Coverage

Mitchell’s NJPW New Japan Cup 2020 Results & Report Part 6!

The Best Eight do battle!

Published

4 years ago

July 2, 2020

Steven Mitchell

The quarterfinals start and end all on one day!

NJPW wraps up the round of eight all at once! Does Los Ingobernables de Japon dominate the semifinals?

NOTE: NJPW no longer wants to feed AXS TV now that it is with Anthem and Impact Wrestling. But never fear, I will cover NJPW in the spirit of AXS in providing the most important matches of the show.

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Hiromu Takahashi VS Tomohiro Ishii; Hiromu wins and advances to the semifinals.
EVIL VS YOSHI-HASHI; Evil wins and advances to the semifinals.
Kazuchika Okada VS Taiji Ishimori; Okada wins and advances to the semifinals.
SANADA VS Taichi; Sanada wins and advances to the semifinals.

PLAY BY PLAY

Hiromu Takahashi VS Tomohiro Ishii!

The Ticking Timebomb has been having a lot of fun in the New Japan Cup, while the Stone Pitbull has been all business. Will Hiromu be able to break through the wall that is Ishii?

The bell rings and Hiromu rams Ishii with a shoulder! Ishii stays up so Hiromu runs again, rams Ishii, but Ishii stays up. Ishii stays up the third time, then things speed up! Hiromu hurdles, dodges but Ishii runs him over! Hiromu is right up but Ishii kicks and whips him away. Hiromu comes back from the corner to ram shoulders with Ishii again, and again, and again! Hiromu corner clotheslines Ishii then runs, only to get run over! Ishii stalks Hiromu to ropes, brings him up and CHOPS him! Ishii CHOPS again, and Hiromu goes to a corner. Ishii throws forearms over and over and dares Hiromu to get up. Hiromu does stand, and he goes forehead to forehead with Ishii. Ishii CHOPS, Hiromu CHOPS, and this starts to look familiar.

Hiromu chops but Ishii CHOPS, and then Ishii dares Hiromu to keep going. The CHOP fight continues back and forth, until Hiromu wobbles. Ishii CHOPS him at the ropes again, and again, and again! Hiromu falls over and Ishii kicks him while he’s down. Ishii drags Hiromu up and slaps him around. Hiromu goes forehead to forehead again, pushes Ishii, but Ishii throws forearms back. Hiromu takes them but the CHOP knocks him back down! Ishii stomps Hiromu at the ropes, the ref reprimands, but Hiromu is up to pie face and CHOP! And CHOP, CHOP, CHOP, CHOP! Ishii headbutts and Hiromu falls again! Hiromu bails out of the ring, Ishii hurries right after, and puts him back in the ring. There’s no rest with the Pitbull after you!

Ishii sits Hiromu up to KICK in the back! And then kick while he’s down! Ishii toys with Hiromu again, wanting to see what the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion still has. Ishii puts Hiromu in a corner, slaps him around, but Hiromu gets in Ishii’s face again. Hiromu throws forearms but they barely make Ishii flinch. Ishii CHOPS and Hiromu falls down again. Ishii stands Hiromu up, whips him corner to corner, then runs in. Hiromu boots back, runs and rams Ishii, but still nothing. Ishii whips, Hiromu reverses and hits a corner clotheslines! Hiromu rolls Ishii and runs to hit a basement dropkick! Ishii is finally down and Hiromu can finally catch his breath. Hiromu brings Ishii up, whips but reels him in to forearm and put on the ropes. Hiromu kicks the ropes to jam Ishii, then runs, ducks and huricanranas! Ishii is down and now Hiromu eggs him on.

Hiromu drags Ishii up, suplexes, but Ishii resists. Ishii suplexes but Hiromu resists. The two fight for suplex control, and Ishii powers Hiromu up and over! Ishii looms over Hiromu then brings him up for headbutt after headbutt. Ishii whips Hiromu into the corner but Hiromu comes back to run him over! Hiromu drags Ishii up, FALCON ARROW! Cover, TWO! Hiromu keeps his cool as he gets up and brings Ishii into the fireman’s carry. Ishii slips out, shoves Hiromu into a corner, but Hiromu comes right back with the shotgun dropkick! But Ishii comes right back to BLAST Hiromu with a shoulder! Hiromu ends up in the corner but both men are down. Ishii sits up while the ref checks on Hiromu. Hiromu is okay to continue so Ishii drags him up. Hiromu resists the back suplex, clubs Ishii on the back and gets free.

Hiromu swings, Ishii ducks, Ishii swings but Hiromu ducks. Hiromu waistlocks, Ishii elbows but Hiromu ducks. Hiromu swings but into Ishii’s waistlock. Ishii spins Hiromu around, but Hiromu tries to suplex! Ishii resists, spins out, ducks another clothesline and back suplexes Hiromu down! Ishii takes his time returning to Hiromu, and eggs Hiromu on. Hiromu sits up, Ishii reels him in, but Hiromu counters the bomb into a huricanrana! And TRIANGLE HOLD! Ishii endures, stays on his feet, but Hiromu squeezes tight! Ishii starts to fade, the ref checks on him, but Ishii stays awake! Ishii gets a second wind, to dead lift! BUCKLE BOMB! Both men are down from that one!

Ishii stands, runs back in and corner clotheslines Hiromu! He hoists Hiromu up top, climbs up to join him, but Hiromu hits back. Ishii headbutts, brings Hiromu up, but Hiromu resists. Ishii still powers Hiromu for the SUPERPLEX! He has to crawl to the cover, TWO!! Hiromu survives but Ishii is waiting. Hiromu stands, Ishii runs, Hiromu swats the clothesline away! Hiromu SLAPS Ishii, but Ishii enziguris Hiromu! Hiromu falls but Ishii fires up! Ishii dares Hiromu to stand, then runs, to LARIAT Hiromu inside out! Hiromu gets up?! Hiromu roars as he flounders about the ropes. Ishii watches as Hiromu stands and heads over.

Hiromu throws forearm after forearm but there’s not enough power. Ishii DECKS Hiromu with one! Ishii sits Hiromu, SLIDING LARIAT! Cover, TWO!! Hiromu still lives! Ishii drags Hiromu up, suplexes, but Hiromu cradle counters! TWO, Hiromu leaps and catches Ishii for a triangle, but Ishii POWERBOMBS him again! Cover, TWO and Hiromu sits on Ishii! Cover, TWO!! Ishii and Hiromu go to opposite corners, run in, and LARIATS Hiromu again! Ishii drags Hiromu back up, suplexes again, but Hiromu fights out! SUPERKICK, fireman’s carry, DYNAMITE PLUNGER! Cover, TWO!?! Ishii survives but Hiromu is too tired to be frustrated. Hiromu shouts at Ishii, gets up and runs, LARIAT! But Ishii just wobbles!

Hiromu tries again, LARIAT, but still Ishii wobbles. Hiromu tries again, but Ishii swats it away! SUPERKICK! Ishii topples over, but this isn’t over yet! Hiromu drags Ishii up, fireman’s carry, Death Valley into the corner! Hiromu still isn’t done with Ishii, and he drags him up to another fireman’s carry. But Ishii slips out, suplexes, only for Hiromu to pop out and pop up. But Ishii escapes the rana to GERMAN SUPLEX! Hiromu stands?! LARIAT, but Ishii just powers through, to headbutt! Hiromu stays up to heabutt back!! Ishii falls over!! Hiromu grins as he powers up and runs, ducks and LARIATS ISHII!! Hiromu still has energy to give and he drags Ishii back up. Fireman’s carry, TIMEBOMB!! Cover, TWO?!?!? Ishii will not be demolished so easily!

Hiromu is frustrated, what must he do to win? Hiromu shouts at Ishii, brings him back up, reels him into a dragon sleepr, but Ishii spins through! Hiromu resists the suplex but Ishii headbutts! Ishii runs, into the spin, Hiromu hits a BRAIN BUSTER!! Hiromu takes Ishii’s move but that’s not all! Dragon sleeper, lift, TIMEBOMB 2!!! Cover, Hiromu wins!!

Winner: Hiromu Takahashi, by pinfall

Incredible! After so much explosive offense, Hiromu is in the Final Four! Will Hiromu win his way to giving us the dream match meant for the anniversary?

EVIL VS YOSHI-HASHI!

The King of Darkness showed us just how evil he can be with how he defeated Hirooki Goto, and vows to keep going by any means necessary. The Head Hunter has already taken out the Black Mask, will he add another LIJ member? Or is Evil joining Hiromu in the Final Four?

Hashi didn’t learn a thing from his match with Bushi, because while he’s getting on the corner, Evil is getting a chair! Evil SMACKS Hashi in the back! Hashi writhes, clutching his leg, but Evil has another chair! Evil puts the chair around the knee and stomps it! Then CON-CHAIR-TO to the leg!! And again!! Hashi screams as Evil hits a THIRD!! The ref backs Evil off but what good does it do Hashi?! Evil lets Hashi alone as the ref gets the chair off the leg. Hashi still wants to fight?! Hashi stands up, the bell rings, and Hashi throws forearms on Evil. Evil doesn’t even sweat it, and he kicks the bad leg! Hashi still stands back up, throws more forearms, and a CHOP! Evil feels that one but he kicks the leg again.

Evil reels Hashi in, trips him up and stomps away on the leg! Then he steps through, laces the legs, SHARPSHOOTER! Hashi endures the leg lock as Evil sits deep! Hashi refuses to lose like this, and he crawls for the ropes! But Evil sits even deeper! Evil tries to rip the legs off but Hashi refuses to give in! Evil drags him from the ropes, sits deep again, but the ref calls it!! Evil wins!!

Winner: Evil, by referee stoppage

Brutal! The King of Darkness did just as he promised, and the Head Hunter is done for! The ref and the Young Lions have to get Evil to stop, but he’s going to keep going into the semifinals. Hashi tries to #GetBackUp, but Evil just stands over him. Evil STOMPS the leg!! The Young Lions get Evil away from Hashi, and Evil finally leaves. Will Evil be this evil if he has to face a fellow LIJ member?

Kazuchika Okada VS Taiji Ishimori!

The Rainmaker wants to get back to the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and the Intercontinental Championship is a cherry on top. The Bone Soldier Reborn just wants to have a taste of that golden feast. Will Okada deny Ishimori that opportunity?

The bell rings the two circle. Okada and Ishimori approach, and then Ishimori rakes Okada’s eyes! Ishimori throws forearms then runs, but into Okada’s BOOT! Ishimori flounders about but Okada calmly walks over and brings him up. Okada elbows Ishimori in the neck, scoops him and slams him, then goes to the apron for a slingshot senton! Cover, TWO! Okada isn’t at all worried as he brings Ishimori up again. Okada elbows Ishimori’s neck, then again, but Ishimori throws chops. Okada doesn’t flinch and he rocks Ishimori with a right forearm. Okada snapmares and runs to basement dropkick Ishimori out of the ring! Ishimori winces as he clutches his neck. Ishimori sits up but wait! Gedo appears! Okada glares at Gedo and he stays back, but Ishimori attacks from behind!

Ishimori dumps Okada out then goes after him, to wrench and whip into barriers! Okada topples over as the referee reprimands the Bullet Club, but Gedo gets away with a wrench shot! Gedo is continuing from his failure to screw Okada over! And Ishimori is keeping the ref from seeing all of this! Gedo leaves Okada alone and Ishimori stomps Okada down. Ishimori brings Okada up and into the ring, covers, TWO! Ishimori wraps Okada up in a chinlock and digs his knee in. Ishimori jams his knee in again and again, but Okada endures. Okada reaches for ropes, Ishimori cranks harder, then drops a leg! Cover, TWO! Ishimori is upset with the count and so is Gedo, but the count is the count. Ishimori looms over Okada now as he stomps him to the ropes.

Ishimori cranks Okada’s neck with a cravat and headbutts away! Okada goes to a corner, Ishimori CHOPS! Ishimori whips Okada corner to corner, blocks the boots and turns Okada sideways. Ishimori enziguris then runs side to side, SLIDING GERMAN! Gedo cheers but he’s literally the only one. Ishimori covers, TWO! Ishimori and Gedo are both upset with the count again, but Ishimori wraps on a chinlock. Okada endures as Ishimori grinds him down and cranks him around. Okada fights up, fights back, and fights free. But Ishimori elbows Okada on the neck! Ishimori whips, Okada reverses, and Okada runs in, but into Ishimori’s boot! Ishimori runs, but into a BIG flapjack! Ishimori flounders and writhes but Okada is down, too.

Okada kips up! And he starts to rally with forearms! Okada whips, Ishimori reverses, but Okada elbows him down! Okada fires up and goes after Ishimori in the corner. Okada whips corner to corner, hits a back elbow, then kicks for a spike DDT! Cover, TWO! Okada keeps his cool as he paces about. Okada drags Ishimori up, gut wrenches, but Ishimori fights free. Okada elbows, whips, Ishimori handsprings to hit a neuralizer enziguri! Both men are down again and Gedo cheers Ishimori. Okada and Ishimori to go opposite corners and stand up. Ishimori runs in, and double knees! He snapmares Okada and runs again, but Okada ducks the Shining Wizard! Okada rolls Ishimori, TWO! Ishimori gets a Yes Lock! But Okada gets the ropebreak!

Ishimori lets go fast and is very frustrated. Gedo coaches Ishimori up, Ishimori drags Okada up, but Okada resists the gut wrench! Okada clubs Ishimori but Ishimori hits a heavy body shot. Ishimori runs in but is popped up to the Alabama lift, REVERSE NECKBREAKER! Both men are down again but Okada sits up. Okada goes to Ishimori, brings him up, scoops and slams, and per the formula, heads to a corner. Okada climbs up top but Gedo creeps closer. Okada hops down to run him off, but Ishimori handspring heel kicks Okada down! Okada crashes into barriers, staggers up, and Ishimori TRIANGLE MOONSAULTS! Direct hit and Okada goes down! Ishimori is also down but Gedo coaches him up.

The ring count begins, Ishimori sits up at 4 of 20 and stands at 6. Ishimori brings Okada up at 10 and puts him in the ring. Cover, TWO! Gedo and Ishimori are upset again, but Ishimori stays focused. Okada slowly rises, Ishimori runs from a corner, shotgun dropkick blasts him to a corner! Then corner METEORA! Cover, TWO!! Okada survives and Ishimori can’t believe it! Gedo argues with the ref but Ishimori takes aim again. BANG, and he brings Okada up. Ishimori underhooks but Okada blocks! Ishimori knees, runs, dodges Okada’s boot, and tilt-o-whirls into a takedown! YES LOCK! Okada endures, powers up, reaches, but Ishimori cranks harder! Okada refuses to give up, and uses his legs for the ropebreak! Ishimori lets go and is frustrated all over again.

Ishimori fires himself up and Gedo says this is his chance. Ishimori brings Okada up, but Okada fights out of Bloody Sunday to uppercut! Ishimori jumps and knees! Ishimori runs, into a dropkick! Okada drags Ishimori up, gut wrenches, but Ishimori fights and reverses the gut wrench! CIPHER UTAKI! Cover, TWO!?! Okada survives and Gedo argues that was three! It wasn’t, and Ishimori is furious! Ishimori drags Okada up, underhooks, but Okada slips out to gut wrench! JUMPING TOMBSTONE! Okada has the arm, DEEP IN DEBT! Gedo gets up on the apron and Okada lets Ishimori go to run him off again. Okada turns back to Ishimori, wrenches, DEEP IN DEBT!

Ishimori endures, reaches, so Okada arm-drags Ishimori. But Ishimori grabs the ref to bring him along! Ishimori is Deep In Debt again, but Gedo attacks Okada! Gedo has the brass knuckles! Okada gets up, but he ducks the punch to shotgun dropkick Gedo down! Ishimori kicks and whips but Okada reverses to dropkick again! DEEP IN DEBT!! Okada is determined to win this way, and Ishimori starts to fade out! Okada cranks, Ishimori taps, Okada wins!!

Winner: Kazuchika Okada, by submission

The Rainmaker keeps winning without even needing his iconic signature! Does Hiromu stand a chance against this transformed Okada?

SANADA VS Taichi!

The Timebomb and the King of Darkness are into the semifinals, but what about the Cold Skull? Is the hot streak going to get hotter? The Sliest Wrestler in the World swept the current IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, will beating a former one solidify his chances of taking those titles?

The bell rings and the two stare down from across the way. Sanada and Taichi circle slowly, but then Taichi backs off. He seems more concerned about his hair than Sanada’s presence. The two circle again, but again Taichi backs off. Sanada keeps his cool and circles with Taichi again. Finally, Taichi ties up with Sanada, Sanada wrenches, and Taichi gets to the ropes. Red Shoes calls for the break, Sanada lets go, and they reset again. Another tie up, and Sanada rolls to then wrench to a hammerlock. Taichi hurries to a corner, but he’s untying the tag rope without anyone seeing. Sanada lets go, Taichi circles with him, but he’s hiding the tag rope. Sanada kicks low, headlocks, but Taichi uses the rope to choke him! Taichi chokes Sanada like he did Ibushi!

Red Shoes tries to stop him but Taichi is hiding the rope even as he smothers Sanada! Taichi stops as Red Shoes counts, and the trick has been exposed. Red Shoes takes the rope away, Taichi pushes Sanada out of the ring, then whips Sanada into barriers! Taichi drags Sanada up, through the gate, and bounces him off bleachers. Those bleachers sure get a lot of attention. Taichi brings Sanada across railing to choke him more! Red Shoes reprimands Taichi and he eventually lets up. Taichi borrows an idea from Minoru Suzuki and drags the railing over. He stands it on Sanada’s neck to choke him that way! Red Shoes reprimands and counts again, but Taichi lets up, just to do it again! Taichi lets up to argue with Red Shoes but Red Shoes stands up for himself.

Taichi brings Sanada up and POSTS him! Sanada staggers away but Taichi puts him back into the ring. Taichi kneels on Sanada but Red Shoes won’t call that a cover. Taichi lets up, and tries to hide a choke as a cover again! Red Shoes counts the penalty, so Taichi stops. Just to choke Sanada again! Red Shoes has Taichi stop again, but Taichi stands on Sanada now. Sanada gets up and Taichi toys with him. Taichi drags Sanada up but Sanada fires off forearms! Taichi chokes again, Sanada breaks free, so Taichi rakes the eyes! Taichi runs, but into Sanada’s elbow! Sanada standing moonsaults, Taichi moves, but Sanada lands on his feet to basement dropkick! Sanada and Taichi are both down, but Sanada can finally catch his breath.

Sanada brings Taichi up, fires forearm after forearm then whips. Taichi reverses, Sanada dodges and dropkicks the legs out! Taichi bails out, Sanada takes aim, slingshot PLANCHA! Sanada wants to hear the fans watching at home, and someone in the crew applauds him at least. Sanada brings Taichi up, puts him in the ring, but Taichi rolls out the far side. Sanada follows and clubs Taichi at the railing! And again! Taichi pulls himself up but Sanada is on him to put back in the ring. Taichi springs up to kick away at Sanada! Taichi uses the ropes as part of stealing Paradise, but Sanada drags him down! Sanada shows Taichi how this is really done! Taichi is stuck in a rope Paradise! Sanada leaves Taichi there while he catches his breath. Then Sanada runs in to basement dropkick Taichi out of Paradise! Cover, ROPEBREAK!

Sanada forgot how close he was, but he keeps his cool. Sanada brings Taichi up, fireman’s carries, but Taichi fights out and rakes the eyes. Taichi gets to a corner, dodges Sanada and GAMANGIRI! Sanada flops down and Taichi manages to walk off the bad leg. Taichi toys with Sanada, kicking him while he’s down. Sanada gets up and throws forearms back! Taichi stays up to KICK the leg! Sanada walks it off to throw a big forearm! Taichi kicks again, but Sanada comes back to forearm again. Taichi kicks, Sanada forearms, and they pick up speed! Sanada European Uppercuts, Taichi boots! Sanada boots, Taichi boots, only to be blocked! Sanada EuroUppers but Taichi back kicks! Sanada goes down but Taichi brings him back up. Sanada fires off forearms but spins into the GAMANGIRI! Down goes Sanada!

Taichi is also down, but he gets back up. Taichi fires up and off come the pants! Sanada rises as Taichi builds power. Taichi SUP- No! The kick is blocked! Sanada fireman’s carries, throws Taichi into the dragon sleeper! Taichi resists, clubbing and clawing, then turns around to HOOK KICK! Sanada swings, but into a SAIDO SUPLEX! Both men are down again, but Taichi sits up. Taichi slashes the throat, vowing to end this. Taichi drags Sanada back up, reels him in, Alabama Lift, but Sanada fights out to dropkick! Taichi ROCKS Sanada with a right, Alabama Lifts, but Sanada fights out again! Sanada and Taichi struggle for control, Sanada clubs away on Taichi’s back. Taichi staggers, swings into a suplex, DRAPING MAGIC KILLER! Both men are down again but stirring.

Sanada stands up and grabs at Taichi. Taichi resists but Sanada still stands him up to whip corner to corner. Taichi reverses, Sanada goes up and out but the springboard is intercepted! Taichi has Sanada in the Alabama but Sanada sunset flips through! TWO!! Taichi staggers up but boots Sanada! Taichi whips Sanada to a corner but runs into an elbow! Sanada QUEBRADA to the dragon sleeper! Body scissors, SKULL END!! Yoshinobu Kanemaru jumps off commentary to get on the apron! Red Shoes stops him there, but that means he misses Taichi tapping out like there’s no tomorrow! Sanada lets Taichi go to confront Kanemaru, but Taichi sneaks up to SAIDO SUPLEX! Taichi STEALS SKULL END!!

Sanada is caught in the dragon sleeper and body scissors! He flails and reaches, endures the crank, but starts to fade! Red Shoes checks on Sanada, the arm drops once. Sanada springs to life and gets the ropebreak! Taichi lets go and has to reset. Taichi drags Sanada up but he’s dead weight. Red Shoes checks on Sanada but he’s somehow okay. Taichi drags Sanada up by his hair, but then drops him. Is Sanada really still able to continue? Taichi drags Sanada up, reels him in, lifts, but Sanada resists! Sanada back drops Taichi! Taichi gets up, but walks into a big forearm! Sanada runs into a ROUNDHOUSE! Taichi blindside ax bombers, then GAMANGIRIS! Sanada is down again but so is Taichi! Taichi dusts his hands off and calls for the finish! SAIDO SUPLEX BRIDGE!! Cover, TWO!?!? Sanada survives and Taichi can’t believe it!

Taichi roars, powers up the arm, and waits for Sanada to stand. Taichi runs, into a SNAP-RANA! Cover, TWO!! Sanada and Taichi hurry back up, Sanada fireman’s carries, T K O!! But Sanada can’t capitalize with a cover! Sanada grits his teeth as he gets up and goes to Taichi. Sanada slashes the throat and drags Taichi into the dragon sleeper! SKULL SWING! Sanada drops Taichi and heads for a corner, but Taichi grabs Red Shoes and drags him down! Kanemaru goes after Sanada again! Sanada hops down and swings on Kanemaru, but Kanemaru rakes his eyes! Taichi LOW BLOW KICKS! Red Shoes returns, Taichi hooks the arms, but Sanada pops out to shove Taichi into Kanemaru! O’Conner roll, JAPAN CLUTCH! SANADA WINS!!

Winner: Sanada, by pinfall

The Holy Emperor’s tricks got the better of him! Taichi takes his frustrations out on Red Shoes as he shoves him down, but he still lost. Will this defeat doom his chances of taking the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships? As for Sanada, we’re getting an LIJ VS LIJ Semifinal match! Sanada takes to the mic to address Evil. Evil says he’s the number one, but Sanada looks to test that. “See you tomorrow.” Will the Cold Skull be ready for whatever the King of Darkness tries?

My Thoughts:

Another great bit of the New Japan Cup! I nailed all these results, and you can read the previous article to see that. Hiromu had an incredible opener and an amazing overcoming victory against Ishii. Evil destroys Hashi from even before the bell, but I just felt an LIJ VS LIJ match happening so it had to happen. I’m surprised Okada wasn’t the main event, but he and Ishimori still had a great match that admittedly wasn’t quite main event level. No offense to Ishimori but obviously Okada wins, he’s Okada. And Okada really is putting a lot behind the submission hold, and as I said before, that could be the key to him making an already amazing career last even longer. Sanada and Taichi have the best match, hence why they’re the main event. Sanada seems to be daring Evil to try something, and that match could be main event for tomorrow, too. The semifinals are going to be insane!

My Score: 9.3/10

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

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Coverage

Mitchell’s WWE SmackDown Results & Report! (4/19/24)

Prepare for Backlash!

Published

4 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Steven Mitchell

Did you know that challenger in French is still “challenger?”

In a WrestleMania rematch, AJ Styles takes on LA Knight in a #1 contender’s match, to challenge WWE Champion Cody Rhodes at Backlash in France!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Undisputed WWE Championship #1 Contender’s match: AJ Styles VS LA Knight; Styles wins and will challenge Cody Rhodes for the title at Backlash.
SmackDown/WWE Tag Team Championships #1 Contenders Fatal 4 Way: The Street Profits VS New Catch Republic VS The Authors of Pain VS Legado Del Fantasma; The Profits win and will challenge A-Town Down Under for the titles.
Carlito w/ Zelina Vega VS Santos Escobar w/ Elektra Lopez; Santos wins.
WWE Women’s Championship: Bayley VS Naomi; Bayley wins, by disqualification, and retains the title.

PLAY BY PLAY

Undisputed WWE Championship #1 Contender’s match: AJ Styles VS LA Knight!

After fighting their way through Triple Threats, the Phenomenal One and the Mega Star meet again, YEAH! It’s a WrestleMania Rematch, the winner moving on to Backlash, YEAH! Will AJ Styles avenge his loss at the biggest WrestleMania ever? Or will everyone from here to France know whose game it is?

The bell rings and the two step to each other. The fans in Pittsburgh “YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!” and Knight lets Styles know it. Styles snarls, they tie up, and they go around. Knight puts Styles in a corner, the ref counts, but Knight lets off slowly. Styles kicks low! The fans boo but Styles headlocks. Knight pulls hair, throws body shots, then headlocks in return. Styles pushes Knight to ropes, powers up and out, then hurdles, drops and DROP- NO, Knight avoids the dropkick to BOOT, and LARIAT! Knight then TOSSES Styles out of the ring, storms out after him, and brings him to commentary. Knight SMACKS Styles off the desk! And again! And again!

The fans chant “YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!” with every SMACK, then Knight tops it off with one last SMACK! Knight drags Styles up and into the ring, storms in, but Styles KICKS Knight in the ropes! Styles reels Knight in, but Knight back drops Styles up and out! Styles flounders on the floor, Knight runs to WRECK him with a dropkick! Styles hits desk again and Steel City is loving “L! A! KNIGHT, YEAH!” as SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns and Styles soaks up the heat as he taunts Knight. Styles brings Knight up, but Knight fires haymakers! “YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!” Knight backs Styles down, whips, but Styles ducks ‘n dodges! Knight ducks ‘n’ dodges, then DOUBLE CROSSBODIES collide! Both men are down and the fans fire up. Both men slowly sit up, crawl around, and then stand. Styles fires a shot, but Knight gives it back! The haymakers go back and forth, “YEAH! BOO! YEAH!” Styles staggers but he still ROCKS Knight! Knight ROCKS Styles again and again, but Styles throat chops! Styles fires off the Phenomenal Blitz, but Knight ducks the lariat!

Knight JABS, JABS, JABS, and DECKS Styles! Knight stomps a mudhole in at the corner, “YEAH!” Knight then runs corner to corner to KNEE Styles down! The fans fire up, Knight puts Styles up, and Knight ROCKS Styles. Knight climbs, but Styles ROCKS him back! Knight staggers away, but returns to spring right up! SUPER DUPER PLEX! Cover, TWO!! Styles survives that crash but both men are down again. The fans rally as Knight rises, and he brings Styles around. Knight reels Styles in, suplexes, but Styles slips free! Styles goes to a corner, ELBOWS Knight away, then goes up to QUEBRADA DDT! Cover, TWO!

The fans fire up as Knight stays in this and Styles starts losing his cool. The fans rally for Knight but Styles looms over him. Styles brings Knight up and in, but Knight RAMS him into a corner! Knight then scoops Styles, but Styles slips free to roll up, TWO!! Knight escapes, swings, but Styles dodges to PELE! Knight ends up in a corner, Styles runs in, but Knight puts Styles on the apron! Styles ROCKS Knight, springboards, but Knight gets under! Styles comes back, into a scoop and POWERSLAM! Then JUMP ELBOW DROP! The fans fire up with with Knight as he storms around. Styles rises, Knight winds up, B F- NO, Styles bails out!

The fans boo but Knight storms over. Knight drags Styles up but Styles HOTSHOTS him! And pokes him in the eyes! Then ROCKS him! And springboards, to PHENOMENAL FOREARM!! Cover, Styles wins!

Winner: AJ Styles, by pinfall (NEW #1 Contender to the Undisputed WWE Championship)

Styles bent the rules, but a win is a win! He will get his shot at the American Nightmare in Lyon, France, will this year’s Backlash be phenomenal?

The Bloodline arrives backstage.

The car pulls up, Solo Sikoa steps out in a suit, and Paul Heyman is there to greet him. Nice threads, Solo. Tama Tonga walks over and Solo says meet the newest member of The Bloodline, Solo’s MFT. The Wise Man is stunned. But Solo cuts him off to ask if Kevin Owens is here. Heyman hesitates and Solo asks again, is Kevin here? If he is, he’s probably already in the locker room. Then take them to him. Heyman obeys and leads on. There have already been changes to the chain of command, is there about to be a change to the landscape of SmackDown, too?

Nick Aldis is in the ring.

In a familiar scene to Monday Night Raw, there is a podium with something under a satin sheet. The SmackDown General Manager welcomes to Pittsburgh the Chief Content Officer, Paul “Triple H” Levesque! The fans fire up as The Game makes his way to the ring! HHH joins Aldis in the ring, gets a mic, looks around at the crowd as he revels in the cheers, then says, “On the heels of the biggest, most epic, history making, record breaking, epic, unbelievable WrestleMania of all time, we are here tonight, sold out, 15 thousand strong, Pittsburgh, PA! So let me say, welcome to SmackDown!” The fans cheer that!

HHH wants to take a moment to say that he thinks Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis are both doing great jobs at leading their respective brands into the future. Thank you to both of them. And when we talk about the future, we have to talk about the history made coming into the future. So when history is made, HHH wants it to be represented here befitting of those that make it. So Aldis, if we could, let us bring the… champions out here. Aldis says without further ado, the NEW SmackDown Tag Team Champions, Austin Theory & Grayson Waller. The fans boo as A-Town Down Under make their way, blue belts in hand.

Theory & Waller join Aldis and HHH in the ring, mics already in hand, and they soak up the heat from Steel City. Waller says this is huge. Monday, we saw the second place champions get new belts. And now A-Town Down Under will be presented new titles! Theory says speaking of truth, didn’t Truth think HHH was a magician? Well, who knows what magic trick HHH has to make these guys look better than they already do, but hey, give it a try. HHH says congratulations on becoming tag team champions, so he will show them what they will wear going forward. From now on, they will be the WWE Tag Team Champions.

Reveal! In the style of the Attitude Era and Ruthless Aggression Era belts, the solid gold shines. HHH offers a handshake, but Waller leaves him hanging to shake Theory’s hand! Aldis makes it clear to them. They ever pop off and disrespect HHH like that, here’s a real magic trick: A-Clown Down Under will disappear, permanently! The fans like the sound of that! Aldis snatches the blue belts away since they won’t need them, and speaking of disappearing, there’s a chance one of the following four teams will make their title reign disappear. That #1 contenders match starts right now! The fans fire up, but which team defies the odds to get some golden tickets to France?

Backstage interview with Naomi.

Kayla Braxton is with The Glow and says last week, she beat Tiffany Stratton to get this title opportunity tonight. Will the friendship with Bayley get in the way of this match? Naomi says no, of course not. Bayley’s her sister, and she needed help against Damage CTRL, so Naomi was more than happy to help. But in no way will friendship get in the way of this opportunity. It has been over two YEARS since Naomi’s last WWE singles championship match, and there is nothing that will get in the way of making the most of this moment. Now last week, Tiffy Time felt the glow, so that same energy keeps going tonight.

Naomi is also looking forward to next week’s WWE Draft, where she will walk in the NEW WWE Women’s Champion. Naomi is ready, but will she be able to best Bayley in Bayley’s first title defense?

WWE Tag Team Championships #1 Contenders Fatal 4 Way: The Street Profits VS New Catch Republic VS The Authors of Pain VS Legado Del Fantasma!

SmackDown returns as Legado makes their entrance, followed by Akam & Rezar with the Final Testament. Waller & Theory are on commentary, Waller admitting he wants any team but AOP, and Theory saying these teams are fortunate to have real superstars leading their division. In this form of Fatal 4 Way, only two teams are active, so the Big Strong Boi, Tyler Bate, starts against Montez Ford. They circle, tie up, and Ford headlocks. Bate powers up to pry at the hold but Ford clamps on tighter. Bate powers up and out, drops, but Ford leaps over! The fans cheer, things keep moving, Bate feints high to drop low!

Bate shows knuckle lock, Ford obliges, but Bate wrenches, baits and double pump handles to FLIP Ford! Cover, TWO! Ford gets up to sweep and cover, TWO! Bate steps over, La Magistrol, TWO! Ford gets up, dropkicks cancel out, and both men kip up! The fans fire up and the two reset. But then Humberto Carrillo sneaks a tag, before he DECKS Bate with a sucker punch! Ford dodges Humberto but Angel Garza holds the ropes open! Ford tumbles out, Garza tags in, and Humberto sits Ford up. Garza runs in to KNEE Ford down! The fans boo, Garza drags Ford to a cover, TWO! Garza back suplexes, Ford lands out!

Ford tags Dawkins and he dodges Garza to FLYING ELBOW! Garza tags out to Akam, but then the Bruiserweight, Pete Dunne, tags in off Dawkins! Rezar tags, Dunne runs up but Akam LARIATS him down! Rezar DECKS Dawkins, then the AOP start clearing the corners! But Ford goes up to leap, but into an URENAGE! The fans boo but the AOP roar and soak up the heat. Waller’s worst case scenario might end up reality, but SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns and the fans rally as Ford endures a facelock. Ford fights up, pries at the hold, but Rezar shoves him to ELBOW him down! Rezar talks trash, Waller taunts the Steelers players sitting in the front row that they don’t really know what championships are, and then Rezar sucker punches Dawkins down! Rezar stands Ford up, Canadian Racks and bends him! Ford endures, the fans rally, but Rezar thrashes Ford around! Ford kicks and flails, he gets free, hot tag to Dunne! Bate sneaks a tag, Dunne GAMANGIRIS Akam and then NCR fire off on Rezar! The fans fire up, Humberto runs in, but Dunne dodges to SNAP GERMAN!

Bate & Dunne STOMP Humberto’s hands! Then BASEMENT DROPKICK! Garza runs up, but into the REBOUNDER GERMAN COMBO!! The fans fire up with NCR, but Rezar runs up! He grabs Dunne, but Bate says Bop up, BANG! Bate fireman’s carries Rezar?! But Rezar ELBOWS right free! Dunne GAMANGIRIS, Ford SUPERKICKS, and Dawkins ENZIGIRIS! Rezar wobbles, and everyone helps Bate gets Rezar up! BIG STRONG AIRPLANE SPINE! But then Legado CLOBBER Bate and Rezar! They BOOT Dunne, whip the Profits but the Profits reverse to TOSS Legado out! Ellering coaches Rezar while the Profits regroup.

Bate gets up, Dawkins ROCKS him! Dawkins brings Bate to the very top, but Dunne CLUBS Dawkins! NCR mug Dawkins but Ford joins in! They brawl, but AOP add on! Humberto finds Rezar to tag in, before the DOUBLE TOWER OF DOOM!! Bate’s the only one left up top, so Legado mug him! They double trophy lift Bate, to DOUBLE ROCKET LAUNCH him onto everyone!! Humberto then finds Bate, sunset flips and rewinds, Garza jumps, MISSILE DROPKICK DOOMSDAY! Cover, DUNNE BREAKS IT! “This is Awesome!” as all eight men are down around ringside, and Waller says this is gonna be easy pickings for A-Town Down Under now.

Dunne grabs Garza, Bate has Humberto, STEREO ANKLE LOCKS!! Grapevine for Garza! But Humberto BOOTS Bate onto Dunne! Legado is free, Ellering has AOP regroup, and SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns again and Rezar CLUBS Dawkins down. Rezar soaks up heat, taunts the other teams, then CLUBS Dawkins again. Rezar brings Dawkins up again, but Dawkins fires off body shots! Rezar KNEES low, reels Dawkins in, talks more trash, and lifts Dawkins up, to POWERBOMB! But then Dunne runs up to ROCK Rezar! Akam gets in to scoop Dunne and SLAM him on Dawkins! Cover, TWO! Rezar looks to Ellering and he coaches AOP. Rezar HAMMERS Dawkins, Akam tags, and AOP get NCR up! The fans boo but NCR RANA free to send AOP into each other! Ford jumps in, as does Garza.

All the teams realize, they gotta do something about AOP. So they all mug AOP! The fans fire up as AOP tumble out, but now who strikes first? Dunne runs up but Garza SUPERKICKS him first! Bate waistlocks Garza and Ford winds up, but Garza ducks so the BACKHAND hits Bate! Garza SUPERKICKS Ford, but Dawkins DECKS Garza! Humberto springboards to FLYING CHUCK! Cover, TWO!! Theory says if A-Town Down Under were in this match, he’d knock everyone out and Waller could just sneak in to cover. Humberto and Dawkins rise and go to corners. Humberto runs up, but Dawkins POUNCES him away!

Dawkins gets Humberto up, Ford returns and tags in! Dawkins Electric Chair Lifts Humberto and Ford climbs! The stars are out for the BLOCKBUSTER DOOMSDAY! Cover, DUNNE BREAKS IT! Another save from the Bruiserweight and Ford is frustrated. Dunne drags Dawkins up to CHOP, but Dawkins ROCKS him! Dawkins whips Dunne out of the ring, but Dunne grabs the arm! And he pulls off the glove so he can SNAP fingers! The fans fire up, but Ford ENZIGIRIS Dunne down! Ford brings Humberto up, Humberto JAWBREAKERS! Bate tags in off Ford, BOOTS Garza, then runs up, but into a POP-UP! But Bate RANAS Humberto!!

Bate then DUMPS Garza out, goes to the apron, and Dunne lines up targets. Bate and Dunne climb, Ford runs in, NCR DOUBLE ARIHARA MOONSAULT while Ford FLIES over the corner post!! Down goes Legado and AOP!! The fans are losing their minds as Bate hurries to get Humberto up. Bate puts Humberto in, reels him in, underhooks, but Humberto fights it! Humberto back drops but Bate lands on his feet! Humberto cradles, TWO! Humberto LARIATS Bate, tag to Garza! Legado gets Bate up, feed to the POP-UP KICK!! #FTY! Humberto then DIVES to take out Dunne! Garza goes up the ropes to LIONSAULT!!

But Ford flies in FROM THE HEAVENS!! The fans are thunderous as everyone is down again! Bate flounders, Dawkins tags in! Dawkins whips Legado, Ford joins in, THE REVELATION!! Cover, PROFITS WIN!

Winners: The Street Profits, by pinfall (NEW #1 Contenders to the WWE Tag Team Championships)

Waller & Theory are relieved it isn’t AOP, but they still look a bit annoyed that it is Ford & Dawkins. The Profits are Triple Crown Tag Team Champions from Raw to SmackDown to NXT, but will they soon add the WWE Tag Team Championships to make it a grand slam?

Backstage interview with Bayley.

Byron Saxton is with The Role Model, and brings up the emotional moment from Monday Night Raw where Rhea Ripley had to relinquish her title. But let us focus on Bayley’s title, as she defends it for the first time against Naomi. Where is her head at ahead of the main event? Bayley says after seeing Rhea vacate the Women’s World Championship on Raw, Bayley appreciates her reign more. She is focused, and she has realized she’s THE Women’s Champion in WWE right now, something she does not take for granted. Because we all know that with the WWE Draft, things are bound to change.

And as excited as Bayley is to face her friend, Naomi, one thing that won’t change is her as THE WWE Women’s Champion. Bayley is just as confident at Naomi, so something’s gotta give! Will The Role Model #FeelTheGlow? Or will she still be shining with gold after tonight?

Paul Heyman talks with Solo Sikoa.

The Wise Man apologizes that they haven’t found Kevin Owens, but he has to be here somewhere. Just look at the time. They will find him, somewhere. Solo stops listening and heads to gorilla. Heyman follows after, but Solo gives him a look. Heyman says he isn’t trying to upset Solo. Please believe him. The last person on this planet Heyman wants to piss off is Solo. But respectfully, Solo is making decisions that are not his to make, yet. One day, these will all be Solo’s decisions. But not now, not here! These are decisions that can only be made by one man. Solo asks Heyman if he’s done talking. Heyman asks if MFT is coming with Solo.

Solo just gives a thumbs up, with that taped thumb. The music hits and Solo makes his entrance, Heyman still following all the way into the ring. What does the Enforcer have planned? We’ll find out, after the break.

SmackDown returns and Heyman has the mic to give his usual introduction. And he doesn’t know if there is a list of the most brilliant backstage maneuvering politicians int he history of the WWE, but if there were, Heyman would have to think that he personally is in the top… Well, permit Heyman, with Solo’s permission, to explain what’s going on right now within The Bloodline, “the premier act in the history of WWE.” The fans chant, “We Want Roman!” but Solo shrugs that off. Heyman assures us that as The Wise Man for… Heyman gets emotional, so Solo just snatches the mic! The fans boo but Solo paces.

Solo tries to talk but the fans boo. Solo says last week, he had to lose a brother! He had to! It was in order for him to find a new one! His MFT, Tama Tonga! And with that, a bloodied Kevin Owens is tossed out, by the Good Bad Guy! Tama shoves Kevin down the ramp, stalks behind him, and referees rush out to stop him from doing anything further! Kevin can’t even sit up, but Tama steps over him to go to the ring. The fans boo as Tama joins Solo in the ring while the refs help Kevin to his feet and to the back. Tama raises his finger to the sky, because he acknowledges Solo! Heyman has no choice but to go along, but wait! Kevin is heading back down the ramp!?

The fans fire up as Kevin shows his grit and defiance! He drags Tama out to fire off hands!! The fans cheer but then Solo whips Kevin into steel steps! Solo drags Kevin back up, puts him in the ring, but now security rushes in! Tama storms in after Kevin but Kevin TACKLES Tama! The security gets Kevin away from Tama, but Solo SAMOAN SPIKES Kevin down!! The fans boo but then Tama SPLASHES Kevin! Tama rains down fists on that bloody wound, then he DECKS guard after guard! Producers try but Tama is a madman! Tama shoves everyone away so he can slip out of the ring, to grab a chair!!

The fans boo as Tama storms back in, but now Aldis steps up! Aldis warns The Bloodline here, and Solo has Tama stand down. Solo takes the chair from Tama to show they’re done here. The fans chant “YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK!” but the damage is done. Solo & Tama are a dangerous duo, will nothing and no one stop them from taking over SmackDown?

Heyman goes to the parking lot.

He’s in shock, but Aldis finds him and pulls him along. Was Heyman aware of this? Aldis shows Heyman the aftermath of one car T-boning another! And in case Heyman can’t guess, the struck car was Kevin’s. The attacking car was Tama’s! Heyman says this wasn’t authorized! No, Heyman, Aldis is speaking now. He gets this is a conflict within The Bloodline, but on his show, things are settle din the ring. Next week is the Draft, a lot of eyeballs on it, and a lot top brass are gonna be here. So Aldis will not tolerate this behavior. So make sure The Bloodline understands. Because, Heyman, if you don’t, the repercussions will be equally savage.

Aldis brings Heyman in close to tell him losing isn’t the only thing that has consequences. Will the Wise Man be able to rein in such an unruly force as Solo and Tama?

Carlito w/ Zelina Vega VS Santos Escobar w/ Elektra Lopez!

The LWO still doesn’t believe Legado’s claims that they had nothing to do with Dragon Lee going down before WrestleMania, so they’re going to get to the bottom of this one themselves! Will Caribbean Cool make the Emperor of Lucha confess his crimes? Or will Santos prove he was right all along?

The bell rings and the two talk trash. Then they start throwing hands! Carlito backs Santos down but Santos gets around to whisper something in Carlito’s ear. Carlito ELBOWS Santos away, runs up and hits a THESZ PRESS! Carlito then bumps Santos off buckles, fires hands, then has him in another corner. Carlito whips corner to corner, runs up, but Santos BOOTS him! Santos runs up, but into a SPINEBUSTER! Cover, TWO! Vega coaches Carlito to stay on Santos and he brings Santos up. Carlito ROCKS Santos, whips, but Santos KICKS him! Santos runs, but into a DROPKICK! Carlito kips up and the fans fire up!

Santos is on the outside, the ref won’t let Carlito go after him, but then Carlito WRECKS Santos with a dropkick! Carlito loads up to PLANCHA! Direct hit on Santos and Carlito hoists Vega up to celebrate! The fans cheer the LWO on as SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns and Santos whips Carlito hard into buckles. Carlito falls over, Santos soaks up the heat, then Santos HEADBUTTS Carlito to a corner. Santos then CHOPS, gets space and runs in, to DOUBLE KNEE! Carlito slumps in the corner but Santos puts him up top! Santos GAMANGIRIS then climbs up! SUPER STEINER! Carlito flounders, Santos pushes him to a cover, TWO! Vega is relieved but Santos huffs and puffs. Santos rains down fists on Carlito, then clamps on a top wristlock. Carlito endures and Vega coaches him while the fans rally. Carlito rises, throws body shots, then LARIATS!

The fans rally as Carlito starts to rally with more clotheslines, and an ELBOW! Carlito kicks, runs, and KNEE LIFTS! Santos wobbles, Carlito LARIATS again! Cover, TWO! Santos is tougher than that but Carlito says he’s going up! Carlito climbs, but then Lopez gets on the apron! Vega storms right over to YANK her down! The fans fire up as Vega goes up, and RANAS, only for Lopez to block! Lopez SWINGS Vega into barriers! Carlito ROCKS Santos, steps in, but the ref is reprimanding Lopez so he misses Santos KICK ropes to jam Carlito low! Santos reels Carlito in to POST him, then brings him back for the fireman’s carry! PHANTOM DRIVER!! Cover, Santos wins!

Winner: Santos Escobar, by pinfall

La Madrina helps The Emperor steal this victory, them taking down the Caribbean Cool and La Muneca! Whether or not Legado beat down Dragon Lee, will nothing stop them from conquering SmackDown?

VIP Skybox interview with Damage CTRL!

Kayla is with Iyo Sky, Dakota Kai, Kairi Sane & Asuka as they sit way up in the back. What made the former WWE Women’s Champion and crew want a special view of this main event? Dakota takes offense for Iyo with the use of “former” there. Is Kayla trying to disrespect them? Iyo will take that title back when they’re good and ready. But for now, they’re here to watch two people they can’t stand tear each other apart! Does Dakota need to remind everyone here that DMG CTRL is still the most dominant force in the WWE!? The fans boo but Dakota says the Kabuki Warriors are STILL the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, and that will not change-

WAID! Jade Cargill is here! She makes her entrance from the other skybox, with Bianca Belair alongside her! The strongEST duo argues with DMG CTRL, their own title intentions clear. But for now, it’s time for the main event! Who shines with gold here in the Steel City? We find out, after the break!

Cody Rhodes speaks.

The American Nightmare is in the UK as part of Raw’s tour, but he still took time to say, “What is the task? Run up the score, leave no doubt, right? Formerly, the task was ‘win the big belt, in the big place.’ We’ve done that. Now, it’s a whole new frontier for us, undiscovered country.” There’s an old expression: the title can make the man, or the man makes the title. Which will it be for Cody? He’s in London tonight, the O2, 16 THOUSAND, then it’s on to Belfast, Ireland. Cody is keeping his promise to bring this title all around the world. Back home, AJ Styles has emerged the #1 contender to this championship.

So then, it will be two Georgia boys duking it out in Lyon, France. The first time ever, at that. Styles has an unprecedented reputation in pro-wrestling. The modern day Excellence of Execution, if you will. Styles rarely misses. But the same goes for Cody. So Backlash in France, Cody looks forward to it. The contract signing is next week, even as the WWE Draft is going on! Will things be explosive when American Nightmare and Phenomenal One meet face to face?

WWE Women’s Championship: Bayley VS Naomi!

SmackDown returns and Bayley makes her entrance. The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and either we shine or we glow!

The bell rings, the fans rally, and the two circle. The two tie up, go around, and Bayley headlocks. Naomi powers up but Bayley wrenches to wristlock. Naomi slips through, rolls Bayley up, ONE!! The fans rally as the two go again. Naomi waistlocks, Bayley headlocks to hit a takeover, and she makes it a cover, TWO! Naomi fights up to her feet, powers up but Bayley wrenches gain. Naomi waistlocks, O’Conner Rolls, ONE! Both women get up, Naomi ducks the boot but Bayley arm-drags her around! Bayley has the cording hold, the fans rally up, and Naomi fights to her feet. Naomi whips Bayley away, but Bayley runs her over!

The fans cheer and Bayley tells DMG CTRL she’s watching them, too. Things speed up, Naomi does the splits to duck under, then she comes back to kick from below! She drags Bayley into a cradle, ONE!! Bayley hurries to step over, LA MAGISTROL! ONE!! Naomi and Bayley get up, Naomi trips Bayley to jackknife, ONE!! Ghost pin, TWO! Both women hurry up, DOUBLE CROSSBODIES collide! The fans rally while both women are down, evenly matched in this chess game so far. Both women rise, and Naomi SHOTGUNS first! Then she runs up, uses the ropes to slingshot and BULLDOG! Cover, TWO! Naomi is frustrated but keeps her focus.

Naomi drags Bayley up, Bayley shoves her away. Naomi dodges the lariat to hit REAR VIEW! Cover, TWO!! Bayley survives but Naomi lets her know it was that close, and SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns again and Bayley whips Naomi to a corner, runs in, but into a BOOT! Bayley gets up, Naomi runs up, JAWBREAKER! Bayley ends up in a corner now, Naomi runs in, and she forearm SMASHES! Naomi then runs Bayley corner to corner for a BUCKLE BULLDOG! Naomi slips out to the apron while Bayley flounders, and Naomi climbs. The fans duel as Naomi CROSSBODIES! Cover, TWO! Bayley is tougher than that but Naomi knows that. Naomi keeps her focus while DMG CTRL, Bianca & Jade all focus on them. Naomi ROCKS Bayley, tries the ropes again, but Bayley stops the bulldog to SMACK Naomi off buckles!

Bayley then reels Naomi in, SAIDO! High stack, TWO! Naomi is still in this and Bayley remembers Naomi’s tougher than that, too. Bayley drags Naomi into a drop zone, then goes up the corner! Bayley aims, to MACHO ELBOW onto knees! Bayley writhes, Naomi goes to the apron. Bayley stands, runs up, but into a ROUNDHOUSE! Naomi slingshots, for a FACEBUSTER! Cover, TWO! Bayley survives and Naomi is stunned! Naomi refocuses, goes to the corner, and goes up to SPLIT LEG MOONSAULT onto knees! Bayley returns the favor and both women are down. Bayley shakes out the leg, stands and runs, to KNEE Naomi down!

Bayley hurries to put Naomi back in a drop zone, and then hobbles her way to a corner. Bayley climbs, to MACHO ELBOW!! Direct hit this time and Bayley covers, TWO!! Naomi survives and Bayley is frustrated. Bayley hobbles on the bad leg, leans on ropes while she catches her breath, and the fans duel even more. Bayley stalks Naomi, hooks her up, but Naomi PELES free! Naomi hurries to a corner, Bayley runs up, but Naomi goes up to sunset flip! TWO!! But into the BUTTERFLY LOCK!! Bayley endures, reaches out with her legs, but then she tucks to a cover, TWO!! Naomi gets up, both women throw forearms!

They both wobble, storm up, and Bayley eggs Naomi on. Naomi wants this, right? So hit her! Naomi fires a forearm, Bayley hits back! Naomi winds up to forearm, Bayley comes back with another! The fans fire up as the forearms go harder and faster! Bayley gets the edge, but Naomi SWATS one, to SCORPION KICK, and then JUMP KNEE! Bayley tumbles out of the ring, Naomi PLANCHAS! Direct hit and a hard one, both women are down on the floor! The ring count starts, Naomi stirs at 3 of 10. Naomi brings Bayley up, but BAYLEY2BELLY onto the desk!! The count is 7! Naomi flounders on the desk, but then TIFFANY ATTACKS BAYLEY!!!

Winner: Bayley, by disqualification (still WWE Women’s Champion)

Tiffany makes herself the center of attention as always as she ruins this main event! She dribbles Naomi off the desk, then RAMS Bayley into steel steps! Then she drags Naomi off the desk to POST her! Tiff storms back over to Bayley, puts her in the ring, then adds Naomi in, too. Tiff says sorry not sorry, but it’s Tiffy Time! Tiffy goes to the corner, for the PRETTIEST MOONSAULT EVER! Tiff flexes over both champion and challenger, having upset Bianca & Jade but having entertained DMG CTRL. But will Wrestling Barbie pay for pissing off the Role Model?

My Thoughts:

A great SmackDown that also acted as a WWE Draft go-home. Great match from Styles and Knight to open the night but also follow-up their WrestleMania match. Naturally, Styles wins because then he and Knight are 1-1 in 1v1 matches, and also natural Face VS Heel right there. Good promo from Cody Rhodes, that title match is going to be awesome. Awesome new looks for the WWE Tag Team Championships, though maybe too much gold. Nothing really pops when it’s all the same color, so they should’ve had silver on the WWE logo and the words, “Tag Team Champions,” but it’s still a great redesign.

We also got an awesome Fatal 4 Way tag match, with Theory & Waller decent on commentary. And pieces are falling into place for what I was thinking: Profits win the right to face Theory & Waller, we’ll surely get Lashley wanting the US Championship, we’ll get a good faction feud there as we approach those title matches. Also good continuation of the LWO VS Legado feud with Carlito VS Santos, and distractions of course helped Santos win. There’s gotta come a point where Carlito reveals it was him, Dragon Lee, it was him all along! Now, that would make like the third turn since the start of this rivalry (Santos to Heel, Andrade to Face and Carlito to Heel) but hey, the drama is heightened each time, and maybe Dragon Lee will actually get a win in this feud.

Great stuff in Bayley VS Naomi, as well as all the promos. DMG CTRL watching from the skybox, same as Bianca & Jade, was good stuff. The tag title match is definitely coming for Backlash, that will be great stuff. But I should’ve figured Tiffany would “ruin” the main event so that there won’t really be a choice between Bayley and Naomi. The Draft is coming, hopefully they think to keep all three on the same brand, and probably here on SmackDown, so that those three can have it out. I don’t know the chances of a Triple Threat for Backlash but it still feels possible. Though at the same time, I don’t think they’d take the title off Bayley after only a month, so she’d probably use Tiffany against Naomi to retain.

And what wild stuff with this new, more vicious Bloodline. Solo is in a suit because he certainly thinks he is Tribal Chief already, given Roman Reigns did give him the nod as “Tribal Heir” a few months ago. And while Tama is the MFT, which everyone is already wondering what that even means, it’s clear he’s also the right hand man and a loose cannon at that. Without the Draft, it’d be pretty wild for Jimmy to come back and help Kevin against this new Bloodline. With the Draft, we could get Jey back on the same brand as his family and then he and Jimmy stand against Solo and Tama. But either way, it’ll be a wild ride in this new chapter and I’m all for it.

My Score: 8.9/10

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

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

1 day 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!