IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 5, 2019
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

It’s the go home show for Slammiversary and things have been going fairly well around here. They’ve done a good job of setting up a lot of the pay per view matches while also giving us some good stuff on the regular shows. With some luck, that can continue this week as well. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

TJP vs. Ace Austin

Rematch from two weeks ago when TJP returned and handed Austin his first loss. Ace takes him down with a headlock to start but TJP rolls out without too much trouble. TJP is right back with a headlock on the mat but gets reversed into a headscissors. That means the always cool bouncing handstand escape as this is a match of counters so far.

A Sharpshooter with a pull of the arm is switched into a Muta Lock as TJP gets to show off even more. That’s broken up so TJP dropkicks him to the floor, only to miss a slingshot dropkick to the floor. Austin nails a Space Flying Tiger Drop (still love that name) and busts out a playing card for a paper cut between the fingers.

It’s time to crank on the arms but TJP flips out with a dropkick to the chest for a snazzy counter. Now the slingshot dropkick works but the Detonation Kick is countered. A running Trouble in Paradise drops TJP again and a rollup with a grab of the rope gets two. They trade kicks to the legs with TJP getting the better of it until he catches Austin in the kneebar for the tap at 12:06.

Rating: B-. I’m a bit disappointed in this one as Austin has been pretty cool but TJP is the kind of guy they can push the heck out of in the near future. The idea of him vs. either Rich Swann or Johnny Mundo at Bound For Glory in a 20 minute X-Division Title match more than works, and they’re certainly interested in pushing TJP.

Video on Michael Elgin vs. Brian Cage, which is going to be an eruption.

Johnny Impact isn’t worry about having John E. Bravo as his partner tonight against Rich Swann and Willie Mack. They’re Team Johnny and we get some Mega Powers impressions.

Announcers preview.

Kiera Hogan vs. Madison Rayne

Jordynne Grace is on commentary and Kiera has a rather similar walk to the ring/entrance as Tessa Blanchard. Madison starts fast with a pair of rollups for two each, sending Kiera outside for a breather. That means an argument with Grace, who gets shoved back into her seat. Back in and Kiera hits some running shots in the corner for two. Madison scores with an enziguri and a ripcord cutter for two of her own. Kiera grabs a rollup with her feet on the ropes but Grace breaks it up, leaving Kiera to grab a fisherman’s neckbreaker for the pin at 4:23.

Rating: D+. I’m still not feeling this feud as Kiera and Jordynne’s friendship lasted all of a month or so before the big heel turn. It’s nice that they have a feud outside of the title though, which is the problem for so many divisions in so many promotions these days. I doubt their match makes either pay per view, but it’s fine enough for a low level story.

Gama Singh gives Rohit Raju some special tea from a special tea set but the Deaners sneak in and replace it with whiskey. All three: “DEANERS!!!” Rohit: “It’s not bad.”

James Mitchell tries to keep Havok and Su Yung calm before Slammiversary.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Rosemary vs. Jade in Monster’s Ball at Genesis 2017.

Video on Monster’s Ball, which could make for an interesting twist in the already long story.

Video on Tessa Blanchard vs. Sami Callihan. Sami’s rampant sexism still feels out of nowhere.

Rohit Raju vs. Laredo Kid

Kid dives over hit to start but gets taken into the corner for some right hands to the face. A quick slam in the corner looks to set up a moonsault….and the bottom rope breaks. Thankfully they’re both fine and Raju grabs a fisherman’s neckbreaker into a Falcon’s Arrow. A snap suplex gives Raju two and Kid hits a headscissors to put him on the floor. That means a suicide dive but Kid misses a corkscrew moonsault. A jumping knee to the face sets up a top rope double stomp to the back to finish Kid at 4:33.

Rating: D+. It wasn’t much to see and that would have been the case with or without the broken rope. There is only so much you can do with these two as Raju has a firm ceiling over his head and didn’t seem to know how to do much with the very high flying Kid. At least the Deaners weren’t involved again though.

Video on Moose vs. Rob Van Dam.

Here’s Moose for a chat. Moose talks about being a big fan of Van Dam’s when he was a kid and he had a great time watching some of Van Dam’s matches. Now though, the fans are chanting for Moose because he’s been around the world and made millions of dollars too (I miss that dance). Van Dam calls himself the Whole F’N Show but Moose is Mr. Impact Wrestling. It’s been a few years since Van Dam has been on pay per view so now he can have a chance to prove himself.

Since Van Dam is probably a little fuzzy, we see a video of Moose having attacked Sabu. Cue Van Dam for the brawl but security breaks it up in a hurry. I still have no idea why the ECW names needed to be involved in this story. Until the visual with Sabu, the promo was a fine way to set up Moose vs. Van Dam on their own, and the visual just made Van Dam a bit angrier.

Trey Miguel vs. Dezmond Xavier vs. Zachary Wentz

Whoever takes the fall doesn’t get to wrestle in the Tag Team Title match on Sunday. I’ve heard worse ideas. They go for some early rollups to start and it’s time to start kicking away as they don’t mind fighting among themselves. Dezmond gets knocked down and Wentz hits a springboard corkscrew crossbody for two on Miguel. Trey sends Wentz outside for a hurricanrana through the ropes but a Dezmond distraction lets Wentz hit his own dive.

Back in and the Final Flash gets two on Wentz with Trey making the save (not the most logical move in the world). They go with the circle of strikes to the face until Trey gets knocked to the floor. Wentz’s running shooting star gets two and Trey runs back in with a running flip dive to both. Double low cutters give Trey two each but Wentz is back up in a hurry. Back to back superkicks to Miguel sets up the shoving moonsault for a double pin on Miguel at 7:03.

Rating: C+. The more I see from these two, the more I like them. They have a great chemistry together and they’re all awesome athletes, which makes for some outstanding matches. It’s not like Wentz is hurt from the loss as odds are they would use the Freebird Rule if they win the titles. I could go for this again, but I’ll take anything from these guys at the moment.

Everyone hugs post match.

Tessa Blanchard is here and she has her own baseball bat.

Video on Killer Kross vs. Eddie Edwards, which is over the broken Kenny the kendo stick.

Killer Kross is in a church and talks about the man who lost everything. That story has not been finished yet but that man is searching for his ultimate salvation. At Slammiversary, he will have the chance to die for his sins. You may now kneel before the Kross. He drinks from a chalice and seems to have blood flow out of his mouth.

Quick video on Rich Swann vs. Johnny Impact for the X-Division Title.

Slammiversary rundown. The card doesn’t look that bad.

John E. Bravo/Johnny Impact vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack

Swann and Impact kick at each other to start until Swann scores with a dropkick. Mack comes in for an exchange of flips, capped off by Mack armdragging him down. A flapjack/bulldog combination plants Impact again but Bravo offers a distraction so Johnny can get a breather. Impact and Swann head outside with the Moonlight Drive planting Swann again. Bravo comes in for some stomping and posing before it’s right back to Impact for the chinlock.

It’s already back to Bravo for some right hands and a chinlock of his own. He even loads up his own Moonlight Drive, allowing Impact to come in with a running knee to the head. Swann drops Impact though and tags Mack for the big house cleaning. Bravo isn’t interested in tagging back in and it’s the Cannonball into a moonsault to give Mack two. The Flying Chuck drops Mack but he breaks through a double clothesline and brings Swann back in. A Stunner into the Phoenix splash gives Swann the pin on Bravo at 8:55.

Rating: C. This was a case where they only did what they should have done and the glorified handicap match worked perfectly fine. Swann continues to look like a star and the look on his face after the pin made him feel as big as he ever has. I want to see that match on Sunday more than anything else and Swann has gotten a ton out of this feud.

Sami Callihan and Jake Crist are celebrating Sami’s win over Tessa on Sunday. Callihan is annoyed that Dave Crist is taking too long to set up the Little Mermaid to calm down Madman Fulton when Tessa shows up with the bat to wreck their table. The fight is on and Jake grabs Tessa for the save. Sami loads up a bat shot but Tessa escapes and hits her own bat shot on Callihan to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This is a show where the point was to make you want to see the pay per view on Sunday. That was accomplished as well as they have done it in a long time with a very strong go home show. I’m looking forward to Slammiversary and I can’t remember the last time I’ve said that about a show from this company. This was a great go home show and served as an outstanding commercial for the show. I’m impressed, and that doesn’t happen very often around here.

Results

TJP b. Ace Austin – Kneebar

Kiera Hogan b. Madison Rayne – Fisherman’s neckbreaker

Rohit Raju b. Laredo Kid – Top rope double stomp to the back

Dezmond Xavier/Zachary Wentz b. Trey Miguel – Shoving moonsault

Rich Swann/Willie Mack b. John E. Bravo/Johnny Impact – Phoenix splash to Bravo

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 21, 2019
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re about two weeks away from Slammiversary and that could go a few different directions. You can see most of the card from here and that means it’s time for the final push. We also have Tessa Blanchard vs. Jake Crist tonight, which will seem to be setting up Tessa vs. Sami Callihan at Slammiversary. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Jake Crist

Sami is here with Jake. Tessa goes right to it with the forearms to send Jake outside for the suicide dives. Back in and Magnum is superkicked out of the air. The fans tell Jake to go back to Ohio as he forearms away in the corner. A Russian legsweep into Naomi’s reverse Rings of Saturn keeps Tessa in trouble for a bit before it’s off to the chinlock.

That’s broken up without much effort and they’re back to their feet. They forearm (again, which is better than exchanging punches in this case) it out until Tessa grabs a tilt-a-whirl DDT for two. A Death Valley Driver gives Jake the same but Tessa kicks him in the face three times in a row. Magnum finishes Jake at 7:32.

Rating: D+. Not awful here with the main positive being Tessa being treated like any male wrestler. A lot of the time in these matches you can see the man taking something off his offense but they didn’t go that way here and it made things a lot more believable. It still wasn’t very good though with a lot of forearms and strikes until more strikes set up the finish. Tessa vs. Callihan could be….something.

Post match Callihan comes out to yell at Jake. Tessa stares Sami down but here’s Eddie Edwards to go after Madman Fulton, who he is scheduled to face tonight.

Eddie Edwards vs. Madman Fulton

Eddie hits a suicide dive and we take an early break. Back with the bell not having rung yet (THANK YOU!) and Eddie slugging away at the monster. A chokeslam onto the apron cuts Eddie down though and they head inside for the opening bell. Fulton throws him around to start and then rams his own head into the buckle. A one hand chokeslam plants Eddie as Sami is rather pleased on the floor. There’s a suplex for two and Fulton’s smile is rather creepy.

The powerbomb to the floor is blocked and Eddie manages a hurricanrana to avoid a bad case of death. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Eddie two but he has to knock Sami off the floor. Instead of following up it’s the suicide dive to send Sami into the barricade. Eddie grabs Kenny but Killer Kross pops up on screen. He has Sandman tied up and under a hood so he can pour water over Sandman’s head. As the torture ensues, Fulton grabs the swinging Downward Spiral for the pin at 5:47.

Rating: C-. They have an idea here but what if you don’t mind seeing Sandman get tortured like this? Fulton is quite the monster and knows how to work like one, which is a big reason why he’s going to stand out around here. They have big guys but they don’t have monsters like him, which is the kind of thing that can help them out a lot.

Eddie goes to help Sandman.

Post break Alisha Edwards cuts Eddie off because, duh, it’s a trap. Eddie storms off after him anyway.

Moose vs. Tommy Dreamer

Moose shrugs off some shots in the corner and chops away but Dreamer’s clothesline takes him down. They head outside with Dreamer backdropping him on the concrete and peeling back the floor mats. Moose drops him onto the apron though and Dreamer thinks that it hurts. Back in and we hit the chinlock but Dreamer is right back up with a cutter.

The snap jabs put Moose right back in control until a DDT gives Dreamer two. A superplex gives Dreamer two, followed by a spear for the same. With the wrestling not working, let’s bring in a chair, sending Moose behind the referee. Moose kicks the chair into Dreamer’s face and it’s No Jackhammer Needed to finish Dreamer at 8:18.

Rating: D. What the heck was that? Moose is a powerhouse and about to have one of the bigger matches at Slammiversary but he has issues beating Tommy Dreamer? After Dreamer got in quite a bit of offense and near falls. Sometimes it’s ok to crush someone and that’s the case with Dreamer here.

Post match Moose loads up a Van Terminator but Rob Van Dam makes the save.

Taya Valkyrie and John E. Bravo go into a stairwell to talk to Rosemary about Su Yung. Rosemary wonders what is going on with Taya but suggests that she’ll help in exchange for a title shot. Taya rolls her eyes and makes the offer. Rosemary promises to have her people call Taya’s people.

Johnny Impact is ready for tonight’s triple threat against Rich Swann and Michael Elgin. He’ll win the X Division Title at Slammiversary.

Knockouts Title: Su Yung vs. Taya Valkyrie

Su is challenging and has James Mitchell and Havok in her corner. They slug it out to start and the early Panic Switch attempt is blocked. Taya misses a charge in the corner and gets forearmed in the face, only to send Su into the buckle. The running hip attack sets up some gyrating into the running Meteora in the corner. More gyrating lets Su get up and Taya misses a charge into the corner.

A headscissors sends her into the buckle again and it’s off to something like a reverse Koji Clutch. Yung gets two more off a hanging Pedigree and it’s time for the bloody glove. That takes a bit too long though and Taya faceplants her for two of her own, followed by a Codebreaker on the arm (makes sense). Taya goes up but Havok hits her with a forearm for the DQ at 6:19.

Rating: D+. This was a setup for a future match rather than anything that mattered on its own. There’s nothing wrong with that and you can feel a big title match coming up at Slammiversary. What matters most here is keeping both of them strong, which was done well here, even if the DQ kind of came out of nowhere.

Post match here’s Rosemary but Mitchell says they’re not here for violence. At Slammiversary, it’s time for some history: the first ever women’s Monster’s Ball match with Taya defending against Rosemary, Taya and Havok.

Here’s Ace Austin for a chat, including a plug for his shirts. He hasn’t been pinned around here and therefore he wants some fresh competition. Someone needs to come out here and stop him from being the future of the X-Division.

Ace Austin vs. TJP

This works. TJP gets a rather weak WELCOME BACK chant and he starts fast with a headscissors. A handspring armdrag sends Austin to the floor and that means a springboard slingshot dropkick. Austin sends him into the apron though and hits a dropkick of his own before diving back in to break the count like a smart man. Back in and TJP gets in a hurricanrana, followed by a high crossbody. The Detonation Kick finishes Austin at 2:17. Hopefully TJP goes somewhere because an undefeated Austin had some potential.

Eddie is still looking for Kross.

The Rascalz don’t want to train again but have a Tag Team Title shot at Slammiversary. Konnan comes in and says they remind him of LAX. It took guts to walk into the LAX clubhouse and try something like that but the Rascalz better be ready for a fight at Slammiversary. These circle segments are good, but how has Rob Van Dam not shown up for one yet? It’s kind of the layup of layups.

This week’s Flashback Moment of the Week: Ethan Carter III beats Bully Ray in a Texas Deathmatch at Slammiversary 2014. Dixie Carter even gets in a cameo.

Eddie finds someone who is not Sandman under the hood. Kross pops up and the fight is on with Alisha coming in to break it up. Eddie says this is who he is and Alisha storms off. We’re still doing this story? Eddie bites Kross’ face and a lot of blood flows. The murder rate spiking around here wasn’t something I would have bet on.

Sami Callihan wants Tessa Blanchard at Slammiversary.

Slammiversary rundown.

Rich Swann vs. Michael Elgin vs. Johnny Impact

Non-title. Elgin and Impact go after Swann to start but once he’s thrown to the floor, it’s time for the villains to slug it out. Swann springboards back in to take them both down before knocking Elgin outside. Impact dives onto both of them but only hits Elgin as Swann is smart enough to move away when a large man is diving at him.

Back in and Elgin German suplexes both of them at the same time. You know, because he can do something like that. Swann is back up with a hurricanrana on Elgin and a kick to Impact’s head gets two. Elgin plants Swann but gets kneed in the head by Impact, who adds a break dancing splash. A swinging sitout Rock Bottom gives Elgin two on Impact as Swann is still down in the corner.

Elgin and Impact strike it out until Swann is back up with a double Lethal Injection to put both of them down. Swann gets caught in an electric chair from Elgin until Impact hits a Flying Chuck to take them both down, with Swann reverse hurricanranaing Elgin for a cool spot. Starship Pain…I think misses Elgin (it grazed him but it’s not clear if it was supposed to or not), who is right back up with some kicks to the face. Impact pulls him off the middle rope with a super Spanish Fly but Swann comes back in with the 450 to finish Impact at 8:32.

Rating: B. Swann has benefited greatly from these main event matches, mainly because he’s been treated not only as an equal but also a bigger deal in some cases. Having him get a fall here is a big deal and something that makes the X-Division Title feel like that much more important. That’s how you build a star and it’s working well here.

Post match Elgin comes after Swann so Rich drops him as well as Impact again. Cue John E. Bravo with the Ultimate X to deck Swann though….until Brian Cage is back. House is cleaned and Cage powerbombs Elgin to end the show. Cage looked awesome, which is the case when you’re a returning monster.

Overall Rating: C+. Maybe it’s how bad Raw and Smackdown have been as of late but this show did a good job of making me want to see Slammiversary and building up some names at the same time. It’s far from a perfect show but what matters here is that things are looking like they’re moving in the right direction. You don’t see that very often in WWE and this place (plus Ring of Honor) is doing it fairly well. It can be done, if the company actually puts in the effort, which is what happened here. Nice job.

Results

Tessa Blanchard b. Jake Crist – Magnum

Madman Fulton b. Eddie Edwards – Swinging Downward Spiral

Moose b. Tommy Dreamer – No Jackhammer Needed

Taya Valkyrie b. Su Yung via DQ when Havok interfered

TJP b. Ace Austin – Detonation Kick

Rich Swann b. Michael Elgin and Johnny Impact – 450 to Impact

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 31, 2019
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re going back in time again tonight with the further adventures of the ECW stars in modern times, plus what should be the destruction of Glenn Gilbertti at the hands of Tessa Blanchard. Last week’s show wasn’t the kindest thing in the world so hopefully this one is a lot better. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Moose/The North vs. Rob Van Dam/Tommy Dreamer/Sabu

Maybe we can just get it out of the way early on. Dreamer and Page start things off with Dreamer getting in an armbar before handing it off to Sabu. Alexander comes in as well and the fans declare this awesome less than a minute in. Sabu’s legbar doesn’t work so he sends Alexander into the corner for a YOU STILL GOT IT chant. So apparently the fans here have no idea what IT is.

Moose and Van Dam come in for the pose/chant off before Van Dam kicks him in the face. The combination of Rolling Thunder/slingshot legdrop get two on Moose and it’s back to Dreamer, who gets kicked low. Back from a break with Moose trying his own Rolling Thunder but getting a chair pelted at his face instead. That’s enough for the warm tag to Van Dam, who hits the split legged moonsault for two on Alexander.

Everything breaks down and Sabu hits Air Sabu on Alexander. Sabu’s manager Super Genie hits his own, followed by another dive to the floor to drop the North. Moose hits No Jackhammer Needed on Dreamer but walks into the Van Daminator, leaving Sabu to bring in the table. An Arabian facebuster through the table, with the referee casually watching, sets up the Five Star to finish Page at 10:09.

Rating: D+. It’s not the worst match in the world or even close to it, but there are so many problems with this. The biggest thing is that, again, they’re catering to the live audience instead of the masses. What if you weren’t around for ECW’s heyday? Unless you’re at least thirty years old, odds are you weren’t a fan of the original ECW. Or what if you just didn’t like it? Yeah the fans in the arena are going to cheer, but outsiders see a bunch of old guys (with Dreamer being the youngest at 48) having a not very good match while the fans chant for another company. They didn’t have anything else to put in these spots?

Brian Cage is still banged up but he’s been cleared to train. He’ll meet Michael Elgin at Slammiversary.

Moose is tired of these people messing up so he’ll do things himself.

Glenn Gilbertti vs. Tessa Blanchard

Gilbertti drops to the floor and says that Tessa is one of the best female wrestlers in the world, though that doesn’t count very much. The road to superstardom is paved with potholes and you know how women drivers are. It’s clear that Tessa has daddy issues so tonight, Gilbertti will be her daddy. Tessa hits a bunch of forearms and a big forearm finishes Gilbertti at 2:59. Exactly how it should have gone, but it still feels like the most random detour for Tessa, who just got done with a huge feud against Gail Kim.

The Rascalz invade LAX’s clubhouse with the smoke and set up a match for later. Trey drinks a lot.

Rich Swann and Willie Mack are ready to get revenge on Michael Elgin and Johnny Impact tonight.

Desi Hit Squad vs. Deaners

For the love of all things good and holy make it short. Cody works on Raju’s arm to start but Raj pulls Raju to the floor for a breather. The big dives take them down though and we seem to be in near squash territory. Raj trips Cody and the Squad takes over with a dropkick to the back getting two.

That doesn’t last long though as it’s back to Jake as everything breaks down. The Squad hits a faceplant/top rope double stomp combination for two on Cody with Jake making the save. Jake posts himself though and Cody gets shoved off the top. Cody is fine enough to send them into each other though and a rollup finishes Raj at 6:05.

Rating: D+. Again, not that bad of a match but it felt like filler. Are we really supposed to believe that the Desi Hit Squad or the Deaners are going to move up towards the Tag Team Title picture? LAX and the Lucha Bros just had a blood feud for the titles that headlined a pay per view. I’m not buying the redneck cousins as being a serious threat.

Killer Kross is ready to hurt Eddie Edwards tonight. Kenny has been broken and Eddie will be next.

Elgin is ready to take the World Title at Slammiversary. Johnny Impact comes in to say he’s taking the X-Division Title at Slammiversary, so he’s ready to hurt people tonight. That’s cool with Elgin. Johnny plugs the upcoming special including the Great Muta, which is also cool with Elgin.

Killer Kross vs. Eddie Edwards

Hardcore. Kross is wearing a flack jacket but Eddie dives onto him anyway to start fast. A belly to back suplex drops Kross on the apron and it’s time for the weapons. That takes too long though and Kross takes over by sending him into the barricade. A trashcan shot and a suplex on the floor make it even worse for Eddie and they get inside for the first time. Eddie gets in a Blue Thunder Bomb onto a trashcan but Kross won’t stay down.

Some trashcan lid shots to the head get one and it’s time to bring in a small ladder. The Krossjacket Choke has Eddie in trouble so he hits a few metal sign shots to the head to escape. Kross kicks him in the head though, allowing him to load up some chairs. A chokebomb through the ladder on the chairs breaks Eddie in half but there’s no cover.

Instead more chairs are brought in but Eddie manages a sunset bomb onto all of them for two. Two more chairs are set up and Eddie loads up a tiger driver. That’s countered with a backdrop, which was supposed to be a belly to back piledriver but didn’t really come close. Kross loads up some lead lined gloves but here’s Sandman with a kendo stick to Kross, allowing Eddie to hit the Boston Knee Party for the pin at 13:51.

Rating: C. Eddie is one of the better performers Impact has ever had, winning everything there is to win around here, including the World Title. But what he really needed was Sandman’s endorsement. Yeah that guy who only ever succeeded in ECW? That’s the ticket for Eddie. I thought Sandman was cool back in the day and he certainly had his place, but come on with the ECW stuff already.

Post match Sandman gives Eddie Kenny II and beers are consumed. And yes, the fans are chanting for ECW instead of Eddie or Impact. That seems to be the plan all along.

Rosemary has the still chained up Su Yung when James Mitchell comes in. He recaps their entire feud, including Allie’s involvement and death. Mitchell wants Su back and blames Rosemary for Allie’s death. Rosemary chokes Jim and says she’s keeping Yung.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Chris Sabin/Kazarian/Christopher Daniels vs. Sanada/Great Muta/Yasu from Lockdown 2014.

OVE isn’t happy with Scarlett Bordeaux and Fallah Bahh. Next week, the Crists will take care of them.

Michael Elgin/Johnny Impact vs. Willie Mack/Rich Swann

Johnny Bravo is in Elgin/Impact’s corner. Mack and Swann hit the stereo flip dives to start us off in a hurry, which is probably their best idea. We take a break thirty seconds in (erg) and come back with Impact in trouble in the corner thanks to the reverse Cannonball from Mack. Johnny slides between his legs though and scores with an enziguri before handing it off to Elgin. Mack elbows his way out of trouble and manages to drag Elgin over to the corner for the tag off to Swann.

A powerbomb attempt is countered with a hurricanrana and Elgin almost punches Impact. Swann sends them into each other and rolls Elgin up for two. Elgin drives Mack into Swann for a crotching though and it’s a Death Valley Driver for two on Mack. Back from another break with Swann still in control until he ducks the Flying Chuck to the face. The hot tag brings in Mack for some rolling Wastelands to Impact but Elgin tags himself back in.

That means a slingshot elbow to Swann’s face and a big running flip dive to take out Mack and Impact. Johnny isn’t happy so Swann adds his own running flip dive dive onto all three. Back in and Elgin hits a heck of a superkick on Swann with Impact adding a knee to the head for two. The Moonlight Drive gets two and Elgin breaks up the handspring elbow to make things even worse.

Mack comes in for the Samoan drop and standing moonsault for no count as he isn’t legal. A Rock Bottom/neckbreaker combination gets two on Impact, who is fine enough for a middle rope Spanish Fly on Mack. Swann kicks Impact in the head and everyone is down. Elgin and Impact hit stereo superkicks but Impact hits Elgin by mistake, sending Elgin up the ramp. Swann kicks Impact in the face and hits the 450 for the pin at 22:58.

Rating: B+. This was a blast and I was actually surprised by the finish here. I was thinking they would go with the monster heels winning in the end but they kept both teams in there until I wasn’t sure who was winning in the end. Swann and Mack have something and I could see both of them going a lot higher up the card. Very good main event here after a very good Elgin vs. Swann match from a few weeks ago.

Overall Rating: C. It’s kind of amazing how this show can go from feeling like a bad indy promotion to having an awesome main event in the span of two hours. If nothing else, the main event shows what this company is capable of doing while they go with whatever else for the sake of either the easy way out or popping the audience in the arena. This company is capable of better and they showed that in the main event. Do more of that and less of the 50 year old crowd.

Results

Rob Van Dam/Tommy Dreamer/Sabu b. Moose/The North – Five Star Frog Splash to Page

Tessa Blanchard b. Glenn Gilbertti – Forearm

Deaners b. Desi Hit Squad – Rollup to Singh

Eddie Edwards b. Killer Kross – Boston Knee Party

Rich Swann/Willie Mack b. Michael Elgin/Johnny Impact – 450 to Impact

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

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

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

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IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #58
Date: May 18, 2019
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Jim Cornette

We have to be coming up to the end of this taping cycle already. The big story tonight is the other semifinal match in the National Title tournament, which isn’t the most interesting thing in the world so far. The good thing though is that the shows have enough going on that it keeps things moving. Let’s get to it.

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

Bocchini gives us a quick rundown of tonight’s show.

Opening sequence.

Earlier this week, Sami Callihan was in a Bobcat because he wants to wreck things. Mance Warner came up and said he understood things and offered him half of a light beer. They get in the Bobcat and head to the liquor store.

Earlier today, Salina de la Renta didn’t want to talk about Low Ki’s contract status.

Promociones Dorado vs. Mance Warner/Sami Callihan

Hijo de LA Park/Ricky Martinez for Dorado here. It’s a brawl to start (well duh) with Cornette not being sure what to do here as he likes Warner but hates Callihan. They fight by the barricade with Callihan hitting a beer can to the head. A lot of spitting ensues and Park stomps on Callihan’s chest. The weapons are brought in to little avail and Sami starts whipping people. This includes a whip to Warner by request, because Warner is a little nuts. Sami and Warner’s spitting high five allows Dorado to hit double superkicks.

Mance gets double teamed inside until a low blow slows Park down. And yes, now it’s time for an actual match! Dorado crotches Mance against the post as we’re firmly in the “DQ’s don’t matter here” portion of the show. Park gets two off a slingshot splash and we hit the hip swiveling. Warner hits a headbutt and falls onto Park’s crotch in the old Sting spot. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Callihan so house can be cleaned. A very quick Cactus Special finishes Martinez at 8:08.

Rating: C-. Warner and Callihan had to get a win at some point after losing or going to a draw so many times. I know LA Park has to be protected at all costs but you have to rebuild some challengers for the sake of facing him later on. Callihan and Warner can do that, but it doesn’t work if they don’t have something like this every now and then.

Post match the brawl is still on with Callihan going for Park’s mask. That’s broken up and they fight to the floor and then into the back. LA Park comes in to help out and Dorado stands tall (in a very small hallway).

Austin Aries, with his Avengers style logo, is coming.

We look at Avalanche’s dominance in Battle Riot II.

Daga vs. Minoru Tanaka

Tanaka’s GHC Junior Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line. Feeling out process to start with Daga hitting a chop that seems to get Tanaka’s attention. Daga goes after the arm but Tanaka dropkicks him down and flips back to his feet. A cross armbreaker has Daga in trouble but he rolls out and gets most of a rear naked choke.

That’s broken up and Tanaka escapes a powerbomb attempt so Daga headscissors him to the floor. The required suicide dive hits Tanaka and a springboard corkscrew dive makes it worse. Back in and Tanaka rolls into a heel hook with some hard cranking until Daga makes the rope. Daga rolls outside and that means a middle rope moonsault from Tanaka.

They head in again with Daga’s knee being fine enough for a dropkick and low superkick for two, followed by an ankle lock. That’s broken up and Tanaka hits a hard kick to the chest to take over again. They forearm it out until Daga grabs a bridging German suplex for two more. Tanaka goes for the cross armbreaker again so Daga tries to roll out, which is reversed into a cradle to give Tanaka the pin at 10:19.

Rating: B-. This was a fun one with both guys working hard and showcasing themselves well. Tanaka is very smooth in the ring and Daga, while not someone I’ve liked in the past, has gotten a lot better in the last few months. Good match here and the kind of match that makes the Fusion concept make that much more sense.

The Von Erichs are coming.

MJF doesn’t want to hear about the Von Erich Dynasty because there is one dynasty in MLW and that is the Dynasty.

Fury Road Control Center, with announcements of Teddy Hart defending the Middleweight Title against Jimmy Havoc, Myron Reed vs. Gringo Loco and the National Title tournament final.

We look at Jacob Fatu beating Barrington Hughes last week.

Contra talks about their successes so far and promise more destruction.

Tom Lawlor isn’t worried about Contra because he’s ready to face everyone around the world. He’s ready for Avalanche next week.

We look back at Air Wolf defeating Fenix in a major upset. Air Wolf is up for a rematch but Fenix hasn’t said anything.

A fan poll says Davey Boy Smith would make a good challenger.

National Title Tournament Semifinals: Rich Swann vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

The winner gets Alexander Hammerstone for the title next week. Myron Reed is here with Swann while Pillman is here alone. Hang on though as we get a weapons check on Swann, who thinks the referee is biased against him. Swann finally agrees to get going so Pillman forearms away and grabs a powerslam for two with Reed pulling him off. A backdrop sends Swann into a 450 faceplant for another cover with Reed offering another distraction.

Swann finally gets in a superkick and a few forearms as things settle down. Pillman ducks a clothesline and dropkicks Reed through the ropes to take care of him, setting up a neck snap across the top rope. A high crossbody gives Pillman two and he hammers away in the corner until Reed trips him up. How this isn’t a DQ isn’t clear, as the “the bodies of the wrestlers blocked the referee’s view” explanation is quite the reach.

Swann throws him down by the head as we talk about the history of biased referees. A dragon sleeper doesn’t keep Pillman in trouble for very long so it’s a kick to the head into a DDT to give Swann two. Swann yells at the referee and gets shoved down for his efforts, allowing Pillman to roll Swann up for the fast counted pin at 6:44.

Rating: C-. This was almost all about the angle rather than the match and that’s not the worst thing in the world. Swann’s issues with the referee aren’t as important as the title and Pillman vs. the Dynasty so this was what mattered most. I’m sure Swann will be fine as his stuff is more than good enough while Pillman can move on to the title match next week.

Alex Hammerstone is cool with facing Pillman for the title because Pillman isn’t big. Pillman won’t be making his father proud at Fury Road.

Overall Rating: C. Fairly good show here though the very long taping cycle wrapping up couldn’t come sooner as still being in New York from Wrestlemania weekend makes the shows feel a little old. Hopefully the Fury Road special next week should be entertaining and a little pick up, though the shows are hardly terrible or even bad. I still don’t see the need for another title, but we’re way past the point of that being something that can be fixed in a hurry. Watchable enough show, but they still have a bit too much going on at once.

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

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

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

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IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 17, 2019
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re off to Philadelphia now and you can feel the ECW chants starting from here. I’m not sure what we can expect here, but Brian Cage is still banged up and injured, meaning we don’t have a major story at the moment. Rob Van Dam seems to be prominently featured around here though and that isn’t likely to go well for anyone outside of the live audience. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Knockouts Battle Royal

Madison Rayne, Kiera Hogan, Alisha Edwards, Jordynne Grace, Tessa Blanchard, Scarlett Bordeaux, Solo Darling, Tasha Steelz, Karissa Rivera, Ashley Vox

Hold on though as here’s Glenn Gilbertti to insult the Knockouts. He says Scarlett’s victory over him was a one off fluke and this is a great way to get kicked off TV. The only reason this should be happening is if it was a bra and panties battle royal. Glenn comes in, gets pounded down, and bails to the floor to do commentary. Everyone actually in the match brawls and an early Blanchard vs. Grace showdown is broken up.

The fighting continues with Tasha hitting a running hurricanrana to send Tessa into the corner. Gilbertti complains about the lack of scantily clad women, showing that he doesn’t understand the meaning of “scantily clad”. Edwards hits an Edge-O-Matic on Darling, who also takes a piledriver from Grace. A parade of secondary finishers ensues as Glenn moves on to insulting the WNBA. Rivera and Vox go to the apron and get knocked out by Tessa to get us down to eight.

Steelz gets sent to the apron as well and a superkick….doesn’t get rid of her for some reason. Solo takes her back to the apron for a reverse DDT and the elimination but Tessa gets rid of Solo as well. Tessa isn’t done as she gorilla pressed Edwards onto the pile as we’re halfway done. Kiera slips out of Grace’s Muscle Buster and hits a superkick, with Tessa coming over to help get rid of Grace.

Scarlett hits the running hip attack into the Stinkface on Madison as Glenn talks about still being in this match. Oh please tell me that’s not what we’re doing. Taya Valkyrie comes down and gets in a cheap shot on Madison, leading to a quick elimination. Back from a break with Tessa getting double teamed by Kiera and Scarlett….until Kiera turns on Scarlett for the elimination. They fight to the apron and Tessa dumps her, drawing Glenn back in for the running clothesline and elimination for the win at 13:54.

Rating: D. So Tessa has the match of matches with Gail Kim at Rebellion and her followup is doing the same feud with freaking Disco Inferno that Scarlett just did? I know Impact is obsessed with this intergender stuff at the moment but Tessa beating up comedy guys isn’t an interesting way to go or a good usage of her talents. This was your usual battle royal, with the ending that I can’t stand for the sake of setting up what should be a squash win for Tessa. What a great thing for television.

Post match Glenn runs away.

Announcers recap.

We see a clip from after last week’s show when Michael Elgin attacked Willie Mack in the parking lot and left him laying.

Elgin is here because he’s tired of waiting in line. He’s sent a lot of people to the hospital but here’s Rich Swann to get in Elgin’s face. The brawl is broken up in a hurry.

Rosemary vs. Su Yung

Demon Collar match which is a Dog Collar match with pins and submissions. They both spray mist and it’s time to slug it out with Rosemary throwing her down by the neck. The Upside Down sends Yung to the floor and Rosemary hangs her over the corner. Since strangulation doesn’t work on her, Yung is fine enough to pull her throat first into the middle buckle and take over.

Now it’s Rosemary getting choked in a chair, followed by a Cannonball off the apron to knock her off the chair. A double clothesline in the aisle puts both of them down. Back in and Rosemary gets two off a reverse DDT but Yung hits her in the face with the chain for the same. Something close to a hanging Pedigree gets two more and the Mandible Claw goes on. That’s broken up with a chain shot though and Rosemary gets in the mist. A spear into the Red Wedding gives Rosemary the pin at 9:01.

Rating: D+. The collar and chain didn’t offer much here outside of a few quick spots and that’s not exactly what I was hoping for. Then again, that kind of applies to the entire feud, which has been going for months without actually getting very far. Yung has been completely ruined as a heel and it seems that the story is just going to keep going no matter how low she gets. Not the worst, but nothing that felt important.

Madison rants to Melissa Santos about getting the Knockouts Title shot from Taya. The title has to be defended next week and Madison is getting what belongs to her.

Madman Fulton vs. Randy Shawn

Sami Callihan is here with Fulton and instructs him to kill Shawn. A one handed toss sends Shawn across the ring and Shawn’s chops have as much effect as you would expect. Fulton kicks him in the face and hits a pair of chokeslams, followed by a swinging Downward Spiral for the pin at 2:20. Total squash, as it should be.

Rob Van Dam is glad to be back in Philadelphia and glad to still be on top. Next week: RVD vs. Tommy Dreamer. Great.

The Impact Wrestling doctor joins us and uses a bunch of medical lingo to say Cage is hurt. It’s not clear when he’s going to be back. This is done in an interview with the investigative reporter and I’m still not sure what the joke is supposed to be with him. It’s been going on for months and he’s not funny or anything more than just a backstage interview with a job title. What’s the point?

Killer Kross vs. Eddie Edwards

Kross has Kenny so the fight is on in a hurry with Eddie sending him outside for the big dive. The suicide dive connects as well but Kross is right back up with a bunch of stomping in the corner. A knee to the ribs and clothesline give Kross two and it’s time to choke on the rope. Eddie tells him to kick him harder before grabbing a Blue Thunder Bomb for no cover.

A super hurricanrana into a running chop (odd combination) gives Eddie one and Kross is angry. Eddie forearms away anyway and grabs a tiger bomb for two. The Boston Knee Party misses though and Kross grabs his face to send Eddie outside. Eddie finds Kenny but walks into the Doomsday Saito for the pin at 7:01.

Rating: C-. Not bad here but it seems to be part of a bigger story. Eddie is starting to get into this role but the talk of him idolizing Tommy Dreamer doesn’t give me a good feeling when we’re in ECW land. Kross playing Eli Drake is interesting, though quite the downgrade as Drake is a lot better in the ring. This company can jettison talent though as they have Van Dam and Dreamer to fall back on though right?

Post match Kross zip ties Eddie to the ropes and breaks Kenny.

The Rascalz talk about weird food before going to train, in montage form no less. They’re uh, not very good at this stuff.

Flashback Moment of the Week: LAX vs. OGz from Slammiversary 2018.

Josh Alexander yells at Ethan Page for going after Rob Van Dam instead of the Tag Team Titles. Moose comes in and tells them to go after the titles, but after they get rid of Van Dam.

Michael Elgin vs. Rich Swann

Non-title and the very angry Swann still manages to dance to the ring. Swann goes for a headlock to start but a shoulder works as well as you would have expected. Elgin backflips away so Swann dropkicks him in the side of the head as Josh runs down house shows. The handspring elbow is countered and Swann gets sent into the corner. A scary release German suplex sends Swann down on his head and a single chop takes him down again.

Elgin’s slingshot splash gets two but Swann gets in a kick to the face. Swann heads up so Elgin dropkicks him out of the air as the athletic freak stuff continues. A DDT gets Swann out of a powerbomb and Elgin gets knocked outside for some running flip dives. Back in and a top rope elbow gives Swann two as we take a break. We come back with Elgin elbowing him in the face and nailing some running splashes in the corner.

A Blue Thunder Bomb gives Elgin two more and Swann is in big trouble. Some standing clotheslines don’t put Swann down so he nails a superkick. That’s fine with Elgin, who hits a swinging Side Effect for two. Elgin takes him up top but gets countered into a super hurricanrana. The Lethal Injection sets up the middle rope 450 for two on Elgin. The Phoenix splash misses though and Elgin plants him with a sitout Razor’s Edge bomb for a rather near fall.

A buckle bomb looks to set up the Elgin Bomb but Rich counters with a pair of reverse hurricanranas. The spinning kick to the head drops Elgin for a delayed two and Elgin rolls to the floor. Swann makes the mistake of diving at him and gets powerbombed into the post twice in a row. The third in a row, plus a shove of the referee, is enough to get Elgin disqualified at 20:20.

Rating: B+. This was a heck of a match with Swann fighting as long as he could but not being able to survive the onslaught. One of the keys here though was Elgin going for the kill instead of the pin and Swann not taking the fall. There’s enough of a difference between losing via DQ and getting pinned and it makes sense to protect the champion a little bit more. Elgin looked like a killer though and now we wait for Cage to show up and finally stop him, which should be awesome.

Post match the beatdown is still on until Willie Mack makes the save. Johnny Impact runs in and takes out Mack. A knee to Swann’s head leaves Impact and Elgin staring each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show took some time to get going and the main event helped erase a lot of the problems. As annoying as the Gilbertti stuff and ECW praise were, the storyline advancement helped a lot with Elgin being built up even more helped out a lot. Cage being gone is actually a nice thing at the moment and he’ll be back for the next tapings, meaning things should be moving forward. I liked this show more than I thought I would, but Van Dam vs. Dreamer next week is going to make my head hurt. What we got this week worked though and that’s a nice change of pace after the last few weeks.

Results

Glenn Gilbertti won a battle royal last eliminating Tessa Blanchard

Rosemary b. Su Yung – Red Wedding

Madman Fulton b. Randy Shawn – Swinging Downward Spiral

Killer Kross b. Eddie Edwards – Doomsday Saito

Rich Swann b. Michael Elgin via DQ when Elgin powerbombed Swann against the post

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 10, 2019
Location: Rebel Sports Entertainment Complex, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re still in Canada and we still don’t have a World Champion around at the moment due to Brian Cage’s back injury. What we do have though is a new #1 contender in the form of Michael Elgin, who seems rather content with waiting around until Cage gets back. I’m not sure what that means for this week so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap, with the World Title situation getting some extra time, as it should.

Opening sequence.

Josh: “We sit just fifty eight days away from Slammiversary!” You might want to wait a bit on that countdown.

Moose/Josh Alexander vs. LAX

Non-title and no Konnan with LAX. Alexander and Santana start things off with an exchange of wristlocks until Ortiz comes in for the running splash. It’s off to Moose, who puts Ortiz on top and dropkicks him to the floor. That leaves Callus enough time to list off Moose’s athletic stats and then say they’re off the charts. Hence why they have been charted you see. Back to Alexander for some forearms in the corner and the required chinlock.

Ortiz fights up and suplexes Alexander into a Stunner for the tag off to Santana. Moose gets sent outside and it’s a double flapjack into a facebuster combination to drop Alexander again. It’s already back to Moose for the power, including a powerbomb to Ortiz onto Santana. The chokebomb gets two on Santana but Moose hits Alexander by mistake, allowing LAX to hit a double enziguri. With Moose down on the ground, LAX hits their usual flurry into the double faceplant to finish Alexander at 7:38.

Rating: C. LAX can do no wrong at this point and that was the case again here, with another entertaining performance against a team that didn’t have the best chemistry. If nothing else though, hearing “their opponents, Moose and Josh Alexander” sounds a lot better than The North. That’s such a bad name for a team and while their work is good, it sounds like the most indy of names.

Madison Rayne is ready for her third non-title match against Taya Valkyrie, even if Taya doesn’t have to defend the title for thirty days. I get the story they’re going for here, but Madison is another shining example of what is wrong with a lot of the roster: she’s perfectly adequate. She’s going to give you a fine match, a fine promo and a fine everything, but there’s no reaching for the next level. Madison, along with so many others on the roster, are a safe bet and that’s a big reason why Impact never goes any higher than they already are.

Tommy Dreamer gives his partners a big pep talk about how they’re all a bunch of misfits. He knows about that, because he used to work for ECW. I actually yelled at my screen OH MY GOODNESS SHUT UP ABOUT ECW. Dreamer promises that the team will fight tonight, because this is the kind of company he wants to fight for.

Announcers’ preview.

Madison Rayne vs. Taya Valkyrie

Non-title again and Tessa Blanchard comes out for commentary, definitely acting a lot more faceish. Taya heads straight outside for the stalling so Madison chases her back inside, where the champ gets in a dropkick to the head. That means the always annoying break less than a minute in and we come back with Madison hitting a running shoulder in the corner.

Taya throws her down again and we have an inset window showing Tessa on commentary. I don’t really need to watch commentary talking, but EGADS is that better than cutting to Gail every ten seconds. Taya cuts off a springboard with a faceplant and it’s a Jeff Hardy legdrop between the legs. A little dance sets up Taya bending Madison’s ribs around the post as the announcers talk almost non-stop about Gail vs. Tessa.

Back in and Madison gets in a tornado DDT, followed by a few forearms for two. A windup cutter gives Madison two as Tessa forgets that this is non-title. Taya stops for more trash talk and slow kicks to the back/chest. A big kick is countered into a half crab and Taya taps immediately at 12:08.

Rating: C-. The story is fine and they can do a title match before Slammiversary, but I’m still not buying Madison as a top challenger. She hasn’t missed a step since her previous run, but that doesn’t make her all that inspiring. Taya tapping so fast makes sense and it’s very nice that they’re doing a story with the champion losing over and over again rather than just doing it and rarely going anywhere other than “here’s a title shot to make it 50/50”.

This week’s Flashback Moment of the Week: Rob Van Dam beats Abyss at Bound For Glory.

Van Dam thinks he’s facing Diamond Dallas Page tonight instead of Ethan Page. He’s not worried about Rob Van Dam.

Rosemary wants a Demon Collar match against Su Yung, winner take all. That would be all the souls/people I presume?

Jordynne Grace vs. Alexia Nicole

Grace shrugs off the kicks to the leg and hits a one armed delayed vertical suplex. Nicole’s sleeper doesn’t work at all and it’s a giant swing to make it even worse. A clothesline goes even worse for Nicole and Grave hits a torture rack into a spinning powerbomb. The Grace Driver is good for the pin at 3:03.

Rating: D. Grace continues to look dominant and at some point they’ll make her the monster champion that she should be. Sometimes you need a nice squash like this as it’s one of the best ways to keep someone over. She doesn’t have anything going on right now but keeping her dominant on TV like this works just fine.

Josh Alexander gives Ethan Page a pep talk for his match with Van Dam tonight.

Kiera Hogan walked away from Rosemary last week because that’s what Rosemary wanted. She has tried to be friends with everyone around here and it hasn’t worked. Grace comes in to say they are friends but Kiera doesn’t care about her. Grace can die like Allie did.

Ethan Page vs. Rob Van Dam

Alexander is here with Page and the announcers talk about Van Dam’s marijuana enthusiasm as both villains yell at Rob. They’re knocked to the floor as the discussion moves over to ECW and all the great moments Rob had there. An Alexander distraction breaks up the spinning kick to Page’s back and it’s Page taking over in the corner.

A backbreaker and suplex have Van Dam in trouble but he’s back with kicks to the face. Rolling Thunder looks to set up the Five Star but Alexander’s distraction lets Page get up. There’s a bicycle kick to Rob, who is right back with a spinwheel kick. The Five Star (with very little elevation) finishes Page at 6:10.

Rating: D+. It wasn’t terrible or even bad, but it was a 48 year old Van Dam playing the hits while the announcers tried to treat it as anything other than nostalgia/a way to draw a crowd for Philadelphia next week. There’s nothing wrong with Van Dam not being able to do it as well as he used to, but treating him like he’s still the same athlete is hard to take. Bringing Rob back in makes sense as he has star power, but I’m worried about how hard they’re going to push him at this point.

Brian Cage is still injured and starting rehab on his back soon.

Johnny Impact comes up to Michael Elgin and they argue over who injured Cage. Elgin will send him to the hospital to prove he’s right.

Deaners vs. Desi Hit Squad vs. Brent Banks/Aiden Prince vs. Rascalz

Banks flips a lot and dropkicks Raju into the corner so it’s off to Singh as we’re already in the rapid fire offense as no one is going to have time to really showcase themselves. The Squad takes over on Prince with a boot to the face giving Raju two. Prince gets in a kick of his own and the fans want the Deaners, showing that Canadian fans don’t have the best taste. The Deaners come in a few seconds later as everything breaks down with the Rascalz taking over. Wentz hits a big dive onto a bunch of people and Dezmond hits a cartwheel corkscrew dive but Raju uses the distraction to roll Cousin Jake up for the pin at 5:05.

Rating: D+. What am I supposed to say here? The Desi Hit Squad wins (because the Rascalz aren’t allowed to build any momentum) in a match with eight people trying to get stuff in over the course of about five minutes. It’s too much in one match and the Squad winning took away a lot of the energy that the match could have build up.

Killer Kross talks about stealing Kenny the Kendo Stick last week, which he did to prove a point. Now he wants to hear from Eddie Edwards. Tick tock.

LAX is in the Rascalz clubhouse and they talk about lions protecting the stash. Ortiz wants to fight the Rockers, the Eliminators, Bert and Ernie and Tango and Cash. Shots are consumed.

The announcers talk about going to the 2300 Arena next week and say EXTREME about half a dozen times.

Tommy Dreamer/Fallah Bahh/Rich Swann/Willie Mack vs. OVE

OVE Rules, meaning anything goes and Scarlett Bordeaux is here with the non-Ohioans. Joined in progress after a break with Bahh splashing Dave Crist in the corner. It’s time for some chairs with Dave being slammed onto the steel, leaving everyone to head outside. Mack comes back in and slams Sami, setting up a standing moonsault onto Dave. The big flip dive lets Mack knock everyone down, followed by Dave moonsaulting off the top onto everyone else. Jake dives, then Tommy dives as we get in the required exchange of dives out of the way. Dreamer heads to the back to get something as we take a break.

Back with the weapons abounding, including a big ladder that Dreamer pulled out. Dreamer wraps the ladder around his head and does the spinning knockdowns until Fulton gets in a shot to take over. Fulton sets the ladder up on the ramp as Sami and Dave beat on Fallah with a chair. That leaves Mack to pile a bunch of stuff up in the ring, only to take a cutter from Jake for two.

Bahh’s belly to belly onto a trashcan gets two but he’s fine enough to set up some chairs. A superplex to Dave is broken up with Fulton powerbombing Bahh through some chairs. The chair wrapped in barbed wire is sat on Bahh’s chest for a top rope double stomp into a near fall. Swann comes back in (Was he in at all?) and goes to the ladder but Fulton makes the save, allowing Dave to hit a super cutter off the ladder.

Fulton dives off the ladder into a Samoan drop to give Bahh two. Dreamer busts out the Legos and DDTs Sami and Dave onto them for no cover. That leaves the barefooted Bahh to walk onto the Legos but Fulton plants him with a chokeslam. Mack Stuns Fulton onto a chair but Sami blasts Mack with a stop sign. The Cactus Special onto the Legos gives Sami the pin at 16:29.

Rating: C+. It’s a garbage brawl that I’ve seen done a million times but they were putting in some effort and got the time to make it feel more violent. I’m not sure why you would have Mack take the fall when you have Dreamer in there, but they do seem to be teasing a Mack vs. Swann feud. This wasn’t bad, and thank goodness they didn’t put it in the ECW Arena instead.

Overall Rating: D+. I really wasn’t feeling this one as it seems that they’re building up to both Slammiversary but more importantly the 2300 Arena shows. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but I’m worried about how big of an ECW tribute we’ll have to sit through for the next few weeks. This wasn’t terrible, though they’ve lost some momentum from Rebellion.

Results

LAX b. Moose/Josh Alexander – Double faceplant to Alexander

Madison Rayne b. Taya Valkyrie – Half crab

Jordynne Grace b. Alexia Nicole – Grace Driver

Rob Van Dam b. Ethan Page – Five Star Frog Splash

Desi Hit Squad b. Rascalz, Brent Banks/Aiden Prince and Deaners – Rollup to Jake

OVE b. Tommy Dreamer/Fallah Bahh/Rich Swann/Willie Mack – Cactus Special to Mack

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Rebellion
Date: April 28, 2019
Location: Rebel Sports Complex, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

It’s back to pay per view for these people after some rather uninspiring television (though the go home show was good). The wrestling has been more than adequate but there’s very little that makes me want to watch this show. Now, that doesn’t mean this show will be bad, but rather than I haven’t been thrilled getting here. Let’s get to it.

The opening video asks what a rebellion is and how important it is to fight, all over clips of the feuds on the card. Not bad at all, as the recap videos have gotten better as of late.

Petey Williams vs. Jake Crist vs. Aiden Prince vs. Ace Austin vs. Cousin Jake vs. Eddie Edwards

Bonus match because a six match card wasn’t going to work. One fall to a finish and Jake is one of the Deaners. The brawling is on to start with Eddie hitting a suicide dive on Jake but getting taken down by a slingshot hurricanrana from Petey. Prince gets a running charge for a dive but Crist cutters him out of the air and onto the pile for the massive crash that would have taken Prince out even without the cutter. Petey Russian legsweeps Crist into the Sharpshooter with Deaner making the save.

That allows Austin to start his handspring into a kick on the apron but Crist is right there with another cutter from the top. A suicide DDT drops Deaner but it’s Petey up with a slingshot Codebreaker to Crist as he lands on Eddie for a cool crash. Prince’s 450 gets two on Crist with Prince making the save, earning himself a kick in the head from Austin. Eddie is back in with a tiger driver for two on Austin with Deaner making the save. That earns him a Canadian Destroyer from Williams but Austin dives in for the rollup pin at 4:59.

Rating: C+. It felt like an Impact match but I like keeping something like this short. There’s no need to have them go through spot after spot when you can just do the crazy spot fest until someone gets the pin. Austin has needed a win and this is a good star for him. I could see him going somewhere and anytime I could see more magic, I’m rather pleased.

The announcers preview the rest of the card that you already bought.

Impact Plus is coming as a replacement for the Global Wrestling Network. Good, as the thing was a mess from the start so a relaunch is a good idea.

Sami Callihan is sick of Rich Swann smiling at him and not meaning any of it. Tonight the Death Machine is coming for Swann in an OVE Rules match. He’s going to break Swann’s legs because he loves him like a brother.

Rohit Raju vs. Scarlett Bordeaux

This was set up earlier today as a replacement for the live Smoke Show. Raju has both Gama and Raj Singh with him like Scarlett has Fallah Bahh. Scarlett starts fast and takes over in the corner until a trip puts her down. That earns Raju a walk over his back so he takes Scarlett outside for a Russian legsweep into the barricade.

Back in and Scarlett is fine enough to chop away, setting up a headscissors into a Crossface to put Raju in even more trouble. That’s broken up so Scarlett snaps off a German suplex to send Raju to the floor, meaning a big dive follows him out. Back up and Raj crotches her on top, allowing Raju to load up a Stinkface. Since you don’t do that to Scarlett, it’s a low blow into the belly to back kneeling piledriver to give Scarlett the pin at 5:03.

Rating: D. I love Scarlett’s character for a variety of reasons, but having her do the same match over and over again is going to take away the appeal in a hurry. This was Raju being a cocky jerk who got in trouble for being stupid. The problem is that’s how most of her matches are likely to go and you can only do that for so long. It didn’t help that the match wasn’t very good and was another bonus match, which kind of goes to show you how thin the card is so far.

We recap Moose/The North vs. the Rascalz. The Rascalz made fun of Moose for his bad luck with women, meaning it was time for Moose to destroy all of them. The numbers got the better of him though and Dezmond Xavier stole a win. Therefore, it’s time to bring in some help.

Moose/The North vs. Rascalz

The Rascalz gets smart by rapid firing in and out against Moose with kicks to the legs and slingshot hilos. Moose pops to his feet though and hands it off to Josh Alexander to suplex Dezmond for two. A backbreaker gets two and Ethan Page adds a swinging version for his own. Dezmond sends the North into each other but Page is fine enough to run him over and prevent the hot tag.

Everything breaks down and it’s the big shoving moonsault to the floor so Wentz can take out Page. Miguel’s running flip dive is pulled out of the air by raw Moose power, meaning a swing into the barricade. Dezmond isn’t done though and uses Josh’s back as a launchpad to take Moose out. Back in and Alexander puts Miguel and Dezmond on the same shoulder at the same time in an impressive power display.

That’s broken up and it’s a 619 into a top rope Meteora into a Swanton into the Final Flash from Dezmond onto Alexander. Thinking quickly though, Page Border Tosses Miguel onto both of them for an impressive looking save. Wentz gets thrown over the top onto Miguel, leaving Dezmond to take a series of kicks to the face. The Burning Hammer into the whip spinebuster sets up No Jackhammer Needed to finish Dezmond at 9:22.

Rating: B. This was a lot of fun, though they were kind of in trouble with the booking. You don’t want the new team in the North losing and Moose can’t take another fall, but the Rascalz really need to stop losing. It’s the lesser of two evils, and thankfully it came at the end of an entertaining, fast paced match. More of the usual from the Rascalz in other words.

Johnny Impact and Taya Valkyrie aren’t worried about their title defenses.

We recap Taya Valkyrie vs. Jordynne Grace. Taya is the confident champion but Grace pinned her in a non-title match and then cost her a match against Madison Rayne. Grace is a monster but Taya doesn’t seem scared.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Taya Valkyrie

Jordynne is challenging and charges straight at the champ to start. They head outside with Taya being powerbombed onto the apron. Back inside and a middle rope backsplash gives Grace two. Taya snaps the arm across the top rope though and starts wrapping it around the steel. That’s only good for a one so Taya hits a Bubba Bomb to set up a cross armbreaker. Grace is in the ropes in a hurry so Taya pulls her back down into a hanging DDT for two.

Taya grabs something like a cousin of the Rings of Saturn but gets driven hard into the corner for the break. One heck of a clothesline gives Jordynne two and a Michinoku Driver gets the same with the arm not holding up enough for the pin. Taya goes up and is quickly caught in a Muscle Buster for a pair of very close twos. A pinfall reversal sequence gives us more near falls but the arm is too bad for the Grace Driver. Taya pulls on the arm again and it’s the Road To Valhalla to retain the title at 8:59.

Rating: C. The story was there but the ending felt rather flat with Taya just winning clean after the arm work. It makes sense, but I was expecting more from the monster Grace. The match was fine enough, though I’m not sure who is supposed to challenge Taya now. Madison Rayne? Is that where we’re going now? Or maybe a face Tessa? I’m not sure how that would go but it would be different.

Gail Kim is ready for Tessa Blanchard tonight.

We recap Sami Callihan vs. Rich Swann. Callihan’s family took Swann in as a kid and Swann considered Sami family. Then Sami went nuts and they split, with Swann declining an invitation to join OVE. You don’t do that to Sami, so he’s coming for the X-Division Title.

X-Division Title: Sami Callihan vs. Rich Swann

Sami is challenging and anything goes. No dancing from Swann here so you know he’s taking this one seriously. An exchange of shots to the face goes to the champ and it’s already time to head to the floor. Swann staple guns him in the head and the weapons are thrown inside. Back in and Swann’s sunset flip is broken up by a staple gun to the mouth.

A Broski Boot makes it even worse for Swann and his suicide dive is knocked out of the air with a metal shot to the head. The Cactus Special on the apron should be the pin but here’s it’s not even enough for a cover. Instead Sami puts a piece of barricade between the ramp and the steps, which we’ll get back to later. Back in and Swann gets out of a Razor’s Edge, only to be suplexed through an open chair for two.

Swann again isn’t dead and swings away with a cookie sheet. That earns him a spit to the face, which Swann licks off and drops Sami for two more. Wet floor signs to the head have Sami down on the ramp and a Lethal Injection makes it even worse. The fans chant HOLY S*** at that, but not at the suplex through the chair earlier? Those are some weird standards. Now it’s time for the bridged barricade, with Sami going with a groin claw into a Cactus Special onto said barricade….for two.

With that out of the way, it’s time for a big bucket of Legos. A super hurricanrana brings Sami down onto those but since they don’t mean much more than pain, he’s right back up with powder into Swann’s face. That means a super Cactus Special onto the Legos for two and now it’s a barbed wire baseball bat. Swann spits at him, hits Sami low, and, after an I Love You from Sami, hits him in the head with the wire. A Crossface with the barbed wire bat makes Sami tap at 16:03.

Rating: C+. They lost me hard here with one big spot after another that not only didn’t finish the match but didn’t really seem to cause that much damage. A super piledriver should finish someone off and here it just gets two? After a piledriver on a barricade? The other problem was the Legos, which seem like something you would see in a comedy match, but then a few seconds later it’s a barbed wire baseball bat. You can’t jump from one tone to another like that so fast and it didn’t work.

Tessa Blanchard talks about how much respect she has for Gail Kim, who was here before the Revolution. Then Gail made it personal and tonight Tessa is finishing it. TULLY BLANCHARD comes in and says make him proud.

We recap Tessa vs. Gail. Kim cost her the Knockouts Title in January because Tessa wouldn’t respect her as guest referee, sending Tessa into a legal battle to get rid of Gail. It worked to a degree, but Gail came out of retirement for this match. It’s a good build, though I’m more than a little worried about Tessa losing.

Gail Kim vs. Tessa Blanchard

They stare each other down until Tessa starts slugging, earning herself a stomping in the corner. Tessa is right back with a running hurricanrana to send Gail outside, setting up the big dive. Gail pulls her into the post but gets caught with a Codebreaker out of the corner for two. A powerslam gives Gail two of her own but the Black Widow is countered into a backbreaker.

The trash talk starts rolling, with Tessa even yelling down at Gail’s husband in the crowd. Gail misses a charge and falls out to the floor, setting up a double posting for a double knockdown. Tessa takes her time getting up and gets caught in the Hartbreaker around the post, which still doesn’t make a ton of sense. Back in and Gail fires off forearms to set up a spinning high crossbody.

With the required YOU STILL GOT IT chant going, Tessa shoves Gail to the ramp, where a spinning full nelson faceplant sends her crashing down to the floor. That’s not quite enough for the countout and Tessa is stunned. The slingshot suplex is countered into Eat Defeat for two so Gail goes up. With Tessa following up, she gets caught in a dragon sleeper so it’s a bite to the elbow for the break.

You don’t see that one everyday, which is also the case with the super gorilla press drop to send Gail right back down. Magnum gets two so it’s off to a cobra clutch Crossface for something new. Gail gets her foot on the ropes but that doesn’t count this time as Tessa rolls into the middle of the ring for the clean tap at 16:03.

Rating: B+. Match of the night here with Tessa getting the signature win and continuing to look like the best female wrestler in the world (and one of the best anywhere). They beat each other up here and thankfully they went with the right ending. Tessa is looking like the next megastar though and hopefully Impact knows it.

Post match they hug, as Tessa might be on her way to a face turn. Gail gets the big sign of respect.

An angry Brian Cage promises to rip Johnny Impact’s head off tonight.

We recap Johnny Impact vs. Brian Cage. Johnny barely survived at Homecoming and kept dodging giving Cage a rematch, eventually turning heel because he’s tired of the fans thinking they know everything. He then got senior referee Johnny Bravo in his pocket, so tonight it’s Lance Storm as guest referee. That’s going to be fine because Storm is Canadian, meaning he has values. And he hosts a podcast with the company’s boss.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Brian Cage vs. Johnny Impact

Impact, with Taya and Bravo, is defending and Lance Storm is guest referee. Cage comes out with the Terminator gear, which didn’t do so well for him last time. They continue a trend tonight by starting fast with Impact being driven into the corner and walking into a German suplex. The F5 gets two less than a minute in and it’s the apron superplex for two more as Cage is on fire to start.

Another apron superplex is countered into a German suplex from the champ and some knees to the face have Cage in trouble. The standing shooting star is countered with raw power and Cage shows off the standing moonsault for another two. Johnny rolls to the ramp and comes back with a Spanish Fly to the floor (which caused Cage to go to the emergency room after the show).

A running knee to the face busts Cage open and we hit the chinlock as he tries to get some feeling in his back again. Cage Hulks Up and shrugs off an enziguri but a springboard spear gives Johnny two. Taya and Bravo set up a table at ringside as Johnny gets two off the Moonlight Drive. They head outside with Johnny putting him on the table and calling a very loud spot.

Cage pops up and powerbombs him through the table but has to go after Bravo. The distraction lets Impact hit Cage with the belt (right in front of Storm, who “didn’t see it”). Instead Taya pulls Storm to the floor so Johnny can baseball slide him from behind for the expected ref bump.

Back in and Johnny throws the title to Taya and plays dead, leaving Taya to take a powerbomb from Cage. After that rather unnecessary portion, Impact hits Cage with the title and misses Starship Pain (as always) so Bravo can run in for two. Storm superkicks Bravo and Cage does the same to Johnny, setting up a Falcon Arrow called the Drill Claw for the pin and the title at 13:17.

Rating: B-. Oh yeah that injury sucked the life out of Cage, who spent most of the rest of the match stumbling around and taking right hands to the face. What we got was still good, but the weakened Cage was hard to ignore. They did get the ending right though, as Cage had to win the title after being screwed out of it so many times.

Post match Cage celebrates….and Michael Elgin debuts (good thing they have his Twitter handle ready for his name graphic). Elgin powerbombs Cage and counts his own pin before walking away. I’m surprised Elgin was brought back into a major promotion but maybe things have blown over.

Slammiversary is in Dallas on July 7.

Konnan fires LAX up for their title match in the main event. He didn’t want it to come to this but now that it has, they’re coming out guns blazing. Konnan can still cut a fired up promo.

We recap the Lucha Bros vs. LAX, which started as a dream feud with the Bros winning the titles in Mexico. LAX turned on them and tonight it’s Full Metal Mayhem (TLC) to blow everything off once and for all (or as close to Impact can get to doing that).

Tag Team Titles: LAX vs. Lucha Bros

The Bros are defending and it’s TLC but you win by pinfall or submission. The champs try some dives to start but get knocked out of the air as LAX starts fast. Some tables are set up against the barricade and the Bros are right back with running flip dives through said tables to take over. They get inside for the first time with kicks to Ortiz’s face setting up the wheelbarrow splash for two.

Santana comes in and gets caught in a trashcan with a double superkick. A table is set up in the corner but Ortiz rolls Santana up, sending him into a cutter on Pentagon. The top rope Codebreaker from Ortiz sets up the double belly to back faceplant but Fenix dives in for the save. Santana is back up and stomps Fenix down in the corner. Two chairs are set up in the corner and Fenix gets caught in a hanging cutter/top rope double stomp combination for the latest near fall (no save this time).

Santana kicks Pentagon over the barricade and it’s time for the ladder. Everyone gets back in for the slugout before sitting down in four chairs. They slug it out again, though this time in a little more comfort. LAX gets the better of it and bust out the forks. The Bros get back up so some chairs are pelted at their heads, only to have LAX collapse as well. LAX gets up again and put Fenix on top before setting up six chairs in front of the corner.

Pentagon makes the save and it’s the spike Fear Factor onto the chairs….for two. My goodness it’s bleeding over from the X-Division Title match. The Bros load up a regular spike Fear Factor (If the one onto a chair doesn’t work, the regular one certainly will!) but Fenix makes the save, allowing Santana to drive Pentagon through the chair. The fans want and receive a ladder, plus a table on the ramp.

Fenix pops up though and grabs a Spanish Fly off the ladder through the table to make Ortiz vibrate. Back in and it’s a Pentagon Driver to put Santana through a chair for two more so Pentagon loads up two more tables. That’s not enough so we’ll add thumbtacks but since that takes WAY TOO LONG, Santana is awake enough to slug it out with him on top of the ladder. Ortiz gets back up and grabs Pentagon, allowing Santana to stab him in the head with fork. That’s enough for the powerbomb through the tables and the tacks to give LAX the titles back at 20:51.

Rating: A-. While a lot of the stuff has been done before, they went with the right idea here: let two talented teams and four talented guys go nuts with whatever they can find. Sometimes you don’t need to go for the storytelling and need to just shoot for the carnage, which is what they did here. I can overlook some of the near falls as this was a heck of a fight, though they need to go do something else as they’re not topping this anytime soon.

Post match everyone pulls themselves up and Konnan orders them to hug. The big show of respect, including some minor members of the locker room (and Taylor Wilde) coming out to celebrate) ends the show.

Overall Rating: B. As is almost always the case, this promotion is much, much better when there’s less focus on the stories. The action was good (well mostly good) and they made the right call with the Tag Team Titles main eventing. It’s a solid show up and down with two very good matches, though they need to have the TV to back it up, which is always the issue. For now though, a very good show that is worth seeing, if you fast forward a little here and there.

Results

Ace Austin b. Cousin Jake, Eddie Edward, Aiden Prince, Jake Crist and Petey Williams – Rollup to Jake

Scarlett Bordeaux b. Rohit Raju – Belly to back kneeling piledriver

Moose/The North b. Rascalz – No Jackhammer Needed to Xavier

Taya Valkyrie b. Jordynne Grace – Road To Valhalla

Rich Swann b. Sami Callihan – Crossface with a barbed wire baseball bat

Tessa Blanchard b. Gail Kim – Cobra clutch Crossface

Brian Cage b. Johnny Impact – Drill Claw

LAX b. Lucha Bros – Powerbomb through two tables to Pentagon

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: April 26, 2019
Location: St. Clair’s College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

It’s the go home show for Rebellion and that means we’re in for what could be a good six man tag with the two major feuds coming together. In this case that would be the Lucha Bros/Johnny Impact vs. Brian Cage/LAX, which could be rather entertaining. Other than that we’ll likely be getting a lot of highlight packages, where Impact has had some success before. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap montage.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Eli Drake for a chat, with a selfie stick to hold his microphone and Kenny the kendo stick. Eli talks about the old Eddie Edwards being dead. He asks Kenny and Mikey what they think of that but here’s Eddie for the brawl. Eddie throws the stick at Drake and hits a suicide dive as the fight heads to the back. I really hope that’s not the last we see of Drake over an intergender match at that horrible United We Stand show.

Video on Tessa Blanchard vs. Gail Kim.

Ace Austin vs. Aiden Prince

Prince starts fast and hurricanranas Ace to the floor for a suicide dive, followed by a heck of an Asai moonsault. Ace is fine enough for a handstand on the apron and a kick to the chest. The Space Flying Tiger Drop puts Prince down again as they’re starting fast. Back in and Ace misses a moonsault, allowing Prince to nail a Downward Spiral for two. The 450 is awkwardly countered into a triangle choke from Austin and it’s a playing card between the fingers for the paper cut. The Fold finishes Prince at 5:56.

Rating: C. Prince was your token Canadian for the tapings and did well for himself in the time he had. Austin continues to be someone with a bright future as he has everything you could need to be a star save for maybe the size. I still love the cards and magic stuff as you don’t see many people (if anyone) doing that kind of thing. Nice match too.

Post match Austin beats on Prince again until Petey Williams makes the save.

Jordynne Grace was working out earlier when Taya Valkyrie attacked her. Taya hit her with a dumbbell and DDTed her onto a weight for the knockout.

Rob Van Dam, looking nearly ancient, is looking forward to coming back to face some of the new talent.

The Rascalz literally bump into each other after being told to meat (yes meat) here. It turns out that Moose wrote the notes because he has an idea. The North comes in and the Rascalz get beaten down.

Video on Brian Cage vs. Johnny Impact for the World Title. That’s way too long of a feud for such little interest. The story has been acceptable and logical but it hasn’t been interesting and that’s a big flaw.

Rebellion rundown.

GWN Flashback Moment of the Week: Rob Van Dam wins the World Title.

Scarlett Bordeaux promises us a live Smoke Show at Rebellion.

Rosemary vs. Undead Maid of Honor

Su Yung and the Bridesmaids distract Rosemary to start but she shrugs off the beatdown without much trouble. The bloody glove is slipped in but Rosemary hits the mist. A spear gives Rosemary the pin at 2:25.

Post match Rosemary chains up the Maid of Honor and leaves with her.

Rich Swann goes to the OVE Compound but Sami Callihan isn’t there. Swann sits at the door and says it’s true that Sami took him in but now they’re going to war. He was there when Sami’s mom died and they went to Germany together. We’ll find out how things go on Sunday. Swann leaves and Sami opens the door, having heard all of that.

A braggadocios Johnny Impact comes up to the Lucha Bros for tonight’s six man. The Bros don’t want to hear it because they’re the best team in the world. Johnny likes their confidence.

Killer Kross vs. The Mack

Mack armdrags him into an armbar but a run of the ropes lets Kross grab a front facelock. Back up and it’s time to throw fists with Mack getting the better of it until a running knee to the face cuts him off. A leg lariat gets Mack out of trouble so Kross clotheslines him right back down.

Something close to a Sling Blade gives Mack two but Kross pounds away even more. This time Mack Hulks Up and nails an exploder suplex. The reverse Cannonball connects but Mack’s standing moonsault is countered into the Krossjacket Choke to give put Mack away at 8:12.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t quite a squash for Kross and I really don’t get the point of doing that to Mack. It would seem that we’re coming up on a heel turn for either Swann or Mack, hopefully the former, and that would make this loss make even less sense. It’s not like Kross is anything more than the devil on the shoulder/Impact’s muscle at this point so he doesn’t really need to beat Mack here.

Long recap on LAX vs. the Lucha Bros, setting up Full Metal Mayhem on Sunday.

Deaners vs. Halal Beefcake

That would be Cody/Jake vs. Joe Coleman/Idris Abraham. Jake isn’t bothered by Abraham slapping him in the face to start so it’s off to Cody, who slams Jake onto Coleman for two. Beefcake puts Cody throat first onto the middle rope for a choke with their boots and pushups on the side. Jake comes in to clean house and it’s a Deaner DDT (set up like a Magic Killer but Cody throws Abraham into the air into a Hellevator) for the pin at 3:12.

Rating: D. So the Deaners are officially a thing with no mention of Cody’s past in the company. To be fair though, that’s probably the best thing they can do. Halal Beefcake was more entertaining than the Deaners but after all the weeks of promos we’ve seen from them, odds are we’re going to be stuck with them for at least a few months.

Rebellion rundown.

Here are Johnny Impact and Taya Valkyrie for a chat before the main event. Johnny thinks the marks in the crowd are way too happy about having Lance Storm referee on Sunday. The two of them were trained by Storm and he was even a guest at their wedding. This brings out Storm, who hugs Taya and seems rather happy.

Storm says he taught the two of them to work and put something into this business. Johnny is worried about taking the Drill Claw and asks if integrity is more important than twelve years of friendship. That’s not cool with Storm, whose lone job is to give these people a champion they can be proud of. A fight breaks out and Storm superkicks Impact down.

Johnny Impact/Lucha Bros vs. Brian Cage/LAX

Mixing up the faces and heels is often interesting. It’s a brawl to start with Fenix hitting a rolling dropkick to put Ortiz down. The double splash hits Fenix though and it’s a double flapjack to take him down again. Fenix comes back with a kick to Santana’s face and Pentagon comes in to start cleaning house. Unfortunately that house includes Cage, who powers out of the Backstabber.

Pentagon knees him in the head instead and now Johnny is willing to come in with a slingshot spear. Ortiz tags himself in and it’s time for the parade of dives, including Cage moonsaulting onto everyone not named Fenix. That’s because Fenix is on top for the big dive and everyone is down enough for a replay montage. Back in and a triple superkick into a series of splashes take Cage down. The top rope double stomp What’s Up hits Santana and now it’s the strikes to Ortiz.

A 450 gets two on Ortiz with Cage making a save. Now it’s Pentagon getting triple teamed, capped off by Cage’s F5. Fenix gets planed with a super Flatliner so Impact comes in for more superkicks. Cage plants Johnny for two but Johnny Bravo pulls the referee out. Just because this hasn’t been insane enough, Fenix chairs Cage in the head but LAX takes the Bros out with chairs of their own. A baseball slide sends the ladder into LAX, only to have Cage hit Weapon X for the pin on Impact at 11:59.

Rating: B-. This was everything that you needed in a go home main event. It’s cool to mix up the faces and heels like this, even if the reasoning was based around champions vs. challengers. These matches should be good on Sunday, but they both need to do something fresh after the pay per view.

Overall Rating: B. Rather good go home show here with the six match card getting some good attention. Everything either got a video or a match to build things up and that’s a smart formula that has worked for years now. Just keep doing more of this and they should be fine. Now since every week can’t be a go home show, I don’t see that formula lasting very long. Otherwise though, good stuff.

Results

Ace Austin b. Aiden Prince – The Fold

Rosemary b. Undead Maid of Honor – Spear

Killer Kross b. The Mack – Krossjacket Choke

Deaners b. Halal Beefcake – Deaner DDT to Abraham

Brian Cage/LAX b. Johnny Impact/Lucha Bros – Weapon X to Impact

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

I feel like I always need to confirm that Impact Wrestling still does pay per views. This is their spring offering, though it isn’t clear who is rebelling against what. Lately the company has been rebelling against the idea of going with anything fresh and it has become a bit of a chore to watch. That being said, their pay per views tend to be much better than television because it’s all about the in-ring product, which is usually an improvement. Let’s get to it.

Knockouts Title: Taya Valkyrie(c) vs. Jordynne Grace

We’ll start off with a match that could go either way as Valkyrie seems like someone they want as a long term champion but Grace is a monster who no one has been able to slow down yet. Now the problem with that is that once she loses, a lot of that momentum goes sailing out the window. I’m also thinking that the show taking place in Canada isn’t going to do Grace’s chances any favors as Valkyrie is of course Canadian.

I’ll take Grace winning though, as it might be a bad night for Valkyrie and her husband. The division has been needing some fresh blood for a long time now and Grace could be it. Let her run some people over for a few weeks or months before losing it back to someone else. Like the best female in the world not working for WWE (or perhaps including that batch) in Tessa Blanchard. But yeah, Grace wins here, as she should.

X-Division Title: Rich Swann(c) vs. Sami Callihan

This story has been more interesting than I would have guessed as Callihan oddly grows on me more and more. Swann is a good choice for the title as he can wrestle that X-Division style, but there comes a point where Callihan has to win something and that hasn’t been the case yet. He’s been chasing the title for a few months now and this might be the night he gets there.

So yeah I think Callihan gets the title here as there’s little reason to not give it to him. You can even go somewhere with the issues between Swann and Willie Mack. It’s a good idea to give Callihan something as he’s going to have suitors and putting a title on him could make him happier. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him move towards the World Title scene sooner rather than later either. For now though, the X-Division Title will do.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros(c) vs. LAX

This is Full Metal Mayhem, which loosely translates to TLC With Pins. These teams have been feuding for months now with LAX dropping the titles and then turning heel, meaning it’s time for a major gimmick match to blow it off. LAX has looked like stars over the last year and getting them against a team like this, one of the best in the world (maybe even the best), has done nothing but good things for them.

I’m basically flipping a coin here but I’ll take the Lucha Bros to retain. We can worry about no one but LAX being on their level later, because this match is going to rock. These four work so well together and the Lucha Bros can turn anything they do into a classic. I’ve been nearly drooling over this match since I first heard about it and that’s not going to change now. It should be great and could go either way but I’ll take the Bros to retain.

Gail Kim vs. Tessa Blanchard

I’ll spare you another rant about Impact’s obsession with Kim and go with how well this match has been built up. The story started months ago but thankfully they’ve waited until the pay per view to actually set it up. As worried as I am about where this match is going to go, the story has been well done and I’m hoping that the match itself is as good as the buildup has been.

As for the winner, I’m going to do something probably not that bright and give Impact Wrestling the benefit of the doubt. I’ll take Blanchard for the win, because there is no reason whatsoever to go with Kim. She’s retired and not likely to wrestle again and Blanchard could be one of the biggest stars in the company very soon. Go with what makes sense instead of giving Kim another tribute that she doesn’t need.

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

Somehow this feud feels like the third (or arguably fourth) biggest match on the show and that’s not a good sign. I haven’t been a fan of this one since it started nearly four months ago and it hasn’t gotten much better. For some reason it just isn’t interesting and I don’t know how much better this match is going to make things. Their match at Homecoming was good, but I need something more to make me care than Impact suddenly turning heel.

I’ll go with Cage winning, because he’s been built up so much that he has to win the title at some point or there’s nowhere for him to go. Now hopefully that means that the story is done between these two, because there is no need for it to stretch on into the summer. The feud hasn’t been very interesting in months and Lance Storm as guest referee isn’t the cure. Cage wins, and I’ll try to make myself care.

Overall Thoughts

And that’s it. Seriously the show has five matches announced and we’re less than forty eight hours away. They’ve also announced a live Smoke Show from Scarlett Bordeaux which will likely set up a sixth match but egads man. How do you only have five matches set up when you had more than two months to get the show ready? I’m sure it will be fine (Impact pay per views always are) but we’re in for a mystery box show and that’s not the most thrilling.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #53
Date: April 13, 2019
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Jim Cornette

We’re done with Battle Riot and that means it’s time to move forward to the next big show, which is probably taking place next month. LA Park is the new #1 contender but it could be a long time before he actually uses the title shot. World Champion Tom Lawlor also has to deal with Contra and that’s probably up first. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Battle Riot, including Teddy Hart taking a champagne bottle to the head, Tom Lawlor retaining the title and Battle Riot itself.

Opening sequence.

The announcers preview the show.

Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Richard Holliday and Alexander Hammerstone are here with Friedman but there’s no one with Pillman. Pillman goes with some shoulders blocks to start but gets tripped by Holliday, who gets ejected in a hurry. Hammerstone is gone as well, despite not getting caught doing anything. What a biased referee.

With Friedman left on his own, Pillman dropkicks him into the corner, setting up a heck of a slap. Friedman gets smart by going after Pillman’s injured shoulder, including a stomp onto the wrist. The arm gets wrapped around the rope as Friedman gets to show off his rather nasty limb wrenching skills. Friedman works on a top wristlock with Cornette in his element talking about the pressure and how much damage the hold is going.

A backsplash onto the arm gets two but Pillman finally comes back with a shot to the face in the corner. The high crossbody and a superkick have Friedman in trouble but the arm gives out on a whip attempt. Instead Pillman snaps off a powerslam for two, though the landing hurts the arm again. Friedman goes evil again by hiding behind the referee in the corner, allowing him to poke Pillman in the eye. A double stomp to the back gets two but Pillman grabs a small package for the pin at 11:55.

Rating: C. The more I see of Friedman, the more I like him. Not only can he cut a rather good, obnoxious promo but he knows how to work a body part like few others. For someone just twenty two years old, that’s some impressive talent. Speaking of a talented twenty two year old, Pillman seems to be getting it more and more every single time he’s in the ring and is miles ahead of where he was just a year ago.

Post match Friedman declares that a fluke.

We look back at Tom Lawlor’s press conference last week when he was jumped by Contra.

Earlier today, Salina de la Renta announced that she is going to be executive producing an episode of Fusion over Cinco de Mayo weekend. As for LA Park cashing in, stay tuned.

After yelling at a cameraman, Sami Callihan says he left for a bit so he could find himself again. Now that he’s figured that out, it’s time to figure out what he wants to do. When he was in the Battle Riot, Mance Warner got his attention because he’s crazy like Sami. Next week, they’ll fight because the world of MLW never sleeps and neither does he.

Holliday and Hammerstone yell about what happened but they have plans for tonight. Like parking in a handicap spot! They find the cameraman and violence seems imminent.

Jimmy Yuta/Lance Anoa’i vs. Rich Swann/Myron Reed

Swann and Reed get extra weapons checks as the bias continues. Yuta works on Reed’s arm to start and unloads in the corner with a series of stomps. Reed heads outside for a breather so it’s off to Swann vs. Lance, which doesn’t work well for Swann. An attempt at a running hurricanrana is countered with pure power.

A backdrop sends Swann into a 450 (cool) and Lance adds an elbow for two. The loud chops in the corner have Swann in more trouble but he’s fine enough to rake Yuta’s eyes. Reed comes back in for a forearm to the head and it’s Swann firing away his own chops. The stepover kick to the face sets up a slingshot legdrop from Reed into a running splash for two on Yuta. As usual though, the excessive double teaming is countered by a single armdrag and it’s back to Lance to clean house.

A Samoan drop/dropkick combination (yep) has the villains in trouble but Lance misses a 450. That lets Reed get his running start for the over the top cutter (still looks awesome) and a near fall on Lance. Swann kicks Yuta very low and it’s a Codebreaker into a splash on Lance’s back. A 450 into knees to the chest from Swann sets up a regular 450 from Reed for the pin at 8:42.

Rating: C. This felt longer than it was and that’s not often the best thing. Lance and Yuta weren’t the best team in the world, though Reed and Swann are a good enough heel combination. The match had good action but it was also a little messy, which made it something that was just kind of there. Not bad, but it needed some more polishing.

Mance Warner talks about poking an albino moose in the eye and getting in a fight in the back of a moving truck. Sami talks about thumbs up, thumbs down, but all he needs to worry about is kneepad up, kneepad down.

Tom Lawlor talks about all of the injuries he’s gone through over the years. You can break his insides but you won’t break his spirit, which Contra will learn the hard way.

LA Park vs. ???

Open challenge time as Jimmy Havoc is missing for some reason. As luck would have it, we have someone to answer.

LA Park vs. Sami Callihan

It was going to be him or Warner. Sami goes right at him and walks into a scoop powerslam. That’s what you get for trying to jump a skeleton man. They fight to the floor with Callihan hitting Park in the knee with an umbrella. That doesn’t have much of an effect as Park sends him into the barricade and grabs a metal post used to connect velvet ropes. Callihan takes the post away and hits Park in the ribs but again, there isn’t much of an effect.

A chair to the head sends Sami staggering in Salina’s direction so Park hits him again. They trade rams into the posts as Cornette tries to explain why there isn’t a DQ here. Callihan gets crotched against the post and a replica MLW World Title (Cornette: “IT’S A BELT!!!”) to the head makes it even worse. They head back inside after about four minutes on the floor and the ref gets bumped because….does it really matter?

Sami kicks the referee by mistake and avoids a charge to send Park shoulder first into the post. The baseball bat to the face connects but here are Ricky Martinez and Hijo de LA Park for the group beatdown. Warner runs in for the save but Low Ki comes in as well with Callihan not being able to do much good. Now it’s Daga running in to superkick everyone and hit the big running flip dive onto the pile. Callihan loads up his own dive but gets speared down to give Park the pin at 7:17.

Rating: C+. At this point, you just have to expect the No DQ matches with Park, mainly because I can’t imagine him trying to wrestle a regular match. Unfortunately you can’t imagine him losing either, which is understandable given his star power in Mexico, but it doesn’t help much with the drama. I’d be surprised if he loses his eventual cash in, though I’ll take building a heel up over a random win any day.

Post match the beatdown is on with Promociones Dorado standing tall.

Holiday and Hammerstone go to leave in Friedman’s car but the Hart Foundation steals it to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The wrestling wasn’t all that great this time but they did a nice job with the storytelling. There are some big stories going on, though I’m not sure when those stories are actually going to end. It comes down to too much everyone fighting everyone at times, though there is still enough coherence to the whole thing to make it work well enough. Not a great show, but it certainly wasn’t boring.

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

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

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

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