IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: April 21, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

It’s the first night of Rebellion and it’s taking place in an empty arena, just like all of the other big shows at this point. I’m not sure what we’re going to see due to how many people might not be available for the show and that could make for an interesting show. The company has done well in recent weeks so hopefully they can keep it up. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video talks about how everyone wants to be here and make their mark.

OVE vs. Tommy Dreamer/Rhino/???

It’s mystery partner time and it’s….Crazzy Steve? There’s a name I haven’t thought of in a long time but it’s better than some ECW guy staggering out there. Josh: “How cool is it to see Crazzy Steve back in Impact Wrestling?” Not all that much really as he wasn’t that big of a deal. Dreamer and Jake Crist trade standing switches to start before the former rolls out of a wristlock. Jake takes him down and does a nipup before challenging Dreamer to do the same.

It doesn’t work so Rhino and Steve come in to help him with one, because Dreamer is a legend you see and we need him to do his comedy spots to help make America feel better. Steve and Madman Fulton come in but Steve isn’t THAT crazzy, meaning it’s off to Rhino instead. Some forearms knock Fulton over to the corner for the tag off to Dave, meaning Steve is willing to fight for a change.

We actually hear something about the Menagerie as Fulton chases Steve off and takes Rhino into the corner for shoulders to the ribs. A suplex is escaped though and it’s back to Dreamer to clean house. Everything breaks down (Rayne: “Does anyone in this match follow the rules?” Josh: “Nope.”) but it’s Dreamer getting taken into the wrong corner as things settle right back down.

Dreamer and Jake collide for a double knockdown and it’s back to Rhino vs. Dave. A running shoulder in the corner and a belly to belly gets two on Dave, meaning everything breaks down for real. Fulton throws Jake over the top onto Dreamer but Rhino Gores Dave for the pin at 9:33.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t very good but, as usual, the old guys beat the young ones for the sake of keeping up with tradition. I understand the story of OVE being lost without Sami Callihan, but there was no one else available to beat them but Dreamer, Rhino and whoever they could find? I’m sure Dreamer does a lot of good stuff for the company behind the scenes. I just don’t get why he needs to do so much in front of the scenes.

Josh and Madison run down the card.

Tessa Blanchard and Eddie Edwards aren’t here tonight so we get an interview with Eddie, who is sitting in front of a lot of shoes. It was a hard decision to not come to the show but he couldn’t put his family in that kind of a risk. Elgin is going to brag but he should know deep down what kind of wrestler Eddie is.

Elgin talks about becoming Ring of Honor World Champion but that wasn’t enough. Neither was beating Kenny Omega in New Japan. Now he wants more and wants to be at the top of the list of Impact Wrestling World Champions. Tessa is claiming to be stuck in Mexico but the truth is she’s scared. She was ready for the shallow end but tried to dive into the deep end. Elgin is becoming World Champion.

Rascalz vs. XXXL vs. Fallah Bahh/TJP

Dez and TJP start things off with a technical exchange and it’s TJP taking him to the mat with a headlock. A cross armbreaker is broken up in a hurry so Dez scores with a dropkick. The Octopus cuts off Dez’s tag attempt but Wentz comes in for the save, including a parade of superkicks. Something close to a Last Chancery sends TJP over to the ropes so some strikes put him down again. Bahh makes a save and we take a break.

Back with Larry and Bahh slugging it out and a spinebuster giving Larry two. Acey comes in for a double shoulder to drop Bahh as the big man double teaming continues. Larry grabs the chinlock with TJP making a save, earning himself a big shove from Acey. That lets Bahh come back with a spinning belly to belly and some running shots in the corner.

We take another break and come back again with Larry and Bahh slugging it out again until Bahh hits a Samoan drop. Everything breaks down and the Rascalz start the rapid fire kicks to the big guys. Acey accidentally charges into Larry in the corner but Larry is back up to drop TJP. Acey pounds a bunch of people, including Dez to give Larry two. A low bridge puts Acey on the floor though and it’s time for some superkicks into a springboard cutter on Larry. The Final Flash gives Dez the pin at 14:01.

Rating: C+. As usual, these matches are only going to be so good. They’re limited in what they can put together with six people in there and no personal reasons for them to be fighting. It worked well enough though and it’s nice to see the Rascalz get a win for a change. Nothing that hasn’t been done before but it was good enough.

We get a message from the North, who aren’t worried about being in Canada because it’s like an extended vacation in the best country in the world. They’re going to find Canadian challengers and defend these titles as only they can.

Rich Swann is here to support Willie Mack’s shot at the X-Division Title. Swann says don’t worry about the Tag Team Titles because Mack has worked long and hard to get here. Go get the title.

We recap the X-Division Title match. With Swann injured, Mack went after the X-Division Title and became #1 contender. Champion Ace Austin had Swann beaten up but he’s here anyway as Mack gets his title shot.

X-Division Title: Willie Mack vs. Ace Austin

Mack is challenging and Austin takes his time adjusting his gear to start. The stall continues with Austin bailing to the floor a few times, followed by a right hand to send him outside again. We get started properly with Austin grabbing a rollup and bailing again, only to have Mack follow him this time. Austin gets sent into the barricade but avoids the reverse Cannonball back inside.

That means Mack gets tied up in the Tree of Woe for some stomping to the ribs but Mack reverses a high crossbody into a Samoan drop. The standing moonsault connects and Mack pounds away even more as the aggression is starting to come out. Austin knees him in the face for two as things slow down a bit. Trouble in Paradise sends Mack into the corner but a springboard hurricanrana is countered with a sitout powerbomb.

One heck of a forearm puts Austin down as Josh and Madison bicker again, as only a married couple can. Now the reverse Cannonball connects but the Stunner is countered. The Fold gives Austin two and it’s his turn to be ticked off. Another Fold is countered into a pop up cutter for another near fall and Josh can’t believe it.

Mack goes up for the Six Star but Austin goes to the corner….so it’s a Coast to Coast to show off even more. Now the Six Star misses so Ace goes up and crotches Mack for trying to pull him down. Mack hits something like a Stunner on the top (that didn’t really work) to send Austin flying, setting up the Six Star for the pin and the title at 13:30.

Rating: B-. I like both of these guys so this was a fun one. They needed to switch the title as Mack has been built up for so long now that he had to win something eventually. Austin is going to be fine and it wouldn’t shock me to see him move towards the World Title scene. He was a great X Division Champion and it should be a bright future for him.

Swann comes out to celebrate with Mack.

Post match, Mack makes sure that this is cool with Swann, who insists that everything is ok. Johnny Swinger comes in to say that the Mack N Pack Connection will live on in the fans’ hearts forever. He could use a title shot, but for now they can go hunt for rats. Swann and Mack don’t look impressed as Swinger goes to get the Cadillac.

We recap Kylie Rae vs. Kiera Hogan. Kylie is happy to be here and Kiera isn’t happy with that.

Kylie Rae vs. Kiera Hogan

Kylie makes sure to fold her shirt properly before throwing it outside. Kiera isn’t pleased and gets taken down into a quick STF (Smile to the Finish) attempt. That means a trip to the rope as commentary talks about Kiera and the smoke. Kylie pulls her face first into the middle turnbuckle and stomps away on Kiera’s back. The Kylie Special is broken up and Kiera plants her down for two. A kick to the back gets two more and we take a break.

Back with Kylie missing a charge into the corner as we get a Taylor Wilde reference. Kiera’s chinlock doesn’t last long so she goes with some running forearms instead. Kylie gets in a superkick and an exchange of superkicks put them both down. They slug it out from their knees with Kylie getting the better of it and another superkick gives Kylie two. Kiera kicks her in the head for two more but Kylie gets in a whip to the corner. Now the Cannonball can connect for two so Kiera is back up and pounding away. That just earns her the Smile to the Finish for the tap at 9:25.

Rating: C. This was Kylie’s big time debut and it was fine enough for what it was. Kylie is someone who could be a more serious happy Bayley character and having her beat a low level bully like Kiera was a good start. It was the first of many steps though and that’s a fine way to get going.

Commentary runs down next week’s card.

We recap Sami Callihan vs. Ken Shamrock. Various videos and graphics labeled ICU had been popped up, eventually being revealed as being Sami’s doing. Sami is now a hacker and says he is the real World’s Most Dangerous Man, setting up a feud with Shamrock. A fireball to Shamrock’s face didn’t hurt either.

Ken Shamrock vs. Sami Callihan

Unsanctioned, meaning anything goes. The fight starts on the floor with Sami hitting a suplex to take over early on. Shamrock is whipped into the barricade but it just seems to wake him up. That means a posting for Sami and Shamrock through him through the barricade. Shamrock goes to the stage for a running dive (must have been all of three feet) to drop Callihan again.

They go to the back and we take a break, meaning it’s cinematic time. Sami gets in a cheap shot with a trashcan lid but a low blow cuts him down. Shamrock hammers away with rights and lefts but here’s OVE to jump him from behind. They hold Shamrock for Sami….who hits the three of them with a pipe. We get some the Good, the Bad and the Ugly style music as they head outside to finish this. Sami sends him into a production truck and grabs a sleeper, only to get thrown down. The ankle lock knocks Sami out at 11:02.

Rating: D+. It started out well and then came down hard in a bad way. At the end of the day, it was a match designed to hide Shamrock’s weaknesses and the camera work was the usually weird stuff. Then you have Sami turn on OVE, which should be a big deal. That’s all well and good, but then he loses like that? For the life of me I don’t get why you would go with Shamrock here, especially after Sami had the big new character. Then again, it wouldn’t be Impact without some head scratching results.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling was good and the title change helped, but going with Dreamer, Rhino and Shamrock getting wins makes my head hurt. You have young names who could do something around here but they lose to the old guys. Shamrock might be one thing, but Rhino and Dreamer? In 2020? Come on already. Not a bad show at all, though it had two bad spots holding it back.

Results

Tommy Dreamer/Rhino/Crazzy Steve b. OVE – Gore to Dave

Rascalz b. XXXL and TJP/Fallah Bahh – Final Flash to Larry

Willie Mack b. Ace Austin – Six Star Frog Splash

Kylie Rae b. Kiera Hogan – Smile to the Finish

Ken Shamrock b. Sami Callihan – Ankle lock

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Sacrifice
Date: February 22, 2020
Location: Davis Arena, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Lo Brown

It’s a special event as we are in one of the most famous arenas in all of wrestling. This is the home of Ohio Valley Wrestling and this time around we are going to be seeing a co-promoted show between OVW and Impact Wrestling. The main event is X-Division Champion Ace Austin vs. World Champion Tessa Blanchard in a non-title match, which is kind of a weird way to go. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: AJ Daniels vs. D’Mone Solavino

Solavino has big black wings and AJ, who has no music, is from the Outer Space District. Some shoulders put Daniels down to start but he’s back up with leapfrogs and a dropkick. Solavino’s suplex is countered into a small package for two but he’s back with a backbreaker. A belly to back suplex gets two but Daniels kicks him in the face and hits a slingshot corkscrew splash for two. An Angle Slam gets two on Daniels but he knocks Solavino off the top, setting up a 450 for the pin at 5:23.

Rating: C-. This was a good example of two young guys getting to go out there and fly around the ring for a little bit. It wasn’t exactly high quality but the 450 looked good and it’s nice to see two younger guys getting a chance like this. They were probably both on the biggest show of their career to this point so it was completely acceptable for what it was.

Pre-Show: Max The Impaler vs. Cali Young

Cali is a rather ditsy blonde who is running for President (along with her campaign manager DL3) and LOVES AMERICA. On the other hand, Max seems inspired by her Mad namesake. Cali ducks some clotheslines to start and then bounces off of Max. A running shoulder in the corner crushes Cali again, meaning it’s time for a DL3 distraction.

This goes as badly as you would expect as Cali’s jumping choke is flipped over without much effort. Another distraction lets Cali get in a chop block but the good leg kicks her away. DL3 chokes from the floor but Max easily suplexes Cali down. Max beats up DL3 again and hits a spear for the pin at 4:14.

Rating: D+. Just a squash here as Cali didn’t get to go into her full shtick with the patriotism. She got to do it last night though and that got her some extra attention as well. Max felt your local monster, which is fine enough but it’s not something that is exactly breaking the mold.

The opening video is a pretty standard series of shots of people involved.

Rohit Raju vs. Corey Storm

Storm is an OVW regular. Raju takes him into the corner to start but runs into an atomic drop. There’s a dropkick to put Raju in the corner and a springboard kick to the face gets two. Back up and Raju slugs away, setting up a quick fisherman’s buster for two of his own. We hit the chinlock but Storm jawbreaks his way to freedom and kicks him down for two. Something like a springboard Codebreaker, followed by a basement superkick. Raju knees him in the face though and nails a Cannonball in the corner. A top rope double stomp to the back finishes Storm at 6:29.

Rating: C. Completely competent match here and a fine enough way to set things up for the rest of the night. Storm is someone with some potential and while I’m not big on Raju in the slightest, he is a lot better when he’s not doing the Desi Hit Squad stuff. Just have him out there as a wrestler in trunks and let him do his thing. It works a lot better that way, as it did here.

Impact Tag Team Titles: Rascalz vs. The North

The Rascalz (Trey and Wentz) are challenging here. Alexander sends Trey into the corner to start so it’s off to Wentz, who takes Alexander down. That doesn’t go anywhere for him as Alexander hits a quick toss as the Rascalz can’t get anything going. Some chops in the corner work a bit better for Wentz and a running dropkick gets two. Page gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and it’s Wentz in trouble again.

A rather delayed suplex gives Alexander two more but Wentz rolls underneath a double clothesline and brings in Trey…who gets blasted by a big boot to give Page two. The chinlock goes on and back to back backbreakers keep Trey in trouble. Trey comes back with some rapid fire chops to Alexander, earning himself a suplex right back into the champs’ corner. A Regal Roll out of the corner gives Alexander two and we get the handoff delayed suplex, minus the actual suplex as Trey escapes.

Trey grabs a neckbreaker and the hot tag brings in Wentz to clean house. Wentz’s slingshot Codebreaker gets two on Page as everything breaks down. Alexander throws Trey into Wentz for two and Page is stunned by the kickout. Wentz fights back but gets caught in a tilt-a-whirl faceplant. He’s back up with a Canadian Destroyer for two on Alexander.

The champs are sent into each other and it’s back to Trey, who gets caught with a double crucifix bomb for two. A Backstabber into a Swanton hits Page but Alexander is up to cut Wentz off. The referee is bumped and it’s a 619 in the corner to Alexander. Cue Rohit Raju to shove Trey off the top though, setting up the Northern Assault for the pin to retain at 20:20.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but they were rolling by the end. The teams have some great chemistry together but the Rascalz have lost to the champs so many times now that it’s becoming hard to believe that they are a real threat. It might be time for them to move on, but at least the matches are still good.

Ace Austin has an interview in the back where he interviews the Steiner Math promo. Well at least in theory he does, as the audio keeps cutting in and out.

Rae Lyn vs. Kiera Hogan

Hogan takes her into the corner to start but Lyn switches places and slaps Hogan on the chest. They fight over wrist control until an exchange of shoulders has no effect. Dropkicks have the same result and it’s time for a pose/dance off. Lyn armdrags her down a few times so Hogan hits an elbow to the face. Choking in the ropes ensues and we hit the chinlock to slow things down again.

Back up and they trade kicks to the head for a double knockdown. Lyn’s legsweep gets two and a missile dropkick is good for the same. A spinning kick to the face gets two more, followed by the fisherman’s suplex for the fourth two in a row. They slug it out until Hogan kicks her in the face and finishes with a fisherman’s neckbreaker at 11:05.

Rating: C-. Just a match here and there is nothing wrong with an Impact wrestler defeating someone who hasn’t been around OVW very long. It wasn’t anything great and they went with a little too much silliness, but at least they had a passable match with both women getting in some time. Lyn has potential but needs some more ring time and something to get people to pay attention.

Johnny Swinger still tries to get Willie Mack on his side and is shut down again. Swinger can’t even give him a VHS.

Jay Bradley vs. Willie Mack

Bradley jumps him before the bell but Mack is up and slugging away. That earns him a beatdown into the corner but a Vader Bomb elbow misses. A dropkick puts Bradley on the floor and that means a big dive to take him down again. Back in and Bradley hits a running boot in the corner for two while shouting about this being his house. Forearms to the chest put Mack down again and we hit the chinlock. Mack fights up again and strikes away, setting up the standing moonsault for two. Back to back Stunners set up the Six Star for the pin at 6:33.

Rating: C. Totally acceptable wrestling here with Mack getting to survive a monster like Bradley and come out with a win. Mack is someone they’re ready to push to the moon as soon as they get a chance. On the other hand you have Bradley, who was in Impact for a little while and then wound up back here. I can understand that as while he is good, he’s not exactly doing anything that hasn’t been done better before.

OVE is ready to destroy Acey Romeo and Larry D.

OVE vs. Larry D./Acey Romero

It’s Mad Man Fulton/Dave Crist with Jake Crist in their corner here. Hold on though as Dave gets caught with some brass knuckles so we need a delay before we get started. Fulton headlocks Larry to start and gets clotheslined to the floor in a hurry. Dave comes in and gets headbutted into the corner, setting up a big running dropkick to make it worse. It’s off to Acey to sit on Dave’s chest but Fulton sweeps the leg to take over.

A hard clothesline drops Acey again and the stomping begins. Dave adds a running shot to the knee in the corner to put Acey in even more trouble. Acey tries to fight out of the corner and gets forearmed down in a hurry. An exchange of clotheslines doesn’t get Acey or Fulton very far until Acey hits him in the back of the head and dives over for the tag to Larry. Everything breaks down as Larry beats up Dave, including a sitout powerbomb for two.

Fulton gets crushed in the middle and a Rock Bottom puts him down as well. Acey’s big elbow gets two more and Fulton is knocked to the floor. That means the huge dive from Acey, who then goes up for a moonsault. Thankfully Dave breaks that up so Fulton tries a Samoan drop, which is broken up by Larry. The big right hand from Larry sets up the Pounce from Acey to finish Dave at 13:45.

Rating: D+. I get the idea of Acey and Larry but they’re not exactly thrilling so far. It’s one of those things where they lose a lot of steam after you watch it once, meaning there isn’t much else to see. OVE losing again isn’t going to make that much of a difference for them, but if Acey and Larry are going to mean anything they have to win something like this every now and then.

Post match OVE jumps the two of them but Daga runs in for the save. As luck would have it, this is next.

Daga vs. Jake Crist

They strike it out in a hurry until Jake is sent into the corner. A crossbody puts Jake on the floor and Daga drops him with a suicide dive for a bonus. The cannonball off the apron takes Jake down again but he superkicks Daga out of the air for two. What looked like a keylock has Daga in trouble and Jake bends the arm around the shoulder for a bonus.

A chop puts Daga down but he nips up and kicks Jake in the face. That just earns Daga another armbar, followed by a flipped over hammerlock (I can always appreciate mixing up the holds). Jake rakes the eyes and bends the arm around the rope before taking it outside. Daga grabs a DDT on the floor and it’s a high crossbody for two back inside. A gutwrench powerbomb gives Daga two more but Jake is right back with a super sunset bomb for the same.

They slug it out from their knees until Daga grabs a German suplex for two more. A belly to belly suplex sends Daga into the corner, followed by an exchange of kicks to the head, headbutts and clotheslines to knock them both down. Daga is up first and heads to the top, only to dive into a cutter for two. Crist is frustrated and pie faces him, earning himself a hurricanrana into the Tiger Driver 98 for the pin at 16:42.

Rating: B. This was a battle of two guys trading moves for sixteen moves and that was an entertaining use of time. It was a fun match and exactly what it should have been as both guys got to show off. The Crists continue to be one of the most talented teams in the company and Daga can have a good match against anyone. Good showcase for both guys here, as it should have been.

Moose is ready to destroy Rhino.

Johnny Swinger vs. Joey Ryan

Hold on though as we need to do the lollipop and oil deals before we’re ready to go. Swinger grabs the mic and says they’ve done this before and he’s not facing the love child of Freddie Mercury and Animal Steele. He has that videotape from earlier and is willing to give it to Ryan (including the match against Ray Stevens with a 23 minute and 17 second airplane spin) if Joey will lay down. Joey puts the tape in his trunks and lays down, allowing the bell to ring so he can small package Swinger for two.

The staredown is on and they shake hands, with Joey trying to make him touch it. That doesn’t work so Swinger tries an atomic drop, giving him the required knee pain. Ryan’s atomic drop works just fine and it’s Swinger getting caught in the ropes for some right hands. A cheap shot lets Swinger hit a middle rope ax handle for two and we hit a headscissor choke (Swinger: “YEAH DADDY!”).

Swinger grabs the sleeper for two arm drops but Ryan fights up for a collision. With Ryan down, Swinger falls head first onto it, allowing Ryan to hit a spinebuster for two. Ryan pulls out the lollipop but it goes into the referee’s mouth. That lets Swinger hit him with the tape for two but the Swinger Neckbreaker is countered, allowing Ryan to make him touch It. Sweet Tooth Music finishes Swinger at 7:29.

Rating: D+. This could have been worse as Swinger has gone from someone who made my eyes roll to one of the more entertaining people around here. Above all else, they’ve kept him firmly at the comedy level and that makes him a lot more tolerable. Not a good match or anything, but it served its purpose.

We look at Jordynne Grace winning the Knockouts Title.

Knockouts Title: Havok vs. Jordynne Grace

Grace is defending and gets driven straight into the corner to start. Some corner splashes make it worse and Havok screams a lot. Grace fights back with a quickly broken sleeper but she fights out of a suplex out of the corner. A Vader Bomb gives Grace two and there’s a hanging DDT to plant Havok again. The champ is back with another sleeper, which has about as much success as the first. A chokeslam gives Havok two but she has to break a third sleeper by falling back. Graces grabs it again and wraps the legs, which is enough to knock Havok out to retain at 5:37.

Rating: C. It was short but I liked the story here as it wasn’t something you would expect from a powerhouse like Grace. They had a little something with Grace going after the sleeper over and over and FINALLY winning with it, which isn’t what you usually see. Not a great match or anything but good storytelling.

Tessa Blanchard says she’ll win tonight and then she’s taking the X-Division Title.

Chris Harris is here.

Moose vs. Rhino

They slug it out to start until Rhino plants him down with a spinebuster. Moose bails to the floor and is ready to walk out but Rhino drags him back through the entrance. Back in and Moose hits him low for the DQ at 2:33. I’m thinking we’re not done here.

Indeed Rhino wants it to be No DQ.

Moose vs. Rhino

No DQ and Moose slowly stomps him down before grabbing the chair. That winds up bouncing off of the top rope and onto Moose’s head so they go outside. Moose yells at Chris Harris but goes for a lap around the ring, earning himself a trashcan lid to the head. Back in and Moose hits another low blow so it’s staple gun time. That earns him a staple to the crotch but Moose is fine enough to hit a running dropkick in the corner.

With the staple not working, it’s time for a hammer, but Rhino spinebusters him to avoid a bad case of death. A hammer shot to the foot puts Rhino down again so Moose throws in a bunch of chairs to unload. He takes too long going up though and gets superplexed down onto the chairs. The fans request and receive their table but a discus lariat blocks the Gore attempt. Moose charges into a chair in the corner but it’s No Jackhammer Needed through the table to finish Rhino at 11:48.

Rating: D. I’m so tired of seeing this same match over and over again. How many times can you see the same hardcore brawl? The hammer to the foot was the only fresh spot in there and it’s not like it was some game changer. Just something they’ve done far too many times lately (or not lately for that matter) and I don’t need to see it ever again.

ICU graphic.

Ace Austin vs. Tessa Blanchard

Non-title. Ace stalls a bit by adjusting his gear for a good bit both before and after the bell. They stare each other down for over a minute to start until Austin dances a bit. That earns him a heck of a slap to the face but Tessa charges into a hiptoss into the corner. A dragon sleeper slows Tessa down and Ace puts a knee on the back of her neck for a bonus. Some stomps to the back set up a half crab but the rope is reached.

Tessa gets in a running knee but a kick to the head puts her outside in a hurry. Ace follows her outside and shrugs off the forearms to the head so he can kick Tessa in the face. The dive off the apron is blocked but so is Tessa’s suicide dive as she just can’t get anything going so far. A hanging swinging neckbreaker gives Ace two and we hit a seated armbar. That lets Ace slice the fingers with the playing card for two which is quite the painful way to go.

Ace goes up but gets pulled down with Magnum from the middle rope so Tessa can snap off a hurricanrana with a bunch of screaming included. A cutter sends Ace outside and the triple suicide dives connect. Back in and the Buzzsaw DDT is countered into a northern lights suplex. Tessa snaps off a standing Sliced Bread #2 but still can’t hit the DDT. Instead she goes up, only to dive into a spinning kick to the face for two.

A springboard spinning Fameasser gets two more, meaning Tessa can scream again. Tessa snaps off a tornado DDT and a Code Red for her own two but Magnum is blocked. Ace can’t superplex her but Tessa can’t super DDT him. Instead she hits the Buzzsaw onto the turnbuckle (El Generico would be proud) for the pin at 18:31.

Rating: B. They built this up as a big match and it felt like one, so they hit the important idea. Tessa’s screams were a bit much but it was a nice story with Tessa never giving up and trying to hit one of her big moves to get the win. Ace isn’t going to be hurt by losing to the World Champion and Tessa gets an important win. Good stuff here, and it felt like an important main event.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a back and forth show with the good matches being very good but the bad matches bringing them back down. What brings the show up though is how much longer the good stuff was than the bad, and that made this a solid show. For an online special, it was an awesome night and worth checking out, though you might want to fast forward a few things.

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: April 7, 2020
Location: Coca Cola Roxy, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

Things are getting interesting around here as they are running out of original content but apparently are going to do a big empty arena taping soon enough. As a result, we could be seeing a lot of Rebellion, though not quite in the same situation. I’ll take what I can get though as they’ve made me want to see the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s an annoyed Willie Mack for a chat. He calls out Ace Austin and Reno Scum for attacking the injured Rich Swann last week so come out here and try that on him. Cue Reno Scum so Mack says let’s do this.

Willie Mack vs. Reno Scum

The brawl is on in a hurry with Mack sending Thornstowe outside but the numbers game takes him down early on. Legend drops Thornstowe down in a legdrop for two and we get the Pit Stop for a bonus. Thornstowe gets two off a standing moonsault and we hit the neck crank. Make that a chinlock, which is totally different you see. Mack raises his knees to block a splash so it’s off to Legend, who gets knocked down as well. The double teaming takes Mack down again but he sends the two of them into each other in the corner. A Stunner drops Legend and the Six Star Frog Splash finishes Legend at 5:51.

Rating: D+. There was only going to be so much here and Mack beating the team is the logical way to go. Scum is little more than lackeys and Mack is someone who could become a major player around here with his charisma alone. The fact that he can go in the ring helps, but you’re only going to get so much out of a handicap match.

Post match Ace Austin comes in and takes Mack down.

Show rundown.

Kylie Rae runs into Gail Kim and, believe it or not, is very excited. Then she runs into Susie and they like each others bows. Kiera Hogan comes in to say there are no friends around here. Kiera laughs off the idea that Rae is facing her at some point and gets a match with Susie this week. Rae could be rather entertaining around here.

Daga vs. Chris Bey

Daga headlocks him down to start for all of half a second before Bey is back up. They trade some fast paced rollups for two each and that means an early standoff. A headscissors into a dropkick puts Bey on the floor but he’s able to break up a rope walk armdrag. Bey kicks at the chest and hits a backdrop to send us to a break. Back with Daga still in trouble and having to fight out of an abdominal stretch.

A bodyscissors holds him down a little longer and Bey switches into a sleeper. That’s countered with a flip over the back and Daga scores with a gutwrench powerbomb for two. They head outside with Daga hitting an enziguri, followed by a big running dive off the ramp (though he seems to switch whatever he was doing in the air). Back in and Daga tries a sunset flip but Bey sits down and grabs the rope for the cheating pin at 14:23.

Rating: B-. This was your weekly future stars showcase match and that’s a good idea. Impact has a lot of young talented people and putting them out there for fifteen minutes a week is going to do a lot of positive things for the show. If they had figured this out years ago, who knows where we might be around here.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Xscape match from Lockdown 2011.

John E. Bravo is covered in pads so Taya Valkyrie can beat the heck out of him with a chair in preparation for Full Metal Mayhem against Jordynne Grace. He tries to hide behind the stuffed dog but that just makes her angrier. Bravo says it’s not worth it but Taya insists the Knockouts Title IS worth it.

The Deaners, TJP/Fallah Bahh and XXXL join the Rascalz in the Treehouse but they bring food and beer by mistake. Trey and Wentz leave.

Madison Rayne vs. Havok

Josh is on commentary alone. Rayne tries to avoid her a few times to start so Havok knocks her into the corner. A clothesline drops Rayne again and there’s a running boot in the corner. Rayne’s strikes work a bit better the second time but stops to pose, giving us the Kurt Angle/Big Show “What’s behind me?” spot. More forearms and a Tombstone finish Rayne at 3:37.

Rating: D+. Squash match here with Havok continuing to be a monster. Havok is someone who they could push for a long time to come as you can always use someone like her. At the same time you have Rayne, who is one of the more consistent people around. This was nothing to see though, which is kind of the point here.

Tessa Blanchard and Eddie Edwards aren’t exactly on the same page before tonight’s Tag Team Title match but Eddie’s offer to be a team is on the table.

We get a sitdown interview with Ken Shamrock, who has had to get treatment on his eyes thanks to Sami Callihan’s fireball. He can see though and he’s not cool with Sami trying to injure someone and take food off of his table. They’ll have a contract signing next week for Rebellion. Shamrock knows he has to keep his composure so he can get to Sami on April 19. The lights start to flicker and Shamrock storms off to find Sami.

OVE vs. Rhino/Tommy Dreamer

Rayne is back on commentary and Mad Man Fulton is here with OVE. Dreamer and Dave fight over wrist control to start but it’s off to Jake and Rhino in a hurry. A shoulder runs Jake over and it’s back to Dreamer for a double elbow to the jaw. Fulton offers a little interference though and that means an ejection. Jake kicks Dreamer in the face and the stomping in the corner begins. The chinlock goes on, followed by a double suplex for two. Dreamer catches Dave on top with a superplex though and it’s back to Rhino to clean house. Jake kicks Dreamer in the face over and over but walks into a Gore for the pin at 6:45.

Rating: D+. Yeah sure. I’m not even able to get annoyed at this stuff anymore because the ECW guys are going to be around forever no matter what and who cares if they’re beating former Tag Team Champions clean? Yeah the story is that OVE is lost without Sami, but it’s Rhino and Tommy Dreamer. Was there NO ONE else available here? The Deaners or two popcorn vendors?

Post match Fulton comes back in to beat down the ECW guys.

Rosemary is still at the bar and runs into Johnny Swinger, who hits on her as only he can. The Young Bucks are mentioned and Johnny promises to bring M. Jackson next week. We’re in Atlanta so it’s going to be Mike Jackson isn’t it?

Kiera Hogan vs. Susie

Susie doesn’t like being shoved in the face to start and grabs a bulldog for two. Hogan knocks her into the corner and poses a bit, followed by a running elbow for two more. The cravate doesn’t last long and a fisherman’s neckbreaker is broken up as well. It turns into more of a catfight in the corner until Hogan superkicks her for another near fall. Susie catches her on top and snaps off a hurricanrana. That just earns her a kick to the head and a fisherman’s neckbreaker finishes Susie at 5:03.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this one and they didn’t have the best chemistry in the world. That being said, it kind of makes sense to have Susie lose because she’s not in her full on evil form. Hogan is someone who has always had potential and that is something they could use in the division. Just push her instead of all the starts and stops.

Michael Elgin comes in to see the North and fires them up for the title defense.

Tenille Dashwood is ready to beat Taya Valkyrie next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Rebellion rundown, with Kiera Hogan vs. Kylie Rae added to the card.

Tag Team Titles: Eddie Edwards/Tessa Blanchard vs. The North

The North is defending. Eddie and Page start things off and with nothing going on there, it’s off to Tessa vs. Alexander. Tessa can’t tornado DDT him and gets thrown down, earning Alexander a clothesline to the floor. A Page distraction lets Alexander get in a cheap shot on Tessa but it’s off to Eddie as the pace picks up. Alexander gets sent outside for a dive from Eddie, followed by the big dive from the top to drop everyone as we take a break.

Back with Eddie fighting out of the corner but Page pushes him off the top to take over again. Alexander whips him into a shoulder as Tessa is getting annoyed on the apron. Eddie flips out of a double belly to back suplex and hurricanranas them both at once, allowing the hot tag to Tessa. House is cleaned with back to back suicide dives onto the champs and a cutter gets two on Page.

That earns her a cutter into a wheelbarrow suplex but Eddie saves her from a double suplex. Everything breaks down and Tessa hits another cutter on Alexander to put everyone down. Eddie suplexes Alexander and Tessa low bridges Page to the floor. Magnum is blocked though and a double spinebuster gets two on Tessa with Eddie making the save. The double Neutralizer is broken up and Tessa hits a tornado DDT on Page. Tessa goes over to the corner but won’t make the hot tag to Eddie. Instead the North sends her into Eddie and Northern Assault finishes Tessa at 17:35.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a match and the ending made sense. Tessa isn’t going to trust anyone in the company at the moment and that fits her personality to the letter. It helps move forward with Eddie vs. Tessa at the pay per view, though the North needs some challengers in the near future if they’re going to do something at Rebellion.

Post match the argument is on and Eddie walks away. Cue Michael Elgin to lay out Tessa as Eddie watches from the ramp. Elgin holds up the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Two good matches and a nice build towards the pay per view is enough to give this one a solid grade. I’m not sure what they’re going to do with the pay per view changed around but an empty arena version could be something to see. I want to see the show though and that’s a good sign of what they’re doing at the moment. The card still has some holes but maybe we get those figured out next week, along with where the show is actually taking place.

Results

Willie Mack b. Reno Scum – Six Star Frog Splash to Luster the Legend

Chris Bey b. Daga – Rollup with a grab of the rope

Havok b. Madison Rayne – Tombstone

Tommy Dreamer/Rhino b. OVE – Gore to Jake

Kiera Hogan b. Susie – Fisherman’s neckbreaker

The North b. Eddie Edwards/Tessa Blanchard – Northern Aggression to Blanchard

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

TNA Special
Date: March 31, 2020
Location: Coca Cola Roxy, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: David Penzer, Scott D’Amore

Now this is interesting as the idea is to help get things ready for the There’s No Place Like Home special. However, the show, which was scheduled to air over Wrestlemania weekend, has been canceled. Therefore we have this as a stand alone show, which could go a bunch of ways. Let’s get to it.

We get the old TNA Cross The Line opening.

Here’s a video of TNA highlights, featuring the awesome voiceover guy they always had. There was a ton of talent around here and they had some good moments, which show you just how sad it is that they wound up being such a disappointment.

We get a quick welcome from commentary and the old TNA World Title is in front of them. I’ve picked that thing up before and it took me two hands to hold it.

Hernandez vs. Chase Stevens

Hernandez runs him over to start but it’s too early for the Boarder Toss. Instead Stevens snaps off a German suplex as commentary hypes up Friday’s pay per view. Stevens manages a hurricanrana for two, only to get caught in the Boarder Toss for the fast pin at 2:06.

Pay per view hype/show rundown.

Video on the Knockouts. They really were treated as a big deal way before any other major women’s division so well done there.

Gail Kim is excited about the show.

Video Ultimate X, which was going to return at the pay per view. Unlike King of the Mountain, this one didn’t seem far more complicated than it needed to be and felt like a great signature match.

Ace Austin is ready to defend the X-Division Title in an Ultimate X match. Austin risked it all in Ultimate X before but it was before he hit his stride. Now there’s nothing he won’t do to retain his title. He knows a thing or two about nonstop action you see.

Johnny Swinger/Kid Kash vs. Suicide/Manik

Kash and Swinger hammer away to start but it’s a double dropkick from Manik (who is clearly TJP) taking over. Poetry In Motion hits Swinger and we take an early break. Back with Manik snapping Swinger’s arm but it’s off to Kash to take over in the corner. Swinger’s elbow to the face gets two and a double shoulder drops Manik again.

Kash forearms him in the face over and over for two more but Manik finally rolls over for the hot tag to Suicide. That means superkicks can abound and an enziguri gets two on Swinger. Everything breaks down and it’s Manik and Suicide doing the stereo Andrade posing in the ropes. A pair of dives take out Kash and Swinger again, setting up a high crossbody to Kash. Suicide’s Swanton finishes at 10:24.

Rating: C-. This went a bit longer than it needed to but it was fine as a callback to some of the previous generations. That being said, of all the people they could do something with, they picked Manik? It’s not like he was anything significant in the company but it wasn’t a bad match or anything.

A bunch of wrestlers are asked about the King of the Mountain match and no one knows the rules. Willie Mack got it but Tessa Blanchard thought it was a giant rib (fair enough). Eh kind of funny, mainly because it’s true.

Here’s Scott Steiner for an uncensored promo. He’s the reason why T&A shows up for TNA because he’s not part of the PC culture. Steiner is going to be in a four way tag match with Petey Williams as his partner so let’s hit that math promo. Cue Joey Ryan to interrupt and say he won’t talk about T&A. He can do the math though and knows they add up to something inappropriate. The reality is that Steiner should have been canceled a long time ago, just like TNA. We need to get rid of Big Papa Pump and get Big Proper Pump. Ryan is shoved to the floor.

Raven talks about the Clockwork Orange House of Fun match and how it is only funny when someone gets hurt. Wouldn’t Monster’s Ball make a lot more sense here?

Rhino vs. Mad Man Fulton

This is a regular match before they have the Clockwork Orange match at the pay per view. They fight to the floor early on with Fulton getting the better of things. Back in and Fulton chokes a bit, followed by the chinlock, allowing commentary to plug Impact Plus. Fulton misses a top rope headbutt and the comeback is on, including the belly to belly. The Gore is loaded up but OVE runs in for the DQ at 3:52.

Rating: D+. Just a match here and it’s kind of weird to build up a hardcore match with a regular match, even if Sabu was going to be involved on Friday. The match wasn’t terrible, but these two not having weapons as a crutch hurt things a lot. Not the worst, but I’ve seen something similar far too many times now.

Post match the beatdown is on but Tommy Dreamer runs in for the save. Yes, Dreamer, who was mainly part of TNA as part of a nostalgia run for ECW, is now part of the entire company’s nostalgia run. Does this surprise anyone? Anyway the lights go out and it’s Raven making the save. At least that’s someone who was a big success in TNA. Raven takes Dreamer out for old times’ sake. Raven leaves so here is almost everyone else on the show so far with Kash hitting a big flip dive. Hernandez hits an even bigger dive to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. What a weird little show. The idea here was to hype up Friday and they did that to a degree, but it was also kind of a look back at everything great that TNA did. While you can argue over how smart it is to have a nostalgia show for something that was such a mess at times, there is definitely a history there. This show didn’t really make me care about Friday’s show, but it did make me miss TNA a little so….well done? Maybe?

Results

Hernandez b. Chase Stevens – Boarder Toss

Manik/Suicide b. Kid Kash/Johnny Swinger – Swanton to Kash

Rhino b. Mad Man Fulton via DQ when OVE interfered

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: March 24, 2020
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

It’s the final night in Las Vegas before we head over towards Atlanta for what is now the last set of TV tapings available. We’re on the way towards Rebellion and that likely means a lot more “show is canceled” graphics. It’s not like they have much of a better choice so it’s as good as they can do here. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Sami Callihan being revealed as the Realityislost hacker and attacking Ken Shamrock, who had just been announced as the newest Hall of Fame inductee.

Opening sequence.

Willie Mack vs. Chris Bey vs. Acey Romero vs. Daga vs. Rohit Raju vs. Jake Crist vs. Cousin Jake vs. Trey

One fall to a finish and the winner is the #1 contender to the X-Division Title. It’s a brawl to start (of course) and soon it’s Romero running over Bey and Crist on his own. A backsplash crushes Bey but a double missile dropkick puts Romero on the floor. That leaves Trey and Bey to trade missed dropkicks and it’s a quick standoff. Bey knocks Trey to the floor but gets crushed by Raju’s running splash in the corner.

Jake takes Bey’s place and hits a running shoulder to Raju in the corner as the one on one sequence continues. Mack slams Crist and the standing moonsault connects. Mack’s running flip dive takes out Jake and Crist, meaning it’s Daga and Trey going back inside. Bey joins them and gets powerbombed by Daga with Raju making the save. Daga and Raju miss each other a lot so Romero replaces Raju. That means Daga tries to slam him for some reason of general stupidity, leaving Romero to go up top.

The Tower of Doom sends Romero crashing down and Daga’s top rope splash gets two. We go into the parade of strikes to the face until Trey ties up Crist’s legs and suplexes Bey at the same time. Raju makes the save but can’t tornado DDT Jake. Mack’s fireman’s carry spinebuster plants Jake instead but Daga grabs Mack in a northern lights suplex. The dives are on in a hurry but Crist breaks up Romero’s attempt. That just earns him a Pounce, setting up Romero’s big dive to take out everyone else. Back in and Jake spinebusters Crist, only to have Mack hit the Six Star Frog Splash for the pin at 10:44.

Rating: C+. There isn’t much else you can do in this kind of a match as it’s a bunch of insanity until one person finally gets the win. Mack going after Ace Austin could be interesting and it wasn’t like there was another realistic option, save for perhaps Daga. It was as good as it could have been and a nice way to start the show.

Dave Crist tries to fire up Mad Man Fulton. Jake runs in to say it’s time to get back on a winning streak. Sami Callihan is testing them you see, but Dave says no one has spoken to them in months. They won’t do the thumbs up, thumbs down because they’re waiting for Sami.

Announcers preview the show.

Moose vs. Chase Stevens

Fallout from last week’s backstage fight. Moose jumps him before the bell but No Jackhammer Needed hits the buckle. An ax kick gives Chase two and a powerslam is good for the same. Back up and No Jackhammer Needed finishes Stevens at 1:15.

Post match Moose beats him up a bit more, including some chair shots to the ribs. Moose loads up a Pillmanization of the face but Scott D’Amore comes in to say if Moose wants TNA he can turn around. Cue Suicide to take Moose out as I STILL can’t believe they want to relive the TNA days.

Rosemary is still at the bar and rants about spending two years extracting revenge from the dark side. Someone off camera says “Two years? That’s it?” and it’s….Raven. He doesn’t think much of two years of hatred. Take him for example: it’s been twenty years and sometimes he isn’t sure if he hates Tommy Dreamer or loves him. Raven describes it as “orgasmic” because it goes on forever. He can’t wait to be in the same nursing home as Dreamer so he can cut the bag on Dreamer’s IV.

Ace Austin and Reno Scum come up to Willie Mack in the back. Willie isn’t buying into the mind games because he’s taking the title. Johnny Swinger comes in to say that’s it for the Mack and Pack Connection, but the miz-arks really want to see the two of them fight for the X-Division Title. That’ll get him some rats.

Reno Scum vs. Rascalz

Dez and Wentz of course. A quick spinebuster plants Dez and it’s a catapult into a Death Valley Driver for a very early two. Dez gets sent into the corner before he can even take his hoodie off and there’s the Pit Stop to make it worse. A kick to the face allows the double tag to Wentz and Luster as the pace picks up. Everything breaks down and it’s Wentz being sent outside, leaving Dez to take a top rope Curb Stomp for the pin at 4:36.

Rating: D+. Just a nothing match here with Reno Scum continuing to offer almost nothing whatsoever, likely aside from working cheap. There have been very few moments where I’ve seen anything int hem and this was no exception. That being said, what the heck happened to the Rascalz? They were awesome when they came in and now they can barely ever win a match, even a clean loss like this to Reno Scum.

Another Tenille Dashwood video. Is there a point to these or are we just at the start of their version of Emmalina?

Flashback Moment of the Week: LAX beats Team 3D to win the vacant Tag Team Titles at Sacrifice 2008.

Joey Ryan gives something close to a PSA about keeping Katie Forbes safe from the Deaners.

The Deaners aren’t sure what it means to be canceled, or what toxic masculinity means.

Sami Callihan is in a small room and asks why he did what he did. Impact has made him wrestle Shamrock one on one on pay per view and that’s not cool. Shamrock was the World’s Most Dangerous Man but now that’s him, because he sees everything.

Dave Crist/Mad Man Fulton vs. Sabu/Rhino

Old School Rules and Super Genie is here with Sabu and Rhino. Dave and Sabu start things off with a clothesline sending Dave to the corner. It’s off to Fulton vs. Rhino as I try to figure out why we are having tags in a match under ECW rules. Everything breaks down in a hurry and they all wind up on the floor, with the fight heading to the ramp. A chair is dropped though and Fulton sends Rhino into the corner back inside.

Rhino fights back on Dave without too much trouble and hands it back to Sabu. That means a slam from Fulton and Crist yells at the referee over a near fall. Sabu is back up with a cutter and the hot tag brings in Rhino to clean house. Genie throws in a chair so Sabu can hit Fulton, setting up a dive to the floor. Dave hits Rhino low and grabs the chair, but stops to swing at the referee. That means a Gore from Rhino to pin Dave at 8:14.

Rating: D-. So they barely used the weapons, the match was sloppy, they stopped in the middle of the brawling segment, and then Rhino pinned Crist. I know Callis wants to keep his old buddies around and give them a payday but could they get something close to decent in the ring? Or beat up less important opponents?

Su Yung uses the coffin to go to the Undead Realm to face Havok. She finds some people tied up, James Mitchell, and Havok herself. Mitchell says Yung has to go so Havok grabs a crowbar. Yung has a sword and the fight is on with Yung choking with the noose. One of the chained up men breaks free and hits Yung with a pipe and various other things to keep her down….until she cuts his throat with the sword.

Havok saves Mitchell from the save fate but gets caught with the Mandible Claw. Mitchell stops them and says Yung has proven that she should have been with him the whole time. The minions come in to grab them both though and Mitchell sends them to the Wastelands, which look like a desert.

Tessa Blanchard/Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin/Taya Valkyrie

John E. Bravo is here with Elgin and Valkyrie. Eddie and Elgin start but Tessa wants to come in instead. That means it’s off to Tessa instead, with a quick leg trip taking Taya down. A spear drops Tessa as well, but she’s right back up to face Elgin. Some shots to Elgin’s knee slow him down and it’s off to Eddie, who has to slip out of a suplex attempt.

A Bravo distraction lets Taya pull Tessa off the apron and Elgin’s pop up powerslam gets two on Eddie. Back from a break with Eddie still in trouble but turning it into a slugout with Elgin. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets Eddie a breather and the hot tag brings in Tessa to clean house. Both men save their partners from getting slammed down but Tessa hurricanranas her way out of a superbomb. Eddie comes back in for the rapid fire chops to Elgin, followed by the overhead belly to belly to put him on the floor.

Bravo gets knocked off the apron and there are the double dives to take out the villains. A Codebreaker out of the corner into a tiger driver gets two on Elgin with Taya making the save. Eddie kicks Taya to the floor but Magnum is countered into a powerbomb onto Eddie’s back. Tessa is back up with a reverse hurricanrana and tornado DDT to Elgin but Elgin blasts Tessa down. The Elgin Bomb doesn’t work on Eddie, who strikes Elgin down instead. Taya’s distraction sets up the buckle bomb into the Elgin Bomb for the pin at Taya cuts Tessa off at 18:04.

Rating: B. Good, hard hitting match here as Impact has figured out how to do man vs. woman without it being hard to accept (granted having Tessa and Taya can make that a lot easier). This sets Elgin up as a monster going after the title at Rebellion and I’m not sure how that whole thing would have wound up. Odds are we’ll see the match at some point and I’m curious to see how it goes, so well done on that front.

We go back to the Wastelands….and Rosemary just happens to be there. She doesn’t care what Mitchell did to them and the alliance is formed. They wind up back in Mitchell’s lair, with Rosemary putting on sunglasses and going off on her own. Mitchell tells Havok and Yung that it was just a test and they can be a unit. Mitchell stabs him in the stomach with a dagger and Mitchell dies, only to wake up in Heaven with….a cat and Abyss? Mitchell: “Who booked this s***?”

Overall Rating: C+. This show worked out rather well with most of the show working out well. They did some good stuff to get rid of Mitchell (you knew that was going to be something zany) and it was an entertaining enough show. I’m not sure what they’re going to do in four weeks when we get done with what should have been the go home show for Rebellion. This was good though, and that’s what matters most at the moment.

Results

Willie Mack b. Cousin Jake, Trey, Daga, Acey Romero, Chris Bey, Rohit Raju and Jake Crist – Six Star Frog Splash to Jake

Moose b. Chase Stevens – No Jackhammer Needed

Reno Scum b. Rascalz – Top rope curb stomp to Trey

Rhino/Sabu b. Dave Crist/Mad Man Fulton – Gore to Crist

Michael Elgin/Taya Valkyrie b. Tessa Blanchard/Eddie Edwards – Elgin Bomb to Edwards

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: March 10, 2020
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

It’s a big showdown match this week as we have the fifth match in a best of five series between Eddie Edwards and Michael Elgin. The winner gets the World Title shot at Tessa Blanchard at Rebellion and that means we have something special tonight. You have to have a good main event like that so hopefully this one works. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Mad Man Fulton vs. Rhino

The Crists are at ringside….and get ejected early on for trying to interfere. With the two of them gone, Rhino shoulders him down and takes it to the floor for a ram into the apron. A clothesline hits the post though and Fulton sends him into the apron as well. Back in and Fulton pounds away in the corner, followed by a running shoulder to the ribs.

Rhino fights back up with some right hands to the head, only to get elbowed right back down for two. The chinlock (or cobra clutch double sugar hold according to Callis) goes on for a bit but a middle rope headbutt only hits mat. Rhino fights back up, avoids a clothesline and hits the Gore for the pin at 8:02.

Rating: D. This was missing on almost all counts as it was a bunch of slow pounding until the slightly more energized ending segment. They would have been better off having some kind of hardcore match because Rhino really wasn’t feeling all that energetic here. I’m hoping we have something other than Rhino fighting OVE.

Post match the Crists come back out and the beatdown is on….so SABU makes the save with a chair because ECW.

Chris Bey is coming.

Tessa Blanchard is ready to face either Eddie Edwards or Michael Elgin at Rebellion and doesn’t care who it is. She’s used to the target on her back.

We run down the rest of the show.

Desi Hit Squad vs. Rascalz

Dez and Wentz for the Rascalz here with Gama Singh at ringside for the Squad. Raju and Dez start things off with the former shoving him into the corner and posing a bit. A quick dropkick gives Wentz two and it’s Dez coming in with a slingshot hilo for his own near fall. Raju takes him into the corner though and it’s Shera coming in to start hammering away with the double chop.

We get some power as Shera drops Raju onto Dez for two and the beating continues in the corner. Dez dives over Raju and makes the hot tag to Wentz so the pace can pick up. Shera starts to clean house, including a chokebreaker to Dez. Wentz comes back in and starts firing off the kicks, with a double superkick putting Shera down. Raju gets knocked to the floor and the Final Flash gives Dez the pin at 6:00.

Rating: C-. The Squad has firmly hit their ceiling, even with Shera there as the monster. There isn’t much to get out of these tag team matches where they the teams are on a treadmill for months on end. The match was fine enough, but the Squad is nothing and the Rascalz have fallen way down from where they were.

Katie Forbes is annoyed at fans staring at her but the Deaners like her rather small gear. Joey Ryan doesn’t like their implications and a tag match is made with Ryan and Rob Van Dam vs. the Deaners being set for next week (this includes roughly half a dozen references to internet and social media fans, which isn’t as profound as they think). Ryan does make sure to check with Rob, who goes with it.

Tenille Dashwood video.

Knockouts Title: Lacey Ryan vs. Jordynne Grace

Ryan is challenging and is the next challenger from Madison Rayne. Grace gets taken down early on and Ryan drops her again with a running shoulder. That earns her a backdrop to the apron but she catches Ryan on top. A slam down gets two and grace stops charging Ryan with a boot to the face. Grace hits a running hip attack in the corner and a Vader Bomb gets two as Ryan is hanging in there.

Ryan kicks her in the head for two and goes up, only to get pulled down with a MuscleBuster (though more of a suplex than dropping straight down). A Regal Roll into a frog splash gives Ryan two more but she misses a kick to the head and gets Grace Drivered for the pin at 7:05.

Rating: B-. If Ryan doesn’t get a job out of that, I’m not sure what Impact is thinking. She looked very good here and they had a match I never would have expected. This was rather good stuff and Grace had to fight to retain the title. I’m not sure how much I want to see Grace vs. Rayne, but at least we got a good one here.

Fallah Bahh wants to win the Tag Team Titles with TJP so they can be the first ever Filipino Tag Team Champions.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Chris Sabin wins the X-Division Title in 2004.

Sabin is proud of his time in TNA and he’s ready to be the guest referee in the King of the Mountain match for the World Title at There’s No Place Like Home. Moose comes in and doesn’t understand the rules, so Sabin not so subtly explains them. I’m still trying to wrap my head around a TNA nostalgia show.

Video on the best of five series between Michael Elgin and Eddie Edwards.

Taya Valkyrie is all depressed at a bar when Rosemary pops up. She doesn’t want to hear about Taya losing everything but thinks it might be the thing that connects them. After you lose everything, you’re free to do everything.

Johnny Swinger/Glenn Gilbertti vs. Willie Mack

Hold on though as the referee thinks the team has some foreign objects. Swinger has brass knuckles but gets caught, meaning he has to run from Mack for a bit. Gilbertti comes in and gets hiptossed right back to Swinger. A cheap shot from the apron lets Swinger take over as Callis tries to get Swinging Disco Balls over as the team’s name. Callis: “Can we say Disco?” A double elbow puts Mack down and the old school pummeling continues.

Gilbertti gets in a shot with a roll of quarters and it’s back to Swinger for the chinlock (plus some SHUT UP’s to the crowd). The ax handle misses so Gilbertti comes in for the YMCA Elbow. Cue Ace Austin of all people to stand in Mack’s corner. Mack is fine enough to hit the Stunner and it’s off to Austin for a spinning Swanton to Swinger. Everything breaks down and it’s an old school doe-see-doe. Mack Samoan drops Gilbertti into the standing moonsault, setting up the Fold from Austin. The Six Star finishes Gilbertti at 7:50.

Rating: C-. Well that was something. I’m not entirely sure what it was, but it certainly was something. If nothing else, it shows you how good the new generation is looking solid with Austin, Mack and Rich Swann (when he gets back) among others. They’ve needed something like this for a good while now and if they actually get somewhere with it, Impact could move forward for once.

Su Yung jumps Havok in the back and it turns into a chair duel. Yung gets the better of it, puts on the Mandible Claw, and puts her in a well placed coffin.

Swinger blames Gilbertti for the loss so Gilbertti quits. This turns into an argument over who was the leader, but Swinger wants to know what he’s supposed to do with all of these Swinging Disco Balls shirts.

It’s Gut Check time and they’re all still bad, even in a six man tag.

Realityislost glitch.

Next week: Gut Check ends and we find out who the glitch is.

Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin

It’s the final match in the best of five series with the winner getting the World Title shot at Rebellion. You can tell it’s a big match because Josh has stats about how they’ve won their matches. Elgin powers him away to start and hits a big clothesline so we can head outside early. A Death Valley Driver on the ramp gives Elgin an early two so he hits Eddie in the face rather hard.

The Blue Thunder Bomb gets Eddie out of trouble for a second but Elgin catches him on top. That just earns Elgin a sunset bomb and we take a break. Back with Eddie elbowing him in the face, only to get backdropped HARD out to the floor. Eddie is back in and slugs away at Elgin on the apron, earning himself a lot of yelling. A kick to the head puts Elgin on the floor and he wins a slugout to really rock Elgin for the first time. Elgin grabs a DDT for two, followed by a neckbreaker over the ropes as we take another break.

Back again with the big slugout, including some rather loud shots to Eddie’s jaw. Elgin goes up and gets superplexed back down, setting up the Backpack Stunner for two more. A tiger driver is broken up so Elgin gets him up in an electric chair and drops backwards into a bridge for his own two. Just to go insane, Elgin hits a dragon superplex for another near fall, though the kickout doesn’t get the strongest reaction (because only finishers can end matches).

Eddie backflips out of a release German suplex and finally hits the tiger driver for two. Elgin is back up with a powerbomb and another hard clothesline sets up the Elgin Bomb for the real near fall. The referee gets bumped so the Boston Knee Party only gets two. Elgin grabs the Crossface but Eddie rolls over into a cradle for two, only to tap at the same time as the three count at 25:55.

Rating: B. This was probably longer than it needed to be but they beat the heck out of each other with some big moves. That dragon superplex probably should have been the finish had they had one, meaning it might not have been the best spot for a kickout. The ending wasn’t the biggest surprise but that’s not the worst idea in the world. Both guys have benefited from the feud so having a draw is a good way to protect both of them. And give us the triple threat, because that’s what you get in wrestling.

Post match Scott D’Amore comes out because there’s confusion. Tessa, triple threat, she’ll take em both.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event and the Knockouts Title match were the only things worthwhile on this show as the rest ranged between weak and rather bad. They did the important thing though by getting the pay per view main event set up, but they need to set up a few more things on the way. Assuming the show actually takes place as scheduled at this point. Either way, they had a good main event and title match, but the rest of the show dragged it pretty far down.

Results

Rhino b. Mad Man Fulton – Gore

Rascalz b. Desi Hit Squad – Final Flash to Shera

Jordynne Grace b. Lacey Ryan – Grace Driver

Willie Mack/Ace Austin b. Glenn Gilbertti/Johnny Swinger – Six Star Frog Splash to Gilbertti

Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin went to a draw

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: February 18, 2020
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re off to a different taping cycle now and things are getting interesting around here. Last week’s show without a bunch of the luchador guest stars was an improvement and if they can keep that up, we might be in a good place. If nothing else it’s the go home show for Sacrifice, so maybe things can get more interesting in a hurry. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Josh Alexander vs. TJP

This should be good and Ethan Page/Fallah Bahh are the respective seconds. They grapple to start and it’s a voiceover, which sounds as unnatural as you can get, about how Ethan Page’s promotion will soon be airing on the Impact Wrestling network. TJP hits a dropkick and snaps off a headscissors but Alexander runs him over again. With the striking not working, TJP grabs a quickly broken Octopus Hold as Alexander tosses him down without much effort.

Some arm cranking lets Alexander hammer away as the commentators make fun of the TNA name that they are bringing back for Wrestlemania weekend. A Regal Roll out of the corner is countered into a crucifix to give TJP two as he can’t keep any momentum. TJP spins him down into a cross armbreaker but gets stacked up for a near fall and the break. A slingshot dive to the floor sets up the slingshot dropkick as Alexander is in trouble for the first time.

Alexander slaps on a swinging sleeper but TJP slips out for a suplex and they’re both down. It’s Alexander up first with a spinning torture rack slam for two more, meaning frustration is setting in. TJP spinwheel kicks him into the ropes but walks into a German suplex. That just earns Alexander a hurricanrana into a cross armbreaker, which is broken up with a quick Project Ciampa for two more. The kneebar sends Alexander over to the rope so he grabs a sleeper, only to have TJP backflip into the cover for the pin at 14:49.

Rating: B. These two worked very well together and got to showcase themselves in a heck of a back and forth match. The Tag Team Title match should be fun, with Bahh offering a weird face monster vibe and TJP being one of the best technicians in the company at the moment. Put them in there against the best tag team in the company and we should be in for heck of a tag match.

Willie Mack is talking to someone backstage when Johnny Swinger comes in to ask if this is a trio. That’s not the case so Swinger thinks he and Mack need to work on their chemistry with some riz-eps.

Michael Elgin is ready to beat Eddie Edwards again if that’s what it takes to teach him a lesson.

Announcers preview for the rest of the show.

Willie Mack vs. Johnny Swinger

Swinger is surprised by this being a singles match instead of the two teaming together. The offer of a handshake earns Swinger a pair of atomic drops, followed by a right hand out of a headlock. Swinger snaps him throat first across the top and the falling headbutt into the low blow has Mack down. Back up and Mack punches him out of the air and it’s the Samoan drop into the standing moonsault. The Stunner sets up the Six Star frog splash to give Mack the pin at 4:17.

Rating: D+. Nothing much to see here but they kept it short and didn’t do anything wacky here so I can’t complain. Mack continues to roll and Swann’s ankle will be healed up soon enough, though I’m not sure if there is a need to continue the team if Mack keeps going this strong. Swinger continues to be someone amusing enough, as long as he stays at the bottom of the card like this.

We look back at Jordynne Grace finally winning the Knockouts Title last week.

Here’s Madison Rayne to complain about Grace not belonging in the #1 contenders match in the first place. But that’s enough about Grace, because a legend like Madison needs to advance the legacy of the Knockouts. She is starting an open challenge series and here’s the first opponent.

Madison Rayne vs. Mazzerati

Rayne shoves her in the face to start so Mazzerati grabs three straight rollups for one each. A dropkick sends Rayne into the ropes but she’s right back with a northern lights suplex and some knees to the face. Mazzerati forearms her in the corner but walks into a cutter for two. Cross Rayne finishes Mazzerati at 3:16.

Rating: D. Just a step above a squash here as Rayne never felt in danger once. I know Rayne has been surpassed by a lot of the division but she can still have a decent enough match against the right opponent. The problem is she didn’t have one here and the match was little more than filler.

Jordynne Grace is proud of everything she has done and will be a fighting champion, starting against Jessika Havok at Sacrifice. John E. Bravo comes in after Grace leaves and praises Taya Valkyrie, even giving us a highlight video on her Knockouts Title reign.

Post break, Taya yells at Bravo over the video and promises to get the title back.

Flashback Moment of the Week: D’Angelo Dinero beats Mr. Anderson to become #1 contender at Against All Odds 2010.

Rob Van Dam has to calm down Katie Forbes over fans’ comments. Daga comes in and wants a fight so they’ll do it next week.

Tommy Dreamer, Trey Miguel and Tessa Blanchard are ready to win tonight, with Dreamer managing to reference ECW. Tessa says may the better man win at Sacrifice, even if it’s a woman.

Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin

Match #3 in a Best of Five series with Elgin up 2-0. Eddie starts fast with a suplex to the floor and a suicide dive. Back in and a sunset flip gives Eddie two but Elgin suplexes him over with ease. A sliding lariat puts both of them down and Elgin hits a Death Valley Driver onto the apron.

Back in and Elgin hits Eddie so hard that it seems to hurt his own shoulder. Eddie makes the comeback with some strikes, only to get hit in the face for his efforts. They head outside again and Elgin cuts off a comeback bid with a heck of a clothesline but the powerbomb on the ramp is countered into a hurricanrana. The Boston Knee Party rocks Elgin again but they both beat the count back in.

A top rope double stomp to the back gives Eddie two, followed by Elgin grabbing a Falcon Arrow for the same. The Crossface doesn’t work so Eddie settles for a running knee to the head to put Elgin down again. Another clothesline gives Elgin another two and he grabs a superbomb off the top. Instead of covering though, Elgin tries another powerbomb, allowing Edwards to small package him for the pin at 12:53.

Rating: B. These two just work well together and that’s all they needed to do here. The story has some more legs to it and they are pretty clearly setting up a fifth match. That’s what makes the most sense, though for some reason I wouldn’t be stunned to see Elgin wrap it up next time. Either way, at least they did more rather good stuff here and that’s all you should expect from them.

Rhino vs. Dave Crist

Moose is on commentary. Rhino charges into the corner to start but gets choked on the rope for his effort. Crist misses a middle rope backsplash though and Rhino slugs away. A Jake Crist distraction doesn’t work and Rhino Gores Dave down for the pin at 2:28.

Jessika Havok arrives and Susie pops up behind her, only to disappear. Havok sees a sign that says “your time has come”. Well in some different spelling but you get the idea.

Chris Bey has signed. Good for him and good for Impact.

Sacrifice rundown.

The same weird feed ICU/Realityislost deal interrupts the backstage interviewer.

Tommy Dreamer/Trey Miguel/Tessa Blanchard vs. Ace Austin/Reno Scum

Thornstowe and Miguel start things off, meaning it’s an armdrag to put Thornstowe down in a hurry. Tessa comes in with a hurricanrana before it’s off to Dreamer for a shot to the arm. Ace and Miguel come in so Ace is right back to the corner for the tag off to Luster. That means a showdown with Dreamer who…..yeah no one has ever wanted to see this.

Everything breaks down and it’s a triple Bionic elbow to send the villains outside. Back from a break with a cheap shot from the apron letting Luster clothesline Dreamer. That means it’s Dreamer getting caught in the corner, including a Pit Stop. The chinlock goes on but Luster misses the middle rope headbutt. Trey comes back in and gets pulled into the corner, meaning it’s off to a chinlock.

Ace holds Trey down so Luster can stomp on him but Trey bulldogs his way out of trouble. The hot tag brings in Tessa to forearm away and a tornado DDT plants Luster. Ace gets caught between Tessa and Trey, with the latter kicking him into a cutter from Tessa. Austin kicks Tessa down and Trey hits a big corkscrew dive onto almost everyone else. On the way back in, Ace kicks the rope into a low blow on Trey, setting up the Fold for the pin at 16:34.

Rating: C. What a relief that they had Trey take the fall instead of Dreamer. This did what it needed to do without having Tessa take a fall so I can’t complain all that much. It just wasn’t a very good match and felt like a lot of multi person tags that you would see in such a spot. Not a bad match by any means, but really just a match to set up another one.

Overall Rating: B-. The opener and Elgin vs. Edwards more than carry this show and it was a rather nice week of TV as a result. Sacrifice is looking pretty good on paper, though I’m not sure what they are going to be doing after that. It seems early to build towards Rebellion, but we can worry about that later. Good show this week as the company is starting to get something going.

Results

TJP b. Josh Alexander – Rollup

Willie Mack b. Johnny Swinger – Six Star frog splash

Madison Rayne b. Mazzerati – Cross Rayne

Eddie Edwards b. Michael Elgin – Small package

Rhino b. Dave Crist – Gore

Ace Austin/Reno Scum b. Tommy Dreamer/Trey Miguel/Tessa Blanchard – Fold to Miguel

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Impact Wrestling
Date: February 4, 2020
Location: Fronton Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

The Mexico run continues and that’s not a bad thing. Some of the local talent has done rather well with a few of them being big standouts. Other than that, we seem to be setting up for Tessa Blanchard vs. Ace Austin, possibly at Sacrifice. If nothing else, maybe we can get some more Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Tessa Blanchard to open the show, with commentary confirming the title match against Austin. Tessa says she isn’t hard to find and she’s a little impatient so here’s a challenge in Spanish. Cue Austin with Reno Scum and we have a surprise match.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Adam Thornstowe

Non-title. Tessa can’t get very far with a waistlock to start so she sends him into the interfering Luster the Legend on the apron. A headscissors puts Thornstowe on the floor but Luster blocks a suicide dive. Back in and Thornstowe rubs his armpit on Tessa’s face and the neck crank goes on.

Thornstowe chokes on the ropes and gets two off a slam. A standing moonsault misses though and Tessa is right back with a running hurricanrana. Tessa superkicks him off the apron onto Ace and Luster, setting up back to back suicide dives and a flip dive off the top. Back in and a cutter gives Tessa two, followed by the Buzzsaw DDT for the pin at 7:59.

Rating: C-. Just a match here for the most part with Tessa never feeling like she was in danger. What mattered more than anything else here though was they never went too far beyond the suspension of disbelief. You can only go so far with a one on one match without it being a bit ridiculous and Tessa is getting better and better at that every time.

Post match, Ace distracts Tessa so Luster can come in and start the beatdown. Tommy Dreamer runs in for the save. Of course he does.

Kiera Hogan and Madison Rayne are arguing when Taya Valkyrie interrupts to complain about facing Jordynne Grace next week. They don’t like how she talks to them and won’t be helping her in the title match.

During the break, Dreamer challenged Ace for a hardcore match tonight.

The announcers talk about the show but the feed is interrupted with a graphic for “realityislost.com”. They don’t seem to notice and preview everything else going on tonight, plus a few matches for Sacrifice on February 22.

Rhino vs. Taurus

Rhino shoves him away to start but his running shoulder has no effect. Another works a lot better but Taurus is right back with one of his own. They go to the floor with Taurus going face first into the apron. That doesn’t seem to matter as Taurus sends him shoulder first into the post and cranks away on the arm back inside.

A Codebreaker to the arm gets two and Taurus scores with a Shining Wizard for the same. Rhino avoids a twisting Swanton though and they’re both down for a bit. Taurus gets sent into the corner for a belly to belly but he’s right back with a running elbow for two. The spinebuster puts Taurus down again but here’s Moose to jump Rhino for the DQ at 6:45.

Rating: C. The ending makes sense given the story that they have been telling and the fact that we are coming up on Moose vs. Rhino at Sacrifice. They were beating each other up here and I liked what I saw rather well. You can always go with two big guys beating each other up in a power match and they did it well enough here.

Post match Moose goes after Taurus and walks into a Gore from Rhino to send him outside.

Michael Elgin is ready to go up 2-0 on Eddie Edwards next week and then win the series the week after.

Johnny Swinger challenges the Desi Hit Squad on behalf of himself and Willie Mack, but it winds up being Shera vs. Mack.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Motor City Machine Guns b. Team 3D and Beer Money at Sacrifice 2010.

Taya tries to get Rosemary’s help next week but Rosemary is too busy attacking James Mitchell and Havok, both of whom she locks in a room.

Rosemary vs. Susie

Susie offers a handshake but Rosemary puts the hand on her throat. Susie: “NO! THAT’S BAD!” Rosemary demands Susie hit her but Susie begs off in the corner instead. The bloodied glove to Susie’s face is enough to make her snap though and Rosemary seems pleased. Rosemary fights out of the Mandible Claw and they fight up the ramp for the double countout at 3:06.

Rating: D+. I almost gave this an N/A as it was an angle instead of a match and that’s ok. This story does keep going places but I’m not sure how much longer they can keep doing things. It seems like they have no idea where this is going to wind up, though Rosemary trying to bring Su Yung back is certainly a goal and that’s better than nothing.

Post match they fight in the back with Rosemary getting the better of it. She grabs the noose that was used to hang Su in this building and wraps it around her neck but security stops her. It’s too late though as Susie has become Su Yung again, complete with flashbacks to being hung.

Post break a distraught James Mitchell staggers out and finds a laughing Rosemary. Congratulations, because they’re all dead.

TJP vs. Vikingo

Fallah Bahh is here with TJP. They go technical to start with TJP taking him down and working on the arm before switching to a headlock. That goes nowhere so it’s an anklescissors to take Vikingo down instead. A Boston crab doesn’t work so they tie their legs together and stand on their heads for a slap off. Stereo nipups give us a standoff until another anklescissors sends Vikingo down. He’s right back with a headscissors to the floor and a shooting star press off the apron crushes TJP.

Back in and TJP hits a double chickenwing gutbuster to set up the slingshot hilo for two. A double underhook arm crank has Vikingo in trouble but he reverses into a….I’m not sure what you call that but he had TJP’s limbs behind him and bent TJP around a lot. Back up and they trade some kicks to the arm until Vikingo pulls him down into a cross armbreaker. That’s broken up and TJP grabs a Muta Lock, plus an arm crank at the same time, to put Vikingo in serious trouble.

TJP can only hold it for so long until they head to the floor for a chase, capped off by Vikingo hitting a dropkick through the ropes. That means a big flip dive over the top to take TJP down again, with the fans deeming it awesome. TJP gets tied up in the ropes for a top rope legdrop but he’s right back with a Tombstone into a frog splash for two.

Vikingo’s running knees in the corner give him two of his own, with the fans wanting them to fight forever. Now it’s TJP back with a superplex into an Octopus Hold but Vikingo is straight out. Back up and TJP loads up the Detonation kick but Vikingo slips out, only to get pulled into a Regal Stretch for the tap at 13:41.

Rating: B+. Yeah this was great as Vikingo is probably going to get himself a job outside of AAA if he wants/can have one. TJP is one of the best talents this company has and the two of them both looked great in everything they did here. This was one of the best matches I’ve seen from Impact in a good while and I could go for more from both of them.

Post match TJP shows respect but here’s the North to beat both of them down.

Katie Forbes tells Joey Ryan that he doesn’t want to touch it. Joey says he’s not interested but Rob Van Dam jumps him from behind. They’ll fight next week.

OVE vs. Daga/Dr. Wagner Jr.

Wagner’s son is with him. Dave and Wagner start things off and take their time to start until they trade some waistlocks. A running kick to the head lets Wagner pose so Jake comes in, only to get punched into the corner. Wagner hits a middle rope cutter for one (?) so it’s Daga coming in and getting caught with a Death Valley Driver. Daga is right back up and sends Jake to the floor for a baseball slide.

Back in and Wagner comes in to clean house again, including a German suplex for Dave. With Josh’s voice giving out, Daga gets two off a brainbuster to Jake. A spike Tombstone gets two on Daga and everything breaks down off the save. Wagner flips onto Jake and Daga’s Jay Driller is good for the pin on Dave at 8:15.

Rating: C. This was a pretty formula based match and they did things well enough to keep my interest. The problem is they didn’t do enough to make me care that much beyond the basics and that’s fine enough for a TV match. It’s good to see Daga get the pin here as Wagner doesn’t need the rub that comes from a win. OVE has fallen a good bit, but they’re still good for a match like this.

Post match Madman Fulton comes in to wreck Daga and Wagner.

Swinger tells Mack that he has heat with Shera so they’ll have a match next week. Mack can handle this on his own.

Preview of next week’s show.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Ace Austin

Non-title falls count anywhere street fight (or hardcore, which ever you prefer). Ace brings the card at Dreamer but gets sent outside for his efforts. A suplex on the ramp lets Dreamer grab a bunch of weapons to throw at Ace. Tommy puts on the sombrero and dances with a crutch before brawling up to the stage. They go into the crowd instead with Dreamer sending him into the chairs as we take a break.

Back with Dreamer posing but getting kicked off the balcony (about a four foot drop) so Ace can dive onto him. Dreamer blocks some kicks on the apron and pulls Ace down, setting up a Conchairto on the arm. Back in and Ace sends him into the post, setting up the paper cut with the card, this time to the head to bust Dreamer open. Ace chairs him down a few times and now it’s time for a table.

Dreamer gets in a shove off the ropes though and they slug it out with Dreamer getting the better of it. A running kendo stick shot in the corner misses though and Ace hits a top rope spinning Fameasser for two. Dreamer shrugs off some stick shots and hits a White Russian legsweep as the ECW tributes continue. Ace kicks him in the face so Dreamer grabs him low, setting up a DDT for two. A running powerslam through the table gives Dreamer two more and it’s time for a ladder, which winds up on the middle rope. Dreamer takes him up top but gets crotched, setting up a super Fold to give Austin the pin at 19:53.

Rating: D. Are they serious? The World Champion gets eight minutes, Dr. Wagner Jr. gets eight and that great TJP vs. Vikingo match gets thirteen, but TOMMY DREAMER gets twenty. You’re in a foreign country and have a ton of options for new and fresh names to put out there (heck make the Wagner match a singles and put Daga in there) but no no, the solution is TOMMY DREAMER. Ace, a champion, needed twenty minutes to beat Dreamer, who turns 49 next week and hasn’t won an important match in forever. What a great way to present your #1 contender as a star. Just….enough already.

Overall Rating: C+. That TJP vs. Vikingo match kept this show from being pretty awful and I’ll take that every week. I like that they’re setting up a big show with Sacrifice as you can’t go from January until April without having something. There are some interesting things going on here and I like where it’s going, but then they have stupid stuff like wasting Van Dam on Joey Ryan and Dreamer getting a twenty minute main event. If they can get rid of the awful stuff and bad ideas, they’re on a roll. As it is, they’re the same Impact that they’ve been for the last year or two: just there, with an occasional good show.

Results

Tessa Blanchard b. Adam Thornstowe – Buzzsaw DDT

Rhino b. Taurus via DQ when Moose interfered

Rosemary vs. Susie went to a double countout

TJP b. Vikingo – Regal Stretch

Daga/Dr. Wagner Jr. b. OVE – Jay Driller to Dave

Ace Austin b. Tommy Dreamer – Super Fold

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: January 21, 2020
Location: Fronton Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re down in Mexico this week and that means things are going to be a little different. It’s still time for the fallout from Hard To Kill, which could go multiple ways. Hopefully things pick up a bit, though it’s not like last week’s recap show was all that bad. I’m curious to see where things go from here though so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Here’s Tessa Blanchard to open things up. She’s glad to be aqui en Mexico and knows that it’s the beginning of the journey. There is a target on her back and knows that Sami Callihan is coming. Cue Taya Valkyrie instead and she brings up a great point: she beat Tessa for the title and deserves a title shot of her own. She has beaten Tessa for the AAA Women’s Title but now she wants the World Title.

Cue Ace Austin to say he should be invited to this party. They were all successful at Hard To Kill and Ace even beat Tessa at Bound For Glory. He could come out on top of her again, either in the ring or at the hotel. The fight is on and Trey Miguel runs in for the save to set up a likely tag match.

Opening sequence.

We recap Willie Mack walking away from Rich Swann after losing in a handicap match at Hard To Kill.

Mack isn’t sure what he’s going to do until Swann gets back but tonight, he’ll face Rohit Raju. Johnny Swinger comes in to offer to be his partner but Mack walks away, even from the offer of rizzats.

Taya is talking about wanting a World Title shot when Madison Rayne and Kiera Hogan come in to say they want their title shots. That’s more than Taya can deal with right now but they can fight next week. Whoever wins gets the first title shot and the loser gets the second.

Moose vs. Rhino vs. Taurus

The ECW chants start fast (for once that’s interesting as Rhino was only around ECW for about two years but it’s still the signature time in his career) and Moose drops to the floor. Taurus springboards out of a wristlock as Moose is content to chill on the floor. He does stop to grab Taurus though and Rhino demands that Moose get in. That isn’t happening so far though and we take a break.

Back with Moose still on the floor as Rhino charges into an elbow to the face. Rhino and Taurus go outside to deal with Moose, who slides back in, only to make the mistake of pointing at his head because he’s brilliant. The beatdown is on with Rhino getting annoyed at Taurus for going for a cover.

Moose gets back up and beats them into various corners, including a whip to send Taurus shoulder first into the post. Some running elbows and a short arm clothesline give Rhino two but Taurus is out of the corner with a spinning crossbody for his own two. Rhino suplexes Moose but a quick referee distraction lets Moose kick Rhino low. Taurus comes in for the save so Rhino Gores Moose, only to have Taurus steal the pin at 14:25.

Rating: D+. Just another triple threat match with the same formula that you could imagine for a long time now. They’re all talented people but how many things can you get out of the same formula? There are other ways to do a match like this but for some reason this is what wrestlers like to do in them no matter what.

Jordynne Grace thinks she should get a Knockouts Title match so she’s in on the Hogan vs. Rayne match.

Tommy Dreamer, in a sombrero, tells Joey Ryan that he’s back in Wrestler’s Court tonight. Joey says no and leaves.

Joey Ryan vs. Maximo

Maximo is an exotico so we’re in for comedy. Joey gives a fan a lollipop from his trunks and it’s time to tell Maximo to touch it. They trade armdrags instead and some near falls give us a standoff. Maximo slams him down and drops a top rope elbow for two, only to make the mistake of trying an atomic drop. Back up and Maximo kisses him for two but Ryan makes him touch it. The Plex and Sweet Tooth Music finishes Maximo at 3:32.

Rating: F. Yeah I think this one speaks for itself. They were nice enough to keep this short but it’s not exactly something I want to see. It doesn’t help that Ryan does the exact same stuff every single time and almost never changes anything. It wasn’t as long as some of these matches but egads I could go with never seeing this stuff again.

Rob Van Dam says that match makes him embarrassed to be a wrestler. He leaves with Katie Forbes instead of answering a question.

Michael Elgin wants to fight Eddie Edwards again.

Havok vs. Rosemary

Havok has James Mitchell and Susie with her. Rosemary bails to the floor to start and talks to Susie but switches places with Havok, setting up a dive. Rosemary beats her up the ramp but Havok gets in a single shot to knock her back. A suplex drops Rosemary on the ramp and Havok heads inside, only to get taken down with a top rope forearm. The Sling Blade sets up a Last Chancery, with Havok getting out in a hurry. Havok hits a running knee but Rosemary gets in a jawbreaker. Mitchell gets on the apron for a distraction so Rosemary mists him down, allowing Havok to hit a Tombstone for the pin at 6:29.

Rating: D+. This story continues to keep going and I’m still not sure what to expect from where it is going. I’m still not sure if Impact knows what they’re doing with it either, though the Susie stuff does have me a little bit intrigued. The match wasn’t very good either but they had too much going on in a short amount of time.

Post match the blind Mitchell celebrates with Havok but Susie wanders off.

The Desi Hit Squad is ready to continue their winning streak but Shera has sent Raj Singh on a spiritual journey. Gama Singh isn’t happy and slaps Rohit Raju to blow off some steam.

The Rascalz make fun of Trey for teaming with a girl as he might have a bit of a thing for Tessa. Then things get all fuzzy and Murder Clown/Pagano join in their circle, much to the Rascalz’s dismay.

Eddie Edwards will gladly fight Michael Elgin again. Elgin comes in to start the argument and another match seems imminent.

Willie Mack vs. Rohit Raju

Gama Singh and Shera are here. They start fast with Mack snapping off a hurricanrana and hitting the swinging slam for a bonus. A dropkick to the floor makes it worse but Shera offers a distraction so Raju can sweep the leg. Raju hits a double stomp for two but misses a charge, allowing Mack to hit the running boot in the corner. The Samoan drop into the standing moonsault gets two, followed by Raju missing a jumping knee. Mack Stuns him for the pin at 3:49.

Rating: C-. Could have been worse and in theory this was going to be Mack/Swann vs. the Squad. Mack continues to be one of the most entertaining guys on the show and I could go for him getting a singles push. Raju is watchable at times and that was the case here, albeit in a not all that interesting match.

Post match the Squad beats Mack down, drawing out Swinger for the failed save attempt.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Beer Money beats the Motor City Machine Guns for the Tag Team Titles at Genesis 2011.

The North brags about how awesome they are when Vikingo interrupts, likely to set something up.

Starting next week: Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin in the first match of a best of five series. No mention of the trophy being on the line.

Tessa Blanchard/Trey Miguel vs. Taya Valkyrie/Ace Austin

John E. Bravo is here with Taya and Ace. Taya and Tessa get things going with Tessa hitting a quick clothesline to put her on the floor. Ace comes in and gets taken down with a headlock before it’s off to Trey to pick up the pace. A dropkick puts Ace in the ropes and a running hurricanrana sends him outside, only for Taya to block the dive. Tessa kicks her to the floor for the stereo dives and we take a break.

Back with Taya pulling Tessa off the apron to block a tag attempt as Ace has Trey in trouble. Ace drops a leg for two and it’s Taya coming in for the same off a basement dropkick. Another knee gets another two and Trey gets tied in the Tree of Woe for some kicks to the ribs. A belly to back suplex gets two and Ace cuts the finger with the card.

That’s enough to Trey to fight up but Bravo makes sure the referee doesn’t see the tag. Trey backflips over Ace and hits a double stomp to the back and the hot tag brings in Tessa for a high crossbody. There’s a cutter to drop Taya again and a tornado DDT rocks Austin. A running springboard Downward Spiral gets two on Ace and Tessa dives onto Taya. Ace is right back up though and hits the Fold to finish Trey at 16:48.

Rating: C+. Nice match here with Tessa getting the hot tag like a champion should, but then you have Trey lose again. I’m not sure if he is going to be chasing Austin going forward, but how much sense would that make at the moment? The action was good here, but I’m not wild on the booking overall. Still though, best thing on the show.

Overall Rating: D. I really don’t care for these shows in Mexico as they feel like a cross between house shows and regular TV. All of these people show up with little to no introduction and a lot of the wrestling isn’t very good. They had some momentum coming out of Hard To Kill but the last two weeks have really slowed things down. This wasn’t very good and I don’t know how much better that is going to get during this trip.

Results

Taurus b. Moose and Rhino – Gore to Moose

Joey Ryan b. Maximo – Sweet Tooth Music

Havok b. Rosemary – Tombstone

Willie Mack b. Rohit Raju – Stunner

Taya Valkyrie/Ace Austin b. Trey Miguel/Tessa Blanchard – Fold to Miguel

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: January 7, 2020
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re back to a regular show and it’s the go home edition before Hard To Kill. The card is mostly set but there is always the chance that something could be added at the last minute. It’s kind of a weird situation as we are coming off back to back Best Of shows, meaning there isn’t much momentum for the pay per view at the moment. Maybe they can get in one last push though. Let’s get to it.

We open with Michael Elgin and Eddie Edwards having to be pulled apart at ringside. Eddie is willing to fight him right now and hits a dive.

Opening sequence.

Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin

They’re still fighting on the floor as Eddie has to hurricanrana his way out of a powerbomb attempt. They chop it out until Elgin scores with a superkick and throws it inside for the opening bell. Eddie grabs an atomic drop but an enziguri in the corner sets up a stomp to the chest for two. A German suplex attempt doesn’t work for Eddie as Elgin grabs him by the head and flips him forward with raw power.

Eddie goes technical by countering a suplex into one of his own followed by the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. A Rock Bottom/Boss Man Slam plants Eddie again and the Falcon Arrow gives Elgin two of his own. They strike it out in the corner with some chops and clotheslines before slugging it out in the middle. Elgin snaps off a German suplex but Eddie pops back up for a Boston Knee Party to the back of the head.

We take a break and come back with Eddie hitting another Boston Knee Party to put them both down. Eddie gets two off a tiger bomb and goes up, where he has to sunset bomb his way out of a super White Noise. Elgin blasts him with a clothesline for two more but can’t get a Crossface. Instead he settles for the Buckle Bomb into the Elgin Bomb for the pin at 19:43.

Rating: B. These guys beat the heck out of each other and the story made sense with Elgin using raw power while Eddie stuck and moved by getting in everything he could where he could. They didn’t waste time here and just went at it full blast for the twenty minutes and the match was very entertaining as result. As usual, the talent is strong around here and if they drop the nonsense and have good matches, it’s very entertaining stuff.

Video on the Tag Team Title match with Rich Swann and Willie Mack earning the title shot, leaving the North to try and play mind games to split them up.

Elgin vs. Edwards again on Sunday, this time with Edwards’ Call Your Shot trophy on the line. Oh yeah he has that.

Desi Hit Squad vs. Fallah Bahh/TJP/Daga

Raj kicks away at Daga to start so Daga runs the ropes and hurricanranas him to the floor. Raju comes in and gets dropkicked down for one so it’s off to Bahh and TJP for a double back elbow. TJP nips up and Bahh….well he tried at least. They run the ropes over Raju and Bahh gets rather winded, just in case you didn’t get the joke the first time around. A DDT plants Daga and it’s Shera coming in to powerbomb Raju onto Daga for two.

It’s already back to Raj for a dropkick to the head and a backsplash for two of his own. TJP comes back in for a springboard dropkick as everything breaks down. Daga’s springboard wristdrag/headscissors combination puts Shera and Singh on the floor, setting up the big dive. Bahh’s suicide dive takes them down again but Shera hits his Sky High for the pin on TJP at 7:59.

Rating: C+. The Squad did look better here but there’s no way around how uninteresting they are. Their entire characters are “we’re from India and managed by a legend” and I need a lot more than that to care about someone. The match was pretty good, but give me something else to sink my teeth into with them.

Willie Mack comes in to see Rich Swann and says he might not be healthy for the Tag Team Title match. He doesn’t want to hold Swann back from realizing his full potential but Swann wants to win the titles.

OVE is ready to take over wrestling, starting with Mad Man Fulton beating Ken Shamrock on Sunday and Sami Callihan getting rid of Tessa Blanchard once and for all.

Johnny Swinger spikes Joey Ryan’s drink when Tommy Dreamer comes in and tells him to grow up. If Swinger didn’t do anything to Ryan’s drink, he can drink it himself. I’m sure hilarity will ensue.

Video on the X-Division Title match with Ace Austin hitting on Trey’s mom in a rather creepy way.

Video on Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard with Sami finally getting the World Title and Tessa trying to make history. This includes interviews from Tessa’s family, who has worked very hard to get here. Sami on the other hand only cared about wrestling and has done everything to get here. He’ll do anything to keep the title too. Sami doesn’t like it, but sometimes dreams don’t come true and Tessa will learn that on Sunday. Very good video, though it did a little too good of a job at making me like Sami, which wasn’t exactly the point.

James Mitchell locks Susie in a locker room so she can’t interfere in Havok’s match.

Havok vs. Rosemary

Rosemary screams and slugs away to start so Havok shoves her down. That just makes Rosemary jump on her back for more right hands before avoiding a charge to low bridge Havok to the floor. Michell’s distraction fails as Havok runs him over by mistake, only to catch Rosemary with a backbreaker inside. Cue Susie, who seems messed up by all of the noise. She winds up on commentary as Havok beats up Rosemary in the corner. A missed splash lets Rosemary get in a few shots but Mitchell gets Susie away from commentary. Havok hits the Tombstone for the pin at 5:11 as Mitchell covers Susie’s eyes.

Rating: D+. This was all angle stuff and that’s fine, though this story feels like it has been going on for years now. Mitchell trying to keep Su Yung from returning is certainly a twist, but I’m almost worried about how long they’re going to drag this whole thing out. It’s not bad and does keep things somewhat interesting, but I’m not sure how much of a goal they have with the thing.

ODB/Tenille Dashwood/Jordynne Grace vs. Kiera Hogan/Madison Rayne/Taya Valkyrie

Dashwood and Rayne start things off as Callis goes into Madison’s insane resume (73 time Knockouts Champion and an honorary Hart). Tenille throws her outside and it’s Grace coming in for two off an Implant Buster. Hogan gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and Taya comes in for an elbow to the face.

A kick to Grace’s back gets two so ODB….rubs her chest. Grace runs Hogna over and dives over for the tag to ODB for a lot more chest based offense. A double Bronco Buster hits Taya and Madison and there’s a TKO to Taya as well. Grace adds a Vader Bomb but since she isn’t legal, ODB throws her outside and gets the pin at 5:16.

Rating: D+. Not much here as they were rushed and could have done this as a tag match without Dashwood and Hogan involved. ODB still feels really, really tacked on to the Knockouts Title match, meaning there is a good chance that Taya escapes before dropping the title to Grace later on.

Grace isn’t happy.

Moose interrupts Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes to make sure he can trust Rob tonight. They leave and Swinger is passed out on a couch. Joey Ryan and Petey Williams come in to draw something on him.

Hard To Kill rundown.

Moose/Rob Van Dam vs. Brian Cage/Rhino

Katie is here with Van Dam and Moose. Van Dam starts with Cage but decides that Moose can do it instead. Cage hits a superkick and spinebuster so it’s off to Rhino for a WOO. Rhino shouts to the crowd a lot and hammers away in the corner as the pace slows a good bit. A clothesline puts Moose on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Moose being sent onto the ramp but Katie breaks up the Gore so the villains can take over. Moose bites Rhino’s head and hammers away but can’t get a suplex. Rhino can hit a suplex of his own though and it’s Cage coming in for the staredown with Van Dam. A German suplex puts Van Dam down but Moose runs Cage over. Everything breaks down and Van Dam kicks Cage in the face for two.

These fans aren’t good enough to see Rolling Thunder so Van Dam is sent outside, leaving Moose to slug it out with Rhino. Cage takes Rhino’s place and hits a tornado DDT to put Moose down. Van Dam kicks Cage in the face but walks into the Gore. A missed charge puts Rhino down as well but Moose misses his own Five Star. The Gore and a discus lariat are enough to finish Moose at 12:23.

Rating: C+. They didn’t waste time here and just had four people hit each other for a somewhat lengthy match. Moose taking the pin makes more sense here and they did a nice job of setting up both matches at once. That’s something that will always work as you get to build two matches while also keeping things fresh. Nicely done here in a bit of a surprisingly good match.

Long video on Hard To Kill wraps us up.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a rather good go home show as they covered everything on Sunday, added another match, and made me want to see the pay per view more than I did coming in. Some of the stuff felt like it could have been cut (that six man and Havok vs. Rosemary could have been on any other show) but overall, it was more good than bad and the opener was rather entertaining. Nice job here, but make sure the pay per view is even better.

Results

Michael Elgin b. Eddie Edwards – Elgin Bomb

Desi Hit Squad b. Fallah Bahh/TJP/Daga – Sky High to TJP

Havok b. Rosemary – Tombstone

ODB/Tenille Dashwood/Jordynne Grace b. Kiera Hogan/Madison Rayne/Taya Valkyrie – Vader Bomb to Rayne

Brian Cage/Rhino b. Moose/Rob Van Dam – Discus lariat to Moose

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