Coverage

AJ’s NXT TakeOver 36 Results & Review

Even with the sub par build, does TakeOver 36 live up to the name of the event? Did it outshine SummerSlam? See what AJ thinks!

Published

3 years ago

August 22, 2021

Adam Balaz

Alright, we got SummerSlam out of the way and they had two really good matches in my personal opinion but now we are on to the typical workhorse of WWE with the TakeOvers from NXT. WE have a ton of new and old rivalries to happen this night so we shall see how it all comes to be. Knight against Grimes, Cole and O’Reilly and Ilja with Walter with the old bouts along with Joe being provoked by Kross and Dakota turning on Raquel. This should shape up to be one hell of a night.

Results:

Cameron Grimes (w/ Ted DiBiase) vs LA Knight (c) for the Million Dollar Championship: Cameron Grimes wins via Cave In – *** ¼ – TITLE CHANGE!!!
Dakota Kai vs Raquel Gonzalez (c) for the NXT Women’s Championship – Raquel wins via Chingona Bomb – *** ¼ – TITLE DEFENSE!!
Ilja Dragunov vs WALTER (c) for the NXT UK Championship – Ilja Dragunov wins via Sleeper Hold – ****** – TITLE CHANGE!!!!!!! (And yes. That is Six Stars)
Two Out Of Three Falls: Adam Cole vs Kyle O’Reilly – Kyle O’Reilly wins via Heel Hook – *** ¾
Samoa Joe vs Karrion Kross (c) – Samoa Joe wins via Muscle Buster – *** ½ – TITLE CHANGE!!!

Review:

Cameron Grimes vs LA Knight-

They start it off with the collar and elbow and Knight puts Grimes in the corner to taunt him but Grimes gets fired up and hits LA Knight with a slap and goes all out, almost putting the Million Dollar Dream on Knight but Knight escapes. Of course, the quicker of the two in Cameron Grimes makes haste and takes the fight to the outside, even DiBiase aiding Grimes a little bit here and whips Grimes into Knight for double boots. As they make it to the ring again, Knight gets the advantage again after chopping Grimes down from the top rope and now stomping Grimes down, using some old school wrestling moves too like the bottom rope decapitator to slow Grimes down but Grimes comes back quickly with high speed offense. Knight gets things going more and more again however, blocking a Frankensteiner into a powerbomb and gets his hubris started again and loses the momentum quickly as Cameron Grimes does everything to take Knight down.

Once again, LA Knight gets more and more offense going but it’s never enough, even landing a Burning Hammer to put Grimes away but it’s still a kick out. Now, each person gets offense going but Cameron Grimes comes back and gets a hit with the midair slam and goes to take it to LA Knight but Knight shortly gets a reversal and props Grimes on the top rope, hoping to get a Avalanche Back Suplex but Grimes fights Knight off for a moment until Knight comes in to run and do an avalanche German Suplex instead.

Knight goes to hit the Blunt Force Trauma but Grimes counters it into a Million Dollar Dream but tries to kick it off the ropes for a pinfall, Grimes rolls in to keep the Million Dollar Dream in but LA Knight charges to the corner and Lawn Darts Cameron Grimes off his back. He rolls out after the fact to grab the Million Dollar Championship but the ref stops him. Ref was distracted by Grimes as Ted DiBiase hits a punch on LA Knight and some of the Million Dollar Dream before putting LA Knight back in the ring and gets Caved In to Cameron Grimes’ feet.

Dakota Kai vs Raquel Gonzalez-

The two just stare each other down, not making a move since before the bell rang until Dakota slaps Raquel and gets her angry and uses her strength to get a slight advantage until Kai uses he agility to escape. Every time Raquel gets a slight form of an advantage, Dakota goes something quickly with a kick and powder out until it got too redundant and over powers Dakota for this momentum change. After a quick pinfall, Dakota gets a small chance to get a momentum change and lands a hard Yakuza Kick that sends Raquel outside and for a quick pin but Raquel comes back with the power instead and keeps it. Every small move that Dakota uses stalls Raquel but Raquel continues with the power, blocking kicks and over moves with Powerbombs and evening the momentum with an Ally-Oop Bomb.

As Dakota rolls back in and they lock eyes but Dakota uses her kciks again to get the advantage, even landing a Kai-ropractor but Raquel kicks out of the pinfall and now on the defensive for a good amount of time until she catches Dakota and puts her to the top but it’s not enough to stun Kai. Kai gets some cheeky nandos started but as she goes for a second Yakuza Kick, Raquel stops it and lands a Super Chingona Bomb to keep the title on her shoulder.
(Aftermath: Music starts playing and Kay Lee Ray walks out to stare down Raquel, setting up Gonzalez’s next opponent.)

WALTER vs Ilja Dragunov-

(I’m not going to lie. More pissed off that this has a way better story than any of the other matches and this is the middle match. Ah… I’ll live I guess.)

The two are trying to find an opening quickly but even though Walter puts ilja in the ropes, Ilja uses his speed to dodge Walter’s Chops and does his own before they go into a headlock challenge against each other and Walter now gets the advantage, grounding Ilja. Ilja, ever resilent, tries to cut down Walter with the Leg picks and pure anger to get his advantage and actually taking it to Walter. Walter rips the bandage off of Ilja and tires to use the stitching he has to get an advantage and no matter what Walter does, Ilja keeps the headlock in until Walter goes into the corner to break it and the start to slug it out instead. Walter goes for another Chop but Ilja captures it and tries to stun that arm but Walter lift Dragunov to the top rope to break the arm bar and lands the first Chop to Dragunov into the outside as he punishes Ilja, doing and Apron Powerbomb before coming back to the ring. Walter now, putting the Sleeper on but Dragunov blocks it and goes for the rope break, which Walter obliges, only to do a German Suplex to send Ilja back into the corner. Walter now gets a Boston Crab on to stun Ilja and transitions it into a Crossface, stopping any form of Ilja to get a comeback. As things get back to a somewhat vertical, they go into a striking match and even though Ilja now gets a burst of offense going, Walter slams Ilja down, stopping the Constantine Special.

After a nearfall, Walter stomps and kicks Ilja, no matter how many times Dragunov gets up, Walter lands another Chop once Ilja stands and even a heavy Big Boot. Even then, Ilja gets some offense going, slapping and striking Walter and gets him down on the mat for a submission that Walter starts blocking, turning it into a strike fest with kicks, slaps, chops and finally stuns the big man down with a knee strike. Ilja takes too much time though after as he goes for a leaping move, caught by a palm down to the ground and a Western Lariat to fall back to the ground for another nearfall. As both men get up, Walter Chops Ilja’s back and that fires Dragunov down and takes Walter down and returns to sender, Chopping Walter’s back and now the Chop are having no effect anymore as Dragunov actually outpowers the Champion for yet another nearfall. Ilja now goes to the top and lands a dropkick on Walter, going to the other stide to do a Senton to Walter and tries to charge over to Walter but is caught in a Sleep Slam. Dragunov pops up quickly and lands his Torpedo Moskau twice to take Walter down for another nearfall.

Ilja now gets chops of his own going now and Walter Chops Ilja this time, still to no effect as he continues the fight to Walter, no matter how hard he gets hit, Ilja gets up and fights more. Walter though halts it with a missile dropkick and Powerbomb but Ilja continues to kcik out. Walter now two heavy chops and a knee to ready a powerbomb and even a big Splash to Ilja but yet again, another near fall, trying to the win now with the Sleeper but Ilja keeps getting up and blocking the Sleeper as he keeps taking down and even putting the Sleeper on Walter this time but Walter is too big and strong as Walter goes to the top with Dragunov on his back and falls to break it but Ilja goes back to put the Sleeper back on Walter, like a scrappy dog. Walter tries to get up again and drop Ilja to break the hold again but Ilja keeps it on, breaking it himself to beat down Walter with kicks and forearms and reapplies the Sleeper to make… Walter… tap.

(If this match doesn’t win actual match of the year, I’m done with wrestling. That was FUCKING BRILLIANT)

Kyle O’Reilly vs Adam Cole –

(First Match – Traditional Match)
Both of them go for a kick and just go into a slug fest with the kicks but Kyle gets the advantage and starts taking it to Adam Cole on the outside, ping ponging Cole between the steps and barricade until Adam Cole goes to get a little bit of a fight, setting the Brainbuster spot from before until it’s stopped and Kyle O’Reilly comes back with more strikes of his own and now getting a armbreaker attempt, rolling it into an Ankle Lock and Adam Cole comes back and hits a stepup knee strike and both men go back to outdo each other each move, countering each other move until Kyle catches the Panama Sunrise into a roll up for the first pin.

O’Reilly – 1
Cole – 0

(Second Match – Street Fight)
We are now in a street fight as the weapons are coming from the two and Kyle actually comes out and takes the advantage early to land a hard knee strike with a trash can and stuns Cole. Adam Cole gets into the ring and since O’Reilly takes too much time and Cole kicks him down and Kyle lands ribs first and now Adam Cole has a target as they return to the ring and targets Kyle with a chair to the ribs, digging and driving it into O’Reilly’s ribs. Now Kyle is too damaged to continue as Cole props a chair in the corner and whips O’Reilly into them but Kyle tries to dodge and hits his ribs on the post instead as Kyle and keeps hitting Kyle’s ribs. Cole grabs a Kendo Stick and beats Kyle down, faking a Last Shot with a Backstabber with the Kendo to assist and hooks the Lockjaw (aww how cute. He used Britt Baker’s move) as he keeps the fight going to Kyle and telling him to stay down but Kyle refuses and takes the offense to Cole, trying to damage the knee now but Kyle’s ribs are hurting him more, running into the corner with the chair to hit the ribs more and they take each other down.

They roll out after and it’s targeting on Adam Cole to grab a chain to get an advantage but Kyle has one too, going to the Hockey Fight spot and Adam Cole gets the superkick to get an advantage but only a near fall this time. Adam Cole crawls away to the ramp to bait Kyle but O’Reilly stuns Cole with a chokehold and tosses Adam into the barrier below to get a new momentum swing, trying his own Brainbuster to the steel steps but Adam Cole lands a DDT on the outside to prevent that from happening and puts Kyle back in the ring. Adam Cole returns to the ring and has the steel chairs in the ring back to back but Kyle counters it and lands an Ushgeroshi to stop him. Kyle goes to the top to drop the knee but Adam catches Kyle, lands Kyle on the chairs and hits the Last Shot for the tie.

O’Reilly – 1
Cole – 1

(Third Match – Steel Cage)

As the cage lowers, medics come in to talk to Kyle O’Reilly but Cole does more damage to Kyle to get more of an advantage. Kyle still unable to move after a powerbomb to the announce table as the personnel latches the cage together.

They get the cage together and Adam Cole just tosses O’Reilly all around the cage but as the trash talk continues, Kyle gets angry and takes it to Adam Cole, between the cage and ropes as he lands the knee the first time, missing the second and Adam Cole tries to land the Last Shot again but mises and Kyle hits one of his own for a nearfall. Kyle tries to get an advantage but Adam hits a low blow and climbs the cage. Kyle tries to stop him but gets thrown off and Adam Cole stops climbing and hits the Panama Sunrise for a nearfall. Adam Cole now grabs a bag and it’s handcuffs Kyle to the ropes as he trash talks more, superkicking him but Kyle catches the last one and O’Reilly applies a one handed Heel Hook and Adam Cole taps out.

O’Reilly – 2
Cole – 1

(The crowd is chanting bullshit even though the writing is Adam Cole is going somewhere else… so… in the words of Daniel Bryan. Fickle…)

Samoa Joe vs Karrion Kross –

The crowd solely chanting for Joe and Kross is annoyed by it, just kicking Joe by the feet a little bit before Joe finally cracks and gets a flurry of strikes started, even landing his Enziigiri and keeps the attack going, soccer kicks and elbows as Kross tries to get a head of steam but gets caught in a Coquina Clutch for a short moment until Karrion switches out and does the Doomsday Seito and gets the advantage with his forearm strike. Karrion keeps the offense going on the outside momentarily and both men go back to even, not giving the other a moment to breathe, Joe taking Kross back outside and does his Suicide Forearm Dive to take Kross down. That however, makes Joe winded as he does it and Kross takes advantage. Kross flips off the crowd to get to rush Joe but gets caught in a Scoop Slam and Joe takes the control again. Joe gets a powerbomb off and he breaks it into an STF instead of the Crab he usually does and turns it into a Crossface but only for a rope break. Kross goes ruthless again and hits hard on Joe, basically looking like he expected more as he takes Joe down with a DDT and pins Joe for another nearfall. Karrion starting the trash talk and it provokes Joe a little more and takes Kross down to go back to even.

Kross tries to strike Joe to the corner but Joe comes in and gets a comeback started, striking back and now getting the steam going; Senton Drops, Big Boot, kicks and after a near fall, he puts another Coquina Clutch in and drops Kross to the ground and Kross rolls out of the Clutch, into a Kross Jacket and Joe looks to fade until he gets a rush of adrenaline to get up but Kross makes sure Joe is still down, readying the Forearm Stirke to the back of the head but getting it scouted into a Uronagi. Kross tries to go to the top but Joe hits an Enziguri and lands the Muscle Buster on Karrion Kross to become the first Three Time NXT Champion.

Final Thoughts

Well, as expected, Takeover was better than SummerSlam but that’s not saying much when NXT doesn’t have Alexa Bliss and a Doll going against Eva Marie and Doudrop since Piper Nivens isn’t allowed to shine. Anyway, how to dissect this night? Cameron Grimes won which, as much of an LA Knight fan I am, that was correct in my opinion and a given. Joe winning, they already positioned Kross to be on RAW so again, a given. Raquel beat Dakota which was expected but I also was hoping that they would do more with that like until WarGames or something. Kay Lee Ray is still amazing to show up but, I was kind of expecting more to come out of this boiling point. We hopefully for the time being don’t have to go through the Independent Equivalent of Randy Orton and John Cena so, there’s that… Um… what else?

Oh yes. The absolute marvelous performance of Ilja Dragunov and Big Van Valter where it showed that even Walter is still human and fell to the resilience and persistence of Ilja to give us something that shows that hard work, never giving up and wanting to get things done and succeeding, will make sure you get what you rightfully deserved. That was match of the year for me, I don’t care what anyone says. I broke that damn star system, if Dave can, AJ will and that was your God damn match of the year.

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

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Mitchell’s WWE NXT Results & Report! (8/24/21)

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Coverage

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

Prepare for Backlash!

Published

2 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.
WWE Women’s Championship: Bayley VS Naomi; wins and

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.

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

24 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!