Tag: KUSHIDA

Impact Rebellion live results: Steve Maclin vs. KUSHIDA World title match

Posted on by Chris Maloney

Impact Wrestling returns to Sunday pay-per-views with Rebellion, live from Toronto, Canada — an event that is guaranteed to crown two new champions.

After Josh Alexander relinquished the Impact World title due to injury, KUSHIDA will face no. 1 contender Steve Maclin to determine the new titleholder.

After Mickie James relinquished her Knockouts title on Thursday and had to pull out of Rebellion, former champions Jordynne Grace and Deonna Purrazzo will clash to determine the new titleholder.

X-Division Champion Trey Miguel will defend against both Mike Bailey and Jonathan Gresham in a three-way elimination match while Tag Team Champions Chris Bey & Ace Austin defend against the Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) in an Ultimate X match.

Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Coven (Taylor Wilde & KiLynn King) defend against The Death Dollz (Jessicka & Rosemary).

The show will also feature a Hardcore War match and several other bouts.

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Champagne Singh & Shera defeated Heath & Rhino on the Countdown to Rebellion pre-show

It’s been four years since Impact made their presence felt in Toronto and it was the exact same PPV in 2019 that had Impact Wrestling fans on the edge of their seats.

Heath and Singh started things off with Heath getting the early advantage. Heath tagged in Rhino and and we heard our first ECW chant of the night as Singh tagged in the massive Shera.

Shera managed to trap Rhino in the corner and told him he was “nothing” before landing a solid shot to the head. Rhino attempted a comeback but Singh played interference and Rhino soon found himself being grounded in the middle of the ring.

Rhino would eventually make the hot tag to Heath as Singh was tagged back in and as Heath was looking to finish the match, Singh quickly rolled up Heath out of nowhere and with his feet on the ropes and an assist by Shera, that was all she wrote for Heath and Rhino as Singh scored the pinfall.

After the match, Rhino hit Singh with a massive Gore to the delight of the fans.

– A video promo aired focusing on Steve Maclin battling KUSHIDA for the vacant Impact World Championship.

The Coven (Taylor Wilde & KiLynn King) defeated Death Dollz (Rosemary & Jessicka) to retain the Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship on the Countdown to Rebellion pre-show

Rosemary and Wilde were about to start the match before Taylor took exception and called out Jessicka. Rosemary made the save and after Wilde was unsuccessful in gaining momentum, she tagged in King.

As the two team powerhouses stared one another down, Jessicka gained the advantage for her team and the challengers were in control for the next several moments.

King managed to hit a jawbreaker on Rosemary allowing her to make the tag to Wilde and the current champions now had the advantage using illegal tactics to keep the momentum in their favor.

Rosemary attempted a comeback locking Wilde in the upside-down but King nailed her with a superkick to the face on the outside to keep the champions staying strong in the match.

Wilde landed a codebreaker to Rosemary but as opposed to going for the pin, she decided to showboat and Rosemary rised from the ashes. Rosemary finally made the tag to Jessicka and a fired up Jessicka evened the playing field and took advantage for her team.

Rosemary was tagged back in and she nailed King with a spear but could only land a two count. King was able to land a blind tag to Wilde and as Rosemary landed another spear, the referee informed Rosemary that King wasn’t the legal competitor. Wilde entered the ring and took advantage of Rosemary’s confusion and quickly nailed her with her finisher to retain the tag team championship for The Coven.

– A video promo aired focusing on Jordynne Grace battling Deonna Purrazzo for the vacant Impact Knockouts World Championship.

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ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) defeated Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) in an Ultimate X Match to retain the Impact World Tag Team Championship

It was legends battling future legends as the Impact world tag team championship were hung high above the ring.

Both teams started strong and full of energy but the cockiness of ABC played against the current champions as MCMG were able to slow down the pace and capitalize with their experience. As Shelley nailed Bey with a dragon corkscrew, Sabin slammed Austin’s arm off of the ring apron to further prove the veterans knew what it took to pace the match.

Shelley managed to lock Bey in a leg submission using Austin as the middleman and as this was taking place, Sabin attempted to use the advantage to climb the post but was quickly stopped.

Bey followed up with a DDT and ABC was finally looking like they were ready to prove their worth as champions as both Bey and Austin landed huge moves to the outside on MCMG.

Austin attempted to climb to retrieve the titles but he was caught by Sabin just inches away and kicked back down to the apron. All four men then climbed the posts and it was soon a kicking battle in the middle of the X before all four men were grounded once again.

Out of nowhere, Bey nailed Sabin with the Art of Finesse and Austin nailed Shelley with The Fold knocking Shelley to the outside. Austin assisted Bey in reaching the cables again and as Sabin attempted to recover and chase Bey, Bey swung his legs up over the cables and retrieved the titles to retain the tag team championship as a frustrated Sabin looked on.

– A video promo aired featuring a disgruntled Steve Maclin upset about the fact that he was in Toronto and focused on defeating KUSHIDA for the vacant Impact world championship.

Joe Hendry, Dirty Dango & Santino Marella defeated The Design (Deaner, Kon, Angels & Callihan) in a 4-on-3 Tag Team Match

After Dango and Hendry entered the ring, the current Digital Media champion grabbed the mic and shared his thoughts on The Design, doing a very great impression of Deaner.

The 4-on-3 advantage and the mere size of Kon played a major factor in The Design taking control of the match over Dango for several moments in the beginning.

Dango was finally able to land a hot tag to Marella and for the next few moments, it was back and forth action between both teams. Things changed however when Callihan nailed Hendry with the Cactus Driver ’97 and Deaner looked to capitalize even further grabbing a baseball bat from underneath the ring. Deaner handed the bat to Callihan and as Callihan looked like he was about to destroy his opponents, Callihan turned on Deaner!

Callihan nailed Deaner with the bat and left the ring leaving the leader of The Design down in the center of the ring. Marella saw the opportunity, grabbed the cobra and finished off Deaner to get the 1-2-3 for his team.

– Backstage, Gia Miller was with Team Dreamer. An emotional Tommy Dreamer stated that his mother was ill and tonight was for her.

PCO defeated Eddie Edwards (w/Alisha) in a Last Rites Match

There were no rules in this match and the only way to win was to put your opponent in a casket and shut the door.

PCO took out Edwards seconds after the bell rang with a high flying assault and Edwards returned the favor moments later to set the stage for what this match was going to be all about.

PCO followed up with multiple DDT’s and the “French Canadian Frankenstein” wasn’t satisfied as he then went up top to nail Edwards with a Deanimator. PCO attempted to put Edwards in the coffin but Edwards countered and PCO soon found himself with a dislocated right shoulder as the fans shouted “Boston Sucks!”.

PCO recovered and after using the ring post to pop his shoulder back in, he reentered the ring and it was soon a chopfest between both competitors before Edwards was finally able to get the momentum and land a massive bucklebomb.

PCO wouldn’t stay down and after nailing Edwards, he once again climbed to the top turnbuckle to follow through with a huge PCOsault. A resilient Edwards wouldn’t stay down either and the match was soon sent to the outside with both men teasing a victory as the referee had the casket door wide open.

As both men were at the top of the entrance ramp, Edwards nailed PCO with “Kenny” and followed it up with a double-armed suplex before landing a huge Boston Knee Party. Edwards rolled PCO into the coffin but as he was shutting the door, PCO got his right arm out of the coffin to keep the match going.

PCO powered out of the coffin and as he was attempting to switch the match in his favor, Alisha returned to ringside and nailed PCO with a shot to the back with a shovel but it did nothing to a fired up PCO.

Edwards attempted to subdue the monster with a superkick but nailed his wife instead. PCO grabbed the shovel, nailed Edwards with a massive shot and put him to rest as Edwards was sent into the coffin. PCO closed the coffin door and climbed atop the coffin to secure the win and potentially finally put this feud with Edwards behind him.

– Backstage, Gia Miller was with Impact X-Division champion Trey Miguel. Unfortunately, there was no audio that was heard through the broadcast on Fite.

Trey Miguel defeated Jonathan Gresham and Mike Bailey in an Elimination Match to retain the Impact X-Division Championship

As you would expect, it was a fast-paced match in the beginning moments of the match as all three men looked to gain the early advantage.

As Miguel looked to pace himself, Bailey and Gresham were hitting each other hard with Bailey landing a reverse hurricanrana to Gresham in the ring before taking out Miguel with the same move to the outside.

Miguel managed to make a comeback and nailed Gresham with a huge cutter off the turnbuckles. When Gresham recovered, he locked Bailey in a figure-four leglock and as Bailey grimaced in pain, Miguel came out of nowhere and landed a massive splash on Gresham to get the 1-2-3 on “The Octopus” as he had Bailey trapped in the submission to get the first elimination of the night.

Miguel followed up by locking Bailey in with another figure-four leglock before both men started getting hungrier for the victory and Bailey finally gained the advantage. Bailey failed to hit his Ultima Weapon but he wouldn’t give up and continued to nail Miguel with devastating offense.

As Miguel was grounded, Bailey attempted to hit Ultima Weapon again but once again failed. Miguel saw the opportunity, rolled up Bailey and hooked the tights to get the shady victory and retain his X-Division championship.

Team Dreamer (Tommy Dreamer, Yuya Uemura, Bhupinder Gujjar, Killer Kelly & Frankie Kazarian) defeated Team Bully (Bully Ray, Brian Myers, Moose, Masha Slamovich & Kenny King) in a Hardcore War Match

Two competitors started the match for the first three minutes before another competitor entered. Every ninety seconds after that, another competitor entered until all ten competitors were in the match.

Moose entered the ring first for Team Bully while Kazarian entered the ring first for Team Dreamer, tossing a trash can at Moose on his way to the ring.

This match was going to be nothing short of one massive brawl and both Moose and Kazarian fought back and forth, the music of Brian Myers hit and we soon had table time in the Impact Zone. Bhupinder Gujjar entered the ring next and to the delight of the fans in attendance, he took a cheese grater to the forehead of Myers.

Killer Kelly made her way down to the ring with a staplegun in hand and after taking out both King and Myers, Moose was left singing soprano as Kelly went “nuts”.

Masha Slamovich was out next and after some small momentum, she soon found herself being tossed to the outside over the top rope as Kelly was simultaneously getting the same treatment.

Yuya Uemura entered next and used his quick offense to gain momentum for his team as the only two men left to enter were the team captains.

Bully Ray’s music hit and with a table and chain in hand, he immediately focused his attention on Killer Kelly. His teammates grabbed Kelly and Bully yelled at her asking her what she was going to do as a helpless Kelly kicked and screamed.

Tommy Dreamer finally made his way down to the ring as the final entrant in the match and after taking out Bully, we soon saw Kelly and Slamovich battling each other with chairs in the middle of the ring. Kelly nailed Slamovich with a death valley driver through a chair but could only manage a two count.

After offense by both teams, Slamovich managed to follow up with the Snow Plow on Kelly but could only manage a two count as well. Dreamer grabbed Slamovich and nailed her with a huge old school ECW piledriver but before he could make a pin attempt, Jason Hotch and John Skyler hit the ring from the back.

Hotch and Skyler attempted to wipe out Kelly but they were thwarted and Kazarian was able to wipe them out through a table setup on the outside.

Back in the ring and it was down to Dreamer and Bully and as Dreamer was laid out face first on a table in the middle of the ring, Ray attempted to climb a ladder asking the referees for assistance. After the referees refused, Ray started assaulting them before the four referees ganged up on Bully and started beating on him.

Dreamer recovered at this point and nailed Bully with the Dreamer Driver but could only manage a two count. Dreamer climbed the ladder as the four referees assisted him and nailed Bully with a huge splash off the ladder through the table to get the 1-2-3 and get the emotional win for his team.

Steve Maclin defeated KUSHIDA to become the new Impact World Champion

Before the match began, David Penzer announced that we had a special guest commentator… With that being said, “The National Treasure” Nick Aldis made his way down to the ring and stated that he has officially returned to Impact Wrestling!

Steve Maclin made his way to the ring first and we were reminded that Maclin had defeated ten former Impact world champions on his way to this match tonight.

KUSHIDA made his way to the ring and as Penzer was doing the introductions, Maclin was booed and KUSHIDA surprised fans by being introduced with a Canadian flag.

After the bell rang, KUSHIDA landed a quick dropkick and attempted an early hoverboard lock before Maclin escaped to the outside. Maclin, not a fan of Canada as per his promo earlier tonight, grabbed KUSHIDA’s Canadian flag and disrespected it before tossing it on the ground and stepping on it.

We’re back in the ring and it was all KUSHIDA using his speed and technical skills to keep the match grounded as the powerful Maclin couldn’t gain any momentum in the match.

Maclin was finally able to gain the upperhand and after stepping to the outside, KUSHIDA found himself stretched around the post before finding himself on the outside of the ring as well. Maclin followed up by jumping off the apron and nailing KUSHIDA but not before giving a friendly salute to the Toronto crowd.

The match was back in the ring and after landing some forearm shots, Maclin has grounded KUSHIDA. Before Maclin could do any further damage, KUSHIDA was finally able to get back in the match by landing a springboard elbow off the ropes. KUSHIDA followed it up with a fisherman buster but could only manage a two count.

KUSHIDA attempted to climb the turnbuckle but Maclin caught him. Maclin attempted to hit his caught in the crosshairs but KUSHIDA was able to move in time. Both men were now on the entrance ramp and after KUSHIDA went to the top of the ramp, he came running down and nailed the left arm of Maclin.

Both men were back now in the ring and Maclin nailed a buckle bomb followed by a powerbomb but could only get a two count. KUSHIDA followed up with a top rope hoverboard lock but KUSHIDA could not hold on. Maclin recovered and after finally nailing his caught in the crosshairs, he landed a massive KIA but KUSHIDA kicked out!

KUSHIDA locked in his hoverboard lock but Maclin powered out. KUSHIDA continued to persevere and attempt to lock in his finisher but after Maclin countered with a death valley driver into the turnbuckles, he followed it up with one final KIA to seal the victory and become the new Impact world champion.

After the match, the referee attempted to present Maclin with the Impact world title but Maclin grabbed the mic and refused. He stated that he wanted Scott D’Amore to come out from the back and do what he promised and present him with the championship.

D’Amore came down to the ring and grabbed the title and attempted to present Maclin with it but Maclin was being difficult. D’Amore became fed up and shoved the title into Maclin’s chest and then turned his back on Maclin. Maclin nailed D’Amore with the title knocking him to the mat and Nick Aldis on commentary stated that he had seen enough.

Aldis entered the ring and stood face to face with Maclin before Maclin backed down and left the ring as the new Impact world champion.

Deonna Purrazzo defeated Jordynne Grace to become the new Impact Knockouts World Champion

Just like the men’s match, you can feel that “Big Fight” stature in this one.

Both women were pretty evenly matched but Grace had the power advantage and proved that in the opening moments of the match as both women looked to gain the early advantage.

After some back and forth action, Purrazzo found herself on the outside and after Grace landed a massive dive to the outside through the ropes that looked ugly but successful, she followed it up with a jackhammer to the floor.

Grace sent Purrazzo back to the inside and the power game continued as Jordynne locked Purrazzo in a stalled vertical suplex for the next twenty seconds. Unfortunately for Grace, her cockiness got the better of her and after the action spilled to the entrance ramp, Purrazzo was able to land a moonsault off the ramp to the floor to finally switch up momentum.

We’re back on the inside and Purrazzo locked Grace in a Koji Clutch before Grace was able to reverse it into a pinfall attempt for a two count. Grace followed it up with a Vertebreaker and attempted to get Purrazzo to tap out but Deonna wouldn’t give up.

After both ladies butted heads, Purrazzo attempted to get Grace to tap out with her Venice de Milo but Jordynne refused. Grace followed up by nailing Purrazzo with the Grace Driver but Purrazzo kicked out!

With both ladies exhausted at this point and battling in the corner, Purrazzo was finally able to seize the moment. Purrazzo successfully managed to set up and nail Grace with The Queen’s Gambit to score the massive victory and become the new Impact Knockouts world champion.

After the match, both women shook hands and embraced showing respect to one another before Grace left the ring allowing Purrazzo to soak in her world championship victory.

Final Thoughts:

Wow, what a night for Impact Wrestling!

From the pre-show all the way through the main event, Impact presented and delivered a homerun. Rebellion had everything you crave as a wrestling fan. From new world champions being crowned to the hardcore element to the surprise return of “The National Treasure”, I couldn’t have asked for a better PPV especially considering the fact that both of the company’s world champions went down due to injury leading into this.

“Card subject to change” is a term most wresting fans know very well but you wouldn’t have known that existed tonight with the way Impact presented their product.

Impact’s champions are some of the best in wresting right now and it’ll be interesting to see where they go from here leading into Under Siege taking place next month in my hometown of London, Ontario, Canada. I’ll be there for the PPV and the next night for the TV tapings and I’m looking forward to the next month of Impact television leading into the PPV.

From the new reigns of Steve Maclin and Deonna Purrazzo to the return of Nick Aldis to what Sami Callihan does next, Rebellion tonight was a great step in the next chapter of Impact Wrestling.

KUSHIDA vs. Lio Rush set for Impact x NJPW Multiverse United

Posted on by Josh Nason

With Impact World Champion Josh Alexander out of his title defense against KUSHIDA at Thursday’s Impact x NJPW Multiverse United, a gap was left on the card.

On Tuesday, that gap was officially filled as Lio Rush will now face KUSHIDA for the first time ever on the pay-per-view.

Alexander revealed last week that he tore his triceps and needed to relinquish the title. KUSHIDA will battle no. 1 contender Steve Maclin at next month’s Rebellion with the winner becoming the new champion.

Thursday’s co-promoted PPV will be held in Los Angeles as part of WrestleMania weekend.

Here’s the final lineup:

  • KUSHIDA vs. Lio Rush
  • Knockouts Champion Mickie James defends against Deonna Purrazzo, Gisele Shaw and Miyu Yamashita in a four-way
  • X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against Rich Swann, Kevin Knight, Frankie Kazarian, Clark Connors, and Rocky Romero in a scramble
  • Impact Tag Team Champions Chris Bey & Ace Austin defend against Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark David) vs. TMDK (Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito) vs. The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley)
  • NJPW Strong Openweight Champion KENTA defends against Minoru Suzuki
  • Mike Bailey vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
  • Jeff Cobb vs. Moose
  • Callihan, PCO, Fred Rosser & Alex Coughlin vs. Joe Hendry, Eddie Edwards, JR Kratos & Tom Lawlor
  • Countdown Show: Yuya Uemura vs. Gabriel Kidd

Impact Sacrifice live results: Trios tag team main event

Posted on by Josiah MacDonald

In 24 hours, the landscape of Impact Wrestling changed dramatically and the fallout begins at Friday’s Sacrifice from London, Ontario, Canada.

With the news that Josh Alexander had to relinquish the company’s World title due to an injury, future title challengers Steve Maclin and KUSHIDA will battle on opposite sides of a trios tag team main event.

After it was revealed that Mickie James had to withdraw from Friday’s title defense against Jordynne Grace, the future of the Knockouts Championship will be announced.

In a Busted Open (first blood) match, Tommy Dreamer and Bully Ray will go one-on-one.

X-Division Champion Trey Miguel will defend against the returning Lince Dorado who also holds the MLW Middleweight title.

Bullet Club’s Ace Austin & Chris Bey will defend against the debuting TMDK while Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defends against Brian Myers.

Jonathan Gresham vs. Mike Bailey, Deonna Purrazzo vs. Gisele Shaw and Kenny King vs. PCO rounds out the card.

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The Countdown to Sacrifice opened up with a match between Eddie Edwards and Bhupinder Gujjar.

Eddie Edwards defeated Bhupinder Gujjar

The venue Impact had for this show looked fantastic, which always helps the shows feel like a bigger deal. Working with Edwards is the kind of thing Gujjar needs to do if he is going to get better, as Edwards can work a great main event level match. Edwards gave Gujjar a lot in the early parts of the match before poking him in the eyes and going to work with hard chops.

Edwards did a good job selling for Gujjar’s comeback, getting the audience behind him a bit. As Gujjar went to the top rope, Edwards cut him off and hit an enziguri while Gujjar was seated. Edwards followed that with a superplex and a tiger driver for a 2-count. Gujjar got up and hit a sling blade, but ate knees from Edwards when he went for a splash off the top ropes. Edwards immediately followed with the Boston knee party for the win.

–The announcers ran down the situation with Mickie James and Josh Alexander both being hurt.

–Frankie Kazarian and Rich Swann were with Gia Miller, and they talked about Alexander being out with injury, and how they were disappointed that he was hurt, but that he would be back better than ever. Rich Swann promised to bring it tonight for Alexander, but Kazarian and Swann were not sure about teaming with Maclin.

–After a video hyping up the six-man tag main event, it ended with a voice over of Tom Hannifan announcing the injury of Josh Alexander and asking what it meant. Steve Maclin looked up, smiled, and said, “Mayhem for all.” This was great.

Rosemary (w/ Jessicka) defeated KiLynn King (w/ Taylor Wilde)

As King made her way down to the ring the announcers talked about how they suspected that Taya Valkyrie was taken out with dark magic. Well, that’s enough to make me check out on this feud. The announcers trying to explain this hurts their credibility, but it is funny to see them try.

Rosemary, who is Canadian, got cheered a lot as she bit King and then hit a clothesline that took them both to the floor. Wilde briefly got Rosemary’s attention, leading to King getting the advantage. King ate an elbow on a corner charge, and Rosemary brought King to the upside down, choking her on the ropes. King pulled Rosemary off the top rope. King and Rosemary hit pump kicks at the same time and went down. Rosemary hit a slingblade and an exploder for a 2-count.

King hit a twisting suplex for a 2-count. Wilde distracted Rosemary again, and she turned into a superkick. Jessicka and Wilde got into a brawl at ringside, which distracted King, leading to Rosemary hitting a spear to pin King.

Main Card

Mike Bailey’s music hit, bringing the show here to a good start.

Mike Bailey defeated Jonathan Gresham

Gresham and Bailey picked right up where they left off, resuming with complex technical exchanges and fast counters. Gresham made the crowd groan in pain grabbing and bending the wrist of Bailey, which Bailey sold well. Gresham started tearing apart the knees of Bailey, leading to Bailey to reach for the ropes. Bailey screamed for a break, but Gresham wouldn’t let go immediately due to how tied up they were.

Gresham indicated that, but Bailey took offence and started kicking Gresham vicuously, sending him to the floor. Gresham hit a triangle moonsault to the floor. Bailey missed a corner charge, and Gresham went right back to the knee with a drop toe hold and smashing the knee of Bailey relentlessly into the mat.

Gresham started bending each toe individually before twisting the ankle of Bailey. At this point, Gresham was essentially bullying Bailey, leading to boos from the crowd. He leaned into it as well, taking the role of heel in this match. Bailey managed to hit a dropkick off the middle ropes before hitting a series of kicks and a running shooting star press for a 2-count. Every time Bailey tried to make a sustained attack though, Gresham went straight to the leg, wearing him down.

Both men began to exchange forearms in the middle of the ring. Gresham shot for the legs a few times, but Bailey would shove him off. Gresham rolled him up and transitioned into a modified figure four leglock. Bailey escaped and swept the leg of Gresham when he was on the apron and hit a moonsault into double knees to the face of Gresham. That was brutal. Gresham dodged the Ultima Weapon and hit a knee breaker on the apron. Both guys barely made it back into the ring to avoid countout, with Gresham selling his own knee in the process.

Bailey kicked the leg out from under Gresham leading to him almost doing the splits. Bailey superkicked him and then went for Ultima Weapon. Gresham rolled out of the way and immediately went to a figure four, but Bailey turned it over and got the tap out instantly as Gresham’s own knee gave out on him. This match was awesome.

–Brian Myers talked about how he was going to beat Joe Hendry tonight, and Moose walked up and talked openly about how he was going to help Myers win the Digital Media title. Santion Marella walked up and banned Moose from ringside, which upset the both of them.

— Joe Hendry grabbed the mic and claimed he was sent to Canada to bring greetings from the Royal Family. Hendry promised to dish out an education (as they were on a college campus) on Brian Myers tonight. That was great.

Impact Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defeated Brian Myers to retain

Myers got the heat on Hendry early on in this match, hitting a dropkick and locking on a chinlock. This was quite the slow down from the previous match. Myers hit a Michinoku driver for a 2-count. Hendry hit a cutter off the ropes for a 2-count. Myers fired up hitting an implant DDT for a 2-count after that.

Myers went for the roster cut, but Hendry popped him up for a powerbomb. Myers flew over the head of Hendry, hit the ropes, and then hit a spear for a 2-count. Myers went to the top rope but Hendry jumped up from the mat looking for a cutter off the top rope. Myers shoved Hendry off and did a dive, but Hendry caught him in a cutter, picked him up an hit a standing ovation for the pinfall. That was a great finish.

–Gia Miller was sitting down Mickie James and Santino Marella. James announced she had a broken rib, and that while she would be back soon, she cannot wrestle tonight. James said that she was planning to defend the title at Rebellion, but if she is unable to defend it at Rebellion the title match at Rebellion would be between Jordynne Grace and the winner of Gisele Shaw, Deonna Purrazzo, Masha Slamovich, and Miyu Yamashita. James said that if she can’t defend the title at Rebellion, she would hand it to the winner of the match at Rebellion.

Deonna Purrazzo defeated Gisele Shaw (w/ Jai Vidal & Savannah Evans)

This was a great match, where Purrazzo looked like a monster with her technical ability. Purrazzo was wrestling like someone who is in line for a title run soon.

Purrazzo and Shaw had a great exchange of submission attempts with tons of counters, ending when Purrazzo hit a baseball slide on Shaw. As the referee was checking on Shaw, Evans ran over and hit a clothesline on Purrazzo. Shaw hit several uppercuts in the corner followed by a flying one for a 2-count.

Purrazzo and Shaw exchanged kicks in the middle of the ring and Purrazzo hit a flatliner before transitioning into a Koji clutch. Shaw turned it into a pinfall attempt, and then started exchanging forearms in the middle of the ring. Shaw hit a full nelson into a backbreaker and then into a flatliner for a 2-count.

Shaw went for a running knee, but Purrazzo countered right into an armbar. Shaw tried to fight out, so Purrazzo transitioned into the Venus Di Milo, which Shaw attempted to counter, but Purrazzo just rolled through right back into Venus Di Milo and scored the submission.

–Savannah Evans attacked Deonna Purrazzo after the match, but was soon interrupted by the returning Tasha Steelz. Steelz entered the ring and made the save for Purrazzo before hitting a tornado DDT on Jai Vidal. It looks like Purrazzo has a new ally.

PCO defeated Kenny King (w/ Eddie Edwards)

This was a solid match, and the crowd loves PCO, so that always makes him stuff fun even if the matches aren’t the best.

Kenny King got some heat for a few minutes at the start of the match, but PCO soon hit a cannonball dive to the floor, taking king out. PCO then hit a guillotine legdrop off the top ropes on King. PCO dragged King over the apron and went for a dive onto the apron. Eddie Edwards grabbed PCO’s foot giving King enough time to hit an Iconoclasm to the apron, sending PCO crashing to the floor.

King suplexed PCO on the floor after exposing the concrete under the mats. King then hit a blue thunder bomb on the floor on PCO. King propped a chair in the corner of the ring as PCO sat up and made his way back into the ring. King hit a snap dragon suplex for a 2-count. King hit a nice frog splash for a 2-count, and PCO sat up no selling the next few attacks to a great reaction from the fans. King tried to use the chair on PCO as Edwards distracted the referee, but PCO punched the chair into King’s face for the win.

–A hype video aired for Jody Threat coming to Impact. Looks like the Canadian wrestler has signed a contract with Impact.

–Steve Maclin walked up to Kazarian and Swann, saying that he didn’t want this situation either. Maclin said he wanted to make this work because he wanted to be prepared for Rebellion. Maclin said he served alongside people he didn’t like, but he could work with them, and that tonight they were going to get the job done.

Impact X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defeated Lince Dorado to retain

This was a good match but didn’t have a lot of heat.

Miguel and Dorado instantly started exchanging fast paced offence. Dorado spilled to the floor and Miguel went for a dive, but countered into a tiger feint, as Dorado moved. Miguel then held on and swung back into launching himself into a hurricarana on the floor. That was awesome. Miguel went to the eyes of Dorado, who did not like that, and ended up hitting a baseball slide dropkick to the side of Miguel, sending him to the floor.

Dorado hit a corckscrew press to the floor. Dorado hit a crossbody into the ring for a 2-count. Dorado hit a powerslam for a 2-count. Dorado hit a series of moonsaults from the first and second ropes but missed the third. Miguel hit an enziguri and both men were down. Dorado managed to hit a shooting star press on Miguel, but Miguel was able to roll to the floor to escape the pinfall. Both men exchanged strikes in the ring until Miguel was able to hit a hurricanrana for the pinfall.

–Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito were backstage talking about how they were going to beat the micro-mini-Bullet Club of Chris Bey and Ace Austin.

Impact World Tag Team Champions Bullet Club (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) defeated TMDK (Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito) to retain

Tito was able to get the heat on Bey early on by through him across the ring like he weighed nothing. Haste continued the assault on Austin. Austin and Bey hit click, click, boom, stealing the move from the Motor City Machine Guns for a 2-count. Bey hit some hard chops that made Haste upset, understandably.

Austin went for the O’Connor roll on Haste, but Tito blind tagged in and took out Austin with a powerbomb. Haste hit a low dropkick on Austin for a 2-count. As the match slowed down with Haste getting some heat on Austin, Tom Hannifan mused that Windsor should have a CFL team. Chris Bey hit a tope con giro on Bad Dude Tito. Bey hit a springboard Finesser for a 2-count.

Tito managed to hit Ace Austin with a series of kicks and a power bomb for a 2-count. Tito hit a suicide dive of his own, flying threw the ropes onto Chris Bey. Tito then hit a frog splash on Austin for a 2-count as Bey managed to make the save. Bey and Austin hit a combo TKO and kick to the head leading to a 2-count. Bey hit the art of finesse and Austin hit the fold on Tito for the pinfall.

Bully Ray defeated Tommy Dreamer in a Busted Open Match

This match was not good. Tommy Dreamer and Bully Ray working a slow paced hardcore match in 2023 is not really something I want to see, but given the age of the wrestlers involved, it could have been far worse.

Ray attacked Dreamer on the floor, hitting his knee with a chair. Dreamer pulled a replica ECW title out and drove it into the head of Ray. Dreamer tried to bust Bully Ray open with an energy drink can, but Ray managed to turn it into an atomic drop on the guard rail. Bully Ray threw a bear into the face of Darren McCarty, who retired from the Detroit Red Wings in 2009.

It turns out that McCarty has actually wrestled before after the end of his hockey career, so maybe that is what that is building to. Ray missed a splash off a step stool and Dreamer brought in a bag of thumbtacks. Dreamer went to piledrive Bully Ray into the thumbtacks, but Ray back dropped Dreamer out. Ray pulled out a cheese grater from under the ring, but Dreamer blocked it and hit a bionic elbow.

Dreamer grabbed the Grater, but accidentally ran into the referee. Dreamer hit Ray with the cheese grater, but the referee was out and missed the blood on Ray’s face. Jason Hotch and John Skylar ran down while giving Bully Ray a towel to wipe off the blood on his face. Bully Ray threw thumbtacks into the face of Tommy Dreamer. Ray attempted to drive the face of Dreamer into the tacks, but missed with an elbow.

Ray claimed that Dreamer’s daughters were going to see it, so he stopped and Ray low blowed Dreamer to escape another cheese grater attack. Ray slammed Dreamer’s arm into the thumbtacks. Ray drove Dreamer headfirst into the ring post, causing him to bleed, and the referee woke up to see Dreamer bleeding while Ray covered his head with a towel.

–The Good Hands set up a table in the ring for Ray to powerbomb Dreamer through. Darren McCarty jumped the rail and tried to save Dreamer, and security stopped him. Ray told security to let him go. McCarty came into the ring and they started a hockey fight with McCarty getting the better of Bully Ray. The Good Hands attacked from behind which led to Bully Ray powerbombing McCarty through the table.

Scott D’Amore’s music hit and he took of his jacket looking like he was ready to fight with Ray. Scott D’Amore looked backstage and invited Heath, Joe Hendry, Jonathan Gresham, Mike Bailey, Rhino, and others out to ringside to chase Bully Ray and The Good Hands away. Jason Hotch attacked D’Amore, who hit a Canadian destroyer on Hotch and then he celebrated with Darren McCarty.

Time Machine (KUSHIDA, Chris Sabin, & Alex Shelley) defeated Steve Maclin, Rich Swann, & Frankie Kazarian

KUSHIDA did everything he could in this match to make his upcoming match with Maclin for the Impact World Championship at Rebellion matter in this one, working hard, bumping everywhere, and trying to look like a world title contender. This match was very good despite there being no stakes, and everyone worked very hard. It sucks that Alexander got hurt, as this at least had the intrigue of KUSHIDA and Alexander facing off, but they did a decent job making the best of a bad situation.

After seeing Sabin and Shelley in the early part of the match, KUSIDA tagged in and immediately called for Maclin. KUSHIDA immediately went for submissions, attempting to out wrestle the larger man. KUSHIDA, Sabin, and Shelley targeted the arm of Maclin, looking to weaken it to prepare for KUSHIDA’s hoverboard lock. Maclin drove Shelley’s throat into the ropes to break an arm wringer, and Kazarian tagged in.

Maclin left Swann to the wolves when he tagged in, as he wasn’t the legal man, letting Time Machine triple team him. KUSHIDA missed a chop on the outside on Swann and hit the turnbuckle post. Swann then tagged out to Kazarian. Kazarian hit a flying forearm on Shelley and a legdrop on Sabin, a Russian legsweep on Shelley and then a back stabber on KUSHIDA.

Shelley hit a double arm breaker on Maclin and Kazarian and tagged KUSHIDA in, who hit a great crossbody on Maclin before hitting a Pele kick. Maclin dumped KUSHIDA into the corner and hit a spear while he was in the tree of woe. Kazarian and Swann hit a series of big moves ending with a 450 splash for a 2-count. Swann missed a phoenix splash, leading to Time Machine doing submissions on everyone in the ring. After an exchange of finisher attempts from everyone, KUSHIDA managed to hit a flying kimura on Maclin and forced a very quick tap out.

Final Thoughts

While this was a very good show from an in ring perspective, there was not a lot on this show of consequence outside of the Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer feud. Quite frankly, that is not enough to sell a show or make it interesting, and the rest of it, while very good in ring, didn’t have any compelling stories leading into the matches. That said, if you are looking for good wrestling and don’t really care about the stories involved, you will probably like this show. It was very good in ring action, but it did not have the stories needed to add sufficient interest or heat. I enjoyed it, but it is probably one of the best missable shows you will ever see.

Josh Alexander relinquishing Impact World title due to injury

Posted on by Joseph Currier

An injury has forced Josh Alexander’s Impact World Championship reign to come to an end.

Impact Wrestling has announced that Alexander is relinquishing the World title due to suffering a triceps tear. Alexander will be undergoing surgery for the injury today.

Alexander was scheduled to defend the Impact World Championship against Steve Maclin at Rebellion on Sunday, April 16. The pay-per-view will now be headlined by Maclin vs. KUSHIDA to determine a new champion.

Alexander was also scheduled to defend the Impact World Championship against KUSHIDA at Impact Wrestling and NJPW’s Multiverse United event on Thursday, March 30. Alexander’s replacement for that show has yet to be announced.

After winning the title at last year’s Rebellion, Alexander’s reign as champion lasted for nearly a year. It was the longest World Championship reign in Impact Wrestling history.

“We wish Josh a full and speedy recovery, and everyone at IMPACT Wrestling, including our loyal fans, can’t wait to see him back in the ring,” Impact Wrestling president Scott D’Amore said in a press release.

A six-man tag team match with Alexander, Rich Swann & Frankie Kazarian facing KUSHIDA & Motor City Machine Guns was supposed to take place at tonight’s Sacrifice special. Maclin is taking Alexander’s place in the match.

Knockouts Champion Mickie James is also currently injured. A title match between James and Jordynne Grace that was scheduled for Sacrifice is no longer taking place. An update on the situation with the Knockouts title will be given on Sacrifice.

Knockouts title match, Gresham vs. KUSHIDA set for next Impact

Posted on by Josh Nason

After successfully defending the Impact Knockouts title at No Surrender, Mickie James will have her next challenge on next Thursday’s Impact on AXS TV.

Made during Thursday’s show, James will defend the gold against past title challenger Gisele Shaw. James was in the process of addressing past champion Jordynne Grace’s comments when Shaw emerged and said James was ducking her. After James challenged her for a match tonight, Shaw backed down and Gail Jim then made the match for next week.

In a clash of two high-impact veterans, former ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham will take on former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA for the first time since 2018.

The show will also see Callihan of The Design against Rhino. This was made Thursday after Rhino attempted to help Callihan from Deaner’s group which didn’t go over well.

Here’s the current lineup:

  • Knockouts Champion Mickie James defends against Gisele Shaw
  • Jonathan Gresham vs. KUSHIDA
  • Callihan vs. Rhino

KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight vs. The Good Hands set for Impact

Posted on by Josh Nason

KUSHIDA will continue his second run in Impact Wrestling on this Thursday’s Impact on AXS TV in a tag team match.

The NJPW star will team with fellow NJPW roster member Kevin Knight to take on The Good Hands (John Skyler & Jason Hotch).

After a debut run last summer, KUSHIDA returned at the Hard to Kill pre-show in a six-way scramble match that he won. This follows his AEW debut where he lost to TNT Champion Darby Allin on last Wednesday’s Dynamite.

Jonathan Gresham will be in singles action as he takes on Sheldon Jean. Gresham is coming off a loss to Eddie Edwards at Hard to Kill.

The additions join a card that includes X-Division and Knockouts Tag Team title matches.

Here’s the current card for Thursday:

  • Golden Six Shooter match for an Impact World title shot: Moose vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Callihan vs. Rich Swann vs. Rhino vs. Chris Sabin
  • Major Players (Matt Cardona & Brian Myers) vs. Bullet Club (Ace Austin & Chris Bey)
  • X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against Mike Jackson
  • KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight vs. The Good Hands
  • Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Death Dollz (Taya Valkyrie & Jessicka) defend against Gisele Shaw & a mystery partner
  • Jonathan Gresham vs. Sheldon Jean

Speak Now: Bandido vs. Bryan Danielson, AEW Dynamite recap

Posted on by Denise Salcedo

Join on-camera personality Denise Salcedo on her weekly Speak Now Pro Wrestling post-show where she covers AEW Dynamite every single Wednesday here on F4W Online.

Matches announced for the show:

–Orange Cassidy(c) vs. Jay Lethal –AEW All-Atlantic Championship.

—The Young Bucks(Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs. Top Flight(Darius Martin & Dante Martin)

–Jake Hager vs. Ricky Starks

–Willow Nightingale vs. Toni Storm

–Darby Allin(c) vs. KUSHIDA – AEW TNT Championship

— Bryan Danielson vs. Bandido

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Darby Allin vs. KUSHIDA TNT title match set for AEW Dynamite

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A TNT title match featuring the AEW debut of KUSHIDA has been set for Wednesday’s Dynamite.

KUSHIDA will challenge Darby Allin for the TNT title this Wednesday. In addition, Young Bucks will take on Top Flight, Willow Nightingale will face Toni Storm, and Orange Cassidy will face Jay Lethal in an AEW All-Atlantic title match.

Since leaving WWE last year, KUSHIDA has since made his return to New Japan Pro Wrestling. He has also competed for Impact Wrestling, winning a six-way match at Friday’s Hard to Kill pay-per-view event.

Allin made his first title defense on Friday’s Rampage, successfully defending the title against Juice Robinson. He defeated Samoa Joe on Dynamite on January 4 to win the title for a second time.

Young Bucks successfully won their best of seven series on Dynamite this Wednesday, who with Kenny Omega defeated Death Triangle to win the series and the AEW World Trios titles.

The Best Friends made the save for actor Paul Walter Hauser on Friday’s Rampage, who had been attacked by Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, Satnam Singh, and Sonjay Dutt.

In the main event of Friday’s Rampage, Nightingale and Ruby Soho defeated Anna JAS and Tay Melo in a street fight. Soho won the match, pinning Melo.

Here is the updated lineup for Wednesday’s Dynamite:

  • TNT title: Darby Allin defends against KUSHIDA
  • AEW All-Atlantic title: Orange Cassidy defends against Jay Lethal
  • Willow Nightingale vs. Toni Storm
  • Top Flight vs. The Young Bucks
  • Bryan Danielson vs. Bandido
  • Ricky Starks vs. Jake Hager

KUSHIDA still recovering from hand, foot, and mouth disease, off NJPW Declaration of Power

Posted on by Ethan Renner

KUSHIDA will miss another NJPW event as he continues to recover from Hand, foot, and mouth disease. 

NJPW announced Thursday that KUSHIDA will not be cleared for Monday’s Declaration of Power event as he continues to recover, and will not take part in his scheduled singles match against Taiji Ishimori. 

The promotion did not announce a replacement, stating that a substitute opponent will be announced for Ishimori in the coming days. 

NJPW first announced that KUSHIDA had a “suspected skin disease,” then confirmed the Hand, foot, and mouth disease diagnosis on September 23. 

NJPW wrote: 

Thank you for supporting New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

KUSHIDA, who was scheduled to face Taiji Ishimori at Declaration of Power in Ryogoku on Monday October 10, is still recovering from a bout with hand foot and mouth disease, and will not be cleared to compete.

We apologise to fans who were looking forward to seeing KUSHIDA wrestle, and appreciate your understanding.

There will be a change to Monday’s card, to be announced at a later time before the event.

NJPW joins fans in wishing KUSHIDA a full and speedy recovery. 

Three matches announced for next week’s WWE NXT

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Three matches have been announced for the October 11 WWE NXT episode. 

In a tune-up match prior to Halloween Havoc, NXT Champion Bron Breakker will face “Big Body Javy” Javier Bernal in a non-title match next week. The match was set up on this week’s episode, where Bernal interrupted a Breakker interview backstage. Breakker is set to defend the NXT title against Ilja Dragunov and JD McDonagh in a triple threat match at Halloween Havoc on October 22.

The best-of-three series between Nathan Frazer and Axiom will conclude on next week’s show. Each has one victory in the series. The winner will also qualify for the North American Championship ladder match at Halloween Havoc.

In another bout for next week, Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo will face Wes Lee in singles competition. 

Next week’s card: 

  • Bron Breakker vs. Javier Bernal
  • Best-of-three series finale, Halloween Havoc North American Championship qualifying match: Nathan Frazer vs. Axiom
  • Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo vs. Wes Lee

KUSHIDA still recovering from hand, foot, and mouth disease, out of NJPW Burning Spirit finale

Posted on by Ethan Renner

KUSHIDA will not take part in Sunday’s NJPW Burning Spirit tour finale as he continues to recover from Hand, foot, and mouth disease. 

NJPW announced Friday that KUSHIDA will not take part in Sunday’s show in Kobe World Hall as scheduled as he continues to recover from Hand, foot, and mouth disease.

The promotion first announced earlier this week that KUSHIDA had “a suspected skin disease,” then announced the official Hand, foot, and mouth diagnosis on Wednesday. 

KUSHIDA, Tama Tonga, and Jado had been scheduled to face Jay White, Taiji Ishimori, and Gedo in a trios match on Sunday’s event. That match has now been changed to Tama Tonga & Jado vs. Jay White & Taiji Ishimori in a tag. 

NJPW wrote Friday: 

Thank you for supporting New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

KUSHIDA, who was scheduled to compete Sunday at Burning Spirit in Kobe, is still recovering from a bout of hand, foot and mouth disease, and will not be cleared to wrestle his scheduled match.

We apologise to fans who were looking forward to seeing KUSHIDA wrestle and appreciate your understanding.

The following change has been made to tomorrow’s card.

KUSHIDA, Jado & Tama Tonga vs Gedo, Jay White & Taiji Ishimori ->

Jado & Tama Tonga vs Jay White & Taiji Ishimori

NJPW joins fans in wishing KUSHIDA a full and speedy recovery. 

Sunday’s Burning Spirit event airs at 3 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World, and wil lbe headlined by Will Ospreay defending the IWGP United States Championship against David Finlay, Karl Anderson defending the NEVER Openweight Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi, plus an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match, with TJP and Francesco Akira defending against Ryusuke Taguchi and Master Wato.

KUSHIDA diagnosed with hand, foot, and mouth disease, pulled from NJPW event

Posted on by Ethan Renner

NJPW’s KUSHIDA has been diagnosed with Hand, foot, and mouth disease and has been pulled from Friday’s Burning Spirit event. 

NJPW announced the former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion’s diagnosis on Wednesday after announcing earlier in the week that the star would miss an earlier Burning Spirit tour event with a suspected skin disease. 

KUSHIDA had been set to take part in a 10-man tag match on Friday’s show. That match will now be an eight-man tag, with Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tama Tonga, Toru Yano, and Jado facing Jay White, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, and Taiji Ishimori. The match had originally been booked as KUSHIDA, Tanahashi, Tonga, Yano, and Jado vs. White, Anderson, Gallows, Ishimori, and Gedo.

No announcement has been made as to KUSHIDA’s status for the tour’s final event on Sunday at Kobe World Hall, where he is currently slated to team with Tama Tonga against Jay White and Taiji Ishimori. 

KUSHIDA to miss NJPW show due to suspected skin disease

Posted on by Joseph Currier

KUSHIDA has been pulled from another event on NJPW’s Burning Spirit tour.

NJPW has announced that, as a precaution due to health concerns, KUSHIDA will miss Wednesday’s non-televised Burning Spirit show in Kumamoto. KUSHIDA has been diagnosed with a suspected skin disease.

KUSHIDA was scheduled to team with Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, Tama Tonga & Jado in a 10-man tag match against Jay White, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Taiji Ishimori & Gedo at Wednesday’s show. That’s been changed to an eight-man tag with Tanahashi, Yano, Tonga & Jado facing White, Anderson, Gallows & Ishimori.

KUSHIDA also missed last Saturday’s Burning Spirit show due to a fever, though his COVID-19 test came back negative.

“KUSHIDA was removed from Saturday’s event in Kagoshima after presenting with a fever. After testing negative for COVID-19, he underwent consultation with doctors who diagnosed him with a suspected skin disease,” NJPW wrote.

“We apologize to fans who were looking forward to seeing KUSHIDA wrestle, and appreciate your understanding.”

After departing WWE this April, KUSHIDA made his return to NJPW in June.

The Burning Spirit tour will conclude with shows on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. KUSHIDA is scheduled for matches on the Friday and Sunday events.

NJPW Strong results: KUSHIDA & Ren Narita vs. The WorkHorsemen

Posted on by Justin Knipper

NJPW Strong’s High Alert tapings from Charlotte, North Carolina continued tonight with KUSHIDA making his debut for the show in the main event.

LA Dojo (The DKC & Kevin Knight) defeated The Heatseekers (Matt Sigmon & Elliot Russell)

The Heatseekers are four-time NWA Tag Team champions and have wrestled on Japanese indies like Jimmy Suzuki’s Tokyo Championship Wrestling, but not on a New Japan card until tonight.

Sigmon and Knight started things off for their teams. This was one of Knight’s first non-West Coast appearances with NJPW Strong. Ian Riccaboni did a good job putting over Knight’s vertical leap on commentary. If you weren’t already aware: Kevin Knight can jump. He connected with a standing frog splash on Sigmon for two.

Knight launched himself over the ropes onto the Heatseakers with a pescado before throwing Russell back into the ring. Russell would take control shortly after, knocking Knight off his feet with a big shoulderblock.

The Heatseekers maintained control of Knight as the five-minute call sounded. They generally kept Knight in the red corner, too far away from the DKC for Knight to make a tag. Russell knocked Knight over with a big boot before throwing a flurry of forearms to Knight while he was on the ground. Sigmon tagged in and earned a two-count on Knight with a German suplex.

Knight was able to evade Sigmon in the corner, then connected with a high dropkick on Russell, which gave Knight enough time to roll to the blue corner and finally tag out to a fresh DKC.

The DKC did a cool flying Liu Kang kick from the top rope, then went into his series of knife-edged chops called DK FIRE. Heatseekers came back, with Russell laying the DKC out with an Oklahoma Stampede. When Sigmon pinned DKC, Knight took the DKC’s foot and placed it on the bottom rope so that the ref would break the count.

The finish saw Sigmon roll the DKC up with a cradle, but while the ref was distracted arguing with Eliot Russell, Knight jumped into the ring and rolled Sigmon’s cradle hold over. When the ref made it back for the count, the DKC was able to hold Sigmon down for three. The LA Dojo team are your winners. Russell complained to NJPW’s ringside commentary team afterwards.

QT Marshall defeated Parker Li

QT Marshall came out next. Fans gave him the “What?!” treatment. Marshall said he was the person responsible for “opening the Forbidden Door” between AEW and NJPW. I think he expected more heat from that, but people were more excited to just drown him out and not listen. He’d then challenge a new wrestler named Parker Li, a smiley guy with a headband and the state of Oregon tattooed on his chest.

The crowd broke out into a “Let’s go Parker!/Q-T sucks!” chant. Li connected with a nice dropkick, but missed on the second when Marshall parried. Marshall then turned Li inside out with a lariat before dropping a few elbows onto him. The crowd bit more and more on Marshall’s baiting, and it did help get the crowd behind Li, especially on the nearfalls.

Li caught Marshall with a pop-up missile dropkick. When he went for a springboard attack, Marshall caught him mid-air with a right hand, then pinned Li after spiking him with a Diamond Cutter for the win. Parker Li was impressive here.

Marshall got on the mic again and said Li sucked. He said he was warmed up now. I think Marshall now holds the record for most speaking time ever on NJPW Strong next to the announcers.

So, who answered QT Marshall’s challenge? It was Shota Umino, who was not scheduled for the show. Marshall taunted Umino, then called for a referee and said he’d wrestle him now. A referee arrived, and Umino took off his jacket and told Marshall he was ready to go. Marshall called him a bitch and teased a match happening right then and there, but as soon as Umino stepped into the ring, Marshall stepped out of it and exited to the back. It’s safe to say we can expect some sort of showdown between Marshall and Umino by the end of the year.

TJP defeated Mascara Dorada

This was good. The two got into it early with fast back-and-forth action from the beginning. This angle has been going on for a while now, between TJP and Dorada, and on commentary they mentioned how TJP had stolen Dorada’s mask at a NJPW Strong taping and brought it to Japan with him for the recent Best of the Super Juniors tournament.

TJP started face-washing Dorada in the corner. The crowd booed TJP when he’d try ripping Dorada’s mask off. He’d later catch Dorada springboarding off the ropes and put him in a cross-armbreaker. Dorada got his foot on the ropes for a break.

Dorada later spiked TJP with a bulldog before a suicide dive through the ropes to the floor. Back in the ring, he did a rope-walk swanton, crashing onto TJP but only earning a two-count.

When TJP caught Dorada with a DDT, both were out for about a minute or so. The crowd heated up a little. They traded superkicks. Dorada lifted TJP into a fireman’s carry but TJP wisely grabbed the ropes to block any attempt at offense. TJP would then take Dorada and suplex him gut-first onto the ropes as TJP dropped to the floor. TJP would then go to the top and take the draped Dorada out with a Mamba Splash near the side of the ring.

Back in the ring, TJP missed on another Mamba Splash, but he landed on his feet. Dorada then hoisted TJP back into a fireman’s carry and drilled for two. Dorada then went to the top rope for a moonsault, and he missed, but also landed on his feet. TJP blocked and onto Dorada’s foot, but Dorada reversed that and locked TJP into a cool looking single-leg figure-four submission.

The crowd started chanting “Tap!” at TJP, who’d writhe in pain for a bit before snatching Dorada’s mask off. This forced referee Jeremy Marcus to help protect Dorada’s face and break the submission hold, by default. The crowd erupted in boos. TJP pretended like it was an accident, then smirked, climbed to the top rope and came back down onto Dorada with a Mamba Splash to pick up the win.

KUSHIDA & Ren Narita defeated The Workhorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry)

This was a solid main event. Henry looked good in the ring early on with both Narita & KUSHIDA. Drake tagged in next and he KUSHIDA had a good exchange, with Drake getting the better of it in the end, taking KUSHIDA down to the mat with a hard lariat.

Narita tagged in and later earned a two-count on Henry after a bridging single-arm suplex. The Workhorsemen later took the lead and spent a good amount of time isolating Narita and working him over near their corner. They each blasted him with PKs to the back.

Narita was able to power up and put Henry down with a brainbuster before tagging out to KUSHIDA. He and Narita would work together, with KUSHIDA setting up Narita for an overhead front suplex to Henry. Narita tried the same on the larger Drake, who shut that down. Henry did an airplane spin TKO and Drake followed up with a shining wizard. Henry came off the top with a diving double foot stomp next, and Drake followed that up with a moonsault off the second rope onto Narita.

KUSHIDA was almost able to bodyslam Drake but he couldn’t pull it all the way off. It was enough to neutralize Drake, though, and KUSHIDA then was able to put Henry away with a bridging hammerlock suplex for the win.

Final thoughts:

The junior heavyweight & tag team matches are what’s worth checking out on this week’s episode of NJPW Strong.

Next week sees the final week of High Alert tapings that will feature Eddie Kingston vs. Jake Something and NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Fred Rosser taking on Fred Yehi. 

KUSHIDA’s NJPW Strong debut set for this week’s High Alert episode

Posted on by Ethan Renner

KUSHIDA’s NJPW Strong debut will air on Saturday’s High Alert episode. 

The NJPW veteran will team with Ren Narita against The WorkHorsemen’s JD Drake and Anthony Henry in the show’s main event. 

Also announced for the episode, Mascara Dorada will face United Empire’s TJP in singles competition. 

Additionally, LA Dojo’s Kevin Knight and The DKC will team against Matt Sigmon and Elliot Russell of the Heatseekers in Saturday’s opener. 

The High Alert series of Strong shows were taped on July 24 in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

Strong airs Saturdays on NJPW World at 8 p.m. Eastern time, and is also available on demand immediately following airing.

Here is this week’s lineup: 

NJPW Strong: High Alert, Saturday, August 27, 8 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —

  • KUSHIDA & Ren Narita vs. The WorkHorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry)
  • Mascara Dorada vs. United Empire’s TJP
  • Kevin Knight & The DKC vs. The Heatseekers (Matt Sigmon & Elliot Russell)