Tonight is a big night for Impact Wrestling. In real-time, the promotion will be in Mexico City for the first of two nights of television tapings. On television, Impact Wrestling will present the final show from their extended summer stay in Toronto’s Rebel nightclub.
From July 22nd to August 13th, Impact Wrestling held 5 nights of shows which produced 8 episodes of Impact television and one universally-praised pay-per-views.
Impact Wrestling 9/13 Preview
Update on Johnny Impact
The trio of Austin Aries, Moose, and Killer Kross took out Johnny Impact last week. After Johnny had declared he would be Austin Aries’ challenger at Bound for Glory, it didn’t take the champion long to try and take him out.
We will hear from Johnny Impact tonight and find out if he will be ready come Bound for Glory. It’s going to be a big few weeks for Johnny. His season of Survivor will hit the airwaves later this month.
The Lucha Brothers vs the Cult of Lee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH1QrsZS_LY&t=9s
While there may be rumors of Pentagon and Fenix possibly going to WWE in 2019, they will be in action on Impact Wrestling tonight. They are scheduled to go up against Trevor Lee and Caleb Konley in tag-team action.
Last week, the Lucha Bros extended an invite to Brian Cage to help them in their rivalry against Sami Callihan and oVe. Perhaps Cage and the trio from Ohio will be watching this match closely tonight.
Grado and Joe Hendry Have A Surprise For Katarina
Scarlett Bordeaux whispered something to Hendry and Grado and it doesn’t appear to be working out too well for Katarina. After Hendry and Grado lost to the Desi Hit Squad last week, Katarina belittled Grado and confessed her love for Hendry. Unfortunately for her, Hendry really does only feel platonic love for his best friend’s girl. He was upset at Katarina for attempting to kiss him.
Grado and Hendry will have some type of surprise for Katarina tonight.
Brian Cage vs Kongo Kong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8UnJg1nWPY
Recently we’ve seen Brian Cage tear through the X-Division. He defeated Matt Sydal for the title at Slammiversary and has since defended it twice, once against the Sydal and once against Fenix.
Tonight, however, Cage will be put in the ring with someone much larger than many of his X-Division opponents. It’s Monster vs Machine as Kongo Kong takes on Brian Cage in a non-title match.
LAX In Tag Team Action
A fictional crime boss has ordered the two factions into a ceasefire until Bound for Glory in New York. LAX will be in tag-team action tonight, however. It’s likely the OGZ won’t be too far away, however, as they prepare for the blowoff to this feud in New York.
Also in Impact News:
Bound For Glory is officially sold-out.
Night of the Dummies debuts on the Global Wrestling Network tomorrow.
Eli Drake vs Eddie Edwards
Moose vs KM
Sean Carr vs Brute Vanslyke
Z&E vs LAX
Homicide vs TBD
Wagner Brown vs Axel Lennox
Alisha Edwards vs Rebel
Fallah Bah vs Richard Justice
Scarlett Bordeaux was yesterday’s guest on the Impact media conference call.
Impact Wrestling presented another show from Toronto’s Rebel Nightclub last night. Next week’s episode will be the last of Impact’s 5 shows over a 22-day period in the city. In total, 8 episodes and 1 pay-per-view have taken place over the last couple of months from Toronto.
Impact heads to Manchester for a live show on Sunday and then they head to Mexico City for two nights of tapings next week.
Bound For Glory Main Event Revealed
Perhaps the biggest story coming out of Impact Wrestling this week is the confirmed main event for Bound for Glory. Johnny Impact interrupted Austin Aries’ promo time last night and informed the champion he will challenge for his belt in New York.
Aries, Moose, and Kross didn’t waste any time trying to soften up Johnny. The trio wrapped Johnny’s head around a steel chair and smashed it into the steel post.
Should Johnny still be able to make it to Bound for Glory, it would kick-start a big month for him. His season of Survivor begins airing in late September, he’ll challenge Aries on the 14th, and then sets sail with the Jericho cruise at the end of the month.
Konnan Returns To The Ring At Bound For Glory
Another match booked for Bound for Glory last night was the OGZ and King to face Konnan and LAX. A fictional crime boss ordered a ceasefire between the stables leading up to Bound for Glory.
The crime boss was upset a kid got run over as part of their rivalry and has ordered them to settle things once and for all at Bound for Glory.
Rich Swann Is Sick of Matt Sydal and His 3rd Eye
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUkKzGlYp7Y
Petey Williams defeated Rich Swann
Matt Sydal has been saying he would like to mentor Rich Swann. He appeared at the commentary booth during Swann vs Petey Williams this week.
Swann had defeated Petey Wiliams last week with a standing shooting star press but a rematch was ordered for tonight between the two X-Division stars. Williams picked up the win after Sydal distracted Swann, allowing him to hit the Canadian Destroyer.
Swann and Sydal were seen arguing in the back later.
Allie and Kiera Hogan Rescued Tessa Blanchard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBO8vT3OEB8
Knockouts Championship Tessa Blanchard (c) defeated Su Yung
Tessa Blanchard solidified her spot at the top of the Knockouts division this week when she pinned former champion, Su Yung clean. After the match, however, Yung’s army of undead brides eerily marched a coffin onto the entrance ramp.
With Blanchard distracted, Yung attacked and hit her with the Panic Switch. As Yung was about to lock Blanchard in the coffin, however, Allie and Kiera Hogan came to the rescue. Allie has promised she won’t let Su Yung lock anyone else in a coffin.
After being rescued, Blanchard did not seem pleased with Allie or Hogan. Blanchard said she can take care of things by herself.
Brian Cage To Team With The Lucha Bros
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH1QrsZS_LY
The Lucha Bros cut a promo in the back. They sent a message to Brian Cage that if he really wanted to know what it felt like to cause Sami Callihan and oVe pain, then he should team up with them.
Previously, Cage saved Pentagon and Fenix from a 3-on-2 beatdown from the Ohio-based wrestlers.
Katarina Does Not Understand What Platonic Means
The Desi Hit Squad defeated Joe Hendry & Grado
Before the Desi Hit Squad defeated Joe Hendry and Grado last night, Hendry debuted a new music video. This video was a tribute to the platonic love he feels for his buddy’s girlfriend, Katarina.
After the Desi Hit Squad defeated her team, however, Katarina cut a promo on Grado. She said he was always losing and then said she was in love with Hendry. She kissed Hendry but the Prestigious One was having none of it. He loudly questioned if Katarina knew what “platonic” meant.
Grado and Hendry were shown in the back later. It seems Grado really appreciated Hendry being a good friend to him. Wrestling loves good friends!
Eli Drake’s Great Adventure and “Night of the Dummies”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnRcY8itQtA
Eli Drake defeated Stone Rockwell
Eli Drake held another “Open Challenge” this week. This brought out local wrestler, Stone Rockwell. The man of adventure was quickly dispatched by Drake, however, after being attacked from behind before the bell.
Drake’s themed One Night Only pay-per-view “Night of the Dummies” will premiere on the Global Wrestling Network on September 14th. The lineup for the show is below:
Eli Drake vs Eddie Edwards
Moose vs KM
Sean Carr vs Brute Vanslyke
Z&E vs LAX
Homicide vs TBD
Wagner Brown vs Axel Lennox
Alisha Edwards vs Rebel
Fallah Bah vs Richard Justice
Impact Wrestling At MediaCon
On Sunday, Sami Callihan will bring a barbed wire baseball bat into a match with the famed UK-hardcore wrestler, Jimmy Havoc.
The show will air live on Twitch. Here is the lineup:
Impact Wrestling Tag Team Championships
LAX (c) vs Jody Fleisch & Jonny Storm
Barbed Wire Baseball Bat Death Match
Sami Callihan vs Jimmy Havoc
Eli Drake vs Joe Hendry
Su Yung vs Lana Austin
Rich Swann vs Matt Sydal vs Trevor Lee
Quick Results:
Petey Williams defeated Rich Swann
the Desi Hit Squad defeated Joe Hendry & Grado
Eli Drake defeated Stone Rockwell
Knockouts Championship
Tessa Blanchard (c) defeated Su Yung
Sami Callihan & oVe defeated Zack Wentz, Trey Miguel, & Ace Austin
Bound for Glory (October 14th)
Impact World Championship
Austin Aries (c) vs Johnny Impact
Impact Wrestling presented a special branded show “Impact ReDefined” tonight. The show featured two championship matches and one main event caliber tag-team match featuring the Impact World Champion, Austin Aries.
Tonight’s show was the 2nd from the August 12th, 2018 taping out of Toronto’s Rebel Nightclub.
Here are 9 Takeaways from Impact ReDefined:
Tessa Blanchard Is The New Knockouts Champion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tx0u7DnXBk
Knockouts Championship Tessa Blanchard defeated Allie and Su Yung (c) – Title Change
When Tessa Blanchard made her first appearance for Impact Wrestling at the Redemption pay-per-view, she was portrayed as a blue-chip prospect. In the months since Blanchard has shown she is one of the best women’s wrestlers on the planet.
While Blanchard came out the winner, the story this match told actually favored Allie right up to the very end. It was Allie who got the initial first bit of offense in the match and it was Allie who broke up Su Yung’s mandible claw on Blanchard near the end of the match. Shortly after this, Allie hit a codebreaker on Yung but Blanchard rolled her up, grabbed Allie’s tights, and won the title.
The Weapon X Division Continues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Gd6HyxjZxw
X-Division Championship Brian Cage (c) defeated Fenix – (2nd title defense)
Tonight’s episode started off with a 20-minute opening match that was as good as anything you’ll see on television this year. Cage dominated the match early but Fenix got back into things when he hit a rolling cutter on the entrance ramp.
Fenix reversed both Weapon X and a discus clothesline, something Don Callis made a point of mentioning on commentary. Rather than attempt one of the two moves which had already been reversed, Cage chose to give his opponent a powerbomb from the top rope instead and got the victory as a result.
After the match, oVe and Sami Callihan attacked Fenix and Pentagon. Although he initially hesitated, Cage sprinted back to the ring and took out Fenix’s attackers to close the segment.
Moose Aligns With Austin Aries
Austin Aries & Killer Kross vs Eddie Edwards & Moose – No Contest
In a shocking heel turn, Moose delivered a spear to his partner during the night’s main event.
Moose had been shown beaten up in the back so it looked as though Edwards would be forced to take on both Aries and Killer Kross by himself. After Edwards started the match by himself, Moose hit the ring with his head all in bandages. At the same time, it looked as though Kross had double-crossed Aries as he jumped off the apron and looked like he was refusing to tag. Moose then attacked Edwards, however, and the 3 men reveled in their clever ruse.
Austin Aries now has both Killer Kross and Moose working to protect his Impact World Championship reign.
The Kid Isn’t Dead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pcOBq8wpW4
Following Slammiversary there have been a couple of complaints about Impact Wrestling which I’ve received. Some fans were not happy that a kid was shown run over by a car last week. These fans tend to feel the segment went too far while other fans are willing to put the angle into the same category as a Lucha Underground or Total Deletion styled scene.
What may have also thrown people off was that last week Don Callis and Josh Mathews reacted to the scene. In Lucha Underground, the idea is the commentators do not see all the over-the-top scenes and are then not in a position where they have to respond. It’s a little disturbing to the 4th wall to have a commentary team acting like the promotion’s tag-team division is running over children as part of their rivalry.
Regardless, a clear message was sent by the commentary team this week that the kid is not dead. Both Konnan and King received phone calls in their respective segments that caused them to leave immediately.
Throughout the show, fans were shown commercials for Impact’s upcoming show in Manchester on September 9th. The show will air live and for free on Twitch.
The main event will be a hardcore wrestling fan’s dream as Sami Callihan takes Jimmy Havoc in a Barbed Wire Baseball Bat Deathmatch.
The rest of the card is as follows:
Impact Wrestling Tag Team Championships
LAX (c) vs Jody Fleisch & Jonny Storm
Barbed Wire Baseball Bat Death Match
Sami Callihan vs Jimmy Havoc
Eli Drake vs Joe Hendry
Su Yung vs Lana Austin
Rich Swann vs Matt Sydal vs Trevor Lee
Matt Sydal Wants To Mentor Rich Swann
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj1xcHwxJew
Rich Swann defeated Petey Williams
Last week, Rich Swann told Alicia Atout he wanted to win the X-Division title. It’s a title Swann has been dreaming about his whole career. Unfortunately for Swann, the title belt is currently in the Weapon X division.
Swann defeated Williams via standing shooting star press after the two had exchanged pinning combinations. Callis suggested that Williams is too reliant on the Canadian Destroyer.
In the back, former X-Division Champion Matt Sydal offered to mentor Swann and seemed to go frustrated when Swann was not interested in his offer.
Scarlett Bordeaux Whispered Something To Grado
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC1ssMng-3w
After KM and Fallah Bah visited the Smoke Show a couple of weeks ago, the team turned things around by beating the Desi Hit Squad. This week, Grado, Joe Hendry, and Katarina were her guests.
Bordeaux whispered something to Grado which seemed to have quite the impact on him. After some hijinx ensued it was clear that whatever she whispered to Grado will do something to get in between Katarina and her boys.
In addition to the upcoming Twitch special taking place a week from Sunday, Impact presents a One Night Only pay-per-view which debuts on the Global Wrestling Network on Friday night. The streaming service also features the video libraries of Destiny Wrestling, World Series Wrestling, Smash, and several other independent promotions from around the world.
The lineup for the show is as follows:
Petey Williams vs Michael Elgin
The Desi Hit Squad vs OVE
KC Spinelli vs Kiera Hogan
Steel Cage:
Josh Alexander vs Sami Callihan
Tessa Blanchard vs Gisel Shaw
Eli Drake Beat Some Dummies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec_8g5a2yOE
Eli Drake beat both Brandon Tidwell and Mr. Atlantis this week. The two local Toronto wrestlers had defeated the Cult of Lee last week.
Speaking of Eli Drake, another Impact Wrestling One Night Only pay-per-view was filmed recently. “Night of the Dummies” does not have a release date yet but will air on the Global Wrestling Network in the near future.
The lineup for that show is as follows:
Eli Drake vs Eddie Edwards
Moose vs KM
Sean Carr vs Brute Vanslyke
Z&E vs LAX
Homicide vs TBD
Wagner Brown vs Axel Lennox
Alisha Edwards vs Rebel
Fallah Bah vs Richard Justice
Impact Wrestling “Impact ReDefined” Quick Results:
X-Division Championship
Brian Cage (c) defeated Fenix – (2nd Title Defense)
Knockouts Championship
Tessa Blanchard defeated Allie and Su Yung (c) – Title Change
Eli Drake defeated Brandon Tidwell
Rich Swann defeated Petey Williams
Austin Aries & Killer Kross vs Eddie Edwards & Moose – No Contest
Impact Wrestling airs a special branded episode tonight. “Impact ReDefined” will feature two championship matches and a main event caliber tag-team match with Austin Aries and Killer Kross facing Eddie Edwards and Moose.
Tonight’s episode was filmed August 12th, 2018 at Rebel Nightclub in Toronto.
Impact ReDefined Preview
Knockouts Championship Triple Threat Su Yung (c) vs Tessa Blanchard vs Allie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIudo0FmZSM
Tonight’s the night. Tessa Blanchard gets her first crack at the Knockouts Championship since arriving in the company. She took a rather odd route to get here, however.
Blanchard was knocked out of title contention for Slammiversary after suffering two losses to Madison Rayne via clever pinning combination. She bounced back by beating former champion, Allie, in a single’s match on the PPV, however. Allie then defeated the champion, Su Yung, in a non-title match, which then put her in title contention despite her earlier loss to Blanchard.
Allie says she only wanted to face Yung to prevent the Bloody Undead Bride from putting any more Knockouts in coffins. Blanchard says Allie was just trying to weasel her way into a title shot. The result is tonight’s triple threat and the toughest test yet for Su Yung’s reign.
X-Division Championship Brian Cage (c) vs Fenix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FqwN-6bAWU
Cage will look for his second defense of the X-Division title tonight against Fenix. The popular luchador just won the AAA Mega Championship in Mexico and will be looking to add the X-Division title to his list of accomplishments.
Brian Cage was this week’s guest on the Impact media conference call. He spoke about the importance of the X-Division title to him and the promotion.
“I want to make the X-Division so awesome and so entertaining,” Cage said on the call. “That the world title becomes option C because I have option A.”
I asked Cage if he feels he can bring the X-Division title to a level of prominence where it feels on-par with the world title.
“Absolutely,” Cage answered. “I think that’s going to be through the quality and the entertainment and the matches set going forward.”
Cage will look to keep ushering in the “Weapon X” era of the division tonight.
Moose & Eddie Edwards vs Austin Aries & Killer Kross
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2waSNkkMqc
Eddie Edwards has been spiraling as of late. The return of his old friend Moose evens up the odds in his rivalry with the Impact World Champion, however.
For two weeks in a row, Aries and his new ally, Killer Kross, have gotten the better of Edwards. They even cost Edwards the Impact World Championship. Now with Moose back by his side, however, Edwards is in prime position to get his revenge.
The Smoke Show with Scarlett Bordeaux Guests: Joe Hendry, Katarina, and Grado
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCTXB7NEwtk
So far, Scarlett Bordeaux’s advice has worked out great for Fallah Bah and KM. The comedic team scored a victory over the Desi Hit Squad last week after Bordeaux advised KM to start doing things Bah’s way.
Tonight’s guests on the Smoke Show are Joe Hendry, Grado, and Katarina. Perhaps Bourdeaux will help the trio navigate through what appears to be a platonic and non-platonic love triangle.
Rich Swann vs Petey Williams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m__UL61TzU&t=15s
Last week on Impact Wrestling, Rich Swann told Alica Atout that it is his goal to capture the X-Division Championship.
“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,” Swann said.
If Swann wants to join the ranks of those who have held X-Division gold, he’ll likely have to defeat a former champion in Petey Wiliams tonight.
Aries discussed the differences between working in WWE and IMPACT Wrestling. Since leaving WWE last year, Aries has returned to great success on the indies. He currently holds several titles from different promotions. Of course, the most prominent of the bunch is his IMPACT World Title.
Why Aries Doesn’t Watch Much Pro Wrestling
During the episode, Aries noted that he doesn’t watch much professional wrestling anymore. He said that today’s product is more geared towards a young audience and it doesn’t appeal to him:
“I really don’t watch a lot of wrestling. I really don’t. People are surprised that I don’t. There was a time that I really loved pro wrestling, but I’m not a pro wrestling junkie, per se,” Aries said.
“I don’t have a lot of free time with the amount of traveling that I do, but most of pro wrestling isn’t catered to me. I am not a kid.
“There are a lot of guys that complain to me about the product, but it’s like, well, you are not a kid. It is catered to sell t-shirts and merchandise to kids and their parents.
“That is why with some of the things that we are doing at Impact Wrestling and other places there are more of a resurgence to more of an adult-orientated version of pro wrestling because that is what is missing for a long time,” he continued.
“Maybe, there is something we can do at Impact Wrestling that some corporate companies don’t want to touch. I think that there is a lot of people that miss what pro wrestling can give them too.
“I don’t watch a ton of it, I watch enough to see what is going on, I think it is also good to not be watching it because your ideas are your ideas.”
Discussion: What do you make of Aries’ comments on why he doesn’t watch much wrestling anymore? Sound off in the comments!
This past Thursday’s edition of IMPACT Wrestling, featuring the ‘Belt Collector’ Austin Aries retaining his World Heavyweight Championship in a main event victory over Eddie Edwards drew a total of 168,000 viewers.
This is down from last week’s 248,000 viewers and sets a new low viewership score for 2018, a record that is second only to their December 14th episode, which drew 161,000 viewers.
Impact ranked #127 on the Cable Top 150 this week, with last week’s slotting in at #138. This number will undoubtedly be disappointing for IMPACT Wrestling, who have seemingly been riding a wave of recent good-will coming off the back of their Slammiversary XVI event.
Recent reports have indicated that current reigning IWGP Intercontinental Champion and sure-fire WWE Hall of Famer Chris Jericho may well be heading to the company in the near future. Could this be the answer to IMPACT’s fall in their viewership? It is difficult to assess the drawing power of Jericho who, whilst still performing at a top level across the globe, is not perhaps a star on the level of Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy who themselves did not make much of a difference to weekly ratings, at least over the entirety of their runs in TNA.
Are you watching IMPACT week to week? Let us know in the comments
Thea Trinidad, who now goes by Zelina Vega in the WWE, has wrestled worldwide and made a name for herself in the world of professional wrestling.
Trinidad has made it known through her social media that she was in a relationship with Austin Aries at one point but it seems the nature of their relationship has come to light.
While Trinidad did not disclose when the couple broke up, she has confirmed that she’s moved on and does not want to be associated with Aries.
Role In WWE
While many remembered her as Rosita in TNA, Trinidad always dreamed to wrestle for the WWE and that dream came true when she got signed last year with the company. When she arrived on NXT she was put into a manager role managing Adrande Cien Almas throughout their NXT run.
Currently, Trinidad and Almas are on Smackdown Live in which they are in a feud with Rusev, Lana, and Aiden English. Trinidad has wrestled Lana twice in the past couple of weeks where she was victorious in both bouts.
It was a big night on Impact Wrestling last night. Eddie Edwards would challenge for the title against Austin Aries. Matt Sydal took on Pentagon Jr and Sami Callihan descended further into madness.
Here are 8 Takeaways from Impact Wrestling 8/9:
Taiji Ishimori and Petey Williams Impact’s Newest Team?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUHuFdwQ34g
Two weeks ago on Impact Wrestling, Taiji Ishimori and Petey Williams were opponents. Ishimori defeated Williams on the first episode following Slammiversary last month. The two former X-Division champions showed each other respect after the match but were then attacked by the Great Gama Singh’s Desi Hit Squad.
This week on Impact, Ishimori and Williams teamed up and defeated Rohit Raju and Gursinder Singh. Is this the start of a new and successful tag-team?
One thing that is for sure is that the Desi Hit Squad has angered their manager, the Great Gama Singh.
Tessa Blanchard Wants the Knockouts Title, Allie Just Wants Su Yung
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scZFsMEYPiY
This week on Impact Wrestling, Allie sent a message to Su Yung that her time has come. Allie challenged Yung to a match next week but this did not sit too well with Tessa Blanchard.
Blanchard defeated Alisha Edwards this week and then cut a promo on Allie after the match. She said Allie was just trying to weasel her way into a Knockouts title match and didn’t actually care about Su Yung’s reign of terror being ended. Blanchard then said if Allie was going to wrestle Su Yung next week, she’ll be there too.
We spoke with Blanchard earlier in the day, and she stressed to us how important winning the Knockouts Championship is to her.
“My main goal in Impact Wrestling is the Knockouts Championship,” Blanchard said with confidence.
“Because having that championship means you are the best.”
“I’m confident I am the uncrowned champion because I am the best women’s wrestler in Impact Wrestling,” she continued.
Scarlett Bordeaux’s “the Smokeshow” Talk Show Debuts Next Week
Scarlett Bordeaux not only has Bobo wrapped around her finger but the whole Impact management team.
The easily manipulated management team then caved to Scarlett’s wishes and announced she will have her own talk show segment “the Smoke Show” debuting next week.
Before the match, Sydal spoke about how even though he isn’t the champion anymore, he still has the spirit of an X-Division Champion inside of him.
It wouldn’t help him this week, however, Pentagon defeated him with a package piledriver in a match which any other week would have been the main event.
Sami Callihan Wants oVe to Look Like A Family
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkx7mEle9kc
Callihan continued to spiral out of control this week. After Pentagon defeated Sydal, Callihan and oVe appeared on the big screen. Callihan said he was sick of all the losing they’ve been doing as of late. He then forced Jake Crist to shave the head of Dave Crist so they would look more like a family.
King Challenges Konnan and LAX To A Street Fight
“We’re like scarecrows: Out-standing in our field” – Konnan
King and Konnan had an interesting back and forth this week, as they tend to do.
After an at times hilarious debate between the two, it was decided that this battle would be taken to the streets. A street fight between the two factions was agreed to before the segment ended.
Next Week Johnny Impact Gets “the Monster”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44ecq5OJV04
Last week on Impact, Johnny Impact punched Jacobs in the mouth and demanded a chance for revenge against Kongo Kong.
This week on Impact, Jimmy Jacobs delivered a message to Johnny. He said he’s a good guy and was just trying to give Johnny fair warning last week.
“You want the monster, you got the monster,” Jacobs warned. “Johnny, be careful. I am the monster.”
Killer Kross Is Aligned With Austin Aries
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZerVEuPtYCU
It looked as though Eddie Edwards was going to win the Impact World Championship. What we didn’t know going into the match was that Aries had an insurance policy all along.
With the referee down, Killer Kross came to ringside and took out Edwards, allowing Aries to pick up the win. The champion and his back-up celebrated in the ring to close the show.
Quick Results:
Taiji Ishimori & Petey Williams defeated the Desi Hit Squad
Tessa Blanchard defeated Alisha Edwards
Pentagon Jr. defeated Matt Sydal
Impact World Championship
Austin Aries (c) defeated Eddie Edwards
Impact Wrestling is back on POP tonight. The show will also be available tomorrow on-demand for subscribers to the Global Wrestling Network.
Eddie Edwards will challenge Austin Aries for the Impact World Championship tonight. Another former Impact World Champion will also be in action as Pentagon Jr takes on Matt Sydal.
Impact Wrestling 8/9 Preview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83GthIHgvTQ
Impact World Championship
Austin Aries (c) vs Eddie Edwards
Eddie Edwards has spiraled out of control ever since his feud with Sami Callihan. His obsession with his rival has caused Edwards to jeopardize his marriage and career. Tonight, however, Edwards has a chance to win the Impact World Championship.
The former GHC Heavyweight Champion will have a tough task tonight, however. Austin Aries has been a fighting champion since winning the belt earlier this year. Edwards may represent his most significant test yet, however.
Konnan’s LAX Is Waiting To Attack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7_f7ETfWr4
Last week on Impact, Konnan pulled back Santana and Ortiz after they attacked the OGZ. LAX looked to have the upper hand in the melee but Konnan withdrew his troops and later claimed the OGZ were setting a trap.
Konnan then told his team they need to wait for the right time to get their revenge and take back their property, the Impact tag-team titles. Is that time tonight? We’ll find out in just a few hours.
Alisha Edwards vs Tessa Blanchard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-S0fKEaIqw
Alisha Edwards returns to the ring tonight. She better hope her marriage problems with Eddie Edwards aren’t occupying her thoughts, however. Any weakness will be exploited by her opponent Tessa Blanchard.
Aside from two losses via pinning combination to the veteran Madison Rayne, Blanchard is undefeated in Impact Wrestling. She will look to move closer to a Knockouts Championship match by beating Edwards tonight. Last week, Blanchard was quite upset that Allie was being positioned for a title shot after being Su Yung in tag action. Blanchard defeated the hometown favorite Allie at Slammiversary.
The Desi Hit Squad vs Taiji Ishimori & Petey Wiliams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ugd3NOGAtE&t=9s
Two weeks ago on Impact Wrestling, the Desi Hit Squad attacked Taiji Ishimori and Petey Williams after their single’s match. Ishimori defeated Williams but after the bout, the Great Gama Singh ordered his disciples to take out the X-Division wrestlers.
The Desi Hit Squad have been winning their matches through under-handed tactics or clever tag-team wrestling as of late. They will have their biggest test yet when they face two former X-Division Champions tonight.
Matt Sydal vs Pentagon Jr.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JflTo5tli0I&t=10s
Last week, Matt Sydal said the X-Division Championship is no longer his destiny. The X-Division title, he said, chose Brian Cage. Now, Sydal must follow a new path.
As for Pentagon, he comes into this match knowing Sami Callihan will be watching and waiting.
On August 19th, 2018, WWE will present SummerSlam. Just hours beforehand, however, Impact Wrestling will team up with Next Generation Wrestling and present a live show from Knoxville, TN to air on Twitch.
The SummerSlam preshow will likely get underway at 6 pm whereas bell-time in Knoxville is 4 pm.
Hoodrich vs Moose (provided Moose is medically cleared after suffering a concussion at Slammiversary)
Joey Ryan vs Eli Drake
Matt Cross vs Sami Callihan
Menace & AR Fox vs Rich Swann & Matt Sydal
Nicole Pain vs Knockouts Champion, Su Yung
Lenny Stratton vs Eddie Edwards
Trevor Lee vs Myron Reed
Impact Wrestling Twitch Specials
Uncivil War will take place just days after Impact will film 4 episodes over the course of 2 nights in Toronto’s Rebel Nightclub on the 12th and 13th. Following Uncivil War, Impact will head to Binghamton New York for a One Night Only show titled “Night of the Dummies” on August 25th.
Also on the 25th of August, many of Impact Wrestling’s stars will be in Mississauga, ON for a joint-show with Anthony Carelli’s Destiny Wrestling. Sami Callihan and Josh Alexander are being advertised for the show in Mississauga whereas Moose and Eli Drake are the featured stars for the show in Binghamton.
Finally, Impact Wrestling’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view takes place October 14th in the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, NY. Several members of Impact’s roster will then set sail on Chris Jericho’s cruise not long after.
Impact Wrestling’s second episode since Slammiversary aired last night. It was the 2nd episode of the 12 which will air before Bound for Glory on October 14th, 2018.
Impact has two more shows from the recent Toronto tapings before they film 4 more episodes from Rebel Nightclub on August 12th and 13th.
Here are 9 Takeaways From Impact Wrestling 8/2
Allie Pinned the Knockouts Champion & Tessa Blanchard Was Not Happy About It
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch_PdL4gfT4
Last week on Impact Wrestling, Allie said she was going after Su Yung to make sure she never locked anyone in a coffin again. Kiera Hogan volunteered to help her in this task as well.
This week Allie and Hogan teamed up to take on Yung and an Undead Bridesmaid in tag action. Yung gave the Panic Switch to Hogan but the momentum knocked the Girl on Fire out of the ring. Allie then hit a codebreaker on Yung and pinned her for the win.
A win over the champion often puts the wrestler in a position to challenge for the title but Allie lost a match at Slammiversary to Tessa Blanchard. Perhaps this was what Blanchard was thinking about when she attacked Allie after the match.
Blanchard cut a backstage promo afterward stating that Allie was trying to weasel her way into a title shot by taking on Yung under the premise of wanting to protect others from the Undead Bride’s actions.
Ortiz Was Going To Hit Homicide With An Ax!
After King’s OGZ won a squash match against two local competitors, they cut a promo running down LAX, believing Konnan and company were still on the shelf. Santana, Ortiz, and Konnan rushed the ring, however, and took out the OGZ.
Things took a bit of a turn when Ortiz brought out an ax and looked to strike Homicide with it. This brought out additional security and Konnan separated his boys from the fight. Konnan told them in the back that timing is everything and when the timing is right the OGZ will “kiss the ring.”
Ortiz and Santana were this week’s guests on the Impact media call. We asked them what it’s like to go from watching LAX as teenagers 11 years ago to being LAX now in Impact.
“LAX has been something we’ve watched since when we were kids,” Santana said. “The fact that two Latinos out there not like playing a gimmick but being them and being proud of who they are and what they represent.”
KM & Fallah Ball Aren’t On The Same Page (The Desi Hit Squad Are)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ugd3NOGAtE
Impact was telling two stories this week when the Desi Hit Squad defeated the team of KM and Fallah Bah.
The first story was how the Great Gama Singh is guiding Rohit Raju and Gursinder Singh to being an old-school heel-style tag-team. They win their matches either through clever tag-team work or dirty under-handed tactics.
The second story is the team of KM and Fallah Bah not being on the same page. KM had been trying to teach Fallah when to distract the referee but evidently, Bah’s not the greatest student. Fallah tried to enter the ring when KM was in control of the match. KM tried to tell him “this isn’t when you distract the ref!” but the distraction allowed the Desi Hit Squad to hit a combination knee to the face and a flatliner for the win.
Johnny Impact Is Looking For Kongo Kong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDF6oXqJDN8
“You know, for a big guy, Kongo Kong is a pretty hard guy to find these days,” Impact said to Alicia Atout.
Jimmy Jacobs interrupted his interview and looked to begin a promo when Johnny just wound up and punched him in the mouth. He let Jacobs know he wants Kongo Kong and he doesn’t appear to be playing around on this one.
Eddie Edwards Will Challenge Austin Aries For the Impact World Championship Next Week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQW6q6vYgbE
Austin Aries defeated Dustin Cameron this week via corner stoppage. The champion had the challenger beaten but opted not to pin him in favor of giving him another brainbuster. That’s when Anthony Carelli threw in the towel to prevent his Battle Arts Academy student from taking any more punishment.
After the match Carelli kicked Aries in the groin, causing the champion to stumble back on the entrance ramp. That’s where he was greeted by Eddie Edwards and a Singapore cane. Edwards hit him with the cane but Aries was able to escape before receiving more punishment.
Josh Matthews then announced Edwards will face Aries next week for the Impact World Championship.
Scarlett Bordeaux Really Had An Impact on Bobo
Alicia Atout was not assigned to interview Scarlett Bordeaux this week. Atout was likely not impressed at how she was treated by Bordeaux last week.
Instead of Atout, a guy named Bob was given the task of interviewing Bordeaux. He was left a little tongue-tied by Bordeaux’s antics. After dismissing who Josh Matthews thought was a horribly aged Jeremy Borash, Bordeaux reminded us she plans to bring sexy back to wrestling.
“I think that people will be pleasantly surprised as we move forward,” Callis said. “She’s actually a very good wrestler and I think it got people talking in a good way.”
Eli Drake and Trevor Lee defeated Grado and Joe Hendry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39dkwMbFQ60
Drake pinned Grado after giving him the Gravy Train this week. Grado was distracted by the actions of Joe Hendry and Katarina on the outside. Katarina was getting into an argument with Caleb Konley and Hendry was restraining her.
There was more speculation from Callis and Matthews at commentary that Hendry and Katarina have something going on behind Grado’s back.
Matt Sydal Accepts Losing the X-Division Championship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JflTo5tli0I
“The X-Division championship chose him,” Sydal said. “Who am I to question what that belt has done with itself? Because its history speaks for itself. I’m really proud of all the time I put in as X-Division Champion.”
He would continue to say his loss to Brian Cage taught him something. He said he still has much to learn and still needs to go deeper into his consciousness and “question everything”. The X-Division title was once his destiny but not anymore.
The Lucha Bros Took Out oVe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d50dB48baXw
In an exciting main event, Pentagon Jr and Fenix fended off outside interference from Sami Callihan and repeated unmasking attempts in order to get the victory over oVe this week.
Sami Callihan has responded to having his head shaved by descending further into madness. His minions from Ohio losing to Pentagon and Fenix isn’t going to help that situation at all.
Callihan’s attempt at revenge was thwarted this week but he likely isn’t finished with Pentagon or Fenix.
Impact 8/2 Quick Results:
Allie & Kiera Hogan defeated Su Yung & An Undead Bridesmaid
The OGZ (Homicide & Hernandez) defeated 2 Local Competitors
The Desi Hit Squad defeated KM & Fallah Bah
Impact World Championship
Austin Aries (c) defeated Dustin Cameron via corner stoppage
Eli Drake & Trevor Lee defeated Grado & Joe Hendry
The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr & Fenix) defeated oVe (Jake & Dave Crist)
Matches scheduled for next week:
Impact World Championship
Austin Aries (c) vs Eddie Edwards
Impact Wrestling returns tonight. The show tonight will be the second from Rebel Nightclub in Toronto.
Impact Wrestling spent the two days following Slammiversary taping matches in the venue. The promotion returns to Rebel Nightclub on the 13th and 14th for more tapings.
Impact Wrestling 8/2 Preview
Impact World Championship
Austin Aries (c) vs Dustin Cameron
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfwvgfD3TIE
Last week on Impact, Aries and Anthony Carelli got into a backstage argument. One of Carelli’s students, Dustin Cameron, was on-hand and somehow got himself an Impact World title match during the confrontation.
That match takes place tonight.
Update From King and the OGZ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8lJYnxdzk&t=11s
According to King, Konnan and LAX may have won a battle at Slammiversary but they didn’t win the war. King explained last week that Konnan and LAX put their guard down after winning the 5150 Street Fight and thus allowed the OGZ to steal their title belts.
The OGZ also tagged the belts which in their world, means they own them.
Allie & Kiera Hogan vs Su Yung & An Undead Bridesmaid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrJRSCTlMQk&t=13s
Tag-team action in the Knockouts division this week as Allie and Kiera Hogan team up to take on Su Yung and one of her undead brides. Last week, Allie said she wouldn’t let Su Yung lock anyone else inside a coffin and Kiera Hogan showed up to offer her support.
Last week, the Desi Hit Squad attacked Taiji Ishimori and Petey Williams after their opening match. This week Rohit Raju and Gursinder Singh will be in tag action with the Great Gama Sing at ringside.
The Lucha Bros vs oVe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrxTLmFXFRc
Last week we saw Sami Callihan descend further into madness after having his head-shaved by Pentagon Jr. Callihan had a rather unpleasant interaction with a person while at a men’s urinal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3BzjT4oRxs&t=16s
Tonight the Lucha Bros will take on the Crist brothers, who both had their arms broken recently. Where oVe is, Sami Callihan is sure to follow.
Impact Wrestling airs tonight on POP TV at 8PM. Replays can be seen on the Global Wrestling Network.
IMPACT Wrestling star Moose has seen a fair amount of success since joining the professional wrestling world.
The former football player comes off an unsuccessful title bid against Austin Aries at last week’s IMPACT Slammiversary pay-per-view (PPV). Recently, Moose spoke with Wrestling Inc. to talk about the transition from football to wrestling.
Moose (real name Quinn Ojinnaka) is a former NFL offensive lineman that has played for teams such as the Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, St. Louis Rams and Indianapolis Colts.
The lifelong professional wrestling fan admitted that the transition actually wasn’t that hard:
“Honestly it wasn’t hard at all,” Moose said. “When you have a passion to do something, everything that comes along that journey is easy. So I had a strong passion to become a professional wrestler so everything came easy.”
Moose also talks about hating his in-ring name at first and his favorite era of professional wrestling. Read the full interview here.
– Moose suffered a concussion during Sunday’s Impact World Championship Match at Slammiversary against Austin Aries, IMPACT Wrestling announced Friday.
As a result, Moose will not wrestle at Sunday’s Confrontation LIVE event in Greensboro, North Carolina. He was advertised to face Jaxon Stone at the show, which IMPACT Wrestling is co-promoting with AML Wrestling.
IMPACT adds, “We will provide updates as they become available.”
In the main event, Moose came up short to Aries as the former 205 Live star connected with a second Brain Buster to win the match and retain the Impact World Championship.
After weeks of mysterious vignettes, Bordeaux made her IMPACT Wrestling debut last Thursday. Calling herself “The Smoke Show” during an interview with Alicia Atout, she vows to make wrestling “sexy again.”
Impact Wrestling presented their first show since Sunday’s Slammiversary last night. The venue was again Toronto’s Rebel nightclub.
We also got a rematch from Slammiversary last night. Former X-Division Champion, Matt Sydal, cashed in his rematch clause or rather, as he put it, the title itself cashed in the rematch clause.
Actually, the X-Division Championship itself invoked the rematch clause. I’m simply flowing with the natural order of things. Nature seeks homeostasis, the X-Division Championship seeks me. ????
Don’t look at Sami Callihan’s head. Don’t laugh at him and don’t make fun of him. Even if you don’t, he’ll probably think you did, however.
Callihan has become unhinged (more so) since Pentagon Jr. cut off his hair at Slammiversary.
This week we saw Callihan lose it on a guy in the urinal next to him. Callihan thought the guy was laughing at him so he and oVe beat him up and shaved his head in the washroom.
Pentagon delivered this promo later in the show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDlE8bJREVs
Austin Aries Has 2 New Challengers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fidMR6tfspY
When Austin Aries gave his Championship Address last night on Impact, much of what he said applied to both himself as champion and Impact Wrestling as a promotion.
Aries talked about how in Impact Wrestling nobody hands them a script. In Impact they allow talent to be creative as opposed to just following directions. This was as much of an Impact Wrestling address to fans as it was Aries gloating over his victory.
Eddie Edwards attacked Aries from behind, signifying he wants in the mix for Aries’ world title.
He wouldn’t be the only person who would challenge Aries by the end of the night, however. Anthony Carrelli’s student, Dustin Quicksilver, challenged Aries in the back after the champion interrupted an interview with Carelli.
Don’t Hot-Shame Scarlett Bordeaux
Scarlett Bordeaux: “I want to be remembered as the greatest women’s activist of all time.”
Alicia Atout: “Like Susan B Anthony?”
Scarlett Bordeaux: “Ew. Like Marylyn Monroe. Or Cardi B.”
Bordeaux is a heel. She is the anti-hero in terms of female wrestlers being treated as athletes rather than models. She wants to bring sexy back to wrestling but will it be to the detriment of other Knockouts in the division?
King Says Konnan Didn’t Win The War
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8lJYnxdzk
We didn’t see LAX this week. Konnan and the tag champions are likely out of action for a week or two after the beating the OGz gave them after the match at Slammiversary. Even though LAX was victorious over the OGz, King and his crew beat up Konnan an the champs after the match was over.
King told Homicide and Hernandez that Konnan and LAX thought they won the war but they had only won a battle.
Tessa Blanchard Is A Very Good Professional Wrestler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpHyZuymLkU
News flash: Tessa Blanchard can wrestle. Her intense style is heavily influenced by old-school wrestling eras. The ones her father and step-father, Tully Blanchard and Magnum TA, made their names in.
We spoke to Blanchard in May about what has influenced her in-ring style.
“I have huge respect for the 4 Horsemen, all bias aside,” Blanchard said of her father’s old faction. “My Dad and Arn were one of the greatest tag-teams of all time.”
“I watch that era of professional wrestling for inspiration and to study tape,” Blanchard continued to say. “I want to portray that style through my work.”
She made quick work of Rebel this week, defeating her in the very nightclub which bears her name.
The Desi Hit Squad Attacked Taiji Ishimori and Petey Williams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itz2O9RKgV0
In the opening match, Taiji Ishimori defeated Petey Williams. After the two former X-Division Champions shook hands after the match, they were attacked by the Great Gama Singh’s Desi Hit Squad.
Gursinder Singh (Lance Storm Wrestling Academy graduate) and Rohit Raju delivered the beatdown while Gama Singh shouted instructions from outside the ring. It’s likely we see a tag match involving these four wrestlers sometime soon.
Johnny Impact Has Un-Finished Business With Kongo Kong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewywZm95Q4A
After Johnny Impact defeated Trevor Lee this week, he said his goal is to become Impact World Champion. He said he has some unfinished business to take care of first, however.
It was Kongo Kong who put Johnny out of action and now Johnny wants his revenge.
Allie and Kiera Hogan are Coming For Su Yung
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrJRSCTlMQk
In a backstage interview, Allie said her match with Blanchard distracted her from getting even with Su Yung. Allie says she is not going to let Su Yung lock any more wrestlers in coffins. Kiera Hogan then showed up to offer her support as well.
The Young Bucks vs the Motor City Machine Guns
The GWN moment of the week just so happened to be the Motor City Machine Guns vs Generation Me (aka the Young Bucks).
Alex Shelley has been making statements lately which seem to indicate he is not returning to the ring.
The X-Division Is In The Brian Cage Era
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWgWsjyhFUI
After an action-packed main event, Brian Cage once again hit the Drill Claw on Sydal. The victory gives Cage is first-ever title defense of the X-Division belt.
Cage has never been pinned and never submitted in Impact. If anyone can beat Cage for the title, they are going to have to do something no Impact wrestler on the roster has been able to do yet.
After Slammiversary, Cage posted the following to his Instagram account:
X-Division Championship
Brian Cage (c) vs Matt Sydal
After losing the X-Division championship on Sunday, Sydal will have a chance to win it back tonight.
At Slammiversary, Sydal missed a shooting star press (hitting his foot on the top rope) which allowed Cage to hit the Drill Claw for the win. How Sydal missed the shooting star press while having his 3rd eye open is still not entirely clear.
Tonight, Sydal claims it is not him who is asking for a rematch but rather the championship itself. He explained his comments recently on Twitter.
Actually, the X-Division Championship itself invoked the rematch clause. I’m simply flowing with the natural order of things. Nature seeks homeostasis, the X-Division Championship seeks me. ????
Johnny Impact returned to the company at Slammiversary following time away for reality television and matrimony commitments.
At Slammiversary, Impact pinned Fenix in the fatal 4-way match. The victory should vault the former title-challenger back up in the rankings. Tonight we will find out more about what comes next for Johnny.
The Chicago-based indie wrestler will make her Impact Wrestling debut tonight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqlFaCuEL1A
Fallout From Slammiversary
Impact Wrestling is also advertising tonight’s episode will see the fallout from numerous Slammiversary matches.
Su Yung is still Knockouts Champion and Madison Rayne is now locked in a coffin. King and the OGz stole the titles from LAX after losing to them at Slammiversary. Several Impact Wrestling storylines will be further developed tonight.
Austin Aries successfully defended his Impact World Championship against Moose at Slammiversary. Not long after, Aries sat down for an interview with Impact Vice President, Don Callis.
Callis hosts “Killin the Town” on the Podcast One Network and had the Impact Champion on as his guest this week. They discussed the reaction to Slammiversary, scripted promos, and Aries made some surprising comments about his time in WWE.
Aries mentioned that he hears from many fans who feel he was used poorly in WWE. He stated he doesn’t have the same opinion of his time in the company, however. According to him, it would have been unrealistic to expect his WWE run to have gone any different.
“Honestly, that was like the perfect run for me,” Aries said. “I don’t think anybody had any real plans for me, I came in on double-secret probation because of my attitude problems so everything was a test from day one, I don’t think they really saw me as anything much.”
While his time in the company was short, Aries did wrestle Neville for the Cruiserweight title at WrestleMania.
“I talked myself into WrestleMania on commentary because I got over with Vince doing that,” Aries continued. “He put me in WrestleMania. Then, you know, as things happen, sometimes you fall out of favor for different reasons…”
At this point, Callis chimed in to remind Aries he is aware of how these things sometimes work in WWE.
“I got in and got out and got exactly what I needed from it,” Aries said on his time in WWE. “It was a great experience, a great learning experience, I got those three letters on my resume which to some people means everything. I got my WrestleMania moment which cemented my legacy so to speak.”
Austin Aries and Don Callis on Slammiversary Reaction and Booking
Callis and Aries addressed comments by some who suggested the 3 hardcore matches on Slammiversary created a difficult scenario for the two men working the main event. Aries, however, feels that creative wrestling can always win over a crowd, even when that crowd has seen several high-spot or hardcore moves earlier in the show.
“Part of why it worked last night was creatively you guys allowed us to go out there and build this match using our own voice and our own story,” Aries said to Callis.
Aries and Callis also debated the decision to give Aries the clean victory on Sunday over Moose.
“When Scott and I came in here in January,” Callis said. “One of the things that we both felt very strongly about was clean finishes.”
“He’s the best wrestler in the world, he beat the guy with his finish,” Callis continued. “It’s an athletic contest, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
New episodes of Killin the Town are released every Tuesday through PodcastOne.
Last night at Slammiversary, Austin Aries defeated Moose to retain his Impact World Championship. Aries is the 5th most decorated champion in the title’s lineage, behind only Sting, Bobby Roode, Lashley, and Kurt Angle.
Aries is a 3x Impact World Champion and has held the title for 290+ plus days combined. He’s defended the title 6x since winning the belt back from Pentagon back in May.
Aries sent the following out on Twitter early this morning:
Austin Aries on Why He Returned To Impact Wrestling
Aries took part in a media call last week to help promote Slammiversary. During the call, he mentioned what is different in the promotion under the new management group.
“This time to me feels completely different,” Aries said. “There’s just a different energy and a different thought process.”
“I’ve been at odds with the company over the course of my career, I don’t think that’s a big secret,” Aries continued. “But I think the difference now why I’m back is because the people or the ideals that I had issues with are no longer there and attached to this.”
Austin Aries: Belt Collector
Aries currently holds the following championship belts:
Impact World Championship
WSW Heavyweight Title
DEFY 8xGP Title
He recently lost the IPW: UK World Title and the All England title for IPW: UK. Aries also lost the Defiant World Title back in April. He was the Impact Grand Champion earlier this year but opted to merge that belt with Impact World Title.
Austin Aries will defend his Impact World Championship tonight against Moose. Aries returned to the company this year and promptly won the World Title shortly after. In the half-year since Aries has been back in Impact, he has sung the praises of the new management team of Don Callis and Scott D’Amore.
On a recent Impact Wrestling media call, Aries suggested that the promotion provides a platform for wrestlers to be successful.
“I mean listen, if there’s a number of men and women over there (WWE) who feel they’re in a position where they’re spinning their wheels,” Aries said. “Or maybe not getting the opportunities they feel they earned that are immensely talented.”
“I’m not gonna name names,” he continued. “But I think anyone in that position who wants to better themselves, I think IMPACT Wrestling provides a platform at least that’s not gonna tie you down and lock you in and give you the opportunities to actually go and prove that.”
Aries has also been involved in a back-and-forth with DeAngelo Williams on Twitter. Williams appeared on a recent episode of Impact to update fans on Moose’s training. Aries attacked Williams during the segment, possibly due to Williams’ performance while on Aries’ fantasy football team:
$75, @DeAngeloRB? You cost me 10x that in fantasy football with your end of the game, week 16 fumble in 2015.
Aries also noted that the WWE roster is very large. There are only so many high-profile spots to go around, however, and some wrestlers might find there are more opportunities available to them outside the company.
“Listen, there’s a lot — they have a huge roster and there’s a lot of talent on there,” Aries continued. “There’s only so many spots and so many hours of television. So you know I’m sure there are people who feel like they’re getting left out or they’re not getting the shots that they want, and if they find themselves free and clear, it’s cool. There’s a nice vibrate professional landscape right now for people to go out and apply their craft.”
Slammiversary takes place tonight at 8 pm from the Rebel Nightclub Complex in Toronto, ON, Canada. The event will live on pay-per-view, available on the FITE app.
Impact Wrestling presented their go-home show before Slammiversary tonight. We are now just 3 days away from Slammiversary and one of the biggest nights in the promotion’s recent history.
Here are 9 takeaways from this week’s episode of Impact Wrestling.
“Besides being a sociopath, besides being a psychopath, besides being a narcissist,” Don Callis said tonight in reference to Killer Kross. “This man is also an accomplished wrestler.”
Kross ran through Petey Wiliams to open the show. He even toyed with his opponent during the match, releasing his Kross Jacket submission even though Williams was clearly unconscious.
“This guy is clinically psychotic, he’s a high-functioning sociopath,” Callis continued to say about Kross. “He’s a very successful guy but does he have a plan? Or is it random violence? That’s the scary part.”
Killer Kross isn’t booked for Slammiversary but seems poised to do big things in the following two days of television tapings.
Real name, Kevin Kross, he was the 2018 recipient of Cauliflower Alley Club’s “Rising Star Award”. It was also his 33rd birthday today.
Callihan demonstrated to Pentagon Jr. what his plans are for him on Sunday. After making short work of Greg Osbourne, he informed everyone that Impact management asked him to promote the pay-per-view. He attempted to do this but was interrupted by Pentagon Jr.
Pentagon’s sub-titled promo riled up Sami and the members of oVe. They ran to the back to find him. The Crist brothers got separated from Callihan and thought they discovered Pentagon. They ran up to attack who they thought was Pentagon but it turned out to be Callihan in Pentagon’s mask and tied to a chair. As they were figuring this out, however, Pentagon entered the scene and took out both Crist brothers.
The Great Gama Singh Has The Desi Hit Squad Prepared
The Great Gama Singh has been running the Desi Hit Squad through old-school conditioning drills and tonight they used old-school tactics to get the victory. Old-school dirty tactics mind you, but still.
Tonight, the Desi Hit Squad were victorious over KM and Fallah Bah. With the Great Gama distracting the referee, Gursinder Singh raked Bah’s eyes and Rohit Raju rolled him up with his feet leveraged on the ropes for the pin.
Previously, the Hit Squad defeated the former champions, Z&E as well. They aren’t booked for Slammiversary but their two wins from the Windsor tapings should put them in a position to face top teams at the tapings to be held the following two nights.
“This is a ‘what have you done for me lately?’ business,” stated Don Callis today in reference to Eli Drake. He also said the former Impact World Champion has to prove himself all over again. Callis continued to mention Drake recently re-signed with the company.
After defeating Grado last week, Drake dropped his match tonight to a debuting Joe Hendry.
Eli Drake isn’t booked for Slammiversary but will likely be back in the mix of things over the next two nights of TV tapings.
Before the match, Hendry sang a pop song about Drake’s YouTube channel. There were further hints this week that Hendry and Katarina may not be being entirely up front with Grado…
Eddie Edwards Says He’s the Real “Innovator of Violence”
The match between Andrew Everett and Dezmond Xavier was interrupted by a deranged Eddie Edwards. He took a Singapore cane to the referee and then addressed Tommy Dreamer on the microphone.
Edwards predicted pain and violence for his match with Dreamer at Slammiversary. He continued to make various promises related to how much he would make Dreamer bleed on Sunday.
Finally, Edwards promised he would prove to Tommy Dreamer that he is the real “Innovator of Violence”.
Su Yung has been haunting Madison Rayne in her dreams. Last week, the Undead Bride lured Rayne into a field where she was surrounded by her army of zombie bridesmaids. They all really wanted to inform Madison that her time has come.
This week, Rayne’s dreams were haunted by visions of Su Yung and her minions as well as seeing her own image in a coffin. When she awoke she was back in the same field as last week. That’s when Yung gave her the Brood’s “Blood Bath” treatment.
After walking out on her tag-team partner tonight, Blanchard offered a simple explanation. “That is not my problem,” Blanchard said. “That is your problem.”
Blanchard didn’t seem to have much interest in softening her opponent up for Slammiversary. That’s clearly the only match coming up which matters to Blanchard as she just bailed on this one tonight.
The soon-to-debut Knockout was given a name this week. She is Scarlett Bordeaux, a Chicago-based wrestler who has wrestled for ROH, got squashed by Nia Jax on WWE TV, and somehow won the comedic DDT promotion’s Superheavymetalweight championship at one point.
When she was in ROH she was mainly used as a valet for Matt Taven but wrestled a few matches there as well.
Josh Matthews stated that Bordeaux will be on the show next week.
Austin Aries’ Normal Tricks Not Enough To Beat Moose?
Aries used the same tactics he used to beat Pentagon and the same he used last week on DeAngelo Williams. Only this week, they didn’t quite have the same impact.
After tricking Moose into thinking he wasn’t coming into the ring, Aries snuck up from behind and booted the title-challenger low. He then gave him a devastating chair shot and picked up the microphone assuming his opponent was down for awhile. Only Moose got up much faster than Aries expected.
Aries had been confident in the weeks leading up to this match but all of a sudden with just 3 days to go his demeanor appears to have changed considerably.
This Sunday, Impact Wrestling will present Slammiversary from Toronto’s Rebel Nightclub. The company announced yesterday the event has sold-out. The current belief is that the set-up for the venue will host 1000 fans for the show.
Tonight is the final episode of Impact before the pay-per-view.
Up until tonight the rivalry between Moose and Austin Aries has been contested through sit-down interviews. Last week, however, Aries assaulted Moose’s friend DeAngelo Williams.
Moose has promised to confront Aries tonight about his actions from last week.
Eli Drake vs Joe Hendry
Joe Hendry makes his Impact Wrestling debut tonight and he’s got his hands full. Hendry will face former Impact World Champion, Eli Drake. Last week, Drake defeated Grado and then tried to tell his opponent that Hendry and Katarina had something going on behind his back.
It doesn’t appear Hendry and Katarina have Grado’s best interests at heart. What that will mean for this match, however, remains to be seen.
Desi Hit Squad vs Fallah Bah & KM
This match came about as a result of a backstage interaction last week. The Great Gama Singh said Bah and KM represent Western culture in that one of them can’t control what they put into their mouth and the other can’t control what comes out of it.
Singh has been running the members of the Desi Hit Squad through traditional conditioning drills and will likely have them ready for tag-team action tonight.
Konnan Addresses the OGz
Last week, King said the reason Homicide and Hernandez joined him is Konnan reunited LAX without them. Now, they were out for revenge on him. Tonight, Konnan will address his former tag-team just days ahead of the 5150 Street Fight at Slammiversary between the two teams.
Tessa Blanchard & Shotzi Blackheart vs Kiera Hogan & Allie
Tessa Blanchard and Allie will go one-on-one at Slammiversary. Before Sunday, however, they will meet in tag action tonight.
Allie will team with the young upstart, Kiera Hogan. Blanchard will align with the standout from a recent RISE seminar, Shotzi Blackheart. Allie defeated Blackheart last week.
Killer Kross vs Petey Williams
Before Killer Kross was discovered as the man behind the attacks in the back, there was suspicion on Petey Williams. Tonight, Williams will get a chance for revenge and Kross will get a chance to hurt someone (which he seems to enjoy).
This Sunday at Slammiversary, Austin Aries will defend his Impact World Championship against Moose. Despite the pay-per-view recently selling out, Aries knows there is still work to do to improve the company’s reputation. He recently took part in an Impact Wrestling media teleconference.
“When people go ‘oh its the same old TNA, lol, or whatever’,” Aries said in reference to Impact’s historical reputation. “I know it will take time but I think now we are showing people with the product and what is going on in the locker room that this is really a different Impact Wrestling.”
“People should give it a chance and see if it might be something that they enjoy watching again,” he continued.
Austin Aries On His Relationship With Impact Wrestling
Aries returned to Impact Wrestling in January. He’d previously been at odds with the company’s old management regime.
“This time to me feels completely different,” Aries said. “There’s just a different energy and a different thought process. And a different foundation being laid as far as what’s being done behind the scenes.”
“I’ve been at odds with the company over the course of my career, I don’t think that’s a big secret,” Aries continued. “But I think the difference now why I’m back is because the people or the ideals that I had issues with are no longer there and attached to this.”
Austin Aries On What He’s Brought To Impact Wrestling In 2018
In a video posted to Impact Wrestling’s YouTube channel earlier this week, Aries said he returned to the company because he felt they needed him. We had the chance to ask Aries what effect he feels he’s been able to have on the company so far.
“I think, at the very least, I’ve been able to be a bit of a stabilizing force,” Aries said. “I think I’m someone who is a familiar face that for the fans who have followed this company for a long time, they can have some comfort in knowing.”
“They were able to bring a marquee player back into the fold,” Aries continued. “Which every company needs those guys in top positions to then help elevate the next group of guys.”
Austin Aries On Moose and Slammiversary
The build-up to Moose vs Aries has been done through sit-down interviews.
“I’m excited for this match-up coming up,” Aries said. “Moose, in his mind, feels like he’s ready, feels like he’s worked his whole life for this. I disagree and I think this is going to be a good learning experience for a man named Moose.”
Impact Wrestling World Champion, Austin Aries, will defend his title against Moose on Sunday in Toronto. He took part in a sit-down interview to promote his Slammiversary title defense and also mentioned why he decided to return to Impact earlier this year.
“Not every platform is created equal. Not every platform allows the same freedoms, not every platform gives guys the opportunity to truly grab the brass ring.” – Austin Aries on Impact Wrestling
“Why did Austin Aries choose to come back to Impact Wrestling?” Aries asked himself. “Cause Impact Wrestling needed me and I like to feel needed. I like to feel wanted. But in some ways maybe Austin Aries needed the platform of Impact Wrestling.
“Not every platform is created equal,” Aries continued. “Not every platform allows the same freedoms, not every platform gives guys the opportunity to truly grab the brass ring.”
They offered me an opportunity, they said ‘hey, we love what you do, we respect the artist you are, please come to Impact Wrestling, we’re going to give you a blank canvass to paint as you see fit.”
Austin Aries is a vegan and promotes the diet and lifestyle whenever he can. He recently sat down with Live Kindly last week and spoke about what it’s like to be a vegan professional wrestler.
“I’ve really had a positive impact on a lot of my fans just by being who I am,” he said before recalling a moment with a fan at a Veg Fest. “After a panel signing books, and a longtime fan of mine came up to me and said I was the reason he chose to become plant-based himself and in the time since, he lost 200 pounds. His sister-in-law lost 100 pounds but went back to her previous lifestyle, but the point is, I affected this young man’s life in such a huge way and turned his life in a completely different direction.”
Impact Wrestling last night was a taped show from Windsor, ON, Canada. This was the second show to air from the tapings held there last month.
After tonight’s episode, there will just be two more weeks until Slammiversary and the final card for the event is becoming solidified.
Impact Wrestling July 5th, 2018 St. Clair College Windsor, ON, Canada
Here are the top 7 takeaways from Impact Wrestling this week:
LAX Civil War!
Bullet Club isn’t the only faction imploding this summer. A leadership issue has also torn apart Konnan, King, and LAX.
Previously, Konnan returned to the group and told Ortiz and Santana he has proof that it was King who put the hit out on him all along. Konnan’s proof was only to dispute a series of phone calls from when he was in the hospital but King confessed all the same.
Santana and Ortiz were given the chance to go with either King or Konnan and they chose Konnan. This brought out Homicide and Hernandez who took out Konnan, Santana, and Ortiz. King’s LAX then stood tall to end the show.
It’s possible we get Konnan’s LAX (Santana and Ortiz) defending the Impact tag-team championships against King’s LAX (Hernandez and Homicide) at Slammiversary.
On a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer mentioned that fans have been writing in to tell him about how good this match was live. Impact mentioned this on Twitter recently in an effort to promote the show.
This match received the treble of approving chants from the live crowd: “This is Awesome!” “Both these guys!” and “Fight Forever!”. Some streamers were even thrown.
After the match, oVe came out to attack Fenix. It looked as though Pentagon had made the save but then he kicked Fenix in the groin and revealed it was just Sami Callihan in a mask.
The real Pentagon came out to make the save (as did Swann) setting up our main event for next week: Sami Callihan & oVe vs. Fenix, Pentagon, and Rich Swann.
Don Callis Signs Killer Kross
One of the best parts about having Don Callis on commentary is he can give explanations as to why Impact management would do something. Such was the case this week when Callis explained why Impact signed Killer Kross after he spent several weeks assaulting people in the back (while seemingly pretending to be a security guard).
Callis explained that when they discovered Kross was the person who had been attacking people, he looked him up. Turns out Kross has a background in bare-knuckled boxing and had pro-wrestling training. Callis continued to explain that the nature of the wrestling business allows for him to sign Kross to a contract in response to his unprovoked assaults rather than say pressing criminal charges.
Kross defeated Fallah Bah in easy fashion this week. He choked out Bah and then did the same to KM after the match.
The Undead Brides Can Wrestle
We saw one of Su Yung’s undead brides wrestle this week, confirming they are able to do so. Undead Bride #1 teamed with Su Yung to take on the team of Allie and Madison Rayne.
In an interview earlier in the evening, Rayne said she was looking to Allie for guidance for when she takes on Su Yung at Slammiversary. Allie has been down some dark paths with her feuds with Rosemary (plus she was locked in a coffin a few weeks ago by Yung) and so has advice she can pass down to Rayne.
Madison Rayne picked up the win for her team in this match with the “Cross Rayne” on the undead bride.
During the match, Tessa Blanchard hit the ring looking to get revenge on Rayne. Blanchard has dropped two straight matches to Rayne via pinning combination. Allie took out Blanchard, however, possibly setting up an angle between the two of them. It’s possible we get Allie vs Blanchard at Slammiversary.
Is Brian Cage The Future of the X-Division?
The X-Division isn’t about weight limits, it’s about no limits. This vague yet somehow also descriptive explanation for the X-Division has been given since its inception. In a sense, it is meant to say the action in the X-Division is innovative, athletic, and boundary-pushing. Nobody epitomizes that more than Brian Cage.
Cage defeated Kongo Kong last night, moving a step forward to receiving another shot at Matt Sydal and the X-Division championship. On a previous episode, Sydal defeated Cage via count-out after Kongo interfered.
Sydal appeared to strike some deal with Jimmy Jacobs to have Kongo take out Cage but the plan doesn’t appear to have worked.
Shortly after the conclusion of last night’s episode, it was revealed that Cage will receive another shot at the X-Division title at Slammiversary. Will the Machine take the title from Sydal? If so, just how dominant can Cage be in this division?
Eddie Edwards’ feud with Sami Callihan caused him to spiral to a dark place. Tommy Dreamer, who saw his own career impacted by a similar obsession with Raven, tried to help Edwards. In response, however, Edwards’ delusions convinced him that Dreamer was involved with his wife.
Last week on Impact, Edwards traveled to Philadelphia and confronted Dreamer at a House of Hardcore show. He caned Dreamer in the head and busted him open. This week, Dreamer cut a fiery promo on how Edwards is obsessed with Sami Callihan but now Dreamer is obsessed with Edwards.
It was also revealed that Tommy Dreamer and Eddie Edwards will face each other in a House of Hardcore match at Slammiversary.
The build-up to Moose vs Austin Aries at Slammiversary has been done through sit-down interviews. Aries claims that Moose is a failed football player trying out a new career whereas Aries is a wrestler and has always been a wrestler.
Moose, however, says he left football for wrestling. Not only that, he says he left a lot of money on the table in the NFL and even took a shot at his ex-wife for not supporting him when he decided to leave football for wrestling. Moose did mention, however, that unlike his ex-wife, his mother was supportive of his decision to chase his wrestling dream.
Aries got in the line of the night this week when he told Moose after he beats him at Slammiversary, he’d better hope the XFL is hiring.
A couple of other notes from Impact Wrestling:
The Great Gama Singh is running the Desi Hit Squad through several old-school drills.
Joe Hendry arrived in a backstage segment with Grado.
Konnan was able to lead the crowd in a “Gloryhole” chant during his segment with King and LAX
Katarina defeated Rebel
A new Knockout will debut shortly
Quick Results:
Fenix defeated Rich Swann
Killer Kross defeated Fallah Bah
Madison Rayne & Allie defeated Su Yung & an Undead Bride
Katarina defeated Rebel
Brian Cage defeated Kongo Kong
Updated Slammiversary Card
Mask vs Hair
Pentagon Jr vs Sami Callihan
Impact World Championship
Austin Aries (c) vs Moose
X-Division Championship
Matt Sydal (c) vs Brian Cage
Knockouts Championship
Su Yung (c) vs Madison Rayne
House of Hardcore Match
Tommy Dreamer vs Eddie Edwards
Taiji Ishimori vs Johnny Impact vs Rich Swann vs Fenix
Austin Aries’ opponent for ROH’s upcoming Best in the World PPV has been revealed. The promotion has announced that Aries will take on Kenny King in singles competition. This event takes place on Friday, June 29, 2018 from Baltimore, Maryland at the UMBC Event Center.
Aries is the reining Impact Wrestling World Champion and will defend against Moose in the main event of next month’s Slammiversary pay-per-view.