Bey, Johnny Swinger & Rohit Raju defeated Mack & The Deaners in a six-man tag match on this week’s Impact. To set up the X-Division title match for Slammiversary, Bey pinned Mack to get the win.
Mack has been X-Division Champion since winning the title from Ace Austin at Rebellion night one in April.
Impact confirmed in February that Bey has signed a contract with them.
Deonna Purrazzo challenging Jordynne Grace for the Knockouts Championship is also set for Slammiversary. Tessa Blanchard was supposed to defend her Impact World Championship against Michael Elgin, Eddie Edwards, Ace Austin, and Trey Miguel in a five-way match at the PPV, but Impact issued a statement tonight confirming that they’ve terminated their relationship with Blanchard and stripped her of their World title.
Impact Wrestling returns from Nashville, TN for tonight’s episode, which features the second half of the World Title #1 contendership tournament’s first round matches. Ace Austin replaces the injured Ken Shamrock to take on Rhino, and Sami Callihan will take on Michael Elgin.
Opening video was a recap of last week’s tournament matches, with Hernandez defeating Madman Fulton, and Trey Miguel getting the win over Rohit Raju. We also got a recap of Elgin attacking Shamrock, as well as the Moose vs Suicide main event.
Ace Austin defeated Rhino in a World Championship #1 contender first round match
Rhino had the early advantage power-wise, forcing Ace to stall outside the ring on several occasions, at one point dodging an early Gore.
Eventually, Rhino chased after Ace to the floor where he dropped him with a suplex and went for a chair. The referee was there, however, to stop Rhino. The distraction allowed Ace to recover, catch Rhino with a couple of kicks (including the headstand kick) then rammed him into the ring post.
Rhino made it back at nine, but Ace was ready to attack him and started to work on him. Rhino had some comeback spots, however Ace cut him off to regain control.
Eventually, Rhino managed to connect a clothesline counter as both men went down. Rhino went wild with clotheslines and elbows on Ace and hit a mini-Gore, but Ace still caught him with a jumping leg lariat for a two count.
Ace went to the top rope, but Rhino stopped him, hitting a superplex for a two count. Ace went for the chair, but the referee distracted him. Rhino took the chair, but once again the referee took the chair, which allowed Ace to hit Rhino with his Gambit stick and hit The Fold for the win. Okay match.
We got an interview between Josh Matthews and Moose, where the former asked the latter when he’ll end his delusions of being the TNA World Champion. Moose said that when he loses the title, he will let it go. Moose brought up the referee making it an official title match when he raised it over his head.
Matthews brought up that Suicide had a visual pin over him. Moose said Suicide didn’t win. Moose said that he’ll give Suicide a rematch to show that he’s a fighting champion.
Tasha Steelz was backstage when she was approached by Kiera Hogan. She told Steelz that she was impressed and offered to guide Steelz, who agreed to partner up.
Josh Matthews and Madison Rayne ran down the card for tonight.
Crazzy Steve defeated Dave Crist (with oVe)
Crist tried to jump Steve, but got caught with a leg sweep, took a couple of strikes, and a cannonball before escaping to the floor. Steve landed a pescado, wiping him out. Unfortunately for Steve, when he went back to the ring through the ropes, Dave kicked the ropes into Steve’s groin and cut him off.
Joseph P. Ryan came down to the ramp to observe and make notes on the match.
Dave Crist worked on Crazzy Steve for a couple of minutes, getting several two counts and a submission tease with a Kimura. Crazzy Steve would try to kick Dave away, but it wasn’t enough, and when things got bad, someone from oVe would distract the referee, allowing the rest of oVe to attack.
Eventually, Crazzy Steve got an opening to hit a jumping DDT from the second rope to pick up the win. This was like a reverse squash; Dave did all the work, then lost to one move.
After the match, Fulton berated Dave Crist. Jake tried to stop him. Madman Fulton said he was done with oVe. Jake Crist tried to stop him, but Fulton choked both men and ripped apart his oVe shirt.
Out in the bar, Rosemary was talking to Mr. Mundo when John E. Bravo approached them. Rosemary hit on Bravo, but he was disgusted and weirded out.
Bahh and Acey started the match, a clash of hosses. They went for the lock up, but neither could get the better of the other, so they relied on shoulder tackles and body blocks.
TJP and Larry D tagged in, with the latter having the easy power advantage, tossing around TJP, but TJP had the speed to dodge and get some strikes on Larry. At one point, Larry went for a sit down pin, but TJP dodged, and followed with a low crossbody for a one count. TJP and Bahh hit the stacked splash, successfully cutting off Larry D.
TJP and Bahh worked over Larry D with quick tags and double team moves, but eventually Acey Romero got a blind tag on D and saved him.
Back from commercial, Acey and Larry D have cut off TJP and hit a double running splash for a two count. Now in control, Larry D worked over TJP, getting a two count with a huge spinebuster. TJP hit a jumping DDT (jumping off Acey Romero), and dropped Larry D to get the tag to Bahh.
Fallah Bahh came in and took out Acey Romero with a shoulder tackle, sending him to the floor. Bahh continued with a rossbody on Larry D and tried to follow that up with a belly-to-belly, but Larry blocked and allowed Acey to return with a pounce for a two count, broken up by TJP.
XXXL went to double team Bahh, but were caught by a crossbody. Bahh hit the belly-to-belly on Larry D for a two count. Bahh set up the Banzai Drop, but was stopped by Acey Romero, who then dropped TJP with a body slam. Larry D went to the top rope, but Bahh stopped him, hit a Samoan drop and followed that with a bMamba Splash for the win. Good match, Larry D is somewhat underrated.
Self-Proclaimed TNA World Champion Moose defeated Suicide to retain his title.
Once again, Moose forced ring announcer David Penzer to make the proper title match introductions.
Match started with Suicide dodging some of Moose’s attacks and hitting a rana, but Moose recovered and blocked Suicide’s attacks. Suicide faked Moose to the floor and hit a pescado, but Moose caught him. However, he managed to ram Moose to the ring post.
Back in the ring, Suicide hit a springboard rana and followed with an octopus stretch, transitioning to a pin for a two count. Suicide hit a low dropkick to send Moose out again, but when he went for a rolling senton, Moose caught him and swung him to the guard rail like a ragdoll.
In the ring, Moose worked over Suicide with chokes and strikes, but he kept distracting himself with the referee. He tossed around Suicide from corner to corner; he legit did this about 10 times before he started talking trash to Suicide. This provoked a comeback from Suicide, with him hitting some clotheslines. Eventually, the fourth clothesline had enough power to spin Moose around.
Suicide dodged Moose’s rushes and hit a couple of running dropkicks, a rolling fireman’s carry slam and a lionsault for a near fall. Moose came back and rammed Suicide to the corner followed by stomps, but distracted himself with the referee once again. In a bit of deja vu from last week, the referee almost got taken out, but they both stopped themselves.
Continuing his offense, Suicide hit a codebreaker and superkick on Moose. He landed three more superkicks and finally went to the top rope for a crossbody, but Moose rolled over with the momentum and pinned Suicide. Good match, but not as good as their match from last week.
Michael Elgin cut a promo where he talked trash about people waiting for their participation trophies while he puts in the work, then talked about being hated for being the best, like Ali and McGregor once were. But in due time, everyone will appreciate Elgin’s greatness.
Backstage, Chris Bey approached Swinger and told him that if he can’t win, he may as well take out Mack and consider that as a win. Swinger was sure he was winning tonight.
X-Division Champion Willie Mack defeated Johnny Swinger to retain his title
Swinger jumped Mack to start the match, choked him around and started working over him with strikes, clotheslines, and some dirty tricks. Swinger dropped several elbows for a two count.
Mack eventually tried to start a comeback with a big body slam and leg drop. Mack hit a running splash and went for the Samoan drop, but Swinger blocked and hit a swinging neckbreaker for a near fall.
Swinger thought he had won. He grabbed the title and celebrated early, but the distraction was enough for Mack to recover, hit the Samoan drop and moonsault combo for the win.
After the match, Swinger wouldn’t let go of the title, so Mack had to rip it apart from his hands. Swinger afterwards jumped Mack from behind. He was joined by Chris Bey as both of them laid out Mack.
We got a promo by The North from the Battlearts Academy. Page said he rented the dojo for a month, but Alexander wasn’t excited for another match. Page said there was no more competition when suddenly Cody Deaner walked in and told them he wanted a title shot. Deaner made the challenge for a match at the Deaner compound. Deaner has a mystery partner for that match.
Also next week, we will have the semifinals of the #1 contenders Tournament.
Michael Elgin defeated Sami Callihan in a World Championship #1 contender first round match
This is a main event in any arena. Callihan walked in limping after the work that Shamrock did on his ankle at Rebellion.
Elgin had the early advantage in both power and health. He knew that Callihan had a bullseye on his ankle and went after it immediately. Callihan tried to give himself space, but Elgin blocked him and went after his leg again.
Callihan went for the eyes and went for a Cactus special, but Elgin blocked him and went for the leg again. Callihan, however, managed to hit a draping DDT for a two count. Callihan then sent Elgin out with two bicycle kicks.
They brawled for a bit outside the ring, ramming each other to the guardrail and ring post. Callihan started working on Elgin’s arm, but when he went for an apron bomb, Elgin swept him, and once again rammed Callihan’s leg into the apron and guard rail. Elgin tortured Sami’s leg against the ring post but at the very end, Callihan managed to pull Elgin arm first into the ring post.
Back in the ring, Elgin once again kicked off Callihan’s leg and kept him at bay with kicks. Callihan tried to get into a strike off with Elgin, but was easily taken out. Elgin went for a diving clothesline, but Sami reversed into a crucifix pin for a two count.
They traded strikes and kicks until Sami landed a big clothesline to finally bring Elgin off his feet. Callihan side-stepped Elgin to the floor and hit a suicide dive.
Once again in the ring, Callihan got a two count with a suplex. Sami went for another Cactus special, but Elgin reversed into a knee breaker followed by a couple of running clotheslines, then set up Callihan’s knee for a low dropkick.
Elgin dropped Sami on his knee, then followed with a sliding lariat to the back for a two count. Elgin then transitioned to a single leg Boston crab, hinting that Sami would pass out like he did in Rebellion, but Callihan managed to make the ropes instead.
Elgin went for the Buckle-Bomb, but Sami’s knee buckled. Instead, Elgin hit a couple of lariats with Callihan mocking Elgin while he did it. Elgin went for one final lariat, but Callihan collapsed. Elgin lifted Sami, then out of nowhere Sami hit a desperation backplex and a running elbow for a two count.
Sami went for the Cactus special, but Elgin reversed, hitting a Deadlift buckle bomb. Sami came back with a Lariat. Elgin responded with a backfist, but Sami escaped the second buckle bomb. Elgin then hit a second backfist and the Elgin bomb for the win. Great match, this felt like a Japanese match.
Final Thoughts —
Good show by Impact, it was heavily focused on in-ring action. Three matches that are worth going out of your way to check out.
Impact Wrestling returns from Nashville, TN for the fallout of Rebellion.
Opening video was a quick recap of the second night of Rebellion, where Kiera Hogan said she’d be taking a break after losing to Kylie Rae, while Willie Mack won the X-Division Championship, Shamrock defeated Callihan in a unsanctioned match, and Moose proclaimed himself the new TNA World Champion in the wake of Tessa’s absence.
Sami Callihan came down to the ring to open the show. Callihan cut a promo saying that he had the fight of his life against Shamrock, but he was still standing and it would take a lot more to take him out. Callihan blamed the referee for losing as he stopped the match. He said he didn’t need help from anyone, not the referee nor oVe.
Callihan called out Ken Shamrock, who came out and got in the ring. Shamrock told Callihan that he is one of the toughest men he’d been in the ring with for not tapping out. Shamrock told Sami that they could go back outside to keep fighting, or they can shake hands and let it go and they can go chase the World Title. Looks like a Callihan babyface run is coming.
Michael Elgin came out to interrupt. He said that he is the only man that is next in line to be the World Champion. He talked trash to Callihan for his antics, because Elgin’s wrestling speaks for him. Shamrock was ready to get in a fight with Elgin.
Elgin attacked Callihan, Shamrock went in for the save and took down Elgin. Callihan was going to deliver the Cactus Special on Elgin, but the latter escaped. Good little angle, with two new names entering the title chase.
Chris Bey cut a promo saying that while there was uncertainty about the next World Title contender, there was no doubt that HE was the no. 1 contender to the X-Division Championship. Bey said that tonight, he was going to challenge Willie Mack for the title. Good promo.
Willie Mack cut a promo. He accepted Chris Bey’s challenge. Mack is such a weird promo.
XXXL (Acey Romero & Larry D) defeated oVe (Madman Fulton & Jake Crist) with Dave Crist
Fulton and Larry D started off with a clash of big lads. They tried to lock up, but neither had the upper hand until Crist slapped Fulton. They traded some shoulder tackles before Larry landed a scoop slam and tagged in Acey for the senton.
Jake Crist tagged in, but was easily taken down and tossed around by Acey. XXXL double teamed Crist for a two count. Larry D landed some splashes and sentons. Eventually, Dave Crist saved his brother by pulling him out of the ring before XXXL could double team him again.
Back from commercial, we saw footage of how Fulton tackled Acey Romero into the steel steps and successfully cut him off.
oVe, now in control, worked over Acey. At one point, Fulton got Acey on the top rope, got him up on his shoulders and hit an impressive Lambeau Leap. Fulton hit a running splash and boot. After some more offense, Acey managed to hit a desperation spinebuster on Fulton to get the tag to Larry D.
Larry ran wild over Jake Crist, hit a release suplex and plancha for a two count. Jake recovered and hit a kick combo, but was sent outside the ring and taken out by a suicide dive by Larry D. Fulton stopped Larry from hitting a moonsault, and along with Jake Crist, hit a doomsday cutter for a two count when Acey broke it up.
Acey pounced Fulton to the floor. Larry knocked out both Dave and Jake Crist and pinned the latter for the win. Good match towards the end, Larry D is so good. The oVe losing streak continues.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was Victory Road 2009’s Kurt Angle vs Mick Foley.
We got another episode of Madison Rayne’s Locker Room Talk show. Havok was the guest tonight, introduced as “dark and boring”. Madison asked Havok about losing to Rosemary and what was next, even brought up the possibility of retirement. Havok said that Madison would end up like the last person that got under her skin, meaning either James Mitchel or Su Yung.
Rayne asked about Nevaeh, who was there during Havok’s match at Rebellion. Havok said she was an old friend, but didn’t know why she was here. Rayne brought up a surprise guest and brought in Kimber Lee. Lee said she was here to rise to the top. Havok and Lee got face to face. Knockouts’ Division just improved even more!
Jake Deaner cut a promo from outside his trailer. He said that since the “kwaranteen” started, he has been living in the middle of nowhere, but it was more like squatting in someone’s ranch. He now has a merch table in the middle of the highway. This was good.
Suicide defeated Johnny Swinger
Swinger jumped Suicide when the ref was checking in for weapons. Swinger mostly tried to choke and rake Suicide, but Suicide has a full body suit so that didn’t do much harm.
Suicide came back, sent Swinger outside and hit a Plancha. He went to the top rope, but Swinger hit the ropes and dropped Suicide. Swinger went back for more chokes, hit an Olympic Slam for a two count, then went for a headbutt. Suicide dodged striking his way back.
Suicide finished the match with a couple of palm strikes, a codebreaker, and a swanton bomb for the win.
Swinger kept calling him Spidey, which was funny.
Backstage, Ace Austin cut a promo saying that Bey didn’t deserve a title shot because Bey has only been here a couple of weeks, while Ace has beaten everyone. Ace inserted himself into the X-Division title match with his rematch clause.
Josh Matthews interviewed Moose. After a quick recap of last week’s main event, Josh asked why Moose thought he was the champion. Moose said that he disagreed with Elgin being champion by forfeit while he had been out there beating up legends and that made him the real World Champion, because not even Tessa was there.
Josh said that the TNA title was locked up in a warehouse, it doesn’t really mean anything in the books. Moose said that he was there as THE champion. He won it by beating men all year.
Josh announced that starting next week, there will be a tournament to crown a new No. 1 Contender for Tessa Blanchard’s title. Moose told Josh that he was pulling himself out of the tournament because he was the TNA World Champion and didn’t care about the Impact World title.
This delusional Moose is interesting.
Joseph P. Ryan defeated Cousin Jake
Ryan started the match stalling, but after leaving the ring over and over, Jake got his hands on Ryan and started pummeling him. Jake stomped on Ryan and hit a body block before Ryan once again ran out and asked for a time out.
Ryan went back to work on the same arm he worked on during their Rebellion match, but Jake was still more powerful and took him out with clotheslines, landed a dropkick, and hit a two handed chokeslam.
Outside the ring, Ryan managed to toss Jake into the ring post shoulder first, and got the chance to work over the injured arm some more. Ryan hit a scoop slam for a two count. Ryan kept working until Jake hit a desperation slam to get some space.
Jake made his comeback with clotheslines and a discus lariat to take Ryan down. Jake hit a deadlift Powerbomb for a two count. Jake sent Ryan to the floor, but when he went for the dive, he was caught by a superkick by Ryan for a two count.
Blocking a slam attempt by Ryan, Jake instead landed one of his own. Jake went for the pounce, but Ryan pulled the ref in front of him, poked Jake’s eyes and rolled him up, grabbing his tights to steal the win.
We got a vignette for Kiera Hogan. This was fantastic, she talked about being born and raised in Atlanta, about always being in the passenger seat and being ready to be the driver.
We got a match from Canada for The North’s title defense. The crowd was made of dummies with Impact and North shirts on, and fake audience sound bits. Ethan Page played into it, but Josh Alexander no sold it.
Page cut a promo putting over Canada and said that they were the best tag team in the world and that all they wanted to do was to compete. Josh Alexander called out Kurt Angle of all people in tonight’s third name drop of Angle. Interesting.
Out came the challengers, two skinny wimps.
Impact World Champions The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) defeated The Creeps
This was a squash match, but it was shown as a long highlight reel of The North torturing these two guys. Page got the pin for the win. This wasn’t good, segment included.
Rosemary was at the bar. She said that it was nice to be back in the ring last week, and then started to read her tarot cards, which told her to follow her instincts. Too cryptic to be useful.
Rohit Raju cut a promo about being entered as Moose’s replacement in the World Title No. 1 Contender’s Tournament. He said that he’d been there for years and that he would be the Impact World Champion. Awesome promo!
Josh Matthews ran down the #1 Contender’s Tournament matches, with Rohit Raju vs. Trey Miguel and Hernandez vs. Madman Fulton next week. Later on, Sami Callihan vs Michael Elgin, and Ken Shamrock vs Rhino.
Also next week, Kimber Lee debuts versus Havok. Moose will defend the TNA World Championship versus Suicide.
X-Division Champion Willie Mack defeated Chris Bey and Ace Austin to retain the title
Match started with Ace trying to use the title belt to take out Mack. Instead, Mack took both men down. Mack took on both men with chops, forearms, double clotheslines, and at one point, hit a double Samoan drop and moonsault into both.
Ace and Bey got in each other’s faces, but agreed to team up to take out Mack, but it didn’t last long when Ace sent Bey head first into the ring post.
Mack and Ace went at it one-on-one for now, mostly Mack chopping Ace, but the latter managed to sweep Mack, kick him and lock in an armbar for the card-cutting spot. Ace dropkicked Mack to the floor, but Bey cut him off when he attempted the dive. Bey went for the dive instead, but Mack had recovered and caught him with an uppercut.
Mack now worked on Chris Bey, but once again fell to a kick combo. Mack then went for a pop-up bomb, but Bey countered into a rana. Ace pulled out Bey and brawled with him for a bit, only for Mack to take both out with a tope con giro.
Back from commercial all men are in the ring, with Bey taking out Mack with a missile dropkick and stomping on Ace on the corner. Ace came back with a beautiful snap suplex for a two count. Ace went after Bey’s ribs with knees while keeping Mack at bay outside the ring.
Bey got a couple of near falls himself on Ace, but then went after Mack and distracted himself from Ace who took him out again. Ace hit a second rope leg drop for a two count. Ace and Bey then took each other out with synched kicks, allowing Mack to come back to the ring.
All three got into a strike exchange that Ace was winning for a while, but when he started going corner to corner, Mack came back with a palm strike. Mack hit running clotheslines and a cannonball on Ace, followed by an exploder on Bey.
Mack went for the 6-Star Frog Splash, but Ace cut him off with an enzuigiri. Ace went for a top rope rana, but Mack escaped and went for a powerbomb. Ace blocked, but Bey was there to hit a jumping German.
Mack hit the stunner on Bey and went for the 6-Star again, but Ace cut him off, with a rana, sending Mack on top of Bey. Ace hit The Fold on Mack, but Bey broke up the pin. Ace got rid of Mack and went for Bey, but Bey came back with a kick. Ace managed to hit a Fold out of nowhere on Bey, but Mack broke up the pin.
Ace hit a spinning kick on Mack, and a second to set up the top rope tana, but Mack held on, hit the 6-Star Frog Splash, and retained his title. Great match, Bey and Ace Austin were great.
Final thoughts —
Pretty good show, it was fun and had good in-ring action. Not really hurt by the lack of audience. The direction out of Rebellion is interesting now that they have too fallen into the quarantine taping issues.
A delusional champion and a tournament may be the best way to proceed. In addition, the new members of the Knockouts division seems to be a huge improvement.
– A new X-Division Champion was crowned on night one of Rebellion.
Willie Mack defeated Ace Austin on last night’s show to win the X-Division title. Mack sent Austin face-first into the turnbuckle with a stunner as they were fighting up top, then hit a six-star frog splash to win the title.
Mack’s tag team partner Rich Swann came out onto the stage to celebrate with him after the match. There was then a backstage segment where Mack asked if Swann was fine with him winning a singles title. Swann said they were still a team when Swann was X-Division Champion, and Mack being champion doesn’t mean they can’t also focus on the Tag Team titles.
This is the first title Mack has held in Impact Wrestling.
Austin had been X-Division Champion since defeating Jake Crist, Tessa Blanchard, Daga, and Acey Romero in a ladder match at Bound for Glory in October 2019.
– The future of the Impact World Championship will be addressed on night two of Rebellion next week.
Tessa Blanchard defending the Impact World Championship against Michael Elgin and Eddie Edwards in a triple threat match had been set to headline Rebellion, but — amid the coronavirus pandemic — neither Blanchard nor Edwards were able to attend the tapings for the show. Elgin did an interview on Rebellion night one last night promising to still become the new Impact World Champion by the end of the two-part event.
Edwards did a FaceTime interview with Josh Mathews on last night’s show and said if it was only up to him he would have been at Rebellion, but it’s about his family and doing what’s best for them at this point in his life. It was also said that Blanchard wasn’t able to travel to the tapings.
Rebellion night two is airing at 8 p.m. Eastern time next Tuesday. Here’s the announced lineup for the show:
Michael Elgin promises to become Impact World Champion
Rosemary vs. Jessicka Havok in a Full Metal Mayhem match
Joseph P. Ryan (Joey Ryan) vs. Cousin Jake of The Deaners
Suicide vs. Chris Bey vs. Trey Miguel vs. Rohit Raju
Tonight’s episode is headlined by Ken Shamrock and Sami Callihan in an unsanctioned bout. Also, Ace Austin defends the X-Division Championship against Willie Mack, Rhino and Dreamer team up with a mystery partner take on oVe, Kylie Rae will take on Kiera Hogan, and a 3-way tag team match between XXXL, The Rascalz, and Bahh and TJP.
This was Impact’s first show without a crowd since the pandemic started. They’ve been taping towards the ramp for months, so there was little change from their normal set up.
Rhino, Tommy Dreamer, & Crazzy Steve defeated oVe (Madman Fulton, Jake & Dave Crist)
Dreamer and Jake Crist start the match for their teams. Short wrist control sequence with Dreamer trying to pull off some flips, but still failing at getting the better of Jake. Dreamer tried to do a kip-up and failed.
Steve tagged in against Fulton, but Steve tagged out and in came Rhino. Well, not much of a babyface. Fulton dominated Rhino early on, but when they came to blows, Rhino held his own and managed to push Fulton back, but he still got to his corner to tag in Dave Crist.
Steve once again tagged in. He got a couple of clotheslines and a running cannonball on Dave.
Fulton and Rhino came back in again. They went back to striking each other before Rhino got pushed to the oVe corner where Fulton stopped him with some shoulder thrusts. Dave Crist tagged in, but got easily overtaken and once again Steve is back. These tags feel completely unplanned.
Crazzy Steve got cut off and worked on by the Crist brothers for a bit before he tagged in Dreamer, who came in, took out Jake with the Bionic Elbow and Cutter for a two count before Fulton broke it up. Jake hit a kick combo on Dreamer for a two count, successfully cutting him off.
oVe worked over Dreamer for a couple of minutes until he and Jake Crist collided with double clotheslines. Rhino got the hot tag and took out Fulton and Jake, hit a mini-Gore and belly-to-belly suplex on Dave for a two count.
Dreamer took out Jake to the floor. Fulton tossed Steve over the top rope, but Rhino was there to send Fulton out too. Rhino hit the Gore on Dave Crist and took the win for the team. This was okay. Crazzy Steve was a detriment to the match.
Josh Matthews and Madison Rayne introduced the show and ran down the card. Matthews announced that both Tessa Blanchard and Eddie Edwards are in isolation. It seems that the Impact title match is off.
Josh Matthews had a face-time interview with Eddie Edwards. Eddie talked about not being at Rebellion, as he forced himself to quarantine to protect his family. He said that once things are good, he’ll come back and go right after the championship.
During the break, we got a promo of Crazzy Steve saying that he was back.
Gia Miller interviewed Michael Elgin about the title situation. Elgin talked about going to ROH and NJPW and his voyage to find the best competition and the World championship. Elgin said that both Tessa Blanchard and Eddie Edwards were afraid of him and are avoiding him. Elgin said that he’ll be the World champion by the end of Rebellion.
The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) defeated Fallah Bahh & TJP and XXXL (Acey Romero & Larry D)
TJP and Xavier started the match with a collar and elbow lockup and some chain wrestling, and thanks to Romero’s distraction, TJP gained early control. As of this point, the story was that the quick smaller guys were doing everything to dodge XXXL’s attempts to tag in.
TJP kept going for submissions, first an Armbar, then an Octopus Stretch, but Xavier finally tagged in Wentz and hit a combination attack on TJP, took down XXXL and Bahh, and got a two count on TJP.
Wentz locked in a Last Chancery on TJP, but the latter made the ropes. Wentz kept the upper hand on TJP, but Bahh got the blind tag as TJP hit a dragon screw on Wentz. Bahh and TJP hit the double plancha for a two count when Romero broke it up.
Back from commercial, Larry D and Bahh are going at it as the former gets a two count with a spinebuster. Larry D goes after Bahh’s arm and gets a second two count with a kick to the head. Romero tags in and hits a splash for a two count. Larry D locked in a sleeper on Bahh and worked it into an armbar.
Bahh started to make his comeback with a desperation belly-to-belly but wasn’t able to tag out. XXXL hit a sequence of running splash and hip attacks to the corner. Romero and Larry D kept it up with quick tags and mostly strikes, but it was then when Bahh hulked up and hit a huge Samoan drop on Larry D and tagged in TJP.
TJP failed to take down Larry D with dropkicks. He was caught and sent into the Rascalz corner. TJP was taken out by The Rascalz, who tagged in. They lured Larry D to their corner, faked Romero into splashing Larry with a cannonball. They went for Hot Fire Flame, but TJP pulled Xavier out of the ring.
TJP went for a springboard on Larry D, but he was caught with an Uppercut. Bahh took out Larry, Xavier took out Bahh, Romero hit the Pounce on Xavier and got a two count out of it.
Larry D went for a Superplex when Wentz came back, took out Romero, hit a Superkick and Springboard Cutter on Larry D, and set up the Corkscrew finish by Xavier for the win.
After the match, The North sent a message to Impact from Canada. They said that they were not stuck in Canada, but rather making sure that Canada was safe. They said that since they didn’t want to go to the US, they were making an open challenge to Canada’s best.
Miller interviewed Willie Mack and Rich Swann. Mack said that he was really happy to have Swann there to back him up against Ace Austin. Mack said that he wished that they were winning Tag Team gold, but Swann stopped him and told him that the tag titles were in the past and now, it was Mack’s time to become the X-Division champion. Good stuff by Swann.
We got the build-up video package of Mack’s chase to the X-Division championship.
Willie Mack defeated Ace Austin for the X-Division title
Match started, but Ace Austin kept stalling outside the ring, dodging Mack and going for several ten counts. He offered Mack a handshake, but when he tried to trick Mack, he was taken out with a right hook to the jaw.
Ace finally took this seriously and went for a schoolboy on Mack, but Mack blocked him, sent him outside with a strike, and chased him down for more slaps. Back in the ring, Mack went for the Cannonball, but Ace dodged and kicked Mack in the back of the head.
Ace tied up Mack in the tree of woe, kicking and choking him in the process. Ace went for a crossbody, but Mack caught him mid-air and slammed him. He followed up with a standing shooting star press! Mack continued to punch Ace until the referee pulled him off.
Thanks to the distraction, Ace pulled Mack into the ropes for the Guillotine and once again cut him off. Ace hit a Superkick for a two count. Ace kept control with kicks and knees, choked Mack against the ropes. Mack tried making a comeback but kept getting cut off by Ace’s kicks.
Ace went for a Springboard Rana, but it was turned into a desperation Powerbomb by Mack for a two count.
Ace and Mack traded strikes in the middle of the ring, the chops sounded like thunder. Mack finally with some momentum, hit a couple of corner combinations and running Cannonball and finally went for the Stunner. Mack hit the Stunner, but Ace reversed it, flipped over, hit The Fold, but Mack kicked out twice.
Ace went for a second Fold, but Mack countered with a Pop-Up Cutter for a two count. Mack went for the 6-Star Frog Splash, but Ace rolled away to the corner, so Mack turned it into a Coast to Coast instead, but as he took out Ace, he also took out his back.
Mack went for the 6-Star again, but Ace rolled out and Mack crashed on the mat. Ace rolled Mack with the feet on the ropes, but the ref caught him. Ace went to the top rope but was blocked by Mack. Ace slipped down and dropped Mack, went for a Backplex, but Mack blocked, hit a Stunner from there, followed the 6-Star Frog Splash, and Willie Mack won the X-Division Championship. Fantastic match, completely forgot this was an empty arena.
After the match, Rich Swann came out to celebrate with Willie Mack. Backstage, Swann congratulated Mack and told him that they can still go for the tag titles once he’s good to return. Johnny Swinger approached them and told Mack that The Mack and Pack Connection will live forever and asked for Mack’s first title shot. Swann said they were on the way to party and Swinger invited himself.
We got a video package for Kylie Rae. We got words from Gail Kim, Eddie Edwards, and Tessa Blanchard putting her over. Kiera Hogan, however, only talked trash and cut a nice heel promo.
Kylie Rae defeated Kiera Hogan
Rae started the match by folding her t-shirt nicely. Hogan pushed her around until Rae flipped and slammed Hogan and went for an early Smile To The Finish, but Hogan made the ropes.
Rae dropped Hogan with some snapmares. Hogan offered a test of strength, but tricked Rae with a kick and finally got the better of Kylie.
Rae slammed Hogan face-first to the buckle, stomped on her back, hit a running kick, went for the Kylie Special, but Hogan caught her with an elbow and scissors kick for the two count.
Hogan kicked and choked Rae on the corner, then kicked her on the back and got a near fall.
Back from commercial, Hogan was still in control. Rae made a comeback with strikes, but Hogan took her down and landed a running boot for another two count.
Hogan whipped Rae around some more before Rae caught her with a running elbow and a couple of more exchanges, ending with dual superkicks where they took each other out. They went to exchange elbows and chops again and finally, Rae got the upper hand with clotheslines and the Kylie Special. Hogan escaped, but Rae transitioned to a superkick for a two count.
Hogan hit a huge roundhouse kick for a near fall. She went for the fisherman’s suplex, but Rae countered into one of her own. She hit a running uppercut and a cannonball for another two count.
Hogan hit another superkick but started talking trash when Rae got her with the STTF for the win. This was pretty good. Give these women some time, and they can have a great match.
Matthews and Rayne ran down the card for next week. Suicide vs Chris Bey vs Trey Miguel vs Rohit Raju, Joey Ryan vs Cousin Jake, Full Metal Mayhem between Rosemary and Havok, and the conclusion of Elgin’s threat to walking out as World Champion no matter what.
We got the video package for Callihan’s return and feud with Ken Shamrock.
Ken Shamrock defeated Sami Callihan in an Unsanctioned Match
Callihan jumped Shamrock with a dive while the latter was making his entrance. Callihan hit a suplex on the floor as the brawl started. Callihan went for a chop, but that woke up Shamrock, who started striking and kicking down Callihan.
They kept brawling around the ring, mostly ramming each other to the guardrails that were not really protecting anything, against the ring post and to the ramp. Shamrock hit an early crazy plancha from the ramp. He couldn’t even get over the ramp lights, but Callihan caught him.
They brawled to the back where Sami caught Shamrock with a fire extinguisher and some chair shots. Sami took him down with some garbage cans and pulled out a chain. Callihan started striking down and choking with the chain, but Shamrock wouldn’t submit.
Sami went for the kill shot, but Shamrock kicked him and finally took over with strikes. Suddenly, oVe jumped Shamrock and took him down. Fulton started hitting Ken with a garbage can over and over. Sami got his bat, but instead of joining in, he turned on them, taking them out with the bat, as he wanted his one-on-one cowboy fight with Shamrock.
They took it to the parking lot where they slammed each other against the production trucks. Shamrock was getting the better of Sami, but eventually, he got caught with a low punch and a sleeper. Ken fought back, got Sami off and locked in the ankle lock. Sami passed out before tapping, yet granting Shamrock the win.
This was exactly what it needed to be in terms of hiding Shamrock’s shortcomings. Only questionable detail is Callihan losing his first match since his return, but considering that Shamrock is headed to the Hall of Fame, it wouldn’t be productive to have him lose either at this point.
Final thoughts —
This was a really good show by Impact. Four matches worth checking out, where I completely forgot it was an empty arena. This did feel like the stronger card of the Rebellion nights if indeed the World title and the Knockout’s title matches are no longer taking place.
Coming out of last night’s Impact, five matches have been officially confirmed for Rebellion.
Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace will defend her title against former champion Taya Valkyrie in a full metal mayhem match at Rebellion. Willie Mack will also challenge Ace Austin for the X-Division Championship, and new Impact signee Kylie Rae will face Kiera Hogan.
Tessa Blanchard defending her Impact World Championship against Michael Elgin and Eddie Edwards in a triple threat match will headline Rebellion. Ken Shamrock vs. Sami Callihan is also set for the event.
The Rebellion pay-per-view was supposed to be held at Terminal 5 in New York City on Sunday, April 19, but that was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Impact noted that they were looking at alternative ways they could produce the event.
Impact is taping two months of television in empty arena form over three days in Nashville, Tennessee this week. PWInsider also reported that “there are plans to move forward with Rebellion in some form and perhaps re-tool the PPV as a special Impact on AXS episode or AXS special.”
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.
Two more matches have been officially confirmed for Impact Wrestling’s first pay-per-view of 2020.
Impact Tag Team Champions The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) will defend their titles against Rich Swann & Willie Mack at Hard to Kill. Michael Elgin vs. Eddie Edwards has also been confirmed for the PPV.
During an interview that aired on last night’s Impact, Elgin challenged Edwards to put his Call Your Shot title shot on the line against him at Hard to Kill. The title shot lets Edwards challenge for the Impact championship of his choosing.
Swann & Mack defeated oVe (Jake & Dave Crist), The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz), and Reno Scum (Adam Thornstowe & Luster the Legend) in a fatal four-way number one contender’s match that aired last night. There was an injury angle where Swann won the match on his own after Mack couldn’t continue.
The North have been Impact Tag Team Champions since winning the titles from Santana & Ortiz in July.
Hard to Kill is taking place at The Bomb Factory in Dallas, Texas on Sunday, January 12. The show will be headlined by Tessa Blanchard challenging for Sami Callihan’s Impact World Championship. Ace Austin defending his X-Division title against Trey Miguel and Taya Valkyrie defending her Knockouts title against Jordynne Grace and ODB in a triple threat match are also set.
The Tag Team title match at Bound for Glory 2019 will be a triple threat.
During last night’s Impact episode, it was announced that The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) will defend their titles against Rich Swann & Willie Mack and RVD & Rhino in a triple threat match at Bound for Glory. The pay-per-view is taking place at the Odeum Expo Center in Villa Park, Illinois on Sunday, October 20.
The North have been Impact Tag Team Champions since defeating LAX (Santana & Ortiz) for the titles this July.
Here’s the updated card for Bound for Glory:
Impact World Champion Brian Cage defending against Sami Callihan
Michael Elgin vs. Naomichi Marufuji
Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie defending against Tenille Dashwood
X-Division Champion Jake Crist defending against Tessa Blanchard, Daga, and two other wrestlers in a five-way ladder match
Impact Tag Team Champions The North defending against Rich Swann & Willie Mack and RVD & Rhino in a triple threat match
Moose vs. Ken Shamrock
The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel) vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. and two partners
Call Your Shot Gauntlet match (winner gets a future shot at the Impact title of their choosing)
Impact Wrestling has added four matches to their television tapings in Mexico City, Mexico.
Impact is taping TV at Fronton Mexico tomorrow and Friday. Michael Elgin vs. Rhino, Impact Tag Team Champions The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) vs. LAX (Santana & Ortiz), and Rich Swann & Willie Mack vs The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) are set for Thursday’s tapings.
Jessicka Havok vs. Su Yung has been confirmed for Friday.
As was previously announced, Tenille Dashwood vs. Kiera Hogan and RVD vs. Madman Fulton are set for Thursday. Dr. Wagner Jr. will be appearing on Friday.
Elgin and Rhino’s feud began when Elgin was Gored at Slammiversary XVII. Elgin lost to Impact World Champion Brian Cage at the pay-per-view, then hit Cage with the title belt after the match and went to attack Don Callis. A masked man then appeared and gave Elgin a Gore.
Impact didn’t specify if The North vs. LAX is a title match. The North won the titles from LAX at Bash at the Brewery last month.
At Slammiversary, The North retained against LAX and The Rascalz in a triple threat match. There was an injury angle with Santana during the match. In his place, Daga teamed with Ortiz as they unsuccessfully challenged for The North’s titles on the Impact episode that aired last week.
LAX’s contracts with Impact are set to expire this summer.
Impact Wrestling returns from the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, NY for the final stop before Slammiversary this coming Sunday. Opening video recapped the ongoing stories surrounding the main championship feuds, the war between Killer Kross and Eddie Edwards, and Tessa Blanchard’s beat down at the hands of oVe.
Twitch stream was hosted by Melissa Santos. She broke the news that The North defeated LAX for the tag team titles at Bash at the Brewery, and showed the post-match promo from Ethan Page and Josh Alexander. There was another earthquake during the broadcast, but Melissa kept hosting.
TJP defeated Ace Austin
Different from other Ace Austin matches, this started with some hold-by-hold series of reversals for wrist and head control. TJP got to display his proficiency, while Ace would fail at trying to copy TJP, playing into Ace’s cockiness, and pushing him to resort to kicks instead.
TJP locked in a really innovative Sharpshooter while holding both of Ace’s hands, and later transitioned into a Last Chancery. Ace once again resorted to use his kicks to take control of the match for a bit, but TJP kept escaping, but it was until TJP went for a springboard dive that Ace got the upper hand. Ace hit a Space Flying Tiger Drop, cut TJP’s finger with a card, and worked over TJP’s arm with an elbow bar.
Ace Austin hit the jumping curb stomp, but TJP dodged it, hit a Springboard dropkick. Ace hit a Disaster Kick for a two count. Ace went for a Superplex, but TJP blocked it, so instead Ace hit a beautiful leg-scissors takedown. Ace went for a roll up with the ropes, but the ref caught him, giving TJP time to recover, take out Ace’s leg and connect with a lungblower for a two count.
Ace and TJP exchanged strikes and kicks with the latter getting the upper hand, as he went for House of Cards, TJP dodged, grabbed the leg, locked in a kneebar, and submitted Ace Austin. Great opener.
– We got a video recapping Brian Cage’s title win, injury, and road to recovery. It also featured Michael Elgin’s path of destruction into Sunday’s title match.
– Melissa Santos interviewed Johnny Impact and Bravo. She asked if he would be able to survive with Bravo as his tag team partner. Johnny said he is the one man Mega Powers. Johnny Bravo had a fake man-bun. This was funny.
Kiera Hogan defeated Madison Rayne
Hogan has dyed her hair blue-ish, so she’s no longer the ‘Girl on Fire’. Jordynne Grace joined commentary for the match.
Match started with Hogan running at Rayne, looking for the quick roll up, and thus they traded a couple of near falls with quick roll-ups until Hogan left the ring. Madison went for the chase, but Hogan caught her with a kick. Hogan antagonized Grace at the commentary table, but it was enough distraction for Rayne to recover.
Back in the ring, Hogan kicked out Rayne’s leg while climbing the turnbuckles, and got a two count after her running hip attack combo. Hogan stayed in the offense, while constantly mocking Jordynne outside. Rayne started a comeback after a desperation enzuigiri, hit a couple of strikes, and landed a cutter for a two count.
Hogan went for a school girl with her legs on the ropes, which prompted Grace to leave the table. Hogan hit a swinging neckbreaker and pin for the win.
After the match, Jordynne went after Hogan, but the Girl no longer on Fire ran off. In the ring, Madison Rayne blamed Jordynne Grace for losing the match.
– Outside the building, Gama Singh gave Rohit Raju a surprise for tonight’s match. It was the Singh Family Tea set, it’s been in the family for generations, while he explained this, the Deaners poured some beer into the teapot behind their backs. The immediately figured out it was beer. Rohit drank it anyway.
– Somewhere in the Undead Realm, James Mitchell is trying to break up the tension between Su Yung and Havok. He tells them that they need to be patient and work together this Sunday. Their plan is for Havok to walk out as the Knockout’s champion.
– Impact Plus Moment of the Week was Jeff Hardy vs Broken Matt Hardy from Slammiversary 2016.
– We got a video recap of the ongoing story with Taya, Rosemary, Su Yung, and the returning Havok.
– We got a showcase video for Sami Callihan that built into the Tessa vs Callihan feud.
Rohit Raju (w/Raj and Gama Singh) defeated Laredo Kid
Match started quick with what would seem to lead to a series of reversals and counters, but Rohit got a quick clothesline to gain control, which didn’t last long as he played to the crowd and got taken out. Laredo Kid jumped on the first rope and the rope snapped on him, but he was safe. Laredo still hit a moonsault from the second rope for a two count. Don Callis said that a two-rope ring is still better than a 6-sided ring.
Rohit regained control of the match and went after Laredo with stomps to the back. Rohit swept the leg, but once again started playing to the crowd. Snap suplex for a two count. Laredo hit a rana and Tope Suicida to get back in the match, earning a two count.
Laredo went for a top rope corkscrew, but Gama and Raj distracted him, giving Rohit the time to recover, dodge the move, hit a big foot stomp, and get the win.
– We got a video recapping RVD’s return and feud with Moose. Good promo by Moose.
Moose came down to the ring, looking amazing like always. He cut a promo saying that he loved RVD as a kid, he put over his matches in ECW, but that was 20 years ago and things have changed. He said that he can’t be a fan of him anymore because he’s now better than him in every sense. He then showed a video of Moose beating up Sabu someone backstage. He told RVD that at Slammiversary, he will retire him.
Rob Van Dam finally came out and brawled with Moose. They got into a short pull-apart.
Zachary Wentz defeated Trey Miguel and Dezmond Xavier, he pinned Trey Miguel to eliminate him from the Slammiversay Tag Team title match.
Match stipulation was that the man taking the fall would sit out the Slammiversary tag title shot. All men shook hands before starting.
All men started the match trying to get quick roll ups on each other. Dez and Wentz hit a combo on Trey, but Wentz was taken out before they could end, leading Xavier and Trey doing a sequence of reversals, with Trey getting the upper hand. Wentz returned and also did a sequence with Trey before Dezmond returned, superkicked Wentz, hit a rana on Trey Miguel, and sending both of them to the outside. Dezmond went for a dive, but Wentz caught him. Trey Miguel instead hit a rana to the outside on Wentz. Dezmond and Wentz got dives in before Dezmond got a two count after a top rope corkscrew on Wentz.
All men traded strikes in the middle of the ring that ended with a double move on Trey and a standing shooting star from Wentz to Dezmond for a near fall. Xavier and Wentz traded strikes until Trey returned with a springboard senton and a double cutter for two separate near falls. Trey went for Meteora on Dezmond, but took enough time for Xavier to dodge. Wentz took him out and together with Dezmond, hit Hot Fire Flame on Trey for the finish.
All men embraced after the match and consoled Trey for losing.
– Tessa Blanchard arrived at the arena with a baseball bat.
– We got the buildup video for Killer Kross vs Eddie Edwards. From start to finish, we got to see how Kross’ character has changed so much in so little time. After the video, we saw Killer Kross at the same church from last week, he cut a promo in the form of mass. He said that at Slammiversary, someone will die and that he is Edward’s only true salvation.
– We got the video building up Johnny Impact chase for Swann’s X-Division championship and the consequent wins they’ve traded. They’re selling this as Johnny wanting to add his name to the X-Division championship’s legacy.
– Commentary ran down the card for Slammiversay, adding an open challenge by TJP.
X-Division Champion Rich Swann & Willie Mack defeated Johnny Impact & Johnny Bravo
Swann and Impact started the match with a quick sequence, trading kicks and a series of reversals. Mack tagged in, but Impact decided to stay in the ring, with whom he traded another sequence of counters and reversals with some Lucha flavor. Swann and Mack hit a double team move, but Bravo finally made his presence felt, distracting Swann and giving Impact the opening to turn things around. Swann was tossed outside where Johnny worked over his neck.
Back in the ring, Impact used Bravo as a weapon, slamming him on to Swann. Bravo tagged in and got a couple of strikes in and a two count. Bravo telling Kid Ref to count faster was great. Bravo choked Swann, but Impact tagged in before Swann could break out. Mack tagged in and ran wild over Impact, but also got distracted by Bravo. Impact went for a Spanish Fly, but was countered into a top rope Neckbreaker instead. Mack hit a running Cannonball, Samoan Drop, and Moonsault combo for a two count when Bravo broke the pin.
Mack got distracted with Bravo again, allowing Impact to hit a Disaster Kick. Swann tagged in and took out Impact with a shotgun dropkick, leaving Bravo stuck between Mack and Swann, who beat him up. Mack hit a stunner on Bravo, and after a Phoenix Splash, Swann picked up another win over Impact. This was surprisingly good considering Johnny Bravo was part of the match, he played his part perfectly.
– Outside the building, Sami Callihan and Jake Crist are celebrating early their win over Tessa, who arrives wielding a bat and tossing Dave Crist over the food table. Tessa takes out Jake first. Sami and Tessa brawl with the former having an obvious strength advantage, but Tessa has no off switch. Jake recovers and holds Tessa for Callihan to get another bat shot, but Tessa low blows Jake, dodges Callihan, and hits him with the bat. Tessa stands tall to end the show.
Final Thoughts –
Impact had been closing feud builds for the last two weeks, so this show mostly consisted of video recaps and a set of good matches. By the time the stream ended, there was unfortunately, no update on the status of the LAX vs Rascalz match for Sunday.
Michael Elgin got a win over Willie Mack ahead of his upcoming title match against Impact World Champion Brian Cage at Slammiversary XVII on July 7.
The North earned a Tag Team title shot at Bash at the Brewery on July 5 by defeating Rob Van Dam & Sabu. The Sandman also wrestled on the show. What year is this?
Two of the six matches on the episode saw wrestler’s pants fall down. The Twitch version of the show was riddled with technical issues during commercial breaks.
Show Recap —
A storyline recap video kicked off the show.
Josh Mathews welcomed us to the Melrose Ballroom in New York.
Mathews and Don Callis talked up the Moose and RVD feud. Moose has challenged RVD to face him at Slammiversary.
The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) defeated Rob Van Dam & Sabu
Sabu got a single-leg takedown, and Alexander rolled to the ropes. Alexander took a chest-first turnbuckle bump. Sabu dropped him with a clothesline. RVD tagged in, hitting a slingshot leg drop, then a vertical suplex.
Alexander forced RVD into The North’s corner. Page tagged in, and RVD hit a spinning back kick, then worked a Fujiwara armbar. Sabu tagged in. RVD and Sabu hit a tandem Rolling Thunder. Sabu used a Camel Clutch, hit Page with a chair, then went back to the Camel Clutch.
RVD got a tag, then he and Sabu used tandem leg drops for a near fall. The North used an illegal double team to gain the advantage on RVD. Alexander hit an inverted atomic drop, and Page hit a backbreaker.
The North used a series of quick tags and worked RVD over in their corner. Page missed a charge into the corner. RVD hit an enzuigiri, then Sabu got a hot tag. Sabu ran wild with a chair and used the weapon to hit a step-up leg lariat.
Sabu and RVD set up a table in the ring. Sabu hit an Arabian facebuster off the top rope to Alexander, sending him through the table. Moose ran out and shoved RVD off the post.
Page used the distraction to jump in and take out Sabu. Sabu’s pants fell down. The North hit their double-team finisher, with Alexander pinning Sabu.
Mathews said that Page and Alexander earned a tag title shot at Bash at the Brewery with their win.
Tommy Dreamer waddled out to the ring, throwing Moose back inside. They teased RVD hitting a Van Terminator, but Moose escaped.
RVD looked good here, considering the mileage on his body. Sabu’s botch and pants falling down were very on-brand.
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During the commercial break on Twitch, they showed a split screen of Don Callis and Melissa Santos. Callis tried to throw it to Santos, but Santos couldn’t hear him. Callis asked why she couldn’t hear him. Santos’ audio wasn’t working either. Callis gave shout-outs to Twitch users in the chat. This was embarrassing.
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Back from commercial, Moose confronted The North backstage. Moose was upset that they beat RVD and Sabu, but didn’t “take them out.”
Havok (w/James Mitchell & Su Yung) defeated Masha Slamovich
Squash city.
Havok no-sold a couple of strikes from Slamovich, then hit a right hand. Havok hit two backbreakers and a vertical suplex. She missed a charge into the corner, and Slamovich fired up. Havok blocked a kick and pushed Slamovich down.
Havok hit a sidewalk slam, then a chokeslam. Havok hit a tombstone and got the pin.
Mitchell cut a promo after the match and said that Rosemary needs to get her anger under control. Mitchell said he was a diplomat when she tried to steal his demon bride, Su Yung. He said she committed the ultimate sin, and put her hands on him.
Mitchell said Havok flattened Rosemary, breaking the spell of the demon collar. He said it’s his personal mission to make sure that Havok becomes the Knockouts Champion and uses Rosemary’s carcass as a launch pad.
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Commercial break time. Santos still couldn’t hear Callis. Callis said they were working on Santos’ audio. Santos’ video dropped out, then Callis’ audio dropped. Callis waved an iPad around.
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Gama Singh introduced Raj Singh and urged the crowd to bow down to him.
Deaner hit a shoulder tackle, some right hands, then a fist drop. Singh rolled outside, and Deaner hit a suicide dive. Singh ended up with a bloody nose after the dive.
Deaner climbed to the top rope, but Singh cut him off. Singh hit a neckbreaker, then a leg drop. Gama Singh connected with a right hand from the floor.
Singh hit a dropkick to the back and got a near fall. Deaner hulked up and hit a series of strikes. Deaner hit a lariat, then the Deaner DDT. Gama jumped on the apron, disrupting the match. Gama feigned a heart attack on the floor.
Raj used the distraction to hit a facebuster for the pin. Deaner looked good here. Singh has good size and a good look, but he’s very green.
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Michael Elgin cut a promo. He promised to send Willie Mack to the hospital later. Johnny Impact interrupted Elgin. He said Mack isn’t going to the hospital if it’s up to Elgin. He said if Elgin needs his help, all he has to do is ask.
Elgin declined help and walked off. Johnny was upset that Elgin didn’t compliment his hair.
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Callis’ audio wasn’t working again. He made some gestures and continued talking as though we could hear him. We couldn’t.
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Rosemary cut a promo. She said Mitchell has a type, monsters. She said he couldn’t control his last monster, what makes him think he can control Havok?
Rosemary told Mitchell they’re on a collision course — and to bring it on.
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The Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week showed the Dudleys and Tommy Dreamer fighting off Rhyno, Spud, King Mo, and EC3, then putting Dixie Carter through a table.
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Callis’ audio was working during this break. He said he enjoyed watching Dixie go through the table. He said he won’t ever go through a table because he’s not a mark.
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Sami Callihan entered the women’s locker room. Tessa Blanchard told him to bring his friend Jake Crist next week to face her.
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Madison Rayne defeated Jordynne Grace
Kiera Hogan came out to join the commentary team for this match. She said she’s done making friends in this business, because she always gets stabbed in the back.
Grace and Rayne locked up. They did some solid chain wrestling, and Rayne used a quick cradle for a near fall. Rayne escaped a side headlock, but ran into a shoulder tackle. Rayne rolled to the apron, and Grace knocked her off into the barricade.
Back inside, Grace hit a back elbow for a near fall. She followed with a delayed vertical suplex for a two count. Grace hit some forearm strikes. Rayne used a Koji Clutch, but Grace sat down into a submission of her own. Rayne escaped, then they traded a series of quick cradles.
Rayne hit an enzuigiri and a dropkick. They stepped to the apron. Rayne rolled to the floor, then took Grace’s legs out. Grace tried to send Rayne into the post, but Rayne blocked. Rayne hit a cutter on the floor. They teased a countout, but both made it back inside.
Rayne tried for a Northern Lights suplex, but Grace blocked it with a front facelock. Rayne used a crucifix bomb for a two count. Rayne went to the top rope. Grace teased a Muscle Buster. Rayne teased a tornado DDT. Grace ended up hitting a Muscle Buster, but only got a two count.
Grace hit a short clothesline. She went to the second rope, but Hogan distracted her. Rayne cut Grace off. Off the distraction, Rayne hit Cross Rayne and got the pin. This was a good match.
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Callis hit a tech guy with a right hand during the break, blaming him for the audio issues. Callis urged viewers to send cards and letters to Gama Singh after his “heart attack” earlier in the show.
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Killer Kross defeated The Sandman
Sandman attempted a sneak attack during Kross’ entrance. Kross intercepted him, but Sandman still managed to get the early edge. He hit 10 punches in the corner and was immediately blown up.
Sandman managed a couple of kendo stick shots, but Kross caught him in a choke, and the ref called a stoppage finish.
Eddie Edwards ran down to make the save for Sandman. Kross escaped before Edwards could get his hands on him. Mathews said that Edwards and Kross’ feud may end with someone in a body bag.
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LAX were shown hanging out in a bar. Konnan said that Ortiz and Santana need to start taking their matches more seriously. The Rascalz entered and said that they’re the best tag team in the world. A brawl broke out, and LAX came out on top.
LAX said The Rascalz will get their rematch. LAX defending their Tag Team titles against The Rascalz is official for Slammiversary.
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Callis read a series of compliments about himself from the chat.
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The Smoke Show
Scarlett Bordeaux and Fallah Bahh welcomed Taya Valkyrie and John E. Bravo to The Smoke Show.
Bordeaux said that if Taya doesn’t defend her title next week, she’ll be stripped. Taya made a stripper joke about Bordeaux.
Bordeaux said she heard that Taya has to face Su Yung next week. Everyone in this segment was unlikeable.
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Mathews and Callis plugged Dreamer vs. Moose, Valkyrie vs. Yung, and Blanchard vs. Jake Crist for next week’s show.
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Callis hyped the main event. He said that Elgin is a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, and that he beat Kenny Omega for the title. Actually, that was the Intercontinental title.
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Michael Elgin defeated Willie Mack (w/ Rich Swann)
Elgin’s torso and arms were covered in baby oil.
They started with an exchange of strikes. Mack took Elgin off his feet with a shoulder tackle. Mack hit a blockbuster, a dropkick, and an exploder suplex. Elgin rolled to the apron. Elgin pulled Mack to the apron, where they traded strikes. Elgin hit a superkick, then sent Mack to the floor with a dropkick.
After a break, Elgin had a chinlock on Mack. Mack broke the hold, but Elgin hit a dropkick. Mack hit a couple of clotheslines, then a wheel kick. Mack used a leg drop for a near fall. Mathews informed us that Willie Mack loves to have a good time.
Mack hit a spinebuster for a two count. He went for a stunner, but Elgin blocked it. Elgin hit a series of superkicks. Elgin sat Mack on the top rope and hit a superplex for a two count. Mack’s trunks started falling down.
Elgin missed a charge into the corner. Mack hit something resembling a guillotine leg drop, dropping Elgin to the floor. Mack teased a dive, but Elgin pulled Swann in his way. Elgin slammed Swann on the apron.
Back inside, Elgin hit a buckle bomb, then an Elgin Bomb, and pinned Mack. This was a slightly above average TV match.
After the bell, Elgin teased another Elgin Bomb, but Swann made the save. Johnny Impact ran in, making the save for Elgin. Johnny dropped Swann with a spinning uranage.
Elgin shook hands with Johnny. Johnny turned his back, and Elgin hit him with a suplex. Elgin then went after Mack again. He buckle bombed him into the post. The show ended with Elgin making the championship belt motion around his waist.
This week’s Twitch stream was hosted by Melissa Santos. She ran the show and gave a small update on Brian Cage, who will defend his Impact World Championship against Michael Elgin at Slammiversary XVII on July 7. They also showed an Impact Plus Flashback from Jeff Hardy’s debut for TNA, challenging AJ Styles for the X-Division title.
Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer & Sabu (w/ Super Genie) defeated Moose & The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander)
Page and Dreamer started the match with a quick exchange for wrist control. It quickly became Sabu vs. Alexander, who easily overpowered Sabu at first, but Sabu would use his style to drop Alexander with a tornado DDT.
Moose came in and asked for RVD. They went for the collar-and-elbow lock, with RVD being fast enough to escape Moose’s strength. RVD hit a Rolling Thunder on Moose, along with a Sabu leg drop. Dreamer came in and went for the atomic elbow, but Moose pulled the referee in front of them to distract him. Moose hit Dreamer with a low blow.
Back from commercial, Moose and The North were still in control of Dreamer. Moose went for a Rolling Thunder on Dreamer with a chair, which Dreamer managed to toss to Moose’s head. Dreamer got an opening to drop Moose with a DDT, then made the tag to RVD.
RVD ran wild on Page, getting a two count with a split-legged moonsault. Sabu dropped Alexander with a DDT while Page and RVD spilled to the outside.
Sabu got a couple of chairs and did a couple of his signature jumps — even Super Genie joined in for a corner splash on Alexander. Sabu did a step-up dive over The North on the outside. Sabu was just throwing chairs everywhere while Dreamer was setting up a table now with Page on it.
Sabu went for a dive, but Alexander blocked him. Dreamer dropped Alexander with the Spicolli Driver, only to take a spear from Moose. RVD took out Moose while Sabu set up a table inside the ring, again with Page on top. Sabu hit the Arabian facebuster. RVD hit the Five Star Frog Splash on Page for the win.
Not exactly a great match, but it was a nostalgia showcase for the ECW originals.
– Impact World Champion Brian Cage gave an update from his house. He told us that he feels better. He’s been cleared to train again, but not to wrestle. He cut a promo on Michael Elgin, who has bragged about attacking Cage and said he’s going to send Cage’s friends to the hospital. Cage claimed that no matter what, he’ll be at Slammiversary defending his championship.
On Twitch, Melissa Santos unofficially said that as of today, Cage has been cleared to wrestle again and is currently in Germany.
– Backstage, Moose cut a promo saying that he has thought about this all wrong. He misjudged Killer Kross and The North’s ability to help him, and so now he’s going solo.
Total squash. Disco started the match cutting a promo, telling Blanchard that he gave her credit for being one of the most talented women out there — but then Disco brought her down saying it doesn’t really count for much. He made fun of women drivers and the women’s revolution. He then brought up that Blanchard had daddy issues, and so tonight, he was going to be her daddy.
Blanchard took him down with strikes and pinned him after an elbow about 30 seconds in.
– LAX cut a promo from their clubhouse. They were talking about going back to New York when smoke appeared on the screen, but it wasn’t Scarlett Bordeaux, it was The Rascalz.
The Rascalz told LAX that they’re ready for a Tag Team title shot. LAX denied offering them a title shot, but as it happened in the tree house, no one can remember. They all agreed and Konnan confirmed the match.
– Melissa Santos interviewed Rich Swann and Willie Mack about their match with Elgin & Johnny Impact. Swann said that as much as Elgin has tried to injured them, they’re still standing. Swann and Mack said that tonight, they win.
The Deaners defeated The Desi Hit Squad (Rohit Raju & Raj Singh w/ Gama Singh)
Cody Deaner and Raju started the match with a short sequence of counters and reversals, fighting for wrist control, but Raju infuriated Cody when he grabbed him by the beard. The Deaners went for a double team, but Raj pulled out Raju to save him, only to be taken out by a dive from each of the Deaners.
Back in the ring, Cody hit a gutbuster on Raju and a big boot. Raj pulled Cody’s leg, giving Raju the opening for a running kick and a two count.
From here on, Desi Hit Squad worked over Cody for a couple of minutes. Cousin Jake came in with the hot tag and overpowered both Desi Hit Squad members, hitting a huge spear on Raj. The Deaners went for their finish, but Raju returned for the save and hit a foot stomp for another two count when Jake broke up the pin.
Jake hit a Black Hole Slam on Raj for a two count. Raju tricked Jake into running into the post. In the ring, Cody rolled up Raj for the win with a schoolboy. Okay match.
– Killer Kross cut a promo on Eddie Edwards. He pretty much said that tonight, he’ll punish Edwards in their street fight. Awesome promo by Kross.
– Santos interviewed Elgin about teaming with Johnny Impact, but instead, Elgin addressed Cage returning. Johnny interrupted and said that at Slammiversary, he may cash in his X for a shot at Rich Swann’s X-Division title. They agreed that tonight they will send Swann and Mack to the hospital.
– Elgin & Johnny are also taking on Tommy Dreamer & The Great Muta at Impact’s A Night You Can’t Mist, which is airing live on Impact Plus on June 8.
Other matches announced for A Night You Can’t Mist are Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan in a street fight, Rich Swann vs. Willie Mack vs. Teddy Hart for the House of Hardcore title, Taya Valkyrie vs. Jordynne Grace for the Knockouts title, and Billy Gunn vs. Joey Ryan.
Eddie Edwards defeated Killer Kross in a street fight
Edwards ran into the ring and a brawl started immediately. Edwards hit an early pescado to gain control. He dropped Kross with a couple of backbreakers on the apron before pulling out a bunch of weapons from under the ring.
Kross returned with a suplex on the floor and Edwards started clutching his ankle. Kross hit a couple of knee strikes and rammed him into the ring post. Edwards tried to hit a suicide dive on Kross, only to be met by a trash can. Kross then dropped Edwards with a brainbuster on the floor.
Back in the ring, Kross went for a slam, but Edwards escaped and hit a Blue Thunder Bomb onto a trash can. Edwards hit Kross with the trash can lid a couple of times, but Kross wouldn’t drop until the third try. Edwards only got a one count.
Edwards brought out a small ladder. He went for more trash can lid attacks, but Kross locked in the straightjacket lock instead, only for Edwards to get released after about 10 strikes with a baking board.
Kross brought out two chairs and set up a table with the ladder, then hit a two-handed chokeslam onto the ladder. Kross brought out a bunch more chairs and set up a pile in which he went to hit a second rope brainbuster, but Edwards managed to fight back and escape. He dropped Kross with a sunset bomb onto the pile of chairs, getting a two count.
Eddie went for a Tiger Driver onto chairs, but instead Kross reversed and dropped Edwards in a weird version of a Vertebreaker. Kross delivered a second two-handed chokeslam onto more chairs. Kross hit a Doomsday Saito, but he still wouldn’t go for the pin.
Kross went for the kill, but suddenly The Sandman hit the ring. Sandman hit Kross with a kendo stick, giving Edwards the opening to hit the Boston Knee Party and get the win. This was a great and really violent match. Sandman gave Edwards a new kendo stick — don’t enable this man!
– During the commercial, there was a special Twitch post-match celebration with Sandman and Edwards. They played “Enter Sandman “by Metallica and did the beer can gimmick.
– Somewhere in the Undead Realm, James Mitchell met with Rosemary. Mitchell told Rosemary he was tired of her and reminded her that everything that has happened was all Allie’s fault for not following on his warnings. Then it was Allie that went looking for him. He even gave her back as they agreed, but it was still Rosemary that kept making things wrong and blaming him.
Mitchell kept saying the truth until Rosemary got tired of him and attacked him. This really made Rosemary seem like the heel since Mitchell was making a really good point there.
– The Impact Plus Flashback of the Week was Raven vs. Rhino in a Raven’s Rules match from TNA Unbreakable 2005.
– oVe cut a video promo. Sami Callihan addressed Fallah Bahh and Scarlett Bordeaux. He talked trash to the Knockouts like if they’ve been hanging out with Glenn Gilbertti. Please tell me we’re not doing Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard. Bahh & Bordeaux will face Jake & Dave Crist next week.
Also next week: Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie vs. Rosemary in a non-title match, and Impact Tag Team Champions LAX will defend their titles against The Rascalz.
Rich Swann & Willie Mack defeated Michael Elgin & Johnny Impact (w/ Johnny Bravo)
Swann and Mack surprised Elgin and Johnny with topes to start the match. In the ring, Mack and Swann worked over Johnny with quick tags. Mack got a one count after a rolling cannonball. Mack and Johnny traded slaps — and Johnny actually got in Mack’s head, distracting him and getting the upper hand.
Elgin and Swann came in, with Swann having the speed advantage, but Elgin used his strength to block Swann’s moves. Swann managed to hit a suplex on Elgin.
Johnny and Elgin had a bit of miscommunication that ended with Johnny being tossed to the floor — where Swann dove on him. Mack came in, only for Elgin to hit a DVD on Mack onto Swann (who was in the corner), earning a two count.
Elgin and Johnny kept control of Swann for a couple of minutes, also working with quick tags, big spots, and making sure that Swann stayed away from Mack. Swann would end up finding the opening to tag Mack, who came in and ran wild with exploder suplexes on both Elgin and Johnny.
Mack went for a double stunner, but he got blocked and hit a double lariat instead. Mack hit a couple of fireman’s carries and a gutbuster for a two count.
Johnny went for Moonlight Drive, but Elgin blind tagged in and caught Mack with a handspring back elbow. He caught Swann with a powerslam, then dove over Mack and Johnny. Swann followed with a dive while Elgin and Johnny argued about that last dive.
Back in the ring, Swann and Mack went for a slingshot neckbreaker and big time elbow combo for a two count on Elgin. Swann went for the Phoenix Splash, but Elgin dodged and hit a couple of superkicks to take out Swann. Johnny tagged in, and along with Elgin, hit a Disaster Kick and German suplex combo for a two count.
Johnny hit Moonlight Drive for a two count and went for Starship Pain, but Swann dodged and caught Johnny with a kick. Mack returned and hit a step-up enzuigiri on Elgin, then gave Johnny a Samoan drop and moonsault.
Elgin chopped both Mack and Swann and got a double superkick in return. Mack and Swann hit Johnny with a Rock Bottom and neckbreaker for a two count, with Elgin breaking up the pin.
Elgin took out Swann with a chop. Mack hit a meteora on Elgin. Johnny hit a Spanish Fly on Mack, only to get taken out by a spinning kick by Swann.
All four men traded strikes in the middle of the ring, ending with tandem superkicks by Elgin and Johnny. Elgin went for the Elgin Bomb, but Swann rammed Johnny into Elgin, who decided to walk out on Johnny. In the ring, Swann caught Johnny with a cutter and a 450 splash for the win. This was an awesome match.
Final thoughts —
A great show inside the ring thanks to the main event and the street fight. Storyline developments are still in a weird place, but it does feel like things are moving forward.
We’re looking for reports from Raw tonight in Marseilles, France, Smackdown in Helsinki, Finland, Revolution Pro at York Hall in London (Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Aussie Open, David Starr vs. Phantasmo ladder match), Evolve in Livonia MI and NXT in Sebring, FL to [email protected].
Kassius Ohno & Harlem Bravado vs. AR Fox & Leon Ruff
JD Drake vs. Joe Gacy for WWN title
Austin Theory vs. Adam Cole non-title
NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING AT 8 P.M. EASTERN ON AXS TV
Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Evil & Sanada
Dragon Lee vs. Taiji Ishimori for IWGP jr. title
CMLL FROM ARENA MEXICO AT 9:30 P.M. ON CMLL FACEBOOK AND YOU TUBE (after show)
Magia Blanca & Stigma vs. Espanto Jr. & El Hijo del Signo
Drone & Fuego & Guerrero Maya Jr. vs. Kawato San & Polvora & Vangellys
Kaho Kobayashi vs. Amapola
Atlantis & Atlantis Jr. & Soberano Jr. vs. El Hijo de Villano III & Villano IV & Rey Bucanero
Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero & Euforia vs. Mascara Ano 2000 & Sanson & Cuatrero
Dragon Lee & Volador Jr. & Mistico vs. Negro Casas & Cavernario & Mr. Niebla
Saturday has WWE Raw in Newcastle, UK, Smackdown in Stockholm, Sweden, ROH in Grand Rapids, MI, and NXT in St. Augustine, FL. We’re looking for reports on these shows to [email protected].
ROH WAR OF THE WORLDS SATURDAY NIGHT IN GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN AT 6 P.M. EASTERN ON HONOR CLUB
Coast 2 Coast vs. Alex Coughlin & Karl Fredericks
Cheeseburger vs. Clark Conners
Evil & Sanada vs. Beer City Bruiser & Brawler Milonas
Kelly Klein vs. Stacy Shadows for WOH title
PCO vs. Mask Haskins
Tracy Williams vs. Rush vs. Eli Isom vs. P.J. Black for ROH title shot
Jeff Cobb & Jay Lethal & Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto & Satoshi Kojima vs. Bully Ray & Shane Taylor & Mark & Jay Briscoe & Silas Young
Matt Taven & TK O’Ryan & Vinny Marseglia vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa & Hikuleo
UFC 237 ON SATURDAY FROM RIO DE JANEIRO
ESPN+ at 6:15 p.m. Eastern
Vivane Araujo vs. Talita Bernardo
Said Nurmagomedov vs. Raoni Barcelos
Sergio Moraes vs. Warlley Alves
Priscila Cachoeira vs. Luana Carolina
ESPN AT 8 p.m. Eastern
B.J. Penn vs. Clay Guida
Bethe Correia vs. Irene Aldana
Thiago Moises vs. Kurt Holobaugh
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Ryan Spann
ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m. Eastern
Francisco Trinaldo vs. Diego Ferreira
Laureano Staropoli vs. Thiago Alves
Jose Aldo vs. Alexander Volkanovski
Anderson Silva vs. Jared Cannonier
Rose Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade for strawweight title
EVOLVE FROM SATURDAY NIGHT AT 7 P.M. FROM INDIANAPOLIS
Anthony Greene vs. Seven Pena
Leon Ruff vs. Stephen Wolf vs. Juntai
Shotzi Blackheart vs. Natalia Markova
Curt Stallion vs. Ace Perry
Adrian Jaoude vs. Harlem Bravado
Eddie Kingston & Joe Gacy vs. JD Drake & Anthony Henry for Evolve tag title
Austin Theory vs. Nate Webb for Evolve title
Kassius Ohno vs. Josh Briggs
Adam Cole vs. AR Fox
BELLATOR ON DAZN AT 9 P.M. EASTERN
Tywan Claxton vs. James Bennett
Jake Hager (Jack Swagger) vs. T.J. Jones
A.J. McKee vs. Pat Curran
Douglas Lima vs. Michael Venom Page in welterweight tournament semifinal
Michael Chandler vs. Patricio Pitbull Freire for lightweight title
Sunday has WWE Raw in Liverpool, UK, Smackdown in Oslo, Norway and ROH TV tapings in Chicago (Allysin Kay vs. Marti Belle for NWA women’s title, Evil & Sanada & Yuji Nagata & Satoshi Kojima, Colt Cabana vs. James Storm for NWA National title, Jeff Cobb vs. Rush vs. Jay Lethal vs. PCO, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. Mark & Jay Briscoe for ROH tag titles).
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS DAY ONE IN SENDAI ON MONDAY AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERN ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
A brother vs. brother match will be one of the key pieces of All Elite Wrestling’s Double or Nothing card.
After weeks of teases, Dustin Rhodes was confirmed as his brother Cody’s opponent for Double or Nothing at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, May 25. Dustin issued a statement about his status with WWE after the announcement was made, revealing that he had requested his release from WWE and was granted it. Dustin also posted a video where he said goodbye to his Goldust character.
An update on AEW distribution, PPV, television and streaming, is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Look at the full distribution around the world for Double or Nothing, as well as updating where things stand when it comes to television.
Look at pricing, preshow, who is carrying it, how strong ITV 4 is, how this compares with WWE’s distribution and probable viewership, where things stand with U.K. television, details on Casino Battle Royale plans, the main championship, updating the show and lots of new signings.
Go in-depth on not just the XFL television deal and finances, but the lessons of the deal and how the deal is a 180 from the UFC deal.
Also look at the changes in Raw and Smackdown this past week, why they were made, where NBC Universal and FOX stand, WWE star power, how the European tour affected this week’s television, how it affects touring, plus updates on the Money In The Bank show.
Also look at the 2019 Best of the Super Juniors tournament, including what matches to watch out for, the schedule, the positioning of Will Ospreay, and the schedule.
Look at the two New Japan Dontaku events, what the events say about both Japan and U.S. popularity, the story behind Okada vs. Sanada, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
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].
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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
by Bryan Rose, Ethan Renner and Joseph Currier
WWE
The Bret Hart vs. Tom Magee match and documentary special is listed as airing on the WWE Network from 11 to 11:30 p.m. Eastern time on Monday night.
WWE put out a press release saying that Kofi Kingston will be visiting his home country of Ghana, West Africa from May 30 through June 2. It will include a courtesy call from the President of Ghana H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. A WWE film crew will be there to document the trip for a future documentary.
Kingston wrote on Instagram: “Well it’s officially official. For the first time since 1993, I’m going back to my home country! Though it was 26 years ago, I still have so many vivid memories of my last visit to Ghana. I’m beyond excited to make many more in a few short weeks!”
The WWE Network will no longer be available on the following devices as of May 21: Amazon Fire Tablets, Apple TV 3rd Generation and earlier models, LG 2016 and earlier models, PlayStation 3, Samsung 2016 and earlier models, Samsung and Sony Blu-Ray Players, Sony non-Android TVs, Windows 10 Desktop, and Xbox 360.
WWE stock closed the week at $84.03 per share, up slightly from yesterday.
Nikki Cross says she needs to change in an interview after a loss on Main Event, saying it may be time to step out of the dark.
Paige talked to Comic Book about how she became the manager for the new tag team of Kairi Sane and Asuka. “I pitched to manage Ronda Rousey, kind of like the Paul Heyman-Brock Lesnar thing,” she said. “And then also be with Asuka, because Asuka had trouble speaking on the mic sometimes. As much as she’s an amazing athlete, an incredible wrestler, and I was like, ‘I’ll help her, give me the microphone, I’ll talk for her.’ And then Paul Heyman called me one day and said, ‘We have a great role for you. You can be the next me with these two women.’ I was like, ‘Wow, what a crazy tag team, they’re incredible…. Absolutely, I’ll take it!'”
Comic Book also talked to Becky Lynch about Money in the Bank and SmackDown Live.
Goldberg has started to train in preparation for his match next month in Saudi Arabia.
Pro Wrestling
Tickets are still available for the F4W/Wrestling Observer Live Q&A featuring Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez that will take place the morning of Double or Nothing (May 25) in Las Vegas, Nevada. More information can be found here.
Willie Mack told Wrestling Inc that he wasn’t sure of his Lucha Underground status, saying “I’m not sure because I’m still a part of them. If they want me, they can call me. But I’m just trying to do other stuff and keep everything going and positive because I’m a chill dude and I’m just gonna sit this thing out and see what happens.”
A falls count anywhere match between Sami Callihan and Mance Warner is set for MLW’s TV tapings in Waukesha, Wisconsin on June 1. In storyline, the match between the two friends was made by Salina de la Renta.
Jerry Lawler and Baron Von Raschke will be at Crusherfest, which will take place on June 8 and 9. The event is centered around an unveiling of a statue of The Crusher in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Memorial services for Florida promoter Paul Spiegel will will be at 2:00 pm on this Saturday at Memorial Park 5750 49th. St. in St .Petersburg.
UFC/MMA
ESPN reported that the UFC is close to finalizing Tony Ferguson vs. Donald Cerrone for UFC 238, which will be held in Chicago on June 8. Cerrone had challenged Conor McGregor after winning at a UFC Fight Night event this past Saturday. As recently as Tuesday, when appearing on The Jim Rome Show, Dana White had said that a fight between the two made sense to put together.
Ariel Helwani tweeted about Cerrone’s decision to face Ferguson: “Credit to Cerrone on this one. They sent out feelers about the McGregor fight after the Iaquinta win, but there wasn’t much movement so they moved on again. Justin Gaethje was also discussed a potential return fight for Ferguson but didn’t materialize, obviously. The beauty in this for Cerrone is the fight is in 29 days. So if all goes well, it’s not like he took himself out of the running for McGregor. Wouldn’t be surprised if the winner of this fight ends up becoming the McGregor frontrunner when it’s all said and done, too.”
Bethe Correia weighed in at 141 for her UFC 237 bantamweight fight against Irene Aldana, and will forfeit 30 percent of her purse.
The scheduled UFC 237 Diego Ferreira vs. Francisco Trinaldo lightweight fight has been called off by the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission. Ferreira fell ill with kidney stones and could not weigh in. Trinaldo had already successfully made weight before the fight was called off.
All other fighters for Saturday’s UFC 237 card made weight. The ceremonial weigh-ins for UFC 237 can be found here.
British heavyweight MMA fighter and former Glory kickboxer Chi Lewis-Perry had a verbal exchange with Jon Jones at a fitness expo in Birmingham, England. The two have had issues dating back to when Daniel Cormier brought Lewis-Perry in as a sparring partner before their scheduled 2016 fight, according to MMA Fighting. There is a video of the exchange here.
Frankie Edgar issued a challenge to UFC Featherweight Max Holloway on Instagram. The two have been scheduled to face off twice before, but injuries caused changes to opponents both times.
Bloody Elbow’s John Nash has an interesting tweet thread here, with some informed speculation on the finances of the UFC/ESPN PPV deal.
The Bellator 221 weigh-ins were held today. A prelim bantamweight fight between Askar Askar and Taylor Moore was called off when Askar missed weight by five pounds. A prelim bantamweight bout between Jose Leon and Christian Rodriguez was changed to a 140-pound catchweight fight after Rodriguez missed weight. Leon agreed to the catchweight, but Rodriguez will give up half of his purse.
Jake Hager does an interview with MMA Fighting here. He says he should be ready to fight for the Bellator Heavyweight Championship by next year.
The Professional Fighters League kicked off their 2019 season last night. Kayla Harrison beat Larissa Pacheco in the main event, 30-25, 30-27, 30-27. Lilian Garcia debuted as the cage announcer for the PFL. Full results from the show are here
Ed in San Antonio presents PODER~! at the FSW arena on Friday 5/24 – Showtime is at noon – Main event: Bryan Alvarez vs. Logan Stunt
Empire dinner on Friday 5/24 at 8:30 p.m. at Texas de Brazil – Price is $82 – All you can eat meat and salad, sodas, tea, and coffee, plus dessert included
Empire suite party on Friday 5/24 for those who were not able to get the Q&A package – Price is $25
Three Lucha Underground wrestlers are seeking legal representation to get out of their contracts, with a fourth possibly doing the same soon.
Lucha Central reports that Jeff Cobb (Matanza Cueto), Famous B and Sonny Kiss (XO Lishus) have all sought legal representation in order to secure their release from the promotion. Cobb in particular is an interesting situation as his character was killed off during the fourth season.
Cobb has since been wrestling for NJPW and Ring of Honor, while Sonny Kiss will wrestle at AEW’s Double or Nothing Over the Budget battle royal.
Willie Mack was also mentioned in the report as a name that could be seeking legal representation as well, though he has yet to do so. He recently dropped the NWA National title this past weekend to Colt Cabana, with SoCal Uncensored reporting that LU/AAA’s Dorian Roldan threatened to send both ROH and NWA cease and desists over using Mack.
A class action lawsuit between the El Rey Network/Baba-G Productions (the show’s network and the production company) and El Hijo del Fantasma (King Cuerno), Ivelisse, Joey Ryan and Kobra Moon (Thunder Rosa) was settled recently that allowed the four to get out of their contracts.
