IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: April 5, 2019
Location: St. Clair’s College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

So in the middle of all the insanity that is Wrestlemania weekend, we have this show in pursuit of anyone remembering that it’s actually taking place. That’s kind of a shame actually as things are pretty decent at the moment with Johnny Impact’s overdue heel turn already paying dividends. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap serves its lone function.

Opening sequence.

Petey Williams vs. Trey Miguel vs. Idris Abraham vs. Jake Crist vs. Aiden Prince vs. Ace Austin

Great. Williams is back. One fall to a finish so everything is insane to start with Austin being the last man standing, earning him a quadruple superkick until it’s Austin vs. Abraham alone in the ring. Williams replaces Abraham in a hurry with Petey grabbing a German suplex for two. Now it’s Prince taking Williams’ place and suplexing Austin for two. Abraham and his huge afro are back in with Trey spinning away from him. Crist is back in with a Death Valley Driver but Abraham drops him with a Blue Thunder Bomb.

Not to be outdone, Austin drops a frog splash for two on Abraham and drops Miguel with a swinging neckbreaker. Williams’ swinging Russian legsweep gets two on Miguel and the Sharpshooter goes on. That’s broken up so it’s O Canada to Crist in the corner. Austin puts Prince over Crist in the corner and it’s the Tower of Doom to bring everyone down. The Canadian Destroyer gives Petey two on Austin and it’s Prince flip diving onto Austin and Abraham on the floor. Back in and Williams hits a super Canadian Destroyer to finish Crist at 8:35.

Rating: C+. So you know every match with all of these people thrown into a match with everyone hitting their spots and moving on? This was the most recent one of them that I’ve seen. There’s nothing to separate them from the rest of their kind and Petey Williams is far from inspiring.

LAX and Konnan want to use Full Metal Mayhem to earn respect from the Lucha Bros.

Taya Valkyrie doesn’t care that she lost to Jordynne Grace last week. Madison Rayne comes in and says she wants a title match. Jordynne comes in and wants her rematch for the title but Taya makes a #1 contenders match for later tonight for the Rebellion title match.

Announcers’ preview.

OVE vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack

Sami Callihan/Madman Fulton for OVE. Swann, now clean shaven, goes straight after Callihan to start and flips over him into the dropkick. Mack comes in, shrugs off a cheap shot from Fulton, and hits a 619 to Callihan’s ribs. Fulton’s second interference works a bit better and it’s Sami scoring with a clothesline to send us to a break. Back with Fulton suplex slamming Swann for two but Mack comes right back with a spinebuster.

A standing moonsault gets two but Fulton breaks up the hot tag attempt. The neck crank goes on for a bit until the break allows the hot tag off to Swann. Everything breaks down and Fulton is hurricanranaed to the floor, leaving Callihan to take a Lethal Injection. The Phoenix Splash misses and everyone but Mack heads outside, meaning it’s a big flip dive onto all three. Back in and Mack breaks up a Cactus Piledriver but gets slammed down by Fulton. The Cactus Piledriver finishes Swann at 14:01.

Rating: C+. This was mainly about making Fulton look like a monster and….they only kind of did that. Granted when you’re as big as Fulton, the monster thing is already included so it’s not the biggest deal in the world. This story has been going on for a long time now and I’d assume that Callihan gets the title soon. Like at Rebellion maybe.

Post match the beatdown is on until Tommy Dreamer makes the save with a chair.

Johnny Impact gets annoyed at being asked questions about Brian Cage and threatens to John Stossel Menendez. Killer Kross comes up and puts his arm around Menendez, saying he should get a title shot someday. Johnny looks worried.

Moose invades the Rascalz’ room and brings a female friend, with an invitation to bring a bunch of animals in as well.

GWN Classic Moment of the Week: Full Metal Mayhem at Bound For Glory 2011.

Rosemary goes to Allie’s grave and rants about Kiera Hogan and James Mitchell, plus her father Kevin Sullivan, all of whom are to blame. Then she disappears.

Jordynne Grace vs. Madison Rayne

The winner gets the Knockouts Title shot t at Rebellion. Grace throws her down with ease to start and then does it again even harder. Rayne’s middle rope crossbody bounces off of her so a rollup works a little better. An enziguri gives Rayne two but Grace Pounces her right back down.

Some knees to the back set up a not quite giant swing as Rayne’s back is in trouble. A backbreaker into a side slam keep Rayne down but the Vader Bomb misses. Rayne gets two off a high crossbody and she gets in a rear naked choke. That’s broken up as well and a torture rack into a spinning powerbomb gives Grace two. Grace has had it and the Grace Driver finishes Rayne at 8:48.

Rating: C. This is why Rayne was brought back in. She’s not the best in the world, but you’re going to get a good match from her and everything she does looks fine. Couple that with a resume and a pretty good promo and it’s easy to see the value in her. Put her in there with the newer talent and see what she can do for them.

Post match here’s Taya for a fight with Grace but Johnny comes out for a distract so Taya can beat her down. Johnny goes up for the Countdown To Impact but Cage makes the save.

Josh Alexander is coming and is presented like a psychopathic killer in amateur wrestling gear.

Josh recruits Ethan Page as his partner.

Rohit Raju vs. Fallah Bahh

Raju has both Singhs with him but there’s no KM. Bahh jumps over an early legsweep attempt and hits the spinning belly to belly. The charge hits post but Bahh is fine with a Samoan drop. There’s a running crossbody to set up the Banzai Drop but Singh knocks Bahh down, giving Raju the pin with feet on the ropes at 2:59.

Post match here’s Scarlett Bordeaux to slap Raju and it’s a double splash in the corner. Scarlett’s running hip attack (after pulling the dress up) lets her celebrate with Bahh.

The Deaners, a couple of rednecks, get Impact contracts.

Swann vs. Callihan for the X-Division Title is set for Rebellion.

Video on Gail Kim’s Hall of Fame career and the current feud with Tessa Blanchard.

Tessa Blanchard says Gail was great in the era of bra and panties match. Now people like Gail and Madison are trying to relive their glory days. This is Tessa’s era and in this era, Gail isn’t a legend.

Eli Drake/Eddie Edwards vs. LAX

Before the match, Konnan gets in an argument with Drake and punches him, meaning it’s an early ejection. The fight is on and we do that really annoying thing of taking a break less than twenty seconds in. Back with Santana punching Eddie until a blind tag lets Drake come in and take over. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets two on Ortiz and it’s back to Eddie for a headbutt, which might hurt him more given the thickness of that hair. Drake gets two off a neckbreaker but Ortiz is right back with a middle rope dropkick for a breather.

It’s back to Santana to pick up the pace as everything breaks down. A tiger driver gives Eddie two on Santana with Ortiz making the save. That means a rolling cutter into a Codebreaker into a superkick into the double belly to back faceplant for two on Eddie with Drake making the save. The Street Sweeper is loaded up but here are the Lucha Bros for a distraction. That’s enough for Drake to get in a shot with Kenny, setting up the Boston Knee Party to finish Ortiz at 10:55.

Rating: B-. Not bad here and giving us a new main event team is a good thing. Drake and Eddie have more than enough of a combined resume to hang with either team and giving them this win is the right move. They could challenge the winners of Full Metal Mayhem for the titles…or at least they could if Impact hadn’t decided to release Drake for not liking one of their not great ideas.

Post match the Lucha Bros runs in and beat down LAX, with Santana being powerbombed through a table to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Nothing was bad on here, though nothing was must see either. That’s not a bad place to be for a show like this with very little importance. Rebellion is looking like any Impact pay per view: a solid card up and down but nothing that I’m overly excited to see. I’ll take a good but not great card over nothing shows though so they’ve moved to a nice new reality.

Results

Petey Williams b. Trey Miguel, Idris Abraham, Jake Crist, Aiden Prince and Ace Austin – Super Canadian Destroyer to Crist

OVE b. Rich Swann/Willie Mack – Cactus Piledriver to Swann

Jordynne Grace b. Madison Rayne – Grace Driver

Fallah Bahh b. Rohit Raju – Rollup with feet on the ropes

Eddie Edwards/Eli Drake b. LAX – Boston Knee Party to Ortiz

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: Wrestling Revolver

Pancakes And Piledrivers III
Date: April 6, 2019
Location: New York Hilton Midtown, New York City, New York
Commentators: Bork Torkelson, Don Callis

This is from Wrestling Revolves, where the idea is that you get something different every time. There’s a bonus in this show though as if you’re in the crowd, you get free pancakes. That alone should be more than enough to get people to show up but there’s also the whole wrestling thing on the side. Let’s get to it.

A rather ridiculous thirty minutes after the scheduled start time, we get a DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME message.

Opening sequence, with a song about the pancake robot coming to town.

The ring announcer introduces Jimmy Jacobs as our host….and he’s accompanied by the Rascalz dressed as pancakes. The Rascalz carry Jimmy around the ring and it’s time to throw out bags of swag. Jimmy explains that the hotel won’t allow them to give you pancakes so the Rascalz are the pancakes instead. They run off and I guess we’ll be seeing them later.

David Starr vs. Moose vs. Brian Cage

Starr, from Philadelphia, is billed from London and doesn’t get his monikers so he’s not happy. He has a card with the names listed, though Jacobs adds his own twists and the arguing continues. Moose and Cage stare each other down and Starr doesn’t like being left out. We get the MOOSE vs. the Terminator clap until Starr tries chopping both of them. Starr can’t slam or suplex either guy so they launch him into the air for a crash, leaving Cage to headscissor Moose.

An exchange of pump kicks goes nowhere but Starr manages to drop them both throat first over the rope. That means a double suicide dive and the brainbuster to the knee for two on Moose. Cage German suplexes both of them at the same time and an F5 gets two on Starr. Moose’s chokebomb out of the corner gets the same on Cage with Starr making a save of his own. A powerbomb backbreaker takes Starr down again and the Drill Claw makes it worse, only to have Moose throw Cage outside and steal the pin at 5:49.

Rating: D+. The story was simple enough and I’m surprised that they didn’t go with Starr getting the fluke win. Starr being in over his head was making me chuckle as he continues to be all over Wrestlemania weekend. I’m guessing the match ran short because of the crazy long delay to start the show, which really didn’t do the show any favors.

Tag Team Titles: Gauntlet Match

The Besties in the World (Davey Vega/Matt Fitchett, who come out to I Knew I Loved You by Savage Garden) are in first and Aussie Open are in second (out of six). Davey walks into a double flapjack to start and a backbreaker into a backsplash gets two. Everything breaks down and the Besties both get an abdominal stretch on Davis at the same time. Fletcher is right back with a standing Lionsault and it’s Vega getting chopped in the corner.

Davey finally gets in a kick to the face and makes the tag with Fitchett hitting a high crossbody for two on Fletcher. A running knee gets the same but it’s Davis coming back in to clean house. Davis picks Vega up for a jumping cutter from Fletcher but a running kick to the face finishes Davis at 7:40.

The Rascalz (Zachary Wentz/Dezmond Xavier this time around) are in third and the Besties are right there to slow them down, including a backflip kick to the head on the apron. Not that it matters as Vega is run over and the shoving moonsault gives Wentz the pin at 9:35. The Lucha Bros are in fourth and it’s a quick exchange of superkicks with the Bros getting the best of things. Wentz gets kicked down and a double superkick makes it even worse. The wheelbarrow splash gets two on Xavier and the Pentagon Driver gets rid of the Rascalz at 12:30.

Hang on though as the Rascalz jump the Bros as LAX (defending champions) is in fifth. The four of them beat the Bros down but LAX superkicks the Rascalz and pin the Bros at 15:36. Team Tremendous (Bill Carr/Dan Barry) are in last with LAX right there to jump them. Barry is right back up for an Asai moonsault onto both of them, followed by a running flip dive from the bigger Carr.

They get inside with Ortiz kicking Barry away and it’s off to Santana vs. Carr. A big clothesline gives Carr two but everything breaks down. Santana superkicks Barry into a cutter for two with Carr making the save. The Street Sweeper is broken up and it’s an electric chair Sliced Bread to finish Ortiz for the titles at 20:54.

Rating: C-. As usual in a gauntlet match, the fast falls didn’t help things but at least they had a surprise ending with what seems to be a fun team winning the titles. There were some awesome teams in there and I really wish we could have seen some of them have some longer segments, but there’s not exactly time for something like that. Not bad, but pretty disappointing.

AR Fox vs. Sammy Guevara vs. Ace Austin vs. JT Dunn

Fox has three dancing guys (collectively called the Skulls) with him and a lot of noise is made. Dunn and Fox get together and beat the other two down to start until Dunn forearms Fox by mistake. Guevara picks up the pace with an enziguri and a springboard high crossbody for no cover on Fox. With everyone else on the floor, Austin hits a running flip dive onto the three of them…and now it’s time for Fox and company to dance. They dive onto the other three anyway and Fox dives onto everyone.

Austin fires off kicks from the apron until Fox gets in a kick of his own. Guevara and Dunn chop it out with Sammy hitting Feast Your Eyes for two. Dunn sends Austin outside and hits a rolling cutter for two on Guevara. Austin throws Guevara into the air for a cutter but Dunn makes the save to put everyone down. Dunn’s rollup with tights gets two on Fox so Fox hits a springboard Downward Spiral to plant Dunn for the same. Ace is back in with a top rope spinning Fameasser for two on Sammy as Fox makes another save. Dunn’s Death By Elbow (discus elbow) finishes Fox at 8:52.

Rating: C+. This was a lot of fun with everyone moving as fast as they could. They weren’t going for anything more than one spot after another and that’s a perfectly good decision in a match like this. Dunn and Austin looked good here, though I’m not sure what the point of the Skulls was. They just came and went and didn’t change anything, so why even have them out there in the first place?

Open Invite Scramble Title: Caleb Konley vs. Jake Manning vs. Ian Maxwell vs. Daga vs. Lance Anao’i vs. Mance Warner vs. Arik Cannon vs. Trey Miguel vs. Jon Skyler vs. Shigehiro Irie vs. Clayton Gaines vs. KTB

Konley is defending and this is one fall to a finish. Daga and Miguel go nuts by hiptossing everyone until the referee hiptosses Miguel for a change. Warner comes back in but gets crotches by KTB, leaving Daga to come off the top with a Meteora to make KTB DDT Mance. Lance superkicks Skyler, who hits a double superkick along with Gaines. Daga runs the ropes to headscissor Maxwell and wristdrag KTB at the same time.

Irie comes in and gets to run everyone over but it’s Mance coming back in to offer Cannon a beer. Gaines comes back in with his energy drink and gets beer spat in his face, though he’s fine enough to clothesline Warner and Cannon down. Konley remembers he’s in the match and powerbombs Maxwell onto the pile but Skyler cuts him down with a slingshot spear. Maxwell and Miguel hit their own running dives, followed by one from KTB off the top.

Back in and Miguel hits a 619 on Maxwell but Manning cuts him off with a backbreaker into a Downward Spiral. Daga comes back in to beat up Gaines and it’s time for Warner to put Skyler on top. That’s not the best idea as it’s a super Regal Roll to drop Warner with Lance coming off the top with a Superfly Splash. Konley and Irie get their turn now with Konley not being able to get a sunset flip.

Irie manages to piledrive Cannon onto Konley, leaving Lance and Miguel to go Coast to Coast at the same time. Hang on though as Manning, the Manscout, needs to bring in a tent. Skyler knocks Manning into the tent but he’s right back up for the Tower of Doom to drive a bunch of people through the tent. Konley rolls Maxwell up to retain the title at 14:38.

Rating: D. I get the idea here but it’s too long and messy to really work. Cut it down to six or so and this would have worked far better than the dozen wrestlers in there at once. It’s a bunch of spots, many of which weren’t all that great in the first place. This definitely wasn’t a terrible match but the concept didn’t work with this many people involved at once.

Jacobs thanks the fans for being so awesome and makes fun of Callis.

Adam Brooks vs. Matt Cross

Cross is better known as Son of Havoc from Lucha Underground. Brooks is replacing Sonjay Dutt for some reason. Brooks gets aggressive to start and catches a running Cross in a Downward Spiral into the buckle. An elbow to the face stops Brooks and there’s the first suicide dive.

Back in and Cross misses a top rope double stomp, allowing Brooks to hit a Backpack Stunner. A double stomp to the ribs works better for Cross but Brooks catches him in a fireman’s carry facebuster. That sends Cross outside for a suicide dive into a sloppy tornado DDT but he’s fine enough to dropkick Brooks down. The shooting star press finishes Brooks at 4:39.

Rating: C-. It was nice to have a singles match for once, though they went through it so fast that it didn’t exactly have a lot of impact. The energy was there though and that helped keep the show going well enough. I could have gone for more of this and that’s about as good of an endorsement as you can have.

Jacobs decides the next match will be for the X-Division Title. Bork: “Can he do that?” Callis: “No.”

X-Division Title: Chuck Mambo vs. Rich Swann

Mambo is “gnarliest wrestler in the world” and seems to like beach balls. Swann, now without facial hair, has Jason Cade of the Crew faction with him. Mambo takes him down by the arm to start before sending Swann into the corner, meaning it’s time to dance. A wristlock makes Swann scream until he bounces out of it as the pace picks up. An inverted Gory Stretch has Swann in more trouble but a Cade distraction lets him slip out. Mambo gets dropkicked out of the air. The stepover kick to the face gives Swann two but Mambo explodes with chops and punches to the chest.

A Blockbuster drops Swann and a springboard Meteora gets two. Mambo gets hurricanranaed off the top but he’s fine enough to superkick Swann to the floor. That means a double jump springboard flip dive onto Swann and Cade for the big spot of the match. Back in and Swann’s Lethal Injection gets two but a second attempt is countered into a Backstabber. Cade breaks up a cover off the springboard splash, which isn’t an ejection for some reason. Mambo chases him inside and gets rolled up for the pin at 10:38.

Rating: C. Mambo’s gimmick was a little goofy but once he got into the actual wrestling, he wasn’t bad at all and the match was pretty good. Swann looks so strange without his goatee but at least he can still have a good match. I could go for more of Mambo and that’s a big reason to watch these shows: you never know who you might see for the first *time.

Ace Romero vs. Fallah Bahh vs. Larry D. vs. Dan Maff vs. Madman Fulton vs. Jacob Fatu vs. Jessika Havoc

Havoc is a surprise surprise entrant and aside from her, Fulton is the smallest at 305lbs. Everyone goes after her and it’s a six way crush to send her outside. Larry powerbombs Fatu and catches Maff’s crossbody until Fulton kicks them both down. Fulton slams Bahh but Romero takes both of them down. Havoc slams the 385lb Romero but Bahh gives her a Banzai Drop with Fulton having to make a save. Fatu superkicks Maff, only to miss the handspring moonsault.

Romero goes to the middle rope for no logical reason, allowing Fulton to hit a Regal Roll but he dives into a Samoan drop from Bahh. With everyone else on the floor, Havok hits a suicide dive but Fatu drives over the top to take all of them out in a more impressive landing. Back in and Maff’s Burning Hammer gets two on Havok with Romero making a save and then diving onto Maff. Fatu moonsaults Havok for the pin at 5:43.

Rating: D+. There were some impressive spots in there and they were very smart to keep it short. If you have these bigger wrestlers going too long, it’s going to get lethargic and sloppy so going with the quick form was certainly the right call. Havoc and Romero were impressive, though I still don’t know how WWE didn’t see the potential in Fulton.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Ricky Shane Page

I’ve never seen Page wrestle but he has some size and smiles a lot. They stall a lot with Tessa not shaking his hand and then slapping him in the face. The lockup finally starts after two minutes, followed by Tessa hitting a good looking tornado DDT. A dropkick to the back of the head has Page in more trouble so he slaps Tessa into the corner. That ticks Tessa off and she unloads with forearms before taking it outside to beat Page up against the barricade.

Page blasts her with an overhand chop but she jumps to the apron to kick Page in the face. A hard suicide dive sends Page into the barricade and Tessa plants him with an impressive Samoan drop. Page shoves her away and hits a splash but gets caught in another tornado DDT for two. Back up and a top rope superplex drops Tessa and a chokebreaker gets two more. Tessa gets taken up top again but counters into a super Canadian Destroyer….for two. Magnum and the Buzzsaw DDT finish Page at 13:26.

Rating: C-. This was longer than it needed to be and the kickout of the Destroyer was ridiculous. If you’re going to finish the match thirty seconds later, why even have the kickout in the first place? Tessa winning is hardly a surprise as she’s one of the best female wrestlers in the world right now and Page is just a big guy who didn’t do anything special here.

Jacobs introduces us to a dog named Nami and tells us to come see her at the Wrestling Revolver booth.

OVE vs. Unwanted

OVE has a loud manager named JT Davidson. The Unwanted is Shane Strickland/Joe Gacy/Eddie Kingston (with Colby Corino) and this is Shane’s final independent match. OVE isn’t having this big entrance and the fight is on in a hurry. We settle down to Eddie STOing Dave but taking a neckbreaker from Jake. Strickland comes in for his anklescissors into a dropkick and a running dropkick to the knee.

Now it’s Sami coming in for the staredown and he doesn’t understand why Shane won’t shake hands after Sami spit on it. Instead it’s a kick to the face but Sami forearms Shane out to the floor. Sami goes outside as well and it’s Gacy diving onto all of them, followed by Dave hitting a dive into a tornado DDT. Colby tries a dive of his own but gets superplexed onto the pile. Not to be outdone, Davidson hits his own flip dive and the referee adds a non-flip dive.

Back in and it’s the Tower of Doom as they’re getting through all of the six man spots in a hurry. Shane nails his snap German suplex on Dave, followed by the rolling cutter. The Cactus Piledriver gives Sami two on Shane and Jake’s cutter gets the same (just a regular cutter as he couldn’t hit the jumping version). With everyone else going to the floor, Sami spits at Shane, who spits right back. Shane snaps the arm back and the Swerve Stomp connects for the pin at 10:32.

Rating: B-. This felt rushed, which is probably the case as they seemed to want to be out by the top of the hour and had to hurry to get done on time. Strickland is going to be a heck of a talent in WWE due to how smooth he can be in the ring. Callihan was his usual vile self and the Crists were every bit as awesome as usual. Gacy didn’t show me much and Kingston was the same brawler he’s been for years, meaning your mileage may vary.

Post match Sami hugs Strickland. The announcers sign off but Sami grabs the mic and says he quit WWE for reasons like this. Sami saw something in him when no one else did and now it’s time for Shane to be the leader of this generation. Shane thanks the locker room because they’re his brothers. It took him ten years to get here and his first WrestleCon was in New York/New Jersey and now he’s leaving here as well. Strickland talks about wrestling in England, where everything just clicked and the confidence started coming in.

That’s where Swerve started to come together and what he wanted to show everyone: confidence. He was in the military as a teenage and had two kids when he was nineteen. Wrestling was in his heart then and it’s in his heart now because he’s traveled the world and met people everywhere. Have confidence in yourself and there is swerve in all of you. Awesome speech and Strickland could be a star in NXT.

Overall Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this one as there was just too much stuff going on to make it work. There were too many multi-man matches and trying to cram in as many people as you could. The wrestling was hit or miss, mainly because there wasn’t enough of a chance for anyone to stand out among everyone else. For a wild mess of a show it was passable, but it’s nothing that I’d want to watch again.

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

It’s title time as Rich Swann defends the X-Division Title against Sami Callihan, who is ticked off over Swann turning down the chance to join OVE. Other than that we’re likely to get some fallout from Johnny Impact turning heel last week, which is probably best for everyone. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at everything going on around here, including Moose beating up the Rascalz, Jordynne Grace becoming #1 contender and the World Title situation.

Opening sequence.

Moose vs. Trey Miguel

Fallout from the Rascalz making fun of their clothes and not getting anywhere with Melissa Santos. Miguel goes for the legs to start and actually pulls off a hurricanrana. Moose gets sent to the floor a few times but a suicide dive won’t even put him off his feet. The second attempt is countered into a release apron bomb but Trey slips out of another one and kicks Moose in the face. Something like a 619 is countered with a swing into the steps (geez) and Moose hammers at the head inside.

A heck of a clothesline looks to set up a superplex but Moose slips out and hits a quick superkick. There’s a missile dropkick to send Moose outside for the required flip dive as we keep up with the all the required big man vs. little man tropes. Moose isn’t really phased by a frog splash but the discus lariat misses. An enziguri gives Trey two but Moose has had it and sends him into the post twice in a row. The No Jackhammer Needed spear finishes Miguel at 9:22.

Rating: C+. This was a fun big vs. little match and it’s not like the Rascalz are hurt by losing to a main event star. There’s a good chance that the feud isn’t done and that’s not a bad thing, as anything that gives the Rascalz a potentially big win is a positive thing. They’re that good and I could go for a lot more of them.

Sami Callihan isn’t sure how he’s going to hurt Rich Swann but he’s walking out as champion.

Tessa Blanchard says Impact is completely responsible for Gail Kim’s actions. First up, Kim needs to make a public apology.

The announcers preview the show.

KM/Fallah Bahh vs. Eli Drake/Eddie Edwards

Bahh shoulders Drake down to start and we go to a gator roll to keep him in trouble. KM comes in and doesn’t do as well, allowing a tag off to Eddie to crank on the arm. A superkick to the ribs cuts KM off as everything breaks down. Drake puts KM on top for a superplex but Bahh runs Drake over. That earns him a trip to the floor and a suicide dive from Eddie. That means it’s Kenny time but Eddie gets caught. That’s fine as he throws it to Drake and since the referees aren’t that bright, KM takes a shot to the head and it’s the Boston Knee Party for the pin at 4:59.

Rating: D+. Edwards and Drake continue their nice roll as a team and that seems likely to set them up for a title shot, likely at Rebellion. The Lucha Bros and LAX are both awesome but you can only have those two fight for so long until they need something else. Then again there’s always the chance that Drake turns on him, which would seem to be his nature.

Taya Valkyrie grabs Melendez (the annoying interviewer) by the throat for asking why Johnny Impact turned on Brian Cage last week.

GWN Flashback Moment of the Week: Jeff Hardy vs. Mr. Anderson from Against All Odds (though this might just be the international version, as the American show might have aired Fenix vs. Brian Cage from the Impact vs. Lucha Underground show last year).

Melendez gets thrown in the trash for being annoying.

Swann tells Willie Mack that he’ll be one on one with Sami tonight. Mack promises to take care of OVE but here’s Ethan Page to say he’s coming for Mack tonight.

Ace Austin vs. Damian Hyde

Ace starts fast with a trip into a basement dropkick to send Hyde to the floor. A handstand on the apron makes Hyde miss and it’s the Space Flying Tiger Drop to keep Hyde in trouble. Back in and Austin hits a springboard kick to the head and a middle rope Swanton. A double stomp to the back of the head sets up the Fold for the pin at 3:08.

Rating: C-. Total and complete squash here, which is what should have happened when Austin debuted. The important thing here was letting him come out there and get in all of his cool offense, which Austin can do quite well. I’ve liked Austin in all the promotions I’ve seen him in and having him in Impact is a good move.

Video on Sami Callihan vs. Rich Swann with Swann turning down the offers to join OVE and laying all of them out.

A Knockout is back in two weeks. Odds are that’s Madison Rayne.

Here are Johnny Impact and Taya Valkyrie for the big explanation with Callis ripping them apart on commentary. Johnny has been asked by everyone from local news to TMZ. He did it because of the internet smart marks (oh here we go) who are watching this stuff for the crashes. They liked him and then they saw Cage, who got ripped off at Homecoming. Impact had to sit in a room with that moron who just doesn’t get it. How can Impact be loyal to the fans when no one is loyal to him? He cheated on the fans with himself and loved it.

As for Taya, she’s not worried about facing Jordynne Grace next week but would rather complain about how the fans treated Johnny. There might not be a title match next week because they have the power and they make the rules. Johnny says the only things that matter to him are the title and his wife. This was one of the more generic “you turned on me” promos I’ve heard in a good while, which is fine enough and not the worst idea, though the smart marks line didn’t really add a thing.

Rosemary comes in to see James Mitchell because she’s gotten Allie’s meat suit and not her soul. Mitchell says he was a man of his word but if Rosemary has a problem, she can talk to him, whoever that is. She’ll go to the undead realm and get the Bunny’s soul back.

Video on Jordynne Grace defeating Tessa Blanchard to become #1 contender.

Ethan Page vs. Willie Mack

Page jumps him in the corner to start and sends Mack into another corner for an elbow to the face. That just earns Page a Samoan drop into a standing moonsault and they head outside. Page kicks him in the face for two back inside as the fans are behind Chocolate Thunder. That switches to an ETHAN SUCKS chant so he puts on a chinlock and shouts about how the chants mean nothing.

Mack fights up with a shotgun dropkick into the corner for the running hip attack. A DDT gets two but Mack gets caught with an Iconoclasm out of the corner, setting up a middle rope elbow for another near fall. Mack finally goes simple by kicking Page in the head and hitting the Stunner for the pin at 5:59.

Rating: C+. Page has grown on me a lot in recent weeks and Mack is still one of the most charismatic guys on the roster. These two could have a very nice program or even a longer match down the road and I wouldn’t be complaining. That’s a pretty good place to be for what should be just a quick one off match like this and again suggests that the future is bright around here, assuming they don’t all get signed away.

Melendez annoys Johnny and Taya again so Johnny says he smells like hot garbage. They run into Killer Kross, who whispers something to him, which seems to please Johnny.

Video on Scarlett Bordeaux vs. Glenn Gilbertti.

Melendez goes up to Gilbertti, who is doing shots to train. The match with Scarlett is going to be one star, after six stars for Glenn and negative five for hers, making it the highest rated match ever involving a woman.

Gail Kim is going to apologize and resign from her position to appease Tessa’s lawyers. Can we PLEASE just get to the match already?

LAX and the Lucha Bros get in a rather intense fight in the hallway. Konnan comes in to yell as security breaks it up.

The Crist Brothers jump Mack in a locker room…but he’s ready for them and lays them out with a chair.

X-Division Title: Rich Swann vs. Sami Callihan

Sami is challenging and doesn’t seem to know that the Brothers aren’t a factor. Swann isn’t wasting time and goes straight at Sami, knocking him tot he floor for a big flip dive. That earns him the spit chop but Swann isn’t about to be dropped on the steps. The piledriver on the steps is broken up and Swann hits a running clothesline off said steps. An exploder suplex onto the ramp cuts the champ off though and we take a break.

Back with Swann caught in a chinlock, followed by another spit chop in the corner. The neck crank goes on and Callihan pulls on the mouth for a painful visual. That’s let go for an elbow and it’s right back to the chinlock. Thankfully Swann fights up and gets in a jawbreaker, followed by a running headscissors. A top rope hurricanrana gives Swann two and he can’t believe the kickout. Callihan pops up with a piledriver into a knee to the face into Get Out Of Here for two and his own surprised reaction.

Swann gets the better of an exchange of kicks to the head, setting up the middle rope 450 for two. A super hurricanrana is countered into a super Jackknife, followed by an STF of all things. Swann breaks that up and makes the rope, setting up a huge spit in the face from Sami. That earns Callihan a Lethal Injection but he avoids the Phoenix splash. Swann is fine enough to grab a rollup to retain at 15:03.

Rating: B. This was the big showdown between these two and, as usual, Swann showed that he could hang in the main event settings. It’s a good match and while Sami losing didn’t help things, he’s the kind of guy who can be built up again in short order. That’s the perk of having lackeys: as long as you have them there to beat people up, you look like a monster all over again.

Post match Sami knocks Swann down and grabs a chair, only to get kicked in the face. Cue the debuting Madman (Sawyer) Fulton to chokeslam Swann. Mack comes in for the save and gets dropped as well, allowing Sami to hit Swann in the throat with the baseball bat to end the show. Fulton has been around Sami before and is a great fit for a monster enforcer.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty good show this week with some rather nice matches and a good debut to wrap things up. As mentioned, the future looks promising as they’ve signed up some talent with a lot of potential and that means we should be able to get some more shows like this (if not better) in the future. Good show this week, and one of their better in recent memory. The lack of the same main event matches has no connection to this whatsoever I’m sure.

Results

Moose b. Trey Miguel – No Jackhammer Needed

Eli Drake/Eddie Edwards b. KM/Fallah Bahh – Boston Knee Party to KM

Ace Austin b. Damian Hyde – The Fold

Willie Mack b. Ethan Page – Stunner

Rich Swann b. Sami Callihan – Rollup

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: March 15, 2019
Location: Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

Things are rolling along as usual around here, which means a lot of the same stories that kind of need to go somewhere already. That’s one of Impact’s biggest problems and it’s been the case for years: they don’t seem to know how wrap up stories so things just keep going on and on for months. Hopefully we get some advancement soon because the good things that they have are rapidly approaching their expiration date. Let’s get to it.

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

Standard opening recap.

Opening sequence.

OVE vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack/Tommy Dreamer

Yes seriously. It’s a brawl to start with Swann and Callihan being left in the ring until Rich kicks him to the floor. The good guys are left inside until it’s Dreamer and Sami starting things off, allowing Callis to talk about Dreamer sticking his nose into everything. Preach it man. Mack comes in to work on Jake’s arm and Dreamer adds a bottom rope ax handle. Dave takes over on Dreamer and it’s off to Sami for an elbow drop.

The Cactus Piledriver is countered though and it’s a catapult to send Sami into the corner. Mack comes back in for a powerslam and the standing moonsault, followed by a nip up. Dreamer drops an elbow and does his version of a nip up (it’s funny because he’s old and fat), leaving Mack and Swann to do their dives.

Instead of diving, Dreamer runs to the apron and climbs down for some right hands (it’s funny because he’s old and fat if you didn’t get the same joke a minute ago). Back from a break with Swann fighting out of Sami’s chinlock but getting caught in Jake’s reverse Rings of Saturn.

With that broken up, Dave works on the leg until a kick to the head lets Dreamer get the hot tag. Sami comes in to spit in Dreamer’s face as everything breaks down. Dreamer knocks all three of them into a corner for a running cannonball from Mack, and it’s stereo frog splashes onto the Crists. Tommy even hits his own splash onto Sami (BECAUSE HE’S OLD AND FAT!) but Callihan pops up and hits the Cactus Piledriver for the pin at 19:03.

Rating: C-. So now the heel commentator’s line is “Dreamer needs to go away because he keeps stealing spots from people”? Why would I disagree with that? Is is because Dreamer is a legend who won’t go away? Or is it because he’s old and fat and makes fun of being old and fat? It’s not funny but you can’t make fun of Dreamer because he was in ECW or something.

Brian Cage asks Johnny Impact, in a neck brace, if he’s ready for tonight. Johnny says he’ll be there. The swerve is strong with this one.

Video on Impact vs. Cage, with the title on the line tonight.

The Rascalz are in their circle when Moose joins them and wonders what’s up with Melissa Santos. Moose punches them all for making fun of his clothes.

Here’s Glenn Gilbertti to call out Scarlett Bordeaux, who he fights next week. Instead he gets a clown.

Glenn Gilbertti vs. Kikutaro

He’s a Japanese comedy guy in a mask. They fight over arm control to start with Kikutaro stopping to dance. Some shoulders don’t work so Glenn punches him down and whips Kikutaro across the ring over and over. The chinlock goes on for all of two seconds so Glenn slams him down but misses the Village People’s Elbow (with a YMCA dance). Kikutaro hits part of a Shining Wizard but a missed moonsault lets Glenn hit the Chartbuster (Stunner) for the pin at 4:23.

Rating: D. It’s kind of hard to complain that much about this story as it’s mostly harmless and isn’t getting a ton of time. Scarlett is going to beat Gilbertti up and the fans will be happy while no one of value takes a loss. They’re giving the story about five minutes a week and that’s all they need to do. In other words, this was harmless.

Taya Valkyrie isn’t worried about defending the Knockouts Title because her husband is in danger tonight.

Reno Scum vs. KM/Fallah Bahh

Rematch from a few weeks ago when Scum lost but beat them up after the match. It’s a brawl on the floor to start with Scum taking over and sending Bahh into the steps. KM gets punched in the corner until an enziguri drops Luster. There’s no Bahh though, meaning KM has to clothesline Thornstowe down before making the real hot tag. The Samoan drop gets two on Thornstowe, followed by Luster going shoulder first into the post. That’s enough for Bahh to hit a belly to belly for the pin on Thornstowe at 4:32.

Rating: D. Another nothing match but that’s the best way to use Scum. They’re just loud and obnoxious which isn’t enough to make me want to see them stick around. I don’t say this often but KM and Bahh deserve better than this. Hopefully this was just for the Las Vegas tapings as I really don’t want Scum around regularly.

Konnan asks the Lucha Bros when they’re giving LAX their rematch. That’s not happening so Konnan threatens them as they leave.

Post break Konnan tells them that there’s no rematch yet. LAX doesn’t seem worried because it’s going to be a street fight.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Jordynne Grace

#1 contenders match. Tessa can’t do much with the power to start so Jordynne runs her over with a clothesline. The threat of a splash in the corner makes Tessa pull the referee in front of her, meaning it’s a hard forearm to Jordynne’s face. The hanging Downward Spiral is countered but Tessa grabs the Codebreaker for two instead. That kickout doesn’t sit well with Tessa so she hammers away but walks into a spinebuster.

Back from a break with Tessa unloading with forearms until a Michinoku Driver gets Jordynne out of trouble. A Muscle Buster is broken up and Tessa hits some kind of a swinging reverse DDT. Tessa goes up but spends too much time talking about Gail Kim, allowing Grace to slam her down. An elbow to the face staggers Jordynne but she’s right back with the Grace Driver (pumphandle driver) for the pin at 10:21.

Rating: C. Nice power match here, even if we’re just killing time until Kim vs. Blanchard. I mean, you have to give them time to set up the 194 video packages on how legendary and amazing Kim really is. Grace going after the title could be interesting as you can only have a monster like her in the midcard for so long.

Tessa sells the heck out of the driver and barely moves. After she finally gets up, Tessa snaps, yells about Kim some more and beats up the timekeeper. Gail Kim comes in for the save and clears the ring.

United We Stand ad.

Tessa yells at Scott D’Amore and demands something be done about Gail. Speaking of Gail, she comes in and yells as well, earning herself a suspension. This story really doesn’t warrant such a long build.

United We Stand rundown.

GWN Flashback Of The Week: Brian Cage vs. Eli Drake from last year’s Lucha Underground vs. Impact show.

Rosemary tries to get inside Allie’s head and find the Bunny. Allie says it’s gone and laughs because Rosemary looks pathetic. Rosemary: “WHERE’S THE BUNNY?” This is more interesting, even though we had to sit through all those losses for Allie and company.

Callihan yells about Swann turning his back on OVE. Now he’s going to take everything from Swann, starting with the X-Division Title next week.

Desi Hit Squad vs. Eddie Edwards/Eli Drake

Eddie and Raj start things off and trade some right hands before it’s off to both partners. It’s already back to Edwards to chop Raju, who brings Raj back in for a flapjack into a sliding knee from Raju. A jumping Downward Spiral gets two and Eli gets knocked off the apron. That’s too much for him so he comes in sans tag to beat up the Squad, which amazingly enough isn’t all that hard. Gama Singh gets on the apron for a distraction so Drake throws in Kenny, allowing Eddie to knock Raju cold for the pin at 5:21.

Rating: D+. The Hit Squad is less annoying than they used to be but they’re still not an act that I want to watch every week. Drake and Edwards are fine as a team and Drake getting a tweener push is rather interesting for a change. He’s still one of the best talkers in the company and it’s a good idea to see him getting this kind of a chance. Throw in the eternally good Edwards and they might have something here.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Johnny Impact vs. Brian Cage

Impact is defending and comes out first…being carried unconscious on Killer Kross’ back. Kross has a cinder block with him too and grabs a chair for a bonus. Security runs in and gets beaten up so Kross can put Johnny’s head against the block. Taya tries to bring Cage in for the save but he stays on the ramp as Cage yells at Taya instead. Cage finally comes in and takes out Kross, allowing Taya to hit Cage low. Impact nips up and destroys Cage, putting the block on his head and blasting it with a chair. Kross laughs from the floor to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. The main event angle was nice and FINALLY advanced the story somewhat, though the rest of the show left a lot to be desired. You can only get so far with doing the same stuff over and over, but for some reason Impact is fine with spinning their wheels on stories for months at a time. There’s a long way to go before Rebellion but you can at least see the card being set up. As usual: some good stuff here and there, just not enough that makes you want to come back.

Results

OVE b. Tommy Dreamer/Rich Swann/Willie Mack – Cactus Piledriver to Dreamer

Glenn Gilbertti b. Kikutaro – Chartbuster

KM/Fallah Bahh b. Reno Scum – Belly to belly to Thornstowe

Jordynne Grace b. Tessa Blanchard – Grace Driver

Eli Drake/Eddie Edwards b. Desi Hit Squad – Kendo stick to Raju

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

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

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

Preview/recap.

Opening sequence.

Rich Swann vs. Ethan Page

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ace Austin vs. Jake Atlas

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

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

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

Reno Scum wants a rematch with KM and Fallah Bahh.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rascalz vs. Lucha Bros

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

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

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

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

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

Results

Rich Swann b. Ethan Page – Phoenix splash

Ace Austin b. Jake Atlas – The Fold

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

Lucha Bros b. Rascalz – Pentagon Driver to Wentz

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: February 8, 2019
Location: Fronton Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

Things are starting to pick up around here with one of the biggest matches we’ll be seeing in Mexico as LAX defends the Tag Team Titles against the Lucha Bros. That could be a heck of a match with four guys who can work well together and tear the house down with the right amount of time. It’s likely to be better than the World Title feud, which still isn’t doing anything of note. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap opens while serving as a recap.

Opening sequence.

Willie Mack/Rich Swann vs. Crist Brothers

The Brothers jump the gun before the bell and take over to start, though I’m not sure the match ever officially got underway. Mack gets sent outside and it’s Swann caught in the wrong corner for the double teaming. That doesn’t last long though as Mack comes back in and sends the Brothers outside for the running flip dive. Back up and the Brothers drop Mack onto the apron, setting up a Crossface back inside.

Mack crawls over and bites the rope for the break (that’s certainly different) so Dave superkicks him into a rollup for two. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Jake goes with a chinlock to mix things up a bit. It’s back to Dave and a double clothesline allows the hot tag to Swann. Everything breaks down and Rolling Thunder into a splash gives Swann two but the Brothers are right back up with a spike Tombstone for the same. A double Stunner from Mack sets up a double handspring cutter from Swann, setting up the middle rope 450 to finish Jake at 9:40.

Rating: C. The ending came a bit out of nowhere but Mack and Swann work very well together, meaning this was a pretty nice little match. Swann vs. Callihan could be interesting and the backstory being filled in will help them out a lot. What we got here was good though, which tends to be the case in openers on this show.

We recap the ending of last week’s main event with Brian Cage allowing partner Johnny Impact to get speared down.

The Lucha Bros promise to win the titles.

Next week: Impact defends against Killer Kross, Moose and Brian Cage.

GWN Flashback Moment of the Week: LAX returns. This was during the time when Bruce Prichard and Dutch Mantell were around. Remember any of that? I’m not sure why you would, but you might for reasons of self induced pain.

Allie vs. Kiera Hogan

Allie is looking for Rosemary during her entrance. Su Yung and Jordynne Grace are here as well. Kiera goes straight at her in the corner with some running elbows and a clothesline gets two. A choke shove sends Kiera into the corner though and Allie gets two of her own off a sliding clothesline. The announcers ignore the match to talk about anything else in the coming weeks, even ignoring Kiera hitting a superkick for two.

Allie misses one of her own and Kiera hits something like an Edge O Matic. Su tries to throw in the bloody glove so Grace takes her out without much effort. With Kiera down, Allie thinks about the glove but realizes it would summon Rosemary, allowing Kiera to get up and hit the fisherman’s neckbreaker for the pin at 5:22.

Rating: D. Hey look: Allie loses again, which really shouldn’t be much of a surprise anymore. Like I said last week, if she and Su don’t ever win anything, why is she someone that needs to be dealt with? Allie being scared of Rosemary is fine and the story hasn’t gotten old and stale yet, but they need to find a better way to tell it pretty soon.

Johnny isn’t happy with the announcement of the four way when Cage comes in to say he’ll see him next week.

Rob Van Dam and Sabu will face the Lucha Bros at United We Stand (the Wrestlemania weekend show). That would have felt old ten years ago and now it’s even worse.

Allie and Su go looking for Rosemary and a new message appears: “The witching is upon us. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

Rohit Raju vs. Trey Miguel

Raju isn’t happy with the rolling around to start and yells at the fans as Callis says Raju wants to be like Gama Singh but would be lucky to be like Sonjay Dutt. Trey’s chinlock doesn’t last long so he springboard dropkicks Raju outside instead. A suicide dive is countered though and a faceplant onto the apron has him in trouble. Raj Singh gets in some cheap shots from the floor and it’s time to strike it off.

Raju actually gets the better of it with a shot to the knee and a right hand to the head for two. Trey is right back up with a double stomp to the back as this is getting more time than I was expecting. There’s a 619 in the corner, followed by a jumping neckbreaker for two on Raju. Back up and a sitout gordbuster gets two on Trey and a sliding knee to the back of the head (ala Adam Cole) is good for the same. The other Rascalz superkick Raj, leaving Trey to hit another 619 into a Meteora for the pin at 8:28.

Rating: C+. I….liked this? I’m not sure how to handle a world where a match featuring someone from the Desi Hit Squad actually entertains me but that’s what happened here. It’s no masterpiece or anything but what we got was fun enough and kept me entertained. Just keep it to singles matches and things can be completely adequate.

We look at Team AAA before the World Cup match.

Scarlett Bordeaux makes her in-ring debut in Las Vegas.

Sami Callihan vs. Puma King

Puma has been entertaining in MLW. Sami jumps him from behind to start but King is right back up with a superkick and it’s time to make some noise. There’s a running flip dive to the floor as the fans seem rightfully impressed by King. They head outside with another kick to the face keeping Callihan in trouble. He’s able to grab a tornado DDT on the floor though, leaving King outside for a near countout.

Back in and Callihan gets two off a Batista Bomb and it’s time to start stomping on the ankle. Or maybe to tear at the mask, like a heel should do in this situation. Sami lets him up so it’s the spit chop instead, with the announcers not exactly seeing the appeal. King gets tied in the Tree of Woe but manages to get his legs free for something like an ankle hurricanrana to escape. They both fall to the floor in a crash with Sami laughing (of course) as we take a break.

Back with Puma still in trouble and Sami showing some swagger for a change. King is fine enough to hit a spinebuster and an enziguri but can’t follow up. A victory roll into an elbow (just an elbow) keeps Sami in trouble and something like a Blue Thunder Bomb gets two. Some strikes to the face and ribs rock Sami so he bounces off the rope for a hard clothesline. La majistral gives King two as Sami grabs the rope, which feels out of place in this match. Back up and King hits some superkicks but takes a shot to the ribs, setting up the Cactus Piledriver to give Sami the pin at 17:26.

Rating: C. Another back and forth match here, though as usual it didn’t have much in the way of a flow to it as Sami was kind of going from spot to spot. Normally that’s not a great thing but it kind of fits with Sami, who is more about the violence and hurting people than getting a win. King continues to be fun and I could go or some more of him.

Video on Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie before their street fight next week. As usual, Tessa comes off like a complete star here, even if Gail Kim is going to get involved somehow.

Eli Drake runs into Eddie Edwards in the back and brags about getting the win last week in their tag match. Next week they’re in the World Cup match but Eddie doesn’t want to hear about it. He’ll do his thing and Eli can do his, but Eli wants to see the old Eddie next week. Eddie doesn’t seem to buy the idea.

Rundown of next week’s big show.

Killer Kross and Moose are ready for next week’s title match and seem ready to work together. Moose thinks they could be co-World Champions but Kross doesn’t seem interested. This treated Moose like a bit of an idiot, which isn’t the right fit for him.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. LAX

The Lucha Bros are challenging and get a big over the top entrance, which looks almost more like Chinese New Year than anything else. The Bros jump the gun again and it’s an early Pentagon Driver attempt being broken up, followed by a double belly to back suplex from the champs. That’s the first seventeen seconds so we’re in for a fast one here. The assisted moonsault is broken up and Pentagon hits a Codebreaker on Ortiz to set up Fenix’s top rope double stomp to the back.

Santana and Pentagon do the big staredown as the fans are WAY into this one, shocking no one at all. The other two get back int o break things up and Fenix kicks Santana out to the floor. Ortiz and Fenix slug it out with chops going upside the others’ heads until Santana comes in with a high crossbody. Fenix dropkicks both champs down and we take a break. Back with Fenix hitting Ortiz in the face to stun him on top as we’re actually in a standard match for a change.

Ortiz gets a spinebuster on Fenix and it’s off to Santana and Pentagon with more chops ensuing. The champs get the better of it this time as the announcers are doing a rather nice job of explaining how different these teams are with Konnan being a huge difference maker. A quick Pentagon Driver gets two on Santana as Konnan is starting to panic. The spike Fear Factor misses and rolling cutters take out both Bros at once.

A Codebreaker into a superkick into the double flip into a faceplant (how LAX retained at Homecoming) gets two on Fenix. There’s the Street Sweeper to Fenix but Pentagon makes the save, setting up the spike Fear Factor on Santana. Fenix suicide dives Ortiz as Pentagon gets two, followed by a regular Fear Factor for the same. The Bros have had it and it’s another spike Fear Factor with another dive to Ortiz to give us new champions at 14:11.

Rating: B+. I don’t think it’s as good as commentary was hyping it up to be but this was a very entertaining match with everyone just going insane, as they should have. I know the ending was a bit repetitive but there’s something to be said about dropping someone on their head over and over until they just don’t get up anymore. It’s the same idea that Edge had at New Year’s Resolution 2006 when he kept spearing Cena over and over until he won. Why go with something other than your biggest weapon if you have the chance?

Post match Konnan doesn’t know what to do. LAX gets up and Konnan tells them to shake hands. They do, though a little shoving takes place before LAX gives the Bros the ring to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked this show more than I was expecting to and it was a rather fun night. The main event was the feel good moment for the crowd and that’s a great way to go. Next week’s big show is already set up and we had a good night here as what might be the high point of the tapings. One really good main event is better than a lot of tapings get so I’ll certainly call this one a success, even with a pretty lame Allie vs. Hogan match (though to be fair, that’s more the story than the wrestling). Good stuff here.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

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

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

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

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

Rich Swann vs. El Hijo Del Vikingo

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

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

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

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

The announcers preview things.

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

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

Keyra vs. Taya Valkyrie

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scarlett Bordeaux trains in not the most efficient gear.

Desi Hit Squad vs. Rascalz

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

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

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

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

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

Trey Miguel vs. Ethan Page

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

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

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

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

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

Impact Wrestling World Title: Killer Kross vs. Johnny Impact

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

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

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

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

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

Results

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

Taya Valkyrie b. Keyra – Seated STF

Rascalz b. Desi Hit Squad – Push Moonsault to Singh

Trey Miguel b. Ethan Page – Fresh to Death

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #38
Date: January 11, 2019
Location: Scottish Rite Temple, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

We’re still down in Miami and it’s time for a fairly big show. This time around we have Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Pillman Jr. in a Singapore cane match, which should be a win for Pillman, assuming there is any form of sanity left in the world. Other than that, the build towards Super Fight continues, which should mean more Tom Lawlor vs. Low Ki. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with Lawlor outside of Promociones Dorado’s office where Salina de la Renta and Sami Callihan are arguing over a bounty. Apparently she wants Sami to take Lawlor out tonight, which Tom hears. I’ll take that over the camera inexplicably being in the room instead.

Opening sequence.

Low Ki says he’s been undefeated in MLW for fifteen years and has run through everyone in front of him. He’s not going to lose anytime soon because one day he’ll retire as the greatest champion ever.

Dragon Lee vs. Rich Swann

Swann doesn’t seem to think much of the fans, which is quite the abrupt heel turn. Lee takes over with an early front facelock as we hear about him being on a reality show. An exchange of armdrags goes to a standoff and the pace picks up in a hurry with an exchange of trips into an exchange of one counts. Not bad for about two minutes, meaning it’s a nice exchange rate. The offer of a test of strength turns into Swann dancing, which at least ties into his norm.

Swann flips over him and hits a dropkick before dusting himself off a bit. Some chops in the corner let Swann swagger a bit until Lee knocks him outside. Lee strikes a quick pose ala Andrade Cien Almas so Swann pounds him down back inside. With Swann favoring his wrist, he goes with kicks to the ribs instead to keep Lee down. Lee gets sat on top and it’s time to go after the mask, because of course that’s what you do.

That’s enough for Lee to come back and hit a slingshot dropkick in the corner and pick up the pace. A sliding knee to the face gets two but Swann kicks him in the ribs and hits a running flip Fameasser of all things. Lee snaps off a reverse hurricanrana but Swann pops up and kicks the heck out of his jaw for the double knockdown. There’s another kick to the head to rock Lee but the Phoenix Splash misses, setting up the Dragon Driver to give Lee the pin at 10:53.

Rating: B-. Swann’s random heel turn aside, it’s a good opener with Lee getting to show off. This company certainly does love its luchadors and they’re entertaining, though at some point you have to have some people beat them instead of giving them win after win like this. It’s what got Ring of Honor in trouble with New Japan and that’s not a good thing.

Sami Callihan is looking for Tom Lawlor and yells at Ace Romero for not knowing where he is.

Brian Pillman Jr. hits his cane against a wall and says that’s the sound it made when it hit Kevin Sullivan’s head. Pillman is tired of old men telling him to get off his lawn because it’s Pillman’s lawn now. Dreamer keeps hanging on too long and it’s time for Pillman to use weapons just like Dreamer does. Tonight, Pillman is taking him out. We can only hope.

Video on Lawlor vs. Low Ki at Super Fight.

Lawlor runs into Team Filthy teammate Fred Yehi and tells him to tell Callihan that he’s warming up in a side room by the kitchen.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

Singapore Cane match, meaning the canes are legal. Pillman’s (who is smart enough to wear multiple layers of clothing to block some of the pain) first swing is blocked so it’s time for the pain to begin. A swinging neckbreaker takes Pillman down and Dreamer sends him outside. Dreamer borrows a beer from a fan and spits it in Pillman’s face so we can hit that ECW chant. They head into the crowd with Dreamer ripping off one of Pillman’s shirts to find another one as the logic is certainly there.

Dreamer gets crotched on the barricade and superkicked though as Pillman gets in his first offense. Pillman stays smart by caning Dreamer’s hands, followed by a middle rope cane shot to the head. Some finger bending keeps Dreamer in trouble so Pillman grabs the regular cane. The intelligence goes flying out the window as Pillman goes up top while Dreamer is holding a cane of his own.

Dreamer comes back with the Flip Flop and Fly as the announcers get into a debate over who exploits someone more: Dreamer with Dusty Rhodes of Pillman Jr. with Pillman. I’ll let you figure out why that doesn’t really work as Dreamer bends him over a chair and gets in a cane shot to the exposed back. A drop toehold sends Dreamer into the chair and it’s time for more caning. Of course that fires Dreamer up enough to make the comeback with cane shots of his own. A cutter gets two but Pillman is right back with a low blow into a swinging neckbreaker for the pin at 9:29.

Rating: D+. Nothing that we haven’t seen done better in other brawls but it’s good to see Pillman get the win on his own. Dreamer putting someone over is fine in theory but when he keeps doing it over and over again, it doesn’t quite have much of an impact. Nothing great here but at least the right person won.

Yehi tells Callihan where Lawlor is and gets a box knocked out of his hands.

Mance Warner is coming.

We look back at Konnan’s recent assaults, which may have caused Pentagon to lose to Teddy Hart.

Super Fight Control Center. New matches: Ace Romero vs. Simon Gotch II, Rey Horus vs. Aerostar and Mance Warner’s debut. Apparently it’s much anticipated, even though I don’t remember the name being mentioned until two minutes ago.

MLW World Title: Low Ki vs. Fred Yehi

Low Ki is defending. It’s a grapple off to start with Yehi taking him into the corner but getting caught in an armbar over the top. That’s broken up and we reset in a hurry. Yehi blasts him with a shot to the face and takes the champ down to work on the leg. That’s broken up so Yehi sends him into the corner for a breather. Some shots to the foot and leg have Low Ki in trouble and a quick cradle gets two. Low Ki knocks him down with a hard shot though and a really painful looking top rope double stomp to the back finishes Yehi at 4:29. I still don’t know how they can do that without some severe injuries.

Rating: C-. This was fun while it lasted but it didn’t have the time to go anywhere. Giving Low Ki a win before the title match is a good idea as Lawlor has been so hot lately that you have to give him something to even things out. Yehi is good, though he’s been away for so long that the win didn’t mean as much as it would have before.

Callihan, carrying a hammer, goes to find Lawlor and heads into a side room. A fight is heard and Lawlor comes out with the hammer, which has some blood on it. Lawlor licks the blood off to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The rise of Lawlor continues and it’s all but time to wrap everything up with the big title change at Super Fight. Having him take out Callihan to end the show is a good idea and there doing some rather solid stuff up and down the card. The middleweights continue to go well and I’m wanting to see where some of these stories go. That’s a good place to be as we head into a major show.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #35
Date: December 14, 2018
Location: Scottish Rite Temple, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

This is a special edition of Fusion as they are LIVE from Miami, marking the first time that they’re not taped. Tonight’s show is part of a larger series of tapings but the live aspect is something special that really does feel like a big deal. With some luck they can hit it out of the park, though that’s never a guarantee. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with Promociones Dorado laying out Team Filthy in the back. Salina de la Renta reminds us that we are live and warns Tom Lawlor that they’re coming.

Opening sequence.

Lawlor is on his way here due to getting his injured hand looked at elsewhere.

Middleweight Title: Gringo Loco vs. Dezmond Xavier vs. Hijo de LA Park vs. Kotto Brazil

This is a ladder match and the title is vacant coming in due to Maxwell Jacob Friedman injuring his elbow. The lineup for the match has changed about half a dozen times coming in so it’s nice to have an actual group of competitors for a change. Actually hang on as Teddy Hart is here and decks Dezmond on the way in, setting up an Arabian Press to take him out again. I guess it’s a five way now.

Middleweight Title: Gringo Loco vs. Dezmond Xavier vs. Hijo de LA Park vs. Kotto Brazil vs. Teddy Hart

Teddy goes for a ladder but Kotto takes him down with a slingshot forearm. Park follows them out and Pillmanizes Brazil’s ankle as the fans chant for Gringo. Brazil’s troubles aren’t done though as Park wraps the ladder around his leg and crushes it with the chair. Park heads back inside and gets in a chair duel with Gringo but they let it go to kick Dezmond in the face. A headscissors sends Gringo to the floor and there’s another superkick to put Hart outside as well.

Dezmond gets sent to the apron so Park hits a sunset bomb to the floor. That gives us the Park vs. Hart showdown as we hear about Salina wrecking havoc in the back. The kind of havoc isn’t specified but it is indeed being wrecked. Hart misses a moonsault but hits his walk onto the back into a sunset bomb, which has nothing to do with this match. With havoc managed, Salina comes out to support Park as Gringo and Dezmond come in. Loco hits a Spanish Fly on Xavier and we take a very abrupt break.

Back with everyone on the floor until Hart hits a big moonsault onto the three who don’t have severely damaged legs (sticking the landing of course). We finally get the first ladder thrown in but Hart and Park have to fight on the floor before anyone can climb. It’s Hart getting the better of the climb but having to slug it out with Loco on top.

Hart knocks him off so Loco lands on the top rope and springboards back into a cutter on Xavier in an awesome spot. Hart gets a DDT on Park and goes up again but this time Park shoves him down. Dezmond knocks Park off the top of the ladder and gets a hand on the title but Park needs to bridge a ladder onto the ropes instead of making the save because that’s the spot they had planned.

Instead, Dezmond gets knocked onto the bridged ladder but here’s Kotto back in as Hart moonsaults onto Xavier. Kotto unloads with a chair to various people but Hart chairs him off the ladder, with Kotto falling before the contact was ever actually made. Project Ciampa drops Brazil again and Hart wins the title at 13:57.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t an all time classic or anything but they took their time and Hart winning is the right call. He’s crazy over with the fans and can still have entertaining matches so give him the title and let him elevate it a good bit. That’s all you could go with here and he should be an improvement over Friedman.

Lawlor says it’s the time for fighting, not talking.

Rush will face LA Park at the Wrestlemania weekend show. Trash was talked at the press conference in New York.

Dragon Lee vs. DJZ

I believe both guys are debuting here. They hit the mat to start with neither being able to get anywhere. A dropkick puts DJZ on the floor but he comes back in for a double cartwheel into stereo tranquilo poses. Lee gets sent to the floor and that means the big flip dive. Back in and DJZ hits a slingshot splash, followed by a Lionsault for two. Lee is right back with a running dropkick in the corner and a shoulder breaker puts DJZ down again.

They trade some strikes to the face and a rolling DDT from Lee gives us a double knockdown. Since you don’t stay down in a match like this, they both head up until Lee hits the top rope double stomp ala Alberto Del Rio. That’s good for two back inside but Lee’s powerbomb is countered into a fast Canadian Destroyer for the same. A Dragon Driver (suplex into a sitout powerbomb for a cool move) gets two more and another one finishes DJZ at 7:00.

Rating: C+. This was the spot fest match of the show, which says a lot when there was a long ladder match beforehand. Both guys looked good here and there’s a reason to believe that the two of them are going to stick around for the middleweight division. Lee looked great in ROH and the same was true here. As a bonus, DJZ is that much better than he was in TNA, where he was just annoying as opposed to someone talented like he apparently is.

An annoyed Salina tries to leave with Promociones Dorado and has to dive into the limo to get away from Lawlor.

Video on Superfight, featuring Lawlor vs. Low Ki for the World Title.

We get an H2 video n the Hart Foundation as Brian Pillman messes around at the hotel. He winds up getting the Rookie of the Year award.

Lawlor and Park are still fighting. We can’t see this, but apparently it’s true.

Simon Gotch is ready to face Lawlor in the no ropes, no holds barred fight next week. Next week, Lawlor’s nightmares are just beginning.

Rush vs. Rich Swann

Swann wants to dance to start so Rush hits him in the face. Maybe that’ll teach him to pay attention. Rush takes it to the floor and tosses a metal trashcan at Swann’s head to really take over in a violent way. They head over to the announcers’ table and Tony sounds half scared and half annoyed. Back in and Rush hits a running clothesline in the corner, followed by a kick to the face. Swann’s chops have no effect but a single one from Rush takes him down to his knees.

After taking his time getting up, Swann springboards into a cutter to get himself a much needed breather. It’s time to slug away with some rather loud strikes and Rush is down this time. A running flip dive off the apron puts Rush down on the floor and there’s the running flip dive off the top to make it even worse. Back in and Swann gets two off a frog splash but charges into a belly to belly in the corner.

Swann’s spinning kick to the head and the rolling DDT get two more but Rush is right back with a superplex. They’re certainly trading the big spots here and that’s a good thing. An enziguri staggers Rush so he comes right back with a headbutt for the double knockdown. The running dropkick misses Swann but his 450 hits knees. Rush is done with this though and the Rush Driver (double underhook piledriver) is good for the pin at 9:46.

Rating: B-. I had a good time with this one as they were hitting each other really hard and trading one big spot after another. That’s the kind of match that Rush needs to win as Swann has credibility and a hard hitting win over him is a good start. Rush comes off as a star and that’s a great thing to have around here. Nice match here, with Swann looking very solid as well.

Post match LA Park comes out and the fight is on with referees breaking it up in a hurry. Rush leaves and here’s Low Ki to promise to beat Lawlor. Cue Lawlor for the big brawl to end the show. That’s a strong ending as they had a hot fight that was built up throughout the show.

Overall Rating: B+. For their first live special, this was quite the hit with all three matches being entertaining. They did exactly what they needed to with some good matches and angles that I want to see move forward. It’s a good introduction for new fans that gave you a reason to come back. Well done on all accounts and that’s a good sign.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: November 29, 2018
Location: Sam’s Town Hotel & Gaming Hall, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re getting closer and closer to Homecoming and that could mean some interesting build as the final few weeks remain. Considering the last two episodes of the year are going to be Best Of shows, there’s only so much time remaining to really make things going. Hopefully the company figures that out and starts pushing things. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at a little bit of everything around here, which is something that they do very well. It makes extra sense after last week’s nothing show too.

Opening sequence.

Willie Mack/Rich Swann vs. Lucha Bros

Swann and Fenix start things off and go with some grappling, only to have the flip into a standoff. Fenix flips across the ring but Swann flips over him for the second standoff in a row. With nothing having happened, we’ll go off to Mack vs. Pentagon for some Lucha Underground flavor. Pentagon throws up CERO MIEDO but Mack gets in his face too. We finally get to some offense as they slug it out but a four way knockdown ensues without much effort.

Mack kicks Pentagon in the face again and snaps off a hurricanrana. A Samoan drop into the standing moonsault set up Swann’s middle rope 450 but Fenix is right back with a double Lethal Injection. Pentagon follows that up with a pair of Sling Blades and it’s the What’s Up Double stomp to Swann, which still looks painful. Swann is fine enough to break up Fenix’s springboard, leaving Mack to Pounce Pentagon to the floor. The running flip dive has Pentagon in more trouble but it’s time for Swann and Fenix to hit their own dives.

Back from a break with Mack chopping Fenix down and then for a change, Mack chops Fenix down. Fenix goes with a spinning kick to the face but Swann breaks up something off the top. Pentagon isn’t having that though as it’s the spike Fear Factor onto the apron to crush Swann. Back in and a springboard headbutt sets up the wheelbarrow flip splash to finish Mack at 15:41.

Rating: B. The Bros are great of course but egads Mack and Swann have been killing it as a team. They compliment each other so well and Mack is as talented and charismatic of a guy as they’ve had on the roster in a long time now. The tag division is starting to get somewhere and either of these teams would be fine for some challengers, even though it’s clear that we’re getting LAX vs. the Lucha Bros in the most awesome match in like forever.

Post match here’s LAX minus Konnan to congratulate the Lucha Bros on the win. They’ve already beaten the best teams in the world, but now they want the Lucha Bros. The match is set for Homecoming.

Next week: qualifying matches for Ultimate X at Homecoming.

Video on Brian Cage, who is ready to finally get his chance to be on top.

LAX comes in to see Konnan, who isn’t cool with them making that announcement. He’s worried about the personal issues that have flared up in the past when we try to have dream matches. Konnan has to do something now and leaves.

Katarina vs. Jordynne Grace

They grapple a bit to start with the much bigger Grace winning the power battle. The whip spinebuster gets two but it’s too early for the bearhug. Katarina gets in some shots in the corner and puts on the reverse chinlock to little avail. The fireman’s carry just isn’t happening so Katarina switches to the top rope DDT for two. A heck of a Pounce sends Katarina flying and hits some running knees in the corner. There’s a Vader Bomb and the bearhug makes Katarina tap at 6:10.

Rating: D+. This could have been worse but, again, they don’t seem eager to push Grace as the unstoppable monster that she could be. She’s a different kind of talent but for some reason they won’t let her just go crazy out there. It’s not like Katarina has much going or her, so just let her get beaten up like a ragdoll out there.

KM and Fallah Bahh have lost their money gambling because they’re not all that bright. Scarlett Bordeaux shows up and says a lot of people are trying to get her attention.

Classic Moment of the Week: Low Ki wins Ultimate X last August.

Video on Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie.

A referee comes in to see Tessa and tells her that she can’t beat up referees. Yeah whatever.

Tommy Dreamer, now in a Superstar Billy Graham shirt because he hasn’t paid homage to enough legends yet, talks about how Eli Drake is everything he hates about people today. Drake is an entitled millennial you see and tries to be the Rock and Steve Austin. Yes TOMMY DREAMER just said someone is trying to be someone else. Drake lost the title and has just been mediocre since then and he’s not ending Dreamer’s career. Dreamer is done when he says he is.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Rae Lyn

Rae ducks behind her and dances to start so Taya hits a forearm in the corner. That earns her a middle rope dropkick to give Rae two but Taya is right back with the running hip attack in the corner. Rae slips out of the Road to Valhalla and dances some more, earning herself a curb stomp and a modified STF for the tap at 2:45. Good idea to add a new move to her arsenal as she can only ride the Road to Valhalla for so long.

Post match Tessa runs in and beats Taya down. The referee from earlier comes in for the save and gets punched in the face. More referees come in and get beaten up….so GAIL KIM makes the save, because OF COURSE SHE FREAKING DOES!

Video on Johnny Impact being ready to defend the title against anyone, including Cage.

Killer Kross again offers his assistance to Impact but gets turned down. That’s not cool with Kross.

Rascalz vs. Chris Bey/Mike Sydal

The Rascalz are a trio with Trey Miguel, Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz with Miguel sitting out this time. Dezmond headlocks Sydal to start and flips away from some early shots to the ribs. Sydal has no idea where Dezmond is and it’s off to Wentz for some yelling. Bey comes in and gets yelled at, followed by a Bronco Buster.

Some rapid fire kicks and a double stomp have Sydal in more trouble and there are the stereo suicide dives, which you had to know were coming. Back in and some kicks put Sydal down before Wentz does a standing moonsault….from about a foot away from Sydal’s feet. Not that it matters as Xavier shoves him over so the moonsault hits the chest for the pin at 3:09. That’s certainly a unique finisher and it looked rather cool.

Rating: C. This was a good looking debut for the Rascalz, who had some great chemistry and some sweet offense. You can always have room for another high flying team like this, especially when they’re a little bit different than the Lucha Bros or LAX. Throw in the option of Miguel for a little change of pace later on and you have a good act here.

Kiera Hogan doesn’t believe that Allie is fully evil because Allie didn’t attack her when she had the chance. Allie can fight this.

Eddie Edwards is in a mental hospital with Alisha Edwards saying she had no choice. The doctor comes in and says the medicine Eddie is on takes some time to work. Alisha and the doctor leave and we come back to Moose coming in to see Eddie. Moose even has a book, called Anything Is Possible: The Eddie Edwards Story. He wants to know why all the important parts are missing. Like Eddie abandoning Moose or Alisha walking out on him. The book is a fraud…and that’s it.

We look back at Alisha having Eddie committed. Shouldn’t that have come first?

Eli Drake says his issues aren’t with hardcore wrestling. Apparently he touched a nerve in Tommy Dreamer and tonight, Dreamer is going to the retirement home.

Matt Sydal talks to Ethan Page about how his path to success keeps messing up. Page tries to calm him down but Sydal wants to show him the path to the X-Division Title. Next week: they’ll meet in an Ultimate X qualifying match.

Eli Drake vs. Tommy Dreamer

They circle each other for a long time, likely as Dreamer needs a bit of a breather from walking down to the ring. Drake shoulders him down and more circling ensues. Dreamer can’t get anywhere with a wristlock so Drake talks a lot of trash. A cutter sends Drake to the floor…and he takes the countout. Actually hang on as we’re restarting this as a No DQ match. Wouldn’t No Countout make more sense here?

Anyway we’re back with Dreamer spitting water in Drake’s face on the stage. Dreamer grabs the trashcan full of weapons and hits him with a box of donuts, of course stopping for a bite. Drake gets drenched with some water, which only seems to wake him up as he suplexed Dreamer onto the ramp. A catapult sends Dreamer’s throat first into the bottom rope and a jumping neckbreaker gets two. The chair is set up for the drop toehold for two on Dreamer so Drake picks the chair up.

A middle rope chair shot is blocked by a raised boot but the Dreamer DDT is countered with a leg trip to send Dreamer into the chair again. The DDT connects for two a few seconds later but Drake hits him low and nails the Gravy Train….for two? Egads man why is Tommy Dreamer kicking out of a former World Champion’s finisher? With nothing else working, Drake puts a chair around Dreamer’s neck and hits the chair with an oar for the pin at 12:04.

Rating: D-. I’ve complained about Tommy Dreamer wrestling at this level and with the same stories over and over again so we’ll look at Drake here. I still find him to be one of the best and most talented people on the entire roster and he should be doing something other than this. Hopefully he gets to beat Abyss at Homecoming and move on to something more important and better, rather than beating up Dreamer in main events.

Post match Drake goes to the back and finds a present addressed to him. He opens the card and finds a message which freaks him out to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The show was entertaining enough and the strong opener balanced out the dreadful main event. They’re getting closer to having a solid pay per view card, though again the main event scene isn’t the most thrilling in the world. It often comes off as an afterthought and that gets a little annoying over time. These videos don’t do much and the lack of any kind of personal issue doesn’t help either. The rest of the show is looking fine, but it’s missing that spark. Anyway, fine show this week, but nothing really worth seeing.

Results

Lucha Bros b. Rich Swann/Willie Mack – Wheelbarrow splash to Mack

Jordynne Grace b. Katarina – Bearhug

Taya Valkyrie b. Rae Lyn – STF

Rascalz b. Mike Sydal/Chris Bey – Standing moonsault to Sydal

Eli Drake b. Tommy Dreamer – Drake wrapped a chair around Dreamer’s neck and hit it with an oar

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

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

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

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