IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 14, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Madison Rayne

It’s the go home show for Slammiversary and that’s actually a pretty nice feeling for once. The shows building towards the pay per view have been well done and if they manage to make it work this time, we could be in for a heck of a show on Saturday. Yeah Saturday, as almost everyone outside of WWE has changed up their pay per view schedule in a pretty smart move. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Rosemary/Kiera Hogan/Tasha Steelz/Kimber Lee/Taya Valkyrie vs. Alisha Edwards/Kylie Rae/Susie/Nevaeh/Havok

Steelz is taken into the corner to start with Havok and Nevaeh starting with the rapid fire double teaming. Lee gets kicked to the floor as the villains are all sent outside early on. That means a big beatdown of Nevaeh, with Susie hitting the flip dive from the apron. Havok tosses Alisha onto the pile and Havok adds the suicide dive. Taya cuts off Rae’s dive though and it’s Kylie getting beaten down for a change.

Rosemary’s bicycle kick into a German suplex from Taya gets two. Taya adds the running knees in the corner as Josh is WAY too excited about the state of the Knockouts division, with Madison having to tone him down. Steelz sends Rae right back into the corner to cut off a comeback bid and it’s Lee coming in for a chinlock. Back from a break with Rae ducking a right hand and diving over for the tag to Susie, which commentary completely ignores. Everything breaks down into the parade of secondary finishers until Rae superkicks Lee into Susie’s Panic Switch for the pin at 13:11.

Rating: C. There’s only so much that you can get out of a match like this but it’s about as good of a preview as you can have for the gauntlet match. There are several options for the win and that could make for some interesting stuff on Saturday. The wrestling was fine enough and there wasn’t much of a point here other than having most of the participants out there.

Post match Susie seems to twitch a bit, but everything breaks down into another big brawl until Kylie stands tall.

Here’s your preview for tonight and Sunday.

Madman Fulton and Ace Austin are in Dayton, Ohio, with Fulton not being happy about being back in OVE territory. Ace says if there is one thing he has learned in his five years in wrestling, it’s that you have to go back to where you started.

Hernandez and Rhino have been arm wrestling around the arena for over a week.

Moose tries to recruit Hernandez and Rhino to be his partner tonight and costs Hernandez the win. Hernandez wants to fight Rhino outside and that’s an easy yes.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Chris Sabin wins Ultimate X at Slammiversary 2013.

XXXL vs. Deaners

Points for the cameras shaking during XXXL’s entrance. Josh likes the idea of hunting, fishing and roasting marshmallows at the Deaner compound. Madison: “….you need to stop.” Jake and Larry collide to start with Jake popping up from the shoulder and getting in a slam. Cody is slammed onto Larry for two but Larry forearms his way over to Acey for the tag. A running clothesline gives Acey two and there’s the Pounce to send Jake into the corner. Larry kicks Cody down into a powerbomb but Jake makes a blind tag and steals the pin at 3:22.

Rating: D+. Well that happened and there isn’t much else to be said about something like this. Again, the tag teams seem to be trading wins back and forth and no one is really gaining anything. It wasn’t a good match or anything either, though XXXL looked decent enough in a short form.

Post match XXXL lays out Jake with a Demolition Decapitator, seemingly turning heel.

Moose asks Rohit Raju to be his partner tonight. Raju agrees, even though he’s the final option.

Johnny Swinger tells Chris Bey that he’s going to straighten things out with management. Swinger goes to the referee, saying that he’s been talking to Cancel Culture (must be taped out of order) and they think he’s a qualified emotional support companion.

Video on Willie Mack vs. Chris Bey for the X-Division Title at Slammiversary.

Bey hits on Gia Miller and calls Swinger, who of course is outside, an idiot. Swinger says the office won’t budge and Bey is on his own at Slammiversary.

Video on Deonna Purrazzo vs. Jordynne Grace.

We get a sitdown face to face interview with Purrazzo and Grace. Purrazzo signs the contract but pauses Grace to tell her what she’s getting into on Saturday. Grace signs and says Purrazzo doesn’t know what she’s into right now. Grace knocks her down and leaves.

Video on Ken Shamrock/Sami Callihan vs. the North.

Shamrock and Callihan know they don’t trust each other but they could win some gold. Callihan is likely to turn on Shamrock anyway, so Shamrock promises to break his neck for trying.

Moose/Rohit Raju vs. Tommy Dreamer/Crazzy Steve

Even commentary points out that Raju is always standing around backstage with nothing to do. Dreamer headlocks Raju to start but gets driven into the corner for trying a hammerlock. A suplex drops Raju though and it’s off to Steve, who gets slammed head first into the mat. Moose comes in for the fall away slam but misses the spear into the corner.

It’s back to Dreamer to lose a slugout as everything breaks down. Raju breaks up Dreamer’s dive and hands it back to Moose to hammer away. Dreamer punches Moose out of the air though and grabs a DDT. The double tag brings in Steve and Raju as the pace picks up a good bit. Everything breaks down again and Raju knees Steve in the face. Steve is right back up with a middle rope DDT to finish Raju at 6:14.

Rating: D+. Another match that was just kind of there as it seems they are scraping the bottom of the barrel of whatever they have left from the taping cycle. That is also true of Dreamer, who somehow gets a pretty big time pay per view match when you have how many people on the roster without much to do?

Austin and Fulton get to the gym in Dayton.

Rhino and Hernandez meet in the parking lot with Rhino wanting the money he won in the arm wrestling. Rhino kicks him low and chokes against a production truck but Hernandez throws something at him and gets in a few shots. A trashcan and a traffic cone are brought in and Rhino hammers away (seemingly at the camera in one shot as we’re in Cinematic Mode). Eventually they’re both spent and agree to split the money.

We recap the World Title situation, with the triple threat match being set up to crown a new champion. This is the same video package we saw last week, or at least really close to it.

Austin and Fulton train, while Austin talks about becoming the World Champion on Saturday. Slammiversary isn’t about the mystery opponent or Edwards or Trey. It’s about Austin becoming the youngest World Champion of all time.

A new Slammiversary vignette suggests three people returning.

Eddie Edwards talks about everyone being different. Everything in his career has led him to Slammiversary, starting with his training at Killer Kowalski’s wrestling school. He was born to be the World Champion and now he’s back here for a reason. Eddie has fought through everything to be here and he has no choice but to win the title.

Slammiversary rundown.

Trey and Wentz sneak into the Dayton gym while Austin is lecturing in the ring. A trashcan shot staggers Fulton and they lock him in a closet. Trey and Ace get in a fight with Trey shoving him over a chair and hammering away. Ace sends him into a wall though and hits him with a broom, followed by a chair to the back. Trey gets in a crotching on the barricade and slugs away some more but Fulton is back up. Wentz returns with a barbed wire chair and the villains bail to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This was a case where they could only do so much with what they had. They didn’t have much left to pull from so they probably had to film some stuff at the last minute. It worked as well as it could have given the circumstances, but it’s a shame that they had to hit a speed bump on the way to Slammiversary. I’m curious about what they’re going to have next week, but Slammiversary still looks good.

Results

Kylie Rae/Susie/Nevaeh/Havok/Alisha Edwards b. Tasha Steelz/Kimber Lee/Kiera Hogan/Taya Valkyrie/Rosemary – Panic Switch to Lee

Deaners b. XXXL – Rollup to Larry

Crazzy Steve/Tommy Dreamer b. Rohit Raju/Moose – Middle rope DDT to Raju

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 23, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Madison Rayne

Then, as they tend to do in this company for one reason or another, things got complicated in a hurry as Michael Elgin was suspended from the company over SpeakOut allegations. At the same time, Joey Ryan was fired outright, leaving some good sized holes in this show. That means this show is going to be hacked to pieces, which could make for some different viewing. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Nevaeh vs. Tasha Steelz

Havok is with Nevaeh and Kiera Hogan is with Steelz. The trash talk is on to start so Nevaeh pushes her down and hits a Hennig necksnap. That means a trip to the floor so Hogan can offer some advice, which seems to be knee Nevaeh in the chest. Some snap jabs give Steelz two and a headbutt gets the same.

The chinlock goes on but doesn’t last long as Nevaeh fights up, only to get kicked right back down. A neckbreaker gives Steelz another two but she misses a charge into the post. An STO into a release German suplex gives Nevaeh a delayed two and draws Steelz up to the apron. The rollup with trunks give Steelz the pin at 6:06.

Rating: D+. I know I’ve had a lot of good things to say about the division developing and having multiple stories, but the wrestling hasn’t been great for the most part. This was a good example, as they just went through the motions and had a match until Hogan got involved in the finish. We also don’t really know anything about Nevaeh, but at least I’ve learned how to spell her name.

We see a clip of Deonna Purrazzo on Busted Open Radio (there’s your Tommy Dreamer cameo) with Purrazzo talking about being ready to start fast around here. Jordynne Grace pops in on the call and promises to “f****** crush” Purrazzo, who calls this disrespectful. Purrazzo declares herself the face of the Knockouts division and guarantees to win the title in her first shot. That’s it for the interview.

Purrazzo says she’ll fight when the title is on the line. Cue Alisha Edwards to challenge her to a match tonight.

Here’s what else is on the show.

The released WWE wrestler is still coming at Slammiversary.

Rich Swann comes in to see Johnny Swinger, who wants him to be a partner in a six man tonight. That’s not happening because Swann is still hurt, plus he’s not facing Willie Mack tonight. Swann is off to tell Mack what happened too, but Swinger needs to find his Rolodex to see who else could be the partner.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Bully Ray calls out D-Von and a big brawl erupts, with Doc Gallows being revealed as a member of Aces and 8’s. This was much longer than usual and their solution to the show having to be edited.

The North doesn’t like Ken Shamrock and make fun of his UFC career. You know where this is going, and it’s Alexander getting to face Shamrock later.

Moose talks to some referees about being in the Pro Bowl. He’s used to being showered with gifts so everyone should do that for the World Champion. Crazzy Steve comes up to sing a song about how fake of a champion Moose is. This earns him a title shot next week.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Alisha Edwards

They fight over arm control to start until Purrazzo hits a Lethal Combination into a quickly broken Koji Clutch. Purrazzo starts in on the arm with a legdrop into an armbar with the legs. Edwards comes back with some shots to the face but Purrazzo kicks her in the head and snaps on the Fujiwara armbar for the tap at 2:56. Effective debut as it looked like Purrazzo toyed with her until she won when she felt like it.

Post match Grace runs in to chase Purrazzo off. Not her time you see.

Swinger can’t get Suicide to be the partner.

Hernandez agrees to be the partner, if Swinger can beat him at arm wrestling. Swinger is going to need to keep looking. Swinger: “You broke my swing!” He does however get a Rhino Micro Brawler.

Swinger bumps into Taya Valkyrie but can’t get her to say yes either. She’s looking for Bravo. Swinger: “I haven’t seen Dino.”

Ken Shamrock vs. Josh Alexander

Alexander and Ethan Page jump Shamrock before the bell but he fights them off….for about three seconds. Page puts him in the ankle lock and the champs leave Shamrock laying. No match.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Susie

John E. Bravo comes out to be in Taya’s corner, though she’s not happy with him for being late. Madison doesn’t like Susie waving at the empty arena (Madison to Josh: “She’s waving at all of your friends.”). Taya jumps her to start and has to kick out of a rollup for two. A German suplex out of the corner gives Taya two and Bravo gets in some choking from the floor.

Taya slowly kicks away and talks trash before grabbing a reverse chinlock. A grab of the rope breaks that up and Taya charges into an elbow in the corner. Susie hurricanranas her into the corner but Taya is back with a clothesline for two more. Taya misses a charge in the corner and Susie gets in a Thesz press to hammer away. That just earns her a curb stomp from Taya, followed by the Road to Valhalla to give Taya the pin at 8:07.

Rating: C-. Not terrible here but they’re still pushing the idea of Su Yung returning when Susie is pushed too far. That’s an interesting way to go, or at least it was when Bray Wyatt and Mick Foley did it. We could be in for something good when Yung finally come back and seeing Taya as a screaming coward should work well.

Post match Taya stays on Susie but Kylie Rae runs in with a superkick for the save.

Ace Austin isn’t going to let Madman Fulton answer questions about their alliance. This is all about success.

Remember the ex-WWE star coming to Impact? They’re still coming.

Swinger has found a partner: Rohit Raju. Chris Bey: “Why? Why?”

Willie Mack/Deaners vs. Chris Bey/Rohit Raju/Johnny Swinger

Jake and Raju start things off with Raju grabbing a headlock. That’s about it for Raju’s offense to start as the good guys all get in a shot each. Swinger comes in and gets dropkicked into the wrong corner. Everything breaks down and the villains are sent outside as we take a break.

Back with Jake fighting out of the corner until Raju lands a superkick. Bey ties him in the ropes for a kick to the back and a near fall and it’s off to Swinger for a chinlock. That’s broken up in a hurry so Bey comes inf or an abdominal stretch. Jake breaks that up without much trouble and everything breaks down. The parade of finishers is on until Mack Stuns Raju. Bey hits a springboard Fameasser to finish Mack at 11:18.

Rating: C. They did a nice job of setting up the pretty obvious Slammiversary title shot. Mack vs. Bey could be a heck of a match and the setup with Swinger needing to find a partner was funny. Throw in people taking shots at Raju and this was a good enough use of time throughout the night.

Reno Scum comes up to yell at D’Lo Brown but TJP and Fallah Bahh come in to make the match for next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week. In theory at least.

Madman Fulton vs. Eddie Edwards

Ace Austin is here with Fulton. Eddie circles the monster to start and ducks a right hand in the corner. A grab of the hair doesn’t get Eddie very far as Fulton throws him into the corner to take over with the power. Eddie gets in an atomic drop but a belly to belly attempt is easily blocked. A running clothesline sends Fulton to the floor, where he yells at Eddie for thinking about a dive.

We take a break and come back with Fulton throwing him over the top with a chokeshove. Eddie can barely get back to his feet so Fulton sends it back inside for a neckbreaker. A suplex gets Eddie out of trouble and Fulton bails to the floor so the dive can connect. Fulton does a movie monster sit up and Eddie’s chops have no effect.

The Blue Thunder Bomb works a bit better but Fulton sends him hard into the corner. Eddie is fine enough to snap off a super hurricanrana but Fulton gets in a palm strike. The strike off goes to Eddie and he grabs a tiger driver for two. Fulton is right back up with a swinging Downward Spiral to finish Eddie at 14:36.

Rating: B. Match of the night here and that isn’t quite surprising given that Eddie was involved. He’s one of the few names who is almost guaranteed to have a good match and that’s a very valuable thing to have. Fulton is becoming a great monster as well and putting him with Austin could be interesting.

Overall Rating: D+. I do feel bad for them because the show was guaranteed to be a mess given the whole situation, which wasn’t their fault. That being said, this is going to get worse before it gets better and I’m not sure what that is going to mean in the long run. What we got here was a lot of “see you next week” stuff and a good main event. Slammiversary has the potential to be a huge mess but getting rid of people who were just going to cause more problems might make it worth the hassle.

Results

Tasha Steelz b. Nevaeh – Rollup with trunks

Deonna Purrazzo b. Alisha Edwards – Fujiwara armbar

Taya Valkyrie b. Susie – Road to Valhalla

Chris Bey/Rohit Raju/Johnny Swinger b. Willie Mack/Deaners – Springboard Fameasser to Mack

Madman Fulton b. Eddie Edwards – Swinging Downward Spiral

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 9, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

It’s a big night as we get to find out the future of the World Title. Last week Ace Austin won the #1 contenders tournament, which was rather odd as he beat someone who wasn’t even entered. Never let it be said that things go as you might expect around here, though that’s not necessarily a good thing. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Don Callis and Scott D’Amore aren’t sure what to do about the World Title situation.

Ken Shamrock vs. Michael Elgin vs. Sami Callihan

Shamrock and Elgin start brawling before Sami shows up, meaning the lights go out so Sami can show up. Sami sends the other two outside but gets pulled out of the air and driven into the apron. Shamrock is back up with a dive onto both of them but Elgin hits a middle rope dropkick back inside.

Elgin sends Shamrock into the post and suplexes Callihan down for two. A hard whip into the corner has Sami in trouble and Elgin tells him to try it. Shamrock is back in to suplex Elgin and it’s time to slug it out with Callihan. Now it’s Elgin coming back in to beat up Callihan, with a running forearm getting two.

Elgin DDTs Shamrock, who pops up twice in a row. The ankle lock has Elgin in trouble and he gets to the corner….where he pulls the buckle pad off without the hold being broken. Sami blocks the tap so Shamrock locks his ankle instead. Callihan breaks that up and hits the Elgin Bomb to finish Shamrock at 8:48.

Rating: C. This was every standard triple threat match you’ve seen before so it’s nothing that you really need to see. Elgin winning makes the most sense as he’s getting the monster push, meaning the World Title shot has to be coming sooner or later. This is the kind of win that lets him look strong, and Elgin knows how to sell the heck out of that.

Post match Shamrock and Callihan stare each other down until the lights go out and Sami disappears.

The announcers preview the show.

Jordynne Grace will know everything is back when she drives Taya Valkyrie straight through the mat.

The Rascalz are ready for their seventeenth shot at the Tag Team Titles when Trey comes in and wants to know who jumped him. The North comes in to promise a beating last week. They accuse Wentz of jumping Trey, who denies everything.

Tasha Steelz vs. Susie

Kiera Hogan is here with Steelz. Tasha slaps her a few times to start and is quickly bulldogged down. That’s enough for Steelz to bail to the floor, where she knocks Susie’s dive out of the air with a forearm. Back in and Steelz stomps away, setting up a neckbreaker for two. A clothesline cuts Susie off but she’s back with a running Thesz press and the right hands. Susie palm strikes her out of the air for two as Hogan is panicking on the floor. That’s enough of a distraction for Steelz to hit a cutter for the pin at 3:47.

Rating: C-. Just a quick match here to keep the people involved in the feud going and that’s not a bad thing. Steelz isn’t the most interesting person in the world but she and Hogan pushing Susie to the brink to bring out Su Yung is going to be a nice payoff. Yeah it’s basically the Fiend, but Yung can make it work.

Ace Austin is late for his interview for some reason before showing up to say he’ll be the new World Champion since Tessa Blanchard isn’t here. Moose comes in to offer to have a special robe for Ace when he comes after the TNA World Title at Slammiversary. Ace doesn’t seem interested and leaves, so here’s Hernandez instead. He’ll fight Moose next week. Moose backs away and says don’t get so close to him.

Slammiversary ad.

Steelz and Hogan celebrate but run into Havok and Nevaeh. A challenge is thrown out but that’s not happening tonight.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Earl Hebner fights back against Mike Kanellis and gets laid out on May 17, 2016.

Rohit Raju comes up to Rhino and wants to know about last week’s Gore. Rhino references having a partner who has kids and tells Raju to get out of here. The brawl is on.

Taya Valkyrie is looking for John E. Bravo.

Johnny Swinger/Chris Bey vs. Willie Mack/Cousin Jake

Mack and Bey start things off with Bey bailing into the corner early on for a tag to Swinger. That’s fine with Mack, who sends Swinger into the corner so Jake can come in to send Swinger into the corner. Bey gets in a cheap shot from the corner though and it’s Mack in trouble for a change. Since it’s just Swinger though, Mack kicks him away without much effort and it’s back to Jake.

Bey gets dropped onto Swinger but Jake misses a charge into the corner to send us to a break. Back with Bey choking Jake on the rope and Swinger getting in some of his own. Jake clotheslines his way to freedom though and it’s back to Mack to clean house. The standing moonsault gets two on Swinger and the Stunner puts him away at 10:43.

Rating: C. Bey continues to come off like a star in the making and Swinger is enough of a goof that you can see him do almost anything you want for the same success. Jake is kind of a random partner but the point is advancing Bey vs. Mack, which they did well. The Slammiversary title match should be a heck of a showcase for both of them too.

Post match the beatdown is on until Cody Deaner makes his return for the save. Jake seems surprised to see him, meaning we’re supposed to believe that that Jake either didn’t come up to see Cody today or that he just got here and happened to run in halfway through the show? That’s a heck of a coincidence.

Rosemary almost gets John E. Bravo to bite her apple but Taya comes in to yell at him. Rosemary doesn’t want to hear it and stands up for Bravo, but Taya says she was just looking out for his own good. Somehow a partnership is formed between the three of them.

Here’s Scott D’Amore to address the World Title situation. He knows that something has to be done and Tessa Blanchard is still not here. Cue Ace Austin to say the World Champion is right here. Before D’Amore can respond, here’s Elgin to say Ace is going to have to deal with him if he wants Elgin’s title. So either get out, or fight. Now it’s Eddie Edwards making his return to say he can beat Elgin to say you have to earn titles around here.

Ace tells D’Amore to get back to awarding him the title. D’Amore tells him to get back for the sake of social distancing. With that done, D’Amore says it’s a five way for the title at Slammiversary. Ace wants to know who the fifth person so D’Amore tells him to turn around. Cue Trey to springboard in with a dropkick and the big brawl is on.

Joseph P. Ryan, with the returning Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes (to absolutely no fanfare) to introduce Jacob Crist, who is here to teach Mentally Unwell Steve a lesson.

Jacob Crist vs. Crazzy Steve

Crist jumps him from behind to start as Josh calls Steve an Impact Original. You mean the guy who debuted there all the way back in 2014? Choking on the ropes has Steve in trouble and Jake starts in on the arm. A short armscissors but Steve is right back up with a clothesline. Crist kicks him out of the corner though and a big kick to the head finishes Steve at 3:32.

Rating: D+. You can feel the Right to Censor vibes from these guys, but without Steven Richards to lead them, it doesn’t exactly make things work. Instead it’s Ryan being as dull as possible and making me roll my eyes every time the team comes out. Thankfully they aren’t going anywhere in a hurry, but I’m more confused about Van Dam’s return being treated as nothing. That’s kind of a big deal no?

Slammiversary ad. Again. At least this has the ex-WWE intrigue though and they’re making it seem like a big deal.

Preview for next week’s show.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Taya Valkyrie

Taya is challenging and has Rosemary and John E. Bravo with her. Grace isn’t waiting to start so Taya bails to the floor, meaning it’s a suicide dive to take out all three of them. Back from a break with Grace firing off shoulders in the corner and getting two off a snap suplex. A belly to belly gets two and a forearm sends Taya outside.

Grace spends too much time to send her back inside though and gets kneed in the face. Taya goes up so Grace knocks her back down to the floor for a crash as we take a break. Back with Grace knocking Taya outside again but she sends Grace into the steps to take over. They head back inside for the running knee to Grace in the corner, setting up the quickly broken chinlock.

Grace counters a superplex into a powerbomb and they’re both down for a bit. It’s Grace up first to send her into the corner for the running forearm and the Vader Bomb gets two. The Grace Driver is broken up though and Taya spears her down for two more. The Road to Valhalla is blocked as well and Grace chokes her out to retain at 18:57.

Rating: B-. They were smart to put these two together as they’re some of the bigger Knockouts and can have a more physical match together. That’s what they had here and it’s nice to see Grace adding something new to her arsenal. The Taya/Rosemary/Bravo grouping could be interesting, but it was Grace’s time to retain here and they went with the logical move.

Post match here’s Deonna Purrazzo, who pulls Grace into a Fujiwara armbar to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Decent enough show here but nothing that blew the roof off the place. Slammiversary is taking shape in a hurry and that’s a good thing given that we have just over a month before the show. What matters most is there are multiple things I’m curious to see and that is becoming the norm around here. Impact has gone from a joke to a rather decent weekly series and that’s very cool to see. Not a great show, but it worked well enough for what it was supposed to do.

Results

Michael Elgin b. Ken Shamrock and Sami Callihan – Elgin Bomb to Shamrock

Tasha Steelz b. Susie – Cutter

Willie Mack/Cousin Jake b. Johnny Swinger/Chris Bey – Stunner to Swinger

Jacob Crist b. Crazzy Steve – Kick to the head

Jordynne Grace b. Taya Valkyrie – Rear naked choke

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 2, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

It’s time for the tournament final as we need a new #1 contender to the World Title. Granted we also need the World Champion back, but I’m not sure when that is going to be the case. This show has been pretty watchable as of late though and hopefully they can keep that up this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Kylie Rae/Susie vs. Kiera Hogan/Tasha Steelz

This is fallout from Kiera and Tasha stealing Kylie’s bow. Kylie and Tasha lock up to start with Kylie not being able to spin out of a wristlock. Susie comes in and is quickly distracted, earning Tasha a slap to the face. It’s off to Kiera, who is taken down with a double bulldog in a hurry. That’s enough for the tag back to Tasha for a lot of trash talk as Susie is taken into the corner.

A double whip sends Susie hard into the buckle as Madison wants to know if Kylie knows about Su Yung. Tasha’s neckbreaker gives Kiera two but Susie comes back with a running faceplant. Su steals the bow back and hands it off to Kylie while tagging at the same time. House is cleaned in a hurry and the Kylie Special gets two on Kiera. Tasha hits a Codebreaker on Yung as everything breaks down. We get an exchange of strikes to the head until Steelz hurricanranas Susie into a fisherman’s neckbreaker for the pin at 7:18.

Rating: C-. This was short and to the point, though the fact that the point is a bow isn’t the most thrilling thing in the world. The division continues to look good with the new talent included and it’s nice to see multiple stories going on at once. It’s also nice to see all of these different styles coming together and it shows how things can go when it’s not just WWE style over and over again.

Here’s what’s coming on the show.

Ace Austin says people are too worried about the past around here. He’s going to the stars but here’s Moose to say his World Title is very prestigious. The Impact World Title is second rate so come after the real title.

Joseph P. Ryan vs. Crazzy Steve

Ryan has the Crists with him. As you might expect, Steve counters with a monkey. Steve says Ryan is the d*** guy and gets punched in the face. That earns Ryan some rapid fire shots but he comes back with a quick dropkick. There’s a knee drop for two on Steve and Ryan asks if anyone wants to see the greatest suplex on earth. Said suplex is broken up so they strike it out until Steve bites the hand. A rollup sends Ryan into the corner but Jake Crist offers a distraction, allowing Ryan to hit a superkick for the pin at 3:27.

Rating: D+. I’m still trying to find a reason to care about Ryan but I’ll certainly take this over his usual stuff. That being said, are they really putting the Crists with him? They’re a bit more talented than that and I’m not sure if I can go with the idea of them being underneath Ryan. The match wasn’t any good, but what are you expecting from this situation?

Post match Ryan says this is the culture and asks if Jake is ready to join. Ryan needs a sign, so Jake kicks Dave in the face.

Rohit Raju vs. Chase Stevens

Raju wins a slugout to start and kicks the knee out for two. Stevens’ short arm clothesline gets two and a snap suplex is good for the same. That earns him a Russian legsweep to cut things off again and Raju drops an elbow to add another two. The choking on the rope ensues and Raju says it’s his time. That takes a bit too long (of course) and Chase suplexes him into an ax kick for two more. The middle rope moonsault hits knees though and Raju hits a jumping knee to the face. A top rope double stomp to the back finishes Stevens at 5:45.

Rating: C-. Raju is already better on his own, though it’s not like he had anywhere to go but up. Sometimes you just need to get away from things and show off your talents, which might be what he needed. Stevens is someone you might remember if you think rather hard so having him as a jobber is fine enough.

Post match, Rhino of all people comes out to Gore Raju.

Nevaeh says she and Havok have been friends for years and she’s here to keep an eye on her after everything that went on with James Mitchell.

It’s time for Locker Room Talk with special guest Chris Bey. Johnny Swinger is WAY too excited about this and Madison Rayne has to calm him down a bit. Swinger won’t even let him respond as he praises Bey, thereby ignoring Madison Square Garden Rayne (ok good line). They’re the Finesse and Bench Press Express and next week they’re challenging Willie Mack for a tag match. Bey: “Uh, sure.” Then Swinger can help Bey win the X-Division Title. Madison is sick of Swinger saying Brother over and over and ends the show in a hurry.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Bobby Lashley b. Drew Galloway to win the World Title at Slammiversary 2016. Just a random choice of course.

Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace is back and is happy seeing all the new talent. Taya Valkyrie returns as well and doesn’t think much of Grace taking time off. Grace likes that idea and offers Taya a title match tonight. We’ll make that next week instead. Taya: “BRAVO!”

Rascalz vs. TJP/Fallah Bahh

#1 contenders match. Hold on though as we need to shake….er, touch elbows before we can get going. TJP wants to start but Bahh picks him up and moves him to the corner, saying he’s got this. TJP tries to do to the same to Bahh, with expected results. Dez can’t lift Bahh either and they trade rolling escapes to wristlocks. Dez: “That was impressive.” A rollup doesn’t work for Dez either and Bahh is waiting on his charge into the corner.

TJP comes in to face Wentz, meaning some of the laughing and trash talk might go away. Wentz takes him down so TJP snaps off the headscissors. They hit the mat until TJP hits the basement dropkick. Dez comes back in for his own headscissors, followed by the Bronco Buster from Wentz. Bahh isn’t having this and helps TJP with a quick Poetry In Motion but the Rascalz kicks TJP down in a hurry for two.

Wentz’s slingshot hilo gets two more but TJP is fine enough to hit a tornado DDT to take Wentz down. The hot tag brings in Bahh to clean house, including a Samoan drop on Dez. A double splash gets two on Dez and TJP takes him down with a dragon screw legwhip. Dez is fine enough to get over to Wentz for the hot tag as the pace picks way up.

Wentz hits a standing moonsault for two on TJP and it’s a superkick into a middle rope double stomp for two more. Bahh comes in without a tag to plant both guys and an exchange of small packages give TJP and Dez two each with the partners making stereo saves. Wentz and Bahh fight to the floor, leaving TJP to kneebar Dez. That’s broken up as well though and Dez leans back into a rollup to pin TJP at 12:36.

Rating: B. This was the fast paced and entertaining match you would expect from the three of them, plus Bahh in there for a bonus. I could go for more of the Rascalz and seeing them against the North could be rather entertaining. TJP and Bahh continue to be a very good team, but the Rascalz needed some success so hopefully this is just the first step.

Respect is shown post match.

Video on Deonna Purrazzo.

Rosemary and John E. Bravo had fun on their date and Bravo is rather happy with being away from Taya. Rosemary has an offer to him and gives him a chance to bite her apple (which seems to have some consequences) but Taya calls and needs Bravo to do something. He had fun with Rosemary but runs off to do whatever she needs, even if it’s across the country. Rosemary bites the apple and says this is going to be harder than she thought.

Michael Elgin demands that his music be played and storms to the ring to rant about Sami Callihan. The lights go out but Elgin isn’t scared of Sami. He wants to be #1 contender or the World Champion but here’s Ken Shamrock instead. The fight is on and Elgin bails from the threat of the ankle lock. On Elgin’s time you see.

Hold on though as there is no Trey, who is found unconscious in the back. Austin says that’s a shame but he wins by forfeit. Wentz comes out and blames Austin but referees hold him out. Boss Scott D’Amore comes out and we’ve got a replacement.

Wentz dropkicks him into the corner to start and shouts a lot before hammering down right hands. A kick to the face and more right hands rock Austin as we take a break. Back with Ace’s apron superkick being blocked to put them both down on the floor. Ace chokes away with Wentz’s shirt and then backdrops him on the ramp, meaning the count is on as Ace gets a breather.

Wentz beats the count but Ace takes him outside again for a whip into the barricade. Ace stomps on the hand as Wentz climbs the steps and it’s another ram into the barricade to stay on the back. A missed charge sends Ace into the barricade for a change though and Wentz stomps away again. Wentz’ running dive off the steps is kicked out of the air though and we take a second break.

Back again with Ace getting two as Madison accuses Wentz of being an opportunist here. Ace catapults him throat first into the bottom rope for two but Wentz gets in a quick suplex for a breather. A jawbreaker cuts Wentz off again and we hit the armbar, allowing Ace to cut the fingers with the playing card. That’s too far for Wentz, who pounds him down with forearms to the back.

The Fold is loaded up in a hurry but Wentz knees him in the face. An enziguri drops Ace again and the penalty kick into the standing moonsault gives Wentz two. Wentz’s swinging half nelson slam gets two more and he adds a superkick. The Swanton hits knees though and the Fold gives Ace the pin and the title shot at 24:13.

Rating: B. I was getting into this one by the end, though it helps that I like both guys. Austin as #1 contender makes a lot of sense as he has a history with Tessa (assuming they ever get her back for a title match) and had a rather nice run as X-Division Champion. This is the next step up for him, though they might have something interesting with finding out who attacked Trey.

Hold on though as the show wraps up, but we get a video of someone in a hoodie watching a report on the WWE releases. We see clips of a bunch of released WWE stars who used to work here (the Kanellises, the Good Brothers, EC3, Eric Young and more)….and it’s a Slammiversary ad. That’s rather interesting.

Overall Rating: B-. There wasn’t much at the beginning of this show but the last two matches more than bailed it out. I can always go for more of the Rascalz and Ace so I had a very good time with this one. The company has done a great job of making things feel fresh as they are pushing a lot of newer names. That’s what they have needed to do for years now and it has given them some of their best results in years. Keep that up and Impact is one of the most entertaining promotions going today.

Results

Kiera Hogan/Tasha Steelz b. Kylie Rae/Susie – Fisherman’s neckbreaker to Susie

Joseph P. Ryan b. Crazzy Steve – Superkick

Rohit Raju b. Chase Stevens – Top rope double stomp to the back

Rascalz b. TJP/Fallah Bahh – Rollup to TJP

Ace Austin b. Wentz – The Fold

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 12, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

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

The opening preview, narrated this week, talks about the tournament, but Moose cuts things off and throws it to the still amazing TNA voiceover guy who talks about how great Moose is. This includes various clips of names like Christopher Daniels, Robert Roode, Jeff Hardy, Dixie Carter and Hulk Hogan praising someone, who of course is Moose and this is in no way doctored. This was great and an actually unique opening.

Opening sequence.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Mad Man Fulton vs. Hernandez

The Crists are in Fulton’s corner. Fulton drives him into the corner to start so Hernandez takes the bandanna off to show that he’s serious. Some running clotheslines don’t do much to Fulton but a Pounds takes him down as the shouting ensues. Fulton gets two off a suplex and it’s time to choke on the ropes as the announcers debate the validity of Moose’s title reign. Hernandez fights out of a chinlock but gets sent head first into the mat for his efforts.

Jake Crist gets in a cheap shot and we hit the chinlock again. Fulton misses a heck of a middle rope headbutt and Hernandez is back with a backsplash. The Crists get involved so Hernandez throws Jake at Fulton. Hernandez goes up top, shoves Fulton down, and hits a top rope splash for the pin at 8:54.

Rating: C. Not a bad power match here though I would question having OVE lose AGAIN, especially with the numbers advantage. The story of them being all messed up with no leader is fine and makes me wonder why they’ll bring in to replace Sami Callihan, but how much of an advantage do you need to beat Hernandez.

Michael Elgin doesn’t understand why there is a tournament when he has proven himself time after time.

Fulton is freaking out and the Crists are ready to come to blows. Crazzy Steve comes in to say he’s ready to fight next week. Joseph P. Ryan comes in to say the word Crazzy is offensive to crazy people.

The announcers preview the rest of the show.

Kylie Rae vs. Tasha Steelz

Steelz is an NWA regular. There’s no handshake to start and Kylie spins out of a wristlock. A headscissors gets Kylie out of a headlock on the mat so Steelz headstands up. It works so well that Kylie does it as well, albeit with a smile. A series of clotheslines sets up the chinlock on Rae so she powers up and drives Steelz into the corner. More clotheslines stagger Steelz but she sends Rae out to the apron for a breather. The Kylie Special gets two but Tasha rolls away from the STF. Steelz’s high crossbody gets two as Josh praises Steelz quite a bit. A springboard bulldog is blocked though and the STF finishes Steelz at 6:56.

Rating: C-. It’s hard not to like Kylie a little bit with the gimmick being so similar to Bayley. That’s something that works well if you have the charisma to build it up. What matters most here though is the rebuilding of the Knockouts division, which is suddenly looking rather deep. It’s certainly looking better than what we had a few months or even years ago.

Rohit Raju is ready to get his big break. He’s tired of being a joke and it’s changing tonight in the tournament. This is an interesting case as Raju on his own it’s too bad. It’s just how far down he’s been for so long. Maybe the lack of the rest of the Hit Squad will help though.

Susie comes up to Kylie in the back for a second introduction. Susie understands that Rae’s last night’s “again” and thinks Rae sounds like a ray of sunshine. Kylie: “I like her.”

Kimber Lee vs. Havok

Kimber screams at her so Havok screams back. Lee: “Nope.” Havok grabs her by the hair but gets chopped in the corner. That’s broken up and Havok hits a sitout powerbomb for two. Some kicks to the head rock Havok and we hit the choking on the ropes. Back from a break with Havok whipping her hard into the corner. That’s reversed into an Octopus in the ropes as Nevaeh comes out to watch. Lee’s Swanton gets two, as does Havok’s spinning side slam. Havok sees Nevaeh and the distraction lets Lee bust out some brass knuckles. A loud scream scares the referee so Kimber can use the knuckles for the pin at 8:47.

Rating: C. Just like in the previous one, I’m interested in how they’re rebuilding the division. That could go a long way and with so many talented people out there, the division could go in a lot of directions. This wasn’t a great match or anything, but the Knockouts are getting more depth than the WWE women’s division has had for a good while now. Granted having one division to two helps a lot.

Video on Kiera Hogan. She’s been learning from her mistakes and is waiting for the perfect opportunity.

It’s time for Locker Room Talk with Ken Shamrock, who doesn’t think much of Johnny Swinger. Shamrock talks about how he’s had a lot of feuds since he’s been been and he’s ready to hurt people. The only thing that matters is getting the World Title, so here’s Elgin to hit him in the head with a chair.

Sami Callihan is used to people trying to follow in his footsteps and that’s all Elgin is doing now. Next week, Sami is ready to take out Elgin in the tournament.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Trey vs. Rohit Raju

They’re both on their own. They fight over arm control to start with neither being able to get much of an advantage. Trey runs him over with a shoulder but an elbow to the face cuts him down. A sitout facebuster into a boot scrap to the face sends Raju outside where he catches Trey with a shot to the face.

Back in and a Steve Austin elbow connects for two as the announcers bicker about Moose again. Raju’s running Downward Spiral gets two more and it’s a snap suplex for the same. Trey fights up for the slugout and hits a running neckbreaker for the double knockdown. A kick to the face gives Trey two and he catches Raju on top with the Cheeky Nandos kick. The 619 connects but Raju knees him out of the air. Not that it matters as Trey small packages him for the pin at 10:19.

Rating: C+. That’s the right result but what matters most here is having Raju as a solo act. That might be the key to him the entire time as there was nothing happening with the Hit Squad and everyone knew it. Again, it’s a mentality of trying something different instead of hammering away with the same thing over and over when it doesn’t work. Well done for a change.

Cody Deaner tries not to go insane in self isolation. He’s been training in the woods and trying to have someone to share a beer. Then he wrestled himself and a stuffed animal to make himself feel better.

We go back to the Battle Arts Academy in Canada for the North’s Tag Team Title defense. Ethan Page knows that Josh Alexander wasn’t happy with last week’s opponents so the ring announcer gets to pick this week. We get two more very skinny guys and Alexander isn’t pleased again. Ethan Page gets a bunch of nicknames ala Apollo Creed, though Alexander points out that Creed died in Rocky IV.

After hearing about Page being voted the sex symbol by a fishing magazine, Page superkicks the first schmo (as commentary calls him) out cold. That means Page has to pick him up for the offense, which doesn’t please Page. In other words, it’s a Weekend At Bernie’s match until Page super gorilla presses him into a backbreaker. Northern Assault finishes in a hurry. These have been funny and well done on making something out of nothing.

Rosemary yells at the cards in a bar and talks to her stuffed lion (for Taya) and stuffed bunny (for the Bunny). John E. Bravo comes in to say he misses how Taya smells but Rosemary is the one really obsessed with her. Rosemary doesn’t look convinced.

Flashback Moment of the Week: AJ Styles beats Matt Hardy at Victory Road 2011. They haven’t been airing as much of these things and that’s a good thing.

Chris Bey talks to Johnny Swinger about Willie Mack saying he was the leader of the Mack And Pack Connection.

Post break, Swinger comes up to Mack and says he’s not the weak link of the team. Swinger: “I’m not the Shawn Michaels of the team.” The title match is on for next week.

TNA World Title: Suicide vs. Moose

Moose is defending despite not actually being champion. Suicide grabs a rollup for an early two and an armdrag has Moose on the floor in a hurry. Back from a break with Moose yelling at the referee and getting hit in the face. They head outside with Moose whipping him into the barricade to take over.

Back in and a reverse press slam off the top has suicide in trouble again. As Josh wonders how many former World Champions aren’t pleased with Moose, Suicide gets kicked off the apron in a big crash. Suicide is swung into the barricade and it’s time to start celebrating. After getting back in at nine, Suicide gets knocked right back to the floor.

They switch places though and Suicide hits a namesake dive, followed by the cannonball off the apron. Back in and a headscissors puts Moose down again but he stomps Suicide down in the corner. The referee gets bumped so Suicide strikes away, including a running palm strike. The Code Breaker connects for no count so it’s a sunset flip for two. Back up and a low blow into No Jackhammer Needed retains the title at 16:14.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure how smart it was to have Moose need to cheat to beat a video game character but that has never stopped Impact before. Moose won and looked rather villainous in doing so, which I’ll take over a lot of other options. This is a gimmick that could go on for a good while, though the idea of Moose having trouble with a bunch of the older wrestlers who are classified as TNA Originals could get tiresome.

Overall Rating: B-. What got my attention the most around here is a fresh take on a lot of things. They’re bringing in new talents and presenting some fresh concepts, which is one of the best things that could be done. Impact has had such a bad reputation for so long now that it’s nice to see them do something different. I’ll take what I can get at this point and this was a fun, engaging show that made me want to see more. You don’t get that often around here and hopefully it is here to stay.

Results

Hernandez b. Mad Man Fulton – Top rope splash

Kylie Rae b. Tasha Steelz – Smile to the Finish

Kimber Lee b. Havok – Brass knuckles to the head

Trey b. Rohit Raju – Small package

Moose b. Suicide – No Jackhammer Needed

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: National Wrestling Alliance

Powerrr
Date: May 12, 2020
Location: GPB Studios, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Joe Galli, Stu Bennett

Wow it feels like a long time since we’ve been here. So back in March, the NWA was gearing up for the 2020 Crockett Cup when Coronavirus happened. As you might have guessed, that changed everything going on and the decision was made to not air this show for about two and a half months. Here it is though, with the extended show under the Super Powerrr banner. Let’s get to it.

Here is the most recent episode in case you need a recap.

Billy Corgan welcomes us to the show and promises a special announcement about the future of the NWA at the end.

Opening sequence. Dang I miss Into The Fire.

Here are Marty Scurll and Brody King for a chat. Marty talks about Villain Enterprises being here in the NWA and if you mess with him, you mess with Brody too. King promises that Scurll will be the next World Champion.

We look back at Kamille attacking Allysin Kay and staring down Thunder Rosa.

We recap Kamille’s time in the NWA, which is kind of tricky as she doesn’t speak, no matter what.

Kamille vs. Madi Maxx

Kamille drives her straight into the corner to start and stomps away. Max forearms away but gets glared down off a sunset flip attempt. After putting Maxx on top, Kamille hits a Regal roll and spears Maxx down for the pin at 2:31. Not quite a complete squash but it was close enough and Kamille looked dominant.

Post match the fans want Kamille to speak and she glares Galli back when he asks for a comment.

We get a video from Kamille, now with red hair, talking about how she has been great her whole life and how no one likes her as a result. Her coaches loved her but the parents wanted her taken out of the league for endangering their kids. Why should she have any respect for authority? She is an elite athlete who has dominated everything she has done.

That’s why Nick Aldis called: she isn’t here for her looks, but because she can take care of problems. She doesn’t talk because she lets her actions do the talking for her. While she’ll never start a fight, she’ll always end one. She’s here to end all of us. Good video here and it’s nice to have a backstory for Kamille, who has some personality to her.

Austin Idol wants to show you how to get heat because he’s a professional wrestling psychologist.

We recap Aron Stevens and the Question Mark wanting a Tag Team Title shot. They’ll go through the Rock N Roll Express to get there. Stevens beating up Trevor Murdoch was included as well.

Sean Mooney brings out the Express, who want the Crockett Cup.

Aron Stevens/Question Mark vs. Rock N Roll Express

Morton works on Mark’s arm to start so it’s some KA-RAH-TAY to get him free. Stevens comes in to miss an elbow, which he claims was due to Morton moving illegally. An armdrag sends Stevens into the corner and he gets ping ponged between Ricky and Robert. He’s fine though….and there’s the faceplant. Stevens is back to take Morton into the corner as Murdoch comes out.

That sends Stevens into a rant about how Murdoch was injured (Stevens: “I GUESS YOU FLUNKED HONESTY!”) but worry not, because he has some backup: Question Mark Jr.! This guy is huge and commentary thinks it’s Brian Milonas, because it’s not like there are many other people that size. A two second chase has Mark Jr. gassed so Morton rolls Stevens up for the pin at 5:11.

Rating: D+. I can’t get too annoyed at this as while the Express can’t do as much in the ring these days, it is still cool to see legends like them out there almost every week. The ending wasn’t even clean so it’s not like they beat some team in a major upset. On top of that, you have Stevens being hilarious every time he’s on TV. That line about honesty got an actual chuckle out of me and that’s easier said that done. Nice one.

We look back at Zicky Dice winning the TV Title last week.

Dice won’t tell us he told us so, but he told us so.

Video on Melina vs. Thunder Rosa, which included Kamille attacking Allysin Kay.

Here’s Melina to say that she’s a legend and deserves the next title shot. It’s not her fault that Allysin Kay lost her title and the rematch. Cue Kay to say Melina cost her the rematch because she is a coward. Now it’s champion Thunder Rosa come out to say she’ll face anyone. She’s already beaten Kay though and won’t lay down for Melina. But let’s just make it a triple threat anyway.

Tony Falk wants to sell you waffles and tire irons. Buy three waffles, get four tire irons free.

Video on Tim Storm vs. Royce Isaacs over the fake Mama Storm (Danny Deals). This led to the return of former NWA World Champion Jax Dane.

Jax Dane vs. Tim Storm

No DQ and Deals is in Dane’s corner. Dane waits for Storm at the entrance and the brawl is on in a hurry. They get inside with Dane snapping off a belly to belly suplex and they’re back to the floor again. The battle of the forearms head into the crowd with Dane sending him into a barricade and pounding him down. Storm swings a gate into Dane’s ribs and they fight back to ringside.

Dane is sent head first into the Crockett Cup to draw some blood. The loud chop off sets up an overhead belly to belly to nearly drop Storm on his head on the floor. Back inside again and Dane wedges a chair in the corner, which isn’t likely to end well. Dane shrugs off some clotheslines and a big boot, setting up a Samoan drop. Dane misses a charge into a chair in the corner and walks into the Perfect Storm for the pin at 8:31.

Rating: C-. I liked this well enough and that’s what it was supposed to be. Storm continues to be the best story to come out of this promotion as he has gone from that old guy who won the NWA World Title to a genuinely beloved star. He’s just one of those likable guys and it’s a character that works so well. Good for him for making it work like this. Dane is a nice choice for a monster and he could do some stuff around here.

Post match, Deals has to face Storm, which wasn’t mentioned before the match. For reasons of pure stupidity, Deals puts the Mama Storm gear back on, earning himself a pair of Perfect Storms.

Mae Valentine doesn’t get why Royce Isaacs is going so nuts about her friendship with Sal Rinauro. No she isn’t cheating on Royce because her mama raised her to be pure. This has already cost her ONE HUNDRED FOLLOWERS!

Marti Belle vs. Tasha Steelz vs. Ashley Vox

The trash talk sends Marti outside but she comes back in to stomp both of them down in the corners. Some running hip attacks get two on Steelz and a Russian legsweep gets two on Steelz. Vox is back in with a missile dropkick to Belle for two and the Real Catch has Steelz in trouble. Belle takes Vox down but walks into a Codebreaker to give Steelz the pin at 5:48.

Rating: D+. This was a good example of a match with three people doing moves to each other until one of them won. That doesn’t make for the most thrilling match and that was the case here. The women’s division continues to be one of the bigger weaknesses around here and this didn’t make things any better.

We recap Pope paying off the Bouncers to beat up Eddie Kingston, plus the Bouncers losing their Tag Team Title shot against James Storm and Eli Drake.

Here are Kingston, Storm and Drake for a chat. Kingston talks about how he wanted two fighters to take care of the Bouncers so he picked the World Tag Team Champions. Storm talks about wanting to entertain the fans and loving to fight. Drake doesn’t care if the Bouncers came from Ring of Honor because they got bounced right back to Ring of Honor. Any team who wants some of them, come see them in the Crockett Cup.

Video on Nick Aldis vs. Marty Scurll.

Strictly Business vs. Villain Enterprises

Nick Aldis/Thom Latimer vs. Marty Scurll/Brody King here. Aldis bails over for the tag to Latimer instead of facing Scurll so Latimer shoulders King to no avail. A shoulder and chop put Latimer down but Aldis’ cheap shot from the apron….has very little effect actually. Scurll comes in and claims a cheap shot from Aldis and the distraction lets the Villains hit a double elbow. Latimer gets sent outside so Scurll hits the superkick but Aldis sends him outside as well.

Back in and NOW Aldis is willing to fight as the cheating begins. Latimer grabs the chinlock but Scurll is up in a hurry for a suplex. The hot tag brings in King as everything breaks down. A sunset flip/German suplex combination into a piledriver gets two on Aldis but here’s Kamille to break up the chickenwing. Cue Royce Isaacs for a distraction so Scurll takes him out with a dive. The distraction lets Latimer hit King low, setting up the top rope elbow to give Aldis the pin at 9:47.

Rating: C+. They’re doing a good job of setting up Scurll challenging Aldis because it’s going to be a heck of a fight. I’m not sure how well it’s going to go whenever they finally get there, but the build has been good and that is what matters most at the moment. This was a good choice, and should set up Scurll making sure that it’s one on one against Aldis.

Corgan announces that since they can’t have actual wrestling right now so next week it’s a new series: Carnyland.

Roll credits.

Overall Rating: C. The main thing that this show did was remind me of two things. First, the show doesn’t need to be this long, and second, that the NWA wasn’t exactly lighting the world on fire when it went on hiatus. It isn’t a terrible show or anything, but there isn’t a lot to get excited about around here. I’d have watched Crockett Cup, but this didn’t really make me want to see it. It’s an ok show, though they might need the time off to freshen up their ideas.

Results

Kamille b. Madi Maxx – Spear

Rock N Roll Express b. Aron Stevens/Question Mark – Rollup to Stevens

Tim Storm b. Jax Dane – Perfect Storm

Tasha Steelz b. Ashley Vox and Marti Belle – Codebreaker to Belle

Strictly Business b. Villain Enterprises – Top rope elbow to Aldis

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit; National Wrestling Alliance

Powerrr
Date: February 11, 2020
Location: GPB Studios, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Joe Galli, Stu Bennett

We’re heading towards the Crockett Cup and we might have a bit of a change in the main event. This past Sunday saw the NWA come to Ring of Honor’s Free Enterprise event, where the terms for the NWA World Title match were confirmed. There was a new idea thrown out and I’m sure we’ll cover that this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Sean Mooney tells us to subscribe.

Opening sequence.

Dawsons vs. Bouncers

Eddie Kingston is here with the Bouncers, Pope is here with the Dawsons, Eli Drake is on commentary and a rowdy James Storm is behind trio to offer some shenanigans. Beer City Bruiser rams into Zane to start, followed by a clothesline to put Zane down. Brian (not Brawler here) comes in and doesn’t care for Dave chopping him that much. Some rapid fire Stink Faces from Milonas set up Bruiser’s non-bite bite (he doesn’t have teeth so it’s not really biting).

Bruiser gets taken into the corner though and the beatdown is on with the Dawsons getting to take turns on him. A double clothesline gets Bruiser out of trouble though and it’s back to Milonas to clean some house. The managers nearly get in a fight on the floor, allowing the Dawsons to powerbomb Milonas off the ropes for two. Not that it matters though as Milonas is right back with a superplex into a frog splash from Bruiser (the Blackout) for the pin on Zane at 5:16.

Rating: D+. I like the Bouncers but this wasn’t the right kind of match for them. They work well because they’re so much bigger than just about anyone they face but this was the opposite, which hurt them a good bit. It’s nice to have a fresh team around here though as the partnership with ROH pays some benefits.

Post match, Drake and Storm drink out of the Crockett Cup.

We’ll find out the date and the location of the Crockett Cup next week. If it’s not Center Stage in Atlanta, I don’t know what to tell you.

We see Nick Aldis challenging Marty Scurll to come up with his own counteroffer for the World Title match.

Thom Latimer is asked about his upcoming match with Tim Storm, which could put him in line for a World Title match. He isn’t interested in going after the title because that’s Strictly Business. Oh and the Wild Cards will get the Tag Team Titles back. Kamille teases slapping Dave Marquez but pats his jaw instead.

Thom Latimer vs. Tim Storm

Rating: C. I know I’ve said this before but if this incarnation of the NWA gets credit for nothing else, they should get credit for making Tim Storm into a star. Storm is nearly fifty five years old and has no business being a big deal. The NWA has turned him into a hero the fans can believe in though and that’s downright impressive.

Post match here’s the fake Mama Storm, who Storm manages to not deck.

We look back at Trevor Murdoch vs. Aron Stevens going to a time limit draw but Trevor pinned him after the match was over.

Murdoch wants a rematch because he is the roughest and toughest man to wrestle in the NWA. He didn’t get the TV or National Title, but here’s Question Mark to sing the Mongrovian National Anthem. A challenge seems to be made and accepted.

It’s time for an Update with Sean Mooney (sweet goodness it’s nice to say that again, though sweeter gooderness it’s weird hearing him talk about Ring of Honor). We see a clip of the end of Free Enterprise with Marty Scurll offering to put up $500,000 for a title shot.

There is no Powerrr next week, as we will see the debut of Squared Circle, the new reality series.

Nikita Koloff wants to tell you about Jesus. Fair enough.

TV Title: Matt Cross vs. Ricky Starks

Starks is defending. They fight over a wristlock to start with Starks taking him to the mat in a chinlock. The fans get behind Starks as they get back up, with Starks running him over off a shoulder. Cross is back with a backbreaker for two and now the fans are split. A handspring elbow in the corner gets two on Starks and it’s time to fight over a suplex. Starks gets the better of it but we have less than a minute to go. Starks gets two more off a DDT but Cross is right back with the Cross Cutter as time expires at 6:05.

Rating: C+. The time limit is an interesting idea as you can rarely do anything special in that little amount of time (made even worse with the first gear starting) but it makes sense for this show. Starks is someone who suits the match well enough, but there are possibilities with a heel running away to retain the title over and over. Nice enough match here though, with both guys working in their limited time.

Video on Thunder Rosa retaining the Women’s Title last week over Allysin Kay.

Melina vs. Tasha Steelz

Melina isn’t into shaking hands to start so Steelz hammers her in the face. That earns her a boot and clothesline to the jaw and Melina starts kicking in the corner. A running faceplant gives Melina two but Steelz is back up with some elbows to the jaw. There’s a jawbreaker to rock Melina again but she clotheslines Steelz’s head off. The Primal Scream finishes Steelz at 4:48.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here as the women’s division continues to not be all that great. Melina is the biggest name in the division by several miles though and putting her against Thunder Rosa for the title is what makes the most sense. She isn’t exactly her old self in the ring but the star power is more than enough to keep her around at this level for the time being.

Post match Melina demands a title shot and she has sanctioned it herself.

Royce Isaacs/Nick Aldis vs. Rock N Roll Express

Sal Rinauro and Mae Valentine are in the crowd. The fans are behind the Express as Isaacs and Gibson get things going. Isaacs is all shaken up by Valentine being out there with Rinauro though and Aldis has to calm him down. That doesn’t go so well though as Gibson grabs the leg and brings in Morton. Gibson works on the leg again and even draws Aldis in so Morton can make the switch without a tag.

Aldis does come in legally but gets taken down by a Morton hurricanrana to get under his skin. Isaacs gets knocked outside again but he’s fine enough to choke Morton on the ropes to take over. Aldis comes in for a cheap shot to give Isaacs two and then comes in to hammer on Morton as well. A missed charge lets Morton make the hot tag to Gibson though (the amount of times that has been done over the years) and house is cleaned in a hurry. During the melee, Isaacs pokes Gibson in the eye and rolls him up for the pin with his feet on the ropes at 7:21.

Rating: C. The Express’ matches have to be on a bit of a sliding scale as there is only so much they can do in the ring but at least they had a good enough one here. It gives the heels a win and keeps the story going if they want to go there, while also keeping things moving with Rinauro vs. Isaacs.

Post match Isaacs leaves with Valentine.

A video on Scurll vs. Aldis ends the show.

Roll credits.

Overall Rating: C-. I can always appreciate a short show that manages to get a lot of stuff into their limited time. That was the case here and even thought hey didn’t get that much high quality stuff, it was at least entertaining and gave us some nice moments. Maybe having next week off can help things out a bit, though I’m not exactly feeling the idea of a reality series. Are they really that far along yet?

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: National Wrestling Alliance

Powerrr
Date: January 21, 2020
Location: GPB Studios, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Stu Bennett, Joe Galli

It’s the season finale, meaning the last show before Saturday’s Hard Times event. I’m not sure what that is going to mean, but apparently this week’s show is going to be an extended hour and a half edition. Hopefully they use the extra time in a good way, and around here I think they actually will. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap sets up Nick Aldis vs. Ricky Morton for the World Title tonight.

Into The Fire.

Here’s Robert Gibson for a chat. He’s so happy to have helped his friend and partner get a World Title shot. Now go get it.

Tasha Steelz vs. Thunder Rosa

Steelz grabs a headlock to start but gets snapmared down and kicked in the back of the head. Rosa kicks her in the corner and chokes a bit with the boot, setting up a quick dragon sleeper. A hangman’s neckbreaker keeps Steelz in trouble but she gets a boot up in the corner. Steelz gets dropkicked out of the air though and a sitout Emerald Flosion finishes for Rosa at 2:52. This was just a step above a squash.

Post match Rosa says if you want to know what Melina’s problem is with her, ask Melina.

Nick Aldis is coming to see Marty Scurll in Baltimore and wants the NWA to come out in force. The tickets are free too.

Here are Royce Isaacs and Mae Valentine for a chat. Royce talks about Strictly Business being on fire but it’s pointed out that he is on a personal losing streak. That doesn’t sit well with Royce, who says his stock is going up. Galli lists off all of Royce’s losses and points out that the losses started when Valentine debuted. That’s not cool with Valentine and we’re done.

Let Austin Idol teach you how to get heat!

TV Title Tournament Qualifier: Thom Latimer vs. Trevor Murdoch

Latimer stomps away to start in a hurry to put Murdoch on the floor early on. Murdoch gets sent face first into the apron and a rake to the back makes it even worse. Back in and Latimer hits a powerbomb for two but a missed charge in the corner lets Murdoch grab a rollup (with trunks) for the pin at 2:31. That was his only offense for the match.

We recap Melina vs. Allysin Kay. Melina is a star but Kay is the defending Women’s Champion so it’s classic vs. modern.

Melina and Kay are at the interview desk with Melina wanting to make amends. Kay isn’t convinced and tells her to spit it out so Melina tells her to f****** listen. Melina has an idea for a match and Kay is ready to go. Hold on though as it isn’t against Melina, because Kay has to face Thunder Rosa at the pay per view. For now though, it’s a No DQ match with Kay facing….someone.

Allysin Kay vs. Marti Belle

Non-title and No DQ. It’s a brawl to start with Marti hammering away in the corner but getting knocked outside in a hurry. They slug it out on the floor until Marti flapjacks her onto the steps. Kay can’t get a chair as Belle kicks her away and puts on something like a camel clutch with Kay’s neck through the chair. That’s broken up and Belle’s knee hits the chair so Kay can slug away and take the fight into the crowd. Back in and Kay hits the AK47 onto the chair for the pin at 4:48.

Rating: C-. It was short but intense with Kay getting to showcase herself a bit more than usual. It’s almost weird that the Women’s Champion gets so little exposure but a showdown with Melina is the best thing for everyone involved. Odds are Melina wins the title, as they could have someone take it from her for a big rub. Either way, not a bad match here, with Belle getting to shine a bit.

Video on Nick Aldis vs. Ricky Morton. It’s so weird to say that in 2020. Or ever for that matter.

Buy the VHS guide to spiritual….something.

Here are the Pope and Eddie Kingston for a chat. Pope isn’t to blame for last week’s loss because he’ll help you if he can. People have been asking what his endgame is but he is still looking for his Super Powers and his Horsemen, and then you’ll see where this is going. Kingston says last week’s match shouldn’t have happened but Pope pushed them a bit too hard. They needed their victory last week but they learn instead of lose.

Kyle Davis replaces Galli on commentary. Was this taped out of order or something?

Here’s Aron Stevens for a ka-ra-tae demonstration, brought to you by the Mongrobian Ka-Ra-Tae Association. He brings out the Question Mark, but insists that he is NOT a mark! First, we face Mongrobia and bow, followed by Mark demonstrating a few chops. Now it’s some strikes to a masked man, followed by an explanation of how to disarm a man with a gun (or a finger gun).

But what if someone is carrying, say, a spatula? As I long for a squeegee joke, Mark demonstrates how to steal mace and use it on your attacker. Now we see two attackers taken out at once, which is why Mongrobia doesn’t need a nuclear program. Mark is ready to break some Mongrobian oak, but Stevens wants to do it himself so he can earn his fourth degree black belt.

Stevens needs to breathe a bit….but one of the masked men hits him with the board and unmasks as…..Ricky Starks for a good payoff. Speaking of payoffs, if you want to know Mongrobian secrets like these, it’s just 99.99 a month to learn why Mongrobia has been a free nation for thousands of years. This was rather entertaining as these two continue to be some of the most entertaining people in the NWA.

Buy Tony Falk’s tire irons! And have a waffle while you’re at it!

Gauntlet Match

The winner is the final entrant in the TV Title tournament. This is basically an eight man Royal Rumble and you can be eliminated by pinfall, submission or being thrown over the top. CW Anderson is in at #1 and Caleb Konley is in at #2. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get anywhere until Konley takes him down by the arm. That’s broken up and we’re at another standoff.

Jocephus is in at #3 and is eliminated in about six seconds. Anderson clotheslines Konley for two but gets caught in a sitout ProtoBomb into a half crab. Colt Cabana is in at #4 as the intervals are all over the place. Cabana beats both of them up in a hurry, including a reverse Rings of Saturn to Konley. Anderson breaks that up and stomps on Cabana as Dave Dawson is in at #5. Splashes abound and it’s turning into more of a regular battle royal. Everyone is knocked down and it’s Aron Stevens at #6.

Stevens gets in, looks around, goes to the floor and crawls underneath the ring, Cue Zicky Dice to say he’s undefeated everyone around here and won’t be wrestling here because he’s already qualified. With that out of the way, Sal Rinauro is in at #7 to clean some house until Dawson dropkicks him for two. Everyone gangs up on Dawson though and Konley’s moonsault gets rid of him to clear the ring a bit. Ken Anderson is in at #8, giving us a final field of CW Anderson, Konley, Cabana, Stevens (under the ring), Rinauro and Ken Anderson.

Ken gets to clean house, including the Mic Check to eliminate Rinauro. Cabana and Ken get together to take over, which means it’s another Mic Check to get rid of Konley. CW hits Ken with a spinebuster but it’s the Superman Pin to finish CW off. Cabana and Ken are ready to go at it but cue the Question Mark as Stevens gets back in. Mark Mongrobian Spikes Stevens by mistake though and Stevens is paralyzed, allowing Cabana and Ken to throw him out. A handshake lets Ken roll Cabana up for the win at 12:35.

Rating: C. This worked well enough, mainly due to the battle royal setup instead of just a regular gauntlet. Ken getting the win is a good way to go as he’s one of the bigger stars around here. I could go for he and Cabana having a feud as neither exactly has anything better to do. If nothing else, you can probably bet on Cabana costing Ken his tournament match and that’s fine.

Post match Ken shakes Cabana’s hand….but hits him low and grabs another Mic Check. That’s not it though as Cabana gets posted for the knockout.

Hard Times video.

Eli Drake and James Storm are here to see Ricky Morton win the World Title. Storm is a tag team wrestler because of Morton and tonight Morton is like Dale Earnhardt. We even get a prayer for Morton to win the World Title tonight. Drake is fired up too and this helped things a bit.

It’s time for the Hard Times Control Center.

The final two spots in the TV Title tournament will be Matt Cross and Ring of Honor’s Dan Maff.

Maff wanted to be on the list of great NWA TV Champions.

Flip Gordon is ready for Nick Aldis at Hard Times because Marty Scurll has made him a new man.

New stipulation on the main event: if Morton wins, he is defending at Hard Times. If Aldis wins, the Rock N Roll Express have to defend in a triple threat match against the Wild Cards and Eli Drake/James Storm.

One more thing: Aron Stevens defends the National Title against Scott Steiner. I think I need to see that one.

NWA World Title: Nick Aldis vs. Ricky Morton

Aldis is defending and Billy Corgan is on commentary to make it special. Robert Gibson and Strictly Business are all at ringside for a bonus. Hold on though as Corgan tells Bennett something. Bennett says everyone has to leave ringside so it can be one on one. Aldis bails to the floor to start and it’s over a minute before they lock up for the first time. That goes nowhere so they circle each other a bit and lock up again, giving us another standoff.

Morton works on a headlock and manages to get Aldis on the mat for a change. Back up and a chop sends Aldis into the corner so it’s time for Aldis to start hammering away. Aldis goes for the arm so Morton elbows him in the face as they’re keeping it in first (or maybe second) gear so far. Some right hands in the corner send Aldis to the floor again but he rakes the eyes to get a breather.

Morton gets posted and a hard whip sends him into the corner for a bonus. A headbutt puts Morton down but he punches Aldis out of the air. That just earns him another rake to the eyes but Morton slams him off the top (he did face Flair before). A hurricanrana sets up a Figure Four on Aldis but a rope is grabbed. Morton tries a small package so Aldis reverses into one of his own and grabs the tights for the pin at 11:00.

Rating: C+. I didn’t come into this exactly thrilled with the concept but by the end, I wanted to see Morton win the title. Maybe it would be just a nostalgia act, but that can be a lot of fun at times. Of course it wasn’t going to happen and wouldn’t have been a great idea, but they got me on board and that’s more than I would have expected.

We get a graphic from Villain Enterprises saying Hard Times are coming for Aldis.

We look at the Hard Times lineup one more time to end the show.

Roll Credits.

Overall Rating: C+. The point of this show was to make me want to see Hard Times more than I did coming in and that’s what they did. The show is looking pretty nice on paper and that’s more than I would have bet on coming in. Somehow the NWA is having an intriguing run as of late and I’m curious to see where it wins up. Just have a good Hard Times and we should be fine.

Results

Thunder Rosa b. Tasha Steelz – Sitout Emerald Flosion

Trevor Murdoch b. Thom Latimer – Rollup with trunks

Allysin Kay b. Marti Belle – AK47 onto a chair

Ken Anderson won a gauntlet match last eliminating Colt Cabana

Nick Aldis b. Ricky Morton – Small package with tights

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: National Wrestling Alliance

Powerrr
Date: January 1, 2020
Location: GPB Studios, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Stu Bennett, Joe Galli

The calendar shuffling continues as we are on Wednesday for one night only after being on Monday last week. We’re on the road to Hard Times and the TV Title tournament, but at the same time we have Nick Aldis and company running roughshod over the whole show. That could go in a few different directions so let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at the history of Nick Aldis and Tim Storm, who meet for a spot in the tournament tonight.

Into The Fire.

Tim Storm, in a Mama Storm shirt, talks about his history with Aldis. Yes he lost the match to Aldis that took him out of the World Title scene. For what Aldis did to him later though, it’s time for a beating. Cue Aldis and Kamille, who says Storm needs to get calmed down before his blood pressure goes too high. Aldis is in the tournament because he needs something to do. Storm is taking it seriously though and it’s starting to tick Aldis off. He wants it to be clear to Storm, Ricky Morton, or any other Randy the Ram back there trying to stay relevant: he’s the World Champion and that’s what makes you relevant.

Aron Stevens and Question Mark are ready to take over the NWA. This is the same promo from last week.

Aron Stevens vs. Sal Rinauro

Non-title and submissions only. The fans are Rinauro as Stevens is in his ka-ra-te gear. Better than the flesh colored trunks. They circle each other to start and Stevens snaps off an armdrag. An armbar attempt sends Sal over to the rope but Stevens pulls on the arm to take over. Stevens misses a dropkick but is fine enough to kick out of a Figure Four attempt (Rinauro’s dancing/strutting took a little too long) and hits a heck of a clothesline. The Mongrobian Clutch (cobra clutch) makes Rinauro tap at 2:51.

Post match Stevens won’t let go so Trevor Murdoch chases him off. Murdoch wants a fight right now. It can even be non-title because Murdoch just wants to beat him up. Stevens will fight, if Murdoch puts up his spot in the TV Title tournament.

Highspots.com ad.

Trevor Murdoch vs. Aron Stevens

Non-title again. A headbutt puts Stevens on the floor early and it’s a bunch of slams to give Murdoch two back inside. The fans are behind Murdoch as Stevens bails to the ropes, which lets him sucker Murdoch in. Some shots to the ribs have Murdoch in trouble but a sleeper attempt gets Stevens sent face first into the buckle. A full nelson slam sets up something close to an old Indian Deathlock to make Stevens tap at 3:01.

Rating: D+. This is one of those matches that might not look the most logical for a lot of promotions but fits in perfectly well here. Stevens has run his mouth about how dangerous he is and then he loses in a short match like this. Now he can continue to ignore what happened and brag anyway, which plays perfectly well into what he’s doing. Not a good match, but perfectly logical.

Something called Powerrr Surge is coming.

Pope sits down with Homicide and Eddie Kingston and thinks they could be the World Tag Team Champions here or anywhere.

Hard Times ad.

Here’s Eli Drake for a chat. Maybe he got lost in the sauce last week but it’s been two weeks since he’s been booked in a match. That’s when you hear Nick Aldis talking about being the best World Champion of all times. Ricky Morton was out here saying that Aldis was full of himself and Morton is right. Maybe Drake needs to go find his own match with Morton, Mr. Anderson or James Storm.

Cue Colt Cabana, who doesn’t like Drake ranting about Anderson. Drake wants the Tag Team Titles but Cabana is Anderson’s partner. Not that it matters as Drake won’t be World Champion anyway. Cue Anderson to tease a fight with Drake but Cabana holds them apart. I wasn’t feeling this one as these three have been having issues for weeks and they never seem to go anywhere.

Girl Powerrr is coming.

Marti Belle rants to Melina and Thunder Rosa about Allysin Kay being a fake friend.

Allysin Kay rants to ODB, Ashley Vox and Tasha Steelz about Marti Belle. They’ll have to figure something out.

Tasha Steelz vs. Marti Belle

Melina is here with Belle. They go to the mat to start with Steelz bouncing out of a headscissors so Belle sends her into the corner. That’s fine with Steelz, who flips over her, only to get kneed in the face for two. A missed charge in the corner lets Steelz hammer away with running elbows. Steelz gets two off a neckbreaker and a cutter is good for the pin on Belle at 4:43.

Rating: D+. A lot of these women’s matches just aren’t clicking. They’re not anything great from a technical perspective and the backstory behind the faction wars isn’t exactly thrilling. They come off as fighting because they’re fighting and that’s not a thrilling reason. It’s not terrible, but it feels like we’re having a women’s division because we need to.

Post match Melina yells at Belle for the loss.

Next week in the TV Title Tournament: Zicky Dice vs. Caleb Konley. They’ve done a really bad job of explaining how the tournament is working. From what I can piece together, we’re seeing a bunch of qualifying matches (or qualifying matches to get into the qualifying matches) and then the tournament is all at Hard Times? I’m sure there’s been some kind of an explanation but they aren’t exactly making it clear.

TV Title Tournament Qualifying Match: Tim Storm vs. Nick Aldis

Non-title. Hold on though as Aldis and company come out in their tracksuits, with Aldis saying Storm has taken the fun out of this. The team is dubbed Strictly Business and Aldis isn’t wrestling in this meaningless match. Storm can have a bye, but he calls Aldis a coward. Aldis has a replacement in mind.

TV Title Tournament Qualifying Match: Tim Storm vs. Royce Isaacs

Storm goes right for him and hammers away in the corner, setting up a clothesline for two. There’s a fall away slam to make it worse as this is one sided so far. Isaacs finally avoids a charge and grabs a t-bone suplex for one. The MAMA STORM chants get Tim back into it and he avoids a middle rope backsplash. A charge in the corner rocks Isaacs again but Storm walks into a cutter out of the corner for two. The dragon suplex into the German suplex is escaped though and it’s the Perfect Storm to finish Isaacs at 4:27.

Rating: C-. This was about advancing the story of Storm trying to get his hands on Aldis again as Aldis now has lackeys to throw at him. I’m sure they can come up with a way for Storm to get another shot at the World Title and it could be a huge match if he does, even if there is next to no chance of him winning the title back. Good angle advancement but not in a very good match.

Post match the Rock N Roll Express come out to yell at Isaacs to end the show.

Roll credits.

Overall Rating: C. As usual, the wrestling isn’t the point here. This show is all about setting things up for the bigger shows down the line and that’s what they did here. It’s a perfectly watchable show and the time flies by, which is one of its major perks. The big story continues to be the TV Title tournament, but they need to make that a little clearer instead of just throwing out qualifying match after qualifying match. Not a bad show here though, and it served its purpose.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Ring Of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: August 28, 2019
Location: Mattamy Athletic Center, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman
Hosts: Quinn McCay, Ian Riccaboni

The slow decline of this show and possibly the promotion continues as they try whatever they can to get Matt Taven over as World Champion. This time around it means Alex Shelley as the veteran challenger with no chance of winning the title. It’s not like they have anyone else that Taven hasn’t already beaten, other than Rush, who seems to be the one to take the title off of him. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We look at Shelley injecting himself into the World Title picture.

Clips of Alex Shelley/Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham beating the Kingdom at Mass Hysteria when Shelley made Marseglia tap.

Shelley is ready to take the title from Taven in Toronto.

We look at Tasha Steelz pinning Angelina Love twice in a row but needing Kelly Klein to save her from the Allure.

Clips of Klein retaining the Women of Honor Title over Steelz at Summer Supercard. Angelina jumped them both after the match. Just put the title on her already and get it over with.

Klein jumped Angelina in the back.

Lifeblood is ready for Villain Enterprises. Again.

We see Flip Gordon attacking Tracy Williams, which seemed to cost Williams the TV Title match later in the night.

Taylor is tired of not being promoted as a big star.

Highlights from Ladder War in Toronto with the Briscoes defending against Guerrillas of Destiny, which has to be clipped due to violence. It certainly does look carnagey.

The announcers give a quick Top Prospect Tournament preview.

Ring of Honor World Title: Matt Taven vs. Alex Shelley

Taven is defending and OF COURSE we have all the time in the world for him. They go to the mat to start with Taven holding a headscissors until Shelley blows his nose on him for a standoff. It’s back to the mat for a rollup on Taven and they stare at each other again. That works so well that they do it again for yet another standoff. A third rollup into MORE STARING lets Shelley do some pushups as they’re staying in first gear.

Taven bails to the floor to change things up a bit before coming back in for….another rollup for two. Back from a break with Shelley’s Sliced Bread off the post attempt being shoved through a table as something finally happens. Shelley dives back in to beat the count so Taven hits a backbreaker for two. The back is bent over Taven’s knee, followed by a butterfly backbreaker for two more. A Liontamer makes the back even worse but Shelley makes the rope in a hurry.

Taven goes with a rolling neckbreaker for two but Shelley is back up with a slingshot DDT onto the apron for the double knockdown. Sliced Bread onto the barricade rocks Taven, who pops right back up with the dive over the barricade. Back in and Jay White’s Blade Runner gets two on Taven, followed by a pair of superkicks. Sliced Bread gets two more but Taven hits the Climax. The cover is countered into a rollup to give Shelley two but Taven knees him in the head and hits the Climax to retain at 15:22.

Rating: C+. The ending got better but all of the stuff with both guys’ backs being banged up just came and went. Taven’s seemingly never ending title reign continues with another pretty good but not great match. The problem is everything in between as the whole thing just keeps going, whether or not anyone wants to see it continue. Shelley never felt like a real threat to the title, but that is the case a lot of the time when Taven defends.

Overall Rating: C-. Well at least they finally moved forward to a slightly newer show. That being said, having the show focus on Taven isn’t an interesting way to go and I don’t quite see things getting much better. The whole company is searching for bright spots these days and that has been the case for a long time now. The problem is they’re getting further and further apart and that’s not going to work in the long term. The show wasn’t bad, but it isn’t something that makes me want to keep watching. Given their attendance issues of late, that is the case for a lot of people.

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

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

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

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