Impact Wrestling – June 7, 2019: It’s Down There, Buried Beneath The Old

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 7, 2019
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re still in Philadelphia and unfortunately that probably means more ECW guys taking up a huge part of the show. That being said, I’m almost scared to see what they might come up with next. Why they need to come up with anything new is beyond me as they have a lot of talent who can have some awesome matches when they actually put in the effort. Let’s get to it.

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

We recap last week’s show, which was quite the all over the place show.

Opening sequence.

Cousin Jake vs. Ace Austin

Jake’s cousin Cody is in his corner. Austin gets in some pushups before we start but he can’t get in a drop toehold. Some kicks to Jake’s back work a bit better and a hurricanrana takes Jake down. Austin low bridges him to the floor and, after the handstand on the apron, kicks Jake in the face. A running flip dive is blocked though and a running crossbody against the apron gives Jake two. Back in and Austin gets body blocked out of the air but Ace avoids a charge in the corner.

That means a paper cut with the Ace of spades and a top rope Fameasser gets two on Jake. It’s time to start on Jake’s arm with a variety of pulling. Some chops just annoy Jake so Austin kicks him in the head instead. Jake blasts him with a clothesline for a double knockdown as Cody cheers Jake from ringside. A Michinoku Driver gives Jake two and there’s a running shoulder n the corner. Cue the Desi Hit Squad to go after Cody though, allowing Ace to hit the Fold for the pin at 8:54.

Rating: C. Actually a nice little match here but then again I’ve liked Ace since he first showed up. Jake is fine for a powerhouse in the ring when you get rid of the ridiculous gimmick. As usual, Impact does a lot better when it comes to the wrestling parts rather than the talking and character stuff, but that goes for a lot of companies these days.

Taya Valkyrie doesn’t want to hear about Rosemary again and it’s not Taya’s fault that Rosemary is obsessed with her.

The announcers chat about the show.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Rosemary

Non-title and Rosemary still has Su Yung on the chain. Taya takes her down and hammers away to start, followed by some kicks in the corner. The fans certainly seem to like Taya strutting around the ring and hitting a Meteora in the corner. Rosemary is right back with the Upside Down but a missile dropkick misses. Something like a Sling Blade takes Taya right back down and a reverse DDT gets two. It’s off to a Koji Clutch of all things….and here are James Mitchell and Havok (a monster who used to be part of the Knockouts division) with the latter taking out Rosemary for the DQ at 4:28.

Rating: D+. This was a storyline match instead of something worthwhile and that’s ok. What might not be ok is this Mitchell vs. Rosemary story continuing, as it seems to just keep going for months on end. That being said, having Havok in there at least offers a fresh direction and it might actually be able to go somewhere for a change.

Post match Havok lays out Taya and Rosemary as Mitchell certainly approves. Havok lets Yung free.

The Rascalz are ready for their Tag Team Title shot and talk about the Pet Shop Boys. Trey drinks a bit.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Great Muta vs. Mr. Anderson from TNA vs. the World in 2015.

Eddie Edwards comes up to Sandman in the back because he can’t accept the new kendo stick. Eddie: “It wouldn’t be fair to Kenny.” Sandman writes KENNY on the stick and Eddie is happy.

Video on Brian Cage vs. Michael Elgin at Slammiversary.

Elgin has showed that he’s better than Cage and the path he’s clearing leads straight to the World Title. Next week, Elgin will see Cage across the ring from him instead of Willie Mack.

Madman Fulton vs. Fox Vinier/Michael Emineo

Sami Callihan slaps Fulton in the face to start and Fulton starts beating both of them up at once. Vinier is slammed onto Emineo and they’re both run over again. A chokeslam to each sets up a double chokeslam but Sami isn’t happy. He slaps Fulton a few times and says to kill them, setting up a swinging Downward Spiral to send Vinier onto Emineo for the pin at 3:23.

Rating: D. Well that worked. This was the kind of destruction that you have to have with a monster like Fulton and it’s been rather effective. Sami having a bit of a cult thing going on is a good story for him and something that could go somewhere. Just keep him away from doing goofy stuff and see where it can go from here. If nothing else, tie it back into him being the first man to beat Cage and set up a World Title feud.

Post match Sami says he’s sick of the Knockout nonsense and people like Scarlett Bordeaux and Fallah Bahh embarrassing them. Actually get the Crists out here right now because we’re having the tag match right now.

Crist Brothers vs. Fallah Bahh/Scarlett Bordeaux

I certainly don’t mind Scarlett being out here, but what is up with the intergender obsession lately? Bahh suplexes Jake to start but Sami grabs his foot. That’s enough for a double ejection of Callihan and Fulton, leaving Bahh to slam Dave. A missed charge sends Bahh shoulder first into the post though and the Brothers take over. Bahh shouts a lot as the two of them beat him up, including Jake ripping at Bahh’s mouth.

One heck of a crossbody crushes Dave but Jake prevents the hot tag, which might not be the brightest idea in the world. Dave gets sent to the floor but manages to pull Scarlett off the apron before Bahh can get to her. For some reason Jake tries a sunset flip and gets crushed, allowing the tag to Scarlett. Some headscissors have the Brothers in trouble and a double high crossbody sets up Bahh’s double suicide dive.

Scarlett’s top rope flip dive takes both of them down again as the fans deem this awesome. Back in and Jake slams Scarlett, sending Callis through the roof. You mean someone is mad because they got beaten up? Scarlett is right back with a reverse hurricanrana and it’s a Doomsday Device for two on Dave (she’s from Chicago). The double Banzai Drop misses though and Scarlett is rocked, allowing Jake to hit Bahh with a roll of quarters for the pin at 10:24.

Rating: C-. I’m really not sure about this one, but the negatives outweigh the positives. First of all, Scarlett did not embarrass herself in the slightest out there. She’s clearly a well trained and experienced worker so this is far from Sable back in the day. At the same time though, I have a hard time buying that Scarlett and Bahh are a real threat to former Tag Team Champions.

There comes a point where it’s hard to believe what is being presented and while they did not go past that, they walked the line as close as you can. What took me out of it was how fast Scarlett was taken down by basic offense. A slam and a missed Banzai Drop stun her? That doesn’t bode well for the future and suggests a lot of suspension of disbelief in these matches. Intergender matches can work and Scarlett has the talent to make them believable, but they have to be done right.

Post match the Crists go after Scarlett again but Tessa Blanchard makes the save, including Magnum to Jake. So is man vs. woman Tessa’s thing now? I get that she’s better than the rest of the Knockouts, but I’m not sure how well this is going to go.

Willie Mack doesn’t like the idea of Elgin taking food off his plate so it’s time to stop Elgin. Rich Swann says he has his back. Johnny Impact comes in to say that bad times are coming. Rich is about to be on the Johnny Impact diet because after Slammiversary, he’ll be ten pounds lighter.

Callihan yells at the Crists and promises to take care of the Knockouts.

Kiera Hogan vs. Jordynne Grace

Hogan hits her in the face a few times and scores with a dropkick but charges into a boot in the corner. A middle rope backsplash gives Grace two and the one armed delayed Jackhammer gets two. Kiera is smart enough to hide in the corner to sucker Grace in and choke away, followed by a basement dropkick for two of her own.

There’s something like a one knee Codebreaker for two more, but Grace is right back with a spinebuster. Some running knees in the corner have Hogan in more trouble and her attempt at a super sunset bomb goes rather badly. A kick to the head misses Grace and the Grace Driver finishes Hogan at 7:58.

Rating: C-. Hogan’s heel turn isn’t all that interesting yet as the division already has enough top heels, but Grace needed a win to get some more momentum. It’s not a good match or anything, but Grace got to show off the power and it’s not like losing to her is some devastating moment.

Konnan yells at LAX for not taking the Rascalz seriously. Santana: “They’re from Toledo!”

Moose doesn’t like ECW legends being around here twenty years past their prime and wants Rob Van Dam at Slammiversary. And he’s the heel in this?

Tag Team Titles: LAX vs. Rascalz

Zachary Wentz/Dezmond Xavier for the challenging Rascalz here with Konnan and Trey Miguel at ringside. Wentz and Ortiz feel things out to start as Konnan tells commentary to talk nicely about him. Dez comes in and kicks Ortiz to the floor, followed by a running double stomp to Santana’s back. That means the back to back dives to the floor as the champs are in early trouble. Back in and a Swanton into the Final Flash gets two on Santana as we take a break.

We come back with Ortiz hitting a middle rope DDT on Wentz, followed by a German suplex to give Santana two. The champs’ double teaming starts until a missed charge allows the hot tag to Dez. That means the pace picks up with a suicide dive from Dez and a tag back to Wentz. A sunset flip sends Santana across the ring but he rolls into a cutter on Dez, leaving Wentz to get rolled up for two.

Everyone is down for a bit until Dez breaks up the champs’ double belly to back faceplant. Instead Wentz gets powerslammed but Ortiz gets annoyed at Miguel for stealing his flask. The contents of said flask are spat in the referee’s face so Wentz hits a springboard cutter on Santana. Miguel comes in with a top rope Meteora with another referee (one who doesn’t seem to have been paying attention) to count the pin for the titles at 14:25.

Rating: B. The ending seems to be setting up another match but I’m not sure how far they can go with a story of the third member of the team stealing a pin. That being said, I’d like to see these teams again, but that’s partially because the Rascalz have been rather awesome since their debut. A good rematch at Slammiversary could be pretty entertaining. As for the match itself, it was the usual awesome, fast paced match you would expect from these teams.

Or not as the first referee wakes up to say it’s a DQ so LAX retains.

Overall Rating: C. This wasn’t the best show in the world, but the lack of the ECW stars helped a lot. Throw in a good main event and an effective Fulton squash and the good was just enough to even out the bad. Tweak a few things that aren’t going so well and you could have a fine show here. The stories are interesting and, again, when they ignore the cheap nostalgia stories, they’re quite fun to watch. There was some stuff in here that could have been better, but what they had was enough to keep me interested and not get on my nerves, so they’re heading in the right direction.

Oh and because Impact: Pursuit aired last week’s episode so the only way to see this was if you watched on Twitch. They can’t even go too weeks without some kind of gaffe, but who else is going to take them?

Results

Ace Austin b. Cousin Jake – The Fold

Rosemary b. Taya Valkyrie via DQ when Havok interfered

Madman Fulton b. Fox Vinier/Michael Emineo – Swinging Downward Spiral to Vinier

Crists b. Fallah Bahh/Scarlett Bordeaux – Jake hit Bahh with a roll of quarters

Jordynne Grace b. Kiera Hogan – Grace Driver

LAX b. Rascalz when Trey Miguel interfered

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:

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Impact Wrestling – May 17, 2019: They Needed That Main Event

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

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

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

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Knockouts Battle Royal

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

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

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

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

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

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

Post match Glenn runs away.

Announcers recap.

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

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

Rosemary vs. Su Yung

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

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

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

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

Madman Fulton vs. Randy Shawn

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

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

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

Killer Kross vs. Eddie Edwards

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Michael Elgin vs. Rich Swann

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

Glenn Gilbertti won a battle royal last eliminating Tessa Blanchard

Rosemary b. Su Yung – Red Wedding

Madman Fulton b. Randy Shawn – Swinging Downward Spiral

Killer Kross b. Eddie Edwards – Doomsday Saito

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

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

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Impact Wrestling – May 3, 2019: Canadian Hope

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 3, 2019
Location: Rebel Sports Entertainment Complex, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re past the rather good Rebellion show and the big story is Brian Cage winning the World Title but injuring his back so badly that he won’t be on TV for the time being. With the champ gone, odds are we’re going to be focusing on the #1 contendership, which could go in a variety of ways. Ok so it’s pretty clear who it’s going to be but there are options. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of Rebellion, which was one of their best shows in a long time.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Michael Elgin (who debuted after the World Title match and laid out Cage) for a chat. Elgin talks about the time honored tradition of a new World Champion coming out to celebrate his title win with the new champ. So where is Cage now? That would be in the hospital, but Elgin has more important things to worry about. On Sunday, the Canadian fans cheered for Cage instead of sticking up for their Canadian heroes, like him. He left Japan to come here and be World Champion so he should get a title shot.

This brings out Johnny Impact (all in white for a cool look) to say he’s seen the muscle man with no brain, but this one doesn’t have hair. Elgin says Johnny’s testicles are in his wife’s purse, which Impact points out is Versace and expensive, unlike Elgin’s Highspots gear. Impact takes the credit for sending Elgin to the hospital but Elgin says it was the Elgin Bomb that left Cage laying. We hear about the rematch clause….and here’s Konnan to interrupt.

After making a gay joke, he talks about the main event on Sunday and how the Lucha Bros are familia. Pentagon should be getting the next title shot but Impact says he’s played games of Mario Kart that lasted longer than Pentagon’s title reign. Konnan: “Kind of like your movie career.” Elgin grabs Konnan so here’s Pentagon for the save and the brawl is on. With the champ gone, this is as good as anything else and they were smart to start the show hot to distract from the lack of Cage.

Tonight: Pentagon vs. Elgin vs. Impact for the #1 contendership.

We look at Cage getting injured on Sunday.

Preview for the rest of the night.

Ace Austin vs. Petey Williams

The fans sing O Canada for Williams as Impact continues to book for the live crowd instead of the larger audience. Petey headscissors him out to the floor to start but Ace hits a forearm to send Petey outside. That means a suicide dive and Austin’s rather impressive flips on the apron to frustrate Petey again. Back in and Ace gets caught in the Tree of Woe so Petey stands on his crotch for O Canada, earning himself a German superplex.

Ace pulls out a card to slice open Petey’s finger but Petey is right back with his swinging Russian legsweep. A kick to the head gives Austin two and the swinging double underhook slam is good for the same. Petey is right back with the Sharpshooter to send Austin bailing to the ropes so it’s a springboard spinning Fameasser to drop Petey again. The Fold misses so Petey hits his lifting Downward Spiral, only to get enziguried on top. Now the Fold can connect to give Austin for the pin at 7:19.

Rating: C. This was fine for a quick match with the right guy winning, which is about all you cak ask for with Petey. He shouldn’t be winning anything significant and the fans like him enough so this isn’t that bad. At least Austin won though, which is a good sign as I could see him being a success very soon.

Rosemary still has the Undead Maid of Honor on the chain and takes her to find a firefly.

OVE wants an eight man tag against Rich Swann next week, with any three people Swann can find. Anything goes.

Rosemary vs. Kiera Hogan

Rosemary has the Maid of Honor on the chain and ties her to the post in a smart move. Kiera starts fast and sends Rosemary into the corner for a running kick to the face. A side slam gets Rosemary out of trouble but a fireman’s carry doesn’t work. Some low superkicks give Kiera two but Rosemary is right back with a release German suplex. The Upside Down makes it even worse for Kiera so she sends Rosemary out onto the ramp. With Rosemary in trouble, cue Su Yung and the Undead Bridesmaids to jump Rosemary for the DQ at 4:27.

Rating: D+. Not much to this one, but Kiera is starting to get better and better in the ring every week. She has a charisma to her which makes her look like a stronger force and that’s a good sign for her future. Rosemary’s story is still going, though I’m not sure they know how to get to wherever they’re going.

Post match Su frees the Maid of Honor and everyone destroys Rosemary. Kiera thinks about making the save but leaves.

Taya Valkyrie brags about how awesome she is when Madison Rayne comes in to say she’s 2-0 against Taya and should get a title shot. Taya blows her off and tells Melissa Santos to come with her.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle get in a brawl.

Taya says she doesn’t have to defend her title for thirty days so next week, Madison’s match is non-title.

Konnan and LAX celebrate their title win and count money. They’re not worried about the North and then they get to go to the Rascalz’ clubhouse. For now though, training time.

Eddie Edwards vs. Fenix

Hang on though as Eddie doesn’t want to put Kenny down. We get a rather over the top handshake before they lock up, with Fenix taking him to the mat without much trouble. It’s back up to another standoff until Fenix sends him to the floor, meaning Eddie needs to bring Kenny in. With that taken away, Fenix hits a Pele kick and rolls forward, only to have to back away from another stick threat.

They go outside with Eddie hitting a chop against the barricade as Killer Kross is watching from the stage. Back in and now the rolling forearm connects for Fenix, setting up a crucifix bomb for two. Eddie gets two of his own off a powerbomb but stops to stare at Kross. Fenix uses the distraction to hit the rolling cutter but Eddie is right back with a tiger driver for two more. Kross offers Kenny to Eddie, but won’t let him take it. That means a superkick and the Black Fire Driver to give Fenix the pin at 8:03.

Rating: B-. Fun match (well duh) with some angle advancement as Fenix was his usual great self. What catches my attention here though is Eddie, who has gone from clean cut wrestler to this in the span of just a few months. I want to see what happens with him and how far he can take this, which seems to be a very long way given how talented he really is.

Tommy Dreamer offers his services to Rich Swann for next week. Scarlett Bordeaux, with smoke, comes in to offer Fallah Bahh as well.

Here’s an old looking Rob Van Dam to greet the “Impact Universe”. He knows the talent is great here so he isn’t going to list off all the classic matches he could have here so it’s time to show the difference between who you met on TV and the Whole F’N Show. This brings out Ethan Page with a couple of chairs, which he says must excite Van Dam. Tonight he’s going to show Van Dam a fresh way to use these chairs, by sitting down in one of them and offering Rob the other one.

Page doesn’t like the idea of Van Dam being a hero and the inspiration for everyone’s offense. Page: “Clearly you’ve never watched an Ethan Page match.” Van Dam: “Nope.” Rob gets the bucket list thing of being in the ring with him and is ready to fight right now. Page tells him to take some medicine and calm down so they can do this next week. The Van Daminator leaves Page laying.

Post break Josh Alexander yells at Page for not thinking about the North. Moose comes in and tells them to win the Tag Team Titles.

Video on Gail Kim vs. Tessa Blanchard with Gail talking about being glad to give Tessa that moment. The loss makes things feel complete.

Tully Blanchard congratulated Tessa on her win and talks about how proud he is of her. He knows Tessa and Gail respect each other, just like he respected the people who beat him up back in the day.

Preview for next week’s show.

Michael Elgin vs. Johnny Impact vs. Pentagon

For the #1 contendership. Pentagon goes straight for the rollup on Elgin and it’s already a standoff. Elgin gets sent to the floor and pulls Impact with him, allowing Pentagon to dropkick both of them through the ropes. Impact tries a springboard but gets pulled down into an apron bomb, leaving Pentagon to take a German suplex inside. Pentagon kicks him off the top though and goes up top, only to have to chop Elgin in the chest.

That has no effect so it’s Impact springboarding back in for the German superplex as Elgin superplexes Impact. Elgin plants Pentagon again and suplexes Impact onto him and it’s time to start wrecking things. Impact survives enough to kick Elgin off the top as well, setting up a spinning Razor’s Edge slam. Countdown to Impact misses (it’s going to hit one day and it’s going to be amazing) and Elgin hits three straight kicks to the face.

Now it’s Pentagon coming back in with a Pentagon Driver to Elgin and a powerbomb backbreaker for two on Impact. Elgin gets knocked to the floor and Impact….I’m not sure what he does actually but I think he kicked Pentagon by mistake instead of coming down onto Elgin. Some chair shots have Pentagon down but Elgin is fine enough to blast Impact with a clothesline. The Elgin Bomb is good for the pin and the title shot at 10:48.

Rating: C+. This was all about having Elgin win and that’s what matters most, especially with him pinning Impact. Pentagon can come back later on and get somewhere on his own, which is what probably should happen going forward. If nothing else, Impact can get back into the title scene just by being the former champion, though I hope we don’t get a triple threat title match out of this. They did things right here and Cage vs. Elgin could be great.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty strong show for the most part here with solid wrestling and storytelling, with some things moving forward between now and Slammiversary. If that’s the case in the future, Impact is doing a lot better than I expected. This was a rather nice show and I liked just about everything I saw, which is a pretty rare accomplishment in just about any wrestling company.

Results

Ace Austin b. Petey Williams – The Fold

Rosemary b. Kiera Hogan via DQ when Su Yung and the Undead Bridesmaids interfered

Fenix b. Eddie Edwards – Black Fire Driver

Michael Elgin b. Johnny Impact and Pentagon – Elgin Bomb to Impact

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

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

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

Impact Wrestling – April 12, 2019: The One Two Combination Of Impact Troubles

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

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

We’re about two weeks away from Rebellion and you can see most of the card from here. That’s a good sign as you should be able to know what you’re getting this close to the pay per view and it’s looking pretty solid on paper. The problem is they rarely get beyond solid and it would be nice to move forward for a change. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Moose vs. Zachary Wentz

Wentz goes for a wristlock to start and Moose throws him around for the easy escape. A lot bridge puts Moose on the floor for an apron superkick and Wentz is actually able to muscle him back in. That’s not a good idea as it’s a running corner dropkick to put him down again and Moose sends Wentz flying. The referee does at least yell at Moose before he chokes away on the ropes a bit more.

The other Rascalz can only watch as it’s an apron bomb to knock Wentz even sillier. Moose throws him back in but stops to pose, allowing Wentz to hit a dive. Back in and some running knees in the corner rock Moose, setting up a springboard crossbody for two. A high crossbody (minus the springboard) is countered into a gorilla press toss over the top onto the other Rascalz. The spear finishes Wentz at 8:36.

Rating: C. This mini feud has been far more entertaining than it should be, though I’m not sure where it goes. Does Moose just beat all three of them and then move on to something else? That’s not the best usage of a rather talented team, though maybe they can come up with something else before Moose runs through them all.

Rob Van Dam is back full time.

Rob is glad to be back and hopes his magnetic waist still has it.

Madison Rayne isn’t letting her loss to Jordynne Grace get to her because the goal is the Knockouts Title. Tessa Blanchard comes in to say that the glory days are over. Madison brings up beating Tessa twice and is fine with doing it a third time.

Rosemary vs. Su Yung

Yung has her usual army of bridesmaids with her. Rosemary charges straight at her and hammers away as she continues to blame Su for the loss of Allie. The upside down triangle choke over the ropes has Yung in more trouble but she gets out and starts in on the knee. A dragon screw legwhip sends Rosemary down and it’s time to bring out the bloody glove.

That takes too long though and a reverse DDT puts both of them down. A German suplex doesn’t work on Yung so Rosemary spears her, drawing the bridesmaids up to the apron. Cue Kiera Hogan to go after them but Rosemary doesn’t want to hear it. The Bridesmaids jump her for the DQ at 5:30.

Rating: D+. This was more storyline based than anything else and that’s ok for the most part. It’s interesting that Yung is now being pushed at a stronger level than where she was when Allie was in her corner. The story can continue, though you could argue that it should have ended a long time ago.

Post match Hogan is forced to watch as Rosemary gets beaten down. Hogan gets a Panic Switch of her own.

Video on United We Stand. Tommy Dreamer thinks it feels like ECW. I know it’s not the same thing, but Impact surpassed the initial success of ECW a long time ago. That’s not the greatest compliment in the world. The wrestlers are fired up over making it such a success. I’d have to see a failure.

Ace Austin isn’t happy with Aiden Prince costing him the six way scramble last week and wants revenge.

GWN Flashback of the Week: Taylor Wilde vs. Angelina Love, I believe from No Surrender 2008.

Killer Kross talks to Willie Mack about….jazz music? Speaking of jazz, Rich Swann likes jazz and is playing Swann for a fool. Wouldn’t be shocking actually.

The Deaners are still coming.

North vs. Sheldon Jean/El Reverso

That would be Josh Alexander/Ethan Page. Alexander and Reverso start things off and it’s quickly off to Jean, who gets his arm cranked. Reverso comes back in and gets caught in an assisted spinning sitout DDT from Page. A spinning backbreaker keeps Reverso in trouble and a powerbomb backbreaker from Alexander makes it even worse. Reverso gets over for the tag to Sheldon, who comes in with a springboard clothesline. Alexander cuts him off at the knees though and it’s a series of strikes to Reverso’s head, setting up a reverse AA into a whip spinebuster for the pin at 5:25.

Rating: D+. The North (not a good name) looked nice enough together and some of their double teaming was rather impressive. That being said, they shouldn’t give up so much offense in their debut, let alone to two unknowns. I mean, his name is El Reverso. How much should he be getting in?

Gail Kim doesn’t want to hear Tessa talk.

The North is here to stay.

Madison Rayne vs. Tessa Blanchard

Gail is on commentary. Madison doesn’t like Tessa shoving her in the face to start so she gets in a kick to the ribs. A rope walk hurricanrana sends Tessa outside for a few seconds but she’s right back in for some dropkicks to the back. Tessa’s suplex makes it even worse and we hit the chinlock….as we look at Gail for the fourth time in less than three minutes. Madison gets caught in the corner for a Codebreaker and we take a break.

Back with Madison hitting some forearms and a dropkick as we look at Gail AGAIN. Tessa’s spinning full nelson faceplant gets two and a double slingshot suplex is good for the same. The frustration sets in as we look at Gail for the eighth time in about ten minutes. Tessa grabs a chair but Gail takes it away, allowing Madison to get a rollup pin at 13:57.

Rating: C. I knew the Gail Kim love would be strong and that’s what we got here with the ridiculous amount of cutting over to her. The story is good and has been well built up, but I’m scared that they’re going to give Gail the win instead of going with the move that makes sense. Madison was her usual self here, which is exactly the kind of thing they brought her back in to do.

Post match Tessa yells at commentary.

Eddie Edwards and Eli Drake ask the Lucha Bros for a Tag Team Title shot but LAX comes in for the double beatdown.

The Deaners are still coming.

Johnny Impact says someone as dumb as Brian Cage only comes around once every thousand years. Now he has a fan club in Jordynne Grace that he can do food prep with. Taya Valkyrie implies that Grace and Cage are sleeping together to get under Melissa Santos’ skin.

OVE calls Rich Swann a walking dumpster fire. Swann stabbed them in the back and at Rebellion, they’re taking the X-Division Title.

Tessa promises to make it personal with Gail.

Rob Van Dam is back soon.

Fallah Bahh can’t find KM so he goes into the women’s dressing room and finds Scarlett Bordeaux. She doesn’t mind and agrees to team with him next week.

Johnny Impact/Taya Valkyrie vs. Jordynne Grace/Brian Cage

Taya is willing to start with Cage but she gets run over by Grace to start instead. They trade whips into the corner with Grace hitting a Cannonball, sending Taya over for a tag. Johnny is good though and bails to the floor to avoid having to face Cage. We take a break and come back with Johnny backing off from Cage, who shrugs off a superkick.

The fall away slam sends Johnny down but the springboard corkscrew crossbody staggers Cage just a bit. One heck of a clothesline blasts Impact and a backdrop gets way more height than it should be able to. Johnny finally slides between the legs and dives over to Taya. A trip to Grace lets Taya take over with a Jeff Hardy legdrop between the legs for two. Taya cranks on the arm and a running hip attack keeps Grace in trouble. That just means a sitout powerbomb out of the corner to plant Taya and a roll into the corner allows the tag to Cage.

House is cleaned with an enziguri in the corner and a release German suplex back out of it rocks Johnny all over again. The flipping neckbreaker puts Cage down for two and there’s the Flying Chuck. Again though, Cage shrugs it off and blasts Johnny with the discus lariat. Grace comes in with a German suplex and hits a running dive onto Impact. Cage adds a flipping version to take him out again…but the referee chop blocks Cage so Impact can knee him in the head for the pin at 14:00.

Rating: D+. It’s like they’ve run out of good ideas to keep this feud going so they’re going to the most basic booking tropes they can think of. The crooked referee isn’t one of my favorite stories and while it’s better than watching them have the same matches over and over, this feud needed to end about two months ago and it’s just going on and on.

Post match Cage gets beaten down so Impact and Taya can pose with the referee. Johnny kisses Taya to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Not their best show here as they’ve spent way too long on a lot of these stories and need something fresh. Impact has always had issues with making their main event stories seem epic and knowing when to end a feud, both of which are on full display here. It’s not a bad show by any stretch but it didn’t make me want to see Rebellion, which I’m often forgetting about in general. Just get to something fresh and make it more interesting.

Results

Moose b. Zachary Wentz – Spear

Rosemary b. Su Yung via DQ when the Undead Bridesmaids interfered

The North b. Sheldon Gene/El Reverso – Assisted whip spinebuster to Reverso

Madison Rayne b. Tessa Blanchard – Rollup

Johnny Impact/Taya Valkyrie b. Brian Cage/Jordynne Grace – Knee to Cage’s head

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

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

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Does Funny = Money?

IMG Credit: WrestlePro

Does Funny = Money?
Date: April 3, 2019
Location: Rahway Recreation Center, Rahway, New Jersey
Commentators: David Sturchill, McKenzie Mitchell

This is from WrestlePro, a promotion I’ve heard about before but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a full show. From the description, it seems like it’s going to be a comedy show and that’s appropriate given that it’s the first show of Wrestlemania weekend. Hopefully the show has some redeeming value to it, but I’m not getting my hopes up. Let’s get to it.

As usual: I have no idea what’s going on around here so if I miss storyline/character stuff, I apologize in advance.

The host tries to introduce the first match but McKenzie Mitchell (former Impact backstage interviewer) interrupts. She thinks the host needs a co-host and a fan poll convinces him to let her.

Bobby Wayward vs. Kikutaro

Kikutaro is a Japanese comedy guy in a weird looking mask. Wayward takes him up against the ropes for a clean break and Kikutaro applauds his politeness. Kikutaro does the same and it’s off to an exchange of shoulders. Some armdrags into an armbar has Wayward in trouble until he pulls Kikutaro throat first into the top rope. Hang on though as Kikutaro wants time out. Ever the scoundrel, Wayward stomps him down anyway as the slow pace continues.

With nothing else working, Kikutaro whips the referee into Wayward in the corner. The low blow behind the referee’s back has Wayward in more trouble but he’s fine enough to do the same to Kikutaro. There’s a low blow to the referee as well and everyone is grabbing….yeah. Kikutaro Hulks Up and gets kicked in the face to Hulk him back down. Wayward grabs a fisherman’s suplex for two but the referee collapses before three. The referee gets whipped into the corner but Kikutaro reverses it and the referee clotheslines Wayward. Now the referee DDTs him and a Shining Wizard gives Kikutaro the pin at 9:47.

Rating: D+. Oh I’m in for a long night. This wasn’t exactly my style of wrestling but that’s the point of the show so I should have known what I was getting myself into. Kikutaro doesn’t exactly make me laugh but having him beat up a villain like Wayward is about as good as you were going to get here.

Here’s Dan Lambert (American Top Team owner who showed up in Impact and was the best villain in the company for awhile) with Colby Covington (UFC Champion) and John Harnett to issue a challenge to the locker room. Wrestling today sucks so if Lambert wants to watch good wrestling, he’ll have to watch on YouTube. Lambert lists off some great wrestlers and the fans applaud, which isn’t the best way to go. He was told that WrestlePro was better but after what he’s seen, he knows that his instincts were right: today’s wrestling sucks. Cue Scarlett Bordeaux and we have an answer to the challenge.

Scarlett Bordeaux vs. John Harnett

Scarlett goes straight at him and slaps away in the corner, setting up a running hip attack. An over the back reverse kneeling piledriver finishes Harnett at 55 seconds. Well that proved the point well enough.

Post match Lambert shoves Scarlett down and pulls out a board but Scarlett spears Harnett through it instead.

Pat Buck vs. Santana Jackson

Buck is a big star around here and has a cage around his head. He’s also called the Buzzkiller because he’s beating anyone with any kind of buzz. Buck isn’t having any of Santana’s Michael Jackson dancing (REALLY bad timing with that one) so he tries a test of strength. That’s broken up with more dancing and a dancing top rope wristdrag ticks Buck off so badly that he fires off a clothesline. A spinning Tombstone makes it worse….but Jackson sits up as Thriller starts to play.

Jackson hits a Stunner into a dancing People’s Elbow but Buck gets serious. In something a little different, Jackson grabs Buck’s hand and makes him punch himself low, which technically isn’t illegal. The Moonwalk DDT gets two and Buck bails to the floor, setting up a suicide dive (with Jackson losing a shoe). Buck carries him back inside for an AA over the top, setting up something close to the One Winged Angle (pulling the arm instead of lowering the head) for the pin at 6:14.

Rating: C. Now that was a little more like it as Jackson’s stuff was actually funny at times, with the Thriller bit being an actually good gag. Buck winning is the better move of course as you rarely want a comedy guy going over a top star but at least they did something good here with Jackson getting some strong reactions.

Johnny Clash vs. Anthony Bowens vs. Jake Manning vs. Matt Macintosh

Clash is the Create-A-Pro Champion though I don’t think the title is on the line. The same seems to be true of Macintosh’s WrestlePro Gold Title. Manning brings his tent with him because we need a prop that big. The tent is in the middle of the ring but Macintosh (The Bad Apple. Get it?) throws it out so they can, you know, wrestle. Macintosh sends Manning into the post as Clash and Bowens fight in the ring.

Macintosh’s jumping knee to the head rocks Bowens and he gets tied in the Tree of Woe for a boot to the crotch. Macintosh: “HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES???” Manning grabs a headlock and reads the scout manual, which has Mackenzie wondering what passage he’s picked. Back up and Macintosh keeps running the ropes as Manning has stepped aside to read in peace. Bowens is back up with a low superkick to Clash but Manning has found….a rope? Clash gets tied up and then untied for some dizzifying effects.

Manning makes it even worse with an airplane spin and then Bowens adds one of his own. A collision puts Bowens and Clash down and it’s time to throw the tent in again. Everyone but Manning gets thrown in and he zips it shut….but gets pulled in as what seems to be a struggle ensues. The fans call it awesome, because this is a shaking tent crowd. Clash dives over the top onto Bowens and Macintosh dives onto both of them.

Manning throws the tent onto them and while he can carry it by himself, three people can’t manage to have it dropped all of a foot and a half onto their raised arms. Back in and Bowens hits a Blockbuster for two on Macintosh with Clash making the save. Manning throws the tent in AGAIN (ok the joke is old now) but Bowens elbows him into it. Manning gets out of the tent and it’s a Tower of Doom through the tent (devastating McKenzie) to give Manning the pin on Macintosh at 10:38.

Rating: D+. The tent was a funny idea but they went back to it over and over to diminishing returns. I was sick of the thing at the end and the whole thing would have been better off if it was about two minutes shorter. The wrestlers were fairly talented though and I could see them moving up to bigger promotions later on. Maybe not Manning as he’s a rather gimmicky character, but the other three have a chance.

Team Tremendous vs. Demon Bunny

Team Tremendous is Dan Barry and Bill Carr (both detectives for some reason) while Demon Bunny is Rosemary/Allie, who are apparently best friends outside of the ring. That’s always cool to see. Team Tremendous steals belts from the crowd, along with the Gold Title which was left at ringside from the previous match, and throws them inside. With that out of the way, Barry and Allie start things up.

Allie works on the arm but Barry dances his way into a wristlock. Some armdrags into an armbar have Barry in trouble and it’s off to Rosemary to stay on the arm. The women keep alternating on the arm as this isn’t exactly funny so far. Rosemary pulls his nose so it’s off to the much bigger Carr, who sticks up his fingers like a gun. As Allie surrenders, Rosemary bites the fingers and it’s back to Barry for a dropkick. Carr can’t bring himself to chop Rosemary though so Barry comes in again, this time to get choked over the ropes.

A top rope DDT sends Barry into the corner and the hot tag brings in Allie. Some forearms have no effect on Carr but he misses a charge in the corner, allowing Allie to hit some sliding elbows. Rosemary comes back in and gets planted for her troubles, followed by a reverse Razor’s Edge toss into a Codebreaker to Allie (cool move). That’s broken up at two and the Doomsday Sliced Bread is broken up as well. Rosemary mists Carr and it’s a Codebreaker into a German suplex for the double pin on Barry at 9:35.

Rating: C-. I like Rosemary and Allie but I really don’t get the comedy here. This wasn’t overly funny and could have been on any given show. Team Tremendous come off as a low level team who don’t have a lot of success and probably bragged about how they would win easily here. Not a bad match, but I have no idea why it was on here.

Fifteen minute intermission.

Shawn Donovan vs. Buster Jackson

Bird Box (blindfold) match and Donovan is billed from the fifth floor of Trump Tower. Hang on as the referee is blindfolded as well to make it even more confusing. They take less time to make contact than Jake Roberts and Rick Martel but Jackson ducks away and Donovan yells at the turnbuckle. Jackson takes him down and hammers away as the announcers spoil Bird Box. The referee has barely left the corner as Donovan gets knocked down but comes right back with a slam.

Donovan grabs the referee, who hiptosses him in self defense. A shoulder puts Jackson on the floor and Donovan follows as Jackson gets back in. Not being able to figure out what’s going on, Donovan grabs a chair and hits the post (ala Roberts vs. Martel) before getting back in as well. Donovan finally gets smart and takes his blindfold off but he’s insane (ala the movie) and tries a Swanton with no one on the mat. Jackson covers and, after the referee crawls over (how he knew there was a cover isn’t clear) and checks the shoulders, counts the pin at 6:50.

Rating: F. And that’s supposed to be funny? This was another dumb idea that just kept going despite being a short match. It’s the same problem any match with this gimmick has and there’s no way around it. This isn’t something that works and it was just stupid instead of entertaining or funny. Also, if you haven’t seen Bird Box (which came out a few months ago and isn’t a big deal anymore), this made no sense at all, especially the ending.

Gauntlet Match

When did gauntlet matches become the hottest thing in wrestling? Grim and Freddie IV (pronounced I V, not Four/Fourth) are in first and the Shook Crew (Bryce Donovan and Max Caster with Bobby Orlando) are in second. Freddie is a hippie and keeps giving people flower necklaces but uses one to pull Caster down to get us started. A double hanging suplex (including a limbo) has Caster in trouble so it’s off to Donovan (Two wrestlers on the roster named Donovan?), who gets chopped by the bigger Grim. We get the required Stink Face and Freddie comes in to drop a backsplash on Caster for a bonus.

A big legdrop gets two and Grim does the Whale (a heavy version of the Worm, consisting of dropping down, standing up and dropping down again), sending the Crew out to the floor. Back in and Grim is so winded that he collapses into the corner for the tag to Freddie. A low blow into a rollup with tights gives Donovan the pin at 4:14.

The Breakfast Club (CPA/Kip Francis Stevens) are in third and thankfully they come out to Don’t You Forget About Me (as they should). Once they get to the ring, Caster has laid out cones to create a safe space (because that’s a thing Caster does). It’s a ruse though (Gee you think?) as Orlando is taking Donovan’s place. Orlando hits Caster by mistake and we get the stupid spot of Orlando DDTing Caster by mistake because he can’t just let go.

We go wide and see Grim still out cold due to exhaustion as the match continues. Things settle down to Orlando suplexing CPA for two and Caster grabbing a chinlock. That’s broken up in a hurry and the villains are knocked into the corner in a Human Centipede pose. The hot tag brings in Stevens for a bunch of clotheslines, including one to the freshly conscious Grim. CPA goes to the apron for a dive, followed by a big one from Kip to knock everyone down. Back in and a Hart Attack gets rid of the Crew at 10:08.

Naturally they beat down the Club until Massage Force (Yes MASSAGE FORCE. Dorian Graves and VSK because all you need are initials instead of a full name these days.) is in fourth. The Club gets neck massages until a double rollup gets a double near fall. We settle down to Graves (the masked man, oddly enough) rubbing Stevens’ neck before it’s off to VSK, who gets a massage from Graves. It’s good enough to bring in CPA for two off a missile dropkick.

Another Hart Attack misses so CPA has to hit a suicide dive on Graves instead. Back inside and VSK kicks Stevens in the face for two, followed by a Backstabber for the same. Massage Force wants the oil and it’s VSK sliding across Graves’ back (just go with it) for a headbutt to Stevens’ crotch. A Shatter Machine gets rid of the Club (Why are an accountant and a guy in business casual called the Breakfast Club?) at 17:17.

Job Security (Big Malcolm and Officer Ronald) are in fifth and try to beat the fun out of Massage Force. The World’s Greatest Tag Team’s jump over your partner onto someone’s back gets two on VSK but it’s quickly back to Graves to massage Ronald. A Swanton/reverse DDT combination hits Malcolm and it’s more oil so Malcolm can get sent into Ronald’s crotch. Another Shatter Machine gets rid of Job Security at 21:18.

KM and Fallah Bahh are in sixth and you can tell these two are rather popular here. They seem to like McKenzie, who sounds touched. Bahh puts VSK in a front facelock and adds a splash….before oiling up KM’s back. The slide is more of a crushing this time and everything breaks down. KM and Bahh both roll over Massage Force and they make the referee do it too. That’s not good enough though as they have McKenzie do it as well. A Banzai Drop finishes VSK at 28:22.

And just in case we haven’t gone over the edge already, the BWO (Nova/Blue Meanie) is in seventh. KM works on Nova’s arm for a good while to start, with the announcers wondering how many times a single arm can be turned around. Nova is back with a big boot that knocks KM out of the ring and up the ramp to the stage. Back in and KM wants Meanie….and then tags out to Bahh for the sumo wrestling collision. They argue over NO NO NO/YES YES YES and it’s Meanie tickling Bahh.

Everyone but Meanie head outside and the big dive is teased, sending the three of them running around the building in fear. Bahh runs so far away that he gets counted out at 37:12. KM asks where Bahh went because he’s riding Bahh’s coattails on TV. KM: “I’m his Marty Jannetty! I need him!” Bahh comes back with hot dogs….for everyone in the ring!

As they eat, Team Espana (Jos A and Jos B, the Tag Team Champions and thankfully with labeled shirts) are in eighth as the final team. Meanie gets beaten down in the corner but it’s off to Nova to throw the right hands. Everything breaks down and Nova’s suplex to B is broken up as A pulls the foot, allowing B to fall on top for the pin at 42:42.

Rating: D-. The only thing I learned from this is that the WrestlePro tag division is awful with some very goofy teams. I was rather bored with most of this because most of the teams barely stand out from the others and they seem to have one note gimmicks at best. I’ll give some credit to KM and Bahh though: they looked like stars compared to the other teams, though that’s not saying much. Crazy long here and there had to be a team or two that could be cut.

The BWO gets cheered out of the ring.

Dan Maff vs. Swoggle

Street fight. Maff weighs over 300lb and is kind of a legend around here. Swoggle brings in his own weapons and they talk trash to start. Some chairs are set up in the middle and they sit down in front of each other for a slap fight at the opening bell. Swoggle gets the better of it until Maff stands up and kicks him down.

The weapons are brought in and it’s a stepladder to Maff’s back. The trashcan goes over his head and Swoggle beats on him with a kendo stick and there’s a big shot to the head, which just annoys Maff even more. An even bigger trashcan shot to the head drops Swoggle and it’s time for the barbed wire chair. Swoggle pours out the building blocks (they’re not Legos) because that’s the big thing these days.

The staple gun doesn’t work for Maff as Swoggle bites him and staples his crotch. A Stunner gives Swoggle two and it’s a side slam onto the blocks. Swoggle kendo sticks him off the top and blasts Maff with the barbed wire chair for two. Maff shrugs it off and loads up the Burning Hammer but lets Swoggle down. Swoggle flips him off though and hits a low blow, setting up a small package for two. That’s it for Maff, who wraps the ladder around Swoggle’s head and pulls back like a camel clutch for the tap at 8:53.

Rating: D+. This was actually tolerable, though just having Swoggle in there didn’t make it funny. The spots were your usual hardcore deals, though the ending was good. Swoggle is a lot more than just a comedy act as he works hard and can have a match, which is a lot more than you would expect from him.

They show respect and trade shirts after the match.

Colt Cabana/Santino Marella vs. Heavenly Bodies

That would be Desirable Dustin/Gigolo Justin for this Bodies incarnation. We get the rapid tags before any contact is made with the first lockup coming nearly two minutes in. Justin bails away from the threat of the Cobra so it’s off to Dustin, who gets made fun of for having a large stomach. The threat of the Cobra makes him run away twice as that lockup is about all that has happened so far. Everything breaks down and it’s a power walk from Cabana and Santino, setting up the double Bionic elbows.

We settle down to Justin’s arm getting worked over with Santino climbing to the top but getting nervous and coming off the bottom rope instead. Colt and Santino can’t get their double teams on the same page and jokingly yell at each other. A sunset flip doesn’t work for Colt as Dustin gets the tag but a tag to Santino doesn’t count because he’s not in the corner. Therefore, being clever, Santino extends the tag rope and stands halfway down the apron while still holding the rope.

A belly to back suplex into a moonsault gets two on Cabana (the Flippy Doo) and Colt stays in trouble in the corner. Cabana’s diving tag lands about three feet short so he tries again, this time with Dustin pulling Santino off the apron. Colt finally shrugs off some stomping in the corner and brings in Santino for his usual comeback. The referee gets bumped and Santino loads up the Cobra but Killer Kross runs in to jump him.

Kross does a Rick Rude impression and says he’s here to prove that funny doesn’t equal money because it’s not best for business. He beats up Colt and Santino while mocking comedy wrestling. Cue Joey Ryan of all people but Kross immediately says he’s not going near it. Kross tries the low blow and hurts his leg so Joey hits a dropkick. The lollipop goes into Kross’ mouth for the superkick and it’s time for the Cobra. Hang on though as Cabana puts a sock on his own hand. We get a double You Plex and a pair of Cobras for the double pin at 16:26.

Rating: D+. I really can’t get mad at this as it kind of went exactly as you would expect it to with the run-ins being the right choices. The ending was never in doubt and it was really just a matter of time before the Cobra got the win. It this had been the featured goofy match at the end of a more balanced show it could have worked better, but you can only get so much after this long of a show.

Overall Rating: D. The one thing I’ve learned from this show is why it’s called comedy relief. The idea behind a comedy match is to give you some breathing room after everything gets serious on a show. By having the entire (over three hour long) card be comedy, and in some cases it’s a big stretch to call it such, it’s really hard to stay in the right mood for it.

This didn’t work and while it’s certainly an idea, it isn’t one that works throughout. By the end it felt like a sketch comedy show that had run out of ideas and they were just throwing stuff out there and hoping it was funny. That’s why this kind of an idea doesn’t work. You need a serious match to look forward to because once the jokes stop working, you’re just watching mostly bad matches.

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

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Impact Wrestling – March 29, 2019 (Against All Odds): Impact Underground

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: March 29, 2019
Location: Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re still in Las Vegas and on the way to the both United We Stand and Rebellion, meaning it’s hard to say what we’re going to be seeing in the next few weeks. I’m hoping we get something fresh in the main event again like last week, as a break from the seemingly never ending World Title story was a welcome change of pace. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap and preview, this time with narration for a change. Apparently this is a special called Against All Odds. Shouldn’t that be something a little better known?

Opening sequence.

Here are LAX and the Lucha Bros for an unsanctioned fight, meaning the Tag Team Titles aren’t on the lines. The fight is on in a hurry with a worried Konnan watching from ringside. Security is out in a hurry and the fans want to seem them fight. The Bros superkick security and manage to sneak up on LAX with a pair of chair shots. Now it’s table time but LAX gets up with a pair of spinebusters to put them through the tables instead. The champs are down and LAX pose with the titles to win this round. This almost has to set up Full Metal Mayhem, which is almost all there is left.

Post match LAX and Konnan are very happy.

The announcers tell us that there has indeed been a challenge for Full Metal Mayhem. That certainly makes sense. The usual preview ensues.

Glenn Gilbertti vs. Scarlett Bordeaux

This is Scarlett’s in-ring debut. Before the match, Glenn offers Scarlett a way out of this but that’s not happening. Scarlett goes for some early rollups for two and sends Glenn outside, leaving her alone for some rather seductive sitting. Back in and Glenn throws her down by the hair but misses an elbow. A Stunner to the elbow gives Scarlett a breather and a high crossbody gets two. Glenn has had it and clotheslines her head off for two. We get the Garvin Stomp as Callis is losing his mind at all of this.

Glenn stops to dance but misses a charge in the corner and gets forearmed in the face. A running hip attack sets up a dancing Stinkface, which thankfully is over in a hurry. Glenn’s Russian legsweep into the Village People’s Elbow gets two more and he goes for the ten punches in the corner. Glenn: “I’m going to give her the ten punches in the corner.” Technical term I believe. As you might guess, he takes too long though and gets powerbombed down for the pin at 6:20.

Rating: D. This was about what you would have expected, though I’ll give them points for having an actual match instead of some lame comedy segment with a fluke pin. Scarlett being a trained wrestler helps a lot as she can do something like this to go along with all of her more signature stuff. It wasn’t good by any means, but it did everything it needed to do.

Taya Valkyrie isn’t sweating Jordynne Grace. Johnny Impact is thinking about some low carb popcorn while Cage fights Killer Kross tonight.

Post break some fans laugh at Gilbertti.

GWN Flashback of the week: Lethal Consequences vs. Beer Money from Against All Odds 2009.

We recap Gail Kim attacking Tessa Blanchard, which has forced Gail to resign.

Tessa Blanchard is happy Gail is here to apologize because she has the company by the balls. Gail may be a legend but legends come and go. Diamonds are forever.

Madison Rayne is coming back. Good? I guess? She’s fine but this isn’t exactly a game changer.

The Lucha Bros are down for Full Metal Mayhem.

Here’s Tessa to gloat about Gail Kim’s forced apology and resignation. She talks about how it’s a night for justice so Gail needs to get out here right now. Here’s a sad Gail, with Tessa saying how bad it must be to have everything taken from you. Gail apologizes but Tessa wants to know what the apology is for. Even more defeated, Gail says she’s sorry for the attack that cost her the Knockouts Title.

Gail resigned earlier today so Tessa has an apology of her own. She’s sorry that Gail’s era is known for bra and panties matches while Tessa’s era is breaking barriers. Gail is ready to leave, but there’s one more thing: she’s out of retirement and coming for Tessa. The beatdown is on and a scared/angry Tessa bails. They’ve set this up very slowly and logically….but egads I never need to see Gail around here again.

We recap last week’s main event with Rich Swann retaining the X-Division Title over Sami Callihan but being attacked by the newest OVE member, Madman Fulton.

OVE….I guess you would say mentally initiates Fulton by breaking him down and getting him to think like Sami.

Knockouts Title: Taya Valkyrie vs. Jordynne Grace

Grace is challenging. The fans are behind Grace as she busts out a cartwheel into a crucifix to start. Taya gets up a knee in the corner for a breather but walks into a hard shoulder for two. More strikes have Jordynne in trouble so she snaps off a German suplex to drop Taya on her head. They fight outside with Grace going head first into the post, followed a running knee in the corner for two. Taya chokes in the corner but stops to pose again, asking if the fans are entertained. A good spear gets one more on Grace and we take a break.

Back with Grace snapping off a suplex and avoiding a charge to send Taya into the post. That means a Vader Bomb for two but the Johnny Impact slide between the legs gets Taya out of trouble again. The moonsault misses but Taya is fine enough to block the Grace Driver (that needs a better name). Taya comes up holding her ribs though and here’s Impact to help her out for the countout at 12:45.

Rating: C-. They didn’t have much here but the important thing was having Grace beat her up long enough to warrant a rematch, which they certainly did. It’s not a bad match at all and having the rematch set up is perfectly fine. The Knockouts division is really pretty diverse at the moment and they’re running several stories at the same time, which is a lot harder than it sounds. Well done indeed and hopefully they keep it up.

Post match Cage comes out before Impact and Taya can escape. Killer Kross comes out to choke and post Cage as we take a break.

Brian Cage vs. Killer Kross

Joined in progress with Cage hitting a hard clothesline to get himself out of trouble but Kross posts him again. A hammerlock slam stays on Cage’s arm and a DDT on the arm makes it even worse. Cage has to block a cross armbreaker and sends Kross to the apron for the apron superplex, which is quickly countered into an arm crank over the shoulder. Back in and we hit another armbar as it’s almost all Kross so far.

Another armbreaker is blocked with a rope break and Cage manages to send him outside as we take a quick break. We come back with Kross grabbing the Krossjacket choke but getting rammed into the corner. Cage’s powerslam gets two but he can’t manage a suplex. The Doomsday Saito gets one on Cage and he’s fine enough for a powerbomb backbreaker for two of his own.

There’s an F5 for two with Impact sneaking back in to put the foot on the ropes. Taya gets in a low blow and it’s another Doomsday Saito for….three at 15:32? I’m confused because Cage kicked out and Kross looked stunned but the referee called for the bell anyway. That sounds like a twist and maybe Johnny has a cheating referee.

Rating: C+. This was more about the angle than the match and they did that well enough. It’s smart to have some kind of screwiness at the end to cost Cage the win before his title match, which isn’t something that companies (and by that I mean WWE) tend to always get right. Kross looked dominant, though having him as Impact’s muscle still isn’t the greatest story in the world.

Post match Impact Pillmanizes Cage’s arm and kisses Taya.

Rosemary and the still chained Allie go into the Undead Realm to end this, with Kiera Hogan sneaking in behind them. We get a song in the background as they find James Mitchell with his gang of freaks, who surround a ring. Of course there’s a ring in the Undead Realm. James is just setting the table for the master so Rosemary has to fight his army. We start with Luchasaurus as Rosemary pulls out a clever…and gets kicked in the face as the chained Allie stays in the corner.

Rosemary mists Luchasaurus and STABS HIM as this is getting into Lucha Underground territory. Two more masked guys come in and beat her down but take too long pulling out a sword, earning themselves a nice butchering. The Undead Bridesmaids but Kiera throws Rosemary the sword and…well you get the idea. Rosemary yells at Kiera for coming as Su Yung pops up to unchain Allie.

The fight is on and Allie gets the better of Rosemary but can’t bring herself to actually stab her. Rosemary fights back and goes to stab Su but Mitchell has a clever to Kiera’s throat. The master comes in and it’s Kevin Sullivan of all people (makes sense really) to say Rosemary knows how this is going to end. All of this is for nothing because it’s never ending.

Su pops up with her Freddie Kruger razor glove but Allie shoves Rosemary out of the way and gets STABBED THROUGH THE THROAT, complete with blood. Kiera shoves Mitchell away (which I guess she could just do) and goes to hold Allie with Rosemary. Allie morphs back into her old self and says it’s ok and vanishes, leaving a furious Rosemary to end the show.

This was out of the Broken Hardys playbook and I liked it. Thank goodness they just got rid of Allie (while leaving a slight door open for her return) and gave us some closure to the story instead of something lame like her just leaving. The story has been over the top so far so keep it that way until the ending. I get why you might not like this one but if you’re into some off the regular path stuff, it worked.

Overall Rating: C. You could say this one was all over the place with storyline advancement, man vs. woman in something that wasn’t as comedy based as you would have thought and MURDER. That being said, this show blew by with nothing being overly bad and two major matches being set up for Rebellion. The best thing here was having enough variety that it wasn’t boring, which is a good sign. Now if only Rebellion can be awesome, they’ll be in an even better place. This show was good enough with nothing but, though nothing was really high quality. Call it a mixed bag, but certainly not a boring one.

Results

Scarlett Bordeaux b. Glenn Gilbertti – Powerbomb

Jordynne Grace b. Taya Valkyrie via countout

Killer Kross b. Brian Cage – Doomsday Saito

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

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Impact Wrestling – May 3, 2018: Titles Are Important

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 3, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

Things are starting to get more interesting around here and a lot of that is stemming from the World Title scene. Pentagon Jr. won the World Title at Redemption and now a nice list of people are starting to go after him. It seems that Austin Aries is at the top of the list, but there’s also Scott Steiner, who is getting to be a bigger and bigger name as the weeks go by. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a rather detailed recap of last week’s show.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Eli Drake with the Tag Team Title and the World Title Feast or Fired briefcase. Standing on the middle rope, Drake talks about all the dummies that he sees around the arena tonight. Why are they dummies? That’s because they’re booing one half of the World Tag Team Champions. He’s out here with the briefcase and now he wants to talk about becoming a two time World Champion.

Then Austin Aries and Pentagon Jr. want to come out here and talk about being champion, but that doesn’t matter because they’re not E-Li-Drake. Eli is cashing in his briefcase next week and Pentagon can take a one way trip on the Gravy Train while Drake takes the World Title back. Cue Pentagon for CERO MIEDO and trash talk ensues. Things don’t get physical and they both leave.

The announcers run down the card.

Earlier today, Kiera Hogan said she was ready to challenge Taya Valkyrie to a rematch. Tessa Blanchard came and laughed at her for thinking that any of it mattered. All that matters is Tessa and that’s not changing.

Grado is back (erg) and talks to Joseph Park about his (Grado’s) newest hot woman. Cue Austin Aries to mock them both and give Grado a banana.

OVE vs. KM/Fallah Bahh

KM runs Jake over to start as the announcers talk about an upcoming seminar in Pittsburgh later this month. Jake drives him into the wrong corner and it’s off to Dave for some choking. KM manages to suplex them both at the same time and it’s off to Fallah for a big man crossbody. Both Crists are down so Bahh rolls over the two of them in succession and then does it again for good measure. Jake pops up and superkicks Bahh down for a rollup and the pin at 3:43.

Rating: D+. So Bahh and KM are the newest oddball tag team, meaning you can probably pencil them in for a title run later in the year. Just by being a team they’re already in the top four (at worst) teams in the division and that’s a problem for this promotion. At this point, it might be a good idea to just drop the Tag Team Titles. You have two hours a week and that’s not enough to make those work very well, especially not with the low level of attention they put on the belts.

Moose promises to win the World Title this year. Jimmy Jacobs comes in and laughs the idea off so Moose chokes him. Jacobs issues a challenge for Moose to face Kongo Kong next week. Tell me they wouldn’t have him go over Moose too.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Kiera Hogan

Rematch from Redemption. Taya wastes no time in sending her face first into the buckle but misses a charge. Kiera knocks her to the floor but here’s Tessa to jump Hogan for the DQ at 2:43.

Tessa beats the heck out of Hogan post match.

Video on Brian Cage.

From World Series Wrestling in Australia.

Brian Cage vs. Brodie Marshall vs. Mick Moretti vs. Slex

It’s not mentioned but this is a Wrestle Circus Ringmaster Title match with Cage defending. At least Josh explains who the three people are and it’s a big brawl to start with Marshall being sent outside. Marshall crawls away from Moretti (sounds like an Ivory tribute) but it’s Cage coming back in with a running hurricanrana. Cage backdrops Marshall and it’s time for a pose down with the fall smaller Moretti.

Marshall takes an F5 and Slex hits Cage by mistake, meaning his days are numbered. Moretti’s F5 to Cage is no sold and he carries Moretti and Marshall at the same time for a double fall away slam. A big no hands flip dive takes all three down but Slex gets two off a springboard spinning kick to the face. Moretti hits a fisherman’s buster on Slex for two but Cage hits a buckle bomb to drop Slex. There’s a German suplex to Cage but he pops back up and hits the Drill Claw on Slex to retain at 7:57.

Rating: D+. This might as well have been Cage beating up three jobbers in the Impact Zone. The wrestlers were fine but I know as much about them as I do about any given local competitors, which is what TNA never understands: I need a reason to care about these people and at the same time, a reason to believe they’re a threat to Cage. That wasn’t the case here and that’s really annoying.

Drago/Aerostar/El Hijo Del Fantasma vs. Dezmond Xavier/DJZ/Andrew Everett

Lucha rules. Fantasma and Xavier (who has done nothing after winning the Super X Cup last year) start things off and it’s a standoff, allowing Aerostar to come in with a springboard hurricanrana. Things speed up in a hurry and the luchadors clear the ring without much effort. Everett scores with a springboard spinning kick to the face and let’s hit those upcoming date announcements because it’s not like there’s anything going on in the ring at the moment.

Fantasma chops Everett to slow things down and a kick to the face gives Drago two. Things speed up again as Everett goes to the floor and it’s off to Dezmond for a Backstabber. Everett and Dezmond try stereo Lionsaults from the same rope (cool) but only hit mat. It’s off to a four way submission until Aerostar breaks it up, likely due to the high levels of implausibility. Stereo Octopus Holds are broken up with stereo kicks to the face, followed by Xavier hitting a cartwheel into a moonsault onto the floor.

DJZ, with the horn, hits a dive of his own. Fantasma adds his suicide dive and Aerostar hits a springboard trust fall to take us to a break. Back with the luchadors down and the three Americans going to the top (same corner) for a trio of top rope splashes/dives for three near falls. Aerostar is back up with a springboard backsplash for two on DJZ, only to have Dezmond backflip kick Aerostar. Everett catches Aerostar on the top and the DZT is good for the pin at 16:32.

Rating: B-. It was fun, as most lucha matches are, but this went longer than it needed to go. These things don’t need to go very long as you get the idea in the first half. Why go longer and lose the impact that they can have later? And as a bonus, why are none of these people going after the X-Division Title? Could it be because there’s a certain group that goes after that title and these guys aren’t in it for whatever reason?

They do the big post match handshake. It wasn’t THAT good of a match.

Aries asks Drake about cashing in next week and wishes him luck. Not that it matters as he’s coming for the title no matter what. He knows he can beat Drake too.

We look at Ultimate X from Destination X 2012 with Zema Ion (DJZ) winning the title.

KM and Bahh argue with KM saying he can change Bahh’s life and make him cool. As they talk, we see someone else down in the back. The X symbol is seen again.

Last Friday, Eddie Edwards was released from jail when Tommy Dreamer came up and had him get in a car. Eddie: “Really?”

X-Division Title: Taiji Ishimori vs. Matt Sydal

Sydal is defending. They start slowly until Ishimori sends him to the floor for a teased springboard dive. Back from a break with Sydal grabbing an inverted Muta Lock, followed by a spinwheel kick. Double knees in the corner rock Sydal but he goes right back to the leg in a smart move.

The standing moonsault hits Ishimori’s legs but he has to roll through the 450. With that not working, the Tombstone into the double knees to the chest rock Sydal again. Not that it matters as he pops up and pulls Ishimori off the top for the front flip into the rollup to retain at 11:55.

Rating: C+. Nice match but I’m still not sure how interesting Sydal is as champion. The third eye and all that jazz doesn’t exactly thrill me and while his matches are good, they’re nothing all that great. Ishimori is a case of I’ve seen him a few times and I don’t need to see him again. He’s perfectly fine, but these ten minute matches aren’t going to let him showcase how good he can be.

Dreamer talks to Eddie about wasting so much time of his life trying to beat one person and says you can’t do this in 2018. You can however continue talking about ECW. It’s only been seventeen years.

Rosemary doesn’t want Allie at ringside with her tonight because that’s how it has to be.

LAX is panicking because they’ve lost everything, including the money and the girls. Maybe sell the clubhouse?

Su Yung vs. Rosemary

Yung tries to jump her on the floor and the fight starts on the outside with Yung being sent into the steps. The Panic Switch plants Rosemary on the floor and here come the army of demonic bridesmaids with a casket. There was no bell so no match.

Allie comes out for the save but the bridesmaids pull her away. Rosemary is back up and grabs the kendo stick to point at Yung. Su spits in her eyes and hits a Panic Switch off the stage through a table. Rosemary is put in the casket to end the show. Why do I have a feeling this is going to turn into Rosemary as Yung’s minion?

Overall Rating: C+. I liked this more than I was expecting to as it feels like they’re starting to turn things up a few notches. It’s nice to see them do something fresh and while they’re still doing some of the stories from before Redemption, at least they’re starting to go in some different directions with those stories. Better than what they’ve been doing lately and I can more than take that.

Results

OVE b. Fallah Bahh/KM – Rollup to Bahh

Kiera Hogan b. Taya Valkyrie via DQ when Tessa Blanchard interfered

Brian Cage b. Brodie Marshall, Mick Moretti and Slex – Drill Claw to Slex

DJZ/Andrew Everett/Dezmond Xavier b. Aerostar/El Hijo Del Fantasma/Drago – DZT to Aerostar

Matt Sydal b. Taiji Ishimori – Front flip into a rollup

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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Impact Wrestling – April 26, 2018: The Road From Redemption

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: April 26, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re past Redemption and that means it’s time to get ready for Slammiversary. What that means is kind of up in the air at this point but it really could go in a variety of directions. Above all else though, we have a new World Champion as Pentagon Jr. defeated Austin Aries and Fenix in a triple threat match on Sunday. Let’s get to it.

Here are the Redemption results if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Redemption, including results from every match.

Earlier today, Austin Aries talked to the roster and said he’s still the Grand Champion so it’s now the top title. Aries makes a bunch of excuses and Moose calls him out on them before walking out. The rest of the people leave as well. Sounds heel turnish to me.

Opening sequence.

The pay per view set is now the regular set.

Brian Cage vs. Trevor Lee

Lee drops to the floor for a meeting with Caleb Konley to start before a shoulder drops him to the floor again. Cage throws him around and shrugs off a forearm but a Konley distraction lets Lee kick him outside. Back in and a bridging German suplex gives Lee two and Konley adds in some choking. That’s enough for Cage who Hulks Up and hits a powerslam, followed by the apron superplex. The Drill Claw puts Lee away at 5:04.

Rating: D+. Cage is starting to run through some bigger names and it wouldn’t shock me if the names get bigger and bigger as we move forward. There’s a certain monster quality to him and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him near the World Title picture within the next year or so. Lee isn’t going to lose anything by getting destroyed here, but it was nice to have him get in some offense.

A livid Eddie Edwards arrived earlier today and ran into Tommy Dreamer (in a Lucha Underground shirt). Tommy told him to go be with his wife but Eddie shoved him out of the way.

Here’s Eddie in the arena to talk about putting Sami Callihan in the hospital. He’s not done though because he wants to put OVE in there right next to Sami. Cue OVE for the 2-1 fight and Eddie runs through them before grabbing the kendo stick. We cut to the hospital room where someone in a wheelchair with balloons covering his face rolls up to Alisha Edwards’ bed. It’s a very banged up Callihan, who says he wants to talk.

OH MY GOODNESS how stupid can Eddie be? A few weeks ago he sees OVE in his wife’s hotel and then LEAVES after checking on her for a few seconds. Now he leaves her IN THE SAME HOSPITAL WHERE CALLIHAN IS STAYING??? My goodness I know he’s a face in wrestling but Sting would find this dumb.

We look at Sunday’s main event.

Classic clip: the Steiner Brothers vs. Team 3D at Bound For Glory. I really wouldn’t point out that one half of your Tag Team Champions was old eleven years ago.

Video on DJZ, who is back after over a year away.

Moose vs. Braxton Sutter

Sutter’s pre-match promo is cut off by Moose’s music. Moose throws him into the corner to start and dropkicks him out to the floor in a heap. Sutter gets in a whip to send Moose into the barricade, followed by a suplex into the corner for two. That earns Sutter a running elbow and running dropkick in the corner, followed by a spear for the pin at 3:32.

Rating: D. Nearly a total squash here, which makes sense as Sutter has announced that he’s done with the promotion. It’s not like Sutter has done anything of note in the company and now that he and Su Yung seem to be done, there’s no reason to not have him go out on his back like this.

Post match the fans chant HAPPY BIRTHDAY at Moose. He wants Pentagon Jr. and the World Title.

Matt Sydal promises to retain the X-Division Title against Taiji Ishimori. A commotion is heard and we go to see someone (not clear who) unconscious with an X on their chest.

LAX wants the titles back but also want to know what’s happened to Konnan.

Knockouts Title: Taya Valkyrie vs. Allie

Allie is defending. Taya wastes no time in jumping Allie and hammering away in the corner. Allie’s comeback is cut off in very short order as Taya powers her down without much effort. A running dropkick in the corner only hits buckle and Allie is in even more trouble. Taya is all fired up but the Road to Valhalla is broken up, allowing Allie to hit the superkick and Codebreaker to retain at 4:17. That was pretty much all of her offense.

Rating: D. Nothing to this one and Taya deserved more than that in a title shot. Allie shrugged off everything Taya threw at her and won with her regular stuff in short order. The match needed more time, but then we wouldn’t have been able to plug the Steiner Brothers vs. Team 3D match and that’s WAY more important.

Post match Su Yung appears, flanked by a bunch of dead brides. They load up a casket but Rosemary appears for the showdown. The lights go out again and Su is gone.

Slammiversary is in Toronto.

KM yells at Fallah Bahh, his partner for next week. Why in the world are these two getting TV time?

Eddie goes to the hospital to see Alisha, who isn’t happy with him leaving her there. He goes into Callihan’s room and beats the heck out of him until a bunch of doctors make the save. This crazy Eddie character is actually working for me.

Video on Kongo Kong vs. Johnny Impact from last week.

Tag Team Titles: Eli Drake/Scott Steiner vs. LAX

Drake and Steiner are defending. Before the match, Steiner says he promised he’d win “last night” (which he says twice) because he’s world famous. Konnan was at Taco Bell due to a discount on burritos so we know his priorities. The champs stall on the floor for a long time before Ortiz drives Drake into the corner to start. Santana comes in for a chop of his own but gets taken outside and sent into the steps by Steiner as we take a break. Back with Steiner getting two off a belly to belly as he picks Santana up.

The fans chant for LAX but get cut off when Steiner “hits” a belly to belly superplex (not rotating enough and nearly falling backwards). It’s back to Drake (thankfully) for a chinlock as we hear that Edwards has been arrested. Well duh. Santana rolls over for a tag so Ortiz can get two off a short DDT. The Death Valley Driver gets two more on Drake but the Street Sweeper is countered into a powerslam (ala Rick Steiner back in the day) to pin Ortiz and retain the titles at 10:54.

Rating: D+. Steiner continues to be scary with some of those near botches, but at least they have a “big name” on the roster now right? Steiner does offer some star power but really, how much is he going to be able to offer without maiming someone? I can’t imagine that he’s going to be around very long but I’m still not a fan.

Post match Drake holds up the World Title briefcase and suggests that he’s cashing in right now. Actually it’s just a warning, but here’s Aries anyway. Back from a break, Aries says he’s healing from a dislocated elbow and looks at the “suitcase”. The fans chant for Aries, who says he wishes they were here on Sunday. The Grand Championship is what matters now but he’ll get the World Title back soon enough.

Drake wants to fight Pentagon, Aries and the Easter Bunny because it means he’s getting the title back. Cue Pentagon Jr. to say CERO MIEDO (zero fear) but Steiner and Drake beat down Pentagon and Aries. They fight back and clear the champs out of the ring, leaving Aries and Pentagon to stare each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. I wasn’t feeling this one, as there wasn’t a lot in the vein of storyline advancement and the wrestling was nothing of note. Allie and Rosemary continue to be an interesting team but really, there’s not much else to go on here. That being said, they have a ton of time to get ready for the next pay per view so it’s not like this needed to be incredible. Not the worst, but nothing that pulled me in.

Results

Brian Cage b. Trevor Lee – Drill Claw

Moose b. Braxton Sutter – Spear

Allie b. Taya Valkyrie – Codebreaker

Eli Drake/Scott Steiner b. LAX – Powerslam to Ortiz

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

Impact Wrestling – April 12, 2018: She Really Just Did That

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: April 12, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Sonjay Dutt

We’re past Impact Wrestling vs. Lucha Underground and that means we need to hit the hard push towards Redemption. Now that being said, there’s the whole fact that Alberto El Patron has been dropped from the main event due to being Alberto. Hopefully they’ve had time to record something to address the situation, as otherwise a big chunk of this show will be a big waste of time. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of the Impact vs. Lucha Underground show, including the announcement of Alberto no showing and the new Redemption main event of Austin Aries defending the World Title against Fenix and Pentagon Dark. Really, that’s better for everyone all around.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Eli Drake with both briefcases….and an apology? He didn’t think much of the Tag Team Title briefcase but now he realizes he could have all the titles in this company in no time. At Redemption he’s picking up the Tag Team Titles but here’s LAX to interrupt. Konnan gets straight to the point of asking who Drake’s partner is going to be. Drake brings out Scott Steiner, looking like a grandfather more than anything else.

Steiner talks about how awesome the Steiner Brothers were and brags about being a World Champion on the NWO (wrong stable). They’ll win the titles but LAX doesn’t want to hear about it. Konnan laughs all of this off and says Steiner might beat Drake down before they even get to the match. Eli doesn’t care and says they’ll win anyway, but Konnan says play the LAX music so everyone can leave. Bringing Steiner in makes my head hurt, as it costs money and ignores the rest of the roster, many of whom could benefit from something like this.

The announcers talk about how awesome WrestleCon was and plug the rest of the card.

From December 1, 2016, Rosemary defeats Jade in a Six Sides of Steel match to win the Knockouts Title.

Sami Callihan vs. Moose

Moose wastes no time in hitting some running splashes in the corner, followed by a running hesitation dropkick. He can’t suplex Callihan to the floor though and gets clotheslined outside instead. A suicide dive sends Moose into the barricade but he’s right back with a weak apron powerbomb. The second attempt looks a little better so Sami is right back with a low blow to send us to a break.

Back with Sami hitting a running boot in the corner and walking into a powerbomb for his efforts. The chokebomb out of the corner gets two as the crowd is almost eerily quiet for this. Sami eventually pulls him down into a sunset bomb but walks into the Game Changer for two. Not that it matters as Sami hits him with the baseball bat for the DQ at 14:10.

Rating: D+. I’m just not feeling Sami and I never have. He’s a pretty standard brawler (though I’ve seen him crank it up before). At the same time, this is a pretty solid waste of Moose. He went from a Feast or Fired World Title case to getting beaten up by OVE. Maybe it’s me not caring for OVE whatsoever, but that’s quite the significant downgrade.

Post match the beatdown is on until Eddie Edwards runs in for the save. He’s beaten down as well so here’s Eddie’s wife Alisha to cover him up. The lights go out and it’s Tommy Dreamer (ERG) coming in for the real save with the kendo stick. Dreamer talks about fighting a war for his entire career so it’s a six man House of Hardcore match at Redemption. Cross promotion is fine, but my goodness why does it have to be Dreamer?

Josh Matthews vs. Petey Williams

Before the match, Josh blames Petey for the loss the Grand Championship and preventing Matt Sydal from being the World Champion. Tonight, he destroys the Destroyer. Josh hides in the corner to start and then bails to the floor and there’s no contact in the first two minutes. Sydal offers a distraction and Josh forearms Petey in the back so the chase is o again. Another distraction lets Josh forearm him down again but Petey is right back up with the Sharpshooter as Dutt is in stitches. That’s broken up with a distraction so Petey loads up the Destroyer, drawing in Sydal for the DQ at 3:57.

Rating: F. I’m not sure what the point of this one was but I know it was rather stupid. Matthews and Sydal’s spirit animal/spiritual guide thing isn’t working for me as Matthews should have been more like Michael Cole to Sydal’s Miz. Williams isn’t exactly thrilling me either but it’s not like much depth in the first place.

Petey gets beaten down post match.

Video on Brian Cage beating Bobby Lashley twice in a row.

Johnny Impact is tired of Kongo Kong and Jimmy Jacobs interfering so here they are again. Impact wants a fight next week and it seems to be set.

We recap KM insulting Richard Justice (who is TOTALLY above being mocked) and setting up a six man tag tonight.

KM/Cult of Lee vs. Fallah Bahh/Tyrus/Richard Justice

Bahh cleans house to start by running Lee over and rolling over him for good measure. Justice comes in for some lefts and rights as we seem to be firmly in the comedy match zone to start. A few shots keep Justice in the wrong corner but it’s off to Tyrus in short order. Tyrus gets two off a Big Ending and everything breaks down. The Tongan Death Grip into a Banzai Drop puts KM away at 5:26.

Rating: D. Well that happened. They set up the match last week and then blew it off here with almost nothing significant happening. I get the idea here, but Justice has been there as a joke for months now (and not a very funny one at that) so I have it kind of hard to make myself care about his feelings being hurt. Nothing match of course.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Rosemary

This is a Demon’s Dance match, which seems to be another anything goes match. They waste no time in starting the brawl and head straight to the floor. Taya can’t hit the Road to Valhalla on the ramp but Rosemary can’t get the Red Wedding there either. Back to ringside with Taya throwing a bunch of chairs inside.

One gets wedged into the corner but Taya puts a second onto Rosemary in the corner, setting up some running knees. Another shot drives a chair between Rosemary’s legs for two but she’s right back up with a Sling Blade onto another chair. Now it’s ladder time but Taya gets in a suplex instead of being thrown into the steel.

The second attempt works better for Rosemary though and now it’s time for a table. Back in and Rosemary misses a charge into the chair to give Taya two. They head to the corner and neither can hit a super version of their finisher through a table. Instead Rosemary PILEDRIVES HER OFF THE MIDDLE ROPE THROUGH THE TABLE, which thankfully is good for the pin at 10:13.

Rating: B. These two beat the heck out of each other with that finish being a sight to behold. In theory this puts Rosemary on a path towards a match for the Knockouts Title but seeing her vs. Allie is almost hard to picture for some reason. If nothing else I don’t want to see her vs. Su Yung in a battle of too similar characters, so maybe Allie is the easier call. Either way, very fun brawl here with a nearly scary finish.

Here’s the same video that opened the show.

We wrap up the show with nearly ten minutes of highlights from Impact Wrestling vs. Lucha Underground. I’m guessing this was all they could do to replace an Alberto segment. If so, that’s perfectly understandable.

Overall Rating: D+. The main event helped but there’s only so much you can do with the rest of this show. It wasn’t the worst show in the world but my goodness I don’t even want to imagine how bad the show would have been with some more focus on Alberto. The stories are developing, though they’re just nothing that I’m all that interested in at the moment. Hopefully Redemption is a lot better, but at the moment I’m not exactly thrilled.

Results

Moose b. Sami Callihan via DQ when Sami used a baseball bat

Petey Williams b. Josh Matthews via DQ when Matt Sydal interfered

Tyrus/Fallah Bahh/Richard Justice b. KM/Cult of Lee – Banzai Drop to KM

Rosemary b. Taya Valkyrie – Super piledriver through a table

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

Impact Wrestling – March 15, 2018: Beware the Impact of March

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: March 15, 2018
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Sonjay Dutt

Things are entering a new phase here as we’re done with Crossroads, meaning it’s time to get ready for the next big show. While that hasn’t been announced yet, there is at least a hint of the upcoming World Title feud with Alberto El Patron staring down Austin Aries last week. Let’s get to it.

Here’s last week’s episode if you need a recap.

Jeremy Borash (flashback time) is with everyone involved in Feast or Fired. The point of this: they’re all in Feast or Fired.

Recap of Crossroads. That really was a good show.

Opening sequence.

Sami Callihan vs. Fallah Bahh

Sami bounces off the huge Bahh and gets knocked into the corner by the power of the belly. The third knockdown has Sami bailing to the floor for a meeting with OVE. Their advice: shout a lot. Back in and Bahh takes him down to put a toe in Sami’s mouth. What’s the massive appeal of this guy again? Granted that could be said of Sami as well.

Callihan finally pulls him down by the head for a breather and some stomping keeps Bahh down for all of two seconds. A belly to belly plants Sami for two as the announcers plug the WrestleCon show. The Samoan drop connects but Sami is back up with a low blow and a Death Valley Driver (not bad) ends Bahh at 5:48.

Rating: D. Standard Yokozuna formula match here and that’s all you can do with someone Bahh’s size. I’m still not big on Callihan so keeping him short here was the right call. At least he didn’t horribly maim anyone this time around so things are looking up. As long as they keep Callihan around this level, everything will be fine. I’m worried that he’ll be moving up soon though and that’s just not a good idea.

Post match OVE loads up the chair and the bat on Bahh but Eddie Edwards runs in for the save with a pipe.

Matt Sydal is ready to unveil his spirit guide.

The hosts talk about the big stories with Josh dressing a little beneath the professional standard.

Classic Moment: Feast or Fired 2008.

Austin Aries has a sitdown interview and talks about having a pretty cool month. He plugs his new book and being vegan but here’s Alberto who needs to talk to Aries right now. Alberto welcomes him to the promotion (or back to it) before shifting to never losing the World Title. He brings in some wine and what looks like a steak but Aries will stick with the banana.

Alberto is offended and Aries tells him to chew with his mouth closed. They have a chew off until Aries stands up and Alberto backs off. He even hands Alberto a free book because he’s making a champion’s money now. Aries: “You remember what that feels like?” Alberto leaves and Aries has some wine.

Kiera Hogan comes up to congratulate Allie on her win and giggling ensues. Braxton Sutter comes in and wants to talk to Allie but she isn’t interested.

Here are Kongo Kong and Jimmy Jacobs for a chat. Jimmy says he loves to hear himself talk because words have power. If you think he and Kong have done a lot to get Abyss back, you haven’t seen anything yet. Cue James Mitchell of all people, who says that he sees a lot of himself in Jacobs. They’re both evil geniuses and Kong is an impressive monster, though James has one of his own. He sold his soul to make Abyss World Champion but eventually the note came due.

Abyss was pushed so far that his personality split into Joseph Park. Mitchell doesn’t like what he’s been seeing done to the Park family (Wait, is Park a real person or a made up personality? How can he have family if the personality isn’t real?) but Jacobs doesn’t want to hear the lecture. Actually, James is here to thank him for bringing the monster back. Cue Abyss and the brawl is on with Kong being knocked to the floor. Next week: Monster’s Ball. Nice segment, but the idea of where Kong is going after the feud with Abyss scares me.

Video on Taya Valkyrie vs. Rosemary and their fight to be the queen of the Knockouts. Of course this is different than being Knockouts Champion but that goes without saying.

Rosemary vs. Taya Valkyrie

Rosemary wastes no time with a spear and right hands to send Taya outside. That’s fine with Rosemary who spears her off the apron and hits a high crossbody back inside. A charge hits post though and Taya kicks her hard in the ribs to take over. Rosemary snaps back up with a German suplex before biting Taya’s leg.

That earns her a double stomp though and Taya rams the painted face into the corner. Taya makes fun of the ROSEMARY chants and hits a hard faceplant. The Road to Valhalla is broken up but a curb stomp knocks Rosemary silly. A moonsault misses though and Rosemary hits a Cactus Clothesline to send them both outside. They keep slugging it out and that’s a double countout at 7:33.

Rating: C-. I like that ending a lot as there’s no need to have the feud end already or to have one of them get a clean fall. This is the kind of thing that could be done far more often as there’s no definitive winner and the feud should continue. They also have chemistry together and a big, violent gimmick match could be a lot of fun.

Post match Taya gives her another Road to Valhalla on the stage.

An anxious Eli Drake is on the phone and Chris Adonis (never shown) isn’t going to be here tonight. Drake fires him from whatever official role he had. I’m actually surprised that they’re acknowledging Adonis walking out on the company and it’s very nice for a change of pace. All it took was a thirty second segment and Adonis is wrapped up for good.

Ethan Carter III talks about it being his destiny to get the right briefcase and become World Heavyweight Champion again.

Aries vs. El Patron is confirmed for the Redemption pay per view on April 22.

Next week: Allie defends the Knockouts Title against Sienna and Monster’s Ball.

Earlier today, Brian Cage was in the empty Impact Zone when Bobby Lashley came in. Lashley didn’t need the help but if Cage wants a fight, all he has to do is ask. Cage walks away.

LAX is watching Feast or Fired to find out who is up next.

Here’s Matt Sydal to announce his spiritual guide: Josh Matthews. Dutt loses his mind as Josh comes to the ring to talk about how he’s enlightened. He’s spent months trying to enlighten the fans and now wants us to put our hands together and center ourselves. Josh presents him with something like a cat mask, which Sydal calls his spirit animal. Matt says if he’s a champion, so is Josh, and he hands him the Grand Championship. Dutt: “That’s it I quit.” I like the idea of Josh as a heel but….this is a bit out there no?

Feast or Fired

Eli Drake, Tyrus, Petey Williams, KM, Moose, Caleb Konley, Trevor Lee, Ethan Carter III, Rohit Raju, Taiji Ishimori

Dutt is now on commentary by himself. There’s a briefcase above each corner with three title shots (World, X-Division and Tag Team) plus a pink slip. Four people will get cases and the rest get nothing. It’s a brawl to start (as it will likely be all match) until we’re down to Drake and Moose alone in the ring. That’s a bit too much in the ring though as they fight outside, only to be replaced by Raju and Ishimori.

Petey comes back in with some dropkicks as this is firmly in the revolving door period. The Cult of Lee comes in and beats the X-Division guys down for a bit but are dropkicked outside as well. Naturally Ishimori dives onto the floor instead of going up, leaving Petey to hit a Canadian Destroyer on Lee. Petey gets Case #2 and we take a break. Back with Dutt telling us no one got a case during the break (thank you) and Moose cleaning house.

Carter cuts him off with an elbow but Moose makes a save and gets Case #4. Josh rejoins commentary as Ishimori takes his shirt off. The Cult of Lee gets beaten down by Raju but here’s the angry Tyrus to start tossing the suplexes. Carter cuts him off with a low blow though and Case #3 is collected. He even knocks Tyrus silly with a case shot for good measure. Ishimori is alone on top but decides to crossbody Drake instead. A few Gravy Trains and a run up the ropes for a release German superplex allow Drake to pull down Case #1 at 17:50.

Rating: D+. This is one of those matches where it’s really hard to give it a grade. The action was nothing to see and since most of the people involved aren’t hurt by their outcome, it makes for a weird match. It wasn’t one of the more interesting Feast of Fired matches, but then again these are hard to make interesting by definition.

Overall Rating: D+. It’s never a good sign when I can barely remember what happened on the show just after it ended. The wrestling wasn’t the point here but you can see a lot of where they’re going for Redemption. At least they started setting stuff up here as they don’t have a ton of pay per views in the first place. Use the time you have and set something up. Not a terrible show here at all, but the lack of people to fill out the card due to the main event hurt things.

Results

Sami Callihan b. Fallah Bahh – Death Valley Driver

Rosemary vs. Taya Valkyrie went to a double countout

Petey Williams, Moose, Ethan Carter III and Eli Drake won Feast or Fired

Remember to check out my new forum at steelcageforums.com, follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the 2018 Updated Version of the History of the WWE Championship in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/01/26/new-book-kbs-history-of-the-wwe-championship-2018-updated-version/

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

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