Saturday’s Impact Homecoming event saw the surprise debuts of both former WWE talent “Drama King” Matthew Rehwoldt and 80s/90s star Missy Hyatt.
Rehwoldt, the former Aiden English, debuted as Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo’s surprise partner for the mixed tag team Homecoming tournament. The pair won the King and Queen honors by defeating Hernandez and Alisha, Chelsea Green and Matt Cardona and then Rosemary and Crazzy Steve in the finals.
Released in April 2020 as part of the pandemic cuts, Rehwoldt has made a few Midwest indie appearances. Impact started running vignettes for him several weeks ago. He will be on a future Impact TV episode alongside Purrazzo as she learns who her opponent for the NWA Empowerrr pay-per-view will be.
Hyatt was the surprise partner of Brian Myers, found by Myers’ lackey Sam Beale. In a comedy match in the tournament, she was in heels and jeans and didn’t want to wrestle, tagging out every time Myers would tag her in. She eventually walked out on Myers, leading to Tommy Dreamer and Rachael Ellering getting the win. It’s assumed this is just a one-off appearance for the former NWA/WCW star.
Drama King Matt Rehwoldt made his debut for Impact Wrestling tonight, teaming with Deonna Purrazzo to win the Homecoming tournament.
At tonight’s Homecoming event held on Impact Plus, Rehwoldt, formerly known as Aiden English in WWE, appeared as the mystery tag partner of Purrazzo in the one-night tournament to crown the first ever Impact Homecoming king and queen. They defeated Rosemary and Crazzy Steve to win the tournament, with Purrazzo pinning Rosemary following the Gotch piledriver. After the match, Rehwoldt put the crown on Purrazzo, and Purrazzo did the same for Rehwoldt.
Prior to the finals, Purrazzo and Rehwoldt defeated the teams of Hernandez & Alisha and Chelsea Green & Matt Cardona to advance, while Rosemary and Crazzy Steve defeated Fallah Bahh & Tasha Steelz and Rachael Ellering & Tommy Dreamer.
The two non-tournament matches that took place at Homecoming had Josh Alexander retain the X-Division title over Black Taurus and Eddie Edwards defeating W. Morrisey in a hardcore match in the main event.
An eight-team mixed tag team tournament for the right to be called Homecoming King & Queen is the feature attraction of Saturday’s Homecoming special on Impact Plus.
The tournament will feature Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo and a mystery partner; Alisha and Hernandez; Jordynne Grace and Petey Williams; Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green; Rosemary and Crazzy Steve; Fallah Bahh and Tasha Steelz; Tommy Dreamer and Rachael Ellering; and Brian Myers and a mystery partner.
The card will also see X-Division Champion Josh Alexander defend against Black Taurus. The match was made Thursday as Alexander wanted a new challenger. He will be looking for the fifth defense of his title.
Eddie Edwards will take on W. Morrissey in a hardcore match. The two squared off at Slammiversary and then got into a parking lot brawl on a recent Impact TV show, leading to this match.
Our live coverage begins at 8 PM Eastern.
* * * * * * * * * *
Deonna Purrazzo & “Drama King” Matthew Rehwoldt defeated Hernandez & Alisha (with Johnny Swinger) in a Mixed Tag Tournament First Round Match
Rehwoldt is making his debut for Impact tonight, the former Aiden English is now going by Matthew Rehwoldt. He cut a promo before the match, introducing himself and claiming that tonight, he and Purrazzo become King and Queen of Impact Wrestling.
Match started with Alisha and Purrazzo, with the former getting a good amount of offense, but weirdly enough, when Hernandez tagged in, Rehwoldt, instead of tagging in, talked up and convinced Purrazzo to take on Hernandez. Purrazzo managed to get some offense regardless of Hernandez’ strength advantage.
As soon as Rehwoldt tagged in, he was quickly cut off by Hernandez with a pounce, but with enough control, Alisha felt confident to come in, only to get cut off. Purrazzo and Alisha wrestled into a collision that forced both Rehwoldt and Hernandez to come in. Hernandez easily dominated Rehwoldt, who ended up taking dives from both Hernandez and Alisha, but when things looked worse for him, they got back in the ring, Rehwoldt caught Hernandez for the win.
Purrazzo and Rehwoldt advance against the winner of Cardona & Green vs Grace & Williams.
Chelsea Green & Matt Cardona defeated Jordynne Grace & Petey Williams in a Mixed Tag Tournament First Round Match
Match started with some comedy about how Grace was stronger than both Cardona and Williams, and for that matter, Green was more athletic than Cardona. They also did some of Steiner’s schtick.
Both Cardona and Green would end up on the floor, where Williams followed, only to get cut off by Cardona with a big boot, but once back in the ring, the action was back and forward between the two teams, eventually started to lean on Williams and Grace, who was cut off for some minutes to build up the hot tag. Eventually, Cardona made a comeback with a missile dropkick and tagged in Green.
Green took out Grace with a curb stomp. Williams went for the destroyer on Green, but Cardona saved her and hit a double radio silence. Both Grace and Williams teased destroyers on Cardona and Green, but were countered. Instead, Grace and Williams locked in Steiner recliners, but Cardona overpowered Williams to break both submissions.
Williams took out Cardona with a dive, but in the ring, Green dropped Grace with the unprettier for the win.
Purrazzo & Rehwoldt vs Green & Cardona in the semifinal.
After the match, Steve Maclin jumped Petey Williams after the altercation they had at the end of BTI.
– We got a promo from W. Morrissey on Edwards. He told him that he doesn’t have his number, instead, Edwards had to rely on weapons and no DQs to have a better chance, and yet, he will still win.
Tommy Dreamer & Rachael Ellering defeated Brian Myers & Missy Hyatt (with Sam Beale) in a Mixed Tag Tournament First Round Match
After being rejected by Tenille Dashwood, Beulah McGuillicutty, and Franscine, Sam Beale found a tag partner for Myers in the name of Missy Hyatt. She came out wearing jeans and heels, not really prepared to wrestle. She told Beale and Myers that she was not a wrestler, but still took off the heels and got ready to work. I never realized how tall Hyatt is.
Hyatt was reluctant to wrestle, tagging out as soon as Myers would tag her in. That got her “You still got it” chants. On the other side of the coin, Myers didn’t want to wrestle Ellering, who had to attack him and force him to.
Ellering and Dreamer did a little bit of comedy and babyface spots early on against Myers once the wrestling started, but it wouldn’t be until they focused on taking out Beale that Myers would take advantage to cut off Dreamer.
The heat wouldn’t last long for Myers since Dreamer made a comeback, and when he needed Hyatt to tag in, she walked out on him, leaving Myers open for Dreamer and Ellering to hit a doomsday device and a Road Warrior pin for the win.
They await the winner of Decay vs Bahh & Steelz.
– Violent By Design cut a promo about failure and learning from it. EY said that VBD was a way of life and this world belonged to them. Same promo, different day.
Decay (Rosemary & Crazzy Steve) defeated Fallah ‘n Flava (Fallah Bahh & Tasha Steelz) in a Mixed Tag Tournament First Round Match
Match started with some comedy, as the crowd kept chanting for Crazzy Steve to bite people’s face off, which he obliged with Bahh, but tagged in Rosemary to do so on Steelz. So far tonight, Steve and Rosemary have had the most energetic reaction by the fans.
After some fun interaction between Bahh and Rosemary, Steelz jumped in and kneed Rosemary on the back in order to cut her momentum. Bahh wasn’t all in on the tricks, so Steelz tagged in and started working over Rosemary. She would even force Bahh to attack Rosemary, but all it took was some strikes from Rosemary to convince him. They still did some comedy before Rosemary escaped Bahh and tagged in Steve.
Steve and Bahh wrestled for a bit, but once again, it came down to Rosemary and Steelz in the ring, with both of them going back and forth before the finish, that saw Bahh accidentally take out Steelz with a running splash, followed by a deep impact from Crazzy Steve on Bahh for the win. This was mostly comedy, and it was really fun.
Decay vs Dreamer and Ellering in the semifinals.
– We got a promo from Steve Maclin explaining that he attacked Williams because his objective at the moment is the X Division title and Williams got in his way.
Violent By Design have a long history with Rich Swann and Willie Mack, but as of late, both teams are looking to get back in tag title contention. Swann and Mack have a win over VBD, and now Deaner will try to get that win back.
Not much to the match early on, but it got good towards the end. Mack started with control and even overcame VBD’s interference, but when he went for the early stunner, Deaner cut him off by raking his eyes. Deaner got some good offense, after a small altercation outside the ring by both parties, Mack regained control, hit his Samoan drop and moonsault combo, went for the frog splash, only to get blocked and countered, dropped with a powerbomb for a near fall.
Deamer went for the Deaner ddt, but Mack countered with an atomic drop and pop-up forearm for a near fall. Sky high by Mack for another near fall. Finally, Mack went for the frog splash again, but Deaner took too long to capitalize, and so Mack hit the stunner for a near fall when Rhino put Deaner’s foot on the ropes. Swann took out Doering and Rhino, but left Mack open for a flag shot by EY and pin by Deaner for the win. Good match, but somewhat long for an impromptu match in an already packed card.
– Gia Miller interviewed Cardona and Green about their upcoming match. They said that they do everything together and are in perfect sync. Green said that they’re the best team in the tournament and that even if she’s going against the Knockouts Champion, their team is not as strong as theirs.
Deonna Purrazzo & “Drama King” Matthew Rehwoldt defeated Chelsea Green & Matt Cardona in a Mixed Tag Tournament Semifinal Match
Green and Purrazzo started the match, the former offered a handshake, but Purrazzo kicked it away and like that, they started trading pins. She managed to get control of Green’s arm, but she tagged in Rehwoldt and Green escaped to tag in Cardona.
Rehwoldt and Cardona had a decent back and forth exchange that ended with Cardona and Green diving on Rehwoldt and Purrazzo respectively. Cardona went for another Rehwoldt, only to crash and burn when Rehwoldt moved, and thus, he and Purrazzo finally took control of the match.
Purrazzo and Rehwoldt worked over Cardona for a long while, with Purrazzo mostly jumping in when it came to keeping Green unavailable for a tag. Cardona eventually broke away and tagged in Green, which lasted for a minute before Cardona and Rehwoldt came back.
Purrazzo and Green took each other out outside the ring, but inside the ring, Rehwoldt hit his modified DDT for the win.
Purrazzo and Rehwoldt advance to the finals, awaiting the winner of Decay vs Ellering & Dreamer.
– Miller interviewed Missy Hyatt about being back. She was saying it was great when Myers interrupted her for not knowing a single move. She shut him off, telling him he had no originality. Hyatt tricked Beale and slapped him with her purse.
Decay (Rosemary & Crazzy Steve) defeated Rachael Ellering & Tommy Dreamer in a Mixed Tag Tournament Semifinal Match
Ellering and Rosemary started the match, measuring each other with some hoss shoulder blocks.
Dreamer and Steve tagged in and actually did some chain wrestling on the mat before Rosemary requested a shot at Dreamer. They did a 4-person spot where they bit each other in a chain.
Once done with the comedy, Decay cut off Ellering for some time, kept going for bites. Eventually she broke away and tagged in Dreamer, with the match breaking down into tornado tag action. Rosemary took out Ellering with a spear, only to be taken out by Dreamer by a piledriver. Dreamer went to sit down and pin Steve, but countered at the last moment into a roll up and the win. It will be Purrazzo & Rehwoldt vs Decay in the finals.
– Eddie Edwards cut a promo on W. Morrissey, saying he had the whole package, but that Morrissey has lost everything and is now trying to rebuild himself at the expense of Impact. Alisha walked up and gave Eddie his kendo stick, telling him to end it once and for all.
X Division Champion Josh Alexander defeated Black Taurus (with Havok) to retain the title.
No story here other than Alexander requesting competition, and Scott D’Amore granting him this match against Black Taurus.
This was just a great, back and forth, clash of styles match. Story of the match was that Taurus would easily gain momentum if Alexander allowed him to get speed and space for him to bring out the lucha offense, but in addition, even when Alexander closed the distance or wanted to exchange strikes, Taurus had the size and power advantage to meet him right in the middle, adn overcome him too. In that way, Taurus injured Alexander’s arm and Taurus took advantage.
Alexander slowly started to take some shots on Taurus, got him with a series of German suplexes, and like that, he slowed down Taurus and leveled the playing field a bit more. Alexander got his first big near fall with a top rope moonsault, only forTaurus to come back with a spring tornillo and a spear for a near fall.
Alexander started chasing the ankle lock, but Taurus kept escaping one way or another. Taurus hit a slingblade and went for a top rope rana, but Alexander countered for the sickest Green Bay plunge, off the top rope. Both men only made it to their knees when they started exchanging strikes, ending with a big discus lariat from Taurus.
Taurus went for another spear, but Alexander blocked, hit a powerbomb on the knee, hit a C4, and got the win. Great match.
It’s not as gruesome as it sounds, but Taurus lost a horn in this match.
– Miller interviewed Rehwoldt and Purrazzo about the finals. They felt marvelous and tonight, they get crowned as Impact Royalty.
Deonna Purrazzo & Matthew Rehwoldt defeated Decay (Rosemary & Crazzy Steve) to become the Homecoming King and Queen.
Even with all the experience Purrazzo has beating Rosemary, the story of the match was that Purrazzo and Rehwoldt were a bit taken aback by Decay’s antics, and thus Decay had control early on.
It was until Rosemary distracted herself with Rehwoldt on the apron, that allowed Purrazzo to cut her off. Steve came in with the hot tag a couple of minutes later and ran wild over Rehwoldt, getting a couple of two counts. He chased deep impact, but Rehwoldt dodged and hit a huge fireman’s carry into a spinebuster for a good near fall.
The match broke down into a couple of team moves, with Decay locking in double upside downs. Rosemary hit Rehwoldt with the spear, scorpion death drop on Purrazzo for a near fall.
Rehwoldt was taken out by Steve after he snapped Rosemary’s neck on the ropes. In the ring, Purrazzo hit the queen’s gambit on Rosemary for the win.
Crazzy Steve looked hurt after the last dive, he was clutching his knee, but we didn’t see him walk back since all the focus was on Purrazzo and Rehwoldt taking their crowns.
Eddie Edwards defeated W. Morrissey in a hardcore match.
The story between Edwards and Morrissey goes back a couple of months when Morrissey took out Edwards in a parking lot, as Edwards was getting ready to face off with Satoshi Kojima. Morrissey defeated Edwards at Slammiversary after he cheated and hit Edwards with a chain, from that point on, the feud escalated, reaching a point where they brawled in a parking lot. With no clear winner, the challenge for this match was made.
Trash quickly made it into the ring, it was a minute in that Edwards brought out a garbage can lid to attack Morrissey, but it wasn’t that effective. They brought out chairs, garbage cans, cooking sheets, and a chain to the ring, the latter of which Morrissey used as a dog collar on Edwards to cut him off and choke him. Morrissey tried to superplex Edwards into the pile of trash, but Edwards managed to block him and sunset powerbomb him instead for the first near fall of the match. Edwards tried to follow up with a dive, but Morrissey caught him and tried to powerbomb him on the ramp, instead, he caught Edwards, who had broken away, and slammed him right on the corner of the apron.
Morrissey introduced the steel steps and a ladder into the match, which he set up as a bridge outside the ring. The distraction was enough for Edwards to recover and dive onto Morrissey to bring him down for the first time in the match.
Edwards got his kendo stick and for some reason started to go up the turnbuckle, but Morrissey jumped up and hit a high big boot, tossing Edwards backwards into a table on the floor, it looked painful for Edwards. Morrissey tried to follow up by chokeslamming Edwards through that ladder bridge he had built, but Edwards broke away for a second before Morrissey regained control, and chokeslammed Edwards.
Morrissey wasn’t done, he brought out a table to the chants of “no more tables” by the fans. Morrissey ziptied Edwards’ hands together, but even without his hands, he managed to dodge Morrissey’s attack and shoulder tackle him through a table.
Edwards made a comeback with his kendo stick, he wrapped a chain around his knee, he hit the Boston knee party, and pinned Morrissey, giving him his first loss in the promotion. Match was up and down, but this may have been Morrissey’s best since debuting for Impact.
Edwards celebrated as the fans sang his theme until the show went off the air.
In a Slammiversary rematch, Eddie Edwards will battle W. Morrissey in a hardcore rules match at next Saturday’s Homecoming on Impact Plus.
Edwards cut a promo on Morrissey Thursday and was upset about how Morrissey picked up the win. He then challenged him to a fight in the parking lot and the two had a weapons-laden brawl that included garbage cans, traffic cones and a cooler. Edwards eventually ran him off with kendo sticks.
Last Saturday saw Morrissey use a chain on Edwards followed by a power bomb to remain undefeated.
The July 31st special will feature an eight team, mixed tag team tournament to determine the Homecoming King and Queen. No official teams have been announced, but one expected team (Brian Myers and Tenille Dashwood) split up Thursday as Dashwood had no interest in teaming with Myers.
The show will also feature a yet-to-be-announced title match.
All matches were taped last Monday and Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee, following Slammiversary.
The following are results from Monday’s doubleheader of Impact Wrestling TV tapings at Nashville, Tennessee’s Skyline Studios, courtesy of Impact Asylum.
Several matches were also taped for a Homecoming special in addition to several matches being set up for the to-be-announced Emergence event.
With this and Sunday’s two tapings now in the books, Impact’s TV is set up for the next few months.
Taping 1 (afternoon):
In a mixed tag team tournament semifinal for Homecoming, Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo and Drama King defeated Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green. After the match, Green told Deonna “one month.”
In a mixed tag team tournament semifinal for Homecoming, Decay defeated Tommy Dreamer and Rachael Ellering
In a match taped for Homecoming, Deaner defeated Willie Mack after interference from Eric Young
Eddie Edwards defeated W. Morrissey in a hardcore match
In a match taped for BTI, Sam Adonis defeated Joessa
Jake Something defeated Daivari, Rohit Raju and Trey Miguel in a four-way
Chris Bey (w/ Jay White) defeated Juice Robinson (w/ David Finlay). After the match, White gives Bey a Bullet Club shirt and a too sweet.
Taylor Wilde defeated Kaleb with a K
Moose defeated Chris Sabin
Taping 2 (evening):
In a mixed tag team tournament final for Homecoming, Deonna Purrazzo and Drama King defeated Decay to become Homecoming King and Queen.
In a match taped for BTI, Petey Williams and Trey Miguel defeated Kal Herro and Tony Gunn.
Tenille Dashwood defeated Taylor Wilde after interference from Madison Rayne
Maclin defeated Jah-C
X-Division Champion Josh Alexander defeated Daivari in a title match. Jake Something and Alexander had a staredown afterward.
FinJuice defeated Chris Bey and Jay White by DQ after White hit Juice Robinson with a chair. He then hit the Switchblade on David Finlay on a chair. Bey was announced as representing Bullet Club.
John Skyler defeated Matt Cardona after Cardona was distracted by Raju and Shera.
In a match taped for BTI, Crazzy Steve defeated Fallah Bahh
Purrazzo and Drama King were doing an in-ring promo when Mickie James came out with a contract for NWA Empowerrr. Purrazzo refused to sign it until she knew her opponent. James then introduced Melina who said she would take the Knockouts title on her first try like Purrazzo did.
Brian Myers won a battle royal to earn a World title shot at Kenny Omega at Emergence.
Impact Wrestling returns to The Asylum in Nashville, Tennessee tonight as a World title match between Johnny Impact and Brian Cage headlines Homecoming.
Cage gets the opportunity on tonight’s pay-per-view after relinquishing his X Division title in exchange for a World title shot against current champion Impact who has been champion since October.
Knockouts Champion Tessa Blanchard will look to defend her title against Taya Valkyrie. Hall of Famer and former champion Gail Kim will be the special guest referee.
Also on the show, Impact Tag Team Champions LAX defend their titles against Pentagon Jr. & Fenix, the vacant X Division title will be decided in an Ultimate X match between Jake Crist, Ethan Page, Rich Swann, and Trey Miguel, Eddie Edwards battles Moose in a falls count anywhere match, Sami Callihan takes on Willie Mack, Abyss battles Eli Drake in a Monster’s Ball match, and Allie & Su Yung team up to face Jordynne Grace & Kiera Hogan.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.
**********
Show opens with a video featuring Johnny Impact and old footage from the Asylum years of TNA. Johnny talks about the feeling of excitement that comes memories and making an Impact, no pun intended, in history. Video touched on all the feuds going into tonight’s card.
Rich Swann defeated Jake Crist, Trey Miguel, and “All Ego” Ethan Page in an Ultimate X Match to become the new X-Division Champion
This was as crazy as you’d expect. Match started with all 4 men going for the title, which led to a series of hurricanranas as they fell from the ropes. Ethan Page played the power roll in this match, early on he straight up toss Miguel from the top rope to the floor where Swann and Crist found each other. Throughout the match, he was the one stopping people climbing the ropes.
There was a superkick spot with all 4 men trading kicks that led to the first ‘Impact Wrestling’ chant of the night. Jake Crist hit a double cutter from the rope on Swann and Miguel, leaving Page open to go for the championship, but mid way, he fell on Jake Crist with a falling elbow.Swann recovered and hit a Lethal Injection on Page. Everyone hit dives to the outside, and after recovering, they all started brawling as they climbed one of the corner pillars, leaving Trey Miguel as the sole survivor, who climbed to the top and hit a Moonsault on to everyone.
Back in the ring, Page took a huge powerbomb when everyone joined forces against him. Jake Crist took out Swann with a Tombstone Piledriver on the ramp, allowing Crist to go for the title, but Page recovered soon enough to spear him mid air. Swann and Miguel now started racing for the title from opposite corners, with Swann getting there faster and snatching the championship. Overall a good match, some good spots. Trey Miguel was the most over guy in the match.
Backstage, Brian Cage was interviewed by McKenzie Mitchell. Cage said that no one ever gave him an opportunity, and so, he made his own opportunity with Option C. He said that tonight, all his sacrifices come to fruition.
This was a short match, at some points between Su Yung and Kiera Hogan were a bit sloppy, but . The rest of the match was good.
Jordynne Grace and Allie started the match with Grace displaying her dominance. Hogan and Yung went at it next, with Kiera Hogan coming in fired up and also dominating over the heel. There was a weird spot where Yung was going to jump Kiera from behind as Allie distracted her, but Grace and the ref for involved making it long and awkward, but it led to Allie and Su Yung cutting the ring in half on Hogan for a while.
Kiera Hogan was hit with a drapping neck breaker by Su Yung, a backstabber by Allie for a two count. Eventually, Hogan made a comeback against Yung and finally managed to tag in Grace, who came in and easily handled both Yung and Allie. Jordynne had a suspended vertical suplex on Yung and Hogan hit a crossbody on the suspended body of Yung.
Back inside the ring, all four women fought tornado tag style, with Grace hitting a powerbomb and powerslam to Su and Allie respectively at the same time. Finish saw Jordynne Grace got hit by Su Yung’s mist, allowing Allie to take her out, hit a codebreker on Kiera Hogan, and finally, the Mandible Claw for the ref stoppage.
After the match, Su Yung and Allie went back to the attack on Kiera Hogan. Su Yung called out her bridesmaids with a coffin to finally bury Hogan. When the coffin opened up, The Demon Assasin Rosemary made her return. Rosemary took out the Undead Bridesmaids, she took out Su Yung, and turned her attention to Allie, who ran away instead.
Eddie Edwards defeated Moose in a Falls Count Anywhere Match
Eddie Edwards jumped Moose during the entrance and the immediatly started brawling outside the ring, and within a minute, Moose hit a really nasty looking set of apron powerbombs. Moose set up a guardrail bed outside the ring and went to powerbomb Eddie into it, but Eddie finally recovered and made a comeback, hitting a Tope Suicida.
Eddie now in control, dragged Moose around the crowd and they proceeded to brawl around the upper decks where Eddie found a balcony to hit a plancha on Moose. As they continued brawling back to the ring area, Moose regained control and started filling the ring with chairs. Eddie, now busted open, took some of the charis and started throwing them at Moose, and hit a a huge superplex onto the pile of chairs. They got into a strike-off that ended with Eddie tossing Moose over the rope into the guardrail bed Moose had set up earlier.
Eddie again in control, broought out his kendo stick and started taking on Moose, which brought out Alisha Edwards, who took out the kendo stick from him and got some shots on Moose herself for a big pop. Eddie hit the final kendo shot and a DDT for the only pin of the match.
Great brawl and hardcore match, the Falls Count Anywhere stipulation didn’t really come up since there was only one pin during the whole match.
Backstage, Sami Callhan cut a promo on Willie Mack, telling him to not get in the way of oVe’s business, and thus tonight, Mack will learn to listen to Rich Swann’s warnings.
Sami Callihan (w/Dave Crist) defeated Willie Mack
Willie Mack jumped Sami before he could get in the ring, hit a few hurricanranas and a Tope Con Giro to start the match. Willie worked over Callihan’s neck for a bit until he got distracted with Dave Crist, and Sami capitalized to turn the match around.
Callihan now in control, mostly went for sleepers and chops. Mack made a comeback after reversing a sleeper unto a stunner. Mack, back in the game, hit his signature Smoan Drop and Moonsault, a Running Cannonball, and finally started chasing the Stunner. Callihan hit a huge powerbomb and V-Trigger for a two count. Mack hit a Pop-up Forearm and Stunner for a near fall as Callihan got his leg on the ropes. Callihan hit a top rope DVD after Dave Crist distracted Mack, who kicked out at one. Finish finally saw Callihan hit a piledriver for the pin.
Backstage, Eli Drake is with McKenzie Mitchell. Drake said that this is a trip down memory lane where Abyss was born, but tonight, it’s about the future and he is the future. McKenzie made a comment about Eli Drake being afraid, but Drake said Abyss won’t even get a chance to touch a weapon tonight.
Eli Drake defeated Abyss in a Monster’s Ball Match
Eli Drake jumped Abyss to start the match, but to no avail as Abyss simply turned it around and went for the stapple gun, stappling Drake’s chest. Eli Drake rolled out of the ring, and so they started brawling outside the ring towards the crowd.
Back in the ring, Eli regained control as he started hitting Abyss with gargabe cans, but as he went for a big running shot, Abyss tossed him over the top, landing on a couple of tables. Awesome spot.
Abyss brought out the tumbtacks. Abyss went for a chokeslam, but Drake countered out and threw tacs to Abyss, who dodged them, and the ref took a file of tacks to the face. Abyss hit a Black Hole Slam for a clear pin, but the ref was out.
Fans started to chant for Janice, so Abyss brought her out. Eli quickly took her from Abyss and went for the shot, but Abyss stopped him and hit a big chokeslam on to the tacks, but he only got a two count. Eli Drake’s back was silver.
Eli threw some tacks to Abyss’ face to blind him, and took the advantage to get some zip ties and tie down Abyss, but he couldn’t get them and Callis sold it as Abyss broke them, so Eli Drake responded by hitting about 20 chair shots on Abyss for a two count. Eli then broke his wooden paddle over Abyss in a really stiff looking shot and finally gor the 1-2-3 for the win. This was really violent with spots that we’ve seen be less violent before, but overall a good short weapons match.
Backstage, Killer Kross is with McKenzie Mitchell. Kross said his intentions have always been clear, and not like Johnny who is not clear with his goals. He said that by the end of tonight, no one will be talking about Option C, but rather, Option X.
They showed the winners of Survivor, here to support Johnny Impact.
LAX (Santana & Ortiz) defeated Lucha Bros! (Pentagon Jr & Fenix) to retain the Impact World Tag Team Championships
The big story going in is that Konnan is not here with LAX, and we’ve seen LAX choke before, when Konnan was not with them.
Santana and Fenix started the match with a series of reversals and counters, until Pentagon got a quick shot in, Fenix gor rid of Ortiz, and the Lucha Bros took complete control of the match. This was already going at 60 mph.
After getting some time to recover, Santana cut off Fenix on the top rope, and now it was time for LAX to hit a series of double team moves on Pentagon and keep Fenix at bay. Pentagon made a comeback, and Fenix hit what I would call a running cannonball from the ring to the ramp.
Back in the ring, all four men are going at it, with tons of action that got a standing ovation from the crowd as Pentagon hits a huge Destroyer on Santana. Pentagon and Ortiz got into a strike-off, later followed by Fenix and Santana, and at end, all men are trading kicks left and right. Fenix and Pentagon hit a Spiked Fear Factor for a two count as Ortiz manages to break the pin. LAX hit the 5150 for another near fall, now Fenix being the one breaking the pin. “Fight Forever” chants.
Finish saw LAX hit a big combination of cutters and kicks, ending with a big double team move for the pin on Fenix. Awesome match, easily the match of the night so far, worth going out of your way to watch.
After the match, Konnan came out. He put both teams over.
Backstage, McKenzie Mitchell interviewd Gail Kim, who said that she didn’t think she would need to come back, but that Tessa’s actions pushed her to come back and referee this match and make sure that the right woman wins.
Taya Valkyrie defeated Tessa Blanchard to become the NEW Impact Knockout’s Champion. Special Guest Referee: Gail Kim.
Taya has changed her look for this match, attire looks great. This was a great back and forward match, but there was a lot of stuff going on with Gail Kim at the end in order to protect Tessa in defeat that may put off some fans.
Match started with a quick lock up, but quickly turned into quick reversals, Taya doing lucha moves, while Tessa going for the power moves. The match spilled outside and Tessa dominated, at one point hitting a missile dropkick on Taya against the guardrail.
Back in the ring, Tessa started working Taya’s left arm via a shoulder wrench. Taya came back with some shots and a big deadlift german for a two count. Tessa finally started chasing the Buzzsaw DDT, but Taya countered and hit a Northen Lights and footstomp for another near fall. Taya went for a moonsault, but Tessa moved and hit a spear for a really close two count, that provoked Tessa to get in Gail Kim’s face, who got taken out a few seconds later, when Taya dodged a running Tessa.
Tessa got a clear pin on Taya after the Busszaw DDT, but Kim couldn’t count. Tessa got the title and when Gail Kim tried to grab it from here, Gail Kim accidentally hit Taya. Tessa forced Gail to coutn her mistake, but Taya managed to kick out at two.
Tessa and Gail once again got face to face, now it was Gail that pushed Tessa, and Taya rolled her, but for another two count. Tessa hit the Magnum Codebreaker, but Taya kept kicking out. This provoked Tessa again, and started going after Kim, who hit an Eat Da Feet and after a Road To Valhalla, Taya wins the Knockout’s championship.
Josh Matthews announced that Impact Wrestling is going to start simulcasting on both Pursuit Channel and Twitch starting next Friday. Josh pushed for fans to subscribe to Twitch.
Backstage, Johnny Impact is with McKenzie Mitchell. Johnny said that he wasn’t expecing a friendly fight tonight. Johnny said that tonight he proves that he is a fighting champion.
Johnny Impact defeated “The Machine” Brian Cage to retain the Impact World Championship
Brian Cage came out wearing cyborg gear, a lot better than Kenny Omega’s if you ask me. This got the big match introduction that Impact world title matches usually get. I didn’t get a name on the announcer, but he did a good job. Crowd seems to be mostly behind Cage tonight.
Both are really similar in size, but they played with Johnny’s speed against Cage’s power. Match initially told the story that Johnny is great at wrestling around Cage, but when Cage manages to snatch him, his offense is devastating. Johnny started going for Cage’s limbs that are taped up, while Cage seemed to target Johnny’s back and neck.
As Cage was in control, he hit a series of Gorilla Flips for a two count. Impact went for a moonsault, but Cage simply caught him and hit an Cheeky Nando and Flapjack for another two count. Eventually, Johnny reversed Cage into a Tornado DDT to catch a breather and hit the Double Down to the floor, landing knee first on Cage’s head.
Back in the ring, Johnny had regain enough momentum to go back and forward with Cage, they started trading big moves and near falls. Johnny went for a Razor’s Edge on Cage, but got reversed. Johnny hit a Sliding German and finally went for Starship Pain, but Cage blocked him and hit an F-5 for a two count. Cage hit a Buckle Bomb and went for Weapon X, but Johnny got out. Cage hit a big Discus Clothesline for antoher two count. Johnny hit a few knees, setting up Cage for Starship Pain, this time he connects, but Cage kicked out at 2.99. Out of desperation, Johnny hit a top rope Spanish Fly, but cage kicked out at one and fired up.
Cage hit a huge powerbomb, buckle bomb, rolling powerbomb, but Johnny somehow kicked out at two. Cage hit Weapon X, but Johnny got his foot on the rope in a really close call. Finally, Cage got tossed out the ring, but he got distracted with the Survivor guys, making the referee to go out there and handle the situation; however, inside the ring, Cage had hit the Drill Claw and had a clear pin on Johnny. Cage went for the deadlift suplex, they both stumbled as they came down, Johnny landing and cradling Cage for the pin.
Cage grabs the title and tossed it at Johnny, calling the finish a fluke on Impact’s side. Taya came out to celebrate with Johnny as the champion power couple. They posed at the ramp as the closing signature comes up on the screen. Suddenly Killer Kross finally made his presence felt and attacked Johnny and Taya. Kross powerbombed Taya into the crowd. Show went of the air to “Kill Kross Kill” chants.
Overall a really good show by Impact. All matches felt like they had enough time to tell their stories, good wrestling top to bottom. We did get a lot of ref bumps here and there for some matches, which will most likely annoy some fans, but seeing past that, the show delivered.
2018 was an especially mixed year for WWE. It’s been an incredible year for WWE financially — even if that hasn’t always been mirrored by traditional metrics. They agreed to two transformative TV deals that will shape the company for years to come. WWE also reached a lucrative 10-year deal with the Saudi General Sports Authority, with the first two shows in Saudi Arabia being among the most controversial in the history of the promotion.
When the Tokyo Dome opened on March 17, 1988, the idea of pro wrestling there wasn’t even an idea.
The Dome was built to be the new modern home of two baseball teams, the Yomiuri Giants of the Central League, the team of Shigeo Nagashima and Sadaharu Oh years earlier, the unofficial national team that had all its games on NTV, and sold out every game. The Dome held 48,316 fans for baseball, but for years, every single Giants game announced the attendance as 56,000. The other team, the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Pacific League, which played there through the 2003 season, were the ones that the average person could get tickets to see.
The idea was baseball and concerts, the Rolling Stones (who have 19 Tokyo Dome sellouts), Michael Jackson (who sold 405,000 tickets for nine dates in December 1988), U2, Madonna and Japanese artists. But while it has housed numerous sporting events, including NFL and Major League Baseball, with the exception of baseball and concerts, it’s probably best known for pro wrestling.
Pro wrestling was still huge on television back then. All Japan, headed by Giant Baba, was a fixture on Nippon TV, one of the major networks. New Japan, on TV-Asahi, had matches airing in prime time.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to [email protected]. For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52. If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.)
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can choose one free classic issue or two free classic issues with a 40-issue subscription.
WWE Network News has the content listings for the Royal Rumble match and Rusev Day collections that are being uploaded to the WWE Network tomorrow.
This week’s Canvas 2 Canvas is a painting of the winged eagle WWE title from the late eighties and early nineties.
Pro Wrestling
Impact’s Homecoming event takes place tonight, returning to the Asylum in Nashville, Tennessee. Here is the card:
Johnny Impact vs. Brian Cage for the Impact World title
Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie for the Knockouts title
LAX vs. Fenix and Pentagon for the Impact tag team titles
Jake Crist vs. Ethan Page vs. Rich Swann vs. Trey for the X Division title
Eddie Edwards vs. Moose in a falls count anywhere match
Sami Callihan vs. Willie Mack
Eli Drake vs. Abyss in a Monster’s Ball match
Allie & Su Yung vs. Kiera Hogan & Jordynne Grace
NJPW’s post-Wrestle Kingdom press conference will stream on New Japan World for free at 10 p.m. Eastern time time tonight. It should include news for Fantastica Mania and New Beginning shows.
Lisa Marie Varon, better known as Victoria in WWE, announced on social media this afternoon that 2019 would be her last year wrestling, saying that a new adventure is to come.
TMZ Sports has footage of the David Arquette/Jocephus hair match from last night’s NWA pop-up event.
The War Kings (Crimson & Jax Dane) defeated Jay Bradley & Caleb Konley at the NW pop-up event to become the first team to qualify for the Crockett Cup, which is taking place in Concord, North Carolina on April 27.
Naomichi Marufuji will return to NOAH on their February 2 card. He has been out since November with a shoulder injury.
UFC/MMA
After Kamaru Usman said earlier this week that the fight between him and Tyron Woodley is a done deal for UFC 235, Ariel Helwani is now saying the same. Woodley in the past has said that he wants to face former interim champion Colby Covington.
Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson is looking to challenge Anthony Pettis, who has recently expressed interest in moving up to welterweight.
A recent report from MMA Weekly says that Brock Lesnar has yet to pay a $250,000 fine from NSAC for a failed drug test back in 2016 in his fight against Mark Hunt.
Last night’s Impact ended with an angle where Edwards returned from Shady Acres Psychiatric Hospital while wearing a hospital gown, interfering in Moose’s match against Brian Cage and causing a disqualification. Edwards attacked Moose and gave him kendo stick shots until Moose bailed.
Edwards and Moose have been feuding since Moose turned heel in August. Edwards vs. Moose at Bound for Glory turned into a tag match after Killer Kross interfered on behalf of Moose and Tommy Dreamer made the save for Edwards. Edwards pinned Moose when Moose went to hit him with a kendo stick, then Moose and Kross laid out Edwards after the match. Moose then defeated Edwards on Impact’s “Final Hour” episode in November.
Also on last night’s Impact, the announcement of Gail Kim being the special guest referee for Tessa Blanchard and Taya Valkyrie’s Knockouts Championship match at Homecoming aired. Rich Swann and Trey Miguel won Ultimate X qualifying matches, making it Jake Crist vs. Ethan Page vs. Swann vs. Miguel in an Ultimate X match for the vacant X Division title at Homecoming.
Johnny Impact will defend his Impact World Championship against Brian Cage at Homecoming. Pentagon Jr. & Fenix challenging for LAX’s Tag Team titles and Eli Drake vs. Abyss in a Monster’s Ball match are also set for the PPV.
Impact Wrestling has announced their first pay-per-view of 2019.
During tonight’s Bound for Glory broadcast, it was revealed that Impact’s next PPV will be called “Homecoming” and will take place at The Asylum at the Nashville Fairgrounds on Sunday, January 6, 2019. The name of the event is in reference to Impact returning to the venue that was TNA’s home in the early days of the promotion.
Impact held three PPV events in 2018: Redemption in Orlando, Florida in April, Slammiversary XVI in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in July, and Bound for Glory in Queens, New York in October. The promotion has post-Bound for Glory television tapings at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens this Monday and Tuesday. They also have TV tapings scheduled for Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 11-13.
The NWA’s 70th Anniversary Show is also taking place at the Nashville Fairgrounds on October 21.
The announcement video for Homecoming is available to watch below:
