By Jeff Knapp
This past weekend we saw 2 solid PPVs (premium live events) from both Impact Wrestling with Against All Odds and the WWE with Money in the Bank.
At Against All Odds, we saw some solid tag team work with the veteran Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) notch a victory over the Bullet Club members of Ace Austin and Chris Bey. “Speedball” Mike Bailey retained his Impact X-Division Championship when he defeated Trey Miguel, The Impact women’s tag team champions, Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie defeated Tenille Dashwood and Gisele Shaw to retain their titles. In a brutal match, Moose was somehow able to overcome Sami Callihan in Raven’s Clockwork Orange House of Fun Match. The main event didn’t disappoint as Impact World Champion Josh Alexander kept his title around his waist when he defeated another member of VBD, Joe Doering. This was a great match, Josh never lets me down and, in my opinion, this was Joe’s best match since arriving in Impact.
The next night at MITB we saw Liv Morgan claim that briefcase to with the Women’s MITB match agaisnt Becky Lynch, Asuka, Lacey Evans, Raquel Rodriguez, Shotzi and Alexa Bliss, where she went on to cash it in later that night against a beatup Ronda Rousey and finally reach the mountain top to become the new WWE Smackdown Women’s champion. I am so proud of her. The hard work has paid off and we are behind you.
Bobby Lashley defeated Theory to become the new US Champion. Later that night Theory was granted a spot, presumably by Vince McMahon into the MITB match, a match in which he also won. The crowd was besides themselves and I’m not sure if that was heel heat or go away heat. Fans ask for new, they get new and then boo, but he’s a heel, so I’m hoping it was because of that.
Outside of the main event, the Men’s tag team title match between the Usos and the Street Profits was one hell of a match. The Uso are just top tier, and the Street Profits are just getting better and better. I wasn’t a fan of the 183 close 3 counts, but the ending with the shoulder up controversy was a great twist and should lead into something big, and I’m sure hard to top at Summer Slam between the 2 teams
We found out 3 of the matches for the next ROH PPV, Death Before Dishonor. Right now, the card has Wheeler Yuta defending his ROH Pure Championship against JAS’s Daniel Garcia, Samoa Joe will defend his ROH TV championship against the longest reigning ROH Champion, Jay Lethal and finally, FTR has issued a challenge to The Briscoes for a rematch with the ROH tag titles on the line. It will be hard to follow up their 1st match.
Although the length of the contract hasn’t been revealed, Smackdown announcer Pat McAfee has signed a multiyear extension with the WWE. Let’s see if this motivates him to a victory at SummerSlam over Baron Corbin.
Over at Impact Wrestling, Killer Kelly is returning. She was a standout in NXT-UK and over at ROH as well.
WWE – RAW
It seems like every week I’m either saying Raw was pretty good, ehh or I’m glad I taped it. This week was the taped it scenario.
AJ Styles defeated the Miz. After the match AJ was jumped from behind Ciampa. Not sure why he did this, where this is going or anything. The only thing I’m positive about is that either this will set up a tag match at SummerSlam between The Miz & Ciampa vs Styles and the newly signed and out for revenge Logan Paul.
The other 2 big matches of the night were the 6-man tag team match between Bobby Lashley & the Street Profits and Theory & the Alpha Academy in which Bobby got the massive spear on Gable for the victory. The other big match was the main event where we saw Becky Lynch get some manner of revenge against Asuka in a No Holds Barred Match. She devastated Asuka with a Manhandle slam off the top rope through a table for the pinfall.
NXT – Great American Bash
The Great American Bash showed all the NXT titles on the line except for the Women’s championship held by Mandy Rose. Speaking of Mandy, her Toxic Attraction sable mates put their NXT Women’s Tag Team titles on the line against Cora Jade & Roxanne Perez. After a back-and-forth match, Cora & Roxanne pulled off the upset and dethroned the Champions and are now your NEW NXT women’s tag team champions.
Speaking of Champions, The North American Champion, The A Champion, Carmelo Hayes defeated Grayson Waller in a highly athletic match. Say what you want about Waller, but he’s incredibly athletic. His main event status is in question, but he’s got many of the tools. Carmelo has to be one of the favorites to either dethrone Bron down the road or be called up sooner than later to Raw or Smackdown. I’m hoping he doesn’t since he can be a pillar of NXT 2.0 like Gargano was for the better version of NXT.
The next championship match we saw was for the NXT Tag Team Championship Match which pitted Diamond Mine vs Diamond Mine when The Creed Brothers faced Roderick Strong & Damon Kemp. In the end The Brothers pin Kemp for the win with that sliding clothesline.
Finally, in the main event NXT Championship Bron Breakker defeated Cameron Grimes when Grimes leaped off the 2nd turnbuckle and was speared by Bron for the pinfall. After the match former NXT-UK wrestler, Jordan Devlin, now going by JD McDonagh attacked Bron from behind and put him through a table to ebd the show.
AEW – DYNAMITE
I will never get tired of AEW starting things off on the right foot and this week was no different when Scorpio Sky defended his AEW TNT Championship against Wardlow. Sky had what seemed like the entire A.T.T. with him for this street fight, but he did want to go at it alone to prove he could defeat Wardlow. That didn’t happen. In the end, Wardlow connected with 4 powerbombs for the win and is not the NEW AEW TNT champion. He will be World Champion within 2 years.
Christian Cage comes out with Luchasaurus to cut a promo about Jungle Boy but is interrupted by Matt Hardy. This quickly takes a turn for the worse, in a great heel way, when Cage talks about how Matt rides the coattails of his brother, his wife, kids, uncle and anybody else. He brings up how he looks the other way with Jeff’s issues. Once again Christian shows how it’s done. I wish he was given this type of freedom on the mic in his WWE run.
Shane “Swerve” Strickland & Keith Lee were in tag team action and fought off a very tough Butcher and the Blade. After the match they are confronted by Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks. They are tired of hearing about who’s better when they know Hobbs and Starks are. Starks is a treasure on the mic. With that said, this brings out the AEW tag Team Champions, The Young Bucks. They talk about how they are the best, which causes FTR chants. The Bucks challenge both teams to a 3-way match next week on Dynamite.
After the 8-man tag team match between Leon Ruff, Bear Country & Fuego Del Sol and The Acclaimed & The Gunn Club, there is a fight between the Gunn Club and the Acclaimed. At one point it looks like Billy Gunn is going to take the sides of the Acclaimed, he takes them both out and shows that blood is thicker than water. Who else can’t wait for Platinum Max’s diss rap next week?
Just like AEW has an Interim champion, Stokely Hathaway mentions paying $1100 to Leila Gray to be Jade Cargill’s Interim baddie. Yes please. This beautiful lady has been busy, having time on WWE & AEW programming over the past few months.
In the main event, Interim Champion took on one of his toughest competitors to date, facing the House of Black’s Brody King. At one point, Jon looked out of it, but never count him out. In an amazing comeback, Jon ends up locking in an arching rear choak for the submission/ref stoppage.
IMPACT
Keeping with their strategy of starting the show off with action, Impact starts us off with a X Division title match. “Speedball” Mike Bailey successfully defended his title against newcomer and former Dark Order member Alan Angels. Overall a great match, but how does a wrestler whose 1st match in a company is for a championship.
After the match they were attacked from behind by VBD which brings out Eric Young who informs Deaner and Doering that the world belongs to him.
We see that HNM are backstage and need to see more from PCO, and need to see it happen tonight against Black Tarus.
In one hell of a hard hitting match, the ageless wonder PCO picks up a much needed win over Black Tarus.
Digital media champion, Brian Meyers informs Bhupinder Gujjar that he’ll need to get past Johnny Swinger in order to face him for the championship. 1st off, this is where Impact loses me. The American audience has trouble with harder names, that was an issue I heard about hockey too with the Russian and other names that were difficult for us to pronounce and don’t roll off the tongue. Change it to just Gujjar. Why is Johnny Swinger even there? I can’t take anything he’s involved in seriously and just a fast forward moment.
Thankfully the main event arrived and we got Mia Yim vs Deonna Purrazzo for the Knockout’s #1 contender match. despite being the Virtuosa, Mia connected with eat da feet for the 1-2-3. After that Knockouts champion Jordynne Grace came out and congratulated her and walked away.
WWE – SMACKDOWN
Tonight’s show started off with the Head of the Table, The Needle Mover, The Tribal Chief Roman Reigns, who is joined by The Usos and Paul Heyman.
Paul talks about what Brock is like when he’s not only told what he can’t do, but what he’s like when he’s backed into a corner. He informs Roman what he will have to become in order to keep Brock down for 10.
As they are about to leave Theory comes out with his MITB briefcase and jogs around the ring. He later informs both Roman and Brock they will be in no condition to beat him when he cashes in after their match.
I try to give every new gimmick a try and sometimes it works out, like it did with the New Day, but this Maximum Male Models gimmick with Mace and Monsoor might be a mountain too large to overcome.
In a match to prove he should challenge Gunther for the IC championship, Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Ludwig, who in return gets forcefully chopped by Gunther 3 times as punishment.
Ronda Rousey comes out with a lip and still gets into a fight with Natayla, who taps out to a leg lock. Will we see Liv vs Ronda at SummerSlam or will it be a 3 way with Natalya?
In what was supposed to be Lacey & Aliyah vs Shotzi & Shayna, Lacey gets upset on how the crowd reacts to her and as she’s about to leave the ring in disgust, she lays Aliyah out with a Women’s right. I’m still trying to figure out why the crowd turned on her. I’m actually a fan of hers.
In the main event, with the winner getting a shot at Roman in Cardiff, Wales, Drew McIntyre defeated Butch, who was filling in for a “sick” Sheamus.
AEW – RAMPAGE
In the opening contest, Eddie Kingston defeated Konosuke Takeshita in a hard hitting match.
Kris Statlander and Athena were backstage telling Jade Cardgill they were ready to be the competition she’s been waiting for
Tully Blanchard Enterprises Gates Of Agony defeated Jonathan Gresham & Lee Moriarty when Gresham turned his back on Moriarty and joined TBE in a shocking act that nobody saw coming.
In another tag team match Serena Deeb & Mercedes Martinez made very quick work of Christina Marie & Kayla Sparks. During the match both Deeb and Martinez were trying to show who was the better wrestler, which spilled over after the match when Deeb attacked Martinez and put her in the Serenity Lock.
In the Main Event Orange Cassidy defeated Tony Nese in which, if he lost would have had to sign Nese’s petition to remove Shane “Swerve” Strickland from AEW.
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