Ring Of Honor – August 15, 2018: They’re Making Me Rethink My Meat Preferences

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: August 15, 2018
Location: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Virginia
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

Your guess is as good as mine about what we might be getting this week. This show could be about wrestling, it could be about storytelling, or it could be about setting up some show for the Honor Club that doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. The company is all over the place anymore, mainly due to not having a big show to build towards at the moment. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Bouncers vs. Briscoe Brothers

Non-title and the Bouncers are the Beer City Bruiser/Brian Milonas. Brian catches Mark’s crossbody and throws him hard with a belly to belly suplex. Jay comes in and gets rocked as well, with the Bouncers running the Brothers over without any trouble. Another hard shoulder knocks Jay down but the Brothers are back up with a double knockdown to the floor. That means a big flip dive from Jay, followed by a Whisper in the Wind from Mark as we take a break.

Back with Mark in more trouble and Milonas hitting his falling backsplash for two. A Trash Compactor of all things gets two on Mark with Jay having to make the save. Bruiser misses a Cannonball off the apron though and the Briscoes start the running corner clotheslines to put Milonas in trouble. A missed charge sends Bruiser into Milonas and an impressive Death Valley Driver gets two on Milonas. There’s a Blockbuster from the apron to Milonas, followed by the Froggy Bow for the pin at 9:27.

Rating: C+. I came into this one ready to not like it but the Bouncers were much better than I was expecting. They were in there working hard and doing a strong big man style, which is where they do have value. Granted it helped to be in there against a team as good as the Briscoes. I’m not sure how well it would have worked without them, but that’s how any better match works.

Post match the Briscoes say no one is taking these belts from them, especially So Cal Uncensored. Cue So Cal Uncensored to talk about how they need gold to stick around at the end of the year. The fight is on and referees are breaking it up as we take a break.

Karen Q. vs. Madison Rayne vs. Kelly Klein vs. Tenille Dashwood

The winner gets a future Women’s Title match and it’s one fall to a finish. All of them get an inset promo on their way to the ring. Believe it or not, they all want to be champion. Way to show the awesome levels of character depth from this division. Karen bails to the floor to start and Klein is proud of ducking an early double clothesline, only to be knocked to the floor.

Madison rolls Dashwood up for some near falls and lets her know how close that was. That’s enough to bring Karen back in but she gets suplexed upon arrival. Ian says there are supposed to be tags here, which is quite the news to Colt. Fair enough actually. Karen is back up with some running forearms to Madison and a snap suplex gets two. Dashwood puts on the Tarantula and takes Karen up top, only to have Kelly come back in with the Tower of Doom on everyone as we take a break.

Back with Dashwood taking over but Klein breaks up a near fall on Karen. Klein puts Karen up in a fireman’s carry and easily catches Madison in a fall away slam at the same time. No matter who does those things, they’re always impressive. A high crossbody gives Dashwood two on Klein and the Spotlight Kick connects, only to have Karen steal the near fall. Madison is back up though and the Rayne Check finishes Karen at 9:36.

Rating: D+. Just a big collection of stuff here without much of a flow or story being told. Madison as the next challenger is a good idea as you need someone with some name value to the more common wrestling fan (Madison isn’t a star but she’s better known than the Stardom women in America). I’m a bit surprised given that Madison is in the Mae Young Classic but this feels like a one off title shot anyway.

Here are Cody and Brandi Rhodes to take issue with the way his World Title rematches have gone. Yes he’s had two shots, but neither of them have been on on one. He needs someone to come out here who is all business so here’s NWA World Champion Nick Aldis, who Cody will be defending against at All In. Aldis talks about agreeing to their match at All In, but where’s the upside for him? What does Cody have to offer him? There’s no ROH World Title on the line so Aldis has nothing to gain, and that doesn’t sound like good business.

Cody offers up the ring of honor as collateral, which Aldis accepts and leaves. Hang on a second though, as Cody calls out Aldis for beating a 53 year old history teacher for that title while Cody was beating Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi. Aldis gets back in and holds up the ring but here’s the Bullet Club to break things up. Nice segment here, especially for a match with the most obvious ending in the world.

Cheeseburger/Flip Gordon/Josh Woods vs. Bully Ray/Punishment Martinez/Shane Taylor

The Club is defending but hang on a second as here’s Bully Ray to post Flip and take him out. Post break, Bully and company say Cheeseburger and Woods need a partner so the fans chant for Colt Cabana. Cheeseburger says they’ll do it 3-2 so let’s hit the bell.

Cheeseburger/Josh Woods vs. Bully Ray/Punishment Martinez/Shane Taylor

Woods and Taylor start things off but Shane tags out to Martinez instead. That’s fine with Josh, who slugs away in the corner and a suplex has Martinez in trouble. Martinez stomps him out of the corner though and now Taylor is willing to come in so Woods suplexes him as well. Bully comes in and Cheeseburger comes in for the not very well done staredown. Cheeseburger slips out of a powerbomb and avoids a charge but Ray hides in the other corner.

The distraction lets Taylor crotch Cheeseburger and we take a break. Back with Ray talking a lot of trash as Cheeseburger tries to crawl to the corner. Shane knocks Woods off the apron with the running right hand and with Cheeseburger alone, Cabana runs in to be the third man and clean house. Cheeseburger tags himself in for a top rope double stomp and Cabana dives onto Ray. Taylor comes back in with Greetings From 216 and the pin at 7:41.

Rating: D. Good. I liked watching Cheeseburger’s head bounce off the mat and I was smiling when he got pinned. The character wasn’t creative in the first place and I’m sick of having the same stories pounded into my head for years now. It’s really annoying to watch him in there so often and even occasionally getting the better of people nearly 200lbs heavier than him. I can’t stand the guy and it was nice to see him get beaten up and pinned. Do it less often though, because it would mean Cheeseburger isn’t wrestling as often.

One positive: a thrown together team was fighting people they have issues with and not getting a random Six Man Tag Team Title match. I had just glanced at the graphic earlier and thought this was a title shot for Cheeseburger and company so the match we actually got was a bit of a relief.

Post match the beating is on but Flip Gordon comes back out with a chair for the save. Ray and company bail to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Like I said, this was another show where it was a total guessing game of what you were going to see. The wrestling wasn’t great to say the least (though the opener was good) and the main event angle is one of my least favorites in wrestling for the last year minimum. Building towards All In is better than nothing and gave the show its best segment. Other than that though, it feels like they were just throwing stuff out there and hoping for the best this week.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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Impact Wrestling – June 28, 2018: They’re Doing Things Right

IMG Credit: WWE

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 28, 2018
Location: St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re getting closer and closer to Slammiversary and the card is really starting to take shape. One of the matches though appears to be Eddie Edwards vs. Tommy Dreamer, which means more of Dreamer talking about stuff that happened twenty years ago and how much he loves wrestling. That’s all well and good, if you ignore the fact that he’s done it for more than half of his career. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s big stories, including Konnan returning and being suspicious of King, Edwards going insane, Madison Rayne becoming #1 contender and OVE vs. Pentagon Jr./El Hijo Del Fantasma.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Rayne for a chat. She never intended to get back in the ring but now it’s all about creating moments. The biggest moment she could create would be to become the Knockouts Champion again. Sure she’s afraid of Su Yung, but she’s told her daughter to not be afraid of monsters. She’s coming to Slammiversary not as a mom, but as the five time Knockouts Champion.

This brings out Tessa Blanchard to say it’s not 2011 anymore. Tessa rants about being a third generation diamond of professional wrestling so Madison mocks her for telling us that over and over. A fight nearly breaks out but the lights flicker and Yung’s laughter is heard, allowing Tessa to drop her with a forearm. Tessa is awesome and while the Rayne story makes sense, I’m not really caring about what she’s saying.

Rich Swann vs. Trevor Lee

Swann is looking and acting exactly as he did in WWE. It’s a pose/dance off to start with Swann turning the test of strength into more dancing. There’s a flip over Lee as we have no contact in the first minute. A dropkick sends Lee outside though and more dancing takes us to a break. Back with Swann kicking him between the shoulders but getting dropped throat first onto the top rope.

Lee knocks Swann into the corner and chokes a bit as we’re told that it’s Blanchard vs. Rayne later tonight. Swann avoids a charge in the corner though and snaps off some dropkicks into a headscissors to the floor. That means the big flip dive to drop Lee again but his running double stomp gets two. Not that it matters as Swann hits his spinning kick to the head, followed by the reverse hurricanrana and the Phoenix splash for the pin at 12:40.

Rating: C+. If you liked Swann in WWE, you’ll like him here too as he’s doing the exact same thing. That’s a nice pickup as Swann has charisma and the fans love him, not to mention the division needs a top face star which Swann could certainly be. That being said, given how often the division needs some fresh blood, there might be far bigger problems at the moment.

We see OVE attacking Pentagon at a PCW show in Los Angeles. They take off his mask but Pentagon falls on his face, which Sami doesn’t care to expose to anyone.

Clip of the King of the Mountain match from Slammiversary 2005.

Katarina comes up to tell Grado and that she has a match next week. Grado is surprised but she reminds him that she’s a former two time Knockouts Champion. That’s a relief that we’re not supposed to think she’s someone brand new.

This is the Hit Squad’s (Gursinder Singh/Rohit Raju) official debut though we’ve heard about them for months. They’re introduced by manager Gama Singh, a famous former wrestler. Everett tries to spin out of a wristlock but gets punched in the face for his efforts. A dropkick and then a double dropkick get two on Raju as we hear about Singh’s training methods. The Squad sends them both to the floor though and a dropkick gives Singh two back inside.

That’s about it for their control at the moment though as they’re both sent outside for a springboard corkscrew dive from Everett. A springboard spinwheel kick gets two on Raju but Singh knocks them both down. Raju knees Everett into a Sky High for another near fall so DJZ makes a save, apparently remembering that he’s in the match. A series of moonsaults gets two on Raju as Gama Singh is on the apron. The distraction lets Raju grab a rollup with tights to pin Everett at 6:53.

Rating: C. The Hit Squad was better than I expected but they didn’t exactly live up to the hype from hearing about them for so long. The ending didn’t do them any favors either as it was the same distraction for a save into a cheating pin that people have done for years now. They were fine, but certainly nothing inspiring or overly impressive.

Pentagon Jr. challenges Sami to mask vs. hair at Slammiversary.

Video on Moose, who grew up in a very bad neighborhood but he had an outlet in sports. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons but got traded around so much that he lost his love for football but his love for wrestling was growing. This is what he wanted to do more than anything else, even though his wife didn’t support it.

At a House of Hardcore event in Philadelphia, Eddie Edwards attacked Tommy Dreamer and busted him open. Eddie rubbed the blood onto his face and left, with Moose following him out and demanding an explanation. Eddie just said to leave him alone.

Konnan and King argue at the LAX Clubhouse with Konnan saying he’s playing him, no matter what King thinks. King leaves and Konnan says King is lying but LAX doesn’t buy it. Konnan promises proof.

Dezmond Xavier vs. Matt Sydal

Non-title. Xavier armdrags him to start but Sydal has a seat on the mat. A handshake is declined and Sydal takes a quick break on the floor. Back in and Xavier takes his head off with a clothesline and pounds away in the corner. Sydal starts in on the knee though and grabs a half crab, which he lets go in a hurry due to a sore hip. A dropkick to the leg cuts Xavier down again but he snapmares Sydal to the floor. The running flip dive drops Sydal one more time but the knee goes out to slow Xavier down. Back in and Sydal catches him on top, setting up that flip package cradle (name that already) for the pin on Xavier at 5:57.

Rating: C+. This had a lot more of a story than most X-Division matches and that’s a nice thing to see. Xavier continues to be one of the most underutilized talents on the roster. He’s young, looks great and can flip around with the best of them but instead he’s just putting over the champion with the third eye deal, which isn’t exactly lighting the division on fire. Such is life in Impact.

Post match Brian Cage comes out to go after Sydal but Jimmy Jacobs and Kongo Kong show up for a distraction, allowing Sydal to hit Cage with a belt shot. Kong adds a top rope splash.

Callihan says it’s on at Slammiversary and promises to humiliate Pentagon.

The announcers preview Slammiversary, which will include Johnny Impact vs. Fenix vs. Rich Swann vs. Taiji Ishimori.

Austin Aries says he’s being hunted by a Moose and doesn’t think much of Moose’s story. Aries didn’t fail at his first career, but the difference is Moose is going to fail his second too. Moose is desperate and no match for Aries.

Madison Rayne vs. Tessa Blanchard

Some forearms knock Blanchard to the floor to start but she sends Madison throat first into the middle rope. A running elbow to the back keeps Madison in trouble and Tessa kicks her in the back for two. We’re off to an abdominal stretch and a delayed vertical suplex gets two more.

Madison finally gets in a headscissors for two of her own, only to get caught in the corner for a hanging Downward Spiral. A spear gets Madison out of trouble and it’s off to the forearm exchange. Tessa gets the better of it and gets her up in a fireman’s carry, only to get pulled down with a crucifix slam for the pin at 8:04.

Rating: C. They’re going all the way in on the Madison push but I can’t imagine they’ll have her win the title at Slammiversary. I know this company LOVES its nostalgia pushes but egads that would be a big waste of Yung. Then again this is the company that has had Madison go over Tessa twice in a row, which is nuts if Tessa is sticking around for the long term.

Post match Tessa knocks her down and grabs a chair but here are Yung with the dead bridesmaids. Tessa bails and the bridesmaids beat on Madison but Allie runs in for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was the new Impact wrapped up in a nice package: nothing bad (the biggest key of them all), some stuff that intrigues me, and no particularly great matches. The wrestling isn’t terrible but it’s nothing that’s going to blow the doors off. What the show has become is stable, but there are enough things that are starting to grow (the main event angle, Moose vs. Aries and the LAX feud) that they’re a few steps ahead of where they were a few months back. That’s a positive sign and hopefully they stay on this trajectory.

Results

Rich Swann b. Trevor Lee – Phoenix Splash

Matt Sydal b. Dezmond Xavier – Flip package rollup

Madison Rayne b. Tessa Blanchard – Crucifix slam

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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Ring of Honor TV – May 16, 2018: With High Honor

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: May 16, 2018
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, BJ Whitmer

This week should be a big deal with the Young Bucks getting a Tag Team Title shot against the Briscoes, which is about as high profile of a tag match as you’re going to see around here. It might be the biggest tag team match you can have and with a bigger stage, would be one of the featured matches on any major pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Kelly Klein vs. Madison Rayne

You can tell Kelly is serious here as she ties her hair back. Madison tries to speed things up to start but can’t get a sunset flip. Instead it’s some clotheslines to put Madison in trouble and we take an early break. Back with Klein choking in the corner and yelling at the crowd a lot. Madison comes back with some forearms and a cutter for two but the Rayne Drop is broken up. A second attempt works just fine for two but Klein is right back with a Samoan drop. With that not working, it’s a knee to Madison’s face for the pin at 8:12.

Rating: D+. That’s a big enough win and the kind of thing that Klein needed after her loss at Supercard of Honor. The logical move would be to have her earn another title shot and take the title from Sumie Sakai, but there’s every chance that ROH will go with one of their other unknown names to take the title instead. It’s not like it’s unprecedented.

So Cal Uncensored is ready to face the divided Bullet Club.

Jay Lethal is a better wrestler than Punishment Martinez so he’s not worried.

Here are the Motor City Machine Guns for a chat. They’ve accomplished their goal of winning the Ring of Honor Tag Team Titles but what do they do now that they’ve lost the belts? Split up? Or win the titles again? The truth is they’re not sure but they know they’re brothers for life. Cue the Dawgs and the match is on.

The Dawgs vs. Motor City Machine Guns

The Guns clean house to start and an enziguri into a Downward Spiral sends Ferrara to the floor. The Dream Sequence is broken up though and we take a break. Back with Ferrara being thrown into Shelley’s ribs in the corner but Ferrara dives onto Titus by mistake. Sabin comes in for a dive onto both of them but Titus hits both of them in the face. Now the Dream Sequence connects on Titus, who pops up with a running big boot to Sabin. The Doggy Splash gets two as everything stays broken down. Titus gets tied in the Tree of Woe though and Ferrara gets suplexed into him. Skull and Bones puts Titus away at 7:35.

Rating: C-. I still can’t stand the Dawgs but as long as they’re not talking and losing their matches, they’re not the most annoying things in the world. The Guns teasing a split is interesting as well and that could lead somewhere, though their previous singles feud in TNA really didn’t do anything for me.

The Young Bucks are ready to beat the Briscoes again.

Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Facade vs. Eli Isom

You never know what you’re going to get in this tournament. Facade describes himself as a ninja and has a woman named Danni with him. They grade near falls to start and that means an early standoff. Isom gets in a jumping knee to the face to take over as the face pace continues. A springboard spinning kick to the face of a seated Isom puts Facade down but Isom is right back up with a t-bone suplex. That doesn’t get him very far though as Facade sends him outside for a springboard flip dive, followed by a springboard clothesline back inside. And never mind as here’s Bully Ray to clothesline Facade for the DQ at 4:40.

Rating: C+. That was already better than most of last year’s Top Prospect Tournament matches as Facade was entertaining and memorable while Isom was at least trying. This thing can be VERY hit or miss and last year’s offered Josh Woods alone as an interesting prospect. At least this seems to be off to a better start. Oh and again, it’s a DQ and not the no contest that they’ll bill it as. When you interfere and hit one person, it’s a disqualification whether you want to go with that story or not.

Ray says that as the enforcer (because he wasn’t fired after yelling at his boss and beating up wrestlers at Supercard of Honor), he’s firing both of them for being bottom feeders in the wrestling business. Cue Cheeseburger (Ian: “We needed somebody to stand up to Bully Ray!” Whitmer: “AND IT’S THIS PIPSQUEAK???”) to call Ray a piece of ****.

A one armed chokeslam drops Cheeseburger so here’s COO Joe Koff to fire Ray. Well at least it was only a short term stupid move. Ray unretires, meaning he’s back as a wrestler. As long as they don’t expect me to care about Cheeseburger pinning Ray, fine. He puts on the Hall of Fame ring, which is censored ala the REAL World Title back in 1991.

The Bullet Club is ready to win the Six Man Tag Team Titles but Cody and Marty Scurll disagree about who is going to win the World Title at Best in the World.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Briscoes

The Briscoes are defending. Mark throws in a chair before the bell but Jay and Nick are fighting, allowing Matt to pelt it at his head instead. The brawl and match start on the floor with Nick being suplexed onto the apron and Matt getting double teamed on the other side of the ring. Nick is right back up though and the Briscos are powerbombed onto the apron to send us to a break. Back with Mark cutting off Matt’s attempt to run around the floor and get to the hot tag.

A spear cuts Mark down instead and now the hot tag connects so Nick can start in with the kicks. The Superkick Party is on and a shooting star press/standing moonsault combination gets two on Mark. Cease and Desist can’t go on so the Briscoes grab a rear naked choke and Sharpshooter of their own. Like most submissions on faces, the holds are broken up in short order. Instead it’s a Razor’s Edge into a neckbreaker (sweet) for two on Matt but the Doomsday Device is broken up. The Jay Driller gets two on Matt but Mark uses a chair to break up the Meltzer Driver for the DQ at 8:15.

Rating: B-. This needed more time and was starting to get really good by the end of the match. The Bucks are far better to watch as faces than heels, which is something that should have happened far sooner than it did. That being said, the Briscoes are just on another planet right now and they’re the most entertaining things about Ring of Honor at the moment.

Post match the Briscoes wreck the Bucks with chairs but Mark is smart enough to hide behind the entrance and take out Adam Page and Flip Gordon as they try for a save. Cody comes out a few seconds later but gets beaten down as well. Great ending sequence to make the Briscoes look even more awesome.

Overall Rating: B. This show worked very well with a variety of stories being told and nothing, save for Cheeseburger’s mere existence, felt like a waste of time. The main event was good and the World Title situation could be a lot of fun once Dalton Castle is back to full health. Good show here, and one of the best, most efficient episodes they’ve put together in a long time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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Impact Wrestling – April 6, 2017: One Story Can Kill a Show

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Date: April 6, 2017
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Angelo Dinero, Jeremy Borash

Opening sequence.

Eli Drake vs. Caleb Konley

This starts immediately after the opening sequence with no entrances. Drake sends him outside for a cheap shot from Tyrus, followed by some right hands from Eli back inside. A neckbreaker out of the corner gives Eli two but Caleb comes right back with a rolling palm strike. That actually sends Drake outside for a suicide dive, followed by a high crossbody for no cover. Caleb goes up but Tyrus offers a distraction, allowing Drake to hit White Noise for the pin at 4:05.

Gauntlet Match

This is basically a Royal Rumble with the final two having a regular match where the winner gets a future title shot. Ava Storie is in at #1 and Madison Rayne is in at #2, complete with the Killer Queen song. That goes nowhere so after the first one minute interval, Rebel is in at #3. Storie runs them both over with a double clothesline and Amanda Rodriguez is in at #4.

The two newcomers slug it out with no one even attempting an elimination. M.J. Jenkins is in at #5 as the announcers just act like we should know who all these new people are. Diamante from LAX is in at #6 and Rodriguez is the first one eliminated. ODB is in at #7 and sends the other five into the corner for a huge splash.

Andrew Everett vs. Marshe Rockett vs. Suicide

Everett kicks Rockett to the floor as the announcers KEEP GOING about their upcoming tag match before switching over to fantasy baseball. This is the kind of stuff you expect from One Night Only shows. Suicide knocks Andrew to the floor and follows with the falling dive. Back in and Rockett stomps on Everett before powerslamming him out of the air.

Davey Richards vs. Eddie Edwards

Last Man Standing and Eddie jumps Davey in the aisle. Eddie knocks him into the barricade and follows with two suicide dives as they quickly head into the crowd. Davey gets crotched on a barricade but ducks a dive, sending Eddie crashing into a garbage can for a good looking spot. Richards gets in a few kicks, stops to kiss Angelina Love, and grabs a chair.

Rating: B+. This got the time that it needed and the violence was more than enough to make it work. These two beat the heck out of each other and made it look like they wanted to kill each other. Now the problem is they need to let the feud end here instead of just continuing it for the sake of continuing it, which gets old in a hurry.

We get a video on Veterans of War involving Operation Iraqi Freedom. I believe one of them was Gunner, who is a former member of the military.

JB wants to make Impact Wrestling great.

LAX celebrates their title win.

We look at James Storm updating his theme music in a studio.

Alberto El Patron vs. Jon Bolen

Post match Alberto calls out Lashley.

Fury is unleashed next week and has something to do with Sutter and Allie.

Overall Rating: D+. This is a show where one thing really does bring the whole thing down. We had a great gimmick match and some stuff involving the World Title but what closes the show? Bickering announcers. Can you imagine if Cole vs. Lawler closed a show instead of something involving John Cena?

Results

Eli Drake b. Caleb Konley – White Noise

ODB won a gauntlet match last eliminating Madison Rayne

Andrew Everett b. Marshe Rockett and Suicide – Shooting star press to Rockett

Davey Richards b. Eddie Edwards – Creeping Death with a chain around the boot

Alberto El Patron b. Jon Bolen – Top rope double stomp

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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Impact Wrestling – November 17, 2016: The New New Divide

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Date: November 17, 2016
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: D’Angelo Dinero, Josh Matthews

Jesse Godderz vs. Aron Rex

Due to the attack last week, Gail Kim is forced to vacate the Knockouts Title.

Hardy and Edwards get to face the DCC in an anything goes handicap match tonight.

Sienna/Laurel Van Ness vs. Brandi Rhodes/???

Trevor Lee vs. Ethan Carter III vs. Lashley vs. Mike Bennett

The fans want someone to kill the troll as Carter takes some shoulders in the corner. Ethan comes right back and loads up a double 1%er, only to get speared in half by Lashley. A cutter drops Lashley and a deadlift German suplex gives Lee two on Carter. Bennett starts snapping off superkicks and spinebusters, only to have Lashley give him the real spinebuster. Lee suplexes Lashley to block the spear (sweet counter) and dives over the top to take out Carter and Lashley. Back in and Carter grabs a sleeper to make Lee tap at 14:07.

Reby and Matt look at some Broken Matt videos and Matt is terrified of the chaos.

Decay threatens Jade with destruction at the hands of Rosemary.

Basile Baraka vs. Mahabali Shera

Rating: D. Why is this still a thing? I know they need to fill in time but is this really the best they have? Or is Shera just there to keep the Sony Six people happy? Neither guy is interesting and the Tribunal, which could have been at least something, has turned into one of the least interesting acts in a long time.

Post match the Tribunal beats Shera down until Al Snow makes the save. Josh: “AL SNOW IS TRENDING WORLDWIDE ON TWITTER RIGHT NOW!” Does Josh know that trending on Twitter is a real thing and not just a random statement? Snow and Shera shake hands, which Josh calls the Mega Powers uniting. He might be the greatest troll announcer ever and I doubt he has any idea of it.

Eddie Edwards/Jeff Hardy vs. DCC

Results

Jesse Godderz b. Aron Rex – Adonis Lock

Brandi Rhodes/Madison Rayne b. Sienna/Laurel Van Ness – Downward Spiral to Sienna

Ethan Carter III b. Lashley, Trevor Lee and Mike Bennett – Sleeper to Lee

Mahabali Shera b. Basile Baraka – Camel clutch

DCC b. Eddie Edwards/Jeff Hardy – Last Call to Hardy

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Impact Wrestling – September 29, 2016: So Close Now

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Date: September 29, 2016
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: D’Angelo Dinero, Josh Matthews

Lashley, Drew Galloway, Mike Bennett, Maria Kanellis

Carter, Aron Rex, Moose, Gail Kim

X-Division Title: Eddie Edwards vs. DJZ

Post match the Helms Dynasty comes out and beats up both guys.

Madison Rayne vs. Laurel Van Ness

Lashley offers a title shot to anyone who takes Ethan out.

Decay promises to destroy the Hardys.

Long recap of Decay vs. House Hardy.

Reby Hardy vs. Rosemary

Post match the big brawl breaks out and Rosemary gives Reby a Side Effect through a table.

Lashley wins the coin toss for his team.

Back from a break, Decay beats on Matt and Jeff even more. They fight to the back where Matt is electrocuted by a cable and we go to three camera shots at once with Steve shouting DECAY.

Cody Rhodes vignette.

Maria and Gail have another sitdown interview with Maria insisting on being introduced properly. They insult each other a few times and argue over whether the title or the Hall of Fame is more important.

Ethan gives his team a pep talk.

Team Carter vs. Team Lashley

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Impact Wrestling – July 28, 2016: What To Delete Next

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Date: July 28, 2016
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: D’Angelo Dinero, Josh Matthews

Bound For Glory Playoff Semifinals: Matt Hardy vs. Ethan Carter III

Madison Rayne is annoyed at Maria and Allie so they give her Gail Kim tonight.

Post break, Matt yells at Jeff and promises to make it worse.

Madison Rayne vs. Gail Kim

Mike Bennett and Moose are ready to destroy Lashley.

Moose vs. David Star

X-Division Title: Lashley vs. DJZ

Ethan Carter III and Drew Galloway want to fight each other in the finals.

Tyrus is still ready to fix your problems.

Tag Team Titles: Decay vs. BroMans

Bound For Glory Playoff Semifinals: Mike Bennett vs. Ethan Carter III

Moose jumps Galloway during the entrance and powerbombs him onto the apron. Drew still says ring the bell because disqualifications cannot possibly happen before the bell. Bennett slowly beats him down until Drew grabs an overhead belly to belly to get himself a breather. A quick cutter gives Mike two and he throws Galloway outside. They head outside with Bennett going chest first into the bottom of the ring (as in the wood that holds it up) for two.

Results

Ethan Carter III b. Matt Hardy – 1%er

Gail Kim b. Madison Rayne – Eat Defeat

Moose b. David Star – Gamebreaker

Lashley b. DJZ – Lashley pulled down the title

Decay b. BroMans – Chokeslam onto a barbed wire board

Mike Bennett b. Drew Galloway – MIP

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Impact Wrestling – April 5, 2016: Nope, Not Buying It

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Date: April 5, 2016
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Jeremy Borash, Josh Matthews

Jeff Hardy vs. Eric Young

Young tells Bram to get a table as the handicap beating continues. They FINALLY get inside for the opening bell with a table and a bunch of chairs thrown inside for fun. A jawbreaker staggers Young and the whole double beatdown is forgotten. We take a break less than a minute after the bell and come back with Young sending Hardy head first into the cage. Eric wedges a chair into the corner but of course Hardy reverses him into it instead.

Jeff is icing his head and wants the Creatures to stay with him.

Lashley spears him down two more times before Ethan Carter III comes out for a slow save. As Lashley leaves, Mike Bennett sneaks in and jumps Carter from behind.

Knockouts Title: Jade vs. Madison Rayne vs. Gail Kim

Rating: D-. The ending is the right choice (though you know Gail is going to get the title back in a few months at most because we must praise Gail Kim at every given chance) but the match was a mess with almost no time and all three looking in different libraries instead of on the same page. Nothing to see here but at least we have a fresh champion.

Galloway is ready to defend his title.

We look back at Al Snow beating up Grado last week.

Beer Money wants Decay next week.

TNA World Title: Drew Galloway vs. Matt Hardy

Results

Jeff Hardy b. Eric Young – Swanton Bomb through a table

Jade b. Madison Rayne and Gail Kim – STO to Kim

Drew Galloway b. Matt Hardy – Iron Maiden

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Impact Wrestling – February 16, 2016: As Always

Impact Wrestling
Date: February 16, 2016
Location: MEN Arena, Manchester, England
Attendance: 3,000
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Angelo Dinero

Opening sequence.

King of the Mountain Title: Eric Young vs. James Storm

Young is defending and gets taken down in a hurry with Storm sending him into the corner. Storm gets sent to the floor though, allowing Eric to take over back inside. An elbow to the face gets two and a neckbreaker gets the same. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Storm fights up with some clotheslines. Roode intercepts Bram and all four guys brawl to the floor for the double countout at 4:07.

All four fight into the crowd.

Mike Bennett vs. Mandrews

Post match Bennett keeps pounding on Mandrews until Drew Galloway makes the save.

Post break and Bennett beats down Galloway and Mandrews in the back.

Odarg the Great (notice the spelling) is coming.

We look back at Angle vs. Lashley from last year.

Tag Team Titles: Wolves vs. Decay

Abyss pulls out Janice and before I can type “and he swings it, only to get it caught in the turnbuckle pad because HE ALWAYS GETS IT CAUGHT IN THE TURNBUCKLE PAD”, he swings it, only to get it caught in the turnbuckle pad because HE ALWAYS GETS IT CAUGHT IN THE TURNBUCKLE PAD. That means more violence as Abyss piles up chairs until Eddie gets up for the save, setting up sunset bomb onto the chairs.

Gail Kim/Madison Rayne vs. Jade/Marti Bell

Post match, the Dollhouse beats down Gail and Madison until Velvet Sky makes the save. Velvet wants Lethal Lockdown next week.

Jesse Godderz/Eli Drake vs. Mahabali Shera/Odarg the Great

Jesse has some better luck by taking Shera to the mat and setting up something like a Demolition Decapitator. Back up and the hot tag brings in Odarg to clean house as everything breaks down. A Sky High gets two on Jesse as Drake goes after the mask. Odarg pulls it off instead and rolls Drake up (looking him right in the face) for the pin at 5:00.

Matt Hardy/Tyrus vs. Ethan Carter III

Results

James Storm vs. Eric Young went to a double countout

Mike Bennett b. Mandrews – Miracle in Progress

Wolves b. Decay – Brainbuster onto a chair to Steve

Odarg the Great/Mahabali Shera b. Eli Drake/Jesse Godderz – Rollup to Drake

Ethan Carter III/Rockstar Spud b. Tyrus/Matt Hardy – 1%er to Hardy

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Impact Wrestling – November 11, 2015: Let Go Of That Pattern

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Date: November 11, 2015
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Angelo Dinero

Opening recap and preview of last week and this week.

The announcers preview things as well.

Group Knockouts: Gail Kim vs. Madison Rayne

Group Knockouts

Gail Kim – 6 points (0 matches remaining)

Brooke – 3 points (1 match remaining)

Madison Rayne – 3 points (1 match remaining)

Awesome Kong – 3 points (0 matches remaining)

Group Future Four: Jesse Godderz vs. Eli Drake

Group Future Four

Eli Drake – 4 points (1 match remaining)

Jesse Godderz – 3 points (1 match remaining)

Micah – 1 point (2 matches remaining)

Crimson – 0 points (2 matches remaining)

Ethan Carter III is at TNA headquarters (which looks like a local pub) to pay the fine in person.

Drake brags about his win.

Group Tag Team Specialists: Eddie Edwards vs. Matt Hardy

Back in and Eddie chops with the bad hand but walks into a double clothesline to put both of them down. Eddie has to break a sleeper by falling back onto Hardy and a Backpack Stunner gets two. The Side Effect and Twist of Fate are countered into rollups for two each and a kick to the head gets the same. Eddie goes up top but gets crotched, setting up a super Twist of Fate (minus the twist) for the pin at 11:05.

Group Tag Team Specialists

Matt Hardy – 9 points (0 matches remaining)

Robbie E. – 3 points (1 match remaining)

Davey Richards – 1 point (1 match remaining)

Eddie Edwards – 1 point (0 matches remaining)

We look at the end of Bound For Glory with Ethan shoving John Gaburick to draw a huge fine.

Matt praises Eddie for his toughness.

Pope decides whose bubbles are going to pop soon.

Group X-Division: Mandrews vs. DJZ

Group X-Division

Manik – 6 points (1 match remaining)

DJZ – 6 points (0 matches remaining)

Tigre Uno – 3 points (1 match remaining)

Mandrews – 0 points (0 matches remaining)

Video of Shera training. If they drop the dancing stuff, he might be interesting eventually.

Preview of next week.

Eric Young wants to break Josh Matthews for saying his bubble is about to burst in the tournament, even though Pope said it. Young is ready for James Storm next week.

Pope changes his pick to Young over Storm.

Clips of Micah pinning Crimson.

Group Future Four

Eli Drake – 4 points (1 match remaining)

Micah – 4 points (1 match remaining)

Jesse Godderz – 3 points (1 match remaining)

Crimson – 0 points (1 match remaining)

Ethan Carter III was in India earlier this week and promises to beat Mr. Anderson tonight.

The semi-finals will be in India.

Drew Galloway is in Scotland to prepare for his final match in the group stage.

Another preview of next week.

Group Champions: Ethan Carter III vs. Mr. Anderson

They chop it out to start with Anderson getting the better of it and sending Carter to the floor as we take a break. Back with Anderson firing off more chops and pounding Carter in the head as Carter tries to cover up. A quick baseball slide takes Tyrus out and a boot to the face looks to set up the Mic Check.

Group Champions

Ethan Carter III – 7 points (0 matches remaining)

Austin Aries – 4 points (1 match remaining)

Lashley – 3 points (1 match remaining)

Mr. Anderson – 0 points (0 matches remaining)

Results

Gail Kim b. Madison Rayne – Small package

Eli Drake b. Jesse Godderz – Rollup with feet on the ropes

Matt Hardy b. Eddie Edwards – Super Twist of Fate

DJZ b. Mandrews – Pin after a blocked shooting star press

Ethan Carter III b. Mr. Anderson – Jackknife rollup

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