Impact Wrestling
Date: July 28, 2022
Location: Old Forester’s Paristown Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We are on the way to Emergence and now we have a main event set. This time it is going to be Alex Shelley getting his shot at Josh Alexander and the World Title, but odds are we are going to have more Violent By Design interference on the way there. Kushida is here too and that should help. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Alex Shelley becoming #1 contender but getting beaten down by Violent By Design, with Kushida running in for the save.

Eddie Edwards vs Ace Austin

Kenny King and Chris Bey are here too. Austin teases him with the posing to start so Edwards unloads on him in the corner. That earns Eddie a takedown and a playing card cut between the fingers in a spot Austin hasn’t used in a bit. King offers a distraction though and Edwards runs Austin over, setting up the choking on the ropes.

Austin is sat on top for some chops but comes back with a series of strikes. Back up and Austin sends him outside, setting up the big running flip dive. A springboard spinning Fameasser gives Austin two but Edwards’ Backpack Stunner gets the same. King and Bey get in a fight on the floor, meaning it’s a double ejection as Edwards and Austin knock each other down.

We take a break and come back with Edwards striking away before cutting Austin off with a clothesline. Austin gets back up with a springboard spinning kick to the head for two but the Fold is countered into a quick butterfly powerbomb. The Die Hard Driver finishes Austin at 15:34.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of match where you put two talented stars together and have them put on a good match. It works every time and that is what they did here, as Honor No More gets a victory for a change. Austin and Bey are in the Bullet Club to take the losses so this was a logical use of TV time.

Here’s what’s coming at Emergence and tonight.

Heath is ready to keep on Honor No More, like he did to Vincent on Before The Impact. I’m not sure hitting one finisher is taking them out but it’s better than nothing.

We look at Raj Singh and Shera cutting off Josh Alexander from making a save for the Motor City Machine Guns last week.

Alexander is ready for Shera tonight. Alex Shelley comes in to say being big and strong doesn’t make the best wrestler, so Alexander has to face the smartest wrestler around.

Laredo Kid/Trey Miguel vs. Johnny Swinger/Zicky Dice

Swinger seems to think Kid is Bob Seeger and fails to jump him to start. Dice comes in and is rather happy at dodging a charge, only to get double dropkicked out to the floor. That means it’s time to put on the dungeon masks, only to have Miguel take Swinger out with a dive. Dice drops Miguel to take over but a handspring kick to the face gets Miguel out of trouble. The hot tag brings in Kid for a high crossbody, setting up a quick frog splash to finish Dice at 4:00.

Rating: C. I know they’re nothing that matters but my goodness Dice and Swinger can be funny. Impact knows what they have with the two of them and they have some of the most entertaining moments on the show. Kid and Miguel aren’t much of a team but having them beat up the resident goofs isn’t a bad thing.

On Before The Impact, a fake Heath distraction helped Bhupinder Gujjar beat Vincent.

Brian Myers still doesn’t want to face Bhupinder Gujjar but Decay comes in to say Black Taurus will get the Digital Media Title shot instead.

Tiffany Nieves vs. Jada Stone

This is an OVW showcase match with Tasha Steelz, with Savannah Evans, on commentary. Nieves takes her down to start as Steelz rants about not being Knockouts Champion. Some kicks send Nieves into the corner but she misses a Cannonball. A rollup, with a grab of the rope, gives Nieves the pin at 2:06.

Post match Killer Kelly comes out to wreck Nieves and Stone, which doesn’t have Steelz very impressed.

Eric Young doesn’t want Deaner’s excuses for failing last week. First up it’s the Motor City Machine Guns and then Kushida.

Video on Alex Shelley becoming #1 contender for the first time, including a surprise video from Johnny Gargano, who praises Shelley as well.

Josh Alexander vs. Shera

Non-title and Raj Singh is here with Shera. Alexander gets blocked by the power to start but hits three straight clotheslines to knock Shera over the top. Shera wins the quick brawl on the floor and sends Alexander back inside, where Alexander hits the running crossbody to the back. Singh offers a distraction but Alexander is fine enough to ankle lock Shera for the tap at 3:15.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to get anywhere here but my goodness it’s nice to stop pretending that Shera is going to be some big deal. This version of him is a lot easier to take than the dancing schmuck of years past but now he’s just a big guy who loses important matches. Alexander is always worth a look though and that’s part of how the champion should feel.

Moose says there is no alliance between himself and Steve Maclin. If anyone should be mad at Maclin, it’s him, who didn’t need help to beat Sami Callihan.

Honor No More wants to know what Scott D’Amore is going to do for them and want their Tag Team Title shot. Noise is heard though and Mike Bennett is gone.

VXT is preparing for Deonna Purrazzo’s bachelorette party when Jessika comes in to invite herself. She’s quite the life of the party but Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie come in to say that’s not happening.

Raj Singh is in the ring to complain about what happened to Shera. Cue Sami Callihan with the Cactus Driver 97 to drop Singh. Callihan says he’s going to take care of Steve Maclin and Moose on his own.

Ric Flair Flashback Moment of the Week: Flair forms Fourtune but Jay Lethal interrupts with his amazing impression.

Mia Yim is ready for Jordynne Grace but the video signal breaks up.

Commentary talks but the video signal breaks up.

Scott D’Amore finds Honor No More messing with the TV truck and is sick of this. They want their title shot so at Emergence, it’s five on five. If Honor No More wins, they get the Tag Team Titles but if they lose, they disband (with D’Amore bringing up Jim Cornette forcing Team Canada to do the same back in the day).

Rich Swann vs. Kushida

Kushida is billed as the Timesplitter and this is a first time ever match. Respect is shown before the bell as Kushida takes him down by the leg to start. Kushida takes him down again, which sets up a standoff. Back up and they run the ropes with neither getting very far, setting up stereo missed dropkicks. Kushida works on a wristlock and sends Swann outside for some posing as we take a break.

We come back with Kushida working on the arm but Swann knocks him into the corner. A running basement dropkick puts Kushida on the floor on the floor and Swann kicks him in the head back inside. The chinlock goes on for a bit but Kushida is back up for stereo crossbodies. The comeback is on for Kushida, including a running armbar takedown out of the corner.

Kushida gets the cross armbreaker but Swann gets his foot on the ropes pretty quickly. They strike it out with Kushida going for the arm but getting knocked down anyway. There’s a neckbreaker to drop Kushida again, only to have Swann miss the Phoenix splash. Kushida takes him down by the arm again but Swann snaps off a super hurricanrana. Swann goes up but gets pulled down into the Hoverboard Lock for the tap at 19:04.

Rating: B. Kushida is my favorite New Japan wrestler so it’s nice to see him on a show like this. Swann can go with anyone and beating him still means something so this was a great way to make Kushida seem like a big deal out of the gate. I’m curious to see what he is going to do and this is already a bit more than he ever did in NXT, so there is some hope to be had.

Overall Rating: B. Impact’s roll continues and I can certainly take that. The good thing here is that they are setting things up and making me want to see them, with Alex Shelley making more than a better fit in the main event than Violent By Design. Other than that, Honor No More’s issues continue to grow and we are getting a resurgence of Sami Callihan for a bit of fresh blood. I’m starting to look forward to seeing this show every week and that is not something I have not expected to say for a long time now.

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Impact Wrestling
Date: July 21, 2022
Location: Old Forester’s Paristown Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re on a fresh taping cycle and on the way to the next special. That means we need a new #1 contender and thank goodness that means someone outside of Violent By Design. The main event of this week’s show is Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin for a shot at Josh Alexander and the World Title. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at the history of the Motor City Machine Guns, both together and against each other. They’re both ready for the chance to be #1 contender.

Opening sequence.

VXT vs. Mia Yim/Jordynne Grace

VXT is Deonna Purrazzo/Chelsea Green, who were absolutely needing a team name. Grace and Purrazzo start things off with Purrazzo taking her to the mat but getting reversed into a headscissors for a standoff. Back up and Grace runs her over with a shoulder before sending Purrazzo into the top turnbuckle over and over. Yim comes in for some rollups to Purrazzo and armdrags to Green.

It’s already back to Grace but everything breaks down, with Purrazzo offering a distraction so Green can take over on Grace. Some rams into the corner get Grace out of trouble and the hot tag brings Yim in to clean house. Grace has to save Yim from a double suplex and there’s the big dive to drop VXT on the floor. Back in and Purrazzo Downward Spirals Yim to set up Green’s Stomp for two but Yim grabs a double Stunner. There is no Grace though and VXT hits a kind of double suplex for the pin on Yim at 9:12.

Rating: C. You have to establish the new team with a win here and they did just that by having them pin the #1 contender. Granted this might be more about issues between Grace and Yim, which is a story that needs to be told as well. Nice job on the two birds with one stone shot, and the match wasn’t half bad either.

Post match Yim isn’t pleased with Grace. Good thing they have a title match coming up in a few weeks.

Honor No More wants the Tag Team Titles and aren’t surprised that Impact keeps moving the goalposts on them. They’ll take out Heath instead, because he keeps attacking them one at a time. Eddie Edwards wants to know where PCO was when Heath was attacking Vincent last week. There is no more room for mistakes.

Here’s what is coming tonight.

X-Division Title: Deaner vs. Mike Bailey

Deaner is challenging and has Joe Doering with him. Bailey unloads on Deaner in the corner and kicks him in the chest for a knockdown. The Ultimate Weapon misses but Bailey is right back with a Boston crab instead. Deaner gets out and bails to the apron, only to get kicked in the face. Bailey gets caught in the ring skirt though and Doering runs him over with a shoulder as we take a break.

Back with Deaner sending him into the corner, setting up the running dropkick to the back of the trunks. Bailey fires off the rapid kicks to set up the running corkscrew shooting star press for two. Something like a powerbomb plants Bailey for two more and it’s time to chop it out. Bailey gets the better of things and kicks him in the chest and then the head, only to miss the moonsault knees onto the apron. Deaner’s running flip neckbreaker in the ropes takes Bailey down but he slides back in for a heck of a moonsault to drop Deaner on the floor. Back in and the Ultimate Weapon retains Bailey’s title at 12:24.

Rating: C+. Another pretty solid defense for Bailey, but I still can’t get into him with that cheesy grin and bow. You can tell that he’s being presented as a star though and that is more than a lot of the champions. I’m not sure who is going to take the title from him, but giving him a weekly match where he gets to show off a bit is not a bad idea.

Ric Flair Flashback Moment of the Week: Sting beats Ric Flair on Impact in 2021.

VXT wants in the Knockouts Title match so Gail Kim gives them just that: a Knockouts Tag Team Title match.

Eric Young confirms Violent By Design’s loyalties to him and tells them to eliminate the sickness.

Madison Rayne vs. Masha Slamovich

Gisele Shaw is here with Rayne. Slamovich rips the face mask off of Rayne and throws her down, setting up the Snowplow for the pin at 1:14. Total squash, again.

Post match Slamovich gives Shaw an envelope, with a picture of herself covered in what looks like blood.

Bhupinder Gujjar still wants a Digital Media Title shot against Brian Myers. That works for Myers, but apparently Vincent has been talking trash about Gujjar so they can fight each other instead.

Killer Kelly says she is always watching you. A man comes up and Kelly says no one knows when to shut the F up.

Bullet Club vs. Honor No More

That would be Ace Austin/Chris Bey vs. Matt Taven/Mike Bennett with Maria Kanellis. Taven and Austin start things off and fight over wrist control until Taven takes him down into a chinlock. That earns Taven a kick to the head and a legdrop, only to have him come back with a dropkick. Bey and Bennett come in to chop it off until Bey snaps off a dropkick for two.

Taven comes back in off a blind tag though and a middle rope dropkick takes Bey down. It’s back to Austin to kick people in the head before sending Taven outside for a shot from the apron. Taven is thrown inside, leaving Bennett to kick Austin down and take over again. The Purple Thunder Bomb gets two back inside and Bennett grabs the chinlock. Austin fights up and avoids a charge in the corner, allowing the hot tag off to Bey to clean house.

A torture rack neckbreaker gets two on Bennett as everything breaks down. Austin gets sent outside and Bennett brainbusters Bey, only to miss Aurora Boreallis. Maria gets on the apron for a distraction so Austin pulls her down, with the distraction letting Bennett get in a low blow to Bey. Cue Heath with a Wake Up Call to Taven though and Austin runs in with the Fold for the pin at 10:32.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure what there is to say about a match like this, as it is all over the place near the ending until one of them gets a pin. The Heath deal was a fine enough way to go and follows the story that they have been telling in recent weeks. Other than that, Honor No More loses again, which is almost a trend for them lately.

Steve Maclin isn’t worried about Sami Callihan but the lights go out and Callihan attacks him. Cue Moose to help with the beatdown but Callihan turns the lights out again and disappears. Sami actually having a device to turn the lights off makes this at least a bit more plausible than the normal light powers.

Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie can’t get Jessica to put the Havok mask on but she’s not down for it. Jessica has an idea and leaves, with Rosemary freaking out over her not being herself. Taya thinks it’s cute, which has Rosemary contemplating violence.

Josh Alexander is ready for Chris Sabin or Alex Shelley, but he knows there are a lot of people waiting on him after Emergence. This includes Rich Swann, who pops in and asks for a title match. That’s currently taken, so Swann gets the debuting Kushida next week in what might be a #1 contenders match but D’Amore isn’t quite clear.

Here’s what’s coming on future shows.

Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley

The winner gets the World Title shot at Emergence and somehow this is Shelley’s first ever #1 contenders match. They shake hands and hug to start because this is all about competition. It’s a technical off (as you might have expected) to start with Sabin’s rollup giving us a standoff. Sabin spins around him into an armdrag before another cradle gets two. Shelley needs a breather on the floor as Josh Alexander is watching backstage.

Another rollup gives Shelley two for a change and we take a break. Back with Sabin grabbing a neckbreaker and another one gets two. The neck crank goes on to keep Shelley in trouble and the chinlock goes on. Another neckbreaker gets another two as Sabin certainly has a target. Back up and Shelley takes the knee out and we go to another break.

We come back again with Shelley tying up the legs before working on the arm for a change. Shelley ties Sabin up so much that Sabin is hooking his own leg (that’s a new one) before going with a more basic leg crank. Sabin slips out and grabs a DDT for a needed breather to go back to the neck. A tornado DDT gives Sabin two more but Cradle Shock is countered.

Shelley kicks him in the knee and drives said knee into the mat to cut him down again. A belly to back sets up the Border City Stretch, with Sabin having to go to the ropes. Sabin is back up with a jumping enziguri and another kick drops Shelley for a double knockdown. The Clothesline From Hell, Michigan misses so they trade superkicks. Now the Clothesline can connect but the Cradle Shock is blocked again. Shelley hits Sliced Bread for two and Shell Shock is good for the same. The Border City Stretch goes on and Sabin taps at 24:13.

Rating: B. Yeah this worked, as it’s nice to have the kind of chess match that you get from people who know each other so well. You can have all of the flips and dives that you want, but this was more about the technical side of things as the two of them tried to pick the other apart until one couldn’t hang on. Shelley winning is an interesting way to go, but it isn’t like there was a bad choice from the pair.

Post match Sabin raises Shelley’s hand but Violent By Design runs in for the beatdown. Kushida comes out for the save and checks on the Guns to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty solid show here as they set things up for the future and did enough to make me want to stick around next week. Kushida debuting at the end was nice, though MY GOODNESS ENOUGH WITH VIOLENT BY DESIGN. They’re the weakest part of the show by a good while and there is nothing to suggest that they are going away anytime soon, which is hurting some of the good will Impact has had going for it lately. Fix that and Impact is one of the better weekly shows going, but there are still some holes to fix.

Results
VXT b. Mia Yim/Jordynne Grace – Double suplex to Yim
Mike Bailey b. Deaner – Ultimate Weapon
Masha Slamovich b. Madison Rayne – Snowplow
Bullet Club b. Honor No More – Fold to Bennett
Alex Shelley b. Chris Sabin – Border City Stretch

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Impact Wrestling
Date: July 14, 2022
Location: Center Stage, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

The rather long road to Emergence continues and we are going to need more than a few matches set for the show. There isn’t much announced yet, but at least now we should be able to set something up besides the Knockouts Title match. Josh Alexander certainly needs an opponent so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Deaner and Joe Doering don’t know where Eric Young is but their six man tag is up right now. Maybe this is Young’s latest test for them! And yes, we really are giving this much focus to what Eric Young thinks.

Josh Alexander/Motor City Machine Guns vs. Violent By Design

It’s a handicap match to start as there is no Eric Young, meaning things are already looking up. Wait hold on as the bell rings and now Young comes out, because he likes teasing us for some reason. Alexander and Deaner start things off with Alexander bringing him over for the tag to Shelley.

The arm work is on, with Sabin coming in to jump onto said arm. Alexander grabs the ankle lock in the corner but Young gets in a cheap shot to take over. Doering puts Alexander in the corner for a running dropkick to the back and the chinlock goes on. Back up and Doering hits a hard running crossbody to send us to a break.

We come back with everything breaking down, including the Guns cleaning house. Sabin and Doering hit stereo crossbodies for a double knockdown, meaning it’s a double tag to bring in Young and Alexander. A northern lights suplex drops Young and the ankle lock goes on, only to be quickly broken. Sabin and Deaner come back in but Young has to yell, allowing the Guns to hit the Dream Sequence. Everything breaks down again and it’s the Motor City Stretch to make Deaner tap at 16:35 (with Young tapping to Alexander’s ankle lock a few seconds later).

Rating: C+. Pretty good six man tag here, though I have absolutely no idea why Violent By Design is still dealing with Alexander. I would really hope that the feud is done after this because there is no reason for the story to keep going. Alexander has beaten all of them in a row, so what in the world is left for them to do? Maybe split up, because Young being out of the main focus would be rather nice.

Post match Sabin and Shelley look at Alexander’s title and seem to like it.

Killer Kelly likes to prepare.

James Storm vs. Steve Maclin

Feeling out process to start until Maclin elbows him in the face. That earns him a hiptoss but the threat of the Last Call sends him bailing to the floor. A shot to the face drops Storm though and we take a break. Back with Maclin hitting an Irish Curse and something like an STO out of the corner gets two. Some rams into the buckle just fire Storm up and the comeback is on, including a running neckbreaker for two.

Maclin catches him on top though and we’re off to the Tree of Woe, with Maclin hitting the running spear. Back up and Storm can’t hit the Eye of the Storm but can drive him into the corner. This time it’s Maclin getting caught on top for a super hurricanrana into a top rope elbow for two, leaving Storm stunned. Closing Time looks to set up the Last Call but Maclin catches the leg and kicks Storm into the turnbuckle (which came exposed somewhere in there). The double arm DDT finishes Storm at 12:15.

Rating: C. The more I see of Maclin, the more I’m wondering just how far he’s going to be pushed. You have to imagine him getting a title shot somewhere, even if it is just headlining a lower level event. That is more than a lot of people get to do and it would be pretty impressive for someone who got here seemingly as a last resort.

Post match the lights go out and it’s Sami Callihan but Maclin is on the ramp to get away.

Ric Flair Flashback Moment Of The Week: Flair interfering in Lethal Lockdown at Lockdown 2010. Believe it or not, he got beaten up by Hulk Hogan and left bleeding.

The Motor City Machine Guns both want the World Title so Scott D’Amore puts them in at #1 contenders match next week. They’re both happy with that.

Chelsea Green vs. Mickie James

Green kisses her to start so Mickie does it right back before punching Green in the face. Mickie unloads in the corner and they go to the mat for some rolling around. After tossing Mickie outside, Green pulls her off the top for a crash. The hurricanrana out of the corner staggers Green though and a running knee to the face gets two.

More shots in the corner rock Green so she comes out with a heck of a big boot for two. They fight up the ramp and then get back inside, where Mickie grabs her neckbreaker. Some clotheslines set up a top rope Thesz press into the Mick Kick, with Green grabbing the rope for the save.

Since getting kicked in the head doesn’t matter much, Green is back up with a Stomp but she gets caught grabbing the skirt on the cover. I’m Prettier is countered into a rollup to give Mickie two more and they trade kicks to the head. Mickie grabs the MickDT but Green rolls her up and puts the feet on the ropes for the pin at 12:47.

Rating: C+. They got this rolling near the end and that was nice to see. What mattered here was having a good fight between two people who have gone from friends to not being able to stand each other. Mickie can absorb anything and it’s nice to see Green getting a win like this, as she has quite the up and down momentum swings.

Rehwoldt: “Green finds herself standing tall!” She’s sitting on the ramp.

Taya Valkyrie is sorry she’s late to go to the Undead Realm but she needed to get the right shirt (it says PURE EVIL). They go to the Undead Realm and Rosemary gets annoyed at having to explain things. Taya wanders off and winds up in a white room, with Rosemary following to find Taya and…..Jessica, who is formerly known as Havoc, but with a much more normal looking face.

Bhupinder Gujjar beat Johnny Swinger on Before The Impact, meaning he should be getting a Digital Media Title shot. Champion Brian Myers doesn’t think so just yet.

Tenille Dashwood vs. Masha Slamovich

The rest of the Influence is here too. Dashwood bails to the apron to start but gets pulled back in for a dragon screw legwhip. The Snow Plow finishes for Slamovich at 1:17 to complete the total squash.

We look at Violent By Design attacking Mike Bailey last week.

Bailey is glad to face Deaner next week.

Mickie James is disappointed and leaves.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Honor No More vs. Bullet Club

Hold on though as Heath jumps Vincent on the stage and hits him with the Wake Up Call. After a break, it’s Eddie Edwards vs. Chris Bey to start with the latter taking over. Ace Austin comes in to stomp Kenny King into the corner before dropkicking Matt Taven down. Everything breaks down early and the Club cleans house without much effort.

We take another break and come back with Taven in more trouble as Karl Anderson whips him hard into the corner. Doc Gallows comes in for those weird punches in the corner and a heck of a clothesline drops Taven. Bey drops a leg for two but makes the mistake of going after the rest of the team, allowing Bennett to get in a cheap shot to take over. It’s back to Edwards for a chinlock before Taven’s Just The Tip gets two.

Bey gets up and makes the tag to Anderson, but, say it with me, the referee doesn’t see it, meaning the beating continues. Some kicks to the face get Bey out of trouble and the hot tag brings in Anderson to clean house. The middle rope neckbreaker drops Taven and everything breaks down again. Maria Kanellis gets in a low blow on Gallows and it’s a series of big shots, setting up Aurora Boreallis to finish for Taven at 15:56.

Rating: C+. Aside from trying to figure out if Kanellis and Boreallis rhyme, I had a good time with the wild style main event. These groups seem like they could be setting up a pretty big blowoff match down the line and that is not a bad thing. Honor No More’s up and down push continues, but the Bullet Club isn’t going to be hurt by losing an eight man tag.

Overall Rating: B-. They kept the show moving this week and are putting things together for the upcoming bigger shows. There are a lot of things that still need to be fixed up (read as ENOUGH VIOLENT BY DESIGN) but what they have so far is working out well enough. Impact is doing well in recent weeks and I can always go for that, as they know how to do things well at times.

Results
Josh Alexander/Motor City Machine Guns b. Violent By Design – Motor City Stretch to Deaner
Steve Maclin b. James Storm – Double arm DDT
Chelsea Green b. Mickie James – Rollup with feet on the ropes
Masha Slamovich b. Tenille Dashwood – Snow Plow
Honor No More b. Bullet Club – Aurora Boreallis to Gallows

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Impact Wrestling
Date: July 7, 2022
Location: Center Stage, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

Against All Odds has come and gone and hopefully that means Josh Alexander is done with Violent By Design. Alexander defeated Joe Doering in the show’s main event to retain the World Title, meaning it’s time to move on. The only title change was the Digital Media Title as Brian Myers beat Rich Swann so there isn’t much to build from. Let’s get to it.

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

Against All Odds recap.

Opening sequence.

X-Division Title: Mike Bailey vs. Alan Angels

Angels, of Dark Order fame, is challenging in his debut. They do shake hands, though Bailey has to get in his annoying bow first. Angels wants to start fast but gets kicked down, setting up the rapid fire kicks. That’s enough to send Angels outside for the moonsault but he’s fine enough to drop Bailey onto the barricade. A frog splash off the apron crushes Bailey again and it’s time to kick away back inside.

There’s a northern lights suplex for two but Bailey superkicks him out of the air. The running corkscrew shooting star press gives Bailey two of his own but he charges into a Spanish Fly. They chop it out until Angels grabs the Halo Breaker (spinning torture rack neckbreaker) for a near fall of his own. The Wing Snapper (kind of a Backstabber but with feet instead of knees) drops Bailey again but he’s right back with another kick. The Ultimate Weapon retains the title at 8:34.

Rating: C+. The kicks were hard enough and it was nice to see Angels getting a chance to do something outside of the Dark Order. That had a hard ceiling and while I don’t know how much further Angels can go, at least he has the chance to do something else here as himself rather than part of a group. Not a classic, but a good choice for an opener.

Post match respect is shown but here is Violent By Design to lay out both guys. Deaner says this isn’t over with Josh Alexander (WHY THE HECK NOT???) and want him out here right now but it’s Eric Young answering instead. After a break, Young asks how we got here. While the answer would be “no one but Impact would take you”, they talk about how they came up short but Young thinks the sickness has both of them. Young wants to purge them both, which has Deaner agreeing with him. They want one more chance and Young seems willing, though this is their LAST chance.

Here’s what’s coming on the show.

Honor No More talks about how they keep getting screwed over but they know they’re the truth. They weren’t invited but Impact needs them. After Against All Odds, they ask PCO how much he wants to be a part of this. Don’t talk, but show them out there tonight.

Deonna Purrazzo, with Chelsea Green, is ready to beat Mia Yim in tonight’s #1 contenders main event. Gail Kim comes out to say next week, Green gets Yim and everyone is barred from ringside in both matches.

Laredo Kid vs. Trey Miguel

Kid shoulders him down to start but we’re at an early standoff. Miguel sends him outside but it’s too early for a dive. Back in and a spinning faceplant drops Miguel, who seems to be favoring his knee. Miguel sends him outside again and this time it’s a one legged Asai moonsault to drop Kid as we take a break.

Back with Kid working on the knee, including a Figure Four, which sends Miguel over to the ropes. Kid puts him up top but gets shoved down, allowing Miguel to hit a missile dropkick. A series of kicks gives Miguel two more but the knee gives out as he tries to go up. Kid Michinoku Drivers him for two of his own, only to have Miguel slip behind him and Roll the Dice for the pin at 11:12.

Rating: B-. These two are always going to be good for a solid match and this was no exception. Miguel having to get creative to win in the end was a fine change of pace and they made things work throughout. Kid continues to be someone who seems like he could be on top of the division at any given time but it never actually happens, which can be more than a bit frustrating.

And now, because of course we are, it’s the Ric Flair Classic Moment Of The Week, as Flair debuts on January 4, 2010.

Violent By Design goes looking for Josh Alexander but gets in a fight with the Motor City Machine Guns instead.

Killer Kelly, who likes to stay in dirty motel rooms (ok then), is coming.

America’s Most Wanted talks about how great it was to be back in the ring at Against All Odds and Chris Harris is happy if that was their last match. For now, James Storm has something to do, so he goes off and finds Steve Maclin. Storm wants to find Moose and thinks that he and Maclin were together at Against All Odds, they must be friends. A match seems likely.

PCO vs. Black Taurus

Vincent and Crazzy Steve are the seconds. They trade shoulders to start until Taurus starts going after the knee. PCO catches him coming off the middle rope though and a choke shove puts Taurus on the floor. Back in and PCO sends him outside again, this time for the suicide flip dive. The De-Animator connects for two but Taurus is right back up with the Sling Blade. A top rope elbow gets two but PCO rolls away from some kind of top rope flip. The PCOsault finishes Taurus at 6:04.

Rating: C. This wasn’t quite the monster brawl I was hoping for but they did a nice enough job of making PCO look like a force all over again. That has been missing a bit lately, as he should be something like the one guy in Honor No More that no one can solve. Having him be the guy who isn’t quite on the same page wasn’t working, assuming he is supposed to stay on the team.

Post match Honor No More comes in to surround Steve but Heath runs in from behind for a Wake Up Call on Kenny King.

The Bullet Club is tired of Honor No More, with Ace Austin wanting to get in on the fight next week. Works for everyone else.

Brian Myers runs into Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice for an exchange of insults. Bhupinder Gujjar comes in and says he wants a Digital Media Title shot. Myers backs up and says Gujjar can face Swinger for the title shot next week instead.

Shera vs. Rich Swann

Swann slaps away to start, earning himself a lifting choke in the air. Shera gorilla press drops him and chokes again as he certainly seems to have a theme. A shot to the knee finally puts Shera in the ropes for a 619 but he shrugs off some more kicks to the head. The big kick to the head sets up a middle rope 450 to finish Shera at 4:49.

Rating: C-. Yep, it’s still Shera, who continues to look good but has very little in the way of quality in the ring. I’ll certainly take this over the Shera Shake/Shuffle, which continues to haunt me to this day. Swann is still kind of floating in the middle of nothing, as he is still a talented guy but can’t find much of anything to do.

The Influence isn’t happy with Masha Slamovich sending them what seems to be a death threat through Gisele Shaw. Somehow this is Shaw’s fault.

Rosemary is sick of people like James Mitchell not sending Havok to help so we (as in Rosemary, not Rosemary/Taya Valkyrie) are going to the Undead Realm to find Havok. Taya isn’t invited because it’s a bit too evil.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Mia Yim

The winner gets a Knockouts Title shot against Jordynne Grace at Emergence. They shove each other to start with neither getting much of an advantage. Purrazzo’s headlock doesn’t get her very far as Yim sends her outside, setting up a dropkick through the ropes. Back in and Purrazzo takes over on the leg, including snapping it back, as we take a break.

We come back with a double headbutt giving us a double knockdown for a breather. It’s Yim making the comeback, including Eat Defeat to put Purrazzo on the apron. Purrazzo slips out of a piledriver attempt and kicks her in the face for two of her own. Queen’s Gambit is blocked so Yim goes up top, only to get slammed back down. Yim avoids a charge to send her into the post though and it’s Code Blue for two on Purrazzo.

They slug it out (of course) until Purrazzo Russian legsweeps her into the Fujiwara armbar. With that broken up, Purrazzo hits the Queen’s Gambit for two and can’t believe the kickout. Yim is back up with the package piledriver for two and now it’s her turn to be shocked. Back up and they slug it out again, with Yim striking her silly. The package piledriver into Eat Defeat sends Yim to Emergence at 17:31.

Rating: B-. Yim has been a lot better around here as of late and I’ve been getting into her stuff a lot more than I was in NXT. That is the kind of upgrade that is always welcome as the Knockouts continue to keep things moving. Purrazzo was a huge deal for a long time and is now coming back down as the cycle continues, as it should.

Post match Jordynne Grace comes out for a handshake and some staring to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. It had enough good wrestling to make me like the show, but the main focus here continues to be on the next monthly special. I can’t get my head around how much better it is for Impact to have something to build towards on a regular basis, as you can only get so much out of the quarterly pay per views and TV. That was the case here and it made a very nice and notable difference. Pretty nice show here and now it’s time to get ready for Emergence next month.

Results
Mike Bailey b. Alan Angels – Ultimate Weapon
Trey Miguel b. Laredo Kid – Roll The Dice
PCO b. Black Taurus – PCOsault
Rich Swann b. Shera – Middle rope 450
Mia Yim b. Deonna Purrazzo – Eat Defeat

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Impact Wrestling
Date: June 30, 2022
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re a day away from Against All Odds and that means it is time to wrap up the card. I’m not sure if that is going to work out in such a short term build but at least they have some time to get it done. The main event of Josh Alexander defending the World Title against Joe Doering is already set and should work out well enough for a one off. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Honor No More injuring Mark Briscoe last week and taking him out of Against All Odds (and probably out of the company).

America’s Most Wanted and the Good Brothers try to get PCO to jump from Honor No More to…whatever they’re calling themselves. Vincent comes in to say PCO belongs to Honor No More and no one else.

Trey Miguel vs. Steve Maclin vs. Laredo Kid vs. Chris Bey

The winner gets the X-Division Title shot at Against All Odds. Maclin gets double teamed to start and knocked outside, with Kid hitting a big dive to follow him out. That leaves Miguel to avoid a kick to the head and hits a basement dropkick. Kid comes back in for a spinning faceplant on Miguel but it’s Maclin coming back in for an elbow to the face.

Mayhem For All is broken up by Miguel so Maclin and Bey head to the apron. A running hurricanrana sends Maclin out to the floor and Kid hits the big dive, allowing Bey to moonsault onto the other three. Back in and Bey hits a pop up cutter for two on Kid with Miguel making the save. The top rope Meteora finishes Bey to send Miguel to the title match at 6:13.

Rating: C+. I’m running out of ways to say that a match with a bunch of cruiserweight style wrestling experience are going to have an exciting match like this one. Miguel getting the title shot makes sense and should give us a good match when they get the show tomorrw. I double Miguel wins there, but at least he did here.

Raven of all people joins us to talk about the Clockwork Orange House Of Fun match.

Against All Odds rundown, plus what’s coming tonight.

Gisele Shaw vs. Rosemary

Taya Valkyrie is at ringside and the Influence is on commentary. They go with the grappling to start until Rosemary grabs her by the hair and bites her head. Rosemary sends her into the buckle over and over, with Shaw going outside as we take a break. Back with Shaw chopping away in the corner as the Influence talks about Shaw getting a potential internship.

A series of running elbows gets two on Rosemary but Shaw misses a running knee. Rosemary’s exploder suplex drops Shaw for two but she’s back with a springboard cutter (didn’t look great) for two of her own. Back up and Rosemary gets in a shot of her own to set up the spear but everyone gets in a fight on the floor. The distraction lets Shaw knee Rosemary to cut off the spear for the pin at 9:22.

Rating: C. Shaw going to the Influence isn’t that interesting, though I don’t quite think that is where this winds up. Rosemary losing via a distraction/something close to shenanigans isn’t the worst ending, but I’m not sure where this story is heading. That being said, it’s a story involving the Women’s Tag Team Titles and I’ll take that over just random title matches.

Post match the Influence comes in to beat up Rosemary with Shaw’s help. The three of them pose together.

Mickie James isn’t worried about Deonna Purrazzo and/or Chelsea Green. The two of them come up and mock James for only thinking about herself, so James decks both of them.

Rosemary summons James Mitchell and ask about Havok. He has seen her in the darkness a bit, so Rosemary tells him to tell her that it’s ALL HANDS ON DECK.

Savannah Evans vs. Jordynne Grace

Non-title and Tasha Steelz is here with Evans. Grace gets driven into the corner to start for some shoulders to the ribs but runs Evans over to cut that off fast. They fight to the floor where Evans hits a chokeslam onto the apron, followed by some choking back inside. Evans’ full nelson is countered into a bulldog and Grace strikes away, setting up the MuscleBuster for the pin at 3:49.

Rating: C-. Grace didn’t squash her but rather muscled through Steelz’ bodyguard to set up tomorrow’s rematch. I don’t think there is a ton of reason to believe Steelz has a chance at Against All Odds, but maybe it’s a better move to just get the rematch out of the way and move on to someone else for Grace.

Video on Joe Doering, who was very big in Japan.

Josh Alexander is proud of getting to retain the World Title at Slammiversary but now he’s ready for Doering at Against All Odds.

Tag Team Titles: Honor No More vs. Good Brothers

PCO/Vincent are challenging for Honor No More, with the rest of the team and James Storm at ringside too. Anderson takes Vincent into some corners to start so PCO comes in to hammer away. That means it can be back to Vincent for some running forearms in the corner to rock Anderson again.

A middle rope legdrop crushes Anderson again as this is one sided so far. The Deanimator actually connects for once but Vincent’s chinlock doesn’t last long. Gallows comes in off the tag and starts cleaning house but the Magic Killer is broken up. Vincent misses Redrum though and it’s a rollup to give Anderson the pin at 5:19.

Rating: C. The Brothers are pretty good at what they do and Honor No More can be thrown together in almost any combination for a match like this. They didn’t have a ton of time here so they had to pack a lot of things into this one in a hurry. The division needs some more teams, but Honor No More works in a five minute match.

Post match Honor No More beats down the Good Brothers and James Storm but Chris Harris and then Heath, with pipes, come in for the save.

Post break the Good Brothers, Heath and America’s Most Wanted celebrate, but Storm says Harris isn’t wrestling at Against All Odds. Harris says he is and Storm gives in.

Ace Austin vs. Alex Zayne

Chris Bey is here with Austin, who bails to the floor at the bell. Back in and Zayne sends Austin into the corner before headscissoring him back out. A knee to the face drops Austin and we take an early break. Back with Austin working on the arm but Zayne slugs away and hits a clothesline.

The backbreaker into the faceplant drops Austin again but he’s right back with the Miz clothesline in the corner. The springboard kick to the face looks to set up the Fold, which is blocked by Zayne’s jumping knee. Austin bails to the floor so Zayne moonsaults onto both of them. Back in and a Bey distraction cuts Zayne off though, allowing Austin to hit the Fold for the pin at 10:29.

Rating: C+. This was your other X-Division match of the week as Austin gets a boost off a win on the way to….whatever else he is going to be doing. Zayne continues to be a guy who can do all of the flips and such, though he needs to win something if they want these wins over him to matter. He got close here, but that is only going to go so far.

Against All Odds rundown.

Trailer for a movie sponsoring Against All Odds.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Chris Sabin

Alex Shelley is here with Sabin and Kazarian’s wife and son are here. They trade armdrags to start and that means an early standoff. Armdrags and headscissors escapes give us another standoff as they’re even so far. Sabin dropkicks the knee out and we’re already in the Figure Four. The rope is grabbed so Sabin wraps the leg around another rope, only to get kicked away.

Kazarian hits the legdrop over the ropes to take over, setting up a fisherman’s suplex for two. Sabin sends him outside for a slugout, where the Wave of the Future sends Sabin into the post. We take a break and come back with Sabin fighting out of a front facelock and snapping off a DDT for two. Kazarian gets sent outside for a change and it’s Sabin hitting a suicide dive. They trade rollups for two each back inside until Kazarian hits a slingshot DDT for two more.

The Flux Capacitor is blocked so Kazarian settles for a northern lights suplex. Sabin is able to send him outside for a tornado DDT onto the floor, but since it’s modern wrestling, Kazarian is fine enough to grab a slingshot cutter for two back inside. The Cradle Shock give Sabin two so Kazarian takes him up for a superplex and a double knockdown. They slug it out and trade kicks to the face until Sabin hits the Clothesline From Hell, Michigan. The second Cradle Shock finishes Kazarian at 21:16.

Rating: B. That’s your wrestling match of the week and they made it work really well. There were no shenanigans and Sabin won with his finisher. It’s one of the better TV matches you’ll see, which was done with no gimmicks or insanity. That is the kind of thing that is going to work every time and they had a heck of a match here, which shouldn’t be surprising.

Overall Rating: B-. This was more of a wrestling heavy show and that isn’t a bad thing. There are a lot of talented people on the roster and this show served as a big table setter for Against All Odds. Maybe they can make the show work on such short notice, but I can’t imagine the expectations are that high. For now though, we had a good TV show and that is all you need sometimes.

Results
Trey Miguel b. Steve Maclin, Laredo Kid and Chris Bey – Top rope Meteora to Bey
Gisele Shaw b. Rosemary – Jumping knee
Jordynne Grace b. Savannah Evans – MuscleBuster
Good Brothers b. Honor No More – Rollup to Vincent
Ace Austin b. Alex Zayne – Fold
Chris Sabin b. Frankie Kazarian – Cradle Shock

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Slammiversary 2022
Date: June 19, 2022
Location: The Asylum, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s the big twenty year celebration of Impact wrestling and the company is doing its best to flash back and move forward at the same time. The main event is Josh Alexander defending the World Title, but we also have a Queen of the Mountain match and Ultimate X to keep up the tradition. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Digital Media Title: Rich Swann vs. Brian Myers

Swann is defending but Myers has the title belt. Myers shrugs off right hands to start so Swann snaps off a headscissors to send him outside. A drop onto the apron cuts Swann off though and we hit the chinlock back inside. With that not working, Myers grabs a chinlock to keep Swann down.

Swann fights up and strikes away for two but it’s too early for the Phoenix splash. Myers hits a spear (instead of the Roster Cut) for two, only for Swann to come back with a neckbreaker. An implant DDT gives Myers two more but Swann cuts him down with Lethal Injection. The 450 finishes Myers at 7:13.

Rating: C. This was a good bit more fun than I would have bet on with Myers hitting some nice stuff (that spear was quite impressive) before falling as he should have. Swann has fallen a very long way, but at least he is doing something and is valuable enough to be a champion. Now just find something more important for him and start using the talent that he has.

Reverse Battle Royal

Chris Bey, Steve Maclin, Zicky Dice, Johnny Swinger, Shark Boy, Raj Singh, Aiden Prince, Bhupinder Gujjar, David Young, Shera, Slash, Crazzy Steve, Mike Jackson, Nate Webb, Shogun, Chase Stevens

So there are ten people on the floor to start and the first eight to get inside have a regular battle royal, with the final two having a regular singles match for the win. I think. Even commentary isn’t too sure. Dice seems to get in and then get back out, followed by Bey, Swinger, Maclin and Young getting in. We more or less pause the match to watch Jackson (72 years old) go Old School on Shera while walking along the barricade. After 84 seconds (not exaggerating), Jackson drops down onto Shera’s arm, only to have Singh jump them and send Shera in anyway.

So the field of eight is Shera, Gujjar, Stevens, Bey, Shark Boy, Young, Maclin and Swinger. Shera tosses Stevens and it’s time for the brawling on the ropes. Maclin and Bey fight to the apron as we’re told the pay per view starts in less than five minutes. Bey hits the Art of Finesse on the apron to eliminate Maclin and himself. There go Shera and Gujjar so we’re down to Swinger, Young and Shark Boy.

The spinebuster plants Shark Boy but Swinger turns on Young and tosses him out, meaning it’s Shark Boy vs. Swinger in a regular singles match. Swinger throws him out and has to be told that’s not how it works. Worry not as Swinger stops to pose, allowing Shark Boy to hit the Chummer for the win at 9:44.

Rating: C. What else are you supposed to say about this? The match is more or less the Impact version of the gimmick battle royal and there is nothing wrong with that for a show like this one. I could have gone with a bit less of watching Jackson walking around the barricade, but Shark Boy winning the match is about as fun as it could have been. Nothing important, but it was fun enough while it lasted.

The opening video looks at the history of the company, which really does have some classic moments. I know the company has a bad reputation, but twenty years is a REALLY long time in the wrestling business and Impact deserves a lot of credit for sticking around. Now some of those stars are here (“In a place between yesterday and tomorrow.”) and it’s time for a celebration of the past and a step into the future.

X-Division Title: Trey Miguel vs. Ace Austin vs. Alex Zayne vs. Andrew Everett vs. Kenny King vs. Mike Bailey

Austin is defending and this is Ultimate X, with Everett taking the place of an injured Jack Evans. Tom: “This is the 47th Ultimate X match.” I don’t think that has the same zing that you think it does. It’s a big brawl to start with Bailey and Zayne clearing the ring so they can both go for failed climb attempts. With the two of them down, Miguel sends King outside and hits a big flip dive but has to cut Austin off.

Everett comes back in but Austin kicks Miguel and Everett down without much effort. Everything breaks down again and Everett German suplexes Miguel on the apron. The big dive drops the pile though and everyone is down on the floor. Back in and Zayne hits a running super hurricanrana on Everett, leaving us with Zayne vs. King. Bailey goes up but hits the Ultimate Weapon onto the pile instead of climbing, which doesn’t seem that bright.

A bunch of people go to the corner for a Tower Of Doom, with Miguel being smart enough to chill in the corner. Then he gives Zayne a super Canadian Destroyer, which doesn’t seem as bright as GOING FOR THE BELT. King, Austin, Miguel and Bailey all go up at the same time until Miguel and King are kicked down. Bailey and Austin hang on the top and slap away at each other but Everett goes above them, only to get headscissored down. Some kicks drop Austin as well and Bailey pulls himself up to win the title at 9:50.

Rating: C+. Ultimate X is one of those matches that sounds great on paper but it’s Impact’s version of the wacky ladder match: everyone does a bunch of stuff until someone shows enough intelligence to pull the belt down. Impact has been building towards Bailey winning for a long time now so this is about as good of an idea as they had. I’m not big on the guy, but at least it has been set up over the last few weeks.

Commentary pays tribute to Bob Ryder, who was a huge part of the development of Impact but passed away in 2020. This show is dedicated to him. That’s very nice.

We run down the rest of the card.

Scott Hudson (let the flashbacks begin) talks to the Motor City Machine Guns, Frankie Kazarian and Nick Aldis about their match with Honor No More tonight. First up though, the Guns are happy with being named the best team in the company’s history. Alex Shelley lists off some of the great teams over the years (and there are some impressive ones) but they are all ready to fight tonight. Aldis says the team doesn’t look the same but what matters is that they are here because they are serious about wrestling. They have a fifth man, but you’ll have to see who it is later. Hudson: “They’re keeping it kayfabe as always.”

We get a video from Sting, talking about what his time in Impact meant to him. He really was a big deal around here and it is nice to see him here. We even hear about his feud with Hulk Hogan, who I didn’t think you could talk about around here anymore.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Rosemary/Taya Valkyrie vs. Influence

The Influence is defending and hold their titles like babies. Valkyrie wrestles Rayne down to start and carries her into the corner, where Rosemary tags herself in. This doesn’t sit well with Valkyrie, even though that’s how you set up a tag most of the time. Dashwood comes in as well but gets taken into the corner for a kick to the head.

Back up and Dashwood gets in a shot on Rosemary to knock her into the corner so the champs can take over. The chinlock goes on, with Rosemary suplexing her way to freedom without much effort. Valkyrie comes in to strike away at both champs and something like a Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Rayne. Everything breaks down and Rosemary’s spear is cut off.

That doesn’t seem to matter though as the champs are sent into each other, setting up stereo spears for stereo near falls. Rayne shoves Rosemary into Valkyrie though and a neckbreaker over the ropes drops Valkyrie. The Collab drops Rosemary but Valkyrie’s distraction lets Rosemary pop up. As Above So Below finishes Rayne for the pin and the titles at 7:19.

Rating: C. This could have been on any given edition of Impact and that isn’t a surprise. These titles still don’t mean much but at least it seems like teams are interested in winning them. Rosemary and Taya are kind of a thrown together team but they do have history so it could be worse. Not much of a match, though I can’t imagine that’s much of a surprise these days.

We get a video from Kurt Angle for thanking him for all of his time in Impact Wrestling. Simple and to the point here.

We recap Moose vs. Sami Callihan. Moose injured Callihan about ten months ago but Callihan is back and stalking Moose, setting up tonight’s Monster’s Ball match.

Sami Callihan vs. Moose

Monster’s Ball, meaning street fight, but with the gimmick that they have been locked away without food, water or light for 24 hours (as was the original idea of the match but it was dropped over the years). Sami jumps him during the entrance and they start fast with a slugout on the floor. A trashcan to the back drops Moose and it’s time for the cookie sheets to the head.

Moose gets in a trashcan lid shot of his own for a breather but gets smart enough to grab a water bottle and a hot dog from a fan. Sami is already busted open as Moose chokeslams him onto the apron. Moose does it again for a bonus as we’re told about this being the 54th Monster’s Ball match. Again: doesn’t sound so great. Sami gets put through a table and they get inside for the first time over four minutes into the match. Some shots to the ankle are blocked and Sami pelts a chair at Moose’s head.

The spear only sends Moose into the trashcan, which Sami stands up for a bonus. It’s time for the…barbed wire door (just go with it), allowing Moose to escape the trashcan. Moose goes up top, only to get shoved off and through a table at ringside. The thumbtacks are brought in but Sami’s tornado DDT is countered into a chokebomb into said tacks for two. Moose drags him through the tacks for a bonus but the spear is countered into a Death Valley Driver through the barbed wire door.

It’s time for a duel of the trashcan lids until both guys go down. Back up and it’s a regular slugout with Sami getting the better of things and hitting a Cactus Special for two. Another Cactus Special is cut off by a low blow and Moose sets up a trashcan. Moose goes up but gets powerbombed onto the (standing up) trashcan. Another Cactus Special gives Sami one so he grabs another one for the pin at 14:55.

Rating: B-. This is a good example of a match where if you’ve seen it once, you’ve seen it a dozen times. They hit all of the regular spots and Sami won to set him back on the right road after being gone for so long. I’m not sure what is next for Sami around here, but there are certainly a lot of people for him to beat him in one violent match like this after another.

We recap the Good Brothers vs. the Briscoes for the Tag Team Titles. The Briscoes won the titles but the Brothers said that it doesn’t matter until the Briscoes beat the. Throw in a trip to the Briscoes’ farm and it’s time for a title/grudge match.

Tag Team Titles: Good Brothers vs. Briscoes

The Briscoes are defending. It’s a brawl to start (shocking) with the Briscoes getting the better of things and double shouldering Anderson down. Some flip dives drop the Brothers again and Jay spinebusters Anderson on the stage. Mark gets back in and Jay tosses him a chair, which he uses for a running flip dive to take out the Brothers again. Back in and Mark hits Anderson with something like a Claymore but Anderson sends Jay into the chair in the corner to cut him off for a change.

The chinlock doesn’t last long on Jay as he fights up and superkicks his way to freedom. The hot tag brings in Mark to clean house with right hands and an enziguri as we hear about some great Impact teams of years past. An Iconoclasm gets two on Anderson but he’s right back with a spinebuster for two. The reverse 3D sets up the Magic Killer, with Jay making the save. Jay is sent into the post though and that means it is going to be awhile before he is ready for a tag.

Mark tries to fight his own way out of trouble but gets dropped with a single shot to the face. The Gun Stun is blocked and Jay comes back in (minus the tag) to help clean house. The Jay Driller and Doomsday Device are both broken up and a kick to the face drops Jay. Now the Magic Killer can connect to give the Brothers the pin and the titles at 10:06.

Rating: C+. This was surprisingly short as I was expecting something long and a bit epic. Instead, we got a pretty fast but hard hitting match without much of the Brothers being in control until the end. The Briscoes losing again is a bit surprising, but maybe they aren’t locked in as long as the Brothers at this point. I’m not thrilled with the Brothers winning, as they have dominated for far too long, but at least the Briscoes were able to breathe some fresh life into the division for awhile.

Post match respect is teased but here is America’s Most Wanted to interrupt. James Storm says tag team wrestling has always meant something around here and he is proud that this company has made it twenty years. After being told they wouldn’t last a week, a month or a year, sorry about your d*** luck. Beer is consumed.

We get a tribute to Mike Tenay and Don West. That’s rather awesome, though not so much with West battling lymphoma.

We recap Honor No More vs. the Impact originals. It’s the team that is all about respect and history vs. the team that doesn’t care in a story that pretty much writes itself.

Christy Hemme brings out Scott D’Amore (in Coach gear) for commentary.

Honor No More vs. Motor City Machine Guns/Frankie Kazarian/Nick Aldis/???

Maria is back with Honor No More (Eddie Edwards/Matt Taven/Mike Bennett/Vincent/PCO). Aldis is billed as a former NWA World Champion. True, but you would think his two Impact World Title reigns might carry a bit more weight here. There is a mystery partner and it’s….Dixie Carter? Ah never mind as she’s here for a speech (shocking I know) and also to introduce…Davey Richards. Not a name I would have bet on, or one I wanted to see for that matter, but he’s a name from the past.

It’s a brawl to start with the Guns beating up the Kingdom until we settle down to Aldis suplexing Bennett. Vincent and Kazarian come in to slug it out before we get the battle of the Wolves. Well maybe in a bit as Edwards hands it off to Taven instead, meaning it’s a parade of beatings. Everything breaks down and Honor No More takes turns getting beaten up in a bunch of corners. Shelley finally gets sent into the corner for a bunch of running shots, setting up Vincent’s running Downward Spiral for two.

Taven’s moonsault sets up Just The Top for two but PCO’s De-Animator misses. Shelley fights out of the corner, including a double Sliced Bread to Vincent and Edwards, which finally allows the hot tag off to Kazarian. House is cleaned again before it’s off to Aldis for a bunch of right hands. Everything breaks down again and it’s the Dream Sequence to Edwards, followed by a big dive to Bennett. Taven busts out the Flight Of The Conqueror to take out the pile, leaving Edwards vs. Richards again.

Richards gets the better of things and grabs the dragon screw legwhip in the ropes. The top rope double stomp misses but Richards is fine enough to grab a leglock on Edwards. Everyone in Honor No More outside of PCO gets caught in a hold so it’s PCO making the save. A Vader Bomb gets two on Sabin but the PCOsault misses Aldis. The Michinoku Driver puts PCO down and Richards adds the top rope double stomp for two.

Maria gets up on the apron for a distraction but Traci Brooks (Kazarian’s wife) pulls her off for a right hand. Kazarian saves Traci from PCO and it’s a top rope Flux Capacitor to plant PCO for two. Cue Kenny King to go after Kazarian but D’Lo Brown makes the save with a heck of a Sky High. There’s a Low Down to make it worse and the Guns strike away at PCO. The Kingdom gets dropped as well and there’s the Cradle Shock to PCO….with Earl Hebner coming over the barricade to count the pin at 18:46.

Rating: B-. This was the wild match that the show needed as a big celebration of the company’s history. That is something that you have to have on a show like this and it worked well enough. It helps that the match was good, but this was all about the history and tradition and that was a success.

AJ Styles talks about some of his favorite moments in TNA, including the Unbreakable three way with Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels. Styles has been named the Most Impactful X-Division wrestler and male wrestler overall and he thanks WWE for letting him do this, because Impact is that important. You can’t have a show like this without hearing from Styles so this had to be here.

We recap Queen Of The Mountain and go over the still ridiculous rules. It’s a five way match with wrestlers having to score a pin to become eligible to hang the title. When someone is pinned, they go to a penalty box for two minutes. The first person to climb a ladder and hang the title (because it’s a reverse ladder match with pins and a penalty box) wins.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Tasha Steelz vs. Mia Yim vs. Deonna Purrazzo vs. Chelsea Green

Steelz, with Savannah Evans, is defending in Queen Of The Mountain and Mickie James is guest enforcer. Steelz has Mickie themed gear describing herself as “The Greatest Who Beat The Greatest” for a nice touch. The bell rings and Steelz bails to the floor to grab a table with Evans. Yim takes both of them out with a dive and Green hits her own flip dive (thankfully not breaking her arm for a change).

Purrazzo adds her own dive and Green rolls Steelz up to become eligible and send her to the penalty box for two minutes. Mickie sends Evans into the box as well, leaving Grace and Yim to beat up Purrazzo. Steelz and Evans are out with Steelz getting to strike away. Evans gets back inside and is ejected by Mickie, leaving Steelz to kick green down. Yim makes the save and suplexes Green for the pin/eligibility/penalty box time.

Green isn’t happy and hits Mickie with the door as Purrazzo has to cut off Yim from hanging the title. With Yim going up anyway, Steelz comes off the top with a cutter to pull her back down. As Purrazzo armbars Steelz, Green is released and takes Grace down with a spear. Steelz taps so Purrazzo can be eligible but it’s time to go after Grace. A Backstabber sends her outside as Green sends Yim into the corner for two. Green holds up the title as Steelz is released from the box.

The ladder is laid up against the ropes and it’s Yim coming off the penalty box to dropkick Green into said ladder. Yim hits a big dive to take out a bunch of people, setting up a package piledriver on the floor to pin Grace (remember Yim was already eligible). Green headbutts Steelz down and goes up but James is back in to break it up in an act of rather unprofessional revenge.

Purrazzo powerbombs Yim onto a ladder and goes up at the same time as Green. As Grace is released, Yim shoves the ladder over to put both Green and Purrazzo through the table. Yim gets dropped and double pinned by Grace and Steelz, meaning everyone is eligible. Steelz goes up but Grace hits her with a MuscleBuster for the pin, allowing Grace to hang the title for the win at 18:24.

Rating: C+. What do you say about a match like this? It’s total insanity and the rules are such a mess that it is quite the chore to keep track of everything that is going on. Grace was the monster throughout the match and it makes sense to have her win, as she hasn’t been around the title in a long time. Granted Masha Slamovich seems to be waiting on whoever won the title, but Grace winning is nice to see.

Goldilocks, the original backstage interviewer, talks to the most Impactful Knockout of all time: Gail Kim (I was hoping for Roxie Laveaux), who is rather pleased with everything that has been going on.

We recap Eric Young challenging Josh Alexander for the World Title. Alexander wants to lead the promotion into the future while Young wants chaos. And the title.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Josh Alexander vs. Eric Young

Young, with the rest of Violent By Design, is challenging. Feeling out process to start with Alexander driving him into the corner to little avail. A slap off goes to Alexander but seems to wake Young up a bit. Young clotheslines him down but gets kicked away to give us another standoff. Alexander grabs a quick Regal Roll, only to miss a moonsault. Young misses one of his own and it’s another standoff, because they like those things a lot.

This time it’s Alexander taking him into the corner for the Samoa Joe facewash but Young grabs a quick Death Valley Driver. Deaner loads up a table at ringside as Alexander fights back, only to get knocked off the top. Young’s top rope elbow gets two and it’s time to rip up the ring mat. The delay lets Alexander hit a powerbomb into some kind of a Boston crab (again with the Samoa Joe).

The C4 Spike is broken up and Young hits a Stroke for two of his own. A Black Hole Slam gives Young another two as the fans are rather pleased. Alexander drops him and hits a Christopher Daniels Best Moonsault Ever, followed by a Styles Clash into the ankle lock. Young is in trouble so Deaner throws powder into the referee’s eyes, meaning Young’s tap doesn’t count.

Doering gets up on the apron so Alexander hits an Angle Slam to drive him through the table. Deaner whips out the flag but Alexander has Coach D’Amore’s Canadian flag hockey stick. The distraction lets Young but a guitar shot for two and it’s time to rip up even more of the ring. A piledriver on the exposed wood gives Young two more and Alexander has had it. The release Rock Bottom onto the wood sets up the C4 Spike onto the same wood to give Alexander the pin at 18:45.

Rating: C+. As gimmicky as this was, and it was REALLY gimmicky, I had a lot more fun doing the tribute to the big moves of Impact’s past than trying to do a bunch of stuff that wouldn’t have been as interesting. Young vs. Alexander is not a big time main event so giving it a bunch of other stuff to hide that fact is a good idea. It was getting fun trying to guess what big move would be next and I had a much better time than I would have had with these two in a straight match.

Overall Rating: B-. There was a hard balance to hold together on this show and they wound up doing a good enough job with the whole thing. Balancing a big celebration of the past while also being a big show focused on the present is harder than it seems and they made it work for the most part. Nothing was too bad, though it also never had that one big match or moment that made it feel special. Seeing AJ Styles appear was a surprise and brought up the most emotions, but that isn’t exactly a good thing as he hasn’t worked here in years. Overall, a good show, but only a necessary watch if you’re a diehard Impact/TNA fan.

Results
Mike Bailey won Ultimate X
Rosemary/Taya Valkyrie b. Influence – As Above So Below to Rayne
Sami Callihan b. Moose – Cactus Special
Good Brothers b. Briscoes – Magic Killer to Jay
Frankie Kazarian/Motor City Machine Guns/Davey Richards/Nick Aldis b. Honor No More – Cradle Shock to PCO
Jordynne Grace won Queen of the Mountain
Josh Alexander b. Eric Young – C4 Spike onto the exposed boards

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Impact Wrestling
Date: June 16, 2022
Location: Osceola Heritage Park, Kissimmee, Florida
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s the go home show for Slammiversary and that means there is a bit of work left to do. In this case that means hammering home the matches that are already set, but there is always the chance of something else being added at the last minute. Things have been going well as of late around here but now they need to stick the landing. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Josh Alexander vs. Violent By Design last week.

Opening recap, again with another classic theme (cool idea, as they keep playing up the history really well).

Jordynne Grace/Mia Yim vs. Tasha Steelz/Savannah Evans

It’s the Queen Of The Mountain preview, so yes we get the still too complicated set of rules. Yim chops away at Evans to start before hitting a running dropkick for a bonus. Evans is able to send her into the corner though and Steelz gets hiptossed onto Yim for two. The tornado DDT gives Steelz two but Yim manages to send Evans into the buckle. There’s the tag off to Grace to clean house, including a Vader Bomb into a crossface on Steelz. Everything breaks down and Yim is sent into Grace, allowing Steelz to roll Grace up (with tights) for the pin at 6:48.

Rating: C. This was a way to put the women in Sunday’s match into the ring together beforehand as a preview. I would say it was good stuff in that regard, but this felt like a match that I have seen more times than I can count. Steelz getting a pin means a bit before Queen Of The Mountain, but it feels just a step above building momentum towards Money In The Bank.

Deonna Purrazzo and Chelsea Green, who were watching the match in the back, certainly aren’t a team.

Slammiversary/tonight rundown.

The Aces & Eights are back (Wes Brisco/Garrett Bischoff) are happy to be back but here is Honor No More to mock D’Lo Brown and be held back. Brown comes in and says that’s not how we do it around here anymore. They ask Brown if he remembers what it’s like being part of the team, which has Brown implying that the tag match is being made for tonight.

Video on Josh Alexander vs. Eric Young.

Trey Miguel vs. Mike Bailey

They shake hands before the bell before fighting over arm control and trading rollups for two each. Bailey gets the better of the armbar battle so Miguel goes straight over to the ropes. Miguel snaps the arm across the top rope and hits a sliding kick to the arm, followed by a running kick to the head. They head outside with Bailey hitting a kick to the chest (which also hit part of the apron) and we take a break.

Back with Bailey kicking away and hitting the running corkscrew shooting star press for two. The half crab goes on, sending Miguel straight to the rope again. Miguel flips back into the dragon sleeper but this time it’s Bailey making it to the rope. They forearm it out (of course) and kick it out (of course) until Bailey does his bouncing kicks to take over. Miguel kicks him outside though and there’s the step up flip dive to drop Bailey. Back in and Bailey kicks him down again, setting up the moonsault knees to the chest. The big kick to the head gives Bailey two but Miguel is right back with a small package for the pin at 14:15.

Rating: B-. Oh like this wasn’t going to be good. The X-Division is one of those things where you can throw out almost any combination and all but guarantee a good match. That’s what they did here and there is nothing wrong with watching two young, talented wrestlers get out there and do their thing for almost fifteen minutes.

Video on Moose vs. Sami Callihan.

Alisha vs. Masha Slamovich

Alisha hammers away but gets dropped with a spinning backfist. There’s a suplex to make it worse and the Snowplow finishes Alisha at 56 seconds as the dominance continues.

Taya Valkyrie comes up to Rosemary in the back to talk strategy but Rosemary doesn’t think much of her given their history.

Chris Bey/Jay White vs. Briscoes

Non-title and the Good Brothers are on commentary. For the sake of simplicity I’ll only refer to Jay White as White and Jay Briscoe as Jay. White drives Jay into the corner but gets knocked back, meaning it’s Bey coming in to try his luck. Mark comes in to send Bey to the apron but a quick shot puts Mark down. Bey sends Mark into Jay, who is right back up to clean house without much effort. Everything breaks down and Bey hits the big running flip dive to drop the Briscoes as we take a break.

Back with White grabbing a chinlock on Jay, who fights up and wins a slugout. Everything breaks down and Mark hits the Iconoclasm on Bey. Redneck Boogie gets two with White making the save, earning himself a running big boot/German suplex combination. Mark misses the Froggy Boy on Bey but settles for a rollup pin at 14:31.

Rating: B-. Another good match here, as the Briscoes get a nice win on the way to their title defense on Sunday. You knew they weren’t going to beat White here but that is one of the reasons why Bey is on the team. Good stuff here but that is almost a guarantee from the Briscoes most of the time.

The Reverse Battle Royal is back on Sunday. Thankfully on the pre-show.

Raj Singh says Shera is going to win the battle royal but Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice don’t think so. Neither of them know the rules though.

D’Lo Brown is back in the Aces & 8’s gear.

We look back at Eddie Edwards turning his back on Impact to join Honor No More. This set up Honor No More vs. the Impact originals, with Nick Aldis joining the originals.

Aces & Eights vs. Honor No More

It’s Kenny King/Vincent for Honor No More and the Aces have D’Lo Brown with them. Everything breaks down early on with Aces & Eights managing to take over on King. Vincent comes in and gets hiptossed as everything breaks down again. The Aces clear the ring and we take an early break. Back with Bischoff clotheslining his way out of trouble and bringing Brisco in to clean house. Eddie Edwards offers a distraction though and Orange Sunshine finishes Bischoff at 7:01.

Rating: C-. This was another flashback moment and for a fast reunion, it wasn’t all that bad. Brisco and Bischoff were always the jobbers of Aces & Eights so there was only so much that was going to happen here. You’re also not going to have Honor No More lose in a spot like this so this was a fine enough yet still not exactly shocking result.

Post match Brown gets in the ring and thinks Honor No More better recognize before cleaning house. Matt Taven and Mike Bennett run in for the beatdown on Brown so Kazarian and the Motor City Machine Guns come in for the real save.

Slammiversary rundown.

It’s time for the contract signing between Eric Young, with Violent By Design, and Josh Alexander, plus Scott D’Amore as emcee. Young says he doesn’t care about history or what Slammiversary means because he only cares about himself. Alexander can’t believe that because he started as a fan watching people like Young. Impact Wrestling kept him going eight years ago when he broke his neck so yes, Slammiversary is a celebration of the past and the future.

Young calls that pandering because he has said the same thing to these same people. Alexander is better than these people but the people’s opinions don’t matter. The truth is this: Young rides that line between chaos and order. At Slammiversary, Young will open Alexander’s eyes. They both sign, with Young sending D’Amore off. Alexander says he isn’t scared because he has this company’s entire history behind him on Sunday. He lists off a bunch of the legends of the promotion, including a guy named Showtime Eric Young.

That is the man who had these people chanting DON’T FIRE ERIC and that man would be disgusted with this Young. The brawl is on, with D’Amore even punching Deaner out. Alexander is beaten down and busted open though, with Violent By Design ripping off the turnbuckle and tearing up the mat. The piledriver on the wood leaves Alexander laying to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked the show well enough and they went with the big push towards Slammiversary. That worked out decently, though the show had already been made coming into this week. I’m looking forward to Slammiversary but they need to make the whole thing work, which is where Impact tends to shine. Pretty nice show here, even if they didn’t do much.

Results
Tasha Steelz/Savannah Evans b. Jordynne Grace/Mia Yim – Rollup with tights to Grace
Trey Miguel b. Mike Bailey – Small package
Masha Slamovich b. Alisha – Snowplow
Briscoes b. Chris Bey/Jay White – Rollup to Bey
Honor No More b. Aces & Eights – Orange Sunshine to Bischoff

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Impact Wrestling
Date: June 9, 2022
Location: Osceola Heritage Park, Kissimmee, Florida
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are rapidly approaching Slammiversary and that means it is time to start filling out the card. The main event is set but we still need to add in a few more spots here and there. This includes another name in the Ultimate X match, plus a likely Moose vs. Sami Callihan match. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening sequence looks at Sami Callihan attacking Moose last week.

Callihan wants Moose.

Opening sequence, again featuring a classic TNA theme. I could go for more of these things.

Tenille Dashwood vs. Rosemary

Madison Rayne is here too. Rosemary knocks her into the corner to start and a ram into the buckle makes it worse. Dashwood manages to get in a shot of her own though and pulls Rosemary outside for a crash to take over. Back in and the Upside Down doesn’t get Rosemary very far as Dashwood clotheslines her down.

A full nelson is broken up though and a double clothesline gives them both a breather. It’s Rosemary up first with something close to the Last Chancery but Dashwood slips out. Rayne offers a quick cheap shot but Rosemary grabs a rollup for the pin at 6:04 anyway. Ignore Rosemary’s shoulders being down.

Rating: C. Pretty run of the mill match here with a bit of a wonky ending. Rosemary not having Havok here was a bit weird as they might not have the brightest future together. Dashwood and Rayne are still fine as heels, but it is still kind of hard to get invested in the division as it pretty much doesn’t exist.

Post match the beatdown is on but Taya Valkyrie comes in for the save. Rosemary and Taya don’t exactly seem to trust each other.

Slammiversary rundown.

The Good Brothers have come to the Briscoes’ chicken farm and we get some rapid fire clips of them looking around the place, including dealing with manure, talking to Mark’s (I think) son and chasing around a chicken. Then they run into Papa Briscoe, who tells them to get out. Violence is teased but the Briscoe Brothers come in via their truck and the big fight is on. Jay gets tied in a tree, but Papa grabs a wrench to keep the Brothers (Good that is) from throwing a cinder block at his head. Papa continues to steal every scene he is in for any promotion.

Heath says Rhino needs surgery and will be out for months. Revenge on Honor No More is promised.

Steve Maclin vs. PCO

PCO starts fast with a running clothesline and somehow winds up on the floor instead of Maclin. A dive takes Maclin down and PCO’s mouth is busted, but he hits another dive for good measure. The PCOsault is broken up so Maclin knocks him off the top and hits a dive of his own as we take a break.

Back with Maclin pulling PCO’s shoulder into the post a few times and grabbing a top rope superplex for two. PCO gets all fired up though and hammers away, including a DDT. The Cannonball sets up the Deanimator but another Cannonball hits steps. Maclin hits a running spear against the barricade and then crushes PCO’s arm in the step for a bonus. The shoulder is WAY messed up (looks dislocated) but PCO beats up the medical people. That lets Maclin hit a chair shot to the ribs, followed by a DDT onto the chair for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: C+. The Maclin push continues and beating PCO means a little something. I’m curious to see how far he can go, as we might be seeing him getting into the main event scene. It isn’t like there is anything else of note for him to do, so maybe there is an opening for him in there.

Post match PCO sits up and goes after Maclin, who runs off scared.

Flashback Moment Of The Week: Samoa Joe retains the World Title in King of the Mountain at Slammiversary 2008.

Tasha Steelz, with Savannah Evans, yells at Deonna Purrazzo for not helping her last week. Purrazzo says she doesn’t need their help so the two of them storm off. Chelsea Green comes in to laugh.

Matt Morgan pops up as this week’s cameo and talks about what his time meant here. Vincent comes in to mock him before leaving.

Joe Doering vs. Josh Alexander

Non-title and the rest of Violent By Design is here. Doering shoves him down to start but Alexander is back up with a headlock. A belly to back suplex doesn’t get Doering out of trouble but he kicks out of the ankle lock without much effort. Doering gets in a running shoulder to drop Alexander for two and then sneers a lot. We hit the neck crank for a bit but Alexander is right back up with a middle rope knee. Some rolling German suplexes have Doering in trouble so the Violent By Design flag is thrown in. That’s fine with Alexander, who hits Doering with the flag for the DQ at 6:30.

Rating: C. Not much to see here other than Alexander snapping a bit on the way to the pay per view title match. Doering is still someone where I don’t get the appeal as he is the big monster of a team run by Eric Young. That is only going to get you so far and we passed that point a long time ago.

Post match Alexander cleans house and stares down Eric Young, who backs off.

Moose isn’t worried about Sami Callihan’s mind games, even as the lights flicker.

We look at Ace Austin joining the Bullet Club in Japan.

Austin and the Bullet Club were happy and then beat up an angry Alex Zayne.

Moose goes hunting for Sami Callihan….and actually finds him, setting up the brawl in the back. Callihan is busted open but Moose finds that he is locked in an area backstage. Callihan reveals that he has the key and beats Moose up before locking him in.

Matt Cardona insists that he is the REAL Digital Media Champion but since he is hurt, he hands it off to Brian Myers. That’s fine with Myers, who will defend against Rich Swann at Slammiversary.

Slammiversary rundown, with Alex Zayne being added to Ultimate X.

Honor No More vs. Frankie Kazarian/Motor City Machine Guns

That would be Matt Taven/Mike Bennett/Eddie Edwards for Honor No More. Bennett and Edwards trade headlocks to start for an early standoff. Bennett gets sent into the corner for some alternating shots to the face, allowing Sabin to come in and kick him down. That’s broken up and it’s off to Taven, who takes over on Sabin without much trouble. Kazarian comes in as well with a neckbreaker for Taven before cranking on Edwards’ arm. Everything breaks down and the good guys take over, including the springboard spinning legdrop to Bennett as we take a break.

Back with Shelley Stunning Edwards over the top rope but Bennett pulls the leg to cut him off. Everything breaks down again and Sabin gets launched into a powerbomb to take him down too. Bennett hits Edwards by mistake but Sabin and Kazarian are pulled to the floor to break up a hot tag attempt. Some shots to Shelley’s head seem to wake him up so Edwards kicks him in the head.

Edwards kicks Bennett by mistake though and now the hot tag can bring in Kazarian to clean house. Kazarian flips out of a double belly to back suplex and hands it back to Shelley to pick up the pace even more. Everything breaks down (again) and Sabin hits a cutter on Taven. The parade of dives is on until Sabin gets triple teamed inside.

Kazarian is back in to take Edwards down for two and Sabin hits a middle rope tornado DDT for two on Taven. A slingshot cutter hits Taven but Bennett cuts Sabin off. The Clothesline From Hell, Michigan (clever) hits Bennett but a low blow lets Edwards grab the Die Hard Driver for the pin on Sabin at 20:27.

Rating: B. This got the time to go somewhere and it shouldn’t be a surprise that it worked. Impact has the kind of roster that allows them to do something like this and it worked well as a main event. Sometimes you need to just let wrestlers have the chance to wrestle and the Machine Guns vs. OGK with the other two involved was always going to go well. You can mix and match the combinations for one good pairing after another here and that is a good sign for the future of this story. Good stuff, as Honor No More gets a boost on the way to Slammiversary.

Post match Heath runs in with a chair for some revenge but Kenny King and Vincent come in to build up the numbers again. Heath’s ankle is Pillmanized over and over to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event helped a lot here and we got a good show as a result. Slammiversary is all but set and now they have another week to get in the final push. They still need to make Slammiversary work though and that is the tricky part. Some good build can help though and that is what they did here, though next week will matter more.

Results
Rosemary b. Tenille Dashwood – Rollup
Steve Maclin b. PCO – DDT onto a chair
Joe Doering b. Josh Alexander via DQ when Alexander hit him with a flag pole
Honor No More b. Kazarian/Motor City Machine Guns – Die Hard Driver to Sabin

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Rebellion 2022
Date: April 24, 2022
Location: Majed J. Nesheiwat Convention Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s back to pay per view for Impact and this time they have made me want to see what they have to offer. The main event is a long awaited showdown between Moose and Josh Alexander for the World Title, after Moose took the title at Bound For Glory and then went after Alexander’s family. The rest of the card looks pretty good too so let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Eddie Edwards vs. Chris Bey

Bey is replacing an injured Jonathan Gresham. There are no seconds here for a change and the fans are behind Bey, complete with the TOO SWEET/HOWEVER YOU SPELL THE WEIRD BARKING THING THEY SAY AFTER TOO SWEET chants. Feeling out process to start with Bey grabbing a headscissors but getting taken down with a shot to the face. An overhead belly to belly suplex drops Bey again but he fires off some kicks to send Edwards outside.

There’s the big running flip dive, sending Rehwoldt into a weird Inception reference. Edwards hits a running knee for two, only to have Bey come back with a running clothesline. Some YES Kicks rock Edwards but he’s back with a failed tiger driver attempt. A Backpack Stunner gets Edwards out of trouble for two but his Blue Thunder Bomb is countered into a cutter for two. The Art of Finesse misses though and Edwards’ tiger driver gets two. The Diehard Driver is enough to finish Bey at 9:22.

Rating: B-. This is the right way to open up a show, as they had a hard hitting, fast paced match until one of them got caught with a big move to shut them down. They had some bigger names in this one than you would see in most Kickoff Show matches and it was a good, back and forth match. Edwards beating Bey is a big win as Bey has had some moments lately, though hopefully Bey doesn’t have to start from scratch again.

Pre-Show: Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Influence vs. IInspiration

The Influence is defending and jumps the IInspiration before the bell. We settle down to McKay vs. Rayne to start but it’s quickly off to Lee to send Rayne into the corner. Dashwood comes in to send Lee face first into the mat as we’re told Rebellion starts in about seven minutes. Good thing they didn’t waste time letting us think this might be some epic match.

Lee manages a rollup for two on Dashwood and they knock each other down for a double breather. The double tag brings in McKay to go after Rayne but has to send Dashwood into her in the corner. A bulldog Rayne face first onto McKay’s knee for two but Dashwood sends the IInspiration into each other. The Spotlight kick gets two on Lee, who kicks the belt out of Rayne’ hands for two. The Idolizer is broken up with a spear and the Clap (double Stroke) retains the titles at 6:35.

Rating: C. It doesn’t help that this is the Knockouts tag division for all intent and purpose but they were given no time here and the clock made it even more obvious. You can only get so far when you’re going home as soon as things start cooking and that caught them here. I’m not sure who comes after the titles next, but this is about it for the IInspiration going after the belts for the time being.

The opening video talks about how everyone has a spirit in them that wants to rebel and win, which they’ll try to do tonight.

Steve Maclin vs. Jay White vs. Chris Sabin

These three have been fighting back and forth for a few weeks. Stat during the entrances: White has competed in 3 triple threats, Maclin has competed in five, and Sabin has competed in SIXTY EIGHT. Dang that’s a bit nutty. Maclin has a skull painted on his face for some unexplained reason and it’s White bailing to the floor to start. Sabin gets run over with a shoulder and punched down, only to send Maclin to the apron.

White pulls him down and Sabin runs both of them over on the floor to pick up the pace a bit. Back in and Sabin hits a spinning crossbody to drop White but Maclin hits some backbreakers to take over. They all head outside with White dropping Maclin ribs first onto the apron and taking Sabin down as well. Back in and White suplexes Sabin into Maclin in the corner for two but Sabin kicks both of them down.

A double high crossbody leaves Sabin the only one standing before he chops away at both of them. The tornado DDT gets two on White but Maclin drops Sabin as well to put everyone on the mat. White’s swinging Rock Bottom gets two on Maclin but the Tower Of Doom is broken up.

Sabin knocks White into the Tree of Woe and missile dropkicks Maclin, who puts Sabin in the Tree of Woe as well. Maclin spears White but misses another to Sabin, sending Maclin flying out to the floor. That leaves Sabin to counter the Blade Runner into a rollup for two (how he beat White at Multiverse of Matches) before hitting the Cradle Shock….but Maclin rolls Sabin up for the pin at 12:05.

Rating: B-. At some point you have to pull the trigger on someone and Maclin has come a pretty long way in recent months. Having him pin Sabin is a big enough deal but giving him a win over White (even without pinning him) means even more. I’m glad to see Maclin getting a chance after having his chance cut in WWE through no fault of his own, and it seems like he’s making the most of it too. Good for him and a pretty sweet opener.

We run down the rest of the card.

Josh Alexander arrived with his wife and son, with the former talking about how important tonight is for him. Scott D’Amore comes in and gives Alexander a bit of a pep talk.

We recap Taya Valkyrie vs. Deonna Purrazzo for the AAA Reina de Reinas Title. Valkyrie returned at Multiverse of Matches and challenged Purrazzo for the title, but also wants revenge for Purrazzo beating her for the title in the first place.

Reina de Reinas Title: Taya Valkyrie vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Purrazzo is defending and the fans are behind Valkyrie to start. An armdrag into the corner doesn’t get Valkyrie very far so she runs Purrazzo over for two instead. The Shinsuke Nakamura sliding German suplex drops Purrazzo but she manages to pull Valkyrie head first into the post. Back in and a clothesline gives Purrazzo two and it’s a Downward Spiral into a Koji Clutch. Valkyrie powers out and bails to the floor for a breather, setting up a Russian legsweep to drive both of them back first into the apron.

They get back inside where Valkyrie hits her own clothesline for two but Road To Valhalla is broken up. The standing moonsault connects but Valkyrie goes straight to the rope to escape the armbar. Purrazzo goes up and dives into a sitout powerbomb, setting up an STF. That sends Purrazzo to the ropes for a change but she is right back with a kneebar. With that broken up, Valkyrie slips out of the Queen’s Gambit and hits the Road To Valhalla for the pin and the title at 9:02.

Rating: C+. They had to take at least one of the titles off of Purrazzo sooner or later and you had to know Valkyrie was getting the AAA title as soon as she showed up at Multiverse of Matches. Purrazzo had a heck of a ride up to the top but had to come down eventually. Next up will probably be dropping the Ring of Honor Women’s Title and that is the way this should go. If nothing else, it is nice to have Valkyrie back though and hopefully she sticks around with Impact for a bit.

Tasha Steelz isn’t worried about Taya Valkyrie or Rosemary, the latter of whom doesn’t know what is coming for her tonight.

We recap the X-Division Title match, which is more about Mike Bailey vs. Ace Austin with champion Trey Miguel trying to remind us that he is there too.

X-Division Title: Mike Bailey vs. Ace Austin vs. Trey Miguel

Miguel is defending. Austin talks too much trash to start and gets double teamed down, allowing Bailey and Miguel to take turns kicking him in the back. A missed dropkick makes it even worse for Austin, who is sent outside. Austin is able to break up Bailey’s handspring but Miguel takes Austin down with a suicide dive. Bailey takes down both of them with a springboard moonsault but Miguel strikes away back inside.

The big stomp to Bailey’s back is cut off as Austin powerbombs Miguel onto Bailey instead. That doesn’t work well for Austin as he is sent outside, leaving Miguel to avoid the Ultimate Weapon. Now it’s Bailey being sent outside so Miguel counters the Fold into a rollup for two (how Miguel beat Austin on Impact), leaving Bailey to hit a great moonsault to Austin. Miguel isn’t having that and dives onto both of them on the floor, giving them a much needed breather.

Back in and Bailey uses Miguel to set up a German suplex to Austin. Bailey’s double knees take both of them down, leaving Bailey to hit Austin with the Ultimate Weapon for two as Miguel makes the save. Some rollups get two each and it’s Miguel hitting the top rope Meteora for two on Bailey with Austin pulling the referee out. The Fold hits Miguel to give Austin the pin and the title at 10:24.

Rating: B. As expected, this was all action with the three of them not stopping for the ten minutes that they had. Austin getting the title back is interesting, but it is hard to imagine Bailey isn’t champion by Bound For Glory at the very latest. Total sprint here and I had a good time with it, as you kind of had to expect, even with the changes to to Jonathan Gresham’s injury.

Honor No More says they’ve had a great night so far and they’re ready to win the Tag Team Titles.

We get a vignette for EGV, complete with some binary code.

Jonah vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Battle of the monsters time and they go nose to nose to start. Ishii fires off forearms but Jonah knocks him back with just one. Jonah eventually runs him over and then hits the Vader standing splash to drop Ishii again. Some elbows to the neck let Jonah send him into the corner for some forearms to the head and the chinlock goes on.

Ishii fights up and starts his growling but Jonah forearms him back into the corner. That’s broken up again but Jonah is way too big for the brainbuster. Ishii wins the slug out in the corner and they slug it out again until Ishii goes after the knee to take him down. Back up and Ishii sends him into the ropes for a German suplex, setting up a hard lariat for two.

The sliding lariat is blocked though and it’s a shoulder to drop Ishii for a change. The Jonah Bomb gets two and a hard clothesline is good for the same. One heck of a spear cuts Ishii down but he avoids the Tsunami. Now the sliding lariat can connect for two and the brainbuster finishes Jonah at 14:35.

Rating: B-. Ishii isn’t at his former speed anymore and this is a formula that has been done many times, but my goodness they beat each other up here and I was surprised by the ending. Jonah continues to be an absolute beast and it gives Ishii a big boost to beat him. I’m not sure if that is the right move, but dang it was a fun monster fight.

Violent By Design is ready for all comers.

Tag Team Titles: Gauntlet Match

Violent By Design is defending and there are eight teams in total. The Major Players are in at #1 and Jordynne Grace/W. Morrissey are in at #2, because irony tends to be strong in gauntlet matches. Grace hits Myers in the face a few times and manages a suplex from his knees (egads) before handing it off to Morrissey vs. Cardona. With that not working, Grace comes back in as Morrissey gets in a chase on the floor. The melee lets Cardona roll Grace up for the pin at 2:17.

Hold on though as Morrissey chokeslams both of them and Grace hits the big dive through the ropes. The powerbomb through the table is broken up by a Green low blow but Morrissey is wearing a cup. That means Green is powerbombed through the table and the fans seem to approve. The Good Brothers are in at #3 and the Magic Killer finishes Cardona at 6:36 (total). Zicky Dice/Johnny Swinger are in at #4 and, after Dice hits Swinger by mistake, the Magic Killer finishes Dice at 8:41.

Willie Mack/Rich Swann are in at #5 and jump the Brothers to start in a hurry. Swann headscissors Anderson to properly start fast and it’s Mack adding a corner splash. Anderson rips Swann’s face though and it’s Gallows coming in to miss a charge into the corner. A big boot cuts Swann off though and Gallows hits those weird weird punches in the corner. Gallows suplexes him down and grabs a chinlock, with Swann jawbreaking his way to freedom.

The hot tag brings in Mack to clean house, including the Samoan drop into the standing moonsault for two. Anderson is back up with the spinebuster for the same and everything breaks down. A pop up right hand gives Mack two on Anderson but Gallows catches him on top. With Swann down, the Magic Killer finishes Mack at 19:20. Mike Bennett/Matt Taven are in at #6 and it’s a Gun Stun to rock Bennett early. A suplex to Taven is loaded up but Bennett trips Anderson down, allowing Taven to get the pin at 21:48.

Hold on though as the Brothers go after the rest of Honor No More so Taven dives….and hits his teammates. That means a Magic Killer on the floor leave Taven down as Heath and Rhino are in at #7. We start with Bennett getting punched in the corner but Maria’s distraction lets Bennett discus forearm his way out of trouble.

Taven hits a middle rope dropkick for two and Bennett puts on a chinlock with a knee in the back. Back up and stereo crossbodies put both of them down and the hot tag brings in Rhino. A double superkick staggers Rhino and Heath runs into him by mistake to make it worse. The Proto Pack is loaded up but Rhino Gores Taven down for the pin at 25:58.

Violent By Design is in at #8 to complete the field. Young clothesline Rhino down for a fast two and it’s a double kick to the head so Doering can come in. A double clothesline gives Rhino a breather and it’s heath coming in to kick Young in the face. The Wake Up Call connects but Deaner puts the foot on the rope for the save. Everything breaks down and Heath powerslams Young off the top for a change of pace. Doering breaks up the Gore though and it’s a piledriver to finish Heath and retain the titles at 33:02.

Rating: C+. This was long and there were parts where it felt like they were stretching, but Good Brothers vs. Mack/Swann was a good match in the middle of the whole thing. I’m not sure they needed to do the eight team thing when some of the teams were either thrown together or a joke, but the match needed to fill a quota so here we are. The division does have a bit of depth though so there might be something for the future.

We recap Tasha Steelz vs. Rosemary for the Knockouts Title. Steelz won the title last month and Rosemary won a battle royal to get the shot. They have some history so this is a bit personal.

Knockouts Title: Tasha Steelz vs. Rosemary

Steelz, with Savannah Evans, is defending and Havok is here with Rosemary. They start fast with Rosemary taking her into the corner and then throwing her right back out, complete with some screaming. The Upside Down goes on so Steelz bails out to the floor, where she slaps Havok for some reason.

Havok goes after her instead so that’s enough for an ejection. The distraction lets Steelz get in a cheap shot on Rosemary and the beating is on, including something like the Rings of Saturn. Rosemary makes the rope so there’s a Codebreaker to drop her again. A bite to the trunks slows Steelz down and a reverse DDT gives Rosemary two.

Steelz is back with Stratusfaction and the Blackout gets two, only to miss a frog splash. Rosemary sprays some mist in the face though and a spear connects for a VERY close two, meaning it’s time for Rosemary to be frustrated. She goes back up but this time it’s a running springboard cutter right back down. Steelz grabs a Michinoku Drive to retain at 11:44.

Rating: C+. Rosemary is a good person to have in the division because you can put her into any spot and she’ll be at least enough of a threat to make the match interesting. Steelz wasn’t about to lose the title so soon though and now she has a good first victory under her belt. Rosemary had some nice spots in there and that’s about all you can ask for here.

Slammiversary is coming to Nashville on June 19.

Long recap on Josh Alexander vs. Moose for the World Title. Moose stole the World Title at Bound For Glory with the Call Your Shot title match. Then Alexander had to go through the roster, got sent home, and then came back to go after Moose. That caused Moose to go after Alexander’s family, including spearing Alexander’s wife at an independent show. Now the title match is on, after a heck of a video to recap a months long feud.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Moose vs. Josh Alexander

Alexander is challenging and his son comes out with him in Alexander cosplay. They go nose to nose to start with Alexander taking him down for some knees to the ribs. The very early ankle lock sends Moose bailing out to the floor, where he yells at Alexander’s family. Alexander comes out after him and Moose gets in a cheap shot to take over for the first time. Back in and Alexander gets sent hard into the corner, where he ducks a chop and chops away.

That doesn’t work for Moose, who hits a heck of a dropkick to take over before dropping Alexander face first for two. They head outside again where Alexander gets in a posting, only to be sent hard into the barricade. Back in and Alexander snaps off a belly to belly suplex to put both of them down. Some running boots to the face rock Moose to send him outside again, setting up a running crossbody through the ropes to drop him again.

Back in and the C4 Spike is blocked so Alexander rolls ten straight German suplexes. Moose gets in a shot of his own though and the Sky High gets two. A pump kick staggers Alexander but he counters a crossbody into the ankle lock. The rope is grabbed so Alexander kicks him in the head, which just wakes Moose up. They chop it out until Moose hits a Rock Bottom for no avail. Back up and Alexander wins a slugout, setting up a C4 Spike for a very close two.

Another C4 Spike is blocked and Moose bites Alexander’s head. That’s enough to set up a top rope superplex for two more and Moose is frustrated. The spear is countered into a Styles Clash of all things and the ankle lock goes on. Moose rips the turnbuckle pad off to escape, allowing Moose to kick him low. Now the spear can connect for a VERY close two so Moose takes off the top turnbuckle as well. A buckle bomb into the exposed turnbuckle looks to set up another spear but Alexander cuts it off. The C4 Spike is enough to give Alexander the pin and the title at 23:50.

Rating: B. They got the result right, it came after a hard fought match, and Alexander is the champion as he should have been a long time ago. This felt like a pay per view showdown and Alexander won because he is the better man. Much like the previous match, I’m not sure how much drama there was here, but it was a great way to close up the show.

Alexander’s family comes in to celebrate with him to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. As has been the case for a little while now, Impact can deliver on the big stage. That’s what they did again here and I liked what we got almost all the way up and down the card. Nothing on here was really anything close to bad and they got the ending right. While their TV can be hit or miss (though it has been more hit lately), the company’s pay per views are usually quite good and this is the latest entry on that list. Check this out if you haven’t been with Impact in a bit as it’s a rather good show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Impact Wrestling
Date: March 31, 2022
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s the go home show for the Multiverse of Matches but that doesn’t seem to mean much at the moment. Part of the issue is that we also need to build up Rebellion, which is less than a month away. That doesn’t leave Impact a lot of time, though maybe they can give this week’s show some attention of its own. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Josh Alexander vs. Moose as they are on their way to a showdown at Rebellion for Moose’s World Title. Just to crank it up, Moose SPEARED ALEXANDER’S WIFE at a show in Canada over the weekend.

Josh Alexander arrives and Scott D’Amore tells him that while Moose isn’t here, he has recommended that Moose be stripped of the title and fired. Alexander grabs him by the jacket and says he needs Moose in the ring so he can take the title from him, man to man.

Opening sequence.

Jonathan Gresham vs. Kenny King

Non-title. Before the match, Gresham mentioned that he will be facing Eddie Edwards at Rebellion, but King’s entrance cuts him off. King talks about how he sees a great wrestler but a puppet for Ring of Honor. Gresham should be part of Honor No More, but he is called the Octopus because he is all arms and no brains.

They get in each others’ faces to start and we have a rather aggressive lockup. As expected, Gresham goes after the arm to put King in trouble before sending him outside. King manages to snap Gresham’s throat across the top to take over though and a suplex on the floor makes it worse. Back in and Gresham grabs a dragon screw legwhip, only to miss a high crossbody and bang up his own knee.

We take a break and come back with King hitting a spinebuster for two but Gresham goes right back to the knee. A dragon suplex into a tiger driver gives King two more but King’s knee gives out again. You don’t have to ask Gresham twice to grab a hold so the Figure Four goes on. Gresham stands up to crank on it even more and that’s enough for the tap at 12:04.

Rating: C+. There is something so entertaining about watching Gresham take someone apart and put them in pin in a variety of ways. That is exactly what we got here, with that adjusted Figure Four being a nice twist on what you might have expected. King was good as usual, but this was more about Gresham, as it should have been.

Post match Eddie Edwards runs in to go after Gresham but Rocky Romero makes the save, meaning we probably have a tag match coming up.

Here’s what’s coming at Multiverse of Matches and later tonight.

The Motor City Machine Guns are ready for their rematch with the Bullet Club because Jay White should know what it means to get pinned.

Deonna Purrazzo is ready for another Champ Champ Challenge at the Multiverse of Matches and there are a ton of possible challengers.

Johnny Swinger/Zicky Dice vs. ???/???

This is Swinger’s Chump Chump Challenger and the opponents are…the Good Brothers. Dice immediately starts panicking and Gallows sends him flying with a fall away slam. The Magic Killer finishes at 51 seconds. As it should have been.

Post match the Good Brothers say they are back to what they do best. They’re on the way to Rebellion and the eight team elimination match, plus the Multiverse of Matches against the Briscoes. We cut over to PCO in the parking lot, screaming for Jonah. Cue Jonah to jump him from behind and the brawl is on, using a variety of parking lot accessories.

Jonah powerbombs him onto some wooden pallets and then gets in a few shots with a sledgehammer (as you do). A brick is placed on PCO’s ribs and cracked with the hammer but he grabs Jonah by the throat. Jonah’s head is crushed in a car door and PCO buries him underneath some dirt. That’s just something he happened to have laying around right?

Josh Alexander vs. Madman Fulton

Ace Austin is here with Fulton. Alexander wastes no time in starting with the suplexes before knocking Fulton outside. Fulton is sent into the barricade but manages to fight out of the C4 Spike back inside. The chokeslam is countered into a powerbomb though and an ankle lock makes Fulton tap at 1:49. That was quick.

Post match Austin teases going after Alexander but gets scared off. Alexander cranks on Fulton’s ankle so hard that Fulton’s boot comes off.

Trey Miguel asks Mike Bailey about his relationship with Ace Austin. Bailey says expect the unexpected.

Last week, Mickie James ranted about Chelsea Green turning on her, making Green a sellout just like Matt Cardona. Nick Aldis will be at the Multiverse of Matches, where it’s the Midcardonas vs. Al-Dis.

Matt Cardona doesn’t want to talk about this but Chelsea Green doesn’t like the idea of Mickie James treating her like the little sister.

Knockouts Battle Royal

Madison Rayne, Tenille Dashwood, Lady Frost, Gisele Shaw, Jordynne Grace, Havok, Alisha Edwards, Rosemary, Savannah Evans, Jesse McKay

The winner gets a Knockouts Title shot against Tasha Steelz, on commentary, at Rebellion. It’s a brawl to start (battle royal and all), though the IInfluence has time to stop and pose. Edwards actually forearms away at Havok, only to have Rosemary cut her down with a spear. Havok tosses Edwards and saves Rosemary from Evans. Everyone gets together to dump Havok and McKay gets rid of Dashwood.

McKay gets knocked off the apron but Kaleb With A K catches her. Rayne is out as well as McKay is thrown in, where she gets caught in a Samoan drop from Evans. That’s it for McKay and it’s Evans vs. Grace in the power slugout. Grace is tossed but Shaw and Frost toss Evans too. That leaves with with Frost, Shaw and Rosemary with Shaw getting the better of things. The other two get together and dump Shaw, with Rosemary knocking out Frost as well for the win at 7:15.

Rating: C-. Rosemary is one of those women that you can throw right into the title picture and no one will think anything is out of the ordinary as she really is that good. She has the resume and the status so this should work out well. I don’t know if she wins the title, but she is someone who very well could and that is a good choice for a challenger.

Black Taurus b. Deaner on BTI.

Eric Young and Violent By Design is ready to retain the Tag Team Titles at Rebellion.

Bhupinder Gujjar vs. Aiden Prince

Brian Myers has his own commentary table again. Headlocks and shoulders don’t work for Prince to start as Gujjar knocks him to the floor. That’s enough for Price to try walking out, only to get tossed back in without much effort. A powerslam gives Gujjar two but Prince gets in a knee to the back to take over. Gujjar comes right back with a Sling Blade into a powerslam for two but Prince hits a suplex. Prince misses a 450 though and the middle rope spear gives Gujjar the pin at 4:36.

Rating: C-. Another week, another Gujjar match as he has a cool looking finisher which takes some effort to set up. Other than that though, there is still almost nothing about Gujjar that makes him interesting. He’s a guy in tights for most of his matches and it doesn’t make me want to see anything that he is doing.

Post match W. Morrissey tries to powerbomb Myers through the table but Prince gets in the way. That means Prince gets the powerbomb through the table instead.

Masha Slamovich vs. Abby Jane

Tiger suplex and Snowplow finish for Slamovich in 48 seconds.

We run down the Multiverse of Matches card again.

Motor City Machine Guns vs. Bullet Club

Chris Bey/Jay White for the Club here. White shoulders Sabin in the corner to start but Sabin is back with a middle rope spinning crossbody. Shelley tags himself in and a neck snap over the ropes sets up a legsweep to put White in trouble. A backsplash/knee drop combination sets up a chinlock as commentary goes over some of the possibilities for the eight team gauntlet match at Rebellion. Bey sneaks in with a shot off the top to drop Sabin and we take a break.

Back with Sabin not being able to crawl over to Shelley, meaning Bey can get in some smirking. White gets in some shots of his own but a pair of leapfrogs allows Sabin to get over to Shelley. The Motor City Stretch has Bey in trouble until White makes the save and Bey returns the favor by breaking up Thunder Express.

Back to back choking on the ropes has Shelley in more trouble and he gets tossed outside. Bey’s suicide dive hits White though and it’s back to Sabin for the flip dive off the apron. They head back inside with Sabin hitting a bunch of running dropkicks in the corner to both Clubbites, setting up Thunder Express for two on Bey. White is back up to clear the ring though and Bey hits a big running flip dive to the floor.

Bey’s top rope splash gets two with Shelley making the save, which the referee is fine with this time. That doesn’t go well with White but he and Shelley go outside. Sabin drops Bey to set up Skull and Bones for two, followed by the Dream Sequence to White. Made In Detroit is broken up so White hits Sabin with a half and half suplex. The Art of Finesse gives Bey the pin at 17:42.

Rating: B. I don’t think there was much doubt in the ending after the previous screwy(ish) ending but they had a heck of a match on the way there. The Guns aren’t going to be hurt by a loss and the Club needed the win a bit more here. Very good match between two talented teams and it is nice to see Bey getting the pin in a pretty high profile match. He has come a long way and now he is having some success to back it up.

Overall Rating: C+. As has been the case, they continue to have issues with building towards two shows at once, even though the Multiverse of Matches feels like a quick pit stop on the way to the important event. Still though, they had a good main event and I want to see where things are going with Rebellion, which is the main point of this show. The main event is worth seeing if you have the time and Multiverse of Madness looks good so…success?

Results
Jonathan Gresham b. Kenny King – Standing Figure Four Leglock
Good Brothers b. Johnny Swinger/Zicky Dice – Magic Killer to Dice
Josh Alexander b. Madman Fulton – Ankle lock
Rosemary won a battle royal last eliminating Lady Frost
Bhupinder Gujjar b. Aiden Prince – Middle rope spear
Masha Slamovich b. Abby Jane – Snowplow
Bullet Club b. Motor City Machine Guns – Art of Finesse to Sabin

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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