Against All Odds 2024
Date: June 14, 2024
Location: Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We have another of the monthly specials here before we get to the really big show next month with Slammiversary. The main event here is Broken Matt Hardy challenging Moose for the World Title, but we could be in for something a lot more interesting as Jordynne Grace has issued an open challenge. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Jonathan Gresham vs. Sami Callihan

This is billed as Gresham vs. Callihan’s immune system because Gresham likes to spit his evil goo. Callihan starts the fight on the floor before the bell but Gresham blocks a powerbomb on the floor. Instead Gresham snaps the fingers, only for Callihan to fire off chops. Gresham stays on the arm but Callihan manages a suplex before they go inside. It’s still too early for the bell as Gresham rolls outside again.

This time Gresham sends the bad arm into the ring structure and they go inside for the bell. Callihan is fine enough to fight with one arm but the Cactus Driver 97 isn’t going to happen. Instead Gresham pulls the mask off the referee so here is Kushida, in a white coat, with a napkin to swab the ink out of Gresham’s mouth. Kushida puts it into a vile, leaving Callihan to hit the Cactus Driver 97 for the pin at 2:32. Well at least it was short, as this EVIL GOO stuff is horrible.

Kickoff Show: Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Alisha Edwards/Masha Slamovich vs. The Hex

The Hex is challenging. Belle takes Edwards into the corner to start and it’s off to Kay for the chops. Slamovich comes in and gets taken into the corner as well, with Belle adding a running kick to the face for two. Slamovich’s boot to the face gives her a breather and Alisha tags herself back in to pick up the pace. It’s already back to Slamovich, who hits her half of a double clothesline with Kay for the double clothesline.

Belle comes in (the fans approve) and the running knees hit Alisha in the corner. Everything breaks down and it’s a four way knockdown for a breather. Alisha has to slip out of Hex Marks The Spot but the champs are rammed into each other to give Belle two. Hex Marks The Spot gets two, only to have Alisha pop right back up. The Steiner Bulldog finishes Belle to retain the titles at 7:55.

Rating: C+. It’s still hard to get into Slamovich and Edwards as champions as they were in their third match together. Commentary was saying a title change would have been an upset, but that just isn’t the case. It doesn’t make for the best story in the division, though we did wind up getting a pretty nice match. A lot of that is due to the rather good Hex, but I’ll take what I can get here.

The opening video talks about what it means to work to get to the top before looking at the major matches.

Rascalz vs. Mike Santana/Steve Maclin

The rather intense Santana glares at Wentz to start before they miss some shots to the face. Spin The Block misses for Santana and Wentz knocks him down to take over. Miguel gets in a shot of his own and it’s Wentz grabbing a neck crank. A dropkick hits Santana but he fights up and hands it off to Maclin to pick up the pace.

Some running corner clotheslines are broken up and now it’s Maclin getting caught in the wrong corner. Maclin tries to fight out but a single shot to his bad arm cuts that off in a hurry. Miguel’s Meteora is countered into a faceplant in a smart move and they’re both down. The tag brings Santana back in, with an assisted elevated DDT getting two on Wentz.

Maclin’s running knee gets two more as commentary can’t believe how well Maclin and Santana are doing together. Santana is sent outside though and something like a Swanton/hanging Pedigree combination gets two on Maclin. A spinebuster into a superkick sets up a double stomp for two, with Santana making the save this time. Santana gets to clean house, with Maclin cutting off Miguel’s spray paint attempt. The spear to the Tree of Woe sets up Spin The Block to finish Wentz at 12:47.

Rating: B-. Nice opener here as Santana’s hot return continues. He looked good in there again and it was a hard hitting match, with the makeshift team coming together to beat the established team. That might have had a better impact if it wasn’t the same story as the Knockouts tag Team Title match, but this was better.

Post match, Santana reluctantly shakes his hand.

We run down the rest of the card.

Matt Hardy promises to win the World Title through Broken Brilliance.

PCO vs. Rich Swann

AJ Francis, who doesn’t like the crowd, is here with Swann. He compares himself to Scottie Pippen, because this company never won anything until he showed up. PCO gets his full electricity entrance before getting to stalk Swann around the ring. A Francis distraction lets Swann hit a superkick to put PCO on the floor and an apron 450 hits him again.

Another Francis cheap shot sets up a missed 450, allowing PCO to get fired up. PCO runs him over and drapes Swann’s legs over the ropes for the middle rope legdrop to the back of the head. Francis puts Swann’s foot on the rope for the save and then gets in another cheap shot. PCO breaks up another 450 and sends Swann outside, where he takes out both villains. Back in and the PCOsault finishes Swann at 5:27.

Rating: C+. PCO continues to have perfectly nice matches and I’m curious to see where he goes against First Class. I could see him getting the big win by becoming Digital Media Champion, especially in Montreal. It’s still a bit weird to see a former World Champion like Rich Swann taking losses like this, but Francis is clearly the star of the team.

Post match Steph de Lander comes out to say that yes, she will go out on a date with PCO. Rehwoldt: “YOU HAVE YOUR WHOLE LIFE IN FRONT OF YOU!!!”

We recap the Nemeth’s challenging the System for the Tag Team Titles. The System attacked Nic Nemeth so Nic’s brother Ryan made the save. Ryan and Matt Hardy beat the champs, so of course Nic and Ryan got the Tag Team Title match instead, despite never teaming together before.

Tag Team Titles: Nic Nemeth/Ryan Nemeth vs. The System

The System, with Alisha Edwards, is defending. Ryan takes Myers down to start and it’s quickly off to Nick, who can’t hit a neckbreaker. Instead he can hit back to back dropkicks but Alisha breaks up the superkick. Cue Dirty Dango of all people to point out what happened and Alisha is ejected. Nic is sent into the wrong corner and a backbreaker gives Myers two.

The chinlock doesn’t last long as Nic fights up and hands it back to Ryan to clean house. Myers spears Ryan for two with Nic making a save, leaving commentary to be VERY confused by Dango’s interference. Ryan manages a sunset flip but Eddie tags himself in to breaks up the non-cover. Myers cuts off another comeback but spends too much time posing, allowing Ryan to hit a jumping Edge-O-Matic.

Cue Moose as Ryan hands it back to Nick to drop the jumping elbow for two. A running hurricanrana sets up a Fameasser for two on Eddie, leaving Moose rather nervous. Eddie is right back with the Backpack Stunner into the top rope elbow to give Eddie two. Back up and Nic sends Myers shoulder first into the post and Danger Zone to Eddie….gets two as Moose pulls the referee. Not that it matters as Dango decks Ryan, allowing Eddie to hit the Boston Knee Party to retain at 12:41.

Rating: B-. Well that was a bit anti-climactic. Dango showed up, tried to help the Nemeth’s, and then turned on them in about ten minutes. I’m glad the titles didn’t change hands here, as the System are perfectly fine in their role and can lose them to a regular team down the road. Not a bad match at all, but the Dango stuff was a bit much.

Post match Dango stands with the System for a bit before leaving them to pose.

ABC is ready for Eric Young and Josh Alexander.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Joe Hendry

Before the match, Hendry says Kazarian is the Antonio Banderas of TNA: he had some hits, but now he’s just hanging on long enough to be known as the dad from Spy Kids. Kazarian slugs away to start but it’s way too early for the chickenwing. Hendry grabs a delayed vertical suplex but Kazarian ties him in the ropes for the jumping Fameasser. A front facelock has Hendry down for a bit but the fans chant about their believes. Hendry fights up before pulling Kazarian out of the air for the fall away slam.

Back up and Kazarian kicks him in the ribs but Fad To Black is countered into…well into an also countered spinning powerbomb. Instead Kazarian hits a Backstabber for two but Hendry is right back with a powerbomb for the same. Hendry takes him to the apron and tries a belly to back suplex, only to have Kazarian get in what looked to be a shot with a foreign object to knock Hendry cold for the pin at 7:31.

Rating: B-. They were getting to a good match before the Randy Savage/Tito Santana finish. I’m not sure I get the thinking to having Hendry, the hottest star in the promotion, losing like this, but odds are we’re going to be seeing a rematch. Hopefully Hendry gets the win back there, because otherwise this is a really questionable move at best.

Post match Kazarian goes after Hendry again but Ace Steele makes the save. Fans: “OH CRY ME A RIVER!”

We recap Mustafa Ali defending the X-Division Title against Trent Seven, who defeated his partner Mike Bailey to get the shot.

X-Division Title: Mustafa Ali vs. Trent Seven

Ali, with Champagne Singh and the Secret Service, is defending. We’re in Ali’s hometown, but Seven brings up the rather insincere interview Ali had with Tom Hannifan this week on Impact. We see some extended footage, with Ali ranting about how horrible of a place Chicago is and how he lives in the suburbs. Oh and the X-Division Title is a meaningless prop.

Ali charges at him to start but walks into the Seven Star Lariat for two. They head outside with Seven beating him around ringside as the fans say THEY STILL LOVE Ali. Seven chops away in the corner but Ali comes back with a tornado DDT. Seven is sent outside but he blocks a suicide dive dive and hits a dragon suplex. Back in and Seven misses a dive off the top, only to come up favoring his knee.

Ali’s running boot in the corner is countered into a powerbomb for two but Ali is fine enough to hit the rolling neckbreaker. Seven slams his way out of trouble and they slug it out until Ali goes after the knee again. Bop and Bang gets Seven out of trouble but the X Plex is countered with a low blow. Ali hits his own Seven Star Lariat for two so they go up top. Ali catches him with a superkick on the middle rope but Seven is back with the super swinging slam for two.

The Birminghammer is loaded up but Ali grabs the rope for the break. Another shot to the knee brings Seven down again and they go up top, only for Seven to give us the big knockdown to the floor. Seven barely beats the ten count but Ali is right there with the 450 for two.

With nothing else working, Ali grabs the belt, which is taken away, allowing Seven to hit him low right back. The Birminghammer connects for two and they’re both down. Back up and a super Birminghammer is broken up with a rake to the eyes, allowing Ali to kick out the leg again. A 450 to the legs sets up a Sharpshooter to retain Ali’s title at 15:30.

Rating: B. This was the kind of match where the ending wasn’t exactly in doubt but it worked well anyway. They went with Ali being frustrated but being smart enough to capitalize on he knee injury and using it to win. The big showdown is going to be Ali vs. Mike Bailey in Montreal, and it wouldn’t stun me to see the match end with a Sharpshooter, both as a call back to this and….well Montreal in general.

Frankie Kazarian is ticked about that piece of…..Chicago trash Ace Steele. Santino Marella comes in to say if Kazarian wants to get his hands on Steele, they can have a Chicago Street Fight this week on Impact.

ABC vs. Eric Young/Josh Alexander

Commentary has to point out that there is a theme of weird partners vs. established teams tonight. Young and Bey start things off and go to an early standoff, leaving Bey smiling. Alexander comes in and backs Austin into the corner before Austin sweeps the leg. A kick to the back staggers Alexander and it’s Bey coming back in for an armdrag into an armbar. It’s back to Austin to dropkick the knee out as we get a SUPER ERIC chant.

Alexander fights up and hands it back to Young, who gets taken into the wrong corner rather quickly. A hard whip into the corner has Bey in trouble though and it’s right back to Alexander. Bey gets caught in a release German suplex (a nice looking one at that) so Austin offers a distraction….as we get stereo testicular claws. This draws by far the strongest reaction of the night and commentary almost needs a minute to compose themselves.

Young grabs a neckbreaker for two but it’s back to Alexander as everything breaks down. Austin’s running crossbody to the back on the apron is cut off but Austin’s apron kick is countered into an ankle lock in a smart move. Bey and Young hit their own dives and everyone is down on the ramp. Back in and Austin fights out of a super fireman’s carry, with the fans requesting that everyone be careful. Austin’s kick to the head is countered into an ankle lock, with Bey making the save.

With that not working, Austin tries a sleeper, only to have Alexander suplex Austin and Bey at the same time. Not to be outdone, Young tries a double Death Valley Driver, only for ABC to slip out and hit him with a double superkick. Austin kicks Alexander in the head but walks into a powerslam. Alexander’s powerbomb backbreaker gets two on Bey and Young drops the top rope elbow for the same, with Austin having to make another save. Young accidentally runs Alexander over though, allowing Austin to hit the Fold for the pin at 18:11.

Rating: B. It was a good, hard hitting back and forth match and if they had cut a few minutes out, it would have been even better. I do appreciate the fact that the established team won here as it’s hard to buy one of the best teams in recent years losing here. For a bonus match added for no particular reason, this could have been a lot worse.

We recap Jordynne Grace going to NXT but getting cheated out of the NXT Women’s Title. It’s open challenge time.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. ???

Grace is defending against….NXT’s Tatum Paxley, a bit of an odd one who is obsessed with gold. Before we get going, Ash By Elegance’s handler comes out to say that out of the goodness of her heart, Ash will not be pressing charges against Jordynne Grace. With Ash sitting on the stage, we’re ready to go, with Grace powering her into the corner to start. Grace powers her down again and grabs a swinging faceplant to put Paxley on the mat again.

Some hard shots to the back of the head set up a camel clutch, with Paxley biting her way to freedom. Grace makes the mistake of going after Ash though, allowing Paxley to send her shoulder first into the ring structure. Back in and Grace gets pulled into a half crab, which is quickly escaped to set up a neckbreaker.

The Vader Bomb misses but Grace runs her over again and hits Grace Under Pressure for two. Grace puts her up top for the MuscleBuster and a near fall, meaning it’s surprised kickout face. Paxley gets two off some rollups before catching Grace on top for a super Lobotomy (swinging neckbreaker) for two more. Grace slugs away but gets caught in a guillotine, only to power up again. Some hard shots to the back and chest set up the Juggernaut Driver to retain the title at 11:06.

Rating: B-. Paxley isn’t exactly a top NXT name, but it’s cool to see someone going over to TNA and making Grace look like a star. That’s all you need here, as Grace has gotten one heck of a boost out of this whole story. Grace seems primed for a huge showdown with Ash By Elegance, and this was a great way to make her look dominant on the way there.

Post match Ash goes after Grace but gets the brass knuckles taken away. Grace lays her out and pours champagne over here, with Rehwoldt panicking.

We recap Matt Hardy challenging Moose for the TNA World Title. Hardy returned at Rebellion and wants the title, meaning it’s time for all the Broken stuff because that’s what Hardy does in TNA.

TNA World Title: Moose vs. Matt Hardy

Moose, with the System, is defending and this is Broken Rules, more or less meaning a street fight. Cue the Nemeths to brawl with the System (save for Alisha) to the back, making it a lot more even. Hardy hits a clothesline into a DDT and there’s the Side Effect onto the apron to put Moose down again. The Twist Of Fate connects on the floor but Moose is back up with some trashcan lid shots to the face.

Moose grabs a ladder and then chairs him over and over, only to have Hardy come back with a low blow. Now it’s Hardy getting in some chair shots of his own and they head outside, with the brawl going into the crowd. Hardy knocks him back to ringside and hits a suplex, setting up a middle rope elbow for two. The Twist Of Fate is countered into a release Rock Bottom so it’s time to load up a table in the corner.

The spear is blocked so Moose chairs him down instead and then piles the chairs up. A superplex onto the chairs gives Moose two so he sets the chairs up side by side. Another superplex through them is broken up and Hardy powerbombs him onto the chairs for two of his own. With the chairs exhausted, Hardy grabs a box from underneath the ring. Moose gets in a trashcan lid shot and puts Hardy down, allowing him to pull….a football helmet out of the box. With the helmet on, Moose charges into a backdrop over the top and onto the ladder at ringside.

Hardy uses the breaker to load up two ladders at ringside with a table between them. A well placed Chicago Bears helmet to the head drops Moose (and draws what sounds like a CTE chant, which is kind of chilling). Hardy’s legdrop off the ladder puts Moose through a table before Hardy wraps a chair around Moose’s head.

The Twist of Fate with the chair gets two, as Alisha comes in with the kendo stick for the save. Cue Reby Hardy for the brawl, including her own Twist of Fate to Alisha. Matt loads up his own spear but puts Reby through the table by mistake. The shaken up Matt walks into a spear from Moose to retain the title at 21:32.

Rating: C+. Well thank goodness for that. I was worried that Moose was going to drop the title here and I don’t think I could handle more of the Broken Hardys. Moose winning off the spear isn’t exactly an inspiring moment but it is going to be a pretty big deal when someone finally beats him. Better main event than usual from Moose, but there was a lot of time that could have been cut while they were setting things up.

Post match the beatdown is on with the Nemeths and Joe Hendry coming in for a failed save attempt…so here is Jeff Hardy with a chair for the real save. House is cleaned and a Swanton hits Moose, leaving the good guys to pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling was rather strong throughout most of the night, but it did feel like the show before the show that really matters. You had Grace winning to set up her match with Ash, the ABC winning a nothing match, Ali winning to set up his match with Bailey, and the Hardys coming back because they always have to be around. It’s a show that could have been a bit shorter, but I was expecting nothing and got about three hours of solid action, so I’ll call that a rather nice win.

Results
Sami Callihan b. Jonathan Gresham – Cactus Driver 97
Alisha Edwards/Masha Slamovich b. The Hex – Steiner Bulldog to Belle
Mike Santana/Steve Maclin b. The Rascalz – Spin The Block to Wentz
PCO b. Rich Swann – PCOsault
System b. Ryan Nemeth/Nic Nemeth – Boston Knee Party to Ryan
Frankie Kazarian b. Joe Hendry – Right hand with a foreign object
Mustafa Ali b. Trent Seven – Sharpshooter
ABC b. Josh Alexander/Eric Young – The Fold to Young
Jordynne Grace b. Tatum Paxley – Juggernaut Driver
Moose b. Matt Hardy – Spear

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: June 7, 2024
Location: MegaCorp Pavilion, Newport, Kentucky
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re on the way to Against All Odds and that means most of the card is already set. While Moose is set to defend the World Title against Matt Hardy on that show, we have another title match on this show. This week will see Laredo Kid defending the Digital Media Title against AJ Francis, which should be interesting. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Apparently this is the 20 year anniversary of the show. That’s really impressive.

Kon vs. Jake Something

Kon blocks a neck snap to start so Something hammers away in the corner and hits a clothesline to the floor. Back in and Kon is knocked outside again, this time managing to post Something to take over. Kon cranks away at the neck back inside before Something fights up and slugs away for the knockdown. An elbow misses for Kon and Something punches him down for one. Something fights out of another neck snap and Into The Void finishes Kon at 5:27.

Rating: C+. Nice win for Something here as his star continues its up and down status. It’s nice to see him win like this but at some point he needs to win something of value. Beating a monster like Kon is a good sign though and once he gets away from Deaner, maybe we can see him get a proper push.

Post match Kon jumps him but Eric Young runs in for the save. Young talks about how this show is twenty years old today and he’s celebrating with the fans.

We look at Moose injuring Matt Hardy last week.

Frankie Kazarian is fighting on behalf of the System this week. The System comes in to say if he takes out Nic Nemeth tonight, he gets a World Title shot, right? Works for Moose, though Kazarian isn’t sure if Moose is getting by Matt Hardy.

We recap PCO’s attempts to woo Steph de Lander, who seems interested.

De Lander thinks PCO has a crush on him and opens the love letter, which says “PCO: Oui or Non”. Xia Brookside comes in to tell her to give it some time before she makes her decision. De Lander says she’ll give it a week, which has Brookside rather giddy.

Gisele Shaw vs. Shazza McKenzie

Shaw knocks her into the corner to start and hits a running elbow. McKenzie is back with a neck snap over the ropes and a kick to the face for two. Back up and Shaw hits her in the face for two, setting up a Cody Cutter and a running knee for the pin at 3:20.

Rating: C. Shaw looked crisp here (and in new gear to make her feel different) which is a good sign when you’re fresh back after a lengthy layoff. Shaw’s in that same category of “she needs to actually win the title” after so many close losses and maybe this is her time. The setup is definitely looking better this time at least.

Rosemary blames herself for the losses of her loved once and says it is because of sins.

Steve Maclin asks Mike Santana for an alliance against the Rascalz, but Santana is done with tag wrestling. Maclin asks again and Santana seems to be in.

Mustafa Ali/Champagne Singh vs. Speedball Mountain

Seven starts but Ali hands it off to Singh instead. Seven’s headlock allows Bailey to come in and strike away, including a dropkick into the corner. Ali comes in for a cheap shot on Bailey to take over, making sure to taunt Seven in the process. Some choking on the ropes keeps Bailey in trouble and we take a break. Back with Bailey and Singh trading rollups for two each, with Bailey making it over for the tag to Seven. The swinging slam connects but the Birminghammer is broken up and it’s back to Ali.

Bop and Bang gives Seven two on Ali, with Singh making the save. Ali is right back with the rolling clothesline but the 450 misses. Instead Seen hits the Seven Star Lariat and we get the double down. Bailey comes back in with a missile dropkick to Singh, followed by the moonsault double knees. A rather lengthy double team is broken up though and Ali uses a Secret Service distraction to DDT Bailey on the floor. Not that it matters as the Birminghammer finishes Singh at 13:30.

Rating: B-. That’s booking 101 as you have Seven looking dominant against Ali’s lackey on his way to a title shot against Ali himself. I don’t quite buy Seven as a major threat to win the title but at least they’re building him up well. At the same time, Speedball Mountain gets another win, as this thrown together team continues t have some legs.

The Personal Concierge brings back the healed up Ash By Elegance following her life saving minor surgery.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Allysin Kan

Grace is defending and Marti Belle is here with Kay. Grace charges at her to start and unloads in the corner but Belle offers a distraction to break it up. Kay strikes away until Grace skins the cat and runs her over. A Saito suplex cuts Grace off but she avoids a charge in the corner. The MuscleBuster gets two on Kay before Grace beats up Belle for trying to interfere. Kay’s kneeling piledriver gets two but Grace powerbombs her into the Juggernaut Driver to retain at 6:10.

Rating: C+. Kay is another former champion who was brought back in to make Grace look good in a victory. Grace is on her way to probably the biggest match of her life this weekend and that means she needs a boost like this one. They had a back and forth enough match too, as Grace had to put in some effort to retain here. Nice match.

We get Sami Callihan’s Death Machine TV, where he doesn’t like how Jonathan Gresham thinks he’s an octopus. The showdown seems to be set for Against All Odds.

Digital Media Title: Laredo Kid vs. AJ Francis

Kid is defending and Rich Swann is here with Francis. They start fast with Kid sticking and moving until a dropkick puts Francis on the floor. The dive is pulled out of the air though and Kid is slammed into the apron. A running knee in the corner rocks Kid but he fights up and hits a missile dropkick. Kid flip dives off the top onto Swann on the floor but the distraction lets Francis hit the Down Payment (chokeslam) for the pin and the title at 4:58.

Rating: C. Sure why not. Francis at least feels like a bigger star around here and it isn’t like Kid has lit the world on fire with his rather brief title reign. If TNA wants Francis to feel like a big star then he needed to win something. Giving him the low level TV Title would in fact count as something, as Francis gets a prize. Maybe he can even do something with it.

Nic Nemeth vs. Frankie Kazarian

They fight over a lockup to start until Nemeth takes him down for the armbar. Kazarian fights up and knocks him down but Nemeth scores with that dropkick. A backdrop sends Nemeth outside though, followed by a snap suplex back inside. We hit the chinlock, meaning Ziggler has to fight up rather quickly. Kazarian runs him over again and we take an early break.

Back with Nemeth fighting out of a chickenwing attempt and hitting the rapid fire elbows. Kazarian reverses one of them into the chickenwing, with Nemeth eventually grabbing the rope. Nemeth’s superkick gets two but the Danger Zone is blocked. Instead Kazarian grabs a slingshot cutter for two and frustration is setting in. Nemeth gets two off a sunset flip before the Danger Zone connects for the win at 14:35.

Rating: B-. This was the TNA “These Guys Are Good At Wrestling” match of the week and that is always going to work. It was the longest match on the show and it had two veterans getting to go out there and do their thing. That is something we see pretty much weekly around here and this time it happened to be in the main event.

Post match the System runs in to beat Nemeth down. Ryan Nemeth runs in for the save but Moose comes in to break up the break up. The villains get in the beatdown but Joe Hendry runs in for the real save…until Moose spears him down as well. The real beatdown is on and the System poses but we cut to Matt Hardy. You cannot break what is already Broken so he invites the System to the Hardy Compound next week. An Addams Family snap ends the show. As long as it’s a one off, just let them get it out of their system and move on.

Overall Rating: B-. TNA is in a rough place right now as their most important story is taking place in NXT this weekend, leaving everything else to be set up for a middle of the road (at best) show next week. Matt Hardy isn’t feeling like a top level challenger but rather someone who is getting to do his Broken stuff because he’s a star who gets to do what he wants. I’m still holding out hope for Joe Hendry to get the big World Title win, but by the time he gets there, it might be too late. Good enough show here, though Against All Odds is not feeling interesting whatsoever.

Results
Jake Something b. Kon – Into The Void
Gisele Shaw b. Shazza McKenzie – Running knee
Speedball Mountain b. Champagne Singh/Mustafa Ali – Birminghammer to Singh
Jordynne Grace b. Allysin Kay – Juggernaut Driver
AJ Francis b. Laredo Kid – Down Payment
Nic Nemeth b. Frankie Kazarian – Danger Zone

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

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AND

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Wrestling Revolver X House Of Glory
Date: April 5, 2024
Location: Trinity Center For Urban Life, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Jason Solomon, JD From New York, Veda Scott

So we have another competing show here, with Wrestling Revolver vs. House Of Glory. I’ve seen a bit from both promotions and those looks have been positive, so this has me interested. Shows like this can be very hit or miss and it’s likely all going to be about the action, which could work rather well. Let’s get to it.

Note that I do not follow either promotion so I apologize in advance for missing any story or character points.

House Of Glory Title/Pro Wrestling Revolver Title: Mike Santana (HOG) vs. Alex Shelley (Revolver)

Title vs. title and the fans prefer Santana. The main camera shot is VERY wide and it’s making for a weird visual. They fight over arm control to start and Santana shoves him into the corner off what seemed to be trash talk. Santana fights out of a headlock and hits a running shoulder before sending Shelley outside. A big dropkick through the ropes connects for Santana and he fires off some hard chops.

Shelley manages a posting though and they head back inside, where Santana blocks a slingshot splash. Santana sends him back to the apron but a dragon screw legwhip takes things to the floor again. Back in and Shelley goes after the arm again, with Santana being sent hard into the corner.

Shelley switches it up with the Figure Four, but a rope is quickly reached. Santana’s knee is fine enough for a step up kick in the corner and a cutter gets two. Shelley goes evil with a cheap shot and grabs one of the belts, only for Santana to kick the referee down by mistake. Back up and Santana hits his big spinning clothesline with another referee coming in to count the pin at 12:04.

Rating: B. That ending felt screwjobbish but at least it felt like that at the end of a good match. Santana has been impressive since coming back from his injury and Shelley can wrestle with anyone. This was a heck of an opener and if Santana’s selling hadn’t been a weak spot, it would have been one of the better matches of the weekend.

HOG – 1
Revolver – 0

Post match yeah it’s a screwy finish with a Revolver referee coming out to DQ Shelley, meaning Shelley is still champion.

HOG Tag Team Titles: Mane Event (HOG) vs. Rascalz (Revolver) vs. Grizzled Young Veterans (HOG) vs. Red (Revolver)

That would be Jay Lyon/Midas Black (Mane, defending) vs. Trey Miguel/Zachary Wentz (Revolver) vs. James Drake/Zack Gibson (HOG) vs. Alex Colon/Ricky Shane Page (Revolver) and it’s one fall to a finish. It’s a brawl to start with the Rascalz clearing the ring and double teaming Gibson down. Page comes in to take over on Wentz but it’s quickly off to the Event to take over on Colon. It’s off to Midas, who is quickly taken apart by the Veterans as they take over.

Gibson’s suplex gets two and it’s Drake coming back in for a slam. Page tags himself in, much to Drake’s annoyance, and Red gets to stomp Midas in the corner. Now it’s Gibson tagging himself in and mocking Red, which allows Black to dive through the legs and bring Lyon in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Wentz suplexes Drake, setting up a spinebuster into a backbreaker/stomp combination.

Red comes back in and gets to take over on Miguel, who has to hand it back to Lyon. An assisted Death Valley Driver plants Lyon, with almost everyone else coming together to make the save. The Rascalz superkick the Veterans to the floor and hit stereo suicide dives, followed by a dive each from Lyon and Page. Back in and the Event hits an assisted X Factor to finish Colon and retain at 9:15.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of match that you know you’re going to see on a show like this one. They had all kinds of people running around and getting in what they could, which is about all you could get in a match with eight people and around nine minutes. I’ve seen a decent amount from the Event in recent weeks and they’re…I don’t quite know, but they feel more weird than good, which isn’t the best place to be.

HOG – 2
Revolver – 0

Post match Charles Mason, a HOG villain, comes in with a chair to beat up the Event and referees. He even pulls off Lyon’s mask.

HOG Crown Jewel Title: Carlos Ramirez (HOG) vs. 1 Called Manders (Revolver)

Manders, a cowboy, is challenging and Ramirez is rather tall. Ramirez powers him into the corner to start and it’s already time for a chop off. The fight heads to the floor with Manders taking over and hitting more chops. Back in and Ramirez manages a Randy Savage jump over the top neck snap, setting up the rather early chinlock.

With that broken up, Manders fights out of the corner and it’s a double knockdown. They slug it out from their knees until Manders snaps off an exploder suplex for two. The lariat is cut off with a heck of a rolling Liger kick to give Ramirez two of his own. Ramirez misses a flying headbutt and gets lariated down for two more. Back up and a powerbomb plants Manders for another near fall, meaning it’s time to…lift the referee. The distraction lets Ramirez kick Manders low, setting up a pumphandle into a piledriver to retain at 9:15.

Rating: B-. Nice power match here, with Manders being a pretty standard cowboy hoss while Ramirez is a big man who can do some impressive looking things. Ramirez is someone who looks like he should wrestle one style but he mixes it up with some different stuff to keep things more interesting. This is the kind of match I like to see as you have two people you might not know and it wound up being good.

HOG – 3
Revolver – 0

Mike Bailey (HOG) vs. Masha Slamovich (Revolver)

I’m kind of guessing with the promotions here, as Bailey wrestles for both of them (shocking I know) and Slamovich has only wrestled for Revolver a handful of times but it’s as good as we’re going to get here. Bailey dropkicks her before the bell and hits a brainbuster for an early two. Slamovich fights up and hits a dropkick out to the floor, setting up another dropkick through the ropes. Some hard chops send Bailey back inside and he’s right back with a suicide dive.

Back in and a Boston crab sends Slamovich bailing over to the ropes, leaving Bailey to drop her throat first onto the rope. Bailey plants her down but misses something like a Vader Bomb. A rolling Liger kick gives Slamovich two so she grabs a crossface. With that broken up, Slamovich hits a backsplash and grabs a seated abdominal stretch. Bailey is out of that as well and kicks her down for a running shooting star press.

Slamovich is sent outside for a triangle moonsault but the Flamingo Driver is blocked back inside. Instead Slamovich hits a German superplex and they’re both down in a heap. Back up and they slug it out rather hard, with Slamovich’s kicks to the head getting two. Bailey kicks her back and hits a Falcon Arrow into a shooting star press for two.

One heck of a superkick gets two but Slamovich rolls away from the Ultimate Weapon. They go to a pinfall reversal sequence until Slamovich grabs a rear naked choke. That doesn’t work so it’s a sleeper suplex for two before Slamovich grabs the choke again. This time they head out to the apron, where Slamovich hits a piledriver to knock him silly for the pin at 12:39.

Rating: B. These two beat the daylights out of each other, with the idea that Bailey has never been able to beat Slamovich and was getting more and more desperate to pin her. It was another physical, hard hitting match and I wanted to see how one of them was going to put the other away. Slamovich has been a beast this weekend while Bailey has been…well he’s been around a lot.

HOG – 3
Revolver – 1

Charles Mason (HOG) vs. Steve Maclin (Revolver)

Street fight and Mason has Jay Lyon’s mask, while Maclin has Killer Kelly. The bell rings and Kelly gets in Mason’s (who is wearing dress clothes) face, only to have him spit on her. That doesn’t work for Maclin, who starts the beating in a hurry by knocking Mason out to the floor. They fight into the crowd and them go outside and hold up traffic before fighting back inside.

Maclin hits him in the back with a chair, sends him into the ring again, and then clotheslines him right back out. Mason cuts off a dive and hits a slingshot DDT onto the apron to take over. Kelly has to dodge a chair shot so Maclin chairs Mason down instead. Back up and Mason grabs an Upside Down choke but stop to trade chokes with Kelly.

Maclin’s backbreaker and a running clothesline set up a pair of powerbombs for two. Mason gets tied in the Tree of Woe and Maclin puts a chair in front of him, only to have it pelted at his charging head. Mason pulls off his belt for some choking and grabs a rolling Death Valley Driver for two. It’s time for a trash bag but Maclin fights off the suffocation. Maclin puts him in the Tree of Woe again for the spear and KIA is enough to finish Mason at 11:00.

Rating: B-. Well it certainly wasn’t boring. They have something with Mason as the pure evil guy but he was almost in a handicap match, which made things a little weird. At the same time, Maclin is a bigger name from a bigger promotion (TNA that is) and it’s not stunning to have him beat almost anyone around here. Going outside certainly made things a bit more interesting and I could go for more of Mason.

HOG – 3
Revolver – 2

Revolver Remix Title: Gringo Loco (Revolver) vs. Ace Austin (Revolver) vs. KC Navarro (HOG) vs. Myron Reed (Revolver) vs. Nolo Kitano (HOG) vs. Raheem Royal (HOG) vs. Aigle Blanc

One fall to a finish, Loco is defending and this is the only match Blanc has ever wrestled for either promotion. Austin has Gia Miller with him to uneven things up. Before the match, Reed apparently adds himself in rather than having been in the match in the first place (I think, as the audio on the house mic is almost non-existent).

It’s a big fracas to start with Austin and Reed clearing the ring off a bunch of superkicks. That’s broken up and we settle down to Kitano vs. Royal. As expected, that doesn’t last long as Blanc comes in for a running headscissor driver. Loco is back up to trade takedowns with Blanc but Navarro comes back in to take both of them down. Navarro and Blanc slug it out until Reed comes back in to clear the ring.

Austin and Reed double superplex Blanc before Royal and Kitano springboard into a mid-air collision to leave everyone down. Kitano is back up with some kind of a spinning neckbraker for two on Reed. Navarro hits a quick suplex powerbomb for two on Kitano and Blanc is back in with a 450 for two on Royal. Blanc Tombstones Royal for two but gets rolled up by Austin for the same. Loco is back in to clear Austin out and hits a super spinning electric chair powerbomb to pin Blanc and retain at 9:55.

Rating: B. Much like the big tag match earlier, there is only so much that you can do when you have so many people and so little time. This kind of match is almost standard for a show like this one and while it was entertaining, popcorn match style wrestling, you pretty much know exactly what you’re getting. I’ve seen Blanc in a few matches this weekend and I could see him being a prospect if he spends more time here rather than in his native France. Good, chaotic fun here.

HOG – 3
Revolver – 3

Amazing Red vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali isn’t really part of either promotion so we’ll call this a showcase with the score being a tie (though Red is firmly HOG). Hold on though as Red says let’s make this a TNA X-Division Title match. Works for Ali, who mocks him with the title before the bell.

TNA X-Division Title: Mustafa Ali vs. Amazing Red

Ali is defending and they trade misses to start until a running headscissors sends Red outside. Red accepts Ali’s invitation back in and grabs a headlock. A rollup gives Red two, with Ali bridging out and not thinking much of Red in the process. Some chops annoy/damage Ali so he forearms Red down to slow the pace again. A springboard is broken up and Ali is knocked to the floor for a big dive from Red.

Ali chops the post to hurt his hand and Red kicks him in the head for two back inside. The chinlock goes on, though the fans are behind the rather villainous Ali. That’s broken up so Red hits a clothesline for two more as things have slowed down a lot. Ali shoves him off the top and flips forward into a running clothesline. The rolling neckbreaker lets Ali put him on the top but Red shoves him away, only to get dropkicked out of the air.

Red puts him on top this time but gets caught with a sunset bomb, though Red lands on Ali’s legs for a nasty crash. Back up and Red knocks him silly with a hard shot of his own and they’re both down again. They slug it out from their knees until Red kicks him into the corner. A DDT gives Red two but the referee gets distracted, allowing Ali to break up the Code Red with a low blow. Ali drops the 450 to retain at 13:46.

Rating: B. Red is someone who wasn’t seen as the biggest deal during the peak of his career but he was absolutely an inspiration to the current generation. It’s no surprise that he was given a featured spot here and commentary was hyping up how important and special this was. It might not have been a classic, but Ali is among the biggest thing in the indies these days and he was in there with quite the legend.

Post match Ali grabs the mic and praises Red for making people like himself and Ricochet and Will Ospreay. Ali praises him again, though the audio is almost impossible to understand. Ali leaves and Red thanks the fans and calls Ali one of the true friends in wrestling. One more handshake and hug wrap up the show. This was quite the emotional exchange and you could tell they both meant everything they were saying.

Overall Rating: A-. I had heard really good things about this show coming in and the praise was well deserved. There was a lot of solid wrestling here, with nothing resembling a bad match and a nice mixture of established names and up and coming stars. HOG is a bit different than a lot of independent promotions and Revolver has some bigger names due to Sami Callihan’s connections. This was probably the best of the Wrestlemania Weekend shows thus far and that is clearing quite the bar. Check this one out.

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 30, 2024
Location: MegaCorp Pavilion, Newport, Kentucky
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

With Against All Odds on the horizon, we are going to need the card to get firmed up before the show. That’s all well and good, but then things got a lot more interesting as Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace was named as the next challenger to NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez. That makes me wonder who else might show up elsewhere so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Chris Bey vs. Ace Austin

As they try to get their aggression out on each other. They fight over a lockup to start with Bey backing him into the corner for a clean break. Austin grabs a headlock takeover and cranks away until Bey is back up with a basement shoulder. Back up and Austin starts in on the arm until Bey snaps off an armdrag into an anklescissors. A backdrop puts Bey down and Austin’s snap suplex gets one.

We hit the chinlock for a bit until Bey jawbreaks his way to freedom. Austin sends him outside though and hits the superkick on the floor, only for Bey to grab a spinebuster for two. Austin’s dropkick doesn’t get him very far as Bey kicks him in the head. Not to be outdone, Austin hits a springboard spinning kick to the face for two but misses the Fold. The Art Of Finesse misses as well and Austin rolls him up, only to be reversed into a cradle to give Bey the pin at 10:04.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of match you would expect from the two of them and that’s what it needed to be. They didn’t have the time to turn it into the always odd looking match where they mirror everything the other is doing. That made for a better match and there is a good chance that we will be seeing something more from them going forward.

Post match Austin hugs him and teases a turn but everything is ok.

Xia Brookside vs. Steph de Lander

The much bigger de Lander powers her down to start before managing to stay on her feet when Brookside tries a hurricanrana. A fall away slam gives de Lander two but now the headscissors works. The threat of Brookside’s running knees sends de Lander running to the floor, where she tries to grab a chair…which has PCO attached. PCO cuts off Brookside’s dive and has de Lander get back inside. De Lander’s yelling at him lets Brookside get the rollup pin at 4:50.

Rating: C. As you might have guessed, this was about the storyline advancing more than anything else, as PCO is already getting on de Lander’s nerves. That could go in a few directions and there is a good chance that de Lander is going to need some help dealing with him. Brookside needed a win after losing to Ash By Elegance and this works as well as anything else.

Post match de Lander yells at PCO, who tells her to stop because he has something for her. He pulls out what looks like a card, complete with STEPH written inside of a heart. She takes the card and puts it in her top, which makes PCO happy.

We look at Jordynne Grace appearing on NXT, setting up her NXT Women’s Title shot at Battleground on June 9. Grace will also face Stevie Turner next week on NXT. As usual, this is so bizarre to see.

First Class interrupts Laredo Kid and reveal that AJ Francis is getting a Digital Media Title shot next week. Francis decks him.

Big Kon runs into Jake Something and a match is quickly made for next week. Kon tells him to not listen to Deaner because it won’t go well. Something tells Deaner to stay out of it next week.

Jonathan Gresham vs. Sami Callihan

Callihan takes him into the corner to start and rakes the eyes to block a bite attempt. Gresham goes for the biting again but an annoyed Callihan sends him outside instead. Some yelling into the camera distracts Callihan enough that Gresham can choke him to a break. Back with Callihan’s chop hitting the post but elbowing his way out of a German suplex from the apron.

Callihan drops him onto the apron instead but Gresham pops up in a somewhat creepy bit. They strike it out, with Callihan offering him some free shots to the face. Callihan runs him over and hits a Death Valley Driver for two but Gresham starts in on the knee. The black good is loaded up but Callihan blocks it, only for Gresham to hit him low and grab a sunset flip for the pin at 12:38.

Rating: C. It was nice to have some bigger names involved and the match went well enough, but egads the goo stuff is total death. It’s the kind of goofy stuff that feels totally over the top and out of place when Gresham just being more aggressive with the mask would work just fine. Beating Callihan should be a nice boost for him, but not the best presentation to say the least.

Gail Kim has a sitdown interview with Giselle Shaw, who has been out of action to recharge and heal some injuries. It feels like she is starting from scratch and Kim asks why she’s back. Kim says do this as a knockout and start next week.

The System isn’t worried about tonight because Against All Odds is coming up. The team leaves and Frankie Kazarian comes in, demanding to be called The King Of TNA.

Mike Santana vs. Steve Maclin

They fight over wrist control to start with Maclin elbowing him in the face for two. An exchange of shoulders goes to Santana with Maclin bailing to the floor. Santana follows and gets dropped face first onto the apron, setting up a Cactus elbow for two. An Irish Curse gives Maclin two more and we hit the chinlock.

Santana fights out and grabs a cutter for a breather, followed by a sitout F5 for two. Spin The Block misses and Maclin hits Mayhem For All for two of his own. Maclin’s top rope superplex is broken up and a frog splash gives Santana two more. There’s a superkick to send Maclin outside and the big flip dive connects. Maclin pops back up with the Scud….and the Rascalz come in to jump Maclin for the DQ at 7:45.

Rating: B-. These two have chemistry together and it was nice to see the interference instead of having either of them take a fall. I’m still expecting Santana and Maclin to team up out of respect and while I’ve heard worse, I’m digging Santana on his own after so many years in a team. For now though, I’ll settle for Maclin getting a nice resurgence and Santana having a rather nice start to his singles run.

Post match the Rascalz beats both of them down.

Lars Frederiksen and Dani Luna tell Jody Threat to get her head on straight.

Mustafa Ali vs. Leon Slater

Non-title and Champagne Singh is here with Ali. Feeling out process to start as they run the ropes until Slater hits a handspring elbow to the face. Ali knocks him onto the ramp but Slater sends him to the floor for a dive from the stage. We take a break and come back with Slater hitting a high crossbody for two but Ali kicks him in the head.

The rolling neckbreaker gives Ali two, only for Slater to grab a rolling cutter. The Blue Thunder Bomb is countered and Ali snaps off a German suplex. Ali’s satellite DDT is countered into a neckbreaker for two but he manages to post Slater. The 450 finishes Slater at 11:57.

Rating: B-. Ali continues to be one of the smoothest stars in the world today and it’s always fun to see him getting in the ring. At the same time, Slater is one of those young stars who has already made something of a mark and that could be a good foot in the door. I could have gone for more of this and it was a rather nice showcase for Slater with Ali getting a good win at the same time.

Moose is hunting for Matt Hardy.

Rehwoldt and Hannifan are in the ring to run down the Against All Odds card.

Eddie Edwards vs. Joe Hendry

Alisha Edwards and Brian Myers are here with Eddie. Before the match, Hendry says the only system he is worried about his his digestive system, because Eddie’s hair is so stupid. Cue the Nemeths to even things out (or actually uneven them) and we’re ready to go. Hendry starts fast with a running elbow and hits a rather delayed suplex for an early two.

We take a break and come back with Hendry fighting up until a chop takes him down again. Another chop is blocked and Hendry makes the clothesline comeback, setting up the fall away slam. Hendry slowly hammers away but gets elbowed to cut him right back down. Eddie tries to go up but gets super fall away slammed back down. Hendry goes up this time, only to get caught in a top rope superplex, followed by a tiger driver for two. Eddie kicks him down and loads up the Boston Knee Party but runs into the Standing Ovation for the pin at 12:01.

Rating: B-. The more I see of this ind of thing, the more it seems like we are going to be seeing Hendry getting a major title shot somewhere in the near future. Giving Hendry the title is far from the worst idea and I could go for seeing whatever he could do as the champion. If nothing else he would be a fresh direction for the company and that is definitely something they need.

Moose finds Matt Hardy and the brawl is on, with Moose wrapping a chair around Matt’s head and hitting him with another chair to end the show. Well that was abrupt.

Overall Rating: B. The action was good for the most part and they gave me more hope about a possible big time Hendry push. Other than that, Ace vs. Bey was good enough and PCO/de Lander are taking steps forward. I like enough of where things are going around here and this was quite the upgrade after last week’s not so great effort. Solid show here and I’m hoping that we get to see some of these things paying off.

Results
Chris Bey b. Ace Austin – Rollup
Xia Brookside b. Steph de Lander – Rollup
Jonathan Gresham b. Sami Callihan – Sunset flip
Steve Maclin b. Mike Santana via DQ when the Rascalz interfered
Mustafa Ali b. Leon Slater – 450
Joe Hendry b. Eddie Edwards – Standing Ovation

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 23, 2024
Location: MegaCorp Pavilion, Newport, Kentucky
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are coming up on Against All Odds and after last week’s show, it would seem that Joe Hendry is on his way towards at least some kind of title shot. That would be quite the shot in the arm around here, but there is a good chance that we’ll have to wait for Matt Hardy to get his chance first. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

The System vs. Matt Hardy/Ryan Nemeth

Non-title and Alisha Edwards is here with the System. Hardy rolls Eddie up for a fast two before knocking him down in the corner. Nemeth comes in but gets driven into the wrong corner, allowing the tag off to Myers. The villains manage to take Nemeth down and Myers grabs a quick chinlock.

A suplex drops Nemeth for two but he’s back up with the running DDT, which is exactly like his brother’s, because…well why else would he be here? It’s back to Hardy to pick up the pace with Hardy grabbing a double underhook neck crank until Myers makes a save. The Backpack Stunner/elbow combination is broken up and a Twist of Fate drops Eddie. Nemeth’s high crossbody finishes Myers at 6:59.

Rating: C-. I don’t know where to start with this, but the Tag Team Champions just got pinned by a makeshift team featuring an ancient Matt Hardy and a guy who name might as well be “Dolph Ziggler’s Little Brother”. I’m not sure what the appeal for this was supposed to be, but I would think there would be a better way to make it happen. On top of that, the match wasn’t even very good, as it’s hard to ignore how Ryan is just cosplaying as his brother.

Post match the System jumps Hardy and Nemeth, with Moose coming in to take out Hardy. Nic Nemeth runs in for the save.

ABC isn’t happy that they’re not in the #1 contenders match for the X-Division Title but they’re totally on the same page. Well they’re mostly on the same page, but maybe they need to fight to get this out of their system.

The Nemeths and Matt Hardy come in to see Santino Marella. He thinks Matt and Ryan deserve a Tag Team Title shot but Matt doesn’t want that. Instead, Santino makes Matt the #1 contender to the World Title and gives the Nemeths a Tag Team Title shot, all at Against All Odds. Completely logical on all counts there.

Rascalz vs. Sinner & Saint

Miguel locks up with Saint to start before Sinner comes in to take Miguel into the corner. It’s back to Saint, who gets knocked down by Wentz for a standing shooting star press. Saint is back up with a spinning shot to the face, allowing Sinner and Miguel to come back in. A Stunner into a bridging German suplex gets two on Miguel but Wentz is back with a running stomp/backbreaker combination for the pin at 4:22.

Rating: C+. Sinner & Saint got in some offense here and did look good in their limited time out there. I was surprised by how much the Rascalz gave them but it was kind of nice to see something other than a total squash. The Rascalz are already dealing with Steve Maclin so giving them a win here was good.

Post match Steve Maclin comes in to lay out the Rascalz.

In the back, Maclin says he’s done with the Rascalz and wants Mike Santana. Cue Santana to say they can fight again next week.

Back from a break and Frankie Kazarian is yelling at the ring announcer before saying he is leaving the building. As he leaves, he runs into Deaner, who is coming to the ring for a chat.

Deaner doesn’t know what Kazarian’s problem was but he has his own problem right now. He calls (and receives) Jake Something to the ring, where Deaner says he deserved last week’s attack. Something did it after Deaner turned on him years ago, so we’ll chalk it up to family issues. Deaner asks the fans if he and Something should shake hands, which draws out the Good Hands to interrupt. They don’t care what the people want and no one cares about this whole thing. Skyler mocks Something’s intelligence and the fight is on, with the Good Hands being cleared out. Santino, tag match, go.

Deaner/Jake Something vs. Good Hands

The bell rings and we take a break about ten seconds in. Back with Deaner hitting Hotch in the face for two but Skyler comes in off a blind tag. Something gets drawn in, leaving Deaner to get tied in the Tree of Woe, with the Hands standing on him. A Russian legsweep gives Hotch two but Deaner gets over to Something for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down and Deaner sends Skyler to Something for Into The Void and the pin at 10:06.

Rating: C. This was almost disappointing, as the idea of the Deaners reuniting is almost hard to stomach. They weren’t a great team in the first place and having Something, who has shown a bunch of potential, teaming with Deaner again isn’t the best idea. Hopefully this is just a short term thing, but you never can tell around here

Post match Something eventually shakes his hand.

Jordynne Grace says last week’s loss isn’t on her, but now she wants a new opponent.

The System isn’t happy with they have to do at Against All Odds but Moose rallies the troops. Joe Hendry comes in for the staredown but Eddie Edwards is willing to face him next week.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Marti Belle

Belle is challenging but we pause for Ash By Elegance’s lackey to come in and say Ash isn’t here due to her injury last week. Worry not though as he brings in….a mannequin of Ash. We’re ready to go after the Big Match Intros, with Grace running her over with a shoulder. Belle manages to sweep the leg and hits a running kick to the chest for two. Grace fights out of the corner but gets dropped with a right hand for one. A Stroke drops Grace for two as the lackey is pouring champagne for the mannequin. Grace shrugs it off and hits the Juggernaut Driver to retain at 4:24.

Rating: C. Belle is a name from the company’s history but at the same time, she was just there as a brief obstacle for Grace to run through again. While it sees that Ash is the next big thing in the division, we could be waiting a long time before we get there. This was little more than a workout for Grace, who needs to face Ash already and get some fresh blood int the title picture.

Post match Allysin Kay (Belle’s partner) comes in and jumps Grace, even hitting her with the mannequin. The two of them (Kay and Belle, not the mannequin) leave Grace laying.

We look at Kushida coughing up the black goo from Jonathan Gresham.

Santino Marella calls Jonathan Gresham, saying that every referee will be wearing gloves and a mask going forward. This is treated as ominous.

Jody Threat vs. Tasha Steelz

Dani Luna and Lars Frederiksen is here with Threat and we get some grappling to start. Steelz chops her up against the ropes but gets thrown down with a suplex. Threat hits some dropkicks and a pump kick, followed by a powerbomb. Instead of covering, Threat yells a lot, allowing Steelz to send her into the post. A cutter gives Steelz the pin at 4:43.

Rating: C-. This show is falling downhill in a hurry and this was another good example. It’s another example of a team being together for about 18 seconds and then spending weeks (if not months) on their breakup and then an eventual feud. I’m sure this will continue to go on for weeks, building off the five (yes five) regular tag matches they had together. The fact that those five matches included winning and losing the Tag Team Titles tells you a lot about the division as a whole, and now one of the teams doesn’t seem to have much longer to go.

PCO shouts for Steph and holds up the black rose. Oh there is potential with this.

First Class want a title and have something specific in mind.

Mike Bailey vs. Trent Seven

For an X-Division Title shot at Against All Odds. They strike it out to start, with Bailey snapping off the bouncing kicks to send him to the apron. The springboard moonsault takes Seven out again, followed by a missile dropkick back inside. An exchange of chops, including some to the back, sets up Seven grabbing a DDT and the swinging slam for two. Bailey kicks him down and hits a running shooting star press for two.

Seven grabs a powerbomb out of the corner but misses a dive, only to get his knees up to block a shooting star press. Mustafa Ali comes out to watch as we take a break. Back with Seven missing the Seven Star Lariat and Bailey trying a poisonrana but not getting all of it. Bailey takes him up but gets brought back down with a super swinging slam. Now the Seven Star Lariat connects for two (Ali approves).

Seven knocks him outside and hits the suicide dive and they’re both down. Bailey’s running boot hits Ali by mistake, though he doesn’t seem too upset. They chop it out on the floor before diving back in, where Bailey hits a chop but staggers away anyway. Bailey kicks him down and hits the moonsault knees for two. The Tornado kick connects but Seven drops him anyway.

They go to the apron where Seven hits another Seven Star Lariat, followed by the Birminghammer. Another Seven Star Lariat gets two back inside but Bailey reverses the X Plex into a DDT. Bailey’s moonsault knees connects on the apron but Ali goes after Bailey for a distraction. Cue Champagne Singh of all people to crotch Bailey on top (commentary says Seven didn’t see it), allowing Seven to hit another Birminghammer for the pin at 20:17.

Rating: B. Easily the best match on the show, with a reason for a team to be fighting, albeit with a not so great ending. I can get why they didn’t want either of them to lose clean and the interference lets the team stay together, but Champagne Singh being back is hardly thrilling stuff. It would seem he’s with Ali, who might not want to face Bailey, but they couldn’t find someone more interesting to play that role?

Overall Rating: C. Main event aside, this was a very rough sit as the company seems to have hit a wall in a hurry. There was a lot on here that was neither good nor interesting and that made for a terribly boring show at times. Seeing Hardy and Dolph Ziggler’s Brother (he looks like Ziggler and uses the same moves so the name is accurate) as featured players, the Deaners teasing a reunion and yet another short lived team falling apart is not a good way to spend most of two hours. I hope this is just a bad funk rather than what we can expect now that Scott D’Amore is gone, but I’m not getting my hopes up.

Results
Matt Hardy/Ryan Nemeth b. The System – High crossbody to Myers
Rascalz b. Sinner & Saint – Running stomp/backbreaker combination to Saint
Deaner/Jake Something b. Good Hands – Into The Void to Skyler
Jordynne Grace b. Marti Belle – Juggernaut Driver
Tasha Steelz b. Jody Threat – Cutter
Trent Seven b. Mike Bailey – Birminghammer

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 16, 2024
Location: Albany Armory, Albany, New York
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

So instead of doing a bunch of stuff on one show, this week is all about a SIXTEEN PERSON tag match, with all of the champions against a bunch of all stars and Ryan Nemeth. That’s going to eat up a good chunk of the show and should set up quite a bit for the next few major events. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Ash By Elegance vs. Xia Brookside

If Ash wins, she gets her bedazzled knuckles back. Hold on as Ash By Elegance’s handler has a referee shirt under his jacket…but he isn’t going to be the referee. Ok then. Ash talks a lot of trash to start and gets rolled up for an early two. They go to the mat and hammer away at each other before heading outside. Ash takes over on the floor, only to have Xia get in a Thesz press and right hands of her own back inside. The fight heads to the floor again, this time with Xia managing a quick suplex. The handler offers a distraction though and Ash grabs a hanging Stunner. Rarefied Air gives Ash the pin at 4:02.

Rating: C. Everything about Ash makes her feel like a star, except for her in-ring work. What she does in the ring isn’t bad, but it’s very basic save for a nice enough looking Swanton. She feels like someone who could turn into something great and the By Elegance deal works well enough, but she needs to get above average in the ring on her best day.

Post match the handler tells Xia to present Ash with the jewelry….which she does as part of a right hand.

Rosemary is upset that Havok is gone and says there comes a time in the lives of everyone meant for greatness that you have to give up attachments. She mentions people like the Bunny and Taya Valkyrie, but now she is ready for anything.

Santino Marella talks to Kushida, who says he is sick after facing Jonathan Gresham. He’ll be ready for his match on Xplosion.

Alan Angels vs. Leon Slater

Slater runs him over with a shoulder to start and they trade rollups for two each. Back up and Slater hits a handspring elbow to send Angels outside, followed by the required dive. Hold on though as the referee starts spitting up black goo (after he refereed a Jonathan Gresham match last week) so here’s a replacement. Slater kicks Angels in the face for two but Angels snaps off a series of half and half suplexes. Back up and Slater kicks him in the face, setting up the Swanton 450 for the pin at 4:31.

Rating: C+. Slater is someone who does his stuff rather well, with that Swanton 450 being a thing of beauty. While beating Slater isn’t going to launch him up the ladder but it’s a step in the right direction. Other than that, this is likely going to be about the referee and egads this is already feeling stupid.

Post match here is Kon to go after Angels. Slater doesn’t like it and manages to knock Kon outside. Kon snaps a security guard’s neck to blow off some steam.

Here is Jake Something for a chat. He talks about starting from nothing and becoming something, with the interviewer sounding like she is mocking him. That isn’t cool with Something, who blames Deaner for the loss last week. Cue Deaner, who says he and Something are cousins and Something is absolutely right about rising up from nothing. Deaner is with him, but Something brings up leaving him to join Violent By Design years ago. Deaner apologizes for being on a dark path and worries that Something is going to do the same thing. Then Something blasts him with a clothesline and leaves.

We look at Speedball Mountain beating ABC to earn a singles shot for an X-Division Title shot.

Speedball Mountain say they’re friends but they’re at a crossroads. May the best man win, and they seem cool.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Steve Maclin

The bell rings but we pause as Kazarian insists on being called the true king of TNA. Maclin uses the delay to clothesline him to the floor and we take a break. Back with Maclin in trouble in the corner but Maclin slugs his way back into it. Maclin knocks him to the floor for the Scud but Kazarian is ready for the spear in the Tree Of Woe. They fight to the apron but neither can hit their finisher, with Kazarian settling for a backdrop to the floor.

That’s good for a nine as Maclin beats the count and hits a running knee. The Jar Headbutt gets two but Kazarian grabs a quickly broken chickenwing. Another attempt works much better, with Maclin eventually having to backflip out for the break. They go up top with Kazarian trying the Flux Capacitor, only to have Maclin tie him into the Tree Of Woe. The spear is loaded up but cue Trey Miguel for a distraction, allowing Zachary Wentz to come in for a cheap shot. Kazarian hits Fade To Black for the pin at 11:13.

Rating: B-. Kazarian’s star continues to rise and it wouldn’t stun me to see him get a World Title shot once Moose loses the title. For now though, he’s piling up wins over former World Champions and that could take him a long way. Maclin vs. the Rascalz is a bit weird as he’ll need a partner, which could go in a few different directions.

Gail Kim is at some retreat with Gisele Shaw, who says she hasn’t quit after one loss. Kim is here to guide her back home, with Shaw seeming to think about it.

We get the second half of a sitdown interview with Mike Santana. He spent years working on the problems of others rather than himself, which is what started to take him down. Then he went to rehab, with his daughter asking for him to be better for Christmas. He was ashamed that he was giving her the life that he swore he would never give her and that was enough to wake him up.

Now he’s sober and back in TNA, where he is ready to fight for every thing he has. He respects Steve Maclin after their match at Rebellion because he’s looking for a fight. Maclin put a target on his back but Santana is putting a target on everyone’s back. These have been really good and made me care about Santana that much more.

First Class is in a box to watch the champions vs. all-stars match. They’re scouting for gold.

Champions vs. All-Stars

Champions: Moose, Jordynne Grace, Laredo Kid, Masha Slamovich, Mustafa Ali, Alisha Edwards, Brian Myers, Eddie Edwards

All-Stars: Broken Matt Hardy, Ryan Nemeth, Eric Young, Spitfire, Sami Callihan, Joe Hendry, Steph de Lander

Before the match, Hendry says all of this feels like a place for a major outbreak of Hendrymania. Worry not though, because the cure is to chant WE BELIEVE. Young chops Myers down to start and we get the big sixteen way staredown. The brawl is on and we take an early break. Back with Grace and Luna trading forearms until Grace shoulders her down for two. Kid comes in and gets suplexed by Luna but de Lander tags herself in.

That goes nowhere so it’s Slamovich and Threat coming in, with the latter grabbing an exploder suplex. Alisha comes in for a running basement crossbody in the corner. Threat is back up with running knees to the back and a German suplex for two of her own. A delayed toss suplex sends Alisha into the corner and she brings Slamovich in. Eddie and Myers come in for a cheap shot and we take another break.

Back again with Nemeth coming in to clean house, including a dropkick to Ali. Eddie offers a quick distraction though and Ali’s neckbreaker lets Moose come in. Nemeth gets sent hard into the corner and Eddie’s clothesline gets two. Ali isn’t happy with not getting a tag and walks away, saying he is officially withdrawing from the match. Myers grabs a chinlock with a knee in the back but Nemeth fights up and hits a quick Danger Zone. Matt comes in to slug away on Moose and the Side Effect gets two.

Alisha makes a save so Matt takes Eddie down again, allowing Callihan to come in and clean house. The Cactus Driver 97 is broken up so Callihan takes out Eddie and Myers at the same time. Hendry gets the tag and the fans are WAY into this. Everything breaks down (I’m stunned it took this long) and Grace elbows Callihan to the floor, setting up the big suicide dive. The parade of dives is on until Myers spears Hendry down for two. Back up and the Standing Ovation gives Hendry the pin on Myers at 28:28.

Rating: B-. When there has to be a rule that only two members of a team can be on the apron at a time, you might have quite a few people in a match. This was the insanity that you would expect, but the big perks are A, Hendry won and B, they had a bunch of combinations to pick from to keep things from getting dull. At this rate, I could certainly go for seeing what Hendry could do in the main event. The company could use some fresh blood and the fans are reacting to Hendry, so why not see how it would go?

Post match PCO is wheeled out and shocked to live, allowing him to come to the ring while carrying a black bag. He pulls out some random stuff (like a teacup) before finding….a black rose for de Lander? She takes it while looking scared/confused to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a show that was pretty much all about one match as almost every big name in the promotion was involved in that one match. The good thing is that the match worked, though it didn’t leave much else going on. I’m curious to see where that main event takes us though, as PCO is going to be doing something weird with de Lander and Hendry has to be in line for some kind of a title shot. I could go for that being against Moose at Slammiversary, but odds are it’s one of the old guard again, as Matt Hardy needs another shot I’m sure. Overall it’s a good show, with the focus being on one match as advertised.

Results
Ash By Elegance b. Xia Brookside – Rarefied Air
Leon Slater b. Alan Angels – Swanton 450
Frankie Kazarian b. Steve Maclin – Fade To Black
All-Stars b. Champions – Standing Ovation to Myers

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 9, 2024
Location: Albany Armory, Albany, New York
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re done with Under Siege and it wasn’t the most eventful show in the world. The System came out on top in the main event but it still seems that we’ll be seeing Broken Matt Hardy challenging for the World Title at some point. Other than that, we need to start the build towards Slammiversary in July. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long Under Siege recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is the System for their big championship celebration. Everyone comes out with their titles, with the local Arena Football League cheerleaders welcoming them to the ring. Brian Myers brags about everyone on the team being a champion and says they don’t have enough time in the show to list off all of their accomplishments. Moose talks about being better than the 90s Bulls before Eddie Edwards praises Alisha Edwards for her greatness.

Alisha has a video on the team…but Broken Matt Hardy breaks things up. He is here to break the System but now he understands them a bit better. This is not over because it is just the beginning. Hardy wants to see Moose’s Super Bowl ring and calls Alisha a snow witch. The brawl is on and Matt fights them off with a chair, at least until the numbers get the better of him. Ryan (not Nic) Nemeth of all people comes in to make the save with a kendo stick. The cheerleaders do the DELETE pose. This was good, save for everything involving Matt Hardy.

We look at Mustafa Ali beating Ace Austin to retain the X-Division Title at Under Siege.

The ABC is ready to face Speedball Mountain, with the winners facing each other for a future X-Division Title shot. There’s no tension between them…or at least so they say.

The System yells at Santino Marella about what just happened but he has an announcement that is going to help them. Stay tuned.

FBI vs. First Class

Little Guido is here with the FBI. Clayton suplexes Swann down to start and scores with a t-bone suplex to send him flying again. Francis comes in to run some people over, allowing him to choke Clayton on the ropes. A double clothesline puts them both down and the double tag brings in Jaz and Swann, with the former cleaning house. Everything breaks down and Francis chokeslams Jaz, setting up a frog splash to give Swann the pin at 3:35.

Rating: C. It’s a heck of a lot better to see the new version of the FBI instead of trotting out the old guys for one more hurrah. Having Guido out there to tie the generations together is a nice touch and the team isn’t all that bad. Francis continues to reinvent himself after leaving WWE and he’s doing pretty well at it. Swann took a heck of a beating here before picking up the win, which was a bit of a surprise.

Jake Something and the Rascalz both complain to Santino Marella about various things. Marella makes a tag match, with Deaner coming in to be Something’s partner.

Alan Angels is back with Sound Check with Kon and Steph de Lander as his guests. Angels thinks de Lander and Kon are dating but that’s not true. When Angels is told no, he hits on de Lander, meaning it’s time for Kon to beat up security. And that’s that.

Rascalz vs. Jake Something/Deaner

Hold on though as Deaner has some options from Santino Marella. We can keep this as a regular tag match or maybe make it an Albany Tornado match. The people vote and tornado it is. It’s a brawl to start (as it’s supposed to be) with Something slamming both of them next to each other. The Rascalz are sent to the floor and we take an early break. Back with Something on the floor and Deaner getting double teamed. Something gets rammed into the post, leaving Wentz to hit a running shooting star press for two on Deaner.

That takes enough time for Something to fight up and clean house, including tossing Wentz at Miguel to cut off a suicide dive (that was great). A sitout powerbomb gets two on Miguel but he’s back up with a poisonrana. Stereo covers get stereo near falls as the fans voice their approval. Miguel and Something head outside, where Miguel blinds him with the spray paint. That leaves Deaner to get caught with a backbreaker/double stomp combination for the pin at 9:45.

Rating: B-. This was a back and forth match which was a good bit better than I was expecting. Something is feeling like…well something actually, as he has the look and power to feel like a monster. He just needs to win, pardon the expression, something already or none of that potential matters. Deaner is going to be fine with the People’s Choice stuff, as it’s tailor made to get him cheered.

Post match Steve Maclin runs in to wreck the Rascalz.

Maclin goes to the back and gets in an argument with Frankie Kazarian, suggesting that a deal they had fell through.

We get a sitdown interview with Mike Santana, who is very happy with his return at Rebellion. Yes he is most known for his time with LAX and he is very happy with what happened back then. Then he was away for five years and lost his dad just before the pandemic hit. He needed to save his own life and….more on this later. They’re treating Santana like a big deal and that is a good thing.

Here is Gabby LaSpisa, a wrestling podcast host, to bring out Ash By Elegance for a chat. After Ash’s handler comes out for the big introduction, Gabby asks about….Ash’s last name, but apparently Elegance is a lifestyle brand. Gabby has never heard of it and doesn’t like being insulted so we look at Ash attacking Havok with a chair after their match at Under Siege. Maybe Ash is mad because Xia Brookside beat her a few weeks back. Handler: “WHERE DID YOU GET THAT FOOTAGE???” Gabby: “From the TNA+ app.” Cue Brookside to issue a challenge for a rematch for Ash’s rings. Deal. This was really not very good as talking isn’t Ash’s strong point and Gabby wasn’t much better.

We look at Joe Hendry being interviewed about his theme song climbing the UK charts.

Santino Marella has his big announcement: the Champions Challenge, a 16 person tag next week, featuring Moose/Jordynne Grace/Mustafa Ali/Brian Myers/Eddie Edwards/Masha Slamovich/Alisha Edwards/Laredo Kid vs. Matt Hardy/Steph de Lander/Sami Callihan/Eric Young/Ryan Nemeth/Jody Threat/Dani Luna/Joe Hendry. That’s up next week, with Josh Alexander being replaced by….I’m assuming Nemeth due to injury. That’s quite the match, though egads it’s going to be chaos.

Jonathan Gresham vs. Will Ferrara

Gresham, wrestling in a mask, starts fast with a dropkick and ties up the arm as commentary talks about Gresham spitting up ink during his match with Kushida at Under Siege. Ferrara sends him into the corner but gets taken down with a springboard moonsault. Gresham rams the knee into the mat a few times before rubbing the ink into Ferrara’s face. A Mandible Claw finishes Ferrara at 3:31.

Rating: C. Something tells me Gresham’s poison/evil ink deal is going to get annoying rather quickly. Gresham is someone who doesn’t need much to make him work as he’s that good in the ring (and is looking in the best shape of his career). Putting something goofy on him like this could make things a lot more complicated than it needs to be and unfortunately that’s where we are now.

Gail Kim drives to a mountain retreat and finds a meditating Gisele Shaw, saying they need to talk.

Speedball Mountain vs. ABC

The winners face off in a singles match for a future X-Division Title shot against Mustafa Ali, who is on commentary. Bailey takes Bey down to start and it’s off to Seven for an assisted twisting moonsault. It’s back to Bailey, who gets elbowed in the face to cut him off rather quickly. Austin comes in and stomps on Bailey in the corner, setting up Bey’s kicks to the back. Bailey is back up with a middle rope dropkick to Austin, meaning Seven can grab a DDT. Seven’s swinging slam gets two on Bey but it’s way too early for Bailey’s shooting star press. The crash leaves everyone down and we take a break.

Back with Seven and Bey coming in off the double tag and an exchange of shoulders. Bey’s DDT is countered into a suplex but said suplex is countered with a knee to the head. Everything breaks down again and all four are knocked down in a hurry. ABC stomps away to take over but Bailey superkicks Bey to the floor. Seven drops Austin for two but Bey knocks Bailey into the cover for the save.

ABC is sent outside and Mountain hits a pair of dives to drop both of them. Back in and Bailey hits Bey with the tornado kick but gets sent outside. Austin hits the big flip dive to take Mountain out at the same time. We pause for Austin to yell at Ali, leaving Bailey to kick Bey into a dragon suplex from Seven. Austin gets Birminghammered into the Ultimate Weapon for the pin at 17:00.

Rating: B. Fast paced back and forth match here and the stipulation made things all the more interesting. TNA is doing some good work with figuring out some unique ways to set up title matches. Mountain isn’t exactly a great team but they are a thrown together pairing who are doing well enough. ABC isn’t doing much these days, but there isn’t much else for them to do as a team anyway. Maybe we’ll get another singles run from both of them, though almost anything they do is likely to work out.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was in a weird place as there wasn’t much at Under Siege and yet they needed to get things going for the next show. The big tag match next week should be good and I’m curious to see where it goes. Other than that, we had enough good action to get by, though it was more a show designed to get us to the bigger stuff than anything else.

Results
First Class b. FBI – Frog splash to Jaz
Rascalz b. Jake Something/Deaner – Backbreaker/double stomp combination to Deaner
Jonathan Gresham b. Will Ferrara – Mandible Claw
Speedball Mountain b. ABC – Ultimate Weapon to Austin

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

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WrestleCon Supershow 2024
Date: April 4, 2024
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Kevin Gill, Veda Scott

It’s one of the biggest independent events of Wrestlemania Weekend and as usual, the card is rather stacked. You will regularly get some rather nice surprises to boost up what is already advertised and that makes it a lot more fun. This time around most of the card has been advertised in advance to change it up a bit. Let’s get to it.

I was in the crowd for this, sitting near the stage (all of three feet in front of commentary, which I could hear throughout for a really weird feeling). However, I had a bad case of vertigo kick in just before the show started and it didn’t wrap up until around the start of the main event so I spent a good chunk of this show trying not to fall over. I don’t remember much of it as a result so this should be fun.

ECW announcer Stephen DeAngelis welcomes us to the show and shows us a video on Mark Hitchcock, a graphic designer who passed away on his honeymoon. The show has been named in his honor ever since.

Joey Janela vs. Nic Nemeth

Feeling out process to start with neither getting anywhere off an exchange of lockups. Nemeth wrestles him down without much trouble and Janela seems to realize he’s in trouble on the mat. Janela gets over to the ropes before running Nemeth down in a bit more successful strategy. Back up and Nemeth misses a Stinger Splash, allowing Janela to hit a rather snazzy chop.

Nemeth gets sent into the ropes for a quick German suplex and Janela sends him outside as commentary talks about the paths these two took to get here. Back in and we hit the neck crank as Gill has quite the trouble remembering if it’s Nemeth or Ziggler (fair enough). Janela hits some more hard chops as commentary talks about how you can hear the chops throughout the arena (true).

An Angle Slam gets Nemeth out of trouble for a much needed breather as they’re both down. Back up and Nemeth starts the comeback, with a ram into four different corners. The superkick is blocked though and they go into a pinfall reversal sequence for two each. They slug it out and trade superkicks until Nemeth hits a dropkick for another double knockdown.

Janela manages to grab the Death Valley Driver onto the apron but Nemeth is right back with the running DDT for two. Nemeth’s Fameasser is countered into a powerbomb, followed by the package piledriver for another near fall. Janela takes too long going up and gets superplexed back down for the big crash. Back up and Janela hits a running elbow to put both of them down again. Nemeth shrugs that off and hits a Fameasser into the Danger Zone for the pin at 18:17.

Rating: B. Janela likes to go long in his matches but he did well here. This isn’t about some big long term story or anything serious, but rather having an entertaining match. Nemeth getting to do things outside of WWE is rather interesting for a change and facing Janela in a long match is almost a rite of passage. Good stuff here and it felt like a match that could have hung on a more traditional show.

Los Boricuas vs. FBI/???

This would be Savio Vega/Miguel Perez Jr./Nathalya Perez (with the rest of the team) vs. Little Guido/Tommy Rich/a mystery partner in the form of….Deonna Purrazzo (and Tony Mamaluke to even things up a bit). For those of you who don’t know who Nathalya is Miguel’s daughter, making her the first ever third generation Puerto Rican wrestler. Miguel and Guido start things off but it’s quickly off to Savio vs. Rich.

Nathalya comes in and wants Purrazzo, which does not seem to be a good idea. Nathalya actually takes her into the corner and chops away, only for Purrazzo to demonstrate it a bit better. Purrazzo drops her rather quickly so it’s off to Miguel, who drives Rich into the corner. An elbow to the head gets Rich out of trouble and Guido comes in for a Paisan elbow in a nice flashback.

Hold on though as Guido is sent outside for some Boricuas cheating, meaning we have a big ejection. Miguel grabs a chinlock on Guido before Savio comes back in and is promptly crossbodied. Miguel is right there to cut him off with a clothesline but Guido gets in a middle rope…we’ll call it a clothesline. The tag brings Rich back in for the right hands as everything breaks down. Nathalya slugs it out with Purrazzo and they trade kicks to the head, only for Purrazzo to grab the Fujiwara armbar for the tap at 9:33.

Rating: C. This was there for the sake of some goofy old school fun and there is nothing wrong with that. The fans are going to be into the FBI and their goofy dancing while Los Boricuas certainly have a reputation. Purrazzo was a nice surprise and fit in well with the team, while Nathalya’s biggest flaw is she looks incredibly young. That will change with time, but for now, she looks like a teenager out there. Anyway, fun match to pop the live crowd.

Rob Van Dam vs. Mike Bailey

Veda Scott is a bit biased here, which might be due to her being married to Bailey. Bill Alfonso is here with Van Dam for the old school feeling and yes it’s Walk for the entrance music. As a bonus, Jerry Lynn is guest referee. They fight over a lockup to start until Van Dam fakes a clean break by grabbing a headlock. Said headlock takes Bailey over a few times but he headscissors his way to freedom.

Back up and they both miss kicks for a standoff, with the fans dubbing this awesome. For some reason Van Dam thinks it’s time to pose, allowing Bailey to kick him down. You don’t break up Van Dam’s posing so he chokes on the ropes, poses, and hits a slingshot legdrop. Bailey is draped over the barricade for the spinning kick to the back for the nasty landing on the floor. Van Dam takes too long getting some water from a fan and gets taken down by an Asai moonsault. Gill worries about Fonzie being taken out as well but Scott said “don’t worry, he’s a resilient chap”.

Back in and Bailey hits a hard Helluva Kick into a Tajiri handspring elbow into a running shooting star press for two. The moonsault knees miss though and Van Dam gets two off a rollup. That’s enough to draw Fonzie in for an argument, which only allows Bailey to nail the bouncing kicks. Bailey misses a big kick but Van Dam misses the Rolling Thunder. The shooting star misses for Bailey so Fonzie throws in the chair for a Van Daminator. The Five Star finishes Bailey at 10:57.

Rating: C+. Oh like Van Dam was losing in the ECW Arena on a special show like this. The good thing about Van Dam is that unlike most of the former ECW stars, he can still more than hang in there and have a perfectly watchable match. That was the case here as he and Bailey had an entertaining match with the right ending. Nice stuff here and seeing Van Dam in this building was special.

Rev Pro British Heavyweight Title: Michael Oku vs. Titan

Oku, with Amira, is defending. They go with the grappling to start with Titan twisting out of a wristlock. Stereo dropkick attempts miss and they chop it out, with Oku sticking his chest out but getting kicked in the stomach instead. Back up and Oku sends him outside, only for Titan to jump back inside for the suicide dive.

They get back inside where Titan kicks him in various areas but Oku is back with a middle rope dropkick. With Titan on the floor, Oku hits a running shooting star over the ropes to take him out again. A high crossbody gives Oku two back inside but Titan drops him on the apron. That means a top rope double stomp, only to have Titan come up favoring his knee. Back in and Titan misses another double stomp, allowing Oku to knee him in the face.

The Lionsault sets up the half crab (Oku’s finisher) but the rope is reached rather quickly. Titan’s knee is fine enough to hit a springboard tornado DDT and we get a double breather. They forearm it out until Titan gets the better of an exchange of kicks to the face. Titan’s top rope double stomp gets two but bangs up the knee again. Oku pulls him into the half crab and bridges back for the tap to retain at 15:32.

Rating: B. It was a good, back and forth match with the title helping a lot. I’m not sue I get Oku’s appeal a lot of the time, but he was feeling it here and the submission/high flying combination worked well here. Titan did well with his own stuff as well and it was a rather entertaining match that felt like it could have been on any regular show, which is a nice fit in on a show like this one.

Rascalz vs. Matt Riddle/Mustafa Ali

That was unadvertised so all three entrances get quite the reaction. Riddle takes Wentz down without much trouble to start and they wrestle to a standoff. Wentz gets a headscissors but Riddle slips out, only to miss the big kick to the chest. Back up and Wentz slips out of a German suplex and they slap each other in the face, followed by an exchange of respectful nods.

Ali comes in and takes over on Miguel’s arm but Miguel is right back up with an armbar of his own. They trade some quick near falls and that’s good for a standoff. Everything breaks down and Riddle sends the Rascalz to the floor for the big dive from Ali in a nice bit of teamwork. Back in and Wentz kicks Riddle down to grab the chinlock, followed by the wishbone into stereo basement dropkicks (ouch) for two.

Miguel kicks him in the head again but Ali gets over to bring Ali in and pick up the pace. Riddle gets pulled off the apron though and Ali misses a charge into the corner, allowing the double teaming strikes to drop Ali for two more. Wentz’s hard DDT gets two but Ali fights right back up (as tends to be the case) and brings Riddle back in to clean house. A snazzy German suplex gets two on Miguel but the Floating Bro is broken up. Ali is back in with the tornado DDT, only to miss the 450 and roll into a cutter from Wentz. A springboard cutter drops Riddle, who bounces back up with a double cutter. The Bro Derek finishes Miguel at 14:20.

Rating: B. Ali and Riddle are something of an indy dream team at the moment and it was cool to see them getting together and having a heck of a match here. At the same time, there is something odd about seeing a makeshift team beating a regular team, which was a major focal point from commentary. That being said, it’s hard to imagine most people beating Riddle when he gets into that mode and the match was rather good.

Respect is shown post match.

Josh Alexander vs. Masato Tanaka

Alexander easily takes it to the mat for an early standoff and they fight over hammerlock control. A running shoulder puts Tanaka down but he’s back up with the right hands in the corner. They chop it out until Alexander dragon screw legwhips him down. Tanaka’s leg is fine enough for him to grab a suplex, only to have Alexander roll some German suplexes for two.

The C4 Spike is countered into the sliding elbow to give Tanaka two of his own. Tanaka’s top rope superplex…doesn’t really hurt Alexander, who pops back up for the clothesline comeback (?). The Roaring Elbow gives Tanaka two but his top rope splash hits raised knees. That means the ankle lock (the first of many I’m sure) goes on for Alexander but Tanaka rolls out, earning himself the running crossbody to the back.

Back in and Tanaka wins a slugout, even knocking Alexander’s headgear off. Alexander elbows him down for two and they forearm it out again. Tanaka knocks him into the corner for Diamond Dust and another near fall but Alexander is back with a powerbomb onto the knee. The C4 Spike finishes Tanaka at 12:16.

Rating: B. Take two hard hitters and let them beat the fire out of each other for about twelve minutes until the bigger name hits his finisher for the pin. It was a good, hard hitting match and one of those “hmm, that’s interesting” deals that you can see on a show like this one. Alexander continues to feel like a big fish in a small pond with TNA so it’s nice to see him getting a moment to shine here.

The ring announcer thanks the fans.

Team CMLL vs. Team Dragon Gate

CMLL: Averno/Barbaro Cavernario/Mistico/Star Jr./Villano III Jr.
Dragon Gate: Dragon Kid/Kota Minoura/Kzy/Shun Skywalker/Yamato

The annual ten man tag is a WrestleCon Supershow signature. Skywalker (quite the villain) bails to the floor to start as commentary is flat out saying they can’t keep track of all these people. Cavernario and Kid start things off with some grappling on the mat until Cavernario pulls him into a quickly broken surfboard. Cavernario hits him in the face but Kid snaps off a headscissors.

Averno and Yamato come in with Averno taking Yamato down but getting caught with an arm crank. With that not working, we get the big staredown between Skywalker and Mistico, with the handshake not happening. Mistico snaps off a running headscissors to send him outside and there’s the dive to take Skywalker out again. Everything breaks down for a brawl on the floor until we settle down to Star chopping it out with Kzy.

Star hits a jumping uppercut to put Kzy down until Star ties him in the ropes for a springboard fadeaway legdrop (ala Carmelo Hayes). A kind of flipping slam plants Kzy for two and Star hits a springboard clothesline. Villano comes in to hammer away on Minoura as everything breaks down again.

We settle down (kind of) to Skywalker throwing Cavernario into the corner, allowing Kid to come in and drop some knees. Averno comes in and gets stomped down before Yamato grabs a quickly broken chinlock. It’s back to Villano, who is taken down as well with Dragon Gate holding his partners back in a smart move. That doesn’t last long either as Star comes in and gets taken down in a hurry.

Kzy’s elbow to the back gets two with Mistico making the save but getting caught in the wrong corner as well. Mistico and Minoura strike it out until a swinging Boss Man Slam gives Minoura two. Skywalker comes in but Mistico is back with a handspring double elbow and it’s back to Star. The big dive to the floor takes out most of Dragon Gate and Mistico hits a bigger dive to send them into the crowd.

Back in and Kid gets triple teamed but manages to hand it back to Averno. Skywalker gets caught in the ropes for a bunch of strikes to the chest/head and back to back triplebombs get two with Kid making the save. Averno gets super hurricanranaed down and a frog splash gets two and Cavernario gets kicked in the head….sending him into the Worm.

Something like a Vader Bomb hits Kid or two as everything breaks down. Mistico gets kicked down by Kzy but Skywalker shoves his own partner down, wanting the win for himself. That lets Star hit a top rope double stomp on Skywalker, setting up an arm/leg crank. Mistico adds La Mistica to Kzy for the double submission at 24:47.

Rating: B. This was quite the display of talent with everyone in there going nuts to get int heir own bit of offense. That being said, the match ran long as the stretch where Dragon Gate triple teamed people and cut the ring off just kept going. It was a fun spectacle but never really did anything all that huge to take it up to the next level.

Post match Skywalker goes after CMLL again and gets stomped down.

Of note: following the show, I went to dinner and wound up sitting next to most of Team CMLL (minus Mistico). They were all unmasked but I recognized Cavernario, who confirmed it was the rest of the team and apparently some others. None of them could say who they were, but it was a rather cool treat.

Gill hypes up the main event and intros the ring announcer, who isn’t quite ready, resulting in a 47 second run on sentence introduction with Gill all but begging him to start talking. You could hear the relief in Gill’s voice when the introductions began and he got some applause for his efforts.

Paul Walter Hauser vs. Sami Callihan

Street fight and Hauser is mainly an (Emmy Award winning) actor who occasionally wrestles. Callihan jumps him from behind to start and says F*** Philly/WrestleCon because he’s about to cut up an Emmy winner. The stomping is on, followed by a kendo stick shot to the back. Callihan grabs a bag of toys, starting with a piece of paper to cut the creases between Hauser’s fingers.

Naturally he follows with a lemon to squeeze the juice into the cuts for the real pain. The pizza cutter slices Hauser’s head up as commentary brings up Hauser invading Callihan’s Wrestling Revolver promotion. Back in and Callihan carves him up with the cutter again but Hauser busts out some powder for a needed breather. Callihan hits him with a table but chops the post by mistake.

It’s time for a door, though we pause for Hauser to trade his torn shirt to a fan for a fresh one. Back in and Hauser misses a charge to get sent through the door and Callihan whips out some staple guns. Callihan even throws one to Hauser and they trade staples to various body parts. Hauser staples him low and drops a headbutt for two. It’s time for thumbtacks but Hauser’s middle rope elbow only hits said tacks.

A table is brought in and a powerbomb sends Hauser through it for two. Callihan knocks the referee down and grabs the kendo stick. Said stick is thrown down so Callihan kicks him low and gets two from Bill Alfonso of all people. The near fall doesn’t work for Callihan, who decks Alfonso and grabs the kendo stick….for the Sandman’s pose.

The lights go out and we get the full Enter Sandman treatment as the Sandman is here. I remember watching Sandman as a kid and thinking this was the coolest entrance ever so getting to see it in person, in the ECW Arena, even when Sandman is 60 and has been retired forever, was an all time wrestling moment. For a bonus, we also cut back to the ring where Alfonso is just sitting in the corner watching the entrance in a funny moment. Sandman finally gets in and canes Callihan, allowing Hauser to hit the White Russian Legsweep into the tacks for the pin at 23:38.

Rating: C. The match itself was WAY too long, but the only thing that mattered here was getting in the big Sandman moment at the end. Hauser gets to beat the evil Callihan in a fun and special ending and it did that well enough. The problem is the match could have been ten minutes shorter, as you can only see so much of Callihan beating him up in between short comebacks. This had to headline for the sake of Sandman though and that was worth the wait.

Hauser thanks the fans for letting him into their world to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show is always tricky to do as it has so many things going on with all kinds of interesting matches. While some of them didn’t quite work, the stuff that was good was very good, especially with just the right amount of ECW nostalgia. I look forward to this show every year and it worked again here, albeit with a few less than great spots.

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 2, 2024
Location: Palms Casino Resort, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are in a bit of a unique place here as we have more fallout from Rebellion and only one day before Under Siege. The latter is not looking to be the strongest card and could use something of a boost. Hopefully we get something like that this week though you never can tell around here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

First Class is in a box to see Joe Hendry’s in-ring apology.

Mustafa Ali vs. Chris Bey

Non-title and Ali’s security/Ace Austin are here too. They fight over wrist control to start until Ali elbow shim in the face to take over. Bey is sent throat first into the ropes but he manages to knock Ali into the Tree of Woe. A Coast To Coast elbow gives Bey two but Ali pulls him down off the top with a nasty crash. One heck of a whip into the corner puts Ali down again and they slug it out.

Ali’s rollup with feet on the ropes is broken up by Austin, who gets taken down by a dive. Bey dives onto Ali, who is right back with a superkick inside. Back up and Bey grabs a Vertebreaker of all things for two and they fight out to the apron. Ali hits a German suplex but misses the 450, allowing Bey to hit the cutter. The security guard gets in a flag pole shot to drop Bey though and the 450 gives Ali the pin at 10:38.

Rating: B-. There was a lot of interference here and it was distracting from what could have been a heck of a match without it. As it was, we had to settle for a good match between two people who are capable of doing more. I don’t remember the last time I saw Bey have a bad match and Ali is one of the bigger things going around here at the moment. Good opener here and I could go for a higher profile rematch.

Dani Luna vs. Alisha Edwards

Jody Threat and Masha Slamovich are here and Lars Frederiksen is on commentary. Luna forearms her down hard to start but Edwards sends her throat first into the middle rope. The trash talk takes too long though and Luna is back up with a Blue Thunder Bomb but Slamovich gets up for a distraction. Threat goes after Edwards but the distraction lets Slamovich kick Luna in the head for the pin at 3:27.

Rating: C. TNA loves the heck out of the “this challenger has pinned one half of the Knockouts Tag Team Champions” and that’s what we saw again here. It doesn’t even have any kind of impact anymore as we see it happen so often. I’m sure the title match will be fine, but they really need a better way to set this stuff up.

Sami Callihan has his own show called Death Machine TV, where he says…that he has a show. End of first episode.

Cody Deaner vs. Hammerstone

Before the match, Deaner says Santino Marella has allowed them to add a stipulation. It’s the people’s choice and they seem to like Deaner’s idea of a street fight. Deaner slugs away to start and grabs a trashcan lid but gets kicked in the face for taking too long. An annoyed Hammerstone sends him outside and then into the post as we take an early break.

Back with Hammerstone easily blocking a suplex and choking on the ropes. A gorilla press drop onto an open chair has Deaner writhing in pain but for some reason he tries a slam. This goes as well as you would expect, though he manages to escape the Nightmare Pendulum. Now a slam onto the chair puts Hammerstone down and it’s time to bring in a table. That takes too long and it’s a chokeslam to put Deaner through the table. The torture rack gives Hammerstone the win at 10:05.

Rating: C. The People’s Choice gimmick is a unique idea and it’s working well enough, though it’s not like Deaner is presented as anything serious. He’s only going to be able to do so much when he’s in there against a new monster like Hammerstone. The Under Siege match against Jake Something should be more competitive, but for now, this was just ok.

Post match the beatdown is on but Jake Something makes the save.

Nic Nemeth’s neck is banged up but Matt Hardy will take his place.

Hardy and Speedball Mountain is ready to defeat the System. Hardy does his Broken stuff and says they will render the System obsolete.

Santino Marella sits down with Jonathan Gresham and welcomes him back. They shake hands and Santino leaves, with what seems like Gresham in the octopus mask replacing him. We cut to Santino washing his hands.

Still in their box, First Class introduces Joe Hendry for the in-ring apology. Hendry comes to the ring with a guitar and says their issues started with a song, meaning they have to end the same way. He sings the first song he wrote about AJ Francis’ failures, which would have been bad enough.

That means we need to hear the second song, which focuses on Francis’ ineptness with dives. This time we need an apology though and Hendry is going to go go higher, meaning it’s time for a Creed inspired theme about how Francis needs to get fired, like he has twice before. Hendry: “I’m sorry.” And that’s it, with the fans loving Hendry even more (as they should after something that awesome).

Here is the System for a chat. They promise to win at Under Siege and that’s about it.

Trey Miguel vs. Ace Austin

Zachary Wentz and Chris Bey are here and the winner gets the X-Division Title shot at Under Siege. They fight over a lockup to start with Austin taking him to the mat before letting it go in a unique look. Both of them try dropkicks and go to the mat, which draws up both of their respective partners. Miguel gets rolled up for two but comes up favoring his knee, meaning it’s time to roll outside. The distraction lets Wentz get in a cheap shot and Miguel is rather fine with a slingshot dive as we take a break.

Back with Austin getting two off another rollup but Miguel chokes away in the corner. A moonsault hits raised knees though and Austin gets a much needed breather. Austin’s springboard spinning kick to the head gets two but Miguel’s jumping stomp to the back gets the same. The Cheeky Nandos kick staggers Austin again and a super sunset flip gives Miguel two. Not that it matters as Austin hits a quick stomp into the Fold for the pin/the title shot at 13:02.

Rating: B-. Just like the opener, this was two guys who can do a lot of good things in the ring having a solid match. In this case there were some stakes, as Austin gets a title shot on a fairly big show, which should make for a solid addition to the card. It should also be interesting that he is getting a shot at the title while Bey didn’t, which could create some issues between the team going forward.

Josh Alexander and Eric Young are ready for Frankie Kazarian and Steve Maclin.

Under Siege rundown.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Miyu Yamashita

Yamashita is challenging and Ash By Elegance is watching from a skybox. They fight over wrist control to start with Grace rolling away for a break. A kick to the chest puts Grace down but she snaps off a reverse fisherman’s suplex as we take a break. Back with Grace getting planted hard onto the apron for two as Ash seems rather interested. They fight over a choke and…I’m not actually sure who is in trouble but Grace rolls to the ropes to break it up.

Grace is fired up and grabs some slams but a hard kick leaves them both down. They both head up top with Yamashita kneeing away until Grace backdrops her down to the mat. The Juggernaut Driver is blocked so Grace hits a clothesline instead. A spinning kick to the head gives Yamashita two but Grace shrugs it off and grabs the Juggernaut Driver to retain at 9:45.

Rating: C+. They had a fine match but this felt like “here’s a random challenger you might have seen a time or two before” and nothing else. Grace is in a weird spot as she doesn’t have much left in the way of viable challengers so putting her in a match like this is about all that can be done. Not bad at all, but nothing to see here for the most part.

Post match respect is shown and Yamashita leaves, allowing Steph de Lander to run in and jump Grace. Kon shows up to twist Grace’s neck but PCO appears for the save. The villains are cleared out to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling was good but there is absolutely no hiding how lame Under Siege is looking. There is nothing on that show that feels remotely important and it might as well be a house show at this rate. We had some good action this week and it’s wasn’t a bad show, but I wasn’t interested in Under Siege coming into this and I’m less interested in it now.

Results
Mustafa Ali b. Chris Bey – 450
Alisha Edwards b. Dani Luna – Spinning kick to the head from Masha Slamovich
Hammerstone b. Cody Deaner – Torture rack
Ace Austin b. Trey Miguel – The Fold
Jordynne Grace b. Miyu Yamashita – Juggernaut Driver

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Impact Wrestling
Date: April 25, 2024
Location: Palms Casino Resort, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re done with Rebellion and now it is time to start the fallout. The big story was the return of Broken Matt Hardy, who seems to want the World Title back. I’m not sure how well that is going to go but it seems like we have at least a general direction for Under Siege next month. Let’s get to it.

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

Long Rebellion recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Nic Nemeth to get things going. He appreciates the welcome but thought he would be here as World Champion. There are no excuses because he left it out there in the ring and he failed. His family was right there in the front row and he let them down. Right now he doesn’t know what to do next and he feels broken inside…which brings out Broken Matt Hardy to interrupt.

Matt had a pre-mo-neetion that he would be in the ring with the World Champion at the end of Rebellion, which he was hoping would be Nemeth. We look at the end of the match, where Nemeth’s shoulder was clearly up. Hardy wants the World Title and says Nemeth can have a shot down the line, but here is the System, including World Champion Moose, to interrupt.

Moose says Hardy thinks he is the coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, which is why the team is so bad. You can’t challenge a play in wrestling but Nemeth says come say this to their faces. Eddie Edwards says Nemeth is here to be the next Kurt Angle but he might not even be Eric Angle. Nemeth challenges Edwards for tonight. This was shorter than I thought and set up a main event, plus pointed us in the direction for some other stuff. That’s not too bad, unlike Hardy, who is rather bad.

Santino Marella oversees the ballot box for crowning a new #1 contender to the X-Division Title. Jordynne Grace comes in for some glaring.

We look at some of the insanity in the Knockouts Title match at Rebellion, with PCO interfering and Sami Callihan returning before Jordynne Grace retained over Steph de Lander.

Grace is glad she had PCO on standby but didn’t know Callihan was coming. Next week, the title is on the line again Miyu Yamashita, who comes in to say she’s winning the title.

Mike Santana vs. Myron Reed

The Rascalz are here with Reed and offer an early distraction so Reed can jump him to start. A slingshot Codebreaker gives Reed two but Santana is back up with some chops. Santana is knocked to the ramp but manages to block the jumping cutter. The Buck Fifty drops Reed and a running Blockbuster takes out the Rascalz for a bonus. Back in and Spin The Block finishes for Santana at 2:57. They packed a lot in there and Santana continues to look good.

Post match here is Steve Maclin (who Santana beat in his return at Rebellion) to ask the Rascalz to go after Santana. That’s a negative, so Maclin tries it alone and has to run from a Spin The Block attempt.

Steph de Lander and Kon issue the challenge to Jordynne Grace and PCO for Under Siege.

Here is Josh Alexander for a chat. He declares it a good day because he is in a TNA ring. At Rebellion, he showed what this place meant to him and you can call him the gatekeeper around here. The one thing he hasn’t been called around here in far too long is World Champion, but here is Frankie Kazarian to interrupt.

Kazarian won at Rebellion too so he should be getting that World Title shot. Alexander is down for a #1 contenders match but Kazarian says he’s too banged up after Rebellion. That’s fine with Alexander, who is cool with being #1 contender without a match. That doesn’t work for Kazarian (yes he says brother) so the match is on…right now.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Josh Alexander

For a future World Title shot, with Kazarian in street clothes and Alexander in a track suit. Kazarian throws a jacket at him to start and chokes in the corner but Alexander makes the clothesline comeback. We take a break and come back with commentary saying this is NOT a #1 contenders match, despite it being kind of perfect to be one.

Alexander misses the running crossbody on the apron and Kazarian hits a slingshot legdrop for two. A running Russian legsweep gives Kazarian two more and a fisherman’s suplex is good for the same. Alexander fights back and hits a Regal Roll for two of his own but Kazarian pulls him into the chickenwing. That’s reversed into the ankle lock but Kazarian slips out and hits the apron Fameasser.

Fade To Black and the C4 Spike are both blocked so Alexander goes with the ankle lock again. With that broken up, Alexander snaps off a German suplex for two more. Frustration is setting in so Kazarian sends him to the apron for a slingshot cutter. Kazarian brings in a chair and a chain, with the former being taken away so he grabs the latter. Cue Eric Young to take the chain away, allowing Alexander to grab the ankle lock for the tap at 12:52.

Rating: B-. This was the weekly “let two good wrestlers have a wrestling match” match and as usual, it went pretty well. Alexander getting back into the title hunt is a good thing, but egads Young vs. Kazarian needs to either be over or take a long break. They just had a big bloody match over the weekend and they’re already back at it? That’s a bit much.

Santino Marella says Jake Something can’t have another X-Division Title shot. Hammerstone comes in and wants to talk about Rebellion, but gets in Something’s face instead. Santino makes the match at Under Siege.

Here is First Class, with hip hop legend Bun B, for a chat. AJ Francis tells the fans to make some noise for B before telling them to shut up. B praises the first class accommodations with First Class before Rich Swann brags about beating Joe Hendry. Cue Hendry, to say he suffered an injury after the match but he knows he owes Francis an apology. That comes next week.

Ash By Elegance vs. Xia Brookside

They glare at each other to start before slugging it out, with Ash getting the better of things. Ash stomps away in the corner and gets two off a suplex. They go to the ramp where Ash drops her again, setting up a chinlock back inside. Brookside fights up and sends her into the corner for some running knees to the back. A high crossbody gives Brookside two but Ash sends her crashing out to the floor. Back in and Ash loads up a foreign object, which is quickly taken away, allowing Brookside to roll her up for the pin at 6:59.

Rating: C. That one surprised me as I wouldn’t have bet on Ash losing anytime soon. The good thing here is it was presented like Brookside catching her rather than flat out beating her which leaves Ash looking a bit stronger. You can pretty much guarantee a rematch, maybe as soon as Under Siege, but for now, it was an intriguing enough twist.

Trey Miguel has won the election for an X-Division Title shot but there are allegations of BALLOT BOX STUFFING! Mustafa Ali says he shouldn’t defend the title at all, but Santino Marella says we can have a run off, in the form of a #1 contenders match next week.

Here are the Good Hands to complain about Sami Callihan attacking them at Rebellion. They wanted a match with Callihan, who wants to fight both of them.

Sami Callihan vs. Good Hands

Sami jumps them to start and uses a picture of PCO to paper cut their fingers. Skyler manages a quick spear off the apron and Hotch adds a moonsault off the apron. Back in and Callihan knocks Hotch out of the air, setting up the Cactus Driver 97 for the pin at 2:40.

Steve Maclin offers an alliance with Frankie Kazarian so they can deal with Eric Young and Mike Santana. Kazarian seems to be pondering.

Here’s what’s coming at Under Siege.

Eddie Edwards vs. Nic Nemeth

Alisha Edwards and Brian Myers are here with Eddie while Nic’s brother Ryan is in the front row. They go to the mat to start with Nic getting a headscissors into a headlock. Eddie reverses into a headlock of his own but Nic slips out. The superkick is cut off by an Alisha distraction though and Eddie hammers away on the ropes.

Eddie whips him chest first into the chest for two, followed by a snap suplex into a knee drop for the same. Nic fights up and hammers away but Myers offers a distraction so Eddie can knock him out to the floor. We take a break and come back with Eddie kneeing him in the ribs for two, setting up the chinlock. Nic fights up and hits a neckbreaker out of the corner, setting up the rapid fire elbows.

The running DDT gives Nic two but Eddie rolls outside to avoid the superkick. Back in and Nic gets crotched on top, setting up a superplex into a tiger driver for two. Eddie takes too long setting up his own superkick, allowing Nic to superkick him into an Angle Slam. They slug it out until a double clothesline leaves both of them down. The referee has to yell at Ryan and Myers for fighting on the floor, allowing Moose to run in with a belt shot. The Boston Knee Party finishes for Eddie at 16:30.

Rating: B-. Much like the other long match, you know you’re going to get at least pretty good stuff out of these two because they’re both polished veterans. They had a good match here and the ending should set up something at Under Siege. It’s not a classic, but it worked well for a first time TV main event.

Post match Moose wraps a chair around Nic’s neck and smashes it with another chair. Speedball Mountain runs in to chase the System off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was the kind of show that the company needed with only eight days to go before Under Siege. They set up a bunch of the show’s matches in a hurry while giving us a pair of rather good one off matches here. As usual, TNA knows how to get things done when they need to and they did just that right here.

Results
Mike Santana b. Myron Reed – Spin The Block
Josh Alexander b. Frankie Kazarian – Ankle lock
Ash By Elegance b. Xia Brookside – Rollup
Sami Callihan b. Good Hands – Cactus Driver 97 to Hotch
Eddie Edwards b. Nic Nemeth – Boston Knee Party

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

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