Impact Wrestling
Date: May 6, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown

We’re still in the early days of the Kenny Omega era and we are also on the way to Under Siege. Since Omega isn’t working that show, we need his #1 contender, meaning the six way #1 contenders match at Under Siege needs some more qualifiers. That’s what Impact is for at the moment so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Chris Sabin vs. Rhino

James Storm and Violent By Design are here too. They trade arm control to start until Sabin sends him outside. Back in and Rhino hits him in the face before hammering Sabin down in the corner. The neck crank goes on but Sabin fights up and hits a discus forearm. There’s an enziguri to put Rhino on the floor and a rollup gives Sabin two back inside. Deaner offers a distraction though and Rhino pokes him in the eye to take over. Sabin is fine enough to kick out the knee to block the Gore though and la majistral finishes Rhino at 6:46.

Rating: C-. Just a match here as almost anything involving Violent By Design has almost no interest. The team feels like a bunch of people thrown together to give Eric Young something to do, and since Young is injured, the team does not exactly seem like it matters all that much. They aren’t the worst by any means, but Rhino felt like an obstacle rather than a threat, which only kind of worked.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Brian Myers is annoyed at losing to Matt Cardona so he wants another qualifying match. He runs into Rosemary, who says he has no one to blame for his problems but himself. Myers doesn’t buy it, so here is Black Taurus to run him over. Rosemary gives him a card, which seems to suggest that he is having bad luck.

The Elite thinks that was hilarious but Don Callis says they need to focus on winning more matches. That’s why tonight it’s Doc Gallows vs. Juice Robinson.

Susan vs. Taylor Wilde

Kimber Lee is here with Susan. Wilde cartwheels out of a waistlock to start but Susan can’t do the same. Instead Wilde throws her down as Striker talks about all of the styles that Wilde uses. Susan sends her into the corner but misses a legdrop as Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb With A K come out to watch. Wilde’s German suplex sends Susan to the floor, setting up a hurricanrana to take her down again. A quick glare at Dashwood doesn’t change anything, as Wilde hits a bridging German suplex for the pin at 2:28.

Post match Dashwood comes in to pose for a photo with Wilde, who doesn’t seem interested.

Deonna Purrazzo isn’t scared of Taylor Wilde but Susan and Kimber Lee need to earn the right to have her join them at ringside. Decay comes in and, after scaring off the interviewer, seem to threaten Purrazzo. Havok comes in to say she wants a shot as well, so a flustered Purrazzo says they can fight for a title shot.

W. Morrissey says no one knows him but he knows that all of the fans left him as soon as he started to fall apart. Everyone he thought he knew in this business was a phony but now he has risen from the ashes. At Under Siege, he’s starting with Willie Mack.

Rohit Raju vs. Trey Miguel

Under Siege qualifying match and Shera is here with Raju. They lock up to start with Miguel trying to pull him down so Raju bails outside in a hurry. Back in and they go to a test of strength with Raju taking him down, only to have Miguel nip up. That earns him a takedown and Raju is rather pleased as we take a break. Back with Shera getting in a cheap shot but Miguel strikes away at the face to put him up against the ropes.

What looks like a northern lights suplex is blocked so Raju suplexes him down for two. Raju knocks him to the floor and then takes it back inside to start cranking on the arm. A flying armbar makes it worse but Miguel flips over him and hits a jumping stomp to the back. They slug it out from their knees until Miguel suplexes him into a Kimura. That’s broken up as well until Raju crotches him in the corner and hits a hanging DDT. A Falcon Arrow into a Crossface has Miguel in trouble until he rolls out but gets kneed in the face. Miguel kicks him down again though and grabs the Hourglass for the tap at 11:27.

Rating: B-. Good back and forth match here as I continue to try and get my head around the idea of Raju actually being this entertaining. I know I say that rather often, but he was so terrible as part of the Desi Hit Squad. It’s amazing how much better it is to just have him as a guy instead of a guy there to make a legend look good. Miguel gets another boost here and it wouldn’t stun me to see him get the title shot.

Post match here’s Jake Something to knock Shera down and take out Raju as well. Yeah is name is still Jake Something.

We go to Swinger’s Palace and Alisha Edwards seems to have lost all of her money. Trey Miguel comes in and gets in a bit of an argument with the other people who have qualified for Under Siege over betting odds. James Storm insists he’ll be getting in too but Chris Bey gets in Storm and Chris Sabin’s heads over being tag wrestlers getting into singles matches. Storm doesn’t seem interested.

Doc Gallows vs. Juice Robinson

Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson and David Finlay are here too. Gallows goes straight to the eye to start and hits an uppercut in the corner. Robinson sends him into the corner to even things up and some left hands have Gallows down. Back up and Gallows big boots him out to the floor, followed by the rights and lefts to the ribs.

The chinlock goes on, though Gallows does give him a breather to drive in the elbows to the chest. Robinson fights out of another chinlock and dropkicks the knee out, setting up a running DDT for two. The big left hand drops Gallows but Robinson has to go after Anderson. A bicycle kick into the chokebomb (and a good one at that) finishes Robinson at 7:19.

Rating: C. Gallows still isn’t nearly as good of a big man as he is given credit for but he worked well enough here. This was about Gallows beating up Robinson, who kept trying to fight from underneath. The numbers game catching up with him made sense and it did a nice job with what they were trying. Also, the lack of Omega talking tends to help a lot.

Post match the beatdown is on so Eddie Edwards runs down for a failed save attempt.

Deonna Purrazzo, Susan and Kimber Lee are leaving when Scott D’Amore comes up. Next week: Havok vs. Rosemary for the Under Siege title shot.

VSK vs. El Phantasmo

VSK is an AEW Dark guy and Phantasmo is from New Japan’s Bullet Club. Phantasmo starts fast by jumping over him but VSK hits a dropkick into a backbreaker. A slam into an immediate splash (that’s a new one) gets two but Phantasmo is right back by putting him on the top. Phantasmo pulls him back down for a crash and a Lionsault gets two. VSK is right back with a rollup for two and a fireman’s carry backbreaker connects for the same. That earns him some kicks to the chest and, after possibly loading up the boot, Phantasmo hits a superkick for the pin at 3:13.

Rating: C+. Phantasmo is awesome, but this seemed to be more about building up VSK than anything else. That being said, it isn’t like Phantasmo needs that much of a build as he is the big guest star. VSK did look good in defeat, though it is kind of hard to say how much of that was him when he was in there with such an established name.

Rachael Ellering vs. Kiera Hogan

Jordynne Grace and Tasha Steelz are here too. An early Steelz distraction lets Kiera hit a superkick and it’s already time to stomp Ellering in the corner. A kick to the ribs has Ellering in more trouble but she avoids a charge in the corner. Ellering counters a neckbreaker but gets caught with a running knee to the head for two. The chinlock goes on but they get up and collide so Ellering can get in a kick to the head. There’s a backsplash for two, only to have Ellering miss a charge of her own in the corner and get kicked in the face again. They miss some shots to the face until Ellering hits a swinging Boss Man Slam for the pin at 4:33.

Rating: C-. They didn’t really have a good way to go here as you don’t want either of them losing, though in this case, it makes more sense to go with the person who is still new to the company (yet is somehow a champion). The action was hardly great, though that has never quite been Hogan’s strong suit. It wasn’t exactly great, but it did what it was supposed to do….I think.

Don Callis comes up to Moose in the back and brings up football coach Jimmy Johnson. Callis talks about Johnson saying stars should be treated like stars, which is what Moose certainly is. Why is he in some qualifying match when he is already a star? Moose tells him to shut up, but Moose might be slightly convinced.

Fire N Flava are annoyed at the loss but Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering come up. Trash is talked until Grace vs. Steelz is set for next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

James Storm vs. Moose

Final Under Siege qualifying match. Storm’s headlock doesn’t last very long and Moose shoulders him away without much effort. A shot to the face knocks Moose outside though and Storm adds a dropkick through the ropes as we take a break. Back with Storm being sent to the apron, where Moose blocks the enziguri in the corner. Moose dumps him outside without much effort and sends him knee first into the barricade.

The knee is rammed into the floor as well, followed by some stomping back inside. Moose talks a lot of trash but Storm fights up and gets in a few right hands, only to get knocked back down. A running dropkick to the knee connects in the corner and Storm is in even more trouble. The leglock goes on but Moose gets caught holding the rope. That’s fine with Moose, who works on the knee even more with some cranking. Moose misses a charge though and Storm slugs away, including the Thesz press with right hands to the jaw (there’s a Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan joke in there somewhere).

The Codebreaker rocks Moose again and there’s a tornado DDT for two. Moose is back up with a tackle to the knee though and we hit the half crab. That doesn’t last long either so Moose goes up, with Storm pulling him into the Eye of the Storm….but the leg gives out. Storm takes his time getting up but manages a Last Call out of nowhere. The knee is too bad to cover though and Moose hits the spear for the pin at 16:08.

Rating: B. This was close enough to a main event style match to fit in this spot. Moose working on the knee throughout the match and then having it play into the whole thing worked out well. Moose has been primed for the title shot for a long time now and beating Storm feels like something that matters. Good match in the right spot with the right result so that’s a nice job.

Post match Moose Pillmanizes the leg with Chris Sabin running out just a bit too late for the save.

Overall Rating: B-. They had a very streamlined show here to set up a lot of Under Siege in a hurry. It was almost weird having a bunch of singles matches in a row but it was what they needed to do here. The six way could go to multiple people and they set up enough stuff for the coming shows to make this a pretty good use of two hours.

Results

Chris Sabin b. Rhino – La majistral

Taylor Wilde b. Susan – Bridging German suplex

Trey Miguel b. Rohit Raju – Hourglass

Doc Gallows b. Juice Robinson – Chokebomb

El Phantasmo b. VSK – Superkick

Rachael Ellering b. Kiera Hogan – Swinging Boss Man Slam

Moose b. James Storm – Spear

 

 

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Rebellion 2021
Date: April 25, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

Rich Swann vs. Kenny Omega, title for title. I would talk about the rest of the show but none of it matters in the slightest, which you would know if you have been watching the TV shows. Nothing else has gotten any significant attention in the build, which does make some sense. Hopefully it lives up to the considerable hype. Let’s get to it.

The opening sequence focuses on Omega vs. Swann, with Omega talking about how being the best goes so far beyond being the best in the ring. The rest of the card gets far less attention.

X-Division Title: TJP vs. Ace Austin vs. Josh Alexander

Austin, with Madman Fulton, is defending. Alexander and TJP go after the champ to start with Austin kicking Alexander in the head. TJP gets taken down so Alexander goes for the ankle lock on Austin. That’s broken up so Alexander gets caught in TJP’s Octopus hold. With that not lasting long either, TJP sends them both outside where Austin bails out of a Lionsault. Striker goes into a speech about how Ace Austin isn’t in the new Micro Brawler series while TJP is, which will have Austin wondering why a kid is playing with TJP and not him. Brown: “Actually Austin is in the series too.” And we move on.

With Alexander on the floor, Ace loads up the (special edition) playing card on TJP’s hand but the referee takes it away. Alexander comes back in and captures Austin’s arm for something close to a German suplex as Striker talks about how we don’t need two referees. Everyone is back in and Austin monkey flips TJP into Alexander’s powerbomb but kicks Alexander in the ribs, allowing TJP to snap off a hurricanrana instead.

TJP is back up with a running boot to Austin in the corner, setting up a superplex/Russian legsweep combination to put everyone down at the same time. Back up and Alexander goes for the ankle lock on Austin but gets pulled into TJP’s kneebar. That’s fine with Alexander, who grabs an ankle lock on Austin at the same time.

Everyone escapes as I try to get my head around the odds of holds like that only happening in TJP matches. With that broken up again, we get another triple submission with the same result. The Fold is broken up so Alexander hits Divine Intervention on TJP with Austin making the save. Alexander locks Austin’s ankle but TJP comes in with the Mamba splash. Fulton breaks up the cover, leaving Alexander to hit Divine Intervention to pin Austin at 11:11.

Rating: B. That’s all this should have been and it worked out well. Above all else, they didn’t stop with the action and that is how they set the match up over the last few weeks. I like Alexander winning the title as he has needed to show that he can do something without Ethan Page. Now he can go and have one good match after another with just about anyone so I’m certainly pleased with the result. Now hopefully they can come close to living up to this level.

We run down the card that you already paid to see.

Violent By Design is ready for an eight man tag, even with Eric Young injured. He talks to someone we can’t see and says that they are getting the chance to start something. Whoever it is isn’t ready for the full thing, but they can do something tonight.

We recap Violent By Design vs. Chris Sabin/James Storm/Willie Mack/Eddie Edwards. Violent By Design are all evil and want to hurt people so the other four are standing up to them. Eric Young is hurt though and we are going to need a replacement.

Violent By Design vs. James Storm/Willie Mack/Eddie Edwards/Chris Sabin

The mystery partner is….W. Morrissey, better known as Big Cass (that is a horrible ring name). Sabin kicks at Rhino’s arm to start as Eric Young is sitting on the stage in a chair. It’s off to Storm, who shoves Deaner into the corner so Morrissey can come in. Morrissey looks great as Storm punches him in the face and then catches him on top. A big boot knocks Storm to the floor and Morrissey knocks the rest of the team off the apron.

It’s off to Doering to run Storm over for two but Storm hits a running neckbreaker on Rhino. Mack comes in off the hot tag to clean house as everything breaks down. Deaner and Rhino get caught in the Tree of Woe for some running kicks, followed by Storm’s top rope elbow to Deaner for two. Morrissey tags himself in and starts running people over, including taking out Sabin’s leg on the apron.

Storm cannonballs off the apron to drop Rhino and Sabin catches Deaner on top….for the superplex onto the pile (with Deaner slipping so the landing wasn’t great). Back in and Mack Stunners Doering to the floor but Morrissey is back in for the East River Crossing and the pin on Mack at 10:07.

Rating: C. Morrissey is the story here and he looked good at what he did. The question, as usual though, is what is going on in his head. If he can have the mental side of things down, he could be quite the asset. That and if you don’t bring Enzo Amore in as well, because that comes off as little more than a rehash of something that was only so good in the first place. Good debut here and a fun match, though I’m not sure how far the team can go without Eric Young.

We recap Brian Myers vs. Matt Cardona. Myers seemed to want to reform the team but Cardona wanted to do something on his own for once.

Brian Myers vs. Matt Cardona

Myers slaps him in the face instead of shaking hands so Cardona unloads on him in the corner. The Reboot is loaded up but Myers bails to the floor and takes Cardona out with him. Myers gets sent over the barricade, where he manages to snap Cardona’s back over the steel. Cardona gets hit in the head and they go inside for some elbows to give Myers two. The chinlock with a knee in the back goes on for a bit until Cardona fights up to make the clothesline comeback.

They head outside again with Cardona nailing Radio Silence to put them both down. Myers is up first with a spear and they head back inside with an elbow giving Myers two. Cardona is back with an Unprettier for two and can’t believe the kickout. More Radio Silence is broken up and Cardona’s knee buckles on the landing. The referee calls for help and Myers checks on Cardona….before decking him. The Roster Cut finishes Cardona at 9:48.

Rating: C. I’ve seen worse as they both brought the anger and intensity. Throw in the pretty well done false injury angle at the end and they had some good stuff here. Cardona and Myers need to get away from each other, but the ending seems to suggest that we aren’t done yet. And get Myers a better finisher, because it’s still just a clothesline.

Tony Khan is here and lists off all of his AEW job titles. He has Aubrey Edwards here as his referee for the main event but Scott D’Amore has Brian Hebner. Khan: “What’s your last name again?” They’ll both referee the main event.

We recap Fire N Flava defending the Knockouts Tag Team Titles against Jordynne Grace/Rachael Ellering. Grace needed a partner after Jazz retired so Ellering debuted to get the title shot.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Jordynne Grace/Rachael Ellering vs. Fire N Flava

Fire N Flava is defending but here is Jazz to second the challengers, which Striker treats as the biggest thing that he has ever seen. Ellering powers Hogan around to start and lifts her up to block a headlock attempt. Grace comes in to throw Hogan around as well but it is too early for the Grace Driver.

Steelz comes in for a kick to Grace’s face for two before taking her into the corner for the stomping. Hogan comes in to stomp away but Grace powers her way over for the hot tag to Ellering. House is cleaned and everything breaks down, with the champs being sent to the apron for stereo missile dropkicks for stereo near falls.

Grace is back up and backdrops Steelz over the top but she grabs a cutter on Ellering on the way down (while crashing onto the apron). Grace leaves a dive mostly short and Hogan dives onto everyone at once. Steelz and Grace knock each other down on the floor as Ellering forearms Hogan into a fisherman’s suplex swung forward into a spinebuster (that’s a new one) for the pin at 9:24. Jazz added nothing here.

Rating: D+. Sure why not. It’s not like the titles have any meaning or that there are more than a few regular teams to go after them in the first place. Ellering and Grace winning doesn’t change much but you had to take the titles off of Fire N Flava sooner or later so this works as well as anything else. The botches didn’t help things and the ending was flat, but it could have been miles worse.

We recap Sami Callihan vs. Trey Miguel. Trey came back recently and Sami wants him to show more passion. This has involved hurting him over and over so tonight it’s Last Man Standing so Miguel can show his heart.

Trey Miguel vs. Sami Callihan

Last Man Standing. Sami starts fast by sending Miguel outside in a huge crash for a seven count. That works for Callihan, who follows him out but gets caught with Sliced Bread on the floor. Miguel swings into a hurricanrana to send Sami down again but the suicide dive only hits barricade. Brown: “Where is Sami going now?” Striker: “Mentally? Physically? Spiritually?”

They head up to the stage with Miguel being powerbombed onto an anvil case. It’s time to open said case with Sami finding and throwing away a wrench. Instead he pulls out some chains to wrap around his fists to knock Miguel down again. The wrench is put into Miguel’s mouth because we need to do something out there in a Callihan match. They head inside with a bunch of weapons included, including a table being turned upside down with the legs being set up.

Callihan isn’t having any of Miguel’s comeback and slams him onto the open legs for the scary spot of the night. Miguel is sat on top with Sami throwing a chair at him, setting up a super piledriver not through the table, because that table is very sturdy. They both beat the count and head outside as Striker quotes the Bible about never turning back.

Sami sets the steps on their side on the floor and piledrives Miguel onto the side for another nasty crash. The steps are laid on top of Miguel but he slips out the other side, which Striker thinks is like a magic trick because Striker is easily impressed. A huge cutter from the apron through the table is enough to finish Sami at 15:35.

Rating: C+. Yes there were a lot of impressive spots and Miguel showed heart, but if a super piledriver onto a table doesn’t finish you, why in the world should someone try a wrestling move on you? That slam onto the steps looked great though and Sami is going to be at his best in something like this, so I’m not surprised that this wound up working out as well as it did.

We recap FinJuice vs. the Good Brothers for the Tag Team Titles. FinJuice took the titles from the Brothers and then went back to New Japan, so tonight is the big rematch. The Good Brothers want their titles back and are extra serious this time.

FinJuice vs. Good Brothers

The Brothers are challenging with Doc Gallows looking rather Jesse Venturaish during their entrances. Finlay takes Anderson down to start and Robinson gets dropped onto him for two as the champs take over early. Anderson shrugs off the arm cranking and it’s off to Gallows for the rights and lefts in the corner. A double bulldog gets two on Gallows but he’s back up to power Finlay into the corner.

Gallows hits a kick to the head for two and we hit the chinlock. Some hammer elbows keep Finlay down until Gallows puts him on the middle rope. That’s fine with Finlay, who scores with the middle elbow elbow to the jaw. The hot tag brings in Robinson to clean house, including a backsplash to Gallows. A dive to the floor takes Gallows down again and the jabs put Anderson down as well.

Everything breaks down, with Striker talking about FinJuice being influenced by the Hart Foundation, Demolition and….the Smoking Gunns? Gallows is knocked to the floor so FinJuice can load up a Doomsday Device, only to have Gallows break it up. The belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination gets two on Robinson but Finlay is back in to break up the Magic Killer. A small package Anderson to retain at 10:32.

Rating: C+. And with that, we have proof of which team is the most Japan of all time. I’m rather surprised at the lack of a title change but it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Young Bucks being brought in to become the bestest tag team ever in the history of ever. Good enough match, but hearing all of the Japan references and having FinJuice leave for a month didn’t help my interest.

Don Callis is ready to see Kenny Omega win the Impact World Title because he is in Rich Swann’s head. Callis and Omega are family but Swann is an orphan who isn’t going home with his toy. Callis has envisioned this for years and tonight it is reality.

We recap Tenille Dashwood vs. Deonna Purrazzo for the Knockouts Title. Purrazzo is the unstoppable champion who cam make anyone submit while Dashwood is obsessed with herself and wants the title to prove her great she is.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Tenille Dashwood

Purrazzo is defending, Susan, Kimber Lee and Kaleb With A K are all here. Purrazzo goes straight for the arm to send Dashwood bailing away in a smart move. A clothesline gives Purrazzo two and it’s time to wrap Dashwood’s arm around her own throat for a chinlock. Back up and they trade shots to the face, setting up the Tarantula on Purrazzo. A high crossbody (warranting a three sentence description from Striker) gives Dashwood two but Purrazzo is right back with the German suplex.

Dashwood is right back with an STF but Lee offers a distraction, drawing Kaleb With A K over. The brawl is on outside and Dashwood hits the Spotlight Kick. Lee pulls Dashwood to the floor to break up the count, allowing Purrazzo to hit an exploder back inside. The Fujiwara armbar is countered with a quick roll so Purrazzo settles for the Queen’s Gambit and the pin at 9:47.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have time to go very far with everything else going on. At the same time, there is only so much that you can do with a heel vs. heel match without the most detailed reason for a feud. Purrazzo is rapidly cleaning out the division but odds are some free agents/the returning Taylor Wilde should give her some fresh opponents.

Post match the beatdown seems imminent but Taylor Wilde returns and cleans house, setting up the staredown with Purrazzo.

We run down the upcoming Impact Plus slate, capped off by a video for Slammiversary in July, featuring Samoa Joe, Chelsea Greene and Mickie James.

We recap Kenny Omega vs. Rich Swann, World Title vs. World Title. Omega came in and was treated like the greatest thing ever so Impact World Champion Swann didn’t think much of it. Then Omega pinned him in a six man tag, setting up the title vs. title match. Swann has as much chance of winning tonight as I do of winning the 1958 Hong Kong Cha Cha Championship so let’s get to the inevitable.

Impact Wrestling World Title/AEW World Title: Rich Swann vs. Kenny Omega

Title or title, Eddie Edwards, Willie Mack and Tony Khan are here, Mauro Ranallo is on commentary, there is a referee from each company and Don Callis does an amazing over the top introduction for Omega, listing off every legend he can think of, all of whom are beneath Omega. Swann gets knocked down to the floor in a hurry but is right back with a dropkick to the floor. There’s the big flip dive to take Omega down again but he is right back with a belly to back suplex onto the apron.

They head back outside with Swann loading up the handspring cutter onto the apron but loses momentum and lance on his head instead. Back in and a buckle bomb rocks Swann again, meaning it’s time to work on Swann’s back injury. Various shots to the back, including some rather big knees, keep Swann in trouble. The Kitaro Crusher is avoided though and Swann kicks him in the head. Ax handles to the back are shrugged off and it’s a hurricanrana to drop Omega again.

A super hurricanrana gets one on Omega and he goes up again. This time Swann follows but has to backdrop his way out of a superbomb (with Omega almost landing on his head). The Phoenix splash gives Swann two but Omega is back with the Dr. Willy Bomb. The V Trigger looks to set up the One Winged Angel, with Swann escaping in a hurry. Another V Trigger connects in the corner, followed by another into the snapdragon. Another snapdragon connects but Swann is back up with the handspring cutter.

Swann tries it again but Omega pulls the Impact referee into it instead. Omega grabs a chair, which the AEW referee takes away. Swann hits the handspring cutter into la majistral for one, with Omega reversing into a cradle of his own for two. Another V Trigger misses and a spinning Michinoku Driver gets two on Omega. The Phoenix splash misses and it’s a V Trigger into an electric chair dropped into a German suplex for two more (ok that was cool).

Omega hits a Jay Driller for another near fall so, after some trash talk to Eddie Edwards, it’s another V Trigger. Swann gets fired up and manages a suplex for a breather but the Phoenix splash misses. Another V Trigger sets up the One Winged Angel to give Omega the pin and the title at 22:57.

Rating: B+. It’s a very good match, even with the ending that you knew was coming. Omega was always winning the title so he can do the belt collector deal, though I could have gone with at least trying for a little more drama. This match was built up as “Swann can’t beat Omega so watch Omega win the title” and that’s exactly what happened. They had some good action and tried, but this was all about getting to the ending that you knew was coming. That being said, points for not going too insane with everyone out there, even including the completely unnecessary ref bump.

Overall Rating: B. You had a rather good opener and an even better main event with nothing too horrible in between. This was actually quite the pay per view, as is usual for Impact. I’m really not sure where this goes for them in the future, but for now at least they had a rather good show. Just find the right way forward with Omega and the title and we’ll see what they can do, but they didn’t have a choice with the ending. Rather good show, book ended by a pair of awesome matches.

Results

Josh Alexander b. TJP and Ace Austin – Divine Intervention to Austin

Violent By Design b. Eddie Edwards/Chris Sabin/Willie Mack/James Storm – East River Crossing to Mack

Brian Myers b. Matt Cardona – Roster Cut

Rachael Ellering/Jordynne Grace b. Fire N Flava – Fisherman’s spinebuster to Hogan

Trey Miguel b. Sami Callihan – Callihan could not beat the ten count

FinJuice b. Good Brothers – Small package to Anderson

Deonna Purrazzo b. Tenille Dashwood – Queen’s Gambit

Kenny Omega b. Rich Swann – One Winged Angel

 

 

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.

We haven’t been around for one of these in a little while. Impact Wrestling is back with another of its quarterlyish pay per views with Rebellion, and this time it is al about the guest star. The big main event is AEW World Champion Kenny Omega vs. Impact Wrestling World Champion Rich Swann in a title for title match. Impact has done everything it can to make this interesting and it has gone about as well as you would expect. Maybe the rest of the show can make up for it. Let’s get to it.

Tag Team Titles: FinJuice(c) vs. Good Brothers

Let’s get this out of the way to start: FinJuice is not very interesting. They’re talented in the ring, but their characters in Impact boil down to “we’re from New Japan and like wrestling.” Unless I’ve missed something, there isn’t much more to them than that. I understand why it’s a big deal to have the titles defended in New Japan for Impact but it doesn’t do much for the champs. The Good Brothers aren’t much better, but at least they’re around.

Without much drama, the Good Brothers win the titles back here, ending the quick excursion title reign. That way we can have the titles on Dynamite as well as the Good Brothers get to speak in insider terms and hang out with Omega even more while making young boy jokes. It worked so well the first time so why not let them do it again since they’re having so much fun?

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Fire N Flava(c) vs. Rachael Ellering/Jordynne Grace

The titles go more and more in the same vein as the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles as we have another thrown together team getting a title shot. Ellering debuted on Impact as a replacement for the retired Jazz so sure let’s have a title match. These titles have not exactly gone well, though Fire N Flava are rather good as the annoying heels who talk WAY too much.

I’ll go with the champs retaining here, just for the sake of not dealing with someone who wasn’t in the promotion three weeks ago becoming a champion. I’m still not sure how necessary these titles are, but there are enough women on the show that it makes some sense. I just wish they would do a better job setting up teams, especially given how many options they have. But yeah, the champs retain here, as they should.

Trey Miguel vs. Sami Callihan

This is Last Man Standing and hopefully this wraps up their feud before they suddenly become best friends who kind of hate each other but work together anyway. It’s a tired trope and you see it enough today all over the place but you know it’s probably coming. They should be able to have a good match though as Miguel can do anything and Callihan is made for this kind of a brawl.

I’ll take Miguel to win here as it would pay off the idea of him having no heart, especially if he can survive a package piledriver or two. Callihan is already a former World Champion so the loss isn’t going to do much damage. Go with what makes sense here, which hopefully means they go in different directions after the match. Miguel is someone with a lot of potential and he doesn’t need to be bogged down with Callihan as his partner.

Matt Cardona vs. Brian Myers

I’m not sure what to think of this one as they have done a decent enough job of keeping this from being Zack Ryder vs. Curt Hawkins, but what we’re getting still isn’t all that great. These two are just kind of there in the ring, though they do their things well enough. I don’t know if I really need to see the match, but this is the logical way to go for both of them.

I think I’ll go with Cardona winning here, as I don’t think Impact is ready for the devastating power of a guy with a running clothesline as a finisher. Cardona is more interesting than Myers, who can stick around as a gatekeeper for the midcard, which is where he fits in best. The match itself should be fine, though I’m scared about how annoying Matt Striker is going to be.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo(c) vs. Tenille Dashwood

Dashwood really is one of the weirdest cases in all of Impact, as she should be the top star given all of the potential she has, but for one reason or another it has never clicked. It feels like it has taken forever to get us to her having a big time title match and I’m really not sure if she is actually going to win the title. This could go either way, but what should be a coronation is feeling more like an obligation.

I’ll go with Purrazzo to win here as she seems like someone who could be champion for a very long time to come. There is not much of a reason to put the title on Dashwood here other than “hey maybe we should make Dashwood champion”. Hopefully they figure that out, because Purrazzo is being turned into quite the champion. I don’t know who takes it off of her, but hopefully they have some time before they need to figure it out.

Violent By Design vs. Chris Sabin/Eddie Edwards/James Storm/Willie Mack

I’m curious as to how this one is going to go as Eric Young has a torn ACL. He is capable of having a decent match even on one leg, but I’m not sure if this match has been taped in advance or not. This is a match that has been set up fairly well so hopefully the match goes as good as it could. The match should be a solid one, assuming they don’t do anything nuts, which they should be able to pull off here.

This could go either way, but with Young hurt and going away for a pretty long time, there is little reason to have Violent By Design here. Therefore, I’ll take the motley crew to win here, which makes sense given the situation. Above all else, they could have a way to write off Young here, which could go in a few different directions. Just have a violent match with the right people going over and everything should be fine.

X-Division Title: Ace Austin(c) vs. TJP vs. Josh Alexander

This is the first Impact match in a good while that I have been looking forward to this much. These guys are all talented and capable of coming up with something awesome. They have been feuding over the title for a little over a month now and this is the logical way to go. As long as they are given time and the chance to have a great match, this is all but destined to steal the show.

I’ll go with a hunch here and say Alexander wins. You really could go in any of the three ways to walk out with the title. Madman Fulton can help Austin out a bit but I think someone winds up tapping to Alexander to give him the title for the first time. The good thing about this match is that you really could go with any of them, meaning that if the match is given the chance to shine, we should be in for an awesome match no matter what happens.

Impact Wrestling World Title/AEW World Title: Rich Swann(c) vs. Kenny Omega(c)

And now we have the match that Impact has treated as the biggest match of all time and AEW casually acknowledges if they have nothing else to do because Lost In Space was a rerun this week. This seems to be part of AEW’s grand plan to make Omega the champion of all things, meaning you should be able to see how this one is going. Granted you should have been able to see that from the second Omega showed up in Impact.

Omega could win this match if he showed up to work without his pants, so of course he is walking out with the titles. This is what AEW thinks is some kind of amazing story and if they just have to make Impact look weak to do so, I’m sure Impact will go along with it because that is what they do. The match will be good, but Swann has as much of a chance at winning as I have of being Miss Nevada 1972.

Overall Thoughts

The more I look at this card, the less interested I am in the show. The main event and Tag Team Title match don’t do much for me as the endings are just about obvious. There are interesting parts on the show, but I’m not sure how many of them are going to live up to the hype. Then again, Impact has a great record of having good shows with bad builds, so maybe they can pull it off again here.

 

 

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Women’s Tag Team Tournament Episode 2
Date: August 10, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Veda Scott

We’re back with presumably the second half of the first round, meaning the tournament is probably going to go another three weeks at most. One of the two matches has been announced and there is a bit of a surprise entrant included. Last week’s show wasn’t quite a smash so hopefully they pick it up a bit this week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a quick recap of last week’s first round matches.

Opening sequence.

Big Swole draws her name and gets….someone she knows, whose name isn’t important enough for her to say. Dasha names her Lil Swole. Sure why not.

Leva Bates and Rache Chanel are teaming together.

Quarterfinals: Leva Bates/Rache Chanel vs. Big Swole/Lil Swole

Bates, with Peter Avalon, brings Chanel a book about fashion, much to Chanel’s appreciation. As Veda talks about how great Lil Swole is (And mentions that she is a former Shimmer World Champion. Since I have to do research to find out who these well known wrestlers are, that’s enough to tell me that it’s Nicole Savoy.), she takes Chanel down by the arm to start. Back up and Lil is sent outside, where Big carries her around the ring for the save.

They get back in with Big taking over on Leva, with Lil grabbing the Rings of Saturn. Chanel makes the save by tapping her in the head with a brush and Lil is taken into the corner. Some prancing sets up a kick to Lil’s face but Lil powers out of the corner, allowing the hot tag to Big. Chanel is powerbombed down but Bates spears Big down. Lil loads up a powerbomb with Chanel making a save, though the referee doesn’t notice the count. Instead, Chanel is sent outside and it’s a short Downward Spiral/Natural Selection combination to finish Bates at 8:45.

Rating: D. This really didn’t work, and it wasn’t just that I was trying to figure out who Lil was for the first part of the match. I know that she’s a big deal on the women’s circuit, but there is a pretty big leap between the women’s circuit and here, so it might be a good idea to tell us a little something more. Maybe you can’t say the Savoy name (fair), but don’t act like she is some kind of household name that we should just know on sight. It’s not like Trish Stratus or Lita walked through that door. The match itself was quite the mess, with Chanel being a comedy wrestler and Bates not being a threat to anyone. Just a miss all around.

Ivelisse draws Diamante as her partner.

Madusa pops in and makes Dasha draw, because somehow she didn’t know she was in the tournament. Dasha gets…..Rachael Ellering. At least they say her first name this time around. So to recap, we’ve needed to bring in Cameron and the interviewer to fill out the field? Plus one of the Dark jobbers? All for the likely reason of giving Brandi and Allie a trophy?

Quarterfinals: Rachael Ellering/Dasha Gonzalez vs. Ivelisse/Diamante

Ivelisse elbows Dasha in the face but Dasha is back with an armdrag into a nipup. A front flip into a bad forearm sets up an equally bad dropkick to put Ivelisse into the corner. That means it’s off to Ellering vs. Diamante, with the former taking her down by the arm. There’s a running shoulder to put Diamante down, allowing Rachael to give a rather long pose.

A double suplex drops Diamante again and there’s a cartwheel moonsault from Dasha. Diamante blocks a suplex attempt and brings Ivelisse back in, meaning it’s a Lotus Lock (full nelson with the legs). Some running elbows in the corner set up a Downward Spiral for two on Dasha and Ivelisse hammers away. Ivelisse misses a spinning kick to the head though and the hot tag brings in Ellering to clean house.

Ellering hits the running backsplash for two on Ivelisse, who accidentally knocks Diamante off the apron. A middle rope legdrop gets two on Ivelisse, with Diamante making the save. Diamante pulls Ivelisse out of the way of a splash in the corner, followed by a wheelbarrow Stunner on Dasha. A rather snappy Code Red finishes Dasha at 10:15.

Rating: D-. I can’t believe it but they managed to make the first match look that much better. Dasha isn’t a wrestler so I don’t blame her for this. She has had at least one match on the NXT Florida circuit but even a long time there is nowhere near enough to make you ready for this spot. Diamante isn’t good and Ellering is just coming off of a torn ACL. What were you expecting this to be? Whatever it was, this was probably worse.

The Swoles talk about having chemistry for a long time and use the word swole for almost everything.

Dasha, who just lost, can’t stop smiling because that was something she had wanted to do. Dasha: “I had my first loss in AEW and hopefully it won’t be my last.”

Ivelisse and Diamante say they are a threat.

Overall Rating: F. This was terrible and I can’t think of many other ways to put it. To go with the blunt option, there are not enough women available to AEW to make a tournament like this (which isn’t even that big) work. The women are giving it their all but they are not ready for this spot in this kind of a structure. The company doesn’t have enough women to make this work and what we saw here was painful.

I don’t remember the last time I wanted a show to end more, and that includes the last year plus of Raw. This isn’t on the women for the most part, as they were put in over their heads. I feel sorry for them, but more than that I feel relieved that this thing is only going for two more weeks (in theory at least).

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