IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 2, 2019
Location: St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

This is kind of a weird night for Impact as they’re airing a live special called Unbreakable at the same time as this show. They’ve hyped up matches for both shows, meaning you might have needed to take notes coming into it. One of the bigger matches for this one will see Tessa Blanchard vs. Mad Man Fulton, which could be good. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Aiden Prince vs. Rohit Raju vs. Zachary Wentz vs. Chuck Mambo vs. Cody Deaner vs. Petey Williams

The winner gets an X-Division Title shot at some point in the future. Deaner goes after Raju to start and their fight heads out to the floor as Mambo and Prince trade flips inside. Wentz comes back in and gets to stare Williams down with the former getting caught in a headscissors. The Canadian Destroyer is broken up so Williams gets in a Sharpshooter with Raju coming in to add a Crossface on Wentz at the same time.

Raju spears Williams down for two with Deaner coming in for the save. Hold on though as Deaner needs to put on his hat. Williams grabs his flag for a posedown and it’s a double suicide dive to take out Prince and Raju. Wentz dives onto them as well and Prince nails an Asai moonsault. Back in and Mambo’s springboard is broken up so Deaner punches Raju some more.

Petey comes in for the Russian legsweep but Wentz breaks up a Destroyer with a jumping knee to the face. Raju makes another save but gets beaten up by Deaner again (it’s not some epic feud people). Deaner’s DDT plants Raju with Mambo springboarding in with an elbow for the next save. Prince comes back in with a brainbuster and 450 to finish Mambo for the pin and the title shot at 9:15.

Rating: C+. This was your usual wild X-Division match and that works well enough, especially for an opener. They do need to bring in some fresh talent, but it doesn’t mean as much when a lot of these names can be interchanged. The X-Division is certainly in a better place than they were in a few months ago though and I’ll take whatever improvement I can get.

Jake Crist is excited about having a new challenger but Sami Callihan tells him to hand over the title. That isn’t happening so Sami talks about Tessa Blanchard instead. Tonight, she can deal with Mad Man Fulton.

Rich Swann warns Tessa about Fulton and the rest of OVE. Tessa appreciates the offer of help but says she has to do this alone.

Havok vs. John E. Bravo

Taya Valkyrie is out with Bravo. John drops to a knee and kisses Havok’s hand, so she knees him in the face. Bravo gets tossed across the ring and no sells a poke to the eye. The chokeslam finishes Bravo at 1:43.

Su Yung pops up on screen and seems to ramble some gibberish, which disturbs Havok.

Josh Alexander is worried about tonight’s Tag Team Title defense while Ethan Page is wondering who they’ll defend against after they beat the Rascalz tonight. Alexander wants some more seriousness.

Stone Rockwell vs. Ace Austin

Austin jumps him before the bell but Rockwell hits a strong clothesline and pulls a springboarding Austin out of the air. A spinning backbreaker plants Austin again but an elbow misses. The Fold finishes Rockwell at 2:15.

Post match Eddie Edwards of all people jumps Austin from behind and beats the heck out of him. Remember that Austin hit on Eddie’s wife.

Madison Rayne, dubbing herself the locker room leader, comes in to see Tessa and wishes her luck tonight. Tessa doesn’t want to hear it and leaves. Madison: “She’s done.”

Video on the Knockouts Division, which has been pretty strong in recent months.

Alisha Edwards yells at Eddie for attacking Ace. She says she doesn’t have time for him being crazy and leaves.

During the break, Moose laid out Stone Rockwell and now back in the arena, Moose says he is a star and no longer responsible for his actions. Cue Fallah Bahh and we have a match.

Moose vs. Fallah Bahh

Moose is in street clothes and gets crushed in the corner. The Banzai Drop finishes Moose at 47 seconds. They’re not wasting time tonight.

Post break Moose wants to know who booked that match.

Mad Man Fulton vs. Tessa Blanchard

Sami is here with Fulton. Tessa forearms away to start and the size difference is crazy. Magnum is broken up with ease and it’s a chokeslam to plant Tessa instead. With Tessa mostly dead, Fulton pauses for some OVE chants and Sami rants about how Tessa earned this. Callis: “Shut up idiot.”

Tessa slaps Fulton in the face and the bearhug goes on with a lot of shaking. In what might not be the smartest move, Tessa pulls out one of his deadlocks to escape. Some running forearms don’t do much though and Fulton big boots her down. Sami throws in a chair and slaps Fulton, but here’s Tommy Dreamer (BECAUSE OF COURSE IT’S TOMMY DREAMER!) to hit Fulton with the kendo stick for the DQ at 5:01.

Rating: D+. I actually groaned when Dreamer ran out because we’re going to get the same speech about how much he loves wrestling and doesn’t have much time left as he gets to attach himself to another story. It’s been done to death already and I really, really don’t need to see it again. But he was in ECW and Callis likes pushing his friends from the company that has been out of business for over eighteen years so this is what we’re getting. The match itself was much more of an angle advancement than anything else, which is fine, though I’m not sure where Tessa goes after getting done with OVE.

Post match Fulton goes after Dreamer but Tessa gets the stick and runs OVE off.

We look at Rhyno returning last week and attacking Michael Elgin. I’m not sure how valuable he is to the company but Impact loves bringing people back in whenever they can.

Elgin gets what Rhyno did but Rhyno is still going to pay.

An unnamed woman comes into the Knockouts locker room and doesn’t introduce herself. Madison introduces herself as the locker room leader but Kiera Hogan comes in and everyone gets catty with each other. The new girl leaves.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Generation Me (Young Bucks) vs. Motor City Machine Guns at Bound For Glory 2010.

Jimmy Jacobs goes up to Brian Cage’s house for an update but Melissa Santos opens the door and asks for privacy. She’ll answer his questions next week.

Impact is back in Mexico City later this month.

Rhyno doesn’t care about legal actions because he had a bunch of money thrown to him to sit in catering for years. Everyone is getting the Gore.

Tag Team Titles: The North vs. Rascalz

Trey Miguel and Dezmond Xavier are defending with no Wentz here this time. North drops Miguel with an early forearm and a quick takedown has Miguel rethinking things a bit. Page comes in and gets caught with a springboard headscissors as Miguel is having a lot more success this time around. Dezmond comes in and starts kicking away at Page, followed by rights and lefts in the corner.

Back to back to back slingshot splashes keep Page down for two but Alexander saves Page from an O’Connor roll. A World’s Strongest Slam onto the apron has Dezmond in trouble for the first time and a spinning suplex gives Alexander two. Alexander puts him in a rack for something from Page but Page is too busy yelling at Miguel. Dezmond uses the distraction to slip out and it’s back to Trey to pick up the pace. That doesn’t last long though as the champs run him over again and take over.

With Dezmond knocked off the apron, Trey gets free and dives over for the tag….but just crashes into the corner. As expected, the hot tag goes through a few seconds later and everything breaks down again. Dezmond hits a huge dive over the top to take down both champs and we take a break.

Back with Page kicking Dezmond in the head but getting stomped in the back for two from Miguel. Page powerslams Dezmond on the floor, leaving Alexander to start in on Miguel’s ankle. A backbreaker gets two and Alexander is starting to get frustrated. The ankle lock is broken up so Alexander goes with a powerbomb backbreaker for two more in a nasty landing. The torture rack flipped into the spinebuster gets two as everything breaks down again.

The double slugout is on with the Rascalz getting the better of it until Alexander lifts Trey up for a powerslam. Dezmond tries a springboard moonsault onto them….and Alexander catches him too. A double powerslam gets two more but Alexander misses his own moonsault. Trey’s top rope Meteora sets up Dezmond’s Final Flash for two and Trey’s rollup gets the same. Dezmond gets sent outside and it’s a cutter into a wheelbarrow suplex, followed by the double Neuralizer to retain the titles at 22:40.

Rating: A-. This was a heck of a match with both teams looking awesome. I’ve liked the Rascalz since they debuted but I’ve been waiting for something to make the North feel important. That’s what we got here as the match was very hard hitting and back and forth the whole time, with a nice bit of doubt as to who was winning. The Rascalz will eventually get the titles and that’s going to be a heck of a moment, but at least we had a great match on the way there.

Post match the North goes to the back, where Ortiz jumps them. The champs fight back but Daga runs in and makes the save, with Konnan helping to chase the North off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Rather good show here as they covered a bunch of stuff and had a very strong main event to close things out. When Impact is on its game and keeps away from the storyline stuff, they can put out some good television and that’s what we got here. What matters most for them is consistency, which has always been a problem for this company. I’ll take a very good show while I can though and that’s what we got here.

Results

Aiden Prince b. Chuck Mambo, Rohit Raju, Zachary Wentz, Cody Deaner and Petey Williams – 450 to Mambo

Havok b. John E. Bravo – Chokeslam

Ace Austin b. Stone Rockwell – The Fold

Fallah Bahh b. Moose – Banzai Drop

Mad Man Fulton b. Tessa Blanchard via DQ when Tommy Dreamer interfered

The North b. Rascalz – Double Neutralizer to Miguel

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

I don’t remember the last time I was actually looking forward to an Impact pay per view this much. They’ve done a rather nice job of setting this show up and Slammiversary tends to be their best pay per view of the year. The card is rather strong up and down and there are a few matches that could steal the show given the chance. Hopefully they can live up to the hype so let’s get to it.

Moose vs. Rob Van Dam

I’ve made my near disdain for bringing in Van Dam’s fellow ECW names rather well known at this point so I’ll leave them out in hopes that Impact does the same. This match could be a nice moment for Moose, who has always been flirting with the top of the card but never broken through to the next level. Beating Van Dam wouldn’t get him over the finish line permanently, but it would be a solid win for him.

I’ll take Moose to win as Van Dam should only be there to put people over at this point. Van Dam’s best days are behind him but he’s still a popular name and someone who can give someone like Moose a nice rub. It’s also rather nice that Impact seems to be beyond the point where I have to worry about them putting the old guy over, which was a plague upon them for so long. Moose wins here, as he should.

Knockouts Title: Taya Valkyrie(c) vs. Rosemary vs. Su Yung vs. Havok

This is under Monster’s Ball rules, which certainly fits given the insanity that this feud has been so far. There are all kinds of stories going on, but the major story stems from Rosemary looking to avenge Allie’s death, which is mainly due to Yung and James Mitchell. What matters here though is that the match is WIDE open and could go almost any given way.

I’ll go with Yung to win here, though it really could go multiple ways. She seems likely to sneak in and steal a pin, though I have very little confidence in it. That’s the sign of a well told story, as any of the four could win and it would make sense in any direction. This feud is going to continue and I’m ok with that, which isn’t something I would have believed just a few weeks ago. Not bad at all here and the match should be fun.

Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard

I’m not sure what to make of this one. Blanchard has shown that she is more or less completely dominant over the Knockouts division so it’s understandable that she is facing men. At the same time, Callihan is as scummy of a heel as you can get….but his random sexism feels out of place and not like the kind of villain that he is likely to be. It’s not ridiculous, but it doesn’t feel quite right.

I really see no reason for Callihan to win here, as Blanchard is the kind of person who could be a top star in the company. With her look, talent and pedigree, she already has all the tools and there is no real reason to have her lose her first big non-Knockouts match. I’m not sure where things are going to go with Blanchard, but if they play their cards right, she could be a big deal.

Eddie Edwards vs. Killer Kross

This is a First Blood match and a match that I haven’t been that interested in seeing. It’s fairly clear that Kross is taking Eli Drake’s spot in the feud and that’s as good of a move as they could have had. At least we’re likely to get a more violent match out of these two than Drake vs. Edwards would have been, which makes the First Blood stipulation make that much more sense.

I’ll go with Edwards winning here as it makes far more sense. Edwards has been built up for a little while now and needs a big win like this. With Kross already having contract issues with the company, I can’t imagine seeing the company giving him a win in such a major spot. Edwards wins, likely with the aide of Kenny II. Just let them go nuts and things will be as good as they could possibly be.

Tag Team Titles: The North(c) vs. LAX vs. Rascalz

The titles actually changed hands at one of the online shows and we’re now in a three way for the titles. That makes me wonder if something is up with LAX, who might be leaving for more AEW style pastures. There is nothing left for them to do in Impact so moving on might be the best call. That leaves you with two options to leave for the titles and one has something going for them.

I’m thinking the North retains here because they’re Canadian and Don Callis really likes wrestlers from that country. I’ve been a Rascalz fan since they debuted and would love to see them get the titles here, but something tells me that we need the North (what a great name) keep them for a little while longer. They’re not the worst idea in the world, but they’re far from the most interesting team around.

X-Division Title: Rich Swann(c) vs. Johnny Impact

This is the match I want to see more than any other and it could be an instant classic. Swann has gone from just another X-Division Champion to looking like a borderline main event talent in the span of a few weeks. Impact is a main event talent though and I’m not sure if Swann is ready to make the leap all the way up to the top level in the company just yet.

That’s why I’m going with Impact winning the title here, which is more than an acceptable choice to take. Swann can either come back and win the title again or move up to the World Title scene. After the last few weeks, he’s shown he’s capable of having up there so the move is the right call. Swann is talented and has potential, but Impact has already shown what he can do and is a fine choice to take the title from Swann in a great match.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Brian Cage(c) vs. Michael Elgin

Now this could be all kinds of fun. This is going to be two monsters hitting each other really hard until one of them can’t get up. Cage has been out of action for months now with his back injury but he looked great in his brawl with Elgin a few weeks back. I’m not entirely sure which way this is going to go but it’s going to be a heck of a match until we get to the ending.

With Cage winning the title at the last pay per view and not wrestling since, I’ll take him winning. That brings up the issue of who he is supposed to face next, but I can’t imagine them taking the title off of him in just his first defense. Elgin is a special kind of monster, but he’s going to be taking a loss to the new champ here, as he should be.

Overall Thoughts

I’m really liking the sound of this show and given Impact’s track record with its pay per views, it might actually be a reasonable level of excitement for a change. Almost nothing on the card looks bad and we could be in for a heck of a show. The company has gotten a lot better in its buildup and with the right kind of performance on the show, it could be one of the best pay per views they’ve had in a long time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 28, 2019
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

It’s the next to last show before Slammiversary and that means things are getting interesting around here. They’ve done a rather nice job of making Rich Swann look like a star and hopefully that continues this week. At the same time they have to build up Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard some more, which could be anywhere from a train wreck to a big success. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

The North vs. Deaners

Well it’s better than the Desi Hit Squad….I think. Alexander and Jake start things off with Alexander’s headlocks and shoulders not working well. Jake’s works a bit better and it’s off to Cody, who gets two off Jake’s clothesline. Everything breaks down for a bit and Page gets knocked into a gutbuster for two. Jake comes back in and gets stomped down in the North corner for all of a few seconds before it’s back to Cody. A full nelson backbreaker gets two on Cody and Page stops to yell at a fan.

Alexander’s suplex keeps Cody in trouble and Page grabs a chinlock. Cody fights up and neckbreakers his way to freedom so Jake can come back in and clean house. A splash in the corner brings Cody back in rather soon but what looked to be a Magic Killer is broken up. Jake and Alexander slug it out with Jake no selling a German suplex. Some double teaming puts Jake on the floor and it’s Cody getting thrown off the top. The double Neuralizer gives Page the pin at 10:02.

Rating: D+. I’m still not getting the appeal of either of these teams and neither of them are helping the shows for the most part. The North are the better options and thankfully they haven’t been focusing on being from Canada for the most part. The Deaners….my goodness how long did they put into this idea? Maybe eighteen seconds?

Taya Valkyrie and Rosemary have a meeting in the back about the Monster’s Ball but Rosemary would rather talk about her upcoming title shot. They have a tag match tonight but Taya is worried about their outfits not matching. Rosemary says it’ll be fine. Rosemary: “Trust us.” Taya: “Us?”

Brian Cage is not cleared to compete.

We look at Moose attacking Tommy Dreamer at a House of Hardcore event. Forgive me for not feeling the emotional impact of Tommy Dreamer getting beaten up.

Slammiversary/the rest of the night rundown.

Su Yung/Havok vs. Rosemary/Taya Valkyrie

Taya and Rosemary argue over who is going to start until Havok takes Taya into the corner for some choking. Havok switches it up a bit with choking in another corner before handing it off to Yung. Since Yung is kind of all over the place, her best offense is to let Havok kick Taya in the head. The bloody glove comes out but it’s already back to Havok, who Taya climbs over and makes the tag off to Rosemary. A quickly broken Last Chancery causes everything to break down and it’s Havok vs. Rosemary on the floor. Rosemary kicks a chair into Havok’s face and it’s a double countout at 5:02.

Rating: D+. At least the characters are more interesting here. I’m also glad they didn’t have a pin for a change as you want to keep everyone strong heading into Monster’s Ball. I don’t know why that’s so complicated as countouts and disqualifications can be your friend in a situation like this. A little short, but at least the ending was right.

Post match the brawl continues with Rosemary busting out the tacks. Havok saves Su from going into them but Su hits Havok by mistake. James Mitchell has to come in and keep the peace.

Ace Austin isn’t happy with losing to TJP last week but it wasn’t fair because he didn’t know TJP worked here. TJP comes in, makes fun of his time in WWE, and a rematch is set for next week.

The Deaners drink the loss away when the Desi Hit Squad comes in to mock them. More beer is consumed.

Slammiversary rundown.

Flashback Moment Of The Week: X-Division Title ladder match at Slammiversary 2014.

Eddie Edwards goes to church to confess about his love of violence. The priest turns into Killer Kross, who talks about Eddie trying to find himself. Eddie will wait for Slammiversary while Kross stays and threatens the priest.

John E. Bravo talks to the other referees and says Johnny Bravo completes him. Rich Swann comes in to go after Bravo but Impact and Willie Mack come in. A tag match is made for later.

Sami Callihan vs. Fallah Bahh

Madman Fulton and Scarlett Bordeaux are the seconds here. Bahh glares Sami down for daring to chop him but a Fulton distraction works a bit better. That’s good for an ejection so we’re down to one on two. Sami gets in a clothesline and grabs a chinlock, which works so well that they do it again. Bahh gets back up and hits a running splash, followed by the running hip attack. It’s too early for the Banzai drop so Sami bites the arm. A few kicks to the face set up a hanging Cactus Special for the pin on Bahh at 6:43.

Rating: D. This was back to the old style for Bahh and that isn’t the best thing in the world. He’s not the most interesting guy in the world at his best and this was worse than the previous few times he’s been out there. I’m not sure how bad it’s going to be with Scarlett gone, but it’s not like she did anything here.

Post match Sami says that’s how you get over as only a man can do. Sami wants to say something to Tessa but wants to do it to her face so get out here. Tessa comes out and jumps over the ropes, despite Sami holding the ropes open for her. Sami says Tessa wants to be treated as an equal so he bicycle kicks her. She pops back up and hammers away until the Crists run out, allowing Sami to get in a baseball bat shot to the ribs. Tessa spits in his face so it’s a Cactus Special to leave her laying.

Rascalz vs. Laredo Kid/LAX

Konnan is out with LAX/Kid. It’s a staredown to start but Kid springboard dives onto the Rascalz and we start fast. The ring is cleared out until it’s Kid springboard crossbodying Miguel and then moonsaulting off the top onto everyone else. Back from a break with Miguel getting caught in a reverse powerbomb for a series of splashes for two. Miguel flips out of a belly to back suplex from Santana and makes the tag to Wentz for a breather.

Everything breaks down and Santana sends Miguel into Xavier for a spear. A Batista Bomb plants Wentz so Xavier grabs a running Spanish Fly. Miguel’s enziguri to Kid gives us the big knockdown for a much needed breather. Everyone gets up for the big slugout with the Rascalz getting punched down and stacked up. Kid’s 450 onto all three gets two but the Rascalz are back up to send Kid outside. Santana follows him out and it’s a series of kicks to take Ortiz down. The top rope Meteora gives Miguel the pin at 10:15.

Rating: B. This was pure action from start to finish and that’s all you could ask for out of such a match. The Rascalz have been rolling as of late and Laredo Kid has been a great surprise whenever he shows up. Rascalz vs. LAX is likely going to steal the show at Slammiversary, but then someone is bound to steal LAX because they’re too good to keep around.

Madison Rayne thinks Jordynne Grace deserves a rematch but Kiera Hogan comes in to say this isn’t a sisterhood. She’s a selfish b**** just like all of them, but Kiera is the only one to admit it. Rayne isn’t going to let her bring the ugliness out of the locker room so they’ll fight at some point.

The Rascalz argue over which of the three of them will fight at Slammiversary. They’ll figure it out in a Rascals Extravaganza next week.

Slammiversary card. Again.

Brian Cage arrives and comes in even though he isn’t cleared.

Here’s Cage in the ring for a chat. Cage calls out Michael Elgin, who sent him to the hospital and put him on the shelf. Now Cage is back though and he’s ready for Slammiversary. Cue the doctor, who gets beaten up before he can say anything. Elgin comes in and hits a buckle bomb, followed by an Elgin Bomb.

Elgin holds up the title as Cage pulls himself up, only to get Elgin Bombed right back down. It’s table time and Elgin powerbombs him through it again, which is enough to draw Callis up from commentary. He yells at Elgin and gets dropped, setting up a teased Elgin Bomb but cage is back up. The brawl is on to finish the show. Good segment, though attacking Callis might not have the impact that they were hoping for.

Overall Rating: C-. The main event was the best thing about the show but it wasn’t quite enough to save the whole thing. What worked well here was the direction towards Slammiversary as you can see the build on every match. That’s a good sign as a lot of cards these days barely get any build beyond the bare minimum. It’s well done here though and while the weekly wrestling is up and down, the build has been solid and that’s the more important thing.

Results

The North b. Deaners – Double Neutralizer to Cody

Rosemary/Taya Valkyrie vs. Havok/Su Yung went to a double countout

Sami Callihan b. Fallah Bahh – Hanging Cactus Special

Rascalz b. LAX/Laredo Kid – Top rope Meteora to Ortiz

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 7, 2019
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re still in Philadelphia and unfortunately that probably means more ECW guys taking up a huge part of the show. That being said, I’m almost scared to see what they might come up with next. Why they need to come up with anything new is beyond me as they have a lot of talent who can have some awesome matches when they actually put in the effort. Let’s get to it.

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

We recap last week’s show, which was quite the all over the place show.

Opening sequence.

Cousin Jake vs. Ace Austin

Jake’s cousin Cody is in his corner. Austin gets in some pushups before we start but he can’t get in a drop toehold. Some kicks to Jake’s back work a bit better and a hurricanrana takes Jake down. Austin low bridges him to the floor and, after the handstand on the apron, kicks Jake in the face. A running flip dive is blocked though and a running crossbody against the apron gives Jake two. Back in and Austin gets body blocked out of the air but Ace avoids a charge in the corner.

That means a paper cut with the Ace of spades and a top rope Fameasser gets two on Jake. It’s time to start on Jake’s arm with a variety of pulling. Some chops just annoy Jake so Austin kicks him in the head instead. Jake blasts him with a clothesline for a double knockdown as Cody cheers Jake from ringside. A Michinoku Driver gives Jake two and there’s a running shoulder n the corner. Cue the Desi Hit Squad to go after Cody though, allowing Ace to hit the Fold for the pin at 8:54.

Rating: C. Actually a nice little match here but then again I’ve liked Ace since he first showed up. Jake is fine for a powerhouse in the ring when you get rid of the ridiculous gimmick. As usual, Impact does a lot better when it comes to the wrestling parts rather than the talking and character stuff, but that goes for a lot of companies these days.

Taya Valkyrie doesn’t want to hear about Rosemary again and it’s not Taya’s fault that Rosemary is obsessed with her.

The announcers chat about the show.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Rosemary

Non-title and Rosemary still has Su Yung on the chain. Taya takes her down and hammers away to start, followed by some kicks in the corner. The fans certainly seem to like Taya strutting around the ring and hitting a Meteora in the corner. Rosemary is right back with the Upside Down but a missile dropkick misses. Something like a Sling Blade takes Taya right back down and a reverse DDT gets two. It’s off to a Koji Clutch of all things….and here are James Mitchell and Havok (a monster who used to be part of the Knockouts division) with the latter taking out Rosemary for the DQ at 4:28.

Rating: D+. This was a storyline match instead of something worthwhile and that’s ok. What might not be ok is this Mitchell vs. Rosemary story continuing, as it seems to just keep going for months on end. That being said, having Havok in there at least offers a fresh direction and it might actually be able to go somewhere for a change.

Post match Havok lays out Taya and Rosemary as Mitchell certainly approves. Havok lets Yung free.

The Rascalz are ready for their Tag Team Title shot and talk about the Pet Shop Boys. Trey drinks a bit.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Great Muta vs. Mr. Anderson from TNA vs. the World in 2015.

Eddie Edwards comes up to Sandman in the back because he can’t accept the new kendo stick. Eddie: “It wouldn’t be fair to Kenny.” Sandman writes KENNY on the stick and Eddie is happy.

Video on Brian Cage vs. Michael Elgin at Slammiversary.

Elgin has showed that he’s better than Cage and the path he’s clearing leads straight to the World Title. Next week, Elgin will see Cage across the ring from him instead of Willie Mack.

Madman Fulton vs. Fox Vinier/Michael Emineo

Sami Callihan slaps Fulton in the face to start and Fulton starts beating both of them up at once. Vinier is slammed onto Emineo and they’re both run over again. A chokeslam to each sets up a double chokeslam but Sami isn’t happy. He slaps Fulton a few times and says to kill them, setting up a swinging Downward Spiral to send Vinier onto Emineo for the pin at 3:23.

Rating: D. Well that worked. This was the kind of destruction that you have to have with a monster like Fulton and it’s been rather effective. Sami having a bit of a cult thing going on is a good story for him and something that could go somewhere. Just keep him away from doing goofy stuff and see where it can go from here. If nothing else, tie it back into him being the first man to beat Cage and set up a World Title feud.

Post match Sami says he’s sick of the Knockout nonsense and people like Scarlett Bordeaux and Fallah Bahh embarrassing them. Actually get the Crists out here right now because we’re having the tag match right now.

Crist Brothers vs. Fallah Bahh/Scarlett Bordeaux

I certainly don’t mind Scarlett being out here, but what is up with the intergender obsession lately? Bahh suplexes Jake to start but Sami grabs his foot. That’s enough for a double ejection of Callihan and Fulton, leaving Bahh to slam Dave. A missed charge sends Bahh shoulder first into the post though and the Brothers take over. Bahh shouts a lot as the two of them beat him up, including Jake ripping at Bahh’s mouth.

One heck of a crossbody crushes Dave but Jake prevents the hot tag, which might not be the brightest idea in the world. Dave gets sent to the floor but manages to pull Scarlett off the apron before Bahh can get to her. For some reason Jake tries a sunset flip and gets crushed, allowing the tag to Scarlett. Some headscissors have the Brothers in trouble and a double high crossbody sets up Bahh’s double suicide dive.

Scarlett’s top rope flip dive takes both of them down again as the fans deem this awesome. Back in and Jake slams Scarlett, sending Callis through the roof. You mean someone is mad because they got beaten up? Scarlett is right back with a reverse hurricanrana and it’s a Doomsday Device for two on Dave (she’s from Chicago). The double Banzai Drop misses though and Scarlett is rocked, allowing Jake to hit Bahh with a roll of quarters for the pin at 10:24.

Rating: C-. I’m really not sure about this one, but the negatives outweigh the positives. First of all, Scarlett did not embarrass herself in the slightest out there. She’s clearly a well trained and experienced worker so this is far from Sable back in the day. At the same time though, I have a hard time buying that Scarlett and Bahh are a real threat to former Tag Team Champions.

There comes a point where it’s hard to believe what is being presented and while they did not go past that, they walked the line as close as you can. What took me out of it was how fast Scarlett was taken down by basic offense. A slam and a missed Banzai Drop stun her? That doesn’t bode well for the future and suggests a lot of suspension of disbelief in these matches. Intergender matches can work and Scarlett has the talent to make them believable, but they have to be done right.

Post match the Crists go after Scarlett again but Tessa Blanchard makes the save, including Magnum to Jake. So is man vs. woman Tessa’s thing now? I get that she’s better than the rest of the Knockouts, but I’m not sure how well this is going to go.

Willie Mack doesn’t like the idea of Elgin taking food off his plate so it’s time to stop Elgin. Rich Swann says he has his back. Johnny Impact comes in to say that bad times are coming. Rich is about to be on the Johnny Impact diet because after Slammiversary, he’ll be ten pounds lighter.

Callihan yells at the Crists and promises to take care of the Knockouts.

Kiera Hogan vs. Jordynne Grace

Hogan hits her in the face a few times and scores with a dropkick but charges into a boot in the corner. A middle rope backsplash gives Grace two and the one armed delayed Jackhammer gets two. Kiera is smart enough to hide in the corner to sucker Grace in and choke away, followed by a basement dropkick for two of her own.

There’s something like a one knee Codebreaker for two more, but Grace is right back with a spinebuster. Some running knees in the corner have Hogan in more trouble and her attempt at a super sunset bomb goes rather badly. A kick to the head misses Grace and the Grace Driver finishes Hogan at 7:58.

Rating: C-. Hogan’s heel turn isn’t all that interesting yet as the division already has enough top heels, but Grace needed a win to get some more momentum. It’s not a good match or anything, but Grace got to show off the power and it’s not like losing to her is some devastating moment.

Konnan yells at LAX for not taking the Rascalz seriously. Santana: “They’re from Toledo!”

Moose doesn’t like ECW legends being around here twenty years past their prime and wants Rob Van Dam at Slammiversary. And he’s the heel in this?

Tag Team Titles: LAX vs. Rascalz

Zachary Wentz/Dezmond Xavier for the challenging Rascalz here with Konnan and Trey Miguel at ringside. Wentz and Ortiz feel things out to start as Konnan tells commentary to talk nicely about him. Dez comes in and kicks Ortiz to the floor, followed by a running double stomp to Santana’s back. That means the back to back dives to the floor as the champs are in early trouble. Back in and a Swanton into the Final Flash gets two on Santana as we take a break.

We come back with Ortiz hitting a middle rope DDT on Wentz, followed by a German suplex to give Santana two. The champs’ double teaming starts until a missed charge allows the hot tag to Dez. That means the pace picks up with a suicide dive from Dez and a tag back to Wentz. A sunset flip sends Santana across the ring but he rolls into a cutter on Dez, leaving Wentz to get rolled up for two.

Everyone is down for a bit until Dez breaks up the champs’ double belly to back faceplant. Instead Wentz gets powerslammed but Ortiz gets annoyed at Miguel for stealing his flask. The contents of said flask are spat in the referee’s face so Wentz hits a springboard cutter on Santana. Miguel comes in with a top rope Meteora with another referee (one who doesn’t seem to have been paying attention) to count the pin for the titles at 14:25.

Rating: B. The ending seems to be setting up another match but I’m not sure how far they can go with a story of the third member of the team stealing a pin. That being said, I’d like to see these teams again, but that’s partially because the Rascalz have been rather awesome since their debut. A good rematch at Slammiversary could be pretty entertaining. As for the match itself, it was the usual awesome, fast paced match you would expect from these teams.

Or not as the first referee wakes up to say it’s a DQ so LAX retains.

Overall Rating: C. This wasn’t the best show in the world, but the lack of the ECW stars helped a lot. Throw in a good main event and an effective Fulton squash and the good was just enough to even out the bad. Tweak a few things that aren’t going so well and you could have a fine show here. The stories are interesting and, again, when they ignore the cheap nostalgia stories, they’re quite fun to watch. There was some stuff in here that could have been better, but what they had was enough to keep me interested and not get on my nerves, so they’re heading in the right direction.

Oh and because Impact: Pursuit aired last week’s episode so the only way to see this was if you watched on Twitch. They can’t even go too weeks without some kind of gaffe, but who else is going to take them?

Results

Ace Austin b. Cousin Jake – The Fold

Rosemary b. Taya Valkyrie via DQ when Havok interfered

Madman Fulton b. Fox Vinier/Michael Emineo – Swinging Downward Spiral to Vinier

Crists b. Fallah Bahh/Scarlett Bordeaux – Jake hit Bahh with a roll of quarters

Jordynne Grace b. Kiera Hogan – Grace Driver

LAX b. Rascalz when Trey Miguel interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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IMG Credit: WrestleCon

WrestleCon: USA vs. The World
Date: April 5, 2019
Location: New York Hilton Midtown, New York City, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Dan Barry

This is a new one as WrestleCon is running a pair of shows and there’s a theme to this one. It’s a pretty simple idea here and the name alone should explain things. We’ll be seeing some interesting matches here and WrestleCon knows how to do these things quite well most of the time. Let’s get to it.

If there was an opening sequence, it didn’t make the feed.

Emil Sitoci (World) vs. Brian Pillman Jr. (USA)

Sitoci was on the WXW show yesterday. Pillman goes right after him to start and sends Sitoci to the apron for a springboard dropkick to the floor. The fans chant for Papa Pillman as Sitoci sends him into the barricade. It’s time to wrap the leg around the post (Excalibur: “The ACTUAL hardest part of the ring ladies and gentlemen.”) so Sitoci can bring him back inside for a knee to the knee.

A spinning toehold sets up a Figure Four as Sitoci certainly knows how to work on a leg. Pillman grabs a rope and they chop it out with a powerslam getting two on Sitoci. A superplex attempt is broken up and Pillman nails a high crossbody to a big reaction. The knee to the jaw sets up a swinging neckbreaker for the pin on Sitoci at 7:55.

Rating: C. Pillman has a lot of potential and is already looking better than he should. He’s been a regular in MLW and right now he’s just in need of ring time. I hadn’t seen Sitoci before yesterday and he’s been a rather nice surprise. He’s not great or someone I want to see being signed to WWE, but he seems to be quite the star in WXW and wherever else he works.

USA – 1

World – 0

Maxwell Jacob Friedman (USA) vs. Ethan Page (World)

Before the match, Page sings You Are My Sunshine in reference to MJF singing it on the Rosie O’Donnell Show as a child in a video that recently made the rounds. MJF freaks out and they fight around the ring with Page dropping him face first onto the apron. Page’s fingers get caught in the turnbuckle hook to make Page scream and it’s time to start in on the arm.

The armbar goes on but Page uses the free arm to start up the song again for the break. MJF goes right back to the armbar and grabs the rope like a true heel. Why is that such a lost art? The referee kicks the arm away and Page swings with the right arm instead. MJF doesn’t seem to mind as he hits a top rope double stomp to the arm and slaps on a Fujiwara armbar. Page makes the rope so it’s a hanging piledriver to put him away at 6:19.

Rating: C-. I hate to admit it, but MJF is growing on me. He’s not too bad at all in the ring and does a nice job of breaking a limb apart in an old school style. I’m starting to see the potential in what he does and while the gimmick has been done before, it’s something that works quite well because it’s a classic. I want to see him get punched in the face and that means he’s doing his job quite well.

USA – 2

World – 0

David Starr (USA) vs. Daga (World)

Daga is a replacement for Susumo Yokosuka, a Dragon Gate talent that got pulled. They start fast with the flipping and near dives into an early standoff. Daga snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor and there’s a suicide dive. Back in and a tilt-a-whirl faceplant into a rolling kick to the head gives Starr two but Daga is right back up with a series of forearms. Starr headbutts the arm for a smart counter so Daga kicks him in the face for two. The brainbuster to the knee gives Starr another near fall and Daga nails a pop up Death Valley Driver.

Starr is right on his feet…and falls straight back down in a funny spot. They slug it out with more forearms until Daga snaps off another hurricanrana for another two. Starr is right back with a DDT onto the apron and a powerbomb into a jackknife rollup gets two more. That’s enough for Starr, who grabs something like a Sharpshooter but only turns Daga half over before pulling up on the arm at the same time for the tap at 6:34.

Rating: B-. Starr is another guy who has grown on me a lot since I started watching this kind of wrestling. He has a charisma that can make whatever he does work and his in-ring abilities are quite good as well. He’s around on almost every show and I like him more every time I see him. That’s hard to do but he’s pulled it off.

USA – 3

World – 0

Darby Allin (USA) vs. Black Taurus (World)

Bonus match. It’s a creepy guy with half his face painted vs. a man in a bull mask. Taurus feels things out a bit before slapping the taste out of Allin’s mouth to send him outside. Back in and La Majistral gives Allin two and he sends Taurus outside for a quick suicide dive. Taurus shrugs it off and hits a Shining Wizard back inside, setting up an armbar.

Allin pops up and hits a bottom rope corkscrew splash, only to get his head taken off by the Rainmaker. Pete Dunne’s Bitter End gets another two but Allin backdrops him to the floor. The Coffin Drop connects but a second attempt hits knees back inside. A spinning sitout brainbuster finishes Allin at 7:18.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this one, though that might be due to me not being overly familiar with either guy. I’ve seen them both before but neither of them are top stars. It’s nice to get something different involved though and the World side needed a win after such dominance so far.

USA – 3

World – 1

Jiro Ikemen (World) vs. Rich Swann (USA)

The very energetic and flamboyant Ikemen is a replacement for Masato Yoshino. Swann is even wearing the X Division Title but it’s not on the line. Hang on though as Swann walks through the crowd to get to the ring for his own energetic entrance. Ikemen wrestles in his jacket and they dance into a handshake. Swann knocks him down with a shoulder but Ikemen pops up for a pose, including a good look at the jacket.

The flip over Ikemen sets up a dropkick to the floor, where Swann makes sure he’s ok. After the confirmation, he kicks Ikemen in the ribs and tells the crowd that he is NOT ok. They start the chase around the ring with Ikemen hiding under the ring and slipping around to the other side for a running flip dive. Back in and Ikemen slaps on a half crab but makes sure to show off the inner lining of the jacket. A rope is grabbed and Swann is back up for a series of strikes to the face, with a big kick sending Ikemen outside.

Of course that means the flip dive to follow and a frog splash gets two back inside. Swann’s missed charge in the corner lets Ikemen hit an Arabian press for two of his own. A jumping hurricanrana brings Ikenem off the top and Swann’s stepover kick to the face gets a fall so near enough that the referee seemed to have to stop early. They exchange kicks to the leg with Swann’s knee giving out to set up the Figure Four. That’s broken up so Ikemen hits a moonsault for the pin at 9:19.

Rating: B-. Another match that I enjoyed with someone I’ve never seen before. Swann is one of the smoothest talents going today so you knew he was going to be doing his part here. Ikemen’s thing with the jacket is certainly unique so it was a nice mixture here of two people who can do the goofy stuff mixed with the serious wrestling.

USA – 3

World – 2

Rascalz (USA) vs. Robbie Eagles/Adam Brooks/Australian Suicide (World)

Well ok. The Rascalz are Trey Miguel/Zack Wentz/Dezmond Xavier. The Aussies are replacing more Dragon Gate talent who couldn’t make it due to visa issues. Suicide popped up on what is probably the last episode of Lucha Underground. We get some dueling international chants with Wentz doing Jim Duggan’s pose for a funny bit. The Americans flip off the international fans and everyone goes at it to start (I’m sure you saw that coming.) with Miguel sending Brooks outside but having to deal with Eagles. Suicide comes back in for a headscissors on Miguel so it’s off to Xavier for a dropsault to send him outside.

Brooks is back in with a series of Canadian Destroyers and a Meteora to crush Wentz on the apron. The big Fosbury Flop takes everyone down but the Rascalz are right back to take over only to have Suicide come back with a shooting star (not a press because there’s no cover) onto all three of them. Back in and another Canadian Destroyer sends Wentz outside, only to have Dezmond hit his moonsault kick to the head but Brooks comes in for the save. Miguel missile dropkicks him down, setting up Wentz’ top rope double stomp for the pin on Brooks at 6:48.

Rating: C+. It was fun while it lasted but I was hoping for some more of this one. The Rascalz have been a blast since I saw them for the first time in Impact so I was happy to see them on the card. Eagles impressed me yesterday at the Supershow so this was a rather nice match all around. It’s also nice to see the wrestlers finally going somewhere with the US vs. the World theme, which hasn’t been happening yet.

USA – 4

World – 2

LAX (USA) vs. Hart Foundation (World)

That would be Teddy Hart and Davey Boy Smith Jr., meaning Hart brings a cat with him. The Harts (replacing Brooks and Eagles) have been awesome in MLW so this should be a lot of fun. Fellow Foundation member Brian Pillman Jr. is in the crowd cheering instead of walking out with them due to reasons of the Pillman Family being a little odd.

They exchange poses in the corner to start and then shake hands before jumping LAX from behind after a minute and a half of stalling. Santana’s leg gets wrapped around the post and the Hartbreaker from Smith makes it even worse. Hart gets in a suplex on Ortiz and then yells about MLW being better than Impact. They get inside for the first time and Hart hits his moonsault elbow for two as it’s Ortiz in trouble early.

Smith hits a very delayed vertical suplex and it’s off to the chinlock. The surfboard goes on and Smith even kicks Ortiz forward for a crash onto the mat. Hart snaps off a powerslam but stops to yell at the referee before slapping on a Rings of Saturn. Ortiz tells him what he can suck and the hold is broken, triggering a SUCK MY **** chant from the crowd. Ortiz finally gets over for the hot tag as everything breaks down. Santana gets sent outside and an assisted Canadian Destroyer finishes Oritz at 10:39.

Rating: B. I like both teams and they worked a much more standard formula here, which works well when you have such talented people in there. The Harts have been one of the biggest surprises of the last year as the MLW crowd loves them and they’re having some awesome matches. LAX is LAX, so this was a very nice showcase all around.

Post match, Ortiz says that somehow, someday Hart will suck his ****. Hart: “I’m not going to address the sucking the ****.” He swears a lot and thanks the fans while ripping on New York. Hart also puts over Highspots for giving him a chance. He did NOT suck anything for a job here or in any big company. Smith says this is USA vs. the World but we’re all family.

USA – 4

World – 3

Sammy Guevara (USA) vs. Puma King (World)

The announcers can’t stand Sammy, which is rather easy to understand. There’s actually a story here as Sammy went through King’s bag a few weeks ago. They tease a handshake before it’s an exchange of double middle fingers. Sammy heads outside and reaches into the cameraman’s pocket to pull out a middle finger. They trade some flips without much contact and indeed it’s more middle fingers. A double dropkick gives us a double knockdown and it’s Puma being sent outside for the first flip dive.

Back in and Puma hits a superkick but hang on as he needs a mic. Puma tells us to subscribe to his YouTube channel (a Sammy trademark) so Sammy knees him in the face. That’s enough for Sammy to say f*** Puma’s YouTube channel. Now he’s going to go do some more spots and pin him. Sammy sends him to the floor for an apron moonsault and hits a super hurricanrana for two back inside. King is fine enough to hit a pendulum powerbomb for the pin at 8:57.

Rating: D+. This one is going to depend on your tastes and that’s perfectly fine. I get Sammy’s heel stuff and after all of the back and forth technical stuff that we’ve seen tonight, it’s fine to go with some comedy. King has been entertaining every time I’ve seen him and Sammy is certainly good when he’s doing his stuff. I wasn’t wild on the YouTube/middle finger stuff over and over, but it could have been worse.

USA – 4

World – 4

Brian Cage (USA) vs. Masato Tanaka (World)

Tanaka’s shoulder and crossbody don’t work as Cage catches him for some curls. Instead the forearms in the corner work a bit better until a sliding kick to the face take Tanaka down. The corner clotheslines set up a chinlock until Tanaka fights up and grabs a DDT. Cage hits the apron superplex and a top rope elbow for two, followed by the buckle bomb. Tanaka is right back with a brainbuster for two of his own but the frog splash hits knees.

Cage’s dead lift German suplex into a Death Valley Driver gets two more. Tanaka’s rolling elbow sends Cage into the ropes for the rebound lariat and they’re both down again. They trade the hard shots to the face again until Tanaka knees him down for two off the Sliding D. A second attempt is cut off with a clothesline and Cage’s buckle bomb sets up the Drill Claw for the pin at 9:50.

Rating: C+. This was very similar to Tanaka vs. Eddie Kingston from yesterday’s show and that’s not a bad thing. It was two big, strong guys hitting each other in the head until one of them couldn’t get up. Cage winning is fine as it seals the competition for America and while it doesn’t mean much, it’s the smart way to go to wrap things up. Nice hard hitting match here, which is all it should have been.

USA – 5

World – 4

Overall Rating: C. Well that was….short. The whole thing was barely two hours and I’d kind of like more than that for a $15 show. It was perfectly watchable but felt more like a supplement to yesterday’s Supershow. There might be one or two matches in there worth seeing (the Harts vs. LAX was a nice treat) but it’s certainly not worth going out of your way to see. I’m pretty disappointed in this as there was no standout show and the time really hut things.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: March 8, 2019
Location: Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

I’m not sure what to expect this week as we have the latest round in the main event four way feud, which hasn’t been great so far but last week offered a bit of a twist with Johnny Impact injuring his neck. Other than that we have the in-ring debut of Scarlett Bordeaux, which screams screwy angle. Let’s get to it.

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

Preview/recap.

Opening sequence.

Rich Swann vs. Ethan Page

Non-title. Swann starts with his flip over Page and scores with a dropkick, only to get punched into the ropes. A reverse implant DDT gets two and a backbreaker makes things even worse for Swann. Page stops to pose again but it doesn’t seem to matter as he’s fine enough to stomp away in the corner.

A running flip neckbreaker gets Swann out of trouble and sets up the running flip dive to the floor. Swann’s frog splash (heck of a good one too) gets two but he gets crotched on top, setting up a Snowplow for two. They trade forearms, punches and kicks to the face until Swann hits a long string of them, setting up a Lethal Injection. The middle rope Phoenix splash finishes Page at 8:01.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of opener I can get behind. They didn’t stay out there too long but had enough time to put on an entertaining match with both guys getting to show off. Swann is becoming a bigger and bigger star around here and Page has put on consistently good matches for weeks now.

Post match here’s OVE to address Swann again. This is the night that Swann finally joins OVE because Swann has said that Sami Callihan is family. Swann puts on the shirt and the team poses, leaving Swann to lay the three of them out and bail in a scene that worked for Diamond Dallas Page in 1997 and works for Swann here.

LAX asks Konnan to get their rematch for the Tag Team Titles. Konnan says let him do his job and watch the Lucha Bros vs. the Rascalz.

The announcers recap last week’s injuries to Brian Cage and Johnny Impact.

The annoying interviewer tried to talk to Cage and got thrown out.

Ace Austin vs. Jake Atlas

Austin loves cards and maybe some slight of hand magic. Atlas’ wristlock doesn’t work to start and it’s Austin rolling forward with a legsweep and kick to the back. A bicycle kick gives Atlas one and Austin is right back with a double springboard kick to the face. Something like Murphy’s Law takes Austin down for two but he stomps Atlas down and hits a running Blockbuster (the Fold) for the pin at 3:29.

Rating: C-. Atlas got in a lot of offense here but Austin has the charisma and style to make him look like a star. I’ve seen him before and he’s got everything he needs to be a big deal. As usual it depends on how Impact handles him, which has been a hit or miss set of results over the years.

Johnny Impact, in a neck brace, and Taya Valkyrie join us via satellite for an interview with the annoying reporter (this guy has to be a rib on someone). Cage is getting his title shot no matter how bad Johnny’s neck is.

Reno Scum wants a rematch with KM and Fallah Bahh.

Here’s Alisha Edwards for a chat. Her contract expires at the end of this month and she has some decisions to make. She enjoys hitting people with kendo sticks but maybe it’s time to start a family. Cue the Desi Hit Squad with Rohit Raju saying it’s time for a woman to make some sense. Having a family is her job and women need to stay out of the ring. Alisha slaps Gama Singh and here’s Eddie Edwards to clean house with Kenny. The Squad beats him down but Eli Drake makes a rather slow save.

Cage isn’t happy with the reporter, who shows him a clip of something that gets on Cage’s nerves even worse.

Eddie thanks Eli but isn’t interested in going after the Tag Team Titles. Alisha says Eli is all Eddie has left so take what you can get. Eddie agrees to team up against the Desi Hit Squad next week. The one thing I get out of this: Alisha shouldn’t be talking.

GWN Flashback Moment of the Week: Jeremiah Snake (Sami Callihan) vs. Eddie Edwards from last year’s Impact vs. Lucha Underground show.

Moose and Killer Kross are happy with injuring Impact and Cage. They should both get title shots and if they don’t get them, it means more pain.

The Rascalz talk about getting superpowers from a robot. They talk about wearing masks and mock Moose’s pink sports coat.

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

This is the Dark War (meaning it’s fought under a red light) for Allie’s soul and I’d assume anything goes here. James Mitchell is at ringside to make things all the more evil. It’s a brawl to start until we settle down to tagging, because that’s what you do in a War. Kiera throws Yung around to start and we get the Allie vs. Rosemary showdown. At least I think we do as I can barely see what’s going on here.

Grace comes in for a heck of a release German suplex on Allie to give Kiera two but Yung offers a distraction. That’s enough for Allie to snap off a cutter and we take a break. Back with Allie clotheslining Kiera down for two, followed by the slow stomping in the corner. Su grabs an armtrap choke on Kiera but it’s back to Allie, who gets kicked in the head. The hot tag brings in Rosemary for the big showdown and everything breaks down. Rosemary drops Allie and it’s the parade of secondary finishers. Yung mists the Maid by mistake and a spear gives Rosemary the pin on Yung at 11:54.

Rating: D+. This was a run of the mill six woman tag, which isn’t what you expect from a match billed as the Dark War. I was having more problems telling who was who in the whole thing and that made for a pretty disappointing story. To be fair though, that was the case with the entire story as Allie going evil was a complete disappointment from almost every side.

Post match Rosemary puts Allie on a leash and drags her away, launching a thousand fanfics in the process.

Glenn Gilbertti is still trying to figure out what he’s doing and Konnan sends him to yell at Don Callis. A fight is teased but it’s Killer Kross instead. The lights go out and screaming ensues.

Back from a break with Gilbertti hearing Vince Russo’s voices and looking for Callis. He thinks he finds Cody and the Young Bucks but is mistaken again. Scott D’Amore says Callis is on commentary because that’s his job. Gilbertti is NOT wanted for commentary but comes to the desk anyway.

Josh Matthews brings out Scarlett Bordeaux for her first match, though I’m not sure if the full body suit and heels are the best attire. The talent search made sense because those people were all falling over themselves so they weren’t going to be a success in the ring. Gilbertti was the biggest disaster though, which draws him into the ring for some yelling. Gilbertti: “You know what’s going to happen if you wrestle. You’re going to suck.” She slaps him in the face and a challenge is thrown out. Gilbertti tells her to spend a week cooking, but Scarlett promises to make him her b**** next week.

Rosemary tells Kiera and Jordynne to leave because she’ll take care of Allie from here. Kiera isn’t happy but Jordynne says she’s good now.

Tessa Blanchard is in a #1 contenders match next week and is willing to beat Grace if she has to. It’s all just punishment for taking out Gail Kim.

Rascalz vs. Lucha Bros

Non-title with Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz for the Rascalz. Xavier and Fenix start things off and they circle each other for the first minute. A kick to the ribs has Fenix in some short lived trouble but the Bros start firing off the kicks, including a superkick to Wentz on the floor. Back in and the Codebreaker/top rope double stomp to the back combination sets up the wheelbarrow splash for two on Xavier.

Some right hands and elbows get Xavier out of trouble long enough for a tag off to Wentz and a handspring knee to the head hits Pentagon. Back up and Pentagon kicks Wentz’s leg out on the ropes but Xavier is right there with the big flip dive (launched by Wentz to make it even better) onto both Bros. Wentz’s Swanton into the Final Flash from Xavier gets two on Pentagon, leaving Fenix and Xavier to slug it out again. Pentagon is back up though and it’s a superkick into the Pentagon Driver to finish Wentz at 7:48.

Rating: B-. I could have gone for more of this and that’s a good way to end a show. The big thing here was the Rascalz hanging with the champs and looking good in a match they weren’t going to win. The Lucha Bros are going to have another match with LAX and then Rob Van Dam and Sabu (because reasons) so there wasn’t any doubt here. It was still fun while it lasted though as the Rascalz have become some of my favorites around here in a hurry.

The Bros go to the back where they run into Konnan. They ask him (in Spanish with subtitles and then English because wrestling reasons) to tell LAX not to mess with their masks because that’s not what men do. Konnan tries to calm things down and says LAX wants a rematch. That’s not happening because it’s too soon (fair) but Konnan says he’s not asking. Next time he sees the champs, they better have a date.

Overall Rating: C+. It was a good show overall with some nice wrestling including a strong main event, but there was no way around that Dark War being such a terrible result. You call it a war and don’t even have it hardcore? The storytelling worked well in spots and that’s where Impact does best. Nice show here as they keep moving forward in the right direction.

Results

Rich Swann b. Ethan Page – Phoenix splash

Ace Austin b. Jake Atlas – The Fold

Rosemary/Jordynne Grace/Kiera Hogan b. Su Yung/Undead Maid of Honor/Allie – Spear to Yung

Lucha Bros b. Rascalz – Pentagon Driver to Wentz

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: February 22, 2019
Location: Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re on to Las Vegas now after a pretty good run down in Mexico. The question now is where we go from here as the road to….is it the New York show or the April pay per view now? Either way the main event scene isn’t likely to be great, which has been the problem for far too long now. At least we can get the Tag Team Title stuff going again though, which has been great every time. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Uncaged, which was one of their better shows in a while.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Johnny Impact for a chat. He said he’d be a fighting champion and he has been, then he said he’d retain the World Title last week and he did that too. Last week he did everything he said he would and beat three people, so it’s time to move on. This brings out Moose, who seems to disagree. Moose doesn’t want to hear this crying because other people cost him the World Title last week. Cue Killer Kross to say he hates Moose and his outfits. The clothing is too far as Moose gets in Kross’ face. Impact decides that that they can have a match right now for the #1 contendership. Here’s a referee and we’re ready to go.

Killer Kross vs. Moose

Impact is on commentary. Kross shoulders Moose down but Moose nips up so it’s a running clothesline in the corner to actually do some damage. Moose gets two off a rollup and yells at the referee, allowing Kross to score with a low blow. They fight to the floor where Kross throws coffee in Impact’s face, leaving Moose to kick the champ in the jaw. That’s enough to draw Johnny inside to jump both of them for the no contest at 4:10, though he hit Moose first so that should be a DQ. It won’t be, but it should be.

Rating: D+. This was an angle instead of a match, though I’m getting really tired of the whole No Contest that should be a DQ finish. It’s as basic of a wrestling rule as you can get but it’s ignored because this is the only thing they can think of. Have Moose and Cage beat on Johnny and have the referee throw it out or something, but stop making this stuff up as you go.

Post match Brian Cage comes in for the save.

Announcers. Preview.

Don Callis has hired Glenn Gilbertti (Disco Inferno) for the Las Vegas shows. I smell unfunny comedy.

Konnan fires up LAX.

Impact thanks Cage but says he can’t have a title shot with those tow running around. They should team up to get rid of Moose and Kross but Cage doesn’t trust him. Impact has a contract though and Cage seems interested.

GWN Flashback Moment of the Week: the six man interpromotional match from the Impact vs. Lucha Underground WrestleCon show. That’s certainly different.

The Rascalz are in their circle when Gama Singh comes in to say they can’t beat the Desi Hit Squad. Drugs are exchanged and they can’t keep up with Gama. Uh, Gama is a heel right?

Reno Scumm is coming back.

Desi Hit Squad vs. Rascalz

The Rascalz (Trey Miguel/Dezmond Xavier here) aren’t themselves after the previous segment. Raj rolls Dezmond up for a very fast two and the villains take over in the corner. Xavier gets in a dropkick but Trey is too high to tag. Instead he gets tagged in and starts the kicks with no issues, because the Rascalz are a weird team. Everything breaks down and the Squad’s wheelbarrow DDT combination gets two on Miguel. Not that it matters though as the Rascalz hit a double 619 in the corner, setting up Trey’s top rope Meteora for the pin at 6:13.

Rating: C-. I guess the good Desi match was a one off because this was nothing all that noteworthy. The Rascalz are still a good team and they have more than enough time to be advanced somewhere else. Right now they’re just being put out there as the fun act and there’s nothing wrong with doing that for a long time.

Eli Drake says the Book of Eli says don’t raise your hand to him, which is what Eddie Edwards did last week. He’s coming down on Eddie for not listening to him and tonight, he’ll show Eddie the way. Hardcore wrestling makes you a loser and no one can stop him.

Sami Callihan comes in to see the injured Rich Swann. The beatdown last week was out of love because Rich’s big brother is here. Callihan called Swann from Japan when Swann needed him because Swann is the most talented person Sami has ever met. A nurse comes in to say Callihan has to leave because this is family only. Callihan leaves and Swann looks confused.

Eli Drake vs. Eddie Edwards

Drake hides on the floor from the threat of Kenny the kendo stick for a long time (smart) before we’re finally ready to go. An early shoulder has Eddie in the corner though he seems more happy than anything else. Eddie is right back up with a hiptoss and armdrags because he can do the wrestling when he wants, as opposed to when Drake wants. Drake gets sent outside and Eddie crotches him against the post for the funny visual. Instead of covering though, Eddie has a seat on the ramp for a few moments.

Back in and Eddie ducks his head, allowing Drake to hit a running DDT but the middle rope elbow misses. Drake tries a Lionsault of all things but crash lands, allowing Eddie to hit the backpack Stunner for two. A Blue Thunder Bomb gets the same but the Boston Knee Party is countered into the Gravy Train which is countered into a rollup to give Eddie two.

Eddie gets the same off a tiger driver but stops to go after the stick, allowing Drake to bust out a Burning Hammer…for two. Come on if you’re going to use one of the most devastating moves ever, it should be the pin. The frustrated Drake goes for the stick but gets rolled up with a jackknife cover (a wrestling move) for the pin at 9:58.

Rating: B-. I like the idea of this feud and they’re getting into some more complicated stuff with it. Eddie wanting to be crazy and violent but allowing himself to go back to his roots (which are still inside him) is an interesting story and I’m wondering where it’s going. Drake getting to talk is a very good thing and the more of it we get to see, the better.

Tessa Blanchard isn’t getting a rematch for the Knockouts Title and blames Gail Kim. Impact management can’t protect Gail forever though and Tessa will get to her one way or another.

Gilbertti can’t get inside.

Alisha Edwards vs. Delilah Doom

Doom is a bit more energetic than you would guess. Edwards starts fast with a hip attack against the ropes but misses a charge, allowing Doom to hit a 619. A high crossbody partially hits as Edwards slipped coming off the top…and here’s Tessa to jump Edwards for the DQ at 1:46. Now that’s how you do a DQ.

Post match Doom goes after Tessa and gets Batista Bombed for her efforts. The Buzzsaw DDT makes it even worse.

Ace Austin is coming. Cool.

Doom wants to fight Tessa next week.

Impact is partnering with the NFL Alumni Association for some charity work. Nothing wrong with that.

James Mitchell comes in to see Allie, Su Yung and an Undead Bridesmaid. He’s here to offer a deal: Su’s dark army against his own. If Su wins, she gets Allie free and clear (Doesn’t she already have that?) but if Mitchell’s team wins, they (not sure who he’s with, though it’s likely Rosemary) gets Su.

Taya Valkyrie thinks Tessa whining is funny. Tessa can cry like a baby all she wants but Taya isn’t helping her.

Tag Team Titles: LAX vs. Lucha Bros

The Lucha Bros are defending but get jumped in the aisle to start the fight. LAX gets inside so Ortiz can take Fenix out with a running flip dive. We take a break and come back for the opening bell with Ortiz hitting Fenix in the head with what looked like the insert of a shoe. Pentagon breaks things up and has the big showdown with Santana. A superkick has Santana in trouble until Ortiz comes back in to help him hit his own superkick on Pentagon. An assisted swanton sets up a Lionsault/legdrop combination but here’s Fenix…who charges into a Downward Spiral. What a great save.

We settle down to Fenix in trouble as the fans aren’t sure who they like more. Fenix kicks them both down and hands it off to Pentagon for a double high crossbody. The Sling Blade drops Santana and a double superkick hits Ortiz. The Pentagon Driver gives Pentagon two on Santana and the Lucha What’s Up makes it even worse. Santana is back in with a rolling cutter on Fenix and the Street Sweeper gets two. Back in and Fenix starts kicking away, including a dive onto Santana. The spike Fear Factor finishes Ortiz at 7;33.

Rating: B. These four can do now wrong, even if it’s with a shorter form match like this one. They beat each other up with one big spot after another and it’s nice that they didn’t spam the moves as much this time. LAX will be back later on due to pure talent but it makes more sense to go with the Lucha Bros right now as they’re just that good.

Post match Konnan congratulates the champs and tells LAX to do the same. LAX offers the handshakes but get taunted instead, meaning it’s a beatdown and unmasking to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. There’s more than enough good wrestling to carry a show on here and that’s what matters most. The storytelling is still a weakness, but if they focus more on the action than on the stories, they can have a way forward. Now unfortunately that kind of a show doesn’t have the best track record, but I’d rather they do something well than do something weak over and over.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: January 25, 2019
Location: Fronton Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re south of the border again and that means things should be interesting. It worked well last time, if nothing else due to having a bunch of luchadors included. We’re also getting ready for Johnny Impact vs. Killer Kross for the World Title in a rematch from a few weeks back, but things have changed a bit since then. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

There’s a lot of room between the ring and the barricade. Like way more than almost any arena.

Rich Swann vs. El Hijo Del Vikingo

Non-title. Swann grabs a wristlock to start so Vikingo walks through the ropes for a break. Not bad. They flip away from each other with Swann spinning out of a headscissors in a nice looking counter. Vikingo does his own flip counter before kicking Swann in the head. Makes more sense than flipping. Swann gets sent outside for the big running flip dive but comes right back with a springboard off the barricade. There isn’t much of a spring in a barricade but the idea works the same.

Back in and Swann puts on a seated abdominal stretch, followed by a rather hard kick to the ribs. Vikingo is right back with an enziguri into a fisherman’s buster Jackhammer for two. That’s a new one, as has tended to be the case for Vikingo. Swann catches him with a top rope hurricanrana for two, only to walk into a swinging Rock Bottom. A Michinoku Driver gives Swann two more and the middle rope 450 finishes Vikingo at 9:14.

Rating: B-. I had a good time with this as Swann can more than hang in a lucha style match. Vikingo looked awesome too with some unique offense that was very crisp throughout the whole thing. Swann still needs more competition, but he’s feeling like a star as champion. The fact that the matches are actually taking place almost weekly is a nice bonus as well.

Post match here’s OVE and post break Sami congratulates Rich on his success but it’s time the fans learn the truth about the two of them. They’re close outside of the ring so it’s time for Swann to come home and join OVE for good. Sami says Swann wouldn’t be able to take care of his family without him, which seems to be a step too far for Swann. Rich says the shirt is the right size but the family isn’t the right fit. Sami: “That wasn’t a no!” He wants Swann to keep thinking about it. Sami isn’t great at subtleties.

The announcers preview things.

New interviewer Melissa Santos talks to Killer Kross and Moose, the former of whom says it ends for Johnny Impact tonight. They’re not worried about Brian Cage watching, because Cage had some customs issues and won’t be here.

Jordynne Grace and Kiera Hogan are ready to face Allie and Su Yung next week. They’ve been training you see. Melissa asks about Rosemary so the cameras start to flicker. A message appears on the screen behind them, saying “The Darkness Will Take You Too. This Is Not Your Fight. – R.” Confusion reigns. I’m thinking it’s a message from Rellik, which is still Killer spelled backwards.

Keyra vs. Taya Valkyrie

Non-title again. Keyra jumps her from behind to start as Callis explains the idea of a rudo. A backbreaker cuts Keyra off but she’s right back with a running basement dropkick in the corner. Taya is still rocked so a Backstabber out of the corner sets up a middle rope moonsault for two. A running Liger Bomb gives Taya two of her own, followed by the curb stomp. Taya’s modified STF makes Keyra tap at 5:35.

Rating: D+. Keyra was aggressive but this was little more than an obvious ending as Taya isn’t losing in her first match back. Or as a champion. Or likely in Mexico. In other words this looked like a squash but at least Keyra tried and got in some offense instead of just taking the loss in a hurry.

Post match Taya talks to the crowd in Spanish before talking about what the people here have meant to her career. Taya wants Tessa Blanchard and will be waiting for her when she gets back.

Swann admits that he and Callihan do have a history but there’s more to it than that.

From March 10, 2004, Hector Garza vs. Jack Evans.

The Rascalz are in their circle and realize they’re in Mexico so they switch to Spanish.

Scarlett Bordeaux trains in not the most efficient gear.

Desi Hit Squad vs. Rascalz

Can we leave the Squad in Mexico? It’s Dezmond and Zack for the team here in what should be at least half of a good match. Raj forearms Dezmond up against the ropes but gets leapfrogged and dropkicked. Wentz knees him from the apron to keep the Squad in trouble so it’s off to Raju. A corkscrew press gives Zack two but a cheap shot from the apron lets Raju get a breather.

Raj comes in and plants Wentz, including holding him on the floor for a double stomp from Raju. Back in and Wentz beats both of them up with ease, allowing the hot tag to Dezmond. Everything breaks down and it’s Wentz hitting a heck of a dive to the floor to take both of them down. Raj comes back in and gets kneed in the face, setting up the Push Moonsault for the pin at 7:01.

Rating: C-. I really can’t get over how boring the Hit Squad is. They’re the definition of warm bodies as heels, which isn’t exactly enough for me to get interested. I’m not wild on the That 70s Show stoner deal for the Rascalz, but they’re a very fun team who does entertaining stuff while also giving Dezmond something to do after months of nothing. That’s how you make something from the pieces you have around and it’s working here.

A serious Johnny Impact swears revenge on Kross tonight. He’s not worried about Cage either.

LAX and Konnan are ready for the Lucha Bros. Konnan isn’t exactly sure though and next week we’ll be having some singles matches between the team members.

Trey Miguel vs. Ethan Page

Joined in progress with Ethan blocking a hurricanrana to the floor and hitting a superkick. That doesn’t seem to bother Trey, who is right back with an Asai moonsault. Back in and a tilt-a-whirl faceplant drops Trey again, followed by a hot shot onto the top rope. The chinlock doesn’t work so well so Page switches to a pump kick instead.

Trey finally gets a breather off a jumping neckbreaker, followed by a 619 in the corner. The split legged moonsault gets two but Trey misses the top rope double stomp. It doesn’t really matter though as he Rolls the Dice (Fresh to Death) to finish Page at 6:50. I had forgotten about that move and seeing it again makes me tired of it all over again.

Rating: C. Just like the other Rascalz, Trey is a lot of fun to watch and this was no exception. It’s also a good sign for the future: this was two young stars who haven’t overstayed their welcome yet having a perfectly watchable match. You need to bring some new people along at some point and that’s what Impact is FINALLY starting to do.

We look back at Eli Drake yelling at Eddie Edwards about losing the way last week.

Drake talks to Eddie again, this time about an upcoming Impact vs. AAA match. Eddie doesn’t seem to listen, but they’re in a tag match next week against the Rascalz.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Killer Kross vs. Johnny Impact

Johnny is defending and Moose is here with Kross. A shoulder puts Johnny down but he nips up in a hurry, only to get pulled into a chinlock. That’s rather early to need a chat. Back up and Johnny knees him in the head, only to get kneed in the chest to cut him back down. A hurricanrana gets Johnny out of trouble but Moose breaks up a springboard attempt. Back from a break (without much having changed) with Kross dropping an elbow for two and choking in the corner.

A DDT gets two more and it’s off to a seated cobra clutch. Johnny fights up and hits the Flying Chuck for two, only to have Kross hit a hard clothesline for the same. The Krossjacket choke doesn’t work so Kross switches to a cross armbreaker instead. That’s broken up as well so Johnny hits the sliding German suplex. A springboard spear (cool) gets two but Starship Pain misses. The Krossjacket choke goes on again but here’s Cage to clothesline both of them for the no contest at 14:49.

Rating: C+. I just can’t get that into this main event scene and that’s still the case here. I don’t know if it’s everything being wrestling focused with limited angles or something else, but the spark isn’t there and it’s hurting things. The wrestling was fine, but nothing here makes it feel like you’re watching a major feud for the top prize in the company.

Post match Cage cleans house until it’s a showdown with Impact. Moose and Kross are cleared out and Cage stares at the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Another perfectly watchable and at times entertaining show. The problem continues to be a lack of a connection to anyone, which is probably why the main event scene is a problem. What reason do I have to cheer for Johnny? What reason do I have to cheer for most people here? I know who the good people and bad people are, but that doesn’t mean they’re strong characters that the fans want to get behind. That’s the big problem around here and it’s been that way for years. Until they fix that, nothing is going to get better, at least not in a big way.

Results

Rich Swann b. El Hijo Del Vikingo – Middle rope 450

Taya Valkyrie b. Keyra – Seated STF

Rascalz b. Desi Hit Squad – Push Moonsault to Singh

Trey Miguel b. Ethan Page – Fresh to Death

Johnny Impact vs. Killer Kross went to a no contest when Brian Cage interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: January 11, 2019
Location: The Asylum, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re now on the Pursuit Channel, which seems to be in pursuit of an audience. It’s also the fallout show from Homecoming, which saw Killer Kross attack Johnny Impact and Johnny’s wife Taya Valkyrie to end the show. Other than that it wasn’t exactly an eventful night, though it was a pretty good show. We’re also on Twitch now, which at least lets me watch the show live. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with the expected recap of Homecoming, which was quite a good show.

Opening sequence.

Here’s World Champion Johnny Impact to open things up. Johnny says the title is important but what matters a lot more is his wife being hurt. He wants Kross out here right not but gets Brian Cage, who says he’s the rightful champion. It took Johnny’s Survivor buddies to save the title so the rematch needs to happen RIGHT NOW.

Impact gets cut off by more demands but here’s Kross to interrupt. Kross calls Johnny the great impostor and talks about Cage having Johnny pinned for a ten count, or three pins. More threats to Taya are enough to have Johnny superkick Cage and dive on Kross. Cage breaks that up and takes Johnny down until Kross suplexes him. That’s no sold and a freaked out Kross bails.

During the break, Impact and Cage were about to go at it again. Impact agreed to give Cage a shot after he deals with Kross. Cage doesn’t seem convinced but goes with it.

The announcers plug the Twitch channel. Still a good idea.

Rascalz vs. Lucha Bros

This could be good. Pentagon and Dezmond start things off here and proceed to stare at each other for nearly a minute and a half. CERO MIEDO earns Pentagon a grab of the arm so he kicks Dezmond in the ribs and sends him outside. Pentagon’s dive is cut off by a Stunner over the middle rope from Wentz, who gets sent into the corner by Fenix. A 619 out of the corner has Wentz in trouble so it’s back to Dezmond for a dropkick to the floor.

Dezmond hits a slingshot dropkick on Pentagon in the corner and a running Bronco Buster from Wentz. We take a break and come back with Wentz kneeing Fenix in the corner. Some strikes from the Rascalz get two on Fenix but he’s right back with a suicide dive to drive Wentz into the barricade. Back in and double superkicks into the wheelbarrow splash gets two on Dezmond with Wentz making the save.

Pentagon superkick Dezmond down but gets kneed in the face, leaving Fenix to kick Wentz in the face. Some more jumping strikes to the face put Pentagon down but Fenix rolls in with the cutter to Dezmond. Pentagon is back up and that means double superkicks abound, followed by a Fear Factor to Wentz and a Gory Special into a cutter from Fenix to Dezmond at the same time (egads) for the pin at 11:15.

Rating: B. Overly complicated finisher aside, this was a heck of a match and a great choice to open things up on the new network. The Rascalz are a ton of fun and the Lucha Bros are as proven of a commodity as you’re going to get at the moment. This was a blast and an awesome high spot match, which is often the best choice to open things up.

The Lucha Bros shake their hands after the match.

GWN Flashback of the Week: Michael Shane wins the first Ultimate X match to become X-Division Champion in 2003.

After the end of Homecoming, Kross ranted about how Impact was a failure for needing his Survivor friends to save him. That’s why Kross powerbombed Taya: to wake Johnny up.

Kross wants to know if Johnny knows how to hurt him in tonight’s No DQ match. Tonight, he’s breaking Johnny out of his skin.

Here’s Rich Swann for a chat. After a quick YOU DESERVE IT chant, Swann talks about the history of the division and calls himself the No Limit Soldier of the division with no limits. He’s ready for all comers and here’s OVE to test that theory. After some yelling at Don Callis, Sami Callihan talks about the rumors of what’s going on with Swann and OVE. They have a long history but that’s not something you get to learn right now. Since family means a lot to OVE, Swann should accept the offer of a spot on the team and come home. Callihan throws him the shirt but here’s Willie Mack to break up the fight.

Sami Callihan vs. Willie Mack

Rematch from Sunday and they start fast with a double knockdown. An exchange of headbutts goes nowhere so Sami goes to the eyes in a smart move. Sami gets sent outside and catches a sliding Mack in the ring skirt to continue hammering away. Mack comes back with a Rock Bottom onto the apron, earning what sounds like a CHOCOLATE THUNDER chant. A whip into the steps cuts Mack right back off and he gets piledriven on the stage. Mack beats the count in at nine and starts the comeback with some running shots in the corner.

A Samoan drop into the standing moonsault gets two so Sami bites the hand to get a breather. That just earns him a sitout spinebuster for two but Mack takes too long following up. Sami powerbombs him out of the corner and gets two of his own off a knee to the face. Mack shrugs that off and hits a corner Cannonball but the Stunner is blocked. The Cactus piledriver is countered as well and we hit the pinfall reversal sequence. Both finishers are reversed again until Mack gets a rollup for the pin at 10:38.

Rating: C. Nice brawl here with Mack’s natural charisma being more than enough to carry things. OVE and Sami in particular might not be the best option in the world at times but I’m moderately interested in where this story with Swann is going. Now if only the matches can back it up. The Crists vs. Mack/Swann sounds fine to me.

LAX and Konnan celebrate with booze and cigars. Everything seems to be fine after their recent issues.

Post break, LAX gets in an argument with OVE. You knew that was coming.

Here’s Scarlett Bordeaux for the Strip Show. First up though, an announcement: next week she’s ending her talent search and announcing the winner. With that out of the way, it’s time for the robe to come off but here’s the Desi Hit Squad to interrupt. Save that for the winners, which will of course be the three of them. Gama Singh rants about Americans having no values because they want to see her without her clothes on. Raju says Singh wanted to see that as well, so the argument breaks out.

Cue Scott Steiner of all people, who is here to see the debut on the Pursuit Channel. He has a bit of a limp due to hunting some two headed deer at a club in downtown Detroit. Steiner isn’t happy with the stripping being stopped so the beatdown is on. Scarlett offers him a front row seat and the robe comes off so the lap dance can begin. This was a rather unnecessary cameo, though the Impact fans will likely say “WHO CARES??? IT’S SCOTT STEINER!” I’m sure this line of thinking isn’t part of why they’re on Pursuit at all.

We look back at Gail Kim costing Tessa Blanchard the Knockouts Title.

Gail says Tessa got what was coming to her.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Cali Collins

Tessa gets aggressive to start with forearms in the corner and doesn’t seem happy when Cali tries one of her own. An Anderson eye rake across the top rope sets up a running dropkick to Cali’s back. Tessa loads up the Buzzsaw DDT but goes with Eat Defeat for the pin at 2:20 instead.

Eddie Edwards is proud of his win on Sunday and is ready to move on with his life. Eli Drake comes in to ask if Eddie wants to carry the flag of hardcore after people like Tommy Dreamer and Abyss carried it. I could go or Drake vs. Eddie.

Su Yung and Allie are next to a coffin and sound worried about Rosemary. The lights flicker and the words “One more chance to join the shadow” appear on the coffin. Nervousness ensues.

Killer Kross vs. Johnny Impact

Non-title and No DQ. Impact wastes no time in starting the brawl and stomps at the head in the ropes. Kross runs him over though and hammers away in the corner. They head outside where Impact is a bit better suited for the kicks to the chest. Impact takes forever to set up a table and gets a chair to the face for his efforts. Kross wraps the chair around his neck and slams it into the post before crotching Johnny on the barricade.

The steps are dragged around but Johnny avoids having his head crushed with a chair. Instead he knocks Kross back with a chair of his own and then piles the chairs on top of him. A moonsault crushes another chair onto the pile of chairs onto Kross for the big knockdown that didn’t look all that impressive.

Kross pops right up and they stare each other down while throwing chairs into the ring. They both pick one up and then drop them so Johnny can throw punches in the corner instead. A pelted chair to the face knocks Kross silly and Johnny piles up the chairs on him again. It’s time to go up top but Moose runs out to shove Johnny through the table at ringside. The Krossjacket choke finishes Johnny at 12:16.

Rating: C+. This was a good fight with Johnny showing aggression, but I’m not entirely sure why someone who wants to destroy Kross was busy doing flips instead of just unloading on him with the chair. Kross was his usual monster self and I’m glad to see him win, though this feels like leftovers from before Bound For Glory with just Austin Aries missing.

Moose and Kross hug to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Good show here with the first night on Pursuit working well enough. They didn’t really have any good surprises (Scott Steiner…no) but the wrestling worked and it picked up where the Pop shows left off. I’m still not wild on the top story but I’ll take what I can get at the moment. Just let them keep it up and not do something dumb and things will be fine.

Results

Lucha Bros b. Rascalz – Cutter to Xavier

Willie Mack b. Sami Callihan – Rollup

Tessa Blanchard b. Cali Collins – Eat Defeat

Killer Kross b. Johnny Impact – Krossjacket choke

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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