Impact Wrestling
Date: June 10, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Lo Brown

It’s the go home show for Against All Odds and that means it is time to focus on Moose vs. Kenny Omega for the World Title. Other than that though, we could use some build for the rest of the car. The rest of the card could use some attention of its own and odds are we might get that this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Scott D’Amore is in the ring and brings in AEW owner Tony Khan. Tony thanks him for the welcome but here is Don Callis to join them with the smug starting fast. Callis knows that Kenny Omega is the greatest investment in Khan’s portfolio but there has been talk of Sami Callihan being involved in the title match with Moose. Callihan is blackballed all over this country but D’Amore brings up the Good Brothers interfering and causing chaos all over the place too.

Callis doesn’t go for it, instead talking about how Callihan is such a problem for the wrestling business. D’Amore says Moose vs. Omega will headline Against All Odds and Khan says they can have the match at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. That’s cool with Callis, but D’Amore says that the winner can face Callihan at Slammiversary. This is NOT cool with Callis but the music is already playing. They got the point over here pretty clearly so well done.

Commentary goes over what we just heard.

Here is what is coming tonight and at Against All Odds.

The Elite isn’t happy so they talk about putting a bounty on Sami Callihan. Scott D’Amore comes in to say instead of that, we can have the Good Brothers vs. Callihan/any partner in a street fight at Against All Odds (it’s going to be Tommy Dreamer). Callis mentions murder as a solution.

Brian Myers teaches Sam Beale about how to cut a promo. This turns into Beale praising Matt Cardona in a mock promo but Myers yells at him a lot.

Sami Callihan interrupts Scott D’Amore to rant about the tag match. He doesn’t know who he’ll get as a partner…and here’s Tommy Dreamer. I WASN’T BEING SERIOUS PEOPLE!!! Dreamer has been against all odds his entire career and since they both hate Don Callis, he’ll be the partner. And yeah Callihan will probably turn on him because everyone else does. Callihan says deal and promises to beat Dreamer up if he messes things up. D’Amore reminds Dreamer that he is his boss, but Dreamer doesn’t seem too impressed.

Rosemary vs. Havok

If Havok wins, she is added to the Against All Odds Knockouts Title match. Rosemary wastes no time in hitting a pair of spears for two. Some right hands have Havok in more trouble and something like a Last Chancery makes it worse. Havok finally gets up and powers her into the corner, setting up the hip attack. We take a break and come back with Havok grabbing a full nelson. That’s broken up in a hurry and Rosemary nails a spear for two. Back up and Havok misses a big swing, allowing Rosemary to hit a fourth spear for the pin at 4:17.

Rating: D+. Well that happened. This was little more than a squash outside of that full nelson. Rosemary shrugged off what Havok did to her and hit four spears for the pin. The stipulation was a bit unnecessary but it did a nice job of making Rosemary look like a bigger threat to Purrazzo before their title match.

Post match Rosemary and Havok look at each other but Deonna Purrazzo, Kimber Lee and Susan come out to beat both of them down. Purrazzo and Lee grab holds so Susan grabs the mic….and wants Tasha Steelz out here to face Lee RIGHT NOW. Sure.

Tasha Steelz vs. Kimber Lee

Kiera Hogan is here in Steelz’s corner. Steelz starts fast with a dropkick into the corner but a springboard hurricanrana is countered into a buckle bomb. Lee hammers away on the mat and we hit the reverse chinlock. Some choking in the corner keeps Steelz down and Lee tosses her outside in a heap. Back in and Lee grabs a side slam for two as Hogan starts yelling again. Some rolling suplexes into a delayed suplex gets two on Steelz but a Swanton only hits knees. Lee misses a spinwheel kick and gets caught in a spinning Falcon Arrow for the pin at 5:46.

Rating: C-. Lee got to showcase herself a bit here and the match was fine enough considering the circumstances. Fire N Flava are desperately in need of challengers and at least Lee and Susan are a fresh team. I’m not exactly expecting a title change, but it should be a good enough match given who is in there.

Another brawl breaks out post match, with Rosemary and Havok coming in to clean house. Hogan, after being caught by Rosemary: “H*** no!” Hogan, after turning around to see Havok: “D***!” A double chokeslam leaves Hogan laying and a triple threat seems likely.

Steve Maclin talks about everything he has gone through and his back is against the wall again. I’m moderately intrigued by this.

Josh Alexander waited for sixteen years to have a chance like he had last week. Now he’s looking forward to the five way #1 contenders match but here are Ace Austin and Madman Fulton to interrupt. Austin says watch the tag match tonight, but he is the only person Alexander has to watch out for.

Petey Williams/Trey Miguel vs. Chris Bey/Rohit Raju

Williams fights out of a headlock to start and hits a dropkick to the back. The Sharpshooter goes on in a hurry but Raju is in the ropes just as fast. Bey and Trey come in to pick up the pace, but neither can actually hit anything. Miguel kicks him in the ropes so it’s back to Williams for two off a double backbreaker. Bey offers a distraction though and Raju knocks Williams outside. A sitout gordbuster gets two on Williams and it’s back to Bey for a knee in the corner.

Williams can’t fight out of the corner as Raju cuts him off with a belly to back suplex. Bey gets shoved into Raju and the hot tag brings in Miguel to pick up the pace all over again. An Indian Deathlock has Bey down and Miguel adds a northern lights suplex for two on Raju at the same time. A snap German suplex drops Raju again as Williams and Bey fight to the floor. That leaves Miguel to kick away at Raju, who comes back with a jumping knee to the face. Williams is back in with his slingshot Codebreaker though and the Hourglass makes Raju tap at 7:24.

Rating: B-. This is what you’re looking for in the X-Division and it worked here too. They didn’t bother trying to build anything up and the whole match was all about one spot after another. There was a nice section in the middle with Williams having to fight his way out of the corner but this was all about the fast pace and it worked well.

Post match here are Ace Austin and Madman Fulton to wreck Miguel and Williams. Josh Alexander comes in and it’s a huge brawl, with Williams hitting a super Canadian Destroyer to knock Fulton silly (ok that was cool).

Willie Mack is ready to beat up W. Morrissey in a No DQ match tonight. Rich Swann wants Swann to save a piece for him on Sunday. Mack says cool, but he wants to do this on his own tonight, which is cool with Swann.

It’s time for All About Me with Tenille Dashwood, with Rachael Ellering getting to ask the questions this week. Jordynne Grace is here too though because she is Ellering’s partner and they do things together. Kaleb With A K pulls out a shirt, which Grace doesn’t approve of, but it’s for Tenille instead. Rachael is getting a bit sick of this because it’s disrespectful to the two of them. Grace challenges Tenille for Against All Odds and is off to get the match made before she can give an answer.

We look at Crazzy Steve beating Deaner on Before The Impact.

Violent By Design is ready for the Tag Team Title match at Against All Odds. Eric Young tells Deaner to not disappoint him and Deaner looks scared. Tonight, Joe Doering is ready for Eddie Edwards because he wants to take out Impact’s heart.

Joe Doering vs. Eddie Edwards

Violent By Design is here with Doering but Eddie is on his own. Doering shoves him down without much trouble to start and then hits a hard running shoulder. The neck crank goes on early and Doering elbows Eddie in the face for two. Eddie manages to muscle Doering up for a suplex and a low bridge puts the monster on the floor. That’s enough though as Deaner comes in for the DQ at 3:47.

Rating: C-. I could go for watching Eddie every week but Doering is just a boring monster. He plays his role well enough but it’s not like we’ve ever been given anything to make us care about him. The stable needs someone like him though and having him dominate a legend like Eddie made sense. Keeping it short was a good idea, but it wasn’t exactly much to see.

Post match the beating is on but Satoshi Kojima comes in for the brawl with Doering. The good guys clear the ring to stand tall.

Video on Moose vs. Kenny Omega, focusing on Moose wanting the elusive World Title.

The announcers talk about the World Title match.

Against All Odds rundown.

W. Morrissey vs. Willie Mack

No DQ. Morrissey powers him into the corner for a variety of choking to start and a knee to the ribs. Brown calls it a kitchen sink and actually EXPLAINS THE NAME OF THE MOVE, saying it’s like everything has been thrown at you, even the kitchen sink. Fair enough. Mack gets knocked down again and we take an early break. Back with Morrissey choking on the floor but Mack sends him into the steps.

Mack finds a chain for a shot to the leg and ribs, followed by a chair to the back. They head inside with Mack hitting a running splash in the corner, setting up the Cannonball. Morrissey is right back up with a big boot and it’s time to chair Mack in the back a few times. The chain is wrapped around Mack’s eyes and then underneath his nose to make it….worse? Maybe?

Some more chair shots to the back have Mack down again and Morrissey uses said chair to choke him in the corner. A big splash misses though and Mack kicks him in the head. There’s the standing moonsault for two and Mack gets in his own chair shots to the back. The Six Star only hits chair but so does Morrissey’s elbow. Back up and Morrissey kicks the chair into Mack’s face for the pin at 14:09.

Rating: C. This was a good way to make Morrissey look like a monster but it wasn’t exactly getting to a higher level. Instead, we got a bunch of chair shots and some chain stuff, which was only so interesting. Morrissey taking out Mack again does set him up for Rich Swann though, and that’s the idea here. Just fine a more interesting way to do it.

Post match Morrissey goes after Mack again but Swann runs in for the save. Security keeps them apart but Swann manages a chair shot to send him outside. A lot of staring ends as Josh rapid fire plugs Against All Odds to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The wrestling itself ranged from pretty good to not so great, but they accomplished their goal of setting up Against All Odds. That’s actually a heck of a trick given how it feels like little more than a stepping stone on the way to Slammiversary. We got a nice enough go home show here though, even if you don’t really need to see anything here.

Results

Rosemary b. Havok – Spear

Tasha Steelz b. Kimber Lee – Spinning Falcon Arrow

Trey Miguel/Petey Williams b. Rohit Raju/Chris Bey – Hourglass to Raju

Eddie Edwards b. Joe Doering via DQ when Deaner interfered

W. Morrissey b. Willie Mack – Big boot into a chair

 

 

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Impact Wrestling
Date: June 3, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Lo Brown

We’re on the way to Against All Odds which means we’re on the way to Slammiversary, meaning Kenny Omega is going to be getting some more featured time around here. Tonight might be a little short on time though, as we are getting a special bonus match. During Before The Impact (the show which airs before Impact), Josh Alexander defended the X-Division Title against TJP in an hour long Iron Man match, which has gotten such rave reviews that I’ll include it as an extra. Let’s get to it.

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

Before The Impact: X-Division Title: Josh Alexander vs. TJP

Alexander is defending in a sixty minute Iron Man match. Fallah Bahh is here to sweep the steps for TJP and Petey Williams is here with Alexander. They go with the grappling to start with Alexander being shoved down in a hurry. A test of strength goes to Alexander but he can’t break TJP’s bridge. Instead TJP flips him over but gets caught in a bodyscissors. With that broken up they go back to a standoff until Alexander grabs a headlock of his own. That’s reversed into a headlock takeover until they jump up to another standoff.

Alexander goes to a crank on the ankle, which he pulls into a bow and arrow hold. TJP flips out again and it’s another standoff as they have a lot of time to use here. This time TJP takes him down by the ankle, setting off an exchange of mat holds. TJP pulls on the leg but Alexander grabs a chinlock for the break. That’s reversed into a hammerlock with TJP flipping over him to stay on the arm. Alexander gets his own armbar with TJP not being able to flip out of it so easily this time. He finally manages to send Alexander outside and a Bahh distraction lets TJP hit the slingshot dropkick (and a good looking one at that).

Back in and TJP starts in on the ribs, including a belly to back suplex for two. Alexander dragon screw legwhips him down but TJP slams the leg into the mat to put Alexander in more trouble. A headlock on the mat has Alexander in more trouble but gets reversed into a headscissors. TJP tries to spin out but gets reversed into something like a short piledriver.

TJP is fine enough to try a Muta Lock but gets reversed into a chinlock into an abdominal stretch. With the holds not working, Alexander rolls some German suplexes but gets pulled into a Kimura. That’s reversed into an ankle lock (on TJP’s other ankle) to send TJP to the ropes with 45:00 to go.

Alexander is busted open just a bit as he hits a belly to back suplex for two. A cannonball down onto the leg sets up some twisting around the rope to keep TJP in trouble. The chinlock eats up some more of the clock but TJP fights up to send him into the corner. Now the facewashes work but Alexander takes him down into a cradle for the first fall at 19:52.

We get a thirty second rest period before and the canned noise cranks up. TJP takes him down into a chinlock into a cravate, which is reversed into a chinlock with a knee in TJP’s back. A backbreaker drops TJP again and Alexander sends him outside in a heap. Just to show off, Alexander picks him up and walks up the steps to drop TJP inside. A surfboard in the ropes (that’s a new one) makes TJP scream until Alexander lets go.

Back in and Alexander goes up, with TJP catching him in a top rope superplex. TJP tries to roll it into another suplex but they crash over the top to the floor instead. The brawl on the apron sees TJP dropped down onto the apron as we hit halftime. Alexander drives TJP through the ropes with a running crossbody for another crash. Back in and TJP lifts him up for another backbreaker but TJP is right back with something like an Indian Deathlock. That’s broken up as well and Alexander hits a very delayed (as in about a minute) vertical suplex.

With TJP down, it’s off to another double arm crank. That’s broken up so TJP tries to power him down for a cover. With that not working, TJP tries a Sharpshooter but switches over to a Muta Lock instead. That doesn’t last long but Alexander is back up with a German suplex to put them both down. TJP unloads in the corner but charges into a hot shot onto the buckle.

We have twenty minutes left and it’s time to crank on TJP’s ankle again. That’s broken up with an enziguri, followed by a toss to send TJP shoulder first into the post. With TJP still in the ropes, Alexander grabs a half crab while sitting on the top. The chinlock goes on until TJP sends him chest first into the corner. The Black Widow goes on until TJP turns it over into a cradle for two with fifteen minutes left. A tornado DDT sends Alexander outside and there’s a slingshot dive to put him down again.

Alexander is right back up with a suplex onto the apron (egads) and TJP is mostly done. That’s a bit too much for Alexander so he takes him to the stage and loads up a piledriver. Cue Chris Sabin and Trey Miguel to say that’s too far but the distraction inadvertently allows TJP to hit a Tombstone powerslam (basically Riddle’s Bro Derek). A bunch of the roster comes out to watch as Alexander stumbles down the ramp and rolls in to beat the clock with 10:00 left.

TJP hits a running knee in the corner but the Mamba Splash takes too long and only hits mat. Alexander can’t follow up either though and gets tied in the Tree of Woe so TJP can hit him in the face quite a few times. A sliding dropkick connects as we have eight minutes left and Impact officially begins. TJP hits a springboard shot to the face for two but a double clothesline puts both of them down. Alexander tries the double underhook but gets reversed into a Falcon Arrow for two more.

We have five minutes left as TJP hits a running boot in the corner. TJP does it again but this time it is countered into the ankle lock. That’s countered into the Detonation Kick for two and the Mamba Splash connects for another near fall, as these kickouts are getting to be a bit much. Another Detonation Kick is countered into the ankle lock with three minutes left. TJP reverses into the kneebar, which he turns into something like a reverse Figure Four with two minutes left.

Alexander picks the ankle to retain and puts on the grapevine with 45 seconds left. TJP nearly taps but gets up and bridges back to tie it up with 2 seconds left and time expires. Therefore, we go to sudden death so both guys pull themselves up in the corner during the rest period. They slug it out until Alexander hits a Regal Roll to set up a moonsault for two. The powerbomb onto the knee gets two more so it’s the double underhook piledriver to FINALLY finish TJP at 63:36.

Rating: B. This was very good and the sixty minutes flew by, which is pretty hard to do. They didn’t waste a lot of time here, making this almost all action throughout. It helps that they have some awesome chemistry together and both came out looking great. Alexander is turning into a star around here and I’m really curious to see what happens with him. Heck of a match here that is actually worth the watch.

The roster gives them a standing ovation and respect is shown post match.

Commentary previews the rest of the show.

The Good Brothers and Don Callis don’t like being filmed.

TJP and Josh Alexander have a moment of respect in the back. Scott D’Amore congratulates both of them and Alexander says he wants all of the challengers. A bunch of people come up to say they want the shot so D’Amore leaves them to argue among themselves.

Rohit Raju vs. Jake Something

Tables match and they are both alone. Raju slugs away to start and ducks Jake’s bit right hand. They’re on the apron in a hurry with Raju bailing from an attempt to be put through a table. We take a break and come back with Jake sending him back inside, where Raju hits a running knee to the head. Some chairs are brought in but Raju breaks that up with some running clotheslines.

There’s a running shoulder into Raju’s ribs in the corner but Raju gets in a few chair shots to even things back up. The chair is driven into Jake’s arm and a chair to the arm sets up the Crossface. The referee points out that it doesn’t matter so Raju stomps the chair onto Jake in the corner. A Cannonball onto the chair onto Jake makes it even worse but he is right back with a shot of his own. Jake finally grabs a table and puts it in the corner as we get back to the point. That takes too long though and Raju sends him face first into some open chairs.

A running knee to the face drops Jake again but he cuts off Raju with a shot to the head. They fight to the apron with Jake being shoved into the post and being laid onto a table at ringside. That is broken up as well so they head back inside, where Raju kicks him off the ropes. A top rope double stomp sends Jake face first into the chairs but Raju charges into the swinging Black Hole Slam. Jake hits another one so Raju throws a chair at his head. That has no effect so Jake spears him through a table for the win at 15:05.

Rating: C. It was a violent brawl but this was a good bit longer than it needed to be. At the same time, it really didn’t need to be a tables match, as it felt like they just remembered the tables part at the end. It worked out well enough, but it felt like a stipulation there for the sake of having one, which isn’t a great sign.

W. Morrison tells Scott D’Amore that he wants a match with Rich Swann. It turns out that Swann wants that too so the match is on.

Rosemary is rather happy with beating Deonna Purrazzo last week and promises to win the Knockouts Title. Havok comes in to say she wants the title too. Rosemary thinks this means Havok wants one more fight, but it can be after Rosemary gets the title back…I think.

W. Morrissey vs. Rich Swann

Swann takes way too much time dancing to the ring and gets jumped from behind. They head inside with Swann hammering away but getting knocked back down. Security breaks it up before the match ever starts. Cue Willie Mack with a chair, which has little effect on Morrissey. Staring ensues.

Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb With A K talk to Rachael Ellering and propose an appearance on It’s All About Me. Ellering says Jordynne Grace is her partner so here is Grace to interrupt. Grace doesn’t seem thrilled but things go ok.

Brian Myers gives Sam Beale pointers on being a professional, including wearing a Myers shirt. His entrance is terrible too, with Myers busting out a boom box to demonstrate the proper way.

Deonna Purrazzo is told that Rosemary will face Havok next week. If Havok wins, Against All Odds becomes a triple threat title match. Purrazzo rolls her eyes but says it doesn’t matter what happens.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Jordynne Grace/Rachael Ellering vs. Fire N Flava

Fire N Flava is defending with Tasha Steelz having to pick up the pace to avoid Jordynne’s power. A swinging full nelson slam plants Steelz and a charge in the corner gives Grace two. Ellering comes in for a running kick to the head into a backsplash for two of her own. An electric chair is broken up with Tasha using the headband to pull her down. Ellering gets taken into the corner for the double teaming but powers her way over to Grace for the tag. A gutwrench powerbomb gets two on Hogan and a running hip attack in the corner crushes her again.

Ellering comes in for a spinning legdrop but the referee has to get rid of Grace, allowing Steelz to hit a Codebreaker. That doesn’t last long either as it’s back to Grace for MuscleBuster into a powerbomb for two more. They head outside with Steelz hitting a DDT to plant Ellering, leaving Grace to get beaten down. Hogan grabs a sleeper but Grace pulls her up and drops back down, only to have Steelz come in with a top rope splash for the pin at 8:37.

Rating: C-. I really don’t need to see these four fight again, though I’m not sure who else is left in the, ahem, division. Grace and Ellering weren’t exactly a great team in the first place and they were given the titles out of nowhere. Fire N Flava are a good team, but they have almost no one to defend against and that is a problem.

Sami Callihan wants to be in the World Title picture but here is Don Callis to say the company wants Moose instead. Callihan is always the bridesmaid instead of the bride and kind of a journeyman. Except for that time he won the World Title, sure I guess.

We get a video of a guy drinking whiskey as a song talks about this being the time we have waited for. His name is Steve Maclin, though you might know him better as Steve Cutler.

Fire N Flava annoy Scott D’Amore about retaining their titles and want competition. As luck would have it, Kimber Lee and Susan are in his office and get the Against All Odds title shot.

Deaner vs. Satoshi Kojima

Kojima is a New Japan legend and runs Deaner over to start. Deaner rakes the eyes for a breather and hits a running dropkick to the back to send Kojima into the corner. An elbow seems to wake Kojima up as he takes Deaner into the corner for the rapid fire chops. A running neckbreaker drops Kojima but he’s right back with the brainbuster. Kojima loads up his big clothesline but Rhino gets on the apron for a distraction. Joe Doering goes after Kojima so here is Eddie Edwards to take care of him. The Koji Cutter sets up a lariat to finish Deaner at 5:07.

Rating: C-. This was perfectly fine and a way to get Kojima’s feet wet in Impact. He didn’t do much because he didn’t have to but the match got the point across. Throw in his match against Doering at Against All Odds and this was a perfectly fine way to spend about five minutes. They might even have a tag match ready for next week if necessary.

Moose is ready for Sami Callihan but Don Callis comes in to say no one wants to see Kenny Omega vs. Sami Callihan. Maybe Moose can finish Sami off quick with some extra mustard. Moose doesn’t care and is only after the World Title.

Violent By Design doesn’t want to have to deal with Eddie Edwards anymore but Decay comes in to interrupt. A Tag Team Title match is set for Against All Odds.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Moose vs. Sami Callihan

Callihan sends him outside to start and a superkick knocks Moose off the apron. That’s fine with Moose, who pulls him outside as well but a powerbomb is countered as Sami jumps onto the apron. That’s fine with Moose as he beats Sami down again and rolls inside to break the count. Back on the floor and Sami is sent into the barricade but a charge only hits steel.

Sami ties the arm in the barricade but commentary is too busy reading their lines about the two of them. More arm cranking takes us to a break and we come back with them inside for a change. Moose’s arm is too banged up to hit the Rock Bottom and Sami hits a Death Valley Driver out of the corner. Moose powers him into the corner to block the piledriver but a superplex is countered with a shot to the bad arm.

The second attempt works just fine though and Moose gets a slightly delayed two. They trade some shots to the face until Moose catches him on top with a dropkick. The chokebomb out of the corner gets two more on Sami but he hits Moose in the arm again. The Cactus Special gets two on Moose but here are the Good Brothers to jump Sami for the DQ at 13:31.

Rating: C. I liked the arm work throughout the match as it actually seemed like Moose was damaged rather than just going through the match and then grabbing his arm intermittently. The ending probably sets up something for either next week or Against All Odds, assuming they say it was a DQ rather than the no contest, which isn’t how that ending works. Good enough match here, as Callihan continues to move towards a title shot of his own.

Post match the beatdown is on both of them as Don Callis and Kenny Omega come out. The Elite goes to the back when Scott D’Amore interrupts. Omega and the Good Brothers leave so D’Amore talks to Callis about how Sami Callihan should get a title shot after beating the #1 contender. Maybe Against All Odds should be a three way match! Callis says no because they have to agree and Tony Khan would never go with that. It turns out Khan will be here next week so we’ll figure all of that out together.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m not sure if I should count the Iron Man match in this or not as just the last ten minutes or so were included. The rest of the show wasn’t great, though they did add a good bit to the Against All Odds card. That was one of the more important things to cover here and it worked out well enough, though I’m not sure how much difference it makes with Slammiversary in July.

Results

Josh Alexander b. TJP 2-1

Jake Something b. Rohit Raju – Spear through a table

Fire N Flava b. Jordynne Grace/Rachael Ellering – Frog splash to Grace

Satoshi Kojima b. Deaner – Lariat

Sami Callihan b. Moose via DQ when the Good Brothers interfered

 

 

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

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 27, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Lo Brown

We’re on the way to Against All Odds and that means we are going to be seeing more of Moose vs. Kenny Omega as they set up their World Title match. I’m kind of curious to see the match, even though I don’t quite see a ton of drama involved. Hopefully they can live up to the hype and we can get some more matches set up this week. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Heath being involved in the Call Your Shot gauntlet match at Bound For Glory, with Rhino ultimately winning. Then last week, Rhino cashed in the contract to win the Tag Team Titles with Violent By Design.

Eric Young says that the change was foretold and last week it came to pass. Now they prove that it is real.

Opening sequence.

Here is Sami Callihan to have a seat in the ring for a chat. Callihan isn’t happy with what Kenny Omega has done around here because Omega and the Good Brothers have ruined this place. You can’t plan for someone like Callihan and Don Callis knows it. Let’s lay this to rest right now, so Omega can come out here right now. Cue Moose to say that no one cares about Callihan, because he didn’t win at Under Siege.

Callihan knows that Moose is a physical specimen but he isn’t dangerous. Cue the Good Brothers to say praise the Lord a lot and say they are on Moose’s side here. Maybe Callihan needs to stay out of Moose’s way, but Moose doesn’t want them on his side. The brawl is on and the Brothers are cleared out in a hurry. Anything that involves them talking less is a good thing.

The Good Brothers go to the back, where Don Callis makes the tag match.

Post break Callis is asked if he is allowed to make a match. Of course he can, though Scott D’Amore comes up to express his shock.

Commentary talks about what is coming tonight, plus the issues between Callis and D’Amore.

Petey Williams/Josh Alexander vs. TJP/Fallah Bahh

TJP has paid off Bahh’s debts at Swinger’s Palace so the team is back. Bahh shoves Alexander into the corner to start and we hit the front facelock. Alexander gets punched in the face but goes after the leg and grabs a front facelock of his own. TJP comes in for the Paisan elbow but Bahh can’t quite nip up.

A double splash gets two but Williams comes back in to slow Bahh down. Alexander adds a top rope shoulder and we take a break. Back with Alexander driving shoulders into Bahh’s ribs in the corner. Alexander comes back in for a kick to the ribs but makes the mistake of hitting Bahh in the head.

Bahh brings TJP back in to pick up the pace, including the Facewashes to Williams in the corner. The TJP vs. Alexander slugout goes to the former but it’s a double knockdown to set up another double tag. TJP counters the Canadian Destroyer from Williams, who is crushed by Bahh’s crossbody. A Samoan drop crushes Alexander and the Mamba Splash gives TJP the pin at 11:08.

Rating: C. It’s kind of nice to have the oddball team back together again as they have always worked well together. TJP pinning Alexander is a fine way to set up their title match at….well whenever the match takes place. Williams’ employment continues to confuse me a bit, though he is perfectly serviceable for a spot like this.

We get a sitdown interview with W. Morrissey, who mocks everyone for being so happy to your face and then stab you in the back. Some may call him bitter and people have kicked him while he was down. They even recorded him having a seizure instead of calling 911. People didn’t talk to him in years but once he came back to wrestling, they were right there telling him how happy they were for him. He mocks the idea of Rich Swann and Willie Mack being friends and asks who is laughing now. Cue Swann to jump him for the brawl.

Video on the Knockouts, which feels like an ad you would see when watching another channel.

Tenille Dashwood needs a replacement for a Knockouts tag and Rachael Ellering suggests Jordynne Grace. Dashwood isn’t sure but Grace comes up, saying she doesn’t want to be a substitute. Ellering talks her into it.

Fire N Flava/Kimber Lee/Deonna Purrazzo/Susan vs. Rachael Ellering/Havok/Jordynne Grace/Rosemary/Tenille Dashwood

 

Kaleb With A K is in the latter’s corner and Grace is replacing Taylor Wilde who is missing due to…..well in theory we’ll find out in a bit. Lee charges into Havok’s boot to start so Susan comes in to get kicked down as well. Hogan comes in and gets caught in Ellering’s release gutwrench suplex. A backsplash connects but Hogan gets over for the tag to Steelz. That’s fine for Ellering, who hits a sliding kick to the side of the head.

Dashwood tags herself in and takes Steelz down, much to Ellering’s annoyance. It’s quickly off to Grace, with the referee actually getting rid of Ellering because she was in the ring too long. The distraction lets Steelz snap Grace’s neck across the top and we take a break. Back with Steelz dropping an elbow on Grace to cut off a hot tag attempt. Grace jumps over Hogan in the corner though, allowing her to backflip over into the corner for the tag off to Rosemary.

The Upside Down is broken up in a hurry and some double teaming puts Rosemary in trouble for a change. Susan takes Rosemary up and bites her head, only to have Havok turn it into a Tower of Doom. Purrazzo comes in and gets dropped by Ellering as everything breaks down. Susan throws her shoe at Havok to little success so Rosemary hits As Above So Below to finish Purrazzo at 12:42.

Rating: C. These things are really hard to pull off as there is only so much that can be done with so many people in there at once. Rosemary will be a fine challenger for the title as she is one of the more established names in the division. This did its job, but you would think they could have done about the same with four or so fewer women included.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Eric Young beats Bobby Roode to become King of the Mountain Champion.

Josh Alexander is ready for all challengers so here are TJP and Fallah Bahh to interrupt. Scott D’Amore comes in to make a sixty minute Iron Man match for the title next week on Before The Impact. Well that’s certainly a way to get people interested.

Video on the history between Rohit Raju and Jake Something…..which apparently exists. They were friends for years and Raju doesn’t know why Impact has treated Something as such a star. Something says this isn’t the Raju he has known for years. A showdown seems to be looming. It’s a bit of a random feud to give a story but points for doing anything with a midcard feud.

Here is Violent By Design to brag about their win last week. Eric Young talks about how scary violence is to everyone else but to them, it is a tool. He needed people who knew the sickness existed and that it needed to be removed. Joe Doering was his first choice and his vision is clear.

Then you have Deaner, who needed a guide and now is the most diabolical and violent version of himself. Finally you have Rhino, who is back as the War Machine. They did everything to set up last week by design. FinJuice is back in Japan and can’t use their rematch….by design. Cue Satoshi Kojima to stare Doering down and then issue the challenge for Against All Odds. And then he leaves.

We look at Brian Myers laying out Matt Cardona last week, including sending him face first into a camera.

The Impact doctor says Cardona is out for twelve weeks when Myers comes in to laugh. Sam Beale interrupts and a match is made for later.

Joe Doering accepts Satoshi Kojima’s challenge for Against All Odds. Decay interrupts and talks about Deaner still being in the shadows. Deaner doesn’t like that and I think we have a title match impending.

Decay vs. Johnny Swinger/Hernandez

Alisha is here with Swinger and Hernandez. Swinger’s hammerlock doesn’t last long on Crazzy Steve so Black Taurus comes in for a double back elbow. A backsplash gets two and it’s back to Steve for an armbar. That’s broken up in a hurry and it’s off to Hernandez for something like a reverse Samoan drop. Swinger climbs onto Hernandez’s shoulders but then drops down and hits a standing splash for two instead.

That doesn’t last long either so it’s back to Taurus to clean house. Steve backdrops out of a piledriver and goes up for the middle rope DDT….which is botched so badly that I had to rewind it a few times to see what happened. Steve jumped right but Swinger didn’t fall down, instead standing there until Steve hit the mat and then falling onto his back. As bad as that is, it’s good enough for to give Steve the pin at 3:58.

Rating: D. The match was your usual TV match but that ending was so bad I had to rewind it a few times and put it in slow motion to figure out what the heck happened. I’m not sure how you can have that kind of miscommunication but they pulled it off here. How hard can it be to fall on your face when someone hits a big move off the top? Nothing match, but that ending was memorable in all the wrong ways.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Don Callis gives the Good Brothers a pep talk.

Slammiversary ad, featuring teases of debuts.

Good Brothers vs. Sami Callihan/Moose

Callihan jumps Anderson to start and snapmares him down in a hurry. Some clawing at the head has Anderson screaming and Moose comes in for a slam. The Brothers take a breather on the floor and we take a break. Back with Callihan working on Anderson’s arm but Moose tags himself in. Callihan does that right back so it’s off to Gallows for the weird punching in the corner. After a trip to the floor, Callihan tells Gallows to punch him more so Gallows takes him down for a chinlock.

Back up and Callihan jawbreaks his way to freedom and it’s a double tag so Moose can beat up Anderson. The spear is loaded up but Callihan tags himself in. Callihan loads up the Cactus Special, only to have Moose kick him in the face. Anderson rolls him up for two so Callihan kicks Moose off the apron. Anderson uses the distraction to hit a spinebuster into the Magic Killer for the pin at 9:01.

Rating: C-. This was a storyline match with the Good Brothers happening to be there too. Moose vs. Callihan would be a good warmup match for Moose before his title shot, assuming they don’t turn it into a three way. The match was fine enough and advanced the biggest story on the show, but it wasn’t exactly must see.

Moose spears Callihan to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Not their best show, but they did some stuff to set up Against All Odds. There wasn’t much to see here in the way of wrestling though and it wasn’t the most thrilling two hours. Violent By Design’s segment didn’t exactly go very far, though at least they did some stuff with the main event. All in all, a skippable week this time.

Results

TJP/Fallah Bahh b. Petey Williams/Josh Alexander – Mamba Splash to Alexander

Rosemary/Jordynne Grace/Rachael Ellering/Havok/Tenille Dashwood b. Fire N Flava/Kimber Lee/Deonna Purrazzo/Susan – As Above So Below to Purrazzo

Decay b. Johnny Swinger/Hernandez – Top rope DDT to Swinger

Good Brothers b. Sami Callihan/Moose – Magic Killer to Callihan

 

 

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Wrestle Kingdom XV Night One
Date: January 4, 2021
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Attendance: 12,689
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, Rocky Romero

It’s time for the biggest non-American show of the year and like last year it’s going to take place over the course of two nights. The main event is for the still unified IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Titles, which have been together for a year now for some reason. This show almost always delivers and hopefully it does so again. Let’s get to it.

Note that I have barely followed any New Japan over the last year so I’m coming in virtually blind.

Pre-Show: New Japan Rambo

This is the 21 man Royal Rumble style match with pin/submission or over the top eliminations and a special twist this year: the final four advance to a four way for the Provisional King Of Pro Wrestling Trophy tomorrow night. Chase Owens is in at #1 (as he wanted) and Tomohiro Ishii is in at #2 with neither being able to hit an early finisher attempt. That means a standoff and with the one minute interval up, Minoru Suzuki is in at #3.

Owens needs a breather on the floor before coming back in to get beaten up by the monsters. Ishii and Suzuki forearm it out and it’s Yuji Nagata in at #4. Owens and Ishii pair off in the corner as Suzuki beats Nagata down at the same time. Toa Henare (a young monster) is in at #5 to miss a bunch of shots to Ishii. Henare manages to muscle Ishii up with a suplex and it’s Hirooki Goto in at #6.

Ishii sends Nagata and Suzuki to the apron and Henare gets rid of both of them (that’s a surprise). Goto elbows Owens down for two and it’s Yujiro Takahashi in at #7. Ishii dumps Henare as they’re keeping the eliminations moving (I wonder if that’s a Coronavirus thing). Yoshi-Hashi is in at #8 to help clean house with Goto (his partner) until Togi Makabe is in at #9. Makabe gets rid of Goto and Yoshi-Hashi in a hurry, meaning we’re down to Makabe, Owens, Ishii and Takahashi at the moment. Eliminations are teased Tomoaki Honma is in at #10.

Forearms and chops abound until Hiroyoshi Tenzan is in at #11. Honma and Tenzan get rid of Makabe (Honma’s regular partner) and Rocky Romero (who is supposed to be on commentary) is in at #12. Owens saves himself from elimination and it’s Douki in at #13. The pace picks up a bit with Romero hitting the forever clotheslines but Douki hits him with a pipe…..for a DQ elimination. Fair enough and makes sense here.

Sho is in at #14 and seems to be a female favorite, though he can’t get rid of Owens. Bushi is in at #15 as the ring is getting a little full. Takahashi is out to clear things up a bit and Bushi is sent through the ropes, meaning no elimination. Tiger Mask is in at #16 and gets kneed in the ribs by Romero. Bad Luck Fale is in at #17 and, with the help of Bullet Club stablemate Owens, gets rid of Ishii. Honma is out as well as Gabriel Kidd is in at #18.

There goes Tenzan as well but Owens saves Fale from the same thing. Yuya Uemura is in at #19 as Fale gets rid of Romero and Sho. Tiger Mask is out as well, leaving us with Fale, Owens, Kidd and Uemura at the moment. Yota Tsu is in at #20 as Bushi, still in apparently, pulls Owens underneath the bottom rope to beat him up on the floor.

Fale is having none of this getting dumped out by three people and it’s Toru Yano (the KOPW Champion) to complete the field at #21. That leaves us with Owens, Fale, Kidd, Uemura, Tsu, Bushi and Yano, the latter of whom takes so long to get in that it’s just Bushi, Fale and Owens waiting on him….meaning they’re the final four at 34:40. Yano never even got in the ring.

Rating: C. This wasn’t as crazy entertaining as some of the matches, but Yano’s gag at the end was funny. As usual, this was nothing more than a way to get people out there for the sake of getting them in there and it worked out just fine. It’s a nice way to get a feeling for the show and not do anything serious at the same time. Fun match, and that’s all it was supposed to be.

A ring announcer with a Don King wig introduces Riki Choshu, with his grandson, to get things going. They hype up the show and shout a lot.

We get the opening video, showing the card in order (still not sure if I like that or not but it works here).

A quick Brodie Lee intro serves as a nice dedication.

Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo

This is the Best of the Super Juniors winner vs. the Best of the Super J Cup winner (twice in a row for Phantasmo) with the winner getting an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title match tomorrow night. Phantasmo is not the nicest person in the world and throw down the jacket he received for winning the tournament. He even mocks Takahashi for trying to pick it up. What a jerk.

Phantasmo bails to the floor at the bell and throws Takahashi’s trophy down. The jacket is picked up but Takahashi dropkicks him down and hits a top rope backsplash to a standing Phantasmo. It’s way too early for the Time Bomb though and Phantasmo bails to the floor. Instead Phantasmo hits a running sunset bomb to plant Takahashi on the floor as they’re starting fast here. Takahashi is down so Phantasmo walks the ropes for a moonsault to drop him again.

Phantasmo comes up favoring his ankle (apparently a recurring injury) but he’s fine enough to mock the Rise of the Terminator. That’s enough of a delay for Takahashi to come back in with a dropkick to the back of the head but Phantasmo goes after Takahashi’s foot. There’s a rake to the back and Phantasmo lays him on the top rope for a top rope backsplash (that’s a new one). A very multiple springboard rope walk….something is broken up with a crotching to put Phantasmo down on top.

Phantasmo is back up but can’t hit the Styles Clash, allowing Takahashi to hit some kind of a powerslam for two. A superkick into a suplex faceplant gets two more on Phantasmo. Back up and Time Bomb 2 (starts in a reverse suplex whatever it is) is countered into a kneeling belly to back piledriver for two on Takahashi. Phantasmo’s top rope superplex is broken up but the referee gets bumped, allowing Phantasmo to hit a super hurricanrana.

The top rope splash gives Phantasmo two more, followed by the Styles Clash for the same. Phantasmo tries the One Winged Angel but gets reversed into a Death Valley Driver into the corner. Back up and Phantasmo tries what looks like a powerbomb (CR2) but gets reversed into a hurricanrana for the pin at 17:49.

Rating: B+. That’s the kind of way to open up a big time show like this as they had the time and got to build things up rather well. Takahashi is a consistent star and Phantasmo looks like one of the most dislikeable names in all of the promotion. The counters and big moves here, tied in with Phantasmo going through the history of the Bullet Club finishers, made for a good match and it pulled me into the show as it was supposed to do.

IWGP Tag Team Titles: Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Dangerous Tekkers

The Tekkers (Zack Sabre Jr./Taichi) are defending against the World Tag League winners (Tama Tonga/Tonga Loa, who I will get confused at least 17 times today. Jado is with them too for a bonus.). Tama is taken into the corner for a running elbow and it’s time to choke away a lot. Sabre’s cross armbreaker doesn’t last long so it’s a running boot in the corner to set up more choking from Taichi.

A Jado distraction lets the Guerrillas take over though and Tama unloads on Taichi with right hands. Loa gets two off a belly to back suplex and we hit the chinlock. Taichi fights up and hits a boot in the corner, allowing the tag back to Sabre. That means some running elbows in the corner, setting up the European Clutch for two on Tama. The Octopus goes on to send Tama to the rope but Loa is back in with a double clothesline to the champs. A jumping neckbreaker gets two on Sabre, whose sleeper is broken up in a hurry.

Tama powerbombs Sabre for two and Guerrilla Warfare (a reverse Magic Killer) drops Taichi. Sabre counters the superbomb into a guillotine choke on Tama while Taichi chokes Loa as well. Taichi lets go and then powerbombs Sabre to superplex Tama for a close two (that was cool, though maybe not the most brilliant move). A kick to the head gets two more on Tama but he’s right back up for a failed Magic Killer attempt.

An exchange of shots to the head puts everyone down and we get a breather. Taichi and Loa slug it out until Sabre is back up to kick Loa in the face. Tama is back up with the Gun Stun to Sabre but Taichi plants him for two more. Taichi removes his pants (Garza wannabe) but Jado gets in to slip Tama a glove. That means Taichi is knocked out and an over the shoulder sitout piledriver gives Loa the pin and the titles at 19:22.

Rating: B-. I wasn’t feeling this one as much and the interference didn’t help. The Guerrillas are still one of the best teams in the world but it was kind of a messy match. You have Sabre as the most heelish guy in the world and the Guerrillas cheating to win, so who was I supposed to boo here? It was a good match with both teams working hard, but not exactly must see stuff.

We get a video about death riding on a pale horse….and it’s IWGP United States Champion Jon Moxley, saying that he’s coming for whoever wins the next match because he’s the Boogeyman of New Japan.

Kenta vs. Satoshi Kojima

Kenta’s IWGP United States Title shot is on the line and Kojima, with Hiroyoshi Tenzan, is replacing an injured Juice Robinson. Kenta hits the stall button to start by hiding in the ropes and then going to the floor. Back in and Kojima grabs the headlock to grind him down before knocking Kenta outside again. This time Kenta goes after Tenzan so Kojima follows, only to get caught in a DDT on the floor.

They head inside again with Kenta’s regular DDT getting two and a kick to the back rocking Kojima. We hit the figure four necklock so Kojima goes with the simple escape by putting a foot on the rope. The cocky kicks just annoy Kojima but a big kick to the chest puts him down. Back up and some chops have Kenta in trouble, including the machine gun chops in the corner. A superplex brings Kojima down though and the top rope clothesline gets two.

They fight to the apron with Kojima hitting a DDT but Kenta is back with his own DDT for the double knockdown. It’s Kenta up first with a top rope double stomp for two but Kojima blocks the GTS. Kojima’s lariat is countered into a powerslam so Kenta goes outside for the briefcase (#1 contendership). That’s knocked away with the lariat and another lariat gives Kojima two. Kenta hits his running knee but Kojima slugs away with forearms of his own. That just earns Kojima another running knee for two and it’s the Go To Sleep to retain the title at 14:09.

Rating: B-. Like the previous match, they hit each other rather hard for a good while but there was no drama to this one. I didn’t but Kojima as a threat to win the title shot as it seems that Kenta vs. Moxley is already locked into stone. It wasn’t bad by any means, but it was just a match that came and went with Kenta surviving Kojima without much effort.

We get a video of IWGP World Champion Tetsuya Naito talking to a man in a suit in a restaurant. Naito says something about Los Ingobernables and the man seems to be trying to calm him down. Apparently this is an ad for a video game. Cool enough.

We pause for a bit for some cleaning of the ringside for Coronavirus’ sake. That means an intermission, with commentary previewing the rest of the show.

We get some ads as well, meaning it’s a nice breather in a long show.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Great-O-Khan

Khan is formerly known as Tomoyuki Oka, who recently returned from excursion to Rev Pro in the United Kingdom. Now he’s part of the Empire with Bea Priestley and Will Ospreay and attacked Tanahashi to set this up. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get anywhere until Tanahashi takes him to the mat. A headlock has Khan in trouble but he’s back up with a chop to the chest.

Tanahashi tries to skin the cat but gets his hands chopped down to put him on the floor. A slam drops Tanahashi on the ramp and he has to dive back in to beat the count. Back in and Khan grabs a kneebar but Tanahashi is able to grab a dragon screw legwhip. Some forearms have Khan down and a middle rope Swanton gets two. Khan is fine enough to reverse a Sling Blade attempt into a belly to back faceplant and it’s time to slug it out. A Downward Spiral gives Khan two and he bends Tanahashi’s knee around his neck.

That’s broken up with a rope break so Khan sends him over the top, but this time skinning the cat works. Twist and Shout into the Sling Blade gets two on Khan and Tanahashi blocks his claw slam (the Eliminator). A belly to back flipping suplex gets two on Tanahashi and a reverse suplex puts him down again. Khan brings in a chair but Tanahashi hits another Twist and Shout. The chair is thrown away and a dragon suplex gets two. Back to back High Fly Flow’s finish Khan at 17:26.

Rating: C-. What was that??? Khan feels like he stepped into a time machine on his way to being a Hogan knockoff Monster of the Month in 1986 and wound up in an entirely wrong time. Tanahashi was doing his thing as well as he could but Khan was in the old pound away and squeeze on the hero mold and that was boring almost thirty years ago. Khan felt so completely out of place here and I get the bad reports I’ve seen of him. Maybe he can do something outside of this gimmick, but this was REALLY bad for a Wrestle Kingdom match.

We recap Will Ospreay vs. Kazuchika Okada. Ospreay is the leader of the Empire and attacked Okada to get attention on the team. Now it’s time for revenge. Ospreay saying he is going to stop the rain so the sun can shine on the Empire is a great line.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay’s British Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line. Bea Priestley is here with Ospreay, who gets the big entrance video, featuring him breaking televisions with a bat. They stare at each other for a good while to start before locking up to a standoff. The rapid exchange of forearms is on until Okada scores with a running elbow to the face. Ospreay gets knocked to the floor to start the chop off, with Okada getting the better of things. The big running flip dive takes Ospreay down again but it feels like they have a lot of time here.

Priestley offers a distraction though and Ospreay gets in a cheap shot from behind. The floor mats are pulled back but Ospreay can’t hit a piledriver. He can hit a neckbreaker onto the pads but the referee won’t count it because of the illegalness. That’s a new/cool one. A backbreaker connects and we hit a chinlock with a knee in Okada’s back but he isn’t sitting in that for very long. One heck of a backdrop sets up the White Noise onto the knee for two but it’s too early for the Money Clip (cobra clutch) as Ospreay drives him into the corner.

A German suplex gives Ospreay two but Stormbreaker is broken up as well. Heavy Rain puts Ospreay down again and we get a bit of a breather. Ospreay gets a boot up in the corner but gets dropkicked out to the floor for a big crash. A big whip into the barricade doesn’t do much to Ospreay, who is back with a boot to the face. The Oscutter on the floor is broken up though and they’re both down on the outside. Back in and Okada hits a missile dropkick but Ospreay grabs a reverse Bloody Sunday for two more.

Ospreay superkicks him in the back of the head so Okada hits a dropkick to the back of the head. Okada’s dropkick is countered into a sitout powerbomb (nice) for another near fall and they have to pull themselves up. Another collision puts them on the floor again but this time Ospreay suplexes him onto (not through) the announcers’ table. Ospreay doesn’t want the countout though and throws Okada back in for two off a powerbomb.

Stormbreaker and the Oscutter on the apron are blocked so Okada hits a Tombstone on the apron instead. They both beat the count so Okada hits a Rainmaker into the dropkick into the Money Clip. With that broken up, Okada hits the Tombstone but has to send Ospreay into Priestley onto the apron. The Money Clip goes on again but a foot on the rope is good enough for the break. Ospreay catches him on top with a running big boot and there’s the super Spanish Fly for two (applause).

The Oscutter drops Okada for a slightly delayed two so it’s time to stomp Okada in the head. Ospreay even shoves the referee down but this is too big of a match for a DQ. A discus elbow is countered with a dropkick and the Money Clip goes on again. That’s broken up so Ospreay hits his own Tombstone into the Rainmaker for two. Okada is ticked so it’s a sitout Tombstone into the Rainmaker for the pin at 35:29.

Rating: A. These are two of the best in-ring performers in the world and they got over half an hour on one of the biggest shows of the year. Like this could be anything else. There was a story here of Ospreay trying to step up and mess with the biggest dog but he took it one step too far by stealing the Rainmaker and Okada had to teach him a lesson. Okada really is one of the smoothest wrestlers I’ve ever seen and as great as high flying Ospreay is, the heel version has a different edge to him and it’s awesome. This was great and worth seeing for the last few minutes alone.

We recap the main event. Tetsuya Naito became a double (IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental) Champion last year at Wrestle Kingdom, then lost the belts and won them back. Kota Ibushi won the G1 but lost the rights to challenge for the title to Jay White. However, White wanted to challenge on Night Two so Ibushi gets to challenge here instead. I’m sure there’s more to it than that but the language barrier strikes again.

IWGP Heavyweight Title/IWGP Intercontinental Title: Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito

Naito is defending both titles and absolutely he has the white suit. Feeling out process to start and they go to the mat, as you might have expected. Naito goes for a choke but gets reversed into a hammerlock. That doesn’t go anywhere either and the grappling continues until it’s a standoff, with Naito landing in the tranquillo pose. Back up and they run the ropes with Kota snapping off a hurricanrana to the floor.

Kota joins him and gets German suplexed onto the ramp to put them both down for a bit. Naito stomps away back inside and it’s off to a headscissors on the mat. A cravate stays on the neck but the tornado DDT is broken up, allowing Kota to snap off a dropkick. Kota hits a running kick to the face into a standing moonsault for two and they need a quick breather. It’s Naito up first with an elbow to the face and a running dropkick, only to have Kota send him to the floor.

Naito grabs a swinging neckbreaker outside though and they’re both down again. Back in and something like a full nelson with the legs stays on Kota’s neck until he gets a foot on the rope. Naito tries to slide between his legs and gets double stomped in the ribs to put them both down again at the fifteen minute time call. The middle rope moonsault missed for Kota and he gets pulled into a reverse Koji Clutch (the consistent neck work has been really good so far, if nothing else because Naito isn’t doing the same thing over and over).

The rope gets Kota out of trouble again so Naito elbows him in the neck to put him back down. They go to the apron again with Naito backdropping his way out of a powerbomb attempt. That’s fine with Kota, who snaps off a good looking hurricanrana to the floor. Naito has to dive back in to beat the count (with commentary begging him to make it because they want to see more rather than insulting each other and making it about themselves) and catches Kota on top for a super poisonrana.

Destino is broken up though and Kota kicks him in the head. Another Destino attempt is countered into a kneeling Tombstone but Kota can’t cover. They’re both down so the fans applaud, even as the two of them slug it out from their knees to their feet, with Kota nailing a running elbow. The big knee to the face gets two on Naito and Kota can’t believe it was a near fall.

The Phoenix splash misses and Destino (not a great one) connects for two on Kota, sending Kelly into a rather awesome call about what this all means. Kota hits another kick to the head into another knee to the face for a very near fall, meaning it’s time to take the kneepad down. Naito isn’t having that and hits an enziguri, looking to set up Destino. That’s countered as well and it’s a jumping knee into the face, setting up another knee to the face to finish Naito for the pin and both titles at 31:22.

Rating: A. Yeah this was great too with Naito working on the neck throughout but surviving because he wouldn’t give up no matter what. This one was more built around who was going to be the last man standing and it worked perfectly, with Kota looking like he survived rather than won. Naito didn’t quite have the heart to hold onto the titles and Kota looks like the better man. It says a lot when the match ran over half an hour at the end of a 5+ hour show and I wanted it to go longer, so well done.

Post match Kota doesn’t even realize he won until the referee spells it out for him. Naito gets up and hands him the titles in the respect moment. With Naito gone, here’s Jay White to say that Kota isn’t the real champion, because tomorrow White is winning both titles to fulfill his own destino. White leaves and Kota says that that he’ll prove everything tomorrow. You know what he’s going to say here and he thanks the fans to wrap things up.

Commentary talks about how we need some good things going on and in the end, good will triumph over evil. They spend about ten minutes wrapping up the evening.

Overall Rating: A-. The show does run a little long and the Khan/Tanahashi match brings things down a lot, but that’s as good of a one two punch of a main event as I’ve seen in a long time. NJPW still has some quite probably the best wrestling going today and while the two nights thing is a lot, it’s not a lot every few weeks so it’s acceptable. Great show overall here, and the second night has a lot to top.

 

 

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Ring of Honor
Date: June 5, 2019
Location: The Odeum, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

Things have been going fairly well for the company as of late and that’s rather nice for a change. The problem is I’m not sure how long that can last, as there are a lot of problems that need to be fixed around here. Hopefully things stay as good as they have been in recent weeks, though this company doesn’t have the best track record. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s Allure to talk about how they’ve brought credibility to the Women of Honor. They started a revolution a long time ago and it’s time to believe in then. We hear their resumes and they know how to make an impact. That’s why they debuted at the biggest show of the year in Madison Square Garden. And for all the Twitter trolls hiding in their mom’s basement, Mandy Leon is the foundation of the Women of Honor division.

Cue Jenny Rose and Kelly Klein for the brawl with Velvet Sky bailing to the floor. A hairspray blast blinds Jenny and the Allure gets out. Klein wants to know what the three of them have done lately and the challenge is laid out for anytime and anywhere. This still feels so out of place around here.

Bouncers vs. Kingdom vs. Coast to Coast vs. Young Lions

One fall to a finish. LSG shoves Milonas in the face for some reason and is shoved down with ease. Marseglia comes in instead but the chops don’t do much on the big man. The huge crossbody drops Marseglia so it’s off to Bruiser for some snap jabs. Marseglia gets smart and kicks at the knee before going after Bruiser’s teeth….which don’t exist.

Alex Coughlin takes himself in and gets Clark Conners to help with a double hiptoss on O’Ryan. The Lions start cleaning house and it’s a Cannonball from Bruiser to take out Coast to Coast. Back from a break with Conners taking a double flapjack from the Kingdom and a legdrop/backsplash combination getting two. We settle back down to Ali hitting a slingshot hilo for two on Conners, followed by a double slam for two more.

Conners finally slips out of a suplex attempt and the hot tag brings in Coughlin to clean house. A missed charge in the corner allows Bruiser to tag himself in though and everything breaks down again. Marseglia comes back in to start kicking people in the face but gets sent into a sitout Boss Man Slam.

Coast to Coast hits a Stroke/Downward Spiral combination on Bruiser but the Lions and Kingdom are back in. House of 1000 Horses drops Conners though and Ali gets two, with Bruiser shoving LSG onto the cover for the break. Coughlin tries to clean house but gets crushed in the corner, setting up Closing Time to give Milonas the pin at 10:23.

Rating: C. The Bouncers continue to grow on me as they’re fitting in well for the fun team spot, which isn’t the worst place in the world to be. The Young Lions losing doesn’t hurt them so this was hardly a devastating loss. If nothing else it’s nice to not see the Kingdom win again so this was a nice surprise.

Mark Haskins and Tracy Williams are ready for Bully Ray, even though Lifeblood’s numbers are down. PJ Black comes in to offer his services but they walk away.

We look at Colt Cabana winning the NWA National Title and being challenged by James Storm after the match. The title match is next week in Chicago.

We look back at last week’s show with Silas Young’s exhibition and Kenny King defeating Jay Lethal using Lethal’s own Lethal Injection.

We get a video on Jeff Cobb, who is challenging for the World Title at Best In The World. He was born in Baltimore but moved to Guam, where he managed to make the US Olympic team. He didn’t fare well and now he wants to be the best in the world in Ring of Honor.

Josh Woods vs. Maverick Boone

Woods powerbombs him down and hits the Seismic Toss for the pin at 54 seconds.

Yuji Nagata/Satoshi Kojima vs. Evil/Sanada

The crowd wastes no time in the ALL THESE GUYS chants as Nagata forearms Sanada to start. They go to the mat and it’s an early standoff. They shake hands and Sanada kicks him in the ribs, which you don’t do to an old wrestler. Nagata kicks at the leg and brings in Kojima for some kicks of his own. We pause for some chest bouncing between Sanada and Kojima until Evil trips Kojima to take over.

Sanada ties Kojima up in the Paradise Lock for the running dropkick. Back from a quick break with Kojima kicking and DDTing his way out of trouble. That’s enough for the diving tag off to Nagata so house the hard kicks can continue. The exploder suplex gives Nagata two and it’s time to forearm it out. Nagata’s big kick is countered but he blocks another Paradise Lock attempt. Instead it’s the Nagata Lock but Evil finally comes in for the break. The freed Sanada hits a springboard dropkick to Nagata and hands it off to Evil, who gets dropkicked in the knee.

That’s enough for the tag to Kojima for the rapid fire chops to both of them in the corner. A top rope elbow gets two on Evil but the discus lariat is countered with a rake to the eyes. Evil gets two off a clothesline but Nagata breaks up the Magic Killer. The Koji Cutter gets two on Evil, followed by the brainbuster for the same. Evil and Kojima trade standing switches until Sanada comes back in for a dropkick, setting up the Magic Killer for the pin at 12:16.

Rating: C+. I’ve never been a fan of Nagata’s but this was a fun match with the old guys looking good and Evil/Sanada getting a bit of a statement win over the legends. It was a smart move for a TV main event as these fans are going to cheer this kind of stuff every single time. Sometimes it’s ok to not have a storyline main event and that’s what they did here.

Here’s Dalton Castle to talk about what has been going on with him. He has come to terms with the fact that he lost at Supercard of Honor. It was a spectacular loss though because Rush beat him in sixteen seconds. It’s ok though because Rush is a dirty, filthy cheater. That’s why Castle wants a match with Rush…..’s brother Dragon Lee. Rush is going to pay with his family’s health as Castle breaks every bone in Lee’s body.

Cue the Boys, now in regular gear, to beat Castle down and knock him to the floor. Castle fights back though and sends them into the barricade and various other hard objects. Boy #1 is put on a table and Castle powerbombs #2 onto him but not through the table. Castle yells a lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The streak of good shows stumbled here but it’s not quite done yet. This was a show where they threw in some of the less important stuff and I have a feeling that’s going to be the case next week as well. There was nothing bad here though and that’s certainly better than some of the things that happen around here on some occasions. The Castle segment worked well and hopefully they can keep building up the midcard like this.

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