Impact Wrestling has added a second match with a mystery participant to Slammiversary on Saturday.
On Thursday’s go-home edition of Impact on AXS TV, Tenille Dashwood hit Cardona with a low blow and appears to have aligned with Brian Myers. Scott D’Amore later announced a new match for Slammiversary that will see Myers and Dashwood against Cardona and a mystery partner of his choosing.
Chelsea Green might be the obvious choice for Cardona. It’s not clear if she will be medically fit come Saturday, however.
The other match with a mystery participant for Slammiversary is the Knockouts title match. 2 weeks ago, Gail Kim informed Purrazzo that she will not know who her Slammiversary opponent is ahead of time. Scott D’Amore teased several names for Purrazzo’s possible opponent in a backstage segment this week.
Josh Alexander, Chris Bey, Trey Miguel & Petey Williams defeated Ace Austin, Madman Fulton, Rohit Raju & Shera
Moose defeated Hernandez
Joe Doering w/ Violent By Design defeated Willie Mack w/ Rich Swann, Fallah Bahh w/ TJP & Doc Gallows w/ Karl Anderson
Jordynne Grace & Rachael Ellering Pick Up Measure Of Revenge On Tenille Dashwood & Kaleb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFXgd7SwiZ0
The team of Jordynne Grace and Rachel Ellering appear to be back on the same page. Last week on Impact, Tennille Dashwood attacked Jazz on the “All About Me” show. This led to the former knockouts tag team champions challenging her and her personal photographer to a match this week.
Ellering and Grace didn’t show any signs of the dissension that had previously broken up their team and got the victory after a double team assisted slam on Kaleb.
Havok Defeats Tasha Steelz Before Slammiversary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_gFv6ZQvAE
At Slammiversary on Saturday, Havok and Rosemary will challenge Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz for the Knockouts tag titles. Ahead of the title clash on PPV, Havok picked up a win over Steelz this week, finishing her off with a tombstone pilediver.
Later in the show, Rosemary spoke with James Mitchell about making Havok a full-fledged member of Decay before Slammiversary.
Was it Su Yung all along? Kimber Lee had previously sought out Father James Mitchell to assist in bringing Su Yung back out of Susan. This week, Kimber ran into Susan in the back and the frequently disgruntled woman revealed that she’s known about Su Yung all along. Susan then grabbed Kimber by the hair and tossed her into a room when the segment ended.
Steve Maclin Picks Up Another Win
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNK3HA1AIuk
Steve Maclin picked up another win in squash match style this week. He then cut a promo about “being done waiting” after.
Chris Bey Is Back To Not Having Picked A Side
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LE4fOJFxPs
For weeks, Chris Bey has been refusing to choose a side between the babyfaces and heels in the X-Division. He finally sided with the babyfaces last week but that wouldn’t last long. Bey picked up the win this week for the good guys after scoring a roll-up on Shera. After the match, however, Bey made it clear there will be no sides on Saturday at Slammiversary. it will be every man for himself in Ultimate X. Bey demonstrated this by attacked Trey and Alexander with a chair.
Tenille Dashwood Helps Brian Myers In Beatdown of Matt Cardona
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y-AgXNFMFk
Someone Matt Cardona has a history with, Tenille Dashwood, helped Brian Myers attack Matt Cardona this week. Myers and Sam Beale were out to adhere to the stipulation of the match last week and refer to Something as “a professional.” Myers said that Something might be professional but he’s not a star. Things then got physical between the 4 men when Tenille Dashwood appeared and gave a low blow to Cardona.
Following this, Cardona cut a promo in the back on Myers. Scott D’Amore then cut in and announced a match at Slammiversary pitting Myers and Dashwood against Cardona and a mystery female wrestler.
Chris Sabin Saves Hernandez From Moose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR3140UWQyc
Moose defeated Hernandez in singles action this week. After the match, he wrapped Super Mex’s leg in a steel chair but Moose’s Slammiversary opponent Chris Sabin made the save. Sabin then wrapped Moose’s leg in a chair but Moose was able to escape.
Joe Doering and Violent By Design Build Momentum For Slammiversary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMAHlQ4a4ko
In a 4-way match this week, Joe Doering pinned Fallah Bah, giving Violent By Design the edge leading to the tag title match at Slammiversary on Saturday. Eric Young’s faction stood tall to end the show.
Slammiversary Lineup
Impact World Championship No Disqualification Kenny Omega (c) vs Sami Callihan
Knockouts Championship Deonna Purrazzo (c) vs A Mystery Opponent
Impact Tag Team Championships Violent By Design (c) vs The Good Brothers vs Willie Mack & Rich Swann vs TJP & Fallah Bah
Knockouts Tag Team Championships Fire N Flava (c) vs Rosemary & Havok
X-Division Championship Ultimate-X Josh Alexander (c) vs Rohit Raju vs Chris Bey vs Trey Miguel vs Ace Austin vs Petey Williams
Moose vs Chris Sabin
Eddie Edwards vs W. Morrissey
Matt Cardona & ??? vs Brian Myers & Tenille Dashwood
Several wrestling companies are now walking through wrestling’s “Forbidden Door.” The term used recently to describe talent exchanges between promotions was coined shortly after “Winter is Coming” in December. Kenny Omega won the AEW World Championship and Don Callis promptly announced he would be taking the title with him to Impact’s weekly show.
Promotions such as Impact, the NWA, and Ring of Honor have all been teasing new forbidden door type exchanges online.
AEW’s FTR and The NWA
As for the NWA and AEW’s “forbidden door” relationship, the NWA recently took part in a Twitter exchange with FTR.
If Purrazzo didn’t have enough on her plate, the AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker appears motivated to face her as well. Scott D’Amore recently mentioned on Vickie Guerrero’s podcast that Baker cornered him regarding a match with the Knockouts Champ.
“I got cornered by Britt Baker down in Jacksonville a few weeks ago and she’s like, ‘When do I get Deonna?’ I said, ‘Hey, Britt oh, come on. We’ve always said we have an open-door policy and we’re open to doing it,’” D’Amore said on the show.
Impact, the NWA, and Kylie Rae
According to a report from Fightful, Pat Kenney was a key person in the deal that allowed Kylie Rae out of her Impact contract in order to sign with the NWA. The former Simon Diamond was employed by TNA/Impact from 2003 to 2017 and keeps a good relationship with Scott D’Amore. Additionally, Impact is said to be planning further talent-hopping relationships with other promotions in the future.
ROH, NWA, and Impact All Tweeting At Each Other
ROH’s Ian Riccaboni pointed out that upcoming shows in St. Louis (NWA), Baltimore (ROH), and Nashville (Impact) can fit tidily into one road trip.
SEScoops correspondent Ella Jay recently spoke with Impact Wrestling star Willie Mack to promote this weekend’s Slammiversary PPV. Mack and Rich Swann are competing in the Tag Title Fatal 4-Way match at the event.
You can order Impact Wrestling Slammiversary at FITE.TV now for $39.99.
Willie Mack SEScoops Interview
Topics discussed during this 17+ minute discussion include:
His strategy for the to win the tag titles at Slammiversary: “Just look around and start swinging! Whatever hits, hits.”
His partnership with Rich Swann, how they linked up and how their styles mesh
How they plan to celebrate if they win the Impact tag titles this weekend
The wildest match he’s ever participated in
His pick to win the Ultimate X match at Slammiversary (“As long as I’m not in it, I’m happy.”)
Summer movie picks & more
Check out Ella Jay’s full interview with Willie Mack:
Impact Wrestling executive Scott D’Amore appeared on Vickie Guerrero’s Excuse Me podcast yesterday. During the discussion, D’Amore mentioned that he was cornered by AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker for a match against Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo.
“I got cornered by Britt Baker down in Jacksonville a few weeks ago and she’s like, ‘When do I get Deonna?’ I said, ‘Hey, Britt oh, come on. We’ve always said we have an open-door policy and we’re open to doing it,'” D’Amore said on the show.
“Sometimes there’s a lot of hurdles to jump through but I think the relationship with AEW has been fantastic,” he continued.
Baker has made no secret of the fact that she would like to face Purrazzo. She’s posted to social media about the potential match multiple times.
— Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (@RealBrittBaker) June 3, 2021
Britt Baker Wants To Face Deonna Purrazzo
Baker also discussed possibly facing Purrazzo during an interview with TV Insider.
“Personally, I would love to see Deonna Purrazzo come through the forbidden door. She is one of my best friends and arguably one of the best technical wrestlers in the world. She is amazing.. When she was released from WWE, she was told in a roundabout way she wasn’t good enough. Now she is one of the faces in Impact Wrestling. I was similar in that I was told I wasn’t ready, and now I’m the face of All Elite Wrestling. Our paths are paralleling, so it would be amazing to be in the ring with her.”
D’Amore continued to talk about his relationship with AEW’s Tony Khan.
“We share our vision for a world like that and I love to see it because I mean whether it’s Nyla Rose or whether it’s some of the many other talents that you have there. Imagine if Nyla came in and hid the ring on Deonna and just laid her lying there and picked up the title, right?”
Purrazzo is scheduled to face a “Mystery Opponent” this Saturday at Slammiversary. Gail Kim revealed to the Knockouts Champ last week that her opponent will not be named ahead of time.
Matt Cardona is a wrestler making headlines these days, going after GCW champion Nick Gage. He is also celebrating his first six months with IMPACT wrestling. A lot can happen in such a short time, and Matt was all too happy to talk with Steel Chair about his change in fortunes.
“It’s been a lot of fun, I’ve got a lot of opportunities, and I thank the Impact Wrestling management for those opportunities. That’s why I came to Impact Wrestling.”
Matt Cardona is known primarily from his days in WWE, and many might feel he was never allowed to reach his full potential. His Wrestlemania moment was kept to just that, dropping the title the very next day. If any run could summarize a career with WWE, then that would be it.
However, Cardona is looking to the future, and he has his eyes firmly set on the big prize. “It doesn’t matter if it’s Kenny or Sami Callihan or Moose. It doesn’t matter to me, if you have that Impact title, I want it.”
When asked about who he would love to wrestle on the IMPACT roster, Matt Cardona wasted no time in reeling off two names. “Tommy Dreamer, who’s still around. I thought I retired him over 10 years ago (December 2009 in WWE), but he’s still kicking. If I need to retire him for good, one last hardcore match, I would love to do that. Eddie Edwards, I’ve teamed with, but I’ve never wrestled him. I love his style, I love what he’s done with himself over the past couple of years, more violent style and again. Someone I’d love to get in the ring with, maybe a hardcore match with him.”
Matt Cardona Enjoys the Creative Freedom Offered by IMPACT
After working in an environment that took creative control away from its talent, Matt Cardona is relishing the creativity afforded to him by IMPACT.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CRFf4OYKT0X/
“We’re all artists, and we have this blank canvas now to just draw whatever we want, and that’s the best part about Impact, all this creative freedom and all these opportunities, and I think the sky is the limit with Impact. I think it’s on the up and up. All the wrestlers there in that locker room are hungry, they all want Impact to keep getting better and better.”
Matt Cardona is only 36 years old. He has a long future ahead of him. His recent change in attitude including his feud with Nick Gage has made him one of the stars to watch.
Impact Wrestling continues to build up the idea that anyone could show up at Slammiversary. This week on Impact Wrestling, Gail Kim informed Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo that she will not know who her opponent on the PPV will be ahead of time. She’ll be defending her title against a mystery opponent.
This has led many people to speculate as to who could be brought in to face the champion on the PPV. There is no shortage of possible options.
BREAKING: @DeonnaPurrazzo will defend the Knockouts Championship against a MYSTERY OPPONENT at #Slammiversary on July 17th LIVE on PPV and @FiteTV!
Former Knockouts Champion, Chelsea Green, is heavily rumored to return to her former promotion. Green returning to Impact was addressed recently in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
“Chelsea Green has been heavily talked of as coming back here of late and even hinted herself about the idea of bringing back Laurel Van Ness, which was her Impact name,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
Impact Wrestling on 7/8 featured a show-long storyline of Sami Callihan being arrested for assaulting Don Callis. The promotion also continued the build to Slammiversary in less than two weeks.
Impact Wrestling 7/8 Quick Results:
Jake Something defeated Brian Myers w/ Sam Beale
Knockouts Championship Deonna Purrazzo defeated Lady Frost
W. Morrissey defeated Jason Page, Manny Smith & Deonte Evans
Rosemary & Havok defeated Susan & Kimber Lee
Karl Anderson w/ Doc Gallows defeated Deaner w/ Violent By Design, TJP w/ Fallah Bahh & Rich Swann w/ Willie Mack
Matt Cardona Returns!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv_8NFTMfwg
Jake Something picked up a big victory in this week’s opening contest. He defeated Brian Myers with a Black Hole Slam. The stipulation in this match was that the loser had to acknowledge the other as a true “professional” but Myers’ protege, Sam Beale, jumped Something from behind before Myers adhered to the stipulation.
Something was then saved from a 2-on-1 beatdown by a returning Matt Cardona, however. Cardona cleared the ring of the heels, leaving him and Something in the ring to close the segment.
As Sami Callihan is being interviewed in the back, several security officers approach him to say they have a warrant out for his arrest. Later we would see that footage exists of Callihan having punched Don Callis, although the footage only seemed to show Callihan from behind…
With Callihan arrested it is not clear if he will be able to make it to the contract signing later.
Deonna Purrazzo Will Face A Mystery Opponent At Slammiversary
Lady Frost made her debut in Impact Wrestling by answering Deonna Purrazzo’s open challenge this week. She’d drop the match via submission when the champion locked in a Fujiwara arm-bar, however.
After the match, Gail Kim came to the ring and confronted the champion. At first, Purrazzo thought that Kim was there to issue a challenge to her for Slammiversary. Kim confirmed she’s retired but was out there to announce that at Slammiversary, Purrazzo won’t know who her opponent is ahead of time. It will be the champion versus a mystery contender on the PPV.
Chris Sabin was just settling in for a relaxing time at Swinger’s Palace this week when he was attacked from behind by Moose. Sabin was left fairly brutalized as Moose effectively softened up his Slammiversary opponent.
W. Morrissey Sends A Message To Eddie Edwards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2-Rvd4ZE9E
W. Morrissey attacked Eddie Edwards before he was scheduled to face Satoshi Kojima last week. The big man who is still undefeated in Impact will face Edwards at Slammiversary. He sent a message to his upcoming opponent this week by dominating 3 opponents in a handicap match.
Kimber Lee Enlists James Mitchell’s Help After Loss To Havok & Rosemary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUPDGdE4KVc
Havok & Rosemary have joined forces as of late and this week they picked up a win over Kimber Lee and Susan. They will now move on to face the champions at Slammiversary.
After the match, Kimber Lee was distraught at suffering another loss. She approached Father James Mitchell in the back to ask for help. Susan, the former Su Yung, then left with Mitchell. Could the more devious version of her character be returning?
Tenille Dashwood Attacks Jazz
It’s not my fault @Phenom_Jazz put me in that situation. I just did what I had to do… Like any reasonable person would. I am only human. https://t.co/O5AFHdrcFK
— Tenille Dashwood (@TenilleDashwood) July 9, 2021
On Dashwood’s “All About Me” reverse-talk show this week, she berated Jazz and said that she’s the reason Dashwood and Rachael Ellering didn’t become a team. Jazz went to leave but was attacked from behind by Dashwood.
Later in the show, Rachael Ellering and Jordynne Grace would challenge Dashwood and Kaleb to a match for next week.
Multi-Team Tag Team Title Match Announced For Slammiversary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtZgPKtzDI4
Rich Swann and Willie Mack came out for a promo and said they want a shot at Violent By Design, but then so did several other teams. This brought out Tommy Dreamer who announced a 4-way match at Slammiversary featuring Mack & Swann, TJP & Fallah Bah, The Good Brothers, and the champions Violent By Design.
This then led to a four way match with each team sending one representative. Anderson would pick up the win with a Gun Stun on 1/2 of the champs, Deaner.
Sami Callihan and Kenny Omega Contract Signing
Kenny Omega and Don Callis come out for the official Slammiversary contract signing with Scott D’Amore. With Callihan arrested, it was just them. Omega signed the contract but then the lights in the building went out. The video of “Callihan” assaulting Callis is shown on the screen but this time the footage continues to show that it was actually John E Bravo dressed up as Callihan. When the lights come back on Callihan is in the ring. He delivers a piledriver to the champion before signing the contract. The challenger then put the champion through a table to end the show.
Coming Up In Impact Wrestling
Next Week
Doc Gallows vs. Fallah Bahh vs. Joe Doering vs. Willie Mack
Josh Alexander, Chris Bey, Trey Miguel & Petey Williams vs Rohit Raju, Ace Austin, Madman Fulton & Shera
Havok vs Tasha Steelz
Jordynne Grace & Rachael Ellering vs Tenille Dashwood & Kaleb
Slammivesary:
Impact World Championship Kenny Omega (c) vs Sami Callihan
Knockouts Championship Deonna Purrazzo (c) vs A Mystery Opponent
Impact Tag Team Championships Violent By Design (c) vs The Good Brothers vs Willie Mack & Rich Swann vs TJP & Fallah Bah
Knockouts Tag Team Championships Fire N Flava (c) vs Rosemary & Havok
X-Division Championship Ultimate-X Josh Alexander (c) vs Rohit Raju vs Chris Bey vs Trey Miguel vs Ace Austin vs Petey Williams
Eddie Edwards is a man who has faced them all in his career. He has held titles in many promotions the world over, including 9 inside an Impact ring. This includes the TNA years.
However, despite everything he has achieved, there is one many still on Eddie Edwards’s hit list. Talking in a recent Sports Illustrated interview, Eddie spoke about the one man he would still love to face in the ring. His recent appendectomy scare may have cost him a dream match with Satoshi Kojima. However, there is a new name he wants to fight.
Eddie Edwards is healthy enough to get back in the ring after an emergency appendectomy, but he’s still angry that the surgery cost him a dream match against Satoshi Kojima https://t.co/UgHh2UBWUp
“I want to be in the ring against the best, and, right now, Kenny is one of the best. He’s also our champ, and I’d love to be the guy to bring that title back to Impact. The stars haven’t aligned yet, but hopefully, that match will happen.”
Career Parallels Can Be Drawn Between Eddie Edwards and Kenny Omega
Both men have wrestled in Japan for several years, as well as for different promotions in the US. It’s both strange and a shame that they are yet to face each other in singles competition. A fact that is not lost of Eddie Edwards.
“We’ve been on some of the same shows together, but we’ve never wrestled each other in a singles match. In a lot of ways, we took a similar path. We tried to do our thing in the indies, we both went to Japan. I got a chance to thrive in Pro Wrestling NOAH, which is what he did in DDT, and then later in New Japan. He went on to win the IWGP title. I won the GHC title. To me, it’s hard to deny that we have career similarities.”
There is no denying that a match between the two would be quite a show. Eddie Edwards is only 37, despite everything he has already achieved in his career. Long-time IMPACT fans have an affinity with Eddie Edwards that runs deep. Few would grumble if he was the man to eventually dethrone Kenny Omega.
Impact Wrestling this week continued the build to Slammiversary. Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers took on Tommy Dreamer’s team of Moose, Chris Sabin, and Sami Callihan in the main event.
Impact wrestling 7/1 Quick Results:
Deonna Purrazzo defeated Kimber Lee (Before the Impact)
Satoshi Kojima & Jake Something defeated Brian Myers & Sam Beale
Satoshi Kojima was scheduled to face Eddie Edwards this week on Impact. The match didn’t happen, however. After Kojima made his entrance, W. Morrissey appeared on the big screen and said that he had attacked Edwards in the parking lot. Morrissey believes there is no such thing as friends in wrestling and he wanted to show Kojima that he is all alone, just like everyone else.
Kojima would end up wrestling in the night’s first match, however.
Satoshi Kojima & Jake Something Defeat Brian Myers & Sam Beale
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taXYkauAx5g
Brian Myers has been mentoring Sam Beale on how to be “the most professional” wrestler he can be. Myers came out while Kojima was still in the ring. Myers and Beale then jumped Kojima leading to Jake Something making the save. An impromptu tag-team match between the two sides was then made official. Kojima would then pick up the win for his team by pinning Beale after a big Lariat.
Rachael Ellering and Jordynne Grace Reconcile?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77wMAk_x9Fg
Rachael Ellering didn’t have Jordynne Grace with her at ringside of this match as the former tag champs seem to be headed in separate directions but she did have Jazz. Kaleb kept attempting to interfere during the match. All of his interference wasn’t enough, however, as Ellering got the victory with a pinning combination.
After the match, Dashwood attacked Ellering. Kaleb and Dashwood had Jazz and Ellering where they wanted them but then Grace made the save. Are the former tag champs back together?
Violent By Design Bring Chaos To Tag Team Division
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6poPX7CoLy0
Two of the division’s top teams faced off this week when Rich Swann and Willie Mack took on TJP and Fallah Bah. Violent By Design ruined the contest for everyone, however, when they caused a No Contest by attacking all four wrestlers.
Chris Bey Picks A Side
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gk888uq7l4
Chris Bey’s plan to regain the X-Division title is to not pick sides with the feuding factions of babyfaces and heels in the division. This week, he took on X-Division veteran Petey Williams in singles competition. Bey would pick up the win after countering a Canadian Destroyer attempt into the Art of Finesse.
After the match, the two feuding sides of the X-Division started a melee. After weeks of not doing so, Bey then finally picked a team and sided with the babyfaces. They cleared the ring of the heels to end the segment but what does any of this mean for the Ultimate X match at Slammiversary?
Steve Maclin Wins A Squash Match
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf2hzv4o_Gk
Steve Maclin showed off his new intense character again this week, this time picking up a dominant victory over Manny Smith. It’s his second straight victory in the promotion but eventually, he’ll be in for stiffer competition.
The Elite Pick Up Victory As Team Dreamer Implodes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ziJnFmhAr8
The wrestlers Tommy Dreamer chose to take on the Elite this week just couldn’t seem to get along. Moose in particular showed little desire to get along with his teammates throughout the match. Finally, the finish of the match saw the trio implode when Moose mistakenly thought that Tommy Dreamer had attacked him. Moose was on the ramp and had just turned his back to Dreamer when Callis pushed Dreamer into Moose, making Moose thing Dreamer attacked him. Moose then took Dreamer out with a clothesline and Sabin then hit Moose with a suicide dive. As Sabin got back in the ring, however, he was met by Omega and the Good Brothers, who finished him off with the Magic Killer for the win.
Coming Up In Impact Wrestling
Next Week:
Kenny Omega and Sami Callihan contract signing
Knockouts Tag Titles #1 Contendership Havok & Rosemary vs Susan & Kimber Lee
Jake Something vs Brian Myers
Slammiversary (July 17th)
Impact World Championship Kenny Omega (c) vs Sami Callihan
X-Division Championship Ultimate-X Josh Alexander (c) vs Rohit Raju vs Chris Bey vs Trey Miguel vs Ace Austin vs Petey Williams
Impact Wrestling on 6/24 featured a tag-team title match and Tommy Dreamer receiving a new role in the company. The promotion is continuing to build to Slammiversary on July 17th.
Impact 6/24 Quick Results:
Rosemary defeated Tasha Steelz
Deonna Purrazzo defeated Susan
Rohit Raju & Shera defeated Petey Williams & Trey Miguel
Jake Something defeated Sam Beale
Impact Tag Team Championships Violent By Design (Deaner & Joe Doering) defeated Satoshi Kojima & Eddie Edwards
Rosemary and Havok Move Closer To Tag Title Shot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nSdGwJt_Zw
After Rosemary and Havok dumped Fire N Flava in the trash last week (where they discovered a bag labelled “Mickie James”) Rosemary took on Tasha Steelz in singles action to kick off this week’s show. After Kiera Hogan attempted to get involved from the outside, Havok came to ringside in support of Rosemary. Rosemary then picked up a victory with her double-underhook slam finish she’s titled “As Above So Below.”
Josh Matthews noted on commentary that this result moves Havok and Rosemary closer to a title shot.
Tommy Dreamer To Serve As An Impact Consultant For Anthem
Last week on Impact, Anthem sent a representative to deal with the Don Callis situation. That representative turned out to be Tommy Dreamer. This week, it was revealed by Dreamer himself that Anthem has asked him to stay on as a consultant and he will oversee operations in the wrestling promotion. How this will impact Scott D’Amore’s role is not immediately clear.
Deonna Purrazzo is Done With Susan & Kimber Lee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL2_6VvCOCI
The Knockouts Champion said she was done with Kimber Lee and Susan last week and this week she faced Susan in singles competition. Purrazzo picked up the win with the Fujiwara armbar and then continued the assault after the match. She left the ring area shouting at both Kimber Lee and Susan that she was done with them.
Don Callis and Tommy Dreamer Agree To Huge Main Event Next Week
Don Callis visited with Tommy Dreamer in a backstage segment and said there were no hard feelings over his firing last week. Callis then issued a challenge for next week with Tommy Dreamer fielding a team of guys to go up against Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers. As the show would go on, Moose, Sami Callihan, and Chris Sabin would be revealed as the members of Team Dreamer.
Sides Being Taken In The X-Division
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPItR3OSurE
The return of Ultimate-X at Slammiversary has the X-Division all at odds with each other. Chris Bey said in a backstage segment this week that he’s not going to choose sides and that’s what’s going to help him become a 2x X-Division Champion. Petey Williams and Trey Miguel told him he better pick a side before a side picks him.
Later in the show, Rohit Raju and Shera would defeat Williams and Miguel following a distraction form the outside by Ace Austin and Madman Fulton. The heels continued the assault after the match but this brought out X-Division Champion Josh Alexander for the save. He succumbed to the numbers disadvantage as well, however. Meanwhile, Chris Bey watched from the ramp but chose not to get involved.
Rachael Ellering and Jordynne Grace Hash Things Out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rpf-IuagLY
After winning but then losing the Knockouts Tag Team titles in quick succession, Rachael Ellering and Jordynne Grace have had their problems in recent weeks. This week, Ellering opened up to Grace about their string of losses and problems with Tenille Dashwood. Jazz came out to help settle things between the two. Grace eventually said she needed time to think and headed to the back. Then Dashwood and Kaleb came out but Ellering was not in the mood this week. She challenged Dashwood to a singles match and then her and Jazz cleared the heels out of the ring.
Jake Something Defeats Sam Beale Despite Brian Myers’ Coaching
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3z9my6qVdY
Brian Myers is serving as something of a mentor for Sam Beale at the moment. It didn’t help Beale much this week, however, as he was defeated by Jake Something. After the match, Myers’ lesson to Beale was that in order for him to be a success, he must do the opposite of what Something does.
Violent By Design Retain Tag Titles Over Satoshi Kojima & Eddie Edwards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjth2H5fia8
Eddie Edwards teamed with NJPW’s Satoshi Kojima this week and challenged the tag champions from Violent By Design. Eric Young’s stable uses the Freebird rule to defend the titles and this week it was Deaner and Joe Doering who did so.
After a back and forth title clash, it seemed as though Edwards and Kojima had VBD right where they wanted them. Edwards charged out of the corner to hit Doering with the Boston Knee Party but the big man countered it into a sit down power-bomb for the 3-count. It was a convincing win for Violent By Design. They closed the show by celebrating on the stage with the belts.
Impact Wrestling roster members Sami Callihan and Jessicka Havok announced their engagement today on social media. According to comments Havok posted to Instagram, Callihan proposed immediately following a video game live stream she was doing.
“So, I just ended a live stream of the mothman statue at the mothman museum, just to have Sami on one knee when I turned around. I almost couldn’t believe it. I am so overwhelmed with happiness. I didn’t know how to react, so I started crying. Lol, tears of joy. I don’t know what to say,” she wrote On Instagram. “P.s. I said yes.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQWdfpBDuPs/
Sami Callihan and Jessicka Havok
Havok is in her 2nd stint with Impact Wrestling currently. She was with the company from 2014-15. Havok won the Knockouts Championship during this run. She returned in 2019 and lately has been growing an alliance with Rosemary. They seem to be about to feud with Knockouts tag-team champions, Fire N Flava (Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz).
As for Callihan, he’s preparing to challenge Kenny Omega for the Impact World Championship in the main event of Slammiversary next month. Callihan is already a former 1x Impact World Champion. He defeated Brian Cage for the title on the promotion’s first show on AXS TV.
Impact Wrestling from 6/17 featured an episode-long story of Anthem sending a representative to deliver a message regarding Sami Callihan’s firing from Against All Odds.
Impact Wrestling 6/17 Quick Results:
TJP defeated Black Taurus
Josh Alexander defeated Madman Fulton
Steve Maclin defeated Jason Page
Tenille Dashwood defeated Rachael Ellering
Satoshi Kojima defeated Rhyno
Chris Sabin Returns To Confront Moose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGKMgb51Tzw
After TJP defeated Black Taurus in the show’s first match, Moose attacked him from behind. Moose got on the microphone and berated Scott D’Amore for what happened to him at Against All Odds. Security came out to attempt to get Moose to leave but then Chris Sabin appeared out of nowhere and clocked Moose with a chair. Later, Sabin challenged Moose for a match at Slammiversary. The match was then made official.
Shera Takes Out The Entire X-Division
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RFQqeuBR-4
Josh Alexander defeated Madman Fulton this week. After the match, Austin attacked Alexander but this caused every member of the Ultimate X match at Slammiversary to come out for the save. Then Rohit Raju and Shera came out, however, and Shera took out everybody. By the end of the melee it was clear that Raju, Shera, Austin, and Fulton have reached some type of agreement. How their alliance will impact the Ultimate X match at Slammiversary is unclear.
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo is done with Kimber Lee and Susan as her run-in buddies. She fired them in a backstage segment this week. This caused Susan to call her a “degenerate millennial” and a match between her and the KO champ was made for next week.
W. Morrissey cut a backstage promo this week about how many people in Impact Wrestling are of the belief that they have friends. Morrissey doesn’t believe in friends. He noted that he is the only person that he can trust.
Steve Maclin Impresses In His Debut
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySp5CsbqxnQ
A very serious and angry looking Steve Maclin made his debut this week. He defeated Jason Page rather convincingly. D’Lo Brown noted on commentary that there is no wasted motion with Maclin, everything is very straight forward. He finished off Page with what look liked a reverse Michinoku Driver or Falcon Arrow type move.
Tenille Dashwood Picks Up Win Over Rachael Ellering
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHMhEE4PFQA
Rachael Ellering seemed like she could have used some help on the outside during this match. Her tag partner Jordynne Grace wasn’t at ringside. Ellering had things in control but when Kaleb Konley got involved on the outside to allow Dashwood to pick up the win with a crucifix pinning combination.
Fire N Flava were causing problems in the back when Rosemary and Havok appeared. They tossed the tag champs into the trash where they discovered a bag with a label marked “Mickie James” on it.
Satoshi Kojima Defeats Rhyno
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-rcZtpdGtM
Kojima side-stepped the Gore and gave Rhino the Koji-Cutter to set up the finish of this match. Kojima then bounced off the ropes with a lariat and got the 3-count. Eric Young and Violent By Design were not happy on the outside as this means they will have to defend the tag belts next week against Edwards and Kojima.
Don Callis Is Fired, Sami Callihan Reinstated
All episode long fans were told that the Anthem board was sending a representative to the show to handle the Sami Callihan situation. That representative was revealed to be Tommy Dreamer in the night’s final segment. After teasing that he was going to fire D’Amore, Dreamer announced that Callis had been fired from the company. He also noted that Sami Callihan was reinstated and that Callihan’s match against Omega at Slammiversary will go ahead as planned.
Coming up in Impact Wrestling
Next Week:
Impact Tag Team Championships Violent By Design (Rhino & Deaner) (c) vs Eddie Edwards & Satoshi Kojima
Kiera Hogan vs Rosemary
Rohit Raju & Shera vs Petey Williams & Trey Miguel
Deonna Purrazzo vs Susan
Slammiversary:
Impact World Championship Kenny Omega (c) vs Sami Callihan
X-Division Championship Ultimate-X Josh Alexander (c) vs Rohit Raju vs Chris Bey vs Trey Miguel vs Ace Austin vs Petey Williams
Impact Wrestling has officially confirmed the main event for their upcoming Slammiversary PPV, announcing that Sami Callihan will challenge Kenny Omega for the title at the show.
Last week’s episode of their weekly show saw Scott D’Amore announcing that the winner of the match between Omega and Moose at the Against All Odds event will face Callihan at their next PPV.
However, Callihan didn’t wait until Slammiversary. He showed up at Daily’s Place this past Saturday after the world title match to confront his future opponent.
Unhappy with his move and concerned about Omega and The Young Bucks, Impact EVP Don Callis had rushed to the ring before Callihan could do anything and he fired the Impact Wrestling star from the company.
This week’s episode of Impact then saw Tommy Dreamer who was representing Anthem Sports & Entertainment; reinstate the former world champion’s job.
Dreamer also informed Callis that his job as the Executive Vice President of the company was being terminated. Don Callis has already finished his stint as an Impact executive and he has only been working as an on-screen personality for the company.
Updated Slammiversary Match Card
After the latest announcements, here is the updated match card for Impact Wrestling’s Slammiversary PPV, taking place on Saturday, July 17:
Impact World Championship Match: Kenny Omega vs. Sami Callihan
X Division Championship Ultimate X Match: Josh Alexander vs. Trey Miguel vs. Ace Austin vs. Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju vs. Petey Williams
Impact Wrestling has announced that Josh Alexander will defend the X-Division Championship at Slammiversary next month in an Ultimate X match. Impact announced today that he’ll face Trey Miguel, Ace Austin, Chris Bey, Rohit Raju and Petey Williams on July 17th.
Alexander recently successfully defended the title against TJP in a well-reviewed 1-hour Ironman match.
Sami Callihan is also scheduled to face Kenny Omega for the Impact World Championship at Slammiversary. Callihan was then fired from Impact by Don Callis at Against All Odds. Callihan had attacked Omega after the conclusion to his match against Moose in that night’s main event.
Previous Ultimate X Winners
This will be the 44th Ultimate X match in history. It dates back to 2003 when Michael Shane beat Kazarian and Chris Sabin in the first match. Since then, Sabin has gone on to win more Ultimate X matches than anyone else with 8.
Winningest Ultimate X match participants:
Chris Sabin (8 victories, 17 appearances)
Christopher Daniels/1st Suicide (5 victories, 8 appearances)
There has been a lot of discussion on the future of the recently released WWE stars and which companies they should join next. Impact star Rosemary recently revealed her picks for the stars she wants to see in their promotion.
Impact Wrestling has been teasing the signing of at least one of the released WWE stars from the latest wave of budget cuts and there has been some speculation on who it could be.
While appearing on The Angle Podcast, Rosemary named The IIconics and former Knockouts champion Laurel Van Ness as stars she would like to see in Impact:
“The IIconics in particular tingles in the back of our minds with the reformed Knockouts Tag Team Championships, bringing in a seasoned tag team and one that’s quite clever and unexpectedly successful. So their addition to the Knockout’s division would be very intriguing indeed.
You called her Chelsea Green, but she’s our Laurel Van Ness” said Rosemary, “And we do have unfinished business with her so to have her return to the IMPACT realm would be something sweet indeed.”
The debate of whether or not WWE should hold another all-women’s PPV after Evolution in 2018 has picked up in recent times and Triple H’s comments have added a spark to this discussion.
Rosemary talked about how Impact used to do their own version of an all-female show called Knockouts Knockdown and hoped that it will return in future.
It was recently reported by the Wrestling Observer that IMPACT Wrestling star Moose had re-signed with the company. There were rumors surrounding the powerhouse performer looking elsewhere, with both WWE and AEW supposedly interested.
Fightful Select has now confirmed that Moose has signed a two year deal, keeping him with IMPACT until at least the Summer of 2023. Although not specific monetary details were given, he is apparently on a ‘significantly improved’ wage structure to his prior deal.
Moose on Improved Contract
IMPACT apparently have been factoring in Moose into their ongoing plans in a ‘major’ way. Whilst it isn’t clear what this means for the time being, he is consistently part of the main event scene on their weekly programming and PPV shows.
Moose recently faced Kenny Omega for the IMPACT World Championship at the Against All Odds event. Moose was unable to capture the title after The Young Bucks would interfere and cost him the match.
With the current ‘Forbidden Door’ storyline ongoing, there’s a good chance that we will see the IMPACT star appearing more at Daily’s Place, likely under the AEW banner.
Posted June 16th, 2021 in TNA, News. Tagged: Moose.
Moose is sticking around in Impact Wrestling. It was first reported by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer that Moose had signed a new contract. Now, Fightful has details about the deal.
The new contract is for two years, and will carry Moose into the Summer of 2023. His original deal was slated to expire in June. It was said the deal has a significant improvement over his last deal, though there’s no word yet on the financial terms.
It was noted that Moose figures into Impact’s plans in a major way. He did have interest from other promotions in signing him, but it’s unclear which promotions wanted Moose.
Moose reacted to the original report about signing a contract last month on Twitter by writing, “Not True,” then following up with another tweet that stated, “Plz get your news from me and me only.”
Impact Wrestling nor Moose have publicly announced that he’s re-signed with the promotion.
Moose lost to Impact World Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega in the main event of the Against All Odds special this past Saturday night that was taped one week prior at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.
Posted June 15th, 2021 in TNA, News. Tagged: Moose.
Current Impact X Division champion Josh Alexander will be making his debut for NJPW as part of the partnership between the two companies this week.
The champion will be making his debut for the Japanese promotion in a singles match against Alex Coughlin. The two will face off on this Friday’s ignition episode of NJPW Strong. This will be the beginning of Coughlin’s open challenge series.
The partnership among AEW, Impact and NJPW has been growing in the past few months. Stars from all three companies have been making more and more cross-promotional appearances in recent times.
The Walking Weapon of Impact has been one of the stars who previously competed against talents from other companies. Alexander defended his title against NJPW’s El Phantasmo during the May 15 episode of Impact.
NJPW announced a special ignition event for their weekly NJPW Strong show. The two-night special will begin this week and conclude on June 25.
Apart from the match between Josh Alexander and Alex Coughlin, the episode will also feature bouts such as Satoshi Kojima vs. NWA World Tag Team Champion JR Kratos, and Fred Rosser & Adrian Quest vs. Bateman & Barrett Brown.
Tony Khan has announced that the upcoming Impact world title match between Kenny Omega and Moose at the Against All Odds event will be taking place from AEW’s current home in Florida.
This week’s episode of Impact Wrestling featured a summit between the two companies. It included the AEW president Tony Khan and Impact executive vice president Scott D’Amore.
During the segment, Don Callis advocated keeping Sami Callihan out of the championship match this Saturday. He explained that it should be just Moose challenging Kenny Omega for his title at the upcoming show.
The Impact EVP praised Callis for his logical thinking. D’Amore said that the former Impact official understands the business very well before confirming that Saturday’s match will remain a singles bout.
Tony Khan, however, then made a big announcement. He revealed that the match between Omega and Moose will be taking place on their turf at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.
The Impact EVP also added his own announcement to the mix. He confirmed that the winner of this bout will defend the Impact world title against Sami Callihan at the Slammiversary PPV on 17 July.
Moose won a six-pack challenge at the Under Siege event last month to become the new #1 contender for the Impact world title. Sami Callihan then picked up a DQ victory over Moose last week during their singles match, thanks to interference from Omega and The Good Brothers.
Steve Cutler, aka Steve Maclin, was Tommy Dreamer’s guest on the House of Hardcore podcast this weekend. During the discussion, Maclin spoke about what got him into wrestling, joining the Marines, and his recent release from WWE.
Maclin talked about how 9/11 impacted his decision to join the Marines during the podcast.
“In high school, 9/11 happened when I was a freshman. So that was the big impactful moment for me just because it instilled for me to want to go into the military at a young age,” Maclin said. “My Mom and my Dad fought with me at that time. Around 2005 when I graduated, Iraq was really bad so they said ‘please just try college for a year.’ So I said ‘no problem whatsoever.'”
Maclin continued to say he had friends try to convince him to wrestle during that year at college. He always considered himself too small, however. He left college and was not happy with what he was doing.
“I dropped out college, working a full-time job and just not happy with what I was doing. I didn’t like it, I was like there’s something more and I want to do what I want to do and what I wanted to do was join the Marine core.”
He also noted that there was extra paperwork for him to join the Marines due to being an only child. Being the last of his bloodline, his parents also had to sign off even though he was 20 at the time.
“At 20 years old I joined the Marine core, November of 2007. Then got out in November of 2011. Did my 2 tours in Afghanistan. First one was in 2009 from May to November and then the second one was in January to August of 2011. I got every experience that I wanted in the military.”
When Maclin was on leave from the Marines his friend introduced him to Fred Rosser (WWE’s Darren Young at the time) who encouraged him to go into wrestling. Rosser told Maclin how to find a school when he got out of the Marines. He eventually found the Monster Factory in New Jersey. Maclin was then scouted by Gerald Biscoe about a year and a half after beginning his training.
Maclin’s full discussion with Tommy Dreamer is below.
Impact Wrestling star Karl Anderson has some advice for the WWE Superstars who were released this past week.
Anderson and his tag team partner Luke Gallows were cut by WWE in April 2020, just weeks after they participated in the Boneyard Match main event of WrestleMania 36.
During the latest episode of the Talk N Shop podcast, Anderson advised that the released talent be ‘less friendly’ in their social media comments.
“We know what it’s like to get canned from WWE,” Anderson began. “Here’s the advice I would say; enough of the ‘thank you’ tweets. Give me a f*cking break. When you get canned, let it go. How about hashtag ‘f*ck off.’ I don’t think less than 24 hours after being fired…take a second to take a breather.”
“Take it easy with the thank you bullsh*t within 24 hours” Anderson continued. “Breathe it in and take it all in for just one second. Put together a plan of attack before you start thanking all these motherf*ckers that fired you.”
Anderson Praises Jim Ross
Karl Anderson would then praise Jim Ross, who himself is a lot more candid than most when it comes to discussing WWE’s business practices. “People give Jim Ross a lot of heat, but I have respect for Jim Ross.”
“When we got canned, he said, ‘There’s a reason why WWE decided to not do business with these individuals anymore'” Anderson added. “It’s as true as it can get and Thank God. We made the most money we’ve ever made in our lives this past year and that’s after WWE.”
There’s a good chance that a number of the talents released could end up at AEW and/or IMPACT; so Anderson’s comments could end up hitting home to some of the Superstars when he eventually works with them again.
Listen to the latest episode of Talk N Shop at MLWRadio.com.
Well, you can now add Matt Cardona’s name to the list of people who want a piece of Nick Gage. Cardona stunned the crowd at the recent GCW Zombie Walk show, attacking Gage after the match. What made the altercation even more interesting is how it all transpired.
Matt Cardona came to the ring, covered from head to toe and gave the crowd his best Moxley swagger. Hitting Gage with a paradigm shift before removing his mask. The nod to Mox is understandable give the feud running between Mox and Gage. However, it does make you wonder if there is something else running.
— GameChangerWrestling (@GCWrestling_) June 6, 2021
With the recent news of show titles such as Battle of the Belts being trademarked by AEW, the concept of cross-promotion fights is interesting. The crowd certainly went wild, both when they assumed it was Mox in the ring, and after Matt Cardona unmasked himself.
A hardcore promotion like GCW might not be the place you instantly think of when discussing Matt Cardona. Yet, it seems as if this is something legit. Cardona took to Twitter after his appearance to share some thoughts before calling out Nick Gage from a steakhouse.
You would be hard pushed to find any bigger wrestling fan than Matt Cardona. He lives and breathes the business. Should a match go down between him and Gage, or him, Gage and Moxley, it will be a headline event. This looks likely, especially given how Cardona picked up the GCW title belt and held it aloft.
With all the recent cuts in WWE, it’s no surprise there is a lot of speculation about their ultimate destination. Current IMPACT star and X Division Champion Josh Alexander is the latest to voice his opinion.
During a lengthy interview, Josh Alexander spoke about the recent WWE releases, naming Samoa Joe as his opponent of choice.
“For me, just as a fan, I would love to see Samoa Joe come in and try and get the X Division Championship from me” Alexander said. Since winning the title, Alexander has put in great displays against the likes of El Phantasmo and TJP. However, a match against someone like Samoa Joe would be a mouth-watering affair.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPrX7vNqrCl/
Josh Alexander was not short on comments about other stars he would like to see fighting again.
“But, there are a lot of other talents. Samurai Del Sol – Before he went to WWE as Kalisto, he was being regarded as the next Rey Mysterio Jr. but somehow that got lost in translation while he was there. I think the IIconics are great. I think Chelsea Green is great and would be an asset to the Knockouts Division.”
There is a wealth of talent lurking in the free-agent pool right now. Josh Alexander is a fan of wrestling and agrees we are in exciting times.
“I’ve not asked any of these questions and I don’t know anything. I just want to be pleasantly surprised along with everybody else.”
Josh Alexander is enjoying his first singles championship run in IMPACT. Whoever his next run of opponents may be, they will need to bring their A-game if they want to take his title.
Tony Khan is headed back to Impact Wrestling. The AEW President hasn’t been seen on the show in recent weeks. With Impact moving to Thursday nights, Khan’s weekly paid advertisement for Dynamite haven’t been airing. It was revealed on this week’s show, however, that Khan will return to Impact Wrestling next week.
Khan will appear on Impact Wrestling next week in order to help Impact’s Scott D’Amore sort out the issues between Kenny Omega, Sami Callihan, and Moose. This could involve changing the Against All Odds main event to a triple threat match.
Kenny Omega, The Good Brothers, and Don Callis caused a disqualification in the main event match between Moose and Sami Callihan this week on Impact. Scott D’Amore then told Callis that Tony Khan will be on Impact next week to potentially provide AEW approval for a change to the Against All Odds main event. Currently, Omega is scheduled to defend against Moose but it certainly sounds as though D’Amore wants Khan to agree to have Omega defend the title in a triple threat match against both Moose and Callihan.
