IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 19, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

Things are getting interesting around here as the tournament is starting to pick up. That’s going to continue this week and we’re also going to be seeing more of the TNA World Title, as Moose gets to show us more of his relative insanity. To cap it off though, Johnny Swinger gets his X-Division Title shot and they wouldn’t be that insane, right? Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Ace Austin vs. Rhino

Austin is Ken Shamrock’s replacement after Shamrock was attacked last week. Madison brings up a good point: Ace just got off a big X-Division Title reign and he wasn’t one of the top eight people in the company? Throw in Moose, Tessa Blanchard and Willie Mack and he’s not even in the top eleven. But Rhino and Hernandez are? Anyway, Rhino powers him to the floor to start as we need an early breather.

Back in and Rhino’s headlock doesn’t last long so the threat of a clothesline puts Austin on the floor again. They try it again and this time Rhino loads up a Gore to scare Austin outside for the third time. Rhino follows him this time but gets sent into the barricade. That’s one upped with a backdrop over the barricade but Austin posts him to get an extended breather.

Rhino dives in to beat the count so Austin pounds away and hits a springboard kick to the face for two. We hit the chinlock but Rhino is right back up for a double clothesline. It’s Rhino up first with some right hands to the head but Austin drops him again. Ace heads up top, only to get superplexed back down for two. Austin finds a well placed chair in the corner but Rhino takes it away, only to have the referee take it away again. That lets Ace get in a shot with the baton and the Fold is good for the pin at 10:43.

Rating: C. It’s kind of amazing how much easier it is to sit through just Rhino as opposed to Rhino and the ECW goons. Here he was just someone out there to put Austin over and that’s not a bad thing. Austin is someone with a potential future around here and having Rhino put him over might be a nice little boost. They had a decent power vs. speed match going too so it works well all around.

Earlier today, Moose and Josh sat down with Josh saying Moose is walking around with a worthless title. Moose says this ends when someone beats him but Josh says you can’t just decide a match is for a title. That does not sit well with Moose, and Josh bringing up Suicide having Moose pinned last week makes it even worse. Moose is willing to give Suicide a rematch and that’s it.

Kiera Hogan offers to mentor Tasha Steelz. Her way of saying it: “If I like you, I’ll snatch a b**** for you. If not, you get snatched by that b****.” Steelz is in.

Here what else is coming.

Dave Crist vs. Crazzy Steve

The rest of OVE is here with Dave. Steve elbows him into the corner to start and there’s a dropkick to the knee to take Dave off the apron. Cue Joseph P. Ryan to watch as Dave takes Steve down and pounds away back inside. Some knees to the head keep Steve down and Dave grabs an armbar. OVE adds some choking from the floor and Dave grabs a Falcon Arrow for two. Steve is right back up with a middle rope DDT for the fast pin at 4:07.

Rating: C-. The OVE losing streak continues and I’m almost worried to think about who is going to be the new leader to turn the tide. No one is really standing out and that means there are so many possibilities, some of which might not be the best moves. Steve is a strange choice to bring back but there are far worse choices.

Post match Steve leaves so Fulton yells at both Crists. Fulton says he’s done and chokes both of them for questioning them. Makes sense actually.

Rosemary talks to Taya Valkyrie’s stuffed dog and implies that Taya is gone. John E. Bravo comes in to complain and Rosemary seems to apologize and almost flirt a bit. That….kind of works actually.

XXXL vs. Fallah Bahh/TJP

Bahh and Acey start things off and it’s time for the power lockup. Acey misses a running dropkick and gets splashed, allowing the early tag off to TJP. Larry comes in as well and shoves TJP around without much effort. The right hands in the corner don’t do much damage to Larry so it’s time to take off the legs. A low crossbody gives TJP two and Bahh comes back in to pound Larry down.

TJP starts working on the arm before Bahh goes simple with the corner splash. Acey makes a blind tag from the apron though and drops TJP with one shot as we take a break. Back with Larry chinlocking TJP before switching to a bearhug. Those go nowhere so it’s a spinebuster for two instead. The waistlock keeps TJP in trouble for a bit but Acey knocks Bahh off the apron.

As tends to be the case, the hot tag goes through just a few seconds later, meaning Bahh gets to clean house. Acey Pounces Bahh to break up the belly to belly and TJP is sent outside. Now Acey gets knocked outside as well and the belly to belly gets two on Larry. The Banzai drop is broken up but Bahh drops Larry. TJP adds a frog splash for the pin on Larry at 13:38.

Rating: D+. This was longer than it needed to be and I didn’t get into the whole thing. XXXL might already be hitting their ceiling as you can only get so far with the two big guys doing big guy things. TJP and Bahh have a good chemistry together and hopefully they can get a nice push in the future. Then again they already had the big title shot and came up short, so their time might already be over.

TNA World Title: Moose vs. Suicide

Moose is defending and there’s something interesting about Josh being fine with Suicide being from a video game but has a problem with Moose picking up the title in a warehouse. As per Moose’s request, we get the Big Match Intros and now we’re ready to go. Josh brings up that Suicide almost won the title last week so Madison says that the Cleveland Indians ALMOST won the World Series. Well she’s off the good list now.

Moose misses the spear as Suicide runs the ropes early on, including hanging in the ropes to make Moose miss a charge to the floor. Back in and Suicide grabs something like an Octopus hold, followed by a basement dropkick to the side of the head. They head outside with Moose picking him up for some swings into the barricade. Suicide has to dive back in, prompting Josh to say “and the match rolls on.” That time with WWE really did rub off on him.

Back in and Moose throws Suicide down without much effort, followed by a heck of a whip into the corner. There’s another throw as the total dominance is on. Some clotheslines bounce off Moose and he wants to know if that’s all Suicide has. A fourth clothesline drops Moose though and he misses some charges into the corner.

Suicide hits a few running corner dropkicks and a Lionsault gets two. That’s enough for Moose as he gets serious and stomps Suicide down in the corner. Suicide is right back with the Codebreaker and some low superkicks, meaning it’s time to go up. The high crossbody connects but Moose rolls through and grabs the tights to retain at 11:07.

Rating: C+. Aside from bringing up the horrors of the 2016 World Series, I had a good time with this as they have the chemistry to make something like this work. There was no reason to believe that the title was going to change hands but Suicide gave it a go here and they had a pretty good match. Moose being all delusional works for him and it seems to have some staying power.

Michael Elgin talks about how people might not like him now but they will appreciate what he is. Ken Shamrock came in and talked about being the World’s Most Dangerous Man. Then he got knocked out by someone tough. Elgin has promised to be World Champion and what he says will happen happens.

Chris Bey gives Johnny Swinger a pep talk. Swinger: “Thanks for being a brother, brother.” The first round at the Landing Strip is on him after he wins the title.

X-Division Title: Johnny Swinger vs. Willie Mack

Mack is defending and Swinger jumps him from behind to start. Some rams into the corner set up an elbow drop for two as Josh thinks Swinger winning could open the door for a Simon Diamond return. Mack grabs the swinging slam (that’s gimmick infringement) and drops a leg for two. The Swinger Neckbreaker gets two but Swinger celebrates anyway. That just earns him a Samoan drop into the standing moonsault to retain at 3:18.

Rating: D+. That’s all it needed to be as Mack is a star and Swinger is an entertaining joke. They didn’t need to do anything more than have a quick match here with Mack not really breaking much of a sweat. It worked well here and Swinger continues to be perfectly amusing in his role.

Post match Swinger won’t let go of the title and chop blocks Mack. Cue Chris Bey for the double beatdown.

The North is still in Canada because Ethan Page has rented the arena for a month. The referee comes in so here’s Cody Deaner of all people to say he’ll team with the referee to challenge for the titles. They’ll do it next week at the Deaner Compound. The North is in but the referee says he can’t do this. Cody says he has another Deaner to be his real partner.

Preview of next week’s show.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Michael Elgin vs. Sami Callihan

Sami has a bad ankle coming in thanks to Ken Shamrock at Rebellion so Elgin drives him into the corner and points at the ankle to start. Sami’s chops just annoy Elgin so he kicks the ankle out. That just earns him a rake to the eyes but Elgin is back to the ankle, sending Sami outside for a breather. Back in and a quick DDT gives Sami two, followed by a pump kick to the floor.

Sami wraps the arm around the barricade so Elgin drops him leg first onto the same barricade. Elgin sends the leg into the post for a bonus but Sami pulls him face first into the post for a breather. Back from a break with Sami in major trouble so Elgin holds out his face to give Sami a free shot. A rollup gives Sami two and they slug it out until Elgin blasts him with a clothesline. Sami knocks him to the floor though and there’s a suicide dive. Back in and Sami gets two off a suplex but Elgin crushes the leg all over again.

A running shot to the knee in the corner gets two, followed by the half crab to make things even worse. That’s broken up but Sami collapses before the big clothesline connects. Sami manages a German suplex and a clothesline of his own gets two. The Cactus Special is countered but Elgin blasts him with a spinning backfist. The Elgin Bomb sends Elgin to the next round at 18:48.

Rating: B. As much as I’m not wild on turning Sami face, I can go with the idea of Sami fighting through the ankle injury to survive against the monster. They told a nice story here and that’s hard to do in a situation with such a clear winner. Elgin was always going to win this, but it’s not like Sami is heavily damaged when he’s fighting on one leg.

Here are the updated brackets:

Ace Austin

Hernandez

Trey

Michael Elgin

Overall Rating: C+. As usual, tournaments have a tendency to serve as a solid anchor for a show like this and it worked well here. Elgin would seem to be the odds on favorite to win the whole thing but we could be in for some interesting showdowns on the way there. Other than that, the show wasn’t exactly must see but the company is still improving and feels steady, which is the best thing that can be said about a company like Impact.

Results

Ace Austin b. Rhino – Fold

Crazzy Steve b. Dave Crist – Middle rope DDT

TJP/Fallah Bahh b. XXXL – Frog splash to Larry

Moose b. Suicide – Rollup with tights

Michael Elgin b. Sami Callihan – Elgin Bomb

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 5, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

We’re finally done with Rebellion and that means it’s time to start getting back to normal shows. I’m not sure what we’re going to be seeing around here but we have a new TNA World Champion, because that company needs some nostalgia instead of an interim Impact World Champion. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a Rebellion recap, which seems to include Kiera Hogan leaving the company after her loss to Kylie Rae. That would be a loss to the division as she was a solid hand.

Opening sequence.

Here’s a limping Sami Callihan for the opening chat. He can see everyone watching at home and knows the fans are cheering for him. After making his own sound effects, Sami says it’s time for the Draw to brighten your day a little bit. He took a heck of a beating at Rebellion but he’s still standing. At Rebellion, he went toe to toe with the World’s Most Dangerous Man and the referee stopped it. He doesn’t want OVE messing with his business anymore but for now, he wants to finish his business with Ken Shamrock.

Cue Ken to say Sami needs to calm down and open his ears. Shamrock talks about how he has made a lot of people tap out over the years but Sami didn’t tap. Sami: “No s***.” Shamrock talks about the people he’s made tap before, including Big Show, Bas Rutten and the Rock. Sami didn’t tap, so they can either go out back or put them behind them and go after the Impact World Title.

Cue Michael Elgin (Sami: “Big Mike getting the same reaction from the crowd he always does.”) to say he doesn’t need all of those weapons that Sami needs. Elgin says he’ll fight either of them but the line starts behind them. Sami says it’s the same thing you always hear from Elgin so the fight is on. Elgin bails and Sami disappears to leave Shamrock alone. A three way feud between these three could be….well a disaster is a real possibility.

Chris Bey is ready to become the new X-Division Champion and make it the Finesse Division Champion.

Willie Mack is a little tired from partying over his title win but he’s ready for Bey.

Preview for the rest of the show.

XXXL vs. OVE

Jake Crist/Mad Man Fulton here, with Dave in the corner. Was there ever a reason why we don’t see the Crists team together more often? Josh to Madison: “Do you ever go to an all you can eat buffet?” Madison: “No. Look at me.” Larry and Fulton shove each other around to start with neither really getting anywhere. Fulton’s shoulder drops Larry but he’s back up with a slam so Romero can come in for the elbow.

Jake comes in and gets slammed down to set up the quickly broken chinlock. Larry slams him down for two more but Dave saves his brother from a double shoulder. Back from a break with Acey getting stomped down in the corner and somehow Fulton manages a Regal Roll. He rolls all the way over to Larry for a right hand to the head and then kicks Romero in the face.

Romero comes back with a spinebuster and the hot tag brings in Larry. Everything breaks down with Larry shrugging off the kicks to the face and backdropping Larry over the top. Back in and a powerbomb/reverse bulldog combination gets two on Larry but Acey Pounces Fulton. Larry is up with the Best Hand In The House for the pin on Jake at 13:02.

Rating: C-. XXXL are like the worse version of the Bouncers from Ring of Honor and that’s not exactly a high compliment. I get the idea and what they’re going for with it but how many THESE GUYS ARE HUGE teams can you have? The match was fine enough and they are pushing someone new with XXXL. That’s a good thing, but I’m not sure how much of a shelf life they have.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Kurt Angle b. Mick Foley at Victory Road 2009.

It’s time for Locker Room Talk with Madison Rayne (who changed clothes since she was shown on screen earlier) and Johnny Swinger. This week’s guest is Havok, who doesn’t seem all that impressed. Madison brings up Havok’s loss at Rebellion and gets glared down hard. Havok reminds her of what happens when people get under her skin so Madison moves on to Nevaeh.

Havok doesn’t know why Nevaeh showed up last week so Madison brings in the next guest: Kimber Lee. That doesn’t sit well with Havok either and Lee saying she’s rising to the spot makes it worse. Swinger thinks that means they both want him so Havok shoves him away. Violence is teased between the women.

Cody Deaner has parked his RV on the side of the road for isolation. He talks to some old LJN action figures while having a beer and then tries to sell merch. You knew someone was going to do this at some point.

Suicide vs. Johnny Swinger

Swinger wants a weapons check and jumps Suicide, only to fail with back and eye rakes. Swinger: “WHOA! EASY SPIDEY!” Suicide avoids a charge to put him outside but gets crotched on top. Choking ensues and Swinger elbows him in the head but misses the falling headbutt. The Swinger Neckbreaker misses and it’s a Codebreaker into the Swanton to give Suicide the pin at 3:41.

Rating: D+. They kept this short and Swinger lost, which are the only two requirements for one of his matches. He’s grown on me quite a bit as of late because they haven’t had him winning important matches or doing anything more than goofy. I don’t need Suicide back but that could be said about a lot of the people this company brings back in.

Ace Austin adds himself to the X-Division Title match because he’s beaten names like Eddie Edwards, Tessa Blanchard and Tommy Dreamer.

Moose doesn’t think much of Michael Elgin declaring himself the real World Champion when Moose has been the one beating all the big names. The reality is that Moose is the real World Champion because Tessa Blanchard is on vacation in Mexico. Josh points out that there is no value to the TNA World Title….by the way how did Moose even get the belt? Enough of that though because there will be a #1 contenders tournament starting next week. Here are the brackets:

Moose

Trey

Sami Callihan

Michael Elgin

Ken Shamrock

Rhino

Mad Man Fulton

Hernandez

Or not actually as Moose pulls himself out of the tournament. He already has the REAL World Title, which Josh again points out that he didn’t deserve. Moose lists off the people he’s beaten up and those wins make him the real champion. That’s enough of this.

Joseph P. Ryan vs. Cousin Jake

Rebellion rematch. Ryan stalls for the first minute but Jake gets the better of a chase and hammers away. A clothesline puts Ryan on the floor and we stall again. Back in and Ryan hits a dropkick, stops to yell at the crowd, and gets knocked right back down. An attempted stall is broken up by a right hand to the face but Ryan snaps him throat first across the top rope.

The neck crank doesn’t last long as Jake is back with a Michinoku Driver. A clothesline into a sitout powerbomb gives Jake two but Ryan is back up with Sweet Tooth Music for the same. Jake throws him down again but Ryan hides behind the referee in the corner. A poke to the eye and a rollup with trunks give Ryan the pin at 8:46.

Rating: D. What does Impact see in having Ryan as a regular wrestler? His entire appeal is the shtick and the answer is to get rid of what made him work? It doesn’t help when you have him going outside to annoy a crowd who isn’t there, which only made a match that didn’t have much value in the first place feel even longer.

Video on Kiera Hogan.

We go to the Don Koloff Arena, the home of the Battle Arts promotion. The North is introduced and they stop to beat up some mannequins on the way to the ring. Page slips on his way in but picks up the mic, saying it’s time to defend the titles. Alexander is asked who he would face in his dream match. Alexander: “KURT ANGLE!” Page: “Kayfabe man. His 90 days aren’t up yet.”

Two rather skinny guys come out, with one of them holding a mask. There is no disrespect meant and the match is on. We don’t actually see the match but rather some rapid fire clips, with the North winning in about 40 seconds show. This was a fun little bit and it was a nice way to keep the North holding the titles in the mess.

Rosemary consults some cards to see what is in store for her future. She gets some message and realizes she needs to speak to the high priestess. Some of the other cards please her as well.

Rohit Raju knows he should be in the #1 contenders tournament.

The tournament starts next week, plus Moose defending against Suicide and Lee vs. Havok. Rayne has changed again, because this is totally happening live and in real time of course.

X-Division Title: Chris Bey vs. Ace Austin vs. Willie Mack

Mack is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Austin grabs the title from the referee so it’s Mack taking over early on, including a double clothesline. Back from the completely necessary break after twenty seconds with Mack’s standing moonsault hitting both challengers at once. Ace and Bey go outside for a meeting, but Ace turns on him after all of a split second.

Back in and Ace works on the champ’s arm but lets go after cutting the fingers with the playing card. Bey takes Ace’s place and hits a pop up hurricanrana to send Mack outside. Ace and Bey slug it out on the floor but Mack takes them both down with a running flip dive to send us to a second break.

Back with Ace snapping off a suplex for two on Bey before kneeing him in the ribs. Ace’s belly to back suplex gets two and he unloads on Bey in the corner for two more. They kick each other down as Mack pulls his way back in and the three way slugout is on. Mack forearms Ace down again and hits some alternating running shots in the corner.

An exploder suplex drops Bey again but Ace breaks up the frog splash. Mack tries a powerbomb out of the corner with Bey coming in to add a Backstabber for two. It’s a Stunner to Bey but Ace hits the Fold on Mack. That’s broken up at two so Ace hits the Fold on Bey with Mack making a VERY last second save (which he might not have made in time). Ace gets knocked off the top though and the Six Star retains the title at 19:05.

Rating: B. This is one of the places where Impact has improved by leaps and bounds over the last few years. Mack was the senior statesman here at 33, meaning you had three young guys out there doing what they could to steal the show. It was the best thing on the show by far and Mack retaining makes sense for the future. Very good main event here, and a positive sign for the company’s future.

Overall Rating: C. This was a little bit of an odd show as the main event was the only match worth seeing but the rest of the show was built around storyline advancement. A tournament is the best thing that can be done in a situation like this, as proven by the fact that WWE, AEW and now Impact, as in the only three major promotions running at the moment, are all in the middle of a tournament. If nothing else it can by them some time until Tessa gets back, and that might need a lot of time. Not a terrible show, but that main event had to bail it out.

Results

XXXL b. OVE – Best Hand In The House to Crist

Suicide b. Johnny Swinger – Swanton

Joseph P. Ryan b. Cousin Jake – Rollup with trunks

Willie Mack b. Chris Bey and Ace Austin – Six Star Frog Splash to Austin

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: April 21, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

It’s the first night of Rebellion and it’s taking place in an empty arena, just like all of the other big shows at this point. I’m not sure what we’re going to see due to how many people might not be available for the show and that could make for an interesting show. The company has done well in recent weeks so hopefully they can keep it up. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video talks about how everyone wants to be here and make their mark.

OVE vs. Tommy Dreamer/Rhino/???

It’s mystery partner time and it’s….Crazzy Steve? There’s a name I haven’t thought of in a long time but it’s better than some ECW guy staggering out there. Josh: “How cool is it to see Crazzy Steve back in Impact Wrestling?” Not all that much really as he wasn’t that big of a deal. Dreamer and Jake Crist trade standing switches to start before the former rolls out of a wristlock. Jake takes him down and does a nipup before challenging Dreamer to do the same.

It doesn’t work so Rhino and Steve come in to help him with one, because Dreamer is a legend you see and we need him to do his comedy spots to help make America feel better. Steve and Madman Fulton come in but Steve isn’t THAT crazzy, meaning it’s off to Rhino instead. Some forearms knock Fulton over to the corner for the tag off to Dave, meaning Steve is willing to fight for a change.

We actually hear something about the Menagerie as Fulton chases Steve off and takes Rhino into the corner for shoulders to the ribs. A suplex is escaped though and it’s back to Dreamer to clean house. Everything breaks down (Rayne: “Does anyone in this match follow the rules?” Josh: “Nope.”) but it’s Dreamer getting taken into the wrong corner as things settle right back down.

Dreamer and Jake collide for a double knockdown and it’s back to Rhino vs. Dave. A running shoulder in the corner and a belly to belly gets two on Dave, meaning everything breaks down for real. Fulton throws Jake over the top onto Dreamer but Rhino Gores Dave for the pin at 9:33.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t very good but, as usual, the old guys beat the young ones for the sake of keeping up with tradition. I understand the story of OVE being lost without Sami Callihan, but there was no one else available to beat them but Dreamer, Rhino and whoever they could find? I’m sure Dreamer does a lot of good stuff for the company behind the scenes. I just don’t get why he needs to do so much in front of the scenes.

Josh and Madison run down the card.

Tessa Blanchard and Eddie Edwards aren’t here tonight so we get an interview with Eddie, who is sitting in front of a lot of shoes. It was a hard decision to not come to the show but he couldn’t put his family in that kind of a risk. Elgin is going to brag but he should know deep down what kind of wrestler Eddie is.

Elgin talks about becoming Ring of Honor World Champion but that wasn’t enough. Neither was beating Kenny Omega in New Japan. Now he wants more and wants to be at the top of the list of Impact Wrestling World Champions. Tessa is claiming to be stuck in Mexico but the truth is she’s scared. She was ready for the shallow end but tried to dive into the deep end. Elgin is becoming World Champion.

Rascalz vs. XXXL vs. Fallah Bahh/TJP

Dez and TJP start things off with a technical exchange and it’s TJP taking him to the mat with a headlock. A cross armbreaker is broken up in a hurry so Dez scores with a dropkick. The Octopus cuts off Dez’s tag attempt but Wentz comes in for the save, including a parade of superkicks. Something close to a Last Chancery sends TJP over to the ropes so some strikes put him down again. Bahh makes a save and we take a break.

Back with Larry and Bahh slugging it out and a spinebuster giving Larry two. Acey comes in for a double shoulder to drop Bahh as the big man double teaming continues. Larry grabs the chinlock with TJP making a save, earning himself a big shove from Acey. That lets Bahh come back with a spinning belly to belly and some running shots in the corner.

We take another break and come back again with Larry and Bahh slugging it out again until Bahh hits a Samoan drop. Everything breaks down and the Rascalz start the rapid fire kicks to the big guys. Acey accidentally charges into Larry in the corner but Larry is back up to drop TJP. Acey pounds a bunch of people, including Dez to give Larry two. A low bridge puts Acey on the floor though and it’s time for some superkicks into a springboard cutter on Larry. The Final Flash gives Dez the pin at 14:01.

Rating: C+. As usual, these matches are only going to be so good. They’re limited in what they can put together with six people in there and no personal reasons for them to be fighting. It worked well enough though and it’s nice to see the Rascalz get a win for a change. Nothing that hasn’t been done before but it was good enough.

We get a message from the North, who aren’t worried about being in Canada because it’s like an extended vacation in the best country in the world. They’re going to find Canadian challengers and defend these titles as only they can.

Rich Swann is here to support Willie Mack’s shot at the X-Division Title. Swann says don’t worry about the Tag Team Titles because Mack has worked long and hard to get here. Go get the title.

We recap the X-Division Title match. With Swann injured, Mack went after the X-Division Title and became #1 contender. Champion Ace Austin had Swann beaten up but he’s here anyway as Mack gets his title shot.

X-Division Title: Willie Mack vs. Ace Austin

Mack is challenging and Austin takes his time adjusting his gear to start. The stall continues with Austin bailing to the floor a few times, followed by a right hand to send him outside again. We get started properly with Austin grabbing a rollup and bailing again, only to have Mack follow him this time. Austin gets sent into the barricade but avoids the reverse Cannonball back inside.

That means Mack gets tied up in the Tree of Woe for some stomping to the ribs but Mack reverses a high crossbody into a Samoan drop. The standing moonsault connects and Mack pounds away even more as the aggression is starting to come out. Austin knees him in the face for two as things slow down a bit. Trouble in Paradise sends Mack into the corner but a springboard hurricanrana is countered with a sitout powerbomb.

One heck of a forearm puts Austin down as Josh and Madison bicker again, as only a married couple can. Now the reverse Cannonball connects but the Stunner is countered. The Fold gives Austin two and it’s his turn to be ticked off. Another Fold is countered into a pop up cutter for another near fall and Josh can’t believe it.

Mack goes up for the Six Star but Austin goes to the corner….so it’s a Coast to Coast to show off even more. Now the Six Star misses so Ace goes up and crotches Mack for trying to pull him down. Mack hits something like a Stunner on the top (that didn’t really work) to send Austin flying, setting up the Six Star for the pin and the title at 13:30.

Rating: B-. I like both of these guys so this was a fun one. They needed to switch the title as Mack has been built up for so long now that he had to win something eventually. Austin is going to be fine and it wouldn’t shock me to see him move towards the World Title scene. He was a great X Division Champion and it should be a bright future for him.

Swann comes out to celebrate with Mack.

Post match, Mack makes sure that this is cool with Swann, who insists that everything is ok. Johnny Swinger comes in to say that the Mack N Pack Connection will live on in the fans’ hearts forever. He could use a title shot, but for now they can go hunt for rats. Swann and Mack don’t look impressed as Swinger goes to get the Cadillac.

We recap Kylie Rae vs. Kiera Hogan. Kylie is happy to be here and Kiera isn’t happy with that.

Kylie Rae vs. Kiera Hogan

Kylie makes sure to fold her shirt properly before throwing it outside. Kiera isn’t pleased and gets taken down into a quick STF (Smile to the Finish) attempt. That means a trip to the rope as commentary talks about Kiera and the smoke. Kylie pulls her face first into the middle turnbuckle and stomps away on Kiera’s back. The Kylie Special is broken up and Kiera plants her down for two. A kick to the back gets two more and we take a break.

Back with Kylie missing a charge into the corner as we get a Taylor Wilde reference. Kiera’s chinlock doesn’t last long so she goes with some running forearms instead. Kylie gets in a superkick and an exchange of superkicks put them both down. They slug it out from their knees with Kylie getting the better of it and another superkick gives Kylie two. Kiera kicks her in the head for two more but Kylie gets in a whip to the corner. Now the Cannonball can connect for two so Kiera is back up and pounding away. That just earns her the Smile to the Finish for the tap at 9:25.

Rating: C. This was Kylie’s big time debut and it was fine enough for what it was. Kylie is someone who could be a more serious happy Bayley character and having her beat a low level bully like Kiera was a good start. It was the first of many steps though and that’s a fine way to get going.

Commentary runs down next week’s card.

We recap Sami Callihan vs. Ken Shamrock. Various videos and graphics labeled ICU had been popped up, eventually being revealed as being Sami’s doing. Sami is now a hacker and says he is the real World’s Most Dangerous Man, setting up a feud with Shamrock. A fireball to Shamrock’s face didn’t hurt either.

Ken Shamrock vs. Sami Callihan

Unsanctioned, meaning anything goes. The fight starts on the floor with Sami hitting a suplex to take over early on. Shamrock is whipped into the barricade but it just seems to wake him up. That means a posting for Sami and Shamrock through him through the barricade. Shamrock goes to the stage for a running dive (must have been all of three feet) to drop Callihan again.

They go to the back and we take a break, meaning it’s cinematic time. Sami gets in a cheap shot with a trashcan lid but a low blow cuts him down. Shamrock hammers away with rights and lefts but here’s OVE to jump him from behind. They hold Shamrock for Sami….who hits the three of them with a pipe. We get some the Good, the Bad and the Ugly style music as they head outside to finish this. Sami sends him into a production truck and grabs a sleeper, only to get thrown down. The ankle lock knocks Sami out at 11:02.

Rating: D+. It started out well and then came down hard in a bad way. At the end of the day, it was a match designed to hide Shamrock’s weaknesses and the camera work was the usually weird stuff. Then you have Sami turn on OVE, which should be a big deal. That’s all well and good, but then he loses like that? For the life of me I don’t get why you would go with Shamrock here, especially after Sami had the big new character. Then again, it wouldn’t be Impact without some head scratching results.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling was good and the title change helped, but going with Dreamer, Rhino and Shamrock getting wins makes my head hurt. You have young names who could do something around here but they lose to the old guys. Shamrock might be one thing, but Rhino and Dreamer? In 2020? Come on already. Not a bad show at all, though it had two bad spots holding it back.

Results

Tommy Dreamer/Rhino/Crazzy Steve b. OVE – Gore to Dave

Rascalz b. XXXL and TJP/Fallah Bahh – Final Flash to Larry

Willie Mack b. Ace Austin – Six Star Frog Splash

Kylie Rae b. Kiera Hogan – Smile to the Finish

Ken Shamrock b. Sami Callihan – Ankle lock

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: April 14, 2020
Location: Coca Cola Roxy, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

It’s the (original) go home show for Rebellion, which has been rescheduled but at least is still airing in some form. I’m not sure what the card is going to consist of but some pay per view material is better than none. Hopefully they don’t set up a bunch of stuff they can’t deliver (not their fault if they can’t) but the show has been pretty good lately so maybe it can continue here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Johnny Swinger vs. Mike Jackson

Yeah this was the obvious payoff to the Young Buck M. Jackson reference from last week. Jackson is 70 and hasn’t wrestled on national television since 1991. Before the match, Jackson says he likes this place, but not what Swinger does to the young guys. He’s an old buck and it’s time to give Swinger a beating. An early Swinger Neckbreaker attempt is blocked and Jackson gets two off a rollup. A headscissors puts Swinger on the floor and there’s a suicide dive because of course Jackson can do that.

Back in and Jackson works on the arm, setting up Old School, with Jackson walking all the way around all four ropes. Commentary has finally caught up and announces Rebellion as a two night event over the next two weeks so at least things should be better in that regard. Swinger elbows him down for two but Jackson gets in a neckbreaker. The straps come down and Jackson hammers away in the corner, only to get rolled up with feet on the ropes for the pin at 5:20.

Rating: C+. Normally I would make fun of something like this with Jackson showing up the people on the roster, but there are a few differences here. First of all, it’s Johnny Swinger, who is a comedy guy in his forties. Second, a 70 year old man just did a suicide dive and walked around the top ropes for Old School. I don’t think I’m allowed to complain about this.

Ace Austin doesn’t like Willie Mack’s odds in their X-Division Title match. He doesn’t like being called a scumbag either because Mack isn’t worried about his best friend, but Mack isn’t a scumbag? Cue Trey to say Austin is indeed a scumbag. Ace: “How’s your mom?” The brawl is on in a hurry.

Post break, Jackson got a bunch of praise from the locker room. Fair enough.

Ken Shamrock is told to not get physical during the contract signing.

We run down the rest of the card.

TJP/Fallah Bahh vs. Rascalz vs. XXXL vs. Reno Scum

One fall to a finish. Acey clotheslines Thornstowe down to start and brings in Larry for a running knee in the corner. It’s off to Wentz, who gets thrown into the Scum corner and suplexed to send us to a break. Back with Wentz kicking Legend in the head but getting cut off by Thornstowe. The Pit Stop has Wentz in more trouble and a knee to the face gets two.

Wentz dives over for the hot tag to Dez though and the pace picks up, including a catapult to send Thornstowe into a superkick. Wentz comes back in with a springboard cutter to Thornstowe as everything breaks down. XXXL crushes Legend before hitting stereo suicide dives for the big crashes. Back in and a Samoan drop into a Swanton gives TJP the pin on Thornstowe at 11:14.

Rating: C. You can only get so much out of these things and they did as well as they could have. It wasn’t anything that hasn’t been done better before but at least they had a surprise winner and should set up another Tag Team Title match with the North. TJP and Bahh work well as an oddball team and that’s all they need to do.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Tessa Blanchard beats Gail Kim at Rebellion 2019.

Rohit Raju begs Gama Singh to let him out of a match and gets slapped in the face for his efforts.

Video on Cody Deaner beating Joey Ryan last week.

Ryan doesn’t like that video airing. He demands the production team to play the tape he aired.

The video shows Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes in a hot tub. They’re sorry about not being there but Katie doesn’t want to be around the Deaners or the fans. You can imagine what comes next.

Rohit Raju vs. Hernandez

Rayne gets annoyed at Josh and leaves commentary as Hernandez pulls Raju out of the air. The Pounce into the Boarder Toss is good for the pin on Raju at 1:20. Note that commentary made it clear that Raju has a big match coming up at Rebellion, right before he got squashed.

Madison Rayne and Johnny Swinger are in the back for Locker Room Talk. Their guest this week is Kylie Rae, who is still happy to be here. Swinger shows off his biceps to hit on her but Kylie is too excited to be ready to face Kiera Hogan at Rebellion. Madison tries to get Rae to be mean about Hogan but it’s not coming. Kiera comes in and says she’s going to humiliate Kylie at Rebellion. Kylie doesn’t want to be pushed this far, but Kiera isn’t that nice!

We get clips of Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin in a match in Qatar. Brian Cage interfered to cost Eddie the match and the title.

Ace Austin vs. Trey

Non-title. They take turns missing flips and dives to start until Trey hits a running basement dropkick to put Ace on the floor. Trey hits a dive to take Austin down again but Ace drops him face first onto the apron. Back in and Ace forearms away as Josh and Madison continue their married bickering on commentary (and actually making it somewhat adorable).

A seated abdominal stretch keeps Trey in trouble but he fights up with a 619 out of the corner. The missile dropkick puts Ace down again but he’s right back up with a springboard kick to the face. Trey is back up, only to miss something off the top and get rolled up with tights to give Ace the pin at 6:18.

Rating: C+. They packed a lot into this one and that’s one of the best things that you can have in a match like this. They didn’t have time to do much here but they have a lot of chemistry, even if Trey never actually beats him. I could go for Ace being champion for a good while to come as he’s held the title for a long time already, even though it doesn’t feel like it. That’s a good sign, as Austin could have a heck of a future at this rate. Side note: Trey makes the second person in the four way at Rebellion to lose in back to back matches. At least try to make it seem important.

Willie Mack is to do some magic of his own and make the title disappear from Austin’s shoulder.

Taya vs. Tenille Dashwood

John E. Bravo is here with Taya. Tenille wastes no time to start with a quick Russian legsweep sending Taya outside. A Bravo distraction lets Taya hammer away and get two off a superplex. We take a break and come back with Taya choking away using various objects. Taya’s running hip attack in the corner, plus some double knees, get two and we hit the half crab.

That doesn’t last long so Taya knees her in the chest and poses on the ropes while choking away. Taya charges into an elbow in the corner though and a running knee to the face sends Taya into another corner. The Taste of Tenille gets two but Taya spears her down for the same. Back from another break with the Road to Valhalla getting two as Tenille grabs the rope. Taya is stunned so she grabs a chair, allowing Tenille to sunset flip her for the pin at 16:18.

Rating: C+. Dashwood is an interesting case as she seems like she should be a huge star but it never comes together. It’s not like this is some huge upset, but it does feel a little strange that Taya would lose. She is coming up on a title match at Rebellion and loses here? I guess it fits in with the theme of the night.

Post match Taya destroys her with a trashcan and a pile of chairs, with even Madison saying this is too much to watch. Jordynne Grace runs in for the save but Tenille is banged up pretty badly.

Tommy Dreamer and Rhino are ready to beat up OVE with the help of their mystery partner.

Rebellion rundown.

Video on Sami Callihan being revealed as the ICU hacker and attacking Ken Shamrock with a fireball.

It’s time for the contract signing between Sami Callihan and Ken Shamrock. Sami tells Josh Matthews to get out and throws his feet on the table. He laughs at the idea of Shamrock not being able to do anything at the moment because he knows how much Shamrock wants to jump the table right now. Sami knows what this match is going to mean for Shamrock, who angrily signs the contract. That doesn’t please Sami, who talks about how smashing Eddie Edwards with the baseball bat was the best thing that ever happened to Sami.

Now it’s time to get serious as brings up Shamrock’s family. That’s too far so Shamrock goes for him, only to have Sami press a button to escape. A bunch of people with ICU masks appear but leave, with Shamrock giving chase. He goes to the parking lot and gets in a car, which is being driven by an ICU guy. Chaos ensues as there are even more of them around the car to end the show. I actually want to see the match so they’re doing something right.

Overall Rating: B-. This place is on a roll as they head into the pay per view but I’m a little bit scared at what is going to happen when they shift more towards a big wrestling focused show. Usually that is where they shine, but lately their television has been better so there is no guarantee that they can pull off both. Either way, I liked this show well enough, even if everything is about to change in a big way. Good show to go out of the norm on at least.

Results

Johnny Swinger b. Mike Jackson – Rollup with feet on the ropes

TJP/Fallah Bahh b. Reno Scum, the Rascalz and XXXL – Swanton Bomb to Thornstowe

Hernandez b. Rohit Raju – Boarder Toss

Ace Austin b. Trey – Rollup with a handful of trunks

Tenille Dashwood b. Taya – Sunset flip

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: March 31, 2020
Location: Coca Cola Roxy, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

The company is running out of tapings but what makes this more interesting at this point is having to get ready for the TNA There’s No Place Like Home show. That’s kind of a problem as the show is not taking place, but we still need to get ready for it. I’m not sure what we are going to be seeing, but they don’t have many weeks left. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap, focusing on last week’s battle in the Undead Realm.

Opening sequence.

Josh Alexander vs. Eddie Edwards

Ethan Page is here with Alexander. They strike it out to start with Alexander getting the better of things and choking on the rope. That earns him an overhead belly to belly from Eddie but Alexander forearms him in the face a few more times. It’s time to head outside with Eddie nailing a clothesline but a Page distraction lets Alexander score with a big boot. Back in and the Eddie chants start up as Madison keeps talking about her past successes.

A clothesline gets Eddie out of trouble and he sends Alexander to the floor for the suicide dive. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two back inside but the Backpack Stunner is countered into a spinning torture rack slam. Both guys tear their shirts open to chop it out with Eddie getting the better of things. A tiger bomb gets two on Alexander but a Page distraction lets him roll Eddie up for the pin at 9:35.

Rating: C+. Alexander continues to be one of the best people involved in the company right now and that makes him getting to do something like this a fun sight. Both of these guys are talented and they’re capable of doing a lot of things in the ring. Good little match here and the ending sets up a rematch, possibly with Eddie getting a partner to go after the titles.

Post match the North beats Eddie down but Tessa Blanchard runs in for the save.

Video on tonight’s TNA special. I still can’t get my head around this one.

The North doesn’t like Tessa getting involved and Page wants her tonight.

Kylie Rae vs. Cassandra Golden

This is Rae’s singles debut. Golden jumps her from behind to start and the stomping is on in the corner. A missed charge lets Rae hammer away though and a small package gets two. Rae’s low superkick gets the same so she Russian legsweeps her into an STF for the tap at 3:24.

Rating: C-. They were moving well enough out there but what matters most here is getting some fresh blood into the Knockouts division. With so many women leaving, bringing in people like Rae (or Golden) is a good idea. That’s the kind of thing that can do a lot of good for the future and hopefully they bring in a few more to help things out.

Post break, Rae is very happy to be here in her new home. She has officially signed a contract with Impact.

Classic TNA Moment: the full Steiner Math promo. I remember hearing Samoa Joe talking about watching this live and doing everything he had not to break out laughing because he knew this could never be recreated.

Here’s Moose to brag about how awesome he is but Kid Kash of all people interrupts to say Moose wouldn’t make it in the original TNA.

Moose vs. Kid Kash

Kash sends him outside early on but it’s No Jackhammer Needed back inside for the win at 1:03.

XXXL (Larry David and Acey Romero) are ready to crush people. TJP and Fallah Bahh come in with some Filipino food as a welcome gift. A match is teased.

We get a satellite interview with Rich Swann. He injured himself a few months ago and recovery has been very hard. As for Willie Mack, Swann is excited for his chances at Rebellion but here’s X-Division Champion Ace Austin to interrupt. Ace says it was Mack’s fault that the team never took off. If the tables were turned, Swann would be there by Mack’s side, but where is Mack? Swann blows it off because Mack is coming for the X-Division Title. There’s a knock at Swann’s door and it’s Reno Scum, apparently for a beatdown.

Post break, Mack has to be held back from killing Austin.

Here’s Sami Callihan for a chat and he sees everything. He’s done some soul searching after losing the World Title to Tessa Blanchard, but now people have a question for him: why did he throw a fireball at Ken Shamrock? See, his issues are with the entire wrestling world. In, ahem, OTHER, wrestling companies, legends come in and get pushed down your throats. If Shamrock wants a push, he can go through Sami first. Shamrock can break ankles but Sami hits them with baseball bats and sets them on fire.

Cue Tommy Dreamer and I think you know where this is going. Sami: “Whoopdedoo, Tommy Dreamer is offended again.” Sami says it’s no surprise that Dreamer is here because he always shows up when anyone gets something going. He offers to pose with Dreamer for a picture so people can tag it with “Hardcore Legend” so Dreamer can feel important again. Dreamer rants about all of the legends that Sami is disrespecting and the fight is on. Let’s just make it Old School Rules too.

Sami Callihan vs. Tommy Dreamer

Anything goes. Dreamer posts him to start and it’s already time to throw some chairs inside. Sami picks one of them up and unloads on him with the chair, followed by a plunger to the face because Sami is out there. A cookie sheet to the head slows Sami down so he low blows Dreamer in a hurry. The Bionic Elbow lets Dreamer go to the back to find a garbage can for a running shot to the head. Sami busts out the staple gun so Dreamer grabs an INDUSTRIAL staple gun as we take a break.

Back with the two of them sitting in chairs and stapling each other. Josh: “Madison has anyone ever stapled you?” Madison: “No. I’m a human being.” Dreamer gets the better of it until a drop toehold sends him into a chair. A cutter gives Dreamer two but neither can send the other through two open chairs. Sami sends him into the corner though and now the Death Valley Driver through the chairs knocks Dreamer silly. The Cactus Special gives Sami the pin at 13:14.

Rating: D+. I had a good laugh out of Sami mocking Dreamer for showing up anytime someone gets something going because it’s completely true. But hey, he was around in ECW and has been everywhere since so he’s a legend or something. Anyway, heating Sami up for Shamrock is good, but I have a bad feeling nothing is getting this kind of time all night.

Post match the beatdown stays on so here’s Rhino for the save. OVE comes in to go after him but the lights go out and Sami is gone.

Rosemary is still at the bar and offers drinks all around, last mortal standing gets to keep their soul. Rosemary talks to someone about how loving Allie made her weak and now it’s time to make things better. The man turns around and he’s….no one. She’ll take his soul anyway.

Video on Susie/Su Yung.

Susie is in the back and runs into the Deaners. She liked being Susie, but Su is who she is.

Joey Ryan vs. Cody Deaner

Kind of a weird cameo for Cody with Susie when he’s in this unrelated match. Ryan takes him into the corner to start as Madison is confused by the concept of toxic masculinity. A right hand in the corner doesn’t do much to Cody, who hammers away instead. Hold on though as Cody needs a beer, allowing Joey to rake the eyes. A knee drop gets two and Joey hits Cody with Cody’s hat. That brings Cody back to life and we get the hillbilly Hulk Up. The Deaner DDT is escaped but Jake makes Joey drink beer, setting up the DDT for the pin at 4:00.

Rating: D. What was the point here? They set up Cancel Culture as something important and then one of the Deaners beats Joey? I’m really not sure I get that and it probably isn’t the first time that is going to be the case. The match was nothing but some comedy spots strung together, though that might be better than watching Joey try to have a good match.

Eddie Edwards offers to have Tessa’s back tonight but she’s got this on her own.

Michael Elgin is ready to win the World Title at Rebellion.

Here’s what we get next week.

Ethan Page vs. Tessa Blanchard

Non-title and Josh Alexander is here with Page. Tessa doesn’t like being patted on the head to start and Page makes it worse by pulling her off the top. Page takes her down into the corner but Tessa slugs away, only to charge into a boot. Some knees to the back and a stomp to the stomach keep Tessa down and a delayed suplex does the same.

Tessa can’t fight out of a backbreaker but she can hit a standing Sliced Bread #2. The suicide dives to the floor hit Page and a tornado DDT gets two. Page kicks her in the face for two more but Tessa gets up top. Alexander tries to offer a distraction but here’s Eddie to cut him off. Magnum finishes Page at 9:19.

Rating: C. I was getting into this one by the end and you can pencil Eddie and Tessa in for a Tag Team Title shot next week. They’re doing a good job of making me want to see the three way for the World Title at Rebellion and I’m sure we’ll get to see it at some point in the future. It’s a shame that it might take some time, but at least it had a good build.

Post match here’s Michael Elgin to go after Tessa and Eddie but the knock him to the floor. A triple staredown ends the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This is a situation where they were doing a good job of building the big stuff for Rebellion but at the same time I’m not sure how much good the rest of the show did. The main event should be a heck of a fight though and Mack vs. Austin sounds interesting. I’m not sure about the rest of the show, but maybe the big stuff would have been enough to carry it. The lack of Rebellion is going to hurt, but maybe we can get to something better down the road.

Results

Josh Alexander b. Eddie Edwards – Rollup

Kylie Rae b. Cassandra Golden – STF

Moose b. Kid Kash – No Jackhammer Needed

Sami Callihan b. Tommy Dreamer – Cactus Special

Cody Deaner b. Joey Ryan – Deaner DDT

Tessa Blanchard b. Ethan Page – Magnum

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: January 14, 2020
Location: Bomb Factory, Dallas, Texas/2300 Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis
Hosts: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re done with Hard To Kill and that means we’ll be moving forward towards Rebellion in April. That’s a long way off though and now it’s time to talk about Tessa Blanchard as the new World Champion. It’s a big deal and something Impact can brag about, which I’m sure they will. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Hard To Kill if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Josh and Don are in the Nashville studios to talk about how the historic title change.

Rascalz vs. Desi Hit Squad vs. Reno Scum vs. TJP/Daga

One fall to a finish. It’s a brawl to start and the bell rings when we’re down to Desi vs. Wentz. TJP comes in and we hit the parade of missed offense until TJP’s middle rope double dropkick is pulled out of the air. He flips out of that though and gets kicked in the chest a few times, setting up a running double stomp to the back.

They’re replaced by Reno Scum, who double teams Shera, including a running double stomp in the corner. A German suplex into a running double stomp (WAY too popular of a move in this match) gets two on TJP, who gets tied in the Tree of Woe. Daga slips out of a running Razor’s Edge buckle bomb into TJP and kicks Scum down. The Squad is back in to beat up Daga and TJP gets taken down as well.

Now it’s the Rascalz coming in to clean house, including a backbreaker/middle rope double stomp (four of the same move in less than five minutes is unacceptable) for two on Raju. TJP’s slingshot dropkick hits Raju and it’s Wentz being backdropped onto a big pile. Luster adds a big no hands dive, leaving Daga to kick Raju in the head. A sitout powerbomb gets two with Wentz making the save. It’s a short parade of finishers until Shera Sky Highs Wentz for the pin at 7:02.

Rating: C+. This was what you would expect from a wild four way tag with eight people involved. There’s only so much you can do with something like this unless you go to a very special place with it. What we got here was fine for what it was though, and they didn’t stay out there too long to have too many spots crammed in for the sake of cramming them in.

Moose brags about beating Rhino on Sunday. He’s ready to win the X-Division Title tonight in a four way, though the fact that the match was taped in November might make that a bit difficult.

Josh and Don talk about how cool it is that Tessa won the World Title.

We look at Ace Austin retaining the X-Division Title over Trey Miguel. Heck of a match too.

Ace Austin is ready to star in a sequel and has no comment on tonight’s title defense.

We look at Rich Swann injuring his ankle at Bash at the Brewery II.

We look at Willie Mack challenging for the Tag Team Titles on his own on Sunday but coming up short.

Swann tells Mack not to worry about it.

Katie Forbes is ready for a very fun celebration with Rob Van Dam.

Eddie Edwards says Hard To Kill describes him well and now he’ll win the X-Division Title.

We look at Edwards defeating Michael Elgin to retain the Call Your Shot trophy at the pay per view.

Elgin is in Japan and loves everything about it. He wants championships in Impact and he’ll be back.

We look at Rob Van Dam beating up Brian Cage and then beating Daga as a replacement.

Van Dam is in a hotel room in a bath robe with a bunch of rose petals on the bed. It looks like he’s always celebrating but it’s because everything is a party. He beat the big bad machine, but here’s Katie to say he should only be worried about wrestling her. Jiggling ensues and something on Katie’s upper half is blurred out. Katie’s girlfriend, Jennifer, joins them and kisses Rob, who rants about how marks live vicariously through him.

We’re clipped to Rob covered in lipstick prints but the girls, now minus tops but with various things covered in whipped cream, come in and tell him to take the robe off. Jennifer: “Whip out that Rob Van D***.” And we’re out due to technical difficulties. This was completely over the top in a funny way, though I can’t say I’m surprised at Twitch being annoyed at them over it. What else were they expecting from something like this?

Later tonight: an interview with Tessa Blanchard.

Post break, another announcement that later tonight, it will be an interview with Tessa Blanchard. In case you thought plans had changed in three minutes.

Video on Ken Shamrock’s issues with OVE, capped off by him beating Mad Man Fulton in a bit of a surprise.

Shamrock knew Fulton was athletic and strong so he had to fight smart instead. Sami Callihan doesn’t care about Fulton and that isn’t going to change. Shamrock isn’t sure what’s next.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Kurt Angle pins Jeff Jarrett at Genesis 2009.

Johnny Swinger doesn’t like the new wrestlers gaming so much so he goes to play some pinball. He hits on a woman playing Galaga and it’s as cheesy as you would guess.

Joey Ryan vs. Johnny Swinger

Ryan gives a fan his lollipop and offers Swinger a chance to touch….it. That’s a no, so Swinger cranks on the arm instead. Joey tries to make him touch it, which is enough to get him out of a waistlock. Swinger teases touching it but punches Ryan in the face instead. An atomic drop just hurts Swinger’s leg, allowing Don to compare the powers of different parts of Ryan’s anatomy. Swinger’s leg is fine enough to choke on the rope and then whip him hard into the corner for two.

The chinlock goes on for a bit before Swinger tries the falling headbutt for a low blow, only to knock himself silly. Back up and Swinger’s rollup with feet on the ropes gets caught, leaving Ryan to make him touch it. The flip takes out Swinger and the referee, allowing Swinger to hit Ryan low, mainly because Swinger never learns. As he holds his hand, Joey puts the lollipop in his mouth and Sweet Tooth Music is good for the pin at 6:40.

Rating: D. I can live with this nonsense a lot more when they keep the comedy guys together, meaning this was nowhere near as bad as usual. It wasn’t too long and they played the hits (I shivered a bit at that concept) but it could have been worse and it was in its own little shell, so fair enough if you just have to do this.

We look at Taya Valkyrie cheating to retain the Knockouts Title thanks to John E. Bravo.

We look at Tessa Blanchard winning the World Title in the main event.

To House Of Hardcore in November in Philadelphia.

X-Division Title: Fallah Bahh vs. Moose vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Ace Austin

Ace is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. They exchange kicks to the face to start until Moose gets to chop Bahh in the corner. Eddie comes back in and suplexes Moose to the floor, only to have to deal with Austin. Moose throws the champ outside and chops it out with Bahh again. A double clothesline puts them both down so it’s Eddie vs. Austin again.

Bahh is back up and splashes Austin in the corner, with Moose landing on both of them so Eddie can chop all three at once. Moose and Austin are sent outside so Bahh hits the huge dive, followed by Eddie diving onto everyone as we take a break. Back with Eddie hitting the backpack Stunner for two on Austin but Bahh splashes the two of them in the corner. Moos is back in with some dropkicks and a top rope superplex puts Bahh down.

Austin steals the near fall and kicks Eddie down for the same. Moose blocks the Fold and it’s an exchange of kicks to the face until Bahh clotheslines Moose for the big group knockdown. We take another break and come back again with Moose and Eddie chopping it out until a discus lariat drops Eddie. Bahh loads up the Banzai Drop on Austin but Moose makes the save. That lets Bahh get down and run Eddie over, only to have Austin counter another Banzai Drop into a super Fold to retain at 18:48.

Rating: C+. There was some good action in here but the telegraphed winner didn’t do a lot of good for this one. At least what we got was fun, especially on a show like this which doesn’t matter all that much in the end. Bahh continues to impress, Moose is a good power monster, Eddie is the jack of all trades and Austin is great as the slimy heel. It’s a nice mixture and they had a good match as a result.

We see some footage from after Hard To Kill with a lot of people, including friends and family, celebrating with Tessa.

Tessa joins us for a sitdown interview. She’s so happy with winning the title and beat Sami in the first chance she had at a fair fight. That doesn’t mean Sami and OVE are gone but she has accomplished the impossible goal. Now she is the hunted one and the face of the company but none of this happens by accident.

Sami pops in on the screen behind her and says he’s heard about history for the last 48 hours. He is the history maker around here and pumped blood into Impact when he arrived two years ago. Then he took his spot as World Champion but now Impact has what they want. Tessa is the champion Impact wants but he is the champion everyone needs (good line). Tessa says anyplace anytime and goes to find Sami. Instead she finds another screen, with Sami saying she’ll never see him coming.

Overall Rating: D+. There wasn’t much to this one as the majority was spent recapping the pay per view and building up the Tessa interview. When that wound up meaning nothing and was just a way to set up the obvious rematch, there wasn’t exactly much value to the show. We’ll be back to the regular stuff neck week, but this wasn’t exactly a great way to follow up on the pay per view.

Results

Desi Hit Squad b. TJP/Daga, Rascalz and Reno Scum – Sky High to Wentz

Joey Ryan b. Johnny Swinger – Sweet Tooth Music

Ace Austin b. Fallah Bahh, Moose and Eddie Edwards – Super Fold to Bahh

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Hard To Kill
Date: January 12, 2020
Location: The Bomb Factory, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

It’s back to pay per view with another big show and the card looked pretty good coming in. However, news has since broken about Rich Swann hurting his ankle and not likely being able to wrestle, plus the Tessa Blanchard controversy over her not being a very nice person. Hopefully they can overcome everything and have a great show. Let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on Tessa Blanchard challenging Sami Callihan for the World Title, in what should be a pretty obvious ending. They’ve made no secret of the fact that this is a big coronation and while that might take away a little something, it can be nice to see where things are going and then get there.

Ken Shamrock vs. Mad Man Fulton

Shamrock is coming to the ring while Josh is still talking about the opening. The Crists are here with Fulton and this is fallout from Shamrock vs. Callihan. Shamrock starts with some strikes to the leg and face but Fulton wrestles him down and stomps away in the corner as an insane monster is known to do.

Shamrock’s kneebar doesn’t last long as Fulton shoves him away, only to miss a big boot. The crotching on the ropes lets Shamrock hammer away, only to get pulled down into a cross armbreaker over the ropes, because Fulton can do that. Fulton rolls outside so Shamrock dives onto him. That’s caught so Shamrock has to slip out and hit a German suplex on the floor, setting up a knockdown to Jake Crist.

The Crists get knocked down again and that’s an ejection to make it man vs. monster. Fulton gets in a shot of his own and starts stomping on the arm before switching to a chokeslam. He tries another one but Shamrock takes him down with a Kimura to escape. The shoulder gets popped and Fulton screams but Shamrock lets go for some reason. Fulton wants to fight anyway and something like a one armed powerbomb gives him two. Shamrock grabs something like the Rings of Saturn for the tap at 9:24.

Rating: C-. What an odd opener and what a not great choice for the win. Fulton is a monster and your way to treat him as one is to have him lose via submission? I know Shamrock is someone who can offer some star power but fans already know who he is. Why do you need to give him a win over someone whose status is hurt more than most by a loss?

The announcers run down the card. For the life of me I don’t get why they do this. Just in case someone casually bought the pay per view to see what they might get to see?

We recap the X-Division Title match. Trey Miguel is the #1 contender so Ace Austin is hitting on his mom in one of the most bizarre methods of building a title match that I can remember in recent memory. It’s a personal one and they’re both selling it to set up a good feud.

X-Division Title: Trey Miguel vs. Ace Austin

Austin is defending and Trey takes him down at the bell, meaning it’s an early chase around the ring. Back in and Trey hits a spear before kicking Austin outside again. A 619 on the apron hits Austin in the head and there’s a middle rope moonsault to get in another knockdown. Ace gets in a few shots of his own and busts out a Space Flying Tiger Drop to take over.

Trey isn’t about to stand for that and hits him in the ear, only to get shoved off the steps and onto the barricade. Back in again and Ace elbows the ribs but stops to check on his ear. A low superkick gives Ace two and some belly to back slams (think Cena’s ProtoBomb without the spin) set up…an escaped third attempt so Miguel kicks him down into the corner. The Bang-A-Rama gets two and we hit the half crab, with Ace throwing in a finger cut with a card between the fingers.

Trey finally comes back with some clotheslines and a kick to the head, setting up a reverse suplex into a dragon sleeper. That’s broken up and a bottom rope springboard Downward Spiral gets two on the champ. Ace gets up a knee in the corner though and Trey charges into a springboard spinning kick to the face. That doesn’t seem to bother Trey, who hits a 619 in the corner, only to get crotched on top. The Fold retains the title at 12:24.

Rating: C. Kind of an abrupt finish but Ace getting pushed like this is a very good thing. He’s one of my favorite guys in the entire promotion right now and I could go for more of his horrible mind games. This one might not even be done and that’s not the worst idea. Good enough match here, and some more fire from Trey could make it even better.

Post match Ace hits on Mama Miguel but gets jumped by Trey. Even the Rascalz have to come out and help pull him off.

ODB’s new food truck will be ready in the Spring and she thanks all of the fans for having her back.

We recap the Knockouts Title match. Taya Valkyrie is defending, having held the title longer than anyone in history. Jordynne Grace is ready to take it from her but ODB has been added to the mix and things might not be that simple.

Knockouts Title: Taya Valkyrie vs. Jordynne Grace vs. ODB

Taya is defending and has John E. Bravo with him. ODB starts with a double noggin knocker of all things and Taya is sent outside early on. The other two head to the apron for a slugout with Grace getting the better of things by knocking ODB to the floor. Taya takes ODB’s place inside but ODB pulls Grace to the floor for the fall away slam on the ramp. Back in and Taya chokes ODB and doesn’t seem happy with the FOOD TRUCK chants.

More choking in the corner gives Taya two and a curb stomp into the STF gives us a Cena/Rollins finisher kit. Grace is back in so Taya tries to work on her shoulder, only to get lifted up with straight power. ODB breaks that up to put everyone down though I’d give it ten seconds before it’s back to one on one.

A spinebuster gives Grace two on Taya and a German suplex is good for the same with ODB making both saves. Taya kicks Grace in the head for two with ODB making a third save. Grace pulls ODB off the top and hits a top rope backsplash for the same with Taya having to make a save. Everyone is down again until the Grace Driver plants ODB. It’s Bravo with the distraction though, allowing Taya to steal the pin and retain at 11:37.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this one as it was almost every triple threat match you can imagine. The wrestling wasn’t all that great and Taya escaping after someone else hit their finisher was what I guessed for the finish. Anytime you think the same way I do in a finishing sequence, it’s probably not a good sign, which was the case here too. Grace probably gets the title soon though, and it’s not like more Taya is a bad thing.

Katie Forbes is all over Rob Van Dam and is sure that he’ll win because he’s so handsome. Daga walks by and Van Dam thinks he’s a fan in a great touch. Sex is implied but we need a video package first.

Video on Rob Van Dam vs. Brian Cage, with Rob suggesting that Cage has copied all of his moves. Cage is a big Van Dam fan but is ready to show how great he is on his own.

Brian Cage vs. Rob Van Dam

Van Dam has Forbes with him, plus new music which features him saying his initials and name several times. Cage high fives fans around the ring but Katie’s girlfriend (just go with it) grabs his hand so Rob can jump him from behind. A few rams into the post has Cage’s shoulder busted up and Rob hits a springboard kick to the face, meaning it’s time for a few bows.

They head inside with Rob hitting a springboard kick to the face but Cage uses the one good arm to send him into the corner. The superkick rocks Van Dam again as I don’t think the bell ever rang. Forbes slides in a chair though and Rob hits a Van Daminator to bust Cage open. The Van Terminator connects, Katie jiggles a lot, and Rob covers for…nothing because Cage is hurt. Cue Daga and some referees as Cage is taken away, meaning there’s no match. Well not a match with Cage at least as we have a replacement. Cage is either hurt or leaving or both, which does explain a little bit of this mess.

Rob Van Dam vs. Daga

Van Dam gets in an early chair shot but the rolling monkey flip is broken up with a dropkick. Daga hits a few dropkicks to the floor so Katie climbs onto Rob to check on him. They head back inside with Daga missing a top rope dropkick, allowing Rob to roll him up for two. A fireman’s carry gutbuster into a suplex gives Daga two but Rob is right back up with a kick to the face. The Five Star finishes Daga in a hurry at 4:11.

Rating: D. What in the world was the point of this? Did they not know that Cage was hurt or something? They really couldn’t have just had Daga go out there and do a longer match? I have no idea how this was their best option but egads it really didn’t work. Daga vs. Van Dam would have been fine and I get that Cage was leaving, but dang this was a major disappointment.

Post match Rob celebrates with the two girlfriends before watching them dance together.

Sami Callihan isn’t granting interviews.

We recap Michael Elgin vs. Eddie Edwards. Eddie has the Call Your Shot Trophy (Money in the Bank for any title) and Elgin is willing to do whatever it takes to get the World Title. He has treated Eddie rather badly backstage and beaten him in a regular (and awesome) match, so now it’s for the trophy.

Michael Elgin vs. Eddie Edwards

Eddie starts fast but gets forearmed in the face early on. Elgin gets knocked outside for the suicide dive so Elgin forearms him down again. Stick with what works I guess. A superkick puts Eddie down again, only to have him come back with chops. Eddie tries another suicide dive but gets forearmed out of the air again, setting up a posting to make it even worse.

Back in and Elgin hits a reverse jawbreaker (as in to the back of the neck, meaning it’s not a jawbreaker), followed by a fisherman’s neckbreaker for two. The neck crank goes on but Eddie fights up and manages to suplex both Elgin and himself out to the floor. Eddie is back up with the suicide dive to send Elgin flying into the barricade.

Back in and Elgin counters the Boston Knee Party with a spinebuster before no selling Eddie’s snap German suplex. Elgin runs him over with a clothesline for two more and another forearm drops Eddie again. They slug it out for a good bit until Eddie knocks him down with a clothesline.

Elgin is right back with some superkicks and a release German superplex (egads, though it’s similar to a really high moonsault and a bit safer than it looks). Splash Mountain gets two on Eddie but he’s right back with some shots to the knee. Elgin Crossfaces him to cut that off but that’s broken up in a hurry as well. With the holds not working, Elgin goes with the power in the form of a buckle bomb, only to have the Elgin Bomb reversed into a sunset flip to give Eddie the pin at 19:53.

Rating: B+. This was your physical slugout match of the night with Elgin beating the heck out of him as Eddie had to try and hang in there. Elgin got frustrated by Eddie kicking out every single time, allowing Eddie to survive until he could catch Elgin going too far. They beat the fire out of each other and had an awesome match as a result. Good stuff, as you had to expect.

Rhino is ready for the spear vs. the Gore. Moose likes to call his spear the No Jackhammers Needed, so Rhino is going to show him the no f**** given.

We recap Moose vs. Rhino. Moose wants to prove that he’s the best all around athlete and has been going after the older guys, including Rhino. Therefore, it’s a battle of the spears which is a fine enough idea.

Moose vs. Rhino

No DQ. Moose, in Randy Savage gear, starts an exchange of elbows and knocks Rhino outside. An early spear misses Rhino though and he falls outside, only to grab a chair to hit Rhino in the back. They fight on the ramp but Moose charges into a backdrop to make him cringe. Back to ringside and Rhino gets posted, meaning it’s time for a table.

Moose can’t powerbomb him off the apron though, instead charging into a powerbomb from Rhino to put him through the table in the big crash. That’s good for two back inside and it’s time to throw in a bunch of chairs and trashcan lids. Moose gets the better of that though with some shots to the back putting Rhino down. A top rope elbow gets two on Rhino but Moose tries again, allowing Rhino to chair him on the top.

That means a superplex onto the pile of chairs for two so Rhino grabs another table. It takes a long time to set it up though and Moose hits a running dropkick in the corner. Rhino clotheslines him right back down and hits the Gore through the table, but also through the referee. Another referee comes out to count a delayed two but Moose hits him low. No Jackhammers Needed finishes Rhino at 12:27.

Rating: C+. They had a nice brawl here and that’s what they were hoping to do. The match was what it needed to be with the only logical ending, as there was no reason to do anything more than have Moose break a sweat and then win in the end. It was an entertaining fight and now Moose needs to move on towards the World Title scene. He’s been chasing the thing for so long that it has to happen sooner rather than later.

We recap the North vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack. Swann and Mack have been chasing the titles for months and are the new #1 contenders so the North has tried to split them up. Now none of that matters though because Swann has hurt his ankle and can’t wrestle.

Swann isn’t even cleared to stand at ringside on crutches so Mack is on his own. He’s got this.

Tag Team Titles: Willie Mack vs. The North

The North is defending in a handicap match. Alexander starts for the team but walks over to Page for the tag, followed by another tag to set up the double teaming. Mack shrugs that off and hits the swinging slam on Alexander, plus an enziguri to put him on the floor. Page is there for a distraction though and the champs take over with a cheap shot from behind. The chinlock goes on as we see Swann watching from backstage.

Mack fights up and hits a DDT out of the corner, setting up some running corner clotheslines. The Samoa drop into the standing moonsault gets two on Alexander and a running big boot in the corner makes it worse. There’s an exploder suplex for the same but Page is back in with the double Neutralizer for two of his own.

They head to the floor and take Mack up, only to have him knock Alexander onto Page’s shoulders. That means a Doomsday Canadian Destroyer to Alexander, followed by the frog splash for two with Page pulling the referee. Page’s request for a DQ is denied so Mack hits him with a Stunner, only to have Alexander come back with the assisted spinebuster to retain at 10:34.

Rating: C. This was a weird one as there was only so much that they could do given the circumstances. Mack and Swann could have had a classic match here but with Mack having to be in there on his own, their options were a bit limited. They did what they could here though and it wound up being an entertaining match. Do the title switch later, though it could be months given their taping schedule.

Rebellion is back in April.

We recap Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard. Callihan won the World Title from Brian Cage in a cage match and Tessa won a gauntlet match to earn the title shot. Tessa has faced Sami twice before but come up short both times, meaning this is her big chance at destiny and revenge at the same time. It feels like a big deal, though not the most surprising conclusion.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard

Sami is defending and is on his own for a change. We get the Big Match Intros and Sami hits a Cactus Special for two in the first ten seconds. Tessa fights out of a superplex attempt and hits Magnum for two of her own as we’re a minute into the match. A headscissors puts Sami on the floor and the suicide dive connects. Tessa snaps off a hurricanrana on the floor as the fans are WAY behind her.

The big flip dive connects as Sami hasn’t been able to do anything after the Cactus Special. He manages to drive her knees first into the barricade so Tessa has to limp back inside to beat the count. The leg is wrapped around the post a few times and Sami punches at the knee for a bonus. An Indian Deathlock takes us back to 1972 until Sami hits her in the back and lets it go. There’s another kick to the knee and Tessa is in trouble despite the fans being completely behind her.

The cockiness is strong with the champ as he stands on Tessa’s ribs to show off. Tessa tries to slug back so Sami hits her in the face. They head outside again with Tessa getting powerbombed through a table in the big crash. That’s good for nine so Tessa gets on the apron for another chop off. A superkick sets up Magnum on the apron and they’re both down on the floor again. They beat the count again but Sami is starting to look a bit desperate.

Tessa says to hit her and keeps bouncing up from the chops. Somehow Tessa manages a Samoan drop and gets two more off a second Magnum. Another Magnum misses though and the knee is banged up again. Get Outta Here gets two on Tessa and she bounces up from a German suplex. A cutter gets two on Sami but he’s right back with a sitout powerbomb into a Stretch Muffler.

That’s switched into an STF but Tessa makes the rope to escape again. Sami grabs the belt, only to have it taken away. It’s a ruse though as he busts out some brass knuckles but Tessa kicks him low. Magnum gets two more so Tessa grabs the Crossface but that’s reversed into another Cactus Special for another two. Tessa slugs away so Sami spits on her and kicks her in the face. A running Canadian Destroyer plants Sami though and the hammerlock DDT gives Tessa the pin and the title at 23:49.

Rating: B+. Another very good match here but the history is what matters in this one. They beat each other up and told a story with Tessa having to survive the knee injury and hang on against the way too arrogant Callihan. It’s still a bit of a stretch to believe that Tessa can be a physical match for the men but they’ve hidden it as well as can be expected. It’s an important moment and something that does matter, though the controversy from the weekend is going to hurt the meaning a bit.

Tessa celebrates and we’re off the air almost immediately.

Overall Rating: C+. The two bigger matches had to bail this out as some of the things they did here didn’t work. A few of them weren’t Impact’s fault but this show could have been a lot better with another rewrite. They nailed the matches that mattered though and with a few fixes, this card could have been great. What we got was good enough, though the bad things are really pretty bad. Check out the main and Elgin vs. Eddie though, as Impact gets to show what they can do when they have the chance.

Results

Ken Shamrock b. Mad Man Fulton – Rings of Saturn

Ace Austin b. Trey Miguel – The Fold

Taya Valkyrie b. ODB and Jordynne Grace – Grace Driver to ODB

Rob Van Dam b. Daga – Five Star Frog Splash

Eddie Edwards b. Michael Elgin – Sunset flip

Moose b. Rhino – No Jackhammers Needed

The North b. Willie Mack – Assisted spinebuster

Tessa Blanchard b. Sami Callihan – Hammerlock DDT

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

It’s back to the pay per view pile for Impact and in a way, that sounds like a good thing. When Impact Wrestling cuts out all of the other nonsense and focuses on the wrestling alone, they can have a heck of a show and hopefully that is what happens here. Sometimes you don’t need to do anything more than have a bunch of good wrestling and under the right circumstances, this could be quite the show. Let’s get to it.

Ken Shamrock vs. Mad Man Fulton

Unless I missed it before, this was added to the show on Tuesday night. I’m not sure how much more gas Shamrock has in the tank but his intimidating look alone should be worth something. I can’t imagine that he’s going to be around long term but he has enough star power to validate keeping him around for the time being. That being said, Fulton has a lot of potential as a monster and Shamrock could make for a good opponent.

I’ll go with Fulton here because he has a brighter future and there is no reason to put Shamrock over him. Shamrock is already a legend and a former World Champion so putting him over Fulton doesn’t make sense. Then again, if there is one thing this company loves to do it is push older people for no logical reason. I’ll take Fulton, but there is a bit of fear in the back of my head over the whole thing.

Moose vs. Rhino

This is one of those formulas that works almost every time: take two people who can hit each other really hard and see who is left standing. It’s also a battle of the spears, with Rhino’s having more impact but Moose’s having the more clever name. Moose is in need of the big win but I’m not sure how much value there is in putting him over Rhino. That being said, I can’t imagine Rhino getting a big win on this stage.

So yeah of course it’s Moose here, as it should be. Rhino is someone who still has some name recognition and now that they’re getting him away from the ECW tributes, you can see why he’s been around as long as he has. This could be a good ten minute power brawl and Rhino can still bring it in that style. Have some fun and get the right person over and everything works out.

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

This was the match that I was looking forward to more than any other on the card as Mack and Swann have turned into a heck of a team against a dark horse contender for the Tag Team Of The Year in 2019 in the North. Then Swann sprained his ankle last night and is unlikely for the match, meaning the whole thing is pretty much forgotten about as Mack is probably wrestling it in a handicap match.

Therefore, the North retains here and we probably get the big title match in SEVERAL weeks on Impact, assuming it happens at all. Given their marathon taping sessions, there is almost no way we’re going to be seeing Swann in the ring for months as far as Impact taping time goes and that’s a shame because he seemed ready to jump way up the ladder in the coming weeks, starting with a title win here. But alas, the North retains here (hardly a bad thing as they’ve been excellent).

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

I was completely sold on Grace ending the record long reign here, but then ODB was added to it and things started trending down (as they tend to do when she is added to almost anything). They now have an out to keep the title on Valkyrie (again: not a bad thing, which seems to be a Canadian trait), even though it is time for someone else to get into the title picture. I think you know where this is going.

I’ll play it safe and say that Valkyrie retains the title, likely by defeating ODB. Maybe they can even throw in a bonus by having Grace hit the Grace Driver so Valkyrie can steal the pin. I’m not entirely sure why ODB needs to be involved in this, though if it’s to give her a hand after her food truck burned down, I can get over my lack of caring for her. Anyway, I’m not thrilled about this one, but Valkyrie is likely retaining to lose to Grace in a singles match later.

Brian Cage vs. Rob Van Dam

I wasn’t big on Van Dam returning as he is way past his prime and has been around for so long that a lot of the luster is gone. However, I’ve dug the heck out of his crazy self-absorbed heel character as he’s selling the heck out of it. While I could go for a little less Katie Forbes, Van Dam’s stuff has been great and I’m enjoying his promos more than I have in years.

As for the match…..dang I’m not sure. This is the kind of thing that should be Cage in a walk but Van Dam has been so awesome in everything he’s done that it could go either way. I think I’ll actually take Van Dam, just for the sake of giving him something else to talk about. Cage shouldn’t be losing again, but they’ve got an intriguing match here, provided they can make the in-ring stuff work.

Call Your Shot Trophy: Eddie Edwards(c) vs. Michael Elgin

This is basically Money In The Bank but for any title, which very well could play a role later in the show. The idea here is that Elgin wants the World Title and is willing to take shortcuts to get there. He already beat Edwards in a rather good match on Impact and now he wants to do it again for the trophy. I like the idea of having to defend the thing, even though it has barely been mentioned since Edwards won the thing.

I’ll take Elgin to win here, even if it’s two big losses in a row for Edwards. The good thing about him is that he’s almost bulletproof in Impact and that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. Elgin on the other hand seems to be in a place where he needs to win the World Title or find something else to do, and winning the Trophy could get him a big step closer to being champion.

X-Division Title: Ace Austin(c) vs. Trey Miguel

There aren’t many people who have been as bizarre as Austin in recent months. He’s gone from apparently being an adult actor to hitting on Miguel’s mom while also winning the title. I’m not sure which of those is weirder, but here we are with one of the first actual stories about the title in months. That might not be the best story in the world, but at least it’s something for a change.

I’ll go with Austin retaining here, partially because I like him and partially because I want to see Miguel’s mom turn on him. It would be hilarious to see if nothing else, though I do need to see the Rascalz get somewhere sooner or later. This very well may be where it takes place, but I’m not sure if that’s what’s going to happen. Give me Austin to retain, though I’m not very confident in it.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Sami Callihan(c) vs. Tessa Blanchard

And then, as usual, something has to happen to mess everything up around here. In this case it isn’t Impact’s fault, but that never stopped the bad news before. In this case, Blanchard seemed all primed and ready to win the title but then there was yesterday’s Twitter fiasco that might cause some major issues for the company should they give her some big push.

That being said, I’ll go with Blanchard winning and then Elgin cashing in his newly won trophy for an immediate title shot. Therefore, Blanchard gets her win, a Canadian gets to be World Champion and we can move forward to Blanchard chasing the title again after things have cooled down a bit. It’s not the smartest thing in the world, but it’s the most protection they can have at the moment.

Overall Thoughts

I was looking forward to this show a lot more about thirty six hours ago before the Swann injury and the Blanchard drama but you should know better than to expect something like this to work out well. It really does feel like the company is cursed at times and even when they have been doing so much better as of late, it doesn’t seem like they can ever shake off the curse that follows them everywhere.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: January 4, 2020
Hosts: Josh Matthews, Scott D’Amore

We continue our trip through the year here with the second half of the Best Of 2019. Given that Hard To Kill is in eight days, I would bet on a high concentration of Tessa Blanchard here, which isn’t the worst thing in the world. Last week’s show flew by in a good way so hopefully that continues here. Let’s get to it.

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

As usual, the matches are going to be clipped on the show but I’ll be putting in the full versions.

Josh and Scott welcome us to the show and are rather happy to have a new year, even if Madison Rayne has said they can’t drink.

From Impact, November 19.

Gauntlet Match

Six people, the winner is the #1 contender. Moose is in at #1 and Daga is in at #2 to get things started. Daga picks up the pace to start and dropkicks the leg, setting up the running Downward Spiral. They head to the floor with Daga hitting a moonsault off the apron, only to have Moose throw him around with ease back inside. The Dominator gives Moose one but Daga sends him back into the corner for a running basement dropkick. The spear cuts Daga in half though and Moose moves on at 5:10.

Rich Swann is in at #3 and looks rather nervous about facing the monster. A running hurricanrana has Moose in trouble but he’s right back with a dropkick to send Swann outside. They switch places with Swann’s running hurricanrana off the apron earning himself a bit of a breather. Moose throws him down again though and Swann has to beat the count back in. This time Swann manages a DDT but gets lawn darted face first into the middle buckle for two.

Swann slips out of a powerbomb though and kicks Moose in the head, setting up the Lethal Injection for a VERY close two (good near fall there). The middle rope 450 hits Moose’s knees though and the middle rope chokebomb gives Moose two of his own. A hot shot makes it even worse but Swann jumps into a crucifix to finish Moose at 15:14.

Michael Elgin is in at #4 and Swann knows he’s in trouble. Elgin hits a slingshot elbow to the face and we take a quick break. Back with Swann hitting a dive and sending Elgin back inside for a low superkick. A whip sitout spinebuster gives Elgin two and Swann gets sent hard into the corner to rock him again. Swann gets caught in the Crossface but a foot on the ropes lets Swann get out to the apron.

Elgin snaps off a half nelson suplex to drop Swann on his head and knock him silly. A twisting Swanton misses back inside though and Swann starts kicking away. Elgin dragon suplexes him though and nails a hard clothesline to drop him on his head. A top rope superplex hits Swann but he pops right back up with a reverse hurricanrana for two. That’s quite the recovery time there. Elgin is back up with an apron superplex into a Falcon Arrow for another near fall. Another clothesline takes Elgin down again and it’s time to hammer away in the corner….before shoving the referee for the DQ to send Swann forward at 31:23.

Elgin isn’t done though and hits the Elgin Bomb, drawing out some more referees to get rid of him. We take a break and it’s Brian Cage in at #5 to continue the destruction. Swann can barely stand but manages to kick Cage in the head anyway. That’s only good for one though and Cage throws him down with ease. Swann’s superkicks set up another kick to the head and a running step onto the head puts Cage down again. The 450 gets two and it’s a cutter into Lethal Injection for a delayed two. The Phoenix Splash misses though and it’s Weapon X to get rid of Swann at 41:14.

Tessa Blanchard is in at #6 to complete the field and, after a break with a house show ad, we’re ready to go. Tessa isn’t scared of the monster so he shoves her into the corner. A powerbomb doesn’t work for Cage so Tessa springboard dropkicks him to the floor. Cage hits the F5 onto the apron though and we take another break. Back again with Tessa dropkicking the leg out and scoring with a tornado DDT for two. Another Cage powerbomb attempt is countered with a hurricanrana into the corner.

A top rope splash gives Tessa two but Cage, bleeding from the lip, knocks her away without much effort. Tessa is rocked but hits a superkick into a cutter, setting up the hammerlock DDT for the big near fall. Another hurricanrana sets up Magnum for a rather close two and Tessa can’t believe the kickout. The second Magnum is countered into a buckle bomb but Weapon X is countered into Code Red for the pin and the title shot at 55:17.

Rating: B. This was the Rich Swann Show as he got to stay out there for a long time and get the fans behind him all over again after getting beaten down time after time. The other big deal here is of course Tessa, which you knew was going to be the ending but it doesn’t make things any less special. This match worked on a variety of levels and never felt long, which is pretty impressive for a nearly hour long match. Good stuff here, with the right people doing the right things.

Wrestlers talk about how 2019 went for themselves and Impact.

Wrestlers talk about their favorite match of the year.

Scott says he wants to treat Josh better in 2020. This includes a kiss on the cheek and Josh announces the North as the Tag Team of the Year.

From Impact, November 12.

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

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

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

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

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

Scott likes the North.

Wrestlers talk about who had a breakout year.

Tessa Blanchard is the Wrestler of the Year.

Tessa, at home, is very proud to win it and promises to win the World Title.

From Rebellion.

Gail Kim vs. Tessa Blanchard

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wrestlers on what to expect in 2020.

Wrestlers pick Tessa Blanchard to beat Sami Callihan at Hard To Kill 6-4.

From Slammiversary in the Match of the Year.

Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard

They both have their own baseball bats. They stare each other down for over a minute before Tessa fires off the forearms to the face. A headscissors puts Sami on the apron and a dropkick sends him to the floor. The suicide dive is countered into a powerbomb though and Sami swings her into the barricade for a thud that made me cringe. A Death Valley Driver on the floor should knock Tessa cold but Sami slams her down instead.

That’s good for an eight count with Sami not even looking at the ring. Back in and Tessa hits a running neckbreaker but Sami runs her over. Tessa rolls up the ramp but she escapes a powerbomb into the crowd. The jumping cutter drops Sami on the ramp and a tornado DDT gives Tessa two back inside.

Sami scores with Get Outta Here and a knee to the face, setting up an STF. Tessa grabs the rope for the break and escapes a super powerbomb, meaning it’s a running Codebreaker out of the corner. The referee gets shoved away though and Sami hits her in the face with the bat for two.

The replacement referee gets knocked down as well and Tessa gets in her own bat shot. Magnum gets two so Tessa switches into a Crossface in the middle of the ring (Callis: “BREAK HIS NECK!”). That’s reversed into a kneeling Tombstone to give Sami two, allowing Tessa to give him thumbs up, thumbs down. The Cactus Special finishes Tessa at 15:01.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure what to think of this one. Tessa didn’t look overwhelmed and her offense was believable against Sami, which was the most important thing. That being said, this wasn’t exactly as epic as the build would have had you believe and it felt weird seeing this in the main event. Tessa fighting men going forward is fine, though they’re going to have to do this carefully to make sure it doesn’t go too far into the unbelievable.

Post match Sami bangs both bats together and hands Tessa hers before leaving.

Tessa promises to win the title at Hard To Kill.

Overall Rating: B+. There’s something interesting about the Match of the Year being the weakest on the show. Anyway, this was almost all about Tessa and that’s what it should have been. The wrestling was the entire point here and that’s what it needed to be. I had a good time watching this and if they can have one awesome go home show, we could be in for a heck of a pay per view next week. Good stuff here as Impact gets to show its better parts, of which there were several last year.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: December 28, 2019
Hosts: Josh Matthews, Scott D’Amore

It’s the Best Of 2019 and that means we could be in for an interesting night. There have been some good things going on this year and hopefully we can see where things are going to be heading in the future. Impact has had a solid year and now they can showcase it a little bit. Let’s get to it.

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

Josh and Scott welcome us to the show, which is week #1 of 2.

From Homecoming:

Eddie Edwards vs. Moose

Falls Count Anywhere. Eddie jumps him during the entrances, as he should because he’s not the kind of guy who would wait for a bell here. Moose catches the suicide dive though and Eddie gets TOSSED into the steps. Back to back powerbombs on the floor and apron give Moose two and it’s time to load up the steps, plus a piece of barricade between the ring and the regular barricade.

Another powerbomb is countered and Eddie takes it back to the floor, this time heading into the crowd. The fans want them to come OVER HERE, though I’d settle for a camera staying on them. What looked like a beer can to Moose’s head makes him walk even more but Moose whips him into some steps to the upper deck. Eddie of course hits a dive off the balcony but would rather chop Moose than cover him.

Back to ringside with Eddie getting knocked off the apron, sending him face first into the barricade. A bunch of chairs are thrown in and Moose posts Eddie to keep him down. Eddie is busted open (as he should be) and Moose bites at the cut (as he shouldn’t be). For some reason Moose goes up, allowing Eddie to pelt a chair at his head. The chairs are piled up and a top rope superplex drops both guys onto them for the huge crash.

Back up and they chop it out with Moose taking off the glove for good measure. Moose charges but gets backdropped onto the aforementioned piece of barricade. Eddie takes him back inside and grabs a kendo stick for the real beating. Cue Alisha Edwards to take the stick away…and beat on Moose instead. The big stick shot from Eddie sets up the DDT for the pin at 13:13.

Rating: B-. This was pretty close to the violent fight that it should have been and hopefully it wraps up the feud once and for all. There’s no reason to keep things going and Eddie winning is a pretty definitive finish. Alisha accepting Eddie’s violence and helping with the beatdown was a nice touch, especially since there was no Raven to get involved here.

Happy Holidays from Impact Wrestling.

Some wrestlers talk about their favorite Christmas memory.

From Bound For Glory.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wrestlers discuss Christmas traditions.

We’re also doing some awards this week, with Taya Valkyrie being named Knockout of the Year. Who else was it going to be? Other than maybe Tessa? Anyway, Taya and her dog are rather pleased.

Wrestlers talk about Christmas carols.

From Homecoming.

Tag Team Titles: LAX vs. Lucha Bros

LAX is defending and there’s no Konnan in sight. Fenix and Santana start things off in a feeling out process. A very fast armdrag sends Santana into the ropes for a kick to the back from Pentagon and it’s a double superkick on Santana with Fenix hitting a crazy hard suicide dive on Ortiz. Santana gets back up and sends Fenix outside for a kick to Pentagon’s head, followed by the backsplash from Ortiz.

Pentagon goes outside as well and Santana hits a top rope Asai moonsault to take him right back down. Back in and a Lionsault/legdrop combination gets two on Pentagon as they’ve certainly started fast. Fenix saves his brother from a double suplex and the champs are sat outside on the ramp. Pentagon throws a charging Fenix onto both of them before hitting his own no hands flip dive onto the pile.

Back in and a Codebreaker/top rope double stomp combination gets two on Ortiz. Santana comes back in and hits a reverse powerbomb into a top rope splash but Pentagon runs in for the crazy save with a step up Canadian Destroyer (GEEZ) to put everyone down. Ortiz and Pentagon slap it out and it’s a series of running kicks to put all four down again.

The Bros get back up first with the spike Fear Factor to Santana, though Ortiz is a bit late with the save and Santana has to kick out on his own. The Street Sweeper hits Pentagon with Fenix diving in with a dropkick for the save. A rolling cutter into a Codebreaker into a superkick finishes Fenix out of nowhere to retain the titles at 10:48.

Rating: B+. It’s the most entertaining thing on the card so far but this didn’t hit the heights they should have reached. It needed another five to ten minutes as I was expecting this to be nearly twice as long. What we got was good, but it wasn’t built up, making the match feel like it was designed to be a classic instead of just being a classic. Very good, but it could have been a lot more.

Wrestlers talk about their favorite gifts.

Willie Mack is named Star to Watch in 2020.

From Cali Combat on August 23.

Willie Mack vs. Trey Miguel

They circle each other to start and we get a handshake, resulting in Mack being pulled into a headlock. Willie reverses into a Samoan drop into a standing moonsault as the audio and video are a little out of sync. Trey blocks a running chop in the corner and hits a springboard hurricanrana to send Willie into the other corner.

Mack is right back up with a reverse Cannonball in the corner. The Stunner is blocked so Trey grabs a jumping neckbreaker for two instead. They slug it out from their knees with Mack getting the better of it, only to get caught in the corner for a Cheeky Nandos kick. Trey goes up top but dives into a Stunner for the pin at 5:24.

Rating: C+. This was just a way to showcase Mack as he (mostly) hit the cool finisher for the pin. I’m not sure how far he can go, but the talent and charisma are going to be enough to drive him pretty far up the ladder. Trey held up his end here too and it was a rather nice little match.

Wrestlers on what they want for Christmas.

From Bound For Glory.

Michael Elgin vs. Naomichi Marufuji

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

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

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

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

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

The Moment of the Year is Sami Callihan winning the World Title on the AXS TV.

From Impact, October 29.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Sami Callihan vs. Brian Cage

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

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

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

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

Overall Rating: B+. This is the kind of show that works like a charm most of the time and Impact had the matches this year to make it work. They’ll be doing something similar next week and it was nice to have this kind of talent getting the attention it deserves. I liked this one quite a bit and it was entertaining throughout, which is the point of a show like this.

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

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

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

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