Superstar Sleeze

Impact World Heavyweight Champion Johnny Impact vs Brian Cage - Impact Homecoming 2019 Brian Cage scooting his ass in the middle of the ring to get in position for a Shining Wizard only to duck to get into the next move IS everything wrong with professional wrestling in the 21st Century. There is a great story about the GOAT, Eddie Van Halen and when he came in to do the solo on "Beat It". He did not just come in and shred. He listening to the song, to the rhythm section. He said if we change the bridge to my solo, I can do this, it will sound better. He took the time to create an organic transition so that his solo would have the most impact. Pro wrestlers SHOULD NOT be moving to get in position for the next spot, the next spot should be done because thats where the fucking pro wrestler is. If you want to get to a specific spot think 2 to 3 moves ahead, play that game of human chess and make it happen. I dont want to see 280lbs, jacked to the gills Brian Cage scooting around like he is a dog wiping his ass after a shit. I am not one for one spot to mar the entire match for me, but I needed to get that off my chest. I should say that Brian Cage is not the only guilty party, pretty much every wrestler in the 2010s is guilty of that shit and it sucks. A lot of wrestlers lament that when the fans stopped believing in kayfabe that wrestling went downhill. I say it was when the wrestlers stopped believing in kayfabe that wrestling shit the bed. I thought the middle stretch of this match sucked out loud. Both guys looked like they were blowed up. It was slow, clunky and dawdling. Neither man seemed to have a clear strategy what they were trying to do. There is this utterly bizarre stretch where Cage roars back and hits a German only for Johnny Impact to hit two Moonlight Drives with zero transition. It was terrible. That German Suplex in the ropes was a farce and even Don Callis had to call it out, but Cage took the Snap Back Bump anyways. Before you know it is Cage with an F-5, in fairness they did at least set that up with a failed attempt at Starship Pain. Before you know it Morrison is back at it. There was no flow. There were long stretches of down time. They were just throwing shit out there. I did like the beginning and I actually had high hopes for the beginning based on the start of the match. I really do enjoy Johnny Impact as a wrestler even if this was a pretty bad performance from him. I liked how he used his evasiveness and feigned strikes to set up big offense against Cage vs Cage's raw power. It was a clever story. It was not power vs speed per se, but Morrison was actually playing the mental game well. That's not something you see to often. The heat segment at the beginning that starts with Cage's sad attempt at a Backlund lift. Can I take a second put over how fucking strong Bob Backlund is? All these boydbuilders show you they do not have the pure strength of The Man Bob Backlund baby, a power wrestler's wrestler. Love you, Bob! The Backlund lift ends pitifully into the buckles. The rest of the heat segment was great. Loved the dual Tilt-a-Whirl backbreakers and the two monkey flips were awesome! So damn good! Somewhere in there I think it was between the Backlund lift and the Tilt-A-Whirl Backbreaker was the Spot of the Match. Cage single legs Morrison while he is on the ropes. Morrison's head hits the top turnbuckle and he SNAPS into a front belly flop on the mat. AWESOME DOUBLE BUMP! Gnarly! Loved that! I liked the move to transition back to Morrison. Morrison hits this insane somersault, corkscrew knee thing off the top onto the floor that looked awesome. Seriously first 5 minutes of this was killer. The middle was atrocious. The finish was not too much better. They wake me up from my nap when Cage does not even take a one count after a Super Spanish Fly. He HULKS UP! Finally some personality, some testosterone and SOME URGENCY! HELL YEAH! CAGE OBLITERATES MORRISON WITH THREE BRUTAL POWERBOMBS! HELL YEAH! Weapon X is a fucking shitty 21st Century Wrestling Move, BUT AT LEAST IT IS A BIG BOMB! BOMBS AWAY! Terrible transition to Cage going to the floor, a weak Morrison superkick that makes no sense. Morrison's Survivor Castmates are here. Cage gets involved with them. He shoves one. He hits the Drillclaw in the ring but the ref is fiddlefucking with the Survivor fans. Homecoming is Impact Wrestling going back to the Asylum in Nashville. Welp, this is a very TNA finish. The ref makes his way back in for two. Cage goes for the Cesaro suplex from the middle rope and Impact fucks up the counter, who knows and it is three. First five minutes is really good, Cage's Hulk Up is amazing, the middle is shit and the finish is drizzling shits. I get it you need to protect Cage, but it felt like the climax of the match was Cage/Survivor Dudes/2 count. Impact's win just had to exist to get them to the rematch and it was totally tacked on. That's what I mean. Where was the thought put into this? Incredibly disappointing, these two should have had a way better match.

Impact Women's Champion Tessa Blanchard vs Taya Valkyrie - Impact Homecoming 2019 SGR: Gail Kim Gail Kim in that referee outfit...Shawn Michaels eat your heart out...WOW! Impact being a well-booked company actually set up the troubleshooting referee well with Tessa getting two retentions because of a questionable refereeing and the other being her slugging the ref. So we need a badass ref like Gail Kim who can impose her authority and not take shit. I dig. I am glad Taya dropped the Viking Queen aspect of her gimmick and embraced being Wera Loca. I liked this match and was close to loving it, but fell out of love with it by the end. Taya used a Lucha Armdrag very early and after that it was off to the races. A good combination of Lucha Libre/solid kicks made for a fun shine. I liked the double stomp a lot. Tessa powdering was great and I loved how she transitioned to heat where Taya was caught in between the ropes trying to give chase. The best part of the heat segment was on the outside. Tessa let that mean streak out and she hit hard & furious. Good stuff. Back in, we start to see that friction between Kim and Blanchard. Ultimately, the match became a backdrop for the angle, which is disappointing in a way because I had grown fond of Taya and didnt think she deserved to be the third wheel in her big championship victory. Taya uses her power advantage to work her way back into the match big time German Suplex and Northern Lights Suplex. Tessa is a powerhouse in her own right so it is cool to see someone throw her around. Taya's moonsault is very graceful, nice arch, very pretty but in this case she crashes & burns. Now here come the shenanigans. First Gail Kim gets bumped. Tessa hits her finish but Gail isnt around. So Tessa gets the Title Belt presumably to crack Taya. At this point, Gail has arisen from her slumber. They tussle over the championship but Gail Kim as she wrests the belt from Tessa loses control and whacks Taya with it. Ruh roh! Shades of Summerslam 1997?!? Taya kicks out at 2. I think Gail Kim and Tessa brawl breaking out at this point makes more sense. The kickout at 2 didnt have much heat on it. Lots of shoving. Tessa got another nearfall, which I was surprised by again not much heat. Im really glad the quick schoolboy rollup didnt win for Taya that would have been lame. However, it doesnt get much better as Gail Kim hits Eat Defeat and Taya hits Road to Valhalla to win. I think if I was booking. It would be errant belt shot. Brawl for 2 minutes or so, but no clear winner. Taya recovers and hits a setup move and then Road to Valhalla to win. You put over the Gail Kim/Tessa feud, give the people a hot brawl and Taya gets a much better win. I think another reason they didnt get much heat is that Tessa didn't do anything heelish! Yes mean muggin' and aggression arent endearing, but she was not being a coward, overtly violent or a cheat (ok belt shot). I think if Tessa ratchets up the heel heat the finish gets way more over and there is less booing of Taya's victory. They were turning Taya/Morrison heel so I think that's why they didnt protect her more, but still Tessa ratcheting up the heel heat helps her feud with Gail Kim. There was good stuff in this match but the finish was flat when I think it could have been a home run. ***

Impact World Tag Team Champions LAX (Santana & Ortiz) vs Pentagon Jr & Fenix - Impact Homecoming 2019 I was kinda dreading this, but this match was a lot better than I expected. Besides the insanely awesome Street Fight against Best Friends, LAX has been a dud for me in AEW thus far. They need more performances like this. Lots of urgency and excitement. It ensnared me. Pentagon & Fenix I know the drill by now. They could be greatest of all time contenders, but they either dont know any better or they dont care when it comes to psychology. LAX's first offensive run was a thing of beauty. If all spotfests were this good, I would never complain. Hand To God. Immediate urgency. Engrossing. Fenix's body control is sublime. Those two dives to the floor maybe the two greatest dives in history. It was so fast & furious I cant remember the rest but it was really, really good. Yes LAX during their offense was a notch below, but still it is attiude that matters. Their attitude was in it to win it, hit hard & fast and just bring it. Ortiz's Homicide-esque cannonball outside was great, good stuff from Santana. Lets call a spade a spade, after this it went downwhill fast. Out came, the overly elaborate, overly telepgraphed, "lets gets everyone in perfect position" spots. It was too bad. The cutesy shit with the kicks was so fucking lame. A couple good things down the stretch that I loved. Pentagon's Canadian Destroyer was Holy Shit Awesome! It popped the crowd and it popped me! The symmetry of the Double Stomp/Package Piledriver and Street Sweeper both being broken up in a Epic Fashion. Really loved that. I kinda found the finish to be a little anti-climatic. I think I am so used to these things going ad nauseum, way past their expiration date. They hit the chic spots: Ace Crusher and Codebreaker to win. Once I got over my surprise that it ended so quickly, I would say it became more of a pleasant surprise. It was refreshing to be short, sweet. See I dont hate all spotfests, just bad ones. This was one of the good ones, but it take out the overly telegraphed, cutesy shit and this is a best spotfest of all time contender, but even with it in there it is still great. ****

Su Yung & Allie vs Jordynne Grace & Kiera Hogan - Impact Homecoming 1/6/19 So since Bound For Glory, Allie has transitioned to the Dark Side and has become Dark Allie complete with dye job and face paint joining Su Yung in the process. Kiera Hogan needed back-up enter rookie supernova, Jordynne Grace is a phenomenal powerhouse. I looked it up Jordynne Grace has been wrestling since 2012 WTF, mate?!? Still her first major break was in late 2018 as part of Impact so I am sticking with rookie supernova. Not a match I expect to remember tomorrow, but a fun little tag. I have come to hate Tree of Woe spots but Su Yung does a nifty one where Kiera Hogan sits up to avoid the dropkick to the head and Su Yung pivots into a neckbreaker that was nifty. I like Su Yung crawl up the turnbuckles and do a hurricanarana. I know Allie needed to play up the whole Dark Allie gimmick, but it was just so many facial expressions and not a lot of substance. Su Yung is so good at her gimmick it is hard to be in her shadow. Hogan had a nice shine at the beginning but other than that didnt see much out of her. Grace was a great hot tag. Couple big right hammocks to Su Yung especially the one as Su Yung was about to dive, a little too telegraphed but great execution. Finish was so well-done. It reminded me of the 80s where the finish was actually used to advance the plot. Su Yung blood mists Jordynne Grace to take her out. Dark Allie Codebreakers Hogan. Su Yung gives the bloody glove to Dark Allie for the Mandible Claw win. After the match, they rough up Hogan so more and the Nashville crowd chants for Rosemary! Fancy that! A storyline that resonated with people and characters they feel invested in so the crowd naturally does what you want! Who would have known? I love it! They threaten to stuff Hogan in a coffin as the Undead Bridesmaids wheel one out. ROSEMARY POPS OUT OF THE CASKET! Doesnt get quite the pop they wanted or expected! But they do eventually chant for her again that was cool. She uses Su Yung as a bowling ball to knock down the Undead Bridesmaids. Then stareoff with Dark Allie but nothing comes of it as expected. Great angle to close. This felt very 80s in a very good way! ***1/2

Michael Elgin vs Rich Swann - Impact 5/17/19 Elgin recently debuted in Impact less than a month ago taking out the new champion, Brian Cage. Elgin is being pushed very similarly as Cage as a hybrid athlete, an athletic jock meathead. Cage is the babyface version and Elgin is the heel version. Elgin is hospitalizing wrestlers including Cage. Swann stood up to him and that's how we got here. This is coming from the ECW Arena, but there is no Hat Guy so it doesnt feel like the ECW Arena. Very much a 21st Century workrate match with not much in the way of hooks but a whole lot of noizzzze. Elgin could be a great wrestler but he is too busy trying to prove he can hang when I would much rather see him bang. Swann is good craic but he aint the guy to carry this, mack. Workrate sequences to start. They kill time. Elgin catches Swann with an elbow to the back of the head and throws Swann on his head. Damn that looked nasty. I perked up. Elgin worked an alright heat segment. I liked the hope spot with Swann knocking him off only to have Elgin hit a ground to air anti-air dropkick to counter Swann. That was the only time Elgin's hybrid athleticism looked scary. It looked like nothing Swann could do would be able to beat Elgin as he a power and athletic advantage. Then Swann countered the Elginbomb with a DDT and the match just became a normal workrate match. Swann hit three dives to the floor and then a top rope elbow drop. Back from the break, they just do some inconsequential stand up wrestling. The lariats from Elgin at least looked meaty and impactful. The finish is Swann hits the 450 Splash (ugly, fell short), but misses Phoenix Splash. Elgin hits the Lariat and Elginbomb and only gets two. This is the move that hospitalized your World Champion and Rich Swann kicks out at two because it is a wrestling match. C'mon bro. Swanna hits a couple Dragonrana because it is 2019, the second one was a pretty nasty spike. Somehow we end up on the floor. Elgin powerbombs Swann into the post three times. Oh shit! Some actual storytelling advancement. Instead of chasing "This is Awesome" Chants how about Swann misses the Phoenix Splash and it leads to Elgin powerbombing Swann mercilessly into the post. Protects Elgin's finish and makes Elgin look like a monster. I guess this was ok for 2019. ***

No official review I was too busy marking out with my Mom watching Sasha die for our sins! We are not worthy! If there is one thing you can count is that Sasha Banks DELIVERS IN HELL IN A CELL! Holy shit that was kickass! The weird shit with the duct tape keeps below the AJ vs Bryan classic BUT Deathwish Sasha is the best Sasha! I counted 4 insane bumps and the two with the Kendo Sticks and the stairs what the fuckity fuck fuck. I LOVE HER! Great transitions! Great selling! Sasha snapping towards the end was great. The drop kick of the chair out of the ring was the perfect beginning. The La Mistica Bank Statement! THE METEORA UP THE TABLE!!! THE POWERBOMB BACK OF THE HEAD INTO THE CHAIR!!! The chair up on the Frogsplash! The Bayley 2 Belly steal! THE EPIC BANK STATEMENT FINISH! Are there enough stars in the sky for all this epic ness? I am not sure! Loved that match!

If there is one thing you can count is that Sasha Banks DELIVERS IN HELL IN A CELL! Holy shit that was kickass! The weird shit with the duct tape keeps below the AJ vs Bryan classic BUT Deathwish Sasha is the best Sasha! I counted 4 insane bumps and the two with the Kendo Sticks and the stairs what the fuckity fuck fuck. I LOVE HER! Great transitions! Great selling! Sasha snapping towards the end was great. The drop kick of the chair out of the ring was the perfect beginning. The La Mistica Bank Statement! THE METEORA UP THE TABLE!!! THE POWERBOMB BACK OF THE HEAD INTO THE CHAIR!!! The chair up on the Frogsplash! The Bayley 2 Belly steal! THE EPIC BANK STATEMENT FINISH! Are there enough stars in the sky for all this epic ness? I am not sure! Loved that match!

Bobby Roode vs James Storm - TNA Bound For Glory 2012 Street Fight Beer Money Explodes~! One of the last angles I watched as a regular TNA viewer was when Roode turned on Storm the year prior by breaking the beer bottle over his head. They got a year out of the feud which is pretty good. King Mo is the Special Enforcer just because. As far as 21st Century brawls go this was pretty damn good. It felt more hate-filled than most nowadays. There was lets Feng Shui bullshit and more just pound the shit out of each other. Storm also tapped a gusher. He was wearing the full on Crimson Mask so that was pretty badass. They were throwing the haymakers to start, the babyface Storm held the advantage early. The Russian Legsweep into the railing by Storm was sick, love that spot. He wanted to slam Roode through the really nice glass table, but Roode wriggled free and catapulted Storm into the post which busted him wide open. In terms of weapons, it was mostly the garbage can and the kendo stick, but more garbage can. I thought them smacking each other with garbage can lids came off really good and really intense. I liked how Storm punctuated it with the massive garbage can shot to the head. Roode sold well and he bumped well for a random Codebreaker. In a different life, Roode was a tremendous stooge heel that bumped 'n' run rather than a HHH-wannabe. Storm had hit the Orton DDT on the ramp and Roode followed suit with the Spinebuster. King Mo was selling the violence really well. They do a little Follow The Leader to the announce tables. Roode tackles Storm off the primary announce table through the Spanish Announce Table. Roode only gets two and he is incredulous and tries to intimidate the ref. This is when King Mo steps in. Storm gets that Codebreaker I was talking about and the Last Call Superkick for a hot nearfall. Roode throws Storm into a chair and then grabs the tacks. King Mo sells the tacks bump well. Roode goes into them after being shoved off the top. Flat back bump into the tacks. Storm was a little tentative on the elbow drop into the tacks. I dont blame him. I would be most concerned about one of those hitting me in the eye so the flat back seems a little safer. Roode had two stuck in the back of his head. Wild. Roode low blow. Time to get the beer bottles. That's really what the feud is about to so it is an appropriate way to end it. Roode goes to smash one, but Storm punts him between the uprights and gets the bottle and smashes it over his head. The crowd wants one more but Storm sticks to the script Last Call and Roode takes another bump into the tacks. I thought this was a great blood-soaked, hate-filled brawl. I would have liked this to have been a bit more uptempo and a little more struggle. As far as 21st Century brawling this is pretty damn great but still not as good as the incredible James Storm vs Chris Harris Death Match! ****

AJ Styles vs Sandman - NWA-TNA 2/26/03 Shoutout to @Microstatistics for nominating this as a part of Greatest Match Ever! I wouldnt go that far but this is definitely worth a watch. I am one of the biggest AJ fanboys you will ever meet. I think a lot of people would assume if it is good well AJ must have carried it, but you'd be wrong. I don't know how to explain it. Sandman for all intents and purposes should be the worst wrestler ever. He is slovenly, out of shape, does not seem like gives a shit, but he is capable of being really fucking good. Yes he has more clunkers than great matches, but after watching a boat load of ECW he became one of my favorites. His matches are just engrossing. They are quick and they escalate really well. He comes off incredibly organic and raw. There is nothing artificial or pre-planned about The Sandman. He is all attitude and heart. He is like a great, sloppy punk band. He fucking kicked ass again. The only reason I dont rate this match higher is the finish was a cop-out and made the match feel truncated. They were on a trajectory for greatness, they just needed five more minutes and a better finish. Sandman forces himself on one of the cage dancers. I mean two heaping helpings of ass cheeks and full on tongue down the throat. It was a culture shock. I cant believe that was only 17 years ago. He does the full Sandman entrance. He shares a beer with a fan and smokes a cig. Don West says a smooch, smoke and a swig is the best way to prepare for a match. DW is definitely a fan. AJ gets fed up with this and wipes out The Sandman with a dive to the floor. Rifles him with a kick. AJ Wrestles circles around Sandman quite literally and Sandman puts enough struggle to make it look really good. I would love AJ bust out his amateur credentials more often. Another wicked kick by AJ. Oh yes the reason this match exists. AJ wants to join SEX 4 Life, I mean who doesnt, but so does Raven. You name your faction SEX people are gonna flock. Raven mocks AJ for diminutive stature and says the Sandman would whup him. AJ says Raven is an out of shape, washed up has been who could hang in the X-Division so Raven needs to wrestle an X-Division wrestler. So the gauntlet has been laid down. Also random aside, in the middle of the show, I had to click around to find the match, Impact+ doesnt have the WWE frame by frame guide. I stumbled upon Mike Tenay and Disco Inferno having a fucking forum flame war over why wrestling's TV audience has been cut in half since the Monday Night Wars and the merits of Sports Entertainment and Pro Wrestling. Bizarre and whats weirder is I feel like people are still fighting about today on forums and Twitter. Back to the match, so after showing up Sandman wrestling-wise, AJ wants to prove his hardcore mettle. So he lobs a trash can in Terry Funk-style and nails Sandman. He goes to drop toehold Sandman into it but Sandman evades and CHUCKS THE CAN AT AJ! Sandman is so good at selling and the way he chucked the can was great. He grabs a table sets it up and AJ crashes through it. The match is awesome and breezy and each highspot feels important. AJ evading the Singapore Cane was great. Sandman avoids Styles Clash by cracking the Cane on AJ's skull. Sandman sends AJ into a chair that pops out the backing. The match was just rocking when Raven blasts Sandman in the back with the chair and Styles his Styles Clash off the second rope. It is a real shame I feel like the match was just getting good and the interference didnt really make sense in context of the story (I know, I know, Russo). I enjoyed this could have been great with more time and a proper finish. ***3/4

NWA World Heavyweight Champion vs Raven - NWA-TNA 8/27/03 I am really glad I went back and watched this one because this was awesome! I may have watched this live. We had a cable scrambler back in the day so I watched all the WWE PPVs from 2003 and I distinctly remember AJ vs D'Lo being the first TNA match I saw. I remembered the Raven hanging at the hands of Shane Douglas/New Church. Also I remember the Glen Gilberti/Simon Diamond/Johnny Swinger team around this time. I dont remember anything about this match but it was a banger. This is the best Raven has ever looked in the ring in my opinion. He was moving great and is well-suited to be a babyface. It was so refreshing for the crowd to be solidly behind one wrestler as opposed to just chanting "This Is Awesome!". There was an absolutely thunderous "Go Raven Go" chant during the heat segment. The nearfalls for Raven got nuclear heat. AJ starts the match throwing kicks trying to knot up the hammy but Raven just decks and Raven uses his size to assert his dominance. Shouldertackle for a quick cover. Raven holds the ropes on the dropkick attempt and headbutts AJ in the nads. Great shit! Raven chucks out over the top rope in a cool way. I thought AJ was going to take a back body drop but Raven held him on the shoulder and javelin threw him out. Raven brutalizes him on the outside busting him open with the trash can and then repeatedly Russian Legsweeping into the railing. This was an awesome shine! Uptempo and everyone was rocking with Raven. Russo distracts Raven. AJ punts him in the balls and hits his Quebrada/DDT. The Gathering (CM Punk sighting) carry Russo out. AJ hits an Enziguiri and locks in the Mutalock. MASSIVE GO RAVEN GO CHANT! Raven hits a superkick for a hope spot and big pop! AJ with a springboard Rana takes back control. This being 2003 we get a lot of move stealing. AJ drop toeholds Raven face first into the chair but only gets two. When he tries again, Raven puts on the brakes and chucks the chair at AJ! That was awesome! Raven fires up! I mean FIRES THE FUCK UP! I dont think I have ever seen him like this! I love it! Raven rebound clothesline, you know the spot, Million Dollar Kneelift! Raven is on fire! I thought he was going DDT, but instead goes Drop Toehold on the Chair. AJ Goes all Sabu and is thinking Triple Jump Moonsault but as he comes off the top rope Raven hurls the chair at him! ALL THE STARS! MARK OUT CITY! 1-2-NO! Nuclear heat on that nearfall. I thought this was an example of fun, exciting overbooking. Raven counters an AJ rana with a Styles Clash! Very 2003. Sinn of the New Church pulls the ref out. AJ inadvertently dropkicks Sinn. Raven and AJ bump the ref tussling for a DDT. Raven hits the DDT but the crowd does not care because they know more interference is coming. Raven kicks the powder into Slash's face. I love that spot! Slash in his blindness hits his finish on AJ to a NUCLEAR NEARFALL! The crowd wanted that bad. Here comes Shane Douglas who is Raven's main rival comes out and knocks him off the top on a superplex attempt. HOWEVER, Raven powerbombed AJ coming off the top rope for another big nearfall. The crowd is ravenous for Raven. Douglas punts Raven in the balls and Styles Clash finishes Raven off. I liked this overbooking because it was fun & exciting to watch Raven come up with different ways to overcome the odds and I love how shit kept backfiring against the heels. AJ dropkicking Sinn, Slash Slamming AJ, Shane pushing Raven off, but Raven still executes the powerbomb. It was a really clever and entertaining way to do. ****1/4 Big melee ensues. Erik Fucking Watts comes out looking like the biggest Nickelback tool who ever walked the Earth. I was 14 at this time and all I knew of Erik Watts was from reading Scott Keith and how he threw the worst dropkick in history. I think I have seen it, but you know what I really should track that dropkick down. Watts is a toolbox and makes Wargames for next week. Then Dusty comes in, I wish Dusty cut the entire promo. Dusty is the man!

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett vs AJ Styles - NWA-TNA 2/19/03 I have never seen a Jarrett vs AJ match and I thought I should at least watch one. Jarrett is NWA babyface with basically zero friends. We are unsure if AJ Styles is SEX 4 Life, but at the end of the match we find out he only believe in monogamous relationships when he takes out Sonny Siaki (remember him?!?). AJ is playing a cocky jock who think he is the GOAT already and he would eventually make his case. :) I do like some overbooking but prefer it to be backloaded. This was filled with the usual Jarrett/TNA/Russo BS. Larry Legend is AJ's mentor and he keeps tripping Jarrett up and even decks him with Knux but Jarret lifts the shoulder at the last second. It was lame. That interference is better served at the end. There were two ref bumps. One was to allow the Harris Twins in and the other was to protect The Stroke. The Harris Twins were beaten back by the unlikely duo of Vader and Dusty Rhodes. TNA was a strange, strange place. Then there Sonny Siaki who was SEX 4 Life who beat up Jarrett but AJ says not this way and he gives him the Styles Clash. Jarrett attacks him from behind and hits the Stroke from the second rope for the win. Before all this unnecessary interference (only Siaki's was of interest to move the plot forward), they were having a great match that featured a lot of good Memphis punches. They had good chemistry I could see in a different promotion in a different time them having a great match. Both men had their right uppercut working. I loved AJ's dropkick. Jarrett's plancha to the floor was awesome and showed how bad he wanted it. AJ going for the figure-4 after the Knux shot only to switch to the Sleeper was good. There was a nice spot on how Jarrett broke the Mutalock with them both getting to the knees and Jarrett hitting stiff shots to get out. The Stroke and Styles Clash were good nearfalls. The overbooking was unnecessary and really detracted from the match especially because it caused wacky selling from Jarrett who took Brass Knuckles, Harris Twins Finish, Styles Clash and Siaki finish and after all that he popped up and hit the Stroke. It showed promise but it was ultimately not very good.

Ethan Carter III vs Rockstar Spud - TNA Impact 3/13/15 Hair vs Hair I am shocked there was no thread for this. When did these subforums get made? I know I am so old that my joining predates these subforums so maybe that's why. I went to Shoe's 2015 MOTY thread from 2015 and there were some real heavyweights weighing in on this match. Outside of the Broken Hardy stuff, this is by far and away the most famous thing to come out of TNA's darkest times 2014-2017. Pretty simple story, heel Ethan Carter III levels up to mega-heel when he turns on his heel lackey Rockstar Spud. I always think that's the ultimate heel dick move. You build up this relationship and it sort of humanizing like ECIII is a prick but the friendship with Spud is cute. Then when he beats the shit out him you really hate him. It is a great plot device to build the character. ECIII has gone all Brutus The Barber and is shaving people bald including Spud's close friend, "JB" Jeremy Borash. This is coming out of Spud's home country of England and he leads the audience in a rendition of God Save The Queen and it is just as rousing as when Slaughter did the Pledge of Allegiance in Allentown. What makes this work is this a Memphis-Style, Southern-Fried, Blood-Soaked Brawl! You almost dont need a review because it is so elegant in its layout. Spud is full of piss & vinegar to start and is red-hot. ECIII has a big, clunky arm brace on, probably for a Staph infection, I reckon. It is his best weapon. Spud climaxes his shine with a big dive to the floor. Here comes the Funkasaurus! I forgot about him. He attacks. Mr. Anderson takes him out. This gives ECIII the advantage and the consolidates that when he wildly clips Spud with the arm brace and this busts Spud open. This is definitely enhanced by the blood. Some people didnt like the Borash bit but I loved it. ECIII was doing an ok just on the heat segment as Spud was selling like a million bucks. The Borash bit is what put this over for me. ECIII throwing the bloodied Spud at his feet and taunting him. I thought JB was not going to do anything but he came in low blowed ECIII. Great spot! Popped me! Stunner 1-2-3! Great hope spot/nearfall. ECIII hit a TKO to take back control. Spud made his comeback including a Testicular Claw which popped me and taking a bunch of spots from the stars of yore. Spud goes for Sliced Bread which he should have hit and ECIII could have kicked out for the nuclear nearfall. One of the few times I have ever said they should not have protected the finish. It would have put the match over. ECIII clips with the arm brace again and his lame finisher it is just a bulldog finishes him off. ECIII disingenuously puts ECIII which you can smell from a mile away but hey thats what makes wrestling fun. He beats up Spud and shaves him from the Tree of Woe which I loved! ECIII could have been more vicious on offense and this could have used that Sliced Bread nearfall but besides that this was an awesome throwback to the days of yesterday when the blood flowed and fists flew. Spud truly was a rockstar on this night! ****1/4

TNA World Tag Team Champions Bobby Roode & Austin Aries vs The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) - TNA Impact 7/1/15 30 minute Ironman First 15 minutes: No Falls to start. All the action is tight and good, but not really much happened. I cant even say oh they threw a ton of highspots. They just worked solid but not much was advanced in terms of the plot. I liked all the arm wringers. Roode stood out to me as the best verbal seller of the bunch and exhibiting the most struggle. Good stuff selling the arm wringer and an Indian Deathlock. I liked all the eyepokes and eyerakes by the Dirty Heels. The shine was not super strong but it was there. Aries deep, deep eyerake gets the transition to the heat segment. The heat segment was solid working over Edwards' leg. I liked the old school ref distraction and fake tags by the Heels, but it all just felt solid. It didnt move me. Writing this helped me realize what this reminds me of. It reminds me of the Hart Foundation vs British Bulldogs. It is well-worked, lots of action, but it doesnt move me emotionally. Davey gets the tag, not quite as explosive as a Davey Boy Smith hot tag with big dropkick but a pretty good hot tag. The Diving Headbutt into Roode as he sits up in a Tree Of Woe was fucking stupid. He kicks out. The Heels knock the Wolves off the top ropes and we go to commercial at the 13 minute mark, 17 minutes to go, it is 0-0. Last 15 minutes: We lose 5 minutes of this for commercials. I will admit I was confused. I thought The Wolves were Champions so I got really confused by the ending. It goes to show how bad the Matthews/Pope commentary team was. They do ratchet up the big bombs. Lots of big nearfalls. I really liked the Heels Missile Dropkick/Powerbomb combo. Edwards hits an overcomplicated running Stunner. There is a great German Suplex pinfall. They hit a double top rope double stomp. Lots of good jackknife covers. All kicks out. The Last Chancery had good heat because they were doing the whole All Japan Roode detains Richards, but Richards breaks free and breaks it up. The first fall does go to the heels. Aries hits his trademark running dropkick and Roode spinebuster, 450 splash. That was a great sequence. I thought at this point the Wolves just needed one fall to force the draw and retain. I didnt realize they needed two falls. Aries explodes into his Suicide Dive. I dont know what happened to Roode, but The Wolves hit a Powerbomb/Lungblower to knot it up. I was confused why the Wolves were still pressing. The last fall sucks. Roode hoists him up in a Firemans Carry Edwards crawls down and rolls him up for the win. Lame finish. The highspots got bigger but it still didnt do much for me. This Hart Foundation vs British Bulldogs for a modern audience for some that works for me, I think it is good, but not great. ***1/2

Impact Women's Champion Laurel Van Ness vs Allie - Impact 3/8/18 So I didnt know how to make heads or tails of Laurel Van Ness's gimmick (Laurel Van Ness is better known as Chelsea Green fyi). She has smeared lipstick over her mouth. I thought she was trying to do a psychotic valley girl but then I hit up Wikipedia. The backstory is pretty damn good. She was set to marry Allie's shoot husband aka The Blade. Blade left her at the altar for Allie. This caused her to descend into madness. Apparently, she used to wrestle in her tattered wedding dress and come out all boozed up/hungover. Awesome! Then she fell for Grado, a slovenly Scotsman who was looking for a Green Card. He rejected once he found out she was Canadian. Reading that popped the hell out of me. So she snaps again! Unfortunately she is not in her wedding dress for his match. Sounds like this match is a long time coming. Great way to start with Allie meeting her at the ramp and it is on like Donkey Kong! Great aggression on the outside. Laurel takes over. Very ok heat segment. The backstory was awesome, but her character work in the match was just fine. Allie is such a great fired up babyface. She hits a Codebreaker this starts her first comeback. Another trademark Allie spot is the suplex into buckles that gets two. They do some work with a chair on the outside that is pretty pedestrian. The match picks up again when Laurel hits the Unprettier on the floor. Drama is high now! Allie beats the count. Laurel hits a wicked curbstomp into the buckles again for two. Allie Valley Driver! Best Superkick Ever (it was actually her best superkick ever)! Allie was great. Laurel Van Ness was alright. The backstory sounds interesting but she did not inspire me to seek out more.

Impact World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries vs Johnny Impact - Bound for Glory 2018 So who had these two down for best shoot-style brawl of the 2010s? Anybody? Anybody? I love both dudes. I have been banging the Morrison drum for a while, but I thought this was his more visceral, pugnacious performance yet. The fucking wacky shoot ending is unprofessional as fuck and Aries is a massive prick for doing it, but it does add to bizarrely shoot-y nature of the match. It turns into more of a spectacle and Aries' rationale for it in an Instagram Live interview is all the more ridiculous, but first the match. The first five minutes of this match are absolutely killer. IT FEELS LIKE A FIGHT! Fancy that! Struggle, grappling, nasty, dirty. Pro Wrestling fans like me and a lot of people who will read this have become desensitized. Aries had insulted Morrison's wife, Taya who was also ringside. Morrison responded in kind by wrestling this match as a fight and being all fired up. It made the story more real. It was not just pretend oh let me watch these two dudes do pretty moves to each other. They went after it tooth & nail. The way Aries hooked in the Guillotine Choke and they tussled. They really ratcheted up the aggression It looked so good. They had a great slap exchange and they were just wailing on each other. Morrison's strikes were on point especially his elbows. Watch how Morrison hits that plancha to the outside. It was not Aries standing around, Morrison just dove on him. I thought when Morrison leapfrogged Aries on the outside and did a split leg on the apron & railing only to do a Pele Kick was his best, most impactful use of Parkoor ever. I liked how Aries took advantage time and time again when Morrison started going for too many flying/gymnast moves. Aries was wrestling a meat & potatoes style. I love how Aries chops so damn good. There's a great moment where Aries rifles him with a kick and Morrison steps up and clobbers him. It felt so damn real. Aries was a great heel. Taya had a perfect moment when Aries was taunting her, the way she screamed Fuck You and flipped off felt like a shoot I loved it. After getting cut off going for springboards, Morrison returns the favor as he rocks with an elbow as Aries was going for his full speed suicide dive. Springboard Corkscrew for Morrison and he hits his Tidal Wave kick as he finally earned those moves. I did think the following section not only dragged but departed from what made the match great, which was this hate-filled, pugnacious shoot-style so going for Spanish Flys and all that jazz took me out of it. When they started fighting on the apron, they got me back and form the Apron Death Valley Driver on this match just rocked. Aries hits a picture perfect 450 Splash for two. The Running Dropkick, which is the set up to the Brainbuster meets feet and Starship Pain gets two as Aries grabs the ropes. This leads to Aries rocking with a Roaring Elbow, Big Dropkick and Brainbuster but Morrison gets the ropes. Good symmetry there. With a nearfall a piece, you know the end is night. Last Chancery! Morrison makes the ropes, I wish Taya was exhorting her husband on camera would have made for a good visual. Aries was staring a hole into Taya. I would have liked some taunt. A fuck you or suck it would have been massive heel heat and I am surprised Aries didnt got for that. Great slugfest and Aries just out of nowhere just runs full steam ahead and wipes Taya the fuck out! Morrison is livid and beats the tar out of Aries. I would have liked him to show more concern for his wife and also not take so long to beat Aries because you know your wife just wiped out, but that's a nitpick. Morrison hits Aries brainbuster and Starship Pain. Aries pops right up, starts flipping off the crowd (turns out he was flipping off Don Callis), and walks out. Morrison clearly says "Are you fucking kidding me?". So what the hell happened. Aries had a 45 minute conversation with Killer Kross who was ringside along with Moose as Aries' flunkies, but never got involved. I did not listen to 45 minute conversation because I have better things to do but if someone did and I got the details wrong please lemme know. Basically Aries was working on like the last day on his contract for this show and he was in the midst of negotiations in the run up to the show. Morrison makes a short joke. In fairness, my Dad is 5' 6" like some dudes do take that shit seriously like my Dad. I am 6' so I know not to do that around him for instance. Aries comes up with this tweet that's ok to make fun of short people but not other protected classes like race, handicapped, sexual orientation or weight and basically how come it is ok to make fun of short people. In the middle the tweet, he calls Morrison out for having a "gay look" and called Taya "husky". I think we can argue until we are blue in the face about what heels can or cannot say. I do think there is a line. I don't think he crossed it here. He was a heel. He was not going to glorified for these comments. He was going to be shamed and beaten. So I do agree with him. Morrison & Taya agreed to the tweet and said they would sell it on TV, but were cool with as a shoot. Regardless of my feelings or Aries' or Morrison's or Taya's, Don Callis did not agree and ordered the tweet be taken down. Aries got pissed. I think this is where Aries is in the wrong. Your boss disagrees with you creatively sorry man, but just drop it. It is not like tweet was going to draw thousands and thousands of fans or millions of dollars. I know it is a principle point of as a heel I should be able to do heelish things, you gotta sallow your pride. We all do. Aries concocted this shoot finish to drum up some controversy. Let's be real, his feelings were hurt, he felt wrong and he wanted to lash out at Callis and fucking ruin the moment. He was a fucking asshole. His rationale was hilarious. Stating that Starship Pain is a weak move and would never knock a man out that long and when Connor MacGregor loses he does not stay around long. He also added it was his own Brainbuster (because no one else has ever done a Brainbuster) is why he lost not Starship Pain. What a loon. On top of that, he begins the conversation talking about protecting the business. Hate to break it to you but this finish did just the opposite of that. Just call a spade a spade, your feelings were hurt, you felt wronged and you lashed at the biggest possible moment to say Fuck You to Callis and ruin his main event of the biggest night of the year and Morrison/Taya were collateral damage. So fuck you Aries. Killer match though. ****1/2

Impact Women's Champion Allie vs Taya Valkyrie - Impact 4/26/18 I have loved the Impact Women's so much that I want to try to watch & review every title defense from 2018 & 2019. They pack a lot of physical, hard-hitting goodness in 4 minutes. This is Taya's best performance so far that I have seen. She was stiff and kicking ass. Jumped Allie at the bell with a clothesline and never relented. Some Kicks of Fear that would make Judy Martin proud. She was kicking through Allie, great choking. LOVED the overhand chops by Taya on Allie. Wicked hard. Check out Allie's neck/shoulder after the match it is bright red. Loved that Allie fired up and hit some vicious overhand chops for her own. Loved Allie's comeback that ended in her just dropkicking the corner and another where she just screamed "Im Allie"! Taya hit a vicious Saito Suplex. She looked damn good in this match very powerful. Like to see more of this and watch she was like against Jordynne Grace less workrate bullshit. She dawdles. Allie Superkicks here (the superkick has gotta go) and Codebreaker. Good physical sprint. I dug this. Su Yung and the Undead Bridesmaids play mind games but Rosemary saves. Good craic. ***1/4

Undead Bride. Allie In A White Tank. Sinister Minister. Sign Me Up. I wouldnt say this was a home run, but I found it exceedingly enjoyable. I know Su Yung kills Allie and I thought this was the segment. It is not so it was a nice swerve for me when Allie takes the hatchet to Su Yung! I popped for that! They wisely limited the dialogue in this. In the hands of even the most skilled actors, the chance for the cheese factor to be strong is high. Allie didnt speak until taking the hatchet to Su Yung. Before that they had James Vandenburg do all the talking and explain the context/rules of the Undead Realm. Allie kills two Undead Bridesmaids and splatters blood everywhere. Awesome. She sees her own soul. Vandenburg makes point that you can look but not touch. She did touch but nothing came of it that I know of. The Su Yung fight scene was really good. Su Yung says "Welcome Home" perfect horror movie line. "Your time has come" not as good. O I forgot to mention the whole point of this is that Allie is trying to rescue Kiera Hogan. She gets Hogan out of the coffin. They try to open the Coffin Portal To Earth, but James Vandenburg screws them over and says he would get Allie in, BUT Not OUT! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Undead Bridesmaids swarm. ROSEMARY! Starts kicking ass. Allie wants to save her. Rosemary helps them open the Coffin and tells them to go, but Allie wants her to come. Here comes Su Fucking Yung with the fucking hatchet in her neck. Goddamn. What a visual! If you watch, watch for no other reason than for Su Yung's tremendous acting with the hatchet. She rips the hatchet out. Here was my one big complaint. Instead of an epic badass fight scene between Su Yung and Rosemary. They all of sudden both have the ability to be able to shoot energy/plasma orbs from their hands they so this struggle until the Undead Bridesmaids seemingly overwhelm Rosemary. Kiera Hogan is all like lets get the fuck outta here and shuts the Portal Coffin shut. Allie says they have to go back. Kiera Hogan says Fuck That Noise, Allie clearly possessed says "its not ok". I am going to have to find out where the conclusion is. I liked this, a lot of fun. I would like to see eighth to a quarter of a show devoted to stuff like this or musical numbers with Jericho/MJF or just any form of genre-bending they can do. Variety is the spice of life.

Impact Women's Champion Tessa Blanchard vs Taya Valkyrie - Impact Bound For Glory 2018 Only my second Taya match, but she is a bayface here, excited to see what it is like. I like Taya's look a lot and she busted out a couple lucha sequences and a submission so that was pretty cool. This was definitely a workrate match. A lot of the highspots blurred together. Taya did keep up with Tessa and went shot for shot with her. Taya being as big as she is poses an interesting challenge for Tessa. I always like a wrestler going for their finish early we see that from Tessa early. Some of the transitions were too loose for my liking, but I did like how Taya was countering with high impact highspots. There was no cuteness. It was big Germans or a big Chokeslam. Nice moonsault by Taya very pretty, Tessa was a little too close to the ropes. Great submission work here by Taya. Tessa claws for the apron skirt to avoid going back into the ring. Taya hits the Glam Slam for two because the ref was fiddlefucking with the skirt. I like that they protected the babyface's finish, but lets get a better protection please, that was lame. Taya gets posted and Hammerlock DDT! I bit hard on this finish, I was already switching tabs over here when I heard in my other tab, the kickout damn. What's fair is fair and Taya getting to kickout of Tessa's finish was big. There is a little bit of Tussle before Tessa hits a Jumping Codebreaker cant say I love it, but at least she has a Super Finisher. These women are great athletes and have the potential for classic matches, but someone needs to help them with match layout or they can watch some film and figure it out. This whole lets just do moves thing will only get you so far. ***

Impact Women's Champion Su Yung vs Tessa Blanchard vs Allie - Impact 8/30/18 It is a damn shame they didnt give this more time as this was shaping up to be one of the better triple threats I have seen in a long time. The strikes in this matches were phenomenal some of the best I have seen in the 2010s and puts most men's matches to shame. I thought Allie looked the best, just vicious forearm shivers and chops. Liked Su Yung's palm strikes. Surprisingly I found the usually intense Tessa to be timid in this match and really did not have many memorable moments. Allie started off with a great shine. Nice double spot on both. Su Yung worked a great submission on Tessa. Su Yung had an amazing spot where she ran up the turnbuckle pads and did a hurricanarana on Allie. For as many good strikes Allie had, the Best Superkick Ever is more like the Worst one ever and I say that with love because she is so good at other moves, she needs a new finish. Su Yung brings out the bloody glove for the Mandible Claw but Allie superkicks Tessa only to have it happen to her. Allie hits a Codebreaker only for Tessa to roll up Allie for the win. The finish was abrupt and made the match feel truncated. I felt like these women had so much left to give and they were just kicking it into high gear. Also the finish was so lame. Tessa is not a chickenshit heel that benefits from this type of flukey win. I know they booked themselves into a corner and needs to lift the title of the Undead Bride, but they were better more effectives ways to do. On its way to greatness, but stopped short. ***1/4

I fucking love Jericho/MJF that is my shit! Pro wrestling should be fun and that was killer all around. Definitely helps that Jericho can sing. Jericho's mannerisms are so on point. He had me and my brother rolling. AEW needs to take more big chances like this if it wants to grow. This was awesome. The only thing better was the Orange Cassidy promo! Holy Shit! They needed to find a voice for that gimmick and BILL FUCKING BELLICHICK IS THAT VOICE! MARK OUT CITY! I went from LOATHING Orange Cassidy when I first saw him at Beyond's New Year's Eve show 2018 to really starting to enjoy him to Jericho feud to now being totally onboard with OC! I thought the promos on this show were incredible! Big reason they kept them short and sweet. A pro wrestling promo should be about 2 minutes, 5 minutes max. I dont like Moxley at all, but that was a fucking good, cogent, coherent promo. Kingston is the man. A lot of people would overlook that Cody promo or phone it in, but not my man Cody that was a fucking killer promo, talking about putting on weight and why he did it. I love it. Hell even Rusev's promo was good. I was trying to be the cool dude not anymore. Loved that! I thought the Wardlow performance was really good, but I wish they inverted the layout. Jungle Boy hot, fast break shine and then Wardlow kills him dead. Rather than Kill Him Dead and then he resurrects, but it is 2020 and psychology is dead. I just wished people remembered/realized there are levels to selling. Everyone has forgotten about register. Everything is this "epic" "death" sell and just undercuts the whole match. The Cleaner is coming...I'll keep an open mind...but I am not exactly thrilled at the prospect of "Mr. Seven Star" going long every single Dynamite with his "epic" selling and 8 bajillion V-Triggers.

X-Division Champion Brian Cage vs Fenix - Impact 8/30/18 I like both guys a lot but this was just kinda there for me. I love how Impact was really pushing Cage hard on commentary as a once in a lifetime athlete that was revolutionizing the game. Is it hyperbole? Hell Yeah! But it made Cage feel like a big deal. I actually think Fenix is the game changer, what he can do on the ropes is sublime. Honestly, I am not a huge flippy/gymnastics guy with one major exception if you are really good I mean really good then I'll watch. Fenix is that dude. Cage was trying to live up to the hype of being the Ultimate Hybrid athlete busting out the 619 early on (it was kinda ugly mind you) I preferred when he was just doing his power wrestling and hurling Fenix around. There was a really nice Firemans Carry into like a Snap Death Valley Driver that was sick. I LOVED him catching Fenix cleanly on a suicide dive into a Vertical Suplex. I saw that spot in Lucha Underground. It was insane then and it is equally as insane now. Marked out for that. I liked Fenix's use of head-rocking kicks to set up his aerial assault and a great use of double stomps. The Top Rope Powerbomb ala Chris Candido is always a cool finish. Ultimately, felt like this match was a collection of highspots as opposed to cogent narrative that excites the mind or moves you emotionally. A good exhibition to see what these two are capable above from a raw athletic standpoint. ***

X-Division Champion Rich Swann vs Sami Callihan - Impact Rebellion 2019 Hardcore Match Interesting that in all my viewings of TNA/Impact that not many X-Division matches have piqued my interest or been recommended to me, I think that shows how it had fallen to being a midcard title. This is a blood feud that goes back to Callihan taking Swann in after his personal tragedies. No dancing from Swann tonight. It is OVE rules match similar to a Ravens Rules or a Hardcore match. I thought this was the best Callihan match I have seen so far for two reasons: 1. Pacing was way better 2. They had a really clear story that was woven throughout the match. They start off with meaningless kicks to the face lets forget that happened. In fairness, they have been showing symmetry or similarities but there are a lot better ways to achieve that without their silly kick each other in the face. The real story kicks in. Swann has brought a Staple Gun to the party. That's the story of the match, Rich Swann was willing to go to the levels of violence of Callihan and beat Callihan at his own game. The Staple Gun was one example. He was able to wield weapons like a chair and garbage can against Callihan. He turned the Legos against Callihan. The ultimate moment was when he did the Calligan lugi, testicular claw and then used a Barbed Wire Baseball Bat Crossface to win the match. The lugi and the Testicular Claw are staples of the Callihan offense and were both used earlier in the match. I loved how Swann gave Callihan a taste of his own medicine. The match actually followed a pretty standard shine-heat-comeback-finish. So the structure helped tell the story they wanted. One thing I do love about Callihan is that he is not uber serious which you kinda expect him to be given his demeanor and style. He is willing to ham it up and show ass and be a coward so I appreciate that. Swann has a really nice punch. The Callihan suplex of Swann onto that standing chair was insane and the coolest spot of the match. Swann hit his Back Handspring Cutter on the ramp and Callihan followed up with a Piledriver on the railing after a groin claw. I think they flirted with Swann dying but they always pulled out right at the last second. The Cactus Piledriver on the apron was another moment where they almost went too far but they had Swann reverse the next move which was smart. I cant say Im huge into the Legos spot. I feel like Callihan being all covered up it is a little bit of a cop out. Again we got Swann getting piledriven into the Legos. That moment just came back to me. Three piledrivers are really hard environments is a bit much for me. It shows that Swann was resilient and beat Callihan on Callihan's terms at Callihan's game. The story of Swann outdoing Callihan in a hardcore match buoy this up and makes Callihan's best, but there are still aspects of Callihan's work that doesnt fully click with me. ****

Impact Women's Champion Taya Valkyrie vs Jordynne Grace - Impact Rebellion 2019 I am working the night shift and something came up between finishing watching this and writing the review. Lets see how my memory is. I attended a lot of Beyond Wrestling in person last year and got a good taste of Thick Mama Pump! I love the look, I am a sucker for big set of arms. She hits hard, athletic and I just love power wrestlers and she is a good one. Never seen Taya before I know she is Johnny Mundo's main permanent squeeze. Good presence lots of cockiness. She seems like she would hold the power advantage in most situation except against someone like Jordynne. Impact's women's division slaughters AEW's and I would hear arguments for why it is better than WWE's. Nice shine for Jordynne, really establishes her power game. That Electric Chair visual really stood out to me because Taya is a big girl and it looked really impressive. Powerbomb on the apron. It was a little overkill to start but the idea was to establish that Jordynne is a force to be reckoned with so mission accomplished. Taya did a good job being coward. She snaps the arm of Jordynne across the top rope. Taya busted out some sweeeeeeeeet, sick Lucha submissions on the arm. Awesome arm psychology that lasted throughout the match! Taya was using it as cutoffs and Jordynne was showing how it affected her offense. I love how Jordynne turned a simple, elementary bodyslam into a highspot by letting it sink in. It felt like a big deal when she did a bodyslam. Love it! Bodyslams are cool and we should bring them back. Jordynne cant get all of the Michinoku Driver because of the arm. Taya is relentless using the arm as a cutoff to work her way back into contention. Jordynne cannot negotiate her finisher which requires arm strength. She tries to bully Taya with lariats but the right lariat causes her clutch in pain. Taya takes advantage and hits the Glam Slam for the win! There were a couple stutter steps here and there, but I loved the power these two women showed. Really enjoyed the submission work from Taya, but above all else I really loved the psychology and how they stuck to the body part injury narrative. It was Jordynne's first loss and she is protected because if Taya does not get that fluke arm snap over the top rope does Jordynne not just run away with this? It is an interesting question. Good power wrestling match! ***3/4

Austin Aries vs Davey Richards - Slammiversary 2015 "If you can jump six inches, I can jump six and one more" - The Pope, with the most hilarious gaffe this side George W. Bush. I had to pause and just let the laughing subside. Thank God, finally a TNA/Impact match with a halfway decent layout! I thought nobody in TNA/Impact knew how to construct a match but leave it to two ROH veterans to put together a very good match. I saw Aries vs Richards main event an ROH house show out in Michigan when I was in college. Even though I run lukewarm on Richards, I remember it being a banger. So I was interested to see how this match would go down. Aries is the heel you want to know how I know? Aries is in a tag team with Bobby Roode called Dirty Heels. They are embroiled in a tag feud with the American Wolves over the Tag Belts. They are 2-2 in a Best of 5 Series, winner of this match picks the stipulation for Match #5 on Impact. They have two PPVs a year but they are still building to Impact instead of the PPV. In fact in addition to the Tag Team Titles being on the line this Impact, Angle is defending the World Championship against ECIII on Impact and there is no defense on Slammiversary. You have 2 PPVs! Why would you book like this? TNA is so bizarre. I loved the beginning. They trade back chops. Then they run a cool shine that shows Aries powdering over and over again when Richards gets the best of him. Richards almost kicks his head clean off. Aries powder and strikes a Vogue pose making sure his head is still attached to his body. Aries gets the advantage but takes too long on his trademark Pendulum Elbow and when he eats canvas, he powders. Aries tries pummeling Richards, but Richards breaks free and dropkicks him clean out. Aries evades the Suicide Dive. Richards hunts him down beats him up on the outside. They told a nice, easy to understand story. That built tension and made you want to see Richards to beat up Aries and also made you wonder how Aries would gain the advantage. Pro wrestling is not hard, I swear. Aries is about to eat a Diving Headbutt or maybe a Double Stomp. He desperately dives for the ropes and crotches Richards. Aries works a great heat segment. Everything is fluid and looks great. He lets things breathe and sink in. That really cool Wolf Claw Slash tattoo on Edwards is not a tattoo, just warpaint. Aries SMACKS IT CLEAN OFF with a wicked chop. I mentioned this in my previous Aries review. I love his chops. He feigns with the right hand knife edge and CRACKS you with overhand left. Sick. Richards takes back over with a great suicide dive. Not as great as Aries, but he had really nice form and looked like torpedo. Missile dropkick by Richards as he looks to be rolling. He starts ringing Aries bell with an assortment of kicks. Aries sells it like he is dazed & confused and looking for a tag from Bobby, a little over the top, but entertaining nonetheless. Aries loves to go to the Boxing The Ear to comeback and this leads to his shot out of the rocket Suicide Dive. Fuck it is so sweet. Last Chancery gets a "nearfall" for him. Best part of the match Richards is starting to comeback. Richards is ready to run across the ring and all of sudden ARIES FLIES INTO THE SCREEN AND SMOKES WITH A DROPKICK! They should have done the Brainbuster right then and there. Their only miscue was Richards converting into a Falcon's Arrow. Bad choice. Richards gets the Double Stomp for two. Roode out. Edwards stops Roode. Distraction Schoolboy finish gets it for Aries. That finish is the drizzling shits and needs to be retired permanently. Terrible finish and the one miscue choosing to have Richards hit a move after that DEVASTATING dropkick aside, this was a psychologically sound match. I dug it. ***3/4

I agree with the comments above. I think something clicked for Lashley clicked in the 2016 timeframe and he finally understood how to utilized all his natural athleticism and power effectively in a pro wrestling environment. That being said his WWE run has been mostly lackluster, but that can also be attributed to booking. TNA World Heavyweight Champion Eddie Edwards vs Bobby Lashley - TNA Impact 1/26/17 IronMan I've known Eddie Edwards as a fellow Bostonian and one half of the Wolves, but the less famous half. So lets see what he can do in a 30 minute Ironman Match against an improved, motivated Lashley First 15 minutes: We lose a big chunk of the first half of the match to commercial break. There is not much going on before the first ad break. Lashley hit the first highspot, a delayed vertical but that was pretty meaningless as Edwards came back with a good suicide dive. Edwards kicked some ass on the outside, good chops. I am not a big tattoo guy never seen that many I truly think are cool. That being the Wolf Claw Scratch tat on Edwards' chest is pretty badass. Before the ad break, Lashley takes over again. Pretty messy start. They did not establish a story or their characters. I like Lashley's back elbow to the head, but that was no sold. Spear out of nowhere for the first fall. This at least creates an inherent story can the valiant, plucky champion overcome a 1-0 deficit against the powerful Lashley. Lashley methodically, arrogantly pummels Edwards. He takes his foot off the gas. Edwards strings three moves together and looks to be on the comeback trail. Lashley HURLS him to the outside. Great demonstration of power and great bump by Edwards. Lashley THROWS Edwards DOWN on the Ramp with a Ferocious Powerbomb for the countout fall. It is now 2-0 Lashley. The match feels like it is starting to pick up. Lashley has exposed the turnbuckles in the ring and Edwards is really milking this Powerbomb sell as he should. Lets see if the second half is better than this ok first half. Second 15 Minutes: The Edwards fall after Lashley charges into Exposed Turnbuckle was very lame. There was no build to it. Totally heatless. To make matters worse Lashley hit the the next slam after the fall. I thought the Boston Knee Party (I like the move name, but wish it was done with the kneecap rather than the inside of the knee) on the ramp was a lot better. Had great heat. It was a Hail Mary that landed, but because it was outside the ring. It didnt count yet. Ultimately, in the ring Edwards connected again and scored another fall. It is all knotted up. They did the whole kick out of each other's finishers because there is only 5 minutes left deal. Lashley trapped him in a head/arm triangle to get the tap out. Go up 3-2! Lashley tries to run out the clock by milling around the outside and saying he should just be declared champion. Pope gets on his case rightfully. That dweeb Josh Matthews prattles on about how smart this is! Listen you tool, there is something to be said for sportsmanship! Furthermore, jackass Josh, there are classier ways to run out the clock. Finally, he is the FUCKING HEEL, stop defending him and do your job and deride him. The only thing that has decayed more in wrestling than the wrestling itself in the 21st century is the commentary. Where are the STRONG BABYFACE voices!!! Anyways, Lashley does get back in the ring and goes for the Spear to put this out of reach but Edwards grabs a Guillotine Choke. Lashley just barely hangs on after a minute to escape and win the World's Championship. Perfectly acceptable wrestling. The two highspots on the ramp were good other than that it was very alright. Would have liked to seen more interesting character work or narrative. ***