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

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

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

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

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

Commentary goes over what we just heard.

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

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

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

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

Rosemary vs. Havok

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

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

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

Tasha Steelz vs. Kimber Lee

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Joe Doering vs. Eddie Edwards

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

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

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

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

The announcers talk about the World Title match.

Against All Odds rundown.

W. Morrissey vs. Willie Mack

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

Rosemary b. Havok – Spear

Tasha Steelz b. Kimber Lee – Spinning Falcon Arrow

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

Eddie Edwards b. Joe Doering via DQ when Deaner interfered

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

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

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

Decay vs. Good Brothers

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

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

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

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

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

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

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

Susan vs. Tenille Dashwood

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

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

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

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

More wrestlers make Swann vs. Omega picks.

Video on Swann vs. Omega.

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

Shera vs. Jake Something

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

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

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

We hit the Trey training montage.

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

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

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

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

More predictions.

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

Kiera Hogan vs. Jordynne Grace

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

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

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

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

Video on Omega vs. Swann.

Here’s what’s coming with Wrestle Week.

Commentary runs down the Rebellion card.

Eric Young vs. Eddie Edwards

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

Good Brothers b. Decay – Magic Killer to Crazzy Steve

Tenille Dashwood b. Susan – Spotlight kick

Shera b. Jake Something – Sky High

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

Eric Young b. Eddie Edwards – Small package

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: March 9, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

It’s the go home show for Sacrifice which is one of the rather big pit stops on the way to Rebellion in April. I’m curious to see how they are going to set things up on the way there, as the card is all but set up. You can always use a little bit of an extra push though and that is what we should be in for here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Tasha Steelz vs. Jazz

Kiera Hogan and Jordynne Grace are here too. Steelz talks a lot of trash to start and Jazz doesn’t seem interested in hearing it. Jazz sends her outside without much effort but Steelz is back in with a headlock takeover. That’s reversed into a headscissors, with Steelz escaping and talking more trash. They stay on the mat with the reversals until Steelz has to bail to the rope to get out of a modified Boston crab.

A neckbreaker out of the corner gets two on Jazz and Steelz slaps on the chinlock. Back up and Steelz misses a charge into the post, allowing Jazz to grab a small package for two. The Falcon Arrow gives Steelz two but Jazz makes the comeback and grabs a Samoan drop for two more. A sitout powerslam gets the same as Grace and Hogan get into it. Jazz grabs the STF for the tap at 6:03.

Rating: C-. It’s the same thing you’ve seen time after time and there wasn’t much more to it than that. One half of a tag team beat half of another tag team to set up their Tag Team Title match in a few days. It has been done for years now and while it gets the job done, it doesn’t exactly make me thrilled to see the title match.

ODB is happy for Jazz when Susan comes in to yell. A match is made for tonight.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Trey Miguel talks to his friend Sam (who Sami Callihan made into his student last week), who says Sami isn’t a bad guy. Miguel says Sami is lying but Sam says that’s what Sami said he would say. Sami told Sam to issue a challenge for tonight so Trey will beat a lesson into him.

Video on Moose vs. Rich Swann at Sacrifice to unify the two World Titles. Swann is ready to fight and Moose is ready to be a monster. Believe it or not, Swann thinks Moose is missing the heart.

Mahabali Shera/Rohit Raju vs. Chris Sabin/James Storm

Raju and Sabin start things off with both guys ducking a bit until Raju sweeps the leg for a knockdown. Sabin takes him into the corner though and hands it off to Storm, who gets two off of Sabin’s kick to the back of the head. Storm throws Raju into the corner because he wants to face Shera like a cowboy should. Some right hands in the corner don’t do much to Shera, who kicks him in the face. Striker: “The world just saw that.” Check your viewership Striker. You would be lucky if the population of Lafayette, Louisiana saw that (at least in America).

We take a break and come back with Sabin in trouble for a change and Shera hitting some clotheslines in the corner. Shera’s Cannonball gets two but Sabin fights out of the double team and gets the hot tag to Storm. House is cleaned, including a spinebuster for two on Raju. An assisted tornado DDT gives Sabin two and everything breaks down. Raju hits a jumping knee to Storm but Shera goes after Storm, which has Raju annoyed. Sabin gets in a shot from behind to knock Shera into Raju, setting up the Cradle Shock for the pin at 10:22.

Rating: C+. I’m still not sure when Shera and Raju became a half decent tag team but they’re making it work out well enough. Storm and Sabin are a cool idea for a team and they are doing about as well as you would expect. This was a good match and that is not something I would have expected coming in, so call it a nice surprise.

Reno Scum and XXXL argue as my blood pressure begins to rise. Decay comes in to talk to Larry D., with Acey Romero freaking out. XXXL leaves and Decay vs. Scum seems to be set up for Sacrifice.

Flashback Moment of the Week: the Motor City Machine Guns b. Beer Money and Team 3D.

Deaner survives his punishment and gets another lecture from Eric Young. Chris Sabin and James Storm come up and ask what is going on here. Storm yells at Young and the brawl is on, with Joe Doering coming in to leave Storm and Sabin laying.

Brian Myers storms into Scott D’Amore’s office and demands that Eddie Edwards be fired in exchange for dropping some legal issue. D’Amore makes an anything goes match for Sacrifice instead. I’m not sure if that is what Myers wanted.

Trey Miguel vs. Sam Beale

Sami Callihan handles Sam’s intro, saying he has the heart that Miguel is lacking. Trey turns to yell at Callihan and gets jumped from behind to start. That earns Sam a leglock pulled into a choke for the tap at 43 seconds.

Post match Sami messes with the lights and takes Sam out.

Chris Sabin and James Storm want to get rid of Violent By Design by cutting off the snake’s head at Sacrifice. Jake Something comes in and says he’ll have their back. Sure why not.

It’s time for the AEW ad, with Tony Khan bragging about the Revolution buy rate and running down the Dynamite card. Tony Schiavone handles the other half because these shows have a lot on them.

Scott D’Amore handles the contract signing between the Good Brothers and FinJuice for the Tag Team Title match at Sacrifice. Booze is brought out so D’Amore leaves and lets them handle this themselves. They enjoy some shots (with an ode to Curt Hennig) and the contract is signed. FinJuice throws the drinks into the Brothers’ faces and the brawl is on.

Ace Austin vs. Chris Bey

Madman Fulton is here with Austin and this should be good. Austin heads straight to the floor and grabs a chair but gets back in at nine sans chair. Bey takes him into the corner so Austin shoves him off, only to get headlocked to the mat. Austin slips out of that and takes Bey to the mat again, setting up a double underhook with a knee to the chest for two. Back up and Bey hits a sliding dropkick to the floor, followed by the big running flip dive.

Austin gets in a shot of his own and heads back inside for his own running flip dive. Back in and a running kick to the face gives Austin two but Bey grabs a Code Red for the same. They both miss rapid fire kicks to the head as Striker says people will be talking about this like they talked about Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid. Austin catches him on top with Bey dropping him down to the floor. Bey falls too (Striker: “An avalanche of flesh!”) and we take a break.

Back with a slugout from their knees until Ace hits a spinning kick to the head in the corner. Bey blocks a headscissors attempt but the Art of Finesse is blocked as well. Bey hits a Vertebreaker for two (good grief) and a slingshot DDT gets no cover. The delay lets Austin bail to the floor and gets in a shot of his own to take over. Cue TJP to watch from a chair so Fulton chases him off. Bey cuts off the Fold with a cutter and finishes with the Art of Finesse at 18:19.

Rating: B. This was rather good, Striker’s downright annoying/stupid comments aside. Both of these guys can look good against anyone so it should come as no surprise that they had a really good one against each other. That being said, who in the world said it was ok to use a Vertebreaker for a throw away near fall? If you’re going to use some big move like that then it better be the finish (especially if you are winning the match). Otherwise, just leave it out because it wastes what could be a huge move later on.

Off to Swinger’s Palace where Josh Alexander doesn’t like TJP. Alexander doesn’t like the belt being on a poker table and promises to be coming for the title.

Rohit Raju yells at Mahabali Shera and gets lifted up against a wall. Shera does not owe him a thing.

ODB vs. Susan

Susan complains about ODB’s chest so ODB pulls her into it. Some chops in the corner have Susan in pain and a Bronco Buster connects. A fall away slam sends Susan outside and the match to a break. Back with ODB hitting a running shoulder and hitting the Dirty Dozen in the corner. Susan grabs a full nelson and then pulls ODB down by the hair, allowing her to pour out ODB’s flask. That earns her the Bam to give ODB the pin at 7:28.

Rating: D+. Well I certainly remember why I can’t stand ODB. This was one signature “hey look at this kind of sexual thing I’m doing” move after another and it gets old fast. Throw in the yelling all the time and I’m really not sure why I’m supposed to cheer for her. She is a legend in the division, but that does not mean she was ever fun to watch in the first place.

Post match Deonna Purrazzo and Kimber Lee comes in to beat on ODB but Jordynne Grace and Jazz run in for the save. Fire N Flava come in as well and the heels beat everyone down.

Sacrifice rundown.

Scott D’Amore is glad to get….something signed, but Moose is in the ring to interrupt. Moose wants D’Amore out here for an announcement he has promised. Post break, Moose is threatening to hijack the show (which has about five minutes to go) unless D’Amore gets out here.

Cue D’Amore, who brings out Rich Swann for a staredown. Here’s the announcement: the match at Sacrifice is title for title in a unification match. They hold up their titles but D’Amore isn’t done. Whoever leaves is going to face Kenny Omega in another title vs. title match against AEW World Champion Kenny Omega. Striker: “IMPACT WRESTLING HAS JUST BROKEN THE INTERNET!” No you haven’t, you schnook.

We cut to Don Callis, who is on the phone with Omega, and says it was just like they planned.

Overall Rating: C. This show did well enough to build to Sacrifice, and it helps a lot that the shows are taking place about once a month. Sacrifice feels like a regular pay per view and it helps that it is at a discount price. The wrestling was hit and miss, as tends to be the case here, with Striker dragging things down due to general annoyance, as tends to be the case as well. Not a bad show, but it was just a preview for the important one.

Results

Jazz b. Tasha Steelz – STF

Chris Sabin/James Storm b. Rohit Raju/Mahabali Shera – Cradle Shock to Raju

Trey Miguel b. Sam Beale – Leglock choke

Chris Bey b. Ace Austin – Art of Finesse

ODB b. Susan – The Bam

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

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AND

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Impact Wrestling
Date: February 2, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown

We’re still on the way to a variety of shows and that could make things interesting. The AEW mini invasion continues and that is not the worst thing in the world. That is going to include Private Party challenging the Good Brothers for the Tag Team Titles in the near future but we need to build up some more things than just that. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Tasha Steelz vs. Havok

Kiera Hogan and Nevaeh are both at ringside. Steelz hammers away to start with little success because Havok kicks her out of the corner without much effort. Some kicks to the leg put Havok down though and a big kick to the head gets two. Steelz drops elbows onto the leg so Havok goes to the rope for the break. Back up and Havok screams a lot, setting up a running boot in the corner. The spinning Side Effect gives Havok two but she has to stop to choke Hogan. It doesn’t exactly matter though as the Tombstone finishes Steelz at 4:33.

Rating: C-. Total destruction here with Havok shrugging off the leg work to pick up the win without much trouble. That makes sense as Havok is a heck of a monster and shouldn’t be having any major issues in a singles match against most people. They’ll likely do the title change before too long and that’s a fine way to go with the new belts.

The announcers throw us to a clip from after last week’s show, where Ken Shamrock snapped and beat up a lot of referees, plus dropped Sami Callihan.

Sami Callihan is in Scott D’Amore’s office and is told that Shamrock is suspended indefinitely. Callihan is actually happy because he was going to fire Shamrock anyway.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Rich Swann and Tommy Dreamer talk about how nice Dreamer was to give up the World Title shot at Barely Legal so Terry Funk could have the shot. Tonight, Dreamer is going to hold up his end of the card.

The Good Brothers hype up this week’s AEW Dynamite and are ready to beat up Jon Moxley. They’re ready to beat up Private Party too, but here are James Storm and Chris Sabin to interrupt, because they aren’t happy. The Brothers back away from the challenge but the match can be on next week, because the Brothers have to be ready for Dynamite.

Madman Fulton vs. Josh Alexander

Ace Austin is here with Fulton. Alexander tries to take the monster down to start but gets tossed with a release suplex. Fulton sends him face first into the buckle and chokes away but Alexander slips out of a suplex and hits him in the face. The ankle lock goes on for a bit, only to get kicked out to the floor in a hurry. A chokeslam onto the apron rocks Alexander again but he’s right back with a roaring elbow. The Jay Driller finishes 4:48.

Rating: C. The ending came out of nowhere but there are far worse ideas than pushing Alexander. There’s something about him when he goes out there and does his thing, which makes him feel like someone you want to see. Hopefully he gets some kind of a push around here, which would certainly be worth looking into. Fulton losing clean like that doesn’t bode well for him, but he has been past his peak for a bit now anyway.

The Good Brothers have their own action figures.

Johnny Swinger comes into his casino to collect the money from John E. Bravo. Alisha Edwards doesn’t like how Swinger is treating Fallah Bahh, because it always seems to be in Swinger’s World.

Eddie Edwards thanks Matt Cardona for what he did. The tag match is set for No Surrender.

Crazzy Steve vs. Larry D.

Rosemary is here with Steve and Acey Romero is here with Larry, as we’re now in the third generation of stories based around Wrestle House. Steve slugs away and manages to take Larry down for some right hands to the face. Larry throws him outside though, with Acey getting in a few shots. Back in and Steve gets choked in the corner, where Rosemary gives him a bit of a pep talk. Larry gets two off a low superkick but Steve bites him on the forehead. Steve bites his way out of some clotheslines as well but dives into the Best Hand In The House for the pin at 4:01.

Rating: D+. I’m rapidly approaching the point of never needing to see these people again, though Decay is a better fit for both of them. XXXL on the other hand….I get why they’re here and I get why they’re a good choice to put in the ring. That being said, giving them some kind of detailed backstory and being anything more than big brawlers is a bit more than needs to be there.

Post match, Rosemary scares the big guys off.

We get a sitdown interview with Trey Miguel, who is ready to show what he can do on his own. Sami Callihan pops in but he isn’t here to fight. Callihan talks about Trey wasting a great goodbye and now Trey needs to find out what he wants to be.

XXXL isn’t scared of Rosemary but you never hit a woman. Tenille Dashwood comes in and says she’ll hit Rosemary for them. That works for Larry and if Decay can find a third, the six person tag can be on for No Surrender.

Susan vs. Jordynne Grace

Rating: C-. I’m still not feeling the Susan deal, which is giving more bad flashbacks to the Governor deal with the Beautiful People. Grace winning is fine of course and I can always go for more of her, though Lee and Jazz aren’t exactly thrilling. The division continues to take some weird directions given the talent there, but at least they have something going most of the time.

Post match the beatdown is on with Grace and Jazz in trouble until ODB returns for the save. Oh come on haven’t I suffered enough with this show???

Matt Hardy tells Private Party that he has this going forward. Now they need to go win the battle royal on Dynamite so they can win two titles. That means more money for Big Money Matt and some more money for them too!

It’s time for Tony and Tony, with both of them holding coconut drinks and Schiavone in a flower shirt with a shark hat. Khan knows about how to book a big show and Impact is like his own fantasy league. He’s letting Jon Moxley go to New Japan to defend his US Title and Don Callis has driven him to these wacky moves. Schiavone runs down the Beach Break card and Khan says he’s an emotional shark.

ODB says she poked her head in to see what was going on and didn’t like the bullying. They all grab their chests and say BAM.

Rohit Raju vs. TJP

Non-title. Feeling out process to start with TJP dodging a lot and managing something like an octopus out of a crucifix attempt. That’s broken up so Raju kicks him in the face and dropkicks him out to the floor as we take a break. Back with TJP slugging away but walking into a Downward Spiral for two. An elbow gives Raju two more and frustration is already setting in.

There’s a belly to back for another two but TJP scores with a springboard spinning shot to the face. A middle rope hurricanrana sets up a tornado DDT but TJP has to bail out of a Swanton attempt. Raju dives off the top into some raised boots, only to have TJP bail to the floor. Cue Mahabali Shera (OH COME ON) to pull TJP back out and plant him on the apron. Raju hits a sliding knee for the pin at 10:38.

Rating: C. Good grief, are they really trying to drive me this crazy around here? Shera is one of those guys who may have changed for the better but is still one of those names best associated with the darker days of Impact. As long as he isn’t doing that stupid dance, he should be fine but I’m not sure how many fans are going to be happy to see him.

Violent By Design talk about being violent by design. The olive branch isn’t being offered to everyone, but Eric Young can baptize Cody Deaner in violence.

Cody will answer next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week and at No Surrender.

Chris Bey/Moose vs. Rich Swann/Tommy Dreamer

Dreamer and Bey trade headlock takeovers to start and that means a standoff. Bey knocks him down in a hurry though and we take a break. Back with Swann coming in to strike away at Moose, who throws him into the corner for the running uppercut. Bey runs him over as well and grinds away with a headlock. Swann gets faster and spins around, setting up a dropkick for his own two.

Dreamer comes back in for an abdominal stretch but since that’s a bit exhausting, it’s already back to Swann for a kick to the back. A few kicks put Swann down though and Moose comes in to rip away at the eyes. Swann’s sunset flip only gets one before Bey is back up to elbow him in the face. The chinlock doesn’t last long and an enziguri goes a bit better for Swann, allowing the hot tag off to Dreamer. Moose crotches Swann on top though and hits the spear (with Dreamer sidestepping it) for the pin on Swann at 12:09.

Rating: C-. I know it’s just building towards a one off match for an Impact Plus special but Dreamer feels so out of place and tacked on here. Moose vs. Swann has been built up, just like Swann vs. Kenny Omega, but Dreamer is getting this one off spot that it takes a few weeks to set up. It isn’t going to matter long term, but egads it is dragging some weeks down.

Moose spears Dreamer down as well and poses with both titles to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. It isn’t even like this show is that bad, but the amount of people they are bringing out of mothballs and pushing in fairly big spots are making me feel like the old days. That’s the kind of time reputation that Impact has been trying to shake for years now and yet here we are again. I really hope this doesn’t last, but the association with AEW is making Impact feel REALLY lame by comparison and the future is hardly looking bright. Instead it’s looking old, as there are fewer and fewer young stars in prominent spots around here. Don’t do that again, because it has been done horribly so many times before.

Results

Havok b. Tasha Steelz – Tombstone

Josh Alexander b. Madman Fulton – Jay Driller

Larry D. b. Crazzy Steve – Best Hand In The House

Jordynne Grace b. Susan – Grace Driver

Rohit Raju b. TJP – Sliding knee

Moose/Chris Bey b. Tommy Dreamer/Rich Swann – Spear to Swann

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We’re back with another Impact pay per view, even though the point seems to be to make another company’s World Champion look good. This time around the focal point is the invading Kenny Omega, will will team with the Good Brothers against Impact World Champion Rich Swann, Chris Sabin and Moose, after Alex Shelley was forced out of the show for unclear reasons. The rest of the card looks ok so let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Brian Myers vs. Josh Alexander

This was thrown in this week on Impact since every pay per view needs a pre-show match these days. Myers beat Alexander via DQ and bragged about it so we’re having this for the sake of shutting him up. I’m not sure what Impact sees in Myers but there are far worse places he could be than in the pre-show match. Alexander is going to need a boost soon so we could have something going here.

I’m going to take Alexander here as there is no reason for this to drag on for another match. As much as he has been featured, Myers isn’t being pushed to the moon so they aren’t likely to give him anything here. The match will likely be on about the same level as a regular TV match and that’s all it needs to be given where they are here. It probably didn’t need to be here, but Alexander can get your attention well enough.

Eric Young/Deaner/Joe Doering vs. Tommy Dreamer/Rhino/Cousin Jake

It isn’t a good sign when my first reaction to a match is “at least they’re keeping it all here” but that’s about as good as I can go with this. We have Dreamer being Dreamer, the epic Deaners split, Doering (he was big in Japan, right up there with Jesse and the Rippers) and Young as some kind of mastermind because this company loves him very much. It’s also Old School rules, because they can’t say Extreme and Dreamer can’t do much else.

I’ll go with Young and company as for some reason this seems to be one of the upcoming big things. Young is tolerable enough in some spots, though the love affair with Doering isn’t exactly doing much for me. Adding in the turned Deaner isn’t going to make things better, but if they can keep all of this stuff crammed into one match, it could be a lot worse than what we’re getting.

Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan

This feud MUST continue and this time it’s Barbed Wire Massacre because when you think Edwards, you need something like this thrown in. I know this is viewed as some legendary rivalry but it feels like they are just warming it up because neither has anything to do. Edwards is able to carry almost anything to at least watchable, but as soon as I heard the barbed wire deal, I could hear Josh Matthews with his machine gun delivery taking away any impact it might have.

Give me Callihan to win, likely thanks to Ken Shamrock because we need another evil alliance to triumph. Shamrock and Callihan are somewhat intriguing, but I don’t need a Barbed Wire Massacre to make it work. The match should be good enough and odds are Alisha will get involved, but I’ve been over this feud for a good while now because it ran out of steam years ago.

Ethan Page vs. Karate Man

We continue with the “why is this a thing” section, but in this case Page has so much charisma that he can manage to face himself and make it work. I’m going to assume this is a cinematic match and Page’s way out of the promotion, but you never know with something like this. The Karate Man stuff alone is always worth a look, but I’m almost scared of what to see here.

Since they’re facing each other, I’ll go with Karate Man to win and get rid of Page once and for all, which should make your head spin at least a little bit. There is a chance that we could be in for some good jokes here and under the right circumstances, this could be one of the best things on the entire show. Page is awesome at his goofy stuff, and hopefully he gets to showcase himself well on the way out.

X-Division Title: Manik(c) vs. Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju

This is part of one of those stories that works out well almost every time because it’s a classic. Bey and Raju are convinced that Manik is TJP (because Manik is TJP) but can’t beat him or prove it, meaning their frustration factor has increased about 17 fold. Now it’s a free for all for the title, which opens up a few interesting doors as they could go in a few different directions.

I think they’ll play it safe here and have Manik retain the title because there are more places to go with something like this. Manik is someone who can have a good match with anyone and Bey is one of the better young stars around here. Raju has been rather nice as well lately, so we could be in for something good. This might be the match with the most promise on the whole show and I can’t say I’m surprised.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Nevaeh/Havok vs. Kiera Hogan/Tasha Steelz

Who would have thought that a tournament for the vacant titles would come down to two of the only regular teams who happened to be feuding for weeks before the tournament started? Hogan and Steelz have done a nice job of being the most annoying heels imaginable, which made Havok and Nevaeh grabbing them by their throats that much better. This was almost a guarantee for the final, so at least they’re doing the logical thing.

I’ll take Havok and Nevaeh to win here as you need some faces to win on this show. It isn’t the most intriguing match on the show but it was the only way to go to get to the tournament finals. I’m not sure how far these titles can go as WWE hasn’t been able to make theirs work for years now. The match will be the same thing that we’ve seen several times between them now but….yay belts?

Rosemary/Crazzy Steve vs. Tenille Dashwood/Kaleb With A K

This seems to have been added near the last minute and I’m still trying to make myself care about Dashwood. The Instagram deal is fine, but it feels like something you would see at a tiny independent promotion because it’s that easy of a story. There is no doubt that the talent is there, but for some reason it isn’t clicking. You can only get so far with something like this though and I think we’ve reached her current limit.

I don’t see a reason for Kaleb With A K and Dashwood to win here, even though they need it a lot more. Rosemary seems to be building up something with Susan, so unless she interferes and costs them the match, I don’t see a reason to have Rosemary and Steve lose here. The match itself should be another TV level match, which is quite the trend for most of this show.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo(c) vs. Taya Valkyrie

The Knockouts singles division has done well enough for itself in recent months and Purrazzo is awesome as the technical wizard champion. Valkyrie is almost the old guard in a way, despite her title reign not even feeling all that long ago. While her big reign is over, Valkyrie can go in the ring with anyone and Purrazzo is one of the best things going in the company today.

Purrazzo being one of the best things going today is more than enough to keep the title on her here. Beating Valkyrie is more along the lines of beating a challenger of the month, but she just happens to be a really successful challenger of the month. It means something to beat her though and Purrazzo can continue her reign with another rather nice win added to her list.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Rich Swann/Chris Sabin/Moose

This whole invasion (if that’s what you call Omega and Omega alone showing up from AEW) is making me think of Lando Calrissian saying “this deal is getting worse all the time”. So far, the highlight of the feud for Impact is their World Champion escaping with a pin over their Tag Team Champion. Omega and Don Callis have been treated as stars who are gracing Impact with their presence. I know it gives Impact exposure, but this is feeling more like New Japan coming to Ring of Honor every day (and that’s not a good thing).

Of course Omega and the Good Brothers win here, because why would they lose here? I know this is probably heading towards Omega taking the Impact World Title, as that is the best way to continue making Impact look like they don’t compare to AEW in any way. Yes AEW is more important and Omega is a bigger star, but sweet goodness could Impact look much worse so far?

Overall Thoughts

This show looks pretty dreadful on paper as there is nothing of note to look forward to. I’m sure some of the matches will work as Impact tends to shine when they just go to the ring and focus on the wrestling, but nothing on here really jumps out. Hopefully the show winds up working, because this feels like they have almost no reason to do this show other than they have to. It will likely be good enough, but they need to work on spicing things up.

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Impact Wrestling
Date: December 15, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Madison Rayne

It’s back to the Kenny Omega Is A Bigger Star Than Anyone Else Around Here Show and that proved to be a winning formula last week as the audience was quite up. Final Resolution has come and gone so now it’s off the Hard To Kill build. I’m not sure what that is going to mean with Omega being thrown into the mix but it’s interesting to think about. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at a mixture of Omega’s World Title win, promo from last week, and the main stories from last week’s show. It is implied that Omega is coming for the various Impact Titles.

Opening sequence.

Tenille Dashwood vs. Alisha

Kaleb With A K (in a pink suit) and Eddie Edwards are here too. Alisha shouts a lot and then gets knocked down in a hurry. The Thesz press with right hands have Dashwood in some trouble and a backsplash gives Alisha two. A headscissors puts Alisha into the corner but she misses a charge, allowing Dashwood to grab a neckbreaker for her own two. The stomping keeps Alisha down in the corner and we hit the chinlock.

Alisha gets up and is sent to the apron, where she manages a knee to Dashwood’s face. The comeback is on and a bulldog gives Alisha two with Kaleb With A K pulling Dashwood to the floor. Eddie goes after him but takes a camera to the face. Alisha dives onto Kaleb With A K but the distraction lets Dashwood hit the Spotlight Kick for the pin at 5:13.

Rating: C-. This is one of Dashwood’s better runs since she left WWE but it still isn’t exactly great stuff. I’m not sure what’s missing but there is a fire that isn’t there and it’s holding her back. Alisha has gotten a bit better in the last few months and she was perfectly acceptable here, even if this felt like it was designed to set up a mixed tag which already happened.

Post match here’s Sami Callihan on screen to tell Eddie and Alisha to spend time with their families, because it might be their last chance.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

The Motor City Machine Guns talk about their three step process to getting the Tag Team Titles back. They have their rematch clause and since there is only space for two machine guns around here, Karl Anderson is going to have to step aside.

We go to Kenny Omega’s bus, where Omega and Callis mock the Guns and tell Karl Anderson, also there, to go get them. Various New Japan tournaments are referenced.

Post break Rich Swann cuts Anderson off before he can go beat up Chris Sabin. Swann: “Because Omega told you to?” Anderson: “I call him Kenny. He’s my friend. You call him champ.” The Guns come in and a match is set between Sabin and Anderson.

Here’s Moose in a suit for a chat. He gives us an injury update on Willie Mack, who will not be able to wrestle for a few weeks. That’s because Moose hurt him, even though no one believes what he is capable of doing. Moose doesn’t like everyone talking about Rich Swann, who may be a great competitor but the difference is Swann stays hurt while Moose hurts people. Swann needs to call Mack and ask what he is getting into.

Cue Mack, who says he isn’t here to wrestle. He isn’t mad at Moose, but rather because the referee said he couldn’t go anymore even though he had plenty left. No one is telling him he’s done, so they can have an I Quit match at Genesis. Moose doesn’t think that’s a good idea but Mack charges the ring. Security breaks it up for a bit so Moose breaks it up.

Moose goes to the back where he is asked what happened out there (Do the interviewers not even watch?). He is tired of indy wrestlers trying to make a name for themselves. One of those guards just ripped his shirt! He gets people trying to do something but don’t you EVER put your hands on him. They couldn’t last three minutes in the ring with him so if you do it again, you’ll get hurt like Mack. That could go a few places.

Chris Bey comes in to see Rohit Raju and congratulate him on losing the X-Division Title at Final Resolution. Raju already has his rematch set for Hard To Kill, which Bey doesn’t seem to like. Bey had an idea for him and goes to leave, but Raju pulls him back. Bey says that if Raju can prove that Manik is TJP, he can get the title back without having to beat him. Raju says he thought of that and great minds think alike. That’s what the two of them should do and as luck would have it, Bey is facing Manik next.

We get another Double Tony Paid Advertisement. Khan says that one of the nice things about Impact is you get to see Kenny Omega and he won’t even slap an injunction on it. Omega is one of the best wrestlers in the world along with Jon Moxley, even though Omega stole the title from him.

Schiavone says it’s hard to find AXS TV, to the point where your smart TV will just ask why if you try to find it. We run down the Dynamite card (Featuring SCU. Tony asked them if they remembered when TNA had fans and they said “no, we don’t”.) and Don Callis is invited to show up so Khan can start teaching him about wrestling. Still funny, with Schiavone being far funnier than he should be.

Eric Young talks about losing his mother to sickness and how sickness and disease can destroy anything. He’s sitting in front of a handcuffed Cody Deaner and promises to baptize him in the holy water of change. Can we go back to Khan talking about how horrible this show is?

Chris Bey vs. Manik

Non-title and Rohit Raju is here with Bey. Manik gets taken into the corner for some choking to start but he’s back with a slingshot headscissors. Something like a torture rack into a reverse Samoan drop plants Bey and Manik sends him outside. The dive connects and we take an early break.

Back with Bey hitting an elbow to the back and going after the mask. Manik fights out of a chinlock attempt and hits a kick to the chest. Bey takes him right back down into a seated abdominal stretch but this time Manik is right back with a belly to back. A quick dropkick puts Manik on the floor though but he’s right back in with a high crossbody. The Detonation Kick looks to set up the double underhook chickenwing, allowing Bey to hit a low blow. Raju tries to come in and go after the mask, so Bey has to stop and yell at him. That’s too far for Raju, who hits Bey in the back of the head to earn Bey a DQ win at 11:32.

Rating: C. Both guys are good in the ring and looked fine here though I’m curious to see where things go. If nothing else, TJP is awesome in whatever role they give him and it’s nice to see him getting a story with some prominent. Raju continues to rise through the ranks and Bey is rather good at anything he does so I approve of all of this.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Sting’s entrance at Final Resolution 2006, setting up his win with Christian over Jeff Jarrett and Monty Brown.

Than Page tells Josh Alexander that it’s all going to be ok, even though he lost at Final Resolution. Josh doesn’t want to hear it though because they can’t be a team right now. Page says we (yes we) will always have your back. Page leaves and here’s Brian Myers to say he’s a tag team specialist who won the Tag Team Titles in front of 82,000 people. A team is proposed but Alexander would rather beat him up. Good move man.

Back on the bus, Omega calls Rich a b**** and Callis tells Anderson to go get his name back from the Guns. Anderson goes off (again) but Omega is kind of ticked off about Swann. He is here to make this show about them instead of Swann and it’s been a long time coming.

Knockouts Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Kiera Hogan/Tasha Steelz vs. Taya Valkyrie/Rosemary

Rosemary takes Steelz down without too much trouble and it’s Taya coming in to whip Steelz into a suplex from Rosemary for two. Some right hands to the head have Kiera in trouble but Steelz gets in a cheap shot from the apron. Kiera grabs a neckbreaker for two and brings Rosemary into the corner so Steelz can kick her in the ribs. Rosemary gets in a quick Upside Down for a breather but Kiera pulls Taya off the apron to break up a tag attempt.

That doesn’t last long as Rosemary gets over for the hot tag a few seconds later. Taya starts cleaning house, including a spinebuster to Kiera. Cue Deonna Purrazzo and Kimber Lee to beat up Rosemary and since the referee doesn’t see it (because he’s not that good), it’s Hogan hitting a superkick into a fisherman’s neckbreaker for the pin on Taya at 7:25.

Rating: C. The match was working well enough until the dumb referee not noticing anything happening, even when Taya was looking outside for a long stretch. Kiera and Tasha advancing isn’t a surprise as they are one of the only regular teams coming into the tournament, but at least they had a decent match on the way there.

Eric Young continues to indoctrinate Cody Deaner about how wrestling is a disease. A sickness cannot give back or provide because it can only take from you. Eric says a parasite latched onto him and Cody says he never saw it. Joe Doering opens a cell door and that’s that.

Kiera and Tasha dance about making it to the finals and promise to win the titles. Tasha says there is no money in the gold fanny pack but here’s Johnny Swinger to talk about when he and Buddy Rose cut off a guy’s finger in Portland. They storm off and Swinger steals the gold fanny pack, complete with the roll of money in a hidden compartment.

Josh Alexander vs. Brian Myers

Alexander goes after him to start but gets taken down with a quick legsweep. Cue Ethan Page to help but Myers posts him for his trouble. Back in and Myers takes Alexander down for some knees between the shoulders. The chinlock goes on but Alexander fights up, only to be sent into the corner. Myers loads up his clothesline…..and here’s the Karate Man (Page’s alter ego) to jump Myers for the DQ at 3:14.

Rating: D. This feels like a parody of a bad wrestling segment, which is probably what they are going for, but they did get Myers off television in a hurry. Nothing match of course, but Page as the Karate Guy does seem a little amusing. It seems like the end of the North though, which is kind of a shame but after that long title reign, they didn’t have much else to do.

Cody Deaner admits that he has the disease so Young pours water over him and declares him cured and free. The world belongs to us. Great. Young is getting a stable.

Acey Romero comes in to tell Tommy Dreamer that Larry D. was set up. Dreamer doesn’t buy it but here are Rhino and Cousin Jake to say Eric Young is poisoning Cody Deaner’s mind. Dreamer tells the two of them to do something about Young and Doering, unless they’re scared.

For the next two weeks: The Best Of 2020.

Chris Sabin vs. Karl Anderson

Alex Shelley is here with Sabin. Joined in progress with Anderson taking him over with a headlock but getting reversed into a headscissors for a standoff. Sabin picks up the pace and runs Anderson over but can’t get la majistral. We see omega and Callis not paying attention as commentary says the two of them are paying attention. Anderson gets in a boot rake to the face and Sabin gets sent hard into the corner.

A few kicks to the ribs don’t get Sabin very far as Anderson rakes the eyes to cut him off again. Anderson sends him hard out to the floor and we take a break. Back with Anderson taking him down in a rather aggressive chinlock before switching to an armbar. That doesn’t last long either as Sabin fights up and a collision gives us a double knockdown.

Sabin starts the comeback with a running elbow in the corner followed by a high crossbody for two. A running boot in the corner sets up a tornado DDT for two more and they’re both down. They slug it out until a double clothesline knocks them both down again. They pop back up and it’s another double clothesline for yet another double knockdown. It’s Anderson up first with the spinebuster for two but a rollup with trunks is enough to finish Sabin at 17:26.

Rating: B. This was a rather solid main event and that’s great to see on any given show. It’s a pretty simple formula: take two guys who can work rather well and put them in a match against each other for a long time. That’s the kind of thing that is going to work out for everyone and it worked well here. Solid main event and that’s never a bad thing.

Post match Rich Swann comes out to yell at Anderson but leaves with him at the same time. Omega gets up and says watch a master at work. Callis follows him as we see Anderson kicking Swann in the face. The Machine Guns come in for the save so here’s Luke Gallows to break it up. Swann superkicks Gallows but Omega blasts Swann with a wet floor sign. Omega thinks it sounds good to make the six man at Hard To Kill, so Callis makes the match official. Goodbye and good night.

Overall Rating: C+. Much, much better show than last week as they had a theme throughout and then paid it off in the end. Omega actually doing something other than sitting around talking helps a lot too and the six man should be awesome. This is the kind of show that they needed to have last week and even though I’m not a fan of Young, it makes sense to give one of their bigger stars (egads) a bigger story like what he was doing here. Pretty nice show here and the kind they needed to have.

Results

Tenille Dashwood b. Alisha – Spotlight Kick

Chris Bey b. Mania via DQ when Rohit Raju interfered

Kiera Hogan/Tasha Steelz b. Rosemary/Taya Valkyrie – Fisherman’s neckbreaker to Valkyrie

Brian Myers b. Josh Alexander via DQ when Ethan Page interfered

Karl Anderson b. Chris Sabin – Rollup with trunks

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: November 24, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matt Striker, Josh Matthews

The show has taken a bit of a weird turn in recent weeks and that’s not exactly the best news. The big story this week seems to be Wrestler’s Court as Detective Dreamer continues to try and find who shot John E. Bravo. Other than that, we have the continuing issues of Eric Young and Joe Doering, because the world was waiting for more Doering. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Scott D’Amore tries to get John E. Bravo’s doctor to pull the plug but is relieved (I think?) to hear that he’s in stable condition. The doctor says it might not be the same Bravo when he wakes up. D’Amore doesn’t seem crushed but promises justice.

Knockouts Tag Team Tournament First Round: Kiera Hogan/Tasha Steelz vs. Sea Stars

The Stars are sisters Delmi Exo and Ashley Vox. Exo and Hogan start things off with the much bigger Exo taking her to the mat for a Gator Roll. A sunset flip gets two on Hogan, which certainly does not seem to please her. Vox comes in for a running neckbreaker and it’s off to Steelz, who suckers Vox in without much trouble. Vox’s dropkick gets two but it’s a spinebuster to give Steelz two.

The running forearm in the corner allows the tag back to Hogan for a running kick to the face. Vox slugs away and hits a running headbutt, allowing the hot tag to Exo. House is cleaned, including a northern lights suplex and some running elbows in the corner. It’s back to Vox for an Air Raid Crash for two on Hogan but Steelz cuts Vox off. A fisherman’s neckbreaker finishes Exo at 7:11.

Rating: C-. The Stars were fine for a one off opponent and they seem to have teamed together somewhat extensively before. They weren’t about to win here over one of the tournament favorites though, making this more of a showcase than a competitive match. Not great, but the Stars sticking around wouldn’t be the worst idea.

Jordynne Grace is with her new mystery partner…..Jazz, who doesn’t think winning the tournament is going to be that hard. Jazz isn’t quite the major announcement but she does have a resume.

Here is what is coming tonight.

The North is rather pleased that Doc Gallows is going to be out of action for 4-6 weeks. Josh Alexander isn’t sure what this means for the Tag Team Titles but Ethan Page says he has this.

And now, Wrestler’s Court with Johnny Swinger being accused of shooting John E. Bravo. Madison Rayne is his attorney as this is being presented like People’s Court, complete with voice over. Swinger: “Best house I ever drew.” Madison tells him to be quiet as we meet the prosecutor: D’Lo Brown from the Nation Of Litigation. Tommy Dreamer is judge of course (the Innovator of Jurisprudence) and he does his old pose on the way to the bench, which is an anvil case.

Madison says this isn’t fair because Dreamer was the investigator so Dreamer and Brown switch places. That means Brown gets a powdered wig and Dreamer wants the chest protector. Brown suggests that Dreamer better recognize, so Dreamer thanks the honorable Uncle Phil and starts in on his opening statement. Dreamer says this is an easy case if you look at all of the facts. Madison’s opening statement: Swinger is too stupid to have pulled this off.

We go to the first witness with Fallah Bahh, who says Swinger did it out of jealousy for not being the best man. Then Cody Deaner talks about finding the gun in Swinger’s fanny pack. Acey Romero, in a Nasty Boys shirt, says he found Swinger’s fingerprints on the gun….along with the Deaners’, Dreamer’s, just about everyone else here, Greg Valentine’s and Ron Simmons’ (Brown: “D***! Always wanted to do that.”) Swinger tries to offer Brown beer and Rayne looks ready to jump out of a window. More on this later, as I want to jump out of a higher window.

Here’s Rohit Raju to complain about everyone who has been complaining about his title reign. They hide behind their keyboards like a bunch of losers, but for now it’s time for the Defeat Rohit Challenge.

X-Division Title: Rohit Raju vs. Suicide

Raju is defending. Hold on though as Raju doesn’t believe that it’s really Suicide because he’s smarter than that. Therefore, this one is non-title.

Rohit Raju vs. Suicide

Non-title. Suicide starts fast with the armdrag into a dropkick but gets knocked to the floor for his efforts. Back from a break with Raju working on the mask and then elbowing Suicide down for two. Some quick choking lets Raju go for the mask again, followed by some chops against the rope. Suicide can’t get the Black Widow as Raju belly to back suplexes his way to freedom. A neckbreaker puts Suicide down and Raju gets the mask off. For some reason we don’t look at his face but here’s TJP to make the idea clear for us. The guy, whose face we still don’t see, grabs a sunset flip for the pin at 8:07.

Rating: C-. It’s an angle that has been done time after time and that is the case because it has worked every time. You can see why Raju would go for the trap and then fall for it, possibly to the point where he is willing to give TJP another shot for the sake of some revenge. That makes sense and it worked fine here.

It’s Crazzy Steve.

Sami Callihan fires Ken Shamrock up but here’s Moose to say Shamrock is going after the secondary World Title. Moose respects Shamrock, but if he wins the title, Moose is coming to beat him again. Sami has to hold Shamrock back.

Kaleb With A K and Tenille Dashwood are seeing which glasses work best for her but here’s Alisha to come in and say they need to tag again. Dashwood doesn’t quite say no but she certainly doesn’t seem thrilled. I’d hope Alisha is smarter than this.

Kimber Lee vs. Killer Kelly

Deonna Purrazzo and Renee Michelle are the seconds here. Lee stomps away in the corner and throws Kelly down. A figure four with the legs has Kelly down again but she gets back up with a headbutt. Kelly hits a running basement dropkick in the corner but Lee is back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. The Swanton finishes Kelly at 3:08.

Rating: D+. Kelly has never quite impressed me in the few times I’ve seen her but she did well enough here. You can only get so far with this kind of a match in the first place but it was more about getting her feet wet than anything else. Lee needed a win too as she has been little more than Purrazzo’s lackey for a long time.

Post match here’s Susie to say that Lee and Purrazzo hurt her friend and that’s bad. Now her friend is here to hurt them. Cue Su Yung to wreck the two of them (as Susie, albeit with her back to the ring, stands on the stage), with Purrazzo and Lee bailing.

Alex Shelley is back and the Motor City Machine Guns have a three step process: 1. XXXL, 2. The North, 3. The Good Brothers and the Tag Team Titles. Simple enough.

Rich Swann is sorry for what Willie Mack had to go through last week but Mack says he’s always been fighting. Chris Bey comes in to say he wants a title shot and calls Mack a loser. The threat of violence has Bey out the door.

Here’s Ethan Page to face an opponent of Karl Anderson’s choosing, but here’s Anderson for a chat first. Anderson says we’ve been having a Good Brothers Party as of late. Doc Gallows is hurt right now though because of Page so now if Page wins, the North gets a Tag Team Title shot. Anderson never rolls alone and has an opponent, who is Phenomenal. And this is what we get.

Ethan Page vs. AJ Swoggle

That would be the Wee-nomenal AJ Swoggle. He comes out to AJ’s old music (nice to hear that again) and does look a good bit like Styles. Page gets on his knees to start so Swoggle hits AJ’s Phenomenal Blitz for a nice touch. A Josh Alexander distraction lets Page kick him down though and Page gets in a running shoulder as well. Page seems to load up his own Styles Clash but Swoggle bites the leg to escape. Swoggle kicks him down and after Anderson gets rid of Alexander, a rollup finishes Page at 2:28. It was fine for a one off joke, but on the same show as Wrestlers’ Court, this might not have been the best place.

Post match Page looks ready to break down.

It’s back to Wrestlers’ Court where Rayne looks frustrated at having to question Swinger, so Dreamer gets his chance. Dreamer asks if Swinger thought he could get away with this, so Swinger brags about how awesome he is. Swinger: “I’m the OJ Simpson of professional wrestling daddy!” Dreamer asks when he last read a newspaper. Swinger: “1991 daddy. Something happen since then?” A dejected Madison says the defense rests and, after a break, Dreamer calls James Mitchell.

Dreamer asks about virgin blood, which is highly prized for its powers. That gets Dreamer’s attention, but we cut to Rosemary as the next witness (being sworn in on the Necronomicon). She won’t answer about when she was first attracted to Bravo because that’s a bit personal. Dreamer asks if she ever loved Bravo, which is a no. Of course she didn’t love him but she couldn’t resist the power of the virgin blood which would have made her the most powerful creature in the realm.

Cue Bravo, still in his hospital gown, to say Rosemary is the worst thing that ever happened to him. Bravo knows who shot him though because he could smell it. Post break, Larry D. is on the stand and Dreamer has him hooked up to a lie detector. Larry says he didn’t shoot Bravo, but Dreamer uses cologne to turn him into Lawrence D., who did in fact shoot him. Brown declares Johnny Swinger not guilty. Counting the break, this got over fifteen minutes. I think that speaks for itself.

Fallah Bahh vs. Daivari

Wait, so Bahh can be in Wrestlers’ Court and wrestle later but I have to listen to Matt Striker instead of Madison Rayne on commentary? Joe Doering and Eric Young come in to jump Bahh for the DQ at 32 seconds.

Post match Young says this world is sick and they are the cure. Cue Rhino to go after Doering but he gets beaten down as well.

TJP comes up to Crazzy Steve and Swoggle but Brian Myers comes in to mock all three of them. To recap: the last few segments have been an AJ Styles parody, Wrestlers’ Court, Eric Young and his monster that maybe .4% of the fans will know anything about and Curt Hawkins. This show has fallen WAY downhill and it’s just getting worse.

Kimber Lee and Deonna Purrazzo ask James Mitchell to turn their Su Yung problem into a Susie problem. He’ll do it, for a price.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Ken Shamrock vs. Rich Swann

Shamrock is challenging and has Sami Callihan in his corner. Swann rolls away to start but Sami grabs his leg so Shamrock can get in a cheap shot. That’s good for an early ejection and Swann uses the distraction to hit a dropkick. Shamrock knocks him down with a hard shot though and it’s time to work on Swann’s leg. Back up and Shamrock hits Swann in the face, because Shamrock doesn’t make things more complicated than he needs to. Some stomps to the hand keep Swann in trouble and it’s a front facelock to make it worse.

We take a break and come back with Swann hitting some clotheslines. Shamrock kicks him down though and we hit the chinlock. Swann fights up and hits a few kicks to the head with a big one putting Shamrock down. Rolling Thunder gets two and a sunset flip is good for the same, only to have Shamrock reverse into a triangle. That’s switched into a cross armbreaker but Swann’s foot is under the rope. Swann kicks away some more, only to get pulled into the ankle lock. That’s reversed into a quick victory roll to retain the title at 13:41.

Rating: B-. Swann was doing what he could here and the strikes managed to slow Shamrock down just enough. Shamrock was still coming off like a monster though, which says a lot about someone at his age. He’s rather effective at this kind of thing and believe it or not I could go for more of him doing this kind of thing.

Post match Sami comes back out for a package piledriver on Swann. Callihan grabs the baseball bat but here’s Eddie Edwards for the failed save attempt. The beatdown is on with Sami hitting Eddie in the face with the bat to bust him open. D’Lo Brown comes out to yell at Sami and gets taken out with the bat as well. More officials come out to yell to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. Remember a few months ago when Impact was on a roll and putting on good shows? Well forget all of that because this was really bad stuff with the good main event not being able to come close to saving it. This show felt like it was two shows pasted together with WAY too much time being spent on Tommy Dreamer and the Wacky Shooting Mystery. Just like last time with Wrestlers’ Court, I’m sure they had a lot of fun shooting it but that thing got more time than the World Title match.

You can do comedy in spurts (like the Swoggle thing, which was in and out in about five minutes, including pre-match promo) but when it’s the biggest part of the show like this, it loses its, pardon the intentional pun, impact. A lot of this show felt like it was for the wrestlers instead of the audience and that isn’t how something like this is supposed to work.

Results

Kiera Hogan/Tasha Steelz b. Sea Stars – Fisherman’s neckbreaker to Exo

Suicide b. Rohit Raju – Sunset flip

Kimber Lee b. Killer Kelly – Swanton

AJ Swoggle b. Ethan Page – Rollup

Fallah Bahh b. Daivari via DQ when Joe Doering interfered

Rich Swann b. Ken Shamrock – Victory roll

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: October 27, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

Bound For Glory has come and gone and a good bit happened at the show. The Knockouts, Tag Team and World Titles have all changed hands, but the big story tonight is the wedding between John E. Bravo and Rosemary. The wacky shenanigans should be strong with this one so let’s get to it.

Here is Bound For Glory if you need a recap.

As expected, we open with a Bound For Glory recap.

Eric Young is attacking new World Champion Rich Swann in the back. They fight into the arena with Swann getting in a few shots of his own before being whipped into the steps. Young chokes with the shirt and throws him inside but Swann gets in a kick to the face. Young pounds him down though and here are the referees and Scott D’Amore to break it up. We’re not done yet though as Young wants his rematch RIGHT NOW. Swann says make the match.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Rich Swann vs. Eric Young

Swann, in slacks and barefoot, is defending and elbows Young down for a quick two. The rolling splash gets the same but Young hits a toss powerbomb for two of his own. Swann is right back with a spinning kick to the face and a Lethal Injection. The Phoenix splash retains the title at 3:25.

Rating: C-. Now, Young is done in the World Title scene right? There is no real reason for him to keep going, though then again there was little reason for him to be there when he came back anyway. The match didn’t have the time to go anywhere, but Swann getting his first title defense out of the way is a good thing. Not as good as getting rid of Young, but a good thing nonetheless.

Havok has brought him back, meaning James Mitchell, so the wedding is on. Nevaeh is nervous.

Kaleb With A K tells the Knockouts that the Knockouts Tag Team Tournament is on in eight weeks with three teams. Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan leave together and Alisha Edwards is left alone. Steelz and Hogan come back up to talk trash but here’s Jordynne Grace to come up and say they’ll beat them up later.

Brian Myers vs. Tommy Dreamer

Hardcore Halloween match and Dreamer is Road Warrior Animal. They fight to the floor in a hurry with Dreamer suplexing him on the ramp. Dreamer chokes with a shirt but gets sent face first into the steps. A well placed walker to the back has Myers down again and there’s a low blow with the bell. Myers crotches him on the barricade though and it’s a trashcan to the head. Dreamer gets knocked out of the air with a sign though and we take a break.

Back with Myers suplexing him for two and getting in a candy bag to the face. A chair shot to the back sets up a chinlock but Dreamer fights up for a cutter. It’s time for the thumb tacks and candy corn but Myers catches him on top. That’s fine with Dreamer, who shoves him down onto the pile. Dreamer pulls out a chair but gets planted after taking too long to set it up. Cue Swoggle out of a trashcan to grab Myers low with a pair of tongs. The Death Valley Driver through the table finishes Myers at 11:43.

Rating: D+. I’m not going to get mad about this as it’s just goofy stuff with Myers not meaning much in the first place. The Swoggle deal with Dreamer is straight out of a good many indy shows you would find and that’s fine enough. It’s not good, but it’s completely harmless. Not the best use of time, but it could have been worse.

Heath and Rhino are happy with Rhino winning the Call Your Shot gauntlet and they’re going after the Tag Team Titles once Heath is healthy. Actually never mind because Heath wasn’t injured. Ok then?

Reno Scum and Hernandez pin Fallah Bahh (Bahh: “SOCIAL DISTANCING!”) to the wall to get Hernandez’s money back. Bahh doesn’t have it so they punch him in the ribs and leave. The money is down his pants, as this feud continues.

XXXL vs. Rascalz

The Rascalz start fast with stereo middle rope moonsaults to take the big guys down before the bell. Romero counters a springboard into a Samoan drop though and Wentz is in trouble in the corner. The neck crank goes on with Larry D. even mocking their pose. Wentz fights up with some strikes but gets pulled away from the hot tag attempt. Larry gets two off a World’s Strongest Slam but Wentz is back up with a springboard kick to the face.

That’s enough for the hot tag to Dez and it’s time to pick up the pace, including a running Cannonball to Larry’s back in the corner. Everything breaks down and Dez gets crushed for a quick two. Larry goes up (Josh: “Did someone put a snack up on the top rope?”) but gets crotched, only to have Acey pull Wentz down. The top rope splash gives Larry the pin at 5:52.

Rating: D+. The tag division has gotten a little weird around here as there are two tiers to the whole thing. The top half has the titles and the big stars but the North winning the titles threw things a bit out of whack. Then you have the lower tier, which is where these two and the Deaners are, is a bunch of teams trading wins without anyone going anywhere. That could change in a heartbeat, but for now, it’s a pretty strange way to go.

D’Amore is sitting down with Deonna Purrazzo, Kimber Lee and what seems to be Purrazzo’s lawyer (who happens to be RD Evans/Archibald Peck). The lawyer says Su Yung needs to be stripped of the Knockouts Title so Purrazzo can be champion again. D’Amore has until the end of the night but he’ll go fix it right now.

The Motor City Machine Guns say Alex Shelley is going to be out about two months and they’re coming for the titles. XXXL come in and say they want the title shot so Shelley tells them to go away. That earns Shelley a double standing splash to leave him laying.

Here’s D’Amore to deal with the Knockouts Title situation as brought on by Purrazzo’s barrister (yes barrister). He gets straight to the point by saying that Su Yung is the Knockouts Champion so here are Purrazzo/Lee/Evans (as he is named here), the latter of whom says this is the biggest mistake D’Amore has ever made. Something has happened to Kylie Rae and it was likely at Su Yung’s hands. Is that the kind of behavior that should be rewarded?

Purrazzo should be champion again and D’Amore really doesn’t want to spend time and money defending it. D’Amore talks about how big of a mess it can be and offers her a rematch instead. The barrister agrees so here’s Su Yung to Claw Evans and Lee. The mist takes D’Amore down and there’s a Claw to Purrazzo as well. I’m not sure how necessary a lot of this was but anything involving Archibald Peck is a good thing.

Rich Swann and the Rascalz take pictures with Swann’s title but Moose comes in to ask why they’re celebrating Swann being second best. Swann is just holding the title so the Rascalz have to hold him back. Mack gets in Moose’s face and is called a sidekick. Moose says he’ll say when. Swann leaves and runs into Sami Callihan and Ken Shamrock, with Callihan saying he’s waiting. Shamrock stares too. Good segment here as it got the point across in a hurry.

We get part of Ken Shamrock’s Hall of Fame package. At least they’re including Bret Hart and Mick Foley’s videos here, which was nowhere else to be seen anywhere outside of watching the live broadcast. Rock is included as well and I still have no idea how this wasn’t the company’s headline over the weekend.

The Good Brothers interrupt the North talking to security so the North mocks them for not being able to win the titles. Punches are thrown.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Rohit Raju b. Willie Mack at Victory Road 2020.

Jimmy Jacobs comes in to see Rohit Raju, who is waiting for people to join his party. Raju recaps retaining the X-Division Title at Bound For Glory

John E. Bravo yells at Fallah Bahh for being dressed as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and asks where Hernandez is. Bravo is going to tell Hernandez that Bahh has his money. Johnny Swinger comes in to gloat.

Kiera Hogan/Tasha Steelz vs. Jordynne Grace/Alisha

Grace walks past Elisha during their entrances and they don’t seem to be having the best chemistry. Steelz wants a test of strength with Grace to start and then finds out that’s a very bad idea. Grace runs her over with a shoulder and Alisha throws Steelz back in. A quick crawl over to the corner allows the hot tag to Hogan, whose kick to Alisha’s ribs is easily cut off.

Alisha hits a running clothesline and brings Grace back in for a splash off the shoulders. The referee didn’t see the tag though and it’s Hogan superkicking the still legal Alisha as we take a break. Back with Steelz hitting some running kicks in the corner, followed by a sliding kick to give Hogan two. The chinlock goes on but Alisha breaks it up, only to get pulled right back into it all over again.

The comeback is on again though and this time Alisha bulldogs Steelz down. Grace comes in off the hot tag and starts cleaning house. Some running knees to the back set up a running hip attack to crush Hogan. Everything breaks down and Alisha charges into Grace by mistake, allowing Steelz to grab the rollup for the pin at 8:29.

Rating: C-. They set up Hogan and Steelz as some of the favorites for the tournament, which will be fine until they run into the wacky team who happen to have chemistry. Other than that, this was just a regular match which didn’t have anything noteworthy. I’m not sure on the tournament, but maybe they can come up with some good enough teams to make it work.

Post match Alisha and Grace yell at each other.

Willie Mack takes a photo with a fan in the parking lot but it’s a distraction so Moose can jump him. Moose vs. Mack could be interesting.

Taya Valkyrie wants to talk to Rosemary before the wedding. Bravo has changed into a groomzilla as of late but Rosemary has an idea. Taya has a bad feeling about this.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

It’s time for the wedding with most of the Wrestle House cast and a few others, including Swoggle. Everything goes red and it’s James Mitchell making his return. Crazzy Steve walks Rosemary to the ring and Mitchell handles the introductions. After making it clear that Bravo is a virgin, he asks if anyone has any reason to stop the wedding. No one says anything, so Mitchell is relieved that they made it past that trope.

Bravo is going to recite his own vows, so he quotes the Addams Family and calls Rosemary his little gargoyle. Rosemary sounds all strange and suggests that she’s here to take Bravo’s soul. Swoggle, the ring imp, hands them the rings and they both say they do. Mitchell says you can now kiss the demon….and the lights go out. A gun goes off and the lights come back up with Bravo bleeding from the chest. Tommy Dreamer (of course): “WHO SHOT BRAVO??? NOOOOOOOOOO!” Well that’s certainly different and….I think I like it. Maybe?

Overall Rating: D+. If you didn’t know better, you would have no idea that this was coming off of Bound For Glory. The matches were all ok at best and not very good other than that, which made for a rather lame show. I can go for more of Swann facing the odds instead of waiting around for something to happen and the two Tag Team Titles could be interesting. They need to find a way to make that happen though, because this wasn’t much worth seeing.

Results

Rich Swann b. Eric Young – Phoenix splash

Tommy Dreamer b. Brian Myers – Death Valley Driver through a table

XXXL b. Rascalz – Top rope splash to Wentz

Kiera Hogan/Tasha Steelz b. Jordynne Grace/Alisha – Rollup to Alisha

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: October 13, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Madison Rayne

We’re almost up to Bound For Glory and that means it’s time to add in a few more matches before building up everything that has already been set. The show is still lacking that one big match to really make it feel special and I’m not sure what could fill in that role. That’s kind of a problem on the biggest show of the year. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Moose is yelling at Scott D’Amore for being put in a match in an undisclosed location. D’Amore reminds him that it will also be against an opponent who doesn’t work here for a title he never won. Moose has no time for this and storms off.

We cut to EC3 saying Moose is controlling his narrative. EC3 holds up the title and we cut to Moose, saying he knows where he needs to go.

Opening sequence.

Rosemary/Taya Valkyrie vs. Tasha Steelz/Kiera Hogan vs. Nevaeh/Havok

Rosemary waistlocks Nevaeh to open things up but gets rolled up for a fast two. It’s quickly off to Taya vs. Nevaeh with Taya being taken into the corner. Havok comes in for a splash as Tasha and Kiera are talking trash from the apron. Taya gets knocked into the corner and Kiera comes in for a running shot to the face. That’s broken up with Taya driving Kiera into the corner for the tag off to Rosemary.

It’s off to Nevaeh even faster and a suplex gets two on Kiera. A double whip into the corner has Nevaeh in trouble and Tasha grabs a chinlock. Nevaeh hits a belly to back faceplant and it’s off to Havok to clean house. Everything breaks down and it’s Taya cleaning house, including a big dive off the top to take out Havok, Nevaeh and Kiera. Tasha teases a dive but has to stop when she realizes that the referee is checking on everyone so it’s a little dancing instead. Rosemary cuts her off with a spear and it’s a Wing Clipper (needs a name) for the pin on Steelz at 9:17.

Rating: C-. This was a little too messy and it wasn’t the best thing in the world as a result. You can only get so far with this many people running around, though Taya and Rosemary continuing to win is a good idea. The problem is they don’t really have anything to accomplish, though I’m curious to see where the wedding story is going from here.

Post match Havok and Nevaeh stare down Rosemary and Taya. Didn’t we do that match earlier?

Josh and Madison preview the show.

John E. Bravo yells at the wedding party about everything being so expensive. Johnny Swinger brags about beating Buddy Landel in Mid-Atlantic but Crazzy Steve tries to break things up. A match is made for later. For the first time we have the date confirmed for two weeks from now.

Rosemary appears to Havok, who she needs to bring back Father James Mitchell to officiate the wedding. Havok knows this is going to keep going so next week they can have a match. If Rosemary wins, she’ll bring Mitchell back but if Havok wins, Rosemary lets all of this go and Mitchell stays gone. Deal.

Fallah Bahh vs. Crazzy Steve

The referee checks Bahh for weapons so Steve starts gyrating his hips. Steve wants Bahh to take his shirt off to reveal the hidden money but Bahh drives him into the corner. A running crossbody hits Steve but Bahh makes sure to grab his chest to make sure the money is there. Steve is back with a sleeper and pulls Bahh’s shirt off to reveal the money. A rollup pins Bahh at 2:47. These wedding matches still make me chuckle.

Rhino comes to see Heath, who is now in the Call Your Shot battle royal at Bound For Glory. If either of them win, Heath has a contract, but if neither of them win, Heath never has a chance around here. They have a match later tonight so Heath runs off to get ready. Scott D’Amore comes in to ask when Rhino is going to tell Heath the other part: if neither of them win, Rhino’s contract is done too.

Kaleb With A K introduces our next match.

Tenille Dashwood/Tommy Dreamer/Brian Myers/Cody Deaner/Johnny Swinger vs. Cousin Jake/Hernandez/Alisha/Rhino/Heath

The winning team will face off in a five way next week for the #20 spot in the Call Your Shot battle royal. Swinger and Heath start things off, with Swinger getting in some Hindu squats. There’s no contact to start so it’s off to Tenille vs. Alisha with Tenille grabbing a headlock. Tenille takes her down for a basement clothesline and it’s time to start the trash talk. Cody comes in so Alisha tags Hernandez…who hands it right off to Rhino instead. Cody grabs a headlock (Cody: “I’M GONNA BEAT RHINO!”) but Rhino runs him over with a shoulder.

Jake and Dreamer come in with Jake hitting his own running shoulder. It’s off to Hernandez to bearhug Tommy, who bites his way to freedom. Hernandez knocks all of the opponents off of the apron but Dreamer pulls Myers in, which counts as a tag. Heath comes in for a jumping knee and neckbreaker to Myers, who is right back with a shot to the face. Swinger tags himself in and the Wake Up Call gives Heath the fast pin at 7:18.

Rating: D+. This was fine for what they were going for here as there was no reason to do anything more than have a quick match with Heath getting the pin. The battle royal should be a good enough match and it doesn’t need to be anything more than that and a way to fill in some time. Heath continues to be amusing and he fills in that role rather well.

Sami Callihan and Eddie Edwards get in a fight in the back until Ken Shamrock comes in to lock Eddie’s ankle.

Eric Young asks Jimmy Jacobs thinks will happen to Rich Swann if he tries to wrestle at Bound For Glory. Young wants some answers about Swann so he’s going to the ring tonight to get them.

Kimber Lee vs. Kylie Rae

Deonna Purrazzo is here with Lee. Rae gets taken into the corner to start as the camera cuts are on fire to start. The threat of a Crossface has Lee fighting Rae off and she bails outside when Rae tries a running knee in the hurricanrana. A hurricanrana into a kick to the face gives Rae two but Lee tries a German suplex off the apron. Naturally that’s blocked so Lee settles for a powerbomb onto the apron instead.

Back in and some eye rakes have Rae down again but she grabs the leg for a failed STF attempt. Lee gets two off a delayed vertical suplex and it’s time to crank on the leg. That’s reversed into a cross armbreaker but Lee is right back out with a basement clothesline. Rae makes the comeback and gets two off the Kylie Special but Lee grabs a pop up sitout powerbomb for the same. A short arm clothesline puts Lee down again but Rae has to get rid of Purrazzo. That’s fine enough though as the STF finishes Lee at 9:49.

Rating: C. The wrestling wasn’t so much the point here as they were all about setting up the title match at Bound For Glory. They did a nice job of making you believe that Rae is a threat to Purrazzo, though she is a completely different kind of beast. Rae is getting better and better every time she is in the ring so hopefully that continues at the pay per view.

Post match Rae won’t let go so Purrazzo comes in, only to get beaten up as well.

Here are the Good Brothers for a chat. They’re glad to be here and they know they’re the best. They still need the titles though and those are coming at Bound For Glory.

Doc Gallows vs. Madman Fulton

Karl Anderson and Ace Austin are here too. Gallows knocks him into the corner to start but gets caught with Snake Eyes. A clothesline puts Gallows on the floor but he pulls Fulton out there with him. They fight up the ramp and it’s a double countout at 1:19. Fair enough, though quite disappointing.

Actually never mind as they’re continuing after the break and it’s now a street fight. Fulton hammers him down and sends Gallows into the barricade. A trashcan is put over Gallows’ head for a shot with a stick but Gallows is back with a beer shot to the head. Some chair shots have Fulton down but he comes back with a big boot. Fulton wedges a chair in the corner but charges into it, allowing Gallows to chokeslam him through some more chairs for the pin at 9:40 total.

Rating: D+. It’s a pure garbage brawl and the break in the middle didn’t help things. Fulton has cooled off a lot in recent weeks and while he’s still a big deal, he isn’t on the level of the Good Brothers. Then again, based on how things are going around here at the moment, the Good Brothers are probably the biggest stars in the promotion, which is kind of a weird way to go.

Here’s what’s coming at Bound For Glory and next week, much of which will lead into the pay per view.

Here’s Eric Young to complain about how he has to deal with a bunch of nonsense eleven days before Bound For Glory. He wants to hear that Rich Swann quit and wants to hear it right now. We cut to Scott D’Amore, who gets a phone call from someone who has done something for him. D’Amore has something to do and, after a break, D’Amore is coming to the ring. Young demands that D’Amore say he has the night off at Bound For Glory. D’Amore says that Young did extensive damage to Swann’s leg, which is enough for Young.

Eric goes into a rant about how D’Amore works for him now, so D’Amore asks what happened to Young. D’Amore remembers when Young was in Team Canada and being treated like garbage everywhere else. But now he’s this? What happened? Not that it matters, because Swann is going to be cleared for Bound For Glory and the title is on the line. Young snaps and beats the heck out of him in the corner until Swann runs out for a Lethal Injection to send Young running.

Moose drives to a bridge and finds EC3 holding the TNA World Title. EC3 says Moose is a mix of every wrestling personality he has ever seen. The fight is on, with EC3 knocking him down and picking up the title again. EC3 asks who Moose is and says it wouldn’t be so funny if it wasn’t so sad. Moose gets back up and hammers him down to take the title back. A bloody EC3 laughs as Moose leaves with the title.

Overall Rating: D. This company is limping into its biggest show of the year and this was another really bad step on the way. The biggest problem is Bound For Glory just feels like a collection of matches instead of anything important. The top three matches are a four way for the Tag Team Titles, EC3 and Moose fighting over a title that doesn’t count, and Eric Young vs. Rich Swann in a match that feels like it should be for the X Division Title.

What on here seems like it’s something important? Maybe the ten person tag to set up a five way to set up the last entrant in a battle royal for a future title shot? Or the six way for the midcard title? The show isn’t coming off like an important pay per view but rather some kind of a packed gimmick show that doesn’t actually have a gimmick. Slammiversary felt important and interesting. This feels like a show we have to get through. That shouldn’t be happening, but it’s all we have.

Results

Taya Valkyrie/Rosemary b. Tasha Steelz/Kiera Hogan and Nevaeh/Havok – Wing Clipper to Steelz

Crazzy Steve b. Fallah Bahh – Rollup

Cousin Jake/Hernandez/Alisha/Rhino/Heath b. Tenille Dashwood/Tommy Dreamer/Brian Myers/Cody Deaner/Johnny Swinger – Wake Up Call to Swinger

Kylie Rae b. Kimber Lee – Smile To The Finish

Doc Gallows b. Madman Fulton – Two handed chokeslam through chairs

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: September 8, 2020
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Madison Rayne, Josh Matthews

We’re in a new world around here as Eric Young is the World Champion again. That would seem to set up a big showdown against Rich Swann at Bound For Glory, which hopefully means this doesn’t last too long. Other than that, we have the Motor City Machine Guns defending the Tag Team Titles against the Rascalz and the continuing mind games between EC3 and Moose. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Eric Young for his first interview as champion. Young talks about how world class he is with everything and then he rolled over everyone to become World Champion. Cue Alisha Edwards to call Young a coward for injuring people. Eddie Edwards is going to come back and take Young out because he’ll fight anyone. She isn’t afraid of Young and it’s because of Young that Eddie can’t hold their child. Young: “I don’t care.”

Alisha slaps him so Young loads up a piledriver but Tommy Dreamer (oh no) comes in for the save. Dreamer talks about how the Edwards and Rich Swann are family and he isn’t letting this happen. If Young wants to be some monster, come end his career tonight. We’ll make it Extreme Rules, Old School Rules, Hardcore or whatever. Young says he’ll see Dreamer tonight. Can I see something in a mallet to the head?

The announcers run down the card.

Moose gets on a plane (where you can be followed by a camera crew) to go get his TNA World Title back.

Rosemary, John E. Bravo and Taya Valkyrie are wedding planning, with Rosemary saying she doesn’t know many people who can officiate a demon wedding. Taya says she has this so Rosemary teleports away, leaving Taya to make some rather big plans (a twenty layer cake is mentioned).

TJP vs. Chris Bey

They starts fast with TJP slugging away and hitting a big backdrop. Bey slips out of an armbar attempt and here’s Rohit Raju to watch from ringside. A headscissors out of the corner sends Bey to the floor for the Wrecking Ball dropkick and it’s time to work on Bey’s arm. The good arm hits TJP with a clothesline though and we take a break. Back with Bey in control but having to glare at a cheering Raju. The Gory Stretch is countered into a rollup though and TJP slaps on a quickly broken Muta Lock.

Bey kicks him in the back of the head and puts on an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up with a belly to back suplex and some rolling single underhook suplexes keep Bey down. Bey’s springboard kick to the face is countered into a rollup for two as Madison leaves to do Locker Room Talk. Bey tries a rollup but TJP reverses into a sunset flip for the quick pin at 10:37.

Rating: B-. They kept things moving at a very fast pace here and that’s what they needed to do. I’m not sure where they’re going with the Bound For Glory title match here but you can almost guarantee that there will be a lot of people involved. That isn’t a bad thing in this case, but I could go for a match like this on the big stage instead of some big mess.

It’s time for Locker Room Talk and Johnny Swinger has a new jacket. He insists that Wrestle House wants him back, which Rayne says makes it sound like jail. The guests this week are Kylie Rae and Susie, with Madison accusing Rae of trying to hide from Deonna Purrazzo. Madison tries to bring up Susie being Su Yung but here are Purrazzo and Kimber Lee, with Purrazzo complaining about the interruption last week. Tag match next week.

John E. Bravo is trying to find an elephant but Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan come in to ask about their invitations. They want him to be a man and stand up to Taya but Taya wouldn’t like that. The two of them are going to be his groomspeople and teach him how to be a man.

Here’s Brian Myers to talk about getting off on the wrong foot with Willie Mack. He has been around the world and wrestled in all fifty states. There is nothing to be ashamed about to lose to him but Mack wouldn’t go with the time honored tradition of shaking his hand. Mack needs to come out here and do it now, so here’s Mack to say he isn’t here to shake hands. He would rather put his hands around Myers’ throat and shake that. They’re having a rematch right now, but Myers isn’t ready. Mack: “Didn’t they tell you to always bring your gear if you’re a professional?”

Willie Mack vs. Brian Myers

Mack elbows him to the floor to start and follows with a dive. Myers sends him face first into the apron a few times though and takes it back inside to yell and stomp. A suplex gives Myers two and we hit the chinlock. Mack fights up with the swinging slam into a legdrop for two of his own. The standing moonsault gets the same but the Stunner is broken up with a rake to the face. Mack hits a standing Sky High but Myers gets in a low blow, setting up an implant DDT for the pin at 5:26.

Rating: C-. I still don’t quite see the star power in Myers but he used to be in WWE and has a podcast so I guess he’s worth pushing. Mack continues to look and feel like a star and I could go for more of him, but hopefully he winds up getting some kind of a win here. The handshake deal is fine, though back to back losses aren’t the most encouraging.

Jordynne Grace doesn’t get why Tenille Dashwood just showed up and thinks she gets a title shot. Grace goes to find her but gets Dashwood’s personal photographer (Caleb Konley), who says she is too busy.

Taya yells at Tasha and Kiera for getting in someone else’s business. They yell back and both sides are called Boo Boo, making me lose any and all interest in the whole thing.

Tag Team Titles: Rascalz vs. Motor City Machine Guns

The Rascalz are challenging and dropkick the Guns off the apron to start fast. That means stereo dives to take them down again and it’s time to take it back inside for some running charges to Sabin in the corner. The rapid fire kicks get two and a running kick to the chest gives Wentz two. Shelley comes in to take over on Wentz’s leg though and he can’t even be whipped across the ring. The Guns take turns kicking at the knee in the corner and Sabin drives the knee into the mat. Sabin cuts off the comeback in the corner and Shelley knees the knee again.

We go old school with a spinning toehold from Shelley as Sabin grabs an Octopus Hold on Dez. Shelley tries a Figure Four instead as Dez escapes and makes the save. An enziguri allows the hot tag to Dez, who kicks Sabin in the back of the head to take over. More kicks in the corner get two as everything breaks down. Wentz’ middle rope Meteora onto Dez’s knees gets two and it’s a jumping knee to Sabin’s face. The Guns are back in with the Dream Sequence to Dez and the ASCS Rush to Wentz. The double Death Valley Driver retains the titles at 8:38.

Rating: B. Yeah this worked and that is hardly a surprise. They actually did something else before getting to the fast paced and high intensity offense, which is works the best for all of these guys. I’m not sure why we can’t get that more often in a match like this and it worked well here. Good stuff and I could go for another.

Post match the North runs in and beat down both teams. Ace Austin and Madman Fulton run in for the staredown but the Good Brothers come in for the real save. The Rascalz dive onto the villains and it’s a three way staredown.

Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes are rather happy because next week, it’s the Whole F’N Talk Show. Just what we need.

Sami Callihan says this is 2020 for him: he won the match and then got beaten up again last week. Katie Forbes messed things up for him so maybe she is just too much for him. Next week there is a new talk show though and Sami promises to hack it. Well at least he’s an honest hacker.

Tasha Steelz vs. Taya Valkyrie

Kiera Hogan and John E. Bravo are here. The yelling turns into the slugout to start and Taya hits a running basement dropkick for two. Kiera gets a trip from the floor so Tasha can take over as Bravo is wedding planning on his phone. Taya hits a sitout powerbomb and a knee to the chest gets two. A spear into the Road to Valhalla finishes Tasha at 3:39.

Rating: C-. They kept things fast here and that was a good thing given how Steelz isn’t the best in the ring most of the time. The Bravo distraction is going to be interesting and I’m curious to see where they go when they finally have him stand up to Taya, assuming he actually does.

Post match Kiera jumps Taya, which is enough to get Bravo off the phone for the late save.

Moose winds up at I believe his high school football coach’s office and asks if has seen EC3. That’s a no, but the coach tells him to control his narrative. Some guys in EC3 gear appear and Moose runs.

Flashback Moment of the Week: EC3/Eddie Edwards b. Mike Bennett/Moose on August 11, 2016.

Heath and Rhino meet up in the parking lot but Heath is in trouble with management. The ads are going to continue but they are expensive. Rhino knows where he can get money though.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Eric Young vs. Tommy Dreamer

Non-title and anything goes. Dreamer slams him down to start but misses the kendo stick shot. They head outside with Dreamer being sent into the steps, followed by a chain over his eyes. That earns Dreamer a posting and it’s time to peel back the ring mats. Dreamer comes back with some weapons shots and they head back inside. Young bites his way out of a superplex attempt and the catapult sends Dreamer throat first into the bottom rope. A middle rope elbow with a chair is blocked with a raised boot and Dreamer grabs the cutter.

They slug it out from their knees but Young goes after the leg to take him down again. Young gets sent into the trashcan in the corner and Dreamer’s DDT gets two. It’s table time but Young gets in a low blow. Dreamer crotches him on top, only to have Young hit him in the head with the hockey mask. The piledriver finishes Dreamer at 10:08.

Rating: D+. So that’s how Young’s first match as the World Champion goes: fighting Tommy Dreamer for ten minutes and needing to survive because Dreamer needed to hang in there for that long against the World Champion. I’m not sure who thought this was a good idea but I’m sure Dreamer cried about it a bit. Not a good match of course, but how often can Dreamer do anything above this level anyway?

Post match Young wraps a chair around the leg and beats on it with the kendo stick. Rich Swann limps out with the crutch to make the save. Young yells at Swann to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was up and down all show with some good stuff being dragged down by a lot of negatives. In other words, Eric Young vs. Tommy Dreamer is not a main event I need to see. It was far from a bad show and it seems that we are going to be seeing Swann getting the World Title shot at Bound For Glory. That works well enough, assuming I can take that much of hearing about Young’s greatness.

Results

TJP b. Chris Bey – Sunset flip

Brian Myers b. Willie Mack – Implant DDT

Motor City Machine Guns b. Rascalz – Double Death Valley Driver to Wentz

Taya Valkyrie b. Tasha Steelz – Road to Valhalla

Eric Young b. Tommy Dreamer – Piledriver

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