Csonka’s Impact Wrestling Review 5.05.20

Csonka’s Impact Wrestling Review 5.05.20

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– XXXL defeated oVe @ 13:00 via pin [**¾]
– Suicide defeated Johnny Swinger @ 3:45 via pin [**]
– Joseph P Ryan defeated Cousin Jake @ 9:00 via pin [*½]
– Impact Tag Team Title Match: Champions The North defeated Two Absolute Geeks @ 0:45 via pin [NR]
– X-Division Title Match: Champion Willie Mack defeated Chris Bey & Ace Austin @ 19:05 via pin [***½]

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– We open with highlights from the two-night Rebellion event.

– Josh & Madison are on the call.

– Sami Callihan kicks off the show. I see you AXS TV and Twitch, I see everything. The world sits at home, and the draw will brighten your day. He had the fight of his life with Shamrock but he’s still standing and it will take more to keep him down. He stood toe to toe with Shamrock, the ref stopped it and well, he doesn’t need help, which is why he did what he did to oVe. He wants Shamrock right now. Shamrock arrives and tells him to calm down. Shamrock says Sami is brave for a gut that got beaten down, but, he’s fought a lot of tough guys, KO’d them, submitted them, but Sami didn’t tap. You’re a tough SOB and reminds him he tapped Big Show, Bas Rutten, and the Rock. He thinks they have two choices, they either go back outside and finish it… or, they can go after the world title like they both want. Shake my hand and put it behind us. Elgin arrives and says that he heard them mention the world title. That’s his, he’s the rightful champion. Sami mocks him and Elgin says that the fans love him and think he’s great. He doesn’t need tricks, toys, or gimmicks to be exciting, No one can do what he can do, but Sami can’t fit in his boots. He’s the #1 contender, and tells Shamrock to shut up. He would have won the title had Tessa showed up, and the line starts behind him. Sami calls him a joke, Elgin attacks both and they fight back as Elgin powders. Sami disappears as Shamrock is left alone.

– Chris Bey says he’s the top contender for the X-Division title, and he doesn’t wait for anything and wants a title shot tonight. He will be the first finess-division champion.

– Willie Mack comments and says he partied with Swann. He talks about Bey and says he finessed his way into a foot up his ass.

oVe (Jake Crist & Mad Man Fulton) vs. XXXL: Dave is at ringside. Larry D and Fulton begin. They lockup and separate. Lockup again and they circle, Larry D looks to take control and trade tackles as Fulton takes him down. He follows with strikes, but Larry D hits a tackle and Romero tags in and hits the running senton for 2. Jake tags in and gets tossed around with ease. Double teams follow as Larry D covers for 2. He delivers strikes, and a back elbow for 2. Larry D then hits the leg drop for 2. He grounds things, Jake counters out and is quickly cut off and Larry D covers for 2. Romero tags in and Dave pulls Jake to the floor. Post break and Jake is in control AS Fulton tags in. He chokes out Romero, Dave joins in and Fulton tries to take Romero up top, and hits the Finlay roll for nothing as Larry D distracts the ref. Fulton follows with head butts, works him over in the ropes and follows with the big boot. Romero fires back, Jake tags in and follows with strikes. Fulton back in and Romero fires back, rocks Fulton and hits a backdrop. The spinebuster follows and Larry D & Jake tag in. Larry D runs wild and hits the running splash for 2. Jake fires back with a flurry of kicks, gets dumped and Larry D hits a suicide dive. Back in and Larry D head up top, Fulton cuts him off and the doomsday neck breaker follows but Romero makes the save. It breaks down, Dave gets involved, taken out and Larry D KOs Jake to win. XXXL defeated oVe @ 13:00 via pin [**¾] This was pretty good if a bit disjointed at times early on, but XXXL picks up a big win as oVe continues to struggle.

– The moment of the week is Foley vs. Angle from Victory Road 2009.

– Time for Locker Room Talk with Madison Rayne & Johnny Swinger. Havok is her guest, is asked about her loss at Rebellion and Havok is not happy. Havok says threatens to kill her and Rayne then asks about Neveah. Havok doesn’t know why she’s here, but Rayne has another friend from her past here and brings in Kimber Lee. Lee says she’s ready to take her place at the top. Havok says she knows who she is and leaves.

– We get a Cody Deaner in quarantine video. He’s on the road in his camper. He gets caught stealing water and is talking with action figures. But he’s fine in isolation, still selling merch.

Suicide vs. Johnny Swinger: Swinger talks trash and attacks. He follows with strikes, back rakes and the eyes with no effect/ “Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy Spidy.” Suicide attacks, dumps him and hits the house show dive, and back in, Swinger crotches him on the ropes. He then chokes out Suicide, grounding things. The back suplex follows and that gets 2. Swinger misses the head butt, Suicide battles back and delivers shoteis. Swinger cheap shots him but eats a code breaker. The swanton finishes it. Suicide defeated Johnny Swinger @ 3:45 via pin [**] This was OK.

– Ace Austin comments on tonight’s Bey vs. Mack match. He’s not pleased, and questions who Bey’s ever beaten. He puts himself over and his Impact run. Tonight’s title match is a triple threat now, and he will win back his championship.

– Josh interviews the “TNA World Champion” Moose. He says Elgin isn’t a champion, and notes that he’s beaten former TNA champions and that makes him the real world champion, especially since Tessa is on vacation in Mexico. Josh questions how he got the TNA title and Moose says it doesn’t mater, because he’s the real world champion. Next week they start a #1 contender’s tournament, bracket below…

Moose says that he is pulling himself from the tournament as he doesn’t care about a second-class championship. Josh says he didn’t win the TNA championship, but Moose disagrees and claims his victories over former TNA champions made him the real world champion; he then leaves before he kills Josh.

Cousin Jake vs. Joseph P. Ryan: This is a rematch from Rebellion that no one asked for. Ryan stalls, Jake chases and that allows Ryan to attack. He follows with strikes, lays the boots to Ryan and follows with a tackle. Ryan powders, again. He then attacks the arm of Jake, so they’re just redoing the Rebellion match. Jake fires back, hits clotheslines and Ryan cuts him off until Jake fires up and whips him to the buckles. Ryan again powders, Jake attacks, and they walk and brawl at ringside. Jake gets posted, back in and Ryan grounds things. Jake looks to battle back, is cut off and Ryan follows wit a knee drop for 1. Ryan follows with strikes, a slam and covers for 2. Jake counters back into a Michinoku driver and both men are down. Jake then follows with clotheslines and a powerbomb for 2. Jake dumps him, but Ryan then cuts him off with the superkick for 2. Ryan uses the ref as a shield, eye poke and uses the tights to steal another win, just like at Rebellion. Joseph P Ryan defeated Cousin Jake @ 9:00 via pin [*½] Trust me, I get the time honored tradition of heels stalling, it’s a tool to create heat, but that makes it useless in an empty arena setting as there are no fans to anger, so to the TV viewer it comes off as boring and like they are just killing time. Play to your environment. This was tedious, repetitive, & boring.

-We get a Kiera Hogan profile package, discussing her journey into wrestling.

– The North are still in Canada at the Battle Arts studio/Don Kolloff Arena and will defend their tag team championships. There are dummies dressed up in the crowd and fake fan noise pumped in. Page assaults “a fan.” They are on a stay-cation in the greatest country on Earth, and will still defend their titles. They joke about Josh wanting a match with Angle, but page has to remind him his 90-days isn’t even up yet,.

Champions The North vs. Two Absolute Geeks: It’s of course a total gag where the North kill these geeks and was wonderful. Champions The North defeated Two Absolute Geeks @ 0:45 via pin [NR] I laughed, thanks Ethan.

– Rosemary is at the bar and says while she’s sore, she had fun last week an Taya owes her. She draws cards, trying to decide her next step and her cards speak to her…

– Rohit Raju ants Moose’s spot in the tournament. He wants to go on his own path and that path is the title. He’s officially in.

– Next Week: Havok vs. Lee, Raju vs. Trey, & Hernandez vs. Fulton, plus Moose defending the TNA World Title against Suicide.

Champion Willie Mack vs. Chris Bey vs. Ace Austin: Austin looks to attack, and we’re underway. They work into fast and furious counters for the hot start. Post break and Mack is working over Bey, then Austin and hits the stacked Samoan drop. The standing moonsault follows. Bey & Austin argue, then talk until Austin posts Bey. Back in and Austin cuts off Mack, and grounds him as he attack with his laminated playing card. He dumps Mack, Bey attacks Austin and Mack then cuts off the dive. He follows with strikes, Bey cuts him off with kicks and a RANA. Austin trips him up and they brawl on the floor. Mack follows with a tope. Post beak and Mack is in control, delivering chops to Austin. Bey flies in with a missile dropkick on Mack, Austin cuts him off and grounds things. He follows with knee strikes, and picks up a near fall. Bey fires back with kicks, chokes out Austin and follows with a back suplex for 2. Bey then works over Mack, but Austin cradles him for 2. He follows with kicks, a slam and then the second rope leg drop for 2. They work into a double down, Mack is back in and they all trade strikes. Austin takes control with a flurry, corner strikes as well and then gets cut off by Mack. He follow with corner clotheslines, a cannonball, XPLODER and heads up top. Austin cuts him off and follows him up. Mack fires back, slips out and Bey joins in to German Austin. Mack then cradles Bey for 2. Stunner to Bey and Mack heads up top, The frog splash is countered, RANA by Austin and the fold follows and Bey breaks up the pin. Mack is dumped, Bey follows with kicks on Austin but the fold gets 2 as Mack makes the save. Austin hits trouble in paradise, hits it again but Mack counters the avalanche RANA and the frog splash connects as he retains. Champion Willie Mack defeated Chris Bey & Ace Austin @ 19:05 via pin [***½] It took a while to get going and really get locked in, but once it did, they had a really good match. Mack winning right now I feel was the right call, as was Austin taking the pin to protect Bey,

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 112. On the show, 411’s Larry Csonka & Steve Cook go retro, looking back on the first NWA Clash of the Champions events. Jerome Cusson then joins for a Dark Side of The Ring: David Schultz and The Slap Heard Round the World review. The show is approximately 156-minutes long.

* Intro
* Clash of The Champions I Review: 4:09
* Clash of The Champions II Review: 41:36
* Clash of The Champions IIII Review: 1:13:30
*Dark Side of The Ring: David Schultz and The Slap Heard Round the World Review: 1:38:14

* iTunes
* Spotify
* Stitcher
* Google Play

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

I thought that the show started off strong, playing off of Rebellion well which later led to the tournament announcement, which is really smart due to not having the full roster at the taping, needing to fill TV time, and being uncertain when Tessa can be back. The North video/match was amusing and I like what they are doing with Moose as the over the top/delusional “TNA” champion. There’s a lot of mileage there especially with recent WWE releases when things get back to normal. They laid strong groundwork for the company coming out of Rebellion, unfortunately, outside of the main event, the in-ring really lacked and held the show quality down. Overall, this week’s episode of Impact Wrestling was a really solid show as they laid the groundwork for the weeks to come.