Juice Robinson has signed a contract extension with NJPW.
The 33-year-old revealed the news in an interview with Sports Illustrated released on Wednesday. The only details available regarding the length of the deal is that it now runs into 2023.
“I’m keeping the details private, but I’m here where I am supposed to be,” Robinson said. “I don’t want to work somewhere else. I was about to, and I was ready to, but I didn’t want to. New Japan is where I belong.”
Robinson attacked Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestling Dontaku and was revealed as the newest member of Bullet Club.
“Bullet Club fits perfectly for me. It’s a band of pirates, and I’ve wanted to be part of it since the day I stepped foot in New Japan,” he continued. “It took a long time for it to finally happen, but I’m going to make this electric.”
On an episode of Wrestling Observer Live last month, Robinson stated he was leaving NJPW and didn’t have the urge to wrestle anymore. In an interview released Wednesday on NJPW1972.com, he stated that he never planned on retiring, however.
“Not that I owe anyone any explanation, but I was never going to retire,” Robinson said. “That was just me lying to a bunch of gullible idiots. People believe that if they read something on the internet it has to be true. So all I had to say is make sure it landed on the internet, and everybody believed it, hook line and sinker.”
Robinson will challenge for Hiroshi Tanahashi’s IWGP United States Championship on Saturday at NJPW Capital Collision. The match will be a four way with Will Ospreay and Jon Moxley being the other two challengers.
In his time with NJPW, Robinson and David Finlay are one time IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions and won the World Tag League in 2019. Robinson is also a two time IWGP United States Champion as well.
A four-way match for the IWGP United States Championship has been announced for NJPW’s Capital Collision event on May 14 in Washington, D.C..
Hiroshi Tanahashi will defend the United States title against Juice Robinson, Will Ospreay, and Jon Moxley following events that took place at Windy City Riot and Wrestling Dontaku.
Ospreay, who was set to face Tanahashi at Wrestling Dontaku until being sidelined with COVID-19, challenged Tanahashi on social media.
— Will Ospreay • ウィル・オスプレイ (@WillOspreay) May 2, 2022
At the end of Windy City Riot last month, Moxley challenged Tanahashi, saying he would face Tanahashi if he had to drag him to D.C. by his ponytail. Robinson returned to Japan at Wrestling Dontaku, attacking Tanahashi after he won the championship by defeating Tomohiro Ishii. Robinson was then shown wearing the Bullet Club logo, confirming he had joined the group.
Here are the matches announced so far for Capital Collision:
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Will Ospreay vs. Jon Moxley vs. Juice Robinson for the IWGP United States title
Kazuchika Okada & Trent Beretta vs. Jay White & Hikuleo
A fatal four-way IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship match has been proposed for NJPW’s Capital Collision pay-per-view.
On Twitter today, Will Ospreay posted a video challenging Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jon Moxley, and Juice Robinson to a fatal four-way match for the IWGP United States Heavyweight title at Capital Collision. The PPV is being held at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, May 14.
— Will Ospreay • ウィル・オスプレイ (@WillOspreay) May 2, 2022
Tanahashi is the current IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion. He won the vacant title by defeating Tomohiro Ishii at Wrestling Dontaku this past Sunday.
Ospreay was originally scheduled to be Tanahashi’s opponent at Wrestling Dontaku, but Ospreay had to miss the show due to testing positive for COVID-19.
Robinson attacked Tanahashi at Wrestling Dontaku and posed with the IWGP United States Heavyweight title belt. Robinson also joined Bullet Club in the process.
The IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship was vacated by SANADA last month due to a fractured left orbital bone.
Two matches have been confirmed for Capital Collision thus far. Ishii will face Eddie Kingston at the PPV, while Minoru Suzuki will take on Brody King.
Juice Robinson appeared at this morning’s NJPW Wrestling Dontaku event, joining the Bullet Club in the process.
After Hiroshi Tanahashi won the vacant IWGP United States title, Chase Owens came out and confronted Tanahashi. This allowed a hooded figure to come in and attack Tanahashi, laying him out with an unprettier. Robinson then unmasked and grabbed Tanahashi’s title, posing with it and giving the ‘too sweet’ sign to Owens before the two walked away together.
On a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Live, Robinson said that his contract with NJPW was expiring on April 30 and would no longer be wrestling under the NJPW banner.
“I really don’t know what’s next,” he told Bryan Alvarez at the time. “I’m just going to hang out and relax for a little while and see what comes to me.”
During the pandemic, Robinson spent most of his time wrestling for New Japan Strong and Impact Wrestling. His last appearance in Japan was in March of 2021, when he took part in the New Japan Cup tournament.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the AEW debut at the end of the show, full reviews of Dynamite and NXT 2.0, ratings, Juice Robinson, NJPW in Chicago this weekend, and tons more. A packed show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Satnam Singh debut
7:04: Juice Robinson leaving NJPW, Windy City Riot this weekend
The 33-year-old announced the news on Wednesday during a guest appearance on Wrestling Observer Live. Robinson noted that his contract with NJPW expires on April 30 and he does not plan to continue with the promotion.
“I don’t have any plans to travel back over [to Japan]. I am at the end of my contract. I did a extra three month extension and that ends April 30. So, that will be that. I will not be wrestling under the New Japan banner any longer,” he said on the show.
“I really don’t know what’s next. I’m just going to hang out and relax for a little while and see what comes to me.”
Robinson would continue to say that he’s grateful and feels very lucky for his time in NJPW. He said that what he enjoyed the most was the camaraderie amongst the roster.
“I was part of a team. Those guys, we traveled up and down the country together doing a lot of shows.”
“I was part of the team and I’m just proud that I was. I got there and learned how to fit in and I fit in and became a functional part of it. It was awesome and I really, really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed the camaraderie, the brotherhood that is New Japan Pro Wrestling, that will always be a very special thing that I got to do in my life and it’ll be part of my life forever. I got so lucky that I got to end up there.”
Robinson also mentioned that he currently doesn’t have the urge to wrestle any particular opponent.
“I don’t really have anybody that I want to wrestle, to be honest. I just don’t have the urge to wrestle really anymore.”
Robinson was with WWE from 2011 to 2015 and wrestled in NXT under the name CJ Parker. He debuted for NJPW in September 2015. During his time with the company, he was a two-time IWGP United States Champion. In 2019, his team with David Finlay won the World Tag League. They went on to win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships from the Guerrillas of Destiny at Wrestle Kingdom 14.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including NXT 2.0 from Wednesday, Rock vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, and then Juice Robinson appears to talk the end of his New Japan career and more. A packed show, so check it out~!
Juice Robinson’s could soon be a free agent, according to a report.
Fightful Select reports that Robinson’s NJPW contract is set to expire “at the end of January 2022.” The Fightful report states that one promoter expects Robinson to receive offers from multiple companies.
Robinson has been a regular on NJPW Strong events in the United States of late, appearing at the Showdown tapings in Philadelphia in October, Texas in September, plus the Resurgence show in Los Angeles in August.
Robinson reportedly signed a three-year deal with NJPW in early 2019. During that time, he has also worked for Ring of Honor and Impact Wrestling due to NJPW’s working agreements with those companies.
Robinson has held singles and tag team gold in NJPW. He is a two-time IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion, with reigns in 2018 and 2019. Robinson and David Finlay captured NJPW’s World Tag League in 2019 and held the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles for 28 days in early 2020. The duo also won the Impact Wrestling World Tag Team titles at Sacrifice in March 2021.
Robinson was with WWE on their FCW and NXT brands from 2011 to 2015 under the name CJ Parker. He requested his WWE release, which WWE confirmed on April 3, 2015. It was reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in July 2018 that WWE had interest in bringing Robinson back after a strong showing against Jay White at NJPW’s G1 Special show in California. Robinson shot down in a promo that he would ever return to the company.
A pair of Impact Wrestling stars have been added to next week’s NJPW Battle in the Valley event in San Jose.
Impact’s World Champion Moose will be in action against Juice Robinson. Moose also took part in the NJPW Resurgence event in Los Angeles this past August, losing to Tomohiro Ishii.
Also added, Impact’s Josh Alexander will take on Yuya Uemura. Alexander briefly won, then quickly lost the Impact title to Moose at last week’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view.
Already announced for the show, Jay White will defend the NEVER Openweight Championship against Tomohiro Ishii, Will Ospreay takes on Ren Narita, Jeff Cobb and TJP tag against Karl Fredericks and Clark Connors, Brody King and Chris Dickinson face Bateman and Misterioso, plus Fred Rosser, David Finlay, Rocky Romero, Alex Coughlin and Alex Zayne take on Tom Lawlor, JR Kratos, Danny Limelight, Royce Isaacs and Jorel Nelson in a ten-man tag.
Battle in the Valley will air with English commentary on FITE TV, and with Japanese commentary on NJPW World.
NJPW Battle in the Valley, Saturday, November 13, 11 p.m. Eastern time on FITE TV and NJPW World —
NEVER Openweight Championship: Jay White (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Juice Robinson vs. Moose
Josh Alexander vs. Yuya Uemura
Will Ospreay vs. Ren Narita
Jeff Cobb & TJP vs. Karl Fredericks & Clark Connors
Fred Rosser, David Finlay, Rocky Romero, Alex Coughlin & Alex Zayne vs. Tom Lawlor, JR Kratos, Danny Limelight, Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson
Brody King & Chris Dickinson vs. Bateman & Misterioso
Juice Robinson will face Hikuleo in a bullrope match in the main event of this week’s NJPW Strong Autumn Attack.
Robinson and Hikuleo have been feuding for months, including a singles match at NJPW Resurgence in Los Angeles in August. The two also squared off in a tables match on a Fighting Spirit Unleashed edition of Strong.
A new member of United Empire will officially be revealed on Strong this week, as Will Ospreay and a mystery partner face Karl Fredericks and Clark Connors.
In the second match, Bullet Club’s El Phantasmo & Chris Bey will tag against IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Robbie Eagles and Chris Dickinson.
A ten-man tag will open the show. David Finlay will team with his brother Brogan, Fred Yehi, Wheeler Yuta and Will Allday against Ryusuke Taguchi, Ren Narita, Alex Coughlin, Kevin Knight and The DKC.
The Autumn Attack episodes of Strong were taped on September 25 and September 26 in Garland, Texas.
Strong airs at 8 p.m. Eastern time this Saturday on NJPW World. The show will also be available on demand immediately following airing.
Here is Saturday’s full lineup:
NJPW Strong Autumn Attack night three, Saturday, October 23, 8 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World–
Bullrope match: Juice Robinson vs. Hikuleo
Will Ospreay & a mystery partner vs. Karl Fredericks & Clark Connors
El Phantasmo & Chris Bey vs. Robbie Eagles & Chris Dickinson
David Finlay, Fred Yehi, Wheeler Yuta, Will Allday & Brogan Finlay vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Ren Narita, Alex Coughlin, Kevin Knight & The DKC
WWE’s Toni Storm has announced her engagement to NJPW’s Juice Robinson.
Storm posted the news on her Instagram account. The photo caption read:
“Pop the champagne I’m changing my last name”
Storm (real name Toni Rossall), 25, and Robinson (real name Joseph Robinson), 32, went public with their relationship in an Instagram post in June 2020.
Born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, Storm already had international notoriety before joining WWE in 2017 for the Mae Young Classic. Storm officially signed with WWE in 2018, though she was primarily used on the NXT UK brand. As such, her deal allowed her to continue working for STARDOM, wXW, PROGRESS, and other independent promotions. Her last match to date not under the WWE banner took place for PROGRESS in February 2020.
Storm would go on to win the 2018 Mae Young Classic, as well as capturing the NXT UK Women’s Championship. She was featured on the NXT brand throughout 2020 and the first half of 2021 before making her main roster WWE debut on the July 23 edition of SmackDown.
Robinson is a former IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, 2019 World Tag League winner, and a former IWGP United States Champion in NJPW. He joined the company in 2015 after a short run on the American and United Kingdom indie scenes.
Prior to that, Robinson was under a WWE developmental deal and worked in NXT as CJ Parker. Robinson asked for and was granted his release by WWE, with the official word coming on April 3, 2015.
A new match has been added to the NJPW Strong Autumn Attack tapings in Texas on Sunday, September 26.
Juice Robinson will take on Hikuleo in a Texas bullrope match. The new bout was made official following Hikuleo’s win over Robinson in a tables match on Saturday’s NJPW Strong.
Seven matches are now official for Sunday’s show, while six have been announced for Saturday’s event. Tickets for the dates in Garland, Texas are on sale now.
Here are the announced lineups:
NJPW Autumn Attack night one, Saturday, September 25 —
Minoru Suzuki vs. Fred Rosser
Will Ospreay vs. Karl Fredericks
Jay White vs. Robbie Eagles
TJP, Clark Connors, Lio Rush & Juice Robinson vs. Hikuleo, Chris Bey, Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo
Tom Lawlor vs. Ren Narita
Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero vs. Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs
NJPW Autumn Attack night two, Sunday, September 26 —
Texas bullrope match: Juice Robinson vs. Hikuleo
Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer vs. Tom Lawlor & Royce Isaacs
Lio Rush vs. Taiji Ishimori
Jay White vs. Daniel Garcia
Will Ospreay & a mystery partner vs. Karl Fredericks & Clark Connors
Robbie Eagles & Chris Dickinson vs. El Phantasmo & Chris Bey
Impact Wrestling has announced Chris Bey vs. Juice Robinson for this Thursday’s show.
Bey will be flanked by Jay White while Robinson will have FinJuice partner David Finlay in his corner.
The storyline is around whether Bey will get entry into the Bullet Club. White initially made the offer, but Bey was hesitant. The two were unsuccessful in their first outing as a team last Thursday as they were defeated by Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers in a non-title match.
After the loss, Bey told White he didn’t expect his first match with the Club to be a loss and White said he wasn’t in. He said he believe in redemption and offered Bey another opportunity. Later on the show, Bey and White jumped FinJuice backstage and White left Finlay laying while Bey tossed Robinson outside through a door.
The match joins the previously announced six-man tag team match between World Champion Kenny Omega and The Good Brothers against Frankie Kazarian, Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan.
Some notes on tonight’s Impact Slammiversary event, which featured the return of FinJuice, the debut of the former No Way Jose, and a teaser vignette for a new character called Drama King.
FinJuice appeared after Madman Fulton and Shera entered the ring, mad that they were barred from the Ultimate X match earlier in the show. Scott D’Amore came out and said he didn’t appreciate them bringing the show to a halt, but rather than escort them out, they would wrestle in a match. Finjuice then came out for the impromptu match. The match itself was relatively short, with FinJuice quickly scoring the win.
No Way Jose, who was cut by WWE last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, appeared as Fallah Bahh’s mystery tag team partner, replacing TJP. He was referred to as “No Way” only, dropping the Jose part of his name. They lost to The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows) in a four-way match that included Violent by Design (Rhino and Doering) and Rich Swann & Willie Mack.
During the show, a short vignette teased a new character called Drama King. A hand was seen painting on a canvas that eventually read “Long live the Drama King”. It wasn’t made clear who this character was or when they would debut.
Impact World Champion Kenny Omega makes his Impact Plus in-ring debut tonight when he teams with the Good Brothers to face Tag Team Champions FinJuice and Eddie Edwards at Under Siege.
Even though the world title won’t be on the line, the nine-match card features several championship matches, several of which were finalized last Thursday.
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will look to successfully defend her title once again when she faces former champion Havok; X-Division Champion Josh Alexander will take on New Japan’s El Phantasmo; and Knockouts Tag Team Champions Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering will rematch former champions Fire N’Flava.
Under Siege will also feature a six-way that will determine the next World title challenger in addition to a four-way that will determine the next Tag Team title challengers.
Also announced for the show: Brian Myers vs. Black Taurus; W. Morrissey vs. Willie Mack; and Tenille Dashwood and Taylor Wilde vs. Susan and Kimber Lee.
Our live coverage kicks off at 8 PM Eastern.
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We’re live!
Brian Myers defeated Black Taurus (w/ Decay)
After losing his qualifier match against Matt Cardona, Brian Myers found himself as the punchline to Decay’s jokes as Rosemary tried to read him his future. On the last episode of Impact, Myers defeated Crazzy Steve, only to get taken out by Taurus seconds later, setting up tonight’s match.
Story of the match was that Taurus had the power advantage over Myers, but also, the numbers advantage outside the ring, with Crazzy Steve and Rosemary, something that Myers eventually had to use to distract Taurus, by attacking Steve, and finally managed to attack Taurus from behind and gain control of the match.
Myers worked over Taurus for a couple of minutes until Taurus got a desperation top rope crossbody to bring down Myers. Taurus had a good couple of lucha spots, a good near fall after a crucifix bomb and a shoulder breaker, but he couldn’t keep Myers down. After a couple more near falls, Myers managed to land a roster cut out of nowhere after he had poked Tauru’s eye.
Myers has wins over both Steve and Taurus, so I would imagine a tag team match is next.
– D’lo Brown and Matt Striker ran down tonight’s card.
Taylor Wilde & Tenille Dashwood (with Kaleb with a K) defeated Kimber Lee & Susan
Taylor Wilde made her big return at Rebellion and saved Dashwood from an attack at the hands of Deonna Purrazzo, Lee, and Susan. After doing so, Susan and Lee decided to put their focus on taking out Wilde, who’s only focus is the Knockouts Championship, but unfortunately for Wilde, Dashwood now thinks that she and Wilde are destined to be tag team partners, which Wilde is just not interested in being.
Not much to the match, but it did the point across that even if Wilde does not want to be a team with Dashwood, both women ended up getting a win against the team of Susan and Lee. It was a short match with little to none heat from the heels. At one point, Dashwood was taken out and Wilde had to deal with Susan and Lee by herself, but at the end, it was Kaleb that assisted Wilde, by kicking Susan and setting her up for Wilde to pin her. Wilde didn’t see the assist, but she still didn’t want to celebrate with Dashwood.
This seems to be building to a Wilde vs Dashwood match, likely at Against All Odds.
– Sami Callihan cut a promo about going through the roster if necessary, all to win the championship.
Ace Austin & Madman Fulton defeated XXXL (Acey Romero & Larry D), TJP & Petey Williams, and Rohit Raju & Mahabali Shera in a Impact Tag Team title no. 1 contenders match
These teams are made from the competitors that failed to become #1 contenders to the X Division Championship. As a second opportunity, they all entered to this match to become the #1 contenders to FinJuice’s tag team championships.
Match started with Fulton and Romero going at it, but as it went on, we started to test out different pair ups between competitors. This wasn’t tornado tag rules, so every pair up got a chance to showcase and get some signature spots in before transitioning to a different pair. What made this dynamic was that half of the men involved were super heavyweights, and the other cruiserweight size wrestlers, so there were changes from seeing a hoss fight to fast paced counters and reversals.
The match slowed down a bit when Shera and Raju cut off Williams and kept him in their corner, and for that time, the match felt like a match between two teams. Eventually, Austin and Fulton got in and they worked over TJP the same way that Williams had been worked on by Raju and Shera. At this point, commentary started to sell that TJP and Williams were the only team that was really getting tired while everyone got time to rest, yet they are the most experienced in the field.
Williams got a hot tag against Austin, but as soon as it seemed that Austin was about to cut him off, XXXL had enough and decided to get in the ring and take out everyone.
Last couple of minutes, the match picked up a lot, with every team stealing tags on each other and attempting to end the match, but there were just too many people involved for a clear pin. Finish finally came when Fulton took out both Romero and D, ending with an assisted plancha for Austin to pin D for the win. For the amount of people, this was a great and organized match with great pacing.
It will be Ace Austin and Fulton vs. Tag Team Champions FinJuice in the future.
– Gia Miller interviewed Hogan and Steelz about their match. They said they’re regaining the titles tonight. Great stuff from both.
W. Morrissey defeated Willie Mack
Morrissey debuted at Rebellion and call it coincidence, but he made a statement by taking out Mack in his match. Mack decided to make a challenge that Morrissey answered in the form of a beat down and it all came down to this match.
Mack started hot, he rushed at Morrissey at the bell, and while having some hiccups, he kept the offense and at one point made Morrissey walk away to recoup, but as much as Mack did, Morrissey wasn’t that injured and easily recovered.
At one point, Morrissey knocked out Mack with a big boot and worked over him for a couple of minutes before Mack made a comeback, but it was a short-lived comeback. The beat down continued for most of the match, but at the end, Mack did manage to make a great comeback with a couple of near falls, but at the end, Morrissey cut him off again and destroyed Mack with a big boot to the back of the head. This went on way longer than I expected, but it was good.
After the match, Morrissey kept attacking Mack, but as he was about to use a chair, Rich Swann made his first appearance since losing the World title at Rebellion for the save. He and Mack cleared the ring before the big staredown between Morrissey and Swann.
Fire N’ Flava (Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz) defeated Jordynne Grace & Rachael Ellering to win the Knockouts Tag Team championship
This is the title rematch from Rebellion, where Grace and Ellering defeated Hogan and Steelz to capture the titles. Going into this match, Hogan and Steelz have been messing around with Grace’s confidence, making her believe that she is the weak link of the team and that it was all Ellering, who won the titles at Rebellion.
Even with Hogan and Steelz jumping Grace and Ellering at the start, it was the champions that managed to control the match early on with their power advantage. After watching Grace and Ellering show off, tossing around Hogan for minutes, Steelz finally got in and helped cut off Ellering, cut the ring in half on her, and completely turn the match around.
Hogan and Steelz worked over Ellering for a long time, constant tags, always keeping Ellering down on the mat, switching between kicks and submissions, with the occasional tease to Grace in the corner.
Grace made the hot tag and it led to both teams chasing the pin, trading big moves. At the end, it came down to Steelz and Grace, with the latter going for the Vader bomb before she got cut off. Outside the ring, Hogan took out Ellering with a sliced bread on the floor, but in the ring, as Grace went for a superplex, Steelz blocked it, dropped Grace, hit a frog splash, and won the match to recapture the titles. This was so much better than their Rebellion match.
Fire ‘n Flava are 2-time champions.
– We got a Swinger’s Palace skit with XXXL wanting to get a bet in for the main event and it went nowhere.
X-Division Champion Josh Alexander defeated El Phantasmo to retain the title
In a matter of two weeks, ELP debuted on Impact Wrestling with a singles win, and then a win to become the #1 contender to Josh Alexander’s title. There is no story between these men, just a championship on the line.
This was fantastically paced. The story of the match was that Alexander was a better wrestler, he had the upper hand when it came power and technique, but as it has been rumored, ELP’s boot is allegedly loaded, and surprisingly, while nothing was working against Alexander, it was the stomps and kicks that were hurting Alexander way more than they should, and thus it led to ELP dismantle Alexander’s limbs slowly.
Alexander would still deliver some desperation attacks here and there, because even with injured limbs, Alexander was still a better and stronger wrestler, he just happens to be across the ring from a troll level wrestler that is really hard to anticipate and counter.
Last couple of minutes saw Alexander start to chase the ankle lock, while ELP started going for the superkick over and over, but he just couldn’t make contact.
At the end, Alexander went for divine intervention, but ELP countered. Alexander locked in the ankle lock, powerbomb into the knee, and after a couple of stomps, submitted ELP! Awesome match.
I totally expected ELP to win the championship, but it’s great to see that Impact is putting their coins in Alexander’s basket.
– Gia Miller interviewed FinJuice and Edwards. Robinson said that there wouldn’t be any interference because everyone would be in there in the ring. Finlay hyped the match, saying this is a combination of some of the greatest active wrestlers today.
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo (w/ Kimber Lee & Susan) defeated Havok to retain the title
Havok had been eyeing Purrazzo for a while, but it wasn’t until last week where she defeated Rosemary in a #1 contendership match, in which she finally achieved what she wanted, a one-on-one shot with Purrazzo for the title.
Havok is Purrazzo’s first actual powerhouse challenger since winning the championship, and so the story of the match was that of the technical wrestler trying to work herself around to bring down Havok to her knees and target one of her limbs, the left arm as usual, setting it up for the Fujiwara armbar.
Havok made a couple of comebacks using her strength to power out of Purrazzo’s holds, but Havok would end up back on her knees with Purrazzo working the arm. Havok got her biggest offense, locking in a single leg Boston crab, taking out both Susan and Lee, but as she went for the running kicks, Purrazzo dodged, brought her down to the mat, and submitted Havok with the Fujiwara armbar. Purrazzo looked great, even winning the match with her 3rd from the top signature move.
Eddie Edwards & Tag Team Champions FinJuice (Juice Robinson & David Finlay) defeated Impact World Champion Kenny Omega & The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows)
FInJuice and the Good Brothers have feuded over the tag team titles for months now, but now that Omega has joined Impact and won the championship, the group became a nuisance for Impact, and thus Eddie Edwards, the heart and soul of Impact, joined the fight. As of late, Omega and the Good Brothers cost Edwards his shot at the #1 contendership six-way match, and hence this match was booked.
Match started with some good back and forward tag team wrestling between FinJuice and the Good Brothers, neither team was able to gain proper advantage, and it all led to Edwards vs Omega for the first time. The match continued with Omega vs Robinson, with the latter actually having most of the offense until Anderson and Gallows had to get involved to allow Omega to cut Robinson out.
It didn’t take long for Finlay to get the hot tag and run wild against Anderson, but he too was cut off by the teamwork and cheats from Omega, Anderson, and Gallows. At the end, it all built to a second Edwards vs Omega face off, a proper one with more time where Edwards got himself a near fall with a blue thunder bomb. Edwards hit a Tiger bomb for a near fall, which was the point that Omega woke up and started hitting V-triggers and snap dragon suplexes.
Finish saw FinJuice stop a magic killer. Finlay hit the stunner on Anderson, pulp friction by Robinson, and the Boston knee party by Edwards for the pin.
This was great. Whether it is Against All Odds or Slammiversary, Edwards vs Omega is coming close to a boiling point.
– Brown and Striker announced that Austin and Fulton challenge FinJuice for the titles on next week’s Impact.
Moose defeated Trey Miguel, Chris Bey, Matt Cardona, Chris Sabin, & Sami Callihan in a World title no. 1 contender match
Each of these men won qualifiers in the last couple of months in order to advance to this six-way match, where the winner will challenge Kenny Omega for the Impact World Championship. Callihan comes in with momentum, as he got the win over Sabin on the go-home show’s Moose, Bey, and Callihan vs Sabin, Miguel, and Cardona match.
Match started with Moose taking everyone out single handedly, it took the combined forces of Bey and Sabin’s superkicks to finally get him off his feet and out of the ring. The match continued with everyone coming in and out of the ring, taking each other out, only to get taken out too, and so on. It wasn’t until a tandem dive from Bey and Miguel that things slowed down a bit inside the ring.
We got our first big multiman spot with Bey hitting a German on Callihan on the ropes, as Callihan brought down Cardona with a superplex, only for Sabin and Miguel to dropkick Bey off the ropes. Moose came back and once again started to take everyone out until Bey and Miguel teamed up on him. At this point, Callihan introduced a chair into the match, but we got no disqualifications.
Callihan actually continued cheating in order to gain some momentum, but that was when the Good Brothers ran down, pulled out Callihan, and took him out, so serves him right.
Sabin got a great near fall after hitting cradle shock, but was stopped by Moose, who delivered a trifecta of lights out spears for the win. Good match with the exception of Callihan using chairs and low blows.
It will be Kenny Omega vs. Moose, who told the camera and Omega that he is coming to get back what is theirs. Impact could pull the trigger on a babyface Moose right now and it would be huge.