A Tag Team title match has been confirmed for next month’s MLW television tapings in Philadelphia.
MLW Tag Team Champions Pentagon Jr. & Fenix will defend their titles against two members of The Hart Foundation (Teddy Hart, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Brian Pillman Jr.) at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday, February 2. The event is being called “MLW Superfight.”
The Hart Foundation were supposed to challenge for Pentagon & Fenix’s titles last month, but Fenix had to miss MLW’s December tapings in Miami due to a groin injury.
MLW announced on Wednesday that Davey Boy Smith Jr. has signed a multi-year deal with them. It was noted that he’ll still be wrestling for NJPW. Teddy Hart defeated Dezmond Xavier, Hijo de LA Park, Kotto Brazil, and Gringo Loco in a ladder match to become MLW Middleweight Champion last month.
As was previously announced, MLW World Heavyweight Champion Low Ki will defend his title against Tom Lawlor at Superfight.
Rich Swann defeated Dave Crist (w oVe) by DQ in an Ultimate X qualifying match
Dave started the match strong with a jumping knee and immediately took control of the ring. Swann got tossed outside the ring, where Jake Crist got a quick shot on the apron. Back in the ring, Dave maintained control, grounding Swann with chokes and strikes until Swann found an opening to toss Dave outside. Swann took out both Crist brothers with a tope con giro.
Back in the ring, Swann was now in control. He connected with several strikes and a Lethal Injection for a two count. Swann went for a Phoenix Splash, but Dave moved away and Swann hit the ground. Dave locked in a sleeper on Swann, but suddenly, Jake got in the ring and attacked Swann, giving him the win via disqualification.
Sami Callihan got in the ring and pushed away both Crist brothers, likely mad because Jake cost his brother the match, but the announcers sold it as being out of Callihan’s usual behavior. Willie Mack made his way to the ring and got in a fight with oVe, ending with Callihan and Mack having a small pull-apart before oVe walked away to the back.
Moose was interviewed by McKenzie Mitchell. He talked about not being worried about Eddie Edwards in tonight’s main event against Brian Cage since Edwards is locked up in an insane asylum. Moose told Cage that machines die, but legends are forever.
Back from commercial, Swann and Willie Mack were backstage talking. Mack was asking why Swann kept him from fighting Callihan. Swann answered that he’s known Callihan for many years and doesn’t want to start a war against him or oVe. He told Mack to let it go.
Josh Mathews introduced Taya Valkyrie and Tessa Blanchard to the ring. Mathews started the interview with Valkyrie, who said that this rivalry has seen Blanchard constantly cheat to win and disrespect authority in order to retain the Knockouts Championship, but come Homecoming, she is taking the title.
Blanchard’s response was that Valkyrie wouldn’t even know how a champion behaves. Blanchard said that ever since Valkyrie came to Impact, she just loses, so she won’t be losing the championship against Valkyrie. Both wrestlers came face-to-face, but Mathews separated them and announced that their match at Homecoming will have an added stipulation. To make sure there are no more issues with referees, Mathews introduced the special guest referee for Homecoming — Gail Kim.
Back from commercial, Blanchard was saying backstage that no one has been able to take the Knockouts Championship from her, and now Impact is stacking the odds against her. She said that she respects Gail Kim, but she’ll run through her if Kim gets in her way.
Trey Miguel defeated Trevor Lee in an Ultimate X qualifying match
Great match. Lee and Miguel started off with a series of reversals, working on each other’s arms and ending with a German suplex by Lee — but Miguel landed on his feet into a stalemate. They continued with reversals, but this time with more athletic moves and counters — until Lee caught Miguel with a kick to the back and finally got the upper hand.
Lee focused on Miguel’s back until he got distracted talking smack to Miguel, giving him the time to recover and start a comeback. Miguel hit a series of kicks from all corners on Lee, getting a two count for his efforts. Miguel set Lee’s head in the corner like Will Ospreay usually does for a superkick, but Miguel hit a 619 into the corner instead, followed by a dragonrana for the win.
Pentagon Jr. and Fenix cut a promo saying that their match with LAX at Homecoming will be friendly, but the Lucha Brothers are walking out the champions. Fenix addressed tonight’s match with Santana and said he’ll show Santana what is coming for them come January 6.
Dark Allie and Su Yung cut a promo from an unknown location. Dark Allie said that Allie is gone and got into riddles about the beginning and the end, and how the ending is the beginning of the end. There was no substance to this promo, but it seemed like a threat to Kiera Hogan.
The GWN Flashback Moment of the Week was the Ultimate X match with Amazing Red defending against Homicide, Chris Sabin, Suicide, Alex Shelley, and Christopher Daniels.
LAX and Konnan were in their clubhouse. Konnan scolded them about challenging the Lucha Brothers, saying that all partnerships will be broken once the titles get in the way, and so Konnan won’t be backing them.
Fantastic match. They started with some lucha-style reversals and arm drags. Santana sent Fenix to the outside with a hurricanrana and followed with a tope con giro. Santana wasted time playing to the crowd, allowing Fenix to recover. He caught Santana with a spinning kick and a top rope moonsault.
Inside the ring, Fenix went for a Swanton — but Santana dodged and hit a running knee for a two count. They got into a strike-off that ended with Santana hitting a uranage for another two count. They fought in the apron, with Fenix hitting a rolling cutter for a two count. They started reversing Germans until they turned it into reverse ranas on each other back-to-back.
Fenix and Santana kicked each other several times, one being a Penalty Kick by Fenix as he was walking the ropes into a hanging Santana. That got a big near fall. Santana came back and hit an alley-oop into a sit-out powerbomb for a two count. Fenix went for the Fenix Driver, Santana reversed to a roll, and Fenix kicked out.
Fenix kicked Santana about five times and hit the Fenix Driver for the win. This was a must-watch match.
Backstage, McKenzie Mitchell was interviewing Killer Kross. She asked about Kross’ actions from last week, but Kross ignored her question and instead talked about Johnny Impact not being able to defeat Brian Cage on his own. Johnny Impact interrupted him, telling Kross to stay away from him and Taya Valkyrie.
Kross talked some trash to Impact, forcing Impact to get physical. Kross told Impact that it is this aggressive side that he will need if Impact hopes to defeat Cage.
Kiera Hogan was backstage. She realized that the real Allie is gone and that her promise to have Allie’s back until the end was real, but the end is here, and now it’s time to fight.
We went to Shady Acres Psychiatric Hospital, where Raven was playing chess with some random guy talking about aliens. Suddenly, Eli Drake of all people interrupted him. Drake was paying Raven a visit to see another one of those guys that started the whole hardcore craze.
Drake told Raven to watch Drake at Homecoming — so he can witness him ending Abyss and hardcore wrestling. This was weird, but if you have Raven wearing a hospital robe, you have to get as much out of it as you can.
Jordynne Grace defeated Ruby Raze (w/ Katarina)
The match started with a collar-and-elbow lock-up, but Raze quickly let us know that she had the power advantage. Grace used her speed and knocked down Raze in the corner and hit her running knees and elbow combination. Katarina distracted Grace, giving Raze the opening to attack her from behind with a German suplex and get the upper hand for a bit.
Raze choked Grace and dropped her with a draping neckbreaker for a one count. Raze went for a chokeslam, but Grace fired up and powered herself out of it. After trading some forearms, Grace got Raze in the corner and dropped her with a powerbomb.
Katarina tried to get involved, but she was blocked and dropped with a Muscle Buster on top of Raze. The finish saw Grace hit a Vader Bomb for the win. This was an okay hoss fight, but overall a great showing for Grace.
Back from commercial, The Desi Hit Squad were all talking about Scarlett Bordeaux, so she suddenly appeared. They all tried to make a case for the talent search. Bordeaux brought up that KM and Fallah Bahh were trying to get some momentum back, so she proposed that The Desi Hit Squad take on KM & Bahh.
Moose defeated Brian Cage by DQ
Like a proper big lad’s wrestling match, they started challenging each other with shoulder blocks. Moose took the advantage when he poked Cage’s eyes, only for Cage to come back with a hurricanrana and get some offense in. They brawled outside the ring, where Moose accidentally chopped the ring post, hurting his hand, so instead, Moose had to rely on whipping Cage into the guardrails. Cage recovered and hit an apron bomb on Moose.
Back in the ring, Moose once again used dirty tactics to get the upper hand and started going for Cage’s head. Moose whipped Cage around some more and hit the Okada dropkick, launching Cage to the outside, where he continued to toss Cage around into the rails. Moose started playing to the crowd more and more — until Cage recovered enough and hit a tope con giro and got back into the match.
Cage hit a huge spinebuster and dodged a Game Changer. But as he tried to go for a second rope move, Moose countered with the Go To Hell and senton combo for a two count.
Cage hit a deadlift suplex from the apron into the ring for a near fall. Moose and Cage started chopping each other, hitting forearms and headbutts, but they ended up hitting each other with crazy lariats. Cage seemed to have injured his wrist.
Cage hit an ugly powerbomb with his knees buckling under him with Moose mid-air — thankfully Moose landed okay. Moose responded with a spear and they went to the floor.
Out of nowhere, Eddie Edwards, wearing a hospital gown, ran down and attacked Moose. Edwards ran wild on Moose, hitting some suicide dives and bringing out his kendo stick, which he used on Moose to chants of “Whack-a-Moose,” until Moose ran away and Edwards celebrated in the ring to close the show. Good match until the finish.
Overall, this was a great show inside the ring. Most of Homecoming’s card has taken shape as the Ultimate X match was finalized tonight, as well as Impact confirming that Gail Kim will be the referee for the Knockouts Championship match. Edwards will be facing Moose in a falls count anywhere match at the pay-per-view.
Tony Schiavone and Rich Bocchini welcomed us to the broadcast and hyped up the two big matches: the world tag team championship match pitting the Lucha Bros vs LA Park and Hijo de la Park, and Brian Pillman Jr vs Tommy Dreamer.
Simon Gotch defeated Ariel Dominguez (1:23)
Gotch came out with his money bag and took the mic before the match. He said he is putting up $10,000 to “the filthiest man in the back” who thinks they can take it from him. This was a quick squash match that didn’t last long. Gotch dominated throughout with uppercuts, some strikes in the corner, a running power bomb into the corner and finished Dominguez with a Gotch piledriver.
After the match, Gotch stuffed the money into Dominguez’s mouth and left him laying with a second piledriver. The announce team then hyped up Gotch vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor in a no ropes, no holds barred match at the December 13th tapings in Miami.
– Middleweight champion MJF was backstage being interviewed. He said he has told the office there will be no ladder match at the Miami tapings, that he is better than that, and is not going to wrestle in hostile or hardcore environments. He said he is not afraid of heights and he will not do the match because it is not worth his time.
– We then cut to Tommy Dreamer in a pre-taped promo. He talked about being excited to wrestle Brian Pillman Jr. as he was a fan of his dad. He called Pillman Jr. a skinny jeans wearing millennial that has no respect. Dreamer said he is going to teach him respect and is looking forward to hurting him tonight.
– Kaci Lenox is backstage with Stokely Hathaway. His plans for MLW are domination, plans to take it to new heights, and he is here to manage. He and his clients will right the wrongs of MLW.
Tommy Dreamer defeated Brian Pillman Jr. (6:35)
Pillman hid his cane in the corner under the ring apron that would come into play later on. They went for a handshake to start the match but Pillman refused and ran his hand through his hair. This had a slow start as they exchanged arm ringers. Dreamer hit a Dusty Rhodes style elbow to the head before they moved to the outside where Dreamer spat a beer in Pillman’s face. Back in the ring, Pillman took the advantage when he slipped out of the 10 punches in the corner and knocked Dreamer off the ropes with a kick to the back.
Pillman continued his attack to Dreamer’s back with kicks and a running dropkick. Dreamer fought back, dodged an elbow drop, hit a clothesline, got his 10 punches in the corner, and bit Pillman on the forehead for good measure. Tommy went for a DDT but Pillman slipped out and knocked him down with a chop to the back.
The finish came when Pillman took his cane from the apron but as the distracted referee was getting rid of it, Dreamer hit a low blow and rolled up Pillman for the win.
They shared some words after the bell and finally shook hands and Dreamer even raised Pillman’s arm. only for Pillman to turn and hit him with his swinging neck breaker. Pillman got his cane and attacked Dreamer with it and choked him out. Referees and Teddy Hart came out to calm the situation. Teddy and Pillman stood over Dreamer and Teddy raised Pillman’s hand. Pillman hit another neck breaker to add insult to injury.
– Backstage, Konnan said the Lucha Bros are going to leave with the titles tonight.
– The camera caught up with Lawlor. He said Gotch is a fake, a liar, and he chose the quick money by turning his back on him. He won’t be able to use the money he has made as he is going to break every finger on his hands in their no holds barred match.
MLW World Tag Team Champion Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix) w/ Konnan defeated LA Park and Hijo de la Park w/ Salina de la Renta to retain(20:44)
The match was contested under Mexican rules which meant no tags were needed and all four competitors were legal throughout the match. They started off quick with all four exchanging forearms but the Bros ended up eating some super kicks. They all went to the outside to brawl. Hijo de la Park hit Fenix with a broken piece of table and LA Park power bombed Pentagon Jr. onto a table which didn’t break.
Back in the ring, Hijo and LA Park took the advantage with chairs. They attacked the Bros below the belt using the chairs and the ring post. The Bros eventually fought back with Fenix hitting a springboard double cutter, Pentagon hitting a sling blade on LA Park, and then a pair of superkicks. Both then hit a double plancha to the outside. Staying on the outside, Pentagon tried to put Hijo through a table with a power bomb but again the table didn’t break.
The Bros took control in the ring but were quickly cut off when LA and Hijo hit a pair of tilt-a-whirl backbreakers followed by double suicide dives. Hijo then hit Fenix with a Spanish fly from the top rope for a near fall. LA continued the assault on Fenix with a double foot stomp as Hijo draped him from the apron.
Pentagon Jr. and LA met in the ring, removed their gloves and exchanged chops. LA hit his trademark strut and a takedown for another near fall. Pentagon slipped out of an attempted hurricanrana and hit a double foot stomp for a near fall of his own. LA kept fighting back and hit Pentagon with a suplex into the corner.
Hijo and Fenix made their way into the ring and pace quickened. Hijo hit a modified spinning Canadian destroyer for another near fall but Fenix fought back and hit a top rope hurricanrana followed by the Fenix driver for a two count.
Hijo hit a reverse package tombstone on Fenix for another near fall and knocked him to the outside. This gave Pentagon the chance to get in and hit Hijo with a chair, sending him to the outside too. LA re-entered the ring and we were back to he vs. Pentagon.
For a 53 year-old, LA Park can still pull out some incredible spots for someone his age. He evaded Pentagon with a middle rope springboard moonsault, landing on his feet so he could chopblock Pentagon before quickly hitting a dropkick to the seated tag champ. Pentagon fought back with a backstabber out of the corner and a superkick. LA fell to the outside but before Pentagon could hit him with a dive, Hijo got his revenge and stopped the dive with a chair shot of his own.
Fenix then sprung back in and he and Hijo exchanged chops ad kicks before Hijo ended up hitting an Asai moonsault on the outside. LA and Pentagon were back in but Pentagon got rid of him with a low blow. Hijo returned but Pentagon quickly hit him with a Fenix assisted double foot stomp from the top rope package piledriver. Fenix immediately then launched himself and hit LA Park with a rolling dive through the middle ropes. Pentagon then pinned Hijo and got the win.
This was a really good match to the finish the show. LA Park really impressed me for still being able to pull of some of his signature spots. Fenix and Hijo de la Park’s work was fantastic as their similar sizes really worked well together.
Next Week:
Teddy Hart is back in action and Rush takes on Sammy Guevara.
Both Naomichi Marufuji and Fenix are dealing with injuries that has put them out of action.
It was reported on Yahoo Japan this morning that Naomichi Marufuji would miss the rest of NOAH’s Global League due to what is being described as a left shoulder contusion. It isn’t known how long he will be out for.
As a result, the Global League tournament is in a bit of a mess as Marufuji was leading the A Block ahead of the finals on November 25. NOAH announced that there will now be a triple threat match between Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima and Kohei Sato that will determine the A Block winner. They will face B Block winner Kaito Kiyomiya in the finals.
As for Fenix, he wrote on Instagram this morning that he suffered a groin strain in a match against Barbaro Cavernario during CMLL’s usual Friday night event. He said that he has informed promoters that he won’t be able to make any of his December dates, effectively putting him out of action for the rest of the year. He also said to not to blame Cavernario on the injury and congratulated him on his win.
Here are results from yesterday’s Northeast Wrestling Redemption show in Poughkeespie, New York.
– Hale Collins defeated Jake Manning, Keith Youngblood, Christian Casanova, Wrecking Ball Legursky and JT Dunn in a ladder match
Great opener to get the crowd going, everyone used multiple ladders & tables and there were also some pretty vicious bumps on the ladder. Good spot to showcase some of the NEW guys.
– Katie Forbes defeated Karen Q
Awful match. Q did fine, it’s not her fault. Thankfully was short.
– Jerry Lawler defeated Brian Anthony in a No DQ Match
Not much, Lawler threw punches and threw a beer and water bottle at Anthony. Anthony’s team of Daniel Evans and Anthony Battle came out and triple teamed Lawler until David Arquette ran out for a surprise appearance. He nailed a pretty good spear on Brian Anthony. Anthony Battle got hit with a fireball by Lawler. Battle got very close and the fireball really connected to his face, looked bad for him. Then Mick Foley came out and helped Lawler.
The three former world champions posed after. Arquette was super over.
– NEW Champion Brad Hollister defeated PCO
Nice match, a bit short but a nice showcase for Brad. PCO was very over, but the crowd liked Brad too. Brad kicked out off a top rope moonsault.
– Pentagon Jr. defeated Darby Allin
Pentagon Jr. won after the arm break and package piledriver. Allin was just plain nuts, did two trust falls. Penta landed a Canadian Destroyer on the ring apron. Allin was thrown into the corner and he slipped right through the top and middle and landed on the ring announcer. Reminded me a bit of the old Chris Hamrick spot. I’d recommend to go out of your way to watch this.
– RVD defeated Jack Swagger
RVD scored the win after a Five Star Frog Splash. Terrible match. A lot of stalling by Rob early on. He wasn’t playing heel, he just didn’t do anything. Swagger eventually went after him. Crowd was booing. Swagger got busted open after Rob dropkicked a chair into Swagger. They tried to win the fans back by brawling up the stage, but didn’t work.
Swagger was pissed after the match, tossing the bell table.
– Kenny Omega defeated Fenix
Omega pinned Fenix after a One Winged Angel. Obviously the best match of the night. Don’t know the exact time, but went a decent amount. Definitely worth watching. So many different sequences that just were fantastic. I didn’t think it was as good as Omega vs. Pentagon.
Kenny was on the microphone after the match and apologized for NJPW not coming to the northeast, and said he couldn’t turn down this opportunity. Mentioned there were certain people not happy with him wrestling the AAA champion. Omega just has the presence where you feel like you’re watching something special.
MLW debuted in the Chicago area on Thursday night with a set of television tapings called “Fightland” at Cicero Stadium.
MLW’s Court Bauer tweeted that MLW broke its attendance record for the tapings: “Tonight @MLW will shatter its all time attendance record that dates back to June 20, 2003. Thank you all — fans, wrestlers, crew, staff, broadcast team, @beINSPORTSUSA and the media for making tonight historic. See you at Cicero Stadium tonight. #mlwchicago”
– Ricky Martinez defeated Dr. Rex Bacchus
– Puma King defeated MJF in a flag match
– Marko Stunt defeated El Gringo Loco
– Simon Gotch defeated Ariel Dominguez in a $10,000 Prize Fight Challenge
The episode seemed to set up some new angles and storylines, and again, there was no sign of Austin Aries.
For the first time, Scarlett Bordeaux actually appeared in the ring.
Josh Mathews acted surprised and said “she’s not on the runsheet,” prompting Don Callis to say, “She’s on my runsheet. She’s on the list.”
Bordeaux strutted to the ring with her gyrations. She’s doing a worldwide search for her next talent to manage. She took a seat on a leather chair near the ramp to watch the upcoming match.
Sami Callihan defeated Trevor Lee
The camera frequently panned over to Bordeaux, whose outfit revealed ample skin. Callihan controlled the match until Lee shocked everyone with a moonsault off the top rope onto Callihan outside the ring. Jake Crist was at ringside and kept distracting Lee. At one point he pushed Lee off the top rope, who then fell and stun-gunned himself, allowing Callihan to deliver a spike piledriver for the win.
X-Division Champion Brian Cage came to the ring and hit Callihan with an F-5. The Crist brothers then pulled Callihan out of the ring.
Even though Lee lost, he has a lot of charisma and is emerging as a star.
There was a backstage segment with King freaking out because “the boss” called another ceasefire between the OGz and LAX. This angle really needs to end.
More backstage work with Gama Singh and Rohit Raju, who will collide later in the show. Singh is Raju’s manager, but has challenged Singh to a match as some kind of test.
Impact Tag Team Champions LAX defeated The Heavenly Bodies in a non-title match
Eli Drake was on commentary and the segment was designed to hear him talk. Drake has filed a lawsuit against Impact for creating an unsafe work environment. This was mostly a squash match for LAX, although the Heavenly Bodies got in some offense. Ortiz got the pin after delivering a neckbreaker off the top rope while Santana held a member of the Heavenly Bodies on his shoulders.
Another backstage segment with Tessa Blanchard and Taya Valkyrie. They set up a rematch for the Knockouts Championship next week.
LAX were leaving the arena when they ran into Matt Sydal, who tried to convince Konnan that he wasn’t doing the best job for Hernandez and Ortiz and that they might want to open their third eye. Konnan called Sydal’s approach “gangster” before taking his team and walking away.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Killer Kross and Moose, whose mic skills are painful. Moose said they were going to beat Fallah Bahh so bad that he was going to stop speaking gibberish and start speaking English by the end of the night. They set up a match between Fallah Bahh and KM for later.
We got a pre-taped video segment of Fenix, showing his rise to stardom and his development with his brother Pentagon Jr. Fenix is taking on Johnny Impact for the World Championship later in the show.
Gama Singh defeated Rohit Raju
Singh introduced himself as “one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.” He said he defeated Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Bad News Allen, and Abdullah the Butcher.
It was a setup. Raju didn’t want to fight Singh. Singh slapped Raju a few times and gauged his eyes, but then an unidentified man came into the ring and delivered a gutbuster to Raju, allowing Singh to get the unofficial three count for the pin. The assailant, not the referee, made the three-count. The crowd chanted “You deserve it.” The three of them then embraced and walked off together. I guess Raju passed the “test.”
Johnny Impact gave an interview backstage calling Fenix family, but that sometimes “family fights.”
They showed some bizarre videos of what people sent in to Bordeaux in hopes of winning her managerial services. Bordeaux watched the videos from her iPad in the bathtub.
Moose & Killer Kross defeated Fallah Bahh & KM
Kross seems like the kind of guy WWE would want. Bahh has a lot of charisma and the crowd really gets behind him when he walks around the ring pounding his head screaming “Bahh,” over and over.
Bahh did his roll over Kross, laying his 300-plus pounds over Kross. He then laid out Moose. Instead of rolling over him, he put his foot in Moose’s mouth, to the disgust of Callis. KM hit an impressive dive through the ropes onto Moose and Kross, and Bahh hit a dive on both men from the apron.
Moose and Kross got mad and turned the tables inside the ring, but they got gassed and Bahh hit a suplex and a Samoan drop on Moose and then Kross. Eddie Edwards dragged Moose from the apron to the backstage area, leaving Kross alone. But it didn’t matter. Kross choked out KM for the victory.
Backstage, Edwards and Moose were fighting on the roof of the Melrose Ballroom. Moose stole Edwards’ kendo stick and started beating him with it. Moose choked Edwards out and nearly pushed him over the edge of the roof, until Moose ran away and locked Edwards out, leaving him on the roof.
From 2008, the GWN Flashback Moment of the Week featured Kevin Nash & Sting vs. AJ Styles & Samoa Joe. Kurt Angle and Booker T ran into the ring to beat up on Styles and Joe. It was crazy to see all of these guys inside the Impact ring. Styles was busted open. Again, they kept the flashback to about two minutes, much less than the full matches they had been showing for months.
Su Yung defeated Kiera Hogan
This was a decent match. Hogan works hard and Yung has a great, creepy gimmick.
Yung was beating up on Hogan on the ramp outside the ring when Allie appeared, only to get stared down by Yung. Ever since Bound For Glory, Allie has been under some kind of Yung trance.
Yung won the match with the Panic Switch (a long airplane spin into a face slam) on Hogan.
Impact World Champion Johnny Impact defeated Fenix to retain his title
Mathews and Callis treated the match like it was a big deal, a clash of legends.
The two shook hands before the match started. There were dueling chants of “Johnny” and “Let’s go Fenix.” It was a small crowd, but they worked hard.
The match started with the two of them wrestling inside the middle of the ring, but then they both started running around the ring. Each attempted leg kicks on each other. The match was hindered by the amount of respect the two were showing each other. This was the kind of match that Jim Cornette would have hated because it felt overly scripted and choreographed early on.
There were several spots featuring both guys attempting the same moves simultaneously on each other. Fenix hit a move from the outside where he ran and jumped on the second rope, spun, and did a springboard off the top rope into a corkscrew splash on Impact.
Each guy traded dynamic aerial moves into near falls. “We hope this match goes on all night,” Mathews screamed.
Impact seemed to be hobbling a bit on his knee. Impact hit several knees and an impressive Shooting Star Press for the near fall. Impact did a dive off the top rope and missed, but landed on his feet. Fenix hit a springboard elbow off the top rope onto Impact.
The crowd was screaming, “This is awesome.”
Impact hit the Starship Pain for the three count victory, in a match that felt more like an athletic display than a traditional wrestling match. The match was also hurt by Mathews’ incessant promotion of it like it was some classic.
Impact embraced Fenix near the bottom turnbuckle after the match.
The OGz then attacked Fenix, in an attempt to bait Konnan to break the ceasefire. It was Pentagon Jr., however, who ran into the ring for the save.
As the show was wrapping up, they cut to the backstage area where Killer Kross said all roads lead to him. As he walked away, the camera showed Impact laid out, with the title belt on top of him.
After facing Pentagon Jr. at All In, Kenny Omega has a match booked against the other member of the Lucha Brothers.
Northeast Wrestling has announced that Omega will be facing Fenix at their show on Friday, November 9 at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York. The event is Northeast Wrestling’s 23rd anniversary show.
Prior to defeating Pentagon at All In, Omega teamed with The Young Bucks in a non-tournament six-man tag match against Pentagon, Fenix & Flamita during PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles in 2017. Fenix was in the main event of All In, teaming with Rey Mysterio & Bandido against The Young Bucks & Kota Ibushi.
This will be Omega’s debut for Northeast Wrestling. In addition to NJPW’s events, he’s wrestled in the United States at All In, ROH’s Supercard of Honor, and WrestleCon’s SuperShow this year.
Rob Van Dam, PCO, Darby Allin, JT Dunn, and Brad Hollister are also advertised for the November 9 Northeast Wrestling event. Tickets will go on sale tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. Eastern time, and meet and greets for Omega, Fenix, and RVD are on sale now.
Something is very wrong with Fenix. His resurrection seems to have gone wrong. My theory is that it has something to do with Catrina’s soul possessing him, but we shall see how this plays out. Fenix turned on Aerostar and Drago, and even shoved Melissa Santos to the ground. This is going to be very interesting.
Ivelisse agreed to form a tag team with XO Lishus & Joey Ryan. Mil Muertes, King Cuerno, and Pentagon Dark will wrestle in a triple threat match for the Lucha Underground Championship next week.
Marty the Moth made his return, requesting a shot at the Gift of the Gods Championship.
The Recap—
The show opened with Matt Striker talking about how they received news that Fenix is somehow back from his Three-Way to the Grave match.
Gift of the Gods Champion Dragon Azteca Jr. defeated Ivelisse to retain the title
Dragon Azteca Jr. has made his intentions to cash in his Gift of the Gods Championship for a Lucha Underground title match at Ultima Lucha 4 known, but he wanted to gain experience before getting there, thus defending his title now. Azteca controlled the early portions of this match with some basic offense. He locked on a Boston crab and transitioned into a headlock. Ivelisse countered and hit two forearms and a tornado DDT, but Azteca kicked out.
Ivelisse was sent to the outside with a flying arm drag, but she dodged a plancha from Azteca, and he crashed into the railing of the stairs with a huge thud. Ivelisse hit a Code Red, but Azteca kicked out. Ivelisse hit a kick, but he kicked out again. Both wrestlers ended up on the top rope, but Azteca managed to knock Ivelisse down and hit a leg drop from the top rope, scoring the pinfall. Good match.
XO Lishus and Joey Ryan came out and said they wanted to form a trios team with her to take on whoever wins the Trios titles match tonight.
King Cuerno came out for his match. Antonio Cueto announced that he would be taking on Mil Muertes and that the winner would go on to challenge Pentagon Dark next week.
King Cuerno and Mil Muertes went to a no contest
Muertes was out here without Katrina, who he murdered last week. It doesn’t seem to have effected him too much, as he hit a superplex off the top rope early on. Muertes appeared to soak in the cheers from the fans, which is very different from before, including playing to them.
Muertes jumped off the middle rope, and Cuerno nailed him with a flying knee. Both men exchanged strikes while on their knees, then rose to their feet and kept going. Both wrestlers spilled to the floor.
The striking battle continued on the outside of the ring, as the crowd’s support for Muertes grew. He might be a monster, but he’s their monster. The referee tried to get them back into the ring, but both shoved the referee, who went crashing into the people in the front row. The referee disqualified both men as they continued to brawl up the stairs.
Antonio Cueto was displeased at the ending to the match, but informed Muertes and Cuerno that he doesn’t punish violence, he rewards it, and next week will be a three-way match between Cuerno, Muertes, and Pentagon Dark!
Lucha Underground Trios Champions The Reptile Tribe (Kobra Moon, Daga & Jeremiah Snake) defeated Drago, Aerostar & Fenix to retain their titles
Before the match started, Jake Strong came out and said he’d challenge Drago, Aerostar & Fenix for the Trios titles himself if they win. He promised to snap their ankles. Fenix, meanwhile, did not look like the old Fenix. Something was quite off. It seems his resurrection didn’t quite go as planned.
Jeremiah Snake took it to Drago right away, as Melissa Santos looked on in concern at Fenix. Daga got the heat on Drago for a little bit before tagging out to Snake. Drago managed to make a comeback, but didn’t tag out immediately. However, Fenix made a blind tag, rolled in, and hit a great cutter on Snake. Fenix immediately started stealing the show with his killer offense, and there were flashes of the Fenix of old, but he didn’t even think of going for a pinfall.
Fenix scared Kobra Moon back to her corner and looked far more bloodthirsty than previously. Fenix tagged in Aerostar, not by tagging his hand, but by chopping him. Aerostar came in with some fast-paced offense, hitting a cutter before getting cut off by Snake, who tagged in Daga.
Aerostar flew to the outside, taking everyone out. Drago tagged in Fenix, who seemed to wake up, but something was clearly off. Fenix helped Drago and sent him flying onto everyone. Back in the ring, Fenix nailed Aerostar with a massive kick, and followed up with a Fenix Driver. Snake picked up Aerostar and hit Get Out of Here for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Melissa Santos walked up to Fenix, who looked like he was in another world. Fenix shoved Santos to the ground and left as all the people in The Temple looked on confused. Dragon Azteca Jr. came out and helped Santos up.
The show closed with Marty the Moth appearing at Antonio’s door, trying to purchase a Gift of the Gods title shot for next week. Antonio agreed. Marty also had another request, but before we could find out what it was, the show faded to black.
The show opened with a new video and musical vignette. The special episode was named “Impact ReDefined,” with lots of news and new directions coming out of the show.
X Division Champion Brian Cage defeated Fenix to retain his title
Solid match. Commentator Josh Mathews said of Cage, “He’s never been pinned. He’s never been submitted. He is the machine. He is the X Division Champion. He is Brian Cage.”
At 275 pounds, Cage somehow works like a small guy. He hit a 619 early on Fenix.
Fenix tried everything he could to take out the big champ. He hit several spinning kicks. Despite Fenix’s high-flying moves, this was a showcase match for Cage. He hit a delayed vertical superplex. Cage threw Fenix over the top rope onto the ramp. Fenix hit a rolling cutter on the ramp. The crowd chanted “fight forever.”
Fenix dove through the ropes, but Cage caught him in a suplex position and suplexed him on the floor. Cage hit a flying DDT. He then powerbombed Fenix from the top rope for the win.
After the match, oVe (Sami Callihan and the Crist brothers) attacked Fenix and Pentagon, who were saved by Cage. He cleaned house on oVe.
There was another advertisement for Chris Jericho’s wrestling cruise.
In the GWN Flashback Moment of the Week, Grado pinned Al Snow inside the hexagon after a kick to the head. Following the match, Low Ki, Kenny King, and Samoa Joe attacked Grado and Snow. Drew Galloway ran into the ring to make the save.
They showed several backstage segments, including ones with LAX and Tessa Blanchard.
Wearing street clothes, Eli Drake went to the ring and introduced hometown wrestlers Mr. Atlantis and Brandon Tidwell, who surprisingly defeated Caleb Konley & Trevor Lee a week ago.
Drake challenged one of them to step up and fight Drake. Mr. Atlantis volunteered — so Drake picked Tidwell. He pinned Tidwell in seconds with his sideways slam Gravy Train finisher.
Mathews said “Eli Drake sending a message to everyone.” Drake then hit the Gravy Train on Mr. Atlantis.
Impact’s Alicia Atout interviewed Moose and Eddie Edwards. Edwards said he values Moose more than his kendo stick.
Tessa Blanchard defeated Su Yung and Allie to win the Knockouts Championship
Mathews said Blanchard is “next level good.” Yung has a great entrance, led to the ring by her undead zombie bridesmaids.
Blanchard was very vocal in the ring. Allie was noticeably more aggressive in the match. Blanchard threw Yung from the top rope outside the ring onto her bridesmaids. Yung went for her patented four-fingers-in-the-mouth choke hold on Blanchard, but Allie made the save with a superkick.
Yung then applied the move on Allie, but she broke it with a codebreaker. Blanchard took advantage of the moment and rolled up Yung for the victory. The crowd didn’t really pop for the win, probably because the finish was abrupt and there was no build to it.
Commentator Don Callis said of Blanchard, “she’s the best women’s wrestler in the world and one of the best wrestlers in the world period.” Blanchard gave an interview backstage and said she exposed Allie and took Yung’s title and there was nothing she could do about it.
“I am the measuring stick and if anyone wants to see how tough a diamond is, be my guest,” Blanchard said.
Gama Singh attacked members of his Desi Hit Squad because they lost a week ago.
There was another interview segment with Atout, Killer Kross, and Impact World Champion Austin Aries.
Another LAX backstage segment. They hyped the Impact tapings in Mexico City on September 13 and 14.
The Smokeshow with Grado, Katarina, and Joe Hendry
These “Smokeshow” segments featuring Scarlett Bordeaux are probably the worst thing on Impact. Bordeaux whispered into Grado’s ear and Grado squirted water out of a water bottle. Grado was so nervous he left the set. Hendry tried to promote their match with the Desi Hit Squad next week. Hendry chased Grado. Bordeaux tried to offer Katarina a “secret about men,” but Katarina cut her off and told her to stay away from her “boys.”
Odd segment.
Rich Swann defeated Petey Williams
Surprisingly subpar match between the two high-flyers. Williams hit an early codebreaker, which by far is the most overused move on Impact. Swann missed a flip off the apron and landed on his back outside the ring. Williams applied a Sharpshooter on Swann, an homage to Bret “Hitman” Hart, from one Canadian to another.
Swann went for a Phoenix Splash but missed. He recovered, and then Swann hit a standing Shooting Star Press for the win.
Swann gave a backstage interview but was interrupted by Matt Sydal. Sydal said he could help Swann open his third eye. Nearby, a woman was screaming over Moose, who had been laid out minutes before his main event match.
Impact World Champion Austin Aries & Killer Kross defeated Eddie Edwards
Edwards took them on by himself after Moose was injured. Aries oozes arrogance and portrays himself as a big star. Edwards hit several chops. He pushed Aries off the apron into the ringside barrier. He went for a splash through the ropes, but Kross hit him with a knee as he was sliding through the ropes.
Kross hit a fallaway suplex on Edwards outside of the ring. Aries went for a brainbuster, but Edwards countered and hit a double underhook suplex. Moose then ran into the ring to join the match. He went after Aries, but then turned around and speared his partner Edwards.
He then hit him with several right hands. Later, Moose hit Edwards with a steel chair. Edwards’ wife Alisha Edwards ran to the ring and slapped Moose.
“Moose has turned his back on Eddie,” Mathews screamed. The crowd chanted “you sold out,” like it was the 1990s.
“I am shocked at the behavior of Moose,” said Callis. “This is a tandem that scares the hell out of me and should scare the hell out of everyone at Impact Wrestling.”
Fenix defeated Sami Callihan (w/ Jake and Dave Crist)
They saved the best for first on this week’s show. Fenix lived up to his namesake in this match, hitting a series of high-flying aerial moves that had the crowd on their feet. Both guys worked hard.
The crowd at times chanted “Ohio sucks” at Callihan and the Crist brothers and “This is awesome” after Fenix’s aerial moves.
Fenix hit several impressive aerial moves, including a springboard cutter from on the outside, laying out Callihan on the ramp. He landed a hurricanrana. Callihan also worked his part of the match strong. He plays a great heel — and although he overacts at times, shows good ring psychology.
The Crist brothers tried to interfere, but Pentagon Jr. came out to help his brother, allowing Fenix to hit a spinning Muscle Buster suplex on Callihan for the win, in the show’s highlight.
They showed a long series of vignettes featuring the LAX vs. OGz street fight later in the show and then an advertisement for Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea cruise.
The TNA flashback match this week from 2009 was Team 3D vs. Beer Money Inc. vs. The Main Event Mafia vs. The British Invasion.
Then, in an interview segment, Allie said she was going to defeat Su Yung later in the show for Madison Rayne and Rosemary.
“This is for my soul,” Allie said.
Johnny Impact defeated Jimmy Jacobs by DQ
Don Callis reminded everyone that Jacobs used to be a very good wrestler. Kongo Kong attacked Impact from behind before the match started as Impact was walking to the ring. Kong kicked him in the face and threw him into the ring. Jacobs tried to cover him for the pin, but Impact kicked out.
Kong then ran in and hit Impact, forcing a disqualification. Kong tried to powerbomb Impact, but he slipped out, countering with a DDT on the stage. Impact then hit Jacobs with the steel steps, knocking him out on the stage and leaving his head dangling on the bottom rope.
Scarlett Bordeaux’s “Smokeshow” debuted, and it wasn’t pretty.
Apparently, both Fallah Bahh and KM thought they would be guests on her show and they ran into each other in the hall. They were both carrying wine. Bordeaux ended up interviewing both of them, where KM said he was frustrated with Bahh because he couldn’t control him.
Bordeaux told him to consider a different way and pretended like she was going to kiss him, but then pulled back. KM, in a trance, walked off the set and then Bordeaux slapped Bahh.
Weird segment.
Impact World Champion Austin Aries introduced Killer Kross as his new insurance policy.
Eddie Edwards then came out and hit Aries with a kendo stick. Kross held Edwards down and choked him out. Aries put his foot on Edwards and posed with the belt.
Eli Drake (w/ Caleb Konley and Trevor Lee) defeated Joe Hendry (Grado and Katarina)
Katarina and Hendry are clearly attracted to each other and Grado keeps doing dumb things to push his girlfriend towards Hendry, in this neverending storyline.
Grado messed up again this week, jumping on the apron while Hendry had the upper hand, distracting Hendry. Drake then rolled up Hendry for the pin.
After the match, Grado, Hendry, and Katarina all argued in the ring before Hendry walked out and Katarina followed him.
They showed Matt Sydal meditating on the beach, and a graphic revealed his third eye.
Allie defeated Knockouts Champion Su Yung by DQ in a non-title match
Yung and her undead bridesmaids have a great ring presence. Allie beat up on Yung for most of the match, firing up the crowd, but Tessa Blanchard ran in the ring and hammered on Allie to cause the disqualification. Initially it looked like a double-team, but Yung applied the mandible claw on Blanchard. Allie made the save, hitting a codebreaker on Yung. This seemed to set up a Blanchard vs. Yung match.
They advertised a Sami Callihan vs. Pentagon Jr. Mexican Death Match for next week with the Crist Brothers banned from ringside.
LAX (w/ Konnan) defeated The OGz (w/ King) in a street fight
This was hard to follow, with no commentary for a match that took place in a parking lot. A few weeks ago, The OGz stole LAX’s title belts from ringside without winning them.
LAX took the titles that already belonged to them back after they beat The OGz down in the parking lot. King then went to Konnan and screamed “this isn’t over.” He told Konnan that he was old and needed to be put down, then begged LAX to take Konnan out and side with the new blood. After they refused, King said “I spit on your soul. I spit on your family” to Konnan.
King got on one knee and begged Konnan to hit him, suggesting he was too scared to do it.
Konnan then seemed to hit him in the head, but the show ended, leaving the audience guessing.
Impact Wrestling returned to the Rebel Entertainment Complex in Toronto on Sunday for their first of two nights of television tapings.
Impact tapings —
– X Division Champion Brian Cage defeated Fenix (w/ Pentagon Jr.) to retain his title
oVe and Sami Callihan attacked Fenix and Pentagon after the match until Cage made the save.
– Eddie Edwards came out with a kendo stick. He mentioned being beaten down by Austin Aries and Killer Kross, but he said he’s again looking for a fight and called either of them out or he’s going to come find them. He said a lot of people call him crazy, but he loves what he’s become.
Aries and Kross entered. Edwards punched Aries, Kross took Edwards out, and Aries and Kross beat Edwards down before Moose made the save.
– Kiera Hogan (w/ Allie) defeated Alisha Edwards
Allie said she was proud of Hogan for winning and cut a promo setting up her triple threat Knockouts Championship match against Su Yung and Tessa Blanchard for later.
– Brandon Tidwell & Mr. Atlantis defeated The Cult of Lee (Trevor Lee & Caleb Konley) w/ Eli Drake
Tidwell rolled up Konley for the pin while Lee was distracted outside of the ring.
– Fallah Bahh & KM defeated The Desi Hit Squad
Gama Singh cut a heel promo on Toronto before this started.
– Matt Sydal defeated Zachary Wentz
– Rich Swann defeated Petey Williams
– Eli Drake defeated Brandon Tidwell
Drake got on the mic and mentioned that he never said he was friends with the Cult of Lee. He brought up this being one more test for Tidwell and Mr. Atlantis, then defeated Tidwell quickly after Atlantis was the one to accept his challenge.
– Tessa Blanchard defeated Su Yung (w/ the Undead Bridesmaids) and Allie (w/ Kiera Hogan) in a triple threat match to win the Knockouts Championship
Blanchard rolled up Allie to win the title. Yung will get her rematch against Blanchard at tonight’s tapings.
– A video aired showing that Moose had been attacked by Killer Kross backstage.
– Impact World Champion Austin Aries & Killer Kross vs. Eddie Edwards & Moose
Moose came out with a bandage on his head during the match. He turned heel on Edwards, joining Aries and Kross in beating him down. Alisha Edwards came down and slapped Moose.
– Sami Callihan defeated Pentagon Jr. in a Mexican Death Match
After Pentagon defeated him at Slammiversary XVI, Callihan won their rematch by hitting a top rope piledriver through a table.
Allie & Kiera Hogan defeated Knockouts Champion Su Yung & The Undead Maid of Honor
Yung and the bridesmaids made a scary, zombie-like entrance into the ring.
Hogan and Allie, full of energy, attacked the bridesmaids from the back on the entrance ramp. This was a showcase match for Allie. She hit a spinning dive off the second turnbuckle to the outside of the ring on several of the bridesmaids. Allie hit a codebreaker, which is probably the most overused move on the show, on Yung for the win. But after the match Tessa Blanchard ran in an attacked Allie from the outside while Hogan was subdued by the bridesmaids.
Blanchard hit Allie with a hammerlock DDT and then mugged for the camera. Blanchard is the total package: She has strong ring skills and plays to the camera perfectly.
Blanchard said in a backstage interview that she deserves the next title shot.
“She may be the best women’s wrestler I have ever seen,” commentator Don Callis said of Blanchard.
The OGz defeated Nathan Stokes & Ray Steele
Even though the OGz are not Tag Team Champions, they came to the ring with the belts after they stole them from real champs LAX a week ago.
This was a quick squash match. Homicide won when he dropped Stokes on the back of his shoulders and hit an awkwardly-delivered reverse chicken wing slam. It was a wicked looking move.
“He dropped that young man on his head, sickening,” Callis said.
The OGz’s manager King grabbed the microphone and said his team took LAX’s title belts and made them their own (they spray-painted OGz on the belts).
Just then, Santana and Ortiz from LAX ran into the ring and attacked Hernandez and Homicide of the OGz. Security broke up the melee. Konnan followed them and encouraged LAX to return to the backstage area and leave the OGz alone. After the break, Konnan told LAX not to fall into the OGz’s “trap” and that the right time will come for LAX to strike.
They showed an ad for LAX vs. The Young Bucks on Chris Jericho’s upcoming Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager cruise. Callis said “the two best tag teams in the world do battle at sea.”
Flashback Moment of the Week: Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Petey Williams
This was an exciting, high-flying match from Sacrifice 2006, with Liger hitting his signature aerial moves. Liger won with a front face slam to the delight of the fans inside the Impact Zone
Desi Hit Squad (Gursinder Singh & Rohit Raju) defeated KM & Fallah Bahh
Bahh looks like he would have been the perfect heel for Hulk Hogan in the 1980s. The large, rotund wrestler smacked his head and screamed “Bahh” as the match started. Callis said “Gursinder Singh speaks four languages, Fallah Bahh apparently speaks none.”
Bahh is really over with the fans. He hit two big splashes in the corner on Singh and Raju and then hit a leg drop on Singh. KM showed his strength and tossed both members of the Hit Squad around. Bahh and KM hit their patented Tuna Roll on Singh and Raju. The 400-pound Bahh and KM took turns rolling over the two wrestlers.
“This should be illegal,” Callis blurted. “They are gonna hurt someone badly.”
KM hit a full-nelson slam on Raju, but Bahh accidentally distracted the referee so he couldn’t make the count. That allowed Singh to hit a flying knee and a DDT to pin KM, to set up would looks like a potential KM turn on Bahh.
They showed Anthony Carelli backstage trying to hype his protege, Dustin Cameron, who gets a title shot, for some unknown reason, against Austin Aries later in the show. After he went along with every gimmick WWE threw at him a decade ago, it’s surprising that the former Santino Marella doesn’t have a job somewhere with WWE today.
Backstage, Jimmy Jacobs interrupted a Johnny Impact interview and took off Impact’s sunglasses. Impact punched him in the face and challenged Jacob’s stablemate Kongo Kong. “I want the monster. I am not going to ask again,” Impact told Kong
Impact World Champion Austin Aries defeated Dustin Cameron (w/ Anthony Carelli) to retain his title
“If you believe in feel-good stories and you believe in miracles, you are not going to want to miss this match,” commentator Josh Mathews screamed.
Aries walked to the ring slowly eating a banana, and fully dressed in black jeans and a black shirt.
Aries did not take the match seriously, but he outwrestled Cameron in the short bout. Cameron hit a couple of judo throws, but Aries rallied quickly to hit a brainbuster. He could have pinned the kid, but instead pulled him up, prompting Carelli to throw in the towel to save his student. Aries threw the towel back at Carelli and then delivered the Last Chancery.
Carelli jumped into the ring. Aries took off his shirt. The crowd cheered for Carelli’s WWE finisher, the Cobra, but this is a different, far more serious Carelli than the Santino character he played in WWE. Carelli kicked him law and Aries stumbled out of the ring onto the ramp. When he turned around, Eddie Edwards hit him with a kendo stick. He tried to double-arm DDT the champ, but Aries escaped.
They announced Aries vs. Edwards for the title next week.
A goofy looking interviewer named Bob Kapoor tried to interview Scarlett Bordeaux, but he was so mesmerized by her beauty that he couldn’t get any words out. Bordeaux asked the interviewer his name and he stuttered when trying to say “Bob,” so Bordeaux called him “Bobo.”
Bordeaux, in a long red dress, said it was tough living in a world of “threes” when she was “a 10.”
“This is how God made me and I will not be hot-shamed,” she said. Kapoor left and Bordeaux said “I guess men around here aren’t used to seeing women like me.”
“The Smokeshow is here to make wrestling sexy again,” she said.
Eli Drake & Trevor Lee (w/ Caleb Konley) defeated Grado & Joe Hendry (w/ Katarina)
Lee and his regular tag team partner Konley attacked Grado and Hendry to start the match.
Grado took most of the beating during the match. When Konley went after Katarina, Hendry stepped off the apron to protect her, leaving no one for Grado to tag in. Drake hit the Gravy Train for the pinfall victory on Grado.
Once again, Hendry was paying a little too much attention to Katarina, leaving Grado jealous and wondering if his girlfriend and best friend were having an affair. Hendry denies any interest, but it’s clear that Grado is increasingly becoming the third wheel in the group.
Pentagon Jr. & Fenix defeated oVe (Dave & Jake Crist) w/ Sami Callihan
This was a showcase match for Pentagon and Fenix. Callihan was at ringside with his arm in a sling. oVe dominated early, with the Crist brothers even hitting two spectacular over-the-top rope dives to start the match. The crowd was very into Pentagon and Fenix, yelling “Lucha, Lucha.”
The story of the match was the Crist brothers trying to remove Pentagon and Fenix’s masks. When they couldn’t do that, they tied the masks together. Pentagon and Fenix tried to pull apart but couldn’t move. The Crist brothers then both hit superkicks on the restrained wrestlers.
The luchadores finally broke free, and Pentagon Jr. and Fenix hit a spike DDT. Pentagon lifted Dave up with a double underhook to set up the move, then Fenix jumped off the top rope onto Crist’s back and Pentagon delivered the DDT for the win.
With the show just over a month away, the card for All In continues to take shape.
Another match was announced on this week’s episode of Being the Elite, with it confirming Rey Mysterio and The Young Bucks’ plans for All In. Mysterio will be teaming with Fenix & Bandido against The Young Bucks & Kota Ibushi on the show.
Fenix teaming with Mysterio & Bandido means that Pentagon Jr. will be in a different match at the event. Kenny Omega also isn’t teaming with either Ibushi or The Young Bucks.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Marty Scurll, Cody Rhodes challenging for Nick Aldis’ NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, and Hangman Page vs. Joey Janela are the other matches that have already been confirmed for All In. The show is taking place at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on September 1.
Today’s Being the Elite is available to watch below. The six-man tag was announced at the end, with it being positioned as what Nick Jackson wanted for his 29th birthday this past weekend.
Some surprises and a good match spotlighted this week’s Impact. The show built strong leading into Slammiversary on July 22.
Fenix defeated Rich Swann
The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Rich Swann and Fenix conjured up memories of the famed first Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay match.
These two light heavyweights were in sync with an array of aerial moves better than most 205 Live matches. Swann, wrestling for the second time on Impact, made his entrance a la No Way Jose, dancing and getting the crowd into the match.
This was full of dynamic aerial moves. Fenix walked the tightrope on the top rope and then bounced three times before flipping Swann into an arm drag early in the match. He hit a standing dropkick that sent Swann crashing outside of the ring. Swann hit a moonsault off the apron, but Fenix caught him. Fenix then tried the same move but missed and landed on his feet — only to receive a well-executed corkscrew splash from Swann off the top rope.
Fenix got up and hit his own divingsplash over the top that he turned into a modified slingblade
Fenix performed a moonsault inside, but instead of landing with a body splash, he landed on his feet and rolled the move into a diamond cutter. He tried it again, but Swann countered with a handstand instead of landing face first.
The two rested from the high-flying moves for awhile, trading chops like they were Steamboat and Ric Flair in Nashville.
The match was an aerial move clinic, with hurricanranas followed by moonsaults and several near falls. Although Swann’s facial expressions after Fenix’s power moves bordered on over-acting, this was as good as any of his WWE matches. At one point, Swann kicked out of a tombstone piledriver into a pin. Fenix got the win after executing a perfect spinning Muscle Buster.
“This is the way you start a wrestling show, ladies and gentleman” Josh Mathews said.
The Crist brothers then quickly attacked Fenix after the match, leading to Pentagon Jr. making the save — or so we thought. It turned out that it was Sami Callihan under the mask. Swann tried to help Fenix, but Callihan spit into Swann’s face. He was about to take Fenix’s mask off, when the real Pentagon Jr. made the save, getting the crowd to chant “Pentagon.”
There was a brief interview segment with Madison Rayne and the returning Allie, who vowed to seek revenge on Su Yung, who locked her in a casket to win the Knockouts Championship.
“Su you think that you killed me. No, you just brought another side of me to life,” Allie said.
Killer Kross defeated Fallah Bahh (w/ KM)
The 425-pound Bahh is one of those wrestlers you can’t take your eyes off because of his girth and size, but he was no match for the debuting Killer Kross. Commentator Matthews declared, “This man is psychotic!”
The two behemoths ran into each other to start the match, but then Kross backed Bahh into the corner and started pounding on him. Bahh reversed it, then delivered several stiff chops that turned Kross’ chest read. Kross dared Bahh to hit him as hard as he could. Mathews said it was “shades ofKenta Kobashi with the rapid-fire chops.”
Kross hit an impressive side suplex on the meaty Bahh and then choked him out with what Don Callis called “an MMA-style choke.” Kross continued to pound Bahh with right hands to his back after the match, prompting KM to make the save. Kross choked him out too.
Finally, Petey Williams rushed the ring with a steel chair; he hit Kross on the back with the chair and eventually threw it into Kross’ face, knocking him out of the ring. Kross then walked backed to the dressing room.
Flashback Moment: Rob Van Dam defeated Sting
Sting wrestled in his shirt in this 2010 match. This was all of RVD’s signature moves on display, with Taz and Mike Tenay on commentary. After RVD accidentally took out Earl Hebner, Jeff Jarrett came to the ring and hit Sting with his own baseball bat, allowing RVD to execute a five-star frog splash for the win.
Allie & Madison Rayne defeated Su Yung & her Undead Maid of Honor
Su Yung, wearing a bloodied wedding dress, has a great gimmick, although her Undead Bridesmaids should probably stay out of the ring. The Undead Maid of Honor wrestled stiff and slow and no-sold most of the moves. She essentially wrestled like a zombie.
Allie and Rayne mostly had their way with the Undead Bridesmaid. Rayne accidentally took out the referee executing a Cross Rayne. Tessa Blanchard, who Rayne defeated on last week’s episode, interfered, but Allied jumped in and took care of Blanchard, allowing Rayne to hit the Cross Rayne on the Undead Maid of Honor for the pinfall victory.
Next was an interview segment with LAX and the Desi Hit Squad, who are training under the verbal and physical commands of Gama Singh.
Then, in one of the highlight’s of the show, we got a video package from Impact World Champion Austin Aries. Aries will defend the title against former NFL player Quinn “Moose” Ojinnaka at Slammiversary.
Aries was great here, saying “This wasn’t my dream. This is what I was born to do.” Aries said he started wrestling when he was 17 and that wrestling was always his first choice, unlike Moose, who he said chose wrestling after his NFL career failed. The video package showed a variety of pictures of a younger Aries with longer hair.
Aries snuck in a great line and shot at his former WWE employer Vince McMahon. “After I beat you, your new dream is to hope the XFL needs a new offensive lineman.”
Advertised for next week was former NFL player DeAngelo Williams, who will apparently help train Moose for his match with Aries.
Tommy Dreamer cut a taped promo with blood all over his face vowing revenge on Eddie Edwards, who attacked him a week ago with a kendo stick. The two will meet at Slammiversary.
Katarina (w/ Grado) defeated Rebel
This was a quick match with Katarina winning with a backbreaker onto her knee.
Brian Cage defeated Kongo Kong
Cage was impressive in this match, executing several high-flying moves.
The 265-pound Cage hit a somersault plancha over the top rope and Callis said, “I have seen Kenny Omega do that dive but he’s not 265 pounds.” Cage hit a 619 on Kong, landed a belly to back suplex, hit a superplex, and then pinned Kong with an F-5. It was an impressive outing for Cage, who showed he was capable of power and aerial moves, which was not an easy feat on the giant Kong.
The show ended with an LAX segment. Konnan came out wearing a Mexican flag around his neck. He called out King, whom he suspects “put a hit” on him at the Redemption pay-per-view. Konnan said that King betrayed him after he helped the wrestler earn his first $100,000.
The rest of LAX, Santana and Ortiz, came out with King, who eventually admitted that he was behind the Konnan attack because LAX needed a new leader. Konnan called King “a walking, talking glory hole,” leading the crowd into a “glory hole” chant.
“I’m the future, you’re the past,” King told Konnan.
After that comment, Ortiz and Santana flipped King off, but then original LAX members Homicide and Hernandez entered the ring and attacked Konnan, Santana, and Ortiz, setting up a six-man feud between rival LAX members.
