Impact Wrestling
Date: March 16, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

We’re done with Sacrifice and that means it is time to start getting ready for the next major pay per view with Rebellion. Rich Swann is now the sole World Champion and gets to move on to face Kenny Omega at the pay per view. By face I mean be sacrificed to, as AEW begins its march to taking over every other promotion not named WWE because….I’m not sure why that’s what we’re doing but it seems likely. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

FinJuice vs. XXXL

Non-title as FinJuice won the Tag Team Titles at Sacrifice. Larry D. drives Robinson into the corner with the straight power but Robinson is back with a dropkick. Finlay comes in off the top with an elbow to the arm but Acey Romero shrugs off a double bulldog attempt. A running crossbody to Robinson’s back crushes him again but everything breaks down in a hurry. Acey gets double dropkicked out to the floor and the Acid Drop finishes Larry at 3:32.

Rating: C-. That’s all this should have been as the new champs shouldn’t have a problem against a team like XXXL. FinJuice works well together and that kind of chemistry is always going to work. It was fun to see them pick apart the monsters because that is something that can be done for quite a while without losing its appeal.

Post match here are the Good Brothers with Anderson blaming Gallows for the loss. Gallows: “You got pinned.” Anderson: “Beside the point.” They have been busy lately so the loss really wasn’t fair. The champs are willing to give them a rematch, but they’ll have to wait until a Japan trip is over. Ok young boys (Japan reference!)? The brawl is on and FinJuice bail in a hurry.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Sami Callihan is here to expose Trey Miguel’s lack of passion. Miguel thinks anger is the same thing as passion and it was on display last week when he beat up his student Sam Beale. Tonight, Sami is going to embarrass Miguel over his lack of passion.

The Good Brothers complain about FinJuice taking the titles back to Japan without them but Scott D’Amore gives them their rematch at Rebellion.

The Good Brothers leave and Tommy Dreamer comes in to say that not having Tag Team Titles is a problem. D’Amore goes on a rant about how we can’t just team up with Paul E. and run a company into the ground. Hardcore Justice is next month so Dreamer can book it himself. Dreamer has actually already done that so D’Amore says Dreamer is in charge that night. Great, but at least it makes a bit of sense this time. I’m going to hope that Hardcore Justice is a requirement because having that show the same month as Rebellion seems a bit nuts.

Rhino vs. Jake Something

Violent By Design, Chris Sabin and James Storm are all here too. They slug it out to start with Rhino getting the better of things and slamming Jake down by the hair. The people on the floor get in a brawl and Rhino uses the distraction to hit the Gore for the pin at 2:08.

Post match Violent By Design beats Something/Storm/Sabin down.

Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb With A K fire up their team for a 12 woman Knockouts match later. Most of the rest of the team thinks they should be in charge instead and a lot of bickering ensues.

Rohit Raju vs. Mahabali Shera

Raju knocks him into the corner to start and hammers away, only to get rocked by straight power. A shot to the leg takes Shera down and Raju rakes the eyes before starting in on the arm. That just makes Shera mad but he gets kicked in the face. A jumping knee to the head sets up a Cannonball in the corner but Shera is right back with a chokebreaker. Shera misses a charge into the post though and Raju grabs a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 4:05.

Rating: D+. I’m sorry what now? Impact has been building Shera up as this unstoppable monster for weeks now and then he loses to Raju in four minutes? After being beaten down for most of the match? I have no idea what they were going for here but I was much more confused than anything else. Raju has come a LONG way in the last few months, but what was the point in having him almost squash Shera?

Willie Mack comes up to Rich Swann and congratulates him for his win. They need to celebrate this but Swann has something to do first.

Here’s Rich Swann for a chat, carrying both belts. He can’t hold these titles up because the gold is weighing him down. Last Saturday, he and Moose worked hard and Swann was the one on the higher horse. Now he is a double World Champion and that is unthinkable. Swann has partied every day since then but now he has to get serious about the monkey on his back that is Kenny Omega. Now it all comes back around on April 24 as he gets a chance to make up for January. It’s one on one at Rebellion and we will see who the real World Champion really is.

Cue Don Callis to hug Swann and say something to him that we can’t hear. Callis talks about how much he loves history and wants Swann to stop him if he says anything untrue. He has been a Swann guy for a long time now and has fought for him for years. Callis was the one wanted him to have a chance and made sure he was paid every two weeks while he was recovering from a broken leg. Swann nods to acknowledge that this is all true, including that Callis fought for him to get into the Bound For Glory main event.

Swann was the shiny toy but now Callis has moved on to someone else in Kenny Omega. Sure Swann had a great moment at Sacrifice, but maybe he can’t stop thinking about that One Winged Angel at Hard To Kill. Swann is a once in a decade talent, but Omega is a god of professional wrestling. Callis has been there for all of Omega’s greatest moments and he’ll be there shouting ONE WINGED ANGEL on commentary at Rebellion when Omega walks out with both titles. This was great stuff from Callis and he played the mastermind well.

It’s time for Tony Schiavone/Tony Khan to give their weekly Dynamite plug. We run down the card, with Forbidden Door being mentioned three times in the first thirty seconds. There wasn’t much in the way of funny this time.

Eddie Edwards and Matt Cardona are glad to have each others’ backs when Brian Myers comes in. Edwards leaves and Myers says he doesn’t want Cardona here for once. Cardona doesn’t seem phased.

Tenille Dashwood/Fire N Flava/Kimber Lee/Deonna Purrazzo/Susan vs. Jazz/ODB/Jordynne Grace/Havok/Nevaeh/Alisha

Kaleb With A K is here with Dashwood and company. Alisha goes after Dashwood to start but gets dropped with a forearm. Dashwood misses a charge into the corner though and it’s a running hip attack to keep her down. ODB hits the Bronco Buster and it’s off to Susan, who gets caught in the wrong corner by Nevaeh.

Therefore Kimber comes in instead and gets double teamed down by Havok and Nevaeh for an early two. Havok throws Kiera into the corner and we get a Jazz vs. Purrazzo showdown. Everything breaks down in a hurry for the parade of shots to the face until Steelz and Grace slug it out. The two of them hit the big dives and we take a break.

Back with Purrazzo clotheslining Alisha for two but Susan gets dropped with a clothesline. The hot tag brings in Grace to start cleaning house, including a powerslam for a pair of twos on Lee. Everything breaks down again for the parade of secondary finishers until we’re down to Jazz vs. Lee. An STF misses and Jazz pulls her into the STF for the tap at 13:07.

Rating: C. You’re only going to be able to get so much out of twelve people in there at once. It was fine enough while it lasted and Jazz does get a rub out of the pin (Jazz vs. Deonna for the title could work well as an Impact Plus showdown), but nothing really got a chance to shine with so many people in there at the same time.

Ace Austin is rather happy with his win at Sacrifice, even if he told us so. Chris Bey comes in to bring up beating Austin last week, but here is Josh Alexander to say he won at No Surrender. Ace isn’t pleased but here’s TJP, who gets his rematch for the title next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Sami Callihan vs. Trey Miguel

Trey slugs away to start fast but Sami runs him over with a clothesline. They fight to the floor in a hurry and then up to the stage, where Miguel slips out of a powerbomb attempt. Sami gets in a Boston crab on the floor as we take a break. Back with Sami kicking away and sending him outside in another heap. Miguel’s leg is tied around the post and kicked hard, followed by the Junkyard Dog headbutts back inside.

The leg cranking is on but Miguel kicks him away for the breather. Sami goes up top, where he counters a super hurricanrana into a Boston crab while still on the middle rope. That’s broken up so Trey tries a springboard, only to have his leg give out. Trey is fine enough to knock him down for a double stomp and we take another break.

Back with again the chop off until Trey uses the good leg for a Codebreaker. Miguel tries another top rope double stomp and bangs up the knee again, allowing Sami to hit another clothesline. A grab of the leg is broken up by Sami biting Miguel and an STF has Trey in more trouble. Make the a Crossface with Miguel in even more trouble until a rope is grabbed.

Sami chops him up against the barricade but Miguel manages to run the steps for a springboard cutter onto the floor. Back in and Trey gets two off a neckbreaker, with the kickout having Miguel a little screwed up. Trey goes up but the referee gets in the way to check on Callihan, allowing Sami to crotch Trey on top. The package piledriver finishes Miguel at 23:52.

Rating: B. This worked out well with both guys beating on each other for a long time until the screwy finish. I’m not sure where this is going but as long as it doesn’t end up with the two of them as wacky tag team partners, everything should wind up working out. Miguel was working hard here and Sami was a great villain, making this a heck of a match.

Overall Rating: C. Not too bad here but the stories continue to not be the most thrilling in the world. Above all else, it feels like we’re just waiting around while the World Title is kept warm for Kenny Omega, who will….probably not be around here very often. At the same time, you have New Japan holding the Tag Team Titles because we need to show how awesome it is when other companies are here. This leaves Impact with part time World and Tag Team Champions (or probably just one once we get done with Rebellion where the Good Brothers get the titles back) because….uh, guest stars! Not an awful show, but not inspiring.

Results

FinJuice b. XXXL – Acid drop to Larry D.

Rhino b. Jake Something – Gore

Rohit Raju b. Mahabali Shera – Rollup with feet on the ropes

ODB/Jazz/Nevaeh/Havok/Alisha/Jordynne Grace b. Fire N Flava/Kimber Lee/Susan/Deonna Purrazzo/Kimber Lee – STF to Lee

Sami Callihan b. Trey Miguel – Package piledriver

 

 

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Impact Wrestling
Date: January 19, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown

We’re done with Hard To Kill and the big story seems to be Kenny Omega being primed up for a shot against Impact Wrestling World Champion Rich Swann. I’m not sure when that could be taking place as Impact is off pay per view until late April, but maybe they have something in mind. Let’s get to it.

Here is Hard To Kill if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Hard To Kill.

After the show ended, Don Callis praised Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers on their win. Callis stopped to talk to the camera though, saying it was a good example of what the Invisible Hand can do. He and Omega are heading back to Jacksonville, but they’ll be back.

Opening sequence.

Eric Young vs. Rhino

Young has Deaner and Joe Doering while Rhino has Cousin Jake. Rhino knocks him down to start and it’s time for Young to take a breather on the floor. Jake isn’t having that and throws Young back inside, where he gets in a quick low blow to take over. The jumping stomps ensue and we hit the neck crank to keep Rhino down. Commentary compares AEW invading to the Monday Night Wars as Rhino fights out and throws Young down for a breather. That’s enough to have Deaner get up for a distraction and Doering comes in for a cheap shot to Rhino’s leg. A heel hook makes Rhino tap at 4:03.

Rating: D. This was a nothing match with Young getting to show how evil and vile his team is in case we hadn’t gotten the idea in the first dozen or so examples. Young just doesn’t feel like some evil mastermind no matter what Impact says but this seems like something that is going to have some legs.

Post match Young and company beat Rhino down and Pillmanize his leg while making Jake watch.

Here’s a recap of Hard To Kill and a chat about how important the main event was.

After Hard To Kill was over, Moose attacked Rich Swann.

Swann is ready to prove he is the World Champion.

Acey Romero and John E. Bravo talk to Tommy Dreamer, saying that Larry D. is being framed. They have found matching fingerprints on both the Ring Rust cologne and the gun. Dreamer is intrigued.

Here are the Good Brothers for a chat. They’re awesome you see and are going to be Tag Team Champions for as long as they want. It’s always going to be the Magic Killer, the pin and a just too sweet….but here’s Chris Sabin to interrupt. Sabin talks about how the Good Brothers stole the Motor City Machine Guns Tag Team Titles because neither of the Guns were ever pinned. They want a rematch, but Gallows points out Sabin’s lack of a partner. Sabin does have a partner though, and here’s James Storm.

They get in the ring with Storm listing off Sabin’s resume and reciting his song lyrics as he gets in the Brothers’ faces. The challenge is thrown down….and here are Matt Hardy and Private Party (from AEW) to interrupt. Matt says that Private Party has a chance to be the second best tag team ever (after the Hardys of course).

They have a six man tag tomorrow night but tonight, Private Party can get in the ring. Matt will get 50% of the money tonight because it’s a third party and tomorrow it’s the usual 30%, meaning Matt is getting 260%! Storm says that’s some bad math and this is a private conversation. Matt doesn’t want to hear it because he saved this company, so tonight it can Private Party challenging the Good Brothers for the Tag Team Titles. Hardy: “Those titles belong to my brother and I! Impact stripped them from us in some stupid teleportation angle!”

Gallows has a better idea: the two teams can face off tonight for a title shot. That works for Hardy, who gives Private Party a pep talk and threatens the other teams. The truth is the truth. That was a nice surprise and Private Party could use a change of scenery at this point and this could help them.

Matt Cardona says he’s here for an opportunity and wants to prove the fans right.

We recap the Knockouts Tag Team Titles, including Fire and Flava winning them at the pay per view.

Kaleb With A K and Tenille Dashwood seem confused with Fire and Flava come up to ask if they’re going to be there for the title celebration. Johnny Swinger comes up to offer the two for one special again. Swinger tries to get both of them at once so they bring up the stolen money. Fallah Bahh comes in to accuse everyone of being a thief but here is Brian Myers. Bahh and Myers don’t like each other and a match seems likely for later.

Kimber Lee/Susan vs. Jordynne Grace/Jazz

Deonna Purrazzo is here with Lee and Susan. It’s a brawl to start with Grace and Jazz cleaning house and Jazz getting two on Susan. The chinlock goes on and Jazz adds some crossface shots. Grace comes back in for the shoulders in the corner and takes it outside. The beating continues but Kimber grabs Grace by the hair for a takedown as we go to a break.

Back with Susan hammering on Grace and choking on the rope. Grace is fine enough to catch Susan on top but the fireman’s carry is escaped. A spinning kick to Grace’s hands in front of her face gets two and Lee chops her down in the corner. Lee misses a charge in the corner though and Grace blasts her with a clothesline.

There’s the tag off to Jazz and Susan gets one of her own. Susan’s jacket comes off but Jazz punches her into the corner anyway like a villain should (even though Jazz isn’t a villain). Grace hits some running knees in the corner and adds a backsplash, setting up Jazz’s DDT. Lee makes a save and argues with the referee, allowing Purrazzo to get in a belt shot so Susan can get the pin at 10:42.

Rating: C. Not too bad here as the numbers game cost the heroes a win. Grace and Jazz don’t need to be a long term team but if Jazz can give her a rub during her last run, good for them. I’m getting into Purrazzo and her minions, so maybe they have a little something here with them.

Taya Valkyrie is asked about losing at Hard To Kill when John E. Bravo comes in to yell at her. Dreamer and Romero come in to accuse her of causing Larry D. to shoot Bravo….and she admits it. Taya shouts that she wants Bravo dead and gets taken away by police. Dreamer thinks she’s going to prison in Jacksonville, Stamford (Dreamer: “For two years with an option for three.”) of maybe Baltimore. Dreamer: “It’s finally over.” Thank badness.

Taya is taken away but the cops let her stop to talk to Rosemary, who isn’t happy. Rosemary says they had a plan but Taya breaks down and talks about what their friendship meant. Rosemary pulls her into a hug as Taya is escorted outside. She says this is why they don’t have friends, but here’s Crazzy Steve for a shared laugh and sneer.

It’s time for another AEW paid announcement, with Tony Schiavone telling us that this is a REAL television studio. Schiavone throws us to Tony Khan and Jerry Lynn, the former of whom hypes up Private Party vs. James Storm/Chris Sabin later tonight. We also run down the Dynamite card. Khan is proud of Matt Hardy for showing up and insists that he (Khan) is a nice guy. Hardy isn’t because he is the greediest guy in the sport and can carny Impact. Khan says he and Lynn will be at ringside tonight….and they’re backstage at Impact.

Here’s Rich Swann for a chat. On Saturday, he felt the pressure of leading Impact Wrestling into battle. That is the kind of pressure he thrives on but can you blame him for having trust issues when it comes to Moose? That’s the man who has been walking around claiming to be World Champion and the man who put his best friend on the shelf. Yes Swann’s attention has been on Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers lately, but Omega isn’t here tonight, so the schedule is wide open.

Moose can come out here right now, so here he comes. Swann looks ready to fight but Moose says don’t make mistakes when you’re too emotionally invested. Moose wants his title shot, so Swann calls him an idiot. Swann is trying to give him his title shot right now and takes the jacket off. That’s not happening because it’s on Moose’s time. Swann: “Then what the h*** are we supposed to do right now?” Swann punches him in the jaw and the fight is on, with Swann ripping off Moose’s suit. The Phoenix splash connects to send Moose scurrying.

Rohit Raju comes in to Scott D’Amore’s office and TJP follows. Raju freaks out and says TJP couldn’t challenge for the title. Scott says Manik won the title and just happens to be TJP. D’Amore: “OF COURSE HE IS! EVERYBODY KNEW THAT!” Ok that was funny. Anyway, Raju gets a match in two weeks. A happy Raju leaves because that’s all he wanted. Scott: “You think I should tell him it’s a non-title match?” Again, that was funny.

Fire and Flava have a celebration for their titles in the back with a referee as the guest. They offer him various packages to the celebration but when Havok and Nevaeh come in, the packages are suddenly sold out. The two of them get a special offer though: a package where they can watch from home.

Brian Myers vs. Fallah Bahh

Myers can’t knock Bahh down to start but Bahh can knock him down, setting up the big legdrop. As Striker asks the fans to name the legdrop for him, Bahh hits a crossbody for two. A belly to belly gets the same but Myers kicks him in the head and knocks him down. We hit the chinlock for a bit until Bahh fights up without much trouble. Bahh crushes a standing Myers in the corner and then crushes a seated Myers in the corner for two more. Hold on though as Myers claims a thumb to the eye, allowing him to get in a low blow. The running clothesline finishes Bahh at 4:12.

Rating: C-. This could have been a heck of a lot worse and they did their thing well enough. I’m still not sure what the appeal of Myers is supposed to be, but at least they’re pushing someone. Can we please get him a better finisher than a running clothesline though? He isn’t exactly JBL.

Ace Austin isn’t happy with how he was used at Hard To Kill because he didn’t have a match scheduled for the show. Then he tried to get into the X-Division Title match and wound up dealing with Matt Cardona, who seems to work here now. Cardona says he is always ready, but that means sitting in catering in his gear. Cue Josh Alexander to say he’s sick about hearing about Austin. Alexander is the one who is going to make sure Austin never reaches his potential. The shoving sets up the brawl with Madman Fulton getting in a cheap shot from behind. Cardona runs in for the save and we are probably having a tag match soon.

Stills from Barbed Wire Massacre from Hard To Kill.

Eddie Edwards is being checked by the doctor but here’s Brian Myers to have his eye checked. Myers says he’s more important than this backyarder so Eddie challenges him for next week.

Here’s what coming next week.

Private Party vs. James Storm/Chris Sabin

For the #1 contendership and Matt Hardy is here with Private Party. Joined in progress with Sabin avoiding an armdrag from Marq Quen but Quen makes it work the second time. A standoff sets up a handshake but Isaiah Kassidy comes in for an atomic drop to set up an enziguri. Kassidy stays in for a front facelock but Sabin slips out and flips over for the hot tag off to Storm. A Sling Blade cuts Kassidy off and Storm sends him to the apron.

The Silly String into a tornado DDT plants Storm, setting up a running enziguri in the corner. Cue Tony Khan and Jerry Lynn to sit down, with Khan holding a small notebook and smiling a lot. We take a break and come back with Quen stomping Storm down in the corner as Striker recaps everything we saw before the break. Kassidy comes in and it’s a double atomic drop into a wishbone into a double basement dropkick.

Storm flips his way out of a front facelock though and the hot tag brings in Sabin with a high crossbody. An enziguri into a tornado DDT drops Private Party and there’s a missile dropkick to Kassidy’s back for two. Quen saves Kassidy from a double suplex so Storm pulls Quen to the floor. The Backstabber hits Kassidy for two and Storm adds a neckbreaker. Quen is back with an enziguri to Storm but Sabin gives him a brainbuster.

Sabin and Kassidy slug it out until Quen kicks Kassidy over, allowing him to hit a jumping enziguri. A moonsault onto Sabin’s back gets two and Storm’s Skinning the Cat is broken up with a dropkick. Kassidy takes Storm down with a big flip dive but Jerry Lynn grabs Sabin’s foot on the ropes. The Gin and Juice (a middle rope hurricanrana into a cutter) finishes Sabin at 15:25.

Rating: B-. This is where things can help a lot for Private Party, as they can get out there with someone other than the AEW teams and hopefully develop more as a team. This is more where the crossover story should work out for both companies too as Private Party can get more out of this kind of a deal. Good match too, despite a few sloppy parts from Private Party.

Post match the Good Brothers come out for the big staredown. Sabin and Storm get back in and it’s a three way brawl to wrap up the show.

Overall Rating: C. Good enough show here and slightly better than most of their usual post pay per view shows. I can go for having people like Private Party popping in here instead of having the AEW wrestlers dominating the shows. The show was kind of up and down, but the ending of the Wrestle House stuff is a breath of fresh air around here. I’m curious about where some of these things are going, but they are going to need to tighten the show up around here a little more.

Results

Eric Young b. Rhino – Heel hook

Kimber Lee/Susan b. Jordynne Grace/Jazz – Belt shot to Jazz

Brian Myers b. Fallah Bahh – Running clothesline

Private Party b. James Storm/Chris Sabin – Gin and Juice to Sabin

 

 

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Hard To Kill 2021
Date: January 16, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown

We’re back on pay per view with this one and that means it is time to step things up. This time around, the big story is AEW’s Kenny Omega coming in to team with the Good Brothers against Rich Swann/Moose/Chris Sabin (as Alex Shelley is out due to some personal circumstances). The card isn’t looking great but Impact can do some good pay per views. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Josh Alexander vs. Brian Myers

Alexander takes him down by the leg to start and then spins out of a wristlock to put Myers down again. They head outside with Myers being driven back first into the apron but Myers shoves him hard off the top. We take a break and come back with Myers grabbing a quickly broken chinlock. Myers trips him down to cut off the comeback and the chinlock goes on again. That’s broken up as well so Myers hits a Downward Spiral for two, sending us to another break.

Back again with a discus forearm putting Myers on the floor. Alexander can’t get a German suplex but he can get the ankle lock, followed by the German suplex for two. Myers catches him with an enziguri on top, setting up the superplex with Alexander tying the legs up into a small package for two more.

A quick Michinoku Driver gives Myers two so Alexander backslides him for the same (with Striker throwing in a Kerry Von Erich vs. Ric Flair reference because he tries way too hard). The ankle lock goes on and Myers can’t roll out, so instead he pulls the headgear around to blind Alexander. That’s enough for the running clothesline to finish Alexander at 10:54.

Rating: C-. Are they kidding? Who in the world looks at Myers and Alexander (especially including their histories and thinks that Myers, as “The Most Professional Wrestler”, is the more interesting choice? I don’t get this one, but I’m hoping they have a better idea than just pushing him because he used to be in WWE. Baffling decision here, and it came after a just ok match.

The opening video looks at how people had to survive a lot over the year but they are hard to kill. This includes a good bit of AEW footage, plus Alex Shelley announcing that he will not be able to be here tonight. Moose is taking his place, which could be a bit better.

Decay vs. Tenille Dashwood/Kaleb With A K

That would be Rosemary/Crazy Steve. The men start things off with Steve headlocking him down and then tripping the leg. Rosemary comes in to crank on the arm and then hands it back to Steve. Kaleb sends him outside but thinks twice about the dive, instead bringing Dashwood in to elbow Rosemary in the face. Some shots to the back have Rosemary in more trouble and we hit the chinlock, complete with Dashwood rubbing Rosemary’s head.

Kaleb takes too much time going up though and Dashwood gets kicked into him for the crotching. Rosemary kicks Dashwood away again and the hot tag brings in Steve to start cleaning house. A rollup out of the corner brings Dashwood in for the save so Steve glares her out to the floor. Kaleb takes over on Steve’s arm, setting up a Russian legsweep for no cover.

Instead Kaleb stops for a photo, meaning Steve can avoid the moonsault. That’s enough for Rosemary to come in and clean house as everything breaks down. Rosemary hits a spear but walks into Kaleb’s superkick. The green mist hits Dashwood and Kaleb backfists Steve down. More mist blinds Kaleb and Steve hits a tornado DDT for the pin at 8:55.

Rating: C. Kind of a weird choice for an opener as the match wasn’t really a big part of the build (I’m not even sure I remember it being mentioned on TV) and it was just ok anyway. Rosemary and Steve work well together and while it’s nice to see Kaleb take the fall, it’s another miss for Dashwood. Not terrible by any means, but not a great match with a weird placement.

We run down the card. Still makes little sense on a pay per view.

We recap (with the video starting before Striker was done talking) Eric Young and company attacking various people around here. That means it’s time for Tommy Dreamer to defend his latest wrestling home, meaning we have a six man Old School tag.

Violent By Design vs. Tommy Dreamer/Rhino/Cousin Jake

Old School (extreme) rules. That would be the name for Eric Young/Deaner/Joe Doering, because every team needs a name now. Striker: “I don’t think there is anyone who has done what Tommy Dreamer has done over the last thirty years at such a high level.” I think we can write that off as the first stupid Striker line of the night and move on. The ring is mostly cleared to start and it’s Jake vs. Deaner n the big showdown.

They’re out on the floor in a hurry as we go to a triple screen (THANK YOU!) until everyone winds up on the same side at ringside. The wild brawling continues until Dreamer brings in the cookie sheet to knock Young down. Back inside and a cutter drops Young again so it’s time for Rhino, Dreamer and Deaner to chair Doering down. That isn’t enough to keep him down as Doering gets up and bites Dreamer’s head.

Deaner throws Jake off the top onto two open chairs….and exactly thirty seconds later, Jake is back up with a suicide dive onto Doering and Young. That leaves Dreamer to crotch Deaner on top and it’s something like a Tower of Doom, with Dreamer getting kicked in the face in the process. Rhino posts Doering on the floor and it’s time for the thumbtacks. Young is backdropped onto said tacks and there’s the Gore to drop Doering. Jake’s Black Hole Slam gets two on Deaner with Young making the save with the hockey mask. The piledriver finishes Deaner at 9:51.

Rating: D+. They brawled, they did the same violent spots they always do, they tried to make Dreamer some kind of legend and Young was treated as the big evil. This was almost everything I don’t like about Impact rolled into one match and I have a bad feeling that it is going to be continuing for a good while to come. Throw in Doering being the latest monster without much of a reason to care about him other than who he associates with, we could be in for a long run with these guys.

Rich Swann fires up Chris Sabin when Moose comes in. Swann doesn’t trust Moose because Willie Mack would be here if Moose hadn’t taken him out. Moose talks about playing football with people he didn’t like but he would die for them once a game began. Tonight, Omega and the Brothers are getting beaten down all night long.

Video on the Knockouts Tag Team Title Tournament.

Knockouts Tag Team Title Tournament: Fire And Flava vs. Havok/Nevaeh

For the vacant titles and that would be Tasha Steelz/Kiera Hogan, because, again, every team needs a name these days. Steelz and Hogan jump them to start with little avail, meaning it’s Steelz and Nevaeh to officially get things going. Havok comes in so Steelz bails out to Hogan, who is promptly backbreakered. A sliding clothesline gives Nevaeh two and it’s back to Havok to wreck both of them.

Havok misses a legdrop so some kicks to the face put her down for two. More running kicks in the corner give Hogan two but Havok drives Steelz into the corner. Havok tosses both of them down at the same time, allowing the tag off to Nevaeh. Steelz DDTs Hogan by mistake (yep still stupid) but Nevaeh gets caught on top.

That’s fine with Havok, who powerbombs both of them out of the corner (after walking a bit to show off). Hogan is back up with a neckbreaker on Havok and a Stunner rocks her again. Havok gets taken to the floor, leaving Hogan to hit a fisherman’s neckbreaker to Nevaeh for the pin and the titles at 8:48.

Rating: C. They aren’t exactly in the mood to give the wrestlers time tonight. This was a fairly rushed match but it’s nice to have one of the established teams win rather than a makeshift pair becoming the champions. I’m not sure what kind of a future the titles have, but it was an acceptable enough start.

Madison Rayne and Gail Kim come out to present the new titles.

Decay comes up to Taya Valkyrie but she, politely says she has this tonight. The women leave and Acey Romero sneaks into the Knockouts locker room.

Here are the unscheduled Ace Austin and Madman Fulton for a chat. Austin does not like being relegated to the pre-show panel because he won the Super X Cup. That means he should be #1 contender to the X-Division Title. So come on Scott D’Amore. Get out here and make the match. Cue D’Amore who agrees Austin needs a match so here is his opponent.

Ace Austin vs. Matt Cardona

Striker: “This is a mark out moment and I’m marking out bro!” Cardona starts fast with a running faceplant to send Austin to the apron. That means Austin can do his gymnastics on the apron until Cardona trips him face first. As Striker talks about “popping the internet”, a swinging neckbreaker drops Austin onto the floor. Fulton’s distraction lets Austin get in a cheap shot but it’s a flapjack to put him down back inside. The running corner clothesline sets up the Reboot (Broski Boot) but Fulton comes in for the DQ at 2:33.

Post match Cardona clears the ring in a hurry.

We recap the X-Division Title match. TJP couldn’t get another title shot so he put on a mask as Manik and won the title. Rohit Raju and Chris Bey want to unmask him and prove everything so we’re having a triple threat title match.

X-Division Title: Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju vs. Manik

Manik is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Manik dropkicks Bey to the floor to start and runs the ropes with Raju. Bey is back in and that means a three way standoff. Raju gets knocked down again and Bey uses him as a launchpad to dropkick Manik to the floor this time. That doesn’t last long as Manik and Bey switch places, allowing Raju to counter a headscissors into a reverse sitout powerbomb for two on Manik.

Bey comes back in and Raju misses a charge to the floor, allowing Manik to tie up Bey’s legs. Raju rejoins them for a standing armbar on Manik at the same time as Brown and Striker over if that is TJP or not. The double holds are broken up and Manik sends Raju outside, leaving Bey to hit a springboard kick to the head to catch Manik in the ropes. Bey misses a dive and gets apron bombed down for the mistake. Back in and Raju gets Manik’s mask off to reveal…a painted face.

Manik goes up top for a frog splash but dives into a cutter from Bey. A double Art of Finesse lets Bey cover Manik for two and everyone is down for a second. Raju is up first and ties Bey in the Tree of Woe, meaning Manik can come in with a springboard hurricanrana. The Detonation Kick connects with Bey making the save so he and Manik fight over a Tombstone.

Manik finally plants him but walks into a jumping knee from Raju. A kick to the face gives Raju two on Manik and everyone is down again. Raju is sent to the floor, leaving Manik to hit a springboard DDT on Bey. The frog splash hits Bey and Raju slides back in for two in a callback to what set this up. Raju throws Manik off the top but gets kicked in the head by Bey.

They go up top with Bey getting tied in the Tree of Woe again. Raju pulls Manik into a Crossface (which Striker says is a variation on the Regal Stretch, because, again, Striker tries too hard) until Bey makes the save. Manik rolls to the floor so Raju unloads with shots to Bey’s head, only to have Manik roll Raju up to retain at 13:52.

Rating: B. Now this was good as they were doing all of their spots in a hurry while making the match feel like a frenzy. That’s the kind of match you would want for a pay per view X-Division Title match and the show needed it pretty badly. Manik continues to be one of the best in-ring stars on the roster, but the painted face under the mask is a pretty weak way to keep things going.

Post match, Manik taunts Raju with the win.

Eddie Edwards tells Alisha that she can’t be involved in the Barbed Wire Massacre. She can’t be at risk because Eddie doesn’t know what is happening to him. Alisha promises not to go out there.

We recap Deonna Purrazzo vs. Taya Valkyrie. Purrazzo is the amazing champion, Valkyrie used to be the amazing champion, the title match is on.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Taya Valkyrie

Purrazzo is defending and has Kimber Lee and Susan with her, while Taya has Decay. Taya knocks her into the corner to start and hammers away against the ropes. Purrazzo is knocked outside where Lee gets in a cheap shot and Susan starts recording Steve. The referee gets knocked down so it’s a big group ejection to leave us one on one. Striker is confused about whether the bell rang or not, because he was probably too busy making some reference to Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1983.

Back in and Purrazzo starts on the arm, including a Russian legsweep and a roll through into a Tequila Sunrise. Now it’s off to a kneebar so Taya has to go to the rope again. A DDT on the knee gets two but Taya is back up with chops and a spear for two. Purrazzo dropkicks the knee out but Taya runs her over again without much effort.

There’s a Curb Stomp into something like an STF, which Striker….actually doesn’t screw up (even a bad announcer finds the right move once a match). Back up and Taya can’t hit a tilt-a-whirl slam as Purrazzo takes her down into the Fujiwara Armbar. That’s switches into Cosa Nostra to retain the title at 11:35.

Rating: B-. I can go for watching these two doing their thing for a good while and that is what we got here. Purrazzo being able to pull someone into whatever painful hold she has at the moment and Taya can make almost anything work. This was exactly what it was supposed to be and I had a good time with it throughout. Above all else, it felt like a match that belonged on pay per view, which hasn’t been the case with everything else on the card so far.

Acey Romero comes up to John E. Bravo, who insists that Larry D. shot him. He calls Acey crazy but Acey found some of Larry’s Ring Rust cologne in a Knockouts bag. Bravo is intrigued. Sweet goodness WHY IS THIS STILL GOING???

We recap the fall of Ethan Page, who has gone rather insane and is feuding with his own alter ego, the Karate Man. Now it’s time for Page to fight himself.

Ethan Page vs. Karate Man

We go cinematic (duh) and they fight in front of a green screen, Mortal Kombat style. Page punches and Karate Man kicks as the background keeps changing. Then Karate Man pulls out Page’s heart to end it at we’ll say 2:30. So Page was REALLY unhappy about this online and if this is what they cobbled together after what seems like a lot of work went into it, I can completely get that. This was a waste of time from what could have been an entertaining idea and Page deserved a better way to go out than a segment which is getting as much time as the Wrestle House fallout.

Don Callis comes up to Moose in the back and reminds him that he has a two year contract. Callis suggests that if Moose hurts Kenny Omega, the contract may be ruined. Moose doesn’t want to hear it and says he’s coming for the Impact World Title. And maybe Omega’s too. Callis: “S***.”

We recap Sami Callihan vs. Eddie Edwards in Barbed Wire Massacre. They have feuded on and off for years now and this is the FINAL match, with Callihan having Ken Shamrock in his back pocket. Eddie has no one, as he has ordered his wife to stay away for her own safety.

Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan

There are various barbed wire instruments around the ring, including one side of a cage with barbed wire on top/wrapped around it and various barbed wire weapons hanging from a wire above the top rope. Eddie avoids being driven into a barbed wire board in the corner, which falls over as they lock up. Sami is sent into the barbed wire in the ropes so Eddie whips out a barbed wire ring to press down onto Sami’s head. The board is on the mat but Sami is smart enough to push it out to the floor before he goes face first.

Eddie’s suicide dive (with a bit of a spin) sends him back first through the barbed wire board and Sami drops the Cactus Jack elbow for a bonus. Sami messes with some more barbed wire on the floor and takes it back inside for the slugout. Eddie gets dropped ribs first onto the wire and Sami whips him with a…..Nintendo 64 controller wrapped in barbed wire? I think I can go with this. Sami goes up but Eddie comes out with a backpack Stunner for the breather.

The Blue Thunder Bomb onto a barbed wire chair gets two on Sami but Eddie’s missed charge hits the cage wall. They hit each other in the head with barbed wire for a double knockdown so it’s time for a barbed wire kendo stick vs. the barbed wire bat. It’s better because they have the other’s signature weapon and it’s Sami dropping him onto the barbed wire board. Another barbed wire board is thrown in and Sami (mostly) bridges it between two chairs.

A super piledriver through the barbed wire board only gets two and there wasn’t even any drama on the kickout. I know it’s just a spot these days but can you at least try to have some drama in there? Sami loads up the bat to the chair on the face but Eddie kicks him away and hits the Boston Knee Party into a chair. The Emerald Flosion onto the barbed wire finishes Sami at 18:53.

Rating: B-. This is one where your individual tastes are certainly going to vary and that isn’t a big surprise. There were some completely ridiculous moments here but it felt like two people who hated each other wanting to hurt each other. The piledriver kickout was pretty ridiculous and I’m not a big fan of this kind of match in the first place, but it could have been a lot worse than what we got.

Rebellion is on April 24.

We recap the main event. Impact executive Don Callis brought in AEW World Champion Kenny Omega as part of some big elaborate plan which isn’t quite as epic as they think it is. Impact World Champion Rich Swann didn’t like it so Kenny hooked up with the Good Brothers against Swann and the Motor City Machine Guns. Alex Shelley is out for the six man though and Moose, Swann’s #1 contender and the man who hurt his best friend, is taking his place.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Rich Swann/Moose/Chris Sabin

Don Callis is here too and handles Omega’s entrance (which Striker says is a moment fans will be telling their children about). Omega has a Bullet Club shirt (the Halloween edition for some reason) on, because we need to know New Japan history to understand the AEW World Champion’s reference in Impact Wrestling. Anderson drives Sabin into the corner to start and a shot to the face has Sabin in some trouble. An armdrag gets him right back out though and we have a standoff.

Moose and Gallows get in for the big man showdown with Moose knocking him around. Omega comes in, with Striker making both a hockey reference and saying that the Bullet Club reunion on Dynamite reminded us why we all love wrestling. It’s off to Anderson vs. Swann in a hurry with the latter snapping off a headscissors. Gallows and Omega are knocked to the floor and it’s a double dropkick to Anderson.

Moose adds a standing moonsault, with Striker saying that Moose now is the sport, a few seconds after talking about how amazing it was that the two World Champions are in a match together. Sabin gets taken into the corner so the villains can take over, including Omega hitting a backbreaker for two. Striker asks Brown if Omega is the best in the world and Brown seems to think so. There is NO MENTION AT ALL of the Impact Wrestling WORLD CHAMPION, who is in this same match, in case you needed an illustration of why Impact’s benefit from this Omega deal is rather limited.

Anderson grabs a chinlock on Sabin but the comeback sets up a double clothesline, allowing the tag to Omega and Swann (thankfully with Striker bringing Swann’s name in for the best wrestler in the world discussion). Everything breaks down and some assisted DDTs send the Brothers outside. Swann dives onto Omega but the frog splash is blocked back inside. Anderson adds a slam (with Sabin flipping him off), allowing Striker to talk about wrestling being a universal language.

The Kitaro Crusher gets two and a triple splash gets two on Swann. Back up and Swann manages a Pele to Omega and the hot tag brings in Moose. House is cleaned and the Omega BANG is mocked, setting up a triple boot to Omega in the corner. The discus lariat gets two on Omega (Striker: “HISTORY MADE TONIGHT!”) and now it’s Sabin in trouble in the corner for a change. Omega hits a Doctor Bomb for two on Sabin, who is right back up with a missile dropkick to Anderson.

Omega is up with the V Trigger to Swann but Moose catches him on top with a super Spanish Fly. Everyone is down again until Omega gets over for the hot tag to Gallows. The Boot of Doom gets two on Sabin with Swann making the save. Swann and Omega get the double tag for the big slugout with Omega getting the better of it. The other four fight outside until Moose pulls Omega off the top and into an electric chair.

Something close to a Doomsday Device gets two on Omega, with Callis teasing the save. Striker: “Some people think Callis has betrayed Impact Wrestling.” I actually had to sigh at how stupid that was so we’ll move on to Omega hitting the V Trigger on Swann. Some kicks put Omega down and the 450 gets two. The Magic Killer plants Swann and Moose has to make the save. Another V Trigger hits Moose and another V Trigger hits Swann, setting up the One Winged Angel for the pin at 20:26.

Rating: B. The wrestling itself was good, as expected, but it’s rather difficult to care about Impact when their World Champion is being presented as someone lucky enough to have Kenny Omega knee him in the face. Commentary here was a big love letter to AEW, which is being treated as the greatest thing ever as it reaches down to the unwashed masses of Impact. That may be true from a business standpoint, but why in the world is IMPACT acting like that is the case? It’s a good match and I think you know where this is heading, but could we act like Swann is close to Omega’s level? For five minutes maybe?

Omega and pals celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show started off rather badly but then it picked up a lot of steam just before the halfway point. The big matches worked rather well and completely saved the show, which is often how a show like this tends to go. They had a nice show, but there were some things that hurt it a bit, aside from the completely lackluster first hour or so.

First and foremost, the Omega worship was out of hand to start and is just getting worse. The main event didn’t make me want to see Swann vs. Omega. It made me think that Omega is treating Swann like a practice dummy, which is completely fitting for Omega. What it ISN’T fitting for is the commentary team, who seem to be in awe of Omega and treat their World Champion like a guy who won a contest. I know Omega is a bigger deal, but can we at least act like he might have trouble against the company’s World Champion?

Then you have Striker himself and…..I can’t believe it but he has gotten more annoying. Between acting like everything you see is the greatest thing that has ever happened, trying to turn every move into some brilliant strategy that ties back into some other move and name dropping EVERY SINGLE WRESTLER HE CAN THINK OF, Striker is one of the most irritating things I have ever seen on a wrestling show. It’s great to have someone who knows history, but there is a world of difference between sounding smart and being a distraction, which he was all night long.

Overall, the show did work well, but I’m worried about where this company is going in the future. They didn’t make some of their biggest stars look good in the main event and Striker is going to be as annoying as I could have ever imagined. There are some good things happening here, but if AEW is going to be a bigger presence, I’m going to be having flashbacks to New Japan coming in to Ring of Honor and leaving it as a near wasteland. They had a good show for the most part, but the future isn’t looking so bright.

Results

Decay b. Tenille Dashwood/Kaleb With A K – Tornado DDT to Kaleb With A K

Violent By Design b. Tommy Dreamer/Cousin Jake/Rhino – Piledriver to Deaner

Fire And Flava b. Havok/Nevaeh – Fisherman’s neckbreaker to Nevaeh

Matt Cardona b. Ace Austin via DQ when Madman Fulton interfered

Manik b. Rohit Raju and Chris Bey – Rollup to Raju

Deonna Purrazzo b. Taya Valkyrie – Cosa Nostra

Karate Man b. Ethan Page – Fatality

Eddie Edwards b. Sami Callihan – Emerald Flosion onto a barbed wire board

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers b. Rich Swann/Chris Sabin/Moose – One Winged Angel to Swann

 

 

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We’re back with another Impact pay per view, even though the point seems to be to make another company’s World Champion look good. This time around the focal point is the invading Kenny Omega, will will team with the Good Brothers against Impact World Champion Rich Swann, Chris Sabin and Moose, after Alex Shelley was forced out of the show for unclear reasons. The rest of the card looks ok so let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Brian Myers vs. Josh Alexander

This was thrown in this week on Impact since every pay per view needs a pre-show match these days. Myers beat Alexander via DQ and bragged about it so we’re having this for the sake of shutting him up. I’m not sure what Impact sees in Myers but there are far worse places he could be than in the pre-show match. Alexander is going to need a boost soon so we could have something going here.

I’m going to take Alexander here as there is no reason for this to drag on for another match. As much as he has been featured, Myers isn’t being pushed to the moon so they aren’t likely to give him anything here. The match will likely be on about the same level as a regular TV match and that’s all it needs to be given where they are here. It probably didn’t need to be here, but Alexander can get your attention well enough.

Eric Young/Deaner/Joe Doering vs. Tommy Dreamer/Rhino/Cousin Jake

It isn’t a good sign when my first reaction to a match is “at least they’re keeping it all here” but that’s about as good as I can go with this. We have Dreamer being Dreamer, the epic Deaners split, Doering (he was big in Japan, right up there with Jesse and the Rippers) and Young as some kind of mastermind because this company loves him very much. It’s also Old School rules, because they can’t say Extreme and Dreamer can’t do much else.

I’ll go with Young and company as for some reason this seems to be one of the upcoming big things. Young is tolerable enough in some spots, though the love affair with Doering isn’t exactly doing much for me. Adding in the turned Deaner isn’t going to make things better, but if they can keep all of this stuff crammed into one match, it could be a lot worse than what we’re getting.

Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan

This feud MUST continue and this time it’s Barbed Wire Massacre because when you think Edwards, you need something like this thrown in. I know this is viewed as some legendary rivalry but it feels like they are just warming it up because neither has anything to do. Edwards is able to carry almost anything to at least watchable, but as soon as I heard the barbed wire deal, I could hear Josh Matthews with his machine gun delivery taking away any impact it might have.

Give me Callihan to win, likely thanks to Ken Shamrock because we need another evil alliance to triumph. Shamrock and Callihan are somewhat intriguing, but I don’t need a Barbed Wire Massacre to make it work. The match should be good enough and odds are Alisha will get involved, but I’ve been over this feud for a good while now because it ran out of steam years ago.

Ethan Page vs. Karate Man

We continue with the “why is this a thing” section, but in this case Page has so much charisma that he can manage to face himself and make it work. I’m going to assume this is a cinematic match and Page’s way out of the promotion, but you never know with something like this. The Karate Man stuff alone is always worth a look, but I’m almost scared of what to see here.

Since they’re facing each other, I’ll go with Karate Man to win and get rid of Page once and for all, which should make your head spin at least a little bit. There is a chance that we could be in for some good jokes here and under the right circumstances, this could be one of the best things on the entire show. Page is awesome at his goofy stuff, and hopefully he gets to showcase himself well on the way out.

X-Division Title: Manik(c) vs. Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju

This is part of one of those stories that works out well almost every time because it’s a classic. Bey and Raju are convinced that Manik is TJP (because Manik is TJP) but can’t beat him or prove it, meaning their frustration factor has increased about 17 fold. Now it’s a free for all for the title, which opens up a few interesting doors as they could go in a few different directions.

I think they’ll play it safe here and have Manik retain the title because there are more places to go with something like this. Manik is someone who can have a good match with anyone and Bey is one of the better young stars around here. Raju has been rather nice as well lately, so we could be in for something good. This might be the match with the most promise on the whole show and I can’t say I’m surprised.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Nevaeh/Havok vs. Kiera Hogan/Tasha Steelz

Who would have thought that a tournament for the vacant titles would come down to two of the only regular teams who happened to be feuding for weeks before the tournament started? Hogan and Steelz have done a nice job of being the most annoying heels imaginable, which made Havok and Nevaeh grabbing them by their throats that much better. This was almost a guarantee for the final, so at least they’re doing the logical thing.

I’ll take Havok and Nevaeh to win here as you need some faces to win on this show. It isn’t the most intriguing match on the show but it was the only way to go to get to the tournament finals. I’m not sure how far these titles can go as WWE hasn’t been able to make theirs work for years now. The match will be the same thing that we’ve seen several times between them now but….yay belts?

Rosemary/Crazzy Steve vs. Tenille Dashwood/Kaleb With A K

This seems to have been added near the last minute and I’m still trying to make myself care about Dashwood. The Instagram deal is fine, but it feels like something you would see at a tiny independent promotion because it’s that easy of a story. There is no doubt that the talent is there, but for some reason it isn’t clicking. You can only get so far with something like this though and I think we’ve reached her current limit.

I don’t see a reason for Kaleb With A K and Dashwood to win here, even though they need it a lot more. Rosemary seems to be building up something with Susan, so unless she interferes and costs them the match, I don’t see a reason to have Rosemary and Steve lose here. The match itself should be another TV level match, which is quite the trend for most of this show.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo(c) vs. Taya Valkyrie

The Knockouts singles division has done well enough for itself in recent months and Purrazzo is awesome as the technical wizard champion. Valkyrie is almost the old guard in a way, despite her title reign not even feeling all that long ago. While her big reign is over, Valkyrie can go in the ring with anyone and Purrazzo is one of the best things going in the company today.

Purrazzo being one of the best things going today is more than enough to keep the title on her here. Beating Valkyrie is more along the lines of beating a challenger of the month, but she just happens to be a really successful challenger of the month. It means something to beat her though and Purrazzo can continue her reign with another rather nice win added to her list.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Rich Swann/Chris Sabin/Moose

This whole invasion (if that’s what you call Omega and Omega alone showing up from AEW) is making me think of Lando Calrissian saying “this deal is getting worse all the time”. So far, the highlight of the feud for Impact is their World Champion escaping with a pin over their Tag Team Champion. Omega and Don Callis have been treated as stars who are gracing Impact with their presence. I know it gives Impact exposure, but this is feeling more like New Japan coming to Ring of Honor every day (and that’s not a good thing).

Of course Omega and the Good Brothers win here, because why would they lose here? I know this is probably heading towards Omega taking the Impact World Title, as that is the best way to continue making Impact look like they don’t compare to AEW in any way. Yes AEW is more important and Omega is a bigger star, but sweet goodness could Impact look much worse so far?

Overall Thoughts

This show looks pretty dreadful on paper as there is nothing of note to look forward to. I’m sure some of the matches will work as Impact tends to shine when they just go to the ring and focus on the wrestling, but nothing on here really jumps out. Hopefully the show winds up working, because this feels like they have almost no reason to do this show other than they have to. It will likely be good enough, but they need to work on spicing things up.

 

 

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Backlash 2016
Date: September 11, 2016
Location: Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia
Attendance: 7,000
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Mauro Ranallo, David Otunga

For some reason someone wanted me to look at this again and I’m really not sure why. I don’t often get requests for modern shows and while I can remember the show, I’m not sure what to expect here. It isn’t quite a major card but for the main event does have some meaning. This is also the first Smackdown pay per view after the Brand Split so there are some inaugural champions to be decided. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Apollo Crews vs. Baron Corbin

Both of them have only been on the main roster for about five and a half months at this point and this is WAY before Corbin became a thing. Corbin shoves him around to start and then does it again for a bonus. An exchange of shoulders goes to Corbin so Crews goes to the apron. One heck of a right hand puts Crews on the floor and we take a break. Back with Crews kicking away and hitting his jumping clothesline. The Stinger Splash connects but Corbin hits the under the rope clothesline to take Crews down.

One heck of a clothesline gives Corbin two but Crews is right back with a dropkick. The standing moonsault gets two and an Angle Slam gets the same to put them both down again. Deep Six catches Crews for another near fall as they’re going back and forth here. They head outside with Corbin crashing hard into the steps and Crews hammers away back inside. Corbin shoves him off the ropes though and the End of Days is good for the pin at 9:55.

Rating: C+. I’m really not big on Corbin but these two had a heck of a nice match here, which I wouldn’t have expected from these two in this spot. They were going back and forth for just under ten minutes and both guys looked rather nice in the process. I can see why Corbin went somewhere, but it went in such a completely wrong direction that the whole thing fell apart. Crews…..yeah I still can’t explain the whole thing.

The opening video is a text crawl talking about the September 11 attacks from fifteen years earlier. It couldn’t be anything else.

The regular opening video talks about how Smackdown is crowning two inaugural champions here, plus looking at the bigger matches. All as usual in other words.

Here’s Smackdown Commissioner Shane McMahon to get things going because that’s how you open a pay per view. General Manager Daniel Bryan (erg the days of two bosses per show) comes out to join him and it’s time to welcome the fans to the show. Shane talks about all of their ratings success and Bryan runs down the card, in case you just strolled into a pay per view.

Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Natalya vs. Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Carmella vs. Nikki Bella

This is an elimination match for the inaugural title. Becky gets a big pop and Carmella has been attacking Nikki coming into this. It’s a big brawl to start until Becky and Naomi are left alone in the ring. Becky’s armbars don’t get her very far so Naomi does her dancing kicks, which still aren’t the best idea in the world. A big kick to Becky’s head works a bit better but she’s fine enough to backdrop Naomi outside. Carmella catches Becky on top though and a Stratusphere gets two.

Natalya and Alexa break up the Nikki vs. Carmella standoff so Nikki hits the spinning kick to Alexa for two more. Bliss sends Nikki outside so Natalya runs Bliss over but Becky is back in. Naomi comes back for a Bubba Bomb into Cattle Mutilation on Natalya but that’s broken up as well. Carmella gives Nikki a Downward Spiral into the Cone of Silence to stay on the bad neck. That’s broken up and Nikki takes her up top, only to have Natalya turn it into the Tower of Doom.

Bliss clears the ring until Becky comes back in to go after her arm. Now it’s Nikki cleaning house but Carmella breaks up her big dive. Instead Naomi hits a springboard dive onto everyone, leaving Nikki to frantically adjust her gear. Back in and Natalya loads up Bliss in a powerbomb with Naomi adding a Blockbuster for the first elimination at 9:39.

Naomi headscissors Natalya out to the floor but Nikki punches her out to the air. Natalya sends Nikki outside and the Sharpshooter makes Naomi tap at 10:46. That leaves Natalya and Carmella to team up against Nikki, who fights them both off and hits the Rack Attack 2.0 to finish Natalya at 11:53. Carmella immediately rolls Nikki up for the pin at 12:00, leaving us with Carmella vs. Becky for the title.

Hold on though as Nikki slaps Carmella first, leaving the fans to cheer for Becky even more. Carmella spends a lot of time shouting so Becky comes back with the suplexes to take over. A shot to the face drops Becky but she easily pulls Carmella into the Disarm-Her for the tap and the title at 14:15.

Rating: C+. The match was kind of all over the place at first and focused way too much on Carmella vs. Nikki (I’m as shocked as you are) instead of almost anyone else involved. They did well enough once things started clearing out a bit, but the rest of this fell into the trap of two do stuff and then the others take their place with rather limited transition. Becky winning was the only choice given her competition so at least they got the ending right.

Post match Becky thanks the fans for everything and says this is what Becky Balboa is all about.

Bray Wyatt has attacked Randy Orton and injured his knee. They face each other later tonight.

Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Usos vs. Hype Bros

That’s fine with Ryder, who hits a dropkick off the apron and Mojo runs Jimmy over for a bonus. Jey sends Ryder into the buckle back inside though and it’s time for the evil Usos to take over. A backbreaker/running knee combination gets two and we hit the chinlock for a bit. The running Umaga Attack (with Mauro actually getting the name right) connects for two and the chinlock goes on again.

Ryder counters a suplex into a neckbreaker for two but Jey kicks Mojo in the head like a smart villain. As usual, that’s about it for the beatdown though as Ryder clears the ring and makes the hot tag off to Rawley to clean house. Ryder gets two off a super hurricanrana but Rawley gets sent into the barricade. That leaves the Usos to take out Ryder’s knee and the Tequila Sunrise makes Ryder tap at 10:06.

Rating: C+. I wouldn’t have expected the Hype Bros to do this well but it helps when you’re in there with the Usos. The Usos have to be in a match to crown some new champions for the sake of credibility, so it wasn’t like this was the biggest shock. It was quite the surprise that the match worked out this well, but the Hype Bros could rise up to another level when they had the chance.

Rhyno and Heath Slater are ready for the Tag Team Title match but Heath’s stomach is a bit messed up because of bad crab meat. Rhyno: “We’re still live.” Heath: “You’ve been SWERVED!”

Connor’s Cure video.

We recap the Miz defending the Intercontinental Title against Dolph Ziggler. This comes off of the near legendary Daniel Bryan “you wrestle like a coward” promo on Talking Smack, which somehow set up Ziggler getting a shot. See, Ziggler needed to prove himself (again) because being a multiple time World Champion didn’t count because….uh, reasons.

In the back, Miz tells Daniel Bryan that he wants to renegotiate his contract and that’s going to get even worse after he retains the title.

Intercontinental Title: The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler

Miz, with Maryse is defending. Ziggler spinebusters him down to start and hammers away, sending Miz bailing to the floor early on. Back in and Ziggler easily wrestles him down for some near falls so Miz wisely goes to the ropes. A slam plants Ziggler and Miz stomps away as the pace slows a bit. Ziggler isn’t having that and snaps off some dropkicks but Miz is back with a catapult to send him throat first into the bottom rope. The bow and arrow works on Ziggler’s back before Miz catapults him out to the floor.

Miz drops him onto the barricade for two back inside as things slow down for real this time. The chinlock goes on and the comeback attempt earns Ziggler a face first toss into the corner. Miz grabs the surfboard ala Daniel Bryan and then stomps down onto Ziggler’s knees, also ala Bryan. We’ll keep up the Bryan tribute with the running corner dropkicks and YES pose, followed by the running corner clothesline.

The Skull Crushing Finale is countered though and Ziggler nails a dropkick. The clothesline comeback is on and it’s a spinebuster into right hands on Miz. Ziggler gets two off a sunset flip and sends him shoulder first into the post. Miz is right back with a sitout powerbomb before starting in on Ziggler’s knee. The Figure Four is broken up though and Ziggler grabs the sleeper as the submissions continue their trip back to 1982.

Miz slips out so Ziggler grabs the jumping DDT for two more. The superkick is countered into Miz’s short DDT and now the Figure Four can go on. Ziggler gets to the rope so Miz kicks him in the head, earning himself a superkick for a VERY close two. Miz has to be thrown back inside, allowing Maryse to get in some hairspray to the face. That’s enough to set up the Skull Crushing Finale to retain Miz’s title at 18:20.

Rating: B+. Yeah they were using a lot of basic stuff here, but they were using it in a way that made you want to see how it was going to go. Miz worked on Ziggler’s leg and Ziggler tried to set him up for the superkick. It became a bit of a chess match as they were trying to get to that final moment and that’s how you build to a climax. Heck of a match here, as Miz is still able to have this kind of a match under the right circumstances.

The Kickoff Show panel recaps the Kickoff Show in a panel discussion.

Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton

I forgot how much I missed Broken Out In Love. Actually hang on as Orton has a bad knee and can’t win, so after the ten count, Bray wins by forfeit.

Hold on though as we have a replacement for a No Holds Barred match.

Kane vs. Bray Wyatt

No Holds Barred. It’s a slugout to start with Kane taking him to the floor for a clothesline. Bray gets sent into the timekeeper’s area but comes out with a bell shot to the head. Back in and Bray hammers away before getting in a hard shot to the knee to cut Kane off. Some chair shots put Kane down again and then some chair shots put Kane down again. Kane comes back with a DDT onto the chair but it’s way too early for the chokeslam.

They head outside where another chokeslam is broken up, this time with a right hand to the face. The announcers’ table is loaded up and there’s a running backsplash to send Kane through it for the big crash. Back in and Sister Abigail is countered into a quick chokeslam for two. Bray manages a release Rock Bottom onto the chair but here’s Randy Orton for the RKO. Kane adds a chokeslam for the pin at 10:57.

Rating: C. Not much to see here but the point was to have Orton get one over on Bray and that worked out well enough. Kane is fine for a fill in spot like this and him beating Wyatt isn’t the biggest stretch in the world. If nothing else, it’s weird to see Wyatt in this old deal after his crazy transformation just a few weeks later.

AJ Styles talks to a few young guys and knows it by looking at them: they are destined for failure, but at least they got to meet him!

We look back at the Usos winning earlier.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Heath Slater/Rhino

For the inaugural titles and Slater/Rhino are the wacky thrown together team. The fans are behind Slater as he forearms Jey down to start. Rhino and Jimmy come in for the ECW chants and Jimmy gets knocked down with a knee to the ribs. Slater comes back in and is quickly knocked out to the floor in a heap.

We hit a….sliding chinlock (ok then) back inside but Slater it out even faster. That earns him something like a top rope Demolition Decapitator and we hit the chinlock. Slater gets driven into the corner and a legdrop makes it worse. A clothesline gets Slater out of trouble and it’s back to Rhino for the hot tag so house can be cleaned. The Gore only hits the buckle so Slater tags himself back in to DDT Jey. Jimmy makes the save but walks into the Gore, allowing Slater to get the pin and the titles at 9:56.

Rating: C-. This was just a TV match and nothing more, which isn’t exactly the most thrilling thing to see on a pay per view. Slater and Rhino winning is the right way to go as you can only get so far with the Usos winning. They’re the established team, so why waste your time with having them get another title win here? Not a bad match, but I won’t remember it in half an hour.

Post match Slater is rather pleased at getting the title (and a contract on Smackdown) because this is the biggest moment of his life. Slater: “Aside from a couple of my kids being born.” What matters most though: HE’S GETTING A DOUBLE WIDE!!!

And now, a KFC ad featuring Dolph Ziggler as Colonel Sanders beating up Miz in a chicken suit.

We recap AJ Styles challenging Dean Ambrose for the World Title. Styles beat John Cena at Summerslam and wants the World Title, though Ambrose isn’t exactly taking this seriously. He keeps telling AJ that he isn’t getting a trophy for being second best, but Styles wants the WWE Title.

Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose

Ambrose is defending and is taken down in short order. Some rollups give Styles two each and it’s another early standoff. Styles wrestles him down and tells Ambrose that he owns him so Ambrose is back up with armdrags. A slam sends AJ bailing to the floor as things stop for a breather. AJ gets Ambrose to chase him though and the stomping is on, only to have Ambrose knock him outside again.

Ambrose’s suicide dive is cut off with a trip and it’s time to work on the neck. The drop down into the dropkick gets a nice reaction from the crowd, along with a two count. The jumping knee gets the same and AJ knees him in the face a few more times. Ambrose fights back but charges shoulder first into the post to cut that off in a hurry. AJ misses his own charge though and Dean hits a top rope belly to back superplex, with AJ flipping onto his face to make it worse.

A swinging Rock Bottom backbreaker gives Ambrose two and the top rope standing elbow (I’ve missed that one) hits AJ on the floor. Back in and a double chickenwing facebuster gets two more but Styles suplexes him into the corner. It’s way too early for either finisher so AJ crushes the knee in the corner to take over again. The leg cranking is on so Ambrose uses the good leg to kick his way to freedom.

Not that it matters as AJ is right back with the Calf Crusher, with Ambrose having to make the crawl to the rope. The hold goes on again so this time Ambrose bounces his head off the mat for the break. Ambrose has to climb the ropes to escape the Styles Clash so they head to the apron, where a heck of a catapult sends AJ into the heck of a hard post. Back in and Ambrose gets two off la majistral, only to get caught in the fireman’s carry backbreaker.

AJ: “Let’s see if he gets up from this one.” The springboard 450 connects and we do see Ambrose get up from this one. Ambrose slugs away and hits a running dropkick to put AJ on the floor again. Now the big dive can connect and AJ is thrown over the barricade. The running dive from the announcers’ tables over the barricade drops AJ and the rebound lariat does it again back inside. Dirty Deeds is broken up and the referee gets bumped, allowing AJ to hit a low blow into the Styles Clash for the pin and the title at 24:57.

Rating: A-. I really liked this one as they built up the story of Ambrose being a wild brawler and AJ slowly reeling him in for the catch because Styles is that much better. The leg work was good, though Ambrose kind of dropped it near the end. Styles had to get the title here and WWE was smart enough to not do something crazy like try to stretch it out. This was the right call with the right choice and the match was pretty great.

AJ looks very pleased that he won and poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a rather good show here and Smackdown gets off to a nice start. They did the historical stuff with the title changes and there was nothing bad throughout the card. I wasn’t expecting much out of this show and I barely remembered the thing in the first place so this was a heck of a nice surprise. Very good show here and the main event is worth seeing for some nice storytelling.

 

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

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

And remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net, with all of your wrestling headline needs

Impact Wrestling
Date: January 5, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Madison Rayne

It’s time to get back to the regular shows but we are also on the way to both Genesis and Hard To Kill. That means we could be seeing some good stuff around here, though the idea of building towards two shows at once is rarely something that works out all that well. Maybe they can fix that tonight though as Kenny Omega is here. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Kenny Omega and Don Callis joining forces with the Good Brothers against the Motor City Machine Guns and Rich Swann.

Opening sequence.

Ace Austin vs. Blake Christian vs. KC Navarro vs. Crazzy Steve

Madman Fulton is here with Austin and this is a preview of the Super X Cup at Genesis. Austin chills on the floor to start so the other two rub Steve’s chest. That’s a little too much for Austin, who pulls Steve to the floor so Christian and Navarro start going rather fast. Christian kicks Austin in the face but Austin sends him into the corner. Steve ties Navarro in the upside down Figure Four necklock over the ropes but Navarro is right back with a headscissors.

Navarro takes Austin out, only to have Christian shove him off the top to the floor. Christian’s big flip dive to the floor takes Navarro down but Austin cuts Christian off. That lets Navarro get back inside to dive onto Christian for a change, so Austin flips onto both of them at once. Back in and Navarro hits a running neckbreaker for two on Austin and Christian adds a standing Spanish Fly. Christian’s springboard frog splash gets two on Austin with Steve making the save. Steve Death Valley Drives Navarro into the other two in the corner and a middle rope DDT is enough to give Steve the pin on Navarro at 7:06.

Rating: C+. This was your old school X-Division spot fest, meaning there was almost no way to have anyone stand out and someone won in the end. That being said, it’s also a rather entertaining match because it is non-stop action from bell to bell. They kept things moving and didn’t stay out there too long, which is what matters most in something like this. It’s junk food, but it’s good junk food.

Kenny Omega’s bus is here so make sure you watch the whole show to see what he does!

Here’s what’s coming up tonight.

Sami Callihan hacks the feed and talks about how he is ready for Eddie Edwards. Eddie is trying to say that the good guys win in the end but tonight, Sami is proving the bad guys win. Thumbs up, thumbs down.

We get another paid advertisement from Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone. They’re here to help those less fortunate, meaning Impact Wrestling. We hear the Dynamite card and Khan goes into a rant against Don Callis, saying that he does everything for AEW except wrestling. Callis is a parasite but Khan is a patron of wrestling. He’ll be back to buy another ad next week because his grandmother gave him $100 in a Christmas card and he wants to spend it on something fun (Schiavone isn’t even trying to hide his laughter at that one).

The Good Brothers and Don Callis think Kenny Omega’s is so big. His belt that is. They’re ready for Hard To Kill because they’re friends with chemistry, which is more than the Guns and Swann have ever had.

Here are Cousin Jake and Rhino, with Jake wanting Cody Deaner back because they’re family.

Cousin Jake/Rhino vs. Cody Deaner/Joe Doering

Before the match, Eric Young says Deaner answers to him these days because Deaner has seen the truth. Cody hammers on Jake to start and seems far more intense than he has ever been before. Doering comes in as we hear about how awesome is he again, mainly because he was in Japan. We take a break and come back with Jake still in trouble in the corner. Jake manages to backflip out of a belly to back though and brings in Rhino to hammer away. The offense lasts about ten seconds before it’s already back to Jake though and Cody hits him low. The Deaner DDT finishes Jake at 7:31.

Rating: D+. There wasn’t much drama to this as you have a new heel able so they aren’t going to lose on their first match together. Doering is still his usual self but I can go with something that gets rid of one of the redneck Deaners. It’s not like the team was anything of value in the first place so this is an improvement. Not much of one, but an improvement.

Post match Jake and Rhino get beaten down even more….until Tommy Dreamer comes out with the kendo sticks for the same. Dreamer issues the challenge for the Old School rules match at Hard To Kill. Eric Young and Tommy Dreamer in the same angle and match. Happy freaking new year.

Matthew Palmer didn’t drive this far to become a security guard so he is here to face Moose. If he lasts three minutes, people will know who Matthew Palmer is.

Acey Romero comes in to see Johnny Swinger, who has his own office. Romero says Crazzy Steve sent him to see Swinger about John E. Bravo being framed. Swinger says go ask the Knockouts.

Here are Deonna Purrazzo and Kimber Lee for a chat. Deonna doesn’t understand why Taya Valkyrie has a problem with them. Taya is blaming them for all of her problems, but what happens when Purrazzo takes her out? Cue Taya and Rosemary, who says she is the longest reigning Knockouts Champion ever, and she hasn’t lost any focus on that title. Deonna says Taya has already lost everything she has and her husband isn’t even here anymore. When will Rosemary turn on her too? The only thing she has left is the record but Taya knows Purrazzo is scared of what is coming at Hard To Kill. Just a quick push towards the match.

Rohit Raju tells Chris Bey that his New Year’s resolution is to forgive, so he forgives Bey for costing him the X-Division Title. Bey isn’t impressed but Raju thinks they need to get together and take Manik out.

Post break Raju and Bey go find TJP, who hasn’t seen Manik. They want a tag match against Manik and TJP but he isn’t interested.

Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb With A K comes up to Rosemary and understands what it’s like to split with a partner like Rosemary is going to split with Taya soon. Rosemary isn’t interested.

Knockouts Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Jazz/Jordynne Grace vs. Havok/Nevaeh

Nevaeh and Grace start things off with Grace working on a headlock to take Nevaeh down. That’s broken up so Havok comes in for the hoss fight, with Grace being knocked into the corner. Jazz comes in to slap Havok and stomp away in the corner. Havok sends her into the corner and hands it off to Nevaeh for the running splash.

That’s broken up in a hurry so Grace comes back in for a double back elbow to the face. Jazz is in just as fast and leaves Grace hanging on a tag (how rude) but suplexes Nevaeh down. The neck crank doesn’t last long as Nevaeh makes the comeback in a hurry. A double tag brings in Havok to powerbomb Grace for two as everything breaks down. The Tombstone finishes Jazz at 9:49 to send Havok and Nevaeh to Hard to Kill.

Rating: C-. This tournament has been ok at best and it isn’t exactly thrilling when the finals wind up being two of the only regular teams in the whole thing. Granted I’d rather have that than two random teams who have no history fighting for some historic titles. Grace continues to look like a star, but this was the right choice.

Rich Swann and the Motor City Machine Guns aren’t impressed by Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers. This company was founded on people like the three of them (Swann was 11 years old when the company was founded) and they aren’t letting this happen. Swann talks about how the letters on this title doesn’t say AEW because it says Impact Wrestling World Champion. They’re going to show the three of them that pain is temporary but pride is forever. Shelley is ready to go fight right now so they head to the parking lot.

After walking around security (It took them a month to figure that out?), the trio gets jumped from behind by Omega and the Good Brothers, with Callis shouting a lot. Omega says they were easy to kill and gets in a few more stomps before heading back onto the bus. In other words, Omega and company again look like the smart ones while the good guys are presented as complete morons.

Jazz asks Grace what happened but Grace says it was her fault. Everything is ok and Grace praises Jazz for being awesome. They should face each other at Genesis and the match is on. Grace wasn’t exactly great on the talking here.

Deonna Purrazzo and Kimber Lee ask James Mitchell if he has taken care of Su Yung. Cue…..Susan, who wears glasses and a business suit. Our villains aren’t sure what to do.

Moose vs. Matthew Palmer

Non-title with a three minute time limit. Palmer slugs away to start but gets planted with a standing Rock Bottom (as Josh puts it). The slow beating continues as we’re already down to a minute and a half left. Palmer is tossed around but gets in a jumping knee to the face. Moose kicks him in the face and loads up the spear but here’s Willie Mack for a distraction, allowing the clock to run out at 3:00.

Rating: D. You can only get so much out of something like this and they did a fine enough job of advancing Mack vs. Moose by having Moose humiliated. Palmer was any warm body here and that’s all he needed to be. I’m still not sure what the endgame is with Moose as TNA World Champion and the longer it goes, the more I don’t think Impact knows either.

Ethan Page is on a psychiatrist’s couch but the doctor keeps speaking in what sound like motivational poster cliches. Page thinks everyone around here is out to get him and yells at the doctor for not listening. It’s Karate Man, who calls Page a b****. They argue a bit and the match is made for Hard To Kill.

Here’s what’s coming at Genesis, Hard To Kill and next week.

Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan

They start fighting during the entrances with Sami getting in a few chair shots. Eddie is back with some headbutts but chops the post by mistake. Sami steps over him for a low blow and we take a break before the bell. Back with Eddie getting in his own chair shot as the bell still hasn’t rung. Sami grabs the timekeeper’s hammer and knocks the chair into Eddie’s head.

The chair is thrown at Eddie’s head but Eddie headbutts his way out of a suplex through said chair. Eddie charges into a t-bone suplex through the chair though and they finally head inside for the bell. The slugout is on but Eddie shoves the referee down, allowing Sami to get in some more shots. They rake each others’ eyes and the referee is knocked down again, drawing the double DQ at 1:13.

Post match Eddie grabs Sami’s bat and stalks him but Sami pulls out the hacking phone to show Alisha Edwards trapped in a cage. Eddie goes after her but it’s Ken Shamrock jumping him from behind. Sami comes in and they wrap Eddie in barbed wire for a baseball bat shot to the face. Alisha is blamed as the villains leave to end the show. I really could go with this feud being done for good already as it isn’t quite as epic as Impact thinks it is.

Overall Rating: C-. The AEW addition to the show is rapidly dwindling in value as this show is becoming AEW’s playground. It’s starting to feel like when New Japan would come to Ring of Honor and that’s not a good idea. The rest of the show was the usual hit or miss effort, as there isn’t a big story or feud to point to at the moment. The show is just kind of coming and going most weeks as AEW is treated like this divine intervention that only serves the other company. Not a terrible show, but the sooner Omega and pals are gone, the better it is likely to be.

Results

Crazzy Steve b. KC Navarro, Ace Austin and Blake Christian – Middle rope DDT to Navarro

Cody Deaner/Joe Doering b. Cousin Jake/Rhino – Deaner DDT to Jake

Havok/Nevaeh b. Jazz/Jordynne Grace – Tombstone to Jazz

Matthew Palmer b. Moose – Time expired

Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan went to a double DQ when the referee was knocked down

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Survivor Series 2001
Date: November 18, 2001
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Attendance: 10,142
Commentators: Jim Ross, Paul Heyman

The opening video is a cool concept as it shows all of the old logos for the WWF over the years and a bunch of great moments in company history, set to a song called The End Is Here.

European Title: Christian vs. Al Snow

Al fights up and hits his headbutts but Christian hits a tiger driver backbreaker for two. Snow gets rammed into the buckle and things slow down again. The trapping headbutts stop Christian again and Snow escapes the reverse DDT into a neckbreaker for two. Heyman schills for the Alliance guys in an always funny bit.

William Regal vs. Tajiri

Regal powerbombs him again post match. Torrie (looking GREAT in a purple top and leather pants) comes out to check on Tajiri, only to get powerbombed as well.

We recap Edge vs. Test. These two are both midcard champions after the seemingly dozens of never ending midcard title changes going on at this point. Edge is US Champion, Test is Intercontinental Champion, tonight only one belt survives.

Intercontinental Title/US Title: Edge vs. Test

Test drops Edge onto the top rope ribs first to reinjure him and the taller of the blond Canadian champions takes over again. Test puts on a chinlock as the match slows down again. Edge fights up and avoids a corner charge before hitting a middle rope missile dropkick for two. A middle rope cross body misses though and Test puts him on the top rope.

A cage is lowered.

Jeff Hardy and Lita are talking about Matt Hardy being different lately. Matt comes up and yells at them for acting strange and not being focused enough. It turns into a rallying speech and things seem ok. The guys leave and Trish comes out of the same locker room Matt came out of earlier. Keep in mind that Matt is dating Lita at this point.

WCW Tag Team Titles/WWF Tag Team Titles: Dudley Boys vs. Hardy Boys

Jeff is taken out on a stretcher.

Mick Foley is at WWF New York and admits that his job (WWF Commissioner) means nothing.

Scotty 2 Hotty is about to be in the Immunity Battle Royal but Test beats him up to take his spot.

Immunity Battle Royal

Test, Billy Gunn, Bradshaw, Faarooq, Lance Storm, Billy Kidman, Diamond Dallas Page, Albert, Tazz, Perry Saturn, Raven, Chuck Palumbo, Crash Holly, Justin Credible, Shawn Stasiak, Steven Richards, Tommy Dreamer, The Hurricane, Spike Dudley, Hugh Morrus, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Funaki

Sacrifice video by Creed. This was a promotional campaign at the time, with highlight videos set to My Sacrifice by Creed.

Vince looks at Team WWF and gives them a pep talk, bringing up names like Dr. Jerry Graham, Peter Maivia, Gorilla Monsoon (pop) and Andre the Giant (BIG pop). He understands he might be looking at a group of losers, and if that happens no one will ever forgive them. After listening to that speech, I want to go fight three WWF guys and one guy each from ECW and WCW!

We recap the main event which has been summed up pretty well already. Vince was originally on the team but replaced by Big Show and Rock and Jericho are having major issues. Rock is WCW champion and Austin is WWF Champion. This really does feel like a huge match. The video is set to Control by Puddle of Mudd which fits really well.

Basically Vince said that he was tired of all of the Invasion (as were a lot of fans at this point) and offered one winner take all match with the losing organization going out of business. Angle joined the Alliance after the announcement but Vince says Austin is coming back to the WWF, giving the Alliance reason to be concerned. Austin stunned Angle on TV recently to further that idea.

Team WWF vs. Team Alliance

WWF: The Rock, Chris Jericho, Big Show, Undertaker, Kane

Alliance: Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Shane McMahon

Everyone gets individual entrances so it takes forever to get to the start of the match. As those are going on, a few things to notice here: Team Alliance has one of the biggest WWF superstars ever, a guy that at this point had only wrestled in the WWF, a WCW guy, an ECW guy, and the then heir to the WWF throne.

Angle gets thrown around but eventually slips behind Kane and hits a German Suplex for two. Kane comes back with a side slam and the top rope clothesline for two of his own as Shane saves again. Off to the Dead Man who pounds away but misses a charge into the corner, allowing Booker to get the tag. Undertaker immediately drops Booker and hits a legdrop, but Shane breaks up his fifth near fall of the match.

Booker stomps on Rock but Rocky comes back with right hands. A side kick takes Rock right back down but Rock does the same with a DDT for two. Booker charges into a Samoan Drop for two as Austin makes the save. Rock whips Booker into Angle and grabs a rollup to eliminate Mr. T, making it 3-2.

Everyone celebrates and Vince comes out for the big dramatic pose, because this whole storyline was all about Vince and his kids.

As for the Invasion, I could go on at great length, but in short form: it was the biggest waste of time, money, and potential that there ever could be in wrestling. This was the biggest storyline you could possibly ask for and they BLEW IT. There are multiple options you could go with here. One idea is have no mention on TV of the WWF buying WCW and just keep it going with WWF guys in charge behind the scenes. Think a network might have been interested with it being under the direction of the biggest wrestling company ever?

Ratings Comparison

Christian vs. Al Snow

Original: C+

Redo: C-

William Regal vs. Tajiri

Original: C

Redo: N/A

Edge vs. Test

Original: B-

Redo: C+

Dudley Boys vs. Hardy Boys

Original: B+

Redo: B-

Battle Royal

Original: N/A

Redo: C-

Trish Stratus vs. Lita vs. Jacqueline vs. Ivory vs. Mighty Molly vs. Jazz

Original: D+

Redo: D

Team WWF vs. Team Alliance

Original: B

Redo: A

Overall Rating

Original: C+

Redo: B+

Like I said, as the main event goes, so goes the show. That’s apparently the case here as I liked both better the second time around.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/11/10/history-of-survivor-series-count-up-2001-the-end-of-the-alliance-thank-goodness/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Survivor Series 2001
Date: November 18, 2001
Location; Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Attendance: 10,142
Commentators: Jim Ross, Paul Heyman

And we have arrived. It’s the end of the Invasion tonight as the main event is Alliance vs. WWF, winner takes all. Naturally the WWF is going to win, but the point was how do we get to that point? It’s a Survivor Series match which at least fits the name of the show and the theme of it. I’ll save my thoughts on the angle as a whole for the end of the review because it’s certainly something that’s historic enough for it’s own thoughts.

Also on the card we have a series of unification matches between the WCW titles and the WWF Titles, but there’s no world title unification match as that would come at Vengeance, in the famous night where Jericho beat Austin and Rock. Oh I almost forgot. HHH is out with injury at this point so he’s not here.

He’ll be back in about two months though to the absolute loudest pop I’ve ever heard. This certainly has the chance to be a good show, but there are several flaws in it that just on paper I can see holding it back from doing so, but maybe I’m wrong. Let’s find out.

For some reason that I don’t get, the poster is Torrie and Lita standing back to back. They look sexy, but what’s the point here?

We open with a very nicely done video package talking about the greatest moments in company history. This does a very good job of showing some of the highlights of the company and tying it in to the current storyline. This was well done.

The theme song for this show is Control by Puddle of Mudd, so that’s all we’ll be hearing all night. That’s a good thing though because it’s a good song. JR and Heyman (Lawler had left the company in February because his wife had been released and he left in protest. The witch left him and he was rehired and would be back next to JR the following night) talk about how this is the biggest PPV of all time. I thought this was 2001, not 1987.

European Title: Christian vs. Al Snow

Christian is in the Alliance at this point, but due to this song and video, he is AWESOME.

Dang that’s awesome. He’s still more or less a comedic guy here, but he’s coming around. I have no idea why he’s with WCW and ECW here, but whatever. Apparently this match was made on Heat, so take that for what it’s worth. Christian cuts a promo before the match, being a basic heel. He says he’s in South Carolina and various things like that. Snow comes out to the Tough Enough music which I always thought was a great song.

Ross gets a great line in about Christian: I’d like to buy him for what he’s worth and sell him for what he thinks he’s worth. That’s not bad at all. More or less this is designed to just give us a good opener as Snow is certainly solid enough to put on a good match. Christian is just ok, so Snow is one of the best choices there was to put in there with him. Naturally all the commentators can talk about is the main event.

For once, I’m ok with that as it really was a big match from a storyline perspective. Snow throws some of the weakest looking punches I’ve ever seen. It’s the most basic move there is and Snow’s are horrible. I’ve never liked that headbutt move that Snow does. I mean the one where he grabs the other guy’s arms and does a series of headbutts. It just looks odd indeed. Ross apparently thinks the back of the head is pretty, as he calls a reverse DDT the Unprettier.

It doesn’t really matter because it didn’t hit but whatever. Actually it does matter because he messes it up again when it hits. Snow hits a quick rollup for two so at least he’s awake. Snow hits the Snow Plow but Christian gets his foot on the rope. Snow looks at the foot but celebrates anyway, setting a fine example for his young wrestlers. The Unprettier ends this a few seconds later.

Rating: C+. Eh, it was there and it didn’t suck. Since it was made an hour ago, how much can they really put together out there? I’m fine with this though as it’s certainly not bad. It’s kind of a weird choice for an opener, but I can see what the point of having it on the show was. Not bad, but certainly nothing great at all here.

Austin is here and the rest of his team is thinking he’ll turn back to the WWF tonight. Vince said that was going to happen tonight, which has everyone in the Alliance panicking. I really hate that name. It doesn’t roll off the tongue at all. Angle and Austin nearly get into it again.

Vince and Linda debate about whether or not they should be worried about tonight. Cole interrupts them in a short sleeved shirt that is just odd looking on him. Speaking of odd, seeing Vince and Linda as a married couple and talking is something I can never remember seeing other than this. It kind of works. Vince more or less says that tonight it’s not a gamble because he has a 6th team member, implying Austin. Regal pops up and says nothing of importance.

William Regal vs. Tajiri

They used to be friends (a long time ago) and then Regal turned heel and beat up Torrie, who was Tajiri’s girlfriend at the time, leading to this. I absolutely love Tajiri’s music. This was supposed to be him vs. X-Pac in a unification match as they were Cruiserweight and Light Heavyweight champions respectively, but Pac was injured. Yeah I was stunned to hear that too.

Regal is freshly heel here, having screwed Angle out of the WWF Title against Austin and becoming Alliance commissioner. There’s just not a lot to talk about in this match as it’s just an intense fight. These guys are hammering the heck out of each other which is nice to see for a change. We get the always cool looking spot of Tajiri (or anyone) getting their head caught between the top and middle ropes.

That’s just sweet every time you see it for some reason. After getting out, Tajiri hits a heck of a kick on the head of Regal. This is a brawl to say the least. And Regal hits a butterfly powerbomb out of nowhere for the pin. Well that was abrupt. Post match Regal beats on him some more and Torrie, rocking some skin tight leather pants, runs out to check on him. Regal beats her up too.

Rating: C. It’s about three minutes long and the finish came out of left field. This should likely be N/A, but the three minutes were rather good with some very hard shots in there. It was good, but that ending was just out of nowhere. Not bad for what they had to work with though so I’ll say it’s ok.

We get a recap of Test vs. Edge, which more or less consists of Test stealing the IC Title from Edge and the Edge winning the US Title. Foley then made a unification match for tonight. It’s very simple, but at least with Test stealing it there’s some history here which is more than you’ll get for most matches in today’s product.

Test is in front of a mirror when Stacy comes up. She implies she’ll sleep with him if he wins after he hits on her. She is so ridiculously hot here it’s not fair.

Edge says that Test is going to lose. He’s ridiculously over at this point as he was on the brink of cracking into the main event and was having the best matches of his career. Unfortunately an injury would put him out for a year in February.

Unification Match: Edge vs. Test

Edge is rocking the Rob Zombie music here, so it’s completely awesome. Edge is over here, but not to the level he would reach once he went to Smackdown exclusively. Hey, did you know that Pat Patterson won the IC Belt in a tournament. Ross advises Edge to use his heart. We’ll ignore the fact that it’s an involuntary muscle and if Edge didn’t use it he would be dead and say that’s good advice as Test really was freakishly strong.

They’re doing that ignore thing, yet Heyman of all people brings the focus back to the title match at hand. Or is it titles match? I’m not sure. Edge really needs to go back to face. It just works better for him. As great as he is as a heel, him as a face is just awesome. This is somewhat back and forth but Test is mainly in control. Ross is once again ticking me off as he’s just running down Heyman while Paul is trying to talk about the match.

Ross actually takes the hint from Paul and talks about Test for a bit. That’s something you don’t see every day. There’s just no drama here at all for some reason. The main reason for that is the match is a lot of punching and kicking so it’s only so interesting. Now we’re getting better here with some nice fast paced kickouts. Test even hits a spear and not a bad one at all. Man he can do more than four moves. Test over Cena apparently.

Anyway, Edge of course kicks out as Heyman talks over and over again about how that’s Edge’s move and Test stole it. The pace speeds up pretty well which gets the crowd into it a lot more. See what happens when you stop just laying around and doing nothing at all? You get a crowd reaction, which is a good thing. Do it more often and you get bigger reactions. That’s basic wrestling psychology, yet sadly enough so many wrestlers don’t get it.

Edge hits the spear and Test kicks out of it as well, and it gets the crowd up and moving even more. I can’t believe it. They’re having more action and it’s getting a better reaction. I’m blown away. Anyway, enough of this sarcastic nonsense, as Test goes for a pumphandle slam and gets rolled up to unify Edge.

Rating: B-. This is a tale of two matches for sure as the beginning was putting me to sleep but it had a strong finish, which is good as it’s the most stuck in the minds of the fans. This was ok, but not much beyond it. I liked it, but I’m a mark for both guys, so therefore it’s unlikely a lot of people would like it. It wasn’t bad, but not great.

Stephanie is worried as Kurt tries to calm her. Stephanie is a bad actress. Like, really bad.

Lita and the Hardys are worried about their match and apparently something is wrong with Matt. This led to a long heel turn for Matt which took nearly a year to pull off. It led to Mattitude though, so it was completely worth it. Lita…yes, in all senses of the word. She runs into Trish coming out of Matt’s locker room. This is before their epic rivalry had really kicked into high gear. Trish in a tight white t-shirt and leather pants is an even bigger yes, if that’s possible. My goodness those are some hot women.

Unification Tag Titles: Hardys vs. Dudleys

This is in a cage by the way. Stacy is managing the Dudleys here and is perhaps the second sexiest she’s ever looked after this same look with glasses. There’s obviously history here but the latest one is from Smackdown where Lita knocked Stacy off the apron and Matt caught her, upsetting Lita. What in the world? What sense does that make? Lita knocks the other chick off and sees Matt beneath her which ticks her off? That is just freaking stupid.

There’s no Lita with the Hardys for no apparent reason, and apparently Matt and Jeff’s dad is a postman. That’s the kind of little trivia we should hear more of. Because this match and era is stupid, you have to tag in and out. Yep, that makes GREAT sense. Jeff is wrestling in a hat because he lives in the moment, whatever that means. Hearing Heyman talk about characters he created is very fun as you can just tell how much he loved ECW. That never gets old.

Excellent shot of Stacy’s camouflaged shorts. In another thing that the announcers (read as Heyman) does well here is point out that Matt and Jeff are the hometown boys. I didn’t catch that and that’s the commentator’s job: point out the little things like that which we might forget. Anyone that ever says that the Divas aren’t beautiful is a freaking idiot. Sorry they just keep showing Stacy and this tagging in and out thing is freaking stupid.

After five or six minutes we FINALLY do something with the cage. To be fair the wrestling is pretty good, but it just makes me wonder what the point of the cage is. Heyman saying WHAT A RUSH makes me chuckle. Jeff tries to escape but it fails as the heels are completely dominating. This is a rather long stretch of the heels dominating which is common in tag team cage matches.

I’m just waiting on the slam of one of those Dudleys into the cage to swing the momentum into the home town boys’ favor. For some reason I think of the Dukes of Hazard when I think of the Hardys. That just popped into my head and I have no idea why. And there’s our stupid heel moment to change the match. Jeff is down in the middle of the ring and both Dudleys go to a top rope. The tagging aspect has been forgotten at this point as it should be.

D-Von misses the headbutt because Jeff rolls out of the way. That’s fine as it’s pretty much the only counter there is to that move. Bubba, ever the genius though, jumps anyway because he’s so much faster than D-Von and he crashes too. Matt takes them both down with a double clothesline and we’re reversed with the faces now in control. Eventually Bubba calls out for a table, which Stacy pulls out.

She shows part of her shapely figure to the referee and picks his pocket to get the table in. That was at least simplistic. Matt gets out and it’s 2-1. D-Von gets thrown into the cage, and Ross says it doesn’t taste like chocolate. Allow me to ask again; WHERE DOES HE COME UP WITH THIS STUFF? And I don’t ask that because it’s funny or witty. I ask that because it MAKES NO FREAKING SENSE! Anyway, Matt is out and D-Von is on the table while Jeff is alone on the top of the cage.

You know what’s coming next. Instead of climbing down, the future 3 time world champion misses the Swanton off the cage and crashes to allow the Dudleys to get the easy pin. Matt isn’t happy, and he’s right. That was SO STUPID. Ross saying Jeff couldn’t resist the temptation is much more ironic than it should be.

Rating: B+. This would be an A if they hadn’t had the tagging thing, but I think it’s getting upgraded because of it. I had this as a B but the more I think about it the more I think that the tagging part at the beginning helped it a lot.

It made me think that in the middle where they just stopped doing it that the thought process was this is too important so screw tagging, let’s just get it all out there. That’s the beauty of a slow build: it makes the payoff much sweeter. Considering how many times these teams have fought, to still be able to have a good match is impressive.

Foley is at WWF New York where he isn’t happy about not being at the show. He points out that as Commissioner he should be there but Vince told him not to, so the Commissionership is a joke. This was part of an angle where Foley pretty much hated his job which he got back after Vince fired him.

He would be gone very soon, with this possibly being his last night in the role. After a little research, I’m right, as other than I think being on Raw the next night in a pretaped segment, he wouldn’t be back until June of 2003 as a guest referee.

Scotty is heading to the ring when he runs into Test. Scotty is actually a freaking jerk to him and gets the beating he deserves. Not because of being a jerk, but because Test wants his spot in the battle royal. My goodness Test and Stephanie need some acting lessons.

Immunity Battle Royal

Simple concept here: since the losing company goes out of business, the winner of this match can’t be fired for a year. First of all, how sweet of a rule would that be? You have a year where you can do whatever the heck you want and no one can say a word about it. The winner of this tries to do that, but it didn’t work out that well. I’ll do what I can to list the participants as they all come out in clusters according to their company affiliation.

Note: the Alliance comes out to Bodies by Drowning Pool. If you’re a fan of that kind of music and have a chance to go see them, go out of your way to do so. The live performance I saw of that song is without a doubt the greatest live song I have ever heard. The girl I was with at the show looked at each other and said in unison: that freaking rocked. They were just an awesome live band and second to only 3 Doors Down (who had light years better production values to be fair) as best I’ve ever seen.

Anyway, while this awesome song plays, we have Justin Credible, Lance Storm (who come out next to each other which is awesome looking for any true ECW fans), Shawn Stasiak, DDP, Raven, Dreamer, some guy I don’t recognize that might be Stevie Richards, Billy Kidman, Hurricane and Test for the Alliance. For the WWF, APA, Crash, Funaki, Saturn, Chuck Palumbo, Hardcore Holly, Albert, Billy Gunn and Spike. My eyesight isn’t that good.

I found a list online about halfway through. For some reason in case you’re wondering, the WWF comes out to Control, the show’s theme song. Stasiak is gone in about two seconds after charging at Bradshaw and being thrown out. Test drops to the floor and fights Albert who never got in for some reason. Something tells me this is going to be hard to call, which is partially why I’m terrified of the Rumbles.

Tazz comes out, ticking off Heyman. Tazz had left the Alliance because he hated Austin and his leadership. So far it’s your standard battle royal formula of people throwing punches, kicks and knees while trying to throw a single person over for about five minutes to look like they’re really doing something while not doing anything at all.

Grego….Hurricane I mean, gets knocked the heck out by Bradshaw and the clothesline. Albert launches Saturn out. For the life of me I’ll never understand why in such a civilized country as ours there’s still so much bald on bald violence. And they’re both from Boston. What are the odds? I’ll also never get why Albert never got a harder push. The guy had all the tools to be a solid heel, so why didn’t it work? Give him a manager and it would have gone fine.

He’s not someone that needs a lot of story behind him. He’s just a big scary looking dude. What more could you ask for? People are going out rather fast now as it’s mainly just dead weight in there that no one cares about. For the life of me I will never get why Billy Gunn got so many freaking pushes. They never ended and they never worked. The Outlaws got over, but Road Dogg was the more important part.

When you think of that team, what’s the first thing in your head? Road Dogg and the catchphrase. Billy’s line was made popular by DX, not him. I think there’s seven left at this point. As best I can tell it’s Richards, Kidman, Billy, Tazz, Bradshaw,, Test and Albert. There goes Richards so we’re down to six. Lance Storm is in there as well. Tazz yells at Heyman and he’s thrown out. In a cool spot, Bradshaw gets rid of Kidman with a fallaway slam over the top rope. That was sweet looking.

The final four are Test, Gunn, Storm and Bradshaw. Bradshaw misses a boot to Storm’s head by about six inches and hurts his leg which I think is legit. He actually hits a neckbreaker that was good though. For some reason the announcers are arguing about Stephanie. The final two are Test and Billy, with Test kicking the tar out of him to win it.

The only problem was that it was obvious given the Scotty segment earlier, but that’s what was expected. Heyman does a very funny bit where he explains what the repercussions of the match are like this: “So no matter what happens, *whispers* the Alliance will win, Test will not be fired no matter what (the Alliance will win!). It’s much funnier than it sounds.

Rating: N/A. I’m going with no rating because it’s a battle royal. How do you grade that? The ending was obvious, but it’s a battle royal. Other than the Rumble, they’re more or less the same, so what do you want me to say?

Now we have a completely random video package of clips of mainly the ten guys in the main event. This is totally out of context and the song has no words or build up to it. It’s just a three minute video of the feud with no words or anything. It’s also the video….OH! This is the WWF Desire videos that they used to run. The original song was My Sacrifice by Creed, but I’m guessing they were way too expensive.

At the time Creed was the hottest thing in the world so that makes sense. The Desire videos were a series of videos that they made attempting to show how important wrestling was. They sound clichéd but they really were freaking sweet at the time and still are. Check them out as they’re worth it. The song fits really well too.

Shane and Booker speculate about whether they can trust Austin or not as we have another few minutes to fill. My only guess is that this is an intermission or something. It’s been about 6-7 minutes since the last match ended. Is there a point to this?

Women’s Title: Trish vs. Jackie vs. Lita vs. Ivory vs. Molly vs. Jazz

Trish’s legs are possibly better than Stacy’s. That’s saying a freaking ton. And now we get to look at Jackie. I can’t stand her. Lita gets a HUGE pop. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it here now: Trish vs. Lita is one of the best feuds I’ve ever seen regardless of gender. It’s the best natural rivalry I’ve seen other than Bret vs. Shawn, which is saying a lot. Molly’s theme music can introduce herself as the song says “Holy sidekicks Hurricane! It’s Mighty Molly”, just as she’s being introduced.

Jazz is debuting here and might as well be the black Chyna. The problem: no one had a clue who she was and she got zero reaction. The rules here are that there are four on the apron and two in the ring so there you go. Ivory and Jackie try to do a nice technical sequence and it just fails in every sense of the word. Trish’s shorts…my goodness that’s not right. More or less it’s a bikini bottom but skin tight.

Other than Lita these women pretty much sucked in the ring. They’re the stereotypical “good” divas that can’t do jack in the ring but we’re told they can and somehow they’re considered good which shows just how weak the division is. We get a Lita chant as naturally everything falls apart and it’s just a wild finisher fest. Trish and the heavenly form send Jazz to the floor and it’s Ivory vs. Trish, who hits the bulldog for the title.

This was her first reign and the first champion after Ivory. She was a complete underdog at this point so this was shocking. Obviously she would improve massively, but this was a big shock. As we transition to the main event, Ross gets a gay joke in about Heyman that surprises me. He says he wouldn’t mind Trish coming into him from behind. I listened to it twice to make sure I didn’t understand it and that’s what he actually said.

Rating: D+. This was a mess, but the looks of Trish and Lita make it pass. It was there for the T & A anyway so who cares. The ending was about as low a level of being historic as you can get while still being historic, so this is technically important, but yeah, it’s about the looks, plain and simple.

After Ross and Heyman bicker like two year olds, Vince addresses his team. We have Big Show, Kane, Taker, Jericho and Rock, with Taker getting a good pop and Rock getting a bit one as he jumps around looking like an idiot. He talks about how if they lose tonight, they will be an embarrassment to everyone and no one will forgive them.

He goes on to list off some names in company history that they would be letting down, including Buddy Rogers (no reaction), Gorilla Monsoon (BIG pop), Andre the Giant (Big pop as he’s looking straight at Taker, bringing about more symbolism than should be allowed), and High Chief Peter Maivia to no reaction at all as I don’t think most people knew who he was. He says forget about Austin tonight.

Jericho just looks out of place there next to Rock and the big three. Also, how appropriate it is to have three super heavyweights given Vince’s affinity for big power guys. Vince was supposed to be on this team but he gave his spot to Big Show, which I like. Vince isn’t a wrestler and for once he makes it about the wrestlers and not him. That’s a good thing. This was a really good speech actually.

Team Alliance (Austin, Booker, RVD, Angle, Shane) come down the hall. Austin is WWF champion and Rock is WCW champion at this point. Let’s hit the recap button for this as the teams might need some explaining, but not a ton. Vince said he had enough of the Invasion and threw out the challenge for this match, which Stephanie and Shane (the owners of ECW and WCW respectively) agreed to.

There’s three main points to this match. First, Angle turned on Vince and the WWF to join the Alliance. Second, Rock and Jericho hate each other, which is a nice touch. Finally, the Alliance doesn’t trust Austin. As for Austin joining the team, it made little sense when he jumped because he said the Alliance guaranteed him the best matches that he could get. By joining them, wouldn’t he be fighting the same guys he had been fighting for years?

Isn’t that saying that the WWF guys are better than the Alliance guys? Or am I reading too much into this? We get a very good video package showing all of the ten people fighting each other, which sounds simple but it’s better than it sounds. It ends with a shot of Austin and Rock, which is the feud in a nutshell.

Team Alliance vs. Team WWF

After literally ten minutes of introductions, we’re ready to go. Stephanie dancing to Booker’s music was either funny, hot, or just plain sad. I can’t decide. Immediately it’s Rock vs. Austin, which makes sense I suppose as they’re the real core of this feud. Before you get any other ideas, this isn’t WWF vs. Alliance. It’s a WWF angle, plain and simple. Both guys hit the Thesz Press and the F you elbow with Shane saving Austin despite him not particularly needing it.

Booker vs. Rock follows as we redo Summerslam from this year. Booker was the WCW Rock, complete with the catchphrase to open his song, the People’s Champion mantra, and the finishing move. And that is reason 384 why WCW failed. I need to make a list of that someday. Shane saves Booker this time, so at least that makes sense. WCW violence erupts as Jericho beats up Booker for a bit.

Ross and Heyman argue over who put ECW out of business which is amusing, mainly because according to storyline purposes it’s still in business but whatever. RVD gets a pop and a half. Jericho and Van Dam have a good little match here, as Jericho is wrestling his light weight style which is where I always thought he was best. Today he tends to use the heavyweight style which just doesn’t work that well for me. Jericho hooks the Walls on a counter and Heyman is PANICKING.

Shane of course makes the save though. After a double tag it’s Kane vs. Angle which is an interesting match to say the least. Angle was in between stages in his career here as he’s somewhere between All American good boy and rampaging psycho that knows more ways to hurt people that should be legal. He had recently made Kane tap and Angle Slammed Big Show, so obviously he was on a role at the moment.

Also, this was just after he and Austin had finished an awesome feud with Angle hitting levels of intensity in promo cutting that I didn’t know existed. Those two beat the living tar out of each other, throwing each other all over the place with suplex after suplex in something that was just plain awesome. And because this is pro wrestling they’re friends a month later. Just as I say this, Angle gets a sweet German on Kane. Shane saves Angle as that’s number four.

Now we’re up to Taker and Angle, which is nothing short of a classic most of the time except for when it’s not. Taker hits a sweet kick to Booker’s head to take him down, and of course Shane makes the save again. It makes sense if nothing else though, as he’s the guy with everything to lose. Taker goes for Old School as evidenced by shouting OLD SCHOOL! I really don’t get the point of him doing that. It’s not like he used a wristlock that often.

After Shane makes another save to save us from Booker and Taker’s slow period, Austin comes in. The fans are still way into him, which goes to show how popular he was. Austin vs. Taker really was an epic rivalry. It’s kind of reminiscent of Hogan and Andre when you think about it. You have the big vocal face of the company vs. the guy that’s great but stays in the background most of the time. It’s a simple story but it goes in depth once you look into it a bit.

After the second Old School in about three minutes, Shane…oh screw it you know what he does by now. Taker just starts punching the tar out of Angle which never gets old. Heyman finally does what everyone has wanted to do for years and asks JR what the deal is with his obsession with taking men to the woodshed. Ross has nothing to say as Big Show comes in for the first time, rocking that one piece swimsuit he used to wear.

Naturally he lasts about a minute as an Angle Slam, axe kick, 5 Star and a Shane elbow drop end him to make it 5-4. Can the forces of evil really overcome the forces of good? Heck if I know as there’s at least half an hour left in this match. In a funny moment after the pin, Shane is dancing around celebrating as Rock is waiting on him. The Alliance guys point it out to him and he slowly stops dancing before turning around and looking scared. That was great.

Rock’s punches seem to miss by about a mile to me, but maybe I’m missing something. After a Kane chokeslem, a Taker tombstone and a Lionsault, we’re tied up. Heyman as usual is priceless during this. Angle comes in now as we need a spatula for Shane. I love how Heyman is freaking despite the fact that Shane got the same treatment that Show got earlier. Also I love how he complains about how stupid Show is, despite him taking Show in as the ECW Champion in about five years.

It’s Angle vs. Jericho now in another match that has a natural rivalry that I’ll never get tired of watching. I’ve come to the conclusion that Booker is just flat out boring. He’s been in there about three times now and he’s just killed the momentum every single time. He’s slow and boring, which is a bad combination to consist of.

Ross points out the same thing I noticed earlier about how the WWF is mainly power, which makes sense as most of the Alliance guys are finesse or technical guys, which is either a very subtle and nice touch, or a complete coincidence. The WWF team beats up RVD, prompting Heyman to say he believes they’re trying to isolate him. Well thank you very much for that. I never would have noticed.

Booker and RVD are in at the same time with Kane, who naturally gets no help from his partners because, you know, that would be helpful. Van Dam had pinned Kane and Taker this past week, so he’s hot right now which is kind of a joke considering Kane is in there, but it wasn’t that funny. I need to work on my comedy more I think.

The Five Star (which is still the most amazing live move I’ve ever seen) hits but Kane grabs Van Dam by the throat, leading to Booker running in, which leads to the massive brawl that you knew was coming. During the fracas, Van Dam hits a kick from the top to eliminate Kane. In a cool moment, Taker has one member of the Alliance in each of the corners and keeps them there by running back and forth, clotheslining them all in order.

He does about eight clotheslines in a row before knocking Booker to the floor. Angle takes a Last Ride but Booker comes in with a chair. Taker knocks him down but walks into the Stunner. Angle is dragged over and despite not being legal, gets the pin. That takes us down to Rock and Jericho vs. Austin, Booker, RVD and Angle. Dang that’s a lot of gold between six guys. Booker kicks/knees the tar out of Rock.

Rock hits a DDT and covers Booker but it doesn’t work, which it shouldn’t have any way as Booker’s shoulder was about right inches off the mat. Booker is thrown into Angle, allowing him to be rolled up to make it 3-2. I like that actually, as it’s not something stupid and it actually makes sense for Booker to go out that way.

Rock hooks a cool move on Van Dam as RVD’s back was to the Great One and Rock more or less powerbombs him down, but does it with one arm so it’s like a roll up from the top which gets two. Jericho is finally back in and they nearly botch a spot, but Jericho makes a last second save to turn it into a swinging neckbreaker. That was nice. In a sequence that’s just flat out awesome due to what it means now.

Jericho avoids a split legged moonsault and hits the Breakdown for the pin on Van Dam, which looked awful because Van Dam dropped to a knee so the move got ZERO reaction. The reason it’s cool is Van Dam missed what is now Morrison’s finisher to get caught in Miz’s finisher. That’s awesome and one of the biggest reasons I love watching old wrestling. You get to see stuff like that which wouldn’t have meant a thing eight years ago but now is kind of cool, or at least it is to me.

Who would have guessed it would come down to the four guys that have been fighting on both sides? We have two fights going on at once, with Austin hitting a slingshot on Rock, who of course oversells by more or less throwing a flying headbutt into the post. Heyman says they can find a spot for Rock if nothing else for his t-shirt sales.

We move to Austin vs. Jericho which is a feud that could have been great but never happened, I guess due to a generation gap. I think I might see why now as they badly botch a spot and the bad attempt at a save just fails miserably.

Jericho and Angle are in there now and Jericho hooks the ankle lock as we continue to shame the history of Ken Shamrock, who would win the TNA World Title in about nine months. Actually it was the NWA World Title at the time, but it was exclusive to TNA so whatever. The heels take their time beating on Jericho which at least makes sense. It’s fairly slow and boring, but it’s working to an extent I suppose.

We get a double hot tag to give us Rock vs. Angle. Rock hits the awful belly to belly to set up the even worse Sharpshooter to which Angle shockingly taps. More on that later. Since Rock is a jackass, he won’t let go until Austin knocks him off. Heyman’s panicking is just great here. Jericho can’t get the Walls, but Austin does of all things, but they last about a second. Austin is bleeding, and of course it’s profusely since it’s PPV.

Since it hasn’t been mentioned all match, we suddenly remember that Austin might be jumping, despite Vince saying it was nonsense. Austin counters Jericho’s roll up into one of his own, and wouldn’t you know it, the final two are Rock and Austin. For the life of me, I NEVER would have seen this as the final two. Ok that’s a lie but whatever. As Austin and Rock are getting going, Jericho hits Rock with the Breakdown, which technically should be a DQ.

Actually it shouldn’t be since it’s his own team so never mind. Rock naturally kicks out. Jericho heads back to the ring but Taker comes out for the save. That’s a feud that sadly never happened. They just had their first match in September of this year. That’s saying a lot. If Rock ever sold any big spot properly I think I’d have a heart attack. I get the point in doing it, but it’s just way too much most of the time, at least in my eyes.

They fight to the floor and land in the most famous of all places. Rock lands some punches square in the shoulder of Austin which for some reason keep him down. Ross and Heyman are just laying into each other on commentary and it’s great. I have no issue with the announcers being biased in circumstances like this. Austin hooks a bad Sharpshooter because we have to have a Montreal reference at every major show in history.

Austin isn’t even leaning back on it so it just looks like Rock has his legs up. There’s no heat on the move at all from the crowd because it looks so awful and no one buys that Rock is in a lot of pain at all. A belt shot from Austin misses and it’s the third bad Sharpshooter of the night. Dang is this some golden edition of the Montreal reference package or something? It’s a sad thing when Rock’s Sharpshooter is better than someone else’s but that’s the case here.

In a cool scene, Austin has the WWF belt and is holding onto it as he tries to get to the ropes. For once, Ross points something out and says being champion is Austin’s life and is the reason he won’t tap. That’s ridiculous because it’s been made clear that champions won’t get fired, but at least Ross is trying. In a stupid thing, Austin gets the ropes but Rock pulls him away, so Hebner keeps checking for the submission. Yeah that makes a lot of sense.

On the second time though Earl makes him break it. What’s the point of that? Y am I wasting my time trying to figure this out? Since it’s Rock vs. Austin, Rock hits a Stunner, allegedly on the inventor of it, but I don’t see Mikey Whipwreck anywhere. Nick Patrick runs out to pull Hebner out to prevent the three as Heyman says he’s a licensed official.

For some reason the idea of taking the test for your refereeing license amuses me. What’s the test like? If you mess up more than three counts you don’t pass? Do you have to learn how many taps there are in a proper tap out? Ok it’s not as funny as I thought it was. Austin hits a Rock Bottom of his own but of course he kicks out. Austin beats up Patrick, because that’s just what he does.

Since it’s a major PPV, Hebner goes down. Rock takes another Stunner and amazingly only oversells a bit. There’s no referee though as I wonder why Vince doesn’t just call for the bell on his own. It’s his show, so it’s not like it would be mind blowing. Angle runs out and screws the Alliance by hitting Austin with the belt straight into the Rock Bottom for the perfectly timed conscious Hebner to end the Alliance. The crowd was electric over this.

Heyman is at a loss for words, which shows how huge of a moment this is. Ross screams that Heyman is out of work AGAIN, which is great. Fink’s announcement of the winning organization is absolutely perfect. Stephanie is crying badly as the WWF guys are celebrating. What I meant earlier was that Angle was apparently sent into the Alliance by Vince, and it turned out that Angle, not Austin, was the one that would turn all along.

This wound up ticking off Taker, setting up his heel turn and massive haircut. Oh look, it’s Vince to take credit for something that he played absolutely zero part in. It’s good to know that some things never change. The sight of Vince holding up his arms in triumph in a WCW town no less takes us out.

Rating: B. The two problems here are very obvious. First of all, there was zero chance that the WWF would lose. Second, it was beyond obvious that it would come down to Austin vs. Rock in their I guess 23rd PPV ending fight. The match itself is good if not very good, but there’s just no drama whatsoever, which they clearly tried to put in by having Jericho and Rock against four guys and then Jericho screwing Rock.

Even still though, the ending was never once in doubt. I get that it had to be that way, but they booked themselves into a huge corner here and it showed badly. I don’t think this could have been a classic, but it was about as good as it could have been.

As for what happens after this, the next PPV, Vengeance, would be the famous night where Jericho beat Rock and Austin in one night for the first ever Undisputed Title. Allegedly that was supposed to go to HHH but he wasn’t completely healed yet. He would take the belt from Jericho at Mania. Also, tomorrow night Flair would show up as the person that bought up Shane and Stephanie’s stock and became co-owner in a shocker.

That would eventually lead to the Brand Split which still defines the company to this day. As for the rest of them, nothing of note happened at all. Naturally the major stars of the Alliance stayed while a lot of the weaker guys became jobbers. The Brand Split really did help a lot of issues as it saved a lot of jobs. Who cares that the fans hated it? Since when have we cared what they think? Oh and on a final random note, Lawler would be back tomorrow on Raw.

Overall Rating: C+. The problem with this show as a hole is simple: other than the main event, not a thing mattered. No one cared about anything but the Survivor Series match. While the other stuff is technically important, no one cared and that’s all there was to it. The show is good enough, but the lack of drama just kills it. If it were me, I would have waited at least another six months for this, but granted I wasn’t around for it and there could have been outside factors.

I can’t imagine what they could have been, but they might have existed. The show is worth checking out for the historic aspect, but I’d say just check out the cage match and the main event, because other than that the show is completely forgettable. I barely remembered anything about the card at all when I watched it if that tells you anything. Not really recommended, but it’s not bad enough to recommend to avoid.

Ok, so now that the show is over, my thoughts on the Invasion as a whole. Clearly it wasn’t what it could have been had they been patient and waited about another year to have Hogan, Nash, Flair, Goldberg and I guess RVD out there. Flair showed up on Raw the next night, Hall, Nash and Hogan in February, so it’s not like these guys were an eternity away. But that’s not the biggest issue I see in why it failed. Take a look at Team Alliance for this show.

We have Austin, Angle, Booker, RVD and Shane. In other words, three WWF guys and one each from ECW and WCW. That’s where this show and plan falls apart on all levels. This never was about WWF vs. ECW or WCW. It was about putting down the other two companies to stroke Vince’s ego even more which is evidenced at the end of the show. Vince celebrating is the last thing you see, as it’s his moment again rather than the company’s or the wrestlers’.

That’s why the company is in the shape it’s in now: it’s all about Vince. Think about all the bad comedy angles that go on, especially with the guest hosts. It’s because Vince has no idea what’s funny anymore. He’s mainly on Raw and that’s where the stupid stuff happens. Smackdown and ECW are well written, action-oriented shows, which is what they’re supposed to be.

On paper this looks awesome, but with so few people that actually make sense in this, there was just no way it could work. It could have worked had it been given more time and effort, but there’s just no way to pull off what should have been the biggest storyline of all time in six months, plain and simple.

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

 

Bound For Glory 2020
Date: October 24, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

It’s the biggest night of the year, or at least it is on paper. Bound For Glory has long since been the top show in the company, though Slammiversary tends to be more fun. Maybe they can change things around a bit this year, though the card isn’t giving me the best vibes. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Deaners vs. Rascalz

Dez and Wentz for the Rascalz. The Deaners start with the double teaming but Wentz fights out and hits a handspring knee to Cody’s face. Jake throws Dez at Wentz to cut that off but Jake’s dive is cut off with a kick to the head. Back in and Dez catches Cody on top but Jake powerbombs both Rascalz down. A Swan dive gives Cody two with Wentz making the save so it’s time for the rapid fire kicks to Jake. The toss moonsault hits knees though and it’s T2G (whatever that means) to finish Dez at 3:36.

Rating: C-. Just a quick opener here to get some people in the ring and that’s perfectly fine. The match didn’t go anywhere because it wasn’t even four minutes long, but at the same time, I don’t get the Deaners. They’re fine for a gimmick comedy (work with me here) team but over the Rascalz? Really?

The opening video is an extended version of the same Eric Young vignette that has played for months. He promises to end Rich Swann.

X-Division Title: Willie Mack vs. TJP vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Chris Bey vs. Trey Miguel vs. Rohit Raju

Raju is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. The champ tries to walk at the bell but gets thrown back in, only to have Mack clothesline TJP by mistake. Grace and Mack are sent into each other, meaning TJP and Bey can argue over who gets to beat up Raju. Bey and TJP slug it out and trade takedowns as Callis brags about how many languages he can (allegedly) speak. Trey is back in with a dropkick to Bey’s back, followed by a low superkick for two.

Mack takes Bey’s place for some flipping before sending Trey outside with a flying shoulder. Grace shoulders Mack down for two but he slams her without much hesitation. It’s TJP coming back in to tie up Mack’s legs, plus Trey’s at the same time. For a bonus, it’s a chancery on Raju and a headlock on Grace. See, it was cool when he did this once on Impact, but when he does it over and over, it stops being cool or clever and becomes obviously staged, which isn’t usually a good idea.

Grace breaks it up and chokes TJP until Raju comes back in to take over on everyone. Raju takes Grace down and shouts EQUALITY before knocking Miguel off the apron. A suplex gets two on Grace (Raju: “She’s got some spunk doesn’t she?”) but Mack is back in to run Raju over. Now it’s Mack getting to clean house until he and Raju are left in the ring. Everyone else gets on the apron and starts beating up Raju until Mack hits the Samoan drop into the standing moonsault.

That’s broken up by everyone else and it’s Grace diving onto Raju and TJP. Mack dives onto all three of them and Bey dropkicks Trey off of TJP’s shoulders….well into the general vicinity of the pile. Bey hits a good looking no hands dive onto a bunch of people but it’s Raju rolling up TJP for two. TJP’s crucifix bomb gets the same with Grace making another save, only to get tied in the Tree of Woe.

Everyone goes to the corner so Grace pulls herself up for the Tower of Doom. She’s still tied up though so Raju hits an Alberto double stomp for two as Mack makes his own save. It’s time for the parade of finishers until Grace has to break up the kneebar on Raju, setting up the Grace Driver for two on TJP. Grace is sent onto Mack and Bey, leaving Trey to splash TJP. That means Raju can come back in with a running knee though and steal the pin on TJP to retain at 13:20.

Rating: B-. It’s the kind of insanity that you expect from the X-Division and therefore it was entertaining, but at the same time, it’s still the junk food match that you have grown to know from these people. I’d still like to see a one on one match for the title, but Raju being the kind of champion who escapes with the title makes this fit more. This is like checking off a box at Bound For Glory, so at least they covered it.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

The wedding party is still having issues and the wedding is going to have to be in the ring. Most of them are off for the Call Your Shot gauntlet though.

Heath and Rhino are ready for the Call Your Shot. The previous segment heard Josh asking for help with audio issues and this one had a director counting them in. Tighten that stuff up already people. It’s only been ten plus years of issues.

We run down the Call Your Shot gauntlet. It’s a Royal Rumble with twenty entrants and then we have a singles match at the end. If Rhino or Heath win, Heath has a contract but if neither of them win, Rhino loses his contract.

Call Your Shot Gauntlet Match

Rhino is in at #1 and Daivari (who is RIPPED), making a return to the company, is in at #2 with one minute intervals. The threat of an early Gore sends Daivari bailing to the floor with Rhino following him to start the brawling. Daivari sends Rhino head first into the announcers’ table and it’s Larry D. in at #3 (after two minutes). A splash crushes Rhino and they both try to get him out as it’s back to the regular one minute interval so Crazzy Steve can come in at #4.

Steve goes after Larry with some right hands and biting to the head until Daivari makes a save. It’s Acey Romero in at #5 and a double standing splash crushes Steve but he isn’t eliminated yet. Tenille Dashwood (with Kaleb With A K) is in at #6 and her entrance takes so long that Havok (also with a K) is in at #7 before Dashwood can do anything. Havok headscissors Romero down and Kaleb With A K gets powerbombed. Brian Myers is in at #8 as the entrances are going really fast. Myers gets rid of Steve and it’s Swoggle in at #9 for his required appearance.

Myers and Swoggle team up to get rid of Daivari before Myers tosses Swoggle for a bonus. Tommy Dreamer is in at #10 and this week’s tribute is Road Warrior Animal (to be fair, the shirt is for sale for charity). Therefore, Dreamer sits down and puts Myers on his shoulders so Swoggle can come back in and play Hawk (off the middle rope that is) on a mini Doomsday Device. Alisha Edwards is in at #11 and Dreamer is thrown out. Myers gets rid of Edwards as well and Kiera Hogan, with Tasha Steelz is in at #12.

Dashwood stops for a picture with Myers and is thrown out as well. At least they’re keeping the ring clear, as they should. Hogan stomps Havok down in the corner and it’s Taya Valkyrie, with Rosemary and John E. Bravo, in at #13. Taya chops at XXXL, who crash into each other (because they’re not that bright), setting up the double hip attack in the corner. Fallah Bahh, with Hernandez’s money because banks aren’t a thing, is in at #14 and Havok shoves Hogan out, only to get tossed by Taya.

XXXL gets rid of Taya and it’s James Storm in at #15. House is cleaned and it’s a Last Call to get rid of Larry D. Storm can’t slam Romero and it’s Adam Thornstowe in at #16. That goes nowhere so it’s Luster the Legend in at #17. Reno Scum double teams Storm and it’s Heath in at #18. A neckbreaker drops Myers and there’s a jumping knee to Luster, with Heath tearing either his groin or abdomen in the process. Heath is clearly in pain as he slugs it out with Acey and clotheslines him out. Myers is tossed as well and it’s Sami Callihan in at #19.

With no one else being eliminated, it’s Hernandez in at #20 to complete the field. That gives us a final grouping of Rhino, Bahh, Storm, Thornstowe, Luster, Heath, Sami and Hernandez. Bahh gets caught in the corner with Hernandez going for the money and throwing it to the floor, with Bahh being eliminated as he gets it back. Hernandez goes after Bahh, followed by Thornstowe and Luster going out to get us down to four.

Sami superkicks Storm out as he tries to skin the cat and gets rid of Heath (Sami: “I DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR KIDS!”). We’re down to Rhino vs. Sami, which is now a regular match. Sami rakes his eyes and the Cactus Special gets a quick two. A chair is brought in but the referee tells Sami to put it down. Sami actually does, allowing Rhino to hit the Gore for the pin at 26:24.

Rating: C+. Not a great match or anything, but they had the logical ending (Heath winning had he stayed healthy wouldn’t have shocked me) and a few nice surprises. I could go for more of Storm being around as he’s a legend around here, though I’m almost scared to imagine what they would do with him. They kept this moving too, which is always a major plus for something like this. Good enough stuff here and they didn’t do anything stupid, so well done.

Rhino gets a trophy for the win.

The North say their backs are against the wall but that’s where champions shine. They’re ready for all of the teams they’re facing tonight because they’re that good. It has been 94 days since they have had the gold and tonight they are going back onto their throne.

We recap Moose vs. EC3 for the TNA World Title. EC3 returned and took the title with the intention of destroying it to control his narrative. I’m still not sure what that means, but the promos have been intense enough to make up for it. Moose got the belt back but has to defeat EC3 at an undisclosed location.

TNA World Title: Moose vs. EC3

Moose is defending (I think?) and they’re in a warehouse. There’s no EC3 to start but he pops up with his hood over his head for dramatic effect. We’re in cinematic mode as they slug it out with Moose hitting a Rock Bottom. EC3 is right back with an exploder suplex and some stomping in the corner but Moose kicks him low. Moose asks if he can see the picture and sends him into the corner as the music changes. More right hands have EC3 busted open and Moose grabs a chair from the floor.

Back in and EC3 sweeps the legs to hammer away as the music changes again. They head outside with EC3 talking about meaning and purpose before throwing him into the barricade. Back in and EC3 talks about how Moose has let people take things from him. The title means everything and Moose needs to become who he is supposed to be. EC3 loads up the One Percenter on the title (with a quick highlight reel of the move playing) but Moose shoves him off and hits No Jackhammer Needed.

Moose hits him with the title, asks if this is what EC3 wants, hits him with it again, hits him with it a third time, waits for the package on their feud to play, and hammers away even more. EC3 is done so Moose picks him up and asks if this is what he wants. EC3: “YES!” The people around the ring start the MOOSE chant and EC3 tells him to control his narrative. Moose says thank you and hits one more belt shot. That’s enough for Moose to leave and EC3’s followers carry him out at we’ll say 9:50.

Rating: C-. I’m sure there’s some kind of a deeper meaning here and that’s all well and good, but the Control Your Narrative thing seems to be the kind of thing that makes sense to EC3 and not much else. The action was fine but I really don’t need to see a cinematic match again, especially when it isn’t quite the most thrilling feud in the first place. It was fine, but hopefully this is it between them, assuming EC3 is even sticking around.

We look back at the Rock inducting Ken Shamrock into the Hall of Fame. One might think they would advertise this a little more in advance but that’s not what we do around here. There is also no mention of Bret Hart or Mick Foley sending in comments, which aren’t on the company’s YouTube page yet either unless I’ve missed them.

We recap Ken Shamrock vs. Eddie Edwards. Shamrock and Sami Callihan are a thing now and Sami has made Shamrock into his old self again, meaning a violent heel turn.

Ken Shamrock vs. Eddie Edwards

Sami Callihan is here with Shamrock. They circle each other to start and it’s Shamrock hammering away in the corner. A knee to the face drops Eddie again and Shamrock takes his back on the mat. Shamrock traps the arm and gets in some shots to the back of the head. Eddie can’t roll out so it’s a chinlock to keep him in trouble. A rope is grabbed so Shamrock takes him down by the leg again, sending Eddie straight back to the rope.

Back up and Shamrock punches him out to the floor, meaning it’s time for the hard kicks. Eddie gets back in and it’s a running knee in the corner as this has been all Shamrock so far. Eddie finally hits a Blue Thunder Bomb for a breather but can’t even cover. It’s time to start cranking on Shamrock’s leg and Eddie sends him throat first into the bottom rope. Eddie’s dive hits Shamrock and Callihan, followed by a missile dropkick for two back inside.

The tiger bomb gets two but Shamrock grabs the arm, with Eddie having to stack him up for the break. The Backpack Stunner connects but Eddie has to headbutt his way out of a rear naked choke. Eddie hits the Boston Knee Party but goes with a half crab instead of covering. Sami makes the lights go out though and they come back up with Sami, with the bat, in the ring. Eddie gets rid of him with the kendo stick but walks into a belly to belly from Shamrock. The ankle lock makes Eddie tap at 12:32.

Rating: C+. This took its time to start but grew on me, even if it was very similar to a Brock Lesnar style WWE match, albeit with smaller people. Shamrock plays the monster well, especially with the MMA style offense. This was a good match and I can live with Shamrock winning on his Hall of Fame weekend, though I’m not sure where these two go from here.

We recap the Tag Team Title match. The North held the titles for over a year but then the Motor City Machine Guns returned and won the titles. The Good Brothers showed up and got their title shot with pure star power, while Ace Austin and Madman Fulton are just kind of here too to make it a four way.

Tag Team Titles: Motor City Machine Guns vs. The North vs. Ace Austin/Madman Fulton vs. Good Brothers

The Guns are defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Hold on though as the North jumps Alex Shelley on the way to the ring and Alexander gives him a Jay Driller on the stage. That means something around here so Sabin is fighting on his own here (though they don’t even bother getting Shelley a stretcher). Sabin tries to fight the North on his own but walks into a dropkick from Page to cut him down in a hurry. A dropkick to Page’s knee slows him down and Austin tags himself in to start taking over on Sabin.

Fulton hammers away as well but Alexander tags himself in and hits a running clothesline as it’s back to Page, with Sabin taking quite the early beating. A knee to the face lets Page get in an arrogant two but Alexander misses a moonsault. Fulton brings himself back in and sends Sabin hard into the corner again. A middle rope legdrop into a splash gets two on Sabin and there’s a delayed suplex slam. Sabin finally takes Austin down though and there’s a rolling DDT to Fulton.

Austin spends too much time checking on Fulton, allowing Sabin to bring in Anderson to clean house. The spinebuster plants Austin and Gallows comes in for the belly to back neckbreaker for two. We get the big showdown between Gallows and Fulton and they fight out to the floor. Sabin comes back in for some forearms to Anderson, but Austin gets the tag again.

Everything stays broken down and Sabin hits a running flip dive from the apron to take Alexander down. The Cradle Shock gets two on Austin with Page making the save. The North slam Sabin off the top, setting up the double spinebuster for two more. Sabin breaks up the Northern Assault and brings in Anderson as everything breaks down again. Austin hits a springboard spinning kick to Gallows’ head and a running dropkick puts him on the floor.

Austin winds up on Fulton’s shoulders but the North hammer on Fulton to bring him down to his knees. More strikes to the face drop Austin as well but Alexander has to escape the Magic Killer. The Gun Stun is blocked as well and Page hits Anderson with the belt for the pin and the titles at 14:28.

Rating: C+. Another good enough match and I can’t say I’m stunned at the Canadians getting the titles back on the show where Don Callis runs things (no I’m not serious). The North winning is a little surprising but you can almost guarantee that the Good Brothers are getting the titles sooner rather than later. Shelley being out isn’t good, but it is kind of nice to see one less person out there. Mostly insane here and there are only so many stories that can be told in something like this, but the action was good enough and that’s all it needed to be.

Rosemary and John E. Bravo apologize for not helping Taya win earlier but it’s cool because it’s wedding time. Havok comes in and it’s time to bring James Mitchell back. Taya doesn’t think much of Bravo but he said he wears the pants in the relationship and can do this himself.

We recap Kylie Rae vs. Deonna Purrazzo. Rae thinks Purrazzo is out to get her for some reason and Purrazzo thinks Rae isn’t serious enough. Rae has been #1 contender for months and it’s finally time for her title shot.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Kylie Rae

Rae is challenging…or at least she would be if she was here. Purrazzo, with Kimber Lee, laughs off Rae not being here and issues the open challenge. This is a little disturbing as Rae legitimately no showed the event and it isn’t clear why or where she is. She was in Nashville the day before, but never came to the show. Hopefully everything winds up being ok, but that’s a scary situation. Anyway, we now have a replacement.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Su Yung

Su is challenging, Kimber Lee is here with Purrazzo, and Madison Rayne joins commentary. Yung crawls around to start and then hammers away in the corner. Some stomping puts Purrazzo on the apron for a slugout, capped off by a side slam onto the apron. Back in and they roll around for some near falls, followed by a hurricanrana out of the corner for two. Purrazzo finally gets in a shot to the face and starts in on the arm, as is her custom.

The arm is wrapped around the rope as Madison teases getting back in the ring to face Purrazzo. Something like a Koji Clutch has Yung in trouble and Purrazzo stomps on the arm to keep her down. The running knee drop misses but Purrazzo ties her up in the ropes for a baseball slide (that’s a new one) to the floor. Back in and a release German suplex sends Yung flying but she’s right back with a DDT for the double knockdown.

They get back up to slug it out with Yung getting the better of things without much effort. A running splash in the corner puts Purrazzo on the floor for a breather so Yung sends her shoulder first into the post. Yung puts her in a chair for a dive off the apron, followed by a Pedigree for two back inside. It’s time for the bloody glove but the referee gets bumped. Yung plants Purrazzo for no cover, as Lee comes in with a quick chair shot to Yung’s back.

Instead of covering, Purrazzo loads up the Pillmanizing on the arm, only to get caught in the Mandible Claw. The red mist gets rid of Lee but Purrazzo gets her down into the Fujiwara armbar. That’s countered into the Claw again but Purrazzo breaks that up as well. A Stunner into the Panic gives Yung the title back at 15:05.

Rating: B-. They almost had to switch the title with the surprise change of pace and they got the ending right enough. The last few minutes had a few too many shenanigans though and it hurt things a bit. What we got worked well enough though and Yung getting the title back is fine, even if Purrazzo gets it back pretty soon. Hopefully Rae is ok though, because that’s more important than anything else.

The Knockouts Tag Team Titles are coming back and the next champions will be crowned at Hard To Kill on January 16.

We recap Eric Young vs. Rich Swann for the World Title. Swann eliminated him from the World Title match at Slammiversary, then Young injured Swann’s knee. Then he injured Swann’s knee again and injured Swann’s knee again. Now it’s title time.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Eric Young vs. Rich Swann

Swann is challenging and has to dive over Young’s lunge for his legs. The second attempt works but Swann kicks him away and snaps off a headscissors. A dropkick puts Young on the floor and we take a bit of a breather. Swann sends him chest first into the post and Young takes another breather on the ramp. Back in and Swann knocks him outside again, setting up a flip dive off the apron. Young finally drops him onto the apron though and pulls on the neck a bit outside.

Back in and Swann hits what looks like a super Rey Mysterio sitout bulldog….and Young covers him for two instead. Ok then. There’s a twist of the neck and a running clothesline gives Young two. We hit the neck crank, followed by another clothesline with Young telling Swann to GO AWAY. A neckbreaker gets two and the neck gets bent around the top rope. Young gets two off a Death Valley Driver as he’s certainly mixing up the neck work.

There’s a right hand in the corner and Young tells him to stay down (again). Some more forearms to the face fire Swann up and he unloads on Young for a change. Young goes up top but gets tossed back down and they’re both on the mat for a bit. A super hurricanrana sets up a frog splash for two on Young but he bites his way out of something else on top. Young’s top rope elbow to the back sets up a Crossface to pull on the neck even more but Swann makes the rope.

Another slugout goes to Swann until Young catches him with a torture rack neckbreaker for two. Something close to a Figure Four sends Swann to the ropes again and he kicks Young in the head. The running Phoenix splash gets two on Young but he catches Swann in the Tree of Woe. Swann manages to pull himself up for a cutter out of the corner into a Lethal Injection. The phoenix splash gives Swann the pin and the title at 21:33.

Rating: B. It’s a good match and the neck work went well, plus Swann wining the title is a plus, but this felt like it should have been for the TV Title. Josh going on and on about how the dark cloud was now gone from over Impact Wrestling just came off as stupid as Young had only been champion for about a month and a half. This never felt like a Bound For Glory main event coming in and that was the case here as well. Certainly a good one, but the main event of the biggest show of the year is way too much.

The roster comes out to celebrate with Swann, which is still quite the overreaction.

Overall Rating: B. The main event is kind of a perfect microcosm for the whole show: it’s quality stuff for the most part and nothing is overly bad, but there was nothing on here that felt important. I kept thinking the main event should have been something else, but what in the world on here is supposed to be some big match or moment? Impact really needs to work on building up their big match feeling, but that has been the case for years. Good show and worth a look if you have time. Just don’t expect to be blown away by…well anything actually.

Results

Rohit Raju b. TJP, Jordynne Grace, Trey Miguel, Willie Mack and Chris Bey – Running knee to TJP

Rhino won a Call Your Shot gauntlet match last eliminating Sami Callihan

Moose b. EC3 – Belt shot to the head

Ken Shamrock b. Eddie Edwards – Ankle lock

The North b. Good Brothers, Motor City Machine Guns and Ace Austin/Madman Fulton – Belt shot to Alexander

Su Yung b. Deonna Purrazzo – Panic Switch

Rich Swann b. Eric Young – Phoenix splash

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Yeah you might have forgotten about the company but Impact Wrestling is back on pay per view with their biggest show of the year. The card has been built up as well as it can be, but that is kind of a firm limit. The show isn’t exactly jumping off the page at me, though Impact Wrestling has managed to surprise me before. Hopefully that is the case again so let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Rascalz vs. Deaners

There is something so fun about the Rascalz. I have a good time watching them but their win/loss record could be a lot better. There is only so much you can do when you can’t consistently win and that has been a problem for them for a very long time now. Hopefully they can get a lot better, and there are only a few ways to do that. We might be seeing it here.

I’ll take the Rascalz, for the double reason of I like them and I can remember which one is which. The Deaners got a lot out of Wrestle House but they are still more of a gimmick tag team than anything else. Maybe they can become a bigger deal one day, because while they’re not terrible, they leave a lot to be desired. Give me the Rascalz in a fast paced match.

Ken Shamrock vs. Eddie Edwards

This is a tricky one as Shamrock is entering the Hall of Fame this weekend but probably shouldn’t be beating someone like Edwards, who was World Champion just a few months ago. Then again, Shamrock wins a good amount of matches that he probably shouldn’t be winning, meaning that this could be in play. Shamrock has been impressive enough in his return, but that might not be enough to beat Edwards.

That being said, I’ll take Shamrock here, as Impact Wrestling REALLY likes honoring its legends, even though Edwards has been far more successful in the company than Shamrock. Edwards can absorb a loss far more easily than Shamrock, and if the idea is to make Shamrock a machine again, he shouldn’t be losing his first big match after the heel turn.

Call Your Shot Gauntlet Match

It’s your usual casserole of wrestlers who have nothing else going on (yes Tommy Dreamer is in there too) and the winner gets a title shot of their choice. The catch is that if Rhino or Heath win, Heath gets a contract and Rhino gets to keep his job. You can probably knock out a few of the options in a hurry, so at least it’s a little bit more limited of a field to pick through.

I’ll take Heath to win and go with the layup of the two of them going for the Tag Team Titles in the more feel good moment. It isn’t like most of the people involved have much of a story anyway and winning a ten person gauntlet match is only so difficult in the first place. Hopefully they don’t stay out there too long though, which is always a big danger in something like this. And go with the right winner of course, as in the person that I picked.

X-Division Title: Rohit Raju(c) vs. Chris Bey vs. Jordynne Grace vs. TJP vs. Trey Miguel vs. Willie Mack

Blast it with these messy matches. The X-Division has actually been a division as of late and now we are getting another one of these big car crash matches for the sake of getting everyone involved rather than having one challenger for a change. Raju is a fine choice as the heel champion who escapes with the title that he doesn’t really deserve and that is a good role to have in a match like this. There are a lot of ways this could go and that could make for something interesting.

I’ll take….eh give me Bey to get the title back here, if nothing else because I’ve liked a lot of what I’ve seen from him. Odds are Raju winds up retaining the title and escaping again, but that’s a bit of a traditional pick and Impact Wrestling likes to mix things up a bit. I’m not sure if that is what they are going to do here, but it really could go a lot of ways and that is a good thing.

TNA World Title: Moose(c) vs. EC3

So EC3 was the big surprise at the end of Slammiversary and he has set his sights on Moose. Now why did he do that? Honestly I’m not sure that I know as he has been going on and on about controlling your narrative…and I don’t know if I quite understand what the heck he is talking about. I know he wants to get rid of the TNA World Title to change his legacy or something, but that’s about as far as I can go.

The only other place I can go is to the place where EC3 wins the title, as he should here. There is no reason to have Moose retain here, though I’m not sure what else to expect from the match. It is going to take place in an undisclosed location and I wouldn’t be shocked to see this as a cinematic match, because we haven’t had one around here in awhile. Just have it regular please. Is that so much to ask?

Tag Team Titles: Motor City Machine Guns(c) vs. Good Brothers vs. Ace Austin/Madman Fulton vs. The North

The Good Brothers have become the biggest stars in the company almost by default and now all they need is the gold. They showed up announced at Slammiversary and were instantly treated as some of the most important people in the company, overshadowing the entire tag team division in a hurry. They don’t need the titles, but it doesn’t exactly do the titles much good for the Good Brothers to not have them.

Actually I’ll go with the instinct and pick Austin and Fulton to win, with the Good Brothers hunting them down for the regular title match later on rather than winning the four way here. This has gotten most of the recent main event slots and while it isn’t (or at least shouldn’t) main event the show, it is going to be one of the more important matches on the card. Odds are the Good Brothers win, but I feel like a gamble.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo(c) vs. Kylie Rae

This feels like it was supposed to take place months ago but then the Wrestle house deal slowed everything down. Rae has become one of the perkiest stars the company has seen in years while Purrazzo is more of an assassin who can rip anyone apart whenever she feels like it. That being said, when your opponent has a move called Smile To The Finish, it’s hard to cheer against them. Throw in the fact that Rae is more innocent than the Easter Bunny and it’s hard to argue against her.

I’ll take Purrazzo to win here and crush everyone’s dreams, as she just hasn’t held the title long enough to lose it yet. Rae is someone who could smile her way through anything and it seems like she could be back in the title scene down the line without much effort. Maybe she takes it from Purrazzo one day, but I really don’t think it is going to happen on Saturday night.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Eric Young(c) vs. Rich Swann

And then there’s this, which does not feel like a main event of the biggest show of the year no matter how revered the company wants to make it sound. This feels like it should be for the X-Division Title halfway through the show rather than (probably) headlining everything. Swann came back from a long injury at Slammiversary and eliminated Young from the World Title match, only to have Young take out the knee. Now Swann is back for revenge and the title.

Swann has to win here right? I can’t imagine that Impact Wrestling would go with Young as a long term champion, but then again I can’t believe that we’re seeing him as the champion again in the second place. I’ve liked Swann for a long time now and hopefully he is back to his old self. He should win the title here, though I’m not sure if he is ready for that point. Then again, it’s not like the title feels all that important most of the time anyway.

Overall Thoughts

I’ve thought this for a good while now but this show has been surpassed by Slammiversary as the most important of the year. I know Bound For Glory gets all of the attention and that’s perfectly fine, but this really doesn’t feel like the big showcase event. I’m sure the matches and action will be good as Impact Wrestling almost always delivers when they focus on their in-ring product, but I can’t really bring myself to get overly interested in the show.

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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