Impact Wrestling Hard to Kill

By Steve Ward

Impact Wrestling’s first pay per view of 2019 emanated from The Bomb Factory in Dallas, Texas. After their change of networks (again) to AXS TV the show was appropriately titled Hard To Kill as that personifies the spirit of Impact. This company has overcome adversity time after time but has stuck around because they try to give fans what they want - innovative matches, storylines reminiscent of the Attitude Era, and bouts featuring veteran stars who are well beyond their prime but can certainly still go. There was no shortage of that this evening as the eight bout card featured all of the Impact titles contested, showcased ring veterans such as Rob Van Dam, Ken Shamrock, and Rhino, and included the history making main event that pit Sami Callihan defending the Impact World Championship against Tessa Blanchard. 

Ken Shamrock vs. Madman Fulton
Winner: Ken Shamrock via submission

The opening contest of the show immediately got the raucous crowd engaged as it featured a 55-yr old, absolutely shredded, UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock against former NXT Superstar Madman Fulton. Ken Shamrock systematically dismantled the much larger Fulton’s shoulder until he finally earned an impressive submission victory.

X-Division Championship
Ace Austin (c) vs. Trey Miguel
Winner: Ace Austin via pinfall

After weeks of taunting Trey by making advances towards his “mother” each time she appeared on Impact programming, tensions came to a head this evening as Atlantic City’s own Ace Austin defended his title again the Rascalz member. While this match presented some impressive displays of acrobatics, it seemed as if it lasted a few minutes too long. Overall, Austin put on a strong performance and finalized the defense of his title with The Fold which put Trey away for the 1-2-3.

Impact Knockouts Championship Triple Threat Match
Taya Valkyrie (c) w/ John E. Bravo vs. ODB vs. Jordynne Grace
Winner: Taya Valkyrie via pinfall

Taya Valkyrie entered this match riding a 370 day streak as Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion as she entered a dire situation where she needed to defend her title against the upstart (and native Texan) Jordynne Grace and 4-time Knockouts (or as she puts it “Knocked Up”) Champion ODB. Taya has maintained her standing as a bona fide champion, even after the departure of her husband Johnny Impact several months ago, by withstanding all oppostion.  After these three powerhouses brutalized each other in a very physical contest, it appeared Grace was in a prime position to win her first title after she executed the Grace Driver on ODB. Before the referee could count the pinfall, John E. Bravo distracted him also drawing Grace’s attention. This allowed an opening for Taya to slip in and steal a pinfall to retain her title.

Rob Van Dam w/ Katie Forbes vs. Brian Cage/Daga
Winner: Rob Van Dam via pinfall

This bout materialized after RVD, who’s undertaken a bit of a metamorphosis to a heel, accused Cage of stealing all of his moves - something The Machine took exception to. Cage who had already entered the match with his left bicep heavily covered in KT Tape, was surprisingly overwhelmed to the point where RVD, with an assist from Forbes holding a steel chair to Cage‘s face, executed the Vanterminator. RVD attempted to pin Cage but the referee refused to count saying The Machine was injured. This presented an opening for Konnan’s protégé Daga to make his way to ringside and step into the match. Daga presented more of a challenge for RVD but in the end, he also met his demise as the recipient of an impressive Five Star Frog Splash.

Michael Elgin vs. Eddie Edwards
Winner: Eddie Edwards

The stakes were high in this contest as the Call Your Shot Trophy hung in the balance. The trophy, which is essentially the equivalent to WWE’s Money in the Bank briefcase except that it applies to any title, landed in Elgin’s possession after he stole it from Edwards’  belongs recently on Impact - this bout was essentially Edwards’ opportunity to try and reclaim it. Michael Elgin brought a heavy dose of striking and power moves as he put on an outstanding display for the fans in attendance. One of the highlights of the match was a beautifully executed German Suplex from the top turnbuckle that propelled Edwards across the ring. After Elgin thought he had earned a submission victory following an STF, he tried to close the deal with a buckle bomb. Following the first successful buckle bomb, Edwards reversed Elgin’s second attempt into a rollup pinfall.

No Disqualification Match
Moose vs. Rhino
Winner: Moose via pinfall

This bout culminated after weeks of jawing back and forth and exchanges of Rhino’s Gore and Moose’s Spear. It appeared Rhino was going to walk out victorious from this brutal encounter when he had Moose propped up against a table in the corner in prime position to receive a Gore. Rhino successfully landed the Gore, however, it was not before Moose pulled the referee in front of him. This left the referee incapacitated so there was no one to count the pinfall. By the time another referee made his way to ringside, Moose had recovered enough to land the spear and earn the victory.

Impact Tag Team Championship
The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) (c) vs. Willie Mack
Winners: The North

Following an injury sustained at Bash at the Brewery, Rich Swann was ruled unable to compete in this match. Rather than elect not to compete or find a substitute, Willie Mack proceeded to go forward in a handicap match. Willie Mack brought his A-game but the numbers game was simply too much for the South Central L.A. native to overcome. Mack landed a phenomenal Canadian Destroyer that witnessed him launch from the top turnbuckle to take Alexander off the shoulders of his own partner and drive his skull into the canvas. In the end, it wasn’t enough as The North finished Mack with their patented tandem Death Valley Driver to retain their titles.

Impact World Heavyweight Championship
Sami Callihan (c) vs. Tessa Blanchard
Winner: Tessa Blanchard via pinfall

The long-standing rivalry between Tessa and Sami Callihan reached it’s climax this evening as she aimed to make history by taking the World Heavyweight Championship from him. This match finally came to fruition after Callihan defeated Brian Cage in a steel cage match and had his celebration cut short by Tessa making her way to the ring - something Callihan took great exception to. Callihan jumped the opening bell tonight as he delivered a pump kick followed by the Cactus Special 97 piledriver but Tessa quickly kicked out of his pinfall attempt. Tessa answered with Magnum (a code breaker delivered from the top rope) but Callihan also kicked out promptly. This set the tempo for what became a ferocious encounter. The closing moments of this contest were insane. Tessa withstood a sit-down power bomb and yet another Cactus Special 97 to deliver consecutive Canadian Destroyers and a hammerlock DDT to send the crowd into complete pandemonium as she made history and became the first female to win the top men’s title in a major pro wrestling company!!!

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Impact Wrestling Presents: Bound For Glory 2019

By Steve Ward

Impact Wrestling’s biggest event of the year emanated from Chicago this evening for the 15^th incarnation of Bound For Glory. This event held significance on a multitude of levels for Impact Wrestling as they continue to push to remain relevant in what is becoming an ever crowded pro wrestling landscape with the emergence of AEW. Additionally, this was Impact’s final event before their debut on AXS TV after spending the past year on Pursuit Channel. While I’m happy to see they continue to maintain a network deal, this move will make it more difficult for their fan base to access their weekly program as it is mostly limited to satellite TV providers. The card was stacked this evening as it provided a healthy mix of young, lesser known talent, some WWE outcasts, and several ECW originals while all titles were contested.

Call Your Shot 20-Person Gauntlet Match
Winner: Eddie Edwards

This match began with Eddie Edwards and Adam Thornstowe of Reno Scum. Every minute another competitor entered and would need to be thrown over the top rope in order to be eliminated. The final competitor would have the opportunity at the title of his or her choice. In addition to many Impact Wrestling regulars, there were many surprises including Swoggle (who made his entrance as he chased Johnny Swinger, another blast from the past, from below the ring), Sabu, Tommy Dreamer (not really a surprise but the Innovator of Violence needed a mention in the article), former AEW star Kylie Rae, and the newly signed Joey Ryan. The exhilarating opening contest came down to a final four of  Madman Fulton, Mahabali Shera, Eddie Edwards, and Fallah Bahh. Bahh was quickly eliminated by Shera and then Edwards caught Fulton off guard and knocked him over the top rope to bring us to the last two men standing. Once this occurred the match became a standard one on one contest. Edwards made short work of Shera as he executed the Boston Knee Party for the pinfall victory.

Knockouts Championship
Tenille Dashwood vs. Taya Valkyrie (c) w/ John E. Bravo
Winner: Taya Valkyrie via pinfall

Despite the noticeable and unexplained departure of her husband Johnny Impact amid rumors he’s signed with WWE, Valkyrie has continued her reign of dominance with former referee John E. Bravo (Johnny Bravo) in tow. This evening she defended her title against Tenille Dashwood (formerly known as Emma in WWE) who made her surprising debut recently instead of signing with AEW. In the closing moments, Dashwood hit the Spotlight, however, her pinfall attempt was thwarted by Bravo who dragged the champ to the ropes for the break. After Bravo was ejected from ringside, Dashwood attempted another Spotlight to no avail as Valkyrie was able to trap her in the Road to Valhalla for the pinfall.

Impact Tag Team Championship
Rob Van Dam & Rhino vs. Rich Swann & Willie Mack vs. The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page)
Winners: The North

As this frenetically paced match began to wind down, RVD and Rhino seemed poised to solidify a victory. Rhino was squared up in the corner prepared to execute a Gore as RVD shocked the crowd and super kicked him in the face. RVD then laid waste to Mack and Swann as he delivered super kicks to them as well and proceeded to exit the arena. This allowed Alexander to hoist Swann up in a fireman’s carry and propelled him into the arms of Page who power bombed him to set up the pinfall.

Marufugi vs. Michael Elgin
Winner: Michael Elgin

Japanese legend Marufugi of Pro Wrestling NOAH squared off with Michael Elgin who made a name for himself in New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor. Michael Elgin greatly impressed in this bout with his surprising high flying ability mixed in with the strong style focus of the match. Marufugi displayed great resilience as he withstood multiple buckle bombs and a Splash Mountain Bomb to answer with several onslaughts of vicious knee strikes. The conclusion of this match arrived after Elgin executed yet another buckle bomb followed by an inverted Death Valley Driver for the victory.

5-person X-Division Ladder Match
Tessa Blanchard vs. Ace Austin vs. Acey Romero vs. Daga vs. Jake Crist (c)
Winner: Ace Austin

Yes, you read that participant list correctly, Tessa Blanchard after weeks of feuding with OVE, was a contestant in this bout. In the closing moments, Tessa and Jake Crist scaled the ladder simultaneously. As the two jockeyed for position at the top of the ladder, Tessa propelled Crist off of the ladder and through a table. As Tessa had the belt at her fingertips, Ace Austin jumped to the ladder from the ropes with his baton in hand and struck Tessa in the head causing her to fall from the ladder. This action left Austin unopposed as he retrieved the title to become the new X-Division Champion.

Ken Shamrock vs. Moose
Winner: Moose via pinfall

55-year old Ken Shamrock came out absolutely shredded and did not look anywhere near his age physique-wise. Shamrock was in line to finish off Moose several times, however, Frank Trigg who was in Moose’s corner proved to be the difference. Trigg drew the attention of Shamrock and the referee several times and even removed one of the turnbuckle covers exposing the dreaded steel beneath. Moose managed to withstand multiple ankle lock submission attempts and finally drove Shamrock into the exposed turnbuckle busting him open. This supplied Moose the opening he needed to land the spear and cover The World’s Most Dangerous Man for a hollow victory.

Impact World Championship
Brian Cage (c) vs. Sami Callihan
Winner: Brian Cage via pinfall

There were plenty of narratives leading into this contest. After months injured at home, Cage made his return to Impact several weeks ago to propose to and subsequently marry Melissa Santos. On the edition of Impact where the two tied the knot, Callihan struck Santos in the head with a champagne bottle intended for Cage. Then to make matters worse, Callihan and OVE handcuffed Cage to the ropes on the most recent episode of Impact and let him watch as his wife was the recipient of a Cactus Special. Needless to say, this bout was full of pure, unadulterated violence. The bout reached it’s conclusion shortly after Callihan introduced a bag of tacks to the fray. Callihan delivered a Cactus Special that Cage kicked out of following a one count and proceeded to destroy “The Draw.” First, he power bombed Callihan onto the tacks and immediately followed up with a Drill Claw for the pinfall.

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Impact Wrestling Rebellion Recap

By Steve Ward

Impact Wrestling returned to pay per view this evening with Rebellion as they emanated from the Rebel Entertainment Complex in Toronto-Ontario, Canada. The card featured four titles contested amongst the eight matches on the card. While this was an excellent show, there were some notable omissions from the card as Eli Drake, Rosemary, Su Yung, Killer Kross, and Willie Mack found themselves without a match and unfortunately, based on the timing of his new contract signing, Rob Van Dam will not appear for the company until their TV tapings this coming weekend at the legendary 2300 Arena in Philadelphia - of course this is the birthplace of extreme, the former ECW Arena.

Petey Williams vs. Aiden Prince vs. Ace Austin vs. Cousin Jake Deener vs. Jake Crist vs. Eddie Edwards

Winner: Ace Austin via pinfall

The opening contest of the card was an X-Division contest that would help sort out the landscape of the crowded division to help determine who may be in line for a future title shot. The match came to a quick conclusion after Petey Williams first executed the Canadian Destroyer on the much larger Cousin Jake only to have Ace Austin emerge from outside of the ring to unceremoniously roll up Petey with a handful of tights for the pinfall.

Rohit Raju w/ Gama Singh vs. Scarlett Bordeaux w/ Fallah Bahh

Winner: Scarlett Bordeaux via pinfall

Announced earlier in the day, the fans in attendance were treated to a rare inter-gender match between “The Smoke Show” Scarlett Bordeaux and Desi Hit Squad member Rohit Raju. Also of note, I was happy to see fan favorite and New Jersey’s own Fallah Bahh accompany Bordeaux to the ring despite not getting involved in the match. Bordeaux displayed outstanding ring presence and strength as she executed a German Suplex on Raju and finished him off with a modified Gringo Killer for the pinfall.

Six Man Tag Team Match

Moose, Ethan Page, & Josh Alexander vs. The Rascalz (Tre, Dezmond Xavier, and Zachary Wentz)

Winners: Moose, Ethan Page, & Josh Alexander via pinfall

Moose recruited Josh Alexander and Ethan Page, collectively known as The North (which went over in a huge way in Canada), to exact revenge against The Rascalz after he was embarrassed by the trio on Impact. While The Rascalz did put on a good showing with a plethora of aerial maneuvers, the power of The North and Moose could not be overcome. The match reached it’s conclusion after The North propelled Dez at Moose as he speared him to set up the pinfall.

Knockouts Championship

Taya Valkyrie (c) vs. Jordynne Grace

Winner: Taya Valkyrie

Jordynne Grace earned this title shot after she defeated the returning Madison Rayne recently on Impact and came in ready to go. Grace controlled the tempo early as she took the fight to Taya on the outside of the ring and displayed her impressive strength with a powerbomb that propelled Valkyrie’s back into the edge of the ring apron. It appeared Grace would win her first title after executing a Muscle Buster but Taya was able to neutralize Grace’s strength game as she continued to work on her arm and eventually found her window to land the Road to Valhalla to retain her title.

X-Division Championship

Sami Callihan vs. Rich Swann (c)

Winner: Rich Swann via submission

Per the request of Sami Callihan, this match was contested under OVE rules - which essentially meant this was a hardcore match. It didn’t take long for the ring to become littered with chairs, a staple gun, a wet floor sign, and a cookie sheet, all of which became instruments of carnage sooner than later. Just one of the many highlights of this contest came after thousands of Legos, yes Legos, were dumped onto the ring canvas. First, Swann was able to drop Callihan onto the Lego blocks with a perfectly executed hurricanrana only to have Callihan regain the upper hand with a piledriver off the top turnbuckle that drove Swann’s head into the blocks. The conclusion of the match came after Swann was able to wrestle a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire from Callihan and raked it across his face in a modified crossface for the submission victory.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Gail Kim

Winner: Tessa Blanchard via submission

After Gail Kim cost Blanchard the Knockouts title at Homecoming, she went on a crusade to cost Kim her job in Impact Management. After the Impact Hall of Famer tendered her resignation, Gail Kim came out of retirement to challenge Blanchard this evening. Gail Kim certainly looked like she was in phenomenal shape with minimal ring rust as she took Tessa to the limit. Tessa was able to withstand a figure four leg lock with her leg twisted around the ring post, as well as, Eat Defeat to conquer Gail with a new submission she unleashed that resembled a modified LeBell Lock.

Impact World Championship

Johnny Impact (c) vs. Brian Cage

Winner: Brian Cage via pinfall

After Cage was “screwed” out of his title opportunities at Homecoming, as a result of ringside interference by Impact’s buddies from his Survivor appearance, and recently on Impact, as a result of senior official Johnny Bravo being in the pocket of the defending champ. In an attempt to even the playing ground, the legendary Lance Storm was inserted as the special guest referee. It appeared Impact was going to retain his title after he took out Lance Storm and Johnny Bravo unveiled a referee shirt under his jacket, however, Impact wasn’t able to secure the pinfall after he dropped The Machine with the title. After Cage disposed of Bravo, he executed The Drillclaw as Storm counted the 1-2-3. Cage’s celebration as new champ was short lived as the crowd was shocked with the debut of Michael Elgin! Elgin, who most recently performed for New Japan Pro Wrestling, got in the face of Cage, delivered a brutal backhand that staggered him, and hoisted him up for a spinning sit down powerbomb.

Impact World Tag Team Championship Full Metal Mayhem Match

The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix) (c) vs. LAX (Santana & Ortiz) w/ Konnan
Winners: LAX via pinfall

This bout marked the return match for LAX after they recently dropped their tag team titles to The Lucha Bros. It appeared that The Lucha Bros were going to walk away with their titles for the majority of this bout as they landed punishing move after punishing move. One of the many highlights in this match occurred after a table was staged on the entrance ramp just outside the ring with a ladder propped up just inside the ring ropes. Ortiz scaled the ladder, however, Pentagon Jr. ran along the top rope from the corner to meet Ortiz at the top of the ladder and launched him through the table with a beautifully executed Spanish Fly. The conclusion of this match arrived with Santana and Pentagon Jr. battling at the top of a ladder in the center of the ring with a table covered in tacks set-up just below the man with no fear. Ortiz made his way into the ring and positioned himself to attempt a powerbomb of Pentagon Jr. but he held firmly to the ladder…that is until Santana stabbed him in the forehead with a fork several times. This allowed Ortiz to powerbomb Pentagon through the table as his body sickeningly buckled in half. Ortiz covered him for the pinfall to crown new Impact World Tag Team Champions!

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