Bound For Glory 2021
Date: October 23, 2021
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown

It’s the biggest night of the year for Impact Wrestling and we have a pretty stacked card. The main event is the battle of Canada as Impact Wrestling World Champion Christian Cage is defending against Josh Alexander. The second biggest match on the card is probably Deonna Purrazzo defending the Knockouts Title against Mickie James in a grudge match. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Digital Media Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Madison Rayne vs. John Skyler vs. Chelsea Green vs. Crazzy Steve vs. Fallah Bahh

One fall to a finish for the inaugural title, which will be defended on online shows, kind of like a modern TV Title (that’s a good thing). Rayne is replacing Tenille Dashwood for reasons that are not clear. Before the bell, we get a countdown clock, showing about 7:40 to go before Bound For Glory, just in case you thought this match might get some substantial time.

Skyler poses in the middle of the ring to start and is promptly beaten down by everyone else. Bahh clears the ring save for Grace, who actually drops him with a running shoulder. A running Vader Bomb gives Grace two but Skyler runs her over. Green knocks Skyler off the top (to a strong reaction), followed by Rayne tornado DDTing Steve. A double stomp crushes Rayne to give Green two but Grace loads her up in a MuscleBuster.

While still holding Green on her shoulder, Grace clotheslines Rayne and then plants Green for two. Grace piles up a bunch of people in the corner, but Bahh throws her in as well for the big running splash. Skyler catches Steve with a super Regal Roll with Green making the save this time. That’s enough for Grace, who picks Skyler up for the Grace Driver for the pin and the title at 5:02.

Rating: D+. This was kind of a mess and they didn’t get much time, which is always a problem in a match like this one. You can only get so far with so many people in the match at the same time, but at least they went with an interesting winner. That being said, the whole point of this was to have people in the ring to warm up the crowd and that went well enough, though it wasn’t exactly quality.

We open with part of a video from a recent Impact, featuring Josh Alexander sitting in the empty stands and talking about what the X-Division Title means to him. He handed the title to his sons and now he can’t wait to do the same thing with the World Title.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: IInspiration vs. Decay

The debuting IInspiration is defending and Harley Cameron sings them to the ring. We get all of the signature IIconics poses and it’s time for an official introduction. They say they are here to inspire up and strike the hands on hips pose…..so yeah they’re still the same team, minus some of the annoying voices. Rosemary (in orange) scares McKay into the corner to start so Rosemary sideslams Lee for two instead. Havok comes in to scream and hammer away, setting up the Upside Down from Rosemary. That’s enough for Lee to grab a suplex and McKay grabs a quickly broken chinlock.

They take each other down by the hair and it’s back to Havok to crush the IInspiration in the corner. Lee manages to send Havok outside though and it’s McKay coming back in to take over. The bulldog onto McKay’s knee gets two but Rosemary is back with a Scorpion Death Drop. Havok misses a legdrop though and gets sent into the post. That just makes her scream, so she gets sent in again, followed by another posting. Rosemary makes the save but gets sent into McKay’s knee. A sitout powerbomb/neckbreaker combination is enough to give McKay the pin and the titles at 8:58.

Rating: C. The action wasn’t great, but the IInspiration feels SO much bigger than any team that has held the titles since their return (save for maybe Fire N Flava). It isn’t like Rosemary and Havok were some legendary team (with their 98 day reign ending here) so this is the right call. It isn’t a case of Impact bringing in WWE rejects and putting them over, because this is a nice upgrade for the titles.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Deonna Purrazzo is ready to beat Mickie James, even with Matthew Rehwoldt barred from ringside.

We recap the X-Division Title match for the vacant title. Josh Alexander vacated the title so we have had a series of triple threat matches. Tonight, it’s another triple threat for the title, because modern wrestling law dictates a minimum of triple threat matches.

X-Division Title: Trey Miguel vs. Steve Maclin vs. El Phantasmo

For the vacant title. They all start going in a hurry with Phantasmo dropkicking Maclin to the floor. Miguel adds a kick to the face but Phantasmo breaks up a slingshot dive. Back in and Maclin gets punched into the corner, leaving Miguel to take Phantasmo down into a leglock. Maclin makes a save and Miguel is sent outside, leaving Phantasmo to walk along the top rope into a hurricanrana to drop Maclin again.

Phantasmo rakes both of their backs but Miguel is back in. The comeback lets Maclin knock both of them down again before putting Miguel and Phantasmo in the Tree of Woe. A running shoulder to the ribs hits Phantasmo but Miguel slips away. That’s fine with Maclin, who hits a spear to send a handspringing Miguel through the ropes and out to the floor in a nasty crash, much to the fans’ amazement.

Maclin isn’t done yet and hits big running dives onto both of them for more crashes. It’s Phantasmo up first though with a kick to Maclin’s head to knock him outside, setting up a Lionsault. Miguel takes Phantasmo down though and sends Maclin back inside. That’s about it for Maclin though as he catches a charging Miguel in something close to an AA, with Phantasmo making the save.

Phantasmo isn’t done and sunset bombs Maclin off the top. A super hurricanrana sends Miguel crashing onto Maclin, setting up a top rope splash for two. The fired up Maclin blocks Miguel’s top rope Meteora, only to get kicked in the head for his efforts. That leaves Phantasmo to punch Miguel low….and he hurts his own hand because Miguel is wearing a cup in a smart move. A brainbuster sets up the top rope Meteora for the pin and the title at 13:21.

Rating: B-. It was your run of the mill X-Division three way match, with everyone moving around and multiple cases of two people in the ring with one on the floor. What we got was entertaining though with the right result. Miguel has lost so many times now that there is almost no way he could lose again, so it makes a lot of sense to give him the big win he has been needing for a long time now. Throw in Maclin not taking a fall and this went rather well.

Mickie James knows that Deonna Purrazzo is her toughest challenge to date, but Purrazzo has made this personal. Mickie has been through a lot in recent years and tonight it is about proving that she is still worthy of being a champion.

We recap Heath vs. Violent By Design over Rhino. Violent By Design got Rhino to join the team, perhaps by brainwashing, but then blamed him for losing the Tag Team Titles. Rhino tried to leave but Eric Young wouldn’t let him. Then Heath returned and tried to get Rhino back to the good side, which is what he is gambling on tonight.

Heath vs. Violent By Design

Heath is on his own to start but hopes that Rhino will join him. Joe Doering and Deaner are representing the team here, with Eric Young in their corner. There is no Rhino to start so Heath gets double teamed, which he said he would accept if Rhino didn’t show up. The bell rings and Heath hammers away in the corner but a Doering distraction lets Deaner get in a cheap shot.

The beatdown is on in the corner as the villains start taking turns. Doering grabs the neck crank, setting up a running crossbody for two on Heath. Deaner comes back in so Heath fights back until a double clothesline puts them both down. That brings out Rhino, who takes the tag from Heath so house can be cleaned. The Gore finishes Deaner at 4:57.

Rating: C-. This was little more than an angle instead of a full on match and that’s ok. The whole point here was about having Rhino return to the side of good to save his friend. Somehow Impact managed to make me care about a story involving Rhino, Heath and Eric Young, so they must be doing something right. There was no need to have a long match here as they got to the important part and did it rather well.

We see part of Awesome Kong’s Hall of Fame induction. It’s still weird to hear her speaking as a normal person after so many years of seeing her as a monster.

We recap Jordynne Grace winning the Digital Media Title on the pre-show.

Jordynne Grace is very happy and Rachael Ellering is so happy for her. Ellering is going to win the Call Your Shot gauntlet match, but Moose and W. Morrissey come in to say not so fast.

Video on the Call Your Shot gauntlet match, which is basically a gauntlet match for a Money in the Bank contract.

Call Your Shot Gauntlet Match

There are 20 entrants, with two minute intervals in a battle royal format until the final two have a singles match, with the winner getting a shot at any title any time they choose. Chris Sabin is in at #1 (due to being the last person eliminated from a battle royal) and Rocky Romero (a surprise) is in at #2. They go technical to start with neither being able to get any kind of an advantage. An exchange of armdrags gives us a standoff as Madman Fulton is in at #3, giving Sabin and Romero a joint target.

The clock speeds WAY up and it’s Rohit Raju in at #4 to go after the non-monsters. The mini tag match breaks out until Tasha Steelz is in at #5 as a bit of a wild card. Steelz joins in with the villains to get rid of Romero and it’s Rachael Ellering in at #6 to go after Steelz in a hurry. A bunch of people get rid of Fulton and it’s Savannah Evans in at #7. Sabin and Raju pair off as Ellering goes after Evans and Steelz. Johnny Swinger is in at #8 as Ellering and Evans eliminate each other. That leaves Swinger to hit on Steelz, who takes him down and hammers away instead.

Melina is in at #9 (another surprise) so Swinger shows her the guns. It actually works for a change, as Swinger is ready for her drop down into the splits and sends her face first into the mat. The Demon (as in WCW’s KISS Demon) in is at #10 so Swinger gets a quick autograph, followed by a quick elimination. Brian Myers is in at #11 as these intervals are all over the place. Matt Cardons is in at #12 and goes right at Myers due to the laws of the wrestling world.

More brawling against the ropes ensues and it’s Laredo Kid in at #13. A handspring DDT hits Raju as Myers dumps Melina and Steelz to clear the ring a bit. The ring is filled up a bit more though as Sam Beale is in at #14 and goes after Cardona (on Myers’ orders of course). Rich Swann is in at #15 and strikes away at Myers and Beale. Myers gets in a shot of his own but Beale tosses him out to a pretty big reaction. Ace Austin is in at #16 and kicks the Demon in the face, setting up the elimination, because the Demon was still in the match for some reason.

Moose is in at #17 and powerbombs Beale out in a huge crash. Eddie Edwards is in at #18 and there goes Kid. Moose gets kicked outside without an elimination, where he pulls Eddie out, also without an elimination. Alisha Edwards is in at #19 and it’s a family kendo stick beatdown on Moose. W. Morrissey is in at #20 (meaning we had 18 entrants in less than 20 minutes), giving us Sabin, Raju, Cardona, Swann, Austin, Moose, Eddie Edwards, Alisha Edwards and Morrissey as the final grouping.

Morrissey tosses out Alisha and then kicks Eddie out, meaning it’s time for the alliance with Moose. Raju wants to join them but joins the Edwards on the floor instead. Sabin dumps Ace Austin so here is Madman Fulton to attack Sabin, allowing Moose and Morrissey to get rid of him too. We’re down to Moose, Morrissey, Cardona and Swann so everyone takes a corner. Morrissey goes to get rid of Swann but Moose dumps both of them, leaving us with Cardona vs. Moose in a regular singles match. Cardona swings away and hits the Future Endeavored, only to miss Radio Silence. Moose spears him down for the pin at 29:38.

Rating: C-. They were flying through this one and your mileage may vary on that part. The bigger issue here was how fast people were coming in, as there wasn’t time to do much in between. It does help that there were multiple possible winners and they didn’t waste time once it was down to one on one. This could have been shortened a good bit though and the longer time is what holds it back a lot.

Heath says Rhino was running a little late tonight but Heath knew he would be there. Rhino thanks Heath for never giving up and wants Heath to tell his kids that Uncle Rhino is back. Heath: “Hey kids Uncle Rhino is back!”. Well he did what Rhino asked.

The Good Brothers aren’t happy with having to defend against two teams.

Tag Team Titles: Good Brothers vs. Bullet Club vs. FinJuice

The Brothers are defending after the other teams went to a double pin. For some clarity, this is Doc Gallows/Karl Anderson vs. Chris Bey/Hikuleo vs. David Finlay/Juice Robinson. Bey and Finlay fight over arm control to start and trade armdrags to keep up the pace. That means an early standoff until Bey flips into a dropkick to cut him off. Robinson comes in to start in on Bey’s arm and the Swanton off of the shoulders crushes Bey again.

It’s off to Gallows vs. Hikuleo for the big power showdown though and the slugout is on in a hurry. They collide with neither getting the better of things so Gallows powers him into the corner. Bey comes in and gets dragged into the Brothers’ corner, but some rapid fire tags leave us with Hikuleo sending Finlay into the vacant corner. A delayed vertical suplex gets two on Finlay and we hit the chinlock.

That’s broken up and Hikuleo misses a running boot in the corner. Robinson comes in and starts cleaning house, including the big shot to Bey’s head for two. Everything breaks down and it’s a six way knockdown for a breather. Robinson is up first with the Cannonball to Bey and the PowerPlex connects, only to have Anderson steal the retaining pin at 9:55.

Rating: C-. I believe the term you’re looking for here is erg, as not only do the Good Brothers retain the titles but they did so in the most cliched triple threat ending possible. The action was good enough, but the match was kind of slow and it was nothing we haven’t seen before. The ending made me roll my eyes hard though and that’s not how you should feel about a major match.

Minoru Suzuki is still coming.

Christian Cage knows Josh Alexander has sacrificed a lot to get here, but Cage has too. He gave up everything to come here, then worked hard to come back after a seven year retirement. Tonight, he isn’t giving up the title without a fight.

We recap Mickie James vs. Deonna Purrazzo for the Knockouts Title. James is back and wants to prove she still has it, so she is going after Purrazzo’s championship. This has turned into a personal issue so it is time for the showdown for the title and revenge/respect.

Knockouts Title: Mickie James vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Mickie is challenging and is in full on cowgirl gear here, while Purrazzo appears to be some kind of royalty. Purrazzo gets knocked outside before the bell and Mickie hits the Thesz press off the apron to hammer away. They fight up the ramp as Striker lists off various legends in women’s wrestling history. Purrazzo takes it back to the floor and kicks Mickie in the face to put her down at ringside.

Back inside and we get the opening bell with Mickie getting stomped down in the corner to keep her in trouble. A lot of stomping puts Mickie on the floor but she scores with an elbow to the face back inside. Something like a powerbomb gets Purrazzo out of trouble though and Mickie is right back down. They trade crossbodies and it’s a double knockdown as a few fans think this is awesome.

Mickie gets the better of a slugout and hits something like a Regal Cutter. The top rope Thesz press gives Mickie two, followed by the MickieDT for the same, with Purrazzo getting in the ropes for the save. Purrazzo sends her into the corner and grabs the Fujiwara armbar, sending Mickie into the ropes this time.

The Queen’s Gambit gives Purrazzo two and she isn’t happy with the kickout. Purrazzo goes outside for a chair, allowing Mickie to go back up. The top rope Thesz press hits the referee by mistake, so Mickie gets in a chair shot of her own for two. Purrazzo catches Mickie on top with the Fujiwara armbar but Mickie slips out again. This time it’s the tornado DDT to plant Purrazzo for the pin and the title at 13:18.

Rating: B. This was about the big moment in the end but it helps that they also had a heck of a match. Mickie can still go in the ring and works well with anyone, which works even better if she is in the ring with someone as good as Purrazzo. I’m not sure how long James will hold the title, but it was cool to see her win here, as she certainly still has it.

Hard To Kill is in Dallas on January 8.

We recap Josh Alexander vs. Christian Cage for the Impact Wrestling World Title. Cage won the title from Kenny Omega in AEW to get back to the top of the mountain after a seven year retirement. At the same time, Alexander was the unstoppable X-Division Champion who cashed in his title to get a shot at the World Title here, via Option C. Alexander wants to prove himself against someone he watched for years, while Christian wants to prove that he is still at the top of the mountain.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Christian Cage vs. Josh Alexander

Alexander is challenging. Feeling out process to start and they lock up to shove each other around. Christian takes him to the mat and grabs a headlock as Striker talks about drums. Alexander catches him up top and gets in a big shove to the floor as things get a bit more physical. Back in and Christian has to backdrop his way out of a double underhook and they’re right back on the floor.

Alexander gets sent into the barricade and it’s right back inside where Christian grinds him down again. This time Alexander comes up with a wristlock, only to get sent into the corner for two. Christian strikes away in the corner but Alexander flips it around and hits him in the face. A release German suplex into the corner rocks Christian hard (that looked painful) and a running big boot puts him down again.

Christian punches his way out of a powerbomb attempt but Alexander drops him down for two more. It’s too early for the ankle lock though as Christian kicks the leg out and puts on a choke. Alexander backflips his way to freedom and the middle rope knee to the back of the head gets two. Christian is back up with a tornado DDT (Striker: “Geez.”) but Alexander pulls him down into a Crossface.

We keep up the Canadian violence with a Sharpshooter but Christian makes the rope in a hurry. Alexander misses a moonsault and gets speared down for two, meaning it’s a double breather. The Killswitch is broken up so Christian snaps the back of Alexander’s neck over the top rope. The frog splash gives Christian two but he misses a charge into the post and gets caught in the ankle lock. Alexander cranks away to keep Christian in the middle and the gets really clever by stepping onto Christian’s hand to hold him in place. That’s too much for Christian, who taps out to make Alexander champion at 18:57.

Rating: B+. They had an awesome match here with a great story throughout, as Christian was doing his best but got reeled in by Alexander. The ending was about Christian getting trapped by a submission machine as Alexander was just the better man. Alexander also knew what Christian would be trying because he has watched Christian for so many years. This was a heck of a main event and felt like a true passing of the torch, which is exactly what it should have been.

Alexander’s family gets in the ring to celebrate with him…and here’s Moose to cash in.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Moose vs. Josh Alexander

Moose is challenging and hits the spear for the pin and the title at 7 seconds, because Money in the Bank is the greatest idea in the world and must be copied as often as possible.

Overall Rating: C+. The ending really brought this down, as it felt like something out of the old school TNA days. It came off like they were going for shock value instead of the happy ending. Moose winning the title is a good thing, but it took away from a nice moment. Alexander vs. Moose will be good stuff, but egads this was frustrating and that is something Impact has avoided in recent months. I didn’t hate the ending, but I certainly didn’t like it.

The rest of the show did feel like a major night though, as you had all kinds of title changes up and down the card. That’s what you need to make the biggest show of the year feel important, as a lot of things happened here. There was more than enough quality to make the show good, but some of the matches pulled things back down. What matters here though is there was more good than bad, but a few tweaks would have made it that much better.

Results
IInspiration b. Decay – Sitout powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Rosemary
Trey Miguel b. El Phantasmo and Steve Maclin – Top rope Meteora to Phantasmo
Heath/Rhino b. Violent By Design – Gore to Deaner
Moose won the Call Your Shot Gauntlet Match – Spear to Matt Cardona
Good Brothers b. FinJuice and Bullet Club – PowerPlex to Bey
Mickie James b. Deonna Purrazzo – Tornado DDT
Josh Alexander b. Christian Cage – Ankle lock
Moose b. Josh Alexander – Spear

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: October 21, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Lo Brown

It’s the go home show for Bound For Glory and the card is set. That could leave a few different directions to choose this week and I’m curious to see where things are going to go. The good thing is that Impact has earned the benefit of the doubt over….dang a year plus or so? Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Bullet Club vs. FinJuice

For the Bound For Glory Tag Team Title shot and that would be Chris Bey/Hikuleo for the Club. Finlay starts with Hikuleo with the big man knocking Finlay down without much effort. It’s already off to Robinson, who backsplashes Bey for a fast two. Robinson knocks Bey off the top and a double bulldog drops Hikuleo for two. Finlay gets knocked down though and it’s Bey coming in with a springboard rake to the back.

The chinlock goes on but Finlay gets up and, with Bey holding a leg, hops over for the tag to Robinson in a unique visual. Everything breaks down and a Russian legsweep/running big boot gets two on Bey with Hikuleo making the save. The referee gets bumped so Hikuleo’s chokeslam gets no count. Another referee runs in to count two but Finlay manages a cutter. The double tag brings in Robinson to strike away on Hikuleo but a snap powerslam plants Robinson back down. Everything breaks down and it’s a double rollup to give us a double pin at 9:22.

Rating: C+. These teams have some good matches with each other and that was the case again. The draw isn’t exactly surprising as I couldn’t imagine one of these teams being left off of the Bound For Glory card. You just learn to live with the three way matches and it could be fun watching these two trying to make the Good Brothers look better.

Post break the referees explain things to Scott D’Amore, who will make a decision by the end of the night.

Here’s what’s coming tonight and at Bound For Glory.

Josh Alexander talks about growing up in the middle of nowhere and not being able to afford to play hockey. Then he found pro wrestling and he was instantly hooked. He started wrestling but broke his neck and had to have surgery. Somehow he came back and then broke his neck again but actually came back one more time, albeit with a different attitude. Now he wanted to put in the work to become the best he could be, even if it was just in Canada. He won the Destiny Wrestling World Title and then got signed by Impact Wrestling (with a clip of Scott D’Amore handing him the contract in a great moment).

It was off to Impact Wrestling, where he wanted to win the X-Division Title, after being inspired by Low Ki. He held the title for so long that there was only one thing left for him to do, which led him to Option C and the main event of Bound For Glory. It isn’t that failure isn’t an option, but Alexander doesn’t think he can fail. This was REALLY good and showed you a different look at Alexander, which had been lacking for a long time. I want to see him win now and that had not been the case coming in.

Jordynne Grace/Fallah Bahh vs. Chelsea Green/Crazzy Steve vs. John Skyler/Tenille Dashwood

Three way tag between the six people in the Digital Media Title match at Bound For Glory. Grace powers Green into the corner and it’s off to Bahh, who doesn’t seen to scare Green. It’s off to Steve to hammer away on Bahh in the corner. Skyler comes in to take over on Steve, who bites Dashwood in the face to escape.

That’s enough for the hot tag to Grace, meaning it’s time to clean house. The running knees in the corner set up the running backsplash to crush Skyler. Everything breaks down and Skyler has to save Dashwood from the Banzai Drop. Steve hits the middle rope DDT on Bahh but Dashwood sneaks in with the Spotlight Kick to finish Bahh at 4:25.

Rating: C-. I’m not wild on these this kind of a match as it is little more than a preview for Sunday’s title match. They threw everyone in there and one of them happened to get a win. I guess that counts as momentum, but this is such a lower card title that it is hard to get overly interested in a short and wild match like this one.

Here is a serious Rhino for a chat but Heath cuts him off before anything can be said. Heath says it has been a little while but they have been through a lot over the years. Their families know each other but Heath didn’t hear from him throughout the course of his injury. Heath knows it’s Eric Young doing this to Rhino but the one thing he wants Rhino to know is that he misses you. His daughters miss Uncle Rhino (you know that’s a chant) and that’s good for a smile, but Violent By Design interrupts.

Eric Young says Violent By Design isn’t something you walk away from. Heath makes it sound like a cult and says Rhino is brainwashed. The brawl is on and Heath gets beaten down until Rhino finally pulls Young off. Rhino teases Goring Heath but walks out instead, leaving Heath to get beaten down. They are managing to make me care about a Rhino/Heath/Eric Young story so well done.

Minoru Suzuki is coming.

Savannah Evans vs. Mickie James

This is James’ first Impact match in six years and Tasha Steelz is here with Evans. Mickie gets shoved down by the much bigger Evans to start but slugs away anyway. Some forearms are cut off by a Steelz distraction, allowing Evans to choke on the ropes. We hit the bearhug, with Mickie biting her way to freedom. The MickieDT is blocked so Mickie settles for the middle rope Thesz press for a near fall. Cue Deonna Purrazzo for a distraction, allowing Evans to hit a full nelson slam for two of her own. Evans misses a charge into the post, so Mickie kicks her in the head and hits the MickieDT for the pin at 7:27.

Rating: C. This was a way to get Mickie in the ring and give her a win over a monster and that worked out just fine. They didn’t need to make this complicated and what we wound up getting was the right way to go. Mickie vs. Purrazzo might not be a dream match but it’s a heck of a match for the biggest show of the year.

Post match, Purrazzo gets in James’ face but there is no contact allowed. Instead, here is Matthew Rehwoldt to lay Mickie out instead.

Post break, Scott D’Amore isn’t cool with what just happened. While Purrazzo didn’t break the agreement, she broke the intent of it and should be stripped of the title. That’s not what D’Amore wants though, because he would rather see her lose it at Bound For Glory. Purrazzo isn’t happy so D’Amore bans Rehwoldt from ringside for the title match to make it worse.

Brian Myers isn’t happy with the Learning Tree for screwing up last week and fires Manny Lemons (who seems to explode). Sam Beale is cut as well, but he asks for an autograph from Myers. Instead, he has to settle for VSK in a disappointing downgrade.

Scott D’Amore is in his office for the Knockouts Tag Team Titles contract signing but no one shows up. Cue RD Evans, the IInspiration’s entertainment lawyer (and former barrister for Deonna Purrazzo), with Decay appearing as well. Rosemary isn’t happy about having to sign in ink instead of blood but the champs are in anyway. Evans signs for the IInspiration and we get the promise of heads being bitten off. I’ll let you guess who promises to do so.

Alex Zayne vs. Trey Miguel

They go with the grappling to start with Miguel throwing him down, giving us a standoff. Zayne rides Miguel down to play some mind games of his own as commentary promises that it is going to pick up. Miguel sends him outside and loads up the dive but Zayne comes back in and we get a kneeling staredown to keep up the mind games. Zayne scores with an enziguri and they both crash out to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Miguel pulling him down into something like a reverse Koji Clutch to put Zayne in trouble. With that broken up, Miguel goes up but Zayne hits a running flip super hurricanrana (because he can just do that) to bring Miguel back down. Some kicks rock Zayne, who is back with a jumping knee. Zayne puts him on top but has to block a sunset bomb. The 619 around the post rocks Zayne though and the top rope Meteora finishes for Miguel at 11:56.

Rating: C+. This was just starting to cook when it wrapped up. Miguel getting the pin is a good way to build him up for Saturday and Zayne looked good in defeat. I’m not sure what is next for Zayne, but there is always the chance that he falls into the pack in the X-Division. That’s better than doing nothing on 205 Live, but not by much.

Post match here is Steve Maclin to lay Miguel off but Bullet Club comes in to jump Maclin. El Phantasmo hits the big low blow on Miguel so the Club can stand tall (more so in Hikuleo’s case).

Bound For Glory rundown, including the announcement of the triple threat Tag Team Title match.

Here is Josh Alexander for the final chat before Bound For Glory. He is two days away from a shot at the World Title and doesn’t understand what a risk is. Alexander spent years at a construction site but took the chance to prove that he could do everything he dreamed of doing. That was a risk, but the risk that he will not take is letting his boys think he won’t take a shot. Cue Christian Cage to say he knows what it’s like to be on this stage. Everything comes down to emotion and you have to be able to keep it in check. Some people crack under the pressure but some people thrive and win World Titles, like Christian himself.

Over the last few weeks, Christian hasn’t seen anything to suggest that Alexander has what it takes. Alexander has heard all of this before, including about Christian when he first came here in 2005. As long as Christian is getting paid by a billionaire in another company, he can’t be the face of Impact Wrestling. At Bound For Glory, he’s slamming the Forbidden Door in Christian’s face because he’s the best in the world. Christian: “You’re not even the best wrestler from Canada.” The brawl is on and security/wrestlers break it up to end the show. This was good stuff, though that Alexander video from earlier was hard to top.

Overall Rating: B. They were in a weird spot here as the wrestling was taking a distant backseat to everything else going on. This show was about the final push towards Bound For Glory and very few people on the pay per view card were active on this show. What mattered was making me want to see Bound For Glory and that worked very well. Impact is doing everything they need to do right now and if they can stick the landing on Saturday, they could be in a heck of an awesome place for the first time in the better part of ever.

Results
Bullet Club vs. FinJuice went to a double pin
John Skyler/Tenille Dashwood b. Jordynne Grace/Fallah Bahh and Chelsea Green/Crazzy Steve – Spotlight Kick to Bahh
Mickie James b. Savannah Evans – MickieDT
Trey Miguel b. Alex Zayne – Top rope Meteora

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Impact Wrestling
Date: September 30, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

We are on the way to Bound For Glory and we now have the main event set for the World Title. As a result of Josh Alexander giving up the X-Division Title to set up the main event, we need a new X-Division Champion and the tournament begins tonight. It’s time to get serious around here so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

X-Division Title Tournament First Round: Laredo Kid vs. Alex Zayne vs. Trey Miguel

The winner goes on to the title match at Bound For Glory. Zayne hiptosses Kid over to Miguel for a hurricanrana but they’re all back up to miss dropkicks and that means a standoff. Kid is sent outside and Zayne hits a running twisting backsplash for two on Miguel. That doesn’t last long as Kid is back in to send Zayne outside but Miguel does the same, setting up a running hurricanrana over the top to flip Kid off the apron.

Back in and Miguel ties Zayne up for the Cheeky Nandos kick and then up Zayne’s legs while suplexing Kid at the same time. Kid is back up with a 450 to break it up so Zayne suplexes Kid down. Miguel takes Zayne down and hits a jumping double stomp to the back. With Zayne down, Kid springboard cutters Miguel off the top onto him for a crash in a cool spot. Miguel is fine enough to go up top and hit the super Meteora to put Kid away at 8:42.

Rating: B-. It worked in WCW and it worked here, as they had three young, talented high fliers go out there and go nuts for a few minutes, which is all you should do in something like this. It’s an idea that is always going to work and it is nice to see Miguel get a win. Now give him the title already!

Miguel is very fired up over his win.

Matthew Rehwoldt was watching that match and wants to attack Laredo Kid’s mask. They’ll fight next week. He was watching the match live and had a pre-tape ready? That’s some fast production.

Sami Callihan has been attacked and suffered a broken ankle at the hands of W. Morrissey and Moose. That’s about the best option they had to write him off for a legitimate injury.

Eddie Edwards is ready to face W. Morrissey in a street fight for revenge. Tonight it ends once and for all, and then Eddie is coming for Moose.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Influence vs. Jordynne Grace/Rachael Ellering

For the Knockouts Tag Team Title shot at Knockouts Knockdown and Kaleb With A K is here with the Influence. Dashwood starts with Ellering and we hit the stall button so both teams can pose together. They eventually fight over a wristlock with Ellering getting the better of things and taking her down over and over. There’s a headlock takeover to do it again as Dashwood can’t get anything going to start. Dashwood slides outside, where she trips Ellering down as we take a break.

Back with Grace coming in for some shoulders in the corner to put Dashwood in trouble. A backsplash into a double suplex gets two on Dashwood but Rayne gets in a kick from the apron to rock Grace. Rayne’s knee to the face gets two and the Influence stand on Grace’s hair to make it worse.

Grace fights up in a hurry and brings Ellering back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Ellering’s STO sets up a Vader Bomb from Grace for two, with Kaleb With A K putting the foot on the rope. Rayne gets in another cheap shot to take over but Ellering kicks her in the head. Kaleb With A K distracts Grace though, leaving Ellering to take a double Stroke for the pin at 12:44.

Rating: C. This might not have been the best match ever or anything but it was a perfectly competent match between two teams who felt like they belonged together. The division is starting to take a little shape and that is because we have some actual teams. You don’t get that very often around here and it is nice to see for a change.

Christopher Daniels is back to deal with Madman Fulton when Josh Alexander comes in. Alexander is glad he’s back, but Christian Cage comes in to say he didn’t need help. Daniels leaves and Christian says Alexander needs to be ready.

Brian Myers teaches the Learning Tree about physical fitness. Sam Beale thinks VSK is being treated better but Myers doesn’t want to hear it. Beale tells the other two to take some notes.

The Good Brothers are still on vacation, where they have been putting themselves over on Twitter and beating up Jon Moxley. They aren’t worried about any of the teams around here. Bound For Glory is coming though and they need opponents, so Bullet Club can face FinJuice for the title shot.

Deonna Purrazzo drives onto Mickie James’ horse farm and jumps her in the stables. Purrazzo hits her with a bucket but Mickie fights back and screams a lot. A pitchfork misses Mickie, who gets in a shot with….something hard. They fight outside where Mickie blasts her with a hose (the white shirt is just a coincidence I’m sure) but gets sent face first into a water bucket (the white shirt is just a coincidence I’m sure). Purrazzo leaves with Mickie down.

FinJuice doesn’t like the Bullet Club having a numbers advantage but Chris Sabin is here to even the odds. Six man next week.

Madman Fulton vs. Christopher Daniels

Ace Austin is here with Fulton. Daniels does get a nice reaction and it feels like a special return. Fulton throws him down to start and grabs an early delayed vertical suplex. Daniels slips out of a powerslam though and hammers away, including knocking Fulton outside. The Arabian moonsault takes Fulton down again but he kicks Daniels in the face to take over again.

Some elbows and choking in the corner keep Daniels in trouble but he comes back with a running DDT. A middle rope hurricanrana sets up the running STO for two on Fulton, who is back with a tilt-a-whirl powerslam (Striker: “Through the wasteland. The water is currency!”). Austin offers a distraction so here is Josh Alexander to cut him off. Angel’s Wings gets one and Daniels is stunned, so he tries a middle rope Downward Spiral instead. That sets up the BME to finish Fulton at 6:58.

Rating: C. I’m not sure I get the point in having Fulton kick out of the Angel’s Wings so easily when he was going to get pinned a few seconds later, but that’s a fairly minor point. What matters here is Daniels looked good and could still be a player around here. The guy seems immune to time and it is cool to see him back here where he was quite the big deal in the company’s glory days.

We go to Swinger’s Palace where Scott D’Amore comes in. Johnny Swinger tries to talk D’Amore out of taking Bound For Glory to Las Vegas but that isn’t happening. Swinger promises to make it the class of Las Vegas, but admits he doesn’t have a gaming license. That’s too bad, because D’Amore has no choice but to have them shut down.

Ace Austin and Madman Fulton go to see D’Amore because they don’t like Christopher Daniels and Josh Alexander. D’Amore makes a tag match…but with Christian Cage instead of Daniels. Makes a bit more sense.

Here is Violent By Design for Rhino’s decision. Eric Young talks about how the team was in full control (it was just the Tag Team Titles) but Rhino let the sickness back in. Now Rhino needs to make a decision because he’s either all the way in or all the way out. Cue Rhino, who looks confused about what to do. Young tells him to make the right decision so he can avoid the violence. Rhino is surrounded….so here is Heath to interrupt. The brawl is on and Heath clears the ring….but Rhino leaves through the crowd without making a decision.

The Digital Media Title is coming, with matches taking place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays on the various web shows. I kind of like that.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Eddie Edwards vs. W. Morrissey

Street fight as Edwards is out for revenge. Morrissey starts fast by kicking Eddie in the face and it’s time to go outside. It’s already time to bring in the weapons, with Morrissey hitting him with a wet floor sign. Eddie low bridges him to the floor though and hits a heck of a suicide dive. A replica TNA World Title knocks Morrissey silly and it’s time for a table. Morrissey sends him into the steps though and starts taking his time, which probably isn’t a good idea. Eddie manages a drop toehold into the steps (I knew it was a bad idea) and we take a break.

Back with Morrissey hitting a splash in the corner and unloading with trashcan lid shots to the head. Eddie gets in some shots of his own though and there’s a Blue Thunder Bomb onto the trashcan. It’s time for a barbed wire chair but Morrissey kicks him in the face again. Morrissey puts a chair onto Eddie and drives another chair onto him before setting up four chairs, two by two.

A superplex is loaded up but here is Alisha Edwards with a kendo stick for the save. Eddie powerbombs him onto the chairs and unloads with the stick, but Alisha has an idea. She puts the barbed wire chair over Morrissey’s head and the Boston Knee Party finishes for Eddie at 15:18.

Rating: B-. This was what you would want from a match like this and it was entertaining while it lasted. Alisha coming in to help her husband was a good way to go, though Edwards is going to need some help to deal with Morrissey and Moose at the same time. It was a good start to the next leg of the story though, especially when everything had to be reset due to Sami Callihan’s injury.

Post match here is Moose to throw Alisha down and spear Eddie through a table in the corner. The giants grab Alisha, with Morrissey holding her in place as Moose wraps a chair around Eddie’s neck. The chair is sent into the post and Eddie is out to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Impact being this good feels completely normal. It has been the case for a long time now and the good thing is that it seems like a new era for the show instead of a nice run. Impact has such a terrible reputation and while the idea of it being a player has long since sailed, it is very nice to have the show be such a steady offering. Another positive effort this week as we get close to the biggest show of the year.

Results
Trey Miguel b. Alex Zayne and Laredo Kid – Super Meteora to Kid
Influence b. Jordynne Grace/Rachael Ellering – Double Stroke to Ellering
Christopher Daniels b. Madman Fulton – Best Moonsault Ever
Eddie Edwards b. W. Morrissey – Boston Knee Party into a barbed wire chair

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

We’re on the way to Victory Road and ultimately Bound For Glory, which should make for a pair of back to back big shows. The main story this week is a ten man tag with most of the biggest feuds in the company being thrown into one big match. That should be enough to set up Victory Road so let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap sets up the ten man tag, as there isn’t anything else worth mentioning on the show.

Opening sequence.

Violent By Design vs. Decay

Rhino/Deaner for the team here, with everyone else at ringside. Rhino jumps Black Taurus to start and it’s already off to Deaner to kick away at the ribs. That’s broken up with an elbow in the corner and Crazzy Steve comes in for a backsplash. Deaner takes him into the corner though and the villains start taking turns in a violently designed way. Steve neckbreakers his way to freedom and bites Deaner in the head so Eric Young gets on the apron. The distraction lets Deaner…accidentally hit Rhino with a flag, setting up Steve’s middle rope DDT for the pin at 3:36.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have time to get going and was all about the storyline anyway. The idea of having Rhino’s troubles with the team continue is only kind of interesting, but Rhino is better than some of the options that Impact has. You know what you’re getting with him, but he still does his thing at a completely acceptable level.

Post match Young yells at Rhino, who isn’t having this. Young goes to turn away but Rhino grabs him by the wrist. That’s too far for the rest of the team and Rhino is beaten down. Seems like the team is minus a member.

We go to Swinger’s Palace, where Johnny Swinger seems happy that they’re heading to Las Vegas. That being said, he thinks Dixie Carter is still running this place and the idea of Scott D’Amore, the guy from Team Canada, being in charge, has to be a rib.

TJP is happy with winning money off of Steve Maclin beating Petey Williams last week. Williams comes in and I think we have a match for later.

Johnny Swinger thinks Billy Corgan runs the company.

Team Christian Cage is ready because none of them are afraid to fight. Chris Sabin tells Josh Alexander that they’re on the same team tonight but that changes at Victory Road. Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan are willing to work together tonight too. That’s why Cage likes the team. As for Ace Austin, he better be ready, but it won’t be enough.

We run down the Victory Road card.

TJP vs. Petey Williams

TJP goes technical to start but gets taken down into a front facelock. That’s broken up so Williams goes with a headscissors on the mat instead. TJP is back up as well and hangs in the ropes to annoy Williams again, earning TJP a Codebreaker to the floor. Back in and the tilt-a-whirl Russian legsweep drops TJP as we take a break.

We come back with TJP having to fight out of a chinlock and grabbing a DDT out of the corner. The boot scrape in the corner sets up a missed Swanton but Petey can’t hit the Canadian Destroyer. Instead he grabs the Sharpshooter, which sends TJP over to the ropes. TJP loads up la majistral but Petey drops down for the pin at 9:30.

Rating: C+. They were having the near technical marvel you would expect and that is a good thing. Williams can be a fine member of the roster and it is nice to see him do more than just the Canadian Destroyer. TJP can work well with anyone and they had a rather nice, albeit a bit short, match here.

Post match Steve Maclin comes in to wreck both guys.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Chris Sabin wins the X-Division Title on July 4, 2013.

The Good Brothers say Rich Swann might have had a chance in last week’s Bunkhouse Brawl but Willie Mack is still in the hospital. Cue Swann and Mack to take them out in a hurry.

Post break, Mack says he’s back because it’s time to take out the Brothers and win the Tag Team Titles. Scott D’Amore comes in to make the title match for Victory Road.

Here is John Skyler for a chat. Laredo Kid beat him on Before The Impact so he’ll beat him now.

John Skyler vs. Laredo Kid

Skyler swats away a handshake offer to start so Kid slaps him in the face. With Skyler knocked to the floor, Kid takes him down with the suicide dive. Back up and Skyler snaps off a belly to belly before taking Kid inside. Kid manages a double clothesline for a double knockdown, setting up a slugout. Skyler goes for the mask like a villain should, setting up the rollup for the pin at 3:46.

Rating: C-. Another short match here and that’s probably a good thing. I like that they are actually building up someone new with Skyler, as they could use some fresh faces. Even if Skyler isn’t going to break through to the next level, it is nice to see Impact taking a shot at someone. Maybe they get something out of him, but at least it isn’t the same people over and over again.

It’s time for It’s All About Me with co-guests Madison Rayne and Kaleb With A K. Since this show is a little backwards, here is “host” Taylor Wilde, who brings in Rachael Ellering and Jordynne Grace. They don’t seem to like each other but Wilde asks what happened when she and Dashwood wrestled. Dashwood shouldn’t be scared of a match at Victory Road so the match is on.

Earlier today, Matt Cardona jumped Rohit Raju and Shera as they arrived.

Scott D’Amore yelled at Cardona so the match is made for Victory Road, No DQ. That’s cool with Cardona.

Matthew Rehwoldt vs. Trey Miguel

They fight over a lockup to start until Rehwoldt goes after the eyes to take him down. A running clothesline puts Miguel on the floor and Rehwoldt drops him face first onto the apron for a bonus. Back in and Rehwoldt twists him down by the arm for two, setting up some knees to the back for the same.

Miguel fights up and kicks him in the face so a springboard missile dropkick can connect for two. A split legged moonsault misses though and the Director’s Cut gives Rehwoldt two of his own. Rehwoldt misses a Swanton for the big crash and it’s a suplex into the Hourglass to give Miguel the pin at 7:49.

Rating: C. Much like the earlier matches, this was a way to bring in some fresh people and see what they can do. Rehwoldt might not be a top star, but he can go fill in some time on the show without being the same people we’ve seen over and over again. Perfectly watchable match and it’s always nice to see Miguel get a win.

Post match Deonna Purrazzo comes out to hit Miguel low. Mickie James runs in for the save and brawl, setting up the big dive off the top to take out the pile.

Tasha Steelz says she and Savannah Evans didn’t steal the titles because from Decay they had the titles stolen from them at Slammiversary. If the champs want them back, come get them at Victory Road.

We recap Hikuleo showing up last week and attacking Juice Robinson. At Victory Road, it’s Hikuleo/Chris Bey vs. FinJuice.

Bey says he and Hikuleo do whatever they want around here. On Saturday, one shot will be too sweet.

Victory road rundown.

Team Christian Cage vs. Team Ace Austin

Austin: Ace Austin, Madman Fulton, Brian Myers, Moose, W. Morrissey
Cage: Christian Cage, Sami Callihan, Eddie Edwards, Chris Sabin, Josh Alexander

Myers has Sam Beale and his prospects with him. Callihan and Austin start things off with Callihan taking him into the corner and stomping away. Eddie comes in to chop Callihan down and we get the rare Sami/Eddie collaboration. We get the big ten man staredown and that’s enough to take a break.

Back with everyone brawling on the floor until Callihan throws Austin back inside to keep up the beating. Hold on though as Beale comes in, earning himself a low blow, allowing Myers to get in a cheap shot of his own. Fulton sends Callihan into the corner but he gets in a shot of his own to put Fulton down. Sabin and Austin come in to pick up the pace with Sabin taking over. Now Cage is willing to come in to uppercut away at the also legal Fulton.

This lasts all of a few seconds before Cage has to slip out of a slam. Eddie comes in to help take Fulton down but it’s off to Moose, who gets caught in a belly to belly. Moose tosses Eddie outside though and we take another break. Back with Eddie not being able to sunset flip Austin, as Fulton comes in and keeps Eddie in trouble. Morrissey finally comes in to rip at Eddie’s face and the villains keep alternating the beatdown.

A big elbow keeps Eddie in trouble and Morrissey chokes with the boot in the corner. Eddie is fine enough to hit a running clothesline out of the corner and it’s time for the parade of secondary finishers. Austin kicks Christian low and goes up but Eddie catches him on top with a superplex onto the pile. Back in and Christian can’t hit Myers with the Killswitch but Alexander can hit Divine Intervention for the pin at 21:18.

Rating: B. This was about as efficient of a match as you could have as it was taking so many feuds and putting them all together. That opens up a lot of doors, as you can have some fresh matches while also pushing towards what is already set for Victory Road. Good action here too, with the ending sequence building up Alexander as well. Is it that insane to think he might be the Bound For Glory title challenger?

The winners pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Impact has been doing some rather watchable stuff over the last few months, but it has been so far under the radar that it does not get the credit it deserves. This did a nice job setting up Victory Road, albeit partially by rapid firing matches to the card. To be fair, that is often the best way it can go and we had a good show as a result. Nice job again, which has been the norm around here for a long time.

Results
Decay b. Violent By Design – Middle rope DDT to Deaner
Petey Williams b. TJP – Cradle
John Skyler b. Laredo Kid – Rollup
Trey Miguel b. Matthew Rehwoldt – Hourglass
Team Cage b. Team Austin – Divine Intervention to Myers

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Impact Wrestling
Date: August 5, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

We’re still in the middle of the Kenny Omega Era and that means he needs a new #1 contender. That is what we get to find out next week, but for now we still have some more things to cover first. Since this is modern wrestling, the Bullet Club is involved, as Jay White and company are fighting against the Elite, including a six man tag this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Chris Bey vs. Juice Robinson

Jay White and David Finlay are here too. Bey dropkicks him into the corner at the bell and Robinson gets stomped down in a hurry. Robinson gets sent outside and something like a 619 on the mat takes him down again. Back in and Robinson catches Bey’s kick to the ribs, only to get pulled into a sleeper. Robinson slips out so Bey hits a Fameasser for two. Robinson is back with a spinebuster for a breather and they’re both down for a bit. The Cannonball crushes Bey in the corner as Finlay beats up White on the ramp. Bey has had it with this and hits the Art of Finesse for the pin at 5:17.

Rating: C. This was a showcase win for Bey, who gets back on track after his surprising loss. Robinson in a pretty one sided match was quite weird to see but at least they had a point with Bey. I could go for more of White later in the night though as he is one of the few people to have gotten my attention around here as of late.

Post match, White officially gives Bey the Bullet Club shirt.

The Elite isn’t worried about tonight’s six man tag because they’re that much better. Violent By Design comes in to say they are enacting their rematch clause at Emergence. The Good Brothers aren’t scared.

Fire N Flava insist everything is fine and they’re prove it tonight.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Video on Homecoming, with the debuting Matthew Rehwoldt (Aiden English) and Deonna Purrazzo winning the tournament.

Here is Matthew Rehwoldt, in a crown (Fans: “YOU STILL SUCK!”), to introduce his queen, Deonna Purrazzo. Fans: “NO ONE LIKES YOU!” Purrazzo lists off her accolades and gets a “NO ONE CARES” chant. Cue Mickie James to interrupt, with Purrazzo being annoyed at her spotlight being stolen. Mickie wants to get the contract for Empower signed but Purrazzo wants to know her opponent first. Cue Melina of all people and both of them sign the contract. Purrazzo introduces herself as the Virtuosa but Melina says she’s looking forward to taking the title.

Taylor Wilde accuses Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb With A K of reporting her as a suspicious person and tried to get her in trouble with immigration last week. She wants Dashwood next week.

Kimber Lee, now looking evil like Su Yung, sits next to Yung (who she refers to as “Mother”) and asks if she can take a soul.

Jake Something vs. Trey Miguel vs. Rohit Raju vs. Daivari

The winner gets an X-Division Title shot and Shera is here with Raju. It’s a brawl to start and Raju hits a dive onto something and Daivari. Miguel dives onto them as well, leaving everyone but Something to sit on the apron. Something hits a running crossbody against the ropes to all of them as we take a break.

Back with Daivari and Raju double teaming Something against the ropes until Something shrugs them off without much effort. Miguel is back in with some dropkicks, setting up a slugout with Raju. The Muta Lock has Raju in more trouble….and Miguel manages a swinging neckbreaker on Daivari at the same time without breaking the hold. Something comes back in to break it up but Daivari is back in with a missile dropkick. Not that it matters as Something is back with the swinging Boss Man Slam to finish Daivari at 8:09.

Rating: C. This is how you have a match like this as they didn’t spend a lot of time on crazy spots and just got to the point. What matters here is getting Something into the title picture, which is at least some….never mind. Josh Alexander has cleared out the division so bringing in someone fresh is the best thing that they can do at this point. I doubt he wins the title, but at least it’s a fresh match.

Post break, Rohit Raju and Shera yell at Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green.

Josh Alexander is ready for a match with Jake Something because Jake earned the shot. Daivari comes in and gets a non-title match next week for the chance at a future title shot.

Fire N Flava vs. Jordynne Grace/Rachael Ellering

Grace and Ellering have matching gear. Fire n Flava jump them to start to little avail as they get shouldered down in a hurry. The bell rings and Grace hits a spinebuster for two on Steelz as the fans are behind Grace and Ellering. A backsplash gives Ellering two but Steelz slips out of Grace’s MuscleBuster. That’s enough to get Grace down into the corner for some stomping from Hogan, setting up a chinlock from Steelz.

Grace is right back up with a double snap suplex and the hot tag brings Ellering back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and some running knees in the corner rock Hogan. Ellering gets two off a Vader Bomb but Hogan is back with a superkick for two of her own. Steelz gets sent back outside and it’s the assisted swinging Rock Bottom to finish Hogan at 5:22.

Rating: C-. Another loss for Fire N Flava here, but at least Grace and Ellering are starting to feel more like a team. It’s almost like putting these wrestlers together with no backstory or history and expecting them to instantly click isn’t a good idea. They’re getting better at this, but thankfully the division doesn’t have many teams to clear out at the moment.

Post match Hogan and Steelz stare each other down until Savannah Evans (rather tall woman) comes in to lay Hogan out. Steelz stands by and watches before leaving with Evans. So much for Fire N Flava.

Frankie Kazarian says he’ll come after the Elite no matter where they are and he’s coming for them tonight. He isn’t worried about Sami Callihan and Eddie Edwards, because it’s about getting to the Elite.

Violent By Design tells Scott D’Amore about the Tag Team Title match at Emergence but Willie Mack and Rich Swann walk out of his office. We’ll make it a three way match at Emergence instead.

Steve Maclin vs. Jah-C

Maclin jumps Jah-C for turning his back on him and the beating is on in a hurry. Jah-C gets stomped down in the corner and then gets tied in the Tree of Woe. A spear gets two, with Maclin pulling him up. Maclin does it again for a bonus, setting up the reverse inverted sitout DDT driver (NAME THAT ALREADY) for the pin at 2:28.

Post match the beatdown stays on, with Maclin grabbing a chair. Petey Williams comes in for the save to continue Maclin’s first actual competition.

It’s time for All About Me, with Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb With A K in a neck brace. This week’s guest is Dr. Ross Forman, Impact’s resident doctor. Forman asks Kaleb With A K about his injuries and then suggests a specialist. That’s it for Forman, so here is Scott D’Amore instead. We hear about the accusations from Taylor Wilde, but she’ll drop the investigations in exchange for a match with Dashwood. Date to be determined.

We look back at Moose vs. Chris Sabin from last week.

Chris Sabin says he has been in wrestling for 21 years but no one has ever made him as emotional as Moose. The difference is that Sabin is a former World Champion and he’s going to win the battle royal, meaning he can win the title again.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Elite vs. Sami Callihan/Eddie Edwards/Frankie Kazarian

Don Callis is here with the Elite and handles Kenny Omega’s introduction, as usual listing off all of the wrestlers beneath him. The brawl is on before the bell and everyone heads to the floor for the sake of violence. Callihan and Omega get inside to officially start but it’s off to Kazarian for a clothesline instead. The springboard legdrop gets two on Omega as Striker screws up by saying that Homecoming was last night. Omega gets in the Kitaro Crusher and we take a break.

Back with Gallows working on Kazarian, allowing Omega to choke on the ropes. Kazarian springboards his way to freedom though and the hot tag brings in Eddie to pick up the pace. Omega breaks up a middle rope hurricanrana though and an elbow drop gets two. It’s back to Gallows for the chinlock before the Good Brothers knock the other two off the apron. The triple splash gives Gallows two but Gallows charges into a boot in the corner.

A middle rope dropkick allows the tag to Callihan to start cleaning house. Everything breaks down and we hit the parade of secondary finishers, including the belly to back/neckbreaker combination for two on Callihan. There’s the spinebuster to plant Edwards but he’s back with a Blue Thunder Bomb to Anderson. Callihan piledrives Omega on the apron and it’s the Boston Knee Party to finish Anderson at 12:57.

Rating: B-. This was your standard main event six man, which is going to work most of the time. They are lining up a bunch of possible challengers for Omega and a battle royal is as good of a way to pull one out in a hurry as you are going to have. I can’t imagine Omega loses the Impact World Title before he loses the AEW World Title, but it is a good idea to get rid of one challenger.

Post match, everyone else leaves so W. Morrissey runs in to lay Edwards out to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I’ve been saying this for a few weeks now but Impact is doing a nice job of putting things together and then executing them. It wasn’t a blow away show but it advanced stories and helped boost things up for Emergence. Impact is in a groove now and I could go for that for a pretty long time to come.

Results
Chris Bey b. Juice Robinson – Art of Finesse
Jake Something b. Trey Miguel, Rohit Raju and Daivari – Swinging Boss Man Slam to Daivari
Jordynne Grace/Rachael Ellering b. Fire N Flava – Assisted swinging Rock Bottom to Hogan
Steve Maclin b. Jah-C – Lifting sitout implant reverse DDT
Sami Callihan/Frankie Kazarian/Eddie Edwards b. Elite – Boston Knee Party to Anderson

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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Slammiversary 2021
Date: July 17, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown

This show has become the highlight of the Impact Wrestling calendar as I have had a better time with it than Bound For Glory for a long time now. With some luck, that can continue this time around as the show is pretty well stacked. We have the main event of World Champion Kenny Omega defending against Sami Callihan in a No DQ match, plus a few mystery spots to be filled. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Fire N Flava vs. Rosemary/Havok

Fire N Flava are defending and commentary talks about how nice it is to have fans back. Havok misses a charge at Steelz to start but is right back with a swinging sitout Rock Bottom for two. Hogan comes in to slap Havok in the face and shout a lot, which goes as well as you might expect. It’s off to Rosemary for a t-bone suplex into the Upside Down, much to the fans’ delight.

Hogan sends Rosemary outside and dances a lot as Striker laughs about knowing one of the debuting wrestlers. Back in and Rosemary finally runs Steelz over to hammer away, only to be taken down for more dancing. Hogan hits a running shoulder in the corner as commentary reminds us that the pay per view starts in about seven minutes. In other words, don’t worry about the chance that this match is going long.

Rosemary avoids a charge and brings in Havok to clean house. Steelz’s running hurricanrana is countered with a buckle bomb but Havok misses a charge into the post. That lets Hogan hit a running kick to the face, leaving Steelz to dive onto Rosemary and Decay at ringside. Rosemary comes back in to distract Hogan, allowing Havok to get back up. The choke doesn’t work on Havok, who pulls Hogan into the Tombstone for the pin and the titles at 8:10.

Rating: C. Perfectly watchable opener here and nothing more than that. What matters here is getting the titles off of Fire N Flava, who have held them quite a while already. Rosemary and Havok might not be the long term solution as champions but it is nice to see someone new getting a shot. Good way to get the crowd warmed up too so well done.

The opening video features Sami Callihan looking off as we see clips of the company’s history. I know Impact is kind of a joke in wrestling, but they do have a rather deep history, including Sami winning the World Title. He wants it back tonight.

X-Division Title: Chris Bey vs. Ace Austin vs. Josh Alexander vs. Trey Miguel vs. Petey Williams vs. Rohit Raju

Alexander is defending in Ultimate X, with commentary saying that wrestling skill has little importance here. It’s a big brawl to start (as it should be) with Bey going for the belt early and getting caught just as fast. Alexander is left alone so Austin comes back in and gets German suplexed. Raju goes up top and jumps for the belt, only to crash down. Bey comes in and hits a big running flip dive back to the floor. Williams follows with the slingshot hurricanrana and Miguel hits some kind of a running DDT.

Raju and Austin go up at the same time until Austin gets shoved down onto the pile for the huge moonsault crash. That leaves Raju to bust out a grappling hook and climbs up, taking WAY longer than it would have had he just gone as usual. Williams makes the save, sending Striker into a more complicated than necessary metaphor about Williams being the foundation of the division. After Williams clears Raju out, here is Bey to take Williams down as well. Bey and Miguel wind up going for the belt at the same time, though Miguel is a lot further away.

An attempt at a hurricanrana doesn’t quite work so Miguel kind of spears Bey down instead to drop everyone. A Tower of Doom is loaded up but they have to stop to prevent Raju from pulling the title down with a hook. Everyone else is down so Raju grabs a chair and tries the hook again, only to get dropkicked down by Miguel. Williams comes back in for a Sharpshooter on Miguel, with Raju adding a Crossface for the tap. That means nothing so Alexander goes up, only to get caught hanging upside down with the belt behind him.

Therefore, Bey is fed up to him for an ankle lock as Alexander is still hanging from the X. It makes no sense but DANG that is an awesome visual. At the same time, Bey chokes Austin, who headlocks Williams, who still has Miguel in the Sharpshooter. Raju lets go and chairs Alexander down to get everyone a needed breather. Austin goes up and tries for the belt but slips a bit, allowing Bey to dive off the top with a cutter to put them both down again. Williams is back up with the Canadian Destroyer on Raju and a running version drops Miguel.

That lets Williams go up but Bey Bey get son Alexander’s shoulder to cut him off…and gets planed with another Canadian Destroyer. Well that worked. Alexander isn’t having any of this Destroyer stuff and gives Williams the C4 to knock him silly. Raju breaks up Alexander and Miguel’s slugout, meaning it’s a Downward Spiral to plant Miguel off of Alexander’s shoulders. That lets Raju go up but Miguel makes the save and takes him down.

Alexander superplexes Miguel down though, meaning he and Bey can go up at the same time. They wind up hanging upside and pull the belt down at the same time, only to have Austin springboard in and…completely crash without grabbing the title. The distraction lets Alexander knock Bey down and retain at 15:46.

Rating: B+. Yeah this was pretty awesome with everyone trying something and a bunch of insane spots. The match isn’t supposed to have much of a story or flow to it and that’s perfectly fine. This is the company’s version of the ladder match and they nailed it here, though I have no idea who takes the title from Alexander at this point. Whoever does is going to let him move up to the main event scene though, as there is nothing left for him to do.

We run down the card, which still does not feel necessary at a pay per view.

Don Callis rants about how unfair it is for Kenny Omega to be put in a No DQ World Title match. Callis goes on about how Omega is great enough to beat Sami Callihan and how he has been around for everything Omega has done. He’ll be here tonight for the One Winged Angel that beats Callihan and then his work here will be done.

We recap Matt Cardona and a mystery partner vs. Brian Myers/Tenille Dashwood. This is really Cardona vs. Myers with the women being added to prevent it from being another singles match.

Matt Cardona/??? vs. Brian Myers/Tenille Dashwood

Oh of course it’s Chelsea Green, which they didn’t actually try to hide in the first place. Sam Beale and Kaleb With A K are here with Myers Dashwood. Green is still in the arm cast but she’s going anyway. It’s a brawl before the bell until we settle down to the guys starting fast. A faceplant staggers Myers and Cardona clotheslines him to the floor. Cardona misses the dropkick through the ropes but clotheslines Kaleb With A K and Beale anyway.

That lets Myers grab a Downward Spiral onto the ramp to knock Cardona silly though and the villains take over. Back in and Dashwood adds some choking, allowing Beale to get in a right hand from the floor. We pause for a heel photo op and Myers slaps on the quickly broken chinlock. Instead Cardona reverses the suplex into the neckbreaker, only to have Dashwood break up a potential tag.

The Roster Cut is cut off by a spear though and it’s off to Green to beat up Dashwood. Green has to stop to slap Myers though and gets neckbreakered over the middle rope. Dashwood tries to hit Cardona low….but hurts her arm because she he is wearing a cup. Said cup goes onto Myers’ face, allowing Green to hit her own Canadian Destroyer. Cardona flip dives onto the guys, leaving Green to hit Dashwood low for a change. A jumping Unprettier gives Green the pin at 5:57.

Rating: D+. Not much to this one, though it wasn’t like the surprise was really supposed to be a surprise. Impact all but flat out said it was going to be Green and she was the only option that would have made sense here. Green is going to be a fine addition to the division, especially if she is going to be working for Ring of Honor at the same time.

We recap W. Morrissey vs. Eddie Edwards. Morrissey is a monster who hurt Edwards’ partner Satoshi Kojima and Edwards is the heart of the company who is standing up to him. That needed a full recap video?

W. Morrissey vs. Eddie Edwards

Eddie isn’t about to be shoved down by a much bigger Morrissey so the slugout is on. A fall away slam sends Edwards flying and it’s already time to choke on the ropes. One heck of a big boot puts Edwards on the floor but he counters another big boot and sends the leg into the post. Back in and Eddie hits a Stunner over the ropes, only to have Morrissey send him hard into the barricade. A reverse curb stomp plants Eddie back inside and there are some forearms to the chest in the ropes.

Eddie manages a suplex and starts chopping away in the corner. They head outside, where Morrissey catches a suicide dive, setting up a chokeslam onto the apron. Morrissey takes him up the ramp but gets backdropped, setting up the Boston Knee Party to rock Morrissey again. Back inside and Morrissey is fine enough to hit a release F5. Morrissey takes him up top for a superplex but gets reversed into a sunset bomb.

Eddie finally has an opening and catches Morrissey with a running knee, plus the Blue Thunder Bomb for two more. Morrissey is back with a kick to the chest for two but a jackknife rollup gives Eddie another two. A missed charge sends Morrissey outside, where he unlaces his boot, allowing him to pull out a chain. One shot to the head rocks Eddie and a powerbomb gives Morrissey the pin at 11:01.

Rating: B-. I’m not surprised that this was good but I’m surprised that Morrissey is working well as a monster. Morrissey did not have the best reputation coming into Impact and it is nice to see him far exceeding what was expected of him. He really is feeling it at the moment and this is a good sign for his future. Beating a former World Champion makes anyone look better and it certainly does with Morrissey.

Moose talks about making mistakes which cost you in the end. It might be driving a hundred miles an hour without your seat belt on or going all in with a bad hand, or it might be asking to face him on the big stage. Chris Sabin made a mistake and tonight he faces the consequences.

We get a vignette for the Drama King, which is the former nickname of Aiden English.

A fan has won a contest to be here and is excited for the rest of the show, but here are Shera and Madman Fulton to interrupt. Cue Scott D’Amore to say normally he would be upset by this, but let’s have a match instead.

FinJuice vs. Shera/Madman Fulton

We start fast with Robinson hammering away on Shera. A hard clothesline drops Robinson but Fulton tags himself in. Arguing ensues and it’s a double flapjack to drop Fulton. Shera is sent outside so an assisted Stunner can put Fulton down for the pin at 1:18. Well that was quick.

We recap Moose vs. Chris Sabin. Moose is a bully who wants to show that he is the big star but Sabin is standing up to him.

Moose vs. Chris Sabin

Sabin starts fast to start and strikes away but gets caught with a running elbow in the corner. That doesn’t seem to make much of a difference as he is right back with some dragon screw legwhips. Moose’s leg is slammed into the apron but he is fine enough to catch Sabin on top. Sabin snaps off another dragon screw legwhip and the Figure Four makes the leg even worse. A grab of the throat gets Moose out and he is right back with Snake Eyes for a breather.

Moose tosses him outside with ease and he sits Sabin on the apron for some loud chops (egads). The third chop is teased but Moose flips off the crowd instead. That wakes Sabin up but Moose knocks him right back down and takes it back inside. Moose rips at Sabin’s face so Sabin bites his way to freedom in a smart move. The fall away slam cuts Sabin back down but he avoids the middle rope moonsault.

Sabin sends him outside for a drive into the barricade and the tornado DDT connects for two back inside. With nothing else working, Sabin goes up top, only to have Moose run the ropes for a super fall away slam with a floatover to land on top of Sabin. They head outside again with Sabin charging into an apron bomb, followed by some swings into the barricade to knock him silly. That’s good for nine but Sabin is right back in with a victory roll for the surprise pin at 11:58.

Rating: B. Now this was about all you could ask for. They knew the story they were telling coming in and then had good execution on the rest of the stuff. They didn’t need to do anything complicated here as Moose is a monster and Sabin was fighting from underneath. The match was well put together and both guys were feeling it. Rather well done.

We recap the pre-show title change.

Rosemary is VERY happy with the title win and says Decay is family. Some things fade away, but eventually, all things decay. DECAY! DECAY! DECAY! I think we got it after the second DECAY.

We recap the Tag Team Title match. Violent By Design have the titles and everyone else wants them, meaning it’s a bunch of four way brawls to set up the title match.

Tag Team Titles: Violent By Design vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack vs. Good Brothers vs. Fallah Bahh/???

Violent By Design (Joe Doering/Rhino) are defending and Bahh’s mystery partner is….No Way, minus the Jose but with the Conga Line (mainly made up of Swinger’s Palace). Swann and No Way start things off and, after a quick show of respect, they shout a lot. Anderson isn’t having this and tags himself in to run No Way over. Bahh comes in to run Anderson over and drop No Way down onto him for a bonus.

Mack and Swann take No Way’s place for a double back elbow. That doesn’t make much of a difference as Anderson takes Swann into the corner so Gallows can come in and hammer away. The big boot gets two and we’re already in the chinlock. An elbow drop gets two and Anderson comes back in to mock the fans (which must be nice after such a long time). Gallows hits a fall away slam into the corner and more posing ensues.

The beating continues as Anderson grabs a quickly broken chinlock. It’s already back to Gallows, who knocks Bahh and Mack off the apron but misses an elbow. An enziguri puts Anderson down and Swann reluctantly brings No Way back in. House is cleaned, including a lifting Downward Spiral for two on Anderson. The spinebuster cuts that off though and it’s Doering making the save, even wisely dragging Anderson to the corner for the tag.

The slugout with Gallows is on (again) but everyone else comes in to make it a big brawl. Swann is left alone to kick Bahh in the head but Doering comes back in to clothesline No Way for two. It’s back to Rhino but Anderson hits a quick Gun Stun, setting up the Magic Killer to give the Brothers the pin and the titles at 10:34.

Rating: C. You can only get so much out of a match with this many people and so little time. Throw in the debut of No Way being its own thing and the limits are even harder. The Good Brothers winning the titles might not be the most pleasant thing, but it does make the most sense. Violent By Design was fine, Swann and Mack will get the titles eventually, and No Way and Bahh were thrown together. The Good Brothers are a main event team and they should be champions as a result.

We recap Deonna Purrazzo’s reign of amazingness. She has run through everyone in front of her and that means she needs a fresh challenger. It’s mystery opponent time.

An Invicta FC (MMA) champion is here.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo vs. ???

Purrazzo is defending against…..Thunder Rosa, who is a heck of a surprise. We get the THUNDER ROSA/VIRTUOSSA dueling chants to start and they lock up hard to no avail. The technical exchange on the mat doesn’t work either and we have our second standoff. Both try armdrags and glare at the other for daring to go for it. Rosa counters a Gory Stretch into a sunset flip for two and Purrazzo isn’t pleased.

Two more quick near falls have Purrazzo backed into the corner, where she sends Rosa to the apron. Purrazzo comes back with Divorce Court to put the arm in trouble, but Rosa’s feet are fine enough to hit a middle rope missile dropkick. A running dropkick in the corner sets up a butterfly suplex for two on Purrazzo, who pulls her into a quickly broken Fujiwara armbar. Purrazzo grabs it again but has to settle for a quick suplex instead.

Rosa comes back with an AA for a delayed two, followed by a top rope double stomp to the back (EGADS) for the same. They slug it out and trade kicks to the head until Purrazzo grabs a victory roll for two. Back up and Purrazzo knocks her down again, setting up the Queen’s Gambit (cradle piledriver) to retain at 10:47.

Rating: C+. This felt like it was becoming a great match but it didn’t get the chance to go that far. What we got worked but there is a good chance that this was a one off for Rosa. It was smart to get one of the biggest available names for Purrazzo rather than going with what would have felt like a predictable (yet good) Mickie James match. Nice stuff here, but it could have been better with more time.

Post match Mickie James is back to a big WELCOME BACK chant (and Striker saying “THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE FOR PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING” because he has to be a pest every time). Purrazzo says this is her division, but Mickie invites her to NWA Empower (their version of Evolution). Purrazzo: “Why don’t you do everyone a favor and grab your trash bag and go home?” Mickie kicks her in the head to send Purrazzo running.

Bound For Glory is October 23 in Las Vegas, featuring wrestlers from New Japan, AAA and more.

We get a long video on Kenny Omega defending the World Title against Sami Callihan. Omega is the evil champion but Callihan is taking away the rules, which scares Omega and Don Callis. Impact is sick of Callis and Omega and are allowing the crazy Callihan to have a shot. Callihan is ready to make this a violent fight and the match is No DQ.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Kenny Omega vs. Sami Callihan

Omega, with Don Callis, is defending and it is No DQ. Callis lists off Omega’s greatness, including saying he is the King of the Deathmatch and better than Terry Funk. Callihan jumps Omega to start and hits the Cactus Special for an early two. As Callis joins commentary, Callihan sends in a bunch of chairs but Omega blocks a fork to the head. Omega’s sunset flip is blocked and Callihan busts out a pizza cutter to slice Omega open.

Another rake across the head makes it even worse and a Death Valley Driver sends Omega outside. Callihan follows but gets caught with a trashcan to the head, allowing Omega to grab some weapons of his own. More shots put Callihan down and the moonsault with a trashcan onto the leg keeps him in trouble. The chair is wedged in the corner so Omega loads up….the One Winged Angel, which is countered into a rollup. The kickout sends Callihan head first into the chair though and he’s busted open too.

Omega grabs a fork to stab the head, as well as the inside of the mouth. They head outside with Callihan chopping the post, meaning Omega can load up the table. The Snapdragon off the apron is broken up, as is the piledriver from the apron. Instead, Callihan piledrives him through the table and throws in a piece of plywood. A trashcan to the head rocks Omega again and a side slam onto the top of the open can makes it worse.

Callihan sends him hard through the board in the corner for two and it’s time for a chair wrapped in barbed wire (Callis: “Never would have happened when I ran this place!”). Omega manages a V Trigger though and another one gets two. A bunch of stuff is piled up in the middle of the ring and Omega hits a superplex through all of it. Another V Trigger sets up a failed One Winged Angel attempt and Callihan Tombstones him onto the barbed wire chair for two.

Omega rolls outside and throws salt in Callihan’s eyes, causing Callihan to take the referee out. The blind Callihan gets belt shotted and piledriven but there is no referee. Cue the Good Brothers but Eddie Edwards and Chris Sabin cut them off. Callihan hits a package piledriver for two so it’s time for the bag of thumbtacks. Callis gets up for a distraction so Omega can throw tacks in Callihan’s eyes. Another V Trigger connects, followed by another V Trigger with tacks on the knee. Omega puts the tacks in Callihan’s mouth for another V Trigger and the One Winged Angel onto the tacks retains the title at 27:33.

Rating: B. I’m never sure what to give something like this but the violence was good, as it was supposed to be. The match didn’t feel like the nearly half an hour it got, but the V Triggers and the easy kickoff off the Tombstone onto the chair were a bit much. I liked what we got and while there wasn’t much drama, I’m not sure how much there could be in something like this.

Post match the lights go out and we’ve got New Japan’s Jay White (Bullet Club leader) to stare down Omega. Striker: “Social media is exploding right now!” Omega and the Good Brothers throw up Too Sweet as FinJuice runs out…and the show ends. White would beat down David Finlay and leave to end the night.

Overall Rating: B+. I tend to say this every time but it tends to be the case every time: Impact is at its best when it focuses on the in-ring product instead of everything else going on. This has been the case for a long time now and it is not a bad thing. They can make this stuff work well as they did here and they have some momentum going forward into the new TV cycle. Keep this up and they might be able to get somewhere, though I have no reason to believe it will last. Heck of a show here and worth a look if you have the chance.

Results

Josh Alexander won Ultimate X – Alexander pulled down the title

Matt Cardona/Chelsea Green b. Brian Myers/Tenille Dashwood – Unprettier to Dashwood

W. Morrissey b. Eddie Edwards – Powerbomb

FinJuice b. Shera/Madman Fulton – Assisted Stunner to Fulton

Chris Sabin b. Moose – Victory roll

Good Brothers b. Fallah Bahh/No Way, Rich Swann/Willie Mack and Violent By Design – Magic Killer to Rhino

Deonna Purrazzo b. Thunder Rosa – Queen’s Gambit

Kenny Omega b. Sami Callihan – One Winged Angel onto thumbtacks

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

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

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

Opening recap.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tasha Steelz vs. Havok

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

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

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

Video on W. Morrissey.

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

Steve Maclin vs. Kal Herro

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

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

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

Video on Ultimate X.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video on Moose vs. Chris Sabin.

Moose vs. Hernandez

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

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

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

Slammiversary rundown.

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

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

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

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

One last Omega vs. Callihan video wraps us up.

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

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There is something cool about the idea of an anniversary show. If nothing else, it reminds you just how long a promotion has been around, which can often be lost when you don’t think about it very often. Impact Wrestling has somehow been around nineteen years this month and it very well may be around for a lot longer to come. They tend to make the most of their anniversary shows so maybe there is some optimism here. The fans are back in person too so let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Fire N Flava(c) vs. Rosemary/Havok

It’s another thrown together team challenging for the titles but at least there is a theme this time. Fire N Flava have been together for a good while now and feel like they have held the titles for the better part of ever, so it is certainly time for some fresh blood in there. Granted that has been the case several times before as Impact has yet to pull a trigger that lasts.

We’ll go with a title change to start things off hot. The pre-show is often where you put a change like this so maybe they have something here. It’s an idea that has worked before and Rosemary/Havok winning the titles would be a nice moment. Just go with something fun to energize the crowd in their first match back. It has worked before and it can work here too.

Matt Cardona/??? vs. Tenille Dashwood/Brian Myers

We might as well start with this one as it is going to be the underlying theme of the show: a bunch of people coming over from WWE. The idea here is a mixed tag and the tease is that Cardona’s partner is a “hot mess”. Assuming no shenanigans, you should know what that means and it could make for a fun moment, though I’m not sure how long such a change would last.

Since this should be an easy one, I’ll take Cardona and Chelsea Green/Laurel Van Ness. They’re engaged to be married so putting them together in a mixed tag match should be pretty much a layup. Green never got a chance in WWE and it would make sense to have her go back to the place where she had her greatest success. I’m not sure if she is going to stick around, but for a one off moment, it should work out well.

Eddie Edwards vs. W. Morrissey

Awful name aside, Impact has done a heck of a job with Morrissey, who has gone from a cross between a joke and a cautionary tale to a pretty good power monster. That is hard to do but they have managed to pull it off, so well done with the career rehab. Morrissey has done his part as well and I’m curious to see what is going to happen when he has his first major match.

When I say curious, I mean how well will his first win go, as Morrissey should win here in pretty dominant fashion. Edwards knows how to make a comeback and get the fans behind him, but ultimately this is going to be Morrissey dominating and then winning in the end with Edwards getting in a few flurries. That’s how it should be, as Edwards has been a made man in Impact for years now.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo(c) vs. ???

This is one of those where it is hard to make a pick because I don’t even know what to expect. It could be just about anyone who used to be in WWE, or someone we haven’t seen before, or someone from Impact’s past. That leaves you with quite a few options and it could go in a bunch of directions. I’m not sure what to do with this because it isn’t an easy pick to make, so a guessing we will go.

I’ll take……oh why not Mickie James to return and win the title. James is certainly a legend and she was teased for a return a few weeks ago. It isn’t like there are that many big names available for Impact, and it would be weird to have someone come in as a mystery opponent for a title shot and lose. The new reign might not last long, but it would be a good spot for James to return and put Purrazzo over down the line.

Chris Sabin vs. Moose

Here we have a grudge match as Impact squeezes everything they can out of the Motor City Machine Guns. Sabin is indeed a former World Champion and a tag team legend, but this feels like a heck of a downgrade for Moose, who was challenging for the World Title last month. Moose seems ready to be at the top of the company, but that has been the case for years now so it isn’t like anything changes.

Of course I’ll take Moose here because why in the world would you take Sabin? Moose needs a rebound win and it isn’t like Sabin has been a singles star in the better part of ever anyway. Much like Morrissey vs. Edwards earlier, Sabin gets in some offense before losing to the monster with the (maybe) brighter future. It’s an easy match and story to set up and the people are talented enough to make the execution work.

X-Division Title: Josh Alexander(c) vs. Petey Williams vs. Chris Bey vs. Trey Miguel vs. Ace Austin vs. Rohit Raju

We’ll continue the theme of matches where you cannot begin to guess who is going to win with any certainty as this is the Ultimate X mess. It is a great way to get the title off of someone who is ready to be rocketed up the card, but at the same time, a champion retaining here is considered a huge feather in their cap (or headgear in Alexander’s case). It could go in a lot of ways and that is good….I think.

That being said, I’ll throw in a bit of a curve here and say Bey wins. He has been featured multiple times in the build to the match and other than Alexander has stood out more than anyone else in recent weeks. I’m not sure about this whatsoever, but at least there is something here to get the crowd hyped. Alexander may very well retain, but he seems ready to move on to the main event scene.

Tag Team Titles: Violent By Design(c) vs. Good Brothers vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack vs. Fallah Bahh/???

Now this has some possibilities, as they have a few different ways to go. Violent By Design is getting a big push, but I could easily see then non-Bahh teams walking out with the titles. That makes things all the more interesting and hopefully Impact goes with something that keeps the interest going. That does not necessarily mean a title change, but I don’t think I would be complaining about one.

As much as I want to take Swann and Mack to win here, ultimately I think the titles go back to the Good Brothers because….well because they need to do something to validate their existence on two shows. The team is going to be every bit as annoying as they were before, but they are treated as the biggest team in Impact today and it would make sense to put the gold back on them. Oh and since TJP is out, we’ll go with Hernandez as Bahh’s partner. Why Hernandez? Eh why not?

Impact Wrestling World Title: Kenny Omega(c) vs. Sami Callihan

That leaves us with this as the Omega Saga continues. Omega is the World Champion of what feels like everything outside of WWE these days and now he gets to defend his second most well known title. Callihan has been treated as the big threat to the title in the last few weeks and Omega seems a bit shaken by what is waiting on him. Your tastes on Callihan may vary, but they have made him feel like a real threat to the title.

I’m still going to take Omega to retain though, as I think it’s too soon for Omega to start dropping titles. He is coming up on the title defense against Hangman Page (unofficially but come on) and I can’t imagine him taking a loss before we get to that one. Omega needs to be seen as invincible heading into that match and AEW has done a good job of making that the case so far. Dropping this title to Callihan isn’t what is best for AEW and ultimately, that is what is going to matter.

Overall Thoughts

While nothing really jumps off the page here, I’m interested enough by what they are offering to make this show intriguing. It is ultimately going to come down to how well the matches are executed and who they have coming in as a surprise, but this could wind up being another quality Slammiversary. If they can avoid the post-Slammiversary decline from last year, we could be in for the start of something good around here.

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

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

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

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

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

Rosemary vs. Kiera Hogan

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Susan vs. Deonna Purrazzo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rohit Raju/Shera vs. Petey Williams/Trey Miguel

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jake Something vs. Sam Beale

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

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

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

Commentary goes over what we just heard.

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

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

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

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

Rosemary vs. Havok

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

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

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

Tasha Steelz vs. Kimber Lee

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Joe Doering vs. Eddie Edwards

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

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

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

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

The announcers talk about the World Title match.

Against All Odds rundown.

W. Morrissey vs. Willie Mack

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

Rosemary b. Havok – Spear

Tasha Steelz b. Kimber Lee – Spinning Falcon Arrow

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

Eddie Edwards b. Joe Doering via DQ when Deaner interfered

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

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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