The two remaining first round matches in Impact Wrestling’s number one contender’s tournament are set to air next week.
Michael Elgin vs. Sami Callihan and Rhino vs. Ken Shamrock are both scheduled to air on next Tuesday’s episode of Impact, though there was an angle on last night’s show where Shamrock’s status was put into question when Elgin attacked him and laid him out with a con-chair-to.
The winner of Elgin vs. Callihan will advance to face Trey Miguel in the semifinals, while the winner of Rhino vs. Shamrock will face Hernandez in the semifinals. The tournament kicked off with Miguel defeating Rohit Raju and Hernandez defeating Madman Fulton on Impact last night.
The winner of the tournament will challenge Tessa Blanchard for the Impact World Championship. Blanchard was supposed to defend her title against Elgin and Eddie Edwards in the main event of Rebellion, but — due to the coronavirus pandemic — neither Blanchard nor Edwards were able to attend last month’s Impact television tapings.
Moose was originally announced for the number one contender’s tournament, but he did an interview where he removed himself from it. Moose said he doesn’t care about the Impact World Championship and called his TNA title belt the most prestigious in professional wrestling. Moose declared himself TNA World Heavyweight Champion at Rebellion night two.
Willie Mack will also defend his X-Division Championship against Johnny Swinger on next week’s Impact, and XXXL (Acey Romero & Larry D) will face TJP & Fallah Bahh.
Impact Wrestling returns tonight for part two of Rebellion.
Last week we saw Willie Mack defeat Ace Austin to capture the X-Division Championship, Ken Shamrock submit Sami Callihan in an unsanctioned match, and Michael Elgin make a promise for tonight: he would leave as the World Champion no matter what.
Cold open was a video package talking about reinventing oneself. It recapped the happenings of night one, and made special focus towards Michael Elgin’s threat.
Chris Bey defeated Suicide, Trey Miguel, and Rohit Raju
Match started with all four men in the ring. We got an early standing switch with all of them until the babyfaces tricked the heels to just work on each other while they casually watched. Bey and Rohit took out Miguel and ganged up on Suicide, showing off and one-upping each other on who could hurt Suicide more.
They discussed this enough to where they gave Suicide time to make comeback. He locked in an Octopus stretch on Bey while Miguel took out Rohit. Suicide locked both Trey and Bey on a double submission, but it allowed Raju to take him out.
Bey, Raju, and Trey Miguel all exchanged strikes, leading Rohit to kicking both men to adjacent corners and hitting running elbows, sweeping Bey, hitting a Footstomp on Miguel for a two count.
Suicide came back, hit a Springboard Armdrag on Raju, Rana on Bey, went for the Clothesline on Trey, but Miguel was ready, dodged with the Matrix, hit a kick combo.
Chris Bey and Miguel went at it, with the latter getting a two count on Miguel. He then sent him out to the floor with a rana. Rohit got a school boy on Bey for a two count, but couldn’t follow up and got sent outside with a dropkick.
Suicide faked Bey into hitting a dive on Rohit, and followed with a senton from the apron. Trey Miguel followed with a second rope flip over the ropes to take everyone out.
Back in the ring, Trey got a two count on Rohit, hit the moonsault into a foot stomp on Bey for a two count, and finally went for a tornado DDT on Suicide. He was blocked and instead, Suicide got him up for the suplex and was met by a top rope plancha by Chris Bey. Rohit Raju broke Suicide’s pin over Trey.
Bey took out Rohit with a huge kick and got a two count with a double underhook slam. Rohit connected with a jumping uppercut on Suicide, but was caught by a Pele Kick from Trey. Suicide with the double palm strike, and Rohit with a jumping knee on Suicide. Rohit hit a swinging neckbreaker on Trey. X-Factor for a two count when Bey broke it up.
Suicide took out Bey and went for the superplex on Trey. He was ready, however, and escaped, hit Cheeky Nandos, tossed Rohit into Suicide, and executed a double Trey19.
Trey hit Meteora on Suicide, but Rohit tried to steal it, only for Chris Bey to return, kick Rohit, and steal the pin himself over Rohit.
Really good match, but it suffered from the empty arena, this is the type of match that excels when the crowd goes crazy for it. Chris Bey seems to be building to challenge Willie Mack.
Josh Matthews and Madison Rayne walked us through the recap of last week’s Rebellion, and ran down tonight’s card.
Josh Matthews Facetimed Tessa Blanchard. He asked about not being able to compete. Tessa said that she was torn that she couldn’t be there, but that she was training everyday to come back stronger. Josh asked about Elgin’s threat, to which Tessa said that she’d love to shut him up, so unless he comes to Mexico, she won’t be walking out of Champion.
We got a video package for #CancelCulture vs The Deaners.
Joseph P. Ryan defeated Cousin Jake
Ryan started the match berating Jake, but also running away from him when Jake tried to get his hands on him. Jake overpowered Ryan with the lockup, forcing Ryan to once again run to the ropes.
Jake kept that upper hand, taking out Ryan with a body block and a straight right elbow. Jake tossed Ryan around the ring, whipped him from corner to corner, getting a two count here and there.
Ryan managed to cheap shot Jake and dodged his shoulder tackle, sending Jake shoulder first into the ring post.
Back from commercial, Ryan had been working over Jake’s injured shoulder. Ryan went for a shoulder focused body slam. Jake blocked so instead Ryan sent him shoulder first into the turnbuckle. He managed the body slam on the second attempt, then transitioned into a submission.
Jake would try to mount a comeback, but time and time again, Ryan would use heel tactics to cut him off. Eventually, Jake landed a desperation suplex and a running tackle. He dodged Ryan’s lariat attempt, hit a backplex and finally got Ryan down.
Jake came back with some elbows and a discus clothesline for a two count. Jake clotheslined Ryan to the floor and followed with a plancha. That was followed by a second running plancha on Ryan, who was trying to make it back in the ring.
Cousin Jake hit a deadlift sitdown powerbomb for a two count. Ryan retaliated by snapping Jake’s shoulder on the ropes and hitting Sweet Tooth Music for a two count.
Ryan went for a second superkick, but Jake blocked. Ryan rolled up Cousin Jake with a hand on the ropes to win the match.
Pretty good match, especially for Cousin Jake.
Rosemary was at a bar talking about having to be in the Full Metal Mayhem match instead of Taya. She was facetiming Taya, who said that she was going crazy and had started wearing sweatpants. Taya started ranting until Rosemary stopped her.
Rosemary told her that Grace was replaced by Havok, so Taya could fight her, but Taya refused. Taya told Rosemary that they should go to Las Vegas once she’s done with Havok. Bar Rosemary is the most interesting she’s been for a while.
We got a video package with both Rosemary and Havok, recapping their history together, trying to make sense of this match that improvised. They said that even if Havok helped them get out of the Undead Wastelands, their story was to continue with violence, not peace.
Rosemary defeated Havok in a Full Metal Mayhem match.
Both women had new looks for this fight. Rosemary cut a promo early before the match, telling Havok that they didn’t need to do this, she could chase after Su Yung, and she could go chase after Jordynne Grace. Havok rejected the idea.
Match started and the first move was Rosemary stapling Havok’s hand and stomach, at least until Havok blocked her and took her down with a clothesline. Havok grabbed the stapler, and as much as Rosemary pleaded for forgiveness, Havok stapled her over and over again.
Rosemary hit a slingblade and followed up with punches. She brought out some transit signs and started striking at Havok, but once again, Havok had the power advantage and took Rosemary down with a big boot.
Havok went for a running tackle to the corner, but Rosemary dodged and Havok crashed into the chair in the buckles.
Rosemary tied a chain around Havok’s neck and made a pulley to choke down Havok. Rosemary started cutting a promo during this, asking Havok what it felt like to kill James Mitchell. Havok eventually pulled the chain and took down Rosemary.
Havok brought in more weapons to the ring, including a foam pipe that bounced when she tossed it in.
Havok hit a couple of running boots to the corner, and a third one into a garbage can lid. She smashed Rosemary’s face to a chair and tried hitting her with the chain, but Rosemary escaped, and pulled Havok by the chain into a chair, and from corner to corner.
Suddenly, we saw Neveah standing close to the ramp, watching the match. Meanwhile, Rosemary and Havok were brawling up the ramp, where Havok hit a Samoan drop on the ramp. They exchanged some more weapon strikes. At one point, Rosemary protected herself from a garbage can shot with a construction hat.
Back in the ring, Havok tossed Rosemary into another cornered chair and chokeslammed her into a bed of chairs that didn’t give, all for a two count. She tried to choke Rosemary with the chain and chair, but eventually, Rosemary grabbed the ‘lead’ pipe and took down Havok with it for the three count.
Another match that suffered from the lack of crowd, as the wrestling wasn’t particularly good, and the weapon spots are usually meant to get live pops. Josh Matthews was insufferable in this match as soon as Neveah came out.
Gia Miller interviewed Willie Mack and Rich Swann about his win last week. Mack said he always looked up to the X-Division champions of the past, and so he was really happy to now be part of that group. Swann told Mack that he had all that he needed to be the champion. Johnny Swinger interrupted them and asked for his promised title shot.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was Rich Swann vs Sami Callihan from last year’s Rebellion.
Miller tried to ask Elgin again about the championship. Elgin repeated what he said last week and said that it was unfortunate Tessa and Eddie were not there so he could send them to the hospital. He said that results won’t change and he’s still walking out the champion tonight.
We got a video package for Michael Elgin, from his debut, and through his chase of the World Championship. Great stuff.
Michael Elgin came down to the ring, wearing his ring gear and mic in hand. Elgin cut a promo saying that it was Rebellion when he made his debut and promised to become the World champion. And that for the last year, his sights had not changed.
He called out Tessa and Eddie for being scared of him, and thus neither had shown up to their title match. Elgin brought out a referee and told him to declare him the winner by forfeit. Instead, he started bullying David Penzer. Before the referee could raise his hand, Moose interrupted him. He had the old TNA World Championship belt.
Moose took a mic and told Elgin that he understood the pain of working through and not having an opponent for tonight. They agreed that Tessa was holding the title hostage.
Moose said that it was wrong to say there was no World champion right now, because he now had the TNA World Championship.
Elgin cut him off and, in a babyface promo, said that for the last months, Moose had been running over the initials of TNA, but Elgin understood that while TNA was long past, those letters were now Impact.
Moose said that while Elgin was out there trading wins with Eddie, he was there defeating every competitor in front of him. Moose said that if he wanted a shot at him, he just needed to ask. Elgin was about to attack, but instead, Hernandez of all people interrupted them.
Hernandez said that Moose has never beaten him. He ended up inserting himself into the match.
Moose defeated Michael Elgin and Hernandez in a triple threat match
Match started with all men brawling outside the ring, with Elgin getting the early upper hand with a tope con giro.
Back in the ring, they took turns tossing each other around. Hernandez hit a springboard shoulder tackle on Elgin, but was cut off with chops by Moose. He hit a beautiful dropkick, but was then hit by a northern lights suplex by Elgin. Hernandez whipped Elgin around and hit an over-the-top bodyslam on Moose.
Elgin and Hernandez traded strikes in the middle of the ring, with the latter getting the better of the exchange, but was then taken down with a low dropick from Elgin, who sunk in a single leg Boston Crab. Moose tried to break it, but got hit by a dragon screw and fell into a Boston Crab as well. Hernandez took down Elgin with a bodyblock.
Hernandez went for a superplex on Elgin, but was stopped by Moose. Elgin dropped Moose and Hernandez and hit the latter with a missile dropkick for a two count.
Back from commercial, Elgin is working over Hernandez in the corner with chops and elbows. Moose came back and inserted himself into the strike exchange, but was taken out by the other two. Elgin hit a couple of running clotheslines, but took a big time boot by Moose on the third.
Moose hit an Okada dropkick on Elgin and went for the superplex on Hernandez. As he landed, Elgin connected with a twisting senton on Moose, sending all three men down.
All men exchanged strikes before Hernandez dropped them with some offense, getting a two count on Elgin with a senton as it was broken up by Moose.
Hernandez took out Moose with a clothesline as he started to look gassed out. He hit Elgin with a big boot for a two count. Hernandez teased the Border Toss, but Moose blocked him. They exchanged some more strikes. Moose caught Hernandez with two shoulder tackles and a pop-up Powerbomb, followed by a plancha for a two count.
Moose went for the No Jackhammer Needed on Elgin, but the latter dodged, hit a trio of German suplexes, and went for a powerbomb, but Hernandez stopped him with a German of his own. Hernandez went for another German on Moose, but Elgin powered up and hit a double German on both, covering Hernandez for a two count.
Elgin hit a kick combo on Moose, then went for a clothesline, but Moose blocked and they exchanged some kicks and elbows. Moose hit the Go To Hell for a near fall. Moose went for the No Jackhammer Needed on Hernandez, but was caught with a pounce for a near fall, broken up by Elgin.
Elgin dropped Hernandez with a big lariat and went for the Elgin Bomb, but was interrupted by Moose. Instead, Elgin hit a pop-up powerbomb on Moose, followed with a buckle bomb, but Moose fired up and came back with a desperation No Jackhammer Needed for a one count as Elgin was next to the ropes.
Hernandez hit a spinebuster on Moose, but Elgin pulled him to try and steal his pin, but Hernandez was able to take it back.
Elgin hit a backfist on Hernandez and landed a buckle bomb/Elgin Bomb combo for a near fall when Moose pulled the ref out. Elgin attacked Moose outside and, while rate, attacked the referee. Hernandez took out both Elgin and the new referee with a dive.
Back in the ring, Moose hit No Jackhammer Needed on Hernandez and picked up the win.
This started off as a great Impact match, but as soon as Hernandez gassed out, the match felt like it was honoring the championship on the line, becoming a slow and boring match that ended with a ton of unnecessary overbooking. Elgin was the MVP of the match, no question about it.
After the match, Moose proclaimed himself the TNA World Champion, establishing him as the interim champion until Tessa can come back.
Final Thoughts —
Bad show by Impact. The first hour was fun, but then it all went downhill. With half of the original card not taking place, the replacement matches all felt like filler, and the main event was really hurt by the addition of Hernandez.
Impact Wrestling returns from the Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta, GA.
Opening video focused on the ongoing feud between The North and Tessa Blanchard and Eddie Edwards, a feud that took us to tonight’s main event as Eddie and Tessa teamed up to take on The North for the tag team titles.
We saw Ken Shamrock, who arrived at the arena, to address Sami Callihan’s attack two weeks ago.
Willie Mack came out to the ring and went straight for the mic. He called out Ace Austin and Reno Scum for their attack on Swan. He challenged Ace to fight right now. Mack is not the best ‘angry person’ promo.
Out came Reno Scum. Mack challenged them to a two on one.
Willie Mack defeated Reno Scum (Luster The Legend & Adam Thornstowe) in a handicap match
Mack started strong over both guys, managing to take down Thornstowe, but Luster cut him off. Mack got Luster down with a Slam, but Thornstowe was there for the tag and the double team battering ram for a two count.
Reno Scum started working over Willie’s upper body, mostly strikes and slams, with a little bit of eye gouging by Luster. Standing moonsault by Thornstowe for another two count, and right into the sleeper Lock.
Mack finally made a small comeback, striking down Thornstowe until he got caught with a big dropkick, but was still good enough to counter Thornstowe’s senton with a double knee.
Luster tagged in, but Mack recovered, hitting the Samoan drop and moonstault combo for a two count. Thornstowe grabbed Mack’s leg and allowed for Luster to cut him off again. Thownstowe landed a double foot stomp to the back of Willie for another two count.
Mack managed to toss Luster into his corner, dropping Thorstowe off the ropes, which distracted Luster enough to get caught with the stunner and 6-Star Frog Splash for the win.
After the match, Ace Austin came out and knocked out Mack with a spinning heel kick. Reno Scum held Mack, allowing Ace to hit The Fold from the outside of the ring.
Kylie Rae arrived at the arena and was met by Gail Kim, who welcomed her. She then met up with Susie. They kinda became friends until Kiera Hogan entered the room and told Kylie that there are no friends on Impact and that Rae will be fighting Hogan at Rebellion. Hogan then challenged Susie to a match.
Chris Bey defeated Daga
Match started with Bey and Daga doing a quick sequence of pin reversals into a sequence of lucha moves that Daga won with a Headscissors, sending Bey down. Daga went for a rope Armdrag, but Bey dropped him on the ropes, laughed at Daga, and followed with a kick, sending Daga out to the floor.
Bey started working over Daga, focusing on the back with kicks and slams. Daga tried making a comeback with strikes, but Bey kept him down.
Back from commercial, Daga is still trying to make a comeback, but Bey maintains control of the match, getting a two count with a Senton. Bey locked in an abdominal stretch for the submission tease, but Daga finally fired up, tossed Bey off and dodged Bey’s kicks. Unfortunately, Bey managed to lock in a leg scissors.
Daga kept powering up, stood up with Bey on his back and rammed him into the corner to break the sleeper that Bey had locked up. Bey relocked the sleeper, forcing Daga to toss him off.
Daga made his comeback with a clothesline and dragon screws, getting a two count with a powerbomb. Bey left to the floor, but Daga followed. Bey was ready and went for a moonsault off the ramp, but Daga dodged. Daga followed up with a huge senton that made it look like Dage fell on top of his head.
Top rope plancha from Daga for a two count. Daga connected with a discus lariat, went to follow with a sunset flip, but Bey blocked, grabbed the ropes, and stole the win from Daga.
Chris Bey is amazing and oozes charisma, so I’m not sure if debuting him as a heel was the best move, but he plays it well.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was Lockdown 2011’s 6-way between Amazing Red, Nick Jackson, Matt Jackson, Chris Sabin, Robbie E, and Kendrick.
Somewhere in a trailer, Taya was training for her Full Metal Mayhem match with Jordynne Grace by hitting John E. Bravo with a chair. Bravo was wearing an armor of pillows which were not working that much.
The Rascalz were in the Treehouse talking about scouting The North tonight, but they can’t because The Deaners were coming in. Deaners brought beers. TJP and Fallah Bahh also arrived and brought food. Finally, XXXL joined them and took all the food. Nothing came out of this.
Havok defeated Madison Rayne
Madison Rayne left the broadcast table to wrestle a match.
Havok started the match rushing at Rayne, but the latter managed to dodge a bit until she got in Havok’s face and told her she was the locker room leader. Havok responded by kicking her down, hitting a nice backbreaker and a lariat to rock Rayne to the corner.
Havok followed with a running boot, but when she went for the splash, Rayne dodged again. Rayne hit some strikes and enzugiris, but Havok was only moved a little bit. Havok sent Rayne to the top rope, but she punched her way off. Rayne went for a northern lights suplex, but Havok easily reversed it.
Havok whopped Rayne to the corner, followed with a choke, and once again tried to set up Rayne in the corner. Rayne hit a crossbody, but Havok caught her, hit a tombstone piledriver and got the win. Good one sided squash.
Backstage, Tessa Blanchard told Eddie that she didn’t need him and wanted answers as to why Eddie helped her last week. Eddie told her that maybe he should have left her alone to see what the numbers game was. Eddie said that he knows what not wanting help leads to and so he wants to offer his hand, but Tessa gets to choose what to do with it. Get beat up, or walk out Tag Team Champions.
Jimmy Jacobs interviewed Ken Shamrock. Jacobs asked about his condition first. Shamrock said he had some damage to his eyes, so he’s been working through that. He said that Sami has no respect for anyone trying to earn a living in the ring. He once tried to take out Eddie Edwards, and now him.
Next week, Shamrock and Callihan are having their contract signing, to which Shamrock said he will try to keep his composure.
Suddenly, their stream got hacked by Callihan. Shamrock stormed off the room saying that if Impact can’t control Sami, he would.
Rhino and Tommy Dreamer defeated oVe (Jake and Dave Crist) with Madman Fulton
Dreamer and Dave started the match, collar and elbow with the old timer getting the better of Crist, forcing him to tag in his brother. Dreamer tagged in Rhino, who kept control of the match, taking down Jake with a shoulder tackle and maintaining wrist control. Dreamer and Rhino were going for a team move when Fulton got involved and grabbed Dreamer. The referee expelled Fulton to the back.
Back in the ring, Dreamer hit the bionic elbow on Jake, followed by a crossbody, but the referee was distracted. Dave kicked Dreamer in the back to cut him off.
oVe started working over Dreamer, keeping him at bay by focusing on Dreamer’s arm, with quick tags and double team moves. Dave went for a top rope move, but Dreamer was able to get to the ropes and dropped him with a superplex, tagging in Rhino.
He came in strong, taking out Jake Crist first with clotheslines and a spear to the corner. Belly-to-belly suplex for a two count. Dave Crist went for Rhino, but Dreamer was there to attack him with a cutter. Jake Crist took out Dreamer, but distracted himself from Rhino, who hit a Gore for the win.
After the match, Madman Fulton returned and beat down Rhino and Dreamer. Fulton hit the End of Days on Dreamer.
Out at a bar, Rosemary was hitting on men when Johnny Swinger approached her. Swinger offered his soul if she had a nice car. Swinger told Rosemary to not care about the young bucks. He said that next week, he was bringing M.Jackson and is going to show her what he’s got. Rosemary rejected Swinger.
Kiera Hogan defeated Susie
Hogan started by pushing Susie around in the ring until Susie pushed back, slapped her, and took down Hogan over and over again. Susie hit a Bulldog for a two count.
Hogan, now paying attention, got the better of Susie and pushed her to the corner to kick her and choke her against the ropes. Hogan hit a series of running attacks on Susie for a two count. Hogan locked in a cravate, but Susie punched her way out only to take a dropkick for another two count.
Kiera went for the Hogan Driver, but Susie escaped, landed a palm strike combo and a Thesz press. They exchanged strikes until Susie made it to the ropes.
Hogan hit a superkick for yet another near fall. Hogan went to the top rope, but Susie caught her with a palm strike and The Spider Walk for a two count.
Susie looked around for Su Yung’s glove, but she didn’t have it. The distraction was enough for Hogan to hit the Hogan Driver and pick up the win.
The North were in the locker room getting ready when Michael Elgin approached them and said he wanted to replace one of them and get his hands on Eddie and Tessa. Josh Alexander said he couldn’t, while Page told him that this was a Tag Team title match, he couldn’t just get in there. The North were fantastic as champions here, not taking the weasel way out and standing up against Elgin.
Jimmy Jacobs interviewed Tenille Dashwood. Tenille said that next week, she fights Taya Valkyrie.
Impact Tag Team Champions The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) defeated Tessa Blanchard & Eddie Edwards to retain the titles
Story of the match was that Tessa Blanchard, hot headed as she is, wouldn’t work well with Eddie, as she kept wanting to do things by herself. Meanwhile, The North are the legit best tag team in the company.
Eddie and Page started the match for their teams. Eddie got the upper hand with chain wrestling, forcing Page to tag in Alexander. Tessa tagged in, but Alexander easily got the upper hand with strength alone. Tessa used her speed to dodge Alexander, but when she went for the Tornado DDT, Alexander easily blocked her and tossed her off. Tessa failed to clothesline Josh out until the third time when Josh provoked her. Tessa went for a dive, but got distracted by Page, allowing Alexander to run around the rung and attack Tessa from behind.
Eventually, Tessa stumbled into her corner and Eddie tagged in. Eddie ran wild over both North members, chopping them down with atomic drops and landed a belly-to-belly on Page to send him out. Alexander was tossed to the outside and got hit by a dive by Eddie, but as he ran, Tessa blind tagged herself in and hit a plancha on everyone.
Back from commercial, Eddie and Tessa had some control as their team had their first hand-to-hand tag in the match, but as Eddie tried to take on Alexander, Page was there to save him from taking a frankensteiner, successfully cutting him off.
The North started working on Eddie in their corner, quick tags and teasing Tessa in between them. The North went for their finisher, but Eddie dodged and hit a desperation double rana to finally get the tag on Tessa.
Tessa came in with a crossbody, taking both North men down. Rana on Page to send him out. She slapped Alexander and hit a shiranui. Tessa followed with two dives, one for each North member. Cutter on Page for a two count. Tessa went for the Buzzsaw DDT, but Alexander cut her off. She went for a leg scissors on Alexander, but was blocked. Page hit a cutter of his own and followed with a Wheelbarrow German for a two count.
Eddie returned and saved Tessa, but Page kicked them both out. Eddie took out Page, Alexander took out Eddie, and Tessa hit a cutter on Alexander to close the circle.
Alexander hit a discus elbow on Tessa, but Eddie was there for the German. Eddie went for the BKP, but Page caught him with a big boot. Tessa sent Page outside. Eddie hit a Tiger Bomb and Tessa landed a Destroyer on Alexander for a big near fall. Tessa went for Magnum, but Alexander caught her. The North hit a combo of Forearms and kicks, then hit a team move for a two count when Eddie broke it up.
The North finally went for their finisher, but Tessa fought out. She hit a Samoan Drop on Page, but couldn’t repeat it with Alexander. She did, however, hit a tilt-a-whirl DDT but wouldn’t tag in Eddie because she wanted to do it herself. The North took her out, hit the assisted spinebuster, with Alexander pinning Tessa. Fantastic match!
After the match, Eddie checked on Tessa. Eddie offered her his hand, but Tessa pushed him off. Michael Elgin suddenly appeared and attacked Tessa from behind, but this time, Eddie wasn’t there to save Tessa. Elgin hit the Elgin Bomb, took the title, and posed over Tessa’s fallen body. This storyline is getting heated.
Final Thoughts —
An overall good show. It was strong inside the ring, ending with a great match. In addition, the storyline developments surrounding the Impact World title were great.
Impact Wrestling returns tonight from Sam’s Town Casino in Las Vegas, NV with a full crowd.
Opening video focused on Shamrock being announced as the new inductee into the Impact Hall of Fame and the return of Sami Callihan, who threw a fireball at Shamrock.
Willie Mack defeated Acey Romero, Chris Bey, Daga, Rohit Raju, Jake Crist, Cousin Jake, and Trey Miguel in an X-Division #1 Contendership scramble match
Match started and everyone paired up, but once the ring started to clear, Acey Romero was left standing tall. He took out Mack with a Senton, but was then taken out by Trey, with him and Bey working together with a double missile dropkick.
We then got a great sequence between Trey and Bey with reversals and counters, and a couple of taunts, before ending in a stalemate. Trey offered a hand-shake, which Bey answered with a kick.
Rohit came in and faced off with Bey, who ended up taking a CrossRhodes and fisherman’s suplex. Cousin Jake came as he took out Rohit with a corner spear and a deadlift powerbomb. Jake Crist came in and hit a kick combo on the other Jake to take him out. Mack then came in with the samoan drop and moonsault combo, followed by a suicide dive.
Daga and Trey got in the ring, later joined by Bey for a great three-way exchange with Daga taking both of them out, getting a two count on Bey until Rohit broke up the pin. Daga then took out Rohit with a kick combo but couldn’t do the same to Acey Romero.
Romero took out Daga with a slam and went to the top rope, but Cousin Jake and Crist stopped him. We got a Tower Of Doom spot with Acey on top, everyone but Rohit and Daga were involved, the latter getting a frog splash in for a two count when the former broke it up.
Everyone took turns to hit a knockout strike and take each other out sequentially until Trey locked in submissions on Crist and Bey, which was broken up by Rohit.
We got a couple more finishers, leading up to the usual dive sequence where everyone hits their dive. Acey Romero seemed to have the final spot, but Jake Crist stopped him. Acey hit the pounce on Crist and dove on everyone for a huge pop.
Back in the ring, Cousin Jake hit his finisher on Crist, only for Mack to steal the win with a frog splash. Mack may have hurt Cousin Jake with that frog splash.
Willie Mack vs. Ace Austin for the X-Division championship is now official.
Backstage, Dave Crist hyped up Madman Fulton about their match tonight. Jake Crist arrived and told them that they all need to get back to their winning ways. Jake and Dave argued that Sami Callihan was playing tests on them and that’s why they had to win.
Moose defeated Chase Stevens
Moose jumped Chase before the match, but got distracted trying to get the referee to ring the bell, giving Chase time to recover and get the better of Moose for a bit. Chase hit an early German and an ax kick for a two count. He got another pinfall attempt with a powerslam.
Moose tossed Chase into the ropes and hit the No Jackhammer Needed on the rebound for the win. Total squash.
Moose attacked Chase after the match, hitting him with a chair over and over. He went to Pillmanize his head, but D’Amore came out to stop him. D’Amore distracted Moose and allowed Suicide to attack him. Suicide had a new attire, more DC than Marvel.
Rosemary was again at a bar drinking, talking trash to the patrons and bartenders. She talked about how she spent two years seeking revenge and once she got it, she was empty.
Raven was there and made little notice of her, so Rosemary approached him. Raven talked about revenge and said that revenge is forever, not just two years.
Backstage, Ace Austin and Reno Scum approached Mack to congratulate him. Mack told him that he knows Ace and knows he is all about playing mind games and won’t let him get close. Johnny Swinger also approached Mack and cheered Mack to become the champ because what the fans want is a Mack vs Swinger match for the title.
Reno Scum (Luster The Legend & Adam Thornstowe) defeated The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz)
Reno Scum jumped The Rascalz to start the match and got a quick DVD on Xavier for a two count. From here on, they had control over Xavier and worked over him with quick tags, and mostly strikes and chokes. Thrownstowe got a two count over Xavier with a headbutt and moonsault combo.
Wentz got the hot tag, went wild on Luster with kicks, earning a two count. Rascalz hit a kick combo on Luster, getting another two count. They went for a double top rope move, but Wentz was thrown off, with Adam blocking Wentz. Reno Scum hit a footstomp/curb stomp combo on Xavier for the win. Ok match.
We got a quick glimpse of Su Yung stashing a dagger for tonight’s match.
It was announced that next week Impact is having a TNA-themed retro show.
We got a vignette for Tenille Dashwood. We still don’t know when she returns.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was TNA Sacrifice 2008’s LAX with Hector Guerrero and Salinas vs Team 3D.
We got a video package about #CancelCulture. Joey Ryan said that next week, Cody Deaner is being cancelled.
We then got a vignette with Cousin Jake and Cody Deaner talking about shows that have been cancelled. Cody doesn’t know why he’s being cancelled. They kinda made fun of toxic masculinity which wasn’t cool.
We got a promo by Sami Callihan, talking about why he came back to attack Shamrock. He said it was just part of a bigger plan. I just can’t picture Callihan as being computer savvy.
Rhino & Sabu (with Super Genie) defeated oVe (Dave Crist & Madman Fulton) in an old school rules match
Sabu and Dave started the match, Sabu went for the leg takedown, but Dave was stronger and got off. Sabu started hitting punches and clotheslines, so Dave tagged out.
Fulton and Rhino went at it. Fulton had every advantage and went crazy with punches and chokes, but Rhino managed to come back and clothesline Fulton outside. Crist took out Rhino and sent him outside. Sabu then sent Crist to the floor and dove on both him and Fulton.
They brawled outside the ring for a bit. Rhino and Crist went up the ramp, while Fulton and Sabu stayed around the ring. Sabu was the first to use a weapon on Fulton.
Rhino and Fulton went to the ring, Fulton had the upper hand. It soon became a normal tag match again. oVe worked over Rhino until he made a comeback on Dave Crist and tagged in Sabu.
oVe once again gained control over the match, cutting off Sabu. Dave got a two count when Fulton threw him on top of Sabu. Dave started arguing with the ref and allowed Sabu to recover and hit a desperation cutter, before tagging in Rhino.
Rhino came in and took out Dave, hit a clothesline on Fulton. Spinebuster on Dave for a two count. Fulton ate a chair to the gut by Sabu, then Sabu hit a terrible over the top rope flip.
Inside the ring, Dave Crist low blowed Rhino, pushed off the referee, and went to hit Rhino with a chair. The referee took the chair away in what was being billed as an old school rules match. Rhino then Gored Dave and picked up the win.
Somewhere in the Undead Realm, Su Yung arrived. She had her noose with her. Yung roamed around, finding creepy things, until she found Father James Mitchell and Havok. Havok took a weapon, while Yung had a freaking machete. They did some fencing spots until Yung got the noose on Havok and choked her out.
Suddenly, Mitchell’s gimp woke up, broke his chains, and attacked Su Yung with a bat. The Gimp choked Yung, then hit her some more. But when he went for the kill, Yung cut the gimp’s throat with the machete.
Yung tried to kill Mitchell, but Havok jumped her with the rope and choked her. Yung once again recovered and got off. Havok took Yung’s mouth with a hook, but Su Yung locked in the Mandible Claw. She was about to stab Havok when Mitchell stopped her.
Mitchell told Su Yung that she proved she’s the winner and the one to be with him, but he also said that he was tired of both of them and wanted both of them gone. He ordered the minions to take them both out.
Su Yung and Havok were both sent out to the desolate deserts of the Undead Realm, which I’m guessing it’s somewhere in Nevada. This was awesome.
Taya Valkyrie & Michael Elgin (with John E. Bravo) defeated Tessa Blanchard & Eddie Edwards
Elgin and Edwards started but it didn’t last long before Taya and Tessa came in for a quick sequence of reversals. Tessa had the upper hand, but then Elgin tagged in and, while Tessa made a stand, Elgin was too much for her. Eddie tagged in and had a longer run against Elgin.
Back from commercial, Elgin is still working over Edwards, as he tags in and out with Taya, who really had some credible offense on Eddie.
Edwards finally made a comeback against Elgin, hitting a desperation blue thunder bomb. Tessa got the hot tag, who ran wild over Taya. Tessa hit a couple of clotheslines and a cutter to earn a two count.
Tessa went for a samoan drop, but Elgin blocked her. Elgin superkicked Eddie, but it was enough to give Taya the opening to take out Tessa with a double knee for a two count. Elgin and Taya hit a couple of clotheslines to the corner before Taya assisted Elgin with the top rope powerbomb, but Tessa managed to reverse into a rana. Tessa landed the Samoan Drop on Taya and got the tag to Eddie.
Eddie hit Kobashi chops on Elgin then followed that with a baseball slide and an over-the-head belly-to-belly to send him out of the ring Eddie went for the suicide dive, but Taya got in the way. Tessa ran over and knocked off Taya to the floor, followed by Bravo thanks to a double superkick. Tessa and Eddie hit stereo suicide dives on Elgin and Taya to the outside.
Back in the ring, Eddie went for a headscissors on Elgin from the top rope, but Eddie was tossed off. Eddie countered by dropping Elgin on the ropes, leaving him open for a kick and Magnum combo for a two count when Taya broke up the pin.
Tessa went for a top rope Magnum, but Taya distracted her. Eddie took out Taya, but Elgin recovered, hit a discus forearm on Eddie, caught Tessa’s Magnum and turned it into a powerbomb on top of Eddie. Elgin went for the buckle bomb, but Tessa reversed into a poisonrana and a tilt-a-whirl DDT.
Tessa and Taya traded chops in the middle of the ring, then traded superkicks before some miscommunication led to Elgin taking out Tessa with a lariat. Eddie went for the BKP, but Taya stopped him. Elgin and Taya hit a knee and forearm combo. Taya took out Tessa with a plancha. Elgin hit the buckle bomb and Elgin bomb combo for the win.
Great match! Taya completely belongs in this feud. She also ended up with a nasty cut under her eye.
We got a last look at Su Yung and Havok roaming around the desolate deserts of the Undead Wasteland when suddenly, Rosemary appeared. She made peace with them and told them that if they unite, they can go back.
Havok and Su Yung went looking for Mitchell, who tried to talk his way out of this problem. Su Yung tried to kill Mitchell with the dagger, but Havok took it from her and killed him herself. James Mitchell then went to heaven, where Abyss was there with cats. I’m not kidding.
Final Thoughts —
Good show from Impact, it felt full of life. Most of the wrestling tonight was good. It felt somewhat edited, not pushing the Lockdown and the TNA nostalgia show anymore, but there’s still some stuff going towards Rebellion, which has now also been cancelled.
The main event of Impact Wrestling’s next major pay-per-view is officially set.
Tessa Blanchard will defend her Impact World Championship against Michael Elgin and Eddie Edwards in a triple threat match at Rebellion. The PPV is taking place at Terminal 5 in New York City on Sunday, April 19.
Elgin and Edwards’ best-of-five series wrapped up on the episode of Impact that aired last night. It was supposed to decide Blanchard’s challenger for Rebellion, but the finish was Edwards submitting to a crossface at the same time as he reversed the move into a pin.
As officials and Scott D’Amore were arguing about who won, Blanchard came to the stage and cut a brief promo saying she’d face both Elgin and Edwards at Rebellion.
Blanchard has been Impact World Champion since winning the title from Sami Callihan at Hard to Kill in January.
Before Rebellion, there will be a King of the Mountain match for the Impact World title at TNA: There’s No Place Like Home in Tampa, Florida on Friday, April 3. Chris Sabin will be the special guest referee for that match.
Impact Wrestling returns from Sam’s Town Casino for tonight’s show, headlined by the final match in the Michael Elgin vs. Eddie Edwards series.
Opening video recapped the history making match of Tessa Blanchard and Taya Valkyrie from last week, where Tessa successfully defended her championship.
Rhino defeated Madman Fulton (with oVe)
The Crist brothers immediately tried to distract both the referee and Rhino. They got ejected to the back.
Rhino actually started the match on top with a shoulder tackle, sending him to the floor. They brawled for a bit, at which point Rhino clotheslined the ring post and allowed Fulton to gain control of the match.
Fulton worked over Rhino with mostly strikes and chokes. The match slowed to a crawl from here. Fulton focused on the mid-section, with several shoulder thrusts against the corner, getting a two count at one point from them.
Rhino tried some comebacks, but kept getting taken down by Fulton. After a couple of tries, Rhino dodged a flying headbutt and another running shoulder thrust into the corner, sending Fulton into the post.
Rhino hit a couple of chops and punches, followed with clotheslines. He finally set up the Gore, but Fulton caught him with a big boot for a two count. Fulton went for another top rope move, and once again, Rhino dodged, hit the Gore and pinned Fulton. Good opener, but the wrong man won.
After the match, Jake and Dave Crist came out and jumped Rhino until Sabu and Genie came out for the save. Sabu took out both Crists with chairs, he low blowed Fulton and hit a DDT on a chair to send him packing. These cheap pops are just not worth it anymore.
We got another Chris Bey vignette. He debuts next week!
Gabbi Loren interviewed Tessa Blanchard about what is next. She brought up Elgin vs. Edwards tonight, to which Tessa said that she is ready for either man come Rebellion. She said that no matter who wins, she walks out the champion.
Commentary said that there is security in the production truck because of the hacker that has been messing around with the show.
The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) defeated Desi Hit Squad (Mahabali Shera & Rohit Raju) (with Gama Singh)
Rohit and Dezmond start the match with a nice sequence of counters and misdirections that Rohit got the better off for a bit. Xavier caught Rohit with a one-legged moonsault for a two count and tagged in Wentz, who came in with a senton atomico. Rascalz were going for some double teams, but Rohit poked their eyes and ran to Shera.
Xavier got worked over by the Desi Hit Squad for a while. Shera did all power moves, including slamming Rohit on top for a two count. This didn’t last long, as Dezmond quickly escaped Rohit and tagged out.
Wentz ran wild over Rohit with strikes, earning a two count after a kick combo. Rascalz went for Hot Fire Flame, but Shera interrupted them, took out Wentz, and chokeslammed Xavier into his knee. Rohit followed with a neckbreaker, earning a two count when Wentz broke it up.
Wentz tried to make a comeback with several kicks. Wentz and Xavier hit a kick combo on Shera, followed with a swanton by Wentz. Xavier ended up landing a tornillo on Shera for the win. Not surprised The Rascalz won, but over Shera was a surprise for sure. Rohit is so underrated.
Backstage, RVD and Katie Forbes talked about the fans being pervy trolls. The Deaners told her they thought she looked great, which prompted Joey Ryan telling Cody Deaner that he was objectifying her. Ryan challenged the Deaners to a match next week. Rob didn’t even know he was involved.
We got a vignette for Tenille Dashwood, but no return date.
Knockouts champion Jordynne Grace defeated Lacey Ryan (with Madison Rayne) to retain the championship.
Ryan is the lady that stood up to Kiera Hogan last week. I figured she would fight Hogan first, but that is not the case.
Collar and elbow lock up to start, Ryan actually met Grace’s power. Jordynne went for the headlock, but Ryan got the escape, provoking Grace to go at her with a shoulder block. Ryan was able to come back with one of her own.
Ryan went to the top rope, but got caught by Jordynne, who tossed her down. Grace slammed her for a two count. Ryan snapped Grace’s arm against the ropes and hit a springboard arrow for a two count.
Ryan looked to hook an armbar, but Jordynne rolled over for the pin attempt. Ryan rushed Jordynne, but got caught with a big boot, a running knee and a running shoulder combo to the corner. Ryan then took the Vader Bomb, but kicked out.
Jordynne went for the Grace Driver, but Ryan blocked it, so Jordynne followed with a couple of clotheslines. Ryan caught Jordynne with a mule kick and a running kick for two.
Ryan once again went to the top rope, but Grace blocked her and hit the Muscle Buster for another two count. Ryan tried to make a comeback and managed to hit a frog splash.
Jordynne dodged a couple of kicks by Ryan, hit the Grace Driver, and took the win.
Pay attention to Lacey Ryan. While she needs to work on her landings, this woman can go! This was good.
Backstage, Fallah Bahh is talking to TJP about their title match against The North. He’s telling TJP that they can be the first ever Filipino World Tag Team champions. He says that Tito Boy is watching. TJP is ready.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was the Ultimate X match from January 2004 between Chris Sabin, Low Ki, Christopher Daniels, and Michael Shane.
Gabbi Loren interviewed the returning Chris Sabin. He said that he will be the special guest referee for the King of the Mountain match at the TNA nostalgia show. Moose interrupted him, saying that he would win. Sabin tried to explain the rules, but Moose got confused and said that he’d win anyway. Moose said the match was stupid and stormed off. At least we now have a confirmed entrant for the KOTM match.
We got a video package with the story of Edwards and Elgin fighting for the Call Your Shot trophy that Edwards won back at Bound for Glory.
We saw Taya Valkyrie drinking her pain away at a bar. She is wearing all black and her mascara was running down her face. For some reason, Rosemary is also there drinking her pain away, because her life is empty now that all her enemies are fighting themselves. Rosemary said that losing everything was the thing that would bring them together. This is going somewhere; these two are perfect for each other.
Willie Mack & Ace Austin defeated Swinging Disco Balls (Glenn Gilbertti & Johnny Swinger)
Before the match, the referee took away Swinger’s brass knuckles.
Swinger started the match for his team and the first thing they did was have Swinger accidentally take out Disco to the floor. Disco tagged in and got easily taken down by Mack. Swinger tagged in and suffered the same fate, taking a samoan drop and dropkick combo for a two count.
At this point, the Disco and Swinger started using heel tactics to cut off Mack, using the roll of quarters on Mack’s throat.
SDBs worked over Mack with quick tags, the roll of quarters, and striking behind the referee’s back, but Mack kept kicking out. Gilbertti hit the side Russian leg sweep and the Idiot’s Elbow for a two count.
Suddenly, Ace Austin came down and got in Mack’s corner, asking for a tag. The distraction was enough for Mack to make a small comeback and hit the Stunner on Disco, but he couldn’t capitalize. Mack actually tagged Ace, who took down Glenn and Swinger.
Mack and Ace started to work together, even hitting a double team move and connected with in-sync strikes. Mack hit the samoan drop and moonsault, then set up Ace for The Fold, and Mack hit the 6-Star Frog Splash on Disco and got the win.
After the match, Ace offered Mack a hand shake, who was confused. He took it. Mack wasn’t that confused a minute ago when he was tagging in and out.
Somewhere backstage, Su Yung attacked Havok with the bull rope. They brawled with chairs until Yung locked went for the Mandible Claw and buried Havok in a coffin. Havok is dead.
Backstage, Swinger blamed Disco for being rusty. He told him to go back to Memphis to get more work. The Swinging Disco Balls officially broke up.
We got another installment of Gut Check, this week they showed a 6-way match of the surviving participants. It was an ugly indie match. Winner will be announced next week.
Eddie Edwards (2) vs. Michael Elgin (2) in the fifth match of the Best of Five series ended in a double finish.
Elgin went straight to work early and took down Eddie with clotheslines, then sent him outside where he hit a DVD on the ramp for a two count.
Elgin went for the Buckle Bomb, but Eddie blocked. Elgin instead clobbered Eddie with forearms, but Eddie managed to dodge the final one and hit a desperation Blue Thunder Bomb. Eddie went to the top rope, but Elgin cut him off. They exchanged some strikes until Elgin hit an enziguri. Eddie once again managed to slip away and hit a sunset powerbomb from the ropes.
Back from commercial, Elgin sent Eddie to the floor the hard way with an over-the-top throw. Eddie recovered, but Elgin went to hit a DVD in the apron. Eddie escaped instead and slapped Elgin, but he couldn’t take him down until he kicked Elgin’s leg. Eddie then followed with a flip dive over the rope.
Back in the ring, Eddie followed up with a running elbow, went for a German, but Elgin blocked it. Elgin caught Eddie with a F-5 style X-Factor and a DDT for a two count. Elgin followed with a draping neckbreaker.
Elgin connected with more forearms and neckbreakers, but Eddie kept kicking out. Eddie tried making a comeback, but his strikes had no effect on Elgin. They got into a crazy stiff forearm and chop exchange until Eddie landed an over-the-belly suplex.
Eddie rushed Elgin to the corner, but Elgin caught him with a sambo suplex. Eddie came back with a belly-to-belly, then a backpack stunner for a two count. Elgin went for an electric chair drop, but Eddie kicked out at two. Elgin went back to clobbering Eddie and tried to hit a top rope Dragon Suplex, completely flipping Eddie over, but Eddie still kicked out. This was crazy!
Elgin went for the buckle bomb, but on impact, Eddie rebounded with a clothesline. Eddie went for a Tiger Driver, but Elgin kicked out at two.
Eddie finally went for the BKP, but Elgin caught him, slammed him with a powerbomb amd followed with a big Lariat, but Eddie still kicked out. Elgin hit the buckle bomb then the Elgin bomb, and Eddie still kicked out! Crowd was evenly split at this point.
Elgin finally went for the burning hammer, but Eddie escaped. Elgin and Eddie exchanged clotheslines, but Elgin accidentally took down the referee. Eddie hit the Boston Knee Party, but got a two count when a second referee came in.
Elgin hit a piledriver, but couldn’t follow up. He managed to lock in the crossface. Eddie rolled over and hooked him for the pin, but tapped out right at the three count.
The new referee gave Eddie the win, while the original referee gave Elgin the win. Scott D’Amore came down to settle things, but before they did, Tessa Blanchard came down. She said that at Rebellion, she’ll take on both of them. THAT is a fighting champion!
That was a fantastic main event with a weak finish, but it was saved at the last minute by Tessa Blanchard being a great champion.
Final Thoughts —
Really good show, the main event alone is worth going out of your way to watch.
Impact Wrestling returns from Sam’s Town Casino from Las Vegas, Nevada for the fallout of Sacrifice and the build up towards Rebellion.
Opening video focused on the main event from Sacrifice where Tessa Blanchard pinned the X-Division champion, Ace Austin.
Show began with footage from last week’s post-show where Ace Austin told D’Amore that he wants a rematch and he wants it to be a title match. D’Amore makes it for the X-Division Championship instead.
Daga defeated Rob Van Dam (with Katie Forbes) by countout
Rob started the match shoving Daga around a bit, but once the actual wrestling started, Daga used his armdrag abilities to send RVD to the floor and take him out with a quick dive. Outside the ring, Rob gained the upper hand slamming Daga a bit on the floor and kicking him.
Back in the ring, RVD kept working over Daga, mostly with kicks and stomps. Rob got a two count with a leg-scissors pin.
Rob teased the Rolling Thunder, but didn’t deliver as usual, and went outside to make out with Forbes. The distraction was enough for Daga to recover and catch RVD with a dropkick and a dragon screw, at least until Rob poked Daga in the eye.
Forbes got in the apron and distracted Rob about what people were saying in social media about them, which gave Daga an opening to roll up RVD for a two count.
Katie Forbes left to the back, which distracted Rob again, and once again, Daga got a dropkick and a monkey flip, got some clotheslines in then connected with a GTS for a two count. Daga hit an ugly suicide dive, and was going for the top rope finish but RVD walked out of the match. This was terrible, it made Daga look weak.
During the match, there was a lot of focus on Katie Forbes blocking people on social media and it worked into Rob getting distracted. May mean something later on.
After the match, the camera followed RVD to the back where Katie Forbes was saying those people don’t deserve to see them. RVD said they paid tickets, so they kinda do. Joey Ryan walked up to them and said he agreed with them and that he went through the same because of his ‘super penis’. Joey Ryan said that if they ever needed to talk, he was there for them.
Gabbi Loren interviewed Jordynne Grace about her successful defense against Havok. Jordynne said that she is a fighting champion and made an open challenge to anyone. Madison Rayne walked up and said that she is only copying her open challenge from last week. Rayne implied that she has a protege she is preparing to challenge Jordynne tonight.
Matthews and Callis ran down tonight’s card and explained the return of Gut Check.
This match comes from Rohit costing The Rascalz the tag titles at last Saturday’s Sacrifice match against The North.
Match started with a little bit of chain wrestling with both men getting the upper hand at some point. They later transitioned into a fast paced sequence of reversals and strikes that ended with a release German suplex by Wentz. Rohit recovered and came back with a strike combo and a running knee for a two count. Rohit sent Wentz to the floor for Shera, but Xavier and Trey were there to stand up against him.
Back from commercial, Rohit was still under control of Wentz, the former got a two count with a side leg sweep. Rohit went for a running knee, but Wentz caught him with a strike combo, a running knee, and PK to gain some momentum. Rohit rolled out, Wentz went for the dive, but Rohit faked him, and went for a dive himself only to get caught with a stunner on the ropes. Wentz hit a Bitter End-type maneuver for a two count.
They exchanged strikes in the middle of the ring, with Wentz having the upper hand, but Shera was there to distract Wentz, giving Rohit the opening to hit a Jumping Knee and a Flatliner for a two count. Raju went for the strikes and bites, and finally the finisher, but Wentz countered.
Wentz went for the top rope, but Shera distracted him. The Rascalz took care of Shera, but it was enough time for Rohit to move away from the Swanton Bomb and hit a Foot Stomp for the win.
The show was interrupted by the hacker, who blocked the music and lights, but then the show continued.
Ace Austin cut a promo about tonight’s match. He said that Tessa doesn’t deserve to get a title shot first since he has defeated Tessa more times. He said that after he defeats her tonight, he’s coming for the World Title. He had a great line that ‘Tessa may be undeniable, but he’s inevitable.
We got a promo by oVe, minus Sami Callihan. Dave Crist said that Sami is gone and that no one knows where he is. Dave said that they need a new leader, which prompts a face off between the Crist brothers and Madman Fulton. Jake Crist is there to calm them down and said that it’s all about Ohio.
Knockout’s champion Jordynne Grace defeated Miranda Alize (with Madison Rayne) to retain the title
Miranda Alize is great, but a bit underwhelming as the challenger. She also came out first and unannounced, making it lackluster.
Match started with Jordynne having the strength agvantage in the lock up, but Alize didn’t grant a clean break, slapping Jordynne in the face and angering her. Jordynne retaliated with a slap and slammed Alize down for a quick two count.
Jordynne gave Alize some stif shots and went for the clothesline, but Alzie used her speed and lucha style to counter with a couple of ranas and knee to the face for a two count.
Jordynne once again used her power to strike down Alize, hit a snap suplex and a running knee, a sliding shoulder block to the corner, and the Vader bomb for a two count. The shoulder block was so heavy that Alize looked legit hurt in the ribs.
Alize tried to come back with a cutter, but Grace kicked out, blocked a suplex, landed the Grace Driver and pinned Alize.
Weak match. Alize is good, but Jordynne didn’t mesh well with her.
Gabbi Loren interviewed The North about their upcoming title match against Bahh and TJP. Ethan Page said that they are the standard of tag team wrestling in the world. I don’t disagree. He said that Bahh and TJP want to be like them, but if they do, they eventually will get to them in the way, and there is no defeating them. Page was fantastic.
We got a vignette for the ‘Ultimate Finesser’ Chris Bey, Impact’s newest signee.
Somewhere in the back, we saw Havok roaming around, looking for Susie. Rosemary sneaks up on her. Rosemary said that she is now free of Mitchell and that she has another present for her, a No DQ match versus Su Yung.
Eddie Edwards (1) defeated Michael Elgin (2) in match 4 of the Best of Five series
This match was taped in Dayton, OH by The Wrestling Revolver. Match was commented on by Josh Matthews and D’Lo Brown.
Match started with both men exchanging kicks, shoulder blocks, and a couple of forearms. Eventually, Edwards got an atomic drop and an over-the-belly suplex, but when he went for the dive Elgin leaped over the ropes and hit a back elbow to take down Eddie. Elgin didn’t follow up, letting Eddie hit a fisherman suplex for a two count.
Eddie went for some chops on Elgin, who came back with a huge elbow to drop Eddie. Elgin followed with another elbow and a sliding one for a two count. Now it was Elgin that went for the chops. Eddie came back with some chops, but Elgin just exploded with a huge Sambo Suplex and a Scoop Slam. Elgin went for the top rope, but Eddie blocked him and hit a Superplex.
Elgin went for another Sambo, but Eddie countered into an armdrag and hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count. Eddie went for the Backpack Stunner, but Elgin got free, did a cartwheel out of the top rope, came down with a Release German, but Eddie fired up and hit one. Elgin hit a big Uranage.
Back from commercial, Elgin was clobbering Eddie with clotheslines, but as he went for the big one, Eddie wakes up and starts exchanging strikes with Elgin. Eddie counters a DVD and superkicks Elgin, but can’t capitalize. They went back to exchanging chops and forearms until Eddie landed a Tiger Bomb for a two count.
Eddie went for the Boston Knee Party, but Elgin caught him, set him up in the ropes and went for a second rope German. Eddie punched him off. Eddie went for a moonsault, which he rarely does, but Elgin moved away. Elgin took him down with a discus clothesline and went for a big lariat, but Eddie’s legs crumbled under him, dodging the clothesline.
Elgin was playing possum and got a small package for a two count. Eddie dodged another clothesline and rolled up Elgin with the Gedo Clutch and picked the win to tie Elgin 2-2. Great match.
Impact Plus Moment of the Week was Against All Odds 2010’s Ken Anderson vs Jeff Hardy in a ladder match for the purple TNA World title.
Gabbi Loren interviewed Petey Williams and Scott D’Amore. They’re introducing the upcoming nostalgia show – TNA: There’s No Place Like Home. D’Amore announces the return of Ultimate X, the return of the King of the Mountain, and hinted to a Reverse Battle Royal.
Moose interrupted them and said what we’re all thinking. TNA is dead and it should be left like that and that all focus should be on Impact, especifically Mr. Impact Wrestling. Moose made fun of the ‘stars’ of TNA. Petey Williams said that at least all those men were champions. Moose vs Petey Williams next week.
Also next week, Su Yung vs Havok in a No DQ match and TJP and Fallah Bahh vs The North in a non-title match.
Backstage, Willie Mack was approached by Johnny Swinger, who still doesn’t get it. Swinger said they’re getting better as a team. Disco Inferno approached them and said that he’d be a better partner for Mack because he’s a superstar and Mack needs him. In the end, Swinger and Inferno agreed to become a tag team.
We got a video package of this year’s Gut Check training camp. The trainer is John E. Bravo and the narrator is Scott D’Amore. They showed two guys that were terrible. One of them, Shogun, was straight up being stiff and unsafe.
We got the commercial for Lockdown, taking place on March 28th on Impact Plus.
Impact World champion Tessa Blanchard defeated X-Division champion Ace Austin by DQ
Ace went straight for the slam, but Tessa was ready to counter and rolled up Austin for a one count, she quickly followed with two low dropkicks, a running kick to the back and the middle rope Magnum for a two count. Hot start.
Ace went for a suplex but Tessa blocked and countered into a cradle for a quick pin attempt. Tessa went for a Rana, but Ace blocked it and landed a series of three backbreakers to gain control of the match. Tessa tried to make some comebacks, but he kept her at bay with kicks.
Ace focused on Tessa’s back with knee strikes and went for a bow and arrow. Ace got a two count with a backplex. Tessa tried to make another comeback, but Ace caught her with a strike. He started to show off more and more, giving Tessa more openings until she landed a tilt-a-whirl head-scissors and a dive to finally gain some momentum.
Tessa went for a tornado DDT, but Ace blocked her and landed a gutbuster. Ace focused on the back with strikes and sunk in a crossface.
Ace continued going for strikes and kicks to the back, and followed up with a dragon sleeper. Tessa made the ropes and finally made her comeback with chops and punches, but as she went for the Buzzsaw, Ace blocked.
Ace went for The Fold, but Tessa dodged. Tessa hit a rana and a big tornado DDT, but as she went for Magnum Taya Valkyrie ran down and jumped Tessa for the DQ finish. Taya kept banging Tessa’s head against the mat until the show went off the air.
Final Thoughts —
An overall good show for Impact. it started weak inside the ring, but it got better towards the second half. Storyline wise, we’re starting to get hints towards Rebellion and the TNA nostalgia show.
Impact Wrestling kicks off the new set of tapings from Sam’s Town Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Opening video recapped Michael Elgin going 2-0 against Eddie Edwards in their Best of Five series. Su Yung attacking James Mitchell, the hacker that has been messing around with the broadcast, and Jordynne Grace winning the Knockouts championship.
TJP (with Fallah Bahh) defeated Josh Alexander (with Ethan Page)
Fantastic match. It started with some little chain wrestling with Josh keeping wrist control and TJP finding ways to counter and reverse. At one point TJP went for a leg-scissors and Josh just blocked it and forced TJP to get the ropes instead.
TJP then turned around the match doing lucha moves, hitting a couple of ranas, at least until Alexander took him down with a shoulder block and began working over him.
TJP managed to get some speed and locked in an octopus hold, but Alexander rolled him over and once again cut him off. TJP tried again with a submission and Alexander turned it into a backbreaker for a two count.
After some more work, Alexander went for a Green Bay plunge, but TJP managed to reverse it into a crucifix pin for a two count. Alexander decided to go for a second one, but TJP escaped, took down Alexander with a cross armbreaker from the second rope for the near submission until Alexander rolled him over with the pin.
TJP sent Alexander outside with some headscissors, followed by a corkscrew plancha. Dropkick to the back and springboard dropkick to the head by TJP. He missed the swanton and Alexander caught him with a backbreaker, but TJP still got a quick roll-up for a two count. Alexander went for the big swing, but TJP turned it into a kneebar and a desperation powerbomb. Alexander hit like a Release Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count.
They got into a striking exchange that ended with TJP on top with a Spinning Kick. Alexander came back with a forearm to the back of the neck and a snap German. TJP recovered and locked in the Armbar again, only to get powerbombed into Josh’s knee for a two count.
Alexander went for a Super Fallaway Slam, but TJP escaped to the apron. TJP hit a jumping Superplex that almost killed Alexander, transitioned into the Octopus and into an Achilles Lock until Josh made the ropes.
TJP went for the Detonation Kick, but Josh blocked it. Alexander locked in a sleeper, but TJP rolled over and got the pin. Go watch this match now.
Backstage, Johnny Swinger interrupted the fantastic actor Willie Mack. Swinger told Mack that they need to practice and get some reps. Macks tells him that he’s right and heads to the ring.
Michael Elgin cut a promo on Eddie. He said that he thought they were similar, but that Eddie needed to be pushed to the limits by Callihan and Ace Austin to finally dig in and win, while Elgin doesn’t need anything. He will win tonight.
Willie Mack defeated Johnny Swinger
This was mostly all jokes. Swinger tried using tricks from the start, and every time, Mack had the upper hand.
Swinger went for the Fuchi punch but instead took three himself. Swinger finally got the upper hand with a guillotine over the ropes, which he followed with some strikes. He followed that with some illegal chokes, a headbutt to the groin, and some eye rakes.
Swinger went for the top rope ax handle, but Mack caught him with strikes, clotheslines, and a big scoop slam. Mack connected with the Samoan drop and moonsault combo. Swinger went for his finish, but Mack blocked, hit the stunner and the 6-Star Frog Splash for the win. Ok match, nothing to it, hopefully, this story is done.
We got a video recap of Jordynne Grace’s chase for the Knockout’s championship and last week’s match in which she won it.
Madison Rayne was in the ring talking about Jordynne Grace. She said that Grace got herself in a match she didn’t belong, she cheated to win that match, and now she’s the champion. Rayne said that tonight, she was holding a special Golden Opportunity Open Challenge. Out came….
Madison Rayne defeated Mazzerati
Mazzerati got a couple of roll-ups and a dropkick to start the match, but Rayne came back with a big knee to the liver and connected with a northern lights suplex for the two count.
Rayne locked in a cravate for the submission tease, but she instead hit a couple of knees to the face for a two count.
Mazzerat came back with a jawbreaker and some strikes, a jumping forearm, but Rayne was ready with a ripcord cutter for a two count. Mazzerati hit a couple of bad kicks and went for a Moonsault, but Rayne kicked the ropes off from her, brought her down with the CrossRayne for the win. Mazzerati has potential but needs some more time in the oven.
Gabbi Loren interviewed Jordynne Grace about winning the title. Jordynne said that this meant the world to her, she’s been wrestling since she was 14 years old and that beating Taya for it was the icing on the cake. She said that she’ll defeat Jessicka Havok at Sacrifice and will be a defending champion.
John E. Bravo then walked up, shouting about Taya being the greatest champion in the company. Bravo said she had a special video package made for Taya. We got the video and it was awesome, it was a full package of Taya’s last few years with Impact. Taya is indeed awesome.
Back from commercial, Taya was screaming at Bravo. Taya said she’s coming to get her title back.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was Ken Anderson vs The Pope D’Angelo Dinero from Against All Odds 2010.
Backstage, RVD tried to calm down Katie Forbes about social media. They were talking about losers when RVD starts to make fun of Daga, who then shows up challenges Rob to a match.
Gabbi Loren interviewed Tessa Blanchard, Trey Miguel, and Tommy Dreamer. The latter put over Tessa and Trey for making their names. Tessa said she felt great with this team and that come Sacrifice, it will be one on one vs Ace Austin.
Eddie Edwards (0) defeated Michael Elgin (2) in Match 3 of the Best of Five series
Match started with some clotheslines in the middle of the ring. Elgin went for the quick German, but Eddie landed on his feet and sent Elgin to the outside. He followed with a suicide dive, and back in the ring, hit a tiger bomb for a two count. Strong start for Eddie.
Eddie went for the BKP, but Elgin dodged, dropped Eddie on the ropes, hit a release German, and a Sliding Lariat. They made it to the apron where Elgin hit a DVD for a two count.
Back in the ring, Elgin worked over Eddie’s upper body with strikes. Eddie tried to make a comeback, but Elgin struck him down repeatedly. After some trash talk, Eddie finally started to build some momentum with chops, but once again, Elgin took him down.
Elgin went for a second rope punch, but Eddie caught him, sent him outside with a running boot, and once again went for the suicide dive, but this time was caught with an elbow by Elgin in mid-air. Elgin went for the Elgin Bomb on the ramp, but Eddie rolled over and hit a desperation Boston Knee Party as they went crashing down for the countout tease.
Eddie hit a top rope foot stomp for a two count. Elgin hit a superkick and lariat. Elgin hit a Falcon Arrow for a two count, followed with another sliding lariat to the back of the neck.
Elgin hit the buckle bomb, but Eddie countered the Elgin Bomb to a pin for a two count. Elgin went for the crossface, but Eddie rolled over, hit a BKP, but couldn’t capitalize fast enough. Eddie went for a lariat but ate two of Elgin’s for yet another two count.
Elgin went for the Burning Hammer, but Eddie escaped. Elgin hit an enzuigiri, Eddie came back with a diamond-giri and a frankensteiner, but Elgin turned it into a powerbomb. Elgin went for the Elgin Bomb and Eddie turned it into a small package for the win. Another fantastic match tonight!
Moose came down for commentary for the next match.
Rhino defeated Dave Crist (with Jake Crist)
Dave jumped Rhino and got some chops and chokes in. Jake Crist got some cheap shots in while Dave distracted the referee. Dave stomped on Rhino and went for a second rope senton, but Rhino moved.
Rhino made a comeback with strikes and clotheslines. He followed with a belly-to-belly suplex then went for the Gore, but Jake Crist tripped him, allowing Dave to get some strikes in.
Rhino finally took down Jake Crist, hit the Gore on Dave, and picked up the win. Total squash match.
Somewhere backstage, Jessicka Havok roamed until Susie showed up, but Susie was playing tricks on her, telling Havok her time had come.
We got a vignette for Chris Bey who will be joining Impact soon.
Gabbi Loren was talking about Sacrifice when her stream was interrupted by the hacker. Callis and Matthews said they’re investigating what is happening.
X-Division Champion Ace Austin & Reno Scum (Luster The Legend & Adam Thornstowe) defeated Impact World Champion Tessa Blanchard, Trey Miguel, and Tommy Dreamer
Thornstowe and Trey start the match, with the latter having the upper hand thanks to his speed and lucha ability. Trey drops Thornstowe with dropkicks before tagging in Tessa.
Tessa came in and hit an assisted hurricanrana, then tagged in Dreamer. Babyfaces continued with quick tags and quick shots until Thornstowe was able to cut off Trey and tag in Ace Austin, who quickly tagged in Luster. He easily overpowered Trey.
The heels jumped Dreamer and the match quickly broke down with triple bionic elbows on Luster The Legend.
Back from commercial, Dreamer is still working over Luster The Legend but suddenly he takes a knee from Ace Austin, and that gives Luster the opening to cut him off and separate him from his team.
The heels worked over Dreamer for a while with a lot of quick tags, some dirty armpit tricks, and a bunch of strikes and stomps. Dreamer managed to avoid a diving headbutt from Luster and finally tagged in Trey.
Trey and Ace had a quick sequence until Trey landed the meteora on Ace and went for the pin, but it was broken up by Thornstowe. He pulled Trey outside, slammed him, and successfully cut him off. Reno Scum worked over Trey with several double team moves, scoring a two count with a backbreaker and facebuster combo.
Trey finally made an escape and hot tagged Tessa. She took control of Luster with strikes then landed a tornado DDT. Tessa hit a Samoan drop on Thornstowe, then locked in a sleeper hold on Ace, but Trey was ready for the blind tag. Tessa and Trey hit sequential Superkicks, ending with a Cutter from Trey for a two count when Luster broke it up.
Dreamer hit a Cutter on Luster and took him out with an apron senton.
Tessa hit a suicide dive on Thornstowe and went for the DDT, but Ace was there to kick her head off. Trey followed by kicking Ace off the ring and hit a tornillo to the outside.
Back in the ring, Ace low blowed Trey, hit the Fold, then pinned Trey for the win. Another good match, but unfortunately the wrong person lost.
Final Thoughts —
A great show by Impact, three top notch matches and the start of some stories, a good go-home show for Sacrifice, and a good start to build towards Rebellion.
Opening video focused on the build to tonight’s Knockout’s title match between Taya Valkyrie and Jordynne Grace. Also tonight, match two of the Elgin vs Edwards best-of-five series.
Michael Elgin defeated Eddie Edwards in Match two of the Best of Five series
Eddie tried to start the match with a kick, but Elgin was ready and chopped him down, hit an exploder and picked up an early two count, in addition to gaining control of the match. Elgin went for an early buckle bomb, but Eddie blocked, so instead, Elgin went for strikes.
Eddie hit a rolling German, but Elgin no sold and went for a sliding lariat and countered into a crucifix pin for a two count. Eddie hit a dragon screw on the ropes and went for a top rope dive, but was countered into a sit down powerbomb for another two count.
Elgin dropped Eddie with one elbow strike after another and ended up sending him outside. Down on the floor, Elgin kicked and slammed Eddie into the apron.
Back in the ring, Elgin kept the punishment while Eddie could barely stay on his feet. Eddie tried to strike Elgin back, but it wasn’t effective. Eventually, Eddie got an enzuigiri in, but Elgin came back with a German and a dragon suplex, followed by a huge lariat for a two count.
Elgin went for the superplex, but Eddie dropped down with the sunset bomb, blocked by Elgin. Elgin blocked a tiger bomb attempt, but Eddie caught him with a lariat and got the tiger bomb for a two count. Eddie went for the BKP, but Elgin dodged to the floor, where he instead took a suicide dive.
Eddie hit a Diamond-giri, followed with a top rope rana, but Elgin blocked and went for the powerbomb, only for Eddie to counter the rana for another two count. Elbin blocked Eddie’s strike, did a shoulder breaker, and locked in the crossface, but Eddie rotated for the pin attempt.
Eddie hit a short German and a BKP attempt, but Elgin dodged, hit the buckle bomb then followed with the Elgin Bomb for the win. Elgin is now 2-0 in the series.
We got a video package for Jordynne Grace’s chase of the Knockout’s championship, going back a full year when she first debuted.
Gabbi Loren tried to interview Taya Valkyrie. She asked about Taya’s preparedness, to which Taya answered she obviously was, but if she cared about it, she wouldn’t be out there disturbing her. Taya said that no one ever believed in her and no one thought she would be able to retain this long, but now she’s the longest reigning champion.
Mathews and Callis ran down some matches for tonight and for the Sacrifice special.
Madman Fulton defeated Daga
This was a power vs speed match, big vs small. Daga went straight for Fulton’s leg with a low dropkick, but when he tried to follow with a second, Fulton caught him and took him down with one clothesline. Daga went for a rana, but again, Fulton caught him and went for a powerbomb to the floor, but Daga was able to keep the rana and send fulton to the floor, where he followed with a tope suicida.
Back from commercial, both men make it back to the ring, but Fulton again manages to catch Daga and take him down with a big boot and get a two count. Daga goes for a bulldog, but Fulton blocks him, drops him against the ropes and hits a German for a two count.
Fulton snaps Daga’s head against the ropes and keeps up with the forearms.
Daga finally fires up and starts hitting Fulton. He escaped a Scoop Slam and hit a dropkick to Fulton’s back. Daga hit a missile dropkick, then a short DDT for a two count. Daga continued with a superkick and a standing footstomp for another two count.
Daga went for punches, but Fulton grabbed him by the neck, hit two chokeslams and got a two count. Fulton went for a top rope move, but Daga escaped and hit a second rope German, followed by a DVD. The Crist brothers then came down for the distraction. Daga took them out with a dive, hit a top rope Cutter on Fulton, but when Daga went for the Tornado DDT Fulton blocked and hit an End of Days, dropping Daga on his head, and getting the win.
Moose was getting a massage, asking to get some work on his butt because Rhino has been a pain in his ass. Moose said that he is tired of dealing with Rhino, who, just in the perfect timing, came in and attacked Moose. He stole his towel and slapped him with it, making Moose run for safety.
Page starts by jumping Bahh, but fails to keep the momentum when trying to shoulder block him. Bahh in the first minute did a cartwheel, hit a belly-to-belly and sent Page to the outside. Josh distracted Bahh, giving Page the opening to kick down Bahh and regain some control.
Page hit a couple of kicks and a shoulder tackle to take down Bahh. Page went for strikes, but Bahh started to fire up and counter Page, whipping him to the corner and hitting a running hip attack. Bahh hit a samoan drop and went for the Banzai Drop, but Alexander was there to save Page and let Bahh drop into nothingness. TJP made sure to run in and take out Josh with a tope con giro.
Back in the ring, Bahh caught Page with a roll-up and picked up the upset win, earning a tag title shot.
James Mitchell and Havok find Susie. Mitchell is happy that it’s her and not Su Yung, but it turns out, Su Yung seems to have mastered transforming from one to the other and she is tricking Mitchell and Havok.
Rob Van Dam (w/Katie Forbes) defeated Joey Ryan
RVD has a new theme song, they managed to make something worse than RVD’s originally bad theme song.
Joey Ryan started by stalling, putting on oil all over and asking RVD to touch it, which prompted the R-V-D taunt. Katie Forbes got in the ring and made out with RVD, which wasn’t a DQ. Forbes danced in the ring until the distraction was enough for RVD to jump Ryan.
RVD worked over Ryan for a bit with kicks, but he played to the crowd so much that Ryan started his comeback with some punches, a school boy and a dropkick as the fight spilled outside to the floor.
Back in the ring, RVD started to resort to heel tricks, poking Ryan’s eyes. RVD did the crescent kick to Ryan, who was on the ropes, but once again, RVD just played to the crowd and teased doing moves, but instead, he just went for Forbes.
Joey Ryan caught RVD with a tope suicida. In the ring, they traded some near falls before Ryan finally got RVD’s hand on his penis, but Rob was actually able to counter Ryan with a kick. RVD hit the Five Star Frog Splash and picked up the win. Ken Shamrock took the dick flip, but RVD wouldn’t.
We went backstage where Su Yung is dragging James Mitchell with the rope she was hanged with. Su Yung chokes him out and sends him to the Undead Realm again, which is where he lives anyway.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was Magnus vs Eric Young from Sacrifice 2014.
Johnny Swinger approached Willie Mack about backing him up tonight, he had the Fuji dust and the roll of quarters ready. Mack told him to stay out of his way.
Willie Mack vs Mahabali Shera (w/Desi Hit Squad) ended in a no contest
Rohit held up Mack’s foot, allowing Shera to jump him to start the match. They quickly got into strikes, with Mack getting most of them in. As soon as Mack seemed to have some advantage, Rohit attacked him. The referee then declared the match a no contest.
Johnny Swinger came down with a chair to run off the Desi Hit Squad, so the match is being restarted as a tag team match.
Desi Hit Squad (Mahabali Shera & Rohit Raju w/Gama Singh) defeated Willie Mack & Johnny Swinger
Desi Hit Squad started the match with control over Swinger. Eventually, Swinger managed to escape Shera and tag in Mack. Willie took down Shera and hit a rolling cannonball to the corner. He landed the samoan drop and moonsault combo on Rohit Raju.
Swinger blind-tagged himself in, but actually managed to hold down Shera for a bit until he suggested a double team move.Mack didn’t want to tag, so Rohit eventually pulled Mack out, Shera took down Swinger, then picked up the win.
Gabbi Loren interviewed Tessa Blanchard about her upcoming match with Ace Austin and his mind games. Tessa said that Ace is a scumbag, but not even a good one at it. Ace approached them and hit on Tessa, who answered in the form of punches until Reno Scum and The Rascalz broke them up. Ace Austin & Reno Scum vs Tessa Blanchard, Tommy Dreamer, and Trey Miguel next week.
Jordynne Grace defeated Knockout’s Champion Taya Valkyrie (w/ John E. Bravo) to win the Knockouts title
Taya jumped Grace to start and goes straight for the strikes and the running hip attacks. Taya distracts the referee to allow Bravo to choke out Grace until Taya is ready to continue with the running knees.
Back from commercial, Taya maintains control over Grace, keeping up the strategy of distracting the referee while Bravo attacks. Jordynne slowly starts to make a comeback with strikes and lands a desperation German. Taya tried running to the outside, but Grace followed with a suicide dive.
Jordynne went for a top rope move, but Bravo was there to toss her down to Taya’s punches. Taya is back to her strategy, adding kicks to Jordynne’s arm and back. Jordynne keeps trying to get strikes in, finally landing a desperation spinebuster.
Both women exchanged strikes in the middle of the ring until Grace hit a couple of scoop slams, ending with the Grace Driver for a two count.
They fought on the apron where Jordynne looked for a piledriver, but Taya got off, kicked out Grace, and actually powerbombed her into the steel steps on the floor. Taya pulled Jordynne to the entrance ramp where she hit the Road To Valhalla for the countout tease. Jordynne made it to the ring at 9, and into a two count by Taya.
Taya went for a top rope moonsault, but Grace pulled her off. Jordynne instead went for the muscle buster for a two count. Taya locked in an armbreaker, but Grace powered into a two count pin. Taya relocked it, but Grace reversed it into a crossface, but Bravo pulled them both into the ropes.
Jordynne hit a Vader Bomb and Grace Driver, but Bravo pulled the referee out of the ring. The referee was pulled back into the ring by Grace and accidentally speared by Taya. Bravo laid on top of Taya to protect her, but Grace hit a top rope senton to take them both out, followed by the Grace Driver for the win. Jordynne Grace has ended the record breaking reign of Taya Valkyrie.
Final Thoughts —
Good show. It started and ended strong, but there was some stuff in the middle that was totally missable.
Impact Wrestling returns from Fronton Mexico in Mexico City for tonight’s episode. Opening video focused on Tessa Blanchard’s title win, her call out of Callihan, and Ace Austin and Taya’s challenge from last week.
El Hijo del Vikingo defeated Josh Alexander (w/ Ethan Page)
A total power vs. speed battle. Alexander started the match bullying Vikingo with that power advantage, cutting him off when Vikingo tried to get some speed. It wasn’t long until he caught him with a springboard dropkick, rana to the outside, but when Vikingo went for a tope con giro, Alexander moved and Vikingo landed on the floor. Alexander got a two count.
Back in the ring, Alexander started working over Vikingo with strikes and stomps. Vikingo made a comeback with an impressive Armbar, but Alexander simply powerbombed him off. delayed vertical suplex by Alexander for a two count.
They got into a slap exchange that ended with Vikingo faking out Alexander and hitting a second springboard dropkick and twisting dive to the floor. Vikingo got whipped to the guardrail, but Vikingo jumped into the rail, into the balcony, and landed a moonsault on Josh. Vikingo took out Page with a twisting Asai moonsault. Vikingo tried to follow with a dive on Alexander, but got caught and powerbombed.
Vikingo recovered and dropped Alexander in the corner, hit a running knee to the face, and hit a 450 for a two count. Vikingo went for a rana, but Alexander blocked and powerbombed him to the knee for a two count.
Alexander went for a second rope move, but Vikingo reversed into a rana. Alexander went for a German, but Vikingo again blocked and reversed into a roll up for a two count. Several more roll ups until Alexander went for the double underhook driver, but Vikingo fully rotated into a dragonrana for the upset pin.
Awesome start to the show. C’mon Impact, get Vikingo a visa already. This got money treatment by the Mexican crowd.
Gabi Loren tried to interview Taya Valkyrie about tonight’s three-way no. 1 contendership match, but Taya had no comments other than Jordynne having no business being in this match.
Moose cut a promo saying that he doesn’t make excuses, but this time, the only reason he lost to Taurus was because of Rhino. Moose said that once he’s done with Taurus, he’s coming for Rhino.
Callis and Matthews ran down tonight’s card. Relevant here is that there are video issues from some ‘hacker’, most likely Callihan.
The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) defeated El Pagano & Murder Clown
Pagano and Murder Clown are way over tonight, given that they’re Mexican and Pagano kept making references to La Parka.
Wentz and Murder start the match with the latter easily getting the better of Wentz with a press slam. Wentz hit a rana on Murder, kicked the knee out of Murder and connected with a small kick.
Dezmond and Pagano tagged in. Dezmond ran circles around Pagano until Pagano got a reverse suplex and a running neckbreaker. Pagano chopped and hit Dezmond, who then came back with a striking combo himself before tagging Wentz. Murder Clown pulled both Rascalz to the floor and set them up for Pagano’s tope con giro.
Back in the ring, Murder and Pagano worked over Dezmond with a sloppy monkey flip into a dropkick for a two count that Wentz broke up. Pagano and Murder hit a 5150 on Wentz, which couldn’t wasn’t called as a reference to LAX. Murder Clown followed with a 619 on Dezmond, but Wentz was there to block the follow-up. Rascalz hit a double superplex on Murder, followed by a swanton by Wentz and a tornillo by Dezmond for the win.
This was really sloppy, Pagano is terrible and Murder can’t exactly hang with the speed of The Rascalz.
Michael Elgin cut a promo on Eddie Edwards, telling him that he is the rightful owner of the trophy. He said that he doesn’t need five matches since he already beat him over and over again. He said that he’ll take the trophy and claim the World Championship.
Moose defeated Taurus
Shoulder tackles and lucha arm drags to start the match, with Taurus hitting an early rana on Moose, who came back with chops and into the chop exchange. Taurus hit a plancha to send Moose to the outside then followed with a corkscrew tope.
Down on the floor, Moose managed to whip Taurus to the ring post, but failed to chop him and hit the post instead, but then delivered the same, faking Taurus who went headfirst into the post.
Back in the ring, Moose now had the upper hand and worked over Taurus, at one point going for Taurus’ mask. Moose went from corner to corner striking Taurus until he started getting cocky and failed to land a running elbow to the corner. Taurus took out his knee and hit the second 619 of the night, followed with a diamongiri and a slingblade for a two count.
Moose went for the discus forearm, but Taurus blocked with a striking combo. Moose went for another, but Taurus hit a headbutt.
Moose faked out Taurus, sending him to the ring post shoulder first, then hit No Jackhammer Needed for the win. Good match.
After the match, Rhino stalked Moose and hit the Gore.
Eddie Edwards cut a promo, addressing Elgin’s promo about him talking and talking, but he’s the one that always walks out with the trophy. Eddie said that it could be a Best of a Thousand, but in the end it’s always the same, him keeping the trophy.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was James Storm vs Kurt Angle from Genesis 2012.
Gabi Loren interviewed Joey Ryan about Rob Van Dam. Ryan said that he didn’t understand RVD’s reason to go after him and claimed that it’s all because RVD is jealous and worried that Katie wants to touch ‘it’.
Taya Valkyrie came down to join commentary for the following match.
Jordynne Grace defeated Madison Rayne and Kiera Hogan to become the number one contender for the Knockouts title
Rayne and Hogan teamed up against Grace, but Jordynne easily got the better of both, striking them down, dropping Hogan with a Draping DDT, a body scissors on Rayne on to Hogan for a two count.
Jordynne went for the Muscle Buster on Rayne, but Hogan saved her, so in exchange, Jordynne double clotheslined both. Grace couldn’t get the pin due to the numbers game.
Rayne and Hogan finally got the upper hand with a couple of double team moves, mostly kicks and strikes while one of them either held or distracted Grace.
Jordynne made a comeback overpowering Rayne and Hogan with a double suplex. Jordynne slapped both down, gave a scoop slam to each and delivered an ugly Grace Driver on Hogan for a two count when Rayne broke it off.
Jordynne kicked down both women again and went to the top rope, where both women managed to toss her off. Hogan hit an assisted shiranui, but both women tried to pin Jordynne and the referee had to tell them off. The distraction was enough for Jordynne to recover and use Rayne’s arm to choke Hogan for a submission tease. If you use someone’s limb to submit another, who gets the win?
Rayne and Hogan hit a kick combo on Grace to send her down to the floor and finally get a breather, but they started bickering on who should go after Grace, but again, it was enough time for Grace to recover, take out Rayne, hit the Grace Driver on Hogan, and pick up the win and right to face Taya again.
Ace Austin cut a promo showing how he has defeated Trey Miguel twice already. He brought up defeating Tessa Blanchard twice too.
Johnny Swinger approached Willie Mack and told him that they need to work on their teamwork. Mack told him off and said that Swann is his only partner.
In the locker room, TJP got a new attire for the now thinner Fallah Bahh. TJP is wrestling Vikingo next week!
Dr. Wagner Jr. & Daga (w/ Galeno del Mal) defeated Reno Scum (Luster The Legend & Adam Thornstowe)
Daga and Thronstowe start the match with a quick sequence of counters with Daga getting the upper hand until Luster gets tagged in. Wagner tagged in but was overtaken by Luster’s power advantage, blocking a crossbody and turning it into a Scoop Slam, followed by a headbutt for a two count. Luster went for a second rope Diving headbutt, but Wagner moved and got Daga in.
Daga got pulled to the floor by Thornstowe and rammed to the rail to successfully cut him off from his corner. Reno Scum worked over Daga with quick tags and double team moves until Daga made a comeback using his speed to dodge and strike both men.
Wagner got the hot tag and took out both Scum members, hitting dragon screws on each. Samoan drop on Thornstowe, followed by some kind of flatliner by Daga, who then hit a corkscrew to Luster outside. Wagner hit the Wagner Driver for a two count.
Daga came in and took a huge spinebuster by Luster and a DVD by Thownstowe for a two count, broken up by Wagner. Luster got sent out to the floor by Wagner, followed by a rolling senton. Inside the ring, Daga pinned Thornstowe with the Daga driver.
After the match, Jake and Dave Crist returned and attacked Daga and Wagner Jr, while Reno Scum held off Galeno del Mal outside the ring. oVe hit a triple team move on Daga.
Somewhere in the Undead Realm, Susie was walking around until Rosemary came up to her. Rosemary wants to help her find what Susie is looking for, telling her that maybe the answer is not in the halls, but outside. Rosemary wants to turn Susie into her disciple, which Susie agrees to. Next week, Susie vs Rosemary in a friendly exhibition.
Michael Elgin defeated Eddie Edwards in Match 1 of the Best of Five series
Match started with some mat wrestling, some shoulder tackles, and chops, but Eddie quickly focused on taking out Elgin’s knee with a low dropkick and chasing a submission. In return, Elgin went after Eddie’s arm.
Elgin went to the floor, followed by Eddie with a suicide dive. Elgin went for a German, but Eddie landed on his feet instead. Elgin blocked a rana and slinged Eddie to the guardrail.
Back from commercial, Elgin is beating up Eddie with forearms and clotheslines, but Eddie lands a desperation Blue Thunder Bomb to get some space to recover. Eddie drops Elgin with a dragon screw, followed with a diamongiri and a backpack stunner for a two count. Elgin transitions into a single leg crab then into an STF, but Elgin overpowers out to his feet.
Eddie landed a big forearm and went for a Tiger Driver, but Elgin countered with a vertebreaker.
Elgin hit a couple of running clotheslines, but failed to suplex Eddie and instead went for a series of Germans and the sliding forearm to the back to the neck for the two count.
A buckle bomb attempt by Elgin followed, but Eddie blocked. They exchanged strikes, clotheslines, and kicks, with Eddie getting the better of Elgin. Eddie hit a Tiger Bomb, but Elgin kicked out at 2.99.
Eddie went for a top rope Frankenstiner, but Elgin countered into a top rope DVD for a two count. He then transitioned into the crossface and a set of elbows to the neck, locked in the crossface once more and submitted Edwards when Eddie passed out. Really good match.
Final Thoughts —
Good and fun show from Impact. The Mexico shows tend to be hit or miss depending on the matches, and this one had a good set. Not a lot of storyline developments in this show, however. Josh Alexander vs Hijo del Vikingo is worth going out of your way to watch.
This was a fantastic go-home show and really put World Champion Sami Callihan and his challenger Tessa Blanchard over huge.
As we kick off the show, Michael Elgin and Eddie Edwards were in a huge brawl at ringside. Edwards rolled in the ring, grabbed a mic, and said he didn’t want to wait for Hard to Kill and wanted to break his ass New York City-style.
Michael Elgin defeated Eddie Edwards
Don Callis talked about each man being successful in Japan with Elgin winning the IWGP IC Title from Kenny Omega while Edwards was the GHC Champion in NOAH.
Match highlights: Elgin hit a big lariat, but Edwards absorbed it and landed some chops before machine gun chopping him in the corner. Elgin clubbed him, but Edwards got in more chops. Elgin then chopped the hell out of him before Edwards turned the table with a corner lariat sequence. Edwards ate a German, but used Elgin’s prone position for a basement Boston Knee Party to the back of the head.
Elgin wanted a powerplex, but Edwards sunset bombed him. Elgin tried to absorb it, but couldn’t, so Edwards forearmed him only to eat a lariat and then a running lariat for 2.5. Elgin got half-crabbed, but turned it into a crossface before getting cradled for 2. Elgin then hit a buckle bomb into the Elgin bomb for the pin and win. This was fantastic. Even in a wrestling stacked week, this was a very good match.
Later, their PPV encounter at Hard to Kill had its stakes raised with Edwards’ Call your Shot title shot trophy put on the line. Callis called it a dream match despite it literally just being on this show minutes prior.
— The North’s year of dominance was showcased as well as the tag title shot gauntlet featuring Rich Swann and Willie Mack winning and The North trying to rip them apart.
Desi Hit Squad defeated TJP, Fallah Bahh and Daga
The babyface team is the most random assortment of humans since Lifeblood in ROH.
Match highlights: Shera buckle bombed Raju into Daga in the corner for 2. Raj hit a sliding dropkick and a senton for 2. TJP came in in and hit a second rope bodyblock on Raj. Bahh hit a somersault senton leading to a one count for TJP. Daga hit a run-up armdrag/head scissor on Raj and Shera before flip diving on everyone. TJP opened the ropes and Bahh hit a suicide dive on everyone. Daga avoided a tilt-a-whirl with a nice backstabber for 2.
TJP sunsetflipped Shera for two before TJP got hit with a sky high for the pin by Shera who has definitely improved a bit from his last stint in Impact even though he has a lot of work to do.
— Mack and Swann talked about their tag title match Sunday. Mack said he doesn’t want to hold Swann back. Swann said that last year, the only person he could count on was Willie Mack and he relied on Mack to be the man he needed to be here and in life. Swann knows Mack is hurt, but needs him for Sunday in the best condition he can be in and they have to live up to the show’s name and be hard to kill to get the titles. This was not only great, effective hype for the title match, but tremendous character building work that makes a team out to be actual friends and not just professional allies.
— OVE cut a promo about how hard it is to kill them and how Sunday isn’t about Tessa Blanchard, it’s about Sami Callihan. Fulton says that he’ll take the World’s Most Dangerous Man and break everything.
— Johnny Swinger spiked Joey Ryan’s drink with somas before Tommy Dreamer told him to grow up and wanted him to take a drink of his “delayed-release medication”.
— Ace Austin vs. Trey is hyped up with Austin hitting on his mother and Trey threatening to break his neck. This was the reverse of the Mack and Swann stuff in that it built things up, but did so in a way that didn’t feel authentic.
— We then got a lot of build to the World title match Sunday. The Callihan vs. Brian Cage steel cage match was recapped to build up for the PPV as was Callihan vs. Blanchard from Slammiversary. Callihan blames Blanchard for taking his moment away from him. Blanchard talked about growing up in North Carolina and how her mother says she is as stubborn as her father. Her sister talked about how her kids love Blanchard. Tessa said she only saw one of Tully’s matches live before Magnum TA talked about fighting with Tully in the famous I Quit match.
Callihan said that he did everything he could as a kid to eventually get to pro wrestling. His family loved wrestling and his brothers grew out of it, but he didn’t. Both of his parents died when he was in his 20s and his family is now what pro wrestling has given him. He was on a tour of Germany when his mother died and his father said that he should stay there because she wouldn’t want him to miss out on his dream. His father died when he was in WWE developmental, but his father said before that to stay there and not deal with him.
A recap of their NYC street brawl is show and she said that she knows what his goons are capable of, but they can’t stop her at Hard to Kill. Callihan said that everyone’s a sinner, but he’s a saint and the savior of Impact Wrestling. Blanchard said that she’ll make history not due to her gender, but because she ended the reign of the most vile champion in company history. He closes the segment by saying that he will bash her skull in.
— Backstage, Jim Mitchell led Havok to the ring and told Susie to stay in the back. That was quite the radical shift in tone out of nowhere. Rosemary comes out and has “it” in spades.
Havok (w/Jim Mitchell) defeated Rosemary
Susie came down to ringside and Callis gave her a headset. Mitchell took her away from the announce table leading to Callis getting mad at him for spilling his drink. He then politely demanded that someone “smoke this fool”. Havok tombstoned Rosemary to win in nothing much of a match, mainly a backdrop to an angle.
ODB, Tenille Dashwood and Jordynne Grace defeated Kiera Hogan, Madison Rayne and Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie
Rayne mocked Dashwood’s “all about me” deal before Callis made up a ton of facts about Rayne including that she was a 73-time champion and she was the best there was, is, and ever will be.
Some match highlights: ODB tagged in as did Taya leading to ODB plowing her down with tackles while using the flask to charge up. We got a bronco buster to Rayne and Taya in the corner. ODB hit the Bam on Taya before Grace tagged in for a splash off the second rope and went for a pin. However, OBD threw Grace to the outside and stole the pin, enraging Grace.
— RVD was making out with Katie Forbes. Moose told him they have had issues before at Slammiversary but RVD has no memory of that and doesn’t even know what day of the week it is. Swinger is passed out on the couch behind them. Petey and Joey Ryan walked up and Joey wanted a sharpie so he can draw on his face.
Rhino and Brian Cage defeated RVD and Moose
Cage worked with Moose for a bit before tagging in Rhino. Rhino backdropped him and chatted with the crowd for a bit. He really gets the crowd into everything he does. Callis talked about Rhino learning a lot of tricks with experience, and getting a nice reaction without doing anything is one of them. Rhino clotheslined Moose over the top and talked to the crowd more before a commercial break.
RVD basement dropkicked Rhino before Moose tagged in and bit Rhino. Rhino hit a big belly to belly and each tagged out. Cage hit a big lariat and RVD took a weird bump for it. RVD kicked him down and teased a rolling thunder before Cage elbowed him instead.
Cage hit an F5 on RVD, but Moose tagged in and clubbed Cage to the floor. Moose and Rhino slugged it out before Cage tornado DDTd Moose. RVD hit a flying kick to Cage before Rhino gored RVD. Moose sidestepped a corner gore and missed the five star frog splash. Rhino hit a gore on Moose and Cage hit a discus lariat for the pin and win.
We closed out with a hype video running down Sunday’s Hard To Kill card.
Two more matches have been officially confirmed for Impact Wrestling’s first pay-per-view of 2020.
Impact Tag Team Champions The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) will defend their titles against Rich Swann & Willie Mack at Hard to Kill. Michael Elgin vs. Eddie Edwards has also been confirmed for the PPV.
During an interview that aired on last night’s Impact, Elgin challenged Edwards to put his Call Your Shot title shot on the line against him at Hard to Kill. The title shot lets Edwards challenge for the Impact championship of his choosing.
Swann & Mack defeated oVe (Jake & Dave Crist), The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz), and Reno Scum (Adam Thornstowe & Luster the Legend) in a fatal four-way number one contender’s match that aired last night. There was an injury angle where Swann won the match on his own after Mack couldn’t continue.
The North have been Impact Tag Team Champions since winning the titles from Santana & Ortiz in July.
Hard to Kill is taking place at The Bomb Factory in Dallas, Texas on Sunday, January 12. The show will be headlined by Tessa Blanchard challenging for Sami Callihan’s Impact World Championship. Ace Austin defending his X-Division title against Trey Miguel and Taya Valkyrie defending her Knockouts title against Jordynne Grace and ODB in a triple threat match are also set.
Impact returns from Queens, NY after taking a week off with the build towards Hard To Kill.
Opening video was a full recap of the 6-person elimination gauntlet that lasted over an hour that crowned a new number one contender in Tessa Blanchard. Big emphasis was also put on Swann’s huge performance in the match, overcoming Moose and Elgin, only to fall to Brian Cage.
Show opened with Gabbi Loren interviewing Michael Elgin about the loss. Elgin said that tonight, he’s going to beat someone.
Eddie Edwards vs. Brian Cage ended in a no contest
Wrist control chain wrestling to start the match, transitioned into Cage running through Edwards chops into a shoulder tackle. Eddie used his speed advantage to side step him to the outside and go for a jumping rana, that Cage almost blocked by catching Eddie in the air.
Eddie and Cage exchanged some chops and kicks until Cage brought in Eddie with a deadlift auplex for a two count. Cage gained control chopped and tossed Eddie around the ring. Cage hit a couple of backbreakers for another two count. backplex for a third two count.
Eddie made a comeback blocking Cage’s suplex attempt and after some dodging landed a suplex of his own. Eddie hit Kobashi chops and a second rope hurricanrana. blue thunder bomb for a two count by Eddie.
Eddie went for a tiger driver, but Cage blocked it and hit a side suplex for a two count. Cage went for the F-5, but Eddie escaped. Cage hit a knee to the face while Eddie hit an enziguri. Cage came back with a big lariat and both men went down.
Both started trading strikes when Michael Elgin came out and attacked both men. Fans booed. Elgin attacked Eddie mostly until the referees pulled him away.
Commentary told us that this match is being restarted now as a three way.
Michael Elgin defeated Brian Cage & Eddie Edwards in a three way match
Obviously, Eddie and Cage now teamed up against Elgin for a bit, but Elgin being fresher, was able to dodge them and get a quick roll up on Eddie for a two count. Eddie sent both men outside and hit a dive on Elgin as Cage dodged and set himself up, following with a tope con giro on both men.
Back in the ring, all three men traded clotheslines, with Eddie getting a two count with a twisting Suplex on Cage, until Elgin broke it up. Elgin and Eddie exchanged chops and clotheslines, and now all three men exchanged superkicks.
Enziguri by Eddie on Elgin, followed by a top rope Hurricanerana, tossing Elgin into Cage. Elgin hit a German on both Eddie and Cage, missile dropkick on Eddie, and one final clothesline on Cage, sending both to the outside. Elgin followed with a big top rope senton to the outside.
Back from commercial, Elgin is still in control, working over Cage with clotheslines and going for a superplex, but Eddie recovers and blocks him. Eddie hits a blue thunder bomb on Elgin and the backpack stunner on Cage for a two count, but floats it over into a half crab until Elgin breaks the submission via multiple forearms to the face. Eddie goes for the Crab on Elgin, but Elgin kicks him off. Cage now recovered, takes down Eddie with clotheslines and that pumphandle into an x-factor.
Elgin hits a dragon suplex on Cage and clotheslines both men, diamondgiri on Eddie, followed by a pop-up slam. Elgin hits a suplex and falcon arrow on Cage for a two count. Elgin finally goes for the Elgin Bomb, but Cage blocks him and turns it into an Alabama slam, but out of nowhere, Eddie hits the Boston Knee Party on Cage and a tiger bomb for a two count.
Eddie goes for another BKP, but Elgin blocks him and exchanges forearms with Cage. He hits a Tornado DDT on Cage. Eddie took out Elgin, but Cage was there to take out Eddie with a lariat. All men down and the fans chant “Impact Wrestling”.
Cage went for a top rope rana on Elgin, but was dropped on the ropes. Eddie took out Elgin and hit the BKP on Cage for a two count. Elgin went for a German on Eddie, but Eddie countered, they traded strikes, Eddie hit the German, but Elgin no sold and came back with a Lariat. Elgin finally won with an Elgin Bomb.
Wow, hell of a 30 minute opener.
Commentary ran down the card for No Surrender this Saturday. Taya vs Havok for the Knockout’s title, Callihan vs Swann for the World title, and Ace Austin defends the title against Eddie Edwards in a table match.
The Rascalz were in the Treehouse talking about Ace Austin’s comments on Trey Miguel’s mom. Wentz and Xavier agreed with Ace a bit. In came Trey Miguel’s mom into the Treehouse, with Trey asking her to not be at ringside tonight during their match. Trey’s mom said that other wrestlers bring their moms to the show and asked Trey if he was embarrassed by her, guilting Trey into letting her be there. Trey’s mom is making meatloaf after the match for the Rascalz.
Out in the streets of NYC, Moose walked down saying that while he lost to Swann, he is still great as he compares himself to Ali and McGregor on their respective loses. Moose walked up to a basketball court where he bullied two fans who have seen that Moose has been attacking people at the golf course. Moose landed a 3-pointer and then attacked the fans.
Josh Matthews brought out ODB, who was here to talk about her unfortunate situation where she lost her food truck in a fire. Matthews announced that all proceeds of the show were going to help her fix her food truck.
ODB said she was happy to be home, she explained that she has been working with the food truck for the last 3 years and explained what happened. She said that unfortunately, insurance wouldn’t cover it and thanked the wrestling community for helping her out. She said that Impact always allowed her to be herself and that Impact reached out to her.
Suddenly, Taya Valkyrie interrupted the speech. Taya had some backhanded comments for ODB and then bragged about being the longest reigning Knockout’s champion in Impact history. Taya talked trash and told ODB that she would donate to the fund so she could now afford a fire extinguisher, and told ODB to get out of her ring.
After taking so much, ODB finally knocked down Taya, sending her running away. Taya was amazing here, she can trash talk like no other.
After commercials, commentary informed us that ODB will take on Taya.
We got footage for a press conference with Matthews and D’Amore talking about Tessa Blanchard vs Sami Callihan at Hard To Kill. Tessa said that she would be professional in her quest and put over Callihan’s work in the last few years. Callihan said that Tessa was a spoiled brat and that she was what was wrong with the new generation of wrestlers because she got everything handed to her. Callihan said he should be glorified for being the only one who actually treated Tessa as an equal, and that on January 12, he’s going to “crack her f***ing skull”. Tessa and Callihan got into a pull apart.
This looked great, but you could tell there was no press there and the pull-apart could have used more people to make it seem more chaotic.
Ace Austin & Reno Scum (Luster The Legend & Adam Thornstowe) defeated The Rascalz
Trey started the match against Thownstowe, with the former getting the better of the latter with his speed. Ace tagged in and blindsided Trey, getting the upper hand with some quick kicks. Ace went for the paper cut, but Trey escaped.
Wentz tagged in and overtook Ace Austin with kicks. Dezmond blind tagged and hit a double team combo, forcing Reno Scum to jump the rope and take out Dezmond with a German and footstomp combo.
Luster The Legend, now legal, worked over Dezmond, mostly with strikes and suplexes. Ace and Scum proceeded to cut the ring in half on Dezmond, mostly quick tags between Luster and Thornstowe, with the latter getting a two count with a standing moonsault. Ace taunted Trey while he stomped Xavier. After cutting Dezmond with the card, Xavier finally managed to hit a desperation kick on Austin and got to tag Trey Miguel.
Trey came in and took out both Scum members, Thornstowe with a neckbreaker, and Luster with a superkick. When he went for the dive, Ace caught him with a kick on the ropes. Dezmond and Wetnz came in for the aid and hit a combo on Ace to take him out. Wentz and Thornstowe followed with dives, and finally, it was Trey Miguel going for the meteora on Thornstowe for the finish but soon realizes that Ace Austin is out there flirting with his mom. Miguel went to attack him. Thanks to the distraction, Thornstowe recovered and rolled up Wentz to steal the win.
Pretty good match, it’s nice to see The Rascalz get into a serious feud for once.
Backstage, Jordynne Grace told ODB that she had her back. ODB told her that she’ll only leave some pieces of Taya for her at the PPV.
Backstage, Johnny Swinger approached Joey Ryan to complain about ‘these kids today’ that are killing the business for them. Swinger tells Ryan that they should form a Kliq together. Swinger said that he has a match with Petey Williams tonight and when he gives his signal, Ryan should come out and take him out. Joey Ryan agrees and goes back to his phone.
Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes came out. Forbes did the introductions. Rob cut a promo saying that he would explain his past actions, but that no one would understand him because no one is as great as RVD and no one would ever want to copy any of them. RVD said that he has been raising the bar for many years already.
Tommy Dreamer came out and challenged RVD to fight Rhino next week, and that he could be the special guest referee. Rob told him that Tommy was living in the past and they’d done this many times already. RVD said that fans always get excited for ECW reunions, but he wants to move on from that because they all keep clinging onto him. Rob passed on the match, but appreciate the offer.
Rhino now came out and brawled with RVD into a short pull apart. Forbes tried to kick Rhino among the chaos.
Backstage, Acey Romero and Chris Sabin congratulated Swann. Swann said that it wasn’t his night, but now that it’s behind them, they should focus on next week’s Tag Team Open Challenge for the No. 1 Contendership.
The North walked up and had some comments for Swann going for the title this Saturday. Swann called out Page on his fake comment (which didn’t sound so fake), and told him that next week, they become the No. 1 Contenders for their titles.
Gabbi Loren interviewed Fallah Bahh about being attacked by the Desi Hit Squad. Bahh talked and said he is still here and she’s damn right he’s gonna fight back.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was ODB defeating Mickie James to win the Knockout’s Championship.
Somewhere in the Undead Realm, James Mitchell introduced Suzie to Havok. Mitchell told Suzie that if she respects Havok’s space, the three of them will be the best of friends.
Petey Williams defeated Johnny Swinger
Swinger offered a handshake, which obviously was a trick, but Petey was ready and got a quick two count with a school boy. Petey hit a rana and drop toe hold on Swinger, following with a running dropkick to the back.
Swinger hit a fist drop on Petey, followed by a headbutt, a double axe handle and a couple of elbow drops that Petey dodged. Petey hit a springboard codebreaker, a side Russian leg Sweep, and prepped for the Canadian Destroyer, but Swinger escaped and called out for Joey Ryan.
Petey locked in the Sharpshooter and tapped out Swinger. Joey Ryan never came out.
Commentary ran down next week’s card: Tessa vs Madman Fulton, Sami Callihan vs Ken Shamrock, Rhino vs. RVD and the Tag Team open challenge.
ODB defeated Knockout’s Champion Taya Valkyrie (w/John E. Bravo) in a non-title match
Taya quickly knocked down ODB with a forearm and started stomping her, but ODB managed to dodge her and hit a couple of shoulder tackles and clotheslines. ODB chopped Taya from corner to corner and landed a fallaway slam, sending Taya to the outside.
On the other side of the ring, Bravo stole ODB’s flask, distracting her. ODB forced Bravo to take a sip, which he liked. ODB motorboated Bravo and got a one count after a flapjack on Taya.
ODB went for the second rope, but Taya pulled her feet off and regained control. Taya choked out ODB and hit a running knee for a one count.
ODB tried to make a comeback with strikes to the midsection and the running Splash, but Taya dodged this last move and hit a running hit attack instead for a two count. Taya hit a double leg drop to ODB’s crotch and locked in an STF for the submission tease until ODB made the ropes.
Taya hit a Super Dragon style curb stomp and started slamming ODB’s head to the ring and turnbuckles. Taya started getting cocky and playing to the crowd, giving ODB time to recover, which she did in the form of a second rope Thesz Press. ODB hit the running splash and the Bronco Buster and took a sip of the flask but got distracted by Bravo again, allowing Taya to attack her from behind.
Bravo, now drunk, said he was the champion now, which was an opening for Jordynne Grace to come out and distract Taya. That led to ODB rolling up Taya with a schoolgirl pin for the win. Match was nothing special other than Taya’s fantastic heel shtick. This felt like some sort of Impact retirement match for ODB, giving her a last big win.
ODB and Jordynne celebrated together in the ring to close out the show.
Final Thoughts —
Ok show, it started really strong, but it closed out with what felt like a nostalgia send off match for ODB. The stories heading into Hard To Kill are now better cemented, and so I’d say that it was a stronger show for stories than anything else. Opener is definitely worth checking out.
Impact Wrestling returns from St. Claire College Sportsplex in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Tonight was the big 6-way elimination match to find Callihan’s contender for Hard To Kill. Opening video build such main event, but also recapped Swinger taking a dump in Shamrock’s bag, Jordynne challenging Taya and Bravo, the return of Suzie, and footage of the awesome North title defense from last week.
The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) defeated Desi Hit Squad (Rohit Raju & Raj Singh), The Deaners (Cody Deaner & Cousin Jake), and Reno Scum (Luster The Legend & Adam Thornstowe)
Wentz and Thornstowe started the match with the former hitting a couple of arm drags before tagging in Dezmond for a couple of double team kick combos for a two count. Luster tagged in and now it was Reno Scum getting a two count after a double team move.
Cody Deaner tagged in and along with Cousin Jake, got a two count on Thornstowe. Now it was Rohit and Raj that tagged in and together hit a Backbreaker and running knee combo on Deaner for a two count. Cousin Jake tagged in and run wild over both Rohit and Raj with corner spears, but when he went for the Blackhole Slam, Rohit countered and hit a jumping footstomp. Jake came back with a powerbomb for a two count.
The match broke down with everyone getting in the ring, brawling to the outside, only for Deaner to follow with a dive. Jake suplexed Thornstowe over the ropes into the pile, and followed with a dive of his own. Rohit teased a dive, but showed off enough to eat a superkick by Wentz who dove next. Dezmond followed with Space Flying Tiger Drop.
Back in the ring, Desi Hit Squad double teamed Dezmond Xavier, but Jake came in and got rid of Raj, having now the chance to take out Rohit. Reno Scum came in and double teamed Jake, but before they could finish him, Razcals came back, hit Hot Fire Flame on Cousin Jake and took the win. Good action packed opener.
After the match, Reno Scum jumped The Razcals until Trey Miguel came out for the save and took them out with a Double Missile Dropkick. Ace Austin came out and laid out Trey with a belt shot. Ace took out Trey with the loaded backfist. Trey Miguel’s ‘mom’ is in the crowd and she is a terrible actress.
Jordynne Grace defeated Knockout’s Champion Taya Valkyrie & John E. Bravo in a non-title handicap match
Taya started the match for her team, but quickly tagged in Bravo when Grace pushed into her. Bravo came in and tried to bully Grace, only for Grace to dodge him and take out Taya, sending them both to the floor. That was followed by a suicide dive that Bravo barely caught.
Back in the ring, Jordynne tortured Bravo with strikes. Taya tried to help him by distracting Grace, and with the numbers advantage, got some chops in, some running elbows to the corner, but Grace came back, got rid of Taya and once again started torturing Bravo with kicks and a Senton. Jordynne tired of playing with Bravo, toss him to the corner to tag in Taya, but Taya walked out on him.
In the ring, Jordynne kicked Bravo’s toy dog, hit a running double knee to Bravo’s back, sliding elbow, Vader Bomb, and pinned Bravo. Jordynne was dominant, even if it was against a comedy valet.
Backstage, Gama Singh berated Raj and Rohit for losing. Gama told them that they better start producing or they’re being sent back to India. They took it out on Fallah Bahh backstage by jumping him and beating him up in a hallway.
Rob Van Dam cut another promo from his pool. He said that he won’t actually make it to Impact because he had a really late party last night and his flight was too early today. Ok.
Backstage, Suzie was walking around until James Mitchell finds her. They introduce each other and Mitchell asks her what is she doing in a place like this. Mitchell tells Suzie to not trust anyone and instead, let him take care of her and manage her. Suzie agrees and leaves.
Rosemary appears and tells James Mitchell to their master wouldn’t like that Mitchell is trying to get to Suzie’s head, and Rosemary won’t allow it.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was Cody Rhodes vs Eddie Edwards for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
We got The Razcals in the Treehouse talking about why everyone is trying to kick their butts. Trey Miguel’s mom showed up and told Trey that she’s too worried about him. This was funny.
Johnny Swinger defeated Buck Gunderson
Total squash. Swinger hit a couple of clotheslines, raked Buck’s eyes, choked him with his own singlet, hit a headbutt to the groin, raked the back, and after Buck had a hope spot with a couple of Dropkicks, Swinger got the win with the Swinger Neckbreaker.
After the match, Ken Shamrock came out and went after Swinger with some strikes, takedown, and the Ankle Lock. This was what it had to be.
Next week, Impact is taking the week off to show a retro show Throwdown Throwback from IPWF.
Tessa Blanchard won the six-person elimination match to become the number one contender for the Impact title
This match is gauntlet rules with two wrestlers starting, the winner taking on the third seat, and so on.
Moose defeated Daga
Moose early on used his power advantage to overcome Daga and chop him around, but Daga had the speed advantage and dodged around Moose, took out his leg and hit a Flatliner and springboard corkscrew press to the outside. Daga hit a moonsault from the apron, once again taking Moose down.
Back in the ring, Moose pulled Daga into the turnbuckle to turn the match around. Moose chopped Daga and whipped him around the ring. Moose hit a HUGE Dominator. Moose went for the Spear, but Daga dodged, hit a couple of running Superman elbows and kicks, Moose went for the Go To Hell, but Daga countered with a rana and a running delayed dropkick for a two count.
Moose caught Daga and tossed him on the ropes, hit the No Jackhammer Needed and picked up the win.
Rich Swann defeated Moose
Swann took forever to get in the ring, which is just time for Moose to rest and recover. Once in the ring, Moose went for the same approach, using the strength advantage, but Swann was faster than Daga and did better escaping Moose’s moves. Swann got two ranas early on and roll up into the foot stomp. Swann hit a dropkick, only for Moose to come back with a far more impressive one.
Moose now started to work on Swann around and inside the ring with chops. Moose played with the crowd, which allowed Swann to recover and go for a Senton from the apron that Moose caught, but Swann reversed into a rana instead.
Back in the ring, Moose hit a turnbuckle Okada-style dropkick, tossing Swann to the floor. Swann came back with a Tilt-a-whirl DDT counter on Moose, a couple of chops and strikes, but when he went for a second DDT, Moose blocked him, lawndarted him into the turnbuckle and got a two count. Moose pounded on Swann with closed fists and went for the Razor’s Edge, but Swann broke out, slapped Moose about six times, they traded kicks, but Moose decided to go for a top rope move that Swann caught with a cutter, followed by the Lethal Injection for a two count. This is Awesome chants.
Swann went for the 450, but Moose got the knees up. Go To Hell on Swann for a two count. Moose went for the No Jackhammer Needed, but Swann caught him with a superkick. Moose went for the same combo as with Daga, but Swann countered the spear into a crucifix roll up for the win.
Rich Swann defeated Michael Elgin by disqualification
Elgin came out with a big smile. Elgin went for an early Burning Hammer, but Swann escaped and superkicked Elgin a couple of times. Elgin hit something like a pop-up thunder bomb. Elgin hit a big clothesline after another until Swann was down.
Elgin went for a Superplex, but Swann dodged out and kicked Elgin in the back. Swann hit a School Boy into a Bomb to finally rock Elgin. They traded strikes until Elgin blocked a rana and hit a Buckle Bomb. Swann tried to comeback with a Rana, but Elgin transitioned into a Crossface for the submission tease.
They fought on the apron with Swann trying to hit a roisonrana, but Elgin blocked it and hit a Tiger Suplex on the apron, tossed Swann back to the ring, went for a Phoenix Splash, but Swann moved and went for a Frog Splash, but Elgin also managed to move away. Elgin hit an Enziguri, they traded kicks, Swann escaped another tiger suplex, they kicked each other again until Elgin got the tiger suplex in and a Lariat for a two count.
Elgin hit a superplex, rolled over for another, but Swann escaped, hit two poinsonranas and got a two count out of it.
Elgin hit a Deadlift Falcon Arrow for a two count. Elgin went for the burning hammer, but Swann grabbed the rope and accidentally tossed Elgin into the ref. Swann hit a Superkick, but caught a Lariat on the comeback. Elgin started punching out Swann, and when the ref told him to stop, Elgin kept doing it and tossed the ref off, getting DQ’d. Elgin, out of anger, hit a powerbomb on Swann, who is spitting blood. The rest of the referees came out to stop Elgin, who should have powerbombed the ref if you ask me. Great match, but the finished sucked, or at least Elgin’s reaction. It also makes it awkward for either of the two babyfaces left to come in and destroy Swann.
Brian Cage defeated Rich Swann
Brian Cage wasn’t happy to have to take on this Swann, he didn’t rush or anything, but offered Swann to give up. Swann decided to strike Cage, forcing Cage to attack with a Lariat, but out of instinct, Swann hit a Codebreaker to Cage’s arm, a couple of kicks, and a 450 only for Cage to kick out at one.
Swann went for the other corner, but Cage caught him, tossed around Swann, rushed him to the corner, but ate a couple of kicks, countered a Pumphandle Slam to another pair of kicks. Swann went for the 450 again, getting a two count this time.
Swann went for the Lethal Injection, but Cage caught him, tossed him, went for the F-5, only for Swann to counter to a cutter and successfully land the Lethal Injection for a two count. Swann went for the Phoenix Splash, but Cage dodged, hit Weapon X, and finally eliminated Swann. At this point, the fans were behind Swann and were not happy about Cage winning, but commentary sold that performance alone, Swann should get a title shot after Hard To Kill.
Tessa Blanchard defeated Brian Cage
Big pop for Tessa now. Tessa was all business and Cage had a cocky confident face. The match started similar with Cage being forced to bring out the moves, except that this time around, Cage was blocking all of Tessa’s moves with sheer power. Tessa could only rely on strikes, managing to get Cage to the floor where Tessa hit two dives and a third one that Cage caught and turned into an F-5 into the apron.
Back from commercial, Cage has brought Tessa to the ring where he has been tossing her around, trying to get quick pins. Tessa tried for a crossbody, but Cage caught her again. Tessa finally manages to drop Cage with a tornado DDT for a two count. Tessa cut Cage with the corner Magnum and went for a top rope crossbody for a two count.
Cage came back with a powerbomb for a two count. Cage hit a deadlift suplex for a two count. Cage’s lip has been busted open.
Tessa dodged a discus lariat, hit a superkick, a cutter, and the buzzsaw DDT for a two count. Cage hit a big Alabama Slam for a two count. Cage went for the top rope Razor’s Edge, but Tessa turned it into a hurricanrana, followed with the Magnum, and pinned Cage, only to get a 2.99 kickout!
Tessa went for a second Magnum, but Cage blocked it, hit a buckle bomb and wanted to follow with the Weapon X, but Tessa rolled over with a Yoshi Tonic and pinned Cage to become the number 1 contender for Sami Callihan’s title.
Wow, that last hour was PACKED! This was a great gauntlet match, every single pairing was a main event worthy match and I wouldn’t really say that anyone looked weak in defeat. My only gripe was Elgin’s DQ.
Final Thoughts —
Tonight’s show was all action. The hour long gauntlet was all great wrestling, not just quick pins to get things over. Storyline wise, the show really kept things on the low, mostly building towards the final match.
Impact Wrestling returns to the Sam’s Town Casino from Las Vegas, Nevada for tonight’s episode on the Road To Bound For Glory. Opening video focused on last week’s wedding of Brian Cage and Melissa Santos, that ended with Callihan breaking a champagne bottle on Santos.
Show opened with oVe arriving to the arena. They’re surrounded by security because of fear of Brian Cage. They’ll address the situation later tonight in the ring.
Twitch stream was hosted by Melissa Santos, who ran down the show and hyped up the card for Bound For Glory.
Tenille Dashwood defeated Madison Rayne & Kiera Hogan in a 3-way match
Hogan and Rayne have a past of working together, so they naturally teamed up against Tenille for the length of the match. As they tried to team up early on, Tenille first got rid of Rayne to work on Hogan, getting an early pin attempt with a butterfly suplex. Rayne came back only to take a bulldog and clothesline combination. The numbers game eventually was too much and Hogan superkicked Tenille to take her down.
Hogan and Rayne worked over Tenille with chokes and kicks, constantly mocking Tenille and playing to the crowd. Tenille once again managed to get rid of Hogan, now focusing on Rayne with a double arm extension submission until Hogan broke it up. Hogan and Rayne went back to work on Tenille until a bit of miscommunication led to Hogan hitting a tope suicida on Rayne, taking her out.
Back in the ring, Tenille hit a neckbreaker on Hogan for a two count when Rayne broke it up. Rayne and Hogan tried to set up a Double Superplex on Tenille, but they argued enough to allow Tenille to recover, take down Hogan, and then sunset powerbomb Rayne on top of Hogan for a two count.
Tenille locked in a Tarantula on Hogan and set up both women on the corner for the running splash for a two count. As expected, it was a matter of time before Hogan and Rayne had problems deciding who would pin Tenille, which let Tenille time to take out Hogan, hit her finisher on Rayne, and pin her. Not a good match, Tenille has terrible facial expressions.
Backstage, Eddie Edwards is seen talking with someone about their history, and it turns out he’s talking to Dreamer. Eddie tells Dreamer he was drugged last week and he knows because he actually watched last week’s episode! Dreamer said that tonight he has Eddie’s back, but then for the swerve, Eddie had been talking to his kendo stick.
Johnny Swinger defeated Owen Trevor
This is Swinger’s debut versus local talent Owen Trevor. Collar and elbow lock up to start, Trevor had the upper hand, so Swinger distracted the ref and got the upper hand. Swinger stomped on Trevor, hit a couple of clotheslines, and some diving headbutts to the groin. Swinger raked the eyes, raked the back, raked the chest. He’s an encyclopedia of dirty heel tactics.
Trevor tried to make a comeback with some strikes, but failed to seal the deal with a running dropkick, giving Swinger to the opening for a Swinging Neckbreaker for the win. Total squash, but I have to imagine Swinger is here to get destroyed sooner or later.
Backstage, Gabby Loren interviewed The North about defending the championships against Swann and Willie Mack at Bound For Glory. They said that they’ll prevail, but then Gabby drop the news that Rhino and RVD have been added to the match.
Gabby Loren interviewed Tessa Blanchard about Callihan’s actions last week. Tessa said that no one should be surprised about how dangerous Callihan. Tessa said that she is on a mission since Slammiversary and that everyone in oVe has a target on their backs.
Impact Plus Moment of the Week was Kurt Angle vs Bobby Roode from Bound For Glory 2013.
Backstage, Ace Austin looked for Alisha. He wanted to talk about what happened at the wedding and said he was concerned about Eddie’s personal problems, pretending Eddie has substance problems. It was the usual sleazy Ace Austin skit.
Eddie Edwards and Kenny defeated Reno Scum (Adam Thornstowe & Luster the Legend)
Kenny is indeed the kendo stick and that’s how Eddie was introduced to the match. Luster got ripped since the last time we saw him on Impact.
Eddie and Thornstowe started the match. Eddie hit some early chops, but then followed with a short sequence of reversals with Eddie gaining the upper hand. Lester tagged in next, who mocked Eddie asking him to tag in the stick, but it was just a distraction to attack Edwards from behind.
Luster worked over Eddie with some help of Thornstowe here and there. Reno Scum started with the quick tags and quick work over Eddie. After being cut off for some minutes, Eddie hit a blue thunder bomb on Thornstowe to get an opening, but Luster once again cut him off from tagging his stick. Eddie hit a desperation Release Suplex to finally tag in the stick, which really just consisted to Eddie hitting both Scum members with the stick, which I guess makes the use of the kendo stick legal?
Eddie hit a Suicide Dive on to Luster, but as Eddie tried to return to the ring, Thornstowe blocked him, allowing Luster to take the stick away. Eddie was slammed onto the stick, Thornstowe went for the top rope plancha, Eddie blocked it, took out Lester, and hit the Boston Knee Party on Thornstowe for the win. Aside from the stick stupidity, this was a good handicap match.
Backstage, The North go to Konnan’s locker room. Konnan knows exactly why they’re there, takes a sip of tequila as Page closes the door behind them. The implications and Konnan’s face reaction made him look like a tough SOB.
Back from commercial, Jimmy Jacobs, Swann, and Mack are all looking over Konnan, who is knocked out.
oVe came down to the ring, security is surrounding the ring. Callihan took the mic and explained that what happened to Melissa was an accident and a tragedy. Impact management demanded he came out to apologize and he did. He read his passive-aggressive written apology, but before he could end, Cage interrupted.
Cage destroyed some security, hit an apron bomb on Jake Crist, an F-5 on Dave Crist, and a huge powerbomb on Fulton. Callihan tried to run through the fans when a ‘fan’ tapped Cage on the back, and blinded by his rage, Cage slammed the fan. Management came down and Las Vegas police arrested Cage for attacking a civilian. Crowd popped for Cage’s rampage, but were not happy with the arrest angle.
Jake Crist joined commentary for the following match.
Daga defeated Chris Bey to qualify to the Bound For Glory X-Division Ladder Match
Match started with a fast paced sequence of counters and ranas until Daga landed an Enzuigiri and followed with a Tope Suicida to finally cut off Bey.
Daga hit a Snap Suplex for a two count. Daga with a running forearm and single leg dropkick for another two count. Bey blocked a suplex and hit a couple of kicks to get some momentum going, ending with a great Tope con Giro.
Back in the ring, hit a springboard DDT on Daga for a two count. Bey went for a running attack, but Daga tossed him to the ropes, kicked the knees out, and hit a backstabber for a two count. Bey hit a back kick, but Daga responded with a Mule Kick. Bey went for the 10 Punches on the corner and hit a crucifix pin for a near fall.
Bey went to the top rope, but Daga caught him with a Spanish Fly for yet another two count. Daga hit a double underhook driver for the win. Great short match, I really hope they bring Chris Bey back.
After the match, Jake Crist got in the ring and got face to face with Daga. Dave Crist came down and attacked Daga along with his brother, but Tessa Blanchard came down for the save and ran off both Crist brothers.
Backstage, TJP and Fallah Bahh were talking shop and preparing for tonight’s main event where TJP faces off with Elgin. Gabby Loren approached them asking TJP how he was feeling about tonight’s match. TJP said this isn’t his first time against a heavyweight.
We got a package of Josh Matthews and the Las Vegas NFL Alumni members talking about the Shamrock vs Moose match. We got a Stephen Bonnar cameo. Moose wearing a fantastic suit announced that he is training with Frank Trigg. Ken Shamrock walked up and got face to face with Moose.
They talked trash and when they were supposed to answer questions from the media, Moose cancelled and was walking out before Moose cheap shot Shamrock, there was a big pull apart. This was a good MMA media day style skit, which would have been awesome if we couldn’t see that they were in a mall.
Somewhere in the Undead Realm, James Mitchell is berating Havok for pissing off Su Yung. Mitchell told Havok that the Master is mad his favorite bride got hurt. Taya walked up to them and asked Havok to take out Tenille Dashwood, and if she did, Havok could take Tenille’s spot at Bound For Glory. James Mitchell said that they don’t need to go through Dashwood when they can just take the title right there and now. Taya ran away.
Michael Elgin defeated TJP (w/Fallah Bahh)
This was the big man vs small man match up. It started with TJP running circles around Elgin, but as soon as Elgin would get his hands on TJP, he’d hurt him. TJP went for an early kneebar, but Elgin escaped easily. After a couple more reversals, TJP hurt Elgin’s arm with Pentagon’s armbreaker sending Elgin running to the outside. TJP hit an over the top rope dropkick, gaining control of the ring.
Back from commercial, Elgin and TJP are back at it in the ring, TJP keeps dodging Elgin’s attacks, but as he goes for a senton to the outside, Elgin caught him in the middle of the air and hit an apron bomb to finally stop TJP’s momentum.
Back in the ring, TJP went for a reverse rana, but Elgin blocks it and delivers a German bridge for a two count. Elgin went for a deadlift superplex, but TJP blocked it and hit a Rana from the top rope. TJP came back with a couple of strikes and a Springboard forearm, set up Elgin for a Springboard Dropkick, hit a plancha for a two count, but transitioned into an armbar. Elgin reached the ropes.
TJP went for the Fireman’s Carry, but Elgin blocked it. TJP went for an armbar again, but Elgin blocked it and powerbombed TJP. Elgin hit a Discus Lariat for a two count. Elgin went for the Buckle Bomb, but TJP reversed with a rana, sending Elgin to the outside. TJP went for a suicide dive, but Elgin caught him midair and hit a Powerslam on to the ramp.
Back in the ring, Elgin hit the Deadlift Super Falcon Arrow for a 2.99 near fall. Elgin went for a lariat, but TJP countered into an armbreaker, but once again, Elgin picked him up, hit the Buckle Bomb, a Backfist, and the Elgin Bomb for the pin.
This was a great match, I was really surprised by how much offense TJP had in this match. I would love to see this match on a bigger stage.
Show ending saw Melissa Santos talking on the phone as she was on her way to bail out Cage. Callihan interrupted her and told her that everything was an accident, but teased Melissa that it felt good to hit her with the bottle.
Final Thoughts —
Good show for Impact, the action inside the ring for the most part delivered. Storyline wise, the show focused on heating up the feuds, but not big developments.
