We begin tonight with Countdown to Against All Odds!
KiLynn King w/Taylor Wilde vs Nevaeh
Nevaeh makes her return for the first time in 2 years! King shoulder blocks Nevaeh in the corner & chops her. A Neck Flip and a Basement Clothesline from Nevaeh, she covers King but only gets a two. King knocks Nevaeh to the apron and the floor, where Wilde hits Nevaeh with a cheap shot. King throws some forearms, covers Nevaeh and gets two. King & Wilde choke Nevaeh on the ropes. Nevaeh is able to fight out of a bow & arrow, delivers a kick & some strikes. Wilde gets knocked off the apron, Neveah hits a neckbreaker, covers King and gets a two. Front suplex to Nevaeh, King covers her and gets two. Nevaeh & King exchange strikes, Nevaeh wins the battle and gets a two count from a clothesline. King hits Nevaeh with a big kick, then follows that up with the King’s Curse. She covers Nevaeh and gets the victory.
An ok match to start the Countdown to Against All Odds. It was nice to see Nevaeh back at Impact. I’m not sure if this was a one off match or she is back for good now. If she is back for good, it would be nice to see her form a tag team so we can have more variety in the tag team division. Grade C-
Promo Video:
OVE are back together. Callihan is excited about OVE being back together and he is excited about the violence that will ensue tonight. Tonight, they are taking over everything.
Digital Media Championship Match: Joe Hendry vs Dirty Dango
Santino joins the commentary table for this match. Hendry tells us that there are two words you need to say when Dango appears, and he plays his newest music video: “Divas Reject”.
Dirty Dango receives a headlock from Hendry, as well as a few shoulder blocks, off the ropes. Dango throws a shirt in Santino's face after dropping Hendry neck-first onto the ropes. Hendry strikes the ground with a neckbreaker. The match gets back in the ring and a pin attempt for a 1 count. Dango is chopped by Hendry in the corner. Dango blocks a Hendry blow with the help of the referee before launching his own blow. Suplex into the cover and gets a 2. Hendry received an uppercut to the back. After traversing the rope, Dango places his knee on Hendry's arm. Dango attempts to chop, but Hendry throws him to the ground from the top rope. Hendry with a running cutter, followed by a fallaway slam and a kip up. Claps and stomps, but Hendry's bid at a Standing Ovation is thwarted. Dango hits a Falcon Arrow, covers Hendry and gets a 2. Dango climbs to the top, but Hendry follows him. Dango blocks a superplex attempt and knocks Hendry to the ground. Dango goes for a leg drop but he misses. Dango is deadlifted by Hendry and suplexed to the ground. Hendry hits a Standing Ovation, covers Dango and gets a 3! Hendry retains his Digital Media Championship.
A good match, it was fun to see the music video again about Dango. I will say it again, I absolutely love watching Joe Hendry matches. He is quickly becoming one of my favourite wrestlers. Hendry put on a brilliant show of strength in this match. Happy that Hendry retained his title. Grade C+
Against All Odds is now on the air!
Match 1: Frankie Kazarian vs Eddie Edwards w/Alisha Edwards
A first time ever here. A match between 2 former Killer Kowalski students, so it definitely should be a good one. Some chain “rasslin” to start the match. Kaz & Edwards exchange arm drags, a Kowalski/Oklahoma Roll gets a two count for Frankie. Some slaps & shoves exchanged between the men. A shoulder block by Kazarian, a chop, Irish whip and a leg sweep gets a two. Forearm by Edwards, but Kazarian with a backslide on Edwards that gets a 2. Kazarian hits Edwards with a spinning neck breaker, covers him and gets a two. A chop, Edwards whips Kazarian over the corner to the floor. Alisha with a backrake to Kazarian, and Kazarian is not happy. Edwards attacks Kazarian from behind. A chop by Edwards, he rolls Kazarian back in the ring and delivers another chop. Edwards gouges Kazarian’s face on the ropes, then Alisha chokes Kazarian when the referee’s back is turned. Rear chinlock by Edwards. Kazarian fights back with a couple of clotheslines and a flying forearm. Kazarian sets up for the slingshot leg drop, but Edwards pushes him to the floor. Then a tope suicida from Edwards. Missile dropkick gets a two count for Edwards. A slap fight gets Kazarian back into things. Kazarian runs into an elbow, but pushes Edwards off the top rope to the floor. Kazarian then vaults over the top rope into a hurricanrana on Edwards. Leg Drop to Edwards over the rope, then a slingshot into a DDT gets a two count. Alisha gets in the way of the slingshot leg drop attempt, but Kazarian hits it on the second attempt and gets a two count. Kazarian goes up top but Edwards kicks him. Chicken wing blocked, a blue thunder bomb gets two for Edwards. Roll up by Kazarian gets two, Edwards drops him down, but Kazarian hits the Dead Eye for a two count. Alisha put Edwards' foot on the ropes, but the referee saw it. He kicks Alisha out of ringside. Kazarian slams Edwards and goes up top. Edwards follows him and crotches him on the top rope. Superplex by Edwards, but Kazarian is able to cradle him for two. Kazarian is able to get another cradle for the three. Kazarian picks up the victory.
A really good match. I’m genuinely surprised that these two have not had a singles match together. I expected this to be a good one, but it did manage to exceed my expectations. Grade B+
Backstage Interview:
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 baby faces 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.
Match 2: Impact World Tag Team Championship Match: ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) vs The Good Hands (Jason Hotch & John Skyler) w/Brian Myers
On their way to the ring, 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. Shoulder block 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 elbow drop. ABC with some double teaming, a combined standing moonsault/leg drop gets a two count. Ace with a headscissor, Hotch finds his way to the 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 elbow drop gets two on Austin. Austin tries to get the tag, but Skyler is able to prevent that from happening. Drop toe hold & an enziguri by Austin, then a double stomp. A tag to Bey, Bey uses Hotch as a springboard to kick Skyler out of the ring. A hurricanrana gets two for Bey. A Code Red gets another two count for Bey. Austin tags back in and ABC does some double teaming. Austin hits Bey with a kick accidentally, and gets speared by Hotch for two. Kicks by Austin, a rollup gets two. Austin dives on Myers 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. Austin gets pulled out of the ring and hit with a title belt by Myers. Magic Killer on Austin, but it only gets two. Austin breaks up the Good Hands finisher attempt, Bey DDTs Skyler out of the ring. Hotch gets headscissors into the Art of Finnesse, then the Fall ends things. ABC retain their tag team championship.
Another really good match. This is shaping up to be a really good PPV. ABC always put on a great match, and the Good Hands appear to be improving a lot lately as well. Grade B
Backstage Interview:
Gia Miller is interviewing both Deonna Purrazzo and Trinity. The women say they are on the same page tonight, and they even have matching gear. Purrazzo says that she wants Trinity to be at 100% when they face each other at Slammiversary.
Match 3: Dog Collar Match - Masha Slamovich vs Killer Kelly
Masha takes the early control and yanks on the chain to control Kelly. She chokes Kelly with the 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 the tug of war & Kelly smacks into 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 women down. The referee makes a count but both manage to get to their feet. Kelly with some clotheslines on Masha. 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 out. Masha hits the Snow Plow on Kelly and gets the three count. Masha is victorious in this Dog Collar Match.
A brutal match between these women, although I have seen Masha in some worse matches, but for Impact standards, this one was brutal. Some nice back and forth. I don’t think either woman came out of this match looking weak. Grade B+
After the match, Masha pulls Kelly to her feet and kind of show respect to each other. The women seem to be happy with how this match went down.
Backstage Interview:
Gia Miller is interviewing The Motor City Machine Guns. Both men are looking to become singles champions tonight, and they are more about action than words.
Match 4: X-Division Championship Match: Trey Miguel vs Chris Sabin
Miguel seems to be 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, covers, and gets two. Miguel with some shots, and he lets everybody know he’s from Ohio. Miguel with a kick, Sabin blocks a tornado DDT and hits a Lethal Combination on Miguel. On the apron, some moves are teased but Miguel is sent into the turnbuckle. Sabin gets kicked, but hits a spear on the apron. Back in the ring, Sabin with some kicks and some punches to the stomach. Another spear in the corner by Sabin, then a gut-first slam gets a 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 and 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 more nearfalls. Miguel with a Cradle Shock of his own, covers Sabin and gets a two. Miguel looks under the ring and finds his spray paint. One goes in the back of his gear, another in his hands. The referee takes one can, but not the second. Sabin gets sprayed, but the rollup for Miguel 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. Sabin hits a Clothesline from Hell, Michigan, then the Cradle Shock. Sabin covers Miguel and gets a 3! Sabin is now a 9-time X-Division Champion!
Holy crap! This was a brilliant match! So much back and forth and so many near falls. This was a match where I was sitting on the edge of my seat. I am so happy that Sabin won the title, but hopefully this means that Miguel can jump into the Impact World Title picture. Grade A.
Match 5: 8-4-1 Match - Bully Ray, Nick Aldis, Jonathan Gresham & Heath vs Moose, Rich Swann, Mike Bailey & PCO.
This is the first part of the 8-4-1 match. It begins as a 8-Man Tag Team Match and the winning team will advance to a 4 Way Match after this match.
Bailey & Gresham get to start this match and they shake hands. Gresham with a headscissors but Bailey cartwheels out of it. Some headlocks, tie ups & fast-moving action here. Heath & Rich Swann tag in. Some dancing breaks out. Swann kips out of a wrist lock 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. Bully chops Bailey to the mat. A kick from Bailey knocks Bully down. Tag to PCO & Gresham, PCO ends up running down three competitors. Aldis & Heath get shoulder blocked 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. The team of Jonathan Gresham, Nick Aldis, Heath and Bully Ray advance to the 4-way match.
This is an interesting match concept. The first part of this match wasn’t too bad. It looked like the men didn't want to get too blown up before the 4-way match, which is understandable. A pretty decent 8-Man Tag match.
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 “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 and Gresham dives onto them. Bully sends Gresham into the ringpost. Bully looks under the ring and finds a chair. Out comes Scott D’Amore, who seems to have an issue with Bully introducing a chair. He takes the chair from Bully. D’Amore says not to give Bully a microphone. Bully talks some trash, and tells D’Amore he has no balls. D’Amore 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 with the Tower of Doom. Heath covers both men for two. Gresham targets Heath’s knee and does an Indian Deathlock. Aldis up top, hits an elbow drop to break it up. Aldis locks in a Cloverleaf, and Heath taps out! Nick Aldis is the Number 1 contender for the Impact World Championship.
A good 4-way match. The overall match was really good and it looks like this match type could be implemented again. Some nice offence shown and some great near falls and teamwork. Grade B
Backstage Interview:
Gia Miller catches up with Steve Maclin ahead of his World Championship match tonight against Alex Shelley. She asks Maclin if the events of tonight's 8-4-1 match have any effect on his game plan for tonight. Maclin says that the match has no effect on his game plan for tonight.
Match 6: Deonna Purrazzo & Trinity 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, Trinity hits a split leg drop, covers Shaw and 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 Purrazzo 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 are 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. Trinity & Purrazzo were able to work as a team and pick up the victory.
A pretty standard tag team match. I did expect more from this match to be honest, but it wasn’t too bad. Hoping that Purrazzo and Trinity have a better match at Slammiversary. Grace C-
After the match, the three attack Purrazzo, but Trinity is able to come back and clear them out of the ring. A handshake & a hug for the future Slammiversary opponents. They do a little dancing in the ring to celebrate.
Match 7: Ohio Street Fight - OVE (Sami Callihan, Jake Crist & Madman Fulton) vs The Design (Deaner, Angels and Kon)
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 weapons. Callihan with a crutch and Deaner with a chair. The big men tumble to the outside and continue their fights. Angels gets dropped on a 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. Callihan finds a staple gun. Angels manages to avoid that temporarily, until he tries a sunset flip. 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 mailbox 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 match. 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 getting hit with a cutter for a two count. Deaner gets suplexed onto the barbed wire board. Callihan finds a black bag, and there’s some thumbtacks in it. Kon ends up chokeslamming Callihan onto the thumbtacks, and Fulton breaks up the count. Fulton & Kon fight up the ramp and towards the edge of the stage. This results in both men 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 Callihan being kicked down, and a ladder & table are set up in the ring. Angels climbs up and frog splashes Callihan through the table. It only gets two as Callihan is able to kick out. Deaner starts barking instructions to Angels, and finds a baseball bat on the floor. Deaner accidentally hits Angels with the bat. Callihan repeatedly hits Deaner with the trash can, then delivers the Cactus Driver 97. Deaner actually kicks out. Callihan gets the bat and delivers a shot to Deaner’s face. Another Driver, this time on the board, finishes the match. OVE picks up the victory.
Another brutal match. I expected nothing less from the feud. I am kind of wanting to see it keep going so we get more matches like this. I really enjoyed this one. Grade B+
Main Event Match: Impact World Championship Match - Steve Maclin vs Alex Shelley
A tie-up 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. Shelley with a headlock on Maclin. Maclin with a takedown, then a slap to Shelley. Chops by Maclin in the corner. 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 knee drop. 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. Shelley kicks away at Maclin. He teases a Figure 4, Maclin blocks but gets tied up anyway. A kick to Maclin’s head gets a two. Shelley locks in the Figure 4 now, but Maclin is able to get to the ropes. He rips off the turnbuckle pad while the ref is focused on Shelley while breaking the hold. 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 is locked in the Tree of Woe, but he’s able to avoid the strike. Shelley ends up DDTing 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, the Shell Shock is blocked, Maclin spears Shelley into the exposed turnbuckle, hits a suplex but 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 is sent into the exposed turnbuckle again. Superkick by Shelley & Shell Shock, covers Maclin and picks up the victory! We have a NEW Impact World Champion!
An absolutely amazing match! Shelley definitely deserved this win. These two men put on such a good show with a lot of back and forth. If there is a rematch between these two, I wouldn’t complain about watching it. Grade A
After the match, new X-Division Champion Chris Sabin joins new Impact World Champion Alex Shelley as the Motor City Machine Guns celebrate in the ring together.
Overall, this was a brilliant PPV. I really enjoyed watching it, and I think the end with Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin celebrating in the ring together really topped it off. I’m excited to see where the title pictures go now.
Prediction Results:
Countdown to Against All Odds matches:
Kilynn King vs Nevaeh - I was not aware of this match happening, so no prediction was made.
Joe Hendry vs Dirty Dango - I predicted Hendry, so 1-0.
Against All Odds matches:
Match 1: Predicted Edwards, so 1-1
Match 2: Predicted ABC, so 2-1
Match 3: Predicted Slamovich, so 3-1
Match 4: Predicted Miguel, so 3-2
Match 5: Predicted Nick Aldis, so 4-2
Match 6: Predicted Trinity & Purrazzo, so 5-2
Match 7: Predicted OVE, so 6-2
Main Event: Predicted Maclin, so 6-3
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