Former AEW World Champion went on a rant during the media scrum after All Out that the wrestling world is still talking about.
After his rant, CM Punk brawled with The Elite and everyone was subsequently stripped of their titles (AEW World Championship & Trios Championships) and have not been seen on AEW TV since the PPV on September 4th.
Jon Moxley once again captured the AEW World Championship by defeating Bryan Danielson in the finals of the Tournament of Champions at Dynamite: Grand Slam. Moxley is set to defend the title next week on a special Tuesday night edition of Dynamite.
Rob Van Dam recently joined Kenny McIntosh for an Inside the Ropes live show and discussed the former AEW World Champion. RVD hilariously compared CM Punk to a stripper during the conversation.
Anyway, CM Punk probably has as big of an ego as anybody I can think of that I met in the business. I’m not saying that necessarily in a bad way.
Depends on how you take it, but I think that he believes that he really is the best, you know, the best in the world.
I learned years ago, that strippers can be fun to date, as long as they can leave the gimmick at work and not bring it home and be normal at home.
Rob added that the guys that make it to the top of the wrestling industry often times have the biggest egos but are also the ones he finds crazy.
If you’re able to come back in the dressing room and still be that guy in the ring, that say they really believe you’re the best in the world, and you’re ready to prove it or whatever, then you know, the business looks at someone like that as like ‘Dude, you’re believing your own hype.’
There’s nobody on their own that is moving the industry, it’s everybody together. So being around him just feeling his energy, I feel like he believes that.
Hey, these guys make it to the top the guys who believe in themselves the most the guys who do the promos that convince you they really think they’re the best. They are the ones who make it to the top.
They’re also the ones that I can’t stand because I think they’re f*cking crazy.
Former AEW World Champion CM Punk is currently under suspension for his role in the altercation with The Elite following the All Out media scrum.
CM Punk defeated Jon Moxley in the main event of AEW All Out to become AEW World Champion. It was his 2nd reign with the title without ever making a title defense. MJF returned after the title match to have a stare-down with CM Punk.
Jon Moxley has since captured the title once again by defeating Bryan Danielson in the finals of the Tournament of Champions at Dynamite: Grand Slam. CM Punk reportedly suffered a torn triceps during the title match at All Out and was spotted wearing a brace in a recent photo.
Rob Van Dam on CM Punk’s Comments at the All Out Media Scrum
ECW legend and former WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam joined Rene Dupree and Paul London on a recent episode of the Cafe de Rene podcast. Rob discussed Punk’s comments and said that he wants to see what happens next.
I’m into it. I’m interested to see the full circle, like what happens from this energy. Being the zen master that I am, let me point out because a lot of people might not notice, but pro wrestling is full of the most, by population probably, the most amount of ridiculously extreme egos that you will ever see jammed together.
Rob Van Dam then claimed that there is a good chance that CM Punk has as big of an ego as anybody else he’s ever interacted with in the wrestling business.
I think there is a good chance that CM Punk, just from feeling his energy, probably has as big of an ego as anybody that I’ve interacted with in the business. Those are the guys that get ahead, the guys that really believe in themselves. But then at the same time, it is really hard for me as another guy in the locker room, I think they believe in themselves too much. Some of it can be like natural heat, like The Miz. It’s just so easy to hate him.
When someone comes back through the curtain after their character could have given the most believable speech that got all the heat in the world, if they can come back through the curtain and be humble, and realize that they are one amongst many, that is a really good place to be in.
CM Punk is Probably Not Returning to AEW
Please credit Cafe de Rene with a H/T to SEScoops if you use quotes from this article.
Over the past month, the wrestling world has been rocked as two of the most influential men in WWE have left the company.
In July, Vince McMahon announced his retirement from the promotion, a month after stepping down as CEO and Chairman.
McMahon stepped down from the roles due to the ongoing investigation into him over allegations of misconduct with female employees.
More recently, it was reported that John Laurinaitis, who is alleged to have participated in the McMahon scandal, had been terminated from WWE, ending his 21-year tenure with the promotion.
RVD & Laurinaitis’ Relationship
The same year that Laurinaitis joined WWE (2001), Rob Van Dam signed with the promotion following the collapse of ECW.
A former WWE and ECW Champion, Van Dam worked closely with both McMahon and Laurinaitis.
During an interview with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall, RVD addressed the departure of Laurinaitis, calling the former WWE Head of Talent Relations his ‘guy.’
“he was my guy. I know a lot of people didn’t get along with him. I was wrestling him in Japan in ‘93… I could relate to him in a lot of ways.”
Rob Van Dam on the release of John Laurinaitis.
Addressing McMahon’s departure from WWE, Van Dam wasn’t pleased with the former Chairman’s retirement, but tried to see the positive side.
“I don’t like Vince being gone, but if it’s better for business, then that’s awesome.”
RVD on Vince McMahon’s retirement.
Neither Laurinaitis or McMahon have appeared publicly since their departures from WWE.
Rob Van Dam recently spoke with Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston about the possibility of working with AEW and his current relationship with WWE.
Back in 2019, Van Dam made a one-night return to WWE for the special Raw Reunion episode of Raw on July 22, 2019. RVD was inducted into the 2021 WWE Hall of Fame class. He later made an appearance at the 2022 Hall of Fame ceremony.
Since then, the former WWE Champion has been wrestling in Pro Wrestling NOAH and competed at NOAH Destination 2022. Van Dam & Masato Tanaka defeated NOSAWA Rongai & Super Crazy in a hardcore tag team match. He also competed at the CyberFight Festival 2022 when he made his Pro Wrestling NOAH debut. He teamed with the Stinger duo of Hayata and Yoshinari Ogawa to defeat Kaito Kiyomiya, Daisuke Harada and Yo-Hey.
“Never Say Never”
When speaking with Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston, the former ECW World Champion spoke about his current view of the landscape of pro wrestling and any connections he might have to the major companies in the business.
The former WWE Champion:
“Oh, it’d be awesome. Yeah. You know what, I kind of feel like, if they wanted me there, that I would be there. They would make it so that I would want to be there. And so I mean, I’m on the front without having any, just being on the fence and not feeling you know, hungry. Or either way, just, whatever happens, happens, like RVD is, you know, I kind of feel like, like that. I mean,
I don’t know, what they want to do, what their plan is, what their agenda is, for all their talent now. You know, seems like they want more normal looking people that normal people look at, that normal-looking people could relate to maybe, I really don’t even know, it’s whatever.
WWE Legends Deal
Van Dam continued, “But you know, I am, I’m around. And I do have a legends deal with WWE, which is merchandise related. But I’m not somebody that they call a lot to pop up at a meet and greet or anything, you know, and for whatever reason, maybe they think I don’t want to do it, and they don’t want to bother me, whatever.
For that matter, just like my documentary said, I mean, that was the takeaway from the icons, WWE icons documentary for me to take away was that WWE doesn’t think that I want it or that or that I want it bad enough, because of my laid back attitude. And, and because they think that I would maybe change in ways they wanted me to if I did want it.
So, I don’t know, I think they kind of got it right, you know, so maybe they just, I don’t know. But to answer your question, though, you know, honestly, how I feel about it. I say, you know, never say never, because I am still wrestling a lot more this year than I thought I would last year I only wrestled like twice the whole year.”
On June 12, 2022, it was announced that Rob Van Dam would make his in-ring debut in CyberFight’s Pro Wrestling Noah at the CyberFight Festival 2022. He teamed with the Stinger duo of Hayata and Yoshinari Ogawa to defeat Kaito Kiyomiya, Daisuke Harada and Yo-Hey.
On July 16, the former WWE Champion made his return to Pro Wrestling NOAH and competed at NOAH Destination 2022. Van Dam & Masato Tanaka defeated NOSAWA Rongai & Super Crazy in a hardcore tag team match.
“The Wrestling Is So Much Better”
When speaking with Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston, the former ECW World Champion spoke about wrestling in Japan and what it was like to work with Pro Wrestling NOAH.
“Well, so it looks like it’s very likely that it will keep happening. I’ve already gone back. So I wrestled there June 12. And then I came back on July the 16th. Just a couple of weeks ago, and we’re talking about maybe returning in January. So yeah, it’s it’s pretty cool.
I love wrestling in Japan. I started wrestling there in 93′. Somebody, a fan there that every wrestler knows this fan, Masa, he’s, we all know this guy. He had the whole breakdown for me.
This was the 22nd time that I had been to Japan. And he had the breakdown of how many times I’ve been to that building, the Nippon Budokan, and how many times I was there with All Japan, and then FMW, and then New Japan, and IWGP, and WWE, and all these different companies. So, it’s pretty cool. And I have a lot of history there.
Man, the wrestling is so much better. Like, I was watching the other matches, and I was like really proud to be part of that. It’s so different.”
“It Was Actually Like Wrestling”
Van Dam went on to speak about how he believes pro wrestling is better in Japan. He even elaborated on how impressed he was with another match on the card.
“It was actually like wrestling you know. A lot of people complain now that the the newer generation kind of got away from wrestling and now it’s just about stunts, and, you know, flying or whatever and diving on to 80 people catching you. You know, like, the more people that catch you the better. It seems like the biggest spot I don’t know.
But man, Muto, the fabulous Muto, he’s retiring. He’s got five matches left. And this match a few nights ago, a couple weeks ago. That was one of his last five. And I watched him wrestle. I don’t want to brutalize the kid’s name that he wrestled and you wouldn’t probably know him unless you follow. You know, the, the product NOAH. I don’t know.
But anyway, man, these guys put on a clinic, like it was so good. And it was like, the story that they told man. I just hadn’t seen anything like that in years. It wasn’t, they barely even like, hit the ropes and saw there was like Muta going for his trademark leg drag. And he would go to do it in the kid would stop and then get him in the move and then they would work their way up for that, work the way up, bam, bam, bam, he goes for it again. This time you know he’s gonna get it boom, you get stopped right back into and they just worked that leg lock and that leg drag and they made so much sense out of it and it was built so that every little thing meant so much and you know, I was humbled.
Actually, I’d already wrestled and I felt, you know, like, not like not worthy. Like, like the fans were over appreciative of my match. I had a hardcore match that night. And it was a tag team match, you know, when your tag team instead of a singles match, if you compare that to a normal job, a lot of times if your singles match, that’s like being the, the waiter, the cashier, the busboy and the cook at the same time, and when you when your tag partner not so.”
For countless wrestling fans, the action they see on WWE TV these days can’t compare to what was going on just a few decades earlier.
In 2008, WWE implemented a PG rating, banning chair shots to the skull, blood, and other staples of the industry, and the consensus among audiences is that the rating has only hurt the wrestling fans see from Vince McMahon’s promotion.
Viewerships and attendances are certainly down from the days of the envelope-pushing Attitude Era, and it’s not just the fans who think things have changed for the worse.
What offends Rob Van Dam?
Speaking on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam spoke about how wrestling has changed, not just in WWE but throughout the entire industry.
RVD explained how things are entirely different today compared to when he was competing full-time (via WrestlingInc.)
I’m still offended by a lot of the stuff that I see nowadays… I hate it when people say, ‘Oh, I wasn’t brought up that way,’ no one was brought up that way, we have to adapt. Your perception changes when you’re an adult.”
Rob Van Dam.
Van Dam added that when he was breaking into wrestling, the number one rule was to protect the business, but that’s changed in recent years.
“Somewhere way down the road, it became, ‘number one rule: safety first.’ Like, what?”
Rob Van Dam
The future of wrestling
While AEW has proven to be a hit with fans, offering an alternative to WWE and a more unsanitized product compared to Vince McMahon, RVD isn’t hopeful for the future of the industry.
“What’s it gonna be, eventually? Unless it just goes straight up to a broadway play.”
Rob Van Dam.
RVD’s most recent match came at Ireland’s Over the Top ScrapperMania VI event this past March, where he defeated Scotty Davis.
Rob Van Dam was featured prominently in the recent Dark Side of the Ring episode on 2002’s Plane Ride From Hell. RVD recently took to Twitter to clarify some of the comments he made on the show.
“Just watched DSOTR. Heavy,” RVD began. “Some insight for those who can handle it- 1) I haven’t seen Ric Flair’s dick. My comment about fans shouldn’t see him doing the helicopter was a response to DSOTR telling me that’s what they were told. They shouldn’t. I don’t want to see it either.”
“2) I said ‘trying to make her touch him’ referring to his body crowding her space and her backing up like bad breath was in her face. I thought maybe they were playing (from seeing a similar scene at the hotel bar) but I wasn’t interested in naked Ric. Still ain’t. I tried to sleep.”
RVD also responded to several responses he received on Twitter as well. He clarified that people may be misconstruing what he said due to how the episode was edited.
I can confirm I didn’t see that and I didn’t say that. Creative editing will have people hearing it different ways. https://t.co/ByzQNiVZci
In a world where everyone is afraid to say the wrong thing for fear of consequences, I proudly say “fuck you” if you want to take me down. Go for it. My closet has been emptied long ago and you still have to answer to Karma for your own dishonest ass. 🙂#facts
“I enjoy the communication,” RVD also said in a Tweet last night. “Being famous means having haters. Haters that think they have better life skills than me is something I like to share with everybody because I’m sure their life is nothing I’d trade for. I win.. what’s that make them?”
I enjoy the communication. Being famous means having haters. Haters that think they have better life skills than me is something I like to share with everybody because I’m sure their life is nothing I’d trade for. I win.. what’s that make them? https://t.co/pYqEk0iqHp
ECW legend and WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam is the subject of the latest WWE Icons series. The new episode aired on Peacock and WWE Network just after the WrestleMania Backlash show and highlighted the career of the ‘Whole F’ing Show.’
During the special, RVD would discuss the ECW Television Title match that he believes made him a star in the company. “Bam Bam Bigelow was the Television Champion. I wrestled him in Buffalo, New York” Rob Van Dam began, discussing the match from 1998. “At the time, that was probably our best building with the biggest crowd.”
Rob Van Dam on Bam Bam Bigelow
“That match was very important to me,” Van Dam continued. “I loved wrestling with Bam Bam Bigelow. He was so strong. … The match was awesome, everything was just so good.”
“At the end of the match, I rolled him up. Winning the ECW Television Championship was a very big moment for me” RVD revealed. “I don’t think that I realized how pivotal that was going to be for my career.”
“What I probably didn’t realize was that all of a sudden I was a superstar” RVD concluded. “I held the TV Championship for two years, and it was very rewarding.”
This was the match that saw RVD fly from the top turnbuckle to the crowd and it became a moment that has been used in highlight packages ever since.
Check out a sneak peak of the new WWE Icons episode below:
Rob Van Dam is now a WWE Hall of Famer. The former WWE Champion spoke to the Battle Cree Enquirer recently about the honor. RVD also noted during the interview that Vince McMahon paid him a special compliment during his induction ceremony.
“I was delighted when I heard. It was a surprise call. To me, it means a lot,” Van Dam said to the Battle Creek Enquirer. “I am going down in history with the legends that inspired me when I was growing up in Battle Creek, dreaming of being a professional wrestler. Now generations to come will look at me in a similar way. That’s quite an honor.”
“Being inducted into the Hall of Fame probably means more than being a world champion because there are probably a lot of world champions that will never be in the hall of fame,” Van Dam continued.
High Praise from Vince McMahon
RVD continued to say that Vince McMahon got up during his speech and said that he changed the style of the business.
“To have Vince McMahon stand up during the induction ceremony and tell me that I changed the style of the business was probably the highest compliment I could imagine,” RVD said.
Van Dam continued to say he wasn’t sure that he’d ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He’s always appreciated people telling him he deserves it, however.
“I didn’t know if it would ever happen,” Van Dam said. “When people referred to me as a future Hall of Famer, that was a big enough compliment for me, just to know that they saw me with that respect. So now that I actually have that Hall of Fame ring and plaque, and it’s official, it’s a proud moment.”
On the heels of several rumors and unconfirmed reports, it is now official that Rob Van Dam will be part of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2021. WWE took to Twitter to announce the news shortly after it was revealed by Fox Sports.
News of Rob Van Dam’s pending Hall of Fame induction leaked recently. First, Sabu commented that RVD was to be inducted during a conversation with NonStop Wrestling Chat.
“Hey, Rob Van Dam is getting into the WWE Hall of Fame this year, I think,” Sabu said on the show. “I wasn’t supposed to say nothing, but you can tell people that.”
Paul Heyman later took to Twitter to tease that he had filmed content for RVD’S video package for the ceremony.
3x Tag Team Champion (2x w/Kane, 1x w/Rey Mysterio)
2006 Money in the Bank Winner
1x ECW Television Champion
2x ECW Tag Team Champion (w/Sabu)
1x TNA World Champion
1x TNA X-Division Champion
RVD was most recently a member of the Impact Wrestling roster along with Katie Forbes. He last performed for the promotion at their tapings in September.
Rob Van Dam faced his first WWE suspension back in July 2006 and since he held both the WWE and ECW World title at the time, his suspension became a hot topic of discussion and it made many headlines.
The former ECW star recently appeared on The Steve Austin Show where he talked about things like smoking cannabis on his 21th birthday and more.
Van Dam also opened up about his suspension in 2006. He said that if he could do things differently, then he would avoid it and revealed how careless he was at the time:
“I would have slowed down that night going through Ohio with 18 grams of weed in my bag. I was speeding, dude.” recalled RVD. “I was so careless back then. I used to be so careless I didn’t even know there were speed limits.
The reason it made such big news was because I had the WWE
Championship and the ECW Championship, so there was a lot riding on me at the
moment because ECW just came back as a third brand, trying to get momentum, and
I’m the champion.”
Later in the interview, Rob Van Dam also recalled how he had asked for more time off after this suspension from Paul Heyman but the current Executive Director of Raw refused his request to talk to Mr. McMahon about it.
RVD and Sabu were stopped by the police for speeding in Ohio in July 2006 and both the stars were later arrested for possession of illegal substances.
This arrest resulted in WWE suspending the ECW star for 30 days and due to the suspension, he was forced to drop both the ECW Championship and the WWE Championship.
Impact Wrestling 2/18/20 was taped from Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas. This week’s episode was the first to air from the recent tapings. The show was also the last before Saturday’s Sacrifice event on Impact Plus from Louisville, Kentucky.
Impact Wrestling 2/18/20 Quick Results:
TJP defeated Josh Alexander
Willie Mack defeated Johnny Swinger
Madison Rayne defeated Mazzerati
Best of 5 Series Eddie Edwards defeated Michael Elgin (Elgin leads 2-1)
Here are 9 takeaways from Impact Wrestling 2/18/20:
Ace Austin Wins Big Heading Into Sacrifice
With Sacrifice and an Impact Wrestling World Championship title shot waiting for him on Saturday, Ace Austin scored a victory in this week’s main event. Ace Austin kicked the ring ropes as Trey was entering the ring from the outside, causing a low-blow and allowing the X-Division champion to hit the Fold for the victory.
Austin celebrated with Reno Scum on the outside as Josh Matthews commented that if Austin can hit the Fold on Saturday against Blanchard at Sacrifice, we could have a new world champion.
Eddie Edwards Avoids Sweep In Best of 5 Series
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_vB1DS37SY
Michael Elgin entered into this match with Eddie Edwards with a chance to win a clean sweep in their best-of-5-series. Elgin was up 2-0 in the series and looked to have this match wrapped up as well. Elgin gave Edwards a power-bomb from the top and looked to go for the Elgin bomb but Edwards countered into a small package for the win. Callis commented after the match that Elgin should have gone for the pin after the powerbomb from the top instead of going for his finisher to put an exclamation point on the match. Match 4 in the series will take place next week.
Do TJP & Fallah Bah Have The North’s Number?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t4cEySNb_c
Fallah Bah defeated Ethan Page when Impact Wrestling was in Mexico last month and TJP kicked off this week’s episode with a win over Josh Alexander. The North has had a lengthy and dominant reign atop Impact Wrestling’s tag division but it appears that TJP & Fallah Bah may have the duo’s number. A 2-on-2 match would likely favor the North, however.
TJP picked up the win after countering a sleeper into a pinning combination.
Impact Wrestling announced this week that they have signed Chris Bey. The 23-year-old is from the Las Vegas area where Impact’s most recent set of tapings took place. He is a 3-year pro and has wrestled with the Future Stars of Wrestling promotion in Vegas where he is a former FSW World Champion, FSW No Limits Champion, and also once held the promotion’s tag titles as well.
Willie Mack Is Not Johnny Swinger’s Tag Team Partner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9XqMvSv2vA
Johnny Swinger believes that he and Willie Mack make up a tag team known as “The Pack and Mack Connection.” Mack, on the other hand, does not believe the two are a tag team. Swinger told Mack in the back this week that they need to get more reps in the ring. Mack agreed, though Mack wanted to face Swinger in a single’s match and Swinger assumed they were wrestling a tag match against another team.
Mack did not seem to respond to Swinger’s request for him to “slow down” during the match. He picked up the win with a Stunner followed by a 6-Star Frog Splash.
Swinger will take on Joey Ryan Saturday night at Sacrifice. Mack is scheduled to take on OVW’s Jay Bradley.
Madison Rayne Victorious In Open Challenge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Qzf16ODT4
Madison Rayne is not pleased that Jordynne Grace was given a Knockouts title shot she feels should have gone to her. She announced the beginning of the Madison Rayne “Golden Opportunity Open Challenge” this week. Las Vegas-based wrestler Mazzerati answered the call.
Callis would continue his ongoing embellished commentary for Rayne. This week he noted that she was taught the liver punch by Stu Hart. Josh Matthews noted that he didn’t think Rayne had ever met Stu Hart but Callis didn’t seem swayed by this.
Rayne would pick up the victory with a Cross Rayne. She then walked around the ring raising her own hand to close the segment.
Rhino and Moose Get Ready For Sacrifice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AnPLTtIWQ8
Rhino and Moose will meet once again Saturday night at Sacrifice. The two have been in an ongoing feud that also briefly involved AAA’s Taurus while the promotion was in Mexico last month. Moose was on commentary for this match. Rhino defeated Dave Crist with a Gore while Moose watched. Moose would note on commentary that the same thing won’t happen to him at Sacrifice.
Impact presents Sacrifice this Saturday. The event will stream live for subscribers to Impact Plus. Four matches have been confirmed thus far for the event:
Impact World Championship Tessa Blanchard (c) vs Ace Austin
Impact Women’s Championship Jordynne Grace (c) vs Havok
Impact Tag Team Championships The North (c) vs The Rascalz
Rhino vs Moose
Johnny Swinger vs Joey Ryan
Daga vs Jake Crist
Willie Mack vs Jay Bradley
Madman Fulton & Dave Crist vs Larry D & Acey Romero
Impact Wrestling presented another show from Frontenac, Mexico this week. The promotion is building to the Impact Plus exclusive event “Impact Sacrifice” on February 22nd. Impact will also be in Las Vegas for a set of TV tapings this weekend.
Impact Wrestling 2/4/20 Quick Results:
Tessa Blanchard defeated Adam Thornstowe (Reno Scum)
Rhino defeated Taurus
Rosemary vs Suzie – Double Countout
TJP defeated Vikingo
Daga & Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated Dave & Jake Crist
Street Fight: Ace Austin defeated Tommy Dreamer
Here are 8 takeaways from Impact Wrestling 2/4/20:
Tessa Blanchard Prepares To Face Ace Austin
As Blanchard prepares to take on Ace Austin on February 22nd, 2020, she faced his run-in buddy from Reno Scum this week. Blanchard defeated Thornstowe with a Buzzsaw DDT but was attacked after by Luster the Legend and Ace Austin. This brought out Tommy Dreamer for the save and set-up the night’s main event between Austin and Dreamer in a street fight.
Ace Austin Goes To The Extreme To Defeat Tommy Dreamer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIVmcqbqxqw
Ace Austin has the biggest match of his young career later this month when he faces Tessa Blanchard at Impact Sacrifice on February 22nd. The X-Division champion would main event this week’s show against Tommy Dreamer in a street fight.
Austin would pick up the victory by using his wand-like weapon to knock Dreamer off the ropes and onto a ladder. He then hit “the Fold” for the win. Austin would celebrate with his title belt as the show came to a close.
TJP Defeats Vikingo Before The North Attack
Last week, Vikingo faced Josh Alexander in single’s competition. This week, he’d take on TJP in another fast-paced action-packed match. With his friend Fallah Bah by his side, however, TJP was able to do what Josh Alexander could not and defeat the luchador from AAA. TJP countered a headscissors attempt into a submission for the win.
After the match, however, Josh Alexander and Ethan Page (the North) attacked Vikingo. Fallah Bah came in and broke up the attack, however. Perhaps a match between the North and TJP & Fallah Bah is upcoming in Impact Wrestling.
2 weeks ago on Impact Wrestling, Rob Van Dam said that Joey Ryan’s match against Maximo made him embarrassed to be a pro-wrestler. Ryan responded last week by saying that RVD is just mad because Katie Forbes wants to “touch it.”
This week on Impact, Katie Forbes provided the distraction as RVD attacked Ryan from behind. After being accused of having lost his cool, RVD would then say that next week Ryan will find out just how cool RVD really is.
Rosemary Brings Su Yung Back To Life
Rosemary and Suzie met in single’s competition this week but Rosemary wasn’t concerned with winning or losing the match. Her goal was to trigger Suzie’s memory and bring out the former Su Yung.
The match spilled to the back where Rosemary attempted to wrap a noose around Suzie and throw her over a staircase just as Havok had done to her previously. As she did so, however, Suzie morphed back into Su Yung as she remembered Havok having done the same to her oh so long ago now.
James Mitchell walked across the scene awhile later and told Rosemary that they are all doomed.
Dr. Wagner Jr. & Daga Get Revenge On OVE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nspNJgM87h0
Recently on Impact Wrestling, the members of OVE attacked Dr. Wagner Jr and beat him up in front of his son. Don Callis described the members of OVE as anarchists this week and that their attacks on Wagner were unprovoked and completely random.
This week, Dr. Wagner Jr and Daga teamed up in victorious fashion over the Crist brothers. After the match, however, Madman Fulton attacked Daga and Wagner and also fended off Dr. Wagner Jr’s son as well. Fulton stood tall to end the segment.
Moose Breaks Up Match Between Rhino and Taurus
Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen Rhino and Moose’s rivalry involve AAA’s Taurus. This week on Impact Wrestling, Rhino and Taurus faced each other in single’s competition. As Rhino was preparing to give his opponent the Gore, however, Moose invaded the ring and caused the match to be thrown out. Rhino would give Moose a Gore and him and Taurus stood tall to end the segment.
This week’s episode of Impact Wrestling featured matches from the recent tapings from New York City’s Melrose Ballroom. The headline segment for the show featured Sami Callihan cutting a promo on his Hard To Kill opponent Tessa Blanchard. The main event match saw the X-division title on the line.
Here are 9 takeaways from the December 17, 2019 edition of Impact Wrestling:
Sami Callihan and Tessa Blanchard Brawl Backstage
Sami Callihan cut a promo on Tessa Blanchard this week, saying she has been handed her opportunities due to her father being Tully Blanchard and her step-father being Magnum T.A.
Blanchard came out to confront Callihan but was attacked from behind by Madman Fulton. Ken Shamrock then came out to attack Fulton, leaving Blanchard and Callihan to engage in a wild brawl backstage, in the parking lot, and pretty much all over the area.
It was then announced that Madman Fulton vs Ken Shamrock has been added to the Impact Wrestling Hard to Kill pay-per-view.
Rob Van Dam Softens Up Brian Cage
Rob Van Dam doesn’t seem too worried about his dream match with Brian Cage at Impact Wrestling’s Hard to Kill PPV. RVD said of facing Cage that he “can counter his own moves” in reference to his ongoing accusations that Cage steals moves from him.
RVD cut a promo with Katie Forbes this week that was interrupted by Cage. A low-blow by Forbes would give RVD the advantage in the scuffle, however. He then looked to go for the Coast 2 Coast on Cage but wouldn’t give the fans the satisfaction and merely dropkicked a chair into Cage’s face instead.
Ace Austin Dedicates Match To Trey’s Mother
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr9Fu6O9b-0
Impact Wrestling X-Division Championship Ace Austin (c) defeated Petey Williams
Ace Austin beat former X-Division champion, Petey Williams, this week. After the match, Austin got on the mic and dedicated the match to Mrs. Miguel, aka Trey’s mother.
Later in the night, Trey confronted Austin in the back over his frequent mentions of his mother. Trey has a future X-Division title match owed to him but he might care more about revenge than championships when these two finally square off.
Joey Ryan Faces His Wrestlers Court Sentence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhrZRAk3Pxk
Joey Ryan defeated Acey Romero
Last week, Tommy Dreamer sentenced Joey Ryan to this match after finding him guilty of killing the business during Wrestlers Court.
Johnny Swinger was on commentary and continued to complain about Ryan’s antics “killing the business” and “chasing the rizats away.”
After a ref bump, Swinger attempted to get involved by giving Romero a “Fanny pack suplex” akin to Ryan’s penis suplex. It didn’t work. Ryan then delivered his flip suplex and a lollypop assisted superkick for the win.
The North Gear Up To Face Willie Mack & Rich Swann at Hard to Kill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW-Ub-xHJLg
Ethan Page defeated Rich Swann via DQ
The North will defend their tag titles against Rich Swann and Willie Mack at Hard to Kill. After a backstage confrontation this week, a single’s match between Page and Swann was scheduled.
While Page was on the outside, he slapped Mack in the face. Mack took the bait and chased Page into the ring and delivered a blow which caused the DQ. Page found the whole thing pretty funny while Swann seemed quite upset.
Rhino and Moose ran into each other backstage this week. Moose noted to Rhino that while RVD beat him last week, Moose defeated RVD earlier this year. Rhino gave Moose a gore in response.
It was then announced the two will face each other at Hard to Kill.
Jordynne Grace Builds Momentum Leading to PPV, Taya Valkyrie Enlists Help
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA3ydPMOEuU
Jordynne Grace defeated Tenille Dashwood
Jordynne Grace countered a pinning combination into her own pinning combination to get the win on Dashwood this week. After the match, Taya Valkyrie attempted to attack Grace but was fended off by both Grace and Tenille Dashwood.
Later in the show, Taya would recruit help from Kiera Hogan and Madison Rayne.
I didn’t realize being this popular was going to be so unpopular ????? https://t.co/h7NsBnZr78
TJP and Daga had a close match this week but ultimately TJP would come out the winner via submission. After the match, TJP and his partner Fallah Bah were attacked by the Desi Hit Squad including Mahabali Shera who hasn’t been seen in weeks.
Shera delivered a big chokeslam to TJP to end the segment.
Next Week
PROGRAMMING UPDATE: Here's our holiday schedule!
Saturday December 28th and January 4th you can catch our Best Of 2019 shows featuring the reveals of the end of year awards!
The next new episode of Impact Wrestling takes place on January 7th, 2020 and will be the go-home show for Hard to Kill. Best of 2019 and the 2019 awards show will take place the next two weeks.
Quick Results 12/17:
Jordynne Grace defeated Tenille Dashwood
TJP defeated Daga
Ethan Page defeated Rich Swann via DQ
Joey Ryan defeated Acey Romero
X-Division Championship Ace Austin (c) defeated Petey Williams
Impact Wrestling has announced a new match for their January 12th Hard to Kill pay-per-view. A dream match of sorts will take place when Rob Van Dam takes on Brian Cage.
The match between the two was set up this week on Impact, when Rob Van dam and Katie Forbes took their after match celebration to the backstage area near where Cage was being interviewed. After RVD and Forbes agreed to leave the area, Rob Van Dam took some parting shots at Cage for stealing his moves and also for having been pinned by Tessa Blanchard.
BREAKING: A DREAM MATCH has been confirmed for #HardToKill on January 12th in Dallas!
The Whole F'N Show @TherealRVD will take on The Machine @MrGMSI_BCage!
Rob Van Dam defeated Rhino on the last episode of Impact Wrestling. In Cage’s last match, he was the final elimination in the 6-person elimination match which saw Tessa Blanchard crowned #1 contender.
Impact Wrestling 12/10 emanated from New York’s Melrose Ballroom and aired last night on AXS TV and Twitch. The show featured Sami Callihan and Tessa Blanchard each picking their rival’s opponents as we count down to their title match at Hard to Kill.
Here are 10 takeaways from Impact Wrestling 12/10:
OVE Tries To Soften Up Tessa Blanchard
Tessa Blanchard defeated Madman Fulton via DQ
With Hard to Kill just a little over a month away, OVE tried to soften up Tessa Blanchard here. Callihan selected Madman Fulton to take on Blanchard in single’s action this week. Just when it looked like Blanchard had things going her way, however, the Crist brothers ran in and caused the DQ.
OVE tried to soften up Blanchard but Ken Shamrock made the save, setting up the night’s main event between him and Callihan.
Madman Fulton Takes Out Ken Shamrock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW4DTkYWEoQ
Sami Callihan defeated Ken Shamrock via referee stoppage
Tessa Blanchard chose Ken Shamrock to take on Sami Callihan in the night’s main event. Shamrock had Callihan tapping to his ankle lock submission but Callihan’s minions from OVE came down to make the save. Madman Fulton took out Shamrock and allowed Callihan to lock in his own ankle lock on Shamrock. With Shamrock knocked out, the ref called for the bell and awarded the match to Sami.
Fulton wasn’t finished there, however. He kept up the attack after the match until Callihan had to call his monster off. Could we be building to a showdown between Fulton and Shamrock?
Joey Ryan Goes To Wrestlers Court
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH5FKsjrhyo
Joey Ryan found guilty of breaking kayfabe, exposing the business, and killing towns.
Impact presented quite the little comedic sketch last night featuring Joey Ryan being taken to “Wrestlers Court.” This really needs to be seen in its entirety to be fully appreciated.
The short of this sketch is that Johnny Swinger took Joey Ryan to wrestlers court on charges of “breaking kayfabe, killing towns, and exposing the business.” Swinger was asking for “2 pay envelopes and a handfull of pizzills” as compensation.
Tommy Dreamer served as the judge for the trial and eventually found Joey Ryan guilty. It took quite a bit of hijinx to get there, however. Dreamer sentenced Ryan to face Ace Romero next week.
Rich Swann Wins Tag Team Open On His Own
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4XCdrLpwfc
Last night a tag team open was held to determine who will face the North at Hard to Kill. Heading into the match, Rich Swann & Willie Mack were considered strong favorites but an injury to Mack would take him out of the match early. Mack clutched at his knee on the outside and was taken to the back.
Swann overcame the odds, however, and scored the win with a victory roll on Dave Crist.
After Swann’s win, the North was shown in the back debating if they should head to the ring and take Swann out. Page told Alexander they were going to do things “his way” and the team opted not to run-in.
Rob Van Dam Defeats Rhino, Takes Shot At Brian Cage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k75Xb26XN58
It was a big night for Rob Van Dam. He defeated Rhino in the opening match but not without a little help from Katie Forbes. It appeared as though Rhino had the match won but Forbes pulled out referee Tommy Dreamer before he could make the 3-count. RVD would later come back and win the match with a 5-star frog splash. Just for good measure, RVD delivered a kick to Dreamer after the match as well.
Later in the night, however, as Brian Cage was being interviewed in the back, RVD and Forbes took their celebration party to the same couch Cage was being interviewed on. RVD and Forbes eventually decided to leave but not before taking a shot at Brian Cage for stealing his moves and getting pinned by Tessa Blanchard in the #1 contenders elimination match recently.
Moose took a break from being a multi-sport athlete this week to step back inside a wrestling ring. He took on the newly signed Ace Romero this week and got all he could handle including a pounce from Acey baby that sent him across the venue.
A match between Eddie Edwards and Michael Elgin was announced for Hard to Kill this week. Elgin interfered in Edwards’ match with Brian Cage last week.
Edwards won the battle royal at Bound for Glory which earned him the right to challenge for any title. Elgin challenged Edwards to put that right on the line in their match at Hard to Kill.
TJP Saves Fallah Bah From Desi Hit Squad Beatdown
Fallah Bah defeated Raj Singh with Bonzai drop this week on Impact. The rest of the Desi Hit Squad would hit the ring after the match, however, and attempt to deliver a beatdown to Bah.
TJP made the save for his friend, however, and cleared the ring of Gama Singh’s faction.
After being thrown over a staircase in a noose by Havok, Su Yung has had some lapses in her memory. Father James Mitchell is taking advantage of this fact and appears to be manipulating Yung in some way. Rosemary doesn’t like this.
This week, Yung noticed a noose flung over a door and it seemed to trigger some memories. Mitchell got her away from there before she could remember too much, however.
Impact Wrestling 12/10 was taped inside New York’s Melrose Ballroom last month. Tonight’s show has 5 matches scheduled to air and will continue the build to next month’s Hard to Kill PPV.
Here is what Impact Wrestling will present tonight on AXS TV and Twitch.
Tessa Blanchard and Sami Callihan Pick Each Other’s Opponents
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42Hk7-hjwXA
With their world title match at Hard to Kill a little over a month away, Sami Callihan and Tessa Blanchard have picked each other’s opponents for tonight’s episode.
Callihan didn’t need to look anywhere outside of Ohio for his selection to face Tessa Blanchard this week. Callihan selected his monster from OVE, Madman Fulton, to take on Blanchard tonight.
Tessa Blanchard also came up with an interesting selection for world champion Sami Callihan to take on tonight. Blanchard chose former NWA World Heavyweight Champion and UFC Superfight champion Ken Shamrock to face her rival tonight in singles competition.
You can bet that both Blanchard and Callihan will be watching the other one’s match tonight and Callihan will likely be looking for an opportunity to soften up his challenger at next month’s pay-per-view.
Rob Van Dam vs Rhino – Old School Rules Match – w/ Tommy Dreamer as Referee
Last week on Impact Wrestling, Rob Van Dam attempted to turn down a match request for him to face Rhino this week with Tommy Dreamer as the special guest referee. RVD attempted to say that every time the former ECW wrestlers attempt to latch on to him, it only brings him down.
It looks as though Impact management has ensured that RVD can’t back out of this match with Rhino tonight, however, and Tommy Dreamer will be there to enforce the old school rules mandate for the match.
Tag Team Open For Shot At The North
The winners of tonight’s tag team open will face Josh Alexander and Ethan Page for the Impact tag team championships at Hard to Kill. Last week on Impact Wrestling, Rich Swann and Willie Mack had an altercation with the North in the back. Swann promised that he and Mack will go out and win the tag team open this week and face the North at Hard to Kill. The North has had a good run as tag team champions but one has to wonder if Willie Mack and Rich Swann have what it takes to unseat them.
The Rascalz, OVE, and Reno Scum will be vying to stop Mack and Swann from advancing to the PPV tonight, however.
Moose vs Ace Romero
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a06ss6AktA
Moose has been doing a lot of bragging about his ability at other sports recently but tonight he’ll step inside the ring with Ace Romero for a big-time heavyweight tilt. Romero made his debut for Impact Wrestling in the X-division ladder match at Bound for Glory and tonight will look to move up the rankings in short order if he can defeat the perennial title-contender Moose.
Moose, however, will likely be looking to show he is just as dominant inside the wrestling ring as he has been on the tennis court, golf course, or while shooting hoops.
There are several storylines going on in Impact Wrestling right now that could be furthered tonight as well. As a result of her victory over the champion recently on Impact, ODB has been added to the Knockouts title match with Taya Valkyrie and Jordynne Grace at Hard to Kill. We could hear from the participants in that match tonight as well.
James Mitchell and Rosemary appear to have a developing conflict over how Mitchell is treating the former Su Yung, who appears to be suffering some memory lapses at the moment. We could get an update from the underworld division of Impact tonight.
Ace Austin and Trey Miguel have a pending X-Division title match coming up but the real question might be, what is going to happen between Austin and Trey’s mother?
Michael Elgin also made a big statement recently when he interfered in a match between Eddie Edwards and Brian Cage. It’s possible we could hear more about elegance future plans tonight as well.
Rob Van Dam turned heel at Bound for Glory in Chicago by kicking Rhino in the head during the tag team title match. Hints about a possible heel turn for RVD date back to his initial signing with Impact this spring, however. RVD has been complaining about wrestlers stealing his moves dating back to the first media call he did on behalf of the company.
On last night’s episode, however, RVD said that not only do the wrestlers in Impact steal his moves, some of the top performers from other promotions do as well.
“Let’s face it, without RVD, there would be no Kenny Omega, there would be no Daniel Bryan. Without RVD, there would be no Young Bucks.”
He added, “I carried the whole ECW. And if you think I’m lying, who is the one wrestler to stand out?”
Impact uploaded a video of RVD’s controversial promo, which you can see here:
In response to a fan on Twitter who said RVD was speaking the truth, he replied, “Truthfully, I was a small 235 lb wrestler because the average guys were closer to 300 lbs and I was the only one creating and doing RVD moves. Now the average wrestler is 190 lbs and they all do my shit. Elite= petite”
Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes In Impact Wrestling
Katie Forbes recently signed on with Impact Wrestling as well. She dropped a match to Jordynne Grace at Vegas tapings in September.
Rob Van Dam will be staying in Impact Wrestling for the next few months. RVD confirmed to Fightful recently that he has extended his contract with the promotion until January. He signed with Impact this spring and his contract was said to originally expire next month.
“I talked with IMPACT! about what I wanted to do, which is mostly stay home unless the business reaches a certain level to pique my interest,” RVD told Fightful. “And they came to that level. Everyone’s talking about AEW, and how they could be scaring WWE. I happen to know IMPACT! can afford RVD, so they’re something someone should be talking about too. It’s all business. I did a match, I think it was WrestleCon—Sabu and I had a tag match and first it was just a one off, and then Scott D’Amore in the office said, ‘Hey, what do you think about doing this other handful of matches?’ Took me to October, and then recently we added a few more matches so I’ll be with them ‘til January. Then we’ll see how it goes after that.”
RVD also spoke about his appearance on the RAW Reunion show for WWE this summer.
“Yes and no,” he responded when asked if he was suprised by the situation. “Yes, the call was a surprise. And IMPACT! reacting the way that they did, in a favorable way, didn’t surprise me because when I talked to them about promoting my documentary Headstrong, they were happy to do it. And then ran a trailer on their show, on the weekly TV show, and they said ‘Hey, anything to help you, helps us.’ So I just assume that’s the way they would look at me being on the RAW Reunion as well.”
RVD made a surprise appearance on the WWE RAW Reunion special at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
As seen on the show, Sami Zayn was battling Rey Mysterio until he tried walking to the back. Before he could get to the stage, RVD, Sgt. Slaughter, Kurt Angle, and The Hurricane appeared. Zayn got back into the ring that led to him losing to Mysterio.
RVD’s latest run with WWE was from June of 2013 through August of 2014. He made a one-off appearance at the 2014 Slammy Awards to present the Slammy Award for Extreme Moment of the Year.
Van Dam made his name known while working for ECW in the late 1990s, with the WWE in the early to mid-2000s, and then with TNA in the early 2010s. Van Dam gained his mainstream popularity by 1998 when he won the ECW World Television Championship, which he held for a record 700 days.
Back in April, it was announced that the former WWE, ECW and Impact Wrestling Champion had signed a new deal with Impact Wrestling. The length of the deal was not confirmed.
There was speculation that current Impact Wrestling star and former WWE Champion Rob Van Dam could make an appearance on tonight’s (July 22) episode of RAW Reunion.
RVD is backstage and will indeed be appearing the broadcast, PWInsider.com has confirmed. The speculation started once he asked fans to finish a tweet that some believed was, “RVD is RAW.”
Then, fans noticed that the company was selling foam hands as his merchandise at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida before the show.
It should be noted that WWE has yet to advertise the pro wrestling legend for the show but instead, it will be a surprise appearance.
For years after his latest WWE stint that ended in 2014, it appeared that he was just enjoying his life after putting together a successful career as RVD decided to work a selective number of dates on the independent scene. That changed when he signed with Impact earlier this year.
The following stars are advertised to appear: Alicia Fox, Alundra Blayze, Booker T, Candice Michelle, Christian, D-Von Dudley, DX (Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Sean “X-Pac” Waltman, “Road Dogg” BG James), Eric Bischoff, Eve Torres, Gerald Brisco, Hulk Hogan, Hurricane Helms, Jillian Hall, Jonathan Coachman, Jerry Lawler, Jimmy Hart, Kaitlyn, Kelly Kelly, Kevin Nash, Kurt Angle, Lilian Garcia, Mark Henry, Melina, Mick Foley, Pat Patterson, Ric Flair, Rikishi, Ron Simmons, Santino Marella, Scott Hall, gt. Slaughter, Shawn Michaels, Sid Vicious, Steve Austin, Ted DiBiase Sr., The Boogeyman, The Godfather
Years of research has helped to illuminate how headshots and impact to the head can be destructive to an individual.
On a recent episode of The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling, Rob Van Dam addressed the dangers of concussions. He joined them in order to promote his documentary, Headstrong. He claims that the lessons he learned over the course of filming helped to change his life.
“I showed up on day one with symptoms of a concussion that I got two-three days before the tour started, and at first I thought the concussion symptoms would go away and they always, always, always did before, so I wasn’t as concerned but let’s just go ahead forward with what we were going to do,” RVD said.
“The symptoms stayed so long that the documentary takes a major turn and becomes about something else, and we have to go into that. I’m getting my brain checked out with the camera, and I’m talking to the viewers as I’m learning they are learning with me, so I take them on the roller coaster with me to check out what is going on in my head.”
“I’ll Recover From It”
RVD admits he used to have a different stance regarding impactful shots to the head. He used to staunchly believe it showcased how tough he was:
“Throughout my whole career, I had the other view. I thought I am showing how tough I am and I’m showing what a chair shot I can take to my head, and I’ll recover from it. I knew every night when Balls Mahoney was going to whack me with that chair for instance, I knew my bell was going to get rung. I knew it was going to be something and everything was like slow motion for a few seconds, and the sound would go out or sometimes it would just feel like I am sleeping and there were all kinds of different aspects to having your bells rung.”
“What I didn’t realize at the time was that was my brain bouncing against my skull, knocking my senses loose, and that is a concussion. There is minor concussions, and there is major concussions, and I’ve really only had one that I would consider a major concussion—maybe two where I couldn’t remember anything afterwards.”
When he watched the whole documentary, Rob Van Dam became fully aware of how he had mishandled his concussions.
He realized that “[…] I did everything wrong. Your brain needs to rest, and you need to go someplace dark and close your eyes, not stimulate your brain. I did the exact opposite.”
Headstrong is out now, and is available to buy or rent from iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and other streaming services.
H/T to Chad and JP of The TwoMan Power Trip Of Wrestling Podcast for the transcription.
Impact Wrestling presented a show from the Melrose Ballroom last night on Twitch, Pursuit, and their international broadcast partners. The episode was filmed on June 6th, 2019.
Here are 9 Takeaways from Impact Wrestling:
Michael Elgin Sends Willie Mack To The Hospital
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbDL4RyoC1k
Elgin defeated Willie Mack in the main event last night but that was not where the action stopped. Elgin looked to continue the beatdown after the match but was stopped by Rich Swann. This brought out Johnny Impact, who will challenge Swann for the X-Division title at Slammivesary.
After Johnny disposed of Swann, Elgin turned his attention to him. Rather than continue his fragile alliance with Impact, Elgin delivered a belly to back suplex to the former champion and then put on his sunglasses to end the show. A few chants for “Big Mike” could be heard after he took out Johnny.
Moose and Rob Van Dam Rivalry Heats Up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKtoGBTOPcI
The show opened up this week with the North defeating the ECW Originals, Sabu and RVD. The match was not without controversy, however, as RVD’s Slammiversary opponent Moose interfered. Moose tossed RVD off the top turnbuckle, allowing the North to eventually gain the upper-hand on Sabu and get the win.
Tommy Dreamer would come out and throw Moose back in the ring, however, allowing RVD and Sabu to pick up a measure of revenge. RVD attempted to hit a Coast 2 Coast but Moose slipped out of the ring before he could.
LAX and the Rascalz Will Rematch At Slammiversary
LAX will defend the Tag Team Championships against The Rascalz on July 7th at Slammiversary!#SLAMM17
Following last week’s controversial finish to their tag title match, LAX and the Rascalz ended up in a backstage brawl this week. LAX got the upper-hand during the melee but then told the Rascalz they would give them a rematch at Slammiversary.
Scarlett Bordeaux and Taya Valkyrie Don’t Get Along Too Well
Taya Valkyrie was a guest on Scarlett Bordeaux’s “Smoke Show” this week. Bordeaux said that Taya has to defend the title next week against Su Yung. This did not go over well with Taya. She stormed off the set after learning the news.
The North Earn Tag Title Shot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm4LMVaRi_c
Shortly after the the North defeated RVD & Sabu, Josh Matthews mentioned on commentary that the win earns them the right to challenge LAX for the tag titles at Bash at the Brewery next month.
It's official! @OfficialEGO & @Walking_Weapon will challenge @SantanaLAX & @Ortiz5150 for the Tag Team Championships at our next @IMPACTPlusApp Special, Bash at the Brewery! #IMPACT
Havok won a squash match this week. James Mitchell cut a promo after the match stating that Havok will be the next Knockouts champion. He also promised that Havok would use Rosemary’s “broken carcass” as a launch pad to the title. Later in the show, Rosemary stated that she wants to return the Knockouts title to “the Hive.” It looks like Taya has two dark and menacing challengers lurking.
Eddie Edwards Rescues The Sandman From Killer Kross
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJDfSyWFCxg
Killer Kross defeated the Sandman this week by choking out the ECW legend. He kept the hold on after the bell, however, leading Eddie Edwards to make the save. A match between the two hasn’t been made official for Slammiversary but it feels as though that’s where things are headed.
Kiera Hogan Costs Jordynne Grace Match Against Madison Rayne
Kiera Hogan joined the commentary booth for a match between Madison Rayne and Jordynne Grace. In the closing moments of the match, Grace was climbing the turnbuckle when she was distracted by Hogan’s disingenuous cheering on the outside. The distraction allowed Rayne to hit Cross Rayne and get the win.
A Jordynne Grace vs Kiera Hogan rivalry looks to be brewing and Hogan looks to be turning heel.
The Desi Hit Squad Defeat the Deaners
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L6dHqZ2aK4
The Desi Hit Squad picked up a win over the Deaners this week. The blue-collar Deaners were distracted with the Great Gama Singh on the outside, who appeared to be faking a heart attack.
Quick Results:
Josh Alexander & Ethan Page (the North) defeated Rob Van Dam & Sabu
Impact Wrestling revealed the latest match to be added to their next pay-per-view event, Slammiversary XVII. On Tuesday, the promotion officially announced that Rob Van Dam will take on Moose in a singles match. This comes after RVD accepted Moose’s challenge.
Slammiversary XVII will be held on Sunday, July 7, at Gilley’s Dallas in Texas. Impact World Champion Brian Cage makes his next title defense against Michael Elgin in the main event of this show.
The three-hour event begins at 8 p.m. ET and will be available on all major PPV distributors, including DISH, DirecTV, iN Demand, Vubiquity, Rogers, Bell, Shaw, Sasktel. Also, it will be streamed live globally on IMPACT Plus and the FITE.tv app.
Slammiversary XVII Card
The promotion will be announcing more matches in the coming weeks. Here is the updated card:
Impact World Champion Brian Cage vs. Michael Elgin
X-Division Champion Rich Swann vs. Johnny Impact
Rob Van Dam vs. Moose
Eddie Edwards, Sami Callihan, Pentagon Jr., Fenix, the high-flying X-Division, plus the Knockouts, including Taya Valkyrie, Tessa Blanchard, Rosemary, Jordynne Grace, Madison Rayne and Su Yung are all advertised to appear.
Impact Wrestling was from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia and had an ECW-nostalgic feel. Rob Van Dam faced Tommy Dreamer in the main event.
Here are 7 takeaways from Impact Wrestling 5/24:
Sabu Makes The Save Against the North
Rob Van Dam defeated Tommy Dreamer
Moose joined Josh Alexander and Ethan Page in a post-match attack on Dreamer and RVD this week. This followed RVD beating Tommy Dreamer in the night’s main event. Moose would give the North the numbers advantage when he came out but Sabu made the save and the ECW team stood tall to end the show.
LAX Retain Titles But Controversy Follows
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vaw4aypqrg
LAX (c) defeated the North – Impact Tag Team Championships
LAX defeated the North to retain their tag titles this week. Alexander and Page might have a complaint, however. It seemed as though the North actually got the 3-count moments before LAX did. Matthews and Callis said on commentary that the North might have a case for a rematch.
Johnny Impact holds the big red X as a result of winning the Ultimate X match in April. He said this week that he hopes Michael Elgin sends Rich Swann to the hospital because he wants the X-Division title. Elgin and Impact agreed to team up to take on Mack and Swann next week.
Rosemary Is Coming For Taya
Knockouts Championship: Taya Valkyrie (c) defeated Madison Rayne
Madison Rayne looked as though she was going to pick up the victory with a spinning reverse DDT but Taya grabbed ahold of the referee as the Rayne was giving her the move. Valkyrie then grabbed Rayne, delivered the Road to Valhalla and picked up the victory.
Following the match, Rosemary (with Su Yung on a leash) came out to confront the champ and make it known she wants a shot at the title.
Dez Picks Up Win In X-Division 4-Way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOFzMFba-w8
Dez defeated Rohit Raju, Ace Austin, Petey Williams (fatal 4-way)
Dez from the Rascalz picked up the win in X-Division action this week. He pinned the Desi Hit Squad’s Rohit Raju.
Earlier in the show, the Rascalz were shown getting serious in their training while in Philadelphia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWMfUvr-ZDE
Sami Callihan Bites Feet, Wins Match, Spits At Scarlett Bordeaux
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6cJNaSkN14
Sami Callihan defeated Fallah Bah
Sami Callihan stooped to new lows in his match against Fallah Bah to kick things off this week. Callihan punched Fallah Bah in the bare feet and even bit his toes in order to gain the advantage. The members of OVE would come out to cause a distraction. They grabbed a hold of Bordeaux on the outside, leading Bah to avert his attention to them. When Bah got back in the ring, he took a Cactus Driver and ate a pinfall while Callihan had his feet on the ropes.
After the match, Callihan spat at Bordeaux.
Tessa Blanchard Is Coming For Glenn Gilbertti
The former Disco Inferno was back on Impact Wrestling this week. After winning a Knockouts Battle Royal previously, Gilbertti this time wrestled an exhibition match against Ashley Vox. He didn’t put the microphone down the whole match either.
Eventually, Tessa Blanchard had to come out and put Gilbertti in his place. It was Blanchard who Gilbertti eliminated from the Battle Royal last, so she was getting some revenge for that as well.
It was later announced that Gilbertti will face Tessa Blanchard in inter-gender action next week.
Quick Results:
Sami Callihan defeated Fallah Bah w/Scarlett Bordeaux
Knockouts Championship: Taya Valkyrie (c) defeated Madison Rayne
Tag Team Championships: LAX (c) defeated the North
Dez defeated Rohit Raju, Ace Austin, Petey Williams (fatal 4-way)