Scott Hall Tribute

By Steve Ward

The pro wrestling world lost another legend Monday afternoon as Scott Hall died at the age of 63 after he suffered three heart attacks Saturday. Hall began his career in 1984 in the territories of the NWA before short stints with the AWA, WCW, and New Japan Pro Wrestling. In 1990, he returned to WCW where he wrestled under the moniker of The Diamond Studd before he caught his big break upon signing with the World Wrestling Federation in 1992 where he was bestowed with the persona of Razor Ramon. Hall catapulted to superstar status as he feuded with other legendary competitors such as Shawn Michaels and Goldust on his way to winning the Intercontinental Championship on several occasions. 

Hall’s first stint with the WWF/WWE was probably best highlighted by his ladder match with Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania X - a match still considered one of the greatest of all time. Hall again made history in 1996 when he and longtime friend Kevin Nash, began their “invasion” of WCW angle which culminated in the creation of arguably the greatest wrestling stable of all time, the NWO, along with Hulk Hogan at WCW’s 1996 edition of Bash at the Beach. After a successful run in WCW where Hall again saw several more title runs, both  as a singles competitor and one half of The Outsiders, he again had short runs in WWE, TNA/Impact Wrestling, and other various promotions before making his final major appearance in April 2021 when he was honored as an inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame for the second time as a member of the NWO. 

On a personal note, this writer was a huge fan of Hall’s career and even found myself temporarily banned from watching wrestling after I was caught emulating him as I gave my youngest brother The Razor’s Edge when he was maybe six year’s old. In my defense, I delivered it with perfect execution into a pile of pillows. 

The legacy Hall leaves behind is undeniable and it is sad that he never found his way into a managerial role much like fellow legends Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Tully Blanchard have carved out in AEW as his mic skills were superior to many of his peers and what he may have lacked in that department was more than made up with charisma. From all of us at The Weigh-In, we express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Scott Hall and if you believe in the afterlife, I would expect him to eloquently introduce himself to St. Peter with a simple, “Hey Yo.”

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!!!

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!

Slammiversary XVII Recap

By Steve Ward

The seventeenth installment of Impact Wrestling’s Slammiversary emanated from a sold out Gilley’s Complex in Dallas, TX this evening. The stacked card featured eight matches and was headlined by Tessa Blanchard battling Sami Callihan in an intergender match. Impact Wrestling continues to put forth a solid product as they have shown true perseverance after several years of turmoil within their ownership structure that had them on the brink of disaster and they needed to deliver again this evening with the quickly evolving landscape of professional wrestling. Impact did just that but only time will tell how things shape up with AEW coming on strong as their weekly tv program debuts on TNT in October, Ring of Honor is maintaining their foothold with their partnership with NJPW, and of course WWE -despite their stale writing and booking- is still the standard bearer in sports entertainment.

TJP vs. Trey Miguel (of the Rascalz) vs. Jake Crist (of OVE) vs. Willie Mack

Winner: Willie Mack via pinfall

The opening contest of Slammiversary was an X-Division fatal four way attraction featuring TJP (T.J. Perkins) in his first pay per view appearance since his return from being buried in WWE on 205 Live. The action was fast and furious and certainly set the tempo for the evening. The body flying action culminated with the 285 lb Willie Mack executing a frog splash on Jake Crist to solidify the pinfall victory.

Impact Tag Team Championship

The Rascalz (Dez & Wentz) vs. LAX (Santana & Ortiz) w/ Konnan vs. The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) (c)

Winners: The North via pinfall

After shockingly losing their tag team titles to The North Friday night at Bash at the Brewery - an Impact Plus event that literally looked like it was in front of a crowd of 100 people at a brewery - LAX entered as the challengers. Unfortunately for The North, the retention of their titles was overshadowed in this one by a bad landing Santana took that required him to be helped out of the arena after the contest.

First Blood Match

Killer Kross vs. Eddie Edwards

Winner: Eddie Edwards

After weeks of mind games initiated by Killer Kross including the destruction of Edwards’ best friend Kenny - the kendo stick - Edwards achieved retribution this evening as he made Kross bleed by raking the splintered edge of a kendo stick across his mouth.

RVD vs. Moose

Winner: Moose

For several weeks, Moose proclaimed that the old legends needed to retire and go away. This generated a brief feud between Moose and The North and ECW originals RVD, Tommy Dreamer, and Sabu. This short lived program seemingly reached it’s climax this evening in Dallas as Rob Van Dam stood toe to toe with Moose. First things first, RVD may be 48 but he certainly can still keep up with the best of them and has aged pretty well considering the wars he’s been in as he doesn’t look much different than the last time he had a significant run in WWE - with the exception of appearing to enjoy a few beers here and there. It appeared RVD would walk out victorious as he had Moose laid out on top of a chair as he scaled to the top rope for the Five Star Frogsplash. As Van Dam took flight, Moose rolled out of the way leaving nothing but unforgiving steel for RVD to land on. Moose jumped to his feet and nailed RVD with the spear for the pinfall.

Impact Knockouts Championship Monster’s Ball Match

Taya Valkyrie (c) vs. Rosemary vs. Su Yung w/ Father James Mitchell vs. Havoc

Winner: Taya Valkyrie

These ladies wasted no time after the opening bell as they rapidly transformed the ring into a visceral playground littered with chairs, ladders, tables, and eventually thumb tacks. Havoc seemed poised to solidify a dominating victory after she Tombstoned Su Yung from the top rope - yes you read that correctly - onto a bed of tacks but Taya Valkyrie returned to the ring and greeted Havoc with a chair to the face. As Havoc rolled out of the ring, Valkyrie covered Su Yung to retain her title.

X Division Championship

Rich Swann (c) vs. Johnny Impact w/ Johnny Bravo

Winner: Rich Swann

Two of the best high-fliers in not only Impact, but potentially all of pro wrestling, squared off for the storied X Division Title this evening. After a fairly even bout where neither man was really able to create much momentum, Rich Swann was able to persevere. In the closing moments of the match, Swann withstood a series of Spanish Flys (the first from the top rope), Starship Pain, and the antics of Johnny Bravo at ringside to answer with two springboard cutters and the Phoenix Splash to retain his title.

Impact World Championship

Brian Cage (c) vs. Michael Elgin

Winner: Brian Cage

Former Ring of Honor and New Japan star Michael Elgin made his in-ring pay per view debut this evening as he challenged “The Machine” Brian Cage for the Impact Heavyweight Championship. Cage wasted no time bringing the fight to Elgin as the first time Elgin rolled to the outside of the ring, Cage ensured there would be no reprieve for him as he ran and vaulted straight over the top rope to the arena floor taking out Elgin and landing on his feet in the process. In the final minutes of the contest, Cage attempted the Drill Claw but his back “went out” and he dropped Elgin. Elgin answered with a buckle bomb and as he hoisted Cage up for the Elgin Bomb, The Machine slipped out and rolled Elgin up for the pinfall. After the match, Elgin assaulted Cage with the title and then dragged Don Callis into the ring from his commentary position. Just before Elgin was going to lay waste to Callis, a masked man entered the ring from the crowd, executed a spear that looked a lot like a Gore (wink wink), and escaped through the crowd.

Intergender Match

Tessa Blanchard vs. Sami Callihan

Winner: Sami Callihan

A rarity in pro wrestling today, at least in televised matches and never in WWE, Impact decided to push the envelope and headlined this pay per view with an intergender match between Sami Callihan and Tessa Blanchard, the daughter of former Four Horsemen member Tully Blanchard. Blanchard made another huge step this evening as she continued her ascension from barely gaining air time in NXT towards becoming a bona fide superstar as she more than hung in with “The Draw.” Blanchard displayed her grit as she took some huge bumps in this bout but also demonstrated her impressive strength as she hoisted Callihan up for a Samoan Drop at one point. In the closing moments, Callihan escaped a crossface submission to finish Blanchard off with a Cactus Special piledriver allowing him to earn the pinfall.

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!

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!

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!

Is AEW the WWE’s Worst Nightmare?

By Steve Ward

2018 was a defining year in what is becoming a storied career for “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes. The son of the late great “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes and brother of Goldust saw his career skyrocket to all-time highs as he continued to wrestle for every significant promotion in the world not named WWE with Ring of Honor, New Japan, and the NWA to name a few, capturing titles, and establishing himself as a household name along the way. It’s easy to say the man who once carried the moniker Stardust has left those days far behind.

Cody and The Elite even produced what was arguably one of, if not the, best pay-per-views of the year with the hugely successful All In. Cody wasted no time ensuring his momentum would continue at its frenetic pace, barely into 2019, as he unveiled an all new wrestling promotion last week along with his Elite cohorts, The Young Bucks and Hangman Page. The promotion, appropriately coined All Elite Wrestling or AEW, announced its initial roster and it is loaded with a bevy of talent already.

Here is the roster at the time this article:

Cody Rhodes

Matt Jackson

Nick Jackson

Hangman Page

Christopher Daniels

Frankie Kazarian

Scorpio Sky

Cima

El Lindaman

Joey Janela

Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Pac

Takehiro Yamamura

T-Hawk

Chris Jericho

Brandi Rhodes

Britt Baker

Penelope Ford

Billy Gunn (Producer)

B.J. Whitmer (Producer)

Aside from The Elite, other highlights of this list include the former Ring of Honor stable SoCal Uncensored (Daniels, Kazarian, & Scorpio Sky), Pac (formerly known as Neville in WWE), and the bombshell signing of the Ayatollah of Rock’n’Rolla, Chris Jericho. Additionally, the rumors have already begun to swirl with fans speculating whether this will be the promotion to sign Kenny Omega and potentially draw C.M. Punk back to the world of pro wrestling.

The next point to explore is whether this company can be a legitimate competitor to the WWE. Since the demise of ECW and WCW, no other promotion has really applied the pressure on WWE. Sure there are a lot of great promotions out there but for one reason or another, they just don’t have the complete package put together to contest for brand supremacy. TNA/Impact continues to be able to pull cable TV deals and produce pay-per-views but unfortunately it’s been a necessity for them to operate with an economical approach by proceeding with practices such as completing their TV tapings in clusters and sharing talent with other promotions, while only being able to fill venues that hold maybe a few thousand at most. 

New Japan Pro Wrestling is arguably the largest promotion in the world outside of WWE but their exposure to the North American audience is limited to streaming and their major events air live when most people are sleeping. 

Ring of Honor is a phenomenal promotion but unfortunately they haven’t had a national TV deal since they were dumped by Destination America and have become the WWE’s source of talent vulturing - some examples include Kevin Owens, Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson), Seth Rollins, The Undisputed Era, and War Raiders (War Machine) to name a few.

Here’s how AEW appears to set themselves apart from these promotions: 1) They have already announced their first show labeled “Double or Nothing” which will emanate from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV on May 25. 2) There are apparently several possibilities for TV deals with rumors swirling of potential suitors including the Paramount Network (formerly Spike TV), WGN America, TNT/TBS, and even DAZN. 3) They have the financial backing of multi-millionaires Shahid and Tony Khan who are the owners of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars (starting to get a sense of déjà vu??).

Now nobody should be disillusioned to think they will become an instant competitor to WWE but at least there’s a glimmer of hope - hope that a metaphorical fire will be lit under the ass of WWE to put some effort into their product. I personally find NXT to be the most entertaining and fresh programming they produce outside of an occasional episode of Smackdown. Other than those exceptions, the product has become stale with poor storytelling, mediocre promos put forth by the talent, and mismanagement of the roster. 

When one explores the history of WWE, their most entertaining eras were the days when Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, and Randy Savage were regular headliners and, without question, The Attitude Era. The Attitude Era wasn’t just entertaining because of the TV-14 rating, but also because it was the only time they’ve ever been legitimately challenged by another promotion. The future looks very promising for AEW and WWE certainly took notice after the Jericho signing which was evident by their immediate movement of his profile on their website to the Alumni section.

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!

Impact Wrestling Homecoming Recap

By Steve Ward

Impact Wrestling returned to The Asylum in Nashville, TN where Jeff Jarrett and his father Jerry created Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) after the demise of WCW back in 2002. Having survived through multiple ownership battles, roster overhauls, and several network changes, this pay-per-view seemed to symbolize a sort of rebirth for the company…again…as they returned to their roots and are about to embark on another new TV deal beginning this week as they move from Pop TV to the Pursuit Channel (one I wasn’t even sure if my cable provider offered until I searched for it).

The card featured eight bouts with four titles contested. My only gripe with the show was if Impact Wrestling was attempting to have a sense of nostalgia surrounding it, then where were Tommy Dreamer and Raven who laid out Eli Drake on the final Impact before the event? The only legends that appeared on the pay-per-view were Abyss and Konnan, aside from those featured in the vignettes produced to display the history of The Asylum. Nonetheless, this was still an entertaining event and I continue to be pleased with the vast improvement of the product’s announce team since the introduction of ECW and TNA stalwart Don Callis on color commentary.

Ultimate X Match for the X Division Championship

Rich Swann vs. Trey of the Rascalz vs. Ethan Page vs. Jake Crist of OVE

Winner: Rich Swann

This match came to fruition after Brian Cage utilized Option C and relinquished the X Division title in exchange for a shot at Johnny Impact’s Heavyweight Championship. It was apparent that selection of the participants in this bout was strategically designed to put Trey, Page, and Crist on a major platform with the veteran Swann carrying them through the match. Swann clearly shined in this contest and put his full arsenal of high flying acrobatics on display. In the end. Swann and Trey simultaneously scaled the Ultimate X scaffolding as Swann just beat him to the center of the ominous structure and retrieved the title to become the new champion.

Su Yung & Allie vs. Kiera Hogan & Jordynne Grace

Winners: Su Yung & Allie via submission

After Allie “lost her soul” to Father James Mitchell at Bound for Glory when she entered the undead realm to save Kiera Hogan, she slowly displayed a much darker character over the past couple months which culminated in this contest coming to the forefront after fruitless efforts by Hogan to save her. Yung and Allie controlled the majority of this match as they prevented Grace from making any impact in this contest and in the end Hogan fell victim to the mandible claw from Allie. After the conclusion of the match, the undead bridesmaids carried out a casket for Hogan, however, when it was opened Rosemary emerged! After she laid waste to Su Yung and the bridesmaids, she encountered Allie in the ring briefly only to have Allie flee.

Falls Count Anywhere Match

Eddie Edwards vs. Moose

Winner: Eddie Edwards via pinfall

The feud between these former friends finally came to a head this evening. After Edwards “snapped” backstage shortly after Bound for Glory, he was “committed” to Shady Acres Mental Institution in Baltimore, Maryland. Edwards finally made his escape after he was supplied with a keycard by the one and only Raven-who told him he checks himself in once a month. The bout arrived at its conclusion as Edwards proceeded to brutalize Moose with a kendo stick late in the contest. Edwards’ wife Alisha then came down to the ring to seemingly stop him from inflicting more damage to Moose’s cranium. Instead, Alisha took the kendo stick from her husband and continued the assault. Edwards put an exclamation point on his performance as he nailed the DDT to seal the victory.

Willie Mack vs. Sami Callihan

Winner: Sami Callihan via pinfall

Sami Callihan withstood a stunner, a standing moonsault, and the momentum Willie Mack carried throughout the match to finally execute a devastating piledriver for the pinfall victory, with a surprisingly minimal amount of influence from Dave Crist at ringside.

Monster’s Ball Match

Abyss vs. Eli Drake

Winner: Eli Drake

Eli Drake entered this match claiming that he would put an end to hardcore wrestling by defeating The Monster Abyss. Despite being choke slammed onto a pile of thousands of tacks which left his back a bloody and metallic mess, despite being tossed out of the ring and through a table propped up on the outside, and despite the introduction of “Janice” (Abyss’ 2x4 lined with nails), Drake got the upper hand after he tossed a handful of tacks into the face of Abyss late in the contest. Drake proceeded to victimize Abyss with a plethora of chair shots before he finally broke a boat oar over his head to earn the pinfall.

Impact Wrestling Tag Team Championship

The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix) vs. LAX (Santana & Ortiz)

Winners: LAX via pinfall

LAX confronted the Lucha Bros on a recent episode of Impact boasting how they had beaten every tag team in Impact Wrestling and challenged them to a match with their titles on the line at Homecoming. This challenge was much to the behest of their manager Konnan who decided not to accompany them to the ring for the contest. The action was fast and furious throughout. Unfortunately, it seemed to end very abruptly as Fenix was the victim of a blitzkrieg as Ortiz hit him with a top rope Code Breaker, then Santana clocked him with a super kick, and finally both double teamed a dazed Fenix with a suplex that allowed Santana to earn the pinfall victory.

Impact Knockouts Championship

Tessa Blanchard (c) vs. Taya Valkyrie

Winner: Taya Valkyrie via pinfall

The feud between Valkyrie and Blanchard became so heated leading up to Homecoming that Impact Wrestling instilled Hall of Famer Gail Kim as the special guest referee. Late in the contest, Blanchard got into a verbal scuffle with Kim as she was seemingly frustrated with her inability to earn a pinfall. The war of words quickly escalated as Blanchard decided to shove Gail Kim. Kim took exception to this and caught Blanchard off guard with her finisher, Eat Defeat. Taya capitalized and followed up with the Road to Valhalla to become the new Knockouts Champion!

Impact World Championship

Johnny Impact (c) vs. Brian Cage

Winner: Johnny Impact

Brian Cage decided to implement Option C, made famous by Austin Aries, back in November as he cashed in the X Division Title for an opportunity to compete for the World Championship. Brian Cage should receive credit for putting on a very competitive match despite apparently nursing a hamstring injury (his hamstring was virtually covered in kinesio tape) which seemed to limit his typical variety of aerial maneuvers ,a man his size should not be able to execute.

After a evenly contested match, Johnny Impact attempted to end the contest as he landed Starship Pain and a top rope Spanish Fly, both of which Cage kicked out of. Then Brian Cage hit several power bombs and the Drill Claw, neither of which could put away Impact. Moments later, Cage was propelled into the barricade at ringside where two former Survivor contestants sat and proceeded to shove Cage. After Cage laid waste to one of them, he returned to the ring as the ref remained distracted and was not there to count Cage’s attempted pinfall.

The conclusion of the match arrived as Johnny Impact stood on the ring apron with Cage inside standing on the rope in an attempt to suplex him back inside. I’ll be honest, the end of this match just looked off. Cage attempted to suplex him multiple times to no avail and his final attempt saw Impact vault over the top and land on Cage in an awkward pinfall. The ref’s count even appeared as if it didn’t make it to three before Cage kicked out, but nonetheless, Johnny Impact’s music echoed through the arena before the ref made any indication of a pinfall putting an end to the contest. Cage then swiped the title from the ref and held it up in a brief protest before he dropped it in front of Impact and walked out of the arena.

After the match, Impact’s wife Taya Valkyrie joined him in the ring as the two world champs celebrated together. The two walked to the top of the exit ramp to again pose with their titles as everyone assumed the pay-per-view was over. Just then, Killer Kross emerged from the back to victimize Johnny Impact. As he was laid out at ringside, Taya tried to avenge her husband only to be hoisted up by Kross in a power bomb starting position and he proceeded to vault her into the crowd. The show ended with Kross exiting the arena, maniacal expression and all, seemingly propelling himself into the title picture.

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products! 

Impact Wrestling Slammiversary XVI Recap

Impact Wrestling presented us with Slammiversary XVI from the Rebel Entertainment Complex in Toronto, Canada this evening. The card boasted eight matches with four titles contested. What has become one of the few staple pay per views that Impact presents each year far exceeded expectations and quickly made me forget (or care) that I gave Cox Cable $49.99.

Johnny Impact vs. Petey Williams vs. “Bone Soldier” Taiji Ishimori vs. Fenix
Winner: Johnny Impact

Slammiversary hit the ground running with four of the most exciting, high-flying competitors in professional wrestling today. The match was originally supposed to feature newly signed Rich Swann but unfortunately he sustained a concussion earlier in the week and was unable to compete. The Canadian crowd certainly did not object to his replacement, however, as the master of the Canadian Destroyer, Petey Williams was the first contestant introduced. This match also featured the Impact returns of Johnny Impact and Taiji Ishimori with the newly acquired moniker of the Bone Soldier after his inclusion as part of NJPW’s famed Bullet Club stable. This bout ended in a flurry as we were treated to a 450 splash from Ishimori, followed by a Canadian Destroyer by Williams, then a Fenix Springboard from Fenix, and finally Starship Pain from Johnny Impact for the win.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Allie
Winner: Tessa Blanchard

This was a late edition to the card and pleasantly surprised all who bore witness to it. Allie brought the fight to the daughter of the legendary Tully Blanchard but the Allie Valley Driver, Code Breaker, and Best Superkick Ever were not enough as Tessa hit the DDT for the win.

House of Hardcore Match
Tommy Dreamer vs. Eddie Edwards
Winner: Eddie Edwards

Sure Tommy Dreamer is 47-year- old but he came to put on a show this evening and made everyone remember why he’s known as the Innovator of Violence. On a side note, Dreamer also had a shirt that I’m going to need to find… It featured a cheese grater with blood and said “Make Wrestling Grate Again.”  This match certainly lived up to its hardcore branding as Tommy Dreamer wasted no time stealing a woman’s beer in the front row, taking a mouthful, and smashing Edwards in the face with it before he used a staple gun to bust open The Lone Wolf. The match eventually came to its conclusion as Dreamer, with his face propped against the back of a steel chair, was delivered a Boston Knee Party from Edwards who earned the victory.

X-Division Championship
Matt Sydal ( c ) vs. Brian Cage
Winner: Brian Cage

This bout, which I anticipated would be a squash match, was actually quite competitive to the point where it appeared Sydal was going to retain his title. In the final moments of the bout, Sydal scaled his way to the top turnbuckle to attempt the Shooting Star Press on a prone Brian Cage. On the way down, Sydal’s foot caught the rope and Cage got his boot up in Sydal’s face. Cage then quickly recovered and nailed Sydal with the Drill Claw to become the newly crowned X-Division Champ.

Knockouts Championship
Su Yung ( c ) vs. Madison Rayne
Winner: Su Yung

Madison Rayne overcame the distraction of the undead bridesmaids at ringside and dominated Su Yung with the Ripcord Cutter and the Raindrop only to succumb to Yung’s version of the Mandible Claw. After the match, Rayne was placed in a coffin and carried out of the arena in another disturbing display of showmanship by Su Yung.

Impact Wrestling Tag Team Championship 5150 Street Fight
LAX ( c ) vs. OGz
Winners: LAX

This match pitted the latest incarnation of the Latin American Xchange, comprised of Santana and Ortiz, with their manager Konnan against the original incarnation of LAX, Homicide and Hernandez, accompanied by King. This match came about after Konnan was “taken out” backstage at the Redemption pay per view by unknown assailants. Kingston, a former member of the short-lived DCC, reemerged shortly thereafter as “King” and took Ortiz and Santana under his guidance en route to the tag team championship. Once Konnan made his return and exposed King, Homicide and Hernandez returned with the classic backstory of being forgotten when LAX was reformed. This match certainly attempted to one-up the Dreamer/Edwards match as the ring quickly became littered with tables, trash cans, brooms, and hockey sticks. It appeared the OGz were on their way to a victory after Hernandez put Ortiz through a table via the Border Toss, but leave it to Konnan to get involved. Konnan distracted Homicide as he tossed a bag of tacks to Santana. Santana tossed a handful in the face of Homicide and body slammed him onto the rest.  Santana then went to the top turnbuckle and hit the Frogsplash to retain the titles. The victory didn’t last long as the OGz jumped LAX from behind and defaced the titles by tagging them with their moniker.

Mask vs. Hair Match
Pentagon Jr. vs. Sami Callihan
Winner: Pentagon Jr.

This match was the definition of pure, unadulterated violence. Shortly after Callihan introduced some chairs to the match, he escalated the situation and acquired some railroad spikes from under the ring. Callihan proceeded to pierce the forehead of Pentagon to the point where he bled through his mask but the tables were quickly turned as Callihan got greedy and went for a baseball bat providing Pentagon with the opening he needed. Pentagon then took possession of the spikes and drove one into the forehead of Sami until he wore a crimson mask. While WWE’s Extreme Rules was an entertaining pay-per-view last weekend, this match was what one would expect to have seen on a card with that branding. In the end, Pentagon Jr. “broke” Callihan’s arm and hit the Pentagon Driver for the pinfall victory. Callihan tried to escape with the assistance of OVE, but Pentagon’s brother Fenix put an end to that, and the rabid Toronto crowd was able to witness Callihan have his head shaved.

Impact Heavyweight Championship
Austin Aries ( c ) vs. Moose
Winner: Austin Aries

Moose finally earned his shot at the title after he successfully supplanted Eli Drake from the title picture on an earlier edition of Thursday Night Impact. Moose was certainly game for the match and put his strength and size advantage into full effect, however, Aries showed what a ring general he truly is as his technical prowess showed through in the long run. The Greatest Man That Ever Lived put his freakish strength on display as he finished off Moose with the Brainbuster for the pinfall victory to retain his title.

-The Buckle Bomb with Steve Ward

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!