Impact Wrestling
Date: January 11, 2024
Host: Tom Hannifan

We’re almost back to normal shows for the first time in months, but for now it’s time for one more Best Of show. That can be quite hit or miss, but the question becomes what constitutes “Best Of” this week. Hopefully they get to the right part of the vault this week so let’s get to it.

Hannifan welcomes us to the show and talks about this being a preview for Saturday’s Hard To Kill.

From Hard To Kill 2022.

Chelsea Green vs. Tasha Steelz vs. Lady Frost vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Alisha vs. Rosemary

It’s the first ever women’s Ultimate X match and the winner gets a Knockouts Title shot. Alisha is a last minute addition, replacing Rachael Ellering for no given reason. Everyone stares at each other for a bit before Steelz and Grace go straight for the X. That’s broken up of course and it’s time for a bunch of quickly broken climbs. Grace and Rosemary are left alone in the ring as Savannah Evans (Steelz’s partner) comes to the ring.

That doesn’t matter as Havok gives Rosemary a boost towards the X, only to have Green break it up with a missile dropkick. Green and Alisha climbs the same structure but then dive down onto everyone else instead of going after the X. Frost hits a dive of her own but Grace is right there to cut off a climb. Grace goes for the X instead so Frost jumps on her…to no avail as Grace hangs on. Well of course she’s that strong.

Rosemary’s powerbomb to Frost is countered into a hurricanrana though, meaning Steelz has to pull Grace down instead. Green goes for the X this time but falls, landing on Steelz for a scary crash. Alisha whips out Kendra and beats up a variety of people before going up herself. Rosemary cuts that off with a spear, which winds up being a flapjack as Alisha lands face first.

Steelz goes up but Grace goes with the chase to pull both of them down at the same time. With everyone else down, Frost goes up and moonsaults off the structure onto a bunch of people (who can be seen checking on each other). Back up and Grace, Steelz and Green all go up, with Grace falling down in a crash. The X is pulled down but it’s Steelz crashing down with possession for the win at 9:13.

Rating: C+. This was about making history and having the women get the chance to do something like this for a change. The spots were big, but there are only so many things you can do in a match like this one. Steelz winning is a big of a surprise, but she could be fine as a one off challenger on a monthly special. They had a good first time here though and it’s cool to see the women getting a chance in a match like this.

We look at ABC retaining the Tag Team Titles at Final Resolution but getting jumped by the Rascalz after their win.

Later in the night, the ABC cost the Rascalz a match against Trent Seven and Mike Bailey.

The Grizzled Young Veterans are debuting at Hard To Kill and they’re already in a four way Tag Team Title match. Cool. As Zack Gibson talks to the camera, someone bumps into James Drake so he goes off to pummel them. Cool as well.

From Impact, November 9, 2023.

Digital Media Title: Tommy Dreamer vs. Crazzy Steve

Dreamer is defending. They lock up to start and fight out to the floor before Steve takes it back inside for some chopping. A neckbreaker and knee lift get Dreamer out of trouble but Steve knocks him right back down and sings him a lullaby. Dreamer shrugs off some ripping at the face and slugs away.

A reverse DDT gives Dreamer two but the Dreamer Driver is broken up. Steve hits a Cannonball and goes for the fork but Dreamer bites the arm. Dreamer hits a cutter and stabs him with the fork instead. More stabbing has Steve running away and cackling as the match just kind of ends at about 7:15. I’d assume it was a DQ but I didn’t actually hear a bell.

Rating: C. Well, at least Dreamer didn’t win. I would hope that we are going to be seeing a rematch where Steve wins the title as there is no reason for Dreamer to be a long term champion. Dreamer going violent to even things up is fine, but he needs to drop the title to Steve, who is doing some good stuff right now.

Video on El Hijo del Vikingo.

From Impact, August 10, 2023.

Mike Bailey vs. Kushida

Kushida drops to the mat and tries to pull Bailey down before settling for a wristdrag. A kick to the chest drops Bailey again but the fans are split. The bouncing kicks don’t do much to Kushida, who sends Bailey outside. Back in and we hit the surfboard to keep Bailey in trouble a bit longer. They chop it out until Bailey is knocked outside for a shoulder first ram into the post.

We take a break and come back with Kushida tying up the legs and cranking away with an Indian deathlock (with commentary pointing out that since Kushida had taken out the arm, Bailey would start using his legs so Kushida is staying ahead of him). Back up and the leg is fine enough to hit a springboard moonsault (of course), only to miss something off the top.

Bailey strikes him down and tries the standing moonsault but gets caught in an armbar. That’s reversed into a cross armbreaker but Kushida makes the rope. Bailey kicks him in the face so Kushida hits him in his, only to have Bailey knee him in the face for two. The tornado kick looks to set up the Ultimate Weapon but Kushida pulls him down and hits Back To The Future for the pin at 17:55.

Rating: B. This is one of those setups where you know it is going to be at least good give all of the circumstances. That being said, Bailey’s knee nonsense continues as Kushida worked it over and then bailey was right back up with the springboard moonsault. Other than that, Kushida seems to be on the road to an X-Division Title showdown and that should be very good whenever it happens.

From Hard To Kill 2022.

Josh Alexander vs. Jonah

They stare each other down until Alexander kicks him in the face to start. Alexander hammers away in the corner but gets knocked down for his efforts. Jonah’s backsplash misses so Alexander knocks him outside, where Jonah scores with some hard chops. Alexander ties the leg in the ropes and stomps down to take over, sending Jonah back outside. That goes badly for Alexander again, as Jonah drives him ribs first into the apron.

Back in and Jonah drops him ribs first onto the top turnbuckle before tossing Alexander around with ease. Neither of them can get a backslide so Jonah drops him ribs first across the top rope instead. The over the shoulder backbreaker stays on the ribs but Alexander slips out to chop away. Some slaps to the face earn Alexander a heck of a forearm, but he’s fine enough to start kicking at the leg.

Alexander dumps him over the top, with Jonah landing on his leg again. A hard right hand knocks Jonah into the front row and Alexander hits a huge dive to take him down again. That’s only good for a nine so Alexander goes right back to the knee. Alexander takes way too long going up so Jonah crotches him down.

One heck of a top rope superplex drops Alexander again before a powerbomb plants him hard. Jonah’s clothesline turns Alexander inside out and a brainbuster gets two more. Some headbutts have Alexander busted open but he’s able to avoid a moonsault. Alexander manages a powerbomb before stomping on the ankle. The ankle lock makes Jonah tap at 17:07.

Rating: B. This was the best way to have the match go, as Alexander fought through an injury to overcome the monster. Alexander needed this win after dropping the World Title in about five minutes, so while it’s annoying to see Jonah lose so soon, it is probably the best outcome. Alexander vs. Moose is going to happen at some point and this should clear the path for the April pay per view. Good match too, as Alexander can do no wrong at the moment.

From Slammiversary 2022.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Tasha Steelz vs. Mia Yim vs. Deonna Purrazzo vs. Chelsea Green

Steelz, with Savannah Evans, is defending in Queen Of The Mountain and Mickie James is guest enforcer. Steelz has Mickie themed gear describing herself as “The Greatest Who Beat The Greatest” for a nice touch. The bell rings and Steelz bails to the floor to grab a table with Evans. Yim takes both of them out with a dive and Green hits her own flip dive (thankfully not breaking her arm for a change).

Purrazzo adds her own dive and Green rolls Steelz up to become eligible and send her to the penalty box for two minutes. Mickie sends Evans into the box as well, leaving Grace and Yim to beat up Purrazzo. Steelz and Evans are out with Steelz getting to strike away. Evans gets back inside and is ejected by Mickie, leaving Steelz to kick green down. Yim makes the save and suplexes Green for the pin/eligibility/penalty box time.

Green isn’t happy and hits Mickie with the door as Purrazzo has to cut off Yim from hanging the title. With Yim going up anyway, Steelz comes off the top with a cutter to pull her back down. As Purrazzo armbars Steelz, Green is released and takes Grace down with a spear. Steelz taps so Purrazzo can be eligible but it’s time to go after Grace. A Backstabber sends her outside as Green sends Yim into the corner for two. Green holds up the title as Steelz is released from the box.

The ladder is laid up against the ropes and it’s Yim coming off the penalty box to dropkick Green into said ladder. Yim hits a big dive to take out a bunch of people, setting up a package piledriver on the floor to pin Grace (remember Yim was already eligible). Green headbutts Steelz down and goes up but James is back in to break it up in an act of rather unprofessional revenge.

Purrazzo powerbombs Yim onto a ladder and goes up at the same time as Green. As Grace is released, Yim shoves the ladder over to put both Green and Purrazzo through the table. Yim gets dropped and double pinned by Grace and Steelz, meaning everyone is eligible. Steelz goes up but Grace hits her with a MuscleBuster for the pin, allowing Grace to hang the title for the win at 18:24.

Rating: C+. What do you say about a match like this? It’s total insanity and the rules are such a mess that it is quite the chore to keep track of everything that is going on. Grace was the monster throughout the match and it makes sense to have her win, as she hasn’t been around the title in a long time. Granted Masha Slamovich seems to be waiting on whoever won the title, but Grace winning is nice to see.

We look at Moose winning his first World Title by cashing in on Josh Alexander at Bound For Glory 2021.

We look at Alex Shelley winning his first World Title by defeating Steve Maclin at Against All Odds 2023.

We get a face to face sitdown interview between Moose and Alex Shelley before Moose challenges Shelley for the World Title at Hard To Kill. Shelley is feeling confident going into the title match but Moose says he’s coming in as Moose and leaving as World Champion. We get some questions from various members of the media, with the first being if Shelley is facing more pressure than usual. Shelley says he’ll do the same thing he’s been doing, while Moose says he doesn’t need to scare anyone.

The next question is about the rebirth of TNA, with Shelley saying Moose wasn’t around for the original so should be Shelley on top. Shelley is ready to be the champ who defends the title around the world, while Moose wants to be the first champion in TNA as everything changes to the new era.

Another question for Moose: he brought back the TNA World Championship, but did he ever think he would really hold the title? Moose says the company needed someone but Shelley wasn’t there. They go face to face and both say they should be champion to end the show. This was a good idea, but it went on one or two questions too long. I’ll certainly take some hype over the title match over none though so this was at least something.

Overall Rating: B-. There was a theme here and it made the show feel more important. It was still kind of all over the place with its match choices, but at least they were getting to the build for the big return. Hard To Kill is going to be in a weird place, though things will be back to normal starting next week. This was a glorified preview featuring previous matches to set things up, so for what they were trying to do, we’ll call it a good enough success.

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Hard To Kill 2024
Date: January 13, 2024
Location: Palms Casino Resort, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

Somehow, the big story here is the name of the promotion, as Impact Wrestling is gone and TNA Wrestling is back. Other than that, we have a pretty stacked card with a variety of title matches, plus the promise of a major name debuting. That could be multiple people, which opens up some interesting doors. Let’s get to it.

There is a new set, with the old school tunnel entrances coming diagonally down to the ramp.

Pre-Show: Rich Swann vs. Steve Maclin

Feeling out process to start and Swann, in what looks to be Flash Funk tribute gear, shakes his knees. Swann sends him to the floor for an early dive, followed by a middle rope crossbody for two back inside. Maclin gets in a hard forearm though and a backbreaker makes it worse.

Back up and Swann charges into a release Rock Bottom out of the corner for two more. Swann manages to strike away and kicks him in the head for two. Maclin is able to catch him in the corner though and something close to a Twist of Fate gets two more. That doesn’t slow Swann down as he’s right back with a kick of his own, setting up the 450 for another near fall.

Maclin is right back up to knock him off the top and it’s a top rope headbutt for two. There’s another backbreaker to plant Swann and we hit the Boston crab. The rope is grabbed for the break so Swann comes back with a Lethal Injection into a Trouble In Paradise for a rather near fall. The Phoenix splash misses though and Maclin grabs the KIA for the pin at 10:13.

Rating: B-. I can always go for a match that might not reinvent the wheel but is done well. That’s what we had here with two talented wrestlers who got the chance to do a few things and showcase their abilities. Maclin getting reheated isn’t a bad idea and we might be seeing just that in the new TNA.

Here is DJ Who Kid to bring out AJ Francis (formerly known as Top Dolla in WWE). He insults some fans for being broke and then introduces his new music video…which is interrupted by Joe Hendry. We get some introductions but Hendry has a video for Francis! The video focuses on Francis losing quite a bit, falling over the top rope, and absolutely loving Cheez-Its. Back in the arena and Who hits Hendry with a laptop, meaning the double teaming is on. This show hasn’t been the friendliest to the good guys so far.

Pre-Show: The System vs. Eric Young/Frankie Kazarian

The System would be Brian Myers/Eddie Edwards with Alisha Edwards (their stable mates Moose and DeAngelo Williams (former NFL player) aren’t here). Kazarian and Myers start things off but it’s almost immediately off to Young. They grapple into the corner before we get another Kazarian vs. Edwards slugout. Everything breaks down and the System is sent outside but Myers grabs Young’s boot from the floor so the beating can be on back inside.

Young fights out of the backpack Stunner and a double knockdown allow the double tag. Kazarian gets to clean house, including a Backstabber to Edwards and a slingshot cutter to Myers. Edwards is back up with the backpack Stunner into a running elbow for two as everything breaks down. An Unprettier hits Myers and Young adds a top rope elbow for two. Young gets backdropped to the floor, meaning it’s the Roster Cut into the Boston Knee Party for the pin on Young at 8:05.

Rating: C+. The match was ok but having the heel stable just suddenly being a thing is kind of weird. It felt like I missed the team being formed and that makes for kind of a strange situation. At the same time, the people involved are more than talented enough to make this work and what we got went well. Young and Kazarian are more than fine enough to slot in here as a makeshift team to get the System over, but I’m going to need more of an introduction.

Pre-Show: Digital Media Title: Crazzy Steve vs. Tommy Dreamer

Dreamer is defending in a No DQ match. Steve punches him in the face but Dreamer is back with a clothesline out of the corner. A running knee sends Steve outside and there’s a suplex on the floor. Dreamer chokes with a towel and it’s time for some chairs inside. Steve gets in a chair shot to the back and then does it again for good measure. Some choking with the chair ensues and we hit the neck crank.

It’s time for the fork but Dreamer blocks the stabbing and slugs away. That doesn’t last long as Steve cutters him into a chair to take over again. Dreamer is back with a non-chair cutter of his own and some kind of a reverse suplex gets two. That’s not going to work for Steve though as he sends Dreamer face first into a trashcan in the corner. With Dreamer down, Steve tapes his hands together and whips out another fork…..and then a bunch of forks, which he puts under Dreamer’s shirt. The Cannonball crushes Dreamer again and Belladonna’s Kiss gives Steve the title at 11:10.

Rating: C+. The only thing that mattered here was getting the title off of Dreamer and onto Steve. He’s been ready to win something for months now and they pulled the trigger here. Dreamer never once felt like a long term champion and they didn’t bother doing anything crazy. Not exactly a great match, but it got the result they needed and that’s what mattered.

The show proper looks at the rebirth of TNA, with Eric Young narrating a walk through Las Vegas. Young comes into the arena and says this means everything to us, which is why they’re risking it all. With the roster gathered on the stage, he says WE ARE TNA WRESTLING and they are HARD TO KILL.

Tasha Steelz vs. Alisha Edwards vs. Gisele Shaw vs. Dani Luna vs. Jody Threat vs. Xia Brookside

Ultimate X or a future Knockouts Title shot and Brookside is a surprise entrant. Some people go for the corner to start and are quickly cut off by everyone else, as tends to be the case in these matches. Brookside, Threat and Luna are left in the ring but Steelz is back in to take over. Brookside fires off some clotheslines but Shaw kicks her in the face as it’s still way too early for anyone to get much momentum.

Threat beats up Edwards and Luna at the same time until the latter is back with a fall away slam. More suplexes abound and there’s a dive to take out Shaw on the floor. Threat climbs the structure and dives onto a bunch of people before going up again….this time with Alisha on her back. Alisha falls off and Threat does as well, leaving everyone to get a breather.

Back in and Luna and Threat hit some powerbombs to bring people down again. Brookside gets to the wires but gets pulled down in a crash, leaving Alisha to get in a crawl of her own. That’s broken up so Alisha grabs a DDT for a breather. Alisha whips out a kendo stick to start beating on people but Threat plants Brookside and Alisha at the same time. That’s enough for Threat to go up, only to have Shaw jump off of Luna for a spear and the big knockout. Luna Steelz and Shaw all go up at once, with Shaw knocking the other two down and winning at 12:01.

Rating: B-. These matches are basically TNA’s version of the ladder match, meaning there is very little in the way of telling a story or anything more than people going nuts with spots until someone wins. Shaw going over makes sense, as she has been around the title picture for a long time now. At some point she needs to win the thing though, and that might be where we are heading now.

We run down the rest of the card.

We look at the Joe Hendry/AJ Francis/DJ Who Kid segment from the pre-show.

Francis and DJ Who Kid are happy with what they did.

PCO vs. Dirty Dango

Dango has Oleg Prudius and Alpha Bravo with him. After Dango says he hates TNA Wrestling, some orderlies wheel PCO into the arena and electrify him back to life. As you do. Dango hammers away to start but PCO sends him outside for the running flip dive. Back in and the PCOsault is loaded up but Bravo comes in for the DQ at 1:26.

Post match the beatdown is on but Rhino comes in for the save. Cue Santino Marella (because they had to keep HIM) to make it a six man tag with one more addition.

PCO/Rhino/Jake Something vs. Alpha Bravo/Dirty Dango/Oleg Prudius

The brawl is on to start and the ring is quickly cleared, with PCO moonsaulting onto a bunch of people. The DeAnimator hits Dango and we settle down to Something coming in to beat up Dango even further. A hard clothesline puts Dango down again and it’s Rhino coming in to a nice reaction. Prudius gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and Bravo gets to come in and choke away.

The villains start taking turns on Rhino in the corner, which doesn’t last long as he gets back up and makes it over to Something. House is quickly cleaned and PCO is back in for the middle rope legdrop. Rhino and Prudius slug it out but Dango breaks up the Gore attempt. Bravo gets Gores anyway and Something powerbombs Dango onto him to make it worse. PCOsault finishes Bravo at 7:25.

Rating: C. This felt like an Impact match and not much more, but in theory this is relaunch for the brand so it’s time to get as many people on the show as possible. On the good hand, one of them is Something but on the other hand, Santino is still there. Not a bad match at all, and I could always go for more PCO insanity.

Earlier today, an unseen woman arrived.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: MK Ultra vs. Decay

This is a bonus match with the returning Decay challenging. Havok sends Slamovich into the corner to start and Rosemary comes in with a clothesline. Rosemary’s German suplex gets two but Slamovich manages a knockdown of her own. Slamovich slams Kelly onto Rosemary for two and a PK gets the same.

A kick to the face lets Kelly crawl onto Rosemary, who snaps and hammers away on her instead. Havok gets to come back in and clean house but gets caught with a kick to the head. The Snow Plow gives Slamovich one and she can’t believe the kickout. Havok hits a double chokeslam and it’s a chokebomb/running hair plant to pin Kelly for the titles at 6:18.

Rating: C. The match was fine enough, but it runs into the same problem that these titles have always had: there is little story here, as the titles are so often just thrown into random matches like this one. Why are Rosemary and Havok back to their old selves? Eh who cares, but they’re the champs again. That’s the problem with these titles most of the time and that was on display again here.

TNA is working with the NFL Alumni Association for a health program.

We look at Steve Maclin beating Rich Swann on the pre-show.

Maclin says that was the first of many.

Here are TNA executive Scott D’Amore and AAA President Dorian Roldan. The two companies are going to be working together and they’re both rather happy. A highlight reel ensues and they sign the deal.

X-Division Title: El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Kushida vs. Chris Sabin

Sabin (and only Sabin) is defending. The triple lockup doesn’t go anywhere to start so they snap of armdrags instead, leaving us with a standoff. Kushida sends them both down and then out to the floor, setting up a dive to take out Sabin. Back in and Vikingo hits a springboard hurricanrana, followed by the top rope inverted hurricanrana to take Kushida out of the corner.

Sabin is back up with some German suplexes and we get the triple submission, with Sabin letting go to kick Kushida down. Back up and Kushida ties up Vikingo’s arm and suplexes Sabin at the same time. That’s all broken up and Vikingo gets to clear the ring, setting up a moonsault out to the floor to take both of them down.

Back in and a triple clothesline leaves everyone down, with Vikingo getting up first. He stomps down onto Sabin’s ribs but Kushida is back in with the Hoverboard Lock. That’s broken up but Vikingo has to break up one to Sabin as well. Sabin and Vikingo slug it out until Vikingo is sent to the ramp for a springboard Canadian Destroyer. Back in and Sabin German superplexes Kushida down and grabs Cradle Shock to retain at 13:04.

Rating: B+. This was all action as they went nuts for about thirteen minutes straight. There were some very fun spots in there with people flying all over the place until Sabin retained. Kushida being a regular around here made a title change feel possible and that made things more interesting. Best match of the night by far here and rather good stuff.

Newcomer Alex Hammerstone has issued an open challenge and Josh Alexander has accepted.

Josh Alexander vs. Alex Hammerstone

Alexander goes after the powerhouse Hammerstone’s leg to start but the ankle lock is kicked out to the floor. That means Hammerstone can take Alexander out with a slingshot dive but Alexander is right back with another shot to the leg. A dragon screw legwhip takes Hammerstone down but the ankle lock is broken up again. Some chops in the corner make Hammerstone mad and he sends Alexander flying. He right back with a Regal Roll into a middle rope knee to the back of the head, but the ankle lock is broken up again.

Some boots to the face just annoy Hammerstone and he gorilla presses Alexander into a swinging release Rock Bottom. The tweaked knee is still fine enough to powerslam Alexander but he snaps on the ankle lock again. This time a grapevine goes on as well but Hammerstone gets to the rope. Alexander is back up with a quick Nightmare Pendulum (a suplex dropped forward into a Rock Bottom, his usual finisher) for two.

Alexander is smart enough to get over to the rope to avoid the cover so Hammerstone Death Valley Drivers him on the apron. A missile dropkick gives Hammerstone two as the fans certainly approve. Alexander’s discus forearm is shrugged off and Hammerstone powerbombs him for two. Alexander is back with a small package into the C4 Spike for the quick pin at 14:46.

Rating: B. This was the hard hitting fight that you might have expected if you’re familiar with Hammerstone. On the other hand, those who aren’t so familiar with him got a heck of an introduction, as he took one of TNA’s best to a great fight. This was the showcase match for Alexander and it worked very well. Good stuff here and Hammerstone looked like a star.

Video on the four way for the Tag Team Titles, with a new team getting a shot.

Tag Team Titles: ABC vs. Rascalz vs. Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Laredo Kid/Mike Bailey

ABC is defending and Kid is replacing Trent Seven who had travel issues. Austin and Gibson start things off with neither being able to get very far. Drake comes in and gets double armdragged by the champs, with Bailey and Kid coming in to take over on Miguel. Everything breaks down and all our get in for the major staredown.

We settle down to Bailey’s bouncing kicks having Gibson in trouble but Drake’s cheap shot lets the Veterans take over. Bailey gets elbowed in the face for two and we hit the chinlock. The Rascalz and the Veterans get in an argument, allowing Bailey to kick his way to freedom. Kid comes back in and gets to clean house, including a super Michinoku Driver for two on Wentz.

ABC gets to come in and fire off a series of kicks, including a kick to the head/torture rack neckbreaker for two on Wentz. The Veterans are back in with a double kick for two more on Wentz, followed by a Doomsday Device. The cover is broken up as commentary says they can’t remember who is legal. Bailey is back in with a super poisonrana to Drake and the Ultimate Weapon connects, with the Rascalz making the save. A superkick/double stomp combination gives Wentz two and we get the ABC vs. Rascalz slugout. The 1-2-Sweet finishes Miguel to retain the titles at 14:16.

Rating: B-. They had another almost all action match here but this time there were so many people out there that it was hard to keep track of everything. At the end of the day, this was all about the Rascalz vs. ABC and that’s how it wound up, but that didn’t make the other teams seem that important. I’ll take more of the ABC as the champions though, as they really are one of the best teams going today.

We recap the Knockouts Title match, with Trinity defending against Call Your Shot winner Jordynne Grace. That’s pretty much the whole story.

Ash By Excellence (Dana Brooke) is in the front row as the mystery woman from earlier.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Trinity

Trinity is defending and they shake hands to start. Grace easily powers her up against the ropes to start but the threat of a kick Grace backing up. For some reason Trinity tries a test of strength but she does show some intelligence with a mule kick. Grace picks her up and plants her back down for two, followed by a World’s Strongest Slam for the same. It’s too early for the Juggernaut Driver so Trinity is back with a crossbody.

Grace knees her in the face and hits an Alley Oop for two more. Trinity needs a breather but Grace runs her over with a suicide dive into a Jackhammer on the floor for a nasty crash. Trinity manages a shot of her own and they head back inside for a strike off. Grace gets dropped so Trinity hits a split legged moonsault for two more. A full nelson puts Trinity back down but she makes the rope for the break.

With the holds not working, Grace grabs a MuscleBuster for two more. The Rear View puts Grace down for two and they head to the apron for something like a Heatseeker Pedigree from Trinity. A sitout powerbomb into Starstruck has Grace in more trouble…until she muscles Trinity up into a German suplex. The Juggernaut Driver gives Grace the title at 14:34.

Rating: B-. Grace getting the title back is a nice moment and the good thing is she has all kinds of challengers waiting for her. I know Grace has held the title before, but she feels like she has come more than a few feet since her most recent title reign. Trinity has held the title for a good while now and has only been so interesting. There is a good chance that she is back in WWE sooner than later and at least she had a decent one to go out on.

We recap Moose challenging Alex Shelley for the World Title. Much like the previous match, this is a Call Your Show cash in so there is only so much of a story.

TNA World Title: Alex Shelley vs. Moose

Shelley is defending. Moose’s offer of a handshake goes nowhere so Shelley sends him into the corner. A missed charge sends Moose into the post and we hit the logical armbar. Moose isn’t having that and hits a hard dropkick out to the floor to take over. Shelley gets rammed into the barricade and chopped against the ropes but he strikes away anyway. Moose’s arm gets stomped on the apron and the bad arm gets snapped back inside.

The good arm is enough to knock Shelley down though and Moose starts in on Shelley’s arm for a change. Some hard chops connect, with Shelley telling Moose to do it harder. Moose’s powerbomb is countered into a DDT and a dropkick sends him into the corner. A missed charge sends Moose outside and there’s a baseball slide into the barricade. Sliced Bread on the floor doesn’t work but Moose gets rammed into the post. Shelley drops him again with Shell Shock but can’t follow up, meaning we get a nine count.

Back in and Shelley forearms away, setting up a quickly broken Border City Stretch. The arm is good enough for Moose to hit a powerbomb for two and a needed breather. A quick Sliced Bread gives Shelley two and here is the System to interrupt. Chris Sabin and Kushida make the save but DeAngelo Williams stays at ringside.

They fight to the ramp where Shelley plants Moose down by the arm, meaning it’s time to go back inside and stay on the arm even longer. Moose’s headbutt doesn’t get him very far as Shelley blasts him with a clothesline. Shell Shock is loaded up but Moose shoves him off and hits the spear for the pin and the title at 21:29.

Rating: B. There is something classic about power vs. speed and in this case we had the bonus of Shelley wisely picking at the arm throughout. It’s a classic story that worked well again here, with a title change to cap off the show. Moose can be a heck of a juggernaut when he is given the chance and that is more or less what he did here. It might not be a classic, but it felt like a big deal and that is the most important part.

Post match Nic Nemeth sneaks in and superkicks Moose, setting up what used to be called the Zig Zag. Nemeth rips off his shirt to reveal a TNA shirt as the crowd approves to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show was about the rebirth of TNA and for the most part, it went pretty well. I would assume they were treating this as a jump on point for fans, hence having so many people on the show. That worked in that there was some very good action, but there was a good bit that could have been cut to make the show flow a bit better.

Other than that, you have quite a few title changes to go with the solid wrestling, which made the show an entertaining effort. Things will be interesting on Thursday, but for now at least, TNA is starting well with everything they have going on. The good thing is they aren’t starting from scratch and Impact was doing well, but it’s still pretty new for almost everything going on. That’s a weird setup, though they’re off to a good start.

Results
Steve Maclin b. Rich Swann – KIA
The System b. Eric Young/Frankie Kazarian – Boston Knee Party to Young
Crazzy Steve b. Tommy Dreamer – Belladonna’s Kiss
Gisele Shaw won Ultimate X
PCO b. Dirty Dango via DQ when Alpha Bravo interfered
PCO/Rhino/Jake Something b. Alpha Bravo/Dirty Dango/
Decay b. MK Ultra – Sitout chokebomb/running hair plant combination to Kelly
Chris Sabin b. Kushida and El Hijo del Vikingo – Cradle Shock to Sabin
Josh Alexander b. Alex Hammerstone – C4 Spike
ABC b. Rascalz, Grizzled Young Veterans and Laredo Kid/Mike Bailey – 1-2-Sweet to Miguel
Jordynne Grace b. Trinity – Juggernaut Driver
Moose b. Alex Shelley – Spear

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Impact Wrestling
Date: December 14, 2023
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan, Santino Marella, Gia Miller
Hosts: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

Our weird period of shows continues here with a Hidden Gems show, meaning matches that have never aired on television before. That could make for some very good options, as these are likely dark matches from previous television tapings. I’ve heard worse ideas to fill in time before we can get back to normal so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

The hosts welcome us to the show.

From October 22 in Cicero, Illinois.

Samuray del Sol vs. Alan Angels

They trade rollups for two each to start until a double clothesline sets up a double nipup for a staredown. Sol sends him outside and hits a rather hard suicide dive as commentary talks about Angels’ obsession with low blows. Back up and Sol’s shoulder seems to be banged up so he uses the rope to pop it back in.

They get back inside where Angels stays on the arm like a good villain, including an armbar. Sol suplexes his way to freedom for two but Angels’ Halo Strike gets the same. A quick Salida Del Sol gets two on Angels, who has to put a foot on the rope. They head up top and Sol elbows his way to freedom, setting up a super Salida del Sol for the pin at 8:13.

Rating: B-. Good stuff here, which isn’t a surprise given how smooth Sol can be. He is someone who could add a lot to any roster and I’m not sure why he isn’t getting a better spot somewhere else. Angels is another good hand in the ring, which can finally be shown now that he is away from the horribleness that is the Design.

From June 24 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Masha Slamovich/Killer Kelly vs. Gisele Shaw/Savannah Evans

Jai Vidal is with Shaw and Evans and Kelly/Slamovich aren’t MK Ultra yet. Shaw and Slamovich slug it out to start until Slamovich takes her down. Kelly comes in to boot her in the face for two but Evans takes Kelly into the corner. The villains take over in said corner, with Shaw dropping some middle rope knees to the ribs. A DDT gets Kelly out of trouble though and it’s Slamovich coming in to clean house. Slamovich Death Valley Drivers Kelly into Shaw in the corner but has to slip out of Evans’ full nelson slam. Something like a double piledriver finishes Evans at 7:22.

Rating: C. This wasn’t exactly a gem but you can see why the team that would become MK Ultra got a bigger push. They know how to work well together and that was on display here. Shaw and Evans are another good team, and it would be nice to see them go after the Knockouts Tag Team Titles. Why that isn’t the case is beyond me, but those titles have never been the most logically booked concept.

From June 10 in Columbus, Ohio.

Deaner vs. PCO

Street fight and PCO starts fast with a Cactus Clothesline to the floor. The cookie sheet shots to the back have Deaner in more trouble and it’s time to grab a bunch of chairs. Said chairs are set up at ringside before Deaner is sent inside. Deaner manages a low blow and a toss outside sends PCO into the chairs.

Back in and Deaner plants PCO for two before hitting him in the back with a chair. PCO gets sent into the chair in the corner but pops back up for a clothesline as we take a break. We come back with PCO slugging away and hitting a DDT. A Backstabber out of the corner sets up a middle rope legdrop to crush Deaner again.

The Deanimator connects but PCO takes WAY too long setting up a table, allowing Deaner to flip him off the top through said table. PCO gets up again so cue the Design to beat him down, only to have OVE run in to even things up. That’s enough for PCO to hit the PCOsault for the pin at 12:34.

Rating: C+. Picture any run of the mill street fight and you know what you had here, save for the always painful looking Deanimator. PCO knows how to do this as well as anyone today and seeing Deaner get hurt is always a good thing. Not a great match or anything, but a fun showdown that the live fans seemed to like quite a bit.

Video on Josh Alexander vs. Will Ospreay. The rematch is in January.

Alexander is ready to even the score after his loss to Ospreay in a great match.

From August 8 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Channing Decker/Tommy Dreamer vs. Dirty Dango/Alpha Bravo

Decker wastes no time in throwing Deaner into the corner so it’s off to Dreamer vs. Dango. Dreamer takes over without much effort so Decker comes back in for a Sharpshooter. With that broken up, a wishbone keeps Decker in trouble, followed by an Indian Deathlock of all things from Dango.

Bravo misses a middle rope elbow though and the double tag brings in Dreamer to beat on Dango again. The Bionic Elbow into a cutter gives Dreamer two with Bravo making the save. Everything breaks down and Decker cleans house until Dreamer catapults Bravo head first into a low blow to drop Dango. The DDT gives Dreamer the pin on Bravo at at 7:34.

Rating: C. Very basic match here but Decker is a local star so it’s nice to see him getting this kind of exposure against someone who won’t be hurt by the loss. What matters here is giving the fans a bit of fun and that went well enough. You don’t have Dreamer out there for quality these days and they didn’t try to here, so this was good enough for what it was.

From June 23 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Taylor Wilde

Wilde is challenging and has KiLynn King in her corner. They fight over a lockup to start with Wilde taking her into the corner for a quick slap. A legsweep puts Purrazzo down before it’s time to fight over wrist control. Purrazzo snaps off some armdrags and takes out both Wilde and King on the floor.

Back in and a distracted Purrazzo gets caught with the Wilde Ride for two and it’s time to choke on the ropes. Purrazzo gets pulled into a crossface, which she reverses into a Fujiwara armbar, which is reversed into a rollup to give Wilde two. The Queen’s Gambit is broken up by a King distraction and Wilde drops Purrazzo for two more. Now the Queen’s Gambit can retain the title at 6:52.

Rating: C+. It’s no surprise that this worked well as they are both talented stars who can do well when given the chance. Granted they didn’t have a ton of time and Purrazzo is a much more accomplished single star, but at least they had a good match here. I could go for having Wilde around more and Purrazzo is still one of the most talented stars in the division. Nice match here and an actual hidden gem.

From September 23 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Josh Alexander vs. Yuya Uemura

This is Uemura’s farewell match. They go technical to start with Alexander getting the better of things and working on the arm. Uemura reverses into one of his own and we take a break. Back with Uemura slugging away and snapping off some armdrags into a powerslam for two. A nice dropkick gives Uemura two and he stays on the arm to keep Alexander in trouble.

Alexander fights out of a Kimura and grabs a suplex but the arm gives out on the C4 Spike attempt. Uemura grabs a belly to back suplex and we’re right back to the arm. The C4 Spike is countered with a backdrop and Uemura knocks him off the top for a nasty crash. Alexander is fine enough to hit a crossbody to the floor and they head back inside, where Uemura hits a clothesline to the floor again.

Back in and the cross armbreaker is countered into an ankle lock to put Uemura in trouble for a change. That’s broken up and an armbar goes on, with Alexander having to roll to the ropes. A nasty German suplex sends Alexander into the corner and a running dropkick knocks his headgear off. Alexander knocks the high crossbody out of the air for a near fall though and Alexander is livid at the kickout. The C4 Spike is blocked again so Alexander hits him in the face and grabs the C4 Spike for the pin at 15:21.

Rating: B. Uemura really did start to get good near the end of his run with Impact and it was nice to see him getting this kind of a farewell here. There is only so much you can do when he is on excursion from New Japan but he seemed to grow quite a bit from it. Alexander gets a nice win and Uemura looked rather strong in defeat, making this a heck of a main event.

Overall Rating: B-. This wasn’t exactly a great show but I can go with the idea of seeing some nice matches from wrestlers you regularly recognize around here. It’s a better use of time than just trotting out a bunch of great matches that we’ve seen over the course of the year. If nothing else, I can go with the idea of seeing something fresh for once, which isn’t the kind of thing you often get in a spot like this. Now just get to something a bit more important in the coming weeks and we might be getting somewhere, but I’ll take it for a one off special.

Results
Samuray del Sol b. Alan Angels – Super Salida del Sol
Masha Slamovich/Killer Kelly b. Gisele Shaw/Savannah Evans – Double piledriver to Evans
PCO b. Deaner – PCOsault
Tommy Dreamer/Channing Decker b. Dirty Dango/Alpha Bravo – DDT to Bravo
Josh Alexander b. Yuya Uemura – C4 Spike

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Impact Wrestling
Date: December 7, 2023
Location: Showcase Complex, Monterrey, Mexico
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

The different kinds of shows continue for Impact as they are in Mexico for a co-promoted show with AAA. That won’t be the normal kind of show but at least we can see and hear from the wrestlers. That could make for some different kinds of situations, though Impact needs to build some things up for their upcoming shows. Let’s get to it.

Note that I do not follow AAA very closely so I apologize in advance for missing any names, character history or storyline points.

Opening sequence.

Trinity/Chris Sabin vs. Chik Tormenta/Dinamico

Tormenta drives Trinity into the corner to start and runs her over with a shoulder. Trinity takes her down with a headscissors and it’s off to the men, who take turns posing on the ropes. They take turns escaping covers until Sabin armdrags him down for a breather. A cheap shot knocks Trinity off the apron though and Dinamico grabs a neckbreaker for two on Sabin.

Back up and Sabin manages a knockdown, allowing the tag off to Trinity to pick up the pace. Sabin backbreaker Tormenta into Trinity’s split legged moonsault but Dinamico makes the save. A double superkick puts Tormenta down and the Bully Bomb into a rollup gives Trinity the pin at 7:55.

Rating: C+. Fun opener here with the men and women getting to mix together for a bit of a change of pace. It was good to get some of the champions back in the ring after some time away and it made for some good stuff. Tormenta and Dinamico weren’t the most interesting opponents but they made Sabin and Trinity sweat a bit, which is all they really needed to do.

Josh Alexander wants the World Title back and while he lost at Bound For Glory, he knew he gave everything he had. Then his five year old asked where the title was so now he needs to get back to the top. Now he and Zack Sabre Jr. are challenging the Motor City Machine Guns for the Tag Team Titles at Final Resolution because the standard is back.

Eddie Edwards vs. Myzteziz Jr. vs. Latigo

Commentary is nice enough to mention that Latigo is wearing black here as he and Myzteziz double team Edwards to start. Latigo turns on Myzteziz almost immediately so Edwards can get in a running knee, meaning the double teaming has Myzteziz in trouble for a change. Double choking in the corner ensues but Latigo stops to yell at the fans. That’s enough for Myzteziz to fight back and hit a pair of dives to the floor. Edwards stays on the floor so Myzteziz can headscissor Latigo back outside.

Naturally that means a big Myzteziz dive to take both of them down but Latigo frog splashes Edwards for two. Latigo hits a middle rope Canadian Destroyer to plant Myzteziz on the ramp and Edwards adds a suplex to make it worse. Back in and Myzteziz takes out Latigo, only to walk into a sitout powerbomb. Myzteziz grabs the referee’s arm at two for a unique save before taking out Latigo. A powerslam and shooting star press give Myzteziz the pin on Edwards at 11:42.

Rating: B-. This didn’t feel like anything out of the ordinary but they did things rather well throughout. Myzteziz had a good come from behind win and beats a former Impact World Champion in the process. Latigo didn’t really stand out here, but the whole thing went well for what felt like a cold match.

Trey Miguel is ready to beat Mike Bailey at Final Resolution.

The Motor City Machine Guns are ready for Josh Alexander and Zack Sabre Jr. at Final Resolution.

Jordynne Grace/Sexy Star vs. Deonna Purrazzo/Maravilla

Grace and Purrazzo trade rollups for two each to start and that’s a standoff. Star and Maravilla come in for a standoff of their own and we take a break. Back with Purrazzo working on Star’s arm before Maravilla comes in to kick Star down. Purrazzo gets in her own kick but a missed charge allows Grace to come in and clean house. Everything breaks down and Star gives Purrazzo an electric chair driver. That’s broken up so Star hits a dive onto Purrazzo on the floor. Back in and the Juggernaut Driver finishes Maravilla at 11:37.

Rating: C+. Things picked up at the end but there wasn’t much to say about this one. Star got beaten down for a good while but other than that, it was just waiting for Grace to come in and clean house. It worked well enough and did give us a Grace vs. Purrazzo preview, but it wasn’t exactly action packed.

Scott D’Amore and the roster is ready to wrestle in Monterrey.

Brian Myers/Black Taurus vs. Tommy Dreamer/Laredo Kid

Myers and Kid start things off with the former rolling away. A shoulder puts Kid down but he’s back up with a running dropkick to put Myers outside. We pause for Myers to tease fighting some fans before it’s off to Taurus vs. Dreamer. Taurus starts in on the arm but Dreamer brings in Kid to work on Taurus’ arm for a change. Dreamer clears the ring and teases a dive, which is thankfully cut off.

Kid makes the save and some beer to the face (Rehwoldt: “A cerveza to the face-a!”) has Taurus down again. Back in and Taurus work son Dreamer’s arm before handing it off to Myers for the chinlock. A DDT gives Myers two but the Roster Cut misses, allowing Dreamer to grab the cutter. Kid comes back in to clean house, including a poisonrana to Taurus. Everything breaks down and Myers tries a dive, which Dreamer cuts off with a cookie sheet to the head. That leaves Kid to grab a sunset bomb for the pin at 10:37.

Rating: C+. Another completely watchable match and at least Dreamer didn’t get the pin. Ignoring the random weapon being thrown in and it was mostly a match with people you (at least mostly) see on Impact. This was a good example of a match where they didn’t try to reinvent the wheel and just did their stuff, which was good enough for a special show like this one.

Post match Dreamer puts Taurus through a table. That seemed unnecessary.

Trinity and Jordynne Grace are ready to work together at Final Resolution but they’ll fight at Hard To Kill.

Josh Alexander/Octagon Jr. vs. Moose/Toxin

Alexander shoulders Toxin down to start and the ankle lock goes on early. Octagon comes in and can’t manage to take down the much bigger Moose. Instead a spinning crossbody puts Moose down but he’s right back up with a fall away slam. Moose slams Toxin onto Octagon and it’s time to go after Octagon’s mask.

Another knockdown has Octagon in trouble and we take a break. Back with Alexander coming in off the hot tag and German suplexing Moose. A backbreaker hits Toxin as everything breaks down. Octagon 450s Toxin with Moose making the save. There’s a dropkick for two on Alexander with Octagon making the save this time.

Octagon is back up with a slingshot corkscrew splash for two on Moose but Toxin suplexes Alexander into the corner. Alexander grabs a spinning torture rack slam to Toxin and Octagon missile dropkicks Moose. Back up and Moose sends Octagon into the corner, setting up the spear for the pin at 16:15.

Rating: B-. This was one of the better matches of the night as Alexander and Moose have enough of a history to keep things interesting. Octagon and Toxin were more than good enough to hold up their end and the match got enough time to build up. The ending might have been a bit flat, but Moose getting the momentum on the way to Hard To Kill is what matters most.

Tommy Dreamer is ready to face Deaner at Final Resolution.

Coming to Impact at Snake Eyes on January 14: Kazuchika Okada. Well there’s a surprise.

Motor City Machine Guns/El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Los Vipers/Trey Miguel

Los Vipers are Latigo/Toxin. Shelley works on Miguel’s arm to start, including wrapping it around the rope. They chop it out until Shelley takes him down by the arm. Latigo and Sabin come in to pick up the pace by…having Latigo grab a wristlock. Sabin sends him outside though and we take a break.

Back with Shelley grabbing a Figure Four on Miguel but Toxin makes the fast save. Latigo grabs a weird limb tying up hold on Shelley until Vikingo breaks it up. Miguel’s slingshot double stomp gets two on Sabin but Vikingo comes in for the save to clean house. A frog splash gets two with Toxin making the save.

Latigo saves Toxin from a crossface but the Guns grab stereo crossfaces on Los Vipers. Miguel makes the save and gets a staredown with Vikingo. Miguel’s poisonrana gets two and frustration is setting in. Vikingo flips Miguel into a knee to the face and the middle rope phoenix splash finishes at 17:08.

Rating: B. As has been the case before, there are matches where you know things are going to go well because of who is involved. That was the case again here and they came pretty close to tearing the house down. The Guns can work with anyone and Vikingo and Miguel were more than making the rest work. Rather solid main event here and the best thing on the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a good example of “take what you can get” as we haven’t seen much from Impact in a few weeks. The wrestlers got to be in the ring and talk about their upcoming matches, which at least set some things up for Final Resolution. It’s far from optimal, but this is better than having a Best Of show or some other weird show. The action was good throughout too, with the main event being a pretty strong match. Good show here, but not really necessary viewing unless you’re missing Impact pretty badly.

Results
Chris Sabin/Trinity b. Chik Tormenta/Dinamico – Rollup to Tormenta
Myzteziz Jr. b. Latigo and Eddie Edwards – Shooting star press to Edwards
Jordynne Grace/Sexy Star b. Deonna Purrazzo/Maravilla – Juggernaut Driver to Maravilla
Tommy Dreamer/Laredo Kid b. Brian Myers/Black Taurus – Sunset bomb to Myers
Moose/Toxin b. Octagon Jr./Josh Alexander – Spear to Octagon Jr.
Motor City Machine Guns/El Hijo del Vikingo b. Los Vipers/

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ECW On Sci Fi
Date: July 8, 2008
Location: River Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Commentators: Tazz, Mike Adamle

Things are changing a bit around here as we are firmly in the Mark Henry era. Last week saw Henry wrecking Colin Delaney, which might earn him the ire of Tommy Dreamer. In addition, we saw the debut of Atlas Ortiz, which really was not the most thrilling start. Maybe the second week can go better so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here are the Miz and John Morrison for a chat. They introduce themselves, with some jokes about hurricanes wrecking things around here. With that fairly disturbing line out of the way, they say they want new challengers for the Tag Team Titles so here is Finlay to interrupt. Finlay doesn’t think people want to see them run their mouths, but rather someone come out there and shut those mouths. Hornswoggle sneaks in with a water gun and the champs are quickly cleared out.

Finlay vs. Miz

We’re joined in progress with Finlay taking Miz down and doing it again with some uppercuts. A headlock on the mat has Miz in trouble and Adamle not being clear on who Finlay is facing. They go outside with Miz being rammed into the apron, followed by some stomping inside.

An atomic drop has Miz in more trouble and Finlay beats on him in the ring skirt to make it even worse. A cheap shot lets Miz ram him into the apron though and we hit the chinlock. Miz drops a leg and bends Finlay’s arm around the rope, setting up the logical armbar. The corner clothesline connects but Hornswoggle offers a distraction, allowing Finlay to grab the Celtic Cross for the fast pin.

Rating: C+. Finlay is the guy to put in there if you need to make someone look good and that was the case here. Miz is still nowhere near ready to be a featured star so having Finlay out there to walk him through a match is a good idea. That being said, Miz has come a long, long way in a relatively short time and that deserves a lot of praise.

Teddy Long and Tiffany are in Teddy’s office when Armando Estrada interrupts. Long isn’t happy with the lack of respect but asks what Estrada wants. That would be a contract, but instead Long gives him a match with the newest ECW star. Cue a man behind Estrada, who says knock knock. Apparently his name is Braden Walker, and he’s going to knock Estrada’s head off. That would be former TNA star Chris Harris under a really stupid name.

Raw Rebound.

Armando Estrada vs. Braden Walker

Walker snaps off an armdrag to start but Estrada drives him into the corner without much trouble. Walker charges into an elbow to the face though and we hit the chinlock. That doesn’t last long so Estrada elbows him down and stomps away, setting up a waistlock. Some slow stomps set up another waistlock as you can hear some BORING chants pop up. Walker fights up with a running clothesline and a full nelson slam gets two. A high crossbody, with Walker almost landing on Estrada’s shoulder, is enough for the pin.

Rating: D. Somehow, Walker might have made Atlas Ortiz look good last week. Walker was slow, sluggish and had some very lame offense. He might not have been a top star during his time in TNA, but he was a lot better than this. I’m not sure what went wrong here, but this was rather horrible.

Teddy Long runs into Tony Atlas and wants to treat him well tonight. Atlas can even be the ring announcer for the main event. With that out of the way, Mark Henry comes in to say what a fan he was of Atlas growing up. Henry mocks Atlas’ 650lb bench press and doesn’t shake his hand before leaving.

Atlas Ortiz brags about being undefeated.

Video on Matt Hardy.

Tommy Dreamer is giving Colin Delaney a pep talk when Tony Atlas walks in. Dreamer talks about Atlas mentoring him and pleasantries are exchanged.

Evan Bourne vs. Nunzio

We get a voiceover from Bourne about how great of a high flier he is, but we don’t get any special kind of video so it’s quite the odd visual. Bourne takes him into the corner to start and snaps off a headscissors into a jumping kick to the head. Nunzio gets in a backbreaker and bends Bourne’s back over the knee for a bit. Bourne is back up with a kick to the head into something like a standing Sliced Bread. The shooting star press finishes Nunzio.

Rating: C. Well it was better than Braden Walker. Other than the ending, this wasn’t much of a showcase for Bourne, though that jumping kick to the head was good. The positive for Bourne is that he is by far the best of the newcomers so far and that should be enough to keep him in good graces until he gets something more important to do.

Mark Henry runs into Tony Atlas again and hears he needs a payday. How about Atlas carries his bags? Atlas thinks about it.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Mark Henry

Non-title with Tony Atlas as guest ring announcer and he introduces Henry from “Sillsville” as opposed to “Silsbee” Texas. Colin Delaney is here with Dreamer as well. Dreamer slugs away to start before Henry hits a standing body block. The comeback attempt is swatted away and Henry drops the rather large elbow. Delaney grabs Henry’s leg so the chase is on, with Atlas asking Henry to leave him alone….and then sending Delaney into the announcers’ table. Dreamer goes outside for the save and gets World’s Strongest Slammed onto the floor for the double countout.

Atlas announces Henry as the winner to end the show as Adamle thinks Dreamer invited Atlas to be ringside for the main event (Tazz thankfully ignores him).

Overall Rating: C-. The opener was good and the main event angle was…well it was something. Other than though, this was a rather weak show, with the new stars ranging from pretty good to dreadful. ECW is feeling like even more of a nothing show as WWE is now putting its newcomers on here rather than people you might want to see. Lame show, and I don’t see that getting much better.

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Impact Wrestling
Date: November 30, 2023
Location: Battle Arts Academy, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Giuseppe Scovelli Jr., Profession Ignatius Quigley

It’s another special show, but this time it’s like almost nothing else Impact does. This is an IPWF (Impact Provincial Wrestling Federation) show (Throwback Throwdown IV for you historians out there), meaning it’s a parody of 80s show with Impact regulars in very over the top characters. There is actually a bit of continuity over the different shows, which should make for a lot of fun. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Commentary (Josh Matthews and I think Alex Shelley) welcome us to the show and run down the card. These gimmicks alone are making me chuckle.

The ring announcer runs down the staff, including the commissioner, timekeeper and referee.

Kamikazi vs. Rapid Delivery Pete

That would be a ninja (Mike Bailey) vs. a pizza delivery boy (Rich Swann). Kamikazi scares Pete with some kicks as commentary talks about the merits of wrestling barefoot. Kamikazi strikes him down but Pete grabs an armdrag into an armbar. Back up and another armdrag into the armbar has the fans saying they want pizza. A neck snap across the top gives Kamikazi a breather and he drops Pete again. We hit the abdominal stretch but Kamikazi gets caught grabbing the rope. Pete has to fight out of a sleeper and it’s time for some snap jabs, followed by a splash to finish Kamikazi at 7:09.

Rating: C. Oh yeah this show is going to be a blast. This was every bit as goofy as you could want it to be and Pete was having a great time with the goofy over the top stuff. This was a great way to start the show and it has me looking forward to see what they’re going to do next. That’s a nice feeling to have and they’re off to a rather good start.

The unnamed commissioner (Scott D’Amore) hypes up the Fall Maul Tournament, which has wrestlers and fighters of different disciplines facing off. It’s like mixing martial arts! Boris Alexiev (Santino Marella) straight off KILLING Muscles McGhee in the semifinals, is ready to do the same to Tim Burr. Alexiev: “If he dies, he dies.”

DJ 2 Large (Moose, the reigning International Commonwealth Championship (yes championship) is here to dance because he just retained his title at Ghouls Just Want To Have Fun. Bad Man Bart wasn’t good enough to take the title so now he wants all challenges. Apparently the $361,000 Man is coming for the title but Large says said Man has a scrawny neck.

Cue the $361,000 Man (RD Evans) to say in this world, EVERYONE HAS A DOLLAR AMOUNT! Hold on though as we have an update: he is now the $369,000 Man, so how much is that title going to cost him? The official offer is $10,000, but Large’s answer will come in the form of a freestyle: “Go DJ go DJ go, go Dj go DJ go, go DJ go, my answer is no!” That doesn’t work for the Man, so here is the Masked Brother to go after Large. A match is on for later tonight.

Walter Chestnut (Dave Penzer) has recently lost control of the promotion so he’s here with Neptune (Shera) to get a job of any kind. Tonight, he’s ready for Frank The Butch.

Frank The Butcher (Rhino) and Giuseppe Scovelli Sr. (Scott D’Amore, the commissioner/boss) are ready to make mince meat out of Neptune.

We look at Red Letter pinning Lady Bird Johnson last week.

Letter (Jody Threat) wants respect and uses the word rapid, so here is Rapid Delivery Pete to say he gets no respect around here.

Neptune vs. Frank The Butcher

Walter Chestnut and Giuseppe Scovelli Sr. are here too. The fans want the Butcher to chop him up, with the chants getting louder as Butcher shrugs off being rammed into the corner. They go to the floor with Butcher getting posted to slow things down. Chestnut gets in some choking but Neptune dives into a raised boot. Butcher strikes away and hits a hard clothesline for the pin at 3:40.

Rating: C. Short and to the point here as Chestnut’s career continues to fall apart with his latest client losing to a meat man. Rhino is kind of perfect for the Butcher as he’s more or less playing the same person but in a white suit. Not quite a squash here, but Butcher was rarely in trouble and the fans were WAY behind him.

Post match Chestnut and Shera do get jobs….cleaning the arena.

Video on the Hard Workers (Deaner and Jake Something), Fabulous Ones knockoff

Sunday Morning Express vs. Hard Workers

The Express would be Editor-In-Chief (Chris Sabin) and the Paper Boy (Jack Price). Before the match, the Editor talks about how everyone here in Ottawa reads his paper. He’s ready for tomorrow’s headline, which will be about the team winning. The Workers (Ornery Otis Oates and Hard Harry Hall) apparently used to wrestle in Memphis against the Fantastics.

The Editor works on Hall’s arm to start but the Paper Boy won’t tag in, meaning Hall can work on the arm right back. Oates comes in for the strutting….uh, well nothing actually so it’s off to the Paper Boy to work on Oates’ leg. The Editor misses an elbow though and it’s back to Hall to clean house. Everything breaks down and Paper Boy gets in a cheap shot on Hall, allowing the Editor to score the rollup pin at 6:12.

Rating: C+. The fun part of this show is just seeing what wacky ideas these people can come up with next. A fighting newspaper team is certainly an idea and telling everyone to ready his headlines could be worse. The Workers weren’t the worst idea, but they were such a Fabs knockoff that it really didn’t work out very well.

Rip Ryzor (Ace Austin) and Rusty Iron (I believe it’s Gia Miller) ask rookie Tommy Dreamer (Tommy Dreamer) for a cigarette, but he doesn’t smoke. Ryzor says Dreamer will never make it in wrestling.

Post break, Dreamer has, uh, relieved himself in someone’s (Brian Myers) bag. Apparently it was supposed to be Ryzor’s, but Myers is sick at the smell. Someone else (Sheldon Jean) comes in with a whistle so Myers vomits on him. Giuseppe Scovelli Sr. comes in and says Walter Chestnut and Neptune have their first assignment.

Rip Ryzor/Rusty Iron vs. Cowboy Colt McCoy/Georgia Cobb

McCoy (Eddie Edwards) is a Canadian cowboy and Cobb (Jordynne Grace) is rather muscular. Ryzor and McCoy start things off but it’s off to Cobb before any contact. Iron comes in as well and gets run over with a quick shoulder. Cobb’s elbow gets two as everything breaks down. McCoy gives Cobb a white cowboy hat and stereo faceplants on the mat have the villains in more trouble.

A Ryzor distraction lets Iron get in a low blow as we take a break. Back with Ryzor getting rolled up and kicked out to the floor, allowing the double tags back to the women. Cobb’s Vader Bomb gets two so Ryzor comes in for a cheap shot. Everything breaks down and McCoy hits a Twist of Fate on Ryzor. Cobb’s airplane spin into a Regal Roll finishes Iron at 10:24.

Rating: C. This was by far the longest match of the night and the joke started to wear a little thin by the end. Granted there wasn’t much of a joke to be seen in this one as it was just four wrestlers having a mixed tag. It wasn’t bad or anything, but it was just competent enough to feel like it doesn’t belong on a show designed to be a big parody.

The Masked Brother (Frankie Kazarian) talks about being all over the world and calls out Brody for cheating at cards. There ain’t no other so go tell your mother that you got beat up by the Masked Brother. And yes, he is wearing a Ribiera jacket.

We get a preview for Dishonorable Discharge, which appears to be the show taped over last year’s Wrestlemania weekend in Dallas (and has never aired anywhere that I’ve seen, which is a shame as I was in the front row and had as much fun as I’ve had at any show).

Last week, Quincy Cosmos became #1 contender for the Excitement Title.

International Commonwealth Television Title: DJ 2 Large vs. Masked Brother

Brother is challenging and has the $369,000 Man with him. Hold on though as Large goes into the crowd to dance to start. We get a weapons check and the referee finds a hammer, a box cutter and a flashlight on the Brother. Large keeps dancing, even as he has a full nelson on the Brother, who involuntarily dances as well. The Man offers a distraction and is quickly ejected.

We take a break and come back with Large fighting out of a chinlock, meaning it’s more dancing. The legdrop misses though and Brother drops an elbow for two. The referee gets bumped so Large’s clothesline only gets two. Brother is knocked outside so here are Chestnut and Neptune to distract the referee. Cue the Man to send in some goons, who are beaten up by Large. The distraction lets Brother get in a shot with…something, for the pin and the title at 9:27.

Rating: C+. This was so fun with all kinds of entertaining stuff, capped off by Large dancing throughout. That’s all you need at times and the title change, especially with the shenanigans, should be brought up on the next show. Large is about as over the top as you can get and my goodness does it work.

Here’s what’s coming on next week’s show.

Tim Burr (Josh Alexander, a lumberjack) is ready to defend the memory of Muscles McGhee. Yes he’s a bit scared of this kind of opponent but he’s chopped down a lot of trees.

Fall Maul Tournament Finals: Boris Alexiev vs. Tim Burr

Alexiev (Santino Marella, an evil Russian and former OVW star) has Colonel Corn (Alpha Bravo) with him. Burr grabs a hammerlock to start and chops Alexiev to the floor as commentary tries to figure out this concept of “mixed martial arts”. Back in and Burr hammers away in the corner but Colonel offers a distraction.

Some chops let Alexiev go up top but he gets crotched right back down. Burr takes the suspenders down but gets pulled into a crossface. With that broken up, Burr knocks him off the top but Corn offers another distraction. This time Alexiev tries the claw, only to grab the Colonel by mistake. The distraction lets Burr hit a top rope ax handle (ok that’s perfect) for the pin at 6:30.

Rating: B. This gets a higher rating because Burr is possibly the best thing on the entire show. To say he is feeling this would be an understatement and the double ax handle finisher was quite the brilliant ending. This was the Canadian Pride moment and there isn’t a much better way to end a show.

The locker room comes out to celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I was laughing throughout this show as they have so much fun with the whole thing. It’s completely not serious and they know how goofy the entire concept is. It wouldn’t work as more than a one off and Impact keeps it for special occasions. This was really funny and if you have a chance, check out some of it as they know exactly what they’re doing here.

Results
Rapid Delivery Pete b. Kamikazi – Splash
Frank The Butcher b. Neptune – Clothesline
Sunday Morning Express b. Hard Workers – Rollup to Hall
Cowboy Colt McCoy/Georgia Cobb b. Rip Ryzor/Rusty Iron – Regal Roll to Iron
Masked Brother b. DJ 2 Large – Weapon shot
Tim Burr b. Boris Alexiev – Top rope double ax handle

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: November 9, 2023
Location: Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re finally back to the regular shows after two weeks of one offs. That means we can get the first week of fallout from Bound For Glory as we start the long road towards Hard To Kill. That also means the road towards the return of TNA Wrestling, which will likely get a lot of talk this week. Let’s get to it.

We open with a Turning Point recap.

Tasha Steelz vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Fallout from their tag team falling apart. They shake hands to start and fight over a lockup with neither being able to get anywhere. Some grappling goes nowhere either so it’s a test of strength instead. A quick pinfall reversal sequence gets two each and they’re back up for the standoff. Steelz snaps off a running hurricanrana and we pause for some dancing. Purrazzo is fine enough to tie her up for a running dropkick, setting up some dancing of her own.

Steelz’ Black Out is broken up and we get another standoff. They fight over more rollups for two each until a double knockdown gives us a breather. Purrazzo pulls her into the Fujiwara armbar but Steelz reverses into her own Venus de Milo. That’s broken up as well so Purrazzo goes for the Fujiwara armbar again, with Steelz raking the eyes to escape. Steelz snaps off a cutter and a second finishes Purrazzo at 9:25.

Rating: C+. I’m not wild on the whole mirroring each other but they made it work well enough here. Assuming you ignore that they were only a team for a few weeks, this was a pretty good fight between two of the better stars in the division. At the worst, it’s nice to see Steelz getting elevated a bit, especially since Purrazzo can’t challenge for the Knockouts Title anymore.

Alex Shelley is ready to give Jonathan Gresham a World Title shot tonight. May the best man win.

We look at the ABC getting the Tag Team Titles back at Bound For Glory.

ABC are ready to be the first TNA Tag Team Champions of this generation. Santino Marella comes in to praise them but here are Kenny King and Sheldon Jean to complain about the lack of Digital Media Title shot. The villains mock the ABC and get a Tag Team Title shot next week.

Digital Media Title: Tommy Dreamer vs. Crazzy Steve

Dreamer is defending. They lock up to start and fight out to the floor before Steve takes it back inside for some chopping. A neckbreaker and knee lift get Dreamer out of trouble but Steve knocks him right back down and sings him a lullaby. Dreamer shrugs off some ripping at the face and slugs away.

A reverse DDT gives Dreamer two but the Dreamer Driver is broken up. Steve hits a Cannonball and goes for the fork but Dreamer bites the arm. Dreamer hits a cutter and stabs him with the fork instead. More stabbing has Steve running away and cackling as the match just kind of ends at about 7:15. I’d assume it was a DQ but I didn’t actually hear a bell.

Rating: C. Well, at least Dreamer didn’t win. I would hope that we are going to be seeing a rematch where Steve wins the title as there is no reason for Dreamer to be a long term champion. Dreamer going violent to even things up is fine, but he needs to drop the title to Steve, who is doing some good stuff right now.

Post match Steve crawls away and laughs some more.

Jonathan Gresham is ready to show that honor rises above the chaos.

Joe Hendry vs. Brian Myers

Before the match, Hendry talks about how a rebranding is coming, but we’ll start it tonight. For years, Myers has been known as Edge’s b****, but now he’s Adam’s b****! Hendry slugs away but an elbow to the face cuts him off. We’re already in the chinlock for a bit before Hendry avoids the Roster Cut.

Myers is sent crashing out to the floor and we take a break. Back with Hendry working on the arm and getting two off a suplex. A swinging slam puts Myers down but he’s right back up with a Russian legsweep for two. Hendry is back with a Trust Fall and we go to another break with Myers in trouble.

We come back again with Hendry slamming him down for two more, only to have Myers post him hard. The chinlock goes on again, until Hendry fights up for the clothesline comeback. Three straight fall away slams give Hendry two but Myers’ implant DDT gets the same. Hendry hits a pop up powerbomb for two, only to have Myers go to the eyes. The Roster Cut finishes for Myers at 17:01.

Rating: B-. These two were getting going at the end and it was working out when they went to the eye rake. Hendry losing again isn’t great to see but what matters is getting him in the ring for a good while. That being said, putting Myers over Hendry is a little weird to see, as Hendry has long since felt like a potential breakout star.

Video on Josh Alexander vs. Will Ospreay.

Ospreay brags about his success and knows what he’s coming up against in Alexander. We’ll see if Alexander has what it takes to beat the best.

Eddie Edwards vs. Eric Young

Alisha Edwards is here with Eddie. They fight over a lockup to start and neither can get very far. Young scores with a dropkick before sliding between the legs. The sunset flip is blocked though and Eddie hits an atomic drop to take over. Alisha even adds some choking before Eddie puts on the chinlock.

A slam puts Young down again but he’s fine enough to avoid a moonsault. Alisha’s distraction doesn’t really work though as Young drops the top rope elbow for two. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Eddie two so Alisha slides in a chair. The referee takes that away so Alisha grabs a kendo stick, which hits Eddie by mistake. Young hits a piledriver for the win at 6:42.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have nearly enough time for it to go anywhere, which is a bit annoying as these two are big enough stars to be able to do something. At the same time, Alisha screwing up isn’t going to go well and we might be in for a little something there. For now though, Young getting a win isn’t a surprise, even if it’s been done to death.

Brian Myers runs into Moose and they argue over loyalty. Heath comes in and is willing to fight both of them.

Sonny Kiss is excited to be here and wants a Knockouts Title shot. Trinity comes in and says she’ll try to make it happen next week.

Dirty Dango/Oleg Prudius vs. Nick Diamond/Storm Grayson

Alpha Bravo is here with Dango and Prudius, the latter of whom is having his first match in over twelve years. Prudius wrecks Diamond as Dango goes to join commentary. Grayson comes in and gets knocked out of the air, allowing Dango to come in for the reverse layout DDT and the pin at 2:38.

Jordynne Grace is ready to win the Knockouts Title at Hard To Kill when Bully Ray comes in. Ray mocks her and offers a handshake but KiLynn King comes in to say Grace got lucky to win. Ray, King’s trainer, tells her to take it down a notch. Steve Maclin comes in to call Ray soft but Ray says Maclin is standing there because Ray lets him.

The Rascalz introduces their third member: Myron Reed.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Jonathan Gresham vs. Alex Shelley

Shelley is defending. Gresham gives him a handshake to start but gets taken into the corner as we go to an early break. Back with Shelley running him over, setting up the chop off. Gresham goes to take off his wrist tape and the distraction lets him get in a low blow. A running dropkick to the knee takes Shelley out and we hit the Figure Four. With that broken up, Gresham grabs at the nose as Hannifan is all over Gresham’s lack of integrity. Back up and they lock hands for a strike off but Gresham hits a shinbreaker.

Gresham stays on the leg with more shots as he mixes things up a bit. Wrist tape choking ensues but Shelley slips out and cranks on the arm. A modified Backstabber puts Gresham down but he’s right back with a dragon screw legwhip. We get a dueling OLD CHAMP/NEW CHAMP chant until Gresham takes out the leg again. Gresham is sent outside though and Shelley hits a slingshot dive (Huh?).

A whip towards the barricade leaves Shelley collapsing to the ground and a running forearm gives Gresham two back inside. Shelley Downward Spirals Gresham into the middle buckle, setting up a tornado DDT. The Border City Stretch goes on, but Gresham crawls over the referee to make the rope. Gresham is back on the knee and a rolling cradle gets two.

They slug it out until Shelley snaps the bad arm. Shelley’s knee gives out as well though and Gresham hits a springboard moonsault. They go into a rather intense pinfall reversal sequence for two each until Gresham gets the Figure Four again. The rope is grabbed again and Shelley superkicks him into the Shell Shock to retain at 24:46.

Rating: B. Heck of a TV main event here as they had a good story going with the arm vs. leg battle. Gresham is someone who can wrestle with anyone and knows how to pick apart a limb. At the same time you have Shelley, who is on an absolute roll right now, giving us an awesome match between two of the better stars Impact has to offer today.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event was rather good and the rest of the show backed it up well enough. While they didn’t do a lot for Hard To Kill, the two main singles title matches are already set so things could be a good bit worse. They set up a few things for next week though and I’ll take some small development over none at all. Good show here, with the main event being by far the best thing.

Results
Tasha Steelz b. Deonna Purrazzo – Cutter
Tommy Dreamer vs. Crazzy Steve went to a no contest
Brian Myers b. Joe Hendry – Roster Cut
Eric Young b. Eddie Edwards – Piledriver
Dirty Dango/Oleg Prudius b. Nick Diamond/Storm Grayson – Reverse layout DDT to Grayson
Alex Shelley b. Jonathan Gresham – Shell Shock

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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Bound For Glory 2023
Date: October 21, 2023
Location: Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s the biggest show of Impact’s year and things are getting interesting around here. The main event here will see Josh Alexander challenging Alex Shelley for the World Title that he never lost. Other than that, we have Trinity defending the Knockouts Title against Mickie James, who never lost her title either. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about the quest for glory through victory. The main matches get attention of their own.

X-Division Title: Chris Sabin vs. Kenta

Kenta is challenging and is driven against the ropes for a clean break. They go to the slugout with Kenta getting the better of things and sending Sabin outside. The dive is knocked out of the air though and Sabin hits a high crossbody for two back inside. Kenta bails to the floor and manages to drive Sabin back first into the apron.

Back in and Kenta gets four straight near falls before we hit the chinlock. Sabin gets up and they slug it out until Sabin hits a running shot to get a breather. The missile dropkick puts Kenta down again and a middle rope tornado DDT gets two more. The Cradle Shock is broken up though and Kenta hits his tornado neck snap across the top.

Some running kicks in the corner rock Sabin again but he kicks Kenta in the face. Kenta has to grab the referee to escape the Cradle Shock and then knocks Sabin down for a double stomp. The GTS is blocked and Sabin scores with a superkick. The missile dropkick to the back sets up Cradle Shock to retain the title at 11:28.

Rating: B. As usual, the X-Division stuff is a good choice for an opener as the matches are fast paced and hard hitting enough to get the audience into things. It was a good test for Sabin as Kenta is a known star and now I wonder who is next to come for the title. This worked well and as usual, Sabin can go with anyone.

Here’s what’s coming on the show.

We recap Monster’s Ball, which is a hoss fight that was mainly started over who was supposed to get the Feast Or Fired briefcase. Rhino cost Maclin the case, which Moose wound up getting. PCO is there because he’s a monster and Bully Ray is lurking around as well.

Moose vs. PCO vs. Steve Maclin vs. Rhino

Anything goes and they do the whole “they’ve been locked up for twenty four hours” deal. It’s a brawl before the bell and Moose beats people up with the briefcase. As the spear is loaded up, here is PCO to brawl with Moose instead. Moose backdrops PCO over the top and through a ladder but the other two get back in to keep up the brawling. Maclin Death Valley Drivers Moose into a trashcan in the corner and hits PCO in the back with a chair.

Back in and PCO chokeslams Maclin and hits a suicide dive on Rhino. A middle rope legdrop hits Maclin and the Deanimator makes it even worse. Moose is back in with some release Rock Bottoms to PCO, who keeps popping right back up. With that not working, Moose plants CO onto some cinder blocks covers with thumbtacks (because that’s a thing).

Rhino is back up and wants tables, which the fans seem to like. Naturally it’s a barbed wire table but Maclin posts Rhino to cut him off. Cue Bully Ray to shove Maclin off the top and through the barbed wire table for the huge crash. Back in and PCO DDTs Moose, who catches him on top with some chair shots. Rhino Gores the chair that Moose is holding but it’s enough to put Moose down so that the PCOsault can finish him off at 11:11.

Rating: B-. This was exactly as advertised and that is not a bad thing. Sometimes you need to just let some big people go out there and hit each other really hard which is what we got here. PCO winning is a bit of a surprise but it does make sense given how much this match would suit him. Fun stuff here and they did what they needed to.

Mickie James is ready for Trinity.

We recap ABC challenging the Rascalz for the Tag Team Titles. ABC got cheated out of a title shot and the Rascalz won the belts, but now it’s time for the rematch.

Tag Team Titles: Rascalz vs. ABC

ABC is challenging and this is Chris Bey’s Feast Or Fired cash in. The Rascalz try to jump them to start and we settle down to Miguel vs. Bey with neither being able to hit their big kick. Austin comes in to kick Miguel down for two but Wentz is back in with a neckbreaker. A standing shooting star press gets two on Austin and Miguel neckbreakers him on the apron for a nasty crash. The chinlock goes on back inside but Austin manages to send both champs to the floor for the big dive.

Back in and it’s Bey getting the tag to clean house, including a Downward Spiral/reverse DDT combination. A brainbuster gets two on Wentz and a torture rack neckbreaker/springboard kick to the head combination gets the same. The 1-2-Sweet is broken up and a backbreaker puts Bey down for two. Miguel hits a top rope Meteora so Wentz’s Swanton can get two more. Wentz loads up the spray paint but sprays Miguel by mistake, setting up the 1-2-Sweet to give us new champions at 9:48.

Rating: B-. These guys work well together and we get some history to make the show feel more important. It was a good results too as ABC getting the titles back feels right as they are probably the best team in Impact today. They get their nice moment to win the titles back while having a good match in the process. Nice stuff here, which tends to be the case for ABC.

Quick video on Will Ospreay vs. Mike Bailey, which is more or less Ospreay being a big star and coming in to face one of Impact’s best.

Will Ospreay vs. Mike Bailey

Ospreay takes him up to the ropes to start so Bailey kicks away. A monkey flip puts Bailey down but he knocks Ospreay out to the floor for the moonsault dive. Back in and a hot shot into a big boot puts Bailey on the floor and Ospreay hits a dive of his own. The abdominal stretch goes on for a few seconds before Ospreay chops the heck out of him. Bailey is right back with a missile dropkick into some strikes for two.

A delayed kick to the head rocks Ospreay again but it’s too early for the Flamingo Driver. Ospreay isn’t having that though and scores with a spinning kick to the head for a breather. The Cheeky Nandos kick looks to set up the Oscutter but Bailey backslides his way out of trouble. A poisonrana puts Ospreay on the apron but he’s fine enough to kick him in the head.

The Oscutter connects to send Bailey outside with quite the crash. Back in and the regular Oscutter gets two but it’s too early for the Hidden Blade. Bailey gets back up for a hard exchange of kicks and forearms until the Hidden Blade puts Bailey back down. A top rope Oscutter is cut off by knees to the back though and the Ultimate Weapon gives Bailey two.

Ospreay elbows him in the head but Stormbreaker is countered into a hurricanrana for two more. They go up top where Bailey’s super fisherman’s buster gets another near fall. The tornado kick connects for Bailey but Ospreay pulls him into the Styles Clash of all things for two of his own. Ospreay’s Storm Driver 93 gets two more and the Hidden Blade into another Stormbreaker finishes Bailey at 17:28.

Rating: B+. Yeah this worked, if nothing else because it was two people beating the fire out of each other. They didn’t really need a story here as this was about tearing the house down in something close to a dream match. Bailey was bringing it here and Ospreay is one of the best in the world at the moment so it was going to be a heck of a match no matter what they did. Very good stuff here and worthy of a spot on the biggest show of their year.

Various wrestlers are ready for the Call Your Shot gauntlet.

Call Your Shot Gauntlet

This is basically a 20 person Royal Rumble (two minutes for the third entrant, one minute for every other entrant, regular match when they get down to two) for the title shot of your choice. Jake Something is in at #1 and Eddie Edwards is in at #2. Edwards chops away and Something tells him to keep going before hitting some running shoulders. Something has him in trouble and it’s Kenny King in at #3.

Edwards and King double team Something down until Juventud Guerrera of all people is in at #4. Guerrera takes over on King and Edwards but the former hits a spinebuster to put him down. Johnny Swinger is in at #5 but King plants him with a fireman’s carry facebuster. Guerrera tosses King for the first elimination but here is Crazzy Steve (not in the match) to jump Swinger from behind.

Gisele Shaw is in at #6 and tosses the banged up Swinger. Cue Tommy Dreamer to brawl to the back with Steve as Jody Threat is in at #7. Shaw gets dropkicked off the apron but her goons are there for the save. KiLynn King is in at #8 as Edwards knocks out Guerrera. The debuting Sonny Kiss is in at #9 and gorilla presses Shaw out as Bully Ray is in at #10. Ray and Kiss….have a dance off until Ray punches King.

Matt Cardona is in at #11 as a big surprise but Kiss plays D-Von for a What’s Up. Jordynne Grace is in at #12 as the ring is getting too full. Brawling ensues along the ropes and it’s Eric Young in at #13. Young gets to clean some house and even knocks Edwards out. Joe Hendry is in at #14 and grabs a delayed suplex on Cardona. Brian Myers is in at #15 and quickly gets rid of Hendry. We get the Cardona/Myers reunion and they toss Kiss.

Heath is in at #16 and Wake Up Calls abound…until Myers throws Heath out. Frankie Kazarian is in at #17 but he gets double teamed as well. Rich Swann is in at #18 to save Kazarian and Jonathan Gresham is in at #19. Gresham knocks Threat out but has a staredown with Grace (his wife). Dirty Dango is in at #20 to complete the field…and is immediately eliminated by Something.

That leaves us with a field of Something, KiLynn King, Ray, Cardona, Grace, Young, Myers, Heath, Kazarian, Swann and Gresham. Hold on though as Dango’s goon Oleg Prudius gets to wreck a bunch of people, allowing Myers and Cardona to dump Kazarian. Swann is tossed as well and Young follows him as the field thins a lot. There goes Gresham as well but Something fights out of a double suplex and gets to clean house.

Myers hits Something low to save Cardona though and Something is out. Cardona then tosses Myers and we’re down to King, Cardona, Ray and Grace. King and Cardona are tossed as well so now it’s Grace vs. Ray in a regular match for the title shot. Grace forearms away but gets put down by a single chop. It works so well that Ray does it again but the elbow misses. Instead Grace strikes away and manages the Juggernaut Driver for the pin at 28:57.

Rating: C. This match has yet to be anything that would be seen as good and that was the case again here. Instead, we had another long match with some nice moments and a heck of a reunion between Cardona and Myers. At the same time though, Kiss was only so interesting and that’s about it for the surprise entrants. There were a lot of people here who could have had another match on the show and it isn’t so interesting to see them coming in, doing nothing and then being eliminated. Finally, this match just takes up so much time on the show and it always makes me wonder what else they could have done.

Post match Grace says she’s getting the Knockouts Title shot at Hard To Kill. Well at least they didn’t waste time.

We recap Mickie James challenging Trinity for the Knockouts Title. James had to vacate the title earlier this year due to injury and Trinity has become champion in her absence. Now James wants the title back, though they’re cool with each other.

Knockouts Title: Trinity vs. Mickie James

James is challenging and they fight over wrist control to start. Trinity tries to pull her down into Starstruck but James is right out with with a headscissors. James powers her way off the mat and kicks her in the head but charges into Trinity’s kick to the head in the corner. Back up and they strike it out with stereo crossbodies putting both of them down for a breather.

They crash out to the floor and both beat the count back in with a less than dramatic moment. Trinity hits the Rear View for two and does that annoying wiggle in the corner. James is back with the finger lick to even (?) things up before Trinity hits another kick to the head. The split legged moonsault gives Trinity two but the Mick Kick gives Mickie the save. Trinity’s Bubba Bomb into some rollups get two each so Mickie catches her with a tornado DDT. A slingshot X Factor misses for Trinity and Mickie plants her down again. The MickDT is countered though and Trinity pulls her into Starstruck to retain at 11:24.

Rating: B-. It was good but this didn’t feel like a big time title showdown. They were doing the big moves and felt like they were trying to have the epic fight but it just didn’t work. It didn’t help that they didn’t have any personal issue and went with a straight match. That makes sense for the story but it doesn’t make for the most interesting match.

Respect is shown post match.

Moose is going to cash in his Feast Or Fired briefcase at Hard To Kill. There are two of the biggest matches on the card covered, though having them be cash in matches might not be the best idea.

We recap Alex Shelley defending the World Title against Josh Alexander. Yet again, Alexander never lost the title and is trying to get it back. At the same time, Shelley seems to be insecure despite being an Impact legend who won the title. Alexander is playing into that and Shelley is getting a little edgy.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Alex Shelley vs. Josh Alexander

Alexander is challenging. They go to the mat to start with Alexander getting the better of things before they’re back on their feet. It’s too early for Shell Shock as Alexander sends him outside for a breather. Back in and Alexander grabs a front facelock but Shelley reverses into an armbar. That’s broken up and they forearm it out until Shelley goes after Alexander’s arm (the one that caused him to vacate the title).

A backbreaker gives Alexander two and we hit the double arm crank. Shelley breaks that up as well and stomps on the arm, followed by a backdrop to break up a C4 Spike attempt. The bar arm gets posted and Shelley wraps it around the post again. Alexander chops his way out of trouble and grabs Bret Hart’s Hartbreaker Figure Four around the post. With that broken up, they head back inside where Alexander rolls some German suplexes.

Shelley breaks them up but can’t get the Border City Stretch. Shelley ties up both arms instead but Alexander powers out again. That earns him a face first ram into the middle buckle and Shelley loads up Sliced Bread. That’s countered into another German suplex to give Alexander two and it’s time to go after Shelley’s leg.

They head outside with Shelley Shell Shocking him into the barricade. Back in and a frog splash sets up the Border City Stretch, which is reversed into a quickly broken ankle lock. Shelley hammers away and, after countering a C4 Spike attempt, hits a pair of Shell Shocks to retain at 22:33.

Rating: B+. They had a personal issue here and it helped a lot, though they also kept the match pretty much completely clean. What matters is it felt like a showdown between the two tops tars and now Shelley doesn’t have Alexander’s shadow hanging over him. It might not feel like the biggest match of the year, but it was a heck of a match on the big stage and that worked well.

Post match Alexander puts the title on Shelley and leaves in peace.

Oh and one more thing: Impact is going to be TNA Wrestling again starting at Hard To Kill in January. Because if there is one thing this place was missing, it’s nostalgia for the days when they felt like the most inept promotion in the world a good deal of the time. This is announced in a big video showing a bunch of wrestlers saying they need a change, meaning it’s time to go back where it started.

Scott D’Amore and a bunch of wrestlers are in the ring, with Scott saying WE’RE BACK to end the show with TNA chants. I’m sure there’s some ridiculous branding argument to do this change but….egads man this feels like a very unnecessary step.

Overall Rating: B. As usual, the wrestling worked, which has become the new norm around here. It felt like a big closing point for a lot of stories while also setting up things for Hard To Kill. We still have about two and a half months until the show but there will likely be some smaller shows to bridge the gap. What matters is they delivered on the biggest night of the year and there was only one match that wasn’t rather good. Now just find a way to move forward from here, which is often their biggest problem.

Results
Chris Sabin b. Kenta – Cradle Shock
PCO b. Moose, Steve Maclin and Rhino – PCOsault to Moose
ABC b. Rascalz – 1-2-Sweet to Wentz
Will Ospreay b. Mike Bailey – Stormbreaker
Jordynne Grace won the Call Your Shot Gauntlet last eliminating Bully Ray
Trinity b. Mickie James – Starstruck
Alex Shelley b. Josh Alexander – Shell Shock

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ECW On Sci Fi
Date: July 1, 2008
Location: Tulsa Convention Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Commentators: Mike Adamle, Tazz

We’re all done with the Draft, including the Supplemental Draft, and we also have a new ECW Champion in Mark Henry. ECW needs a new direction and having someone to chase the monster champ could be a good way to go. Other than that though, it should be interesting to see what they go with from here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Night Of Champions if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Mark Henry beating Big Show and champion Kane to win the ECW Title.

Opening sequence.

Here is Mark Henry to get things going. Henry brags about his dominance and proclaims himself as the savior of ECW. Cue Tommy Dreamer and Colin Delaney, with Henry saying he doesn’t like being interrupted. Dreamer issues a challenge to Henry, who tells both of them to get out of here. We hear about Delaney’s toughness before Dreamer goes into the history of the ECW Title. Dreamer points out Tazz breaking his neck for the title and how much of a legacy it carries. Henry says Dreamer has to earn a title shot, but only if Delaney can beat him. Delaney accepts and Henry promises to wreck him tonight.

Matt Hardy/Hornswoggle/Finlay vs. Miz/John Morrison/Chavo Guerrero

Bam Neely is here with the villains. Matt and Miz start things off with Matt winning the standard fight over arm control. The armbar goes on until Miz fights up and drives him into the corner. A front facelock cuts Miz off though and it’s off to Finlay, who atomic drops Morrison. Chavo comes in to hammer away but Finlay ties him up in the ring skirts and unloads with forearms. Hornswoggle gets tossed onto Chavo and we take a break.

Back with Matt fighting out of a chinlock but getting dragged back into the wrong corner. Morrison adds a slingshot elbow and we hit the chinlock. Miz gets his own chinlock before it’s back to Morrison for the third chinlock in about two minutes. Matt fights up and hits a Side Effect to escape, allowing the tag back to Finlay. Everything breaks down and Hornswoggle hits a Tadpole Splash on Chavo, setting up the Celtic Cross for the pin.

Rating: C+. Not a bad six man here as Chavo is starting to be treated a bit less seriously around here. Finlay being used in his standard tough guy role works well, even with Hornswoggle there to keep things light. Matt, Miz and Morrison feel like they should be bigger deals, but having them involved with this did add some star power.

Raw Rebound.

Tommy Dreamer and Colin Delaney have a pep talk.

Armando Estrada interrupts Teddy Long talking to Tiffany and someone with a lot of hair. Estrada wants to know about his contract status but Long says don’t interrupt. Long introduces Atlas Ortiz, part of the new Superstar Initiative. Estrada can face Ortiz next.

Armando Estrada vs. Atlas Ortiz

They go to the mat to start with Atlas grabbing a headlock. Said headlock goes on for a good while until Estrada fights up and starts working on the back. A few forearms set up an armbar as this isn’t exactly high speed stuff. Estrada pulls him down by the hair and the armbar goes on again. Back up and Ortiz snaps off an armdrag before a dropkick gets two. A backslide gives Ortiz the pin.

Rating: D+. I remember watching Ortiz back in OVW and he wasn’t interesting there either. Ortiz looks unique and unfortunately that’s about the extent of his positives. If this was supposed to be the match that makes me want to see more of Ortiz, WWE has missed pretty badly, as this was a lot of laying around before the most basic offense finished it off. If Ortiz is their best prospect, they’re in big trouble.

Colin Delaney vs. Mark Henry

Non-title but if Delaney wins, Tommy Dreamer (at ringside) gets an ECW Title shot. Delaney gets powered into the corner to start and a hair takedown makes it worse. A few shots to the head and chest have little effect on Henry, who gorilla press drops him. The World’s Strongest Slam finishes Delaney in a hurry.

Overall Rating: C. Well, it was certainly different, and that does at least address one of the biggest issues this show has had in recent weeks. That being said, Henry beating up Delaney feels like something we’ve been seeing for months now and Ortiz was hardly an interesting new direction. I like that they tried, but it didn’t exactly go in the right direction.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: June 23, 2008
Location: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 15,183
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Mick Foley, Mike Adamle, Tazz

It’s a big night as we have three things going on at once. We have a three hour show with the major focus being the annual Draft, with the focal point being that EVERYONE is available to be drafted. Other than that, Million Dollar Mania is still going so expect a lot of Vince McMahon. Finally, it’s also the last Raw before Night Of Champions. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Commentary welcomes us to the show and hype up the idea of everyone being switched around.

HHH (Raw) vs. Mark Henry (Smackdown)

Non-title and it seems that the winning brand gets a Draft pick. Henry yells a lot and HHH looks nervous, with Henry running him over to make it worse. The headbutts rock HHH some more and Henry runs him over for an early two. A Vader Bomb gets two more and Henry grabs the neck crank. HHH finally slips out and tries some running forearms to stagger Henry. The facebuster sets up more right hands and the jumping knee finally puts Henry down. The Pedigree is countered into the World’s Strongest Slam for two but Henry misses the splash. That’s enough for the Pedigree to give HHH the pin.

Rating: C. There was only so much that HHH could do here and he made it work as well as possible. Henry is a big monster and the Pedigree was only going to look so good, but HHH trying to knock him down was a nice sequence. For a quick match, they did about as well as they could have, with Henry being a fine monster.

Drafted to Raw: Rey Mysterio.

Here is Vince McMahon to announce that tonight, five people will win $100,000 and one will win $500,000. Vince brings out Kelly Kelly to help him and they call a woman….who Vince says gives the wrong password. Kelly says it’s right though and gives us a celebratory dance.

HHH welcomes Rey Mysterio to Raw when John Cena comes in. Rey leaves so HHH can say he’s not losing to Cena again at Night Of Champions. HHH says nothing Cena has done matters until Cena beats him for the title.

Finlay/Hornswoggle (Smackdown) vs. Carlito/Santino Marella (Raw)

For a draft pick. Santino wants Hornswoggle to start and gets Stunned for his efforts. Finlay comes in and ties Santino up in the ring skirt for the beating. A Carlito cheap shot puts Finlay down though and the villains take over. Santino gets caught with the shillelagh and it’s the Celtic Cross into the Tadpole Splash for the pin.

Drafted to Smackdown: Jeff Hardy.

Hardy comes out to pose and we see the still injured Randy Orton watching backstage.

Vince McMahon brings out Randy Orton to help give away more money. First though, Orton warns HHH and John Cena that he’s coming back for the WWE Title. Actually that’s it for Orton, who isn’t in the mood to help give away money. Vince is in the mood to do that, but he’ll also give us a great main event tonight: Cena vs. Edge.

Hardcore Holly/Cody Rhodes (Raw) vs. Chavo Guerrero/Bam Neely (ECW)

For a draft pick and Ted DiBiase Jr. is on commentary to promote his dad’s book. Neely jumps Cody to start and the stomping is on in the corner. Chavo comes in but Cody escapes a belly to back suplex and hands it off to Holly as the crowd is almost eerily silent. Holly hits the hanging kick to the ribs but the Alabama Slam is broken up. Chavo headscissors Cody to the floor, only to walk into the Alabama Slam for the fast pin.

Drafted to Raw: CM Punk. It’s about time.

Here is Chris Jericho for a chat. Jericho is used to fans throwing trash at him, but he’s just waiting for Shawn Michaels to turn on the fans like he does with everyone else. We see a highlight package of Shawn turning on people over the years, including Marty Jannetty, Diesel, Hulk Hogan and John Cena.

Then we move into Shawn faking his knee injury, which has Jericho talking about all of Shawn’s lies. Jericho hates lies more than anyone else, save for maybe one person: the man who helped Jericho against HHH last week, Lance Cade. We see Cade on the Titantron, where he talks about how he was trained by Shawn Michaels and wasn’t going to give Shawn the chance to turn on him.

Jericho never lied to him, but now Jericho needs a person to face for the Intercontinental Title at Night Of Champions. It would have been Shawn, but we see Jericho massacring him. Cue Shawn, with his eye taped up, to go after Jericho. Shawn slugs away, until Jericho sends him eye first into the announcers’ table to cut him off immediately. That match is going to have some crazy heat.

We recap the Draft picks to date.

John Morrison/Miz (ECW) vs. Curt Hawkins/Zack Ryder (Smackdown)

Vickie Guerrero introduces Hawkins and Ryder, but recent developments have made her change her mind. Here’s the new match:

John Morrison/Miz (ECW) vs. Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy (Smackdown)

Non-title but for a Draft pick. Matt and Miz start things off as Cole talks about how great this was from Vickie Guerrero. Matt’s wristlock and headlock don’t get very far as Miz takes him into the corner for the left hands. That’s broken up as well so Matt hits a clothesline and hands it off to Jeff for Poetry In Motion. The slingshot dropkick hits Miz in the corner but Morrison gets in a cheap shot to take over.

Morrison grabs a chinlock and then it’s off to Miz for, uh, another chinlock actually. Jeff fights up but Miz runs him over again for two. A legdrop gives Miz two more and we hit a crossface chickenwing. Jeff fights up and nails a quick Whisper In The Wind to put them both down. The diving tag brings in Matt to clean house, including the Side Effect for two on Morrison. The middle rope legdrop connects but Morrison is right back up with a rollup (and tights) for the pin.

Rating: C. This felt like it was supposed to be a low level dream match but it was pretty dull for the most part. There were some good moments with Matt’s comeback working well, but you’re only going to be able to get so far with an eight minute match and a pretty abrupt ending. At least ECW got something though.

Drafted to ECW: Matt Hardy (with the US Title).

Vince McMahon recaps Million Dollar Mania and brings out Ric Flair to help him give away $100,000. Flair calls and the fan wins the money, plus a bonus WOO!

We look at Mickie James participating in the Dreams Take Flight charity event.

Mickie James/Melina (Raw) vs. Natalya Neidhart/Victoria (Smackdown)

For a Draft pick, but only announcers/interviewers are eligible. Natalya grabs a front facelock on Melina to start before a powerslam gets two. Victoria comes in and drives Melina into the corner but Melina rolls her up for two more. Back up and Victoria sends her off the top for a crash to the floor, where Melina looks banged up. Mickie goes over to check on her but the brawl is on for the double DQ.

Drafted to Smackdown: Jim Ross. To say he does not look happy with this would be an understatement.

Drafted to Monday Night Raw: Michael Cole.

Post break we see Melina being taken out of the arena as she seems to have suffered a rather bad leg injury.

Vince McMahon brings out Great Khali to plug his new movie Get Smart, which also features Dwayne Johnson. Khali calls someone who says “wrong number” and hangs up. Someone else answers, tells Vince to hang on and brings on someone else to give the password (Khali looks mad and yells a lot) but the guy wins (and sounds bored).

John Cena (Raw) vs. Edge (Smackdown)

Non-title but for a Draft pick. Jim Ross isn’t sure why he’s calling a match involving a Raw competitor (oh yeah this isn’t going well) as they fight over a lockup to start. Cena sends him into the corner but misses a running bulldog, allowing Edge to score with a big boot. Edge slugs away as Foley is handling most of the commentary. A hard clothesline drops Cena again as JR talks about how he didn’t expect to leave Raw tonight but that’s how the cards were dealt.

Cena comes back with a shot of his own for two but it’s a double clothesline to put them both down. It’s Cena up first to start the comeback until Edge escapes the FU into the Edgecution for two. The spear is countered into the STFU, sending Edge over to the ropes rather quickly. Edge goes up top but has to escape a super FU, allowing him to knock Cena outside. Cena catches him diving off the apron though and decks Edge, who takes the countout.

Rating: C+. These two always have good chemistry together and anything they do is at least worth a look. At the same time, the result was one of the only options they had, as you don’t want either of them losing heading into a World Title match on Sunday. They didn’t have much time here, but what they did was pretty nice while it lasted.

Post match Batista throws Edge inside for a beating.

Drafted to Raw: Batista. Well that’s convenient timing.

Post break Edge and Vickie Guerrero are glad with their win because Batista is out of their hair. Vince McMahon comes in to say the title match is still on for Night Of Champions. This might have had a bigger impact if Michael Cole hadn’t said the same thing before the break. Vince suggests Vickie and Edge could be split up and panic ensues.

MVP (Smackdown) vs. Tommy Dreamer (ECW)

For a Draft pick.  Colin Delaney is here with Dreamer, who gets punched in the ribs and kicked in the head to start. They trade right hands as commentary seems way off here, with Mick Foley joining in and talking about a Playboy Playmate. Tazz: “You know there is a match going on.” MVP misses a charge in the corner and gets hit with a bulldog. Not that it matters as MVP hits a running boot in the corner for the pin.

Drafted to Smackdown: Umaga. Cue Umaga to beat up Dreamer and Delaney.

Draft recap.

John Bradshaw Layfield (Raw) vs. Kofi Kingston (ECW)

For a Draft pick. JBL grabs a headlock to start but Kofi is back up with the jumping back elbow. With the jumping getting on JBL’s nerves, he kicks Kofi in the face to take over. Something close to a cobra clutch keeps Kofi in trouble and the clubbing forearms to the back make it even worse. The bearhug goes on but Kofi sends him into the corner to escape. A dropkick looks to set up the Boom Drop but the Clothesline From JBL finishes Kofi.

Rating: C+. This took some time to get going but there was something good about having Kofi using his weird style and JBL just hitting him in the face over and over. Kofi is still someone who is on his way up and needs to be in there against bigger competition. Fun little match here, and Kofi feels like he is on the way up.

Drafted to Raw: ECW Champion Kane.

Vince McMahon gives away more money…..and the fan happens to be here in the arena.

Night Of Champions rundown.

Battle Royal

Raw: CM Punk, HHH, Kane, John Cena, Batista

ECW: Matt Hardy, John Morrison, Miz, Chavo Guerrero, Shelton Benjamin

Smackdown: Big Show, Edge, Jeff Hardy, Great Khali, MVP

For two Draft picks and that’s one heck of a lineup. We’re joined in progress after a break and a bunch of people get together to toss Khali. Everyone looks at Show who tells them to bring it and then knocks a bunch of them down. Miz can’t get rid of Edge but Batista can get rid of Miz and Morrison at the same time.

Show and MVP send Punk over the top but not out as this is not the most thrilling stuff despite the names involved. Edge fires off some spears and we take a break. Back with Punk having been eliminated and HHH hitting a facebuster on Show. Matt gets the same thing and Jeff enziguris Chavo out. That leaves Matt as the sole ECW star as Benjamin seems to have been tossed during the break as well.

There goes MVP and we get the Hardys showdown. Jeff gets the better of things and kicks Matt out to officially finish off ECW. Edge and Batista both try spears and they’re both down in a heap. Jeff misses Whisper In The Wind and HHH knocks him out and it’s HHH, Cena, Batista (very bloody), Kane, Show and Edge left.

Batista spears Edge but gets punched out by Show. Kane is knocked out as well and it’s two vs. two. Show manages to suplex Edge and Cena at the same time, leaving everyone down. HHH and Cena get back up and dump Show but Edge knocks Cena into HHH to get rid of him. Cena is so shocked that Edge is able to toss him for the win.

Rating: C. The ending got better, but there were some long stretches with pretty much nothing going on here. That isn’t the best way to draw up interest in the match but at least the star power was on display. I was expecting ECW to win to finally get a little something else, though that would imply WWE cares about ECW in any meaningful way.

Drafted to Smackdown: Mr. Kennedy and HHH (Raw World Champion).

We go up to Vince McMahon, who gives away $500,000…..and then the stage collapses. Vince is crushed under a part of the set and yells for Paul because he can’t feel his legs to end the show.

Raw
Rey Mysterio
CM Punk
Michael Cole
Kane
Batista

Smackdown
Jeff Hardy
Jim Ross
Umaga
Mr. Kennedy
HHH

ECW
Matt Hardy

Overall Rating: C+. As you might have guessed, this wasn’t the most traditional show, as they were trying to do a lot of things at once. Between the Draft and the money and hyping up Sunday’s show, this was a bit too all over the place. The Draft was the big focus and some of the moves should shake things up a bit, though ECW is gutted even more than before. Above all else though, I feel sorry for Jim Ross, who gets treated badly again, because Vince McMahon enjoys it or something.

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

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AND

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