Impact Wrestling Slammiversary 2018

Barry Scott does another voiceover package showcasing the year in Impact. He is absolutely remarkable in this role and makes the whole company feel major league once again. This thing is so great it almost makes the Madison-Young angle less stupid. The Moose-Aries video almost works too. The building itself looks fantastic and they've got a perfect lighting setup. The neon orange rope look cool too - a bit like peak OVW and NXT, but super-bright and they pop off the screen.

TNA gonna TNA with the BONE SOLIDER graphic. An IMPACT WRESTLING chant breaks out for the first time ever. Fenix does 5,000 things and Ishimori shines too with a big springboard rana. Fenix does a split-roped double jump rana onto Impact! Tons more stuff happens alongside a "THIS IS IMPACT" chant. Golden Triangle by Ishimori! TOWER OF DOOM SAMOAN DROP!

Sharpshooter to Ishimori, but Johnny comes in and gets 2 off a moonlight drive. Double somersault cutter by Fenix! Ishimori hits a shotgun dropkick and shotgun knees to Fenix. Superkicks aplenty, but Fenix hits a massive one! 450 hits Johnny, but Petey gets the destroyer! Fenix double stomps him for 2.9! Muscle buster up, but Johnny superkicks Fenix and hits Starship Pain to win! This match ruled!

The OGz talk about taking out LAX and taking the name back. Homicide in a PPV T-shirt just looks odd for the gangster gimmick.Tessa vs. Allie is up, and Allie is over huge in Toronto. They have an awkward armdrag and a weird basement crossbody. Rope shots miss for each, but Tessa smashes her with big forearms akin to Sheamus over the apron. Allie hits a blind dive to Tessa and she suplexes her into the buckle. Tessa avoids a death valley driver and counters it into the hammerlock DDT to win.

Moose is in a super-shiny silver and black suit and says the world will chant MOOSE. Okay then. Eddie vs. Tommy is hyped up nicely. Tommy and Eddie brawl a ton and Tommy hits a neckbreaker on the apron. Tommy avoids a sunset flip with a staple gun! Kendo sticks to the head for both before a double chair Spicolli Driver off the top! Boston Knee Party with a chair ends it for Eddie. We get some post-match stuff with his wife and they're  splitting for now.

Matt Sydal says some words in front of a floral backdrop. Sydal is hyped up as a veteran who wrestled on the first Victory Road and Cage is just gigantic. Sydal takes a nasty bump off the top to the apron and the floor. SSP is avoided, but Sydal hits the jumping kick, but he eats the discus lariat and flips for 2. Sydal goes for an SSP, but his foot catches the rope and Cage puts the boot up to give him something to grab quickly before ending it with the Drill Claw. All  hail the weapon X division champ!

Aries is an asshole backstage. Aries says that Moose's dream has been to be the man, but for him, he's done that his whole life. Rayne-Yung features the bridesmaids bringing a casket out. They have a really sloppy match and Su ends it with the mandible claw before they put Madison in a casket. LAX talks about having a battle plan tonight. The street fight is set up with painted tables and brooms in garbage cans - as it of course should be. The OGz come out of "the clubhouse" to show their superiority. LAX's extended intro theme is outstanding and makes them seem so different.

LAX has war paint and a brawl erupts. Hernandez hits a big double lariat, but Santana avoids a border toss. Double flip dives from LAX! Hernandez hits the deadman dive to both LAX guys. They fight on the stage and a backdrop from the ramp to the ring hits. Santana dives off of Homicide's back onto Hernandez, WHO CATCHES HIM and powerbombs him him 'cide chokes Ortiz. Santana hits a big FUCK YOU lionsault onto Hernandez. Street Sweeper to Homicide gets 2.9, and Homicide hits a flip dive tope through a table! Ortiz hits a running DVD through a table in the corner! Hernandez prevents another one and Border Tosses him through a table! Cannonball to Hernandez! Konnan chokes Homicide and tosses tacks in. Homicide has tacks thrown in his face and gets slammed on them. Frog splash hits and ends it! This was insane, but awesome. LAX eats a beating with a blackjack. King tags the belts - so this feud continues. YES!

Sami talks about beating Pentagon tonight. Josh talks about Pentagon's many accomplishments. Don talks abouts the Jericho Cruise and Impact vs. ROH, which is just bizarre. Stiff kicks start and Penta hits a slingblade. Sami eats a chop, but takes the vest down to eat a harder shot to prove that he can. Sami chairshots him and grabs a pair of spikes. He rips the mask up a bit to spike him and does so! Pentagon's tied by the mask and avoids a bat shot and hits a backstabber. PENTAGON SPIKES HIM WITH THE SECOND SPIKE! HE SPIKES HIM WITH THE BAT! THEY SPIKE EACH OTHER WITH A FRYE-TAKAYAMA EXCHANGE! Dueling slaps from a chair before we get dueling chair shots!

Sami eats two superkicks and a backstabber for 2! Penta goes for the arm snapper, showing just how terrible Sami's hair looks. Sami avoids it and Penta lands a chair toss before hitting the Crists with a chair. Sami tosses powder in the eyes and Penta attacks a ref and does the arm snapper to him! He gets a "you fucked up!" chant and Don says "he sure did" and the Pentagon driver hits, but there's no ref. Sami fish hooks the eyes and does the pulling piledriver for 2.9. A four chair bridge is set up by Sami, but he eats a Fear Factor through it and it only gets 2.9!

Goddamn what a great match! Sami wants kneeling superkicks and gets them! ARM SNAPPER! Fear Factor ends it! The Crists go to prevent the head shaving. Sami leaves, but Fenix attacks him and Penta grabs scissors and cuts his hair. Sami gets the clippers and the crowd chants "SHAVE HIS BEARD", which makes Sami go even crazier. This was just an incredible spectacle.

A Blue Jay comes out to hand the belt to the winner of the main event. Aries comes out with just the Impact belt, whicih looks fantastic on its own. A fan arguement between Mosoe and Aries breaks out. Aries slaps him, but Moose tosses him around. Aries sends him into the crowd for a countout win attempt. Aries hits a crucifix bomb, but Moose swings him around ringside. Guardrail pump kick hits for Moose! Moose tosses him from the ramp into the crowd! Discus forearm to the back of the head of Moose! BRAINBUSTER ON THE FLOOR! Aries grabs the belt, but the Blue Jay grabs it from him and Moose gets 2 off a schoolboy. PK and a brainbuster end it.

WWE Extreme Rules 2018

A wee bit late on this one - had a taxing shift at work, but better late than never and it was well-worth missing a PPV live in order to prove to myself that I can do whatever I set my mind to. Almas vs. Sin Cara on the damn pre-show features Almas taking a flip bump off the top to the apron, which is so stupid. Almas wins with a hammerlock DDT thanks to a Vega distraction - so he's just barely good enough to beat Sin Cara with cheating. Sanity beats New Day in a table match when EY elbows Kofi off the top to the floor.

Ronda and Travis Browne enter the building as fans. Deleter of Worlds face the B-Team, who get a huge pop. B-Team wins it after a mscue and Bo hits the draping neckbreaker on Matt - good for them, they're more over and it gives them some momentum. WWE actually comes off like they're rewarding a somewhat naturally-evolving act here. Kurt gives Brock an ultimatum to etiher show up on Raw to negotiate terms for his next defense or Brock will be stripped of the title. Balor comes out in new, awesome silver and black gear to face Constable Corbin. Balor wins off a cradle to avoid the End of Days.

We get a wacky WWE Superstar Memes video for Summerslam.  Kane is beaten up backstage by the Bludgeon Brothers with a door and Bryan is tossed into a sheet metal door. THE MALLET is used on a door on Kane's leg. NOT THE MALLET NO! Paige demands medical attention ASAP. Asuka vs. Carmella features an Edge-O-Matic to start and then Ellsworth drops a chain in the ring from the cage. Hip Attack misses by a mile. ASUKA LOCK IS ON, but Mella gets to the ropes and goes outside. Ellsworth is stuck upside down trying to get out of the cage. Asuka beats him up and jiggles nicely. Asuka beats up guys trying to put him back in the cage and kicks Ellsworth's ass - literally. Carmella tosses her head into the cage in front of the ref and wins...how was none of this crap a DQ?

Nakamura beats Jeff Hardy with a dick punch before the bell and an instant Kinshasa. Nakamura wore Hashimoto tribute pants tonight and they looked fantastic. Orton returns and kicks Jeff Hardy in the balls. So he and Nakamura can be the Nut Crackers now.

Braun and Owens have a pretty nothing cage match until the finish. Owens gets a stunner and a bit of heat with handcuffs, but gets chokeslammed off the top of the cage through an announce table in one of his craziest bumps ever. Somehow, a decade into the HD era and 20 years after Mick's bump, they almost completely miss the landing in real-time. Owens wins the match to an "OH. MY. GOD!" from Coach that sounds so fake. A "Get These Hands" chant breaks out and KO gets really nothing out of the win.

Bryan faces the Bludgeon Brothers 1 on 2. Bryan eats a ton of offense until Kane comes out with a walking boot and chokeslams the Bludgeons. He gets his knee kicked out and Bryan tags in for a missile dropkick and the yes kicks. Rowan hits the spin kick and a powerbomb/lariat combo ends it. The B-Team cheers on Roman and Roman is a dick to them. Lashley and Roman have a fun hard-hitting (bot not soft-spoken) match. Roman hits a superman punch, but eats a rebound spear and Lashley wins it.

Alexa vs. Nia features Nia tosses weapons around. Corey explains all the kendo sticks by saying they're here for ninjas. Alexa puts a chair in the corner and Nia of course misses and hits the chair. Ronda watches Nattie get beaten up and mean mugs until she jumps the rail to attack Mickie. Ronda hits the spinning Samoan drop and throws her into the German announce table and mean mugs Alexa from across the ring.

 

Ronda attacks her, but Mickie hits her with a kendo stick. A crossbody leads to a Samoan drop setup, but Mickie chairshots her! Alexa hits a chair to the gut of Nia, then to the back and DDTs her on the chair to win. Ronda runs in immediately - so that win itself sure helped no one. Rusev's intro is so important that he gets the Hulu plug intro. A fan with a Rusev Day shirt looks at his phone instead of Rusev.

AJ's reign is at 250 days - making him the longest-reigning WWE Champion in five years. It's an impressive stat and most importantly, began when it ended Jinder's reign! Rusev looks pretty good here, hitting the fallaway Samoan drop. Aiden pulls the pad off the top rope, but Rusev bonks it and eats a Phenomenal Forearm to end it! Seth vs. Dolph is up with Dolph in new, good-looking blue, white, and red tights.

Buckle bomb into a cradle gets a fall for Seth 4 minutes in. STOMP gets another fall 8 minutes in. Drew attacks Seth for a DQ, so he's up 3-0. This costs him 1 fall, but Dolph gets 1 fall off of it right away and a superkick gets him a second - so the attack got him one more fall than it cost him. A post shot and a Zig Zag ties it at 3-3. A dive is met with a forearm and Dolph cradles him with the ropes to go up 4-3. Dolph gets 2 off an amateur cradle, but Seth pins him with a sunset flip after Dolph's head hits the post. Seth locks on a sharpshooter and then a crossface, but the time limit expires with a tie - and Dolph retains.

Kurt comes down and says it was an incredible match - but nothing was settled. Kurt makes it sudden death. Zig Zag off a Drew distraction gets the win. They were given the main event slot here and felt elevated by the match - which was the best overall one on the show. All three guys feel like top-level guys and the key is the follow-through. Dolph in particular feels like he has been completely resurrected, and that seemed impossible before as he was such a jobber and goofball before this Raw push.

NJPW G1 Special in San Francisco 2018

 
Kenny's title win at Dominion is the pre-show - and seeing him cut a subtitled promo is great. Cody and the Bucks talk about things before the show with Cody saying that this isn't about the leadership - it's about him beating Kenny before and wanting this shot. Jim Ross talks about the history of the Cow Palace, and he says there are five titles on the line - and he's sure at least one will change hands.

YOSHI-HASHI, Gedo, Rocky, Sho, and Yo are out to face Haku, his sons, Takahashi, and Chase Owens. Haku is hugely over here and starts with Yoshi. Haku goes down off a dropkick, but hits a corner lariat. Haku and Loa and Tama headbutt Yoshi down. Loa eats a rana by Rocky. Haku piledrives Rocky for 2. Backstabber into a shotgun kick for R3K. HAKU GRAB'S GEDO'S BEARD and Tonga stuns him to win.

SUZUKI-GUN IS OUT! Suzuki and ZSJ are the British champs, and Suzuki's theme still gets a pop with it being revamped. Ishii and Yano are out - I predict doom for Yano. Tons of forearms between Suzuki and Ishii lead to ZSJ and Yano being wacky before MORE STIFF SHOTS BETWEEN SUZUKI AND ISHII! Minoru eats a Saito suplex off the go-behind sleeper attempt. ZSJ works Yano, who gets smacked with the buckle padding! Yano gets a cradle and wins! Suzuki wants to destroy people with chairs, but he's detained by people who then get destroyed.

Marty and Page are out to face Tana and Kushida. Tana works wonderfully with Marty. Page comes in and eats a double sledge from Kushida. TAGUCHI GETS BEATEN UP and misses a hip attack. DRAGON SCREWS FROM TANA! Tana narrowly avoids a crossface chickenwing from Marty. MARTY SUPERKICKS THE KNEE OF TANA AND STOMPS ON THE HAND OF KUSHIDA! Discus elbow from Kushida. Hoverboard lock to Marty and a cloverleaf to Page. Page hits his finish and pins Kushida! Page is quite good, but it doesn't always shine on TV.

Cobb is shown challenging Goto and Josh hypes Cobb up. It's indeed a match. Not really much to it. Goto elbows the head, but it gets blocked and Cobb nounts a comeback. Cobb hits a sidewinder suplex and a standing moonsault headbutt misses. Tour of the Islands is escaped into a sleeper and Ushi Gorosihi gets 2. and a GTR ends it.

EVIL and Sanada are out for the tag title rematch. PARADISE LOCK TO MATT! Nick is in and hits a double lariat. SWINGING SKULL END and a moonsault misses. TRIANGLE TORNADO DDT TO SANADA! 450 GETS 2! Sharpshooter and swanton! Sanada gets the ropes! More Bang meets knees and a moonsault miss. EVIL GERMAN to Nick! STO is blocked with a spinning back elbow. Magic Killer gets 2 thanks to a save. Accidental double superkick to the ref, DOUBLE SUPERKICK WITH THE CHAIR. TOMBSTONE COUNTER TO THE MELTZER DRIVER! Magic Killer hits again, but a kickout is done instead of the save. Double HBK/Shelton superkick to Sanada! MELTZER DRIVER ENDS IT!

Fighting Spirit Unleashed and Lion's Break are announced. We go to an intermission and get a rundown of Hiromu vs. Dragon Lee. Kenny vs. Cody is recapped, dating things back to AJ being taken out of the Bullet Club by him. Naito's theme is hugely over and I love Bushi's three wacky tongues. Ospreay and Okada are out. AND OKADA HAS BALLOONS! Naito and Okada are funny together, while Bushi is working nicely with Ospreay. CHERRIO misses and Naito clubs him. Okada flapjacks Bushi onto Naito. Bushi and Ospreay go at it and Will eats shotgun knees. Shoulder-mount Oscutter/Stormbreaker ends it.

Dragon Lee vs. Hiromu Takahashi is up, and it's going to be insane and is. Giant dive by Lee to the floor before Hiromu hits the crazy flying standing senton thing to the floor off the top. "HE STAKES HIM LIKE A GODDAMN VAMPIRE!" as Josh says when Dragon Lee hits a double stomp off the top to the apron to the floor on Hiromu. SUNSET BOMB TO THE FLOOR FOR HIROMU! SNAP GERMANS FOR EVERYONE BACK AND FORTH! SUPLEX PREFECTURE! German into a superkick into another Gmerna into a reverse rana!

OVERHAND CHOPS APLENTY! Belly to belly into the buckle by Hiromu! Hiromu superkick is met with a DL C4. Lee's suplex powerbomb is met with a triangle choke, who Rampage bombs him, but Hiromu keeps it on. DRAGON DRIVER SUPLEX! JESUS! Suplex powerbomb hits for 2.9. Destroyer-ish thing gets 2.9 TIME BOMB HITS TO END IT! Goddamn this was an insane video game match.

I'm getting hyped up for CJ Parker vs. Jay White - amazing video package. It's the FLAM-BU-YANT Juice Robinson! The mainly red with black markup gear works so much better for Switchblade. A cute blonde is shown with piercings and JR gets upset briefly. A quick tackle and punches alongside a crossbody to the floor start things off. They're managing to keep the crowd hot despite pure insanity in the last match - so this is miracle in and of itself. Juice tosses him through the barricade, and thankfully, it just goes into the timekeeper's area.

Punches and chops lead to a suplex to the floor by White. White tosses him through another barricade. JR buries the lack of a count and the usage of the barricade. Half hatch into the corner for 2. Jay flips the fans off and stomps on the broken hand. A giant " FUCK YOU, SWITCHBLADE" chant tbreaks out.

MUTA LOCK BY WHITE! Jay White is turning the corner in real-time in this match - it's great to see. ROPE-TRAPPING CHOPS BY JAY! Juice tells him to eat shit, so Jay chops him more. Juice punches, but eats an arm wringer. Juice spinebusts him. Jay hits a flatliner and a German for 2. Fujiwara armbar with a hand attack. Jay tosses Juice into the announcers, and Josh says he's fucked up now and rushes the ring. Josh calls him a motherfucker and Jay attacks the shoulder. JR says the officials need to get their shit together. FLATLINER ON THE APRON TO JUICE! RUSSIAN LEGSWEEP TO THE FLOOR! SUPERPLEX OFF THE TOP GETS 2.9!

Inverted crucifix elbows by White. Jay avoids a punch thanks to the cast and low blows him. JUICE PUNCHES HIM WITH THE CAST WITH THE REF DISTRACTED! PULP FRICTION HITS! 2.99999! Pulp Friction leads to a hand punch and a HALF NELSON SUPLEX ON THE HEAD! BLADE RUNNER LEADS TO A SCHOOLBOY AND A TITLE WIN FOR JUICE!

The Omega-Cody hype video talks about his rise to greatness. Cody is out with black hair again and purple and gold gear. He gets his own throne and caravan intro too. Cody with this getup feels like he's cosplaying as a pro wrestler instead of being a pro wrestler. Cody and Kenny start off with basic hiplocks, but meaingful things with Cody playing the monster role of sorts. Uppercut and powerslam get 2. Cody uses Brandi as a shield during the rise of the Terminator dive, but Cody eats a baseball slide and then Kenny misses a plancha. Cody eats a double stomp off the barricade through a table!

Omega hits a rana. RISE OF THE TERMINATOR DIVE HITS! V TRIGGER TO THE NECK, TO THE FACE! Back and forth forearms, with JR and Josh talking about how Cody and Dusty each had impressive athletic credentials. Cody brings a ladder in and slams Kenny onto it! GORDBUSTER ON THE LADDER! A guardrail hits a guy in the knee, which is just terrible. Cody climbs a giant-ass ladder and Cody shoves Matt. Kenny and Cody fight on top of the ladder and Kenny teases a superplex off the ladder to the floor through the table, but CODY SUPERPLEXES HIM INTO THE RING OFF IT! HOLY SHIT!

Kenny hits a rewind rana, but Cody sends Kenny down and threatens a belt shot. CROSS RHODES! 2.9! V TRIGGERS! Vertebreaker is avoided and Kenny lands a spinkick to the neck. TONS OF V-TRIGGERS FOR 2. CODY EATS A POWERBOMB OVER THE TOP ROPE AND INTO, BUT NOT THROUGH THE TABLE!

 V trigger is set up again, but Cody lands a lariat! Omega hits a piledriver for 2. ONE WINGED ANGEL ENDS IT! Kenny talks about how everyone needs to stand behind good people and give one another the best life possible. Just as he gives the best matches to the fans with the roster. GOODBYE AND GOODNIGHT, BANG! Bullet Club too sweets one another - so the Bullet Club appears to be fully reformed to some degree.

OR NOT. TAMA TONGA JUMPS OMEGA! Haku, Loa, and Tonga attack him! Page comes in to save! Gunstun to Marty! Cody comes down and makes a brief save for Kenny, but eats a Gunstun when he uses the chair on them. HAKU PILEDRIVES KENNY ON THE CHAIR! Okay, it's 2018 and Haku is destroying the IWGP Champion. The new-age BC is reuinited by common rivals and the Firing Squad is anti-bullshit.