WWE and UFC veteran Ken Shamrock has opened up on the particular moment that completely changed The Rock’s pro-wrestling career.
In a recent interview with Wrestling Live Online, the 61-year-old Ken Shamrock recalled working with The Rock and his career-altering moment. Shamrock stated that The Rock’s transformation began when WWE let him do promos.
“You could tell immediately that his mind was different than everyone else’s.The way that he saw things, how he put matches together, being able to tie in what I did to what he does, being able to have those different swerves when it came to the finishes or even in between in the middle of the match.He just had that mindset that he’d see things before they happen. I saw right away, the mindset was there.
He started to develop that as we were doing our matches together. He started feeling very comfortable and confident in the direction that his character was gonna go.The minute they got him out of the Nation, the minute they handed him the mic, stars went off. It was just unbelievable.I don’t think I’ve ever seen a transformation like that in my life that quick, where literally they just handed him the mic and game over.”
The Final Boss shares a vivid history with Shamrock with their rivalry dating back to 1998, when Shamrock feuded with the Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and the Nation of Domination. The duo faced each other multiple times at Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, the King of the Ring final, and more that year, feuding over the Intercontinental Championship.
WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle praises The Rock’s ‘Smashing Machine’
Earlier this year following the release of The Rock’s ‘Smashing Machine’, a biopic based on combat-sports veteran Mark Kerr’s life, WWE Hall of Famer and Olympic gold-medallist, Kurt Angle heaped praise on it.
“Just watched The Smashing Machine. What a fantastic film that I believe will be considered a classic. Mark Kerr was ‘The Guy’ I had to beat to qualify for the Olympic Games, which pushed me to transform into a version of myself I never thought I could be. Your story, beyond wrestling, is truly inspirational, my friend.”
Ken Shamrock has been mentioned as a potential addition to the 2025 WWE Hall of Fame class.
Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that, while not confirmed yet, Shamrock’s name has been “bandied about” for a potential induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. The ceremony is taking place during WrestleMania 41 weekend in Las Vegas next month with Paul “Triple H” Levesque, Michelle McCool, Lex Luger, and The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon) already announced for the class.
“As had been reported a few weeks ago, Earthquake John Tenta and Fred ‘Typhoon/Tugboat’ Ottman will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame at the 4/18 ceremony in Las Vegas at the Fontainebleau Hotel,” Meltzer wrote. “While not yet announced, Ken Shamrock’s name has been bandied about as well.”
The 61-year-old Shamrock is already a member of the UFC Hall of Fame and TNA Wrestling Hall of Fame. A star during the Attitude Era, his WWE accomplishments included Intercontinental and Tag Team title reigns. He was also the winner of the 1998 King of the Ring tournament.
During an appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet last year, Shamrock said joining the WWE Hall of Fame would be a “true thrill,” but he isn’t losing any sleep over not being in yet. Shamrock loved his time in pro wrestling and his happy with the way his life turned out. He noted that he is under a Legends contract with WWE.
The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony is happening late Friday night on April 18 during Mania week. The ceremony will stream live on Peacock and WWE’s social media channels.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson filmed an induction speech for Shamrock when he was inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame in 2020.
A WWE Hall of Fame induction would be a “true thrill” for Ken Shamrock, but he isn’t losing any sleep over not being in yet.
Shamrock joined Chris Van Vliet for an interview on the latest episode of Insight. On the subject of potentially being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, Shamrock said he obviously would like to be recognized — but the Hall of Fame isn’t something he thinks about much. He enjoyed his time in pro wrestling and is happy with how his life has turned out. An induction into the WWE Hall of Fame would just be icing on the cake.
“Any athlete that goes through a career and has made an impact obviously wants to be recognized, and I do want to be recognized,” Shamrock said. “But — I don’t think of it until it’s brought up, right? It’s not something that I dwell on because I felt like everything that I’ve done in my life, I’ve been blessed to have been in those moments. What comes after that is just icing on the cake. And if that happens, it’s going to be a true thrill. But like I said, it’s not something that I lose sleep over. I’ve really enjoyed my journey and very, very happy with the way my life has turned out.”
Shamrock was an Intercontinental Champion, Tag Team Champion, and King of the Ring winner while wrestling for WWF in the late 1990s. He’s under a Legends contract with WWE and has a positive relationship with the company.
“I’ve had a relationship with them forever, even since when I went away,” Shamrock told Van Vliet. “We did a Legends contract, and so I’ve always been a part of them. It’s one of those things where I think I spent enough time there and did enough there that I feel like I’m a part of that family forever.”
For his accomplishments in MMA, Shamrock was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2003 as one of its inaugural members. He was later inducted into the TNA Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2020. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — one of Shamrock’s best pro wrestling opponents — recorded an induction speech for him.
This year was the first WWE Hall of Fame class chosen by Paul “Triple H” Levesque. It consisted of Paul Heyman, Bull Nakano, The U.S. Express (Mike Rotunda & Barry Windham), Thunderbolt Patterson, Lia Maivia, and Muhammad Ali. Shamrock was among the WWE legends who attended the ceremony.
Antonio Pena, a true wrestling creative genius who is the only man to truly start a promotion from scratch and remain one of the major players in the industry in 2006, passed away on 10/5 after a reported heart attack. He is believed to have been 55 years old.
In hindsight, the death of Pena has brought to light almost an indisputable fact. There was nobody in pro wrestling who was more valuable to their company. Not Vince McMahon. Not anybody. The AAA promotion that Pena created in 1992, and has been very successful for much of the past 14 years, was on fire over the past year, drawing big crowds all over the country. With his death, the company is very much at a crossroads. There is complete uncertainty regarding its future, and probably by the end of the week, exactly what the new power structure is will be made clear.
Pena, who came up with literally hundreds of ideas, many not successful, but some ultra successful, was the AAA promotion, a one-man promoter, booker and talent manager. His closest U.S. equivalent would be Paul Heyman, actually in many ways, with the difference is Pena’s vision had far more mainstream and long-term success, but being in prime time on the biggest TV station in the country is an advantage no U.S. promoter has had.
If you want to know the 2006 definition of drawing money, we’ve got the answer loud and clear. It’s the same thing that has always worked.
A feud that involves strong personalities, over motivations and issues people both understand and believe, with the feeling that what happens is somehow important. Two tough guys who people believe hate each other, and believe the reasons why. It is the hype that sells, not the promise of a great match.
Our generation is not the generation of championship belts. That was the generation weaned on having one world champion in every weight class in boxing, and one local champ and one world champion in wrestling. By losing what made belts special, they’ve ruined them for the most part as draws, and now are simply props. Television exposure is, of course, a must. But the other big lesson of the year is that it is not exposure to the masses, but what you do with that exposure that counts.
The Bryan & Vinny & Craig & Shawn & Granny Show is back with tons to talk about including the GRANNY POLKA SONG CONTEST, her usual weekly Q&A, Wrestling Report and Soap Opera Report, then the boys review NWA-TNA from 21 years ago this week! The best we can say is, it was better than last week. A fun show as always so check it out~!
The Motor City Machine Guns are the new NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions.
MCMG’s Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley defeated Aussie Open, and Kevin Knight and The DKC in a triple threat match at Friday’s Rumble on 44th Street pay-per-view to capture the titles, dethroning Aussie Open.
Other notes from Friday’s show:
Ken Shamrock made a surprise appearance, cornering Clark Connors in his match against Minoru Suzuki.
We’ve got a double issue of the Observer out this week with notes on how President Biden’s new policies on international travel will affect wrestlers and fighters from different countries.
Also in this issue:
The new WrestleMania plans, including how the Super Bowl plays into it, the time frame for the shows for both nights, the inside hopes for attendance and how the dynamic is different this year as to what gets announced. We also look at the decision making in regards to Dallas and Los Angeles, update the Royal Rumble and also have notes on match plans.
Coverage of Impact Hard to Kill, with notes on the key angles, the departure of Madison Rayne, Taya Valkyrie and Ethan Page, Page’s scathing words after his departure, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Dwayne Johnson’s new TV show about his life, new WWE signees, Dusty Rhodes men’s and women’s tournament, Kofi Kingston talks his injury, WWE television personality gets an ESPN TV show, A.J. Styles talks retirement, lawsuit update, where wrestling shows ranked with network sports, who is looking for new entrance music, what aspect of WWE’s major events are they trying to sell, why Raw will have two very tough dates for competition soon, as well as the most-watched shows of the past week on the WWE Network.
Coverage of both UFC shows over the past week and the story behind Max Holloway’s setting records.
A story on the life of Paul Varelans, an early star of UFC and MMA around the world, as well as his different forays with four different pro wrestling companies as well as his infamous angle with Taz in ECW. For the first time, Missy Hyatt talks publicly about the situation plus comments from all involved. We look at the tournament days of UFC, crazy street fights, and much more.
A story on the life of Guy Hauray, the voice of WWF in France for a generation.
A story on famous carnival shooter and pro wrestler Dick Cardinal, who was the oldest living pro wrestler at the time of his death.
History of the biggest draws in pro wrestling each year from 1916 to 2020, including what wrestlers were No. 1 for the most years.
Win-loss record of every WWE talent in 2020 including who wrestled the most dates, who never lost, who never won and more.
Television ratings of the past week, segment-by-segment numbers for the past two weeks on Wednesday, who was watching in different age groups, how different segments did on Raw & Smackdown.
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Sports Illustrated talked to Santos Escobar on his current run in NXT as Cruiserweight champion. He told them that his ultimate goal is to meet Vince McMahon. “There is one thing I haven’t been able to do, and that is meet Vince McMahon,” he said. I’m committed to this industry, and that is a lifetime commitment. I was born and raised to do this. I think Vince McMahon is a genius, and I want to meet him. That, to me, is an immediate goal. He will either like me or hate me, but I will discuss my background with him and what I bring to the table. I need to discuss that with Vince McMahon, and that is one of my most immediate goals.”
Impact Wrestling returns from Nashville, TN for this week’s episode, main evented by the Impact World Champion Rich Swann defending the title against this year’s Hall of Fame inductee, Ken Shamrock.
Opening video was a recap of John E. Bravo’s shooting investigation, Joe Doering’s debut, the farewell of The Rascalz, and the closing attack on Rich Swann at the hands of Callihan and Shamrock.
The show opened with D’Amore being told that Bravo is in stable condition, but that if he wakes up from the coma, he may not be the same Bravo as before.
Matt Striker is replacing Madison Rayne this week on commentary. Rayne is taking the night off as she will be part of Wrestler’s Court.
Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz defeated Sea Stars (Ashley Vox & Delmi Exo) in a Knockouts Tag Team Championship Tournament first-round match
This is the Sea Stars’ debut for Impact Wrestling as a team, though Ashley Vox worked some dates back in 2019.
Match saw Exo dominate early on, but once Vox and Steelz tagged in, Vox was cut off and was separated from her corner. Hogan and Steelz worked over Vox for a couple of minutes before Exo got the hot tag, with the Sea Stars getting some near falls. In the end, Steelz managed to take out Vox outside the ring, making an opening for a double team and swinging neckbreaker pin for the win by Hogan. Good opener, Sea Stars looked good.
Hogan and Steelz advance to the semifinals. They will face the winner of Purrazzo & Lee vs Taya & Rosemary.
– Backstage, Jordynne Grace and Jazz, her partner for the tournament, were watching the match that just ended. Gia Miller approached Jazz about teaming with Grace. Jazz said that she wanted to end her career as the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champion.
– Josh Matthews and Matt Striker ran down tonight’s card, plus a quick rundown of the Knockouts tag team tournament brackets.
– Ethan Page and Josh Alexander talked about Doc Gallows being injured and having to be gone for 4-6 weeks. Alexander was mad because it meant they couldn’t challenge for their titles until then.
– We got the first segment of Wrestler’s Court. Madison Rayne is representing Swinger, while D’lo Brown is representing ‘the boys’. Rayne objected that Dreamer is the one doing the investigation and couldn’t be the judge, so Dreamer ended up switching places with Brown.
Rayne’s argument was that Swinger was too dumb to carry out any plan that would end with Bravo’s shooting. Dreamer brought up that a gun was found in Swinger’s fanny pack.
– Rohit Raju came out for a new Defeat Rohit Challenge. He cut a promo putting himself over before someone accepted his challenge. Suicide came out, accepting the challenge. Raju said that he knew who was under the mask and that it was a trick, and so he took the title off the line for the challenge.
Crazzy Steve defeated X Division Champion Rohit Raju in a non-title match
Going by last week’s segment with D’Amore and TJP, we are to believe that TJP is under the mask, and Raju believed it too.
The story of the match was that Raju kept going for Suicide’s mask while he was on the offense. Suicide’s arsenal was really similar to TJP’s and commentary sold it like that. Raju at the end managed to take the mask off Suicide, but it wasn’t TJP, it was actually Crazzy Steve. TJP walked down the aisle, distracting Raju long enough for Steve to cradle Raju, pinning him for the win.
With a pin on Raju, Crazzy Steve could be getting a title shot soon, but there is the argument that it was booked as Suicide, which could open the door for the old Conquistadors swerve and have TJP win the title under the Suicide mask next.
– Backstage, Sami Callihan pumped up Ken Shamrock for tonight’s title match. Moose approached them and told them that they’re fighting for the second most important title in the company. Moose said that it was unfortunate that it wasn’t him who will face Rich Swann, but reminded Shamrock that once he wins, he’ll come for him and remind him of what happened when Moose and Shamrock fought last year.
– Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb with a K were taking some photographs backstage when Alisha Edwards approached Dashwood about tagging again. Dashwood told her to get the hint, but Edwards kept insisting, leading to Dashwood considering teaming with her again.
Kimber Lee (with Deonna Purrazzo) defeated Killer Kelly (with Renee Michelle)
This is both Killer Kelly and Renee Michelle’s debut, who are joining Impact for the Knockouts Tag Team Championship tournament. Purrazzo and Lee are also feuding with Su Yung, who threatened them last week.
The match was good but too short. Back and forward action between the two. Some mat wrestling early on with pin reversals and submissions, leading to a couple of bigger spots towards the end, which saw Lee get the win with a swanton bomb.
After the match, Susie came out and told Purrazzo and Lee that they hurt her friends, and so instead, their friends are going to attack them. They did a great edit to make it seem like Susie was on the ramp while Su Yung attacked the ring and sent Purrazzo and Lee running away.
– Gia Miller interviewed the Motor City Machine Guns. Alex Shelley said that he was cleared to return to action, and they were going after XXXL, The North, and The Good Brothers.
– Rich Swann and Willie Mack met backstage. Swann said he was sorry he couldn’t help Mack with Moose, but Mack said it was ok, he’d been fighting all his life. Chris Bey came in and tried to talk Swann into a title match at the expense of calling Mack a loser, which made both men get defensive and kick him out of the room.
Swoggle (with Karl Anderson) defeated Ethan Page (with Josh Alexander)
Last week, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows told Page that if they wanted another title match, they had to defeat someone of their choosing, and they had hinted that Page would be facing someone ‘Phenomenal’. That person wasn’t AJ Styles, but Swoggle dressed as AJ Styles. We at least got to hear the old AJ Styles theme.
The match saw Page not take Swoggle seriously, so Swoggle took advantage and got some hits early on. Alexander cut Swoggle off and allowed Page to regain composure and work on Swoggle for a bit. In return, Anderson distracted Page, allowing Swoggle to schoolboy Page to score the upset win.
Page seemed to be having a breakdown after the match.
– Back at Wrestler’s Court, Swinger is being interrogated. Swinger made a case that Dreamer and himself went way back and that Dreamer knew that as much as Swinger cheats, he’d never shoot someone.
Dreamer called up Rosemary, who accepted that she never loved Bravo, but she wanted his virgin blood. At this perfect timing, Bravo returned and confronted Rosemary about being used. Bravo said he knew who shot him and it was revealed that it was Larry D’s alter-ego, Lawrence D, and he had done it out of jealousy. Months worth of programming just for this? Total waste of time.
Fallah Bahh vs Daivari ended in a no contest
This only lasted maybe one minute before Joe Doering and Eric Young ran down and took out both men. Young started cutting a promo, but Rhino ran down to attack them. The numbers game was too much and instead, they laid out Rhino. Young ended with a cryptic promo saying the world belongs to them.
– Backstage, TJP approached Crazzy Steve and Swoggle for help. Brain Myers walked up and made fun of all three of them.
– Somewhere else backstage, Purrazzo and Kimber Lee approached James Mitchell about dealing with Su Yung. Mitchell said he’d offer help for a ‘price’, but didn’t go into details.
– Matthews and Striker ran down next week’s card, which includes XXXL vs. MCMGs, Rohit Raju defending the title against Crazzy Steve, Killer Kelly & Renee Michelle vs. Jordynne Grace & Jazz in the Knockouts Tag Team Championship tournament, and Willie Mack vs. Chris Bey.
Impact World Champion Rich Swann defeated Ken Shamrock (with Sami Callihan) to retain the title
Sami Callihan has been manipulating Shamrock for a couple of months now. Callihan and Shamrock set their sights on Swann after he won the title, attacking him on a couple of occasions, leading to this match.
Callihan interjected himself into the match in the opening minutes and wound up being ejected from ringside. The distraction was enough for Shamrock to attack Swann and gain control of the match, immediately going after Swann’s bad leg. Shamrock had control for about half of the match, he switched from legs to guillotines and back to the leg, just anything to keep Swann down.
Swann eventually used his speed to make a comeback, but every now and then, Shamrock would still find counters and would reverse into submission, only for Swann to escape. In the end, Shamrock had the ankle lock, but Swann rolled over Shamrock and got the win. Well wrestled match, but a bit one-sided considering the champion was involved.
After the match, Shamrock attacked the referee. Callihan came out and hit Swann with the cactus special. He teased attacking Swann with a bat, but Eddie Edwards came out for the save. Callihan and Shamrock took down Edwards and tied him down to the ropes, then proceeded to take out Edwards’ eye once again. D’Lo Brown and security came down, but Shamrock took down Brown. Security finally got Callihan and Shamrock off Edwards as the show went off the air. Interesting angle, one would imagine that this could write off Edwards for a while.
Final thoughts —
Okay show by Impact, nothing really outstanding. It was entertaining and it went by fast. The direction of most of the storylines right now are pretty hard to read.
More than 18 years after he won the inaugural TNA World Championship, Ken Shamrock will have the opportunity to win what it eventually evolved into.
On Tuesday’s Impact Wrestling, it was announced that Rich Swann will defend the Impact World title against Shamrock next week.
Swann has been feuding with both Shamrock and Sami Callihan in recent weeks with Swann besting Callihan in his own title challenge at Saturday’s Turning Point. The recent inductee into the Impact Hall of Fame has never won an Impact belt in his three tenures in the company.
Swann won the title at October’s Bound For Glory.
In other action and storyline advances announced for next week:
Jordynne Grace and her mystery partner will face the debuting duo of Killer Kelly and Renee Michelle in the Knockouts Tag Team Championship tournament.
In the ongoing search for the killer of John E. Bravo, Tommy Dreamer will hold a wrestlers’ court, overseeing the case of Johnny Swinger vs. The Boys.
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will apparently be confronted by former champion Su Yung who left her a threatening message on a mirror Tuesday.
At Saturday’s Bound For Glory pre-show, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson appeared on Impact Wrestling via pre-recorded video to induct new Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock.
Above is a short clip that aired on the pay-per-view, but in the full version that was on the pre-show, Johnson said he shared the ring with many people, but the one man he owes debt and gratitude to is Shamrock.
At a time where he was cutting his teeth as a heel in WWE, he needed the best hero or badass to establish himself and that was Shamrock. He said Shamrock could have refused working with this kid, but he did it. He put over Shamrock’s accomplishments as a founder father and Hall of Famer in the UFC and WWE’s Attitude Era, “the greatest era in professional wrestler.”
He said he was extremely proud of Shamrock, thanked him for the memories and “sweat equity” and said he’ll send him some of his tequila to enjoy.
Impact Wrestling has revealed when Ken Shamrock’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be taking place.
It was announced today that Shamrock will be inducted into the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame on Countdown to Glory this Saturday. Countdown to Glory is the pre-show for Impact’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view. The pre-show will air live on AXS TV and Impact’s digital channels at 7 p.m. Eastern time, with Bound for Glory then beginning on PPV at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Shamrock being inducted into the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame over Bound for Glory weekend was first announced this March. Last month, Shamrock reached out to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on Twitter and asked him to film an introduction greeting for Shamrock’s Hall of Fame ceremony. Johnson responded by congratulating Shamrock and agreeing to film the video.
Shamrock won the NWA World Championship on the first-ever TNA show in 2002. He returned to Impact last year and will be facing Eddie Edwards at Bound for Glory this Saturday.
AXS TV wrote about Countdown to Glory when the pre-show was first announced: “Leading into the Bound For Glory pay-per-view broadcast on Saturday, Oct. 24, AXS TV presents the first-ever, hour-long pre-show Live Countdown to Glory at 7 p.m. ET. The excitement builds as expert panelists weigh-in on all the Bound For Glory championship matches, IMPACT stars walk the red carpet, and IMPACT kicks off the live action with the first match of the night, plus more surprises to be announced.”
Ken Shamrock vs. Eddie Edwards has been made official for Bound for Glory.
A storyline has been unfolding on Impact in recent weeks where Shamrock has been listening to Sami Callihan, who is looking to exert control over Shamrock. Callihan’s goal is to unlock the same uncontrollable Shamrock from earlier days in Shamrock’s career.
The match was made after Callihan issued a challenge on Twitter, writing: “I love when a plan comes together. Since @TheEddieEdwards lost his rematch to @TheEricYoung , which I knew he would. It looks like he’s free at #BoundForGlory. HERE’S MY CHALLENGE. Eddie Vs. @ShamrockKen at BFG. BOOK IT!”
This past week, Shamrock felt bad about attacking Edwards the previous week. Callihan hyped him up, saying that the attack was ‘trending’ and that eventually he’ll revert to the old Ken Shamrock. Callihan got Shamrock worked up enough that Shamrock ended up attacking a passerby.
Other matches announced for Bound for Glory include:
Eric Young vs. Rich Swann for the Impact World title
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Kylie Rae for the Impact Knockouts title
The Motor City Machine Guns vs. The Good Brothers vs. The North vs. Ace Austin and Madman Fulton in a four way tag team match for the Impact World Tag Team titles
Rohit Raju vs. Chris Bey vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Trey vs. TJP vs. Willie Mack in a six-way scramble match for the X-Division title
Impact Wrestling returns from Nashville, TN for the build up to Victory Road and Bound For Glory.
Opening video focused on last week’s X-Division three-way for a shot at Rohit Raju, who successfully defended the X-Division title, the ongoing war that Eric Young has started against Impact and the consequent return of Eddie Edwards, who would be later attacked before the end of last week’s show.
Taya Valkyrie & Rosemary defeated Havok & Nevaeh
Havok and Rosemary got face to face, but Nevaeh and Taya pulled them apart and started the match instead. Early advantage for Taya using lucha arm drags.
Havok and Rosemary tagged in and straight for strikes. Havok got Rosemary down with a couple of kicks and went for the chokeslam, but Rosemary fought it off and got the tag to Taya, who came in and got a two count pin attempt.
Havok recovered and took down Taya with a backbreaker, took her to their corner for some running clotheslines, and a submission attempt by Nevaeh. Taya tried to fight away, but Nevaeh kept her down with a dropkick for more pin attempts. Havok tagged in for another backbreaker and clothesline combo and yet another near fall. Taya finally fought off and escaped Havok to tag in Rosemary, who came in running wild, hitting exploders. Rosemary locked in the upside down on Havok, followed with a crossbody from the third, and tagged Taya in for the double spear.
Nevaeh tagged in, hit a German on Rosemary. Taya blocked the German attempt on her, hit Road to Valhalla and picked up the win. Good opener, better than usual.
After the match, Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan came out and jumped Taya. Rosemary. Havok and Nevaeh, who have a history with Steelz and Hogan, made the save.
Backstage, The Good Brothers are telling stories. Everyone seems to love it until Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin approach them. Shelley started making fun of Anderson’s past in Japan, completely running over him with a truck of insults, leaving Anderson without comebacks.
Gia MIller interviewed KImber Lee and Deonna Purrazzo, who said that Kylie Rae was completely confused to think that everyone liking her would mean anything when she stepped in the ring with Purrazzo. Gia Miller announced to Purrazzo that she’ll be defending the title at Victory Road against Susie.
Josh Matthews & Madison Rayne ran down the card for Victory Road and tonight’s show.
Kaleb with a K was in the ring for Tenille Dashwood’s introduction.
Jordynne Grace defeated Tenille Dashwood (with Kaleb with a K)
Jordynne Grace started the match chasing the Grace driver, but Tenille would escape. Jordynne would follow with a couple of shoulder tackles, a scoop slam, and senton for a two count. Jordynne pushed Tenille to the corner for more shoulder thrusts and clotheslines. Jordynne whipped her from corner to corner, complete dominance.
Tenille finally managed to get Jordynne between the ropes for a desperation neckbreaker and get to change things around. Now with control, Tenille worked over Jordynne’s head, going after the hair over and over. Jordynne would try to come back, but Tenille kept her down, dodging and kicking her.
Eventually, Jordynne connected with a quick jab, a boot, and it was enough to set up Tenille for the running knees to the back, running falling elbow, and a Vader bomb for a two count. Jordynne went for the Grace driver, but Tenille blocked, only to take a close distance clothesline instead. Jordynne connected more clotheslines, but failed on the third and found herself hanging on a tree of woe for Tenille’s low crossbody for a two count.
Tenille went for the double underhook, but Grace blocked. Tenille went for the spotlight, but Grace dodged and set up the Grace driver, only to get distracted by Kaleb.
Tenille went for an O’Connor roll, but Jordynne reversed into a sleeper for the submission win.
Moose was running around backstage looking for ECIII, actually attacking an innocent bystander by mistake. ECIII appeared and told Moose that he’ll be on Impact next week to destroy the TNA title.
We got a video package of Rich Swann’s recovery and rehab. He said that he is finally bound for glory and he’ll prove everyone wrong. Rehab doctor said that he had been working all day all night and that he was cleared to go.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was Victory Road 2012’s Madison Rayne vs Gail Kim.
Rhino and Heath celebrated the success of their last infomercial when suddenly, Reno Scum and Hernandez jumped them and took the money they had stolen. Serves them right for stealing.
Rhino went looking for D’Amore and asked for a match with Reno Scum. D’Amore said that this was a favor because Heath didn’t work here, but if Heath signs a waiver, he and Heath can fight Reno Scum unsanctioned at Victory Road.
The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) defeated The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz)
Anderson and Xavier started the match with Anderson getting the jump and early advantage, ramming Dez from corner to corner, hitting elbows. Dezmond got a rana on Anderson and tagged in Wentz, who unfortunately was pushed into Gallows, who tagged in next.
Gallows hit Wentz with lefts and rights and headbutts before tagging in Dezmond again, except this time around, The Rascalz surprised Anderson with a fast paced kick combo to bring him down for the pin attempt.
Dezmond went for a running dropkick, but Anderson blocked and tagged in Gallows, who came in with a huge clothesline on Xavier, followed with a delayed suplex. GBs worked over Dezmond from there on with quick tags, strikes, and headlocks. Gallows almost submitted Xavier with a sleeper, but Xavier started fighting back and got a desperation wheelbarrow bulldog to get Gallows off and tag in Wentz.
Anderson and Wentz tagged in, with the latter getting the better of the strike exchange with an enziguri, step-up knee, and a PK. Xavier tagged in for the double team footstomp and hot fire flame, but Anderson got the knees up and got rid of Wentz.
Xavier tried to dive on Gallows, but was caught midair and tossed into Wentz. Back in the ring, Anderson hit a spinebuster on Xavier, followed by a magic killer for the win.
After the match, Anderson called out Shelley and Sabin. He said that they came here for money, but they also came for titles and challenged them for a title shot at BFG.
Brian Myers came into the arena and suddenly found himself in the same hallway as Dreamer, who didn’t give in to last week’s threat. They got face to face, Myers tried to jump Dreamer, but Dreamer managed to block it, and being a professional, challenged Myers to a match at Victory Road.
Tenille and Kaleb were leaving the arena when Jordynne Grace stopped them for no reason. Kaleb challenged Jordynne Grace on behalf of Tenille for a match at Victory Road. Tenille wasn’t so happy about it, she just wanted a doctor to look at her neck.
Johnny Swinger defeated Fallah Bahh to become John E. Bravo’s best man
The Deaners, Crazzy Steve, Alisha Edwards, and Bravo are all ringside to watch the match.
Swinger jumped Bahh to start the match, but didn’t do much damage. Bahh powered up and pushed Swinger to the corner where he delivered a palm strike combo and an over-the-head body toss.
Swinger went for a scoop slam, but couldn’t pick up Bahh, who delivered one himself, followed with a leg drop for a two count. Swinger raked Bahh’s eyes, stomped Cody Deaner’s hand to distract the referee and used Steve’s monkey to hit Bahh for the win.
After the match, Bravo berated referee Tolle for not seeing that Bravo had cheated and had ruined his wedding. He told Tolle to restart the match or he’d never be head official, and so we got…
Fallah Bahh defeated Johnny Swinger to become John E. Bravo’s best man.
Match restarted, Bahh caught Swinger with a running body splash and banzai drop for the win.
Gia Miller interviewed Rohit Raju about his cheap win last week. Rohit said that he had become The Star of Impact and that he was debuting the ‘Defeat Rohit’ challenge at Victory Road. TJP approached him and said he wanted first dibs at the challenge, but Rohit told them that the challenge was for anyone that hasn’t already had their chances.
Swinger approached Bravo reversing the decision. Bravo said he didn’t care who the best man was, he reversed the decision because it was a bad call and that referee Tolle was a moron (his words, not mine). Is this becoming a Bravo vs Tolle feud?
Eddie Edwards came down to the ring. He cut a promo calling out whoever attacked him last week. He assumed that it was Eric Young and called him out to get in a fight, but instead, Sami Callihan came out.
Callihan told Eddie he didn’t do it and that Eddie knew him and Sami didn’t hide behind blackout attacks. Sami had footage of the man that attacked him, and when the lights came up, Ken Shamrock was behind Eddie. Shamrock, who looks way bigger than before, took down Eddie with a kick, locked in the ankle lock. Made it seem like Sami and Shamrock are a team against Eddie now, days before Eddie challenges EY for the title.
And now, Eric Young cut a promo about Eddie not being healthy for him at Victory Road, and so if Eddie decides to show up, he’ll enjoy destroying Eddie.
Kylie Rae approached Susie about her shot at Victory Road. Rae said that she’d be happy if Susie won and they could wrestle instead at BFG. Susie kept giving signs that Su Yung is coming out soon.
Matthews and Rayne ran down the update card for Victory Road, including the Defeat Rohit Challenge, Tenille vs Jordynne III, Myers vs Dreamer, Reno Scum vs Rhino & Heath, Eric Young vs Eddie Edwards for the Impact title.
Next week, we get MCMG vs Ace Austin & Madman Fulton, and Rosemary and Taya vs Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz.
The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) defeated Ace Austin & Madman Fulton
Fulton and Page started the match, with the former having the power advantage, tossing around Page, who had to hide behind the ropes. Page tried to use some speed on Fulton, but to no avail. Page tried to get a sleeper in, but Fulton treated him like a ragdoll, tossing him snake eyes into the ring post. Alexander tried to distract Fulton, but got taken out. Eventually, The North got Fulton to chase them to a trap and double team attack outside the ring to finally slow him down.
Back at the ring, Fulton regained control over The North, getting rid of Page and hitting Alexander with a big powerslam.
Ace Austin tagged in with a leg drop for a two count. He worked over Alexander for a bit until he was getting taken over, and thus he pushed Alexander back to Fulton to regain dominance over the match.
Fulton went back to destroying Alexander from corner to corner, who wouldn’t even budge at Josh’s chops. Once in control, Ace tagged in again for a running attack, but it was enough for Alexander to recover, tag in Page, hit a double team thunder bomb on Ace to gain some momentum.
Now The North worked over Ace with quick tags and double team moves, complete contrast with the work that Ace and Fulton have as a team. Ace eventually managed a desperation dropkick to bring Page down.
Fulton and Josh tagged in, they went for strikes, which worked for Alexander for a bit before Fulton landed a pop-up palm strike. Alexander responded with a German and a rolling elbow, followed with a rolling fireman’s carry.
Page and Ace tagged in, the former got a couple of kicks on Page before going for the top rope leg drop for a two count. Ace went for an assisted splash on Alexander from the shoulders of Fulton.
Fulton went for a chokeslam on Page, but was saved by Alexander. The North tossed Ace into Fulton, double clotheslined on Fulton to toss him off the ring, followed by a dive from Alexander into Fulton’s knee to take him out.
Back in the ring, The North double teamed Ace with a strike combo and their finisher and won.
After the match, The Good Brothers came out, got face to face with The North to talk some trash, but with the distraction, Ace and Fulton attacked Anderson and Gallows. MCMGs came out and joined the brawl to end the show.
Final thoughts —
Good show for Impact, good in-ring work throughout the show. Some storylines felt really rushed as they pretty much built a full card for Saturday’s Victory Road show in only one show.
It looks like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will be playing a small role in Ken Shamrock’s Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame induction.
Shamrock sent a tweet to The Rock today asking if The Rock would send an induction greeting for him. The Rock then responded and agreed to do it.
“@TheRock Hey brother I am being Inducted into the Impact Wrestling HOF I would be very grateful if you could send a Induction greeting. After all I believe my time with you was my greatest memories in Wrestling. Thank you,” Shamrock tweeted.
“Congrats, my brother. Awesome news. I will take care of this and get it to you by this weekend,” The Rock wrote in response.
It was announced this March that Shamrock would join Impact Wrestling’s Hall of Fame during Bound for Glory weekend this year. WWE allowed Impact to use some footage of Shamrock’s WWE career for the announcement video package, including Shamrock submitting The Rock to win King of the Ring 1998. This year’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view is taking place on Saturday, October 24.
Shamrock won the NWA World title on the first-ever TNA show in 2002. He returned to Impact Wrestling in 2019.
