Slammiversary 2024
Date: July 20, 2024
Location: Verdun Auditorium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

This is one of the biggest shows that TNA presents every year and we should be in for a good one as the show is fairly stacked. The main event will see Moose defending the World Title against five challengers at once, along with hometown boy Mike Bailey challenging Mustafa Ali for the X-Division Title. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Faby Apache vs. Gisele Shaw vs. Tasha Steelz vs. Xia Brookside

We get a loud TNA chant as Shaw and Brookside kick the other two down. A celebration is cut off as Steelz shoves them into each other though and the villains take over. Apache drops Steelz though and grabs an early surfboard. Shaw is back in with Shock And Awe for two as commentary talks about everything else on the card. Steelz Codebreakers Apache to the floor and hits a suicide dive, followed by Shaw diving onto both of them.

Brookside dives onto all three of them (show off) and throws Steelz back in for two. The Brookside Bomb is broken up so Shaw Samoan drivers both Steelz and Brookside at the same time (geez). Apache goes up but dives into a powerbomb, leaving Shaw to spear Brookside. Shaw’s running knee hits Brookside but Steelz grabs the pin at 6:37.

Rating: C+. This was a fine choice to get the show going and warm the crowd up a bit but I really do not get that ending. This felt like it was Shaw’s to win and instead it’s Steelz, who hasn’t really been doing much lately. It’s weird to go with something that will deflate the crowd a bit, but at least the action was good.

Pre-Show: Kushida vs. Rich Swann

Kushida is in Hakushi cosplay because….I have no idea really. Swann is replacing an ill Jonathan Gresham. Kushida is slow to start before grabbing a wristlock but it’s too early for the Hoverboard Lock. They take turns flipping away from each other and Swann is knocked into the ropes. Swann chokes on the ropes and kicks him in the back but Kushida….stops to mediate, earning himself another kick.

A dragon screw legwhip into a Tajiri handspring elbow staggers Swann but he’s right back with the poisonrana. Swann’s Lethal Injection gets two but the middle rope 450 misses. Kushida punches him down, only to miss the moonsault, allowing Swann to kick him in the face for two more. Swann takes too long going up though and gets pulled down into the Hoverboard Lock for the tap at 6:43.

Rating: C+. I’m guessing this was Kushida’s response to Jonathan Gresham being all evil and corrupted. All that did is make me remember how horrible the Gresham stuff has been and that’s not the best way to get things going. Other than that, it was the kind of quality you would expect here, albeit with Kushida’s stuff not really fitting his usual style.

Pre-Show: Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Alisha Edwards/Masha Slamovich vs. Spitfire

Spitfire is challenging. Threat and Slamovich start things off with Threat cranking on the arm. Luna comes in to shove Edwards down without much trouble so Threat adds a basement clothesline for two. Slamovich slips in for a double suplex to Threat and a trip to Luna makes it worse. A hard kick to the chest gets two on Luna and a snap suplex is good for the same.

Luna manages to kick her way out of the corner and it’s back to Threat to pick up the pace. A double running crotch attack against the ropes connects on the champs and Edwards is Michinoku Drivered onto Slamovich for two. The Hart Attack gets two but Luna is sent outside, leaving the Snowplow to hit Threat for a rather near fall. With nothing else working, Slamovich distracts the referee so a belt shot can knock Threat silly. A Steiner Bulldog retains the titles at 8:48.

Rating: B-. This was one of the better Knockouts tag matches I’ve seen in a bit as they were given some time and didn’t have a commercial in the middle. That makes for a nice improvement and the action was there to back it up. The division still lacks depth, but at least this felt like part of a story rather than just a one off match.

Here is Santino Marella to say he used to live here and thanks the fans for their biggest show in over ten years (nice job). He even has a bonus match for us.

Pre-Show: Eric Young vs. Hammerstone

Nice to see Hammerstone back. Hammerstone wastes no time in knocking him outside where a hard posting ensues. Back in and a missile dropkick gives Hammerstone two as the fans chant something in French. Young is back up with his slide between the legs and a lariat but the top rope elbow takes too long. The breaking up is broken up as well though and Young drops the elbow for two. The piledriver is cut off with straight power but Young slips out of the torture rack….and grabs a rollup for the pin at 5:26.

Rating: C. I’m sorry what now? You have the return of a beast like Hammerstone and he loses to Eric Young? That’s one of those things that feels like it is straight out of the TNA playbook: when your company is feeling a bit stale, it’s time to go with the guy who has been around for the better part of twenty years. I’m fine with Young getting a win because he’s someone the fans will get behind, but you can’t put some low level villain out there instead of Hammerstone?

Post match Young thanks the fans for supporting the company and says this is TNA.

And now, the show proper.

Annie St-Onge sings O Canada.

The opening video looks at recent events and talks about how big of a show this is. We also get the normal looks at the bigger matches.

Matt Hardy vs. JDC

Matt is Broken and out for revenge after JDC took out Rebecca Hardy on Impact. The beating is on outside before the bell and JDC (in his American flag pants) has to get in a quick flag shot to take over. Now the bell rings and JDC sends him chest first into the corner, meaning it’s time for some dancing.

Hardy is draped over the top rope for a running boot to the head and two, followed by an elbow to the face. The bodyscissors works on Hardy’s ribs for a bit but Down And Dirty on the apron misses for JDC. Hardy sends him into the corner over and over, setting up a middle rope elbow. The Side Effect gets two but Dango is back with a Falcon Arrow. Another Down And Dirty is broken up and a middle rope Twist Of Fate gives Hardy the pin at 4:36.

Rating: C. This would have been short on Impact but it gave the fans a nice moment while Hardy gets some revenge. The stuff before the match felt like someone wanting to get back at JDC but the rest was just a normal match. I’ll take this over Hardy being all weird though so this could have been worse.

Post match Hardy hits two more Twists Of Fate to blow off some steam.

The System, in their matching American flag track suits, is ready to dominate tonight.

We run down the card.

Tag Team Titles: ABC vs. The System

The System, with Alisha Edwards, is defending. Austin strikes away at Eddie to start and it’s Bey coming in for a double Japanese armdrag. A Hart Attack (with ABC in pink and black) gets two on Myers but a running knee to the face hits Bey for the same. Alisha gets in some choking from the floor but Bey ducks a double clothesline and brings Austin back in (the fans are REALLY pleased).

Bey is back up with a big running flip dive, only to have Alisha distract Austin so Eddie can send him into the apron. Back in and Eddie’s snap suplex gets two, which causes some frustration to set in. Myers’ reverse chinlock doesn’t last long so Eddie catapults Austin throat first into the middle rope for a nasty impact. Austin fights up and makes the tag….but Myers has the referee for the classic misdirection, meaning no tag. The chinlock goes on for a bit, though Austin is ready for the Roster Cut.

That’s enough for the hot tag off to Bey so house can be quickly cleaned. Eddie is sent outside but Alisha is right there to cut off a dive. They all wind up on the apron, with Bey hitting cutter to set up Austin’s big Fosbury flop. Back in and Bey’s frog splash gets two on Eddie but the 1-2-Sweet is broken up. Myers’ spear gets two on Bey so Austin comes back in for a Magic Killer to Myers for two more. Alisha comes in and accidentally gets caught in the Art Of Finesse, leaving Myers to get caught in the 1-2-Sweet for the pin and the titles at 16:44.

Rating: B. ABC is a heck of a team and they are becoming one of the most decorated teams the company has ever seen. This was treated as a big deal, even if it ends a mostly mediocre run from the System. They were milking those near falls near the end too and I was into it for most of the time. Solid opener here.

Mike Bailey is so serious about winning the X-Division Title that he speaks French.

Jake Something vs. Mike Santana

The fans are way behind Santana here. We start with a fight over a lockup until Santana cranks on a headlock. Something tells him to bring it with the running shoulders before knocking a Thesz press out of the air. Back in and Santana hits a heck of a springboard flip dive to drop Something and a German suplex gets two back inside. Santana’s chinlock doesn’t last long as Something fights up and grabs a slam.

Something stomps away in the corner until Santana scores with a kick to the head. The rolling Buck Fifty connects for Santana and a middle rope dropkick sets up a Cannonball for two. Another Cannonball is pulled out of the air for a sitout powerbomb but Santana runs the corner for a release German superplex (dang that looked nasty). They slug it out with Santana knocking him down, only for Something to tell him to bring it. Spin The Block gives Santana the pin at 11:32.

Rating: B-. Sometimes you just need two strong guys beating each other up until one of them gets the pin. That’s exactly what we got here and it was a nice addition to the card. Santana continues to be someone that TNA is interested in promoting and that is not a bad idea when he is putting in a string of solid work. Something continues to feel like a prospect but after all of these losses, it’s hard to imagine he goes anywhere.

We look at Eric Young pinning Hammerstone on the pre-show.

Young talks about how big of a win that is and says he’ll be watching the World Title match.

We recap the No Quarter Catch Crew invading TNA and the Rascalz getting NXT’s Wes Lee to help them fight back, setting up a six man tag.

Rascalz vs. No Quarter Catch Crew

The Rascalz have Buzz Lightyear style gear and….yeah it’s really not working. Lee’s in particular looks like he is trying to wear the sexy Halloween version of the costume and it’s kind of a disaster. Borne and Miguel start things off with Miguel working on the arm. Dempsey comes in and gets anklescissored by Lee and Wentz adds a Bronco Buster for two. It’s off to Heights for a release German suplex and a gutwrench suplex for two on Wentz.

Back up and Wentz brings in Miguel to send Borne into the corner, meaning Dempsey needs to grab a suplex of his own. One heck of a clothesline gives Heights two and it’s a suplex into the chinlock. Miguel fights up and ducks a clothesline, setting up a needed enziguri. The tag brings in Lee to clean house but the Crew takes his partners own and triple teams Lee.

Dempsey’s dragon suplex connects but Lee breaks it up with a frog splash. Lee hits the big dive and Wentz has to break up a double submission. Back up and Heights gets caught in the Soup Kitchen (Dominator/top rope double stomp combination) and Hot Fire Flame finishes for Wentz at 14:07.

Rating: B-. This was the way the match needed to go as it gives us the feel good moment of the Rascalz not only coming back together but also getting the win. You had to have the villains come in from outside and lose, as there is no reason to have them win. Perfectly nice match here, which was more about the feeling than the wrestling.

We recap PCO challenging AJ Francis for the Digital Media (and unofficial Canadian National Heavyweight Champion) Title. Francis won the title and messed up PCO’s date with Steph de Lander, so it’s time for revenge.

Digital Media Title: PCO vs. AJ Francis

Francis, with Rich Swann and some rappers) is defending and this is a street fight. Before the match, Francis mentions that PCO has been attacked, so here is a casket, which is struck by lighting to let PCO out. The brawl is on to start with Francis getting in some chair shots. PCO shrugs that off and hits a moonsault to the floor, meaning it’s time for a table. That takes too much time so Francis is back with some shots of his own.

A bunch of chairs are thrown in, with Francis putting a trashcan over PCO’s head and then unloading on him with a chair. A legdrop onto the trashcan gives Francis two but PCO fights back with a clothesline. PCO goes up top but gets pulled back down with an electric chair onto the chairs. That’s shrugged off as well, as PCO sends him through the tables at ringside.

Josh Bishop (of Francis’ entourage) is up with some chair shots and a toss Razor’s Edge onto some open chairs (GEEZ). Sami Callihan comes in for a failed save attempt but Rhino comes in for the save and the Gore to Swann. PCO is back up to drop Francis and the PCOsault gets two. Francis hits a Tombstone with the Undertaker cover for two but PCO chokeslams him onto the chairs. Another PCOsault gives PCO the pin and the title at 13:50.

Rating: C+. You can pretty much chalk this one up to an obvious result, as there was no reason to believe that a local legend was going to lose in his kind of match against a loudmouth heel. This was tailor made for PCO to win in a feel good moment and that is exactly what we were given.

Post match here is Steph de Lander….who proposes to PCO, who accepts. Well that escalated quickly.

We recap Jordynne Grace defending the Knockouts Title against Ash By Elegance. Ash says she deserves the title and cost Grace the NXT Women’s Title. Grace wants revenge.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Ash By Elegance

Ash, with her Personal Concierge, is challenging and flips out of some early suplex attempts. Grace chops her down and hits a spinebuster for an early two as we see a lurking Rosemary. The interfering Concierge is ejected so Rosemary whips out a knife to chase him off. Ash uses the distraction to get in a cheap shot and take over with some shots to the back. A sleeper is broken up with a drop down, setting up some not so snappy powerslams.

Grace’s MuscleBuster gets two but Ash is back with a running tornado DDT for the same. They go up top, where Grace grabs a superplex and rolls into a Jackhammer for two. With nothing else working, Grace just tackles her and hammers away. Ash comes back with a Canadian Destroyer of all things but Rarefied Air hits raised knees. Back up and a quick Sliced Bread gives Ash two so she hammers on the back again. Grace pulls her into a quickly broken sleeper and then reverses a kick to the face into the Juggernaut Driver to retain at 12:09.

Rating: B-. I thought they might change the title here as Ash had been pushed fairly strong coming into this. That being said, Grace has been presented as the biggest star in the division in a long time so this is only so surprising. The division has some depth to give Grace some trouble and that might make for some interesting results. For now though, good match, with Ash holding her own.

We recap Mustafa Ali defending the X-Division Title against Mike Bailey, another hometown boy. Bailey was granted a title shot but Ali took it back before attacking Bailey’s partner Trent Seven. Now it’s about revenge and the title.

X-Division Title: Mustafa Ali vs. Mike Bailey

Ali, with Campaign Singh, is defending and they fight over a headlock to start. Ali snaps off a running hurricanrana for two but Bailey kicks him down. The threat of the Tornado Kick sends Ali out to the apron and a quick shot has Bailey in early trouble. Bailey is right back to knock him to the floor for the middle rope moonsault, with the fans greatly approving. The Secret Service offers a distraction though, allowing Ali to come back with a middle rope tornado DDT.

Back in and Ali’s rolling neckbreaker gets two, setting up the chinlock to slow things down. A spinning Downward Spiral gives Ali two and he is already looking frustrated. Back up and Bailey hits a Falcon Arrow into a shooting star press for two of his own. The moonsault knees only hit apron so Ali hits a hard superkick. They both go up, where Bailey manages a super Spanish Fly onto the Secret Service/Singh for the big knockdown.

Back in and they trade rollups for two each (Ali’s cheating doesn’t help) so Bailey knocks him down. The Ultimate Weapon is knocked out of the air though and a Cheeky Nandos dropkick rocks Bailey again. Bailey scores with another kick into the Ultimate Weapon for the pin…but Ali’s foot was on the rope. The referee accidentally gets kicked down so the Secret Service and Singh come in to lay Bailey out.

Cue Trent Seven to break up the cover and take out Ali’s crew. Ali gets in a cheap shot though….and Earl Hebner comes in to referee. Ali grabs a Sharpshooter and Hebner teases calling for the bell but can’t do it. The frustrated Ali gets a chair, only to have Bailey kick it away. The Sharpshooter gives Bailey the title back at 20:24.

Rating: B. This was more or less the amped up version of PCO’s win with the more important title. Ali had held the title for a long time and Bailey had to put in the work to get there. That being said, naturally we just had to do the Montreal Screwjob stuff because nothing else has ever happened in the history of wrestling in this city.

the Personal Concierge yells at Santino Marella about what happened. Hammerstone comes in to yell as well and the Concierge seems interested.

We recap Moose defending the World Title in a six way and qualifying matches ensued. There isn’t much more to it than that, but Joe Hendry is the hottest thing in the world and has his shot here.

TNA World Title: Moose vs. Nic Nemeth vs. Steve Maclin vs. Joe Hendry vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Josh Alexander

Moose is defending and this is elimination rules. Moose tries to get the early alliance with Kazarian, who bails to the floor…and then comes back in to stomp on Moose in the corner. Kazarian is sent outside as well and the other four pair off to start fast. Hendry throws Nemeth onto Moose and follows him to the floor, leaving us with Alexander, Kazarian and Maclin inside for a weird three way.

Kazarian gets beaten into the corner before Alexander and Maclin can fight again, as is their custom. Alexander starts snapping off the German suplexes to just about everyone, including the rolling editions to Maclin for two. A double German suplex sends Maclin and Kazarian flying but Moose is back in to take over. Nemeth cuts that off and drops the ten elbows but Moose rolls outside, meaning it’s a jumping elbow to hit him as well.

Back in and Kazarian gets to hit some slingshot cutters for two on Moose, leaving everyone down. Hendry comes back in but Maclin is right there to send people outside, setting up the series of Scuds. Back in and Maclin loads up the KIA on Kazarian, only to get speared by Moose for the pin and the elimination at 10:43.

The fans sing Maclin off so he flips them off on his way out. Moose release Rock Bottoms Kazarian, powerbombs Hendry and Buckle Bombs Nemeth. Another powerbomb gets two on Alexander and another powerbomb onto the apron hits Kazarian. Hendry jumps Moose though and Alexander hits the crossbody on the apron to put everyone on the floor. They all fight up to the stage, where Moose has to backdrop his way out of a C4 Spike attempt.

Nemeth escapes the Fade To Black as well and superkicks Kazarian off the stage and through a table. Most of them go back to ringside, where Moose chokeslams Nemeth onto Alexander. Hendry comes up behind him though and cutters Moose for two. The fall away slams hit everyone else around and Hendry is rolling. Moose spears Alexander and Nemeth but Hendry reverses into a backslide. Back up and Moose kicks Hendry in the face but gets dropped with a hard clothesline. The Standing Ovation finishes Moose for the elimination at 21:37 and the fans believe that much more.

Then Alexander kicks Hendry low and hits him with the C4 Spike for the elimination at 22:51 and the fans are GONE. Alexander sits on Hendry and slaps him a bunch before going after the referee. Nemeth breaks that up but gets caught with a powerbomb backbreaker for his efforts. Alexander hammers him own and poses a lot before going after Nemeth’s bad shoulder. That’s broken up though and Nemeth grabs a running DDT for a needed breather. Another C4 Spike is escaped and Nemeth hits a superkick to get rid of Alexander at 28:44.

We’re down to Nemeth vs. Kazarian, the latter of whom hasn’t been seen since going through the table. Kazarian comes back in with a Fade To Black for two, followed by the chickenwing. That’s broken up and Nemeth hits a superkick for two more. A Backstabber rocks Nemeth but he’s right back with a superkick into the Danger Zone for the pin and the title at 30:51.

Rating: B. It was an action packed match and I got into it, but the ending didn’t have much in the way of drama. The bigger problem here though is the fact that it isn’t Hendry winning. Nemeth winning isn’t a bad way to go, but ultimately this is likely to be seen as the latest instance of the hot homegrown star being passed over in exchange for the older former WWE star. It’s still a good match and Hendry could win the title (I’ll give him until the end of Bound For Glory) but there are going to be some annoyed fans and they might have a good point.

Ryan Nemeth and a bunch of champions come out to celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The show was good with nothing overly bad and some nice moments, but it didn’t have that one big match or moment to carry it to the next level. It felt like the end of the System’s dominance and that’s a big step, but the next round of feuds should be interested. I was expecting a pretty awesome show and only got a good one. That’s not a terrible way to go, but they need to follow up on this rather well.

Results
Tasha Steelz b. Faby Apache, Gisele Shaw and Xia Brookside – Running knee to Brookside
Kushida b. Rich Swann – Hoverboard Lock
Alisha Edwards/Masha Slamovich b. Spitfire – Steiner Bulldog to Threat
Eric Young b. Hammerstone – Rollup
Matt Hardy b. JDC – Middle rope Twist Of Fate
ABC b. The System – 1-2-Sweet to Myers
Mike Santana b. Jake Something – Spin The Block
Rascalz b. No Quarter Catch Crew – Hot Fire Flame to Heights
PCO b. AJ Francis – PCOsault
Jordynne Grace b. Ash By Elegance – Juggernaut Driver
Mike Bailey b. Mustafa Ali – Sharpshooter
Nic Nemeth b. Moose, Frankie Kazarian, Josh Alexander, Steve Maclin and Joe Hendry – Danger Zone to Kazarian

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 11, 2024
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Mathew Rehwoldt

We have two shows left before Slammiversary and as of last week, the main event is set with all five challengers ready to come after Moose’s TNA World Title. The rest of the show is mostly set as well but we can probably get some more things set up this week. That could also include more from NXT’s Charlie Dempsey, who invaded the show last week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

We pick things up from last week, with Frankie Kazarian revealing that he attacked Nic Nemeth but seeing someone filming him. That someone is Ryan Nemeth, who distracts Kazarian so Nic can jump him.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. ???

Grace is defending in an open challenge against….NXT’s Izzi Dame. The bell rings but here is Ash By Elegance’s personal concierge to say that Ash will be watching via satellite from an undisclosed beach. We get a quick shot of Ash on said beach as Dame grabs a waistlock but gets backed into the corner. The much bigger Dame’s right hand gets blocked and Grace muscles her up with a suplex.

A gutwrench faceplant sends Dame outside but the concierge has to be chased….into Rosemary, who is sitting in the crowd. Dame uses the distraction to get in a neck snap across the top and a Falcon Arrow out of the corner gets two. Grace blocks a powerbomb attempt and takes her into the corner for some hard forearms. The Juggernaut Driver is blocked though, meaning they slug it out from their knees. Grace Death Valley Drivers her, setting up the Juggernaut Driver to retain at 8:34.

Rating: C+. That’s what this kind of match needed to be, as Grace gets to beat someone from the other promotion. While Dame might not be the biggest name in NXT, it is better than beating another lower level TNA star. This crossover has made Grace look like an even bigger star, which should help when she likely heads to WWE early next year.

Santino Marella announces a wild card tag match for tonight, with the teams being drawn at random. That gives us a main event of Josh Alexander/Joe Hendry vs. Steve Maclin/Moose.

Charlie Dempsey vs. Zachary Wentz

Trey Miguel is in Wentz’s corner as they grapple to start. Wentz takes him down for a basement dropkick, only for Dempsey to pull him down by the arm. Dempsey cranks on the arm before having to block Wentz’s kick. That earns Wentz a dragon screw legwhip but he’s back up with a handspring knee to the face. A German suplex sends Dempsey into the corner and a running shooting star gets two. Cue Dempsey’s teammate Myles Borne to jump Miguel for a distraction though, allowing Dempsey to grab a dragon suplex for the pin at 4:46.

Rating: C+. They’re doing a good job of keeping the invasion/crossover stuff to the lower levels of the show and that is a smart idea. The Rascalz are a big enough team that it means something when NXT comes in to mess with them, though the addition of Wes Lee as a bridge between the two companies could make for a good blowoff at Slammiversary. For now though, nice enough here, even with the limited time.

Post match Dempsey and Borne lay out Wentz and Miguel.

The System is ready for the Hardys to be back next week.

The No Quarter Catch Crew (Charlie Dempsey/Myles Borne/Tavion Heights) are ready to dominate. Santino Marella comes in to say they’re in a six man next week, but we’ll have to see who will team with the Rascalz. Given that we saw a video of them reuniting with Wes Lee before the match, this might not be the biggest mystery.

Kushida vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. Mike Bailey

For a future X-Division Title shot. They all go for a rollup to start until Bailey takes over. Gresham and Kushida are sent outside for a moonsault from Bailey and the running shooting star press gets two on Gresham back inside. We take a break and come back with Bailey grabbing the ropes to get out of Gresham’s Figure Four. Kushida is back up to kick away at Bailey, setting up a cartwheel dropkick.

Gresham blocks the Hoverboard Lock before Bailey and Kushida kick it out. The Tornado Kick is blocked in the corner and Kushida dives onto Gresham on the floor. Bailey goes up but gets crotched by Gresham, who can’t use the ink on Kushida. Instead it’s green mist to Gresham, allowing Bailey to hit the Ultimate Weapon for the pin and the title shot at 8:25.

Rating: B-. Commentary played up the idea that Bailey wasn’t just being handed a title shot and had to earn it. I rather like that, as there is little reason for bailey to have gotten the title shot other than he and Mustafa Ali are having issues. It gives things a bit more realism and didn’t take too long, even if there was little doubt about how this would ind up.

Post match Mustafa Ali and company run in to beat down Bailey but Trent Seven cuts off a big chair shot. Seven gets wrecked for his efforts, with Ali putting him in the Sharpshooter.

Steph de Lander is sitting on the beach and upset over how things have been going with PCO. She has to tie up some strings in Australia but hopes PCO will wait or him.

Slammiversary rundown.

Digital Media Title: Rhino vs. AJ Francis

Francis, with Rich Swann, is defending and mocks the Philadelphia Phillies, meaning it’s a jump start by Rhino and an ECW chant. Swann comes in for the DQ at 43 seconds.

Post match Santino Marella says he doesn’t think so, meaning it’s time to restart this as a street fight.

Digital Media Title: AJ Francis vs. Rhino

Francis is defending in a street fight so they head outside with Francis hitting him in the back with something made of metal. Rhino fights back and sends the table in That takes too long though and Francis hits him low for the pin to retain at 1:38. Other than ticking off the fans, I’m not sure if I see the point in this entire thing.

Post match PCO comes in but misses a dive, allowing Francis to plant him on the ramp.

Tasha Steelz vs. Gisele Shaw

Steelz jumps her before the bell and sends her back first into the apron a few times. They get inside for the opening bell and Steelz grabs an early chinlock. Shaw is back up with some rollups for two each before they forearm it out. Shock And Awe (the Lethal Combination) gives Shaw two and she grabs a scoop powerslam for two more. Shaw’s running knee finishes at 4:17.

Rating: C. It’s good to have Shaw back and she is feeling more like a star. While this is probably leading to some kind of match involving Gail Kim, I could absolutely see Shaw getting back into the title picture off of this whole thing. That being said, none of that matters if she doesn’t actually win the title at some point, as she has come so close multiple times now.

Xia Brookside wants Alisha Edwards and knows that Steph de Lander will be back.

JDC vs. Chris Bey

Ace Austin is here with Bey. They start fast with Bey sending him to the floor, setting up the big running flip dive. Back in and Bey kicks him down for two, only to miss a charge and fall out to the floor. Cue the System as Bey starts the comeback and hits a running clothesline in the corner. A neckbreaker out of said corner brings the System outside to fight with Bey and Austin. The distraction lets JDC hit a quick Down And Dirty for the pin at 5:03.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to get very far and was more about having the System screw over part of the ABC before their likely title match at Slammiversary. JDC is still good for a match like this and giving him a win keeps him looking strong as he is now part of the System. Not much of the match, but it did what it needed to do.

Video on the Hardys in TNA. They’re ready to take the Tag Team Titles next week.

Joe Hendry/Josh Alexander vs. Steve Maclin/Moose

Before the match, Hendry talks about how he’s against Dancing Moose and Maclin, who wants to tag em and bag em. After tonight, he’ll only be bagging Hendry’s groceries because the people believe. Hold on though as here is Frankie Kazarian to join commentary. Alexander and Maclin start things off as Kazarian talks about how it is time for him to do things for himself.

The KIA and C4 Spike are both escaped to start so Alexander grabs an armdrag into an armbar. Moose comes in for a slam and wants Hendry, who comes in to hammer away in the corner. Everything breaks down and Alexander suplexes Maclin, followed by Hendry doing the same to Moose (with an assist from some believers). Alexander comes back in to send Maclin into the corner but Moose beaks up the running crossbody.

Maclin’s elbow to the face gets two as commentary is not pleased with a lot of Kazarian’s bragging. Alexander manages to low bridge Moose to the floor but gets tied in the Tree of Woe. A middle rope hurricanrana gets Alexander out of trouble though and it’s off to Hendry to clean house. Hendry grabs a cutter on Maclin and a powerbomb to Moose but Maclin slips out of the Standing Ovation. Alexander comes back in to roll some German suplexes and everything breaks down. A hard clothesline drops Moose but Kazarian offers a distraction to Hendry. The spear and KIA finish Alexander at 12:20.

Rating: B-. This was a bit of a random match but that’s kind of the point of the six way. The title match is going to be all about the chaos and everyone fighting everyone so throwing some random pairings out there is interesting. The villains get to stand strong on the way there, but the title match is all about whether Hendry can win the title and there is no hiding that right now.

Overall Rating: B-. This show did a nice job of building on matches and stories that were already set for Slammiversary and that is not a bad thing. The show is in less than a month and while most of the card is set, you can occasionally use a fine tuning show like this one. It helps get ans more invested in the show and they did that rather nicely again this week. Not a great show, but one they needed to do.

Results
Jordynne Grace b. Izzi Dame – Juggernaut Driver
Charlie Dempsey b. Zachary Wentz – Dragon suplex
Mike Bailey b. Jonathan Gresham and Kushida – Ultimate Weapon to Gresham
Rhino b. AJ Francis via DQ when Rich Swann interfered
AJ Francis b. Rhino – Low blow
Gisele Shaw b. Tasha Steelz – Running knee
JDC b. Chris Bey – Down And Dirty
Moose/Steve Maclin b. Josh Alexander/Joe Hendry – KIA to Alexander

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 4, 2024
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We are just over two weeks away from Slammiversary and the World Title match is rapidly coming together. Most of the five challengers are set and that means we should be able to finish the lineup this week. Other than that, PCO is still chasing revenge on First Class and we might see more from that here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Trey Miguel vs. Leon Slater

Zachary Wentz is here with Miguel. They fight over wrist control to start with neither being able to get anywhere. Miguel takes him down by the arm but Slater is right back up with a kick to the face. The handspring elbow puts Miguel down and Slater sends him to the floor for the slingshot dive. Back in and Miguel hits a running dropkick in the corner for two, with Wentz getting in a choke on the ropes.

A Lionsault misses though and Slater kicks him in the face for two more. They forearm it out until Slater hits a running swinging cutter (that was cool) for another near fall. Back up and Miguel kicks him in the face, only to get caught with a Blue Thunder Bomb. The Swanton 450 is loaded up but cue NXT’s Charlie Dempsey to jump Slater for the DQ at 6:55.

Rating: B-. This was a match that was designed to be all about the interference ending but they happened to have a good match on the way there. Slater isn’t someone who is reinventing the wheel but he does well with the things he is doing. Miguel is someone who has been around long enough that it means something to be in there with him, making this a nice match to set up a cool ending.

Post match Dempsey beats up all three of them, including the weird STF on Slater.

Broken Matt and Rebecca Hardy are ready for the System. Rebecca speaking normally and Matt being Broken is a weird way to go.

The Rascalz want to fight Charlie Dempsey so they’re ready for next week.

Dani Luna vs. Jody Threat

This is a ten minute challenge match. Luna powers her into the corner to start and we get a clean break. They fight over a headlock with neither being able to get very far so Threat switches to a wristlock. That means another standoff as they’re firmly in first gear to start. We cut to the back where Nic Nemeth has been attacked and come back to both of them grabbing the ropes to avoid a collision.

Threat avoids a charge in the corner and clotheslines away but Luna snaps off a belly to belly as the pace picks up a bit. Threat works on an armbar on the mat before hitting a pump kick for two. Luna knocks her to the apron and they fight over a suplex until Threat sends her outside. A clothesline puts Luna back inside, where Luna superplexes her into a Falcon Arrow for the time limit draw at…9:02?

Rating: C+. This took its time to get going before they started to cook, which was kind of the point. This wasn’t about two people who were mad at each other but rather a glorified getting to know you situation. At the same time, this still only feels so interesting as the team still doesn’t have much of a history but is still doing all kinds of stuff like this. Nice enough match, but it feels like a piece of a much longer story.

They want five more minutes so let’s keep it going. And then Alisha Edwards and Masha Slamovich run in for the no contest at 7 seconds.

Mustafa Ali tries to retract his challenge for the X-Division Title from last week because Mike Bailey hasn’t earned a shot. Marella says he has a point, so Bailey has to win a #1 contenders match next week.

Mike Santana and Frankie Kazarian are ready for their chance to make it to the World Title match at Slammiversary.

Road To Slammiversary Qualifying Match: Frankie Kazarian vs. Mike Santana

Santana sends him into the corner to start and hits a nice crossbody. Kazarian hits his Fameasser in the ropes to send Santana outside and we take a break. Back with Kazarian hitting a hard clothesline but getting caught with a Death Valley Driver for two. The big Cannonball connects in the corner but Kazarian cuts off the dive.

The slingshot DDT gets two on Santana and the springboard spinning legdrop gets two. Fade To Black and Spin The Block are both blocked so Kazarian hits a Backstabber into the chickenwing. That’s broken up as well and Santana grabs the Buck Fifty for two of his own. Cue JDC for a distraction, only to have Santana hit a big flip dive onto Kazarian. The distraction lets JDC post Santana though and Kazarian wins by countout at 10:06.

Rating: B-. That’s about as good of a way to protect Santana as they have and it is good to see said protection taking place. Santana is someone who has done well since his return to the company but Kazarian is the better option at the moment. Kazarian is one of the most established stars in TNA and it makes sense to put him in the World Title match, especially in a way like this.

The ABC wants their Tag Team Titles back and have their shot against the System at Slammiversary.

We look at First Class messing with PCO and Steph de Lander.

PCO shocks de Lander back to life.

First Class brags about their success, with AJ Francis saying he’ll defend his titles anywhere anytime. Santino Marella comes in to say the Digital Media Title is on the line next week, but win lose or draw, it’s Francis vs. PCO at Slammiversary.

The System vs. Matt Hardy/Rebecca Hardy

That would be Eddie Edwards/Alisha Edwards for the System, with Brian Myers in their corner. Rebecca chases Alisha on the floor to start but it’s the men getting things going in the ring. Eddie gets driven into the corner and stomped down by both Hardys. The strike off goes to Matt, who misses a charge and goes shoulder first into the post as we take a break.

Back with Eddie being rammed into Alisha, allowing the tag to Rebecca to pick up the pace. Rebecca tackles Alisha as everything breaks down. Something like Poetry In Motion hits Eddie but a cheap shot cuts Rebecca off. Matt gets clotheslined on the floor, leaving Rebecca to get choked in the corner.

Rebecca fights up and avoids a charge, allowing the tag off to Matt as the fans…don’t seem to respond. The Side Effect gets two on Eddie so Myers interferes, earning himself an ejection. Eddie’s Blue Thunder Bomb gets two but Rebecca gets in the way of the Boston Knee Party. Rebecca kicks Eddie low and a pair of Twists of Fate finish at 11:36.

Rating: C. This was Rebecca’s big return to the ring and it kind of showed why she isn’t overly remembered for her in-ring work. She’s passable enough but there is nothing that makes me want to see her get back in the ring. Then again that is the case with a lot of the Broken stuff, but the Hardys are going to get the focus no matter what they are doing around here.

In the back, Brian Myers and JDC yell at Santino Marella, with the ABC coming in to mock them. Marella makes the tag match for next week.

Jordynne Grace doesn’t like Ash By Elegance being on vacation and issues another open challenge to anyone from any promotion for next week.

Joe Hendry and Jake Something are ready for the Road To Slammiversary.

Road To Slammiversary: Jake Something vs. Joe Hendry

Before the match, Hendry asks about Something asking questions after he hits a move. After his usual spiel, we’re ready to go with an exchange of headlocks to get things going. Hendry manages a delayed suplex for two as the fans are way behind him, as you might have expected. Back up and Something hits a quick headbutt to take over and they head outside, with Hendry being sat on the apron for a running crossbody. They get back inside with Something hitting a hard clothesline for two as we take a break.

Back with Hendry fighting out of a chinlock and striking away in the corner. Something plants him right back down with a Michinoku Driver for two and things slow back down. The chinlock goes on again but Hendry fights up (also again) and clotheslines him to the floor. Something misses a charge and hits the ropes before they go back in, with the fans behind Hendry.

Something charges into the fall away slam but the Standing Ovation is countered into a Batista Bomb to give Something two. Into The Void is countered so Something runs him over, only for Hendry to pop up for a double knockdown. They slug it out until Hendry hits an RKO into the Standing Ovation for the pin at 15:04.

Rating: B-. Hendry continues to be the big hope for the company and that means he has to be in the World Title picture going forward. I don’t think he needs to win the title at Slammiversary, but this is a big step in the right direction. The key thing is the fans are that into him and TNA seems to understand that concept.

Post match Hendry says he is one step closer and thanks the fans for helping him get here.

The System goes to leave with Moose praising JDC for taking out Mike Santana and Nic Nemeth. JDC says he didn’t do anything to Nemeth, leaving the System confused as they pull away. We see Frankie Kazarian smoking a cigar and calling them marks, then asking a cameraman (not the one holding the camera we’re watching from) why he’s filming to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was more about finalizing the prep for Slammiversary, as you could probably guess most of the card coming in. There is nothing wrong with that and they did a nice enough job setting things up for the event. The pieces are in place for Slammiversary to be good, but as usual, the execution is what matters. Just get us to Montreal and everything should work out well enough.

Results
Trey Miguel b. Leon Slater via DQ when Charlie Dempsey interfered
Dani Luna vs. Jody Threat went to a no contest when Masha Slamovich and Alisha Edwards interfered
Frankie Kazarian b. Mike Santana via countout
Matt Hardy/Rebecca Hardy b. The System – Twist of Fate to Eddie
Joe Hendry b. Jake Something – Standing Ovation

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 20, 2024
Location: Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re done with Against All Odds and on the way to Slammiversary, which very well may see the returning Jeff Hardy in the World Title picture. Jeff came back at the end of Against All Odds to save his brother Matt from the System. In addition, Joe Hendry showed up on NXT and looked like the biggest star ever so he is likely going to be treated like a huge deal as he continues his feud with Frankie Kazarian. Let’s get to it.

Here is Against All Odds if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of the bigger Against All Odds matches.

Here is the System, now with Dirty Dango, to get things going, with the fans really not thinking much of Alisha Edwards. Eddie Edwards brags about the team retaining all of their titles and Brian Myers calls the team the greatest faction in wrestling history. Myers introduces Johnny “Dango” Curtis, who talks about how he has spent three months being overlooked and under appreciated.

It makes you wonder if you can still do this thing that you love and yes he absolutely can. He is one one of the best in the ring and on the microphone and everyone knows it. Dango talks about how he has known these people for years and he will stand by them forever. He knows that Moose doesn’t trust him, but Dango believes in the System. Moose says the team appreciates what Dango has done, but he’s not part of the team yet. The System, and Moose, are unbeatable and the outcome keeps being the same.

Cue Santino Marella to say Moose’s title reign is impressive, though his attitude is terrible. Santino has an idea though: the Road To Slammiversary, which will be five matches, with the winners challenging Moose in a six way elimination match for the World Title. It starts tonight, so pay attention. Well that’s certainly different, but dang it could be a mess.

The ABC brags about their win over Eric Young and Josh Alexander so it’s time for one more big win before they get their Tag Team Titles back.

Frankie Kazarian left NXT and blamed Joe Hendry for him not winning the #1 contenders battle royal and going on to win the NXT Title.

Spitfire vs. The Hex

Belle pounds Threat back into the corner to start but gets suplexed out of the corner for her efforts. Luna comes in for a front facelock and a double suplex gets two on Kay. Belle gets in a distraction from the apron though and Kay hits a boot to the face for two of her own. Running knees in the corner get two on Threat but she kicks her way to freedom. It’s back to Luna to pick the pace up again and Threat adds a top rope Molly Go Round to take the Hex down. The assisted Alabama Slam finishes Belle at 5:59.

Rating: C. The Hex still feel like a team who could be more valuable than most of the randomly thrown together teams in this division but maybe they don’t want to be around more regularly. For now though, Spitfire’s reheating continues, which thankfully wasn’t another split after a handful of matches together. This division needs some teams to develop long term and maybe that’s what we’re getting with them.

After Against All Odds, Matt Hardy rants about the System causing him to hurt Reby Hardy by mistake. Vengeance is sworn, with Matt promising that the Hardy Family will wreck havoc. Of note, there was very little (if any) of the Broken stuff here.

Alan Angels welcomes Kushida to the Sound Check and we start with a recap of Jonathan Gresham being all weird. Then Kushida stole the ink from Gresham’s mouth, meaning it’s chemistry time in Tokyo (and yes we see Kushida in the lab). Angels asks what is up with that, with Kushida saying he is looking for a cure. Angels doesn’t buy it and gets a match with Kushida next week instead.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Ace Steel

Chicago Street Fight so Steel throws in a trashcan and starts hammering away at the bell. A running clothesline puts Kazarian on the floor and Steele throws the trashcan at his head. Back in and Steel suplexes him onto the trashcan for two but Kazarian gets in a whip over the barricade for a crash out to the floor. The beating continues outside and we take a break.

Back with Kazarian slamming Steele and starting in on the arm. A springboard legdrop onto the arm onto the chair misses though and Steel hammers away with a kendo stick. Steel hits a running dropkick in the corner and a neckbreaker back out of it gets two. Kazarian’s slingshot DDT gets two more but Steel kicks him low. Another quick shot gets Kazarian out of trouble though and Fade To Black onto a pile of chairs finishes Steel at 10:28.

Rating: B-. Perfectly acceptable and at times even good brawl here, though I’m not entirely sure how much demand there was for Steel to get in the ring. He only popped up on TNA TV a few weeks ago and here he is in the ring. Granted it’s hard to get annoyed at what is likely a one off match in front of his hometown crowd, but I’m not sure how much of an impact it made.

Post match Kazarian grabs the chickenwing but Joe Hendry runs in for the save.

Mustafa Ali is annoyed at a leaked video of him talking about how worthless the X-Division Title is. Campaign Singh suggests speaking to the people but Ali has a better idea: he can speak to the people!

It’s time for the first date between Steph de Lander and PCO, which is taking place in the ring because wrestling. Steph even holds the ropes for him but he has to be told to not hit her with a chair. We get some candles lit, with Steph saying it’s nice to be on a date with someone normal for once. Steph tries to make some conversation, with PCO’s shout of YAH apparently meaning he likes the Notebook.

A masked waiter brings in wine, with PCO taking his job and filling the glass almost to the brim. Their meal is some gray noodles, which PCO eats with his hands. She explains the concept of a fork to him but here is First Class to interrupt. AJ Francis insults the wine and the beating is on, with PCO being ziptied to the ropes in the corner. Steph slaps Francis…and gets chokeslammed through the table. Trash talk ensues and I don’t see this ending well.

Ash By Elegance vs. Heather Reckless

Ash tries to throw her outside to start but Reckless holds onto the ropes and grabs a headlock takeover. Back up and Ash decks her with a right hand and hammers away. The chinlock doesn’t last long but Ash gets a boot up in the corner. Reckless catches her on top, only for the Concierge to break up a super C4. Rarefied Air finishes for Ash at 2:42.

Post match Ash loads up a Juggernaut Driver but Jordynne Grace runs in for the save. Grace teases going after the Concierge (the fans don’t seem to approve) and Ash gets in a belt shot to put the champ down.

Post break, Grace wants to hurt Ash.

JDC vs. Ryan Nemeth

That would be Johnny “Dango” Curtis. Nemeth wrestles him down to start and chops away in the corner but JDC breaks up a neckbreaker. JDC chops away and cranks on both arms before firing of some running elbows in the corner. Nemeth is back with a DDT and now the neckbreaker connects, with JDC rolling outside. They get back in but JDC kicks the rope for a low blow and some good old fashioned cheating. Down And Dirty finishes Nemeth at 3:17.

Rating: C. Short and to the point here, but the best thing is that Ryan Nemeth is already seeming like less of a thing. When your whole thing is you’re the miniature version of your brother, you don’t have much of a career. Maybe this is just a bump in the road, but Ryan needs something different to make him stand out or his future is very limited.

Post match the System comes in for the beatdown, with Nic Nemeth making the save.

Here are where various shows will be taking place.

Eric Young and Josh Alexander want to go to the main event of Slammiversary.

Road To Slammiversary: Josh Alexander vs. Eric Young

Feeling out process to start with Alexander working on a wristlock. Young breaks that up and does his flip over the ropes into the slide between the legs. An elbow to the face drops Alexander and we take an early break. Back with Alexander fighting out of a neck crank and hitting a backdrop to start the comeback.

A middle rope knee gives Alexander two and it’s time to roll the German suplexes. Young breaks that up and snaps off a Death Valley Driver but the top rope elbow is broken up. Instead Alexander hits his running crossbody through the ropes, only to miss the moonsault. Now Young’s top rope elbow can connect for two but the piledriver is countered into the ankle lock.

Young breaks that up rather quickly and hits a pop up neckbreaker into the piledriver for two. Alexander reverses a middle rope piledriver (geez) into the ankle lock, which is broken up again. Alexander is right back with a German suplex though and the C4 Spike sends him to Slammiversary at 11:25.

Rating: B. This got some time and it felt like an important match, which helps a lot. Alexander moving on to the main event of a major pay per view is not a bad idea, especially when you need five challengers. I can’t imagine him winning the title again, but he’s the kind of person you put into that spot to give the match some more credibility.

Respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show jumped towards Slammiversary with a fast start and that is one of the best things that could have happened. The qualifying matches for the main event should be a fine way to go to keep the shows going, as TNA tends to do well when it focuses on the wrestling. You also have the pretty obvious Ash vs. Grace Knockouts Title match so the top of the card is set. Good enough show here, mainly due to setting up the next few weeks.

Results
Spitfire b. The Hex – Assisted Alabama Slam to Belle
Frankie Kazarian b. Ace Steel – Fade To Black onto a pile of chairs
Ash By Elegance b. Heather Reckless – Rarefied Air
JDC b. Ryan Nemeth – Down And Dirty
Josh Alexander b. Eric Young – C4 Spike

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Born To Die
Date: April 5, 2024
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentator: Joe Dombrowski

It’s back to the ECW Arena for Battleground Championship Wrestling, a local promotion which doesn’t seem to be the most well received. We’ll actually be looking at a pair of shows from them on the same day, with one of them being a bit different. This is their regular show and I have no idea what to expect here so let’s get to it.

Keep in mind I do not follow this promotion at all so I apologize in advance for anything I miss involving storylines or character information.

Juicy Finau vs. Wrecking Ball Legursky

We’re starting with the hoss fight as the rather large Legursky can’t move the far bigger Finau. Legursky yells at him and they collide a few times to no avail. A crossbody finally sends Legursky out to the floor and they brawl outside, with Legursky being sent into the barricade. Back in and Legursky hits a crossbody for a knockdown of his own, with Finau rolling outside this time.

A chair to the back has Finau in more trouble but he knocks the chair into Legursky’s face for a change. Back in and Legursky splashes him into the corner, setting up a hip attack. Finau isn’t having that and hits one of his own for two, with frustration setting in. Back up and Legursky manages a World’s Strongest Slam for two more but Finau plants him with a Samoan drop. A middle rope moonsault finishes Legursky at 10:34.

Rating: C+. This one is going to depend on how you feel about hoss fights so it was only going to be so strong in the first place. Finau is a huge guy and some of the things he can do are impressive but I’ve never gotten the big appeal out of him. I’ve liked the things I’ve seen from Legursky over the years, though a lot of that might be due to having an awesome name.

Lance Anoa’i vs. Rich Swann

For a shot at the Battleground Championship Wrestling Title. Anoa’i is billed as representing the Bloodline (son of Samu, cousin of just about everyone else) and has a nice look. The fans however seem to prefer Swann, as dancing often gets positive reactions. Anoa’i shoves him down without much trouble to start but the alternating hands on a test of strength attempt sets off the dancing.

That just earns Swann a rather hard Samoan drop and they head outside, with Swann whipping him into the barricade for a needed breather. A whole lap around the ring sets up a running boot to Anoa’i face but a second takes too long, meaning Swann gets dropped. Back in and Swann fights out of a nerve hold but gets dropped hard on his back for his efforts. Swann is fine enough to hit a clothesline into a frog splash for two but Anoa’i superkicks his head off. The Superfly Splash finishes Swann off at 7:35.

Rating: C+. I don’t remember seeing Anoa’i before but beating a fairly big name like Swann is a good sign for his future. Granted being part of the Anoa’i Family helps and he had a solid look and some size. I could see him going somewhere someday, as he’s only 32 years old and looked fine enough in there. Swann still feels like someone who was on the verge of being a bigger start and then just stopped moving up the ladder for some reason. Maybe it’s being such a long time TNA star, but he should be better than what he is at the moment.

Sex With Your Next Ex Express vs. Nu Backseat Boys

That would be Alvin/Kristian Ross/Philadelphia Playboy vs. Johnny Kashmere/JP Grayson/Tommy Grayson. Joel Gertner is with the former team, and if they win, they all get one year contracts. If they lose though, they’re completely out of the promotion. Gertner, looking rather old and depressed, actually doesn’t say anything before the match. The Express jumps them to start but get knocked away with the Boys firing off the kicks to the rather large Alvin. Kashmere tries to slam Ross but gets clipped and pinned 1:56.

Gertner announces the winners and says it didn’t have to be this way. He didn’t need to come here for the low money he’s receiving….but he paid off the referee to win here. Gertner talks about how people he cares about are going into various Halls of Fame and now HE is going into the Intergalactic Hall Of Fame Of Life!

Crowbar vs. Facade

Crowbar (yes the WCW guy) has a large bodyguard named Percival and a masked woman named Vanessa who come to the ring for him. Facade on the other hand is in rather bright colors and is billed as the Neon Ninja. Crowbar hides in the corner to start before getting caught in an early headlock. That’s broken up and we have a standoff as commentary talks about the various shows that have taken place in this venue.

Back up and Crowbar chops away in the corner, only for Facade to show him a better version. Some springboards into a dropkick put Crowbar on the floor but he’s right back in, where Facade drops him with a suplex. Crowbar heads outside again but this time Percival press slams Facade onto the barricade. Facade gets dropped onto a chair to make it worse and they head back inside for some near falls.

A running crotch attack against the ropes rocks Facade again and a legdrop gives Crowbar two more. Ye olde chinlock doesn’t last long but Crowbar pulls him out of the corner for another near fall. A Swanton misses for Crowbar though and Facade hits a running kick to the chest for a breather. The kick works so well that Facade can hit a springboard spinning version to the face for two more.

With that kind of exhausted, Facade whips out a door and bridges it on the timekeeper’s table at ringside. A springboard off the barricade doesn’t work as Facade slips, allowing Crowbar to hit a chokebomb for two back inside. There’s a super hurricanrana into a northern lights suplex onto a chair for two on Facade. Back up and Facade puts him down, setting up a triple jump twisting moonsault for two.

Percival tries to interrupt but gets kicked in the head, which is enough for Crowbar to leave. That doesn’t work for Facade, who hits a big springboard flip dive and then sends Crowbar through the door. Back in and Crowbar grabs a chair, which is kicked into his face for two with Vanessa pulling the referee at two. Percival gets involved again, this time catching Facade on top, allowing Crowbar to grab a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 19:05.

Rating: C+. Well that was….long. I’m not sure if they needed to go on for nearly twenty minutes but I was kind of stunned that it ran as long as it did. Facade is quite good at the high flying stuff and I’m not sure I would have recognized Crowbar if commentary hadn’t pointed it out. The fact that he’s still going is impressive enough and the match wasn’t bad, but they probably could have cut about five minutes out to make it a good bit better.

Post match Facade goes after Vanessa but Crowbar says he shouldn’t do that because he’s a babyface. Crowbar wants to sit down and talk with Facade in the back and tries to get a NEON NINJA chant started. Facade isn’t sure and leaves on his own.

VSK vs. La Estrella

They fight over wrist control to start until VSK grabs a headscissors into a dropkick. Estrella is right back up with a hand walk into a headscissors of his own, with VSK being sent outside. Back in and VSK sends him outside, with a dropkick through the ropes sending Estrella flying up the aisle in a nice visual. They get back inside again and VSK catapults him to the floor as you might be noticing a pattern emerging here.

Back in again and Estrella sends him to the floor this time (ok we get it), setting up a springboard dive to drop VSK again. Estrella grabs a spinning DDT for two back inside but gets crotched on top. VSK’s Cradle Shock gets two but Estrella is back with a springboard headbutt for two. Not that it matters as VSK is grabs a sunset driver for the pin at 8:11.

Rating: C. They were doing well enough, though the constant trips to the floor hurt it a good bit. I shouldn’t be rolling my eyes and saying “again?” about five minutes into a match. VSK is someone who has popped up in a few different promotions now and has done well enough, though I’m not sure how far he could realistically expect to go. Not a bad match, but it felt like they weren’t sure what they were doing to start.

Tim Embler, the owner of the company, is here for a chat. First up, he brings up the Joel Gertner situation, which he will address at the next show. That will be on July 6, when there will be three events in one day. The day will include an all women’s show called Who Runs The World, a meet and greet with Jim Ross, and then a show called United We Stand. As for Gertner and company, they will be facing three ECW Originals, as managed by Tod Gordon and Bill Alfonso.

Also on that show, James Storm and Fuego del Sol, but more importantly, we have the debut of the Battleground Street Fight Championship. That title will be available to anyone who has spilled blood in this building for any promotion. There will be a tournament held, with Necro Butcher as the first name announced, but cue Drake Younger (as in the former WWE referee who had some….interesting thoughts on various issues) to interrupt. He talks about what he has done in this building and wants in on the title. Works for Embler.

Intermission, which is thankfully edited out of the streaming version.

Fallah Bahh/Beastman vs. Brian Myers/Swoggle

Beastman is from deepest, darkest West Virginia and Myers has his TNA Tag Team Title. Myers and Bahh (who weighs about 400lbs) start things off but Swoggle wants in instead. A bite to the back of the tights doesn’t do much to Bahh, who knocks Swoggle down and then rolls over him to make it worse. Myers, thinking Swoggle is a bit destroyed, comes in to drag him over to the corner for a tag.

Beastman comes in as well and it’s a double elbow to put Myers down, leaving Beastman (probably pushing 400lb himself) to do something of a Worm. A trip to the floor goes well for Myers, as he grabs an implant DDT for two on Beastman back inside. Swoggle comes in and rakes Beastman’s eyes for two before telling Myers to give him a boot. A bite to the back drives Beastman into said boot, with Myers telling Swoggle to give him a boot this time well.

That earns Myers a toss into the corner, meaning Bahh can come back in to clean house. A big legdrop gets two on Myers, who charges into a swinging Boss Man Slam from Beastman. Everything breaks down and Beastman misses a charge out to the corner. A low blow staggers Bahh and it’s a Roster Cut (running clothesline) into a Shining Wizard from Swoggle to pin Bahh at 8:05.

Rating: C. I’m thinking we can write this one off as “goofy fun” and that isn’t a bad thing. It was the freak show aspect with the small Hornswoggle, the two giant opponents, and Myers as the one in the middle. That worked out well enough, with Swoggle being incredibly talented and far better than what he is often expected to be given his size.

PCO vs. Matt Riddle

This is billed as a three way dance before the ring announcer corrects himself (as Jacob Fatu was originally advertised but apparently signed with WWE around this time). Riddle tries some grappling to start and gets nowhere so he strikes away instead. An overhead suplex sets up the Broton for two but PCO catches him with a superplex for two.

Riddle hits his own suplex, setting up the Floating Bro for two more. PCO isn’t having that and knocks him outside for the big suicide dive. Back in and a guillotine legdrop gets two on Riddle, followed by a chokeslam. The PCOsault misses but PCO is right back with a Codebreaker out of the corner for two. Riddle pops back up and strikes away, setting up an RKO for the pin at 5:26.

Rating: C. This was fun while it lasted but the match barely going five minutes is rather disappointing. These are the two biggest names on the show and they were barely out there for very long. I was interested in seeing these two have a match I hadn’t seen before and while they did, I was hoping for a lot more.

Women’s Title: Dani Mo vs. Miranda Gordy

Mo is defending and they fight over wrist control to start. With that going nowhere, Mo grabs a headlock takeover and then armdrags her out to the floor. A dropkick through the ropes staggers Gordy, who sends her into the barricade a few times. Gordy clotheslines her over the barricade and rams her into various things, only to be sent into some chairs.

They head back inside where Gordy hits a running corner splash for two, leaving her with a smile for some reason. Mo strikes away and hits a running dropkick for two, followed by a basement Downward Spiral. Gordy suplexes her way out of trouble but the powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana. Back up and….two women run in for the no contest at 9:04.

Rating: C+. They were starting to roll near the end but then the ending brought it right back down. Gordy is someone who has the kind of power that you do not often see in women’s wrestling and she was wrestling enough like her dad to make that work. Mo was more of a plucky star who fought against the bigger challenger, which was starting to work before everything was cut off.

Post match the beating is on and the women…..are not identified by commentary, who says he doesn’t know who they are (even though they have their own title). How do you screw that up? Or how do you think that’s a good idea?

Battleground Title: Brian Kendrick vs. Lince Dorado

Kendrick is defending. They trade takedowns to start and Kendrick makes it over to the ropes. The threat of an early bulldog choke has Dorado escaping as well and he strikes away to take over. A middle rope anklescissors sends Kendrick to the apron and a dropkick puts him on the floor. There’s another anklescissors, this time from the apron, to drop Kendrick again as the champ is in trouble early.

Dorado chops away against the barricade but gets launched face first into a metal post. Hold on though as Kendrick doesn’t want to win via countout and throws him back inside. Dorado is back up with a chair for a step up leg lariat in the corner. A high crossbody connects but Kendrick rolls through into the bulldog choke. That’s broken up as well so Dorado superkicks him into a sitout powerbomb for two. The shooting star press misses for Dorado so Kendrick grabs Sliced Bread #2 for…well two more actually. They trade rollups until Kendrick gets a sunset flip (and lays backwards for some reason) to retain at 7:43.

Rating: B-. Just like the Riddle vs. PCO match, I was expecting a good bit more here, especially for a title match. How much can you really get out of a main event title match when you only have that much time? Both of them are more than good enough in the ring to have a better match, but they didn’t have the time to make it work as well as possible.

Post match Juicy Finau and Afa Jr. come in to say the title is coming back to the Samoan Dynasty on July 6. Kendrick leaves and Afa hypes up the crowd, but does stop to yell at one fan like a villain should.

Overall Rating: C+. This was just about the pure definition of “eh, it was ok”. The wrestling was mostly adequate and it felt like they were setting things up for later in a lot of ways, but there is absolutely nothing worth going out of your way to see here. They didn’t try to tie this into ECW very much, but the few times they did made it stand out at least a bit better.

On the more positive side, the production values were quite good and better than most of what you’ll see in independent promotions. There was nothing bad on the show and even the worst match was completely watchable. Throw in a rather laid back attitude and I had a good enough time, though the bigger matches need to feel more important. You’ll be fine if you watch this, but it’s VERY low on the list of shows you’ll want to see.

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

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:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

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:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

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:

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

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

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Impact Wrestling
Date: April 11, 2024
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

There have been some rather good wrestling matches around here lately and that has been great to see. This time around isn’t going to have anything to do with that, as the main event is a Monster’s Ball match between PCO and Kon. That should be enough to carry things but we also have just over a week before Rebellion. Let’s get to it.

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

We are joined in the arena with Hammerstone brawling with Josh Alexander. Security tries to break it up but Alexander hits the big flip dive onto everyone. Cue Tommy Dreamer to be the voice of reason and he actually manages to get the bleeding Alexander to leave. Dreamer gets in the ring and talks to Hammerstone about how Alexander is the face of this company.

Dreamer is the reason Hammerstone is here and now Hammerstone is taking a shortcut. Hammerstone doesn’t need to go down that path because his legacy is not set yet. The fans chant ECW at Dreamer because it’s his legacy, so go have the best match at Rebellion and tell everyone to top that. Dreamer tells the fans that this will be a great show and goes to leave, only to be jumped by Hammerstone. Alexander runs back in for the save before saying the match at Rebellion will be Last Man Standing. Good way to go, as seeing Dreamer in pain is always fun.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Digital Media Title: Laredo Kid vs. Crazzy Steve

Steve is defending and goes right for the mask. Kid lunges at him and Steve knocks him into the corner to take over. A springboard something is broken up, with Steve nailing a clothesline to the back of the head. The neck crank goes on, with Steve switching it into something like an Octopus hold on the mat. Kid fights up and knocks him into the corner to start the comeback, setting up a pair of moonsaults. The top rope version is broken up and Steve pulls him down to start with the stomping. Steve goes for the mask again so Kid jumps him. The referee tries to break it up and gets shoved down, with Kid getting DQ’d at 8:34.

Rating: C. I continue to be confused by Laredo Kid, who feels like he should be a big star but he never actually wins anything. That was the case again here, but odds are we are going to be seeing this match again. At some point Kid needs to win a title of some kind and he seems to be potentially having another chance soon.

Alex Shelley apologizes to Chris Sabin and Kushida, who seem cool with things.

ABC vs. First Class

Austin grabs a headlock on Francis to start and is powered into the corner for his efforts. Swann comes in but Austin trips him down for a kick to the back. It’s off to Bey for a double dropkick but Francis gets in a cheap shot as we take a break. Back with Austin still in trouble as everything breaks down. Francis hits his world’s strongest slam/fireman’s carry drop on both of the ABC (that’s nuts) to take over. We settle down to a double kick to Swann, followed by a big flip dive to Francis on the floor. The 1-2-Sweet is broken up though and Swann grabs a rollup with tights for the pin at 11:02.

Rating: C+. ABC is a team who can work well with anyone but it was cool to see Swann and Francis working well together. Francis might not be the biggest star in the world but he is getting somewhere with this new stuff. The power/speed team works for First Class and they can be annoying enough to back it up. Not bad, assuming they can keep it going.

Post match here is Joe Hendry to explain the problem with First Class. This results in a slightly changed version of the Fresh Prince Of Bel Air theme, including Francis being called a fat Uncle Phil. At Rebellion, it’s Hendry vs. Swann.

Ash By Elegance and her handler think Ash should get the Knockouts Title shot at Rebellion because Steph de Lander was filling in for her. No.

Mustafa Ali complains to the Grizzled Young Veterans about Jake Something getting an X-Division Title shot. Something comes in to say the match is happening.

It’s time for the contract signing between Jordynne Grace and Steph de Lander, with Santino Marella running things. Cue de Lander, with Matt “Qdoba” and Grace, with Cardona hyping de Lander up. De Lander signs but Grace says she’s not laying down that easily. Grace lists off her resume, with Cardona bringing up that he beat her for the Digital Media Title. Grace asks if de Lander is going to say anything or just let Cardona talk for her.

De Lander says her resume is too long to list and thinks Grace is too focused on other things. Like the Royal Rumble! With that odd reference to a one off match two and a half months ago, Grace talks about how she’s beaten Cardona, de Lander and Cardona’s wife. Grace: “I’m the juggernaut b****.” Cardona: “DON’T YOU TALK TO HER LIKE THAT!” Grace: “I wasn’t talking to her, b****.” With that, Grace signs and the brawl is on, with Cardona getting in a cheap shot. De Lander chokeslams Grace through the table. Of all the contract signings I’ve seen in wrestling, this was the most recent.

The System interrupts Masha Slamovich and ask her about teaming with Alicia Edwards again. Masha answers in Russian and no one knows what that means.

Jonathan Gresham is still in group therapy and talks about wearing three different masks. One of them is never seen, with the group leader saying that’s the truest reflection of who he is. We see the octopus mask, with a voice talking about seeing a tree and being told to cut it down.

Moose vs. Trent Seven

Non-title and the System is here with Moose, while Mike bailey is here to counter them. Seven fires off chops in the corner to start and is promptly release Rock Bottomed down. Some hard whips into the corner have Seven in more trouble but he chops his way to freedom. A DDT plants Moose again and Bailey cuts off Eddie Edwards’ interference. Bop and Bang puts Moose down but he escapes the Birminghammer. The spear finishes Seven at 3:55.

Rating: C+. They kept this moving and that’s what it should have been. Moose is on his way to a huge title match next week and there is no reason to have him get into a long match here against Seven. It was far from a squash and they did a nice job of making Seven look good in short order.

Post match the beatdown is on but Time Machine makes the save.

Post break the System yells at Santino Marella, who makes the System vs. the Motor City Machine Guns for the Tag Team Titles next week. The winners of that face Speedball Mountain at Rebellion. With all of those people gone, Decay comes in to say they want their rematch for the Knockouts Tag Team Titles at Rebellion. Works as well.

Jake Something vs. James Drake

Zack Gibson is here too. Something powers Drake into the corner to start but Gibson gets in a cheap shot to take over. The chinlock goes on but Something fights up with a hard forearm. Gibson offers another distraction though, allowing Drake to hit a running dropkick in the corner. Cue Deaner to cut off Gibson so Something can hit Into The Void for the pin at 3:52.

Rating: C. They didn’t have much time here but Something setting the win on the way to the title match is what matters most. At the same time they kept Deaner vs. the Grizzled Young Veterans going, though I’m not sure where they’re heading with that. Not a great match here, but an efficient one.

Post match Mustafa Ali comes out to rant about how the X-Division need limits and Something defies those limits. Something goes after him but the Grizzled Young Veterans make the save. Deaner’s save attempt is broken up as well and the villains stand tall.

Kon vs. PCO

Monster’s Ball, meaning street fight/anything goes. PCO grabs the kendo stick so Kon uses a chair as a shield in a smart move. With Kon sent outside, PCO loads up a dive but gets knocked out of the air with a trashcan. We take a break and come back with PCO in a trashcan so Kon can beat on him with a chain. A table is set up at ringside but PCO fights back and puts Kon on it, setting up the big flip dive from the top.

Back in and Kon gets in some more shots but goes up top, allowing PCO to knock him through another table at ringside. That’s not enough to keep Kon down either, as he gets up and sends PCO face first into a bridged ladder. An Iconoclasm sends PCO through the ladder and now it’s time for thumbtacks. Kon puts the tacks into PCO’s mouth, which just wakes him up for a chokeslam onto the tacks. The PCOsault onto Kon onto the tacks finishes for PCO at 14:15.

Rating: B-. Sometimes you need to have two people beat the fire out of each other to blow off a feud and that is what they did here. It was a good way to wreck Kon for good, though he’ll be fine in a bodyguard role sooner than later. Good main event here as it felt like a clash of the titans, though PCO needs to do something fresh rather soon.

Overall Rating: C+. Good enough show here with the main event being the highlight. It was a show that added a few things to Rebellion while also cranking up some of the matches that were already made for the pay per view. In other words it was another efficient Impact, which is where they tend to shine.

Results
Crazzy Steve b. Laredo Kid via DQ when Kid shoved the referee
First Class b. ABC – Rollup with tights to Bey
Moose b. Trent Seven – Spear
PCO b. Kon – PCOsault

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.