Impact Wrestling
Date: November 3, 2022
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are about two weeks away from Overdrive and the card is starting to take shape. While the World Title match is already set, we still need to get the X-Division Title match ready, which is where this week comes in. Odds are there are going to be more tournament matches this week and that should be a good thing. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Eddie Edwards blames PCO for the destruction of Honor No More and invites him to come fight him in the desert.

Opening sequence.

X-Division Title Tournament First Round: Kenny King vs. Mike Bailey

Feeling out process to start with King being weary of the big kick. An exchange of rollups get two each until they both try kicks to the ribs. Bailey dropkicks him for two and King is sent outside, but it’s too early for the dive. Back in and Bailey cranks on the leg, with a leglock sending King over to the rope. King’s leg is fine enough to hold Bailey up for a spinebuster and they head outside again. This time it’s a t-bone overhead suplex to drop Bailey on the ramp, setting up a half crab on the floor.

Back in and Bailey realizes his knee is fine enough to fire off the kicks, plus a standing shooting star press for two. Bailey’s spinning kicks send King outside and the big top rope moonsault drops him again. King shrugs that off and puts on another half crab, with Bailey going to the ropes. Another grab of the rope drags Bailey back to the middle, where he rolls King up to advance at 8:43.

Rating: C+. This was a very Mike Bailey match, as he did all of his usual stuff: kicks, flips, and really annoying no selling of an injured body part. The athleticism is great but it would be nice to have him act more like a wrestler for once. I’m not sure I would have had King lose so early, but there isn’t much room to shake things up in an eight person tournament.

The Motor City Machine Guns tell Josh Alexander to not trust Bully Ray. Josh seems to think about it.

Gisele Shaw is passing out photos of herself with the Knockouts Title but VXT isn’t impressed. Shaw dumps them, with Deonna Purrazzo having to calm Chelsea Green down.

Savannah Evans vs. Jessicka

Tasha Steelz and the Death Dollz are here too. They talk trash and then slug it out with Jessicka knocking her into the corner for the running clothesline. A ram into all four corners has Evans in more trouble but a missed charge lets her grab a DDT for a much needed breather.

We take a break and come back with Evans hitting a suplex for two but missing a charge of her own. Evans headbutts away until a tackle drops her again. A running basement crossbody crushes Evans so the women get in a fight on the floor. That’s enough of a distraction to let Evans hit a full nelson slam for the upset pin at 11:11.

Rating: C. I still don’t know how much interest there is in Evans and now calling her the “Cannibal” (yes the Cannibal) isn’t going to help that much. That being said, it is a good idea to give her a singles win every now and then, just to keep her built up at least a bit. This is probably setting up Steelz/Evans for a Tag Team Title shot, because singles matches make a difference in tag wrestling for whatever reason.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Bully Ray wins the World Title at Lockdown 2013 and reveals himself as the leader of Aces and 8’s.

Killer Kelly wants something fresh to play with around here.

Steve Maclin is sick and tired of so many people jumping the line in front of him. He wants the World Title and is coming to get it.

The Major Players are ready to win the Tag Team Titles but make the mistake of saying his name. Joe Hendry pops up (out of a refrigerator) and says he wants the Digital Media Title. Cardona: “Why was he in the fridge?”

And now, to the desert, where Eddie Edwards is waiting for PCO. The fight is on with PCO getting the better of things until Eddie starts slugging back. A rock to the head gets Eddie out of a Mandible Claw and he blames PCO for everything. Then PCO chokeslams him onto a bigger rock but Eddie comes back with a shovel. PCO gets shoved into a grave and Eddie buries him with rocks and dirt. Well that was violent.

Taylor Wilde comes up to Mickie James and they’re ready to face each other in a friendly match. This would be another situation with two women talking like non-humans.

Eric Young vs. Sami Callihan

Deaner is here with Young. Callihan starts fast and hits a powerbomb on Young before knocking Deaner down to the floor. The fight heads outside with Young posting him but getting his back raked for his efforts. A suplex drops Young on the floor and Callihan bites his ear to make it worse.

Deaner gets in a cheap shot though and they head back inside, where Callihan invites Young to headbutt him. Young clotheslines him down but misses a moonsault so Callihan can load up the Cactus Special. Before the pile can be driven though, cue all of the people in yellow hoodies to beat Callihan down for the DQ at 6:10.

Rating: C. Yeah here we go with the Violent By Design stuff, as Callihan needs an army to fight against. The match was the usual brawl without much to be seen, but above all else it was about the big ending, which is likely going to be the start of something big with the team. Well, depending on who are under the hoodies that is.

Post match two of the hoodies are pulled off and it’s Big Kon (Konnor from the Ascension) and Alan Angels. Young comes back in and drives a spike into Callihan’s head to draw blood.

Jordynne Grace goes into her locker room and finds a bunch of pictures of Gisele Shaw holding up the Knockouts Title. Jai Vidal, Shaw’s assistant, apparently put up the photos, so Grace chokes him and lets him run off.

Moose vs. Ace Austin

Chris Bey is here with Austin. Moose gets sent to the floor to start but pulls Austin into a powerbomb swung into the steps. We take a break and come back with Austin being whipped hard into the corner. The big chop misses though and Austin unloads in the corner as well.

That is shrugged off with all of no effort from Moose but Austin kicks him down. A running double stomp gets two but Moose is back up to reverse slam him off the top (that was cool). Cue Bully Ray for a distraction though, meaning Moose misses his spear. Austin grabs a rollup for the pin at 11:14.

Rating: C+. This was a nice enough match as you can always get somewhere with power vs. speed. That is what they were playing at here until the ending with Ray offering a distraction. Austin winning is nice to see, but this is all about Ray vs. Moose, because something always has to be about Ray.

Gisele Shaw interrupts commentary with more of her photos before her title shot next week.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Aussie Open vs. Josh Alexander/Frankie Kazarian

Kazarian and Fletcher start things off with Kazarian running him over to grab a headlock. Back up and Kazarian flips him into a rollup for two and it’s off to Alexander vs. Davis. Alexander starts fast with a middle rope dropkick so it’s back to Kazarian. Some double teaming puts Kazarian down for all of three seconds before he’s back with a running….Russian legsweep? That’s a new one, but it lets Alexander come back in to punch Fletcher.

Everything breaks down and Alexander gets clotheslined over the top for a crash. Kazarian is rammed into Alexander and we take a break. Back with Alexander fighting out of a chinlock but getting slammed by Fletcher. A belly to back drop puts Alexander on the apron and a brainbuster gets two. The trouble doesn’t last long as Alexander rolls over and brings in Kazarian to clean house.

Something like a Big Ending/middle rope cutter drops Kazarian, who is also fine enough to get over to Alexander for a tag. Everything breaks down and Alexander powerbombs Fletcher but Davis hits a running forearm. Some double superkicks drop Alexander for two with Kazarian making the save.

Kazarian gets a hot tag of his own and starts to clean house again. Alexander ankle locks Fletcher as Kazarian puts Davis in some kind of armbar, only to have Fletcher roll out, sending Alexander into the other two for the save. Fletcher and Alexander suplex each other to the floor, leaving Kazarian to hit a slingshot cutter for the pin on Davis at 19:18.

Rating: B. This was a rather entertaining back and forth match, though the lack of tagging got old near the end. Upcoming opponents vs. a regular team is an idea that has worked for a long time and that was the case again here. Aussie Open continues to be a good team, but it would be nice to have them win a big match every now and then.

Post match Kazarian picks up the title but hands it off to Alexander to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This is a weird time for Impact as they are doing almost everything right, but they are doing it on the way to a show that isn’t all that interesting. Kazarian feels a lot like Alex Shelley as a challenger and having the “will he/won’t he” stuff from Bully Ray isn’t the most thrilling. Hopefully they can find something better to do after Overdrive on the way to Hard To Kill, but we have a long way to go to get there.

Results
Mike Bailey b. Kenny King – Rollup
Savannah Evans b. Jessicka – Full nelson slam
Sami Callihan b. Eric Young via DQ when Violent By Design interfered
Ace Austin b. Moose – Rollup
Frankie Kazarian/Josh Alexander b. Aussie Open – Slingshot cutter to Davis

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: September 29, 2022
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are done with Victory Road and that means we are only a little over a week away from Bound For Glory. I’m still not sure why Victory Road was such a necessary show before the biggest night of the year but at least it wasn’t an eventful night, meaning Bound For Glory got even more build. Hopefully that can continue tonight so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Bullet Club vs. Trey Miguel/Laredo Kid

It’s Ace Austin/Chris Bey for the Club, with Juice Robinson in their corner. Austin and Kid start things off with an exchange of wristlocks but hold on as Austin needs to hold up Too Sweet. A quick high crossbody gives Kid an early two so it’s Bey offering a distraction so Austin can take over on the arm. Bey comes in with a backbreaker as we hear about his album coming out around Halloween.

Kid slips away and hands it off to Miguel to fire off kicks at Bey. A northern lights suplex gives Miguel two but Bey is back with a reverse DDT/Downward Spiral combination to drop both of them at once. Austin comes back in and catches Kid with a springboard spinning kick to the face. Miguel pops up for a springboard sunset bomb for two on Austin. Back up and Austin shoves Bey at Miguel for the Art of Finesse, setting up the Fold for the pin at 8:19.

Rating: B. More of the X-Division goodness to open the show and yes, it still works. I can go for more of Austin and Bey as the two of them are very good on their own or as a team. Miguel and Kid are both guys who can do anything with anyone so this was always going to be entertaining while it lasted.

We look back at Bhupinder Gujjar losing the ladder match to Brian Myers last week.

Gujjar says he can’t wrestle this week due to a broken nose, but he’ll be ready for the Call Your Shot gauntlet match at Bound For Glory.

Frankie Kazarian is ready to win the X-Division Title at Bound For Glory. He wants to prove that he still has it.

Someone in a yellow hoodie tries to jump the barricade behind commentary but isn’t named. He looked like he was making a V sign with his fingers so…..Violent By Design maybe?

Bound For Glory/tonight rundown.

Digital Media Title: Brian Myers vs. Crazzy Steve

Steve, with Black Taurus, is challenging. They fight over wrist control to start until Steve goes after Myers’ face. A bite to the face is blocked with a throat snap across the top though and we take a break. Back with Steve hitting a Cannonball in the corner for two but getting caught with the implant DDT for two. Steve comes back with the Upside Down in the corner, which lasts about as long as it can. Myers distracts the referee though, allowing him to poke Steve in the eye. The Roster Cut retains the title at 3:54.

Rating: C-. This was little more than a way for Myers to cheat and retain the title and that is all it needed to be. Myers already won the big ladder match last week so this was a step down for him. The title works well enough for a lower card championship, even if the digital media stuff has already been heavily toned down.

Post match Myers says he has turned the title into the most prestigious title around here. Now he wants better competition so it’s open challenge time at Bound For Glory. That could be a fun reveal.

Johnny Swinger’s ex-fiance shows up and yells at him, despite now being married to John E. Bravo (from Wrestle House 2 apparently). Arguing ensues, with Taya Valkyrie wandering in to wonder what is going on here. Fair question.

The family from the recent Joe Hendry videos are at the reading of their father’s will and want a name said. Cue Joe Hendry, who everyone still believes in.

Rosemary begrudgingly asks James Mitchell for help with the Jessicka issue because she wants the Tag Team Titles back. Taya Valkyrie and Jessicka come in to say they can do it, so Rosemary eventually gives in.

Delirious vs. Black Taurus

Delirious’ dropkicks have no effect so he rams Taurus mark first into the buckles. That doesn’t work either as Taurus steps on Delirious’ bare feet but Delirious starts running the ropes in an odd pattern. Delirious manages to take the leg out and hit a slam, setting up a series of ten legdrops to send Taurus outside. Back up and Taurus hits a pop up Samoan drop and a headbutt. The spinning piledriver gives Taurus the pin at 5:04.

Rating: C-. This was as much as you were going to get out of Delirious vs. Black Taurus in a five minute TV match, meaning it was working with a low ceiling. Taurus getting some momentum is a nice thing to see, even if it is weird to see delirious anywhere but Ring Of Honor. Fine enough match, but what were they expecting to get out of this?

Bobby Fish is here and wants Josh Alexander so he’ll win the Call Your Shot gauntlet in his hometown of Albany.

Mia Yim is ready for Mickie James at Bound For Glory. They fought in one of Yim’s first matches and yes, we have a clip of Mickie beating her probably fifteen or so years ago. Gisele Shaw comes up to mock the idea of Mia beating Mickie so a match is made for next week.

Here is Honor No More for a chat, with the fans being way behind PCO. Eddie Edwards is happy with Victory Road because he showed he can beat Josh Alexander. There were some setbacks on the night though and yes, he is looking at PCO again. PCO lost to the Motor City Machine Guns and he likes to step up too much, so who does he think he is? Vincent puts a bag over PCO’s head to calm him down as Matt Taven takes the mic.

Taven rants about how Impact has tried to hold the team down but now the are Tag Team Champions. At Bound For Glory, Honor No More will leave with the World and Tag Team Titles, with everyone talking about how great Eddie is for pinning Alexander at Victory Road. Maria gives us a video looking at Eddie pinning Alexander over and over, leaving Eddie to rant about how everyone turned on him.

Cue Alexander to say he sees this as any fight he has ever had. He views the title as something that proves he’s the best while Eddie sees it as job security. At Bound For Glory, the only one outnumbered is Edwards. Alexander comes to the ring for the fight, with Heath, Rich Swann and the Motor City Machine Guns coming in to help clear out Honor No More.

Heath/Rich Swann vs. PCO/Vincent

Joined in progress with PCO coming in to make Swann roll around a bit. PCO powers him down though and drops a leg to the back of the head, allowing the tag to Vincent. A basement Downward Spiral gets two but Swann is back up with an enziguri. The tag brings in Heath to clean house with a powerslam getting two on Vincent. Heath sends Vincent into PCO and Swann gets in a cheap shot from the apron so an implant DDT gets two on Vincent. With PCO knocked outside, Swann hits a 450 to finish Vincent at 4:34.

Rating: C. They kept this one quick and that is the right way to go. Vincent is about as low on the Honor No More totem pole as you can get so having a former World Champion pin him is hardly the end of his momentum. It wasn’t much of a match but they continue to make Heath look like a big deal, which is rather impressive given how much of a comedy guy he has been for years.

Moose isn’t happy with Steve Maclin, who comes in for the brawl.

Scott D’Amore tells Sami Callihan that he can’t get in the ring because of a broken orbital bone, so D’Amore lets Sami referee Moose vs. Maclin next week.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Masha Slamovich vs. Allie Katch

Monster’s Ball and they’re still doing the “locked up for 24 hours deal”. They slug it out to start and an early double clothesline takes both of them down. A duel of the trashcan lids goes to Katch as she cracks Slamovich over the head. Slamovich is right back with a German suplex and it’s time to whip Katch with a chain.

We mix things up a bit with Slamovich putting the side of a street sign in Katch’s mouth before going with the more classic double arm crank. A cowbell is pulled out of the trashcan but since that takes some time, Katch cracks her with a trashcan lid to take over. Slamovich shrugs it off and hits an Air Raid Crash into the corner as we take a break. Back with Slamovich driving a chain into Katt’s (very busted open) mouth in the corner before grabbing a chair.

A reverse DDT drops Slamovich and now she is busted open as well. Slamovich is fine enough to kick her in the head and Death Valley Driver Katch into the chair for two. Katch is back up with a trashcan shot to the head to catch Slamovich on top and a Death Valley Driver sends her through the door (yeah a door) in the corner for two.

They fight to the apron and Slamovich Russian legsweeps her through a table to leave them both down. With Slamovich up first, it’s time for the thumbtacks (dang it) but Katch piledrives her onto them for two more. A trashcan full of broken cans is poured out and it’s a Snowplow to drive Katch into the junk on the mat for the pin at 18:44.

Rating: B. These two were having one heck of a fight and I was getting drawn into it, but then the thumbtacks killed off a lot of the interest. It’s still such a stupid spot and something that we’ve seen so many times before. Throw in a piledriver onto the tacks getting two and there was only so much I could get out of the second half of this. Great first half but it fell down pretty hard in the end.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a bit of a weird show with a good opener, a good main event, and almost nothing good in the middle. The idea of having Bound For Glory in eight days is more than a bit much and it’s a very rushed feeling, but at least the card is set. It should be a good major event, but the TV is a bit rough to put it mildly. At least we got two strong matches here though and that’s enough for two hours.

Results
Bullet Club b. Laredo Kid/Trey Miguel – Fold to Miguel
Brian Myers b. Crazzy Steve – Roster Cut
Black Taurus b. Delirious – Spinning piledriver
Rich Swann/Heath b. Vincent/PCO – 450 to Vincent
Masha Slamovich b. Allie Katch – Snowplow onto cans and thumbtacks

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: September 22, 2022
Location: The Factory, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s the go home show for Victory Road, which means we are about a month away from Bound For Glory. Victory Road is being treated as a pretty big deal so it would make sense to have a good go home show. This week does feature a pretty big showdown with Aussie Open vs. the Motor City Machine Guns. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Digital Media Title: Bhupinder Gujjar vs. Brian Myers

Myers is defending in a ladder match. Gujjar slugs away to start and hits a jumping knee to the face. A Samoan drop looks to set up the Gargoyle spear but Myers knees him out of the way. The first ladder is brought in but Gujjar dropkicks it into his face. Myers knocks him outside though and goes up for the title, only to be pulled down into a cutter.

Now the Gargoyle spear can send Myers into the ladder but the climb takes too long, as usual. The ladder is knocked into Gujjar and it’s time to bring in another ladder. Gujjar breaks that up and the other ladder is set up next to the first. They both climb with Myers being knocked off, only to come back up with a belly to back off the ladders.

That’s good for a crash out to the floor, where Myers bridges a ladder onto the steps. A powerbomb drops Gujjar onto the ladder but he’s still able to make the save back inside. Myers low blows Gujjar on the ladder though and then gets creative by duct taping Gujjar to the ladder. That’s enough for Myers to go up and retain at 12:20.

Rating: C+. This was a pretty run of the mill ladder match, albeit one with a creative ending. Gujjar continues to look good enough out there, but there is still something missing that is keeping him from breaking through to that next level. I’m not sure if this feud warranted a ladder match, but at least they had a decent one.

Heath comes up to Josh Alexander and Rich Swann to apologize for messing up last week. They have a six man tag at Victory Road, but Heath has an open challenge street fight against any member of Honor No More tonight. Swann offers help but Heath has to do this himself.

Victory Road rundown.

We look at Steve Maclin invading a Wrestling Revolver show to try to get to Sami Callihan.

Jordynne Grace vs. Zicky Dice

Johnny Swinger is here with Dice, whose boot to the ribs is quickly caught. Grace slaps him in the face a few times and the Grace Driver finishes Dice in 43 seconds.

Video on Max the Impaler, who is facing Grace tomorrow night as per Masha Slamovich’s choice.

Black Taurus vs. Mia Yim vs. Laredo Kid vs. Alex Zayne vs. Trey Miguel

One fall to a finish. The fans are behind Yim, who stands back as the four guys get into separate brawls. We settle down to Miguel trying to cover Zayne for some near falls but Yim middle rope dropkicks both of them down. Taurus comes back in to headbutt the heck out of Yim so Kid comes in with a very spinning headscissors to put Taurus down on the floor. There’s the big dive into a hurricanrana, followed by stereo dives from Zayne and Miguel.

Yim hits one of her own and is the only one left standing on the floor. We take a break and come back with Miguel sending Kid into Zayne in the corner. Taurus lifts Kid up for a double hurricanrana to Zayne and Miguel before a series of strikes puts everyone down. Back up and Yim powerbombs Zayne and Protect Yo Neck gives her two. Taurus gets up to clean house and the over the shoulder piledriver finishes Kid at 11:45.

Rating: C+. This is where the X-Division tends to shine: taking a bunch of people and letting them go nuts for a little while. The match doesn’t mean much for the #1 contenders match at Victory Road because the bigger names are involved in that one, but this was a nice way to fill in some time and do a bunch of high spots.

Eric Young tells the new Violent By Design to prove themselves to him. They chant answers in unison and he beats them all up.

A couple is arguing when the wife says that their kid isn’t his. The dad wants the name said, and cue Joe Hendry for the music video. This is still funnier than it should be.

Here is Heath for an open challenge to a street fight with any member of Honor No More.

Heath vs. PCO

Street fight. Well hang on a second though as Eddie Edwards comes out and doesn’t want PCO to do this. Not that it matters as Heath talks PCO into it anyway. Heath dives onto PCO, who pops up and hammers away, much to Vincent’s (at ringside too) delight. PCO gets backdropped onto the ramp and they fight on the floor up to the stage.

A cart full of chairs is shoved around until PCO throws them onto a bunch of already set up chairs. That takes too long though and Heath DDTs him on the stage. A big toss off the stage sends PCO into the chairs so here is Honor No More to surround Heath. Rich Swann and Josh Alexander come in for the save and the fight is on.

With everyone else down, Vincent chairs Heath down but Heath pops back up for a Wake Up Call. PCO gets up, with a bunch of chairs hanging off of him, and wins a slugout inside. The chairs are piled up and PCO Mandible Claws him down, only to miss the Swanton onto said chairs. Heath hits a Wake Up call onto the chairs for the pin at 9:09.

Rating: C. This was half match and half angle advancement but giving PCO a big win was a good idea. Heath isn’t exactly a top star but he is starting to get somewhere with the serious stuff. He’s still a bit goofy, though he is starting to figure things out and that is more than I would have bet on. PCO seems likely to split off from the team at some point though and having him get a nice face run could be interesting.

Aussie Open vs. Motor City Machine Guns

The winners get a Tag Team Title shot at Bound For Glory. Shelley and Fletcher start things off with the bigger Fletcher shouldering him down. That earns him a crank on the arm and it’s off to Sabin for a knee drop. The even bigger Davis comes in to power Sabin into the corner but some kicks break that up without much trouble.

The Guns clear the ring and some kicks to Fletcher leave him down on the floor. Back in and the Aussies drive them together for a crash as we take a break. We come back with Fletcher hitting a delayed vertical suplex for two on Shelley. The beating doesn’t last long as it’s off to Sabin to clean house.

A missile dropkick/Downward Spiral combination gets two on Fletcher as everything breaks down. The Aussies plant Sabin for two as Shelley makes the save, only to be sent outside. The assisted Iconoclasm gets two on Sabin but Coriolis is broken up. Shelley is back in and Skull And Bones finishes Davis at 14:21.

Rating: B-. This was a fast paced tag match between two talented teams so of course it wound up working out. The Guns can do well against anyone and Aussie Open are a good, young team. While seeing the Aussies get a chance at Bound For Glory would have been nice but the Guns are the team with the legacy around here and make for a bigger match.

Tasha Steelz aren’t having anything of Killer Kelly, who is sitting in Steelz’s locker room. Steelz isn’t sure what to think about that.

Gisele Shaw is ready to beat Mickie James and end her career.

Victory Road rundown.

And now, a contract signing, with Scott D’Amore emceeing. D’Amore brings out the three participants in Barbed Wire Massacre, with Moose, Steve Maclin and Sami Callihan…the latter of whom doesn’t show up. That’s cool with Moose, who compares Maclin’s time in the military with what is coming for him tomorrow night.

Maclin talks about how Moose has no idea what he is talking about and has never seen the things Maclin has seen. Tomorrow will be mayhem for all but here is Callihan to interrupt. Sami mocks both of them and has a seat, saying that the two of them made a grave mistake by crossing him.

Maclin wants Sami to sign….so Sami busts out a barbed wire pen. That takes too long so Maclin jabs Sami in the head with the other pen and it’s time to turn over some furniture. Sami gets tied in the Tree of Woe but Moose spears Maclin down. Another spear only hits table though, allowing Sami to sign in his own blood to end the show. This was every violent contract signing you would have expected.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty nice show this week, even if having another big event just a few weeks before Bound For Glory still feels off. I could go for having a focus on the major show but thankfully we can get to that next week. This show didn’t have a ton of big stuff but they did the minor stuff well enough and that’s good for a week.

Results
Brian Myers b. Bhupinder Gujjar – Myers pulled down the title
Jordynne Grace b. Zicky Dice – Grace Driver
Black Taurus b. Laredo Kid, Mia Yim, Trey Miguel and Alex Zayne – Over the shoulder piledriver to Kid
Heath b. PCO – Wake Up Call onto a pile of chairs
Motor City Machine Guns b. Aussie Open – Skull And Bones to Davis

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: September 15, 2022
Location: The Factory, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re rapidly approaching Victory Road and then Bound For Glory, meaning some of the shows’ major matches have already been announced. With some of the bigger shows on the way, it would make sense to give them that much extra attention. There’s a good chance of getting some more added to the cards this week so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

X-Division Title: Mascara Dorada vs. Mike Bailey

Bailey is defending. They trade armdrags to start before both block one at the same time. An exchange of countered hurricanranas gives them a standoff and they chop it out until Bailey is knocked to the floor. The slingshot dive misses and Dorada wins a chop off outside. Back in and a heck of a suicide dive drops Bailey, setting up a missed top rope double stomp back inside.

Bailey pulls him into a kneebar but Dorada is in the ropes rather quickly. The running twisting shooting star gives Bailey two so Dorada sends him to the apron. That means the missed dive, allowing Bailey to hit the big springboard moonsault for the huge crash on the floor. Back in and Dorada catches him on top with an enziguri, setting up a jumping super hurricanrana for two. A Lionsault (minus the running) hits Bailey’s raised boots though and Bailey kicks away, setting up the Ultimate Weapon for the pin at 8:06.

Rating: C+. This is Bailey 101 and it’s still working well. Bailey is going to do the same stuff every week and have a pretty good match, though when you’ve seen one or two of them, you’ve probably seen them all. Dorada was built up with a win last week and then puts Bailey over here. That’s a good enough way to go, but Bailey needs a big challenger soon or this is going to get stale.

Post match Bailey shows respect to Dorada. Cue Kenny King to jump both of them from behind and the beatdown is on.

We go back to Violent By Design (because of course we are) where Deaner beats up one of the nameless guys in yellow. Someone else names Young the Designer and he’s cool with that. Then they all say their name is Violence and Young seems pleased. This is a nightmare right? It has to be. There is no other reason for this stupid thing to continue so I’m convinced that I’m dreaming.

Scott D’Amore gives Mike Bailey a title defense against Delirious at Victory Road. At the same show, there are a bunch of people in a #1 contenders match, including Mia Yim and Frankie Kazarian. Bailey is happy.

Here’s what’s coming at various shows.

Decay vs. Moose/Steve Maclin

Decay knocks Maclin into the corner to start and Taurus gets to stomp away. Moose gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and comes in to demonstrate proper stomping technique. Maclin comes back in but gets rammed into Moose, allowing Taurus to grab a rollup pin at 1:51. Well they got me there.

Post match Sami Callihan pops up to promise violence at Victory Road. We also see a clip of Moose saying he was going to screw Maclin over before Maclin can do it to him. Maclin promises to hurt Callihan at Victory Road, but Callihan has a clip of Maclin promising to screw Moose over. Violence ensues until Callihan comes in to leave them both laying.

We look at some miscommunication costing Taya Valkyrie a match against Chelsea Green last week.

Rosemary and Jessicka argue over the loss, with Taya Valkyrie thinking it might have been Rosemary’s fault. Jessicka needs help though and Taya has an idea.

Alisha vs. Killer Kelly

Tasha Steelz is on commentary. Kelly drives her into the corner to start but Alisha punches her way out. That earns Alisha a choke on the ropes into a release fisherman’s suplex as Steelz brags about herself nonstop. A missed charge in the corner looks to let Alisha grab a Backpack Stunner but Kelly grabs the rope. Kelly pump kicks her, setting up the Killer Klutch for the tap at 2:14.

Post match Steelz grabs a chair but Kelly takes it away and stares at her.

Some people are sitting around a dying man in a hospital bed. The man tries to say something….and Joe Hendry bursts through the door, turning it into a Hendry music video. The man dies but no one seems to notice.

Tag Team Titles: Josh Alexander/Rich Swann vs. Honor No More

Honor No More is defending. Bennett gets knocked into the corner by Alexander to start and Swann comes in with a running legdrop. Back up and Swann gets taken into the wrong corner so Taven can come in, allowing him to knock Alexander off the apron like a true villain should.

A catapult into a kick to the face gives Bennett two and we hit the corner stomping. Swann fights out of the corner and dives between the legs though, allowing the hot tag to Alexander. House is cleaned, including the running crossbody to the back to knock Bennett outside. Swann dives onto both champs and it’s a spinning kick into a bridging German suplex for two on Bennett back inside.

The threat of an ankle lock sends Bennett over to Taven as everything breaks down. Just The Tip gets two on Alexander but he gets his knees up to block a Lionsault. Maria gets on the apron so Eddie Edwards can run in and kendo stick Alexander, only to have Heath come in with the Wake Up Call to Taven for the DQ at 6:58.

Rating: C+. The Heath issues with Alexander continue and I’m curious to see where that is going. They have built Heath up rather well but at some point he needs to actually win something. The match was pretty good at least, which shouldn’t be surprising given who was involved, though the Heath part is what matters.

Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice bring a Serious Pizza to Jordynne Grace but accidentally suggest that Masha Slamovich is going to destroy her. This earns Dice a match with her next week.

Heath tries to apologize to Josh Alexander and Rich Swann but Scott D’Amore comes in and seems to make a six man tag. Maybe?

Mickie James vs. Hyan

James gets rolled up for a fast two to start and a Wasteland into a legdrop gets the same. Mickie slips out of a suplex though and strikes away, including the flapjack into the top rope Thesz press. The MickDT finishes at 2:36.

Post match Gisele Shaw comes in to steal the spotlight, plus challenge her to Victory Road. Sure.

Vincent recharges PCO again.

Brian Myers talks about how he and Bhupinder Gujjar have a lot of similarities but he’s ready to climb the ladder next week.

Here’s what’s coming up on various shows.

Motor City Machine Guns vs. Good Brothers

Shelley and Anderson start things off as the fans seem more into the Brothers. With nothing going on, Gallows and Sabin come in with Sabin getting a boot up in the corner. The middle rope dropkick staggers Gallows and the Guns start the double teaming. Gallows finally kicks Shelley in the face and it’s Anderson coming in to hammer away.

The big elbows set up Gallows’ chinlock for as long as you would expect a chinlock to last. Back up and Sabin avoids a charge in the corner, setting up the hot tag to Shelley. Everything breaks down and the Guns hit stereo baseball slides as we take a break. We come back with Anderson getting taken down with a dragon screw legwhip and then Shelley doing it again in the corner.

The Figure Four stays on the leg but Anderson grabs the rope for the break. Sabin goes old school with an Indian Deathlock so Anderson rakes the eyes to break it up again. Shelley grabs a front facelock but gets caught in a spinebuster to give Anderson a breather. Gallows comes in and gets to kick away, including a pumphandle powerslam.

Everything breaks down and Gallows is sent outside for some kicks to the face. A missile dropkick/Downward Spiral combination gets two on Anderson but Gallows is back in for the belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination for two on Sabin. Shelley is back in for the Dream Sequence and the Skull and Bones finishes Anderson at 18:10.

Rating: B. It was a good match and felt like something of a dream showdown, which it more or less is given how successful both of them have been. At the same time, this feels like a match that was designed to write off the Good Brothers, who lost clean after losing their titles. That might be the best thing too, as there is nothing left for the team to do. As for the match, they pretty much tore it up, which is what happens when two good teams get to put in the time.

Too Sweets are exchanged to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Solid show this week with the main event carrying things, as it tends to do. Other than that, they kept things moving with shorter matches that didn’t drag things down too much. What matters here is getting things ready for Victory Road so we can move on to Bound For Glory, even if it is more than a little strange to have them back to back. Good show here, and now we get to move on to the bigger stuff.

Results
Mike Bailey b. Mascara Dorada – Ultimate Weapon
Decay b. Moose/Steve Maclin – Rollup to Maclin
Killer Kelly b. Alisha – Killer Klutch
Honor No More b. Josh Alexander/Rich Swann via DQ when Heath interfered
Mickie James b. Hyan – MickDT
Motor City Machine Guns b. Good Brothers – Skull and Bones to Anderson

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: August 4, 2022
Location: Old Paristown Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re just over a week away from Emergence and most of the show has already been set. The World and Knockouts Title matches are ready to go but now we need to build up a little more of the card. That is what we can take care of over the next two weeks, as Emergence is already starting to look strong. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Honor No More’s issues, setting up a ten man tag at Emergence. If Honor No More wins, they get a Tag Team Title shot, but if they lose, they’re done.

Opening sequence.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Rosemary

Taya Valkyrie and Jessika are here with Rosemary but there is no Chelsea Green for some reason. They glare at each other to start before Rosemary wins a test of strength. A bite to the face in the corner sets up a bulldog to drop Purrazzo again but she’s back up to wrap Rosemary’s arm around the rope. That doesn’t do much to the legs, meaning Rosemary is able to come back with the Upside Down.

Since that can’t last long, Rosemary goes up top but gets slammed down for a crash. Back up and stereo pump kicks leaves them both down but it’s Rosemary up first with a Sling Blade. The arm is bothering her though and Purrazzo pulls her into the Fujiwara armbar, sending Rosemary right back to the ropes. Rosemary hits a spear but for some reason Jessika gets on the apron, meaning there is no count. A rollup gives Purrazzo the pin at 7:11.

Rating: C+. These two work well together and it’s nice to see Purrazzo getting reheated just a bit. I’m not wild on the idea of the singles matches between the tag partners but that is about all you can get to set up a title match these days. The absence of Green is a bit weird here, though now Rosemary and Taya have to deal with Jessika so things might be a little more complicated anyway.

Here’s what’s coming tonight and at Emergence.

Honor No More fires itself up before Emergence and wants to make sure that they have each others’ backs. Eddie Edwards doesn’t think much of PCO at the moment but Vincent tells PCO to go take out Doc Gallows tonight.

Gisele Shaw isn’t scared of Masha Slamovich and doesn’t like how her eyebrows look in the photo Slamovich gave her.

Digital Media Title: Brian Myers vs. Black Taurus

Myers is defending and Crazzy Steve is here with Taurus. The power game has Myers in trouble to start as he gets shoved outside, resulting in some yelling at Steve. Back in and Myers clotheslines Taurus down but gets elbowed in the face for his efforts. Taurus knocks him outside for a big running flip dive and we take a break.

We come back with Myers grabbing a chinlock, followed by an elbow for two. Taurus fights up without much trouble and hits a missile dropkick for two of his own. Myers’ implant DDT gets two more but the Roster Cut is cut down with a spear. With nothing else working, Myers pokes him in the eyes and rolls him up (with trunks) to retain at 10;16.

Rating: C. Not a terrible match, but that’s the second match in a row that ended with a spear, shenanigans and a rollup. That’s the kind of thing that needed to be looked at in advance, as there are other ways to end a match than doing something so similar. Myers is a good weaselly champion and someone taking the title from him is going to be a good moment, whenever it happens.

Post match Myers tries to get away but gets sent back inside by Bhupinder Gujjar, who hits the Gargoyle Spear.

Jordynne Grace is going to treat Mia Yim as an obstacle at Emergence and you know what she does to obstacles.

We look at the Impact Wrestling World Title match at Ric Flair’s Last Match, with Josh Alexander retaining via DQ and Diamond Dallas Page making a surprise post match save.

Gisele Shaw vs. Masha Slamovich

Shaw bails to the ropes to start but gets taken to the mat. A spinning backfist connects but Shaw is back with a running knee to the face for two. Shaw misses a crossbody though and it’s a bridging German suplex to give Slamovich two more. The Snowplow finishes for Slamovich at 2:42. Slamovich has to be in the title match at Bound For Glory right?

Flashback Moment of the Week: Mia Yim wins the Knockouts Title on Impact in April 2016 with Maria’s help.

Madison Rayne interrupts Mia Yim to complain about Mia taking advantage of her back in 2016. Gail Kim, who lost the title to Yim, comes in to make Rayne vs. Yim next week.

Jessika and Taya Valkyrie come up to an upset Rosemary with Jessika apologizing and guaranteeing that they will retain the Knockouts Tag Team Titles at Emergence. Rosemary is pleased.

Violent By Design vs. Motor City Machine Guns

Shelley and Deaner get things going but Joe Doering gets in a cheap shot from behind. That’s fine with Sabin, who comes in with a dropkick and cutter to get things right back to even. The missile dropkick/Downward Spiral combination gets two on Deaner but Doering interferes again, allowing Deaner to hit a clothesline for two of his own. Doering comes in legally for once and hits a slam into an elbow for two more.

Shelley manages to kick Doering away and it’s Sabin coming back in with a kick to Deaner’s face. Something pretty close to a Magic Killer plants Deaner but Doering makes the save. Everything breaks down and Doering clotheslines both Guns. The Revolution Bomb is broken up with Sabin’s enziguri and he dives outside onto Doering. Back in and Shelley crucifies Doering, setting up Sabin’s diving rollup for the pin at 6:25.

Rating: C+. Gee, I wonder if they are going to have Eric Young get annoyed at the rest of Violent By Design and accuse them of doing something about the sickness before they keep doing the same things. The Guns were their usual very good selves, but there is only so much they can do with a lumbering monster like Doering. Just get rid of Violent By Design already because it is getting worse by the week.

Post match Violent By Design takes out the Guns because this must continues. Kushida runs in for the save but Eric Young runs in as well and takes him out.

Post break the Guns and Kushida challenge Violent By Design for Emergence. Josh Alexander comes in to say take these guys out. Alexander leaves and runs into Eddie Edwards, who suggests he’s coming for the title.

Raj Singh vs. Sami Callihan

Sami tells him to swing away and Singh’s one right hand seems to make him mad. Singh’s dropkick works a bit better but it’s a few right hands to put him into the corner. A clothesline sets up the Cactus Driver 97 and a crossface chickenwing finishes Singh at 2:01.

Post match Sami calls out Moose and Steve Maclin so Moose’s entrance starts. Cue Moose from behind so Sami jumps him, only to get taken down by Maclin from behind. Moose hits a spear (because we needed a fourth tonight) and Maclin plants Callihan to leave him laying.

Video on Killer Kelly’s debut last week. They’re doing a good job out of making her seem like a threat.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

The Bullet Club is ready to take out Honor No More.

Doc Gallows vs. PCO

Street fight and Vincent is here with PCO, while Karl Anderson only comes out to the stage with Gallows. PCO gets knocked to the floor to start but he’s fine enough to post Gallows. Some chairs are set up at ringside but PCO sends him back inside, only to be knocked backwards through said chairs in a crash you had to know was coming.

We take a break and come back with chairs being thrown in and one hitting PCO in the back. PCO hits him in the head with a chair (erg) and sets up some chairs back to back, which can’t end well. Gallows is laid over the backs of the chairs so PCO can chair him in the back (a popular word here). PCO takes too long going up top though and gets slammed onto the open chairs, which is such a stupidly dangerous spot.

They head outside again with PCO hitting a chokeslam through a table to take over again. A bunch of trashcan shots to the head put Gallows down and the mat is pulled up. Since that takes some time, Gallows hits the Gas Mask on the exposed wood for two but PCO hits him with a marching band drum (which they just happen to have sitting around).

The Deanimator takes too long to load up so Gallows chokeslams him off the top and through the ring (geez). Somehow PCO beats a ten count and wins a slugout, setting up a reverse DDT onto the wood. PCO whips out a glove, fills it with thumbtacks, and hits a middle rope fist drop. Gallows rolls into the hole and PCO steps on his chest for the pin at 15:30.

Rating: B-. This is one of those wacky matches where it was all about the violence and carnage, which was at least a bit different than they usually do. The ring breaking was a huge spot, but having that not end the match is a bit of a stretch. At the same time, some of these spots were more than a bit absurd and uncomfortable on occasion. PCO winning is a good thing, but egads this was rough in parts.

Overall Rating: B-. The show is still good, but this week’s show focused on just about everything but the World Title match. Since that is pretty much set, there was other stuff to work on but a lot of that stuff isn’t so interesting. Emergence is still looking good though and that is what matters most here. Pretty good show, though I’m not sure what they are going to do for Bound For Glory when the Emergence build is over.

Results
Deonna Purrazzo b. Jessika – Rollup
Brian Myers b. Black Taurus – Rollup with trunks
Masha Slamovich b. Gisele Shaw – Snowplow
Motor City Machine Guns b. Violent By Design – Rollup to Doering
Sami Callihan b. Raj Singh – Crossface chickenwing
PCO b. Doc Gallows – Middle rope fist drop

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: July 7, 2022
Location: Center Stage, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

Against All Odds has come and gone and hopefully that means Josh Alexander is done with Violent By Design. Alexander defeated Joe Doering in the show’s main event to retain the World Title, meaning it’s time to move on. The only title change was the Digital Media Title as Brian Myers beat Rich Swann so there isn’t much to build from. Let’s get to it.

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

Against All Odds recap.

Opening sequence.

X-Division Title: Mike Bailey vs. Alan Angels

Angels, of Dark Order fame, is challenging in his debut. They do shake hands, though Bailey has to get in his annoying bow first. Angels wants to start fast but gets kicked down, setting up the rapid fire kicks. That’s enough to send Angels outside for the moonsault but he’s fine enough to drop Bailey onto the barricade. A frog splash off the apron crushes Bailey again and it’s time to kick away back inside.

There’s a northern lights suplex for two but Bailey superkicks him out of the air. The running corkscrew shooting star press gives Bailey two of his own but he charges into a Spanish Fly. They chop it out until Angels grabs the Halo Breaker (spinning torture rack neckbreaker) for a near fall of his own. The Wing Snapper (kind of a Backstabber but with feet instead of knees) drops Bailey again but he’s right back with another kick. The Ultimate Weapon retains the title at 8:34.

Rating: C+. The kicks were hard enough and it was nice to see Angels getting a chance to do something outside of the Dark Order. That had a hard ceiling and while I don’t know how much further Angels can go, at least he has the chance to do something else here as himself rather than part of a group. Not a classic, but a good choice for an opener.

Post match respect is shown but here is Violent By Design to lay out both guys. Deaner says this isn’t over with Josh Alexander (WHY THE HECK NOT???) and want him out here right now but it’s Eric Young answering instead. After a break, Young asks how we got here. While the answer would be “no one but Impact would take you”, they talk about how they came up short but Young thinks the sickness has both of them. Young wants to purge them both, which has Deaner agreeing with him. They want one more chance and Young seems willing, though this is their LAST chance.

Here’s what’s coming on the show.

Honor No More talks about how they keep getting screwed over but they know they’re the truth. They weren’t invited but Impact needs them. After Against All Odds, they ask PCO how much he wants to be a part of this. Don’t talk, but show them out there tonight.

Deonna Purrazzo, with Chelsea Green, is ready to beat Mia Yim in tonight’s #1 contenders main event. Gail Kim comes out to say next week, Green gets Yim and everyone is barred from ringside in both matches.

Laredo Kid vs. Trey Miguel

Kid shoulders him down to start but we’re at an early standoff. Miguel sends him outside but it’s too early for a dive. Back in and a spinning faceplant drops Miguel, who seems to be favoring his knee. Miguel sends him outside again and this time it’s a one legged Asai moonsault to drop Kid as we take a break.

Back with Kid working on the knee, including a Figure Four, which sends Miguel over to the ropes. Kid puts him up top but gets shoved down, allowing Miguel to hit a missile dropkick. A series of kicks gives Miguel two more but the knee gives out as he tries to go up. Kid Michinoku Drivers him for two of his own, only to have Miguel slip behind him and Roll the Dice for the pin at 11:12.

Rating: B-. These two are always going to be good for a solid match and this was no exception. Miguel having to get creative to win in the end was a fine change of pace and they made things work throughout. Kid continues to be someone who seems like he could be on top of the division at any given time but it never actually happens, which can be more than a bit frustrating.

And now, because of course we are, it’s the Ric Flair Classic Moment Of The Week, as Flair debuts on January 4, 2010.

Violent By Design goes looking for Josh Alexander but gets in a fight with the Motor City Machine Guns instead.

Killer Kelly, who likes to stay in dirty motel rooms (ok then), is coming.

America’s Most Wanted talks about how great it was to be back in the ring at Against All Odds and Chris Harris is happy if that was their last match. For now, James Storm has something to do, so he goes off and finds Steve Maclin. Storm wants to find Moose and thinks that he and Maclin were together at Against All Odds, they must be friends. A match seems likely.

PCO vs. Black Taurus

Vincent and Crazzy Steve are the seconds. They trade shoulders to start until Taurus starts going after the knee. PCO catches him coming off the middle rope though and a choke shove puts Taurus on the floor. Back in and PCO sends him outside again, this time for the suicide flip dive. The De-Animator connects for two but Taurus is right back up with the Sling Blade. A top rope elbow gets two but PCO rolls away from some kind of top rope flip. The PCOsault finishes Taurus at 6:04.

Rating: C. This wasn’t quite the monster brawl I was hoping for but they did a nice enough job of making PCO look like a force all over again. That has been missing a bit lately, as he should be something like the one guy in Honor No More that no one can solve. Having him be the guy who isn’t quite on the same page wasn’t working, assuming he is supposed to stay on the team.

Post match Honor No More comes in to surround Steve but Heath runs in from behind for a Wake Up Call on Kenny King.

The Bullet Club is tired of Honor No More, with Ace Austin wanting to get in on the fight next week. Works for everyone else.

Brian Myers runs into Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice for an exchange of insults. Bhupinder Gujjar comes in and says he wants a Digital Media Title shot. Myers backs up and says Gujjar can face Swinger for the title shot next week instead.

Shera vs. Rich Swann

Swann slaps away to start, earning himself a lifting choke in the air. Shera gorilla press drops him and chokes again as he certainly seems to have a theme. A shot to the knee finally puts Shera in the ropes for a 619 but he shrugs off some more kicks to the head. The big kick to the head sets up a middle rope 450 to finish Shera at 4:49.

Rating: C-. Yep, it’s still Shera, who continues to look good but has very little in the way of quality in the ring. I’ll certainly take this over the Shera Shake/Shuffle, which continues to haunt me to this day. Swann is still kind of floating in the middle of nothing, as he is still a talented guy but can’t find much of anything to do.

The Influence isn’t happy with Masha Slamovich sending them what seems to be a death threat through Gisele Shaw. Somehow this is Shaw’s fault.

Rosemary is sick of people like James Mitchell not sending Havok to help so we (as in Rosemary, not Rosemary/Taya Valkyrie) are going to the Undead Realm to find Havok. Taya isn’t invited because it’s a bit too evil.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Mia Yim

The winner gets a Knockouts Title shot against Jordynne Grace at Emergence. They shove each other to start with neither getting much of an advantage. Purrazzo’s headlock doesn’t get her very far as Yim sends her outside, setting up a dropkick through the ropes. Back in and Purrazzo takes over on the leg, including snapping it back, as we take a break.

We come back with a double headbutt giving us a double knockdown for a breather. It’s Yim making the comeback, including Eat Defeat to put Purrazzo on the apron. Purrazzo slips out of a piledriver attempt and kicks her in the face for two of her own. Queen’s Gambit is blocked so Yim goes up top, only to get slammed back down. Yim avoids a charge to send her into the post though and it’s Code Blue for two on Purrazzo.

They slug it out (of course) until Purrazzo Russian legsweeps her into the Fujiwara armbar. With that broken up, Purrazzo hits the Queen’s Gambit for two and can’t believe the kickout. Yim is back up with the package piledriver for two and now it’s her turn to be shocked. Back up and they slug it out again, with Yim striking her silly. The package piledriver into Eat Defeat sends Yim to Emergence at 17:31.

Rating: B-. Yim has been a lot better around here as of late and I’ve been getting into her stuff a lot more than I was in NXT. That is the kind of upgrade that is always welcome as the Knockouts continue to keep things moving. Purrazzo was a huge deal for a long time and is now coming back down as the cycle continues, as it should.

Post match Jordynne Grace comes out for a handshake and some staring to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. It had enough good wrestling to make me like the show, but the main focus here continues to be on the next monthly special. I can’t get my head around how much better it is for Impact to have something to build towards on a regular basis, as you can only get so much out of the quarterly pay per views and TV. That was the case here and it made a very nice and notable difference. Pretty nice show here and now it’s time to get ready for Emergence next month.

Results
Mike Bailey b. Alan Angels – Ultimate Weapon
Trey Miguel b. Laredo Kid – Roll The Dice
PCO b. Black Taurus – PCOsault
Rich Swann b. Shera – Middle rope 450
Mia Yim b. Deonna Purrazzo – Eat Defeat

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: June 9, 2022
Location: Osceola Heritage Park, Kissimmee, Florida
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are rapidly approaching Slammiversary and that means it is time to start filling out the card. The main event is set but we still need to add in a few more spots here and there. This includes another name in the Ultimate X match, plus a likely Moose vs. Sami Callihan match. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening sequence looks at Sami Callihan attacking Moose last week.

Callihan wants Moose.

Opening sequence, again featuring a classic TNA theme. I could go for more of these things.

Tenille Dashwood vs. Rosemary

Madison Rayne is here too. Rosemary knocks her into the corner to start and a ram into the buckle makes it worse. Dashwood manages to get in a shot of her own though and pulls Rosemary outside for a crash to take over. Back in and the Upside Down doesn’t get Rosemary very far as Dashwood clotheslines her down.

A full nelson is broken up though and a double clothesline gives them both a breather. It’s Rosemary up first with something close to the Last Chancery but Dashwood slips out. Rayne offers a quick cheap shot but Rosemary grabs a rollup for the pin at 6:04 anyway. Ignore Rosemary’s shoulders being down.

Rating: C. Pretty run of the mill match here with a bit of a wonky ending. Rosemary not having Havok here was a bit weird as they might not have the brightest future together. Dashwood and Rayne are still fine as heels, but it is still kind of hard to get invested in the division as it pretty much doesn’t exist.

Post match the beatdown is on but Taya Valkyrie comes in for the save. Rosemary and Taya don’t exactly seem to trust each other.

Slammiversary rundown.

The Good Brothers have come to the Briscoes’ chicken farm and we get some rapid fire clips of them looking around the place, including dealing with manure, talking to Mark’s (I think) son and chasing around a chicken. Then they run into Papa Briscoe, who tells them to get out. Violence is teased but the Briscoe Brothers come in via their truck and the big fight is on. Jay gets tied in a tree, but Papa grabs a wrench to keep the Brothers (Good that is) from throwing a cinder block at his head. Papa continues to steal every scene he is in for any promotion.

Heath says Rhino needs surgery and will be out for months. Revenge on Honor No More is promised.

Steve Maclin vs. PCO

PCO starts fast with a running clothesline and somehow winds up on the floor instead of Maclin. A dive takes Maclin down and PCO’s mouth is busted, but he hits another dive for good measure. The PCOsault is broken up so Maclin knocks him off the top and hits a dive of his own as we take a break.

Back with Maclin pulling PCO’s shoulder into the post a few times and grabbing a top rope superplex for two. PCO gets all fired up though and hammers away, including a DDT. The Cannonball sets up the Deanimator but another Cannonball hits steps. Maclin hits a running spear against the barricade and then crushes PCO’s arm in the step for a bonus. The shoulder is WAY messed up (looks dislocated) but PCO beats up the medical people. That lets Maclin hit a chair shot to the ribs, followed by a DDT onto the chair for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: C+. The Maclin push continues and beating PCO means a little something. I’m curious to see how far he can go, as we might be seeing him getting into the main event scene. It isn’t like there is anything else of note for him to do, so maybe there is an opening for him in there.

Post match PCO sits up and goes after Maclin, who runs off scared.

Flashback Moment Of The Week: Samoa Joe retains the World Title in King of the Mountain at Slammiversary 2008.

Tasha Steelz, with Savannah Evans, yells at Deonna Purrazzo for not helping her last week. Purrazzo says she doesn’t need their help so the two of them storm off. Chelsea Green comes in to laugh.

Matt Morgan pops up as this week’s cameo and talks about what his time meant here. Vincent comes in to mock him before leaving.

Joe Doering vs. Josh Alexander

Non-title and the rest of Violent By Design is here. Doering shoves him down to start but Alexander is back up with a headlock. A belly to back suplex doesn’t get Doering out of trouble but he kicks out of the ankle lock without much effort. Doering gets in a running shoulder to drop Alexander for two and then sneers a lot. We hit the neck crank for a bit but Alexander is right back up with a middle rope knee. Some rolling German suplexes have Doering in trouble so the Violent By Design flag is thrown in. That’s fine with Alexander, who hits Doering with the flag for the DQ at 6:30.

Rating: C. Not much to see here other than Alexander snapping a bit on the way to the pay per view title match. Doering is still someone where I don’t get the appeal as he is the big monster of a team run by Eric Young. That is only going to get you so far and we passed that point a long time ago.

Post match Alexander cleans house and stares down Eric Young, who backs off.

Moose isn’t worried about Sami Callihan’s mind games, even as the lights flicker.

We look at Ace Austin joining the Bullet Club in Japan.

Austin and the Bullet Club were happy and then beat up an angry Alex Zayne.

Moose goes hunting for Sami Callihan….and actually finds him, setting up the brawl in the back. Callihan is busted open but Moose finds that he is locked in an area backstage. Callihan reveals that he has the key and beats Moose up before locking him in.

Matt Cardona insists that he is the REAL Digital Media Champion but since he is hurt, he hands it off to Brian Myers. That’s fine with Myers, who will defend against Rich Swann at Slammiversary.

Slammiversary rundown, with Alex Zayne being added to Ultimate X.

Honor No More vs. Frankie Kazarian/Motor City Machine Guns

That would be Matt Taven/Mike Bennett/Eddie Edwards for Honor No More. Bennett and Edwards trade headlocks to start for an early standoff. Bennett gets sent into the corner for some alternating shots to the face, allowing Sabin to come in and kick him down. That’s broken up and it’s off to Taven, who takes over on Sabin without much trouble. Kazarian comes in as well with a neckbreaker for Taven before cranking on Edwards’ arm. Everything breaks down and the good guys take over, including the springboard spinning legdrop to Bennett as we take a break.

Back with Shelley Stunning Edwards over the top rope but Bennett pulls the leg to cut him off. Everything breaks down again and Sabin gets launched into a powerbomb to take him down too. Bennett hits Edwards by mistake but Sabin and Kazarian are pulled to the floor to break up a hot tag attempt. Some shots to Shelley’s head seem to wake him up so Edwards kicks him in the head.

Edwards kicks Bennett by mistake though and now the hot tag can bring in Kazarian to clean house. Kazarian flips out of a double belly to back suplex and hands it back to Shelley to pick up the pace even more. Everything breaks down (again) and Sabin hits a cutter on Taven. The parade of dives is on until Sabin gets triple teamed inside.

Kazarian is back in to take Edwards down for two and Sabin hits a middle rope tornado DDT for two on Taven. A slingshot cutter hits Taven but Bennett cuts Sabin off. The Clothesline From Hell, Michigan (clever) hits Bennett but a low blow lets Edwards grab the Die Hard Driver for the pin on Sabin at 20:27.

Rating: B. This got the time to go somewhere and it shouldn’t be a surprise that it worked. Impact has the kind of roster that allows them to do something like this and it worked well as a main event. Sometimes you need to just let wrestlers have the chance to wrestle and the Machine Guns vs. OGK with the other two involved was always going to go well. You can mix and match the combinations for one good pairing after another here and that is a good sign for the future of this story. Good stuff, as Honor No More gets a boost on the way to Slammiversary.

Post match Heath runs in with a chair for some revenge but Kenny King and Vincent come in to build up the numbers again. Heath’s ankle is Pillmanized over and over to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event helped a lot here and we got a good show as a result. Slammiversary is all but set and now they have another week to get in the final push. They still need to make Slammiversary work though and that is the tricky part. Some good build can help though and that is what they did here, though next week will matter more.

Results
Rosemary b. Tenille Dashwood – Rollup
Steve Maclin b. PCO – DDT onto a chair
Joe Doering b. Josh Alexander via DQ when Alexander hit him with a flag pole
Honor No More b. Kazarian/Motor City Machine Guns – Die Hard Driver to Sabin

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Impact Wrestling
Date: June 2, 2022
Location: Osceola Heritage Park, Kissimmee, Florida
Commentator: Tom Hannifan

We’re closing in on Slammiversary and in this case that means even more Eric Young. I’m not sure what that is going to mean, but the good thing is that things haven’t been too terrible so far. Young is set to challenge Josh Alexander for the World Title at Slammiversary but the show needs some more buildup first. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at last week’s main event, with Violent By Design beating Josh Alexander and the Briscoes.

We get a new opening sequence, complete with a THIS IS TNA voiceover, albeit set to the current roster.

Mia Yim vs. Savannah Evans

Deonna Purrazzo is on commentary and Tasha Steelz is here with Evans. The entrances let commentary explain the still rather complicated Queen Of The Mountain rules. Yim fires off knees to start and sends Evans down early. Evans is right back with a DDT for two as Purrazzo talks about how she never needed an insurance policy. Hannifan: “You don’t remember Matthew Rehwoldt?” Purrazzo: “No.”

Yim fights out of a chinlock but gets powerbombed down to cut her off. There’s a World’s Strongest Slam to give Evans two but she misses a charge into the post. A cannonball gives Yim two, only to have Evans come back with a fisherman’s suplex for two of her own. Evans is sent outside so Steelz grabs Yim, only to have Jordynne Grace run down to cut her off. The distraction lets Yim hit Eat Defeat for the pin at 7:41.

Rating: C. More momentum building here, though I have no idea how you build momentum for something as zany as Queen of the Mountain. I’m not sure how great of an idea it is to bring back a match that screams RUSSO as much as this one, but at least they have something going on. Perfectly fine opener here, as Yim gets established again.

Slammiversary rundown.

Earlier today, Shark Boy told Eddie Edwards to treat Impact with more respect. Chris Harris of all people came in to break it up.

The Influence annoys Rosemary and offers her some makeup. Rosemary says they’ll need it after she bites their faces off. The rest of Decay comes in to scare them off.

Kenny King vs. Blake Christian

Trey Miguel is on commentary and King’s Ultimate X spot is on the line. King strikes him into the corner to start but Christian flips around and hits a kick to the face. They head to the floor and neither can get anywhere, with Christian using the steps to jump over him. Back in and a kick to the head puts King on the floor, setting up the big suicide dive as we take a break.

We come back with King hitting a t-bone suplex for two and we hit the seated abdominal stretch. Christian fights up and hits a dropkick to the back, setting up a quick splash for two. King knocks him away and comes back with a springboard Blockbuster. The spinebuster gives King two more but Christian manages to drape him over the top. There’s a splash to King’s back but the 450 hits raised knees. The Royal Flush finishes King at 13:00.

Rating: C+. This was your weekly X-Division match and as usual, it worked out fairly well. I was half thinking that they were going to pull a surprise here but King is the bigger name and the logical choice to be in the title match. Christian has been around for a bit but he hasn’t had that match or moment that makes him stand out from the pack. He is still good, but nothing has really jumped off the page yet (with an emphasis on the last word).

Jack Evans of all people is in the Ultimate X match.

Bhupinder Gujjar thanks W. Morrissey for having his back last week and says he has Morrissey’s back anytime. We pan over to PCO, who is losing his mind (I think, as it’s hard to tell).

Matthew Rehwoldt vs. Rich Swann

Swann’s newly won Digital Media Title isn’t on the line, but Matt Cardona has stolen the title anyway, which is in no way or shape code for hiding the fact that this show was taped first. Rehwoldt takes him down to start and poses but Swann goes to the test of strength offer, meaning it’s time to alternate hands into some dancing. Swann dropkicks him to the floor but Rehwoldt gets in a kick to the head to take over back inside. Some kicks rock Rewholdt again but he’s right back with a fireman’s carry slam for two. That’s fine with Swann, who hits a Lethal Injection into a phoenix splash for the pin at 5:14.

Rating: C-. This was kind of a weird short form story as Rehwoldt hasn’t been involved in anything for months and then gets a random match with Swann. They didn’t do anything nutty here and it’s fine for Rehwoldt, a former wrestler, to be able to hang in there for a few minutes like this. Not a stand out match or anything but it filled in its time well enough.

On BTI, Alisha Edwards was given an envelope by Masha Slamovich.

Edwards reveals that it was an 8×10 of herself with a red X drawn through it. Gisele Shaw comes in to suggest that Edwards is in trouble.

Here are the Good Brothers for a chat. After confirming that his skinny jeans look good, Karl Anderson talks about getting to face the Briscoes at Slammiversary. We hear about all of the places they have won gold over the years, from Las Vegas to Tokyo to London to Saudi Arabia. The Briscoes have won a lot but they can’t touch the Good Brothers. Sure they might be the Delaware State Sack Racing Champions, but the Good Brothers were at Madison Square Garden.

Anderson has a special video though: the top ten things the two of them have done here in Impact Wrestling. 10-7 are a variety of Magic Killers, but then we get to 6-2, which is THAT TIME WE BEAT THE BRISCOES! #1 is…actually cut off by the Briscoes themselves as things get a bit serious. Dang I wanted to know what was on top. Jay calls the Good Brothers soft, because the Briscoes are the ones out there putting in the work every day.

They’re still on the farm working hard because that is what they do, but Anderson wants to tell us what was #1: it was THAT TIME WE BEAT THE BRISCOES. The fight is on with the Briscoes clearing the ring to send the Brothers running. Despite the Good Brothers physically towering over the Briscoes (that’s still weird to see), this feels big and like an actual major tag team showdown. It’s also weird to see the Brothers as someone I don’t mind, but stranger things have happened.

Josh Alexander is ready for Eric Young, but not so ready for getting jumped by Violent By Design.

Come to some upcoming shows. The fact that these shows are happening is almost hard to fathom when you consider how low Impact reached at some point.

Josh Alexander wants Joe Doering next week but Scott D’Amore tries to talking him out of it. Alexander gets the match anyway.

Matt Taven/Mike Bennett vs. Rhino/Heath

Eddie Edwards is on commentary. Bennett and Rhino start things off with Rhino shouldering him down early on. Heath comes in to crank on the arm before it’s off to Taven. That doesn’t go well either as Taven is knocked outside and we take an early break. Back with Heath in trouble as we keep looking at Edwards and Hannifan on commentary.

Bennett drops an elbow for two and we hit the chinlock to keep Heath down. That’s broken up though and a missed charge/enziguri…isn’t enough for Heath to bring Rhino back in. A clothesline drops Taven though and now the hot tag brings Rhino back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Taven Climaxes Rhino for the pin at 9:44.

Rating: C. Honor No More continues to kind of just be there without much of note going on. Odds are they’ll be in for a high enough profile match at Slammiversary and that is about the best you could ask for from them. They need something to do and maybe that is what they get in the coming weeks.

Post match Honor No More runs in for the big beatdown on Heath and Rhino, complete with a bunch of chair shots to Rhino’s knee. Frankie Kazarian and the Motor City Machine Guns make the save.

Post break Rhino is put in an ambulance with Heath riding along. Kazarian and the Machine Gus want Honor No More so Scott D’Amore tells them to find two partners who have been in Impact at any time ever to settle this.

Slammiversary/next week rundown.

Moose/Steve Maclin vs. PCO/W. Morrissey

Matthew Rehwoldt joins commentary for the first time. PCO isn’t having any of Maclin’s headlock to start so it’s off to Moose vs. Morrissey instead. That means an exchange of chops in the corner with Morrissey getting the better of things and handing it back to PCO. Everything breaks down with PCO and Morrissey cleaning house with running splashes in the corner.

There’s a double chokeslam to Maclin and Morrissey gets to choke Moose with a boot. A cheap shot allows Maclin to come back in though and it’s time to start working on Morrissey’s knee. The standing leglock goes on but Morrissey uses the good leg to kick Maclin out to the floor. PCO comes back in to clean house, including the Cannonball to Maclin.

The Deanimator crushes Maclin on the apron and a belly to belly puts Moose down. PCO’s running flip suicide dive drops both of them again but the PCOsault misses back inside. That doesn’t seem to bother PCO as he is right over for the tag to Morrissey so everything can break down. Morrissey gets tied up in the Tree of Woe so Maclin can hit a spear in the corner, followed by a suicide dive to PCO. Back in and a double arm DDT finishes Morrissey at 14:19.

Rating: C+. The match itself was good and I’m glad Maclin got a win, but this was kind of a weird set of pairings. It felt almost like something you would get if you pulled names out of a hat and then aired it as the main event. I’ve heard of worse ideas for matches and it worked well, but it felt fairly random.

Post match Moose spears PCO but Sami Callihan appears and baseball bats Moose down.

Overall Rating: C+. Another solid enough week here as we move that much closer to Slammiversary. They had some good enough action here, but they also set up another match for the pay per view and advanced some of the stories that were already made. Impact might not be flashy a lot of the time, but it is doing enough efficiently to make things work, as they did again here.

Results
Mia Yim b. Savannah Evans – Eat Defeat
Kenny King b. Blake Christian – Royal Flush
Rich Swann b. Matthew Rehwoldt – Phoenix splash
Matt Taven/Mike Bennett b. Heath/Rhino – Climax to Rhino
Steve Maclin/Moose b. PCO/W. Morrissey – Double arm DDT to W. Morrissey

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 12, 2022
Location: Promowest Pavilion, Newport, Kentucky
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re done with Under Siege and that means we need a new #1 contender. Josh Alexander successfully defended the World Title against Tomohiro Ishii so now it’s time for something new. That means the return of the Gauntlet For The Gold, a huge gauntlet match, to crown a new #1 contender. Let’s get to it.

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

Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt are in the ring to hype up the Gauntlet For The Gold.

Video on Gauntlet For The Gold.

Ultimate X Qualifying Match: Chris Bey vs. Kenny King

The winner is in the Ultimate X X-Division Title match at Slammiversary and Maria Kanellis-Bennett is on commentary. King takes him down with a headlock to start but gets armdragged into an armbar. A dropkick puts King on the floor, where he gets knocked down again for a bonus. Back in and King hits some running knees in the corner for two, followed by a snap powerslam for the same.

The neck crank goes on for a bit before King misses a springboard spinning legdrop. Bey’s torture rack neckbreaker gets two but King grabs the Chin Checker into the tiger driver for two. That has Maria VERY fired up and in full cheerleader mode but Bey cuts her off with a slingshot DDT for two of his own. Standing Sliced Bread plants King and Bey goes up, only to have Maria offer a distraction. The Royal Flush sends King to Slammiversary at 8:35.

Rating: C+. Good choice for an opener here as there was almost no way that this wasn’t going to work. King is someone with enough of a resume around here that he is going to tie into the history and feel like a viable challenger so the win is a good idea. Bey losing is a bit weird, but maybe he can get back in there some other way.

Gisele Shaw and Alisha Edwards don’t seem to get along before their Knockouts Tag Team Title shot. Yes, another thrown together team.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Influence vs. Alisha Edwards/Gisele Shaw

Edwards and Shaw are challenging and it’s Edwards rolling Rayne up for some near falls to start. Everything breaks down early and stereo Thesz presses have the champs in trouble as we take a break. Back with Edwards beating on Dashwood until a Rayne distraction cuts her off.

Dashwood grabs a neckbreaker for two and the champs take turns choking in the corner. Rayne’s neckbreaker gets two of her own but Edwards gets over for the hot tag to Edwards without much trouble. House is cleaned, including a spear for two on Shaw. Edwards tags herself back in though and it’s the double Stroke to retain the titles at 11:07.

Rating: C-. With the IInspiration gone, I continue to not exactly see the need for these titles to exist. Until some more teams are built up, they are glorified vanity trophies for the Influence and no one else. As usual, there just isn’t that much depth to support them and it shows more and more every time they get to face another thrown together tag team.

Violent By Design promises to get the Tag Team Titles back next week. For tonight though, Eric Young is winning the Gauntlet For The Gold.

Here is Gail Kim for a chat. She is excited about the 20th anniversary Slammiversary, which means we need something historic. This time around that is going to mean the first ever Queen Of The Mountain match. The five names participating are Tasha Steelz, Chelsea Green, Jordynne Grace, Deonna Purrazzo and….here are Steelz and Savannah Evans to interrupt.

Steelz can’t believe how much Kim is doing to take the title from her but she knows that Evans is going to be the fifth entrant. Actually no, because the fifth entrant is…..MIA YIM! That sends Steelz over the edge but the lights go out and Yim, with minions, is here for the save. Purrazzo comes in to help beat Yim down but Taya Valkyrie and Grace make the real save.

Rich Swann is ready for Gauntlet For The Gold but he also doesn’t think much of Digital Media Champion Matt Cardona.

Bullet Club vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Josh Alexander

Jay White/El Phantasmo for the Club. White and Alexander start things off but we’ll go with Phantasmo before anything can happen. Phantasmo actually takes him to the mat, which isn’t ok with Alexander. That means Phantasmo gets sent into the corner for the tag to White, who gets to face Ishii. White gets run over with a shoulder but it’s too early for the brainbuster. Instead White runs him over and gets to pose a bit, as he likes to do.

The choking on the ropes ensues and it’s back to Phantasmo, only to have Ishii get fired up. Some double teaming slows Ishii down though and it’s White chopping him in the corner. Ishii finally gets in a shot of his own though and the hot tag brings in Alexander to run over Phantasmo. Everything breaks down and the C4 Spike hits White, with Phtantasmo making the save. It’s back to Ishii, who German suplexes Phantasmo and Alexander decks White. The sliding lariat sets up the brainbuster to finish Phantasmo at 10:32.

Rating: B-. Pretty good match here, as the Bullet Club takes a hit. That being said, losing to the World Champion and a star like Ishii is hardly a devastating loss. White vs. Alexander has to be at least a candidate for the Bound For Glory World Title shot assuming it is still a possibility and keeping the two of them mostly apart here was a good idea. Alexander’s roll continues though, and I’m not sure who is supposed to stop him.

The Briscoes, the new Impact Tag Team Champions, are ready for Violent By Design again next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Gauntlet For The Gold

Royal Rumble style, twenty entrants, two minute interval to start then ninety seconds each (weird), regular match when it gets down to two. Chris Sabin is in at #1 and Alex Shelley is in at #2 by the power of coincidence. A battle over wrist control doesn’t get either of them anywhere as commentary talks about the history of Gauntlet For The Gold. Neither can get the better of anything and it’s Eddie Edwards in at #3.

The Guns wisely start in together on Edwards but he clothesliens both of them down in a bit of a surprise. Vincent, also of Honor No More, is in at #4 to give us a mini tag match. Oddly the Guns get the better of things when their odds are worse and it’s Steve Maclin in at #5. The Guns are dropped again and it’s Maclin working with Honor No More (though he doesn’t seem happy to do so) until Shark Boy makes his return at #6.

The Chummer hits Maclin and the Guns are back up to help clean house. A double Chummer hits Honor No More and we take a break. Back with Shark Boy gone, Raj Singh having come in at #7, Trey Miguel having come in at #8 and Bhupinder Gujjar coming in at #9. Gujjar beats up and elimiantes Singh, because that is the only reason these two exist around here.

Shera is in at #10 and slugs it out with Gujjar with Shera getting the better of things. W. Morrissey is in at #11 and gets to clean house, including eliminating Shera and Vincent. Eric Young is in at #12 and hits Morrissey with a hockey mask, setting up the piledriver. Young blocks Gujjar’s skinning the cat attempt and tosses him out and Maclin hits Miguel with an Irish Curse.

Johnny Swinger, in a mini Wrestlemania III ring cart (as powered by Zicky Dice in a hilarious bit) wacks to the ring like a Bushwhacker, is in at #13, gets tossed, and wacks his way out as we take another break. Back again with Black Taurus having come in at #14, Heath having come in at #15 and having to be saved by Rhino at #16. The Gore hits Edwards and he gets tossed out as we see Shelley being eliminated during the break.

Moose is in at #17 and tosses Taurus and Rhino in short order. Heath slugs away at Moose and gets tossed as well but it’s Rich Swann in at #18 to get the numbers back up a bit. Swann hits Moose with a Lethal Injection but Young slows him down with a low blow. Matt Cardona’s….music plays, as Matthew Rehwoldt is in at #19 to toss Swann from behind. PCO is in at #20 and gets to clean some house, including eliminating Rehwoldt.

Morrissey and PCO get the big slugout (with Morrissey TOWERING over him) until Maclin tosses both of them in an impressive feat. That gives us a final four of Moose, Young, Maclin and Sabin, with Moose being the only one standing. Then the lights go back and it’s Sami Callihan (who returned at Under Siege) to get rid of Moose. Rage seems to be implied as we’re down to three.

Maclin and Young start stomping on Sabin in the corner but he’s back up with a double clothesline. Sabin manages to send Maclin to the apron though and some dropkicks put him down,meaning it’s Sabin vs. Young in a regular match for the title shot. Young knocks him down and hits the top rope elbow for two, plus a clothesline for the same. Sabin is back with a tornado DDT for the same but the Cradle Shock is countered into a piledriver to give Young the pin and the title shot at 36:34.

Rating: C+. The best thing that you can say about a match like this is that it didn’t drag and they managed to make it work here. They even had some comic relief with Swinger and Shark Boy in there to make things a bit more fun. As for Young winning….I guess it works, though it doesn’t exactly feel like something that should be headlining what is often their best show of the year. Maybe it winds up working, but it isn’t exactly exciting.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was built around one match and that match wound up doing rather well. That is a rare change of pace for Impact, as they rarely come out hot after a bigger show. Hopefully they can keep that up, as Slammiversary could be quite the success if they put everything together well. They have a main event set, and while it could be good, they might have their work cut out for them to make the card feel that important. It can be done, but it won’t be the easiest trick.

Results
Kenny King b. Chris Bey – Royal Flush
Influence b. Gisele Shaw/Alisha Edwards – Double faceplant to Edwards
Tomohiri Ishii/Josh Alexander b. Bullet Club – Brainbuster to El Phantasmo
Eric Young won Gauntlet For The Gold last eliminating Chris Sabin

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

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WrestleCon Supershow 2022
Date: March 31, 2022
Location: Fairmont Hotel, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Veda Scott

This is one of the biggest and most interesting shows of Wrestlemania Weekend as you do not know what you are going to get on any given show. Some of the matches are going to be announced in advance, but sometimes you are just going to get some wrestlers without opponents. This is the non-WWE ticket I make sure to get every year and this was no exception. Let’s get to it.

I was in the arena for this show, sitting opposite the main screen about five rows back.

One more note: after the show was over, the fans would be allowed to vote on their choice for best match. The wrestlers in that match would split $5,000, which seems to be a legitimate prize. It worked for Kip Allen Frye and it should work here too.

We open with the traditional graphic for the show as we wait on the feed to start. The music that was being played in the arena still going on in the background does help a bit.

The video starts with a look at Mark Hitchcock, a graphic designer who worked for WrestleCon but passed away on his honeymoon. The show is named in his honor, though the introduction of the tribute isn’t included here.

Mike Bailey vs. Bandido

Bad start to the show: ignore Bret Hart’s music starting for no apparent reason, plus the ring announcer introducing Bandido as Bailey’s video plays on the wall. Commentary talks about how they’re supposed to be impartial, but Veda might be about to marry Bailey in a few months. They start with the handshake but then start the fast pace with neither being able to hit much of anything.

With that not working, they wind up on the apron less than a minute in with Bandido missing a baseball slide, allowing Bailey to jump to the top for a moonsault out to the floor (that was some sweet timing). They walk around the ring with Bailey firing off some kicks to the chest. Back in and they chop it out until Bandido drops back to avoid a shot to the face, allowing him to nip up in a great looking sequence.

Bandido grabs a delayed vertical suplex….and by delayed I mean he holds Bailey up for 64 seconds before dropping him for a double knockdown. Back up and Bailey hits a running shot to the mask but Bandido grabs Three Amigos into the Eddie dance. There’s the frog splash to give Bandido two but Bailey counters the X Knee. The bouncing kicks rock Bandido, who is right back with a pop up cutter to put both of them down again.

They go to the floor and trade back to back to back to back dives (because of course) and they need a breather. It’s time for the required fight on the apron, including the chop off. Bailey takes him down and hits the moonsault double knees on the apron, only to miss the Ultimate Weapon (taking a rather hard landing on his knees). A big spinning faceplant sends Bailey out to the apron again, where a pop up cutter kind of drops Bailey face first.

Back in and the 21 Plex gives Bandido two and the kickout leaves him stunned. Bailey kicks him down and misses the Ultimate Weapon but settles for moonsault knees to the ribs. Shooting star knees to the ribs gets two and the Flamingo Driver (similar to the One Winged Angel) gives Bailey the same. Bandido is back up with some running knees and a release 21 Plex, setting up the super moonsault World’s Strongest Slam for the pin at 16:21.

Rating: B. This is a show where I’m going to be a good bit lighter on the ratings as this is all designed to be a bunch of one off matches. That was on display here, as they were doing everything they could and trying to fit in a bunch of spots. In that regard, they had a heck of a match here that had the crowd fired up, even if Bailey’s idea of selling his knee is grabbing it in between flips. Bandido continues to be amazing in just about everything he does and this was a lot of fun.

Post match fans throw money in the ring and, after seemingly realizing that it is cash instead of garbage, Bailey seems really taken aback. They split the money and show respect as Veda Scott takes some jabs at how expensive everything is at the hotel (hence why I stayed out of the restaurant).

And now, here is Bret Hart as a special ambassador. Bret comes to the stage, thanks the fans for being here, and wishes us a good night. He might have been out there for thirty seconds.

Mia Yim vs. Athena

Athena is better known as Ember Moon and is the hometown girl. We get a dueling chant before the bell with Athena dancing to her own chants. They mirror each other to start before going to a test of strength with Athena taking her down. Yim’s bridge holds up so they go to an exchange of wristlocks instead. Athena hits some cartwheel knees to the ribs and we’re already in a chinlock.

That’s broken up and Yim drives her into the corner before hitting a dropkick out to the floor. Athena has a seat at ringside and the chase lets her post Yim rather hard. Some right hands set up something like a standing Crossface, followed by Athena’s running forearm in the corner. Yim is back with the Tarantula but Athena breaks that up and hits a quick Downward Spiral.

The Koji Clutch goes on and is broken up just as fast, setting up a Boston crab from Yim. Back up and they hit stereo crossbodies for a quick double down. Yim is fine enough to hit a running big boot in the corner, setting up a Cannonball for two. The package piledriver is countered into an Alabama Slam so Athena goes up.

That’s broken up with a super hurricanrana attempt, which is countered into a super hurricanrana, which is countered into a super sitout powerbomb for two. The stunned Athena shoves Yim into the referee, meaning it’s time to grab a chair. That’s taken away and the distraction lets Yim hit the package piledriver for the pin at 13:40.

Rating: B-. Athena isn’t someone who has been around very much lately but she can still go in the ring. Yim would fit the same description, as she can have a good to quite good match with anyone but for some reason neither are in a major promotion at the moment. I could go for either of them somewhere else, as this was a good, back and forth match that kept me interested.

Post match Athena gets a nice show of respect.

Timothy Thatcher vs. Tomohiro Ishii

This is going to hurt. Feeling out process to start with Thatcher using the height advantage to grab a quickly broken nerve hold. A headlock takeover works a bit better for Thatcher but Ishii is back with a Kimura, sending Thatcher straight to the ropes. They forearm/uppercut it out until Thatcher snaps off a belly to belly for two. A short armscissors keeps Ishii down as Scott puts over Thatcher’s abilities to hurt people in so many ways.

Thatcher kicks him to the apron but Ishii is back in with a suplex (not the brainbuster for some reason) for two. We get the big slugout until Ishii punches an enziguri out of the air. Thatcher is fine enough to snatch an ankle lock, which is reversed into another ankle lock. That’s broken up as well and now the enziguri can connect, setting up a cross armbreaker to put Ishii in more trouble.

A Fujiwara armbar sends Ishii over to the ropes again (you don’t see him do that very often) but he’s back with a clothesline into an enziguri. The sliding lariat gets two but the brainbuster attempt is countered into the Fujiwara armbar. Ishii counters that as well, setting up the brainbuster for the pin at 12:52.

Rating: B. This is a good example of a match where you know what you’re getting when you sign up for it and that is what we got here. Ishii and Thatcher know how to hurt people and they make it look really easy to do so. I could go for Thatcher showing up somewhere else as he is the kind of person wrestler that can always be added to a roster for some depth. Ishii is long established and he gave you what you’re needing here. Good, hard hitting match.

Scott talks about how there are matches that make her want to get in the ring and compete, whereas that one makes her glad to have this comfy chair.

Johnny WrestleCon vs. Taya Valkyrie

This is a Dirty Dishes match with the loser having to do the dishes for the rest of their lives. Before the match, Taya says they have been married for about five years and when they first got married, Johnny was so nice. Shopping trips, nice dinners, even making the bed. So what happened? Johnny has gotten so lazy that he can’t clean up after himself and can’t even, ahem, clean himself in certain areas.

As proof of how much of a slob he is, Taya has brought THEIR DIRTY DISHES to the show, with a bunch of people bringing them out. Johnny: “YOU BROUGHT OUR DISHES TO DALLAS???” Johnny laughs at the idea of Taya having to be right all the time and says ring the bell.

Feeling out process to start as the fans shout about JOHNNY DISHES. Johnny chills on top and they shout at each other until Taya hits a heck of a chop. Taya gets shoved down into the corner but she knocks him into another corner for some running knees. And now, it’s time for some dirty dishes (Ian: “Can’t they just hire someone to clean them?”) but Johnny smashes a plate over Taya’s head.

The flipping neckbreaker gives Johnny two as the fans dub him JOHNNY DOGHOUSE. A coffee cup is broken over Taya’s head but she kicks him to the apron. Johnny knocks her down again and busts out some sponges to rake the skin off of Taya’s back. Some Clorox to the back makes it even worse but Taya is back up with a spear. Two bottles are broken over Johnny’s head for two (Scott: “Why is he kicking out??? JUST DO THE D*** DISHES JOHNNY!”) and it’s time to spray some more cleaning stuff in Johnny’s face.

The cookie sheet is brought in but Taya hits La Mistica into the broken glass. Johnny blocks a kick and knocks Taya down into the splits, setting up some hip gyrations. That doesn’t do much for Taya, who hits him low and puts a bucket on his head for a DDT. A Canadian Destroyer with the bucket on Johnny’s head gets two but the referee gets taken down. Therefore the Road To Valhalla gets no cover, allowing Johnny to hit him in the face with a glass.

Johnny puts the bottles on her stomach and hits Starship Pain, which winds up being a rather bad idea. Hold on as Johnny grabs a mic and asks for a kitchen sink to be brought in. We get a rather large sink brought in but a Skull Crushing Finale (nice) onto the sink is countered with a Stunner. Taya hammers away and hits him with a bunch of plates, setting up the curb stomp onto the sink for the pin at 14:31.

Rating: B. This one is much more about the fun than the quality and that is the kind of match you need to have at the WrestleCon Supershow. Seeing the two of them go completely over the top and have that much fun with a match is all you could expect here. It was a novelty match but I had a blast with it both live and watching it back. Good stuff here that didn’t take itself seriously in any way.

Johnny: “I HATE DISHES! But I love you.”

The ring announcer explains how to vote on the Match of the Night and the $5,000 prize.

We have another WrestleCon ambassador: Jushin Thunder Liger, and yes the fans seem to like him. I met him earlier in the day so this was a cool surprise again. Liger shows up, takes some bows, and leaves.

Michael Oku/Laredo Kid/Rey Horus vs. Josh Alexander/Black Taurus/Ace Austin

Lucha rules and Ring Of Honor’s Cary Silkin is on commentary but I can’t hear a word he’s saying. Taurus misses a charge to start and gets armdragged down by Kid. A headbutt into a snap powerslam drops Kid and it’s off to Horus, who gets smacked in the face. Horus knocks Taurus (and yes commentary plays up the rhyme) to the floor for the big dive, meaning it’s off to Oku for a running kick to Austin’s face.

Alexander comes in and kicks Oku in the face to even things up, setting up a powerbomb onto the knee. Everything breaks down and Alexander and company clean house, leaving Taurus to hit a pop up Samoan drop on Oku. Silkin’s mic is fixed as Oku manages to stack up all three opponents and half crab (his finisher) all of them at once). Horus is back in with the satellite DDT on Taurus, setting up the huge dive over the post to take out Austin.

That doesn’t keep Austin down as he’s back up with some flips on the apron to kick away at Horus and Kid. Oku takes Austin down so Taurus hits a huge corkscrew suicide dive. Back in and Taurus hits a running crucifix bomb (cool) on Kid as commentary actually tries to keep track of who is legal. Alexander Death Valley Drivers Kid and Horus at the same time but Oku dives in with a top rope splash.

Austin hits Oku with a spinning slam but Horus catches him with a Spanish Fly for two. The Tower of Doom is loaded up but the people come crashing down instead (on purpose), leaving Taurus to hit a super gorilla press on Horus. Oku makes the save though and it’s back to back to back top rope splashes to finish Taurus at 13:08.

Rating: B. Much like the previous match, this is what you should have expected when you saw this match added to the card. They didn’t bother with the tagging and such and it would have been ridiculous to try and do so. I haven’t seen much of Oku but he seems to be pretty good at this wrestling thing. The other five were all awesome and it was a treat to see Alexander live, even if he was replacing Jonathan Gresham. Heck of a match here, again.

BUY THE HIGHSPOTS VIDEO NETWORK! No really, it’s a heck of a deal for about $10 a month.

Minoru Suzuki vs. Biff Busick

This is going to hurt too. You might remember Busick as Oney Lorcan from NXT but he’s a bit more fun outside of WWE. They start slowly as Scott talks about Busick being busted open in a match earlier today. Suzuki grinds away on a headlock before switching over to a leglock as he has a thing about hurting limbs.

The threat of a Kimura doesn’t quite click as Suzuki gets caught in a headscissors, which is broken up for a standoff. Busick grabs a slam but has to escape an armbar over the ropes. They head outside with Busick being sent face first into the announcers’ table as Busick is busted open (again).

Back in and Suzuki drives an elbow into Busick’s head, setting up the Kimura. Suzuki switches to another armbar, allowing Busick to make it over to the ropes. The running elbows stagger Suzuki and it’s a half and half suplex into a half crab. Make that an STF as Busick goes Samoa Joe. Suzuki gets the legs free and makes the ropes, setting up a running kick to the chest. The chop off is on, with Busick staggering a lot more than Suzuki. Busick’s half and half doesn’t mean much as Suzuki hits another chop, setting up the Gotch style piledriver for the pin at 14:37.

Rating: B-. This was another good one but it felt a bit too much like the Ishii vs. Thatcher match. That being said, it was a hard hitting fight as Suzuki hurting people is always worth a look. Busick is someone else who didn’t quite get to be himself in WWE, though the lite version was still pretty good while it lasted. Another hard hitting match here and I had fun with it.

Team PCO vs. Team Onita

PCO, NZO, Jimmy Wang Yang, Barry Horowitz, Dirty Dango
Atsushi Onita, Rock N Roll Express, Juice Robinson, Colt Cabana

So this is….a choice. The ten person tag is the signature WrestleCon Supershow match as the captains get to pick their teams. Before the match, NZO gets in his catchphrase because…well why else is he here? Horowitz, who looks even more ancient than he is, comes out to We Are The Champions for a nice touch. Ian would also like to know how PCO could possibly know Dango but forgets all about that when Cabana comes out, turning Ian into a cheerleader for his former broadcast partner. Onita also has his chainsaw carrier with him for a bonus.

Cabana and Horowitz start things off with Cabana hugging one of his heroes. Horowitz tries to lock up but Cabana grabs the hand for a pat on the back instead. Robinson and Dango come in with Robinson working on a wristlock. A sunset flip gives us a crazy balancing act from Dango, who manages to turn it into some dancing. Cabana isn’t having that and comes in to catapult Robinson’s head up for a low blow (always funny) to take over.

It’s off to NZO to take Dango down and walk on his back, before handing it off to Yang for some COWBOY S***! Yang hammers away with some right hands in the corner and it’s off to PCO. Robinson tries to chop with him for some bizarre reason before handing it to Onita. The mist staggers PCO and they brawl to the floor for a pretty horrible DDT (with Onita losing him on the way down). Back in and Morton gets the tag, only to have NZO break up the double….uh, something.

Dango gets to pound Morton into the corner and hip grinds on his head for a bit. NZO misses a charge into the post though and the hot tag brings in Gibson so everything can break down. PCO cleans house and hits some suicide dives, setting up the Deanimator for two on Robinson. The chair is brought in but the PCOsault only hits mat, meaning Onita can come in. They mistime…something, until Onita kicks the chair into Dango’s face. The mist sets up a Stunner to give Onita the pin at 12:18.

Rating: D+. I know the match looked good on paper and was probably a funny idea, but this didn’t work whatsoever in execution and it was a huge misfire. A bunch of the people were either so broken down that they couldn’t move or just looked sad out there. This match tends to be the big showcase of the WrestleCon Supershow but this came off like a joke and that was more disappointing than anything else.

Post match Onita mists Yang and beats him into the crowd. That leaves Dango to get the Fandango music….and Summer Rae of all people comes to the ring to dance with him for some old times’ sake.

Rottweilers vs. Briscoes

You really can feel the energy when the Briscoes come out, as they are one of the most charismatic teams you will ever find. Hold on though, as we need to get to one of the most infamous moments of the weekend. Homicide seems to flip off a fan at ringside (though he might have been aiming at the Briscoes) but then Low Ki starts shouting at the fan. Said fan (in the front row) slams something against the barricade and Low Ki drops to the floor to get in his face.

The referee has to hold Low Ki back and Low Ki threatens to f*** the fan up. The rest of the fans egg Low Ki on and he goes outside again as the fan is taken out by part of the production team. With the fan gone, Low Ki sits in his front row seat before getting back on the apron. The bell FINALLY rings and commentary gets to talk again, as they were mostly silent during the whole thing.

Hold on again though as Homicide grabs the mic and says put that CENSORED in the front row. Homicide: “I F***** YOUR GIRL LAST NIGHT!” Low Ki says put him in the front row and adds an “oh good you’re back.” The fan shouts something else at Low Ki, who points out that he’s the one in the ring (though he’s on the apron at the moment) while the fan is the one paying to watch (fair point).

I actually got to talk to Low Ki the next day and he said that the whole thing was real, to the point where even the locker room wasn’t sure what happened after the show. Apparently the fan flipping him off was the point of no return and while Low Ki was working a bit, he was still mad about the whole thing.

With ALL of that out of the way, Mark and Low Ki trade arm control to start. Low Ki tries to roll out but Mark holds back, only to get pulled into an armbreaker over the ropes. With that broken up, Low Ki kicks him out of the corner and it’s Jay coming in for a running big boot. The Rottweilers are sent outside where they throw in a bunch of chairs. Jay likes this idea and grabs the mic, saying let’s make this No DQ. Doesn’t work for Homicide (brother) so Mark gets a running start and flip dives onto the Rottweilers on the floor.

The bell is rung on Low Ki’s head (right in front of the unruly fan) but Mark chairs Jay by mistake. We settle down to the Rottweilers elbowing Jay until Mark makes the save with a chair (as we seem to have hit No DQ by default). Everything breaks down and Jay superkicks Low Ki, who might have lost a tooth. The Doomsday Device is broken up but Homicide is sent to the floor, leaving Low Ki to have his Jay Drilled. The Froggy Bow gives Mark the pin at 12:00.

Rating: B-. Once we got all of the insanity out of the way, the match wound up being the pretty good stuff that you would have expected. You don’t see a bad Briscoes match and they were doing their usual stuff here, albeit against a team that you have to be an old school ROH fan to remember. The problem with that was the thing at the beginning, which took me completely out of the match and is all I could remember about the thing. Kind of a shame, but if Low Ki was going for memorable, he certainly got it.

Overall Rating: A-. Ten man tag and pre-main event fiasco aside, this was a heck of a show that did exactly what it was supposed to do. We got a bunch of solid wrestling with a nice mixture of things to make it work. The WrestleCon Supershow is designed to be a big mash up of all kinds of fun and wacky matches and that is what we had here. Heck of a show, but skip that ten man tag and the Low Ki stuff, as it really drags things down.

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