UK Tour lead to an interesting Turning Point. Simon Miller’s gimmicky as hell match (but still fun), a few really solid matches, Will Ospreay and Eddie Edwards putting on a great match; night ending with some great words from the Billy Goat. Now we see if the Gail Kim Eat Da Feet leads to more, what Deonna will do now that she can’t challenge for the Knockouts Title, Trey Miguel and Rich Swann probably still have beef…either way, lots of room to tell stories and grow into 2024 and the return of TNA.

We’ve got two title matches tonight, but no real idea on where things will go from here. So lets see what tonight brings us!

.@TheBadReed has ARRIVED! @TheTreyMiguel @ZacharyWentz #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/HrVhqpMn6q

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) November 10, 2023

Ratings:

• Tasha Steelz vs Deonna Purrazzo: Tasha wins via Okurrr – *
• Digital Media Championship: Tommy Dreamer (c) vs Crazzy Steve: Steve wins via DQ – ** – Dreamer sadly retains
• Brian Myers vs Joe Hendry: Myers wins via Roster Cut – ***
• Eddie Edwards w/Alisha Edwards vs Eric Young: EY wins via Piledriver – **
• Dirty Dango & Oleg Prudius w/Alpha Bravo vs Nick Diamond & Storm Grayson: Dango wins via Scorpion Deathdrop – Squash
• World Championship: Alex Shelley (c) vs Jonathan Gresham: Shelley retains via Shellshock – *****

Results:

Tasha Steelz vs Deonna Purrazzo

The catch is catch can start is honestly just Deonna doing things and Tasha getting out. Deonna even pulls out the Paradise Lock after Tasha twerks a little when she counters, and then we go into a few seconds of Deonna twerking to mock Tasha while she recovers from eating the Dropkick unlock of the Paradise Lock.

This is just a lot of the slow pose after a sequence, taunt one another that they were close to ending it and then finally we get a strike exchange that ends with both succumbing to stereo Lariats. While the concept is fine, Tasha isn’t known as a technical wrestler, they’re both more well known as heels and they’re doing like the playful technical babyface spots. So honestly, this match has made no sense. Deonna hits the Russian Leg Sweep into the Fujiwara but Tasha counters. Tasha then hits the Satellite into the Rings of Saturn, Deonna gets out of it, Tasha finally breaks the hold with a rake to the eyes. So finally heel stuff happens, they complain at each other but Tasha lights up Deonna and catches her with two intense Okurrrs with a burst of fierocity out of…nowhere.

This match was complete nonsense.

Digital Media Championship: Tommy Dreamer (c) vs Crazzy Steve

HEY TNA, do me a favor. When we restart the brand….STOP PUTTING TOMMY DREAMER IN MATCHES. If this devolves into a retirement match or something for Dreamer, fine. But seriously, stop shoving Dreamer at us, bring back Kid Kash, Blue Meanie or Joel Gertner if you want ECW chants. STOP with the Dreamer stuff.

The match starts out a little rough and quick with a tie up that turns into a joint powder, some brawling, then Dreamer tries to rain down 10 count punches but Steve bites his thigh. Steve sings his “Angel of Death” dark lullaby, clubs on Dreamer, DDT into a Neck Twist, then pulls at his face in the ropes before the referee forces the break. Steve goes to the top rope but Dreamer cuts him off, Superplex for the both “slow to get up” spot. Rising haymakers from both, Dreamer gets the best of things with his Flip Flop and Fly. Two Bionic Elbows into a Scorpion Deathdrop for 2. Dreamer Driver, nope, Spicolli Driver is blocked with biting and gouging at the eyes. Cannonball into the corner from Senor Crazzy.

Steve walks out to his briefcase muttering “I have to end you”, and reveals the fork from his briefcase. Steve tries to stab his face, Dreamer blocks, bites the wrist, but eats a Cutter. Dreamer picks up the fork, “Fork You”, forks Steve in the face and the referee Disqualifies Dreamer. Dreamer then keeps gouging at the head wound.

So unfortunately Dreamer is still champ, so maybe we’ll just get some kind of Fork on a Pole, murder the loser match or something by Hard to Kill or maybe even Final Resolution.

Brian Myers vs Joe Hendry

Hendry begins the rebrand early saying that Myers is no longer “Edge’s Bitch”, he’s “Adam’s Bitch”. So when the match starts, Myers starts off hot since he’s grumpy that the crowd supported picking on him with the rebrand. Scoop Slam from Myers, Roster Cut attempt, but he eats the European Uppercut and then Hendry throws him over the top to rub salt in the wound about the Gauntlet.

Bouncing his head off the apron, Hendry keeps up the pressure, brings things back in and keeps Myers grounded with a few Arm Wringer Takedowns. Myers tries to powder after but Hendry hits the Vertical Suplex outside in from the apron. Spinning Scoop Slam into a Rope Run Elbow Drop for 2. Hendry tries to keep up the pressure but the Drop Toe Hold from Myers finally gives him some offense, as he continues that with a Russian Leg Sweep for 2. Myers decides to paint brush Hendry a few times and mock him, so of course the babyface fires back up. Trust Fall into his Chant Chops, Stalling Suplex, but only a 2 count. Myers powders again, but Hendry collects him and tries to follow up but Myers cuts him off and then tosses him into the post and off the apron.

Sleeper Hold from Myers gets countered as Hendry stands up, turns Myers around and just Suplexes him off of him. Back to back Lariats, catches the Crossbody and then Sack of Shits in triplicate for only another 2 count. Myers with a desperation Gamengiri, into the Implant DDT for 2. They raise up, Myers thinks about his next move but Hendry shoves him into the ropes and hits the Pop Up Powerbomb. Standing Ovation counter, Myers guards in the ropes, pokes the eye and then Roster Cut out of nowhere. Myers wins!

.@WillOspreay has words for @Walking_Weapon ahead of their match NEXT WEEK on #IMPACTonAXSTV! pic.twitter.com/t4NNCot589

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) November 10, 2023

Eddie Edwards w/Alisha Edwards vs Eric Young

Early on there’s just some general back and forth but nothing crazy, EY hits the Flair Flop into sliding back into the ring under the ropes, through Eddie’s legs, and a little more back and forth until Lish makes her presence felt for the first time picking the ankle. Eddie takes the opportunity to hit a bit Overhead Belly to Belly and just start beating on EY. Eddie brings him to the ropes, drapes EY, distracts the ref and then Lish chokes EY while the ref isn’t looking. An attempted fire moment for EY is stifled with a big Back Elbow, so Eddie is still very in control.

Scoop Slam from Eddie, he plays to the crowd a bit too long as they Boo at him, goes for the Moonsault and misses big. EY hits a few moves, Scoop Slam of his own, EY calls for the Macho Elbow but Lish distracts him for Eddie to get up. Eddie tries to cut him off, but EY bites his face, then hits the Elbow for 2. EY calls for the Piledriver, Lish hops on the apron to distract EY and it works. Eddie hits a desperation Blue Thunder Bomb for 2. Lish slides the chair in to Eddie, Ref is distracted dealing with the chair, Lish hops up again, swings the Kendo Stick but misses EY and hits Eddie. EY then hits his Piledriver for the win as Lish is seen apologizing over top of a down Eddie.

Is @TheMooseNation prepared for the challenge of 'The Red Headed Rebel? @HEATHXXII #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/ADhZvumC7x

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) November 10, 2023

Dirty Dango & Oleg Prudius w/Alpha Bravo vs Nick Diamond & Storm Grayson

Vladimir Kozlov and Dango get to go against some local jobbers since its Kozlov’s first real match in over a decade.

Dango lets Oleg start and Dango walks off to do guest commentary as Oleg is murdering people. Standing Fireman’s Carry Slam, Sack of Shit, then he headbutts some dork out of the sky. Dango walks back to the ring, tags in after Oleg murdered some people and Dango wins with the Scorpion Deathdrop.

Solid enough way to get over Oleg being a monster again.

World Championship: Alex Shelley (c) vs Jonathan Gresham

Gresham offers the hand and Shelley slaps it away after Gresham’s recent usage of dirty tactics. Gresham pushes Alex into the corner, slow break but Gresham tries to hit him, Shelley ducks it to reverse the spot and Shelley just gives him the Sign of the Cross as a taunting clean break. Early commercial break as we come back, Shoulder Tackle and then a chop spot. Gresham is overselling the chops, tries to ask for a second, takes off some wrist tape to distract the referee as he feints the chop and Jimmy Taps Alex Shelley. Then he uses his loose tap to choke Shelley, and starts working Shelley over on the mat eventually locking in a Figure Four.

It takes over 30 seconds, Shelley grabs the ropes and Gresham says he’s stuck, but uses the extra time to keep wrenching on the knee. The ref gets in Gresham’s face and he goes full Tom and Jerry with motioning a halo around his head and acting like he’s gonna go after the ref until he turns and then tries to look innocent. This has really just been Gresham’s true coming out party for being a shitty cheating heel. Shelley finally fires up a bit, Arm Wringer, short Elbow and now a few chops into an Elbow Hyper Extension but Gresham stops it with a Sleeper. Shelley fights out, but Gresham turns it into a Knee Breaker working on the left knee he already Figure Four’d. Another Knee Breaker, Grounded Dragon Screw on the bad leg, and then he starts thinking again. Gresham uses his body to shield the wrist tape cheating from the referee and wrestles Alex down to keep the shield.

Shelley counters out, then gets into a Grounds Armlock, manipulates the fingers and then drives his knee into Gresham’s shoulder blades. Straight Jacket Bow and Arrow from Alex, but then Shelley sells the knee as he tries to fire. Classic Dragon Screw from Gresham on the bad leg to get the momentum back. Gresham turns Shelley over on the mat and just starts ramming his knee into the mat over and over again. Knee Breaker again, but Shelley sneaks in a Right Knee Strike to rock Gresham. Gresham responds with a low Dropkick as Shelley tries to limp to the corner. Corner flourish from both which ends with Shelley hitting a Stun Gun on Gresham, but Gresham slides out and grabs the bad knee. Alex tries to go after the left arm to relieve some of the pressure, and just throws his body over the top in a Plancha to wipe out Gresham.

Alex breaks the count once, they keep going back and forth on the outside. Gresham charges, misses and eats the post. Shelley lands a DDT, they get to a 9 count and Shelley tries to get both back in. Gresham charges the ropes, kicks the leg, DDT, and then three covers in a row, even with tights, but Shelley kicks out. Shelley White Boy Dances to dodge the Sliding Dropkick on the bad leg, baits Gresham to the corner, Flatliner into the middle buckle, Tornado DDT floated through into the Border City Stretch….Gresham grabs the official and uses the ref to pull himself towards the ropes. Gresham lands multiple chops on the bad leg, Shelley tries to grab the left arm but Gresham goes for the left leg, Enzuigiri partially connects, Misawa Rolling Elbow into a Border City-counters into a Rolling Cradle for 2. Knee Smash, Leg Extension, School Boy with extra leverage from Gresham for 2! They exchange strikes on the limbs they’ve weakened through the match.

Arm Snap from Shelley, Chop on the bad leg from Gresham, Shelley tries to hit the ropes but the leg gives out again. Moonsault, into a Dive, rolls him back in, Locomotion Cradles, no one wins, La Magistral attempt from Shelley, no back and forth Cradles continue and still no pinfall. Japanese Clutch from Gresham no, Border City – No, Gresham locks in a Figure Four as he barely gets to the ropes. A few chops, Gresham tosses him to the ropes but Shelley falls, Superkick from Shelley as he was baiting him a bit, SHELLSHOCK! ALEX SHELLEY RETAINS!

Overall Score: 7.75/10

Okay there’s a lot to love here. Myron Reed joining the Rascalz officially is awesome, the main event was stellar, Kozlov having his first match in over a decade and looking awesome was great and Santino’s way of messing with Kenny King was funny as well. Hell I even personally really like the idea of Moose trying to prove himself by protecting Myers by forcing Heath to go through him before touching “Adam’s Bitch”. Sets up for a slightly bigger moment when one of them eventually turns on the other.

Only really awful thing was the Tasha vs Purrazzo match. From a television wrestling perspective it makes absolutely no sense. It felt very indie stupid bullshit where even though they are both known as asshole heels they have a playful technical match. And then Tasha winning because she actually remembered she was a heel was dumb. Yeah I get it, Deonna is either phasing out or needing a whole breakdown to build back up, and Tasha is back so she needs momentum. Sure I get THAT, but the story of the match made less sense than Mush Mouth from Fat Albert.

Either way this was a good episode to respark interest toward Final Resolution and to get those TNA vibes flowing.

LA Knight is getting his moment on the biggest stage, and many are split. Greg DeMarco takes a Good, Bad, & Ugly look at this step in Knight’s career!

WWE makes it’s semi-annual trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia this weekend for what is often a very polarizing event among the dedicated followers of the product. This time around, the main event itself is equally polarizing at LA Knight will challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

So it the decision to put LA Knight in this match Good, Bad, or Ugly? Let’s analyze!

Good

LA Knight has become the megastar he says he is, and that megastar is headlining one of WWE’s cash-cow events by challenging Roman Reigns in Saudi Arabia. His promos with Roman have done huge numbers on social media. He’s selling tons of merchandise. Fans are finishing his sentences–everybody truly is saying “L! A! KNIGHT! YEAH!”

Roman Reigns ONLY does big matches. His stage is ALWAYS the grandest stage. There is no substitute for the Tribal Chief, he truly sits at the Head Of The Table in WWE. To be in the ring with him in ANY capacity is beneficial. That alone right there is a huge bit of “Good” in this for LA Knight.

But LA Knight has also gotten the better of Roman Reigns in their exchanges. As they nearly always do, he’s being presented as a legitimate threat to “the longest reigning champion in modern WWE history.” And with Solo Sikoa making the trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it is likely that Roman isn’t retaining without some assistance.

Again, GOOD for LA Knight.

LA Knight calls himself the megastar of WWE (as does commentary), but this booking proves it.

BAD

So with all that, what could possible be bad about it? Well quite simply…the man ain’t winning! There’s no way he’s winning. That is reserved for Cody Rhodes at either WrestleMania 40 or WrestleMania 41 (if they decide to have Roman break Hogan’s 1474  day reign–which they should and probably will).

That’s bad. LA Knight is simply another win for Roman Reigns in a long line of challengers have fallen short in their bid to unseat the Tribal Chief. Short of a last minute injury or movie deal, it’s a virtual lock that LA Knight is walking out of Crown Jewel with the same number of championships he had when he walked in: ZERO.

UGLY

Then there’s the ugly side of all this. And there are two major “ugly” items.

First off, he’s part of Roman Reigns’ defenses in 2023, arguably the worst year of Roman’s 1000+ day sting atop the mountain in WWE. Roman’s appearances have decreased in frequency. His title defenses have dramatically dropped. Between RawAfterMania and now, everything he’s done has been contained within the bubble of The Bloodline. His entire 2023 has been Bloodline related outside of the LA Knight program and half of the Cody Rhodes program. That…is ugly.

Then there’s the fact that LA Knight’s moment in the sun comes under the Saudi Arabian sun. The “Jam In The Sand” events for WWE still have a dark cloud over them, one that many fans have a hard time reconciling. To many, these events still don’t “feel good.” Even though tourism authorities have provided subsidies for WWE to bring it’s brand to Wales and Puerto Rico, this is still different.

And while a good bit of fans have stopped boycotting these events (mainly because they are consequential in the storytelling world of WWE), there are plenty who still stand by their decision to avoid these. There’s a bad taste associated with these events, and LA Knight is now inseparably linked to that.

The Verdict

There are legitimate reasons for any one of the three possible answers here, but I have to go with “Good.” LA Knight is challenging Roman Reigns for the most important championship in all of wrestling in front of a huge crowd of fans at a major WWE event. Even in a loss, his profile will continue to be raised. LA Knight’s Road To WrestleMania and winning the United States Championship from Logan Paul will roll on.

There are sdeep Bad and Ugly factors to overcome, but overcome is all LA Knight has done. When he walked into NXT with the full Eli Drake character in-tact, it DID NOT get over. NAH NAH!

The NXT audience immediately rejected LA Knight. He didn’t fit in at all. But he didn’t stop. He believed in his character and believed in his abilities, and it worked. “WHAT?” chants became “YEAH!” chants. He became a huge star, and got called up to the main roster!

…where he was transformed into Max Dupri …and managed the Maximum Male Models. Those two guys? Amazingly talented but no longer with the company. All that remains is Maxxine Dupri, and she’s found great footing with The Alpha Academy, which has even grown to four with the addition of Akira Tozawa.

But Max Dupri played his role to the fullest, and it led to an opportunity to become LA Knight again. And what happened over time? It got over! He was undeniable. And his success was inevitable.

Many situations in pro wrestling have Good, Bad, and Ugly elements to them. The performer, and the performance, will dictate the outcome. And LA Knight has taken every situation and made it good.

This will be no different.