Tag: ECIII

Impact Wrestling results: Madman Fulton vs. Doc Gallows

Posted on by Antonio Garza

Impact Wrestling returns from Nashville, TN for tonight’s episode.

Opening video focused on the attack on Rich Swann at the hands of Eric Young, with the question on whether Swann will be able to get cleared to wrestle for Bound For Glory. In addition, it recapped last week’s Motor City Machine Guns vs. Ace Austin and Madman Fulton main event that led to the interference of The North and The Good Brothers, setting up tonight’s Fulton vs Gallows match. Finally, they showed ECIII burying the TNA Championship belt for good.

Show opened with Moose complaining to Scott D’Amore that he hasn’t done anything to deal with the ECIII situation and that Moose is booked to wrestle at an undisclosed location. Moose is just asking for management to do things right. 

ECIII cut a promo on Moose telling him that he is learning and coming closer to controlling his own narrative. Still a lot of ambiguity, but I’m still hopeful it ends with a Moose and ECIII tag team.

Taya Valkyrie & Rosemary defeated Tasha Steelz & Kiera Hogan and Havok & Nevaeh

All three teams have been feuding in one way or another for months. Taya and Rosemary have defeated the other teams in tag team matches while the other team interfered, and thus now they are all involved in the same contest. One particular detail about this feud is that Rosemary needs Havok’s aid to bring back James Mitchell back to life so he can carry out her wedding with John E. Bravo.

Story of the match was that Steelz and Hogan avoided getting in the ring, allowing Havok and Nevaeh to cut off Taya, who became the babyface in peril. Steelz and Hogan only tagged in when Taya was at her weakest, but as soon as Taya made a comeback on them, things turned around, and now it was the teams of Taya/Rosemary and Havok/Nevaeh trading tags to work over the heels. 

Eventually, chaos spilled out, with all women getting involved. Towards the end, Hogan hit a dive on Havok, followed by Taya with a plancha. But either due to timing or just missing their spot, neither properly caught Taya, who just went straight to the floor.

Finish saw Rosemary spear Steelz and hit the double underhook sitout bomb for the win.

This was pretty good given the teams. Hogan and Steelz have been good since they came together but Rosemary is the one that has shown the most improvement in the last month.

At this point, we know the Rosemary and Bravo wedding is in two weeks, but we don’t have a match for any of these teams for BFG; however, with this win, it seems that Rosemary and Taya can move on towards setting up the wedding episode.

– Josh Matthews and Madison Rayne ran down the card for tonight and Bound For Glory, updating with the new matches announced during the week, including Eddie Edwards vs. Ken Shamrock, Moose vs. ECIII, and the Call Your Shot Gauntlet.

– Backstage, John E. Bravo berated his wedding crew for going over budget on the wedding preparations. Fallah Bahh, his best man, arrived and confirmed he had not secured any money. As we know from last week, Bahh did indeed steal money from Hernandez, and Crazzy Steve figured it out, and thus called him out on it. Defensive, Bahh challenged Steve to a match tonight. No reason why Bahh suddenly wants to keep the money.

– Rosemary approached Havok about getting her help to bring back Father James Mitchell. Havok told her that it had taken a lot to kill Mitchell and that she had done it for a reason, to which Rosemary said that jeopardizing her wedding could break the time continuum for some reason. Havok offered Rosemary a match next week, in which if Rosemary wins, Havok helps her bring back Mitchell. A literal life or death stipulation.

Crazzy Steve defeated Fallah Bahh

Bahh came out tightly gripping the money roll like if it was a forbidden treasure. His whole demeanor screamed Gollum and the one ring. Steve came out and tried to get the referee to find it and for Bahh to lose the t-shirt, but failed.

This wasn’t much of a match. Steve kept trying to grab Bahh’s money and Bahh responded by using his strength to toss him away and save himself. Steve tried to choke out Bahh, but was unsuccessful. 

In the end, Steve managed to tear off Bahh’s t-shirt, revealing the money roll, and as Bahh went to cover it, Steve rolled him up for the win. Not particularly good, but at least it was short. 

With the reveal, we should expect Hernandez to come after Bahh and potentially the whole wedding crew.

– Rhino met with Heath in the locker room. Rhino told Heath that he felt sorry for what happened to him last week, so he had gone around and pulled some strings to get Heath a spot at the Call Your Shot Gauntlet, and if either Rhino or Heath wins, Heath can get a contract with Impact. Rhino told Heath to get ready since they have a match later tonight.

D’Amore entered and told Rhino that he was a good friend, and brought up that Rhino agreed that if neither wins, Heath is gone, and Rhino will give up his own contract.

This stank of a heel turn by Rhino, but that last detail from D’Amore really clears it off and somewhat telegraphs the finish to the CYSG at Bound For Glory.

Kaleb with a K came out to introduce Tenille Dashwood, announcing that she will be entering the Call Your Shot Gauntlet, as will all the participants of the following match.

Hernandez, Cousin Jake, Alisha Edwards, Rhino, and Heath defeated Tommy Dreamer, Brian Myers, Tenille Dashwood, Johnny Swinger, & Cody Deaner 

Matthews confirmed that the participant order was picked at random and thus we now have Myers and Dreamer in the same team, who have been feuding for the last couple of weeks. 

Stipulation of this match is that the winning team will have a five way match next week, where the winner will earn the #20 spot at the Call Your Shot Gauntlet at BFG.

This was chaotic, a lot of comedy and really quick spots to try and get everyone in for a short time. Most of the in-ring action came from Hernandez beating up Dreamer, but thankfully, Heath and Myers had a good short run at the end that led to Swinger blind tagging himself in, only to get the Wake Up Call from Heath for the win.

– Backstage, Callihan teased Eddie Edwards, distracting him from Ken Shamrock, who attacked him from behind, and once again went after Edwards’ ankle. 

– Jimmy Jacobs interviewed Eric Young about his attack on Swann. EY said that his match at Bound For Glory was unconfirmed at this point and asked Jacobs why Impact thought that it was smart to have Swann miraculously recover and put him back in the ring with the man that caused all the damage to begin with. 

Kylie Rae defeated Kimber Lee (with Deonna Purrazzo)

After the attack on Susie by Purrazzo and Lee at Victory Road, Kylie Rae is out to get some revenge for her friend. In the same vein, commentary sold it as Purrazzo using this match to get Kimber Lee to weaken or completely take out Rae before their BFG match.

Rae was super fired up for this match; she wasn’t smiling as usual. She controlled the first half of the match, going for submission attempts and strikes on Kimber Lee, but it wasn’t until she went for a rana from the apron that Lee blocked her and with an apron bomb, turned the match around. 

Lee worked over Rae’s head for a while, at one point dropping her with a delayed vertical suplex for a near fall. Rae eventually made a comeback, hitting the Kylie Special for a two count. Lee got another good near fall with a sitdown powerbomb, but at the end, Rae locked in the smile to the finish to make Lee submit. Really good match, great action and the correct amount of heat headed towards BFG.

After the match, Kylie Rae didn’t release the STTF, allowing Purrazzo to attack her from behind. They brawled a bit until Rae nailed Purrazzo with a superkick and cleared the ring.

Prior to the next match, Anderson and Gallows cut a promo saying that at first, they came to Impact for the money, but they’ve realized that they like it, and that they’re the best, but to be the best, they have to hold the Tag Team championships. They promised that they would walk out of BFG the new champions.

Doc Gallows (with Karl Anderson) vs. Madman Fulton (with Ace Austin) ended in a double countout

This was a scary hoss fight, it was more of a brawl than anything else. Within a minute Fulton hit snake eyes on Gallows and they spilled out to the floor for a brawl. They punched and kicked each other around and up the ramp and neither cared when they were counted out.

After the commercial break, we got confirmed that Impact management have restarted the match under No DQs rules.

Doc Gallows (with Karl Anderson) defeated Madman Fulton (with Ace Austin) in a No DQ match

We picked up the match as Fulton and Gallows brawled around the ring, Fulton found a led pipe, while Gallows carried a chair. They then proceeded to hit each other with everything they could find, chairs, metal signs, golf clubs, and whatnot. 

Fulton was in control for most of the match, destroying Gallows, but it wasn’t until Fulton tried to con-chair-to Gallows against a chair locked between the turnbuckles that Gallows dodged, sent Fulton head first into the chair, hit a double handed chokeslam on a bed of chairs and picked up the win. 

This was great for what it was. Weapons matches are not the best in empty arenas, but this was so brutal that I completely forgot the lack of fans. No sight of the Motor City Machine Guns or The North, but it’s been weeks of all eight men being involved in the same ring, so it was a nice chance of pace to allow two men to fight each other.

– Matthews and Rayne ran down next weeks’ card, including the Call Your Shot Gauntlet #20 spot match, Callihan vs Eddie Edwards, Rohit Raju, Chris Bey, & Jordynne Grace vs Willie Mack, Trey Miguel, & TJP, all competitors in the BFG X-Division Scramble match for the title, and finally The North vs The Good Brothers.

– Eric Young came down to the ring to demand answers on the status of his Bound For Glory match. He hijacked the rest of the show until someone confirmed that Swann had given up. 

We saw D’Amore finish the call with either Swann or Dr. Foreman then headed to the ring to deal with Young.

Out in the ring, Young demanded that D’Amore confirm the cancellation of the World title match at Bound For Glory. D’Amore said that Young had done additional and substantial damage to Swann’s leg. After a lot of trash talk by Young, D’Amore told EY that the match is still on because as per medical assessment, Rich Swann’s recovery is ahead of schedule and would be cleared for Bound For Glory.

Irate, Eric Young jumped Scott D’Amore and proceeded to break his ankle. Rich Swann then appeared and laid out Young with a cutter. Young retreated as Swann held up the Impact World title.

This was the perfect execution of the cocky heel getting swerved by the clearance of the valiant babyface, but they couldn’t hold off on Swann’s return and thus ended up spoiling any questions on Swann’s status and making us wonder why Swann didn’t confront Young earlier.

– Before the show ended, we saw Moose finally find ECIII, who told Moose that he was a fraud, whose personality was just a combination of all his idols. 

ECIII and Moose started brawling on a bridge, but it ended with ECIII knocking down Moose and laughing at what Moose had become, someone who could be easily beaten. 

Moose recovered and attacked ECIII with his fists, leaving him all bloodied up. He walked away with the TNA title as ECIII laughed in the background. This was a bit of the payoff we’ve waited weeks for, but being so close to BFG now, I don’t know what else we can expect for the pay-per-view. 

Final thoughts — 

Overall a good show building up heat for Bound For Glory.

Impact Wrestling results: The North vs. The Motor City Machine Guns

Posted on by Antonio Garza

Impact Wrestling returns from Nashville, TN for the fallout of Slammiversary XVIII, where three new champions were crowned.

Show started with ECIII cutting a promo about people being controlled by the media, government, politicians, corporations, and even love. He said that we need to fight back against those that want to control us and we must control our narrative. Really good promo, it’s ECIII’s forte.

Impact debuted a new entrance video and theme, a far better one.

X-Division Champion Chris Bey defeated Willie Mack to retain the title.

Willie Mack is cashing in his rematch clause.

Bey started the match with a shotgun dropkick and a quick pin attempt. After kicking out, Bey and Mack started rolling around, trading fists. They stood and continued trading strikes. Eventually Mack managed to floor Bey, but before he could follow up Bey pulled him to the outside. Bey went for a plancha, but Mack caught him and slammed him down on the floor.

Back in the ring, Mack hit a senton atomico. He tried to follow with a running clothesline on the corner, but Bey dodged and hit a draping neckbreaker for a two count. Bey followed with a headlock, but Mack powered up, escaped, and hit a backfist. When Bey tried to hit a moonsault, Mack dodged and hit a moonsault himself. 

Mack went for the stunner, but Bey blocked. Mack caught him with a pop-up forearm then went for the 6-star frog splash, but Bey moved, hit a springboard cutter, and picked up the win. Good match, but really short.

Josh Matthews and Madison Rayne ran down some of tonight’s matches and also recapped the events from Slammiversary. They hyped the debut of the Good Brothers and ECIII’s return.

The Good Brothers came down to the ring. Anderson cut a promo about arriving on Impact Wrestling, how Slammiversary was trending #1 worldwide because of them. Gallows talked about selling out their t-shirt overnight. They had some beers to celebrate, but Ace Austin interrupted them, along with Madman Fulton.

Ace told them that he understood why they attacked him on Saturday, they went for the top two guys in Impact. Ace wanted an apology. Ace threw Anderson’s beer, so they started brawling. The Good Brothers cleared the ring. This was somewhat weak.

Backstage, Heath arrived trying to get in, but he wasn’t on the list. He didn’t even have a last name. He called out Rhino, but he was distracted with Hernandez about their arm-wrestling dispute. They both ended up challenging each other to a fight for the money. I don’t know why Heath can’t use ‘Miller’ on Impact.

In his locker room, Chris Bey was thanking some ladies, who seem to be his assistants. Rohit Raju arrived and wanted to celebrate with Bey too. Raju said that Bey has a bullseye on his back, so he offered his help to look out for Bey.

Havok & Nevaeh defeated Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz by DQ

Steelz and Nevaeh started the match, with the latter striking down Steelz and dropping her with a slam and a crucifix pin for an early two count. Havok came in with a backbreaker into a neckbreaker by Nevaeh.

Hogan tagged in but ate a big boot by Havok as she came in. She managed to dodge a second boot and hit a dropkick, but Havok wasn’t phased and took down Hogan with a clothesline. Nevaeh tagged in, but distracted herself with Steelz, allowing Hogan to clip her from behind and cut her off from her corner. 

Hogan and Steelz worked over Nevaeh in their corner, using many quick tags, going for strikes and chokes, getting near falls in between. Eventually, Nevaeh caught Steelz with a clothesline, but couldn’t follow up and ate a bicycle kick by Tasha. Nevaeh kicked Tasha again and went for the tag, but Hogan distracted the referee and the tag didn’t take place. Nevaeh hit a desperation neckbreaker and finally tagged in Havok.

Havok ran wild over Hogan and Steels, clotheslines and running boots to the corner. Hogan got her with a sleeper, but Havok got her off. Hogan went for a tilt-a-whirl, but Havok reversed into a piledriver. Tasha tried to save Hogan with a chair for the DQ, but Havok held on and still hit the piledriver on Hogan.

Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was Eddie Edwards first World Title win over Bobby Lashley.

Backstage, Sami Callihan confronted Ken Shamrock for losing the match on Saturday. Shamrock accepted it, but wasn’t having it today. He said to complain next week. Callihan was as confused as I was after this.

RVD and Katie Forbes cut a promo talking about the changes in Impact for the better. They promoted Forbes new website. They’re done with the CancelCulture gimmick, but they’re still the heelish characters they were a couple of months prior.

Rhino defeated Hernandez

It took me longer to write this than the match. Rhino caught Hernandez with the Gore by surprise and won the cash.

The North cut a promo backstage about being the greatest tag team in the company’s history, but they never get a chance to celebrate. They said that the people said that the MCMG were the greatest and most innovative and such, but that was all opinions, yet The North’s longest reign in Impact’s history is a fact.

We got a vignette for Brian Myers. It looked similar to Kurt Angle’s initial vignettes in TNA. Impact didn’t say who was in the video, but Myers later identified himself on social media.

A video collection aired of post-match promos by the winners of Slammiversary XVIII.

Gia Miller interviewed Deonna Purrazzo about her next move. Purrazzo said she wouldn’t reveal, but since Grace was injured with a separated shoulder, she’d just enjoy the reign. Up walked Kylie Rae and introduced herself as the next challenger. Deonna offered a handshake, only to swerve Rae into the Fujiwara armbar, but Rae was able to block it before Alisha Edwards and Kimber Lee ran up to break up the fight.

Eddie Edwards came down to the ring to address his championship win. Eddie talked about how it felt so right to call himself the Impact World Champion. He said that his journey brought him to the title, and now a new one starts. Eddie said that he wants stability in Impact and that he wants to be the champion that both fans and the locker room can be proud of. He said that in the last few years, this title doesn’t get defended often, the last time was five months ago, and so he vows to be a defending champion and he’ll do it every week if necessary. His journey is to bring stability and credibility to the title.

Eric Young came out. Eddie didn’t let EY talk, he said he wasn’t happy with what he did to Rich Swann on Slammiversary. EY deserves an ass kicking, and Eddie is happy to oblige. 

EY said that Impact belongs to him and that Eddie should be happy that he took out Rich and not him. EY said that he doesn’t care about Eddie’s journey and that the only thing he wants is the title. 

Eddie threw himself on EY with a dive and started punching them. They got into a small pull apart.

Gia Miller interviewed Moose, asking him if he’d defend the title like Eddie had just promised. Moose told her that was a dumb question, because he carries the most prestigious title and people don’t just deserve title shots. Moose said he’d invite Fallah Bahh to a match.

Backstage, Gia Miller approached Eddie about who he’d wrestle first. Trey Miguel approached him and asked for a match next week. Eddie accepted.

Self-Proclaimed TNA World Champion Moose defeated Fallah Bahh (with TJP) to retain the title

Collar and elbow to start the match, Moose couldn’t move Bahh. He tried to attack Bahh in the corner, but Bahh kept dodging and chopping Moose. Bahh blocked a chokeslam attempt, but ended up catching a big boot to the face.

Moose chopped and punched Bahh, took him down with a shoulder block. He dropped an elbow, raked Bahh’s face, and choked him on the ropes. As usual, Moose got cocky and started talking trash, allowing Bahh to recover and build some momentum for a couple of running clotheslines and hip attacks to the corner. Moose hit the lights out and won. This was virtually a squash.

After the match, ECIII snuck up behind Moose, took him down, and walked away. Matthews said that ECIII doesn’t work here.

Good Brothers were walking down the street when Ace and Fulton drove up and distracted them, allowing Reno Scum to attack them from behind. GB took care of Reno Scum, prompting Ace and Fulton to drive away.

John E. Bravo had Rosemary in his house. They were talking to each other in code about pinches of rosemary and extra extra virgin olive oil. Taya was in the house too, so since they weren’t alone anymore. Rosemary started summoning half of the Impact roster to the house. Apparently, we have a reality show called ‘Wrestle House’ now, starting next week.

Announced for next week, Reno Scum vs The Good Brothers and Eddie Edwards vs Trey Miguel for the Impact World title.

The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) defeated Impact World Tag Team Champions The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) to win the titles

Shelley and Page started the match, they chain wrestled for a bit for wrist and head control, then did a short sequence of counters and reversals ending up in a standoff. Alexander and Sabin tagged in and went for the same plan, ending with some lucha armdrags by Sabin on Alexander. 

Shelley tagged in, but Alexander managed to throw him into Sabin and cut Shelley away from his corner. Shelley recovered. Page left the ring to dodge a superkick, but Sabin was there for the kick from the apron. MCMG hit a double kick on Alexander, then a double kick on Page.

Back from commercial, MCMG were still in control, getting a two count on Page with a top rope crossbody from Shelley. Josh Alexander distracted Shelley, allowing Page to cheap shot Shelley to cut him off, setting him up for the car crash crossbody.

The North started working over Alex Shelley in their corner. Alexander took him down with a backbreaker for a two count after Shelley tried to get an armbar in. The North hit a double backbreaker combo for another two count when Sabin broke the pin. Page hit a delayed handoff suplex right before Alexander tried to follow with a top rope moonsault, but Shelley managed to move away, tagging in Sabin.

Sabin took out Josh on the apron. He hit a rana on Page, then followed with a missile dropkick and a tornado DDT on Page for a two count. MCMG hit a double kick on Page in the corner. Sabin tagged out and hit a dive on Alexander. Shelley hit the shiranui on Page for a two count. Kick combo by Shelley and Sabin on Page, followed by a swinging neckbreaker and crossface. Sabin locked in a cloverleaf on Alexander, but when Page reversed the crossface to a pin, Sabin let go to break the pin attempt. 

Alexander and Sabin traded strikes in the middle of the ring. Along with Page, he hit the murder-go-round, then followed with the cutter-wheelbarrow suplex combo for a two count when Shelley broke the pin. The North attacked Sabin, went for the northern assault, but Sabin used the moment to roll Page down while Shelley kept Josh locked and pinned Page to win the Impact tag team championships.  Really good main event, hate to see The North lose the titles, but after breaking the record, there’s no sense to extend it for too long. This also freshens up the division a bit.

After the show ended, we saw Heath sneak into the arena.

Final thoughts — 

Good show for a fallout episode after a pay-per-view. While we still have many questions about guys like ECIII or Heath, you can feel that a new era is starting. Wrestling wise, we got a great main event.

Impact Wrestling results: Eddie Edwards vs. Ace Austin street fight

Posted on by Antonio Garza

Impact Wrestling returns from Nashville, TN for tonight’s episode as the build towards Slammiversary XVIII continues.

Opening video made a big emphasis on Deonna Purrazzo’s debut from last week, attacking the Knockout’s Champion Jordynne Grace after she had defended the title against Taya Valkyrie.

Right before their match, Xavier and Wentz were ready in the Gorilla position when Trey Miguel approached them. Wentz was suspiciously jumpy.

Impact Tag Team Champions The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) defeated The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) to retain the titles.

Wentz started the match dropkicking Page out of the ring, taking it to Alexander along with Xavier with a kick combo for an early two count. Xavier separated Josh to his corner for a senton atomico by Wentz. Josh and Wentz exchanged some strikes before tagging in Page. 

Page successfully cut off Wentz as The North started to work on him with quick tags and mostly strikes. Josh got a two count with a knee drop. 

Wentz made a great comeback with strikes and a jumping knee that allowed him to tag out. Xavier ran wild over Josh, using his speed to land several strikes, but Alexander managed to catch him midair and drop him to tag in Page. 

The North separated Xavier and worked over him in their corner. The North hit Dezmond with a delayed vertical suplex that they passed around, but only for a two count when Wentz broke the pin.

Back from commercial, Dezmond is starting to make a comeback, escaping Page’s powerbomb attempt. He tags in Wentz, who ran wild over both men. Wentz went for a springboard plancha on Josh, but was caught, only for Dezmond to hit a moonsault and drop Alexander. Page got rid of Dezmond, while Wentz dropped him with a kick and standing moonsault for a two count. 

Dezmond tagged in and hit a superkick and meteora combo with Wentz for a two count. Xavier went for another meteora, but Page dodged, hitting a couple of superkicks. Dezmond hit one for himself and took each other out. Wentz and Josh tagged in, with the former hitting a destroyer after a Pele kick by Dezmond, earning a two count when Page broke up the pin attempt. 

Dez went for a suicide dive on Page, but Page caught him and tossed him over the rail. Wentz took out Page, but back in the ring, Alexander dropped him groin first into the ropes, tagged in Page, then followed with a torture rack into a spinebuster to retain the titles. Great opener.

Backstage, The North celebrated their win, but Page got angry that nobody was watching their match. Page said that no one would ever take the titles from them, they had no competition, and no one appreciated their greatness.

Josh Matthews and Madison Rayne ran down tonight’s card, pushing Moose’s defense of the TNA title and the street fight main event. He was interrupted and we went to the back where Trey Miguel had been attacked again while The Rascalz were in a match. Dezmond and Wentz went after Reno Scum.

Jimmy Jacobs approached Ace Austin for a comment about Trey’s attack. Ace said he didn’t know anything about it, saying that everyone keeps blaming him while there are a ton of crazy people on Impact. Eddie Edwards blamed him for Trey’s attack and told him that they would meet tonight.

Neveah (with Havok) defeated Kimber Lee

Neveah is making her in-ring debut tonight. 

They started the match going straight for the forearm exchange until Neveah swept Lee’s leg, only for her to land a split, eating a dropkick instead. At this point, Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan came out to talk trash.

Kimber Lee took advantage of the distraction to attack Neveah, taking her down by kicking her leg and landed a low kick for a one count. Lee locked in a deep knee submission, mocking Havok. 

Neveah recovered and chopped Lee, but got her eyes raked and choked against the ropes. Suplex for a two count. 

Neveah finally made a comeback with some lariats, a bad looking STO, and a better looking German for a two count. Lee hit a kick combo ending with an enzuigiri for a two count. Neveah finished it with a great twisting DDT for the win. Not a good match, Neveah seemed kinda off. 

After the match, Havok almost came to blows with Hogan and Steelz, but Neveah stopped her.

Backstage, Reno Scum and some staff are watching some matches when The North approached them asking if they were watching their match. They were watching Ken Shamrock, so Page got mad and broke the iPad they were using.

We got a video package for #CancelCulture, with Joseph P. Ryan talking about how Jacob Crist beat Crazzy Steve. He said that next week, he gets cancelled for good. 

We then got a video of Crazzy Steve talking to himself about people telling him to not do things. He called himself a “Homicidal Artist”.  He implied that he had some allies to face off with Cancel Culture.

Rhino defeated Rohit Raju

Rohit Raju jumped Rhino while he was doing his entrance. Rohit went for an early pin, but the referee said that the match hadn’t even started. Match started and Rohit went after Rhino with kicks and punches in the corner. 

Rohit tossed Rhino to the floor, where he kept the momentum going, ramming Rhino to the apron over and over again into the ringpost. 

Back in the ring, Rohit got a two count. He followed with more kicks and punches. Rhino tried to come back, but Rohit was fast enough to cut him off, dropping him with an elbow for another two count. 

Rhino finally recovered with a suplex, a couple of clotheslines and back elbows, but when he went for a Gore in the corner, Rohit dodged and hit a running cannonball. Rohit went for a foot stomp, but Rhino dodged, hit the Gore, and won. Rohit looked great, but they still had him lose. 

After the match, Rohit seemed to be having a breakdown.

Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the week was ECIII defeating Kurt Angle to win the TNA World Championship in 2015.

Backstage, Elgin was on the phone when Jimmy Jacobs approached to ask about Trey Miguel. Elgin told him that he doesn’t jump people from behind, he would rather drag a cameraman for everyone to see.

Susie and Kylie Rae met in the locker room. Susie said that she liked being good, but that everyone bullied her, so maybe she should be bad. Rae tried to tell her that she liked her. 

Taya interrupted them and told them that they were losers and bad people have more fun. They brought up that Taya lost last week before Taya walked away, looking for Bravo.

Self-Proclaimed TNA World Champion Moose defeated Hernandez to retain his title.

Moose tried to jump Hernandez to start, but was caught with a dropkick and clothesline to the floor. Moose and Hernandez brawled, ramming each other into the rails and ringposts. 

Back in the ring, Moose pulled Hernandez face-first into the turnbuckle and followed with stomps and clubs to the back. Moose whipped Hernandez from corner to corner, with uppercuts in between. At the third attempt, Hernandez tried to block, but Moose got him with an Okada-like dropkick off the turnbuckle, sending Hernandez to the floor. 

Moose raked Hernandez’ eyes, stomped on him and played to the camera, but eventually Hernandez had enough and chokeslamed Moose. Hernandez hit a senton and a backbreaker for a two count. 

Hernandez went for a suplex, but Moose escaped and hit a low blow. He hit the Lights Out, the new name for the No Jackhammer Needed for the win.

Instead of Moose’s music, the theme for Ethan Carter III was played. Ethan was not there, however. Big teases!

The Rascalz approached Reno Scum about Trey’s attack. Reno Scum said that they haven’t talked to Ace Austin in a while and that he owes them some money. Reno Scum passed the blame to TJP and Fallah Bahh.

We got a skit with The Deaners saying how much they missed one another Willie Mack was there just making faces. Cousin Jake challenged Chris Bey and Johnny Swinger to a six-man match. They made jokes about Johnny Swinger and Chris Bey. This was weird, but it had some funny bits. Mack is a terrible actor, however.

Reno Scum (Luster The Legend & Adam Thornstowe) defeated XXXL (Acey Romero & Larry D)

Acey and Thornstowe started the match, with the former dominating easily with his power. Along with Larry D, they took down Luster, but Adam was quick enough to take out Acey and hit a bulldog onto Luster’s knee on D.

Reno Scum went to work on Larry D with some double team moves, mostly clubbing him. Thornstowe got a two count with a standing moonsault. Thornstowe went for a crossbody, and Larry caught him midair and dropped him in desperation. 

Acey and Luster tagged in, with Acey hitting clothesline after clothesline on Luster, followed by a sidewalk slam for a two count. 

Thownstowe tried to fight off both D and Acey, but got crushed between them instead. Larry D took down Luster with a clothesline, but ate a step-up kick by Adam, setting up the top rope curb stomp double team for the win.

Backstage, Bey talked to Swinger about the challenge of the Deaners and Mack. Swinger said he had the perfect teammate to join them. He called someone who was in a 90 day no compete clause, so instead he told Bey he would call someone else.

We got a great profile piece on Deonna Purrazzo. She talked about starting her wrestling career, being invited by Impact a while back to wrestle Brooke Tessmacher as enhancement. After that, she traveled the world, wrestling in Japan and Europe to learn more and more. She now was back, knowing that she was the best female technical wrestler in the world and wanted to prove it. 

She said that the attack on Jordynne Grace was simply because she is the champion, and she is here to reach the top and nothing else. She will be the next Knockout’s champion.

Miller interviewed Grace about the piece. Jordynne said that Purrazzo came to the right place if she wanted competition, but if she wanted a shot, she just had to ask. Purrazzo then jumped Jordynne Grace, locked in the armbar and injured Grace.

Ace Austin defeated Eddie Edwards in a street fight

Eddie jumped Ace Austin during the entrance and started brawling. Eddie started going strong with the knife-edge chops early on before going to fetch some weapons. Eddie went for a garbage can that Ace tried to avoid, but in the end, Eddie caught him by tossing the garbage can at him.

Eddie dropped Ace groin first on the guardrail then chopped him, but Ace had his gambit stick ready to retaliate. 

Back in the ring, Ace regained control with the trash can, setting it on Eddie’s head and kicking him over and over, earning a two count. Ace raked Eddie’s face, hit a knee to the back, hit him with a metal sign, and connected several chops and kicks, but Eddie only hit one chop to set Ace back down. 

Eddie sent Ace to the floor again, but when he went for the dive, Ace caught him with a trash can lid to the head. 

Ace set up a piece of guardrail as a ladder between the apron and the ramp, but was countered and was tossed spine first into the guardrail. 

Back in the ring, Eddie hit Ace with a traffic sign, then a blue thunder bomb for a two count. Eddie went for a chair shot, but Ace dodged and hit his version of the Van Daminator for another two count. 

Ace brought out a table and set up Eddie on it, hitting him with the traffic sign over and over. Ace got to the top rope, but Eddie blocked him and went for a super backplex. Ace, in desperation, gave him a papercut under the eye to cut him off. He followed with a crossbody for a two count.

Eddie caught Ace with another cooking sheet and a tiger bomb for a two count. 

Eddie brought out his kendo stick, but got dropped with a drop-toe-hold onto an open chair mouth first. Ace tried to use the kendo stick, but Eddie dodged, took the stick and hit Ace. He then hit one of the most disgusting neckbreakers I’ve seen, by turning the table legs up and hitting a neckbreaker over the legs of the tables. 

Eddie prepared for the BKP, but suddenly Madman Fulton rose like Godzilla behind Eddie. Fulton chokeslammed him over and over again, then fed him to Ace for The Fold, giving Austin the win. Ace and Fulton seemed to be a new unit. Good match, but that neckbreaker spot was seriously scary.

We got a new Slammiversary teaser. The reporter said that at least one former World champion would make an appearance, showing various names from the past.

Final Thoughts: 

Good show by Impact, went by fast. Strong in-ring action top to bottom, with only one match being poor. Storyline wise, you can now start to see all the pieces coming together towards Slammiversary.

Next week has Susie vs. Taya, Mack and The Deaners vs. Bey, Swinger, and a mystery partner, and Cancel Culture vs. Crazzy Steve and two mystery partners.

TNA Impact Wrestling TV taping results: Bound For Glory qualifiers & semifinals

Posted on by F4W Staff

Tuesday —

Xplosion:

– Madison Rayne defeated Allie 

– Robbie E defeated Baron Dax

– Mahabali Shera defeated Al Snow

TNA Impact (Thursday, July 21):

– Matt Hardy defeated James Storm in a Bound For Glory Playoff match.

– We got a State Of The Knockouts segment with Maria Kanellis. Division champion Sienna was out along with Gail Kim, Jade, Madison Rayne, Allie, and Marti Bell. Gail wants a match with Maria, but Maria has other plans, telling Gail she has to face all of the other ladies first. If she loses to any of them, she can forget a title shot ever again. Segment ended with Maria promising a reward for anyone who takes out Kim which Rayne took advantage of, saying that everyone has to look out for themselves.

– ECIII is out for a promo on the BFG Playoffs, but former TNA Champion Drew Galloway interrupts him. Eli Drake then comes out for a promo on both of them. This leads to…

– ECIII defeated Eli Drake in a BFG Playoff match.

– Drew Galloway defeated Bram in a BFG Playoff match.

Wednesday —

TNA One Night Only: Xtravaganza (PPV)

– Chuck Taylor defeated Rockstar Spud

– DJ Z defeated Jonathan Gresham

– Braxton Sutter defeated JT Dunn

– Marshe Rockett defeated Mandrews

More matches are expected to be taped during Thursday’s tapings as they did a pre-show intro of the guys on the show including Gresham, Taylor, Dunn, Shynron, David Starr, Rockett, and Caleb Konley.

Impact Wrestling (Thursday, July 28):

– Mike Bennett defeated Jeff Hardy in a Bound for Glory Playoff match. Matt Hardy & Reby taunted Jeff after the match. Jeff was still selling injuries from the Final Deletion match.

– Bobby Lashley defeated Eddie Edwards in a Six Sides of Steel to become both TNA World & X Division champion. There was a post-match brawl with Moose and the four Bound For Glory qualifiers.

– Gail Kim defeated Madison Rayne.

– TNA Tag Team Champions Decay defeated The Bromans in a Monster’s Ball Match.

– EC3 defeated Matt Hardy in a Bound for Glory Playoff Match to advance to the finals. Matt was urging Brother Nero to interfere, but no dice.

– Moose defeated David Starr in his first TNA singles match.

– We got a Fact of Life segment where Eli Drake had James Storm as his guest. This led to the challenge and acceptance of a match between the two where if Storm loses, he can never drink beer again.

– Mike Bennett defeated Drew Galloway in a Bound for Glory Playoff match to advance to the finals. EC3 came out to even the odds with Moose’s interference, but accidentally hit Galloway with a kendo stick to cost him the match.

Evolve 63 results: ECIII open challenge; cruiserweight five-way; memorable ref spot

Posted on by F4W Staff

Submitted by Stephen Darrow

The show opened with the announcer telling us there were two changes: Tony Nese being added to the cruiserweight match to make it a 5 way elimination match and the non-title Hot Sauce v Tim Thatcher match would now be a title match.

– Dark Match: Joe Coffey def. Rory Gulak via submission

Gulak did some sort of a Tye Dillinger gimmick where he would evade a move and yell “amazing” or something similar. Coffey put him in a ridiculous standing boston crab and Gulak tapped instantly.

– Cedric Alexander def. Fred Yehi via pin

I thought this ended up being the best singles match on the show. It had the stiffest forearms/chops of the evening, and that is saying a lot. It looked like Cedric forearmed Yehi a little too hard and Yehi started to lay them in which looked pretty real to me. There was a dive spot where Alexander knocked the barricade back into the people in the first row. They went into the ring and started exchanging big moves, finally ending with a flurry from Cedric that gave him the victory. Yehi stayed in the ring in shock while Cedric celebrated, Cedric went down to the mat and they exchanged a very manly handshake.

– Bravado Brothers def. Jason Cade and Darby Allin via pin

After some standard tag work in the ring, Bravados took them outside and smashed them into the barricades a few times. Action went back into the ring where Cade threw one of the brothers out of the ring. He then went over the barricade into the crowd. The spot of the night happened when Cade leaped from the apron onto a basketball hoop that was left down in the gym, then hit a hurricanrana on one of the Brothers (I still don’t know which one is which). Action found its way back into the ring where Bravado brothers hit their finish and got the pin.

– Matt Riddle def. Trevor Lee via submission

Pretty blah match except for a spot where Riddle was thrown into one of the barricades and they broke apart, crashing into the people in the first row. Riddle tapped him with the Bro-Mission.

– Evolve Champion Timothy Thatcher def. Hot Sauce Williams via submission

Hot Sauce sent the rest of Catch Point to the back because he didn’t want an asterisk next to his name when he won the title. Thatcher then entered with no title belt as Riddle had stole it from him. Thatcher was very technical and kicked out of a few moves that looked devastating. He ended up catching Hot Sauce in an armbar and tapped him.

After the match, Riddle entered with the belt and cut a promo on Thatcher saying he deserved a title shot. Stokely Hathaway then entered and told him his boy TJP earned a spot in the cruiserweight series and neither of the other two had one. He felt TJP deserved the next shot. Thatcher said he would give TJP the next shot, then it would be Riddle in a Last Man Standing match. Thatcher then exited the ring without trying to get his title belt from Riddle.

– Cruiserweight Elimination Match: Tony Nese pinned TJP in a match involved Drew Gulak, Lince Dorado, and Johnny Gargano

Tony Nese entered first and cut a promo on how all he wants is a shot to show to the world what he can do in the WWE cruiserweight tourney. They implied that if he won he would be in the series. All the other entrants came in one by one and cut similar promos. Gargano made some vague WWE references.

Very good match, non-stop action. Gargano was eliminated early via roll-up by Gulak. Lots of dive spots, the barricades were knocked silly this match. Dorado did a moonsault onto the 3 remaining competitors and right as he was setting it up, Drew Galloway and EC3 entered and beat up Gargano. They cut a promo but the mic wasn’t quite working. After the moonsault spot, Gulak slept outside for about 5 minutes. Back in the ring, Dorado was pinned. Next, Gulak was eliminated by TJP. Nese and TJP then battled for a solid 10 minutes. TJP kicked out of a sit out tombstone piledriver. Nese started yelling “I am not losing this match”, went into a hulk-up mode, and hit TJP with another piledriver then a 450 for the pin.

With the win, Nese is now in the WWE cruiserweight tournament.

– Drew Galloway def. Ethan Page via pin — Anything Goes

Match almost immediately left the ring and they fought all over the gym. They tossed a plastic trash can around and Drew grabbed a half full Coke bottle out of it and smashed it on Ethan’s head. Drew went for a suplex on the outside and Page reversed it. Action went back to the ring and Drew emptied the ring of chairs, another barricade, then grabbed a fan’s plastic chair. Page then went outside and grabbed a tiny ladder. He Irish whipped Galloway into the ladder, which was propped up on the ring and barricade. The ladder went flying about 10 feet almost into the crowd. Match went back into the ring and Drew hit his dirty deeds finisher onto a couple of steel chairs for the pin.

After the match, EC3 came out to celebrate with Drew. He said his open challenge was off because he already beat everyone up in the back and there was no one left. Gargano then came out and cut more WWE related promos, said something about him being “best for business” and he “knows how to play the game”. Gargano then said he didn’t want to pin EC3 so this would be a last man standing match. EC3 accepted the challenge and Drew went to the back.

– Johnny Gargano def. EC3 via KO in a Last Man Standing match

Back and forth match, good action. EC3 got mad at the ref for not counting fast enough so he knocked him out. He beat Gargano up and went to the back for another ref. The second ref counted to 9, Gargano got to his feet and EC3 whacked him with a chair. The ref started counting from 1 and EC3 told him “no that’s not 1, its 10”. The ref disagreed and EC3 then knocked that ref out as well.

Galloway came in, and then the Catch Point stable came in to help Gargano. They cleared Drew from the ring and it was left with EC3 surrounded by three men and the third ref. EC3 pleaded to the ref who just patted him on the face, EC3 then turned around to eat a bunch of superkicks. The match ended with EC3 being superkicked into the ref who gave him the Stone Cold salute, then a pretty well executed stunner. EC3 was then tossed over the top onto a table that was at ringside that didn’t break and the ref counted to 10.

At that point, the four men in the ring celebrated and the ref got a nice pop for his stunner. After the cameras were off, the ref attempted a spin-a-roonie and The Worm…which weren’t great. 

TNA’s EC III pulled from Mania week Preston City Wrestling show; TNA gives an update

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

This story was updated Saturday evening with new details:

Preston City Wrestling owner Steven Fludder announced Saturday that he was told that Ethan Carter III was being pulled by TNA from his show on WrestleMania Sunday. The original booking was made by EC 3 and not by TNA, so this was a completely independent booking of which TNA was possibly unaware.

From Fludder:

“It saddens me to announce that TNA have issued the withdrawal of EC3/Ethan Carter from our April 3rd PCW show. The other international talent booked being Ken Anderson, Jade, Eddie Kingston and Cedric Alexander are all still confirmed to appear. WrestleMania weekend is the hardest time of the year to secure a replacement talent, but I have worked hard to secure somebody and subject to him finding his passport we may have another guest from the USA.

“I did reach out to TNA management, but was told, `Unfortunately nothing can be done.  This is a network commitment and something he had no control over Considering TNA was publicly vocal about not being happy when AJ Styles pulled out of an agreement with them, it does seem double standards to me that the company would ask talent to back out of a deal that has been in place for many weeks.

“I have lost out financially, having paid for an extensive promotional campaign with EC3 clearly front and centre promoting his appearance, but most of all I feel for fans who have used their hard earned money and booked travel to see/meet EC3. 

We have gone above and beyond to try to secure a replacement in tough times for those fans but it is a shame that when asked for assistance, TNA told us, `nothing can be done.’

I will in the future be thinking twice about using TNA talent to avoid repeat scenarios, as even WWE respects that when a date is agreed it is agreed to do not try to pull talent from it.  I try to give my fans more than value for money and will continue to do so but even though I do take full responsibility for the change in the lineup, you know I will always be honest with you all.”

Additionally, Carter was pulled from a Saturday Southside Wrestling show who had the same explanation as above.

The following was updated on Saturday evening:

The TNA side of the story is that this was a booking made directly through Michael Hutter (Ethan Carter III) and it wasn’t theirs. They said that Hutter’s flight had not been purchased and as of Wednesday, he had not been paid a deposit. They also said Hutter had made an offer to make things up for being pulled late.

TNA had something come up for Hutter, but it was not said what it was other than it involved ECIII and James Storm, which will cause Storm to miss an appearance at WrestleCon. In the case with Storm, the booking was through TNA, the promoter had paid everything in full that was required and booked the flights, but TNA and Wrestlecon reportedly reached an agreeable solution to the product.

Under normal circumstances, if the booking was done through TNA, the company should try and send an adequate replacement, but with much of TNA’s top talent like the Hardys and Drew Galloway booked over WrestleMania weekend, that would be difficult.  Bobby Lashley is booked in Mexico but that’s on the Wednesday prior to the Sunday.

In fairness, when it comes to WWE, similar situations have happened where major talent has had to pull out of outside commitments based on last minute changes in plans or things that come up.

TNA Impact Wrestling results: Lockdown: Hardy vs. EC3, Knockouts Lethal Lockdown

Posted on by Dave Bath

Last Week on Impact:

On last week’s episode of TNA Impact, Ethan Carter III and Rockstar Spud reunited to defeat the team of TNA World Champion Matt Hardy & Tyrus.

Tonight on Impact:

Tonight is a special edition of Impact! It features a Pay-Per-View caliber line-up. The one, the only… TNA Impact Wrestling: Lockdown! All the matches are taking place inside the infernal and devilish Six Sides of Steel Cage.

In the huge main event, TNA World Champion Matt Hardy will defend his title against the deadly, Ethan Carter III. For the first time in TNA history, the Knockouts will compete in Lethal Lockdown when The Dollhouse battles it out with The Beautiful People and Knockouts Champion, Gail Kim. Additionally, X Division Champion, Trevor Lee puts his title on the line against Tigre Uno. In tag action, Beer Money takes on Eric Young and Bram.

Show Recap:

Josh Matthews and The Pope welcome us to the Wembley Arena in London, England. The Six Sides of Steel is already set up and ready for our first match.

Beer Money (James Storm & Bobby Roode) vs. Eric Young & Bram

James Storm rides down to ring on the Boozer Cruiser, with of course his Boozer Cruiser Cam. While Beer Money, EY and Bram brawl on the outside, Storm takes a beer from someone in the crowd and spits it in Bram’s face. This gets a “TNA” chant from this hot crowd in London. EY and Bram took out Storm on the outside and then locked the cage door with Storm on the outside still. They get the advantage on Roode by isolating him with double team moves. James Strom recovers on the outside and climbs the cage to get in, and then takes down both men on his own. EY countered out of the DWI in a cool spot, and then got hit with a violent super kick from Storm. Beer Money hits the DWI on Bram for the pin and the win!

This was a really strong opening tag team match and a great way to start Lockdown. Beer Money continues to be one of the highlights each week on Impact.

-Earlier today Matt Hardy, Reby Sky and Tyrus arrived in the arena.

-Backstage, EC3 meanders around the halls alone before heading to the ring.

-Back from commercial, we start backstage on Brian Hebner as he frantically runs down the steps and finds an injured Madison Rayne screaming in pain.

-The Catchiest music in wrestling history hits and EC3 makes his way down to the Six Sides of Steel. He does his promo sitting on the steps and the electric crowd breaks out into a huge “EC3” chant while he talks about his feud with Matt Hardy and his match later. EC3 enters the cage and calls out Rockstar Spud. Josh mentions that last week EC3 wanted to face Hardy and Tyrus alone, but Rockstar Spud came out to be EC3’s partner. EC3 thanks Spud for helping him last week and extends his hand for a handshake. The crowd breaks out into a “shake his hand” chant. Spud shakes his hand and says “handshakes aside, I always does the ring thing.” Matt Hardy, Reby and Tyrus interrupt EC3 and Spud. Hardy says everyone should fear him. The crowd chants “We want Jeff”. For legal reasons Jeff can’t come to the U.K. for this tour, but Matt failed to mention that.

-Backstage, Jermey Borash interviews Trevor Lee and Shane Helms.

-Back from commercial, the Unnamed Man from last week (who is identified as Jimmy Havoc) talks about Rosemary of Decay. He mentions that she’s dangerous and he brings that out in her. He’s going to get her back from Crazy Steve and Abyss.

TNA X Division Champion Trevor Lee w/ Gregory Shane Helms vs. Tigre Uno

This was a really good match with lots of intense and fast paced action throughout. Lee gains the advantage on Uno and uses his power moves to dominate. Tigre makes a comeback and the pace quickens. In an awesome spot, Uno climbs to the top of the cage, but instead of escaping and winning, he hits a sick cross body onto Lee inside the ring to a massive pop. That might have been a mistake as Lee hits the Fishermen Buster for the win. Trevor Lee retains the X Division Title.

-Backstage, “The First Lady of Professional Wrestling” Maria Kanellis runs into a stressed out Knockouts Champion, Gail Kim. Maria mentions that it’s bad luck for Gail that Madison got injured. Gail tells Maria to stop criticizing and instead prove herself by taking Madison’s place in the Lethal Lockdown match.

-Back from commercial, Rosemary is creepily singing alone when the Unnamed Man (Jimmy Havoc) approaches her. He gives her a token of his affection as a way for her to remember him fondly. Crazy Steve enters and that’s when things get weird.

Lethal Lockdown: TNA Knockouts Champion Gail Kim and Velvet Sky vs. The Dollhouse (Jade, Marti Bell & Rebel)

The Six Sides of Steel has several chairs, trashcans and various other weapons hanging from the sides. Josh explains the rules for the match: Two knockouts start the match. At intervals, another knockout joins the match, and the match can only end after all participants enter the ring.

Jade and Gail Kim start the match off. Gail Kim and Velvet are already at a disadvantage because Madison was mysteriously injured earlier.  

Back from commercial, Jade and Gail Kim are trading shots. The first entrant out is from the Dollhouse, Marti Bell. The Dollhouse work over Gail with double team moves. The Next entrant is Velvet Sky who runs wild on The Dollhouse. Josh and Pope mention that Gail and Velvet don’t have a partner unless Maria steps up. Rebel comes out next and The Dollhouse has a three on two advantage. Weapons are introduced to the match with all the Knockouts taking each other out. The final entrant comes out and it’s Maria Kanellis. She teases entering the match and teaming with Gail and Velvet but doesn’t. Maria locks the door and walks away leaving Gail and Velvet to fight on their own, Gail and Velvet hit a double flapjack from the top rope on Jade to huge pop. Gail hits eat defeat on Rebel, but Jade breaks up the pin. Jade hits the package piledriver on Gail onto the steel chair and pins Knockouts Champion, Gail Kim. The Dollhouse wins Lethal Lockdown! 

-Backstage, EC3 meets Kurt Angle, who wishes him good luck in his match later.

-Next we see a creepy music video of Decay (Crazy Steve, Abyss & Rosemary). It ends with them spitting into the camera.

-Back from commercial, we get a video for the Kurt Angle and Lashley match. They show clips from their second meeting where Kurt was victorious.

-Back in the arena, The Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle makes his way down to the ring. Josh mentions that Kurt as two matches left in his career (In TNA). In two weeks, Kurt faces Lashley and next week Kurt takes on Bobby Roode. Kurt talks about the Farewell Tour. Lashley interrupts and comes down to the ring. Lashley mentions that he’s been waiting a year to get revenge on Kurt. This enrages Kurt, prompting him to tell Lashley he wants to fight, and he wants to do it right now. Lashley teases fighting, but doesn’t and leaves the ring. Lashley was really good here playing a very subtle heel. TNA is doing a decent job building up to this Kurt Angle vs. Lashley match.

-Back from commercial, Eli Drake is in the ring talking about Odarg The Great and how it’s Grado. Eli points out that Grado was fired from TNA. Eli promises to take Odarg’s mask off.

Eli Drake vs. Odarg The Great

Total comedy match. Eli dominates Odarg. Eli tries to escape through the door and Odarg pulls Eli’s tights nearly off trying to keep him in the ring. Eli wrestles for a bit with his tights half way down. Odarg climbs to the top of the cage to escape. Odarg is hanging off the side of the cage. Eli pulls the mask off and Odarg falls to the ground, and wins the match. Odarg is revealed as Grado and Jeremy Borash was very surprised that it was Grado. He was the only one.

-Backstage, Decay approaches Jimmy Havoc and they tell him that Rosemary is with them. Decay beats down Jimmy Havoc and leaves him there to rot.

-Back from commercial, Grado is trying to plead his case to Billy Corgan, but security throws him out.

-Next we get a cool video from “Miracle” Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis.

TNA World Heavyweight Champion Matt Hardy w/ Tyrus vs. Ethan Carter III

We get the ring introductions for EC3 and TNA World Champion Matt Hardy. Both are shown walking backstage and out to the ring. The crowd is buzzing in anticipation of this match. The crowd sings along with EC3’s theme music.

Josh tells us that there are no more commercial breaks and we’ll get this match without interruption. Tyrus throws two steel chairs in the ring. Hardy sets the chairs up in the corner, but gets sent head first into the chairs instead of EC3. Matt takes the lock and chain off the cage door and tries to use it. EC3 takes Matt down. EC3 tries to walk out the door, however Tyrus blocks the way. EC3 flips off Tyrus and says something that is bleeped out. Tyrus enters the cage and beats down EC3. Tyrus tries to use the chain and lock to tie EC3 to the rope, instead EC3 ends up tying Tyrus up. Matt hits the twist of fate with EC3 trapped in the chair, but only gets a near fall. Both EC3 and Hardy crawl towards the door. Reby comes down to ringside and teases using a hammer. Rockstar Spud comes out to stop Reby. Shockingly, Rockstar Spud turns on EC3 by slamming the cage door on EC3’s head. Spud helps Matt escape and win the match.

After the match, Spud hits EC3 with a vicious chair shot while the crowd chants “You Sold Out” at Spud. As Rockstar Spud leaves he tells an unconscious EC3, “I always do the right thing.”

Final Thoughts:

TNA delivered a really good edition of Impact this week. There were several entertaining matches including, Beer Money vs. EY & Bram. The Knockouts Lethal Lockdown was also a jaw dropping event, and the night was capped off by an enticing main event. TNA continues to produce fun and exciting Impact’s since arriving on POP TV.

Next Week on Impact:

Next week, we’re still in London for Impact. The Kurt Angle Farewell Tour is nearing its end as Kurt wrestles his second to last match against one half of Beer Money, Bobby Roode.