Impact Wrestling
Date: July 28, 2022
Location: Old Forester’s Paristown Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We are on the way to Emergence and now we have a main event set. This time it is going to be Alex Shelley getting his shot at Josh Alexander and the World Title, but odds are we are going to have more Violent By Design interference on the way there. Kushida is here too and that should help. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Alex Shelley becoming #1 contender but getting beaten down by Violent By Design, with Kushida running in for the save.

Eddie Edwards vs Ace Austin

Kenny King and Chris Bey are here too. Austin teases him with the posing to start so Edwards unloads on him in the corner. That earns Eddie a takedown and a playing card cut between the fingers in a spot Austin hasn’t used in a bit. King offers a distraction though and Edwards runs Austin over, setting up the choking on the ropes.

Austin is sat on top for some chops but comes back with a series of strikes. Back up and Austin sends him outside, setting up the big running flip dive. A springboard spinning Fameasser gives Austin two but Edwards’ Backpack Stunner gets the same. King and Bey get in a fight on the floor, meaning it’s a double ejection as Edwards and Austin knock each other down.

We take a break and come back with Edwards striking away before cutting Austin off with a clothesline. Austin gets back up with a springboard spinning kick to the head for two but the Fold is countered into a quick butterfly powerbomb. The Die Hard Driver finishes Austin at 15:34.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of match where you put two talented stars together and have them put on a good match. It works every time and that is what they did here, as Honor No More gets a victory for a change. Austin and Bey are in the Bullet Club to take the losses so this was a logical use of TV time.

Here’s what’s coming at Emergence and tonight.

Heath is ready to keep on Honor No More, like he did to Vincent on Before The Impact. I’m not sure hitting one finisher is taking them out but it’s better than nothing.

We look at Raj Singh and Shera cutting off Josh Alexander from making a save for the Motor City Machine Guns last week.

Alexander is ready for Shera tonight. Alex Shelley comes in to say being big and strong doesn’t make the best wrestler, so Alexander has to face the smartest wrestler around.

Laredo Kid/Trey Miguel vs. Johnny Swinger/Zicky Dice

Swinger seems to think Kid is Bob Seeger and fails to jump him to start. Dice comes in and is rather happy at dodging a charge, only to get double dropkicked out to the floor. That means it’s time to put on the dungeon masks, only to have Miguel take Swinger out with a dive. Dice drops Miguel to take over but a handspring kick to the face gets Miguel out of trouble. The hot tag brings in Kid for a high crossbody, setting up a quick frog splash to finish Dice at 4:00.

Rating: C. I know they’re nothing that matters but my goodness Dice and Swinger can be funny. Impact knows what they have with the two of them and they have some of the most entertaining moments on the show. Kid and Miguel aren’t much of a team but having them beat up the resident goofs isn’t a bad thing.

On Before The Impact, a fake Heath distraction helped Bhupinder Gujjar beat Vincent.

Brian Myers still doesn’t want to face Bhupinder Gujjar but Decay comes in to say Black Taurus will get the Digital Media Title shot instead.

Tiffany Nieves vs. Jada Stone

This is an OVW showcase match with Tasha Steelz, with Savannah Evans, on commentary. Nieves takes her down to start as Steelz rants about not being Knockouts Champion. Some kicks send Nieves into the corner but she misses a Cannonball. A rollup, with a grab of the rope, gives Nieves the pin at 2:06.

Post match Killer Kelly comes out to wreck Nieves and Stone, which doesn’t have Steelz very impressed.

Eric Young doesn’t want Deaner’s excuses for failing last week. First up it’s the Motor City Machine Guns and then Kushida.

Video on Alex Shelley becoming #1 contender for the first time, including a surprise video from Johnny Gargano, who praises Shelley as well.

Josh Alexander vs. Shera

Non-title and Raj Singh is here with Shera. Alexander gets blocked by the power to start but hits three straight clotheslines to knock Shera over the top. Shera wins the quick brawl on the floor and sends Alexander back inside, where Alexander hits the running crossbody to the back. Singh offers a distraction but Alexander is fine enough to ankle lock Shera for the tap at 3:15.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to get anywhere here but my goodness it’s nice to stop pretending that Shera is going to be some big deal. This version of him is a lot easier to take than the dancing schmuck of years past but now he’s just a big guy who loses important matches. Alexander is always worth a look though and that’s part of how the champion should feel.

Moose says there is no alliance between himself and Steve Maclin. If anyone should be mad at Maclin, it’s him, who didn’t need help to beat Sami Callihan.

Honor No More wants to know what Scott D’Amore is going to do for them and want their Tag Team Title shot. Noise is heard though and Mike Bennett is gone.

VXT is preparing for Deonna Purrazzo’s bachelorette party when Jessika comes in to invite herself. She’s quite the life of the party but Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie come in to say that’s not happening.

Raj Singh is in the ring to complain about what happened to Shera. Cue Sami Callihan with the Cactus Driver 97 to drop Singh. Callihan says he’s going to take care of Steve Maclin and Moose on his own.

Ric Flair Flashback Moment of the Week: Flair forms Fourtune but Jay Lethal interrupts with his amazing impression.

Mia Yim is ready for Jordynne Grace but the video signal breaks up.

Commentary talks but the video signal breaks up.

Scott D’Amore finds Honor No More messing with the TV truck and is sick of this. They want their title shot so at Emergence, it’s five on five. If Honor No More wins, they get the Tag Team Titles but if they lose, they disband (with D’Amore bringing up Jim Cornette forcing Team Canada to do the same back in the day).

Rich Swann vs. Kushida

Kushida is billed as the Timesplitter and this is a first time ever match. Respect is shown before the bell as Kushida takes him down by the leg to start. Kushida takes him down again, which sets up a standoff. Back up and they run the ropes with neither getting very far, setting up stereo missed dropkicks. Kushida works on a wristlock and sends Swann outside for some posing as we take a break.

We come back with Kushida working on the arm but Swann knocks him into the corner. A running basement dropkick puts Kushida on the floor on the floor and Swann kicks him in the head back inside. The chinlock goes on for a bit but Kushida is back up for stereo crossbodies. The comeback is on for Kushida, including a running armbar takedown out of the corner.

Kushida gets the cross armbreaker but Swann gets his foot on the ropes pretty quickly. They strike it out with Kushida going for the arm but getting knocked down anyway. There’s a neckbreaker to drop Kushida again, only to have Swann miss the Phoenix splash. Kushida takes him down by the arm again but Swann snaps off a super hurricanrana. Swann goes up but gets pulled down into the Hoverboard Lock for the tap at 19:04.

Rating: B. Kushida is my favorite New Japan wrestler so it’s nice to see him on a show like this. Swann can go with anyone and beating him still means something so this was a great way to make Kushida seem like a big deal out of the gate. I’m curious to see what he is going to do and this is already a bit more than he ever did in NXT, so there is some hope to be had.

Overall Rating: B. Impact’s roll continues and I can certainly take that. The good thing here is that they are setting things up and making me want to see them, with Alex Shelley making more than a better fit in the main event than Violent By Design. Other than that, Honor No More’s issues continue to grow and we are getting a resurgence of Sami Callihan for a bit of fresh blood. I’m starting to look forward to seeing this show every week and that is not something I have not expected to say for a long time now.

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Impact Wrestling
Date: July 21, 2022
Location: Old Forester’s Paristown Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re on a fresh taping cycle and on the way to the next special. That means we need a new #1 contender and thank goodness that means someone outside of Violent By Design. The main event of this week’s show is Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin for a shot at Josh Alexander and the World Title. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at the history of the Motor City Machine Guns, both together and against each other. They’re both ready for the chance to be #1 contender.

Opening sequence.

VXT vs. Mia Yim/Jordynne Grace

VXT is Deonna Purrazzo/Chelsea Green, who were absolutely needing a team name. Grace and Purrazzo start things off with Purrazzo taking her to the mat but getting reversed into a headscissors for a standoff. Back up and Grace runs her over with a shoulder before sending Purrazzo into the top turnbuckle over and over. Yim comes in for some rollups to Purrazzo and armdrags to Green.

It’s already back to Grace but everything breaks down, with Purrazzo offering a distraction so Green can take over on Grace. Some rams into the corner get Grace out of trouble and the hot tag brings Yim in to clean house. Grace has to save Yim from a double suplex and there’s the big dive to drop VXT on the floor. Back in and Purrazzo Downward Spirals Yim to set up Green’s Stomp for two but Yim grabs a double Stunner. There is no Grace though and VXT hits a kind of double suplex for the pin on Yim at 9:12.

Rating: C. You have to establish the new team with a win here and they did just that by having them pin the #1 contender. Granted this might be more about issues between Grace and Yim, which is a story that needs to be told as well. Nice job on the two birds with one stone shot, and the match wasn’t half bad either.

Post match Yim isn’t pleased with Grace. Good thing they have a title match coming up in a few weeks.

Honor No More wants the Tag Team Titles and aren’t surprised that Impact keeps moving the goalposts on them. They’ll take out Heath instead, because he keeps attacking them one at a time. Eddie Edwards wants to know where PCO was when Heath was attacking Vincent last week. There is no more room for mistakes.

Here’s what is coming tonight.

X-Division Title: Deaner vs. Mike Bailey

Deaner is challenging and has Joe Doering with him. Bailey unloads on Deaner in the corner and kicks him in the chest for a knockdown. The Ultimate Weapon misses but Bailey is right back with a Boston crab instead. Deaner gets out and bails to the apron, only to get kicked in the face. Bailey gets caught in the ring skirt though and Doering runs him over with a shoulder as we take a break.

Back with Deaner sending him into the corner, setting up the running dropkick to the back of the trunks. Bailey fires off the rapid kicks to set up the running corkscrew shooting star press for two. Something like a powerbomb plants Bailey for two more and it’s time to chop it out. Bailey gets the better of things and kicks him in the chest and then the head, only to miss the moonsault knees onto the apron. Deaner’s running flip neckbreaker in the ropes takes Bailey down but he slides back in for a heck of a moonsault to drop Deaner on the floor. Back in and the Ultimate Weapon retains Bailey’s title at 12:24.

Rating: C+. Another pretty solid defense for Bailey, but I still can’t get into him with that cheesy grin and bow. You can tell that he’s being presented as a star though and that is more than a lot of the champions. I’m not sure who is going to take the title from him, but giving him a weekly match where he gets to show off a bit is not a bad idea.

Ric Flair Flashback Moment of the Week: Sting beats Ric Flair on Impact in 2021.

VXT wants in the Knockouts Title match so Gail Kim gives them just that: a Knockouts Tag Team Title match.

Eric Young confirms Violent By Design’s loyalties to him and tells them to eliminate the sickness.

Madison Rayne vs. Masha Slamovich

Gisele Shaw is here with Rayne. Slamovich rips the face mask off of Rayne and throws her down, setting up the Snowplow for the pin at 1:14. Total squash, again.

Post match Slamovich gives Shaw an envelope, with a picture of herself covered in what looks like blood.

Bhupinder Gujjar still wants a Digital Media Title shot against Brian Myers. That works for Myers, but apparently Vincent has been talking trash about Gujjar so they can fight each other instead.

Killer Kelly says she is always watching you. A man comes up and Kelly says no one knows when to shut the F up.

Bullet Club vs. Honor No More

That would be Ace Austin/Chris Bey vs. Matt Taven/Mike Bennett with Maria Kanellis. Taven and Austin start things off and fight over wrist control until Taven takes him down into a chinlock. That earns Taven a kick to the head and a legdrop, only to have him come back with a dropkick. Bey and Bennett come in to chop it off until Bey snaps off a dropkick for two.

Taven comes back in off a blind tag though and a middle rope dropkick takes Bey down. It’s back to Austin to kick people in the head before sending Taven outside for a shot from the apron. Taven is thrown inside, leaving Bennett to kick Austin down and take over again. The Purple Thunder Bomb gets two back inside and Bennett grabs the chinlock. Austin fights up and avoids a charge in the corner, allowing the hot tag off to Bey to clean house.

A torture rack neckbreaker gets two on Bennett as everything breaks down. Austin gets sent outside and Bennett brainbusters Bey, only to miss Aurora Boreallis. Maria gets on the apron for a distraction so Austin pulls her down, with the distraction letting Bennett get in a low blow to Bey. Cue Heath with a Wake Up Call to Taven though and Austin runs in with the Fold for the pin at 10:32.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure what there is to say about a match like this, as it is all over the place near the ending until one of them gets a pin. The Heath deal was a fine enough way to go and follows the story that they have been telling in recent weeks. Other than that, Honor No More loses again, which is almost a trend for them lately.

Steve Maclin isn’t worried about Sami Callihan but the lights go out and Callihan attacks him. Cue Moose to help with the beatdown but Callihan turns the lights out again and disappears. Sami actually having a device to turn the lights off makes this at least a bit more plausible than the normal light powers.

Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie can’t get Jessica to put the Havok mask on but she’s not down for it. Jessica has an idea and leaves, with Rosemary freaking out over her not being herself. Taya thinks it’s cute, which has Rosemary contemplating violence.

Josh Alexander is ready for Chris Sabin or Alex Shelley, but he knows there are a lot of people waiting on him after Emergence. This includes Rich Swann, who pops in and asks for a title match. That’s currently taken, so Swann gets the debuting Kushida next week in what might be a #1 contenders match but D’Amore isn’t quite clear.

Here’s what’s coming on future shows.

Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley

The winner gets the World Title shot at Emergence and somehow this is Shelley’s first ever #1 contenders match. They shake hands and hug to start because this is all about competition. It’s a technical off (as you might have expected) to start with Sabin’s rollup giving us a standoff. Sabin spins around him into an armdrag before another cradle gets two. Shelley needs a breather on the floor as Josh Alexander is watching backstage.

Another rollup gives Shelley two for a change and we take a break. Back with Sabin grabbing a neckbreaker and another one gets two. The neck crank goes on to keep Shelley in trouble and the chinlock goes on. Another neckbreaker gets another two as Sabin certainly has a target. Back up and Shelley takes the knee out and we go to another break.

We come back again with Shelley tying up the legs before working on the arm for a change. Shelley ties Sabin up so much that Sabin is hooking his own leg (that’s a new one) before going with a more basic leg crank. Sabin slips out and grabs a DDT for a needed breather to go back to the neck. A tornado DDT gives Sabin two more but Cradle Shock is countered.

Shelley kicks him in the knee and drives said knee into the mat to cut him down again. A belly to back sets up the Border City Stretch, with Sabin having to go to the ropes. Sabin is back up with a jumping enziguri and another kick drops Shelley for a double knockdown. The Clothesline From Hell, Michigan misses so they trade superkicks. Now the Clothesline can connect but the Cradle Shock is blocked again. Shelley hits Sliced Bread for two and Shell Shock is good for the same. The Border City Stretch goes on and Sabin taps at 24:13.

Rating: B. Yeah this worked, as it’s nice to have the kind of chess match that you get from people who know each other so well. You can have all of the flips and dives that you want, but this was more about the technical side of things as the two of them tried to pick the other apart until one couldn’t hang on. Shelley winning is an interesting way to go, but it isn’t like there was a bad choice from the pair.

Post match Sabin raises Shelley’s hand but Violent By Design runs in for the beatdown. Kushida comes out for the save and checks on the Guns to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty solid show here as they set things up for the future and did enough to make me want to stick around next week. Kushida debuting at the end was nice, though MY GOODNESS ENOUGH WITH VIOLENT BY DESIGN. They’re the weakest part of the show by a good while and there is nothing to suggest that they are going away anytime soon, which is hurting some of the good will Impact has had going for it lately. Fix that and Impact is one of the better weekly shows going, but there are still some holes to fix.

Results
VXT b. Mia Yim/Jordynne Grace – Double suplex to Yim
Mike Bailey b. Deaner – Ultimate Weapon
Masha Slamovich b. Madison Rayne – Snowplow
Bullet Club b. Honor No More – Fold to Bennett
Alex Shelley b. Chris Sabin – Border City Stretch

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: July 14, 2022
Location: Center Stage, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

The rather long road to Emergence continues and we are going to need more than a few matches set for the show. There isn’t much announced yet, but at least now we should be able to set something up besides the Knockouts Title match. Josh Alexander certainly needs an opponent so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Deaner and Joe Doering don’t know where Eric Young is but their six man tag is up right now. Maybe this is Young’s latest test for them! And yes, we really are giving this much focus to what Eric Young thinks.

Josh Alexander/Motor City Machine Guns vs. Violent By Design

It’s a handicap match to start as there is no Eric Young, meaning things are already looking up. Wait hold on as the bell rings and now Young comes out, because he likes teasing us for some reason. Alexander and Deaner start things off with Alexander bringing him over for the tag to Shelley.

The arm work is on, with Sabin coming in to jump onto said arm. Alexander grabs the ankle lock in the corner but Young gets in a cheap shot to take over. Doering puts Alexander in the corner for a running dropkick to the back and the chinlock goes on. Back up and Doering hits a hard running crossbody to send us to a break.

We come back with everything breaking down, including the Guns cleaning house. Sabin and Doering hit stereo crossbodies for a double knockdown, meaning it’s a double tag to bring in Young and Alexander. A northern lights suplex drops Young and the ankle lock goes on, only to be quickly broken. Sabin and Deaner come back in but Young has to yell, allowing the Guns to hit the Dream Sequence. Everything breaks down again and it’s the Motor City Stretch to make Deaner tap at 16:35 (with Young tapping to Alexander’s ankle lock a few seconds later).

Rating: C+. Pretty good six man tag here, though I have absolutely no idea why Violent By Design is still dealing with Alexander. I would really hope that the feud is done after this because there is no reason for the story to keep going. Alexander has beaten all of them in a row, so what in the world is left for them to do? Maybe split up, because Young being out of the main focus would be rather nice.

Post match Sabin and Shelley look at Alexander’s title and seem to like it.

Killer Kelly likes to prepare.

James Storm vs. Steve Maclin

Feeling out process to start until Maclin elbows him in the face. That earns him a hiptoss but the threat of the Last Call sends him bailing to the floor. A shot to the face drops Storm though and we take a break. Back with Maclin hitting an Irish Curse and something like an STO out of the corner gets two. Some rams into the buckle just fire Storm up and the comeback is on, including a running neckbreaker for two.

Maclin catches him on top though and we’re off to the Tree of Woe, with Maclin hitting the running spear. Back up and Storm can’t hit the Eye of the Storm but can drive him into the corner. This time it’s Maclin getting caught on top for a super hurricanrana into a top rope elbow for two, leaving Storm stunned. Closing Time looks to set up the Last Call but Maclin catches the leg and kicks Storm into the turnbuckle (which came exposed somewhere in there). The double arm DDT finishes Storm at 12:15.

Rating: C. The more I see of Maclin, the more I’m wondering just how far he’s going to be pushed. You have to imagine him getting a title shot somewhere, even if it is just headlining a lower level event. That is more than a lot of people get to do and it would be pretty impressive for someone who got here seemingly as a last resort.

Post match the lights go out and it’s Sami Callihan but Maclin is on the ramp to get away.

Ric Flair Flashback Moment Of The Week: Flair interfering in Lethal Lockdown at Lockdown 2010. Believe it or not, he got beaten up by Hulk Hogan and left bleeding.

The Motor City Machine Guns both want the World Title so Scott D’Amore puts them in at #1 contenders match next week. They’re both happy with that.

Chelsea Green vs. Mickie James

Green kisses her to start so Mickie does it right back before punching Green in the face. Mickie unloads in the corner and they go to the mat for some rolling around. After tossing Mickie outside, Green pulls her off the top for a crash. The hurricanrana out of the corner staggers Green though and a running knee to the face gets two.

More shots in the corner rock Green so she comes out with a heck of a big boot for two. They fight up the ramp and then get back inside, where Mickie grabs her neckbreaker. Some clotheslines set up a top rope Thesz press into the Mick Kick, with Green grabbing the rope for the save.

Since getting kicked in the head doesn’t matter much, Green is back up with a Stomp but she gets caught grabbing the skirt on the cover. I’m Prettier is countered into a rollup to give Mickie two more and they trade kicks to the head. Mickie grabs the MickDT but Green rolls her up and puts the feet on the ropes for the pin at 12:47.

Rating: C+. They got this rolling near the end and that was nice to see. What mattered here was having a good fight between two people who have gone from friends to not being able to stand each other. Mickie can absorb anything and it’s nice to see Green getting a win like this, as she has quite the up and down momentum swings.

Rehwoldt: “Green finds herself standing tall!” She’s sitting on the ramp.

Taya Valkyrie is sorry she’s late to go to the Undead Realm but she needed to get the right shirt (it says PURE EVIL). They go to the Undead Realm and Rosemary gets annoyed at having to explain things. Taya wanders off and winds up in a white room, with Rosemary following to find Taya and…..Jessica, who is formerly known as Havoc, but with a much more normal looking face.

Bhupinder Gujjar beat Johnny Swinger on Before The Impact, meaning he should be getting a Digital Media Title shot. Champion Brian Myers doesn’t think so just yet.

Tenille Dashwood vs. Masha Slamovich

The rest of the Influence is here too. Dashwood bails to the apron to start but gets pulled back in for a dragon screw legwhip. The Snow Plow finishes for Slamovich at 1:17 to complete the total squash.

We look at Violent By Design attacking Mike Bailey last week.

Bailey is glad to face Deaner next week.

Mickie James is disappointed and leaves.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Honor No More vs. Bullet Club

Hold on though as Heath jumps Vincent on the stage and hits him with the Wake Up Call. After a break, it’s Eddie Edwards vs. Chris Bey to start with the latter taking over. Ace Austin comes in to stomp Kenny King into the corner before dropkicking Matt Taven down. Everything breaks down early and the Club cleans house without much effort.

We take another break and come back with Taven in more trouble as Karl Anderson whips him hard into the corner. Doc Gallows comes in for those weird punches in the corner and a heck of a clothesline drops Taven. Bey drops a leg for two but makes the mistake of going after the rest of the team, allowing Bennett to get in a cheap shot to take over. It’s back to Edwards for a chinlock before Taven’s Just The Tip gets two.

Bey gets up and makes the tag to Anderson, but, say it with me, the referee doesn’t see it, meaning the beating continues. Some kicks to the face get Bey out of trouble and the hot tag brings in Anderson to clean house. The middle rope neckbreaker drops Taven and everything breaks down again. Maria Kanellis gets in a low blow on Gallows and it’s a series of big shots, setting up Aurora Boreallis to finish for Taven at 15:56.

Rating: C+. Aside from trying to figure out if Kanellis and Boreallis rhyme, I had a good time with the wild style main event. These groups seem like they could be setting up a pretty big blowoff match down the line and that is not a bad thing. Honor No More’s up and down push continues, but the Bullet Club isn’t going to be hurt by losing an eight man tag.

Overall Rating: B-. They kept the show moving this week and are putting things together for the upcoming bigger shows. There are a lot of things that still need to be fixed up (read as ENOUGH VIOLENT BY DESIGN) but what they have so far is working out well enough. Impact is doing well in recent weeks and I can always go for that, as they know how to do things well at times.

Results
Josh Alexander/Motor City Machine Guns b. Violent By Design – Motor City Stretch to Deaner
Steve Maclin b. James Storm – Double arm DDT
Chelsea Green b. Mickie James – Rollup with feet on the ropes
Masha Slamovich b. Tenille Dashwood – Snow Plow
Honor No More b. Bullet Club – Aurora Boreallis to Gallows

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

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AND

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Impact Wrestling
Date: July 7, 2022
Location: Center Stage, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

Against All Odds has come and gone and hopefully that means Josh Alexander is done with Violent By Design. Alexander defeated Joe Doering in the show’s main event to retain the World Title, meaning it’s time to move on. The only title change was the Digital Media Title as Brian Myers beat Rich Swann so there isn’t much to build from. Let’s get to it.

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

Against All Odds recap.

Opening sequence.

X-Division Title: Mike Bailey vs. Alan Angels

Angels, of Dark Order fame, is challenging in his debut. They do shake hands, though Bailey has to get in his annoying bow first. Angels wants to start fast but gets kicked down, setting up the rapid fire kicks. That’s enough to send Angels outside for the moonsault but he’s fine enough to drop Bailey onto the barricade. A frog splash off the apron crushes Bailey again and it’s time to kick away back inside.

There’s a northern lights suplex for two but Bailey superkicks him out of the air. The running corkscrew shooting star press gives Bailey two of his own but he charges into a Spanish Fly. They chop it out until Angels grabs the Halo Breaker (spinning torture rack neckbreaker) for a near fall of his own. The Wing Snapper (kind of a Backstabber but with feet instead of knees) drops Bailey again but he’s right back with another kick. The Ultimate Weapon retains the title at 8:34.

Rating: C+. The kicks were hard enough and it was nice to see Angels getting a chance to do something outside of the Dark Order. That had a hard ceiling and while I don’t know how much further Angels can go, at least he has the chance to do something else here as himself rather than part of a group. Not a classic, but a good choice for an opener.

Post match respect is shown but here is Violent By Design to lay out both guys. Deaner says this isn’t over with Josh Alexander (WHY THE HECK NOT???) and want him out here right now but it’s Eric Young answering instead. After a break, Young asks how we got here. While the answer would be “no one but Impact would take you”, they talk about how they came up short but Young thinks the sickness has both of them. Young wants to purge them both, which has Deaner agreeing with him. They want one more chance and Young seems willing, though this is their LAST chance.

Here’s what’s coming on the show.

Honor No More talks about how they keep getting screwed over but they know they’re the truth. They weren’t invited but Impact needs them. After Against All Odds, they ask PCO how much he wants to be a part of this. Don’t talk, but show them out there tonight.

Deonna Purrazzo, with Chelsea Green, is ready to beat Mia Yim in tonight’s #1 contenders main event. Gail Kim comes out to say next week, Green gets Yim and everyone is barred from ringside in both matches.

Laredo Kid vs. Trey Miguel

Kid shoulders him down to start but we’re at an early standoff. Miguel sends him outside but it’s too early for a dive. Back in and a spinning faceplant drops Miguel, who seems to be favoring his knee. Miguel sends him outside again and this time it’s a one legged Asai moonsault to drop Kid as we take a break.

Back with Kid working on the knee, including a Figure Four, which sends Miguel over to the ropes. Kid puts him up top but gets shoved down, allowing Miguel to hit a missile dropkick. A series of kicks gives Miguel two more but the knee gives out as he tries to go up. Kid Michinoku Drivers him for two of his own, only to have Miguel slip behind him and Roll the Dice for the pin at 11:12.

Rating: B-. These two are always going to be good for a solid match and this was no exception. Miguel having to get creative to win in the end was a fine change of pace and they made things work throughout. Kid continues to be someone who seems like he could be on top of the division at any given time but it never actually happens, which can be more than a bit frustrating.

And now, because of course we are, it’s the Ric Flair Classic Moment Of The Week, as Flair debuts on January 4, 2010.

Violent By Design goes looking for Josh Alexander but gets in a fight with the Motor City Machine Guns instead.

Killer Kelly, who likes to stay in dirty motel rooms (ok then), is coming.

America’s Most Wanted talks about how great it was to be back in the ring at Against All Odds and Chris Harris is happy if that was their last match. For now, James Storm has something to do, so he goes off and finds Steve Maclin. Storm wants to find Moose and thinks that he and Maclin were together at Against All Odds, they must be friends. A match seems likely.

PCO vs. Black Taurus

Vincent and Crazzy Steve are the seconds. They trade shoulders to start until Taurus starts going after the knee. PCO catches him coming off the middle rope though and a choke shove puts Taurus on the floor. Back in and PCO sends him outside again, this time for the suicide flip dive. The De-Animator connects for two but Taurus is right back up with the Sling Blade. A top rope elbow gets two but PCO rolls away from some kind of top rope flip. The PCOsault finishes Taurus at 6:04.

Rating: C. This wasn’t quite the monster brawl I was hoping for but they did a nice enough job of making PCO look like a force all over again. That has been missing a bit lately, as he should be something like the one guy in Honor No More that no one can solve. Having him be the guy who isn’t quite on the same page wasn’t working, assuming he is supposed to stay on the team.

Post match Honor No More comes in to surround Steve but Heath runs in from behind for a Wake Up Call on Kenny King.

The Bullet Club is tired of Honor No More, with Ace Austin wanting to get in on the fight next week. Works for everyone else.

Brian Myers runs into Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice for an exchange of insults. Bhupinder Gujjar comes in and says he wants a Digital Media Title shot. Myers backs up and says Gujjar can face Swinger for the title shot next week instead.

Shera vs. Rich Swann

Swann slaps away to start, earning himself a lifting choke in the air. Shera gorilla press drops him and chokes again as he certainly seems to have a theme. A shot to the knee finally puts Shera in the ropes for a 619 but he shrugs off some more kicks to the head. The big kick to the head sets up a middle rope 450 to finish Shera at 4:49.

Rating: C-. Yep, it’s still Shera, who continues to look good but has very little in the way of quality in the ring. I’ll certainly take this over the Shera Shake/Shuffle, which continues to haunt me to this day. Swann is still kind of floating in the middle of nothing, as he is still a talented guy but can’t find much of anything to do.

The Influence isn’t happy with Masha Slamovich sending them what seems to be a death threat through Gisele Shaw. Somehow this is Shaw’s fault.

Rosemary is sick of people like James Mitchell not sending Havok to help so we (as in Rosemary, not Rosemary/Taya Valkyrie) are going to the Undead Realm to find Havok. Taya isn’t invited because it’s a bit too evil.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Mia Yim

The winner gets a Knockouts Title shot against Jordynne Grace at Emergence. They shove each other to start with neither getting much of an advantage. Purrazzo’s headlock doesn’t get her very far as Yim sends her outside, setting up a dropkick through the ropes. Back in and Purrazzo takes over on the leg, including snapping it back, as we take a break.

We come back with a double headbutt giving us a double knockdown for a breather. It’s Yim making the comeback, including Eat Defeat to put Purrazzo on the apron. Purrazzo slips out of a piledriver attempt and kicks her in the face for two of her own. Queen’s Gambit is blocked so Yim goes up top, only to get slammed back down. Yim avoids a charge to send her into the post though and it’s Code Blue for two on Purrazzo.

They slug it out (of course) until Purrazzo Russian legsweeps her into the Fujiwara armbar. With that broken up, Purrazzo hits the Queen’s Gambit for two and can’t believe the kickout. Yim is back up with the package piledriver for two and now it’s her turn to be shocked. Back up and they slug it out again, with Yim striking her silly. The package piledriver into Eat Defeat sends Yim to Emergence at 17:31.

Rating: B-. Yim has been a lot better around here as of late and I’ve been getting into her stuff a lot more than I was in NXT. That is the kind of upgrade that is always welcome as the Knockouts continue to keep things moving. Purrazzo was a huge deal for a long time and is now coming back down as the cycle continues, as it should.

Post match Jordynne Grace comes out for a handshake and some staring to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. It had enough good wrestling to make me like the show, but the main focus here continues to be on the next monthly special. I can’t get my head around how much better it is for Impact to have something to build towards on a regular basis, as you can only get so much out of the quarterly pay per views and TV. That was the case here and it made a very nice and notable difference. Pretty nice show here and now it’s time to get ready for Emergence next month.

Results
Mike Bailey b. Alan Angels – Ultimate Weapon
Trey Miguel b. Laredo Kid – Roll The Dice
PCO b. Black Taurus – PCOsault
Rich Swann b. Shera – Middle rope 450
Mia Yim b. Deonna Purrazzo – Eat Defeat

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 26, 2022
Location: Osceola Heritage Park, Kissimmee, Florida
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are well on the way to Slammiversary and that means it is time to build towards the matches that are already set for the show. This includes the World Title match of Josh Alexander defending against Eric Young, which will probably be built up a bit more this week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s main event, with the Briscoes retaining the Tag Team Titles over Violent By Design. This set up a post match staredown also involving Josh Alexander, likely setting up a six man tag this week.

Opening sequence.

Ultimate X Qualifying Match: Alex Shelley vs. Trey Miguel

We get a respectful handshake to start until Shelley grabs a hammerlock. Miguel spins out of that in a hurry though and we’re at a standoff. A whip into the ropes doesn’t work for Shelley, as Miguel is right there with a few kicks to the arm. Shelley sends him outside though and there’s the baseball slide to stagger Miguel. The chop hits the post though and Miguel grabs a middle rope moonsault as Shelley grabs his hand.

Back in and Shelley is fine enough to knock him out of the air and start cranking Miguel’s leg around the rope. A dragon screw legwhip makes Miguel scream and the Motor City Stretch makes it even worse. That means Miguel needs a rope for the break and a dropkick has Shelley in trouble for a change. Miguel grabs his leg before firing off the kicks to the chest anyway and grabbing a dragon sleeper.

Shelley slips out so Miguel dropkicks him in the back of the head for two. A Downward Spiral into the middle buckle drops Miguel as well though and they grab hands for the slugout. Miguel gets the better of a strike off but misses the top rope Meteora. Shelley grabs a scoop brainbuster for two before Miguel counters Shell Shock into a crucifix for the pin at 12:26.

Rating: B. This was the technical exchange that was bound to be great because the two people in the match were that good. Miguel can look excellent when he has the right opponent and that is where Shelley comes in. Shelley is one of the smoothest and most talented wrestlers in the world so this was destined to work very well.

The Briscoes and Josh Alexander are ready for Violent By Design. The Good Brothers come in and want a Tag Team Title shot, which is cool with the Briscoes.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Masha Slamovich vs. Havok

Rosemary is here with Havok. They slug it out to start with Havok sending her into the corner, only to miss a charge. Slamovich hits a heck of a spinwheel kick in the corner, followed by a hard kick to the head. Something that is supposed to be the Snow Plow (closer to a suplex slam) finishes Havok at 1:28.

Rosemary isn’t sure what to do.

Trey Miguel is fired up about his win but Kenny King comes in to say the title is coming his way at Slammiversary. Black Christian doesn’t think much of King and challenges him for the Ultimate X spot. Deal.

Rich Swann thinks Matt Cardona is ducking him so Swann is coming for him. As for Matthew Rehwoldt, if he wants to throw Swann out of Gauntlet For The Gold, come see him face to face.

Chelsea Green vs. Jordynne Grace

Green gets her to give chase to start and then pulls her down by the hair back inside. Commentary explains the idea of the Queen Of The Mountain match, which even they admit is pretty complicated. Grace fights back up and hits a backbreaker but Green knocks her to the floor for a flip dive off the apron.

We take a break and come back with Grace being sent face first into the middle buckle for two and then gets four more for a bonus. The hard spinebuster gets Grace out of trouble and she grabs a sleeper in the corner. With that broken up, Grace hits some shots tot he face and a torture rack spun into a powerbomb gets two. The MuscleBuster is broken up so Green hits a facebuster, with Grace bridging up for the kickout. Grace’s electric chair is broken up but she’s fine enough to hit the Grace Driver for the pin at 11:26.

Rating: C. Just a match here, with the ending surprising me a bit. Green doesn’t exactly win much around here and it would be nice to have her get a bit of a boost. Granted at the same time, Grace winning is always a good thing and the Queen of the Mountain match is…well it might have pinfalls involved but that might only be in stages 3, 19 and G.

Honor No More complains to Scott D’Amore about the unsafe working environment that caused Maria Kanellis to get hurt. They want the Good Brothers at Slammiversary but they’re taken with the Briscoes instead. Eddie Edwards issues threats.

Deonna Purrazzo doesn’t want Mia Yim coming in and making a name off of her but Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans come in. Steelz offers to let Purrazzo at ringside for Evans vs. Yim next week.

Chris Sabin vs. Frankie Kazarian

Kazarian runs him over with a shoulder to start and grabs a headlock on the mat. Back up and a headlock takeover puts us in about the same spot so Sabin goes after the arm as we hear about Kazarian’s history in the company. The headlock takes Sabin back down but he fights up in a hurry and tosses Kazarian outside in a big crash. Back in and a high crossbody hits King, setting up a hard clothesline for two.

The crossarm choke goes on for a bit, followed by a quick German suplex. Kazarian is right back with a shot to the face, setting up a springboard spinning legdrop. The slingshot DDT gets two more on Sabin but he’s right back with a running boot to the face. Kazarian tries to go up but gets belly to back superplexed back down. Back up and stereo crossbodies put both of them down but Honor No More runs in and decks Kazarian for the DQ at 10:25.

Rating: B-. This is a match that was going to work because of the talent involved but the ending didn’t help things. It was nice to have Kazarian back for a one off as he looks as good in the ring as he ever has been. Odds are the ensuing tag match should be good as well, while also giving Honor No More something better to do.

Post match the big beatdown is on so Honor No More poses.

Post break Honor No More rants about how Impact has no respect. Heath and Rhino come in for the yelling and likely match setup.

Shera/Raj Singh vs. Bhupinder Gujjar/W. Morrissey

Singh and Gujjar start things off with Gujjar hitting a dropkick followed by a Sling Blade. It’s already off to Morrissey for a shot to the face before it’s right back to Gujjar for the slingshot elbow. Shera gets in a shot from behind though and Gujjar is in trouble for the first time. Gujjar belly to belly suplexes his way to freedom though and the hot tag brings in Morrissey to clean house. The powerbomb is broken up by Shera as everything breaks down. Morrissey chokeslams Raj and the middle rope spear gives Gujjar the pin at 5:17.

Rating: C. I can see the potential in Gujjar, but at some point he needs to do something other than feuding with Shera and Singh. The story is pretty much little more than Singh wanting Gujjar to be on his team but Gujjar keeps saying no, repeat for several weeks. There is something to Gujjar, but he needs to get out of this story already.

Moose is ready for his tag match next week, whether or not Sami Callihan is out to get him. He knows what Sami is doing but here is Steve Maclin, Moose’s partner next week, to tell him to be ready. The lights flicker but no one is here.

Here is what’s coming next week.

Briscoes/Josh Alexander vs. Violent By Design

Alexander and Deaner start things off with an exchange of arm control until Deaner grabs a headlock. That’s reversed into an armdrag into an armbar before Jay comes in to stomp away in the corner. Mark comes in and gets taken into the corner though, allowing Young to choke away. That earns him a backdrop and everything breaks down, with Jay hitting a big flip dive to the floor. Mark adds the Bang Bang Elbow and we take a break.

Back with Young elbowing Jay in the back but Jay gets over for the tag to Alexander without much trouble. That lets Alexander hammer away on Young in the corner but a Deaner cheap shot puts Alexander down again. Alexander’s neck gets caught in the corner for a dropkick to the back, leaving his nose busted.

A backbreaker/neckbreaker combination gets two on Alexander but he fights out of trouble without much effort. The hot tag brings in Mark to clean house and the Froggy Bow gets two on Young. Jay gets to clean house and there’s Redneck Boogey for two on Deaner. Young gets in a flag pole shot to Mark so the Deaner DDT can get two. Everything breaks down and Deaner gets in a hockey mask shot to Mark, setting up Young’s piledriver for the pin 17:09.

Rating: B. I can go for having Violent By Design in a six man tag like this as they should know how to cheat to win. While I don’t need to see them get another title shot, they can be used to boost things up a bit on the way to the Slammiversary main event. Other than that, the Briscoes are gearing up for the big title match against the Good Brothers, while Alexander wasn’t really a factor here, making it kind of a pointless, yet still good, match.

Overall Rating: C+. There are some good parts to the show and I like the Honor No More stuff getting a little more attention. We also had some Slammiversary matches moved forward and I could go for seeing where some of the stories go. Some of the matches need some more work, but this was a solid enough step towards the pay per view and had enough good action to go with it.

Results
Trey Miguel b. Alex Shelley – Crucifix
Masha Slamovich b. Havok – Snow Plow
Jordynne Grace b. Chelsea Green – Grace Driver
Frankie Kazarian b. Chris Sabin via DQ when Honor No More interfered
Bhupinder Gujjar/W. Morrissey b. Raj Singh/Shera – Middle rope spear to Singh
Violent By Design b. Briscoes/Josh Alexander – Piledriver to Mark

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 19, 2022
Location: Promowest Pavilion, Newport, Kentucky
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We are on the way to Slammiversary and as of last week, we have a new #1 contender. Eric Young won Gauntlet For The Gold to earn the title shot against World Champion Josh Alexander, but that leaves a lot of the card to be filled in. This week will feature the Briscoes defending the Tag Team Titles against Violent By Design in an Under Siege rematch so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s Gauntlet For The Gold, with Eric Young beating Chris Sabin to win the title shot.

Opening sequence.

Ultimate X Qualifying Match: Laredo Kid vs. Mike Bailey

The winner moves on to Slammiversary. They trade legsweeps and no counts to start before flipping to their feet. An exchange of armdrags sends Bailey outside but he blocks a dive with a kick of his own. Back in and the fans are behind Bailey as he kicks Kid down for two more. The exchange of kicks goes to Kid and he grabs a neckbreaker for two.

Kid sends him outside for a suicide dive into the barricade and Bailey is in trouble for a change. Back in and back to back moonsault elbows to the back give Kid two but Bailey kicks him to the floor. That means another big flipping dive (you may notice a pattern here) and a missile dropkick gives Bailey two more back inside.

Bailey’s big kick to the head is countered into a powerbomb for two but Kid has to avoid the Ultimate Weapon. Bailey catches him on top but gets headbutted back down. Kid misses a dive though and a kick to the head gives Bailey two, setting up a pinfall reversal sequence to give Bailey the pin at 8:11.

Rating: C+. I’m still only kind of feeling Bailey as that bow he does at the beginning is hardly the most appealing thing. He can have a pretty good X-Division style match though and that is what they’re going for here. I wouldn’t be surprised if he leaves Slammiversary with the title, but coming in I would have said something similar about Kid. There is talent in this division, and now they are starting to feature them a bit more often.

Ace Austin, in Japan for the New Japan Best Of The Super Juniors, is glad that Bailey has qualified because Bailey deserves punishment for his lack of loyalty. He has already won his first match in the tournament and that is because he is the best in the world. After the tournament, he is heading straight for Nashville to retain the title at Slammiversary.

We get a weird Slammiversary ad, featuring Josh Alexander hearing something and leaving his locker room. Eventually he finds a coat over a crate featuring the old TNA logo.

Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green, on the beach, laugh at the idea of being inside Rich Swann’s head. Cardona may be always ready but he’s not always available, because they are on their honeymoon. Green is ready to get the Knockouts tItle back at Slammiversary.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Deonna Purrazzo/Tasha Steelz/Savannah Evans vs. Jordynne Grace/Taya Valkyrie/Mia Yim

Purrazzo and Grace trade wrist control to start and it’s an early standoff. That means Steelz and Valkyrie come in with Valkyrie getting the better of things without much trouble. Some running knees in the corner crush Steelz and we take a break. Back with Grace hitting a running elbow to crush Steelz in the corner, setting up a delayed vertical suplex for two.

Evans comes in for a cheap shot though and it’s Purrazzo taking Grace into the corner. A butterfly suplex gives Evans two and the beating is on. Grace suplexes her way out of trouble though and the tag brings in Yim (the fans approve). There’s a Cannonball to Steelz and everything breaks down. Purrazzo gets in a shot to Yim to take over but Taya grabs the sliding German suplex. Eat Defeat gives Yim the pin on Evans at 11:23.

Rating: C. Evans taking the fall here was the logical way to go as she isn’t in the Queen of the Mountain match so there is no point in having someone else take the loss. Giving Yim the pin to get her a bit more over in the fans’ eyes and she is already one of the more interesting players in the division. Now just don’t make the Queen of the Mountain stuff its usual mess and they could be going somewhere.

Post match the lights go out…and it seems to have just been a glitch. Well that’s not nice teasing.

It’s time for Locker Room Talk with Tenille Dashwood as this week’s guest host. This week they are talking about the locker room itself, as they are glad to have gotten rid of some of the worse people. Cue Johnny Swinger, still in his mini Wrestlemania III ring cart, with Zicky Dice pushing him. Decay pops in and wants their Knockouts Tag Team Title shot but are told to go earn it. Dice thinks he recognizes Havok from the Dungeon and pain ensues.

Chris Sabin is disappointed by last week but he’s glad to be here for twenty years. There is one person he remembers from the start and he wants that match next week. That man: Frankie Kazarian.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Chris Sabin defeating Frankie Kazarian to retain the X-Division Title, June 25, 2003.

Eric Young talks about wanting to go to Wrestlemania III when he was a kid but his parents were too poor. We go through his career, including some cool old footage from his Team Canada days, plus his time in the Band. Then he turned into a star and went up to the top of the company, which he will do again at Slammiversary.

Josh Alexander acknowledges what Young has done and thinks he might be the MVP of the first twenty years of Impact. Alexander asks who gets to usher in the next era in Impact, but knows it’s going to be him.

Matt Taven/Mike Bennett vs. Good Brothers

The rest of Honor No More and the Bullet Club are here too, with Maria Kanellis-Bennett on commentary. Bennett and Anderson lock up to s-tart and slug it out as commentary brings up Maria’s history with the Good Brothers in Japan in 2015 but she moves on as fast as she can. It’s off to Gallows to clothesline Taven down before Anderson comes back in to whip Taven into the corner.

A blind tag lets Bennett come back in for a double hot shot though and the villains take over. Taven’s missile dropkick gets two and Bennett is smart enough to dropkick Gallows off the apron like a good villain should. We’re right back to the chinlock but Anderson pops up without much trouble.

The hot tag brings in Gallows to clean house, including something like a spinning Big Ending to Taven. The chokeslam is broken up though and Taven hits a Lionsault for two. Bennett superkicks Taven by mistake though and it’s the reverse 3D for…no count as Maria gets up on the apron. Maria comes in and Bennett accidentally spears her down by mistake. The Gun Stun finishes for Anderson at 10:36.

Rating: C+. Oddly enough, the Good Brothers are working slightly better as faces. Maybe it’s the lack of being the cool heels but this is an upgrade over what they have been doing. Maria costing Honor No More the match is a way to keep them a bit stronger, though the team continues to not exactly do much.

Sami Callihan is glad Moose broke his leg because it gave Sami the better part of a year to think about what he could do to Moose.

Masha Slamovich vs. Shawna Reed

Slamovich unloads on her in the corner to start and the Snowplow is good for the pin at 51 seconds. As usual.

Post match Havok comes out for a showdown with Slamovich.

We get part two of the Josh Alexander’s Slammiversary ad, as he looks at the crate with the old TNA logo. He opens the crate and we get a highlight package of the company’s history.

Raj Singh and Shera yell about Bhupinder Gujjar not joining them. Gujjar comes in and says let’s settle this in the ring. Singh laughs about him being by himself, but W. Morrissey comes in to say Gujjar isn’t alone. Deal.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoes vs. Violent By Design

The Briscoes are defending and it’s still bizarre to see them here. Doering and Mark start things off with Doering shoving him down. Jay comes in and locks up with Doering, who hands it off to Deaner pretty quickly. The champs take over on Deaner and put him in the corner for some elbows to the face. Deaner gets stomped down in the corner before being thrown outside. The Bang Bang elbow connects but Doering gets in a shot to the face as we take a break.

Back with Jay getting slammed and elbowed for two but he manages to get over for the tag to Mark. That means house can be cleaned, including Deaner being thrown off the top for two. A powerbomb gets the same but Doering posts Mark on the floor. Doering spinebusters Jay for two and Deaner’s top rope headbutt is good for the same. Mark is back in but the Doomsday Device is broken up. While Mark is dealing with Doering, Jay rolls Deaner up to retain at 13:58.

Rating: C+. After watching them for years, it is great to see the Briscoes on a slightly bigger stage and they are every bit as good here as they are in Ring of Honor. They are instantly the best team around here and that could be the case for a long time to come. Violent By Design isn’t the most thrilling team and now that they’re gone, the Briscoes can move on to someone else, perhaps the Good Brothers.

Post match Eric Young comes in to help with the beatdown but Josh Alexander comes in for the save to end the show and probably set up the six man next week.

Overall Rating: C+. We’ll call this one good enough, as Impact is on its way to Slammiversary and that could be a solid show. What matters is that they are setting up the card, or at least the pieces of the card, and you can see some of the show from here. Young vs. Alexander could be turned into something big, though they still have a long way to go to make it happen. Nice show this week, as they aren’t coming off of a bad post pay per view show for a change.

Results
Mike Bailey b. Laredo Kid – Rollup
Jordynne Grace/Taya Valkyrie/Mia Yim b. Deonna Purrazzo/Tasha Steelz/Savannah Evans – Eat Defeat to Evans
Good Brothers b. Matt Taven/Mike Bennett – Gun Stun to Bennett
Masha Slamovich b. Shawna Reed – Snowplow
Briscoes b. Violent By Design – Rollup to Deaner

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 5, 2022
Location: Majed J. Neshewat Convention Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s the go home show for Under Siege, which has come up rather fast after Rebellion took place just a few weeks ago. Last week saw Tomohiro Ishii announced as the new #1 contender to Josh Alexander, which should be a nice trial by fire for the new champion. It’s time for the final push towards Under Siege so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Tonight it’s Monster’s Ball with PCO vs. Jonah and they actually bring back the “they’ve been locked away for 24 hours” deal, which I don’t remember them using in years.

Brian Myers vs. W. Morrissey

Tables match. Morrissey hits a running splash in the corner and goes outside to load up the first table. That is broken up with a slingshot dive to the floor but Morrissey fights up again. Another table is loaded up but Myers is right back to cut him off as we have a theme going here. Instead Myers sets up his own table, only to have to escape a powerbomb attempt. Back in and a big boot drops Myers again so Morrissey loads up the powerbomb.

Cue Matt Cardona for the save bur Morrissey fights back and hits a double chokeslam. Now it’s Chelsea Green for a distraction so Cardona can get in a Digital Media belt shot. Cardona puts a bunch of toys on the table but Morrissey fights up again. Green grabs Morrissey by the hair so the Players can grab a table and charge, only to hit the post and have it break (which would have been as unique of an ending to one of these things as I have seen in a long time).

Cardona tries to escape but gets cut off by Jordynne Grace, who takes him back to the ring to put him down. A powerbomb/big boot combination puts Cardona through a table (remember neither are in the match) and Myers is back up to break a piece of a table over Morrissey’s back. That doesn’t count either (fair enough) and Morrissey plants him with a Boss Man Slam. Morrissey has had it with Myers and powerbombs him over the top and through a table for the win at 10:41.

Rating: C+. I liked that they had some creative stuff in here for once and the big powerbomb finish looked good. Morrissey is almost channeling Sid (minus the charisma) here and that is not a bad use for him. Grace and Morrissey as a team could grow on me, though I would hope the Players would go over them in the end, as Cardona and Myers as major heels could go somewhere.

Willie Mack and Rich Swann are ready for the Bullet Club but the Major Players come in to ask about what happened to Brian Myers. This seems to set up Swann vs. Matt Cardona.

Here’s what is coming tonight and at Under Siege.

X-Division Title: Ace Austin vs. Rocky Romero

Austin is defending and takes him into the corner to start, only to miss a shot to the face. Romero takes him down with a headlock takeover, followed by some Forever Clotheslines. That’s broken up with a kick to the face though and we take a break. Back with Austin knocking him out to the floor, leaving Austin to lay over the top rope. Romero switches places with him though and it’s a hurricanrana off the apron to take over. Austin’s kick to the face is countered into a half crab but Austin is right to the rope. Back up and a kick to the face sets up the Fold to retain the title at 10:53.

Rating: C+. This is what you bring in Romero for: he can make someone look pretty good without putting all of the focus on himself or winning a major match as his reputation is enough to carry him. Austin gets a nice title defense and some momentum as he goes into New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors so this worked out well. I’m not the biggest Romero fan but this was a very fine effort from him.

Post match here is Trey Miguel to chase Austin off. The rematch is officially on for Under Siege.

Josh Alexander is ready to face Tomohiro Ishii at Under Siege because he wants to face the best in the world.

EGV is still coming.

Masha Slamovich vs. Damaris

Damaris hammers away in the corner and gets suplexed out for her efforts. The Snowplow finishes for Slamovich at 49 seconds.

Raj Singh and Shera threaten/growl at Bhupinder Gujjar for not joining up with them.

The Briscoes yell about Violent By Design having two more days as Tag Team Champions.

Violent By Design isn’t having any of the Briscoes trying to take their titles and power.

Bullet Club vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack

Jay White/Chris Bey for the Club here. White chops Swann into the corner to start but it’s quickly off to Mack for a facebuster/bulldog combination and an early near fall. Swann comes back in to chop at White until Bey gets in a cheap shot from the apron. Something like an F5 onto the top rope staggers Swann and the Club takes over.

White is smart enough to knock Mack off the apron, meaning Swann’s backdrop doesn’t set up a tag. Not that it matters as Swann gets over for the tag a few seconds later and house is cleaned. The Samoan drop from Mack sets up a splash from Swann which sets up a standing moonsault from Mack for two on Bey. White cuts off Swann though and it’s a half and half to drop Mack. The Art of Finesse gives Bey the pin at 6:49.

Rating: B-. White and Bey continue to make almost everything look easy while Swann and Mack are very smooth in their own right. This is a match that I could have gone with going a lot longer and it’s kind of a shame that it got so little time. It’s also nice to give another Bullet Club pairing a win rather than just the Good Brothers for once, as that has been done for so long.

Post match Honor No More runs in for the beatdown but the Good Brothers come in for the save. Rehwoldt uses this time to recap the Bullet Club’s week in New Japan, which is absolutely live and not a voiceover whatsoever.

Tasha Steelz/Savannah Evans are walking through the back when the lights flicker. Decay starts haunting them and Evans is taken away, leaving Havok’s voice to say that Steelz is hers at Under Siege.

Deonna Purrazzo is ready for Taya Valkyrie and the AAA Reina de Reinas Title at Under Siege.

Steve Maclin vs. Tomohiro Ishii

They go straight to the forearm off to start until Ishii wins a battle of the shoulders. A powerslam sends Maclin outside and we take a break. Back with Ishii winning another exchange of forearms but Maclin grabs a backbreaker to take over. An elbow to the face sets up a chinlock, with Ishii actually using the rope for the break.

Ishii fights back up and chops away in the corner but Maclin hits an Angle Slam for two. The Boston crab goes on so Ishii grabs the rope again. Maclin slips out of a German suplex attempt and hits one of his own for two so Ishii blasts him with a clothesline. The brainbuster gives Ishii the pin at 12:53.

Rating: C. This wasn’t a great match but it gave Ishii a nice win on his way to the title match this Saturday. It’s a quick build to said title match and Ishii could have used another win but his reputation should make up for some of that. Other than that, you have Maclin taking a loss and I’m really not sure about that, especially coming off of his triple threat win at Rebellion.

Johnny Swinger tells Zicky Dice to dive into his training, as some women go into Swinger’s Dungeon. Swinger suggests a better finisher and offers to teach him all the crabs. Dice doesn’t think that will work, but he does accept….a certain kind of gag as another woman comes up with a whip. This joke is somehow working for me.

Under Siege rundown.

Jonah vs. PCO

Monster’s Ball and the fight starts in the back with Jonah jumping him from behind. They fight up the steps and make it into the arena, where PCO can’t chokeslam him off the stage. PCO slugs away to take over but gets suplexed onto the ramp. We take a break and come back with the two of them in the ring, surrounded by a bunch of weapons. Commentary talks about the history of the match, saying people like Abyss, Jeff Hardy and Tommy Dreamer put it on the mat. If you ignore that the match had been around for about six years before Dreamer was involved in one, sure.

Jonah gets in a sledgehammer shot to the neck but somehow doesn’t kill PCO, who is back with a hurricanrana. Jonah sends him into a ladder in the corner and it’s time to set up a table on the floor (which is far more devastating than a SLEDGEHAMMER). PCO fights back and slugs away, setting up a DDT onto the trashcan. The running flip dive through the ropes takes Jonah down again and the Deanimator connects on the apron.

The middle rope legdrop gives PCO two and Jonah is sent head first into a chair in the corner. Jonah plants him back first onto some open chairs for two and tells him to die. It’s thumbtacks time (because of course it is) and a powerbomb onto the tacks gives Jonah two. PCO catches him on top though and it’s a sledgehammer shot to knock Jonah through the ringside table. Back in and the PCOsault finishes for PCO at 17:57.

Rating: C+. It was the same kind of brawl that you have seen under different names for years now but at least they got a good deal of time and it felt like a blowoff between two monsters who have been going after each other for a long time now. PCO getting the win is a bit of a surprise but this was a heck of a fight to (in theory) wrap up the feud.

Overall Rating: B-. They had a pretty good build towards Under Siege here, which is a rather thrown together show but I don’t think it has the highest expectations in the first place. What matters here is we got some good action and you can see where some of these feuds are going in the next few weeks. I’m liking Impact most of the time these days and that was the case again here with another good effort.

Results
W. Morrissey b. Brian Myers – Powerbomb through a table
Ace Austin b. Rocky Romero – The Fold
Masha Slamovich b. Damaris – Snowplow
Bullet Club b. Rich Swann/Willie Mack – Art of Finesse to Mack
Tomohiro Ishii b. Steve Maclin – Brainbuster
PCO b. Jonah – PCOsault

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Impact Wrestling
Date: April 28, 2022
Location: Majed J. Nesheiwat Convention Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re done with Rebellion and the big story is that Josh Alexander got the World Title back from Moose in a heck of a main event. Other than that, we are less than two weeks away from Under Siege and need to get a card together pretty fast. Odds are we’ll be seeing a bunch of rematches so let’s get to it.

Here is Rebellion if you need a recap.

The opening recap looks at Rebellion in rapid fashion.

Opening sequence.

Here is Violent By Design for a chat. Eric Young talks about desiring power and control, and that is exactly what they went and got. Now they have defeated seven teams and are the permanent Tag Team Champions. If you are being honest, their success shouldn’t surprise you and there is no team anywhere that can take them down.

Cue Heath and Rhino to say they want the Tag Team Titles (with Rhino’s voice getting a bit high) but here are the Briscoes to interrupt. Jay says Dem Boys are in the house and you should have known that they were going to be back after that BS at the Multiverse of Matches. They have won titles everywhere they have gone and this will be no different. Heath tells them to get in the back of the line but Jay says they don’t do that for anyone. Young says this isn’t “an us” problem so the other two can figure this out and come find the champs.

Briscoes vs. Heath/Rhino

For a future Tag Team Title shot. Mark starts fast and clears the ring, setting up the big flip dive to the floor. The brawl is on outside until we settle down so Mark can suplex Heath for two. Heath manages to kick Jay outside though and Rhino gets in a clothesline as we take a break with the Briscoes in trouble.

Back with Jay getting elbowed down and Rhino grabs the nerve hold. Heath switches to his own chinlock and pulls the hair to keep Jay away from the tag. That lasts all of eight seconds as the tag brings Mark in for Red Neck Kung Fu. Everything breaks down and Jay hits the neckbreaker onto Rhino, setting up the Froggy Bow for the pin at 9:57.

Rating: C+. I can always go for more of the Briscoes and while this might not be WWE or AEW, it is great to see them getting on a bigger platform. I’m not sure if they are going to be around long term but just seeing them in Impact is a good sign. Now just get them into the title picture permanently (if they’re staying) and things should pick up a lot.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Moose comes in to see Scott D’Amore and isn’t happy with getting his rematch on five days’ notice. D’Amore tells him to go win his title back.

EGV is coming.

VSK vs. Bhupinder Gujjar

VSK tries to jump him to start but Gujjar gets a running start and hits an elbow to the face. That’s enough to send him outside so Gujjar is right there with a dive to take him out. Back in and VSK gets in a shot to the face as some rather young children seem to be chanting for VSK. The chinlock goes on and lasts as long as expected, with Gujjar fighting up for a Sling Blade. What looks to be a powerslam is broken up but the second attempt works, setting up the middle rope spear to give Gujjar the pin at 4:32.

Rating: C-. This was ever Gujjar match but not as interesting. The guy just doesn’t have that much of note in the ring and is serviceable at best. It also doesn’t help that his story is involving two other people who haven’t been seen as big deals either, making it feel as low level as you can get around here.

Post match here are Raj Singh and Shera, with the latter beating up VSK again.

Ace Austin calls himself Trey Miguel’s greatest weakness but here is Rocky Romero to offer him a spot in the New Japan Best of the Super Juniors. Austin likes the idea but tells Romero to leave. This gets Romero to challenge him for a title match next week. Austin says get in line, but Romero is off to talk to Scott D’Amore. Mike Bailey comes in to offer Austin a handshake but Austin walks away.

Steve Maclin wants the World Title shot at Under Siege.

Honor No More vs. Motor City Machine Guns/Mike Bailey

Eddie Edwards/Mike Bennett/Matt Taven for Honor No More here, with the rest of the team at ringside. Bailey and Taven start things off but it’s a brawl less than fifteen seconds in. Taven tosses Sabin into a powerbomb from Edwards but Bailey flips over them and starts kicking away. A Kenny King distraction lets Taven and Bennett take over on Bailey and Edwards adds the suicide dive as we take a break.

We come back with Bailey kicking Taven down but Edwards in in for the save. As expected, the tag to Sabin goes through mere seconds later and it’s time to clean house. The Dream Sequence hits Bennett and it’s time for the exchange of strikes to the face. Bailey and Bennett chop it out with Bailey getting the better of things and hitting the running shooting star press. The Guns set up Bailey for a double Dream Sequence and it’s time for the series of dives to the floor. Back in and a Kenny King distraction breaks up the Ultimate Weapon and Bennett Spears Shelley. The Die Hard Driver finishes Bailey at 11:05.

Rating: C+. I can always go for a good six man tag and they had the talent in here to make it work. It’s a good sign to see Honor No More picking up a win and there is something satisfying about seeing Bailey getting knocked around. The Guns being back is nice to see too, leaving me pretty happy with everything going on here.

Post match Sabin and Bailey aren’t getting along. With the Guns and Bailey gone, here are the Good Brothers to take out Honor No More.

Josh Alexander says it’s time to shut Moose up for good. He’s ready to face whoever Scott D’Amore has in store for the title shot at Under Siege too.

Here is new AAA Reina de Reinas Champion Taya Valkyrie for a chat, though Matthew Rehwoldt is still trying to find the words to deal with Deonna Purrazzo’s loss. Taya talks about her passion and creativity being held captive for a long time (seemingly talking about her time in WWE) but now she knows who she is. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to reach the top again and now she is the champ again. Cue Purrazzo to jump Taya from behind though and the Fujiwara armbar goes on. Decay comes in for the save.

Tasha Steelz/Savannah Evans b. Decay

It’s a brawl around ringside before the bell until they head inside with Steelz being driven into the corner hard enough that the referee has to check on her. She’s fine enough to get splashed by both members of Decay before handing it off to Evans. The Upside Down is broken up by a grab of Rosemary’s throat and things slow down a bit. Rosemary claws her way out of a fireman’s carry though and it’s Havok coming in with a Death Valley Driver. Everything breaks down and a Havok backbreaker sets up a Rosemary spear finishes Evans at 4:51.

Rating: C. This was a quick one and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Havok as the challenger of the month. She makes for a good monster and hasn’t gotten much focus in recent years so it could be worth a shot. Sometimes you need to mix it up a bit and that is what we might be getting as Rosemary has already had her chance.

It’s time for It’s All About Me with the Influence bragging about their win. Gisele Shaw comes in and says she smelled cheap perfume and insecurity. A match with Dashwood is made for next week.

Vincent is ready to bring PCO back to fight in the coliseum, meaning Monster’s Ball, against Jonah.

Here’s what’s coming next week and at Under Siege.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Moose vs. Josh Alexander

Alexander is defending. Moose starts fast and powers him into the corner but Alexander switches places and chops away. That doesn’t last long as Moose sends him to the floor and we take a break. Back with Moose sending him ribs first into the apron and adding an apron powerbomb. Some shots to the face set up a chinlock with a knee in Alexander’s back.

That’s broken up and Alexander wins a slugout but can only roll so many German suplexes. The C4 Spike doesn’t work so Alexander grabs a Sharpshooter like any good Canadian. Moose makes the rope and gets back up for the exchange of forearms. Alexander rolls over into the ankle lock but Moose sends him into the corner, setting up the release Rock Bottom. A buckle bomb drops Alexander but Moose doesn’t launch the spear. Instead he tries another powerbomb, which is reversed into one from Alexander (with what seemed like a camera cut). The C4 Spike retains Alexander’s title at 16:10.

Rating: B-. These two work well together and they did it again here, though there wasn’t the same energy that the title match had over the weekend. It’s good to see Alexander pick up another win to really establish himself as champion, even if it is something that he already covered on Saturday. Now it is on to Under Siege for Alexander, as Moose might need to go away for a bit to reenergize.

Post match Tomohiro Ishii comes out to stare down Alexander and seems to be the challenger for Under Siege. Works for me.

Overall Rating: C. I wasn’t exactly feeling this one but Impact has a history of not having the strongest shows post pay per views. It doesn’t help that they had to jump right into the build for Under Siege in two weeks, but the card does seem to be made up of logical steps. This wasn’t a great show though and the best match, the main event, was done better just a few days ago. Not worth a watch, but that might be a one off problem.

Results
Briscoes b. Heath/Rhino – Froggy Bow to Rhino
Bhupinder Gujjar b. VSK – Middle rope spear
Honor No More b. Motor City Machine Guns/Mike Bailey b. Die Hart Driver to Bailey
Decay b. Savannah Evans/Tasha Steelz – Spear to Evans
Josh Alexander b. Moose – C4 Spike

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Rebellion 2022
Date: April 24, 2022
Location: Majed J. Nesheiwat Convention Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s back to pay per view for Impact and this time they have made me want to see what they have to offer. The main event is a long awaited showdown between Moose and Josh Alexander for the World Title, after Moose took the title at Bound For Glory and then went after Alexander’s family. The rest of the card looks pretty good too so let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Eddie Edwards vs. Chris Bey

Bey is replacing an injured Jonathan Gresham. There are no seconds here for a change and the fans are behind Bey, complete with the TOO SWEET/HOWEVER YOU SPELL THE WEIRD BARKING THING THEY SAY AFTER TOO SWEET chants. Feeling out process to start with Bey grabbing a headscissors but getting taken down with a shot to the face. An overhead belly to belly suplex drops Bey again but he fires off some kicks to send Edwards outside.

There’s the big running flip dive, sending Rehwoldt into a weird Inception reference. Edwards hits a running knee for two, only to have Bey come back with a running clothesline. Some YES Kicks rock Edwards but he’s back with a failed tiger driver attempt. A Backpack Stunner gets Edwards out of trouble for two but his Blue Thunder Bomb is countered into a cutter for two. The Art of Finesse misses though and Edwards’ tiger driver gets two. The Diehard Driver is enough to finish Bey at 9:22.

Rating: B-. This is the right way to open up a show, as they had a hard hitting, fast paced match until one of them got caught with a big move to shut them down. They had some bigger names in this one than you would see in most Kickoff Show matches and it was a good, back and forth match. Edwards beating Bey is a big win as Bey has had some moments lately, though hopefully Bey doesn’t have to start from scratch again.

Pre-Show: Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Influence vs. IInspiration

The Influence is defending and jumps the IInspiration before the bell. We settle down to McKay vs. Rayne to start but it’s quickly off to Lee to send Rayne into the corner. Dashwood comes in to send Lee face first into the mat as we’re told Rebellion starts in about seven minutes. Good thing they didn’t waste time letting us think this might be some epic match.

Lee manages a rollup for two on Dashwood and they knock each other down for a double breather. The double tag brings in McKay to go after Rayne but has to send Dashwood into her in the corner. A bulldog Rayne face first onto McKay’s knee for two but Dashwood sends the IInspiration into each other. The Spotlight kick gets two on Lee, who kicks the belt out of Rayne’ hands for two. The Idolizer is broken up with a spear and the Clap (double Stroke) retains the titles at 6:35.

Rating: C. It doesn’t help that this is the Knockouts tag division for all intent and purpose but they were given no time here and the clock made it even more obvious. You can only get so far when you’re going home as soon as things start cooking and that caught them here. I’m not sure who comes after the titles next, but this is about it for the IInspiration going after the belts for the time being.

The opening video talks about how everyone has a spirit in them that wants to rebel and win, which they’ll try to do tonight.

Steve Maclin vs. Jay White vs. Chris Sabin

These three have been fighting back and forth for a few weeks. Stat during the entrances: White has competed in 3 triple threats, Maclin has competed in five, and Sabin has competed in SIXTY EIGHT. Dang that’s a bit nutty. Maclin has a skull painted on his face for some unexplained reason and it’s White bailing to the floor to start. Sabin gets run over with a shoulder and punched down, only to send Maclin to the apron.

White pulls him down and Sabin runs both of them over on the floor to pick up the pace a bit. Back in and Sabin hits a spinning crossbody to drop White but Maclin hits some backbreakers to take over. They all head outside with White dropping Maclin ribs first onto the apron and taking Sabin down as well. Back in and White suplexes Sabin into Maclin in the corner for two but Sabin kicks both of them down.

A double high crossbody leaves Sabin the only one standing before he chops away at both of them. The tornado DDT gets two on White but Maclin drops Sabin as well to put everyone on the mat. White’s swinging Rock Bottom gets two on Maclin but the Tower Of Doom is broken up.

Sabin knocks White into the Tree of Woe and missile dropkicks Maclin, who puts Sabin in the Tree of Woe as well. Maclin spears White but misses another to Sabin, sending Maclin flying out to the floor. That leaves Sabin to counter the Blade Runner into a rollup for two (how he beat White at Multiverse of Matches) before hitting the Cradle Shock….but Maclin rolls Sabin up for the pin at 12:05.

Rating: B-. At some point you have to pull the trigger on someone and Maclin has come a pretty long way in recent months. Having him pin Sabin is a big enough deal but giving him a win over White (even without pinning him) means even more. I’m glad to see Maclin getting a chance after having his chance cut in WWE through no fault of his own, and it seems like he’s making the most of it too. Good for him and a pretty sweet opener.

We run down the rest of the card.

Josh Alexander arrived with his wife and son, with the former talking about how important tonight is for him. Scott D’Amore comes in and gives Alexander a bit of a pep talk.

We recap Taya Valkyrie vs. Deonna Purrazzo for the AAA Reina de Reinas Title. Valkyrie returned at Multiverse of Matches and challenged Purrazzo for the title, but also wants revenge for Purrazzo beating her for the title in the first place.

Reina de Reinas Title: Taya Valkyrie vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Purrazzo is defending and the fans are behind Valkyrie to start. An armdrag into the corner doesn’t get Valkyrie very far so she runs Purrazzo over for two instead. The Shinsuke Nakamura sliding German suplex drops Purrazzo but she manages to pull Valkyrie head first into the post. Back in and a clothesline gives Purrazzo two and it’s a Downward Spiral into a Koji Clutch. Valkyrie powers out and bails to the floor for a breather, setting up a Russian legsweep to drive both of them back first into the apron.

They get back inside where Valkyrie hits her own clothesline for two but Road To Valhalla is broken up. The standing moonsault connects but Valkyrie goes straight to the rope to escape the armbar. Purrazzo goes up and dives into a sitout powerbomb, setting up an STF. That sends Purrazzo to the ropes for a change but she is right back with a kneebar. With that broken up, Valkyrie slips out of the Queen’s Gambit and hits the Road To Valhalla for the pin and the title at 9:02.

Rating: C+. They had to take at least one of the titles off of Purrazzo sooner or later and you had to know Valkyrie was getting the AAA title as soon as she showed up at Multiverse of Matches. Purrazzo had a heck of a ride up to the top but had to come down eventually. Next up will probably be dropping the Ring of Honor Women’s Title and that is the way this should go. If nothing else, it is nice to have Valkyrie back though and hopefully she sticks around with Impact for a bit.

Tasha Steelz isn’t worried about Taya Valkyrie or Rosemary, the latter of whom doesn’t know what is coming for her tonight.

We recap the X-Division Title match, which is more about Mike Bailey vs. Ace Austin with champion Trey Miguel trying to remind us that he is there too.

X-Division Title: Mike Bailey vs. Ace Austin vs. Trey Miguel

Miguel is defending. Austin talks too much trash to start and gets double teamed down, allowing Bailey and Miguel to take turns kicking him in the back. A missed dropkick makes it even worse for Austin, who is sent outside. Austin is able to break up Bailey’s handspring but Miguel takes Austin down with a suicide dive. Bailey takes down both of them with a springboard moonsault but Miguel strikes away back inside.

The big stomp to Bailey’s back is cut off as Austin powerbombs Miguel onto Bailey instead. That doesn’t work well for Austin as he is sent outside, leaving Miguel to avoid the Ultimate Weapon. Now it’s Bailey being sent outside so Miguel counters the Fold into a rollup for two (how Miguel beat Austin on Impact), leaving Bailey to hit a great moonsault to Austin. Miguel isn’t having that and dives onto both of them on the floor, giving them a much needed breather.

Back in and Bailey uses Miguel to set up a German suplex to Austin. Bailey’s double knees take both of them down, leaving Bailey to hit Austin with the Ultimate Weapon for two as Miguel makes the save. Some rollups get two each and it’s Miguel hitting the top rope Meteora for two on Bailey with Austin pulling the referee out. The Fold hits Miguel to give Austin the pin and the title at 10:24.

Rating: B. As expected, this was all action with the three of them not stopping for the ten minutes that they had. Austin getting the title back is interesting, but it is hard to imagine Bailey isn’t champion by Bound For Glory at the very latest. Total sprint here and I had a good time with it, as you kind of had to expect, even with the changes to to Jonathan Gresham’s injury.

Honor No More says they’ve had a great night so far and they’re ready to win the Tag Team Titles.

We get a vignette for EGV, complete with some binary code.

Jonah vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Battle of the monsters time and they go nose to nose to start. Ishii fires off forearms but Jonah knocks him back with just one. Jonah eventually runs him over and then hits the Vader standing splash to drop Ishii again. Some elbows to the neck let Jonah send him into the corner for some forearms to the head and the chinlock goes on.

Ishii fights up and starts his growling but Jonah forearms him back into the corner. That’s broken up again but Jonah is way too big for the brainbuster. Ishii wins the slug out in the corner and they slug it out again until Ishii goes after the knee to take him down. Back up and Ishii sends him into the ropes for a German suplex, setting up a hard lariat for two.

The sliding lariat is blocked though and it’s a shoulder to drop Ishii for a change. The Jonah Bomb gets two and a hard clothesline is good for the same. One heck of a spear cuts Ishii down but he avoids the Tsunami. Now the sliding lariat can connect for two and the brainbuster finishes Jonah at 14:35.

Rating: B-. Ishii isn’t at his former speed anymore and this is a formula that has been done many times, but my goodness they beat each other up here and I was surprised by the ending. Jonah continues to be an absolute beast and it gives Ishii a big boost to beat him. I’m not sure if that is the right move, but dang it was a fun monster fight.

Violent By Design is ready for all comers.

Tag Team Titles: Gauntlet Match

Violent By Design is defending and there are eight teams in total. The Major Players are in at #1 and Jordynne Grace/W. Morrissey are in at #2, because irony tends to be strong in gauntlet matches. Grace hits Myers in the face a few times and manages a suplex from his knees (egads) before handing it off to Morrissey vs. Cardona. With that not working, Grace comes back in as Morrissey gets in a chase on the floor. The melee lets Cardona roll Grace up for the pin at 2:17.

Hold on though as Morrissey chokeslams both of them and Grace hits the big dive through the ropes. The powerbomb through the table is broken up by a Green low blow but Morrissey is wearing a cup. That means Green is powerbombed through the table and the fans seem to approve. The Good Brothers are in at #3 and the Magic Killer finishes Cardona at 6:36 (total). Zicky Dice/Johnny Swinger are in at #4 and, after Dice hits Swinger by mistake, the Magic Killer finishes Dice at 8:41.

Willie Mack/Rich Swann are in at #5 and jump the Brothers to start in a hurry. Swann headscissors Anderson to properly start fast and it’s Mack adding a corner splash. Anderson rips Swann’s face though and it’s Gallows coming in to miss a charge into the corner. A big boot cuts Swann off though and Gallows hits those weird weird punches in the corner. Gallows suplexes him down and grabs a chinlock, with Swann jawbreaking his way to freedom.

The hot tag brings in Mack to clean house, including the Samoan drop into the standing moonsault for two. Anderson is back up with the spinebuster for the same and everything breaks down. A pop up right hand gives Mack two on Anderson but Gallows catches him on top. With Swann down, the Magic Killer finishes Mack at 19:20. Mike Bennett/Matt Taven are in at #6 and it’s a Gun Stun to rock Bennett early. A suplex to Taven is loaded up but Bennett trips Anderson down, allowing Taven to get the pin at 21:48.

Hold on though as the Brothers go after the rest of Honor No More so Taven dives….and hits his teammates. That means a Magic Killer on the floor leave Taven down as Heath and Rhino are in at #7. We start with Bennett getting punched in the corner but Maria’s distraction lets Bennett discus forearm his way out of trouble.

Taven hits a middle rope dropkick for two and Bennett puts on a chinlock with a knee in the back. Back up and stereo crossbodies put both of them down and the hot tag brings in Rhino. A double superkick staggers Rhino and Heath runs into him by mistake to make it worse. The Proto Pack is loaded up but Rhino Gores Taven down for the pin at 25:58.

Violent By Design is in at #8 to complete the field. Young clothesline Rhino down for a fast two and it’s a double kick to the head so Doering can come in. A double clothesline gives Rhino a breather and it’s heath coming in to kick Young in the face. The Wake Up Call connects but Deaner puts the foot on the rope for the save. Everything breaks down and Heath powerslams Young off the top for a change of pace. Doering breaks up the Gore though and it’s a piledriver to finish Heath and retain the titles at 33:02.

Rating: C+. This was long and there were parts where it felt like they were stretching, but Good Brothers vs. Mack/Swann was a good match in the middle of the whole thing. I’m not sure they needed to do the eight team thing when some of the teams were either thrown together or a joke, but the match needed to fill a quota so here we are. The division does have a bit of depth though so there might be something for the future.

We recap Tasha Steelz vs. Rosemary for the Knockouts Title. Steelz won the title last month and Rosemary won a battle royal to get the shot. They have some history so this is a bit personal.

Knockouts Title: Tasha Steelz vs. Rosemary

Steelz, with Savannah Evans, is defending and Havok is here with Rosemary. They start fast with Rosemary taking her into the corner and then throwing her right back out, complete with some screaming. The Upside Down goes on so Steelz bails out to the floor, where she slaps Havok for some reason.

Havok goes after her instead so that’s enough for an ejection. The distraction lets Steelz get in a cheap shot on Rosemary and the beating is on, including something like the Rings of Saturn. Rosemary makes the rope so there’s a Codebreaker to drop her again. A bite to the trunks slows Steelz down and a reverse DDT gives Rosemary two.

Steelz is back with Stratusfaction and the Blackout gets two, only to miss a frog splash. Rosemary sprays some mist in the face though and a spear connects for a VERY close two, meaning it’s time for Rosemary to be frustrated. She goes back up but this time it’s a running springboard cutter right back down. Steelz grabs a Michinoku Drive to retain at 11:44.

Rating: C+. Rosemary is a good person to have in the division because you can put her into any spot and she’ll be at least enough of a threat to make the match interesting. Steelz wasn’t about to lose the title so soon though and now she has a good first victory under her belt. Rosemary had some nice spots in there and that’s about all you can ask for here.

Slammiversary is coming to Nashville on June 19.

Long recap on Josh Alexander vs. Moose for the World Title. Moose stole the World Title at Bound For Glory with the Call Your Shot title match. Then Alexander had to go through the roster, got sent home, and then came back to go after Moose. That caused Moose to go after Alexander’s family, including spearing Alexander’s wife at an independent show. Now the title match is on, after a heck of a video to recap a months long feud.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Moose vs. Josh Alexander

Alexander is challenging and his son comes out with him in Alexander cosplay. They go nose to nose to start with Alexander taking him down for some knees to the ribs. The very early ankle lock sends Moose bailing out to the floor, where he yells at Alexander’s family. Alexander comes out after him and Moose gets in a cheap shot to take over for the first time. Back in and Alexander gets sent hard into the corner, where he ducks a chop and chops away.

That doesn’t work for Moose, who hits a heck of a dropkick to take over before dropping Alexander face first for two. They head outside again where Alexander gets in a posting, only to be sent hard into the barricade. Back in and Alexander snaps off a belly to belly suplex to put both of them down. Some running boots to the face rock Moose to send him outside again, setting up a running crossbody through the ropes to drop him again.

Back in and the C4 Spike is blocked so Alexander rolls ten straight German suplexes. Moose gets in a shot of his own though and the Sky High gets two. A pump kick staggers Alexander but he counters a crossbody into the ankle lock. The rope is grabbed so Alexander kicks him in the head, which just wakes Moose up. They chop it out until Moose hits a Rock Bottom for no avail. Back up and Alexander wins a slugout, setting up a C4 Spike for a very close two.

Another C4 Spike is blocked and Moose bites Alexander’s head. That’s enough to set up a top rope superplex for two more and Moose is frustrated. The spear is countered into a Styles Clash of all things and the ankle lock goes on. Moose rips the turnbuckle pad off to escape, allowing Moose to kick him low. Now the spear can connect for a VERY close two so Moose takes off the top turnbuckle as well. A buckle bomb into the exposed turnbuckle looks to set up another spear but Alexander cuts it off. The C4 Spike is enough to give Alexander the pin and the title at 23:50.

Rating: B. They got the result right, it came after a hard fought match, and Alexander is the champion as he should have been a long time ago. This felt like a pay per view showdown and Alexander won because he is the better man. Much like the previous match, I’m not sure how much drama there was here, but it was a great way to close up the show.

Alexander’s family comes in to celebrate with him to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. As has been the case for a little while now, Impact can deliver on the big stage. That’s what they did again here and I liked what we got almost all the way up and down the card. Nothing on here was really anything close to bad and they got the ending right. While their TV can be hit or miss (though it has been more hit lately), the company’s pay per views are usually quite good and this is the latest entry on that list. Check this out if you haven’t been with Impact in a bit as it’s a rather good show.

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Impact Wrestling
Date: April 21, 2022
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s the go home show for Rebellion and we should be in for a solid night. The card is mostly set with the World Title being more than ready, so now it might be time to focus on just about everything else. I’m actually looking forward to the pay per view and if they can get in one last push, we should be in for a nice Saturday. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Violent By Design vs. Decay

Non-title and it’s Eric Young/Deaner vs. Black Taurus/Crazzy Steve. Taurus hits Deaner in the face to start but Young gets in a cheap shot from the apron to take over. A running knee in the corner gives Deaner two but Taurus knocks him down and brings Steve in to clean house. Steve dropkicks Young off the apron and hits the Cannonball for two on Deaner, with Young dropping a top rope elbow for the save. Everything breaks down and Taurus is sent into the steps. The distraction is enough for Young to break a flag over Steve’s back, allowing Deaner to grab the DDT for the pin at 4:38.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one and the champs cheat to win. Decay is going to be in the elimination match for the titles at Rebellion but it is still a little hard to buy that Violent By Design would need to cheat to beat them. At least it was short though, which is how I tend to like my Violent By Design.

Video on Moose vs. Josh Alexander, which has turned into something of an epic feud.

During the break, Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans jumped Rosemary and Havok as they checked on the rest of Decay.

Rebellion rundown.

Here are the Major Players (Chelsea Green/Brian Myers/Matt Cardona) for a chat. We look back at the three of them combining to put W. Morrissey through a table last week before Cardona says it is appropriate that he is in the ECW Arena because he is the Deathmatch King. Now he and Myers think they need some tag team gold around here, with Myers saying that they’re on the same page now. Green talks about how they were all you could talk about on their own, and now they’re united.

Cue Guido Maritato and Tony Mamaluke, better known as the FBI in ECW, to interrupt. Guido rants about how the Major Players are disrespecting this building and thinks the shirt says MAJOR SISSIES. The FBI clears the ring and Guido wants a Digital Media Title shot RIGHT NOW.

Digital Media Title: Matt Cardona vs. Guido Maritato

Cardona is defending and gets taken to the mat to start. A fireman’s carry takeover has Cardona messed up so he bails to the floor, where he almost hits Green in the face. The distraction lets Guido get in a shot but Myers offers a distraction of his own, allowing Cardona to kick a rope low on Guido. Back in and Cardona gets a bit more serious with some choking and the Reboot. Guido fights up as well and hits the Sicilian Slice, only to have Myers offer a distraction. The low blow and Radio Silence finish for Cardona at 4:56.

Rating: C. As much as I absolutely never need to see another ECW tribute or return again, they kept this short and Cardona won in the end so it could have been a lot worse. Cardona and Myers could make for a force around here and it is kind of amazing to see Cardona coming this far. This isn’t the same thing as having Hawkins and Ryder together again, so I’m curious enough about where this is going.

Post match the table is loaded up but W. Morrissey runs in and…gets taken down by Green’s low blow. Jordynne Grace of all people runs in for the save and cleans house, allowing Morrissey to chokeslam Cardona through the table.

Honor No More is ready to win all of their matches at Rebellion and mock Bullet Club for a bonus.

Jonah talks about how he hurt PCO and now he’ll do the same to Tomohiro Ishii at Rebellion.

Shera vs. Gabriel Rodriguez

The toss into the corner sets up the Sher Kamur for the pin at 16 seconds.

Bhupinder Gujjar isn’t regretting his decision to not join Raj Singh.

Moose is ready to go and make a public apology but wants assurances that Josh Alexander won’t attack him. Scott D’Amore isn’t impressed but he’ll be at ringside anyway.

Honor No More vs. Bullet Club

Vincent/Matt Taven/Mike Bennett/Kenny King vs. Jay White/Good Brothers/Chris Bey here with the rest of Honor No More at ringside too. Anderson shoulders Vincent down to start and hands it off to Gallows to do the same. Bennett comes in to get punched in the corner but avoids an elbow, allowing White and Taven to come in.

Taven dropkicks him down but spends too much time saying his name, allowing White to hit a chop. King comes in to trade missed dropkicks with Bey, with the latter being knocked into the corner. A Bennett brainbuster plants Bey and Taven gets two off a neckbreaker. Taven misses a charge though and the hot tag brings in Anderson to really clean house. Honor No More is sent outside and we take a break.

Back with Anderson and Bennett knocking each other down, setting up the double tag to White and Vincent. The spinning suplex gives White two but Vincent is back with a Russian legsweep for the double knockdown. The hot tag brings in Gallows to clean house as everything breaks down. Bey hits a big running flip dive to the floor, leaving Bennett to get Gun Stunned into the Magic Killer for the pin at 12:48.

Rating: C+. This was the kind of insanity that you might have expected and there was almost no way that Honor No More was going to win, especially without its ace in the match. Other than that, the Bullet Club instantly feels bigger because of White being around. He’s a star and the kind of person you can build around for a long time to come, assuming he wants to stick around. Good match here, with a lot of people getting to shine.

Steve Maclin is ready for Chris Sabin and Jay White at Rebellion because he is in a club of his own (meaning the military).

The IInspiration were having a signing earlier before stopping to talk to the camera. They’re glad that Kaleb With A K is gone, as now they can get the Knockouts Tag Team Titles back.

Taya Valkyrie is back for the Reina de Reinas Title, and maybe to shut Deonna Purrazzo up a bit.

Ace Austin/Mike Bailey vs. Trey Miguel/Laredo Kid

Austin forearms Miguel in the face to start and goes after his arm to limited avail. Bailey comes in to run the ropes with Kid, who sends him outside for a heck of a suicide dive. Back from a break and it’s Austin driving a shoulder into Kid’s ribs in the corner. Kid fights up and strikes away though, allowing the hot tag off to Miguel.

Everything breaks down and Kid’s springboard is broken up with a kick to the head. Bailey and Austin hit their stereo running flip dives but Miguel is back up to kick them both down. Back in and Bailey spends too much time setting up a kick and gets dropkicked down. That leaves Austin to load up the Fold, which is countered into a rollup to give Miguel the pin at 9:25.

Rating: B-. It’s the kind of a match that is going to be entertaining and high speed every time, even if it isn’t exactly a classic formula. It’s a bit of a weird choice to give the champ the pin going into the title match, but maybe Austin can get the win back at the pay per view to even it up. I’ll take that over Bailey, who still hasn’t clicked for me.

Post match Austin wants Bailey to deck Miguel but Bailey strikes Austin down instead to stand tall.

Another Rebellion rundown.

Vincent excuses himself from an Honor No More huddle so he can go find some jumper cables. He finds PCO and electrocutes him back to life, because PCO is not human.

Here is Moose, with his lawyer RD Evans, for the public apology. The statement, to Josh Alexander’s family, is rather formal and includes some information about Moose’s title reign. That’s not good enough for Moose, who cuts it off and wants a better apology. He is sorry that he exposed Alexander as a horrible father and husband, plus for the beating that Alexander is getting at Rebellion. Moose isn’t sorry for sending Alexander home for more than a month. Then Alexander is going to beg Moose to come to his home and show his wife and son what a real man is.

Cue Alexander for the brawl with Moose, who gets in a cheap shot to set up a chokeslam. The table is set up at ringside but Moose takes too long, allowing Alexander to hit the C4 Spike through said table to end the show. I have no idea why the table was needed when a regular C4 Spike inside would have worked just fine but that’s modern wrestling for you.

Overall Rating: B-. They’re doing a good enough job of setting up the pay per view, which has been built up long enough that it needs to just take place already. The good thing is that they haven’t burned me out on any of the feuds, with Moose vs. Alexander being timed about as well as it could have been. There was enough good wrestling on here to keep me interested and Rebellion still has my attention so it’s a success all around.

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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