wrestling / TV Reports
Cook’s Impact Against All Odds 2023 Review
Image Credit: Impact Wrestling
Loading...Hey kids! I’m Steve Cook, here with you for another Impact Wrestling special event. Against All Odds is one of the company’s longest-running events and has featured many of the top wrestlers of this generation. Who will have their Against All Odds moment tonight? Let’s find out together…
We begin with the Countdown to Against All Odds. Tom Hannifan & Matthew Rehwoldt are our commentators.
KiLynn King (w/Taylor Wilde) vs. Nevaeh: Nevaeh is back for the first time in two years, she lives in Dayton so it’s not a terribly long trip to Columbus. King shoulder blocks Nevaeh in the corner & chops her. Mr. Perfect neck flip and a basement clothesline from Nevaeh gets two. King knocks Nevaeh to the apron and the floor, where Wilde gives Nevaeh a cheap shot. Some forearms from King get two. King & Wilde choke Nevaeh on the ropes. Nevaeh fights out of a bow & arrow, delivers a kick & some strikes. Wilde gets knocked off the apron, Neveah hits a neckbreaker for two. Front suplex gets two for King. Nevaeh & King exchange strikes, Nevaeh wins the battle and gets a two count on a clothesline. Big kick by King, then the King’s Curse ends the match.
Winner: KiLynn King (5:00 via pinfall)
Match Rating: **
oVe is finally back together in Impact Wrestling. Sami Callihan is pretty excited about it, and the violence that will ensue tonight. They’re taking over everything.
Santino Marella makes his way to ringside & joins commentary.
Impact Digital Media Championship Match: Joe Hendry (c) vs. Dirty Dango: Hendry tells us that there are two words you need to say when Dango appears, and he plays his newest music video: “Divas Reject”. Very nice! Hendry with a headlock, off the ropes and a couple of shoulderblocks are delivered to Dirty Dango. Dango drops Hendry neck-first on the ropes, then tosses a shirt in Santino’s face. Hendry delivers a neckbreaker on the floor. Back in the ring for a one count. Chops in the corner by Hendry. Dango uses the referee to get in the way of a Hendry strike, then delivers one of his own. Suplex gets two. Uppercut to the back of Hendry. Dango walks the rope, then drops his knee on Hendry’s arm. Chops by Dango, but Hendry tosses him over the top rope to the floor. Running cutter by Hendry, then a fallaway slam and a kip up. Claps & stomps, but Hendry gets blocked on the Standing Ovation attempt. Dango hits a Falcon Arrow for two. Dango goes up top, but Hendry follows him there. Dango blocks the superplex, knocks Hendry to the mat, but misses a top rope legdrop. Hendry deadlifts Dango and drops him with a suplex. Standing Ovation and a one-two-three.
Winner: Joe Hendry (6:29 via pinfall)
Star Rating: **1/2
Tom & Matthew run down the card.
Cook’s Impact Against All Odds 2023 Review
Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin entered the building earlier today. We see them do that before the opening video that encourages people to finish their story.
Eddie Edwards (w/Alisha Edwards) vs. Frankie Kazarian: This is a first-time matchup between two Killer Kowalski students. I have to say that I appreciate Alisha finally showing some attitude in this promotion. Good to see. Some chain rasslin to start. Kaz & Edwards exchange arm drags, a Kowalski/Oklahoma Roll gets two for Frankie. Some slaps & shoves exchanged. Shoulderblock by Kazarian, a chop, Irish whip and a California legsweep get two. Forearm by Edwards, but a backslide gets two for Kazarian. Spinning neckbreaker gets two for Kazarian. Chop, Eddie whips Frankie over the corner to the floor. Alisha with the ol’ backrake, and Frankie’s not happy. Eddie attacks from behind to break up any tomfoolery from Frankie. Chop by Edwards, he rolls Kazarian back in the ring and delivers another chop. Eddie gouges Frankie’s face on the ropes, then Alisha chokes Kaz when the referee’s back is turned. Rear chinlock by Edwards. Kazarian fights back with a couple of clotheslines and a flying forearm. Kaz sets up for the slingshot legdrop, but Eddie pushes him to the floor. Then a tope suicida from Edwards. Missile dropkick gets a two count for Edwards. A slap fight gets Frankie back into things. Frankie runs into an elbow, but pushes Edwards off the top rope to the floor. Kazarian then vaults over the top rope into a rana on Edwards! Legdrop to Edwards over the rope, then a slingshot into a DDT gets two. Alisha gets in the way of the slingshot legdrop attempt, but Kaz hits it on the second attempt and gets a two count. Kazarian goes up top but Eddie kicks him. Chicken wing blocked, a blue thunder bomb gets two for Edwards. Roll up by Frankie gets two, Edwards drops him down, but Kazarian hits the Dead Eye for a two count. Alisha put Eddie’s foot on the ropes, but the referee saw it. He kicks Alisha out of ringside, the cad! Kaz slams Eddie and goes up top. Eddie follows him and crotches him on the top rope. Good thing Traci’s already a mother. Superplex by Edwards. but Kazarian cradles him for two. Pretty close count there, but Kazarian ends up getting another cradle for the three count.
Winner: Frankie Kazarian (12:27 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***1/2
Jimmy Jacobs is joined by Nick Aldis, Heath, Jonathan Gresham & Bully Ray. Nick says they’ll work together, then at the end it’ll be strictly business. Gresham & Heath agree, but Bully is pretty tired of hearing about this trust stuff. They sound like a bunch of white meat babyfaces with no freaking balls. They can trust Bully in the tag match, as long as they follow his lead. Once that’s done, he’ll slit their throats. Nick seems surprised that they can’t trust Bully Ray. Well, not really.
Impact Tag Team Championship Match: ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) (c) vs. The Good Hands (Jason Hotch & John Skyler) (w/Brian Myers): Myers talks about how Austin & Bey don’t look like tag team champions. Skyler talks about how Columbus is a dump and how they’ll leave as tag team champions. Bey & Skyler start things off. Shoulderblock from Skyler, who then shrugs off a headscissor attempt. Bey gets a near-fall with a cradle, then an armdrag. Hotch tags in and misses an elbowdrop. ABC with some double teaming, a combined standing moonsault/legdrop gets two. Ace with a headscissor, Hotch finds his way outside. Skyler distracts Austin, which leads to Hotch attacking from behind. Double face plant by the Good Hands gets two. Double Virginian legsweep, then a double elbowdrop gets two on Austin. Austin tries to get the tag, but Skyler keeps that from happening. Drop toe hold & an enziguri by Ace, then a double stomp. Tag to Bey, Bey uses Hotch as a springboard to kick Skyler out of the ring. A rana gets two for Bey. Code Red gets another two count for Bey. Austin tags back in nd ABC do some double teaming. Unfortunately Austin hits Bey with a kick accidentally, and gets speared by Hotch for two. Kicks by Austin, a rollup gets two.Myers gets dove on by Austin after the count. Skyler spears Austin on the apron, then Hotch comes off the turnbuckle with a moonsault. Bey vaults over the referee onto the Good Hands in a fun spot. Austin gets pulled out of the ring and hit with a title belt by Myers. Magic Killer on Austin only gets two. Austin breaks up their finisher attempt, Bey DDTs Skyler out of the ring. Hotch gets headscissors into the Art of Finnesse, then the Fall ends things for the champs.
Winners: ABC (9:41 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***
Gia Miller talks to Deonna Purrazzo & Trinity. Deonna says they have matching gear tonight and there’s no reason they can’t co-exist. Deonna wants to face Trinity at 100% at Slammiversary, and Trinity shares that desire.
Dog Collar Match: Killer Kelly vs. Masha Slamovich: I’m sure there’s been a female dog collar match somewhere at some point, but this is the first one I remember seeing. Masha takes the early control and yanks on the chain to control Kelly. She chokes Kelly with said chain and sticks it in her mouth. Kelly seems to want more punishment, and she delivers some of her own. Masha wraps the chain around Kelly’s hands and stomps on them. More choking by Masha, and a couple of snap mares with the chain. Kelly fights back, sending Masha outside. Tug of war with the steel post in the middle…Masha wins & Kelly smacks the steel. Kelly gets choked against the ringpost with the chain. Masha drags Kelly back into the ring and gets a two count. Forearms are exchanged. A double clothesline sends both competitors down. The referee makes a count but both get to their feet eventually. Kelly with some clotheslines. Headbutts by Kelly, then a double underhook suplex. Kelly dropkicks Masha in the corner. Masha gets DDTed and covered for two. Kelly sits on the turnbuckle and hangs Masha with the chain. Kelly gets knocked to the floor and the chain is over the top rope, so now Masha can hang her. Back in the ring, a cover gets two. Kelly puts the chain in her own mouth and Masha headbutts her. Kelly goes for the Killer Clutch, Masha tries to fight out, but Kelly uses a Snow Plow on her for two. Kelly goes back to the sleeper, but Masha wraps the chain around her and chokes her way out. Masha hits the Snow Plow on Kelly and gets the three count.
Winner: Masha Slamovich (11:51 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***1/2
Afterwards, Masha pulls Kelly to her feet and kind of shows some respect. They both seem to be happy with what’s transpired.
Gia Miller is with the Motor City Machine Guns. Sabin & Shelley have chances to win singles gold tonight, and both are more about action than words.
Impact X Division Championship Match: Trey Miguel (c) vs. Chris Sabin: Sabin could become a nine-time X Division Champion with a victory here. Trey is happy to run away from Sabin & avoid fighting. Sabin hits a cannonball onto Miguel. Gutbuster on the floor by Sabin. Miguel attacks back in the ring, but it’s Sabin with a faceplant for two. Sabin places Miguel up top, but Miguel gets out of that and hits a neckbreaker. Cover gets two. Trey with some shots, and he lets everybody know he’s from Ohio. Trey with a kick, Sabin blocks a tornado DDT and hits a Lethal Combination on Trey. On the apron, some moves are teased but Trey is sent into the turnbuckle. Sabin gets kicked, but hits a spear on the apron. Back in the ring, Sabin with some kicks, some punches to the stomach. Another spear in the corner by Sabin, then a gut-first slam gets two. Miguel jumps into a knee, then Sabin applies an abdominal stretch. Pumphandle into a suplex gets two. Miguel with a German suplex with a leg trap, and then he works Sabin into a Mutalock. Sabin gets out, but gets worked into another submission not long after. Sabin cradles his way out for two. Miguel blocks the kick, hits some kicks of his own. Sabin with a gutbuster, then the Angel’s Wings for a two count. Cradle Shock is blocked, but Sabin maintains advantage. Miguel with a Meteora for two, then a couple of nearfalls. Miguel with a Cradle Shock of his own! That gets two. Miguel looks under the ring and finds his spraypaint. One goes in the back of his gear, another in his hands. The referee takes one can, but not the second. Of course Sabin gets sprayed, but the rollup only gets two. Sabin gets put up top, but that backfires on Miguel, as Sabin drops him on the turnbuckle. Sabin tries to clear his eyes out with some water. Sabin avoids the Lightning Spiral, and hits a Styles Clash for two! Clothesline from Hell, Michigan, then the Cradle Shock! We have a nine-time X Division Champion!
Winner: Chris Sabin (13:11 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***3/4
8-4-1 Match: Bully Ray, Jonathan Gresham, Heath & Nick Aldis vs. Mike Bailey, Moose, PCO & Rich Swann: This starts as an eight-man tag team match. The winning team immediately faces off in a fatal 4-way match, and the winner gets an Impact World Championship match at Slammiversary. As far as Impact stipulations go, this one is fairly straight-forward. Bailey & Gresham get to start things. Handshake! Gresham with a headscissors but Bailey cartwheels out of it. Some headlocks, tieups & fast-moving action here. Heath & Rich Swann tag in. Some dancing breaks out. Swann kips out of a wristlock into a headlock. Kicks by Swann, Heath catches Swann in the corner and delivers an inside out slam for two. Moose clotheslines Heath behind the referee’s back, Swann covers for two. Moose tags in and works Heath over. He has some for Bully as well, Heath fights back for a second before getting beat back down. Bailey tags in and delivers a series of kicks to Heath. Helluva kick in the corner, Bully keeps Bailey from coming off the top rope. Bully tags in and stomps Bailey down. Lots of trash talk. Bully chops Bailey to the mat. A kick from Bailey knocks Bully down. Tag to PCO & Gresham, PCO ends up running over three competitors. Aldis & Heath get shoulderblocked down. then get cannonballed on the floor. Bully goes in for a few seconds before tagging Gresham. PCO no-sells a cross-body attempt. Lungblower by PCO. PCO places Gresham on the apron and sets up his cannonball, but Moose tags in. Ray helps PCO complete the cannonball anyway, and he hits the apron. Moose & Gresham in the ring, Gresham gets powerbombed for two. Swann & Gresham go at it, and Moose ends up spearing Swann. Moose ends up outside, and Gresham pins Swann at 10:32.
Time for the four-way between Bully, Gresham, Heath & Aldis. Bully gets triple-teamed by his former tag team partners. They take turns delivering moves to Bully Ray before Ray rolls outside. Heath with kicks to Aldis & Gresham. Aldis hits Heath in the corner. Aldis slams Bully, and he & Heath hold his legs so Gresham can do the ol’ Whasssssup drop. Roll ups for two counts are exchanged. Aldis gets two on Gresham with a brain buster. Aldis & Heath exchange punches. Both men end up outside so Gresham can dive onto them. Bully sends Gresham into the ringpost. Bully looks under the ring and finds a chair. No disqualification here, so that’s not an issue. Here comes Scott D’Amore, who does seem to have an issue with it. He takes the chair! D’Amore says not to give Bully a microphone. Bully talks some trash, and tells Scott he has no balls. Scott hits Bully in the back with the chair and flips him off. Heath with the Wake Up Call on the chair. Gresham with a top rope splash. Aldis breaks up the count. Neckbreaker on Aldis gets two for Heath. Aldis with a Michinoku Driver on Heath for two. Aldis heads up top, but Gresham meets him there. Heath makes sure they come off the top for the ol’ Tower of Doom. Heath covers both men for two. Gresham targets Heath’s knee and does an Indian Deathlock. Aldis up top, hits an elbowdrop to break it up. Aldis locks in a Cloverleaf, and Heath taps out!
Winner: Nick Aldis (19:02 via submission)
Match Rating: ***1/2
Gia Miller asks Steve Maclin if any of the events of tonight affect his gameplan against Alex Shelley. They don’t.
Trinity & Deonna Purrazzo vs. Gisele Shaw & Savannah Evans (w/Jai Vidal): Purrazzo all over Shaw early on, but Shaw fights back with some chops. Deonna hits a clothesline. Tag to Trinity, a split legdrop gets one. Evans tags in and gets headscissored & kicked into the corner by Trinity. Tag to Purrazzo, and some successful team work on display here. Evans eventually takes control with a clothesline & some punches. Shaw tags in and gets two with a spinning uppercut. Evans & Shaw take turns working Deonna over. Trinity tags in, evades Evans and hits a bulldog in the corner. Springboard into an X-Factor on Evans. Jai Vidal distracts the referee & Shaw knocks Trinity off the top rope. Now it’s Trinity on the defensive, with Evans & Shaw working her over. Butterfly suplex gets two for Evans. Trinity takes Evans down, and Purrazzo & Shaw tag in. Deonna takes the offensive, and locks in the Fujiwara armbar. Shaw gets her foot on the bottom rope. Full nelson into a backbreaker from Shaw. Trinity comes in and hits the Rear View. All four women down after some big moves. Evans tags in, but gets blocked on a powerbomb attempt. Trinity knees Evans in the corner, then Vidal delivers a clothesline to Trinity on the outside! Deonna locks in a La Magistral on Evans & gets the win.
Winners: Trinity & Deonna Purrazzo (10:02 via pinfall)
Match Rating: **3/4
The three attack Purrazzo afterward, but Trinity’s able to come back and clear them out of the ring. Handshake & a hug for the future Slammiversary opponents. They do a little dancing.
Ohio Street Fight: The Design (Deaner, Kon & Angels) vs. oVe (Sami Callihan, Jake Crist & Madman Fulton): Some white t-shirts for the Design tonight, I suspect that color will change before the match is over. It’s a six way brawl to start, with Kon & Fulton squaring off in the ring while the other four go outside and find some plunder. Callihan with a crutch, Deaner with a chair. The big men tumble outside and continue their fights. Angels gets dropped on the ladder. Crist with a flying clothesline in the ring. Kon smashes Fulton with a cookie sheet. Crist & Callihan introduce Deaner to a trash can & chair in the corner. A rolling pin with barbed wire wrapped around it makes an appearance. Angels gets suplexed on a chair by Callihan. Sami finds a staple gun. Angels manages to avoid that temporarily, until he tries a sunset flip. Whoops. Kon uses a shovel on Fulton, then enters the ring to use the staple gun on Callihan. Fulton sends Kon into the steps, then gets a mail box used on him by Deaner. Fulton fights that off and takes Deaner & Angels down. Callihan tells Fulton to get the wire, and there’s a barbed wire board or two added to the fracas. Fulton sets up a powerbomb through the board, but Angels uses Fulton’s dreadlocks to block that. He then uses a chair on Fulton, and wraps some barbed wire around his arm for the Brodie Lee spinning lariat. Crist DVDs Angels for two. Crist gets crotched on the top rope, and Angels follows him up. Callihan gets the barbed wire in a different spot before breaking up the move. Angels floors Callihan with a kick, goes up top at the same time as Crist, and ends up eating a cutter for a two count. Deaner gets suplexed onto the barbed wire board. Callihan finds a black bag, and sure enough there’s some thumbtacks. Kon ends up chokeslamming Sami onto said tacks, and Fulton breaks up the count. Fulton & Kon fight up the ramp and towards the edge of the stage. This results in both men goozling each other & crashing through a table on the floor. Deaner gouges Crist’s face, then sends him through the barbed wire board with a burning hammer off the apron! Angels & Deaner face off against Callihan. A low blow leads to Sami being kicked down, and a ladder & table are set up in the ring. Angels climbs up and frog splashes Sami through the table. It only gets two! Deaner starts barking instructions to Angels, and finds a baseball bat on the floor. Deaner accidentally hits Angels with the bat. Sami repeatedly hits Deaner with the trash can, then delivers the Cactus Driver 97. Deaner actually kicks out! Sami gets the bat and delivers a shot to Deaner’s face. Another Driver, this time on the board, ends it.
Winners: oVe (14:53 via pinfall)
Star Rating: ***3/4
I don’t remember seeing many Ohio Street Fights (much more of an expert on Kentucky Street Fights), but that was pretty fun.
Impact World Championship Match: Steve Maclin (c) vs. Alex Shelley: Shelley seems very serious on his way to the ring and very early in the match. A tieup goes down to the mat, Maclin moves Shelley into the corner. Maclin & Shelley do some chain rasslin, Shelley almost locks in the Border City Stretch & Maclin reaches the ropes. A fan says something that gets a reaction, I couldn’t tell what it was but the crowd seemed amused with themselves. Shelley with a headlock. Maclin with a takedown, then a slap to Shelley. Kind of a lame chop by Maclin in the corner, the second attempt worked out better. Maclin runs into an elbow in the corner, and Shelley targets the arm. Shelley vaults out of the ring and stomps Maclin, then kicks him down. Shelley with a stomp to Maclin’s elbow on the apron. Shelley’s neck gets introduced to the top rope by Maclin. Shelley with a dragon screw in the ropes, and keeps Maclin’s leg wrapped in the ropes so he can deliver a kneedrop. Fujiwara armbar by Shelley, into a cross armbreaker. Straitjacket hold by Shelley, which ends with a knee to Maclin’s back. Maclin tries to strike Shelley with his injured arm, which doesn’t go great. Shelley kicks away at Maclin. He teases a Figure 4, Maclin blocks but gets tied into a pretzel. A kick to Maclin’s head gets two. Shelley locks in the Figure 4 now, but Maclin’s able to get to the ropes. He rips off the turnbuckle pad while the ref is focused on Shelley while breaking the move. Shelley with a neckbreaker on Maclin. Maclin blocks a kick and hits one of his own. Maclin with the busaiku knee, then a brainbuster gets two. Maclin heads up top, hits a diving headbutt for two. Shelley locked in the Tree of Woe, but he’s able to avoid the strike. Shelley ends up DDTin Maclin on the apron and hits Sliced Bread on the floor. Back in the ring, Shell Shock is blocked and Maclin hits the KIA for a two count. Maclin tries to do one off the top rope, but Shelley blocks. A arm breaker, then a Sliced Bread off the top gets two! Knee by Shelley, Shell Shock blocked, Maclin spears Shelley into the exposed turnbuckle, hits a suplex that only gets two! Maclin ends up spearing the exposed turnbuckle! Shelley rolls Maclin into the middle of the ring, but he gets out of the stretch. Back & forth, Maclin sent into that turnbuckle again. Superkick by Shelley & Shell Shock…and we have a new Impact World Champion!
Winner: Alex Shelley (22:38 via pinfall)
Match Rating: ****
To say this is well deserved would be an understatement. Chris Sabin hits the ring and the celebration for the new singles champions is on as we head off the air.
