Impact Wrestling 8-25-20 - Emeregence Part 2 - Jordynne vs. Deonna Iron Man Match

 

 A slow-motion recap of last week's show airs before tonight's main event is hyped. Eddie comes out to defend his title in an open challenge. Josh talks about finding another program with the World title on the line in an open challenge. He's right that you won't do that - because that's the kind of shit you do FOR A SECONDARY TITLE, so it makes the World title seem secondary. Actually, both World titles - and one is a maybe it is/maybe it isn't title. RVD is out with Katie in a thong twerking.

RVD eats a suicide dive, which is terrifying with his concussion history. Katie distracts Eddie and RVD posts him. Ringpost guillitone legdrop hits for RVD. Eddie is draped on the rope and gets an ass to the face by Katie. Eddie lands a forearm series and a Tiger driver gets 2. Ryder kick off the second rope and the rolling thunder hits. The five star with a slick corner cam shot doesn't, but the knee party ends it. Better than expected - RVD can do most of his signature stuff, but he can't play the music between the notes anymore. EY jumps Eddie and we'll get EY-Eddie next week.

Josh and Madison hype that match up and hype up Brian Myers vs. Willie Mack. YAY WRESTLE HOUSE! The Deaners are SHARP DRESSED MEN and want a Toga party. Swinger and Steve argue about togas. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF I BACK-TALKED BABA-SAN!? I'D HAVE BEEN SLAPPED STATESIDE!" Dreamer and Alisha have wacky banter and Taya drinks more. Steve is blinded by Swing-man's powder and Dreamer says he's already blind, so it's MATCH TIME. Steve wants a blindfold match and Tommy makes the stips that the loser has to dress like the winner next week.

They do the Martel/Roberts boo/yay bits and lie to Swinger so he runs into the buckle and gets schoolboyed. I like Jake telling Steve to keep the hood on for no good reason. Eddie demands to know where Eric is and chases him throughout Skyway Studios. Overly-dramatic prison-themed video for EY not being a prisoner anymore to hype up BFG. Rhino wears a Heath shirt and wants Heath 4 Impact to face Reno Scum. GORE GORE GORE so his usual promo for 20 years. Eddie comes out and accepts the challenge and wants it now. EY comes out and just stops his music and says Eddie isn't a martyr - he's pathetic. Can they buy back the Legends/Global/World TV/King of the Mountain Title to give these guys something non-World Title-level to do? Eddie says he'll give him his shot next week - and his ass-whooping early. 

Rohit Raju is intereviewed and says he's now the Desi Hitman and he'll give chances to anyone. HOW MANY OPEN CHALLENGE TITLES CAN ONE COMPANY HAVE?! Madison brings in The Rascalz for Locker Room Talk. We get a goofy treehouse bit and she isn't a fan of the green, but she does enjoy Ace and Fulton. They argue and Ace asks Fulton to respect Madison's space. Madison asks them about all the greenery in the tree house.

Sami bitches about 2020 sucking and RVD costing him the Impact title against Eddie. He says that he was in RVD's head and RVD lost and now he's in Katie's head too. He wants RVD next week. An EC3 video airs showing off him beating Kurt Angle for the TNA World Title in July of 2015. He holds Moose's TNA Title and says it's still something he can't let go. He got pain and regret and he wants the title to be free. He says the belt represents, pride and love and this will control him for as long as it exists. He says the wrestling God Moose is a false idol.

Myers is out in his slick blue and orange mask to face Mack. Josh says the iron man match tonight will have as much ring time as Madison's had in his career and Josh puts over Brian's podcast. Myers gets a WWE mid-card chinlock while Josh hypes up the RVD greatest hits show after Impact. Sky high to Myers and gets a Samoan drop and standing moonsault for 2. Myers shoves him off the top and gets an Aldis-style elbow for 2. Myers talks shit and gets an O'Connor roll using the tights to win. Heath hypes up Heat4Impact

At Wrestle House, the Deaners chat about Family Matters. Alisha chats about Rosemary breaking Larry D's heart. Tommy tells Bravo to man up if he wants her and then Bravo mans up and slaps him and then a match happens and John E eats a beating. Bravo tells Rosemary he should've been honest to her and Taya is shitfaced and he hopes Rosemary has feelings for him too. NEXT WEEK THEY FACE OFF IN A WINNER TAKES ALL MATCH! INCLUDING BRAVO!

Jordynne's out in new gear to face Deonna. Madison hypes this up as a first-ever match and they start off with a tie-up after a big match feel intro. Jordynne gets a long headscissors with some intensity and gets a half-crab for an ad break. They fight over a countout break to lead to a pump kick for Deonna. Deonna gets the arm and starts getting to work before stomping the hand. During the break, Deonna stomps the arm. One thing I really like about this match is that yeah it's an iron man match - but they're not working in a sprint format where it's a billion pinfalls in a half hour. They're working it like they're having a long match and have the time to tell the story they want to tell in that time - and if they go to multiple falls, cool.

 

Jordynne fights to nip up, but Deonna traps the arm to prevent it. She recovers and forearms her in the corner before hoisting her up for a superplex. SNAP SUPERPLEX from Grace! They hoist each other up from the mat anf fight! Jordynne gets an RNC and gets a passout fall with under 5 minutes left! The champion is now the underdog and Deonna gets a Koji clutch on the ground, but Jordynne gets to the rope and Deonna knows she has to break to avoid a DQ loss for the second fall. Deonna puts the ref in front of her on a corner charge to take him out. Grace driver, but there's no ref. Deonna goes for the belt and clocks her!

A BELT SHOT GETS A PIN IN 2020 and I love it! A second cover only gets 2 for Deonna and she gets a Fujiwara before Grace gets a cradle for 2. Pump kick and German lead to a Fujiwara and she locks on Venus DeMilo for a last-second tap - literally! This was the best match of the year in Impact and one of the best non-AEW TV matches of the year.

WWE SummerSlam 2020 - YOU'LL NEVER SEE IT COMING!

 

MVP vs. Crews is the pre-show match and MVP stalls for a bit before backdropping him to the floor off a corner charge.  Crews sends him out and hits a flip dive. Toss powerbomb ends it. Okay, so that Raw match meant nothing. Shelton and Lashley come out in new, slick black and gold shirts and Crews escapes. We get Thunderdome crowd shots and the Summerslam lighting looks great with it.

Asuka's out with her CG mask intro and slick pyro. Asuka runs wild on Bayley and hip attacks her off the apron. Bayley runs wild and gets a chinlock because every match has to have a chinlock. THE WWE VIRTUAL UNIVERSE IS GOING INSANE. Tremendous verbiage... Bayley trips her on the apron and Asuka goes for a missile dropkick and Bayley catches her in a humping kneebar and Asuka gets the rope. Bayley goes for the macho elbow and Asuka gets an armbar. Sasha sacrifices herself for an apron hip attack and Bayley gets an elevated small package to win. They kick her ass after the match.

Dom meets with his mother and father and Dom makes Rey promise him to not come out. KO is out to do commentary for the Raw tag title match. Andrade chops Tez and Garza clubs him from a back mount up top. I like the Alberto double stomp being done with Garza holding Dawk up so it ACTUALLY MADE SENSE. Tez gets a hot tag and froggy bodies into the ring. Profits hit their finish and win it.

Role Models are interviewed and get canned boos. Bayley says nothing can ruin this historic and MAGICAL night. Bayley gets a broom and predicts a clean sweep. Sonya-Mandy hype. Sonya's out and looks badass with her leather getup while babyface Mandy Rose is out in a surprisingly covered-up getup. Mandy hits a lariat off the announce table and then gets a table. Sonya bounces her off the announce table for a bit and gets a dragon sleeper. They brawl on the floor and Mandy carefully puts her on the table. Mandy bar slides a chair on the table and Sonya ducks. Mandy gets a pump kick and two shining knees before the Angels Wings hits and misses another shining knee by a mile to win. Otis does the worm and holds her high. She goes for the worm and sucks at it and Corey buries her TikTok and isn't shocked.

Seth-Dom video sets up their match. I can't boo Seth using Rey's classic Halloween Havoc/Phantom gear. Dom's gear isn't bad. They do some shitty lockups and headlocks here in this blood feud. Dom drop toeholds him on to a chair. So the White Russian Legsweep off the ropes put them BOTH THROUGH THE TABLE, but Seth had like 2% more force going through it, I guess. Seth takes Dom's hoodie off and canes him. Brutal caning going on... Byron - MY GOSH! Byron's keeping it TV-Y. Seth gets out the cuffs to make it TV-MA. 

Angie comes down and Rey talks her down before Murphy goes for Dom and Rey attacks. They handcuff Rey and get kendo sticks. They go towards Angie and Dom hits him and Dom gets a 619. Frog splash meets the knees and gets the stomp to end it. Seth and Dom embrace mid-ring

Bayley white girl dancing to Sasha's theme is tremendous. Sasha takes her down and gets some shitty punches. Sasha lands a nice sunset bomb on the floor - although that ass-first landing isn't going to be good for her. Asuka gets a flying Asuka lock and Sasha breaks out and turns it into a crossface. Bayley gets up on the apron and knocked down and Sasha is in the Asuka lock and taps out. Asuka gets the belt back to tell the tale for Bayley-Sasha.

 

 

Orton vs. Drew is up and Drew gets a big pyro entrance. They stall. And brawl. And stall and brawl and stall. It's the Randy and Drewy show. Long chinlock by Randy and Drew gets a spinebuster. Drew gets a figure four...Jesus is this boring. Drew avoids an RKO and hits the future shock for 2. Orton gets the draping DDT for 2. A BACKSLIDE ends it thank God. Drew says he isn't the top of the mountain - he is the mountain.

LIMITLESS KEITH LEE going to Raw. Logically, shouldn't THE WINNER go to the main roster? Corey in a bright blue suit jacket and Cole are here for only the Universal Title match. Okay then. Bray's out and Braun has a new camo vest and no top - he's in good shape. He bum-rushes Bray and clubs him in the corner. Braun hurks up some chairs and hits him. BRAUN VS. BRAY IS OUTPACING ORTON VS DREW. They brawl backstage. LOL @ WWE just having a generic WWE office area in every building they're in. It's like the video games come to life. Braun gets tossed into a wall and hit with Sister Abigail on the floor.

 IN THE THUNDERDOME PROPER, Bray gets beaten up and Braun tears up the ring with an Xacto knife before taking a uranage on the wood and another Abigail "on the wood" on the mat. THE BIG DOG RETURNS and spears the Fiend! BIG DOG RETURNS AND SPEARS THE MONSTER! Big bearded Roman with a badass-ish edge. I dig it. Roman beats the shit out of him with a chair.

 

 

AEW Saturday Night Dynamite 8-22-20

 

 It's not quite a 6:05 show, but AEW takes over Saturday Night to continue the legacy of JCP in 2020 in some form. We've got Brodie Lee against Cody for the TNT Title and FTR faces Private Party with Tully in FTR's corner in a Brainbusters-esque jacket. We get some cool overhead shots to show the ring being cut in half and Dax lands a gorgeous spinebuster. Tully pulls Dax out of the way of an Isaih dive. Goodnight Express hits and ends it! 

Mox talks about being amused by the MJF stuff, but he's an easy target. He should've talked to his wife because she'll run down a two page list of his flaws. He says he can't stand people that talk about themselves and it seems like he's hiding behind words - and he'll find out what he's hiding behind. We get a wacky MJF video about the Paradim Shift not being a move, it's an abomination! He's got a purberry-covered walker. Natural Nightmares and the Jurassic Express face Butcher and the Blade and the Lucha Bros. DOUBLE FLIP DIVES BY THE LUCHA BROS to start. Heels argue after back and forth offense before Jungle Boy cradles Blade to win it.

They all bicker and we see Blade's peroxide-blonde hair. Kingston comes down with an AEW shirt a quarter on because fuck it, he's Eddie Kingston. "We were on the indies and now we're on TNT, they know drama - WHY WE GOTTA KNOW DRAMA!?". He's tired of them all being divided and puts them all over and talks to Blade about paying dues and says Fenix is taking over, but can't do it divided. Walk with him and everything will be ours! Kingston winks and SOMETHING IS UP and it's going to be great. 

Kip, Penelope, Britt, and Reba are in the gym and Kip gets in a 69 joke while working out and making out. She loves love, BUT KISSING CAN CAUSE CAVITIES! She'll give them free dental care for a year and all they have to do is help her with Big Swole in a handicap match. AND REBA WILL DO YOUR MAKEUP FOR FREE FOR A YEAR!  They agree so they can just make out. 

 

 Tony brings out Orange and the Best Friends to congratulate him on the win. Jericho interrupts. Jericho comes out in a new, ridiculous jacket and has lost some weight. Jericho congratulates him on the win and he says that he's a genius who made a briefcase ladder match and he wants to make a rubber match between them in a new creation - the mimosa mayhem match AT ALL OUT! 80 gallons of OJ will be mixed with the bubbly and you can only win by pin, submission or being thrown into a tank of mimosa.

The match is made and it looks fun. Jericho brings out the goons to "toast Orange" and they all get jumped. They take out Orange and douse him in bubbly! The Elite comes out to face the Dark Order and kick ass for a while. Angel moonsaults into a double superkick upside-down and Kenny wins with the OWA. Kenny sets up a chair wrong side up to powerbomb Angels and the Bucks take the chair away before he can use it and asks what's up. 

Marvez chats with Tully and FTR about the gauntlet match to determine who faces the champs at FTR. They brought Tully in to help them be the best and be the champs. Tully says the goal is to step over the threshold and make everyone stare up at you. Page comes in and steals a beer and Cash talks about the RNRs turning their backs on them. Dax said he had to fake an inury and see if he could trust the Elite after what the Bucks said for 8 years. He said that Page earned their trust and he stepped out of the Bucks' shadow and he can't let that happen. They want to win the gauntlet match to face a man they respect in Adam Page. Tully says "fear the Revelation" - so we had the Horsemen of the Apocalypse and now a Biblical Revelation and maybe a new group here. Love it!

Darby Allin the future megastar is out and shotgun dropkicks Will Hobbs. He gets the suicide dive and a handspring elbow and then the coffin drop ends it. Other than "the Strange Enigma" name being out of the Jeff Hardy playbook, his presentation has been great. Taz cuts a promo on him and puts over Team Taz and they have a new member - DARBY 2.0! Ricky comes out in EMO paint and mocks his promos. Cage jumps Darby and clocks him with the belt and then Ricky hits a shitty coffin drop.

During the break, Sammy comes out and then Matt Hardy destroys him with a chair. Tony throws to the NWA Women's World Champion Thunder Rosa! Everyone but TNT has been wanting her on the show and she's here from the NWA to bring the women's division to the next level. At All Out, she's coming to take Shida's title. Tremendous! Veda is out on commentary and puts over Rosa before the Deadly raw finals. They have sloppy action and QT gets bumped and Brandi is tossed onto Dustin and then a stunner into a listo kick ends it and Ivie and Diamante win it! Madusa gives them their medals and flowers - they throw the flowers down and celebrate with their flags. Good stuff!

Next week's show is hyped with Jericho on commentary and ADR with Taz, the gauntlet match and Matt vs. Sammy in a table match, and Dr. Britt vs. Swole in a handicap match is announced. Brodie vs. Cody is up and Arn has the weight belt over his shoulder and Ross talks about Cody being in his own head a bit too much. Perfect stuff with the giant pyro too. They put over 12 straight wins on Dynamite and really make this feel special.

We get a great shot of Mr. Brodie Lee and his record - with Arn staring over his shoulder making the same face. Brodie lands a nice Suzuki-style dropkick early and sends him out and beats his ass around ringside. Superkick hits for 2. TWO POWERBOMBS! Discus lariat with a flip sell ends it! This is EXACTLY what it needed to be. It put Brodie over huge and Ross says it's obvious that Brodie deserved the shot, but he can't believe Cody didn't get any offense in. Cody's down and his arms are up while the Dark Order celebrates. 

Brodie gets in the ultimate "fuck you" promo about how people didn't believe in Brodie Lee and NOW he's the man. AEW spent a year and a half building up Cody as THE MAN in many ways and used every bit of that to get Brodie over. This big win for Brodie is Cody's biggest "fuck you" yet to Vince. He made himself a star, made the TNT Title important off of his name, and then used that to help make Brodie Lee into the biggest threat he's ever been. He threatens Tony and says with this comes the power and Dark Order is at the top now. Lee says that he was given a chance and knocked it out of the park. Tony says that Mr. Brodie Lee is the champion. Cody being loaded up is the secondary story here. 

Brodie tells Tony to get out of the ring and they give him oxygen and Arn talks to him. They do good stuff AND THEN CODY GIVES THE THUMBS UP. Dark Order bows up to Arn and HE SLUGS A GOON! THEY BEAT UP ARN! They dump Cody on the steps! Cody gets up and Brodie clocks him with a black bag that probably has the old TNT Title in it. Brodie holds the belt high and the Nightmare Family is tossed around with QT and Dustin being beaten up and Brandi shields Cody. Anna Jay attacks Brandi RNCs her! BOOM. They instantly made a star in Anna Jay righ there and then Brodie reveals that he took him out with the sliced-up remains of Cody's prized original TNT Title - so now EVEN THEIR OLD VERSION OF THE BELT has symbolic meaning in the feud. TREMENDOUS show and All Out is set to be a barn-burner.