WWE Smackdown 1/31/2025

 WWE Smackdown 1/31/2025

 Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/wwe-smackdown-1242025.html

We are in Indianapolis, IN. This is the last SD before Royal Rumble 2025.

We see various wrestlers arrive.

Pat McAfee gets a special intro while Michael Cole stands at a podium in the crowd. Pat puts over Indianapolis and The Rumble being here. He says he's thankful to be here and says let's have a Royal Rumble weekend.

We then go to Joe Tessitore in the ring. He talks about Kevin Owens and brings him out. KO complains and calls him a Cody Rhodes fanboy. KO makes him apologize then tells him to shove it up his @ss. KO says he has nothing to say to him and says he only cares about taking his title back. KO then goes to leave.

CM Punk comes out. He apologizes for interrupting him but says he heard his name invoked and decided to come out. Punk says he's not looking past KO. Punk says when he wins The Rumble tomorrow, the main event of Mania could be him vs Owens. 

KO says he likes the thought of beating Punk at Mania. He says he knows how much Punk being in the main at Mania is important to him. KO says he loves the idea of Punk never getting to Mania. KO says he likes the idea of him being a multi-time Mania eventer while Punk goes to his grave as a failure. He says he hopes Punk doesn't win The Rumble.

Punk says KO has accomplished a lot. Punk says he hasn't lost 5x title matches at The Rumble and lost to Logan Paul. Punk says he wins by himself but says KO takes shortcuts. Punk challenges him to get in the ring and get his @ss kicked by him now.

The Miz complains to Nick Aldis in the back. He says Andrade should beg to be in the same room as him. He says if he was here, he'd punch him in his face. Nick then looks at Miz and is told Andrade's behind him. Miz says Andrade can learn something. Andrade says they should fight tonight. Miz says he doesn't need to prove anything to him but he'll be happy to teach him a lesson in greatness anytime and anywhere. Nick says he should do it tonight and signs the match.

Jimmy Uso says Melo wants to make a name off of him. He says he main eventer Mania. He says if Melo misses tonight, it's ballgame.

Melo talks during his entrance. He says Uso isn't the one, he's the two. Melo says he won't miss because his name isn't Tyrese Haliburton, who is here and is an NBA player. He says he's about to drop 50 on Melo's head. 

Jimmy Uso vs Carmelo Hayes

Melo pulls him down over the top rope then hits him from behind. Melo back elbows him. Uso hits chops. Melo armdrags him into a pin attempt then Uso counters it. Uso uppercuts him. Uso lariats Melo over the top. Melo then lariats Uso.

Melo hits a corner hip attack. Uso pops him up and is ddt'd for 2. Melo tope con hilos him. Melo argues with Tyrese outside and gets dove on by Uso. Uso then slaps hands with Tyrese. Uso spinning enzugiri's Melo.

Uso misses a conrer hip attack then pop-up samoan drops Melo for 2. Uso hiptoss neckbreakers Melo off the top. Uso superkicks him. Uso jumps up in the air and Melo jumping codebreakers him for 2.
Melo misses a blind springboard legdrop and is superkicked for 2. 

Melo gets his knees up on Uso's top rope splash. Melo pumping knees him then hits a top rope splash for 2. Melo backrolls Uso for 2 and holds the ropes then Uso grabs the tights and rolls him up for the win.

Thoughts: It was a good match. The two worked well together and had an athletic match. They got a lot of time for this. It wasn't their best effort but I liked what we got here.

We get a video on the numbers of The Rumble.

Piper Niven and Chelsea Green are interviewed. Green said Michin tried to destroy the face of the US last week and she says she will return the favor. She says she will beat her then guide her posse to Mania where she will win.

WWE Women's United States Title - Chelsea Green (c) vs Michin

Green knocks her down to start and is rolled up twice. Green backs her up into the corner and slaps her. Mich germans her twice. Green goes out and runs into B-Fab. Mich topes Green. Mich gets a 2 count on her in the ring.

Mich corner spears Green then hits corner punches. Green then throws her off to the floor. Mich's back is rammed into the apron edge. Green bangs Mich's head off the mat then curb stomps her into the buckles. Mich suplexes her.

Mich headscissors her off the buckles and pele kicks her. Mich PK's her. Mich twerks at her and corner cannonballs her for 2. Mich backslides her. Mich backrolls her and Green gets a 2 count on her. Mich hits soul foot but Piper helps Green get out. B-Fab pump kicks Piper.

Green tries to run and is thrown into the ring. Green then DQ's herself by hitting Mich with the kendo stick.

Thoughts: The match was decent with the two trading pin attempts and keeping things interesting. I was sure Michin was going to win this one but it seems like she will win the rematch instead.

Green is hit with the kendo stick multiple times after and runs off.  

Byron interviews Naomi and Bianca Belair. He asks what happens if it comes down to them two in The Rumble. Bianca says one of them will win and if one doesn't, the other will. They are asked about Liv and Raquel wanting their titles. Bianca says they won't go down without a fight and Naomi says they better be ready for a fight.

We get a video on Charlotte Flair.

Stephanie McMahon is in the front row with what has to be a relative. They talk about a new show she has on ESPN+ called "Stephanie's Places", which is a copy of Peyton Manning's "Peyton's Places" supposedly.

Damian Priest comes out to talk. He said he started off on Raw 4 years ago. He says he went from a nobody to a champ and a betrayer to a betrayed. He says his goal is to win championships and that starts by throwing people out at The Royal Rumble tomorrow and then says Mania ends with him getting his hand raised as champ.

Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga come down and get in the ring with him. Fatu says DP has accomplished more than others in the back. He says they both got out the mud and come from the streets. He says he was locked down in the box though. He says DP can get his hair braided but don't get it twisted around him. Fatu says he's off the leash and is all gas and no brakes. He says if DP wants to make a name for himself, he says hell no. He says DP lays down or they beat him down.

DP asks if that's all. He says Fatu should know better. DP says they are both from the streets so why are they talking? DP superkicks Tama down. Fatu stares at him. They then fight. DP hits a punch flurry in the corner. DP gets 2v1'd in the corner. LA Knight comes down to help out. He kicks a chair in Tama's face. Fatu punches a chair out of the way. DP superkicks Fatu then LA chairs Fatu out.

LA says they just got beat down and can get it again. He says they like to use the numbers but he's got 2 for their 2 later. 

Thoughts: I liked the segment and thought it helped out Priest some.

Legado del Fantasma talk in the back. The Motor City Machine Guns walk in. They say they know they don't like them and aren't fond of them either. The Guns say they want to make sure they work together and wants to make sure Los Garza are ready to win. Santos says The Guns have their shot at gold tomorrow but he needs to win The Rumble for a shot at gold. He says Los Garza are fighting for what they deserve. Alex says they have their backs. Berto says thy can handle their own business. Angel says they are coming after them. 

DIY and Pretty Deadly vs Los Garza and The Motor City Machine Guns

Berto goes up and over Elton. Berto springboard back elbows him for 2. Berto arm and chin locks him. We get a very quick PiP break with Berto getting double teamed by PD. Berto jwbreakers Ciampa and spinning enzugiri's him. Berto backrolls into a standing moonsault on him for 2.

Ciampa takes a double team sequence from The Guns that ends in a baseball slide. He then takes a double kick. Angel is popped up into a double dropkick on PD. Los Garza and Sabin then triple tope outside.

We go to PiP break and return. Elton legdrops Sabin. Sabin fights out of the corner then hits a flying double lariat. Angel hits dropkicks on Kit then they botch a flying headscissors. Elton is flapjacked and Angel pulls his pants off. Angel top rope crossbodies Kit for 2.

Berto springboard enzugiri's Ciampa. JG hits a tope outside onto Alex. Angel top rope moonsaults onto both PD members outside. Berto rolls JG into a sitout powerbomb for 2. Sabin and Berto argue on the apron. Garza and Berto walk off. Ciampa running knees Sabin off the apron.

Ciampa throws Sabin into the rails. Sabin hits a tornado ddt. Ciampa rolls up Sabin by the tights for 2. Ciampa hits a hard lariat on Sabin. Ciampa facekicks Elton off the apron by accident. Kit then gets mad. Sabin rolls up Ciampa and wins.

Thoughts: It was a fun match. They did some nice spots when all 8-men got in and it was fun to see them drive away their partners. The crowd liked it and it's a shame they didn't get to keep going with all 8 guys.

Fatu and Tama talk as they go to the ring. Fatu says you know what time it is. Tama walks past the tag titles that DIY have and stares at them. DIY stare down at Tama and he says, "yeayeayeayea" at them. Pretty Deadly walk in and argue with DIY. They blame each other for the loss. Gargano says it's not the time to argue. Gargano says tomorrow is The Rumble. He says if they lose, PD can kiss their title shots goodbye. PD says they are on their own tomorrow. DIY say they should be thanking them.

Pat and Cole bring out Tyrese Haliburton. Tyrese says tomorrow's game will be a good one and say they will win then get The Rumble. Pat says Tyrese's team is the best in the NBA. Pat shows us clips of Cole and Cody crowdsurfing earlier.

We get a video on Cody vs Owens.

Liv Morgan vs Naomi

Liv hits knees to the gut. Naomi side headlock takeovers her. Liv headscissors her. Liv shoulders her over. Naomi armdrags her then flying headscissors her. Naomi atomic drops her. Liv ducks high kicks then gets hit with one. Naomi split drops her for 2. Naomi delay suplexes Liv for 2. Raquel distracts Naomi on the ropes and Liv backcrackers Naomi for 2.

We go to PiP break and return. Liv step up enzugiri's her. Naomi hits elbows to the gut. Liv gets on Naomi's back with  sleeper. Naomi back pack stunners Liv. Naomi kicks her off the buckles and hits flying shots on her. Naomi slides out of a lariat, double mule kicks her and axe kicks her. Naomi bulldogs her into the 2nd buckle then top rope crossbodies her for 2. 

Liv throws her down by the hair. Liv step up knees her in the corner then 2nd rope diving codebreakers her. Naomi jack knifes her for 2 then hip attacks her. Naomi goes up on the ropes and Raquel distracts her. Bianca pulls Raquel down. Naomi misses a split-legged moonsault. Liv sunset flips her for 2 but Naomi reverses it and pins her.

Thoughts: It didn't quite enough time to be great but I liked what we got. The two worked well together and the match had a nice flow to it.

Raquel nails Bianca and Naomi after. Bianca tries to fight back but takes a backcracker into a facekick. Raquel then stacks both opponents and powerbombs Liv onto them.  

The Miz vs Andrade

Miz armdrags him. Andrader shoulders him over. Andrade blocks a hiptoss then hurricanrana's him. Miz boots Andrade in the gut. Miz 2nd rope diving headscissors Andrade out. Miz goes out with him. Andrade handstand rebounds on the apron and ropes then headscissors Miz. Andrade asai moonsaults Miz.

We go to break and return. Miz hits chest kicks on Andrade. Andrade hits a big chop on him. Andrade dragon screws Miz. Andrade flying forearms Miz. 

Andrade meteora's Miz in the corner for 2. Miz hits a big forearm on Andrade. Andrade facekicks Miz. Miz ddt's Andrade for 2. Miz corner lariats Andrade. Miz gets stuck on the ropes. Andrade top rope spanish flies Miz for 2. Andrade and Miz trade pin attempts. Andrade spinning back elbows Miz and wins.

Thoughts: Andrade did too much as usual here. I didn't like the top rope spanish fly not meaning anything in this one as they just kept going after. Miz did work better with Andrade than I expected though and I didn't expect to see him take a spanish fly.

Santos Escobar talks to Damian Priest. He says Smackdown can be a hard place to survive in. He tells him to call Legado if he needs help. DP gets mad. Santos says DP's ego always gets in the way. Santos says he will be seeing him.

R-Truth then appears. He says him and DP are back on Raw. DP says it's Smackdown. Truth says he can't keep switching shows. Truth says he talked to Pearce and he has hair now and a British accent. DP tells him to never change. LA Knight appears. He asks if DP is ready for tonight. DP says they will handle business in a tag match tonight but tomorrow is another story and he doesn't know him. LA says they will have to do what they have to do in The Rumble. He says Fatu and Tama get their heads kicked in. Truth then says, "welcome to Raw".

Tiffany Stratton sees Zelina Vega in the back. Vega says she doesn't want this fresh start to go to waste and has her eyes on Tiff's title. She says maybe the journey to it begins at The Rumble. Tiff says good luck at that and says she will sit pretty while Vega fights for her life for a shot at the title.

Michael Cole and Pat McAfee are in the ring and bring out Tiffany Stratton. Tiff says this is her first tile on SD but she's always been championship material. She says everybody else knows it now and that's the only difference since a year ago. Pat talks about people who could be facing Tiff. Tiff says it doesn't matter who she faces and says it's always Tiffy time. She says Nia could win The Rumble and it'd be okay as she always underestimated her.

Candice LaRae comes out. She calls Tiff pathetic and says she doesn't deserve to say Nia's name. She said Tiff betrayed Nia and her. CL says Tiff p!ssed a lot of people off and said it's because she's jealous. CL tells her to enjoy the Tiffy time she has left as she will win The Rumble and make her regret stabbing her in the back. Tiff calls CL "Nia's sidekick". Nia Jax tries to splash Tiff from behind but nails CL. Nia pop-up headbutts Tiff then legdrops her. Nia then banzai drops her.

Thoughts: It was an okay segment to remind us that the Nia/LaRae/Tiff feud isn't over and could be re-ignited at the Rumble.

LA Knight and Damian Priest vs The Bloodline (Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga)

All four fight to start. LA lariats Fatu then Fatu takes a double boot from DP and LA. Tama headbutts and hits shots on DP. DP spinning forearms Tama then forearms him down. Tama hits forearms and headbutts on LA. He pounds on him in the corner. Fatu gets some shots in. LA neckbreakers Fatu then stomps on him.

Fatu knees LA in the gut. Fatu goes for the suplex but LA turns it into a neckbreaker. DP hits forearms on Fatu. DP back elbows Fatu. Fatu corner splashes DP then corner hip attacks him.

Fatu does a traphezus hold on DP. DP ear claps Fatu. Fatu uppercuts him. DP boots him out of the corner. Fatu is thrown out. LA hits punches on Fatu. Fatu misses a corner splash and goes into the post. LA ddt's Fatu.

LA double springboard elbow drops Fatu. Tama trips LA. Fatu flying back elbows LA. We go to PiP break and return. Tama sleepers LA. Tama knees him in the gut. Fatu hits punches on a downed LA. Fatu misses a corner hip attack. LA backdrops Tama. DP lariats Fatu over the top then flapjacks Tama down. DP hits a flying shot.

DP pounces Tama onto the commentary table outside. He superkicks Fatu and flatliners him onto the commentary table. Fatu is then thrown into the post. DP walks the top rope and crossbodies Tama for 2. Tama reveres a razor's egde with a sleeper.

Tama rolls up DP for 2. Fatu headbutts DP from behind. Tama jumping ddt's DP for 2. LA crossbodies Fatu over the timekeepers rail. DP blocks a sliding lariat. DP rebound lariats Tama. DP hits a south of heaven chokeslams on Tama and wins.

Thoughts: I liked it. They kept it action packed and everyone worked well together. I thought everyone came out of this one looking good though I don't love New Bloodline losing again. I probably would have done something with Owens and Cody though. I'm sure we will be seeing more of these four as:

Fatu superkicks DP then pop-up samoan drops him. Fatu double jump moonsaults him. The show then ends.

Overall thoughts: It was your usual long 3-hour Smackdown. I don't know what it is but these shows just feel so long. It's not even like the shows are bad - they aren't, but they are tough to get through. There was only one match I didn't like here with the rest being fine. I think I liked the main best on this one. The one complaint I have with the show is that I would have had Cody and Owens do a live segment of some sort to build for their match tomorrow. Other than that, we had good wrestling, they built up The Rumble well and we even got to see a little R-Truth. I'd give this one a 7 out of 10 and thought it was a good show.

NWA Powerrr 1/28/2025

NWA Powerrr 1/28/2025

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/nwa-powerrr-1212025.html

Joe Galli and Danny Dealz welcome us to the show and run down the card.  

Baba Thunder vs Burchill

Oh great, another debut. Just what NWA needed...

Baba pushes Burch away off the lock-up. Baba knees him in the gut and clubs his back. Baba hits punches and boots in the corner. Baba slams Burch and foot chokes him in the corner.

Baba boots him in the corner. Burch back elbows him. Baba bearhugs him. Burch hits lariats then is shouldered over. Baba suplexes him then stands on him on the ropes. Baba pushes the ref over and is DQ'd.

Thoughts: Baba didn't look bad here. He mostly just did strikes but they looked okay and he was moving well. The finish wasn't good though.

Baba beats up on Burch after. Mike Mondo comes out. He signals to Baba then poses over Burch. 

Carson Drake tells people how to get tickets for 3/22.

Kyle Davis interviews EC3. EC says Thom Latimer is the champ but knows the true power of The NWA lies with EC. EC says he cultivates greatness and says he's the reason Thom is the champ. He says he brought him to his best self. He says he's if Alexander The Great had a baby with Ric Flair. He says this is his exodus. He says he's not locked in a cage with Thom, Thom is locked in a cage with him. 

Blunt Force Trauma (Damage and Carnage) vs The Modern Day Outlaws (Nick Gene and Race Allen)

BFT attack their debuting opponents before the bell. Damage takes chops then hits a lariat. Damage hits mounted shots on his opponents. Carnage suplexes his opponent for 2. Allen takes corner attacks. Damage spinebusters Race Allen.

Caranage misses a corner splash. Nick gets in and hits slaps on Carnage. Carnage dropkicks Race and wins.

Thoughts: This was a squash here with a new team getting squashed. Carnage's dropkick was nice.

The Country Joes (AJ Cazana, Joe Cazana & KC Cazana) vs. Christian Anderson & The Rewind Society (Samuel C & VHS)

AJ and KC hit shots on The Rewind's to start. KC and AJ hit a double shoulderblock and a double elbow drop. Joe has his hat and regular clothes on and boots an opponent. KC and AJ hit a back elbow + russian legsweep combo. Joe punches Christian. Christian grabs Joe then ges double teamed for it. Christian takes a powerbomb + top rope diving lariat combo. Joe then pins Christian with one foot on the chest.

Thoughts: It was a quick one here with The Cazana's winning easy as expected.

Carson Drake comes out after. The Slimeballz then come out too. The two sides square off and argue. Joe says he wants a match now.

Carson Drake & The Slimeballz (Sage Chantz & Tommy Rant) vs. The Country Joes (AJ Cazana, Joe Cazana & KC Cazana)

The Cazana's hit shots and the team other gets dropped. AJ takes a oduble back body drop then has his legs split. Rant hits AJ with his crotch. Drake then dances and fist drops AJ.

Joe is about to get hit but his boys save him. Sage takes an AA then AJ lariats him. KC then does a dance into a legdrop on Sage. Rant hits KC and AJ. Rant headbutts KC then spinning headbutts him. Rant is pulled out and gets hi by AJ. Drake grabs a chain. Joe tries to hit him with his book and Drake goes out.

Drake stops his partners from getting in like he did last time. Drake says The Cazana's have alcohol on their breath and he won't wrestle them. Drake's team is then counted out.

Thoughts: What was this? And why? 

Daisy Kill does a promo for the 3/22 show.

Tiffany Nieves does a promo on Natalya Markova. She says she's the best at everything and was surprised by Markova sending her through a table. She said she laid out Kenzie Paige for her in Markova's match with her. Tiff asks when will Markova learn to back down. She says it will be her and Markova in a cage match and says she will be the winner.

Alex Taylor vs. Hunter Drake

Alex wristlocks him. Drak headflips out and side headlocks him. Drake armdrags Alex. Drake armlocks him. Alex hits shots on Drake then Drake step up enzugiri's him. Drake springboard into a headscissors on him. Drake dropkicks him.

Drake hits a step up enzugiri. Drake 2nd rope headscissors him from behind. Alex back elbows him, trips him and pulls his crotch into the post. Alex hits shots on Drake.

Alex tilt-a-whirl backbreakers Drake. Alex camel clutches him. Alex slams him then misses a top rope elbow drop. Drake corner lariats him then running lariats him out of the corner. Drake running ssp's Alex for 2.

Drake misses a 450 off the top and is lariated from behind. Alex hits a cradle shock and wins.

Thoughts: I wasn't too into this one. Drake's enzugiri based offense didn't look good and this was a random match.

Hailey J does a promo. She says she's wrestling Kenzie Paige and says she's the champ. She says Paige is one of the best names out there today. J says she's not the only second gen wrestler out there. J says Paige's daddy handed her everything. J says she's about that life though and says Paige will find out real soon.

Loser Must Serve The Other Match - Alex Misery vs. Lev

I looked through my archives to try to figure out the reason for this and I got nothing. These two had a match together in December. Ocasio beat up both of them and the match had no finish. There's been nothing on these two since.

Billy Corgan says he tries to think of things that might interest the fans. He says they were talking trash to each other and talked them into having a match. Alex is shouldered over and he kips up. Lev top wristlocks him. Alex eye rakes him then armlocks him.

Lev wristlocks him. Alex cartwheels out of it then armdrags him into an armlock. Lev boots him out of the corner. Alex walks up the buckles, flips over him then sits down. Alex monkey flips him for 2. 

Alex takes a running STO for 2. Lev elbow drops him several times for 2. Lev eye rakes him then knees him in the gut. Alex handstands in the corner then headscissors him down. Alex hits kicks then spinning neckbreakers him. Alex jumping enzugiri's him for 2. Lev eye rakes him.

They trade shots and Lev tells him he hates him. Lev ushigoroshi's him. Alex crucifixes him for 2. Alex tornado ddt's Lev. Alex lifts him on his shoulder and swinging ddt's him down to win.

Thoughts: It was shorter than I expected. What we got was okay but not really the epic match I was expecting for this gimmick. As I said, there was no real reason for this stipulation.

EC3 does a promo for 3/22.

Aron Stevens does a promo. He said because he has a pretty face, people thought he couldn't get down. He says he has known The Immortals for a long time. He says he knows this is personal and know they want him. He says they can't take his mind games and his a-games. He says he won't put tights on for them. He says they can pick a partner and fight him and BFT. He says they aren't winning this fight with him and BFT. 

Kyle Davis hosts a meeting between Silas Mason and Bryan Idol. Idol says he has done everything he can do to move the needle for this company. Idol says everyone has had enough of The Southern Six. He says what Silas did to Kyle Davis was disgusting and he had to take a stand for it. He says he has no problem standing up to Silas.

Silas says the only needles Idol moves are into his @ss. He says Idol has been giving it all he has but it's not enough and says he doesn't have enough balls. He says Idol wants to chin check him, but he wasn't made with a glass jaw. Silas tells him not to miss if he takes a swing at the king.

Silas then yells at Kyle Davis. Silas tells him to get on his knees and apologize to him for going after him a while ago. Kyle says he loves the NWA. He says he doesn't owe Silas an apology. He says he let his emotions get in the way and got his @ss kicked. Kyle says he learned his lesson and says he hopes Silas does too. He says he hopes the best man wins.

Thoughts: I liked this segment. I wish they would have followed up on a little better as it wasn't mentioned much lately but they got this right at least.

Trevor Murdoch then does a music video called "In My Heart' where he rips Daisy Kill and Talos. He's with Eric Smallz and Knox.

Overall thoughts: It was the usual bad Powerrr episode. We had random debuts, matches and wrestlers. Things were brought up that weren't mentioned for a while and Billy Corgan told us about stuff that happened that we never got to see which isn't a good way to build matches. I liked the Silas/Kyle/Idol segment but it could have been mentioned more prior to the show. The stuff with The Cazana's was a waste of time and there was a bad finish involved. Baba Thunder also debuted to a match with a bad finish. This is just such a hard show to watch and follow. I'd give this a 3 out of 10 and would not recommend it at all.

TNA Impact 1/30/2025

 TNA Impact 1/30/2025

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/tna-impact-1232025.html

Nic Nemeth comes out. Nic says Genesis was a great night for TNA but not him. He says Joe Hendry was the better man. He says he's been down before and he needs to get up and make things happen. He says he will go after the TNA Title again.

Ryan Nemeth comes out. He says his brother got robbed and needs to realize that Joe Hendry got lucky. He says Joe is a poser and a loser who got lucky. He says Nic is the real champ. He says 2025 will be his year. He says Joe is a fraud. Nic says it could be their year then First Class comes out.

AJ says they are First Class. He says he wants to talk to the Nemeth brother that actually matters. He says Nic doesn't deserve to go after the world title as he lost to Joe Hendry. AJ talks about his title match with Nemeth and says that's why TNA management gave him the most lucrative deal in TNA history. 

AJ says they want the money but the spotlight too. AJ says it's a new era of TNA - The TNAJ Francis Era. Ryan says his brother doesn't deserve to be interrupted. Nic stops him. Nic says they are interrupting them. Ryan then sets up a match with First Class vs The Nemeth Brothers randomly out of nowhere without Nic knowing. Santino Marella then comes out.

Santino says the show is jam packed and makes that official for the main event.

Thoughts: They are definitely pushing Ryan as some delusional guy who speaks up for his brother when he doesn't want him to.

Gia interviews Arianna Grace. Tessa Blanchard comes in. Grace introduces herself. Tessa says she must be the messenger she sent by. Tess says this isn't NXT and she doesn't tell her what to do. Grace says they are on the same team. She says Grace had everything handed to her. She tells her to take her smile and go do something useful. Gia goes to interview Tess and Tess says she's not needed either. Tess says she answers to nobody.

We see Cora Jade talk to Xia Brookside earlier in the day. Xia welcomes her. Cora says she's looking for Masha and doesn't want to talk to her. Xia says her dad trained her and says Cora is acting big time. Cora pushes her and security breaks the scuffle up.

Cora Jade vs Hyan

 

Hy wristlocks her. Cora reverses it and Hy cartwheels out. Cora lariats her then lays on the top rope. Cora back elbows her then throws her down by the hair. Cora chokes her on the ropes. She running back elbows her on the ropes. Hy is tied up in the ropes and Cora dropkicks her.

Cora misses a charge on the ropes. Hy hits a wasteland then a legdrop for 1. Hy misses a corner charge and takes a step up knee. Cora double underhook ddt's her and wins.

Thoughts: It was a short one with Cora winning as expected. It was just very average and Hyan didn't botch or anything.

Cora beats up Hyan after then Xia Brookside comes out. Cora then backs off. Cora then nails her from behind and clubs on her. Cora hits a double underhook ddt.

Masha Slamovich comes out to get Cora and Cora runs.

Wes Lee, Tyson Dupont and Tyriek Igwe are interviewed by Gia. Gia asks about them getting involved in the Rascalz/Fraxiom match. Wes says everyone wants to know why. Wes says Wentz and Trey are fixated on the tag titles and says they aren't aligned. Wes says the NXT Tag Titles are focused on Dupont and Igwe. He says he will get them to the promised land while they will get him the NXT Title. Wes says it all starts tonight when he takes on Ace Austin.

Ash By Elegance's crew goes up to Santino backstage. George says they were robbed at Genesis. George says he called his lawyers and said the refs were negligent and the legal member of Spitfire didn't even get the pin. George says his team should be the tag champs. Santino says to relax. He says he will review the documents. He says next week is a Knockouts battle royale for a shot at the tag titles. Spitfire then walk in and confirm they are in the battle royal. Dani says she wants to stop on those two ego's again. Santino tells them all to relax and save it for next week.

Brian Myers vs Leon Slater

BM side headlocks him then shoulders him over. BM side headlocks him then Leon reverses it. Leon shoulders him over and dances. BM backs him up in the corner and misses a shot. Leon dances more. Leon rewind kicks him. Leon handspring back elbows him for 2.

Leon is pulled into the buckles and gets stomped on. Leon goes for a dive but The System get in the way and Leon stops. Leon kicks BM outside. BM superkicks him as he tries to get in. BM throws Leon into the buckles and he flips. BM trips him. BM hits chops in the corner.

BM back elbows him. Leon springboard corssbodies him. Leon flying single leg dropkicks BM. Leon blue thunders him for 2. Leon leg lariats him for 2. BM impaler ddt's Leon for 2.  Leon flying kicks BM off the apron. BM calls for a timeout outside and Leon corkscrew dives over the post onto him.

Leon fights off The System outside and drops JDC in the ring when he kicks him on the apron. Alisha gives BM a ring and he punches Leon with it. BM running lariats him then gets the pin.

Thoughts: It went well. Leon got to show off his flying and didn't even have to lose clean here. It was a newer matchup and it had some nice highlights. Perhaps this will lead to a rematch. 

Mance Warner and Steph De Lander talk in the back. Mance says they are here and says nobody is taking the gold from them. Sami Callihan attacks Mance from behind and says, "I'll kill you".

Frankie Kazarian talks to Leon Slater in the back. He says he likes him and offers to be his mentor. Leon says he already told him no. He says The System cheated tonight just like Frankie did at Genesis. The System walk in. Moose offers him the chance to carry their bags and their championship rings. Alisha says he could be their secretary. The Hardy Boyz walk in. Jeff says Leon's a on a different level. The System mock them and call The Hardy's washed up. Matt calls JDC a bore and says Leon has star written all over him. Matt says they will gladly stand side by side by Leon next week. The System agree.

We see Sami and Mance fighting into ringside. Sami suplexes him on the floor. Sami throws a chair in and it lands on Mance. Sami chairs Mance. Steph De Lander comes out. She grabs Sami and Mance hits Sami with the TNA Digital Media Title. Mance running knees Sami.

Eric Young and Steve Maclin talk in the back. Steve asks if Josh is worth saving. Eric says it'll work out fine and says just to trust him. Steve says good luck and be safe but says he's not about to stick around and watch what is about to happen.

Mustafa Ali vs Laredo Kid

Ali side headlocks him and shoulders him over. Ali flying headscissors him. Kid uses the ropes to armdrag him. Ali cartwheels over him and Kid flying headscissors him. Kid chops Ali. Kid comes off the top and is dropkicked in mid-air.

Ali throws down Kid backwards. Kid michinoku drivers Ali for 2. Kid is pulled into the buckles. Ali backslides him and puts his feet on the ropes. The ref sees it then Kid rolls up Ali for 2.

Kid topes Ali outside. Ali eye rakes him. Kid slaps him. Ali slides under the bottom buckle. Kid slides after him then Ali bridging ddt's him on the floor. Ali hits a 450 and wins.

Thoughts: Kid had a lot of sloppy moments here and hurt this some. It was a quick match though and they did okay with this fast paced bout. Ali won as expected.

Ali talks to his guards in the back. He says they started the campaign off with victory. He says the people love him. He says the campaign will continue. Mike Santana walks in. He asks if Ali has a problem. Ali says he's a friend and supporter. Mike says what happened next week was not respectful. He says they handle this by going out and throwing hands. Ali said he just had a match. He says he knows a supporter of the campaign who is always ready and says he will see if he's available.

Eric Young and Josh Alexander vs The Northern Armory (Judas Icarus and Travis Williams)

 

Josh and Judas lock up. Josh throws him off the waistlock. Josh shoulders over Trav and running back elbows him. Josh lariats Trav over the top and finlay rolls Judas for 2. Judas flying forearms Josh. Josh goes out and is dropkicked through the ropes. Trav flying knees Josh off the apron.

Josh takes a bad double team sequence for 2. Josh takes a double kick in the corner. Josh overhead exploders Judas. EY is tagged in. He then nails Josh. EY looks at Judas and Trav. Judas and Trav beat up Josh. Josh takes a flying knee + sit out pedigree combo. EY directs traffic then piledrivers Josh.

Thoughts: Well, this was a twist I didn't see coming. They made it clear Eric is now the leader of The Northern Armory. I think we're supposed to boo him but Josh was a heel lately and it's hard to really boo Eric for this. The match wasn't the best. We didn't get a real finish and The Armory was a little off here.

Wes Lee vs Ace Austin

Ace side headlocks Wes. Wes cartwheels out of it. Wes is flipped by the arm and armlocked. Wes uses the ropes to flip out then armdrags him. Wes headscissors him from the mat and dropkicks him. Ace trips him and kicks him from the mat for 2. Ace dropkicks him.

Wes slingshots over him. Wes then flips over him and upkicks him. Ace back body drops him. Ace is crotched on the top then takes a kick. Wes topes Ace outside. Wes forearms Ace down. Wes snapmares him over and dropkicks him in the back of the neck for 2. 

Wes hits chest kicks. Wes spin kicks him in the face. Wes armlocks him. They trade forearms and Ace lariats him. Ace russian legsweeps him then legdrops him. Ace hits corner lariats. Ace helicopter kicks Wes off the buckles for 2. Ace sitout powerbombs him for 2. Dupont and Igwe come down. Ace fights them off then back body drops Wes outside. Ace then fosbury flops onto them and almost lands on his head.

Igwe trips Ace. Wes then cardiac kicks Ace and wins.

Thoughts: It was longer than it needed to be and had a slow pace. If you were expecting a fast X-Division style match, this was oddly not it. I was not that interested in this one.

Ace is triple teamed after. The Rascalz then save Ace. 

Joe Hendry does a promo. He says he doesn't know who his next challengers will be but says he will be in concert next week.

Nic and Ryan Nemeth vs First Class (KC Navarro and AJ Francis)

AJ throws Ryan back off the lock-up. Nic side headlocks him and is thrown. Nic flying bodyblocks AJ. KC gets in. KC enzugiri's Nic from the apron. KC rolls over Nic's back and does Nic's old taunt. Nic dropkicks him and AJ. AJ takes a double dropkick out. KC is then double thrown onto AJ outside.

We go to break and return. AJ choking Ryan on the ropes. AJ hits tennessee whsikey on Ryan then does his, "money, money, money" line. Ryan hits forearms on KC then KC dropkicks him.  KC snapmares Ryan then double stomps him for 2. Ryan is whipped into a big boot from AJ for 2.

AJ chickenwings Ryan. AJ steps on Ryan's gut and does Nic's old taunt. AJ chops Ryan then Ryan gets on his back with a sleeper. AJ side slams him for 2. AJ side slams Ryan again for 2. Ryan ddt's AJ. KC and Nic get in. Nic hits lariats on KC then corner splashes him. Nic neckbreakers him then hits elbow drops.

AJ takes a superkick then is double lariated over the top. Ryan double axe handles AJ off the top. KC spin kicks Nic in the face for 2. Nic drops KC down face first and hits a fameasser in. Nic hits danger zone and Ryan bling tags himself in and steals the pin.

Thought: The whole point of this was Ryan tagging himself in to get the pin. It was an odd match as it was quasi-heel vs heel here and it was hard to buy First Class were winning this one.

Overall thoughts: I thought it was a long and boring edition of Impact. Nothing really delivered on this one. We did get some new angle developments but none of them were particularly interesting to me. I'd give this one a 4 out of 10 and wouldn't recommend it.

WCW Superbrawl VI 2/11/1996

WCW Superbrawl VI 2/11/1996

We are in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan and Dusty Rhodes are on commentary. They talk about the show.

Falls Count Anywhere Tag Team Match - The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags) vs. The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge & Rocco Rock)

The four brawl in the ring and Knobbs is thrown out hard. Saggs is then thrown out and rolls down the steps. JG comes off the apron at Knobbs and gets a drink thrown in his face. JG is then sent into the post. Rock brings a table out. He rams Saggs with it but Saggs chairs him several times. Rock's head is banged off the edge of the table and Saggs kicks him. Saggs chairs JG hard then JG returns the favor. 

Rock is thrown off the apron through a table. Saggs grabs a trash can and rams the lid into JG's face. Knobbs hits Rock with a table piece. Knobbs' head is banged off the rails. Saggs piledrivers JG onto a trash can for 2.

JG hits Saggs with a trash can lid several times. Knobbs suplexes Rock through a table in the concession area. JG hits Saggs with the can lid many times. Knobbs then chairs Rock hard. Rock chairs Saggs and Knobbs takes a trash can lid shot. Saggs takes a bulldog onto an unfolded chair.

Knobbs hits both opponents with a trash can lid. Rock throws a trash can at Saggs and Saggs chairs him. Saggs drops a table onto Rock. Saggs takes weapons shots from both opponents. 

Knobbs gets his head beaten with a trash can lid. Rock gets in the stands and misses a swanton onto a table on Knobbs. Knobbs slams a table down on Rock and wins.

Thoughts: I absolutely loved the series between these teams as kid. These four just beat the crap out of each other with endless chair and trash can lid shots. No, they didn't really sell any of them, but they did everything else right. This was really wild by 1996 standards and despite its issues, I thought it was a good fight and really helped pave the way for hardcore style matches. These two teams were just perfect for this environment.

The Nasties beat up JG after and JG fights back. The Nasties then walk back towards the ring to celebrate.

Mean Gene Okerlund interviews Konnan. Kon says he won't let the people down and talks in Spanish. He says he faced One Man Gang before and says he's the one who should be watching out.

WCW World Television Title Match - Johnny B. Badd (c) vs. Diamond Dallas Page

This one has DDP's $6.6 million (from the lottery) on the line vs Badd's TV title and control of The Diamond Doll. Doll does a big dance for Badd as he comes out. DDP comes out with roses and tries to give them to Doll. DDP grabs her and Badd nails DDP.

DDP is sent into the rails then he stomps on Badd. DDP clubs Badd's chest and Badd snapmares him over the top to the floor. Badd double axe handles him from the apron. Badd slingshot legdrops DDP. DDP snapmares Badd twice and Badd armdrags him. Badd backslides DDP for 2 and tries pin attempts.

DDP knees Badd in the gut. Badd leapfrogs him then DDP stun guns him. DDP elbows Badd in the gut. DDP gutbusters Badd. Badd sunset flips him but DDP holds on and punches him. DDP does a cocky pin and Badd gets a 2 count on him. DDP stomps on Badd.

DDP does a floatover ddt on a hiptoss attempt. DDP wants the doll to give him a 10. She gives him a 0 and hits him with it. DDP chinlocks him and uses the ropes. Badd backrolls DDP for 2.

Badd hits shots and trips DDP. Badd hits more punches and drops him. Badd top rope double axe handles him. Badd top rope diving sunset flips DDP. Badd sitout powerbombs him for 2. DDP pulls Badd's throats over the top rope. DDP misses a corner charge and is rolled up for 2. DDP uses the ropes to get a 2 count. 

DDP hits a tombstone on Badd for 2. DDP sleepers Badd and Badd jawbreakers him. Badd gets on DDP's back with a sleeper. Badd tombstones DDP and wins.

Thoughts: The work was okay but it went on too long. I thought they kind of lost the flow of this one early on and the crowd wasn't hot enough to make up for it.  

Badd then gives DDP's lottery money check to The Diamond Doll like a real dummy.

Mean Gene interviews Harlem Heat. Stevie says Lex Luger committed gran larceny and they will get him. Stevie says the hitlist is out for him and Sting. Stevie says his team will own the gold tonight. Booker calls Lex and Sting "sissified suckas" and punks. Booker tells them to watch their back and says they refuse to leave without the tag titles. 

The commentators talk about the next match.

WCW World Tag Team Title Match - Lex Luger & Sting (c) vs. Harlem Heat (Booker T & Stevie Ray)

The winner gets The Roadwarriors later in the show. Lex is outside and seems to be having issues with Sting. Booker hits knees on Sting's gut in the corner and hits forearms. Sting lariats Booker and headlock takeovers him. Booker headscissors him. Lex hits shots on Booker. Booker boots him out of the corner and forearms him over.

Lex takes a double back elbow and goes out. Ray beats up on Sting then nails Lex on the apron. Sting hiptosses Ray then dropkicks him. Ray thumbs Sting in the eye. Booker side headlocks Sting.  Sting hits shots on Ray and bulldogs him. Lex boots Ray in the gut and knee lifts him. Lex backdrops Ray for 2. Lex misses an elbow drop. Booker clubs on Lex and misses an elbow drop. Booker jumping side kicks Lex. Ray slams Lex and pounds on him. Lex's throat is pulled down over the top and Ray legdrops Lex.

Ray hits a hard lariat on Lex for 2. Lex running lariats Ray. Ray powerbombs Lex for 2. Ray trap holds Lex. Booker scissors kicks Lex. Ray hits shots on Lex in the gut. Lex is double teamed and Sting beats up on Heat to stop it. Sting corner splashes Booker then Ray pulls Sting over the top.

The Roadwarriors come out. Animals nails Ray in the gut with a piece of lead and Lex picks up the pin on Ray.

Thoughts: We were told The RW's were going to make sure Sting and Lex won and they kept their promise. The match was average. There was nothing wrong with it but it wasn't great and we just didn't get a lot of exciting moments out of it. The lead shot in the gut also didn't look great.

Mean Gene interviews Sting and Lex Luger after. Gene says Lex knows what went on. Lex says he held up his end of the bargain as he promised. He said he told him so and said they are the tag champs. Sting is asked if he saw what happened but he didn't see it and thinks they won clean.

WCW United States Heavyweight Title Match - Konnan (c) vs. The One Man Gang

Gang hits Kon from behind and clubs on him. Gang foot chokes him. Kon goes up and over and dropkicks Gang in the knee. Kon spinning heel kicks Gang. Kon dropkicks Gang off the buckles. Kon crossbodies Gang out of the ring and they roll down the steps. 

Kon cannonballs Gang off the apron. Gang legdrops Kon. Gang chokes Kon. Gang hits a punch and side slams him. Gang hits some splashes on Kon in the corner. Kon hits shots to the gut and the head. Gang knees him in the gut then stomps him.

Gang pulls on Kon's mouth on the ropes. Kon hits shots to the gut. Gang hits elbows to Kon's neck then rakes his face. Kon hits a flurry of shots then Gang kind of diving headscissors him off the buckles. Gang hits dropkicks. Gang avoids a dropkick and the crowd laughs at Kon. Gang splashes Kon. Gang doesn't even come close on a missed 2nd rope splash. Kon cannonballs him off the buckles and wins.

Thoughts: This wasn't good. They both had some bad misses here and they had a boring match with meaningless punches. The crowd didn't care at all either.

Mean Gene interviews The Roadwarriors. Animal says it's an eye for an eye in WCW. Animal says Lex brought this on himself and says Sting made a mistake believing in Lex. Animal says to be prepared for tonight. Hawk apologizes to Harlem Heat...not. He says too bad for them. He says they will detach Sting and Lex's retina's and a lot of other nasty things. Hawk says they started it and they will end it. Hawk says they don't know what they are doing when the mess with The LOD.

I Respect You Strap Match - Brian Pillman vs. "The Taskmaster" Kevin Sullivan

BP runs into the ring and whips Task. Task takes him down and BP whips him. Task bites the leg and BP whips him hard with the strap. Task hits a hard punch on BP. BP grabs the mic and says, "I respect you, Bookerman". He then leaves. Taskmaster wins by countout?

Thoughts: What we got of this was good with the two making it look real.. BP's line was a worked shoot and ended up being the last time he was in WCW. I didn't like him breaking kayfabe or suggesting Task was a booker since he was in no way one on TV. I also didn't like the match only being a few minutes long as we got baited and switched here.

Arn Anderson comes out in non-wrestling attire and Jimmy Hart follows. Task whips Arn and Arn is now going to do this match instead of BP.

I Respect You Strap Match - Arn Anderson vs. "The Taskmaster" Kevin Sullivan

They whip each other with the belt. Arn hits some nice punches in the corner then whips him with the belt. Arn ties up Task and stomps on him. Task pulls the strap into Arn's crotch then whips him with it.

Task whips him more and stomps his hand. Arn knee drops him in the nuts. Arn hangs Task with the strap and Task refuses to say he respects him. Task pulls Arn over the top with the strap. Task then pulls him into the post with the strap.

Task whips him then is pulled into the post with the strap. Arn chokes him with the strap. Arn goes up top and is pulled down. Ric Flair comes out with Jimmy Hart. Ric calls for a stop to this. Ric gets on the mic. He says they proved nothing and says lets get ready to kick Hulk's and Savage's butts. Ric says, "united we stand, divided we fall". He tells Macho and Hulk and it didn't work and says they destroy Hulk. Ric says he will take Macho's belt and Liz. Ric then hugs the two of them and says they are a team. Arn says he would get in the bed with the devil himself to get to Hulk and Macho. Task and Arn then shake hands.

Thoughts: Well, this sucked. Don't get me wrong, the wrestling we got between these two was good but the angle made this whole thing with Pillman/Sullivan/Arn a waste of time. Sullivan turned on Arn and Pillman just to make friends with Arn in the end and to go back to fighting Macho and Hulk.

The Giant and Jimmy Hart are interviewed by Mean Gene. Hart says Hulk has one hour before he gets in the cage with The Giant. He says Hulk is finished forever. Giant says today will be a day of reckoning. He says he's been in The Dungeon of Doom in the darkest deepest reaches of the soul. He says the evil is building in him and is ready to erupt like a volcano on Hulk. He says the last thing that will go in Hulk's mind is his fist. He says Hulk can't run or hide, he can just know Hulkamania is through forever. Hart said he doesn't need to need to be in the cage tonight. He says there's more Thunder in Paradise for Hulk or seeing him in WCW. Gene mentions Hulk then Giant comes back in and yells at him.

WCW World Tag Team Title Match - Lex Luger & Sting (c) vs. The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Animal & Road Warrior Hawk)

Lex goes to enter and backs off. The LOD go after him. Sting then talks to Lex in the entrance area. Lex stalls outside more and refuses to get in. Hawk goes after him in the aisle but the ref stops him. They push that Lex is scared to death.

Hawk side headlocks Sting then shoulders him over. Hawk dropkicks Sting. Sting rolls out down the steps. Hawk follows Sting around the ring. Sting kicks him and bangs his head off the rails. Hawk botches a neckbreaker on Sting but Sting no sells it so it works. Hawk stf's Sting.

Hawk hits shots on Sting then bangs his head off the buckles. Animal wristlocks Sting and yanks on the arm. Animal armlocks Sting. Sting clubs on Animal. Lex and Animal fight. Lex is still refusing to fight. He hits shots on Animal. Animal bangs Lex's head off the buckles and facekicks him. Animal powerslams Lex for 2. Hawk corner lariats Lex then hits corner punches.

Hawk corner lariats Lex and drops him. Lex is thrown out and sent into the rails. Lex hits Hawk from behind then running lariats him for 2. Sting boots Hawk in the gut. Sting suplexes Hawk for 2. Sting headlock takeovers him. Sting and Animal collide then Sting falls down and headbutts Animal in the crotch on accident.

Lex begs to get in and pounds on Animal while he's hurt. Lex atomic drops him. Sting clubs on Animal. Sting facebusters him. Sting goes for a top rope splash but Animal gets his legs up.

Hawk and Lex get in and flying shoulders Lex. Hawk legdrops Lex for 2 then fist drops him. Lex is put in a sleeper but gets out with a jawbreaker. Animal and Sting fight. Sting hits a stinger splash on Animal. Sting goes for the scorpion deathlock and Hawk breaks it up. Hawk stomps on Sting.

For the third time in this show, Tony tells Heenan when he says something that they talked about it already. Sting rolls up Hawk for 1 and is lariated over. Animal chinlocks Sting and cranks his head.

Sting suplexes Animal. Animal no sells it. Animal then suplexes Sting and Sting no sells it. Sting poses at animal. Animal dropkicks him. Sting takes a double back elbow. 

Lex's head is banged off the steps as the fight goes outside four all 4 men. Animal and Lex fight in the aisle and the match goes to a double countout.

Thoughts: The story was intriguing here and well done. The only problem was they didn't fully explain it. Going into this, Lex did not want to give The Roadwarriors a title shot. They never fully went into why though. Lex refused to get in and picked his spots against The Warriors, clearly not wanting anything to do with them. One would hope this would end with Lex getting caught and getting destroyed but we never got to it as we had a non-finish. Hopefully we get a proper ending to this. Maybe it wasn't the greatest match workrate wise, but storyline wise it was great, the in-ring work was enough and I liked this.

The four then fight to the back after.

Mean Gene interviews Ric Flair and Woman. Woman says what she wants she gets. Ric says Hulk's master plot of turning Sullivan on Arn didn't work. Ric says the cage goes down tonight. He says he will bleed and sweat and says he might take Liz home. He says there will be blood, sweat and tears and a title change. Gene asks if there will be a ride on Space Mountain if he wins. He says he will have Woman on his left and Liz on his right but he won't tell anyone who he will be with tonight.

Dusty says he has never seen Flair so pumped. Heenan says Savage's run is over tonight.

Mean Gene interviews Miss Elizabeth. Macho comes in. He says The Mega Powers are together once again. He says Flair has no idea what will happen tonight but he does. He says it'll be complete mental insanity. Macho says they have united the forces into infinity and beyond. He says he will beat up Flair tonight. 

WCW World Heavyweight Title Steel Cage Match - "Macho Man" Randy Savage (c) vs Ric Flair

Michael Buffer does the intros for this. Ric has Woman with him and Macho has Miss Elizabeth with him. Ric gets on the mic before the match. He offers Liz one last chance to kiss a real man. Macho says, "oooh no".

Macho eye rakes Ric then hits corner punches. Ric chops him then takes punches. Macho goes for the pin but the ref is shutting the door. Ric snapmares him then knee drops him in the head. Macho is sent into the cage and hangs from it. Ric punches out the ref then stomps him. Macho backslides him but the ref is out and can't count.

Macho back body drops Ric and hits lariats. Macho stands on Ric's head. Macho is sent into the cage. Ric punches and back elbows Macho. Ric chops Macho then back elbows him. Ric punches him down. Ric snapmares him. Macho throws Ric off the buckles. Macho then figure fours Ric. Ric ropebreaks but the ref kicks Ric's arm away since this is no DQ and therefore no breaks.

Macho punches Ric down for 2. Macho slams Ric. Macho goes up to the top of the cage and jumps off. Ric nails him with a punch to the gut as he comes down. Ric suplexes him.  Ric throws Macho into the cage and Macho gets stuck on the cage/ropes.

Ric figure fours him and holds onto the ropes for more leverage. Ric goes for the figure four again and Macho cradles him for 2. They trade shots in the corner. Ric is sent into the cage twice. Macho rakes Ric's face on the cage. Macho bangs Ric's head off the cage. Ric atomic drops him.

Ric goes up top to climb the cage. Macho pulls his tights down which the camera's desperately try to avoid showing. Ric is then crotched up top. Macho goes for the pin and it's 2 but the bell is rang on accident. Macho chokes Ric and Ric low blows him. 

Ric chokes him. Ric goes up to the top and gets his tights pulled down again. Macho bangs Ric's head off the cage. Macho and Ric both take hard falls down. Ric is sent hard into the cage. Ric climbs the cage again and Macho bangs Ric's head off the cage. The cage door falls open somehow. The ref tries to close the door again.

Ric and Macho trade in shots in the corner. Ric back body drops Macho into the cage. Woman gets powder outside she throws it at Macho but he ducks and seems to mostly avoid it. Miss Elizabeth then hands Ric her heel. Ric nails Macho with it and pins him.

Thoughts: I had seen this show about 20 years ago but I didn't fully remember it. I knew Liz turned on Macho at some point and it turned out to be here. But why? I have no idea. She just returned and was allied with Hulk and Macho. I can tell you that her heel was also used on Nitro 1/29/96 with Arn/Jimmy Hart grabbing her heel and Ric using it on Hulk. So that was a good callback.

The match was built like an epic brawl. It was a slugfest and the two just stuck to the basics for the most part. It worked but it needed a great finish to put this one over the top and didn't quite get there. It was a slower paced match and had a big match feeling to it. I thought the match was good but I didn't like the ending. These two have had quite a history with them trading the title back and forth over the last few months and their prior history in the WWF with Liz and this was yet another chapter in it. I'm curious as to what happens next.

Arn Anderson comes out and celebrates with Ric in the cage. Hulk Hogan comes out and chases Liz/Woman away. Hulk chairs Arn then Ric leaves before getting hit. Arn then leaves too. Hulk, a ref, someone else and Doug Dillinger help Macho out after.

Mean Gene interviews Hulk, whose eye is all bandaged. Hulk says the last thing he thought was Liz would stab Macho in the back. Hulk says maybe it goes back to them separating 4 years ago or other things he doesn't understand. He says Liz is a turncoat and says even though she didn't do it, she was the one who put the heel in Macho's eye. He says Liz's heel also was used in his eye and it came off a little too easy. They talk about The Giant. Hulk says his match his unsanctioned and the ref will be outside. He says the only way to survive is to go through the door or go over the top. Hulk says he can see to the front and the right and says the fans and God will guard his blindside.

Steel Cage Match - Hulk Hogan vs. The Giant

Michael Buffer does the intros for this. Jimmy Hart and Kevin Sullivan are with Giant. Hulk eye rakes Giant and gets loud "Hogan sucks" chants. Hulk pounds on Giant and bites him. Hulk chokes him with tape. Hulk hits punches on Giant then does corner punches. Hulk bites Giant in the corner then chokes him with a shirt.

Giant clubs on Hulk's back then boots him. Giant elbows him in the back of the neck. Giant double knuckle locks Hulk then kicks him. Giant bangs Hulk's head off the cage then chokes Hulk with the shirt. Giant boots Hulk in the gut and elbow drops him on the neck. Giant chops Hulk and pulls off Hulk's eye bandage. Giant bites Hulk then slams him. Giant misses an elbow drop. Hulk hits punches on Giant. Hulk tries to slam Giant but Giant falls on him. Giant foot chokes Hulk. 

Giant boots Hulk in the gut then stomps his back. Hulk is sent into the cage. Giant suplexes Hulk. Hulk is sent into the cage. Giant bearhugs Hulk. Hulk fights out as expected. Giant boots Hulk in the gut. Giant chokeslams Hulk. Hulk is down but then hulks up. Hulk hits punches on Giant then throws him into the cage several times.

Hulk double throat thrusts Giant then hits a big boot. Hulk eye rakes him then hits a big slam. Hulk hits 3 leg drops. The Giant then gets right back up. Hulk climbs the cage and both Giant and Hulk fight on the top rope. Giant is knocked off the top and Hulk climbs over the cage. Hulk drops to the floor and wins.

Thoughts: It was a long match and wasn't that good. The match structure, logic and idea of it was fine but it went long, it was slow and there wasn't a lot here but various strikes. This also got hurt because it followed Macho/Flair which was similar and better. Hulk won as expected here.

Kevin Sullivan chairs Hulk as soon as he lands on the floor. Hulk grabs the chair and Kevin tries to run. Hulk throws Kevin in the ring and holds up the chair. The Giant wakes up and Hulk is cornered 2v1. Meng, Barbarian, Hugh Morrus, Shark, One Man Gang and The Zodiac come out. Hulk hits all of them with a chair. The Giant and Sullivan leave despite having a massive advantage. The Loch Ness Monster then comes out. The Dungeon all leaves and holds Loch Ness from getting in to close the show.

Thoughts: You just know Hulk Hogan came up with that ending. Hulk fought off an 8 on 1 just with a chair. The heels all left on their own accord and all of them looked like total wimps. They then stopped The Loch Ness Monster from coming in for unknown reasons which further buried them. This was an absolute burial for The Dungeon of Doom and this was some of Hulk at his worst.

Overall thoughts: It was a long show with the second half of this being pretty slow. The main and the angle after stunk. The semi-main was good but had a bad ending with Miss Elizabeth turning on Macho for unknown reasons. I liked the Sting/Lex vs Roadwarriors title match but you really have to see the TV leading up to it to get the logic of it or else you will hate it. Still, the finish to it was disappointing. The "I Respect You" matches had 2 bad endings and broke kayfabe. Konnan/Gang wasn't good. Harlem Heat/Sting and Lex was average with a bad ending. DDP/Badd went too long and the opener was a wild hardcore brawl that I enjoyed. It was a weird show overall and I can't really give it a good rating. There was too much bad stuff to override the good of Macho/Flair, LOD/Lex and Sting and Public Enemy/The Nasties. I'd give this a 4 out of 10 total and this was yet another WCW PPV from this era that had some really bad stuff on it.

WWE Speed 1/29/2025

WWE Speed 1/29/2025

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/wwe-speed-1222025.html

#1 Contender's Tournament Semi Finals - Chris Sabin vs Chad Gable

Sabin grabs the arm and headlock takeovers him. Chad headscissors him then Sabin headscissors him. Sabin armdrags him and Chad armlocks him. Sabin tries to monkey flip him out of it but Chad holds on. Sabin headflips out of the wristlock then armdrags Chad.

Chad chops Sabin in the corner. Chad goes up and over him then Chad belly to belly suplexes him. Chad then holds on for one more then does a northern lights suplex for 2. Chad misses a top rope moonsault. Sabin diving spinning ddt's him off the buckles.

Chad ankle locks Sabin outside. Chad does a chaos theory german on Sabin and wins.

Thoughts: They only went 2:41 here but what we got was good. These two matched up really well and looked like they had been doing this match for a long time. I really want to see this again and thought they did a good job here.

The next episode is on Saturday at noon.

Overall thoughts: There was only one new match as usual. What we got was good though with Sabin and Chad matching up well together. You don't need to see it of course but I liked what we got here.

New Japan Pro Wrestling 1/30/2025 Road To The New Beginning 2025 Day 3

New Japan Pro Wrestling 1/30/2025 Road To The New Beginning 2025 Day 3

Hartley Jackson and Ryohei Oiwa vs YOSHI-HASHI and Katsuya Murashima

Oiwa side headlocks Yoshi. Yoshi then put it on him. Yoshi hits chops and Oiwa shoulers him over. Yoshi neckbreakers Hart. Hart shoulders KM over. KM hits forearms then Hart one arm slams him. KM is shouldered over.

Oiwa armlocks KM then armdrags him. Oiwa slams KM then falling splashes him for 2. Hart corner splashes KM then sentons him. KM hits dropkicks on Hart. Yoshi gets in and chops up Hart. Yoshi headhunters him then hits a corner lariat.

Hart spinebusters Yoshi. Oiwa flying back elbows Yoshi for 2. Yoshi dropkicks Oiwa in the knee. KM gets back in and flying forearms Oiwa. KM hiptosses Oiwa for 2. Oiwa back elbows him then KM hits a dropkick. Oiwa takes corner attacks and KM powerslams him for 2. KM crabs Oiwa and Oiwa ropebreaks.

Oiwa pulls KM down by the arm then they trade armbars. KM goes for a pin and Oiwa lariats him for 2. Oiwa sits on his back and pulls the arm then taps him out.

Thoughts: KM got to do a little more here than usual and looked like just like one of the guys instead of a young lion. It was an okay opener and I wouldn't have minded if this went longer.

El Phantasmo, Shota Umino, Togi Makabe & Jado vs Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, Francesco Akira & Jakob Austin Young

Khan waistlocks and rolls Shota. Khan double legs him then fisherman suplexes him. Shota dropkicks him. Shota stomp flurries Khan in the corner. Togi shoulders over Khan.

Jake and Jado go at it. Jake elbows him in the back of the neck and basement dropkicks him for 2. Cobb stands on Jado's back. Cobb hits double chops on Jado then uppercuts him. Cobb sits on Jado's neck in the corner. Cobb double chops Shota out.  

Akira gets in. He basement dropkicks Jado for 2. Jado shoulders over Akira. ELP and Cobb trade forearms and ELP is knocked down. ELP springboard twisting crossbodies Cobb then asai moonsaults him for 2. Cobb fallaway slams ELP then ELP rolls him up for 2. 

Cobb spincycle backdrops ELP. ELP takes corner attacks then a top rope dropkick for 2. Togi comes in and hits a double lariat. Shota tornado ddt's Khan then cannonballs him off the apron. ELP hits a gordbuster on Jake and wins.

Thoughts: It was a shorter tag and didn't get enough time. The ELP vs Cobb section was probably the best part of this and helped get me interested in their match on 2/3. 

SANADA & Taiji Ishimori vs Taichi & TAKA Michinoku

The heels attack before the bell. Taka and TI fight in the seats and TI spits water at him. Sanada and Tai go into the seats too. Tai is sent into the wall. Taka and TI get back in and they eye poke each other. Sanada back raskes Taka and sends him into the exposed buckle.

Sanada suplexes Taka for 2. TI rakes Taka's eyes with his feet and fist drops him. Taka then is sent into the exposed buckle again. Taka facelocks Sanada then TI. Taka pump kicks Sanada. 

 Tai hits shots on Sanada. Tai russian legsweeps him. Tai hits Kawada kicks then corner facekicks Sanada. Sanada kicks the ropes into Tai's crotch then plancha's him. Sanada dropkicks Tai in the knee then hits a magic screw. Sanada facekicks Tai out of the corner then Tai running lariats him.

TI boots Taka. Taka step up knees him in the corner. Taka running knees him for 2. Taka facelocks TI. TI handspring corkscrew kicks Taka. Taka jumping back kicks him then hits a michinoku driver for 2. Sanada throws Tai into the ref to stop the count.

Sanada dropkicks Taka. Tai spin kicks Sanada. Sanada low blows him. Sanada low blows Taka then TI rolls up Taka for the win.

Thoughts: It wasn't a clean match put they kept it interesting and I think they did an okay job with it. The heels did their usual tactics and they gave Taka some hope spots here making you think he might pull off the win.

Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi vs Tomohiro Ishii & Tomoaki Honma

LIJ attacks before the bell. HT and Naito dosey-do then get attacks in on their opponents. Ishii and Honma shoulder over their opponents. Honma ddt's Naito for 2. Honma hits forearms on Naito. Ishii hits a chop and forearm combo on Naito then knocks him over with it. Honma back elbows Naito for 2.

Naito hits forearms and chops on Honma. Honma fires back. Honma misses a charge and Naito neckbreakers Honma. HT flying headscissors Ishii. HT then shotgun dropkicks Honma into Ishii. HT basement dropkicks Ishii.

Ishii suplexes HT. Ishii backdrops him. HT superkicks Ishii then Ishii shoulders him over. HT dropkicks him then flips him with a lariat.

Honma and Naito trade in the corner. Honma bulldogs him then misses a headbutt drop. Naito hits back elbows. Ishii and Honma take double teams. HT superkicks Honma. Ishii germans HT then Honma falling headbutts Naito. Honma battering ram headbutts Naito then flying shoulders him for 2.

Honma lifts Naito and Naito reverse ddt's him. Naito koji clutches Honma and submits him.

Thoughts: I was alright with this one The two teams matched up well here and were able to workaround their limitations. Naito's destino/reverse ddt at the end was pretty bad here.

HT and Ishii get into it after. The ref and young lions are thrown out.

Gabe Kidd, Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors vs Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI

Yot and Gabe lock up. Gabe side headlocks him. They shoulder each other and Yota gets knocked down. They trade forearms. Gabe chops him. Yota pumping knees him then shoulders him over. Gabe shoulders him over.

Gabe headbutts and uppercuts him. Yota knocks him down with a forearm. Gabe hits a headbutt and chop combo in the corner on Yota. Gabe then dropkicks Yota. Drilla gets in. He stomps and kicks on Yota.

Drilla back rakes Yota then butt drops Yota's back. They trade forearms. Yota tilt-a-whirl backbreakers him. Shingo gets in and shoulders over Drilla. Shingo slams Clark then hiptosses Gabe. Shingo suplexes Drilla for 2. 

Shingo and Drilla trade shots. Shingo back elbows him and takes a step up enzugiri. Shingo hits a corner lariat. Drilla ddt's Shingo for 2. Shingo misses a legdrop then Drilla superkicks him. Shingo hits a gori bomb on him.

Bushi and Clark get in. Clark running back elbows him then powerslams him for 2. Bushi step up enzugiri's him. Bushi dropkicks Gabe in the knee. Bushi then topes Clark outside.

Multiple people get in to do a move. Bushi takes a Clark lariat then takes a high/low. Clark lifting ddt's Bushi and pins him for the win.

Thoughts: I liked the Gabe/Yota section. Drilla/Shingo might have been okay but they spent too much time dodging each other's attacks in a match that ended up being pretty short. This needed more time.

NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Titles - Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano and Oleg Boltin (c) vs House of Torture (Ren Narita, SHO and Yujiro Takahashi)

HoT get jumped by the faces as they enter. The wrestlers fight outside. Yano is sent into the rails. Tana is triple stomped on by the heels. Tana fights off the triple team and 2nd rope twisting crossbodies Yujiro. Yano throws Yujiro into seats. Yano goesto chair him and the ref takes the chair. The heels then choke Yano with a chair while the ref isn't looking. Oleg takes a chair to the gut.

Yano nearly gets counted out. Yujiro leg drops Yano. Sho throws Yano out. Ren back elbows Yano for 2. Ren chokes Yano. Yano pulls on Ren's hair. Yano belly to belly suplexes Ren.

Sho flying spears Oleg then Oleg hits a double shoulder block on his opponents. Oleg throws Ren on a slam and splashes him for 2. Ren chokes Oleg and leg chokes him back. Ren takes corner attaks then Oleg vader bombs him. Tana 2nd rope swantons Ren.

Ren hits a boot on Tana. Tana takes corner attacks and gets his legs split. Ren grabs a puhs-up board. He misses a shot wiht it. Tana twist and shouts Yujiro and Sho. Yano gets in and takes off a turnbuckle pad. He sends Sho into it and rolls him up for 2. Sho is catapulted into a belly to belly suplex.

Yano hits a double low blow and atomic drops Sho into a slingblade. Kanemaru comes down and Yano powerbombs Sho. Kanemaru spits whiskey in Yano's eyes and Sho rolls up Yano for the win.

Thoughts: It was all shenanigans here with little wrestling. It is not surprising considering who is involved with this and how limited some of the guys are. This wasn't good.

Oleg is hit with a title belt after.

Zack Sabre Jr., Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles vs Hirooki Goto, El Desperado & YOH

Despy and Kosei go at it. They trade hammerlocks. Despy armdrags Kosei then Kosei chops him. Rob and Yoh get in. Yoh does Rob's chant for him. Rob tries to do it and Yoh rolls him up. Rob uses the ropes and armdrags him. Rob flying headscissors Yoh then spinning heel kicks him.

Rob takes a double back club flurry. Goto back elbows Rob then is tripped into a baseball slide and neck twist. Zack euros Goto over. Zack and Goto trade outside. Zack headscissors Goto. Kosei takes Goto down by the arm. Zack, Kosei and Rob then grab various limbs on Goto and rotate. Zack ties up Goto's legs and bridges. Goto takes a double back elbow and has his neck twisted with Zack's feet.

Kosei PK's Goto for 2. Yoh then takes a club flurry on the back. Goto hits a double shoulderblock. Goto then shoulders over Zack. Despy suplexes Kosei for 2. Kosei step up enzugiri's Despy. Kosei kicks Despy for 2.

Despy and Kosei hold each other's wrists and trade forearms. Rob spin kicks Despy. Rob takes a back elbow then a Yoh falcon arrow. Kosei hits a double dropkick. Goto spinning heel kicks Zack then backdrops him for 2.

Zack armbar takedowns Goto then armbars him. That gets broken up. Kosei springboard dropkicks Despy. Goto spinning lariats Rob then running lariats Kosei. Kosei takes a big bump on his shoulders for it. Goto does an ushigoroshi on Zack. Goto russian legsweeps Zack for 2.

Zack and Goto lariat each other. Zack pele kicks the arm and sweeps the leg. Zack PK's Goto. Goto rolls up Zack for 2. Zack then bridge pins Goto to win.

Thoughts: It wasn't anything of note. It just never found it's flow until the end and the crowd wasn't into it.

Robbie asks where Rocky Romero is on the mic after. Kosei talks on the mic then Zack talks.

Overall thoughts: It was the usual NJPW house show. Neither the main or semi main were that good. The Taka match and the opener were the best things on here. I'd only give it a 4 out of 10 and wouldn't recommend it.

AEW Dynamite 1/29/2025

AEW Dynamite 1/29/2025

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/aew-dynamite-1222025.html

We are in Huntsville, Alabama.

Will Ospreay vs Brian Cage

Don Callis gets on the mic and says to look at the screen. We see Kenny Omega down in the back. Cage nails Will from behind and beats up on him. Cage catches Will's flying headscissors. Will 2nd rope diving headscissors him. Will misses a plancha outside and Cage shoulders him over.

Will is whipped into the rails and stands on them. Will is caught in the suplex position. Cage walks around the ring with him for some reason then suplexes him on the floor. Lance Archer bangs Will's head off the commentary table and Don Callis hits shots on Will. Will is backdropped on the apron. Cage spears Will in the corner then rams him in the other corner. They trade chops. Cage leg lariats him. Will jawbreakers him. Cage hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.

Will is snet chest first into the buckles. Cage bearhugs him. Will handspring corkscrew kicks him. Will sits on the buckles and is kicked. Will superkicks him. Will flying orearms him for 2. Will flips out of a german then facekicks Cage off the apron. Will flying space tiger drops him.

Lance distracts Will and Cage lariats Will. Cage deadlif superplexes him for 2. Will hits hook kicks. Cage forearms him and spinning lariats him. Cage sitout spinning powerbombs Will for 2. Cage hits a 2nd rope F-5 for 2 when Lance pushes Will's foot off the ropes. The ref sees Lance do it and allows him.

Cage is hurricanrana'd into Lance. Will hits a styles clash on Cage and wins.

Thoughts: I wasn't a fan. Cage is big but doesn't really know how to work like a bigger guy and the 2nd rope F-5 should have put Will out. I also didn't like the ref seeing Lance cheat yet not doing anything about it. 

Lance and Cage beat up Will after. Kenny Omega then makes it out after being injured and uses a chair on both Cage and Lance. Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita then come down and beat up Will and Kenny. Will and Kenny take stereo package tombstones.

Renee is trying to interview Swerve Strickland. Adam Page goes looking for him but can't find him. Page runs into MJF. MJF complains about Page. MJF says Jeff Jarrett will learn the hard way about defying the devil. He says JJ will face Claudio Castagnoli tonight because he refused his offer. MJF says he has a new offer for him tonight that he can't decline - The Last Outlaw's Last Ride.

Powerhouse Hobbs does a promo on Big Bill. He says he wasn't cleared to travel to Dynamite. He says he told him they're going to hell. Hobbs says he will show him that hell is just the beginning.

Claudio Castagnoli vs Jeff Jarrett

CC backs him up in the corner and takes a shot. CC shoulders him over then JJ armdrags him. JJ hiptosses him then does a japanese armdrag. CC atomic drops JJ then running lariats him. CC is put in the figure four.

Wheeler Yuta comes out. We go to PiP break and return. JJ hits shots to CC's gut. CC running euros him in the corner for 2. CC double stomps him for 2. JJ russian legsweeps him. They trade shots. CC euros him and is dropped with a shot. JJ misses a step up enzugiri then CC giant swings him. CC sharpshooters him. JJ reverses it and puts CC in it. Yuta throws a chair in and gets on the apron. JJ nails Yuta. Mox then comes down and death rider ddt's JJ. CC hits a neutralizer on JJ. CC then wins.

Thoughts: It was short and while the work was okay, we got a dirty finish which brought it down. JJ worked the knee some here.

MJF comes out and goes to talk to Jeff. He then drops him with a shot with the Dynamite Diamond Ring. MJF says he respects his elders and says that's why he won't say, "I told you so".

Renee interviews Ricochet. He says Swerve is finally out of his business tonight as he isn't allowed to interfere or the Ricochet/Swerve match will be off. Ric says he's being bullied by the AEW powers that be into fighting AR Fox. 

Ricochet vs AR Fox

AR shoulders him over then side headlock takeovers him. Ric side headlocks him. AR hits a stunner from the bottom rope then AR twisting brainbusters him. AR suicide dives him then sends him into the rail. AR facekicks him there.

Ric hiptosses AR on the apron. We then go to PiP break and return. Ric dropkicks AR for 2. Ric spinebusters AR and does a moonsault from the people's elbow position. They lariat each other then collide is mid-air with a crossbody.

AR hits an enzugiri then hooks Ric's leg and does a driver on him. Ric takes an iconoclasm then is rolled into an AR cutter. AR 450's him off the top for 2.

Ric grabs the ref to get out of a move. He then single leg codebreakers AR for 2. Ric hits vertigo on AR and wins.

Thoughts: This was the classic AEW reverse squash where the loser gets most of the offense in before being beaten by the bigger star. I don't know why we needed to see this or why it went so long. I have little faith AR's performance will be followed up on here.

Ric pulls out scissors after. Swerve Strickland then comes down and beats up Ric. Ric is thrown into the rails and steps. Swerves goes to top rope double stomp Ric but Ric pulls AR into the way.

We get part of an interview between Renee and Mox/CC. Mox says she doesn't understand what it's like to be an AEW champ. He says he's the definition of an AEW champ. Mox says he will put other wrestlers what he went through and worse.

Matt Menard shills merchandise for some reason.

We get another New York Minute segment with The Learning Tree. Jericho says his movie premieres this weekend. Jericho says Big Bill took out Hobbs. Bill said he took Jericho's words into actions and thinks he understands Jericho now. Jericho says it makes him proud of him. Jericho says he told Bill to take out Hobbs permanently and he's gonna have to work on that. Jericho says The Outrunners claim to have wrestled for decades but he has never seen them outside of AEW. He says The Outrunners will get taught a lesson and says he expects Big Bill to make him proud.

Jay White vs Wheeler Yuta

Jay goes for the blade runner and Yuta slides out. Jay chops Yuta sveeral times early on. Jay back body drops Yuta. Yuta is crotched on the top rope. They go out. Jay bangs Yuta's head off the rails. Jay is tripped into the apron edge then sent into the steps. Yuta stomps on Jay's ankle.

Yuta boots Jay in the knee then fisherman suplexes him for 2. We go to PiP break and return. They fight on the buckles. Jay dragon screws Yuta. Jay superplexes Yuta. Jay gets a 2 count on Yuta then Yuta chop blocks him. Yuta single leg crabs him. Yuta kicks Jay in the leg then Yuta drops him for 2. Jay uranges Yuta. Yuta rolls up Jay for 2. Yuta germans him for 2. Jay hits a bladerunner on Yuta and wins.

Thoughts: Yuta worked Jay's leg here and Jay made his comeback to win. I was not really very interested in this one and just didn't see Yuta beating Jay. I thought it should have been a little better than it was. 

Jay bladerunners Yuta. Mox and Shafir come down. Claudio then nails Jay from behind. Cope and FTR then come down to back off The Death Riders.

Dax gets on the mic after. Dax says he had a problem with The Death Riders trying to end Ricky Morton. He says Dennis Condrey is here and wants an FTR vs Death Riders street fight on Collision.

We get a video on Toni Storm vs Mariah May.

Renee interviews Mariah May. May says it's great to be in Huntsville. May says they should change the first level of it to a "C". May says none of this is real and Toni Storm is not real. May says if Toni wants to play the role of Toni Storm, she should play the role of Toni who got used or was bleeding and crying in May's hands. May says the ending stays the same no matter which Toni she plays. When you are this good, you don't change a thing. May says she's the woman from hell and always will be. She says she will remind Toni of it the rest of her life. 

We get a video on The Gunn's, who have been gone for no real reason for a long time.

The Hurt Syndicate do a video. MVP says he wants to recognize the former AEW tag champs Private Party. He said they worked hard and it wasn't their fault they ran into the most devastating tandem in AEW. MVP says they will accept any challenges any place.

We get a video on Konosuke Takeshita.

Taya Valkyrie and Deonna Purrazzo do a promo. Taya says we will see Mone defend her title vs Yuka soon. Deonna says it could and show have been her if it wasn't for Harley Cameron. Taya says Harley loves sticking her balloons where they don't belong. Deonna says the world wasn't built for woemn like them and they need to take what they deserve. Deonna says Harley belongs to The Vendetta and they are coming to collect.

AEW TBS Title - Mercedes Mone (c) vs Yuka Sakazaki

This is a really weak main. I doubt anyone believes Yuka is winning here, if they even remember her period.

Yuka wristlocks her. Mone reverses it. Mone hammerlocks her. Mone side headlocks her then shoulders her over. Yuka shoulders her over then mocks her dance. Yuka snapmares her then Mone snapmares her back. Yuka does a bad bodyscissors roll into a pin attempt.

Mone crucifixes her for 2. Mone armdrags her. Yuka kicks Mone from the apron. Yuka goes for a top rope dive and Mone moves away. Mone meteora's her off the apron. We go to PiP break and return.  

Yuka hits forearms on Mone. Yuka hurricanrana's her. Mone misses a meteora in the corner. Yuka kicks her from the apron. Yuka messes up a springboard then springboard dropkicks her. Yuka brainbusters her for 2. Yuka sliding larits her for 2. Mone hits three amigos for 2. Mone walks on Yuka. They fight on the buckles. Yuka hits forearms then superplexes her.

Yuka escapes a money maker and superkicks Mone. Yuka spinning hammerlock drops her for 2. Mone backstabbers her. Yuka gets a 2 count off of it and crucifixes Mone for 2. Yuka germans her off the ropes. Mone powerbombs her then hits a money maker for the win.

Thoughts: It went long and wasn't that good of a match. Yuka had a lot of sloppy moments here and the two didn't work that well together. Mone's finisher didn't look good either.

Overall thoughts: It was a pretty boring episode. Little happened outside of The Death Riders doing their usual stuff. The matches were all predictable and nothing was that great. I'd give this one a 4 out of 10 and would not recommend it.