All Elite Wrestling has been going all out and pulling no stops to acquire as much talent as possible from the independent scene and without much surprise Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, Hangman Page and SoCal Uncensored were present at McAloon Productions’ Come Hell or High Water event in Atlanta, GA last night.
In the main event of the pay-per-view show, the current Impact Tag Champions The Lucha Brothers (Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix) defeated SCU (Frankie Kazarian & Christopher Daniels), after which they were met with a thankful speech from The Young Bucks who said that they are grateful to the Lucha Brothers for keeping tag team wrestling alive.
The Jackson Brothers then proceeded to offer an All Elite Wrestling contract to the Lucha Brothers. Although the offer did not involve any official paperwork, the Young Bucks said that a handshake agreement would do just fine for now.
Before the Lucha Brothers could respond, they were met with an attack from local wrestlers who were part of the event. SCU came to the rescue of the Lucha Brothers and they along with the Young Bucks fended off the attacks.
Pentagon Jr. and Fenix then agreed to join AEW, by shaking the Young Bucks’ hands.
MLW and Impact Wrestling have announced they will collaborate over WrestleMania weekend in order for fans to be able to see both of their live events.
Impact Wrestling released the following statement earlier today:
“IMPACT Wrestling, a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp., and Major League Wrestling (MLW), announced today that they will be collaborating for their events on April 4 by coordinating talent and schedules to ensure that fans can attend live events presented by both organizations when virtually the entire professional wrestling world descends upon the New York metropolitan area.”
IMPACT Wrestling and @MLW will be collaborating for their events on April 4 by coordinating talent and schedules to ensure that fans can attend live events presented by both organizations!
Impact moved their event to the state of New Jersey so they could hold it after 11 PM.
“Due to the New York curfew preventing us from starting at 11:00 p.m. ET, we have moved our live event to New Jersey,” stated Impact’s Scott D’Amore. “We want to thank our partners at WrestlePro for facilitating this collaboration on April 4th and also thank House of Glory and stress that we couldn’t make this happen for our great fans without their cooperation.”
Impact Wrestling & MLW Events Over WrestleMania Weekend
MLW will present “Rise of the Renegades” at 7 PM on April 4th from the Melrose Ballroom. At 11 PM that same night, Impact Wrestling will present “United We Stand” from the Rahway Recreation Centre in New Jersey. The two venues are said to be about an hour’s drive from one another.
“This arrangement eliminates talent booking conflicts and ensures that loyal and passionate fans of both IMPACT Wrestling and MLW are able to attend our respective live events on April 4th,” said Impact Wrestling President, Ed Nordholm.
“Both promotions believe in putting the fans first,” said MLW COO Jared St. Laurent. “Fans will be traveling from all over the world in hopes of seeing the best of the best.”
Former X-Division champion, Matt Sydal, is reportedly done with Impact Wrestling. According to a report from PW Insider, the 35-year-old’s deal with the promotion is up. He has drawn interest from both AEW and WWE.
Sydal is currently awaiting surgery to repair cartilage in his knee that will keep him on the shelf for the next few months. He should be ready to return to the ring by May, however.
Matt Sydal & Others Moved To Impact Wrestling Alumni Page
Impact Wrestling moved several names from their roster to alumni section recently.
Austin Aries, Caleb Konley, Diamente, El Hijo Del Fantasma, Gursinder Singh, Joseph Park, McKenzie Mitchell, Rebel, Sonjay Dutt, Taiji Ishimori, and Trevor Lee are all now listed as alumni.
Sydal spoke to the Sporting News this summer about the future landscape of pro-wrestling.
“Wrestling used to be like this — it was this bathtub that we will fill up from only one faucet,” Sydal said. “It was mainly WWE filling the tub of love of wrestling for the entire world. And because of the internet, technology, the interconnectedness of people and the desire of independent artists to create their own work, this resurgence of wrestling has come up and it’s reinvigorating for me.”
“Now the bathtub of wrestling that we’re trying to fill up to the brim with water,” Sydal continued. “It has a WWE faucet. It’s got a New Japan faucet. IMPACT Wrestling, some of these hotter indies, WWN, Evolve, Progress.”
Impact Wrestling was back on Pursuit and Twitch last night. The promotion presented the first show from their most recent tapings in Mexico City from Jan. 11-12th.
7 Takeaways From Impact Wrestling:
Brian Cage Broke Up Killer Kross’ Title Match Against Johnny Impact
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWA2TnWI-i4
Brian Cage said he would be in Mexico City this week and he was. He showed up in the night’s main event and broke up the match between Kross and Johnny Impact for the title. This did not sit over well with Kross or Moose, who attacked both men. It seems as though Cage won’t stop until he gets his rematch.
LAX vs Lucha Bros Next Week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K05j9AnsMt0
Last week, LAX antagonized the Lucha Bros, much to Konnan’s dismay. This week, Konnan announced he was bringing in 2 luchadors, one to team with LAX next week and the other to team with the Lucha Bros as the two sides go head-to-head. LAX and the Lucha Bros look like they are headed down the path to a Homecoming rematch.
“Vera Loca” Taya Valkyrie Returns To Mexico
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpdWiKIBa1o
Taya Valkyrie returned to Mexico as Knockouts champion this week. She defeated Keyra in the 2nd match on the show. After the match, Taya cut a promo thanking the fans in Mexico for making her who she is.
Taya held the Reina de Reinas championship for 945 days from 2014-2017 while wrestling in AAA, the longest reign in the title’s lineage. She also said she would be waiting for Tessa Blanchard for whenever her suspension is up and would be ready for any of the Knockouts in the meantime.
Sami Callihan Says He Saved Rich Swann
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNaK7-wN9aE
Sami Callihan told Rich Swann if it wasn’t for him, he’d be dead in Baltimore somewhere. The leader of OVE came to the ring after Swann had just defeated El Hijo Del Vikingo in the opener.
Callihan revealed the two of them are close outside of the wrestling ring and that Callihan supported him during hard times. Despite this, Swann did not accept Callihan’s offer to join his faction. While he did not specifically say “no”, Swann told Sami he didn’t think he was a good fit for the group.
Scarlett Bordeaux Trains For Her In-Ring Debut
Scarlett Bordeaux will debut as a member of the Knockouts division in 3 weeks. This week she demonstrated a rather interesting training regimen she is running herself through. It’s easy to see how she won her own talent search.
Rosemary Tells Kiera Hogan & Jordynne Grace “This Is Not Your Fight”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkd00SUYuMU
The lights flickered and a message scrawled on the screen while the debuting Melissa Santos interviewed Kiera Hogan & Jordynne Grace thi week. The message read “the darkness will take you too. This is not your fight. R.”
While this is speculation, it seems Hogan & Grace will both move back into the non-underworld portion of the Knockouts division. It turns out this was bad speculation as the promotion just announced Hogan & Grace will face Su Yung & Dark Allie next week.
The Rascalz Go 2-0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nondutkdXlM
The Rascalz picked up two wins this week and Zachary demonstrated he can speak perfect subtitled Spanish in a backstage segment. Zach and Wentz picked up a win over the Desi Hit Squad in tag-team action while Trey Miguel picked up a win in the X-Division by defeating Ethan Page.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYv-R706hoE
Quick Results:
Rich Swann defeated El Hijo Del Vikingo
Taya Valkyrie defeated Keyra
Zachary Wentz & Dezmond Xavier defeated the Desi Hit Squad
Trey Miguel defeated Ethan Page
Impact World Championship
Johnny Impact (c) vs Killer Kross – No Contest
Next week:
Kiera Hogan & Jordynne Grace vs Dark Allie & Su Yung
Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega were in serious negotiations to join Impact Wrestling, according to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Jericho and Omega’s relationships with Impact Executive Vice President (and fellow Winnipegger) Don Callis are well-documented. Callis was the one brokering the talks and was “very close to deals” with both Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho. That is, until All Elite Wrestling (AEW) entered the picture.
Dave Meltzer reports, “The expectation before AEW is that Omega would work for New Japan and do 30 dates per year [for Impact] and Jericho would work here because he’s have so much input on his creative if he wanted to work another year with New Japan.”
Callis is currently a prominent figure in New Japan’s presentation, where he serves as the English color commentator. When he was first announced as the EVP of Impact, there were rumors that he would be looking to lure some New Japan talent over to the company.
This would not have been the first time that Impact (formerly TNA) had worked with New Japan. However, they are now a very different company in virtually every aspect. TNA had previously had the likes of Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger on their programming. Okada in particular did not enjoy his time with the company. With Okada believing that he was ‘mis-used’ and it soured the relationship between TNA and New Japan at the time.
With Don Callis at the helm there are still opportunities for New Japan talent to be on Impact programming. Landing Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega would have been tremendous for the fledgling promotion, which remains steadfast in its ongoing attempts to rebuild in 2019.
Impact Wrestling Hall of Famer Abyss and Sonjay Dutt are both gone from Impact Wrestling. According to PWInsider, both men are expected to join WWE in the near future. That report states Abyss and Dutt had “great opportunities” awaiting them in WWE and Impact willingly allowed them to pursue them.
Abyss had been with Impact Wrestling since the company’s formation back in 2002. After a storied career, he was inducted into the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame during Bound For Glory weekend last October. Abyss had been working behind the scenes as a producer. He is the last of the Impact “originals” still on board.
It will be very interesting to see what Abyss’ role will be in WWE and whether or not he gets an on-screen run before settling into a backstage role.
Dutt started with Impact back in 2003. He’s a former X-Division champion and was also working as a producer.
Konnan and Tommy Dreamer will replace Abyss and Sonjay Dutt on the Impact creative team. They’ll be working with Don Callis and Scott D’Amore in the months ahead as Impact looks to gain traction in 2019.
Impact Wrestling presented their second episode on Pursuit last night. The show was also live-streamed on Twitch. Impact was back in the Asylum this week but next week’s episode will be the first from their Mexico tapings held last week.
Here are 10 takeaways from Impact Wrestling 1/18:
LAX Antagonized The Lucha Bros
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mo-9oC7lRQ
In the final moments of Impact Wrestling this week, members of LAX and the Lucha Bros were seen backstage. Santana and Ortiz had just defeated the Crist brothers in the main event when they were approached by Pentagon and Fenix. LAX told the brothers if they ever wanted another beating they could come get it which caused Konnan to react angrily. It seems perhaps not all was settled between these two teams at Homecoming.
Brian Cage Wants His Title Rematch/Not Pleased Johnny Impact Is Defending Against Killer Kross
Brian Cage opened up this week’s edition of Impact Wrestling by attacking KM and Caleb Konley, who was wrestling in the opener.
Cage feels he was robbed of the title at Homecoming and is not happy about Johnny Impact putting the title on the line against Killer Kross next week before him. Cage promised he would be there in Mexico watching the match. When Johnny Impact came out to answer him, however, Killer Kross and Moose jumped him.
A match between Moose and Brian Cage was made for later in the night.
Tessa Blanchard’s Attempted Murder Of Gail Kim
Tessa Blanchard assaulted several people in the back this week before turning her attention to Gail Kim. She strangled the Hall-of-Famer with a set of cords, the consequence of Kim’s refereeing at Homecoming costing her the belt.
Blanchard was promptly suspended by Scott D’Amore for her actions.
Gail Kim was on this week’s Impact Press Pass. I had the chance to ask her about the Knockouts division and she also commented on possibly coming out of retirement for one more match.
OVE Want Rich Swann To “Come Home”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0cauwhCcgo
Sami Callihan refers to Rich Swann as “Family”. He’s said to Swann it’s time to come home. We’ve heard Swann tell Willie Mack that messing with Sami Callihan isn’t a good idea, though we know little else about their previous relationship, other than they’ve wrestled a bunch on the independents.
Swann defeated Trey from the Rascalz this week. After the match, however, the members of OVE offered him a shirt and a spot in their faction. LAX came out before Swann could really respond, however, and the main event between OVE and LAX began.
Trey Miguel Didn’t Win Homecoming King
.@TheTreyMiguel is upset that he didn't win Homecoming king (which wasn't an actual thing) but he has Rich Swann TONIGHT! #IMPACT @DezmondXavier @zachary_wentz
In a scene reminiscent of “That 70s Show” (surprisingly good upon rewatching), the Rascalz got some things off their chest this week. Trey was upset that despite his suit and crown, he didn’t win Homecoming King. Evidently, Homecoming King is not even a thing.
Zachary and Dezmond lamented over their loss to the Lucha Bros last week but Trey quickly found a way to end the conversation.
Jordynne Grace Defeated Dark Allie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfkIHmq38h8
Allie took her first loss since returning from the underworld this week. She lost to the impressive Jordynne Grace, who continues her undefeated streak in Impact Wrestling. She got the win with something of a pump-handle driver. Callis mentioned that Grace just dominated Allie.
Su Yung got up on the ring apron during the match and tried to cause a distraction. Perhaps, a Jordynne Grace vs Su Yung clash is not long off. Should Grace get the win there, it’s likely she’ll be in the Knockouts title picture sooner rather than later.
Rosemary Confronts Dark Allie
After Grace defeated Allie, Su Yung entered the ring and outstretched her hand to Allie. The lights went off, however, and when they came back Su Yung had turned into Rosemary. Allie bolted from the ring.
The commentary team couldn’t figure out what happened to Su Yung.
Brian Cage Defeated Moose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg3AsCRbzX8
Brian Cage picked up a win over Moose tonight in a bout between two wrestlers who have been at the top of the Impact roster for the last year. Moose tried to bring a chair into the ring but Cage wasn’t deterred. He ducked the chair shot, hit a knee to the face, and then Drill Claw for the win.
Moose has picked up a few losses in a row recently after also having lost to Eddie Edwards at Homecoming as well.
Eli Drake Says Eddie Edwards Is “A Hardcore Loser”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUFzKAeK4NA
Eddie Edwards’ match with Ethan Page was evidently not hardcore enough for the Boston native. He got himself disqualified after hitting his opponent with a kendo stick. Eli Drake, who has spoken out against hardcore wrestling, cut a promo on Edwards after the match. He said Edwards just needs to put on a bit more weight and he’d look just like Tommy Dreamer. Drake said that ever since Edwards went “hardcore” he’s fallen out of the title scene and it’s time for the old Eddie Edwards to come back.
The Winner Of The Smoke Show’s Talent Search Is…Scarlett Bordeaux
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbKfmmjXpjA
Scarlett Bordeaux announced she was the winner of her global talent search. While this news was a little anti-climactic, Bordeaux also announced that she’s going to start competing in the ring, which more than makes up for her lack of a talent search winner. Bordeaux is about to become a competing member of the Knockouts division, which should add to an already deep division.
Quick Results:
KM vs Caleb Konley – No Contest
Ethan Page defeated Eddie Edwards via DQ
Jordynne Grace defeated Dark Allie
Brian Cage defeated Moose
LAX defeated OVE
Next Week:
Impact World Championship
Johnny Impact (c) vs Killer Kross
IMPACT Wrestling recently aired a lap dance segment involving professional wrestling legend Scott Steiner and Scarlett Bordeaux. Bordeaux dances around the ring in lingerie while Steiner sits down on a chair and watches. The segment was uploaded to IMPACT’s YouTube channel. It’s nearing 1 million views as of this writing with 883,000 views. It’s one of IMPACT’s most viewed videos in recent memory. Check it out here:
WWE has been putting on somewhat similar content this week. On Monday Night RAW, WWE did a segment in which an employee accidentally walked in on Alexa Bliss changing. The employee was delivering Bliss’ coffee, who was shirtless and only covered up by a top she was holding up to her chest.
Also, on SmackDown Live, WWE did an angle in which Mandy Rose sent Jimmy Uso a key to her hotel room. Jimmy Uso is married to Naomi, and Rose said she wanted to ruin their marriage in an attempt to torment the former SmackDown Live Women’s Champion. Both of those segments have done very well on YouTube as well. Bliss’ YouTube video has 5.8 million views, while the Mandy Rose, Jimmy Uso, and Naomi segment has 2.6 million.
What did you think about IMPACT’s lap dance segment with Steiner and Bordeaux?
IMPACT Wrestling will be without the services of Matt Sydal for the next few months. The former WWE star recently took to Twitter to announce that he has suffered a knee injury. He will require surgery to repair the issue. Sydal divulged that the operation will happen on Thursday and he’s eying a return around March or April. In the meantime, Sydal said he’ll be teaching wrestling online and from the World Wrestling Network training center:
“I’m having surgery next Thursday to repair torn cartilage in my knee. I should be able to return to the ring by March or April. I’ll be teaching wrestling online, and at the @WWNLive training center throughout. Reach out to mattsydal@yahoo.com with questions.”
I’m having surgery next Thursday to repair torn cartilage in my knee. I should be able to return to the ring by March or April. I’ll be teaching wrestling online, and at the @WWNLive training center throughout. Reach out to mattsydal@yahoo.com with questions. ?????
Lately, the former IMPACT X Division Champion has been teaming up with Ethan Page. The pair are former foes from an Ultimate X qualifying match during IMPACT’s recent TV tapings in Las Vegas this past November. Page would win the bout and advanced to the Ultimate X match for the then-vacant X Division Championship at IMPACT’s “Homecoming” pay-per-view (PPV).
The match was eventually won by former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Rich Swann. We’ll keep you updated on Sydal’s injury situation as we learn more…
What do you think about Sydal undergoing surgery for his injured knee?
Gail Kim’s officiating at Homecoming came under fire last week when Taya Valkyrie defeated Tessa Blanchard for the Knockouts Championship. She was asked about her officiating in the match as well as the potential for her coming out of retirement for one more match with Tessa Blanchard on today’s Impact Wrestling Press Pass.
“Yes, there’s a lot of controversy in terms of my officiating at the Homecoming PPV,” Kim said. “That moment just built up to what happened and I’m going to defend myself. Tessa was abusing authority at that point.”
Ok well im hearing this a lot. So her pushing me twice, choking out a previous referee and trying to choke and punch me was ok…. funny how the minds work. I was going to let that match happen no matter what. The difference is I will defend myself. https://t.co/zSZKLAgG9Z
Kim continued to say that DQ’ing Blanchard was “the easy way out.”
Last week on Impact Wrestling, Blanchard used Kim’s Eat Defeat move to win a single’s match. This has led to speculation Kim could come out of retirement for one more match against Tessa Blanchard.
“It depends on the circumstances and how far I’m pushed,” Kim said regarding coming out of retirement. “I think it goes honestly by how my body feels at that moment because still to this day since I retired last February my back gives me a lot of problems.”
She continued to say that she is getting an update on her back shortly, however, and if she feels good she wouldn’t object to one more match. Kim also wants to know how bad the fans want to see it as well.
Gail Kim On Dark Allie, Su Yung, & Rosemary
I had the chance to ask Kim on the call what the dark storyline featuring Su Yung, Dark Allie, & Rosemary brings to the division.
“I think it’s the first time that I’ve ever witnessed in my time female dark characters of this magnitude,” Kim said.
Kim then spoke regarding the diversity of characters earlier in the Knockout division’s history.
“I feel like what really broke the mold with the original Knockouts division is when we had a variety of characters like ODB and Awesome Kong,” Kim continued. “Things you had never seen before and then it kind of opened that door to different types of characters. Rosemary came along and Su Yung made that transition, because she’s been wrestling a really long time, and now we have Dark Allie. I’ll say they proved me wrong because I always thought there isn’t space for 3 dark characters.”
Kim continued to say Rosemary is the most popular Knockout currently and she’s been injured for a long time. She also mentioned that kids enjoy the storyline.
Gail Kim On Wrestlers Impact Wrestling Could Sign
Kim was also asked about what female Superstars on the independent scene she’d like to sign. Her answer suggests she’s frustrated with other wrestling promotions signing up lots of talent.
“There’s a couple of girls I guess but I almost don’t want to say it because WWE signs everyone,” Kim joked. “There snatching up everyone and making slim pickings for everyone.”
She mentioned rumors that Viper had signed with WWE. Kim also mentioned of Shotzi Blackheart who competed on Impact last year but is currently injured. She then said there are a few girls in Mexico she was interested in bringing into Impact as well.
“I just want more of a pool to pick from,” Kim continued. She continued to say that many prospects are now choosing to turn down WWE, however, feeling as though they would get lost in the shuffle.
The spoilers from the Impact Wrestling TV taping that took place on Saturday, January 12th, 2019 at Fronton Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico has surfaced online. The promotion also held a TV taping on Friday, which you can see here.
These matches and segments will air over the coming weeks on the Pursuit Channel and Twitch. You can read the results here, courtesy of F4Wonline.com:
Impact Wrestling TV Taping Results
– X-Division Champion Rich Swann defeated El Hijo del Vikingo in a non-title match
with a 450 Splash. Post-match, oVe came out to confront Swann, which led to Sami Callihan cut a promo about their history. Callihan offered Swann to join oVe, but he rejected the invitation.
– Trey Miguel (w/The Rascalz) defeated Rohit Raju (w/Raj Singh and Gama Singh) with a top rope meteroral.
– Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie defeated Tessa Blanchard in a street fight to retain the title. The finish saw Valkyrie hit a double foot stomp from the top rope onto Blanchard, who laid on a table.
– Willie Mack defeated Ethan Page with a stunner.
– Impact Champion Johnny Impact defeated Moose, Killer Kross, and Brian Cage in a four-way match to retain. Post-match, Cage, and Impact faced
– Psycho Clown defeated Fallah Bahh with La Magistral.
– Sami Callihan defeated Puma King with a piledriver.
– Eli Drake and Eddie Edwards defeated The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz) once Drake hit the Gravy Train on Xavier after hitting him with Edwards’ kendo stick behind the referee’s back. Post-match, Edwards complained to Drake about using the stick to win.
– Lucha Brothers (Pentagon and Fenix) defeated LAX (w/Konnan) to become the new Impact World Tag Team Champions. The taping ended when all the babyfaces coming out to celebrate with the Lucha Brothers.
The spoilers from the Impact Wrestling TV taping that took place on Friday, January 11th, 2019 at Fronton Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico has surfaced online. These matches and segments will air over the coming weeks on the Pursuit Channel and Twitch.
The promotion also held a TV taping earlier this week at The Asylum in Nashville, Tennessee, which you can see here.
We hope to have a more detailed report with other news and notes that took place at this taping. Here are the spoilers from the latest TV taping, which includes quick results, courtesy of PWinsider.com:
Impact Wrestling TV Taping Results
– Impact Champion Johnny Impact vs, Killer Kross ended in a no contest once Brian Cage walked down to the ring in order to get involved and attacked both stars.
– Pentagon Jr. & Fenix & Taurus beat LAX and Daga.
In late December, there was a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter which stated Impact Wrestling was looking to sell their company to All Elite Wrestling.
“It is not a secret that there were forces attempting to sell Impact to AEW a few months ago,” wrote Dave Meltzer. “But that proposal was turned down.”
Ed Nordholm then told talent on January 7th that Anthem was not looking to sell the company. The Observer clarified their story today.
“The only deal we know of regarding a potential sale was when Chris Jericho became aware of Tony Khan wanting to start a company and tried to set up a meeting with Khan and Impact,” Meltzer wrote in the latest edition of the Observer.
Meltzer would continue to say this discussion took place all the way back in September. This means Jericho has been involved in discussions involving the new promotion since shortly after All In.
“Anthem was willing to talk and this was in September but Khan, who at that point was exploring starting up, said that he would start up on his own and wasn’t looking at buying an existing company,” Meltzer continued.
Ed Nordholm On Impact Wrestling’s Future
Following the Homecoming PPV this weekend, Ed Nordholm addressed the roster at the following night’s TV tapings. He talked about the important role Impact plays in the expansion of the Fight Network. The combat sports station signed big deals in Mexico and the United Kingdom in 2018.
Impact Wrestling begins a new era tonight. With the move to the Pursuit channel, Impact retains the digital rights to their show. This means they are also able to stream tonight’s show on their Twitch channel. The show starts at 10 PM est.
Don Callis said on his podcast recently that with the move to the Pursuit channel there will be changes to how the product is presented. “I think people are gonna love to see a sexier, edgier, maybe a little more hardcore Impact Wrestling,” Callis said. “I’m really really pumped about that, so I’m pretty excited.”
The Impact roster is currently in Mexico filming TV today and tomorrow.
This will be a rematch from Homecoming. Callihan got the win on Sunday but only after receiving some outside help from OVE. They will run it back once again tonight.
Mack’s ally, new X-Division Champion Rich Swann, doesn’t think they should get involved against OVE, however. We’ll see where all this goes tonight.
Johnny Impact Is Out For Revenge
At Homecoming, Johnny was able to successfully defend his Impact World Championship against Brian Cage. Following his victory, however, Killer Kross attacked him and Taya from behind. Tonight, the Impact World Champion Is out for revenge and in his crosshairs is Killer Kross.
The Lucha Bros (Pentagon and Fenix) vs The Rascalz (Zachary Wentz & Dezmond Xavier)
TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT!!!! LUCHA BROS VS RASCALZ 10pm EST!!! On the new home of @impactwrestling PURSUIT! And if you don’t have pursuit, watch ON TWITCH!!!! ??? pic.twitter.com/ZTHlHw23Xf
The Lucha Bros dropped an Impact Tag Team Championship match to LAX at Homecoming. Tonight, they will try to get back in the win column when they take on the Rascalz. This match, in particular, strikes me as one that could steal the show tonight.
Tessa Blanchard likely has a bone to pick with Gail Kim. The Impact Wrestling Hall of Famer attacked Blanchard during her title match at Homecoming. While Blanchard no doubt antagonized her throughout the match, Kim chose to deliver her finisher to Blanchard, which set her up for Taya to hit the Road to Valhalla for the win.
Blanchard will be in single’s action tonight but she likely has a few things to say about what happened on Sunday as well.
Is Dark Allie Here To Stay?
At Homecoming, Rosemary returned and looked as though she was going to place her hand over Allie until Allie backed away and exited the ring. Does Rosemary have the ability to give Allie her soul back? Or is Dark Allie here to stay?
Konnan Reunites With LAX
Konnan chose not to be in the corner of Santana and Ortiz on Sunday. He did come out after the match and congratulated all four competitors, however. Tonight, Konnan plans to reunite with LAX and celebrate yet another championship defense for the team. LAX said they wanted to prove they could win without Konnan but now how does K-Dawg fit into their plans?
Tessa Blanchard is one of the most talented female professional wrestlers of any promotion at the moment. She is a former IMPACT Knockouts Champion and was named Knockout Of The Year for 2018. Blanchard debuted for IMPACT back in April and began a feud with Kiera Hogan. The following August, she won a Triple Threat match against Su Yung and Allie to win the IMPACT Knockouts Championship.
Blanchard successfully defended her title against the likes of Gisele Shaw, Yung, Faby Apache, and many more. Recently, Taya Valkyrie defeated Blanchard at IMPACT “Homecoming,” ending Blanchard’s reign of 147 days. Looking back at 2018 for Blanchard, who began her career back in 2014, it was a very successful year for the 23-year-old. Recently, Blanchard spoke to Wrestling Epicenterand discussed her IMPACT run in 2018.
During the interview, Blanchard was asked about her goals for 2019. The former Knockouts Champion admitted she’s not sure what 2019 holds for her. But one thing is for sure, it’ll be better than 2018:
“You know, I’m not sure what is going to happen in 2019, but I do know that it is going to be better than 2018. That is a huge statement to make because 2018 was absolutely amazing. But, with the WOW Superheroes on AXS TV, which has Mark Cuban and Jeanie Buss behind that.
“I’m so excited for people to see that air in January. With Impact, I hope to retain my Knockouts championship. I hope for women to main event an Impact [PPV] event which has not been done yet. I hope to share the ring with Gail Kim one day – I hope that intergender wrestling can make a breakthrough.
“There are a lot of hopes for 2019. But, you know, I’ve been going moment by moment, match by match, and it seems to be working out so far!”
What do you think about Blanchard’s goals for 2019?
Backstage interviewer McKenzie Mitchell has announced her departure fro Impact Wrestling. She reportedly gave notice to the company at Monday’s Impact TV tapings from Nashville (Spoilers).
Mitchell had been with the company since 2016 during the Dixie Carter era. She posted a message on Instagram saying she was ‘grateful, changed and IMPACTed’ by her run with the company, which she called the most exhilarating experience of her life.
“Grateful. Changed. IMPACTed. Undoubtedly the most exhilarating and exciting experience of my life thus far. Words can’t describe my appreciation for Impact Wrestling and company and all that I’ve learned with this experience. To my friends, family, and fans- you guys rock and are the reason why I love doing what I do each and every day. 2019 is a year of change and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
In addition to her work with Impact Wrestling, Mitchell is also a huge fan of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens and covers the team for the Fangirl Sports Network.
Anthem Sports and Entertainment’s Ed Nordholm addressed the Impact Wrestling roster yesterday in Nashville. The promotion filmed episodes of Impact Wrestling last night.
According to a report from PW Insider, Nordholm spoke to the roster about the new television deal and the benefits it offers for not just Impact Wrestling but all of Anthem Sports and Entertainment.
Impact Wrestling’s Role In The Fight Network’s Success
Nordholm mentioned Anthem purchased Impact Wrestling because it is one of the better ratings draws for the Fight Network. Anthem also owns the Fight Network. The combat sports dedicated TV network has distribution deals all over the world and recently announced new deals in 2018 in the United Kingdom and Mexico. The Fight Network’s growth in 2018 is also an accomplishment Impact Wrestling can take partial credit for. Impact has value to Anthem beyond revenue earned from TV deals or PPVs, they are helping to expand the reach of the Fight Network and other properties of Anthem Sports and Entertainment.
Is Anthem Looking to Sell Impact Wrestling?
Nordholm also denied reports that the company was looking to sell. There had been reports that the company was looking to sell to AEW. Nordholm, however, denied the company was looking to sell.
Impact Wrestling On The Pursuit Channel
Nordholm also addressed the benefits of the new TV deal in the United States, where the promotion will air on the Pursuit channel. He again mentioned that part of the reason Anthem purchased Impact Wrestling was to provide benefits to their other properties, such as the Pursuit channel, which Anthem owns a minority stake in.
Another benefit of the new deal with Pursuit is that they are able to post full episodes to Twitch and even air them live at the same time as the show airs on Pursuit, Friday’s at 10 PM est. Now anyone with access to the internet can watch episodes of Impact Wrestling as they air for free.
Impact Wrestling is expected to hold another PPV in April. The promotion traditionally holds their Lockdown PPV in April. It’s not clear if the all steel cage PPV will be returning in 2019, however.
The spoilers from the Impact Wrestling TV taping that took place on Monday, January 7th, 2019 at The Asylum in Nashville, Tennessee has surfaced online. These matches and segments will air over the coming weeks on the Pursuit Channel.
Impact Wrestling TV Taping Results
– Johnny Impact walks out to the ring to cut a promo about the actions of Killer Kross to Taya at Homecoming. This led to Brian Cage coming out and saying that Johnny’s Survivor buddies saved him and that he’s the rightful champion and wants his rematch right now. Kross was next to be out where he stated that when Taya comes back, he’ll put her back in the hospital, which upset Johnny and attacked both men. Cage eventually knocks him down and grabs the title and holds it over his head.
– The Lucha Brothers defeated Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz (The Rascalz) via pinfall.
– X-Division Champion Rich Swann is in the ring where Josh Mathews interviews him about how there have been many great champions in the history of the title. Sami Callihan interrupts by offering him an oVe shirt and tells Rich to put it on. This led to Willie Mack coming out to attack him.
– Willie Mack defeats Sami Callihan via pinfall.
– Scarlett Bordeaux announces that she will pick the winner of her talent search next week. She teases getting naked before Gama Singh, and the Desi Hit Squad tells her not to humiliate herself and to wait and show them next week, in private, when she chooses them. Scott Steiner was out next where he cut a promo about how Gama took away his chance at seeing a freak get their freak on. The Squad attacked him, but he got the upper hand.
– Killer Kross defeats Johnny Impact in a non-title no DQ match
– Tessa Blanchard defeats Cali via pinfall
– Crazzy Steve defeats Logan James via pinfall.
– Ethan Page defeats Eddie Edwards by DQ after Eddie uses his kendo stick. Post-match Eli cuts a promo on Eddie.
– Jordynne Grace defeats Allie via pinfall. Post-match, the lights went out, and Rosemary appeared in the ring in order to scare Allie away.
– Caleb Konley defeats KM by DQ when Brian Cage hits the ring to attack KM. Post-match, Cage lays out Fallah Bahh. Cage cuts a promo about how he’s coming to Mexico City next week to take the title from Johnny Impact. This led to Impact walking out only to be attacked by Killer Kross and Moose.
– Rich Swann defeats Trey Miguel. Post-match, oVe offers Swann an oVe shirt once again, but Swann looks confused.
This Friday night, Impact Wrestling premieres on the Pursuit Channel, the show’s new home on cable television. Many fans of the product have been disgruntled about this news since Pursuit is not widely available on television providers throughout the United States. On Sunday night, Impact made an announcement that is good news for everybody.
In addition to new episodes of Impact premiering Friday nights at 10PM ET on Pursuit Channel, the shows will premiere concurrently on Impact Wrestling promotion’s Twitch online streaming channel for free. That’s right: No pursuit, no problem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMRSO5WKoGo
Impact Wrestling Promises Edgier Product On Pursuit
Don Callis addressed a change in direction for the product with the move to the Pursuit channel on his podcast.
“A lot of fans thought, ‘Wow, you guys should be on a different network with a different demographic’ so we announced this week we’re moving to Pursuit which is an exciting thing for me,” Callis said.
Judging by what we have seen on Impact Wrestling PPVs versus their television program, it’s possible more hardcore wrestling could be in store for the promotion.
“It’s a great strategic move for us,” Callis continued. “And I think people are going to love to see a sexier, edgier, maybe even a little more hardcore IMPACT Wrestling. I’m really, really pumped about that.”
The first episode of Impact Wrestling on the Pursuit channel, and now also on their Twitch channel begins Friday, January 11th, 2019 at 10 PM est.
Impact Wrestling will hold a show tomorrow at the Asylum as well. Presumably, this is where they will be taping the next couple of episodes and the first with this new direction.
There is a new Knockouts champion. Taya Valkyrie defeated Tessa Blanchard tonight at Impact Wrestling’s Homecoming PPV from Nashville TN.
The match will go down as controversial, however. Special guest referee, Gail Kim, hit Blanchard with Eat Defeat before allowing Taya Valkyrie to hit the Road to Valhalla for the victory.
Tension had been brewing between Kim and Blanchard for weeks on episodes of Impact Wrestling as well as after several near-falls in this match.
Taya Valkyrie Knockouts Champion
Valkyrie becomes the 22nd woman to won the Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship. The inaugural champion, Gail Kim, having been the one to count the 3 tonight. She is already a 2x Reina de Reinas champion for AAA and also got a run with the infamous Iron Heavymetalweight championship for the comedy promotion in Japan, DDT.
The win for Taya ends Tessa Blanchard’s reign with the belt at 147 days. Blanchard has spent the 12th most combined days with the belt out of the 22 champions in its lineage. Two days ago, she passed Velvet Sky who is at 145 days. Blanchard falls short of ODB, who held the title for 153 days over the course of 4 runs with the belt.
Tessa Blanchard vs Gail Kim
Based on the actions of Kim and Blanchard in this match, it’s possible Kim comes out of retirement for one last match with Blanchard. Kim has said if she does wrestling again, it would be with Impact.
Rosemary has returned to Impact Wrestling. She had been on the shelf since last April after suffering a torn ACL. Tonight, Rosemary popped out of a coffin to attack Su Yung and confront Dark Allie.
Su Yung and Dark Allie had just defeated Jordynne Grace and Kiera Hogan. They were continuing the beatdown on Hogan when Yung motioned for her undead bridesmaids to bring the coffin to ringside. When they opened the coffin, however, Rosemary popped out.
She then took out Su Yung and the bridesmaids before turning towards Dark Allie.
.@AllieImpact flees from her former best friend @WeAreRosemary.
Rosemary was last seen in Impact at the Bound For Glory PPV. She appeared in a segment in the undead realm, where Allie had traveled to save Kiera Hogan from Su Yung.
Rich Swann is the new X-Division champion after having won the return of Ultimate X tonight at Homecoming. The Ultimate X ladder match kicked off the PPV. Swann defeated Trey Miguel, Jake Crist, and Ethan Page to become the new champion.
I had the chance to ask Swann about being a fan of the X-Division growing up on an episode of Impact Wrestling Press Pass last year.
“Oh man, I was such a fan,” Swann said of the early days of the X-Division. “Seeing guys like Frankie Kazarian, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal.”
“At that point in time in professional wrestling, there was only one company,” Swann continued. “Then to see these guys kind of throw out this style, this cruiserweight style, this style that had kind of been forgotten about thrown out and abandoned, and put it on TV, it mesmerized me.”
“Growing up aspiring to be a professional wrestler my size and stature that was one of my goals, if not the goal, to be in the X-Division to be in Impact, to get the X-Division championship.”
Impact Wrestling Homecoming
The Ultimate X match kicked off Impact Wrestling’s return to Nashville for Homecoming. Join us for live coverage of the event here.
Impact Wrestling presents their first PPV of 2019 tonight. Homecoming takes place in the Asylum in Nashville, TN.
Impact World Championship
Johnny Impact (c) vs Brian Cage
Knockouts Championship
Tessa Blanchard (c) vs Taya Valkyrie
X-Division Championship Ultimate X Match
Rich Swann vs Trey Miguel vs Jake Crist vs Ethan Page
Impact Tag Team Championships
LAX (c) vs The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix)
Monster’s Ball
Abyss vs Eli Drake
Falls Count Anywhere
Moose vs Eddie Edwards
Sami Callihan vs Willie Mack
Allie & Su Yung vs Kiera Hogan & Jordynne Grace
The PPV gets going at 8 PM est.
Refresh this page for live updates and results.
Ultimate X will kick things off!
X-Division Championship Ultimate X Match Rich Swann vs Trey Miguel vs Jake Crist vs Ethan Page
Rich Swann has won the X-Division championship by winning the return match of Ultimate X. It was a match with plenty of high-spots as you would expect. It even started off with all 4 climbing the ropes above the ring, only to hurricanrana each other off.
Ethan Page speared Jake Crist off the ropes which left Swann and Trey Miguel all alone in the ring. Swann was able to beat Miguel to the belt and ended up catching the falling title with his legs in what was likely not exactly the planned finish.
2. Allie & Su Yung vs Kiera Hogan & Jordynne Grace
Rosemary returns! And perhaps she has the ability to return Dark Allie’s soul…
Jordynne Grace looked to have this match under control after slamming both Su Yung and Allie at the same time but things went sour rather fast after. Su Yung blew poison mist in the face of Grace, leaving Kiera Hogan alone in the ring. Allie put on the gross glove Yung carries around and locked in the mandible claw on Hogan for the win.
Winners: Dark Allie & Su Yung
After the match, Yung motioned for the undead bridesmaids to bring the coffin to the ring. When they did, however, Rosemary came out of it. Rosemary attacked the undead brides and then threw Su Yung into them. She then walked into the ring and looked to place her hand over Allie, only Allie backed out of the ring before she could.
.@AllieImpact flees from her former best friend @WeAreRosemary.
Impact has promised an edgier product when they debut on Pursuit next week. That could mean more hardcore wrestling like we saw tonight between Eddie Edwards and Moose. Edwards attacked his rival before the match and things went from there.
They brawled all throughout the Asylum. Eventually, Edwards got control by backdropping Moose on top of a guardrail. Then he pulled out Kenny, his Singapore cane. Evidently, Eddie wasn’t caning Moose good enough because Alisha Edwards ran to the ring to show him how. She hit Moose several times before giving the cane back to Edwards to finish the job. Edwards then gave Moose the DDT for the win.
It took quite a bit, but Sami Callihan defeated Willie Mack here. Mack looked to have Callihan beat after giving him the Stunner but Callihan got his foot to barely touch the rope. Callihan then distracted the referee while Dave Crist prevented Mack from jumping off the top rope. Callihan gave him a Death Valley Driver off the top but only got a 1-count. Mack then kicked out of lariat at a 1 as well. Eventually, however, Callihan gave him the Cactus Driver and got the 3-count.
Eli Drake has won Monster’s Ball. He defeated Abyss tonight after bashing him over the head several times with a paddle. This was a match which involved Drake being choke-slammed into thumbtacks, suplex’ed through tables, and several other big spots. Drake at one point attempted to use zip-ties to bound Abyss’ hands together but wasn’t able to do it. So instead, he just started hammering Abyss with a chair several times in the back instead.
6. Impact Tag Team Championships
LAX (c) vs The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. and Fenix)
After a back and forth match, full of double team combinations, the Lucha Bros hit their spiked piledriver and looked like they were going to win. The pin was broken up at the last second, however. Then LAX hit Street Sweeper on Pentagon but Fenix broke up the pin at the last moment.
LAX then hit a crazy string of double team moves on Fenix and got the pin.
Winners and Still Champions: LAX
After the match, Konnan hit the ring. He cut a promo saying he was wrong and that both teams can still be allies after going to war. Konnan then praised the match and the four men celebrated in the ring.
7. Knockouts Championship
Tessa Blanchard (c) vs Taya Valkyrie
Taya Valkyrie is the new Impact Knockouts champion. She defeated Tessa Blanchard here in the 3rd bout of her trilogy with Tessa Blanchard. The match was not without a tremendous amount of controversy, however.
After several near-falls, Tessa Blanchard and Gail Kim became significantly annoyed with one another. Kim then gave Blanchard the Eat Defeat which allowed Taya to hit the Road to Valhalla for the victory.
8. Impact World Championship
Johnny Impact (c) vs Brian Cage
Johnny Impact is still the Impact World champion but the match was not without controversy. Cage had seemingly hit Johnny with everything in his offensive arsenal but Johnny kicked out after each move.
Members of the cast of Survivor were at ringside and ended up getting into a shoving contest with Cage. This led to the referee leaving the ring to deal with them. Cage then hit Drill Claw but there was no referee for the count. When the referee finally did come to, Johnny was able to kick out before 3.
Things didn’t seem to go quite as planned at the finish of the match as both Cage and Impact spilled from the top rope. After they fell, Impact pinned Cage to retain his title.
Brian Cage has a chance to win the Impact Wrestling World championship tonight. He’ll face the current champion, Johnny Impact, tonight at the Homecoming PPV in Nashville.
Cage was a guest on Impact Wrestling’s Press Pass recently to hype the show. At the same time, Cage mentioned why it is he chose to sign with Impact Wrestling.
“Unfortunately, while everyone’s singing my praises, no one has given me the opportunity,” Cage said on other promotions who have shown interest in him. ” (Lucha) Underground definitely got me on the map and Impact offered me a deal and led the way. They gave me the ball and gave me an opportunity and I took it and ran with it.”
“Hats off to them and I’m trying to live up to my end of the bargain,” Cage continued. “So far, so good. I’ve enjoyed my time there and looking forward to what this year has to bring and hopefully start it off as world champion.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHYndfb9qGM
Johnny Impact (c) vs Brian Cage – Impact World Championship – Homecoming PPV – January 6th, 2019
Cage then turned his attention to his Homecoming opponent, Johnny Impact.
“He can have his Survivor buddies in the crowd,” stated Cage. “I don’t think that’s going to affect me or give him any advantage. It didn’t help him win Survivor, so why would it help him win the match?”
Also a potential factor tonight is Killer Kross. Johnny’s former ally in Mexico has been saying the champion needs him watching his back in order to get past Cage tonight.
Impact Wrestling’s Homecoming PPV gets going in just a few hours. One of the featured matches tonight will be the return of the Ultimate X match.
Impact Wrestling interviewed several X-Division legends of the past and got their thoughts on what can be expected tonight.
X-Division Legends Comment On Ultimate X
Former X-Division champions, Christopher Daniels, Kazarian, DJZ, Petey Williams, and Sonjay Dutt all were interviewed ahead of Homecoming.
SCU’s Christopher Daniels had the following to say, “I think they’re gonna go out there and top what’s been done in the past. I also think that they might try to bring back some of the stuff that hasn’t been done in a while, just because that’s just the way it goes. These things go in cycles.”
Petey Williams commented on how all 4 competitors in tonight’s match have never been in this type of match before. “I feel it’s good that it’s their first time because you have four fresh guys that have never been in it before,” Williams said. “They have a fresh moveset, all four of those individuals are very unique in what they do, so they’ll bring four new perspectives to the table that fans haven’t seen before. So I would just say: do what you do, amplify it and do it best.”
Return of the Ultimate X Match – Impact Wrestling Homecoming – January 6th, 2019
“Expect the unexpected,” said Sonjay Dutt. “Because when you get out “there, unless you’ve actually been in it, you don’t realize what it truly takes to excel at something like that.”
“I’m a little jealous that those guys get to do it again, man! I gotta be honest,” said Kazarian. “I know the guys going into this one are thinking that exact thing: they wanna steal the show. They wanna win the match. I would advise them to go out there and do their thing. Just throw caution to the wind, but at the same time don’t be too reckless.”
“For a lot of our locker room,” said Eddie Edwards. “I think that we feel that every match and every pay-per-view, we wanna take another step above and beyond, and it’s accentuated with the Ultimate X match.”
“Obviously, you have to use your upper body strength to hang from that rope and then shimmy yourself across,” said DJZ. “That takes some upper body strength, that takes some serious core strength. So you do have to be in some type of athletic condition, I think to be successful in that type of a match.”