IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: November 12, 2019
Location: St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

It’s the second week in Canada and we are getting ready for Hard To Kill in January. The build started over the last two weeks with Tessa Blanchard being named #1 contender to Sami Callihan’s Impact World Title. They’re setting themselves up for something historic if that is where they go and I would be interested in seeing them take that route. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at OVE’s celebration last week, capped off by the team losing an eight person tag when Rich Swann pinned Callihan.

Trey vs. Rohit Raju vs. Aiden Prince vs. Brent Banks vs. Willie Mack vs. Petey Williams

One fall to a finish for the #1 contendership to the X-Division Title with champion Ace Austin on commentary. Raju sends Prince and Mack to the floor, followed by the big suicide dive. Trey teases a springboard wristdrag but flip dives onto everyone outside instead. Back in and Petey hits a dropkick to Banks’ back, followed by a slingshot hurricanrana to Trey on the floor.

Mack comes back in and starts headlock takeovering Banks and Williams. A double clothesline takes them down and it’s another flip dive to take everyone out on the floor. Prince and Banks hit stereo crossbodies inside, setting up Banks’ big flip dive of his own. Raju cleans house and sends Trey outside, only to get caught by Petey’s slingshot Codebreaker. The Russian legsweep into a short Downward Spiral gives Petey two and the Sharpshooter goes on FOR CANADA.

Mack is back in for the save and a standing moonsault to Petey so here’s Prince to break that up. The brainbuster plants Banks and it’s Prince hitting a 450 onto Banks and Williams at the same time. Mack gives him a frog splash but Raju makes the save with a top rope double stomp. Petey hits the Canadian Destroyer but Trey runs in and steals the pin at 14:15.

Rating: C+. I’m rarely big on these matches as they’re just complete insanity until someone gets a pin. They’re certainly entertaining though and that is what matters most. The spots were fun and Trey is someone fresh, though they could have easily cut out Prince and/or Banks and Williams and done a tighter match. This division has been about bigger being better for a long time though so the additions aren’t surprising.

Post match Petey raises Trey’s hand and Trey kisses his mom. Ace seems impressed by the mom and I don’t see this going well.

Rich Swann is ready to win the World Title as soon as he gets a shot. He’ll become #1 contender in next week’s five way elimination match.

Michael Elgin says he’ll win the title shot next week.

Madison Rayne vs. Alexia Nicole

Kiera Hogan is here with Madison. Hold on as Madison has to point out the LRL trunks as Callis talks about her being trained in the Dungeon and winning the WWF Title from Ric Flair in Saskatoon. Nicole’s Backstabber out of the corner is blocked and Hogan gets in a cheap shot so the chinlock can go on. Back up and they forearm it out with Nicole hitting a Backstabber. An electric chair gives Nicole two but a Hogan distraction lets Madison get in a catapult into the ropes. CrossRayne finishes Nicole at 5:27.

Rating: D+. This was just above a squash and not a very interesting one. I can appreciate some things that they are doing but there are only so many ways you can present Madison Rayne as the stuck up heel. They’ve been doing it for so long now and it’s not like her work is all that great. She’s passable and that’s about it, which makes these matches not the most thrilling in the world.

Aiden Prince comes up to Johnny Swinger, who declares him his young boy. Petey Williams comes in and doesn’t think much of Swinger. Prince and Williams leave so here’s Ken Shamrock to tell Swinger to take a shower.

Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes are in the hot tub again with Katie gyrating in a swimsuit. He’ll be back in the ring next week.

Daga vs. Jake Crist

They trade kicks to the face to start until Daga snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor. The spinning dive off the middle rope takes Jake down again but it’s a dragon screw legwhip over the ropes back inside. Daga blocks a DDT on the floor and snaps off a belly to belly. Back from a break with Daga fighting out of a chinlock and winning a chop off.

Something like the Last Chancery has Daga in trouble so he elbows Jake in the face for the escape. Some clotheslines set up a backbreaker into a DDT for two but Jake is right back with a Death Valley Driver. Daga’s German suplex gives him two more but Jake suplexes him into the corner. A few kicks to the face have Daga in trouble so Jake puts him on top, only to get hurricanranaed right back down. The double underhook piledriver finishes Jake at 11:31.

Rating: B-. Daga has grown on me in recent weeks and that is the kind of thing that Impact needs to do. They have a few stars who are becoming bigger deals than they had been before and it is starting to give Impact an identity. That has been what has plagued them for most of their existence and if they finally get somewhere with it, they may be on to something.

We get a big, serious video about Joey Ryan vs. Ken Shamrock. Yeah it’s funny and stuff.

The North knows they’ll keep the Tag Team Titles tonight.

Sami Callihan/Madman Fulton vs. Tessa Blanchard/Rich Swann

Tessa charges to the ring and we’re ready to go in a hurry. Sami gets sent to the floor and Tessa tries to choke Fulton to little avail. Instead Swann hits a Phoenix splash to hit Callihan on the floor but Sami is right back in to take over on Tessa. Swann comes in instead for a bunch of clotheslines, only to have Fulton break up the handspring cutter. A hard slam gives Fulton two and Callihan drops an elbow for two.

There’s a splash to give Fulton two more and we hit the bearhug. Swann’s attempts to punch his way out earns himself a suplex and Sami comes in to show off some cockiness. The chinlock goes on for a bit but the Cactus Special attempt lets Swann crawl through the legs and make the tag to Tessa. Everything breaks down and a DDT plants Fulton but he’s back up for a powerslam/running neckbreaker combination. Swann makes a save and brings himself back in to kick Sami down. Sami tries to bring in the bat but gets it taken away, allowing Fulton to throw in the belt and knock Swann out for the pin at 10:57.

Rating: C. That’s a little confusing as you give Swann the pin last week and then have him take the fall here. I’m not sure how logical that is but Sami gets to build himself back up. Now of course we’ll ignore the fact that Sami needs to be built back up just two weeks after winning the title. Tessa is destined to be the big challenger so Swann taking the fall isn’t the worst thing in the world.

Post match Tessa gets beaten down but Brian Cage runs in for the save.

Post break Cage says he’s coming for the World Title.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Ultimate X from Homecoming.

Johnny Swinger brags about relieving himself in Ken Shamrock’s bag, but no one seems impressed.

Taya Valkyrie yells at John E. Bravo when Jordynne Grace comes in to challenge for the title. That won’t be happening so Grace says it can be any match next week. Bravo accepts on Taya’s behalf.

Moose shows that he is a great tennis player by beating a pro named Mikey. The threats of violence may have something to do with the loss. Next week, he’ll become #1 contender.

Jessika Havok vs. Crystal Moon

Havok wastes no time in throwing her around to start and snaps off a German suplex. Some running hip attacks in the corner keep Moon rocked but she avoids a charge into the post. Moon gets in a few shots but jumps into a chokeslam. The Tombstone finishes the destruction at 3:58.

Rating: D+. Havok is being treated like the monster that she should be and that’s a good sign. You need someone like her in the division so she can put someone over on their way to the title (Grace for example) and Impact is building her up well. The Tombstone is a great killer finisher and that’s what they’re going for here.

Post break Susie compliments Havok on her match but Havok walks away. She touches Susie’s shoulder on the way though and we get some Su Yung flashes.

Tag Team Titles: Eddie Edwards/Naomichi Marufuji vs. The North

North is defending. Eddie and Alexander lock up to start with Eddie taking him down in a headlock. Marufuji comes in but gets headlocked takeovered for his efforts but it’s off to Eddie to work on Page’s arm in a hurry. Some double chops put Page down until Alexander comes back in to send Marufuji into the corner. Everything breaks down though and Eddie hits a dive onto the champs as we take a break.

Back with Page getting chopped some more but he gets in a cheap shot so Alexander can knock Eddie to the floor. A catapult sends Eddie’s throat into the bottom rope and it’s a Rock Bottom backbreaker into a regular backbreaker from Page. Eddie finally gets in a suplex to take Alexander down and it’s Marufuji coming in to clean some house. A kick to Page’s head gets two but he’s back up to strike it out with Marufuji.

The assisted spinebuster doesn’t work so it’s Eddie hitting a Blue Thunder Bomb for two on Alexander. Everything breaks down again until Eddie clotheslines Page for a four way knockdown. Eddie tiger bombs Alexander for two more and the shock on the kickout is real. Page grabs Eddie’s leg so the Boston Knee Party can’t launch. Marufuji gets sent outside and it’s the double Neutralizer for two on Eddie. The assisted spinebuster gives Alexander the retaining pin at 16:43.

Rating: B. This worked, as the North continues to be one of the best things going in Impact, if not the absolute best in the whole company. I don’t remember they didn’t have a very good match, though the problem is they may start running out of opponents. Other than maybe Mack and Swann, who is supposed to challenge them? Maybe we can get a new team eventually, but for now it’s going to be the North for a long time to come.

Overall Rating: C+. The last few weeks really have felt different around here and that’s the best thing that could happen. Impact has a bad tendency to go into a funk every now and then so it’s very nice to see them getting into a groove like this. I liked the wrestling more often than not and there wasn’t anything overly stupid. Consistent shows like this could turn them into something, but that has been a problem for them for years. At least we’ve had this nice run though and that’s better than nothing.

Results

Trey b. Rohit Raju, Aiden Prince, Brent Banks, Willie Mack and Petey Williams – Rollup to Williams

Madison Rayne b. Alexia Nicole – CrossRayne

Daga b. Jake Crist – Double underhook piledriver

Sami Callihan/Madman Fulton b. Tessa Blanchard/Rich Swann – Belt shot to Swann

Jessika Havok b. Crystal Moon – Tombstone

The North b. Naomichi Marufuji/Eddie Edwards – Assisted spinebuster to Edwards

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: October 29, 2019
Location: St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

This is the real debut on AXS TV and the in-ring fallout show from Bound For Glory, meaning things better be rocking tonight. The show should be a big deal with Brian Cage defending the World Title against Sami Callihan in a steel cage rematch from Bound For Glory. I’m not sure how this is going to go but they need to get this one right. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video talks about how this is a new era and features a bunch of clips from Bound For Glory. Tessa Blanchard is heavily featured here.

The announcers are in the ring for a change and run down the show for tonight.

Opening sequence.

Naomichi Marufuji vs. Josh Alexander

Ethan Page is out with Alexander. Neither can hit a strike or a takedown to start so Alexander grabs a headlock, only to be rolled up four straight times for near falls. They trade chops with Alexander seemingly regretting the decision in a hurry. A kick to the ribs slows Marufuji down and a missed dropkick makes it worse. Marufuji is right back with a cartwheel into a dropkick and a running double stomp to keep Alexander in trouble.

He’s right back with a Regal Roll and a middle rope knee to the back of the head gets two on Marufuji. There’s a backbreaker for two more but Marufuji wins a quick strikeoff and knees Alexander in the face for a double knockdown. Another slugout goes to Alexander, who grabs a torture rack into a spinout slam for a rather close two. Marufuji hits a superkick into a knee to the face for two more, followed by Sliced Bread #2 for the pin at 9:30.

Rating: B-. Alexander is a very talented guy but Marufuji is rather good no matter what he is doing and he got to showcase himself well here. That being said, I could go for more of Alexander whenever the North breaks up. Impact is doing a MUCH better job these days of developing their own big names, such as Alexander, Cage, Callihan and Blanchard. Yeah they’ve been big names on the indy scene, but there’s a big difference between that and national TV every week.

Post match Alexander won’t shake hands.

OVE arrives and everyone not named Sami Callihan is banned from the building. Sami agrees, though he isn’t happy.

The Rascalz are in their circle with Dez talking about the attractiveness of Trey’s mom. Cue Fallah Bahh, who smokes and….now starts quoting Shakespeare in the vein of George Steele getting electric shock. Funny idea but it goes on a bit long.

Rosemary/Alexia Nicole/Jordynne Grace vs. Taya Valkyrie/Madison Rayne/Kiera Hogan

Taya and company get jobber entrances, which isn’t a good idea for a champion on a first episode on a new network. Nicole sends Hogan outside to start and follows up with a baseball slide. That leaves Rosemary and Grace to beat up Rayne and Taya as it’s one sided early on. Back from a break with Hogan hitting a jawbreaker on Nicole, allowing the double tag off to Rosemary and Rayne. The suplex sends Rayne flying and Rosemary hammers away with mounted forearms.

Nicole comes in and a cheap shot gives Madison two and it’s Taya coming in to stomp away. Hogan hurricanranas Alexia out of the corner but lands hard and seems to bang up her shoulder. Taya comes back in and gives up the hot tag to Grace for some hard elbows. The Vader Bomb gets two on Taya with Rayne making a save. As Callis makes some veiled shots at Rayne’s husband, Taya finds out there is no one to tag and gets small packaged by Grace for the pin at 9:39.

Rating: C-. This was designed to give Grace a win over the champ to set her up for the next title shot. That has seemed to be where they have been heading for a long time now so it makes sense to go in that direction. Taya has held the title for a LONG time now and it would be logical to get the title onto someone fresh. Grace doesn’t have to be the one, but it’s time for something new (though Taya is far from bad as champion).

We look at Rob Van Dam turning on Rhino at Bound For Glory.

Van Dam is in the hot tub with Katie Forbes and talks about how everyone has stolen his moves over the years. There would be no Kenny Omega or the Young Bucks without him and he’s tired of carrying people, like Rhino.

Video on Michael Elgin.

Desi Hit Squad vs. Willie Mack/Rich Swann

The Squad jumps them to start but it’s something close to a 3D (bulldog instead of a cutter) to put Singh down. Raju gets knocked off the apron but Singh grabs a release gordbuster on Swann. Raju’s Downward Spiral gets two on Swann and the beating continues with Sing’s backbreaker into a running kick to the face.

Singh charges into a boot in the corner though and Swann rolls forward with a clothesline to Raju. There’s the hot tag to Mack and house is cleaned. The Samoan drop into the standing moonsault (Josh: “Shouldn’t be able to do that.”) gets two on Raju but the Squad is back up for an assisted inverted DDT on Swann. Mack makes the save and it’s a Stunner to Singh, setting up an elevated middle rope flip neckbreaker to finish Raju at 4:58.

Rating: C-. They kept this one short and that’s the best thing they could have done. There is no need for Swann and Mack, who should be going after the Tag Team Titles soon, to break much of a sweat against a team like the Hit Squad. It was the right formula here and we got a passable enough match as a result.

Rhino storms into the arena and wants to face Rob Van Dam. Not for a Gore, but so he can beat Rob to a bloody pulp.

Moose is on a golf course and introduces himself, including his sports resume. Then he beat up Ken Shamrock at Bound For Glory so now he wants to do something else. That would be demonstrating a hole in one as we now have a Mr. Perfect knockoff. There is a bit of a twist though as he accuses another golfer of stealing his ball from the hole and throws him into the bunker.

Here’s Ken Shamrock for a chat. Shamrock never thought he would be back in the ring but then this whole thing with Moose got started. After the match, he had to do some soul searching and figure out the next step in his career. Before he gets anywhere though, cue Joey Ryan of all people and Shamrock just looks confused. The lollipop goes down the trunks and Ryan talks about how many great things Shamrock has done.

Shamrock has one more mountain to climb though, and Joey looks down at his trunks. Shamrock: “I don’t know who you are.” Ryan says he makes wrestling fun again, so Shamrock remembers him as “that penis guy.” Shamrock describes himself as a real fighter and Ryan is a gimmick. Ryan: “I’m a little stiff.” He offers Shamrock a chance to touch it, but maybe Shamrock is scared of it choking him out faster than a Gracie.

Shamrock sets things straight: he isn’t out here to retire, but rather to tell Impact that he’s going to hurt anyone who gets in his way. Now he won’t be touching anything, but he can break Ryan’s ankle. The match is on for next week: the World’s Most Dangerous Man vs. the World’s Most Dangerous Manhood. They shake hands and Ryan tries to get him to touch it, which goes as well as you would expect.

Video on Tessa Blanchard.

Ace Austin vs. Eddie Edwards

Non-title street fight and Eddie starts fight with the suicide dive. A suplex on the floor makes it worse and it’s time for the trashcans full of weapons. Eddie takes too long getting them though and Austin hits him with the baton, plus a trashcan. That’s fine with Eddie, who is right back with some weapon shots to the head as Callis wonders if all the, ahem, bang-a-ranging has worn Ace out. Josh: “WHAT???”

Ace’s cartwheel on the apron into the superkick knocks some spit out of Eddie’s mouth so Ace holds up the I JUST BANGED YOUR WIFE shirt. They head inside for some weapons and Eddie gets in a shot to the head, followed by a table being brought in. Ace’s shot to the head doesn’t do much good and it’s time for a piledriver, only to have Reno Scum come in for the save.

An overhead belly to belly suplex sends Thornstowe through a table in the corner but Ace hits a top rope spinning Fameasser onto a trashcan (Callis: “That might be the Bang-A-Rama!”) for two. Back from a break with Ace hitting an enziguri to catch Eddie on top. Eddie is right back with a heck of a top rope belly to back superplex and it’s kendo stick time.

Ace blocks it with the belt though and hits him in the face for two more. With Eddie down, Ace breaks the kendo stick but takes a trashcan to the head. Eddie puts it on Ace’s head and hits a hard chair shot before grabbing another table. Ace gets in his own shot and loads up the wrist brace but gets caught on top. Eddie gets hit with the brace though and it’s a super Fold through the table for the pin at 16:54.

Rating: B. I like both guys and they have a reason to feud here so there was little surprise that the match was going to be good. Ace getting a big win and getting to keep the feud going (because feuds don’t end around here) is a good thing as it still has at least a little bit of fuel to it. Eddie has come a long way and I’m curious to see how this is going to play out.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Su Yung dies but comes back to life.

The Deaners are at catering when Susie (Su Yung without paint and in a white dress) comes in to say this seems like a nice place. She says it’s nice to meet them and walks off. The Deaners think she’s creepier now than she was before….but she’s good looking.

Johnny Swinger hits on Alisha Edwards (even offering to get her booked in Portland) but Ace comes up to get rid of him. Ace wants her to put Eddie behind her and go to dinner with him. Alisha agrees for next week.

We recap Brian Cage vs. Sami Callihan. Cage got married to Melissa Santos and Callihan “accidentally” took her out, causing Cage to destroy him in their World Title match at Bound For Glory. Tonight it’s a rematch in a cage after Sami had OVE threaten Melissa and Cage’s daughter.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Sami Callihan vs. Brian Cage

Cage is defending in a cage….match. Callihan (with Melissa written on his vest) kicks the cage door into his head to start but Cage is right back with a powerbomb into the cage wall. Sami finally escapes and gets inside where he locks the cage, thinking that Brian can’t climb the wall. That stupid plan falls apart in about three seconds so Callihan gets in a baseball bat shot to take over.

Cage is busted open and Callihan bites at the forehead, followed by some bat shots to the ribs. Another running bat shot just wakes Brian up and a missed charge sends Sami into the steel. Back from a break with both of them down again until they start exchanging some strikes to the face. A spit slap annoys Cage even more but Callihan drops him with a clothesline for two anyway.

The Cactus Special gets one though as Cage is livid again. A powerbomb into a buckle bomb looks to set up the Drill Claw but Sami reverses into a small package for two. Sami hits a series of hard knees and kicks to the head, setting up rolling piledrivers….for two more. Yeah we’ve reached the ridiculous point, especially if Sami wins here. Cage is back up with a discus lariat for two of his own but Callihan crotches him on top. The super Cactus Special gives Callihan the pin and the title at 14:06.

Rating: B-. They went one near fall too many here and it took me out of the match a bit, but they did a good job of making Callihan look like the monster to finally stop Cage. He seems to be Cage’s Kryptonite and that is a good role for Callihan to play. You had to give him a World Title reign at some point and they pulled the trigger at the right time. It was a good enough match too and they have had a good story to get here.

Post match Sami celebrates but Tessa Blanchard comes out to stare him down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I don’t know how to say this but Impact is on a roll. Bound For Glory was good, its fallout show was rather good and they’re on a network that seems to care about them (and is actually available). It wasn’t a blow away show, but it was a show that makes me want to keep watching and for the first show on AXS, that is a great thing to say.

Results

Naomichi Marufuji b. Josh Alexander – Sliced Bread #2

Jordynne Grace/Rosemary/Alexis Nicole b. Taya Valkyrie/Madison Rayne/Kiera Hogan – Small package to Valkyrie

Rich Swann/Willie Mack b. Desi Hit Squad – Middle rope flip neckbreaker to Raju

Ace Austin b. Eddie Edwards – Super Fold through a table

Sami Callihan b. Brian Cage – Super Cactus Special

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Bound For Glory 2019
Date: October 20, 2019
Location: Odeum Expo Center, Villa Park, Illinois
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

It’s the biggest night of the year and that could mean a lot of things this time around. The main event will see World Champion Brian Cage defending the title against Sami Callihan in a match that was made personal when Callihan attacked Cage’s wife Melissa Santos. In addition, we have Ken Shamrock returning to the ring to face Moose because….star power I guess? Let get to it.

A very small production snafu means we hear applause and cheering for the FBI copyright warning. That intellectual property fan base needs their own wrestling show.

The opening video is a standard set of clips of tonight’s matches. The song has the lyrics “we’re here for the glory” (or something close to it) over and over for a nice touch.

Call Your Shot Gauntlet

It’s a twenty person Royal Rumble with one minute intervals but the last two have a regular match with the winner getting a title shot against the champion of their choice. Eddie Edwards is in at #1…and we lose the Fite TV signal for several minutes. With that out of the way, we come back with Eddie both members of Reno Scum (Luster the Legend and Adam Thornstowe), including a dropkick to Thornstowe…as the signal goes out again.

Back with Eddie getting stomped down in the corner and Cousin Jake coming in at #4. The pseudo tag match breaks out until Rohit Raju is in at #5. Raju gets to clean house for probably the first time ever….and Joey freaking Ryan is in at #6. I mean, the graphic says Cody Deaner but close enough. He offers Jake and Scum the chance to touch it so everyone beats him up, with Luster trying a low blow knee drop for the expected result. Joey chains them together to to flip everyone at once (just go with it), including a double elimination of Raju and Jake.

Havok is in at #7 and grabs Joey by the throat for a chokeslam. Everyone else gets beaten up for a bonus and it’s Rosemary in at #8. That means Joey needs some oil down his trunks so he can offer both women to touch it. A double clothesline puts him down and it’s Madman Fulton in at #9 to clean house again. Rosemary and Havok are both put out and Thornstowe follows them.

Ryan gives Fulton the lollipop and gets tossed with ease as Cody Deaner is in at #10, giving us Eddie, Luster, Fulton and Deaner. Fulton gets rid of Deaner in a hurry so here’s Cody Deaner at #11, though he stays outside to pose instead of facing Fulton in a smart move. Jordynne Grace is in at #12 and gets to clean house, including a German suplex to Fulton (albeit with the assist of an enziguri from Eddie). Swoggle, who is getting as required as Tommy Dreamer, is in at #13.

Swinger gets in as well and spanks Grace, earning himself a quick ejection. Kiera Hogan is in at #14 as they’re flying through these entrances. Swoggle tries to go behind Kiera and gets danced at, earning herself a quick elimination from Grace. Raj Singh is in at #15 as Luster is eliminated to keep the ring fairly empty. Tommy Dreamer is in at #16 and I begin to sigh. Biting and spitting ensue but Fulton takes him down with choking in the corner. Kylie Rae (hometown girl) debuts (more or less) at #17 and is very happy to be here, as is her custom.

Dreamer throws out Raj, poses, and gets dumped by Fulton. Fallah Bahh is in at #18 and catches a diving Fulton in a Samoan drop. Sabu is in at #19 and brings in a chair so he can slip on Air Sabu for old times’ sake. The chair bounces off of Eddie’s face and the tornado DDT makes it worse. Shera is in at #20 to clean house, giving us a final group of Eddie, Fulton, Grace, Rae, Bahh, Sabu and Shera for quite the motley crew.

Shera gets rid of Rae, Grace and Sabu in a hurry to clear out a lot of the ring and leave Eddie against the three monsters. They pair off with Shera getting rid of Bahh so it’s Shera and Fulton taking turns throwing Eddie around. Eddie gets up for a blindside clothesline to eliminate Fulton as the referee comes down to make it a regular match. Fulton chokeslams Eddie onto the apron for a parting gift, only to have Eddie hit the Boston Knee Party for the fast pin on Shera at 33:02.

Rating: D+. This was thirty minutes of “hi I’m here and now I’m out”, followed by a one on one segment that lasted about thirty seconds. It felt like an excuse to get everyone on the show and really would have been better served as a pre-show match than the first thing on the pay per view. It was one entrance after another with no story to be seen and that’s not a great way to start things off. Eddie winning makes sense and it went by quickly, but not the best choice in an opener.

We run down the card you’ve already paid to see.

Brian cage and Melissa Santos arrived earlier. Cage immediately demanded that the World Title match now be No DQ.

We recap the Knockouts Title match. Taya Valkyrie is the longest reigning Knockouts Champion of all time and Tenille Dashwood is the newest big challenger to come after the title. And that’s about it.

Knockouts Title: Taya Valkyrie vs. Tenille Dashwood

Dashwood is challenging and Taya has John E. Bravo, dressed as the Joker, with her. Taya jumps her to start and we get going in a hurry. A suplex gets Tenille out of trouble but Taya sends her hard into the corner to take over again. Taya misses a charge though and gets neckbreakered over the middle rope, meaning it’s time for a Bravo distraction so Taya can trip Dashwood up.

Back in and Dashwood’s Fujiwara armbar is broken up in a hurry as commentary talks about Taya’s first ever match being against Dashwood. The far too early slugout goes to Dashwood and she gets two off a high crossbody. Taya rolls her up into the corner though and hits the running knees to rock Dashwood again. A sitout powerbomb out of the corner gives Dashwood two more and they head to the apron for the sole purpose of doing a high impact move on the apron.

Taya hits a rather safe looking package piledriver to send Dashwood outside but she’s fine enough to slam Taya off the top. Taste of Tenille connects and sets up the Spotlight kick, only to have Bravo pull them to the ropes. The distraction lets Taya bring in a chain but Dashwood takes it away and throws it into the crowd. Another Spotlight kick misses though and the Road To Valhalla retains the title at 11:50.

Rating: C. That’s about what I expected as they were doing the kind of match that doesn’t exactly have a fire but is technically fine. Taya retaining the title is fine enough as there are several women gunning for the title and Dashwood just kind of showed up and got the big title shot. It’s smart to go with someone else for the title change, though at this point I’m waiting on Gail Kim to show up again.

Rhino and Rob Van Dam are ready to win the Tag Team Titles. A Gore or a Van Daminator is promised.

We recap the Tag Team Title match. Rich Swann/Willie Mack beat LAX in their last match and Rob Van Dam/Rhino aren’t happy that the North got rid of LAX so we’re hitting that triple threat title match.

Tag Team Titles: The North vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack vs. Rob Van Dam/Rhino

The North is defending. Mack and Alexander start things off with a shoulder taking Mack down. That’s fine with him as he snaps off a hurricanrana so it’s Page and Swann coming in for their turn. A 619 to the ribs into a slingshot neckbreaker into something close to Rolling Thunder gets two on Page, so he flips Swann over by the hair. Rhino comes in instead and takes over on Page in the corner but an Alexander distraction lest the champs take over.

The spinebuster plants Page though and the too early to be a hot tag brings in Van Dam to kick away. The spine legged moonsault hits Page for two and there’s a monkey flip to Alexander. Swann tags himself in and kicks Alexander in the head but another cheap shot from the apron puts Swann in trouble for a change. A backdrop nearly turns Swann into a 450 and it’s back to Alexander for some forearms into the corner.

The assisted spinebuster is countered into a DDT though and Swann snaps off a reverse hurricanrana to Alexander. Now the hot tag can bring in Mack to clean house, including something close to a 3D with Swann playing Bubba for two on Page. Mack frog splashes him for the same and Rob isn’t pleased at the move stealing. A series of kicks to the face set up Alexander’s Regal Roll on Van Dam but Rhino clotheslines Alexander to the floor.

Mack hits the big flip dive to the floor, leaving Page to super gorilla press Swann back inside (pretty impressive power display). A powerbomb to the knee into Page’s Swanton gets two more but the double Neutralizer is broken up. Van Dam and Rhino come back in and the fans want the Gore. Rhino loads it up…and Van Dam superkicks him to the floor in a rather surprising heel turn. More kicks take out Mack and Swann and the assisted spinebuster to Swann retains the titles at 14:24.

Rating: B-. Pretty bizarre heel turn aside, this was a rather fast paced tag match with the big spots and pretty much what it needed to be throughout. Swann and Mack are a good team and will likely get the titles someday. I’m cool with the North retaining though as they have turned into a treat to watch. Rhino vs. Van Dam doesn’t sound interesting, but it’s better than having two ECW feuds at once….I think.

Ace Austin, in a towel, comes in to see Alisha, who isn’t pleased. He still wants her to celebrate if he wins the title, but she wants him in more clothes.

We recap Naomichi Marufuji vs. Michael Elgin, which is little more than a challenge match because Elgin needed something to do and the show needed a guest star.

Michael Elgin vs. Naomichi Marufuji

Or Marufugi according to the name graphic. Come on with that stuff people. Neither can hit a chop to start so Marufuji misses some chops and kicks to get us to an early standoff. Elgin misses a charge in the corner and gets chopped a bit but he catches a charging Marufuji in a suplex. A missile dropkick sends Marufuji flying for two and the fans aren’t pleased with Elgin being in control. They chop it out with Marufuji knocking him to the floor and hits the big flip dive.

Back in and a running stomp to the head gives Marufuji two but he has to flip out of a German suplex attempt. Elgin sends him into the ropes and snaps off the German suplex this time, setting up a Falcon Arrow for two. They trade kicks to the head and it’s a double knockdown with Marufuji in the better shape of the two. A sunset bomb to the floor is blocked so Marufuji superkicks Elgin in the back of the head instead.

Sliced Bread on the floor gets a nine so it’s a top rope stomp to the back of the head for two (counting in wrestling is weird). There’s a dragon suplex to drop Marufuji and a discus lariat takes his head off. Splash Mountain gets two and the shock is strong. Another Sliced Bread drops Elgin again but Marufuji can’t get him up for a tiger bomb.

Instead it’s time to slug it out again with Marufuji picking up the intensity of the strikes to take over. That’s fine with Elgin, who blocks a kick and powerbombs him down for two. The buckle bomb into the Elgin Bomb gets two and Elgin is STUNNED in a great visual. The Burning Hammer finally puts Marufuji away at 18:04.

Rating: B. Yeah that’s what you should have been expecting here as they beat the fire out of each other for the better part of twenty minutes. Elgin is just such a powerhouse and I’ve liked Marufuji from the times I’ve seen him before. It isn’t the style of wrestling I like most of the time but for a one off, this was very entertaining.

We recap the X-Division Title match. Jake Crist is champion and is defending in a five way ladder match because it’s Bound For Glory.

X-Division Title: Daga vs. Jake Crist vs. Tessa Blanchard vs. Acey Romero vs. Ace Austin

Crist is defending in a ladder match and the debuting Acey weighs about 400lbs. Jake gets stared at to start until Ace and Daga superkick Romero into the corner. Tessa unloads on Crist and hits the suicide dive to the floor to take him out. She does it two more times, only to have Ace dive onto both of them. Romero dropkicks Daga, who corkscrew dives over Romero to take everyone down on the floor.

Tessa and Daga fight over the ladder so Romero dives onto it to…well really just hurt himself. The ladder is brought in and it’s a Codebreaker into a Backstabber to put Crist on the floor. Romero comes back in (WAY too soon) and gets dropped with a cutter. Worry not though as he’s right back up and bringing in another ladder. Crist hits Romero in the head with a chair and a kick manages to knock him down. Austin suplexes Crist off the ladder so Daga makes his own save and beats up Austin for a bonus.

Tessa is back in with a springboard dropkick to knock Austin outside but Romero Samoan drops her off the ladder. Daga teeter totters the ladder into Romero’s face and then bridges it between the ring and the barricade. Let’s throw in a table for a bonus (and a spot on a Bingo card) but before it gets used, Romero hits a Tower of Doom onto almost everyone else.

A powerbomb sends Austin hard into the ladder and Romero teases to climb, but pulls out another one to climb two at once. Crist breaks that up with a super cutter, leaving us with Tessa and Daga for the double climb. Austin shoves both of them down but gets Death Valley Driven by Daga. That’s not it as Daga hits a running Canadian Destroyer to Crist on the bridged ladder.

Romero goes up but Tessa shoves the ladder over to DESTROY the table, with the ladder crashing over the top as well. Tessa is all alone but here’s the rest of OVE to make the save but Tessa hurricanrana Madman Fulton into the ladder. Jake is knocked through another table but Austin hits Tessa with his baton and steals the title at 17;24.

Rating: B. This was a lot of fun as they didn’t waste time setting up spots and flew from one thing to another. The selling wasn’t around but when you just ignore it for most of the match, it kind of starts to work in a weird way. That being said, they have to give Tessa the win at some point because you can only tease it so many times before the fans stop caring. They cared here, but I’m not sure how much longer that can happen. Romero did well here, though you can hear Fallah Bahh crying from here.

We recap Moose vs. Ken Shamrock. Moose has started disrespecting so Shamrock (who still looks about 75) is fighting to prove that he’s still a man and to teach Moose some respect. In other words, it’s football vs. MMA.

Moose says he has fought some tough men before and has been trained by Frank Trigg. Frank brags about Moose’s awesomeness and isn’t worried about the match.

Moose vs. Ken Shamrock

Moose has Trigg with him and is rapped to the ring by someone that most fans probably haven’t heard of before. Ok so it’s his brother but that doesn’t make things much better. They stare each other down to start until Shamrock gets in a headscissors. The armbreaker is blocked with raw power but Moose bails to the ropes to get out of the ankle lock. Josh thinks Shamrock isn’t used to rope breaks because Josh isn’t that bright sometimes.

Shamrock is back up with a freaking suicide dive of all things and Moose’s chops just annoy him. A poke to the eye works a bit better but Shamrock backdrops him onto the ramp. Shamrock gets posted though and they’re both already holding their backs. Moose throws him back in but Shamrock is right back with a slingshot dive. Trigg’s distraction lets Moose kick the leg out, allowing Moose to cut off a turnbuckle pad.

Neither guy is going head first into the buckle so Shamrock goes with a belly to belly into the ankle lock. The referee gets bumped (well duh) and Moose gets in a low blow (bigger duh). Moose declares himself the World’s Most Dangerous Man and swings a chair but Shamrock reverses into the ankle lock again. Trigg comes in for the save so Shamrock punches him down and grabs ankle lock. This time Moose rolls him into the exposed buckle and hits the spear for the pin at 10:49.

Rating: C. Given what I was expecting, this was quite the nice surprise. It still wasn’t very good but Shamrock didn’t come close to embarrassing himself and that’s what mattered. Moose winning was the only option they had and they didn’t do anything stupid. Call this the surprise of the show and that’s a good thing.

They’re back on pay per view in January with Hard To Kill.

We recap Sami Callihan vs. Brian Cage for the World Title. Sami has attacked both Cage and Cage’s wife but it isn’t the Sami he wanted the world to see. It’s the one that the world made come out though and he’s going to cripple Cage to win the title. Sami has turned into an awesome guy that you want to see get crushed.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Sami Callihan vs. Brian Cage

Cage (in Wolverine gear) is defending and it’s No DQ. As you might expect, Cage isn’t wasting time and they go straight to it with Callihan spitting in his face for reasons of general insanity. Callihan flips him off and gets taken down for the pummeling. Cage has already busted him open with a bite to the head and it’s time to rake the cut with a Wolverine claw. A springboard clothesline sends Cage outside but he’s right back in for a dive to drop Callihan.

Cage isn’t done and hits a big running flip dive but Callihan blasts him with a chair to the back to take over. That’s shrugged off as well for a toss powerbomb into the post because Cage can do that. Callihan manages to set up two chairs at ringside but gets dropped onto a table. Cage puts part of the barricade onto the chairs, only to get Cactus Specialed through it for his efforts. Fans: “THAT WAS MURDER!”

Back in (for a change) and Sami even mocks the Terminator clap before kneeing/kicking Cage in the face. Cage pops right back up with the apron superplex and there’s a release German suplex. A pumphandle faceplant gets two on Callihan, who is right back up with a suplex for two more. The hanging piledriver gives Callihan the same, only to have Cage snap off an F5.

The bent barricade is brought inside but Callihan bites him in the face and gets in a low blow. A running powerbomb into the barricade gives Callihan two more…and it’s thumbtacks time. The Cactus Special onto the tacks gets one and Callihan knows it’s time to die. Cage powerbombs him onto the tacks and hits the Drill Claw to retain at 16:35.

Rating: B+. I had a great time with this one as they didn’t bother going with a wrestling match, as they certainly didn’t need to. Cage should have been out for blood here and that’s exactly what he did, making the whole thing the violent carnage that it needed to be. They did what they should have done here and that means a lot in a match that was built around pure violence. Cage is a monster when he’s on and that was the case here, which means whoever takes the title is going to look like a giant killer.

Post match Melissa Santos comes out to celebrate with Cage to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Once we got past that opener (and the streaming issues, which were only an issue at the start) and a not that good Knockouts match, this turned into a heck of a show with a little bit of everything. I’m both surprised and not surprised though, as Impact tends to do much better on their pay per views, though the build for this show (outside of the main event) has not been good. They had a big show at the right time and if they can keep that up, AXS TV could bring a lot of positive things. Anyway, very solid show here and worth checking out, especially if you skip the opener.

Results

Eddie Edwards won a gauntlet match last eliminating Shera

Taya Valkyrie b. Tenille Dashwood – Road To Valhalla

The North b. Rich Swann/Willie Mack and Rob Van Dam/Rhino – Assisted spinebuster to Swann

Michael Elgin b. Naomichi Marufuji – Burning Hammer

Ace Austin b. Acey Romero, Tessa Blanchard, Jake Crist and Daga – Austin pulled down the title

Moose b. Ken Shamrock – Spear

Brian Cage b. Sami Callihan – Drill Claw

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: October 18, 2019
Location: Sam’s Town Hotel & Gaming Hall, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

It’s the go home show for Bound For Glory and that means a few good things for this company. For one thing, we are almost to the biggest show of the year but it also means that things can reset a bit. This has been a pretty nice year for the company but getting back to a fresh start can be a good thing at times. Hopefully that is the case around here. Let’s get to it.

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

Sami Callihan and OVE recap Brian Cage snapping and being arrested as a result. This led to Callihan piledriving Cage’s wife Melissa Santos while Cage was handcuffed last week.

Michael Elgin vs. Fallah Bahh

TJP is out with Bahh. Elgin grabs a rough headlock to start before forearming away. The slam doesn’t quite work so Bahh kicks him in the chest instead. That earns Elgin a lot of shouting and a big shoulder from Bahh but the charge misses in the corner. Elgin gets two off a t-bone suplex and rams Bahh’s head into the buckle, which would suggest that he isn’t all that bright.

The rather muscular slam doesn’t do much to Bahh so Elgin superkicks him down instead. Bahh connects with the Samoan drop and some forearms, followed by the crossbody for two. Elgin manages to send him into the ropes for a German suplex but the big standing clotheslines don’t do much good. A big running clothesline gives Elgin two but Bahh is right back with another Samoan drop for another two. Bahh goes up, allowing Elgin to hit him in the back and grab the Elgin Bomb for the pin at 8:23.

Rating: C+. This was a case of two monsters hitting each other really hard and thankfully they went with the only logical ending of Elgin slaying the bigger beast. Elgin is a weird case as he’s a powerhouse and could be awesome as a face but that’s Brian Cage’s territory at the moment. Maybe down the line, but for now this is as good as we’re going to get. That’s not a bad place to be either.

Post match Elgin beats up TJP as well, including wrapping a chair around his neck and sending it into the post. An Elgin Bomb wraps it up.

We run down the rest of tonight’s card.

Jake Crist vs. Chris Bey

Non-title and Crist wastes no time in kicking him into the corner, only to get kicked in the head for his efforts. A missile dropkick sends Crist to the floor and that means the running dive. We take an early break and come back with Crist superkicking him out of the air for two and grabbing the chinlock. Bey fights out twice and gets pulled back in both times as the chinlocking is strong around here.

That’s switched over into the reverse Rings of Saturn to keep Bey in trouble and a slam gets two. The chinlock goes on again (come on already) but this time Bey pops back up with some shots to the face. A Fameasser gets two and a DDT out of the corner is good for the same. Crist takes him down out of the corner though and loads up the super cutter to finish Bey at 11:28.

Rating: C-. That super cutter always looks good but at the same time there is only so much you can do with that many chinlocks in a match. Crist is rather good at what he does and Bey got a lot out of this match. That being said, it could have been better had they cut out about two minutes of chinlocks, which is often a way to improve things.

Flashback of the Week: the six man tag from Impact vs. Lucha Underground over last Wrestlemania weekend in New Orleans.

Ace Austin is ready to become X-Division Champion, though Alisha Edwards isn’t convinced. He invites her to the parties that come with being champ but she still doesn’t think so. She finally agrees that she’ll come to the celebration if he wins.

Video on Ken Shamrock vs. Moose. Shamrock wants to be better every day and doesn’t like Moose calling him out. Moose has been training to prove that he is a naturally superior athlete. This could be a very bad idea if things go even the slightest bit wrong. Various media personalities are talking about the match because it’s sport vs. sport. Moose seems to be the favorite. They’re both training hard but Shamrock just looks ancient.

Taya Valkyrie talks to someone we can’t see about how they have been there for her the entire time. She talks about her career and how the person has gotten her here. That person would be….her of course. She’ll still be champion after Sunday.

Rich Swann vs. Josh Alexander vs. Rhino

All three partners are here too. Rhino clotheslines Alexander over to start as Swann is knocked out to the floor. Swann is back in with a dropkick but Alexander snaps off a spinebuster to send him outside again. Rhino gets beaten down as well as Alexander is dominant so far. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Swann comes back in, meaning it’s the required Tower of Doom with Swann getting the worst of it.

Swann is fine enough for a super hurricanrana to Alexander as the three seconds get in an argument on the floor. That’s fine with Alexander, who backdrops Swann onto all of them. The Gore hits Alexander but Rhino goes outside to deal with everyone else, allowing Swann to 450 Alexander for the pin at 6:25.

Rating: C. Perfectly watchable match here and a way to set things up for Sunday. If nothing else, we’ll go with something positive here because it isn’t going to lead to the other partners having the same match. Just do the thing once and let it speak for itself. Swann winning is fine, though it wouldn’t shock me to see he and Mack lose on Sunday as a result.

Sami Callihan talks about debuting two years ago and starting his era. Now it’s time for him to become World Champion. He isn’t worried about what he did to Cage and Santos because it was all about mind games. Sami starts crying and talks about how he wanted to be the best but last week was the Sami Callihan that the people created. On Sunday, you’ll have to imagine that he’s the best.

X-Division Title Qualifying Match: Rohit Raju vs. Sabu

Let’s get this over with. No DQ because it’s a Sabu match. Raju mocks Sabu’s point and hammers away to start so Super Genie throws in a chair. Air Sabu is broken up as Raju kicks the chair away, only to have Sabu come back with a tornado DDT. The one armed camel clutch doesn’t last long so Sabu takes it outside and loads up the table. A chair is pelted at Raju’s head and Sabu hits the top rope legdrop through the table for the double countout at 4:14.

Rating: D-. I’m not sure what kind of audience still needs to see Sabu doing this kind of thing and I don’t really want to know. Thankfully they didn’t have him qualify here as it could be a complete disaster to see him in a ladder match. They kept it short here and that’s the second best thing they could have done, aside from not having the match of course, but we must milk that ECW thing for all it is worth. I mean, it only ended eighteen years ago.

Tessa Blanchard is ready for the ladder match and has trained to get here. After becoming X-Division Champion, Sami Callihan is next.

Bound For Glory rundown.

Battle Royal

Eddie Edwards, Jordynne Grace, Havok, Cody Deaner, Cousin Jake, Rosemary, Johnny Swinger, Mahabali Shera, Raj Singh, Luster The Legend, Adam Thornstowe, Kiera Hogan

The winner is the last entrant in the Call Your Shot gauntlet while the last person eliminated is the first entrant. Swinger hits on the women to start and gets tossed out for his efforts. Kiera Hogan dropkicks Jordynne Grace out next and it’s time for Shera to clean house. Back from a break with Cousin Jake having been eliminated so Cody hammers on Shera. Hogan is tossed and Havok gets rid of Singh and Deaner at the same time.

Havok and Rosemary get rid of each other so we’re down to Reno Scum, Shera and Edwards. The obvious triple teaming is on but Thornstowe clotheslines Luster out by mistake. Eddie low bridges Thornstowe out and we’re down to two. Both guys tease an elimination but it’s Thornstowe distracting Eddie so Shera can get the win at 11:25.

Rating: D. Hey, did you know that Shera is awesome and totally from India, which gives Impact a lot of money? This was ever lame battle royal that you can remember with a pretty bad ending. It wasn’t a good match and Shera winning made me roll my eyes because the obvious reason for the push isn’t exactly interesting.

One more Bound For Glory video ends the show.

Overall Rating: D. Those last two matches really hurt this show and took away a lot of the energy that they had built up over the last few weeks. This show was built on highlight packages and while those can be useful, I need a little something more to get me ready for the biggest show of the year. There was no big angle here and nothing on here felt important. Bound For Glory may be good but the way they set it up really put them in a bad spot going into Sunday.

Results

Michael Elgin b. Fallah Bahh – Elgin Bomb

Jake Crist b. Chris Bey – Supper cutter

Rich Swann b. Josh Alexander and Rhino – 450 to Alexander

Rohit Raju vs. Sabu went to a double countout

Mahabali Shera won a battle royal last eliminating Eddie Edwards

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Oh yeah they do pay per views around here. Impact is in a promising place for a change as they move to AXS TV later this month and have one big show to get through first. There are some good looking matches on the card and that means the show should work. This company’s pay per views have a tendency to be pretty good and this is their biggest of the year so hopefully the trend holds. Let’s get to it.

Rascalz vs. Dr. Wagner Jr./Aero Star/Taurus

This is one of those matches that should follow a pretty logical path but you never can tell with this company. The idea here is simple: take an Impact trip and have them face three luchadors, but it might not be as obvious as it seems. The Rascalz lost a trios match last week on Impact, so would it be that crazy to see it happen again? Given the amount of international guest stars this show has, they certainly seem to be important around here.

I’ll take the luchadors to win here as I really do think Impact would rather use them as jobbers for the three international stars. What this does for Impact going forward isn’t clear, but I guess they don’t think their shows will work people from outside the company to make them watchable. That has been the case around here for far too long and it seems to be the case here, as the Rascalz lose.

Call Your Shot Gauntlet Match

So this is a match where the winner gets the title shot of their choosing. That’s a fine idea, but there is one problem here: it isn’t clear who all is in the match. We know a few names though and that should be enough to make some sense of the thing. The problem though is there is always the chance of some kind of a surprise twist, which won’t make a lot of sense but they’ll go with it anyway.

I’ll take Tessa Blanchard to win here as it still seems that Impact wants her to be World Champion. She clearly still has issues with OVE and that means putting her against Sami Callihan and the newly won World Title. It’s the kind of thing that they seem to want to go for and while it wouldn’t be the biggest stretch, it might be too much too soon. I can see the thinking there though and I’ll go with that over some wild card winner, which is equally possible.

Ken Shamrock vs. Moose

So yeah, this is something that is taking place too, because we need that seventeen year old nostalgia for someone who was in the company for….what a few months or so? I’m not sure how bad this is going to be but there is a chance of VERY bad, which is about what you have to expect at this point from Shamrock. He has wrestled a handful of matches this year so he won’t be entirely rusty, but this still has the potential to be a terrible result.

For the sake of my sanity, I’ll go with Moose winning, because Shamrock should only be here for the sake of putting him over. I’m not sure how much value there is in that or why it needs to take place on the biggest show of the year, but it could be passable if they keep it to about five minutes. This doesn’t come off as a good idea, but as long as they avoid disaster, fine enough.

Tag Team Titles: The North(c) vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack vs. Rob Van Dam/Rhino

Much like Moose vs. Shamrock, this is a case where they’ll be fine if they don’t do something stupid. I really wasn’t feeling the idea of Van Dam and Rhino getting a title shot but as long as they don’t walk out as champions, it really doesn’t hurt anything. The North have turned into a treat and one of the better tag teams going today, which I never would have bet when they first showed up.

You could go in two different directions here but the more I think about it, the more I think the North retains. Swann and Mack winning would make for a better moment, but I don’t think that’s where they are going. The match should be entertaining and you can have the ECW guys get in their stuff in the right spots. Put this together well and you could have a heck of a supporting match on your hands.

X-Division Title: Jake Crist(c) vs. Daga vs. Tessa Blanchard vs. Rohit Raju vs. Sabu vs. Ace Austin

This is a ladder match and WHAT THE HECK DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS ONE??? Of all the people in the world, we need Raju and Sabu in this thing? Was there any need to have those two in here instead of just going with the other four and having a fun match as a result? Sabu will likely get in his big dive and the people can chant ECW and hopefully he doesn’t die. Now with the nostalgia out of the way, we can move on to something else.

I think I’ll go with Austin here, as he is someone they seem intent on pushing. Give him the title so they can continue the Edwards vs. Austin feud for the title, if nothing else so we can get more Austin creepiness. It’s either going to be him or Crist, as I don’t want to see Blanchard win the title like this. If they want to make her a big deal, a future pinfall makes a lot more sense than having her win a ladder match, which can come off as luck more than skill.

Knockouts Title: Taya Valkyrie(c) vs. Tenille Dashwood

I’m really not sure what to expect with this one as Valkyrie has held the title for a long time but I can’t picture Dashwood being the one to take it from her. Dashwood is the kind of star who should be the big breakout deal but ever since her debut outside of WWE, the spark just hasn’t been there and I’m not sure they’ll make her champion here.

So yeah I’ll go with Valkyrie retaining, but I don’t think she’s going to keep the title that much longer. There are a lot of Knockouts stories going on in Impact at the moment and they don’t all have to do with the title. Havok seems to be next in line and I don’t think Valkyrie gets by her. Dashwood can be awesome, but she seems to be living off of her reputation at the moment and that isn’t great.

Michael Elgin vs. Naomichi Marufuji

It’s another guest star here as Marufuji is a big deal in Pro Wrestling Noah and since Elgin has a long career in Japan, this is what we’re getting. The match is likely to be very good, though it brings up the most common problem with this kind of match: why should I care about Marufuchi? Other than “he’s from Japan”, there isn’t much to go on with him here and it shows badly.

There is no reason to go against Elgin here as Marufuji is only here to put him over. The match is likely to be hard hitting and entertaining, but I just can’t imagine anything other than an Elgin Bomb for the pin. Elgin came into Impact red hot and has cooled down a bit, but he should be fine enough to get the win here. If nothing else, he’s the one sticking around and why have him lose otherwise?

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

Now this one is actually intriguing as the story of Callihan attacking Cage’s new wife is something that has some legs to it. Cage is a physical freak and should be able to destroy Callihan, but with the OVE lackeys and Cage being so furious, maybe they can pull off some kind of a surprise here. If nothing else, it’s nice to see Cage actually defend the belt after he won it six months ago.

That being said, I think I’ll go with Callihan winning here. They’re setting up the Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude formula from Summerslam 1990 as Callihan has defeated Cage before, but this time around I think Callihan takes the title. Cage has barely done anything with it due to injuries and scheduling issues, so giving it to Callihan, who has been built up for a long time, makes a lot of sense.

Overall Thoughts

There really are a lot of guest stars on this show and I’m not seeing that as a good sign for the future. It’s like they don’t believe in their own talent enough and that isn’t exactly encouraging. What matters here though is getting a good show out there so we can move into the AXS TV era on a high note, and there is a good reason to believe that they could pull it off. Things will have to go right in a very specific way, but there is a path here and that’s as good as anything else. I’m curious about this one and that hasn’t been the case with Impact for a long time.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 20, 2019
Location: Fronton Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

I’m pretty sure this is the final show in Mexico and that might be the best thing for everyone involved. These shows haven’t been the most consistent with a cross between horrible and entertaining enough. Tonight is all about LAX, who are having their farewell match before heading off to AEW. Let’s get to it.

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

Instead of the usual opening sequence, we get a nice retrospective on Santana and Ortiz, which is more than deserved.

Opening sequence.

OVE vs. Tessa Blanchard/Rob Van Dam/Rhino/Tommy Dreamer

Street fight so the slugout is on in a hurry. Sami and Van Dam are left alone in the ring with Rob kicking him down and hitting Rolling Thunder. Tessa and Jake take their places with Tessa crotching him in the corner to take over. The running Codebreaker out of the corner puts them both on the floor so it’s Fulton coming back in to slug it out with Rhino. With Rhino not having the best luck, Dreamer comes back in and hits a cutter on Fulton, who pops back up with a big boot.

Dave gets backdropped onto the pile at ringside and Tommy follows with the fall (there was a lack of diving) off the top. Van Dam hits his own flip dive, leaving Sami vs. Tessa inside. Another cutter drops Sami but Dave superplexes Tessa onto the pile again. Back in and Rhino no sells a suplex from Sami and it’s time for the parade of people knocking each other down with one shot. Tessa tornado DDTs Fulton but he’s right back up with a gorilla press so Jake can come in off the top with a big cutter.

Dreamer and Van Dam bring in a kendo stick with Rhino sliding in a table for a bonus. Before Dave can go through it though, Sami low blows Dreamer and Rhino. Dreamer grabs Sami with a groin claw though and Rhino Gores Dave through the table. The Five Star hits Jake and Tessa puts on the Crossface with the kendo stick to make Jake tap at 9:49.

Rating: C+. Not bad here with the ECW people being rather unnecessary supporting stars for Tessa. In theory this should set her up for the X-Division Title shot at Bound For Glory while the ECW people do….whatever it is that they do when they’re not on Impact. It was a pretty entertaining match, but I can’t help sighing whenever the ECW guys show up.

Ace Austin shows up in a wheelchair and neck brace but promises to be here for Alisha Edwards. He smirks at the camera after she leaves. This is another example of a story that would be over as soon as anyone involved watched the show.

We see LAX’s first Tag Team Title win.

The North is ready to celebrate LAX leaving, and they even have a pinata.

The announcers preview the show.

Alisha Edwards vs. Taya Valkyrie

Non-title. Alisha mocks Taya’s gyrating entrance and gets taken down for some right hands to the head. Cue Ace in his wheelchair as Taya chokes in the corner. Alisha manages to send her into the corner and hits a basement dropkick, followed by a Downward Spiral for two as John E. Bravo put Taya’s foot on the rope. Ace pops out of the chair and does his handstand on the apron into the kick to Bravo, with Alisa somehow not seeing any of it. Taya gets in a cheap shot and hits the Road To Valhalla for the pin at 3:24.

Rating: D. This story isn’t doing much for me whenever Eddie isn’t involved as Alisha isn’t all that good. Taya needs a big time opponent for Bound For Glory and I’m not sure who that is going to be. There are a lot of possible options but none of them really stand out above the others. The bigger problem though is Alisha looking rather ridiculous to not get what is going on, as apparently NO ONE in the company has told her a thing about what is going on in the ring and backstage.

Post match Alisha checks on Ace.

The North is looking for people to join their party (with Alexander no selling the whole thing). They run into Rob Van Dam and Rhino, the latter of whom rips up their pinata. I think we have our new #1 contenders.

Gama Singh introduces Mahabali Shera as the newest member of the Desi Hit Squad.

Mahabali Shera vs. Cody Deaner

Shera drives him straight into the corner and starts hammering away, followed by a neckbreaker to keep Cody in trouble. Cody slugs away and hits a suicide dive onto the rest of the Squad, only to dive into a chokeslam back inside. A World’s Strongest Slam ends Cody at 2:47. Shera looks great now but the Squad’s entire gimmick of being from India is still not enough to make me care.

Classic LAX moment: the street fight with the OGz.

We get what looks to be a glitch as Melissa Santos pops up with headphones in her ears, looking like she’s ready for a Skype interview before disappearing after about a second.

Rascalz vs. Australian Suicide/Toxin/Arez

The Rascalz jump the not quite named luchadors to start and hit stereo suicide dives. We settle down to Trey wristdragging Australian into a dropkick to the floor. Toxin comes in for a bunch of flips into a brainbuster to send Trey outside, with Dezmond flipping in to strike away. Arez comes in for a backbreaker on Dezmond so Wentz comes back in for a springboard spinning crossbody.

The Rascalz are sent outside for a big corkscrew dive from Toxin, followed by dives from the other two. Back in and the Rascalz are fine enough to hit a Burning Hammer/top rope double stomp combination to Toxin but Australian makes a save with a moonsault. A superkick into the push moonsault finishes Australian at 4:38.

Rating: C. This is the kind of match that is always going to work because it’s such pure insanity that is just entertaining. I’m not sure who the Rascalz will be fighting at Bound For Glory but it better be someone rather big, as the team deserves a high profile match. They don’t seem to get that around here, but they should be getting one.

Moose is walking the streets of Mexico City and looks for a fight. He finds and wins one while shouting for Ken Shamrock.

Various wrestlers (including Tommy Dreamer of course) are in Las Vegas for Brian Cage’s bachelor party. More on this later.

We get a sitdown interview with Tenille Dashwood, who is happy to be here because she hasn’t faced a lot of the Knockouts. She wrestled Taya Valkyrie in Taya’s first match and it went badly for Taya. Now it’s all about her.

Jessika Havok vs. Su Yung

No DQ. Havok has a staple gun and jumps Su during the entrance to start the fighting in a hurry. Su gets in a few shots of her own but Havok follows her outside. Old School on the barricade is easily broken up and it’s time for a ladder to be brought in. Su grabs a hanging Pedigree and dodges a charge in the corner to send Havok into a chair. Yung grabs the staple gun and stabs Havok in the….somewhere, setting up a cannonball off the apron. The bloody glove is loaded up but Havok Tombstones her for the pin at 6:07.

Rating: D+. This feud hasn’t been interesting since the start as it’s been so all over the place that it’s hard to keep track of why they’re fighting in the first place. Or maybe it’s just not interesting enough to make me want to keep track of the thing. Yung was interesting when she came in but they booked her like any other Knockout for so long that the impact is long gone.

Post match Su pops up and Mandible Claws Havok before pelting a chair at her head. They fight to the back with a quickly edited brawl up a stairwell. Havok grabs a rope and hangs Su over the stairs….and we see the legs hanging as we have our latest murder.

And now, Melissa Santos’ bachelorette party with the Knockouts attending and Taya making it all about her. Joey Ryan shows up as the stripper and I’ve seen more convincing acting on Total Divas.

Cage’s bachelor party includes him eating a bunch of cheat foods. Dreamer: “This is kind of turning me on.”

Classic LAX: Barbed Wire Massacre III vs. OVE.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Shane Douglas vs. Raven in a hair vs. hair match from 2003.

Next week: Johnny Swinger.

Bound For Glory rundown.

LAX vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack

Everyone shakes hands to start as they’re all friends here. Santana and Swann start things off and it’s an early trip to the mat for a standoff. They both flip out of hurricanrana attempts so Swann hits a dropkick for the first real offense. Santana takes him into the corner though and it’s Ortiz coming in for the rapid fire double teaming. Ortiz slaps on a Boston crab but it’s quickly back to Santana, who gets armdragged into the corner.

It’s off to Mack, who gets double dropkicked for his efforts. Mack and Swann are fine enough to run Santana over and put him in trouble for the first time. Ortiz gets caught in a Samoan drop so the standing moonsault can connect for two. Back from a break with Ortiz being caught in the wrong corner for more chops. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Ortiz jawbreaks his way to freedom.

Ortiz manages to drop Mack though and it’s a double knockdown for a breather. The hot(ish) tag brings in Santana for a running kick to Mack’s chest as everything breaks down. Ortiz comes back in off a blind tag and an assisted powerslam gets two. Everything breaks down and a reverse Razor’s Edge/top rope flipping neckbreaker plant Santana for two more.

A dragon screw legwhip drops Mack and a powerbomb puts Swann down but Santana can’t cover. Two more powerbomb get two on Swann but somehow he’s fine enough to slip out of the Street Sweeper. The super hurricanrana sets up Mack’s frog splash for two, followed by a bunch of kicks to Santana’s head. The handspring cutter into the Stunner into the Phoenix splash into the frog splash finish Santana and LAX at 18:38.

Rating: B. This worked well and that shouldn’t be surprising in the slightest. LAX has been one of the best teams in the world for a very long time now and it is no shock that they can have a very good match with a team as good as Swann and Mack. They deserve the big sendoff and that’s what they got, as the AEW Tag Team Titles are next up.

The locker room comes out to send LAX off.

Su Yung wakes up in the hospital. Apparently she’s murder proof.

Overall Rating: C-. The main event helped but it’s clear that there are a lot of things on this show that aren’t working. It feels like so many of the stories are just thrown together with no direction in mind and they’re hoping for the best. Bound For Glory is looking ok at best, as we spent this week with two Tommy Dreamer segments, the ECW guys being set up as title contenders and a case of murder before a nice sendoff. That’s as all over the place as you can get and while they still have time, it’s not making Bound For Glory look great.

Results

Tessa Blanchard/Rob Van Dam/Rhino/Tommy Dreamer b. OVE – Crossface with a kendo stick to Dave Crist

Taya Valkyrie b. Alisha Edwards – Road To Valhalla

Mahabali Shera b. Cody Deaner – World’s Strongest Slam

Rascalz b. Toxin/Arez/Australian Suicide – Push moonsault to Australian Suicide

Jessika Havok b. Su Yung – Tombstone

Rich Swann/Willie Mack b. LAX – Frog splash to Santana

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 30, 2019
Location: Fronton Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re down in Mexico for the first time in a long time and that means things could go in a variety of ways. One of those ways will probably include a lot of Mexican talents who may or may not be familiar, which doesn’t tend to be the most successful idea. Then again you never know how this show is going to go anyway, but maybe we can get away from Tommy Dreamer for a week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

TJP vs. Golden Magic vs. Trey Miguel vs. Taurus

It’s a brawl to start as commentary makes it sound like this is a tag match. Magic wastes no time in sending Taurus outside for an Asai moonsault, leaving Trey to hide from TJP in the ropes. TJP’s anklescissors doesn’t work so he offers a handshake but stops to dab instead. Magic comes back in with superkicks and cutters to TJP and Miguel but Taurus comes back in for the save. Taurus starts throwing people into each other until TJP makes a save of his own. That means the wristdrag/anklescissors combination to Taurus and Magic as TJP gets to clean house.

Taurus suplexes TJP and Magic at the same time so Trey is back in with a Pele. A neckbreaker to TJP makes TJP DDT Taurus at the same time (acceptable since they aren’t partners) but Magic hits a kind of spinning Big Ending for two on Trey. Taurus is back up with a torture rack into a backbreaker on Magic but TJP hits him with a tornado DDT. Trey gives TJP a Cheeky Nandos kick into a 619, only to miss a Meteora. TJP hits the Detonation kick on Miguel and kneebars Taurus, only to have Magic hit a 450 to pin Miguel at 8:57.

Rating: C+. Just a bunch of spots for the most part and that’s exactly what it should have been. This was a good way to get the fans fired up and into the show, but I’m rather surprised at Miguel taking a clean pin. Magic was fine and Taurus is enough of a power guy to be impressive so it was a fine use of the first fifteen minutes of the show.

Post match TJP and Magic glare at each other.

Kiera Hogan yells at a masked luchadora when another woman comes up to yell in Spanish. Jordynne Grace comes in to defend the masked woman but Madison Rayne comes in and has a suggestion as the locker room leader. That’s still a thing we’re doing?

Michael Elgin threatens Rhino with pain tonight.

Rascalz vs. Willie Mack/Rich Swann

This could be good. Wentz and Mack trade armdrags to start and Willie adds a cartwheel to show off a bit. Xavier sends Swann outside with a headscissors but Rich is right back in for the four way staredown as we take an early break. Back with Wentz getting two on Rich but Xavier misses a running flip dive. Mack comes back in with the Samoan drop into the standing moonsault for two of his own.

A reverse Razor’s Edge with a middle rope flip neckbreaker from Swann gets two more but Swann is sent outside. That leaves Willie to get double teamed with rapid fire kicks but Swann is back in with Trouble in Paradise to Wentz. A running corner clothesline sets up a super hurricanrana to Xavier, with Willie adding the frog splash for the pin at 9:26.

Rating: C+. Another good one here with two teams who work well together. How Swann and Mack haven’t gotten more chances at the Tag Team Titles is beyond me but at least they’re on TV more often than not. I still don’t get how the Rascalz aren’t getting a rocket push, but there are so many other teams worth pushing. Like Tommy Dreamer and his person who could push wrestling forward of the week.

Ken Shamrock has been through a lot and knows Moose isn’t a tough guy. We hear his resume and he’ll be in Las Vegas to get in Moose’s face.

Moose isn’t going to let Shamrock use him to get attention on his new bare knuckle boxing promotion. He’s bigger and stronger than Shamrock so….here’s Fallah Bahh, who wants one more match.

Johnny Swinger: COMING SOON! As the ECW reunion goes from stupid to ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

Taya Valkyrie is ready to set the record for longest reigning Knockouts Champion. That one really sneaks up on you.

And now, down on the farm with the Deaners, as they continue to torture the Desi Hit Squad. Hay is rolled, horseshoes are hammered and Rohit Raju is having a great time.

Video on Havok vs. Su Yung, the latter of whom is rather disturbing.

Video on Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard.

Sami doesn’t know how Brian Cage is still World Champion (fair enough) and wants to know when he’s getting his title shot. Impact has one more week to announce the match or chaos ensues.

Knockouts Title: Taya Valkyrie vs. Big Mami

Taya is defending and this is her “big” opponent. I’m sure you can imagine what Mami looks like as she dances around in a sombrero. Taya dances back but her clothesline is ducked with a Matrix. As Callis accuses Josh of having a phone to Jacksonville and Stamford each, Taya hammers away in the corner. Mami pulls her down though and we get the required Stinkface. A middle rope moonsault (and a decent one) misses so Taya puts on something like an STF to retain at 3:36.

Rating: D-. Mami was a joke but moved well enough. This is a joke that has been done several times before, though Taya’s reign feels like it has gone on for the better part of ever these days. The division has a lot of talent so I’m not sure how much longer Taya can hold onto the title, which can make for some interesting possibilities.

Post match Taya says she’s the best so here’s the debuting Tenille Dashwood for a brawl. A Spotlight Kick knocks John E. Bravo down and Taya bails as Tenille holds the belt.

Kiera Hogan/Vanilla vs. Jordynne Grace/Chicka Tormenta

Madison Rayne is here with Kiera and Vanilla. Tormenta and Vanilla start things off with Chicka’s fisherman’s suplex getting an early two. Kiera comes in to stomp away but misses an enziguri. Madison grabs Jordynne’s ankle though and the brawl gives us a DQ at 2:00.

The brawl continues as Callis talks about meeting Bret Hart in the WWF dressing room and showing him respect, which is a comparison to Madison. As I try to get my head around that one, Rosemary comes out and let’s have a six woman tag.

Kiera Hogan/Vanilla/Madison Rayne vs. Jordynne Grace/Chicka Tormenta/Rosemary

Joined in progress with Rosemary blocking Madison’s sunset flip so Madison bails over for a tag to Kiera. Grace comes in to splash Kiera but a second misses, setting off a pinfall reversal sequence. Tormenta and Vanilla come in to trade shots to the face until Vanilla hits a running crossbody in the corner. A slingshot elbow gives Vanilla two but it’s a double clothesline to put both of them down. That’s enough for Madison and Kiera as they walk out, leaving Rosemary to hit a double underhook drop (kind of a reverse Bubba Bomb) for the pin at 4:38.

Rating: D-. Well that came and went with nothing happening. Kiera and Madison’s bullying deal isn’t working and it feels like they’re just doing random stuff from week to week. This whole thing was a mess and other than filling in about ten minutes, I’m not sure what it was supposed to accomplish, other than making Madison and Kiera look evil, which was established a long time ago.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Ken Shamrock retains the NWA World Title.

Alisha Edwards comes up to Ace Austin on the beach, where he tries to tell her how he feels. Alisha: “Ok.” Then some masked men run up and steals her purse, with Ace following after them and getting in a fight in the water. Ace comes out of the water like a Baywatch scene and returns her the bag. She gives him a quick hug of thanks and leaves for her match. I’ve never been to Mexico City, but from what I can find, the nearest beach to the city is about a four and a half hour drive away. Unless that was a really big lake, I’m not sure where that was supposed to be.

Post break, we see Reno Scum being behind the theft, with Ace thanking them.

The North comes in to see LAX at the Clubhouse, which should be theirs. Konnan: “I can have you shot, stabbed, kidnapped or just straight up disappeared.” Konnan wants a title shot against the real LAX with Santana going into a big rant. They agree to put up the Clubhouse in a careers vs. titles match.

Michael Elgin vs. Rhino

Falls Count Anywhere so they start brawling in the aisle. Rhino’s early clothesline hits the post as we hear about Callis managing Rhino back in ECW. Rhino drops him onto the apron for two but gets posted for his efforts. A slingshot splash gives Elgin two and an enziguri takes Rhino down again.

They slug it out on the floor and we take an early break. Back with Elgin hitting Rhino with a chair and sitting him in it for some chops. A running clothesline gives Elgin two and they fight into the crowd. The fight goes higher up into the stands for a slow slug/headbutt out. Another headbutt knocks Rhino back down a level and they’re on the stage in a hurry.

Elgin’s clothesline gets two and a discus elbow puts Rhino back at ringside for two more. Rhino suplexes him on the ramp for the same and it’s time for a table. That gets set up in the corner but Elgin hits him with a chair a few more times. Rhino gets in a crotching with the chair but the Gore hits the table. The Elgin Bomb is good enough to end Rhino at 18:14.

Rating: D. What a lifeless match. They did their fighting and brawling and then it just ended. Elgin winning wasn’t a surprise as Rhino is just the guy who was there to give him a bit of a test. I wasn’t wild on seeing another ECW main event (third week in a row where an ECW star main events) but that’s what this promotion is about right now and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it get worse.

Overall Rating: D-. The first two matches kept the show from being a complete disaster but the rest of this show was a near nightmare with the guest stars adding almost nothing. This whole show felt like they were told to go do a house show with a few locals and make the best out of it. The wrestling could have been worse but there was almost no energy and it felt like nothing happened. Awful show and one of the worst they’ve done in a good awhile.

Results

Golden Magic b. Trey Miguel, TJP and Taurus – 450 to Miguel

Rich Swann/Willie Mack b. Rascalz – Frog splash to Xavier

Taya Valkyrie b. Big Mami – STF

Jordynne Grace/Chicka Tormenta b. Kiera Hogan/Vanilla via DQ when Madison Rayne interfered

Jordynne Grace/Chicka Tormenta/Rosemary b. Kiera Hogan/Vanilla/Madison Rayne – Double underhook drop to Vanilla

Michael Elgin b. Rhino – Elgin Bomb

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 23, 2019
Location: Oceanview Pavilion, Port Hueneme, California
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re out of the northeast for a change and in this case it’s for a special show called Cali Combat. Impact has a tendency to make their bigger shows pretty good as they know how to do the all action events, but I’m not sure how well that is going to work this time around. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Michael Elgin vs. Rhino

The ring is especially small here. Rhino goes with the power game to start and shoulders him to the floor as the fans start a WAR MACHINE chant. Back in and a running shoulder in the corner has Elgin in more trouble but he’s on the floor again before the Gore can launch. Elgin nails an enziguri for his first shot and it’s time to unload in the corner. A collision gives us a quick double knockdown but Elgin is back up with a release Rock Bottom out of the corner.

The twisting Swanton misses though and the comeback is on, including a spinebuster to give Rhino two. Elgin’s bridging German suplex gets the same as the power brawling continues. A piledriver plants Elgin for two more and a superplex makes it even better. Elgin kicks the Gore away and they fight to the floor for the double countout at 11:37.

Rating: C. Not much to this one but you can almost guarantee a rematch, likely with some kind of a stipulation, to be set up for next week or the week after. Elgin has dropped a good bit as he goes from fighting Brian Cage for the World Title to Rhino, but Impact has always seen Rhino as a big deal so it’s not like Elgin has been banished.

Post match the fight continues until referees break it up.

Post break Elgin says this isn’t over. Rhino comes in to brawl some more.

The announcers preview the show.

Tag Team Titles: Reno Scum vs. The North

The North is defending. Luster the Legend headlocks Ethan to start and then runs him down with a shoulder. The bigger Luster cranks on the arm and it’s Thornstowe coming in with an ax handle. Alexander comes in for a swinging Texas Cloverleaf of all things and it’s the chinlock to take us to a break.

Back with Alexander stomping Thornstowe down in the corner and handing it off to Page for a spinning backbreaker. A shot to the face allows the tag off to Luster for the big power comeback, including a spinebuster for two on Alexander. Everything breaks down with Page’s suicide dive taking out Luster. That leaves Thornstowe to get crotched on top, setting up the toss Alabama Slam for the pin to retain at 11:25.

Rating: C. That’s one of the better Scum matches as the team continues to be the most “well they exist” pairings I can remember in a long time. They’re not horrible by any means but they’re still just two guys who have a name and unique chants from the fans. I guess they work very cheap as Impact keeps bringing them back in, despite not being much of a team either way.

Ace Austin is banged up so Alisha Edwards helps him get his shirt off. Ace confirms that the bandages (they must be Ace Bandages) are from Eddie Edwards but Alisha leaves for her match. The chicanery continues.

Madison Rayne tries to smooth things over with Jordynne Grace, who shouldn’t be associating with some newcomer. Grace doesn’t need her help, just like she didn’t need Rosemary’s help last week either.

Havok vs. Alisha Edwards

Alisha, in gear featuring a bunch of checkered flags in a Sparky Plugg tribute, hammers away at Havok but her crossbody is shrugged off. Havok tosses her around and chokes on the ropes as we talk about Moose insulting Ken Shamrock’s bare knuckle boxing company. Alisha gets in a bulldog, only to get Tombstoned for the pin at 3:33.

Rating: D. Havok is a monster but Alisha continues to be someone who is just there week in and week out. The story with Ace vs. Eddie could be something but Alisha is about as far up the food chain as she is going to get in the ring at the moment. She was cannon fodder here and without some big changes, I don’t know if I see that changing anytime soon.

Post match Ace comes out to check on Alisha so here’s Eddie for the chase….right into a chokeslam from Havok as Ace leaves with Alisha.

Su Yung appears on screen, speaks gibberish, and is gone.

Sami Callihan blames Dave Crist for the loss last week so tonight he’ll handle Tommy Dreamer himself. Yes, Dreamer is getting a main event out of this whole thing. Sami is coming for the World Title when he’s done with Dreamer. Why do I have a bad feeling that’s going to take a long time?

Moose tells Ken Shamrock to meet him in Las Vegas because while Ken is a fighting legend, Moose is a five star athlete.

X-Division Title: Rich Swann vs. Jake Crist

Crist is defending and kicks Swann in the face at the bell. Swann is fine enough to block a suicide tornado DDT on the floor and a 619 from the apron connects. Back in and Swann gets superkicked out of the air, setting up the early chinlock. Swann gets sent outside and dropped onto the apron for two and the chinlock goes on again. That’s switched into the reverse Rings of Saturn but Swann is back up with a rolling clothesline.

Some rapid fire strikes send Crist outside, where Swann flips off the stage to kick him in the face again. Back in and Crist plants him with a Death Valley Driver so Swann comes back with a swinging neckbreaker. The middle rope 450 gets two on Crist so Swann loads up the Lethal Injection, which nearly takes out the referee. That’s enough of a distraction for Crist to grab a rollup with trunks for the pin at 8:43.

Rating: C+. These two are some of the best things going in Impact today with both guys knowing exactly what to do and how to have an exciting match. Now the lack of selling or psychology hurts a lot but that’s not what the point of something like this is. Swann seems almost destined to move up to the main event scene, or at least he should be. Jake calling himself the Golden Draw and getting on Sami has potential down the line too so this could be more interesting later.

Tenille Dashwood is coming. That’s a good signing.

The Desi Hit Squad go to the Deaners’ farm for WACKY COMEDY. The Deaners put them in overalls, which Raju seems to like. Gama slaps him in the face and more on this later. This feels like it’s straight out of 1986 WWF.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Ken Shamrock wins the NWA World Title on the first show.

Taya Valkyrie promises a big title defense next week as she comes up on the longest title reign in Knockouts Title history.

Trey Miguel vs. Willie Mack

Trey starts with the Running Man and dances up off a hard shoulder. A Samoan drop into the standing moonsault gives Mack two as the fans aren’t sure who they like more. Trey’s double springboard wristdrag is blocked with raw power and some running forearms in the corner put Trey down.

The running Cannonball connects but the Stunner (how Kevin Owens of him, though it might be more Willie Mack of Owens) is countered into a rollup to give Trey two. Trey wins a slugout and goes up top, where he slides between Mack’s legs to set up a Cheeky Nandos kick. The 619 around the corner connects, only to have Mack come back with the Stunner for the pin at 5:26.

Rating: C. Mack is similar to Swann in that he seems ready to move up the card at a moment’s notice but it seems like every time he gets ready, he’s put back down into a match like this. Keeping him winning is a good sign for his future though and it’s certainly better than having him sitting around doing nothing.

Tommy Dreamer says Sami Callihan is one of the bad people in wrestling and he can’t wait to beat Sami up tonight.

Next week: Rhino vs. Elgin, falls count anywhere.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Sami Callihan

No DQ because of course. Sami charges at him to start and gets punched in the face as they quickly head to the floor for the brawling. A ring bell shot to the ribs each take us to a break and we’re back with the two of them on opposite aprons for a staredown. Dreamer uses a kendo stick for Sandman’s (more stealing) White Russian legsweep but Callihan gets in a chair shot.

Then it’s time to go hybrid with a stick shot to the chair to keep Dreamer in trouble, followed by pulling the stick across Dreamer’s mouth. Neither can hit a DDT so Callihan shoves him onto the chair for two instead. Something close to a Conchairto has Dreamer in agony so Sami takes a bow (I’d throw money at him). Dreamer comes back with the Dusty Rhodes punches and Bionic Elbow for two and it’s trashcan time. And for a bonus, ladder time.

Sami hits him with both of them but Dreamer catapults him into the trashcan in the corner. The DDT gets two on Sami, who grabs Tommy by the crotch. The drop toehold sends Dreamer into the open chair and it’s time to put a piece of wood between two chairs. Dreamer gets in a piledriver for two but a middle rope elbow only hits ladder. Some kendo stick shots set up the piledriver through the wood to finish Dreamer at 15:28.

Rating: D+. Commentary tried to make this feel like a big deal but how many times has someone beaten the hardcore legend Tommy Dreamer in a hardcore style match? The match was exactly what you would have expected because it’s all Dreamer can really do these days and it’s supposed to be important because Dreamer has been around for so long. That’s not exactly working, but I’m sure the old ECW fans can explain it better than I can.

Post match the beatdown stays on until Tessa Blanchard runs in for the save with a baseball bat. Jake Crist runs in to take Tessa out to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. The show wasn’t the worst they’ve done but at the same time it didn’t exactly make me want to see what they’re doing next. This was an episode designed to set up something for the future but it didn’t do the best job. Sami can be a good choice for a top heel but the lack of Cage being around and having the show feel more like the Brock Lesnar as Universal Champion Raws aren’t helping things. It’s not completely terrible as there was some decent action, but the storytelling needs some work.

Results

Michael Elgin vs. Rhino went to a double countout

The North b. Reno Scum – Assisted Alabama Slam

Havok b. Alisha Edwards – Tombstone

Jake Crist b. Rich Swann – Rollup with a handful of trunks

Willie Mack b. Trey Miguel – Stunner

Sami Callihan b. Tommy Dreamer – Piledriver through a board

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 16, 2019
Location: St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

Impact has been going up and down as of late with some of the stories being better than others and some good enough shows. It’s not the best show in the world but at least they have enough stuff going on that I can remember it for a change. That’s more than they’ve had going for them in the past so at least there are some positives around here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Moose vs. Fallah Bahh

Rematch from two weeks ago when Bahh beat him in about a minute. You really can see how much weight Bahh has lost and that’s a good thing. Moose gets smart by stomping on the bare foot and sending Bahh outside, setting up a pump kick against the barricade. You don’t do that to someone like Bahh, who crushes Moose with a running crossbody. A splash on the ramp makes it even worse but Moose goes for the eyes to take over.

Some slow kicks to the face let Moose call Bahh a fat piece of garbage so Bahh shouts his name a lot. The Samoan drop takes Moose down and a rolling belly to belly gets two. Moose crushes him in the corner though and manages a top rope superplex (not bad) but the spear hits buckle. The Banzai Drop misses though and it’s No Jackhammer Needed to give Moose the pin at 8:52.

Rating: D+. Bahh slimming down makes him look better but it takes away one of the best things he had going for him. Moose seems to be flailing for something to do at the moment, which is why he’s stuck facing Fallah Bahh in a two match series for whatever reason. At this point he needs to get into the World Title picture or change things up because he’s stuck in that weird not quite ready for the top spot but too big for the midcard limbo.

Tommy Dreamer comes in to see Tessa Blanchard and gives her a history lesson on….her family. It took others to make her family a success and now Tessa needs help to get through OVE. Dreamer wants to stand with her to improve this business so she’s with him. Good grief Dreamer couldn’t be more forced into this story if his career (which has gone on for thirty years and he respects the business so freaking much) depended on it.

Video on Su Yung.

Kiera Hogan/Madison Rayne vs. Jordynne Grace/Alexia Nicole

Fallout from Kiera and Madison beating up Nicole last week. Kiera jumps Nicole before the bell and it’s already time for some villainous double teaming. A sliding basement clothesline gives Madison two but she stops to GRR at the referee, allowing Alexia to hit a running Meteora. We take a break and come back with Madison chinlocking Alexia.

Some yelling at the referee lets Madison poke Alexia in the eye and it’s Hogan coming in for a basement dropkick. Alexia pops up and gets over for the tag to Grace as everything breaks down. Alexia hits a high crossbody on Hogan but Madison is legal. Said legal Madison hits CrossRayne to finish Nicole at 9:41.

Rating: D+. This story continues to not do much for me as I’m not even sure why they’re fighting. I guess Grace doesn’t like Rayne acting like a big shot but since Impact doesn’t know how to let things go or advance them a lot of the time, we’re likely to be watching these same people feud for a good while.

Post match the brawl continues but the lights go out and it’s Rosemary to chase off Rayne and Hogan.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong from Bound For Glory 2015.

Alisha Edwards comes up to Ace Austin in the back. Ace is fearing for his safety from Eddie Edwards but Alisha insists they’re just friends. She’ll worry about Eddie.

Post break, Ace lays down when he sees Alisha coming but here’s Eddie to beat him up when he sees the two of them together.

Taya Valkyrie is in California and has John E. Bravo do various things for her, mainly including taking care of her dog.

Rhyno and Michael Elgin are fighting outside.

Rascalz vs. Willie Mack/Rich Swann/Rob Van Dam

This could be interesting. The Rascalz, and the fans, want Van Dam to start and they get their wish, with Rob kicking Wentz into the corner for the tag off to Xavier. Mack kicks him as well and a running elbow gets two. Swann comes in for a dropkick of his own as it’s one sided so far. A shot to the face sends Swann into the corner and it’s Miguel coming in to chop away. The slingshot hilo gets two on Swann and the fans want RVD. Instead they get an enziguri to Swann for two more but Swann slips out of a double backbreaker.

A cutter drops Miguel and there’s the hot tag to Van Dam. The split legged moonsault gets two on Wentz and Mack’s standing moonsault into Van Dam’s Rolling Thunder is good for two more. Everything breaks down but the push moonsault is broken up. Wentz and Swann chop it out and the pace picks up with Swann getting the better of it. Van Dam hits the Five Star and Swann drops the Phoenix splash for the pin on Wentz at 13:01.

Rating: B-. It wasn’t as good as it could have been but having Van Dam as the one to come in and clean house with his signature stuff is the best thing for him at the moment. Swann and Mack are potential future superstars around here and putting them with a big name is a good idea. Keep that up, as long as Van Dam doesn’t get the spotlight.

The North says they’re going to California to defend the Tag Team Titles at Cali Combat next week.

Jake Crist comes in to laugh at the Rascalz, Swann and Mack. Some glares send him running.

Deaners vs. Desi Hit Squad

The losers are the winners servants, meaning this feud is going to continue beyond tonight. It’s a brawl to start with everyone going out to the floor and the Deaners getting the better of things. Raj gets dropped ribs first onto the top rope and a knee knocks him back off. The Squad is right back up for a double suplex on Jake do Cody comes in for a clothesline.

Back from a break with Raju raking Cody’s eyes, leaving Gama to low bridge Cody to the floor. Cody gets caught in the Squad’s corner with Gama getting in a cheap shot from the outside. Raj rips at Cody’s face (it might be an improvement) but Cody kicks Raju away. That’s not enough for the tag though as Raj pulls Jake off the apron. A sidestep sends Raj outside and now the hot tag can bring in Jake.

Everything breaks down and Cody hits a suicide dive, followed by Jake’s running dive. Back in and Jake hits a Michinoku Driver for two on Raj and things settle back down. Gama’s distraction lets Raju get a rollup for two more as everything breaks down again. An assisted top rope double stomp gets two on Cody but Raju’s Cannonball is caught in the corner. Raju is sent outside and it’s the assisted suplex into the Side Effect (CTD) for the pin on Raj at 14:49.

Rating: D. Yeah THIS MATCH just got nearly fifteen minutes and I don’t get why either. We’ve spent how many weeks on this culture clash feud and now it’s going to be even longer. The segments will probably be funny enough but that doesn’t make up for having to watch these four have such an uninteresting rivalry for so many weeks. The match could have been worse, but that’s not much in the way of praise.

Sami Callihan wants to know where Jake Crist is but switches over to threatening Tommy and Tessa. She will NEVER beat him and tonight will be exactly like any other night.

The Deaners are ready to make the Squad work on their farm. Why can I not get the dueling banjo music out of my head?

Sami Callihan/Dave Crist vs. Tessa Blanchard/Tommy Dreamer

At least Tommy doesn’t get the last entrance. They start fast with Tommy and Tessa trying stereo Bionic Elbows (because the BLANCHARDS just love Dusty Rhodes) but have to settle for kicks to the face instead. Everything breaks down early on and Tommy hits a double clothesline off the apron. Tessa hits a top rope dive of her own (landing on her feet of course) and we take a break.

Back with Dreamer handing Tessa a beer from the crowd (I bet Dusty Rhodes would like a beer, but he’s gone so consider this the next tribute from Dreamer) so she can spit it in Sami’s face. Dreamer does it to Dave (passing it on to the next generation you might say) and we settle down to Sami begging off from Tessa inside. Everything breaks down again in record time with all four heading back outside.

Dave catapults Dreamer throat first into the barricade (add that to the list of injuries he’ll talk about for the next 15 years) and takes it back inside to crank on both of Dreamer’s arms. Staying down in a hold like that would damage the industry though so Dreamer is right back up, only to have Sami take him into the corner. Dreamer fights back using the power of tears over his memories of wrestling but Tessa gets pulled off the apron. Double Bionic elbows and the diving tag bring in Tessa (with a scary look on her face as she cleans house).

A running Codebreaker out of the corner gets two on Dave as everything breaks down and the ref gets bumped. Double DDTs lay out OVE (Because Dreamer stole that move too. Does he actually do ANYTHING original? Other than the Tommyhawk, which was awesome, that is.) with a second referee running in for two. Dreamer loads up a piledriver with THUMBS UP THUMBS DOWN (The Repo Man didn’t steal this much stuff!) but stereo low blows put….well just Dreamer down as Tessa glares at Dave for not thinking it through. Magnum with a kendo stick finishes Dave at 13:49.

Rating: C-. Did I ever tell you about the time that Tommy Dreamer did something in wrestling? The exact thing doesn’t matter because it’s probably something that has been done a million times, but he did it while looking sad, drinking a beer, hitting someone with a kendo stick an hour after wearing a shirt that talked about some famous wrestler.

But he just wants to help the business, including his House of Hardcore promotion, which is in no way another attempt to cash in on ECW’s legacy again and again because he’s never done anything noteworthy not associated with ECW. If you’ve never heard that story before, don’t worry because he’ll probably do it again in a week.

Overall Rating: D+. This was a miss as there just wasn’t enough good stuff to warrant half an hour of Deaners/Squad/Dreamer. Tessa doesn’t need Dreamer helping her out so he can steal more of her spotlight, especially after Swann, a young star who could go a long way around here, offered to help her last week. It’s a spot where someone could get a nice rub but instead it’s Dreamer for no logical reason whatsoever. The rest of the show was skippable aside from the six man tag, which hopefully isn’t a new trend around here. Hopefully they bounce back next week because this was a rough sit.

Results

Moose b. Fallah Bahh – No Jackhammer Needed

Kiera Hogan/Madison Rayne b. Jordynne Grace/Alexia Nicole – CrossRayne to Nicole

Rob Van Dam/Rich Swann/Willie Mack b. Rascalz – Phoenix splash to Wentz

Deaners b. Desi Hit Squad – CTD to Singh

Tessa Blanchard/Tommy Dreamer b. Dave Crist/Sami Callihan – Magnum to Crist

Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

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

We’re finally back to a regular show this week after last week’s Mash-Up Tournament show. Next week is the big Unbreakable show, which will feature Tessa Blanchard vs. Sami Callihan for the #1 contendership to the World Title. Tonight it’s Brian Cage vs. Michael Elgin in a street fight, which isn’t likely going to be the next major story. It’s a long way to Bound For Glory so we don’t need to get things going from here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap and preview.

Jordynne Grace vs. Kiera Hogan

Hogan now has blue and silver hair instead of the fire red. I’m not sure if that’s an upgrade or not. Madison Rayne comes out for commentary and now wants to be known as Her Royal Highness The Queen Bee. Grace goes straight for Hogan in the corner and takes her outside for a belly to belly. Since selling isn’t the strong suit of today’s wrestling, Hogan is right back up with a suicide dive to take over. Back in and Hogan stomps away as Madison talks about being friends with Meghan Markle.

A running hip attack in the corner gives Hogan one but it’s a helicopter bomb out of the corner to put Hogan down for two. The Michinoku Driver gets two but Hogan kicks her into the corner for some running basement dropkicks. Hogan unloads with shots to the head until Grace blocks a neckbreaker out of the corner. A Vader Bomb gets two but Hogan sends her outside. That’s fine with Grace, who hits a suplex on the floor but Madison throws Hogan inside. Grace is right there with a bridging cradle for the pin at 8:57.

Rating: D. The lack of selling was really noticeable here as they were doing moves to each other and then popping back up to go to the next move. Hogan being more aggressive and changing her look is fine, but having her lose so soon might not be the best idea. That and focusing so much on Madison again doesn’t do much for me, but Impact certainly loves doing the same stuff over and over again.

The announcers run down the rest of the show.

Brian Cage promises to send Michael Elgin to the hospital this week.

Taya Valkyrie talks to Rosemary about Slammiversary but gets shushed. Their deal is done and unless Taya is willing to offer another title shot, they have nothing to do with each other. John E. Bravo offers to take care of this.

Here’s Sami Callihan for a chat. He demands that Tessa get out here right now so here she is in a hurry. When Sami was first told he was wrestling Tessa, he thought it would be a night off. But then Tessa showed that she has spunk and fire, drawing a TESSA chant. Sami cuts that off and then talks about winning the tournament last week. He can admit when he is wrong and he gave Tessa equality. From one wrestler to another, Sami respects her. He’ll show her respect now, but on August 2, it’s winner take all. They shake hands and he calls her toots and gives her a quick spank. The beating is on and Tessa hits Magnum.

Callihan yells at OVE for not coming to save him but he told them to stay there. Sami says Tessa sucker punched him so next week she can face Mad Man Fulton. Given that she is already scheduled to face Sami next week, that might be a conflict of interests.

Moose vs. Ray Steel

Moose throws him around to start and blocks a whip attempt. No Jackhammer Needed finishes Steel at 58 seconds.

Post match Moose says what matters around here is not being loyal to this place. He’s the guy who has put the company on his back and now he’s here to beat up a piece of garbage. Moose yells at Callis and apron bombs Steel for good measure.

Bravo finds Havok and tells her there will be no Knockouts Title match. She can have some fun with him though. Havok chokes him, which Bravo calls the hard way.

Video on the North retaining the Tag Team Titles at Slammiversary.

The Rascalz get a Tag Team Title match next week. Joking ensues and Gail Kim of all people pops in to talk about the Jonas Brothers.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Kurt Angle beats Matt Morgan at Bound For Glory 2009.

Kiera Hogan and Madison Rayne argue and Melissa Santos walks off.

Ace Austin hits on Alisha Edwards with some magic and gets blown off. An unnamed woman comes in and hits on Austin but he isn’t interested.

Willie Mack vs. Rob Van Dam

Rob takes his time coming out of the curtain for some reason. As Callis talks about Rob being relatively injury free over his career (not quite), Rob works a headlock to start. Mack snaps off a spinwheel kick and Rob needs to stop for a breather. They head outside with Rob kicking him in the face as Callis continues to talk about how big Rob is. The running cannonball off the apron drops Mack again but a charge against the barricade is cut off without much effort.

Back in and a pump kick in the corner sets up a reverse cannonball in the corner. The standing moonsault gets two, with Josh calling the match one sided. Mack has been in control for about a minute and a half chum. Rob kicks him back down but the split legged moonsault hits knees. A Backstabber puts Rob down again but he’s right back with a springboard kick to the face.

Another kick to the face sets up Rolling Thunder for two and Mack is in trouble. He’s fine enough to come back with a cutter for a breather, followed by an exploder suplex. Mack’s frog splash misses though and it’s the stepover kick and it’s the Five Star to finish Mack at 12:22.

Rating: C+. Van Dam still looks slow and old but he can still do his greatest hits well enough. I’m not sure I would have had him go over someone with the potential that Mack has but Van Dam is the legend around here and is going to get a win like this every now and then. Not a bad match, but it got Rob some momentum back.

They shake hands post match.

Ace hits on Alisha again but can’t get her to put her hand in a box and grab a live bird. The box is just below Austin’s stomach in case you don’t get the joke. Alisha leaves and Stone Rockwell comes up to grab whatever is in the box, making Austin wince. Rockwell: “Seems malnourished.”

Ortiz, with a censored bottle in his hand, rants to Konnan about wanting to finish the North. Konnan tells him to calm down because Daga is going to replace the injured (torn MCL) Santana. Daga comes in and Ortiz isn’t happy, but Konnan says he has this.

Michael Elgin thinks it’s non-title tonight because Cage is scared. Cage needs to stop worrying about his fiance (who is holding the mic) and worry about him instead.

X-Division Title: Jake Crist vs. Rich Swann

Swann is defending and Crist is here alone. Crist headlocks him down to start Swann reverses into an armbar and they flip up to a standoff. Swann wastes no time in sending him outside for a flip dive but here’s Dave Crist, who gets kicked in the face. The distraction lets Jake hit a running DDT on the floor though and we take a break.

Back with Jake working Swann over in the corner before grabbing the reverse Rings of Saturn. That’s broken up so it’s a camel clutch to keep Swann in trouble. Swann breaks out of that as well and rolls forward into a flipping clothesline. Some kicks to the head give Swann two but he jumps into a Death Valley Driver for two as well. They slug it out again with Swann getting the better of it and hitting a top rope elbow for another near fall.

It takes too long to go up again though and it’s a superplex into a swinging neckbreaker for two on Swann. An exchange of kicks to the head sets up the Phoenix splash but Dave puts the foot on the rope. Swann cutters both of them but it’s Mad Man Fulton coming out to shove Swann into a cutter from Jake. Sliced Bread #2 gives Jake the pin and the title at 15:46.

Rating: B. This feels like a bigger deal because Swann had been built up as a huge star. There is no reason to not put him into the main event now as there isn’t anything left for him to do in the X-Division. It was a surprise title change and it wasn’t clear, and it even came at the end of a rather good match. These two worked well together and the ending was the best way to get the title out of Swann in a singles match.

Post break Sami says the team won the title and doesn’t like Jake calling himself the Golden Draw. Sami: “IT’S SILVER!” They need to focus on Tessa.

Unbreakable rundown.

Brian Cage vs. Michael Elgin

Non-title street fight. Hang on though as Cage crawls through the curtain and it’s Elgin standing over him with a chair. Elgin chokes him with the chair in the ring but stops to grab a mic. He rants about this being non-title because Cage is scared of him. Elgin grabs another chair and hits the Conchairto on Cage’s head as we won’t be having a match here.

Security is quickly beaten up and Elgin wraps the chair around Cage’s head. Cue Melissa Santos to beg but the masked man comes in for the save. Elgin chairs him in the face but a second masked man comes in to Gore him down. The second masked man runs into the crowd and unmasks as Rhyno (it wasn’t really a secret) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling was up and down here but they got in some angle advancement and storytelling so the show worked well. This felt like the big fallout show from Slammiversary and while they did lose some momentum, it was still a good show that picked up where the previous stuff took off. Unbreakable can be a nice stepping stone towards Bound For Glory and Impact could be in a good place for a while to come.

Results

Jordynne Grace b. Kiera Hogan – Bridging cradle

Moose b. Ray Steel – No Jackhammer Needed

Rob Van Dam b. Willie Mack – Five Star Frog Splash

Jake Crist b. Rich Swann – Sliced Bread #2

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

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

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

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