Born To Die
Date: April 5, 2024
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentator: Joe Dombrowski

It’s back to the ECW Arena for Battleground Championship Wrestling, a local promotion which doesn’t seem to be the most well received. We’ll actually be looking at a pair of shows from them on the same day, with one of them being a bit different. This is their regular show and I have no idea what to expect here so let’s get to it.

Keep in mind I do not follow this promotion at all so I apologize in advance for anything I miss involving storylines or character information.

Juicy Finau vs. Wrecking Ball Legursky

We’re starting with the hoss fight as the rather large Legursky can’t move the far bigger Finau. Legursky yells at him and they collide a few times to no avail. A crossbody finally sends Legursky out to the floor and they brawl outside, with Legursky being sent into the barricade. Back in and Legursky hits a crossbody for a knockdown of his own, with Finau rolling outside this time.

A chair to the back has Finau in more trouble but he knocks the chair into Legursky’s face for a change. Back in and Legursky splashes him into the corner, setting up a hip attack. Finau isn’t having that and hits one of his own for two, with frustration setting in. Back up and Legursky manages a World’s Strongest Slam for two more but Finau plants him with a Samoan drop. A middle rope moonsault finishes Legursky at 10:34.

Rating: C+. This one is going to depend on how you feel about hoss fights so it was only going to be so strong in the first place. Finau is a huge guy and some of the things he can do are impressive but I’ve never gotten the big appeal out of him. I’ve liked the things I’ve seen from Legursky over the years, though a lot of that might be due to having an awesome name.

Lance Anoa’i vs. Rich Swann

For a shot at the Battleground Championship Wrestling Title. Anoa’i is billed as representing the Bloodline (son of Samu, cousin of just about everyone else) and has a nice look. The fans however seem to prefer Swann, as dancing often gets positive reactions. Anoa’i shoves him down without much trouble to start but the alternating hands on a test of strength attempt sets off the dancing.

That just earns Swann a rather hard Samoan drop and they head outside, with Swann whipping him into the barricade for a needed breather. A whole lap around the ring sets up a running boot to Anoa’i face but a second takes too long, meaning Swann gets dropped. Back in and Swann fights out of a nerve hold but gets dropped hard on his back for his efforts. Swann is fine enough to hit a clothesline into a frog splash for two but Anoa’i superkicks his head off. The Superfly Splash finishes Swann off at 7:35.

Rating: C+. I don’t remember seeing Anoa’i before but beating a fairly big name like Swann is a good sign for his future. Granted being part of the Anoa’i Family helps and he had a solid look and some size. I could see him going somewhere someday, as he’s only 32 years old and looked fine enough in there. Swann still feels like someone who was on the verge of being a bigger start and then just stopped moving up the ladder for some reason. Maybe it’s being such a long time TNA star, but he should be better than what he is at the moment.

Sex With Your Next Ex Express vs. Nu Backseat Boys

That would be Alvin/Kristian Ross/Philadelphia Playboy vs. Johnny Kashmere/JP Grayson/Tommy Grayson. Joel Gertner is with the former team, and if they win, they all get one year contracts. If they lose though, they’re completely out of the promotion. Gertner, looking rather old and depressed, actually doesn’t say anything before the match. The Express jumps them to start but get knocked away with the Boys firing off the kicks to the rather large Alvin. Kashmere tries to slam Ross but gets clipped and pinned 1:56.

Gertner announces the winners and says it didn’t have to be this way. He didn’t need to come here for the low money he’s receiving….but he paid off the referee to win here. Gertner talks about how people he cares about are going into various Halls of Fame and now HE is going into the Intergalactic Hall Of Fame Of Life!

Crowbar vs. Facade

Crowbar (yes the WCW guy) has a large bodyguard named Percival and a masked woman named Vanessa who come to the ring for him. Facade on the other hand is in rather bright colors and is billed as the Neon Ninja. Crowbar hides in the corner to start before getting caught in an early headlock. That’s broken up and we have a standoff as commentary talks about the various shows that have taken place in this venue.

Back up and Crowbar chops away in the corner, only for Facade to show him a better version. Some springboards into a dropkick put Crowbar on the floor but he’s right back in, where Facade drops him with a suplex. Crowbar heads outside again but this time Percival press slams Facade onto the barricade. Facade gets dropped onto a chair to make it worse and they head back inside for some near falls.

A running crotch attack against the ropes rocks Facade again and a legdrop gives Crowbar two more. Ye olde chinlock doesn’t last long but Crowbar pulls him out of the corner for another near fall. A Swanton misses for Crowbar though and Facade hits a running kick to the chest for a breather. The kick works so well that Facade can hit a springboard spinning version to the face for two more.

With that kind of exhausted, Facade whips out a door and bridges it on the timekeeper’s table at ringside. A springboard off the barricade doesn’t work as Facade slips, allowing Crowbar to hit a chokebomb for two back inside. There’s a super hurricanrana into a northern lights suplex onto a chair for two on Facade. Back up and Facade puts him down, setting up a triple jump twisting moonsault for two.

Percival tries to interrupt but gets kicked in the head, which is enough for Crowbar to leave. That doesn’t work for Facade, who hits a big springboard flip dive and then sends Crowbar through the door. Back in and Crowbar grabs a chair, which is kicked into his face for two with Vanessa pulling the referee at two. Percival gets involved again, this time catching Facade on top, allowing Crowbar to grab a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 19:05.

Rating: C+. Well that was….long. I’m not sure if they needed to go on for nearly twenty minutes but I was kind of stunned that it ran as long as it did. Facade is quite good at the high flying stuff and I’m not sure I would have recognized Crowbar if commentary hadn’t pointed it out. The fact that he’s still going is impressive enough and the match wasn’t bad, but they probably could have cut about five minutes out to make it a good bit better.

Post match Facade goes after Vanessa but Crowbar says he shouldn’t do that because he’s a babyface. Crowbar wants to sit down and talk with Facade in the back and tries to get a NEON NINJA chant started. Facade isn’t sure and leaves on his own.

VSK vs. La Estrella

They fight over wrist control to start until VSK grabs a headscissors into a dropkick. Estrella is right back up with a hand walk into a headscissors of his own, with VSK being sent outside. Back in and VSK sends him outside, with a dropkick through the ropes sending Estrella flying up the aisle in a nice visual. They get back inside again and VSK catapults him to the floor as you might be noticing a pattern emerging here.

Back in again and Estrella sends him to the floor this time (ok we get it), setting up a springboard dive to drop VSK again. Estrella grabs a spinning DDT for two back inside but gets crotched on top. VSK’s Cradle Shock gets two but Estrella is back with a springboard headbutt for two. Not that it matters as VSK is grabs a sunset driver for the pin at 8:11.

Rating: C. They were doing well enough, though the constant trips to the floor hurt it a good bit. I shouldn’t be rolling my eyes and saying “again?” about five minutes into a match. VSK is someone who has popped up in a few different promotions now and has done well enough, though I’m not sure how far he could realistically expect to go. Not a bad match, but it felt like they weren’t sure what they were doing to start.

Tim Embler, the owner of the company, is here for a chat. First up, he brings up the Joel Gertner situation, which he will address at the next show. That will be on July 6, when there will be three events in one day. The day will include an all women’s show called Who Runs The World, a meet and greet with Jim Ross, and then a show called United We Stand. As for Gertner and company, they will be facing three ECW Originals, as managed by Tod Gordon and Bill Alfonso.

Also on that show, James Storm and Fuego del Sol, but more importantly, we have the debut of the Battleground Street Fight Championship. That title will be available to anyone who has spilled blood in this building for any promotion. There will be a tournament held, with Necro Butcher as the first name announced, but cue Drake Younger (as in the former WWE referee who had some….interesting thoughts on various issues) to interrupt. He talks about what he has done in this building and wants in on the title. Works for Embler.

Intermission, which is thankfully edited out of the streaming version.

Fallah Bahh/Beastman vs. Brian Myers/Swoggle

Beastman is from deepest, darkest West Virginia and Myers has his TNA Tag Team Title. Myers and Bahh (who weighs about 400lbs) start things off but Swoggle wants in instead. A bite to the back of the tights doesn’t do much to Bahh, who knocks Swoggle down and then rolls over him to make it worse. Myers, thinking Swoggle is a bit destroyed, comes in to drag him over to the corner for a tag.

Beastman comes in as well and it’s a double elbow to put Myers down, leaving Beastman (probably pushing 400lb himself) to do something of a Worm. A trip to the floor goes well for Myers, as he grabs an implant DDT for two on Beastman back inside. Swoggle comes in and rakes Beastman’s eyes for two before telling Myers to give him a boot. A bite to the back drives Beastman into said boot, with Myers telling Swoggle to give him a boot this time well.

That earns Myers a toss into the corner, meaning Bahh can come back in to clean house. A big legdrop gets two on Myers, who charges into a swinging Boss Man Slam from Beastman. Everything breaks down and Beastman misses a charge out to the corner. A low blow staggers Bahh and it’s a Roster Cut (running clothesline) into a Shining Wizard from Swoggle to pin Bahh at 8:05.

Rating: C. I’m thinking we can write this one off as “goofy fun” and that isn’t a bad thing. It was the freak show aspect with the small Hornswoggle, the two giant opponents, and Myers as the one in the middle. That worked out well enough, with Swoggle being incredibly talented and far better than what he is often expected to be given his size.

PCO vs. Matt Riddle

This is billed as a three way dance before the ring announcer corrects himself (as Jacob Fatu was originally advertised but apparently signed with WWE around this time). Riddle tries some grappling to start and gets nowhere so he strikes away instead. An overhead suplex sets up the Broton for two but PCO catches him with a superplex for two.

Riddle hits his own suplex, setting up the Floating Bro for two more. PCO isn’t having that and knocks him outside for the big suicide dive. Back in and a guillotine legdrop gets two on Riddle, followed by a chokeslam. The PCOsault misses but PCO is right back with a Codebreaker out of the corner for two. Riddle pops back up and strikes away, setting up an RKO for the pin at 5:26.

Rating: C. This was fun while it lasted but the match barely going five minutes is rather disappointing. These are the two biggest names on the show and they were barely out there for very long. I was interested in seeing these two have a match I hadn’t seen before and while they did, I was hoping for a lot more.

Women’s Title: Dani Mo vs. Miranda Gordy

Mo is defending and they fight over wrist control to start. With that going nowhere, Mo grabs a headlock takeover and then armdrags her out to the floor. A dropkick through the ropes staggers Gordy, who sends her into the barricade a few times. Gordy clotheslines her over the barricade and rams her into various things, only to be sent into some chairs.

They head back inside where Gordy hits a running corner splash for two, leaving her with a smile for some reason. Mo strikes away and hits a running dropkick for two, followed by a basement Downward Spiral. Gordy suplexes her way out of trouble but the powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana. Back up and….two women run in for the no contest at 9:04.

Rating: C+. They were starting to roll near the end but then the ending brought it right back down. Gordy is someone who has the kind of power that you do not often see in women’s wrestling and she was wrestling enough like her dad to make that work. Mo was more of a plucky star who fought against the bigger challenger, which was starting to work before everything was cut off.

Post match the beating is on and the women…..are not identified by commentary, who says he doesn’t know who they are (even though they have their own title). How do you screw that up? Or how do you think that’s a good idea?

Battleground Title: Brian Kendrick vs. Lince Dorado

Kendrick is defending. They trade takedowns to start and Kendrick makes it over to the ropes. The threat of an early bulldog choke has Dorado escaping as well and he strikes away to take over. A middle rope anklescissors sends Kendrick to the apron and a dropkick puts him on the floor. There’s another anklescissors, this time from the apron, to drop Kendrick again as the champ is in trouble early.

Dorado chops away against the barricade but gets launched face first into a metal post. Hold on though as Kendrick doesn’t want to win via countout and throws him back inside. Dorado is back up with a chair for a step up leg lariat in the corner. A high crossbody connects but Kendrick rolls through into the bulldog choke. That’s broken up as well so Dorado superkicks him into a sitout powerbomb for two. The shooting star press misses for Dorado so Kendrick grabs Sliced Bread #2 for…well two more actually. They trade rollups until Kendrick gets a sunset flip (and lays backwards for some reason) to retain at 7:43.

Rating: B-. Just like the Riddle vs. PCO match, I was expecting a good bit more here, especially for a title match. How much can you really get out of a main event title match when you only have that much time? Both of them are more than good enough in the ring to have a better match, but they didn’t have the time to make it work as well as possible.

Post match Juicy Finau and Afa Jr. come in to say the title is coming back to the Samoan Dynasty on July 6. Kendrick leaves and Afa hypes up the crowd, but does stop to yell at one fan like a villain should.

Overall Rating: C+. This was just about the pure definition of “eh, it was ok”. The wrestling was mostly adequate and it felt like they were setting things up for later in a lot of ways, but there is absolutely nothing worth going out of your way to see here. They didn’t try to tie this into ECW very much, but the few times they did made it stand out at least a bit better.

On the more positive side, the production values were quite good and better than most of what you’ll see in independent promotions. There was nothing bad on the show and even the worst match was completely watchable. Throw in a rather laid back attitude and I had a good enough time, though the bigger matches need to feel more important. You’ll be fine if you watch this, but it’s VERY low on the list of shows you’ll want to see.

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Ring Of Honor
Date: September 21, 2023
Location: Bryce Jordan Center, State College, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Things have gotten a lot more interesting around here as we have a new Ring Of Honor World Champion in the form of Eddie Kingston. The problem with that is it might not have much of an impact on the show as not much happens around here, plus the whole this show was taped before the title change. Let’s get to it.

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

Eddie Kingston opens the show and talks about what a great champion Claudio Castagnoli is. He’s proud and happy but that will change as soon as he gets back to the hotel and realizes he has to defend the title. This is dedicated to Xavier, the second Ring Of Honor World Champion and someone people don’t remember.

Opening sequence.

Pure Rules Title: Nick Wayne vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Wayne, who has never wrestled in ROH or had a Pure Rules match, is challenging. They go to the mat with Shibata working on a bodyscissors before switching over to the arm. It’s too early for the PK so Shibata pulls him into an ankle lock, sending Wayne to the ropes for the first time. They head outside with Wayne being sent into the barricade for a running boot to the face.

Back in and Shibata kicks him in the face a few times but Wayne fights up with a jumping elbow. There’s a shotgun dropkick into the corner so Wayne can forearm away, setting up a basement dropkick. Shibata isn’t having that and unloads in the corner, setting up a suplex for two. The cobra twist goes on but Wayne uses a second rope break, with the third being used seconds later. Wayne gets in a shot of his own but Wayne’s World is countered into the sleeper. The PK retains the title at 9:17.

Rating: C+. Not a bad way to open the show, but as commentary pointed out: it was Wayne’s first ROH match as well as his first Pure Rules match. That makes the idea of him winning the title more than a little hard to buy and Wayne felt like he was in over his head. In other words, it felt like a match for the sake of getting a title match on the show and that’s not a great idea.

Lee Johnson is interrupted by Shane Taylor Promotions and Lee Moriarty is ready for him tonight.

Diamante vs. Catie Brite

Diamante runs her over to start and fires off some elbows to the chin. Brite gets a rollup out of the corner for two but Diamante is back with a Cross Rhodes for the pin at 1:57. Not much to see here.

The Infantry and Willie Mack are ready to win the Six Man Tag Team Titles tonight.

Lee Johnson vs. Lee Moriarty

They fight over a lockup and wristlock to start until Moriarty sends him into the corner for a shot to the face. Back up and Johnson sends him outside but Moriarty stomps away on the way back in. The seated abdominal stretch goes on but Johnson fights up and makes the clothesline comeback. A Blue Thunder Bomb gives Johnson two and a superkick into a frog splash gets the same. Back up and Moriarty hits a dropkick into an enziguri for the pin at 7:18.

Rating: C. Well Moriarty wasn’t going to lose so soon after joining Shane Taylor Promotions so this was about getting him in the ring and having him break a sweat. The good thing is that Johnson did get in some offense so this wasn’t a squash. Johnson continues to be a nice hand who needs a few wins to establish himself as a bigger threat, but I’m not sure those are going to come.

And now, Minion Training with Athena training Billie Starks and Lexi Nair in tasks such as running the steps, giving her a standing ovation and booing people don’t like. Nair is dubbed the Minion Bestie, but Starkz still sucks. More funny stuff here.

Trish Adora vs. Mercedes Martinez

Martinez grabs a headlock to start and takes Adora down, only to have Adora escape without much trouble. A spinebuster gives Martinez two and a forearm staggers Adora again. Martinez hits a suplex for two more but Adora gets a suplex of her own. That’s too much for Martinez, who hits a running knee into a Hidden Blade into the Brass City Sleeper to make Adora tap at 4:39.

Rating: C. Almost a squash here as Martinez gets to look like a monster again. She’s someone who could easily be slotted in or a title shot and hopefully that comes sooner rather than later. At the same time you have Adora, who has fallen pretty far through the cracks. She felt like someone ready to move up the ladder yet here she is instead, losing in less than five minutes with so little offense. That’s kind of disappointing but not everyone can can a push.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Angelina Love

Athena, with Billie Starkz, is defending. They go with some standing switches to start until Love takes her down into an armbar. Athena breaks out and hits a basement Meteora but gets dropped hard on the floor. Back in and Athena’s head gets slammed onto the mat before they trade rollups for two each. Love gets the better of things and pulls her into a chinlock before taking it to the mat again to cut off a comeback attempt.

Athena fights up again without much trouble, setting up a kick to the face. The O Face is broken up (partially due to Starkz’s cheering) and the Botox Injection (pump kick) gives Love two. Back up and Starkz offers a distraction, allowing Athena to grab an over the shoulder backbreaker into a Codebreaker for the retaining pin at 6:21.

Rating: C+. Love is someone with enough of a history to hang in there with Athena but this was still about Athena and Starkz. That all but has to be the big match at Final Battle but my goodness that’s a good ways off. For now though, Athena gets a win over a name rather than devouring another nobody/midcarder.

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is ready for Griff Garrison and Cole Karter’s first match as a team. Garrison already doesn’t seem confident.

Leyla Hirsch/Renegades vs. Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue/Kiera Hogan

Hogan hurricanranas Robyn out of the corner and it’s off to Blue for a basement superkick. Charlette comes in to take over on Blue and grab a chinlock before Leyla tags herself in for some German suplexes. Blue manages to come back with another kick and it’s Nightingale coming in to clean house. A double suplex drops the Renegades for two as everything breaks down. Hogan kicks Robyn in the head and grabs a neckbreaker. Everyone else heads outside and it’s Code Blue to finish Charlette at 7:11.

Rating: B-. This was the fun six person tag and that’s what they were trying to do here. Nightingale and Blue are good for a spot like this and Hogan has grown quite a bit. Unfortunately the Renegades have fallen through the floor in recent weeks after a rather promising start. Hirsch is someone else who should be given a chance and could have a spot with that style but instead she’s here filling in a three woman team.

Tony Nese and the Spanish Announce Project are ready for their debut as a team. If they win, Nese will give them free group training. They aren’t impressed.

Ethan Page vs. VSK

They trade headlocks to start until VSK has to go to the eyes to escape. The Ego’s Edge is broken up and VSK fires off some strikes. Page catches him in a kind of cobra clutch belly to back suplex, setting up a slingshot cutter for the pin at 2:11. Not much here but Page is someone worth pushing around here.

Tony Nese/Spanish Announce Project vs. El Hijo del Vikingo/Gravity/Metalik

Well that’s kind of one sided. Mark Sterling introduces Nese for his usual stuff, though he does mock the local college football team. Serpentico and Metalik turn up the speed to start with Metalik grabbing a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Angelico comes in and gets flipped over by Gravity but it’s too early for the dive.

Instead Vikingo springboards in to take over on Nese, including a missile dropkick. Vikingo loads up the big springboard dive but lands HARD on his hip and oh yeah that’s going to be a problem. Metalik and Gravity hit their own big flip dives before Metalik takes Nese back inside for a running knee. Nese dropkicks him down though and slap tags Angelico in, which doesn’t seem to go well.

A legdrop keeps Metalik in trouble as Vikingo is nowhere to be seen. Metalik’s sunset bomb gets him out of trouble and the hot tag brings Gravity back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Metalik powerbombs Serpentico for two with Nese making the save. Nese goes for Gravity’s mask but that’s too far for Serpentico and Angelico, who walk out instead. That leaves Metalik to come in with the rope walk Swanton for the pin on Nese at 8:32.

Rating: B-. Another entertaining match here, Vikingo injury aside. That is the kind of thing that is going to happen at some point as Vikingo’s style is so high risk in the first place. Then you have Nese going too far and annoying his already not so interested partners. Sometimes it’s nice to see a villain get what is coming to them and that is what they did here.

Ethan Page is glad to have a bit of a winning streak around here and talks about how great it was to challenge for the World Title in his hometown. It’s been downhill from there though and now it’s time to rebuild himself around here because this is the place for competition. This is a Page I could see going somewhere and that’s a good thing.

Griff Garrison/Cole Karter vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is here with Garrison and Karter. Martin armdrags Martin to start before it’s off to Garrison to grapple it out with Andretti. Martin comes back in for a top rope double stomp to the back of the head but Maria offers a distraction so Garrison can score with a big boot.

Garrison doesn’t like that interference and doesn’t like her choking on the ropes any more. It’s back to Martin to pick up the pace, including a double handspring elbow. Karter grabs a rollup and puts feet on the ropes, which is broken up by Garrison. Maria and Garrison yell at each other so Andretti dives onto Garrison. Martin’s suplex sets up Andretti’s springboard 450 to finish Karter at 4:52.

Rating: C. I’m really not sure I get this Maria story. She’s an experienced and successful manager who is billed as a mastermind but she picks these two goofs to be her army to protect the Kingdom, who aren’t even on this show. I’m assuming the story is she can make anyone good, but if she’s that talented, why not just give her an established team. LIKE THE KINGDOM?

Post match Garrison shows respect but Karter isn’t having that and makes him leave.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Mogul Embassy vs. Infantry/Willie Mack

The Embassy, with Prince Nana, is defending. Kaun shoulders Dean down to start but Dean snaps off a dropkick so Bravo can come in for a wishbone. Toa comes in to miss a charge in the corner but runs Bravo over with a shoulder. It’s back to Kaun for some rolling suplexes and an early near fall.

Cage hits the clotheslines in the corner but Bravo gets over to Mack to take over. The swinging slam puts Cage down and there’s a running boot in the corner. That doesn’t work for Cage, who suplexes Mack down in quite the power display. Everything breaks down and the Infantry kicks away at Toa, leaving Mack to hit his frog splash for two on Cage. That’s broken up and Open The Gates finishes Mack at 9:26.

Rating: B-. They had another fast paced match here but this was the latest case of a three man team being put together over a few weeks and then losing to the champs. The Embassy has been built up as being almost unbeatable and that makes for some less than dramatic title matches. Granted that might change with the Young Bucks and Hangman Page coming for the belts, but for now it’s just pretty good action without much drama.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a great example of Ring Of Honor in a nutshell. Yes there was good action and the wrestling was good enough to work, but it’s another hour and forty five minute show with a lot of things being lost in the shuffle. There were ten matches on this show and you could have probably cut almost half of them without missing much. Even the title matches, which are nice to have around, were just kind of there for the sake of having them included, as Wayne, Love and the Infantry/Mack didn’t feel like viable challenges. The wrestling carried it again, but this show is just not very fun most of the time.

Results
Katsuyori Shibata b. Nick Wayne – PK
Diamante b. Catie Brite – Cross Rhodes
Lee Moriarty b. Lee Johnson – Enziguri
Mercedes Martinez b. Trish Adora – Brass City Sleeper
Athena b. Angelina Love – Spinning facebuster
Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue/Kiera Hogan b. Renegades/Leyla Hirsch – Code Blue to Charlette
Ethan Page b. VSK – Slingshot cutter
El Hijo del Vikingo/Metalik/Gravity b. Tony Nese/Spanish Announce Project – Rope walk Swanton to Nese
Action Andretti/Darius Martin b. Cole Karter/Griff Garrison – Springboard 450 to Karter
Mogul Embassy b. Infantry/Willie Mack – Open The Gates to Mack

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: October 14, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Lo Brown

We’re less than two weeks away from Bound For Glory and that means it is time to really hammer home the stories. Most of the card is set, save for the final spot in the X-Division Title match. Things have been going well as of late and I’m actually interested in where the show goes. Keeping that up is not going to easy but maybe they can make it work. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at last week’s main event as Josh Alexander vs. Christian Cage continues to heat up.

X-Division Title Qualifying Match: Rohit Raju vs. El Phantasmo vs. Willie Mack

The winner joins Trey Miguel and Steve Maclin for the title match at Bound For Glory and the rest of the Bullet Club is in Phantasmo’s corner. Phantasmo is sent outside to start, leaving Mack to shoulder Raju down. Phantasmo replaces Raju and can’t get anywhere with some shoulders of his own. This time it’s Mack being knocked outside so Raju and Phantasmo can slug it out. That’s broken up and Raju is sent outside again as they certainly have a formula here.

Phantasmo manages to knock Mack down and hit a springboard Swanton for two. Back in and Raju hits a Cannonball to both of them at the same time. Mack runs them both over though and shows off the crazy power with the double Samoan drop. The double standing moonsault gets two but Phantasmo catches Mack on top.

That means a super hurricanrana, with Mack Swantoning onto Raju for a big crash. A top rope splash gets two on Mack but he’s right back with the Stunner. The Club has the referee so Mack kicks them to the floor and hits the big flip dive. Raju uses the breather to Flatline Phantasmo for two but Phantasmo is back with a rather low punch. The Pedigree style Neutralizer gives Phantasmo the pin at 9:37.

Rating: C+. It’s hard to screw up a match like this and they certainly didn’t here. Phantasmo winning is fine as you don’t want to have two heels in a three way match for the title. The drawback here was the fairly fired formula of having two in and one out, as there was barely any stretch of the match with all three involved. That’s how triple threat works, but it would be nice to try something else for a change.

Ace Austin and Madman Fulton are ready for tonight’s battle royal to determine the entrance order for the Call Your Shot gauntlet match (this company has a bad history of making things a bit complicated). Neither of them are worried about possibly being #1, because Fulton likes fighting a bunch of people at once.

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

Savannah Evans vs. Lady Frost

Tasha Steelz is here with Evans. Frost strikes away to start and is easily sent into the corner for a running shoulder to the ribs. The comeback is cut off with a big boot and we take a break with Evans in full control. Back with Evans hitting a Samoan drop but Frost manages some running shoulders in the corner. That earns Frost a heck of a clothesline, setting up a full nelson slam to give Evans the pin at 7:39.

Rating: C-. More or less a squash here with Evans being established as the new monster. You can always go with that as it serves as a way to keep her strong at the moment, which can set up someone conquering her later on. Frost has a good look but hasn’t exactly done anything to make herself stand out so far.

Post match here are Deonna Purrazzo and Matthew Rehwoldt for a chat. Purrazzo is here because she gets to pick Mickie James’ opponent for next week and Evans sounds like a good idea. Evans is down.

Steve Maclin says people don’t know his background but he’ll let us in. Where he comes from, there are people called ribbon chasers and they almost got him killed. Around here, he sees people chasing titles, but he’s going to win the X-Division Title because he wants a target on his back.

Gail Kim recaps Knockouts Knockdown, including the announcement that the IInspiration will get a Knockouts Tag Team Title shot at Bound For Glory. Decay comes in to say they shouldn’t have to defend the titles, but Kim gets a letter from a deliveryman. It’s from the IInspiration, who think it’s nice that Decay gets to share the ring with them. We wrap it up with “if this letter is not read out loud in an Australian accent, please start again from the beginning.” That was funny, but Rosemary is ready for violence and chaos at Bound For Glory.

VSK vs. Rich Swann

Brian Myers and Willie Mack are here too. VSK strikes away to start and scores with a fast fireman’s carry backbreaker. A slam into a splash gives VSK two and we’re already in the chinlock. Swann fights up and slugs away, setting up a neckbreaker. The Phoenix splash finishes VSK at 2:59.

Johnny Swinger is still cleaning out Swinger’s Palace but Hernandez comes in to take all of his money. One of the Swingerellas comes up to Swinger and asks him out. That’s a no, and she walks away in tears. Swinger leaves, so here is Chris Sabin to see the place one more time. Swingerella #2 (or Riley) says she likes him but his love is the wrestling ring. She leaves, so Sabin sits down and we get a montage of moments from the Palace. I’m going to miss the place too, as it went from a one off joke into a pretty funny running gag.

Heath comes in to see Scott D’Amore and is ready to sign his contract. One thing though: he wants his first match to be at Bound For Glory and wants to team with Rhino against Violent By Design. D’Amore doesn’t think Rhino is interested, but Heath will fight by himself is Rhino doesn’t show up. That’s good enough for D’Amore and the contract is signed.

Chris Bey vs. Chris Sabin

The Bullet Club and FinJuice are here too. Feeling out process to start with Sabin shouldering him down and grabbing a quickly broken armbar. They fight over armdrags and that means an early standoff. The guys on the floor almost get into a fight so the referee tosses them before anything can happen.

We settle down to Sabin grabbing a snap suplex for two but Bey ties him in the ropes for a middle rope elbow. Another elbow gets two on Sabin, setting up a top rope clothesline for the same. The chinlock goes on but Sabin fights up and scores with a pretty hard kick to the chest.

A rolling fisherman’s buster (as in a fisherman’s suplex but Sabin rolls through and hits a buster) gets two on Bey, who kicks him in the head again for another near fall. Back up and they trade clotheslines for a double knockdown. They slug it out until Bey loads up a rolling…something, only to get kicked out of the air. The Cradle Shock finishes Bey at 12:07.

Rating: B-. This was fun and good at the same time, which is quite the hard to pull off. The two of them are both able to go in the ring and do just about whatever they want, which is rather hard to pull off. Sabin is a legend around here and it makes sense to warm him up again, even if that means beating Bey clean in a good match.

Trey Miguel is ready for the X-Division Title match and has already beaten a few people. Cue one of those wrestlers in Alex Zayne, who says Miguel never beat him. That’s fine with Miguel and a match is made, for some reason with an allegory about a chicken sandwich. Also of note: Zayne TOWERS over Miguel and it’s a bit of a strange visual.

The Good Brothers are still on vacation and are ready to be back at Bound For Glory. Now get them some opponents already.

Battle Royal

Ace Austin, Madman Fulton, Fallah Bahh, Moose, Hernandez, W. Morrissey, Brandi Lauren, Kimber Lee, Matt Cardona, Johnny Swinger, Petey Williams, Alisha Edwards, Matthew Rehwoldt, Jake Something, Brian Myers, Rachael Ellering, Laredo Kid, Black Taurus, Raj Singh

The winner is #20 in the Call Your Shot gauntlet but the runner up is #1. Moose tosses Alisha in a hurry and Swinger eliminates himself to get away from Lauren and Lee. Austin hides behind Fulton and Cardona tosses Williams. Cardona can’t eliminate Myers as the Learning Tree catches him for the save, only to have Ellering kick Myers out instead. Kid is tossed with Taurus and Hernandez following. There goes Rehwoldt, followed by Ellering and Singh. The ring is getting cleared out a bit and we take a break.

Back with a bunch of brawling and near eliminations until Austin kicks Something out. Fulton shrugs off some mist and helps Austin get rid of Lauren and Lee. Cardona takes too long loading up a running boot and gets tossed, leaving us with Moose, Morrissey, Fulton, Austin and Sabin. Fulton gets the better of a brawl between the giants until a double big boot knocks him out.

We take another break and come back again with Fulton saving Austin from an elimination. Austin tries to get together with the monsters, who toss him out in a hurry. Sabin manages to low bridge Moose to the apron and kicks the leg out, leaving us with two. A missile dropkick puts Morrissey down but Moose pushes him back over the top. Morrissey unloads on Sabin before tossing him out for the win at 19:38.

Rating: C. These things are always kind of hard to grade but a monster winning is a smart move, especially if you put Sabin at the start. Sabin is someone who could put on a good run and even tease a win in the end so this was a well thought out match. It wasn’t the most interesting match, but it could have been a lot worse.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Minoru Suzuki is coming. Well dang.

The ropes have been taken down and we get a sitdown interview between Christian Cage and Josh Alexander. Christian talks about how important it was to win the title back because he spent so many years out of the ring due to his injuries. Alexander talks about how much the X-Division means to him but now he wants to make it mean even more by winning the World Title. He doesn’t have a single regret about the decision he made and is ready for Bound For Glory.

Christian sees the fire in Alexander’s eyes but no one thinks in the ring like he does. Alexander grew up watching Christian and is a huge fan but at Bound For Glory, Alexander is the wild card. Christian knows what it takes to be on this stage and it’s going to be sink or swim, which Alexander will learn soon. He’s a fan of Alexander, but we see a clip of a fan asking if Christian would like to face him, and Christian doesn’t know who Alexander is. Alexander storms off to end the show. That’s the kind of personal Edge that the match needed.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was a nice boost toward Bound For Glory and that’s what it needed to be. The pay per view is looking better every week and I’m still getting used to this idea of being into Impact. If they can make Bound For Glory a better version of TV, we’re going to be in for a heck of a show. Nicely done here, and that has been the norm for a good while now.

Results
El Phantasmo b. Willie Mack and Rohit Raju – Double underhook faceplant to Raju
Savannah Evans b. Lady Frost – Full nelson slam
Rich Swann b. VSK – Phoenix splash
Chris Sabin b. Chris Bey – Cradle Shock
W. Morrissey won a battle royal last eliminating Chris Sabin

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: September 23, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Matt Striker

We are a month away from Bound For Glory and it seems that we have a main event. At Victory Road, X-Division Champion Josh Alexander announced that he was using Option C to cash in his title for a shot at Christian Cage’s World Title. This has been teased for a few weeks now and is the absolute best idea that they have at the moment. Alexander feels unbeatable and that comes from months of putting in the effort. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Scott D’Amore to get things going. He explains Option C and brings out Josh Alexander, but reminds him that once he hands over the title, a tournament begins to crown a new champion. Therefore, make sure this is what you want. Alexander talks about having neck surgery six years ago and having doubts about his future. He has no doubts this time though, because he knows he can be the face of this company.

This brings out Christian Cage, who says Alexander almost lost his career but Christian DID lose his career for seven years. Cage tells him to think about this, because right now he is the face of the X-Division, but he won’t be the face of this company. Instead, he’ll just be a face in the crowd. Alexander says that makes his decision that much easier and hands over the title.

D’Amore leaves but here are Ace Austin and Madman Fulton to interrupt. Austin doesn’t go away quietly after a loss at Victory Road and calls out Alexander for being a quitter. He would never give up the title like that….but Alexander says that wasn’t an option because Alexander took the title from him. The fight is on but Austin’s cane shot hits Cage by mistake. There were some great lines in there and I like where this is going.

Rich Swann and Willie Mack aren’t happy with losing their Tag Team Title shot at Victory Road but they want their next shot. Mack wants in the X-Division Title tournament and Swann wants in the Call Your Shot gauntlet match. Cue Brian Myers to say he’s in the gauntlet as well, but he whines so much that a tag match is set for later tonight.

Josh Alexander complains about Ace Austin so Scott D’Amore makes the match between them for later tonight.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Hikuleo vs. David Finlay

Chris Bey and Juice Robinson are the seconds. The massive Hikuleo drives him up against the ropes to start but can’t hit a shot to the face. Instead he hiptosses Finlay into the corner, making Finlay pause for a second. Finlay’s crossbody is countered into a slam and Bey tripping him from the floor makes it worse. Hikuleo kicks him in the face for two and we take a break.

Back with Hikuleo getting two off a powerslam and grabbing a chinlock. Finlay fights up and grabs a jumping neckbreaker, setting up a middle rope crossbody for two. The sleeper slows Hikuleo down for a bit until he powers his way out and hits a heck of a clothesline for two of his own. The chokeslam is countered into a Stunner though and Finlay avoids a charge, setting up a rollup for the pin at 11:14.

Rating: C+. This was a totally fine big man vs. little man match, though pinning the giant so early on in his time around here seems to be a bit questionable. FinJuice continues to grow on me though and it is nice to see two guys getting over so well, mainly due to their talent alone. Nice match, and I’m curious to see where they are going.

Post match the brawl is on again with FinJuice getting the better of things, but El Phantasmo, also Bullet Club, runs in to help with the beatdown.

Violent By Design says what happened to Rhino last week was necessary. Violence is the only cure for the sickness and while Rhino can apologize, he needs to decide and do the right thing. They need an answer next week.

Matt Cardona is done with Rohit Raju and Shera but Chelsea Green is ready to take out Raju herself.

Su Yung’s followers present her with…..a red belt, which doesn’t seem to please her. Ok then.

Chelsea Green vs. Rohit Raju

Matt Cardona is here too. Raju shoves her into the corner to start but she’s back with a pair of kicks to the face for two. That earns her a hair takedown and a snap suplex gives Raju two of his own. Green Thesz presses him for some right hands to the face and a snap German suplex makes it worse. The jumping knee connects for Green but she can’t get the Unprettier, allowing Raju to grab a rollup and the ropes. Cardona breaks up the latter but here is the returning Raj Singh to send him into the steps. Raju grabs a small package for the pin at 4:07.

Rating: C-. Great, the Desi Hit Squad is back. Things have gotten better for Raju but the team was such a horrible waste of time before that I’m almost depressed at the idea of having to watch them again. The match itself was fine enough, and Green looked like was hanging in there rather well.

We look at W. Morrissey taking out Alisha Edwards at Victory Road.

Eddie Edwards swears vengeance but doesn’t want to hear from Sami Callihan. That doesn’t work for Sami, who wants revenge of his own. Moose comes in for the brawl but gets beaten down as Eddie wants to know where W. Morrissey is.

Rich Swann/Willie Mack vs. Brian Myers/???

Myers says his learning tree isn’t ready to team with him in this match so he has a surprise partner: VSK, another of Myers’ students. Swann and VSK start things off with the latter hitting a surprise dropkick to take over early on. Back up and Swann nails his own dropkick, setting up a double flapjack with Mack’s help.

Myers comes in and gets flattened with a flying shoulder but a Zicky Dice distraction lets VSK score with a sliding German suplex. Mack fights up and forearms the heck out of Myers, allowing the double tags to Swann and VSK. The rolling splash gives Swann two but VSK grabs an elevated DDT for the same. Swann superkicks him out of the air though and a high crossbody (possibly due to Dice’s mistimed shove) is good for the pin at 5:16.

Rating: C. Just another match here as VSK isn’t exactly a threat to a former World Champion. I know he has been around AEW for a while now but that doesn’t make him feel like a star here. The same is true of Myers, who feels about as firmly midcard as you can possibly be.

Johnny Swinger is worried about Impact going to Las Vegas and putting him out of business. He writes a letter to Scott D’Amore, who he thinks has just bought the company from Bob Carter’s daughter (Swinger: “Babe.”). Therefore, D’Amore needs to come to Swinger’s Palace next week and talk about this. Signed, JJ Dillon.

The Good Brothers are still on vacation because they have beaten every team around. They are on the top of the mountain and the only thing to do is knock any other team off the mountain. Can they get lost on the mountain while they’re up there?

Video on the Good Brothers.

Here is Mickie James for a chat. She is rather touched by her reception and talks about how awesome Empowerrr was, but Deonna Purrazzo has changed everything. Mickie calls Purrazzo out for a face to face chat so here is the champ. Purrazzo doesn’t like Mickie even saying her name after attacking her last week, which Mickie doesn’t buy.

Mickie throws out the Bound For Glory challenge, but Purrazzo isn’t interested in giving Mickie a boost with nothing in it for her. It’s a no, but the brawl is on anyway with security breaking it up. Cue Scott D’Amore to make the match for Bound For Glory. You know it was happening but it had to be set up.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Mickie James wins the Knockouts Title on Impact, May 23, 2013.

Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan go after W. Morrissey, but get cut off by security. Scott D’Amore makes the street fight for next week.

Gail Kim announces a tournament for Knockouts Knockdown, featuring an eight woman tournament with four Knockouts and four from elsewhere. The winners get a Knockouts Title match, but here is the Influence to interrupt. Madison Rayne thinks they should get a Knockouts Tag Team Title shot, but Kim says they have to beat Rachael Ellering and Jordynne Grace next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Ace Austin vs. Josh Alexander

Madman Fulton is here with Austin, who bails into the corner to start. Austin drives him up against the ropes for a clean break but Fulton trips Alexander from the floor. That doesn’t seem to bother Alexander, who snaps off a suplex to send Austin outside. Austin jumps up to the apron, where he gets caught with a quickly broken ankle lock. Back in and Alexander gets two off a delayed vertical suplex but a Fulton distraction lets Austin get in a kick to the head.

We take a break and come back with Austin grabbing the chinlock with a bodyscissors. That’s reversed into a quickly broken ankle lock so Austin hits a belly to back slam. Alexander pops up with a German suplex and Austin is rocked again. A running big boot drops Austin but the C4 Spike is broken up. Instead, Alexander rolls some German suplexes until Austin grabs the rope for a break.

Another C4 Spike attempt is broken up and Austin grabs a neckbreaker for two. Alexander knocks him to the apron for a suicide dive to the back (that’s a new one), sending them both outside. Back in and Austin hits a heck of a superkick to knock Alexander off the apron and outside onto Fulton. The Fold is countered into a powerbomb onto the knee though and the C4 Spike finishes for Alexander at 15:12.

Rating: B-. Are you surprised that these two had a good match? There was no serious doubt about the winner here, as there shouldn’t have been. What mattered here was making Alexander into a bigger star and that is what they did, as he beat the most recent #1 contender. Good match with the right result.

Post match Fulton comes in to stomp on Alexander and the beatdown is on. Christian Cage comes in for the save and helps clear the ring but Alexander isn’t pleased. Fulton and Austin come back in to jump the good guys….until Christopher Daniels of all people makes a surprise return for the save. Everyone is stunned as Daniels clear the ring to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was what they needed as Bound For Glory is beginning to take shape with a month to go before the pay per view. The Daniels return was a surprise and a nice one at that, especially if AEW isn’t going to be using him. I’m liking where things are going in Impact and if they can keep it up, we could be in for another strong month from them.

Results
David Finlay b. Hikuleo – Rollup
Rohit Raju b. Chelsea Green – Small package
Rich Swann/Willie Mack b. Brian Myers/VSK – High crossbody to VSK
Josh Alexander b. Ace Austin – C4 Stack

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: May 20, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: D’Lo Brown, Josh Matthews

We’re done with Under Siege and that means it is time to start getting ready for Moose vs. Kenny Omega at Against All Odds. Other than that, we need to fill out the rest of the card, which is a nice feeling as these regular big shows have done a lot of good things for the way Impact works month to month. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory Of New Jack.

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Rohit Raju vs. Jake Something

Shera is here too. Something forearms Raju outside in a hurry but the Shera showdown lets Raju get in a few cheap shots. Back in and Jake hits a hard shoulder and shouts a lot as Raju rolls outside. This time the referee checks on Raju, allowing Shera to get in a big clothesline of his own. Jake’s missed charge sends his shoulder into the chest, setting up Raju’s flying armbar for two.

A kick to the face gives Raju two more and it’s time for a standing armbar. That earns him an ax handle to the back of the head and a big right hand, followed by the running shoulder in the corner. The discus lariat gives Jake two but Raju catches him with a running big boot in the corner. Jake tries a powerbomb but Raju slips out and hits a jumping Downward Spiral. The Crossface is broken up and Jake tries a suplex, only to have Shera pull the leg so Raju can fall on top for the pin at 7:14.

Rating: C. There is still something so strange about the idea of Raju being completely competent after so many years of being one of the least tolerable wrestlers around. The ending was straight out of the 80s but the classics continue to work for a reason. Jake Something isn’t much in the way of classics, and I continue to base that entirely on his horrible name. Fix that and he’ll be fine, as the match itself here was completely watchable.

Post match Jake unloads on Shera, including a chair shot to put him down. Raju watches from the ramp as Jake puts Shera through a table.

Here is what’s coming tonight.

Taylor Wilde wants the Knockouts Title but here are Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb With A K to interrupt. Dashwood has gotten a match against Kiera Hogan tonight and that kind of a win would get them a Knockouts Tag Team Titles. Wilde again explains that they aren’t a team and STOP FACE TIMING HER.

Rachael Ellering and Jordynne Grace are upset by the loss but need to get back out there. Has Grace always been that short?

Kiera Hogan vs. Tenille Dashwood

Tasha Steelz and Kaleb With A K are here too. Hogan sends her straight into the corner to start and comes out with a butterfly suplex. That earns her a Tarantula but Steelz’s distraction….has no impact as Dashwood snaps off a neckbreaker over the middle rope. A low superkick takes Dashwood down again though and we take a break. Back with Hogan choking on the rope for two and putting on a chinlock. A superkick (which might not have connected) sends Dashwood into the ropes but she bounces back with a clothesline into a rollup to pin Hogan at 7:42.

Rating: C-. The Knockouts division outside of the singles title continues to seem like it just keeps going back and forth week to week, which isn’t the most thrilling stuff. This was more of the same, but maybe they can set up another Knockouts Tag Team Title match so a thrown together team can win the belts again. Dashwood was doing her usual stuff here, and that is not the most thrilling thing.

Post match the brawl is on with Kimber Lee, Susan and Deonna Purrazzo running in to beat on Dashwood. Taylor Wilde runs in for the failed save attempt so here’s Havok to really clear the ring.

Jordynne Grace has gotten herself and Rachael Ellering a match tonight. Against each other.

Satoshi Kojima is coming next week.

FinJuice is ready to defend their Tag Team Titles against Ace Austin/Madman Fulton later tonight and will keep the titles, as always. After that, it’s back to Japan.

VSK vs. Petey Williams

Striker gushes over what a legend Williams is, because the term legend is now the same as “guy who wrestled here a long time ago”. Williams starts fast and snaps off a hurricanrana out of the corner, followed by a toss to the floor. That means a slingshot hurricanrana to drop VSK again but he is right back in with a DDT.

VSK drops a knee for two and then slams him with an immediate splash getting two more. Williams suplexes him out of the corner and hits a basement dropkick. The spinning Russian legsweep looks to set up the Canadian Destroyer but VSK counters into an Irish Curse. Williams elbows him down though and the Destroyer finishes VSK at 5:10.

Rating: C-. This was every Williams match: a bunch of the same spots he has done for years, capped off by a move that was indeed special at one point but has become the most overplayed move in wrestling. It was nice to see VSK get in some offense here as he is being treated as more than your regular jobber. Odds are that doesn’t lead anywhere, but at least he got a chance here.

Rich Swann says he lost the World Title and he felt that loss mentally and physically. He has been watching the show week in and week out and doesn’t like what W. Morrissey has been doing to Willie Mack. Cue Morrissey to jump Swann from behind throw him out the door.

It’s off to Swinger’s Palace for some roulette, though Swinger wants to know where the coal miner’s glove match is. TJP is making some money and gives some of it back, though he stops at Fallah Bahh in a dress. He offers to reform the team with Bahh because he got jumped by Petey Williams at Under Siege. Cue Williams to issue a challenge for himself/Josh Alexander vs. TJP/Bahh. That seems to be on but here is Decay, with Rosemary saying John E. Bravo is looking better.

Here is Moose for a chat. Moose talks about how easy it was to become the #1 contender at Under Siege and now he is ready to be World Champion. Kenny Omega has beaten a lot of great wrestlers but Moose is a different kind of athlete. We hear about his NFL career and now it is time to see a clash of the titans. Moose lists off some various Greek gods….and here is Omega, with Don Callis, to interrupt.

Callis talks about how great Moose looks and thinks he might be a bit bigger than 6’5. Moose might be the most physically talented person in all of professional wrestling, but he isn’t about to coast over Omega. There is nothing sadder than wasted talent, and Moose couldn’t even win a title in RING OF HONOR. How many Super Bowls did he win? Callis asks if Moose is coasting on his talent so Moose promises to rip Callis’ head off and stick it in a certain place on Omega.

That’s too far for Omega, who says it is just one One Winged Angel to take him out. Moose offers to let him try it right now but here are the Good Brothers to interrupt. Sami Callihan appears as well and the Elite bails. As usual, Omega is weakened by talking, but thankfully he doesn’t do it very often around here.

Post break, Moose tells Callihan that he isn’t going to be thanking him. Callihan is sick of the Good Brothers and all that matters is he is coming for whoever leaves Under Siege as champion.

Rachael Ellering vs. Jordynne Grace

They shake hands to start and Grace headlocks her over. Grace has to flip out of a headscissors but is right back up with a wristlock. Ellering is right back on the arm and they fight over a battle of the wristlocks. A toss into the corner does not sit well with Grace, who is sent to the apron in a hurry. The tease of a kick to the face doesn’t sit well with Ellering and we take a break.

Back with Grace driving shoulders in the corner, setting up a basement clothesline for two. We go old school with a full nelson so Ellering drives her into the corner three times in a row for the break. Grace hits some clotheslines but Ellering elbows her in the face. The running backsplash gives Ellering two but Grace is right back with some running knees in the corner. Grace’s fireman’s carry is countered into a sunset flip, setting off a pinfall reversal sequence with Ellering getting the pin at 11:02.

Rating: C. The power stuff was good here, but I really hope that I’m not supposed to think it’s a major showdown when these two teamed together like three times. Just making a team and then having them fight isn’t interesting, as they have barely been a team in the first place. Ellering getting the win should give her a bit of a boost, though Grace doesn’t need to be losing again.

Respect is shown post match but Grace doesn’t seem happy.

Brian Myers says everything he has said is justified. Matt Cardona walks by and Myers beats him down.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Tag Team Titles: FinJuice vs. Ace Austin/Madman Fulton

Austin and Fulton are challenging after becoming #1 contenders at Under Siege. Finlay starts with Austin, who tags out to Fulton less than fifteen seconds in. Fulton powers his way out of a headlock and it’s off to Robinson to hammer away at the monster. Fulton runs him over without much trouble but Robinson grabs the arm and brings Finlay back in with an ax handle. Finlay is sent hard into the corner though and now Austin is willing to come in and…get taken down almost immediately.

It’s back to Robinson for a backsplash and a double flapjack into a double dropkick puts Fulton on the floor. Back from a break with Robinson in trouble (thanks to a chokeslam to send his arm into the barricade) as Austin works on a hammerlock. The paper cut on the finger makes it even worse and the armbar goes on again. A jumping knee to the face gives Robinson a breather but Austin takes Finlay off the apron to be smart.

That means Robinson’s backdrop doesn’t mean a tag but Austin’s rather dumb drop toehold into the corner lets Finlay come in. House is cleaned in a hurry and a Rock Bottom backbreaker gets two on Austin. A fireman’s carry/running kick to the face takes Austin down for the same as everything breaks down. Robinson’s snap jabs to Fulton set up a quickly escaped fireman’s carry, with Fulton hitting a tilt-a-whirl powerslam.

Austin hits a springboard spinning kick to the face with Fulton adding a belly to back suplex for two more. A chokeslam/top rope Fold combination (cool/hard to pull off) gets two more as Finlay has to make the save this time. Everything breaks down again and Robinson superplexes Austin down. There’s an assisted Cannonball to Fulton but he is way too big for the Doomsday Device. Instead the Unprettier finishes Fulton for the pin to retain at 15:54.

Rating: B. This was a good and long title match with Fulton playing the monster role well. He and Austin are a solid pairing and I’m a bit surprised that Fulton took the fall here. That being said, I would rather he take it than Austin, who could be a main event star here at the drop of a hat. Good main event here, as FinJuice is growing on me despite half of their personalities being talking about Japan.

Post match….here’s Violent By Design to surround FinJuice. Eric Young hands over Rhino’s Call Your Shot trophy and it’s time for another title match.

Tag Team Titles: FinJuice vs. Violent By Design

Violent By Design, with Rhino and Joe Doering in this case, are challenging and the brawl is on in a hurry. Doering crossbodies the champs down and hits an AA on Robinson. One heck of a lariat is enough for the pin and the titles at 49 seconds. I don’t care about the team, but if they’re going to mean something, they needed a win like this.

We get another Slammiversary ad with hints about wrestlers coming. The word YES, the letters II and the word FORGOTTEN can be seen this time.

Overall Rating: C. The main event helped a bit but that was about the only really good part of the show. This felt like a lot of quick ideas which weren’t all that interesting, including Grace vs. Ellering and Williams’ latest reheating. It’s all going to be about Moose vs. Omega sooner than later though, and the Slammiversary reveals are likely to shake things up again. Now just have some better TV on the way.

Results

Rohit Raju b. Jake Something – Suplex reversed into a cover

Tenille Dashwood b. Kiera Hogan – Rollup

Petey Williams b. VSK – Canadian Destroyer

Rachael Ellering b. Jordynne Grace – Sunset flip

FinJuice b. Ace Austin/Madman Fulton – Unprettier to Fulton

Violent By Design b. FinJuice – Lariat to Robinson

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

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

AND

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 6, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown

We’re still in the early days of the Kenny Omega era and we are also on the way to Under Siege. Since Omega isn’t working that show, we need his #1 contender, meaning the six way #1 contenders match at Under Siege needs some more qualifiers. That’s what Impact is for at the moment so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Chris Sabin vs. Rhino

James Storm and Violent By Design are here too. They trade arm control to start until Sabin sends him outside. Back in and Rhino hits him in the face before hammering Sabin down in the corner. The neck crank goes on but Sabin fights up and hits a discus forearm. There’s an enziguri to put Rhino on the floor and a rollup gives Sabin two back inside. Deaner offers a distraction though and Rhino pokes him in the eye to take over. Sabin is fine enough to kick out the knee to block the Gore though and la majistral finishes Rhino at 6:46.

Rating: C-. Just a match here as almost anything involving Violent By Design has almost no interest. The team feels like a bunch of people thrown together to give Eric Young something to do, and since Young is injured, the team does not exactly seem like it matters all that much. They aren’t the worst by any means, but Rhino felt like an obstacle rather than a threat, which only kind of worked.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Brian Myers is annoyed at losing to Matt Cardona so he wants another qualifying match. He runs into Rosemary, who says he has no one to blame for his problems but himself. Myers doesn’t buy it, so here is Black Taurus to run him over. Rosemary gives him a card, which seems to suggest that he is having bad luck.

The Elite thinks that was hilarious but Don Callis says they need to focus on winning more matches. That’s why tonight it’s Doc Gallows vs. Juice Robinson.

Susan vs. Taylor Wilde

Kimber Lee is here with Susan. Wilde cartwheels out of a waistlock to start but Susan can’t do the same. Instead Wilde throws her down as Striker talks about all of the styles that Wilde uses. Susan sends her into the corner but misses a legdrop as Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb With A K come out to watch. Wilde’s German suplex sends Susan to the floor, setting up a hurricanrana to take her down again. A quick glare at Dashwood doesn’t change anything, as Wilde hits a bridging German suplex for the pin at 2:28.

Post match Dashwood comes in to pose for a photo with Wilde, who doesn’t seem interested.

Deonna Purrazzo isn’t scared of Taylor Wilde but Susan and Kimber Lee need to earn the right to have her join them at ringside. Decay comes in and, after scaring off the interviewer, seem to threaten Purrazzo. Havok comes in to say she wants a shot as well, so a flustered Purrazzo says they can fight for a title shot.

W. Morrissey says no one knows him but he knows that all of the fans left him as soon as he started to fall apart. Everyone he thought he knew in this business was a phony but now he has risen from the ashes. At Under Siege, he’s starting with Willie Mack.

Rohit Raju vs. Trey Miguel

Under Siege qualifying match and Shera is here with Raju. They lock up to start with Miguel trying to pull him down so Raju bails outside in a hurry. Back in and they go to a test of strength with Raju taking him down, only to have Miguel nip up. That earns him a takedown and Raju is rather pleased as we take a break. Back with Shera getting in a cheap shot but Miguel strikes away at the face to put him up against the ropes.

What looks like a northern lights suplex is blocked so Raju suplexes him down for two. Raju knocks him to the floor and then takes it back inside to start cranking on the arm. A flying armbar makes it worse but Miguel flips over him and hits a jumping stomp to the back. They slug it out from their knees until Miguel suplexes him into a Kimura. That’s broken up as well until Raju crotches him in the corner and hits a hanging DDT. A Falcon Arrow into a Crossface has Miguel in trouble until he rolls out but gets kneed in the face. Miguel kicks him down again though and grabs the Hourglass for the tap at 11:27.

Rating: B-. Good back and forth match here as I continue to try and get my head around the idea of Raju actually being this entertaining. I know I say that rather often, but he was so terrible as part of the Desi Hit Squad. It’s amazing how much better it is to just have him as a guy instead of a guy there to make a legend look good. Miguel gets another boost here and it wouldn’t stun me to see him get the title shot.

Post match here’s Jake Something to knock Shera down and take out Raju as well. Yeah is name is still Jake Something.

We go to Swinger’s Palace and Alisha Edwards seems to have lost all of her money. Trey Miguel comes in and gets in a bit of an argument with the other people who have qualified for Under Siege over betting odds. James Storm insists he’ll be getting in too but Chris Bey gets in Storm and Chris Sabin’s heads over being tag wrestlers getting into singles matches. Storm doesn’t seem interested.

Doc Gallows vs. Juice Robinson

Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson and David Finlay are here too. Gallows goes straight to the eye to start and hits an uppercut in the corner. Robinson sends him into the corner to even things up and some left hands have Gallows down. Back up and Gallows big boots him out to the floor, followed by the rights and lefts to the ribs.

The chinlock goes on, though Gallows does give him a breather to drive in the elbows to the chest. Robinson fights out of another chinlock and dropkicks the knee out, setting up a running DDT for two. The big left hand drops Gallows but Robinson has to go after Anderson. A bicycle kick into the chokebomb (and a good one at that) finishes Robinson at 7:19.

Rating: C. Gallows still isn’t nearly as good of a big man as he is given credit for but he worked well enough here. This was about Gallows beating up Robinson, who kept trying to fight from underneath. The numbers game catching up with him made sense and it did a nice job with what they were trying. Also, the lack of Omega talking tends to help a lot.

Post match the beatdown is on so Eddie Edwards runs down for a failed save attempt.

Deonna Purrazzo, Susan and Kimber Lee are leaving when Scott D’Amore comes up. Next week: Havok vs. Rosemary for the Under Siege title shot.

VSK vs. El Phantasmo

VSK is an AEW Dark guy and Phantasmo is from New Japan’s Bullet Club. Phantasmo starts fast by jumping over him but VSK hits a dropkick into a backbreaker. A slam into an immediate splash (that’s a new one) gets two but Phantasmo is right back by putting him on the top. Phantasmo pulls him back down for a crash and a Lionsault gets two. VSK is right back with a rollup for two and a fireman’s carry backbreaker connects for the same. That earns him some kicks to the chest and, after possibly loading up the boot, Phantasmo hits a superkick for the pin at 3:13.

Rating: C+. Phantasmo is awesome, but this seemed to be more about building up VSK than anything else. That being said, it isn’t like Phantasmo needs that much of a build as he is the big guest star. VSK did look good in defeat, though it is kind of hard to say how much of that was him when he was in there with such an established name.

Rachael Ellering vs. Kiera Hogan

Jordynne Grace and Tasha Steelz are here too. An early Steelz distraction lets Kiera hit a superkick and it’s already time to stomp Ellering in the corner. A kick to the ribs has Ellering in more trouble but she avoids a charge in the corner. Ellering counters a neckbreaker but gets caught with a running knee to the head for two. The chinlock goes on but they get up and collide so Ellering can get in a kick to the head. There’s a backsplash for two, only to have Ellering miss a charge of her own in the corner and get kicked in the face again. They miss some shots to the face until Ellering hits a swinging Boss Man Slam for the pin at 4:33.

Rating: C-. They didn’t really have a good way to go here as you don’t want either of them losing, though in this case, it makes more sense to go with the person who is still new to the company (yet is somehow a champion). The action was hardly great, though that has never quite been Hogan’s strong suit. It wasn’t exactly great, but it did what it was supposed to do….I think.

Don Callis comes up to Moose in the back and brings up football coach Jimmy Johnson. Callis talks about Johnson saying stars should be treated like stars, which is what Moose certainly is. Why is he in some qualifying match when he is already a star? Moose tells him to shut up, but Moose might be slightly convinced.

Fire N Flava are annoyed at the loss but Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering come up. Trash is talked until Grace vs. Steelz is set for next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

James Storm vs. Moose

Final Under Siege qualifying match. Storm’s headlock doesn’t last very long and Moose shoulders him away without much effort. A shot to the face knocks Moose outside though and Storm adds a dropkick through the ropes as we take a break. Back with Storm being sent to the apron, where Moose blocks the enziguri in the corner. Moose dumps him outside without much effort and sends him knee first into the barricade.

The knee is rammed into the floor as well, followed by some stomping back inside. Moose talks a lot of trash but Storm fights up and gets in a few right hands, only to get knocked back down. A running dropkick to the knee connects in the corner and Storm is in even more trouble. The leglock goes on but Moose gets caught holding the rope. That’s fine with Moose, who works on the knee even more with some cranking. Moose misses a charge though and Storm slugs away, including the Thesz press with right hands to the jaw (there’s a Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan joke in there somewhere).

The Codebreaker rocks Moose again and there’s a tornado DDT for two. Moose is back up with a tackle to the knee though and we hit the half crab. That doesn’t last long either so Moose goes up, with Storm pulling him into the Eye of the Storm….but the leg gives out. Storm takes his time getting up but manages a Last Call out of nowhere. The knee is too bad to cover though and Moose hits the spear for the pin at 16:08.

Rating: B. This was close enough to a main event style match to fit in this spot. Moose working on the knee throughout the match and then having it play into the whole thing worked out well. Moose has been primed for the title shot for a long time now and beating Storm feels like something that matters. Good match in the right spot with the right result so that’s a nice job.

Post match Moose Pillmanizes the leg with Chris Sabin running out just a bit too late for the save.

Overall Rating: B-. They had a very streamlined show here to set up a lot of Under Siege in a hurry. It was almost weird having a bunch of singles matches in a row but it was what they needed to do here. The six way could go to multiple people and they set up enough stuff for the coming shows to make this a pretty good use of two hours.

Results

Chris Sabin b. Rhino – La majistral

Taylor Wilde b. Susan – Bridging German suplex

Trey Miguel b. Rohit Raju – Hourglass

Doc Gallows b. Juice Robinson – Chokebomb

El Phantasmo b. VSK – Superkick

Rachael Ellering b. Kiera Hogan – Swinging Boss Man Slam

Moose b. James Storm – Spear

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