Impact Wrestling
Date: July 15, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Lo Brown 

It’s the go home show for Slammiversary and that should make for a different kind of night. The card is set, but there are still a few things that could use a bit more of a boost. Impact has a tendency to do well around this time of year and we might be in for some more teasing of some new arrivals. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

We get a video from Sami Callihan, who wants his Slammiversary World Title match against Kenny Omega to be a No DQ match.

Tenille Dashwood/Kaleb With A K vs. Rachael Ellering/Jordynne Grace

Grace cranks on Kaleb With A K’s hand to start and plants him with a release side slam. There isn’t much of a challenge here so Grace throws him into the corner for a tag to Dashwood. Ellering comes in with a World’s Strongest Slam and everything breaks down in a hurry. Stereo spinebusters plant Dashwood and Kaleb With A K as Josh gives us some “great” news: Matt Striker is back at Slammiversary. Dang it I was just starting to tolerate commentary again.

Ellering gets her face slammed into the mat (sounds like how I felt when I heard about Striker) but she tosses Dashwood outside. A sunset flip pulls Kaleb With A K’s pants down, meaning it’s time for some gyrations. Dashwood pulls Grace off the apron to prevent a tag, leaving Kaleb With A K to drop a knee. A missed charge allows the hot tag off to Grace though and it is time to clean house in a hurry. The Liger Bomb gets two on Kaleb With A K with Dashwood having to make the save.

Grace hits a quick Vader Bomb and Ellering adds a springboard spinning legdrop for two more. Kaleb With A K is back with a superkick to Grace but gets taken down by the Sling Blade. Dashwood Spotlight Kicks Ellering but walks into a spinebuster from Grace. The villains head to the floor so Grace runs through Dashwood with the suicide dive. Back in and Grace charges into a powerslam (with her head hitting the mat) for two but Ellering comes in for an assisted swinging Rock Bottom to give Grace the pin at 7:58.

Rating: C. I liked this one more than I expected as Grace and Ellering match up with Kaleb With A K size wise. It might not have been a classic or anything but Grace and Ellering seem to be on the same page (for now). They could be back in a title feud soon, as it isn’t like there is anyone else who could chase them at the moment.

Video on Kenny Omega vs. Sami Callihan, who DOES NOT care how many stars Dave Meltzer gives Omega’s matches. We do get a quick look at Callihan’s history with Don Callis, which has not been touched on very much during this feud but does tie in.

Video on Deonna Purrazzo’s Knockouts Title reign. She has beaten everyone, but this time she is fighting the unknown.

Purrazzo is not happy with not knowing who she is facing and doesn’t want to sign the contract. She goes on a rant about how annoyed she is and then signs the contract anyway, with Scott D’Amore saying it can be a hot mess and hardcore country around here. Purrazzo: “You’re not telling me who my opponent is?” D’Amore: “No way Jose.”

Here’s what is coming tonight plus at Slammiversary. Callihan vs. Omega is officially No DQ.

Tasha Steelz vs. Havok

Kiera Hogan and Rosemary are here too. Havok shoves her around to start without too much trouble and we take an early break. Back with Steelz hitting a middle rope neckbreaker to take over. The stomping is on in the corner as Rosemary is looking concerned. A superkick in the corner lets Steelz dance a bit but she is stunned by the kickout. Well then don’t dance so much. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Havok powers up and shakes her off in a hurry. Havok hits the running knee in the corner but Steelz strikes away to stagger her. A belly to belly gives Havok two but Steelz hits a pump kick. Not that it matters though as the Tombstone finishes for Havok at 9:49.

Rating: C-. Steelz is the less impressive half of the team but she did well enough here. This was your standard preview of the tag match and while it is effective, it isn’t the most inspired idea. The titles probably need to change hands at the pay per view as Fire N Flava have held them for a good while, but that has been the case for a pretty long time now.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Chris Sabin wins the X-Division Title at Slammiversary 2013.

Video on W. Morrissey.

Susan comes out of a dressing room and tells Kimber Lee that James Mitchell had trouble summoning Su Yung. Lee: “You know?” Susan: “I’VE KNOWN ALL ALONG!” Susan drags her into the room and I’m scared of where this is going.

Steve Maclin vs. Kal Herro

Maclin takes sends Herro into the ropes to start and drops him with an elbow to the face. Herro gets tied in the Tree of Woe for some trash talk (a rarity from Maclin) and a spear for a bonus. Maclin promises to make him quit, just like everyone did on him but Herro jawbreaks his way to freedom. That’s a bad idea as Maclin hits a hard clothesline into some elbows to the face. The reverse sitout implant DDT finishes Herro at 2:28. Maclin is starting to grow on me.

Post match Maclin says the worst thing you can do is give him time, because it lets him prepare and wait. He is done waiting.

Decay is happy with Havok but Rosemary wants to know if Havok is in or out. James Mitchell shows up and Havok says she is ready. Everyone leaves together.

Video on Ultimate X.

Ace Austin/Madman Fulton/Rohit Raju/Shera vs. Petey Williams/Trey Miguel/Josh Alexander/Chris Bey

Williams and Raju run the ropes to start until Raju hits a knee to the ribs. A crucifix gives Williams two and it’s off to Alexander vs. Austin. An early ankle lock attempt doesn’t work so Alexander pulls him to the corner by the arm for the tag to Miguel. Austin misses a springboard kick to the face but rolls straight over for the tag off to Fulton. Snake Eyes into a big boot lets Fulton do his best Undertaker impression as commentary talks about Busted Open Radio.

Austin comes back in for two off a northern lights suplex but Trey manages to flip out of a German suplex. An enziguri rocks Fulton and the hot tag brings in Bey to clean house. Everything breaks down and Alexander snaps off a German suplex. Raju blocks one of his own and neckbreakers Alexander, only to get caught in Williams’ Canadian Destroyer. The parade of secondary finishers is on until Bey rolls Fulton up for the pin at 6:24.

Rating: C+. This was a fun one and they didn’t bother going ridiculous with things. If nothing else, having one of the people not involved in the title match take the fall made sense. On top of that, it was nice to not hear about gaining momentum for a match that has nothing to do with pinfalls, because that still doesn’t make sense.

Post match, Bey cleans house with a chair and then turns on his partners. Makes sense given what he’s been saying lately.

Brian Myers offers to pay Hernandez for his services but Hernandez wants full time pay. With that not working, Myers talks to someone we don’t see.

Here are Brian Myers and Sam Beale, with the former having to admit that Jake Something is professional. Cue Something, with Matt Cardona. Myers admits that Jake is a professional, but he is never going to become a star. The brawl is on with Cardona getting the better of things but Tenille Dashwood (Cardona’s ex), the mystery person from earlier, is here to hit Cardona low.

Post break, Cardona rants about Brian Myers but Scott D’Amore comes in to suggest a mixed tag. Cardona thinks he can find a partner.

Video on Moose vs. Chris Sabin.

Moose vs. Hernandez

Fallout from Moose wrecking Swinger’s Palace. They brawl out to the floor with Moose being sent into the barricade. Back in and a release Rock Bottom plants Hernandez and Lights Out is good for the pin at 1:08.

Post match Moose grabs a chair but Chris Sabin runs in for the save and takes out Moose’s legs.

We get a video on Sami Callihan’s insanity, with Don Callis and Kenny Omega adding their thoughts on how horrible Callihan is.

Slammiversary rundown.

Doc Gallows vs. Joe Doering vs. Fallah Bahh vs. Willie Mack

There are a bunch of people at ringside. Gallows and Doering stare each other down to start but Mack and Bahh break that up to start the fight. With the tall guys cleared out, Mack and Bahh chop it out but neither can hit anything else. That means a stalemate until the other two come back in to pair off. They all fight out to the floor until Mack takes Gallows back inside for an exchange of choking in the corner. Bahh hits the running hip attack but Doering comes back in to kick him to the floor.

Gallows and Mack take their places inside with Gallows booting him in the face. The chinlock goes on but Gallows misses an elbow, allowing Doering to come back in. That doesn’t last long either though as everyone goes outside for another slugout. Gallows hurts himself headbutting Bahh but is fine enough to go back in for a slugout with Doering. That winds up on the floor as well, with Gallows hitting the post by mistake. Back in and Doering crossbodies Bahh, setting up a short arm clothesline for the pin at 8:41.

Rating: C. Take four guys and have them beat on each other for about eight and a half minutes until one of them gets the pin. This is a formula that is going to work every time and it worked fine here. You don’t need to do anything more than that, though it is a little odd to have the champion actually win one of these on the way to the pay per view.

One last Omega vs. Callihan video wraps us up.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was about setting up the pay per view and it did that well enough. It was kind of nice to focus on just about everything other than the World Title match, which was already been built up but did get some attention with a few videos. Impact knows how to do pay per views fairly well and making me want to see it is a good start, so well done here.

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Impact Wrestling
Date: July 8, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Lo Brown

We’re almost up to Slammiversary and that means it is time for the final push towards the show. The Elite got to stand tall at the end of last week’s show but they are going to have to get what is coming to them sooner rather than later. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them lose a bit of ground here, but you never can tell with them. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Kenny Omega and Don Callis are here for the contract signing between Omega and Sami Callihan, who doesn’t have them worried.

Opening sequence.

Brian Myers vs. Jake Something

The loser has to admit the other is a professional and Sam Beale is here with Myers. Something slugs away to start and they’re on the floor in a hurry with Myers being sent face first into the steps. They head back inside where Myers is clotheslined straight back to the floor in a hurry.

This time Myers gets in a shot of his own, setting up a suplex onto the ramp. Josh: “Jake Something experiencing what it is like to get suplexed onto the ramp. You fans can experience what it is like to see Impact Wrestling live!” Points for a good transition. Beale gets in a cheap shot from the floor but Something is back with a powerbomb. Myers grabs a DDT for two and goes up top for the elbow and a rather near fall. The Roster Cut is countered into the swinging Black Hole Slam to give Something the fast win at 5:19.

Rating: C. Ignoring the stupid Something name, this could have been worse and the ending was clean. It had a personal story behind it and that is about all you can ask for in something like this. They only had about five minutes so they did what they could, which is a little bit more than I was expecting.

Post match Something tells Myers to say it but Myers stalls until Beale can get in a cheap shot. Matt Cardona comes in for the save, likely setting up the tag match.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Deonna Purrazzo is ready to keep the Knockouts Title without Kimber Lee and Susan. She is so confident that it’s open challenge time. I still need a moratorium on those things already.

Sami Callihan is ready for the contract signing when he is arrested for assaulting Don Callis. Sami: “I DID NOTHING THIS TIME!!!”

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo vs. ???

Purrazzo is defending against….the debuting Lady Frost (Dave Penzer: “From somewhere cold!”). Purrazzo doesn’t seem overly intimidated and takes Frost into the corner to stomp away. A roundhouse kick takes Purrazzo down but Frost misses a moonsault, injuring her ankle in the process. With Frost down, the Fujiwara armbar makes her tap at 2:35.

Post match Purrazzo calls Frost another brick in the age of the Virtuosa. She is the greatest Knockouts Champion of all time but here is Gail Kim to interrupt. Kim is here to talk about Slammiversary but she is NOT challenging for the title. Instead, Kim and Scott D’Amore have found a challenger for the title at Slammiversary and Purrazzo isn’t finding out until the show. Be ready for the fight of your life.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Mickie James retains the Knockouts Title over Angelina Love at Slammiversary 2011.

Chris Sabin comes in to the empty Swinger’s Palace but Johnny Swinger isn’t there. Sabin asks one of the Swingerellas about her cat’s surgery but here’s Moose to jump both Sabin and Hernandez.

Chris Bey has made his decision about his side in the X-Division war, but he isn’t friends with anyone on his side.

W. Morrissey vs. Jason Page/Manny Smith/Deontay Evans

Before the match, Morrissey accepts Eddie Edwards’ challenge for Slammiversary and promises to demonstrate what is coming for him. Clotheslines and splashes set up a chokeslam and a powerbomb to put all three down at once. The release F5 lets Morrissey stack them up for the pin at 1:54. Well that was effective.

Video on the Knockouts division and how awesome the whole group is.

Don Callis is rather serious about the assault and isn’t taking this lightly. He even has footage of what happened and we see “Callihan” (mostly from behind and with his face covered) hitting him. Scott D’Amore says the contract signing is taking place tonight anyway.

Susan/Kimber Lee vs. Rosemary/Havok

Susan panics at having to start with Rosemary and it’s off to Havok for a double clothesline. Lee comes in and hammers away to no avail before being screamed down. Havok tosses Lee around with ease so Rosemary comes back in. This time Lee actually manages to do something of her own, with a series of kicks to the head. Susan and Lee start taking turns on Rosemary in the corner, which lasts all of ten seconds before she gets away for the tag off to Havok. Everything breaks down and Havok knocks Lee off the top to the floor. Rosemary spears Susan for the pin at 4:11.

Rating: D+. Remember when Susan was Su Yung, the indestructible monster of the division? Well now she’s losing in a mostly one sided tag match in about four minutes. At least they turned her into some kind of a joke with the pants suit, because that’s what you should do with someone as unique and talented as Yung. As usual, this company makes some really strange choices from time to time.

We go to the locker room for It’s All About Me, with Jazz (in a Shad Gaspard shirt) as this week’s guest. She gets to ask Tenille Dashwood a question, but Dashwood asks her about Rachael Ellering and Jordynne Grace’s instead. With that not working, Kaleb With A K asks what it means for Dashwood, who blames Jazz for everything falling apart. Dashwood thinks that sounds like Jazz’s career before backing away. Jazz gets shoved into the camera to wrap it up.

Post break, Grace and Ellering come in to check on Jazz. Revenge is sworn, with Ellering not being happy with Jazz being treated like this. Seems like a mixed tag is set for next week.

Here are Rich Swann and Willie Mack for a chat. Swann talks about how they like to fight straight up but Violent By Design jumped them last week. The challenge is sent out for the Tag Team Title shot but TJP and Fallah Bahh interrupt instead. The line starts behind them in the same promo you’ve heard a hundred times. Cue Violent By Design for the showdown but the Good Brothers come in as well, with both guys talking about how great they are in a southern preacher style. Cue Tommy Dreamer to announce a four way tag at Slammiversary. Great. Speaking of great, it’s time for a four way.

Deaner vs. Rich Swann vs. TJP vs. Karl Anderson

We start fast after with the partners on the floor and everyone else brawling inside. Swann and TJP are left alone in the ring and it’s time to start running the ropes in a hurry. TJP gets sent outside but Deaner is right there to jump Swann from behind. The chinlock goes on but here is TJP to kick Deaner down in the corner. Deaner reverses and hits a running dropkick to drive TJP’s neck into the corner for two. Back up and TJP sends Deaner and Anderson to the floor, only to be sent outside by Swann. That means a huge flip dive from Swann and we take a break.

Back with Swann running into Deaner’s knee to the ribs as Anderson gets back in. Deaner jumps him rather than agreeing to an alliance before Swann is back in. Everyone knocks each other down until TJP kicks Anderson into the corner for the boot wash. The Detonation Kick is blocked but so is the Gun Stun, leaving TJP to hit the Detonation Kick on Anderson. The Mamba Splash misses though and a Deaner DDT gets two on Swann. TJP is sent outside, leaving Anderson to Gun Stun Deaner for the pin at 13:21.

Rating: C+. The match was as energetic as you would have expected, despite one of the Good Brothers winning to make me roll my eyes. I’m not expecting them to get a title shot but there is always that chance. That alone should be a scary thought and I’m not sure what to expect at Slammiversary.

Post match the Good Brothers have their big staredown with Violent By Design, with everyone else getting involved.

Kimber Lee has a backup plan for Susan, revealing James Mitchell (yeah he’s great but HOW MANY TIMES ARE WE GOING TO DO THIS THING), who is going to help things out.

Slammiversary rundown.

Video on Kenny Omega vs. Sami Callihan.

Scott D’Amore is in the ring for the Omega vs. Callihan contract signing. Since there is no Callihan, here are Omega and Don Callis, with the latter bragging about Callihan not being around. D’Amore says they have nine days to get Callihan to sign so Omega signs. The lights go out though and we see footage of Callis being slapped by the fake Callihan and praising him for doing it well.

Cue the real Callihan with the baseball bat to Omega, who is back up nine seconds later for the brawl. Callihan plants him with the package piledriver and then signs the deal. Omega is put through the table to end the show. This was contract signing 101, but if Callihan can’t keep him down for ten seconds with a baseball bat, why bother with the match?

Overall Rating: C-. They did a few things that make me want to see Slammiversary more and that is what matters the most. The wrestling here wasn’t great but it also wasn’t the point of the show. What mattered here was making me want to see the pay per view and job well done enough. The show still isn’t great, but they have found their rhythm and seem to be sticking with it and that’s a good thing.

Results
Jake Something b. Brian Myers – Swinging Black Hole Slam
Deonna Purrazzo b. Lady Frost – Fujiwara armbar
W. Morrissey b. Jason Page/Manny Smith/Deontay Wilder – Triple pin
Rosemary/Havok b. Susan/Kimber Lee – Spear to Susan
Karl Anderson b. Rich Swann, Deaner and TJP – Gun Stun to Deaner

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Impact Wrestling
Date: June 24, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Lo brown

We are on the way to Slammiversary and the show is starting to take shape. This week is likely going to deal with the fallout of Tommy Dreamer (yep) being announced as the new Anthem representative, because not only do we need two bosses, but one needs to be Tommy Dreamer. Last week Dreamer fired Don Callis, right before Kenny Omega gets to defend against Sami Callihan. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at the end of last week’s show with Dreamer announcing Callis’ firing. There is something interesting about the network representative firing a former network representative.

Don Callis and Kenny Omega arrive but Callis is not on the talent list. Callis lists off his recent accomplishments and he insists that he is here with Omega.

Rosemary vs. Kiera Hogan

Tasha Steelz is here with Hogan. We hit the stall button to start with Hogan bailing to the floor in a what is likely a wise move. Commentary talks about the MICKIE trash bag from last week as Rosemary plants Hogan with a side suplex for two. Hogan charges into a knee in the corner and it’s the Upside Down to make it even worse. Steelz trips Rosemary down though and it’s time for Hogan to choke on the rope. A lot of trash is talked so here is Havok to chase Steelz off.

Hogan hits a running corner dropkick for two and it’s time to stomp away in the corner. Another running boot sets up more stomping as Hogan is more aggressive than usual here. Back up and Rosemary grabs her by the throat, setting up an SOS slam. A Sling Blade sets up Austin Aries’ Last Chancery, sending Hogan over to the rope. Rosemary hits a reverse DDT for two but Hogan is back up with something like a bulldog. Hogan kicks her in the head for two but Rosemary is right back with As Above So Below for the pin at 8:02.

Rating: C. They aren’t being subtle about what they’re setting up with for the Tag Team Title match and they aren’t trying to. Rosemary and Havok are fine enough as the next challengers, as it isn’t like they have any regular teams around here in the first place. Rosemary winning likely means Havok beating Steelz soon, which is a tired trope it’s better than nothing.

We look at last week’s brawl between the X-Division.

Chris Bey isn’t joining either side in the X-Division battle. Trey Miguel and Petey Williams come in to ask which side he wants to be on. I believe he just answered that people.

Tommy Dreamer talks about how he is here to run the company for the best. Scott D’Amore come in to thank Dreamer for what he said last week but Dreamer is sticking around as a consultant. D’Amore isn’t happy.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Susan vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Non-title and Kimber Lee is here with Susan. They talk trash to each other to start with Purrazzo shoving her in the face. The headlock doesn’t last long as it’s time for a standing switch. Purrazzo takes her down with ease and stops to yell at Lee. A Tequila Sunrise has Susan in more trouble and something like a curb stomp makes it worse.

Susan is knocked outside and Lee has to help her back in so Purrazzo can grab a cross arm choke. A Backstabber out of said choke gets two, with Purrazzo pulling her up. Susan starts the comeback and manages a superplex but Purrazzo snaps on the Fujiwara armbar for the tap at 6:53.

Rating: D+. This was almost a squash with Purrazzo never being in anything close to trouble. Above all else, this match made me feel bad for Susan, who has fallen through the floor since this whole angle started. She went from being the force in the division to just a person and that is a shame. Purrazzo is awesome, but Susan deserves a lot better.

Post match Purrazzo stays on her but Kimber Lee makes the save, likely setting up next week.

TJP and Fallah Bahh b. Decay on Before The Impact.

Fallah Bahh keeps losing at Swinger’s Palace when Willie Mack and Rich Swann come in. Johnny Swinger doesn’t like him because the Mack And Pack connection is over. John E. Bravo and Swann compare shoes and a tag match is set up between Bahh/TJP and Swann/Mack.

Don Callis sucks up to Tommy Dreamer and talks him into being part of a six man tag against Kenny Omega/the Good Brothers.

Rohit Raju/Shera vs. Petey Williams/Trey Miguel

Raju hits Williams in the face to start but gets dropped into 619 position for a running dropkick to the back. The Tree of Woe O Canada has Raju in more trouble and it’s off to Miguel for a double hiptoss into a double backbreaker. Shera comes in to shove Williams into the corner and a quick powerslam plants him for two. We take a break and come back with Raju chinlocking Williams, who fights up in a hurry.

Miguel comes in to pick up the pace, including an atomic drop and cutter to drop Raju. Back up and Raju hits a quick jumping Downward Spiral but Miguel is over for the tag in a hurry. Williams cleans house and loads up the Canadian Destroyer but here are Ace Austin and Madman Fulton for a distraction. Raju hits the Drive By for the pin at 9:04.

Rating: C. Pretty simple and effective way to set up the X-Division Title match, but there was little way around the fact that this is Impact’s version of the Money In The Bank building momentum match. I’m not sure what is happening to the title at Slammiversary, but does it matter given how the build has been going?

Post match Austin and Fulton come in for the brawl, with Josh Alexander running in for the save. That earns him a beating as well, with Chris Bey coming out to film the whole thing.

Sami Callihan is yelling at Tommy Dreamer when the interviewer comes in. They agree to be on the same team in next week’s six man. Moose comes up to say he’s in too and walks away. Apparently Dreamer won’t be on Team Dreamer and they need a third man. It’s going to be Tommy Dreamer isn’t it?

Rachael Ellering didn’t see the red flags with Jordynne Grace and she should have. Grace comes out so Ellering can talk about all of their time together and how she was at a low point when the team got together. Everyone kept telling Ellering that it would be better and now she is doing the same thing to Grace.

That isn’t what Grace wanted and a good partner or friend should have known. Tenille Dashwood is brought up and Grace cuts her off, saying she had a career before Ellering showed up. She loved having Ellering as a partner but she can do things on her own. Ellering brings up Dashwood again, drawing a threat from Grace.

Cue Jazz to say this is just a hurdle and they can get this together. Ellering is willing but Grace needs some more time. Grace storms off and here are Kaleb With A K and Tenille Dashwood to interrupt. She offers to be Ellering’s partner again but Ellering says no. They can have a match instead so the brawl is on, with Jazz and Ellering cleaning house. As mentioned last week: THEY WERE A TEAM FOR TWO MONTHS!!! STOP ACTING LIKE IT IS SOME BIG EPIC HISTORY!!!

Jake Something vs. Sam Beale

Brian Myers is here with Beale. Jake knocks him down to start and hits the running shoulder but stops to glare at Myers. Beale bails outside and comes back in with a high crossbody, which Jake pulls out of the air. Myers throws in a chair, which is kicked right back out. The Black Hole Slam finishes Beale at 2:22.

Post match Myers says Beale didn’t lose that, because he gets a lesson: never be like Jake Something.

Rich Swann and Willie Mack wish Eddie Edwards and Satoshi Kojima luck in their Tag Team Title shot. Edwards appreciates that and promises them the first shot.

Tag Team Titles: Satoshi Kojima/Eddie Edwards vs. Violent By Design

Deaner and Joe Doering are defending for Violent By Design, all of whom are here. Eddie and Doering start things off, with Eddie being sent into the corner in a hurry. Kojima comes in to take Deaner down by the arm and we take an early break. Back with Deaner getting double elbowed down but a Doering distraction lets Kojima hammer away. The champs take turns on Kojima in the corner, setting up Doering’s standing chinlock.

Doering can’t suplex him though and Kojima manages one of his own. Eddie comes in off the hot tag to start cleaning house but Doering breaks up the tiger driver. The champs get knocked to the floor for the stereo dives and we take a break. Back with a Rhino distraction letting Deaner grab a powerbomb out of the corner for two.

Deaner puts on a chinlock, followed by some standard choking in the corner. Doering comes in for a big boot but Deaner’s suplex is countered into a belly to back suplex. The hot tag brings in Kojima to clean house and the top rope elbow gets two on Deaner. A running neckbreaker drops Kojima but Deaner misses a middle rope headbutt.

Doering runs Eddie over with a high crossbody and now the top rope headbutt can connect for two. Everything breaks down with Doering hitting a double clothesline but the Koji Cutter drops the monster. The Boston Knee Party is countered into the revolution powerbomb though and Eddie is done at 19:13.

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going but I was rather surprised by how well this combination of Violent By Design held up. Doering and Deaner sounds like the lowest level of a team as you could have here but it worked out well. There wasn’t much of a chance of a title change as Kojima is just visiting, but at least they had a good match out of these four.

Overall Rating: C+. As usual, this was a bunch of stuff thrown together without one big thing to focus on, but this was better than the usual stuff. Slammiversary is starting to look good and if they do it right, we should be in for a heck of a show. What we got here worked pretty well for about an hour and a half though and I’ll take that over what we get from Impact most of the time.

Results
Rosemary b. Kiera Hogan – As Above So Below
Deonna Purrazzo b. Susan – Fujiwara armbar
Rohit Raju/Shera b. Trey Miguel/Petey Williams – Drive By to Williams
Jake Something b. Sam Beale – Black Hole Slam
Violent By Design b. Eddie Edwards/Satoshi Kojima – Revolution powerbomb to Edwards

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: June 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: 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

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 13, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

It is the go home show for Under Siege and we have the lineup for the show’s six way #1 contenders match main event. That leaves tonight as little more than a standard go home show, which means we could be in for a rather fun show. Impact has been holding my interest fairly well lately so hopefully they can keep it up. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Havok vs. Rosemary

The winner gets a Knockouts Title shot against Deonna Purrazzo at Under Siege and the rest of Decay is here with Rosemary. They shake hands and then yell at each other a lot. Rosemary hammers away with forearms but bounces off of Havok. More shouting sets up stereo running boots before Havok sends her face first into the buckle.

There’s a running boot in the corner for two and Havok grabs the camel clutch. That’s broken up and Rosemary counters a charge into the Upside Down to slow Havok down for a change. Rosemary somehow manages a t-bone suplex for two but Havok pulls her up into the Tombstone for the pin out of nowhere at 6:02.

Rating: C-. Rosemary got to show off some surprising power here but Havok winning is another way to go. I can imagine Rosemary getting a title shot of her own in the near future, but they very well may hold off on that until Slammiversary. Havok will do very well for now and it should be a good power vs. technical title match.

Post match here is Deonna Purrazzo to go after Havok but she gets knocked outside. Rosemary throws her back in and Decay cuts off Kimber Lee and Susan. The Tombstone plants Purrazzo.

Here is what is coming tonight and at Under Siege.

The Good Brothers are ready for tonight and Saturday. Kenny Omega says he is the game changer and the reason why the team is back on track. Violence and success are promised, though Omega having all three belts on didn’t help the seriousness.

Petey Williams vs. Ace Austin vs. Acey Romero vs. TJP vs. Rohit Raju vs. El Phantasmo

One fall and the winner gets the X-Division Title shot at Under Siege. Madman Fulton, Mahabali Shera and Larry D. are all at ringside. Romero gets jumped to start but manages to shove them away so we can get down to the usual insanity that these matches bring. Romero pulls Austin off the apron and sends him into the barricade but TJP nails a slingshot dropkick to finally put the monster down.

That gives us TJP vs. Phantasmo with the former snapping off a great running hurricanrana. Phantasmo is back up for a rope walk….but stops to pick up Austin for a Death Valley Driver off the top and onto the pile, because that’s something he can do. We take a break and come back with TJP sending Raju into the corner for some standing/running kicks to the face.

Romero comes back in to sweep Raju’s legs and hit a splash to the back for two. Phantasmo gets to clean a bit of house but Williams hits a slingshot Codebreaker. The Canadian Destroyer gets two on Phantasmo but Austin is back with a running kick to the head. A short string of dives sets up the brawl between the seconds, leaving TJP to hit the Detonation Kick on Phantasmo. The Mamba Splash misses though and Phantasmo hits a top rope splash of his own to TJP. Williams makes the save but walks into Phantasmo’s arm trap Neutralizer for the pin at 10:15.

Rating: C+. The action was good, but I’m not bit on these wild multi person matches. There is no flow or story to them and they are just a bunch of spots until someone gets the pin. The spots were good and some of the stuff was entertaining, but I can only get so into them. Granted Phantasmo vs. Josh Alexander could be incredible.

Susan and Kimber Lee comes in to show Scott D’Amore a clip of Tenille Dashwood on her phone. The result: Susan/Lee vs. Dashwood/Taylor Wilde at Under Siege.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Havok b. Gail Kim for the Knockouts Title on the October 1, 2014 Impact.

Violent By Design says failure will not be tolerated and must be crushed. Eric Young isn’t sure what caused the problem but then he realized that the sickness is the problem. Nothing is guaranteed and change is the only thing you can trust. You’ll be seeing a lot of them.

We go to Swinger’s Palace where Alisha Edwards is now working, presumably to pay off her debts. Ace Austin and Madman Fulton come in to name themselves #1 contenders to the Tag Team Titles but some other teams come in to disagree. TJP knows he could get a title shot with the right partner, so here is Petey Williams (the amount of dirt he has on this company must be astounding) to tease the Scott Steiner promo on the odds of the title change. That is cut off in a hurry, and a multi team match seems likely.

Sam Beale vs. Willie Mack

Mack starts fast with the swinging slam into the standing moonsault for two before hurting his hand on some shots to the face. Beale gets in a kick to the face, followed by a few knees to the ribs. A pop up right hand drops Beale and the frog splash finishes him off at 3:22.

Rating: D+. Just a quick match here to get Mack some momentum going into the Under Siege match against Morrissey. I’m not sure why Mack hasn’t gone a little bit further around here but at least he has a big enough match set up for the show. This was a squash, but Beale has looked decent in his appearances.

Post match here is W. Morrissey to drop Mack again.

David Finlay, with Juice Robinson and Eddie Edwards, is ready for Karl Anderson tonight. The other two are ready for the Under Siege six man tag too. Eddie has even brought back Kenny the Kendo Stick.

Slammiversary ad, featuring various recently released WWE stars and past Impact names.

It’s time for It’s All About Me with Tenille Dashwood and her guest….Kaleb With A K. Taylor Wilde comes in to have a chat of her own, as she doesn’t like Dashwood cheating last week. They couldn’t really talk about it because she doesn’t have Dashwood’s number as they aren’t friends. Under Siege is a one off because they are not friends or partners. Kaleb With A K: “Hashtag awkward.” Dashwood seems cool with it though.

Karl Anderson vs. David Finlay

Doc Gallows, Kenny Omega, Don Callis, Eddie Edwards and Juice Robinson are all here too. Anderson starts hammering away but Finlay pops him in the jaw a few times. Some of the seconds offer trips but Gallows gets in another trip to take over. Finlay is sent outside for some choking against the barricade so commentary can talk about Japan.

Back in and Anderson hammers away before raking away at the eyes. We hit the chinlock for all of five seconds before Anderson blasts him with a clothesline. Another chinlock is countered into a hard belly to back and Finlay slingshot dives onto Omega and Gallows. An Indian Deathlock goes on back inside but Omega comes in for the DQ at 5:50.

Rating: C-. This was another match that didn’t have the time to go anywhere but it wasn’t supposed to be anything more. They previewed Saturday’s six man and while your mileage might vary on the story, what we got here was certainly good enough. If nothing else, it was another week without Omega talking and that’s a good thing.

Post match the brawl is on and Kenny the Kendo Stick is enough to chase the villains off.

Chris Sabin feels bad for not having James Storm’s back in Storm’s qualifying match. He’ll face Moose tonight in a six man tag and we’ll see what happens.

Video on Under Siege.

Earlier tonight on Before The Impact, Tasha Steelz beat Jordynne Grace.

Grace is upset over the loss but Rachael Ellering tells her to save it for Under Siege.

Brian Myers vs. Crazzy Steve

Steve takes him down for a very quick two and Myers is a bit scared in the corner. He even bails to the floor where Black Taurus scares him again, earning an ejection as we take a break. Back with Myers kicking Steve in the head and grabbing a chinlock. That’s broken up but so is Steve’s tornado DDT. Myers grabs a rollup for the pin with feet on the ropes at 7:17. Not enough shown to rate but it keeps the Myers vs. Decay feud going, as odd as it might be.

Post match Black Taurus comes back in to run Myers over and leaves a death card.

Don Callis doesn’t like how this place is being run but here is Scott D’Amore to interrupt. D’Amore remembers Callis messing with Moose’s head last week, which is why James Storm is out of action with an injury. Maybe Callis needs to figure out if he is an AEW manager or an Impact Wrestling executive.

Under Siege rundown.

Chris Sabin/Matt Cardona/Trey Miguel vs. Moose/Sami Callihan/Chris Bey

Callihan takes Sabin into the corner to start but a crucifix gives Sabin a quick two. Cardona comes in but gets taken down by Bey as we see the Elite watching in the back. It’s off to Miguel, who jumps over Cardona for a backsplash onto Bey. The Pendulum has Bey in more trouble but Bey misses a jumping double stomp. Bey kicks Miguel down without much trouble and we take a break.

We come back with Moose hammering on Miguel and handing it off to Callihan for some chops in the corner. Miguel gets two off a sunset flip, earning himself a dropkick from Bey. Moose is back in with a one handed slam and the two handed version puts him down just as quickly. Now it’s Callihan coming back in for a slam into a chinlock. That’s broken up in a hurry and Miguel kicks him in the head, setting up a double clothesline for the double knockdown.

The hot tag brings in Cardona to clean house, with Sabin tagging himself in for a missile dropkick/Downward Spiral combination. Everything breaks down and Miguel counters Moose’s powerbomb into a hurricanrana into the post. Bey forearms Sabin, who counters the package piledriver. Back in and Miguel missile dropkicks Moose back to the floor but Callihan package piledrives Sabin for the pin at 14:37.

Rating: C+. This was the exactly right idea to build up the Under Siege six way and it gives us an interesting twist with Sami getting some momentum. He might be a wild card in the match and that could be what the match needs. Moose would still seem to be the heavy favorite and was treated like a monster here, but there are a good many options (six I believe).

Moose and Callihan get in a shoving match post match.

Callis looks worried to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The point of this show was to make me want to see Under Siege and they did that well enough. It still isn’t a show that means very much with both main events being matches designed to set up things later but they made it fairly interesting here. That’s a tricky thing to do and they did a nice job here, so well done enough.

Results

Havok b. Rosemary – Tombstone

El Phantasmo b. Ace Austin, TJP, Rohit Raju, Petey Williams and Acey Romero – Arm trap faceplant to Williams

Willie Mack b. Sam Beale – Six Star Frog Splash

David Finlay b. Karl Anderson via DQ when Kenny Omega interfered

Brian Myers b. Crazzy Steve – Rollup with a grab of the rope

Sami Callihan/Chris Bey/Moose b. Chris Sabin/Matt Cardona/Trey Miguel – Package piledriver to Sabin

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 6, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown

We’re still in the early days of the Kenny Omega era and we are also on the way to Under Siege. Since Omega isn’t working that show, we need his #1 contender, meaning the six way #1 contenders match at Under Siege needs some more qualifiers. That’s what Impact is for at the moment so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Chris Sabin vs. Rhino

James Storm and Violent By Design are here too. They trade arm control to start until Sabin sends him outside. Back in and Rhino hits him in the face before hammering Sabin down in the corner. The neck crank goes on but Sabin fights up and hits a discus forearm. There’s an enziguri to put Rhino on the floor and a rollup gives Sabin two back inside. Deaner offers a distraction though and Rhino pokes him in the eye to take over. Sabin is fine enough to kick out the knee to block the Gore though and la majistral finishes Rhino at 6:46.

Rating: C-. Just a match here as almost anything involving Violent By Design has almost no interest. The team feels like a bunch of people thrown together to give Eric Young something to do, and since Young is injured, the team does not exactly seem like it matters all that much. They aren’t the worst by any means, but Rhino felt like an obstacle rather than a threat, which only kind of worked.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Brian Myers is annoyed at losing to Matt Cardona so he wants another qualifying match. He runs into Rosemary, who says he has no one to blame for his problems but himself. Myers doesn’t buy it, so here is Black Taurus to run him over. Rosemary gives him a card, which seems to suggest that he is having bad luck.

The Elite thinks that was hilarious but Don Callis says they need to focus on winning more matches. That’s why tonight it’s Doc Gallows vs. Juice Robinson.

Susan vs. Taylor Wilde

Kimber Lee is here with Susan. Wilde cartwheels out of a waistlock to start but Susan can’t do the same. Instead Wilde throws her down as Striker talks about all of the styles that Wilde uses. Susan sends her into the corner but misses a legdrop as Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb With A K come out to watch. Wilde’s German suplex sends Susan to the floor, setting up a hurricanrana to take her down again. A quick glare at Dashwood doesn’t change anything, as Wilde hits a bridging German suplex for the pin at 2:28.

Post match Dashwood comes in to pose for a photo with Wilde, who doesn’t seem interested.

Deonna Purrazzo isn’t scared of Taylor Wilde but Susan and Kimber Lee need to earn the right to have her join them at ringside. Decay comes in and, after scaring off the interviewer, seem to threaten Purrazzo. Havok comes in to say she wants a shot as well, so a flustered Purrazzo says they can fight for a title shot.

W. Morrissey says no one knows him but he knows that all of the fans left him as soon as he started to fall apart. Everyone he thought he knew in this business was a phony but now he has risen from the ashes. At Under Siege, he’s starting with Willie Mack.

Rohit Raju vs. Trey Miguel

Under Siege qualifying match and Shera is here with Raju. They lock up to start with Miguel trying to pull him down so Raju bails outside in a hurry. Back in and they go to a test of strength with Raju taking him down, only to have Miguel nip up. That earns him a takedown and Raju is rather pleased as we take a break. Back with Shera getting in a cheap shot but Miguel strikes away at the face to put him up against the ropes.

What looks like a northern lights suplex is blocked so Raju suplexes him down for two. Raju knocks him to the floor and then takes it back inside to start cranking on the arm. A flying armbar makes it worse but Miguel flips over him and hits a jumping stomp to the back. They slug it out from their knees until Miguel suplexes him into a Kimura. That’s broken up as well until Raju crotches him in the corner and hits a hanging DDT. A Falcon Arrow into a Crossface has Miguel in trouble until he rolls out but gets kneed in the face. Miguel kicks him down again though and grabs the Hourglass for the tap at 11:27.

Rating: B-. Good back and forth match here as I continue to try and get my head around the idea of Raju actually being this entertaining. I know I say that rather often, but he was so terrible as part of the Desi Hit Squad. It’s amazing how much better it is to just have him as a guy instead of a guy there to make a legend look good. Miguel gets another boost here and it wouldn’t stun me to see him get the title shot.

Post match here’s Jake Something to knock Shera down and take out Raju as well. Yeah is name is still Jake Something.

We go to Swinger’s Palace and Alisha Edwards seems to have lost all of her money. Trey Miguel comes in and gets in a bit of an argument with the other people who have qualified for Under Siege over betting odds. James Storm insists he’ll be getting in too but Chris Bey gets in Storm and Chris Sabin’s heads over being tag wrestlers getting into singles matches. Storm doesn’t seem interested.

Doc Gallows vs. Juice Robinson

Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson and David Finlay are here too. Gallows goes straight to the eye to start and hits an uppercut in the corner. Robinson sends him into the corner to even things up and some left hands have Gallows down. Back up and Gallows big boots him out to the floor, followed by the rights and lefts to the ribs.

The chinlock goes on, though Gallows does give him a breather to drive in the elbows to the chest. Robinson fights out of another chinlock and dropkicks the knee out, setting up a running DDT for two. The big left hand drops Gallows but Robinson has to go after Anderson. A bicycle kick into the chokebomb (and a good one at that) finishes Robinson at 7:19.

Rating: C. Gallows still isn’t nearly as good of a big man as he is given credit for but he worked well enough here. This was about Gallows beating up Robinson, who kept trying to fight from underneath. The numbers game catching up with him made sense and it did a nice job with what they were trying. Also, the lack of Omega talking tends to help a lot.

Post match the beatdown is on so Eddie Edwards runs down for a failed save attempt.

Deonna Purrazzo, Susan and Kimber Lee are leaving when Scott D’Amore comes up. Next week: Havok vs. Rosemary for the Under Siege title shot.

VSK vs. El Phantasmo

VSK is an AEW Dark guy and Phantasmo is from New Japan’s Bullet Club. Phantasmo starts fast by jumping over him but VSK hits a dropkick into a backbreaker. A slam into an immediate splash (that’s a new one) gets two but Phantasmo is right back by putting him on the top. Phantasmo pulls him back down for a crash and a Lionsault gets two. VSK is right back with a rollup for two and a fireman’s carry backbreaker connects for the same. That earns him some kicks to the chest and, after possibly loading up the boot, Phantasmo hits a superkick for the pin at 3:13.

Rating: C+. Phantasmo is awesome, but this seemed to be more about building up VSK than anything else. That being said, it isn’t like Phantasmo needs that much of a build as he is the big guest star. VSK did look good in defeat, though it is kind of hard to say how much of that was him when he was in there with such an established name.

Rachael Ellering vs. Kiera Hogan

Jordynne Grace and Tasha Steelz are here too. An early Steelz distraction lets Kiera hit a superkick and it’s already time to stomp Ellering in the corner. A kick to the ribs has Ellering in more trouble but she avoids a charge in the corner. Ellering counters a neckbreaker but gets caught with a running knee to the head for two. The chinlock goes on but they get up and collide so Ellering can get in a kick to the head. There’s a backsplash for two, only to have Ellering miss a charge of her own in the corner and get kicked in the face again. They miss some shots to the face until Ellering hits a swinging Boss Man Slam for the pin at 4:33.

Rating: C-. They didn’t really have a good way to go here as you don’t want either of them losing, though in this case, it makes more sense to go with the person who is still new to the company (yet is somehow a champion). The action was hardly great, though that has never quite been Hogan’s strong suit. It wasn’t exactly great, but it did what it was supposed to do….I think.

Don Callis comes up to Moose in the back and brings up football coach Jimmy Johnson. Callis talks about Johnson saying stars should be treated like stars, which is what Moose certainly is. Why is he in some qualifying match when he is already a star? Moose tells him to shut up, but Moose might be slightly convinced.

Fire N Flava are annoyed at the loss but Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering come up. Trash is talked until Grace vs. Steelz is set for next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

James Storm vs. Moose

Final Under Siege qualifying match. Storm’s headlock doesn’t last very long and Moose shoulders him away without much effort. A shot to the face knocks Moose outside though and Storm adds a dropkick through the ropes as we take a break. Back with Storm being sent to the apron, where Moose blocks the enziguri in the corner. Moose dumps him outside without much effort and sends him knee first into the barricade.

The knee is rammed into the floor as well, followed by some stomping back inside. Moose talks a lot of trash but Storm fights up and gets in a few right hands, only to get knocked back down. A running dropkick to the knee connects in the corner and Storm is in even more trouble. The leglock goes on but Moose gets caught holding the rope. That’s fine with Moose, who works on the knee even more with some cranking. Moose misses a charge though and Storm slugs away, including the Thesz press with right hands to the jaw (there’s a Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan joke in there somewhere).

The Codebreaker rocks Moose again and there’s a tornado DDT for two. Moose is back up with a tackle to the knee though and we hit the half crab. That doesn’t last long either so Moose goes up, with Storm pulling him into the Eye of the Storm….but the leg gives out. Storm takes his time getting up but manages a Last Call out of nowhere. The knee is too bad to cover though and Moose hits the spear for the pin at 16:08.

Rating: B. This was close enough to a main event style match to fit in this spot. Moose working on the knee throughout the match and then having it play into the whole thing worked out well. Moose has been primed for the title shot for a long time now and beating Storm feels like something that matters. Good match in the right spot with the right result so that’s a nice job.

Post match Moose Pillmanizes the leg with Chris Sabin running out just a bit too late for the save.

Overall Rating: B-. They had a very streamlined show here to set up a lot of Under Siege in a hurry. It was almost weird having a bunch of singles matches in a row but it was what they needed to do here. The six way could go to multiple people and they set up enough stuff for the coming shows to make this a pretty good use of two hours.

Results

Chris Sabin b. Rhino – La majistral

Taylor Wilde b. Susan – Bridging German suplex

Trey Miguel b. Rohit Raju – Hourglass

Doc Gallows b. Juice Robinson – Chokebomb

El Phantasmo b. VSK – Superkick

Rachael Ellering b. Kiera Hogan – Swinging Boss Man Slam

Moose b. James Storm – Spear

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: April 22, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown

It’s the go home show for Rebellion and I’m curious to see how they push the rest of the card. The main event is long since set but we need more of the card being built up. We should be in for a good pay per view but some of that is going to be based on a good go home show. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a video on Rich Swann vs. Kenny Omega, including last week’s press conference.

Opening sequence.

Decay vs. Good Brothers

Rosemary is here with Decay. Anderson and Steve start things off with the former firing off some uppercuts. Steve gets smart by grabbing the arm and brings in Taurus to chop away in the corner. Decay takes turns on the arm but Andreson gets Taurus over to the corner so Gallows can hammer away.

A shot to the mask sets up Anderson’s chinlock, followed by Gallows’ elbows to the chest and a chinlock of his own. That’s broken up as well and the hot tag brings in Steve to pick up the pace. A low Downward Spiral gives Steve two and everything breaks down. Taurus is sent outside and Steve gets pulled out of the air for the Magic Killer and the pin at 5:14.

Rating: C-. The wrestling wasn’t great but this was exactly the point they were going for. You wanted the Brothers to look strong going into the title match and beating Decay is a fine enough way to do just that. There was no point in having Decay be any real kind of a threat here and they didn’t bother doing anything ridiculous.

Post match the Brothers thank FinJuice for giving them the motivation and pouring the gasoline on them to make their fire hotter. FinJuice better have enjoyed their shiny titles in Roppongi (because it’s in Japan) because on Sunday, it’s a Magic Killer and new champs.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

We get some predictions on Rich Swann vs. Kenny Omega, with most of the Impact wrestlers predicting Swann walks out with both titles.

Video on Violent By Design vs. James Storm/Chris Sabin/Willie Mack/Eddie Edwards on Sunday. Granted based on the video, you would think it was James Storm vs. Eric Young, but this was more intense than most of their recap packages, which is a good thing.

Susan vs. Tenille Dashwood

Deonna Purrazzo and Kaleb With A K are here too. Susan wins a test of strength to start but gets reversed into a sunset flip for an early near fall. Purrazzo offers a distraction from the floor though and we take a break. Back with Dashwood caught in a full nelson and getting slammed down onto her face. Susan shouts at her about something, with Dashwood seeming confused. A slugout goes to Dashwood, who sends her into the corner for the Taste of Tenille. The Tarantula sets up the Spotlight Kick to finish Susan at 8:07.

Rating: D+. This was little more than a squash to boost Dashwood up a little more before the pay per view. Dashwood looked fine here, but there is nothing here that makes me think we are in for some classic on Sunday. At the same time, what in the world has happened to Su Yung? This Susan stuff is really dull and seems like a horrible waste of her talent. Why would you take someone who was unique and interesting and make them the exact opposite? Find something else for her to do and get rid of this stuff.

Post match Dashwood calls Purrazzo into the ring and says she has done more for women’s wrestling than Purrazzo, who wouldn’t be here without her. So keep the title shiny because Dashwood has a photo shoot ready for it. Purrazzo looks ticked.

Brian Myers isn’t stuck in the past like Matt Cardona, so on Sunday, Myers is taking him out.

More wrestlers make Swann vs. Omega picks.

Video on Swann vs. Omega.

Sami Callihan says Trey Miguel threw everything away. He saw something in Trey and now it is time to make an example out of him. This Sunday it is Last Man Standing as Callihan is going to give him a chance to get back up…..before making sure he can never walk again.

Shera vs. Jake Something

Rohit Raju is here with Shera and I do like the rain looking graphics around the arena during Jake’s entrance. Shera slams him down to start and drops a heavy elbow for two. Back up and Jake slugs away, setting up the discus forearm for a knockdown. Raju offers a distraction though and Shera hits the Sky High to finish Jake at 3:22.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here with Shera getting a random match to give him a push. I’m not going to buy that going anywhere because there is no reason to think it is going to matter, but at least they are trying something with him. Speaking of Something, Jake has fallen through the floor and given his ring name, I’m not at all surprised. It’s the difference between one off indy appearances and a regular national promotion, but that has been lost on today’s generation.

Trey Miguel talks to his fellow trainer at his wrestling school and rants about how he has to prove himself to Sami Callihan for some reason. He’s ready to show who he is on Sunday.

We hit the Trey training montage.

Video on Josh Alexander vs. TJP vs. Ace Austin for the X-Division Title at Rebellion.

Here’s Rich Swann for a chat, with Striker saying that anyone who has ever put a piece of wrist tape on their wrist before a match has something in common with him. As someone who has never wrestled, I feel rather detached from the following segment. Swann talks about how he made a mistake last week when he tried to shake Omega’s hand last week, so get out here right now.

Kenny Omega and Don Callis pop up on screen to talk about how excited they are to have Omega win a third title. He needs a bigger house and another Swiss bank account. Goodbye and good night, bang. They leave….and here’s the returning Moose. He’s here to congratulate Swann because he has had a long time to think about what happened at Sacrifice.

Moose has some advice for Swann, who should be ready for this match because he took the TNA Title from a wrestling god. Swann has been shown what pain really feels like and Moose is bigger, stronger and faster than Omega. The only advantages Omega has are his three stooges, so Swann better not lose those titles.

More predictions.

Taylor Wilde is coming back and we actually see her for a change.

Kiera Hogan vs. Jordynne Grace

Tasha Steelz is here with Hogan. Grace jumps her to start and grabs a quick torture rack. That doesn’t last long so Grace sends her into the corner and comes out with a MuscleBuster, which draws in Steelz for the DQ at 1:55.

Post match the beatdown is on but the debuting Rachael Ellering runs in for the save to be Grace’s partner. Grace: “Rachael Ellering is going to be my partner at Rebellion!” In case you weren’t paying attention.

From Rebellion 2020: Chris Bey wins a four way match.

FinJuice mocks the Good Brothers for their excuses and now it is time for them to lose again.

Video on Omega vs. Swann.

Here’s what’s coming with Wrestle Week.

Commentary runs down the Rebellion card.

Eric Young vs. Eddie Edwards

The rest of Violent By Design, James Storm, Chris Sabin and Willie Mack are all here. Young is wrestling this on a torn ACL, which isn’t mentioned by commentary. They grapple against the ropes to start until Eddie snaps off a headlock takeover. An atomic drop into an overhead belly to belly send Young flying and we take a break.

Back with Edwards working on a front facelock but Young fights up and gets Eddie’s leg tied in the rope. That’s enough for Young to send him outside and it’s time to tease the big brawl. Back in and we hit the chinlock on Eddie for a bit. Young goes up but gets superplexed back down for the big crash. They slug it out with Eddie getting the better of it but Young slips out of the Backpack Stunner.

Instead Eddie hits a Blue Thunder Bomb as Striker thanks everyone for being so nice to him around here. As I try to fathom someone liking Matt Striker’s commentary, Young is back with a Death Valley Driver for two of his own. A tiger driver gives Eddie two more but Young rolls outside before the Boston Knee Party. Everyone gets in a fight on the floor, leaving Young to small package Eddie for the pin at 15:05.

Rating: C+. Pretty good main event here, especially considering Young’s injury. I wouldn’t have bet on them being able to do something this well all things considered but it worked out. Having the ending go the way it did was a surprise and one that I’ve always liked. There is something cool about going with one big move after another and then finishing with a quick cradle. Good match, and Young’s injury makes it more impressive.

The big brawl is on as Striker goes nuts hyping up the pay per view to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. I was hoping for something other than Swann vs. Omega getting the focus here but that’s ALL they did with this show. It is certainly the biggest match on the card but egads it’s kind of hard to get interested in a match that AEW has given all of the focus of a 3:30am infomercial about buying real estate for no money down. The rest of the show was just kind of there, as this was all about the title match. That’s a logical idea, but it wasn’t the most entertaining night in the world.

Results

Good Brothers b. Decay – Magic Killer to Crazzy Steve

Tenille Dashwood b. Susan – Spotlight kick

Shera b. Jake Something – Sky High

Jordynne Grace b. Kiera Hogan via DQ when Tasha Steelz interfered

Eric Young b. Eddie Edwards – Small package

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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Hardcore Justice 2021
Date: April 10, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

It’s the Impact Wrestling Wrestlemania weekend offering with the hardcore themed show, as operated by Tommy Dreamer. Now for once this actually makes sense, though somehow Dreamer is likely to be main eventing the show as well. The card looks decent and has been built up on Impact as of late, so it feels like an actually pay per view. Let’s get to it.

The opening video features Eric Young talking about how he has a sickness and violence is the only cure. Tommy Dreamer has that same sickness and tonight, Young is willing to provide the cure for him.

Ace Austin/Madman Fulton vs. TJP/Fallah Bahh vs. Josh Alexander/Petey Williams

Austin, TJP and Alexander are feuding over the X-Division Title and got to pick their own partners. Alexander gets run over by the huge Bahh to start, including getting knocked to the floor. Back in and Bahh strikes away but Alexander takes him down by the leg. Williams comes in but gets knocked into the corner by TJP. A drop toehold lets Williams hit a dropkick to the back, only to get pulled into TJP’s Octopus variation. It’s off to Austin, who is taken down for a nasty arm crank from TJP.

Bahh comes back in and gets caught in the corner for some shoulders from Fulton. Some double teaming sets up a running crossbody to Bahh’s kneeling back for two but Bahh backdrops his way to freedom. Williams tags himself in to take over on Austin and it’s back to Alexander for a quick German suplex. A blind tag brings Fulton back in to side slam Alexander for two and a big boot lets Austin come back in.

Austin’s spinning legdrop gets two but Alexander pops back up with a powerslam. Austin kicks him into the corner for the hot tag to TJP and the pace picks up. There’s a tornado DDT to Austin and everything breaks down. Bahh crossbodies Fulton down and the Mamba Splash hits Austin but Alexander tags himself in to steal the near fall. Williams Sharpshooters Austin and Alexander ankle locks Fulton but TJP grabs a choke on Williams at the same time.

Bahh breaks the whole thing up and it’s Fulton having to save Austin from the Canadian Destroyer. Everything breaks down again and Fulton cleans house with everyone going down. TJP knocks Alexander into the corner for a facewash and the Canadian Destroyer hits TJP. Williams stomps on Bahh’s ankle and Alexander ankle locks him for the tap at 13:41.

Rating: B-. This was exactly what it should have been with a hot opener featuring some talented people. The Canadian Destroyer may have become one of the biggest jokes in wrestling but there is still a little something special about Williams using it. This was all about the main trio though and they could tear the house down at Rebellion. Good stuff here and they’re off to a solid start.

Here’s what’s coming today.

Hernandez vs. Shera

This is a chairs match dubbed Chairly Legal. Dang it why do I have to love puns? The exchange of shoulders goes to Shera and he hammers away in the corner. Hernandez gets in a shot of his own though and the first chair shot goes over Shera’s back. Some chairs are set up at ringside but Hernandez spends too much time on the building, allowing Shera to chair him down. Back in and Hernandez gets in a chair shot of his own and wedges some chairs in the corner.

Shera goes face first into a chair in the middle of the ring for two and the big ax handles keep him down. A quick spinebuster gives Shera two and they head outside with Hernandez taking over again. Some chairs are thrown in and Shera manages to superplex him onto the pile for two. Hernandez is right back up with chair shots of his own but here is Rohit Raju to blast Hernandez with a chair. A confused Shera gets the pin at 9:01.

Rating: C. Another not too bad match here with Shera getting a lot better, mainly due to not having everything focused on some stupid dance. The chairs were the focal point here and they didn’t go outside of that, which made enough sense for a one off match like this. Hernandez is fine in this role and that is all he needs to be. Not a great match but it fit in well on a show like this one.

We go to Swinger’s Palace where Chris Sabin and James Storm aren’t happy with being told to take the night off. XXXL comes in and can’t get a seat so a match is set up for…well actually one isn’t because XXXL gets to sit down. Matt Cardona comes in to ask what the deal is around here. He says Swinger has been in wrestling for 150 years so here is Dreamer to it’s MATCH TIME. This isn’t Wrestle House….but Dreamer is in charge so we’re having Cardona vs. Swinger in a Crate American Bash.

Doc Gallows vs. Black Taurus

Karl Anderson and Crazzy Steve are here too. Taurus hammers away to start but misses a crossbody, allowing Gallows to hit a clothesline to take over. Gallows knocks him down again and hammers away, including an uppercut to cut off a comeback attempt. A suplex sets up a chinlock for a bit before a trip to the floor.

Taurus is sent over the barricade and we head back inside for another chinlock. With that broken up, Gallows hits a bit boot but Taurus fights up with a shot to the ace. A top rope clothesline sets up a 619 into a missile dropkick for two on Gallows. Anderson offers a distraction though and it’s a superkick into a chokebomb to finish Taurus at 9:01.

Rating: D+. This was mostly a squash until Taurus had a nice comeback. I like Taurus a good bit but there is no way he should be beating Gallows here. That being said, there is only so much that can be done when Gallows isn’t exactly giving him much throughout the match. The Brothers are not exactly my favorite people in Impact and this didn’t do much to change that idea.

Violent By Design is ready to cure Tommy Dreamer and company.

Matt Cardona vs. Johnny Swinger

Crate American Bash, meaning there is a crate at every corner with something inside to use. Swinger, with the Swingerellas, gets rolled up to start and lies about the tights being pulled. Back up and Swinger hits a strut but needs to hide in the ropes, allowing Cardona to do his own strut, which will always work. Some forearms to the back set up a Paul Orndorff elbow on Cardona and it’s time to grab the first crate. Inside….is a framed photo of Scott Hall, which is a call back to the WCW version of this match because reasons.

Swinger knocks him off the apron and into the barricade for a breather. Back in and Swinger goes for the second crate but Cardona takes him down with a jawbreaker. Swinger pulls him off the ropes though and opens the second crate to find…a rat trap. Ok that was funny. Cardona gets his knees up in the corner and adds the middle rope dropkick.

Back up and a collision gives us another double knockdown but Cardona is up first. The third crate has….something Cardona likes but he doesn’t pull it out. Swinger gets the other crate and finds some brass knuckles for a big smile. That’s about it for the smiling though as he charges into Radio Silence for the pin at 7:53.

Rating: C-. Total comedy match here and there is nothing wrong with that. Swinger is someone who has gone from a complete groan to one of the more entertaining things about Impact Wrestling, which has been a great surprise. I’m guessing the third crate has some kind of toy or action figure inside, which would be appropriate for the match, though it does make me wonder why Dreamer had these things sitting around. Anyway, this was fine.

Cardona takes the third crate with him.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu at Hardcore Justice 2010. You need this on a taped pay per view? This eats up nearly ten minutes.

XXXL is having trouble keeping up with James Storm and Chris Sabin’s drinking.

Here is Sami Callihan to say he tries to help people, including Trey Miguel. It worked last week and under his mentoring, Miguel could reach the next level. Passion is about taking what you want and since Sami wants to be on Hardcore Justice, he is going to be on Hardcore Justice. The open challenge is on.

Sami Callihan vs. Sam Beale

Beale is Miguel’s student and Sami runs him over to start. Sami offers him a free shot and then knocks Beale down again. Beale’s face is rubbed into the mat and Sami bites him a bit before taking it outside. Some right hands have little effect on Sami, who snaps off a t-bone suplex to drop Beale again. Back in and Beale rolls him up for two so Sami nails a hard clothesline. The package piledriver finishes Beale at 4:05.

Rating: D+. This was a storyline advancement rather than a match and while I’m not a fan of the angle, it’s not like they spent a lot of time on it. Sami messing with Trey is either going to result in a big match at Rebellion or them being the Tag Team Champions. Neither is overly appealing but PLEASE DON’T MAKE THEM A REGULAR TEAM! Just let them fight and be done with it already.

We recap Brian Myers damaging Matt Cardona’s eye Jake Something’s eye. Therefore, it’s a hardcore blindfold match.

Brian Myers vs. Jake Something

Striker: “Look up the last time someone named Jake was in a blindfold match.” Good grief. They’re both blindfolded and there are weapons at ringside. Myers gets knocked outside early on and finds a trashcan lid to take Something down. In a smart move, Myers grabs him by the wrist and then finds another weapon to hit him in the head. They head back inside with Myers dropping him again and covering, albeit with Jake on his stomach.

Back up and Jake manages a sitout powerbomb, followed by some Scott Hall style shoulders while holding Myers’ wrist. Myers manages to find the referee and send him into Jake. The knockdown allows Myers to pull up the mask and hit a low superkick, which draws out Cardona with the third crate. Cardona slaps the mat for a distraction and slides Jake the crate. A shot to the head knocks Myers out and opens the crate, revealing a bunch of action figures. Jake hits a Boss Man Slam for the pin at 5:14.

Rating: D+. Another match that wasn’t supposed to be anything more than a fun idea that advanced a bigger story. In that regard it worked out well and it isn’t like this is going to be anything more than that. Cardona vs. Myers is slowly growing on me and as long as it doesn’t get treated as anything overly serious, it should work out well. Now give Jake a new last name and everything gets better.

Tommy Dreamer and his team (Rich Swann/Willie Mack/Eddie Edwards) are ready for Violent By Design.

Rosemary vs. Alisha vs. Havok vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Susan vs. Tenille Dashwood

Weapons match and the winner gets a Knockouts Title shot at Rebellion. Actually hold on as Su Yung comes out to attack Susan and we have a replacement. Yung is too much for Dashwood, who runs off rather than deal with her. Grace hammers on Alisha in the corner while Rosemary and Havok knock Young outside. That team lasts all of three seconds before they knock each other to the floor. Dashwood grabs Grace’s leg so the chase is on, meaning Kaleb With A K almost hits Dashwood with a frying pan by mistake.

It’s time for the staple gun and Kaleb With A K takes the shot to save Dashwood. That leaves Havok to legdrop Alisha for two with Grace making the save. The big staredown goes to Grace, who cuts off Alisha’s try with a trashcan. Grace plants Alisha for two with Yung making the save this time as you can see Susan being taken to the back (only took the referees the better part of ten minutes to help her). Yung beats on Grace until Havok comes in with a noose to take her down. Rosemary gets the Upside Down on Grace and it’s time for little red bag of thumbtacks.

Alisha hits something like a reverse DDT to drive Rosemary into them before whipping out a kendo stick (which is dubbed Kendra). Yung gives Alisha the Mandible Claw to cut that off and drag her away, which can’t end well. Havok and Grace slug it out with Havok knocking her down (allowing Striker to get in the always wrong “they’re all the same height on the mat”) and going up. Cue Nevaeh to throw powder in Havok’s eyes though and Kaleb With A K adds a superkick. Grace is back up with a Vader Bomb to Havok but Dashwood comes in and steals the pin at 9:43.

Rating: C-. This started to drag a bit in the middle but Dashwood winning actually surprised me. It is nice to see her FINALLY moving up as she has every tool imaginable but for some reason nothing has clicked yet. The weapons were a pretty minor part here but hopefully this leads to Yung returning full time. Susan isn’t working so give us what works better for a change. Not much of a match, but the right person won.

XXXL is very drunk but still want their match. James Storm says it’s time…..to play beer pong apparently. Chris Sabin throws the ball at the cup and knocks it off the table, so Larry D. offers to show him how it’s done. This misses completely, with Swinger dubbing him Knuckleball Schwartz. Storm throws a ball at Larry and the fight is on with Storm and Sabin standing tall, allowing Storm to drop a ball in the cup for the win. Swinger panics because he forgot to pay for his insurance.

Deonna Purrazzo talks about how important Jazz is but her time has passed. Tonight Purrazzo will prove that and it is title vs. career.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Jazz

Jazz is challenging with her career on the line. An early spinwheel kick gives Jazz two and she starts in on the arm. That’s fine with Purrazzo, who catches her with an arm snap across the top rope. The armbar is on but Jazz gets in an elbow to the face, only to get pulled into a Downward Spiral for two. Purrazzo stays on the arm and ties Jazz’s limbs around the bottom rope for a change of pace. Some kicks put Jazz on the floor so she has to pull herself back in, allowing Purrazzo to stomp away some more.

They head outside with Purrazzo hammering away until Jazz runs her over. It’s time to throw in some weapons and they head inside again, with Jazz nailing the snap jabs. An X Factor gets two but Purrazzo goes after the arm again to take over. The title is brought in but Purrazzo pulls it away and chairs her down. A DDT onto the chair gives Jazz two and frustration is setting in. Jazz can’t get a double chickenwing so Purrazzo snaps off an exploder suplex. The Queen’s Gambit retains the title at 13:08.

Rating: C+. They were going for the big, emotional moment here and came pretty close to nailing it. Jazz might not be the biggest legend of all time but she has wrestled everywhere and done pretty well for a long time, so it is more than ok to give her something like this. Solid enough match too, making this feel like a good co-main event.

Post match Purrazzo leaves and Jazz gets the big sendoff, with Jordynne Grace coming in to thank her. This would be a lot better if Striker would shut up about Mama calling on the Louisiana wind and her children always waiting. Just….stop talking sometimes man.

Tommy Dreamer has been attacked so the main event will be 4-3.

Eddie Edwards/Willie Mack/Rich Swann vs. Violent By Design

This a Hardcore War, meaning WarGames (minus the cage) with two men starting for three minutes and the team who won a coin toss (Violent By Design) sending in another man after two minutes. Two minutes later, the other team evens things up. Once all eight are in, it is the first fall to win with No DQ of course. Eddie Edwards and Deaner start things off on the floor as Striker wants Dreamer to come out in the Willis Reed or Kirk Gibson moment.

They knock each other around on the floor before heading inside, where Eddie hits a belly to belly suplex. That sends them back outside…and then get back in, with Eddie hammering away to take over. The Backpack Stunner connects as time expires, with Striker, who read the rules earlier, not being sure who has the advantage. Rhino is in to make it 2-1 and the slow beating is on. Brown talks about how Rhino has changed, to the point where Rhino won’t even speak to him.

As I try to imagine Brown and Rhino as a team with Rhino doing the head shake, Willie Mack, with Kenny and a chain (which Striker thinks sounds like a country song) comes in to even things up. The good guys take over with various weapons shots, including a toaster (Brown: “I love French toast.”) until Joe Doering comes in to make it 3-2.

Edwards and Mack jump the monster but he knocks both of them down at once without much trouble. Deaner puts Mack’s hand in the toaster and bends it back until Rich Swann is in to even it up. Swann cleans house, including kicking Doering low, with a handicap parking sign. With Violent By Design down, Swann and Edwards set up a table at ringside as Eric Young comes in to complete the villains.

Young brings in a hockey stick to beat on people in various painful ways until the countdown is on and…..Trey Miguel evens things up with a golf club. Miguel gets in Doering’s face and gets crushed with a crossbody, which has Striker loudly thanking God for Doering. Deaner beats on Mack but gets caught with Swann’s handspring cutter. Rhino Gores Swann through a table in the corner for two, meaning it’s time to go to the corner.

The Tower of Doom plants everyone but Doering, who puts Eddie on a table outside. Miguel gets up with a top rope Meteora to drive Doering through Eddie through the table though, leaving Mack 3-1 inside. Rhino is sent outside and a pop up Downward Spiral gets two on Doering with Young making the save. Young is back up with the piledriver to finish Mack at 20:25.

Rating: C+. This was pretty good but felt a bit like the hold house show versions of WarGames in the NWA days. Yeah it’s a big, violent match but don’t expect anything taken to the next level. Miguel coming in to replace Dreamer was a surprise and Dreamer not getting the spotlight was nice. They did well enough for a main event here, but it’s no classic, at least partially due to Striker’s odd obsession with Doering.

Overall Rating: C. I’m not sure how much more you were expecting from a hardcore themed show over Wrestlemania weekend. It advanced some stories and gave us a few good moments with some talented wrestlers. For $10, that’s about all you can ask for and it worked out as well as could be expected. Nothing worth seeing on here, but if you throw it on, you won’t have the worst time.

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: March 16, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

We’re done with Sacrifice and that means it is time to start getting ready for the next major pay per view with Rebellion. Rich Swann is now the sole World Champion and gets to move on to face Kenny Omega at the pay per view. By face I mean be sacrificed to, as AEW begins its march to taking over every other promotion not named WWE because….I’m not sure why that’s what we’re doing but it seems likely. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

FinJuice vs. XXXL

Non-title as FinJuice won the Tag Team Titles at Sacrifice. Larry D. drives Robinson into the corner with the straight power but Robinson is back with a dropkick. Finlay comes in off the top with an elbow to the arm but Acey Romero shrugs off a double bulldog attempt. A running crossbody to Robinson’s back crushes him again but everything breaks down in a hurry. Acey gets double dropkicked out to the floor and the Acid Drop finishes Larry at 3:32.

Rating: C-. That’s all this should have been as the new champs shouldn’t have a problem against a team like XXXL. FinJuice works well together and that kind of chemistry is always going to work. It was fun to see them pick apart the monsters because that is something that can be done for quite a while without losing its appeal.

Post match here are the Good Brothers with Anderson blaming Gallows for the loss. Gallows: “You got pinned.” Anderson: “Beside the point.” They have been busy lately so the loss really wasn’t fair. The champs are willing to give them a rematch, but they’ll have to wait until a Japan trip is over. Ok young boys (Japan reference!)? The brawl is on and FinJuice bail in a hurry.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Sami Callihan is here to expose Trey Miguel’s lack of passion. Miguel thinks anger is the same thing as passion and it was on display last week when he beat up his student Sam Beale. Tonight, Sami is going to embarrass Miguel over his lack of passion.

The Good Brothers complain about FinJuice taking the titles back to Japan without them but Scott D’Amore gives them their rematch at Rebellion.

The Good Brothers leave and Tommy Dreamer comes in to say that not having Tag Team Titles is a problem. D’Amore goes on a rant about how we can’t just team up with Paul E. and run a company into the ground. Hardcore Justice is next month so Dreamer can book it himself. Dreamer has actually already done that so D’Amore says Dreamer is in charge that night. Great, but at least it makes a bit of sense this time. I’m going to hope that Hardcore Justice is a requirement because having that show the same month as Rebellion seems a bit nuts.

Rhino vs. Jake Something

Violent By Design, Chris Sabin and James Storm are all here too. They slug it out to start with Rhino getting the better of things and slamming Jake down by the hair. The people on the floor get in a brawl and Rhino uses the distraction to hit the Gore for the pin at 2:08.

Post match Violent By Design beats Something/Storm/Sabin down.

Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb With A K fire up their team for a 12 woman Knockouts match later. Most of the rest of the team thinks they should be in charge instead and a lot of bickering ensues.

Rohit Raju vs. Mahabali Shera

Raju knocks him into the corner to start and hammers away, only to get rocked by straight power. A shot to the leg takes Shera down and Raju rakes the eyes before starting in on the arm. That just makes Shera mad but he gets kicked in the face. A jumping knee to the head sets up a Cannonball in the corner but Shera is right back with a chokebreaker. Shera misses a charge into the post though and Raju grabs a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 4:05.

Rating: D+. I’m sorry what now? Impact has been building Shera up as this unstoppable monster for weeks now and then he loses to Raju in four minutes? After being beaten down for most of the match? I have no idea what they were going for here but I was much more confused than anything else. Raju has come a LONG way in the last few months, but what was the point in having him almost squash Shera?

Willie Mack comes up to Rich Swann and congratulates him for his win. They need to celebrate this but Swann has something to do first.

Here’s Rich Swann for a chat, carrying both belts. He can’t hold these titles up because the gold is weighing him down. Last Saturday, he and Moose worked hard and Swann was the one on the higher horse. Now he is a double World Champion and that is unthinkable. Swann has partied every day since then but now he has to get serious about the monkey on his back that is Kenny Omega. Now it all comes back around on April 24 as he gets a chance to make up for January. It’s one on one at Rebellion and we will see who the real World Champion really is.

Cue Don Callis to hug Swann and say something to him that we can’t hear. Callis talks about how much he loves history and wants Swann to stop him if he says anything untrue. He has been a Swann guy for a long time now and has fought for him for years. Callis was the one wanted him to have a chance and made sure he was paid every two weeks while he was recovering from a broken leg. Swann nods to acknowledge that this is all true, including that Callis fought for him to get into the Bound For Glory main event.

Swann was the shiny toy but now Callis has moved on to someone else in Kenny Omega. Sure Swann had a great moment at Sacrifice, but maybe he can’t stop thinking about that One Winged Angel at Hard To Kill. Swann is a once in a decade talent, but Omega is a god of professional wrestling. Callis has been there for all of Omega’s greatest moments and he’ll be there shouting ONE WINGED ANGEL on commentary at Rebellion when Omega walks out with both titles. This was great stuff from Callis and he played the mastermind well.

It’s time for Tony Schiavone/Tony Khan to give their weekly Dynamite plug. We run down the card, with Forbidden Door being mentioned three times in the first thirty seconds. There wasn’t much in the way of funny this time.

Eddie Edwards and Matt Cardona are glad to have each others’ backs when Brian Myers comes in. Edwards leaves and Myers says he doesn’t want Cardona here for once. Cardona doesn’t seem phased.

Tenille Dashwood/Fire N Flava/Kimber Lee/Deonna Purrazzo/Susan vs. Jazz/ODB/Jordynne Grace/Havok/Nevaeh/Alisha

Kaleb With A K is here with Dashwood and company. Alisha goes after Dashwood to start but gets dropped with a forearm. Dashwood misses a charge into the corner though and it’s a running hip attack to keep her down. ODB hits the Bronco Buster and it’s off to Susan, who gets caught in the wrong corner by Nevaeh.

Therefore Kimber comes in instead and gets double teamed down by Havok and Nevaeh for an early two. Havok throws Kiera into the corner and we get a Jazz vs. Purrazzo showdown. Everything breaks down in a hurry for the parade of shots to the face until Steelz and Grace slug it out. The two of them hit the big dives and we take a break.

Back with Purrazzo clotheslining Alisha for two but Susan gets dropped with a clothesline. The hot tag brings in Grace to start cleaning house, including a powerslam for a pair of twos on Lee. Everything breaks down again for the parade of secondary finishers until we’re down to Jazz vs. Lee. An STF misses and Jazz pulls her into the STF for the tap at 13:07.

Rating: C. You’re only going to be able to get so much out of twelve people in there at once. It was fine enough while it lasted and Jazz does get a rub out of the pin (Jazz vs. Deonna for the title could work well as an Impact Plus showdown), but nothing really got a chance to shine with so many people in there at the same time.

Ace Austin is rather happy with his win at Sacrifice, even if he told us so. Chris Bey comes in to bring up beating Austin last week, but here is Josh Alexander to say he won at No Surrender. Ace isn’t pleased but here’s TJP, who gets his rematch for the title next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Sami Callihan vs. Trey Miguel

Trey slugs away to start fast but Sami runs him over with a clothesline. They fight to the floor in a hurry and then up to the stage, where Miguel slips out of a powerbomb attempt. Sami gets in a Boston crab on the floor as we take a break. Back with Sami kicking away and sending him outside in another heap. Miguel’s leg is tied around the post and kicked hard, followed by the Junkyard Dog headbutts back inside.

The leg cranking is on but Miguel kicks him away for the breather. Sami goes up top, where he counters a super hurricanrana into a Boston crab while still on the middle rope. That’s broken up so Trey tries a springboard, only to have his leg give out. Trey is fine enough to knock him down for a double stomp and we take another break.

Back with again the chop off until Trey uses the good leg for a Codebreaker. Miguel tries another top rope double stomp and bangs up the knee again, allowing Sami to hit another clothesline. A grab of the leg is broken up by Sami biting Miguel and an STF has Trey in more trouble. Make the a Crossface with Miguel in even more trouble until a rope is grabbed.

Sami chops him up against the barricade but Miguel manages to run the steps for a springboard cutter onto the floor. Back in and Trey gets two off a neckbreaker, with the kickout having Miguel a little screwed up. Trey goes up but the referee gets in the way to check on Callihan, allowing Sami to crotch Trey on top. The package piledriver finishes Miguel at 23:52.

Rating: B. This worked out well with both guys beating on each other for a long time until the screwy finish. I’m not sure where this is going but as long as it doesn’t end up with the two of them as wacky tag team partners, everything should wind up working out. Miguel was working hard here and Sami was a great villain, making this a heck of a match.

Overall Rating: C. Not too bad here but the stories continue to not be the most thrilling in the world. Above all else, it feels like we’re just waiting around while the World Title is kept warm for Kenny Omega, who will….probably not be around here very often. At the same time, you have New Japan holding the Tag Team Titles because we need to show how awesome it is when other companies are here. This leaves Impact with part time World and Tag Team Champions (or probably just one once we get done with Rebellion where the Good Brothers get the titles back) because….uh, guest stars! Not an awful show, but not inspiring.

Results

FinJuice b. XXXL – Acid drop to Larry D.

Rhino b. Jake Something – Gore

Rohit Raju b. Mahabali Shera – Rollup with feet on the ropes

ODB/Jazz/Nevaeh/Havok/Alisha/Jordynne Grace b. Fire N Flava/Kimber Lee/Susan/Deonna Purrazzo/Kimber Lee – STF to Lee

Sami Callihan b. Trey Miguel – Package piledriver

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

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

AND

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