Multiverse United: Only the STRONG Survive Review

My review of Impact and NJPW's crossover show

Countdown to Multiverse United

Yuya Uemura Vs Gabriel Kidd

Kidd gets the early advantage, getting Uemura in a headlock, causes Uemura to retreat. Uemura takes a tumble to the outside from the top rope, but he is able to get back into the ring, beating the refs 10 count. Kidd hits Uemura with several powerslams and then hits him with a couple of open palm strikes. Uemura begins to build some momentum, hitting Kidd with a running bulldog out of the corner. Kidd manages to regain control of the match with a double underhook slam. Kidd locks in a front facelock while sat on the top rope. Uemura hits Kidd with a strong forearm strike, followed by an arm drag. Uemura then hits Kidd with an overhead suplex and a top rope cross body. Uemura covers Kidd and gets the 3. A decent match from Kidd and Uemura, nicely paced and some nice athletic moves. Grade C

Multiverse United begins NOW!

Match 1: X-Division Championship 6 Man Scramble Match. Trey Miguel vs Rich Swann Vs Kevin Knight Vs Frankie Kazarian Vs Clark Connors Vs Rocky Romero.

The match begins and everyone attacks Miguel, throwing him to the outside. Swann hits Connors with a rolling splash, Knight then hits a twisting frog splash and Kaz hits Connors with a slingshot DDT. Kaz hits Romero and Swann with guillotine leg drops. He attempts another, but is caught in mid-air with a dropkick from Knight. We get 5 of the 6 men in a pyramid in the corner and Miguel takes everyone off the top with a massive Tower of Doom. Followed up instantly by Swann who hits a splash. Romero now on the offence, hitting everyone with clotheslines until he is hit with a spear from Connors. Connors spears Miguel on the ring apron while Kaz hits Knight with a slingshot cutter. Swann attempts a handspring cutter but Connors counters and hits Swann with a spear. Connors goes on to spear Knight out of mid-air, tries to go for the pin, but Miguel throws Connors out of the ring. Miguel capitalises and pins Knight and gets the 3. He retains his X-Division Championship. Awesome match! Fast paced and filled with action. Incredible athletes involved. I would definitely watch another match with these guys involved. Grade A.

Match 2: 8-Man Tag Match – Eddie Edwards, Tom Lawlor, JR Kratos & Joe Hendry Vs Callihan, Fred Rosser, Alex Coughlin & PCO.

Rosser and Lawlor looking to brawl. Lawlor locks in a sleeper but Rosser dives through the ropes with Lawlor to break the hold. Hendry & Coughlin trying to get the upperhand by exchanging vertical suplex attempts. Hendry able to gain control, hits a Trust Fall. Coughlin with a show of strength, lifting and throwing Kratos over his head. The match breaks down with all men getting involved. Callihan gets hit with a diving spear from Lawlor who is then dropped into the apron by Rosser. Kratos is able to cut off PCO with a pounce. Kratos then then dives off the top rope, colliding with everyone on the floor. PCO climbs to the top and hits a PCO-sault. Kratos capitalises from Edwards grabbing PCO’s leg and he hits PCO with a jumping knee. Kratos then hits a superplex on PCO. The match continues, Coughlin hits Lawlor and Edwards with a double suplex. Hendry again showing his strength and hits a double fall-away slam. Callihan hits Hendry with a PileDriver. Edwards connects with a Blue Thunder Bomb on Rosser and PCO hits a PCO-sault on Kratos and covers him for the 3. Callihan, Rosser, Coughlin and PCO win! A hectic match, but a good match nonetheless. Some brilliant sequences and moves, showcasing all the men. Very well done. Grade B.

Match 3: Moose Vs Jeff Cobb

Moose takes advantage, hitting Cobb with a dropkick. Cobb is able to return the favour, hitting Moose with a with a dropkick of his own and follows that up with a standing Moonsault. Moose then hits Cobb with a running dropkick in the corner. Moose hits the Go to Hell on Cobb, goes for the pin but Cobb kicks out. Moose attempts a spear but collides into the ring post, shoulder first. Cobb then hits a huge superplex on Moose. Cobb then counters a clothesline into a backslide and gets a 2. Cobb hits Moose with several headbutts. The men collide in the middle of the ring, and the force of the collision sends the men through the ropes. Moose showing his agility, leaping to the top rope and hitting Cobb with a superplex. Moose then connects with a bicycle kick and a step up cross body. Cobb is able to come back and hits Moose with Tour of the Islands and picks up the victory. A good big man match. Showing different styles from the men, not a bad match at all. Some great athleticism on display. Grade C-

Match 4: 4-Way Match, the Winner goes on to Rebellion to challenge for the Knockouts World Championship. Masha Slamovich Vs Deonna Purrazzo Vs Gisele Shaw Vs Miyu Yamashita

Shaw attempts to gain an early advantage and attempts to go strike for strike with Yamashita but Yamashita hits Shaw with a big kick. Slamovich dives through the ropes and takes out Yamashita and Purrazzo. Shaw dives off the top rope, hitting everyone with a corkscrew. Purrazzo hits Slamovich with a pump kick and follows it up with a standing Moonsault. Shaw gets taken down by a running knee from Yamashita. All the women are down following a flurry of offence. Slamovich locked into the Fujiwara Armbar by Purrazzo, manages to roll out of it. Slamovich is then hit with a superkick from Shaw, but Slamovich is able to take out Shaw. Slamovich able to avoid the Queen’s Gambit and hits Purrazzo with an Air Raid Crash into the corner. Purrazzo able to hit Shaw with a powerbomb and follows it up with a Queens Gambit, covers Shaw and gets the 3. Deonna Purrazzo is heading to Rebellion. Another great match from the Knockouts Division. I was hoping for a win for Slamovich but I’m happy with Purrazzo winning. A very enjoyable match. Grade C+

Interview with Bullet Club. Austin and Bey declare victory in tonight’s 4-way match.

Match 5: Impact World Tag Team Championship 4-Way Match. Bullet Club (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) Vs Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) Vs TMDK (Shane Haste and Bad Dude Tito) Vs Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley).

Tito gets the early advantage as Shelley is distracted by Haste. Shelley and Sabin hit Haste with double running boots in the corner. Haste manages to counter Skull & Bones and hits Sabin with a back suplex. He then hits a cannonball on Shelley. Tito then hits Shelley with a slingshot senton from the ring apron. Sabin gets knocked off the apron by Tito. Shelley able to get some separation as he drives Haste into the turnbuckle. Shelley desperate to get out of the match to try and recover, so he tags in Bey. Bey hits Haste with Code Red and almost gets the win but Haste able to kick out. Davis now in the match, showing off his strength, hitting Bey with a delayed vertical suplex. An accidental collision between Aussie Open as Bey is able to avoid them. Sabin able to take out Bey and Fletcher with a double cross body. Sabin takes a dive through Shelley’s legs and collides with everyone on the floor. Aussie Open hit Bey with a Pendulum and almost win the titles! Tito comes to the aid of Haste, saving him from a double team assault from Aussie Open. Ace and Bey hit Tito with a 1,2, Sweet, pinning him and getting the victory. Bullet Club retain their titles. Amazing match. Some amazingly talented individuals involved. Cannot fault the match, I really enjoyed it. Grade A.

Match 6: Lio Rush Vs KUSHIDA

KUSHIDA goes for the Hoverboard Lock but Rush able to fight it off. Rush able to use his quickness and hits KUSHIDA with a dropkick. KUSHIDA sends Rush to the outside with rolling heels. The match taken to the outside, Rush regains control, hitting KUSHIDA with a hurricanrana. Rush then hits a springboard cross body. The match gets back into the ring. KUSHIDA targeting both arms of Rush. Rush attempts handspring but is cut off by KUSHIDA. Rush gains momentum with a huge suicide dive to the outside. Rush manages to avoid another Hoverboard Lock attempt. Both men hit headbutts and both men are down. KUSHIDA again locks in the Hoverboard Lock, but Rush manages to break out. Rush rolls up KUSHIDA but only gets a 2. Rush hits KUSHIDA with a reverse hurricanrana and follows that up with the Come Up, pins KUSHIDA but KUSHIDA able to get his foot on the bottom rope. Rush goes high risk, but is caught by KUSHIDA in the Hoverboard Lock. Rush submits. Another amazing match. Quick paced and a very athletic showing. A nice show of respect between the men after the match. I loved this match. Grade A

Match 7: NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship Match. KENTA Vs Minoru Suzuki

Suzuki locks in an Armbar on KENTA in the ropes, the ref forces the break. Outside the ring, KENTA hits Suzuki with a flurry of strikes, but Suzuki able to withstand the offence. KENTA rakes the eyes of Suzuki. The match gets taken back into the ring. KENTA hits Suzuki with a neckbreaker, pins Suzuki but only gets a 2. KENTA then hits Suzuki with a series of chops. KENTA teases a knee strike to get in the head of Suzuki. Suzuki fighting back, hitting a running boot in the corner . Suzuki locks in a leg lock but KENTA is able to roll to the ropes to break the hold. KENTA hits Suzuki with a top rope lariat and gets another 2. The men exchange strikes in the middle of the ring. Suzuki hits KENTA with a near knockout shot and follows that up with multiple big boots. KENTA comes back with boots of his own and regains control. KENTA goes for the GTS, but Suzuki counters into a sleeper. KENTA throws the ref down to the mat and hits Suzuki with a low blow! KENTA rolls up Suzuki with his feet on the ropes for leverage and gets the 3! KENTA retains his title. A great match, but a shame about the ending. I would have liked to have seen a clean finish, but it is what it is. Still a great match. Grade B+

Main Event: Speedball Mike Bailey Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi

Tanahashi on the offence, hits Bailey with a shoulder tackle, but Bailey gets straight back up. Bailey his Tanahashi with a flurry of kicks and he then follows Tanahashi to the outside. Bailey takes down Tanahashi with a running kick. Tanahashi bits Bailey with a dropkick. Bailey hits a running shooting star on Tanahashi, covers him and gets a 2. Tanahashi building momentum now, hits Bailey with a diving clothesline. He connects with a top rope senton, covers Bailey and gets a 2. Tanahashi once again goes to the top rope, but Bailey brings him back down. Tanahashi makes Bailey pay for that by connecting with a Dragon Screw leg whip. Bailey back to his feet, but Tanahashi takes him down again with another Dragon Screw. Bailey now back on the attack, hits Tanahashi with a moonsault to the outside. Both men down, they manage to make it back into the ring on 19! Tanahashi counters the tornado kick into a slingblade. Bailey now barely able to walk, struggling to get up to the top rope. He manages to hit a hurricanrana and follows it up with a roundhouse kick. Bailey connects with a tornado kick and goes for the Ultima Weapon but Tanahashi able to avoid. Tanahashi able to take down Bailey with a slingblade, then hits the High Fly Flow, coves Bailey and gets a 3! Absolutely incredible match. These two definitely need to have more matches. Grade A

Overall, a really good crossover show. Some amazing matches, some that NEED to be ran again as well. Hoping we get another crossover show between NJPW and Impact. Just brilliant.