The Good Brothers officially challenged The Motor City Machine Guns to an Impact Tag Team title match at Bound For Glory.
The two teams confronted one another tonight on Impact, with Shelley mocking Anderson for his run in Japan.
Later, The Good Brothers defeated The Rascalz in a tag team match. Following that bout, Anderson called out Shelley and Sabin, saying that while they came here for money, they also came for titles, and challenged them to a title match at Bound for Glory. MCMG did not issue a reply.
The MCMG won the titles on July 19, defeating The North on an episode of Impact Wrestling.
Two other title matches have been announced for the show: Deonna Purrazzo will defend the Impact Knockouts title against Kylie Rae and Eric Young will defend the Impact World title against Rich Swann.
Prior to Bound for Glory, Eric Young and Deonna Purrazzo will defend their titles at Victory Road, which takes place on October 3. Purrazzo will defend against Rae’s friend Susie (Su Yung’s alter ego), while Young will defend against Eddie Edwards in a rematch from their title bout earlier this month.
Impact Wrestling returns from Nashville, TN for this week’s episode. The show opened with a graphic for Barry Scott, who the show was dedicated to.
The opening video recapped Eric Young’s attack on Eddie Edwards and the subsequent old school rules match with Tommy Dreamer from last week, which led to Rich Swann’s return.
Kylie Rae & Susie defeated Deonna Purrazzo & Kimber Lee
Purrazzo and Rae started the match with a lockdown. Purrazzo quickly gained advantage with her technical skill, and as much as Rae had a chance to reverse, Purrazzo still had the advantage. Rae nonetheless went for a small package for a two count, enraging Purrazzo who tagged out.
Kimber Lee came in and got taken down by Rae with a rana and an arm drag into an armbar before tagging in Susie. The babyfaces hit a couple of running clotheslines on Lee, ending with a double bulldog for a two count. Susie held her own against Lee, but Purrazzo got her with a knee to the back allowing Lee to hit a big boot for a two count.
Lee, now in control, locked a deep single leg and a couple of clubs to the back. Purrazzo tagged in for a double suplex and a near fall. Purrazzo punished Susie with strikes while Susie would find some hope spots, such as a sunset flip pin out of nowhere for a two count. Purrazzo and Lee, however, kept her down.
Susie started to make a comeback with punches, hit an atomic drop, and a flatliner to get Purrazzo off and tag in Rae, who came in hot against Kimber Lee. Rae went for the Kylie special, but Lee blocked it, so instead Rae did a cartwheel to escape Lee and superkicked her, hit a cannonball, and got a two count when Purrazzo broke it off. Rae got rid of Purrazzo from the ring, but Lee was there to hit a German on Rae.
Susie tagged in, but went straight into another German Bridge by Lee for a two count. Lee went for the swanton bomb, but Susie hit the arachrana and the panic switch for the win.
After the match, Susie had some Su Yung episodes, but Kylie Rae calmed her down.
Josh Matthews and Madison Rayne ran down tonight’s card and told us that Rich Swann is in the arena, ready to address the audience.
Backstage, Rohit Raju was confronted by Trey Miguel, who told him that he’d been dodging everyone. Trey asked Rohit for a shot, but Rohit told him that it was still between TJP and Bey who were in front of the line. Trey told Rohit that he wanted a shot after he defeated TJP tonight.
In another part of the arena, Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz approached John E. Bravo, who told them they weren’t the best men. He picked Fallah Bahh, who happened to be there.
XXXL (Acey Romero & Larry D) defeated The Deaners (Cody Deaner & Cousin Jake)
Acey and Cody started the match, with the latter offering a truce, but Acey wasn’t having it and instead kicked him, tossed him to the corner, and along with Larry D, sent him flying and into an Acey senton for an early two count.
XXXL worked over Deaner for a while, mostly strikes, clubbing him on the back to keep him down. Cody eventually managed to escape and tagged in Jake, who hit a corner spear and sidewalk slam on Larry D for a two count. Deaners double-teamed Acey and went to finish Larry D, but Acey recovered and pounced Cody out of the ring.
Cousin Jake slammed Acey Romero, but Larry D was there to knock him out with a straight right to the face for the win.
Trey Miguel defeated TJP
Match started with a great sequence of chain wrestling into pin exchange into a battle for wrist control and into the fast-paced sequence of counters and reversals ending with Trey getting a two count after a standing moonsault.
TJP came back with some beautiful submission work into a sharpshooter, then transitioned into a last chancery for a submission tease, but Trey made the ropes. TJP hit a senton atomico for another two count. TJP kept working the legs, locking in a knee bar with a butterfly. Trey escaped and went for the crossbody, but TJP was ready with a dropkick.
TJP went for the corner ten punches, but Trey blocked, hit some cheeky nandos and went for the Trey19, only for TJP to block it. Trey recovered and hit a spinning kick. Followed with a rana to the floor and a tope suicida.
Back in the ring, Trey went to the top rope, but TJP blocked him and hit a superplex, transitioned into an octopus stretch, but as Trey approached the ropes, TJP transitioned into an ankle lock. Trey made the ropes.
TJP kicked Trey’s hamstrings, hit a knee breaker, but Trey still hit a desperation dropkick. TJP with a big tornado DDT, went for the mamba splash. Trey dodged, hit a standing meteora and a top rope meteora for the 1-2-3.
Commentary sent us backstage to where The North, Ace Austin, and Fulton were taking out The Rascalz. MCMG arrived afterward to check on them. After commercials, a doctor told MCMGs that The Rascalz were not cleared to compete tonight. He gave no answers when Shelley asked about the CT scans.
Shelley and Sabin were approached by Karl Anderson and Gallows and offered to help. Karl is a machine gun, they are machine guns, it all works out.
Rich Swann came down to the ring, still in crutches. Swann said he wanted to do this in the ring and not an office, and so he called out Scott D’Amore to the ring. Swann told D’Amore that not long ago he had to come down here and retire, but as he was home, he saw the man that killed his career become the Impact World Champion, so Swann requested a chance to get in the ring again and fight EY.
D’Amore told him that he was not cleared by the doctors. Swann said that he will be ready for Bound For Glory and that he has a pin over EY, so he deserves a shot. D’Amore doubled down that he is not cleared and that in his condition, going against EY would leave him in a worse situation. Swann said he didn’t care if he ended up crippled after BFG, he wanted his hands on EY. He begged for the match.
Before D’Amore could answer, EY came down and struck D’Amore, but in the distraction, Swann jumped at him and took him down, punched him, forcing EY to run away. EY said that Swann won’t leave BFG alive. D’Amore shut them both up and confirmed the match for Bound for Glory.
Taya approached Rosemary and asked her why she wasn’t there with her for the match with Tasha Steelz. Rosemary said that she had been busy doing a resurrection. Taya asked her to join her. Rosemary agreed but first, she had to do some more wedding stuff.
Willie Mack defeated Brian Myers
Mack punched Myers to start the match, hit an armdrag and dropkick before sending Myers to the floor, where he hit a pescado.
Outside the ring, Myers hit a side leg sweep on the ramp. Mack made it back before the 10 count, but Myers started working over him with a suplex for a two count. Knee to the back and sleeper, but Mack made it to his feet and punched Myers away, only to get his leg swept and Myers went back to controlling the match.
Myers pulled the turnbuckle off and tried to slam Mack, but was blocked. Myers still kept control, taking down Mack with a back elbow, and once again, into the knee to the back and head submission.
Mack powered up and hit a backplex to break Myer’s submission. He hit a clothesline, spinning back elbow, scoop slam, and leg drop for a two count. Mack went for the Samoan drop, but Myers dodged, hit an enzuigiri and big scoop slam for another two count.
Myers went for a DDT, but Mack countered with an exploder. Myers kicked the rope between Mack’s legs and hit the DDT, but could only get a two count. Myers accidentally ran into the exposed turnbuckle and Mack got him with the stunner for the win. Boring match.
Rosemary approached Havok, who she asked for help to resurrect Mitchell since Havok had done the killing. Havok said she wouldn’t help, so Rosemary had to insist, provoking Havok to get physical with her. Nevaeh pulled Havok off and they left.
Moose went to D’Amore and told him that he needed to do something about ECIII, who had been stalking Moose. D’Amore didn’t believe Moose and told him that maybe this was all in his head.
ECIII then showed up in a projector telling Moose that the clock was ticking and that he’d destroy the title soon. Moose called the “Demo God” asking about who to call about stolen title belts, and finally Moose knew what he had to go.
Rhino snuck Heath into the arena, they’re gonna try and get some money from Hernandez.
We got a photoshoot with Tenille Dashwood that was interrupted by Jordynne Grace, who asked why she wasn’t wrestling. She told Tenille that they have a match next week.
Taya jumped Hogan to start, carrying her to the corner and delivering a couple of boots and kicks to the back. Taya slammed Hogan to the turnbuckle and tossed her to the floor.
Hogan tried to build some momentum, but Taya easily stopped her with a back elbow and double foot stomp to the back for a two count.
Hogan caught Taya with a low kick and a running boot for another two count, but when she went for the swinging neck breaker, Taya blocked, hit a big knee, and once again tossed her to the floor.
Taya hit a running clothesline, then a running hip attack to the corner, but when she went for the running knees Tasha pulled Hogan out and distracted Taya, allowing Hogan to run around the ring. Tasha kicked Taya behind the referee. Hogan caught her with a swinging neck breaker and picked up the win. Rosemary never came out to support Taya.
Rhino and Heath approached Hernandez for a rematch. Rhino tricked Hernandez to set with his back to the door so Heath could sneak in and steal the money from the table. Rhino stalled a lot until Heath took the money. Once stolen, Rhino bailed.
Chris Bey confronted Rohit Raju about the rematch he was owed. Rohit told him that TJP defeated him, and so TJP approached them about it. Rohit eventually called for a three-way number one contender match.
Matthews and Rayne ran down next week’s card with Kimber Lee vs Susie, TJP vs Trey Miguel vs Chris Bey for the #1 contendership of the X-Division title on the line, the number one contender then getting their title match against Rohit Raju, and Tenille Dashwood vs Jordynne Grace.
Ace Austin, Madman Fulton, & The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) defeated The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) & The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows)
Anderson and Ace started the match with the former getting the early upper hand, whipping and striking Ace around. Gallows tagged in and kept working over Ace in their corner. Anderson tagged in again and kept the work, but suddenly, with no provocation whatsoever, Anderson tagged in Sabin the hard way.
On the other side, Alexander tagged in, who was taken down quickly by Sabin and a couple of MCMG double team moves. Page jumped in and also took a combo by Shelley and Sabin. Ace followed suit and suffered the same fate. Finally, it was Fulton’s turn, who also ended up on the floor.
Back from commercial, the referee regained control. Shelley and Alexander went at it, but just in time, Page tripped Shelley, which allowed Anderson to cut him off and gain control of the match.
Fulton tagged in and punished Shelley, who tried to chop his way to his corner, but Fulton was unmoved. Fulton and Ace kept working over Shelley, and much like the babyface teams, Ace and Fulton started to have problems with The North on their corner, stealing each other’s tags.
Page and Josh Alexander worked over Shelley until he managed to hit a dragon screw on Alexander and a backplex on Ace to get the tag to the Good Brothers.
Anderson took the hot tag and ran down everyone, getting a two count on Page with a big spinebuster at the end. Gallows tagged in, kicked Fulton down to the floor, hit an assisted backplex on Page for another two count.
GB went for the magic killer, but Josh broke it off. Sabin blind tagged himself in and took out The North with a crossbody and tornado DDT. Sabin sent Ace and Fulton to the floor, followed by a suicide dive.
In the ring, The North attacked Shelley, who managed to counter and, along with Sabin, hit the reverse STF and dropkick combo on Alexander.
In the end, it was Sabin getting a Northern Pass by The North. Ace Austin, who blind tagged himself in, stole the pin over the tag champs.
The North were mad that their pin was stolen, and the Good Brothers are mad that they lost because of the MCMGs. We may be heading into a five-way for the tag titles.
Final thoughts —
Ok show by Impact. Mostly focused on advancing storylines towards Bound For Glory, but we did have some strong wrestling on the show.
Next week’s Impact Wrestling on AXS will feature both a Tag Team Title match and a no. 1 contender’s match for the X-Division title.
Impact Tag Team Champions Motor City Machine Guns will face The Rascalz, a match made on Tuesday’s show following The Rascalz’s win over Ace Austin and Madman Fulton. Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin came out after their win and offered them a rematch from Slammiversary so they could be more prepared instead of surprised.
The Rascalz are 0-4 in tag team title matches dating back to July 2019 while the Machine Guns will be looking for their second tag title defense since defeating The North for the belts in mid-July.
The other title match will feature former X-Division Champion Chris Bey defending against TJP. This was made Tuesday when TJP asked current champion Rohit Raju for a title shot, but Raju said the former champion (Bey) is first in line so TJP can skip the line with a win next week.
A Locker Room Talk segment featuring Madison Rayne interviewing Kylie Rae and Susie was also announced for next week.
Impact Wrestling returns from Nashville, TN for chapter one of Emergence, main evented by the rematch between The North and the current Impact Tag Team Champions The Motor City Machine Guns.
Opening video ran down tonight’s card, making allegory comments about the company’s evolution.
Rohit Raju defeated X-Division Champion Chris Bey & TJP (with Fallah Bahh) to become the NEW champion
TJP started the match by hitting a pescado on both Rohit and Bey. In the ring, Rohit and TJP had a nice quick sequence of counters and reversals. Once Rohit was taken out, Bey came in and took his place until he found himself draped in the ropes, waiting for a kick from TJP, but Rohit was there to save him, setting up TJP for a second rope elbow.
Bey stomped and punched TJP while Rohit cheered him on. TJP managed to dodge Bey and Rohit and locked a sharpshooter on Bey. Rohit tried to break it, but TJP got him with a northern lights for a pin attempt while he kept Bey in the sharpshooter. TJP broke it up, but hit the Pentagon armbreaker on Bey.
Rohit cut off TJP and stomped him around for a bit while Bey was out. TJP once again managed to escape and lock a Gory special and a pendulum on both Bey and Rohit respectively. TJP tried to go for Bey’s arm again, but Rohit broke it up and went back to the stomps and falling elbows.
TJP went for a tornado DDT on Rohit. Bey stopped him, but accidentally took out Rohit with a jumping knee. TJP took down Bey with a springboard crossbody, hit a tombstone piledriver, but he went for the mamba special instead and was taken out by Rohit.
Rohit and Bey went for a doomsday device, but TJP got a hold of Rohit and hit a superplex instead, locked the octopus stretch, and when Bey tried to break it, he locked a double octopus stretch into a crucifix pin for a two count.
TJP kicked Bey down, hit a backplex on Rohit, who later recovered and hit a jumping knee on TJP, followed by a running boot, but missed the cannonball. Bey rolled TJP for a two count, kicked him and into a gutwrench pancake for another two count.
Bey went for the finisher, but got a clutch dagger from TJP instead. TJP chased the detonation kick on either man, but couldn’t land it and instead locked in an STF on Bey, but Rohit was there to save Bey.
TJP took out Rohit with a springboard dropkick to the floor, a second on Bey, but as he went for the top rope, Bey stopped him. TJP slipped away and went for a superbackplex, but Rohit and Bey blocked him. Rohit dropped TJP and hit the double stomp on Bey instead of TJP to get the pin and win the championship.
Over at Wrestle House, Crazzy Steve and Johnny Bravo are playing with their dolls talking about Taya vs Rae tonight. Steve then said that the people in the house have started to lose their minds.
In another room, Larry D was getting pretty to go hit on Rosemary. Acey Romero wasn’t happy about it. Acey is a really bad actor.
Backstage, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows cut a promo about Ace and Fulton wanting to get their attention and succeeding. They promised an ass kicking tonight. Pretty good promos.
Josh Matthews and Madison Rayne ran down tonight’s card.
Self-Proclaimed TNA World Champion Moose defeated Trey Miguel to retain the title.
This was speed vs power. It started with Trey going after Moose with strikes, but Moose easily got him by the neck, tossed him to the corner and dropped him with one single chop. Trey tried to come back with kicks, but as soon as Moose got a hand on Trey, he’d toss him around and land a clothesline or uppercut.
Trey went for a lucha armdrag, but Moose blocked him, set him up on the top turnbuckle, and connected with a great dropkick. Outside the ring, Moose punished Trey with chops and dropped him on the apron.
Back in the ring, Moose tossed Trey from corner to corner, stomped on in, choked him, and a big fallaway slam when Trey tried to make a comeback. Moose kept this punishment for a while, and when Trey made another comeback, Moose shot him down again with a dropkick and a two count.
At this point, Moose started talking trash and getting cockier than usual, but Trey finally caught Moose with a superkick and a second spinning kick, Trey landed two more low dropkicks and finally had Moose down. Trey went for a springboard DDT, but Moose blocked him initially, but Trey gathered momentum and hit it anyway.
Trey went for a tope con giro, but Moose caught him in a powerbomb position, rammed him against the guardrail, and hit an apron bomb for the countout win. Trey made it back at 9. Moose went for the lights out, but Trey initially dodged and tried to sunset flip Moose, but Moose simply blocked it, stoop Trey up, hit lights up for the win. Moose was unstoppable.
After the match, ECIII jumped Moose and stole the TNA World Championship.
Backstage, Reno Scum gave Hernandez his money. Hernandez paid them and told them to come see him later for more work.
We got a video package for Eric Young talking about his career and all he has done. This was great.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the week was 2015’s Kurt Angle vs Eric Young stretcher match.
Jimmy Jacobs interviewed Willie Mack about Eric Young. Mack said he was talking about Swann when Brian Myers pulled the camera and Jimmy away for his own interview. Myers said that he was sick of being someone’s good hand, talked trash about WWE, and said that he was taking his career in his hands. Mack jumped Myers for interrupting his interview afterwards.
We got another commercial by Heath, making a plea to get #Heath4Impact trending so he could get hired.
The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) defeated Ace Austin & Madman Fulton
Anderson and Ace started the match with the former in control, with the latter only managing to get a shot for every five Anderson would. Gallows and Anderson kept this initial control with quick tags until Ace surprised Anderson with a school boy and Fulton tagged in.
Fulton successfully cut off Anderson from his corner. Ace tagged in again and Anderson regained control, tagging in Gallows back in.
Fulton and Gallows met in the middle of the ring and started exchanging clotheslines with neither men giving an inch. They traded strikes and Gallows finally got some momentum, but Fulton cameback with a clothesline and rammed Gallow’s head to the turnbuckle.
Ace tagged in again, and once again, the Good Brothers regained control, hit a running clothesline and kick combo. Anderson then distracted himself with Fulton, allowing Ace to dropkick him from behind and take him down. Fulton and Ace hit some double team moves, including a scoop slam into Ace’s knees for a two count. Ace did the paper cut trick on Anderson before going for the same double team move, successfully landing it. They went for it a third time, but this time Anderson escaped, hit a spinebuster on Ace and tagged out.
Gallows came in hot, took out Fulton to the floor, hit a fallaway slam and shoulder tackle on Ace. He followed that with a pump kick and called for a magic killer, but Fulton stopped them. Fulton and Gallows brawled to the floor, leaving Anderson and Ace in the ring, with the latter kicking Anderson down and tagging out. Fulton tossed Anderson like a dart into Ace’s knee for a two count.
Anderson started to make a comeback with punches and forearms, took down Fulton in the corner, but Ace caught him back with a kick. On the other side, Gallows and Fulton brawled again, with Gallows sending Fulton into the crowd area.
Gallows tagged in again, hit the magic killer with Anderson on Ace, and picked up the win.
Back at Wrestle House, the group talked about the match. Suddenly the Deaners realized that their beer had been stolen. The suspect Acey Romero and were about to fight, but Susie reminded them about the truce. Larry D started hitting on Rosemary when Bravo walked up, and they agreed to do something next week. Cody Deaner and Cousin Jake are pretty good at this.
Wrestle House: Kylie Rae defeated Taya Valkyrie
Rosemary is the referee for the match.
Rae wanted to shake Taya’s hand, but Taya said that she trained in Mexico and only slapped her hand away. No handshakes in Mexico.
Taya got Rae’s back early on and pushed her around, making fun of her. Rae came back with the same move and got the better of Taya, also tossing her around and inraging Taya who instead went after Rae with punches.
Rae hit a great rana and a superkick, but when Rae went for the running attack, Rosemary tripped her and allowed Taya to regain control. She shoved her to the corner where she bit her hand and put pressure on the elbow.
Taya choked Rae against the ropes, stomped on her, posed for the camera, and shot down Rae every time she tried to strike into a comeback. Suddenly, Rae caught Taya with a lucha armdrag and a superkick for a slow two count.
Taya hit a great Saito suplex for a two count. Taya rushed at Rae, who moved away, causing Taya to almost take out Rosemary, but when Taya turned around, Kylie caught her with a superkick for the pin and won.
After the match, Crazzy Steve tried to tell Bravo that he was blowing his chances with Rosemary.
Matthews and Rayne ran down the card for next week, including Willie Mack vs Brian Myers, and address from ECIII, Eddie Edward’s open challenge, and the first ever 30 minute Knockout’s Ironman match between Jordynne Grace and Deonna Purrazzo.
Impact Tag Team Championships The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) defeated The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) to retain the titles
Sabin and Alexander started the match for their teams. Sabin went for early strikes, but Alexander easily dropped him. Sabin still used his speed to dodge Alexander and take him down with a jumping calf kick, but when he went for a crossbody, Alexander caught him and took him down along with Page. Shelley went for the save, but Alexander and Page also took him down with a suplex and top rope knee combo.
The North, now in control, worked over Sabin with strikes, chokes, and quick tags. Sabin tried to make a comeback and managed to dodge Alexander, who accidentally took down Page with a forearm. Sabin escaped and tagged out.
Shelley came in, dropkicked Page to the floor, went after Alexander with strikes and a low dropkick. Page jumped back into the ring, but was met but the double team moves of the MCMGs, followed with a kick combo for Alexander’s knee.
Back from commercial, Shelley is still in control over Alexander, who is trying to strike his way back to his corner, but Shelley has a deep single leg Boston crab. It took Page to jump in and interfere to break up the submission. The distraction alone was enough for Alexander to recover and kick Sabin off and into Page’s waiting punch. The North hit an assisted DDT for a two count on Shelley.
Page tagged in and cut off Shelley from Sabin, going after Shelley’s back and knee. Alexander and Page both hit backbreakers for a two count when Sabin broke it off. Finally, Shelley managed to counter The North, sending Alexander to the floor and hitting a DDT on Page against the turnbuckle, earning himself the space to tag out.
Sabin came in and took down Page with a jumping forearm and a neckbreaker. Sabin hit a punt kick on Alexander on the apron and followed with a missile dropkick on Page. Sabin hit a tope suicida on Alexander, but Shelley managed to tag in during the jump. Shelley hit an STO on Page with an assist from Sabin’s missile dropkick, but only for a two count.
Shelley and Page exchanged strikes before Shelley went for a sliced bread #2 that Page escaped. However, Shelley hit both Page and Alexander with an assisted sliced bread for a two count.
All four men exchanged superkicks, but Alexander hit a German on Sabin, setting up The North’s finisher for a two count as Page’s pin was cocky and weak. The North went for the northern assault, but once again Page was small packaged, similar to the day MCMG took their titles, except this time Alexander was there to reverse it for a two count for the The North.
Shelley went for slice bread #2 again, but Alexander blocked and hit a backbreaker instead. Sabin caught Page with a tornado DDT, but ate a discus forearm by Alexander, who tried the same with Shelley, but Shelley blocked, hit atomic drop, quick reverse STF into dropkick combo by MCMGs, double superkick to Page and tandem running kick before setting up the skull and bones for the win. Another fantastic match between these teams.
Final thoughts —
Great show by Impact, good wrestling all around. Night two has less matches announced, but with promising outcomes.
After returning at Slammiversary, the Motor City Machine Guns became Tag Team Champions on last night’s episode of Impact.
Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin defeated The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) to win the Impact Tag Team titles, ending The North’s year-plus long reign as champions. This is the second time that the Motor City Machine Guns have been Tag Team Champions in Impact Wrestling/TNA. Their first reign with the titles began in 2010.
The fallout from Slammiversary also included the return of EC3, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson’s Impact TV arrival, Eddie Edwards’ first appearance as new Impact World Champion, and an X-Division title rematch between Chris Bey and Willie Mack.
The Motor City Machine Guns are once again Impact World Tag Team champions.
The team defeated The North to win the championships for a second time tonight on Impact. The finish came when The North were delivering superkicks to both Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley. Sabin countered with a small package and pinned Page to win the championships.
Sabin & Shelley’s last run with the championships were back in 2010, when they defeated Beer Money to win the titles that were previously vacated by The Band (Eric Young, Kevin Nash & Scott Hall).
The North end their run with the titles after 383 days, when they won the titles from LAX (Ortiz & Santana) at Bash at the Brewery on July 5, 2019.
Sabin & Shelley made their return to the promotion at Slammiversary this past Saturday. They defeated The Rascalz in the opening match as a surprise, then later challenged The North to a Impact Tag Team title match, which was later confirmed.
Impact Wrestling returns from Nashville, TN for the fallout of Slammiversary XVIII, where three new champions were crowned.
Show started with ECIII cutting a promo about people being controlled by the media, government, politicians, corporations, and even love. He said that we need to fight back against those that want to control us and we must control our narrative. Really good promo, it’s ECIII’s forte.
Impact debuted a new entrance video and theme, a far better one.
X-Division Champion Chris Bey defeated Willie Mack to retain the title.
Willie Mack is cashing in his rematch clause.
Bey started the match with a shotgun dropkick and a quick pin attempt. After kicking out, Bey and Mack started rolling around, trading fists. They stood and continued trading strikes. Eventually Mack managed to floor Bey, but before he could follow up Bey pulled him to the outside. Bey went for a plancha, but Mack caught him and slammed him down on the floor.
Back in the ring, Mack hit a senton atomico. He tried to follow with a running clothesline on the corner, but Bey dodged and hit a draping neckbreaker for a two count. Bey followed with a headlock, but Mack powered up, escaped, and hit a backfist. When Bey tried to hit a moonsault, Mack dodged and hit a moonsault himself.
Mack went for the stunner, but Bey blocked. Mack caught him with a pop-up forearm then went for the 6-star frog splash, but Bey moved, hit a springboard cutter, and picked up the win. Good match, but really short.
Josh Matthews and Madison Rayne ran down some of tonight’s matches and also recapped the events from Slammiversary. They hyped the debut of the Good Brothers and ECIII’s return.
The Good Brothers came down to the ring. Anderson cut a promo about arriving on Impact Wrestling, how Slammiversary was trending #1 worldwide because of them. Gallows talked about selling out their t-shirt overnight. They had some beers to celebrate, but Ace Austin interrupted them, along with Madman Fulton.
Ace told them that he understood why they attacked him on Saturday, they went for the top two guys in Impact. Ace wanted an apology. Ace threw Anderson’s beer, so they started brawling. The Good Brothers cleared the ring. This was somewhat weak.
Backstage, Heath arrived trying to get in, but he wasn’t on the list. He didn’t even have a last name. He called out Rhino, but he was distracted with Hernandez about their arm-wrestling dispute. They both ended up challenging each other to a fight for the money. I don’t know why Heath can’t use ‘Miller’ on Impact.
In his locker room, Chris Bey was thanking some ladies, who seem to be his assistants. Rohit Raju arrived and wanted to celebrate with Bey too. Raju said that Bey has a bullseye on his back, so he offered his help to look out for Bey.
Steelz and Nevaeh started the match, with the latter striking down Steelz and dropping her with a slam and a crucifix pin for an early two count. Havok came in with a backbreaker into a neckbreaker by Nevaeh.
Hogan tagged in but ate a big boot by Havok as she came in. She managed to dodge a second boot and hit a dropkick, but Havok wasn’t phased and took down Hogan with a clothesline. Nevaeh tagged in, but distracted herself with Steelz, allowing Hogan to clip her from behind and cut her off from her corner.
Hogan and Steelz worked over Nevaeh in their corner, using many quick tags, going for strikes and chokes, getting near falls in between. Eventually, Nevaeh caught Steelz with a clothesline, but couldn’t follow up and ate a bicycle kick by Tasha. Nevaeh kicked Tasha again and went for the tag, but Hogan distracted the referee and the tag didn’t take place. Nevaeh hit a desperation neckbreaker and finally tagged in Havok.
Havok ran wild over Hogan and Steels, clotheslines and running boots to the corner. Hogan got her with a sleeper, but Havok got her off. Hogan went for a tilt-a-whirl, but Havok reversed into a piledriver. Tasha tried to save Hogan with a chair for the DQ, but Havok held on and still hit the piledriver on Hogan.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was Eddie Edwards first World Title win over Bobby Lashley.
Backstage, Sami Callihan confronted Ken Shamrock for losing the match on Saturday. Shamrock accepted it, but wasn’t having it today. He said to complain next week. Callihan was as confused as I was after this.
RVD and Katie Forbes cut a promo talking about the changes in Impact for the better. They promoted Forbes new website. They’re done with the CancelCulture gimmick, but they’re still the heelish characters they were a couple of months prior.
Rhino defeated Hernandez
It took me longer to write this than the match. Rhino caught Hernandez with the Gore by surprise and won the cash.
The North cut a promo backstage about being the greatest tag team in the company’s history, but they never get a chance to celebrate. They said that the people said that the MCMG were the greatest and most innovative and such, but that was all opinions, yet The North’s longest reign in Impact’s history is a fact.
We got a vignette for Brian Myers. It looked similar to Kurt Angle’s initial vignettes in TNA. Impact didn’t say who was in the video, but Myers later identified himself on social media.
A video collection aired of post-match promos by the winners of Slammiversary XVIII.
Gia Miller interviewed Deonna Purrazzo about her next move. Purrazzo said she wouldn’t reveal, but since Grace was injured with a separated shoulder, she’d just enjoy the reign. Up walked Kylie Rae and introduced herself as the next challenger. Deonna offered a handshake, only to swerve Rae into the Fujiwara armbar, but Rae was able to block it before Alisha Edwards and Kimber Lee ran up to break up the fight.
Eddie Edwards came down to the ring to address his championship win. Eddie talked about how it felt so right to call himself the Impact World Champion. He said that his journey brought him to the title, and now a new one starts. Eddie said that he wants stability in Impact and that he wants to be the champion that both fans and the locker room can be proud of. He said that in the last few years, this title doesn’t get defended often, the last time was five months ago, and so he vows to be a defending champion and he’ll do it every week if necessary. His journey is to bring stability and credibility to the title.
Eric Young came out. Eddie didn’t let EY talk, he said he wasn’t happy with what he did to Rich Swann on Slammiversary. EY deserves an ass kicking, and Eddie is happy to oblige.
EY said that Impact belongs to him and that Eddie should be happy that he took out Rich and not him. EY said that he doesn’t care about Eddie’s journey and that the only thing he wants is the title.
Eddie threw himself on EY with a dive and started punching them. They got into a small pull apart.
Gia Miller interviewed Moose, asking him if he’d defend the title like Eddie had just promised. Moose told her that was a dumb question, because he carries the most prestigious title and people don’t just deserve title shots. Moose said he’d invite Fallah Bahh to a match.
Backstage, Gia Miller approached Eddie about who he’d wrestle first. Trey Miguel approached him and asked for a match next week. Eddie accepted.
Self-Proclaimed TNA World Champion Moose defeated Fallah Bahh (with TJP) to retain the title
Collar and elbow to start the match, Moose couldn’t move Bahh. He tried to attack Bahh in the corner, but Bahh kept dodging and chopping Moose. Bahh blocked a chokeslam attempt, but ended up catching a big boot to the face.
Moose chopped and punched Bahh, took him down with a shoulder block. He dropped an elbow, raked Bahh’s face, and choked him on the ropes. As usual, Moose got cocky and started talking trash, allowing Bahh to recover and build some momentum for a couple of running clotheslines and hip attacks to the corner. Moose hit the lights out and won. This was virtually a squash.
After the match, ECIII snuck up behind Moose, took him down, and walked away. Matthews said that ECIII doesn’t work here.
Good Brothers were walking down the street when Ace and Fulton drove up and distracted them, allowing Reno Scum to attack them from behind. GB took care of Reno Scum, prompting Ace and Fulton to drive away.
John E. Bravo had Rosemary in his house. They were talking to each other in code about pinches of rosemary and extra extra virgin olive oil. Taya was in the house too, so since they weren’t alone anymore. Rosemary started summoning half of the Impact roster to the house. Apparently, we have a reality show called ‘Wrestle House’ now, starting next week.
Announced for next week, Reno Scum vs The Good Brothers and Eddie Edwards vs Trey Miguel for the Impact World title.
The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) defeated Impact World Tag Team Champions The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) to win the titles
Shelley and Page started the match, they chain wrestled for a bit for wrist and head control, then did a short sequence of counters and reversals ending up in a standoff. Alexander and Sabin tagged in and went for the same plan, ending with some lucha armdrags by Sabin on Alexander.
Shelley tagged in, but Alexander managed to throw him into Sabin and cut Shelley away from his corner. Shelley recovered. Page left the ring to dodge a superkick, but Sabin was there for the kick from the apron. MCMG hit a double kick on Alexander, then a double kick on Page.
Back from commercial, MCMG were still in control, getting a two count on Page with a top rope crossbody from Shelley. Josh Alexander distracted Shelley, allowing Page to cheap shot Shelley to cut him off, setting him up for the car crash crossbody.
The North started working over Alex Shelley in their corner. Alexander took him down with a backbreaker for a two count after Shelley tried to get an armbar in. The North hit a double backbreaker combo for another two count when Sabin broke the pin. Page hit a delayed handoff suplex right before Alexander tried to follow with a top rope moonsault, but Shelley managed to move away, tagging in Sabin.
Sabin took out Josh on the apron. He hit a rana on Page, then followed with a missile dropkick and a tornado DDT on Page for a two count. MCMG hit a double kick on Page in the corner. Sabin tagged out and hit a dive on Alexander. Shelley hit the shiranui on Page for a two count. Kick combo by Shelley and Sabin on Page, followed by a swinging neckbreaker and crossface. Sabin locked in a cloverleaf on Alexander, but when Page reversed the crossface to a pin, Sabin let go to break the pin attempt.
Alexander and Sabin traded strikes in the middle of the ring. Along with Page, he hit the murder-go-round, then followed with the cutter-wheelbarrow suplex combo for a two count when Shelley broke the pin. The North attacked Sabin, went for the northern assault, but Sabin used the moment to roll Page down while Shelley kept Josh locked and pinned Page to win the Impact tag team championships. Really good main event, hate to see The North lose the titles, but after breaking the record, there’s no sense to extend it for too long. This also freshens up the division a bit.
After the show ended, we saw Heath sneak into the arena.
Final thoughts —
Good show for a fallout episode after a pay-per-view. While we still have many questions about guys like ECIII or Heath, you can feel that a new era is starting. Wrestling wise, we got a great main event.
Minutes after they successfully defended the Impact Wrestling Tag Team Titles at Slammiversary, The North had both their next challengers and a date set as the longest reigning tag champions in company history will face the Motor City Machine Guns this Tuesday on AXS.
After Josh Alexander and Ethan Page defeated Ken Shamrock and Sami Callihan to retain, they cut an in-ring promo where they touted their reign, how great they were, and that no team could challenge them which brought out Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley, fresh off their surprise return in a win over the Rascalz earlier in the night.
Shelley and Sabin said that when you’re the best, you don’t have to say so as people will do it for you. They revealed that they had signed a contract to face the champions in a title match this Tuesday which didn’t go over well with Alexander and Page.
Shelley and Sabin have held the Impact tag titles once, reigning for 182 days in the second half of 2010 before losing the belts to Beer Money (Robert Roode/James Storm) at January 2011’s Genesis.
The Motor City Machine Guns reformed tonight at Slammiversary, making their Impact return.
Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley answered The Rascalz open challenge that had been built over the course of the last several weeks on Impact. The two teams had a back and forth match, with the MCMG picking up the win with a double team maneuver.
The match was the first for Sabin since January 2019, when he was sidelined with a torn ACL while working for Ring of Honor.
Sabin and Shelley have not teamed together since 2018, when they faced The Young Bucks and Roppongi 3K in a three way match at ROH/NJPW War of the Worlds 2018. They started as a team back in 2006 for Zero1-Max, but soon started teaming together in Impact, where they are former Tag Team champions.
Tonight’s Slammiversary event has been hyped with promises of appearances from former Impact stars. Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson have been announced for the show, as well as a “former world champion”.
Strongly focusing on tag teams, Ring of Honor television from this past week was another episode from Lowell, MA that continued to establish a path to Final Battle.
As noted in the latest issue of the Observer, the current direction could change for the ROH world title match at the next PPV. Whether by coincidence or not, there is a hint on this episode at a possible shift in storyline tying Jay Lethal into the ongoing narrative involving challenger Kyle O’Reilly and ROH World Champion Adam Cole.
Other than that brief hint and O’Reilly later shining in a showcase match, the episode was all about tag teams and teams in general.
Colt Cabana & Dalton Castle defeated The Tempura Boyz
The Tempura Boyz are Yohey & Sho. New Japan young lions on excursion in North America, they formerly appeared in ROH under masks representing personas they first used in CMLL. Here they were unmasked, taking part in a match with some comedy but also some serious wrestling.
When Cabana used a sunset flip for a two count, Steve Corino jokingly called it a “Tony Garea special” on commentary. They sure don’t make wrestlers like Tony Garea anymore. Anyway, Dalton pinned Yohey after a delivering a bang-a-rang.
The Briscoes walked onto the ramp for a promo afterwards and had words with Cabana and Castle. They briefly argued before the Briscoes vowed to win the tag team titles for the ninth time at Final Battle.
Promos edited together featuring ROH World Champion Adam Cole and Jay Lethal hyped their upcoming title match in London.
After those promos, Kyle O’Reilly cut a promo himself about his title shot facing whoever is champion at Final Battle. He has a vendetta against Cole, but a point to prove with Lethal. He will take on either to challenge for the title at the next PPV.
Kyle O’Reilly defeated Jonathan Gresham
A showcase for O’Reilly and his grappling skills, Gresham held his own in this mix of old fashioned pro wrasslin’ spots and more realistic hand-to-hand combat. Displaying good sportsmanship at first, that soon eroded when Gresham started targeting O’Reilly’s injured shoulder.
The intensity picked up when tempers flared and O’Reilly cut Gresham down with kicks and strikes, transitioning later into some submission holds. O’Reilly choked out Gresham with a front facelock, then finished him off by hoisting him for a brainbuster followed by a pinfall.
Bullet Club’s Hangman Page ran in after the bell to attack O’Reilly. His reDRagon teammate and TV champion, Bobby Fish, made the save. Fish brawled with Page before Cole sprinted into the ring to help assault Fish. Page grabbed a chair and began clobbering Fish, leaving him laying. This sets up Page challenging Fish for the World TV title while also continuing the feud with O’Reilly and Cole.
A video package hyped Punishment Martinez before Cheeseburger and Will Ferrara came down to the ring to issue a challenge. The video showed them being mauled by Punishment. So they proceeded to gallantly challenge Punishment, and company, to a match.
BJ Whitmer & Punishment Martinez (w/ Kevin Sullivan) defeated Cheeseburger & Will Ferrara via DQ
On commentary, Sullivan told Corino to basically take his rightful seat at his side in joining his evil stable, almost blaming him for the punishment (pun intended) seen in the ring. The match itself was a backdrop for the unfolding drama, with Sullivan somewhat speaking in tongues as he said Corino should join his family.
Corino could take no more as Punishment looked to finish off Cheeseburger, after pummeling him and Ferrara in the match. Corino left the announce table and ran to the ring to make the save, sparing Cheeseburger. Corino caused a disqualification when he ran in and shoved Punishment. Whitmer sneered at Corino. Sullivan was seemingly pleased with the mind games he unleashed.
A Ladder Wars featurette led into an in-ring promo from the Motor City Machine Guns putting over their work ethic and their drive to please the audience. Chris Sabin said that Nigel McGuinness and ROH had given them the night off, as this was taped the night after the now infamous Ladder Wars match at the last pay-per-view. They refused to take the night off, apparently for the sake of the fans. Alex Shelley vowed to take the fight to Los Ingobernables de Japon.
Tetsuya Naito & EVIL defeated Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley
Los Ingobernables de Japon lived up to their name of being “the ungovernables” as they broke the rules with a double team to gain the upperhand in the opening moments. The Motor City Machine Guns soon fired up, leading to Shelley with a flying knee off the apron on Naito and Sabin doing a senton off the apron on EVIL.
The Machine Guns were running wild until Naito tripped up Sabin and EVIL cut off Shelley. EVIL put a chair around the neck of Shelley before posting him. Los Ingobernables worked over Shelley heading into a commercial break.
Shelley eventually gets some separation to make the the hot tag. Sabin ran wild and soon jumped off the top with a missile dropkick on Naito. On commentary, announcer Kevin Kelly kept mentioning that Sabin had taped ribs, despite him running wild on Naito. EVIL then saved Naito by targeting the Sabin’s ribs. Nevertheless, Sabin and Shelley both flew off the top with crossbodies.
MCMG then did a double team tope dive. Back in the ring, Naito was at the mercy of the Machine Guns. He tripped them up again as EVIL jumped back in to dispatch Shelley with a STO. Sabin tried to fight off the assault, but Naito executed the Destino and covered him to score the pinfall.
On the next episode of ROH TV airing this weekend in syndication, the focus on tag teams continues with a semifinal match in the ongoing six-man tag tournament. Plus, The Addiction face The Briscoes. After first airing on Sinclair affiliates, the latest episode is available on various services and streaming platforms before also airing this Wednesday night on Comet.
While the card for the finals of the 2016 Super J-Cup will feature matches to crown its champion, the show will also be aided by some significant appearances by competitors not in the tournament.
The Young Bucks will defend their IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship against the Motor City Machine Guns on the August 21st tournament finale. The two teams have long been rivals dating back to their matches in PWG and time together in TNA, and they have recently renewed their feud in Ring of Honor.
The GHC Junior Tag Team Championship will also be on the line as Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada defend against the team of ACH and Taiji Ishimori. The challengers earned the shot by winning Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Junior Tag League tournament.
The show will also feature a six-man tag of CMLL competitors with Ultimo Guerrero, Gran Guerrero, and Euforia battling Volador Jr., Titan, and Caristico.
In tournament action, there will be four second round matches with the winners going on to the semifinals. Those semifinal matches will determine who will fight for the right to become the Super J-Cup winner in the show’s main event.
The show will take place on August 21st and will air live on NJPW World at 2:00 a.m EST. The full card is:
Super J-Cup tournament finals match
IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) for the titles
GHC Junior Tag Team Champions Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada vs. ACH & Taiji Ishimori
Super J-Cup tournament semifinals match
Super J-Cup tournament semifinals match
Volador Jr., Titan, & Caristico vs. Ultimo Guerrero, Gran Guerrero, & Euforia
Matt Sydal vs. Will Ospreay in a second round tournament match
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru in a second round tournament match
KUSHIDA vs. Kenoh in a second round tournament match
Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Taichi in a second round tournament match
David Finlay, Eita, & Yuma Aoyagi vs. BUSHI, Kaiji Tomato, & Gurukun Mask
Decent showcase of Klein’s strength. James had a nice Black Widow on Klein. Klein wins via tapout choke. Post match, BJ Whitmer berates Scarlett to do a proper winner announcement. Issues open challenge for any woman to face Kelly.
Show Results
– Dalton Castle vs Stevie Richards turns into ANX vs. Dalton Castle & Stevie Richards
ANX (w) come out for a segment called what’s wrong with wrestling. Stevie was blasted for lengthy career and Dalton Castle, Human Trafficker. Castle changes the match to tag match vs the “fatbags”. (Lights keep going out in building during this segment). Kenny King delivers a chairshot to a spinning Richards and capitalized for the pinfall.
– Caprice Coleman def. Cheeseburger
Coleman comes out bearing gifts (protein powder, peanuts) to make Cheeseburger bigger. Caprice wins in a solid match by submission. Cheeseburger over with the crowd.
– Christopher Daniels def. Ray Rowe
Rowe surprisedly booed. Towards end, Kaz comes out followed by Hanson just enough to cause a distraction. Daniels hits BME for the 3 count. Daniels helps Kaz continue the beatdown on Hanson which turns into…
– Warbeard Hanson def. Kazarian
Kaz is over with the crowd and so is Hanson. Very good match. Hanson wins with swinging leg kick. Post match, Kaz comes out followed by Rowe. A brawl ensues and War Machine stands tall with the tag belts. War Machine leaves then Addiction stands up with their belts.
– Kamaitachi vs. Jason Kincaid vs Lio Rush vs Will Ferrara vs ACH vs Roderick Strong
Roddy clears the ring to start and stares at Rush. Match breaks down and Roddy does a sick spot outside the ring where he flings each opponent into the metal barricade. Then begins in the ring with Kamaitachi. ACH and Lio do some cool floppy counter stuff. Kincaid came in with a sick off the ropes bulldog/STO spot. Very fast paced, hard to keep up. Lot of Roddy dominance. Kincaid hits the sunset flip power bomb on Lio Rush to the guys on the floor. Kamaitachi then hits a spinning modification of air raid crash for the 3 on Kincaid in the ring. Great match.
Intermission
– BJ Whitmer tries to get on mic and is booed at every opportunity. He graces us with his presence in a practice match against a guy who may have been announced as Mark Sales, dressed in Corino trunks. Whitmer squashed him quickly.
– Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser vs Shane Taylor and Keith Lee
Taylor hits 2nd rope splash on Beer City Bruiser for the pin.
– Jay Briscoe vs. Moose w/ Stokely Hathaway
Both these guys chants to start. Stiff contest. Nice tope con Hilo by Moose. Briscoe hits a Death Valley Driver on the ring apron to Moose. Jay Driller to Moose for a near fall. Crowd goes nuts thinking it was 3. Moose powerbombs Jay through ringside timekeeper table. Jay gets back in the ring at the count of 19. Jay counters the powerbomb into another Jay Driller for the win. Match of the night!
– ROH Champion Jay Lethal (w/Taeler Hendrix) vs. Mark Briscoe
Back and forth match. Mark kicked out of the second diving forearm from Lethal. Jay hit a top rope elbow drop for a near fall, later locking on a figure four. Lethal blocked a Briscoe Elbow from top, kicks him in the face and dazes him, nailing Lethal Injection for the 3. Solid match.
– Bullet Club (Adam Page & Adam Cole) (w/Young Bucks) vs. Motor City Machine Guns
Match started out of the ring with barricade throws on MCMG. Bucks superkick Sabin before heading to the back. A lot of Too Sweet eye pokes by Cole. Page connects on the shooting star to the outside. MCMG hit tag team combination from the top rope to near fall because Todd Sinclair pulled out of ring. Upon getting back in the ring, MCMG superkicks him.
Bucks return and Superkick Sabin. Cole holds Shelley and Bucks inadvertently hit Cole with superkicks and get superkicked by MCM. Page gets back in the ring, MCMG hit their finish for the 3 count on Page.
After the match, the Addiction comes out to attack MCMG. MCMG clears them to the outside where the Bucks hit Addiction w/superkicks. Sabin gets on the mic and asks the crowd if they want to see Addiction as champs. Boos. They ask if the people want to see MCMG vs YB. They says if they win the YB will be first competitors.
Bucks gets on the mic and say that MCMG is their biggest rivalry. Shelley then puts over the ROH tag division and the fans. Shelley says MCMG + YB equal profits & 5 star classics. They call the Bucks back in the ring for handshakes. Surprisingly, no Superkicks and clean handshakes.
