CWC vs. The World 2026
Date: April 15, 2026
Location: FSW Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Chad Kalina, Rocco McSweets

This is the Colorado Wrestling Connection as I like to get in some of the smaller promotions as well. I have a grand total of no idea what this is going to include but that’s part of the point of this week. My money would be on the world in this kind of a battle but I’ve been surprised before. Let’s get to it.

There appear to be less than 100 people here.

The host welcomes the CWC owner, who hypes up all of the titles on the line, including many from outside of the CWC. He talks about a six man tag but a monster team called Stand On Business interrupt. One of them says they own the CWC and another wrestling promotion in Colorado, which brings out presumably their opponents to start fast.

Tag Team Titles: Stand On Business vs. Justin Andrews/Marlion Bishop

Business is defending. The camera is handheld and it feels like things are clipped a bit here and there. Andrews sends Dorian Maddox into the barricade but Andrews’ partner gets cut of, meaning Andrews is beaten down in the corner. Maddox’s partner (seems to be Papa Lypto) comes in to kick Andrews in the back of the head.

Maddox hits a Rock Bottom for two, followed by a spinebuster for…well not two as there’s no cover. Maddox’s Old School is blocked but he’s fine enough to hit an elbow to the face. Lypto grabs a choke, which is quickly broken up for the tag to Bishop. House is quickly cleaned and the rather muscular Bishop hits a Big Bang Catastrophe for the pin and the titles (with Andrews getting a pin of his own) at 7:30.

Rating: C. It was a very basic match but they played the formula well enough. The problem here comes down to I have pretty much no idea what is going on with these people or who they are, but I was able to pick up enough from commentary and what I could see. It’s not a great opener, but starting with a title change is often a smart way to go.

Reality Of Wrestling Women’s Title: Dani Mo vs. Lady Bird Monroe

Monroe is defending. They grapple around to start with Monroe grabbing a Sling Blade. A Regal Roll puts Mo down but Mo pulls her off the ropes for a crash. Mo’s backflip splash (not really a moonsault as it didn’t include any jumping) gets two and Mo slams her for two. There’s a fall away slam to Monroe and we hit the chinlock.

One heck of a clothesline sets up a leglock to keep Monroe in trouble but she’s back up for a double knockdown. Monroe wins a chop off and snaps off a powerslam, setting up a moonsault for two. Mo’s belly to belly into a Vader Bomb gets two but Monroe is back up with an AA. A Swanton retains at 7:31.

Rating: C+. It was better than the opener as you could keep track of what was going on as it’s a simple enough story. Monroe is the easy to cheer for heroine while Mo is more of the monster coming for the title. I liked this well enough and it was nice to have a guest star, with Monroe getting to showcase herself rather well.

Heritage Title: Manny Lemons vs. Ryzin

Lemons (with his two other belts) is defending and Ryzin is a ringmaster (complete with whip). Ryzin teases using the whip to start but settles for choking using Lemons’ own boa instead. Lemons fights up and hammers away in the corner, with the fans rather approving. A cheap shot out of the corner puts Lemons back down and Ryzin drops a leg for two. The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by a boot scrape across the eyes. Lemons avoids a moonsault though and fires back, only to get caught with a superkick. Ryzin gets crotched on top and slammed down, meaning the Lemon Drop (fireman’s carry slam) retains at 5:54.

Rating: C. I could go for seeing a bit more of Ryzin, as his gimmick and look are enough to stand out a bit. Lemons felt like a standard slightly silly star and that’s not a terrible way to go. Commentary suggested that these two had a lot of history together but you wouldn’t have imagined it here, as it felt like a pretty basic match.

United Wrestling Network Tag Team Titles: 5150 vs. Delta Jr./Toxin

5150 (Slice Boogie/Danny Limelight) is defending, at least after some confusion over which match was next, with the ring announcer saying the owner set her up for sabotage. The champs jump them to start fast but get knocked into the corner. Toxin grabs a chinlock but Boogie comes in for a cheap shot to take over.

Back up and Toxin is sent into the corner and a snapmare sets up a rolling knee. Toxin makes Limelight kick Boogie in the face and then helps Delta hit a kick to the floor. Commentary says they’re lost as everything breaks down. With Toxin sent outside, a piledriver/superkick combination gets two but Toxin runs in for the save. Delta grabs standing crossface kind of thing but Boogie rips his mask off and steals the retaining pin at 7:18.

Rating: C+. The “heel takes the mask off and gets the pin” finish needs to go away for a long, long time. It’s just so cliched these days and that was the case again here. I don’t need a get out of a lucha match free spot like that and it doesn’t offer anything new. The match was ok, though neither team stood out for the most part.

CWC Women’s Title/CSW Women’s Title: Hussy Steele vs. Pixi Pulsing

Title for title. Steele (who has a bad ankle coming in) tackles her down to start fast but gets elbowed in the face. A running Downward Spiral sends Pulsing out to the floor so she charges back inside, where Steele grabs a backbreaker. Pulsing gets smart by going after the ankle and a brainbuster drops her again. A Vader Bomb gives Pulsing two but Steele manages a crane kick of all things.

They forearm it out from their knees until Pulsing knocks her into the corner, crushing the referee in the process. The referee is down and Pulsing grabs a studded belt to whip Steele. Pulsing goes up and calmly shoves off a Stratusfaction attempt. Steele grabs a German suplex for no count and hits something like a reverse Nightmare On Helm Street. A triangle choke makes Pulsing tap at 10:24.

Rating: C+. Neither of them tore the house down here but Steele working through the injury and fighting for the win was good stuff. Steele sold the leg well, though Pulsing didn’t feel like she was really going after the leg full blast. I do like the title changing hands though, as it actually feels like a big deal, which should be the case here.

Post match Steele is happy with her win.

Bret The Threat vs. Royce Isaacs

Tom Lawlor and Josh Barnett are here too, making the seconds more interesting than the wrestlers themselves. They go straight to the grappling (of course) with neither being able to get a hold so they get back up. Isaacs goes for the leg but Bret keeps spinning around to escape. Back up and Isaacs kicks at the leg before they trade some chops. A suplex sends Bret flying but he’s right back with a leglock to slow Isaacs down for a change.

An ankle lock sends Bret over to the rope but he escapes for a kick to the face. Isaacs is back up with a German suplex into a leglock, sending Bret back to the rope. Bret’s ankle lock works a bit better so Isaacs rolls him into a cradle for two. A brainbuster gives Isaacs the same but Bret flips out of a reverse dragon sleeper. Bret tries an armbar, which is reversed into a Texas Cloverleaf for the tap at 10:47.

Rating: B. I wasn’t expecting this but they wound up having a heck of a match and that’s a great thing to see. This was all about the grappling and striking with little in the way otherwise. It worked very well and felt so different than anything else on the show. Good stuff here, even with the biggest names on the floor.

Trios Titles: AMF vs. Hybrid Hit Squad

AMF (America’s Most Famous, the combined forces of Michael Avalon, Frankie Gonzalez and Audric Gallegos) is defending against Codah Alexander/Mikey O’Shea/Jack Moody…and we lose the signal. Commentary can be heard scrambling to get it back on and after about two and a half minutes away, we come back to a split screen and then the regular feed (commentary apologizes and fair enough as these things do happen) with the match joined in progress.

Moody rolls Avalon up for two and it’s off to the rather large O’Shea, who manages a knockdown. Avalon gets dropped with a suplex and it’s off to Gonzalez to knee away at Alexander. Three straight backsplashes give Gonzalez two but Alexander fights back, allowing Moody to go after the arm. Gonzalez comes back in to knee Alexander in the face and a double basement dropkick has him down again. Avalon rolls him around into an Angle Slam for two, followed by a Blue Thunder Bomb for the same.

They clothesline each other down though and it’s a double breather. The camera gets knocked down as O’Shea (by far the biggest man in the match) is in to clean house. Everything breaks down and O’Shea teases a dive but opts for a drop down into a double spank instead. Alexander hits a top rope clothesline…and AMF steals the referee’s glasses. That means she can’t see Avalon bring in a belt (that’s kind of brilliant) but Moody takes it away, only to hit Alexander on purpose. Avalon gets the easy pin to retain at 13:52.

Rating: C+. The ending was a twist and felt like a surprise, though I was more impressed by the glasses stealing deal. That’s not something you often see and I can appreciate thinking outside of the box like that. The rest of the match wasn’t bad, with O’Shea being different enough to really sand out. Nice job with some good thinking.

Colorado Springs Wrestling Title: Niles Blood vs. Sam Stackhouse

Stackhouse (who has to weigh close to 500lbs) is defending in a Last Man Standing match. Apparently Stackhouse is some kind of a big traitor, with commentary hating him for something he has done. A spinwheel kick puts Blood down fast and the beating is on as commentary talks about Stackhouse being Blood’s former friend when Blood won the title and then turning on him.

Stackhouse sends him into the post and talks a lot of trash, with commentary hating him even more each time. Blood is already bleeding but beats the count so Stackhouse puts him in a chair in the corner. The Cannonball only hits (and crushes) the chair but Stackhouse is up again. Blood hammers him down in the corner again and hits him with a trashcan, followed by a DDT onto the trashcan for another near count.

A running dropkick drives a chair into Stackhouse’s head for nine but he gets a boot up in the corner. Stackhouse, also busted open, manages an ax kick and sits in the chair as Blood tries to get up. That’s quite the target so Blood is back up with a superkick to knock him out of the chair. Stackhouse tries to tie Blood in the corner but another wrestler, apparently out with an injury, runs in for a distraction. Blood grabs a Heatseeker onto a chair for nine so he uses the rope to choke Stackhouse out for the title at 15:16.

Rating: C+. Well, they didn’t go too insane with the weapons here and that helped a lot. I’ll take this kind of violence over the deathmatch nonsense any day, as this was more about two men that hated each other wanting to hurt the other. It might not have been great but there was a story to it and since they haven’t done this stuff all night, it had more of an impact.

Post match Blood grabs the mic and thanks the crowd.

CWC Title: Duke Lawrence vs. Lonnie Valdez

Valdez is defending but Lawrence (hometown star) has a title of his own, which might be some kind of interim thing. Lawrence low bridges him to the floor and hits a big running flip dive, only for the bigger Lawrence to grab a rather delayed vertical suplex back inside. A big toss sends Valdez flying and they go outside for some rather loud chops. Valdez’s comeback doesn’t last long but he’s able to send Lawrence into the post.

Back in and Valdez takes out the leg before starting in on the arm. The arm is sent into the mat and the Fujiwara armbar goes on. Lawrence fights up and hits a heck of a clothesline but Valdez knocks him down again. The Swanton gives Valdez two so he hits it again, only for a third to hit knees. A spinning powerslam gives Lawrence the pin and the title at 10:36.

Rating: C. The match was good enough, though I’m not entirely clear what is going on with the whole double titles thing. What matters is that they had a big moment in the main event, which is hard to do. I’m not sure what the story was supposed to be here either as neither of them felt like a villain, but Lawrence getting the win seemed to be a popular enough result.

The host (she was rather good and had a charm to her so nice find with her in this role) thanks us for coming out and tells us about another show next month.

Overall Rating: C+. I wasn’t expecting much of anything and got an ok show here, which I’ll take. There are some weak points to this show but the good parts (Last Man Standing, the technical match and the host) were enough to put it just over the top. It needed some better commentary to explain some things (along with any kind of name graphics) but I did like the variety of things we saw. I can go with having all of the guest stars coming and CWC wrestlers fighting over various titles, as the roster can’t be that deep in the first place. I wouldn’t call it good, but I’d call it good enough all things considered.

 

 

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

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

WrestleCon Supershow 2025
Date: April 17, 2025
Location: Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Nick Knowledge, Veda Scott

This is one of the biggest independent shows of the week, though in this case it is being presented by GCW as part of the Collective. The matches have pretty much no continuity and are designed to have the most fun possible. That can make for some very entertaining shows and hopefully they continue the tradition. Let’s get to it.

We open with a tribute video to Mark Hitchcock, a former Highspots employee who passed away, with the show being named in his honor as a result.

Team Arez vs. Team Gravity

Arez, Latigo, Toxin, El Bendito, Canis Lupis
Gravity, Spider Fly, Aero Panther, Fight Panther, El Vengador

This is the show’s signature ten man tag and the participants were not announced until their entrances. I apologize in advance for getting the wrestlers wrong, but even commentary doesn’t seem sure which is which. Latigo and Vengador start things off with Vengador working on an armbar but getting rolled up for two. Back up and Vengador works on the arm before Latigo gets another rollup for another two, meaning it’s another standoff.

Arez and Aero runs the ropes rather quickly before flipping next to him. Aero misses a kick to the face and they get up for another standoff. Gravity and Toxin come in with the bigger Toxin slamming him down. Gravity sticks the landing on a flip attempt though and does his moon walk deal, followed by an armdrag out to the floor. The tease of a dive sends Toxin bailing and it’s off to Fly vs. Latigo as we’re getting back to the start of the lineup.

Latigo throws Fly into the ropes but gets sent outside in a heap. Lupis and Bendito both come in and toss Fly into the air for a nasty crash down. Gravity comes in and gets caught in a five on one beatdown. Toxin is tossed into a big backsplash onto Gravity and for some reason we look at one of his partners rather than the cover. Vengador manages to send Arez to the floor and it’s off to Panther to pick up the pace. The Panthers hit big dives and Arez and Latigo follow with dives of their own. Back in and Fly and Gravity hit a hurricanrana and super armdrag, leaving Vengador to faceplant Toxin out of the corner.

Fight gets caught with a bunch of superkicks but a quintuple superkick misses. Lupis is planted with a big spinning slam for two before it’s time to fight over the double…er, triple…uh, quadruple suplex….and then with the other eight huddled together, Aero suplexes Arez onto the pile for an insane visual. Gravity and company go up for dives to the floor, leaving Lupis to hit a super swinging Side Effect for two on Fight. Fly gets triple teamed inside and Arez hits a top rope double stomp for the pin at 16:10.

Rating: B. These wild lucha matches have become a staple of a lot of shows these days (Ring Of Honor went nuts with them for a bit) and they’re still fun. This one didn’t have quite the star power, but there is something special about seeing these people getting this kind of time to showcase their talents. It might not be the highest quality match from American standards, but it is a great display of a very different style and that worked very well.

Post match money is thrown into the ring in quite the sign of respect.

As is tradition, we have a special ambassador for the show: Sean Mooney! And he looks about the same as he did back in the day! The fans seem happy to see him and he thanks them for the reception. Mooney plugs his appearance at WrestleCon and the Wrestlemania IX documentary on Peacock. He’ll be hosting a panel on the show at WWE World and hopes the fans come see him. Mooney wishes the fans a great time to wrap it up. This was a nice surprise as Mooney is someone who has just kind of slipped through the cracks, with even his podcast not being that well known.

Ninja Mack vs. Mascara Dorada

Dorada plays to the crowd a bit to start before winning a battle over a lockup. That’s good for a clean break so Mack works on a wristlock to take over. Dorada reverses into one of his own and walks on his hands into an armdrag, leaving even Mack impressed. They go to the top, with Dorada trying a super hurricanrana but Mack sticks the landing, because of course he can do that. Back up and Mack offers a handshake but instead it’s time for a martial arts pose.

Dorada is kicked to the floor for a series of backflips into a dive, only for Dorada to dive back inside. That means Dorada can hit a big dive of his own and they go up to the stage. Dorado shrugs off some chops and hurricanranas him down the steps, setting up one heck of a dive to the floor. Back in and Mack kicks him down again before flipping out of a sunset flip attempt. Mack’s sitout powerbomb gets two but he misses a….I guess a Phoenix 630? Dorada grabs something like a Razor’s Edge Dominator, setting up a shooting star press for the pin at 9:07.

Rating: B. Yeah this was fun and was the kind of match you would have expected, though it never quite got all the way up to that high gear you might have thought they would do. Mack was doing his incredible flips but Dorada felt like a bit more of a complete star in the ring. Good, high flying match here, and a nice change of pace after the more wild opener.

Sin City Scramble

This is a seven person Royal Rumble with two minute intervals but it’s one fall to a finish and it can only take place when all seven are in. Vaughn Vertigo is in at #1 and TJP is in at #2. They fight over a wristlock to start until TJP takes him down into the headscissors. Vaughn reverses into one of his own but TJP slips out. A rollup to TJP gets…nothing because it doesn’t matter yet. TJP takes him down by the leg but Vaughn kicks him down and hits a standing moonsault…for two, because the referee screwed up.

Super Crazy is in at #3 and takes Vaughn down to work on his legs. TJP breaks up something like an abdominal stretch but Crazy chokes him in the corner. Mike D. Vecchio is in at #4 and comes in with a nice step up elbow to put Crazy down. Vecchio runs over TJP as well and drops him with a suplex as the power/athleticism is on full display here. A double suplex drop Vecchio and it’s 1 Called Manders in at #5.

Manders chops away at Vecchio but Vaughn is back in with a Swanton to a standing Manders (who was nice enough to stay bent over for the better part of ever). Crazy moonsaults onto a bunch of people at ringside and Vecchino shooting stars onto everyone else. Cheeseburger is in at #6 and he slugs away at Vecchino, which goes as well as you would expect. A superkick into the Shotei palm strike puts Vecchio on the floor and TJP hurricanranas Crazy to the outside.

That leaves us with one mystery entrant and it’s….Danhausen in at #7 to complete the field. It’s one fall to a finish so Danhausen curses Cheeseburger, who almost shoteis himself. Cheeseburger fights back though and gets northern lights suplexed. TJP is suplexed as well but Danhausen hurts his hand chopping Vecchio. Danhausen manages a running dropkick to send Vecchio outside so Manders is back in…and gets cursed. Danhausen takes him out and puts the teeth in Vaughn’s mouth. The pump kick is enough to give Danhausen the pin on Vaughn at 16:32.

Rating: B-. This was the definition of fun, goofy stuff at the end, but Vecchio looked like an interesting prospect. Most of the rest of the stars were fine, though Crazy was not exactly looking great. Danhausen was the focus here though and, in addition to looking much more muscular than in previous appearances, it was nice to have him back.

Matt Mako vs. Matt Riddle

Mako is billed as the Evolution Of Combat so I think you get the idea here. They do shake hands and get started and we get a pose off, as tends to be the case on occasion. We get a WELCOME MATT chant before they go to the grappling, with Riddle going for the arm. That’s broken up so it’s a LET’S GO MATT/YOU SUCK MATT dueling chant as the crowd amuses themselves.

Riddle goes for the arm again but Mako gets out, with the fans thinking that MATT IS GONNA KILL YOU. They trade kicks to the chest until a Mako chop fires Riddle up. The chop off has both of them cringing and a cross armbreaker sends Riddle over to the ropes. Back up and Riddle strikes away, setting up a gutwrench suplex into some Brotons. A fisherman’s buster gives Riddle two and he’s starting to get fired up.

They forearm it out with Riddle being knocked into the corner for a boot choke. Mako gets pulled into a triangle choke over the ropes before a suplex sends him flying. Riddle gets in a super fisherman’s buster and the Floating Bro connects for two. Mako catches him on top and pulls Riddle down into a cross armbreaker but Riddle forearms him in the face. The Bro Derek finishes Mako at 9:53.

Rating: B-. This is where the Supershow can be more fun as they know how to mix things up with a nice variety. That’s what you had here, with more of an MMA inspired match. It’s a style that makes sense in modern wrestling and it helps when you have someone who has such an extensive background in the style. Riddle is a talented star, but the baggage that comes with him can be quite the issue. Let him stay around here and be awesome, because he’s quite good at this style.

Maki Itoh vs. Mickie James

Itoh sings herself to the ring and does her big song to get things going. They take their time to get going before going to the mat for a headscissors. Itoh gets out and gives her a cute look, leaving James a bit confused. James wins a test of strength but Itoh takes her down with James running to the floor.

James grabs the mic (James: “Found it!”) and says that there are a lot of people getting in the ring this weekend in an effort to get their five stars. Meltzer has never put her over though (her words) but she’s here to entertain the people. She hasn’t wrestled in about a year but she was interested in facing Maki Itoh, who is pretty good. Itoh is also a J pop star and James is Hardcore Country, so what about a sing off?

Itoh sings and James says she has no idea what she just said but she knows it was awesome. James sings about beating Itoh up and her lack of curves (to the tune of her theme song) before decking Itoh with the mic (the fans are NOT pleased). A boot to the face puts Itoh down and James chokes away but Itoh flips her off. Itoh is back up with a headbutt for two and she avoids the top rope Thesz press. The Mick Kick misses and they trade rollup for two each, setting up the MickieDT for the pin at 14:24.

Rating: C. I have absolutely no idea what this was but it was one of the weirdest things I’ve seen in wrestling in a good while. James just went into some random rant about Meltzer and then did a weird heel turn. It wasn’t even much of a match, but this is only going to be remembered for the bizarre part in the middle.

Butterbean vs. Minoru Suzuki

Dan Severn (now with white hair) is guest referee and we have four two minute rounds. They slowly strike away at each other with the exchange of chops going nowhere. Butterbean jabs away in the corner and tries to lift Suzuki up, with Severn not being able to break it up as the round ends. They keep grappling in the corner and Severn has to break it up.

The second round begins with Severn having to make them go to their corners, with the round being almost half over by the time he calls for the bell. So we reset the clock as this is turning into an even bigger mess by the minute. Suzuki takes him down and they fight over a leglock, meaning some grunting until the time runs out. After a sixty second rest period, round three begins with Butterbean punching him in the ribs. Suzuki slugs back and then takes it to the floor where they brawl to a double countout at 9:06.

Rating: F. Oh this was terrible and that shouldn’t be a surprise. They’re both in their late 50s and Butterbean isn’t exactly a wrestler (he’s had three matches since 2012) so what was this supposed to be? It’s a good example of something that sounded fun on paper but then reality set in and there was no way around the whole thing. Absolutely awful.

Post match the brawling and sneering continues, with MMA legend Don Frye getting involved. The fans want one more round (masochists) and Suzuki is willing to do it but they announce the double countout again to make sure that this isn’t fun.

TMDK vs. Flip Gordon/Michael Oku/Hechicero

We get a BAD DUDE (Tito)/OKU chant off before Oku and Haste officially start things off. Neither of them can get anywhere with the grappling so Oku snaps off a running hurricanrana. Tito comes in to shoulder Gordon down but he pops back up and it’s off to Hechicero vs. Sabre Jr. for the real showdown. Sabre’s wristlock is quickly broken up so they tie their legs together and go to the mat. Hechicero pulls him down into a rollup but Sabre is right back up for a standoff.

More grappling doesn’t go anywhere so Hechicero takes him into the corner for some stomping. Oku comes in and allows the tag to Haste, who slams Oku down. It’s off to Tito to plant Oku again before Oku is dropped onto the apron. Sabre ties the legs up for some cranking, followed by Haste’s one arm belly to back suplex for two. Oku DDTs his way to freedom though and it’s off to Gordon to clean house. Some moonsaults get two on Haste but it’s back to Tito to drop Gordon. A dive to the floor hits Gordon again but he forearms his way to freedom.

Hechicero comes back in to kick Tito in the corner before choking Sabre in the ropes. They go to the mat where Hechicero grabs the rolling cradle, followed by a kick to the face. Oku comes in for a European clutch for two on Sabre. The half crab sends Sabre over to the ropes so Oku kicks the leg out again.

Hechicero comes back in for a surfboard, with his partners hitting a double bulldog. Everything breaks down and Sabre is fine enough to grab a cross armbreaker on Gordon. That’s broken up so Oku DDTs Haste to send him outside. Gordon hits a suicide dive but Sabre avoids his 450 back inside. Sabre grabs an armbar to make Gordon tap at 21:33.

Rating: B. This was a good, back and forth match, though it really just made me want to see Hechicero and Sabre go nuts with holds and submissions on their own. The other four were just kind of there for the most part, with only Oku standing out. At the same time, you had Gordon feeling like a relic of a past generation, which was so strange to see. Good main event, but it could have been better with some tweaks.

Post match Sabre teases coming after Oku’s British Heavyweight Title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show started off well and then just crashed hard until the main event helped it a lot. I’m not sure if it’s GCW taking it over or something else, but this was not as fun as the previous years’ editions. Hopefully this was just a one off, as the show can be a blast but this one was something that feels like it sounded better on paper rather than what we actually got.

Results
Team Arez b. Team Gravity – Top rope double stomp to Spider Fly
Mascara Dorada b. Ninja Mack – Shooting star press
Danhausen won the Sin City Scramble – Pump kick to Vaughn
Matt Riddle b. Matt Mako – Bro Derek
Mickie James b. Maki Itoh – MickieDT
Butterbean vs. Minoru Suzuki went to a double countout
TMDK b. Hechicero/Flip Gordon/Michael Oku – Armbar to Gordon

 

 

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

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

 

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/

 

 

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

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

AND

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