IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

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

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

Dragon Lee vs. Rich Swann

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video on Lawlor vs. Low Ki at Super Fight.

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

Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

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

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

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

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

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

Mance Warner is coming.

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

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

MLW World Title: Low Ki vs. Fred Yehi

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: January 3, 2019
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

It’s the go home show for Homecoming and since the last two weeks have been Best Of shows, they have a lot to do in one night. This week they have to build things up but also catch you up on the storylines. Now the question is how much time they’ll waste on stuff that doesn’t matter. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at every story going on, which is a very smart idea, especially when they can do it in such a short time.

Opening sequence.

Willie Mack/Rich Swann/Rascalz vs. Ethan Page/Matt Sydal/OVE/Sami Callihan

Always nice to pack a few feuds into one match. Jake Crist and Trey Miguel get things going but Xavier comes in off a very early blind tag for a sliding dropkick to the head. Callihan comes in and some rapid fire Rascalz offense in the corner puts him in trouble. The rapid fire tags continue with Swann and Mack getting in some shots of their own as Sami can’t get anything going.

All ten come in for the big brawl until Sami is left alone to clothesline the heck out of Miguel. That’s fine with Trey, who hurricanranas Callihan on the floor, setting up the series of dives. Sydal blocks Dezmond’s dive with a kick to the head so Wentz used Dezmond as a launchpad to take everyone down instead. Jake and Trey head up top and it’s a super cutter to bring Trey onto the pile for the huge crash. Back from a break with Sami holding Trey in a chinlock and handing it off to Dave for some stomping.

Page adds some stomping from the apron as the villains get their revenge for Sami’s beatdown earlier. Sydal comes in for a side slam but an enziguri to Page allows the diving tag to Swann so house can be cleaned. The low superkick into the middle rope 450 gets two on Page and everything breaks down again. The parade of shots to the face ends with Page hitting a scoop brainbuster for two on Swann. Some people are knocked off the top but Mack saves himself and hits a super Stunner on Dave for the pin at 15:23.

Rating: B. This was the indy style insane tag match to the letter and that’s all it needed to be. They were flying around and had a quick heat segment on Trey that lead to the finish. I don’t know what else you could hope for here, as the people involved are going to be in an insane match at Homecoming, so there wasn’t much of a point in doing anything more than a spotfest. It worked perfectly well and I had a good time with it so well done for a long opener.

Post match Sami hits Willie with a ball bat and the All Seeing Eye puts Mack through a table. Swann gets back in to save Mack from a bat shot to the head.

Preview of the rest of the show.

Video on Eddie Edwards vs. Moose. They used to be friends but Moose claimed that Eddie didn’t care when he got hurt. Moose returned and turned on Eddie, sending Eddie completely over the edge and into a mental hospital. Eddie escaped with the help of a random Raven cameo and is swearing revenge on Sunday.

Here’s Eli Drake, carrying an oar, for a chat. Drake talks about all the people he’s gotten rid of, including Joseph Park, Abyss and Tommy Dreamer. Then he has to show up at Homecoming for a Monster’s Ball match, even though there’s no chance Abyss will be there. If Abyss somehow does show up though, it’ll be a few wacks with old paddy and he’ll go away again. Drake is that good and he is hardcore.

Cue Dreamer with a chair to beat Drake down but before he can Pillmanize the neck, the lights go out and Raven appears. Drake tells them to fight but Raven and Dreamer beat him down instead. Callis: “Only in Impact Wrestling will you see these two standing together, even for a moment!” They were Tag Team Champions at one point dude. Also, I have no idea what the point of this was other than to make Dreamer and Raven look good, which seems pretty counterproductive.

Desi Hit Squad vs. Fallah Bahh/KM

Gama Singh dedicates this match to Scarlett Bordeaux so here’s Scarlett to watch. The Squad jumps the distracted Bahh and KM from behind to start but Bahh isn’t having any of this being punched in the head thing. Singh manages to drive him back into the corner for the tag to Raju, allowing some choking in the corner. Scarlett seems impressed as Bahh gets covered for two but doesn’t like Singh attempting a slam and having Bahh fall on him. KM comes in for the roll over the Squad but a jumping knee into a neckbreaker puts KM in trouble. Bahh crossbodies both of them though and sits on Singh’s chest for the pin at 4:51.

Rating: D. It feels like these teams have been fighting for months now. The Bordeaux thing has gone on long enough and she needs to just debut whatever surprise talent she has and be done with it. Her doing those stupid email segments and watching the same people fight over and over has lost its charm and they need to move on already. Oh and fire the Squad. It’s just not going to happen.

The Lucha Bros say LAX aren’t ready to be a real team without Konnan. It won’t be a friendly match on Sunday because it’s going to be about respect and honor.

Allie vs. Kiera Hogan

Why isn’t this at the pay per view? Hogan goes straight at her and stomps away in the corner, followed by a running dropkick to make it even worse. A suicide dive takes out Su Yung but the distraction lets Allie take Hogan down and hammer away. Allie gets to stomp her down in the corner for a change and cuts Kiera down with a clothesline. A big boot gives Kiera two and she kicks Allie in the head again for the same. Allie is right back with the Codebreaker for the fast pin at 4:34.

Rating: D+. This was too short to mean much and I’m not sure if Allie should be beating Kiera clean so soon. I’m not sure where this story actually goes but it could be interesting to see over the next few weeks. Allie is really working as a heel though and while that’s not the biggest surprise in the world, I’m impressed with it given how great she was as a face for so long.

Post match Allie and Su beat up Kiera even more until Jordynne Grace of all people makes the save and wrecks both of them.

Video on Taya Valkyrie vs. Tessa Blanchard, which has gotten Gail Kim involved despite the complete lack of her being needed.

Earlier today, Trevor Lee ranted to Don Callis and Scott D’Amore (not shown) about not being on the show and got a match for his efforts.

LAX always wanted to be pro wrestlers and overcame everything thrown against them over the years. They’re like brothers and the one time Konnan wasn’t in their corner, they lost everything. Now they need to prove that Konnan isn’t the only reason they win. They’re going to make history at Homecoming because they have to prove their worth to themselves and their family. Good fired up promo from the champs.

Trevor Lee vs. Killer Kross

Kross headlocks him to start and Lee’s efforts at a wristlock have no effect. Some kicks just annoy Kross, who stomps Lee down with no effort. The Saito suplex sets up the Krossjacket choke to give Kross the win at 2:34. Total squash.

Post match Kross wishes Johnny Impact luck against Brian Cage on Sunday, even though he feels like he can’t get through to him. He asks if Impact would like to see what happens when diplomacy fails. Kross grabs the timekeeper and pulls out a cinder block of all things. The timekeeper puts the block on Lee’s head in the corner and Kross breaks it with a right hand. That’s it for Lee in the company, and thank goodness they squashed a guy who has been misused in his entire run with the company. There’s your nice sendoff Lee and have fun in AEW.

Homecoming rundown.

GWN Flashback Moment of the Week: Jerry Lynn vs. Sean Waltman from Sacrifice 2005.

Lucha Bros vs. Brian Cage/Johnny Impact

Works for me. Cage shoulders Fenix down to start and catches a handspring without much effort. Pentagon comes in instead and gets caught in a hard German suplex as there’s no answer for Cage so far. It’s off to Impact for a kick to the head from the apron but Pentagon is right back with a Sling Blade. The Backstabber out of the corner keeps Impact down and there’s the big chop in the corner. Fenix comes back in with a missile dropkick for two but Cage knocks him down. A rolling cutter finally stops Cage and Pentagon adds a running flip dive.

Impact is right behind him with an Asai moonsault but Fenix dives onto everyone as we take a break. Back with Impact kicking the Bros down and getting two off a super Spanish Fly to Fenix. The Pentagon Driver plants Johnny and it’s time for the exchange of superkicks and other assorted kicks to the head. Cage discus lariats Impact down by mistake and gets double superkicked to the floor. The spike Fear Factor finishes Impact at 10:34.

Rating: C. This was more storyline than anything else and that’s perfectly fine. Cage and Impact don’t exactly have a great reason to be fighting other than cashing in the title shot so this was as good of an idea as they were going to have. The Lucha Bros winning is fine and it’s not like Impact got pinned clean or anything. Fine from a storyline standpoint and I’ll take a last minute build rather than nothing at all.

Post match Impact and Cage stare each other down. Cage goes to leave but Impact stops him and the fight is on. Referees and security can’t do much so some of the locker room comes out, only to have Johnny walk the ropes for a flip dive onto Cage. They’re finally separated to wrap things up.

A long video on Homecoming, featuring clips from the old days of TNA, ends the show.

Unless I missed something quick, there was no mention of the move to the Pursuit Channel next week.

Overall Rating: C. Pretty good go home show here with the bigger matches getting either a match or a promo to build them up. There are a few things that could have been done better but at least they hit the high points and reminded you what’s coming on Sunday. Homecoming should be another run of the mill Impact pay per view: an entertaining three hours but nothing that is going to stick with you long term because this company doesn’t do stuff that has a lot of staying power.

Results

Willie Mack/Rich Swann/Rascalz b. OVE/Sami Callihan/Ethan Page/Matt Sydal – Super Stunner to Dave Crist

KM/Fallah Bahh b. Desi Hit Squad – Banzai Drop to Singh

Allie b. Kiera Hogan – Codebreaker

Killer Kross b. Trevor Lee – Krossjacket choke

Lucha Bros b. Brian Cage/Johnny Impact – Spike Fear Factor to Impact

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: December 27, 2018
Host: Josh Matthews

It’s the second half of the Best of 2018 after last week’s show was about as easy of a sit as you could find. There’s enough stuff from the year to fill in four hours but I didn’t see anything all that great last week. There’s enough solid stuff to fill out the card though and that’s enough for something like this. Let’s get to it.

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

As usual I’ll be posting the full versions of the matches.

Opening sequence.

Josh welcomes us to the show and promised the top matches of the year tonight, as voted on by the fans.

Fenix talks about being considered the best in the world and how he can’t wait to face LAX at Homecoming.

From Impact, July 5.

Rich Swann vs. Fenix

This could be good. Feeling out process to start with Swann doing about eight nipups in a row to get out of a wristlock. That’s fine with Fenix who bounces on the top rope to send Swann outside. You wouldn’t be able to do that. The fans chant for both these guys as they miss kicks and trade forearms for a standoff. Swann gets kicked to the floor but avoids a dive, setting up a dropkick off the apron to put Fenix down.

Back in and Fenix gets caught on top, banging up his knee in the process. The knee is fine enough to moonsault into an armdrag though as these two just don’t stop. There’s the big flip dive to the floor but Fenix misses a moonsault back inside. Of course he keeps backflipping though and cutters Swann for another close two.

Fenix’s Lethal Injection is countered with Swann standing on his hands (of course) so Fenix has to try it again, this time connecting for a double knockdown. Back from a break with a chop off until Swann gets two off a fisherman’s buster and a middle rope 450. Fenix is right back with an over the shoulder sitout Tombstone for two of his own, followed by a Muscle Buster spinning into a driver for the pin at 13:30.

Rating: B. Well that was awesome. They didn’t try to do anything else here other than taking two high fliers and have them throw out one cool move after another. Fenix is as good as anyone right now and Swann could hang with him, making this a very entertaining match. The four way at Slammiversary should be a blast.

Video on LAX vs. the OGz.

LAX can’t believe how far they went against each in the street fight.

From Impact, August 16.

LAX and the OGz meet in the actual streets (or maybe a parking lot) with a bunch of people behind both teams. Konnan and King agree that just the wrestlers themselves fight and the OGz lay the belts down. Since this isn’t an actual match, I’m assuming the belts aren’t on the line. Hernandez gets sent into a fence and beaten with a plastic sign by Ortiz but King sends one of the unnamed goons in with a fork.

Homicide and Santana fight with the fork but Santana gets out of a Gringo Killer on the concrete. Ortiz breaks a broom over Hernandez’s back and Santana hits Homicide with something King accidentally throws him. Hernandez comes back in with what might have been a bottle and Border Tosses Santana onto the pile of people.

King throws in a rope to hang Ortiz but Santana is back in with some kind of club and LAX takes their belts back. With the OGz down, King gets in Konnan’s face and shouts that he’s leading LAX down the wrong path. He yells about Konnan doing something to him fifteen years ago and begs Konnan to knock him out. Konnan swears and does exactly what King requests to end the show.

Tessa Blanchard isn’t taking anything else from Taya Valkyrie. Taya may be a lot of things, but she’s nothing more than Johnny Impact’s wife.

Now we get to the Top 5 Matches of the year with #5 from Bound For Glory.

Knockouts Title: Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie

Taya is challenging and has new gear, making her look like an old school Natalya cosplayer. Tessa works on a wristlock to start and the fans are behind the champ. A headscissors takes Tessa down and Taya kicks her in the head in the corner. Taya gets in a not great spear to put Tessa on the floor but a neckbreaker onto the apron has Taya in trouble. Back in and a Codebreaker out of the corner gives Tessa two but it’s way too early for the Buzzsaw DDT.

Taya is right back with some Spanish shouting and running knees in the corner. A guillotine choke with a bodyscissors has to be broken up by a Tessa dead lift and the fans chant something in Spanish that is completely ignored. They slug it out and the Buzzsaw DDT is broken up again but Taya can’t hit Road to Valhalla. Instead Taya chokeslams her down to set up a moonsault.

A stomp sets up the STF but Tessa is too close to the ropes. The referee stops to FIX THE RING SKIRT, meaning there’s no count off the Road to Valhalla. It’s a delayed two, meaning Tessa is right back up with the Buzzsaw DDT for two of her own. Taya is back up again so Tessa sends her face first into the middle buckle, setting up Magnum to retain the title at 10:44.

Rating: C+. Nice power brawl here with Tessa finally having someone who can go move for move with her. The ending was the only way to go as Taya hasn’t been around in the better part of six months so changing the title was almost out of the question. Now you can build someone else up to challenge Tessa for the title, because the division has been all but cleaned out at the moment.

#4. From Redemption.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Austin Aries vs. Pentagon Jr. vs. Fenix

Aries is defending. We hit the trash talk to start (well duh) and it’s Aries starting fast with a bunch of chops all around. Remembering that they’re brothers, Fenix and Pentagon send him outside but Pentagon is right back up with a Sling Blade. Aries is back in and getting kicked in the face soon thereafter, followed by a jumping cutter to Pentagon.

A smart Aries steals the near fall and grabs the Last Chancery, only to have Fenix springboard in with a missile dropkick for the save. Pentagon heads outside and it’s Fenix chopping the heck out of Aries. For a change of pace, Aries chops the head out of Fenix. Aries gets two off a forearm as it sounds like one of the announcers is opening a can. Pentagon comes back in and gets bulldogged for two, followed by the Last Chancery with Fenix making another fast save.

That sends Pentagon outside so Fenix throws Aries at him, earning his brother a hurricanrana. Fenix isn’t about to be shown up though and busts out a corkscrew plancha to the floor to drop them both again. Back in again and Fenix drops a Swanton for two on Pentagon, who pops up to German suplex both guys. He can’t quite break Aries’ arm though as Fenix makes a save. Now why wouldn’t he want the World Champion taken out?

Pentagon beaks up Aries’ running corner dropkick and Backstabs his brother for two. This time it’s Fenix getting back up with a superkick to Aries but Pentagon’s Fear Factor (package piledriver) gets two with Aries making another save. Pentagon is fine enough to block a suicide dive so Aries sends him into the crowd instead.

Back in (again) and the 450 hits both challengers, including Pentagon taking some hard knees. That’s enough for the two of them and it’s time for the brother double teaming, including a double superkick. Pentagon lays Fenix out though and snaps Aries’ arm. The Fear Factor gives Pentagon the pin on Aries and the title at 16:15.

Rating: B. Good match here and that’s all you can ask for in a big time main event. The surprise title change isn’t shocking enough to be too far and you can probably pencil in Pentagon dropping it no later than Slammiversary. That being said, it’s really cool to see Pentagon getting some more exposure like this as he’s been a gem to watch down in Lucha Underground. Strong main event here.

LAX wants to go back to the hallowed grounds for Homecoming to face the Lucha Bros.

#3. From Slammiversary.

Tag Team Titles: OGz vs. LAX

Street fight and LAX is defending, though I thought this was non-title. LAX comes through the crowd and Konnan meets them on the ramp to say go to it. Hernandez shrugs off the beating but can’t hit the Border Toss to the floor. Instead Santana dropkicks Homicide off the apron and it’s some dives (with the camera missing one) to drop the OGz. A pair of tables are set up in the corner while Homicide puts up one on the floor against the barricade.

Hernandez starts cleaning house and Ortiz gets choked with a chain. The big dive over the top has Santana rocked as Hernandez flashes back to the SuperMex days. More metal shots to the head put Hernandez down and Homicide actually walks into a suplex. Yes that was in fact a wrestling move. The OGz take over again without much effort but Santana superkicks his way out of trouble.

Back in and Hernandez pulls Santana out of the air, followed by a heck of a sitout powerbomb for two. Ortiz is back up with the trashcan lids to the head and it’s ladder time. A flip dive into a Lionsault onto Hernandez onto the ladder has Hernandez down and the Street Sweeper gets two on Homicide. Santana hits a big flip dive to put Homicide through a table at ringside but they’re not done.

Back in and a running Death Valley Driver puts Homicide through a table. It works so well that Ortiz loads it up but Hernandez gives him a Border Toss through the other table. Santana is back up this time with a superkick as Konnan goes after King. Homicide loads up the Gringo Killer but stops to spit at Konnan. The distraction lets Konnan throw a bag of tacks to Santana, who THROWS THEM AT HOMICIDE for what could be a terrifying result. A slam and frog splash put Homicide away at 13:55.

Rating: B. This was exactly the kind of match it should have been, meaning it was barely wrestling and was instead the wild weapons brawl that showed off the violent hatred. You can almost guarantee a rematch and the OGz getting the titles at one point, as they certainly should. I liked the match a lot, though it didn’t hit the level I was hoping it would reach.

Johnny Impact wants to beat up Brian Cage in Nashville. As usual, this company doesn’t know how to make World Title matches personal.

#2. From Bound For Glory.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Johnny Impact vs. Austin Aries

Aries is defending, Taya, Moose (in the King outfit again) and Killer Kross are here and we get Big Match Intros. Johnny goes for a takedown but gets caught in a guillotine choke with Aries grabbing the ropes for some illogical reason. Aries gets taken down by a choke as well and the fans chant 205. Impact changes plans by slugging away and knocks him to the floor with a dive to follow.

Back up and Aries tries to whip him into the barricade but Johnny jumps up with one foot on the barricade and the other on the apron for a moonsault. You know, because he can just do that. They head back in with Aries pounding away and glaring over at Taya. That earns him a rolling slap to the face but Aries knocks him down again and lays on the top rope. Some hard knees in the corner look to set up the Flying Chuck, only to have Aries knock him out to the floor. A springboard corkscrew crossbody gives Impact two but Aries is right back up with a Last Chancery attempt.

That doesn’t work either so Impact hits the Flying Chuck for two more. Impact takes him up top but gets shoved down, setting up a middle rope hurricanrana. The neckbreaker over the middle rope connects but Aries takes way too long going up (out of character for him) and gets caught in a super Spanish Fly.

The Countdown to Impact misses (Does it ever hit?) so they fight to the apron with Aries hitting a Death Valley Driver for a sick crash. Aries’ 450 gets two so it’s time to yell at the ref. A superkick sets up Starship Pain for two as Aries has to grab the rope. The roaring elbow sets up the corner dropkick and the brainbuster to knock Impact silly but he’s still fine enough to get a boot on the ropes.

Taya celebrates so Aries yells at her, allowing Impact to grab a backslide for two. The Last Chancery is broken up and they slug it out until Aries hits a suicide dive to send Taya into the barricade. That’s too far and Impact kicks Aries in the head (with the camera on Moose laughing) and gives him a brainbuster of his own. Starship Pain is good for the pin and the title at 21:00.

Rating: B. The ending was the right call and they beat the heck out of each other, making this a rather strong main event. Now the problem here is the Taya stuff, which while making it feel personal, came off as forced. It was like they didn’t have enough in the story to make it work so they wedged that in there at the last second, almost like Aries’ heel turn against Jeff Hardy in 2012. It worked for the match, but it would have been better as part of the build over a few weeks, not a few days.

Sami Callihan knew his match would be #1 and then he’ll do it again at Homecoming.

#1. From Slammiversary.

Sami Callihan vs. Pentagon Jr.

After some yelling, they get to the kicking each other in the face. Pentagon scores with a Sling Blade for the first real offense and it’s time for the chops. Sami opens his vest and wants the best shot. The ensuing chop brings Callihan to his knees and a face that says how bad of an idea that was. He’s fine enough to take it outside for a water bottle to the head but they both chop the post.

Pentagon slaps him down as the announcers mention that this has relaxed rules. I know that’s expected and understood, but it’s nice to be officially told. Callihan posts out some spikes of all things and starts gouging at the head, drawing some much needed blood (just kind of necessary in a match like this). That’s fine with Pentagon, who knocks a spike back into Callihan’s head. With nothing else working, both guys grab a chair and beat the fire out of each other, earning a FIGHT FOREVER chant.

There is blood everywhere and Pentagon chairs him down again. The armbreaker is broken up so Pentagon chairs him down for the second time in a few seconds. Cue the Crists to take a shot each, allowing Callihan to throw some powder. Pentagon breaks the ref’s arm instead so there’s no one to count the Pentagon Driver.

Rating: B-. This needed to be a few minutes shorter but it also needed to be a little away from the previous match as having two violent brawls in a row wasn’t the best idea. Pentagon winning was really the only call here given how big of a star he is on the indy scene at the moment so it’s hard to argue with the ending. Give Sami something to bring him back to earth and OVE can go insane again.

Overall Rating: B. That was #1? Really? The match wasn’t all that great and the fans think that it’s the best of the year? There were some odd choices on this show but there’s only so much complaining you can do about something like this. The wrestling was good and the LAX vs. OGz stuff is as good as it got all year and the Homecoming card looks great. Hopefully they can get in a good go home show, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they don’t quite make it. Anyway, good 2018, though it wasn’t as good as it could have been.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #31
Date: November 16, 2018
Location: Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

It’s time for a fresh taping cycle as the company makes its Chicago debut. The main event tonight is Sami Callihan vs. Tom Lawlor in a Chicago street fight as Lawlor continues his march towards the World Title shot in February. Other than that it could be almost anything, which is one of the areas where MLW shines. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Low Ki ripping Daga’s ear apart (egads) to retain the World Title last week.

Konnan arrives and is greeted by Low Ki, Salina de la Renta and Ricky Martinez. Low Ki talks about adding Daga’s ear to his trophy case. Now he wants something from Konnan though, because Konnan hasn’t gotten the idea just yet. Real men settle their differences differently around here and Low Ki challenges him to a fight. Konnan says Low Ki knows better because he’s retired. Salina taunts him a bit and Konnan seems a little more intrigued. He leaves and Low Ki smiles, saying they’ll get Konnan to do it soon. This could go somewhere, if nothing else just to see who Konnan pulls out to fight for him.

Opening sequence.

Lawlor isn’t worried about Low Ki and Callihan. Tonight, he’s taking care of Callihan before moving on to the title.

Ricky Martinez vs. Dr. Rex Bacchus

Martinez has to wrestle in a face shield due to a broken nose. As the referee is taking care of Ricky’s jacket, a headbutt with the mask drops Rex and it’s off to the Madison Rayne hip thrust faceplants on the mat. Bacchus gets in a few kicks but Ricky slaps him in the back and hits an electric chair faceplant. A wheelbarrow suplex sets up a Dominator piledriver (kind of cool) to finish Bacchus at 1:59.

Lawlor is warming up with Simon Gotch, who Lawlor wants out there with him tonight. They’ll have a press conference after the win.

Dirty Blonds vs. Size Matters

That would be Joey Ryan/Swoggle, but Joey has a torn pec and won’t be able to do much. The fans chant HAPPY BIRTHDAY at Joey (a day late but close enough), who delivers his blow pop to a fan. Swoggle pulls out a huge lollipop for a fan as well and it’s time to discuss the injury. Joey has heard that torn pecs are going around at the moment and while he hasn’t seen a doctor yet, he wasn’t going to miss a show in Chicago.

The Blonds jump them to start and Joey gets knocked to the floor, as you had to expect early on. Swoggle gets choked in the corner and Brien punches Joey off the apron. With Brien holding him by the chin, Swoggle pops him with a right hand and manages a German suplex. Ryan comes in for some one armed offense as everything breaks down. Swoggle knocks Patrick down in the corner for a running hip attack but gets run over in the corner. Everything breaks down and Joey pulls out the blowpop for Sweet Tooth Music, setting up a tadpole splash to give Swoggle the pin at 3:27.

Rating: D. I get that Joey is injured and can’t do anything. That’s understandable and there’s nothing else he can do about that. That being said, what in the world is the point in having the Blonds lose here? They haven’t won anything in forever and I liked them from the start. Now they’re losing a comedy match clean in just a few minutes? I really don’t get this and don’t care for it either.

Post match Ryan takes off the sling to show off a horrible looking bruise. Joey: “At least I still have my d***.” He’s probably going to need surgery but he’s so glad he got to wrestle in Chicago one more time. The more I see of this, the more I think it should have just been for the live audience only. They couldn’t fill in this five to six minute block with something else?

Sami Callihan is willing to do Promociones Dorado’s bidding if they keep paying him. MVP is still wasting away in a boiler room in Florida. Shane Strickland was injured before his title match. Jimmy Havoc was sent back to England. It’s going to be the same with Tom Lawlor because Sami isn’t scared of a UFC fighter. He’s scared of himself and what he’s going to do in a street fight. This is Sami’s world because he is MLW.

Battle Riot II is coming on Wrestlemania weekend. The first one wasn’t bad so I can go for this.

Konnan held a press conference and says he’s coming out of retirement because he’s tired of Salina and Low Ki. He knows he’ll be the underdog and shouldn’t win. But what happens when he beats Low Ki?

Rundown for the two Miami shows.

Rush is coming in three weeks.

Next week is the Thanksgiving special with Low Ki defending against Shane Strickland.

Strickland won’t answer any questions.

Tom Lawlor vs. Sami Callihan

Street fight so Sami throws the weapons inside during his entrance. Lawlor is in street clothes and they start fighting in the aisle. A running kendo stick shot misses and Lawlor slaps on the rear naked choke on the floor. That’s broken up and the first trashcan shot puts Lawlor down. Callihan throws a piece of the barricade at him and someone keeps honking a horn.

They take turns hitting each other with a trashcan with Lawlor getting the better of it and kicking away at the chest. Some chair shots keep Callihan in trouble and he wraps one around the arm for a Kimura. They fight on the apron with Callihan hitting a piledriver, followed by some chair shots to the back. It’s table time but Lawlor escapes a powerbomb and grabs an ankle lock.

Callihan grabs the barricade but gets put underneath the barricade, which Lawlor shakes to really hurt him. A fan has a USE MY SIGN sign and Lawlor does just that onto Callihan’s head. Callihan is fine enough to send him into the barricade but Lawlor is right back with a Superman punch. Since they’re trading moves, Callihan hits a Death Valley Driver through the table to take over again. With Lawlor down, Sami grabs a railroad spike….and a VHS tape? He drops the tape (most of us did years ago) and puts the spike in Lawlor’s mouth to draw some blood.

To get extra violent, Sami uses the sign to cut Lawlor’s mouth even worse. It’s back to the VHS, which Callihan breaks, and uses the tape to choke away. Lawlor fights out and gets another table, but a powerbomb is countered with a low blow. Callihan hits a piledriver for two and finds the baseball bat. That takes too long as well so Lawlor hits a low blow of his own. Callihan fires off some headbutts but charges into a powerbomb. Lawlor breaks the baseball bat over his knee and the choke goes on. Being driven through the table doesn’t break it up and Lawlor adds a stab with the broken bat to make Callihan tap at 18:19.

Rating: B. They beat each other up well and it felt like they wanted to hurt each other, which is exactly the point of something like this. Lawlor winning is the right call of course as he keeps rolling over everyone on his way to the title shot. It’s still a long way off but he’s beaten almost every big name. I’m not sure who that leaves him to defend against once he wins the title, but at least he’s becoming a major star in the process.

Post match Gotch takes him to the back for the press conference….and it’s Low Ki, Martinez and LA Park, with Gotch closing the door as the beating ensues. You could see this one coming a mile away and it still worked well.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a one match show and that carried most of the show. Lawlor is practically a full on face and that’s going to help him more than anything else. You couldn’t hang on to him as a heel that much longer so it’s the right move to switch him over like this. The ending angle gives him a mini feud with Gotch as we move on towards the showdown with Low Ki. The rest of the show ranged from just there to bad, but at least the big story worked well.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: November 15, 2018
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

Last week saw a big show with Johnny Impact successfully defending the World Title against Killer Kross, plus Brian Cage going to Sami Callihan’s promotion in Ohio for a fight. That earned him a beatdown, meaning a title match is likely imminent. Other than that, we’re getting ready to head towards Homecoming in January, which could be interesting. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with the recap, which they’ve gotten good at putting together.

Opening sequence.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Ray Lyn

Non-title. Tessa drives her into the corner a few times to start but Ray gets in a few kicks to the ribs. That just earns her a gorilla press gutbuster but Ray escapes a powerbomb out of the corner. A hurricanrana has Tessa in some trouble so she forearms Ray right back down. Now the buckle bomb connects and the buzzsaw DDT finishes Lyn at 3:04.

Rating: C-. Lyn got in some offense here to make this look a little better but the main point was to make Tessa look good. Normally she does that on her own so anything from the jobber makes things even better. You can almost guarantee another Tessa vs. Taya match at Homecoming and wins like this will help keep Tessa strong on the way there.

Post match Tessa says Taya has had excuse after excuse for why she hasn’t won the title. The big reason is that Tessa is better and Taya will only ever be known as Johnny Impact’s wife. Taya comes out to chase Tessa off and shout a lot. The title match is confirmed for Homecoming.

The announcers preview the rest of the show.

Fallah Bahh and KM are happy about being in Vegas. KM has gotten them a match against LAX tonight. If they win, they could get a title shot and if they win that, Scarlett Bordeaux will notice them!

Dezmond Xavier and two guys called the Rascals are sitting in a circle with a bunch of smoke where they all keep laughing. Apparently they have a match in two weeks.

LAX vs. KM/Fallah Bahh

Non-title. Bahh works on Santana’s arm to start and Santana’s shoulder blocks bounce off of him. Some armdrags frustrate Santana even more but he avoids a sitdown splash. Ortiz comes in and helps Santana send Bahh outside. He’s fine enough to trip Ortiz down though and there’s the double roll over him to take over.

Bahh splashes KM by mistake though (so he’s big and kind of dumb) so Santana dropkicks KM in the back for two. A double suplex puts LAX down though and it’s back to Bahh for a running splash in the corner. Rotating running Umaga attacks in the corner set up a Samoan drop for two on Santana. Bahh gets sent outside though and it’s a Lionsault/legdrop combination to pin KM at 7:34.

Rating: C. Nice little match here as KM and Bahh have turned into a passable team. I’m not wild on them and can’t really picture them going further than this, but they’ve gone from nothing to a team with a bit of staying power. It’s not like the tag team division is deep in the first place so a midcard team like them is a fine addition.

Heather Monroe calls herself the Goddess of Girlpower and is ready to debut. Kiera Hogan comes in to tell her to be worried about Su Yung tonight.

Fans go after Scarlett Bordeaux in the parking lot but she isn’t impressed.

LAX has some tools and talk about the OGz. Konnan says don’t worry about them because the bosses said no more. He mentions Pentagon and Fenix and Santana wants a match but Konnan shoots that down too.

Classic Clip of the Week: LAX vs. OVE from last year.

Matt Sydal and Ethan Page are ready for Matt’s singles match tonight against Johnny Impact. Ethan can’t wait to sit underneath the learning tree.

The Desi Hit Squad is sitting by the pool (or at least in some nice chairs) and talk about food. Rohit can’t wait for Thanksgiving but Gama Singh shoots it down because there’s nothing to be thankful for in America. Also next week: the turkey suit match returns. Just in case you needed to remember the stupid past.

Here’s Eli Drake to say the lawsuit is done because that was never the point. Last week he got rid of Abyss because he’s the last of a dying breed. He’s sick of people pretending to be wrestlers and doing a bunch of stupid stuff to make the fans go ooh and ahh. That comes from the nonsense of hardcore wrestling, but Drake is the kind of guy who doesn’t have to do that stuff. Last week was the beginning of getting rid of all that and getting back to wrestling.

And dang it TOMMY DREAMER is here because Heaven forbid we go a month without seeing him in some promotion somewhere. Drake points his finger in Dreamer’s face so Dreamer threatens to bite it off. Dreamer: “I bet you it tastes like chicken.” Dreamer talks about how hardcore is a work ethic that was around way before Drake.

He brings up the lucha revolutions and how Konnan brought in people like Eddie Guerrero to ECW, starting the whole thing. Has nothing to do with hardcore wrestling but keep going. Dreamer promises this isn’t an ECW rant and proceeds to talk about Sabu going through tables. All that matters is the fans and Drake insulting hardcore is insulting the fans. That’s not cool with Dreamer, so let’s fight right now. Drake would rather bail and I can’t blame him.

I’m so over seeing Dreamer either here or in Ring of Honor or MLW or wherever else feels the need to bring in the ECW nostalgia act one more time. It’s been nearly eighteen years since the company folded and Dreamer does the same thing almost every time. I get that he’s been around forever and is apparently quite a good agent. Let him stay back there so we can move on from the ECW tributes or whatever it is they’re going for when they trot him out.

Alisha Edwards comes in to see Moose and asks him to leave before Eddie Edwards gets here. That’s not happening but legal action is threatened.

The referees get together and deem this place an unsafe working environment when Scarlett shows up to hit on them.

Matt Sydal vs. Johnny Impact

Non-title and Sydal has Page with him. An exchange of wristlocks goes nowhere until Johnny sweeps the leg and gets two off a standing shooting star press. Sydal kicks him to the floor though and gets in a kick to the back. It’s time to start in on the leg, which isn’t the worst strategy in the world for Sydal. A dropkick to the knee and a standard basement drop give Sydal two but Impact slugs away in the corner.

The sliding knee misses Sydal but he misses a charge into the corner. That means the sliding German suplex and the Flying Chuck drops Sydal. Page pulls him to the floor before Starship Pain though, earning himself a corkscrew flip dive from the champ. Back in and Sydal hits a middle rope Meteora for two but the Moonlight Drive into Starship Pain is good for the pin on Matt at 8:16.

Rating: C. I don’t know what it is about Sydal matches but they’ve become a complete chore to watch. The wrestling is fine but I can’t even force myself to care about anything he says or does. Giving him Page helped a bit and even though they’ll likely split, it’s not enough to overcome whatever the issues with Sydal are.

Post match here’s Killer Kross and after a break, he says he’s not here to hurt Johnny. When he got into this business, he thought he was the catalyst of change, but then Johnny beat him last week, fair and square. Maybe Johnny is that catalyst for change. If Kross can’t change things, he’s going to make sure that Johnny does. Johnny isn’t protected like some guys in other companies and there’s no “honor” in that. Whenever Johnny needs assistance, just give him a call and he’ll be there. Kross offers a hand but Johnny is smart enough to realize that would be insanely stupid and leaves.

Katarina congratulates Jordynne Grace on beating her last week and suggests a partnership. This turns into Katarina accidentally getting another match with her in two weeks. That’s an oddly specific time.

Eddie Edwards arrives but what seem to be mental health workers (who might have injected him with something) drag him off.

Su Yung vs. Heather Monroe

Su takes her straight into the Tree of Woe for some kicks to the back and it’s already time for the bloody glove. Some forearms don’t get Heather anywhere so she knees Su in the ribs and stomps her face into the mat. That just means the Panic Switch and the Mandible Claw to give Yung the win at 2:45.

Post match Su won’t let go so Kiera Hogan comes in for the save. This brings out Dark Allie (with Rosemary facepaint) to stare at Kiera as Yung lays her out with the Panic Switch. Allie leaves with Su.

X-Division Title: Sami Callihan vs. Brian Cage

Cage is defending and they start fast with Cage running him over with a clothesline. The release fall away slam sends Sami flying and they trade hurricanranas. Sami fights out of a powerbomb so Cage kicks him down. A Dave Crist distraction lets Sami dump Cage to the floor but the Crist Brothers are both ejected. Cage is fine enough to suplex Sami on the floor as we take a break.

Back with clips of Cage’s knee being worked over but managing to run over for an elbow in the corner. Sami slaps on a guillotine choke and then hits a Death Valley Driver into the corner for two. Cage is back up and tries a German suplex but gets rolled into the ankle lock. That goes nowhere and the knee is fine enough for the F5 but Sami gets his foot on the rope.

Sami kicks him eight times in a row and grabs the Cactus Piledriver….for two. Well so much for him winning the title. The ankle lock goes on again and Sami adds a grapevine with Cage getting to the ropes a few seconds later. The middle rope Canadian Destroyer is countered though and the Drill Claw retains Cage’s title at 13:15.

Rating: B-. Fun indy style brawl here with both guys beating each other up. The knee thing almost didn’t need to exist save for the ankle lock at the end and we didn’t even see the knee work in the first place. Cage needs a fresh challenger now and I’m not sure who that’s going to be given the roster at the moment.

Post match Cage says he’s cashing in the X-Division Title for a World Title shot at Homecoming using Option C. Wait that’s still a thing? That you can do at any given time? And no one has used this since….2015? That’s quite the shortcut to get to the title match. Cage as the next challenger is something that’s hard to ignore as he’s the most dominant force in the promotion and it’s hard to imagine him not going for the title much longer. If nothing else it keeps him from losing the X-Division Title, which maintains his near invincible aura.

Overall Rating: C. The main event was good but the rest of the show (aside from Dark Allie) wasn’t much to see. Homecoming is starting to take shape and the show doesn’t sound bad given where we are at the moment. Fine show here, though it was missing the big match or moment to make it really good.

Results

Tessa Blanchard b. Ray Lyn – Buzzsaw DDT

LAX b. KM/Fallah Bahh – Lionsault/legdrop combination to KM

Johnny Impact b. Matt Sydal – Starship Pain

Su Yung b. Heather Monroe – Mandible Claw

Brian Cage b. Sami Callihan – Drill Claw

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: November 8, 2018
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

It’s a big show this week with Final Hour, which includes World Champion Johnny Impact defending the title against Killer Kross. That could make for an interesting match as Kross has been the unstoppable monster and is getting a pretty early title shot. It’s hard to say what else we could see tonight and that makes things interesting. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video focuses on the title match, with Impact talking about how scary Kross is and Kross saying he just wants to hurt Impact. Makes sense from both sides.

Opening sequence.

OGz vs. Lucha Bros

They start shoving each other before the bell and it’s Fenix starting with Hernandez as Homicide and Pentagon slug it out on the floor. A big shoulder drops Fenix, leaving Homicide trying to stab Pentagon with a fork. Hernandez gets two off a backbreaker to Pentagon and it’s time to crank on the neck. Some superkicks get Pentagon out of trouble but King breaks up a springboard. That just means Fenix has to dive onto Pentagon, King and Homicide so Hernandez adds a big dive of his own.

Back in and Homicide rolls Fenix with some suplexes before handing it over to Hernandez for a sitout powerbomb. Everything stays broken down as Pentagon comes back in for a kick to Hernandez, followed by What’s Up to Homicide (with a double stomp instead of a headbutt). More superkicks set up a splash for two on Hernandez so King throws in his slap jack. That goes nowhere either and with Homicide knocked off the apron, it’s an Alberto double stomp into the Swanton. Pentagon adds a top rope double stomp and the wheelbarrow slam into a splash finishes Hernandez at 7:21.

Rating: B-. Geez do you think they did enough to Hernandez at the end? The Lucha Bros are crazy good and a match against LAX, which almost has to be coming, where they let it all just hang out sounds incredible. Just let them have the kind of match that only they can and it’s going to be awesome.

Post match Konnan congratulates the Bros on their win when LAX comes up and gets invited to a victory party. Oh this is going to be awesome.

Katarina vs. Jordynne Grace

Jordynne is making her debut and is rather thick, with some incredibly large thighs (Not overweight by any means. It’s muscle and she looks incredibly strong.). Katarina hammers away in the corner and chokes with the long leg but Grace slams her off the top. The sunset flip is blocked but Grace’s right hand only hits the mat. Grace is right back up with alternating forearms to the chest and back until Katarina hits a springboard tornado DDT. That’s only good for two and Grace slaps on a bearhug to make Katarina tap at 2:35.

Grace looked good for a power wrestler, but Katarina got in more offense than she should have. This should have been more of a squash rather than Katarina beating her up until Grace caught her with a hold for the win. That being said, the bearhug looked good and could work for a solid finisher.

Brian Cage arrives at Rock Star Pro Wrestling in Dayton, Ohio and wants Sami Callihan. After a break, Cage comes into the ring and calls Callihan out for a fight. He’ll even put the title on the line right now.

X-Division Title: Brian Cage vs. Sami Callihan

Cage is defending and starts fast with the rapid fire clotheslines in the corner. Callihan sends him to the apron though and nails a springboard clothesline to knock Cage outside. That’s fine with Cage, who powerbombs Callihan into the post and then throws him into the crowd. Back in and Cage counters the Cactus Piledriver with a sitout Alabama Slam, drawing in the Crists for the DQ at 2:23.

Post match Cage German suplexes both Crists at the same time. Some other wrestlers from the promotion run in and get dropped as well. Six guys get together and hold Cage in place for a belt shot from Callihan. The big beatdown is on with everyone hitting something to a huge face reaction. Sami caps it off with the Cactus Piledriver. Good segment here with Sami’s cult idea working far better in his own promotion.

Taya Valkyrie says we’ve seen the real Tessa Blanchard, who knows she’s a beaten woman. She’s coming for the title and Tessa can step up anytime.

Classic Clip of the Week: Motor City Machine Guns vs. Naruki Doi/Masato Yoshino from Impact in 2008.

Moose is ready to destroy Eddie Edwards because Eddie used to be his brother. Tonight, he’s going to destroy Eddie and be done with this. Kross is ready to huge Impact and become the new champion.

We see more fan auditions for Scarlett Bordeaux’s talent search. Yeah.

Fallah Bahh and KM come to see Scarlett and want to be at the front of the line for the talent search. She’s not impressed, even by Bahh’s dancing. Next week, they’re going to Las Vegas and maybe they can win her something and get lucky.

Moose vs. Eddie Edwards

Eddie hits a suicide dive and then a slingshot dive to take Moose out before the bell. They head inside with Moose running right back to the floor for another suicide dive. Eddie throws a bucket of beer at Moose’s head but Moose kicks him low on the way back in. Moose stomps away on the floor and catapults him face first into the bottom of the ring. Since that’s not enough, Moose puts the bucket on Eddie’s head for a bicycle kick and Eddie is in even more trouble.

They head inside for the opening bell and Moose rips at Eddie’s face. Eddie gets up (not a fan of having his face ripped it seems) and hits a suplex but gets dropkicked off the top, right back to the floor. Moose misses a charge at the post though and Eddie wraps the leg around the steel. Back in and Eddie gets two off the Blue Thunder Bomb before putting Moose on top, only to get caught in a top rope chokebomb.

Somehow that only gets two but Eddie is right back with a spear. The tiger driver gets two more but Moose plants him with a spinebuster to send us to a break. Back with the slugout and Eddie telling Moose to hit him harder. The chop exchange goes back and forth and they trade running shots to the face until Eddie scores with a lariat.

Eddie is down as well though and has to pull himself up, allowing Moose to powerbomb him over the ropes and onto the ramp. Alisha Edwards comes out to check on Eddie, who somehow gets up. Back in and Moose hits the No Jackhammer Needed spear (clever, though I’m not sure if it’s necessary) for the pin at 15:35.

Rating: B-. They were a few steps away from hitting a great match but it didn’t quite connect. It felt like they needed to have a big fight that got thrown out and then needed to do the big hardcore brawl, but instead they went with a weird combination of both. Still though, entertaining enough and Alisha coming in was a nice touch. There will probably be more of this and that’s a good thing.

Allie runs into James Mitchell in a stairwell where he tells her that she has to fulfill her half of the deal. He’s been in her place before and she just has to embrace the darkness. Mitchell extends his hand but Kiera Hogan runs in to say no. Allie agrees to go with him to save her friends. Su Yung appears as well and Allie leaves with them.

Eddie has a concussion but wants to go fight Moose again anyway.

Here are Eli Drake and Joseph Park to discuss their lawsuit against the company. Eli isn’t happy with the new generation who thinks they can get in the ring for thinks like death matches. He’s the last of a dying breed so this company is trying to hold him down. The Open Challenge is dead and now he’s suing the company. Park explains things and explains that this is an unsafe working environment. He lists off some issues at Bound For Glory and says there are some others who are joining the lawsuit.

Drake jumps him from behind and stomps away while shouting about Park ruining the business, just like Abyss. A bunch of chair shots leave Park laying and Drake chokes him with the coat. I know I’ve asked this before but I still need an explanation: are we supposed to forget that Abyss was unmasked as Park? Drake seems to be the only person who acknowledges that Abyss and Park are the same person and it can get a little confusing. Anyway, Drake getting a push out of this is a good thing.

Impact says if Kross wanted a title shot, he just had to ask. His calling card is Starship Pain.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Killer Kross vs. Johnny Impact

Impact is defending and Moose is here with Kross. Johnny starts fast and goes up but has to wait on a Moose distraction. That means an early ejection so it’s a slugout with Johnny actually getting the better of things. A charge in the corner is swatted away though and Kross starts in on the knee. There’s a dragon screw legwhip to stay on the leg but Impact counters what looks like a powerslam into a tornado DDT which is reversed into a northern lights suplex. A Shining Wizard staggers Kross and a piledriver gives Impact two. The neck work continues with a DDT and the Moonlight Drive for two more.

They head up the ramp with Kross taking over and hitting a Razor’s Edge over the top rope and back inside. A Liontamer without enough cranking has Johnny going to the ropes and he’s able to kick Kross to the apron. Countdown to Impact gets two but Kross is right back up with a gutwrench powerbomb. The Krossjacket choke is escaped and Impact hits a superkick. There’s a hurricanrana into the corner and Starship Pain retains the title at 12:09.

Rating: C. Well so much for Kross as the big monster. He came in a few months ago and was no selling shots from a former World Champion and now he loses completely clean in twelve minutes. It’s good for Impact to get a win like this, but Kross lost a lot more than Impact gained. It wasn’t even a great match as Impact went move for move with him, taking away a lot of the drama and build that they could have had.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty good show for the most part, though the main event left a lot to be desired. I have no idea why this needed to be billed as a special as the first hour was nothing that you wouldn’t see on any other given week. LAX vs. the Lucha Bros sounds outstanding though and if they build that up well, we’re in for quite the feud. It’s an entertaining show and it flew by, but they have to do something about this time slot. Finishing at midnight on a week night isn’t going to work, no matter what you’re putting on.

Results

Lucha Bros b. OGz – Wheelbarrow splash to Hernandez

Jordynne Grace b. Katarina – Bearhug

Brian Cage b. Sami Callihan via DQ when the Crist Brothers interfered

Moose b. Eddie Edwards – No Jackhammer Needed spear

Johnny Impact b. Killer Kross – Starship Pain

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #28
Date: October 26, 2018
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Matt Striker, Tony Schiavone

I know it’s a little early but it’s time for the Halloween special. In this case, that means a flashback to days of Halloween gone by, including a Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal. That has the potential to be something great or something awful, but since we don’t have WCW running things and forgetting to rig the wheel (seriously), we should be fine. Let’s get to it.

Earlier this week, Sami Callihan attacked Tom Lawlor and choked him with a baseball bat as Low Ki taunted Lawlor with the title. Turning Lawlor face isn’t the worst idea in the world as the fans already love him.

Opening sequence, although with a theme of violence as this is the Halloween episode.

Matt and Tony are in costumes with Matt as a crab and making horrible ocean puns. Tony….I have no idea.

Richard Holliday vs. Joey Ryan

Hang on though as Joey needs to offer the fans his lollipop and then oil himself down. Tony: “….yeah.” Holliday knees him in the ribs but stops to shout at the fans with Tony calling him out for being stupid. There’s the required knee injury off the atomic drop to Ryan but Holliday is fine enough for a belly to back suplex. A dropkick cuts Ryan off again and we hit the chinlock.

Holliday lets that go and starts a Garvin Stomp because I can’t escape that man. Since that’s such a horrible move, Ryan pops back up with some right hands but the superkick is blocked. They hit heads and Holliday nearly falls into Ryan’s crotch but stops for a rollup instead. Holliday’s double underhook backbreaker and a suplex into a swinging neckbreaker gets two but Joey is right back with a pumphandle suplex. Sweet Tooth Music is enough to finish Holliday at 4:55.

Rating: D+. Not too much to see here with Ryan getting a win over someone you would think the promotion would want to push. That being said, Ryan has barely won anything around here so having him get a pin here keeps some of his credibility. This was more shtick than the wrestling and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially in a more toned down version from Ryan.

Konnan gives Sammy Guevara a pep talk. Sammy leaves and here are Salina de la Renta, Low Ki and Ricky Martinez. They laugh at the idea of Konnan losing all the time so Konnan promises to bring in Daga to fight Low Ki. That’s fine with Low Ki, who Konnan calls the ex-champ.

Jimmy Havoc won the coin toss and gets to spin the wheel. The wheel lands on Spinner’s Choice so he looks over his options. Nothing sticks out on the list though so he’ll just do everything at once. Uh….I’m not sure how that’s going to work but I have a feeling it’ll be a generic brawl.

PCO vs. LA Park

Makes sense for a Halloween show and Park has Salina with him. Tony says he gets a chill down his spine just looking at Salina and….well yeah. To put it mildly, Park looks like he’s put quite a bit of meat on his bones. PCO shouts a lot and shoves Park into the corner so it’s time for the knees dance. Park shouts what sounds like some rather vulgar statements in Spanish (the words “your mother” were used). That’s not cool with PCO and Park is chokeslammed down.

The moonsault (with PCO landing on his own head) gets two and a suicide dive sends Park into the barricade. They chop it out on the floor with PCO getting the better of it and ramming him into various things. Back in and PCO stomps away but Park dances a bit and hits a running clothesline for two. A knee sends PCO outside and there’s the suicide dive. Park grabs a chair but opts to whip him with a camera cable instead.

Back in and a few belt shots to the back have PCO in trouble as the announcers get into PCO’s bizarre Frankenstein character. PCO gets up and hits a powerbomb, followed by a knee to the mask for two. With Park on the apron, PCO tries a Swanton of all things and lands with a SICK thud, only to stand up as Park hits a big dive of his own. Park throws him back in and finishes with a spear (with Park showing more energy than at any part of the match) for the pin at 10:40.

Rating: C+. I get why people like PCO but I’m really not sure I get the appeal of Park. I know he’s a legend in Mexico, but in America he’s a fatter version of that guy who used to do the chair dance in WCW. Why you would push him hard anymore isn’t clear to me, but I guess legendary status will get you a long way.

Post match Park speaks Spanish and Salina says it was him thanking the fans and wanting a Tag Team Title shot for himself and his son. This takes longer than it needs to, but does include fans throwing in money.

Callihan doesn’t care what Havoc picked and is ready to kill him.

Fightland Control Center. Now confirmed: Lawlor vs. Callihan in a street fight.

Earlier this week, Stokley Hathaway was seen for the first time after being kidnapped about six months ago. Whoever did it was careless and he escaped, so now he can be back at Fightland. That’s rather odd.

We look at Havoc spinning the wheel again.

Jimmy Havoc vs. Sami Callihan

Anything goes and, in theory at least, Havoc will bring everything that could be used in the other matches on the wheel. Sami comes out with a baseball bat because he doesn’t trust Havoc’s choice of weapons. Jimmy doesn’t bring anything with him but pops Sami in the face while he says the catchphrase. They’re on the floor in a hurry with Jimmy setting up a chair and pulling out a dog collar. That’s not enough as he also grabs a staple gun, which takes WAY too long, allowing Sami to get in a few shots.

Sami chops the post though, allowing Jimmy to poke him in the eye. A running start sets up another poke to the eyes and Havoc staples him in the chest (which is heavily covered so that shouldn’t hurt). Back in and Havoc tries a sunset flip (a wrestling move) but gets stapled in the head and underneath the arm. Striker: “Tetanus for everybody!” Sami grabs a chain and doesn’t like the fans telling him to tie his shoes so he throws one of them up the air. The shoe, not the fan.

Havoc goes back to the vicious by stapling Sami’s crotch for a near fall. After stapling Sami’s foot, Jimmy literally pours salt in the wound. Havoc finds a body bad and an urn (Paul Bear impression covered by Striker) but the ashes are knocked into his face. The Cactus Piledriver gives Sami two so he puts a shoe on his hand and hits (Or kicks?) Havoc in the face. Havoc gets put in the body bag but sits up and spits at him, earning himself a second Cactus Piledriver for the pin at 10:41.

Rating: C+. This was a good brawl but rather disappointing given what they could do. We’ve seen Havoc do the paper cuts before and while that’s still good, it’s not as good as it could have been. Callihan winning was the obvious choice as he has a lot bigger stuff to get to in the future, but this should have been about five levels wilder to get where they should have gone.

Overall Rating: C. For a Halloween show, I’ve seen worse. They thankfully didn’t go with the corny stuff like pumpkins everywhere and that’s appreciated. MLW tends to be more serious than not and I’m glad they didn’t switch things up for the sake of the holiday. It’s a fine show and the big matches were watchable, though they’ve done better multiple times before.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: October 18, 2018
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

It’s a big show this week as we’re officially past Bound For Glory, meaning the long road towards Homecoming begins. That can wait in a few weeks though as we’re now looking at the fallout from the biggest show of the year. Johnny Impact FINALLY won the World Title from Austin Aries, who seems to be done with the promotion for the time being. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Bound For Glory if you need a recap.

Of course we open with a long recap of Bound For Glory. It’s not like it could have been anything else.

Opening sequence.

The ring is still tiny. I know it’s due to the venue but egads.

Here’s new World Champion Johnny Impact to open things up. After saying wrestling is unpredictable and being cut off by a YOU DESERVE IT chant, he talks about how he wanted to do this for his entire life because he’s it’s like nothing else. He grew up watching it when he was a kid at the Great Western Forum and he’s always been someone who does things a little differently. People told him that making a movie with his own money was crazy but now it’s streaming on Netflix. Even if it’s in a bin at Dollar General, he’s proud of it.

He’s been told he just has the look of a wrestler but now he has the title on his shoulder. This business is what we make it and he’s not going to hide behind goons and tweet passive aggressively because he’s a coward. If someone deserves a title shot they can get it, so here’s Fenix to interrupt. Fenix says he’s won titles around the world but never here. It’s an incredible opportunity to fight for that title and he wants a show next week. Johnny: “Well it’s not like I can say no.” The match is on for next week.

Next week: the show moves to 10pm. That doesn’t sound good.

The announcers talk about Bound For Glory.

Tommy Dreamer talks about great football players who became great wrestlers. Moose wants to join the list but he doesn’t want to put in the work. Tonight, Tommy is going to beat something into him and doesn’t mind giving him a concussion. Not the best thing in the world to say at the moment.

Outside, Moose hits on McKenzie Mitchell and is ready to beat up Dreamer. Killer Kross asks if Dreamer feels in control and says they both accept his challenge.

Katarina vs. Taya Valkyrie

Katarina gets aggressive to start and stomps away in the corner as Callis talks about the ring skirt costing Taya the title “last night”. Some knees to the back set up a backbreaker for two as it’s all Katarina to start. A missed charge lets Taya forearm away and a pair of running knees, including one against the ropes, gets two. The Road To Valhalla finishes Katarina at 3:50.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here but Taya will pretty clearly get a rematch with Tessa Blanchard for the title. Katarina has already cooled off since returning, though I’m sure they can find something for her to do. Just getting away from Grado is already doing her some good and finding a new star to manage will help a lot.

Post match, Taya says she doesn’t respect Tessa Blanchard for having to retain the title like that.

Matt Sydal and Ethan Page sit in the dark and talk about opening third eyes. Sydal has made Page in tune with himself and tonight, Page can show Trevor Lee how to suffer.

Gama Singh attacks Rohit Raju, who has one more test to pass: facing Gama Singh himself next week. I really can’t stand these people much longer.

Trevor Lee vs. Ethan Page

Sydal is here with Page. There’s something funny about Josh Matthews managing Sydal being banished from all history. Lee chokes him in the corner to start and then chokes differently to mix things up. Page comes back with some right hands and points at his forehead because that’s his gimmick.

Some stomping in the corner (a common move around here) doesn’t do much as Trevor sends him outside for the running kick from the apron. A Sydal distraction (with another offer to join) allows Page to hit a hanging double arm DDT for two as the fans aren’t sure who to cheer for here. Lee hits a jumping knee to the face and gets two off a middle rope moonsault. Page elbows him in the face, sends him into the corner and elbows him again, followed by a Rock Bottom for the pin at 6:22.

Rating: C-. Page looked good here and clearly has enough talent to make it in this company. However, Lee still does nothing for me at all. Now that being said, I’ve heard he’s WAY better outside of Impact and he wouldn’t be the first person to be in that situation. Maybe he just needs a refreshing, but at the moment he’s just the guy who can give you a watchable match.

Rich Swann, with Willie Mack, is ready to win the X-Division Title tonight. Mack had a good time on Sunday, but Swann has to do it on his own tonight. That’s cool with Swann.

Video on the Allie/Kiera Hogan/Rosemary/Su Yung/WHAT THE HECK EVER THAT WAS segment from Sunday.

Kiera talks to Allie, who insists she’s fine but clearly isn’t.

Classic Moment of the Week: Daniel Bryan beats Randy Orton for the World Title. They called it Eric Young beating Magnus but it was Bryan over Orton.

Petey Williams asks Scarlett Bordeaux when she’s going to announce him as her new client. She flirts on him for a bit, but says the talent search is ongoing, and open to fans too. Petey seems confused, but Petey confuses me more often than not.

Killer Kross vs. Tommy Dreamer

Moose is here with Kross of course. Kross misses an early knee drop and Dreamer knocks him out to the floor. Dreamer, wearing his Dusty Rhodes shirt and Dusty Rhodes pants, gets to do the Dusty Rhodes Bionic Elbow and gets choked down for all that gimmick infringement. Back in and a hard whip into the corner keeps Dreamer’s back in trouble and a t-bone suplex gets two.

The cravate goes on but Dreamer gets up top to catch him with a right hand. There’s a superplex as the fans chant ECW. Dreamer loses a slugout but escapes a German suplex and hits a cutter. Moose tries to come in but takes a cutter of his own. The Doomsday Saito is broken up with a bite to Kross’ head but the second attempt drops Dreamer on his head. Kross does it again and that’s a referee stoppage at 7:02.

Rating: D+. This was the not great Dreamer match that you would have expected. I’m still not sure why he keeps getting on TV shows as it’s not like he’s interesting on his own, but nostalgia is a powerful weapon. I had the same reaction to this one that I have to every Dreamer match and that’s not the best feeling in the world.

Post match Dreamer gets beaten up even more.

We see part of Abyss’ Hall of Fame induction speech, which sounds rather good. The fact that he’s the first Impact Original to go in is rather telling.

Eli Drake isn’t happy with Abyss putting him through a table because it’s an unsafe work environment. Those are words that I never need to hear in wrestling again. Oh and he’s suing the company. Well a lot of people have over the years so he might as well join the team.

LAX is celebrating their win when King comes in. According to the bosses, he and the OGz get to keep a piece of New York but they have to stay on their own sides. Konnan says get on your own side then and get out of here.

We look back at the opening sequence.

More announcers talking and recapping the show so far.

Allie vs. Alisha Edwards

Rating: C-. This was much more storytelling than wrestling and there’s nothing wrong with that. Allie can only be the Bayley style character for so long as she’s a very well rounded performer and the kind of person who could be a fixture in the division with a different character. Alisha is getting better as well so the future is starting to pick up for the Knockouts.

Post match Allie stays on Alisha until Kiera pulls her off. Fans: “PSYCHO BUNNY!”

Jordynne Grace is coming.

X-Division Title: Rich Swann vs. Brian Cage

Cage is defending. Swann starts with the dancing and gets shoved down for his efforts. Cage shrugs off a dropkick but Swann flips out of a German suplex attempt. A hurricanrana doesn’t work either as Cage throws him down and hits some Roman Reigns clotheslines in the corner. It’s too early for the Drill Claw though and Cage misses a charge to the floor.

For some reason Swann follows him and gets powerbombed into the post. An apron superplex brings Swann back in and we take a break. Back with Swann being sent chest first into the buckle and then kicked in the face. Cage throws him down again as Josh and Don plug a Titanic marathon on Sunday. An F5 is escaped and Swann tries a front flip seated senton but gets caught in the air.

Instead it’s a DDT to drop Cage but he avoids the Phoenix splash. They trade kicks to the face with Swann getting the better of it, including more kicks to the head for two. Swann tries one kick too many though and gets caught in a pumphandle faceplant. An Angle Slam gets two on Swann but he pulls Cage out of the air with a cutter. A Lethal Injection sets up a middle rope 450 for two but the Phoenix splash misses. Cage powerbombs him, buckle bombs him, and Weapon X’s him for the pin to retain at 14:43.

Rating: B. Easily the best match on the show here and that’s a good sign considering how much potential both of these guys have. Cage is the create-a-wrestler come to life and Swann is a ball of charisma. This was a really fun match and the kind of thing that the show needed after a lot of storyline heavy stuff earlier in the night.

Post match here’s Sami Callihan to show a loop of him pinning Cage on Sunday. A fight breaks out but the Crist Brothers run in for the save. Cage clears the ring to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This wasn’t a great show but you don’t have to do much on the first night after Bound For Glory. Instead of having a big time show, they went with a cool down show with some stuff that advanced stories and made you want to come back for more. That’s a different path from what WWE would do and that’s not a bad idea. It was a very easy show to watch and that’s often something you need after so many weeks of heavier shows. It works for NXT and it worked fine enough here. Not a great show, but the right choice for this week.

Results

Taya Valkyrie b. Katarina – Road To Valhalla

Ethan Page b. Trevor Lee – Rock Bottom

Killer Kross b. Tommy Dreamer via referee stoppage

Allie b. Alisha Edwards – Codebreaker

Brian Cage b. Rich Swann – Weapon X

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #24
Date: September 28, 2018
Location: War Memorial Auditorium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

We’re getting closer to Fury Road and that means things are starting to pick up. It also means that we’ll be getting something entertaining tonight with MLW World Champion Low Ki defending against Fenix. In other words, taking two talented guys and letting them have a long match should work fine. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Sami Callihan and Jimmy Havoc have started fighting in the back before their scheduled match tonight. Both guys go for the eyes and seem to be heading towards the arena.

Opening sequence.

Jason Cade vs. Myron Reed

Cade has Rhett Giddins in his corner. Reed is nice enough to let the referee check him for weapons and Cade dropkicks him in the corner for his efforts. A sunset flip gets Reed out of trouble and a dropkick puts Cade on the floor. Giddins offers a distraction so Cade can take over again as the beating continues. We hit the chinlock and go split screen to see Havoc and Callihan still fighting.

Back to full screen and Reed hurricanranas his way out of a powerbomb attempt, followed by a nip up into an enziguri. Reed scores with a running forearm in the corner and another enziguri, followed by the top rope seated senton for two. Cade knees him in the face for the same, only to be kicked in the face for his efforts. A superkick rocks Cade again but he’s fine enough to elbow Reed in the face.

Reed gets buckle bombed so he pops right back up with a reverse hurricanrana to plant Cade again. Cade scores with another superkick but Reed springboards into a cutter for two. Something like a Cradle Shock (which Tony calls a sitout powerbomb) gives Cade two more so he takes Reed over to the other ring, only to have Reed reverse a suplex into a Stunner.

Just to show off, Reed gets a running start and dives over both ropes for a cutter to wreck Cade. Another diving cutter over the top rope drops Cade onto Giddins but Giddins is fine enough to crotch Reed on top. A backslide driver (that’s a new one) of all things finishes Reed at 9:54.

Rating: C+. Reed looked like a star here, even if he used that cutter once or twice too often. That running cutter looked awesome and I was hoping to see Reed win here, which I didn’t expect coming in. Cade is fine for a midcard heel and having the bigger Giddins as an enforcer is a classic story that will work fine here. This was a very nice surprise.

Post match Cade grabs the mic but Jimmy Yuta runs in and dropkicks him down.

Post break, Yuta promises to play dirty along with Cade.

Fury Road rundown, including Maxwell Jacob Friedman defending the Middleweight Title against Cade and Yuta. Makes sense.

Brody King is ready to face Tommy Dreamer and show him some real violence at Fury Road.

Callihan and Havoc are still fighting with Havoc being choked down until a wet floor sign to the head gets him out of trouble. They fight into the men’s room with Callihan getting a face full of soap. After a break, Havoc can’t find Callihan.

Shane Strickland is ready to prove that he’s still the ace when he faces Tom Lawlor.

Friedman and Aria Blake try to get in to see Salina de la Renta but get shut down.

Cade isn’t happy with Yuta for interfering in his match and swears vengeance.

Court Bauer makes Callihan vs. Havoc: Spin the Wheel Make the Deal for Fury Road. I’m down.

Lawlor is ready to beat up Strickland and prove that he’s the present and the future. He wants to prove that this is a filthy world, not Shane’s house.

Video on Salina de la Renta vs. Konnan in a battle over talent and power.

MLW World Title: Low Ki vs. Rey Fenix

Fenix is challenging and we get the Big Match Intros. They stare each other down to start without much happening in the first minute. Fenix starts speeding things up and hits his springboard armdrag to send Low Ki outside, meaning the big flip suicide dive to drive him into the barricade. The loud superkick has Low Ki in even more trouble and a standing moonsault gets two back inside.

Low Ki dropkicks him down though and Fenix invites the champ to kick him in the chest. One heck of a chop on the floor sends Fenix over the barricade and the pace stays slow. Back inside and we hit the neck crank with Low Ki going after the mask. A double stomp gets two and they head outside again, this time with Fenix being catapulted face first into the post (DING!) to draw some blood.

Fenix gets chopped even more and can barely stand as the referee starts checking on him to make sure this can keep going. Of course Fenix gets up and screams before losing a chop off. Fenix does an Undertaker situp but can’t do much more after that, despite the fans loudly cheering for him. So he really is like Undertaker. One heck of a chop slows Low Ki down so he kicks Fenix into the corner again.

Low Ki grabs him by the hands and goes up top, only to have Fenix grab a double springboard into a hurricanrana. A rolling cutter gets a delayed two on the champ and the Ki Crusher is blocked. Instead Ki kicks him out of the corner for two and the top rope double stomp gets the same.

The big kick is countered into a rollup for two more and they both head up top. Fenix gets the better of it with a springboard Spanish Fly and the kickout shocks them both. A reverse hurricanrana drops Ki on his head but Salina takes Fenix’s mask off, setting up a great looking top double stomp to the back to retain the title at 14:28.

Rating: B. These two beat the heck out of each other and they got somewhere with the idea of Fenix fighting from behind. Those near falls were awesome and Fenix is someone easy to cheer for, making this quite the match. They can save Pentagon vs. Ki for later on or whenever Ki gets a partner for the big tag war. Very fun brawl here and they beat each other up as you would have wanted to see them do.

Salina yells in Spanish and poses with Low Ki.

In the back, Havoc and Callihan are still fighting as they go outside. Callihan gets knocked down some steps and calls Havoc crazy. Havoc: “I know it!” Callihan runs away from Havoc’s kendo stick to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. It’s a good sign when you have two matches on a show and both of them are either good or quite good. Throw in the whole Havoc vs. Callihan thing that set up a big gimmick match for the special show and this was a heck of a night. I want to see Fury Road and that’s a good sign going forward. Really strong show this week and one of the better Fusions to date.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #22
Date: September 14, 2018
Location: War Memorial Auditorium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Rich Bocchini

And then, WarGames. I’ll give MLW a lot of points for not wasting time in getting to something like this. They’ve built up some characters and a feud so they’re hitting the ground running with what they have. That’s better than wasting time on matches that people don’t want to see when you can do something big like this to make an impact. Or it’s wasting a huge match early on. Let’s get to it.

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

The ten people involved tonight all talk about being ready for war. Sami Callihan says his team is going to hurt Shane Strickland and his team because this isn’t about wrestling anymore.

Shane says his team is ready to be the angels to Sami’s demons. John Hennigan says they seem like douchebags instead of demons. The rest of the team is better too, with Tommy Dreamer citing Martin Luther King of all people. I really don’t think he’s like WarGames Tommy.

Opening sequence.

The double cage is being constructed. That never gets old.

Salina de la Renta and Low Ki yell at reporters in Spanish and don’t seem impressed when they run into Dreamer.

We look at the Hart Foundation attacking Kevin Sullivan two weeks back.

The Hart Foundation knows they won’t be suspended because that’s MLW is a bunch of cowards. You can’t stop them and the fans are already talking. The family has taken a lot over the years and they’re not going to take it anymore. They’ve been fined lately, but they’re ready to make more money to pay it off. Brian Pillman Jr. talks about the media lying to you because the Hart Foundation is now the cash cow. Pillman’s smile is perfect.

Fury Road rundown.

The construction continues and there are weapons included inside. You really don’t need those in WarGames. There is also no roof, which isn’t the worst thing in the world.

Team Callihan vs. Team Strickland

Shane Strickland, Tommy Dreamer, John Hennigan, Barrington Hughes, Kotto Brazil

Sami Callihan, Sawyer Fulton, Leon Scott, Abyss, Jimmy Havoc

WarGames, featuring the classic rules. One wrestler from each team will fight for five minutes. After that there is a coin toss with the winning team getting to send in its second man for two minutes. When those two minutes are up, the team that lost even things up. Two more minutes go by and the team that won the toss goes up 3-2. You alternate every two minutes until all ten are in and then it’s first submission wins.

Brazil and Fulton start as apparently Team Strickland won the coin toss. Um, what? The heels are always supposed to win that thing. They better have a good idea of how to get out of this. Brazil is tired of waiting and dropkicks Fulton through the door and through a table to get things going but Fulton catches him coming off the top once they get inside. Some running elbows in the corner have Fulton in some trouble until he throws Kotto into the cage.

Kotto gets LAUNCHED from one ring to the other and there’s a missile dropkick to rock him again. With the pain increasing, Brazil spits in his face and gets tossed into the cage wall for his efforts. Kotto gets his face rubbed against the cage with Fulton talking trash about how no one is going to save him. They manage to get the timing right (almost no one can pull that off) and it’s Hennigan in to make it 2-1.

A standoff lets Hennigan forearm Fulton in the face and Brazil gets up to really start the double teaming. Brazil gets thrown into the corner but Hennigan dives onto Fulton to take over again. Jimmy Havoc (with Hawk face paint0 is in fourth to tie things up and he goes straight to the paper cut on both of Hennigan’s hands. Brazil’s face gets cut and this is actually far main painful than it might sound. Havoc holds up a sign so Fulton can throw him face first into it and there’s a stop sign to Hennigan’s back.

Strickland is in next but Callihan attacks him from behind and tosses him onto (not through) a table. Callihan slams the cage door on Hennigan’s head and gets in the cage to make it 3-2, giving us the way around the coin toss. Kind of an unnecessary detail but not the worst idea. Hennigan gets sent through a table and Fulton drops Callihan onto him for bad measure. A running Razor’s Edge into the cage makes things even worse for Brazil and it’s Dreamer in next, of course complete with a trashcan full of weapons.

Dreamer cleans house and the TOMMY DREAMER chants start up, which make sense in a town ECW ran back in the day. Hennigan is back up to slug away at Fulton and Havoc is busted open (well duh). Now it’s Scott coming in to “even” things up and the weapons have Team Strickland in even more trouble. Hennigan gets caught in a trashcan and pummeled with sticks but Brazil suplexes Havoc as Hughes is in for Team Strickland. He can barely make it through the ropes before getting into a fight with Scott.

Havoc hits Hughes in the head with a wet floor sign and gets glared at for his efforts. Callihan’s stop sign to the head works a lot better as we’re told that Strickland is done for the night. The other good guys get up and take over with Brazil even having time to enjoy some water. Abyss finishes Team Callihan and the Match Beyond begins, meaning submissions are now legal. The monster cleans house until Dreamer hammers away with the Flip Flop and Fly, earning himself a Black Hole Slam.

Hughes and Abyss have the big staredown until everyone gets up for the big brawl. Brazil gets up top for the BIG corkscrew dive, though the camera cuts to a wide shot for some reason. They show a regular version on the replay so I’m not sure I get that one. Havoc takes a Canadian Destroyer and Brazil cranks on a reverse Rings of Saturn, leading to a double Human Centipede of submissions.

That’s broken up as well and it’s Hughes splashing Abyss in the corner. Abyss is right back with a clothesline to knock Hughes down for the first time ever. Scott sends himself through a table (CRUNCH) but Hennigan gets dropped by a Rainmaker. Callihan tells Abyss to get the tacks but Brazil bites his hand to escape a chokeslam.

An Asai DDT (a running Salida Del Sol) sends Abyss into the tacks instead, leaving Callihan to accidentally take a Rainmaker. Dreamer adds a cutter and it’s barbed wire time. Brazil and Dreamer wrap barbed wire around Hughes and I don’t see this ending well. The splash “hits” Fulton’s back and a regular splash makes things worse. Hughes and Brazil wrap the wire around Fulton’s face for the tap at 30:45.

Rating: B. This was about all you could ask for in a WarGames match and I’m assuming Strickland was actually injured or it’s a good angle to keep things going for a future match. They came up with a good way to use Hughes here as there’s not much someone his size can do. The rest of the guys did fine and the right person took the fall, so there isn’t much to complain about here. They had a good level of violence and nothing really dragged, though having the captain out did lower the stakes a good deal.

The winners leave and Callihan and company blame Havoc for the loss. A big beatdown ends the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The angle at the end and the recaps from earlier in the night helped this a bit and the show was a lot of fun overall. There’s something about WarGames that makes it feel that much more special and that’s exactly what we got here. Good show with the one match being all that mattered, which is pretty hard to pull off actually.

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