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 tonight’s episode. Tessa Blanchard defends her World Championship against Taya Valkyrie in tonight’s main event, the first time ever a World title is contested between two women.
Show opened with a Nashville Strong screen following the tornados that hit the Nashville area on Monday night.
Opening video was a recap of Tessa’s championship win and the historic relevance of tonight’s main event.
Fallah Bahh & TJP defeated World Tag Team champions The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) in a non-title match
Match started with Bahh and TJP running over Page. They hit a couple of tag moves before Page tagged in Alexander for more. TJP got a two count after a double splash.
The North cut off TJP as he was going for a springboard. Page blocked him on the ropes, while Alexander took him out. From here on, they worked over TJP. They did the stalling and tag suplex for a two count.
They kept it up with stomps, all while taunting Bahh. They had the heat until Page locked in a surfboard style submission. TJP managed to dropkicked Page off, land a tornado DDT and finally made the hot tag to Bahh.
Fallah came in hot and ran over Josh Alexander with clotheslines, running hip attacks to the corner, and a Samoan drop. Page helped Josh cut off Bahh for a bit, but Bahh fired up against Josh’s strikes, and instead hit a pop-up powerbomb for a two count when Page broke it up.
Bahh got rid of Page and tagged in TJP, who went for the Poetry in Motion but Page took out TJP while Josh got rid of Bahh. The North delivered two team slams on TJP for a two count.
The North went for their finisher, but Bahh pulled out Page and superkicked him, allowing TJP to escape Alexander.
Josh failed to hit a German on Bahh, but Page hit a cutter instead as both North members executed a kick combo. When they went for the finish again, TJP came in and hit a sunset flip pin on Alexander while Bahh held Page to pick up the win. Good opener.
Gabbi Loren interviewed Tessa Blanchard about her first defense tonight against Taya. Tessa said that she once lost to Taya, but that was a year ago and that she is a different Tessa. Tonight they make history for the main event, but not for a title change.
Eddie Edwards interrupted Tessa and told her that he respects all that she’s done, but that at Rebellion, he’s cashing in his trophy once he beats Elgin. Tessa told him to bring it.
Moose defeated Petey Williams
Moose tried to jump Petey, eventually hitting a big shoulder tackle. Moose went for an early No Jackhammer Needed, but Petey dodged and went for an early destroyer. Moose blocked and countered.
Moose, who was now in control, worked over Petey with strikes and chops. He followed with punches to the head, but when he went for the Go To Hell, Petey reversed into a Rana, only to then eat a big boot by Moose.
Back from commercial Moose is still in control. He worked over Petey outside the ring, teasing the fans, but as he distracted himself Petey took advantage and landed two suicide dives and a springboard rana to the floor.
Now with momentum, Petey hit a Codebreaker on Moose but ended up being tossed on top of the ropes and into the floor. Petey beat the count at 8.
Moose went back to work with strikes and whipped Petey into the corners the hard way, but once again Moose started taunting, which triggered Petey to fire up and come back with some strikes. Petey went for a rana, but Moose blocked. He went for a powerbomb, but Petey reversed into a DDT.
Petey followed with a short Flatliner and again chased the Destroyer. Moose blocked and hit Snake Eyes. Petey got a roll up counter to the NJN for a two count. Moose slammed Petey, hit the No Jackhammer Needed and got the win. Good match, if this is building towards the nostalgia show, I wonder who is the final boss.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was Amazing Red vs Kid Kash for the X-Division Championship. The finish was horrendous.
Madison Rayne was training people backstage. She recognized Mazzerati and told her to leave since she already defeated her. She kicked out another lady that I couldn’t recognize. Eventually, Kiera Hogan arrived to question her actions, Madison told her she was her first failure. They exchanged some words until one of Rayne’s trainees stood up to Hogan and challenged her to a fight. Seems like Hogan is going babyface.
Acey Romero defeated Joey Ryan
Match started with Joey failing to shoulder tackle Acey and failed to get him to touch his penis. Acey hit a scoop slam, but when he went for the senton, Joey moved away. Acey came back with a dropkick to take down Ryan.
Ace shoulder blocked Joey, but got knocked out enough that he fell face first into Joey’s penis. He later made the mistake of hitting an Atomic Drop on Joey, hurting his knee.
Acey hit a couple of clotheslines then followed with crossbody. Acey charged Joey in the corner but when he went for the uranage Joey hit the Sweet Tooth Music. Acey blocked the second one, but Joey managed to get his hand on his penis. Conflicted, Joey Ryan didn’t go for the penis flip so Acey capitalized, hit the uranage and finished off Ryan with the jumping elbow for the win. Bad match.
Backstage, Disco Inferno and Johnny Swinger approached Willie Mack to tell him that once they’re done with the Deaners tonight, they’re coming for him. Mack said he’ll take on them in a handicap match. Their team name is the Flying Disco Balls.
We got another vignette for Chris Bey. Still coming soon.
Backstage, Joey Ryan, Katie Forbes, and RVD are talking about what it feels to be backstabbed by the cheering fans that talk trash on social media.
Su Yung defeated Havok in a No DQ Match
Su Yung jumped Havok to start. She connected with shotei palm strikes on Havok. Yung then tried to put the noose on Havok, but couldn’t and instead had to chase after her with a suicide dive and a senton from the apron.
Outside the ring, Yung tried the rope walk on the barricade, but Havok blocked her. She tried to ram her against the ring post, but Yung was blocking so instead, Havok just hit a Samoan drop on the steel ramp.
Havok started getting weapons, including chais, a kendo stick, and a trash can. Havok tried rushing Yung onto the steel steps, but Yung moved away and Havok crashed. Su tried to hit another senton, but this time, Havok was able to catch her and slam her into the steps.
Back in the ring, they had a sword fight with chairs, but ended up knocking each other out. They exchanged forearms until Su got a quick sequence of palm strikes and a running knee for a two count.
Su again failed to put the noose on Havok when the latter overpowered her and went for a second rope tombstone but Yung blocked her and escaped. Su hit a dropkick on Havok with the trash can for a two count.
Yung finally got the noose on, but Havok was too strong to get pulled around and instead she hit a backbreaker. Now Havok was looking to use the rope by tying her against the ropes and going for the kendo stick, but Su Yung hit the green mist and locked in the Mandible Claw.
Havok managed to get off the Claw, but Yung took her out with kendo stick shots, tied the noose, and locked in the Mandible Claw while pulling the rope for the submission win. This was ok, nothing special. They’ve had better matches.
After the match, the Undead Bridesmaids brought out Yung’s coffin. Su dragged Havok and tried to bury her, but Havok fought back, took out the bridesmaids and ran off.
Jimmy Jacobs tried to interview Rosemary. He asked if she was happy about Su Yung and Havok trying to kill each other. Rosemary told him that she failed to bring the Bunny back and that she’s been so consumed for vengeance that she missed something along the way. Rosemary ran off.
The Deaners (Cody Deaner & Cousin Jake) defeated Flying Disco Balls (Johnny Swinger & Glen Gilbertti)
Jake and Disco started the match. The former easily got the upper hand slamming Disco, then slammed Cody onto him.
Cody and Swinger tagged in. Swinger tried to wrestle for wrist control, but Cody beat him, tagged in Jake and hit an assisted gutbuster for a two count.
Disco gave Swinger a roll of coins and started taking turns using it on Cody’s throat. He got about seven or eight strikes before Swinger started trying to choke out and hitting low blows. Disco went for his People’s Elbow, but Cody moved away and tagged in Jake, who ran wild over both men.
Disco accidentally hit Swinger with the roll of coins, giving Cody Deaner the opening to hit the Deaner DDT for the win. Fun match, but nothing to it. I like the team of Disco and Swinger, i wouldn’t mind if they stick around.
Once again, the hacker interrupted the broadcast, now tih a full vignette. He/She/It is debuting March 17.
We got a video package of Tenille Dashwood, who I thought was gone from Impact. Nice to see she’s still around.
We got another installment of Gut Check. They focused on a guy that was obviously a fake heel known as Tony Gunn. He was spitting on the ring, pulling the tights, talking trash to Aiden Prince, making things really awkward. He’s been wrestling for 16 years and barely getting a Gut Check. John E. Bravo, who is the legit trainer of the BCW Dojo, berated him. D’Amore said screw them all. Hopefully this is over then.
We got a video package telling the whole story between Tessa and Taya, going back a year to Taya winning the Knockout’s title from Tessa.
Gabbi Loren interviewed Taya Valkyrie about the match. Taya said that somehow, Tessa convinced everyone that she was the best, but she looks through her, she knows Tessa is selfish and a master manipulator, and tonight she breaks the fairytale.
Impact World champion Tessa Blanchard defeated Taya Valkyrie (with John E. Bravo) to retain the title
Taya mocked Tessa to start the match, tapped her on the head until Tessa had enough and started going after Taya with kicks, chops, and punches all around the ring. Taya had the strength advantage, but Tessa had some lucha moves to counter her.
Tessa hit a running kick to the back of Taya, followed with a superkick but Bravo distracted Tessa long enough for Taya to recover and dropkick Tessa off the apron and onto the floor.
Back from commercial, Taya is still in control, stomping and kicking on Tessa. She hit a great running hip attack, followed by the running knees for a two count. Taya distracted herself with the crowd enough that Tessa had a small comeback, hitting a suicide dive, but when she went for the dropkick, Taya moved and Tessa went flying into the steel steps.
Taya hit a Super Dragon-style curb stomp for another two count. The crowd is going crazy for Tessa. Taya kept getting distracted, which allowed Tessa to hit a desperation cutter to slow down Taya.
Both women started exchanging strikes in the middle of the ring, with Tessa getting the better of the exchange. Taya almost took out Tessa’s knee, but Tessa countered with a Samoan drop and rana, sending Taya to the corner where she hit a backstabber for a two count.
Taya landed a huge spear on Tessa for a two count, but transitioned into slamming Tessa’s head into the mat over and over until Tessa got a quick roll up for a two count. Taya is now frustrated.
Taya went for a moonsault, but Tessa blocked her and hit a powerbomb and superkick for a two count. Tessa went for a tornado DDT, but Tessa blocked, hit a northern lights and a footstomp for yet another near fall.
Taya finally went for Road To Valhalla, but Tessa got out and hit a cutter. She went for Magnum, but Taya moved away. Bravo distracted Tessa, but got taken out by Taya accidentally. Taya went for a powerbomb, but Tessa reversed, hit the Buzzsaw DDT, and got the pin to retain her championship. Great main event.
Final Thoughts —
Overall a good and enjoyable show from Impact. I think the main event should have been sold as a bigger deal with a longer build, but given the match quality a normal episode was probably the best thing to go for. Storyline wise, we’re finally getting some movement into Rebellion.
Next week, we’re getting Desi Hit Squad vs The Rascalz, match five of Elgin vs Edwards, Rhino vs Madman Fulton, Willie Mack vs the Flying Disco Balls, and an open challenge by Jordynne Grace.
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.
Impact returns to the Fronton Mexico in Mexico City to continue the fallout of Hard To Kill and kick-off the new set of tapings. Opening video featured last week’s angle where Sami Callihan stalked Tessa Blanchard during her sitdown interview.
Tessa Blanchard opened the show coming down to the ring. Tessa cut a promo saying that it felt good standing in the ring as the World Champion. She said that winning the title was just the beginning because now she has a target on her back and that she knows Callihan has a rematch coming. He told Callihan that he is the one that needs to look out for his own good. She said that she can’t wait to be done with Callihan so she can move on to the rest of the roster. Tessa called out Callihan for the rematch, but instead, out came Taya Valkyrie!
Now the longest reigning Knockout’s Champion, Taya, got face to face with Tessa. This being Mexico, Taya was way more over than Tessa. Taya said that she took the Knockout’s Championship in Mexico, and in their last match, she took the AAA Reina de Reinas title in MSG, and she was the one making history. Tessa challenged Taya a match, but they got interrupted by a third champion — Ace Austin.
Ace said that he is also had a good night at Hard To Kill. Ace said that he and Taya have a thing in common, they’ve both defeated Tessa before. Ace said that he could beat Tessa again. Tessa attacked Ace when he implied a night at the hotel, but Taya and Ace teamed up on Tessa until Trey Miguel came out for the save and took out Ace. Strong opening.
Tessa and Trey Miguel team up tonight to take on Ace Austin and Taya Valkyrie in the main event.
We got a video recap of Willie Mack failing to capture the titles from The North at Hard To Kill. This led to Jimmy Jacobs interviewing Willie Mack, telling him that he was incredible at the pay-per-view. Mack said that he was waiting for Rich Swann to come back from his injury. Jacobs asked what he would do for now, to which Mack said he was going to keep on training.
Johnny Swinger walked up and offered to be Willie Mack’s partner if he wanted to chase after the titles, but Mack told him he’d pass. The interview had potential, but then they turned it into a Swinger comedy skit.
Backstage, Taya is arguing with John E. Bravo about being tired of Tessa and wanting recognition. Madison Rayne and Kiera Hogan walked up to Taya trying to recollect their bounty, but Taya told them they had to wait until she was done with Tessa tonight. Taya told them to face off to figure out the order in which she’d fight them.
Taurus defeated Moose and Rhino
The animal kingdom match. Moose started the match by leaving the ring for both Rhino and Taurus to go at it. Taurus early on showed some athleticism, but Rhino had the size advantage. Moose kept trying to trip both men by pulling on their feet. Rhino and Taurus kept going at it.
Back from commercial, commentary tells us that Rhino and Taurus had been going at it during the break. We see that Rhino is starting to set up the Gore, but Moose trips him up again, and finally Taurus and Rhino are tired of Moose and they decide to chase after him.
Moose tried to fight off both men, but he just got beat up and double teamed by both men, at least until they went for pins and the team broke up, which gave Moose the opening to take them out and get them with some kicks and punches.
Moose did good keeping them down, but when he went to try and suplex them, he failed on both accounts, with Rhino actually reversing the Suplex and making a comeback.
Taurus came back and got a two count with a Springboard plancha. Moose hit the Go To Hell for a two count on Taurus. Moose went for the No Jackhammer Needed, but Rhino blocked it, hit a belly-to-belly and set up the Gore, but Moose hid behind the ref.
Moose low blowed Rhino, but Taurus was there to cut him off. Rhino hit the Gore, but in came Taurus with a headbutt and took the pin over Moose. Did not see this coming.
On commentary, Don Callis tried to sell that Moose needed a manager to finally seal the deal with a championship. We’ll see if this goes anywhere.
Gabbi Loren interivewed Jordynne Grace about her future plans. Grace said she’s not done chasing the Knockout’s championship. She said that when Bravo is not in the picture, she knows she can defeat Taya, and said she wants in on that Rayne vs Hogan match for next week.
Joey Ryan was called in for another wrestler’s court, but in Spanish, by a Tommy Dreamer wearing a sombrero that Mexicans don’t really use at all. Ryan just walked out and said he wasn’t doing this again.
Joey Ryan defeated Maximo
Oh boy, this is a pair up for ages. The crowd immediately called for the kiss. Joey called for Maximo to touch it, and Maximo didn’t actually go for it.
Maximo and Ryan traded some lucha arm drags and quick pin attempts before the stand-off. Maximo hit a top rope elbow, but went for the atomic drop and his knee took the force of Ryan’s penis. Joey came back with a dropkick and a dive to get in the offense.
Joey pulled Maximo to his penis, but Maximo countered, kissed Joey, and got a two count from a roll up.
Joey finally made Maximo touch it, hit the Dong-plex, hit Sweet-Tooth-Music, and picked up the win. Short fun match, I honestly expected less of a match.
Loren interviewed RVD and Forbes. Rob said that he hated what he saw in the ring just now, and before Loren could ask a question, RVD walked away.
Michael Elgin cut a promo telling Eddie Edwards that he pinned him and tapped him out at Hard To Kill. He said he is coming for Eddie’s trophy.
Havok (w/ Father James Mitchell & Susie) defeated Rosemary
Rosemary started the match dodging Havok and going after Susie, telling her to leave Mitchell. Rosemary got back in the apron and hit a scary looking jumping rana on Havok. Rosemary jumped on Havok with the headlock, but Havok crushed her against the apron and they started brawling up the ramp. Rosemary went for a German in the ramp, but Havok blocked and hit a samoan drop instead
Back in the ring, Rosemary caught Rosemary with a plancha and a running elbow combo. Rosemary hit a version of the slingblade and the running Last Chancery for the submission tease. Havok broke off and came back at Rosemary with a running clothesline. Havok hit a backbreaker and running kneelift.
Rosemary made a comeback with a desperation jawbreaker, but when she went for the ten punches, Mitchell distracted her. Rosemary hit her mist on Mitchell, but the distraction was enough for Havok to turn the table and Tombstone Rosemary for the pin. Maybe it’s the Mexican fans, but this whole angle feels like it has overstayed their welcome.
After the match, Susie ran away and Mitchell ran out to find her.
Backstage, Gama Singh is telling Rohit and Shera that he’s proud of them winning. Shera told Gama that Raj has been sent away on a spiritual journey. Gama wasn’t happy about it.
The Rascalz are in the Treehouse. Dezmond and Wentz are making fun of Trey’s crush on Tessa. Wentz said he had hooked up from peyote. We got trippy visuals until Pagano and Murder Clown joined them and freaked them out.
Eddie Edwards addressed Elgin’s promo. He said that he is calling his shot on April 19th in New York, but Elgin interrupted him before he did and they started pushing each other until the big pull apart.
Rohit tried to jump Mack, but Willie was ready and got the better of Rohit with some lucha arm drags, a hurricanrana, and sent him out with a dropkick. Mack went for the dive, but Shera got in the apron and distracted Mack, allowing Rohit to comeback and take down Mack.
Rohit had a lot of kicking offense, getting a quick two count with a foot stomp. Rohit went for the Headlock, but Mack was too big for him. Mack came back with some clotheslines, and running elbows. Shera pulled Rohit out of the ring, but Mack hit a tope con giro on both.
Back in the ring, Mack hit the samoan drop and moonsault combo for a two count. Mack went for the stunner, but Rohit blocked, hit a knee and a cannonball, but missed the foot stomp. Mack hit the stunner and picked up the win.
After the match, Shera attacked Mack until Johnny Swinger came out and actually managed to fend off the Desi Hit Squad for a bit, but Shera dropped him with the Sky High. Gama took out Swinger and Mack with big punches.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was the Motor City Machine Guns vs Beer Money Inc from Genesis 2011.
Backstage, The North are making fun of Swann breaking his leg, talking to Hijo del Vikingo, who challenged Alexander to a match.
Announced for next week: Elgin and Edwards start a best of five series, Rayne vs Hogan vs Grace in a Knockout’s championship number one contendership match, and the return of Dr. Wagner Jr..
Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie (w/ John E. Bravo) & X-Division Champion Ace Austin defeated Impact World Champion Tessa Blanchard & Trey Miguel in a non-title match
I don’t fully understand why Taya is wrestling with Ear Muffs, but they look fabulous. Tessa’s entrance had some glitches, obviously coming from Callihan messing with her.
Taya and Tessa started the match with elbows and clotheslines. Taya quickly tagged in Ace, who else fell to Tessa’s headlock takedowns. Trey tagged in and took down Ace with a jumping knee and dropkick. Trey hit a rana and sent Ace to the outside, went to follow with a dive, but Taya blocked him. Tessa sent Taya down too with Ace, and followed with synched dives on Ace and Taya.
Back from commercial, Trey and Tessa have been working on Ace with some double teams, but outside the ring, we see Taya take out Tessa, allowing Ace to get the better of Trey in the ring and turn the momentum on him.
Ace Austin worked over Trey for a while, getting quick two count attempts here and there. Taya came in and also worked on Trey, but the latter would get some openings to get the better of Taya until Ace made the assist. Trey nailed Taya with a forearm, but Taya came back with a big kneelift for a two count.
Ace tagged back in and worked over Trey’s midsection, hanging him on the Tree of Woe for some kicks and a dropkick from Taya. Ace got a two count with a backplex. Submission by Trey that allowed him to to the paper cut spot between the fingers, but Trey finally dodged Ace’s attacks and hit a desperation kick, but unfortunately, Bravo distracted the ref who called the tag illegal. Trey kept fighting and hit a double foot stomp on Ace, and finally got the tag to Tessa.
Tessa and Taya came in with the former catching Taya with a crossbody from the top rope. Rana by Tessa, followed by an elbow and a cutter. Tessa went for the Magnum, but Taya moved and tagged in Ace. Tilt-a-Whirl DDT by Tessa and stereo dropkicks along with Trey.
Trey tagged in and went for a meteora, but Ace dodged. Trey hit a moonsault and flatliner for a two count. Trey went for meteora again, but Taya blocked it and dropped him instead. Tessa took out Taya with a big boot and followed with a dive.
Back in the ring, Ace hit The Fold on Trey and picked up the win. Pretty good match, especially towards the end.
After the match, Tessa and Ace stood tall in the ring.
Final Thoughts —
Ok show by Impact, nothing particularly special. We seem to have a direction for Tessa with Taya, Ace, and Callihan as chasers, and the Elgin vs Edwards Best-of series should be amazing. It’s always fun to see the AAA wrestlers mix it up in these tapings.
Blue Panther & Blue Panther Jr. & Black Panther vs. Polvora & Vangellys & Espiritu Negro
Atlantis Jr. & Valiente & Kraneo vs. Mephisto & Ephesto & Rey Bucanero
Rey Cometa vs. Templario
Mistico & Volador Jr. & Diamante Azul vs. Gran Guerrero & Shocker & El Terrible
We’re also doing polls this weekend for UFC 246 tomorrow night in Las Vegas and the Fantastica Mania final show on Monday in Tokyo. You can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with the best and worst match to [email protected]
Saturday has Raw in Jackson, MS, Smackdown in Knoxville, NXT in Largo, FL and NXT UK TV tapings in York, UK. We’re looking for reports on these shows to [email protected]
UFC 246 FROM THE T MOBILE ARENA IN LAS VEGAS
Prelims at 7 p.m. Eastern
Sabina Mazo (125.5) vs. J.J. Aldrich (125.5)
Aleksa Camur (204) vs. Justin Ledet (205)
ESPN AT 8 p.m. Eastern
Drew Dober (155.5) vs. Nasrat Haqparast (156)
Tim Elliott (125.5) vs. Askar Askarov (126)
Andre Fili (145.5) vs. Sodiq Yusuff (146)
Roxanne Modaferri (125) vs. Maycee Barber (126)
ESPN+ PPV AT 10 p.m. Eastern
Brian Kelleher (136) vs. Ode Osbourne (135)
Anthony Pettis (155.5) vs. Diego Ferreira (155.5)
Aleksei Oleinik (238) vs. Maurice Greene (243)
Holly Holm (135.5) vs. Raquel Pennington (136)
Conor McGregor (170) vs. Donald Cerrone (170)
Sunday has Raw in Topeka, KS and Smackdown in Chattanooga.
FANTASTICA MANIA SUNDAY AT 4:30 A.M. EASTERN FROM TOKYO KORAKUEN HALL ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Yota Tsuji & Audaz vs. Namajague & Luciferno
Guerrero Maya Jr. & Flyer & Soberano Jr. vs. Douki & Tiger & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Sanson & Forastero & Cuatrero vs Niebla Roja & Angel de Oro & Titan non-title
EVOLVE ON SUNDAY AT 7 P.M. EASTERN FROM ORLANDO, FL AT WWW.WWNLIVE.COM
Natalia Markova vs. Jenna for Shine Nova title
Aja Perera & Big Swole vs. Marti Belle & Jayme Jameson for Shine tag title
Stephen Wolf vs. Brendan Vink
Joe Gacy vs. Denzel Dejournette
Anthony Greene vs. Rik Bugez
Brandi Lauren vs. Avary Taylor
Eddie Kingston vs. Anthony Gutierrez no holds barred
Mat Fitchett & Davey Vega vs. Liam Gray & Adrian Alanis
Joaquin Wilde vs Leon Ruff
Mansoor vs,. AR Fox
Josh Briggs vs. Dexter Lumis for Evolve title
Raw is Monday in Wichita, KS as the go-home show for Raw for the Rumble with Brock Lesnar appearing, plus Andrade vs. Rey Mysterio in a ladder match for the U.S. title.
FANTASTICA MANIA FINAL SHOW MONDAY AT 4:30 A.M. EASTERN FROM TOKYO KORAKUEN HALL ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
We’ve got what will be one of the biggest issues of the year, a double issue with a look at the lives and careers of Rocky Johnson, La Parka and Kendo Nagasaki, plus what will be one of the biggest news stories of 2020, the AEW new television extension with TNT through 2023.
The lead story goes into the life and career of Rocky Johnson, the father of Dwayne Johnson and one of pro wrestling’s biggest stars of the 1970s. We talk about Johnson’s death this past week, his ancestry, the story of him being kicked out of the house at 13, his background in boxing and wrestling along with ties to both Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, as well as where the name Rocky Johnson came from.
We talk about his main skills, his dropkicks, the birth of Dwayne Johnson, the best television match on Roy Shire television of the 70s, his quick rise to main events and championships, and how his run in Los Angeles in 1970 made him into one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling. We cover his years in San Francisco, his landmark program with Jerry Lawler, his headlining in St. Louis, his world title battles, early championships and his brother, as well as how Dwayne Johnson got started in pro wrestling.
The new issue also covers:
Full details of the new television deal between AEW and TNT, including the value, the options, how this relates to the old deal, how this compares to other deals, what we know about the second show, questions this brings up regarding WWE countering, stars that are about to become free agents, Tony Khan talks the new deal, and the ratings in 18-49 and value per episode update on Raw, Smackdown, NXT and AEW and what type of value did TNT get for its money.
The death of La Parka, including his connection with the first La Parka, as well as the uncle of the first La Parka. We look at his career before La Parka, his rise to fame in AAA, his period on top, his biggest feuds, his heel turn and why it flopped, L.A. Park comments on his rival and more on his biggest matches.
The death of Kazuo Sakurada, the Japanese Kendo Nagasaki. We look at his connection with Bret Hart, with comments by Bret Hart, Ross Hart and Fumi Saito. How Dusty Rhodes created Kendo Nagasaki and who it was copied from. Many of his other wrestling names. Sakurada’s tough guy reputation and his days in sumo prior to pro wrestling. How he got into pro wrestling, his original relationships with Giant Baba and Genichiro Tenryu, his day in Stampede Wrestling as one of its biggest tag team stars, his wrestling in Japan, Mid South, WCW and the story of he and Bruiser Brody from Puerto Rico. His fights in the ring,and his one MMA fight.
Next WWE show in Saudi Arabia, a new Dwayne Johnson television show, a new Miz television show, notes on the return of Big Show, Paul Levesque and Paige, Bret Hart filming a WWE show, Brock Lesnar honored, WWE trademarks, WWE BT party in London,WWE European ratings, notes on several new WWE signings as well as a major star who has met with Paul Levesque about coming in. We look at the next MSG show, DVR viewership of WWE programming, plus a look at all the WWE & NXT live events over the past week with results,highlights and business notes.
Update the Royal Rumble and World Collide shows and how tickets are selling for the next round of major WWE events.
The Tessa Blanchard controversy and her winning the Impact title, with comments from many in wrestling and a full rundown of TNA Hard to Kill with match-by-match coverage, star ratings and poll results.
Update the changes at Bellator in structuring, who is now in charge and what may be happening next.
More money being sent into MMA with the PFL, its new ownership and revenue sources and how much new capita they now have.
Coverage of the WWE U.K. Takeover show, with show notes, business notes, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results of the show.
The 2019 Wrestling Observer Awards ballot.
Regarding the Wednesday numbers, we’ve got full details, demos that each side won, how every segment did and what match ended up as the difference maker.
Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
The funeral for Juan Kachmanian (Pampero Firpo) took place earlier today in San Jose. Very nice speeches from his son John and daughter Mary. Most notable that in the assisted living home, because he was always so well dressed, people there thought he must have been a fashion designer in his youth. They talked of how proud he was to be voted into the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018 and really a lot of talk about his family life, including bringing his family from Argentina to the U.S. and being able to help buy them homes, as well as when they would go to Hawaii and people would see him and yell, “Oooh yeah!” and call him “Link.” There was also a funny story when he was a babyface in Hawaii and he was coast for a part in Hawaii 5-O where he was supposed to terrorize some kids and Jack Lord would save the day, but since he was a face there, he wanted to be the one to help Jack Lord save the day. He never did appear on that episode.
Tessa Blanchard denied ever calling a wrestler a racial slur, which led to Allysin Kay responding saying that all our peers know the Rosa Negra story is true and she hopes that the other two witnesses to this incident will come forward.
The Alexa Grasso vs. Claudia Gadelha fight, which was one of the biggest fights on tomorrow’s UFC show, was called off by the commission because Grasso weighed in at 121.5 pounds, 5.5 pounds over the limit. Gadelha wanted to fight but the Nevada commission ruled that they would not allow more than a three pound weight differential for a strawweight fight. No word on what caused Grasso to miss weight so badly.
PWInsider reported that Velveteen Dream and Jinder Mahal are scheduled to be in Houston next weekend. They did not report either would be in the Rumble, only that both would be flying to Houston.
Ric Flair will be going on the Jericho Cruise this coming week but not for the entire week. He’ll be there the early days but will be leaving early.
A story by A.J. Daulerio making peace with Jenn Decker for breaking her confidence by reporting what she told him privately regarding Brett Favre many years ago. I have no respect whatsoever for Daulerio as a reporter. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
MISCELLANEOUS
WCWF Redemption Rumble on 1/25 at 6:30 p.m. at the Yuba Sutter Fairgrounds in Yuba City, FL.
ECCW tonight at the Commodore Ballroom with Bandido vs. Artemis Spencer and Jeff Cobb vs. Eddie Osbourne, plus El Phantasmo, Alex Zayne, Tony Deppen and more. They also run at the same location on Saturday night with Bandido vs. Cobb vs. Judas Icarus, Phantasmo vs. Beef Boy and Spencer, Nicole Matthews and Deppan.
IWF on 4/18 in Nutley, NJ with Tony Atlas, Terri Runnels, Bull James, Kevin Knight and more.
All Star Wrestling on 1/25 in Vancouver BC at the Maritime Labour Centre with Vance Nevada vs. Thunder from Jalanhar and Adam Ryder vs Raj Singh managed by Gams Singh.
Jessica Troy vs. Steph De Lander cage match for PWA on 2/15 in Sydney, Australia.
AAW on 1/24 in Chicago at the Logan Square Auditorium has Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett vs. Curt Stallion & Jake Something for the AAW tag titles, Hakim Zane vs. Paco for the AAW Heritage title, Jordan Oliver vs.. Jake Lander, ACH (who I guess isn’t retired) vs. Fred Yehi, Jessicka Havok & Kimber Lee vs. Hyan & Savanna Stone, Willie Mack vs. AR Fox, Sami Callihan & Jake Crist vs. Juventud Guerrera & Aramis plus Killer Kross, Nate Webb, Air Wolf, Angel Dorado, and more.
ROH tickets for the 2/9 free show in Baltimore are available today. Even though the show is free, you have to order tickets for the show at the UMBC Event Center.
Shannon Moore has pulled out of his 1/24 to 1/26 dates with CWE in Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan. Pat Tanaka will be taking his place.
Dillon Danis has pulled out of the 1/25 Bellator show in Los Angeles at the Forum. Danis blew out his knee in training. Khonry Gracie has also pulled out of the show.
Yoshihiro Akiyama, 44, returns to MMA for a 2/28 show for ONE at the Singapore Indoor Stadium which will air on B/R Live. Akiyama retired in 2015 but returned in June and lost in his ONE debut.
Nikki Bella will be on Nickelodeon’s show “The Substitute” as she goes undercover as a substitute school teacher. The episode airs on 1/31 at 8 p.m.
The Wrestling Estate has released a story on ECWA, considered the longest-running independent promotion in the U.S., having new ownership. Mike Tartaglia sold the company in December, and his longtime booker Joe Zanolle has taken over. The piece goes into great detail about what drove Tartaglia toward selling.
Impact returns with the fallout of Hard To Kill, where Tessa Blanchard coronated herself as the new Impact World Champion. She also became the youngest wrestler to capture the Impact World Title.
Desi Hit Squad (Rohit Raju & Mahabali Shera) defeated The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz), Reno Scum (Luster The Legend & Adam Thornstowe, and TJP and Daga
Great opener. Shera and Rohit made up for a great team with the big muscle and fast small guy. Shera was mostly portrayed as the best of the match, even with Luster The Legend there. Desi Hit Squad captured the win with a high knee and Sky High combination by Rohit and Shera.
The big takeaway for me here is the great potential the team of TJP and Daga have.
Moose cut a promo saying that he made Rhino relevant and that he’ll once again prove he’s the best multi-sport athlete in tonight’s 4-way match against Ace Austin, Eddie Edwards, and Fallah Bahh.
Josh Mathews and Don Callis continued to recap Hard To Kill and ran down some of tonight’s happenings, including a sit down interview with Tessa Blanchard.
We got a recap of Ace Austin vs Trey Miguel, talking about Ace’s advances to Trey’s mother and him targeting Trey’s knee throughout the match. Recap did a great job at presenting Trey as a great underdog.
Ace was backstage talking to his manager about getting a sequel for his last porn movie. He said he’ll win tonight’s 4-way.
We got a recap of Rich Swann’s injury from Bash at the Brewery, right before Hard To Kill. This led to the recap of Willie Mack’s valiant challenge against The North at Hard to Kill where he came so close to winning the titles by himself.
We got footage from backstage, post match of the tag team championship bout. Mack told Swann that he lost and was a failure, but Swann tells him that he was amazing out there and was everything but a failure. Get yourself a tag team partner that talks to you like Swann does to Mack. I loved this.
Eddie Edwards cut a promo saying that Hard To Kill was a show that was made for him, and after a long hard fought battle, he regained his trophy. He said that tonight, he continues the winning streak when he wins the 4-way.
We got a recap of Elgin vs Edwards from Hard To Kill. Afterwards, Callis and Mathews told us that Elgin has gone to Japan, and we got footage and an interview of Elgin from over in Japan, as he prepares to fight for Pro Wrestling NOAH. Elgin said that he loves wrestling in Japan. He talked about wrestling Nakajima on NOAH’s January 4th show. He talked about defeating Eita in 8 seconds and putting his eyes on the GHC Championship, saying that Eddie won’t be the only gaijing to hold NOAH gold.
We got a recap of RVD taking out Cage at Hard To Kill, and then later defeating Daga with the help of Forbes.
We then got footage of RVD celebrating his victory, saying this celebration is special because he put a stop to the Machine. Forbes came in with some champagne and very little clothing. They celebrated with some blurred out wardrobe malfunctions and kisses. Rob just kept putting himself over and brought in his girlfriend’s girlfriend and they got naked. Rob said that everyone lives vicariously through him since all wrestling is a tribute of RVD, bell to bell. Rob talked trash to the marks and said that you should still take him seriously even if he parties all the time. Then they had an implied threesome.
I love these promos from the new RVD, but I always watch these segments looking behind my back hoping that no one sneaks up on me.
Mathews and Callis talked about Shamrock’s return to Impact and his win over Madman Fulton. They recaped his various angles against oVe and the match at the pay-per-view.
We got an interview with Ken Shamrock after his match talking about how the match went like he wanted it to. He said he studied Fulton and used his size against him, he talked about it was his submission work that would work against someone like Fulton. Shamrock kinda put over Fulton saying that he could achieve greatness if he got away from Callihan. He said he had no plans beyond this match.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was Kurt Angle vs Jeff Jarrett from Genesis 2009.
We got a promo by Johnny Swinger talking trash about wrestling only wanting to play video games, then he sexually harassed a lady telling her to play with his joystick. Swinger is an idiot.
Joey Ryan defeated Johnny Swinger
Match starts with Ryan asking Swinger to touch his penis, but he won’t. Match instead started with some wrist control wrestling, with Ryan trying to force Swinger’s hand towards his penis. Only Joey Ryan can make Swinger seem like the serious competitor.
Swinger teased going for the penis, but cheat-shotted Ryan. Swinger got the heat for a bit with stomps, falling fists, and a couple more dirty tricks, like pulling on the nose and choking against the ropes. Ryan tried to make a comeback with punches, but didn’t go far.
Swinger got cocky and went for a headbutt to the penis, but got himself knocked out, giving Ryan the opening to comeback strong. Swinger got a roll up with the ropes on the ropes, but referee told him off. The distraction allowed Ryan to get Swinger’s hand on his penis, but Swinger got the ref’s hand on his own penis, so Ryan accidentally dong-plexed both men. Swinger tried to low blow Ryan, but hurt his hand, allowing Ryan to hit the superkick for the win. Ok and fun match.
We got a recap of the women’s 3-way match from Hard To Kill.
We now got the recap of Tessa vs Callihan’s World Championship match at Hard To Kill. This was really nicely recapped by Mathews, really emotional.
We got a commercial for Rebellion, the upcoming pay-per-view in April. We also got the commercial for Impact’s return to Mexico City for the next set of tapings. Commercial had Puma King and Taurus, so hopefully they get booked.
In the Twitch stream, Melissa Santos announced that Lockdown is coming back for an Impact Plus special.
X-Division Champion Ace Austin defeated Moose, Eddie Edwards, & Fallah Bahh to retain his championship.
This match took place in the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, PA for House of Hardcore.
Match started with all four men in the ring trading strikes. Early on, Moose started to dominate hitting a plancha on Bahh, only to get taken out by Eddie Edwards to the outside. Ace took down Eddie, but Moose came back and got rid of the champion.
Bahh flipped off Moose, who hit a couple of strikes that Bahh wouldn’t sell, and instead came back with an exchange of chops until Moose went for the eye poke. They traded lariats, taking each other out.
Back in the ring, Ace and Eddie went at it, with Eddie going Kobashi chops on all men. Eddie sent Moose and Ace to the outside and went for a dive, but Bahh stopped him and Bahh hit the dive instead with the assistance of Edwards, who hit a top rope plancha as well.
After the commercial, it’s Ace and Eddie in the ring. Eddie hits a backpack stunner for a two count. Bahh comes in and takes both down, follows with running splashes to the corner until Moose cut him off and went for dropkicks instead. Moose went for a superplex on Bahh, but then Ace got him with a top rope dive. Ace tried to roll up everyone, but everyone kicked out at two. Ace failed to hit The Fold, and then the rest took each other out with superkicks and lariats.
Moose and Eddie got into another chop exchange until Moose hit a discus lariat. Ace came in with a kick combo on Moose, but fell to a Blackhole Slam by Bahh.
Bahh went for a the Banzai Drop, but Moose blocked him. Eddie hit Moose with the BKP, so instead Bahh took out Eddie and went for the Banzai Drop on him, but this gave Ace time to recover, hit a top rope Fold on Bahh, and pin him to retain his championship. Good match.
We got footage of the World Title aftermatch from Hard to Kill, showing Tessa’s celebration with her family and the Impact roster and officials. We got footage from backstage, with Scott D’Amore saying nice things to Tessa.
Josh Mathews interviewed Tessa Blanchard in Nashville, TN. Mathews asked about if Tessa ever thought things would end like this and about oVe. Tessa said that she doesn’t think that she’ll be done with oVe, but her goal is now to set goals for females and wants to lead Impact as the face of the company. Tessa accepts being now the ‘hunted’ backstage.
Mathews asked about breaking the man/woman wrestler barrier, but suddenly, Sami Callihan interrupted by playing a video on a screen they had there. How he got access, we don’t know.
Callihan talked about how everyone talks about Tessa and Impact making history, but it’s him that has been making history all along, bringing Impact back to life and carrying it for over two years. He said that Tessa may be the champion Impact wants, but Callihan is the champion that EVERYONE needs.
Tessa started talking to the television, but Sami actually responded and revealed that he was in the production truck, and told her to come out looking for him. Tessa took the bait, but Sami wasn’t there at all, he was somewhere else and told Tessa that she’ll never see him coming. The End.
Final Thoughts —
Arguably a weak show, it was a recap show with only three matches and a sit-down interview. As a recap of Hard To Kill, we got everything that we could hope for, updates on pretty much everyone involved.
Looking back at the year WWE has had, you get a better sense of how much talent is in the company.
Main roster television and storylines have their problems, but narrowing the list of my favorite WWE matches of the year down to 10 was still incredibly difficult. The company produces so much product and has so many great wrestlers spread across Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and NXT UK. NXT was the standout in what was a transformative year as it moved to airing live on the USA Network, but all four brands were still represented on my list.
Here are my picks for WWE’s 10 best matches of 2019:
With coverage of WrestleKingdom, pro wrestling in Japan and the death of Pampero Firpo, we’ve got another double issue of the Observer this week.
Our lead story looks at the legacy of Pampero Firpo, one of the top stars of the 60s and 70s. We look at his character, the Randy Savage connection, the start of his career in Argentina, how he got started in the U.S. and was a star in week one, his forgotten world title win, the story behind his getting the Pampero Firpo name and the legendary boxing match it came from, his first run with Vince McMahon Sr. in 1960, his second run in 1972, the angle that turned him babyface in Detroit, and his life after wrestling working at the post office.
The issue also covers:
The wrestling scene in Japan, wrestling around the city, the wrestling stores, the advertising, the business from the Tokyo Dome, doing two WrestleMania in two days, why it worked for New Japan and why such a great first show ended up as a handicap. We look at what got over the biggest, probably why main roster PPVs struggle the day after blow away NXT shows, as well as tickets sold outside of Japan for he two shows and growth of the overseas audience.
New Japan’s expansion into the U.S., original booking plans for 2019, how Jericho and Tanahashi were able to do an angle involving the AEW belt, the political issues between AEW and NJPW, New Japan’s 2020 schedule, and the future of the junior heavyweights.
A pension fund suing WWE and why, with the story behind it as well as the launch of the XFL and its new rules, we’ve got DVR numbers for AEW & NXT, a wrestler who may be leaving WWE and contract status, crazy stuff some in WWE have been brainwashed on, lots of new lineups in WWE, Punk vs. Miz, Lesnar gets honored by University of Minnesota, new WWE signing, WWE awards, Ryback’s latest issues with WWE, Canadian ratings for all the top U.S. shows, WWE and Russian television plus a rundown of the holiday season house shows.
Complete rundowns of both Dome shows, with match-by-match coverage, poll results and star ratings.
Upcoming major New Japan events.
WWE’s traditional biggest house show of the year, the holiday event in Madison Square Garden.
Compiled lists of the wrestlers with the most great matches from the past year, the past decade and over the course of a career.
Regarding the Wednesday numbers, we’ve got full details, demos that each side won, how every segment did and what match ended up as the difference maker.
Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE
by Joseph Currier and Bryan Rose
WWE
Xavier Woods and Ember Moon will be part of the panel for tonight’s episode of WWE Backstage. The Usos are appearing on the show and Freddie Prinze Jr. will be the guest for the Promo School segment.
Triple H faced backlash yesterday after making a joke directed at Paige. When answering a question about her or Edge making a possible return to the ring, Triple H replied that he hoped they would be able to be cleared to return, saying “Edge has kids. Paige, she probably has some she doesn’t know of”. Paige wasn’t happy with the line, writing on Twitter, “Even my boss jokes about me.. no wonder you guys still do it too.”
John Cena is scheduled to be on the Late Late Show with James Corden on Thursday.
SoCal Uncensored reached out to the Department of the Navy to verify if Robert Remus, aka Sgt. Slaughter, had ever served in the Marine Corps or the Marine Corps Reserve. They got a letter back from the Navy, which said they were unable to identify Remus as a member or former member of the Marines.
Triple H spoke to Metro and was open to more appearances from Tyson Fury in the future.
WWE has filed trademarks for Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman, The Usos, Kayden Carter, AOP, Lio Rush, Mojo Rawley, Kane, and Bobby Lashley.
WWE uploaded a video with Nigel McGuinness, Kassius Ohno, Roderick Strong, Johnny Gargano, Jeremy Borash, and Cesaro reacting to Alex Shelley teaming with Kushida in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Other Wrestling
A sit-down interview with Tessa Blanchard is advertised for tonight’s Impact. Blanchard’s post-show celebration from after her World Championship win at Hard to Kill will also air on the episode.
Ryan Bader on Instagram noted he is looking to fight and defend the Bellator Light Heavyweight title in April.
Here are the first two episodes of UFC 246 Embedded.
Donald Cerrone talked to ESPN about his upcoming fight against Conor McGregor.
Anthony Pettis told Ariel Helwani that he is looking to sue USADA as he cut his thumb on one of their bottles during a drug test shortly before his fight against Nate Diaz at UFC 241. He said that the cut was so deep that it had to be glued together.
A controversial weekend for Tessa Blanchard ended with her winning Impact Wrestling’s World Championship at tonight’s Hard to Kill pay-per-view.
Blanchard won the Impact World title by defeating Sami Callihan in the main event of the show. The finishing sequence of the match saw Blanchard hit two Canadian Destroyers and a hammerlock DDT to win the title.
After Blanchard tweeted “Hey women, try supporting one another. Cool things happen” yesterday, she was accused of having previously bullied other wrestlers and of an incident where she spat in La Rosa Negra’s face and called her the n-word while they were in Japan in 2017.
Blanchard didn’t do media at yesterday’s media day for Hard to Kill or after her match tonight. She posted two tweets yesterday denying the allegations.
The Callihan vs. Blanchard match was billed as “the first time in professional wrestling that a woman would challenge a man for the top title live on pay-per-view.”
Impact’s latest pay-per-view, Hard to Kill, takes place tonight in Dallas, Texas.
The show will be headlined by Impact World champion Sami Callihan defending the title against challenger Tessa Blanchard, who is looking to become the first female Impact World champion in history. Blanchard has been built as a serious contender to the world title over the last year. Callihan defeated Brian Cage to win the title back in October.
All of Impact’s titles will be on the line tonight. Ace Austin will defend the X Division title against Trey Miguel, The North will defend the Impact Tag Team titles against Rich Swann & Willie Mack and Taya Valkyrie will defend the Knockouts title against Jordynne Grace and ODB in a triple threat match.
Other matches include Eddie Edwards squaring off against Michael Elgin in a match for the Call Your Shot trophy, Brian Cage vs. Rob Van Dam, Moose will take on Rhino and Ken Shamrock will face Madman Fulton.
Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. EST.
**********
Ken Shamrock defeated Madman Fulton
Not a great match. Shamrock cosmetically looks great and moves well, at least. Fulton isn’t that interesting in terms of in-ring prowess.
Shamrock tried for an armbar early, but Fulton lifted him up. Shamrock got to the ropes. Shamrock keeps him on the ground, but Fulton gets to the ropes. Fulton misses a boot and ends up hung up on the top rope. Fulton grabs Shamrock’s arm and extends it over the ropes on the apron.
As Fulton escapes to the floor, Shamrock launches off with a giant tope to the floor. Fulton catches him, but Shamrock counters and gut wrenches Fulton. This is the point where Jake and Dave Crist, seconding Fulton, start getting involved. Dave hops on the apron but end up getting knocked down by Shamrock. The referee eventually ejects them.
Fulton chokes Shamrock for a long time until Shamrock comes alive, looking for a kimura. Announcers sold it like his shoulder popped. Shamrock wanted the referee to stop the match. Fulton refused, and countered Shamrock’s offense with a powerbomb. Shamrock was able to grab the injured shoulder and lock in the kimura once again, and this time Fulton verbally submitted.
They showed video of both Blanchard and Callihan entering the arena. The crowd doesn’t seem all that hot tonight, but they did cheer for Blanchard and booed Callihan.
Announcers mentioned the injury Rich Swann suffered over the weekend, saying that there was no way Swann would be able to compete tonight.
Ace Austin defeated Trey Miguel to retain the X Division title
Okay match. Standards I feel are higher these days for these kinds of matches, but they had a perfectly fine back and forth match. Never felt real hot due to the lackluster crowd, but both men looked fine here.
Miguel immediately spears Austin and chases him around the ring, then does it again once they re-enter the ring. Miguel catches Austin’s foot on the apron, but Austin cuts him off until Miguel comes back with a 619 and a moonsault off the second turnbuckle.
Austin sends Miguel to the floor and wipes him out with a space tiger drop to the outside. When Miguel hops on top of the steps, Austin shoves him, sending Miguel flying into the barricade where Miguel’s mom was at. Austin sends him back to the ring and continues working him over.
Miguel counters after a couple of uranages by Austin but is cut off as Austin starts working on Miguel’s leg. Austin hit the bangarama but Miguel kicked out at two. Austin used a sharpened card and cut up one of Miguel’s palms. Miguel came back to life and hit a moonsault to the back of Austin’s neck.
Miguel hits a reverse suplex and applies a bully choke, but Austin escapes. Miguel follows up with a springboard downward spiral for another two count. Austin comes back with a spinning springboard kick. Miguel counters Austin on the turnbuckle with a cheeky nandos kick but Austin hits the ropes, crotching Miguel on the apron. He followed that with fold (running blockbuster) for the win.
After the match, Austin taunted Miguel’s mom on the outside, wanting a kiss. Miguel attacked him, leading to a brawl.
Gabi Loren was with ODB backstage. ODB thanked the wrestling fans, saying a new food truck was coming. Says she’ll be a five time knocked up champ.
Taya Valkyrie defeated ODB and Jordynne Grace to retain the Knockouts title
This was fine when Taya and Grace were in the ring. Bless ODB but she actively detracted from the match as she looked real bad.
ODB and Grace brawled on the apron but Taya came back and dropkicked them both to the floor. Both Taya and Grace went at it until Grace sent her to the outside and took her out with a tope. ODB grabbed Grace and laid her out with a fallaway slam on the stage.
Taya came back in and started working over ODB. Grace came back and started on Taya, but Taya cut her off and bit her arm in the corner. Taya came back and at one point, ODB laid out both Grace and Taya with a bulldog off the second rope.
Grace power slammed Taya twice, then caught her with a spinebuster. Both Taya and Grace continued to exchange offense until ODB broke it up. Grace took ODB to the corner and launched off the top rope with a senton. Taya went for the road to Valhara but Grace escaped to the apron. ODB hit a bad looking TKO. Grace hit the Grace Driver on ODB, but Jonny Bravo distracted the referee. Grace went to
Loren wanted to interview RVD, but he was making out with Katie Forbes. Forbes interviewed him instead. RVD said he will put his energy where it matters. He’ll take care of Brian Cage first, however.
Rob Van Dam vs. Brian Cage never happened I guess?
RVD got the heat early when a woman described as RVD’s girlfriend’s girlfriend in the audience grabbed Cage, allowing RVD to attack. Cage cut him off with a superkick, but RVD came back with a steel chair. Forbes held the chair as RVD went for the van terminator and connected with it.
RVD went for the cover, but the ref wouldn’t count it as he told RVD that Cage was hurt. Officials, as well as Daga came out and checked on Cage, taking him to the back. Daga and RVD got into an argument. RVD jumped Daga as a result. Somehow, for some reason, this ended up being a match.
Rob Van Dam defeated Daga
This wasn’t good. I don’t know what RVD gets out of pinning Daga in the year 2020 and I don’t know why all of this was so convoluted.
RVD was on offense until Daga cut him off. RVD came back with a bodyscissors roll-up, but Daga kicked out. Forbes distracted Daga, allowing RVD to hit the legdrop. He went for the five star frog splash, and it connected, giving him the win. d.
Loren went to look for Sami Callihan outside of oVe’s locker room. One of the Crists answered the door and said Callihan didn’t want to speak to anyone but he’s fine.
Eddie Edwards defeated Michael Elgin
This was the first great match of the evening. These two had terrific chemistry with one another and had a hard hitting, heated match.
Eddie started off hot with a tope to the floor, but it quickly turns into a brawl on the outside. Edwards tries to mount a comeback with a tope suicida but Elgin blocks it, sending Edwards crashing to the floor. Elgin follows that with an ego trip on the apron onto the concrete outside of the ring.
Edwards made a brief comeback with a forearm smash in the corner but Elgin immediately regains control Eddie finally comes back alive after a belly-to-belly on the floor then followed it with a tope that sent Elgin into the barricade. Edwards followed with a big backpack stunner for a two count.
Elgin outpowered Edwards momentarily but Edwards cut off Elgin with a blue thunder bomb. Elgin blocked the Boston knee party and countered Edwards by taking him out with a sliding D and a running elbow to the back of the neck. Eddie starts fighting back with forearms to the face, blocks Elgin and both end up with a double clothesline. Neither fall to the floor.
Edwards finally takes out Elgin with a clothesline and follows with a tiger bomb for a nearfall. Elgin grabbed Edwards and went for a buckle bomb but Edwards escaped with a hurricanrana. Elgin cut off Edwards and took him to the to the top rope, hitting a big German suplex for another nearfall.
Elgin took out Edwards with a splash mountain, but Edwards took out Elgin’s knees and went for the legs but Elgin freed himself, blocked the Boston knee party and went for an STF. Edwards escaped. Elgin didn’t like this and argued with the referee. He hit the buckle bomb, but Edwards floated over Elgin and rolled him up for the win.
Rhino said he would take out Moose tonight. He used the F word here, I guess that’s new.
Moose defeated Rhino in a No DQ match
This was a good brawl while it lasted. This was probably the best route to go as I don’t know how this would have been as a straight up singles match. People were into the big spots.
Moose and Rhino started off strong, with Moose hitting a spear that sent Rhino to the outside. Moose used a chair as the two went on the stage. Rhino back body dropped Moose onto the stage. Moose cut off Rhino and set up a table on the apron and barricade. Rhino escapes, then gives Moose a very slow pop-up powerbomb through the table.
Moose gets the heat back in the ring, beating Rhino with a trash can lid and follows with a senton splash. Moose went for an elbow, emulating Randy Savage, but only gets a two count. He puts a chair on Rhino as he went for another elbow, but Rhino planted him with chair shots. After setting up a number of chairs, Rhino superplexed Moose onto the chairs but wasn’t able to get the three count.
Rhino set up a table and went for the gore but Moose cut him off and hit a dropkick in the corner, then another one. Rhino cut off Moose and went for the gore, but Moose pulled the referee in front of him, sending them both into the table. A second referee came out, but Moose kicked out at two.
Moose low blowed Rhino then speared him to get the win.
Backstage, a medical official said that Swann couldn’t compete and can’t even second Willie Mack ringside. Swann didn’t like that and argued with the official. Mack told Swann to do what’s best for himself.
The North (Ethan Page and Josh Alexander) defeated Willie Mack to retain the Impact Tag Team titles
This was real good, and exactly what it needed to be. Mack is excellent and is a great babyface, and that helped the match tons. There were some really great spots near the end.
The North immediately started to double team Mack, but Mack took them both out and clubbed Alexander in the back of the head. He went to go for a tope, but Page distracted him long enough for Alexander to come back. They showed Swann looking concerned backstage as both members of the North worked Mack over.
Mack started to make his comeback on Alexander, working over both of the North. Page helped Alexander avoid a standing moonsault. Mack came back and went for the six star frog splash, but Page distracted him long enough for Alexander to lay him out. They landed a pair of double team maneuvers, but Mack kicked out.
The North next went for a double superplex but took out Page. Alexander wound up on Page’s shoulders as Mack hit an insane Canadian destroyer as he made a big comeback. He took out Page on the outside and hit the frog splash on Alexander. Mack went for the cover, but Page dragged the referee to the outside.
Mack hit the stunner on Page but Alexander came back as the North double teamed him, planting Mack with a reverse fireman’s carry into a spinebuster for the win.
Next PPV in April is Rebellion, which will take place at Terminal 5 in New York City. No specific date was given.
Tessa Blanchard defeated Sami Callihan to win the Impact World title
This was a really good match. Maybe a little too long, but they told the story that was needed and both did a great job of telling it. Despite everything that happened yesterday, the crowd was 100% behind Blanchard and popped when she pinned Callihan.
Callihan immediately booted Blanchard and gave her a piledriver, but she kicked out at two. Callihan put her on the top rope, but Blanchard sent him back down by biting him on the forehead. He planted hm with a codebreaker for a two count. Blanchard took him down with a headscissors then followed with two sucide dives. She went for a third, but Callihan grabbed her. Blanchard instead gave him a hurricanrana and a somersault dive to the floor.
Callihan cut off Blanchard and sent her knees first into the guardrail. Callian took her down and applied an Indian deathlock. Crowd is fully behind Blanchard. Callihan continued to work on her knees until she sent Callihan to the floor and started to make a comeback with some chops.
Cutting her off, Callihan swent to the outside, setting up a table to put Blanchard through but Blanchard came back with a running senton. Callihan grabber her and powerbombed her through the table.
Blanchard makes it back into the ring as she brawled with Callihan on the apron. Blanchard went for the eyes then hit the magnum on the apron, sending them both tumbling back onto the floor. They eventually went back to the ring. Blanchard kept daring Callihan to hit her. Callihan eventually attacked her knee, but Blanchard immediately hit a samoan drop.
It is now Blanchard on offense, hitting another magnum. She went to the top rope but Callihan cut her off, went after the knee and hit the Get Outta Here for the two count. Callihan landed for a German suplex, but Blanchard no sold it and hit a counter for a very close nearfall.
Callihan was the first to react with a sitout powerbomb, then went after Blanchard’s leg with an inverted half crab, then an STF. Blanchard tried for the rope break, but Callihan grabbed her hand. Blanchard made the break by using her foot.
After the referee took away the Impact title, Callihan went for brass knuckles. Blanchard low blowed him, hit the top rope magnum and went for an STF, but Callihan escaped and hit another package piledriver for a close nearfall. Blanchard fired back, hitting two canadian destroyers and finally finished off Callihan with the DDT to for the win.
Blanchard’s celebration did not last long as the show went off the air not too long after she pinned Callihan. The first half of this show wasn’t great at all, but at least picked up after Elgin/Edwards.
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.
Impact Wrestling returns from Queens, NY for tonight’s episode on the road to Hard To Kill. Opening video focused on the No. 1 Contenders for the Tag Team Titles being crowned when Swann overcame the odds and pinned Dave Crist. It touched on Tessa facing Fulton, and Shamrock fighting Callihan in last week’s main event, ending with Fulton destroying Shamrock.
Jordynne Grace defeated Tenille Dashwood
Collar and elbow tie up to start the match with both women being quite equal in ability, Dashwood had some nice wrist control locks, but failed when she went for the full nelson and Jordynne overpowered her. Tons of counters and switches until Tenille locked in a kimura after countering the Grace Driver, provoking Grace into the shoulder tackle and deadlift suplex for a two count. Tenille seemed to hurt her leg on the bad landing on the ropes on that suplex.
Tenille hit a Russian Leg Sweep for a two count. Grace used her power to hard whip Dashwood into the corner. Tenille locked in the Tarantula and followed with a double underhook, but Grace got out, countered by Tenille into a DDT for a two count.
Tenille went for the Spotlight, but Grace dodged and went for a schoolgirl pin for a two count. Grace came back with a huge spinebuster for a near fall. Jordynne chased the Grace Driver, but after being blocked, hit a short distance lariat for another two count.
Jordynne went for the running knees, but Tenille dodged, hit the low crossbody and the butterfly suplex and earned a close two count. Low dropkick by Tenille and la magistral, but Jordynne reversed into a roll up and got the quick pin on Tenille. Really good opener, I’d be down for a rematch. They put each other over after the match.
Taya Valkyrie ran down and attacked Jordynne until Tenille made the save and set up Taya for a Grace Suplex and sent Taya packing.
Backstage, Moose told Rhino that he saw his match with RVD and reminded Rhino that at Slammiversary, he defeated RVD and he could had given him some pointers. Rhino Gored Moose for no reason.
Backstage, The North approached Willie Mack who thought he was being jumped. Page told him that they’re not looking for a fight but Mack was provoking them. Page tried to get to Mack’s head about Swann becoming a star and Mack letting him fly. Swann came in and told them to screw off.
TJP (w/Fallah Bahh) defeated Daga
TJP and Daga look like they should be a tag team, both in look and wrestling style.
Match started with a great sequence of fast paced counters and reversals, some chain wrestling, fighting for wrist control. TJP with the winning dropkick to get the upper hand.
They continued with the quick reversals, looking for the flash pin, Daga getting a two count. Daga then went after TJP’s arm, with an armbar that he would not release and constantly get TJP back into it. TJP however, went for the head with some headscissors, locking in the neck.
They went back into pin exchanges into the double dropkick to a standing ovation. These two are gold together.
Back from commercial, both men are exchanging strikes before TJP sends Daga to the floor and follows with a springboard dropkick a la Jericho. Senton atomico by TJP for a two count before going back to the neck. Daga tries to escape, but TJP reverses and uses the Pentagon armbreaker on Daga out of nowhere and changes his focus to the arm now. TJP followed with a couple of over-the-shoulder arm snaps.
Daga made a comeback with a rana into the corner and some kicks. He followed with a big sunset flip into a foot stomp for a two count. Running forearms by Daga, running boot, and big Senton for another two count.
Daga went for the tiger bomb, but TJP escaped. They reversed pins until both men traded big kicks on each other. Once on their feet, they traded strikes in the middle of the ring until TJP got a surprise rana into an armbar and transitioned into a triangle hold, but Daga lifted TJP off and locked in an abdominal stretch. TJP escaped and locked in an Octopus, countered by Daga into a half crab into the STF, but TJP got the roll up for a two count. Double clothesline in the center of the ring for the ‘This Is Impact’ chant.
Kick combo by Daga for a two count. TJP went for a superplex, but Daga countered, dropped TJP, and went for the foot stomp but TJP blocked and went for the Superplex again, successfully landing it. TJP follows with Detonation Kick, but Daga kicks out. TJP then transitions into a kneebreaker into Rings of Saturn for the submission win. Fantastic match, this is a must watch.
After the match, Desi Hit Squad jumped TJP and Bahh, taking both out until Daga made the save. Mahabali Shera came out and took out Daga with a huge Chokeslam. Gama Singh applauded his team.
Cage was in the restroom when he found RVD and Forbes making out. RVD wished Cage luck for their match at Hard To Kill. RVD said that he’ll have no problem with him since he knows the counters of all his own moves.
Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes came out. Forbes introduced RVD in the most cringiest way. Forbes and RVD made out in the ring for a long time while the camera slowly zoomed in. Anyway, Rob talked about getting a lot of attention lately and made fun of the fans for having short attention spans. Rob said that he is taking a stand and taking the long due credit for creating every move and style that we see everywhere today.
He said that Brian Cage vs RVD was a dream match only for Cage, he called him the biggest RVD mark. This provoked Cage to come out.
Cage got face to face with RVD. Rob actually is taller than Cage. They traded some strikes until Cage dropped Rob with a discus forearm, but Katie low blowed Cage and set up Cage to get a top rope leg drop and a VanTerminator, except he didn’t give the fans what they wanted and only delivered a short distance dropkick instead. Rob and Forbes made out before leaving to the back.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was The Motor City Machine Guns vs Generation Me aka The Young Bucks in a Full Metal Mayhem match for the TNA Tag Team Championships.
Somewhere in the Undead Realm, Rosemary approached Suzie, who said was lost. Rosemary tried to bring back some memories about her former self. James Mitchell came in for the save and told Suzie to stay away from Rosemary. Havok jumped in and attacked Rosemary. The brawling brought back some memories to Suzie, who unleashed a big scream and made everyone stop.
Backstage, Madison Rayne and Kiera Hogan are talking when Taya approached them. They knew that Taya wanted a favor and told her off, but Taya still asked. She wanted help dealing with Tenille, ODB, and Jordynne. Taya offered them both title shots if they help her retain at Hard To Kill.
Speed vs power match up with Page getting the better of Swann early on with a headlock, but Swann’s athleticism helps him escape and dropkick Page to get some control. Swann goes for the ten punches in the corner and follows with some chops.
Snapmare and kick to the back of Page. Swann is striking Page, but Alexander grabs Swann’s foot, allowing Page to rake the eyes, hit a suplex, and get a quick two count while Mack is busy distracting the referee against Swann’s benefits.
Now in control, Page started stomping Swann left and right. Page went for a suplex, but Swann small packaged him for a two count, only to get taken out by Page again. Page continued to work on him, tossing him from corner to corner, choking him against the ropes, stomping him repeatedly.
Swann finally caught Page with a kick and a jumping clothesline to get some time to recover. Swann hit a Swinging Neckbreaker and a kick for a two count. diamondgiri and cartwheel pin by Swann for a two count.
Swann went for the top rope, but Josh distracted him allowing Page to get him with a strike, a blockbuster and a Gotch Styles Clash. Page went for the Razor’s Edge, but Swann escaped and hit a kick combo for a two count.
Swann went for the second rope 450, but Page dodged, shoulder tackled Swann and went for the Swanton Bomb. Rich blocked him and went for the superplex but Page straight up scoop slammed Swann from the top rope and followed with the Swanton for a two count.
Page missed the shoulder tackle, Swann hit a standing headscissors and sent Page outside. Swann went for an tope con giro, but Josh pushed Page away and took the hit instead. Page provoked Willie Mack outside and Mack took the bait and punched Page for the DQ win.
Commentary sold it as Swann and Mack needing to get their act together.
Backstage, Moose jumped Rhino and they started a pull apart brawl.
Joey Ryan defeated Acey Romero
Before the match could start, Johnny Swinger came out and sat for commentary.
Ryan oiled up before the match, secured his lollipop and asked Acey to touch his penis. Acey and Joey locked up with the former overpowering the latter. Joey tried to do some penis moves, but Acey responded with a big crossbody to gain control. Joey tried a comeback, but Acey responded with a spinebuster for a two count.
Joey punched Acey causing him to fall head first into Joey’s crotch, getting hit hard. Joey went to use the lollipop, but in the rumbling, he gave it to the ref, taking him out.
Joey went for the penis flip, but Swinger attacked him. Acey took out Swinger, and then Joey came back, hit the Penis Flip on Acey, Lollipop Sweet Tooth Music and pin. Not particularly good, even for the comedy.
Gabbi Loren interviewed Tessa Blanchard about Sami Callihan’s treat about exposing her. Tessa said she wasn’t worried about what he could say, because she knew that it meant that Sami was worried about her coming for the title at Hard To Kill.
Backstage, Elgin approached some guys in the locker room and stole Eddie’s trophy.
X-Division Champion Ace Austin defeated Petey Williams in a non-title match
Quick sequence of reversals to start the match, Ace got an early kick in, but Petey countered with a big punch. Ace went for a springboard kick, but Petey once again blocked him. Ace then hit a springboard armdrag but Petey came back with a codebreaker and running dropkick to the back. Petey went for the sharpshooter but Ace ran away outside, only to get taken out with a jumping hurricanrana. Outside, Ace hit his apron kick bomb.
Back from commercial, Ace is still in control, going after Petey’s neck. Ace dodges a German and hits a kick for a two count.
Ace went for the paper cut, but Petey pulled him in for a roll up two count, followed with a German suplex and a leg sweep. Petey called for the destroyer, but Ace caught him with a kick and the bangarama for a two count. Ace signaled for The Fold, but Petey dodged, went for the Destroyer again but Ace blocked him and pushed him to the corner where he went for a kick until Petey blocked him. Ace went for a superplex, but Petey also blocked it and went for a top rope destroyer that Ace blocked.
Petey powerbombed Ace, went for another destroyer, but failed. Petey tried to roll Ace, but Ace escaped, took the rebound on the ropes and came back with The Fold for the win. Ok match.
After the match, Ace Austin took a mic and dedicated this match to Trey Miguel’s mom. Mocked The Rascalz before leaving.
Backstage, Trey Miguel confronted Ace Austin about being in his mom into this. Ace pushed Trey’s buttons and they brawled until Reno Scum separated them. I love a serious Rascalz story.
Commentary ran down the Hard To Kill card and announced that Rhino vs Moose and Shamrock vs Fulton have been confirmed.
Sami Callihan came out to the ring to expose Tessa Blanchard’s secrets.
Callihan first said that Tessa was a fake and phony. He said that at Hard To Kill, they’ll make history as the first pay-per-view intergender World Championship match. Callihan called the fans out for trying to make this a gender thing when he doesn’t care if Tessa is a woman because he treats her as anyone else and for him, there is no intergender wrestling, just professional wrestling.
Callihan said that Tessa is entitled and she expects to get everything handed to her because of her lineage. Callihan had to scratch and crawl and become the face of Impact Wrestling by himself and breaking bones.
Tessa Blanchard finally came out, but Fulton jumped her from behind. Tessa tried to fight both men, but got taken out until Shamrock came out and evened things out. Fulton and Shamrock brawled in the ring while Tessa and Callihan headed to the back.
Backstage, Tessa and Callihan got into a great brawl, a lot of people were outside watching the fight. They fought around the parking lot with a lot of takedowns and chokes. They eventually got pulled apart, but Tessa started punching the refs and chased after Callihan to end the show. Good brawl.
Impact is taking the next two weeks off from new episodes, and instead, they’re running two special Saturday editions of Impact Wrestling for the Best of 2019 Awards.
Final Thoughts —
Really good show inside the ring. Some of the storyline developments tonight were weak, but some were really good. As the final show of 2019, leading into the winter break, this may have been somewhat weak cliffhanger wise.
Impact Wrestling returns from Queens, NY for tonight’s show, on the road to Hard To Kill. Opening video focused on the great 3-way match from last week between Elgin, Edwards, and Cage. It touched upon the stories with Joey Ryan, James Mitchell, Suzie, Trey Miguel vs. Ace Austin, and ODB’s return.
Rob Van Dam (with Katie Forbes) defeated Rhino in an old school rules match
Tommy Dreamer served as the special guest referee. Old School Rules means that there are no rules according to Don Callis.
Rhino had the upper hand early as the brawl started outside the ring, but as he started bringing out weapons, RVD brought the fight back. Rhino got the first chair shot in, but accidentally lariat the ringpost in the follow up. RVD took him down with a senton from the apron.
Back in the ring, RVD kicked around Rhino a bit, but he came back with a mop, choking RVD, then followed with a scoop slam on a chair. Rhino went for a headbutt, but Rob dodged.
Rhino tried to choke out Rob with a chair, went for a running stomp, but Rob caught him with a low blow and followed with the running Van Daminator on the corner. Rob went for a monkey flip, but Rhino countered with a powerbomb into a chair for a two count.
Rhino brought out a table, but he gave RVD the time to recover and catch him with a slingshot to the ropes and a leg drop. Rob brought out a trash can, but also gave Rhino time to recover and attack him with a clothesline. A trash can and table were both set up in the corners.
RVD failed to land the split-legged moonsault and took the Gore into the table, but Forbes pulled Dreamer out of the ring to break the pin, and took him out. Rhino pulled Forbes into the ring, but the distraction was enough for RVD to try and school boy him. Rhino countered and went for another Gore, but RVD dodged and sent Rhino into the garbage can, followed with the 5-Star Frog Splash to pick up the win.
Match was weak, way too slow even for these guys, but the last minutes of the match were ok.
After the match, RVD attacked Dreamer with a superkick.
Sami Callihan cut a promo saying that oVe equals ratings and that Impact owes everything to him. He said that the Crist brothers are winning tonight’s tag team no. 1 contendership match, that Fulton will destroy Tessa tonight, and that he will hurt and defeat Ken Shamrock. Good promo.
Josh Matthews and Don Callis ran down the card for tonight, talked about ODB being added to the Knockout’s Title match at Hard To Kill, and announced that Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin has been signed for Hard To Kill. Tonight’s theme is Pick Your Poison, with Tessa picking Sami’s opponent and vice versa.
Moose defeated Acey Romero
Moose started by going for shoulder tackles but couldn’t even move Acey. Moose started slapping Acey, but it didn’t work and ended up getting tossed around from corner to corner instead. Moose tried to escape to the outside, but Acey caught him with a suicide dive.
Back from commercial, we see Moose ram Acey into the turnbuckle, and now work over him, he stomped him around, but then he fought he had a chance at suplexing Acey, but it was Romero’s opening to reverse the suplex and get some space to recover. Acey hit a huge crossbody to take out Moose, followed with a backdrop and a spinebuster, earning a two count.
Moose hit a couple of running dropkicks, but Acey countered the third with a kick, slowing down Moose. Acey went to the second rope, but Moose hit the Go To Hell for a two count.
They traded strikes in the middle of the ring. Moose poked Acey’s eyes, but failed to land the discus lariat and took a big pounce by Romero instead. Moose went for the spear, but Acey caught him with a kick. Acey went for a running splash to the corner, but Moose dodged and hit the No Jackhammer Needed for the win. Pretty good hoss fight.
Somewhere in the Underworld, James Mitchell kept introducing Suzie around, when she accidentally touched the noose she was hanged with, which kinda gave her flashbacks to her former self. Not sure why Mitchell decided the noose should stay as decoration.
Gabbi Loren interviewed Michael Elgin, asking about his motivation to interrupt the Cage vs. Edwards match last week. Elgin said that he attacked him both to show Impact management that he had defeated them before and he didn’t get anything out of it. He challenge Eddie Edwards to put his title shot on the line at Hard To Kill.
Fallah Bahh defeated Raj Singh (with Desi Hit Squad)
Aw man, I guess we’re not getting Rohit and Raj in the tag team match later tonight.
Two weeks ago, Raj and Rohit attacked Bahh, so he came in hot and went after them. He quickly landed a belly-to-belly on Raj and a corkscrew elbow Drop. He went for the corner splash, but Gama distracted, giving Raj the opening to hit a rolling elbow and reverse STO, follow with a series of kicks for a two count.
Raj now in control, started striking Bahh, even managing to hit a backplex for a one count. Raj continued with strikes, but Bahh now started a comeback. Bahh hit a couple of opened Palms and a Crossbody for a two count.
Gama distracted the ref, allowing Rohit to jump Bahh, but both Desi Hit Squad members ended up squashed in the corner, with Bahh hitting a Running Hip Attack and the Banzai Drop on Raj for the win.
Good match, not the best to follow an Acey Romero match with a Bahh match since a lot of their offense is the same, but it does make me wonder of a match-up between the two.
After the match, Rohit caught Bahh with a superkick and him and Raj jumped him until TJP made his return and took out both Hit Squad members with kicks and DDTs.
Backstage, Joey Ryan is told to go to the management office, which is all a rouse since it’s in the bathroom. It turns out it’s Wrestler’s Court, judged by Tommy Dreamer.
This was done in People’s Court comedy style. It’s Johnny Swinger accusing Joey Ryan of not helping him out last week, but overall Joey is being accused that he is killing the business. Joey Ryan is not selling it and is calling this stupid.
We got a cameo by the returning KM. D’Lo Brown was a witness and is revealed to be called Dee Lorean Brown. Several wrestlers made statements against Joey Ryan’s penis. Joey Ryan made a statement against all those people that try to take all their insecurities and failures against him. Ryan said that wrestling should be fun.
Dreamer proclaimed that Ryan was sentenced to face Acey Romero in a match. This was stupid, but hilarious. I think we all felt like Joey Ryan for a while. This segment was apparently written by R.D. Evans.
Rich Swann & Willie Mack defeated The Rascalz, oVe and Reno Scum (Luster The Legend & Adam Thornstowe) to become the number one contenders for the Impact Tag Team titles
This is Tornado Style, so no tags necessary in this match.
All men started brawling in the ring, pairing up. We got The Rascalz superkicking Reno Scum and hitting dives to take them out. Jake Crist followed with a Suicide Dive DDT on both Rascalz.
In the ring, Swann and Mack double teamed Luster and Thornstowe for a two count when Jake pulled Swann out of the ring. Mack slammed Jake, followed with a standing moonsault for a two count. Mack hit a dive on Luster and Wentz. Swann tossed Dave Crist on the pile, Swann was gonna follow, but suddenly, Willie Mack was injured outside, doing a stretcher job, so Swann had to go at it by himself. The rest of the wrestlers stopped the action to sell the injury as legit.
Back from commercials, the match has continued with Swann fighting off both Reno Scum, being able to land a double Lethal Injection.
Jake and Dave Crist come in to double team Swann with kicks and a Spike Piledriver for a two count when Wentz breaks the pin.
Rascalz double team Jake Crist, only to get taken out by Reno Scum, who then double team Dave Crist with a German and an ugly footstomp combo. Thornstowe pretty much stomped Dave’s head. Luster hit a Razor’s Edge on Swann onto Dave Crist, who was in the Tree of Woe. Swann kicked out at two. Reno Scum went for their finish, but Dez and Wentz returned and took them out, hit a kick combo on Luster, finished with Hot Fire Flame, but Jake Crist was there to break the pin.
Jake Crist took out both Rascalz with kicks and a powerslam. oVe went for Swann, who tried to stand against them with kicks and strikes, managing to take them out for a bit until he went for the Lethal Injection again, only for oVe to cut him off. oVe went for the Doomsday Blockbuster, but Swann rolled up Dave Crist and win the match. Great action packed match, but I didn’t see the need in doing the Mack injury angle unless it becomes a thing all the way to Hard To Kill.
Backstage, Josh Alexander wants to go and take out Swann, but Page stops him and tells him to trust him and do it his way instead.
Loren interviewed Taya Valkyrie about having to defend her title against ODB and Jordynne Grace. Taya said that everyone is always trying to get in her space. She doesn’t understand why Jordynne would help ODB get in the match and worsen her chances at winning. Taya said that at Hard To Kill, she proves she’s the woman on power. Usual great Taya promo.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was ODB vs. Gail Kim vs. Brooke Tessmacher from Bound For Glory 2013. I had completely forgotten about Lei’d Tapa.
Jimmy Jacobs interviewed Brian Cage backstage. Cage talked about losing the championship, the rematch, and the chance to regain it. Cage said he supported Tessa as the new contender to Sami’s championship and said that he will be looking close to whoever wins. He said that for now, he wants to take the opportunity to challenge someone he hasn’t had the chance to fight. Suddenly, RVD and Katie Forbes started making out on the couch they Cage and Jacobs were on. Cage was annoyed at RVD.
Before leaving, RVD said that Cage has stolen a lot of his moves, except for the time he got beat by Tessa.
Tessa Blanchard defeated Madman Fulton by disqualification
Tessa started defiant by striking Fulton, but she didn’t make any damage. Fulton retaliated by slamming Tessa into the turnbuckle repeatedly, tossing her around, choking her against the corner, stomping her.
Tessa tried to make a comeback, only to get hit by a powerbomb, that accidentally landed on the ropes and she used the moment to roll over Fulton and roll him up for a near fall. Tessa used the distraction to hit a couple of dives until Fulton regained composure and catch her. Tessa came back with a tornado DDT and went for the top rope Magnum, but the Crist brothers were out there to attack her and give her the win via DQ. Jake hit a top rope Cutter and fed her to Fulton’s crazy chokeslam. More of a segment than a match.
Ken Shamrock came out for the save. Shamrock took out both Crists, faced off against Fulton and started to fight him, but Callihan came out and pulled Fulton away. Callihan wanted Shamrock for himself.
Sami Callihan defeated Ken Shamrock by referee stoppage
Callihan slapped Shamrock to start the match, provoking his anger. Callihan spat on Shamrock, further provoking the wrath. Shamrock punched and kicked Callihan, but the champ kept trying to anger Shamrock with slaps and calling him names.
They started brawling outside the ring, with Shamrock having the upper hand with strikes, forcing Callihan to rely to heel tactics. Callihan kept trying to chop Shamrock, but they were not that effective.
Back in the ring, Callihan caught Shamrock with a desperation DVD for a two count. Shamrock countered Sami with a powerslam and went for a corner splash, but Callihan pulled he ref in front of him. Callihan went for a belt shot, but Shamrock dodged, hit a slam, locked in the ankle lock and submitted Callihan, but there was no referee.
Madman Fulton came back, hit an End of Days on Shamrock, giving Callihan to lock in the Ankle Lock, but with Shamrock already knocked out, the referee awarded the match to Callihan via ref stoppage.
After the match, Callihan celebrated while Shamrock recovered. Fulton went after Shamrock again and had to be pulled off by Callihan, but drowned in the rage, Fulton even pushed off Callihan. Fulton hit a Front-facing Suplex on Shamrock to the outside, it looked ugly enough that even Callihan told Fulton to stop. Referees checked on Shamrock as the show went off.
Final thoughts —
An ok show for Impact. We got some good wrestling and a great Wrestler’s Court skit, but not many great storyline developments.
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.
