With Omos heading back to WWE, Pro Wrestling NOAH’s GHC Tag Team titles have been declared vacant.
Omos and his tag team partner Jack Morris made a successful defense of the belts against Kaito Kiyomiya & Galeno over the weekend. Following the match, Omos — who had been on excursion in NOAH — announced that he is returning to WWE. He gave his title belt to Daga and said that Morris & Daga were the new champions, but NOAH has announced that the swap is not being recognized and the titles are now vacant.
“On January 25th, at the GHC Tag Championship match held at the Edion Arena Osaka 2nd Stadium, the champions Jack Morris and Omos successfully defended their titles,” the promotion wrote. “At that time, Omos handed over the GHC Tag Team Championship belts to Daga, but this transfer of the titles will not be recognized and the titles will once again be vacant.”
Omos had a 7-0 record for NOAH during this excursion, which began with him and Morris winning the GHC Tag Team titles from Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura on January 1. Omos, Morris & Daga are all members of NOAH’s Team 2000X faction.
NOAH has not yet announced its plans for how new tag champs will be crowned.
News of Omos’ WWE return coincides with the Royal Rumble taking place this Saturday (February 1), leading to speculation that he’ll be a surprise entrant in the men’s Rumble match.
The new issue of the Observer is up on the site with these stories:
This is likely one of the biggest weeks of the year as far as major news stories involving business practices, Vince McMahon, Dana White, the Phil Baroni murder case, the possible change in legalities of non-compete clauses and more. We’ve got a huge issue out on the site now:
*Behind the story of Vince McMahon’s attempt to return, why he said he was returning, correspondence with McMahon and the board, details on the return of former co-Presidents and the timing of why this is happening now.
*Aspects of the story that haven’t been discussed anywhere else
*Notes on the voting shares of the major shareholders
*The Dana White/Anne White situation, White talks about what happened and more
*The reaction to this and the future of his Slap Fighting company
*New legislation being talked out regarding the banning of non-compete clauses and their effect on pro wrestling
*Full review of the Tokyo Dome show, including more on the dates Sasha Banks has agreed to, the business notes from the show, the Will Ospreay vs. Kenny Omega match, title changes and a major record set for streaming of the show
*A look at New Year’s Dash
*The life and times of Don West, how he got into wrestling, his life outside of wrestling, a look at a guy who didn’t grow up watching wrestling but became a very well liked member of the wrestling community with comments from many of his friends
*The Phil Baroni murder charges
*The Jake Paul/PFL business deal and why the odds of it working aren’t high
*John Cena draws the largest audience to see a pro wrestling match on U.S. television this year
*Great Muta vs. Shinsuke Nakamura headline at Budokan Hall
*2022 Wrestling Observer Awards ballot
*Popularity of the TV stations that air wrestling and MMA
*The most detailed look at the television ratings and how each segment did this past week
*Streaming numbers and international TV numbers
*Upcoming ticket sales for the AEW & WWE shows
*Annual last man in a cage loses their mask match at Arena Mexico
*More on FTR vs. Dragon Lee & Dralistico
*More on AEW talent holding belts in AAA
*Notes on New Japan shows in the U.S.
*Independent awards for Japan
*Annual New Year’s Eve trios tournament in Japan
*PWG Battle of Los angeles notes
*NWA changing aspects of its business
*Death of The Flying Greek, Mike Pappas
*Former WWE exec gets removed from a public appearance
*Champion bodybuilder who became a TV wrestler in the U.K. passes away
Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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Monday Update
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw and the latest wrestling and MMA news as well as more from BOLA with Wrestling Observer Radio tonight. We had a show last night covering BOLA and the Saturday show that Garrett Gonzales and I did talking to Mike Tenay about the death of his close friend and broadcast partner Don West is up on the site free right now.
Raw tonight is in Birmingham, AL. No matches have been announced, only that Alexa Bliss will explain her heel turn and attack on Bianca Belair. Odyssey Jones and Von Wagner are backstage at Raw tonight, as is Bo Dallas. Bo Dallas looked to be Uncle Howdy on Smackdown. So that character could be part of the Alexa Bliss segment tonight. Jones and Wagner are likely working the Main Event show. About 7,100 tickets were out as of this morning.
The 2/18 New Japan show in San Jose with Mercedes Mone’s debut match with New Japan challenging Kairi for the IWGP women’s title has sold out the Civic Auditorium with 2,150 tickets. There may be some seats added later. They were going to do well and may have sold out and would have come close, but she did move 600 tickets since Wednesday.
WWE stock continues to rise, closing at $87.82 per share today, up $3.42. The announcement of WrestleMania topping $17.3 million in ticket sales between the two nights plus talk of a sale led to the boost.
Daga and Tessa Blanchard have announced they are separated.
An obit of Johnny “Powerlock” Powers, a major 70s star in the U.S. and Japan, from the Hamilton newspaper. He was originally from Hamilton. (thanks to Eric Poon)
A quick mention is that after BOLA, Don Callis was there. He didn’t come to ringside during the show. He did come out but most fans didn’t see him during the Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mike Bailey final. There were AEW cameras with him with them acting like a group of reporters asking him questions after the show ended. The idea was he was there for Takeshita and talked about that. Later, he cut an interview with Takeshita. It appeared the idea is Takeshita is confused with Callis’ interest in him, or at least that’s what I garnered form his facial expressions during part of the interview.
Jericho said he had so much fun at last night’s PWG show and was glad the secret didn’t get out. It was known by a few fans, not a lot, that there would be an AEW surprise and a bunch of names were being talked about but Jericho was not one of them. People were telling me about a surprise but now what it was. It was really well done and the atmosphere was off the charts, even by PWG standards, for that entire match.
NXT and AEW have major TV’s the next two days. New Year’s Evil has Bron Breakker vs. Grayson Waller for the NXT title, a 20 woman Battle Royal for a title shot at Roxanne Perez, Indus Sher vs. Creeds, Dijak vs. Tony D’Angelo, a gauntlet match with Pretty Deadly for a tag title shot and Charlie Dempsey vs. Hank Walker.
AEW has one of the biggest Dynamite lineups ever from the Kia Forum in Los angeles with Death Triangle vs. Elie in a ladder match for the trios title as the final of the best of seven series plus Bryan Danielson vs. Konosuke Takeshita, the first Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley match after the scary ending that has put Page of out action for a few months with a concussion and Toni Storm & Saraya vs. Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter. They are at about 8,200 tickets out for the show. It’s far from sold out, but I had thought 8,000 would be a good second show attendance and it was not a lock they would it that mark.
The 1/22 Great Muta & Sting & Darby Allin vs. AKIRA & Hakushi & Naomichi Marufuji NOAH show at the Yokohama Arena, the final Great Muta match (he has one more left after as Keiji Muto) will air on FITE at 1 a.m. Eastern the night of 1/21.
Other Notes
Northeast Wrestling sold out their show on Saturday night Bethany CT and they are adding a 2 p.m. show Saturday in the building. They are running monthly at the NEW Arena on 40 Peck Rd.
Pro Wrestling Revolution has vacated its tag team titles. Dragon Lee & Dralistico were champions but Lee is now with WWE. They will crown new champions on a 3/11 show in San Jose.
Bandido is in San Jose this week doing a seminar for the students at the school Surprisingly since the show is in Los Angeles, Bandido is not booked for Wednesday’s show. He has did work this past Wednesday in a streaming match in Seattle.
The return of CrusherFest, an all-day celebration of The Crusher with polish food and polka bands as well as wrestling and appearances by legendary past wrestles will be on 6/3 and 6/4 in South Milwaukee where the statue of the Crusher is.
Eddie Edwards & Moose & Steve Maclin face Jonathan Gresham & Joe Hendry & Rich Swann in the main event of Thursday’s Impact show.
Bret Hart was announced for a wrestling convention in Morristown, NJ on 5/6 at the Mennen Sports Arena. Also appearing are Dory Funk Jr., Nikita Koloff, Magnum T.A., Mike Enos, Wayne Bloom, Demotion, Warlord, Barbarian, David Schultz, Wendi Richter, Brian Blair, Jim Brunzell, Leilani Kai, Steve Keirn, Dennis Condrey, Godfather, Tony Atlas, Tommy Rich, Mr. Hughes, Virgil and Manny Fernandez There will also be a show in the building that night featuring Carlito, Val Venis, Dirty Dango, Eugene, Warlord, Barbarian Davey Boy Smith Jr, Snitsky, Matt Striker, danny Morrison and Brian Kendrick. They will also be honoring Randy Savage and Chris Candido.
Wrestling Inc. reported Tuesday that Daga has been released by Impact Wrestling per his request.
The 32-year-old had been with the company since February 2019. He had worked on and off for them while regularly wrestling around the world for MLW and other indie promotions.
The report said Daga (Miguel Angel Olivo) had asked for his release “some time ago” but that Impact held off as they wanted him to re-sign. Daga’s fiancee, former Impact World Champion Tessa Blanchard, had her contract terminated in June as there was friction between the two sides leading up to her release. It’s unknown if he asked for his release when Blanchard was cut, or when his contract was up.
He has yet to confirm the news on social media, but did tweet Monday, “It’s just a matter of time…”
He is a former AAA Cruiserweight Champion and is also a Lucha Underground alumni where he was a Trios Champion.
Impact Wrestling returns from Sam’s Town Casino in Las Vegas, NV for tonight’s episode. One of the only promotions lucky enough to have a set of taped shows pending to air.
Opening video focused on the final match in the Edwards vs Elgin series, where they went to a double count, but despite the controversy Impact World Champion Tessa Blanchard decided to challenge them both to a 3-way title match at Rebellion.
Ken Shamrock was shown arriving at the arena, with Scott D’Amore making sure the building is secured.
Impact World Tag Team champions The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) defeated TJP & Fallah Bahh to retain the titles
Match started with both teams going straight for blows in the ring. The North took out TJP, so Bahh went against both men, getting the upper hand by sending Page out and slamming Josh.
TJP came in and hit a Poetry in Motion for a quick pin attempt. Similar to last week, TJP went for a springboard, but Page caught him. This time, TJP escaped and chased the ankle lock. Alexander blocked and thanks to Page, broke off TJP’s submission and cut him off.
The North worked over TJP for a couple of minutes, mostly going after the back with stomps and rest holds. Page hit a huge backbreaker, but when he tried to follow with the stalling suplex, TJP reversed, escaped, and tagged Bahh, all behind the referee’s back.
The North continued working over TJP with double team moves. Eventually, TJP dodged and escaped and tagged Bahh, who ran wild on both men, earning a two count on Alexander with a pop-up powerbomb.
TJP tried to hit a double team with Bahh, but Page tossed TJP to the apron for Alexander to hit his Diving Crossbody.
Back from commercial, The North have once again regained control of the ring, but not for long. Bahh and TJP hit a double team on Josh for a two count.
TJP and Alexander come to blows in the middle of the ring, TJP hits a kick combo and takes him out with a kick, but right there is Page to take him out. Bahh takes out Page, Alexander hits a German on Bahh, but Bahh fires up and takes out Alexander too.
Bahh tried to hit a superplex on Page, but Alexander cut him off and hit an electric chair drop. A swanton by Page followed, then The North hit their finisher, but Bahh kicked out at 2.99.
The North go for their other finisher on Bahh, but he blocks it and hits a double lariat to get the tag to TJP, who came in with a Bomba Splash. He misses the swanton, but rolls over and locks in the Rings of Saturn on Page. Bahh locks in the Abdominal Stretch on Alexander.
Alexander falls back on Bahh’s weight and pulls the ref down with him, so he doesn’t see when Page taps to TJP’s submission.
After the distraction, Bahh hits a dive on Josh, but in the ring, Page takes out Bahh with a superkick. TJP goes for the Detonation Kick on Alexander, but Page blocks it. The North hit the Northern Assault then pin TJP to retain.
Great opener, really action-packed, this could have been a PPV match.
We got a promo by Eddie Edwards talking about his Lockdown team. Lockdown has been postponed, and thus they had a notice on the screen but they still ran the promo. Eddie said he wanted Dreamer, Daga, and Tessa Blanchard.
The Real Housewives of Slamtown with Taya, Heather Monroe, Holly, and Rosemary aired. Everyone was glamorous while Rosemary was, well, Rosemary. They were just drinking champagne and talking and arguing and happy until they were drunk. Then they went to a club where Rosemary sucked Holly’s soul until Taya stopped her, only because Holly was making mimosas next week. This was something alright.
Don Callis and Josh Matthews addressed the hacker, saying that they’re doing everything possible to secure the production trucks. In addition, they ran down tonight’s card and some of the matches that were scheduled for Lockdown.
Chris Bey defeated Damien Drake
Not exactly his debut, but his first match as an official Impact roster member.
Headlock to start the match. They seem to start a sequence of reversals, but Bey quickly put down his opponent with a shoulder tackle. Bey took down Damien with a low kick, then a kick to the head to send him to the floor, followed by a tope con giro.
Back in the ring, Bey hit a couple more impressive looking kicks, a jumping European uppercut and a snap neckbreaker.
Drake tried to mount a comeback but Bey blocked, superkicked him, hit a rana to the corner then connected with a jumping knee that nearly knocked out Drake. Bey hit a springboard famouser for the win.
Good debut match. Bey has tons of charisma and potential.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was Shamrock winning the NWA title in the first NWA/TNA show.
Backstage, Alisha Edwards asked Jordynne Grace to be part of her Lockdown team.
We got another vignette for Tenille Dashwood’s return.
Gabbi Loren interviewed Chase Stevens. Wow, that’s a name I hadn’t heard off in a while. He is talking about the (now cancelled) TNA nostalgia show. Moose interrupted him and said he didn’t know who Chase was, but he should know him. They brawled for a bit. It sucks for all these guys hoping to make a comeback on that show. Moose’s coat was AMAZING!
We got to the final episode of Gut Check. The finalists are “Shogun” Jackson Stone and Tyler Tirva. Shogun is huge, but doesn’t look so good in the ring. Tirva is a pretty boy, he has a good look, but hasn’t been shown in the ring yet. Some of the talent talked about their Gut Check experience in the past.
At the end, we got the match between the two, with Shogun taking the win. The match was cut to look awesome. “Shogun” Jackson Stone was the man to capture the Impact contract. He’ll fit right in with the Sheras, Willie Macks, and Elgins of Impact, as he has the size for it.
Jimmy Jacobs had a sit-down interview with Tessa Blanchard. He asked about Tessa’s reign and how it had been. She couldn’t put it into words because it’s a day-to-day run, dealing with Ace, Taya, and so on, so she’s not just riding the reign. Jacobs asked about her challenging both Elgin and Edwards at Rebellion. Tessa said that she is not scared and she’ll take on everyone and that she won’t hide from two of the best in the world, then she will prove she is the deserving champion. Good stuff. Jacobs is great.
Joey Ryan came out with new attire, new theme, and a huge banner that said Cancel Culture, which is the team name for Ryan and RVD. Forbes was completely covering herself.
Joey Ryan cut a promo to reintroduce himself as Joseph P. Ryan. He said they have extraordinary gifts. RVD is an innovator, Forbes has an amazing butt, and Ryan has a legendary penis. He said that they never asked for the fan’s opinions and thus they were objectified and thus they were taking it all away from the fans.
Rob cut a promo on all those fans that talk trash about them showing too much skin and doing sexy antics.
Cancel Culture (Joseph P. Ryan & Rob Van Dam, with Katie Forbes) defeated The Deaners
Cousin Jake and Ryan started the match. Jake easily took down Ryan with straight punches, a kneelift by Cody, and a lariat by Jake for an early pin attempt.
Cody, now in the ring, got taken out with a jawbreaker by Ryan and a kick by RVD. He teased the Rolling Thunder, but didn’t deliver. Likewise, Ryan teased the dong-plex, but didn’t deliver either. All that stalling gave Cody the opening to tag in Jake, who came in hot, earning a two count with a Scoop Slam.
Cousin Jake hit the corner spear on RVD and a body block on Ryan, but when they planned to hit the Giv’er Drop, Katie Forbes distracted them long enough for Ryan to hit the superkick on Jake, setting up the 5-Star Frog Splash by RVD for the win.
Gabbi Loren tried to interview Ken Shamrock about his announcement tonight. Ken just said that it was Impact’s management that called him in, so we’d all find out together.
Backstage, Ace Austin approached Willie Mack, who said he appreciated the help, but that he didn’t really need it. Ace said that he was impressed with Mack and said that he himself was interested in getting the tag team titles and he wanted to do it with him. Mack said that he only has one partner and that is Swann. Ace asked Mack if he was interested in being a champion, to which Mack said he was, and so he was in next weeks’ X-Division No. 1 conterndership match.
Kiera Hogan defeated Lacey Ryan
Hogan jumped Lacey to start the match, but after some shots, Lacey got a German on Hogan and a dropkick to get the upper hand. Lacey went for a springboard elbow, but Hogan dodged, kicked her, and hit a version of a leg drop on the apron for a two count.
Hogan worked a bit on Ryan, choking her against the ropes. When she tried to chop her, Lacey came back with a real chop. Kiera hit a running low kick for a two count.
Hogan countered a kick by Lacey and locked in some bodyscissors, then transitioned into a sleeper, forcing Lacey to break out. Lacey landed a heavy slap, followed with a trio of big clotheslines, then finally landed a springboard elbow. Lacey hit a modified GTS for a great near fall.
Lacey went for a frog splash, but Hogan moved away, escaped a German, kicked Lacey, and hit a swinging neckbreaker to pick up the win. This may be Hogan’s first match in over a year.
Somewhere backstage, Su Yung picked up a letter from James MItchell. The letter said that Havok vs. Su Yung should happen in the Undead Realm so Rosemary wouldn’t interfere and so they can put an end to this war.
Michael Elgin cut a promo introducing his team for Lethal Lockdown. He tried to create some dissension between Eddie and Tessa. He added Taya Valkyrie to his team, in addition to The North. This Team Canada looks fantastic!
Daga defeated Jake Crist
Collar and elbow lock up to start the match, but they quickly transition into a battle for wrist-control. Some mat wrestling follows until Jake makes the ropes to escape.
Jake Crist decided to strike Daga, but he countered with lucha-style wrestling, then got into a fast-paced sequence with Jake until he went for the ropes as soon as Daga locked in a submission.
They fought themselves to the apron where Jake dropped Daga knee-first, but it wasn’t enough until Jake blocked a tope suicida with a kick and hit a diving DDT to the floor.
Back from commercial, Jake was working on Daga with a side Russian leg sweep and a stump puller submission attempt. They exchange kicks and clotheslines until both are down. They went back at it, exchanging forearms in the middle of the ring that ended with Daga taking down Jake with a sequence of clotheslines. He followed with a dragon screw and a magistral cradle for a two count.
Daga hit a sitdown powerbomb for a second two count. Jake came back with a kick combo to the face for another two count. Crist hit a German, but Daga fired up and landed a German bridge of his own for a two count. Daga went for a top rope move, but Jake caught him with a cutter.
Daga then hit the dragon suplex and finished off Jake with Daga Driver. Fantastic match.
We went backstage, where security had supposedly found the hacker. They drag some dude outside. D’Amore is notified, and as it turns out it was Ryan Cage, the minister. He was still taken out when he asked to see his brother.
Next week, Tessa & Eddie team up to take on Elgin & Taya. Also, an X-Division #1 Contender’s Scramble match, Havok vs. Su Yung in the Undead Realm, and Rhino & Sabu vs. Madman Fulton & Dave Crist.
Josh Matthews introduced Ken Shamrock and talked about the TNA nostalgia show. Matthews talked about Shamrock vs. Fulton and said that he showed he still had a lot in the tank. The fans chanted for another match.
Shamrock said that Impact management invited him here for something special. Josh Matthews thanked him for all he’s done for MMA and pro wrestling and officially announced that Ken Shamrock is being inducted to the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame.
They played a great video of Shamrock’s career, but suddenly, the broadcast was interrupted by the hacker ICU. When the lights came back, Sami Callihan was in the ring and hit a fireball on Shamrock. He used his phone to turn the lights off and disappear. Finally, a non-magical excuse as to why lights go off.
Doctors and referees checked on Shamrock as the show went off the air.
Final Thoughts —
A really good show by Impact. Fantastic action inside the ring, and while a lot of the storylines were for shows that are already confirmed as postponed, they all in a way also build towards Rebellion, which is still on the schedule.
Impact Wrestling returns from Fronton Mexico in Mexico City for tonight’s episode.
Opening video focused on highlighting the Elgin vs Edwards feud that kicked off the best-of-five series last week with Elgin winning.
Tessa Blanchard came out to start the show. Tessa addressed Ace Austin’s comments from last week, saying he doesn’t have to play games with her, if he wants to fight, she’s easy to find. They have a match scheduled for Sacrifice, but Tessa called him out for tonight.
Out came Ace Austin, along with Reno Scum. Ace sent out Thornstowe to fight Tessa instead.
Tessa Blanchard defeated Adam Thornstowe (w/ Ace Austin & Luster The Legend)
Thornstowe started the match overpowering Tessa a bit and getting a cheap shot, but Tessa brought the match back with strikes. She went for the running knees, but Luster distracted Tessa, only to dodge Thornstowe who accidentally took out Luster. Tessa followed with the running knees.
Tessa hit a tilt-a-whirl headscissors on Thornstowe, then followed with a dive on Luster, but he caught her in the air and slammed her against the apron.
Back in the ring, Thornstowe worked a bit on Tessa, mostly strikes and stomps, but also a couple of headlocks in between. Thornstowe got a two count by stomping on Tessa’s arm. Thornstowe started to get cocky with Scoop Slams, but when he mocked Tessa’s pose and went for a standing moonsault, Tessa dodged and made her comeback with strikes and clotheslines.
Tessa hit a rana and a samoan drop. Superkick and Thornstowe fell on both Luster and Austin, followed by two Suicide Dives by Tessa, and a final Somersault from the top rope to the floor.
Back in the ring, Tessa got a two count with a cutter. Thornstowe went for an Impaler DDT, but Tessa reversed into the Buzzsaw DDT for the win. Ok opener.
After the match, Luster grabbed Tessa from behind with a bearhug. She took him out with a low blow, but Ace Austin was there to take her out. Reno Scum held Tessa while Ace prepared to hit her with his stick, but Dreamer came down for the save.
Backstage, Taya approached Rayne and Hogan to ask them to take out Jordynne Grace again. This time, Rayne and Hogan tell Taya that they’re not doing it again.
We got footage from ‘during the break’ where Tommy Dreamer challenged Ace Austin to a street fight for tonight. Callis and Matthews confirmed the match, but the screen was interrupted by a QR Code that said ‘scan me’. They also announced that Rhino vs Moose has been signed for Sacrifice.
Rhino defeated Taurus by DQ
Collar and elbow to start the match, both men seem at the same level. They do a couple of Japanese shoulder tackle challenges to each other until Rhino gets the better of the exchange, only for Taurus to return with one of his own and send Rhino to the outside, where Taurus tries to follow, but gets tripped out by Rhino.
Both animals brawled outside the ring. Rhino accidentally clotheslined the ringpost and ran back in the ring, but Taurus was right behind him as he started working over Rhino’s arm.
Taurus took out Rhino’s knee and hit a shining wizard for a two count. Taurus followed with a twisting moonsault, but Rhino moved out of the way. Both men traded chops and Rhino started his comeback with clotheslines and a belly-to-belly for a two count. Taurus hit a Diamond-giri for a two count.
Rhino came back with a big Spinerbuster, set up the Gore, but Moose came down and attacked Rhino for the DQ. Moose attacked Taurus too, but then Moose started to play to the crowd and allowed both men to recover. Taurus hit a headbutt and Rhino the Gore to send Moose packing.
Michael Elgin cut a promo against a mirror saying that he used to look up to Eddie Edwards, but now it’s Eddie that looks up to him. He said he’s going 3-0 on the series and will finally claim the world championship soon after.
Johnny Swinger walked up to the Desi Hit Squad and challenged them to a tag match, but when Shera stood up to him, he backed out and made it Willie Mack vs Mahabali Shera.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was Team 3D vs Beer Money vs Motor City Machine Guns from Sacrifice 2010.
Taya was now trying to get Rosemary to help her with Jordynne, but Rosemary wasn’t even paying attention to her, she was stalking James Mitchell, who she locked inside a room. Taya was fantastic.
Back from commercial, Havok tried to free Mitchell, but Rosemary jumped her and choked her out. Rosemary now has Susie all to herself.
Rosemary vs. Susie ended in a double countout
Man, I hope Su Yung comes back, Susie’s song is terrible.
Rosemary offered Susie a free slap, but Susie only offered to shake her hand. Rosemary pulled her hands to choke her, but Susie didn’t want to hurt her. Eventually, Rosemary slapped Susie with Su Yung’s dirty glove.
Susie took the glove, put it on, screamed, and jumped on Rosemary, attacking her. Susie hit a huge Shotei and choked Rosemary. Susie locked in the Mandible Claw until Rosemary broke it and ran out of the ring.
Both women started brawling up the ramp and into backstage, and into the same stairwell where Havok ‘killed’ Su Yung last time they were in Mexico. We started getting flashbacks of that match, as Rosemary tried to hang Susie again until she finally brought back Su Yung.
Havok joined the fight and had a staredown with Yung. Visually, this was great, but the whole thing was all around terrible.
Back from commercial, we just saw the aftermath of the chaos as Rosemary, Havok, and two staff members having been all taken out by Su Yung, who is nowhere to be seen. Mitchell gets there only to see Rosemary laughing. Mitchell tells her we’re all doomed.
TJP (w/ Fallah Bahh) defeated El Hijo del Vikingo
Match started with a fast-paced mat wrestling sequence with both men wrestling for wrist control. This sequence transitioned into some lucha spots with tons of counters and reversals. Vikingo got into TJP’s guard and the match became a short slap fest until they both went for the dropkick and the standoff.
TJP tried to fake out Vikingo to the outside, but Vikingo hit a springboard spear, sent him out with a rana, followed with a tope con giro and a shooting star press from the apron to the floor.
Back in the ring, Vikingo went for a springboard 450, but TJP dodged and pinned him with a senton atomico. TJP went for a butterfly lock submission, but Vikingo got out and locked in a version of the Mecedora, but TJP actually escaped into a sunset flip, rolled over, and did the Pentagon armbreaker on Vikingo.
TJP hit a side leg sweep for a two count. He continued working on Vikingo’s now injured arm with a shoulder breaker. TJP and Vikingo started exchanging strikes, Vikingo relying on kicks, eventually, TJP hit a punch and Vikingo countered into an armbar, but TJP escaped and transitioned into the last chancery, working the arm. Vikingo made the ropes.
Both men went back to the chops, but Vikingo has a chest plate, so he obviously won the exchange. There was a quick spot with TJP chasing Vikingo to the outside, where Vikingo kicked TJP and followed with an over-the-turnbuckle tope con giro. This is awesome chants.
Back in the ring, Vikingo set TJP in the ropes, kicked him in the back then hit a second rope leg drop for a two count. TJP jumped from the second rope with a wheelbarrow, and hit a Tombstone Piledriver, followed by a top rope elbow for a two count.
TJP went for the third rope, but Vikingo knocked him down and hit the running knees, only to get a two count. Vikingo went for the top rope, but TJP jumped and hit a superplex out of nowhere. TJP transitioned into the Octopus Stretch, but Vikingo made the ropes.
Vikingo hit a spin kick then went for a springboard, but TJP caught him, went for the detonation kick, but Vikingo reversed it into the Dragonrana, only for TJP to catch Vikingo’s leg and locked in the submission for the win. Awesome match!
After the match, The North jumped Vikingo, but Fallah Bahh was there to save both TJP and Vikingo.
Backstage, Katie Forbes approached Joey Ryan about Joey’s comments when he said she wanted to touch it. Forbes distracted Ryan enough until RVD jumped him from behind.
Gabi Loren tried to interview RVD about losing his cool with Ryan, but RVD said that he’s still cool. Ryan vs RVD next week.
Daga & Dr. Wagner Jr. (w/ Galeno del Mal) defeated oVe (w/ Madman Fulton)
Wagner and Dave Crist start the match. They did a little bit of lockup before Wagner dropped Dave with a toehold and followed with a low kick. Wagner powerslam for a one count before tagging in Jake Crist.
Wagner got the better of Jake with clotheslines. Wagner hit a cutter on Jake and tagged in Daga. He and Jake did a quick sequence of kicks and counters that ended with both men hitting DVDs one after the other. Jake left the ring, but Daga followed with a baseball slide. Daga chased after Jake, but Dave was there to clothesline him and cut him off.
Back in the ring, oVe seemed to start working on Daga, but he quickly took out Dave with a kick combo and tagged in Wagner for the warm tag. Wagner did dragon screws on both Crists, German suplex on Jake Crist, and tagged Daga back in again.
Daga hit a running boot, followed by a running kick by Wagner. tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Daga on Jake, followed by a Brainbuster for a two count when Dave broke it off. Jake Crist hit a kick combo on Daga and tagged in Dave.
Dave came in with a Meteora into Jake’s knees on Daga, hit a spike piledriver on Daga, but Wagner broke up the pin. Diamond-giri by Wagner on Jake, followed by a rolling senton to the floor. In the ring, Daga hit the Daga driver on Dave Crist for the win.
Fulton attacked them both after the match, going after Daga. Fulton hit the End of Days, then went after Galeno del Mal. Fulton was the last man standing.
Backstage, Swinger tried to play it out that it was Mack’s fault that Shera was after him. Mack said it was cool, he’d take on Shera, but he didn’t need Swinger out there with him.
Next week: Taya vs Jordynne Grace for the Knockouts title, RVD vs. Joey Ryan, Madman Fulton vs Daga, and match 2 of the Elgin vs. Edwards series.
X-Division Champion Ace Austin defeated Tommy Dreamer in a non-title street fight
Everyone is banned from ringside according to Josh Matthews.
Dreamer started the match by pushing into Ace, tossing him out of the ring early on and following through to the floor for the brawl. Dreamer spat water on Ace’s face, but Ace recovered for a bit until Dreamer hit a suplex on the ramp.
Dreamer brought out a garbage can of weapons, which he slammed on Ace’s back. Dreamer’s first weapon was a crutch while he used a Mexican sombrero. The brawl went into the stage area where Ace started going into the crowd, only for Dreamer to chase after him, choking him across the rafters.
After some brawling around the crowd, Ace caught Dreamer with a kick, sending him down to the floor and back into ringside where Ace hit a huge crossbody over the crowd. Ace followed up with punches and chops, but Dreamer came back and dropped him while Ace did his apron headstand tricks.
Dreamer pillmanized Ace’s wrist. Dreamer went for a DDT on the chair, but Ace blocked it and did the paper cut on Dreamer’s forehead, busting him open pretty bad. Ace followed with chair shots to the back of Dreamer. Ace then went for a table.
Ace went for another chair shot, but Dreamer kicked it into Ace’s face, but was smart enough to follow with an elbow drop on the chair, which probably hurt him more. Dreamer hit the Bionic Elbow. Dreamer hit a cutter for a two count.
Dreamer rushed at Ace with a Kendo stick, but Ace dodged and took him out with a famouser for a two count. Ace started swinging at Dreamer with the kendo stick until Dreamer connected with a side Russian leg sweep with the kendo stick. Dreamer went for the top rope kendo shot, but Ace caught him with a kick as he came down. Ace continued with paper cuts, but Dreamer hit the groin claw and a huge DDT for a two count.
Dreamer whipped Ace into a chair in the corner and used the momentum to go and power slam Ace into the chair, but he only got a two count. Out came the ladder.
Ace hit a Backstabber, went to the top rope, but Dreamer stopped him. Dreamer set up the ladder in the middle rope where Dreamer stood to superplex Ace, but Ace hit him with his magic stick, dropping Dreamer onto the ladder. Ace followed with The Fold and picked up the win.
Final Thoughts —
Go watch TJP vs. Hijo del Vikingo now. The rest of the show was good, we got some good wrestling and some storyline developments heading into Sacrifice, with only small hints towards Rebellion.
Impact Wrestling returns from Queens, NY for tonight’s episode on the road to Hard To Kill. Opening video focused on the No. 1 Contenders for the Tag Team Titles being crowned when Swann overcame the odds and pinned Dave Crist. It touched on Tessa facing Fulton, and Shamrock fighting Callihan in last week’s main event, ending with Fulton destroying Shamrock.
Jordynne Grace defeated Tenille Dashwood
Collar and elbow tie up to start the match with both women being quite equal in ability, Dashwood had some nice wrist control locks, but failed when she went for the full nelson and Jordynne overpowered her. Tons of counters and switches until Tenille locked in a kimura after countering the Grace Driver, provoking Grace into the shoulder tackle and deadlift suplex for a two count. Tenille seemed to hurt her leg on the bad landing on the ropes on that suplex.
Tenille hit a Russian Leg Sweep for a two count. Grace used her power to hard whip Dashwood into the corner. Tenille locked in the Tarantula and followed with a double underhook, but Grace got out, countered by Tenille into a DDT for a two count.
Tenille went for the Spotlight, but Grace dodged and went for a schoolgirl pin for a two count. Grace came back with a huge spinebuster for a near fall. Jordynne chased the Grace Driver, but after being blocked, hit a short distance lariat for another two count.
Jordynne went for the running knees, but Tenille dodged, hit the low crossbody and the butterfly suplex and earned a close two count. Low dropkick by Tenille and la magistral, but Jordynne reversed into a roll up and got the quick pin on Tenille. Really good opener, I’d be down for a rematch. They put each other over after the match.
Taya Valkyrie ran down and attacked Jordynne until Tenille made the save and set up Taya for a Grace Suplex and sent Taya packing.
Backstage, Moose told Rhino that he saw his match with RVD and reminded Rhino that at Slammiversary, he defeated RVD and he could had given him some pointers. Rhino Gored Moose for no reason.
Backstage, The North approached Willie Mack who thought he was being jumped. Page told him that they’re not looking for a fight but Mack was provoking them. Page tried to get to Mack’s head about Swann becoming a star and Mack letting him fly. Swann came in and told them to screw off.
TJP (w/Fallah Bahh) defeated Daga
TJP and Daga look like they should be a tag team, both in look and wrestling style.
Match started with a great sequence of fast paced counters and reversals, some chain wrestling, fighting for wrist control. TJP with the winning dropkick to get the upper hand.
They continued with the quick reversals, looking for the flash pin, Daga getting a two count. Daga then went after TJP’s arm, with an armbar that he would not release and constantly get TJP back into it. TJP however, went for the head with some headscissors, locking in the neck.
They went back into pin exchanges into the double dropkick to a standing ovation. These two are gold together.
Back from commercial, both men are exchanging strikes before TJP sends Daga to the floor and follows with a springboard dropkick a la Jericho. Senton atomico by TJP for a two count before going back to the neck. Daga tries to escape, but TJP reverses and uses the Pentagon armbreaker on Daga out of nowhere and changes his focus to the arm now. TJP followed with a couple of over-the-shoulder arm snaps.
Daga made a comeback with a rana into the corner and some kicks. He followed with a big sunset flip into a foot stomp for a two count. Running forearms by Daga, running boot, and big Senton for another two count.
Daga went for the tiger bomb, but TJP escaped. They reversed pins until both men traded big kicks on each other. Once on their feet, they traded strikes in the middle of the ring until TJP got a surprise rana into an armbar and transitioned into a triangle hold, but Daga lifted TJP off and locked in an abdominal stretch. TJP escaped and locked in an Octopus, countered by Daga into a half crab into the STF, but TJP got the roll up for a two count. Double clothesline in the center of the ring for the ‘This Is Impact’ chant.
Kick combo by Daga for a two count. TJP went for a superplex, but Daga countered, dropped TJP, and went for the foot stomp but TJP blocked and went for the Superplex again, successfully landing it. TJP follows with Detonation Kick, but Daga kicks out. TJP then transitions into a kneebreaker into Rings of Saturn for the submission win. Fantastic match, this is a must watch.
After the match, Desi Hit Squad jumped TJP and Bahh, taking both out until Daga made the save. Mahabali Shera came out and took out Daga with a huge Chokeslam. Gama Singh applauded his team.
Cage was in the restroom when he found RVD and Forbes making out. RVD wished Cage luck for their match at Hard To Kill. RVD said that he’ll have no problem with him since he knows the counters of all his own moves.
Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes came out. Forbes introduced RVD in the most cringiest way. Forbes and RVD made out in the ring for a long time while the camera slowly zoomed in. Anyway, Rob talked about getting a lot of attention lately and made fun of the fans for having short attention spans. Rob said that he is taking a stand and taking the long due credit for creating every move and style that we see everywhere today.
He said that Brian Cage vs RVD was a dream match only for Cage, he called him the biggest RVD mark. This provoked Cage to come out.
Cage got face to face with RVD. Rob actually is taller than Cage. They traded some strikes until Cage dropped Rob with a discus forearm, but Katie low blowed Cage and set up Cage to get a top rope leg drop and a VanTerminator, except he didn’t give the fans what they wanted and only delivered a short distance dropkick instead. Rob and Forbes made out before leaving to the back.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was The Motor City Machine Guns vs Generation Me aka The Young Bucks in a Full Metal Mayhem match for the TNA Tag Team Championships.
Somewhere in the Undead Realm, Rosemary approached Suzie, who said was lost. Rosemary tried to bring back some memories about her former self. James Mitchell came in for the save and told Suzie to stay away from Rosemary. Havok jumped in and attacked Rosemary. The brawling brought back some memories to Suzie, who unleashed a big scream and made everyone stop.
Backstage, Madison Rayne and Kiera Hogan are talking when Taya approached them. They knew that Taya wanted a favor and told her off, but Taya still asked. She wanted help dealing with Tenille, ODB, and Jordynne. Taya offered them both title shots if they help her retain at Hard To Kill.
Speed vs power match up with Page getting the better of Swann early on with a headlock, but Swann’s athleticism helps him escape and dropkick Page to get some control. Swann goes for the ten punches in the corner and follows with some chops.
Snapmare and kick to the back of Page. Swann is striking Page, but Alexander grabs Swann’s foot, allowing Page to rake the eyes, hit a suplex, and get a quick two count while Mack is busy distracting the referee against Swann’s benefits.
Now in control, Page started stomping Swann left and right. Page went for a suplex, but Swann small packaged him for a two count, only to get taken out by Page again. Page continued to work on him, tossing him from corner to corner, choking him against the ropes, stomping him repeatedly.
Swann finally caught Page with a kick and a jumping clothesline to get some time to recover. Swann hit a Swinging Neckbreaker and a kick for a two count. diamondgiri and cartwheel pin by Swann for a two count.
Swann went for the top rope, but Josh distracted him allowing Page to get him with a strike, a blockbuster and a Gotch Styles Clash. Page went for the Razor’s Edge, but Swann escaped and hit a kick combo for a two count.
Swann went for the second rope 450, but Page dodged, shoulder tackled Swann and went for the Swanton Bomb. Rich blocked him and went for the superplex but Page straight up scoop slammed Swann from the top rope and followed with the Swanton for a two count.
Page missed the shoulder tackle, Swann hit a standing headscissors and sent Page outside. Swann went for an tope con giro, but Josh pushed Page away and took the hit instead. Page provoked Willie Mack outside and Mack took the bait and punched Page for the DQ win.
Commentary sold it as Swann and Mack needing to get their act together.
Backstage, Moose jumped Rhino and they started a pull apart brawl.
Joey Ryan defeated Acey Romero
Before the match could start, Johnny Swinger came out and sat for commentary.
Ryan oiled up before the match, secured his lollipop and asked Acey to touch his penis. Acey and Joey locked up with the former overpowering the latter. Joey tried to do some penis moves, but Acey responded with a big crossbody to gain control. Joey tried a comeback, but Acey responded with a spinebuster for a two count.
Joey punched Acey causing him to fall head first into Joey’s crotch, getting hit hard. Joey went to use the lollipop, but in the rumbling, he gave it to the ref, taking him out.
Joey went for the penis flip, but Swinger attacked him. Acey took out Swinger, and then Joey came back, hit the Penis Flip on Acey, Lollipop Sweet Tooth Music and pin. Not particularly good, even for the comedy.
Gabbi Loren interviewed Tessa Blanchard about Sami Callihan’s treat about exposing her. Tessa said she wasn’t worried about what he could say, because she knew that it meant that Sami was worried about her coming for the title at Hard To Kill.
Backstage, Elgin approached some guys in the locker room and stole Eddie’s trophy.
X-Division Champion Ace Austin defeated Petey Williams in a non-title match
Quick sequence of reversals to start the match, Ace got an early kick in, but Petey countered with a big punch. Ace went for a springboard kick, but Petey once again blocked him. Ace then hit a springboard armdrag but Petey came back with a codebreaker and running dropkick to the back. Petey went for the sharpshooter but Ace ran away outside, only to get taken out with a jumping hurricanrana. Outside, Ace hit his apron kick bomb.
Back from commercial, Ace is still in control, going after Petey’s neck. Ace dodges a German and hits a kick for a two count.
Ace went for the paper cut, but Petey pulled him in for a roll up two count, followed with a German suplex and a leg sweep. Petey called for the destroyer, but Ace caught him with a kick and the bangarama for a two count. Ace signaled for The Fold, but Petey dodged, went for the Destroyer again but Ace blocked him and pushed him to the corner where he went for a kick until Petey blocked him. Ace went for a superplex, but Petey also blocked it and went for a top rope destroyer that Ace blocked.
Petey powerbombed Ace, went for another destroyer, but failed. Petey tried to roll Ace, but Ace escaped, took the rebound on the ropes and came back with The Fold for the win. Ok match.
After the match, Ace Austin took a mic and dedicated this match to Trey Miguel’s mom. Mocked The Rascalz before leaving.
Backstage, Trey Miguel confronted Ace Austin about being in his mom into this. Ace pushed Trey’s buttons and they brawled until Reno Scum separated them. I love a serious Rascalz story.
Commentary ran down the Hard To Kill card and announced that Rhino vs Moose and Shamrock vs Fulton have been confirmed.
Sami Callihan came out to the ring to expose Tessa Blanchard’s secrets.
Callihan first said that Tessa was a fake and phony. He said that at Hard To Kill, they’ll make history as the first pay-per-view intergender World Championship match. Callihan called the fans out for trying to make this a gender thing when he doesn’t care if Tessa is a woman because he treats her as anyone else and for him, there is no intergender wrestling, just professional wrestling.
Callihan said that Tessa is entitled and she expects to get everything handed to her because of her lineage. Callihan had to scratch and crawl and become the face of Impact Wrestling by himself and breaking bones.
Tessa Blanchard finally came out, but Fulton jumped her from behind. Tessa tried to fight both men, but got taken out until Shamrock came out and evened things out. Fulton and Shamrock brawled in the ring while Tessa and Callihan headed to the back.
Backstage, Tessa and Callihan got into a great brawl, a lot of people were outside watching the fight. They fought around the parking lot with a lot of takedowns and chokes. They eventually got pulled apart, but Tessa started punching the refs and chased after Callihan to end the show. Good brawl.
Impact is taking the next two weeks off from new episodes, and instead, they’re running two special Saturday editions of Impact Wrestling for the Best of 2019 Awards.
Final Thoughts —
Really good show inside the ring. Some of the storyline developments tonight were weak, but some were really good. As the final show of 2019, leading into the winter break, this may have been somewhat weak cliffhanger wise.
Impact Wrestling returns from St. Claire College Sportsplex in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Tonight was the big 6-way elimination match to find Callihan’s contender for Hard To Kill. Opening video build such main event, but also recapped Swinger taking a dump in Shamrock’s bag, Jordynne challenging Taya and Bravo, the return of Suzie, and footage of the awesome North title defense from last week.
The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) defeated Desi Hit Squad (Rohit Raju & Raj Singh), The Deaners (Cody Deaner & Cousin Jake), and Reno Scum (Luster The Legend & Adam Thornstowe)
Wentz and Thornstowe started the match with the former hitting a couple of arm drags before tagging in Dezmond for a couple of double team kick combos for a two count. Luster tagged in and now it was Reno Scum getting a two count after a double team move.
Cody Deaner tagged in and along with Cousin Jake, got a two count on Thornstowe. Now it was Rohit and Raj that tagged in and together hit a Backbreaker and running knee combo on Deaner for a two count. Cousin Jake tagged in and run wild over both Rohit and Raj with corner spears, but when he went for the Blackhole Slam, Rohit countered and hit a jumping footstomp. Jake came back with a powerbomb for a two count.
The match broke down with everyone getting in the ring, brawling to the outside, only for Deaner to follow with a dive. Jake suplexed Thornstowe over the ropes into the pile, and followed with a dive of his own. Rohit teased a dive, but showed off enough to eat a superkick by Wentz who dove next. Dezmond followed with Space Flying Tiger Drop.
Back in the ring, Desi Hit Squad double teamed Dezmond Xavier, but Jake came in and got rid of Raj, having now the chance to take out Rohit. Reno Scum came in and double teamed Jake, but before they could finish him, Razcals came back, hit Hot Fire Flame on Cousin Jake and took the win. Good action packed opener.
After the match, Reno Scum jumped The Razcals until Trey Miguel came out for the save and took them out with a Double Missile Dropkick. Ace Austin came out and laid out Trey with a belt shot. Ace took out Trey with the loaded backfist. Trey Miguel’s ‘mom’ is in the crowd and she is a terrible actress.
Jordynne Grace defeated Knockout’s Champion Taya Valkyrie & John E. Bravo in a non-title handicap match
Taya started the match for her team, but quickly tagged in Bravo when Grace pushed into her. Bravo came in and tried to bully Grace, only for Grace to dodge him and take out Taya, sending them both to the floor. That was followed by a suicide dive that Bravo barely caught.
Back in the ring, Jordynne tortured Bravo with strikes. Taya tried to help him by distracting Grace, and with the numbers advantage, got some chops in, some running elbows to the corner, but Grace came back, got rid of Taya and once again started torturing Bravo with kicks and a Senton. Jordynne tired of playing with Bravo, toss him to the corner to tag in Taya, but Taya walked out on him.
In the ring, Jordynne kicked Bravo’s toy dog, hit a running double knee to Bravo’s back, sliding elbow, Vader Bomb, and pinned Bravo. Jordynne was dominant, even if it was against a comedy valet.
Backstage, Gama Singh berated Raj and Rohit for losing. Gama told them that they better start producing or they’re being sent back to India. They took it out on Fallah Bahh backstage by jumping him and beating him up in a hallway.
Rob Van Dam cut another promo from his pool. He said that he won’t actually make it to Impact because he had a really late party last night and his flight was too early today. Ok.
Backstage, Suzie was walking around until James Mitchell finds her. They introduce each other and Mitchell asks her what is she doing in a place like this. Mitchell tells Suzie to not trust anyone and instead, let him take care of her and manage her. Suzie agrees and leaves.
Rosemary appears and tells James Mitchell to their master wouldn’t like that Mitchell is trying to get to Suzie’s head, and Rosemary won’t allow it.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was Cody Rhodes vs Eddie Edwards for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
We got The Razcals in the Treehouse talking about why everyone is trying to kick their butts. Trey Miguel’s mom showed up and told Trey that she’s too worried about him. This was funny.
Johnny Swinger defeated Buck Gunderson
Total squash. Swinger hit a couple of clotheslines, raked Buck’s eyes, choked him with his own singlet, hit a headbutt to the groin, raked the back, and after Buck had a hope spot with a couple of Dropkicks, Swinger got the win with the Swinger Neckbreaker.
After the match, Ken Shamrock came out and went after Swinger with some strikes, takedown, and the Ankle Lock. This was what it had to be.
Next week, Impact is taking the week off to show a retro show Throwdown Throwback from IPWF.
Tessa Blanchard won the six-person elimination match to become the number one contender for the Impact title
This match is gauntlet rules with two wrestlers starting, the winner taking on the third seat, and so on.
Moose defeated Daga
Moose early on used his power advantage to overcome Daga and chop him around, but Daga had the speed advantage and dodged around Moose, took out his leg and hit a Flatliner and springboard corkscrew press to the outside. Daga hit a moonsault from the apron, once again taking Moose down.
Back in the ring, Moose pulled Daga into the turnbuckle to turn the match around. Moose chopped Daga and whipped him around the ring. Moose hit a HUGE Dominator. Moose went for the Spear, but Daga dodged, hit a couple of running Superman elbows and kicks, Moose went for the Go To Hell, but Daga countered with a rana and a running delayed dropkick for a two count.
Moose caught Daga and tossed him on the ropes, hit the No Jackhammer Needed and picked up the win.
Rich Swann defeated Moose
Swann took forever to get in the ring, which is just time for Moose to rest and recover. Once in the ring, Moose went for the same approach, using the strength advantage, but Swann was faster than Daga and did better escaping Moose’s moves. Swann got two ranas early on and roll up into the foot stomp. Swann hit a dropkick, only for Moose to come back with a far more impressive one.
Moose now started to work on Swann around and inside the ring with chops. Moose played with the crowd, which allowed Swann to recover and go for a Senton from the apron that Moose caught, but Swann reversed into a rana instead.
Back in the ring, Moose hit a turnbuckle Okada-style dropkick, tossing Swann to the floor. Swann came back with a Tilt-a-whirl DDT counter on Moose, a couple of chops and strikes, but when he went for a second DDT, Moose blocked him, lawndarted him into the turnbuckle and got a two count. Moose pounded on Swann with closed fists and went for the Razor’s Edge, but Swann broke out, slapped Moose about six times, they traded kicks, but Moose decided to go for a top rope move that Swann caught with a cutter, followed by the Lethal Injection for a two count. This is Awesome chants.
Swann went for the 450, but Moose got the knees up. Go To Hell on Swann for a two count. Moose went for the No Jackhammer Needed, but Swann caught him with a superkick. Moose went for the same combo as with Daga, but Swann countered the spear into a crucifix roll up for the win.
Rich Swann defeated Michael Elgin by disqualification
Elgin came out with a big smile. Elgin went for an early Burning Hammer, but Swann escaped and superkicked Elgin a couple of times. Elgin hit something like a pop-up thunder bomb. Elgin hit a big clothesline after another until Swann was down.
Elgin went for a Superplex, but Swann dodged out and kicked Elgin in the back. Swann hit a School Boy into a Bomb to finally rock Elgin. They traded strikes until Elgin blocked a rana and hit a Buckle Bomb. Swann tried to comeback with a Rana, but Elgin transitioned into a Crossface for the submission tease.
They fought on the apron with Swann trying to hit a roisonrana, but Elgin blocked it and hit a Tiger Suplex on the apron, tossed Swann back to the ring, went for a Phoenix Splash, but Swann moved and went for a Frog Splash, but Elgin also managed to move away. Elgin hit an Enziguri, they traded kicks, Swann escaped another tiger suplex, they kicked each other again until Elgin got the tiger suplex in and a Lariat for a two count.
Elgin hit a superplex, rolled over for another, but Swann escaped, hit two poinsonranas and got a two count out of it.
Elgin hit a Deadlift Falcon Arrow for a two count. Elgin went for the burning hammer, but Swann grabbed the rope and accidentally tossed Elgin into the ref. Swann hit a Superkick, but caught a Lariat on the comeback. Elgin started punching out Swann, and when the ref told him to stop, Elgin kept doing it and tossed the ref off, getting DQ’d. Elgin, out of anger, hit a powerbomb on Swann, who is spitting blood. The rest of the referees came out to stop Elgin, who should have powerbombed the ref if you ask me. Great match, but the finished sucked, or at least Elgin’s reaction. It also makes it awkward for either of the two babyfaces left to come in and destroy Swann.
Brian Cage defeated Rich Swann
Brian Cage wasn’t happy to have to take on this Swann, he didn’t rush or anything, but offered Swann to give up. Swann decided to strike Cage, forcing Cage to attack with a Lariat, but out of instinct, Swann hit a Codebreaker to Cage’s arm, a couple of kicks, and a 450 only for Cage to kick out at one.
Swann went for the other corner, but Cage caught him, tossed around Swann, rushed him to the corner, but ate a couple of kicks, countered a Pumphandle Slam to another pair of kicks. Swann went for the 450 again, getting a two count this time.
Swann went for the Lethal Injection, but Cage caught him, tossed him, went for the F-5, only for Swann to counter to a cutter and successfully land the Lethal Injection for a two count. Swann went for the Phoenix Splash, but Cage dodged, hit Weapon X, and finally eliminated Swann. At this point, the fans were behind Swann and were not happy about Cage winning, but commentary sold that performance alone, Swann should get a title shot after Hard To Kill.
Tessa Blanchard defeated Brian Cage
Big pop for Tessa now. Tessa was all business and Cage had a cocky confident face. The match started similar with Cage being forced to bring out the moves, except that this time around, Cage was blocking all of Tessa’s moves with sheer power. Tessa could only rely on strikes, managing to get Cage to the floor where Tessa hit two dives and a third one that Cage caught and turned into an F-5 into the apron.
Back from commercial, Cage has brought Tessa to the ring where he has been tossing her around, trying to get quick pins. Tessa tried for a crossbody, but Cage caught her again. Tessa finally manages to drop Cage with a tornado DDT for a two count. Tessa cut Cage with the corner Magnum and went for a top rope crossbody for a two count.
Cage came back with a powerbomb for a two count. Cage hit a deadlift suplex for a two count. Cage’s lip has been busted open.
Tessa dodged a discus lariat, hit a superkick, a cutter, and the buzzsaw DDT for a two count. Cage hit a big Alabama Slam for a two count. Cage went for the top rope Razor’s Edge, but Tessa turned it into a hurricanrana, followed with the Magnum, and pinned Cage, only to get a 2.99 kickout!
Tessa went for a second Magnum, but Cage blocked it, hit a buckle bomb and wanted to follow with the Weapon X, but Tessa rolled over with a Yoshi Tonic and pinned Cage to become the number 1 contender for Sami Callihan’s title.
Wow, that last hour was PACKED! This was a great gauntlet match, every single pairing was a main event worthy match and I wouldn’t really say that anyone looked weak in defeat. My only gripe was Elgin’s DQ.
Final Thoughts —
Tonight’s show was all action. The hour long gauntlet was all great wrestling, not just quick pins to get things over. Storyline wise, the show really kept things on the low, mostly building towards the final match.
Impact Wrestling returns from the Sam’s Town Hall and Casino from Las Vegas, Nevada, for tonight’s episode, on the road to Bound For Glory. Opening video took focus on the ongoing story with Eddie Edwards and Ace Austin, The North’s beatdown of Konnan, and the events that led to Brian Cage getting arrested last week.
Twitch stream was hosted by Melissa Santos as usual, she ran down the show and hyped up Bound For Glory, as well as talking about the press conference yesterday.
Ace Austin defeated Eddie Edwards to qualify to the Bound For Glory X-Division title ladder match
Ace Austin made out with some groupies during his entrance. Ace got some more kisses while he had the upper hand during the outside brawls.
Match started with both men going for a strike exchange, which quickly led to Eddie tossing Ace to the outside, hitting a dive, and following him around the ring delivering chops. Eddie crotched Ace on the post, but when he tried to get the match back in the ring, Ace caught him with a kick to get some space.
Eddie went back to the offense and continued to chop Ace in and outside the ring, where Ace managed to snatch a cup with ice and smash it in Eddie’s face, slowing him down.
Back in the ring, it was now Ace that had control, delivering constant kicks to Eddie. Ace’s momentum didn’t last long when Eddie came back with Kobashi-like chops on the corner. Ace caught Eddie with a kick and uppercut in the corner, but Eddie slipped out and dropped him on the turnbuckle. Eddie followed with a super backplex.
Suddenly, out came Reno Scum to the ring, which distracted Eddie enough for Ace to sneak up a two count. Eddie hit a blue thunder bomb for a two count. Ace caught Eddie with a spinning kick for a two count. Eddie finally hit the Boston Knee Party, but Reno Scum pulled the referee to break the count.
Eddie dove on Reno Scum to take them out, but given the chaos, Eddie now went for his kendo stick. Eddie took out both Reno Scum, but lost the stick in the action. Ace hit The Fold, but Eddie kicked out. Thornstowe gave Eddie a piece of metal, which he placed in his armband, hit a hidden blade style strike to Eddie, and pinned him for the win. Good opener, but I’m surprised the finish is not leading to a one-on-one match between these two at Bound For Glory.
After the match, Reno Scum hit a Super Curb Stomp on Eddie, while Ace mocked him. I really wouldn’t mind if these three become a proper stable going forward.
Backstage, Taya is preparing for her match with Havok, when Rosemary walks up to her. Taya pretends she wasn’t looking for her, and tells her that ‘they’ have a problem because she has to fight Havok tonight. Rosemary tells her that life is not fair and she gets to watch. I love their relationship.
The Desi Hit Squad (Mahabali Shera, Rohit Raju & Raj Singh) w/ Gama Singh defeated The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel)
Desi Hit Squad jumped The Rascalz to start the match, eliminated Dezmond and Wentz in order to cut off Trey and focus on him. Miguel tried to fight them off and make a comeback against Rohit, but after dodgin a couple of moves, Raju swept the leg and tagged in Raj.
Raj continued the work over Trey, hitting a deadlift suplex for a two count. Raj and Rohit continued with quick tags and quick pin attempts, a couple of tag moves here and there.
Eventually, Trey managed to take down both Rohit and Raj and tag in Wentz for the hot tag. Wentz and Dezmond both came in and took out Raj with a kick combo, made sure that Shera wouldn’t come in, but when they both went for a dive on all Desi Hit Squad, Shera caught them both with Chokeslams. Trey followed and took out Shera.
Back in the ring, Trey took out Raj. All three Rascalz superkicked Shera, but he wouldn’t go do. Shera took Trey and Xavier down, hit a powerslam on Zachary, and dragged Raj on top of Wentz for the pin. Pretty good match, they’re going strong with Shera again.
It was officially announced that Dr. Wagner’s partners versus The Rascalz are going to be Aerostar and Taurus.
Backstage, Jordynne Grace is working out when Katie Forbes arrives and tells her to park her car. Grace tells her she is going to kick her ass tonight, which Forbes tells Grace that she’s going to need a bigger boot and then started twerking. This is gonna be bad.
Havok (w/ Father James Mitchell) defeated Impact Knockout’s Champion Taya Valkyrie (w/ John E. Bravo) by DQ
As the match was about to start, Tenille Dashwood walked out and joined commentary. Taya berated Havok to start the match, but Havok just went after her and started tossing her around the ring by the hair. Dropped her in the corner with a running splash, followed by running boots, and got a quick two count. Havok hit a Backbreaker, but Bravo distracted Havok, giving Taya the opening to hit a big knee to the face and turn the match around.
Taya hit a couple of running knees for a two count, tried to follow by choking Havok and hitting a couple of elbows, that they did nothing to Havok, who easily came back in control with a kick and another Backbreaker.
Havok now in control again, went for a Superplex, but Taya escaped by climbing the ring post from the floor side, kicked out Havok’s leg, and hit the Footstomp on the Tree of Woe for a two count.
Taya went for Road To Valhalla, but couldn’t keep Havok still, who took her out with a lariat and a Chokeslam, but Bravo pulled the ref and attacked him, causing Kid Ref to DQ Taya.
James Mitchell cornered Bravo, allowing Havok to pull him in the ring and take him out with a Chokeslam. Taya attacked Havok with the title. Tenille went after Taya and they had a terrible brawl that ended with Tenille running off Taya.
oVe cut a video promo saying that what Cage did last week is unacceptable. Fans shouldn’t be getting attacked by animals like Cage. Callihan said that tonight, while Cage is in jail, they take out Tessa and Daga once and for all.
Gabbi Loren interviewed The North backstage, asking if they should be focusing on their BFG match and not Konnan. Page acted like he didn’t know about Konnan. Rich Swann and Mack walked up and said that they’ll take the win at the PPV. Josh Alexander tried to add some fuel to the fire and say that Rhino and RVD are skipping the line while Mack and Swann had to fight to get their shot. Rhino and RVD walked up and said that they’ve been in line for decades.
Stephen Bonnar defeated Moose (w/ Frank Trigg) by DQ
Trigg joined the commentary table, he was really really good.
Moose easily took down Bonnar, messed around with him getting his back, but went to play to the crowd instead of focusing on Bonnar, so the MMA vet came back with a couple of kicks and slammed Moose to the outside. Moose raked Bonnar’s eyes to regain control. Followed with a couple of hooks to the ribs.
Back in the ring, Moose worked over Bonnar, striking him, but he kept mocking him and thus getting distracted, so once again, allowing Bonnar to comeback with a spinning kick.
Moose had to rely again to raking the eyes, but Bonnar kept coming back, now with a Spinerbuster. Bonnar went for a diving rlbow, so Moose desperately tossed the ref to the ropes, tripping Bonnar down, and getting DQ’d in the process. Bonnar was busted open bad over the right eyebrow.
After the match, Moose went to hit Bonnar with a chair, but Ken Shamrock ran down for the save. Shamrock dodged Moose’s chair shot and hit a belly-to-belly. Shamrock locked in the Ankle Lock, tapping out Moose. Bonnar made sure Trigg couldn’t make the save. It may be the shorts, but it looks like Shamrock has been skipping leg day.
Jordynne Grace defeated Katie Forbes
Katie Forbes came out with a pair of those new Kazuchika Okada ‘Rainmaker’ money guns and twerked her way to the ring.
Collar and elbow lock up to start the match, Forbes showed that she had some wrestling skill, but she was no match for Grace. Forbes has added some twerking into her lock reversals.
Jordynne took down Forbes with a shoulder tackle, then with a second rope dropkick, provoking Forbes to leave the ring. Grace went for a dive, but Forbes caught her with a strike as she was crossing the ropes, managing to turn the match.
Forbes went for some chokes and shoulder tackles in the corner, she hit a Handspring Elbow, but then started twerking again, giving Grace the time to recover, wedgie Forbes, and toss her shoulder first into the ringpost, which she followed with a running knee and elbow combo, ending with a Vader Bomb for a two count.
Forbes hit a Tornado DDT for a two count. She mocked Grace, but when she went for a fireman’s carry, Grace escaped, hit Grace Driver, and took the win. This was a lot better than I expected, but then again, I expected something terrible.
Backstage, Johnny Swinger tried hitting on Katie Forbes. She told him she dates RVD, to which he asked if they swing. Jordynne Grace followed and just pushed him down.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was Christopher Daniels, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Homicide, Suicide, and Amazing Red in an Ultimate X Match.
Backstage, Daga thanked Tessa for the help, but he can fight his own battles. Tessa told him that tonight they’re teaming, but at Bound For Glory, to each their own.
Backstage, Fallah Bahh was training while TJP is eating doughnuts. Next week, Bahh is wrestling Michael Elgin. Also next week, Rich Swann vs Josh Alexander vs Rhino, Rohit vs Sabu for another X-Division qualifier. Plus a battle royal for the #20 spot for the Call Your Shot Gauntlet at Bound For Glory, which was also announced that the shot won is open to any division, and across them.
Tessa Blanchard & Daga defeated oVe (Jake Crist & Madman Fulton) w/ Dave Crist
Daga and Jake started the match, pushing and slapping each other before Jake asked for Tessa, which was an obvious swerve to tag in Fulton. Tessa and Fulton got face to face.
Tessa went for to hold Fulton, but he just swung her around. Tessa took out Jake with a big tope suicida, but distracted herself from Fulton.
Daga did a blind tag on Tessa and joined her to drop Fulton, but the big man quickly recovered and took out Daga, ramming him to the ring post back first. Fulton hit a huge chokeslam on Daga, who tried to make a comeback, but Fulton kept control and Dave Crist made sure Tessa wasn’t there for the tag.
Daga went for a top rope hurricanrana, but Fulton blocked it and was going for a Powerbomb, but Daga escaped and hit a desperation Cutter. Tessa and Jake both tagged in and Tessa just went crazy on both Crist brothers, getting a two count on Jake after a DDT. Daga and Tessa teamed against Fulton and took him out with an assisted rana, tossing him to the outside, which Daga followed with a corkscrew press. In the ring, Tessa dropped Jake Crist with Magnum for the win. This was an awesome sprint, great stuff, but they had so little time.
After the match, Fulton returned and attacked both Tessa and Daga, hitting a chokeslam on Daga and the End of Days on Tessa.
We got video that Brian Cage had arrived at the arena and he was on his way to the find Callihan and his crew. Cage got to the ring and took out Jake, hit the F-5 on Fulton, and interrogated Dave about Sami, who came out with a chair, but the chair didn’t do anything to Cage, who choked Callihan.
All of oVe ganged up on Cage, allowing Callihan to low blow him a couple of times. oVe handcuffed Cage to the ropes, while Callihan fetched his trusty baseball bat. Melissa Santos came out trying to protect Cage from being hit, and as much as Callihan told her to leave, she didn’t, and ended up taking the Cactus Special in the middle in the ring, as they made Cage watch. Cage screamed for the referees to take her away as oVe posed over her body.
Final Thoughts —
This was a really fun show for Impact, it had some down moments with some of the Knockout matches, but the rest was really packed. Opener and main event matches were fantastic. Everything is heated up for the PPV, as we head to the go-home show next week.
ROH GLOBAL WARS TONIGHT AT 7:30 P.M. FROM THE FORD COMMUNITY CENTER IN DEARBORN, MI ON HONOR CLUB
Dak Draper vs. Haitian Sensation in Top Prospect tournament
Rush vs. Stuka Jr.
Joe Hendry & Dalton Castle vs. Jonathan Gresham & Jay Lethal
Bandido vs. Jay Briscoe
Matt Taven & Vinny Marseglia vs. Volador Jr. & Triton
CMLL FROM ARENA MEXICO AT 9:30 P.M. TONIGHT ON THE CMLL YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Ultimo Dragoncito &Shockercito vs. Pierrothito & Pequeno Violencia
Raziel & Cancerbero & Tiger vs. Star Jr. & Magia Blanca & Principe Diamante
Titan & Soberano Jr.& Audaz vs. Mecha Wolf 450 & El Hijo del Villano III & Virtus
Diamante Azul vs. Euforia
Ciber the Main Man & Big Daddy & Gilbert El Boricua vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Negro Casas & Gran Guerrero
Mistico & Caristico & Dragon Lee vs. Cuatrero & Sanson & Forastero
Saturday has NXT in Gainesville, FL.
UFC 242 FROM ABU DHABI ON SATURDAY
ESPN+ at 10:15 a.m. Eastern
Don Madge (155) vs. Fares Ziam (155)
Omari Akhmedov (186) vs. Zak Cummings (185.5)
Muslim Salikhov (170) vs. Nordine Taleb (171)
Belal Muhammad (170) vs. Takeshi Sato (170)
FX at Noon Eastern
Ottman Azaitar (156) vs. Teemu Packalen (156)
Liana Jojua (134.5) vs.; Sarah Moras (138) – Moras missed by two pounds
Zubaira Tukhugov (146) vs. Lerone Murphy (146)
Joanne Calderwood (126) vs. Andrea Lee (126)
PPV at 2 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+ PPV
Diego Ferreira (156) vs. Mairbek Taisumov (156)
Shamil Abdurakhimov (257) vs. Curtis Blaydes (251)
Islam Makhachev (155) vs. Davi Ramos (156)
Edson Barboza (155.5) vs. Paul Felder (155)
Khabib Nurmagomedov (155) vs. Dustin Poirier (155) for lightweight title
ROH GLOBAL WARS SATURDAY AT 8 P.M. FROM THE ODEUM EXPO IN CHICAGO, IL ON HONOR CLUB
Austin Gunn (Billy’s son) vs. Dante Caballero in Top Prospect tournament
Silas Young & Josh Woods vs. Okumura & PJ Black
Mark & Jay Briscoe vs. Brawler Milonas & Beer City Bruiser vs. Rey Bucanero & Hechicero non-title
Shane Taylor vs. Joe Hendry non-title
PCO & Brody King & Flip Gordon vs. Bandido & Mark Haskins & Tracy Williams
Colt Cabana vs. Dalton Castle vs. Kenny King vs; Marty Scurll
Jeff Cobb & Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham vs. Caristico & Stuka Jr. & Triton
Rush vs. Cavernario
Matt Taven vs. Volador Jr.; for ROH title
MLW FUSION ON SATURDAY NIGHT AT 9 P.M. ON BEINSPORTS
Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Richard Holliday
Jordan Oliver vs. Gringo Loco
BELLATOR ON SATURDAY NIGHT FROM THE SAP CENTER IN SAN JOSE AT 10 P.M. ON DAZN
Gaston Bolanos (145.5) vs. Daniel Casey (144.2)
Pedro Carvalho (144.1) vs. Sam Sicilia (145) in the first round of the featherweight Grand Prix
Tywan Claxton (144.3) vs. Emmauel Sanchez (144.1) in the first round of the featherweight Grand Prix
Adam Borics (144.7) vs. Pat Curran (144.6) in the first round of the featherweight Grand Prix
Derek Campos (144.9) vs. Daniel Straus (144.4) in the first round of the featherweight Grand Prix
Ryan Bader (228.7) vs. Cheick Kongo (239.2) for the Bellator heavyweight title
Sunday has a Supershow in Syracuse, NY, with the Raw crew, plus Roman Reigns, Charlotte, Flair, Bayley, Ember Moon, Randy Orton and Kofi Kingston from Smackdown also on the tour.
ROH GLOBAL WARS SUNDAY IN MILWAUKEE AT THE POTAWATOMI CASINO AT 6 P.M. EASTERN ON HONOR CLUB
Caristico & Stuka Jr. & Volador Jr. vs. Okumura & Hechicero & Rey Bucanero
Angelina Love & Mandy Leon vs. Kelly Klein & Stacy Shadows
Flip Gordon vs. PJ Black vs. Triton
Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham vs Silas Young & Josh Woods
Marty Scurll vs. Joe Hendry
Brawler Milonas & Beer City Bruiser vs. PCO & Brody King
Mark & Jay Briscoe & Cavernario vs. Mark Haskins & Tracy Williams & Bandido
Matt Taven & Vincent (Vinny Marseglia ) vs. Rush & Jeff Cobb
When AEW debuts on TNT on October 2, they’ll be doing so with Chris Jericho as their champion.
Saturday’s All Out pay-per-view ended with Jericho defeating Hangman Page to become the inaugural AEW World Champion. After Jericho kicked out of the Dead Eye, Page hit a Buckshot Lariat and went for the Dead Eye again. The finish saw Jericho reverse the move and then connect with his Judas Effect elbow strike to win the title.
The match was very good, but it fell short of being the epic main event you’d want to crown your first World Champion with. The dynamic just didn’t work quite as well as AEW wanted. The fans would ideally have been desperate for Page to defeat Jericho and become champion. But people weren’t all that interested in booing Jericho — and Page didn’t have the momentum that he needed going into the match. The way Page won his way into getting the title shot was probably a misstep. It’s understandable that AEW wants to create their own unique match concepts and give them meaning, but Jericho defeating Kenny Omega at Double or Nothing felt like a far bigger deal than Page earning his spot in the title match through winning the Casino Battle Royale. While Page got wins at Fyter Fest and Fight for the Fallen, they weren’t against big enough opponents and they weren’t strong enough victories for people to see him as being one of the top two wrestlers in the company.
Jericho was an obvious choice to become AEW’s first World Champion. He’s an easily recognizable star that lapsed and casual fans will already be familiar with. There will inevitably be criticism over a new company choosing a 48-year-old wrestler as their initial champion, but AEW isn’t at any risk of being seen as a nostalgia promotion. It’s fine to have one wrestler in their late 40s in a top spot. Signing Jericho and pushing him heavily is a no-brainer for any start-up company. Jericho is still wrestling at a high level, helps bring credibility to the promotion for those who aren’t already fans of The Elite, and has protected his image by only working in main event-level matches with great opponents since departing WWE.
A full review of AEW All Out, and the saga of Chris Jericho’s stolen belt are the lead topics of discussion in this week’s double issue Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We have complete coverage of All Out from a live perspective, as well as the television version of the show. We talk about what worked, what might not have, and what we can learn about match order when laying out a card. We have the latest on the business of the show, including preliminary pay-per-view numbers.
We have coverage of AEW and WWE running the same markets, and have notes and numbers on how each promotion is doing in selling tickets there. We also have all the details on the Chris Jericho AEW title story.
NJPW Royal Quest is covered as well in the new issue. We have star ratings for the matches, as well as business notes for the show.
The upcoming WWE Clash of Champions show is covered in detail. We have a preliminary card for the show.
We also cover the WWE writing team shake-up that took place this week.
NXT U.K. TakeOver: Cardiff is covered in detail as well, with everything from match reports and star ratings, to attendance and what we can learn from the show.
We have a story on Cris Cyborg signing with Bellator, and talk about potential opponents for her.
The new issue also has a history piece covering Harley Race’s St. Louis wrestling history. A lot can be learned from the piece, thanks to the late Larry Matysik’s Wrestling at the Chase Record book.
We also have Ryan Frederick’s coverage of the 8/31 UFC event in Shenzhen, China.
The passing of Australian wrestling legend, Norman Frederic Charles Lowndes, known as Sir Norman Frederich Charles III, is covered as well. We have notes on his life and career.
We look at AEW’s hype show that aired on TNT, and break down the viewership for the show, and what can be learned from it.
We also have news and notes on all of the top wrestling and MMA promotions in the world.
We have full coverage of all the WWE television shows from the past week.
As always, we have in-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows,the key demos for the WWE shows and what can be learned from them.
We also have the results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
For the WWE weekend tour, Braun Strowman and A.J. Styles aren’t advertised for tonight. Strowman has the weekend off. Styles is advertised for Syracuse on Sunday. Tomorrow night’s Raw show in Halifax was canceled due to weather concerns due to the hurricane.
AEW tickets for Charlotte on 11/6 and the PPV in Baltimore on 11/9 went on sale this morning. Baltimore is well ahead of the pace of WWE’s show Monday there, but is not close to being sold out, and it looks to be a pretty loaded lineup. We’re at reality levels now, just like WWE doesn’t sell anything out immediately, doesn’t look like AEW will either except for special circumstances, unless TV creates a new buzz, and that goes for both companies. Charlotte is behind the pace of WWE’s show on 9/15 in the same city.
Ricochet did an interview with Sports Illustrated essentially confirming what we wrote in this week’s issue on Kacy Catanzaro. She’s not hurt and he hasn’t quit. That doesn’t mean she won’t quit or will wrestle again.
AAA announced new matches for its 9/15 show at the Hulu Theater at 6 p.m., which will be an iPPV on FITE TV. This is what has been announced:
Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya for the Reina de Reinas title
Pentagon Jr. & Fenix vs. LAX for the AAA tag titles
Cain Velasquez & Psych Clown & Brian Cage. vs. El Texano Jr. & Rey Escorpion & Black Taurus
Blue Demon Jr. vs. Dr. Wagner Jr.
Daga has signed with Impact.
WWE
As noted earlier, Raw is expected to be loaded this week as far as an attempt to put on a good standalone show since it’s the first week against the NFL, not to mention it being in Madison Square Garden. My strong feeling is Styles vs. Alexander is there to be a great match of course, but for more than just that. There is very much going to be an attempt to make news on this show for all those reasons, but the competition aspect and it’s PPV go-home. The idea is also that Steve Austin will bring back lapsed fans so give them some angles and action to make them come back, which the Raw Reunion show failed to do.
These are the updated BetOnline ads for Clash of Champions
Seth Rollins -300 vs. Braun Strowman +200
Kofi Kingston -200 vs. Randy Orton +150
Becky Lynch -120 vs. Sasha Banks -120
Bayley -140 vs. Charlotte Flair -100
Shinsuke Nakamura -250 vs. The Miz +170
Big E & Xavier Woods -150 vs. The Revival +110
Rollins & Strowman +120 vs. Roode & Ziggler -160
Roman Reigns -600 vs. Erick Rowan +350
Drew Gulak -140 vs. Humberto Carrillo +125 vs. Lince Dorado +500
Charly Arnolt (Charly Caruso) is promoting MotiveCBD products along with skiing legend Bode Miller and gymnastics star Gabby Douglas.
Ariel Helwani reported that the Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington welterweight title match, scheduled to headline MSG on 11/2 on PPV have had negotiations hit a snag and UFC is looking at either a different welterweight fight or a different main event.
ESPN 2 will be starting a weekly show called UFC Live most Friday’s at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time. The show will be debuting on 9/13, following Max on boxing and run for 30 minutes. Jon Anik, Karen Bryant and Megan Olivi will host.
MISCELLANEOUS
Linda McMahon is heading the fundraising for Donald Trump’s reelection and more of the politics on that in this article.
Taya Valkyrie vs. Tenille Dashwood for the Knockouts title was teased last night for Impact’s Bound for Glory.
Joey Ryan was backstage at the Impact tapings last night and they filmed stuff with him.
There was an angle at today’s New Japan show where Minoru Suzuki attacked Jushin Liger, who was doing commentary, and gave him the Gotch piledriver.
Josh Alexander, who worked three matches last Friday night in winning the Jim Lyman Memorial Cup for AAW in Chicago, had woken up that morning with a 104 degree fever and didn’t tell anyone until after the how was over.
Chris Jericho’s “A Little Bit of the Bubbly” T-shirt is now the best seller at Pro Wrestling Tees.
Johnny Swinger has signed with Impact and debuted at the tapings last night. They also set up Ken Shamrock vs. Moose for Bound for Glory and with LAX gone, Konnan has been moved to working with RVD & Rhino. (thanks to Shannon Walsh)_
Kane, Joey Ryan and Renee Michelle will be at the 10/5 MCW show at the MCW Arena in Joppa, MD. They will be part of a convention before the show at Noon to 5 p.m.
ROH is doing a Future of Honor show called Honor Games on 9/20 at the MCW Arena in Joppa, MD with Aria Palmer vs. Jenny Rose, Soldier of Savagery vs. Primal Fear and Sumie Sakai & Amy Rose vs. Giant Scott & Lady Frost.
Robbie McAllister of the Highlanders has a seminar from Noon to 2 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 43 in Oshawa, ONT.
Combate Americas on 9/27 in Guadalajara, Mexico headlined by a featherweight main event with Horacio Gutierrez vs. Chase Gibson. The show airs live on Univision and TUDN. They also run 10/11 in Tucson, AZ with Jose Alday vs. Andre Barquero, a bantamweight fight, as the main event.
CWA on 10/12 in Hot Springs, AR at the Convention Center Hall D.
Limitless Wrestling on Friday night in Portland, ME at the Expo has Dan Maff vs. Ace Romero, AR Fox vs. Christian Casanova plus MJF, Kris Statlander, JT Dunn, Tom Lawlor, Chris Dickinson and The New Hart Foundation.
CWA on Sunday has Brawl at the Hall in Hilmar,CA at the Grange Hall at 8188 Lander Ave at 3:30 p.m.
Best of the West runs 9/14 in Fresno, CA at the Best of the West Studios at 5766 E. Fountain Way Suite #101 in Fresno at 6 p.m
California Championship Wrestling on 9/29 in Los Banos,CA at the Paraiso Brewery at 80 West G. St at 4 p.m. headlined by Super Crazy.
KSW has announced new fights for 9/14 at SSE Wembley in London. Heavyweight champion Phil DeFries (17-6) faces Luis Henrique (12-5). Henrique replaces Damian Grabowski who pulled out due to a hand injury. Tomasz Narkun (16-3) defends his light heavyweight title against Przemyslaw Mysiala (23-9-1). Roberto Soldie (16-3) faces Patrik Kinel (22-9) for the welterweight title and Norman Parke (27-6-1) faces Marcin Wrzosek (14-5) for the interim lightweight title.
Defy on 9/27 i Seattle at Washington Hall with Schaff vs. Joey Janela as the main event. Bestia 666 debuts on the show against Rey Hours. You must be 21 to attend.
ONE will be doing a Fan Fest on 10/5 and 10/6 at the Bellesalle Shibuya Gardens in Tokyo. Among those attending will be Demetrious Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, Shinya Aoki, Brandon Vera, Rich Franklin and Miesha Tate.
Added to tomorrow night’s MLW show in Dallas is Myron Reed & Kotto Brazil vs. Gringo Loco & Air Wolf. The show is at the NYTEX Sports Centre.
Legacy Fighting tonight on AXS TV from West Valley, UT at the Maverik Center is headlined by Jon Neal (10-1) vs. Andrew Cruz (6-3) in a featherweight fight and Samson Phommabout (5-1) vs. Mauro Charlet (13-6).
Bar Wrestling results from Wednesday night in Baldwin Park, CA: Phoenix Star & Zokre b Scorpio Sky & Watts, Jungle Boy b Royce Isaacs, Heather Monroe & Dom Kubrick b Penelope Ford & Kip Sabian, Killer Kross b Jake Atlas, Andy Brown & Tyler Bateman & Joey Ryan b Yuma & BHK & Ryan Taylor, Ivelisse b Ray Rosas, Diego won three-way over Luchasaurus and John Hennigan. This was billed as the farewell for Luchasaurus with the promotion, but may be for others in AEW as well. Next show is 9/18 at the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles.
Jimmy Jacobs is working a CWE tour of Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba and British Columbia from 11/11 to 12/6.
AAW on 9/29 at the Logan Square Auditorium in Chicago has Allysin Kay vs. Kimber Lee announced along with Sami Callihan, Jessicka Havok, Jake Something, Eddie Kingston, David Starr, Darby Allin and more.
Impact Wrestling returned from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, Canada this week as the Road to Bound for Glory continued. The Twitch stream was hosted by Melissa Santos.
The opening video focused on last week’s X-Division number one contender’s match that was won by Aiden Prince, Havok destroying John E. Bravo, Eddie Edwards confronting Ace Austin, and the fantastic battle between The North and The Rascalz for the Tag Team titles.
X-Division Champion Jake Crist defeated Aiden Prince to retain his title
This was a solid opener. Prince had the crowd completely behind him.
It started with some chain wrestling reversals and counters, ending with Prince sending Crist to the floor. But as Prince went for a suicide dive, Crist cut him off with a boot to the face and delivered a DVD on the apron for a two count.
Prince escaped a submission attempt — only to take a boot to the face for another two count. Both men traded strikes, but Prince wasn’t able to maintain momentum. Crist raked Prince’s face and hit some shoulder tackles in the corner. Crist hit a great superkick combo for yet another two count.
Prince finally started a comeback with some strikes, landing a top rope flatliner. But as he went for a 450, Crist got his knees up and small packaged him for a 2.99 near fall.
Prince hit a reverse rana for a two count. Crist powerslammed Prince into the corner before both men went to the floor, where Prince hit a rana and a suicide dive. Prince went for a top rope plancha to the floor, but Crist caught him with a superkick straight to the chin. Prince made the count at nine, but Crist went straight for a cradle for a two count.
Prince went for another top rope move, but Crist cut him off and hit a superplex. He floated over, but Prince reversed into a suplex of his own and landed the 450 for a huge near fall. Prince went for a third 450, but Crist caught him with a cutter this time for the win.
– Backstage, Konnan and Daga were talking about Daga teaming with Ortiz. Konnan asked Daga to be patient with Ortiz because he is on the edge about Santana’s status.
Ortiz then walked up. Daga told him that he doesn’t need to apologize — Daga just wants to win the Tag Team titles tonight. They cheered with some beers that Ortiz opened with his teeth, much to my cringe.
– Jimmy Jacobs interviewed Taya Valkyrie, who said that Impact management are forcing her to defend her championship against Havok again because she walked out of the match at Unbreakable.
Ace Austin defeated Eddie Edwards by DQ
Edwards didn’t wait for the bell and chased down Austin, taking him down with a shoulder block. Austin tried to run to the outside — only for Edwards to follow with a plancha. Edwards worked over Austin outside for a bit until Austin managed to land a kick and the handstand penalty kick to finally get some distance from Edwards.
Once recovered, Austin went after Edwards to continue brawling outside the ring. This time, Edwards dropped Austin with a backbreaker and a facebuster on the apron.
Back from commercial, Edwards and Austin were trading strikes before Edwards once again sent Austin outside. He followed with a suicide dive. Austin kept running away from Edwards, who got distracted with the referee and Austin took advantage to use his Gambit staff to attack Edwards for a two count.
Austin was now in control. He struck down Edwards and delivered the card cut between the fingers. He went for The Fold, but Edwards countered into a powerbomb.
Edwards delivered some close distance forearms as Austin tried to play mind games with Edwards, so Edwards hit the Boston Knee Party. Edwards started hitting closed-fist punches on Austin and pushed down the ref, getting himself disqualified. This was really good — I’m looking forward to a proper match between them.
After the match, Alisha Edwards came down to the ring to scream at Eddie. Eddie asked her if she is with him, pointing at Austin. After Alisha kept shouting, Eddie ended up walking away on both.
– We got an interview by Tessa Blanchard from Unbreakable. Blanchard said that she went in there looking to beat Sami Callihan, but oVe had to interfere again and steal her win. She said that she is one of the best wrestlers in the company and she won’t let them take her moment from her. Blanchard said she is coming for Callihan. Blanchard was fantastic here.
– Backstage, Fallah Bahh was at catering when Moose approached him. Moose told Bahh to stop losing weight or Impact won’t need a clown anymore. Moose called Bahh a fat boy, provoking Bahh to fight back.
Bahh and Moose brawled all around the catering area, ending with Moose shoving some cake down Bahh’s face. Good old catering brawl, but both men took it seriously.
– Kiera Hogan joined commentary for the next match.
Madison Rayne defeated Alexia Nicole
Okay match. Nicole showed potential.
A collar-and-elbow lock up started the match. Rayne mocked Nicole, who responded by pushing her to the corner. Nicole hit a running meteora for a two count. Rayne pulled Nicole to the floor by the feet and went back to mocking her.
Back in the ring, Rayne worked on Nicole with some knees to the face and abdomen. Rayne locked in a Koji Clutch, but Nicole stayed on her feet and rammed Rayne into the corner. Nicole hit a backstabber for another two count. Rayne dodged Nicole coming down from the top rope, hit a ripcord cutter, and finished her off with CrossRayne.
Rayne and Hogan argued after the match but joined forces to beat up Nicole. They’re frenemies. Jordynne Grace came down to save Nicole and ran both Rayne and Hogan away to the back.
– The Rascalz met at the tree house. Trey Miguel and Dezmond Xavier were bummed out about losing the title match. Zachary Wentz then told them he saw “him” in the hallway. They hyped “him” up and out he appeared like an angel — Rob Van Dam. They all sucked up to him and fought to impress him. This was funny.
Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie (w/ John E. Bravo) vs. Havok ended in a no contest
Taya’s title was on the line. Commentary told us that if she walks out again, she is getting fined.
Havok rushed at Taya to start the match, but the champ kept dodging until she decided to get some offense in — only to get taken down with a shoulder tackle. Bravo distracted Havok, allowing Taya to take her down with kicks and running knees for a one count. Havok came back with a powerbomb for a two count.
Havok worked over Taya’s back with stomps. Taya tried to start a comeback, but she got cut off by Havok with a kick to the face. Havok went for a chokeslam, but Taya reversed into a roll-up for a two count.
Havok hit the chokeslam, but as she pinned her, Su Yung and her Bridesmaids came down and distracted both Havok and the referee, who should have kept counting really.
Yung came down to the ring and faced off with Havok. Havok went for the chokeslam, but Yung reversed it by locking the Mandible Claw on Havok, bringing her down to her knees. Yung hit a couple of palm strikes and sent Havok to the floor. Yung stood tall in the ring at the end.
– Jacobs interviewed Melissa Santos about Brian Cage’s status. She talked about her real-life relationship with Cage and having to put it out there in order to protect Cage from Michael Elgin. She didn’t have an answer about Cage’s medical condition, saying that he is still going to doctors to figure out where the source of his injury is.
Santos said that if Cage can’t compete anymore, he and she realize that there are now more important things in life than titles and money.
– We got a video from last week with The Deaners drinking beer. They got interrupted by The Desi Hit Squad, who made fun of their smell. They brawled, with The Deaners taking out Raju and Raj and running off Gama Singh. The Desi Hit Squad came back, breaking beer bottles over The Deaners’ heads and leaving them lying.
– The Deaners then cut a promo saying that The Desi Hit Squad have crossed the line by jumping them at their bar. Cody Deaner cut the promo and challenged The Desi Hit Squad to a match next week. This was a super old school promo.
Nate Madsen defeated Stone Rockwell by DQ
This match didn’t even get entrances. Madsen went to get some offense early with strikes and a crossbody, but Rockwell cut him off and dropped him with a backbreaker. Madsen got some more strikes, but Rhino jumped in the ring on the other side and Gored Madsen down. Rockwell offered Rhino some food — only to get Gored too.
After the attack, Rhino cut a promo calling out Elgin to come down and fight. Elgin came out, but instead of fighting he addressed Rhino. Elgin said he understands why Rhino attacked him — since he is the hottest commodity in Impact and Rhino just wants to make a name for himself. Elgin said that he does things on his terms, so Rhino rushed at Elgin and started brawling on the ramp.
Security came down for the pull-apart. Good angle. Elgin’s mic was malfunctioning, but he got his point across.
– Ace Austin bragged about his victory backstage to some random people, who brought up that it was a DQ and that Austin got his ass handed to him all match. Austin said it was all part of the plan and said that he is “going to bang his wife.”
– The Impact Plus Flashback Match of the Week was Jeff Hardy vs. Rhino vs. Sabu vs. Abyss in a four-way Monster’s Ball match from Bound for Glory 2005.
– Backstage, The Desi Hit Squad accepted The Deaners’ challenge. The Desi Hit Squad said that when they beat them, The Deaners will become servants of Gama Singh. The official stipulation is that whoever loses becomes the other’s servants.
– oVe cut a promo where they mostly argued with each other. Callihan said that he defeated Blanchard again and now he is going to become the Impact World Champion. He addressed Tommy Dreamer for getting involved against them. Next week, Callihan & Dave Crist team up against Blanchard & Dreamer. Good promo.
Also next week, Bahh and Moose face off, The Desi Hit Squad take on The Deaners, and RVD teams up with Rich Swann & Willie Mack against The Rascalz.
Impact Tag Team Champions The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) defeated Ortiz & Daga (w/ Konnan) to retain their titles
Page and Ortiz started the match, with the latter rushing at Page and getting the early control. They did a short sequence of reversals until Ortiz hit a powerslam and tagged in Daga. Ortiz and Daga hit a short combo before Alexander tagged in. Daga and Alexander traded strikes before Alexander was sent to the outside. Daga hit a tope on both North members.
Back in the ring, Daga hit a great suplex for a two count. The fans were chanting for Daga over their countrymen. Daga and Alexander kept trading strikes until Page interfered and cut off Daga, allowing Alexander to hit an assisted suplex for a two count.
The North started working over Daga with quick tags and power moves, keeping Ortiz at bay. Daga then had a great comeback, hitting a deadlift German suplex on Page.
Ortiz tagged in and took out Alexander with a series of kicks and a tornado DDT. Ortiz hit a DVD after a foot stomp from Daga, who then followed with a standing moonsault for a two count. The North hit their swinging neckbreaker combo, followed with a flying elbow and top rope moonsault for a two count.
Daga fought off both Page and Alexander with kicks, getting a two count. LAX set up the 5150, but Page saved Alexander.
Ortiz hit a tope on Page. Alexander tossed Daga outside, leaving Ortiz open for The North to hit their finisher on him and retain their titles.
This was really good given that Daga and Ortiz had never teamed before and the match only went about 10 minutes. Daga looked great here. Don Callis put him over huge, saying he is the next big thing coming from Mexico.
After the match, Ortiz thanked Daga. Konnan and Ortiz seemed to be introducing Daga to the crowd as the show went off the air.
Final Thoughts —
Really good show in terms of wrestling. We’re starting to get hints of what the Bound for Glory card could look like.
Dan Severn will be wrestling for MLW for the first time over WrestleMania week.
MLW announced yesterday that Severn will be an entrant in their 40-man Battle Riot match that’s taking place at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York on Friday, April 5. The match is airing on beIN Sports as part of a two-hour live special.
The Battle Riot is a Royal Rumble-style no disqualification battle royal. Eliminations can occur via pinfall, submission, or being thrown over the top rope. The winner receives a future MLW World Heavyweight title shot.
Tom Lawlor won last year’s Battle Riot and went on to win the MLW title from Low Ki.
Severn is also set to face Frank Mir in a matchup of former UFC fighters at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport in Jersey City, New Jersey on Thursday, April 4. It will be Mir’s first professional wrestling match.
In addition to the live special, MLW has TV tapings at the Melrose Ballroom on April 4 and April 5. Low Ki vs. Daga has been added to Friday’s show. Low Ki and Daga will both also be in the Battle Riot.
Here’s the updated list of entrants for the Battle Riot match:
