Coverage

NOAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.58 ~ 20TH NOVEMBER 2019

After a small hiatus because she took a trip to Japan; Hisame is back with all the NOAH updates!

Published

4 years ago

November 21, 2019

Hi5ame

After a small hiatus because she took a trip to Japan; Hisame is back with all the NOAH updates!

I am sorry that there has been almost a months gap between the last two newsletters, as I have since been and gone to Japan. I thought it would be better to write a summary when I returned, especially after NOAH’s big Sumo Hall show. I thought it would be best when I returned to tackle the mammoth task of working through my NOAH backlog, (and sleeping off my jetlag), before I wrote it so I had pretty much the complete picture.

NOAH the BEST (SUMO HALL, 2ND NOVEMBER 2019)
The atmosphere at the start of the event when the crowd were filing in and milling around, could be described as somewhat tense, especially compared to the Big Japan event. For NOAH it cannot be stated just how important this night was to everybody, both fans and wrestlers alike. This was the second time in many years that they had run a stadium, and they had all put everything into it.

It had to work.

If I have one regret about this show, then it was the due to the fact that I was jetlagged, had two hours sleep after a long flight and standing in a queue for three hours (thanks to the people coming to Japan for the Rugby, who like me had gone to get their JR Rail Pass sorted out), I completely forgot to put the zoom lens on the camera (and I couldn’t even work it out), even though I was sitting second row and had a good view. I also did not put the new sim in my phone, so I couldn’t live tweet…but maybe on that night, that was for the best.

I am going to discuss the highlights of the evening here, as well as the big matches.

Kenta Kobashi appeared to open the show, he also came out in the interval, and during the main event to officially retire the old GHC Heavyweight belt (I will get to that), but he for some reason decided that he was only going to use the ladder into the ring provided by the ring attendants one, all the other times he preferred to haul himself into the ring like the old days by climbing on the apron. Lets just say that Kobashi is not as agile as he used to be, and he came dangerously close to falling off a couple of times.

Traditional NOAH ran what fans called “old man matches” during the Golden Era of stadiums, and in Misawa’s day they featured old veterans, and rookies. There were no rookies in this match, but there were four old vets, plus the referee, Mighty Inoue. Mighty Inoue came from NOAH as part of the exodus from All Japan, always acutely aware of how hard it was for older athletes to make a living after they could no longer wrestle, Mitsuharu Misawa took care of him as there was a problem with his pension being paid. Inoue refereed the comedy match between Akitoshi Saito & Masao Inoue vs Tamon Honda and Mitsuo Momota. Inoue (usually the one who gets bullied in NOAH, in various ways), decided he was going to pick on Momota. Momota said that the audience saw it as an old man getting roughed up by a younger one. The most comical moments were when Mighty looked into the crowd and shook his head at Inoue’s antics (which involved eye raking), and when Momota pinned Inoue, and Saito stepped on him while he was still on the floor.

The crowd cheered loudly to see NOAH born Eddie Edwards (and the former GHC Heavyweight Champion) back home. In the backstage interview, Atsushi Kotoge said he was “very happy” in English to be teaming with Edwards and Chris Ridgeway. After tonight, however, Kotoge was going to have other more serious things on his mind (or what is left of it).

Kazuyuki Fujita and Shuhei Taniguchi finished their rivalry, the match went only seven brutal minutes, with the kicks that Fujita gave to Taniguchi’s head echoing around the arena, before the referee stopped the bout as Fujita applied a sleeper hold. Bust open, Taniguchi was going to use this to his advantage.

Daisuke Harada & Tadasuke faced off with Kotaro Suzuki & Yoshinari Ogawa for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag titles in an electric match. So many near falls both from sides, and Tadasuke in particular fighting to the bitter end, and refusing to give up. In the end, Tadasuke took the win over Kotaro Suzuki with the Outcast after 10 minutes 58 seconds, and the tag belts came back to RATELS. Daisuke Harada strapped Tadasuke’s first NOAH championship on him, and it was hard to say who looked happier, Tadasuke or Harada for Tadasuke. Harada’s comment was “this is Tadasuke’s belt, try and take it assholes”.

HAYATA & YO-HEY clashed in the next match for the GHC Junior Heavyweight championship. There was never any ill feeling between them, but tonight they were both all business, and they put on a stellar match (which has made my 2019 MOTY List). Most memorable was the repeated Headaches that YO-HEY took, at one point knocking him outside of the ring until the count almost ran out. HAYATA prevailed after fourteen minutes and eleven seconds to retain the title.

Stinger appeared towards the end of the match, but rather than cause trouble with RATELS (or cause any of them to turn on them), they had come to let Tadasuke & Harada know that they would be coming for the belts again. So while Tadasuke and Harada squared up to them, HAYATA’S concern was in helping YO-HEY up.

RATELS quickly returned to normal. After joining the great sea of people exiting Sumo Hall at the end of the evening, I glanced over at the merchandise stands. One thing I remember (other than Go Shiozaki’s floating head), was RATELS with YO-HEY standing in front of HAYATA, and HAYATA pinning himself against the back wall.

THE TOUGH (Yoshiki Inamura & Masa Kitamiya) faced AXIZ (Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima) for the GHC Heavyweight tag titles. Kitamiya very much put over his young protegee by spending a lot of time outside of the ring, and letting Inamura battle the much more experienced AXIZ, and on a couple of occasions (like the massive heave to Nakajima, throwing him into the corner after charging at him), he came very very close to winning the gold for THE TOUGH. Sadly, despite his best efforts it was not to be so, but significantly it wasn’t Inamura who was pinned, but Kitamiya following the Vertical Spike from Nakajima.

Naomichi Marufuji (who had special body art done for the match, and did not appear thankfully as anything approaching Tokyo Sports “The Great Maru” or in his former mecha phase), faced The Great Muta for both the first time in his career and in the NOAH ring. This match went a long way to lighten the tension after what had been, and what was to come, with Great Muta unfamiliar with objects not commonly found in the underworld such as fire extinguishers (which Marufuji sprayed him with), and television cameras (which he shoved a cameraman down to get), doing what Marufuji had told him not to, which was to make him bleed. By far the most spectacular moment of this match was when Muta spat fire. I just remember hearing a clicking sound, and seeing flames erupt from his mouth. Marufuji ended the match a mixture of red, green and smudged into an ashy look after his body paint was smeared.

NOAH’s new belt, inaugurated by Riki Choshu, the GHC National, was fought for between Takashi Sugiura and Michael Elgin, with Riki Choshu handing the belt to Sugiura, the victor with the Olympic Slam after 21 minutes and 35 seconds.

The GHC National (a belt created really for the veterans to fight over leaving the younger roster to chase the GHC HEAVYWEIGHT, and gaijin and those outside the company to challenge for), has been said to be openweight, which means that the NOAH Juniors (and those elsewhere) can also challenge.

Kenoh and Kaito Kiyomiya reached the latest pinnacle of their volatile love-hate relationship, with Kenoh swinging mercurially between his concern for, hatred and jealousy of Kiyomiya (who he refused to believe was no longer the innocent teenager who looked up to him) and Kiyomiya’s wavering admiration for Kenoh making him who he is, his frustration with Kenoh’s clucking over him, and his final admittance that they hate each other.

Kenta Kobashi, in an emotional moment, retired the old GHC Heavyweight belt. All I remember about the moment is the fact that the arena suddenly seemed so quiet as an emotional Kobashi took the belt, and looked down at it, you could see the memories rushing to his eyes as he looked tearful; the memories of Misawa, the memories of his own championship reign, the memories of NOAH’s summertime, Differ, his beloved but now absent KENTA, the creation of the belt, it would have been impossible to name just one memory. Kobashi hurriedly exited the ring holding the belt to him, and sat down quickly. If Misawa was anywhere that night, it would have been next to him.

While not receiving good reviews from those who watched the broadcast, no one at Sumo Hall that evening had anything bad to say about the main event and title match that evening. Kenoh was determined to save Kiyomiya from something Kiyomiya did not believe he needed saving from, and Kiyomiya was determined that he would once again defeat Kenoh, and prove to him and everyone else just how much he had grown. The match went 31 minutes and 10 seconds, but it seemed to go by in a flash, and ended with Kiyomiya getting the win with the Tiger Suplex hold. Kenoh slunk away to lick his wounds, as Kiyomiya stood with the new belt in a NOAH ring as the champion of a promotion that had just taken a major step up.

To Osaka and beyond
NOAH aside, comparing Osaka to Tokyo is like watching the beginning of “Animal House”, when after walking through the pristine Faber College, Bluto opens the door to the Delta Tau Chi house…

The show in Osaka on the 9th had a completely different atmosphere. The wrestlers were more visible and more accessible, and the ambiance was far more relaxed. You could also tell how much of a morale boost that Sumo Hall had given both the fans and the roster.

Junta Miyawaki scored a singles win over Kinya Okada. Miyawaki might not have gotten his first win over a seniors in a single, but people were full of praise for him, especially as he has started adding new techniques into his repertoire, and is taking kick lessons with Katsuhiko Nakajima. There also seems to be a small rivalry budding between himself and Okada.

STINGER & RATELS faced off in a typically chaotic match (Osaka after all is the spiritual home of RATELS, even if one of them is native, two of them live there, and all four of them speak Osaka dialect when together), which ended with Atsushi Kotoge getting the win over Daisuke Harada, and three title challenges made.

First of all, Kotaro Suzuki challenged with Atsushi Kotoge for the GHC Junior Tag Titles (Yoshinari Ogawa is currently working through a shoulder injury, and Suzuki does not feel he is up to another title challenge or title run currently), Daisuke Harada told them that they could have the match, but, he had a challenge of his own, namely that Kotoge let him challenge him for the IPW Junior Heavyweight.

STINGER were not done, and Chris Ridgeway challenged HAYATA for the GHC Junior. HAYATA’S response was “You….next”.

KUMAXIZ (so called when they team with Hitoshi Kumano) teamed with Shuhei Taniguchi against The Sugiura Army (Takashi Sugiura, Kazuyuki Fujita, Hideki Suzuki and Hajime Ohara). Poor Ohara got the worst of this match when Nakajima sent him flying to the mat after kicking him in the head, and as I said earlier, Taniguchi used the wound given to him by Fujita at Sumo Hall by Sugiura busting it open and blood running down his face making him look as if an eye socket had come out. Taniguchi made the new GHC National Champion tap out, and afterwards challenged him for the belt. Sugiura had to grudgingly admit that this was Taniguchi awake.

On the side of the GHC Heavyweight Tag champions, Katsuhiko Nakajima took the opportunity to sarcastically introduce himself and Go Shiozaki to Fujita. Fujita didn’t take well to it and attacked him. Afterwards, he and Suzuki stole the tag belts. However, at the time of writing there has been no official challenge.

The main event was Kenoh and Kiyomiya on opposing teams, with Kiyomiya holding the belt in Kenoh’s face, but Kenoh had a very different target in mind other than his usual two obsessions of Marufuji and Kiyomiya (although naturally Kiyomiya did get sworn at), when after the match he got on the microphone and started growling at Kiyoshi Tamura. I am unsure of the exact comment Tamura made, but I know enough that a lot of NOAH fans are angry at his assertion that NOAH’s wrestling is not interesting (or something to that degree), and Kenoh in particular has taken exception to it. He was calling Tamura out, finishing with “if you have a problem, come to the ring.”.

Before I move on to NOAH after Osaka, afterwards fans had gathered in the lobby to catch the wrestlers as they left, when there was a loud crashing noise coming from the lift, and Naomichi Marufuji and Mohammed Yone (plus two heavy wheeled suitcases),practically fell out of a too small space. Mohammed Yone said “Masao Inoue!”, which made everyone laugh, as Inoue is the spirit invoked whenever anything comedic happens.

Due to a mixture of travelling back from Japan, jetlag, a backlog, returning to work, I resumed writing event reports from 13th November onwards. NOAH had held a show on the 11th (the day I flew back) in Hiroshima where HAYATA (a native of the city) was defeated in front of friends (and highly photogenic family) by Chris Ridgeway. Things carried on much the same way between the two teams in the run up to the big Korakuen Hall event.

In Aizu Wakamatsu, Naomichi Marufuji attempted to shake hands with Kenoh. Kenoh naturally glared, swore and went to kick him away. Marufuji says that he feels neglected since Kenoh started venting his anger at Kiyoshi Tamura.

Korakuen Hall
(Event was livestreamed via NOAH’s official YouTube channel, click here for full show)

After defeating 50 Funky Powers, Akitoshi Saito called a press conference backstage, and announced to the journalists that he would be bringing back something of the ferocity of the unit he was in once, which he announced was called “The Anti Wrestlers Alliance” (the name is misleading, it doesn’t mean that they are “anti-wrestler”, it basically means that they will be another dissident group, but different to Kongoh).

Despite Saito’s seriousness, there have already been two comedy elements. The first intentionally came from Saito himself when he announced that since Masao Inoue’s piggy bank was overflowing with change, he would be funding the new group. The second came from Naomichi Marufuji, who asked that since this group was such rebels, did it mean that they would liberally help themselves to both the water and the medipacks left backstage and purchased by the company?

YO-HEY, HAYATA & Tadasuke took on Chris Ridgeway, Yoshinari Ogawa and Kotaro Suzuki, with a massive brawl breaking out (or rather several brawls breaking out) afterwards, when HAYATA got the sneak pin on Chris Ridgeway, and Ridgeway going berserk and trapping him in an armbar. YO-HEY & Ogawa had to take charge (helped by the referee) in separating both HAYATA and Ridgeway, and then Tadasuke and Kotaro, although they themselves got into a fight with each other. In the end YO-HEY managed to calm down HAYATA and Tadasuke, and get them backstage. Telling them to calm down and talking about flammable drinks from Okinawa and children’s Mah-Jong games did no good, as both Tadasuke and HAYATA gave him the slip and raced off.

It is rare for HAYATA to become so irate, normally he doesn’t react, and it is really YO-HEY who can get under his skin, although not to this level. Even Kotaro Suzuki (skilled in causing trouble) was a little intimidated by him, so much so he even turned up to a match signing, and it is a hallmark STINGER tactic that they claim they have better things to do, and so often don’t.

Ridgeway, however, seems to have the knack in winding RATELS up, not only is HAYATA unusually ruffled, but when fighting with Daisuke Harada over the IPW Junior Heavyweight, Harada started speaking in Osaka dialect in promos, which is a sure sign he is really annoyed.

After a match where Yoshiki Inamura threw his opponents around like they weighed nothing, Kenoh ignored Marufuji, Kiyomiya was demonstrated to have grown further in confidence since Sumo Hall, and Hi69 got the brunt of Kongoh, Kenoh once again verbally attacked Kiyoshi Tamura, asking the fans if they wanted to hear the UWF theme in NOAH.

Kenoh’s mood has not been improved by Tamura’s only comment, which is “No Comment”.

The title match between Daisuke Harada and Atsushi Kotoge for the IPW Junior Heavyweight championship could have been ruined by the fact that sadly IPW had announced the night before that in 2020 the promotion will no longer be holding live events, and that their heavyweight title will be defended one last time in December. They haven’t announced what will become of the IPW Junior Heavyweight or the six man to decide the number one contender for the title either, and so while Kotoge and Harada were fighting over what could turn out to be nothing, this match was saved by the emotion and drama behind it of the two former friends and tag partners. Kotoge, sad over the loss of their friendship, Harada unforgiving about Kotoge ditching himself, the juniors and the titles for the hated heavyweights, and the lingering hatred between Stinger and RATELS all served to overshadow the issues surrounding the belt. In a true showcase of the NOAH juniors, the Osaka boys put on a match of the year, with the ending going viral as Daisuke Harada used an Avalanche Katayama German Suplex for the win. Empty title or not, challenged for or not, RATELS now hold all the junior belts in NOAH.

In the main event, Shuhei Taniguchi was not going to wait to get in the ring with Takashi Sugiura, and attacked him as soon as the bell rang, outside the ring, leaving both AXIZ and the others in The Sugiura Army watching. When they did get in the ring together, vicious elbows and headbutts flew between them, with Taniguchi using the kicks to the head he had been given by Fujita. Taniguchi got the win with the diving body press after 23 minutes and 13 seconds. Addressing the crowd afterwards with blood running down his face, he promised to make big flowers bloom in Niigata. Although this phrase is not well understood in English, (and does not point to horticulture), basically it means, Taniguchi is awake.

CURRENT CHAMPIONS & SCHEDULED TITLE MATCHES

GHC Heavyweight Champion: Kaito Kiyomiya
(No challenger at the time of writing)
GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion: HAYATA
(vs Chris Ridgeway, December 3rd, Korakuen Hall)
GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions: AXIZ (Go Shiozaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima)
(No challengers at the time of writing)
GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Champions: RATELS (Daisuke Harada & Tadasuke)
(vs STINGER (Atsushi Kotoge & Kotaro Suzuki), November 26th, Niigata)
GHC National Champion: Takashi Sugiura
(vs Shuhei Taniguchi, November 26th, Niigata)
IPW Junior Heavyweight: Daisuke Harada
(Unknown whether or not there will be a challenger, or whether the belt will simply cease to exist)

NEWS

AXIZ ANNIVERSARY
Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima celebrate their 15th anniversary in wrestling in November\December. Katsuhiko Nakajima debuted on the 5th January 2004, with Go Shiozaki making his in late July. Rather than have their own produce show, they have elected to have a series of matches, which will culminate when they face each other on December 3rd at Korakuen Hall. The other matches they have arranged to mark their debut are tag matches, and usually feature Hitoshi Kumano.

NOAH’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY
Despite all the odds, the ups and the downs, the bad times, the good times, the worse times, death, scandal, walk out, money issues, Pro Wrestling NOAH has survived to celebrate its 20th anniversary next year. A huge landmark year for NOAH, they will hold big events leading up to the big day in August.

PRODUCE SHOW NEWS

RATELS “SHOWTIME”
RATELS will hold their second produce at ShinKiba 1st Ring on the 24th November. NOAH knew that the RATELS produce was the one that they would have no problems with, but sadly the card is nowhere as interesting as it was last time, although it does have some quirks as a tug of war between RATELS & STINGER, and then an elimination match between them for the main event.
Kotaro Suzuki, however, has hinted that STINGER may not even turn up!

KONGOH “DIAMOND”
At the time of writing, Kongo have announced only one match for their produce, which will be Yoshiki Inamura vs Daisuke Sekimoto in a singles match. The event has also been sold out, which means that Kenoh will not be leaving the company, and Kongoh will not have to disband.

Kenoh has announced that PETA from The Garlic Boys (who do his theme music) will be performing it live. Naomichi Marufuji said that he wishes he bought a ticket, Kenoh told him firmly that he wasn’t getting in, and to next time, make sure he bought one in time.

SUGIURA ARMY “ALL DOGS GATHER! BARK AT KORAKUEN”
Hajime Ohara is another person celebrating a fifteen year debut in 2019, and therefore a special match has been arranged for the produce, which will be NOAH’s last event of the year. Ohara will team with Shiro Koshinaka, and teacher Ultimo Dragon (who was last in NOAH in 2003 in the Differ Cup), to take on NOSAWA and NOSAWA’S friends, MAZADA and FUJITA.

THIS WEEK IN NOAH
Friday 22nd November: Hitoshi Kumano (28)
Sunday 24th November: RATELS “Showtime”
Tuesday 26th November: Niigata City Gymnasium event
Friday 29th November: Minoru Tanaka (47)

Picture credits: GIFS (Noah GHC), all other pictures are mine.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

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Coverage

Andrew’s TNA iMPACT! Results & Match Ratings: 4.18.2024

Motor City Machine Guns either go out on their backs, or head to Rebellion as champs! Lets see how they finish their current run in TNA!

Published

3 hours ago

April 18, 2024

Andrew Balaz

No burying the lead here! The Main Event is The System versus Motor City Machine Guns, and it’s the Go Home episode before Rebellion! So we’re guaranteed a damn good tag match, and we should get either new wrinkles, or ways to keep the storylines cooking going into the Pay-per-View.

With all the rumors and innuendo about the Guns being on their way out, I think we all assume that MCMG is losing, but my inner fanboy is still excited.

Part Three: Acceptance @TheJonGresham #TNAiMPACT pic.twitter.com/NE9FPzCCz2

— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) April 19, 2024

Ratings:

Little Guido w/New FBI vs Hammerstone: Hammerstone wins via Torture Rack – SQUASH
LSG vs Joe Hendry: Hendry wins via Standing Ovation – SQUASH
Mustafa Ali & GYV vs Cody Deaner, Jake Something & Rhyno: Ali wins via 450 Splash – ** 3/4
Rosemary w/Havok vs Jody Threat w/Dani Luna: Rosemary wins via Spear – ***
Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) vs The System (Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers) w/Alisha Edwards: System wins via Roster Cut + Knee Party – *** 1/4

Results:

So we kick off the match with Josh coming out to commentary again to watch Hammerstone’s match. They really need a new way to try and keep heat without reusing the same tired gimmick of “ring side seat” to a Squash match.

Little Guido w/New FBI vs Hammerstone

Guido tries to shoot the half, but Hammerstone shrugs him off, lifts him like a child and runs him into a corner, few short shots and then just tosses him across the ring. Hammer gets a little distracted talking smack to Josh and eats a foot, but then tosses Guido with the ole Sack of Shit move and keeps working over Guido.

Hammer shoves Clayton, and provokes him to push him back right in front of the referee. She ejects them, Guido tries to take advantage but when he goes for the pinfall Hammer kicks out immediately and presses Guido out of thing through the ropes. Continues to dog walk Guido, puts the head gear on the ECW Original and then Torture Racks him while staring directly at Josh, and of course picks up the submission victory.

.@XiaBrookside and @Ashamae_Sebera face off NEXT WEEK on #TNAiMPACT! pic.twitter.com/Q0S3wSRpeu

— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) April 19, 2024

LSG vs Joe Hendry

Hendry cuts a little promo, mentioning the Fat Uncle Phil joke…something about shopping at the TOP Dollar Store. Solid mic work.

LSG is a damn good local talent, he’s been seen in ROH and AEW in the past (perhaps others, but that’s what comes to mind immediately for me), but we all know this is an enhancement match. A few nice chain wrestling spots early, but Hendry uses his power to stop the smaller wrestler, Sack of Shit into Standing Ovation and the match is over quickly.

Mustafa Ali & GYV vs Cody Deaner, Jake Something & Rhyno

Well okay, having Deaner ask the crowd if they wanted a 3v2 or their third member…RHYNO…is pretty much a no brainer in Philly. But at least the gimmick isn’t quite as cringe as I expected.

Jake starts with Zack Gibson and throws him around. Jake goes for the tag and Deaner asks the crowd who Jake should tag, and the crowd picks Rhyno. Rhyno Whips Gibson into a corner, Drake actually softens the impact, allowing Gibson to fire back, tag out, but Rhyno levels both GYV members and then even knocks Ali off the apron. Rhyno tries to call to the crowd to tag in Deaner and that goes over like a fart in church. He tags him in anyway, and the crowd is kinda dead and doing whatever it wants after the obvious ECW chants when Rhyno tagged in.

GYV take a couple lumps but they of course start to work over Deaner and capture some momentum. Solid tandem work from GYV, they cut off Deaner from making a tag and goad Jake a little to cause the ref to block off the babyfaces so the heels can take a few shortcuts. Cody eventually makes the tag to Rhyno, hot tag, he tries to set up the Gore but the GYV manage to stop him in his tracks and hit an Enzuigiri to daze the Man Beast, he falls to his corner and Jake tags himself in. Jake literally runs them all over, tags in Cody and Launches him from the Top Rope into Zack Gibson. Ali makes the save and Jake tries to get his hands on Ali, but the GYV keep throwing themselves at him, literally. The triple team finally gets the best of Jake, they hit 3 Dives and then post Jake, so they gather around Cody like hyenas.

They forgot about Rhyno, he’s set up for a Gore, he Gores Drake, Gibson and Ali take out Rhyno, but then Cody starts to fight back. Ali stops Deaner’s offense with an Avalanche Sunset Bomb, then hits his 450 Splash. Jake barely misses being able to break up the pin.

.@TheEricYoung channels "The Sickness" as he prepares for FULL METAL MAYHEM with @FrankieKazarian at #Rebellion! #TNAiMPACT pic.twitter.com/tm1TqxZBLo

— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) April 19, 2024

Rosemary w/Havok vs Jody Threat w/Dani Luna

Jody tries to start quickly with Shoulder Tackles, Lariats and Scoop Slams, and it does seem somewhat effective. Rosemary is having trouble finding offense against the intensity, but she keeps kicking out. Shotgun Dropkick finally gives Rosemary an opening, she goes into full mount and rains down strikes. Rosemary shoves Jody into a corner and Bites her in the corner. Jody tries to fight out, they go across and Rosemary catches her with the legs and puts her in the Upside Down. Splash in the corner from Rosemary, Exploder Suplex and Jody is eating a lot of offense.

Rosemary looks like she’s caught after she gets tripped up into the ropes and Jody goes for her Rope Knee into the German, but Rosemary dodges. Rosemary hits her own suplex and pulls out a beautiful Last Chancery! I haven’t seen her do that in a long time. Jody manages to fight to the ropes, Rosemary is a little slow to capitalize and eats a Pump Kick. Rosemary goes flying into the ropes, Jody hits the Double Knees into the German this time for 2, and they trade a few haymakers after that. Jody folds Rosemary with a low Lariat, Zombie rise spot a few times, Jody goes for a pinfall and Rosemary kicks out.

Havok jumps up on the apron, Dani meets her and they decide to step down, but the distraction was enough. Jody turns around and eats a Spear. Rosemary wins!

Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) vs The System (Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers) w/Alisha Edwards

Eddie and Shelley start off, and its a very simple slow start. Mostly an early stalemate, the typical Japanese style the TNA seem to love to employ. Starters tag out, but then Shelley with the blind tag, Sabin Baseball Slides out, picks Eddie’s ankle and sends his face bouncing off the apron, while Shelley sneaks up being Myers and they hit a tandem move before we cut to commercial. Off of the commercial it looks like Eddie and Myers regained control. But a nice Jawbreaker from Shelley sends Eddie falling back into the MCMG corner. Dragon Screws to both legs from Sabin and Shelley, and we get the Dragon Screw dissection spot for the Guns.

Myers gets sick of things, tries to get involved, but Simultaneous Figure Fours from the MCMG makes The System look silly. Alisha does the classic “push the rope forward” gimmick to assist Eddie in breaking the hold. She keeps chirping at Shelley until she finally grabs his foot. Shelley doesn’t take kindly, tries to grab her by the hair but she gets away, Shelley eats a strike and falls back to the ropes so Lish can just throttle him with the rope, Sabin walks over and acts like he’s going to PK her and the look of disgust on her face is hilarious, like “how dare he threaten to kick her”. Would I be mad is Masha decides to team with Lish and they win the Knockouts Tag titles? No, because the Knockouts Tags are trash. But I still prefer Lish as valet/manager.

Shelley starts fighting back after another commercial break, Eddie tries to cut him off, but Sabin clocks Eddie and Shelley manages to make the tag and Sabin comes in. Lights up both System members, Kick off Tornado DDT, into a Running Gamengiri. Eddie tries to counter but Shelley assists, tandem strikes, Double Baseball Slide into the classic MCMG spot 5 Hole Dive! Keeping up with the classics Shelley stacks the System members on each other and hit the Missile Dropkick/Flatliner spot. As the Guns are rolling, Sabin accidentally catches Sabin with his foot and The System take control! They hit their pieces of the System Overload spot, but Sabin kicks out. Roster Cut attempt from Myers, but Shelley is back. High Speed Dirt, Machine Gun Sandwich, but Lish grabs Shelley’s foot when they’re setting up Skull and Bones. Shelley gets dropped on the turnbuckle and thrown out, Sabin eats the Roster Cut followed up with Boston Knee Party and System retains!

Its a little weird to have had the two commercial cuts and the fact there’s still Nic Nemeth to follow. So it feels a little flat, I hope this wasn’t their swan song match, because it was nice to see some classic spots, but it was entirely too abbreviated.

Nemeth comes out, goes into the crowd and finds a kid with a kendo stick and borrows a beer from someone, so he does a bit of a Sandman tribute. Moose cuts off his promo basically immediately. He throws out the “can’t beat the system” line again, and Nic rolls with the punches well. Moose uses a few cute analogies about Nic having a failure laden past, but Nemeth bites back and its really damn good. He says he can see it in Moose’s eyes that he thinks he’s getting in the ring with Dolph Ziggler, but no, there is no more old Dolph Ziggler, just the new Nic Nemeth. And Moose’s cool seems to be slightly shaken after those words. Good promo.

Overall Score: 6.5/10

So this was okay, if it didn’t end as strongly as it did, I would’ve rated this much lower. Two squash matches in the beginning, reusing the Josh comes out to the announce table to watch trope is boring, hell even Clayton’s shove to Hammerstone was super lame looking. The Deaner match was luke warm at best, but things picked up around the Rosemary match.

Lets also not overlook the segments with ASH & Xia, Jonathan Gresham’s whole deal and EY having to return to the violence/sickness/world class maniac, whatever you want to call it, were all great building blocks. This definitely wasn’t what I would call a strong Go Home, but it didn’t hurt things for Rebellion. The whole injury of Cardona was addressed, which honestly sounded weird since Jordynne basically said she was expecting them to have a backup plan so she has a backup plan. I don’t really like how that video package came across.

But who knows, all I know is, this wasn’t an awful episode, it just wasn’t really strong either. Here’s to hoping Rebellion Saturday is still strong.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Coverage

Mitchell’s ROH Results & Report! (4/18/24)

Time to Man Up!

Published

6 hours ago

April 18, 2024

Steven Mitchell

Will the Ivy League MVP earn a title shot?

The NEW ROH World Champion, Mark Briscoe, is here to step onto the Proving Ground with one of Maria Kanellis’ baby boys, Griff Garrison! Will Griff make Maria proud? Or will he reach for the sky?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Bryan Keith VS Aaron Solo; Keith wins.
Six Man Tag: Lance Archer & The Righteous VS Jon Cruz, Savion Truitt & Damian Chambers; Archer & The Righteous win.
Lee Johnson VS JD Drake; Lee wins.
Abadon VS Allysin Kay; Abadon wins.
The Infantry VS The Iron Savages w/Jacked Jameson; The Infantry wins.
Six Woman Tag: Diamante, Leila Grey & Taya Valkyrie VS Kiera Hogan, Leyla Hirsch & Trish Adora; win.
The Dark Order VS ???
Lady Frost VS Marti Belle; wins.
The Beast Mortos VS Nick Comoroto; wins.
ROH World Championship Proving Ground Match: Mark Briscoe VS Griff Garrison w/ Cole Karter & Maria Kanellis; wins and

PLAY BY PLAY

Mark Briscoe speaks.

“Now House of Black, I’ve been doing this dance with y’all a little while now, and I’m starting to understand how y’all operate. Starting to understand y’all’s M-O. You try to intimidate me. You try to strike fear into the hearts of men. Well I done told you, I fear no man, I fear no evil. And ancient wisdom says the violent take it by force. Now lemme tell you, Eddie Kingston, Adam Copeland, and Mark Briscoe, we some violent men! And at Dynasty, we bringing the violence, babeh! So heed my advice, House of Black! Be afraid, be very afraid!” The Sussex County Chicken is ready for a fight, will he, the Rated R Superstar and Mad King tear down The House of Black once and for all?

Bryan Keith VS Aaron Solo!

The Bounty Hunter is still looking for a prize, but he’ll gladly fight to earn his shot. Will Keith be heading for a golden opportunity on the other side of Dynasty? Or will Solo shoot first?

The Code of Honor is upheld with sarcastic enthusiasm by Solo, and Keith shoves him away. The bell rings and Solo SLAPS Keith! Keith TACKLES Solo and rains down fists! The fans fire up, Solo gets away then knees Keith low. Solo ROCKS Keith, whips him to a corner, but Keith comes back to run Solo over! Keith scoops to SLAM Solo, then stands on Solo’s face! The fans fire up for the KNEE DROP! Keith then SLAPS Solo! The fans rally for “BK! BK!” Solo storms up but Keith kicks low. Keith reels Solo in, suplexes, and he holds Solo up! Keith marches around, then SLAMS Solo down! Solo bails out and the fans fire up as Keith aims.

Keith builds speed, slides, but Solo ducks! Solo sends Keith into steel steps! The fans boo as Solo leaves Keith behind. The ring count starts, fans chant “SOLO SUCKS! SOLO SUCKS!” Solo counts along but wants it to go faster. Keith stands at 8 of 20, slides in, but Solo stomps and HAMMERS away! The fans boo more, but Solo stands Keith up to bump him off buckles. Keith CHOPS in return! Then CHOPS again! The fans “WOO~,” then Keith ROCKS Solo with a forearm. Keith CHOPS in the corner, but then Solo dodges. Solo tries but Keith dodges the chop to CHOP Solo down! The fans fire up while Solo is stinging.

Keith whips Solo, Solo reverses and CLOBBERS Keith! Cover, TWO! Keith grits his teeth but Solo knees him in the back! And again! The fans rally, Solo taunts them, and then ELBOWS Keith in the head. Solo stalks Keith to a corner, digs his boots in, but again the fans chant “SOLO SUCKS!” Solo stomps away on Keith, digs his boots in again, but Keith fights up! The fans fire up as Keith fires forearms! Keith fires forearms again and again and again, winds up, but Solo dodges! Solo comes back, but Keith ROCKS him after all! The fans fire up as Keith runs in to BOOT! Solo sputters, Keith runs, but then Solo SUPERKICKS! Keith just roars!

Solo swings, but into a T-BONE SUPLEX! Cover, TWO! The fans rally as Keith keeps calm. Keith waits on Solo as fans rally behind him. Solo staggers into a fireman’s carry, but he fights free! Solo shoves, goes to a corner, but then Keith comes back. Solo ELBOWS Keith, whips, but Keith reverses! Solo goes up but gets caught, for an USHIGOROSHI! Cover, TWO! The fans rally up again as Keith slashes his throat and aims his finger gun! Keith underhooks, but Solo fights the lift! Solo back drops, Keith sunset flips but Solo stays up to DOUBLE STOMP! Solo then runs up, catches Keith and hits a T-BONE! Cover, TWO!

The fans fire up but Solo hurries to a corner. Solo climbs fast, and DIVING DOUBLE STOMPS! Cover, TWO!! Keith survives that coup de grace and Solo isn’t sure what to do. Solo kicks Keith around, drags him up and reels him in to underhook. Keith fight that lift, Solo CLUBS away on him, but Keith Alabama Lifts! Solo grabs ropes so Keith lets him down, and ENZIGIRIS! But Solo SCREW HIGH KICKS! Solo goes up top, but Keith RISING HEADBUTTS! The fans fire up with Keith and he climbs! Keith reels Solo in, for DIAMOND DUST!! Cover, Keith wins!

Winner: Bryan Keith, by pinfall

A big win for BK! And he gives back that sarcastic handshake. Will the Bounty Hunter be hot on the trail of a championship after AEW & ROH pass through the Gateway City?

Mark Sterling speaks.

“If you ask AI to create the perfect professional wrestler, it wouldn’t even come close to you. If wrestling is a body business, then you’re a multinational corporation. Biology defying symmetry, no fat, all muscle, no waste. As functional as you are aesthetic. High-flying? You got it. Ground ‘n’ pound? You got that, too. Striking, brawling, submission, technical, there is not a single style you have not perfected. For the last 20 years, you’ve been one of the most consistent and proficient wrestling specimens for any company that’s been willing to throw money at you and begged you to stay. And now, it’s time for them to beg for mercy.

“You are Tony Nese, and you are a Premier Athlete.”

Now Mark Sterling & The Premier Athletes are here in person.

They stand backstage, Sterling’s guys in matching tracksuits, and he says the last time he looked into the camera, he told everyone he had a plan. The very next day, they enacted that plan. Sterling took them off the road, they entered a professional fight camp. They got the best coaches, best trainers, best doctors, and these three started to do what they do best: go to work. Supercard of Honor, against two former ROH TV Champions, PA got an impressive victory. Fruits of their labor. Ariya Daivari is back better than ever. Josh Woods is bigger and better than he was when he won the National Championship. And Tony Nese is in the best shape of his life, which is saying something.

In fact, what’re we even talking about? These three are the most underappreciated athletes in the company. They walk like stars, they move like stars, they present themselves like stars, and by the end of this year, they will be champions. Supercard was just phase one of this plan. Phase two… starts tonight. Then just what happens when the Premier Athletes start making moves?

Lee Johnson VS JD Drake!

Even though he lost at Supercard, Big Shotty stays positive! He got close to the ROH World Television Championship, will he get back there for another shot? Or will Scrap Metal be another speedbump in Lee’s momentum?

The Code of Honor is upheld, the bell rings, and the fans rally as the two circle. They tie up, JD HIP TOSSES, and Lee scrambles to ropes. JD flexes and fans cheer, which surprises JD. Lee gets up, he and JD reset. They tie up, JD arm-drags, but Lee gets up. Lee keeps calm while JD talks some smack. They circle, tie up again, and JD scoops! JD carries Lee around, with one arm! Then SLAM! JD dusts off his hands and the fans fire up more. Lee is a bit frustrated, but he fires himself up. The fans rally with him, he and JD circle to tie up. Lee goes to hip toss, but JD blocks! JD tells Lee he knows that’s not gonna work!

JD goes to hip toss but now Lee blocks! Lee arm-drags, then he goes to feint, but JD blocks with a headlock. Lee shoves JD, tries another arm-drag, but JD blocks that. JD whips Lee, Lee ducks ‘n’ dodges and arm-drags again! The fans fire up as Lee tries to scoop, but JD’s too hefty! JD SLAPS Lee, ROCKS him, then whips him to ropes. Lee ducks ‘n’ dodges again, shoves JD and hurdles! Lee drops, then DROPKICKS! JD staggers to a corner, Lee fires up, and the fans fire up with him! Lee runs up on JD in a corner to CHOP! JD barely flinches! JD puts his arms back and dares Lee to try again. Lee CHOPS, but JD puts Lee in the corner!

JD swings, Lee dodges and CHOPS! And CHOPS! And CHOPS! Lee whips, JD reverses but Lee ELBOWS back! Lee runs up but into a lift, and FLAPJACK off buckles! Lee falls, the fans rally up, and JD dusts himself off. JD storms back up on Lee, brings him up, and the fans rally. JD ROCKS Lee, stands him up in the corner, and CHOPS! The fans “WOO~!” while Lee sputters. The fans want that “One More Time!” so JD stands Lee up. JD winds up, to JAB! The fans boo JD trolling them, but JD stands Lee up to CHOP him after all! Lee is stinging, but JD brings him up. Lee throws body shots but JD ROCKS Lee!

JD whips, Lee sunset flips! JD stays up, but Lee avoids the hip drop! Ghost pin, TWO! JD gets up, kicks low and whips, to SPINEBUSTER! Cover, TWO! Lee stays in this and the fans rally up. JD sits Lee up, KICKS him in the back, then paces around. The fans rally for Lee but JD pie faces him around. Lee rises, JD brings him up and Lee CHOPS! And CHOPS! And CHOPS again! JD throat chops! The ref reprimands, JD claims he jabbed to the chest. JD then scoops and SLAMS Lee, to then FALLING HEADBUTT! Cover, TWO! Lee is still in this but JD CHOKES him! The ref counts, JD lets off, claiming he was just checking the pulse.

JD clamps on a chinlock, digging his knee into Lee’s back. Lee endures, the fans rally up, and Lee fights to his feet. Lee throws body shots, but JD knees low! JD suplexes but Lee slips free! Lee ROCKS JD, ROCKS him again, but JD CHOPS! JD runs, but Lee SUPERKICKS! JD flops out of the ring and the fans fire up! The fans rally as Lee builds speed, to FLY! Direct hit at the ramp and the fans fire up even more! Lee puts JD in, climbs a corner, and JD stands. JD staggers around, into the CROSSBODY! Cover, TWO! JD stays in this but then bails back out. Lee thinks on what he has to do and the fans rally up.

Lee runs, to slide, but JD gets under! JD pops Lee up to CLOBBER him! JD puts Lee in, aims from a corner, and Lee goes to the opposite end. JD runs up, but Lee moves, CANNONBALL hits buckles! Lee hurries up while JD is down! The fans cheer as Lee aims, FROG SPLASH, but JD moves! Lee rolls through, runs back at JD but JD puts him on the apron. JD ROCKS Lee, goes up, and he brings Lee around. The fans fire up as JD brings Lee up, but Lee fires body shots! Lee GAMANGIRIS, then climbs! Lee sunset flips for the POWERBOMB! The fans fire up and Lee climbs back up, FROG SPLASH!! Cover, Lee wins!

Winner: Lee Johnson, by pinfall

Big Shotty’s got range, and he hit the mark! Will Lee take this momentum and turn it into another chance at a championship?

Abadon VS Allysin Kay!

Speaking of second chances, The Living Dead Girl got screwed out of the ROH Women’s World Television Championship when Mercedes Martinez & Diamante conspired against her. And while AK Don’t Play, she knows the OG Badass well. Can Abadon prepare for revenge by taking down Martinez’s greatest rival?

The Code of Honor is upheld, the bell rings, but Abadon holds on, to BITE Allysin’s arm! Abadon then laughs, dodges Allysin to HEADBUTT low, HELL STAB, then mule kick! Abadon runs to SHOTGUN BOOT! Allysin goes to a corner while the fans rally up and Abadon shrieks! But Allysin BOOTS Abadon down! Allysin rains down fists, covers, ONE!! Abadon sits up but Allysin brings her around to fireman’s carry. SAMOAN DROP! Cover, TWO! The fans rally up, Allysin drags Abadon up to TOSS her to a corner! Allysin fires body shots, then she CHOPS! Allysin whips corner to corner hard and Abadon bounces off buckles!

Allysin takes a bow, puts pinkies up, and SPLASHES in the corner! Allysin CHOPS, whips, and runs up again, but Abadon BOOTS her! Abadon runs to BULLDOG! The fans rally as Abadon slithers out to the apron then climbs up the corner. Allysin crawls, Abadon aims, CROSSBODY! Abadon runs to KNEE Allysin back down! Abadon storms up on Allysin, reels her in, BLACK DAHLIA! Cover, Abadon wins!

Winner: Abadon, by pinfall

Abadon smiles, then shrieks into the night! Will Mercedes Martinez make sure to stay far, far away from the frightening Living Dead Girl?

Backstage interview with Taya Valkyrie.

Lexi Nair is with La Wera Loca and brings up her trios match alongside Diamante and Leila Grey. But this is also the first time we’ve seen her since Supercard, where Johnny TV lost to Dalton Castle. The question is: where is Johnny? Uh, recovering from that vicious attack by Dalton Castle and his “special boy,” Paul Walter-Whatever! Taya is gonna call up Fran Dreischer to file a complaint! For someone so TV Ready, Castle and Paul sure don’t look it. So yes, Johnny is rehabbing. Wait he’s in rehab? Ew, no, who do you think they are? Johnny is rehabbing the abs! This is an aesthetics business so he has to look amazing!

So tonight, Taya will carry the weight of the TV Family in trios action. So run along, Lexi, Taya has things to do. Uh, this is Lexi’s interview space. Oh, well, her apologies. Taya bumps Lexi on the way out, but will Taya’s team win some major points in the title chase tonight?

The Infantry VS The Iron Savages w/Jacked Jameson!

Captain Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo may not be the ROH World Tag Team Championships, but they are not deterred. Will they get through the jacked ‘n’ juicy juggernauts to go after The Undisputed Kingdom once again?

The teams sort out, #BadNewsAndTattoos starts against Beefcake Boulder, and they keep the Code of Honor. They tie up, Bravo tries but can’t push Boulder back, but Boulder pushes Bravo back! Bravo resets with Boulder, beefs up, and they tie up. Bravo wrenches to wristlock, but Boulder WRINGS Bravo out! Boulder talks smack on Dean and Bravo, but Bravo pie faces. Boulder scoops Bravo, but Bravo slips free to DROPKICK! Boulder stays up, runs up, but Dean is there to GAMANGIRI! Bravo tags Dean while Boulder throws a fit, but DOUBLE DROPKICKS send him reeling! Bulk Bronson tags but runs into a DOUBLE HIP TOSS!

The fans fire up as the Infantry crisscross and SPLIT the wishbone! Bravo gets fans going with “OORAH!” Dean runs to JUMP ELBOW DROP! Cover, TWO! Bronson bails out, Boulder is there to help him, and Dean builds speed, only for Jacked Jameson to stand in the way! He wants Dean to sip the Savage Sauce! Dean says no thanks, but in comes Bronson! EXPLODER! Bravo protests but Bronson drags Dean to a cover. The ref is busy arguing, he finally sees the pin, TWO! Bronson is annoyed, but he mocks Bravo’s air machine gun. Bravo then tags Boulder before he brings Dean up. The fans rally but the Savages still hit a SHOULDER TACKLE SUPLEX COMBO!

Bronson flexes, Boulder taunts Bravo, and then Boulder whips Dean to the corner. Boulder wraps Dean’s arms around ropes to HEADBUTT again and again and again! Tag to Bronson, he brings Dean around, and they visit #TIDDYCITY! But Dean reverses, it’s Bronson who dives in! Boulder panics, runs up, but Dean DUMPS him! Bronson swings, misses, hot tag to Bravo! Bravo rallies on Bronson with big forearms! Bravo whips, Bronson reverses, but the CARLIE CROSSOVER takes Bronson down! Boulder gets up, Bravo fakes him out to SCISSOR KICK! Bravo then kicks Bronson, and manages a FALCON ARROW! Cover, TWO!

The fans rally, Bravo pounds the mat, but now Jameson wants Bravo to sip! Bravo says no, get outta here! Bronson runs up again, Bravo dodges, and Bronson barely avoids hitting Jameson! Bravo aims, Bronson dodges, the SUPERKICK hits Jameson! Jameson spews sauce! Boulder catches Jameson, Dean goes up, and Dean CROSSBODIES to wipe them both out! But Bronson rolls Bravo up! TWO, and Bronson grabs Bravo, only for Bravo to kick low! Bravo reels Bronson in, tags Dean, and TORNADO- NO, Bronson stops the DDT! Dean gets in, Bronson scoops, but Dean slips free! Feed to a SUPERKICK!

The Infantry coordinate, for BOOT CAMP! Cover, Infantry wins!

Winners: The Infantry, by pinfall

Dean & Bravo redeem themselves from Supercard and are ready to get back on track! But wait, The Premier Athletes make their way out here! Is this what Smart Mark was talking about for phase two? Daivari & Nese rush the ring and start throwing hands with The Infantry! Woods tips the scales as he DECKS Dean, then DECKS Bravo! But wait! Here comes Dalton Castle! The Peacock won’t stand for there to be bullies, and he takes off his sandals to weaponize them! The Premier Athletes dare him to, but wait! Here comes Mark Briscoe, Bryan Keith and Lee Johnson! They run The Premier Athletes off!

Sterling shouts, “Who do you think you are?!” but he’s shouting at THE ROH World Champion and many other big names around here! Will The Peacock, the Chicken and the rest of ROH humble Sterling’s stable once and for all?

Six Woman Tag: Diamante, Leila Grey & Taya Valkyrie VS Kiera Hogan, Leyla Hirsch & Trish Adora!

The Cuban Diamond has staked her claim at challenging for the ROH Women’s World Television Championship, but so has The Hottest Flame. But let’s not forget The Last Baddie Standing, La Wera Loca, the LEGIT One and The AfroPunk! Billie Starkz still sees herself above all six of these women, but which trio takes the lead in the title chase with a win tonight?

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!