Impact Wrestling
Date: March 20, 2025
Location: El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re done with Sacrifice and on the way to Unbreakable, with the biggest story coming out of last week seeing Nic Nemeth turning evil and attacking Matt Hardy. That should be enough to get the Nemeths a Tag Team Title shot, but Joe Hendry is going to need a new #1 contender for his World Title as well. Let’s get to it.

Here is Sacrifice if you need a recap.

Long Sacrifice recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Masha Slamovich to say Cora Jade gave her a good fight but she retained the title at Sacrifice. Now she is here to prove that she is the best champion in all of wrestling so she issues a challenge…and here is Tessa Blanchard. Beating Jade doesn’t mean anything and now it’s time for Blanchard to get her title back. Cue NXT’s Jacy Jayne to attack Slamovich from behind. Santino Marella comes in and makes Jayne vs. Slamovich for next week, with Blanchard banned from ringside.

Post break, Marella yells at Arianna Grace for letting that happened. There is another surprise planned for later.

Northern Armory vs. Rascalz

Eric Young is here with the Armory and joins commentary. Wentz starts fast by crossbodying Icarus for two but Williams comes in for a cheap shot to take over. The Armory takes turns working on the arm but Wentz is back up with a springboard knee to the face. Everything breaks down and Icarus pulls Wentz to the floor. Back in and a superkick sets up Feed Them To The Lions for the pin on Williams at 4:51.

Rating: C. Short and to the point here with the Rascalz continuing their rise back up the ranks. At the same time, the Armory stuff doesn’t feel overly important. The team shouldn’t be winning everything, but it feels like they almost never win and that’s going to be a problem if they’re supposed to be anything more than the lowest of lackeys.

Post match Young comes in but Ace Austin runs in with a chair for the save.

Xia Brookside’s eyes are ok after being misted last week but she’s tired of fighting fairly and getting attacked. Rosemary pops up on screen and taunts her for being held back by her morals. She’ll have a surprise for Brookside tonight, with a tag match being teased. Please tell me that this isn’t going to turn into Brookside going evil because of the mist. Anything but that.

It’s time for the First Class Penthouse with First Class mocking the city, only to be interrupted by their guest, and hometown boy, Chavo Guerrero Jr. They threaten Chavo for being disrespectful and say if they wanted the second best Guerrero, they would have called Dominik. Chavo suggests that Dominik might not be an actual Guerrero but here is Frankie Kazarian to interrupt. Kazarian hasn’t forgiven Chavo for costing him the Tag Team Titles (in 2012) but here are the Aztec Warriors so a six man tag can be made next week. Yeah it’s Chavo but the fans went nuts for him so it makes enough sense.

Mike Santana vs. Mustafa Ali

The Cabinet is barred from ringside. Santana wastes no time in jumping Ali and sending him outside for a dive. Ali is sent over the timekeeper’s table and the beating continues on the floor. They go inside for the opening bell and Ali goes after Santana’s banged up arm. The rolling neckbreaker gives Ali two and we hit the armbar. Back up and Santana is fine enough to hit the rolling cutter but the threat of a frog splash sends Ali outside…and he takes the countout at 4:09.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t the big ending in the story but rather the next step as we get closer to a blowoff. That should make for a good moment as they are setting things up for the showdown, likely at Unbreakable. They’re making the fans want to see Santana give Ali what is coming to him and that should be a nice moment, assuming that is where they go.

Post break, Ali says he didn’t run from Santana but rather conquered him. This is done and Ali and the Cabinet drive off.

Here is Ryan Nemeth to explain his brother’s actions at Sacrifice. Ryan says HIS BIG BROTHER finally did the right thing at Sacrifice by sacrificing all of their love for the love of his own brother. Cue Nic, who says the Hardys aren’t coming. Nic takes credit for TNA’s momentum over the last year, but then the Hardys tried to come in and take the credit for themselves.

They are the greatest brothers in wrestling history but here is Leon Slater to say he isn’t going to listen to this bollocks (Nic: “I don’t know what that means.”). Slater says Nic can’t steal the show because Slater has already stolen it. Ryan issues the challenge for next week but Slater gets in now, only to be superkicked down. I’m assuming this is to set up a title match at Unbreakable and….that’s only going to be so interesting.

Rosemary/Savannah Evans vs. Xia Brookside/Lei Ying Lee

Rosemary sticks out her jaw to Brookside to start but hands it off to Evans before anything can happen. That’s fine with Brookside, who knocks her into the corner before getting to beat up Rosemary for a change. Broken Wings connect but it’s already back to Evans for a chokebomb on Lee. The Samoan drop gets two on Lee, who kicks Rosemary down and makes the tag without much trouble. Everything breaks down and Rosemary mists Evans by mistake. Lee is back in for something like a TKO into Thunderstruck to pin Evans at 6:02.

Rating: C. Rosemary continues to get in trouble with the mist, which hopefully doesn’t have any special powers attached. There wasn’t much to the match but somehow it’s the longest of the show thus far. Brookside is still someone who feels like she is just floating around without much to do, though she also hasn’t shown that she is ready for some big step up either.

The Personal Concierge, in a neck brace to make it even better, brings out a cake for the champions’ celebration. By Elegance comes out, seemingly rather pleased with their title win. Apparently the cake costs $5000 and Ash needs a chance to make her wish. Cue NXT’s Meta Four to say they want the titles but here is Spitfire to say they have a guaranteed rematch.

Cue NXT’s Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley to say they want the titles and the brawl is on. This brings out Santino Marella to make Paxley/Dolin vs. By Elegance next week, with the other teams banned from ringside. Meta Four beats up some security and Marella is scared of Lash Legend. Arianna Grace comes in to say Meta Four is indeed banned next week. That was quite the unnecessary cameo.

Mance Warner vs. Magno

Warner runs him over and finishes with the running knee at 1:01.

Steve Maclin insists that he wants no part of Eric Young’s Northern Armory.

System vs. Elijah/Joe Hendry

Alisha Edwards is here with the System. Hendry hammers Myers to start and grabs a powerslam. Elijah comes in to work on the arm and everything breaks down with the System quickly being cleared out. We take a break and come back with Eddie being knocked to the floor, where he sends Elijah hard into the steps.

Myers’ chinlock doesn’t last long but Alisha is right there to pull Elijah’s beard to keep him down. Elijah neckbreakers his way to freedom though and it’s back to Hendry to clean house. Everything breaks down and Elijah is knocked to the floor but Hendry cuts off the Backpack Stunner. Elijah cuts off Eddie and the Standing Ovation plants Myers for the pin at 11:08.

Rating: C. This was little more than a match to get the World Champion on the show and it worked well enough. Hendry doesn’t have a clear opponent at the moment and at least they didn’t waste time in having him face someone in a big match here. Elijah might be the next challenger and that’s only going to be so interesting, assuming they even go in that direction.

Overall Rating: C. I wasn’t feeling this show for the most part, as it was rather light on the in-ring action and never felt like much happened. Maybe they needed a breather after Sacrifice, but there is only so much time to get ready for Unbreakable. You can see some of the card from here, but this show didn’t exactly have me interested after Sacrifice.

Results
Rascalz b. Northern Armory – Feed Them To The Lions to Williams
Mike Santana b. Mustafa Ali via countout
Rosemary/Savannah Evans b. Xia Brookside/Lei Ying Lee – Thunderstruck to Evans
Mance Warner b. Magno – Running knee
Elijah/Joe Hendry b. The System – Standing Ovation to Myers

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Sacrifice 2025
Date: March 14, 2025
Location: El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s time for another of the big shows between the really big shows and this one happens to be pretty stacked. We have both a ladder match and Lethal Lockdown, the TNA equivalent of WarGames. There are also some stars from NXT here as a bonus, which should help things out a lot. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Aztec Warriors vs. First Class

The Warriors are Laredo Kid and Octagon Jr. After First Class insults the fans, Octagon takes Navarro down with a hurricanrana and hands it off to Laredo. That means it’s a low bridge from Francis though and Kid is sent outside for a big dive. Back in and Francis gets to choke away on the ropes, setting up a running knee in the corner.

First Class spends too much time posing though and it’s a tag to bring Kid back in to pick up the pace. Kid’s moonsault and Octagon’s handstand moonsault hit Navarro with Francis having to make the save. Francis gets in a chokeslam on Octagon and Navarro goes after Kid’s mask. A running Sliced Bread gives Navarro the pin at 6:44.

Rating: C. The Warriors didn’t get to showcase much of their high flying stuff and it didn’t give the fans much to get behind. Throw in the good guys losing and it wasn’t exactly an exciting way to get things going. It’s a weird way to go, as while First Class getting a win makes sense, it might not have been the right way here.

The regular Kickoff Show stuff takes place but Sami Callihan and Mance Warner, who are scheduled to face off tonight in a street fight, brawl in the back. They come to the ring, where Callihan throws in a bunch of weapons, including a chair which hits Warner for a nasty shot. They get inside and we’ll ring the bell.

Sami Callihan vs. Mance Warner

Street fight and Steph de Lander is here with Warner. Callihan hits him with a trashcan but gets sent into one in the corner as a cameraman gets taken out. Warner chokes with a chain but gets powerbombed through a table…as we go to the official show. Thankfully we come back without missing anything (fair enough) and Callihan uses a poster to cut Warner’s fingers and mouth.

Warner’s hand is fine enough to hit a chokeslam onto the trashcan but neither can hit a suplex onto a chair. Instead they both grab a staple gun and trade, uh, stapling, with Callihan going low. Warner gets stapled to the turnbuckle pad before being Death Valley Drivered onto the chair for two. Callihan has to block a screwdriver to the head before hitting a Stunner for two more. De Lander throws powder in Callihan’s eyes though and Warner hits a running knee for the win at 10:57.

Rating: C+. Well at least they didn’t have glass and thumbtacks. This was the run of the mill brawling with the table and trashcans, which makes the ending a bit weak. After everything they did, it was a simple bit of powder and a running knee. That’s a weird way to go, but odds are this is going to keep going anyway.

We get the opening video, which looks at the main matches. That’s at least a fresh way to go over the standard way of doing things.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Lei Ying Lee

Local rapper Krystall Poppin sings Blanchard to the ring. Blanchard sends Lee into the corner to start but the big slap is blocked. A suplex sends Blanchard into the corner and another brings her back out of it (well at least Lee kept it even). They go outside where Blanchard takes over and sends her back inside, only to take it right back to the floor.

Back in and a dropkick gets two, setting up the chinlock. Lee fights up and strikes away, before grabbing a spinning torture rack slam. Blanchard shrugs that off and hits a slingshot splash for two but has to bail to the ropes to escape a leglock. They go up top, where Lee hits a twisting brainbuster (geez) for two more. Blanchard grabs a cutter though and Magnum connects for the pin at 11:15.

Rating: B-. I’m not sure if there was much doubt about the winner here as Blanchard is not only a bigger name but she is also likely getting ready for a title shot at Masha Slamovich. The good thing is Lee got in a lot of offense and gave Blanchard a run for her money, but this was the right decision. Blanchard is ready to get back into the bigger spots and this was a step in that direction.

Jeff Hardy and Joe Hendry’s team are ready to win their rather violent matches tonight. With everyone gone, Ryan Nemeth comes in to say “everything they said”. Gia Miller clearly mouths “what the f***?”

Wes Lee/Tyson DuPont/Tyriek Igwe vs. Ace Austin/Rascalz

Lucha rules. Lee bails to the floor to start but comes back in to send Austin to the floor. Igwe comes in and gets hurricanranaed to the floor, with DuPont following. Triple dives are mostly cut off though, leaving Austin as the only part of his team standing. Back in and a full nelson slam plants Austin for two, followed by Lee’s basement dropkick between the shoulders.

Igwe kicks Austin in the head for two and we hit the abdominal stretch. That’s broken up and Lee gets over for the Rascalz to come in and clean house. Everything breaks down and DuPont’s stomp to Miguel’s head gets two. Austin and Wentz kick away at Lee from the apron, allowing Miguel to hit a sliding DDT. Back in and Lee is left all alone so he yells a lot, only to get taken down with a Lightning Spiral/Fold combination. Wentz hits a Spiral Tap for the pin on Lee at 9:53.

Rating: B-. The lucha rules kind of hurt things here, as it was little more than just having people running in and doing things. It did feel like the end of the feud though, with Wentz getting his revenge on Lee. It was a fun match, which tends to be the case with Austin and the Rascalz.

Steve Maclin is ready to take out Frankie Kazarian.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Steve Maclin

Eric Young is on commentary. Maclin takes Kazarian into the corner to start and hits some clotheslines to the back but gets knocked down in a hurry. Kazarian hits a springboard spinning legdrop and grabs a suplex for two. After a quick Shawn Michaels pose from Kazarian, Maclin is back up with some more clotheslines and an Angle Slam. The running shoulder in the corner has Kazarian in more trouble so he snaps the throat over the top rope to get out of said trouble.

Kazarian pulls on something like a cross armbreaker but can’t hit the Fade To Black. The chickenwing is broken up and Maclin’s running knee gets two. Now the chickenwing goes on, even with Kazarian falling out to the floor without letting go (that’s a heck of a trick). Since submissions don’t count on the floor, Kazarian lets go, allowing Young to sneak in a brass knuckles shot. Maclin, who didn’t see it, grabs a quick KIA for the pin at 8:50.

Rating: C+. This was something that could have been on any given Impact, as it was more about the Young involvement than anything else. The ending should be a way to see if Maclin wants to join him in what is likely the dark side, though that’s only so interesting. It would also be nice to have Kazarian lose the stupid trophy title shot already, but we could still be months away.

Spitfire is ready to get rid of By Elegance for good.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Ash By Elegance/Heather By Elegance/Personal Concierge vs. Spitfire

Spitfire is defending in a handicap match and they get the Personal Concierge if they win. The Concierge introduces By Elegance and then disrobes, which has commentary, uh, unhappy. Luna takes Ash down into an armbar to start but Heather comes in to crank on the arm for a change. The Concierge goes to the…bottom rope for an ax handle before handing it back to Heather, who is quickly put down. Threat comes in for a basement crossbody, followed by a suplex/clothesline combination for two.

Ash offers a distraction though and Heather takes over inside. The Concierge adds some stomps, then stops to dance, meaning Ash has to come in for a save. A catapult into a Codebreaker gets two and we hit the chinlock on Threat. As usual, that’s broken up and the tag brings in Luna to clean house. By Elegance is sent outside for a big dive, leaving Heather to get caught with a helicopter bomb, with the Concierge having to make the save. The Pressure Drop hits the Concierge but Threat gets caught in an assisted top rope double stomp for the titles at 9:12.

Rating: C+. By Elegance had to win the titles at some point if they wanted to have any kind of a future. At the end of the day, Ash has been here for a bit but hadn’t won anything of note coming in. You can present has as a star all you want, but it doesn’t matter without getting some kind of a prize. That is what she pulled off here and it was fairly long overdue. The feud needs to end already, but it’s not like there are many other teams to come after the belts.

Post match the lights go out and NXT’s Meta Four show up for your next crossover title feud.

We recap Mustafa Ali vs. Mike Santana, which is built around the idea of Ali wanting to make TNA better, which means a lack of Santana, who is a recovering addict. Santana wants to prove himself, while Ali wants to prove that Santana can’t handle the pressure. In other words, it’s JBL vs. Eddie Guerrero, which has made a good story, albeit a familiar one.

Mike Santana vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali has his cabinet with him and a local sportscaster introduces Santana. Just in case you didn’t get the story they were redoing, Santana drives a car into the arena. Santana scares Ali to the floor to start before catching him with a powerslam. Two Amigos connect but Santana cuts off the third with a small package.

Back up and Santana hits another suplex to send Ali outside for a needed breather. Ali fights up and goes after the arm, including a 450 from the top onto the arm, with Santana standing, on the floor. Back in and a rollup, with feet on the ropes, gets two and the referee is not pleased. The rolling neckbreaker gets two more and Ali stays on the arm with a crossface.

That’s broken up and Ali sends him to the floor, where Santana cuts off a dive with a cutter. Back in again and Ali lifts him up for a German suplex and a tornado DDT, only to miss the 450. Santana’s rolling cutter gets two and the frog splash gets the same (with a BIG reaction from the crowd). Spin The block connects but the arm gives out, allowing Ali to go up. Santana pulls him out of the air with a powerbomb but the Good Hands get up for a distraction. Ali rolls him up and grabs the rope for the pin at 13:12.

Rating: B. this was the match I was looking forward to the most coming in and they didn’t disappoint, with both guys working hard and telling a story. Ali is the more polished wrestler of the two and better with the technical side of things, while Santana is more about powering through and hitting his big moves. That allowed Ali to pick him apart but then when he couldn’t handle Santana, he cheated in the end, which will allow him to brag about his amazing skill. Heck of a story told and a very good match at the same time.

Post match Ali leaves a drink for Santana.

We recap Masha Slamovich defending the Knockouts Title against Cora Jade from NXT. Jade showed up and decided she wanted a title so she went after Slamovich, setting up the title match.

Knockouts Title: Masha Slamovich vs. Cora Jade

Jade is challenging and Arianna Grace is on commentary. Jade jumps her to start and is quickly clotheslined down for a kick to the chest. The chase doesn’t go well for Jade but she gets in a cheap shot for a needed breather. A quick stomp to the back gives Jade two and she pulls Slamovich down by the hair for the same.

Back up and Slamovich hits a rolling kick to the face for two of her own but Jade is back up with a knee to the face. A Canadian Destroyer on the apron connects but Slamovich is down on the floor. Back in and Jaded connects for two, leaving Jade rather frustrated. Jade strikes away but walks into a kick to the face. The Requiem retains the title at 9:24.

Rating: C+. As was the case with Blanchard vs. Lee, there was only so much drama to be had here. Slamovich is the monster champion who can smash through just about anyone in front of her. Jade has gotten better, but she isn’t on Slamovich’s level and that isn’t going to change anytime soon. Jade got in some stuff here, but Slamovich wasn’t in much danger.

We look at Oba Femi defeating Moose to retain the NXT Title this week on NXT.

We recap Moose facing Jeff Hardy for the X-Division Title in a ladder match. Hardy has pinned Moose a few times in tag matches so now we’re doing the ladder match thing.

X-Division Title: Jeff Hardy vs. Moose

Moose, with Alisha Edwards, is defending in a ladder match. They stare each other down to start before going straight to the floor to grab the ladders. Hardy knocks him to the floor and hits a clothesline off the apron but the Twist Of Fate is shoved into the steps. Moose bridges a ladder between a chair and the apron but Hardy fights up and pulls out the painted ladder.

The climb takes too long though and Moose hits a powerbomb before bridging a ladder into the bigger one. Hardy gets powerbombed onto the bridge ladder, landing so hard that a rung on the bigger ladder is broken. Back up and Moose grabs a table, only to get pulled onto the bridged ladder for a Twist Of Fate down to the mat. Moose is able to get up and throws the ladders out (with one hitting a camera) before hitting a heck of a spear.

Hardy is fine enough to hit a backdrop onto the bridged ladder at ringside before grabbing another table. The Swanton sends Moose through that table so Alisha has to make a save. That earns her a Twisting Stunner but Moose spears Hardy through a table. That’s enough for Moose to retain the title at 16:54.

Rating: B-. Commentary summed up the issues at the beginning of this match: Moose was in his first ever ladder match while Jeff was in his thirty ninth. That kind of takes away the impact, as Jeff has literally done this dozens of times. What we got was indeed good as they beat each other up, though I never quite bought that Jeff was going to win. I get why they had the match though and it did feel interesting, at least most of the time.

Mike Santana rants to Santino Marella about what happened and gets a rematch on Impact.

Earlier this week, the city declared it TNA Wrestling Day in El Paso. That’s cool.

The cage is being set up (the arena isn’t big enough to have it hanging) so here is First Class for their Penthouse. They’re introducing their First Class Records label and consider allowing the fans to audition but then mock the idea of the fans having talent. The Aztec Warriors come out to protest and the brawl is nearly on but referees break it up.

We recap the main event. The System and the Colons have been annoying the resident good guys so it’s time to do this in a cage.

JDC/Brian Myers/Eddie Edwards/Orlando Colon/Eddie Colon vs. Joe Hendry/Matt Hardy/Nic Nemeth/Elijah/Leon Slater

This is unofficially Lethal Lockdown, meaning two competitors start for two minutes. Then a member of the villains (who won the advantage on Impact) gets a 2-1 advantage for two minutes. The good guys then get to even it up and after that, the entry intervals drop down to one minute. When everyone is in, first pin or submission wins. Edwards and Elijah start things off, with the latter coming in on a horse because reasons.

After a song mocking the System and the Colons, Elijah gets inside and we’re ready to go. Elijah starts fast and works on the arm, setting up an Old School. A big boot drops Edwards again and he gets sent into the cage as Myers is in for the advantage. The System Overload connects but Nic Nemeth is in to even things up. Nemeth hits a neckbreaker/DDT combination and it’s already Orlando Colon coming in to go up 3-2.

The rapid fire entrances continue with Leon Slater coming in as these intervals are too long to really work. Slater stomps away until Eddie Colon is in to cut him off as well. Matt Hardy is in as well for the Side Effect and rams Orlando into the buckle. JDC gives the villains their final advantage and some chairs are thrown in to keep up the beating. Joe Hendry is in last to complete the field and the bell rings, which I hope isn’t considered the official start to the match.

Hendry starts firing off fall away slams, including a super version to Myers. Back up and Myers hits Hendry low to cut him off and Edwards’ Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Nemeth. Slater is sat on top of the cage but crotches JDC and Myers, meaning it’s a Swanton 450 from the top of the cage onto a pile. Cue Ryan Nemeth as we hit the parade of finishers. Hendry grabs one of the chairs and a Twist Of Fate with the chair around JDC’s neck lets Hardy gets the pin at 17:05.

Rating: C. Yeah this didn’t really work, as it felt like they were scrambling to get the match in as fast as they could. That only got them so far, as the short entrances completely destroyed the intrigue of the match. Someone would get in, hit one or two things and then someone else would come in to reset the whole deal. It didn’t make for a good main event, as this needed way more time, and probably two less people, to really work.

Post match most of the team leaves but Ryan gets in and locks the door. That’s enough for Nic to jump Hardy (the camera mostly misses it) and the beating is on. The rest of the team is held off with a chair and Hardy is busted open. The beating continues to end the show. The Nemeths vs. the Hardys is certainly a choice for a title feud.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a back and forth show, as there were some good things on here that had me interested in what they were doing, but then they did some things that simply weren’t very interesting. The top two matches were only so good and the ending was more of an “eh, ok I guess” than anything else. Things should get to pick up a bit with a fresh top heel, but they need something else for Hendry to do already, as he’s just kind of floating around despite being World Champion.

Results
First Class b. Aztec Warriors – Running Sliced Bread to Kid
Mance Warner b. Sami Callihan – Running knee
Tessa Blanchard b. Lei Ying Lee – Magnum
Ace Austin/Rascalz b. Wes Lee/Tyson DuPont/Tyriek Igwe – Spiral Tap to Lee
Steve Maclin b. Frankie Kazarian – KIA
Ash By Elegance/Heather By Elegance/Personal Concierge b. Spitfire – Assisted top rope double stomp to Threat
Mustafa Ali b. Mike Santana – Rollup while grabbing the rope
Masha Slamovich b. Cora Jade – Requiem
Moose b. Jeff Hardy – Moose pulled down the title
Joe Hendry/Elijah/Matt Hardy/Leon Slater/Nic Nemeth b. Orlando Colon/Eddie Colon/Brian Myers/JDC/Eddie Edwards – Twist Of Fate with a chair to JDC

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: March 13, 2025
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s the last show before Sacrifice and the show is mostly set up. There is still the chance that we are going to see something new added, though there is only so much time left to fill in. The big match at Sacrifice seems to be the big team cage match so we’ll probably hear a lot about that here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Eddie Edwards vs. Leon Slater

Alisha Edwards is here with Eddie and the winner’s team gets the advantage in the cage match, which sounds a lot more like Lethal Lockdown. Eddie jumps him to start but Slater hammers away in the corner. A running hurricanrana sends Eddie outside, where he avoids a dive and hits a big chop. Slater uses the steps to snap off another hurricanrana but Eddie snaps his throat across the top rope.

Eddie sends him hard into the steps and then sends the banged up arm into the corner for two. The armbar doesn’t last long so Eddie snaps off an overhead belly to belly for two more. Eddie cranks on the arm again and grabs another armbar, at least until Slater kicks him in the face to escape. A high crossbody gives Slater two but Eddie catches a flip with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Slater kicks him down but misses the Swanton 450. Eddie sends him into the post and adds the Boston Knee Party for the win at 9:42.

Rating: C+. The villain winning this is the only thing that makes sense and as good as Slater has been, there is nothing wrong with him losing to a former multiple time World Champion. Eddie had to win to give his team the advantage so they weren’t going in any weird direction here. The match was fine enough, but the result making sense is what matters most.

Sami Callihan is ready to take out Mance Warner, who comes in (with Steph de Lander) to say Sami doesn’t have the guts to hit him now (which he isn’t allowed to do). Trash talking ensues.

Wes Lee vs. Laredo Kid

Kid twists the arm to start and sends Lee outside, where a baseball slide misses. Instead Kid is back up with an Asai moonsault, followed by a crossbody for two back inside. Lee is right back with a superkick and a bunch of stomping, setting up a brainbuster for two. That lets Lee crank on the arm (it must be required around here) until Lee is up for the slugout. Kid knocks him down and hits a pair of moonsaults for two. A hurricanrana gets the same so Lee belly to back suplexes him into the Cardiac Kick for the pin at 7:19.

Rating: C+. Lee gets to win something around here over a talented star, even if Kid has only done so much around here. It helps that Lee is someone who has done enough around here before so it isn’t the biggest stretch. Not a bad match at all, but Kid losing time after time has taken away a lot of his value.

Post match the Rascalz and Ace Austin come out to say they’re coming for Wes Lee, Tyriek Igwe and Tyson DuPont.

By Elegance yells at Santino Marella over how they were treated by Spitfire. Marella gives them one more title shot….but with the Personal Concierge wrestling as well, to make it a handicap match. The Concierge panicking is rather amusing.

Rosemary vs. Xia Brookside

Brookside strikes away to start but gets taken down with a choke, allowing Rosemary to hammer away (and scream a lot). The chinlock is broken up but Rosemary is right back with the Upside Down. Rosemary pulls out a chain but Brookside takes it away, only to get misted for the DQ at 5:25.

Rating: C. This didn’t have the time to go very far and I’m a bit confused about what it is supposed to do. Rosemary was being hyped up as wanting to get back into the Knockouts Title scene but she just attacked Brookside when she was already winning a match. Odds are this gets a rematch, and I could go with either of these two moving up the standings a bit.

Steve Maclin is writing in a notebook and drinking when Eric Young shows up to drink with him. Maclin doesn’t want to hear from him and leaves.

JDC vs. Cody Deaner

Deaner talks about how he didn’t think he would be here just a year ago but now he is letting the fans decide for him and that has changed his life. JDC offers to let him have his countout loss but Deaner listens to the fans and hammers away to start fast. That’s broken up with some right hands from JDC, who gets caught with an atomic drop. The big right hand gives Deaner two but JDC pokes him in the eye. The Falcon Arrow finished Deaner at 1:56.

Tessa Blanchard/Cora Jade vs. Lei Ying Lee/Masha Slamovich

Arianna Grace is on commentary. Jade tags out and lets Blanchard start with Slamovich, who drops her with some early clotheslines. Lee comes in and flips over Jade before hammering away in the corner. Blanchard offers a distraction though and Jade gets to choke away on the ropes. A basement dropkick gets two on Lee and Blanchard hits a rather hard running slap in the corner.

Jade’s chinlock is broken up and they collide for a double down. Slamovich comes back in to clean house as everything breaks down. Magnum hits Lee but Slamovich drops Blanchard. Lee hits a running knee off the apron to drop Jade before coming back in for Thunderstruck to send Blanchard outside. Jade hits Slamovich with the belt though and the Buzzsaw gives Blanchard the pin at 8:44.

Rating: B-. While Sacrifice is tomorrow, this feels like a way to get things ready for whatever the next major pay per view is going to be. Like her or not, Blanchard is an absolute star and putting her in the Knockouts Title picture immediately is not a stretch. I could go for seeing the match and this very well may have helped set it up.

We get a sitdown interview between Mike Santana and Mustafa Ali, the latter of whom shows up late with his cabinet. Ali says he respects Santana but they need to think about the bigger picture, which is TNA. He is here to knock down walls and can handle the pressure, unlike Santana. That doesn’t work for Santana, who has carried the pressure since he got here.

Ali shrugs that off and says Santana would crack under the pressure because he’s an addict. Santana: “Ali, you’re full of s***.” Santana is an addict but he’s an addict to the people. Ali can talk all the garbage that he wants, but at Sacrifice, his hands better cash those checks. Ali whips out a bottle of alcohol and asks Santana to take one sip and let everyone down. He brings up Santana’s daughter, which brings Santana out of his chair.

The cabinet beats Santana down and Ali leaves him a drink for when he wakes up. I liked this a bit better than the original with JBL and Eddie Guerrero, even if it’s almost the exact same story. That being said, this feud has been great for Santana (urine test gag aside), as he has looked like a star.

Sacrifice rundown.

Frankie Kazarian comes out for commentary on the main event and is told he’s facing Steve Maclin at Sacrifice. This doesn’t go well.

Here is Joe Hendry to defend the World Title against a mystery challenger. Santino Marella comes out to introduce….Ryan Nemeth, who announces that his big brother is returning at Sacrifice. He’ll be taking Nic’s contractually obligated rematch.

TNA World Title: Joe Hendry vs. Ryan Nemeth

Hendry is defending and retains with the Standing Ovation at 17 seconds, a good chunk of which was him holding Nemeth in the air.

That’s not what Santino had in mind, so here is the other challenger.

TNA World Title: Joe Hendry vs. Hammerstone

Hendry is defending and Hammerstone is even bigger than he was before. Hammerstone powers him into the corner to start before they chop it out. A jumping forearm staggers Hammerstone but he sends Hendry shoulder first into the post. Hendry fights up but gets dropped onto the apron as we take a break.

Back with Hendry fighting out of a neck crank but getting planted with a spinebuster for two. Another slugout goes a bit better for Hendry and he muscles Hammerstone up with a suplex. There’s the fall away slam to Hammerstone but the Standing Ovation is blocked. Hammerstone hits a powerslam for two and a German suplex into a powerbomb gets the same. A not great Boston crab sends Hendry over to the ropes (Kazarian finds this cheap.) and he’s back up with a German suplex. Now the Standing Ovation can retain the title at 15:29.

Rating: C+. This was a perfectly fine match and a way to get the champ in the ring. That being said, Hammerstone has gotten even bigger and it made him look almost goofy in a way. It doesn’t help that he has never really won much of anything in TNA, at least not in a good while, but at the moment he is little more than an intimidating looking star who gets beaten almost every time.

Post match the System and the Colons come in for the beatdown but Hendry’s teammates at Sacrifice run in for the big brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling wasn’t the best here, but what mattered was helping to build up Sacrifice. That show is looking like one of the biggest non-major pay per views that TNA has presented in a long time with a ladder match and Lethal Lockdown, plus one heck of a grudge match between Mike Santana and Mustafa Ali. There is a lot of potential on that show and while this week didn’t really make me more interested, it kept things going well enough on the way to El Paso.

Results
Eddie Edwards b. Leon Slater – Boston Knee Party
Wes Lee b. Laredo Kid – Cardiac Kick
JDC b. Cody Deaner – Falcon Arrow
Tessa Blanchard/Cora Jade b. Lei Ying Lee/Masha Slamovich – Buzzsaw DDT to Slamovich
Joe Hendry b. Ryan Nemeth – Standing Ovation
Joe Hendry b. Hammerstone – Standing Ovation

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Impact Wrestling
Date: February 27, 2025
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

After not doing much to get ready for Sacrifice, things have gotten rather interesting in a hurry, with multiple matches being set up at once. That’s on top of the upcoming NXT vs. TNA matches at NXT Roadblock next month. We could be in for some big stuff in a hurry here so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is the System to get things going. They brag about their success last week, with JDC bragging about running over Leon Slater. The fans tell Moose that Oba Femi is going to run him over so Moose wants Femi to get in this ring tonight. At the same time, Moose has been pinned by Jeff Hardy twice in a row now, so Moose is ready to take him out. Brian Myers thinks the Colons might be System material so here are said Colons to interrupt. They respect the System and think fighting on their side is a good idea. Fist bumping ensues.

Spitfire is ready to beat By Elegance and turn then into their personal concierges.

The System has to be separated from Leon Slater/the Hardys.

Mike Santana vs. Oro Mensah

Mensah is something of a high flier from NXT. They fight over wrist control to start until Santana takes over in a slugout. Mensah is back with a tornado DDT over the top rope into a springboard kick to the chest. Santana hits some running chops into a backflip into a cutter for two but Mensah rolls a kick to the head for the same. Mensah tries it again but gets reversed into a buckle bomb. Spin The Block finishes for Santana at 5:01.

Rating: C. This was a nice showcase for Santana, who is gearing up for his big match with Mustafa Ali. That is probably going to be a heck of a showdown when it happens and TNA has done a very good job of making him feel like a star. What matters the most is keeping these new names strong and Santana is doing rather well.

Post match a video plays from Mustafa Ali and his cabinet, talking about how Santana (who has been sober for two years) is off the wagon. Santana does not care for this.

Post break Santana goes looking for Ali but can only find the cabinet.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Kelsey Heather

Tessa strikes away in the corner to start and hits a quick basement dropkick. A running slap annoys Heather to the point where she grabs some rollups for a near fall each. Tessa shrugs that off and grabs a cutter, setting up the Buzzsaw DDT for the win at 2:33. As usual, Tessa has very few issues between the bells.

Cora Jade jumps Masha Slamovich in the back.

Elijah and Joe Hendry had a good time last week but Hendry is expecting Elijah to turn on him. That calms down a bit but here is the System to interrupt. Then they leave without doing much.

KC Navarro vs. Steve Maclin

AJ Francis is here too. Maclin wastes no time in countering a hurricanrana into a powerbomb, followed by a basement clothesline for two. Navarro sends him outside where Francis gets in a cheap shot, setting up a running double stomp for two more. We hit the chinlock but Maclin isn’t having that and strikes away as the Northern Armory is out to watch. Navarro uses the distraction to hit something like a 619, only to miss a frog splash. Maclin plants him face first, setting up KIA for the pin at 6:39.

Rating: C+. This was just a step above the opener in a very similar vein, as Maclin is on his way to a big match against Eric Young. Navarro is a bit better competition for him and Maclin looked good in his victory. I’m still not sold on Young as some big villain but TNA seems to love it for reasons I do not grasp.

Tessa Blanchard argues with Lei Ying Lee in the back, with Santino Marella coming in to make the match official for Sacrifice.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Ash by Elegance/Heather By Elegance vs. Spitfire

Spitfire is defending and the losers are the winner’s Personal Concierges for a day. Ash and Jody lock up to start and exchange muscle flexes. Jody takes her to the mat and hits some corner clotheslines before handing it off to Luna. A slam puts Jody onto Ash for two but the Concierge offers a distraction, allowing the villains to take over on the corner.

That’s broken up and Luna comes back in for a powerbomb to Heather but she’s taken into the corner as well. A Backstabber/top rope double stomp combination gets two on Luna but she easily gets over for the tag to Jody. Something like a powerbomb gets two on Heather and it’s the Pressure Drop to retain the titles at 8:11.

Rating: C+. Good stuff here with the right result. The whole point is to have the stuck up villains get what is coming to them, which is what Spitfire will be doing. The match was acceptable as well, as tends to be the case when these teams are together. Just find something else for them to do once this is over though, as this should be the blowoff or close to it.

Post break, Spitfire is already having By Elegance do their laundry. The Personal Concierge is crushed.

Sami Callihan vs. Mance Warner

Callihan Stunners him to the floor and uses a chair for the DQ at 29 seconds.

Post match the brawl is on but security breaks it up. Santino Marella comes out to make a street fight at Sacrifice. Makes as much sense as anything.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Ace Austin

NXT’s Wes Lee, with Tyriek Igwe and Tyson DuPont, is on commentary. Austin grabs a quick rollup to start and hits a dropkick to send Kazarian into the corner. Back up and Kazarian sends him to the apron for the slingshot Fameasser to take over. The springboard spinning legdrop gets two and they fight over some backslides. Austin kicks him out to the floor but gets caught with a shot to the face. Lee offers a distraction and the slingshot cutter gives Kazarian the pin at 5:56.

Rating: B-. They didn’t have much time here and it was more about the interference than anything else, but what matters the most is having a solid match between two good wrestlers. That’s what we had here, which shouldn’t be a surprise given who was out there. Kazarian needs to cash the trophy in already, but that has to be dragged out for months instead.

Post match the beatdown is teased but the Rascalz make the save.

Spitfire torments By Elegance with some dogs. I get the feeling I’ve missed something but Ash and Heather freaking out is funny.

Ryan Nemeth brags about his big brother returning at Sacrifice.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

We look at Moose beating Lexis King and the Hardys beating the No Quarter Catch Crew on NXT.

System vs. Oba Femi/Hardys

Femi and Moose start things off but we’ll go with Edwards instead. Femi runs both of them over and the villains are cleared out as we take a break. Back with Poetry In Motion hitting Edwards but Alisha offers a distraction so Moose can get in a cheap shot. Jeff fights out of trouble and brings Matt back in as everything breaks down.

The Side Effect hits Moose for two and the Plot Twist gets the same on Edwards. Everything breaks down and the referee gets bumped. Femi shrugs off Moose’s pump kick and hits a spinebuster but cue the Colons for a distraction. Myers gets in a shot with a System ring though and Moose spears Matt for the pin at 10:20.

Rating: C+. Pretty wild match here with Moose getting a win to move himself back into a better place after some recent losses. There is almost no way this whole thing is over though as this is a mixture of some of the bigger stories in TNA. Throw in Joe Hendry and it could get even bigger.

Post match Joe Hendry and Elijah come in to cut off a beatdown. Santino Marella makes Jeff Hardy vs. Moose in a ladder match for the X-Division Title, and a ten man tag with Hendry/Matt/Elijah/Leon Slater/??? vs. the System. The first is a pretty big match to just throw out there like that.

Overall Rating: B-. Nice show here as they advanced a bunch of stories on their way to Sacrifice in a few weeks. Sacrifice is turning into a big enough show despite the bigger sows coming up in the following weeks. The second round of the NXT crossovers have been far better and Femi alone has made the show feel more important. Good effort this week, with the bigger stuff getting closer.

Results
Mike Santana b. Oro Mensah – Spin The Block
Tessa Blanchard b. Kelsey Heather – Buzzsaw DDT
Steve Maclin b. KC Navarro – KIA
Spitfire b. Ash By Elegance/Heather By Elegance – Pressure Drop to Heather
Mance Warner b. Sami Callihan when Callihan used a chair
Frankie Kazarian b. Ace Austin – Slingshot cutter
The System b. Oba Femi/Hardys – Spear to Matt

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: February 20, 2025
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re closing in on Sacrifice and the card needs to start coming together. The big story coming out of last week was the last match for Josh Alexander, but it seems like we are going to be seeing some stars from NXT showing up around here. Throw in Tessa Blanchard wrestling this week and things should be interesting enough as we are live this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is World Champion Joe Hendry in the ring for his concert. His first song is about being in the Royal Rumble and seeing various WWE Superstars and if you don’t watch Impact, you can’t see him. Cue the Colons (Eddie and Orlando, formerly known as Epico and Primo) of all people to interrupt in their debut to suggest violence.

They go towards the ring but here is Elijah (formerly Elias) with his own guitar to say he’s joining TNA as well. The fans deem this awesome and Elijah says this place could use a colon cleanse. Cue Santino Marella to make the tag match main event. Works for Elijah, but he wants a concert right now. Elijah and Hendry sing a little ditty and promise to raise some h*** tonight. They’re not major stars, but bringing in that much fresh blood in a single segment is a good thing.

Leon Slater is ready for JDC in a no DQ match tonight.

The Colons say they targeted Joe Hendry because this place needs them.

Tyriek Igwe/Tyson DuPont vs. Radicalz

Wes Lee (from NXT) and Ace Austin (not from NXT) are here too. The Rascalz clear the ring at the bell and hit dives before sending DuPont outside again. Igwe manages to send both Rascalz to the floor to take over but Miguel kicks his way to freedom. Wentz comes back in to clean house as everything breaks down. A belly to back suplex/leg lariat combination hits Austin for two with Miguel making a save. Miguel hits a top rope Meteora to Igwe, setting up the Swanton for the pin at 4:04.

Rating: C+. Power vs. speed here and as usual, it worked rather well. It’s also nice to see an NXT team actually lose, as TNA does not have the best record. Igwe and DuPont could turn into something one day, but they have a lot of experience to gain on the way there. Nice, fast paced way to start things off here though and that’s a good choice.

Post match Lee issues the challenge for a six man tag at Sacrifice and it seems to be on.

Here is First Class for the debut episode of the First Class Penthouse. We meet various wrestling podcasters and a successful music producer and a rapper. With that out of the way, we meet Noelle Foley and Frank The Clown, with KC Navarro going live on some social media platform. AJ Francis rants about how great he is and now he has his own Piper’s Pit. He teases AJ Styles as his first guest but then introduces…himself. And that’s that. This was a lot of talking in a short amount of time.

Unbreakable is back on April 17.

Rosemary vs. Lei Ying Lee

Rosemary wastes no time in grabbing the Upside Down but Lee kicks her away. Lee strikes away and hammers down right hands in the corner. An airplane spinning slam gets two and Thunderstruck connects to give Lee the pin at 4:10. That’s a surprise.

Rating: C. Well ok then. Rosemary losing a lot isn’t the biggest surprise but seeing her lose to Lee is quite the shocker. Lee hasn’t felt like a big deal in her time around the company and I’m not exactly seeing this change her status. What matters is that TNA is trying, though I’m not sure how well it will go. They have to try though and this is certainly a way to do just that.

Post match Rosemary mists her to send Lee crawling away.

Sami Callihan promises to find Mance Warner and Steph de Lander. Then he finds the two of them and the brawl is on.

Lei Ying Lee is getting checked on but Tessa Blanchard is annoyed at not getting the medic’s attention.

Here is the Northern Armory, with Eric Young promising to bring his cronies to the next level. Young is the lifeblood and foundation of this company because no one has done what he has done around here. Steve Maclin should be out here with him but he doesn’t show up. Young gets it because Maclin doesn’t trust him, but we’ll work on that. Young is going to get a World Title feud out of this isn’t he?

Mike Santana is at a group therapy session but Mustafa Ali, with his Secret Service, comes in to give the group a pep talk. Santana is not impressed.

We look at Moose interrupting NXT Champion Oba Femi and challenging him on NXT. Later, Moose agreed to face Lexis King for the NXT Heritage Cup next week.

JDC vs. Leon Slater

No DQ. Slater slugs away to start and kicks a chair out of his hands. The chair is slammed onto JDC’s fingers and it’s already time for a table. Slater hits a big running flip dive over the corner to take him out again but JDC gets in a whip through a chair. We take a break and come back with JDC unloading with a kendo stick.

Slater takes it away from him and slugs away as the fans approve. Another table is loaded up on the floor but JDC knocks him back inside. Slater puts him onto the table and hits the Swanton 450 (that looked great) but here is the System to put Slater through able table. JDC gets the pin at 11:30.

Rating: B-. Slater continues to showcase himself rather well most of the time and that was the case here. They certainly protected him in the end with the interference leading to his loss so a rematch isn’t out of the cards. That Swanton 450 is still great as you almost forget that he’s going to flip until the last possible second. Good brawl here, as they kept something of a limit on the weapons use instead of just going nuts with them.

Post match the beatdown is on but the Hardys and NXT Champion Oba Femi (a monster who might be bigger than Moose) make the save.

Post break Santino Marella makes the System vs. the Hardys/Oba Femi for next week.

Here is Tessa Blanchard for her first match on Impact in four years but she’s not in wrestling gear. Blanchard says she’s not wrestling tonight because she wasn’t given the proper medical attention. Cue Santino Marella to call this unprofessional and if she doesn’t wrestle next week, she’s fired. Here is Masha Slamovich to say she wants to see Blanchard wrestle next week (Fans: “PLEASE DON’T WRESTLE!”) but for tonight, she’ll take Blanchard’s place. Keeping Blanchard as a special attraction makes sense, though the fans do not seem overly thrilled with seeing her.

Masha Slamovich vs. Mila Moore

Non-title. Moore jumps her to start but gets piledriven for the pin at 29 seconds.

Post match NXT’s Cora Jade runs in and jumps Slamovich. Jade and Blanchard glare at each other.

Post break, Ariana Grace and Santino Marella make Cora Jade vs. Masha Slamovich for the Knockouts Title at Sacrifice. The Personal Concierge comes in to say he wants By Elegance to get a Knockouts Tag Team Title shot at Sacrifice. Marella seems to agree, but if Spitfire wins, they get the Concierge. That has to be illegal.

Ryan Nemeth talks about how his brother Nic will be back at Sacrifice.

Joe Hendry/Elijah vs. Colons

Eddie gets double elbowed out to the corner to start and we take a rather early break. Back with Hendry hitting a delayed vertical suplex on Orlando, followed by the fall away slam from Eddie. A cheap shot cuts Hendry down though and we hit the chinlock. Orlando’s Russian legsweep gets two and he chokes with a knee.

A legsweep gets two more and the guillotine choke goes on. To keep Hendry down even longer. That’s broken up and the tag brings in Elijah to clean house as everything breaks down. Hendry and Orlando brawl out to the floor, leaving Elijah to Tombstone Eddie for the win at 13:07.

Rating: C+. This was a way to bring in the new stars in the span of one match and that’s a nice way to go. I’m not sure I can imagine Hendry vs. Elijah going forward in a title program, but it could work as a one off match at a show on Sacrifice’s level. Other than that, the Colons showing up and losing in their first match is a bit of a stretch, but maybe they’re not going to be the biggest deal around here.

Overall Rating: B-. The best thing I can say about this one is that it wasn’t dull. TNA has a history of not exactly delivering on its bigger shows but they have made back to back live Impacts work pretty well. There might not have been some blow away match, but three known names debuted and there was enough set up for the future. Good enough show here as TNA continues to be the best thing they can be at the moment: steady.

Results
Rascalz b. Tyriek Igwe/Tyson DuPont – Swanton to Igwe
Lei Ying Lee b. Rosemary – Thunderstruck
JDC b. Leon Slater – Double spinebuster through a table
Masha Slamovich b. Mila Moore – Piledriver
Joe Hendry/Elijah b. Colons – Tombstone to Eddie

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: February 13, 2025
Location: Boeing Center At Tech Point, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re still in Texas and on the long road to Sacrifice. The big story at the moment is Joe Hendry needing a challenger, which could come in a few different forms. Other than that, we have NXT stars running around, with Cora Jade seemingly eyeing the Knockouts Title. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

TNA World Title: Jake Something vs. Joe Hendry

Hendry is defending. They fight over arm control to start with Hendry flipping him down and offering a stare. Hendry actually runs him over with some shoulders and manages a delayed vertical suplex. We take a break and come back with Hendry getting some near falls but a clothesline gives Something a quick two.

A hard whip into the corner puts Hendry down again and we hit the neck crank. Hendry isn’t having that and comes back with some clotheslines and a swinging slam, followed by another clothesline to put Something on the floor. Back in and a super fall away slam sets up the Standing Ovation to retain the title at 14:42.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t so much about a high drama title defense but rather getting Hendry in the ring with the title on the line. Hendry is still looking for a big challenger and while Something wasn’t that, he was fine as a midcard villain to come after the title. Nice opener here, which mainly served to have Hendry in the ring in a singles match.

Post match Ryan Nemeth comes out to yell at Hendry but Santino Marella interrupts. Cue Nic Nemeth to go after Something but a superkick hits Marella by mistake.

Post break Nic apologizes to Santino, who suspends him without pay. Nic leaves, likely to be back after missing a TV taping.

Ash By Elegance/Heather By Elegance vs. King Bees

One of the Bees is sent into the corner for a handspring elbow and a running dropkick for two as the beating is on fast. A basement dropkick gives Ash two but the Bee fights up and fires off some chops against the ropes. The tag brings in the bigger Bee to fire off some forearms and a spinebuster gets two on Heather. They go up top though and a super Spanish Fly plants the second Bee for the pin at 4:32.

Rating: C. The road to yet another By Elegance vs. Spitfire title match continues and it’s still not a very interesting feud. There isn’t much of a reason for them to be fighting other than they’re both Knockouts tag teams and that isn’t much to go on. At least Heather got to win something here, as she hasn’t exactly been the most successful recently.

Post match the Bees get beaten down and have L lipsticked on their foreheads. Spitfire makes the save as this feud continues.

We look back at the Hardys and Leon Slater beating the System last week.

The Hardys thank Slater for being there last week and Slater thanks them for being his inspiration.

Earlier today, Mustafa Ali held a town hall where he introduced his cabinet: the Great Hands (formerly known as the Good Hands) and his secretary, Tasha Steelz. Ali declares himself the #1 contender to the World Title but Tommy Dreamer comes in to say not so fast. And we’re done.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Sami Callihan

Mance Warner, with Steph de Lander, jumps Callihan before the bell and beats him down. Callihan gets in anyway and hits a Stunner for two but can’t hit the Cactus Driver. Instead Kazarian pulls him into the chickenwing for the tap at 46 seconds.

Post match Callihan wants to fight Warner some more and the brawl is on, with security not being able to do much.

Josh Alexander knows Eric Young doesn’t like him, but he’ll respect him.

We look at Lexis King beating JDC to retain the NXT Heritage Cup.

JDC calls Leon Slater “kid” and tells him that the Hardys are just using him. A brawl is quickly broken up.

Xia Brookside vs. Cora Jade

Jade chills on the top rope to start so Brookside snaps off a hurricanrana into a monkey flip. Back up and Jade fakes an ankle injury to drop Brookside for two more. Jade’s choking in the corner doesn’t get her very far so she knocks her down for a quick two. The double arm crank is on but Brookside is up with the clothesline comeback. Broken Wings and a Russian legsweep give Brookside two but Jade knocks her away without much effort. Jaded finished Brookside at 7:34.

Rating: C. Jade’s road to the Knockouts Title shot continues and they’re doing it in a perfectly logical way by having her win some matches. That should be enough to set her up for something bigger down the line and a pay per view showdown with Masha Slamovich would make sense. Not much of a match here, but Brookside can make people look pretty good.

Arianna Grace talks to Tessa Blanchard, who yells at her in response. Santino Marella breaks it up and gives Blanchard a match next week.

Here are the Rascalz for a chat. They aren’t happy with Wes Lee and company interfering but they have Ace Austin to even things up a bit. Cue Lee and company, who are ready for a fight. Austin even things up but some low blows put the good guys down.

We look at Savanna Evans becoming the #1 contender to the Knockouts Title last week.

First Class think it’s time for an upgrade.

Knockouts Title: Savanna Evans vs. Masha Slamovich

Slamovich is defending and gets tossed away a few times to start. A hard shot to the face knocks Slamovich off the top and Evans slams her on the floor for a bonus. Back in and a swinging belly to back suplex gives Evans two as Tessa Blanchard is watching in the back. Slamovich fights up and hits a middle rope dropkick for a needed breather. Some strikes to the face, including a rolling kick, give Slamovich two but Evans sits on her chest for the same. Something like a TKO gives Evans two but Slamovich gabs a quick Texas piledriver for the pin to retain at 7:43.

Rating: C+. They were trying here but there was only so much to get excited about. Not only is Cora Jade lurking around the title picture, but Slamovich isn’t about to lose the title so soon. Also, Evans continues to be fairly dull other than having some nice power stuff. Not a thrilling match or anything, but they did what they could in the situation they were in.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Josh Alexander vs. Eric Young

Young has the Northern Armory with him and this is Alexander’s last TNA match. They slug it out to start and Alexander rains down right hands in the corner. Young goes evil by raking the eyes as we hear about Young’s various incarnations over the years. The sunset flip slide is broken up though and Alexander hits the crossbody to the back to put him on the floor. Back in and Young gets in a cheap shot to take over as we take a break.

We come back with Young hammering away and the Armory choking away on the floor. Young drops him again and grabs a chinlock but Alexander fights up for a dropkick. A Regal Roll and middle rope knee to the head set up a quickly broken ankle lock as Young makes the rope. Young knocks him down for the top rope elbow as Alexander has lost the headgear. A Styles Clash gives Alexander two and he grabs the ankle lock again. An Armory distraction breaks it up though and Young gets in a shot with the hockey mask. The piledriver ends Alexander’s TNA run at 14:45.

Rating: B-. Well that was a bit of a weak ending as Young just cheated to win. That’s not the best way to go, but it gives Young a win on the way to a likely World Title feud with Joe Hendry. Alexander is one of the biggest stars TNA has ever had and even though his time didn’t come at the apex of the company, it is going to be a big loss for the company to have him gone. Nice main event to go out on here, though I was hoping for a bigger ending.

Overall Rating: C+. With Alexander out of the way, there is going to be a hole to be filled in the upper midcard and it should be interesting to see who takes that spot. Other than that, there are a few stories which have my attention around here, though I’m not sure what we’re going to be seeing at Sacrifice. As usual, the show covered enough ground to stay interesting without having a big story and I’ll take that for a week.

Results
Joe Hendry b. Jake Something – Standing Ovation
Ash By Elegance/Heather By Elegance b. King Boos – Super Spanish Fly
Frankie Kazarian b. Sami Callihan – Chickenwing
Cora Jade b. Xia Brookside – Jaded
Masha Slamovich b. Savanna Evans – Texas piledriver
Eric Young b. Josh Alexander – Piledriver

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Impact Wrestling
Date: January 30, 2025
Location: Boeing Center At Tech Port, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Mathews Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re back to taped this week after a pretty strong showing on last week’s live show. Hopefully they can continue the momentum on the way to whatever the next big show happens to be. Joe Hendry is still World Champion so now we get to hear from former champion Nic Nemeth. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Nic Nemeth to get things going. Nemeth talks about how important Genesis was for the company and now he has to start things over. Before he can get very far though, here is Ryan Nemeth to say that HIS BROTHER is not happy with what happened. Joe Hendry is a flash in the pan but Nic isn’t having that. It’s going to be the Nemeth Brothers’ year so here is First Class to interrupt. They’re here for the titles because it means money, and they are sick of the old people taking up all of the top spots. Arguing ensues so here is Santino Marella to make the tag match for tonight.

Arianna Grace is happy to see what is going on around here and runs into Tessa Blanchard. Tessa isn’t interested and doesn’t like Grace. She chases Gia Miller off too, which is a threat to everyone.

NXT’s Cora Jade ran into Xia Brookside in the back and they argued like wrestlers running into each other in the back.

Cora Jade vs. Hyan

Hyan flips out of a wristlock to start but is quickly clotheslined down. Back up and Jade chokes on the rope, setting up a running dropkick in those ropes. Hyan is sent hard into the corner and Jaded (double arm DDT) finishes for Jade at 2:57.

Post match Jade keeps up the beating but Xia Brookside runs in…and gets beaten down as well. Masha Slamovich makes the real save.

NXT’s Wes Lee/Tyriek Igwe/Tyson DuPont are ready for Ace Austin and Fraxiom. Lee wants gold of any kind.

The Personal Concierge yells at Santino Marella about how By Elegance should be the Knockouts Tag Team Titles. Next week there is a battle royal for a title shot, but it sounds like the singles version. Spitfire comes in to glare.

Brian Myers vs. Leon Slater

Myers, with the System, shoulders him down to start but Slater does it as well, meaning it’s time to dance. A bouncing kick to the face and elbow to the face give Slater two but he gets sent face first into the middle buckle. Myers sends him hard into the corner and then does it again, chest first this time, for two.

We hit the reverse chinlock but Slater is back up with a springboard crossbody. Slater kicks him in the head but walks into an implant DDT for two. The Roster Cut is countered into a small package for two and Slater sends him outside for a big dive. Alisha Edwards gives Myers a ring though and a shot to Slater’s face sets up the Roster Cut for the pin at 9:51.

Rating: C+. Slater losing to someone like Myers might not be the best idea but what mattered the most is that Slater got to have another nice match. He continues to look good almost every time he’s out there and it is nice to see him building up a bit of status. Now just get a few wins going and he might actually go somewhere.

Sami Callihan goes after Mance Warner and Steph de Lander.

Leon Slater still isn’t interested in working with Frankie Kazarian but the System interrupts. Maybe he could be the team’s secretary! The Hardys show up and a six man is set for next week.

Sami Callihan and Mance Warner brawl into the arena but Steph de Lander runs in for the distraction. Warner takes Callihan down and hits a running knee to leave him laying.

Steve Maclin isn’t having anything to do with Eric Young working with Josh Alexander.

Laredo Kid vs. Mustafa Ali

Kid starts fast by running the corner for an armdrag but Ali is right back with some uppercuts in the corner. Back up and Kid gets dropkicked out of the air for two and we hit the seated abdominal stretch. That’s broken up and they trade rollups for two each and they go outside, where Ali hits a hanging DDT. The 450 gives Ali the pin at 5:41.

Rating: C+. Ali is still as smooth in the ring as you can see and that is great to see. It is interesting to see what Ali can do when he is given the chance and not doing as much of the over the top campaigning stuff. That can work well, but he has the in-ring work to back it up and that works very well.

Post break Ali is rather happy with his win but Mike Santana comes in to challenge him. Ali would love to do that….uh, some day.

Eric Young/Josh Alexander vs. Northern Armory

Alexander throws Icarus into the corner to start and headlocks Williams to keep up the control. A missed charge sends Alexander to the floor though and a kick to the chest drops him again. The Armory hit some running kicks in the corner but Alexander suplexes his way out of trouble. The tag brings in Young and….he turns on Alexander. That means the Armory goes after Alexander as well and the match is thrown out at around 4:30.

Rating: C. So yeah this was little more than an angle and there is nothing wrong with that. I’m curious to see if this is pretty much it for Alexander, as he will probably have a match with Young and then ride off into the sunset. Other than that, it’s Young as a heel again and, uh, I guess that’s something we get to see for reasons of TNA not liking us.

Post match the big beatdown is on and Alexander is left laying.

Wes Lee vs. Ace Austin

Austin takes him down by the arm to start but Lee flips up and grabs an anklescissors. Back up and Lee flips over Austin before kicking him into the ropes. Lee hits a nice suicide dive, followed by a basement dropkick to the back for two. Another, and harder, kick gets two on Austin and it’s time to crank on the arm.

Austin fights up and hits a quick Russian legsweep, followed by some running clotheslines in the corner. A gutwrench powerbomb connects but here are Tyriek Igwe and Tyson DuPont for a distraction. Austin dives…kind of in their general vicinity to take them down, only to get Cardiac Kicked (kick to the head) for the pin at 9:38.

Rating: B-. Take two good high fliers and let them do their thing for a bit, though that dive wasn’t exactly the best looking. Other than that though, it was nice to see Austin out there again as he can work well with anyone. Lee continues to need something a bit better to do, though maybe a change over to TNA is a smart move.

Post match the beatdown is on but the Rascalz make the save.

Joe Hendry is ready to entertain, so next week it’s a concert.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Nic Nemeth/Ryan Nemeth vs. First Class

Francis shoves Ryan into the corner and demands/receives Nic. Navarro comes in and gets hiptossed into a dropkick, setting up double dropkick to Francis. We take a break and come back with Ryan in trouble (I for one am shocked). Something close to a 619 sets up a leg lariat for two on Ryan and it’s back to Francis for the chinlock. Ryan manages to get in a knockdown and the tag brings in Nic to clean house. Everything breaks down and Ryan dives onto Francis on the floor. The Fameasser and Danger Zone hit Navarro but Ryan tags himself in to steal the pin at 12:50.

Rating: C+. Ryan is starting to turn himself into something interesting with this goofiness and having him steal the win is a nice touch for him. That being said, I don’t want to see the two of them face each other, but for now, we are at least having something with Ryan as the annoying brother. Francis and company losing is always a plus as well so this could have been a lot worse.

Overall Rating: C+. The NXT stars being around is a nice way to go and I’m curious to see where all of that goes. At the same time, you had some good matches and enough things being moved forward, though I’m more than a bit hesitant about a renewed Eric Young heel run. The show wasn’t great, but it does give you a good idea of where some things are going in the next few weeks.

Results
Cora Jade b. Hyan – Jaded
Brian Myers b. Leon Slater – Roster Cut
Mustafa Ali b. Laredo Kid – 450
Eric Young/Josh Alexander vs. Northern Armory went to a no contest
Wes Lee b. Ace Austin – Cardiac Kick
Ryan Nemeth/Nic Nemeth b. First Class – Danger Zone to Navarro

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Joey Janela’s Spring Break: Cluster**** Forever
Date: April 6, 2024
Location: Penns Landing Caterers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Veda Scott

This is the second half of Spring Break, with a two match card. Naturally this includes a Punjabi Prison match, but the big draw is the Cluster**** Battle Royal, which is only a match with actual structure in the loosest of terms. There will probably be more than fifty entrants with loosely timed intervals, but the real fun is seeing who shows up. Let’s get to it.

We open with a video on the Punjabi Prison match.

Tag Team Titles: Violence Is Forever vs. Juicy Finau/Zilla Fatu vs. Los Macios vs. Bollywood Boyz

Violence Is Forever (Kevin Ku/Dominic Garrini) is defending and Los Macios are Ciclope/Miedo Extremo. The Boyz are carried on fans’ shoulders to the ring, which is surrounded by the bamboo style cage. This is one fall to a finish, meaning it’s not quite a Punjabi Prison match but I’ll take what I can get under the circumstances.

Fatu and Finau clean house to start, with Finau and Garrini fighting to the floor (as in outside of the cage) where Garrini gets beaten up. Los Macios hit Ku with a double flapjack but can’t manage to double suplex the rather large Ku. The Boyz are back up with a Bollywood Blast to Ku before double teaming Fatu down. Finau wrecks Finau as more people go to the floor to brawl.

Gurv is busted open and Ciclope grabs an electric tool, which can’t go well for anyone. Los Macios manage to knock Finau down inside, at least partially thanks to a chair, leaving Fatu to Samoan drop Harv off the cage through some doors at ringside. About ten chair shots and a Samoan drop put Finau down again as Ciclope climbs the cage.

Fatu Samoan Spikes him down and then dives back in with Garrini having to make a save. A spike piledriver hits Gurv…who pops right back up. The champs chair him down and then do the same to Finau. We pause for the sake of spending forever to set up a double stack door. The top rope double stomp to Finau gives Ku the retaining pin at 14:26.

Rating: C+. What is there to say about a match like this? It’s total insanity with all kinds of things going on at once. That’s kind of the point, and while the cage itself was only kind of used at times, I think I like the idea of having people coming and going. Having eight people in the ring at once is a mess, so I’ll take carnage going throughout the arena and ringside over everyone in the ring and not being able to move.

We look at upcoming shows as it’s going to take some time to get the cage down.

Commentary hypes up the Cluster as we stay on the graphic of upcoming events.

Before the Cluster starts, here is GCW World Champion Black Christian, with Shane Mercer, for a chat. Christian talks about how Joey Janela couldn’t finish the story last night at Spring Break and it wasn’t the first time he was bigger, stronger and could last longer than Janela. Cue Janela from behind to powerbomb Christian and hit him with a package piledriver. Mercer and Janela brawl outside…and here is Mance Warner, who has a guaranteed title shot at any time. Warner loads up the screwdriver but Effy comes in to brawl with Warner to the back.

We preview the Cluster, which is about having all kinds of people, with no idea of who or how many people will be entering.

Cluster****

There are unknown entrants and you can be eliminated by pin, submission, over the top, leaving the building and death. It’s Royal Rumble style (with the rules and intervals being loose at best) with Jimmy Lloyd, in a neck brace after last night, in at #1. Before the match he rips on Philadelphia before bringing out Matt Cardona and Steph de Lander. Well in theory that is but instead it’s Shane Douglas coming in at #2.

Shane hits a quick belly to belly for the pin and the elimination, allowing him to stop and talk about the history of wrestling here in Philadelphia. All of the promotions around here can kiss his a** but here is Shota in at #3. A dropkick staggers Douglas but he’s back with the belly to belly for the pin. Bam Sullivan is in at #4 and flips off Douglas, who hammers away. Sullivan knocks him down and gets two off a splash but Douglas bites him in the head. A running clothesline of all things gets rid of Sullivan and it’s Lindsay in at #5.

Douglas doesn’t think much of her so she hits him low for two. The camel clutch goes on but Jason Knight comes in, presumably at #6, to kiss Snow and toss her out. Rob S*** is in at #7 and beats on both of them until Knight dumps him. The Carnage Crew (Loc and DeVito) are in at #8 and #9 but they’re both out just as fast. Tommy Dreamer is in at #10 and yeah the fans approve as the ECW reunion continues. Justin Credible pops in, I guess at #11, and leaves with Jason without doing anything.

That leaves Dreamer vs. Douglas with a quick DDT getting rid of Douglas as the Impact Players (Knight/Credible) are officially eliminated due to leaving. Rina Yamashita is in at #12 and they slug it out, with Rina grabbing a testicular claw. An enziguri drops Dreamer and Tony Deppen is in at #13 (Rina rolls her eyes). Rina rolls outside (not eliminated) and 1 Called Manders is in at #14. Brawling ensues until Charlie Tiger is in at #15. That goes nowhere so Jeffrey John is in at #16 as the ring is starting to fill up.

Facade is in at #17 for some kicks to stagger various people. The intervals pick up as Masha Slamovich is in at #18. Slamovich avoids a dropkick and chokes John out for the elimination. Tiger gets choked out as well before Slamovich crotches Facade on top and gets rid of him. Deppen tries to get rid of Slamovich but Dreamer throws him out instead. Trevor Outlaw and Frank The Clown are in at #19 and #20 with Outlaw trying a cheap shot on Dreamer, who grabs a DDT.

Slamovich tosses Dreamer and pins Outlaw as Marcus Mathers is in at #21. Mathers kicks Rina back out to the floor (again not out) and Parrow is in at #22. Frank The Clown has left the building (he never got in the ring) for an elimination and it’s Mike Bailey in at #23 (you knew he was coming). Everyone goes after the large Parrow, who tosses Bailey. Parrow puts Slamovich down for the pin as well and it’s Pollo del Mar in at #24. Pollo is tossed rather quickly and it’s Dark Sheik, Edith Surreal and Jamie Senegal in at #25, #26 and #27.

They all strike away at Parrow, including a trio of Shattered Dreams. Parrow goes through the ropes (not out) and it’s Cheech and Colin Delaney in at #28 and #29. They go after the trio but can’t get rid of anyone as the Main Event (Jay Lion/Midas Black) are in at #30 and #31. Some rather snazzy double team moves have Cheech and Delaney in trouble, albeit not eliminated. Dives through the ropes take Cheech and Delaney down as the Ugly Sucklings (White Mike and Rob Killjoy) are in at #32 and #33.

The Sucklings beat up both tag teams but can’t get rid of anyone as Davey Bang and August Matthews are in at #34 and #35. That means they get to clean house with some dives as even more people get to lay around on the floor. Cheech and Delaney come back in but get dropped with clotheslines as Bobby Flaco, Terry Yaki, Aerial Van Go and Mr. Danger come in together at #36, #37, #38 and #39.

The four of them go after Delaney, with a hurricanrana into a phoenix splash getting rid of him, with Cheech being thrown out just after. Flaco plants Black for the elimination and a twisting Canadian Destroyer gets rid of Lion. Bang and Matthews are back up to get rid of Mike and Killjoy. Fuego del Sol and Sam Stackhouse are in at #40 and #41 with the much bigger Stackhouse going after Matthews.

Del Sol and Stackhouse knock Matthews and Bang down for stereo pins to clear the ring, not counting all of the people still either on the floor or gone. Stackhouse and del Sol beat up some of the foursome before a ladder is brought in. A moonsault onto said ladder gets rid of Flaco and Yaki but Van Go and Danger use the ladder to drop Stackhouse and del Sol. They both climb the ladder and Van Go headscissors Danger onto the pile on the floor, meaning they’re both eliminated.

Green Phantom is in at #42 and Sexxxy Eddy follows him, apparently at #43. Eddy comes to the ring in a towel and puts his tights on before getting inside to chair Stackhouse down. Mathers comes back in and gets hit low by Eddy but Manders gets back in as well. A double clothesline puts Manders down and it’s Tara Zep in at #44.

Eddy gyrates a lot and Phantom knocks Zep face first into Eddy’s trunks. Phantom slams Zep onto a chair for the elimination and Tank is in at #45. Tank beats up Eddy and Phantom but Manders is back in again for a slugout. They trade headbutts until Tank hammers him into the corner with both of them busted open. Tank headbutts Manders down and it’s Matters coming back in for another slugout. CPA (yes he’s an accountant) is in at #46 and takes off his shirt and tie to reveal….the same shirt and tie.

We’ll make that three layers as he hits a slow motion 619 on Tank. Everyone but CPA goes under the ropes to the floor and it’s Alex Zayne in at #47. Mathers takes Zayne’s place and is sent outside (not out again) as Philly Mike is in at #48. Mike knocks Mathers into the corner and it’s Spyder Nate Webb in at #49 for the full Teenage Dirt Bag entrance. Other wrestlers dance with him at ringside before Webb conducts the fans to sing the song with him.

With the song done, Webb takes a bow and gets inside, beer in hand. The fans want the song to be played again and that is in fact what happens as commentary points out that it is 2am local time. Philly Mike finally jumps Webb, who hands him a beer and then hammers him down. They fight to the floor and Mike walks out for an elimination. Webb follows and he’s out too, taking some of the energy from the crowd. Said energy picks up again as ring announcer Emil Jay enters at #50 but is tossed out almost immediately.

Eddy gets to gyrate a bit and it’s Cheeseburger in at #51. Cheeseburger ties Eddy in the Tree of Woe and sends Phantom face first into his tights, which is enough for an elimination. Eddy’s tights are pulled off and he has to fight with his hands covering himself. That lets Cheeseburger toss him out and Man Like DeReiss is in at #52. As usual, DeReiss raps himself to the ring and throws out CPA in the process. Monomoth (he has wings) is in at #53 and Zayne isn’t sure what to do with him.

A quick rollup gets rid of Zayne and Mercedes Martinez is in at #54 so Mathers comes back in (there are all kinds of people just sitting/strolling around at ringside) and is quickly fisherman’s bustered out. Surreal and Senegal (See what I mean?) come back in to go after Martinez, with Sheik joining them but getting eliminated. Surreal saves Senegal but Martinez DDTs both of them for the double elimination. DeReiss comes back in and low bridges Martinez out as Kaplan is in at #55.

Kaplan sets up doors and chairs on the floor as Manders and Stackhouse get back in. Del Sol is back in as well as Sawyer Wreck (with a bad arm) is in at #56. Kaplan misses a moonsault and gets thrown through the doors for the elimination. Wreck comes in as Brandon Kirk and Kasey Catal are in at #57 and #58.

Manders and Kirk are eliminated by their respective (romantic) partners….and then Wreck and Catal kiss. They leave together and they’re both out (Emil Jay: “Sawyer Wreck and Kasey Catal have left the building….together.”). Jordan Oliver is in at #59 to dropkick Tank out but Parrow is back in for a chokeslam. Monomoth is back in and is quickly tossed as Beastman is in at #60.

Beastman chokebombs Parrow but Stackhouse comes in and takes his shirt off, giving us a lot of jiggling. DeReiss chops at the huge Stackhouse and Beastman before tossing both of them out for the big eliminations. Viva Van is in at #61 and knocks DeReiss into the corner. The gear is hitched up for a Stinkface (DeReiss approves but feigns being knocked out when Van looks at him) but del Sol breaks it up. Van is out and Gringo Loco is in at #62.

The entrants pick up as Grim Reefer is in at #63 and tries to light a cigarette, with Parrow breaking it up. Parrow puts Reefer out and it’s Cole Radrick and Alec Price in at #64 and #65. They go after del Sol and Oliver with the former being knocked out thanks to some double teaming. Johnny Kashmere is in at #66 and we get a mini tag match with Kashmere/Oliver vs. Price/Radrick. That includes Radrick and Price both being tossed, leaving Kashmere and Oliver in the ring as Kurt Bale, Lance Scaper and Big Vin are in at #67, #68 and #69.

Vin and company get to wreck Kashmere and Oliver but can’t eliminate them as the American Giant (he’s 7’3) is in at #70. Giant gets rid of Vin and chokeslams Bale and Scaper for the double pin. There goes DeReiss as well so Parrow comes in for the staredown with Giant. Microman is in at #71 for the funny visual and Chiitan (a mascot with a big head) is in at #72.

Parrow gets rid of Giant and kicks Microman in the head but Chiitan knocks Parrow through the ropes. The Fighting Chicken (Prazak: “What in the world?”) is in at #73 and we get the big mascot staredown with Chiitan. Dr. Cube, the Hot Potato and Double Unicorn Dark (they’re kaiju from Japan) are in at #74, #75 and #76. The Chicken pecks away but the kaiju knock the mascots into the corner. Potato’s shooting star press gets two…and Aja Kong is in at #77 for the big surprise.

The Kaiju and the Chicken go after her but she knocks the three villains out and spinning backfists the Chicken for the pin. Chiitan, minus the hat, goes after Kong, who hits a spinning backfist for the pin. That gives us Parrow vs. Kong, with Parrow hitting a clothesline for the pin. Loco is back in and gets knocked out before going after Microman. Yoshihiko (a doll) is in at #78 and Stunners Kashmere out before brainbustering Oliver (just go with it) for the elimination.

Rina Yamashita (who hasn’t done anything or been seen in probably an hour and a half) comes in to piledrive Yoshihiko, who hurricanranas her out anyway. Parrow goes to throw out Yoshihiko, who throws him out instead. We get Yoshihiko vs. Microman but Nick Gage is in at #79 (announced as #87, but there’s no way I was THAT far off), the final entrant. Commentary says Gage, Yoshihiko and Microman are the final three so we’ll go with that as I lost who was still in an hour ago.

Gage hammers Yoshihiko into the corner and hits a gorilla press powerslam. The pizza cutter is whipped out but Microman makes the save. Yoshihiko crossbodies Gage but gets sent out, leaving Microman to suplex Gage. Microman pizza cutters Gage, who shoves him back down. The fans cheer for Microman, who is sat on top…but Gage misses a charge and falls out, allowing Microman to get the win at 1:57:51 (close enough as there was no opening bell).

Rating: B. Oddly enough, I had a good time with this. It’s a perfect example of “this is what we told you would be happening”, as there is nothing remotely serious about the whole thing, with stretches where there were dozens of people officially in but few were actually doing anything. This isn’t a match where it’s about the story or the action, but rather the whole atmosphere and wondering who was coming in next. This was pure, goofy fun and I had a good time with it, which is exactly what it should have been.

Overall Rating: B-. It says a lot when an eight man, four team cage match is completely forgotten but that’s the kind of show this is. This isn’t supposed to be anything more than one big party show where the fans get to see a bunch of people running out there and some semblance of a match taking place. You have to know exactly what you’re getting into, but if you can accept that, you’ll have a good time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Joey Janela’s Spring Break 8
Date: April 5, 2024
Location: Penns Landing Caterers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Veda Scott

This is one of the bigger independent shows of Wrestlemania Weekend and the biggest GCW show as well. The main event if Joey Janela himself challenging the rather unpopular Black Christian for the GCW World Title. As usual this show could be all over the place and that makes it more fun. Let’s get to it.

I only follow GCW to a certain extent so I apologize in advance for missing details about characters or storylines. I’m basically going based off what commentary or the wrestlers tell me.

Note that I was in the arena for this show, sitting in the sixth row with the entrance on my right.

In Memory of Virgil.

Opening video.

Rina Yamashita/Masha Slamovich vs. Minoru Suzuki/Masato Tanaka

Rina and Tanaka start things off with the former’s running shoulders not getting her very far. Suzuki and Slamovich come in but I can’t stop looking at a rather stupid looking fan. Looks like some overrated wrestling reviewer. Slamovich can’t get very far so it’s back to Tanaka to take her down by the arm. The fight heads out to the floor and we go split screen, which is more than most major promotions can remember to do.

Back in and Suzuki stomps away at Slamovich in the corner before Tanaka just slaps her in the face. It’s back to Suzuki who alternates between cranking on various limbs to keep Slamovich down. Slamovich manages a quick suplex and it’s back to Rina to pick things up. We get the “let’s stand here and exchange forearms”, with Suzuki getting the better of things.

Tanaka comes in for a top rope superplex, which he rolls into another suplex. Rina gets away for the tag back to Slamovich, who strikes both guys down. A double powerbomb gets two on Tanaka and let’s get a door. Splash Mountain through the door is broken up by Suzuki, who is sent outside. Tanaka puts Slamovich (mostly) through the table for two but Slamovich is right back with a crucifix for the pin at 13:48.

Rating: C+. This was a nice start as the fans are always going to react to Suzuki and Tanaka was a big enough deal in ECW for the local fans. Other than that, it didn’t get too violent and that left us with a mostly clean tag match. It’s nice to see something like that on a show that has a tendency to get nuts, though I’m sure that’s coming later.

Rock N Roll Express/Kerry Morton vs. East West Express/Mike Bailey

The Rock N Roll (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) are legends (as opposed to the East/West of Jordan Oliver and Nick Wayne) and of course good guys but Kerry (Ricky’s son) is a loudmouthed heel. Before the match, Kerry tells the fans to shut the f*** up and asks who all of these people think they are to get in the ring with the. And then the fans BOO HIM??? Kerry jumps the three of them from behind to no avail and it’s a neckbreaker into Bailey’s shooting star press for two.

Wayne and Oliver start working on the arm before it’s off to Ricky, who gets elbowed in the face. Ricky tells Wayne to run the ropes but Kerry gets in a cheap shot, which doesn’t work for Kerry. The fans sing their disdain for Kerry, who doesn’t take kindly to it but does take Wayne down with a slingshot suplex. Wayne manages a running uppercut for a breather and it’s Bailey coming back in to pick up the pace.

Oliver snaps off a double chop and…bounces up and down a lot. The East/West comes in for their double cutter out of the corner but Kerry shoves the referee into the ropes for the break, earning him a big yelling from Ricky. He even slaps Kerry and I guess that’s enough for Ricky to be Legal. A Canadian Destroyer hits Wayne and he dives onto a bunch of people, including Kerry. The Mortons hit stereo dropkicks for two on Wayne as Bailey makes the save. Oliver and Wayne are back in though and it’s the double cutter for the pin on Ricky at 9:21.

Rating: C+. This was more about Ricky vs. Kerry than anything else while also having the Rock N Roll in there. It made for a good enough story, but the action was only so good. You can only get so much out of the Rock N Roll these days and while that’s fair enough, it was smart to keep this relatively short. And of course with Bailey in there, because he comes complete with every Wrestlemania Weekend show.

Dragon Gate Classic vs. Reiwa New Generation

That would be Dragon Kid/Kzy/Yamato vs. Ben-K/Kota Minoura/Shun Skywalker. Yamato and Ben start things off and they go to the mat for the grappling exchange. With that not working, Kzy and Minoura come in and the latter doesn’t think much of what appears to be dancing. That doesn’t work either, so it’s off to the masked Skywalker and the, uh, also masked Kid.

A Stundog Millionaire drops Skywalker so Ben and Minoura come in for an assisted kick to Kid’s face. Ben does his rotating gutwrench suplex to drop Kid again, followed by Skywalker’s suplex to keep Kid in trouble. Minoura comes back in with a Boston crab, sending Kid straight to the ropes.

Kid finally manages to get in a shot of his own and it’s back to Yamato to pick up the pace. Kzy hits a big dive to the floor, leaving Yamato to suplex Ben for two. Minoura gets super hurricanranaed down and Kzy’s frog splash gets two more. Back up and Skywalker monkey flips Kzy into Kid and Yamato but Kzy forearms the heck out of Skywalker. Minoura is back in and gets caught in a crucifix to give Kid the pin at 13:53.

Rating: B. They were doing the showcase route here and that went rather well. It’s a case where you take a bunch of talented people and let them go out there for a bunch of fun spots for a good while. It worked well here with everyone going nuts until someone got the pin. Rather entertaining stuff here and it went exactly as it should have.

Cole Radrick vs. Aigle Blanc vs. Alec Price vs. Arez vs. Leon Slater vs. Marcus Mathers vs. Mr. Danger vs. Myron Reed

Grab The Brass Ring ladder match, with a Sonic looking ring above the ring, meaning the winner gets a shot at any title on demand. It’s a big brawl to start and everyone heads outside and thankfully we go split screen again. Radrick and Blanc grab chairs and go back inside for a duel, with Radrick knocking him right back to the floor. Mathers comes back in to kick the chair into Radrick’s head before it’s Danger coming in for a springboard legdrop to knock a ladder onto Reed’s face.

Now it’s Arez and Mathers picking up a ladder to clear a few people out, only to have Blanc break it up. We get the required ladder around the head (Price’s in this case) so he can spin around rather quickly to knock a bunch of people down. Price is down as well so it’s Microman, who stands 3’3, in with a tiny ladder of his own. He does his own ladder spin, resulting in a bunch of low blows for even more knockdowns. Microman sends Mathers into a ladder in the corner and there’s a headscissors to Price.

Back up and Price nails a clothesline before going up. Arez breaks that up with a springboard cutter so Radrick grabs the ladder, only to have that broken up as well. Mathers shoves a ladder over to send Danger into another ladder. Blanc misses a Swanton onto the ladder, allowing Slater to hit a Swanton 450 (that looks cool) to crush Blanc again. Mathers powerbombs Blanc onto a bunch of people on the floor but Reed pulls him off the ladder.

A F5 onto the top into a Downward Spiral plants Mathers but Price sends Reed face first into the ladder. There’s the big dive to the pile on the floor, leaving Slater to hit the huge dive over the post. A bunch of people check on Slater until Reed dives over the top for a cutter onto the pile. Danger goes up for the huge moonsault onto a bunch of people, leaving the fans pleased and everyone else down. Back in and Danger goes up but Radrick slows him down. Mathers and Price go up as well before going crashing down, leaving Radrick to knock Danger off and win at 17:06.

Rating: B-. This was the big cluster (ok maybe not the best word on a Joey Janela show) ladder match and it worked rather well. It’s the best way to have this many people on the roster at once as the fans get to see a bunch of stars in one match. It helps that there were stakes with this being similar to the Money In The Bank ladder match. There were a lot of people out there, but at least they kept things moving well enough.

Matt Cardona vs. Blue Pain

Cardona, with Steph de Lander and Jimmy Lloyd, is dressed as Macho King (with Queen Steph) and lets us know how lucky we are to have him. He was on TNA AND AEW recently and this weekend, his best friend Cody Rhodes will finish his story. Pain on the other hand is better known as Blue Kane and he’s kind of the Xanta Claus version of Kane: he wears blue, he controls cold instead of fire, he comes out to Eiffel 65’s Blue song, and he weighs two Cease And Desist Orders.

Cardona strikes away to start and gets scared out to the floor, as the flashbacks to the old US Title days are still real (that’s a weirdly clever idea). Back in and Pain uppercuts Cardona right back to the floor, meaning it’s time to stalk Cardona into the crowd. They fight into the balcony (not that high) and Pain loads up a table, only to get hit in the eyes with…something. Lloyd has to make the save but gets put in a chair and sent through the table (call back to Kane vs. Cardona back in WWE).

They get back in, where a de Lander distraction lets Cardona knock Pain off the top, setting up stereo Broski Boots. An Urn is brought in but Cardona hits de Lander by mistake (she urned that one), allowing Pain to hit the top rope clothesline. A chokeslam gets two, with de Lander pulling the referee out.

Radio Silence connects and another referee, dressed like Zack Ryder and coming out to the Zack Ryder theme, comes in to count two but flips Cardona off and kicks him low. Pain fights up with a chokeslam attempt, only to have Ryder hit him low, as Cardona reveals (and drops to the floor) a cup. That doesn’t work either so chokeslams abound until Lloyd is back. A fireball to the face (oddly appropriate) blinds Pain and Radio Silence lets all four villains pile on for the pin at 9:04.

Rating: B-. We can call this the definition of “stupid, goofy fun” and that is not a bad thing. Cardona is a big deal around here and it’s nice to see him getting to do something as silly as beating up a blue version of a monster who messed with him about ten years ago. Sometimes you need to do something ridiculous to give the fans a good time and that is exactly what happened here.

Gringo Loco vs. Amazing Red

This should be fun. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get anywhere, including Red offering a clean break. They run the ropes and exchange some near falls until Red pauses on a big kick to the head. Loco isn’t having a handshake and knocks him outside, only to have Red snap off a hurricanrana.

The dive drops Loco again and Red sends him into the chairs before going back inside for the chops. Loco fights up and knocks him to the floor this time, only to let Red get back in due to that pesky respect stuff. Back in and a tornado DDT gives Red two more as they’re going back and forth here. Loco’s sitout powerbomb gives him two of his own but a top rope superplex is broken up.

Instead Red sends him down for a top rope faceplant but Loco hits a standing version for two more. Another powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana to give Red two so they both go up. This time it’s a super Spanish Fly to give Loco another near fall and they’re both a bit winded. Loco loads up…something but gets kicked in the back, allowing Red to take him up top for a super poisonrana. A top rope double stomp into a frog splash into Code Red is enough to give Red the pin at 15:55.

Rating: B. This was a way more straightforward match and it went rather well. After having all of the goofiness before and the violence that is still scheduled, it is nice to have something like this. Red is way past his prime but can still do some rather nice things. Loco is still more than good enough as well and they had a rather solid match here, at least given the circumstances.

Respect is shown post match.

We recap Mance Warner vs. Effy in an I Quit match. The commentary before the video said they’re former stablemates and now hate each other, but we’re not told why or what happened. Warner is rather violent though and apparently stabbed Effy with a drill to the head. As you do.

Effy vs. Mance Warner

I Quit and the fans do not like Warner whatsoever. We even get the Big Match Intros to really make this feel special. Warner hammers away to start and strikes away, only to charge into a German suplex. Effy hits a running boot in the corner and flips into something like a dragon sleeper. That’s broken up so Effy hits a spear to take Warner down again.

It’s time to bring in some chairs, one of which is thrown over the top and onto Warner’s head. Effy chairs him down and loads up a door, but does stop to chair Warner down again in a smart move. Warner is fine enough to spinebuster him through an open chair and a spinning DDT through the table connects. It’s way too early for Effy to quit so Warner chairs him down again.

Back up and Effy sends him through another door for another no, setting up a piledriver onto the chairs. Effy tries a Rough Ryder but is quickly powerbombed down onto the chairs as well. That’s nowhere near enough so let’s steal the referee’s belt to whip Effy over the back. Effy shrugs that off and grabs the belt, which he wraps around his fist to punch Warner in the face.

Some whipping in the corner makes Warner say no again and it’s time to bridge a door between some chairs. Choking takes too long though and Effy gets sent through the door, which is good for another no. They slug it out on the apron, with Effy snapping off a standing Blockbuster. Another door is loaded up at ringside but Warner grabs a chokeslam to send him through it as the violence continues.

Back in and they trade pieces of door shots to the head. Effy gets the better of things again and they trade low blows to put them both down again. Warner whips out a screwdriver to hit Effy in the head and it’s time to bring out some zip ties. The bloody Effy is tied to the top rope and Warner throws a chair at his head. That’s still a no so here is Allie Katch (Effy’s partner) with the drill…but Warner chairs her down and loads up the drill. Effy quits to save Katch at 21:47.

Rating: B-. This was the match that caught my eye more than anything else on the card and it told a story (unlike the story that we weren’t given about how we got here) but it never really got to that next level. Instead it was just a bunch of hitting people with stuff until they did the ending. It wasn’t bad, but I was expecting more in what felt like it could have been one of the best things on the show.

We recap Nick Gage/Maki Itoh vs. Danhausen/Ram Kaicho. Gage was unhappy with Danhausen for costing him a win so it’s time to bring in a partner each.

Nick Gage/Maki Itoh vs. Danhausen/Ram Kaicho

Kaicho appears to be a bit dead and Gage and Itoh have Discount Dewey Donovan with them (he still has a website, where he brags about how little effort he has put into it and has not updated it in about 18 years). The fans REALLY do not like Danhausen during the Big Match Intros and even he seems a bit surprised.

Danhausen and Gage start things off but Danhausen wants Itoh instead. The curse is blocked with a middle finger so Danhausen grabs a headlock. Itoh gets knocked down and Danhausen drops a falling headbutt, a signature Itoh spot. Back up and Itoh knocks him down so it’s off to Kaicho, who uses her….death dust to blind Itoh? With that shrugged off, Itoh hammers away in the corner and hits a running boot for two. Gage comes in and knocks a crossbodying Itoh down and an elbow makes it worse.

Itoh DDTs her way to freedom and hands it off to Danhausen to slug away at Gage, followed by the flying shoulder. Everything breaks down and Gage pulls Danhausen outside, where it’s time to grab a door. All four get inside and it’s a four way knockdown, with Gage grabbing the pizza cutter.

Kaicho blasts him with the dust though and hits a dropkick to put Gage through the door in the corner. Danhausen pizza cutters Itoh and pours the teeth in her mouth, setting up the running booth. Back up and Gage sends Danhausen through another door as Itoh drops Kaicho. Stereo falling headbutts give Gage and Itoh the stereo pins at 13:01.

Rating: C+. What were you expecting here? It was basically a way to have Gage vs. Danhausen and it wasn’t exactly good. Gage is as big of a star as he can be around here and more or less it gave him a way to get on the card. Danhausen has fallen really hard in recent months and while he’s not done yet, it would be nice to see him getting to do something else to freshen things up a bit.

Post match Gage thanks the fans so the winners can leave.

We recap Blake Christian defending the GCW World Title against Joey Janela. No one likes Christian so it’s time for Janela to save the title from a horrible champion. He’s also standing up to Christian for going after Missy Hyatt, because that is a thing that is happening in 2024.

GCW World Title: Blake Christian vs. Joey Janela

Christian, with Shane Mercer, is defending and Missy Hyatt (with Gucci purse) is here with Janela. We get the Big Match Intros and Janela is in the Lex Luger Summerslam 1993 gear, which can’t go badly whatsoever. The mic goes out during Christian’s entrance because even the electronics don’t like Christian.

They fight over a lockup to start and that goes a grand total of nowhere. Janela shoulders him out to the floor but Christian is back in to slug away. A backdrop does a bit better for Janela and it’s time for a door. That takes too long so it’s Christian hitting a dive to send the door into Janela for a change. We hit the hair pull, followed by a chinlock, which isn’t a good sign less than ten minutes into the match.

Janela fights up but gets sent outside, where Mercer puts him into the post. Christian sends him face first through a chair and even busts out a cartwheel inside. Back up and Janela manages a quick cutter into a brainbuster for two, meaning frustration is starting to set in. That takes too long so Christian is back up with a springboard elbow for two of his own.

Stereo clotheslines give us a double knockdown, followed by a DDT to plant Christian onto the apron. The door is set up at ringside but Christian slips out of a Death Valley Driver. Back in and Janela snaps off a German suplex, followed by the Death Valley Driver for two. Janela takes too much time going up and gets knocked down, allowing Christian to hit a springboard 450 for two of his own.

Christian sends him outside for the big flip dive into a Nightmare On Helm Street on the floor. A moonsault press is countered back inside and Janela hits a quick jackknife. Janela grabs a chair to knock Christian down and then wraps the chair around his head. Mercer offers a quick distraction though and it’s Christian coming back with a spinebuster through the chair.

A Stomp gives Christian two and the shock sets in quickly. Mercer throws in a mostly broken door and some chairs but Hyatt comes in, meaning Janela has to make the save. Janela knocks Mercer off the top and through another table at ringside, setting up a superplex through that rather lame looking door.

A top rope stomp onto the door onto Christian gets two but he’s back up with a quick DDT. They slug it out from their knees until Hyatt grabs Christian’s leg (only took her two tries). Christian pulls her in so Janela makes the save…and Hyatt hits Janela with the Gucci bag. A stomp onto the bag retains the title at 29:44.

Rating: D+. Janela has a tendency to go long in his matches and that was certainly the case here. This is a match that could have easily had fifteen minutes chopped off as they just didn’t have much going on here. Christian can do the moves well but he isn’t exactly a thrilling star otherwise. Janela did what he could but they couldn’t have telegraphed the ending any harder. Not a good main event, mainly as it went on WAY too long.

The fans throw in trash (the referee is NOT happy) to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show started off well enough but it went on about four hours in total and the fans were just done by the main event. It’s a show where they needed to cut some time off from more than a few matches. I liked the show well enough and a good chunk of it had some of that strong GCW crowd energy, but the main event was rough. It doesn’t help that there is nothing worth going out of your way to see. Spring Break is supposed to be one of the really fun events and this was more forgettable than anything else.

Results
Rina Yamashita/Masha Slamovich b. Minoru Suzuki/Masato Tanaka – Crucifix to Tanaka
East West Express/Mike Bailey b. Rock N Roll Express/Kerry Morton – Double middle rope cutter to Ricky
Dragon Gate Classic b. Reiwa New Generation – Crucifix to Minoura
Cole Radrick won the Grab The Brass Ring Ladder Match
Matt Cardona b. Blue Pain – Radio Silence
Amazing Red b. Gringo Loco – Code Red
Mance Warner b. Effy when Effy quit
Nick Gage/Maki Itoh b. Danhausen/Ram Kaicho – Stereo falling headbutts
Blake Christian b. Joey Janela – Stomp onto a Gucci bag

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Joey Janela’s Spring Break 6 Night Two
Date: April 1, 2022
Location: Fair Park, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Kevin Gill

It’s the second half of the show and in this case, it needs to get a pretty big upgrade over the first half. Night one was a decent enough show, but it wasn’t memorable, which is the point of a show like this. Now that being being said, this show is built around the Clusterf*** Battle Royal, which could be quite the mess. Let’s get to it.

Here is Night One if you need a recap.

We open with Joey Janela talking about beating Sean Waltman last night and wanting his flowers. He wonders why the fans hate him now but Spring Break needs a lethal dose of poison to turn it back into what it is supposed to be. This year, he is entering the Clusterf*** so he can end it once and for all. Maybe just don’t run it then?

Matt Cardona vs. Chris Dickinson

Chelsea Green is here with Cardona, who is currently the king, meaning yes he does have a Macho King crown. Green gets in an ALL HAIL THE DEATHMATCH KING and the fans are all over Cardona again. Cardona insults GCW and says they are the power couple of wrestling. Six years ago, he won the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania, but now he’s in this piece of garbage ring. If he was in WWE, like he should be, he would be celebrating his friend Mark Calaway, who he will see in the Hall of Fame one day.

Dickinson comes out with….MISSY HYATT to even things out, which is one of those names that makes this show feel fun. Both pairs share good luck kisses before the match, with Hyatt’s leaving Dickinson woozy. Dickinson wrestles him to the mat to start but Cardona is up to yell at Hyatt. That doesn’t work well for Dickinson, who grabs a cross armbreaker to send Cardona bailing to the floor.

Back in and Green grabs Dickinson’s foot for a distraction so Cardona can stomp away. After throwing his shirt at Hyatt, Cardona chokes with the wrist tape and then his hand for a bonus. The running forearm drops Dickinson again and a neckbreaker gives Cardona two. It’s already door time but Cardona spends too much time mocking the crowd, allowing Dickinson to backdrop him through the door in the corner.

The slugout is on with Cardona going to the eyes, only to get blasted with a running clothesline. The brainbuster gives Dickinson two but Green offers a distraction, allowing Cardona to nail a spear for two. Missy finally grabs Cardona’s boot and slaps Green, allowing Dickinson to hit a Death Valley Driver for two of his own.

Green offers another distraction so Cardona can hit a low blow into the Rough Ryder for two. Now it’s Green coming in and hitting Cardona with Missy’s loaded purse by mistake, allowing Dickinson to clothesline her down. The toss Razor’s Edge is enough for Dickinson to pin both of them at once at 12:43.

Rating: C+. You really can see why the GCW fans can’t stand Cardona in this run as he is one of the most annoying and obnoxious heels you could want to see. He is playing up the idea of being a big shot and that is one of the best ways to get heat from anyone. Dickinson is a decent power guy and looked good here, though Missy kind of disappeared for large chunks of the match.

Biff Busick vs. Tony Deppen

Feeling out process to start with Deppen trying to go to the mat to little success. Back up and Busick goes to the armbar, which has Deppen bailing to the ropes. Busick chops the heck out of Deppen, whose chops back have no effect. They head outside with Busick uppercutting away but a chop only hits the post. With Busick trying to shake it off, Deppen hits a flip dive off the apron and they head back inside.

Busick is fine enough to knee him down and the figure four necklock sends Deppen to the ropes again. Back up and Busick gets a little more violent by holding Deppen in place for some slaps to the face. Deppen is smart enough to go after Busick’s bad hand but Busick hits a running uppercut to take him down again.

Busick misses a charge though and Deppen hits a suicide flip dive for two back inside. Back up and the slugout goes to Busick until Deppen goes for the hand and grabs a Kimura of all things. With that broken up, Busick wins another strike off but Deppen avoids a charge in the corner. A running knee finishes Busick at 11:40.

Rating: B-. Sometimes you need two people to hit each other really hard and you got at least half of that here with Busick’s beating. Busick might not be a star in the making, but he’s an established hard hitter in the middle of the card and that should be enough to get him quite a few jobs. At the same time, you have Deppen as one of the better heels I’ve seen in a bit, as he is just straight up unlikable. Keep going with that and he’ll be fine.

Post match Deppen thanks Busick for the match but tells anyone who doesn’t believe in him what they can kiss.

Mike Bailey vs. Jordan Oliver

Bailey does his bow and they shake hands to start. Oliver does his pose so Bailey kicks him in the face and strikes away but Oliver is back up with chops of his own. Bailey’s leapfrog is countered into a faceplant and Oliver sends him outside for a big dive. Some kicks send Oliver through some chairs though and Bailey knees him in the chest.

Back in and Bailey kicks him in the chest for two, followed by the YES Kicks to make it worse. Bailey hits a running kick to the face in the corner and they strike it out again. Oliver snaps off a release German suplex and a sitout powerbomb for two but Bailey sends him outside. There’s the springboard moonsault to the floor and they strike it out on the apron.

Bailey gets the better of things and hits the moonsault knees, setting up the bouncing kicks back inside. The big kick to the head looks to set up the Ultimate Weapon but Oliver counters it with a cutter. A handspring cutter gets two so Oliver goes up, only to get pulled down with something like a One Winged Angel for the pin at 10:01.

Rating: C+. As is usually the case with Bailey, the action was good but he continues to have such a punchable face that it is hard to get into his matches. The good thing here was he didn’t have the stupid no selling that drags down every good thing he does, making this slightly easier to watch than most of his matches. Oliver has come a long way but still has a good bit to go before he moves up to the next level.

Effy says he shouldn’t be here but tonight he’ll beat Minoru Suzuki, have his own show tomorrow, and then maybe he’ll come for some gold.

Effy vs. Minoru Suzuki

Allie Katch is here with Effy. They both stick their jaws out with offers of a free shot but Effy’s attempt at a kiss gets him slapped. Suzuki slaps him down and then a kick to the face puts Effy on the floor. They head outside with Effy telling him to chop as hard as he can. That’s fine with Suzuki, who mocks Effy’s return chops.

A big boot sends Effy through the chairs and Suzuki cranks on the arm back inside. Effy tries some forearms but gets dropped with a single one from Suzuki. Then Effy bites Suzuki’s nipple and northern lights suplexes him for two. The big kiss staggers Suzuki but it’s a slap to the face and the Gotch style piledriver to give Suzuki the pin at 9:04.

Rating: C. Effy’s stuff may or may not be your cup of tea but Suzuki more or less squashed him here in a match with little to no doubt about the outcome. Effy was doing little more than comedy here so it isn’t like there was much to get annoyed about. They were going for the “wouldn’t it be funny if these two wrestled” idea here and I’ve seen worse versions.

Greatest Clusterf***

So this is basically a Royal Rumble, but only in the very loosest of terms. There are no set time intervals and I don’t believe there is a set number of entrants. I’m not going to be able to keep track of all of the eliminations, as I’ve never seen a version of this where they are all announced. This is going to be about total chaos and some surprise entrants and nothing more. You can be eliminated by pinfall, submission, over the top, leaving the building and…death?

Joey Janela is in at #1 and Buff Bagwell is in at #2 for your first surprise. Granted Buff is on a crutch but he has the American Males theme so this could be a lot worse. Janela wants to strut with him but it’s a superkick to get rid of Buff very quickly. George Gatton, with an unidentified title, is in at #3 and it’s a superkick into a piledriver to get rid of him too. Judas Judd Cassidy (I think?) is in at #4 and gets thrown over the top just as fast.

Yoya is in at #5 and suplexes Janela but gets caught in a heck of a package piledriver for the pin. Billie Starkz is in at #6 and a Gory Bomb takes Janela down but he raises knees to block her Swanton. That’s it for Starkz and it’s Juicy Finau (a big guy) in at #7. Janela can’t suplex him so Finau does it to Janela instead and it’s the even larger Sam Stackhouse, in Bam Bam Bigelow inspired gear, in at #8.

That leaves Janela to get crushed in the corner by back to back splashes but Stackhouse misses an ugly moonsault. Janela tosses both of them and it’s Rhett Titus in at #9 as Janela keeps up his Brock Lesnar-esque run. Titus wrestles him down and hits the running boot in the corner until it’s the Invisible Man in at #10.

So we have the Invisible Man, Janela and Titus with Titus and the Man slugging it out. The Man gets the better of both of them but an elbow to the face lets Janela and Titus beat him down. A double suplex lets the two of them pose but Man is back with a double low blow. The Man throws out Titus but gets stomped down until Dante Leon is in at #11. They waste no time in the next entrant with Ninja Mack in at #12.

Leon and Mack are long time rivals so they pose at each other before superkicking Janela down. A shooting star piledriver drops Mack and it’s a sick looking Jimmy Lloyd in at #13. Janela and Lloyd put on masks and they rehash their Social Distancing match, meaning they punch from a safe distance. Mack isn’t having that and kicks Lloyd down, setting up the running flip dive to drop Janela on the floor. Back in and Lloyd runs Mack over for the pin and Early Morning Guy Steele is in at #14.

Steele doesn’t seem to know what he is doing and falls off the top as Janela and Lloyd watch from the middle of the ring. Then Steele gives them a running double Blockbuster and a Canadian Destroyer each. Then he goes up top for a 450 to Lloyd, only to get rolled up for the pin from Janela. That was a weird one and it’s Blake Christian in at #15. House is cleaned but the Invisible Man hits Christian low. That earns him a dropkick and it’s Kevin Blackwood in at #16.

Blackwood’s suplex gets two on Leon and stomps on Janela in the corner until Hoodfoot is in at #17. Hoodfoot and Blackwood slug it out until Slade is in at #18. Young Dumb And Broke (Charlie Tiger and Ellis Taylor) are in at #19 and #20, giving us Janela, Invisible Man, Leon, Lloyd, Christian, Blackwood, Hoodfoot, Slade, Tiger and Taylor as this is far more organized than I was expecting. Everyone hits everyone until Deranged is in at #21 to clean house. With that going nowhere, Grim Reefer is in at #22 and has a smoke.

We now pause for everyone to partake, including Janela, who says he isn’t with AEW anymore and can do what he wants. Janela runs to the back (I don’t think he’s been eliminated but who can tell around here?) and Sandra Moone is in at #23. Reefer clotheslines her down and it’s Parrow in at #24. House is cleaned with Deranged and Reefer being eliminated almost immediately.

Big F’N Vin is in at #25 as Janela is having some Cheetos. Vin kicks Parrow out without much trouble as Janela wants to know his next spot. Nate Webb is in at #26 and comes through the crowd, who sings his theme music. Lloyd gets dropped by the Invisible Man, who hammers on Webb in the corner. Janela superkicks the Invisible Man though and tosses him out, much to the fans’ annoyance. Webb misses a charge and gets low bridged to the floor and Hoodfoot is tossed as well.

Shazza McKenzie is in at #27 and goes after Janela to start the beating. Janela gets in a shot to the face though and grabs a door, only to have McKenzie spear him through it. Janai Kai is in at #28 and Jazzy Yang (Jimmy Wang’s daughter) follows her at #29. The four women in the match stare each other down and it’s Edith Surreal in at #30. That gives us Janela, Leon, Lloyd, Christian, Blackwood, Tiger, Ellis, Moone, Vin, McKenzie, Kai, Yang and Surreal, assuming I didn’t miss any random eliminations.

Dark Sheik, another woman, is in at #31 and we have a six woman showdown. Uh make that seven as LuFisto is in at #32. Some of the guys come in to go after the women, with Leon and Taylor being tossed out. The women all beat up Tiger and toss him out with Vin joining him. Then the women get into it, with Kai kicking out LuFisto. Moone is out as well and McKenzie hits a Stunner on Kai for the elimination. Janela comes back in to superkick McKenzie for the pin and it’s Maven of all people in at #33.

Everyone stops to look at him so Maven hits a bunch of dropkicks….and then walks out for an elimination. Fans: “THANK YOU MAVEN!” With everyone else pairing off, Sean Ross Sapp, yes the dirt sheet writer, is in at #34, drawing a WE WANT MELTZER chant. Sapp gets a mic and begs people to subscribe to Fightful Select so they can read about GCW wrestlers getting fired by AEW. Josh Barnett, former UFC Heavyweight Champion, is in at #35 but fellow writer Denise Salcedo (not in the match) comes in to low blow Sapp and toss him out.

Nasty Leroy is in at #36 and Barnett blasts him with a clothesline as Jimmy Wang Yang is in at #37. Yang manages to take him down (not the prettiest but it worked) so Jazzy (remember, Yang’s daughter) comes in to grab the leg, which apparently counts as a submission to get rid of Barnett. Jazzy rolls up Lloyd for an elimination and it’s Alec Price in at #38. Price tosses Yang and dances a bit before getting kicked in the face by Jazzy. That’s enough for Price to toss her as well and it’s Cole Radrick in at #39.

Radrick and Price wind up on the apron and it’s a double elimination. Brandon Kirk is in at #40, giving us Janela, Christian, Blackwood, Slade, Surreal, Sheik, Leroy and Kirk (I think at least). Sheik hits Kirk low as we’re told Slade has left the building. Janela runs the ropes a lot until Lord Adrean (a Wal-Mart Guy) is in at #41. Adrean cleans house and Tombstones Kirk for the elimination, only to get Death Valley Drivered by Janela for another elimination. Kevin Matthews (you might remember him as KM in Impact) is in at #42 and stares it down with Leroy.

A not great looking Rock Bottom plants Matthews and a worse Rock Bottom sets up a leglock for the tap as Janela busts a gut laughing. Then Janela hits Leroy low and pins him and it’s Nick Wayne in at #43 for a brawl on the apron with Janela. Wayne superkicks Janela out for one heck of a pop and here is B-Boy to introduce Team LA Fights, which are six unnamed people. The team (Jai Vidal and Jack Cartwheel are two of them) clean house and something like a Styles Clash into a sitout powerbomb gets rid of Blackwood.

With those six in at #44-49, the Second City Crew (AJ Gray/Mance Warner/Matthew Justice/1 Called Manders and Levi Everett) are in #50-#54. The Crew cleans house with Matt Vandagriff (of LA Fights) being tossed. Damian Drake and Ju Dizz (I think) are both out with Hunter Freeman joining them. Cartwheel gets knocked out but walks on his hands until Manders chairs him down for the elimination. Vidal is tossed out and the Crew is left alone until the others still in the match come in.

Christian and Wayne get together to toss Everett and Manders. Somehow Christian and Wayne are the last two with Christian hitting a quick Downward Spiral for the pin…and never mind as yeah there are some people still left. Sheik comes in off the top with a spinwheel kick and the rest of the Crew pile onto her for the pin. Christian goes after the Crew but gets taken down and superplexed into a top rope legdrop for the pin….and that’s it at 1:23:57 (I guess Surreal was tossed somewhere in there).

Rating: C+. To be clear, this match is not about something coherent or anything more than having one name after another. That being said, this was WAY more coherent than the previous edition and that helped a lot. This felt more like a very indy Royal Rumble and, save for Surreal, no one was getting lost in the whole thing. I had a good time with this and it did fly by with some fun moments. It’s the kind of match that I was expecting from a Spring Break and it went well, especially with all of the insanity that came with it.

Overall Rating: B-. This was more like the Spring Breaks of the past and it worked out pretty well all things considered. It was a collection of some fun matches before we got to the big main event and that wound up working well. Good stuff here and it didn’t feel like a regular GCW show. While those can be fun, it’s not what I came into this wanting. The main event is all that mattered here and the other four matches were a nice bonus so we’ll call this a success.

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