• [WR] A Bad Enemy To Make. Heres The Moment That Made Vince McMahon Take

    From WrestlingRumors.net@21:1/5 to All on Sat Aug 17 12:49:57 2019
    WrestlingRumors.net

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    A Bad Enemy To Make. Heres The Moment That Made Vince McMahon Take AEW Seriously.

    Posted: 16 Aug 2019 10:01 PM PDT https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/bad-enemy-make-heres-moment-made-vince-mcmahon-take-aew-seriously/


    You wouldnt like him when he’s angry(ier). Vince McMahon is the most powerful person in the wrestling world today and likely the most powerful
    of all time. He owns and operates the biggest wrestling company in the
    world and is likely to do so until the day he dies. That makes his
    opinions and ideas all the more important and you don’t want to end up on
    his bad side. Someone has though, and now we know what might have pushed
    him over the edge.

    According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, McMahon has been
    going after AEW extra hard in anticipation of their October 4 debut on
    TNT. The incident that changed things for McMahon was Double Or Nothing selling out in record time in Las Vegas, as WWE has never been able to draw well in the city. It showed McMahon that he might have competition and
    made him more aggressive with taking AEW out.

    Maybe they should do better than this in Las Vegas. Check out one of WWE’s themed matches from the city:
    [This post contains video, click to play]


    Opinion: I can understand this making sense as it’s the kind of thing that would show McMahon that he might actually have someone to face off with for
    a change. Part of the problem for AEW is that they have yet to face any
    real competition and at the end of the day, WWE has a lot of ways to fight them. That’s going to be the real test of AEW and we can see where they go in the near future.

    How will AEW do in its first week? What about its twenty seventh week?
    Let us know in the comments below.

    Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
    over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 28
    wrestling books. His latest book is the History Of In Your House.

    Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
    for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
    to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
    available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

    The post A Bad Enemy To Make. Heres The Moment That Made Vince McMahon
    Take AEW Seriously. appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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    The Other New Home? NXT May Be Going To The USA Network (Full Details).

    Posted: 16 Aug 2019 09:58 PM PDT https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/new-home-nxt-may-going-usa-network/


    Same NXT time, different NXT channel. The rise of AEW has changed a lot in
    the wrestling world, including what WWE has going on. For the first time
    in almost twenty years, WWE has a high powered company coming after them
    and while AEW is nowhere near WWE so far, WWE has taken notice and they’re swinging back. As it turns out, they’re doing it more than you might have guessed.

    According to PWInsider Elite by way of 411mania.com, WWE may be moving NXT
    to the USA Network and expanding it to two hours a week, starting on
    October 2. The date is significant as NXT would be going toe to toe
    against AEW, which will be airing on the same date and at the same time.
    At the moment, nothing has been confirmed but a move to cable in one form
    or another is becoming more and more likely.

    NXT might not have this major star. Check out what looked like a farewell
    for Johnny Gargano:
    [This post contains video, click to play]


    Opinion: As a wrestling fan, this is certainly interesting but as an NXT
    fan, I can’t help but be a bit sad. So much of what makes NXT work is the down to earth presentation of the arena and how everything feels so
    different from mainstream WWE. If and when this change happens, so much of that is going to go away and it’s just going to be a third WWE brand, which is one of the last things that WWE needs right now.

    Where will NXT wind up? What will this do to WWE? Let us know in the
    comments below.

    Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
    over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 28
    wrestling books. His latest book is the History Of In Your House.

    Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
    for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
    to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
    available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

    The post The Other New Home? NXT May Be Going To The USA Network (Full Details). appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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    Some Good News For Once. Injury Update On Sidelined AEW Star.

    Posted: 16 Aug 2019 09:54 PM PDT https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/good-news-injury-update-sidelined-aew-star/


    It’s nice to hear the opposite for a change. Wrestling is of course a very dangerous sport, which is the only way it can go. There are all kinds of things that can be done to make a match safer but a full contact sport is always going to have a danger factor. It feels like there is a new injury
    to report every day, but this time around we’ve got something good for a change.

    As announced on her Twitter account, AEW star Britt Baker has been fully medically cleared to return to the ring and will be part of the Casino
    Battle Royal on August 31 at All Out. Baker had been injured at Fight For
    The Fallen when she took a shot to the head and received a concussion early
    on in her tag match. Baker was so out of it during the match that she
    tried to tag in her opponent.

    CLEARED and ready to win this Casino Battle Royale at #AllOut! ???
    @AEWrestling pic.twitter.com/U9Wbo853iW

    - Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (@RealBrittBaker) August 16, 2019



    The battle royal is going to be big. Check out a preview of the match:
    [This post contains video, click to play]


    Opinion: That’s always a relief to hear. Baker was completely gone during the Fight For The Fallen match and it’s good that she is already back on
    her feet and cleared to wrestle. Concussions are one of the scariest kinds
    of injury as you can’t see what the problem is and the symptoms can take a long time to go away. It’s great that she is already back as the division needs her to succeed.

    Has Baker impressed you so far? Who will win the battle royal? Let us
    know in the comments below.

    Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
    over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 28
    wrestling books. His latest book is the History Of In Your House.

    Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
    for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
    to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
    available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

    The post Some Good News For Once. Injury Update On Sidelined AEW Star. appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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    Who Does What? Full King Of The Ring Brackets Revealed.

    Posted: 16 Aug 2019 09:51 PM PDT https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/full-king-ring-brackets-revealed/


    Here’s who can win. Earlier this week on Monday Night Raw, WWE announced
    the return of the King of the Ring Tournament, which will be taking place
    over the next few weeks. The tournament has a history of making stars and
    that could very well be the case again this time. As of Monday we knew all
    of the sixteen competitors, but now we know something just as important.

    WWE.com has released the full brackets for this year’s tournament, which
    will be starting on next week’s Monday Night Raw. The tournament featured eight superstars from Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live each with the
    finals being held at Clash of Champions on September 16. The bracket is set
    so that the winner will have a wrestler from each brand in the finals. Here
    are the brackets:
    Monday Night Raw

    Cesaro

    Samoa Joe

    Ricochet

    Drew McIntyre

    Cedric Alexander

    Sami Zayn

    The Miz

    Baron Corbin
    SmackDown Live

    Kevin Owens

    Elias

    Ali

    Buddy Murphy

    Chad Gable

    Shelton Benjamin

    Apollo Crews

    Andrade

    They’re excited about this one. Check out the video announcement as well: [This post contains video, click to play]


    Opinion: The tournament might not be a guaranteed success for the winner
    but it’s going to give WWE a few solid weeks of television as the focus shifts towards the wrestling instead of the storylines. Over the years,
    King of the Ring has done a lot of good for a lot of the people and this
    time around, it could do a lot of good for the show itself. Now if it can
    do well for the fans too, that’s even better.

    Are you glad the tournament is back? Who do you see winning? Let us know in
    the comments below.

    Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
    over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
    2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 28
    wrestling books. His latest book is the History Of In Your House.

    Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
    for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
    to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
    available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

    The post Who Does What? Full King Of The Ring Brackets Revealed. appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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    REVIEW: Bound For Glory 2018: Austin Aries Doesnt Seem Nice

    Posted: 16 Aug 2019 09:13 PM PDT https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/review-bound-glory-2018-austin-aries-doesnt-seem-nice/


    Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over ten years now and have reviewed over 5,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net, starting today. It could be anything from modern WWE
    to old school to indies to anything in between. Note that I rate using
    letters instead of stars and I don’t rate matches under three minutes as really, how good or bad can something that short be?
    Bound For Glory 2018

    Date: October 14, 2018

    Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York

    Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews
    It’s the biggest night of the year and the card is looking pretty good this time around. The main event is fairly lackluster with Johnny Impact
    challenging Austin Aries for the World Title, but the better built match is
    LAX vs. the OGz, in a match that could go either way. You never can tell
    with this company though so let’s get to it.
    The opening video shows shots of the streets of New York with the pictures
    of the matches on walls and clips of the build towards the matches. LAX
    walks the streets, talking about how this is a reload instead of a rebuild.
    The camera is facing the entrance and the ring looks a bit smaller than
    usual.
    Willie Mack/Rich Swann vs. Ethan Page/Matt Sydal
    Interesting choice for an opener. Swann strikes away to start and it’s
    Sydal telling him to open his third eye. Instead it’s off to the Mack for a heavy flying tackle to drop Sydal, meaning Page comes in to try his luck.
    Swann headscissors him down but a backdrop gives us a 450, sending Swann
    face first into the mat. Sydal comes back in to start on the arm, including
    a Fujiwara armbar.
    A big boot from Page and a kick to the face from Sydal send Swann outside, where there is barely any room between the ring and the barricade. It
    doesn’t seem to bother Mack, who cannonballs down onto the other three. That’s still not enough for the hot tag though as Sydal cranks on something like a cobra clutch back inside. A side slam cuts Swann off again but he
    rolls over and brings in Mack to clean house. That means a Cannonball in
    the corner and a German suplex to set up a standing moonsault on Page.
    Swann comes back in for a flapjack/bulldog combination before taking Page
    to the top. That’s not the best idea, as Page slams him down and hits a
    Swan Dive for two more. Sydal knees Mack in the face and hurricanranas
    Swann off the top, only to have him land in a hurricanrana to send Page
    flying instead for a cool spot. Everything breaks down and it’s a series of kicks to the face to put everyone down. Page kicks Sydal by mistake and
    takes a Stunner, leaving Swann to hit a Lethal Injection. The Phoenix
    splash is good for the pin on Sydal at 12:34.
    Rating: C+. Good choice for an opener here with the fans loving Mack and
    Swann being his usual charismatic self. IT makes sense to have Sydal take
    the pin as well with Page being the newcomer and full of potential. As
    usual, Sydal is much easier to watch when he’s in the ring instead of
    talking about the third eye stuff. Just stick to what you do best.
    Post match the fans seem to like Mack, who grabs a mic and says there are
    two empty seats in the front row. Therefore, whoever cheers the loudest is getting an upgrade courtesy of the show’s sponsor. Nothing wrong with that. The announcers plug swag from the sponsor.
    Earlier this week Johnny Impact and Taya Valkyrie were on TMZ because
    Austin Aries made some jokes about Taya’s size. This led to a near fight at Abyss’ Hall of Fame induction.
    Konnan has been attacked. LAX comes in and Konnan says it was some of
    King’s guys.
    Here’s Eli Drake for his open challenge. The fans start up the Y2J chants
    but Drake wants to talk to us. He’s here in a town where the claim to fame
    is pizza but he sees some New York Giants. They can’t be answering his challenge because they’re 1-5. The fans finish his catchphraseand James Ellsworth answers the challenge.
    This does NOT go over well with the fans starting a DELETE chant. Ellsworth tries to suck up to New York but Drake points out that he’s not even from
    New York. That’s true, but he did date a girl from Staten Island (ERG) and lived in her basement for a bit. Fans: “PIZZA!” They also have some very mean things to say about Ellsworth so let’s do this, though after a Sweet Chin Music joke.
    James Ellsworth vs. Eli Drake
    Ellsworth tries a cheap shot but gets caught in a flapjack as the fans are
    all behind Drake. Sweet Chin Music is countered with a spinebuster, which
    earns a thank you from the crowd. Ellsworth loads up a Styles Clash but
    gets countered into the Gravy Train. The fans want one more so Drake
    obliges before the pin at 2:12. Just….push Drake to the moon as a huge face already. Please. It’s WAY overdue, even as a former World Champion. And
    keep Ellsworth out. That felt like the old days of TNA and that’s not a
    good thing.
    Post match Drake says he wants better competition so here’s Abyss to
    destroy him. A Black Hole Slam sets up a chokeslam through a table for
    Abyss’ Hall of Fame moment. Nothing wrong with that, but he couldn’t beat up someone other than Drake?
    Earlier today, Tessa Blanchard said she’s the real wrestling royalty.
    We recap Blanchard vs. Valkyrie. Basically Blanchard was out of challengers
    so Valkyrie is back to come after the title. It does at least tie into Blanchard facing a bunch of luchadoras and Taya saying she’s lucha royalty. Knockouts Title: Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie
    Taya is challenging and has new gear, making her look like an old school Natalya cosplayer. Tessa works on a wristlock to start and the fans are
    behind the champ. A headscissors takes Tessa down and Taya kicks her in the head in the corner. Taya gets in a not great spear to put Tessa on the
    floor but a neckbreaker onto the apron has Taya in trouble. Back in and a Codebreaker out of the corner gives Tessa two but it’s way too early for
    the Buzzsaw DDT.
    Taya is right back with some Spanish shouting and running knees in the
    corner. A guillotine choke with a bodyscissors has to be broken up by a
    Tessa dead lift and the fans chant something in Spanish that is completely ignored. They slug it out and the Buzzsaw DDT is broken up again but Taya can’t hit Road to Valhalla. Instead Taya chokeslams her down to set up a moonsault.
    A stomp sets up the STF but Tessa is too close to the ropes. The referee
    stops to FIX THE RING SKIRT, meaning there’s no count off the Road to Valhalla. It’s a delayed two, meaning Tessa is right back up with the
    Buzzsaw DDT for two of her own. Taya is back up again so Tessa sends her
    face first into the middle buckle, setting up Magnum to retain the title at 10:44.
    Rating: C+. Nice power brawl here with Tessa finally having someone who can
    go move for move with her. The ending was the only way to go as Taya hasn’t been around in the better part of six months so changing the title was
    almost out of the question. Now you can build someone else up to challenge Tessa for the title, because the division has been all but cleaned out at
    the moment.
    Earlier today Moose, wearing what looks like an African king outfit, says he’ll show why he’s a legend.
    We recap Moose vs. Eddie Edwards. Moose was put on the shelf with a
    concussion but came back and joined forces with Austin Aries. This includes helping to beat down Edwards, who never even visited him in the hospital.
    Moose is now part of the evil trio along with Aries and Killer Kross, so Edwards is out for revenge due to a series of beatdowns.
    Eddie Edwards vs. Moose
    Moos has thankfully changed his clothes and comes out with a group of attractive women. They start fast with Eddie going right after him but
    getting knocked away. The Boston Knee Party drops Moose and it’s time for
    the kendo stickbut here’s Killer Kross from the crowd (in a shirt and tie) for the DQ at 58 seconds.
    Post match Tommy Dreamer runs in for the save so let’s have a No DQ tag match. BECAUSE WE NEEDED TOMMY FREAKING DREAMER ON THE SHOW!
    Tommy Dreamer/Eddie Edwards vs. Moose/Killer Kross
    No DQ and it’s a brawl to start (of course) with Dreamer spitting something into Kross’ eyes. That’s not enough though as he takes another drink, spits it into Edwards’ mouth, and then has Edwards spit it into Moose’s eyes. That’s a visual I really didn’t need. Moose and Dreamer slug it out inside with Moose shouldering him down but missing the backsplash. The fans chant
    for Low Ki (fair enough) as Kross makes the save, only to get elbowed down. Dreamer pulls back the padding on the floor, leaving Moose to dropkick
    Eddie off the middle rope. Moose follows him out and hits a running….I have no idea actually as the camera switched angles. Or did Eddie do something
    to him? Either way it’s bad camera work and Eddie comes back in to chop Kross. A middle rope hurricanrana drops Kross but Moose hits the Game
    Changer on Dreamer.
    Moose and Eddie chop it out with Eddie hanging in there until he can hit
    the Blue Thunder Bomb. Dreamer cutters Kross and grabs the kendo stick,
    only to get caught with the Doomsday Saito. A clothesline puts Kross on the floor and Moose gives Eddie a pop up powerbomb. It’s time to get the stick again, but Eddie rolls Moose up for the pin at 8:41.
    Rating: D+. I’m split on this one as there was no need to put Dreamer on
    the show, but there was a need to put Kross on there. That being said, if
    you want to do the tag match, just announce it as a tag match. Advertising Moose vs. Edwards as a featured match on the card and then switching things
    up is rather annoying and something that shouldn’t be happening. On top of that, it wasn’t even a very good brawl as Dreamer should NOT be going move for move with either of these monsters. At least the ending went well
    enough.
    Post match Kross and Moose wreck Edwards, including an assisted apron bomb.
    OVE is ready to take a bite of the Big Apple and spit it in the Machine’s face. They’re the ratings draws and are going to put Ohio on the map.
    We recap OVE vs. Brian Cage/Lucha Bros. Sami Callihan and Pentagon have
    been feuding for months and since Sami has the Crist Brothers, Pentagon
    brought in his brother Fenix and then Cage just joined in as a bonus. You
    have to get Cage on the show so this makes logical sense. I’d certainly
    take that over a nothing X-Division Title defense.
    OVE vs. Lucha Bros/Brian Cage
    OVE rules, meaning anything goes, for the second match in a row. Fenix is introduced as “The Mexican”. Cage has a taped up leg coming in so he might need some repairs. Everyone else is cleared out in a hurry and it’s
    Pentagon vs. Callihan in the big showdown. They trade shots to the face
    until Pentagon scores with the Sling Blades to take over. Cage comes back
    in but gets sent shoulder first into the post.
    Fenix replaces him and speeds things up but a tiger suplex takes him down
    as well. Callihan kicks away at various people and Jake posts Cage head
    first. The Bros are back up with Pentagon holding the ropes open for a dive from Fenix, leaving Cage to toss Jake over the top off a fall away slam.
    The dead lift superplex gets two on Callihan and everyone is back in.
    Double superkicks get two on Dave and the Alberto double stomp gets two. Callihan has to save Jake from the Drill Claw but Callihan sends Cage
    outside.
    That means Fenix runs down the ramp for a diving cutter for two more on Callihan. The Pentagon Driver gets the same on Dave and it’s time for a parade of people knocking each other down. Cage throws Callihan into the
    corner to set up the spike Fear Factor but the Crists make the save. The
    fall away slam/Samoan drop combination takes Jake and Dave down, followed
    by a Codebreaker to Dave.
    Fenix gets on Pentagon’s shoulders but it’s Jake springboarding in for the All Seeing Eye. Ok so he slipped a bit but it still looked good enough. Callihan piledrives Pentagon on the apron but Cage is all fired up again.
    House is cleaned but a series of kicks rock Cage. The All Seeing Eye only
    makes him adder so OVE kicks him in the face about a dozen times, setting
    up the Cactus Piledriver for the pin on Cage at 13:28.
    Rating: B. Easily the match of the night so far and the ending was a nice surprise. It also sets up Callihan as the next challenger to the X-Division Title, which is hopefully turning into the midcard title that it should
    have been a long time ago. Cage got to stay strong in defeat, as it took
    three people unloading on him at once to finally put him away. That doesn’t hurt him in the slightest and this was an entertaining fight throughout.
    Aries came back to this company to turn it into something special. Impact
    shows up when he has time and that’s not cool with the champ. Now that Impact’s reality show is airing, he’s back to make something out of it. Impact has Boone the Bounty Hunter and all the last names in the world.
    Aries says after last night at the press conference, his boys will be at ringside wit him. More good stuff from a recently inspired Aries here.
    King says LAX can learn what they grew up with because it’s 3-2.
    We recap the OGz vs. LAX. The teams have been warring for months now but
    their bosses have ordered a ceasefire. That ends tonight, with the OGz
    wanting to show LAX what it really means to fight in the streets.
    LAX vs. OGz
    Non-title. This is a Concrete Jungle Death Match, meaning all turnbuckle
    pads are off and the mat itself has been removed, leaving only the boards. It’s also a handicap match to start with King teaming with the OGz but
    Konnan being laid out. A band plays LAX to the ring and says this is for Konnan. You do know he was awake and talking after being attacked earlier right? LAX starts swinging trashcan lids to start and Hernandez is busted
    open less than thirty seconds in.
    King breaks up a dive and Rock Bottoms Santana onto the wood as the referee tries to keep the boards together. Ortiz is back in with another lid shot
    but the numbers game takes him down, allowing Homicide to bash his head in
    with lid shots of his own. Some painted tables are sent in but Santana is
    sent outside. King dives out onto him but slams face first into the
    barricade for a bad looking crash.
    Hernandez isn’t done though and Border Tosses Homicide onto LAX. Back in
    and Ortiz suplexes Homicide on the boards but gets Pounced through a table
    by Hernandez. Santana sends King into the corner and perhaps into the post, drawing Hernandez back in for the save. A double superplex onto the wood
    (great visual) takes Hernandez downand here’s Konnan for some low blows and blackjack spots to clean house. The Street Sweeper finishes Homicide at
    10:39.
    Rating: C+. It was good, but they’ve done these violent brawls multiple
    times now. This time around, the OGz even had an advantage for most of the match and were even at best until Konnan came in. Once the old guy who can barely move came in, he beat the trio up almost on his own. There is zero reason for this feud to continue, though I have no idea who is supposed to
    take the titles from LAX anymore.
    We look back at Allie making a deal with James Mitchell to go into the
    Undead Realm to save Kiera Hogan.
    Allie, looking like she’s a Buffy the Vampire Slayer cosplayer (I think we have a theme tonight), walks into a room and shuts herself inside a coffin.
    The Bray Wyatt freaky images montage comes up and she gets out, with
    Mitchell waiting on her. Allie can go up to the chapel to find Kiera, but
    her soul stays here. Carrying a hatchet, Allie is attacked by an undead bridesmaid, who is HACKED TO DEATH, complete with blood splattering up onto Allie’s face. Well this just got a little more serious.
    Another bridesmaid attacks and gets hacked (in the neck this time) but
    Allie finds a third….which is her with black eye shadow and lipstick. Allie walks away and finds the chapel, which has another coffin. Kiera is inside
    but here’s Su Yung with an ax for another fight. The ax is dropped so Su
    hits her a few times with a ball bat and knocks her out with the Mandible
    Claw.
    Allie pops back up though and hatchets her in the neck. She runs over and awakens Kiera but can’t open the casket they used to get in the first
    place. A laughing Mitchell appears and says he never promised them a way
    out. Su is back and Allie and Kiera are surrounded so here’s the returning Rosemary (Rosemary: “Hi buddy!”) to punch the villains in the face.
    They pry the coffin open but here’s Su with energy balls coming out of her hands. Rosemary has lightning coming out of hers, but the Bridesmaids pull
    her down as Allie and Kiera escape. Back in the real world, Kiera is happy
    to escape but Allie, sounding like a demon, says that was NOT ok.
    So…..yeah this happened. The idea they were going for was fine (though it doesn’t work as well when Yung is losing as often as she’s winning) and it fit the Halloween time period, but having these things on an otherwise
    serious show (like the one with the Mexican mafia bossing people around)
    makes it stick out very badly. It’s not even a bad idea, but it doesn’t fit with the rest of the show. Now can we have Allie dressed as Buffy more
    often?
    The next pay per view is Homecoming in Nashville on January 6.
    Johnny Impact says maybe Aries would have been on TMZ if he wasn’t such a jerk. This isn’t all about Aries so Impact is going to take away what
    matters most to him.
    We recap the World Title match. Aries has been the dominant champion and
    Impact is the one who has never won the big one. Impact wants to be the wrestler, but Aries thinks Impact doesn’t take anything seriously. Some of the promos for this have been outstanding, with Aries doing some of the
    best mic work I’ve ever seen from him.
    Impact Wrestling World Title: Johnny Impact vs. Austin Aries
    Aries is defending, Taya, Moose (in the King outfit again) and Killer Kross
    are here and we get Big Match Intros. Johnny goes for a takedown but gets caught in a guillotine choke with Aries grabbing the ropes for some
    illogical reason. Aries gets taken down by a choke as well and the fans
    chant 205. Impact changes plans by slugging away and knocks him to the
    floor with a dive to follow.
    Back up and Aries tries to whip him into the barricade but Johnny jumps up
    with one foot on the barricade and the other on the apron for a moonsault.
    You know, because he can just do that. They head back in with Aries
    pounding away and glaring over at Taya. That earns him a rolling slap to
    the face but Aries knocks him down again and lays on the top rope. Some
    hard knees in the corner look to set up the Flying Chuck, only to have
    Aries knock him out to the floor. A springboard corkscrew crossbody gives Impact two but Aries is right back up with a Last Chancery attempt.
    That doesn’t work either so Impact hits the Flying Chuck for two more.
    Impact takes him up top but gets shoved down, setting up a middle rope hurricanrana. The neckbreaker over the middle rope connects but Aries takes
    way too long going up (out of character for him) and gets caught in a super Spanish Fly.
    The Countdown to Impact misses (Does it ever hit?) so they fight to the
    apron with Aries hitting a Death Valley Driver for a sick crash. Aries’ 450 gets two so it’s time to yell at the ref. A superkick sets up Starship Pain for two as Aries has to grab the rope. The roaring elbow sets up the corner dropkick and the brainbuster to knock Impact silly but he’s still fine
    enough to get a boot on the ropes.
    Taya celebrates so Aries yells at her, allowing Impact to grab a backslide
    for two. The Last Chancery is broken up and they slug it out until Aries
    hits a suicide dive to send Taya into the barricade. That’s too far and Impact kicks Aries in the head (with the camera on Moose laughing) and
    gives him a brainbuster of his own. Starship Pain is good for the pin and
    the title at 21:00.
    Rating: B. The ending was the right call and they beat the heck out of each other, making this a rather strong main event. Now the problem here is the
    Taya stuff, which while making it feel personal, came off as forced. It was like they didn’t have enough in the story to make it work so they wedged
    that in there at the last second, almost like Aries’ heel turn against Jeff Hardy in 2012. It worked for the match, but it would have been better as
    part of the build over a few weeks, not a few days.
    Aries is on his feet before Impact and flips off the crowd as he leaves. Hopefully that’s just him being a jerk and not some bad angle about the office going with the wrong guy. Impact helps Taya up and celebrates to end
    the show.
    Overall Rating: B. Best Bound For Glory in a few years, though that’s
    really not a high bar to clear. I know it’s their biggest show of the year, but I don’t remember the last time that Slammiversary didn’t beat it. This show was definitely more good than bad and was worth seeing, though it
    needed a few more tweaks. One of Impact’s biggest issues has always been creating the big moment on the big stage and this show again failed to
    deliver in that area. The title change just felt like a thing that happened rather than a changing of the guard and that’s been the case for a long
    time now.

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