Category: WWE Results

NJPW Strong Independence Day night one live results: Doomsday No DQ match

Posted on by Chick Fritts

A Doomsday No DQ match headlines night one of NJPW Strong Independence Day. 

In the “Exciting Encounter” main event, Jon Moxley teams with Homicide against El Desperado & Jun Kasai in a no DQ tag match. 

The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles are on the line in the semi-main, with TJP & Francesco Akira defending against Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors. 

Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defend the NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team titles against Gabe Kidd & Alex Coughlin. 

The undercard: 

  • Giulia & Thekla vs. Willow Nightingale & Momo Kohgo
  • KENTA & Gedo vs. Rocky Romero & Eddie Kingston
  • “Filthy” Tom Lawlor vs. Kosei Fujita
  • Lance Archer, Ryohei Oiwa & Alex Zayne vs. JR Kratos, Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs
  • The DKC vs. Bad Dude Tito
  • Kickoff match: Ryusuke Taguchi, Oskar Leube & YOH vs. Kengo, Takahiro Katori & Dragon Libre

Our live coverage begins with the kickoff match at 5:10 a.m. Eastern time. 

**********

YOH, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Oskar Leube defeated Kengo, Dragon Libre & Takahiro Katori

This was a fun-enough showcase of some unfamiliar freelancers. Even with all the fresh talent, the real standout was Leube.

The match opened with a series of one-on-one encounters, showcasing the independent talent against the NJPW regulars. Throughout the process, Leube gained multiple leads by utilizing his size. Eventually, the freelancers won a lead, but again, Leube was able to make the save. YOH finished the match by hitting Dragon with Direct Drive and pinning him.

Bad Dude Tito defeated The DKC

The match opened with an athletic sequence that went back and forth for some time. Tito won out in the early portion by utilizing his power, landing suplexes, and slowing down the pace.

DKC launched a comeback, winning over a lot of the crowd, but in the end, Tito caught DKC with a Steiner Screwdriver to win the match in dominant fashion.

JR Kratos, Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs defeated Alex Zayne, Lance Archer & Ryohei Oiwa

This was a decent little match that will be memorable for the crimson mask that Kratos left with.

The early portion of this played out with the heel squad gaining an advantage by isolating their smaller opponents. This led to Archer growing desperate for a tag.

Once the tag came, the crowd erupted for Archer. He then teed off with Kratos, trading strikes that slowly escalated into powerful moves. Archer tried to close by choke, slamming Zayne into Kratos, but Kratos caught Zayne. This initiated a chaotic exchange between the teams. Once the fog faded, Nelson hit Oiwa with a springboard cutter and pinned him to win the match.

Tom Lawlor defeated Kosei Fujita

This was an excellent grappling-heavy match. Fujita is a star in the making, no doubt.

The match opened with a scramble on the mat for control. Lawlor, unsurprisingly, gained control early, working Fujita’s leg. Fujita held on, eating strikes and powering through moves, but failed to gain anything substantial for quite some time.

A sudden dropkick from Fujita turned the match around. Fujita continued the rally, forcing Lawlor to take the match back to the mat. Lawlor was able to buy time, saving him from an embarrassing defeat.

Lawlor hit a spear and a penalty kick, but Fujita kicked out. Lawlor then reversed a rolling choke attempt, but again, Fujta escaped. Finally, Lawlor hit Fujita with a knee to the back of the head to win the match.

Eddie Kingston & Rocky Romero defeated KENTA & Gedo

The match opened slow, with neither heel wanting to engage Kingston. The heels worked to isolate Rocky before throwing him to the floor. Kingston tried backing up Rocky outside the ring, but this is where Bullet Club thrives, allowing the domination to continue.

The tag to Kingston eventually came, and he took full advantage. After connecting with a barrage of chops, Kingston hit KENTA with an exploder suplex. KENTA responded with a DDT and a quick tag to Gedo.

Gedo tried turning the match around, but Kingston completely ignored his attack. KENTA hit the ring, leading to a quick brawl, but in the end, it came down to Kingston and Gedo once more. Kingston hit Gedo with the spinning back fist and won the match.

Willow Nightingale & Momo Kohgo defeated Giulia & Thekla

This was all-round a fantastic match. Willow is a total star, and it seems like New Japan understands this.

Giulia and Willow opened the match with a grappling sequence. Perhaps surprisingly, Willow maintained the upper hand throughout, constantly outpowering Guilia.

A double tag allowed Thekla to turn the match around. With Giulia’s help, Thekla isolated Momo, building to an eventual hot tag. Willow continued dominating Giulia.

Thekla was able to secure a submission on Willow, forcing Momo to hit the ring. This led to a brief period of chaos that allowed Willow to retake the lead. Willow climbed to the top rope, but Thekla met her there, landing a superplex. Guilia followed up with a top rope dropkick, setting up Thekla with a dive to the floor.

It didn’t take long for Willow to bounce back. After dropping Thekla, Willow climbed to the top again and threw Momo into their opponents. Willow then hit Thekla with a nasty senton, a driver, and a powerbomb to win the match.

After the match, Giulia and Willow had a brief staredown.

NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship: Bullet Club Wardogs (Alex Coughlin & Gabe Kidd) defeated Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) (c) 

This was another great match. The Wardog team feels ruthless instead of petty in cheating, a welcome change to the stale Bullet Club formula. Kidd and Coughlin had something to prove, and boy, did they ever.

Before the match could even begin, The Wardogs attacked the champions. They then beat down Bishamon outside the ring, establishing a nearly uncontested lead early on.

After an extended period of YH isolation, Goto was able to tag in. Goto and Kidd traded strong blows long enough for YH to recover. YH then tagged in and chopped down Kidd in the corner. Goto helped YH set up Shoto, but Kidd evaded the finish. This bought Coughlin enough time to drop YH with a chair. The Wardogs then hit Goto with a double chokeslam, making YH an easy pick. Kidd and Coughlin hit YH with a double muscle buster and a piledriver before pinning him to win the NJPW Strong tag titles.

After the match, the Wardogs continued the attack on Bishamon, setting up a favorable environment for tomorrow’s rematch.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Bullet Club Wardogs (Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors) defeated Catch 22 (TJP & Francesco Akira) (c) 

Another example of the “Wardog style” working well. 

Similar to the previous match, Bullet Club started the match by rushing the champions and taking the fight to the floor. The fight continued deep into the crowd, climbing the stairs of Korakuen. To fight back, Akira lept from the stairs into the Bullet Club, putting them on the back foot.

In the ring, Catch-22 were more in their element. They kept the challengers on the back foot until Bullet Club isolated TJP. Akira was quick to back TJP up, landing a tandem facebuster and an impressive dive for a nearfall.

The Bullet Club team tried to finish TJP, but Akira pulled TJP out of harm’s way. The Wardogs cleared the ring of Akira and hit TJP with a spear from the top rope to win the match and the junior belts.

Exciting Encounter Doomsday No Disqualification match: El Desperado & Jun Kasai defeated Jon Moxley & Homicide

Unsurprisingly, this was a violent, bloody war. It’s certainly deserving of a deathmatch label.

As soon as the match began, the fight spilled to the floor. It was chaos from the start. The men used kendo sticks, spikes, and trash can lids all in the early minutes, with neither team gaining a clear lead.

As the match wandered its way toward the ring, Moxley stabbed Kasai with a fork. Between the ropes, Kasai returned the favor, cutting Homicide with a butcher’s knife and prepping a fork-covered board. Kasia’s prop backfired as Homicide delivered a backdrop that sent Kasia crashing into his own contraption. Moxley also dropped Desperado into the board before grabbing a fork that he drove into the face of Desperado. By this point, this match was a bloody mess.

Moxley dropped Desperado with a piledriver, but Desperado kicked out at one. Moxley then left Homicide to take care of Desperado after hitting an awkward dive to the floor. Homicide continued to use forks, this time between Desperado’s legs, setting up Moxley for a figure four attempt.

Kasai started a rally, dropping Moxley with a suplex before slicing his face with the butcher’s knife. Kasai then grabbed a razorblade cross that he set up in the corner. Moxley avoided the attack from Kasai, driving him into the crucifix instead. 

After Kasai survived a razorblade cross, a curb stomp, and a cutter, Moxley tagged into Homicide. Homicide failed to hit the cop killer, setting Desperado up for a rally. Desperado struck Homicide with a trashcan but failed to close.

Kasai turned his attention to Moxley, driving a fist full of stakes into his head. This cleared the ring of Kasai and Moxley, leaving Homicide free to attempt cop killer again. Desperado avoided the move before hitting Homicide with a low blow. The low blow was followed with a pair of pinche locos, with the second landing on a trash can. Desperado then pinned Homicide to win the match.

Desperado and Kasai cut a show-ending promo to a massive ovation. An English “This is awesome chant” broke out after teasing a potential World Tag tease from the pair. 

WWE Raw live results: Money in the Bank fallout

Posted on by Colin McGuire

WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley will defend her title against Natalya as Raw emanates from Baltimore, Maryland’s CFG Bank Arena tonight.

This will be a rematch from May’s Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia when Ripley defended the then-SmackDown Women’s title against Natalya in just 70 seconds. The two have been working against each other on house shows since then.

Natalya’s last appearance on Raw came on June 5 as she lost a Money in the Bank qualifying match to Zoey Stark. Ripley, meanwhile, accompanied Dominik Mysterio to the ring at Saturday’s pay-per-view in London but wasn’t in action. Her last Raw match was a quick victory over Dana Brooke in early May.

Tonight’s Raw is expected to feature more fallout from Saturday’s Money in the Bank after Damian Priest and IYO SKY won the men’s and women’s briefcases in London, respectively.

Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

**********

– An “In memory of” graphic aired for Droz to begin the show.

– A video package recapping Money In The Bank aired. 

The Seth “Freakin” Rollins segment

Seth welcomed everyone into “Monday Night Rollins.” The crowd continued to sing his theme sound consistently throughout the first few minutes. Rollins brought up Jey Uso pinning Roman Reigns and the crowd cheered. Rollins reminded everyone that he also beat Finn Balor at MITB. Rollins said SummerSlam is five weeks away and he was interrupted by Cody Rhodes’s music. Cody made his entrance in his wrestling gear. The two stood in the ring as the crowd chanted. Cody started to say, “So …” but Brock Lesnar’s music hit and Cody ran up the ramp to brawl with Lesnar. The two brawled into the ring and Cody landed a Cody Cutter on Lesnar. Lesnar retreated to end the segment.

A fun way to start Raw. The callback to Seth and Cody was especially intriguing considering how Cody ostensibly said in the post MITB press conference that he could give a hoot about Seth’s title and the only way he’ll finish his story is if he gets Roman’s Universal title(s). We all suspected Brock and Cody would kick off their march to SummerSlam tonight and it was an interesting choice for WWE to get that out of the way first because there was little else actually announced for this show prior to the start of it.

**********

– Back from commercial break, Seth Rollins was back in the ring with a microphone in hand. The crowd was again singing his theme song. As Rollins was talking, he was interrupted by Judgement Day’s theme music. Rhea Ripley told Seth that everyone was there to see the Judgement Day take over. Ripley was joined by Damien Priest and Dom Mysterio. Seth asked where Finn Balor was and Ripley said Finn was fine and where he was, was none of Seth’s concern. Priest chimed in and said Seth needs to concern himself with Priest’s MITB briefcase. 

Priest teased cashing in at SummerSlam, Survivor Series, the Royal Rumble or tonight. Seth said for Priest to cash in, the champ needs to be down and out and as it turned out, Seth didn’t have a match on the card, so Seth said he was ready to go party in Baltimore. Ripley said she’s already defending her title tonight, so she suggested Seth defend his title against Dom, who again got wild heat from the live crowd. The crowd chanted “You suck!” at Dom. Ripley made the challenge to Seth on behalf of Dom. Seth said this seemed like a trap, but he wanted nothing more than to “slap the mustache off” Dom’s face. Ultimately, after the crowd cheered him on, Seth accepted Dom’s challenge for the night’s main event. 

**********

Damien Priest defeated Shinsuke Nakamura [11:00]

The only thing this match suffered from was the predictable outcome. Priest wasn’t going to win the MITB briefcase only to lose to Nakamura two days later (by the way, WWE sent out an email a few minutes before Raw went live saying that Priest was going to face Ricochet, but …?). If you can get past that, the match itself was pretty good. Nakamura showed good fire and continues to work hard despite never really coming up on the winning side of things in WWE. Priest looks good as the MITB holder, all LA Knight disappointments be damned. It’ll be interesting to see how long he holds onto it before WWE pulls the trigger on what’s next. It kind of feels like he’s either going to try to cash in soon, or we could be in for an awfully long story as Priest’s run as MITB briefcase holder plays out.

Priest had control early and worked Nakamura’s arm. Nakamura fired up and blasted Priest with some shots to his midsection. Nakamura choked Priest with his boot until Priest cut him off with a leaping elbow for a one-count. Priest kept control with a series of stomps. Priest jumped at Nakamura, but Nakamura caught him and landed a knee to Priest’s midsection. The action spilled outside, where Nakamura was dropped on his back across the top of the guardrail. The show went to a picture-in-picture. 

Back from break, Nakamura landed a series of strikes on Priest. Nakamura slammed Priest and rolled to the outside, where he blew a kiss at Ripley. Back inside the ring, Nakamura took Priest down for a two-count. Nakamura came off the second rope and ran into an uppercut from Priest. Nakamura rolled Priest up out of nowhere for a two-count and then went for an arm-bar, but Priest blocked it. Priest hit a spinning front kick for a two-count. Priest lifted Nakamura, but Nakamura wiggled out of it and rolled Priest up for a two-count. Nakamura kicked Priest and got a two-count out of it. Nakamura landed a knee from the second rope and fired up, but Priest caught Nakamura with a short-arm clothesline. Priest then hit South of Heaven for the win.

**********

– The commentary team spoke over highlights of Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler breaking up at MITB. Rousey’s music hit in the arena and Rousey walked to the ring with purpose. The crowd didn’t react particularly enticed. Before Rousey could speak, Baszler’s music hit and Baszler said everyone’s tired of hearing Rousey try to talk on a microphone. Rousey asked for an explanation. Baszler said she doesn’t owe Rousey anything – and if anything, she owes fans for bringing Rousey into the wrestling business. 

Baszler talked about how Rousey didn’t help Baszler try out or build rings. Baszler said she paid her dues and Rousey didn’t. Baszler said Rousey waltzed her way into WrestleMania. Baszler said Rousey ruined pro wrestling for her. Baszler said she’s going to finally shut Rousey up. Rousey kicked Baszler and clotheslined Baszler on the outside. Rousey looked to choke Baszler out, but Baszler countered and worked an ankle lock. Rousey got to the ropes and worked her way out of it, only to be the recipient of a running knee. 

I liked this. Who knows what crowd noise is real on WWE broadcasts, but on TV, the crowd here seemed excited that Baszler essentially said all the things the Internet Wrestling Community has been saying about Rousey for a little while now. Baszler is a lot better than what WWE has been giving her and it looks like she might have found a way into the upper end of the card if she can keep the fire up. 

**********

Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green won a tag team turmoil match to become No. 1 contenders for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship [11:54]

I can’t say I’m a fan of tag team turmoil matches that have absolutely no build and features wrestlers some fans might not even realize had already been called to the main roster, but I digress. Chance and Carter have some fairly visually appealing offense, but when you’re given two minutes out of a 12-minute, five-team match, that visually appealing offense will forever appear marginalized. Deville and Green running the gamut makes sense if you’re trying to heat up a program on short notice, but here’s hoping they don’t just feed Deville and Green as the Challengers Du Jour for the next couple weeks before Morgan and Rodriguez move onto another set of challengers that will feel meaningless to no fault of whomever they turn out to be. The booking is the booking.

Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez sat at ringside throughout the match. Indi Hartwell started the match and took out Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green. Candice LeRae tagged in and kept control in her team’s favor until she went for a moonsault, but Green moved. It wasn’t long before Deville knee’d LeRae to get the cover on LeRae and eliminate LeRae and Hartwell. 

Nikki Cross and Emma were the next team in the match, but Cross was too infatuated with LeRae and Emma was on her own for a little bit. And by “a little bit,” I mean, “Cross left Emma to fend for herself as Cross appeared to cry because LeRae shunned her.” As such, Deville covered Emma to eliminate that team. 

Next in the match was Dana Brooke and Tegan Nox. Green tried to take a timeout on the outside, but Brooke and Nox hit a slide to take Deville and Green out. The show went to a picture-in-picture from there. By the time the show returned, Nox and Brooke were eliminated. From there, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance was the final team to enter the match. Green and Deville double-suplexed Chance for a two-count. Green toyed with Chance until Carter got a blind tag and took control. Chance tagged in and landed a Frankensteiner from the top rope on Green, who sold the hell out of it. Chance and Carter went for the After Party, but Deville broke it up. Green landed the Un-Pretty-Her for the win.

**********

– A Bronson Reed vignette aired. Reed talked about fear and respect. Reed said he’s inescapable. 

The Becky Lynch/Trish Stratus segment

Lynch said The Man has come around to Baltimore and the crowd seemed happy about that. Lynch brought up Trish Stratus. Lynch said she wanted to end the feud “right here and right now,” and called Stratus out. Stratus’s music hit and Stratus made her way to the ring with both Zoey Stark and a face/nose guard. Stratus said Lynch broke her face. Stratus said she’s still prettier than everyone in the building. Stratus said she isn’t medically cleared because Lynch broke her face. Lynch countered by saying she’d be happy to fight Stark. Stratus said nobody is better than Stratus because Stratus is the greatest of all time. 

Lynch responded by saying Stratus couldn’t beat her on her own. Lynch referenced Stark interfering in their match before. Lynch said everyone knows Stratus won’t be sticking around and Stratus was only there to promote her “crappy talent show.” Lynch wondered aloud what will happen with Stark when Stratus leaves. Stratus said she’s there because she’s the face of the women’s division. Stratus said she built the women’s division. Stratus said Lynch hated when people would come up to Stratus backstage and thank Stratus. Stark walked to the ring after Stratus said Stark will break Lynch’s face. Stratus stopped Stark and called Baltimore “Balti-less,” before saying next week, Stark will battle Lynch. 

**********

– Jackie Redmond welcomed Cody Rhodes in for an interview near the ramp to the ring in front of the crowd. Cody made his second entrance of the night, this time with a suit on and can you believe it – the crowd did the “Whoa!” again. Cody noted how it was Jackie’s first night on Raw. Cody said he’s not done with Brock yet. Cody said Brock broke Cody’s arm and there’s no way the two can continue to coexist on Raw. Cody said he’d fight Brock any night and every night. Cody’s music hit and that was the end of the segment. 

**********

Alpha Academy (Maxxine Dupri, Chade Gable & Otis) defeated The Viking Raiders (Ivar & Erik & Valhalla) [7:57]

Gable looked great here. Especially for what could be argued as a throwaway TV match in the second hour of a Monday Night Raw, Gable might have even looked better than great. The story, though, was Dupri wrestling her first match and ultimately getting the win. Alpha Academy is a lot of fun. There’s no doubt about that. It’s just getting increasingly hard to invest in the idea that they should be a comedy act. Chad Gable is a hell of a wrestler and Otis has proven himself inside the squared circle, too. The Viking Raiders, for that matter, continue to spin their wheels, too. Both factions need a freshening up sooner than later. Until then, some variation of this match will presumably continue to show up on television.

Gable and Erik began the match and had control with a series of forearms. Otis tagged in and cleaned house by slamming Ivar and splashing into Erik. Otis did the worm and hit an elbow drop. Alpha Academy posed as the show went to picture-in-picture. 

Out of the break, the Raiders had control and we were working over Otis until Otis landed a double clothesline and got the hot tag to Gable. Gable worked over Ivar, complete with a Blockbuster. Gable hit Erik with an Exploder. Ivar cut Gable off and the two fought on the second rope, where Gable hit a bulldog on Ivar. Gable took Erik to the outside and then landed a diving headbutt on Ivar from the top rope. Ivar came back quickly with a roundhouse kick to slow Gable down. From there, Dupri got the super hot tag and Dupri landed a series of arm-drags on Valhalla. Dupri did the worm and was cut off by Valhalla, but Gable hit a pretty moonsault onto all the men on the outside. Inside the ring, Dupri rolled up Valhalla for the win.

**********

– A video of the Ricochet/Logan Paul spot from MITB aired. After the match, it turns out, the two brawled backstage as well. Redmond welcomed Ricochet into the interview area. Ricochet said Paul can hang and Ricochet respects that. Ricochet challenged Paul to come face to face with him next week on Raw. 

Rhea Ripley defeated Natalya to retain the WWE Women’s Championship [13:08]

This was the match of the night to this point. Nobody bought into Natalya winning, but damn it if they didn’t try to change that perception. It’s been a while since Natalya had this much time and showed this much passion in a match. Ripley, for her part, did the job quite well, selling for Natalya and doing all she could to create at least some false hope for those watching. Good stuff from both women. I wonder if this means Raquel or Liv will be next up for Ripley as she continues to find opponents. 

Natalya attacked Ripley as Ripley made her entrance. After the bell rang, Natalya went for the Sharpshooter and Ripley rolled to the outside. Natalya followed Ripley and ran into a punch. Ripley repeatedly slammed Natalya’s head onto the commentary table and rolled Natalya back into the ring. Natalya hit a German Suplex and got control back until Ripley landed a strike to the back of Natalya. Natalya tried to fire up but Ripley cut her off with a headbutt. 

Ripley slapped Natalya and drove Natalya into the mat repeatedly. Ripley kicked Natalya in the midsection and then to the chest. Natalya tried to fire up again, but Ripley quickly put an end to that. The two battled on the top rope until Natalya landed a headbutt of her own. Natalya followed up with a cross-body block from the top and the two stayed down to regroup. Ripley quickly gained control and dropkicked Natalya’s face before the show cut to another picture-in-picture. 

When the show returned, Natalya had control and went for a Sharpshooter, but Ripley countered with a kick to reset things again. Natalya hit a Discus Lariat for a two-count. Ripley kicked Natalya and went to the top to hit a missile dropkick for a two-count. Ripley landed a kick to the head and worked the Prison Lock until Natalya rolled through to get out of it. 

Natalya went for a Sharpshooter, but Ripley ran Natalya into the turnbuckle. Ripley went to the top and did the Eddie Guerrero pose before jumping off and Natalya catching her for a counter. Natalya hit a running power-slam and finally sunk in a Sharpshooter. Ripley made it to the ropes for a break. With Ripley on the outside, Natalya went for something, but Ripley countered it with a kick and a headbutt. Ripley then hit the Riptide for the win. 

After the match, Ripley attacked Natalya, but Liv and Raquel ran in for the save. 

**********

Ciampa cut a promo backstage saying he finally saw a look in the Miz’s eye that he liked last week. Ciampa said the Miz got his ruthless aggression back. Ciampa said the next time he sees the Miz, he wants the Miz to bring the same type of energy. The Mix then spoke from backstage, too. Miz said he doesn’t care what cards Ciampa has. Miz said the last person who called him a coward is gone (Hi, Bryan Danielson!). Miz said next week, he’ll have a no DQ match with Ciampa. Miz closed by saying he’s the Miz, and of course, he’s awesome.

**********

– Rhea Ripley was shown walking backstage and IYO SKY showed up. Ripley told SKY to try her because it’d be the biggest mistake of her life. The rest of Judgement Day showed up and Ripley complained about Raquel and Liv. Ripley said Liv and Raquel will regret getting involved. 

Matt Riddle defeated Giovanni Vinci [1:37]

This was more an angle than a match. My guess is we get Riddle/McIntyre vs. Vinci/Kaiser before anything else. But there’s plenty of time until we hit SummerSlam, so let the predictions run wild (brother). Vinci looked inspired, so good for him. Riddle, meanwhile, got a cheap win, and man, doesn’t it feel like it was at least 45 years ago when he was as hot as he was when he was with Randy Orton? The guy might be in no-man’s land at this point.

Vinci jumpstarted the match and slammed Riddle. Vinci landed a cross-body and worked on the ankle that Gunther softened up at MITB. Vinci landed a rolling senton into a moonsault off the second rope for a two-count. Vinci went for an ankle lock, but Riddle rolled through and pinned Vinci.

Imperium attacked Riddle after the match until Drew McIntyre’s music hit and Drew made the save by taking out Kaiser and Vinci. McIntyre stared down Gunther and invited Gunther into the ring before landed a Claymore on Vinci. McIntyre went back to engage in a stare down with Gunther. 

**********

– McIntyre was interviewed backstage and McIntyre said he’s back. Wouldn’t you know it – Riddle said the two should pair up to face Imperium next week, so someone here had that. Also next week, Ciampa vs. The Miz in a no DQ match and Becky Lynch vs. Zoey Stark. Ricochet and Logan Paul will also come face to face. The show will be in Buffalo, N.Y.  

**********

Seth Rollins defeated Dominik Mysterio via DQ [9:46]

I was all for Priest cashing in. That would have been a fun wrinkle. But apparently, we’re going to get weeks (if not months) of Finn Balor and Damien Priest bitching at each other about who should be champion, when they should have won the championship and why they are unhappy that they are currently not the champion. The match was OK for what we got. Dominik really has grown as a wrestler and that goes unnoticed because of both the star power of Ripley and the pest-heel-ness of Dom. But really. Take a look at that guy two years ago and look at him now. Two different people. The confidence is through the roof. Seth, meanwhile, continues to excel at this weird, off-beat character who loves to listen to people sing his theme music. There were good moments here, but nothing particularly memorable.

The two locked up to begin the match with Seth getting the best of it, working a head-lock. Dominik countered to work a head-lock of his own. Rollins worked out of it and took Dom down with a shoulder-block. Dom was thrown outside and Rollins went to run the ropes, but Ripley got in the way. Rollins kept the upper-hand, though, as he back-dropped Dominik over the top and followed it up with a running knee. The crowd, at this point, was still chanting Rollins’s theme song. The show went to the final picture-in-picture break. 

When the show returned, Rollins was in the middle of Three Amigos on Dom. Rollins went to the top and while Ripley distracted, Priest pushed Rollins off the rope. Dom stomped Rollins multiple times and went to the top to hit a frog-splash. Dom went back up for another frog-splash, but Rollins got the knees up to counter. The crowd was still chanting Rollins’ theme and Rollins clotheslined Dom over the top, eventually hitting a tope suicida onto Dom on the outside.

Back inside the ring, Seth set up a stomp, but Priest came into the ring to chokeslam Rollins for the DQ. After the bell rang, Priest beat the hell out of Rollins on the outside of the ring, including a face-first slam onto the commentary desk. The commentary team teased Priest cashing in. Priest set Rollins up for a Razor’s Edge, but Rollins worked out of it. Dom then hit Rollins int he back with the MITB briefcase. Dom tried to convince Priest to cash in. When it looked like Priest was going to cash in, Finn Balor ran down and attacked Rollins, which stopped Priest. Balor and Priest jawed at each other while Dom tried to make peace. Meanwhile, Rollins left ringside and pedigree’d Dom on his way out. Balor and Priest yelled at each other to close the show. 

WWE Main Event results: Apollo Crews vs. JD McDonagh

Posted on by James Cox

Last week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the EnMarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia, before Monday’s episode of Raw.

This was a perfectly watchable episode. Hopefully, we get the rubber match next week between JD McDonagh and Apollo Crews because these two could tear the house down in front of a British crowd.

Katana Chance (w/ Kayden Carter) defeated Emma (5:27)

This was a nice short match and really showed off how good Chance could be.

Chance looked very good in just her second match on Main Event (she defeated Tamina on an episode in December) and her first since officially joining the main roster. She is much shorter than Emma, but has bouts where she explodes into fiery offense and has a really unique in-ring move set to boot.

Emma has featured heavily on Main Event over the last few months and, like Dana Brooke, has been a steady hand with the newbies from NXT. There is nothing especially dazzling about what she does, but she carries herself like a star.

For a match that lasted just over five minutes, it felt like they got a lot in, but it was mostly Emma who dictated the pace while Chance played the babyface in peril. Carter was on the sidelines cheerleading, trying to rally her from Emma’s methodical beatdown.

Chance did The Miz’s running clothesline to the corner where he sits on the rope afterward and then used a spinning Codebreaker to get the win after some distraction from Carter.

This continued Emma’s poor run of form as she has just one win to her name in all of 2023.

JD McDonagh defeated Apollo Crews (7:37)

This was a tremendous offering from these two with some really neat near falls that the crowd got into at the end.

After last week’s strong outing, they went at it again, but with a different outcome this time. The loss for Crews is his first since he returned to the main roster.

The early going was fairly even with Crews using an impressive delayed suplex before missing a moonsault off the apron to the outside, giving McDonagh the advantage as we headed to the break.

The second half of the match was really action-packed and got the crowd heavily invested as they broke into a ‘this is awesome’ chant. Last week, they did a Spanish Fly in the middle of the ring and it looked fantastic. McDonagh used it again here and it was even better, getting a near fall.

The finish came after McDonagh kicked out of a sit-out power bomb when no one thought he would. Last week, the finish was a Samoan Drop, but this week McDonagh escaped it and used the ropes to steal a roll-up win.

Let’s hope they do this all over again next week as McDonagh is someone who needs reps in front of big crowds.

AEW Collision live results: Samoa Joe vs. Roderick Strong, MJF in action

Posted on by Joseph Collins

The quarterfinal round of the men’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament will conclude on tonight’s AEW Rampage from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

In the main event, Samoa Joe will resume his Ring of Honor rivalry with Roderick Strong for the opportunity to move on and face CM Punk in the semifinals. Punk will be on commentary for the match.

On the other side of the bracket, Ricky Starks will take on Juice Robinson and Dustin Rhodes will face Powerhouse Hobbs with the winners clashing in the semifinals.

For the first time, AEW World Champion MJF will make his Collision in-ring debut against an opponent to be named.

After returning on the debut episode of Collision, Miro will be in action once again against an opponent to be named. 

TBS Champion Kris Statlander will look to continue her early run as titleholder as she defends against Lady Frost.

Our live coverage begins at 8 PM Eastern.

**********

Taped in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

I hear Saturday nights are alright for fighting.

Backstage promos from Powerhouse Hobbs, Roderick Strong, and Samoa Joe were the cold open for the show.

Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness were ringside for commentary.  

AEW World Champion MJF defeated Kip Morris in a non-title match (0:28)

MJF jumped Ontario native Kip Morris before the bell, hit the Heat Seeker, and then tapped him out with a crossface. MJF was dressed in red, white, and blue to agitate the Canadian crowd. 

After the match, MJF got the mic and started running down everyone from Canada, and offered to defend the title against anyone from Hamilton. A rather large journeyman performer slowly made his way to the ring, but was outpaced by Hamilton native Ethan Page. Page slapped the mic out of MJF’s hand and ran down his family’s history in Hamilton. Page cut a great babyface promo and accepted the challenge from Friedman, a “bare minimum b*tch.”

MJF defeated Ethan Page to retain the AEW World Championship (10:58) 

Page went for the crucifix powerbomb early, but MJF escaped and clipped Page’s knee. Friedman worked over Page’s knee and ankle. Page fought his way out of a leg lace and shocked Page with a jawbreaker. MJF caught Page coming out of the corner with an Alabama Slam, then slapped on a half-crab to continue to work over Page’s bad wheel. Page tried several different means of escape, but MJF was able to counter them and keep the hold on until Page finally made the bottom rope. On breaking the hold, MJF sold his own exhaustion for the effort it took to keep Page in the hold which was a great little touch. 

Back from a split screen break, Page caught MJF with a cutter. MJF tried to kick Page’s knee to cut off his comeback, but Page fought through the pain and hit a series of clotheslines and a rana to maintain control. Page hit an Iconoclasm into a vertical powerslam to get a near fall. Page went for the Ego’s Edge, but MJF escaped and walked right into a Twist of Fate.

Page went to the top, but Page was unsteady, and MJF crotched him. MJF set up a superplex, but Page fought out and powerslammed MJF from the middle rope for another near fall. Page went for the Ego’s Edge a third time, but Page’s legs gave out under the weight of MJF. MJF caught Page with a dragon screw leg whip in the ropes, then dropped Page with the Heat Seeker to get the pinfall. Tremendous psychology throughout this one, and I hope this was a permanent face-turn for Ethan Page. 

Powerhouse Hobbs (w/ QT Marshall and Harley Cameron) defeated Dustin Rhodes in a Quarter Final match to advance in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament (10:06 aired)

Sadly, Marshall and Cameron were still hanging around with Hobbs for this match. 

Rhodes escaped a press-slam attempt from Hobbs, but Marshall tripped up Rhodes. This distraction allowed Hobbs to send Rhodes to the floor with a body block. On the floor, Marshall ran Rhodes headfirst into the ringpost while Hobbs distracted referee Aubrey Edwards. As a result, Rhodes was busted open, and Hobbs worked on the cut into a split-screen break. 

Back from the break, Hobbs got a near fall. Rhodes started to fight back with right hands and a pair of lariats. Hobbs blocked a spinning powerslam from Rhodes, but Rhodes blocked whatever Hobbs was going for and turned it into a Cross Rhodes! Rhodes followed up with a piledriver for a near fall.

Rhodes hit a sloppy Code Red for another near fall (he couldn’t get his legs under Hobbs shoulders). Marshall tried to interfere and got waylaid with an uppercut, but it was still enough of a distraction for Hobbs to hit an avalanche and a spinebuster… for a one count. Rhodes hit the spinning powerslam for a near fall. Rhodes went for a figure-four, but Hobbs kicked out of it and sent Rhodes into a right hand from Marshall. Hobbs then hit the spinebuster and got the pinfall to advance to the semi-final. His opponent for the next round will be determined later in the show. This was a very good match. 

Miro defeated Anthony Henry (3:09)

Miro has taken another step up the jobber ladder with the Workhorsmen’s Anthony Henry, who isn’t quite a no-name, although he’s more of a tag team competitor with JD Drake. 

Henry actually caught Miro charging with a boot and came off the top with a stomp. Henry hit an enziguri and a series of forearms.  Miro body blocked Henry against the ropes, then slammed him to the mat with an enziguri. A big machka kick and the Game Over got the submission victory for Miro. 

– Tony Schiavone interviewed The Bullet Club Gold members, which now include the Gunn Club. For a crowd that didn’t seem to react to much on Wednesday, Jay White and the Bullet Club got a good amount of heat. The Gunns joined up with the Bullet Club because White and Robinson have experience all over the world. The Gunns started running down all the people they’ve beaten recently, including CM Punk, which actually got a bit of a “CM Punk!” chant from the crowd. Schiavone then announced that all the other members of the Bullet Club would be barred from the ring during Robinson’s tournament match later. White took the mic and barred Schinvone from talking for the rest of the interview, and called out Punk for bringing his red bag out a few weeks ago. He didn’t seem too interested in Punk’s bag, but White did challenge FTR for the AEW Tag Team Titles (with Juice Robinson as his partner).

This led to a promo from Punk’s crew in the back. Punk called MJF’s belt a replica from ShopAEW.com, and FTR accepted Jay White’s challenge. This whole segment ran a little long, but Jay White was great. A feud with Punk should establish Jay White as a top-tier player. 

Ricky Starks defeated Juice Robinson in a Quarter Final match to advance in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament (15:19)

Dueling chants for Starks and Robinson to start, while they exchanged arm-ringers, headlocks, and hip-tosses. Robinson tripped up Starks on a drop-down, and Starks flopped awkwardly face-first on the middle rope. Robinson worked over Starks’s leg and slammedStarks into the ropes legs-first.

After a split-screen break, Robinson hit a cannonball in the corner for a near fall. Robinson has been so dominant through the break that McGuinness started channeling Bobby Heenan on commentary and insisted Robinson just be given the victory. And almost on cue, Starks mounted a comeback. Starks hit a DDT, but couldn’t quite land a kip up. Starks with the Snake Eyes and a tornado DDT for another near fall. Robinson countered a hanging DDT with a hot shot, then hit a leg lariat for a near fall.

Robinson locked on the Texas Cloverleaf. Starks got out of the hold with a rope break. Robinson almost got the pin with a rollup and a handful of tights. Starks hit a high-angle back suplex for a near fall. After not reacting for much of the match, the crowd started a weak chant for Starks.

Robinson went for a hurricanrana off the top, but Starks blocked it by holding onto the ropes. Starks missed a dive off the top and Robinson hit a spear for a near fall. Robinson went for his inverted DDT finish, but Starks countered and hit a spear. Starks tried for the roshambeaux, and while Robinson escaped, Starks rolled him up with a jackknife cover for the pin. This match felt about five minutes too long. 

After the match, the rest of the Bulle Club surrounded the ring to attack Starks, but CM Punk and FTR ran in (to jeers for Punk, as noted by McGuinness) to chase them off.

– Lexi Nair’s interview with Christian Cage is interrupted by Shawn Spears, who wants a shot at the TNT Champion, Luchasaurus. 

Kris Statlander defeated Lady Frost to retain the AEW TBS Championship (6:40 aired)

Lady Frost’s grandfather was a tag team partner of Bruno Sammartino. Frost did a lot of pointless flipping around throughout the match. She flipped into a forearm from Statlander and got suplexed out of a casadora attempt.

After a break, Frost ducked a kick from Statlander and got a German suplex. She countered a tombstone attempt with a spinning DDT for a near fall. Frost tried some more flippy stuff, which almost immediately backfired and Statlander floored her with a clothesline. Statlander finished off Frost with the Saturday Night Fever and got the pinfall. This wasn’t a great match.

– Lexi Nair interviewed Andrade El Idolo. Last week, The House of Black stole Andrade’s mask and he wants it back. The House of Black appeared on the monitor backstage and Malakai Black promised to give the mast back all in good time. El Idolo didn’t react like he was planning on being very patient. 

For Collision next week: FTR will face Juice Robinson & Jay White in a title eliminator. Athena and  Willow Nightingale square off in the Owen Hart Women’s Tournament semi-final  match. Both of the men’s semi-final matches will also take place next week, Ricky Starks versus Powerhouse Hobbs and CM Punk versus the winner of the next match. 

Samoa Joe defeated Roderick Strong via ref stoppage in a Quarter Final match to advance in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament (13:27)

CM Punk came out to a fairly mixed reaction to join the commentary team. This reaction became more favorable as the match went on. 

Roddy gave Joe four of five shots, but it only took one forearm from Joe to put Strong down. Strong leveraged Joe out to the floor and hit him with a dropkick. On the floor, it was more of the same where Joe took three or four shots from Strong, then leveled him with one hard forearm.

Back in the ring, Strong got Joe down and worked a chinlock. Joe escaped the chilock and dropped Strong with a back elbow. Strong charged at Joe in the corner, but got caught with a uranage for a near fall.

Joe dominated for most of the split-screen break, but Strong hit a high knee for a near fall coming out of the commercial. Strong went for a side backbreaker, but Joe forearmed his way out of that. Joe hit a reverse atomic drop, running boot and a senton for a near fall. On commentary, Punk called the fans of Collision “Colliders,” and apparently the Colliders want to see Punk fight Samoa Joe.

Joe wore down Strong with a neck vice, but missed a second senton. Strong started to make a comeback while the crowd chanted for CM Punk. Strong hit three flying clotheslines that didn’t take Joe off his feet. Finally, a dropkick knocked Joe down. Strong caught Joe running and gave him a side backbreaker, then hit a running boot for a near fall.

Strong came off the middle ropes with a dropkick for a near fall, then followed up with an Olympic Slam for a near fall. Strong caught Joe with a jumping knee. Strong went for a suplex, but Joe countered into the Coquina Clutch and choked Strong out. Joe won via ref stoppage. 

This sets up CM Punk v. Samoa Joe in the other semi-final for the Owen Hart tournament. On commentary, McGuinness pointed out that Punk has never beat Joe in a one-on-one match. 

After the match, Punk and Joe exchanged dirty looks. Joe grabbed a chair , and a gaggle of referees and security were out to keep Punk and Joe separated. Joe slid back in the ring and dropped Strong on the chair. Adam Cole ran out to check on Strong, and the medical team put a cervical collar on Strong and loaded him onto a backboard. The medical staff helped Strong onto a stretcher and took him to the back as the show ended. 

Final Thoughts: 

Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness were fantastic on commentary. The crowd seemed more enthusiastic for parts of this show than Dynamite on Wednesday, even though it was essentially the same crowd. Punk/Joe and Starks/Hobbs should both be very good matches next week. It seems at least on this show some of the heat on Punk died down a little bit. 

Overall, this was a pretty fun show. 

UFC on ESPN 48 live results: Sean Strickland vs. Abus Magomedov

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

In the headliner of tonight’s UFC on ESPN 48 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Sean Strickland looks to score his second straight win when he welcomes the challenge of Abus Magomedov. Strickland is looking to score his second straight win while Magomedov, only in his second UFC fight, is in search of his 26th professional win and fourth straight overall.

The co-main event sees a battle of ranked lightweights as Damir Ismagulov takes on Grant Dawson. Also on the main card is a welterweight clash between Max Griffin and undefeated Michael Morales and a women’s flyweight bout between Ariane Lipski and Melissa Gatto. Capping off the prelims is the UFC return of former title challenger Kevin Lee.

ESPN PRELIMS | 4 PM ET/1 PM PT

> Heavyweights- #14 Alexandr Romanov (16-2, 5-2 UFC) vs. #15 Blagoy Ivanov (19-5 1 NC, 3-4 UFC)

They’re circling around for the first minute with neither throwing. Romanov lands a left hand. Ivanov lands a right hand to the body and Romanov counters with a body kick. They both land in close range as Ivanov lands a solid combo. Romanov lands a leg kick. Romanov lands a knee to the body. He lands another as Ivanov lands a counter combo. Romanov lands a combo. They clinch as the round ends. 10-9 Romanov.

Ivanov lands a right hook. They trade jabs as Ivanov lands a clean one. Romanov scores with a leg kick. Romanov landing with more volume inside the first two minutes of the round here. Romanov lands a leg kick. They trade punches and Romanov lands a left as they clinch and lands a knee on the break. They clinch back up against the fence. Romanov gets the takedown and is in the half-guard. Romanov with big shots to end the round. 10-9 Romanov, 20-18 Romanov.

They’re trading to start the third and both are landing. Romanov lands a straight left hand. They clinch and Romanov pushes it against the fence. They separate and Romanov lands some leg kicks then a combo. Romanov lands a knee to the body. Romanov lands a big left hand as Ivanov fires back. They clinch and Romanov gets a big takedown late and ends the fight landing from the top. 10-9 Romanov, 30-27 Romanov.

Official Result- Alexandr Romanov def. Blagoy Ivanov by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Women’s Flyweights- Ivana Petrovic (6-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Luana Carolina (8-4, 3-3 UFC)

They trade kicks to start. Petrovic lands some punches. They clinch against the fence as Petrovic went for a takedown but Carolina defended. Carolina was landing more in the clinch before they went to the ground. Petrovic looks for the leg and is in search of a kneebar. Carolina was defending at the end as Petrovic was on the attack. Close round. 10-9 Carolina.

Carolina lands a jab. They trade and Carolina pushes it against the fence and they’re battling against the fence. Carolina lands a lot of knees. They trade as they break. Carolina lands a high kick. She lands a combo then a head kick. Petrovic lands a couple of big left hands. They clinch back up and Carolina lands some knees against the fence. Petrovic gets a late takedown. 10-9 Carolina, 20-18 Carolina.

Carolina lands some knees in an early clinch before they break. Carolina lands a combo. Petrovic looks for a takedown as she pushes it against the fence. Petrovic tried the takedown but Carolina reversed and gets top position. Carolina lands several punches from the top before they scramble up. They go back to the mat and Petrovic is on top and landing from inside of Carolina’s guard. Petrovic looks for the leg and is trying for a heel hook. Carolina escapes and lands some punches and they trade as they get to their feet late. 10-9 Petrovic, 29-28 Carolina.

Official Result- Luana Carolina def. Ivana Petrovic by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Lightweights- Guram Kutateladze (12-3, 1-1 UFC) vs. Elves Brener (14-3, 1-0 UFC)

Kutateladze lands a body kick then a left hand to the body. Brener lands a leg kick. Brener scores a takedown and is in the guard of Kutateladze. Kutateladze tries to throw up his legs for a triangle choke but Brener defended. They get to their feet and separate. Kutateladze lands a leg kick as Brener lands a combination. Kutateladze lands a right hand. Kutateladze lands a front kick. Brener slips but Kutateladze lets him back up and Brener scores a takedown. They get to their feet and Kutateladze pushes it against the fence and hurts Brener with some elbows and punches and swarms on him late but Brener makes it to the end. 10-9 Kutateladze.

Kutateladze lands a leg kick then a big knee. Brener tries for a takedown but Kutateladze ends up defending and lands big elbows from the top. Brener has a cut opened up. They get to their feet. Kutateladze lands a big left hook. Brener lands a nice combo. Kutateladze shoots for a takedown but Brener defends. Kutateladze lands a combo. Brener is bleeding heavily. They trade before clinching. Kutateladze lands as they break and he throws Brener to the mat. Kutateladze gets on top and is working inside the guard and both are landing. Kutateladze stands late. 10-9 Kutateladze, 20-18 Kutateladze.

Brener lands a combo to the body. Brener lands a big combination that backs Kutateladze up. They tie up against the fence. They break and Brener is landing big flurries as Kutateladze is backing up. Brener appears to be the fresher fighter despite bleeding all over. Kutateladze lands a combo. Brener lands and they tie up. Kutateladze tried a takedown but Brener kept it on the feet. They separate and Brener rocks Kutateladze and Kutateladze ends up going to his knees and Brener finishes it off with some follow-up punches. Huge win and comeback from Brener!

Official Result- Elves Brener def. Guram Kutateladze by TKO (punches) at 3:17 of Round 3

> Women’s Featherweights- #6 Yana Santos (14-7 1 NC, 4-4 UFC) vs. #9 Karol Rosa (16-5, 5-2 UFC)

They’re trading to start and clinch. Rosa lands some knees and Santos lands some elbows as they break. They clinch back up and Rosa lands more knees but eats an elbow from Santos as she lets go. They clinch against the fence as Santos is landing knees to the thighs of Rosa. They remain clinched up and both are landing. Rosa lands an elbow and reverses position. They separate and Santos lands a leg kick. Santos with a body kick. Santos lands a combo before they clinch. They separate. Rosa lands a right hand. They trade late. 10-9 Santos.

Rosa lands a combo then to the body and they tie up against the fence. They break. Santos has the advantage. They trade knees against the fence before they separate. They both land combos inside the pocket. Santos lands an axe kick. Santos lands a jab as Rosa lands a right hand. They continue to trade with Santos landing with more volume as she’s landing front kicks. Rosa lands a right hand as they clinch. Close round. 10-9 Rosa, 19-19.

Santos lands a leg kick then Rosa lands a combo and pushes it against the fence. They circle away. Rosa lands a body kick. Santos lands a leg kick. Santos lands a body kick and Rosa lands a right hand. Rosa lands a jab and some leg kicks. Rosa lands a right hand. Santos lands a leg kick. Rosa lands a combo. Santos lands a leg kick. Rosa lands a combo and they trade kicks. Rosa lands a right hand. They trade leg kicks. They clinch and Santos lands a left hand as they break. They trade kicks. Rosa lands a combination and scores a takedown. Rosa lands a couple of elbows from the top and lands to end the fight. 10-9 Rosa, 29-28 Rosa.

Official Result- Karol Rosa def. Yana Santos by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

> Featherweights- Joanderson Brito (14-3-1, 2-1 UFC) vs. Westin Wilson (16-7, 0-0 UFC)

Wilson lands a body kick. Brito lands a right hand. Wilson lands a body kick but eats a big combo from Brito that hurt him. They clinch and Wilson recovers but Brito is pressuring. Brito lands a knee to the body and scores a takedown. Brito lands an elbow and is in side control. They get to their feet and Wilson is attacking the leg as Brito is grabbing the fence and gets warned. Brito lands some punches from the top but Wilson is still looking for the kneebar. Brito lands some big punches from the top and is teeing off and it is stopped. Big finish from Brito!

Official Result- Joanderson Brito def. Westin Wilson by knockout (punches) at 2:54 of Round 1

> Welterweights- Kevin Lee (19-7, 11-7 UFC) vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov (21-2, 2-0 UFC)

Fakhretdinov lands a body kick then a jab. Fakhretdinov lands a right hand. Fakhretdinov lands a snap jab. Fakhretdinov drops Lee with a right hand and attacks the neck. He has a guillotine choke locked in and Lee goes out cold! What a finish from Fakhretdinov.

Official Result- Rinat Fakhretdinov def. Kevin Lee by submission (guillotine choke) at :55 of Round 1

ESPN MAIN CARD | 7 PM ET/4 PM PT

> Middleweights- Brunno Ferreira (10-0, 1-0 UFC) vs. Nursulton Ruziboev (34-8-2, 0-0 UFC)

They trade leg kicks inside the first minute. Ruziboev lands a combo. Ferreira lands a leg kick and Ruziboev drops him with a right hand and lands some follow-up shots to end it. What a debut and finish from Ruziboev!

Official Result- Nursulton Ruziboev def. Brunno Ferreira by knockout (punches) at 1:17 of Round 1

> Lightweights- Ismael Bonfim (19-3, 1-0 UFC) vs. Benoit Saint-Denis (10-1 1 NC, 2-1 UFC)

Saint-Denis lands a body kick but Bonfim counters with a right hand. They’re both landing now as Saint-Denis is landing kicks. Saint-Denis with more body kicks. He lands more. Saint-Denis gets a takedown and gets right into the mount and is landing punches from the top. Bonfim reverses and they stand. Saint-Denis lands a body kick. Bonfim lands a leg kick then a left hand. Bonfim lands a combo with a knee and Saint-Denis looks for a takedown. Bonfim defends by landing some elbows. They break and Saint-Denis lands another body kick. Saint-Denis has the body lock and is looking for a takedown. It goes to the mat and Saint-Denis is looking for the back as he lands right hands. He gets the back and is looking for a choke. He has it across the chin and is squeezing and Bonfim taps! Big submission win from Saint-Denis!

Official Result- Benoit Saint-Denis def. Ismael Bonfim by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:48 of Round 1

> Women’s Flyweights- Ariane Lipski (15-8, 4-5 UFC) vs. Melissa Gatto (8-1-2, 2-1 UFC)

They’re circling around for the first few moments. Lipski lands a jab. Lipski lands a body kick. They trade leg kicks. Gatto lands to the body. They trade kicks. Gatto lands a right hand as Lipski lands a low kick. Lipski lands a leg kick then a right hand. Both connect in close range. Lipski lands a leg kick and Gatto grabs the body lock and pushes it against the fence. 10-9 Gatto.

Gatto lands some kicks to start the second then a knee to the body. Gatto lands a right hand. Lipski lands a leg kick. She lands another. She lands a body kick but Gatto catches it and pushes Lipski against the fence. Gatto lands some knees in the clinch. Lipski gets a takedown but they get right up. They remain tied up against the fence and Gatto lands a knee. Lipski now controlling as they trade knees. They separate and Gatto lands a combo. Lipski lands a combo. Lipski lands a leg kick then an uppercut. Gatto lands a right hand. They trade punches. They clinch late. 10-9 Gatto, 20-18 Gatto.

They trade kicks to start the third. Gatto lands a right hand. Lipski lands a big combination and Gatto tries for a takedown but Lipski defends. They exchange jabs. Lipski lands a body kick. Gatto lands a double jab but eats a counter combo from Lipski. Gatto lands a nice right hand but Lipski counters back with a combo. Gatto tries for a takedown and has the back against the fence. They go to the mat and Lipski is inside the guard of Gatto. They get to their feet and both land. Lipski lands a body kick. Lipski with a body kick. 10-9 Lipski, 29-28 Gatto.

Official Result- Ariane Lipski def. Melissa Gatto by split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)

> Welterweights- Max Griffin (19-9, 7-7 UFC) vs. Michael Morales (14-0, 2-0 UFC)

They’re trading right away and Morales lands a leg kick. Morales lands a hard jab. Morales with an inside leg kick. Griffin scores with a leg kick. Morales lands a jumping knee. Griffin lands a right hand and pushes it against the fence looking for a takedown. They’re battling in the clinch and Morales lands a knee. They separate. Morales lands a right hand. 10-9 Griffin.

Morales lands a double jab then a hard right hand. He lands another big right hand and Griffin is running away. Griffin lands a right hand. They trade punches. Morales lands a jab. Griffin lands a body kick as Morales lands a right hand. Griffin lands a leg kick. Morales lands and Griffin ducks under looking for a takedown but Morales defends. Griffin lands a jab. Griffin lands a right hand. Morales lands a combo. Morales lands a couple of big right hands and we have a timeout for a groin strike. They get back to action. Morales lands a jab then a high body kick. They swing late. 10-9 Morales, 19-19.

Griffin lands a left hook. They trade big punches. Morales lands a jab. Griffin shoots for a takedown but Morales defends and then Morales lands some big punches against the fence. Griffin grabs the body and has the back as he pushes Morales against the fence. Morales is able to switch and he has the back of Griffin. They separate. Morales lands a jab. They go against the fence but break and Morales lands a right hand. Morales lands a big knee. Morales lands a leg kick and Griffin falls down but stands up. Griffin coming forward and trying to land and Morales gets a late takedown and ends the fight on top. 10-9 Morales, 29-28 Morales.

Official Result- Michael Morales def. Max Griffin by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Lightweights- #12 Damir Ismagulov (24-2, 5-1 UFC) vs. #15 Grant Dawson (19-1-1, 7-0-1 UFC)

Dawson lands a leg kick. Ismagulov lands a right hand. Dawson tries a takedown and grabs the single leg and is able to get Ismagulov to the mat. Dawson gets the back and is working for a choke. Dawson is landing punches from the back as he has the body triangle locked in. Dawson is still working for the neck as he has complete back control. He now lands some punches and is pounding away. Dawson with more right hands and hammerfists. 10-8 Dawson.

They trade punches to start the second. Ismagulov lands a left hand then a right hand. Ismagulov lands a nice left hand. Dawson ducks under an Ismagulov punch and scores a takedown. Dawson gets the back and is working to get the body triangle locked in. He has it locked in and is landing punches from the back. Dawson looking for a choke as he is over the chin. He lets go and has control as the round ends. 10-9 Dawson, 20-17 Dawson.

Dawson gets a takedown early in the third and has the back with the body triangle locked in. Dawson is in complete control from the back. He looked for a full nelson but decided to just land punches. Dawson is looking for a choke but quickly let go. Dawson just keeps holding on and there isn’t a ton of action going on. They have a ground flurry as the fight ends. 10-9 Dawson, 30-26 Dawson.

Official Result- Grant Dawson def. Damir Ismagulov by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

> Middleweights- #7 Sean Strickland (26-5, 13-5 UFC) vs. Abus Magomedov (25-4-1, 1-0 UFC)

Magomedov landing some low kicks early. Magomedov lands a left hand then a body kick. We have a timeout for an eye poke. They get back to action and Magomedov lands some kicks. Strickland lands a jab as Magomedov lands a leg kick. He lands another. Magomedov landing more as Strickland isn’t doing a lot of offense. Magomedov lands two left hands and a body kick. Strickland lands a jab. Magomedov lands a leg kick. He lands another heavy one. Magomedov lands to the body. Magomedov lands a couple of body kicks then a head kick. Magomedov looks for a takedown and gets it. Magomedov quickly jumps on the back. They scramble up. They separate and Strickland lands a right hand. Strickland lands another right hand. 10-9 Magomedov.

Magomedov lands a leg kick. Strickland lands a jab. He lands a right hand. Magomedov is backing up and Strickland lands a flurry. Strickland lands a combo. They trade punches. Strickland lands a combo and Magomedov is circling away. Strickland lands a combo. He lands another pair of combinations. Magomedov is firing back but Strickland is eating him up with punches. Magomedov is fading badly here. Strickland with a big combination. Strickland with a huge flurry of punches and Magomedov lands a left hook and to the body. Strickland with another flurry and Magomedov is covering up. Strickland is landing and Magomedov is gassed out. Strickland drops Magomedov with some punches and gets on top. He’s landing big right hands and it is finally stopped by Mark Smith. What a finish from Strickland!

Official Result- Sean Strickland def. Abus Magomedov by TKO (punches) at 4:20 of Round 2

WWE Money in the Bank live results: Two ladder matches, Bloodline Civil War

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: July 1, 2023
Location: O2 Arena in London, England 

********** 

Show Recap — 

Happy Canada Day.

KICK-OFF SHOW

The pre-show panel was held in WWE’s studio with Jackie Redmond, Matt Camp and Peter Rosenberg. Redmond’s co-hosts gave her a shoutout for her upcoming gig on Raw.

They spoke around videos for the MITB ladder matches, Dominik Mysterio/Cody Rhodes, and Gunther/Matt Riddle. Camp said Rhea Ripley would be with Dominik tonight but Rhodes’ promo on Raw made it seem like Dom would be alone. 

The men’s MITB ladder match will open the show. They noted that the briefcase will be in play tonight as a result. The panel spoke about that match and Seth Rollins/Finn Bálor and Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler/Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan.

There will be a post-show press conference on the network and on Youtube.

Paul Heyman interview

Kayla Braxton was backstage and spoke with Paul Heyman who exited Roman Reigns’ locker room in tears. Braxton sincerely asked Heyman if the issues with the Bloodline was finally getting to him.

Heyman spoke about his history with their family and said we would see Reigns tonight as a warrior raised by Sika. It won’t be enough for Reigns to prove that the Usos are not the greatest tag team in WWE, he would wipe them from WWE and expunge their names from the history books.

The Usos would not be welcome at their next family gathering. This isn’t going to be fun to watch and won’t be PG. Smashed, stacked, pinned, shipped out of WWE — permanently. “And there’s nothing I can do to stop him.” 

(Besides the Heyman promo, this was another nothing pre-show. I complain about this monthly but I have no idea why they don’t do more with these pre-shows, especially now that they’re on a hot streak.)

MONEY IN THE BANK MAIN SHOW —

Michael Cole announced a sold-out crowd of 18,885.

Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Damian Priest defeated Logan Paul, Butch, Ricochet, Shinsuke Nakamura, LA Knight and Santos Escobar (20:26)

The crowd sang Nakamura’s song as you’d expect but LA Knight was the big crowd favourite.

Everyone jumped Logan Paul when it started to the delight of the crowd. They also ganged up on Damian Priest, and Wade Barrett attributed that to Judgment Day making enemies. There was an exchange between Nakamura and Knight and the crowd was all-in on Knight. Butch attacked everyone with a cricket bat.

Priest was about to go after Paul but Paul talked him out of it by noting that they were both tall and they should team up. They set up two tables side-by-side (like Darby Allin and Sting) but Priest decked Paul. Ricochet hit a flip dive through a table to the outside.

Knight tried climbing the ladder but Paul brought him down with a Russian leg sweep. The crowd chanted obscenities at Paul who dove into a right hand by Priest. The crowd booed Butch for saving Paul from Priest but chanted “Brusierweight” moments later.

Paul gave Priest a brutal frog splash off the apron onto an elevated ladder and the crowd chanted “You still suck.” Butch put Escobar in a sleeper on an elevated ladder and Ricochet nailed them both with a crazy springboard 450.

Priest climbed the ladder as everyone brawled but Knight brought him down with a back suplex. Paul gave Knight a blockbuster and Ricochet hit Paul with an SSP. Escobar took out Ricochet with a falcon arrow. With everyone huddled outside the ring, Butch hit a moonsault off a ladder.

Paul was not in the huddle and he prevented Butch from climbing. Paul also took out Ricochet before Santos took out Paul. Nakamura and Ricochet battled atop a ladder after Escobar took out Knight with a hurricanrana.

Ricochet and Paul leaped onto a second ladder (mimicking their Royal Rumble spot) before kicking Namakura and Escobar off their ladder.

Knight shoved the ladder with Paul and Ricochet which led to Ricochet giving Paul a Spanish Fly through the tables set up earlier. This didn’t go nearly as smoothly as they wanted and Paul seemed to land badly on his face/head as a result. (Paul appeared to be fine after the match but his shoulder was bloody.)

Butch knocked Knight off the ladder before Priest shoved Butch off into a ladder in the corner. Knight shoved Priest out of the ring before also getting rid of Escobar and Nakamura.

Knight was on the verge of winning and everyone was cheering but Priest brought him down with a version of the falcon arrow. Priest climbed the ladder and grabbed the briefcase to win as the crowd booed. Priest is Mr. Money in the Bank.

******** 

There was a commercial break/Ronda Rousey video package.

Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan defeated Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler to win the Women’s Tag Team Championships (9:02)

Baszler turned on Rousey.

Rodriguez and Morgan had the edge until Baszler yanked Morgan off the top and targeted her previously injured arm/shoulder. Rousey applied an ankle lock but Morgan fought out, hit a Codebreaker and made the tag to Rodriguez. Rodriguez gave Baszler a fallaway slam before powerslamming Rousey for two.

Rousey tried an armbar with Rodriguez on the middle rope but Rodriguez countered into a powerbomb for two because Baszler broke up the cover.

Baszler put Morgan in an armbar as Rousey applied an ankle lock but Rodriguez broke it up. Morgan couldn’t make a tag because Rousey wiped out Rodriguez. Baszler gave Morgan a German suplex and applied Kirifuda Clutch. Morgan slipped out and Rousey tagged in.

Completely out of nowhere, Baszler attacked Rousey from behind. The crowd went nuts as Baszler put Rousey down with Kirifuda Clutch.

Rodriguez gave Rousey a Tejana Bomb and Morgan followed with Oblivion for the pinfall win. Morgan and Rodriguez are the new tag champs. The crowd was happy.

(Bud Light is a new sponsor and they’re sponsoring the post-match replays.)

******** 

Kayla Braxton interviewed Damian Priest who wanted to be called Señor Money in the Bank. Priest didn’t know which title belt he would cash in on but knew one thing for sure: he would be champion.

Gunther (w/Imperium) defeated Matt Riddle to retain the Intercontinental Championship (7:47)

(Cole mentioned Gunther previously wrestling Riddle in PROGRESS.)

Gunther worked over Riddle’s bum ankle. Riddle hit an exploder at one point but couldn’t follow up because of the ankle and Gunther hit a clothesline for two. Riddle fought back moments later and hit a senton for two. Gunther came off the top with a splash but Riddle caught him in a triangle. Gunther hoisted him up and hit a powerbomb for two.

Gunther immediately transitioned into a single leg crab. Riddle tried fighting out so Gunther repeatedly smacked Riddle’s injured ankle. Gunther applied a leg lock and Riddle quickly tapped out.

— Drew McIntyre entered as Gunther celebrated and the crowd popped huge. Cole spat out: “The rumours of Drew McIntyre’s demise in WWE… are not true.”

Gunther shoved McIntyre so McIntyre headbutted him and hit Claymore Kick. McIntyre posed with the IC title belt. The crowd was very happy to see McIntyre.

******** 

There was a commercial/video package for the upcoming match. 

Barrett put over Rhodes’ entrance and said he came across as the biggest star in WWE. 

Cody Rhodes defeated Dominik Mysterio (w/Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley) (8:37)

Dom smacked Rhodes before Rhodes ripped off his cast. Cole said doctors told him that Rhodes’ injury had pretty much healed. Dom bailed and tried running to the back but Rhodes caught him. Dom tried leaving through the crowd so Rhodes went after him again.

Ripley got in Rhodes’ face as Dom removed a turnbuckle cover. Dom followed with a suicide dive on the distracted Rhodes to take over. The crowd called Dom a wanker and sang loudly for Cody.

Dom tried three amigos but Rhodes countered into a gore buster before hitting a powerslam and disaster kick for two. Rhodes went for a dive but Ripley got in his way. The distraction allowed Dom to set up for a 619 but Rhodes caught him and hit a spinning Alabama Slam.

Rhodes followed with a Cody Cutter and Cross Rhodes for the decisive win.

******** 

John Cena segment

John Cena entered to a massive reception.

Cena entered the ring and said, “Surprise!” Cena himself was surprised because he’s used to hearing “John Cena sucks” during his entrance but the crowd sang his song instead.

Cena said this was the first premium live event in London in over 20 years. Cena asked, “What the hell took us so long to spend some time with you?” The crowd cheered.

Cena said it wasn’t up to him, it was up to the decision-makers who didn’t know how to feel about London. Cena said “they” think this is a hostile environment and that the crowd can be a distraction. Cena said this crowd wasn’t a distraction, they were the show.

Cena wanted the world to know that they were underappreciated. Cena was big on respect and over the last 20 years, the fans have earned his respect. The crowd loudly chanted “Thank you, Cena.”

Cena said “they” don’t like it when the performers stop and let the crowd cheer but that’s what made nights like these special. Cena said there was no crowd more exciting than London, England.

“I’m here to try to bring WrestleMania to London.” The crowd absolutely erupted with “Yes” chants. Cena encouraged the crowd to let “them” know what WrestleMania would sound like.

The crowd cheered for a moment but was interrupted by Grayson Waller. The crowd chanted “Who are you” and “Shut the f*ck up.” Waller said he was a fan of Cena and said his performance in Scooby-Doo really moved him.

Waller said Cena was lying to the fans if he thought WrestleMania was coming there. He hated the weather in London and wanted WrestleMania to go to Australia. The crowd yelled “wanker” at Waller and he quickly responded, “Trust me, I don’t need to.”

Waller noted that things haven’t been going well for Cena lately. He’s lost to Austin Theory, Roman Reigns and The Fiend. But the fans were simple and only remembered the most recent thing they saw. Waller offered to save Cena by having him on his show at WrestleMania: Australia.

Cena said no and was about to leave but Waller stopped him. Waller said nobody said “no” to him which Cena didn’t appreciate. Cena wanted to soak in the London crowd one more time but Waller decked him from behind.

Waller posed until Cena dropped him with an AA. Cena left while slapping hands with the fans.

(Waller did well on the mic here and certainly better than the last guy Cena feuded with.)

******** 

There was a commercial break/video package for the upcoming match. (This is a much better use of commercial time than what they used to do, which was play random, unrelated video packages.)

Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: IYO SKY defeated Bayley, Becky Lynch, Zelina Vega, Zoey Stark and Trish Stratus (18:04)

Lynch entered last and Stark attacked her in the aisle which started the match. Stratus and Stark worked together to take control of the match but Bayley and SKY teamed up to take over next. The crowd sang for Bayley so she told them to shut up. Vega fought off SKY for a moment but Damage CTRL bounced her back and forth in between a ladder.

Lynch prevented Bayley and SKY (who were having trouble staying on the same page) from climbing the ladder. Vega used Stratus’ body as a bridge between two ladders and eventually everyone took turns clearing each other off the ladder.

SKY climbed a ladder but wasn’t close to the briefcase so she wiped out everyone (except Stratus) with a moonsault. The crowd chanted for her.

Stratus climbed the ladder but Lynch went after her. Lynch fought off Stratus and Stark but Vega took out Lynch and Stratus with a crossbody. Vega shoved SKY out of the ring before Lynch and Stratus teamed up to give Vega a double powerbomb. Stratus gave Bayley a Stratusfaction onto a ladder before Stark drove Lynch into the ring post.

Stark put a handcuff on Lynch but couldn’t latch it to the ring before Lynch fought her off. Lynch chucked Stratus over the announce desk and dropped Stark on a ladder. Lynch gave Stratus a Man-handle slam on a ladder before Stark gave Lynch a neckbreaker.

Vega and Stark stood near the top of a ladder and Vega hit a sunset flip powerbomb onto a ladder bridge. (This was probably the highlight spot of the match.)

SKY climbed the ladder but Bayley shoved the ladder down. Bayley showed some regret on her face but proceeded to climb the ladder. Lynch hooked the other end of the handcuffs to fishhook Bayley’s mouth and brought her down the ladder.

Bayley tried fighting back but SKY handcuffed Bayley and Lynch together, so Lynch and Bayley were stuck. This popped the crowd.

SKY climbed over Bayley and grabbed the briefcase for the win. The crowd cheered and chanted “You deserve it.”

(The finishing sequence was good.)

******** 

Seth Rollins defeated Finn Bálor to retain the World Heavyweight Championship (12:31)

Cole noted that Bálor attacked Rollins again last night at a nearby live event. Rollins hit an early suicide dive but didn’t pop up as quickly as usual because of his injured ribs and Bálor took over by targetting the ribs.

Rollins fought back with strikes, a backbreaker and a knee strike. Bálor went back to the ribs and hit a headlock elbow drop but Rollins defiantly kicked out at one. Bálor hit a slingblade but Rollins came back with a superkick and buckle bomb.

Bálor got his knees up on a frog splash and followed with a shotgun dropkick. Rollins avoided a Coup de Grace and Bálor avoided a curb stomp. They traded strikes until Rollins caught Bálor’s Pelé Kick and hit a Pedigree for two.

Priest walked out with the MITB briefcase and the crowd chanted “Cash it in.” Rollins was distracted so Bálor tried a schoolboy for two.

Rollins confronted Priest who simply grabbed a chair and sat down. Bálor used that distraction to dropkick Rollins into the barricade. Bálor hit a Coup de Grace off the announce table and off the steel steps.

Back in the ring, Bálor hit a dropkick and went to the top but stopped when he saw Priest get to his feet.

Bálor went for the Coup de Grace but Rollins moved and hit a curb stomp for the pinfall win.

— Bálor argued with Priest after the match.

(Good match but it felt like more of a backdrop and lead-up to whatever’s next with Priest and Bálor.)

********

There was an Edge video package. 

Braxton interviewed Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn who were suddenly watching the show in a suite. Owens said it was great to be in London and put over some of tonight’s results.

She asked Zayn about the Bloodline Civil War. Zayn said he’s been waiting a long time to see this and tonight was the night that Reigns got exactly what was coming to him. They played Zayn’s music and the crowd sang along.

********

Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso defeated Universal Champion Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa (w/Paul Heyman) (32:05)

Jey was fired up as they did in-ring introductions. Everyone else was relatively calm. Sikoa seemed to have a moment of self-reflection before it started, while Reigns was annoyed at the “F*ck you, Roman” chants.

Sikoa had the edge over Jimmy but Jey kicked him from behind as the ref was distracted. Sikoa was caught off guard so Reigns tagged in. Sikoa hesitated before tagging out.

Jey and Reigns circled each other before locking up. Reigns had the advantage over Jey so Jimmy tagged in and they went for a double superkick but Reigns left the ring. Reigns got back in after a pep talk from Heyman and worked over Jey. Sioka tagged in and had control until Jimmy tagged in but Sikoa quickly knocked him down with a forearm.

There was a loud, “If you hate Roman, stand up” chant and everyone stood up. Barrett pointed it out on commentary and the announcers went quiet for a moment so we could hear. Funny enough, Reigns took the opportunity to sit down on the apron.

Reigns tagged in after a while and hit Jimmy with a driveby dropkick for two. Sikoa tagged back in and the match continued at a slow, deliberate pace. Reigns tagged himself in and Jimmy couldn’t tag out because Sikoa yanked Jey off the apron.

About 19 minutes into the match, Jimmy avoided a Superman punch and made a hot tag to Jey who hit Sikoa with punches (mimicking The Rock’s punches), an enziguri and a flying crossbody for two. Jey hit a running hip attack but Reigns made a blind tag. Jey figured it out and gave Reigns a suicide dive before hitting Sikoa with one too.

Jey tried another but Reigns hit him with consecutive Superman punches. Reigns set up for a spear but Jimmy tagged in and the Usos hit Reigns with a double spear and Sikoa broke up the cover.

Each side stood up and they exchanged right hands. Jey shoved Sikoa into the ring post as Reigns hit Jimmy with a Superman punch for two.

Reigns went for a spear but Jimmy hit him with consecutive superkicks. Jimmy went for a splash but Reigns caught him in a guillotine choke. Jimmy used his strength to hoist up Reigns and powered him into the corner. Jey made a blind tag as Jimmy shoved Reigns into the referee who fell out of the ring.

The Usos gave Reigns the 1D and Jey covered him but there was no ref.

The Usos went up for a double splash but Sikoa made the save. Sikoa and Reigns each hit Uranages before Sikoa hit Jimmy with a Samoan Spike.

Sikoa spiked Jey as Reigns hit a spear. Sikoa stacked up the Usos as the crowd chanted “bullshit.” Reigns covered them (as he did Edge and Daniel Bryan) but they kicked out. The crowd popped big for that.

Reigns seemed without any ideas so Sikoa hammered away on Jimmy and Jey. That encouraged Reigns to join him.

Sikoa superkicked Jimmy onto the announce table. Sikoa tried a splash off the barricade but Jimmy moved and Sikoa crashed through the table.

Jey and Reigns exchanged superkicks and Superman punches respectively until Reigns hit a spear for a nearfall. Jey actually kicked out by low-blowing Reigns (as Reigns has done before).

Jimmy tagged in and the Usos handed out superkicks to Reigns and Sikoa.

Jey tagged in and splashed Reigns for the pinfall win.

The crowd went absolutely nuts and Jimmy was almost in tears.

Cole said this was the first time in three and a half years that Reigns had been pinned (or submitted).

Jimmy and Jey posed as the crowd cheered.

(This didn’t need to go as long as it did but the last half of the match was exactly what you could’ve wanted.) 

Impact Down Under live results: Motor City Machine Guns vs. Chris Bey & Ace Austin

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

Impact Wrestling will wrap up their two show Australian debut tour with another pay-per-view from Wagga Wagga.

The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) will attempt to win nearly all of Impact’s men’s titles as they challenge Impact Tag Team Champions Ace Austin & Chris Bey. Shelley is the current World Champion while Sabin is the X-Division Champion.

Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will defend against Gisele Shaw. If Shaw wins, she will defend against both Purrazzo and Trinity at Slammiversary.

Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry will look to go 2-0 in title defenses this weekend as he attempts to fend off the challenge of Moose.

Brian Myers will battle Frankie Kazarian as Kazarian’s original opponent, Steve Maclin, was hurt on Friday.

Other matches include Killer Kelly vs. Steph De Lander; Robbie Eagles vs. Adam Brooks; Eddie Edwards vs. Slex; and the Natural Classics vs. The Velocities in a clash of Australian talent.

**********

Adam Brooks defeated Robbie Eagles to become the inaugural Oceania Pro Wrestling World Champion (13:01)

Oceania Pro Wrestling is a new Australian events company that is looking to bring international promotions into the country and has been instrumental in making this Impact Down Under tour a reality. They are looking to establish their own championship, which presumably will be defended at shows they promote along other promotions.

Brooks is opening an Impact PPV for the second night in a row in search of a win while Eagles also lost in yesterday’s X-Division three-way and wants to both pick up the win and capture some gold. Brian Myers was supposed to have been in this match, but will replace Steve Maclin (who got injured last night) and will face Frankie Kazarian later on tonight.

They started out with wrist locks and Eagles transitioned into a headlock before they started trading quick pinfall attempts. Eagles hit some quick head scissors that sent Brooks to ringside and then looked to follow up with a dive, but thought better of it and backflipped back into the ring instead.

Brooks tried a crossface, then suplexed Eagles into the turnbuckle and rolled to ringside, where he swiftly ate a running kick by Adams from the apron. Brooks proceeded to knee Eagles in the head and then hit a flying knee off the second turnbuckle for a near fall. Eagles came back with chops and rabbit elbow to the back of Brooks’ head.

Eagles hit running double knees in the corner and went for the Ron Miller special, his inverted figure four, but opted for a knee drop instead. Brooks trapped Eagles face down on the turnbuckle and delivered a kick to the face before hitting a TKO on the top rope that sent Eagles to the outside. Brooks followed with a dive and jumping DDT from the apron for another close two count.

Brooks was limping due to damage done to his knee by Eagles as the two got into a strike exchange. They traded spots and counters until Eagles hit a poisonrana, followed by Sliced Bread. Eagles locked in the Ron Eagles special, but Brooks eventually got to the ropes. Eagles went for a 450 splash, but Brooks got his feet up and hit a Swanton bomb to get the pin and title.

– The announcers ran down the card and recapped yesterday’s results which you can look up in yesterday’s report.

Gisele Shaw promo

Shaw talked about being a powerhouse, but also did her tape study and can be a technical wrestler. She said she would leave Wagga Wagga the new Knockouts champion, said she would break Deonna Purrazzo’s arm, and called her a bitch.

The Natural Classics (Stevie Filip & Tome Filip) defeated The Velocities (Jude London & Paris De Silva) (4:45)

The Natural Classics are part of NJPW’s Bullet Club through its Australian Rogue Army subgroup and were part of NJPW TAMASHII tapings over the past few months, as were their opponents. The Velocities also have been three-time tag team champions in their home promotions, PWA, wrestled for the NWA and in Europe, for promotions such as RevPro and OTT and had some bangers with fellow Australians, Aussie Open.

The Natural Classics face-palmed their smaller opponents before the match, earning a double dropkick for their troubles before being thrown to ringside with some impressive double team spots before the match even officially started.

Tome Filip got double-teamed early before Stevie came in and wiped out De Silva. De Silva managed to thwart both guys and dove for a hot tag, just as his partner got pulled off the apron. Finally, De Silva managed to tag in London, who ran wild with dropkicks and a flying wristlock/headscissor combo. He followed up with a springboard Stundog Millionaire on Stevie.

The Velocities were looking to hit a top rope move and a dive simultaneously but both got thwarted. The Natural Classics then hit a power bomb/neckbreaker combo on De Silva to pick up the impressive victory here. This was great while it lasted, but could easily have gone twice as long.

Deonna Purrazzo promo

She mocked Gisele Shaw for learning a submission hold but said she was not a technical wrestler and that she herself was the master of the Fujiwara armbar, the best female technical wrestler in the world, and a three-time Knockouts champion.

Impact Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defeated Moose to retain (12:17)

Those two had some battles over the Digital Media championship earlier this year, including in a Dot Combat match at No Surrender.

Hendry cut a promo before the match and talked about being at the Wagga Wagga zoo yesterday and saw a lot of different animals. He then went to his Victoria hotel bar later that night and saw a dancing moose, which prompted an according chant from the crowd. He said the moose was not dancing to a song, but to two words: “We Believe.”

Hendry hit a shoulder block to start, but Moose didn’t budge. They started a test of strength that Moose initially got the better off, then kicked Hendry in the gut. He went for a corner charge, but Hendry just casually walked away while Moose ran into the turnbuckles. Hendry hit a suplex, but Moose popped right back up and they fought at ringside.

Hendry sent Moose into the ring post and then proceeded to smash Moose’s head into the apron ten times, which he eventually succeeded in after a brief interlude. Moose briefly appeared foggy, but managed to kick Hendry as he re-entered the ring. Moose chopped Hendry in the corner before hitting a uranage for a two count.

Hendry eventually blocked some of Moose’s punches and even did the Hulk Hogan “You!” finger point before hitting a cutter for a nearfall of his own. He followed with ten punches in the corner to complete the 1980s throwback. A fallaway slam followed before Hendry went for the Standing Ovation, which was blocked.

Moose hit a beautiful dropkick and power bomb for another near fall. Hendry evaded a spear that sent Moose into the corner, but still got rolled up. Hendry hit a lariat and an impressive pop-up power bomb that almost won him the match as the crowd erupted into “This is Awesome!” chants.

Moose hit a huge superplex from the top rope and held on to deliver another one, but instead Hendry suplexed him, which left both men at the mat. They traded elbows before Moose caught him in a backslide for another near fall. Moose rolled him up once more but grabbed the tights in plain sight of the referee, who stopped his count to reprimand Moose. Hendry used that opportunity to roll up Moose for the win. 

Quick trivia note: Hendry beat two former Impact World champions on back-to-back nights here.

Impact wrestlers at a special needs school

Another clip of some of the wrestlers talking at an alternative school for students with mental problems aired. This was really nice and it looked like they talked about some issues close to the kids’ hearts.

Eddie Edwards defeated Slex (11:49)

Slex beat Adam Brooks last night while Edwards lost to Joe Hendry. Both men also wrestled for NOAH in the past and Slex just returned from a tour with the group in May.

Edwards rolled to ringside right away as he was not happy with his crowd reaction. He eventually returned to the ring and proceeded to head butt Slex. Slex came back with some chops and quick arm drags that left Edwards visibly worried.

Slex used his speed to send Edwards to ringside and briefly worked him over on the outside. Edwards caught him with a hard right on a dive attempt though and they ended up on the apron where Edwards hit a high kick and slam onto the hardest part of the ring.

Edwards was in control and worked over Slex for a bit, before dropping him with a nasty elbow on a whip in. Eddie looked to be setting up for the Die Hard Driver and they had a battle of suplex attempts that Slex eventually won. Slex got a near fall off a crossbody, but got caught in a Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count.

Slex picked Edwards off the turnbuckles, hoisted him on his shoulders and hit a spinning fireman’s carry into a power bomb, a move he calls the Business Bomb. Edwards ended up at ringside and got caught with a tornado DDT off the apron and a top rope moonsault once back inside the ring for another near fall.

Edwards hit a backpack stunner and Tiger Driver, which each scored him a near fall. He followed up with the Boston Knee Party to pick up the win.

– Another Wagga Wagga holiday highlights video aired.

Steph De Lander defeated Killer Kelly (9:53)

De Lander cut a quick promo, talking about being better than all of the fans and Kelly.

Kelly once more slid towards her opponent on all fours, but De Lander quickly attacked her before finding herself on the receiving end of an onslaught. De Lander rolled to ringside, evaded a soccer kick and hoisted Kelly on her shoulders to no particular avail. She still managed to throw Kelly shoulder first into the ring post.

Back in the ring, De Lander took over, sat Kelly on the top turnbuckle and followed with a running kick and suplex. Kelly came back with forearm strikes, but quickly got clotheslined back down for a two count. De Lander choked Kelly in the ropes and followed with another suplex.

Kelly powered back up and got into a striking battle, but got beaten down again. De Lander locked in a bear hug, but Kelly fought out, trapped the arms, and hit a few head butts for good measure.

Kelly hit the shotgun basement dropkick in the corner for a near fall and then looked to lift her opponent up for a Death Valley Driver, who countered with a German suplex for a two count. Kelly got De Lander to tumble, then hit a running kick and went for another cover back inside.

De Lander got back in control for a bit, but Kelly managed to hit a DDT for a two. Kelly went to lock in the Killer Clutch, but De Lander repeatedly backed her into the corners and broke the hold. She hit a slightly ugly looking F5 to pick up her first victory in Impact Wrestling.

Frankie Kazarian promo

Franke Kazarian talked about how Steve Maclin was supposed to have been his opponent tonight, but Maclin apparently suffered an injury in his World title match last night. So, Kazarian will face Brian Myers instead. He said Myers could go back to playing with toys later but he would beat him tonight and Eddie Edwards next Thursday on Impact Wrestling.

Frankie Kazarian defeated Brian Myers (14:45)

Myers immediately dover out of the ring as the match started. As he got back inside, Kazarian also left the ring, which enraged Myers.

Eventually they properly started the match and traded wrist locks and head locks for the first few minutes. The pace eventually picked up when Kazarian hit a side Russian leg sweep and then bashed Myers’ head into the turnbuckle. He followed with a DDT for a two count.

Kazarian tried getting Myers on the top rope, but he slipped away and threw Kazarian to the mat. Myers continued to employ nefarious tactics and was firmly in the control for the next portion of the match. Kazarian came back with a rollup, followed by a small package for two quick nearfalls.

An enzuigiri by Myers stopped Kazarian in his tracks as Myers went for a chin lock and kick to the back. Kazarian got a few strikes in, but quickly fell victim to a DDT before getting locked in another chin lock on the mat.

Kazarian escaped via a belly to back suplex, a number of elbows, power slam and leg drop, Kazarian went to the apron, delivered a guillotine leg drop, and a floatover DDT for another two count.

Myers counted a chicken wing attempt into a Michinoku Driver for another two count and went for the Roster Cut, which was turned into a sunset flip. Myers got another near fall with a spear, then went up top and hit a top rope elbow for yet another close near fall.

Kazarian distracted Myers with another roll up, then locked in the chicken wing, forcing Myers to quickly tap.

Impact Tag Team Champions ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) defeated The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) to retain the titles (19:03)

These two have been battling each other in various matches and promotions for exactly one year now, having first met at Against All Odds in July of last year, which was also the debut match of ABC as a tag team.

Shelley and Bey started out and milked the crowd for almost two minutes. They quickly ended up on the mat trading holds. Bey hit a spinning uppercut to the back of Shelley’s neck before they traded punches. Sabin blind tagged in and hit a lariat on an unsuspecting Bey.

Austin tagged in and caught Sabin in a headlock before trading offense. The MCMG double teamed Austin before Shelley took him back down to the mat. He locked in a straight jacket choke. Austin eventually tagged out and hit a dive on the MCMG at ringside.

Shelley fought both members of ABC off, tagged Sabin and the MCMG once more overwhelmed ABC. Sabin had Bey firmly under control, then tagged in Shelley and hit a combo surfboard/bulldog on Bey, but not before taunting Austin about it.

Bey sent Sabin into Shelley twice to stop the MCMG’s momentum. Austin came in and ran wild, including hitting a leg drop and top rope double dropkick on both opponents which sent them to the outside. Austin evaded attacks by both men on the apron. Back in the ring, ABC isolated Sabin, who briefly made a comeback but got dropped with a head kick. Shelley managed to slam Austin into the turnbuckles, but also got taken out quickly.

Bey went for the Art of Finesse, but got caught and double teamed. He evaded a clothesline by Sabin who hit Shelley, followed by them taking MCMG down with a Double Art of Finesse (reverse springboard stunner).

ABC went for the One Two Sweet, but got thwarted with Sabin eventually hitting a cutter on Bey after some innovative tag team spots. MCMG hit a (kind of) assisted Sliced Bread on Bey for a close near fall. ABC took out Sabin, hit the One Two Sweet on Shelly, then hit an assisted top rope cutter, followed by the One Two Sweet on Sabin to pick up the victory and defend their titles in a wild and fun match.

After a few tense moments, both teams shook hands and embraced after the match.

Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defeated Gisele Shaw to retain (17:04)

If Shaw wins here, the Slammiversary Knockouts title match between Purrazzo and Trinity becomes a three-way with Shaw added to the mix as champion

Shaw immediately rolled to ringside, channeling her inner Brian Myers, I guess. They ended up on the mat with Purrazzo locking in a head scissors but Shaw escaping. Shaw tried the same move, but found herself on the wrong end of a wrist lock as Purrazzo proceeded to work over her arm.

Shaw offered a Roman knuckle lock into a test of strength that went back and forth, until Purrazzo managed to take Shaw down. Shaw hit a wheelbarrow roll up, then went for a leg submission, which quickly got countered. When both were back on their feet, Shaw grabbed a head of hair and rained down a few chops on the champion, but quickly got rolled up, which Purrazzo transitioned into an armbar. They ended up close to the ropes, sow Shaw easily forced a break.

Shaw smashed Purrazzo head first into the mat, then began attacking the left arm. Shaw kept working the arm over and locked in a hammerlock. Purrazzo escaped, but got thrown into the post shoulder first, further injuring the arm.

After a brief interlude at ringside, Shaw went for a cover right as they re-entered the ring. Shaw went for an arm bar on the injured arm and threw some elbows on it for good measure. Purrazzo powered out and managed to throw Shaw into the post shoulder-first to pay back the earlier attack.

Shaw fell to ringside but made it back into the ring at five. Purrazzo proceeded to chop Shaw with one arm, hit a side Russian leg sweep and went for the Fujiwara arm bar but could not lock the hold in due to her own injuries. Shaw went for an Fujiwara armbar of her own, but Purrazzo got her feet on the ropes. 

Purrazzo hit a pump kick, ate a superkick but still managed to hit a Flatliner and lock in a Koji clutch, but Shaw escaped. They traded elbows and Shaw hit Shock and Awe for a close near fall. Shaw went for the Fujiwara arm bar again, but Purrazzo knocked her off. Shaw went right back to the move, but Purrazzo rolled out again. Shaw went for the arm bar a third time, but Purrazzo escaped and locked in Venus di Milo with one arm, forcing Shaw to verbally submit.

Final Thoughts:

Another fun show and strong showing of Impact Wrestling. The show had everything from a high impact modern style to old school wrestling and great entertainment. I hardly get to watch Impact these days, but that is more a problem of too much wrestling and rather than not putting on a good product. If you want to get your wrestling fix in with a weekly two-hour show and the occasional streaming special and PPV, Impact Wrestling in 2023 might just be the wrestling product for you.

AEW Rampage live results: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Komander ROH title match

Posted on by Joseph Collins

Claudio Castagnoli will defend the Ring of Honor World title against Komander on tonight’s AEW Rampage from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Castagnoli will be looking for his sixth successful title defense while this is Komander’s first opportunity at a Ring of Honor title.

Past TBS title challenger Taya Valkyrie will look to get things back on track as she faces former AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida for the first time ever.

Johnny TV (John Hennigan) will make his return to AEW TV for the first time since last June when he teams with QT Marshall against Matt Hardy and Brother Zay.

Native son Shawn Spears will attempt to pick up a win in front of his countrymen when he goes one-on-one with The Blade. This is his first televised match in AEW since April.

**********

Taped in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. .

Excalibur and Tony Schiavone were on commentary. The rare two-man commentary team from AEW. 

Claudio Castagnoli defeated Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes) via ref stoppage to retain the ROH World Championship (13:43)

Castagnoli tossed Komander like nothing to start. Komader countered a suplex attempt by sliding behind Castagnoli and then up his shoulders, but Castagnoli just dumped him to the mat hard for a near fall. Castagnoli gave Komader a giant swing and went for the Ricola Bomb, but Komader escaped and sent Castagnoli to the floor.

Komader came off the ropes with a moonsault that he turned into an arm drag on the floor. Castagnoli responded by booting Komader into the crowd. Castagnoli tried to press Komader into the ring through the ropes, but he wound up throwing him into the ropes instead. Castagnoli hit a DDT for a near fall.

After a split-screen break, Castagnoli dropped a leg for a near fall. Claudio set up a super-powerbomb, but Komander countered with a hurricanrana. Komander sent Castagnoli to the floor with a tijeras after about seven rotations. Komarder followed him out with a twisting moonsault. Castagnoli went for a boot against the ring barricade, but Komader ducked and Castagnoli got hung up on the barricade. Komader then hit a shooting star press off the ring barricade onto Castagnoli in an impressive spot.

Back in the ring, Komader came off the top with a twisting rana for a near fall. Claudio came back and leveled Komader with a forearm for a near fall. A short-arm clothesline got another near fall. Castagnoli missed an uppercut in the corner and Komader sprung off of Catagnoli’s shoulders, onto the top rope, and then into a spinning DDT on Claudio for a near fall. Komader tied up Claudio with a La Magistral’s cradle for a near fall. Komader then hit a double jump phoenix splash for a near fall.

Komader walked the ropes for a shooting star press, but Claudio got out of the way. Komader leapt off the top for a moonsault, but Castagnoli floored him with an uppercut. This knocked Komader out, and the ref stopped the match. Excellent bout that will sadly be forgotten about by the end of the weekend. 

“The Perfect 10” Shawn Spears defeated The Blade (w/ the Butcher) (4:00)

Spears is leaning into the Perfect 10 gimmick again, which makes sense because that was the most he was ever over. Spears dominated the match on the floor until the Butcher grabbed him from behind and gave him a clothesline. Back in the ring, Blade gave Spears a face-first suplex. Balade squandered his advantage and Spears came back with a Thesz Press and 10 punches. Spears finished off The Blade with a C-4 to get the pinfall. This was fun. 

QT Marshall & Johnny TV (w/ Harley Cameron) defeated Matt Hardy and Brother Zay (w/ Ethan Page) (10:12 aired)

Harley sang the entrance music for the QTV crew. I thought she might have been deliberately bad in that segment last week to make sure Bowens got a pop… but she might just be that terrible. Johnny TV, of course, is John Hennigan (Johnny Nitro/John Morrison).

Johnny hit a nice spot where he gave Hardy a fallaway slam, then sprung up to his feet for a standing shooting star press… but missed the shooting star press. Brother Zay allowed himself to be distracted by Cameron, and Johnny TV hit him with a dive onto the floor. The QTV crew stopped for a mid-match selfie and the show went to a split-screen break.

After the break, Brother Zay caught Johnny TV with a gamingiri, then took out Page with a rana and got the hot tag to Hardy. Hardy sent Johnny TV headfirst into the turnbuckles and gave Marshall the side effect. Hardy caught Johnny TV with a sit-out powerbomb for a near fall. Johnny TV blocked a Twist of Fate attempt, so Hardy gave him a DDT instead for a near fall. Marshall caught Hardy with a pop-up uppercut, and TV came off the ropes with a gamingiri for a near fall.

Johny TV missed an awful dive off the top. Brother Zay launched off of Matt Hardy’s back onto Johnny TV and Marshall on the floor. Back in the ring, Brother Zay got distracted by Harley Cameron, and Marshall crotched Zay on the ropes. Johnny TV hit the move formerly known as Starship Pain and got the pinfall.

After the match, Ethan Page tried to help Hardy back to his feet and was attacked by Johnny TV and Marshall. Page standing up for Hardy got a face pop from the crowd (he is Canadian), and Anthony Bowens and Billy Gunn ran in to chase off the QTV crew. 

– New for Dynamite Wednesday: We will hear from Jon Moxley, and MJF and Adam Cole will be in action as part of the Blind Eliminator Tournament. Wheeler Yuta also promised to “end” Kenny Omega on Dynamite.

Hikaru Shida defeated Taya Valkyrie (10:26 aired)

Shida sent Valkyrie to the floor with a step up rana. Back in the ring, Valkyrie slowed Shida down with a forearm, and wrapped her legs around the ringpost, injuring Shida’s knee as the show went to its last split-screen break.

After the break, Valkyrie fought her way out of a suplex and hit Shdia with a forearm. Shida came back with a series of forearms and a jumping knee for a near fall. Shida climb the ropes, but Valkyrie knocked her to the floor. On the floor, Shida gave Valkyrie a suplex, then came off the apron with a meteora. This aggravated Shida’s injured knees.

Back in the ring, Shida hit a running elbow strike for a near fall. Valkyrie blocked a spinning kick, then tossed Shida into the turnbuckles knee first. Valkyrie tried to tie up Shida’s legs, but it was almost like she didn’t know what to do with Shida. Finally, Valkyrie went for the Road to Valhalla, but Shdia countered that with a rollup to get the pinfall. 

Final Thoughts: 

The ROH title match is worth going out of your way to see. 

WWE SmackDown live results: Money in the Bank go-home show

Posted on by Colin McGuire

On the eve of Money in the Bank, Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns returns to SmackDown for the first time since being superkicked by The Usos two weeks ago.

Reigns will team with Solo Sikoa on Saturday against Jimmy & Jey Uso in what’s being billed as the Bloodline Civil War.

Also slated for tonight are two title matches. Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens defend against Pretty Deadly, while Asuka defends her WWE Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair.

Also on tonight’s show: Logan Paul appears on The Grayson Waller Effect, Bayley puts her Money in the Bank spot on the line against Shotzi, LA Knight, Santos Escobar & Butch collide in a triple threat match, and Ridge Holland faces Austin Theory. If Holland wins, he’ll be in contention for a shot at Theory’s United States title.

Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

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– The show opened with a graphic remembering Droz, who died Friday. 

– Michael Cole welcomed everyone in to open the show. We then got a recap of the what happened with the Bloodline two weeks ago. Wade Barrett and Cole ran down the card for the evening. 

Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn defeated Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince & Kit Wilson) [11:07]

This was a very fun opener that was taken to a higher level thanks to the hot London crowd, which was both welcome and expected. It still feels like Zayn & Owens don’t have any legitimate contenders to take the tag straps off them, but we’ll see how the rest of the summer plays out. Owens selling his leg was interesting and I wonder if that means he’ll be selling it moving forward and it will put the team’s matches in doubt. For now, these four worked really well together and Pretty Deadly have come a long way in a short amount of time on WWE’s main roster.

Zayn and Wilson started the match with Zayn getting the best of things at first before Wilson worked a side head-lock. Zayn came right back with an arm-drag and took back control. Prince got in a cheap shot on Zayn, which gave Wilson control. Prince tagged in and took Zayn to the outside, where Prince slammed Zayn off the commentary table. The show then went to a commercial break. 

Back from break, Wilson covered Zayn for a two-count. Wilson worked a side head-lock on Zayn. Prince tagged in, but Zayn almost instantly got the hot tag to Owens, who came in and stomped Prince. The action spilled to the outside and Owens landed clotheslines on both members of Pretty Deadly. Back in the ring, Owens hit a cannonball on Prince. Owens went to the top and landed a Swanton and pinned Prince until Wilson broke it up. 

Owens went for a Stunner, but Prince pushed Owens away and Owens was selling a leg injury. Prince worked Owens’s leg and Wilson tagged in to land a Dirty Martini for a two-count. Prince tagged in and landed a double-team move for a two-count. Zayn broke up the pin and Owens suplexed Prince to get the hot tag to Zayn, who landed a Blue Thunder Bomb on Wilson for a two-count. Wilson was the recipient of an Exploder and a Helluva Kick and Zayn pinned Wilson for the win.

**********

– Adam Pearce was talking backstage until Sheamus interrupted him. Ridge Holland spoke up and Pearce told Holland he can face Austin Theory later tonight. If Holland wins, he’ll get a shot at the U.S. Title. Austin Theory’s music then hit and we went back to the ring. 

Austin Theory defeated Ridge Holland [2:56]

The story here was Holland had a bad throat and Theory’s dropkick hit Holland in the throat for a win. But … three minutes? Really? The finish felt like it came out of nowhere and it was even more bizarre considering how hot the crowd was for Holland and the Brutes. So the match was fine for what it was, but it didn’t last long enough to leave much of an impression.

The two locked up to begin the match. Holland had control early. Holland landed a long-stalling suplex for a one-count. Theory got control with a kick to Holland’s leg. Holland fired up and hit a series of suplexes on Theory. Eventually, Theory found his way onto the apron and that led to Theory hitting a roll-through dropkick for the win.

After the match, Theory attacked Holland until Sheamus ran out for the save. 

**********

– A Karrion Kross vignette aired with Kross calling AJ Styles out. Kross said he beat Styles in only three moves. Kross said next week will be checkmate for Styles. 

– A video recapping the Bloodline saga aired. 

**********

Bayley defeated Shotzi to keep her spot in the Money In The Bank match [3:31]

In a weird way, it was easy to think this could go either way because SKY was the one to accept the challenge for Bayley, but in hindsight, of course Bayley was going to keep her spot in the MITB match because my guess is we see the implosion of Damage CTRL Saturday afternoon. Still, Shotzi didn’t look like she might suffer a catastrophic injury here, so that’s a win all around. 

Shotzi had control early. Bayley rolled to the outside and Shotzi dove to the outside, taking out IYO SKY, who accompanied Bayley. Back in the ring, Bayley it a Bayley-to-Belly for a two-count. Shotzi hit a DDT as the crowd, two minutes into the match, was still doing the Bayley chant. Shotzi hit a step-up enziguri. Shotzi tweaked her knee while doing it and Bayley came back with a roll up and a two-count. Shotzi hit a reverse bulldog and went for a pin, but SKY put Bayley’s foot on the rope for the break. Bayley then landed the Rose Plant for the win.

**********

– Shotzi confronted Bayley backstage after a commercial break and Bayley, along with SKY, suplexed Shotzi onto a table before cutting Shotzi’s hair. 

The Grayson Waller Effect with Logan Paul

The crowd booed both guys to begin the segment. Paul said his dreams won’t end until the WWE Champion is “gold around my belt.” So, there’s that. Paul said he might not even ever cash in the briefcase if he wins it and almost instantly, LA Knight’s music hit. Knight received a massive pop had a microphone in his hand. Knight said Paul was given a lot while wasn’t given anything. Knight said Paul was standing in his ring. Paul was booed as soon as he started talking. Paul made fun of Knight for wrestling for 20 years in a lackluster career. Paul told the crowd they were drunk and to go home after they chanted for LA Knight. 

Santos Escobar’s music hit and Escobar came to the ring in an LWO shirt (London World Order). Escobar said they have to get one thing straight, there’s going to be two MITB winners in the LWO. Butch’s music hit and Butch ran to the ring and took out Paul. Paul and Butch fought over the commentary table as the show went to break. 

**********

Butch defeated LA Knight and Santos Escobar [3:34 of TV time]

This was fine enough, but I have no idea how long the actual match was because it started during the break. As such, this was a triple threat that had a lot of potential on paper, but it was clear this was only going to be used to set up the MITB match. That in mind, it worked. Knight is so gosh darn over that if he doesn’t go over at MITB, I think London burns. Probably not. But, really. At some point, the WWE decision-makers are going to have to take notice and it feels like the most obvious time is Saturday in London.

The match started during the commercial break, and when the show came back, Knight hit a DDT on Escobar as the crowd went nuts for him again. Butch landed a German Suplex on Escobar before Knight hit a wild back suplex on Butch for a two-count. Escobar landed a running knee on Knight. Eventually, Knight hit his leaping elbow for a two-count on Escobar. Knight went to the outside to jaw with Paul. Escobar took out Paul and hit Knight with a knee. Escobar went to the top, but ran into a bunch from Butch. Butch hit the Bitter End for the win.

After the match, Butch set up a ladder, but Knight cut Butch off. Then Paul cut Knight off. Then Butch cut Paul off. Butch then climbed up and grabbed the MITB briefcase to pose for the crowd. 

**********

– AJ Styles spoke backstage. Styles accepted Kross’s challenge from earlier in the show.

**********

Charlotte defeated Asuka via DQ [7:32]

Ehhh. I want more from these two. You had to know we wouldn’t get a clean finish, but the match itself wasn’t much to write home about. I’m a huge fan of Asuka’s work and while Charlotte seems to be hit or miss, she always seems to show up for Asuka. Throwing a nothing-happening match like this out there is at least a tiny bit disappointing. This must mean we’re working toward a triple threat at SummerSlam between Belair, Asuka and Charlotte for the WWE Women’s Championship. That’s fine. But on our way there, it’d be great if these one-on-one matches ceased. It’s a waste of talent. 

Bianca Belair was sitting in the front row with a ticket. The two opened by exchanging strikes. Charlotte tried to pin Asuka a few times, but Asuka was under the ropes. Charlotte hit Asuka in the face with a kick, but Asuka came back with a BackStabber before the show went to a commercial break. 

Back from break, Asuka went for the arm bar, but Charlotte got out of it. Asuka rolled up Charlotte for a two-count. Charlotte landed a spear, which was enough for a two-count. Asuka went to the outside and Charlotte climbed to the top rope. Charlotte went for the moonsault from the top and just barely nicked Asuka on the way down, but Asuka sold it. Charlotte hit some chops and tried a boot, but Asuka moved and Charlotte hit Belair, who was in the crowd. Belair regrouped and jumped the rail to attack Asuka and end the match. 

After the match, Belair attacked Charlotte and laid her out. Belair hit the KOD on Asuka, slamming her onto the commentary table, but the table didn’t break. Because of that, Belair did the same with Charlotte and the table still didn’t break. Belair stood tall to end the segment. 

**********

The Bloodline Segment

After stalling, Paul Heyman gave Roman Reigns a microphone. Reigns told London to acknowledge him. Reigns said it’s been a long time. Reigns said for two years, he’s allowed his cousins to say “We the ones.” Roman said the truth is they ain’t the ones and only Roman is the one. Roman reiterated he is the head of table. Roman said a family that “betrays you sucks.” Roman talked about giving the Usos a second chance, and he said he will give the Usos an infinite amount of chances. All the Usos have to do, he said, is come out and apologize and move on. 

On cue, the Usos’s music hit. Jimmy said they are past apologizing. Jimmy said that now it’s about consequences. Jey said once Roman loses, Roman will be the only one out. Jey said Roman won’t be the Tribal Chief anymore after he loses. Jey and Jimmy said they both don’t want to be Tribal Chief. The Usos said they got someone in mind and the crowd chanted Solo. Roman and Solo had a stare down. Roman told everyone to shut up and the Usos laughed. Jey climbed onto the apron. Roman jawed at Jey. Jey face-palmed Roman and Jimmy super-kicked Roman. The four brawled. Security ran down to break it up and Roman hit Jey with a Super Punch. Roman beat up security … but then Jey hit a splash over the top rope onto Roman and the group to close the show. 

Impact Down Under live results: Alex Shelley vs. Steve Maclin World title rematch

Posted on by Markus Gronemann

Impact Wrestling makes its debut in Australia Friday for the first of two straight nights of pay-per-views from Wagga Wagga.

Friday’s kickoff will feature a rematch for the Impact World title as Alex Shelley defends against Steve Maclin in a rematch from Against All Odds where Shelley won the title.

X-Division Champion Chris Sabin will continue his ninth reign as he defends against former champion Frankie Kazarian and Robbie Eagles. While this will be Eagles’ first Impact appearance, he competed for the title in a four-way for Australia’s WSW back in 2018.

In a pair of non-title matches, Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will take on Steph De Lander while Tag Team Champions Chris Bey & Ace Austin face Moose & Brian Myers.

Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defends against former World Champion Eddie Edwards.

The rest of the eight-match card will see Saturday Knockouts title challenger Gisele Shaw against Erika Reid; Killer Kelly vs. Aysha; and Slex vs. Adam Brooks.

**********

The show opened with “Auntie Sheryl” a native, Aboriginal woman of Wagga Wagga welcoming everybody to the show. The government of New South Wales brought in Impact for this tour.

Slex defeated Adam Brooks (6:21)

Those two natives of Australia have been feuding for years, including a Three Stages of Hell match. Brooks took the blunt of the matches. Slex also was part of NJPW’s recent TAMASHII shows in Australia.

Brooks offered a handshake, but Slex declined. They showed how well they know each other but avoiding most of the other’s offense for the first minute, until Brooks downed Slex with a right hand. Both looked to hit dives until Brooks finally did but got caught by Slex, who slammed him on the apron and got the first near-fall of the night back in the ring.

Brooks kneed Slex in the gut, then suplexed him into the turnbuckles for another near-fall. They battled on top until Slex hit a superplex. They went right into another suplex attempt and eventually both tumbled over the top rope to the floor.

They ran into each other before Slex hit a spinning punch. Brooks came back with a kick and went for a Swanton Bomb, but Slex evaded it, hit a springboard enzuigiri followed by another one, called the Slexecution to win the battle of Australian veterans.

Motor City Machine Guns promo

MCMG cut a backstage promo. Chris Sabin talked about how he once wrestled Frankie Kazarian for the X-Division title 20 years ago in Australia. Shelley said he would beat Steve Maclin tonight.

Gisele Shaw defeated Erika Reid (7:33)

Reid is native to New South Wales and made her Impact debut here. Shaw challenges Deonna Purrazzo for the Impact Knockouts title tomorrow.

They traded wristlocks and headlocks early before Shaw took down Reid with shoulder blocks repeatedly. Reid came back with running elbows into the corner and a suplex for a two count. The ended up outside and Shaw slammed Reid into the ring post shoulder first. Shaw immediately followed up back in the ring and started working over Reid’s arm with kicks and submissions.

Shaw kept mauling Reid, who briefly came back with a few elbows but quickly got knocked down a few pegs again. Shaw rammed Reid into the turnbuckle shoulder-first again, then locked in a mounted arm bar. Reid countered into a roll up for two, then followed up with a big DDT.

Reid sold the shoulder, even trying to knock the possible dislocated joint back into place. She hit a flying hurricanrana on Shaw who was on her knees for another near-fall. 

Shaw went back to the mounted arm bar again and then leaned back, forcing Reid to tap out.

Steve Maclin promo

He talked about looking past Alex Shelley toward Slammiversary and it cost him his Impact World title. He said he would not make the same mistake again and would win the title back tonight.

Impact Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defeated Eddie Edwards to retain (11:42)

Hendry cut a promo before the match, talking about how he was in a good mood because Impact made its debut in Australia, in Wagga Wagga, a “town so great, they had to name it twice.” He said he prepared a special chant for Eddie, since they were on holiday. The chant was “Eddie sucks.” He said the people believed in Joe Hendry.

Hendry dominated early by controlling Edwards’ arm, then took him down with a shoulder block. Edwards tried one of his own, but got knocked down once more and rolled to ringside. Eddie wanted a test of strength, but kicked Hendry in the gut. Hendry quickly went back to shoulder block though. Eddie briefly got back into control, but quickly missed a body press when Hendry just took a step out of the way.

Hendry hit a delayed vertical suplex, then followed with ten punches in the corner. Eddie tossed Hendry out of the ring, hit an inverted atomic drop when Hendry slid back inside and downed him with a clothesline. Edwards hit a few chops in the corner, then thumbed Hendry in the eye. He locked in a choke but Hendry powered out and hit a few uppercuts but Eddie quickly regained control.

Hendry ate a few more chard chops and thumb to the eye, but powered  up, hit a few clotheslines and a big fall-away slam. He went for the Standing Ovation chokeslam but Eddie elbowed out. Hendry hit a cutter off the ropes instead for a near fall. Edwards back body dropped out of a power bomb attempt, but couldn’t evade a pop up power bomb seconds later. Edwards hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for another narrow two count. Edwards hit some knee strikes, but Hendry lifted him on his shoulders and threw him to the mat with a Trust Fall.

Hendry went to hit a lariat on Edwards in the corner and lifted him on the turnbuckle, but got power bombed off. Edwards went for the Boston Knee Party but got hit with the Standing Ovation for the win and successful title defense by Hendry.

At the zoo with Impact Wrestling

Steve Maclin, Deonna Purrazzo, Frankie Kazarian, Moose, Killer Kelly and Joe Hendry were at the Wagga Wagga zoo, played with dingos, fed kangaroos and touched snakes in a nice filler segment.

Killer Kelly defeated Aysha (7:09)

Aysha, a native of Australia, battled Killer Kelly from Portugal here. Kelly started out on all fours and intimidated Aysha. Things quickly turned serious when Kelly took Aysha down with a few arm drags then hit some knees and followed with punches in the corner and a running hip attack.

She downed with a running soccer kick on a sitting Aysha, then followed up with another one from the apron when Aysha rolled out of the ring. Kelly followed up with a deadlift delayed fisherman’s suplex for two. Aysha took over by pulling Kelly down by the hair and choking her with her boot in the corner.

Aysha followed up with a Stinger Splash in the corner and a running bulldog for another near fall. Aysha came back with a series of open palm strikes and head butts, then hit a butterfly suplex into the corner. Aysha briefly evaded a Shotgun dropkick into the corner, but seconds later ate one anyway. Aysha came back with a neckbreaker and back stabber for another two-count.

Aysha went for a double underhook DDT but got countered with a Death Valley Driver. Aysha grabbed a bottle of champagne from ringside but got caught be the ref. She grabbed an open one and spit champagne into Kelly’s face who was not all that impressed and took a hearty swig from the bottle. Aysha tried a roll up as Kelly handed her bottle to the ref.

Kelly hit a deadlift high angle German suplex and locked in the Killer Clutch for the submission victory.

Impact X-Division Champion Chris Sabin defeated Frankie Kazarian and Robbie Eagles in a three-way to retain (14:49)

All three men shook hands as the match started. Eagles got the crowd going with “Robbie Robbie Robbie! Oi Oi Oi!” chants.

Sabin got the first few moves in, but quickly clashed with Kazarian before all three men hit simultaneous dropkicks. Kazarian threw Eagles to the outside but got rolled up by Sabin for two. Sabin followed with a La Magistral cradle for two before falling prey to a hurricanrana by Eagles.

Eagles hit a springboard backflip but got floored by a clothesline from Sabin before the champ took both opponents down with clotheslines. Sabin hot a Stroke on Eagles before locking Eagles into an Indian Death Lock and getting an Octopus Hold on Kazarian at the same time.

Kazarian took over by Evading Sabin and dropping a guillotine leg drop on Eagles on the apron. Kazarian hot a back stabber on Eagles from the turnbuckle and a springboard spinning leg drop on Sabin for a two count. Kazarian had Sabin in some sort of double arm bar, then rolled up Eagles as he came wandering by. Kazarian locked Eagles in a Boston crab, then hit a Code Breaker on Sabin when  he looked to drop a defenseless Kazarian.

Eagles hot some kicks on Kazarian, thwarted Sabin and took both men down. Eagles launched Kazarian out of the ring, allowing Sabin to hit a running soccer kick on Kazarian and two somersault sentons from the apron on each opponent. Sabin rolled Eagles back into the ring, but Eagles escaped an attack, hit a plancha on Kazarian and locked the inverted figure four leg lock on Sabin. 

Kazarian hit an O’Connor roll on Eagles, then followed with a Northern Lights suplex on a charging Sabin to get a cover on both men, who narrowly managed to kick out. Eagles quickly flew in with a kick and got a near-fall of his own with a backpack snapmare slam.

Kazarian snatched Eagles out of the sky with a cutter on a springboard attempt and got a close near-fall, with Sabin making the save at the last possible moment. Sabin punched and elbowed both men, hot a tornado DDT on Kazarian and Cradle Shock on Eagles to pick up the win and retain the championship

– A video on ABC vs. Moose & Bryan Myers vs. Sami Callihan & Rich Swann vs. Subculture for the Tag Team titles at Slammiversary aired.

Impact Tag Team Champions ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) defeated Moose & Brian Myers in a non-title match (15:58)

Myers and Bey started out but Myers quickly escaped to ringside. He teased a test of strength, only to kick Bey in the gut. Bey quickly came back with punches in the corner, a backflip and superman punch. Austin tagged in and the champions double-teamed Mayers for a few seconds.

Moose kneed Austin in the back on a whip in, which got Austin distracted and allowed Myer to hit a running knee. Moose tagged in, but quickly got double teamed when Bey bling-tagged in. Bey hit a tope, then went for a plancha but got caught by Moose and power bombed on the apron. Myers then speared Austin on the outside.

Moose and Myers took turns beating Bey down, with Myers hitting a suplex for a two-count. Myers locked in a chin lock with Bey not able to tag out as Austin still lay hurting at ringside. Moose wen t for another power bomb, which Bey escape via hurricanrana only to be caught with a mighty uranage.

Myers tagged in and choked Bey in the ropes, then tagged Moose again. Bey managed to throw Moose out of the ring, hit a kick on Myers and went to tag Austin, only to watch his partner get dragged from the apron by Moose. Bey hit a sunset flip on Myers, who managed to tag Moose before going down for the cover. Bey escaped a power bomb, then managed to hit a cutter on Moose who was coming in with a springboard move from the turnbuckles.

Bey finally managed the hot-tag and Austin ran wild on both opponents. He got rid of Moose, then hit a spin kick on Myers for a two-count. ABC were looking for One Two Sweet, but Moose dragged Austin out of the ring. Myers hit the Roster Cut on Bey, with Austin making the save  at the last second.

Bey went to the top rope, but got hit by a high dropkick my Moose. Moose and Austin battled on the top turnbuckle before Moose hit a superplex on Austin, only for Bey to come off the top with a Frog Splash before getting wiped out with an enzuigiri by Myers.

Moose held Austin for Myers to hit a superkick before they hit stereo power bombs on both ABC members. Myers asked Moose to pick Bey up for him to hit another Roster Cut. Bey shoved Moose into Myers, then rolled up Myers for the pin as Austin grabbed Moose’s legs from the outside.

– A highlight video on fun things to do in Wagga Wagga aired.

Steph De Lander promo

Steph said she lost to Deonna before but will beat her tonight and go home the champion

Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defeated Steph De Lander in a non-title match (9:05)

De Lander briefly played to the crowd but then cut a heel promo to turn the crowd against her.

De Lander shoved Purrazzo down, but received a slap in return. A sunset flip by Purrazzo couldn’t get De Lander down, but she got thrown out of the ring anyway. De Lander then picked up Purrazzo on her shoulders and dropped her to the apron face-first.

De Lander put Purrazzo on he top turnbuckle, hit her with a running boot and suplexed her out of the corner for a near fall. De Lander kept it up with chops in the corner until Deonna ducked and hit a slew of her own. De Lander locked on a bear hug, then went for another pin and argued with the referee when Purrazzo kicked out at two.

De Lander went right back to a chin lock, which Purrazzo eventually escaped from De Lander went for a spear in the corner but Deonna moved and she crashed into the steel post shoulder first. Purrazzo smelled blood immediately and countered a choke slam attempt into an attempt to work over the shoulder. Seconds later, De Lander found herself locked in a Fujiwara arm bar that put pressure on her left shoulder and narrowly made the ropes.

De Lander back body dropped out of a Queen’s Gambit attempt, and took back over, including a big boot for another two count. De Lander grabbed the microphone and told the crowd to shut up, before trying to hit Purrazzo with the mic, which the referee prevented.

This was all Deonna Purrazzo needed to roll her up for two and then lock in another Fujiwara arm bar, this time on the previously injured right shoulder and De Lander tapped immediately.

Impact World Champion Alex Shelley defeated Steve Maclin to retain (21:05)

Both guys milked the crowd for a little before locking up. Shelly quickly forced Maclin to the mat with a wrist lock and retained control of the arm. Shelley transitioned into a hammerlock before Maclin locked in a side headlock. Shelley broke free, got shoulder blocked but quickly locked in a head lock of his own, which he held for a few minutes. 

Maclin eventually escaped and hit a few shoulder blocks in the corner, then slammed Shelley’s head into a turnbuckle. Shelley quickly turned the page again and went to town with elbows and chops, then downed the challenger with a running clothesline out of the corner.

Maclin finally hit a back elbow when Shelley hit the ropes and went back to some trusty chops. Shelley launched Maclin to the apron, jumped on his arm and hit a running knee strike from the apron. Back in the squared circle, Shelley dropkicked Maclin’s knee and followed up with a dragon screw. Shelley kept working the leg and locked in a step-over toe hold. Shelley next went to a straight jacket choke which he turned into a back stabber.

After some back and forth, they ended at ringside again, when Maclin hit a uranage on his knee and then belly-to-back suplexed Shelley on the apron twice. Back in the ring, he dropped a knee on the champion’s back and was looking to take Shelley’s back out.

Shelley came back with chops and kicks as Maclin urged him on. Maclin slammed Shelley’s face on his knee, hit a stiff lariat and locked in a Boston crab. Maclin hit a knee to the back as Shelley hung in the ropes, then slid outside, hit a hard slap and bent Shelley around the ring post backwards.

Shelley ended up on the apron and hit a dragon screw into the ropes, which further injured Maclin’s knee. Shelley followed with a stunner into the ropes but landed on Maclin’s knees as he launched himself over the top rope with a splash.

Shelley countered out of another uranage back breaker, then slammed Maclin’s head into the second turnbuckle. Shelley began targeting the other knee in the corner, including a nasty looking dragon screw as Maclin’s other leg was trapped between the ropes.

Maclin turned a Figure Four attempt into a small package but Shelley kept attacking the knee again. Shelley then hit a spinning fisherman’s suplex and went for the Figure Four again which he transitioned into a kind of Paradise Lock before kicking Maclin the face.

Shelley finally got the Figure Four on, but Maclin made the bottom rope. They ended up on the apron where Shelley went for Sliced Bread but got thrown into the post and speared in half. Maclin followed up with a Busaiku knee for a close near-fall. Maclin sold his knee and fell to the mat, Shelley capitalized and hit s superkick before hitting Shell Shock for the win to retain.

Shelley celebrated with his title as the show went off the air.

Final Thoughts:

This was a fun, if not particularly newsworthy show. Most matches felt like warm-ups to what is going to go down tomorrow and at Slammiversary but everyone had their working boots on and the local crowd had fun seeing a mix of Impact’s biggest stars and some of their own local talent. All the matches involving champions were good, the main event felt like an old school world title match, with the working of different body parts by both opponents. It will be fun to see how Impact concludes their mini-tour Down Under tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s Impact Down Under PPV card:

  • Impact Tag Team Champions ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) defend against the Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin)
  • Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defends against Gisele Shaw
  • Impact Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defends against Moose
  • Frankie Kazarian vs. Steve Maclin
  • The Natural Classics (Stevie Filip & Tome Filip) vs. The VeloCities (Jude London & Paris De Silva)
  • Brian Myers vs. Robbie Eagles vs. Adam Brooks
  • Killer Kelly vs. Steph De Lander

Impact Wrestling live results: Chris Sabin vs. Trey Miguel X-Division title match

Posted on by Josiah MacDonald

On tonight’s Impact on AXS TV, the road to both Slammiversary and this weekend’s PPVs in Australia continues.

In a rematch from Against All Odds, X-Division Champion Chris Sabin will defend against Trey Miguel. This will be Sabin’s first title defense in his ninth title reign while Miguel is looking for his third run.

Nick Aldis will attempt to explain his actions to Impact World Champion Alex Shelley after laying him out with the title belt two weeks ago. Aldis was not on last week’s show out of fear of retribution from Shelley’s fans.

Trinity will look to remain undefeated as she faces Jai Vidal in an intergender match.

Masha Slamovich takes on KiLynn King of The Coven as King & Taylor Wilde continue to look for new Knockouts Tag Team title contenders.

Kenny King will continue his run toward a Digital Media title shot as he faces Yuya Uemura.

The BTI pre-show features Johnny Swinger vs. Bhupinder Gujjar.

**********

BTI: Johnny Swinger defeated Bhupinder Gujjar

Swinger’s Road to 50 wins continued with Swinger having Zicky Dice assigned as the referee following his training last week. Swinger was finally able to get his first win after Swinger rolled up Gujjar for the fast pin.

Main card:

X-Division Champion Chris Sabin defeated Trey Miguel via DQ to retain the title

This match picked up right where they last left off at Against All Odds with Sabin and Miguel grappling all around the ring, including rolling onto the ramp without letting go of the lock up. Sabin hit a back suplex in the ring for a nearfall. Miguel hit a low dropkick for a 2-count. Sabin hit some forearms as he got up, but ate a dropkick to the face and a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall.

Miguel missed a lionsault and Sabin got up and hit two big boots, including a boot as Sabin charged the corner. Sabin hit a huge superplex on Miguel for a nearfall. Miguel hit a series of kicks and a double stomp to the back of Sabin for a nearfall. Sabin had an STF on, but Miguel slipped out. Sabin turned it into an STF again, and after another roll through, went for the Cradle Shock. Just as Sabin was going to hit it, the returning Zachary Wentz of the Rascalz ran down and hit a flying knee on Sabin to drop him and cause the DQ. The Rascalz then went to continue their attack on Sabin, but Alex Shelley made the save.

Later, Wentz and Miguel were backstage and claimed The Rascalz were back and were here to take what was theirs.

Trinity defeated Jai Vidal (w/ Gisele Shaw & Savannah Evans)

Deonna Purrazzo joined the commentary desk to talk about the upcoming Knockouts title match against Gisele Shaw (this weekend) and Trinity (Slammiversary). Trinity hit a dropkick on Vidal, but as Shaw was distracting the referee, Evans was able to pull the legs out from under Trinity on the apron, letting Vidal get control.

Vidal hit a running elbow for a 2-count. Trinity managed to duck under an attack from Vidal and hit a springboard kick for a 2-count. Trinity hit a Heat Seeker and then locked on Star Struck for the submission win.

Shaw and Savannah Evans attacked Trinity after the match, and while looking like she was going to ignore it, Purrazzo did come into the ring to make the save.

– Moose was backstage with Brian Myers and The Good Hands who were excited that Moose helped them get a win last week. Moose told Myers that he was glad to be working with Myers, but that he needed to ditch the dead weight, looking at The Good Hands. John Skylar asked what happened and Jason Hotch said “I think we just got jobbed!” Humor!

– Tying back to BTI, Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice were backstage, and Swinger asked for a “sharpie gimmick” to write a win on his poster. A referee walked up and told Swinger that the win was overturned and that Dice (who called himself Zick Patrick) would lose his referee license if he did that again.

Lio Rush defeated Jack Price

Rush made his debut here and moved so fast that I am going to have difficultly recapping it. He slowed it down with a chop in the corner as the announcers put Rush over as a member of CHAOS in NJPW, and Rush soon thereafter hit a handspring kick on Price. Rush soon hit the Final Hour for the pinfall.

– Dirty Dango was backstage cutting a promo on Santino after getting hit by the Cobra last week. Dango talked about how Santino got a job in WWE, and like how Santino was slapped by Jim Cornette, he wondered if someone was doing the same to his daughter in NXT. This was awkward. Santino later responded saying that he was being pulled back into the ring from the comments about his daughter, and in Windsor, Ontario at Slammiversary, he was going to make Dango pay. This was actually a good promo.

– Frankie Kazarian and Eddie Edwards were backstage arguing about what happened in their tag match last week. Edwards said Kazarian’s ego was too big for a tag team, so maybe they’d be better as opponents.

Masha Slamovich defeated KiLynn King (w/ Taylor Wilde)

Slamovich immediately started beating on King, but King was able to cut Slamovich off on a tope suicida to get the heat back in the ring. King put Slamovich in a full nelson, but Slamovich managed to roll forward and hit a double stomp. King hit a lariat to Slamovich for a 2-count. Slamovich countered out of a pump handle into a big sheer drop back suplex.

Slamovich hit a series of kicks on King, including a spinning heel kick for a 2-count. King blocked the Snow plough and hit a big running elbow in the corner and hit a Death Valley Driver for a 2-count. Slamovich hit a series of strikes, ending with a kick to the head of King for a 2-count. King sent Slamovich to the floor with a forearm, but missed a baseball slide attempt. Slamovich hit a twisting tope suicida to the floor on King.

Slamovich sent King into the ring, but Wilde attacked from behind and sent Slamovich face first into the ring post. As King was setting up to hit the Excalibuster, Killer Kelly came out and started choking Taylor Wilde with a chain. Slamovich then took advantage and hit a Snow plough on King for the pinfall.

Kelly and Slamovich faced off, and Kelly had the dog collar and chain around her neck. Slamovich smiled and put the other half of it on her neck again, but this time, it looks like they will be teaming up.

– A fantastic promo video aired about Scott D’Amore and all the people he trained around the world, and how his own wrestling career was significant. He returns to the ring at Slammiversary.

– Scott D’Amore was backstage talking with Gia Miller, and The Good Hands walked up and challenged D’Amore to a warmup match for Slammiversary. Hotch and Skylar soon regretted this as D’Amore accepted the challenge and said they’d have to take on him and PCO. The second half of the team was something The Good Hands did not take into consideration.

Kenny King (w/ Sheldon Jean) defeated Yuya Uemura

Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry was shown in the production truck, waiting to show something relevant to King, King had the advantage throughout the early portion of the match with King hitting a spinebuster for a two count. Uemura hit a dropkick and then a bulldog for another two count before hitting a DDT when they went to break. Uemura missed a crossbody off the top rope and King hit a Royal Flush soon thereafter for the win.

Hendry came out to congratulate King and introduce his new song celebrating the career of King. By celebrating, I mean making fun of him. It was hilarious.

Nick Aldis/Alex Shelley segment

Aldis came out to explain his recent attack on Shelley, and Shelley came out to hear it face to face. Aldis insisted he wanted to be safe, so he secured a seat in the fans for Shelley. Shelley chose to sit with the fans, saying it was an honor. Aldis claimed that Shelley and Sabin tried to show him up in the 10-person tag 2 weeks ago by refusing to tag him in and doing their double team moves.

Aldis said he decided to put Shelley in his place, and that Shelley was a fake revolutionary, as he tried to show up and get rid of people like him. Aldis talked about how all of Shelley’s friends in the wrestling media praised him, but denounced Aldis, and that Aldis represented tradition in wrestling, and the future Shelley wanted to take the business into was a dark place. Aldis called Shelley a transitional champion, and said he was going to humiliate Shelley at Slammiversary.

Shelley told Aldis to shut up, and that he was whining. Aldis said it was his time, and he left the ring to try and shut Shelley up. Aldis and Shelley started brawling, and Aldis raked the eyes of Shelley before sending him into the ring post. Aldis grabbed the Impact World Championship and went to hit Shelley with it again, but Chris Sabin ran down to make the save, pulling the belt out of the hands of Aldis.

Lio Rush then ran in and attacked Sabin and Shelley, and Aldis and Rush beat down both men. It’s notable that Rush was wearing a suit, like Aldis would, so it seems like there is an alliance forming here. Rush hit Sabin in the face the X-Division title like Aldis did to Shelley with the Impact World Championship 2 weeks ago.

Final Thoughts

This was a good episode of Impact, especially with the closing angle where Aldis and Shelley were both fantastic. The addition of Lio Rush into the feud is an interesting one, as they are clearly setting up The Rascalz against the Motor City Machine Guns down the line. I suspect Rush will be getting the X-Division title match at Slammiversary while Shelley of course defends against Aldis.

Next Week:

  • Jonathan Gresham vs. Angels
  • Eddie Edwards vs. Frankie Kazarian

Impact Slammiversary

  • Ultimate X-Match: Mike Bailey vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. KUSHIDA vs. Kevin Knight vs. Angels to determine the no. 1 contender for the X-Division Championship

Ring of Honor TV live results: Six-Man Tag Team title match

Posted on by Joseph Collins

The fallout from Forbidden Door continues on a NJPW-inspired Ring of Honor on HonorClub tonight.

LIJ’s BUSHI, Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi will attempt to take the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles back to Japan as they challenge The Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun).

El Desperado will make his ROH debut against Willie Mack while United Empire’s Kyle Fletcher, TJP & Jeff Cobb take on Christopher Daniels, Action Andretti & Darius Martin in trios action.

Sho & Yujiro Takahashi will face Roppongi Vice (Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta).

In two separate Proving Ground matches, ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli will face Chuck Taylor while ROH Women’s Champion Athena will take on KC Spinelli.

The rest of the 11-match card is highlighted by an eight-man tag team match featuring ROH Tag Team Champions The Lucha Brothers, El Hijo del Vikingo & Komander vs. The WorkHorsemen (JD Drake and Anthony Henry), Shane Taylor & Gringo Loco.

**********

Taped in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 

Tony Khan and Stokley Hathaway opened the show backstage and ran down parts of the card, before sending the show to Ian Riccobani and Caprice Coleman on commentary. 

Dralistico & Preston Vance (w/ Jose the Assistant) defeated Mark Wheeler & Vikram Prashar (2:14)

Vance and Dralistico jumped their opponents before the bell. Vance hit Wheeler with a spinebuster, Dralistico dove in with a springboard codebreaker on Prashar, and Vance finished off Wheeler with a discus lariat. This was a total squash.

The Righteous Vincent & Dutch (w/ Stu Grayson) defeated Alex Reynolds & John Silver (5:32)

Grayson was a member of the Dark Order but has been swayed to the Righteous.

The Dark Order did not follow through with the Code of Honor and attacked The Righteous before the bell. Silver confronted Stu Grayson on the floor and Vincent rammed Silver into the ring apron. This led to a setup, where Vincent brought a steel chair into the ring, but when the ref turned around he saw Evil Uno holding it, so Uno was ejected from the match. Dutch hit Silver with a black hole slam to take control.

Silver reversed a suplex attempt from the much larger Dutch and made the tag to Reynolds. Reynold ran wild on Dutch and hit a charging knee in the corner. They fought to the floor, and Reynolds sent Vincent into the ring barricade and took Dutch down with a tornado DDT.

Back in the ring, Silver hit Vincent with a deadlift brainbuster. Dutch pulled Silver out of the ring. Behind the ref’s back, Grayson ran in and hit Reynolds with a running knee, and Vincent rolled up Reynolds for the pin. Not a great week for the Dark Order.

After the match, the Righteous beat down Silver and Reynolds. Evil Uno ran in with a chair to break it up, but Stu Grayson got in Uno’s face. Uno wouldn’t hit his former partner with the chair. This is quite the little angle between former partners and the crowd was into the Reynolds/Uno conflict. But, Alex Reynolds wasn’t happy with Evil Uno’s lack of action. 

Diamante defeated Leila Grey (w/ “Smart” Mark Sterling) (6:00)

Sterling distracted Diamante on the floor, and Grey got the advantage. She hit a suplex and controlled Diamte with a surfboard, then transitioned to a chinlock when Diamante was about to escape. Diamante escaped with a jawbreaker and floored Grey with a series of clotheslines and a German suplex. Grey came back with a sit-out uranage for a near fall. Diamante hit a shotgun dropkick, but Sterling broke up the pin attempt by putting Grey’s foot on the bottom ropes. That didn’t stop Diamante, who hit Grey with the Cross Rhodes and got the pinfall. 

Diamante looked good here. 

Lucha Brothers, El Hijo del Vikingo & Komander (w/ Alex Abrantes) defeated The WorkHorsemen (JD Drake and Anthony Henry), Shane Taylor & Gringo Loco (8:58)

This was taped in Chicago.

Gringo Loco was something of a hometown favorite here. Loco press slammed Rey Fenix, and Taylor followed up with a big splash for a near fall. Fenix caught Taylor with a superkick. Kommander got the tag and was mowed down by a lariat from Taylor. Kommader was triple-teamed by the heels, and Loco hit a twisting springboard moonsault on Kommander for a near fall.

Kommander caught Drake with an enziguri and made the tag to Vikingo. Viking hit an amazing headscissors while standing on Loco’s shoulders. The Lucha Bros double-teamed Drake. Penta went for the stuff piledriver on Drake, but Drake escaped and both guys were down following a double clothesline.

Fenix and Anthony Henry got the tags for their teams. Henry dropped Fenix with a brainbuster for a near fall. Vikingo and Kommander hit a pair of dives on the floor, while in the ring Fenix and Penta double-teamed Henry. The Lucha Bros hit a double superkick on Henry, then finished him off with the Fear Factor to get the win. Great match. 

– ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe’s promo was interrupted by Stokely Hathaway. Hathaway may run ROH, but Samoa Joe runs Hathaway.

Big Bill & Lee Moriarty defeated Karou & Tarik (3:18)

Big Bill looked awesome, taking down Karou with a big boot and Tarik with a black hole slam. Moriarty caught Tarik in the Border City Stretch and got the submission. 

The Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun) defeated LIJ (BUSHI, Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi) to retain the ROH Six Man Tag Team Championship (7:37)

Takahashi did a fantastic job overselling all of Cage’s power moves. Liona dropped Takahashi back-first on the turnbuckles, and Khan hit him with a senton on the ring apron. Takahashi countered a slam attempt with a spinning DDT. Takagi got the tag and hit Bishop Khan with a lariat. Takagi hit a flatliner/DDT combo on Khan and Cage, then got a near fall on Khan after a DDT. Khan came back with a lungblower, but BUSHI got the tag and flew in with a top rope dropkick.

Kaun got triple-teamed by the LIJ team. BUSHI hit a twist and shout neckbreaker for a near fall, but Kaun came back with a clothesline. Cage floored Takahashi and Shingo with a double clothesline. Cage took out Shingo with a powerslam and Takahashi with a powerbomb at the same time. BUSHI sprayed black mist in Cage’s face, but back in the ring, the Gates of Agony gave BUSHI a double-team face first slam and got the pinfall. 

El Desperado defeated Willie Mack (9:03)

The crowd chanted “This is awesome!” before the bell even rang. Mack wowed the crowd with a leapfrog and flying leg lariat. Mack caught Desperado with a fallaway slam, then kipped up and hit a standing moonsault for a near fall. Desperado caught Mack with a low dropkick and started working over Mack’s leg. Desperado tied up Mack with an Indian Death Lock, which Mack escaped by grabbing the ropes.

Mack tried to come back, but Desperado cut him off by attacking the leg again. Mack finally caught Desperado with a pop-up forearm. Mack hit a huge cannonball in the corner for a near fall. Mack went to the top for a splash, but Desperado got out of the way. He went for a stretch muffler, but Mack countered into a cradle for a near fall. Mack called for the brainbuster, but Desperado escaped and dropkicked Mack’s leg again. Mack went for a powerbomb, but Desperado escaped. Desperado pulled Mack into a backslide to disorient him, then caught him with the Pinche Loco (a double underhook facebuster) to get the pinfall. Very good match, and they must find something more for Willie Mack to do. 

Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta defeated Sho & Yujiro Takahashi (8:50)

Sho and Takahashi (members of the House of Torture) did not adhere to the Code of Honor to start. Romero hit a place kick on Takahashi and Beretta followed up with a standing moonsault for a near fall. The heels got the advantage when Sho caught Beretta with a clothesline on the floor. Sho hit a deadlift suplex for a near fall. Beretta came back with a tornado DDT on Takahashi. Romero got the tag and chopped away at Sho. Romero hit a step-up rana on Sho. Romero hit charging clotheslines on both Sho and Takahashi in the corners. Beretta hit a sliding knee on Sho for a near fall.

Takahashi pushed Romeo off the top when he went for Strong Zero. Sho gave Beretta a powerbomb into a lung blower for a near fall. Takahashi hit a top rope fisherman’s buster on Beretta for a near fall. Romeo and Sho broke up the pin attempt. Romeo took Sho out with a dive, and Beretta and Romero combined for Strong Zero on Takahashi to get the pinfall. This felt unnecessarily long.

The House of Torture attacked Romero and Beretta after the match until Orange Cassidy walked in to make the save. After the match, a group hug from the almost Best Friends delighted the crowd. 

Christopher Daniels, Action Andretti & Darius Martin defeated United Empire (Kyle Fletcher, TJP & Jeff Cobb) (8:11)

Cobb got a near fall on Daniels after a standing moonsault. He picked up Daniels for a suplex, then made the tag to Fletcher and handed Daniels to Fletcher so he could finish the suplex. Daniels caught TJP with an exploder and made the tag to Darius Martin. Martin hit Fetchers with a spinning DDT, then took down Cobb with a flatliner. TJP caught Martin with a back suplex. Andretti hit TJP with an enziguri and a handspring back elbow. Andretti hit a falcon arrow for a near fall. TJP came back with a spinning DDT. TJP hit a splash off the top for a near fall. Daniels caught TJP with a forearm in the corner, and Andretti and Martin gave TJP a double-team slam and got the upset pinfall.

– Lexi Nair interviewed The Kingdom and Jerry Lynn. The Kingdom trashed ECW, and tried to stir up trouble between Jerry Lynn and Stokely Hathaway. Lynn then made a match between The Kingdom and Maria Kanellis against The Infantry and Trish Adora, presumably for next week. 

ROH Women’s Champion Athena defeated KC Spinelli in a Proving Ground match (2:37)

A Proving Ground match is a non-title match, where if Spinelli wins or goes the time limit with Athena, she will get a title match.

This match was so enthralling the commentators spent most of it talking about Mike Tyson and Buster Douglas. Athena won with a forearm. This was Athena’s 28th win in a row according to Ian Riccobani. 

Athena attacked Spinelli with a dropkick on the floor after the match.

ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli defeated Chuck Taylor in a Proving Ground match (5:28)

This evolved from a backstage interview earlier in the show, where Taylor asked for a title shot from Castignoli.  Even though this is a Proving Ground match, Claudio added the stipulation that Taylor has to win to get the title shot. Taylor can’t the title shot by lasting the time limit. Taylor has a winning record against Castignoli.

Taylor sent Castignoli to the floor with a Soul Food. On the floor, Claudio got the advantage and sent Taylor over the barricade with a forearm. Taylor tried to get back in the ring, but a big boot from Castignoli sent Taylor back to the floor.

Rocky Romero and Trent Beretta came to ringside to encourage Taylor. Taylor came back with a flatliner and locked in a Koji Clutch. Castignoli broke the hold by making the ropes. Taylor caught Castignoli with a knee and a stuff piledriver for a near fall. Castignoli hit a popup uppercut for a near fall. Taylor escaped a Neutralizer attmpt, but Castignoli came back with a clothesline. Castignolia followed up with the Ricola Bomb to get the pinfall. 

Two hours and 11 matches just feel like far too much for these shows. 

AEW Dynamite live results: Sting & Allin vs. Jericho & Guevara

Posted on by Ryan Howard

Sting & Darby Allin team against Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara in a tornado tag match on tonight’s AEW Dynamite. 

Sting, Allin, and Tetsuya Naito defeated Jericho, Guevara, and Minoru Suzuki at Forbidden Door on Sunday, then Jericho crashed the post-show media scrum to continue the angle with Sting. 

The Forbidden Door remains open, as NJPW’s Tomohiro Ishii takes on Jon Moxley on tonight’s program. 

The Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament continues with a rematch of last year’s finals, with 2022 winner Britt Baker facing 2022 runner-up Ruby Soho. 

Hangman Page and The Young Bucks will be in trios action on the show. 

Jack Perry will speak on the show after turning on Hook at Forbidden Door. 

World Champion MJF and Adam Cole will also speak tonight. 

More names will be revealed for the upcoming blind eliminator tournament. 

Orange Cassidy, Keith Lee, and El Hijo del Vikingo will face Angelo Parker, Matt Menard, and Daniel Garcia in trios action. 

Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time. 

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AEW Dynamite comes on the air with Excalibur welcoming us alongside Tony Schiavone and Taz, as they throw it to the entrances for our opening contest.

Jon Moxley (w/Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) defeated Tomohiro Ishii

(Well, if you expected nothing more than a hard hitting battle between these two, they delivered. I loved how as all this carnage was going on, Claudio Castagnoli & Eddie Kingston didn’t take their eyes off each other as they continue to build that storyline with Moxley in the middle.)

These two had a similar intense stare down like they did from their 5 Star G1 Climax battle in 2019, exchanging nothing chops and forearms out the gate. Ishii fired out of the corner with a shoulder tackle, so Moxley responded by biting at the nose, with Ishii returning the favor. Moxley sent Ishii to the floor and wiped out with a tope before taking a victory lap in the crowd. Castagnoli & Yuta surrounded Ishii until Eddie Kingston’s music hits; he walks out, grabs a chair and argues with Moxley heading into commercial break. Moxley connected with a neckbreaker on the apron to remain in control.

Ishii started no selling and absorbing Moxley forearms that led to a huge superplex for two. Both men started trading forearms again, as the longer it went, the more the fans got into it. Ishii hit a combo, but Moxley spun around and dropped Ishii with one on the button followed by a Gotch Style Piledriver. Anvil elbows from Moxley led to Ishii flipping him off, so Moxley slapped on a Bulldog Choke. Moxley hit a King Kong Lariat, which Ishii kicked out at one, as both men traded knee strikes and Moxley kicked out at one in return with both men collapsing. After trading nasty headbutts, Moxley, now bleeding, connected on the Paradigm Shift, but Ishii kicked out. Ishii avoided Death Rider into a Paradigm Shift and hard lariat for two. Ishii no sold a Cutter and hit a Sliding Lariat, but Moxley spun out of a brainbuster into Death Rider for a close two. Ishii hit a desperation enzugiri, but Moxley answered with a Curb Stomp and one more Death Rider for the win. Post match, Kingston applauded Moxley for winning by himself, as Moxley brushed passed him.

-Renee Paquette is backstage and talked about Adam Cole & MJF being teammates in the Blind Eliminator Tournament as Adam Cole arrived with MJF soon after. MJF congratulates Cole on getting sick to get out of his Forbidden Door match and said he wishes he thought of it. Even though no one is on the level of The Devil, Cole was close, so suggests they bond this weekend. Cole reluctantly agrees as MJF’s driver tosses him a shirt to give to Cole that said Better Than You BayBay.

**********

-Renee Paquette is furious backstage with Jon Moxley, who is with Castagnoli & Yuta. Eddie Kingston walks in and told him he’s always had Moxley’s back, but he’s paling around with a scumbag like Castagnoli. Moxley said he doesn’t care about bad blodd from CHIKARA, as he stormed off with Paquette demanding that Kingston fix this.

-A video package on the incredible Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay match from Forbidden Door is shown.

-Before the upcoming match, Excalibur informs us the planned Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho match in the Owen Hart Tournament has been scrapped due to Baker feeling ill. Soho will be in action tonight, but their match will take place next week.

AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy, AAA Mega Champion El Hijo Del Vikingo & Keith Lee defeated Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker

(A fun little party match, with the wheels coming off a bit at the end. I know what they were going for, but Lee & Vikingo fixed things, ultimately standing tall with Cassidy.)

Vikingo used his speed early to hit a double springboard arm drag on Garcia, who was sent flying with a head scissors and bailed leading to Parker & Cassidy jumping in. Parker combed his hair and Cassidy took it away, putting it in his pocket. Miscommunication by Parker & Menard led to Cassidy combing his hair, as Garcia tried to attack, but was trapped in a bow and arrow with Vikingo hitting a double stomp. Menard tripped up Vikingo to allow Garcia to take over and keep Vikingo isolated.

Parker & Menard hit their drop toe hold leaping elbow combo, but messed up when they decided to mock Lee on the apron. Vikingo made the hot tag to Lee, who steamrolled everyone until Garcia decided to do his little dance while standing on the back of Lee. Things didn’t fare well for Garcia, as Lee powered up, sent Menard & Parker to the floor. Vikingo was supposed to be caught by Lee on a dive in a powerbomb position, but both men collapsed and Lee just picked up Vikingo and swung him around like a wrecking ball. Vikingo hit a huge moonsault from the top to the floor to take out Parker & Menard, as back inside Garcia got a two count on Cassidy and sank in the Dragon Tamer. The match broke down as Parker ate an Orange Punch, with Lee no selling Menard chops, ultimately planting Daddy Magic with a Supernova for the win.

-The Young Bucks & Hangman Page are backstage talking about their open challenge six man when the Dark Order walk in the shot as John Silver accepts the challenge. Page said they could do a 12 man tag, but Reynolds says they accept the 6 man. Evil Uno said Page bailed on them, despite being there for his darkest moments, opting to side with The Elite. Page tried to explain himself, but Dark Order didn’t want to hear any of it.

-A quick video package showcasing the great main event of Forbidden Door is shown, with Bryan Danielson submitting Kazuchika Okada.

**********

-Renee Paquette is backstage with Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara, asking about Jericho tapping in to The Painmaker persona. Jericho said tonight is bigger than Forbidden Door, as Sting vs. Jericho should be on TBS, commentated by Tony Schiavone. Tonight, Sting gets his nightmare of having more time in the ring with Chris Jericho, the nightmare of The Painmaker.

Hangman Adam Page & The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) defeated Evil Uno, John Silver & Alex Reynolds (w/-1)

(This was a lot of fun, both from an action standpoint and storyline wise. Page couldn’t find it in himself to fight his former friends until The Bucks really had to convince him to do so. That got boos from the crowd, as post match, to the surprise of no one, the challenge has been issued for Blood & Guts next month.)

Nick & Reynolds had a nice back and forth opening sequence with the Nick hitting a rope walk arm drag. Silver tagged in and wanted Page, who reluctantly came in, tried to explain himself again before locking up. Silver no sold a shoulder block and popped Page with a back elbow to escape a waist lock. This woke Page up; as he tagged in Matt, as did Canada’s own Evil Uno, who got a nice pop. Uno wasted no time leveling Nick & Page on the apron, but The Bucks regained control double teaming Reynolds & Silver until Uno wiped them out with a double clothesline. Uno jaw jacked with Page on the apron, but turned into a double superkick, as The Bucks hit double dives onto all of Dark Order. The Bucks got more aggressive, telling Page to get in there and fight, which got boos, but he ultimately didn’t. The Bucks controlled the action during break.

Miscommunication from The Bucks allowed Uno to make the hot tag and run wild on The Elite. Uno hit his ref assisted neckbreaker and piledriver on Nick, but Page broke the count. Page refused to fight Uno yet again and Uno slapped him, leading to Page making the legal tag and slugged it out with Uno. Both Uno & Reynolds took out The Bucks with double DDTs from the apron, as Reynolds & Silver hit the Wombo Combo on Page for two. The Bucks saved Page from the Pendulum Bomb, as Reynolds & Uno were wiped out on the floor. Page turned Silver inside out with a lariat, but waited too long, as Silver hit a hurricanrana counter of the Buckshot. Page countered a home run kick from Silver into Dead Eye, as The Bucks followed with the BTE Trigger and Page hit the Buckshot Lariat for the win.

Post match, Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta all hit the ring to attack The Elite, as Dark Order just watched on before bailing. Yuta hit a violent brainbuster onto a chair on Matt as Konosuke Takeshita & Don Callis are also there. Jon Moxley had a screwdriver and popped Page, busting him open, as Eddie Kingston ran to the ring but was brutally beaten down by Castagnoli & Yuta, trapping his arm in a chair. Moxley had his back turned to what is happening, with Castagnoli smacking the trapped arm of Kingston with another chair. Moxley said it’s time to end this feud once and for all, July 19th, Boston, TD Garden, Blood & Guts.

-Video packages on the upcoming three Owen Hart Tournament matches this week on Collision is shown. Roderick Strong vs. Samoa Joe, Dustin Rhodes vs. Powerhouse Hobbs & Juice Robinson vs. Ricky Starks takes place Saturday.

**********

-Roderick Strong approaches Adam Cole backstage and told him he can’t trust MJF. We then have MJF walked up saying hi to Cole and generic white guy. MJF said he doesn’t want to stick around here longer than he has to, so he & Cole leave together for their “team bonding”.

Jungle Boy Jack Perry Explains His Actions

Perry walked out rocking sunglasses, demanding they turn off Tarzan Boy, as the fans have ruined the song for him. Perry said he has a car waiting for him in the back, while everyone here in Canada are stuck in the wildfires. Perry said he’s cashing fat checks and banging the hottest girl in AEW. Did Perry turn on HOOK or did everyone else turn on Perry? After everything Perry has given to AEW, people expect Perry to pal around with a second generation entitled fraud, when the FTW Title isn’t even recognized. Perry never needed HOOK and their team was only popular because of Perry. He realizes what the FTW Title means to HOOK and his family, so that’s why he’s taking that title from HOOK. Before Perry can deliver his go home line, HOOK’s music interrupts, he sprints to the ring and the chase is on, as Perry bails through the fans and to the back. Taz said he can’t wait for Perry to get his ass whooped. A camera backstage is shown of Perry diving into an awaiting car, peeling out, with HOOK watching him drive away.

-Sammy Guevara brought back his cue cards in picture in picture deal, mainly talking about the main event tonight.

**********

Ruby Soho (w/Saraya & Toni Storm) defeated Alexia Nicole

Soho got an early sweep and mocked Britt Baker before putting boots to Nicole. Soho chucked Nicole to the floor, where she was met with boots by Storm, as back inside; Soho hit a snap back suplex. Soho grabbed the rubber glove from referee Paul Turner and applied Lock Jaw for the easy submission. Post match, Saraya held Nicole as Soho spray painted an L on her for good measure.

Soho said Canada’s finest here wasn’t the original opponent, as due to the filthy germ ridden country, Britt Baker is sick. Soho said Baker & Adam Cole used to be a power couple, but hopes they never have kids, since they’ll be weak little bastards. A year ago Baker said Soho didn’t know who she was, but Soho loves who she is now, while Baker is a shell of herself. Last year, Baker barely beat Soho on her best day, but since then, The Outcasts have taken everything from Baker. This was a good promo from Soho.

-Highlights from Harley Cameron hitting on Anthony Bowens last week on Rampage is shown, with Bowens rejecting, informing her he’s gay. Backstage we then see QT Marshall, Johnny TV & Cameron challenging Matt Hardy & Brother Zay to a match on Rampage. Cameron did the moan that Zay always does, which confused Johnny & QT, but audibly popped Taz on commentary.

-In Excalibur’s rundown of upcoming matches for AEW TV, we find out Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee vs. Darby Allin & Orange Cassidy will take place next week in a Blind Eliminator Tournament match. I believe we were supposed to find out all the teams for that tournament tonight, but those were the only other two teams we learned, aside from MJF & Adam Cole.

**********

Sting & Darby Allin defeated “The Painmaker” Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara in a Tornado Tag Match

(I’ll ask this as nicely as possible, can we please stop trying to kill Sting? My goodness, he’s defying all the odds at his age, but I’m absolutely terrified whenever he takes big bumps and tonight was no different. This was a wild, chaotic and fun match, continuing the Jericho & Sting feud, but man was that table spot with Sting & Guevara hard to watch. Ultimately Sting finished the match, but wow, just wow, this was quite the main event.)

Allin hit a shotgun dropkick on Guevara immediately, as Jericho smacked Sting in the arm with Floyd the bat, as Sting & Jericho jousted with their bats until Allin came sprinting in. Sting hit a Stinger Splash, but Guevara laid out Allin with a top rope cutter. Guevara & Jericho put the boots to Sting, until Guevara throws a ladder into the ring. Allin was launched into the ring steps, but flipped up, cleared them and smacked his back on the barricade, landing in the front row. During commercial, all four men brawled in the crowd as Jericho ripped a Sting sign apart and shoved it in Sting’s mouth.

Guevara hit a leaping cutter off the barricade to the ringside floor onto Allin, but as Guevara tended to Jericho & Sting, this allowed Allin to wipe out Guevara with a Coffin Drop. Sting & Allin set up multiple tables, as Allin got the ladder in position, despite the tables being quite a distance away. Allin climbed the ladder, but Sting climbed as well, telling Allin he wanted to do it. Sting leapt from the ladder and splashed Guevara through only one of the tables, really putting himself sternum first in a wild spot.

Allin wiped out Jericho on the opposite side with a dive and back inside dropped in with a skateboard off the top to the back. Jericho side stepped Allin, who crashed face first into the ladder, as Jericho followed by dropping the ladder onto Allin’s spine. Allin reversed a corner whip and Jericho went face first into the ladder, busting Jericho open. Allin tried a Coffin Splash, but Jericho popped him in the back with the skateboard. A Judas Effect sent Allin to the floor, as Sting rose from the dead, tried a Scorpion Death Drop, but Jericho countered into the Walls of Jericho. Sting crawled to the bat and leveled Jericho in the head with it. Sting hit one Stinger Splash, but as he leapt for another, Jericho hit a Code Breaker for two. Sting ducked a Judas Effect into the Scorpion Death Drop for a near fall as well. Jericho leapt for a dropkick, but Sting caught him into the Scorpion Death Lock for the submission.

AEW Rampage 6/30/23

· Matt Hardy & Brother Zay vs. Johnny TV & QT Marshall

· Hikaru Shida vs. Taya Valkyrie

· Shawn Spears vs. The Blade (w/The Butcher)

· Claudio Castagnoli defends the ROH World Title against Komander

AEW Collision 7/1/23

· MJF makes his Collision in ring debut

· Kris Statlander defends the TBS Title against Lady Frost

· Roderick Strong vs. Samoa Joe in an Owen Hart Tournament Match

· Dustin Rhodes vs. Powerhouse Hobbs in an Owen Hart Tournament Match

· Ricky Starks vs. Juice Robinson in an Owen Hart Tournament Match

AEW Dynamite 7/5/23

· Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee take on Darby Allin & Orange Cassidy in a Blind Eliminator Tournament Match

· Dr. Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho in an Owen Hart Tournament Match

WWE NXT Gold Rush live results: Carmelo Hayes vs. Baron Corbin

Posted on by Chris Aiken

NXT Gold Rush concludes with four title matches taking place tonight.

Week two of Gold Rush will see Carmelo Hayes put his NXT Championship on the line against Baron Corbin in tonight’s main event. Hayes is less than 24 hours removed from making his Raw debut, where he lost a non-title match against Finn Balor.

The NXT Women’s Championship will be up for grabs to kick off tonight’s show. Tiffany Stratton is defending her title against Thea Hail. Hail earned the shot by winning a number one contender’s battle royal three weeks ago.

NXT Tag Team Champions Gallus are set to defend their titles against Malik Blade & Edris Enofe. The Heritage Cup will also be contested tonight with Dragon Lee challenging Nathan Frazer.

A match between Gigi Dolin and Kiana James has been announced for the show as well. Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

The second week of Gold Rush begins with footage from “earlier today” of Baron Corbin arriving to the building driving his Porsche. Also arriving is NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams.

A canned intro recaps the events and feuds leading up to week two of Gold Rush.

Thea Hail enters the soundstage to pomp and ballyhoo, flanked by Duke Hudson. Hail has such good presence, and she had a look of sheer determination. This is her biggest match to date. The champion enters next, and the show is set to open with a women’s title match.

NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defeated Thea Hail (with Duke Hudson) to retain her title 

Stratton pinned Hail with a roll-up to retain, despite Hail having made Stratton tap out. The referee was distracted by the antics of Charlie Dempsey and Drew Gulak, which costs Hail the match. Dempsey and Gulak then turn on Hudson, and beat him down. That leads to the surprise return of Andre Chase for the save.

Dempsey and Gulak come down to ringside during the match to watch their trainee, Hail. They would go on to play into the finish, costing Hail her first title match.

Hail is a babyface in peril as the show cuts to its first commercial break. Hail is making a comeback as the show returns from the break. She does the Chase U version of the Garvin Stomp.

In the closing moments, Hail counters Stratton to apply a Kimura. Dempsey interferes by pulling the bottom rope out and away from Stratton’s reach, so that Stratton cannot break the hold. Hail breaks anyway, so she can yell at Dempsey for interfering in her match. Hudson gets involved in the yelling. Meanwhile, Gulak jumps on the apron to argue with the referee.

With Hail distracted by her corner, Stratton tries to ambush her. Hail again counters Stratton to apply a Kimura. Stratton taps out to the armlock, but the referee does not see it as he is distracted by Gulak. Hail breaks the hold and goes to get the referee. Stratton from behind with a roll-up on Hail for a three count.

Dempsey and Gulak jump Chase after the match. They are beating down Chase when Andre Chase makes a triumphant return to NXT. Chase makes a save, then he and Hudson clean house on Dempsey and Gulak. This clearly sets up a tag team match for the near future.

A great video package highlights Ilja Dragunov and introduces a new moniker dubbed “Unbesiegbar.” 

A skit from last week showed Kelani Jordan meeting Dana Brooke while Brooke is getting her knee iced in the trainer’s room. Both gymnasts, they have encouraging words for each other.

NXT Tag Team Champions Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) defeated Malik Blade & Edris Enofe to retain their title

Wolgang pinned Enofe to retain the titles, after interference by Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo. 

Joe Coffey is still missing, after he was kidnapped last week by Stacks. The show must go on, so Gallus is here defending their tag titles. 

The tag title bout goes through a split-screen commercial break. Gallus is working over Blade when he finally tags out. Enofe runs wild after the hot tag. He went to jump off Coffey’s back, but he slipped. Despite the botch, they wrestle on.

Enofe gets several near falls. Enofe and Blade with tandem offense that including Blade doing a Superfly splash, and Enfoe following that with a Savage flying elbow drop. Wolfgang breaks up the count, leading into the finish.

Wolfgang gets tied in the ropes, as Stacks suddenly appears at ringside. Blade goes for a plancha, but Coffey knocks him out in mid-air. Enofe is also at ringside, and he is laid out by Stacks. Enofe is hit with a flying uppercut from Stacks, knocking Enofe backwards into the metal ring steps. 

Blade is knocked out, and Enofe is on rubber legs. Gallus with their double team finisher on Enofe, and Wolfgang covers him for a pinfall. All while Stacks looks on, and the announcers are “in shock” at what they see with Stacks helping Gallus retain the title.

McKenzie Mitchell interviews the Meta Four group. They dodge all questions from Mitchell about Noam Dar losing the Heritage Cup.

Losers leave NXT set for next week

The Schism is having a family meeting in the ring with them all sitting on stools. Ava called for the meeting, and she wants to have open and honest communication. Joe Gacy gives his blessing for them to do so.

Jagger Reid speaks to say he and Rip Fowler are worse off since they joined Schism. Gacy responds by saying Fowler would not be able to speak up for himself before joining Schism, because his partner would not let him talk before.

Fowler and Gacy have a weird argument about inclusivity. This segment was dying a death when The Creed Brothers thankfully interrupted the family sit-down. 

The Creeds are joined by Ivy Nile as they confront The Schism. More community theater dialogue, which leads to them setting up another match. Gacy books The Dyad in a loser leaves town match against The Creeds for next Tuesday. The losing team must leave NXT.

Another vignette features the up-and-coming tag team of Lucien Pierce and Bronco Nima.

A backstage skit teases Axiom getting a shot at the Heritage Cup.

WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley has a cameo as she confronts NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams in another backstage skit. Ripley warns Hayes and Williams about butting into Judgment Day business. 

Ripley cautioned Hayes and Williams, “”Next time you boys want to jump into our business, you’ll become our business.”

NXT Heritage Cup Champion Nathan Frazier defeated Dragon Lee to retain the trophy

Frazier won 2-1 after five rounds. This was a great match. 

Tag team partner Valentina Feroz and Yulisa Leon are on opposing sides here, as they are acting as seconds in the corners of Lee and Frazier. Feroz has taken a liking to Lee, while Leon favors Frazier.

Good action, but not falls in rounds one. They quickened the pace greatly as the round ticks down to zero. 

Frazier scores a pinfall in round two. Lee was on a roll as he executes a Super Frankensteiner, but Frazier holds on upon impact to roll up Lee for a three count. Clever fall. 

Lee is more determined than ever at the start of round three. The show cuts to a commercial break, and it returns with round four in progress. Lee would go on to even the score, after Lee scores a pinfall in the fourth round. Lee deadlifts Frazier into a sit-out powerbomb to get the pin.

Round five starts off hot, as they pull out all the stops. They do a superplex spot and transition into a sit-out powerbomb spot for the best near fall of the show so far. Lee gets another near fall in the closing moments. Frazier and Lee then trade near falls back-and-forth with mere seconds left in the fifth round. Fraziers hooks Lee’s leg to score a three count at the last second. Frazier wins 2-1 to retain the cup.

A video packages showed highlights from Raw Underground, which is coming to NXT.

A vignette then shows Eddy Thorpe training for Underground with the help of Olympian Gable Steveson. They are watching clips of Damon Kemp, who Steveson says he knows. In reality, Kemp is Gable’s brother, but that was not acknowledged here.

Thorpe and Steveson train in a montage of clips, and Thorpe invites Gable to be in Thorpe’s corner. Steveson then says he will wave to Kemp’s parents, with a wink and nod to the real backstory.

Mustafa Ali approaches NXT North American Champion Wes Lee in the locker to offer an apology. Ali apologizes for slapping Lee in a match last week, when Ali was a special guest referee. In comes Tyler Bate for comedy with Ali. This leads to Ali saying he wants a title shot against Lee, and Bate offers to be the guest ref. There is bickering back-and-forth between Bate and Ali, so Lee shows himself out and he leaves. This skit sets up a match next week with a Ali against Bate.

Mr. Stone finds Von Wagner backstage after he was looking for him. Wagner missed a meeting with Stone, and Stone finds Wagner upset about his childhood struggles. Wagner storms off.

Gigi Dolan defeated Kiana James

Dolan pinned James to win the match, and James got her heat back afterwards by jumping Dolan. James would also pour paint on Dolan.

The match was long enough it went through a commercial break for whatever reason. James retrieves her purse, trying to use it as a weapon. The ref stops James, and James walks into a high kick. Dolan then executes her crucifix bomb finisher, and she covers James for a pinfall.

James jumps Dolan after the bell, amd James hits Dolan with her loaded purse. James pulls out jars filled with paint from her purse, and James pours orange and blue paint on Dolan.

Joe Coffey is visiting Tony D’Angelo in prison, and Coffey tells Tony D that Stacks turned on him. Coffey claims that Stacks sold out Tony D, and Coffey has proof in the form of a recording on his cellphone. Coffey plays the recording for Tony D.

Blair Davenport attacks Roxanne Perez in an angle on socia media. That leads to a match next Tuesday with Davenport against Perez.

Lyra Valkyria hits Jacy Jayne in a goofy backstage skit. It ends with Rhea Ripley standing over Jayne, and Ripley calls Valkyria a “bad ass.” 

The Dyad are upset with Joe Gacy booking them in a loser leaves town match, and Ava tries to convince Dyad they should trust Gacy. 

NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes (with Trick Williams) defeated Baron Corbin to retain his title

Hayes pinned Corbin after Nothing But Net. Decent enough match. Hayes took a beating and fought from underneath, leading to a rally and a win. 

Corbin goes for End of Days seconds into the match, and Hayes counters Corbin. Moments later, Hayes leaps off the top turnbuckle into a splash on the outside, just before the show cuts to a commercial break. 

The fighting spilled outside again as the show returns from the break. Hayes is turned inside out taking a big boot from Corbin. Hayes is reeling as Corbin works him over in the ring. In between working him over, Corbin tears off his cut-off t-shirt to show he is indeed a tough guy.

Hayes counters an attempted superplex, and Hayes does an frog splash for a near fall. Hayes fires up with strikes on Corbin. Hayes executes his Fade Away guillotine leg drop. Corbin is on rubber legs. Hayes springboards into a falling DDT that was somewhat botched, but they got a near fall out of it anyway.

Corbin briefly cuts off Hayes, only for Hayes to get another two count on Corbin. Hayes goes for a codebreaker, which he attempted successfully earlier in the match. Corbin blocks it the second time around, and Corbin gives Hayes a Spicolli Driver. Corbin then does a chokeslam into a backbreaker on Hayes for a close near fall.

They fight on the floor, where Corbin catches Hayes on a dive and powerbombs Hayes on the announce desk. Corbin pounds on Hayes and rolls him back into the ring, but Hayes kicks out at two and half.

Hayes fights back, and he counters Deep Six. However, Hayes in unable to counter End of Days. Nevertheless, Hayes manages to kick out once again. Corbin goes another End of Days, and Hayes counters him. Hayes DDT’s Corbin on the apron. Hayes then leaps off the top rope with Nothing But Net, and Hayes covers Corbin for the deciding pinfall. 

Hayes celebrates and poses with his title belt while the announcer hard sell the card for next week, as the show is going off the air. A cliffhanger in the closing moments show Bron Breakker barking in Shawn Michael’ office. Breakker storms out after saying no one can control him. Whatever that means. 

WWE Raw live results: Money in the Bank go-home show

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: June 26, 2023
Location: Enmarket Arena in Savannah, GA 

********** 

Show Recap —

There was a lengthy video package recapping the Cody Rhodes and Dominik Mysterio feud.

Rhea Ripley and Dominik were in the ring to start the show. They were loudly booed and it only got louder the more Dom tried to speak. It didn’t stop when Ripley tried to take over. Ripley called Cody Rhodes a wannabe and a loser whose “momentum has been slowing down as of late.” Ripley said Dom would end his momentum completely at Money in the Bank.

Rhodes interrupted and he got a huge ovation. Dom stood on the apron while Ripley remained in the ring. Rhodes welcomed us to Raw.

Ripley said Rhodes couldn’t bully Dom because he was a dangerous man. Dom couldn’t speak because of the booing so he relayed the message through Ripley that he would beat Rhodes at MITB.

Rhodes quoted ‘The Cat in the Hat’ and said he purposefully quoted a children’s book because that’s what Dom was — a scared little boy.

This upset Dom so he left with Ripley. Rhodes asked Dom why he was running away and noted that his partner Damian Priest wasn’t running because they have a first-time-ever match tonight. Rhodes offered Dom a free shot. Dom teased that he would get back in the ring but he left.

At MITB, Rhodes wanted Dom to show him if he was even half the man his father was or if he was just Mami’s little boy. 

******** 

Bronson Reed in a suit watched from ringside.

Ricochet defeated Shinsuke Nakamura (10:42)

The fight spilled to the outside and each man decided to attack Reed who was just minding his business. Reed almost entered the ring but the referee sent him to the back.

After a break, Ricochet was on offence until Nakamura got his knees up on a moonsault. Ricochet avoided a Kinshasa and hit Recoil for a nearfall. Ricochet ducked a few kicks and hit a roundhouse kick of his own. He followed with a standing sliced bread and a shooting star press for the pinfall win.

Fun match and good to see a decisive winner.

******** 

Byron Saxton interviewed Matt Riddle who challenged Gunther to an Intercontinental title match earlier today (at MITB). Saxton wondered if that was smart after what Imperium did to his ankle. Riddle said his ankle was fine and he was sick of Gunther hiding behind his lunkhead friends.

Ludwig Kaiser approached and asked Riddle what made him think he could take on Gunther. Riddle reminded Kaiser that he beat him last week. Kaiser said that will never happen again so Riddle attacked him to prove otherwise. Gunther attacked Riddle from behind and accepted his challenge before stomping his ankle.

******** 

Dom confronted Adam Pearce in the back. Dom was pissed about Rhodes embarrassing him so he wanted a match tonight to show Rhodes what was coming for him at MITB. Pearce agreed. Dom said he had the perfect opponent in mind but did not reveal who that was.

There was a five-minute long Money in the Bank numbers video package narrated by Jackie Redmond.

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There was a clip of Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler beating Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn to unify the WWE and NXT Women’s Tag Team titles on Smackdown. (They did not enter with the NXT belts but the belts are superimposed on their bodies in the MITB graphics.)

Tag Team Champion Ronda Rousey (w/Shayna Baszler) defeated Raquel Rodriguez (w/Liv Morgan) (2:13)

Rodriguez tried a twisting senton but Baszler rolled Rousey out of the way so Morgan tackled Baszler. As Morgan hammered away on Baszler, Rodriguez blocked an armbar but Rousey rolled her up for the quick pinfall win. 

(Baszler beat Rodriguez in 2:12 with a roll-up two weeks ago.) 

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There was a good Finn Bálor video package where he spoke about how much he hates Seth Rollins.

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[SECOND HOUR] 

Seth Rollins segment 

Rollins got his usual reaction and he soaked it in. He shouted out NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes who sat in the front row and thanked him for having his back last week. Rollins said they were both fighting champions and mentioned Hayes’ title defence tomorrow. He hoped Hayes beat bum-ass Corbin.

Rollins moved on to Finn Bálor. Rollins said Bálor attacked him again at NXT and tried to turn his ribs to dust. Rollins said he was still standing but he was tired of talking so he invited Bálor to finish the job right now.

Bálor didn’t enter. Rollins knew Bálor was the most dangerous he’s ever been and surrounded himself with the right people. Bálor thought it was his destiny to take back what was taken from him seven years ago.

Rollins admitted he won’t be 100% at MITB but that didn’t matter because the best version of Finn Bálor was not better than the best version of Seth freakin’ Rollins.

Bálor tried jumping Rollins with a chair but Rollins saw it coming and tackled him. However, Bálor shoved him ribs-first into the steel steps and into the corner of the announce table.

Bálor tried to grab a chair but Hayes yanked it away. Rollins clotheslined Bálor over the barricade and Bálor took the opportunity to run off through the crowd. (Rollins had a bit of blood on his face.)

— Carmelo Hayes vs. Finn Bálor was made official for tonight after a break.

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Saxton interviewed Tommaso Ciampa earlier today. Ciampa said he attacked Miz because he didn’t hear from him at all in the nine months that he was gone. He was mad because people warned him about Miz and they were right.

His injury was a blessing in disguise and nine months was a long time to be left alone with your thoughts. Ciampa said he knew who his friends were and certainly wasn’t going to play second fiddle to the Miz. Ciampa planned on creating his own opportunities.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. The Miz 

The match didn’t happen because Miz attacked Ciampa from behind during his entrance. Miz tossed him around ringside and gave him a Skull Crushing Finale. 

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Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens approached Imperium in the back. Kaiser told them to leave and Zayn said they must not like it when people interrupt them. Unlike all of the times Imperium interrupted Owens and Zayn, Owens said they had an actual reason to be there. Owens couldn’t remember what it was so Zayn reminded him it was because they were mad about what they did to Riddle.

Owens feigned concern for Riddle and yelled at Imperium for what they did. Zayn told Owens to calm down because he would handle it. Zayn challenged Gunther to a singles match. Gunther seemed amused by them and was amused that they all wanted to ride his coattails. Gunther accepted.

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Dominik Mysterio (w/Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley) defeated Akira Tozawa (1:50)

Tozawa was all over Dom and wiped him out with a suicide dive. Tozawa seemed concerned after being confronted by Ripley and the distraction allowed Dom to drop him off the top turnbuckle. Dom followed with a frog splash for the pinfall win.

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Valhalla and the Viking Raiders said they have not heard from the Gods in weeks and in order to hear them again they need to do terrible things. This was a warning to Alpha Academy.

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Women’s Money in the Bank Summit 

(Trish Stratus and Zoey Stark entered before a break, Becky Lynch entered after the break. Bayley, IYO SKY and Zelina Vega entered during the break.)

Corey Graves began explaining the rules to MITB and Bayley cut him off because we all knew the rules already. Bayley said she was the only woman in the ring who has won MITB and she had the best chance at winning again. SKY shot her a look before saying, “May the best woman win.”

Vega didn’t like hearing Damage CTRL discount the others in the ring and then proceeded to run them all down. She put over Lynch before reminding her she never won MITB, called Stark a groupie and said Stratus wouldn’t know what to do because she’s never been in a ladder match.

Vega said she would win and Bayley laughed at her. Bayley screamed at Vega so Stark told her to calm down. Stratus said they were all just little girls. The crowd chanted for Becky.

Stratus said she had to save the women’s division because unlike them, she was a woman and she was the best to ever do it. Stratus said it was her first ladder match but winning is what she did. Stratus would win MITB and they could thank her for letting them be part of a historic moment.

Stratus asked Lynch if she would be man enough to say, “Thank you, Trish.” Lynch acted like she would say something but she decked Stratus instead. This led to a brawl and Lynch chucked both Stratus and Stark from the ring. Bayley and SKY teamed up on Lynch so Vega saved her by hitting them with a slipper.

Aside from Lynch who was still in the ring, SKY wiped out everyone (including Bayley) with a moonsault. Lynch took the opportunity to climb the ladder and grab the briefcase.

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Cathy Kelley interviewed Carmelo Hayes. Hayes said Rollins invited him to Raw and it was an honour to be there. He admired Rollins and aspired to be a champion like him. Hayes planned on taking care of Rollins’ Finn Bálor problem tonight. He said maybe it was a mistake doing this one night before defending against Baron Corbin but guys like him and Rollins have to take shots to make shots, and tonight — he won’t miss.

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Ripley approached Lynch in the back. Ripley warned her not to cash in on her if she won MITB because it would be the last thing she ever did.

Lynch said when she was champion, she defended the title in every town in the main event, while Ripley was just a main event side piece. Lynch said she didn’t need the title, the title needed her, and she wanted to win MITB just to see Ripley squirm.

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Owens joined commentary.

Non-title match: Intercontinental Champion Gunther (w/Imperium) defeated Tag Team Champion Sami Zayn (w/Kevin Owens) (12:21)

Giovanni Vinci walked out on crutches to join Kaiser at ringside. They went to break after Gunther gave Zayn a German suplex.

[THIRD HOUR]

Zayn tried an exploder but Gunther blocked it and chopped him repeatedly. Owens mockingly applauded Gunther for being able to slap a man in the chest. Zayn blocked a chop and went to the top but Gunther chopped him again. Zayn fought back and hit a sunset flip powerbomb for two.

Zayn hit repeated clotheslines and finally dropped him with one but Gunther countered a blue thunder bomb into a sleeper hold. Zayn fought to his feet and hit a blue thunder bomb for a nearfall. Zayn came off the top but Gunther chopped him out of mid-air which got a nearfall. Gunther followed with a splash for another nearfall.

Kaiser jumped on the apron so Owens attacked him. Gunther booted Owens so Zayn wiped out Gunther with a flip dive. The crowd chanted for Sami who hit an exploder into the corner.

As Zayn set up for Helluva Kick, Kaiser distracted the referee and Vinci hit Zayn with a crutch. Gunther followed with a powerbomb for the pinfall win. Really good match.

— Owens attacked Gunther and Kaiser after the match. The numbers caught up to him so Riddle ran (limped) out to make the save. Riddle nailed Vinci with a knee strike and attacked everyone in Imperium with the crutch. Owens laid out Kaiser with a stunner. Crowd was into all of this.

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There was a quick Carmelo Hayes video package.

Chad Gable was in the back with Otis and Maxxine Dupri. Otis was on an exercise bike. Gable called the Viking Raiders idiots if they thought Alpha Academy were a bunch of amateurs. Dupri said she’s destroyed Valhalla every time she’s come after her thanks to Gable’s training. Gable wanted Otis to tell the Raiders their plan and he said, “Pure carnage.”

Kelley interviewed Natalya. Natalya said she signed up for this life and the biggest battle wasn’t in the ring, it was in her head. She’s been broken and been down but she was still there. Natalya challenged Ripley to face her next week.

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Non-title match: Finn Bálor defeated NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes (9:32)

Bálor won clean.

Bálor immediately tackled Hayes to gain control but Hayes came back with a dropkick and Fadeaway leg drop.

Bálor was on offence following a break but Hayes came back with punches, a clothesline, and a springboard clothesline for two. Bálor answered with a clothesline of his own, turning Hayes inside out. Bálor followed with stomps and a slingblade but Hayes came back with a superkick and a nice springboard DDT.

Bálor blocked a kick and hit a gutbuster, shotgun dropkick and a Coup de Grace for the pinfall win.

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Kelley interviewed Rhodes who was in the back with his dog. Rhodes enjoyed his chats with Kelley but he looked forward to the day when they weren’t talking about Judgment Day. Rhodes wished he could sit with the WWE universe as they boo Dominik. He said Dom wouldn’t have Judgment Day by his side at MITB. Rhodes has yet to lay a finger on Dom and looked forward to seeing what he had.

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There was a Bloodline video package. 

The announcers ran down Saturday’s MITB card. The show is at 3pm ET. 

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Cody Rhodes defeated Damian Priest (13:33)

The crowd booed as Dom and Ripley made their way to ringside a few minutes in. Rhodes didn’t let the distraction allow Priest to take over — at least not right away. Rhodes fought off Priest and hit a suicide dive. He went to get in Dom’s face but Dom stood behind Ripley. Priest used that distraction to hit a flatliner ahead of a break.

Priest hit a falcon arrow after the break for two. Priest turned Rhodes inside out with a clothesline for two. Priest went to the top but Rhodes ran up and brought him down with an arm drag. Rhodes hit jabs, a powerslam, Disaster Kick, more jabs and a bionic elbow for two.

Priest blocked a figure four and hit a headlock driver for two. Priest blocked a Cross Rhodes so Cody hit a Pedigree instead. Priest rolled out of the ring to avoid a cover and hit a leaping superkick moments later for two.

Rhodes hit a superkick and Ripley distracted the ref. Dom tripped Rhodes and Priest followed with a South of Heaven chokeslam for a nearfall.

Dom tried distracting the ref but Rhodes slipped out of a Razor’s Edge attempt and pushed Priest into Dom, knocking him off the apron. Rhodes followed with a Cody Cutter and Cross Rhodes for the pinfall win.

— After the match, Dom hit Rhodes from behind and immediately fled the ring. The crowd booed Dom as he backed away with Ripley and Priest. Rhodes stared them down as the show ended.