IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: October 4, 2018
Location: Fronton Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re less than two weeks away from Bound For Glory and things are already starting to clear up. The big matches don’t have the best build and you could argue that the (presumably non-title) match between LAX and the OGz is the biggest thing on the card. That’s not a bad thing, but it makes for a kind of odd build. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap focuses on the upcoming Bound For Glory matches, many of which were adjusted or made last week.

Opening sequence.

Rich Swann vs. Matt Sydal

This feud has done a grand total of nothing for me so hopefully the match is actually good. Swann isn’t interested in a handshake, much like the referee isn’t interested in an opening bell. Sydal gets kicked to the floor for a flip dive off the apron, followed by a headscissors back inside. A kick to the face puts Sydal down again but he’s right back up with a leg lariat to send Swann outside.

Back in and Swann kicks him in the ribs and then the face for two. Sydal’s top rope hurricanrana doesn’t work as Swann lands on his feet, then uses one of said feet to superkick Sydal into the corner. Another hurricanrana attempt is countered into a jumping powerbomb (cool) for two but Swann is fine enough to hit a spinning kick to the head. Swann heads up top but some unnamed guy comes in to powerbomb him down (which the referee somehow doesn’t see), setting up Swann’s snap Angle Slam for the pin at 7:30.

Rating: C. Well that wasn’t too bad. Sydal is so much better once the bell rings but egads this “open your third eye” nonsense isn’t interesting, hasn’t been interesting and isn’t going to be interesting. I have no idea what they see in that gimmick but it’s been old and that’s not changing anytime soon.

Post match Josh Matthews identifies the fan as Ethan Page, who used to be Chandler Park for like a month earlier this year.

Dave Crist is freaking out over what Pentagon and Fenix did to him last week. Sami Callihan tells him to snap out of it and face them in the ring like men.

Moose calls Eddie Edwards and tells him to meet him for a fight at a bar. He also may have kidnapped Alisha.

Here’s Scarlett Bordeaux to do commentary for the start of her talent search. Callis is of course drooling over her, as is his custom.

Eli Drake vs. ???

Open challenge time as I try to imagine the levels of awesome that Drake and Scarlett would be. Before the match, Drake tells a technico to come out here with their fancy planchas, but he’ll take a rudo as well. The challenge is answered by…..La Parka, who isn’t the same guy from WCW but is still a big star in his own right. La Parka yells in Spanish before the fight is on with the masked man taking over. The shaking knee dance takes too much time though and Drake hits his jumping neckbreaker. Drake goes for a chair but gets caught with a reverse DDT, only to run away from the chair for the countout at 2:37.

LAX and the OGz get in their weekly argument. The OGz even steal their alcohol and throw it at Konnan, who still won’t break the ceasefire.

Sydal introduces Page, who praises Sydal’s vision. I liked Page so having him back is a good thing, though not with Sydal. They issue a challenge for a tag match at Bound For Glory against Swann and whoever he can find.

Joe Hendry vs. Murder Clown

Before the match, Hendry and Grado debut a new music video of “Katarina” and “Murder Clown” on a date, complete with lyrics of Clown wanting romance and violence. A sample: “I may not be a pirate and we may not be related, but baby I’m a murderous clown and that cannot be understated.” Clown clotheslines him down to start and ties Hendry in the Tree of Woe for a charge. Hendry manages the fall away slam but gets kicked away without much effort. A top rope splash finishes Hendry at 2:50. Hendry’s fall away slam felt really out of place in what was otherwise a squash.

Post match Katarina hits Grado low and Hendry gets splashed through a table.

Edwards goes to the bar to find Moose and Alisha. Moose tells him to sit down and recaps their feud over the last few weeks. Edwards says Austin Aries and Killer Kross aren’t Moose’s friends but Moose isn’t having that. A lot of yelling ensues until Alisha breaks a glass over Moose’s head. Eddie charges and turns the table over but Kross comes in to grab him. Edwards fights them both off and escapes with Alisha before calling Johnny Impact, telling him to go after Aries now. This was the most coherent Edwards has been in months and he sounded like his old self.

Post break, Impact kicks in the door to Aries’ locker room but the champ is nowhere in sight. Aries is nowhere to be seen backstage either so Impact heads to the ring. Impact wants Aries out here right now so here he comes, with a sling around his arm. Aries claims an arm injury, a back injury, a twisted ankle and a concussion after Impact hit him with the title last week (that’s some high quality whining).

This is about the title though, and that’s why Impact isn’t fighting him right now. It’s about being the best instead of how many goons you can recruit. Aries is so confident that he’s willing to leave Moose and Kross in the back so that it can be one on one. Aries knows he’s the best in the world, but who is Johnny this week? Mundo? Impact? Boone? Survivor? Impact doesn’t know which basket to put his eggs in while Aries has put his eggs in the basket of being the best in the world.

Sure, Impact looks great but he’s just a pretend top star. Aries may not look like he does but he knows that he’s great in the ring. At Bound For Glory, Impact can co-star in Aries’ starring role when he brings his black trunks and black boots. After the match, Johnny can take the name Johnny 205, because it’s the last job he can get. Maybe he can just join Aries as the latest goon.

Impact would rather be stretchered out than follow an idiot like Aries so the beatdown is on. Aries misses a belt shot though and eats a superkick, followed by Starship Pain. Really strong promo here as they make this personal after weeks of having no tension between these two. That’s exactly what this match needed.

Cage is ready to destroy OVE.

The Desi Hit Squad isn’t happy about losing last week and thinks they’re not being aggressive enough. Gama Singh comes in to yell at them again before saying they’re fighting next week to see who the weak link is.

Classic Moment of the Week: Hulk Hogan turns face to save Sting from Immortal at Bound For Glory.

Scarlett, in a different outfit than earlier, turns down various people trying to be her client, including Petey Williams and Trevor Lee. Petey even offers to teach her the Canadian Destroyer, much to Lee’s disgust.

Pentagon and Fenix are down for a fight with OVE tonight.

Kiera Hogan vs. Su Yung

Allie and the Undead Maid of Honor are both here. Kiera goes right at her to start (a common thing around here) and runs Su over in the corner for an early two. An electric chair faceplant out of the corner gives Yung the same thing and some palm strikes keep Kiera in trouble. That’s fine with Kiera, who slugs away some more and hits a low superkick to put Yung on the floor for a suicide dive. The Panic Switch is countered into a sitout powerbomb for two on Yung and Kiera heads up. That means a fight between the seconds and the distraction lets Yung hit the Panic Switch for the win at 4:17.

Rating: D. Yung’s time in Impact continues to astound me as she was pushed as the next big thing for a bit and now this win feels like a surprise just a few months later. Hogan isn’t much but they’re pushing her as an upstart rookie so having her lose here doesn’t make the most sense. Not a very good match either.

Post match the bridesmaids bring out the casket but Allie makes the save. That earns her a Mandible Claw until Kiera makes the second save, only to get slammed into the coffin as well.

Post break, Allie has a panic attack.

Video on Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie.

OVE vs. Lucha Bros/Brian Cage

Bound For Glory preview. Sami gets triple teamed to start and Fenix gets two off a Swanton. We settle down into a regular match with OVE breaking up Fenix’s springboard, albeit after he bounced about four times. It’s too early for the All Seeing Eye though as Fenix sends them into each other, allowing the tag to Cage. House is cleaned, including Cage putting Jake on Dave’s shoulders and German suplexing both of them at the same time. That’s enough for Sami, who shoves the referee for the DQ at 3:39.

Rating: C-. Cage’s power and Fenix’s agility alone are worth seeing here and I can’t complain about a three and a half minute preview for the big match at the pay per view. This was much more of an angle instead of a match that mattered and there’s nothing wrong with that ten days before Bound For Glory.

Post match the fight stays on with the brawling continuing. Cage climbs to the second ropes and deadlift superplexes Jake onto everyone, followed by Fenix hitting a corkscrew plancha off the barricade to take everyone down again. The fighting continues to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The best thing here was they had the big angle that helped push the pay per view main event. Other than that, the show was mainly focused on setting up Bound For Glory’s already announced matches and that’s not the worst thing in the world. The show feels like it’s going to have a lot of stuff added at the end and that’s all well and good, though it’s not the most thrilling thing in the world. Nice enough show here, with Aries vs. Impact carrying things.

Results

Matt Sydal b. Rich Swann – Snap Angle Slam

La Parka b. Eli Drake via countout

Murder Clown b. Joe Hendry – Top rope splash

Su Yung b. Kiera Hogan – Panic Switch

Brian Cage/Pentagon/Fenix b. OVE via DQ when Callihan shoved the referee

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 27, 2018
Location: Fronton Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re still in Mexico City and I’m not sure what that means for this week’s show. Last week’s edition wasn’t exactly great and a lot of that is due to just throwing luchadors out there and using them in matches that aren’t much better than something you would see elsewhere. Maybe this week’s will be an improvement though so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s show.

Knockouts Title: Tessa Blanchard vs. Faby Apache

Blanchard is defending, Faby’s Reina de Reinas Title isn’t on the line and thankfully they get the camera right for Tessa’s entrance. Tessa hammers away in the corner to start but has a whip reversed into a reverse X Factor for two. A hurricanrana gives Faby the same and it’s way too early for the hammerlock DDT.

Blanchard gets more aggressive and scores with a clothesline, followed by a Saito suplex. Faby slaps on a kneebar to put Tessa in some trouble and some Angel’s Wings get two. Back up and Faby gets knocked off the top, setting up Magnum (the top rope Codebreaker) for two, followed by the hammerlock DDT to retain at 5:16.

Rating: C-. You can’t expect much out of a story that was set up one week and blown off the next but that’s what we got here. Blanchard getting a win over a big name from AAA is a good idea and helps establish her as one of the biggest women in the world at the moment. I’m not sure who she’s going to face at Bound For Glory though, as other than Yung and Allie, she doesn’t have any major challengers at the moment.

Post match Tessa says she’s now the best athlete in professional wrestling and the diamond of the Knockouts division. Cue Taya Valkyrie on the screen to speak some Spanish before saying she’s lucha royalty. Tessa can’t say anything until she beats Taya so the challenge is made. Everyone may think Tessa is a b****, but Taya respects her. Let’s see who the best is. It’s certainly better than Allie or Su again.

Eddie Edwards comes up to Alisha and tries to make amends but she calls him crazy. Johnny Impact, Eddie’s partner tonight, comes in and says they have to work together. Alisha still isn’t happy.

OVE takes credit for selling out Bound For Glory and mentions that tonight, it’s Jake vs. Brian Cage, which doesn’t sit well with Jake.

Eli Drake is in Mexico City and brags about his Mexican heritage. Next week: he’s challenging luchadors to a fight. I loved them at first, but these open challenges are getting annoying throughout wrestling.

Brian Cage vs. Jake Crist

Non-title. Cage backdrops him to start and knocks Dave off the apron. He makes the mistake of going after Dave though, allowing Callihan to tornado DDT him off the barricade. Back in and Jake starts in on the arm but an armbar is countered into a powerbomb backbreaker. A jumping knee to the face sets up a 619, followed by a top rope elbow for two. Cage gets two more off a sitout Alabama Slam but Jake spin kicks him in the face to knock Cage down in a rare sight. Crist takes him up top and blocks a superplex, setting up a super cutter….for one. That just ticks Cage off so it’s the Drill Claw for the pin at 4:41.

Rating: C. Cage continues to be an absolute monster with one of the best looks you’ll ever see. At the same time though, I’m not sure what they’re supposed to do with him now though as he’s been booked as completely unbeatable. I’m a little worried about what they might do to take the title off of him and where he goes from there, but at the moment he’s just fun to watch.

Post match the beatdown is on but the lights go out. As they come back on, Dave Crist is nowhere to be seen until Pentagon and Fenix appear on the screen, attacking Dave in the back. Cage beats up Sami and Jake to stand tall.

Austin Aries, Killer Kross and Moose are ready to destroy Edwards and Impact tonight.

Classic Clip: AJ Styles/Christopher Daniels vs. LAX from Bound For Glory 2006. Incredible match.

Katarina comes in to see Joe Hendry and Grado, hitting on the latter a bit due to the success of last week’s music video. That’s going to be another access denied. Katarina expected this and introduces MURDER CLOWN (he’s a clown who MURDERS you), who will be facing Hendry next week.

Scarlett Bordeaux (in a rather nice blue dress) is on the roof to recap her time in the promotion so far. She’s introducing a global talent search, with the winner getting her full time attention. I’ve heard worse ideas.

Desi Hit Squad vs. LAX

Non-title and why yes LAX is indeed over in Mexico. Raju and Santana start things off but it’s quickly off to Ortiz for a double belly to back suplex. A running knee to the face cuts Ortiz off though as the announcers talk about being Scarlett’s servant. Singh comes in for a running dropkick/running knee combination to the face in the corner as the fans are really not thrilled with watching LAX get beaten down.

Santana pulls Singh to the floor for a superkick and Ortiz makes the tag a few seconds later. The fans almost politely applaud Santana cleaning a few rooms of the house as the double teaming begins. Ortiz uses Santana for a platform into a moonsault onto Singh with Raju making the save. The legsweep into the Backstabber combination gets two on Santana until Ortiz Death Valley Drives Raju into Singh in the corner. The Street Sweeper gives LAX the pin at 7:29.

Rating: D. I’m not sure what it means when your main appeal as a team is your old manager is funny when he yells at you. That’s about all the Desi Hit Squad is good for and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. They’re just two guys who can do some average moves and that’s not going to get you very far. Dull match here as LAX winning was never in doubt but we had to sit through the Squad’s insomnia curing offense anyway.

Post match King and the OGz pop up on screen to talk about Konnan’s legend, even showing off some old magazine clips of Konnan as a top star in Mexico. Konnan was wearing a mask back then and King happens to have it right now. Then Konnan started leeching off of people like Art Barr and Eddie Guerrero, just like he’s leeching off of LAX right now. The mask is burned after a solid promo from King, who has come out looking like a star in this whole thing.

Abyss Hall of Fame video.

KM is still injured so Fallah Bahh sings him a lullaby (seriously) and puts a blanked over him. As Bahh leaves, KM calls him back and tells him to get revenge for the two of them.

Tessa accepts Taya’s challenge, even though Taya disappeared when Tessa showed up in the first place. Isn’t that interesting.

Kiera Hogan/Allie vs. Undead Maid of Honor/Su Yung

Allie shoves Su into the corner to start but it’s quickly off to the Maid to do the dirty work. Kiera comes in for a low superkick into a backsplash from Allie for a quick two. The Maid is right back with a springboard spinning crossbody for two but Kiera kicks her right back down into the corner.

It’s back to Allie for a running clothesline, only to have Su come in for a kick to the face. Not that the announcers notice this as they’re too busy talking about Bound For Glory’s sponsor. A Backstabber puts Su down but the Maid pulls Kiera off the apron. Allie ducks a running clothesline though and now it’s off to Kiera to clean house. Stereo kicks put the Maid down and Kiera hits a fisherman’s neckbreaker to finish Su at 6:57.

Rating: D+. I really was expecting more from Yung when she debuted, even though she felt like Rosemary Lite at times. That being said, her one Knockouts Title reigns feels like an afterthought now and she’s taking losses in tag team matches to women not even on the upcoming pay per view. That’s a heck of a drop and it shows no signs of slowing down.

Rich Swann wants to see Matt Sydal’s two eyes instead of his third eye. They’re fighting next week. Good for them.

Eddie Edwards/Johnny Impact vs. Moose/Killer Kross

Aries is at ringside. Moose runs from Eddie to start so Kross goes after Eddie instead. Impact comes in after only a few seconds as it’s a lot of staring early on. It’s already back to Eddie so Moose runs again, meaning we get more Impact as they’re certainly tagging fast to start. Kross runs Impact over though and we take a break.

A leg lariat gets two and the sliding German suplex in the corner drops Kross again. The Countdown to Impact misses and there’s a double clothesline to put them both down. That means another double tag as Eddie comes in to chop Moose. A super hurricanrana gets two as Kross makes the save. Kross sends Impact into the barricade but Impact climbs the thing, rolls back off and hits the Moonlight Drive.

Back in and the Flying Chuck into a Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Moose so Kross comes back in, leading to a four way strike off. Aries comes in with the belt but Impact knocks him down, only to get caught with the Saito suplex. Eddie hits Kross with the kendo stick but walks into a spear to give Moose the pin at 16:25.

Rating: C+. Not the most thrilling main event tag in the world but it did its job just fine. I’m still not sure what everyone not named Impact is going to be doing at Bound For Glory but Eddie vs. Moose seems likely. If that’s the case, this makes sense as an ending as it lets crazy Eddie want a match against Moose, perhaps with the kendo stick legal. At least Impact didn’t do the job here though, and that’s what matters most.

Overall Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this one again as the build isn’t the best in the world. Both the World Title and Knockouts Title matches for Bound For Glory were set up by someone coming out and saying “yo I want a title shot” and that’s not the most thrilling method in the world. Nothing on here was horrible, but at the same time there was nothing that made me interested in seeing Bound For Glory. They have two weeks left and that problem needs to be solved sooner rather than later.

Results

Tessa Blanchard b. Faby Apache – Hammerlock DDT

Brian Cage b. Jake Crist – Drill Claw

LAX b. Desi Hit Squad – Street Sweeper to Singh

Allie/Kiera Hogan b. Undead Maid of Honor/Su Yung – Fisherman’s neckbreaker to Yung

Killer Kross/Moose b. Johnny Impact/Eddie Edwards – Spear to Edwards

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 6, 2018
Location: Rebel Sports Complex, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

Things are getting interesting around here again as we now have a three headed monster on top of the promotion. Last week Moose joined forces with Austin Aries and Killer Kross as the trio beat down Eddie Edwards. That means that Eddie is going to need some help in this fight and that could be anyone. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Cage retaining the X-Division Title over Fenix and beating up OVE, the LAX issues, Tessa Blanchard winning the Knockouts Title and the Edwards issues.

Opening sequence.

Petey Williams vs. Rich Swann

Rematch from last week and Matt Sydal is on commentary. Swann dances to start and offers Petey the chance to retaliate but gets rolled up instead. A drop toehold puts Swann in the ropes for a dropkick to the back but O Canada is reversed into a German suplex out of the corner. Swann gets shoved to the floor for a slingshot hurricanrana but it’s way too early for the Canadian Destroyer. The lifting Downward Spiral works a little better but Swann reverses another Destroyer attempt.

A Lethal Injection gives Swann two but Petey takes the leg out and grabs the Sharpshooter. Sydal says pain is just a state of mind as Swann makes the rope. Petey hits a Russian legsweep into a crucifix but Swann is right back up with a shooting star press for two of his own. Williams bails to avoid the middle rope Phoenix splash so Swann kicks him in the head. It’s Phoenix splash time but Sydal sits on the ramp for a distraction, allowing the Destroyer to finish Swann at 7:52.

Rating: C-. Every week I watch these non-Cage X-Division matches and I try to not lose even more interest in everyone involved. That’s not working as Sydal and Williams aren’t doing a thing for me and haven’t in a long time. Swann is a little better but that’s not exactly saying much. The match was fine but the characters and story aren’t there.

Post break Sydal tells Swann that he’s trying to help him but Swann tells him to stay away.

Desi Hit Squad vs. Joe Hendry/Grado

Hendry’s new song is about his platonic love with Katarina. Raju gets elbowed down to start and the good guys dance into a double elbow drop. Hendry suplexes him for the same but Grado walks into a neckbreaker. A legsweep gives Singh two but he charges into a boot in the corner, allowing the hot tag off to Hendry. Everything breaks down and Hendry hits the fall away slam on both of them at once. Callis: “Even Grado couldn’t screw this up!” Grado proceeds to miss a cannonball, setting up a wind-up knee into the Sky High to give Singh the pin at 5:00.

Rating: D. As usual, it’s a bad sign when the match being short is the best thing about it. Grado is much more acceptable in small doses and Hendry has all the makings of a midcard star but the Hit Squad is just so average and mediocre that it’s hard to watch them. Now just get Hendry away from this mess and see what he can do. The songs alone will give him a spot for as long as he wants it.

Post match Katarina yells at Grado for losing and says she loves Hendry. She goes to kiss him but Hendry says Grado is his best friend so Katarina is out. That earns Hendry a slap as my head hurts all over again. Dang it we were this close to that story being done.

Post break Hendry and Grado laugh a lot.

Classic Clip of the Week: Bully Ray wins the World Title at Lockdown 2013.

Video on Su Yung vs. Tessa Blanchard set to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, which is far more eerie than you might think. Of note: Tessa first appears on the word “diamond”, which is the kind of little touch that makes these things that much better.

Bob sings to Scarlett Bordeaux when KM and Fallah Bahh come in to thank her for helping them. She flirts with them a bit and they have an idea.

Here’s Eli Drake for a chat. Drake talks about all the dummies around lately, like those two last week that took the Gravy Train. Let’s see if anyone who can come out here and impress him. Cue Stone Rockwell, an Indiana Jones style character from a show on the Impact Twitch channel. Drake wants to hear about his latest adventure but cuts him off. Rockwell wants to be a World Champion so Drake wants to get him off to a hot start.

Eli Drake vs. Stone Rockwell

Gravy Train in 12 seconds. I’m not sure where this is leading but Drake is always entertaining.

The Lucha Bros invite Cage to team with them again OVE and Sami Callihan but they’re fine if he doesn’t.

Aries, Moose and Kross are in the back and throw an interviewer out. Alisha Edwards comes in and the trio leaves.

Knockouts Title: Su Yung vs. Tessa Blanchard

Tessa is defending and grabs a very early rollup. The Panic Switch is broken up but Tessa has to bail from the bloody glove. Tessa: “SHE’S CRAZY!” Back in and Su throws her around a few times but gets her legs tied up in a modified Indian Deathlock. The running dropkick to the back gives Tessa two and a hanging DDT out of the corner rocks Yung again. Tessa can’t bring a chair in so she sits it down, only to be knocked into said chair.

Yung cannonballs her off the apron to knock Tessa out of the chair in a big crash. Back in and Yung takes her to the top, only to get pulled back down with a super cutter (supposed to be a neckbreaker but close enough). Back from a break with Tessa firing off right hands but getting hurricanranaed into the corner. The Panic Switch is broken up again and the hammerlock DDT retains Tessa’s title at 12:40.

Rating: C. Tessa was extra aggressive here and that’s something she needs to do every now and then. The point of her character is that she knows she’s better than everyone else so having her show what she’s capable of doing when she needs to makes her seem all the more dangerous. Yung losing again isn’t a good sign for her, as she doesn’t exactly have the best record.

Post match the Undead Bridesmaids bring out a casket with Tessa’s name on it. Yung jumps her from behind and hits the Panic Switch. Allie and Kiera Hogan run out for the save. Thankfully Tessa gets up and yells at the two of them as turning Tessa face would be a really bad idea.

Time for your weekly reminder that Impact will indeed be in Mexico for tapings next week.

Cage doesn’t like Sami Callihan and OVE. He’s the Machine and will take them apart.

Konnan and King go to see their bosses, who aren’t happy over the kid being run over two weeks ago. Konnan blames King, who says he can’t believe the hypocrisy around here. Everyone is against him and he did what has to be done to make money. It was ok when Konnan and the bosses did it but not when King does the same? The bosses say there’s a ceasefire until October 14 in New York City (at Bound For Glory). There will be a six man final war with Konnan getting involved too. King won’t shake hands.

The announcers preview next week’s card.

Zachary Wentz/Ace Austin/Trey Miguel vs. OVE

OVE cleans house to start but Wentz knees Callihan in the face. A big flip dive takes the villains out and Miguel dives onto everyone else. Fans: “THIS IS IMPACT!” Egads that’s bad even for a wrestling chant. Back in and Jake kicks Miguel in the face a few times before handing it off to Dave. Everything breaks down and Austin gets kicked in the head, sending him into a hanging Downward Spiral. The All Seeing Eye finishes Austin at 3:44.

Rating: C-. Well it was certainly energetic, which is more than you would have expected out of a short squash. OVE has grown on me a lot and while I’m still not big on them, they’re far better than they used to be. The jobbers all looked good here and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of them in the future.

Post match Callihan piledrives Austin and says they’re the best trio in the world today. Their war with Fenix and Pentagon will never end and if Cage wants in, bring it on.

Here are Aries, Kross and Moose (in a very shiny shirt) so the latter can explain himself. Aries introduces Moose as Moose Money, which is going to need some time to sink in. Moose says Eddie is a fraud because he was the one who had Eddie’s back through everything. When Moose was in the hospital with a concussion, Kross and Aries were the only ones who cared.

Moose thanks Aries for being the greatest man who ever lived and Aries thanks Moose for listening. No one is taking the World Title but here’s Johnny Impact to interrupt. Aries agrees that Impact is a nobody but says that while Impact looks the part, Aries is the part. Impact announces that he’s getting the World Title shot at Bound For Glory but Aries wants to do it right now.

Johnny is smarter than that and, after plugging Boone the Bounty Hunter, asks Aries to come fight out here. An insult to bananas brings Aries onto the ramp but the numbers take Impact down. Kross chokes him out and Aries adds a Figure Four. With Impact out, Aries Pillmanizes his throat against the post to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was a little weaker than some of the previous shows, mainly with the not so great wrestling and the storylines that aren’t the best in the first place. It’s not a terrible show or anything but it’s a show that didn’t do anything for me and nothing on it is really interesting or memorable. The build for Bound For Glory could be good though and that’s the more important thing going forward.

Results

Petey Williams b. Rich Swann – Canadian Destroyer

Desi Hit Squad b. Joe Hendry/Grado – Sky High to Grado

Eli Drake b. Stone Rockwell – Gravy Train

Tessa Blanchard b. Su Yung – Hammerlock DDT

OVE b. Zachary Wentz/Ace Austin/Trey Miguel – All Seeing Eye to Austin

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 30, 2018
Location: Rebel Sports Complex, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

Tonight is the Redefined show, which could mean several things. We’ll be getting a few title matches, including Su Yung defending the Knockouts Title against Tessa Blanchard and Allie, along with Fenix challenging for the X-Division Title. I’m sure there will be some more with Eddie Edwards/Moose vs. Austin Aries/Killer Kross as well. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the two title matches plus the Edwards vs. Aries feud.

Opening sequence.

X-Division Title: Brian Cage vs. Fenix

Fenix is defending and has Pentagon Jr. with him. Some early flips keep Fenix away from Cage until a drop toehold sets up a 619 from the champ. Fenix tries some springboards but gets his head taken off with a clothesline. That’s not something you see most X-Division people doing but it works well for him. Another springboard is broken up and a delayed apron superplex has Fenix in even more trouble.

Fenix finally scores with some kicks to the face but Cage runs him over again without much effort. More kicks just get Fenix tossed onto the ramp but he manages a Lethal Injection onto the ramp for a breather. A Swanton gets two but Cage hits his own superkick and a reverse Death Valley Driver. The fans are already on the FIGHT FOREVER chants. People it’s been six minutes. Chill.

Rating: B. There was a story here with Fenix trying to hang with Cage as long as he could but Cage kept shrugging it off and hitting one more big move after another. The ending was great with Fenix just not being able to survive the power. I could go for Pentagon vs. Cage but I’m not sure who in the world is supposed to stop Cage. Unless we’re coming up on Option C again.

Post match OVE comes in for the beatdown but Cage makes the save.

Recap of Moose returning last week and saving Edwards from Kross and Aries.

Scarlett Bordeaux charms her way past security.

Classic Clip of the Week: Drew Galloway debuts in January 2015.

Impact is coming to Mexico.

We look at the OGz running over a kid last week to get at LAX.

King yells at the OGz for feeling sympathy about the kid. Someone calls King and he leaves.

We recap the Knockouts Title match, which is Allie trying to get revenge on Yung for all of her attacks on Allie’s friends. Tessa is here because she wants to be champion.

Tessa isn’t feeling pressure because she’s a Blanchard. That means you need something though, and that’s why she’s winning the title tonight.

Here’s Eli Drake for a chat. Eli has had the Cult of Lee following him around for the last few weeks. They’re never going to be friends and Drake wanted to see what happened last week when they got in over their heads. Cue Mr. Atlantis and Brandon Tidwell, the guys who beat the Cult of Lee last week. They’re not quite ready to be stars yet because they have one more test. After pausing to listen to the THEY ARE DUMMIES chant, Drake says one of them has to face him tonight. Atlantis volunteers so Drake says he’ll face Tidwell.

Eli Drake vs. Brandon Tidwell

Gravy Train in 24 seconds.

Atlantis takes a Gravy Train of his own.

Moose and Edwards are ready for revenge.

Impact. Mexico. Still happening.

Knockouts Title: Su Yung vs. Allie vs. Tessa Blanchard

Yung is defending and has the Undead Bridesmaids while Allie has Kiera Hogan. Tessa hits them both in the face but Allie snaps off a Backstabber to take over. Allie clotheslines Tessa to make her DDT Yung but the champ pops back up for a staredown with Tessa. That earns Yung a shot from Allie but Tessa takes her down into a leglock.

Yung is back up for an armbar on Allie at the same time but ropes are grabbed in short order. Tessa press slams Yung onto the Bridesmaids but gets suplexed into the corner to give Allie two. Allie superkicks Tessa into the Mandible Claw but takes one herself a few seconds later. A slam gets Allie out of trouble but Tessa rolls her up for the pin (with trunks) and the title at 6:21. Tessa looks shocked that she won.

Rating: D+. They didn’t have time to do much here but Yung dropping the title was the only option. She’s been a near afterthought to Tessa for a long time now and the real feud is Tessa vs. Allie anyway. Yung felt like a Rosemary knockoff since she debuted and that’s not exactly how you present a top star. Time killed this one but they got the ending right.

In the back, Tessa says she knew she could do it and proved it. Come try her to see how tough a diamond can be.

Gama Singh beats up the Desi Hit Squad for failing.

Aries and Kross promise pain for Moose and Edwards. They’ve turned everything upside down and no one is safe.

LAX isn’t happy with the kid being run over. Konnan tells them to take care of the kid’s family but gets a phone call from someone he calls sir and leaves. LAX isn’t sure what to think but they’re not happy.

Mexico part three.

It’s time for the Smoke Show with Grado, Katarina and Joe Hendry. Scarlett suggests that there’s something between Katarina and Hendry but Joe says it’s not true. They’ll have a tag match next week and Hendry’s song will fix things. Scarlett whispers something to Grado and the water shoots out of his bottle. Katarina isn’t happy and the guys run off, leaving her to yell at Scarlett. Can we please get somewhere with this story already?

Petey Williams vs. Rich Swann

Swann goes straight to the dancing to start and throws in some splits for good measure. Petey sends him outside but comes back in with the slingshot Codebreaker. Swann flips over him and scores with a dropkick, only to be sent outside in a heap. Back from a break with O CANADA but Swann avoids a charge in the corner.

A pinfall reversal sequence gives them two each until Petey pulls him down for a Sharpshooter attempt. Can we just change his name to Mr. Canada already? That’s broken up as well and Swann hits a Falcon Arrow for two more. Swann misses the middle rope Phoenix splash but slips out of the Canadian Destroyer. Another pinfall reversal sequence gives them two each and Swann this the running shooting star for the pin at 10:20.

Rating: C-. I am so over Williams. He’s not interesting, his whole offense revolves around one move and he’s only there for the Canadian fans. He was funny back in the Scott Steiner days but good grief that was the better part of ten years ago. Just find someone else to do this stuff already and stop talking about the Destroyer already.

The announcers talk about Konnan apparently having a boss.

Swann wants the X-Division Title when Matt Sydal comes in to say Swann doesn’t know what he’s in for. As Sydal offers his help, Moose is found with the X symbol next to him. I think you know where this is going.

Austin Aries/Killer Kross vs. Eddie Edwards

No Moose. Kross starts for the team and plants Eddie with an early spinebuster. Aries comes in for a kick to the back of the head but Eddie is back with some kicks of his own. A running kick can’t knock Kross off the apron so Eddie kicks Aries to the floor. Kross cuts him off though and Aries takes over again. The villains take turns kicking and stomping away but Aries takes too much time going up.

The Backpack Stunner out of the corner gives Eddie a breather and a Blue Thunder Bomb gets two. Kross gets knocked outside and Eddie drops Aries with a suicide dive. With Aries back in, Kross suplexes Eddie on the floor to take him down again. Back in and a tiger bomb plants Aries but here’s the taped up Moose to grab Aries by the throat….and then spear Eddie. The referee gets thrown out and we’ll call it a no contest at 7:40.

Rating: C. This was much more of an angle than a big time match and the ending was far from a shock. It’s been a trope in wrestling for years and while it’s not a bad idea, it wasn’t exactly surprising. I’m not sure why Aries needs two monsters with him when Kross was doing his own thing but it’s not the worst idea in the world.

Post match Moose chairs Eddie. Alisha runs out to yell and slap Moose, who glares at her to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. So uh, what exactly was redefined here? I’m curious about some of the stuff they’re setting up here (LAX’s story is interesting) and the main event angle could go somewhere. It could be interesting to see who challenges the new trio but Cage, Pentagon and someone joining them is an option. That being said, this show didn’t do much for me as a lot of the wrestling was just ok to average and the good opener doesn’t quite cover it.

Results

Brian Cage b. Fenix – Superbomb

Tessa Blanchard b. Su Yung and Allie – Rollup with trunks to Allie

Rich Swann b. Petey Williams – Running shooting star press

Austin Aries/Killer Kross vs. Eddie Edwards went to a no contest when Moose threw the referee out

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Slammiversary 2018
Date: July 22, 2018
Location: Rebel Entertainment Complex, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

Believe it or not this actually looks like a great show. Impact Wrestling has been on a roll as of late with one very good show after another, but now they need to pay that off with a strong pay per view. It’s not impossible either as nothing on the card looks bad. Just please deliver for once. Let’s get to it.

Here’s the preview so you can see how badly I did.

The opening video features the amazing voiceover guy (Barry Scott) that does this show every year, talking about how great things have been around here in the last year. This show is treated like the biggest show of the year in a way and this voiceover helps a lot.

Petey Williams vs. Johnny Impact vs. Taiji Ishimori vs. Fenix

Williams is replacing an injured Rich Swann. After a quick staredown, everyone is sent into the corner with Ishimori getting a very early advantage. Impact sends Williams to the floor for the big showdown with Ishimori. Both of them miss standing flips and that means a staredown. Fenix comes back in and bounces off the ropes for, of course, a staredown.

A series of bounces on the ropes send Impact to the floor so Petey comes back in with a flying headscissors. There’s O Canada to Fenix but Ishimori comes back in with a hurricanrana on Fenix and Williams making a save. Impact hits a big dive onto Fenix and Williams so Ishimori hits an even bigger one onto the other three. That gets a rare IMPACT WRESTLING chant, which doesn’t have a great cadence but it’s a nice idea.

Everyone comes back in with their series of springboards, capped off by Petey getting the Sharpshooter on Ishimori. Fenix is back in with a 619 on Impact before rolling through the ropes for a cutter. Ishimori knees Fenix in the corner and a Tombstone gets two. Impact uses the ramp to flip into the ring and it’s a circle of strikes for a four way knockdown. Ishimori hits the 450 on Impact but gets caught in the Canadian Destroyer. The springboard double knees drop Petey for two more but it’s Impact with a superkick and Starship Pain for the pin on Fenix at 12:27.

Rating: B. That’s how something like this should have gone as it was four guys going nuts and getting to showcase their talents. That’s how you want to open a show: fast, getting to the point, not putting the big match on first and just letting the fans have a good time. Impact will be a big player again soon, just for the presence that he brings to the matches.

King rants to the OGz about how much he hates Konnan. They’re ready for tonight and want the LAX name back.

We recap Tessa Blanchard vs. Allie. Tessa is here to show how great she is and doesn’t care who she runs over in the process. Allie doesn’t care for that so Tessa is ready to teach her a lesson.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Allie

Allie gets the hometown pop and is in a hybrid of her two gears. They talk a lot of trash to start and Allie kicks her down, followed by a basement crossbody. Tessa isn’t happy with this getting beaten up thing and forearms her down, only to have Allie come back with a spinning crossbody to the floor. A hot shot onto the barricade rocks Allie though and Tessa is getting the swagger going.

More forearms and right hands to the head have Allie in more trouble but she manages a hurricanrana to the floor. Tessa comes up limping a bit so Allie hits a Death Valley Driver on the floor to put them both down. They do the double slide back in and it’s time for the slow motion slugout.

Tessa gets the better of it again and chokes Allie down followed by a scary super hurricanrana to drop Allie on her head for two more. Allie avoids a top rope backsplash and the running Codebreaker sends Tessa outside. The Best Superkick Ever gives Allie a near fall of her own and frustration is setting in. Another Death Valley Driver is countered into the hammerlock DDT to give Tessa the pin at 10:58.

Rating: B-. Tessa is as good of a Charlotte clone as you can get and that’s not a bad place to be. The win is the right call and a suggestion that Madison Rayne actually picks up the title later on. It’s not like there’s anyone else to challenge for the title and Tessa has history with Madison already. Allie will be fine as she’s charismatic enough to make anything work. Shame about losing in her hometown, but it makes sense.

We recap Eddie Edwards vs. Tommy Dreamer. Edwards has gone insane thanks to Sami Callihan so Dreamer stepped in to reminisce about ECW and talk about his feud with Raven. Eddie accused Dreamer of sleeping with his wife (Dreamer’s “LOOK AT ME” defense was funny) and tonight it’s a hardcore match with blood promised.

Eddie Edwards vs. Tommy Dreamer

House of Hardcore rules. Dreamer isn’t going to wait and starts the brawl in a hurry. They fight to the floor with a water bottle going off Eddie’s head and the metal weapons being brought out. Dreamer trashcans him in the head and we get the ECW chants because this is somehow about the promotion that ended seventeen years ago. Eddie gets in a shot to the head and busts out the staple gun.

You don’t do that to Dreamer, who easily takes it away but can’t get in a shot either. Eddie tries a hardcore sunset flip and gets stapled, meaning it’s time to chant for another promotion again. Someone hands Dreamer an ECW Title for the shot to the head and we’ve got some blood. That just fires Eddie up even more and he hits Dreamer in the head a few times to take over. Back in and some kendo stick shots rock Dreamer again with Eddie declaring himself the new Innovator of Violence.

A stick shot to Edwards rocks him again and a super Death Valley Driver through a pair of chairs gets two because Dreamer isn’t allowed to win anything (as he shouldn’t). It’s time for a table, lighter fluid and a lighter (I’ll let you figure out the combination) but Eddie hits him low. The fans want fire but Eddie hits the Boston Knee Party to drive a chair into Dreamer’s head for the pin at 11:12 instead.

Rating: D+. I’m not a fan of the ECW stuff but they kept it short enough and Dreamer lost as everyone knew he would. Edwards has been a great psycho and if they can keep that up, there’s potential there. Just don’t turn him into a Dreamer tribute wrestler and we should be fine. That and if we can stop the ECW chants, but that ship sailed many years ago.

Post match Eddie starts sobbing and yells to Tommy (not in anger). Alisha Edwards comes out as Dreamer hands Eddie the kendo stick in a passing of the torch. That torch has probably been passed more often than an ECW check.  Alisha leaves on her own and Eddie holds the stick.

Matt Sydal is ready to use his mind and third eye to get past the Machine Brian Cage and all those muscles.

We recap the X-Division Title match, which is pretty much exactly what Sydal said. Cage is unstoppable so Sydal is trying to use his mind and spirit to beat him instead of the physical aspect.

X-Division Title: Matt Sydal vs. Brian Cage

Cage is challenging and tosses the champ around in a hurry. A standing moonsault gives Cage two as Callis says Hulk Hogan beat the Iron Sheik in 3-4 minutes. Not really but for a title change it was rather short. Sydal kicks at the knee and gets in a suplex as Cage has already lost a bunch of his explosiveness. Another kick to the knee brings Cage off the top and it’s back to the knee.

Sydal gets two off a standing shooting star but Cage is right back up and throwing Sydal around. The knee gives out though and Sydal kicks away, only to get turned inside out off a pumphandle slam. Sydal speeds things up with some more kicks and a snap modified Angle Slam rocks Cage again. The shooting star misses though and Cage blasts him with the discus clothesline for two.

Cage tries the Drill Claw but gets reversed into a snap hurricanrana and another near fall. Another Drill Claw is countered into a small package for a near fall I actually bought. The shooting star hits a raised boot (and the ropes on the way down, which thankfully didn’t lead to a much worse result) though and now the Drill Claw makes Cage champion at 9:48.

Rating: C+. Cage winning was the only result that made sense and it’s not like Sydal was doing much with the title anyway. I’m not a fan of the third eye stuff but they got the title off of him as they should have and that’s the best result. That being said, I have no idea how they get the title off of Cage outside of a triple threat or a climbing match but we can worry about that later on.

Austin Aries says he’s ready to perform at his best with the lights on bright because it’s one on one.

Madison Rayne is trying to make history by becoming a six time Knockouts Champion. She wants to hand the title to her daughter so her daughter can know Madison has made it. Su Yung is the latest evil crazy zombie bride (there are a million of them) and it’s time for her next big title defense, this time against non-scary/evil Madison.

Knockouts Title: Su Yung vs. Madison Rayne

Madison is challenging and continues the trend of starting fast. Yung gets knocked down but here come the undead bridesmaids. They’re dropped as well, allowing Madison to forearm Yung in the face for two. Yung neckbreakers her out of the corner though and ties Madison in the Tree of Woe for a running dropkick. The red mist hits a bridesmaid though and Madison has an opening. A ripcord cutter gets two on Yung, who is now wearing a bloody glove. The Rayne Drop gets two more but a quick Mandible Claw with the glove knocks Rayne out to retain the title at 6:58.

Rating: C. Madison looked rather good here but I’m not sure where they go with the title from here. Unless they do Tessa vs. Yung (which they won’t/shouldn’t), I have no idea who can challenge for the title. How nice is it to have a reason to believe they could pull it off though? That’s not something I’m used to around here but maybe it can work this time.

Post match Rayne is put in a coffin.

We recap the LAX civil war. Konnan was the manager of the original LAX (Homicide and Hernandez) and then eventually returned with Santana and Ortiz as the new version. The team had its ups and downs but Konnan was eventually attacked. This brought in King, who turned the team back around. Konnan returned and said King took him out, so Santana and Ortiz sided with Konnan against their new boss. King brought in Homicide and Hernandez as the OGz and we’re having a street fight. This is a remake of the Midnight Express feud from thirty years ago and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Tag Team Titles: OGz vs. LAX

Street fight and LAX is defending, though I thought this was non-title. LAX comes through the crowd and Konnan meets them on the ramp to say go to it. Hernandez shrugs off the beating but can’t hit the Border Toss to the floor. Instead Santana dropkicks Homicide off the apron and it’s some dives (with the camera missing one) to drop the OGz. A pair of tables are set up in the corner while Homicide puts up one on the floor against the barricade.

Hernandez starts cleaning house and Ortiz gets choked with a chain. The big dive over the top has Santana rocked as Hernandez flashes back to the SuperMex days. More metal shots to the head put Hernandez down and Homicide actually walks into a suplex. Yes that was in fact a wrestling move. The OGz take over again without much effort but Santana superkicks his way out of trouble.

Back in and Hernandez pulls Santana out of the air, followed by a heck of a sitout powerbomb for two. Ortiz is back up with the trashcan lids to the head and it’s ladder time. A flip dive into a Lionsault onto Hernandez onto the ladder has Hernandez down and the Street Sweeper gets two on Homicide. Santana hits a big flip dive to put Homicide through a table at ringside but they’re not done.

Back in and a running Death Valley Driver puts Homicide through a table. It works so well that Ortiz loads it up but Hernandez gives him a Border Toss through the other table. Santana is back up this time with a superkick as Konnan goes after King. Homicide loads up the Gringo Killer but stops to spit at Konnan. The distraction lets Konnan throw a bag of tacks to Santana, who THROWS THEM AT HOMICIDE for what could be a terrifying result. A slam and frog splash put Homicide away at 13:55.

Rating: B. This was exactly the kind of match it should have been, meaning it was barely wrestling and was instead the wild weapons brawl that showed off the violent hatred. You can almost guarantee a rematch and the OGz getting the titles at one point, as they certainly should. I liked the match a lot, though it didn’t hit the level I was hoping it would reach.

Post match King comes in and distracts Konnan so Hernandez can beat him down. King whips Konnan in the back and the titles are spray painted. Must be time for yet another set of new belts.

Sami Callihan doesn’t like being the underdog in the fans’ eyes. Tonight, Pentagon loses his mask.

We recap Callihan vs. Pentagon. Callihan and OVE started going after luchador masks because they’re a little nuts so Pentagon stood up for his friends and brother. Tonight it’s mask vs. hair in the big lucha de apuesta match.

Sami Callihan vs. Pentagon Jr.

After some yelling, they get to the kicking each other in the face. Pentagon scores with a Sling Blade for the first real offense and it’s time for the chops. Sami opens his vest and wants the best shot. The ensuing chop brings Callihan to his knees and a face that says how bad of an idea that was. He’s fine enough to take it outside for a water bottle to the head but they both chop the post.

Pentagon slaps him down as the announcers mention that this has relaxed rules. I know that’s expected and understood, but it’s nice to be officially told. Callihan posts out some spikes of all things and starts gouging at the head, drawing some much needed blood (just kind of necessary in a match like this). That’s fine with Pentagon, who knocks a spike back into Callihan’s head. With nothing else working, both guys grab a chair and beat the fire out of each other, earning a FIGHT FOREVER chant.

There is blood everywhere and Pentagon chairs him down again. The armbreaker is broken up so Pentagon chairs him down for the second time in a few seconds. Cue the Crists to take a shot each, allowing Callihan to throw some powder. Pentagon breaks the ref’s arm instead so there’s no one to count the Pentagon Driver.

Rating: B-. This needed to be a few minutes shorter but it also needed to be a little away from the previous match as having two violent brawls in a row wasn’t the best idea. Pentagon winning was really the only call here given how big of a star he is on the indy scene at the moment so it’s hard to argue with the ending. Give Sami something to bring him back to earth and OVE can go insane again.

Post match OVE jumps Pentagon until Fenix makes the save. Sami has his head shaved and cries throughout.

Bound For Glory is October 14 in New York.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Austin Aries vs. Moose

Aries is defending and Curtis Granderson of the Toronto Blue Jays is holding the title. Feeling out process to start with Aries’ headlock getting shoved away with no trouble. Aries gets in a hard elbow to put Moose down so Moose nips up with no trouble. He sends Aries outside in a heap and the champ collapses on the floor.

Moose’s big dive sends him sailing over the barricade though and Aries is already trying for the countout. Back in and Aries gets one off a slingshot hilo but Moose shrugs off the shots to the chest. A headbutt has Aries sprawling into the corner and there are some rapid fire chops in the corner.

One heck of an elbow drops Moose but he’s fine enough to hit the discus lariat. The spear is countered into the Last Chancery (cool) and Moose takes a long time making the rope. Moose can barely move so Aries hits a Death Valley Driver on the apron, setting up the big suicide dive.

With nothing else working, Moose wins a slugout and throws him over the barricade. Another dive misses though and Aries gives him a brainbuster on the floor. Somehow that’s only good for nine so Aries grabs the belt. Granderson takes it back and Aries gets rolled up for two, only to have him grab the brainbuster to retain the title at 15:55.

Rating: B+. That’s the kind of main event they needed with Moose fighting as hard as he could but coming up short. It didn’t seem likely that he would actually win the title so seeing him get this close and make you believe he could pull it off was quite the accomplishment. Aries is going to lose the title in a big deal down the line and this was the kind of win that is going to make it seem that important.

Overall Rating: A-. Now that worked. They didn’t have the big blow away match but they had about six good to very good matches and that’s more than I would have ever guessed for them about six months ago. The company needed a great show tonight and they got about as close as you can get, so we’ll call this one a big time success. Now follow up on it and make this consistent and it can go somewhere.

Results

Johnny Impact b. Petey Williams, Taiji Ishimori and Fenix – Starship Pain to Williams

Tessa Blanchard b. Allie – Hammerlock DDT

Eddie Edwards b. Tommy Dreamer – Boston Knee Party into a chair

Brian Cage b. Matt Sydal – Drill Claw

Su Yung b. Madison Rayne – Mandible Claw

LAX b. OGz – Frog splash to Homicide

Pentagon Jr. b. Sami Callihan – Fear Factor

Austin Aries b. Moose – Brainbuster

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Now I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up about this show but really, it’s kind of hard not to in this case. Believe it or not, Impact Wrestling has actually put together a heck of a card and built it up quite well over the last few weeks. I want to see what they have for Slammiversary and there’s a good chance it’s going to be an awesome show. If nothing else, it’s not like they have a high benchmark to beat in order to have their best pay per view in years. Let’s get to it.

Allie vs. Tessa Blanchard

The more I see of Blanchard, the more impressed I am. She’s been in the promotion for all of a few months and they’re already pushing her to the moon. If Su Yung wasn’t Knockouts Champion, Blanchard probably would have won the thing weeks ago. Allie is a good test for her as she’s one of the most popular members of the roster and can go in the ring. This should be fun, especially with Allie being more serious as of late.

I’m going with Blanchard here, as while there’s nothing for her to do in the title hunt right now, a win is a lot more valuable to her than Allie. That being said, Allie needs a win to get her back on track. She took a bad hit when she lost the title to Yung and a win over Blanchard would help. Blanchard has lost enough already though so I’ll go with her to win here, as she should.

Pentagon Jr. vs. Sami Callihan

This is mask vs. hair and they’ve started to book Calliah the way he needs to be booked. He’s not the best in-ring worker and the shouting about how great Ohio is still doesn’t do much for me, but at least they’re booking him as a crazy brawler/lover of anarchy instead of going against his better characteristics.

However, Pentagon almost has to win here as he’s WAY too big of a star pretty much everywhere at the moment to lose one of his trademark things. Callihan’s hair isn’t exactly famous or anything and can be grown back in pretty short order. The match should be a good, violent brawl and with the roll that Pentagon has been on in recent months, there’s a good chance it’s going to be better than I’m expecting.

Eddie Edwards vs. Tommy Dreamer

I’m torn on this one. Edwards’ heel turn and descent into madness has been outstanding….but it’s Dreamer. The guy who has spent probably twice as long talking about ECW than he was actually in ECW. I respect what he did and how he came from nothing to become a nice something in wrestling, but he just doesn’t do anything for me. The whole “I’ve given everything to this business and don’t want you to end up like me” has been done and Dreamer playing the sad old man who can still be violent has lost its charm.

Of course Edwards wins here but the more interesting question is where does he go from here. There’s a ton of potential in that character and if Impact uses him properly, he could be a heck of a star. Just having him target someone new (say Pentagon for getting to hurt Callihan instead) and going all psycho on them could be great, as Edwards has knocked this thing further out of the park than I ever would have guessed.

Knockouts Title: Su Yung(c) vs. Madison Rayne

You can call this one another surprise as Rayne has done far better with the one more run story than I ever would have expected. The problem though is they’ve built her up to the point where she almost has to win the title to validate going over so many others but I don’t think they want to (or should) take the title off of Yung, even if it’s just for a short reign for…well for Rayne.

I’m going to go with Yung retaining through some shenanigans, which is the best way possible to keep things from getting in trouble. Yung can feud with Allie or someone else for the title going forward, though giving it to Rayne and having her drop it to Blanchard isn’t the worst idea in the world either. I’ll stick with Yung retaining though, as it makes more sense at the moment.

Fenix vs. Johnny Impact vs. Rich Swann vs. Taiji Ishimori

It should be noted that Swann suffered a concussion on Thursday and may not be able to work the show. That being said, this has the potential to be a heck of a match. Just throwing a bunch of people who can fly around out there is an idea that usually works and that’s what we’re getting here. Having Impact back is a big positive as well as he has the star power to lend some more credibility to a match like this.

In what isn’t likely to happen, I’ll take Fenix to win. He and his brother are two of the biggest stars Impact has at the moment and having him pin Ishimori, who is cool but not exactly around very often, would be a good way to give him a boost. If you have someone as popular as Fenix at the moment it would make sense to push the heck out of him and a win here would help do that.

X-Division Title: Matt Sydal(c) vs. Brian Cage

It’s another title match where they seem to have booked themselves into a bit of a corner. Cage is on fire at the moment and seems ready to be pushed to the moon. The problem is the X-Division Title isn’t on the way to the moon, nor is having him drop it eventually or having Sydal escape with the title through more shenanigans. That’s a problem here and I’m not sure how they’re going to get out of it.

My guess is they’ll solve it by giving Cage the title and then moving on from there. It’s no secret that Cage is seemingly being fast tracked for the main event scene and this would be a good way to start that process. I mean, a better way would have been to sidestep the X-Division in general and move on to the main event scene but it’s a bit late for that. Having a monster like Cage as champion could be interesting for a change so this seems like the right way, or at least the least painful way, to go.

LAX vs. OGz

Now this is the one that I’ve been wanting to see as Impact FINALLY has a hot story to run on. It’s a retelling of the Midnight Express vs. Midnight Express feud from 1988 and that’s not the worst place in the world to be. If they can do something with the kind of energy they potentially have here, this could be a heck of a match that easily steals the show. At worst, it should at least be pretty good.

As for winners, you almost have to go with LAX, but it entirely depends on how long Homicide and Hernandez are sticking around. If they’re staying then they should win, but if this is a one off appearance then LAX wins easily. Either way, it should be a heck of a brawl and King vs. Konnan on the floor should be interesting as well. The street fight idea is the right call here and they could easily steal the show.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Austin Aries(c) vs. Moose

This has been a very odd build as Moose and Aries have only been in the ring together once in recent weeks. The idea has been to have Moose off training for the biggest match of his life, which is a fine way to write off what was likely a case of Moose not being available for most of the tapings. The match is as interesting as it can be, but Impact has a long history of not having the best main event builds in the world.

I’ll go with Aries retaining here, as the idea has been that Moose has to win the title at some point in the year. There’s a lot of time left in the year for him to pull that off and Aries fighting off some of the other big stars of the promotion is an interesting concept. Also I’m not sure if they would want to switch the title again so soon after having done the Pentagon reign at the last pay per view.

Overall Thoughts

I’m excited. This show looks very good on paper with nothing that feels like filler or a bad match. Don Callis has turned this promotion around (though that’s been said before to less than stellar long term results) and for now, they have a pay per view that I want to see. This is a near miracle for them and if they can pull off a great show, I’m certainly not going to be complaining for once.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 19, 2018
Location: St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

It’s the go home show for Slammiversary and for once I’m actually interested in where we’re going. The build for the show has been rather good so far and that could make for a solid pay per view. They can still hammer in a few more things tonight but really, Sunday is all that matters at this point. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a rapid fire recap of the big stories.

Petey Williams vs. Killer Kross

The Canadian fans are behind Petey, who gets driven into the corner early on. Petey tries to strike away but gets tossed with a t-bone suplex as Kross laughs. Another t-bone drops Williams but he avoids a charge to send Kross shoulder first into the post. A Codebreaker and a tornado DDT have Kross rocked so he comes right back with a hard Saito suplex.

The Krossjacket (a not great looking choke) has Petey in trouble but Kross lets him go. Kross bends over and puts Petey in position for the Canadian Destroyer (as in he puts Petey in position to give Kross the Destroyer) before slamming him down. The Krossjacket knocks Petey out at 5:03.

Rating: D+. I’m not feeling the choke finisher but this was a very effective match and something they should have done rather than the Fallah Bahh match two weeks ago. Kross feels like a monster and that’s exactly what they should be going for with him. Let that kind of evil flow and see how far up the ladder he can go. I liked this WAY more than the Bahh match and Kross looks like he could be a player.

Post match Kross leaves the card on Petey’s chest.

The announcers give their regular preview.

Madison Rayne talks about her daughter wanting to grow up to be a superhero like her mom. Or maybe a ballerina.

Joe Hendry is at a photo shoot when Grado and Katarina come in. Grado isn’t happy with Hendry for flirting with Katarina but Hendry has a surprise.

Desi Hit Squad vs. KM/Fallah Bahh

So yeah, KM and Bahh are back on the same page again. Raju jumps Bahh to start and has as much success off a crossbody as you would expect. Singh comes in and gets crushed by Bahh’s crossbody so Raju gets in a few more cheap shots. Bahh sends the Squad into each other and it’s off to KM (whose full name of Kevin Matthews is mentioned, possibly for the first time ever around here) to clean house. The Squad gets put down so Bahh and KM do the rolls over them twice in a row. Gama Singh offers a distraction though and it’s a rake to the eyes into a rollup to pin Bahh at 4:34.

Rating: D. The Hit Squad is still fine, though not exactly great. Bahh is exactly the same person he’s been since his debut, though you could say that his charisma has gotten better. KM….actually wasn’t too bad here. Imagine that: you let him wrestle an actual match instead of being a clueless putz and his value goes up. The Squad will probably win the Tag Team Titles one day and while I understand why, it’s not the most inspiring thought in the world.

Video on the LAX civil war, which is actually an awesome story so far.

King doesn’t think anything of Konnan who has turned his back on the Latino nation to join his nice white friends in his white neighborhood. Yeah he put the hit out on Konnan because he had the OG’s in his back pocket. Nobody wants the three of them there so they’ve got nothing to lose. They’re taking over.

Eli Drake vs. Joe Hendry

Drake has kind of been lost in the shuffle of late. Hendry sings his own music about making things better, featuring a video of people celebrating in various ways. To be fair, that’s a heck of an entrance and a rather catchy song. The fans chant LOCAL HERO (Hendry’s nickname) but hang on though as Hendry has a video about Eli Drake with Hendry singing about how big of a dummy Drake really is. Apparently Drake likes to dress up like a woman, complete with what looks like regular photos.

Drake isn’t happy and decks Hendry before the bell with the referee starting the match as Drake is choking in the corner. Hendry gets in a jumping knee to the face but misses a charge in the corner to take him right back down. A pair of neckbreakers take Hendry down but he’s right back up with one of his own. Hendry’s DDT gets two but Drake takes him down without much trouble. The Gravy Train is countered into a rollup to give Hendry the pin at 3:50.

Rating: C-. Hendry is someone with a lot of upside as the singing will carry him for a long way and he has a great look. Once you get him away from Grado things can get better, but for now there’s a big upside to him. That’s what has gone well for Impact as of late: bringing in some fresh names who can make an impact in a hurry.

Hendry celebrates with Katarina, much to Grado’s annoyance.

The new LAX knows that the OG’s helped get them here but it’s their time now.

Andrew Everett vs. Dezmond Xavier

And here’s Eddie Edwards to attack the referee at 15 seconds. The bell rang so yes, this was a match.

Eddie says the time has come for Tommy Dreamer and no matter what the stipulation is, pain is coming for Dreamer. There will be blood and Eddie is going to taste it straight from Dreamer’s head. Then Eddie will be the new Innovator of Violence and Dreamer’s never ending nightmare. This was very good and if you just get rid of the Dreamer factor, it’s that much better.

Recap of last week’s Madison Rayne/Su Yung incident.

Rayne is in a funeral home with pictures of her and her family. She opens the casket and finds herself but a man comes up from behind her. His face is in Yung style paint and Madison runs away, finding a girl looking for her mom. Madison panics and is suddenly outside in the woods. Blood falls from the sky and the bridesmaids appear with Yung saying Rayne’s time has come.

Video on Pentagon Jr. vs. Sami Callihan.

Greg Osborne vs. Sami Callihan

Osborne is from Australia and has a boomerang. Callihan wastes no time in kicking him down in the corner but stops to get Pentagon’s mask from the Crist brothers. A double eye gouge sets up the Cactus piledriver for no cover. The fans sing the Goodbye Song and Sami puts the mask on Osborne. Sami starts a Pentagon chest but calls it bull, eventually accepting the hair vs. mask match. Wasn’t that accepted weeks ago? A low superkick sets up Get Out Of Here for the pin on Osborne at 4:09.

Rating: D. Just a squash here with Sami’s ranting being a good chunk of the match. Callihan is fine in short bursts like this and the violence works far better than seeing him trying to wrestle. Throw him in there with someone as good as Pentagon and the match should be a lot of fun.

Post match Sami promises violence on Sunday. Pentagon pops up to say bring it so OVE gives chase.

The OG’s are ready to take back what’s theirs.

Allie doesn’t like Tessa Blanchard but is ready for the tag match tonight.

Tessa is ready to take care of Allie for messing with her plans.

Allie/Kiera Hogan vs. Tessa Blanchard/Shotzi Blackheart

I’m glad to see Shotzi again. Kiera and Tessa start things off with Blanchard taking her into the corner and slapping Kiera in the chest. They switch places and do the same thing, followed by Kiera armdragging her down. Blackheart comes in and misses a charge to send her to the floor. Allie gets two off a snap suplex with Tessa shouting DON’T MESS THIS UP FOR ME.

Tessa kicks Kiera in the face and comes in, only to have stereo big boots give us a double knockdown. The hot tag brings in Allie to clean house on Shotzi with a Russian legsweep getting two. A Tessa distraction lets Shotzi grab a neckbreaker but the Best Superkick Ever puts Shotzi down. That’s enough for Tessa, leaving Allie to hit the Codebreaker on Shotzi for the pin at 7:03.

Rating: C. The division is getting better and better with Tessa clearly being a star (albeit pretty close to a Charlotte clone) and Allie being someone the division could be built around for a long time. Kiera has turned into a nice featured player and Shotzi got my attention as soon as she debuted. Good stuff, though nothing that hasn’t been done before.

OVE is still looking for Pentagon.

Scarlett Bordeaux, now named and shown, debuts next week. This works in a variety of ways.

Video on the international four way, featuring the return of Johnny Impact.

The announcers run down the pay per view card.

Video on Brian Cage vs. Matt Sydal, including Kongo Kong costing Cage the X-Division Title a few weeks back.

Santana talks about having history with Homicide. They’ve known each other for years now and Homicide has made the wrong decision.

Video on Austin Aries vs. Moose.

The search for Pentagon continues and the Crist brothers find him….or rather Sami tied up in Pentagon’s mask. The real Pentagon shows up and seems to break the brothers’ arms but the editing is so fast that it’s hard to tell.

Here’s Moose for the hard sell promo for Sunday’s main event. Moose has been away from the Impact Zone for a long time and wants Austin Aries down here now. Bring the banana with you too. Aries pops up on screen to say chill a bit because we don’t need a moose on the loose. He’s not coming out right now and Moose can just wait until Sunday. Cue Aries from behind (smart move) and the beatdown is on. Moose gets up behind Aries though and tosses him into the corner. A swing with a chair misses and Aries runs. This company has a history of not great main event builds and that’s true here, but it was good enough.

One more Slammiversary run down ends the show.

Overall Rating: B+. I want to see Sunday’s show more than I did when I came in so I don’t know how this could be anything but a success. They did exactly what they wanted to do here with some watchable wrestling but the pay per view build was what really mattered. As long as Sunday can live up to the hype they’ll be fine, but this company has a history of choking at the finish line. Hopefully they break the streak here though, as the show looks rather good. Very well done this week and the best Impact has looked in a LONG time.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

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

Rich Swann vs. Trevor Lee

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dezmond Xavier vs. Matt Sydal

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

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

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

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

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

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

Madison Rayne vs. Tessa Blanchard

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

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

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

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

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

Results

Rich Swann b. Trevor Lee – Phoenix Splash

Matt Sydal b. Dezmond Xavier – Flip package rollup

Madison Rayne b. Tessa Blanchard – Crucifix slam

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 14, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

It’s another big night this week with a double main event. First up we have Moose vs. Eli Drake in a #1 contenders match with the winner getting a World Title shot against Austin Aries at Slammiversary. Other than that we have Brian Cage challenging X-Division Champion Matt Sydal, which sounds like a way for Impact to find a way out of giving Cage the title. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at both matches, which is really all that matters on this show.

Opening sequence.

Grado comes out for a match but here’s Eddie Edwards to jump him with a kendo stick. Eddie rants about losing his chance to kill Sami Callihan last week and blames Tommy Dreamer, who he promises to expose. Cue Dreamer, who is somehow being featured again on a show in 2018. Dreamer says things have changed since his time but Eddie asks if Dreamer would change anything he ever did.

That earns an admission that Tommy is a hypocrite but he tells Eddie to leave it alone. Eddie says he hasn’t talked to his wife in a week and Dreamer says he knows. As you might expect, Eddie isn’t happy that Dreamer is talking to his wife and violence almost breaks out. Tommy shoves him down and gets caned in the head, because we’re probably getting Eddie vs. Dreamer at Slammiversary for some reason. Eddie beats on Dreamer even more before leaving without looking sorry.

Post break Dreamer is livid and leaves, saying he’s done around here.

The announcers preview the rest of the night.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Rebel

More kicks have Rebel in trouble and Taya mocks the LET’S GO REBEL chants. Rebel avoids a charge in the corner and scores with some forearms but a running knee to the face doesn’t warrant a cover. A middle rope moonsault misses and Taya spears her down, setting up the Road To Valhalla for the pin at 5:42.

Rating: D. Just a squash here with Rebel not exactly being the toughest of competition. Taya is kind of being left out in the cold at this point with Yung running the division and Allie being the only real challenger around, unless they actually try to trot Madison Rayne out there again. I mean, it would be a long stretch so you can probably pencil it in at this point.

Post match Taya calls out Madison Rayne for next week. So yeah, they really are going with Madison as the next #1 contender. Sure why not.

The classic clip of the week: the Unbreakable triple threat. I’ve heard of worse ideas.

Sydal says he isn’t worried about Cage because the muscles are just hiding inner weakness.

Callihan says last week was a win because Eddie is about to lose everything.

Cult of Lee vs. KM/Fallah Bahh

The huge Bahh rubs his stomach and shoves Lee down so it’s off to Konley instead. KM comes in to break up some double teaming and they crush the Cult against each other. Bahh and KM roll over the two of them on the mat but Bahh hits him by mistake, allowing the Cult to dropkick Bahh down. A rollup gives Lee the pin on KM at 3:25.

Rating: D-. So we have a comedy team breaking up before they’ve had any kind of success whatsoever. Well that’s good actually as the team was one of the worst and least funny that I’ve seen in a very long time. I don’t get the appeal of Bahh and I don’t get why KM isn’t working in a mouse trap factory somewhere. At least they didn’t get a title chase or anything.

Post match KM shoves Bahh down and says he’s done.

Video on Moose vs. Drake.

King has gotten LAX a Tag Team Title match next week. Diamante still isn’t convinced and doesn’t join in on the celebration. She leaves with LAX and King sits down, saying that the world is his.

From Philadelphia in the ECW Arena.

Moose vs. Eli Drake

No entrances or special hype as the match just starts with Drake jumping Moose from behind. They head outside where Moose whips Drake into the barricade but misses a charge. Drake gets in a not great looking Death Valley Driver onto the apron but gets chopped rather hard back inside.

A basement corner dropkick has Drake in more trouble and the chokebomb out of the corner gives Moose two. Drake powerbombs him for two and scores with Blunt Force Trauma. Thank goodness he got a better finisher than that weak looking thing. Moose (with Josh saying he has a stupid name) misses a charge into the post but still slips out of the Gravy Train. A spear gives Moose the title shot at 8:48.

Rating: C-. Why do I have a feeling that the lack of entrances or introductions is because this was just a regular match at a house show that they slapped a stipulation on to make things easier? This was just a regular match and there was hardly any urgency or drama, though Moose winning is an interesting idea. I doubt he wins the title, but it wouldn’t completely stun me.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Kiera Hogan

No DQ. Kiera wastes no time in pulling her to the floor and ramming Tessa face first into the apron over and over. Back in and a right hand puts Tessa on the floor again, followed by a baseball slide into a hurricanrana. Tessa gets in a flapjack on the ramp though and a dropkick to the back gets two inside.

We hit an abdominal stretch for a few moments but Kiera is right back out with some forearms. That just earns her a beating and Tessa grabs a chair. A hammerlock DDT gives Tessa two and she’s so annoyed at the speed of the count that the referee gets shoved down. Kiera gets in a chair shot and a low superkick for two but Tessa grabs a half nelson and spins Hogan face first into the chair for the pin at 8:07.

Rating: D+. I like both of them but this wasn’t much to see. Tessa getting the win and getting to be aggressive are a good thing but it’s nothing all that great, especially after Yung and Allie have been showing better aggression as of late. I do however like the multiple stories in the Knockouts division and pushing Tessa is a good idea.

Video on the X attacker.

The announcers accuse Petey Williams but Callis wants to let the investigation takes its course.

El Hijo Del Fantasma vs. Jake Crist

Jake stomps away in the corner and grabs a dragon sleeper to keep Fantasma in trouble. With that going nowhere, Jake goes with a choke in the corner until Fantasma grabs a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. A rollup gives Fantasma the pin at 3:20.

Rating: D. Another match that didn’t have time to go anywhere here and wasn’t exactly interesting in the first place. I remember being really into OVE when they debuted and were just doing cool moves but now they’re just heels who shout a lot and call it being villains. Fantasma isn’t much better but he’s a little bit ahead of either Crist.

Post match Dave Crist and Callihan come in to beat Fantasma down. They go for the mask and here’s Pentagon Jr. for the save. That’s kind of interesting.

X-Division Title: Matt Sydal vs. Brian Cage

Cage is challenging. Sydal circles him to start and chants a lot. There’s no contact in the first minute but things pick up in a hurry with Cage grabbing him by the head and lifting him up for a fall away slam, albeit after some human sized curls. Some corner clotheslines rock Sydal but here are Jimmy Jacobs and Kongo Kong.

The distraction lets Sydal knee Cage in the face and choke with his leg. Cage catches a boot though and grabs a capture suplex, followed by a superplex for two. The discus lariat misses so Cage settles for a buckle bomb. Sydal goes to the floor and Cage throws him back in, only to be sent into the steps by Kong to give Sydal the countout win at 6:04.

Rating: D. Well that wasn’t exactly surprising. Unfortunately it also wasn’t exactly good, engaging, entertaining or a match that managed to keep Kongo Kong off my TV. I’m not exactly thrilled by Kong vs. Cage, but I’m not exactly thrilled by much of anything involving Kong. Cage could win the title later, but I’d expect him to be more towards the World Title scene than anything else.

Overall Rating: D. Bleh indeed. This was a bunch of short matches, none of which were very good, and a lot of angle advancement which isn’t the most thrilling in the world. I really don’t need Dreamer and Kong being pushed into pay per view feuds but some of the other stuff does get my attention. Aries vs. Moose should be fun and the Knockouts division could be interesting, though they need another big time face in there. While not horrible, it certainly wasn’t good and nothing on it was particularly required viewing.

Results

Taya Valkyrie b. Rebel – Road To Valhalla

Cult of Lee b. KM/Fallah Bahh – Rollup to KM

Moose b. Eli Drake – Spear

Tessa Blanchard b. Kiera Hogan – Spinning faceplant into a chair

El Hijo Del Fantasma b. Jake Crist – Rollup
Matt Sydal b. Brian Cage via countout

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 24, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re back to an old problem that this show has had many times before: not much is really standing out. Sure there’s some good stuff going on, but it’s not exactly sticking as something that leaves much of an impact. The big stories are still Austin Aries vs. Pentagon Jr. and Sami Callihan vs. Eddie Edwards, but they’re both starting to feel a bit long. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long and rather detailed recap of last week’s show. That’s a good idea.

Opening sequence.

OVE vs. Drago/Aerostar

Drago wastes no time in diving onto everyone with a corkscrew dive and Aerostar adds a springboard trust fall dive. They head inside for the opening bell and Jake kicks Drago in the head. We hit a very early chinlock but Aerostar comes in for the save. A dropkick to the face keeps Dave in trouble but Jake kicks away to take over. We go split screen to show Eddie Edwards arriving with a kendo stick and ignoring his wife’s pleas for him to stop. Cue Eddie with the stick to hit Jake in the back for the DQ at 4:40.

Rating: C-. I was starting to get into this one as OVE was doing the stuff that made them work in the first place. The Eddie goes psycho stuff is interesting but I’m almost worried about where it’s going to go. Eddie as a psycho who eventually goes full heel could have potential and it seems that they’re going that way, though I’d be worried about an attempt to make Sami a face in some twisted way.

Post match Eddie’s wife Alisha pleads with him to stop but six people have to hold him back.

Post break Alisha yells at him but Eddie vows to destroy Eddie. She accuses him of becoming Sami.

The announcers talk about next week’s show.

LAX vs. Cult of Lee

They head outside for a brawl to start as the announcers talk about LAX needing to win to get back on track. Ortiz gets sent into the steps and Santana posts himself by mistake (that’s the kind of problems some good Konnan advice could prevent) as we take an early break. Back with Ortiz in trouble and getting forearmed in the face.

A belly to back gets two but a suplex into a Stunner is enough for the hot tag to Santana. Everything breaks down and a Death Valley Driver/DDT combination (cool) gets two on Konley. LAX loads up some kind of a double team with a wheelbarrow slam but Lee pulls Ortiz to the floor, allowing Konley to roll Santana up (with trunks) for the pin at 11:39.

Rating: D+. This didn’t have time to go anywhere with the break in the middle but the downward spiral for LAX continues. I’m curious to see how they get out of this, especially with the chance that Konnan isn’t coming back. LAX is a good team and it’s clear that they have something in mind for them, though they need someone new to feud against.

Jimmy Jacobs says Moose is the problem and Kongo Kong is going to solve that tonight.

KM is giving Fallah Bahh another pep talk. They run into Grado and Katarina with KM asking what she sees in him. Apparently she likes big guys.

To fill in some time, here’s a segment from 2013 with Jeff Hardy and Bully Ray hyping up their World Title match at Lockdown.

We look back at Madison Rayne saving Kiera Hogan from Tessa Blanchard last week.

Madison says the Knockouts Division is built on respect and doesn’t like the bullying she saw last week. Tessa comes in and rants about Madison getting involved in her job. Next time, meet her in the ring. That’s what she did last week.

DJZ and Andrew Everett know they can compete with any team and will face anyone. Scott Steiner and Eli Drake come in for some yelling. This turns into Drake and Steiner arguing.

X-Division Title: El Hijo Del Fantasma vs. Matt Sydal

Sydal is defending. Fantasma offers a handshake so Sydal bows to him and touches the mask. A quick takedown has Sydal glaring up at him before sending Fantasma to the apron. That’s fine with the masked one who headscissors Sydal down for two and the champ begs off. An armbar into something like a one armed cobra clutch has Fantasma in trouble and a standing legdrop gets two.

Fantasma fights up and a baseball slide puts Sydal on the floor as we take a break. Back with Sydal being dropped face first onto the steps but avoiding a top rope double stomps. The Thrill of the Kill is broken up so Fantasma grabs a modified Indian Deathlock of all things. With that not working, he just slams Sydal’s knee into the mat but Matt grabs his stacked up cradle to retain at 13:18.

Rating: C+. I’m still not wild on Sydal as champion with this third eye thing which isn’t fitting him very well. Granted it’s still better than having Josh Matthews there, which didn’t fit him either. Fantasma did well enough here and is fine for something like this, at least with putting on a good singles match instead of a messy four way spot fest.

LAX rants about everything falling apart when Eddie Kingston comes in. He says Konnan is in a good place and that he’s the next in the chain of command. It’s time to get LAX back to where they were before by getting them back to their roots.

Video on Austin Aries vs. Pentagon Jr.

The announcers talk about the World Title match and say they’ve stepped up security to prevent attacks this week.

Dezmond Xavier vs. Petey Williams

The winner gets to face Brian Cage next week. Feeling out process to start with Xavier’s headlock takeover not getting him anywhere. Some standing switches go nowhere so Xavier hits a great dropkick for two. A headscissors to the floor has Xavier down and we take a break. Back with Petey grabbing a chinlock and getting two off a belly to back suplex. Petey takes him to the corner but gets German superplexed back down.

That means a big flip dive to the floor but it’s too early for the Final Flash. The delayed Downward Spiral plants Xavier and a crucifix gives Petey two. Petey’s slingshot Codebreaker isn’t enough to set up the Canadian Destroyer do Dezmond kicks him in the head. The backflip kick to the head sends Xavier on to next week at 12:01.

Rating: C+. They were really starting to turn it up at the end but that wasn’t enough to make it especially good. I’m glad they went with Xavier as he’s more interesting than Williams, who still only has one move for the most part. I need more to a match than hearing him trying for the Destroyer fourteen times in a match.

Allie is in Rosemary face paint (that actually works very well) and says she knows this isn’t what Rosemary wants but it’s how it has to be.

Next week, Allie defends against Su Yung in a Last Rites (casket) match.

Moose vs. Kongo Kong

There’s no Jimmy Jacobs in sight this week. Kong shoves him away to start and hits the big clubbing forearms to the back. Moose’s dropkick doesn’t have much effect so they head outside with Moose being sent hard into the steps. The Cannonball crushes Moose against the steps and gets two back inside.

We hit the nerve hold (as required), which Kong makes look even lazier than usual. A shot to the back cuts Moose off but he wants Kong to hit him even harder. The running corner dropkick finally puts Kong down but the Game Changer is countered into a fireman’s carry backbreaker for two. Kong’s top rope splash misses and it’s three straight bicycle kicks to set up a slam. The spear puts Kong away at 8:56.

Rating: D. Moose was trying here but there’s a firm limit on what you can do with Kong. That nerve hold in the middle looked terrible and it was more of the fat man offense that looks embarrassing instead of anything good. I’m hoping we don’t get another match between these guys because Jacobs wasn’t here. Kong needs to go away for good and hopefully slaying the monster causes just that.

Post match the X logo appears on screen and we see a recap of the attacks. A voiceover talks about death riding with him as we see Jacobs down to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This was a really flat show with nothing really standing out and little of interest. Some of the wrestling was perfectly fine but it didn’t make me want to see more. The X attacker is interesting, though you can pretty easily pencil it in as Brian Cage (not a bad thing). It’s nice to have something to keep you interested, because Drake arguing with Steiner, the same tag matches we’ve seen for a long time and Sydal with the third eye isn’t doing it for me.

Results

OVE b. Aerostar/Drago via DQ when Eddie Edwards interfered

Cult of Lee b. LAX – Rollup with trunks to Santana

Matt Sydal b. El Hijo Del Fantasma – Stacked Up Cradle

Dezmond Xavier b. Petey Williams – Backflip kick to the head

Moose b. Kongo Kong – Spear

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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