IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 30, 2019
Location: Fronton Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re down in Mexico for the first time in a long time and that means things could go in a variety of ways. One of those ways will probably include a lot of Mexican talents who may or may not be familiar, which doesn’t tend to be the most successful idea. Then again you never know how this show is going to go anyway, but maybe we can get away from Tommy Dreamer for a week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

TJP vs. Golden Magic vs. Trey Miguel vs. Taurus

It’s a brawl to start as commentary makes it sound like this is a tag match. Magic wastes no time in sending Taurus outside for an Asai moonsault, leaving Trey to hide from TJP in the ropes. TJP’s anklescissors doesn’t work so he offers a handshake but stops to dab instead. Magic comes back in with superkicks and cutters to TJP and Miguel but Taurus comes back in for the save. Taurus starts throwing people into each other until TJP makes a save of his own. That means the wristdrag/anklescissors combination to Taurus and Magic as TJP gets to clean house.

Taurus suplexes TJP and Magic at the same time so Trey is back in with a Pele. A neckbreaker to TJP makes TJP DDT Taurus at the same time (acceptable since they aren’t partners) but Magic hits a kind of spinning Big Ending for two on Trey. Taurus is back up with a torture rack into a backbreaker on Magic but TJP hits him with a tornado DDT. Trey gives TJP a Cheeky Nandos kick into a 619, only to miss a Meteora. TJP hits the Detonation kick on Miguel and kneebars Taurus, only to have Magic hit a 450 to pin Miguel at 8:57.

Rating: C+. Just a bunch of spots for the most part and that’s exactly what it should have been. This was a good way to get the fans fired up and into the show, but I’m rather surprised at Miguel taking a clean pin. Magic was fine and Taurus is enough of a power guy to be impressive so it was a fine use of the first fifteen minutes of the show.

Post match TJP and Magic glare at each other.

Kiera Hogan yells at a masked luchadora when another woman comes up to yell in Spanish. Jordynne Grace comes in to defend the masked woman but Madison Rayne comes in and has a suggestion as the locker room leader. That’s still a thing we’re doing?

Michael Elgin threatens Rhino with pain tonight.

Rascalz vs. Willie Mack/Rich Swann

This could be good. Wentz and Mack trade armdrags to start and Willie adds a cartwheel to show off a bit. Xavier sends Swann outside with a headscissors but Rich is right back in for the four way staredown as we take an early break. Back with Wentz getting two on Rich but Xavier misses a running flip dive. Mack comes back in with the Samoan drop into the standing moonsault for two of his own.

A reverse Razor’s Edge with a middle rope flip neckbreaker from Swann gets two more but Swann is sent outside. That leaves Willie to get double teamed with rapid fire kicks but Swann is back in with Trouble in Paradise to Wentz. A running corner clothesline sets up a super hurricanrana to Xavier, with Willie adding the frog splash for the pin at 9:26.

Rating: C+. Another good one here with two teams who work well together. How Swann and Mack haven’t gotten more chances at the Tag Team Titles is beyond me but at least they’re on TV more often than not. I still don’t get how the Rascalz aren’t getting a rocket push, but there are so many other teams worth pushing. Like Tommy Dreamer and his person who could push wrestling forward of the week.

Ken Shamrock has been through a lot and knows Moose isn’t a tough guy. We hear his resume and he’ll be in Las Vegas to get in Moose’s face.

Moose isn’t going to let Shamrock use him to get attention on his new bare knuckle boxing promotion. He’s bigger and stronger than Shamrock so….here’s Fallah Bahh, who wants one more match.

Johnny Swinger: COMING SOON! As the ECW reunion goes from stupid to ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

Taya Valkyrie is ready to set the record for longest reigning Knockouts Champion. That one really sneaks up on you.

And now, down on the farm with the Deaners, as they continue to torture the Desi Hit Squad. Hay is rolled, horseshoes are hammered and Rohit Raju is having a great time.

Video on Havok vs. Su Yung, the latter of whom is rather disturbing.

Video on Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard.

Sami doesn’t know how Brian Cage is still World Champion (fair enough) and wants to know when he’s getting his title shot. Impact has one more week to announce the match or chaos ensues.

Knockouts Title: Taya Valkyrie vs. Big Mami

Taya is defending and this is her “big” opponent. I’m sure you can imagine what Mami looks like as she dances around in a sombrero. Taya dances back but her clothesline is ducked with a Matrix. As Callis accuses Josh of having a phone to Jacksonville and Stamford each, Taya hammers away in the corner. Mami pulls her down though and we get the required Stinkface. A middle rope moonsault (and a decent one) misses so Taya puts on something like an STF to retain at 3:36.

Rating: D-. Mami was a joke but moved well enough. This is a joke that has been done several times before, though Taya’s reign feels like it has gone on for the better part of ever these days. The division has a lot of talent so I’m not sure how much longer Taya can hold onto the title, which can make for some interesting possibilities.

Post match Taya says she’s the best so here’s the debuting Tenille Dashwood for a brawl. A Spotlight Kick knocks John E. Bravo down and Taya bails as Tenille holds the belt.

Kiera Hogan/Vanilla vs. Jordynne Grace/Chicka Tormenta

Madison Rayne is here with Kiera and Vanilla. Tormenta and Vanilla start things off with Chicka’s fisherman’s suplex getting an early two. Kiera comes in to stomp away but misses an enziguri. Madison grabs Jordynne’s ankle though and the brawl gives us a DQ at 2:00.

The brawl continues as Callis talks about meeting Bret Hart in the WWF dressing room and showing him respect, which is a comparison to Madison. As I try to get my head around that one, Rosemary comes out and let’s have a six woman tag.

Kiera Hogan/Vanilla/Madison Rayne vs. Jordynne Grace/Chicka Tormenta/Rosemary

Joined in progress with Rosemary blocking Madison’s sunset flip so Madison bails over for a tag to Kiera. Grace comes in to splash Kiera but a second misses, setting off a pinfall reversal sequence. Tormenta and Vanilla come in to trade shots to the face until Vanilla hits a running crossbody in the corner. A slingshot elbow gives Vanilla two but it’s a double clothesline to put both of them down. That’s enough for Madison and Kiera as they walk out, leaving Rosemary to hit a double underhook drop (kind of a reverse Bubba Bomb) for the pin at 4:38.

Rating: D-. Well that came and went with nothing happening. Kiera and Madison’s bullying deal isn’t working and it feels like they’re just doing random stuff from week to week. This whole thing was a mess and other than filling in about ten minutes, I’m not sure what it was supposed to accomplish, other than making Madison and Kiera look evil, which was established a long time ago.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Ken Shamrock retains the NWA World Title.

Alisha Edwards comes up to Ace Austin on the beach, where he tries to tell her how he feels. Alisha: “Ok.” Then some masked men run up and steals her purse, with Ace following after them and getting in a fight in the water. Ace comes out of the water like a Baywatch scene and returns her the bag. She gives him a quick hug of thanks and leaves for her match. I’ve never been to Mexico City, but from what I can find, the nearest beach to the city is about a four and a half hour drive away. Unless that was a really big lake, I’m not sure where that was supposed to be.

Post break, we see Reno Scum being behind the theft, with Ace thanking them.

The North comes in to see LAX at the Clubhouse, which should be theirs. Konnan: “I can have you shot, stabbed, kidnapped or just straight up disappeared.” Konnan wants a title shot against the real LAX with Santana going into a big rant. They agree to put up the Clubhouse in a careers vs. titles match.

Michael Elgin vs. Rhino

Falls Count Anywhere so they start brawling in the aisle. Rhino’s early clothesline hits the post as we hear about Callis managing Rhino back in ECW. Rhino drops him onto the apron for two but gets posted for his efforts. A slingshot splash gives Elgin two and an enziguri takes Rhino down again.

They slug it out on the floor and we take an early break. Back with Elgin hitting Rhino with a chair and sitting him in it for some chops. A running clothesline gives Elgin two and they fight into the crowd. The fight goes higher up into the stands for a slow slug/headbutt out. Another headbutt knocks Rhino back down a level and they’re on the stage in a hurry.

Elgin’s clothesline gets two and a discus elbow puts Rhino back at ringside for two more. Rhino suplexes him on the ramp for the same and it’s time for a table. That gets set up in the corner but Elgin hits him with a chair a few more times. Rhino gets in a crotching with the chair but the Gore hits the table. The Elgin Bomb is good enough to end Rhino at 18:14.

Rating: D. What a lifeless match. They did their fighting and brawling and then it just ended. Elgin winning wasn’t a surprise as Rhino is just the guy who was there to give him a bit of a test. I wasn’t wild on seeing another ECW main event (third week in a row where an ECW star main events) but that’s what this promotion is about right now and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it get worse.

Overall Rating: D-. The first two matches kept the show from being a complete disaster but the rest of this show was a near nightmare with the guest stars adding almost nothing. This whole show felt like they were told to go do a house show with a few locals and make the best out of it. The wrestling could have been worse but there was almost no energy and it felt like nothing happened. Awful show and one of the worst they’ve done in a good awhile.

Results

Golden Magic b. Trey Miguel, TJP and Taurus – 450 to Miguel

Rich Swann/Willie Mack b. Rascalz – Frog splash to Xavier

Taya Valkyrie b. Big Mami – STF

Jordynne Grace/Chicka Tormenta b. Kiera Hogan/Vanilla via DQ when Madison Rayne interfered

Jordynne Grace/Chicka Tormenta/Rosemary b. Kiera Hogan/Vanilla/Madison Rayne – Double underhook drop to Vanilla

Michael Elgin b. Rhino – Elgin Bomb

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 23, 2019
Location: Oceanview Pavilion, Port Hueneme, California
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re out of the northeast for a change and in this case it’s for a special show called Cali Combat. Impact has a tendency to make their bigger shows pretty good as they know how to do the all action events, but I’m not sure how well that is going to work this time around. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Michael Elgin vs. Rhino

The ring is especially small here. Rhino goes with the power game to start and shoulders him to the floor as the fans start a WAR MACHINE chant. Back in and a running shoulder in the corner has Elgin in more trouble but he’s on the floor again before the Gore can launch. Elgin nails an enziguri for his first shot and it’s time to unload in the corner. A collision gives us a quick double knockdown but Elgin is back up with a release Rock Bottom out of the corner.

The twisting Swanton misses though and the comeback is on, including a spinebuster to give Rhino two. Elgin’s bridging German suplex gets the same as the power brawling continues. A piledriver plants Elgin for two more and a superplex makes it even better. Elgin kicks the Gore away and they fight to the floor for the double countout at 11:37.

Rating: C. Not much to this one but you can almost guarantee a rematch, likely with some kind of a stipulation, to be set up for next week or the week after. Elgin has dropped a good bit as he goes from fighting Brian Cage for the World Title to Rhino, but Impact has always seen Rhino as a big deal so it’s not like Elgin has been banished.

Post match the fight continues until referees break it up.

Post break Elgin says this isn’t over. Rhino comes in to brawl some more.

The announcers preview the show.

Tag Team Titles: Reno Scum vs. The North

The North is defending. Luster the Legend headlocks Ethan to start and then runs him down with a shoulder. The bigger Luster cranks on the arm and it’s Thornstowe coming in with an ax handle. Alexander comes in for a swinging Texas Cloverleaf of all things and it’s the chinlock to take us to a break.

Back with Alexander stomping Thornstowe down in the corner and handing it off to Page for a spinning backbreaker. A shot to the face allows the tag off to Luster for the big power comeback, including a spinebuster for two on Alexander. Everything breaks down with Page’s suicide dive taking out Luster. That leaves Thornstowe to get crotched on top, setting up the toss Alabama Slam for the pin to retain at 11:25.

Rating: C. That’s one of the better Scum matches as the team continues to be the most “well they exist” pairings I can remember in a long time. They’re not horrible by any means but they’re still just two guys who have a name and unique chants from the fans. I guess they work very cheap as Impact keeps bringing them back in, despite not being much of a team either way.

Ace Austin is banged up so Alisha Edwards helps him get his shirt off. Ace confirms that the bandages (they must be Ace Bandages) are from Eddie Edwards but Alisha leaves for her match. The chicanery continues.

Madison Rayne tries to smooth things over with Jordynne Grace, who shouldn’t be associating with some newcomer. Grace doesn’t need her help, just like she didn’t need Rosemary’s help last week either.

Havok vs. Alisha Edwards

Alisha, in gear featuring a bunch of checkered flags in a Sparky Plugg tribute, hammers away at Havok but her crossbody is shrugged off. Havok tosses her around and chokes on the ropes as we talk about Moose insulting Ken Shamrock’s bare knuckle boxing company. Alisha gets in a bulldog, only to get Tombstoned for the pin at 3:33.

Rating: D. Havok is a monster but Alisha continues to be someone who is just there week in and week out. The story with Ace vs. Eddie could be something but Alisha is about as far up the food chain as she is going to get in the ring at the moment. She was cannon fodder here and without some big changes, I don’t know if I see that changing anytime soon.

Post match Ace comes out to check on Alisha so here’s Eddie for the chase….right into a chokeslam from Havok as Ace leaves with Alisha.

Su Yung appears on screen, speaks gibberish, and is gone.

Sami Callihan blames Dave Crist for the loss last week so tonight he’ll handle Tommy Dreamer himself. Yes, Dreamer is getting a main event out of this whole thing. Sami is coming for the World Title when he’s done with Dreamer. Why do I have a bad feeling that’s going to take a long time?

Moose tells Ken Shamrock to meet him in Las Vegas because while Ken is a fighting legend, Moose is a five star athlete.

X-Division Title: Rich Swann vs. Jake Crist

Crist is defending and kicks Swann in the face at the bell. Swann is fine enough to block a suicide tornado DDT on the floor and a 619 from the apron connects. Back in and Swann gets superkicked out of the air, setting up the early chinlock. Swann gets sent outside and dropped onto the apron for two and the chinlock goes on again. That’s switched into the reverse Rings of Saturn but Swann is back up with a rolling clothesline.

Some rapid fire strikes send Crist outside, where Swann flips off the stage to kick him in the face again. Back in and Crist plants him with a Death Valley Driver so Swann comes back with a swinging neckbreaker. The middle rope 450 gets two on Crist so Swann loads up the Lethal Injection, which nearly takes out the referee. That’s enough of a distraction for Crist to grab a rollup with trunks for the pin at 8:43.

Rating: C+. These two are some of the best things going in Impact today with both guys knowing exactly what to do and how to have an exciting match. Now the lack of selling or psychology hurts a lot but that’s not what the point of something like this is. Swann seems almost destined to move up to the main event scene, or at least he should be. Jake calling himself the Golden Draw and getting on Sami has potential down the line too so this could be more interesting later.

Tenille Dashwood is coming. That’s a good signing.

The Desi Hit Squad go to the Deaners’ farm for WACKY COMEDY. The Deaners put them in overalls, which Raju seems to like. Gama slaps him in the face and more on this later. This feels like it’s straight out of 1986 WWF.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Ken Shamrock wins the NWA World Title on the first show.

Taya Valkyrie promises a big title defense next week as she comes up on the longest title reign in Knockouts Title history.

Trey Miguel vs. Willie Mack

Trey starts with the Running Man and dances up off a hard shoulder. A Samoan drop into the standing moonsault gives Mack two as the fans aren’t sure who they like more. Trey’s double springboard wristdrag is blocked with raw power and some running forearms in the corner put Trey down.

The running Cannonball connects but the Stunner (how Kevin Owens of him, though it might be more Willie Mack of Owens) is countered into a rollup to give Trey two. Trey wins a slugout and goes up top, where he slides between Mack’s legs to set up a Cheeky Nandos kick. The 619 around the corner connects, only to have Mack come back with the Stunner for the pin at 5:26.

Rating: C. Mack is similar to Swann in that he seems ready to move up the card at a moment’s notice but it seems like every time he gets ready, he’s put back down into a match like this. Keeping him winning is a good sign for his future though and it’s certainly better than having him sitting around doing nothing.

Tommy Dreamer says Sami Callihan is one of the bad people in wrestling and he can’t wait to beat Sami up tonight.

Next week: Rhino vs. Elgin, falls count anywhere.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Sami Callihan

No DQ because of course. Sami charges at him to start and gets punched in the face as they quickly head to the floor for the brawling. A ring bell shot to the ribs each take us to a break and we’re back with the two of them on opposite aprons for a staredown. Dreamer uses a kendo stick for Sandman’s (more stealing) White Russian legsweep but Callihan gets in a chair shot.

Then it’s time to go hybrid with a stick shot to the chair to keep Dreamer in trouble, followed by pulling the stick across Dreamer’s mouth. Neither can hit a DDT so Callihan shoves him onto the chair for two instead. Something close to a Conchairto has Dreamer in agony so Sami takes a bow (I’d throw money at him). Dreamer comes back with the Dusty Rhodes punches and Bionic Elbow for two and it’s trashcan time. And for a bonus, ladder time.

Sami hits him with both of them but Dreamer catapults him into the trashcan in the corner. The DDT gets two on Sami, who grabs Tommy by the crotch. The drop toehold sends Dreamer into the open chair and it’s time to put a piece of wood between two chairs. Dreamer gets in a piledriver for two but a middle rope elbow only hits ladder. Some kendo stick shots set up the piledriver through the wood to finish Dreamer at 15:28.

Rating: D+. Commentary tried to make this feel like a big deal but how many times has someone beaten the hardcore legend Tommy Dreamer in a hardcore style match? The match was exactly what you would have expected because it’s all Dreamer can really do these days and it’s supposed to be important because Dreamer has been around for so long. That’s not exactly working, but I’m sure the old ECW fans can explain it better than I can.

Post match the beatdown stays on until Tessa Blanchard runs in for the save with a baseball bat. Jake Crist runs in to take Tessa out to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. The show wasn’t the worst they’ve done but at the same time it didn’t exactly make me want to see what they’re doing next. This was an episode designed to set up something for the future but it didn’t do the best job. Sami can be a good choice for a top heel but the lack of Cage being around and having the show feel more like the Brock Lesnar as Universal Champion Raws aren’t helping things. It’s not completely terrible as there was some decent action, but the storytelling needs some work.

Results

Michael Elgin vs. Rhino went to a double countout

The North b. Reno Scum – Assisted Alabama Slam

Havok b. Alisha Edwards – Tombstone

Jake Crist b. Rich Swann – Rollup with a handful of trunks

Willie Mack b. Trey Miguel – Stunner

Sami Callihan b. Tommy Dreamer – Piledriver through a board

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 16, 2019
Location: St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

Impact has been going up and down as of late with some of the stories being better than others and some good enough shows. It’s not the best show in the world but at least they have enough stuff going on that I can remember it for a change. That’s more than they’ve had going for them in the past so at least there are some positives around here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Moose vs. Fallah Bahh

Rematch from two weeks ago when Bahh beat him in about a minute. You really can see how much weight Bahh has lost and that’s a good thing. Moose gets smart by stomping on the bare foot and sending Bahh outside, setting up a pump kick against the barricade. You don’t do that to someone like Bahh, who crushes Moose with a running crossbody. A splash on the ramp makes it even worse but Moose goes for the eyes to take over.

Some slow kicks to the face let Moose call Bahh a fat piece of garbage so Bahh shouts his name a lot. The Samoan drop takes Moose down and a rolling belly to belly gets two. Moose crushes him in the corner though and manages a top rope superplex (not bad) but the spear hits buckle. The Banzai Drop misses though and it’s No Jackhammer Needed to give Moose the pin at 8:52.

Rating: D+. Bahh slimming down makes him look better but it takes away one of the best things he had going for him. Moose seems to be flailing for something to do at the moment, which is why he’s stuck facing Fallah Bahh in a two match series for whatever reason. At this point he needs to get into the World Title picture or change things up because he’s stuck in that weird not quite ready for the top spot but too big for the midcard limbo.

Tommy Dreamer comes in to see Tessa Blanchard and gives her a history lesson on….her family. It took others to make her family a success and now Tessa needs help to get through OVE. Dreamer wants to stand with her to improve this business so she’s with him. Good grief Dreamer couldn’t be more forced into this story if his career (which has gone on for thirty years and he respects the business so freaking much) depended on it.

Video on Su Yung.

Kiera Hogan/Madison Rayne vs. Jordynne Grace/Alexia Nicole

Fallout from Kiera and Madison beating up Nicole last week. Kiera jumps Nicole before the bell and it’s already time for some villainous double teaming. A sliding basement clothesline gives Madison two but she stops to GRR at the referee, allowing Alexia to hit a running Meteora. We take a break and come back with Madison chinlocking Alexia.

Some yelling at the referee lets Madison poke Alexia in the eye and it’s Hogan coming in for a basement dropkick. Alexia pops up and gets over for the tag to Grace as everything breaks down. Alexia hits a high crossbody on Hogan but Madison is legal. Said legal Madison hits CrossRayne to finish Nicole at 9:41.

Rating: D+. This story continues to not do much for me as I’m not even sure why they’re fighting. I guess Grace doesn’t like Rayne acting like a big shot but since Impact doesn’t know how to let things go or advance them a lot of the time, we’re likely to be watching these same people feud for a good while.

Post match the brawl continues but the lights go out and it’s Rosemary to chase off Rayne and Hogan.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong from Bound For Glory 2015.

Alisha Edwards comes up to Ace Austin in the back. Ace is fearing for his safety from Eddie Edwards but Alisha insists they’re just friends. She’ll worry about Eddie.

Post break, Ace lays down when he sees Alisha coming but here’s Eddie to beat him up when he sees the two of them together.

Taya Valkyrie is in California and has John E. Bravo do various things for her, mainly including taking care of her dog.

Rhyno and Michael Elgin are fighting outside.

Rascalz vs. Willie Mack/Rich Swann/Rob Van Dam

This could be interesting. The Rascalz, and the fans, want Van Dam to start and they get their wish, with Rob kicking Wentz into the corner for the tag off to Xavier. Mack kicks him as well and a running elbow gets two. Swann comes in for a dropkick of his own as it’s one sided so far. A shot to the face sends Swann into the corner and it’s Miguel coming in to chop away. The slingshot hilo gets two on Swann and the fans want RVD. Instead they get an enziguri to Swann for two more but Swann slips out of a double backbreaker.

A cutter drops Miguel and there’s the hot tag to Van Dam. The split legged moonsault gets two on Wentz and Mack’s standing moonsault into Van Dam’s Rolling Thunder is good for two more. Everything breaks down but the push moonsault is broken up. Wentz and Swann chop it out and the pace picks up with Swann getting the better of it. Van Dam hits the Five Star and Swann drops the Phoenix splash for the pin on Wentz at 13:01.

Rating: B-. It wasn’t as good as it could have been but having Van Dam as the one to come in and clean house with his signature stuff is the best thing for him at the moment. Swann and Mack are potential future superstars around here and putting them with a big name is a good idea. Keep that up, as long as Van Dam doesn’t get the spotlight.

The North says they’re going to California to defend the Tag Team Titles at Cali Combat next week.

Jake Crist comes in to laugh at the Rascalz, Swann and Mack. Some glares send him running.

Deaners vs. Desi Hit Squad

The losers are the winners servants, meaning this feud is going to continue beyond tonight. It’s a brawl to start with everyone going out to the floor and the Deaners getting the better of things. Raj gets dropped ribs first onto the top rope and a knee knocks him back off. The Squad is right back up for a double suplex on Jake do Cody comes in for a clothesline.

Back from a break with Raju raking Cody’s eyes, leaving Gama to low bridge Cody to the floor. Cody gets caught in the Squad’s corner with Gama getting in a cheap shot from the outside. Raj rips at Cody’s face (it might be an improvement) but Cody kicks Raju away. That’s not enough for the tag though as Raj pulls Jake off the apron. A sidestep sends Raj outside and now the hot tag can bring in Jake.

Everything breaks down and Cody hits a suicide dive, followed by Jake’s running dive. Back in and Jake hits a Michinoku Driver for two on Raj and things settle back down. Gama’s distraction lets Raju get a rollup for two more as everything breaks down again. An assisted top rope double stomp gets two on Cody but Raju’s Cannonball is caught in the corner. Raju is sent outside and it’s the assisted suplex into the Side Effect (CTD) for the pin on Raj at 14:49.

Rating: D. Yeah THIS MATCH just got nearly fifteen minutes and I don’t get why either. We’ve spent how many weeks on this culture clash feud and now it’s going to be even longer. The segments will probably be funny enough but that doesn’t make up for having to watch these four have such an uninteresting rivalry for so many weeks. The match could have been worse, but that’s not much in the way of praise.

Sami Callihan wants to know where Jake Crist is but switches over to threatening Tommy and Tessa. She will NEVER beat him and tonight will be exactly like any other night.

The Deaners are ready to make the Squad work on their farm. Why can I not get the dueling banjo music out of my head?

Sami Callihan/Dave Crist vs. Tessa Blanchard/Tommy Dreamer

At least Tommy doesn’t get the last entrance. They start fast with Tommy and Tessa trying stereo Bionic Elbows (because the BLANCHARDS just love Dusty Rhodes) but have to settle for kicks to the face instead. Everything breaks down early on and Tommy hits a double clothesline off the apron. Tessa hits a top rope dive of her own (landing on her feet of course) and we take a break.

Back with Dreamer handing Tessa a beer from the crowd (I bet Dusty Rhodes would like a beer, but he’s gone so consider this the next tribute from Dreamer) so she can spit it in Sami’s face. Dreamer does it to Dave (passing it on to the next generation you might say) and we settle down to Sami begging off from Tessa inside. Everything breaks down again in record time with all four heading back outside.

Dave catapults Dreamer throat first into the barricade (add that to the list of injuries he’ll talk about for the next 15 years) and takes it back inside to crank on both of Dreamer’s arms. Staying down in a hold like that would damage the industry though so Dreamer is right back up, only to have Sami take him into the corner. Dreamer fights back using the power of tears over his memories of wrestling but Tessa gets pulled off the apron. Double Bionic elbows and the diving tag bring in Tessa (with a scary look on her face as she cleans house).

A running Codebreaker out of the corner gets two on Dave as everything breaks down and the ref gets bumped. Double DDTs lay out OVE (Because Dreamer stole that move too. Does he actually do ANYTHING original? Other than the Tommyhawk, which was awesome, that is.) with a second referee running in for two. Dreamer loads up a piledriver with THUMBS UP THUMBS DOWN (The Repo Man didn’t steal this much stuff!) but stereo low blows put….well just Dreamer down as Tessa glares at Dave for not thinking it through. Magnum with a kendo stick finishes Dave at 13:49.

Rating: C-. Did I ever tell you about the time that Tommy Dreamer did something in wrestling? The exact thing doesn’t matter because it’s probably something that has been done a million times, but he did it while looking sad, drinking a beer, hitting someone with a kendo stick an hour after wearing a shirt that talked about some famous wrestler.

But he just wants to help the business, including his House of Hardcore promotion, which is in no way another attempt to cash in on ECW’s legacy again and again because he’s never done anything noteworthy not associated with ECW. If you’ve never heard that story before, don’t worry because he’ll probably do it again in a week.

Overall Rating: D+. This was a miss as there just wasn’t enough good stuff to warrant half an hour of Deaners/Squad/Dreamer. Tessa doesn’t need Dreamer helping her out so he can steal more of her spotlight, especially after Swann, a young star who could go a long way around here, offered to help her last week. It’s a spot where someone could get a nice rub but instead it’s Dreamer for no logical reason whatsoever. The rest of the show was skippable aside from the six man tag, which hopefully isn’t a new trend around here. Hopefully they bounce back next week because this was a rough sit.

Results

Moose b. Fallah Bahh – No Jackhammer Needed

Kiera Hogan/Madison Rayne b. Jordynne Grace/Alexia Nicole – CrossRayne to Nicole

Rob Van Dam/Rich Swann/Willie Mack b. Rascalz – Phoenix splash to Wentz

Deaners b. Desi Hit Squad – CTD to Singh

Tessa Blanchard/Tommy Dreamer b. Dave Crist/Sami Callihan – Magnum to Crist

Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 26, 2019
Location: St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re finally back to a regular show this week after last week’s Mash-Up Tournament show. Next week is the big Unbreakable show, which will feature Tessa Blanchard vs. Sami Callihan for the #1 contendership to the World Title. Tonight it’s Brian Cage vs. Michael Elgin in a street fight, which isn’t likely going to be the next major story. It’s a long way to Bound For Glory so we don’t need to get things going from here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap and preview.

Jordynne Grace vs. Kiera Hogan

Hogan now has blue and silver hair instead of the fire red. I’m not sure if that’s an upgrade or not. Madison Rayne comes out for commentary and now wants to be known as Her Royal Highness The Queen Bee. Grace goes straight for Hogan in the corner and takes her outside for a belly to belly. Since selling isn’t the strong suit of today’s wrestling, Hogan is right back up with a suicide dive to take over. Back in and Hogan stomps away as Madison talks about being friends with Meghan Markle.

A running hip attack in the corner gives Hogan one but it’s a helicopter bomb out of the corner to put Hogan down for two. The Michinoku Driver gets two but Hogan kicks her into the corner for some running basement dropkicks. Hogan unloads with shots to the head until Grace blocks a neckbreaker out of the corner. A Vader Bomb gets two but Hogan sends her outside. That’s fine with Grace, who hits a suplex on the floor but Madison throws Hogan inside. Grace is right there with a bridging cradle for the pin at 8:57.

Rating: D. The lack of selling was really noticeable here as they were doing moves to each other and then popping back up to go to the next move. Hogan being more aggressive and changing her look is fine, but having her lose so soon might not be the best idea. That and focusing so much on Madison again doesn’t do much for me, but Impact certainly loves doing the same stuff over and over again.

The announcers run down the rest of the show.

Brian Cage promises to send Michael Elgin to the hospital this week.

Taya Valkyrie talks to Rosemary about Slammiversary but gets shushed. Their deal is done and unless Taya is willing to offer another title shot, they have nothing to do with each other. John E. Bravo offers to take care of this.

Here’s Sami Callihan for a chat. He demands that Tessa get out here right now so here she is in a hurry. When Sami was first told he was wrestling Tessa, he thought it would be a night off. But then Tessa showed that she has spunk and fire, drawing a TESSA chant. Sami cuts that off and then talks about winning the tournament last week. He can admit when he is wrong and he gave Tessa equality. From one wrestler to another, Sami respects her. He’ll show her respect now, but on August 2, it’s winner take all. They shake hands and he calls her toots and gives her a quick spank. The beating is on and Tessa hits Magnum.

Callihan yells at OVE for not coming to save him but he told them to stay there. Sami says Tessa sucker punched him so next week she can face Mad Man Fulton. Given that she is already scheduled to face Sami next week, that might be a conflict of interests.

Moose vs. Ray Steel

Moose throws him around to start and blocks a whip attempt. No Jackhammer Needed finishes Steel at 58 seconds.

Post match Moose says what matters around here is not being loyal to this place. He’s the guy who has put the company on his back and now he’s here to beat up a piece of garbage. Moose yells at Callis and apron bombs Steel for good measure.

Bravo finds Havok and tells her there will be no Knockouts Title match. She can have some fun with him though. Havok chokes him, which Bravo calls the hard way.

Video on the North retaining the Tag Team Titles at Slammiversary.

The Rascalz get a Tag Team Title match next week. Joking ensues and Gail Kim of all people pops in to talk about the Jonas Brothers.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Kurt Angle beats Matt Morgan at Bound For Glory 2009.

Kiera Hogan and Madison Rayne argue and Melissa Santos walks off.

Ace Austin hits on Alisha Edwards with some magic and gets blown off. An unnamed woman comes in and hits on Austin but he isn’t interested.

Willie Mack vs. Rob Van Dam

Rob takes his time coming out of the curtain for some reason. As Callis talks about Rob being relatively injury free over his career (not quite), Rob works a headlock to start. Mack snaps off a spinwheel kick and Rob needs to stop for a breather. They head outside with Rob kicking him in the face as Callis continues to talk about how big Rob is. The running cannonball off the apron drops Mack again but a charge against the barricade is cut off without much effort.

Back in and a pump kick in the corner sets up a reverse cannonball in the corner. The standing moonsault gets two, with Josh calling the match one sided. Mack has been in control for about a minute and a half chum. Rob kicks him back down but the split legged moonsault hits knees. A Backstabber puts Rob down again but he’s right back with a springboard kick to the face.

Another kick to the face sets up Rolling Thunder for two and Mack is in trouble. He’s fine enough to come back with a cutter for a breather, followed by an exploder suplex. Mack’s frog splash misses though and it’s the stepover kick and it’s the Five Star to finish Mack at 12:22.

Rating: C+. Van Dam still looks slow and old but he can still do his greatest hits well enough. I’m not sure I would have had him go over someone with the potential that Mack has but Van Dam is the legend around here and is going to get a win like this every now and then. Not a bad match, but it got Rob some momentum back.

They shake hands post match.

Ace hits on Alisha again but can’t get her to put her hand in a box and grab a live bird. The box is just below Austin’s stomach in case you don’t get the joke. Alisha leaves and Stone Rockwell comes up to grab whatever is in the box, making Austin wince. Rockwell: “Seems malnourished.”

Ortiz, with a censored bottle in his hand, rants to Konnan about wanting to finish the North. Konnan tells him to calm down because Daga is going to replace the injured (torn MCL) Santana. Daga comes in and Ortiz isn’t happy, but Konnan says he has this.

Michael Elgin thinks it’s non-title tonight because Cage is scared. Cage needs to stop worrying about his fiance (who is holding the mic) and worry about him instead.

X-Division Title: Jake Crist vs. Rich Swann

Swann is defending and Crist is here alone. Crist headlocks him down to start Swann reverses into an armbar and they flip up to a standoff. Swann wastes no time in sending him outside for a flip dive but here’s Dave Crist, who gets kicked in the face. The distraction lets Jake hit a running DDT on the floor though and we take a break.

Back with Jake working Swann over in the corner before grabbing the reverse Rings of Saturn. That’s broken up so it’s a camel clutch to keep Swann in trouble. Swann breaks out of that as well and rolls forward into a flipping clothesline. Some kicks to the head give Swann two but he jumps into a Death Valley Driver for two as well. They slug it out again with Swann getting the better of it and hitting a top rope elbow for another near fall.

It takes too long to go up again though and it’s a superplex into a swinging neckbreaker for two on Swann. An exchange of kicks to the head sets up the Phoenix splash but Dave puts the foot on the rope. Swann cutters both of them but it’s Mad Man Fulton coming out to shove Swann into a cutter from Jake. Sliced Bread #2 gives Jake the pin and the title at 15:46.

Rating: B. This feels like a bigger deal because Swann had been built up as a huge star. There is no reason to not put him into the main event now as there isn’t anything left for him to do in the X-Division. It was a surprise title change and it wasn’t clear, and it even came at the end of a rather good match. These two worked well together and the ending was the best way to get the title out of Swann in a singles match.

Post break Sami says the team won the title and doesn’t like Jake calling himself the Golden Draw. Sami: “IT’S SILVER!” They need to focus on Tessa.

Unbreakable rundown.

Brian Cage vs. Michael Elgin

Non-title street fight. Hang on though as Cage crawls through the curtain and it’s Elgin standing over him with a chair. Elgin chokes him with the chair in the ring but stops to grab a mic. He rants about this being non-title because Cage is scared of him. Elgin grabs another chair and hits the Conchairto on Cage’s head as we won’t be having a match here.

Security is quickly beaten up and Elgin wraps the chair around Cage’s head. Cue Melissa Santos to beg but the masked man comes in for the save. Elgin chairs him in the face but a second masked man comes in to Gore him down. The second masked man runs into the crowd and unmasks as Rhyno (it wasn’t really a secret) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling was up and down here but they got in some angle advancement and storytelling so the show worked well. This felt like the big fallout show from Slammiversary and while they did lose some momentum, it was still a good show that picked up where the previous stuff took off. Unbreakable can be a nice stepping stone towards Bound For Glory and Impact could be in a good place for a while to come.

Results

Jordynne Grace b. Kiera Hogan – Bridging cradle

Moose b. Ray Steel – No Jackhammer Needed

Rob Van Dam b. Willie Mack – Five Star Frog Splash

Jake Crist b. Rich Swann – Sliced Bread #2

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: July 5, 2019
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

It’s the go home show for Slammiversary and things have been going fairly well around here. They’ve done a good job of setting up a lot of the pay per view matches while also giving us some good stuff on the regular shows. With some luck, that can continue this week as well. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

TJP vs. Ace Austin

Rematch from two weeks ago when TJP returned and handed Austin his first loss. Ace takes him down with a headlock to start but TJP rolls out without too much trouble. TJP is right back with a headlock on the mat but gets reversed into a headscissors. That means the always cool bouncing handstand escape as this is a match of counters so far.

A Sharpshooter with a pull of the arm is switched into a Muta Lock as TJP gets to show off even more. That’s broken up so TJP dropkicks him to the floor, only to miss a slingshot dropkick to the floor. Austin nails a Space Flying Tiger Drop (still love that name) and busts out a playing card for a paper cut between the fingers.

It’s time to crank on the arms but TJP flips out with a dropkick to the chest for a snazzy counter. Now the slingshot dropkick works but the Detonation Kick is countered. A running Trouble in Paradise drops TJP again and a rollup with a grab of the rope gets two. They trade kicks to the legs with TJP getting the better of it until he catches Austin in the kneebar for the tap at 12:06.

Rating: B-. I’m a bit disappointed in this one as Austin has been pretty cool but TJP is the kind of guy they can push the heck out of in the near future. The idea of him vs. either Rich Swann or Johnny Mundo at Bound For Glory in a 20 minute X-Division Title match more than works, and they’re certainly interested in pushing TJP.

Video on Michael Elgin vs. Brian Cage, which is going to be an eruption.

Johnny Impact isn’t worry about having John E. Bravo as his partner tonight against Rich Swann and Willie Mack. They’re Team Johnny and we get some Mega Powers impressions.

Announcers preview.

Kiera Hogan vs. Madison Rayne

Jordynne Grace is on commentary and Kiera has a rather similar walk to the ring/entrance as Tessa Blanchard. Madison starts fast with a pair of rollups for two each, sending Kiera outside for a breather. That means an argument with Grace, who gets shoved back into her seat. Back in and Kiera hits some running shots in the corner for two. Madison scores with an enziguri and a ripcord cutter for two of her own. Kiera grabs a rollup with her feet on the ropes but Grace breaks it up, leaving Kiera to grab a fisherman’s neckbreaker for the pin at 4:23.

Rating: D+. I’m still not feeling this feud as Kiera and Jordynne’s friendship lasted all of a month or so before the big heel turn. It’s nice that they have a feud outside of the title though, which is the problem for so many divisions in so many promotions these days. I doubt their match makes either pay per view, but it’s fine enough for a low level story.

Gama Singh gives Rohit Raju some special tea from a special tea set but the Deaners sneak in and replace it with whiskey. All three: “DEANERS!!!” Rohit: “It’s not bad.”

James Mitchell tries to keep Havok and Su Yung calm before Slammiversary.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Rosemary vs. Jade in Monster’s Ball at Genesis 2017.

Video on Monster’s Ball, which could make for an interesting twist in the already long story.

Video on Tessa Blanchard vs. Sami Callihan. Sami’s rampant sexism still feels out of nowhere.

Rohit Raju vs. Laredo Kid

Kid dives over hit to start but gets taken into the corner for some right hands to the face. A quick slam in the corner looks to set up a moonsault….and the bottom rope breaks. Thankfully they’re both fine and Raju grabs a fisherman’s neckbreaker into a Falcon’s Arrow. A snap suplex gives Raju two and Kid hits a headscissors to put him on the floor. That means a suicide dive but Kid misses a corkscrew moonsault. A jumping knee to the face sets up a top rope double stomp to the back to finish Kid at 4:33.

Rating: D+. It wasn’t much to see and that would have been the case with or without the broken rope. There is only so much you can do with these two as Raju has a firm ceiling over his head and didn’t seem to know how to do much with the very high flying Kid. At least the Deaners weren’t involved again though.

Video on Moose vs. Rob Van Dam.

Here’s Moose for a chat. Moose talks about being a big fan of Van Dam’s when he was a kid and he had a great time watching some of Van Dam’s matches. Now though, the fans are chanting for Moose because he’s been around the world and made millions of dollars too (I miss that dance). Van Dam calls himself the Whole F’N Show but Moose is Mr. Impact Wrestling. It’s been a few years since Van Dam has been on pay per view so now he can have a chance to prove himself.

Since Van Dam is probably a little fuzzy, we see a video of Moose having attacked Sabu. Cue Van Dam for the brawl but security breaks it up in a hurry. I still have no idea why the ECW names needed to be involved in this story. Until the visual with Sabu, the promo was a fine way to set up Moose vs. Van Dam on their own, and the visual just made Van Dam a bit angrier.

Trey Miguel vs. Dezmond Xavier vs. Zachary Wentz

Whoever takes the fall doesn’t get to wrestle in the Tag Team Title match on Sunday. I’ve heard worse ideas. They go for some early rollups to start and it’s time to start kicking away as they don’t mind fighting among themselves. Dezmond gets knocked down and Wentz hits a springboard corkscrew crossbody for two on Miguel. Trey sends Wentz outside for a hurricanrana through the ropes but a Dezmond distraction lets Wentz hit his own dive.

Back in and the Final Flash gets two on Wentz with Trey making the save (not the most logical move in the world). They go with the circle of strikes to the face until Trey gets knocked to the floor. Wentz’s running shooting star gets two and Trey runs back in with a running flip dive to both. Double low cutters give Trey two each but Wentz is back up in a hurry. Back to back superkicks to Miguel sets up the shoving moonsault for a double pin on Miguel at 7:03.

Rating: C+. The more I see from these two, the more I like them. They have a great chemistry together and they’re all awesome athletes, which makes for some outstanding matches. It’s not like Wentz is hurt from the loss as odds are they would use the Freebird Rule if they win the titles. I could go for this again, but I’ll take anything from these guys at the moment.

Everyone hugs post match.

Tessa Blanchard is here and she has her own baseball bat.

Video on Killer Kross vs. Eddie Edwards, which is over the broken Kenny the kendo stick.

Killer Kross is in a church and talks about the man who lost everything. That story has not been finished yet but that man is searching for his ultimate salvation. At Slammiversary, he will have the chance to die for his sins. You may now kneel before the Kross. He drinks from a chalice and seems to have blood flow out of his mouth.

Quick video on Rich Swann vs. Johnny Impact for the X-Division Title.

Slammiversary rundown. The card doesn’t look that bad.

John E. Bravo/Johnny Impact vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack

Swann and Impact kick at each other to start until Swann scores with a dropkick. Mack comes in for an exchange of flips, capped off by Mack armdragging him down. A flapjack/bulldog combination plants Impact again but Bravo offers a distraction so Johnny can get a breather. Impact and Swann head outside with the Moonlight Drive planting Swann again. Bravo comes in for some stomping and posing before it’s right back to Impact for the chinlock.

It’s already back to Bravo for some right hands and a chinlock of his own. He even loads up his own Moonlight Drive, allowing Impact to come in with a running knee to the head. Swann drops Impact though and tags Mack for the big house cleaning. Bravo isn’t interested in tagging back in and it’s the Cannonball into a moonsault to give Mack two. The Flying Chuck drops Mack but he breaks through a double clothesline and brings Swann back in. A Stunner into the Phoenix splash gives Swann the pin on Bravo at 8:55.

Rating: C. This was a case where they only did what they should have done and the glorified handicap match worked perfectly fine. Swann continues to look like a star and the look on his face after the pin made him feel as big as he ever has. I want to see that match on Sunday more than anything else and Swann has gotten a ton out of this feud.

Sami Callihan and Jake Crist are celebrating Sami’s win over Tessa on Sunday. Callihan is annoyed that Dave Crist is taking too long to set up the Little Mermaid to calm down Madman Fulton when Tessa shows up with the bat to wreck their table. The fight is on and Jake grabs Tessa for the save. Sami loads up a bat shot but Tessa escapes and hits her own bat shot on Callihan to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This is a show where the point was to make you want to see the pay per view on Sunday. That was accomplished as well as they have done it in a long time with a very strong go home show. I’m looking forward to Slammiversary and I can’t remember the last time I’ve said that about a show from this company. This was a great go home show and served as an outstanding commercial for the show. I’m impressed, and that doesn’t happen very often around here.

Results

TJP b. Ace Austin – Kneebar

Kiera Hogan b. Madison Rayne – Fisherman’s neckbreaker

Rohit Raju b. Laredo Kid – Top rope double stomp to the back

Dezmond Xavier/Zachary Wentz b. Trey Miguel – Shoving moonsault

Rich Swann/Willie Mack b. John E. Bravo/Johnny Impact – Phoenix splash to Bravo

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: United Wrestling Network

Championship Wrestling From Arizona TV
Date: March 20, 2018
Location: Nile Theater, Mesa, Arizona
Commentator: Joe Galli

I saw this promotion on Fite TV over Wrestlemania weekend and since I don’t do enough smaller shows like this, we’ll take a shot at it here. This sounds like the most regional show I can remember in a long time but that could make it rather fun. As you might have guessed, I have no idea what to expect here and this is the first episode that came up when I searched for the show. Let’s get to it.

The opening video (for the United Wrestling Network, the governing body) looks like it’s from a 1993 episode of American Gladiators. Well I’m sold.

Alex Salyers and Miracle Mike James are in the back (in front of a brick wall) and don’t like being called a team. Salyers has beaten the Agents of Chaos on his own twice in a row now but James didn’t like the cheating. Alex doesn’t want to hear it because he’s here to fight and get paid, either with or without Jones.

Regular opening sequence, featuring various shots of….wrestling and Arizona. You can’t say they’re misleading.

The logo looks almost identical to that of Championship Wrestling From Hollywood so I’m assuming there’s a connection of some sort.

Miracle Mike James vs. R-Three

R-Three is a big man and part of the Agents of Chaos. Salyers and Evan Daniels are the respective seconds here and it’s a four way staredown before the bell. We get going with James charging straight at Three and drives a shoulder in the corner. Three shoves him out of the air though and a hard slam sets up a splash. James gets tossed across the ring but a middle rope stomp misses.

Two flying shoulders stagger Three but a third is countered into a backbreaker. James’ springboard Downward Spiral is blocked as well and we take a break. Back with Three walking over James’ chest, followed by an Irish Curse for two. Something called the Fatality is broken up and James dropkicks him to the floor. That’s fine with Three, who knocks Salyers down with a single shot.

Back in and Three runs into a superkick for two as Salyers hits Daniels in the face. Three knocks Salyers off the apron but James starts in with the kicks. A big spinebuster drops James but Three can’t follow up. They take their time getting up so Salyers brings in a chair, which James takes away. The two of them fight over the chair so Three crushes them together with a running splash. Fatality (a running Death Valley Driver) finishes James at 13:19.

Rating: C+. I’m actually pretty impressed to start off here as they told a fine story and wove in the bigger story at the same time. That’s a lot more than you get in some mainstream wrestling and it worked well here. It’s nothing great but I got what they were going for and the match was completely watchable. Well done.

Post match Salyers walks out, leaving James to get beaten down again.

Galli tries to tell us about a match from Championship Wrestling From Hollywood (I knew it.) when a guy named Robert Baines (whose voice sounds like a bad Macho Man impression, which oddly works quite well) interrupts him. Baines says their conversations are always cut off but Galli says he’s being rather rude.

From Championship Wrestling From Hollywood from about a week earlier.

Andy Brown vs. Willie Mack

This is Mack’s return to the promotion, where he was quite the star before. They fight over a wristlock to start with Mack dancing his way….well he had the hold on so I’m not sure what he was getting out of there. Brown gets in some hip swiveling of his own and an armdrag puts Mack down.

Mack hits one of his own and stereo dropkicks give us a standoff. They tap fists for some sportsmanship until Mack walks into a dropkick. Mack is fine enough to hit a pump kick in the corner and the reverse Cannonball crushes Brown for two. Back from a break with Brown hitting a superkick on the floor but getting caught with a running kick to the face. A rolling kick to the head gives Mack two and it’s time to twist the nipples.

The Samoan drop looks to set up the standing moonsault but Brown rolls away and hits a forearm for two. Mack is right back with a Codebreaker for two and it’s time to run the ropes. Brown hits a heck of a spinebuster into a superkick for two of his own and frustration is setting in. A rolling cutter is countered into a Samoan drop and the standing moonsault but Mack doesn’t cover. Instead it’s the Stunner into a frog splash to finish Brown at 13:48.

Rating: C+. Oh yeah Mack comes off like a star around here and you can feel the charisma coming off of him. It shows up very clearly everywhere you see him and it’s no surprise that he’s become a bigger deal in whatever promotion. I can’t imagine he doesn’t wind up in WWE one day, as they certainly wanted to see him in the first place.

Back in Arizona, Baines is asking who pays Galli’s bills and does not stop talking the entire time Galli tells us to stay tuned.

Here’s Suede Thompson for a match. Suede has a trophy with him but a guy in face paint named Oliver Grimsley comes out and hits him in the knee with a crowbar. Security breaks it up and boss Peter Avalon wants to know what is going on. Grimsley says that Peter knows what he wants so Peter makes a match right now.

Oliver Grimsley vs. Chris Bae

Grimsley forearms him in the back of the head and says that this isn’t Bae’s fight. Bae comes back with shots to the head but Grimsley sends him into the corner and presses him into the corner. Apparently Grimsley wants a TV Title shot, which isn’t as cryptic as they made it out to be in the promo.

Bae comes back with some kicks but walks into a one knee Codebreaker for two. The announcer recaps Grimsley’s various assaults on people (including a previous one on Suede), getting us up to date on him in the span of thirty seconds. In other words, doing EXACTLY what he should do and doing it rather well. Some shoulders in the corner don’t do much to Bae as he’s right back with an enziguri.

Back from a break with Grimsley hammering away on the floor and dropping a knee on the chest back inside. Grimsley’s belly to back suplex gets two but Bae breaks up a superplex. A top rope European uppercut drops Grimsley and a quick cutter gets two. Bae’s spinebuster gets the same but Grimsley is right back with some running knees in the corner for two. A superkick completely misses Grimsley’s face but gets two anyway. Grimsley shoves him into the corner though and the Bed of Nails (arm trap Backstabber) finishes Bae at 17:40.

Rating: B-. Another good match which flew by here. The more important part though was the commentary, which summed up the Grimsley story in a quick and simple way. That’s SO much better than you get in WWE or in most promotions these days. The fact that the story is simple enough to be explained that quickly helps a lot too. Good match here too, with both guys working hard and having a nice showcase between the two of them.

Grimsley gets in a few more shots to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I liked this a lot. They went on for about forty five minutes and covered a variety of stories with each one getting some solid attention. This was one of the better territory promotions I’ve seen in a long time and I could go for seeing more from them. I was actually impressed by this one and that’s not something I would have ever expected from this one.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 14, 2019
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re out of Philadelphia and hopefully that means we’re on the way towards more of a focus on the good stuff rather than the bad. Part of the company’s issues have been going hot and cold with a mixture of stuff that works for the future and an emphasis on nostalgia. The good has been very strong though and if we get more of that, we’re in for a fun show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

The North vs. Rob Van Dam/Sabu

Sabu and Van Dam have Super Genie with them. The announcers go into Van Dam’s ECW stories, because he’s done NOTHING since then. Certainly not been Impact World Champion or anything. Thankfully those stories stop so they can mention that this is a #1 contenders match with the winners getting a Tag Team Title shot at Slammiversary.

Sabu takes Alexander down by the leg to start and it’s off to Van Dam for a suplex. Alexander takes him into the corner and brings in Page, who gets kicked in the face for his efforts. The armdrag into the armbar lets us take a look at Van Dam, who looks very old. There’s the Rolling Thunder/facebuster combination for two on Page and it’s more kicks to Page’s face. A kick to Sabu’s face lets the North start in with some backbreakers and it’s Van Dam in trouble for a change.

The Canadians get him down in the corner for some stomping until Page charges into a kick to the face. That’s enough for the tag to Sabu so Genie throws in a chair, which is pelted at the North a few times. The camel clutch/dropkick to the face combination keeps Alexander down and it’s time for a table. Sabu and Van Dam go up but here’s Moose to shove Van Dam off the top. The Arabian facebuster drives Alexander through the table for no count so Sabu hits a tornado DDT to send Page into the broken table. A Moose distraction lets the North hit a double Neutralizer to finish Sabu at 10:38.

Rating: D+. Well at least the right team won, and it only took interference and the disregard for various usage of weapons. The North isn’t an interesting team and at least they got in a win over a “legendary” team. Oh and Van Dam, the one of the ECW guys with any value, didn’t take the fall so he can put Moose over at Slammiversary as he should.

Post match here’s Tommy Dreamer to send Moose inside but Moose bails from the threat of a Van Terminator.

Post break Moose yells at the North, who call Moose out for bailing on them. Their partnership seems to be done so Moose promises to take out the ECW era. My head hurts again.

Announcers’ preview.

Havok vs. Masha Slamovich

Masha forearms away to start and gets knocked down with a single shot to the chest. Havok bends her over the knee but misses a charge in the corner. A dropkick and right hands don’t get Masha anywhere and it’s a sitout slam to plant Masha. The chokeslam and Tombstone finish Marsha at 3:39.

Rating: D. Total and complete squash here, which is exactly what it should have been. Havok is a good monster and can make a suitable opponent for Rosemary at some point. It’s also nice of them to bring up Havok’s history around here without mentioning her getting beaten up by Awesome Kong and ruining her mystique. That’s how you bring a monster back and it’s working here.

Post match James Mitchell tells Rosemary to work on her anger management. He’s tried to be diplomatic with her over Su Yung but now he’s had to go a little more serious, which is why Havok is here. Havok is his Godzilla stomping on Tokyo and now she’s coming for the Knockouts Title. She’ll use Rosemary’s broken carcass as a launchpad. That’s quite the image.

Raj Singh vs. Cody Deaner

Yes this feud needs to continue. Raj knocks him into the corner to start so Cody comes back out with a running clothesline. Cody sends him outside for a suicide dive but gets caught with a hanging cutter on the way back in. Raj’s running dropkick to the back gets two and he slaps away a lot. That wakes Deaner up and the snap jabs put Raj down. A hard DDT plants Raj but Gama Singh gets on the apron for a distraction. Cousin Jake cuts off an interfering Rohit Raju….and Gama has a heart attack. That allows Raj to hit an arm trap faceplant for the pin at 5:08.

Rating: D. I really don’t see the need for three interferences and a fake heart attack for half of the Desi Hit Squad vs. half of the country cousins. This felt completely minor league and like something you would see on a company trying to put on its first show. They’re not exactly cranking out good tag teams at the moment and this didn’t help things.

Michael Elgin is ready to beat up Willie Mack tonight. Johnny Impact comes in and says he’s been talking to the hospital. They haven’t seen Mack, even though Elgin promised to send him there. Elgin says stay out of the main event.

Rosemary thinks Mitchell has a thing for monsters. The Hive has sent her on a mission to get the Knockouts Title back so Havok is just an obstacle in the way.

Partial Slammiversary rundown.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Samoa Joe vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Slammiversary XII.

Sami Callihan comes into the women’s locker room (good thing there was a camera waiting in there) and gets in an argument with Tessa Blanchard. A match against Jake Crist is set for next week.

Jordynne Grace vs. Madison Rayne

Kiera Hogan is out for commentary. They fight over arm control to start and we cut over to Kiera, who is in fact talking. Rayne gets a quick rollup for two and Grace grinds away on a headlock. Grace ducks a charge in the corner and sends Madison to the apron, where she seems to slip off and fall out to the floor. Madison is fine enough and gets suplexed for two back inside. A standing Koji Clutch doesn’t get Rayne very far as Madison takes her down and pulls on the arm instead.

They trade pinfall attempts for two each until Madison hits a basement dropkick for a breather. Madison takes her to the floor for a cutter and they’re both down with Madison holding her back. Back in and Madison’s crucifix bomb gets two, followed by Grace’s spinning Muscle Buster for the same. Grace goes up but a Kiera distraction lets Madison pull her down for CrossRayne and the pin at 10:28.

Rating: C. Match of the night so far, though Kiera isn’t exactly interesting here. Grace feels like a monster and while losing to Rayne isn’t the biggest problem in the world, it’s not the way I would have gone. The good thing here is we currently have three stories going on in the Knockouts division, which is way, way better than just having the champion vs. her challenger of the week. I’m rather impressed by that and while it’s not working as well, they’re trying something similar with the tag division. I can appreciate the effort if nothing else.

Video on Killer Kross breaking Kenny and Eddie Edwards being given a new kendo stick by Sandman.

Killer Kross vs. Sandman

Sandman seems to be taking Eddie’s place and staggers around before hitting some left hands. A kendo stick to the ribs has little effect and the Krossjacket choke ends Sandman at 1:36. As annoying as I find it to have the ECW guys around, I can’t get annoyed at Sandman getting choked out in a minute and a half.

Post match Kross won’t let go so Eddie comes in for the save.

LAX doesn’t think much of the Rascalz but Konnan wants them to take things more seriously. The Rascalz come in and want a rematch but LAX doesn’t like them barging in. The fight is on with LAX getting the better of it (and stomping on a downed camera) and agreeing to the rematch. Someone who looks like Laredo Kid comes in and takes something from the Rascalz.

It’s time for the Smoke Show with Taya Valkyrie and John E. Bravo as guests. Fallah Bahh and Scarlett Bordeaux share a drink but Taya isn’t interested. She also doesn’t like Scarlett talking about Johnny Impact. Scarlett brings up Taya having to defend the title next week and says she knows who the opponent will be. Taya says spit it out, which Scarlett must know how to do. It’s Su Yung so Taya freaks out and leaves.

Here’s the rest of the Slammiversary rundown.

Willie Mack vs. Michael Elgin

Rich Swann is in Mack’s corner. They slug it out to start and trade shoulders with Mack actually getting the better of it off a jumping version. A jumping enziguri sets up an exploder suplex to send Elgin to the apron. Mack joins him for a slugout with Elgin getting the better of it and hitting a superkick to the floor.

Back from a break with Mack hitting a spinwheel kick and dropping a leg for two. A sitout spinebuster gets the same but the Stunner is broken up. Elgin’s superkick drops Mack and a top rope superplex gets two. Mack avoids a charge into the corner and gets caught with a slingshot Fameasser to send him outside. Instead of going back in, Elgin drops Swann onto the apron. Back in and a buckle bomb sets up the Elgin Bomb for the pin at 10:10.

Rating: C+. This was another good match between any combination of these three and Impact, which makes for some nice main events. Elgin is a great monster and someone can slay him, though I’m not sure if it’s going to be Cage at Slammiversary. That makes for an interesting match and I’m curious to see how it goes.

Post match Elgin goes after him again but Swann makes the save. Johnny Impact runs in to take Swann down but Elgin suplexes Impact. He even puts on the sunglasses to really rub it in. Another powerbomb into the post leaves Impact laying to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen such an up and down show as this one. The tag division (outside of the title picture) is a mess, the Knockouts division is rather interesting, the main event is good stuff and the ECW guys are just there. If they can get this stuff together and do more of the right stuff instead of the wrong, they’ll have a hit on their hands. And if they can get Pursuit to not screw things up, it can be even better.

Results

The North b. Rob Van Dam/Sabu – Double Neutralizer to Sabu

Jessika Havok b. Masha Slamovich – Tombstone

Raj Singh b. Cody Deaner – Arm trap faceplant

Madison Rayne b. Jordynne Grace – Cross Rayne

Killer Kross b. Sandman – Krossjacket choke

Michael Elgin b. Willie Mack – Elgin Bomb

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 31, 2019
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re going back in time again tonight with the further adventures of the ECW stars in modern times, plus what should be the destruction of Glenn Gilbertti at the hands of Tessa Blanchard. Last week’s show wasn’t the kindest thing in the world so hopefully this one is a lot better. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Moose/The North vs. Rob Van Dam/Tommy Dreamer/Sabu

Maybe we can just get it out of the way early on. Dreamer and Page start things off with Dreamer getting in an armbar before handing it off to Sabu. Alexander comes in as well and the fans declare this awesome less than a minute in. Sabu’s legbar doesn’t work so he sends Alexander into the corner for a YOU STILL GOT IT chant. So apparently the fans here have no idea what IT is.

Moose and Van Dam come in for the pose/chant off before Van Dam kicks him in the face. The combination of Rolling Thunder/slingshot legdrop get two on Moose and it’s back to Dreamer, who gets kicked low. Back from a break with Moose trying his own Rolling Thunder but getting a chair pelted at his face instead. That’s enough for the warm tag to Van Dam, who hits the split legged moonsault for two on Alexander.

Everything breaks down and Sabu hits Air Sabu on Alexander. Sabu’s manager Super Genie hits his own, followed by another dive to the floor to drop the North. Moose hits No Jackhammer Needed on Dreamer but walks into the Van Daminator, leaving Sabu to bring in the table. An Arabian facebuster through the table, with the referee casually watching, sets up the Five Star to finish Page at 10:09.

Rating: D+. It’s not the worst match in the world or even close to it, but there are so many problems with this. The biggest thing is that, again, they’re catering to the live audience instead of the masses. What if you weren’t around for ECW’s heyday? Unless you’re at least thirty years old, odds are you weren’t a fan of the original ECW. Or what if you just didn’t like it? Yeah the fans in the arena are going to cheer, but outsiders see a bunch of old guys (with Dreamer being the youngest at 48) having a not very good match while the fans chant for another company. They didn’t have anything else to put in these spots?

Brian Cage is still banged up but he’s been cleared to train. He’ll meet Michael Elgin at Slammiversary.

Moose is tired of these people messing up so he’ll do things himself.

Glenn Gilbertti vs. Tessa Blanchard

Gilbertti drops to the floor and says that Tessa is one of the best female wrestlers in the world, though that doesn’t count very much. The road to superstardom is paved with potholes and you know how women drivers are. It’s clear that Tessa has daddy issues so tonight, Gilbertti will be her daddy. Tessa hits a bunch of forearms and a big forearm finishes Gilbertti at 2:59. Exactly how it should have gone, but it still feels like the most random detour for Tessa, who just got done with a huge feud against Gail Kim.

The Rascalz invade LAX’s clubhouse with the smoke and set up a match for later. Trey drinks a lot.

Rich Swann and Willie Mack are ready to get revenge on Michael Elgin and Johnny Impact tonight.

Desi Hit Squad vs. Deaners

For the love of all things good and holy make it short. Cody works on Raju’s arm to start but Raj pulls Raju to the floor for a breather. The big dives take them down though and we seem to be in near squash territory. Raj trips Cody and the Squad takes over with a dropkick to the back getting two.

That doesn’t last long though as it’s back to Jake as everything breaks down. The Squad hits a faceplant/top rope double stomp combination for two on Cody with Jake making the save. Jake posts himself though and Cody gets shoved off the top. Cody is fine enough to send them into each other though and a rollup finishes Raj at 6:05.

Rating: D+. Again, not that bad of a match but it felt like filler. Are we really supposed to believe that the Desi Hit Squad or the Deaners are going to move up towards the Tag Team Title picture? LAX and the Lucha Bros just had a blood feud for the titles that headlined a pay per view. I’m not buying the redneck cousins as being a serious threat.

Killer Kross is ready to hurt Eddie Edwards tonight. Kenny has been broken and Eddie will be next.

Elgin is ready to take the World Title at Slammiversary. Johnny Impact comes in to say he’s taking the X-Division Title at Slammiversary, so he’s ready to hurt people tonight. That’s cool with Elgin. Johnny plugs the upcoming special including the Great Muta, which is also cool with Elgin.

Killer Kross vs. Eddie Edwards

Hardcore. Kross is wearing a flack jacket but Eddie dives onto him anyway to start fast. A belly to back suplex drops Kross on the apron and it’s time for the weapons. That takes too long though and Kross takes over by sending him into the barricade. A trashcan shot and a suplex on the floor make it even worse for Eddie and they get inside for the first time. Eddie gets in a Blue Thunder Bomb onto a trashcan but Kross won’t stay down.

Some trashcan lid shots to the head get one and it’s time to bring in a small ladder. The Krossjacket Choke has Eddie in trouble so he hits a few metal sign shots to the head to escape. Kross kicks him in the head though, allowing him to load up some chairs. A chokebomb through the ladder on the chairs breaks Eddie in half but there’s no cover.

Instead more chairs are brought in but Eddie manages a sunset bomb onto all of them for two. Two more chairs are set up and Eddie loads up a tiger driver. That’s countered with a backdrop, which was supposed to be a belly to back piledriver but didn’t really come close. Kross loads up some lead lined gloves but here’s Sandman with a kendo stick to Kross, allowing Eddie to hit the Boston Knee Party for the pin at 13:51.

Rating: C. Eddie is one of the better performers Impact has ever had, winning everything there is to win around here, including the World Title. But what he really needed was Sandman’s endorsement. Yeah that guy who only ever succeeded in ECW? That’s the ticket for Eddie. I thought Sandman was cool back in the day and he certainly had his place, but come on with the ECW stuff already.

Post match Sandman gives Eddie Kenny II and beers are consumed. And yes, the fans are chanting for ECW instead of Eddie or Impact. That seems to be the plan all along.

Rosemary has the still chained up Su Yung when James Mitchell comes in. He recaps their entire feud, including Allie’s involvement and death. Mitchell wants Su back and blames Rosemary for Allie’s death. Rosemary chokes Jim and says she’s keeping Yung.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Chris Sabin/Kazarian/Christopher Daniels vs. Sanada/Great Muta/Yasu from Lockdown 2014.

OVE isn’t happy with Scarlett Bordeaux and Fallah Bahh. Next week, the Crists will take care of them.

Michael Elgin/Johnny Impact vs. Willie Mack/Rich Swann

Johnny Bravo is in Elgin/Impact’s corner. Mack and Swann hit the stereo flip dives to start us off in a hurry, which is probably their best idea. We take a break thirty seconds in (erg) and come back with Impact in trouble in the corner thanks to the reverse Cannonball from Mack. Johnny slides between his legs though and scores with an enziguri before handing it off to Elgin. Mack elbows his way out of trouble and manages to drag Elgin over to the corner for the tag off to Swann.

A powerbomb attempt is countered with a hurricanrana and Elgin almost punches Impact. Swann sends them into each other and rolls Elgin up for two. Elgin drives Mack into Swann for a crotching though and it’s a Death Valley Driver for two on Mack. Back from another break with Swann still in control until he ducks the Flying Chuck to the face. The hot tag brings in Mack for some rolling Wastelands to Impact but Elgin tags himself back in.

That means a slingshot elbow to Swann’s face and a big running flip dive to take out Mack and Impact. Johnny isn’t happy so Swann adds his own running flip dive dive onto all three. Back in and Elgin hits a heck of a superkick on Swann with Impact adding a knee to the head for two. The Moonlight Drive gets two and Elgin breaks up the handspring elbow to make things even worse.

Mack comes in for the Samoan drop and standing moonsault for no count as he isn’t legal. A Rock Bottom/neckbreaker combination gets two on Impact, who is fine enough for a middle rope Spanish Fly on Mack. Swann kicks Impact in the head and everyone is down. Elgin and Impact hit stereo superkicks but Impact hits Elgin by mistake, sending Elgin up the ramp. Swann kicks Impact in the face and hits the 450 for the pin at 22:58.

Rating: B+. This was a blast and I was actually surprised by the finish here. I was thinking they would go with the monster heels winning in the end but they kept both teams in there until I wasn’t sure who was winning in the end. Swann and Mack have something and I could see both of them going a lot higher up the card. Very good main event here after a very good Elgin vs. Swann match from a few weeks ago.

Overall Rating: C. It’s kind of amazing how this show can go from feeling like a bad indy promotion to having an awesome main event in the span of two hours. If nothing else, the main event shows what this company is capable of doing while they go with whatever else for the sake of either the easy way out or popping the audience in the arena. This company is capable of better and they showed that in the main event. Do more of that and less of the 50 year old crowd.

Results

Rob Van Dam/Tommy Dreamer/Sabu b. Moose/The North – Five Star Frog Splash to Page

Tessa Blanchard b. Glenn Gilbertti – Forearm

Deaners b. Desi Hit Squad – Rollup to Singh

Eddie Edwards b. Killer Kross – Boston Knee Party

Rich Swann/Willie Mack b. Michael Elgin/Johnny Impact – 450 to Impact

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 10, 2019
Location: Rebel Sports Entertainment Complex, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We’re still in Canada and we still don’t have a World Champion around at the moment due to Brian Cage’s back injury. What we do have though is a new #1 contender in the form of Michael Elgin, who seems rather content with waiting around until Cage gets back. I’m not sure what that means for this week so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap, with the World Title situation getting some extra time, as it should.

Opening sequence.

Josh: “We sit just fifty eight days away from Slammiversary!” You might want to wait a bit on that countdown.

Moose/Josh Alexander vs. LAX

Non-title and no Konnan with LAX. Alexander and Santana start things off with an exchange of wristlocks until Ortiz comes in for the running splash. It’s off to Moose, who puts Ortiz on top and dropkicks him to the floor. That leaves Callus enough time to list off Moose’s athletic stats and then say they’re off the charts. Hence why they have been charted you see. Back to Alexander for some forearms in the corner and the required chinlock.

Ortiz fights up and suplexes Alexander into a Stunner for the tag off to Santana. Moose gets sent outside and it’s a double flapjack into a facebuster combination to drop Alexander again. It’s already back to Moose for the power, including a powerbomb to Ortiz onto Santana. The chokebomb gets two on Santana but Moose hits Alexander by mistake, allowing LAX to hit a double enziguri. With Moose down on the ground, LAX hits their usual flurry into the double faceplant to finish Alexander at 7:38.

Rating: C. LAX can do no wrong at this point and that was the case again here, with another entertaining performance against a team that didn’t have the best chemistry. If nothing else though, hearing “their opponents, Moose and Josh Alexander” sounds a lot better than The North. That’s such a bad name for a team and while their work is good, it sounds like the most indy of names.

Madison Rayne is ready for her third non-title match against Taya Valkyrie, even if Taya doesn’t have to defend the title for thirty days. I get the story they’re going for here, but Madison is another shining example of what is wrong with a lot of the roster: she’s perfectly adequate. She’s going to give you a fine match, a fine promo and a fine everything, but there’s no reaching for the next level. Madison, along with so many others on the roster, are a safe bet and that’s a big reason why Impact never goes any higher than they already are.

Tommy Dreamer gives his partners a big pep talk about how they’re all a bunch of misfits. He knows about that, because he used to work for ECW. I actually yelled at my screen OH MY GOODNESS SHUT UP ABOUT ECW. Dreamer promises that the team will fight tonight, because this is the kind of company he wants to fight for.

Announcers’ preview.

Madison Rayne vs. Taya Valkyrie

Non-title again and Tessa Blanchard comes out for commentary, definitely acting a lot more faceish. Taya heads straight outside for the stalling so Madison chases her back inside, where the champ gets in a dropkick to the head. That means the always annoying break less than a minute in and we come back with Madison hitting a running shoulder in the corner.

Taya throws her down again and we have an inset window showing Tessa on commentary. I don’t really need to watch commentary talking, but EGADS is that better than cutting to Gail every ten seconds. Taya cuts off a springboard with a faceplant and it’s a Jeff Hardy legdrop between the legs. A little dance sets up Taya bending Madison’s ribs around the post as the announcers talk almost non-stop about Gail vs. Tessa.

Back in and Madison gets in a tornado DDT, followed by a few forearms for two. A windup cutter gives Madison two as Tessa forgets that this is non-title. Taya stops for more trash talk and slow kicks to the back/chest. A big kick is countered into a half crab and Taya taps immediately at 12:08.

Rating: C-. The story is fine and they can do a title match before Slammiversary, but I’m still not buying Madison as a top challenger. She hasn’t missed a step since her previous run, but that doesn’t make her all that inspiring. Taya tapping so fast makes sense and it’s very nice that they’re doing a story with the champion losing over and over again rather than just doing it and rarely going anywhere other than “here’s a title shot to make it 50/50”.

This week’s Flashback Moment of the Week: Rob Van Dam beats Abyss at Bound For Glory.

Van Dam thinks he’s facing Diamond Dallas Page tonight instead of Ethan Page. He’s not worried about Rob Van Dam.

Rosemary wants a Demon Collar match against Su Yung, winner take all. That would be all the souls/people I presume?

Jordynne Grace vs. Alexia Nicole

Grace shrugs off the kicks to the leg and hits a one armed delayed vertical suplex. Nicole’s sleeper doesn’t work at all and it’s a giant swing to make it even worse. A clothesline goes even worse for Nicole and Grave hits a torture rack into a spinning powerbomb. The Grace Driver is good for the pin at 3:03.

Rating: D. Grace continues to look dominant and at some point they’ll make her the monster champion that she should be. Sometimes you need a nice squash like this as it’s one of the best ways to keep someone over. She doesn’t have anything going on right now but keeping her dominant on TV like this works just fine.

Josh Alexander gives Ethan Page a pep talk for his match with Van Dam tonight.

Kiera Hogan walked away from Rosemary last week because that’s what Rosemary wanted. She has tried to be friends with everyone around here and it hasn’t worked. Grace comes in to say they are friends but Kiera doesn’t care about her. Grace can die like Allie did.

Ethan Page vs. Rob Van Dam

Alexander is here with Page and the announcers talk about Van Dam’s marijuana enthusiasm as both villains yell at Rob. They’re knocked to the floor as the discussion moves over to ECW and all the great moments Rob had there. An Alexander distraction breaks up the spinning kick to Page’s back and it’s Page taking over in the corner.

A backbreaker and suplex have Van Dam in trouble but he’s back with kicks to the face. Rolling Thunder looks to set up the Five Star but Alexander’s distraction lets Page get up. There’s a bicycle kick to Rob, who is right back with a spinwheel kick. The Five Star (with very little elevation) finishes Page at 6:10.

Rating: D+. It wasn’t terrible or even bad, but it was a 48 year old Van Dam playing the hits while the announcers tried to treat it as anything other than nostalgia/a way to draw a crowd for Philadelphia next week. There’s nothing wrong with Van Dam not being able to do it as well as he used to, but treating him like he’s still the same athlete is hard to take. Bringing Rob back in makes sense as he has star power, but I’m worried about how hard they’re going to push him at this point.

Brian Cage is still injured and starting rehab on his back soon.

Johnny Impact comes up to Michael Elgin and they argue over who injured Cage. Elgin will send him to the hospital to prove he’s right.

Deaners vs. Desi Hit Squad vs. Brent Banks/Aiden Prince vs. Rascalz

Banks flips a lot and dropkicks Raju into the corner so it’s off to Singh as we’re already in the rapid fire offense as no one is going to have time to really showcase themselves. The Squad takes over on Prince with a boot to the face giving Raju two. Prince gets in a kick of his own and the fans want the Deaners, showing that Canadian fans don’t have the best taste. The Deaners come in a few seconds later as everything breaks down with the Rascalz taking over. Wentz hits a big dive onto a bunch of people and Dezmond hits a cartwheel corkscrew dive but Raju uses the distraction to roll Cousin Jake up for the pin at 5:05.

Rating: D+. What am I supposed to say here? The Desi Hit Squad wins (because the Rascalz aren’t allowed to build any momentum) in a match with eight people trying to get stuff in over the course of about five minutes. It’s too much in one match and the Squad winning took away a lot of the energy that the match could have build up.

Killer Kross talks about stealing Kenny the Kendo Stick last week, which he did to prove a point. Now he wants to hear from Eddie Edwards. Tick tock.

LAX is in the Rascalz clubhouse and they talk about lions protecting the stash. Ortiz wants to fight the Rockers, the Eliminators, Bert and Ernie and Tango and Cash. Shots are consumed.

The announcers talk about going to the 2300 Arena next week and say EXTREME about half a dozen times.

Tommy Dreamer/Fallah Bahh/Rich Swann/Willie Mack vs. OVE

OVE Rules, meaning anything goes and Scarlett Bordeaux is here with the non-Ohioans. Joined in progress after a break with Bahh splashing Dave Crist in the corner. It’s time for some chairs with Dave being slammed onto the steel, leaving everyone to head outside. Mack comes back in and slams Sami, setting up a standing moonsault onto Dave. The big flip dive lets Mack knock everyone down, followed by Dave moonsaulting off the top onto everyone else. Jake dives, then Tommy dives as we get in the required exchange of dives out of the way. Dreamer heads to the back to get something as we take a break.

Back with the weapons abounding, including a big ladder that Dreamer pulled out. Dreamer wraps the ladder around his head and does the spinning knockdowns until Fulton gets in a shot to take over. Fulton sets the ladder up on the ramp as Sami and Dave beat on Fallah with a chair. That leaves Mack to pile a bunch of stuff up in the ring, only to take a cutter from Jake for two.

Bahh’s belly to belly onto a trashcan gets two but he’s fine enough to set up some chairs. A superplex to Dave is broken up with Fulton powerbombing Bahh through some chairs. The chair wrapped in barbed wire is sat on Bahh’s chest for a top rope double stomp into a near fall. Swann comes back in (Was he in at all?) and goes to the ladder but Fulton makes the save, allowing Dave to hit a super cutter off the ladder.

Fulton dives off the ladder into a Samoan drop to give Bahh two. Dreamer busts out the Legos and DDTs Sami and Dave onto them for no cover. That leaves the barefooted Bahh to walk onto the Legos but Fulton plants him with a chokeslam. Mack Stuns Fulton onto a chair but Sami blasts Mack with a stop sign. The Cactus Special onto the Legos gives Sami the pin at 16:29.

Rating: C+. It’s a garbage brawl that I’ve seen done a million times but they were putting in some effort and got the time to make it feel more violent. I’m not sure why you would have Mack take the fall when you have Dreamer in there, but they do seem to be teasing a Mack vs. Swann feud. This wasn’t bad, and thank goodness they didn’t put it in the ECW Arena instead.

Overall Rating: D+. I really wasn’t feeling this one as it seems that they’re building up to both Slammiversary but more importantly the 2300 Arena shows. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but I’m worried about how big of an ECW tribute we’ll have to sit through for the next few weeks. This wasn’t terrible, though they’ve lost some momentum from Rebellion.

Results

LAX b. Moose/Josh Alexander – Double faceplant to Alexander

Madison Rayne b. Taya Valkyrie – Half crab

Jordynne Grace b. Alexia Nicole – Grace Driver

Rob Van Dam b. Ethan Page – Five Star Frog Splash

Desi Hit Squad b. Rascalz, Brent Banks/Aiden Prince and Deaners – Rollup to Jake

OVE b. Tommy Dreamer/Fallah Bahh/Rich Swann/Willie Mack – Cactus Special to Mack

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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IMG Credit: National Wrestling Alliance

Crockett Cup 2019
Date: April 27, 2019
Location: Cabarrus Arena, Concord, North Carolina
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Jim Cornette, Joe Galli

This is something that actually caught my attention with the card alone and the promotion was secondary. The NWA has been trying to fight back over the last year or two and they’re getting close to making something of quality. In this case we have a tag team tournament to crown the new NWA Tag Team Champions, plus a few bonus matches in what could be quite the tradition. Let’s get to it.

The opening video features NWA World Champion Nick Aldis talking about his mission to return the NWA to prominence. He’s facing his best friend Marty Scurll for the title, because that’s what a villain like Marty does.

The announcers welcome us to the show and Cornette is VERY pleased to be here.

The arena looks AWESOME as it’s designed like an old school NWA ring, complete with the big NWA lettering on the mat, plus old school graphics.

Tag Team Battle Royal

The Dawgs, The Boys, Dawson Brothers, Jocephus/Jay Bradley, Royce Isaacs/Thom Latimer, Kevin Blue/Billy Buck, Cam Carter/LaBron Kozone

This is for the eighth spot, both members have to be eliminated, and Latimer is better known as Bram. Titus poses to start and gets clotheslined out by the Boys in less than a minute. With the titles and cup in a great position in the middle of the stage overlooking the ring (that looks great) and the announcers explaining the concept in a rather natural way, everyone brawls to start because it’s a battle royal and that’s how they always start. Blue is knocked out, followed by Buck and Kozone as the ring starts to empty out a bit.

The Dawsons get together and toss Carter but Zane Dawson eliminates his brother Dave by mistake. The Boys take care of Zane a few seconds later and we’re down to four teams left. Will Ferrara is out to get rid of the Dawgs, leaving us with Isaacs/Latimer vs. Jocephus/Jay Bradley vs. the Boys. Latimer and Isaacs get sent through the ropes and I think you know where this is going. The Boys low bridge Jocephus and Jay out but get dumped by Latimer and Isaacs for the win at 6:39.

Rating: D+. The key here was the speed as they were in and out quickly and didn’t waste time. There’s no need to go with a lot of drama for a team that isn’t likely to win the whole thing so getting in and out in less than seven minutes was the right move. It’s an energized start to the show and that’s a good idea on something that needs to hit on all cylinders.

That gives us our first look at the full brackets:

Rock N Roll Express

Briscoes

Satoshi Kojima/Yuji Nagata

Villain Enterprises

Flip Gordon/Bandido

Stuka Jr./Guerrero Maya Jr.

Jax Dane/Crimson

Thom Latimer/Royce Isaacs

Of note: Latimer/Isaacs and Gordon/Bandido have never teamed before until tonight. That’s probably not a good sign.

Correspondent Caprice Coleman….doesn’t talk to Isaacs and Latimer, who walk by him. Instead he shows us the bracket to keep it from being a total loss.

Video on Flip Gordon, who ruined his knee in this very building and wants to show the people what he can do when he’s healthy.

Crockett Cup First Round: Bandido/Flip Gordon vs. Stuka Jr./Guerrero Maya Jr.

Flip is wearing a sombrero to fit in with his partner. The fans are behind Bandido, who starts with Stuka. The flipping and spinning begin early on with neither being able to get anywhere. Gordon and Maya come in for a handshake of their own and some fast armdrags from Maya. Bandido’s attempted assistance fails early on and it’s a pair of backbreakers to send Gordon and Bandido outside.

After Maya….I guess the term is dances, it’s Stuka coming back in to take over on Gordon. A double submission attempt is quickly broken up by Bandido, who gets taken down just as quickly. Bandido gets caught in a double surfboard as they don’t seem to be following standard rules here. Gordon makes the save and gets armdragged to the floor, setting up a suicide flip dive to take him out again. Back in and Gordon hits a springboard missile dropkick on Maya before monkey flipping Bandido into a hurricanrana on Stuka.

Bandido hits his big running flip dive and the fans are rather pleased. Back in and Bandido’s frog splash gets two on Maya but the required Tower of Doom brings Gordon down. Stuka’s frog splash connects for two more and it’s a Canadian Destroyer for another two. Gordon comes back in with the springboard spear for two on Maya, who is right back with the Mayan Sacrifice (a suplex shoulder breaker). Bandido takes Maya out though, leaving Gordon to hit a TKO for the pin on Stuka at 12:32.

Rating: B. Fun match with Gordon being more than able to hang in the lucha libre style. They didn’t bother with anything more than an insane match here as the regular wrestling can come later on in the show. Gordon getting the pin is a smart idea as he’s going to be going after the ROH World Title soon enough so this worked on almost all levels.

Marty Scurll talks about having to work for his opportunities while Nick Aldis had a lot of his handed to him. They’ve been friends for years and now Marty wants his chance.

Crockett Cup First Round: Royce Isaacs/Thom Latimer vs. Jax Dane/Crimson

Crimson and Dane take over on Latimer in the corner to start. It’s quickly off to Royce, who walks into a t-bone suplex. Dane’s running clothesline sets up a top rope elbow from Crimson. We hear about Dane’s extensive resume, including reigns as NWA World and Tag Team Champions. The referee gets Dane out of the ring and it’s Crimson getting double choked in the corner.

Stomping and chopping wakes Crimson up a bit so Royce dropkicks his knee out to cut him off. Dane gets drawn in and the double teaming continues as Latimer and Royce are keeping it strong with the heel formula. In keeping with that formula, Crimson sends them together and makes the hot tag off to Dane for the house cleaning. Dane Samoan drops both of them at once but Ground Zero (a fireman’s carry flapjack into a cutter) is broken up. Crimson’s knee gets wrapped around the post, allowing Royce to grab a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 7:49.

Rating: C-. Crimson and Dane weren’t great but they were better than the rather generic Isaacs and Latimer. I’m not sure why they’re getting this kind of a push in the tournament, but if you want to give them some credibility, putting them over some former Tag Team Champions isn’t the worst idea in the world. Just be a little more interesting next time.

We recap the Briscoes vs. the Rock N Roll Express. The Briscoes talk about the tournament initially taking place when they were babies and the Express going out in the first time. This year, they’ll be having the same fate. Jay says his goal in life right now is to put the Express out to pasture.

Jim Cornette is in the ring to introduce the Express to the ring and this just feels wrong on so many levels. Cornette praises the team but points out the one problem: they might die in this match. Ricky Morton is ready to wrestle one more time and all it’s going to take is a cup of soup and a good night’s sleep and they’ll be fine. The Briscoes come out and threaten Cornette away before offering the Express the chance to forfeit because it’s 2019 and this is going to hurt. Ricky kicks Jay low and we’re off and running.

Crockett Cup First Round: Rock N Roll Express vs. Briscoes

They start fast and it’s a running knee into a hurricanrana to send Mark outside and it’s a suicide dive to take the Briscoes again. This time doesn’t work as well though as Mark posts Morton to take over. Morton is already busted open and the beating is on in a hurry. The reverse chinlock goes on and Cornette is in his element going over the history of the Express, spouting off attendance records and gate figures because that’s why they brought him in for this.

Morton’s superkick has no effect as Jay kicks him in the face. A charge allows the hot tag but the referee doesn’t see it (you knew that was coming in here somehow) so the hot tag goes through a few seconds later (still annoying even though they’re legends). The Rocket Launcher of all things gets two on Mark but Gibson gets pulled to the floor. That leaves Morton to take the Death Valley Driver into the Froggy Bow for the pin at 6:55.

Rating: C. This is much more of a curiosity than anything else and Morton took a beating as only he could. The Express are both in their 60s so this was only going to be so good, but they can still hang in there and certainly didn’t embarrass themselves. Not a bad match at all, but this was rather impressive in its own right.

We look at Villain Enterprises winning Tag Wars 2019.

Crockett Cup First Round: Villain Enterprises vs. Satoshi Kojima/Yuji Nagata

That would be PCO/Brody King for you non-ROH fans. Nagata and King start things off and Nagata’s running shoulders have no effect. Some leg kicks work a bit better so it’s the Nagata Lock to some more avail. PCO and Kojima come in with Kojima’s shoulders actually taking the big man down. That just earns Kojima a discus lariat to the floor, followed by a suicide dive because the 51 year old PCO can do suicide dives.

Brody comes in to chop Kojima into the corner before slamming PCO onto him for two. A DDT out of the corner gets two and a double suplex is good for the same. Kojima is right back with a DDT of his own and it’s back to Nagata for some kicks to King’s chest. They trade forearms to the face and big boots with Nagata pulling him down into a Disarm-Her to do some damage to the arm.

PCO makes the save so King uses the good arm for a clothesline. PCO comes back in and gets taken into the corner, allowing Kojima to come back in for some crazy fast chops. This time it’s PCO popping back up (not human and all that) and his own chops have Kojima in trouble. A Michinoku Driver gives Kojima two and it’s King’s backsplash getting two. Kojima gets in a brainbuster for two of his own but the lariat is countered with a hard clothesline. King grabs a Samoan driver for the pin on Kojima at 11:49.

Rating: B. This was a lot better than I was expecting with the three old guys holding up their end and King being able to hang in there more than well enough. I had a good time with this and Villain Enterprises gets better and better every single time they’re out there. Good match, and Kojima/Nagata are rather entertaining as well.

Here are the updated brackets:

Briscoes

Villain Enterprises

Flip Gordon/Bandido

Royce Isaacs/Thom Latimer

Here’s Madusa to present the vacant Women’s Title to the winner of the next match. She seems to get rather lost in her promo and stalls a few times while talking about how important the title is to wrestling history.

NWA Women’s Title: Allysin Kay vs. Santana Garrett

The title is vacant coming in (the former champion Jazz (yes that Jazz) got hurt) and Garrett is a former champion. Kay takes her into the corner and gets in a quick shot to the face for some mild annoyance. That earns her a kick to the face to give Garrett two but Kay gets in an elbow to the face to take over. A shoulder runs Garrett over and it’s off to a quickly broken chinlock. Kay plants her with a facebuster for two and it’s off to a neck crank.

Eat Defeat is broken up and stereo big boots to the face put them both down. Some big forearms rock Kay and the running versions put her down. The Muta Lock goes on (without the leg lock) keeps Kay in trouble but Garrett has to let go due to reasons of that hold is hard to maintain. Cornette seems to get the women backwards but gets them right as Garrett anklescissors Kay off the top. A handspring moonsault misses though and Kay hits a discus lariat for the pin and the title at 8:57.

Rating: C+. These two hit each other rather hard and that’s the kind of match this needed to be. Both of them could be stars in the future on the bigger stage (and they both already kind of had) and I could go with seeing more of them in the future. Kay winning makes sense as she has the better overall resume, but Garrett was far from slacking here.

We get another video on Aldis vs. Scurll, featuring footage from the Madison Square Garden show with Aldis saying he’s the senior and Marty comes to him for advice. In the ring, Aldis is the senior.

The Midnight Express (Sweet Stan Lane, Loverboy Dennis Condrey and Beautiful Bobby Eaton) is here and Eaton has very little to say (shocking). Lane is a North Carolina boy and puts over the fans. Condrey is very happy to have recently beaten cancer and can still talk without a voicebox or vocal chords. Cornette is very pleased with this one, as you would expect.

We recap the first round.

Crockett Cup Semifinals: Thom Latimer/Royce Isaacs vs. Flip Gordon/Bandido

Latimer shoves Gordon down to start, who is right back with a dropkick and anklescissors. Bandido comes in to work on Isaacs’ arm and adds a snazzy nipup into a dead lift suplex. Everything breaks down and the villains are superkicked out to the floor. For some reason Madusa is still here and starts coaching Latimer and Isaacs, who get taken out by suicide dives anyway.

Back in and something like a reverse Unprettier plants Isaacs, setting up a 450 from Gordon. That’s a problem though as Gordon comes up holding his knee. The villains start in on the knee but since they’re not very good at this stuff, that means a bunch of stomping. Gordon dives over for the tag attempt but Isaacs pulls Bandido off the apron. The distraction is enough for the rollup with tights to pin Gordon at 7:17.

Rating: D. Latimer and Isaacs are as generic of a set of villains as you can have and I have no idea why they’re going to the finals already. This wasn’t a good match with Latimer and Isaacs managed to pull down one of the more entertaining teams in the tournament. Bad stuff here, and I really don’t get the thinking here, other than a big layup of a final.

Crockett Cup Semifinals: Briscoes vs. Villain Enterprises

Brody and Jay slug it out to start with Jay being knocked out to the floor. The Briscoes head outside and grab some chairs before it’s back to Mark vs. PCO for some chopping. Everything breaks down again and Mark moonsaults down onto King to take over. Back in and PCO gets choked on the ropes as things settle down but a missed charge allows the tag to King. A Cannonball in the corner crushes Mark and a sitout slam gives PCO two.

Mark flips out of a backdrop though and makes the hot tag to Jay as everything breaks down again. Jay gets chokeslammed onto the apron and PCO adds a suicide flip dive onto Mark. The flip dive onto the apron misses though and PCO bangs his back again, this time allowing Mark to hit the Bang Bang elbow off the apron. All four grab chairs and Jay blasts King in the back for the DQ at 9:46.

Rating: B. This was the wild brawl that it needed to be and there’s nothing wrong with that. These four have had some awesome matches over the last few months it makes sense to go with what works. It’s a heck of a fight and while they were hampered by time, it was a nice addition to the show.

Post match the Briscoes wreck Villain Enterprises with chairs and Pillmanize his arm with a top rope flip dive onto the apron. The Briscoes rant about the tournament and finally leave.

So the finals are:

Villain Enterprises

Thom Latimer/Royce Isaacs

There isn’t a recap video for the National Title match, even though we go to one.

National Title: Colt Cabana vs. Willie Mack

Mack is defending and that title is hideous. Cabana spins out of a wristlock to start as Cornette is trying as hard as he can not to rip into Cabana for being a comedy guy. Another standoff gives us a handshake and it’s Mack running him down to take over. The big legdrop looks to set up a running dropkick in the corner but Mack crashes HARD out to the floor.

Cabana follows up with a chinlock but Mack fights up and it’s a double knockdown. Mack’s Samoan drop into a standing moonsault gets two, setting up the reverse Cannonball in the corner. Some elbows to the head rock Mack though and a standing Lionsault gets two. Cabana shoves him off the top and hits his lame splash but misses a moonsault. Mack charges into a boot in the corner and the diving cradle (Cabana uses his feet to pin down Mack’s legs) gives Cabana the pin and the title at 8:57.

Rating: C. They played this one completely straight and that’s the right move for someone like Cabana, who can wrestle a clean match very well when he’s willing to try. Cabana winning the title is fine as he can drop it to a more traditional star later on. This could have been far, far worse so a straight match was a big relief.

Post match James Storm comes out to say he’s not what the NWA wants to see as a champion. Therefore, he’s going to win the National Title anyway. Storm is still a great talker and TNA managing to not make him a megastar continues to astound me.

ROH COO Joe Koff, NWA President Billy Corgan and members of the Crockett Family are here.

Here’s Nikita Koloff, who won the tournament in 1987, to present the cup to the winners. Koloff talks about how great it is to be back and praises the Crockett Family for giving him a chance. Coleman: “What happened to your accent?” Koloff: “It’s been thirty five years dude. My English got better.” Koloff talks about his ministry and brings in Magnum TA, who doesn’t quite look great but it’s cool to see him here. Magnum, still with that great voice, talks about how important the Cup and the Crocketts are both to wrestling and his life.

We recap the first two rounds.

Crockett Cup Finals/Tag Team Titles: Villain Enterprises vs. Thom Latimer/Royce Isaacs

The titles are vacant coming in and Madusa is now here with Latimer and Isaacs. PCO and King are banged up, just in case you didn’t know the ending already. King and Isaacs start things off as the announcers aren’t sure how to handle PCO looking hurt. The double stomping has King down on the floor as this isn’t exactly inspiring stuff so far.

Isaacs grabs the chinlock but gets suplexed into the corner, allowing the hot tag off to PCO. Hang on though as PCO tells King to FIX HIS ARM, meaning snapping it across the top rope, which seems to fix everything. The fired up PCO cleans house and a Samoan driver from King plants Isaacs. The moonsault finishes Latimer at 6:39.

Rating: D. This felt like a main event match in a movie about wrestling where the filmmakers don’t know anything about wrestling. Latimer and Isaacs are guys who might as well have had the word VILLAIN tattooed on their chests. There was nothing to see here and thankfully PCO didn’t bother selling anything as soon as he got the hot tag. Keeping it short was smart, but better opponents would have made this worthwhile.

Post match Koloff presents the cup.

We recap Nick Aldis vs. Marty Scurll. They’re old friends but Marty wants the chance that Aldis got. Fair enough, and it feels like a feud instead of a tacked on title match.

NWA World Title: Marty Scurll vs. Nick Aldis

Aldis is defending and has Kamille Kane in his corner. We get one more cameo with Tommy Young giving us the in-ring instructions and a weapons check. They bump fists instead of shaking hands and Aldis towers over Marty. Nick goes with the wristlock to start so Marty spins out and takes the champ down for an arm crank of his own. A similar sequence has Aldis a little frustrated so he grabs the hair to escape and sends Marty into the ropes.

Marty falls down and claims a trip from Kamille, who is about four feet from the apron. That’s enough for an ejection and Marty chops away on the floor. Back in and Aldis scores with a fall away slam and a clothesline. A super fall away slam sends Marty outside and Aldis chokeslams him through a table, which seems rather out of place here. Back in and a knee to the ribs keeps Scurll in trouble, setting up the double arm pull. Marty gets up and staggers over the to corner, where a slap to the face ticks Aldis off. That’s enough for Scurll to grab a tornado DDT for a knockdown.

They slug it out with Scurll getting the better of it and stomping him down in the corner. Cornette tries to figure out the difference between a Villain and a National Treasure as Scurll kicks him down to the floor. Right hands against the barricade keeps Aldis in trouble and it’s a 619 back inside. Marty goes old school with a Figure Four as Aldis has been busted open somewhere in there.

The rope is grabbed and Aldis hits a very quick Tombstone. The top rope elbow gets two and a Michinoku Driver gives the champ the same. Scurll catches him going up again and this time it’s a top rope superplex to give Marty his own near fall. Aldis gets in a powerbomb and tries the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf but Marty snaps the fingers for the block. Er, break. Er, block and break.

The chickenwing is broken up so Scurll goes with Cross Rhodes but the referee gets bumped. Cue Kamille, who Aldis tells to leave so he can do this himself. The distraction is enough for Scurll to get in a low blow and Graduation for a VERY close two. Now it’s the chickenwing but Aldis flips back for two and the break. The package piledriver is countered into the Cloverleaf though and Scurll taps at 23:41.

Rating: A-. This was a rather strong match and the kind of thing that felt like a main event. Aldis fits this role very well as he looks like a championship wrestler and can have a good match against just about anyone. Scurll is a star in the making though and one day he’s going to win a big match and become a World Champion. It’s ok that he lost here though, as he’s building up a lot of stock value with these matches.

Post match they hug and Marty grabs the mic, saying Aldis was the first person to take him under his wing in this business. They just had an awesome match and the NWA is back. Aldis puts over Marty and the NWA, saying that it seemed crazy when they started this rebirth project but now it’s working. Celebrations end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I had a good feeling about this show coming in and they didn’t disappoint. Other than the weird pushing of Latimer and Isaacs, nothing was bad here with solid action up and down and a very good main event. The talent was there and I had a great time watching these guys. Cornette was awesome on commentary as he was clearly having a blast with the historical stuff and the other two were just fine as well. It might not be worth going out of your way to see, but if you want a three and a half hour show that flies by and has nothing overstay its welcome, this is worth seeing.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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