“Machine Gun” Karl Anderson and Tama Tonga are 2 of the original 4 members of Bullet Club. Anderson left NJPW in 2016 for WWE, however, setting the stage for the Guerrillas of Destiny to take over as the faction’s top heavyweight tag team.
Now, however, Anderson is in the Elite with former Bullet Club members Kenny Omega, Doc Gallows, and the Young Bucks. On Impact Wrestling recently, Jay White aid he was not allowing Anderson and Gallows back in the group. Don Callis then noted that it should be White asking for permission to join the Elite. So, tension has been brewing between the two stables.
The rivalry brewing between the Elite and Bullet Club spilled over onto Twitter recently. Anderson Tweeted out a photo “The Elite Squad” from Fight for the Fallen leading to the exchange with Tama.
This led to Tama Tonga responding with the following:
“I would argue with you, but we’re past that. Your good brother philosophy is shallow deep. The day is coming,” Tonga Tweeted.
Anderson then responded, asking Tonga to not make him “Kill what I created.”
“Don’t do this Tama.. I’ve been holdin off on Killin the Bullet Club for good. Please don’t make me kill what I created. I’m beggin u”
Don’t do this Tama.. I’ve been holdin off on Killin the #BulletClub for good. Please don’t make me kill what I created. I’m beggin u ? https://t.co/c8r9JO8noh
Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows picked up a victory over Bullet Club’s Jay White and BC recruit Chris Bey. Gallows hit a choke slam on Bey and then both Good Brothers hit the Magic Killer for the win.
Taylor Wilde returned to Impact Wrestling last week and helped Matt Cardona, Jake Something and Chelsea Green pick up a win over Brian Myers, Sam Beale, and Tenille Dashwood. This week, Wilde would face Dashwood’s personal photographer, Kaleb with a K, in singles action. Wilde would pick up the win with a bridging German suplex.
FinJuice, Fallah Bah, & No Way Pick Up Victory In 8-Man Tag
David Finlay picked up the victory for his team by hitting Trash Panda on Rohit Raju. Finlay is preparing to face Jay White for the NEVER Openweight title at NJPW Resurgence on August 14th. FinJuice’s night wasn’t over, however, as they would later run into Bullet Club in the back.
Battle Royal To Determine Kenny Omega’s Next Challenger
Earlier in the show, Scott D’Amore tasked Tommy Dreamer with determining who would be Kenny Omega’s next title challenger. Dreamer told Omega that in two weeks, Impact would have a battle royal with the winner earning a title shot at Emergence.
The redemption that Jay White offered Chris Bey was evidently to attack FinJuice in the back. As Finlay and Robinson were being interviewed backstage following their victory earlier, White and Bey attacked.
The Elite were in the ring and were upset about Tommy Dreamer scheduling a battle royal to determine Omega’s next challenger. Sami Callihan then came out and said he will win the battle royal to get another shot at Omega. He also said he can’t wait until two weeks to get his hands on the Elite so next week a trios match will take place with Callihan and two partners against Omega and the Good Brothers.
Out of nowhere, The Elite Hunter Frankie Kazarian hit the ring and attacked Omega and the Good Brothers. Kazarian will be one of Callihan’s partners next week. Dreamer would later reveal that Callihan’s longtime rival Eddie Edwards would be the other.
Rich Swann & Willie Mack Pick Up Victory Over Violent By Design
Violent By Design blamed Rich Swann and Willie Mack for them losing the tag belts at Slammiversary. It would be Swann and Mack who would pick up the victory in this grudge match, however. Swann pinned Rhino after a Phoenix Splash.
At Slammiversary, Chris Sabin picked up the victory over Moose but things would not go the same way in the rematch. The finish of the match came when Moose fought off the Cradle Shock and then hit his Lights Out spear for the win. After the match, Moose tried to toss Sabin out of the ring but Sabin came back with a crossbody from the top and then hit a suicide dive on the outside. Officials had to pull Sabin off Moose to end the show.
Impact Homecoming Lineup
BREAKING: Here are the FULL #Homecoming King and Queen Tournament brackets ahead of THIS SATURDAY's event on @IMPACTPlusApp!
Mickie James invited Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo to the NWA Empowerrr PPV at Slammiversary. On Impact this week, Gail Kim revealed that she is the one who sent James out to offer the invite to the Virtuosa. In a video posted to Impact’s social media, James has now invited Gail Kim to be a part of NWA Empowerrr as well.
It’s not clear what role Gail Kim will play for the show. James only asks her for her help with the show, not necessarily to wrestle. Kim came out of retirement for one match in 2019. She wrestled Tessa Blanchard at the Impact Rebellion PPV from her hometown of Toronto that year.
NWA Empowerrr will take place from the Khorassan Ballroom At The Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis on August 28th. The NWA will present its 73rd Anniversary show from the same venue the following night.
“It’s pretty amazing because we’re going to we’re going to kick it off and we’re going to set the bar and hopefully for the rest of the weekend,” James said at a press conference in St. Louis earlier this month.
“There’s so much stuff, happening from Fan Fest, to the women’s show empowered, to NWA 73, and the two television tapings. It’s going to be an incredible four days.”
impact Wrestling will be running a mixed-gender tag-team tournament at Homecoming this weekend. The event will take place July 31st from Nashville’s Skyline Studios where Impact has been running its shows since the pandemic.
4 of the 8 scheduled teams for the Homecoming tournament have been announced. Those teams are:
Tommy Dreamer and Rachael Ellering
Petey Wiliams and Jordynne Grace
Crazzy Steve & Rosemary
Matt Cardona & Chelsea Green
Also, Brian Myers will be in the tournament but his partner has yet to be determined. Tenille Dashwood told Myers she would not be going to Homecoming with him on this week’s show. Myers then tasked Sam Beale with finding him another partner for the tournament.
Joey Janela and Big Cass (aka W. Morrissey, CaZXL) were involved in a backstage altercation in late 2019 at a WrestlePro event. Cass took a little time away from wrestling after that and spent some time staying with Diamond Dallas Page as well. He was on Sean Waltman’s podcast recently and said that he and Janela have buried the hatchet.
“I spoke to Joey the weekend of WrestleMania. At GCW, I did a show. I spoke with Joey, and we’re really cool, man. We buried the hatchet,” Cass said (transcriptions via WrestlingNewsCO). “That was one that I really, genuinely needed to apologize to the guy in person. I like to do things face to face.”
Cass continued to talk about speaking with Janela backstage at the GCW show.
“I happened to walk in, we started talking right away, and I was super happy about that. He’s cool as can be, and I appreciate him being super understanding.”
Not long after, Janela took to Twitter to comment on the conversation the two had over WrestleMania weekend as well. Janela also mentioned he’d hoped to book Cass for GCW over the summer. Cass is wrestling for both Impact and SWE at the moment, however.
“I saw that Cass talked about our convo, he’s really awesome! I’m happy to see him doing so well, tried to get him in the fold at GCW this summer but he’s become a busy guy! Hope I can make something happen sometime because that 7 foot dude slamming guys through doors would rule!” Janela Tweeted.
I saw that Cass talked about our convo, he’s really awesome! I’m happy to see him doing so well, tried to get him in the fold at GCW this summer but he’s become a busy guy! Hope I can make something happen sometime because that 7 foot dude slamming guys through doors would rule!
— “The Bad Boy” Joey Janela (@JANELABABY) July 24, 2021
Jordynne Grace is a very strong woman. She proved that again this weekend at the World National Powerlifting Federation championships. Grace broke several state and national records during her performance.
Grace’s tag-team partner, Rachael Ellering, provided Grace’s cheering section. She also live Tweeted from the event. She did so while wearing an Aja Kong t-shirt as well.
Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering In Impact Wrestling
While Grace and Ellering’s friendship was strong this weekend, it’s still not clear where they stand as a team in Impact. After winning and then losing the titles to Fire N Flava, it seemed as though they were done as a team. Two weeks ago they reunited to defeat Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb with a K, however, after Dashwood attacked Jazz in the back.
In addition to being a former Knockouts Tag Team Champion, Grace is a 1x former Knockouts Champion as well. She held the title from January 18th, 2020 until dropping it to Deonna Purrazzo at last year’s Slammiversary PPV.
Alex Shelley will be returning to wrestling for the first time in 2021 next month. GCW has announced him for their September 3rd show in Chicago.
Shelley was forced to withdraw from Impact Wrestling’s Hard to Kill event back in January. He had been scheduled to team with Chris Sabin and Rich Swann to face Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers.
“There are certain things in life that are just out of our control and unfortunately, my ability to compete at Hard to Kill has been dropped into that bucket,” Shelley said regarding having to withdraw from the event. “So, on that note, I owe an apology to Chris Sabin. I owe one to Rich Swann, I owe one to the fans. And I owe a receipt to the Good Brothers and Kenny Omega.”
Shelley would clarify a couple of weeks later that he would be unable to wrestle until a COVID-19 vaccine became available.
“I am a physical therapy clinician,” Shelley stated. “Physio is my livelihood and career. Wrestling is my livelihood and passion project. At my company, due to the volume of sick and injured patients we are in care of, we modify our COVID-19 mandates as needed. As numbers went up, so did restrictiveness.”
“To circumvent the topic, I could not be at Hard To Kill due to my career. I respect the decisions made by our company surgeons and doctors: I look to them for advice and guidance. I am unable to travel and wrestle until I am vaccinated.”
It is not yet clear if Shelley will be returning to Impact Wrestling.
ALEX SHELLEY returns to GCW and BLP on September 3rd at #3CupsStuffed in CHICAGO!
Chelsea Green’s doctor has put her back in a cast.
July 17, Green made her return to Impact Wrestling at their annual pay-per-view event Slammiversary, teaming up with her fiancé Matt Cardona in a winning effort against Brian Myers and Tenille Dashwood. During the match, Green landed a one-arm Canadian Destroyer on Myers.
Friday, Green posted x-ray photos on Twitter before visiting her surgeon for a follow-up on her injured arm, stating she had plans to show her doctor a video of the Destroyer.
Later Friday, Green updated her followers on Twitter by revealing her doctor had watched the video and put her arm back in a cast.
Green had appeared at Slammiversary with a cast on her arm; commentary claiming she had been cleared medically to compete. On her podcast “Green with Envy with Chelsea Green”, Green confirmed she had wrestled with a broken arm, noting Tennessee doesn’t have a health commission. A health commission can prevent a wrestler from competing when injured.
“So, obviously I’ve been talking about the familiarity—look at that fancy f*cking word. Ah, the familiarity of IMPACT. But one thing that wasn’t familiar, clearly, was wrestling with a broken arm,” started Green. “Slammiversary was in Tennessee, so they don’t have a health commission, so a health commission cannot ban me from wrestling with a broken arm. See what I mean? So I f*cking did it. YOLO, right?”
Green continued by stating that though her arm didn’t feel the best, it was worth it to wrestle, in her opinion.
“Last week, obviously I was upset that I couldn’t wrestle for Ring of Honor in the Women’s Championship tournament, but I understood why,” shared Green. “The Maryland Commission was not having any of it. But in Nashville, however, it is balls to the wall. Woo! We were good to go, so I took the opportunity and I ran with it, cast and all. I will say it doesn’t feel great, okay. Doesn’t feel 10 out of 10, but it was 10 out of 10 worth it, 100 percent worth it. A little pain, a lot of pleasure; that sounds dirty.”
The Canadian native first suffered a broken wrist during her first TV match on the March 13, 2019 NXT TV tapings, undergoing surgery the next day. Green re-injured her wrist on her SmackDown debut in November 2020, placing her on the sidelines again. After months on inactivity, WWE released Green in April, despite having signed a three-year contract.
On the same episode of “Green with Envy with Chelsea Green”, Green shared how the injury affected her mentally while preparing for Slammiversary.
“I just had this weird mental blockage,” shared Green. “I didn’t realize how much this injury would affect me mentally this time around. I think the first and second time that I broke my arm, I truly believed in my head that it was a freak accident. So, when it happened for the third time, because this is the third time I’ve broken my arm, if you don’t know, I really was in my head about it.”
Green worked recent Impact Wrestling tapings, and appeared on Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling in a six-man tag team match with Jake Something and Cardona. She’ll also be featured in a tournament for the upcoming Impact Homecoming special, which was also taped during the same time.
Quotes used from “Green with Envy with Chelsea Green” were h/t POST Wrestling.
Off to the surgeons. He told me to take it easy. What do you think he’ll say when I show him the one-armed Canadian destroyer I hit? ? #YOLOpic.twitter.com/WfxuHrk5UN
At the conclusion of Slammiversary this weekend, “Switchblade” Jay White confronted Kenny Omega. White took part in the tapings on Sunday and Monday as well. As it turns out, however, AEW’s Andrade El Idola was the one originally booked in that spot.
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Andrade was to confront Omega building to their TripleMania match for AAA next month. There would also be a trios match on Impact television featuring Omega and the Good Brothers against Andrade and two other wrestlers. Andrade and Impact couldn’t come to a deal, however, leading to the change.
The switch to going with Jay White instead was something Omega only found out about when he arrived in Nashville for the shows.
“The plan was for Andrade to be in that spot, to build a program with Andrade, managed by Konnan, against Omega,” wrote Dave Meltzer. “They were going to do a six-man tag at the tapings with Omega & Gallows & Anderson vs. Andrade and two others.”
“But in the end, it fell through because Impact and Andrade didn’t come to money terms for the deal.”
It is not clear if a match between Jay White and Kenny Omega will take place. If it does, it’s not clear which promotion it would take place in. TripleMania will take place the same day as NJPW Resurgence on August 14th.
In addition to Omega vs Andrade for the AAA Mega Championship, Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will face Reina de Reinas Champion Faby Apache in a title vs title match.
Impact Wrestling on 7/22 featured the fallout from an event Slammiversary PPV. Jay White, Mickie James, Chelsea Green, and FinJuice were all back in the Impact Zone for the show.
Impact 7/22 Quick results:
Chris Bey defeated Rohit Raju
Chelsea Green, Matt Cardona & Jake Something defeated Tenille Dashwood, Brian Myers, and Sam Beale
Knockouts Tag Team Championships Havok & Rosemary (c) defeated Fire N Flava (Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz)
What Happened After Slammiversary Went Off The Air?
The camera cut away at Slammiversary before fans could see if White aligned with the Elite. Footage of what happened was released by Impact and White did not, in fact, 2 sweet the Elite. Finjuice ran out and ran off both White and the Elite, although White returned to give Finlay his finisher to close the segment.
This week on Impact Wrestling, Chris Bey kicked things off with a singles victory over Rohit Raju. Before the match, highlights of Bey coming inches away from winning back the X-Division title at Slammiversary in the Ultimate-X match were shown.
After Bey’s victory, Jay White came up to Bey to ask him if he had gotten his message. Earlier this week, Impact put out a video on Twitter that featured Bey discovering that someone had left a Bullet Club shirt by his locker. White said that BC is always looking for new talent but Bey said he rides alone. White asked him how that was working out for him and asked him to think about what he said.
Deonna Purrazzo Accepts Mickie James Invitation, With Some Help From Gail Kim
After Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defeated Thunder Rosa at Slammiversary, Mickie James came to the ring. James invited the Virtuosa to NWA Empowerrr next month but Purrazzo said that James was trying to steal her moment. This week, Mickie James came out again and attempted to smooth the situation over with the KO champ. Gail Kim came out as well and told Purrazzo that it was her idea for James to come out at Slammiversary and it wasn’t meant to steal the moment from her. In a rare occurrence in wrestling, this talking segment ended up with everyone coming to an agreement. Purrazzo and James shook hands and it looks like we’ll see the Knockouts title defended at NWA Empowerrr.
It’s been a big week for Drama King Matt. A vignette previewing his debut in Impact aired at Slammiversary, then he was announced for the broadcast team of NJPW Resurgence, and this week another vignette previewing his arrival was played.
Taylor Wilde’s Return Helps Chelsea Green Pick Up Another Win
At Slammiversary, Chelsea Green and Matt Cardona defeated the team of Tenille Dashwood and Brian Myers. This week on Impact, Green and Cardona would team with Jake Something while Dashwood and Myers would team with Sam Beale. Kaleb with a K tried to get involved from the outside, as he is one to do, but a returning Taylor Wilde thwarted his efforts. Wilde has been gone since Under Siege back in May. Green picked up the win on Beale with the UnprettyHer, giving her team two straight wins over Myers and his teammates.
Later on in the show, Dashwood told Myers she didn’t want to go to homecoming with him anymore, meaning she’s not going to team with him on the Homecoming Impact Plus show on the 31st. Beale said he’ll find Myers a new partner.
Eddie Edwards and W. Morrissey Brawl In The Parking Lot
Morrissey picked up the win over Edwards at Slammiversary after hitting him in the head with a fist wrapped with a steel chain. This week, Edwards challenged Morrissey to meet him in the parking lot. The two brawled until Edwards picked up two kendo sticks and beat the big man into retreat. A hardcore match between the two has since been scheduled for Homecoming on July 31st.
Jay White came out to cut a promo. He said that he was in Impact Wrestling for one man and that man is David Finlay. White and Finlay will meet at NJPW Resurgence for the NEVER Openweight title. Earlier this year, Finlay defeated White in the New Japan Cup. White then spoke about the Good Brothers and the Elite. He said that The Good Brothers weren’t good enough for the faction anymore and said their application for re-entry into Bullet Club was denied.
Don Callis, Kenny Omega, and the Good Brothers then hit the stage. Callis gave White some disingenuous compliments, as he is one to do, but then ran down the current incarnation of Bullet Club as being less important. Callis said it is White who should be applying to them for entry into the Elite.
The Good Brothers then hit the ring as Callis and Omega went to the back. Anderson and Gallows said that White should be thanking them for making Bullet Club the big thing that it is. Things turned into a brawl and while the Good Brothers had the numbers advantage at first, Chris Bey hit the ring to make the save for White.
Later in the show, The Good Brothers challenged White and Bey to a match for next week. The match was later made official.
Is There Something Brewing Between Kenny Omega and Josh Alexander?
Kenny Omega walked in on Josh Alexander’s interview this week. Omega had some words for Alexander but Callis encouraged him to just keep walking. Alexander seemed unfazed but we’ll see what this potentially leads to.
Juice Robinson and David Finlay picked up a win in tag-team action this week against Ace Austin and Madman Fulton. After the match, however, Rohit Raju and Shera hit the ring and joined Austin and Fulton in a 4-on-2 attack.
Havok & Rosemary Retain Knockouts Tag Titles Over Fire N Flava
Havok and Rosemary won the Knockouts tag team titles from Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz on the Slammiversary pre-show. This week, the rematch would headline the show. The finish of the match saw Hogan and Steelz uncharacteristically fall out of sync with one another. Hogan ended up accidentally kicking Steelz off the apron, leaving her vulnerable to a double team from Decay. Rosemary hit her with a spear and picked up the victory to retain the titles. Decay would celebrate to end the show.
Next Week On Impact Wrestling
The following matches have been booked for next week’s show:
The Good Brothers vs Jay White & Chris Bey
Violent by Design (Deaner and Rhino) vs. Willie Mack & Rich Swann
W. Morrissey better known to WWE fans as Big Cass has created a spot for himself in the Impact Wrestling roster since his debut for the promotion in April earlier this year. The former WWE star recently appeared on the Pro Wrestling 4 Life podcast, where he discussed his current run and future in Impact Wrestling.
During the interview, Morrissey claimed that he doesn’t know how long his run with Impact will last. When asked if he is under contract with the promotion, the heavyweight star revealed that he is signed until October:
“I wasn’t at first, but I am signed with IMPACT until Bound For Glory in October. Things could change tomorrow. We’ll see. We’re kind of going on a ‘feel’ basis. They brought me in and I’m not stupid, I understand I’m a high risk because they don’t know what they’re getting.
We’ve gone taping by taping and they were like, ‘We’ll sign you up until Bound For Glory’ and that was cool with me” said W. Morrissey, “because I’m not interested in signing anything long-term right now. It worked out perfectly. I’m there until October for right now.”
Big Cass made his Impact Wrestling debut during the Rebellion PPV in April. He was revealed as a surprise replacement for Eric Young in an 8 men tag match.
He has been on a PPV winning streak since then. W. Morrissey defeated Rich Swann at Against All Odds and Willie Mack at Under Siege. He then beat Eddie Edwards in a singles match at this past Sunday’s Slammiversary.
NJPW Never Openweight Champion Jay White made his Impact Wrestling debut during the Slammiversary PPV last Sunday. The company has now confirmed the date for his in ring debut as well.
This week’s episode of Impact Wrestling saw the Bullet Club leader offering Impact Wrestling star Chris Bey a spot in the nefarious faction. Though Bey initially declined the offer.
White called out the Elite later in the show claiming that they were not relevant anymore. The segment led to The Good Brothers attacking White and delivering a nasty beatdown.
This was until Chris Bey came out to help the NJPW star. The former X Division champion helped make things even. The duo then sent the team of Gallows and Anderson retreating.
Impact Wrestling announced after this that Jay White will return to the show next week. He will make his in ring debut for the promotion and team up with Bey to take on The Good Brothers in a tag team match.
There is no word yet on who could be Kenny Omega’s next challenger but the recent interactions between him and Jay White are suggesting that we are gonna see a rematch between these two sooner rather than later.
Impact Wrestling has been focusing on Kenny Omega and other visiting stars for their top storylines in recent months. Many have wondered how the company will fare once these names leave and Gail Kim recently discussed this.
The Impact veteran recently appeared on Busted Open Radio where she opened up about the current AEW champion being the focus of their top stories.
Kim was asked about the company’s future once stars such as Omega and Jey White stop making appearances for the promotion. Replying to it, the former Knockouts champion showed faith in the Impact management:
“I think if they do things right, and I do trust the creative and management process right now, I think they’ve done a really good job. Just a couple years ago, people hated us. For years! It was very hard to get that stink off, we’ll call it. And we’re getting viewers back; we’re getting people talking about it.
I just recently talked to a guy who has a store, a wrestling store. And he was talking about how he could see the difference in sales and people asking for Impact merchandise. We’re making those steps and I think it’s been so positive.”
Gail Kim went on to claim that she trusts the creative team. The TNA Hall Of Famer explained that they will be fine even after the big stars leave as long as they intertwine all the stories:
“I think as long as they intertwine all of these stories, and like I said, I trust the creative team. They’re great. Any person that’s on our roster is used. That’s what I love about this company. If you have a contract with our company, you’re being used.
So I think, ultimately, I would trust this management team right now, the creative team. And I think we’re making the moves in the right direction.”
Kenny Omega made his return to Impact Wrestling on December 8 last year. This relationship has since developed into a full-blown partnership between not only Impact and AEW, but companies like NJPW and NWA as well.
Former Knockouts tag team champion Kiera Hogan has announced that she is leaving Impact Wrestling. The 26-year-old took to her OnlyFans account to announce the news.
“What’s up babies! I’m in Nashville for tapings and you guys will be the first to know that this is my last IMPACT tapings and I’m going to see what else is out there for me I’m so excited and scared but I know whatever I choose to do I’m gonna be the best and that’s on periodt,” she wrote.
Hogan formed a team with Tasha Steelz known as Fire N Flava last year. In January, Hogan and Steelz won an 8-team single-elimination tournament to win the Knockouts tag team championships. The titles were brought out of retirement for the first time since 2013.
Hogan and Steelz lost the titles to Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering at Rebellion in April. They regained the belts at Under Siege the following month, however. Recently at Slammiversary, Havok & Rosemary defeated Fire N Flava to become the new Knockouts tag team champions.
Hogan made her pro-debut in 2015 on independents near Atlanta. She was trained by Curtis “Mr.” Hughes. She signed with Impact in the summer of 2017.
Kenny Omega retained the Impact World Championship over Sami Calihan this past weekend at Slammiversary.
The next challenger to Omega Impact title was determined at Monday night’s television tapings from Nashville, TN. (Spoilers)
In the final match of the second set of tapings, Brian Myers won a #1 contender’s battle royal to earn the championship opportunity. This episode of Impact is expected to air Thursday, August 12th on AXS TV.
Kenny Omega vs. Brian Myers will headline Impact Wrestling’s next special event, Emergence. Impact has not yet confirmed the date(s) for Emergence, which took place over two weeks last year.
The conclusion of the Impact Wrestling Slammiversary show featured “Switchblade” Jay White confront Kenny Omega. The camera cut away before fans could see if White would give The Elite the 2 Sweet hand signal, however.
Spoilers for the last two days of Impact Wrestling tapings have leaked and we now know what White’s role in the promotion will be over the next month.
Jay White Denies The Good Brothers Re-Entry Into Bullet Club
7/18 tapings:
On the shows taped on the 18th, White cut a promo on facing David Finlay at NJPW Resurgence for the NEVER Openweight title. He also said that he was not letting the Good Brothers back into Bullet Club. This led to Anderson and Gallows coming out to attack White but Chris Bey ended up making the save. The Good Brothers would then pick up a win over White and Bey in tag action later in the tapings.
Chris Bey Added To Bullet Club
7/19 tapings:
While White won’t let the Good Brothers back in Bullet Club, he did add a new member to the faction from the Impact roster. Impact posted a clip recently featuring Chris Bey finding a Bullet Club shirt near his locker.
On the second night of Impact’s tapings, Bey formally joined the group after being offered a spot by White himself. This occurred after Bey defeated Juice Robinson in singles action.
Later in the tapings, Bey and White would face FinJuice in tag-team action. The match ended in a disqualification after White hit Robinson with a chair.
The episodes filmed will take Impact up until mid-August. White will face David Finlay at NJPW Resurgence on August 14th.
Jay White In Impact Wrestling
White’s involvement with Impact Wrestling was addressed recently on Wrestling Observer radio.
“It’s part of the deal for getting the New Japan talent. Jay White and Finlay is the co-main event for the Los Angeles New Japan Show,” said Dave Meltzer. “So, I’m sure that we’ll see this on New Japan World, and perhaps part of the deal to get some of these guys on the show, especially Jay White, is that they get to shoot that angle for their own show.”
“Switchblade” Jay White arrived in Impact Wrestling at the conclusion of the Slammiversary PPV this weekend. White also took part in the recent Impact television tapings in Nashville. During the tapings, the leader of Bullet Club added a new member to his faction.
Recently Impact Tweeted out a short clip featuring Chris Bey discovering that someone left a Bullet Club shirt by his locker. Live reports from the recent Impact tapings are stating that White formally invited Bey into the group and Bey accepted by throwing up the 2 Sweet hand signal.
The 25-year-old Bey is a highly-touted up-and-comer. He was trained by the Future Stars of Wrestling promotion in Las Vegas and made his pro-debut in 2017. In 2020, he ranked at #202 in the PWI Top-500. Last year, Impact Wrestling viewers voted Bey the “One to Watch in 2021.” He’s also a former X-Division Champion.
The faction he just joined was formed 4 years before Bey made his pro-debut in 2013. The 4 founding members of the faction are Prince Devitt (Finn Balor), Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, and Karl Anderson. Bey is the first new member of the group in over a year since Dick Togo was added to the faction last summer.
Impact Wrestling held another round of television tapings on Monday night from Nashville, TN. They now have four weeks of TV recorded, so we have a good look at how storylines will play out through mid-August.
You can find results from Sunday night’s Impact on AXS tapings here. Those shows will air this Thursday (7/22) and next Thursday (7/29).
Here are the results from Monday’s tapings, courtesy of Darryn Simmons and Impact Asylum:
Impact on AXS Tapings Results Airing 8/5
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo and Drama King defeated Chelsea Green and Matt Cardona in a Homecoming tournament match.
Decay defeated Rachel Ellering and Tommy Dreamer in a Homecoming tournament match.
Eddie Edwards defeated W. Morrissey in a Hardcore Match.
Sam Adonis defeated Joessa.
Jake Something defeated Daivari, Rohit Raju and Trey Miguel in a 4-Way Match.
Chris Bey w/Jay White defeated Juice Robinson w/David Finlay. Afterwards, Jay White presented Bey a Bullet Club shirt and gave him a “too sweet” salute.
Taylor Wilde defeated Kaleb.
Moose defeated Chris Sabin. There was a big brawl to end the show.
Impact on AXS Tapings Results Airing 8/12
Chris Bey joins Bullet Club
Deonna Purrazzo and Drama King defeated Decay in the Homecoming tournament finals to be crowned Homecoming King and Queen.
Tenille Dashwood defeated Taylor Wilde. Dashwood got help from the returning Madison Rayne.
Maclin destroys Jah-C.
Josh Alexander defeated Daivari.
FinJuice picked up a DQ win over Bullet Club’s Jay White and Chris Bey after White hit Robinson with a chair.
John Skyler defeated Matt Cardona after a distraction from Rohit Raju and Mahabali Shera.
Homecoming Queen and King Deonna Purrazzo and Drama King came out for a promote. They were interrupted by Mickie James, who has a contract for Deonna Purrazzo to work the upcoming NWA Empowerrr all-women’s PPV. Deonna refuses to sign it unless she knows her opponent. Mickie then introduces Melina. They signed the contract and the match is on.
Brian Myers won a battle royal to earn a World title shot at Kenny Omega at Emergence.
The spoilers from the Impact Wrestling TV tapings that took place on Sunday, July 18 in Nashville, Tennessee’s Skyline Studios are out.
These matches and segments will air over the coming weeks on AXS TV. You can read the results here, courtesy of Impact Asylum:
Impact Wrestling TV Tapings Results
Taping 1
Chris Bey defeated Rohit Raju.
Knockouts Tag Team Champions Decay (Havok and Rosemary) defeated Fire N’ Flava in a title rematch.
FinJuice (David Finlay and Juice Robinson) defeated Ace Austin and Madman Fulton. Post-match, Raju and Shera laid out FinJuice.
Jay White cut a promo about how he came to Impact for Finlay and said the Good Brothers’ attempt to rejoin the Bullet Club is denied. Don Callis came out to do an exchange until the Good Brothers came out to attack. Bey made the save.
Matt Cardona, Jake Something and Chelsea Green defeated Brian Myers, Sam Beale and Tenille Dashwood. Also, Taylor Wilde returned to attack Dashwood and Kaleb.
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo, Mickie James and Gail Kim did an in-ring promo. Purrazzo accepted James’ invitation to compete at the all-women’s NWA Empowerrr PPV.
Trey Miguel vs. Maclin for BTI went to a double countout as Petey Williams came out to save Miguel from an attack and all three men had to be pulled apart.
Willie Mack and Rich Swann defeated Violent by Design (Rhino and Deaner).
Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering defeated Fire N’ Flava. Post-match, Savannah Evans made her debut by laying out Kiera Hogan. Tasha Steelz then stood over her partner.
Good Brothers beat Jay White and Chris Bey in a non-title match.
Taping 2
FinJuice, Fallah Bahh and No Way (the former No Way Jose) defeated Ace Austin, Madman Fulton, Rohit Raju and Shera.
Don Callis and The Elite did an in-ring promo. They announced a no. 1 contender’s battle royal to determine World Champion Kenny Omega at the newly-announced Emergence. Sami Callihan said he’ll be in it, but challenged Omega and the Good Brothers to a six-man tag team match. AEW’s Frankie Kazarian got in the ring to attack The Elite.
X-Division Champion Josh Alexander defeated Black Taurus to retain the title in a match taped for Homecoming.
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo and Drama King defeated Alisha Edwards and Hernandez to advance in a mixed tag team tournament match at Homecoming.
Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green defeated The Pump Family (Petey Williams and Jordynne Grace) in a mixed tag team tournament match at Homecoming. Post-match, Maclin came out and attacked Williams.
Tommy Dreamer and Rachael Ellering (dressed as the Road Warriors) defeated Brian Myers and Missy Hyatt in a mixed tag team tournament match at Homecoming. Hyatt was picked by Sam Beale to be Myers’ partner.
Crazzy Steve and Rosemary defeated Fallah Flava (Fallah Bahh and Tasha Steelz) in a mixed tag team tournament match at Homecoming.
Kiera Hogan did an in-ring promo calling out Steelz and Evans. Su Yung and a zombie version of Kimber Lee came out instead to drag Hogan away.
Sami Callihan, Eddie Edwards and Kazarian defeated World Champion Kenny Omega and Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers. Post-match, W. Morrissey came out to lay out Edwards and then had a staredown with Callihan.
Edwards challenged Morrissey to fight him out in the parking lot. It ended when Edwards ran him off Eddie eventually ran him off with kendo sticks.
Impact Wrestling’s next PPV will be Bound For Glory on October 23rd from Las Vegas. This news was announced during the Slammiversary show on Saturday night. The video Impact released to promote the PPV features the logos for AEW, NJPW, and AAA.
The video begins with flashes of the Las Vegas cityscape interspersed with images of wrestlers from Impact’s roster. Then beginning at the 24 second mark of the below video, flashes of AEW’s logo, NJPW’s logo, and AAA’s logo are shown.
Perhaps no other promotion in wrestling right now is diving in deeper through the forbidden door than Impact. Slammiversary on Saturday closed with former IWGP Heavyweight Champion and leader of Bullet Club, Jay White confronting Impact World Champion Kenny Omega. The camera cut away before fans could see if White would “2 Sweet” members of the Elite.
Impact has brought in talent from all 3 promotions featured in the video teaser in recent months. Black Taurus from AAA has joined the Decay faction along with Crazzy Steve, Rosemary, and now Havok. NJPW has sent FinJuice, Satoshi Kojima, El Phantasmo, and now Jay White. AEW has sent Kenny Omega, Private Party, Matt Hardy, and others.
Although the NWA logo is not shown in the video, Impact and Billy Corgan’s company appear to have established a relationship. Former NWA Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa wrestled Deonna Purrazzo at Slammiversary. Mickie James then invited Purrazzo to NWA Empowerrr next month in St. Louis. Ring of Honor has also had some online interactions with Purrazzo recently. Chelsea Green also appeared as a surprise on both an ROH and Impact PPV over the last two weekends.
Last night at Slammiversary, Jay White came out at the end of the night and stood in the ring with Kenny Omega, Don Callis, and the Good Brothers. The show would go off the air before fans could see if White was aligning with the Elite, however.
While it might have felt as though the show cut out early before fans had a chance to see the angle, this was the intention all along.
What happened after the show went off the air was addressed on Wrestling Observer Radio.
“I was told it went off exactly as planned,” said Dave Meltzer regarding the finish of the PPV.
Bryan Alvarez then detailed what happened after the show went off the air.
“FinJuice hit the ring and Jay White laid them out,” said Alvarez. “And apparently I guess we can watch that on TV this coming week.”
Meltzer then detailed how the angle came together.
“It’s part of the deal for getting the New Japan talent. Jay White and Finlay is the co-main event for the Los Angeles New Japan Show. So, I’m sure that we’ll see this on New Japan World, and perhaps part of the deal to get some of these guys on the show, especially Jay White, is that they get to shoot that angle for their own show.”
“It certainly would appear that there is a Kenny Omega and Jay White match coming somewhere in Impact,” Meltzer continued. “Perhaps at Bound for Glory and that’s a really interesting match.”
Impact Wrestling’s Slammiversary PPV was once again built around the intrigue of who could show up. Between WWE releases that are free of their 90-day no-compete windows to wrestlers walking through the forbidden door, the show was filled with surprises, teases, and new roster additions. Every surprise from the show is listed below:
After Kenny Omega defeated Sami Callihan in the main event, he was celebrating in the ring with the Good Brothers and Doc Gallows. Then Bullet Club music hit and former IWGP Heavyweight Champion and current NEVER Openweight Champion Jay White entered.
White and Omega’s history in Bullet Club runs deep. White actually turned down an offer to join the faction from Omega himself, instead siding with CHAOS. It would be White who would defeat Omega for the IWGP United States Championship in 2018. Later that year, White would join Bullet Club but only after the Elite was established as being a separate group. Has the Bullet Club civil war started up again?
The camera cut away before fans could see if White put up the 2 Sweet sign for the Elite. Fans will just have to wait until Thursday night to find out.
Thunder Rosa was the surprise opponent for Deonna Purrazzo at Slammiversary. She put up a solid outing against the Knockouts Champion but Purrazzo came out the victor with the Queen’s Gambit in the end. Today is the 1 year anniversary of Purrazzo first winning the title. She lost it briefly to Su Yung for a period of 3 weeks but then won it back. She’s been Knockouts champion 49 out of the last 52 weeks.
Mickie James Invites Deonna Purrazzo To NWA Empowerrr
After Deonna Purrazzo had defeated the former NWA Women’s World Champion, Thunder Rosa, Mickie James came to the ring. James invited Purrazzo to be part of the NWA Empowerrr PPV next month in St. Louis. Purrazzo was more upset that James stole her moment, however. The Knockouts Champion told Mickie to grab her trash bag and get out of there.
Chelsea Green was a surprise at the Ring of Honor PPV last weekend, and now has done the same for Impact this weekend. She was Matt Cardona’s surprise partner against Brian Myers and Tenille Dashwood. Green had teased she would not be there due to her arm, but she found a way to use her injury to her advantage as she hit Dashwood with her cast. Green finished off Dashwood with the UnPrettyHer to cap off her return.
No Way Jose was released by WWE last year. After Tommy Dreamer referencing the guy on occasion for the last year, he finally actually arrived on the show. Just wrestling under the name “No Way”, he was Fallah Bah’s surprise partner for the 4-way tag title match.
The former Aiden English was teased in a vignette on Slammiversary. “The Drama King” was revealed to be on his way to the promotion. The former Vaudevillian and Rusev Day member didn’t appear on camera and wasn’t on the show, but appears to be coming to the promotion soon.
FinJuice Returns!
FinJuice are at Slammiversary!
IMPACT fans get an extra treat tonight from the former IWGP Tag Team Champions!
Former Impact Tag Team Champions, Juice Robinson and David Finlay, are back in the promotion. In an impromptu unadvertised match, FinJuice defeated Madman Fulton and Shera. The last time they were in Impact, they defeated the Good Brothers for the tag titles. The Good Brothers just won those titles back.
AEW champion Kenny Omega had a confrontation with the NJPW’s Never Openweight Champion Jay White during tonight’s Slammiversary PPV event.
The Cleaner defended his title against Sami Callihan in a NO DQ main event during tonight’s PPV. Omega managed to pick up the victory in the bout after delivering a one winged angel to Callihan over thumbtacks.
The world champion was celebrating with his partners in Impact tag champs The Good Brothers and Don Callis when the lights went out. The Bullet Club leader Jay White then made his entrance.
As White got in the ring, the other wrestlers offered up the ‘Too Sweet’ hand gesture. The NJPW champion was still considering his next move when the cameras stopped rolling and the show came to a close.
People in attendance noted that after the cameras went out, the team of David Finlay and Juice Robinson collectively known as FinJuice came out and tried to attack Jay White.
However, the Bullet Club member managed to hit his finisher on Robinson before heading back. FinJuice had made their surprise return to Impact Wrestling earlier in the night.
There is no word yet on whether White will feud with Omega or join forces with him. We will have to wait and see what the officials have planned for the two.
Impact Wrestling has announced a change to tonight’s Slammiversary PPV. It’s a change that opens up another potential mystery spot on the show. Impact has announced that TJP is off tonight’s show but the match he was involved in will still go ahead as scheduled, just without him in it.
“TJP is unable to participate in tomorrow’s IMPACT Wrestling Pay-Per-View event, Slammiversary,” Impact’s update reads. ” The match-up will still go ahead as a four-way attraction.”
TJP was scheduled to team with Fallah Bah in the 4-way match for the Impact tag titles. The other teams were the champions Violent By Design, The Good Brothers Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows, and the team of Rich Swann & Willie Mack. Impact has not revealed if Fallah Bah will be getting a new partner. It’s possible a mystery person could be slotted into the position.
BREAKING: @MegaTJP is unable to participate in tomorrow’s IMPACT Wrestling #Slammiversary PPV.
He was scheduled to team with @FALLAH1 in the huge 4-way collision for the IMPACT Tag Team Championship.
Impact Wrestling is interested in signing one former WWE star and that’s Buddy Murphy.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Impact is making a “major play” for Murphy.
Murphy was thought of highly in WWE among his peers for being an excellent worker and someone who wasn’t used to his full potential while with the company.
WWE did have plans last year to give him another push, but it was nixed. This was around the time that Murphy was involved in a storyline with the Mysterio family and Seth Rollins then was paired with Aalyah Mysterio.
The former WWE star recently did an interview with Chris Van Vliet where he talked about a wide range of topics including Bruce Prichard telling him that plans for this storyline were dropped cold only for a few months to pass with WWE teasing going back to Murphy being paired with Rollins and them being back on good terms. However, that was dropped and eventually, Murphy got released by WWE.
Murphy’s non-compete clause expires on August 31st. Thus, while some former WWE stars are expected at Slammiversary on Saturday night, Murphy won’t be one of them.
