man Fulton. Jake runs in to say it’s time to get back on a winning streak. Sami Callihan is testing them you see, but Dave says no one has spoken to them in months. They won’t do the thumbs up, thumbs down because they’re waiting for Sami.

Announcers preview the show.

Moose vs. Chase Stevens

Fallout from last week’s backstage fight. Moose jumps him before the bell but No Jackhammer Needed hits the buckle. An ax kick gives Chase two and a powerslam is good for the same. Back up and No Jackhammer Needed finishes Stevens at 1:15.

Post match Moose beats him up a bit more, including some chair shots to the ribs. Moose loads up a Pillmanization of the face but Scott D’Amore comes in to say if Moose wants TNA he can turn around. Cue Suicide to take Moose out as I STILL can’t believe they want to relive the TNA days.

Rosemary is still at the bar and rants about spending two years extracting revenge from the dark side. Someone off camera says “Two years? That’s it?” and it’s….Raven. He doesn’t think much of two years of hatred. Take him for example: it’s been twenty years and sometimes he isn’t sure if he hates Tommy Dreamer or loves him. Raven describes it as “orgasmic” because it goes on forever. He can’t wait to be in the same nursing home as Dreamer so he can cut the bag on Dreamer’s IV.

Ace Austin and Reno Scum come up to Willie Mack in the back. Willie isn’t buying into the mind games because he’s taking the title. Johnny Swinger comes in to say that’s it for the Mack and Pack Connection, but the miz-arks really want to see the two of them fight for the X-Division Title. That’ll get him some rats.

Reno Scum vs. Rascalz

Dez and Wentz of course. A quick spinebuster plants Dez and it’s a catapult into a Death Valley Driver for a very early two. Dez gets sent into the corner before he can even take his hoodie off and there’s the Pit Stop to make it worse. A kick to the face allows the double tag to Wentz and Luster as the pace picks up. Everything breaks down and it’s Wentz being sent outside, leaving Dez to take a top rope Curb Stomp for the pin at 4:36.

Rating: D+. Just a nothing match here with Reno Scum continuing to offer almost nothing whatsoever, likely aside from working cheap. There have been very few moments where I’ve seen anything int hem and this was no exception. That being said, what the heck happened to the Rascalz? They were awesome when they came in and now they can barely ever win a match, even a clean loss like this to Reno Scum.

Another Tenille Dashwood video. Is there a point to these or are we just at the start of their version of Emmalina?

Flashback Moment of the Week: LAX beats Team 3D to win the vacant Tag Team Titles at Sacrifice 2008.

Joey Ryan gives something close to a PSA about keeping Katie Forbes safe from the Deaners.

The Deaners aren’t sure what it means to be canceled, or what toxic masculinity means.

Sami Callihan is in a small room and asks why he did what he did. Impact has made him wrestle Shamrock one on one on pay per view and that’s not cool. Shamrock was the World’s Most Dangerous Man but now that’s him, because he sees everything.

Dave Crist/Mad Man Fulton vs. Sabu/Rhino

Old School Rules and Super Genie is here with Sabu and Rhino. Dave and Sabu start things off with a clothesline sending Dave to the corner. It’s off to Fulton vs. Rhino as I try to figure out why we are having tags in a match under ECW rules. Everything breaks down in a hurry and they all wind up on the floor, with the fight heading to the ramp. A chair is dropped though and Fulton sends Rhino into the corner back inside.

Rhino fights back on Dave without too much trouble and hands it back to Sabu. That means a slam from Fulton and Crist yells at the referee over a near fall. Sabu is back up with a cutter and the hot tag brings in Rhino to clean house. Genie throws in a chair so Sabu can hit Fulton, setting up a dive to the floor. Dave hits Rhino low and grabs the chair, but stops to swing at the referee. That means a Gore from Rhino to pin Dave at 8:14.

Rating: D-. So they barely used the weapons, the match was sloppy, they stopped in the middle of the brawling segment, and then Rhino pinned Crist. I know Callis wants to keep his old buddies around and give them a payday but could they get something close to decent in the ring? Or beat up less important opponents?

Su Yung uses the coffin to go to the Undead Realm to face Havok. She finds some people tied up, James Mitchell, and Havok herself. Mitchell says Yung has to go so Havok grabs a crowbar. Yung has a sword and the fight is on with Yung choking with the noose. One of the chained up men breaks free and hits Yung with a pipe and various other things to keep her down….until she cuts his throat with the sword.

Havok saves Mitchell from the save fate but gets caught with the Mandible Claw. Mitchell stops them and says Yung has proven that she should have been with him the whole time. The minions come in to grab them both though and Mitchell sends them to the Wastelands, which look like a desert.

Tessa Blanchard/Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin/Taya Valkyrie

John E. Bravo is here with Elgin and Valkyrie. Eddie and Elgin start but Tessa wants to come in instead. That means it’s off to Tessa instead, with a quick leg trip taking Taya down. A spear drops Tessa as well, but she’s right back up to face Elgin. Some shots to Elgin’s knee slow him down and it’s off to Eddie, who has to slip out of a suplex attempt.

A Bravo distraction lets Taya pull Tessa off the apron and Elgin’s pop up powerslam gets two on Eddie. Back from a break with Eddie still in trouble but turning it into a slugout with Elgin. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets Eddie a breather and the hot tag brings in Tessa to clean house. Both men save their partners from getting slammed down but Tessa hurricanranas her way out of a superbomb. Eddie comes back in for the rapid fire chops to Elgin, followed by the overhead belly to belly to put him on the floor.

Bravo gets knocked off the apron and there are the double dives to take out the villains. A Codebreaker out of the corner into a tiger driver gets two on Elgin with Taya making the save. Eddie kicks Taya to the floor but Magnum is countered into a powerbomb onto Eddie’s back. Tessa is back up with a reverse hurricanrana and tornado DDT to Elgin but Elgin blasts Tessa down. The Elgin Bomb doesn’t work on Eddie, who strikes Elgin down instead. Taya’s distraction sets up the buckle bomb into the Elgin Bomb for the pin at Taya cuts Tessa off at 18:04.

Rating: B. Good, hard hitting match here as Impact has figured out how to do man vs. woman without it being hard to accept (granted having Tessa and Taya can make that a lot easier). This sets Elgin up as a monster going after the title at Rebellion and I’m not sure how that whole thing would have wound up. Odds are we’ll see the match at some point and I’m curious to see how it goes, so well done on that front.

We go back to the Wastelands….and Rosemary just happens to be there. She doesn’t care what Mitchell did to them and the alliance is formed. They wind up back in Mitchell’s lair, with Rosemary putting on sunglasses and going off on her own. Mitchell tells Havok and Yung that it was just a test and they can be a unit. Mitchell stabs him in the stomach with a dagger and Mitchell dies, only to wake up in Heaven with….a cat and Abyss? Mitchell: “Who booked this s***?”

Overall Rating: C+. This show worked out rather well with most of the show working out well. They did some good stuff to get rid of Mitchell (you knew that was going to be something zany) and it was an entertaining enough show. I’m not sure what they’re going to do in four weeks when we get done with what should have been the go home show for Rebellion. This was good though, and that’s what matters most at the moment.

Results

Willie Mack b. Cousin Jake, Trey, Daga, Acey Romero, Chris Bey, Rohit Raju and Jake Crist – Six Star Frog Splash to Jake

Moose b. Chase Stevens – No Jackhammer Needed

Reno Scum b. Rascalz – Top rope curb stomp to Trey

Rhino/Sabu b. Dave Crist/Mad Man Fulton – Gore to Crist

Michael Elgin/Taya Valkyrie b. Tessa Blanchard/Eddie Edwards – Elgin Bomb to Edwards

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: March 10, 2020
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

It’s a big showdown match this week as we have the fifth match in a best of five series between Eddie Edwards and Michael Elgin. The winner gets the World Title shot at Tessa Blanchard at Rebellion and that means we have something special tonight. You have to have a good main event like that so hopefully this one works. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Mad Man Fulton vs. Rhino

The Crists are at ringside….and get ejected early on for trying to interfere. With the two of them gone, Rhino shoulders him down and takes it to the floor for a ram into the apron. A clothesline hits the post though and Fulton sends him into the apron as well. Back in and Fulton pounds away in the corner, followed by a running shoulder to the ribs.

Rhino fights back up with some right hands to the head, only to get elbowed right back down for two. The chinlock (or cobra clutch double sugar hold according to Callis) goes on for a bit but a middle rope headbutt only hits mat. Rhino fights back up, avoids a clothesline and hits the Gore for the pin at 8:02.

Rating: D. This was missing on almost all counts as it was a bunch of slow pounding until the slightly more energized ending segment. They would have been better off having some kind of hardcore match because Rhino really wasn’t feeling all that energetic here. I’m hoping we have something other than Rhino fighting OVE.

Post match the Crists come back out and the beatdown is on….so SABU makes the save with a chair because ECW.

Chris Bey is coming.

Tessa Blanchard is ready to face either Eddie Edwards or Michael Elgin at Rebellion and doesn’t care who it is. She’s used to the target on her back.

We run down the rest of the show.

Desi Hit Squad vs. Rascalz

Dez and Wentz for the Rascalz here with Gama Singh at ringside for the Squad. Raju and Dez start things off with the former shoving him into the corner and posing a bit. A quick dropkick gives Wentz two and it’s Dez coming in with a slingshot hilo for his own near fall. Raju takes him into the corner though and it’s Shera coming in to start hammering away with the double chop.

We get some power as Shera drops Raju onto Dez for two and the beating continues in the corner. Dez dives over Raju and makes the hot tag to Wentz so the pace can pick up. Shera starts to clean house, including a chokebreaker to Dez. Wentz comes back in and starts firing off the kicks, with a double superkick putting Shera down. Raju gets knocked to the floor and the Final Flash gives Dez the pin at 6:00.

Rating: C-. The Squad has firmly hit their ceiling, even with Shera there as the monster. There isn’t much to get out of these tag team matches where they the teams are on a treadmill for months on end. The match was fine enough, but the Squad is nothing and the Rascalz have fallen way down from where they were.

Katie Forbes is annoyed at fans staring at her but the Deaners like her rather small gear. Joey Ryan doesn’t like their implications and a tag match is made with Ryan and Rob Van Dam vs. the Deaners being set for next week (this includes roughly half a dozen references to internet and social media fans, which isn’t as profound as they think). Ryan does make sure to check with Rob, who goes with it.

Tenille Dashwood video.

Knockouts Title: Lacey Ryan vs. Jordynne Grace

Ryan is challenging and is the next challenger from Madison Rayne. Grace gets taken down early on and Ryan drops her again with a running shoulder. That earns her a backdrop to the apron but she catches Ryan on top. A slam down gets two and grace stops charging Ryan with a boot to the face. Grace hits a running hip attack in the corner and a Vader Bomb gets two as Ryan is hanging in there.

Ryan kicks her in the head for two and goes up, only to get pulled down with a MuscleBuster (though more of a suplex than dropping straight down). A Regal Roll into a frog splash gives Ryan two more but she misses a kick to the head and gets Grace Drivered for the pin at 7:05.

Rating: B-. If Ryan doesn’t get a job out of that, I’m not sure what Impact is thinking. She looked very good here and they had a match I never would have expected. This was rather good stuff and Grace had to fight to retain the title. I’m not sure how much I want to see Grace vs. Rayne, but at least we got a good one here.

Fallah Bahh wants to win the Tag Team Titles with TJP so they can be the first ever Filipino Tag Team Champions.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Chris Sabin wins the X-Division Title in 2004.

Sabin is proud of his time in TNA and he’s ready to be the guest referee in the King of the Mountain match for the World Title at There’s No Place Like Home. Moose comes in and doesn’t understand the rules, so Sabin not so subtly explains them. I’m still trying to wrap my head around a TNA nostalgia show.

Video on the best of five series between Michael Elgin and Eddie Edwards.

Taya Valkyrie is all depressed at a bar when Rosemary pops up. She doesn’t want to hear about Taya losing everything but thinks it might be the thing that connects them. After you lose everything, you’re free to do everything.

Johnny Swinger/Glenn Gilbertti vs. Willie Mack

Hold on though as the referee thinks the team has some foreign objects. Swinger has brass knuckles but gets caught, meaning he has to run from Mack for a bit. Gilbertti comes in and gets hiptossed right back to Swinger. A cheap shot from the apron lets Swinger take over as Callis tries to get Swinging Disco Balls over as the team’s name. Callis: “Can we say Disco?” A double elbow puts Mack down and the old school pummeling continues.

Gilbertti gets in a shot with a roll of quarters and it’s back to Swinger for the chinlock (plus some SHUT UP’s to the crowd). The ax handle misses so Gilbertti comes in for the YMCA Elbow. Cue Ace Austin of all people to stand in Mack’s corner. Mack is fine enough to hit the Stunner and it’s off to Austin for a spinning Swanton to Swinger. Everything breaks down and it’s an old school doe-see-doe. Mack Samoan drops Gilbertti into the standing moonsault, setting up the Fold from Austin. The Six Star finishes Gilbertti at 7:50.

Rating: C-. Well that was something. I’m not entirely sure what it was, but it certainly was something. If nothing else, it shows you how good the new generation is looking solid with Austin, Mack and Rich Swann (when he gets back) among others. They’ve needed something like this for a good while now and if they actually get somewhere with it, Impact could move forward for once.

Su Yung jumps Havok in the back and it turns into a chair duel. Yung gets the better of it, puts on the Mandible Claw, and puts her in a well placed coffin.

Swinger blames Gilbertti for the loss so Gilbertti quits. This turns into an argument over who was the leader, but Swinger wants to know what he’s supposed to do with all of these Swinging Disco Balls shirts.

It’s Gut Check time and they’re all still bad, even in a six man tag.

Realityislost glitch.

Next week: Gut Check ends and we find out who the glitch is.

Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin

It’s the final match in the best of five series with the winner getting the World Title shot at Rebellion. You can tell it’s a big match because Josh has stats about how they’ve won their matches. Elgin powers him away to start and hits a big clothesline so we can head outside early. A Death Valley Driver on the ramp gives Elgin an early two so he hits Eddie in the face rather hard.

The Blue Thunder Bomb gets Eddie out of trouble for a second but Elgin catches him on top. That just earns Elgin a sunset bomb and we take a break. Back with Eddie elbowing him in the face, only to get backdropped HARD out to the floor. Eddie is back in and slugs away at Elgin on the apron, earning himself a lot of yelling. A kick to the head puts Elgin on the floor and he wins a slugout to really rock Elgin for the first time. Elgin grabs a DDT for two, followed by a neckbreaker over the ropes as we take another break.

Back again with the big slugout, including some rather loud shots to Eddie’s jaw. Elgin goes up and gets superplexed back down, setting up the Backpack Stunner for two more. A tiger driver is broken up so Elgin gets him up in an electric chair and drops backwards into a bridge for his own two. Just to go insane, Elgin hits a dragon superplex for another near fall, though the kickout doesn’t get the strongest reaction (because only finishers can end matches).

Eddie backflips out of a release German suplex and finally hits the tiger driver for two. Elgin is back up with a powerbomb and another hard clothesline sets up the Elgin Bomb for the real near fall. The referee gets bumped so the Boston Knee Party only gets two. Elgin grabs the Crossface but Eddie rolls over into a cradle for two, only to tap at the same time as the three count at 25:55.

Rating: B. This was probably longer than it needed to be but they beat the heck out of each other with some big moves. That dragon superplex probably should have been the finish had they had one, meaning it might not have been the best spot for a kickout. The ending wasn’t the biggest surprise but that’s not the worst idea in the world. Both guys have benefited from the feud so having a draw is a good way to protect both of them. And give us the triple threat, because that’s what you get in wrestling.

Post match Scott D’Amore comes out because there’s confusion. Tessa, triple threat, she’ll take em both.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event and the Knockouts Title match were the only things worthwhile on this show as the rest ranged between weak and rather bad. They did the important thing though by getting the pay per view main event set up, but they need to set up a few more things on the way. Assuming the show actually takes place as scheduled at this point. Either way, they had a good main event and title match, but the rest of the show dragged it pretty far down.

Results

Rhino b. Mad Man Fulton – Gore

Rascalz b. Desi Hit Squad – Final Flash to Shera

Jordynne Grace b. Lacey Ryan – Grace Driver

Willie Mack/Ace Austin b. Glenn Gilbertti/Johnny Swinger – Six Star Frog Splash to Gilbertti

Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin went to a draw

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: February 11, 2020
Location: Fronton Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We continue our trip in Mexico as well as the road to Sacrifice, which is turning into an In Your House style show. That’s a good idea for Impact given how infrequently they do regular pay per views around here. The big deal this time around is Jordynne Grace challenging Taya Valkyrie for the Knockouts Title. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Michael Elgin vs. Eddie Edwards

Match #2 in a Best of Five series with Elgin leading 1-0. Elgin slugs away to start and gets two off a belly to back suplex. Eddie’s rolling German suplex doesn’t work so well so he grabs a crucifix for two instead. What looked to be a top rope hurricanrana attempt is countered into a sitout powerbomb for another near fall. Edwards gets dropped back first onto the apron and Elgin tells him to bring it on. A hard clothesline gets two on Eddie but he counters a failed superplex attempt into a failed sunset bomb attempt.

The Elgin Bomb is countered as well so Elgin forearms him in the face. Eddie is right back with a tiger bomb for two so Elgin rolls outside, with Eddie hitting a suicide dive. Back in and Eddie gets two off a super hurricanrana but Elgin takes him down by the arm. The Crossface is countered and Eddie snaps off a German suplex, only to miss the Boston Knee Party. The buckle bomb into the Elgin Bomb finishes Eddie at 10:47.

Rating: B-. These two always work well together and this should set up three more matches between the two of them. Seeing Eddie as the underdog against the monster should be fun as they have some chemistry. Hopefully we get some better stuff out of them, though this one was quite good in its own right.

Video on Taya Valkyrie vs. Jordynne Grace.

Taya says she’s ready and she’s used to having no one believing in her.

Man Man Fulton vs. Daga

Daga starts fast with the kicks to the head before avoiding some stomps. Fulton shouts at him and blocks a hurricanrana but gets sent to the floor anyway. The suicide dive connects and we take an early break. Back with Daga getting choked on the mat and ropes, followed by Fulton’s release German suplex to drop him on his head. Daga Hulks Up though and hammers away before snapping Fulton’s throat across the top.

A running double stomp gets two on Fulton but he’s right back with a swinging chokeslam. Fulton doesn’t let go and hits a regular chokeslam, only to have Daga pop up with a Death Valley Driver. Cue the Crists so Daga hits a running corkscrew dive but the distraction lets Fulton get back up. Daga’s springboard DDT is countered into a northern lights suplex with Daga landing on his head (that looked bad) for the pin at 12:04.

Rating: C. Daga is someone who can do his thing very well while Fulton is starting to gel as the monster. That being said, the ending was downright nasty looking and it wouldn’t shock me if they wrapped it up early. Hopefully Daga is ok because he’s getting better around here and a feud with OVE could be interesting.

Moose is getting a massage and wants some work on his, ahem, lower back because Rhino is a bad pain down there. Rhino takes the masseuse’s place and beats Moose up.

Fallah Bahh vs. Ethan Page

TJP and Josh Alexander are here as well. Fans: “GOO GOO GAGA!” Bahh busts out some cartwheels to start and hits a running splash in the corner as Page wasn’t quite ready for this much athleticism. Alexander offers a distraction though and Page kicks Bahh out to the floor. Back in and Bahh shrugs off the shots to the head, meaning it’s Page being sent into the corner for the running hip attack. Alexander breaks up the Banzai Drop so TJP flip dives onto him, leaving Bahh to small package Page for the pin at 3:56.

Rating: C-. Bahh continues to surprise me as there is no reason for him to be able to do something like that. He pulled it off here though and that was one of the bigger surprises that you could have imagined here. The North vs. TJP/Bahh should be a fun little match too as TJP and Bahh have some shockingly good chemistry together.

James Mitchell wants Jessika Havok to help him find Su Yung. They find Susie and Mitchell is very happy, saying the family is reunited and everything can be better now. Susie follows them but seems to morph into Su.

Rob Van Dam vs. Joey Ryan

Katie Forbes is here with Rob and let’s get this over with as fast as possible. Ryan oils up and tells Rob to touch it but Rob poses and shoves him instead. We get a staredown but hang on because Katie needs to come in for kisses and dancing. The jiggling distracts Joey and Rob kicks him down, with commentary calling out the lack of wrestling for the first three minutes.

Rob kicks him down but won’t use Rolling Thunder so Joey is up with a dropkick to the floor. Back in and Rob pokes him in the eyes and puts him on the middle of the top rope for a jumping kick to the face. Rob loads up Rolling Thunder again but goes outside to see Katie again. That means a dive from Ryan before they head back inside where Ryan makes him touch it. The Plex is countered though as Rob kicks him in the head, setting up the Five Star for the pin at 7:26.

Rating: D-. I’d still like to emphasize that this is the best thing they can do with Rob Van Dam, the biggest star this company has. The Joey Ryan stuff has its place and I don’t think it’s on this show. The problem is the same thing you get with most comedy stuff: how many times can he do the same shtick? We’ve covered this so many times before and it’s not like anything new (or good) is added. If you have to do this, find someone else besides Van Dam.

Su Yung is dragging Mitchell by the neck with a noose. Mitchell blacks out and wakes up in….I think h***?

From Sacrifice 2014: Eric Young retains the World Title over Magnus (Nick Aldis). Yeah remember when THAT was a thing? They showed a lot more of the match here than usual.

Johnny Swinger has all of his cheating weapons ready to help Willie Mack against Shera. Mack tells him to stay right there.

Willie Mack vs. Shera

Gama and Rohit Raju are here. They chop it out in the corner but Raju comes in for the DQ at 47 seconds.

Swinger, save, tag match.

Willie Mack/Johnny Swinger vs. Desi Hit Squad

Swinger gets taken into the corner to start and it’s Shera pounding him down. That’s it for the offense though as Swinger gets over for the tag off to Mack as the fans don’t seem thrilled. A Samoan drop into the standing moonsault crushes Raju and Shera gets double teamed in the corner. Mack doesn’t like the idea of a double clothesline with Swinger so Gama pulls Mack to the floor. That leaves Shera to Sky High Swinger at 3:20.

Rating: D. See, notice what they did here: the whole thing, including the first match, was about as long as the Van Dam vs. Ryan match, including a commercial. Breaking it up like that was a bit of a help, plus Swinger is more entertaining than Ryan. They kept it short and didn’t waste the top guy in the company while keeping Mack busy despite Rich Swann being injured. It’s still not good, but it’s also not as annoying so upgrade….maybe?

Tessa Blanchard isn’t worried about her (non-title….for some reason) match with Ace Austin. Ace comes in to say Tessa is never going to earn daddy’s approval, but he likes women with daddy issues. Tessa beats him up.

Next week: Ace Austin/Reno Scum vs. Tessa Blanchard/Trey Miguel/Tommy Dreamer. They’re trolling us, right?

The announcers are cut off by another Realityislost video, though they acknowledge this one.

Knockouts Title: Taya Valkyrie vs. Jordynne Grace

Taya is defending and has John E Bravo with her. Grace gets jumped at the bell and there’s the running hip attack in the corner. Bravo chokes Grace with the stuffed dog and we take an early break. Back with more of the same but this time Grace gets in a suplex to put Taya on the floor. That means the required suicide dive but Bravo shoves Grace off the top. Somehow the referee is oblivious to this, with commentary pointing out how bad that really is.

Bravo chokes even more, with commentary comparing it to the Houston Astros sign stealing ordeal. Grace is back up with a clothesline and some slams look to set up the Grace Driver. It’s too early for that though as Taya heads to the apron and manages to powerbomb Grace onto the steps (strategically placed by Bravo).

Taya takes her to the stage for Road To Valhalla as Grace is looking a bit done. That’s only good for a nine count as Grace staggers back in to beat the count. Grace is fine enough to Muscle Buster Taya for two but Taya grabs a Bubba Bomb into a cross armbreaker of all things. That’s reversed into a Crossface (minus the arm trap, making it more of a Bank Statement) but Bravo pulls Taya to the rope.

A Vader Bomb gets two with Bravo pulling the referee so Grace pulls Bravo in. Taya spears him by mistake but Bravo gets on top of her to block the top rope backsplash. It turns out that means very little as it just crushes Taya even worse, setting up the Grace Driver to end Taya’s reign at 17:17.

Rating: B-. I can’t complain about the interference too much as Grace won (as she should have) and it’s a case of living by the sword and dying by the sword for Taya, who kept the title because of all the cheating in the first place. It makes sense to put the title on Grace here as Taya was completely out of challengers. Good match too, as the Bravo stuff was the right way to go and they got the ending right, which is what matters most.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty good show this week as they focused more on their own people instead of all of the guest stars. They needed a show to move some stories forward and that’s what we got here. I liked the main event for the feel good title change and Eddie vs. Elgin (probably) three more times sounds good. Just get rid of the Ryan vs. Van Dam stuff and give us more of the good and we might have something around here.

Results

Michael Elgin b. Eddie Edwards – Elgin Bomb

Mad Man Fulton b. Daga – Northern lights suplex

Fallah Bahh b. Ethan Page – Small package

Rob Van Dam b. Joey Ryan – Five Star Frog Splash

Willie Mack b. Shera via DQ when Rohit Raju interfered

Desi Hit Squad b. Willie Mack/Johnny Swinger – Sky High to Swinger

Jordynne Grace b. Taya Valkyrie – Grace Driver

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: December 10, 2019
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We are about a month away from Hard To Kill and Tessa Blanchard is still #1 contender. That being said, tonight is about ECW, with an “Old School” rules match between Rob Van Dam and Rhino. I’m not sure how interesting that is going to be but it should make the live crowd happy. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Rhino vs. Rob Van Dam

Old School rules with Tommy Dreamer as guest referee and Katie Forbes gyrates a lot during Rob’s entrance. Rhino shoulders him to the floor to start and Rob gets dropped onto the apron for his troubles. A chair to the ribs keeps Rob down but he’s fine enough to pop back up with the Cannonball off the apron.

Back in and Rob’s spinning legdrop gets two so Rhino starts choking with a mop. Rhino sends him face first into an open chair but gets crotched against the chair to stop him cold. Rob teases Rolling Thunder but isn’t giving the fans what they want. Instead he tries the monkey flip onto the chair but gets powerbombed onto it for two instead.

Rob kicks him down instead and the apron legdrop connects. A trashcan and a table are brought in with the can and a chair being wedged into corners. Some kicks set up the missed split legged moonsault and Rhino Gores him through the table. Katie pulls the referee though and Rhino goes head first into the trashcan in the corner. The Five Star finishes Rhino at 11:01.

Rating: C-. They hit each other with weapons and they looked old but they didn’t embarrass themselves, which is more than some people would have done in a match like this. Rob is actually working for me as a heel and Rhino is Rhino, but Dreamer could have been any given human here. Assuming there’s no post match deal, this was a rather unnecessary spot.

Post match Katie dances and Rob kicks Dreamer low.

Sami Callihan announces the Crists for the Tag Team Open. As for Tessa Blanchard, she can fight Mad Man Fulton tonight. Sami can deal with Ken Shamrock himself because Shamrock is old.

ODB is now in the Knockouts Title match at Hard To Kill.

Moose vs. Acey Romero

Moose’s running shoulders bounce off the big man, who drops Moose with a single shoulder of his own. Romero throws him around like he’s not even there and it’s time for a breather on the floor. A dive from Romero sends Moose into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Moose hammering away at the head but Romero scores with some chops. A big crossbody crushes Moose and a spinebuster gets two more.

Moose hits a running dropkick in the corner though and for some reason Romero tries to go to the middle rope. That earns him the swinging chokebomb for two and they chop it out again. The discus lariat is cut off and Romero nails a Pounce to put them both down. A clothesline gives Romero two more but he misses a charge into the corner, setting up No Jackhammer Needed to give Moose the pin at 12:48.

Rating: C. Romero is a great example of someone who shouldn’t be able to do some of these things and then just does them. He’s still relatively limited in what he can do in the ring but he knows how to move his weight around and that can make for some entertaining matches. Not great, but a lot of fun with Moose having to break a sweat to get the win.

James Mitchell shows Susie the building but she wanders off and touches a noose, which gives her flashbacks to Jessika Havok hanging her. Mitchell warns her about Rosemary and makes it clear that she can only trust him.

Michael Elgin is tired of smashing through roadblocks and wants his match with Eddie Edwards to be for Eddie’s title shot.

Raj Singh vs. Fallah Bahh

Oh boy. Bahh runs over both Singh and Rohit Raju at the same time before hitting a running splash to crush Singh. A Gama Singh distraction lets Raj hit a jumping Downward Spiral for two and a running backsplash is good for the same. Raj grabs a Hennig necksnap as he is going above his pay grade. For some reason he tries to headbutt Bahh and staggers away in pain so Bahh chops him down. The big crossbody gets two on Raj (not as impressive after we saw Romero do the same big man crossbody in the previous match) and Bahh sends him into the interfering Raju. The Banzai Drop gives Bahh the pin at 4:54.

Rating: D+. Yeah this didn’t work and I don’t know why it was supposed to. The Hit Squad stopped meaning anything a long time ago and while Bahh has improved by leaps and bounds, he still isn’t going to be able to carry something like this. Not a terrible match, but give me something else to get my interest up.

Post match the beatdown is on until TJP makes the save, likely setting up a tag match.

Joey Ryan is told to go see Impact Management, which happens to be in the men’s room. He goes in and finds…..Tommy Dreamer, who sentences him to WRESTLER’S COURT. Ryan is charged with breaking kayfabe, exposing the business and killing towns. Johnny Swinger, the plaintiff, also accuses him of stealing rizzats and wants compensation of two pay envelopes and a handful of pizzills.

The sound guys and camera crew come out of the stalls as Joey points out how ridiculous this whole thing is. Ryan asks about an attorney but since Joseph Park is dead, that’s a no. They move to a different room because of the AXS money and it’s time for the first witness: D’Lo Brown, which also gives us the fact that D’Lo is short for Dee Lorean. Brown was sworn in earlier on a PWI 500 and goes on a rant about how this couldn’t be done in a Fortune 500 company.

We get rapid fire testimonies from Madison Rayne, Brutal Bob Evans (He works here?), Kiera Hogan (“It’s that mustache!”) and Gama Singh, as someone in a weird shirt is dragged out. Joey’s closing statement talks about how old guys with tennis rackets have already gone off on him and he knows wrestling should be fun. Maybe the good old days weren’t so good. Swinger: “BULLS***!” Dreamer: “GUILTY!” Ryan is sentenced to….face Acey Romero next week. Joey: “I don’t even know why I signed with this company.”

I’m sure this was a lot of fun to shoot and the people had a blast putting it together. I’m also not sure why it aired but I guess I’m not young enough to get why Tommy Dreamer and Joey Ryan taking shots at WWE and Jim Cornette and having cameos from career midcarders is funny. I chuckled a few times, but this is the kind of thing that was designed to entertain the locker room, not the fans.

Tag Team Open: Rascalz vs. OVE vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack vs. Reno Scum

Tornado rules, one fall to a finish, and the winners get the title shot at Hard To Kill. It’s a big brawl to start with the Rascalz (Wentz and Dez here) hitting dives but Mack and Swann clear the ring. A bulldog puts Luster down and the assisted middle rope flip neckbreaker gets two on Thornstowe.

Jake comes back in so Mack can hit the standing moonsault for two more and it’s Dave being backdropped over the top onto various people. Mack comes up with a bad knee and things come to a halt as referees and trainers come out to check on him. Back from a break with Rich getting double teamed by Scum but managing to hit a double Lethal Injection on them anyway.

A kick to the face cuts Swann off and a spike Tombstone gets two as Wentz makes the save. Scum is back in to take over with a German suplex into a double stomp for two on Dave, who is tied into the Tree of Woe. A running Razor’s Edge sends Swann flying into Dave but it’s time for the Rascalz to hit rapid fire kicks on Luster. The Crists come back in and shrug off Swann’s kicks. The All Seeing Eye is loaded up but Swann reverses into a victory roll for the fast pin at 13:43.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of match that you would expect from something like this and it was rather entertaining. I could have gone with something a little more structured but that’s how tag team wrestling tends to go these days. Swann and Mack were the only choice to go forward here though as they have been chasing the titles for months now and need to win the things. The other teams looked good, but this was how it needed to go.

The North is watching from the balcony and doesn’t seem worried.

Taya Valkyrie thinks everyone is against her, which is the only reason the title match is now a triple threat. But it doesn’t matter because she’s Taya.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Gail Kim vs. Brooke vs. ODB from Bound For Glory 2013.

Brian Cage talks about having an up and down year but he’ll be waiting on whoever comes out of Hard To Kill as World Champion. Cage is ready to fight anyone around here but Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes fall onto the couch with Katie all over him. Rob realizes the cameras are on and says that Cage stole a bunch of his moves. I think you know where this is going.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Mad Man Fulton

We get the ridiculous staredown with Tessa’s forearm having no effect. Fulton takes her into the corner and rams her head into the buckle over and over. He pulls her up and face first into the bottom of the middle buckle but Tessa slugs away anyway. An attempt at a slingshot powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana to send Fulton outside. The suicide dive works but a middle rope crossbody is pulled out of the air. Back in and Tessa grabs a tornado DDT but here are the Crist Brothers to break up Magnum for the DQ at 3:10.

Rating: D+. They didn’t have time to do anything here but Tessa got in enough offense to make it better than it could have been. It’s one thing to book Tessa against a normal sized guy like Callihan but this was a bit too much to believe. They didn’t go too far with it, but if they hadn’t cut it off when they had, it would have been too much to believe.

Post match Tessa takes the All Seeing Eye but Ken Shamrock comes out for the save. That sets up the (scheduled) main event.

Sami Callihan vs. Ken Shamrock

Non-title. Sami slaps him in the face so Shamrock glares him down into the corner. After begging off a bit, Sami spits at Shamrock and gets kneed in the face for his efforts. That sends Sami outside, with Sami telling Shamrock to give him everything he has. A few shots to the face send Sami staggering into the barricade, but he’s fine enough for the spit chop.

Shamrock is even more annoyed than he was before and he kicks a charging Callihan down. Back in and Callihan gets two off a Death Valley Driver but runs into a powerslam to cut him right back off. Callihan pulls the referee into a charge though, only to get ankle locked a second later. Sami taps to no referee so here’s Fulton again to take out Shamrock. The ankle lock to the unconscious Shamrock gives Sami the win at 5:41.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure how smart it is to have the ancient Shamrock beating up your World Champion for most of the match and then needing help to give the champ the win. That being said, Shamrock has looked WAY better than I would have expected him to since his return. I mean, save for the whole Joey Ryan deal but everyone has to be tormented by something like that.

Post match Fulton stays on Shamrock and sends him outside, where Shamrock seems to hurt his knee. Even Sami tells Fulton to back off to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was one of those shows that moved things forward only a little bit while also setting up some of the other things that needed to be done for Hard To Kill. Sami is already feeling like a lame duck champion though and that isn’t a good sign for the next month. Tessa getting the title could be a special moment, but it isn’t looking like a great story on the way there. The rest of the show was hit and miss, but that tends to be the case around here. Not too bad of a show, but one or two things going badly could have made it a horrible one.

Results

Rob Van Dam b. Rhino – Five Star Frog Splash

Moose b. Acey Romero – No Jackhammer Needed

Fallah Bahh b. Raj Singh – Banzai Drop

Rich Swann/Willie Mack b. Rascalz, OVE and Reno Scum – Victory roll to Dave Crist

Tessa Blanchard b. Mad Man Fulton via DQ when the Crist Brothers interfered

Sami Callihan b. Ken Shamrock – Ankle lock

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 6, 2019
Location: Fronton Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re still down in Mexico and hopefully things are better this week. Last time around, the show wasn’t worth watching with a bunch of matches featuring guest stars from Mexico and little in the way of major storyline developments. Hopefully things get better this time around as we’re getting closer to the build to Bound For Glory. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Havok vs. Su Yung

Yung goes straight to the jabs to start (that’s more aggressive than I would have expected) but Havok sends her into the corner to start the pummeling. Some head first rams into the buckle knock Yung silly but the big leg misses. A running knee to the face gives Yung two, which just annoys Havok again. That means a chokebomb into a Boston crab with Yung having to bail to the ropes.

An anklescissors sends Havok face first into the middle buckle and the Mandible Claw goes on. Havok powers out but gets low bridged to the floor so Yung can flip dive off the apron. Since Havok is a monster, she’s right back up to drop Yung face first into the apron. With nothing else working, Su mists her for the DQ at 6:03.

Rating: C+. I don’t remember seeing Yung this aggressive in a long time and the match worked well as a result. It felt like Yung was in a fight and Havok was trying to destroy her. Their feud seems to be one based on who is more of a monster/evil, so the matches being more violent makes sense. You can all but guarantee some kind of gimmick match at Bound For Glory.

The North’s game plan for tonight: be the best tag team in the world and get rid of LAX.

Sami Callihan and OVE can’t wait to find out what happens to the World Title because it’s coming to Sami soon. Oh and Mad Man Fulton is going to finish Rob Van Dam and Sami has a nice jacket.

Moose vs. Fallah Bahh

Rubber match. Bahh is ticked off and splashes him in the corner at the bell to start fast. Moose misses a big chop and gets punched in the face, followed by a toss across the ring. Another shot to the face drops Moose but he goes to the eyes to cut him off. Just because he can, Moose runs up the corner for a spinning crossbody to drop Bahh. That lasts all of a second as Bahh pops up and turns Moose inside out with a clothesline. The Banzai Drop gets two and it’s No Jackhammer Needed to finish Bahh at 4:06.

Rating: C. You would think that a monster like Bahh losing weight would hurt him but he’s actually improved in the ring. Maybe it’s the weight loss adding speed but his matches have gotten better, possibly because he doesn’t have to rely on his size for everything anymore. If nothing else, the weight loss has turned into a bit of a story for him. Call that a nice little surprise, which is always appreciated.

Post match Moose puts Bahh in an ankle lock (he needs work) and screams about Ken Shamrock.

Tessa Blanchard yells at Tommy Dreamer, who she needs to help her get rid of OVE. Tommy tells her to calm down but she wants to know if he’s in or out. Tommy Dreamer is always in. Everywhere.

Alisha Edwards tells Eddie Edwards that she would never cheat on him but an unidentified female wrestler comes up to hit on him. Ace Austin comes up to check on Alisha but she leaves.

TJP vs. Golden Magic

Fallout from last week where Magic won a four way also involving TJP. They fight over wrist control to start until TJP gets in his headscissor takeovers. Magic snaps the throat across the top rope and hits the springboard flip dive to the floor as we take a break. Back with Magic being put in the Tree of Woe for a running dropkick, followed by the slingshot hilo for two. A front chancery doesn’t get TJP anywhere as Magic is right back up with something close to a Disaster Kick, only to have TJP roll some suplexes. A Swanton misses though and Magic hits a cool springboard twisting cutter to put TJP outside again.

That means a slingshot splash to the floor, which you won’t see very often. Back in and Magic is fine enough to hit the same Big Ending spun into a DDT that he used last week for two here. TJP’s brainbuster gets the same but Magic is right back with a springboard hurricanrana out of the corner. A dropkick to the leg takes Magic down but Magic follows him up top for a moonsault World’s Strongest Slam. The 450 misses though and TJP kneebars him for the tap at 10:09.

Rating: B-. This was your battle of the high fliers doing a bunch of big spots to each other, but TJP is the kind of guy who can pull throw in enough other stuff to add a different dimension to the match. I liked this one a good bit and could go for more TJP, who just looks like he gets it so much more than a lot of people.

Austin is about to pay off the mystery woman from earlier but Alisha shows up and he changes his tune in a hurry, saying he won’t pay for her services.

Flashback Moment of the Week: AJ Styles beats Sting at Bound For Glory 2009.

Taya Valkyrie is annoyed that things aren’t all about her and now Tenille Dashwood is coming to take her spotlight.

Johnny Swinger vignette, bragging about the size of his arms. This is really happening.

Dashwood is glad to be here when Madison Rayne and Kiera Hogan show up and tell her to go to the back of the line. She’s willing to fight anyone in the line right now so Madison makes Dashwood vs. Hogan for next week.

Mad Man Fulton vs. Rob Van Dam

Sami Callihan fires Fulton up before the bell so Van Dam starts slowly kicking at the leg. Fulton gets a hand around the throat so more kicks are required to save Van Dam. A dropkick to the knee and a spinwheel kick put Fulton on the floor so it’s the flip dive from the apron to put him down again. Fulton is fine enough to send him into the apron though and the beatdown is on. The swinging Rock Bottom is countered into a rollup to give Van Dam two and he kicks Fulton in the face again. Rolling Thunder connects but Dave Crist breaks up the Five Star for the DQ at 6:26.

Rating: D+. This didn’t have the time to go anywhere as a long stretch at the beginning was spent circling each other. Fulton can be a good monster so having Van Dam put him in this kind of trouble doesn’t exactly make him seem like a threat. At least it’s a star like Van Dam instead of someone much lower on the food chain, but Fulton shouldn’t be selling this much.

Post match Van Dam fights them both off and hits the Five Star on Dave.

Melissa Santos promiss answers on the future of the World Title tonight.

The Rascalz get in a fight in the clubhouse when Rich Swann and Willie Mack come in. Highness ensues and they’ll watch the LAX vs. North match together.

The Deaners are impressed with what the Desi Hit Squad have done on the farm. Now it’s time to go into the lake, with Raju being sent into the water.

Jordynne Grace goes to see Rosemary, who needs to stay out of her way. Rosemary says the Shadow told her to save Grace so get over it.

Konnan gives LAX a final pep talk.

Tag Team Titles: The North vs. LAX

LAX is challenging and this is titles vs. careers. Alexander drives Santana into the corner to start so Santana takes him down by the arm. Ortiz comes in for his falling splash and we take an early break. Back with everything breaking down and Ortiz chopping away at Page on the floor while Alexander works on Santana’s knee. Things settle back down with Santana getting beaten down in the corner but rolling over for the hot tag to Ortiz just a few seconds later.

A superkick/sitout powerbomb combination gets two on Alexander but an assisted implant DDT drops Ortiz right back. The double Neuralizer only gets two so the champs try their own Street Sweeper. That’s broken up as everything breaks down again but this time time the real Street Sweeper is blocked. The assisted spinebuster gets rid of LAX for good at 9:13.

Rating: B-. The lack of time hurt here as this felt like the kind of match that needed to be twenty minutes instead of less than half of that. LAX going to AEW is a good move for them as there is nothing left for them here, but at the same time they deserve a big sendoff here. The North had to beat them for their big definitive moment so it all makes sense, but it’s sad to see LAX go after they’ve been so good for the last year plus.

LAX and Konnan get a quick pose and that’s it for them.

Here are Brian Cage and Melissa Santos to address the World Title situation. Cage talks about how he spent fourteen years trying to become World Champion but he never expected how things went. He should be back in about six weeks to defend the title against Sami Callihan at Bound For Glory. The one positive to being injured has been that he has been able to spend more time with Melissa, which brings him to his most important thing. That would be a proposal, with Melissa saying yes to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. MUCH better show this week and one of the better ones they’ve done in a few weeks. The wrestling was mostly good up and down the card with only the Van Dam vs. Fulton match not being good to rather good. The only problem here was the timing of the Tag Team Title match, especially when the big closing angle was Cage announcing the Bound For Glory main event and proposing. That’s something that can be done later while LAX gets more time. Anyway, good show here and hopefully they can continue that roll.

Results

Havok b. Su Yung via DQ when Yung misted her

Moose b. Fallah Bahh – No Jackhammer Needed

TJP b. Golden Magic – Kneebar

Rob Van Dam b. Mad Man Fulton via DQ when Dave Crist interfered

The North b. LAX – Assisted spinebuster to Santana

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 2, 2019
Location: St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

This is kind of a weird night for Impact as they’re airing a live special called Unbreakable at the same time as this show. They’ve hyped up matches for both shows, meaning you might have needed to take notes coming into it. One of the bigger matches for this one will see Tessa Blanchard vs. Mad Man Fulton, which could be good. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Aiden Prince vs. Rohit Raju vs. Zachary Wentz vs. Chuck Mambo vs. Cody Deaner vs. Petey Williams

The winner gets an X-Division Title shot at some point in the future. Deaner goes after Raju to start and their fight heads out to the floor as Mambo and Prince trade flips inside. Wentz comes back in and gets to stare Williams down with the former getting caught in a headscissors. The Canadian Destroyer is broken up so Williams gets in a Sharpshooter with Raju coming in to add a Crossface on Wentz at the same time.

Raju spears Williams down for two with Deaner coming in for the save. Hold on though as Deaner needs to put on his hat. Williams grabs his flag for a posedown and it’s a double suicide dive to take out Prince and Raju. Wentz dives onto them as well and Prince nails an Asai moonsault. Back in and Mambo’s springboard is broken up so Deaner punches Raju some more.

Petey comes in for the Russian legsweep but Wentz breaks up a Destroyer with a jumping knee to the face. Raju makes another save but gets beaten up by Deaner again (it’s not some epic feud people). Deaner’s DDT plants Raju with Mambo springboarding in with an elbow for the next save. Prince comes back in with a brainbuster and 450 to finish Mambo for the pin and the title shot at 9:15.

Rating: C+. This was your usual wild X-Division match and that works well enough, especially for an opener. They do need to bring in some fresh talent, but it doesn’t mean as much when a lot of these names can be interchanged. The X-Division is certainly in a better place than they were in a few months ago though and I’ll take whatever improvement I can get.

Jake Crist is excited about having a new challenger but Sami Callihan tells him to hand over the title. That isn’t happening so Sami talks about Tessa Blanchard instead. Tonight, she can deal with Mad Man Fulton.

Rich Swann warns Tessa about Fulton and the rest of OVE. Tessa appreciates the offer of help but says she has to do this alone.

Havok vs. John E. Bravo

Taya Valkyrie is out with Bravo. John drops to a knee and kisses Havok’s hand, so she knees him in the face. Bravo gets tossed across the ring and no sells a poke to the eye. The chokeslam finishes Bravo at 1:43.

Su Yung pops up on screen and seems to ramble some gibberish, which disturbs Havok.

Josh Alexander is worried about tonight’s Tag Team Title defense while Ethan Page is wondering who they’ll defend against after they beat the Rascalz tonight. Alexander wants some more seriousness.

Stone Rockwell vs. Ace Austin

Austin jumps him before the bell but Rockwell hits a strong clothesline and pulls a springboarding Austin out of the air. A spinning backbreaker plants Austin again but an elbow misses. The Fold finishes Rockwell at 2:15.

Post match Eddie Edwards of all people jumps Austin from behind and beats the heck out of him. Remember that Austin hit on Eddie’s wife.

Madison Rayne, dubbing herself the locker room leader, comes in to see Tessa and wishes her luck tonight. Tessa doesn’t want to hear it and leaves. Madison: “She’s done.”

Video on the Knockouts Division, which has been pretty strong in recent months.

Alisha Edwards yells at Eddie for attacking Ace. She says she doesn’t have time for him being crazy and leaves.

During the break, Moose laid out Stone Rockwell and now back in the arena, Moose says he is a star and no longer responsible for his actions. Cue Fallah Bahh and we have a match.

Moose vs. Fallah Bahh

Moose is in street clothes and gets crushed in the corner. The Banzai Drop finishes Moose at 47 seconds. They’re not wasting time tonight.

Post break Moose wants to know who booked that match.

Mad Man Fulton vs. Tessa Blanchard

Sami is here with Fulton. Tessa forearms away to start and the size difference is crazy. Magnum is broken up with ease and it’s a chokeslam to plant Tessa instead. With Tessa mostly dead, Fulton pauses for some OVE chants and Sami rants about how Tessa earned this. Callis: “Shut up idiot.”

Tessa slaps Fulton in the face and the bearhug goes on with a lot of shaking. In what might not be the smartest move, Tessa pulls out one of his deadlocks to escape. Some running forearms don’t do much though and Fulton big boots her down. Sami throws in a chair and slaps Fulton, but here’s Tommy Dreamer (BECAUSE OF COURSE IT’S TOMMY DREAMER!) to hit Fulton with the kendo stick for the DQ at 5:01.

Rating: D+. I actually groaned when Dreamer ran out because we’re going to get the same speech about how much he loves wrestling and doesn’t have much time left as he gets to attach himself to another story. It’s been done to death already and I really, really don’t need to see it again. But he was in ECW and Callis likes pushing his friends from the company that has been out of business for over eighteen years so this is what we’re getting. The match itself was much more of an angle advancement than anything else, which is fine, though I’m not sure where Tessa goes after getting done with OVE.

Post match Fulton goes after Dreamer but Tessa gets the stick and runs OVE off.

We look at Rhyno returning last week and attacking Michael Elgin. I’m not sure how valuable he is to the company but Impact loves bringing people back in whenever they can.

Elgin gets what Rhyno did but Rhyno is still going to pay.

An unnamed woman comes into the Knockouts locker room and doesn’t introduce herself. Madison introduces herself as the locker room leader but Kiera Hogan comes in and everyone gets catty with each other. The new girl leaves.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Generation Me (Young Bucks) vs. Motor City Machine Guns at Bound For Glory 2010.

Jimmy Jacobs goes up to Brian Cage’s house for an update but Melissa Santos opens the door and asks for privacy. She’ll answer his questions next week.

Impact is back in Mexico City later this month.

Rhyno doesn’t care about legal actions because he had a bunch of money thrown to him to sit in catering for years. Everyone is getting the Gore.

Tag Team Titles: The North vs. Rascalz

Trey Miguel and Dezmond Xavier are defending with no Wentz here this time. North drops Miguel with an early forearm and a quick takedown has Miguel rethinking things a bit. Page comes in and gets caught with a springboard headscissors as Miguel is having a lot more success this time around. Dezmond comes in and starts kicking away at Page, followed by rights and lefts in the corner.

Back to back to back slingshot splashes keep Page down for two but Alexander saves Page from an O’Connor roll. A World’s Strongest Slam onto the apron has Dezmond in trouble for the first time and a spinning suplex gives Alexander two. Alexander puts him in a rack for something from Page but Page is too busy yelling at Miguel. Dezmond uses the distraction to slip out and it’s back to Trey to pick up the pace. That doesn’t last long though as the champs run him over again and take over.

With Dezmond knocked off the apron, Trey gets free and dives over for the tag….but just crashes into the corner. As expected, the hot tag goes through a few seconds later and everything breaks down again. Dezmond hits a huge dive over the top to take down both champs and we take a break.

Back with Page kicking Dezmond in the head but getting stomped in the back for two from Miguel. Page powerslams Dezmond on the floor, leaving Alexander to start in on Miguel’s ankle. A backbreaker gets two and Alexander is starting to get frustrated. The ankle lock is broken up so Alexander goes with a powerbomb backbreaker for two more in a nasty landing. The torture rack flipped into the spinebuster gets two as everything breaks down again.

The double slugout is on with the Rascalz getting the better of it until Alexander lifts Trey up for a powerslam. Dezmond tries a springboard moonsault onto them….and Alexander catches him too. A double powerslam gets two more but Alexander misses his own moonsault. Trey’s top rope Meteora sets up Dezmond’s Final Flash for two and Trey’s rollup gets the same. Dezmond gets sent outside and it’s a cutter into a wheelbarrow suplex, followed by the double Neuralizer to retain the titles at 22:40.

Rating: A-. This was a heck of a match with both teams looking awesome. I’ve liked the Rascalz since they debuted but I’ve been waiting for something to make the North feel important. That’s what we got here as the match was very hard hitting and back and forth the whole time, with a nice bit of doubt as to who was winning. The Rascalz will eventually get the titles and that’s going to be a heck of a moment, but at least we had a great match on the way there.

Post match the North goes to the back, where Ortiz jumps them. The champs fight back but Daga runs in and makes the save, with Konnan helping to chase the North off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Rather good show here as they covered a bunch of stuff and had a very strong main event to close things out. When Impact is on its game and keeps away from the storyline stuff, they can put out some good television and that’s what we got here. What matters most for them is consistency, which has always been a problem for this company. I’ll take a very good show while I can though and that’s what we got here.

Results

Aiden Prince b. Chuck Mambo, Rohit Raju, Zachary Wentz, Cody Deaner and Petey Williams – 450 to Mambo

Havok b. John E. Bravo – Chokeslam

Ace Austin b. Stone Rockwell – The Fold

Fallah Bahh b. Moose – Banzai Drop

Mad Man Fulton b. Tessa Blanchard via DQ when Tommy Dreamer interfered

The North b. Rascalz – Double Neutralizer to Miguel

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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