Coverage
Mitchell’s NJPW New Beginning Hiroshima Results & Report! (2/11/21)
NJPW begins in Hiroshima, still!
Who will stand atop NJPW with the Double Championships?
A string of trios matches sets the scene for a G1 Climax 30 rematch! Will Kota Ibushi still be a wrestling god after facing the Cold Skull?
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
- Six Man Tag: Suzuki-Gun VS Master Wato, SHO & Tomoaki Honma; Wato, Sho & Honma win.
- Six Man Tag: Los Ingobernables de Japon VS Bullet Club; LIJ wins.
- Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano VS EVIL & Dick Togo; Double Count-Out Draw.
- Kazuchika Okada VS EVIL; Okada wins, by disqualification.
- NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championships: Chaos VS Jay White & The Guerrillas of Destiny; Chaos wins and retains the titles.
- IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Double Championship: Kota Ibushi VS SANADA; Ibushi wins and retains the titles.
PLAY BY PLAY
Six Man Tag: Suzuki-Gun VS Master Wato, SHO & Tomoaki Honma!
Well, “card subject to change” is a common thing in wrestling, and that’s happened here! Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru wanted after Bullet Club tonight, but they’re getting the Grandmaster, High Voltage and Everyone’s Kokeshi instead! Will the Meanest Man in the World, the Rogue Luchador and Heel Master still do what they intended and send a message to the rest of NJPW?
The second Honma gets in the ring, he and Suzuki get in each other’s face! The ref keeps the peace, the teams sort out and Honma eggs Suzuki on. They start and they start throwing CHOPS! Fans rally as the CHOPS fly back and forth! Neither man backs down but Suzuki gets the edge. Suzuki whips Honma to a corner and runs in to boot him! Suzuki cravats but Honma blocks the snapmare. Suzuki body shots then runs but Honma elbows him at the ropes! Honma runs and runs Suzuki over with a shoulder! Honma fires up, runs, but Suzuki moves so Honma stops from dropping the headbutt. Honma stomps Suzuki at the ropes, then goes for it again, but Suzuki boots him down!
Desperado and Kanemaru go after Sho and Wato while Suzuki clubs Honma down! Suzuki then drags Honma out while Desperado throws Sho into railing. Suzuki RAMS Honma into railing by commentary and he throws body shots and knees! Desperado rakes Sho’s eyes then POSTS him! Kanemaru chops away on Wato and Suzuki whips Honma into more railing! Suzuki taunts Honma, smudges his face and CHOPS him again! Suzuki puts Honma back in the ring and tags in Desperado. Desperado drops knees on Honma’s head, then stomps him over and over! Fans rally up but Desperado bumps Honma off buckles. Tag to Kanemaru and Suzuki-Gun mugs Honma!
The ref has to keep Sho back but that allows Suzuki-Gun to dig their boots in! Suzuki-Gun finally lets off on Honma and Kanemaru runs in to BOOT Honma down! Kanemaru throws elbows, then stomps him more. Tag to Suzuki and he runs to BOOT Sho! And BOOT Wato! Fans rally for Honma and he fires off forearms! Suzuki is liking this and he ROCKS Honma back! Honma throws more forearms but Suzuki ROCKS Honma again! Honma roars but Suzuki headbutts! Suzuki runs but Honma LEAPING HEADBUTTS! Fans fire up as Honma and Suzuki crawl, hot tags to Sho and Desperado! Sho dodges then fires off to whip but Desperado reverses, only for Sho to run him over!
Sho hits Kanemaru down, then runs at Desperado with a corner clothesline! Sho whips, wrenches and kicks away on Desperado! Fans fire up with Sho as he watches Desperado rise. Sho KICKS Desperado down, covers, TWO! Sho keeps his cool as he waistlocks and dead lifts Desperado. Desperado fights the German Suplex off, but Sho reels him in to try again. Desperado victory roll counters, TWO! Sho staggers up, Desperado spins him and knees, double underhooks but no Pinche! Sho wrenches to throw a forearm, but Desperado hits back! Sho forearms again, Desperado responds, and the two go back and forth!
Fans rally up as Sho gets the edge, but Desperado pokes Sho in the eye! Sho still hits back, KICKS and runs, to LARIAT! Fans fire up again as Sho drags Desperado up and reels him in. Desperado resists the lift, wrenches free to whip, and Kanemaru gets a cheap shot in! Desperado SPEARS! Tag to Kanemaru, he drags Sho up to whip, but Sho SPEARS back! Hot tag to Wato! Wato BOOTS Suzuki, Honma goes after Kanemaru, and together, he and Sho whip Kanemaru corner to corner. Honma whips Wato in and Wato elbows Kanemaru! Honma whips Sho in to clothesline! Sho feeds Kanemaru to Honma’s elbow and then Honma HEADBUTTS Kanemaru, into Wato’s SPRINGBOARD UPPERCUT! Cover, but Suzuki-Gun breaks it!
It’s another chaotic brawl, Desperado and Suzuki throw Sho and Honma out. Suzuki-Gun whips Wato to a corner, Desperado runs in to elbow! Suzuki runs in to BOOT Wato! Suzuki whips but Wato reverses, only for Suzuki to break and boot him! Desperado lifts Wato, Kanemaru BOOTS into the back suplex! Cover, TWO! Wato survives but Kanemaru goes up the corner. Suzuki keeps Honma out and Kanemaru hits DEEP IMPACT!! cover but Sho breaks it! Desperado gets in to throw Sho back out and Kanemaru drags Wato up. Kanemaru suplexes but Wato fights that off. Kanemaru blocks Wato’s kick to give a kick, but Wato dodges the clothesline to tilt-o-whirl and roll-up, high stack with a jackknife! Wato and team win!!
Winners: Master Wato, SHO & Tomoaki Honma, by pinfall
High Voltage usually pulls off shockers but the Way of the Grandmaster just pulled off one here! Is this just the beginning of Wato living up to his nickname?
Six Man Tag: Los Ingobernables de Japon VS Bullet Club!
The challenge was made on night one that the Timebomb will give El Phantasmo a shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, but he and the Death Mask will get a shot at the Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships first! With Tetsuya Naito and Tokyo Pimp in the mix, which side gets a major advantage going into the Junior Heavyweight title series?
Bullet Club throws up the Too Sweet, but they just use that as a distraction before ambushing LIJ! Yujiro is after Naito while the tag champs are after their challengers! ELP throws Hiromu out, they brawl as the bell rings and gets this on record! ELP ROCKS Hiromu and has him at the railing. ELP shouts that he won’t be embarrassed by Hiromu as he throws more forearms! Ishimori has Bushi in the ring, whips him corner to corner, but Bushi swings out to kick Ishimori away! Bushi goes up to hit a missile dropkick, and Bushirooni! Bushi drags Ishimori up but Ishimori slips out of the fisherman screw, only for Bushi to kick him low.
Ishimori goes to ropes, Bushi heads over but Ishimori throws him out! Bullet Club mugs Bushi at the railing, then puts him back in. Ishimori pulls Bushi’s shirt off him and throws it away! Ishimori drags Bushi up, fans rally up, but Ishimori CLAWS Bushi’s back! Tag to ELP and the tag champs coordinate for more claws to Bushi’s back! Tag back to Ishimori, he goes up and hits a super BACK RAKE! Bushi goes down and Ishimori tags ELP. ELP DECKS Hiromu and then Naito! Ishimori has Bushi in the corner, ELP runs corner to corner, cartwheels around and around, then rolls and handsprings, just to CLAW Bushi again! ELP tags in Yujiro and then sets Bushi up in the corner.
Yujiro throws clubbing forearms, then as ELP and Ishimori encourage him to scratch, he just clubs Bushi more. Yujiro snapmares Bushi, runs and basement boots! Cover, TWO! Yujiro drags Bushi up, stomps him to the corner, then stomps him in the corner. Tag to Ishimori, he drags Bushi up and hoists him onto the top rope. Tag to ELP, Ishimori runs to baseball slide Naito and Hiromu! ELP sets Bushi into the Tree of Woe, Ishimori runs in and basement dropkicks Bushi in the head! ELP runs in to leap, and then step on Bushi’s groin! Ishimori adds in, the ref reprimands, but Yujiro adds on! The ref counts, and Bullet Club steps away from Bushi’s boys.
ELP covers but the ref refuses because of their antics! ELP drags Bushi back, drags him up and throws forearms. ELP wrenches, whips Bushi corner to corner, then handsprings in, into a BOOT! Bushi goes up, FLYING RANA! Fans fire up, Bushi hot tags Hiromu! The Timebomb DECKS Yujiro, kicks ELP and whips him to ropes, but ELP reverses. Ishimori gets a cheap shot in, then he and ELP double whip Hiromu. Hiromu gets around and shoves Ishimori into ELP! Then Hiromu picks Ishimori up and makes him give ELP a RANA! Hiromu then whips Ishimori to a corner, clotheslines him, then runs to clothesline ELP! And back to Ishimori! Then back to ELP!
Hiromu baits Ishimori in, Ishimori avoids colliding with ELP, but Hiromu comes back to shotgun dropkick Bullet Club into the corner! Hiromu drags ELP up to suplex, for a Falcon Arrow! Cover, TWO! Fans rally and Hiromu grins as he brings ELP around. Hiromu fireman’s carries, ELP fights free and shoves Hiromu to a corner. Hiromu boots back, runs, dodges, but ELP blocks the kick. Hiromu blocks ELP’s kick, flips ELP but ELP lands on his feet to get around and torture rack! ELP spins around for a BIG neckbreaker! Both men are down, fans fire up, hot tags to Yujiro and Naito! Naito dodges the boot, fires off on Yujiro then whips.
Yujiro reverses, Naito holds ropes and boots back! Naito spins Yujiro around, whips him to elbow him down and basement dropkick in the back! Naito whips Yujiro to a corner, runs in, rocket kick and Combinacion Cabron! Fans fire up as Naito drags Yujiro up again. Naito turns Yujiro but Yujiro BITES Naito’s hand! No one learns! Yujiro boots Naito, turns him and hits a reverse DDT! Ishimori runs in just to DECK Bushi, then goes out after him. Yujiro has Naito for the FISHERMAN BUSTER! Cover, TWO! Naito survives and Yujiro is frustrated. Yujiro has a bloody nose but he ignores that to drag Naito around.
Yujiro fireman’s carries but Bushi saves Naito, to give Yujiro a BACKSTABBER! ELP superkicks but Bushi blocks! Hiromu SUPERKICKS ELP away but Ishimori runs in to fire off on Bushi and Hiromu! Ishimori runs but into SUPERKICK ENZIGURI COMBO! Yujiro runs in, Bushi sends him to Naito’s atomic drop! Naito whips Yujiro to a corner, Bushi elbows Yujiro, then LIJ coordinates, the HIROMU RAILGUN! Bushi keeps Ishimori out and then DIVES onto Ishimori! Hiromu goes after ELP on the outside as Naito throws an elbow and an enziguri on Yujiro! Tilt-o-whirl, DESTINO! Cover, LIJ wins!
Winners: Los Ingobernables de Japon, by pinfall
Tokyo Pimp takes the loss, but this doesn’t bode well for Bullet Club! Will Hiromu and Bushi take those tag titles away before having it out with Mr. Super J Cup one more time?
Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano VS EVIL & Dick Togo!
The Rainmaker has been daring the King of Darkness to step up, but Evil keeps playing games. Will the provisional Mr. KOPW 2021 help Okada force Evil’s hand?
The teams sort out, Evil and Dick Too Sweet and Okada starts. Evil doesn’t want to but Okada gives him no choice! Yano throws Dick out and the bell rings! Yano whips Dick to railing, Okada snapmares Evil to ropes and runs to basement dropkick him down! Okada brings Evil up to throw him out and then goes out after him at the railing. Fans rally with “O-KA-DA!” claps as he whips Evil into railing! Okada digs his boots in, the ref starts the ring count, Okada RAMS Evil into railings again! Okada goes to gut wrench but Evil fights it off! The count climbs, Evil whips Okada into railing! The count is 15, Evil whips Okada into more railing, then he gets a chair to choke Okada with! The count hits 20 of 20!!
Double Count-Out Draw
That wasn’t a match! That was just a brawl! Young Lions try to stop Evil but he only stops when Dick regroups with him. Evil doesn’t seem to care about facing Okada fair, square or any other which way. But Okada is getting up and he is pursuing Evil! CHAIR SHOT to the back!! The Young Lions and Yano hurry to bring Okada away but he dares Evil to bring it on! Fans clap even harder, “O-KA-DA!” Okada gets a mic to tell Evil to man up and get in the ring! What’s Evil gonna do? Okada wants Evil to take him on 1v1 already so what’s it gonna be? Evil gets up as Okada fires up the fans more, and Red Shoes appears to handle this. Evil agrees to the challenge?! And he even tells Dick to stand down!? Dick goes to the back, Yano also exits, and it’s official!!
Kazuchika Okada VS EVIL!
Evil gets in, the bell rings and the brawl continues! Forearms are fast, furious and point-blank! Evil kicks low, whips but Okada ducks and dodges to elbow Evil down! Fans are thunderous as Okada brings Evil back up and whips him corner to corner. Okada runs in and elbows Evil into the kick and DDT! Cover, TWO! Okada keeps his cool but the fans are fired up again as he paces. Okada waits on Evil to get up, but Evil blocks the Alabama lift. Evil pulls hair to throw Okada down! Fans still rally as Okada goes to a corner. Evil runs in, Okada boots him away! Evil runs in again but Okada pops him up to the Alabama! REVERSE NECKBREAKER! Cover, TWO!
Fans stay fired up as Okada keeps his focus. Okada drags Evil up, gut wrenches, but Evil fights it off! Evil claws Okada’s face, the ref reprimands but Evil stops at 4. Fans rally, Evil brings him up and fisherman’s, but Okada blocks the suplex. The two struggle against each other, Evil knees low then tries again. Okada kicks and wrenches free to waistlock. Evil elbows free but runs into Okada’s dropkick! Okada is right on Evil with the MONEY CLIP! Evil endures, reaches for Okada’s face, but Okada leans on the hold! Fans rally up as Okada cranks harder and Evil starts to fade! The ref checks on Evil, Evil gets a second wind and gets a ropebreak!
Okada lets go, fans fire up and Okada rises. Okada drags Evil back up, but Evil blocks the lariat! Evil mule kicks, Okada staggers to a corner, and Evil runs in to clothesline! Evil brings Okada around to fireman’s carry but Okada fights free. Okada swings but into a waistlock. Okada elbows free and runs, but Evil runs to the corner and back, LARIAT! Evil seethes as he drags Okada up to fireman’s carry again. DARKNESS FALLS! Cover, TWO!! Okada survives and fans fire up but Evil keeps on him. Evil gets the legs and turns Okada over for the SHARPSHOOTER! Fans rally as Okada endures, and Dick returns! So much for standing down!
The ref goes to intercept Dick but Dick shoves him down! Dick stomps away on Okada! Shouldn’t this be a disqualification? Evil and Dick keep stomping, so yes, the ref calls for the bell!
Winner: Kazuchika Okada, by disqualification
Well it’s almost like there was no point now! But here comes Yano! Yano attacks Evil but Dick attacks Yano! Yano hits Dick but Evil LOW BLOWS Yano! Okada goes after Evil and rains down forearms! But Dick has the SPOILER CHOKER!! Dick uses it on Okada!! Okada is turning red as he fades out! Fans still rally for “O-KA-DA!” as Young Lions get in. Dick hits the Young Lions and sends them out! Evil looms over Okada, and stands on Okada’s head. Evil and Dick Low Sweet, but nothing has been settled! Will the King of Darkness ever truly face the Rainmaker head on?
NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championships: Chaos VS Jay White & The Guerrillas of Destiny!
Tomohiro Ishii spoiled the Switchblade’s G1 run and now is the time for revenge! Will Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa add more gold on top of the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships? Or will Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto help Ishii #GetBackUp and #TurnItAround?
The introductions are made, the Six Man belts are raised, and the trios sort out. We begin with a brawl! Is this just how things are going to go tonight? Goto and Hashi get GOD out of the ring while White brawls with Ishii! White clubs away then kicks Ishii at the ropes. White throws a EuroUpper, then a CHOP, but Ishii just eggs him on! White rakes Ishii’s eyes, then whips Ishii. Ishii reverses but White bails out! Ishii pursues, White gets back in, but while he thinks he’s the smart one, he’s surrounded by Chaos! Chaos stomps White down 3v1! The ref reprimands, Chaos lets off and then they whip White to a corner.
Goto runs in to clothesline, then he feeds White to double shoulders from Hashi and Ishii! Then Chaos TRIPLE KICK COMBOS! Tama gets in but gets a double hip toss! And a basement dropkick! Loa returns but he gets hammered by Chaos! Ishii goes out after White then puts him back in. Ishii drags White away to the Chaos corner, drags him up and throws forearms. Ishii CHOPS White, Goto gets a shot in, and Gedo protests as Chaos digs their boots in! The ref counts, Chaos stops and Ishii tags Hashi. They double whip, but White grabs ropes to tag in Tama! Tama runs in but Hashi rallies on him with elbows and shoulders, then a RUNNING RANA!
Fans fire up for Hashi as he drags Tama up. Hashi elbows Tama to ropes then whips him. Tama uses that momentum to hit Goto of the apron! Hashi clubs and whips Tama again, but Tama reverses and Loa gets a cheap shot in! Loa holds Hashi and Tama CHOPS and forearms away! Tama runs but Goto trips him! Hashi elbows Loa away, he and Goto double whip and double shoulder Tama over! Hip toss senton combo! Cover, TWO! Fans rally, Gedo and Jado shout at Tama but Hashi runs in at the corner. Hashi CHOPS Tama, whips out to CHOP again, but White sucker punches Hashi! White hits Chaos, Tama feeds Hashi to Loa’s lariat!
White throws Ishii and Goto around while Loa RAMS Hashi into railing! White whips Ishii hard into more railing! Ishii even flops up and over! White asks if he’s allowed to go out after Ishii. For now, the ring count climbs, Tama gets back in, White brings Ishii back around to whip him into more railing! The ring count is 10, Loa puts Hashi in for Tama. Tama uses a knee to cover, TWO! Tama stmops Hashi, tags Loa, and Loa slingshot sentons! Tama slingshots sentons, too, then White drags Hashi out to RAM him into railing at English commentary! White puts Hashi back in, Loa drags Hashi up to suplex! Uno amigo as Loa gets back up.
Loa wrenches to BLUE THUNDER BOMB! White mockingly checks on Hashi but the ref actually checks. Hashi is okay to continue and fans rally up. Loa toys with Hashi, Gedo says this should just be stopped. Hashi barely stirs but he’s still conscious, so Loa drags him back up. Loa tags White, they mug Hashi, and White brings Hashi up for a BIG back suplex! Hashi flops over and White mockingly checks on him again. Cover, TWO!! Hashi is still in this and now White is annoyed. White drags Hashi around, mockingly claps with him, and then brings him over. White talks trash to Ishii before tagging out to Tama. Tama stomps Hashi, talks some trash of his own, but then Ishii gets in.
The ref tells Ishii to stay back, and Tama looms over Hashi as Ishii reluctantly goes back to the corner. Tag to White and White kicks at Hashi. White spanks Hashi to the rhythm, then snapmares Hashi to a chinlock! Hashi is already turning red as White squeezes tight! White taunts Hashi to look to Ishii but then turns Hashi away. White grins but fans rally up and Hashi gets a second wind! Hashi fights up, throws body shots, but White throws him by his hair! White DECKS Goto, hits Ishii, but Ishii doesn’t budge! Ishii gets in, kicks at White, but the ref tells him to go back! Tama sneaks in and drags Hashi back! White goes after Ishii, GOD stomp away on Hashi!
White RAMS Ishii into more railing, then comes back to the ring. White tags Tama, and Tama takes his time bringing Hashi up. Tama throws a big right hand but Hashi just fires up! Tama throws another but Hashi feeds off it! The fans rally up and Tama is starting to worry. Tama throws more haymakers but Hashi just gets stronger! Tama clubs away with fury, he brings Hashi up, but Hashi suplexes to the BUNKER BUSTER! Fans fire up as both men are down! Hashi and Tama crawl, hot tag to Goto! The Fierce Warrior rallies on Tama, BLASTS White and Loa, then fires off on Tama! Goto whips, Tama reverses but Goto dodges. Tama runs, redirects, but Goto follows to LARIAT!
Loa gets in but Goto kicks him first! Goto goes to suplex but Loa slips out to waistlock. Goto switches, Loa elbows him away, and Goto ends up in a corner. Loa whips Tama in but Goto dodges to LARIAT Loa! MURAMASA for Tama, to the BULLDOG! Cover, but White breaks it! Ishii rushes in but White bails right out! Goto glares at White, goes back to Tama, but Tama throws a body shot! Loa uppercuts, Tama neckbreakers! Tama shakes out the cobwebs, fans rally up, and Tama drags Goto up. Tama dragon sleepers, for a TONGAN TWIST! Cover, TWO! Tama grows frustrated and White protests the count. Goto slowly rises but Tama looms over him.
Tama drags Goto around to a fireman’s carry but Goto fights out. Goto swings, but back into a dragon sleeper! Goto reverses but Tama snapmares free, only to miss with the super punch! Goto grabs Tama by the hair, HEAD SHOT! Fans fire up as both men are down! Tama rolls towards his corner while Goto crawls, hot tags to Ishii and White! Ishii and White each dodge, swing and dodge, switch and swing, but White shoves Ishii to a corner. White runs in but Ishii dodges, only for White to dodge. Ishii boots, runs in but into a firema’ns carry! Ishii slips off to shove again, White boots but Ishii still clotheslines!
Ishii whips corner to corner, White reverses but Ishii comes back, only for White to ROCK him! White runs, into a SPINNING POWERSLAM! Ishii scowls as he looms over White. Ishii drags White up by his hair, CHOPS him in the corner, then CHOPS again! Ishii CHOPS close to the throat and Gedo protests, but the CHOPS keep flying! White drops down and guards but Ishii tries to punch through. Gedo gets on the apron but Ishii glares at him. Gedo backs off but White goes after a leg! Ishii ROCKS White, glares at Gedo again, but White hits a DRAPING DDT! White hurries over to drag Ishii up and throw him out.
White RAMS Ishii into railing, and then RAMS him again! And then RAMS him again! All in front of Japanese commentary! The ref reprimands White and White lets off on Ishii long enough to put him in the ring. White drags Ishii back up, suplexes, and hits BLADE BUSTER! Cover, TWO!! Ishii survives the twisting suplex and fans fire up! White mockingly pats Ishii on the head but Ishii eggs him on. White gets the leg for a GROUND DRAGON SCREW! White drags Ishii up but Ishii blocks the urenage. Hashi gets in to hit White, then Loa runs into the spin back kick! Hashi runs but into Loa’s dropkick! Loa looms over Ishii but Ishii hits him first.
Ishii runs and rams Loa but Loa stays up! Loa throws a forearm, runs, and rams Ishii! Ishii rebounds to ram Loa, Loa rebounds to ram Ishii! Both men run, but Tama and Goto trip Ishii and Loa! Goto gets in but Tama dropkicks Goto down! Tama rains down rights on Goto, White returns and they double whip Goto. Goto holds ropes, Ishii returns and he dodges double clotheslines! Ishii and Goto fireman’s carry White and Tama, but White and Tama rake eyes! Tama and White feed Goto and Ishii to Loa’s DOUBLE LARIATS! Bullet Club regroups and they focus on Ishii. Ishii staggers up into haymakers and forearms and uppercuts! Then GUERILLA WARFARE!
White drags Ishii back up, for KIWI KRUSHER! Cover, TWO!?! Ishii survives and White is furious! White drags Ishii back up, has the sleeper hold, but Hashi gets in! Hashi mule kicks White, but Loa hits a CODE BREAKER! Goto CLOBBERS Loa, CLOBBERS Tama, but White SNAP SAIDOS Goto away! Ishii runs in, into the SNAP SLEEPER SUPLEX! The Triple S hits, White drags Ishii back up, BLADE- NO! Ishii slips free, spins White, but White suplexes! Ishii fights out, escapes the urenage, and suplexes again! White fights out but Ishii HEADBUTTS and LARIATS! Fans fire up with Ishii and he drags White back up! But White fights the suplex off, but Ishii avoids Bladerunner again!
White escapes the suplex, catches Ishii again, URENAGE! Both men are down and fans fire up again! Ishii and White crawl, hot tags to Loa and Hashi! The Headhunter and Silverback collide with clotheslines! And again! And again! Hashi staggers but Loa just fires up. Loa runs, Hashi dodges, BLOCKBUSTER! Loa rolls away, Hashi runs in at the corner, and he corner clotheslines! Hashi brings Loa in but Loa suplexes first. Hashi slips out, waistlocks but Loa elbows free. Loa swings into a takedown! Hashi wants his head, BUTTERFLY LOCK! Fans fire up but Loa fights up to a fireman’s carry, SAMOAN DROP! Goto returns but Loa kicks, scoops and SLAMS Goto fast!
Loa aims at Hashi, Tama gets in, GOD drags him up. They hit Hashi with the back suplex neckbreaker! Cover, TWO! Loa is furious with the count! Jado tells them to finish this, GOD drags Hashi up, but Hashi fights off Magic Killer! Hashi shoves Tama at Loa, but Tama whips Loa into Hashi! Loa drags Hashi back up, scoop slams him, then coordinates with Tama. They’re on opposite corners, for the FLYING HEADBUTT and FROG SPLASH! Cover, but Goto breaks it! Tama is after Goto but Goto throws forearms on GOD! Goto denies Gun Stun, dodges Loa’s boot and LARIATS him! Goto DECKS White, too, then drags Tama up! But Tama denies GTR to suplex!
Goto fights that off, he and Hashi combine, G Y R!! Hashi gets Loa, shoves him to Goto and Goto fireman’s carries. Loa slips off, shoves Goto into Hashi, but Hashi mule kicks Loa! Goto fireman’s carries again, SUPERKICK to USHIGOROSHI, Ishii adds the SLIDING LARIAT! Hashi adds the METEORA! Cover, White breaks it! Ishii drags White away with a sleeper and Hashi aims at Loa! But Gedo goes after Ishii! Hashi SUPERKICKS Loa, brings him around, but Jado distracts the ref! White slips in to LOW BLOW Hashi!! Hashi barely stays up but White pushes him over. Fans rally but Bullet Club is regrouping again.
White drags Hashi up, he and Tama set him up for Loa to TACKLE to a corner! Tama whips White in to EuroUpper! Tama hits a splash, then White helps out as Loa climbs! But Ishii gets in to block the bomb! Goto helps and throws Tama and White out! Ishii ROCKS Loa, Goto hits a SUPER MURAMASA! Ishii goes up top with Loa, SUPER BRAINBUSTER!! Goto DECKS Tama, then PLANCHAS! But White is back! Ishii holds off Bladerunner to GERMAN SUPLEX! Hashi is back on his feet and he runs at Loa, for a HEAD HUNTER LARIAT!! Cover, TWO!?! Loa lives but Hashi is on him again, with the BUTTERFLY! Loa endures, Ishii holds White down but Loa keeps reaching!
Hashi gator rolls Loa away to keep the Butterfly on! Hashi adds the other arm to it! Loa endures the Kimura-Fly but Gedo gets up on the apron! The ref is distracted, Jado KENDO STICK SMACKS Hashi!! Loa LARIATS and covers, TWO!!! Hashi survives and fans are thunderous! Loa drags Hashi up, scoops him, but Hashi reverses to roll and cradle! CHAOS WINS!!
Winners: Chaos, by pinfall (still NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions)
But now things erupt into chaos! Tama is after Hashi, Ishii decks White then goes after Tama, Goto joins in, and Loa is pissed at the ref! Chaos clears the ring of the Bullet Club, and Bullet Club can only storm off in frustration! And with one of the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions taking the loss, does this mean the Headhunter is in the hunt for those titles? Hashi gets a mic to speak! “Oi, just wait a minute.” They’re still the NEVER Openewight Six Man champions, but now they want those IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles! Hashi and Goto are coming for the Guerrillas! So just keep those belts warm for them!
IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Double Championship: Kota Ibushi VS SANADA!
The Golden Star’s ascension to NJPW’s wrestling god all started with G1 Climax 30, making history as a three-peat finalist and a back-to-back winner. And that G1 Climax 30 Final was against the Cold Skull! Will Sanada make up for that loss by bringing Ibushi’s reign to a Skull End?
The introductions are made, both belts are raised, and the rematch from the New Beginning ends with a return of the Climax!
Fans are already fired up with “I-BU-SHI!” “SA-NA-DA!” clapping. Ibushi and Sanada soak it all in before circling. They approach, feel out the grapple, go around a bit more, and Sanada gets a waistlock. Ibushi switches, Sanada throws him over but Ibushi headscissors. Ibushi uses leverage to squeeze tighter but Sanada moves around. Sanada pops free, and then gets Ibushi in a headlock, only for Ibushi to headscissor again. Ibushi holds tighter this time, but Sanada kicks and flails. Sanada bridges, moves around, pries free again and has Ibushi’s legs. Sanada uses those to turn Ibushi over in a figure four knot. Ibushi crawls to the ropebreak, and fans cheer as Sanada lets go clean.
Sanada and Ibushi reset and the clapping returns. Sanada and Ibushi tie up, Ibushi wrenches but Sanada spins through. Sanada wrenches, wristlocks, but Ibushi rolls. Ibushi gets a leg and trips Sanada to then have a toehold. Sanada chinlocks but Ibushi pushes that away to crank the leg. Sanada uses his free leg to drag Ibushi down but Ibushi makes that a cover. TWO, Sanada wants the arm but Ibushi slips out to put on the figure four knot in return. Ibushi floats to a chinlock, Sanada fights up but Ibushi grinds the hold. Ibushi hits a takeover, Sanada headscissors, Ibushi kips free and Sanada thinks dropkick but holds back.
Fans cheer the technical exchange and stand-off between them. Sanada and Ibushi circle as the clapping continues, “I-BU-DA!” “SA-NA-SHI!” Sanada and Ibushi tie up, Sanada headlocks, but Ibushi powers out, only for Sanada to run him over! Ibushi kips up, though not the cleanest, and things speed up. Sanada fakes out the hurdle but gets a KICK for it! Ibushi has the fans rallying as Sanada bails out. Ibushi runs but has to slide as Sanada gets in. Sanada comes out, fakes IBushi out with the tumble, but Ibushi avoids the apron moonsault! Ibushi scoops but Sanada turns lawn dart into dragon sleeper! Ibushi spins through to suplex but Sanada fights that off.
Sanada suplexes Ibushi onto railing, MAGIC SCREW! Both men are down and fans fire up again! Red Shoes checks and Ibushi is okay to continue. Sanada is already up on his feet, and he stomps Ibushi down. Sanada drags Ibushi up to put him in and fans cheer as this continues in the ring. Cover, ONE! Sanada drags Ibushi up to elbow him back down! Ibushi goes to ropes, Sanada drags him back up. Sanada elbows Ibushi down again, then drags him up to bump him off buckles. Sanada whips Ibushi corner to corner, runs in and elbows! Sanada reels Ibushi in for a BIG back suplex! Cover, TWO! Sanada keeps his cool as he sits Ibushi up and wraps on a chinlock.
Ibushi endures, Sanada shifts to a headscissor hodl! Sanada squeezes tight now but Ibushi endures. Fans rally up, Ibushi moves around, and Ibushi reaches for ropes. Sanada rolls him away! Sanada squeezes tighter, Ibushi endures, and Ibushi kicks around again. Ibushi gets the ropebreak with a foot, and Sanada lets go. Sanada drags Ibushi up, Ibushi hits back with forearms! Sanada knees low, runs, but Ibushi kicks, only for Sanada to block! Ibushi fires off forearms to get free, then whips. Sanada reverses but Ibushi LEAPING KICKS! Both men are down but fans fire up! Ibushi grits his teeth as he and Sanada slowly rise.
Ibushi drags Sanada up, Sanada swings but Ibushi fires off a strike fest! Sanada ducks the Penalty Kick but the Standing Moonsault hits! Cover, TWO! Ibushi keeps his focus and fans fire up again. Ibushi drags Sanada up, Sanada fights off the lift and switches. Ibushi elbows free, runs, but Sanada hurdles, hurdles and dropkicks! Ibushi goes out, Sanada PLANCHAS out onto him! Fans cheer and Sanada encourages them to get louder. They get louder but Sanada still wants them to get louder. The fans reach the right volume and Sanada brings Ibushi up to put him in. Fans cheer as Sanada aims from a corner. Sanada springboards but Ibushi gets under.
Ibushi runs into a boot, Sanada runs into a dropkick! Sanada bails out and Ibushi fires up. Fans rally as Ibushi aims, to PLANCHA! Direct hit and Sanada gets a taste of his own medicine! Fans rally, Ibushi drags Sanada up and puts him in. Ibushi aims from a corner now, Sanada rises and Ibushi springboards but Sanada gets under. Sanada runs into a boot, then Ibushi goes up and over to RANA Sanada to a corner! Ibushi steadies himself, Sanada gets up, and Ibushi runs in but Sanada elbows! Sanada Quebrada but Ibushi ducks, only to run into a RANA! Both men are down but fans rally up. Ibushi and Sanada slowly sit up, and Ibushi forearms Sanada!
Sanada forearms back, but Ibushi hits Sanada again! Sanada shakes his head, and he forearms Ibushi back! Ibushi forearms, Sanada forearms, and the two stand up now. The back and forth of forearms continues and picks up speed! Sanada fires off several forearms but Ibushi KICKS him down! Ibushi drags Sanada back up, Sanada EuroUppers! Sanada GERMANS but Ibushi lands on his feet! Ibushi gets Sanada for a HALF ‘N’ HALF! Both men are down again but Ibushi sits up first. Fans rally, Ibushi grits his teeth. Ibushi brings Sanada up, reels him in, and lifts, SIT-OUT LAST RIDE! Cover, TWO! Ibushi looms over Sanada, drags him up by his wrists, but Sanada avoids the Kamigoye!
Sanada reels Ibushi in but Ibushi switches to straitjacket! Sanada resists the suplex, pries out of the straitjacket, and steals Kamigoye?!? Sanada sits Ibushi up and wants to do it again! But Ibushi voids that to gut wrench Sanada! Sanada slips out, lifts Ibushi up, and LAWN DARTS him into a corner!! Both men are down and fans fire up! Red Shoes checks on Ibushi, he’s okay to continue and Sanada drags him back up. Sanada hoists Ibushi to the top rope, climbs up to join him, and they go to the very top! SUPERPLEX!! But Sanada rolls through to hoist Ibushi up again, MAGIC SCREW! Cover, TWO!! Ibushi survives but Sanada says he’ll end it!
Sanada wraps on the dragon sleeper for SKULL END! Ibushi is stuck in the body scissors, too, and he powers his way out of the sleeper! Sanada works to drag Ibushi back in, Ibushi resists, but Sanada gets the dragon sleeper back! Ibushi endures again, fans still rally, “SA-BU-DA!” “I-NA-SHI!” Ibushi moves around, but he’s fading! Sanada lets Ibushi go to go to the corner! Sanada goes up, ROUNDING BODY FLOP!! The moonsault misses as Ibushi manages to move! Sanada stirs as fans rally up, and both he and Ibushi slowly rise. Ibushi runs in but Sanada elbows him away! Sanada Quebrada to the dragon sleeper!
Ibushi rolls back to dragon sleeper! Ibushi lifts Sanada, to LAWN DART him now! Fans are thunderous as Ibushi gets even with Sanada! Ibushi stalks Sanada and drags him up on the apron. Ibushi climbs, drags Sanada up the ropes, but Sanada kicks and flails! Sanada elbows then clubs Ibushi, then drags him to a fireman’s carry! SUPER TKO!! Both men crash and burn to the floor with that double-edged take on the move! Fans rally up again, a ring count begins, but neither man stirs until 10 of 20! Sanada stands and puts Ibushi in at 15 and fans cheer that this continues! Sanada stalks Ibushi, reels him into chicken wings, TIGER SUPLEX! Bridging cover, TWO!
Ibushi escapes but Sanada is after him again with the dragon sleeper! Sanada takes Ibushi for a ride on the SKULL SWING! But Ibushi fights free to victory roll, TWO! SHINING WIZARD! Fans fire up with Ibushi as he rises again! Ibushi drags Sanada up by his wrists, but Sanada pops Ibushi up for a CUTTER! Sanada goes to a corner, ROUNDING BODY PRESS to Ibushi’s back! And then ROUNDING BODY PRESS, to Ibushi’s knees!! Ibushi saves himself and fans are thunderous again! Ibushi drags himself to a corner while Sanada stirs. Ibushi aims from the corner as Sanada stands. Sanada runs in, Ibushi boots him, then Ibushi dodges to send Sanada into the corner.
Sanada elbows back, cravats, Sliced Bread into chicken wings! But Ibushi breaks free to PELE! Sanada ducks the roundhouse, O’Conner rolls to the Japan Clutch, but Ibushi blocks the bridge to turn Sanada over! Ibushi has the arms, BLINDSIDE KAMIGOYE!! But Ibushi won’t end it there, he wants the proper finish! Ibushi sits Sanada up, FORWARD KAMIGOYE!! Cover, TWO!?!? Sanada survives the double shot!? Ibushi is stunned and the fans are volcanic! Ibushi brings down his knee pad! Ibushi sits Sanada up again, but Sanada dodges to backslide! TWO!! Sanada body scissors and rolls, JAPAN CLUTCH! TWO?!?!? That was more like 2.99!!
Ibushi runs in, Sanada waistlocks but Ibushi switches and throws Sanada way, to ROUNDHOUSE! V-TRIGGER! KENNY~! Ibushi gets the wrists, BARE KNEE KAMIGOYE!!! Cover, Ibushi wins!!
Winner: Kota Ibushi, by pinfall (still IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Double Champion)
AMAZING! The Cold Skull didn’t win but it took so much for the Golden Star God to put him away! Ibushi shows his respect to Sanada and the fans cheer. Sanada sits up to show respect back and fans cheer even more. Will the Cold Skull return to try again as the year rolls on?
Ibushi has both belts, manages to get them on his shoulders, and then gets the mic. But before he can say anything, Naito appears! Naito goes to the ring and Ibushi lets him enter. Naito tells Ibushi, or rather, after what happened in the Tokyo Dome, the God of Wrestling, that the title match just now was awesome, cabron! However… Naito says Ibushi may have won in the Tokyo Dome, but that doesn’t give him the right to combine those belts into one. Naito admits losing at WrestleKingdom proves he’s not suited for double gold, so he just wants one: the Intercontinental Championship! Fans like that idea!
So Naito therefore asks “God” to withhold on his plan to unify belts so that he can have a match for the Intercontinental title. Naito asks “God” to honor his request. Ibushi responds by saying Naito should TRANQUILO~! But if that’s what Naito wants, Ibushi is up for letting Naito challenge for just his favorite belt. Ibushi vows that he’ll never give up, run away or betray the fans! Ibushi thanks the fans for coming, and says Hiroshima’s awesome! Naito sets his sights on the belt in white, but when and where will he have his battle to deny Ibushi’s plans?
My Thoughts:
A great event to follow up yesterday’s great event, but I’m surprised things changed from what was advertised. I suppose NJPW does an even stronger level of kayfabing things, by changing matches based on story introduced just yesterday. It does make sense now that LIJ would battle Bullet Club’s ELP and Ishimori, that’s good build for their story with only so much time from now to Castle Attack. Everything with Okada and Evil was very different for what NJPW does, or at least what I’ve seen NJPW do. It feels slightly influenced by Western/WWE style, and I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. Okada and Evil will have another match for sure, but I wonder how they’ll stipulate it so that it can actually have an ending.
The NEVER Openweight Six Man match was really good, so much story and chaos. It works out that Chaos retains, because now Hashi and Goto will go after the IWGP Heavyweight Tag titles and White VS Ishii can happen on its own. The main event was amazing, it was definitely a level up from the G1 Climax and WrestleKingdom. It makes a lot of sense for Ibushi to retain, and it makes a lot of sense for Naito to come back around. Naito wants to separate the titles again, not because having a Double Champion was outright a bad idea, but because he wanted the Double Champion to be a double champion, not a unified champion. Naito wants the top champion to be a workhorse, so who knows if Ibushi changes his mind, win or lose.
My Score: 9.2/10
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Could this be the biggEST and strongEST SmackDown of the year?
SmackDown in Knoxville sees the returns of Bianca Belair, Cody Rhodes and John Cena, along with some final Money in the Bank qualifiers!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match Qualifier Triple Threat: Jade Cargill VS Naomi VS Nia Jax; Naomi wins and advances to Money in the Bank.
- R-Truth VS JC Mateo w/ Solo Sikoa; Mateo wins.
- Rey Fenix & Je’Von Evans VS Los Garza w/ Santos Escobar; Los Garza win.
- Zelina Vega VS Alba Fyre w/ The Green Administration; Zelina wins.
- Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match Qualifier Triple Threat: Carmelo Hayes VS Andrade VS Jacob Fatu; Andrade wins and advances to Money in the Bank.
PLAY BY PLAY
Bianca Belair is here!
Knoxville fires up for their strongEST, fastEST, quickEST, toughEST, roughEST, and greatEST hometown hero as she struts out to the ring. Bianca high-fives and hugs fans along the ramp, as well as mom and dad at ringside. Bianca then grabs a mic to say, “Man, it feels good to be in Knoxville!” The fans cheer and chant for “EST! EST!” Bianca says she loves them so much. And she couldn’t come out here without singing Rocky Top! Y’all ready? The fans cheer, and the music plays! Bianca conducts the fans as they sing for the University of Tennessee. In fact, the Lady Vols softball team is playing in the Super Regionals right now!
Bianca smiles and says this city is so special to her. Not just because it is her hometown, but because it is her safe space. She has her love and support from mom ‘n’ dad, and has all the fans who show up and show out for her. With everything Bianca’s been going through, losing at Mania, getting injured, losing tag titles and friends along the way, she just wanted to come back home to her safe space. The fans cheer, and Bianca says she came home to heal. While she’s not 100%, she is doing everything she can to get back to the ring and continue to show us why she is the EST of Tennessee and of WWE! The fans cheer that!
Bianca says with all that said, Knoxville, welcome to Friday Night SmackDown! But wait, she’s interrupted by Naomi! The fans boo but Naomi says, “Oh my gosh~! Finally! B, I am so glad you finally here on SmackDown!” Bianca says now is not the time, Naomi. Naomi asks Bianca to please hear her out. It has been way too long. Not a day has gone by when Naomi doesn’t think about what happened to them. What is there to talk about? What could Naomi say? What could she want from Bianca? The fans chant “YOU SUCK!” at Naomi, and Naomi says she just wants forgiveness. She is begging for it!
Naomi knows things go toff the rails, but she is here because she wants to fix it, she is trying to fix it, but she alone can’t fix it. Months have gone by, and Naomi has tried to communicate, to say the past can be the past and that they can move forward. Bianca has not responded back to Naomi once. Naomi even visited Bianca’s parent’s house! But no one would answer! WHAT?! Mom ‘n’ Dad don’t know about that, but Naomi says no one was home, so she let herself in! Naomi looked through the photo albums, the one right on the front coffee table. And in those photos, Bianca looked so happy. It reminded Naomi of how they were as tag team champions.
Bianca stops Naomi there. Naomi, Bianca will make this perfectly clear. They were best friends, but Naomi betrayed Bianca’s trust. Naomi took their friend, Jade, and threw her onto a car, then lied about it for months! Bianca said she was done with Naomi, she meant that, and if Naomi ever comes near her family again, what Naomi did to Jade will be nothing compared to what Bianca does to Naomi. The fans fire up for that! Naomi gets emotional, but then she gets mad. “Y’know, Bianca, it wouldn’t be good for you and your mama to be in a wheelchair.” The fans boo as Naomi laughs maniacally. Naomi says she’d hate if something happened to Bianca here and now!
Naomi storms up on Bianca, but then JADE makes her way out here! Naomi is even angrier now, but this Storm starts throwing hands! The fans fire up as Jade BOOTS Naomi down! Bianca and Jade look to each other, neither really saying or doing anything. Naomi runs up but Jade TOSSES her out! Jade and Bianca look to each other again, but then here comes NIA! The Irresistible Force won’t be left out of this, especially when this is the Women’s Triple Threat Qualifier for the night! This match now opens the night, who earns SmackDown’s final golden ticket to the Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match?
Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match Qualifier Triple Threat: Jade Cargill VS Naomi VS Nia Jax!
SmackDown returns, this match is already going, and Naomi POSTS Nia! Naomi stalks Jade, rains down forearms, and the fans boo. Naomi stomps to BITE Jade’s hand! Jade still fights back, so Naomi has the arms to STOMP Jade down! Naomi flexes, the fans boo, and Naomi puts Jade in a corer. Naomi runs to DROPKICK Jade in the corner! Naomi SLAPS Jade, drags her into the drop zone, then goes up, up, and twerks! HIP DROP! Naomi covers, ROPEBREAK! Naomi is annoyed but she sits Jade up to stomp a mudhole in. But Nia runs up! Naomi dodges, the HIP ATTACK hits Jade! Naomi goes to the apron to ROUNDHOUES Nia!
Naomi reels Nia in for a HEATSEEKER! Nia flops to the floor, the fans rally for Jade, but Naomi kicks her around. Naomi goes up the corner, leaps, but Jade catches her! Jade FALL AWAY SLAMS Naomi, then kips up! Knoxville fires up with Jade and she runs up to LARIAT! And ELBOW! And SCRAPBUSTER! Cover, Nia breaks it! The fans boo but Nai huffs ‘n’ puffs and drags Naomi up. Nia whips Naomi, pops her up and HEADBUTTS her down! Then she SAMOAN DROPS Naomi! Nia soaks up heat, then lines the two up. Naomi grabs at Nia’s leg but Nia CLUBS her down! Nia stomps Jade for good measure, then drops a leg, brother!
Nia TOSSES Jade out, then goes up the corner. Nia SUPER LEG DROPS on Naomi!! Cover, TWO!!! Naomi survives and Nia is shocked! The fans rally while Nia stalks Naomi. Naomi clings to ropes as Nia pulls at her arm. Nia CLUBS Naomi, whips her to ropes, then SAMOAN DROP- NO, Naomi makes it a CRUCIFIX DRIVER! Ghost pin, TWO!! Nia survives the sudden turnaround, Naomi sees Jade crawling in, and Naomi goes after her as SmackDown goes picture in picture.
Naomi KICKS Nia while she’s down, then kicks her more. Naomi puts Nia in a corner, CHOKES her on the ropes, then clamps on with a SLEEPER! Nia THROWS Naomi away, then TOSSES her out. Nia soaks up heat, but Jade runs in and rolls Nia up! TWO! Nia stands, and she HEADBUTTS Jade down! Nia looms over Jade, drags her up, but Jade fires forearms! Jade backs Nia down, then runs, and she CLOBBERS Nia outta the ring! Jade fires up and has the fans with her. Jade drags Naomi up from the apron but Naomi fires hands. Nia is back to HIP ATTACK Jade against the POST! Nia soaks up more heat, then taunts Naomi.
Naomi stands on the apron, argues with Nia, but they apparently agree to mug Jade for both their benefit. They put Jade in the corner, Naomi digs her boot in, and then Nia sends Naomi in for a SPALSH! Nia adds a SPLASH of her own! Naomi snapmares Jade, runs, and SLIDING LARIATS! Jade sputters and Nia taunts her. Nia and Naomi soak up the heat together, but Jade fights back! Nia HEADBUTTS Jade down! Nia drags Jade up, and Naomi KICKS Jade low! They soak up more heat, talk trash on Jade, and SmackDown returns to single picture. Nia scoops and SIDEWALK SLAMS! Naomi runs to SPLIT LEG DROP! Cover, but Nia drags Naomi away!
Nia and Naomi argue again, and then Naomi rolls Nia up! ONE, and Nia grabs Naomi to shove her to a corner! Nia SPLASHES, then pushes Naomi down. Nia runs to SENTON! Nia grins while Naomi sputters and the fans rally up. Jade rises to fire forearms on Nia! Then she ELBOWS Naomi in a corner! She ELBOWS Nia, but then Nia follows Jade! Jade dodges so Nia SPLASHES Naomi! Jade then SUPERKICKS! Nia wobbles, Jade SUPERKICKS again! And SPINEBUSTERS! But Naomi METEORAS! Cover, TWO! Jade survives and the fans rally up. Naomi goes up, SPLIT- LEG MOONSAULT on Nia! But Jade has Naomi in the chicken wings!
Jade brings Naomi around, JADED!! Cover, Nia CLOBBERS them both! The fans rally while all three women are down! Nia climbs a corner, Jade is after her with forearms! Naomi joins in, drags Jade back, but now they trade shots! Nia DOUBLE CROSSBODIES! Cover on Jade, TWO! Cover on Naomi, TWO! Nia grows frustrated but the fans rally up again. Nia drag Naomi up, fireman’s carries, and she climbs the corner! The fans already anticipate what’s coming, SUPER SAMOAN DROP!! Cover, JADE FROG SPLASHES IN!! Cover, TWO!!! The fans fire up while all three women are down again! “This is Awesome!”
Jade rises, she clamps onto Nia, but Nia HEADBUTTs her! And HEADBUTTS Naomi! Jade BOOTS Nia down! Cover, TWO! Jade runs up on Naomi but Naomi BOOTS her! Naoim goes up top but Jade is right on her! They fight for control, but then Nia joins in! TOWER OF DOOM!! Nia double stacks her opponents, for a A-NIA-LATOR!! Naomi avoids it, Jade takes it all! Naomi ghost pins Nia, AND WINS!!
Winner: Naomi, by pinfall (advances to Money in the Bank)
Nia did a lot of the damage, but it is Naomi who wins out! Will everyone in the Women’s MITB Ladder Match now have to #ProceedWithCaution?
Solo Sikoa’s crew arrives.
Solo says they will win Money in the Bank together! Jacob Fatu, Solo Sikoa, whichever one wins MITB wins it fof the family! But then they hear R-Truth talking to… Lil’ Jimmy? Solo says Truth’s childhood hero beats him, and now he’s talking to ghosts. Truth taps Solo on the shoulder and asks if there’s something Solo wants to say. Solo says Truth is crazy touching him. JC Mateo steps up but Solo has him stand down. Truth says he wants to be honest. He’s never seen JC a day before in his life. Is this Solo’s son? He’s husky! Truth asks if he can teach Solo’s husky son a lesson in the ring. Solo says that sounds good to him.
Truth says he’ll go talk to Nick Aldis. “Boy, y’all big boneded!” Truth heads off, and Solo says don’t worry, they’ll take care of him. Let’s have fun. Fatu says keep it 100. They can have their fun, he’s got his own business to take care of. Yadada mean? The Imperial Unit against Truth, Samoan Werewolf in a qualifier, will everything go the family’s way?
Chelsea Green confronts Nick Aldis.
The Hot Mess hides behind a cardboard cutout of herself as she tells the SmackDown General Manager, “What happened on Saturday night was a deliberate-” Piper Niven has to direct Chelsea to point at Aldis, and Aldis says he can’t quite understand her from behind the cardboard mask. Piper holds the mask between Chelsea and camera, though we do get a glimpse of her fancy headgear. Chelsea repeats herself, but Aldis says she needs to be looking at him when they talk. Chelsea hides her face in shame, but she says it is still a deliberate hitjob put on by vicious Zelina Vega! Even her Secret Her-vice could not stop it!
Chelsea demands that Zelina be suspended, stripped of her title, and that Chelsea be reinstated as the champion! Chelsea, no need to be so ugly about this. Gasp! Aldis says what he means is, no suspensions, and we can talk a rematch down the road once Chelsea is medically cleared. Then he is doing nothing for what Zelina did to Chelsea?! Alba says if he won’t, then they will! Yeah, Zelina VS Alba! Tonight! Alba is a bit surprised, but Aldis says, “Chelsea knows best. Alba VS Zelina, I actually like the sound of that. I will make that official right now, if you do one thing for me. Please leave me alone.”
The Green Administration hurries away, but will Alba make sure Chelsea brand justice is served? Or will La Muneca just keep racking up the wins?
Backstage interview with Tiffany Stratton.
Byron Saxton is with the WWE Women’s Champion, and says that MITB is around the corner. Tiff successfully cashed in her own contract to become champion, but how is she handling the pressure of knowing the same thing could happen to her? Tiff says she can’t wait to see who wins MITB. Then she can handle the pressure by being prepared. Having this title makes her the top threat to the division, but let’s be fair. She’s always been the girl everyone has been obsessed with. So whoever wins, targeting her will be a big mistake. But then in steps Naomi.
Naomi says if Tiff thought Nia was a problem, then she ain’t seen nothing yet. Naomi vows to win MITB and cash in for Tiff’s title, wherever and whenever she wants. And in case Lil’ Miss Tiffy forgot, when Naomi was fighting for a championship, Tiff stayed in Naomi’s way. Wanna know what happens when people play with Naomi? Just ask Jade. Naomi heads out, and Alexa Bliss steps in. Alexa says she wouldn’t be so worried about Naomi. Be worried about Alexa. Alexa heads out now, Tiff clutches to the title a little bit tighter, who will be trying to run the clock out on Tiffy Time?
R-Truth VS JC Mateo w/ Solo Sikoa!
To Solo’s point, #RonCena could not make John Cena see the light at Saturday Night’s Main Event, and Truth might be relapsing if he’s talking to Lil’ Jimmy again. But will Truth relapse so far that we get the R-Truth that was once United States Champion? Or will a Tour of the Islands send Truth off the deep end?
SmackDown returns and JC makes his entrance, Solo backing him up. The bell rings and Truth runs up, only for JC to RAM him into a corner! JC RAMS Truth again and again, then lets off. JC whips corner to corner hard and Truth falls in a heap! JC whips corner to corner again just as hard, and Truth falls in a heap again. Solo talks trash but the fans rally behind Truth. JC runs up but Truth dodges! Truth SHOULDER TACKLES! JC stays up, so Truth runs and SHOULDER TACKLES! “What’s Up?” Truth runs, ducks ‘n’ dodges, and SHOULDER TACKLES! Then he hits the SPIN OUT- CROSSBODY! JC then gets up to GACHIMUCHI MOONSAULT!
JC smirks as he looms over Truth, and Solo says to finish this off now. JC runs to SENTON but Truth moves! Truth calls for it! “YOU CAN’T SEE ME!” FIVE KNUCKLE SHUFFLE! Truth fireman’s carries JC, but JC is too much! Truth falls over again! Solo laughs, JC whips, TOUR OF THE ISLANDS!! Cover, JC wins!
Winner: JC Mateo, by pinfall
Truth tried to be like John Cena of old, but it just wasn’t meant to be. JC beats up on Truth more, then stands him up for Solo! But here comes BIG Jim! Jimmy has a chair, he runs JC off, but Solo stands his ground. Solo says his brother wouldn’t hit him with that chair, would he? Jimmy steps to Solo so Solo steps out, but that lets JC CLOBBER Jimmy! But then Solo has JC stand down! They’re family! Solo and JC leave, leaving Jimmy wondering what this is about. Will Jimmy make it clear to Solo that Jimmy’s not the one who has to come to his senses?
The Street Profits are here!
The WWE Tag Team Champions walk through the smoke to be on stage and the fans cheer. Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford hold up the titles, walk to the ring, then step inside. The fans cheer as they hold up the belts again, then the Profits grab the mics. Ford says, “Knoxville, Tennessee, oh I love everything about you, and what I have, too. But lemme rap to y’all real fast. This tag team division that we’re a part of, the greatest tag team division on any brand, any promotion… It’s on fire right now.” Dawkins says, “Talk to ’em.” Ford says, “But just like how the gorilla fears us, make no mistake about it, let’s not forget who’s leading the charge right now: The Street Profits.”
The fans cheer, and Dawkins says hey, they got all the teams coming at ’em! DIY, Motor City Machine Guns, Fraxiom, and now… The Wyatts?! The fans cheer that, and Ford says that’s sick. But what big bro is saying, it don’t matter who it is, the Profits will defend against anybody. Well hold on, here comes Fraxiom! Nathan Frazer & Axiom go to the ring to stand with the Profits, and they have mics. Frazer says alright, since the Profits are talking about defending the titles, well, Frazer & Axiom didn’t exactly get a fair shake. Ford says, “Fraxiom, is it?” He congratulates them for being on a roll, but up until the Wyatt Sick6 got in the Profits’ business…
Yeah, the Profits had them beat. Wow, oh, okay. Sure, maybe… But maybe not. Thanks to the Wyatts, we’ll never know. And now that those shenanigans are behind us, it is fair to say that Fraxiom and the Profits need to run it back! The fans like the sound of that! But wait, here come the Machine Guns! Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin have mics, and Shelley says okay, hold on, sorry to interrupt. Fraxiom’s entire basis for a rematch is that the Profits never beat them. Well, last time Shelley checked, the Profits never beat MCMG! So if they’re handing out title matches, MCMG will take one. But naturally, here comes DIY!
Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, and Candice LeRae have their own mics, and the Poison Pixie says no no no no. She is pretty sure “you losers” have had a million chances, and “the nerds” just got here. Whoa, hold on? Just got here? Sounds like Candice just got back, so she should do us a favor and shut up. Gargano says you shut up, idiot! The reason DIY brought in Gargano’s beautiful wife is to even the odds against all of what this is! Everyone can see there is a conspiracy in the tag team division to hold down the BTTITW! And now with the Wyatts showing up- Ciampa has Gargano ixnay on the amily-fay.
Do not talk about you know who, scratch that, let’s get to business. All these teams have all KILLED the tag division that DIY built! Matter of fact, let us hold a moment of silence for the death of the SmackDown Tag Division. Everyone, stand up, bow your heads, and give a moment of silence… now. OH NO! The lights go out! All the teams panic, because when the lights turn on, UNCLE HOWDY is on the corner! Howdy laughs, because the rest of the Wyatts flank the ring! Erick Rowan drags MCMG out to DOUBLE LARIAT! Dexter Lumis is up top to CANNONBALL onto the Profits and Gargano! Joe Gacy is in, and he handsprings to bring Fraxiom to the UPSIDE-DOWN!!
Lumis then runs, POWERBOMB SENTON COMBO on Axiom! Ciampa freaks out, turns around, and Nikki Cross is there! CROSSBODY onto Candice! The fans fire up, and Howdy has Frazer for SISTER ABIGAIL! “We’re here!!” It is just as the Profits said, and now it is clear. Will some killer combination of the Wyatts go right after the gold?
Rey Fenix & Je’Von Evans VS Los Garza w/ Santos Escobar!
Worlds Collide is just over a week away, and all four of these men will be involved. The Immortal Firebird and the Young OG are going after the NXT North American Championship in a Fatal 4 Way while Legado Del Fantasma will be taking on AAA’s Pagano, Psycho Clown y El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. Who will be heading for Los Angeles with all the momentum behind them?
Speaking of that North American Championship, the champion is here! Ethan Page joins commentary and says what a year for him, to be honest. Wade says that title has never looked better than on Ethan’s shoulder. Fenix makes his entrance now, followed by Je’Von’s. The teams sort out and Fenix starts against Angel. Angel and Fenix circle, the fans rally up, and the two tie up. Angel fires a forearm, Fenix fires back, repeat! Fenix gets the edge but Angel shoves then drops down. Fenix cartwheels over the dropdown, then comes back, ducks ‘n’ dodges, and RANAS! Angel tumbles, the fans fire up, and Fenix somersaults, but into a fireman’s carry!
Fenix slips free, ripcords to ROUNDHOUSE, but Angel HEADBUTTS! Both men stagger back, tags to Berto and Je’Von! Je’Von dodges and springboards to BOUNCY~ roll-up! TWO, and Berto mule kicks! Berto CLUBS Je’Von, whips, but Je’Von reverses and slips around. Berto bucks the O’Conner, springboards and CROSSBODIES! Cover, TWO! Berto drags Je’Von up, but Je’Von kicks! Berto blocks, but the ENZIGIRI hits! Je’Von runs up, and BOUNCY~ RANAS! The fans fire up and Je’Von DROPKICKS! Berto bails out, Angel runs in, but Je’Von goes Matrix to dodge! Je’Von kips up, and STUNNERS! Angel flops back and the fans fire up!
Los Garza regroups, Je’Von tags Fenix, and they build speed, but have to dodge Angel first. Fenix SOBATS, Je’Von KICKS, and both men ENZIGIRI! Berto is up top, he leaps, but into DOUBLE SUPERKICKS! Cover, TWO! Fenix runs to basement CALF KICK! Cover, TWO! Berto stays in this for Los Garza while SmackDown goes picture in picture.
Fenix drags Berto up to RAM him into the corner. Tag to Je’Von and they mug Berto. Berto fires hands back on Je’Von, but Je’Von headlocks. Berto powers up and out and Angel tags in. Berto drop toeholds Je’Von into Angel’s KNEE at the ropes! Angel TEARS OFF HIS PANTS! Angel drapes those over Je’Von before he KICKS Je’Von in the side! Angel stalks Je’Von to the corner, tags Berto, and they shove Je’Von for a double hip toss, TU LO SABE! Then DOUBLE SUPERKICK! Berto covers, TWO! Berto argues the count but the ref defends it. Berto shoves Je’Von to ELBOW him down! Berto then DUMPS Je’Von down to be under the ropes.
Tag to Angel and Berto sits Je’Von up on the apron. Angel runs to KNEE Je’Von down! Santos joins in with Los Garza as they soak up the heat, and Angel drags Je’Von back in. Angel stands Je’Von up, hoists him to the top rope, then climbs up behind him. Angel CLUBS away on Je’Von, mocks the clapping, and he THROWS Je’Von down. Angel KICKS Je’Von in the arm and Je’Von clutches his hand. Angel drags Je’Von to the ropes, CHOKES him, and the ref reprimands. The ref counts, Angel steps off at 4, and Berto BOOTS Je’Von down. ANgel clamps onto Je’Von with an armlock and chinbar but Je’Von reaches for Fenix.
Angel keeps hold of Je’Von but Je’Von fires hands! SmackDown returns to single picture as Je’Von dodges the lariat, leaps, but Angel catches him! Angel puts Je’Von in a corner and through ropes. Angel pulls an arm and leg against the ropes, but stops as the ref counts. Angel runs to KNEE Je’Von in the ribs! Je’Von slumps to the apron, and Angel sucker punches Fenix! Angel goes back for Je’Von but Je’Von fires body shots! Angel blocks a kick, slips around and Gory Especials! Angel walks over, tags Berto, and Berto slingshots, GARZA ESPECIAL! Cover, TWO! The fans rally up for Je’Von but Berto clamps onto him with a chinlock.
Je’Von endures, even as Berto traps an arm. Je’Von fights up, pries the hold open, and he arm-drags Berto! Je’Von leaps but Berto grabs a leg! Ethan laughs from commentary, but Je’Von kicks free to SUPERKICK! Both men are down, Je’Von and Berto crawl, hot tags to Angel and Fenix! The fans fire up as Fenix rallies on Angel with forearms! Fenix then dodges a shot to springboard and FLYING ARM-DRAG, to a DOUBLE STOMP! Fenix fires off KICKS on Berto, then fires up with Knoxville! Fenix uses Berto to jump up and RANA Angel! Fenix then goes corner to corner to JUMP SOBAT! Fenix fires hands, shoves Angel aside, then goes up.
Fenix springboards to QUEBRADA! Cover, Berto breaks it! Berto whips Fenix, Fenix goes Spider-Man, and Je’Von tags in! Fenix says HASTA LA VISTA, BABY! Angel is up, he pops Fenix up to KICK him! But Je’Von springboards to FLYING LARIAT! The fans fire up, Berto springboards to FLYING CHUCK! All four men are down and the fans fire up again! “This is Awesome!” as Angel and Je’Von crawl. Angel CHOPS Je’Von, Je’Von CHOPS back, and the fans “WOO~!” Angel CHOPS again, so Je’Von CHOPS again! Angel fires a forearm, Je’Von fires back, and they go around with forearm after forearm! The fans fire up, Angel CHOPS, a
nd Je’Von SUPER PUNCHES!
Je’Von runs, BOUNCY- NO, Angel makes it a SIT OUT POWERBOMB!! Cover, TWO!! Ethan is surprised and the fans rally up. Angel hoists Je’Von up top, tags Berto in, and they hoist Je’Von up even higher! But Fenix SHORYUKENS Angel down! Je’Von fires hands on Berto and SHOVES him down! Fenix climbs up to join Je’Von now, and ADIOS AMIGO DOUBLE STOMPS for Angel! Je’Von adjusts, to SUPER DUPER SWANTON onto Los Garza! Ethan says don’t get closer, keep this in the ring! He taunts both his challengers, Fenix and Je’Von stand down to put Los Garza in the ring. The fans rally up, but then Ethan CLOBBERS Fenix & Je’Von!
Ethan TOSSES Fenix over the desk! But Je’Von SUPERKICKS Ethan down! The fans fire up, Je’Von hurries in, and he dodges Angel! But Berto rolls Je’Von up, TWO!! Je’Von dodges Berto, rebound and RED DOT!! Berto is down, Angel gets up, but Je’Von DECKS him! Je’Von goes up, up, but Santos distracts the ref! Ethan SHOVES Je’Von down! The fans boo but Berto tags Angel! Los Garza hoists Je’Von up for M T Y!! Cover, Los Garza win!
Winners: Los Garza, by pinfall
All Ego grins as he screws over two of his three challengers, and now Legado is rolling towards Worlds Collide. But will these rudos get everything they deserve in LA?
The Wyatts speak.
“We won’t stop. Not until we get what’s owed.” A simple yet ominous threat, are the tag titles only the beginning?
Zelina Vega VS Alba Fyre w/ The Green Administration!
La Muneca held onto the WWE Women’s US Championship by smacking The Hot Mess in the face with a foot, and obviously Chelsea is not happy with it. But will Alba get payback on behalf of her fearless leader? Or will things only get uglier for the Green Regime?
The bell rings and Piper distracts Zelina so Alba can CLOBBER her! Alba fires off hands, then bumps Zelina off buckles. Alba bumps Zelina off more buckles, then more buckles! And then the fourth corner! Chelsea says Zelina should’ve never messed with her! Alba fireman’s carries but Zelina fights free. Zelina KICKS Alba, KICKS again, then KICKS, but Alba CLUBS Zelina. Alba whips, scoops, and- NO, Zelina swings through to RANA! Cover, ONE! Zelina headlocks but Alba fights up and lifts Zelina. Zelina holds on but Alba powers up and out to RUN Zelina over! The fans boo but Chelsea cheers as Alba stalks Zelina.
Alba ROCKS Zelina, whips her to ropes, but Zelina wheelbarrows and arm-drags! Zelina then runs up on Alba in the corner and rains down fists! Alba shoves Zelina away at three, but Zelina comes right back to rain down more shots! Alba stops Zelina at four now, but Zelina wants another go! Alba stops Zelina at four again, and RAMS her into the corner! The fans boo but Alba grins. Zelina BOOTS Alba, goes up, and FLYING RANAS! Alba tumbles out, Piper helps her up, and Zelina goes to the apron. Alba trips Zelina up, spins and ROCKS Zelina, then gets her up. Gory Especial, but Zelina flips through to arm-drag Alba onto ropes!
The fans fire up as Zelina dials up, but Chelsea is on the apron! The ref argues with Chelsea while Zelina redials, but Piper trips her up! The fans boo but Alba SUPERKICKS Zelina! Alba salutes to Chelsea, and SmackDown goes to break.
SmackDown returns and Alba stands on Zelina’s hair while pulling Zelina’s arms! The ref reprimands, Alba steps off, and she drags Zelina up to suplex for the GOURD BUSTER! Cover, TWO! Zelina stays in this and Chelsea argues with the ref. The ref says the count is fair, so Alba clamps onto Zelina with a COBRA CLUTCH! Zelina endures, the fans rally, and Zelina fights up. Zelina fires body shots, Alba ripcords and wrenches to SUPERKICK! Zelina rebounds to SHINING WIZARD! Both women fall and the fans fire up! Piper coaches Zelina, the fans rally up, and both women rise up. Alba is on Zelina and brings her to a corner, but Zelina buckle bumps Alba first!
The fans rally as Alba stalks Zelina, but Zelina bumps her off buckles again! Alba tries again, but Zelina ELBOWS Alba away. Then BOOTS her away! Zelina fires forearms on Alba, backs her down, then whips. Alba reverses but Zelina dodges to LARIAT! The fans fire up as Zelina LARIATS again! Zelina blocks a kick, ELBOWS Alba, but Alba blocks the saido. But Zelina keeps Alba from running, SNAP SAIDO! The fans rally for Zelina as she runs corner to corner, METEORA! Zelina pushes Alba out and goes up top! The fans cheer for some Latina Heat, and METEORA! Cover, TWO! Alba survives and Chelsea is relieved.
Zelina grows frustrated, but she goes back for Alba. Zelina reels Alba in, suplexes, but Alba blocks! Alba knees low, suplexes, but Zelina hits STUN DOG MILLIONAIRE! Alba is down, Zelina goes up, MOONSAULT FLOPS! Alba goes up now, and she SWANTON BOMBS! Cover, TWO!?! Zelina survives and shocks Alba! Chelsea is upset again but Alba hurries to bring Zelina up. Alba KICKS Zelina out, and now Chelsea takes off her face mask?! She tells Piper to stand Zelina up! Piper does as told, and Chelsea takes a swing, but Zelina ducks! The face mask SMACKS Piper!! Chelsea is shocked, then furious, and then she chases after Zelina!
Zelina slips into the ring, Chelsea gets on the apron, but Zelina sends Alba at her! They almost collide, and then Zelina rolls Alba up! Zelina hops on, CODE RED!! Cover, Zelina wins!!
Winner: Zelina Vega, by pinfall
Chelsea tried so hard to screw Zelina over that she just screwed up her own team! Zelina survives again, will no one take down the Vega Administration?
The Miz pep talks Carmelo Hayes.
Melo looks good, and he just has to follow the plan. If Melo follows that plan, with no mistakes, they will win. Melo says he knows what he’s doing. Miz asks if he really does. Because Miz has taken Black Mass after Black Mass, sacrificing himself for Melo. Does Melo understand? Miz gave up this chance at MITB for Melo! Miz has already done it twice! If Melo wins this match tonight, Miz will guide Melo to make sure “we are Mr. MITB.” Wait, we? Miz says, “Who do you think got you in this position?” Melo says Melo did. Melo appreciates everything Miz has done for him, from sacrificing to taking hits for him, and helping him win the Andre the Giant Battle Royal.
But nobody told Miz to do that. Melo will run the play exactly as Miz designed it, but what brought Melo to the dance is Melo’s talent. Melo goes out there and does it better than anybody else. Melo puts up 40 points on a bad day, because he is H1M. And Miz just needs to let Melo be H1M. They good? Miz nods, and Melo says okay, let’s do the thing. They are Melo Don’t Miz and they are Awes-H1M. Miz still nods, but he doesn’t seem genuinely happy. Will Miz let Melo be Melo? Even if that means letting H1M fail?
Giulia speaks.
“Throughout my entire career, even back when I started in Japan, I had one goal… It’s not to be ‘the best.’ Everyone says that. It’s hollow and empty. My goal is to be indisputable. You can love me or hate me, admiration or disgust, it means nothing. But I’m impossible to deny. My opponent doesn’t matter, because I only view them as an opportunity to build my legacy. Evidence you cannot refute. SmackDown, you will see. I will hit harder, move faster, think sharper, and conquer everything, just like I’ve always done. The question isn’t, ‘Who’s going to let me?” It’s, ‘Who’s going to stop me?'” She adds in Japanese, “If you can stop it, stop it.”
Will SmackDown and all of the WWE soon succumb to The Beautiful Madness?
Zelina returns backstage.
She refreshes for a second, but Giulia is there! And Giulia says she sees Zelina, but she also sees that title more. Zelina scoffs and leaves. Could Giulia be aiming for everything once she becomes Ms. Money in the Bank?
Damian Priest is here!
Knoxville cheers as The Archer of Infamy heads to the ring, victorious from Saturday Night’s Main Event and that brutal Steel Cage match. Priest grabs a mic to tell Tennessee, “Ever since I beat Drew on Saturday, it’s like I’m breathing in fresh air. Y’know, there was a time when I lived on the street, if we were beefing with another street, that war could go for years. But in WWE, you have a beef with somebody, you have a match and it’s over. But with Drew and I, we went well over a year, and that’s not normal. But we took that beef into a cage. Now, I can feel it, you can se it on my face, we went to war.
“At the end of this war, at Saturday Night’s Main Event, I gave him a Con-Chair-To, I walked out the door, and I put his ass in the past.” The fans cheer that. Priest says now he knows Drew is somewhere recovering from his scrambled brains, but he knows Drew is watching, so this is for Drew. “I still can’t stand yo ass. But the Drew McIntyre that stepped in that cage wasn’t the guy that hides behind his phone on social media. That was the old Drew, the warrior, and I appreciate that.” The fans applaud, and Priest says he won’t ask what is next for himself, he’ll just tell us all. And it is the same thing he wanted when he came to SmackDown: Championships!
The fans cheer, and Priest says this war with Drew cost him an opportunity at being in MITB. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his eyes on a certain champion. Somebody who he has unfinished business with, and a champion he considers the most badass. The fans know that means Fatu, and he knows they know! Priest calls out Jacob Fatu! Priest respects Fatu. Priest knows where Fatu came from, what Fatu had to live through, how it feels to stand in this ring as a champion. Real talk, Priest is proud of Fatu, he congratulates Fatu, that’s real. But what Priest doesn’t respect is the crew that follows him around.
Wait, check that. What Priest doesn’t respect is the crew Fatu follows around. Priest knows at some point, they will get in this ring, handle business, but that’s for them. As for Fatu’s so-called family, if they wanna get involved, they can catch a fresh one, too. Priest won’t make it just a nickname or moniker, he wants this to be fact! Priest is and forever will be EL CAMPEON! The fans cheer that! But will the Archer soon take aim at the Samoan Werewolf? Well, speaking of, Fatu makes his way out here for tonight’s other Triple Threat Qualifier! Fatu nods to Priest, but if Fatu wins his way into the ladder match, will this showdown have to wait a little longer?
Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match Qualifier Triple Threat: Carmelo Hayes VS Andrade VS Jacob Fatu!
SmackDown returns and El Idolo makes his entrance, followed by H1M. The bell rings and Miz distracts Fatu and Melo attacks! Fatu ELBOWS Melo away, Andrade is on Melo with forearms, and then Fatu adds a LARIAT! Fatu looms mover Melo but then turns to stare down Andrade. The fans rally as these two step up. Andrade fires forearms but Fatu SHOVES him to a corner. Fatu runs up, Andrade dodges then whips. Fatu reverses, Andrade goes up and out to then ROCK Fatu! Andrade goes up, up, and CROSSBODIES! Cover, ONE! Melo CLUBS Andrade, TOSSES him out, and then CLUBS away on Fatu!
Miz says that’s the way! Melo HAMMERS and CHOPS, then whips, but Fatu blocks! Fatu whips Melo, Melo springboards, but into an UPPERCUT! The fans fire up and Fatu sees Melo go outside. Fatu builds speed, but Miz trips him up! The fans boo, the ref reprimands, but Fatu drags Miz into the ring! Melo goes to roll Fatu up but Fatu stays up! Fatu YANKS Melo up, scoops, but Melo slips free! Melo SUPERKICKS and Miz DUMPS Fatu out! The fans boo but Melo builds speed, only for Andrade to LARIAT! The fans cheer, and now Miz sees he is in trouble. Fatu snarls, but Andrade DIVES, into a HAYMAKER!
Fatu then SUPERKICKS Miz! Fatu THROWS Miz into barriers! The fans fire up and Fatu grins. Fatu runs in, HIP ATTACK against the barriers! The Samoan Werewolf has dominated three men at once and the fans fire up while SmackDown goes picture in picture.
Miz sputters and Fatu leaves him behind to go around the way. Melo is there to kick Fatu, RAM Fatu, but Fatu blocks another whip! Fatu ROCKS Melo and Melo staggers away. Fatu stalks Melo, Melo checks on Miz, but Fatu ROCKS Melo! Andrade goes after Fatu now, but Fatu THROWS Andrade into barriers! The fans cheer as Fatu lets Andrade go to the ring. Fatu brings Melo up, SMACKS him off the desk, then pushes him down. Fatu clears the desk off, but Melo CLUBS Fatu against the desk! Melo storms into the ring, brings Andrade up, but Andrade RAMS Melo into the corner! Andrade RAMS Melo, CHOPS Melo, then stalks Melo.
Andrade whips Melo, Melo reverses and Andrade hits buckles hard! Melo CHOPS Andrade down! Melo brings Andrade up, soaks up some heat, then makes it Latino Heat. But Andrade blocks the suplex to suplex Melo! Andrade hangs Melo out to dry, and Melo flops to the apron. Fatu is back but Andrade fires forearms first! Andrade whips, Fatu reverses, and Fatu BODY CHECKS Andrade! Fatu geeks out and the fans are with him while he stalks Andrade. Fatu drags Andrade up to HEADBUTT him into the corner. Fatu shoves Melo off the apron, then he HEADBUTTS Andrade again. Andrade sputters but Fatu is all fired up.
Fatu CHOPS Andrade, UPPERCUTS, and HEADBUTTS him again! Andrade CHOPS in return! SmackDown returns to single picture and Andrade CHOPS, CHOPS, CHOPS! Fatu UPPERCUTS and Andrade falls back! Melo stomps Andrade in the corner, then tells Fatu to come on in. Fatu runs up, but Andrade gets away! Hip attack hits buckles! Melo ENZIGIRIS Fatu, Andrade runs to dodge Melo and FLYING FOREARM! The fans fire up as Andrade kips up! Andrade has targets in the corners, and he rallies the fans with “SI! SI! SI!” CIEN KNEES for Fatu! CIEN- NO, Melo tilt-o-whirls and LA MYSTICA! Cover, TWO!
The fans rally, Melo runs to stomp away on Fatu, then he brings Andrade up. Fatu stands to CLOBBER Melo! Andrade SUPERKICKS Fatu! The fans rally, Melo brings Andrade up and springboards, but Andrade stops him at the ropes! SECOND ROPE SPANISH FLY! But Fatu SENTONS Andrade! The fans fire up as Fatu SENTONS Melo! Fatu drags Melo to a drop zone, then goes to the corner! The fans rally for Fatu as he goes up, up, but Andrade YANKS him down! Andrade goes up top, MOONSAULT DOUBLE!! Cover, Melo breaks it! The fans rally while all three are down! “This is Awesome!” as the three stir.
Melo brings Fatu and Andrade around, and he fires forearms on each of them. Andrade fires back on Melo, then Fatu UPPERCUTS! Andrade ROCKS Fatu, but Fatu UPPERCUTS Andrade! The fans rally as the three rise, and Melo springboards! DOUBLE FADE AWAY DDT!! Cover on Andrade, Fatu breaks it! Melo and Fatu stare down, and they run up! Melo dodges to hit the FIRST 48! Andrade adds a POISON-RANA! Melo slips around Andrade to KNEE and suplex, CUTTER! Cover, TWO!! Andrade survives and Melo grows frustrated. The fans rally for Fatu while Melo shakes his hands out. Andrade is on the apron but Melo rises.
Melo brings Andrade up but Andrade trips Melo! They go out to brawl, and Melo SUPERKICKS Andrade down! But Fatu SUPERKICKS Melo! The fans fire up for Fatu as he lines up a shot. Fatu gets the fans even more fired up, then he geeks out! Fatu runs in the full length, but Andrade & Melo move! HIP ATTACK through barriers!! The fans go nuts as Fatu crashes into the timekeeper’s area! Fatu sputters as SmackDown goes back to picture in picture.
Fatu stirs while Andrade and Melo go to the ring. They roll in, Melo grabs at Andrade and vice-versa. Melo fires a forearm, then goes back outside. Andrade goes to the opposite end while Melo looks under the ring. Melo makes Knoxville happy by bringing out a table! But then Melo makes them mad by dropping it! Melo goes after Andrade but Andrade ROCKS him first! Andrade brings out a chair! Andrade aims, but Melo dropkicks the legs out! Andrade crawls, Melo shakes his head, and he grabs the chair now. Melo aims, but Andrade kicks Melo low! Andrade and Melo go into the ring, and Andrade puts Melo in a drop zone.
Andrade goes up the corner, but Melo trips him up! Andrade is stuck up top and Melo hits the SLINGSHOT PLEX! Melo flexes, then decides to step through on the legs! Andrade cradles that, TWO! Melo and Andrade stand, DOUBLE LARIATS collide! Both men fall and the fans look for Fatu. SmackDown returns to single picture as the fans rally, Melo and Andrade sit up, and Melo CHOPS! Andrade ROCKS Melo, then rolls away. Melo hurries to clamp onto Andrade with a facelock, but Andrade RAMS him into a corner! Andrade puts Melo up top but Melo fires forearms. Andrade drops back, Melo aims, but Andrade GAMANGIRIS!
The fans still want tables but Andrade climbs up to get Melo. They’re on the very top, but Fatu is back! Fatu makes the SUPER SPANISH FLY part ROCKER LAUNCHER!! The fans are thunderous as Fatu goes up now! SWANTON BOMB onto Melo! Cover, Andrade breaks it!! The fans rally up again and still want tables. Fatu runs at Andrade to SPLASH! Then Fatu runs at Melo, but Melo BOOTS him! Melo runs up, but into a pop-up! Melo fights the Samoan Drop, and Andrade adds the SHADOW ELBOW! But Melo makes it a ghost pin! Andrade adds a stack, TWO!!! Fatu survives the double cover, but here come Solo & JC!
The fans boo as Solo is here to coach Fatu up. Melo and Andrade trade forearms, then Melo dodges to springboard, FLYING LARIAT! Cover, Fatu breaks it! Fatu snarls, drags Melo up, and he HEADBUTTS Melo! Fatu finally notices Solo & JC, but Fatu puts Melo up top. Fatu CHOPS Melo, then he fireman’s carries Andrade. Fatu adds Melo to this, but Melo slips free. SAMOAN DROP for Andrade, and then Fatu goes to the corner. Solo says Fatu’s got this now! BEST MOONSAULT EVER FLOPS and Melo hits NOTHING BUT NET!! Cover, ANDRADE BREAKS IT! Andrade underhooks Melo, THE MESS- NO, Melo RANAS through! Cover, TWO!!
Andrade has a cover, TWO! Melo has a cover, TWO! Andrade has it, TWO! Both men stand, SHADOW ELBOW! FIRST 48!! SHADOW ELBOW AGAIN!! All three men are down and the fans are thunderous! Fatu crawls, Melo rolls to a corner, and Andrade stirs. Fatu rises, he brings Andrade up, IMPALER DDT! Then Fatu has Melo to RAM him into a corner. Fatu runs and HIP ATTACKS Melo! Andrade is up, Fatu hits him with another IMPALER DDT! Fatu puts Andrade in the drop zone, and he hits the BEST MOONSAULT EVER!! Solo says yeah, do that again! The fans boo but Fatu glares at Solo. JC says do what Solo is saying, Fatu!
But wait! Jimmy YANKS JC down, and SUPERKICKS him! The fans fire up, and then Melo RAMS Fatu into Solo! Then FIRST 48! But Andrade rolls Melo into THE MESSAGE!! Cover, ANDRADE WINS!!
Winner: Andrade, by pinfall (advances to Money in the Bank)
Solo just screwed things up for Fatu! Solo does his best to keep the peace between Fatu and JC, but the point is: Andrade is headed to Los Angeles! Will he make this El Idolo in the Bank?
Backstage interview with LA Knight.
Byron Saxton segues from congratulating Andrade for qualifying to welcoming in someone who already has qualified, but The Mega Star says, “My gawd. What is it with punching tickets around here? Everybody talks about punching tickets. WWE Instagram, punched tickets. Commentary, punched tickets. You’re talking about punched tickets. I guess I punched my ticket to MITB, it’s only eight days away. A few other guys who punched tickets, who are they? You got Andrade, you got Penta, you got what’s his name, Seth Rollins. You got Solo Sikoa! They’re all in it! They all punched their tickets!
“And everybody’s gonna be climbing that ladder, trying to get up, put everything on the line that they can. Now, if this was a one-on-one match, I’d go ahead and call my shot, and I’d say I’m gonna run up there, grab the case, and cash it in. But you gotta understand, this is my third year in a row, so I understand what this is. You can call me the vet in this match. Some people say maybe that Seth is the vet in this, but they would be wrong. For three years in a row now, you’re talking about the most robust and the most recent experience, YEAH. And what that means is now it’s anybody’s game. Anybody can come out with it, and I understand that.
“But with or without the case, what you need to understand is that the WWE title, the world title, they’re all in my future. With the way I’ve been running, at this point, they should be in my past, maybe even my present. Why don’tcha go ahead and punch that ticket? While we’re talking about-” Knight stops himself when he spots someone walking in. It’s Aleister Black! And Aleister says that win was supposed to be his. But he tells Knight, “You’re welcome, though.” The Dark Father lets the Mega Star shine, if only for now. Will LA win big in LA when we finally reach MITB?
Fatu and Solo regroup backstage.
Solo wants Fatu to listen. He was just trying to help. Fatu tells Solo to listen. For the last time, Fatu does not need his help! Fatu storms off, JC steps in, but Solo has nothing else to say. Is the Samoan Werewolf going to break away from this dysfunctional “family?”
Cody Rhodes is here!
Knoxville fires up and sings along, “WHOA~ OH~!” Cody gets his pyro, high-fives fans along the ramp and the front row, and even signs autographs. Cody goes to the ring, grabs a mic, and he hears the fans chant his name. Cody fires the fans up more, then hears them sing, “Cody! Cody Rhooodes~! Cody! Cody Rhooodes~!” Cody says, “So, Knoxville! Whaddya wanna talk about?” The fans cheer, and Cody says, “I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that we could talk about the record crowd here this evening!” The fans cheer that, too! Cody says he loves them, too, thank you very much.
Cody says they could also talk about WrestleMania 41. The fans boo, but Cody says after WrestleMania 41, he went home, he drowned his sorrows, might’ve touched the “Tennessee Cough Syrup” a little bit, and he had a moment of doubt. He reached out to a friend. A friend who helps him prepare to wonderful audiences like this one here, or speaking to everyone at home. Cody asked him, “Was I a good champion?” The fans cheer for that, but Cody says the friend told him wasn’t quite as simple as yes or no.
The friend told him, “With everything that you faced here in the ring in front of all the fans, and with everything that you faced behind the scenes, being pulled in different directions, the waters that you had to navigate that no champion has ever had to navigate, yes, I feel that you were a good champion.” Cody says he felt good hearing that, it turned into a hopeful moment, the silver lining on a dark cloud. Cody looked back on his whole year. He thought about AJ Styles faking retirement to get the drop on him. Cody thought about his friend, Kevin Owens, sucker punching him against his bus while Cody’s family slept inside.
Cody thought about his boss, Triple H, who pushed Cody to the limit, and sees something in Cody that Cody doesn’t even see in himself. Cody even thought about The Final Boss, how he asked Cody for his soul, and the entire world wondering what that meant. As preposterous as that sounded, The Rock was 100% serious. No matter how many times Cody said no, the offer still stands. And Cody also thought about John Cena. The fans initially boo, but the “Let’s Go, Cena!” “CENA SUCKS!” starts up. Cody takes a moment, and then he says, “I thought about John Cena doing exactly what he said he was going to do. He forced me to make a choice, and I hesitated.
“I don’t know if John Cena is going to ‘ruin’ professional wrestling. But if he does, then I’m partially to blame. Now, I know, I’d love to say this to John Cena’s face. Not sure if he’s going to come out here right now, but if you are listening, if you are listening, Champ, I need you to know that I will never hesitate with you again!” The fans cheer that, and Cody says no matter how much Cena will tout the amount of days he has left, how much Cena will talk about what remains before he absconds with the WWE Championship and leaves all of us forever, that is NOT Cena’s expiration date! That is on the other side of Cody’s corneas, and it will burn Cena’s ass up!
The fans fire up for that, and Cody calms it down. Cody apologizes for that. This is his first night back on SmackDown, he is getting worked up. He thought so much about what he could do, what he could do for the fans. Hell, how about a surprise? The fans already “YEET! YEET! YEET!” so Cody says they’re hungry for it. Let’s yeet. Well, hold on, that’d be a very big surprise. That’d be the biggest surprise. That’d be Cody’s partner riding into battle for MITB, and hell YES he is here! Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for the World Heavyweight Champion, MAIN EVENT JEY USO! The fans go wild as Jey makes his way in from the pavilion!
The fans sing along with Day One Ish and bounce for that YEET! Jey makes his way down through the crowd to ringside, one verse at a time, and SmackDown goes to break.
SmackDown returns and Jey joins Cody in the ring now, mic in hand. Cody and Jey hear the fans want an encore, so we get even more YEET! But then John Cena makes his entrance to ruin the fun! The fans sing “JOHN CENA SUUUCKS~!” even though he wears that University of Tennessee orange and white. Cena goes to the ring, towel draped over his head, then grabs a mic before he joins Cody and Jey in the ring. Cena hears the fans boo, and he says, “I’m upset, too. If it isn’t professional wrestling’s biggest wannabes!” Cena tells Cody he is nothing more than a Cena Wannabe, and that Jey is nothing more than a Cena Wannabe.
The fans boo but Cena says they both wanna be Cena so bad, it makes him sick! Cody wants Cena’s fame, Jey wants Cena’s money, but they will get neither because Cody is too desperate and Jey is too lazy! There is only ONE other human being in the WWE who embodies hustle, loyalty and respect, and he’s got the fortune, fame and followers to back that up! Surprise, losers! Cena’s partner is here, too! The fans boo already, because “EY YO~!” Logan Paul IS here! The Maverick swaggers his way out, and Cena gives him a proper introduction. “Oh, you mad? You’re mad because Logan Paul does WWE better than any professional wrestler?”
Cena says Logan doesn’t need to pay his dues, because he is paying Jey’s mortgage! Everybody in this building did NOT come to see Jey! They came to see John Cena and Logan Paul! Logan asks, “What the hell you crying about, Knoxville? Look! I could walk on water, and y’all would still find a way to tell me it’s because I can’t swim! John Cena speaks the language of Logan Paul, and that is the truth! The truth! It is right in front of you! You deny it all you want, but look around, you stupid, stupid, simple Tennessee people! This is a moment in history! All of you get to witness the moment that John Cena stood side-by-side in the ring with Logan Paul.
“And look, all of you will live long, pathetic, miserable lives. But at least you will get to say that you saw that.” The fans tell Logan to STFU, and Cena tells Logan to ignore it. Logan says yeah, yeah, they’re so ungrateful. They don’t know what’s good for them. There is one problem, though. This does seem too perfect. The problem is… Logan should be standing next to THE WWE Champion as THE World Heavyweight Champion! Logan should’ve been the one to leave Saturday Night’s Main Event with that title around his waist. But look at him, Jey. Jey got lucky. Jey got lucky! He knows it, Logan knows, it, the fans know it, CODY knows it!
Jey needed Cody to save him! When Cody interfered with the match cuz these two cheaters can’t do a single thing in this business without it being handed to them! “These two nepo babies were born on third, thinking they hit a triple.” Logan points to himself and says, “Self-made man!” He points to Cena and says, “Self-made man!” Five years ago, nobody every would’ve believed Logan Paul would be a WWE superstar. And they certainly never ever would’ve believed that he’d be teaming with the Greatest Of All Time! But look at Logan now. He’s not just a superstar, he is THE superstar! His time is now! Cena told us that his time is almost up!
Cena is the Last Real Champion, Logan is the inevitable face of the WWE! So Jey, Cody, at MITB, if you want some, come get some. Jey tells Logan they don’t gotta wait! They can handle this right now! UH UH, YEET!! The mics drop, Cena and Logan talk this out, and Logan wants to throw hands while Cena wants to leave. Cody asks what they’re arguing about. They gonna go to the back so Logan can polish Cena’s Peacemaker? Now it’s a fight! The fans fire up as the hands are flying! Logan TOSSES Jey, Cena picks Cody up! Cody slips free, Jey is back to SUPERKICK! Cody hits the DISASTER KICK! Cena bails out, Jey PLANCHAS out onto him!
Logan goes to the apron, slingshot and- NO, Cody dodges the “Snapshot” Lariat and Jey SUPERKICKS Logan! Then Jey sets Logan up for the CODE D!! The fans fire up as Cody picks up the WWE Championship! Will Cody and Jey make it through Logan and Cena to then clear a path for the American Nightmare’s redemption? Or will Cena & Logan ruin wrestling together?
My Thoughts:
A very good SmackDown, but maybe with some wheel-spinning. As fun as Chelsea Green continues to be, can’t we move on from her and Zelina? Or are we about to do that with tonight’s win over Alba and then Giulia confronting her? Ironically, that seems to give away Giulia isn’t winning MITB. Giulia had a good promo video right before but they undercut it by giving us that confrontation. That said, Giulia deserves to be all the champions, but I suppose starting with the Women’s US Championship would be a good route. Very good promo from Bianca and Naomi to not just have Bianca’s homecoming, but to keep the feud between them alive.
The Women’s Triple Threat had a slow start but it turned out to be a very good match. Great win for Naomi, and good promo from her, Tiffany and Alexa to tease potential MITB winners. Great stuff in the tag match to build Worlds Collide just a touch. We only got one moment of Berto being passive aggressive towards Santos, and then Ethan Page screwing the Faces over, but that was still enough for the North American Championship. Of course, it depends on how many fans watch not just Raw and SmackDown but also NXT so that the fans already understand the story. But as someone who does, I do appreciate they’re bringing NXT story onto SmackDown.
Good promo from Priest to give some shoot respect to Drew and Fatu, but Priest wanting after the US title kinda gave away what was happening with the Men’s Triple Threat. It was a great Triple Threat, but of course Solo & JC cost Fatu. That team is just one moment away from breaking up, and it might be at MITB when Solo just expects Fatu to help him win the briefcase and Fatu refuses. And Fatu VS Priest will still be awesome whenever it happens. Good promo from Knight, and a good bit from Aleister with him, which I suppose means that’s the next feud for them. Was kinda hoping for Aleister VS Nakamura but that really depends if Nakamura is sticking with WWE or going home to Japan via Pro-Wrestling NOAH as rumored.
R-Truth relapsing to talking to Lil’ Jimmy is certainly a choice. I kinda wish he’d keep up the “Ron Cena” stuff, or they’d let Jeff Cobb do his own John Cena bit from NJPW, but I guess some things in WWE still won’t change. And closing with a big promo segment was also certainly a choice. Cody still did a good job, and nice surprise to have Jey show up. Not sure they needed to take a commercial break for Jey’s entrance, especially when they were obviously going to let Jey do his YEET encore. And Cena really must be brainwashed to put Logan over as if Logan’s on par with peak Cena. But naturally a brawl happened and the Faces stood tall.
Don’t count this as go-home math yet, they could easily revisit this on Raw and even next week on SmackDown. Even then, I still feel like Jey and Cody should win at MITB to properly set up Cody VS Cena 2 at SummerSlam. Raw on June 9th is still the move for the World Heavyweight Championship, but there’s also Saturday Night’s Main Event in July, who knows if Jey makes it to SummerSlam as champion.
My Score: 8.7/10
About Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)
WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)
THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)
FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)
SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast
CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)
TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends
Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5
Classic POD is WAR
Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!
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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: 5.29.25
Stuff happens, maybe it doesn’t, Dreamer and Delirious can’t book.
Well Trick Willie is the new TNA champ and this is the first iMPACT since his win…so let’s just hear him talk about it.
"TNA turned into TRICK-NA. Lets talk about it"@_trickwilliams #WWENXT
WATCH #TNAiMPACT on TNA+: https://t.co/GrBQpdX5g5 pic.twitter.com/StU4pmi3oy
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) May 30, 2025
Ratings:
- The Rascalz vs Fir$t Cla$$ vs Laredo vs The System: Rascalz win via Meteora – ***
- Raj Singh vs Mustafa Ali: Ali wins via…No Shit – Squash Garbage
- ASH by Elegance vs Lei Ying Lee: Lei wins via Spinning TKO – ** 3/4
- Mance Warner w/SDL vs Jobber: Mance wins via Hit the Pay Winda – Squash
- Santino Marella & Arianna Grace vs Robert Stone & Victoria Crawford w/Tessa: Team Robbie wins via shenanigans – **
- International Championship: Steve Maclin (c) vs Matt Cardona: Maclin retains via KIA – ***
Results:
The Rascalz vs Fir$t Cla$$ vs Laredo vs The System
Octagon got jumped by The System earlier so Laredo is fighting alone. Another backstage jumping is getting a little dumb.
Laredo and Trey start. Typical Indie start with Simultaneous awful Dropkick spot and bad counters, AJ blind tag runs the smaller guys over, tags out to KC and the Rascalz instantly get the moment. KC is rocked, tags in Laredo and Laredo takes out the System before Lish gets on the apron and grabs Laredo. The referee kicks out Lish and Rehwoldt on commentary points out it’s a No DQ match so that’s dumb.
KC gets tossed at AJ, he catches him, Rascalz Dive and do their taunt as we go to commercial. We come back, Tennessee Whiskey into a KC tag in for the near fall on Laredo. Corner combo, Snapmare into Flip Forward Neck Breaker, KC is on a roll. AJ tags Laredo and starts talking crap to KC, they swerve and go Finger Poke of Doom, but it’s not a legal pin. Suddenly tornado attacks, System and Rascalz go for broke, AJ hits the Senton to break the eventual pin, Laredo counters AJ’s Chokeslam attempt. Trey clears out The System, Wentz sends himself and KC over and out, Laredo with a Corkscrew Moonsault, which looked cool but it’s the pile of morons waiting to get hit spot.
AJ hits the Down Payment on Laredo, but Trey blind tagged AJ. Meteora on AJ, Trey pins Laredo and Rascalz win.
Raj Singh vs Mustafa Ali
Raj looks like shit in the gear he came down in…and he wrestles equivalently. I would rather anyone else comeback…give me Anarquia.
Ali murders Raj, Instant Dropkick, Rolling Neckbreaker, Corkscrew Standing Moonsault, it’s not close. Raj tries to counter things but Ali Bellclap, a little Duck the left, connect the right. Raj even does a terrible looking Punch Combo, he’s in bad shape, a bad looking Ushigoroshi, Raj with a sloppy looking something, 450 ends it.
Fire Raj as quickly as you brought him back. You don’t need a comedically pathetic job guy when the roster is like 4 guys getting pushed and everyone else sucks. Stop being stupid. Ali still hates women too.
This Injury Report is the dumbest segment in the history of wrestling. Stop treating fake shit as “serious business”.
ASH by Elegance vs Lei Ying Lee
ASH mocks karate stuff, Lei throws a few Rising Crane kicks as ASH bails and then things slow down a little. But a Pump Kick, Sliding Kick and Low Dropkick cause ASH to cower and claim her tooth broke. It’s a bait to pull Lei into the turnbuckles and them get in a few stomps. Ash keeps Lei in the corner, Suplexes her ankles into the buckles and then Ash throws a few Booty Shots/Hit Attacks then starts a grounded stretch, Lei Headscissors her down, still sells the hips and ankles, but dodges and fires, combination strikes into the 10 Count Down Strikes. T-bone Suplex, into the pinfall, for only two.
Cheapshot into Running Meteora from ASH for two. Ash goes for the Miz Yes Kicks and Lei No Sells and asks for more. Gorgeous Capture Suplex into Thunder Struck and TKO with flair. My baby has a better finish now! Yay!
Mance Warner w/SDL vs Jobber
Hannifan cursing and being pissed at Trick for not even showing but is more entertaining than a squash match. Not that Mance’s offense is bad, but 2 out of 3 job matches is stupid.
.@milanmiracle and @AriannaGraceWWE make history as the first father/daughter tag team in TNA!
WATCH #TNAiMPACT on TNA+: https://t.co/GrBQpdX5g5 pic.twitter.com/3s8OhtYFPv
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) May 30, 2025
Santino Marella & Arianna Grace vs Robert Stone & Victoria Crawford w/Tessa
Marella tries to tie up with Robbie, but he bails and tags out to Victoria so Arianna comes in and aside from Alicia Fox’s silliness, the tie up was decent with Arianna and Victoria. Tessa interferes and the Referee throws her out. Victoria comes back in and aside from a slight miscommunication with how Arianna does her punches, Alicia Fox is making her look…pretty good. Transition moves, okay brawling and Arianna looks amazing in her outfit.
Rob and Santino distract the referee and Victoria hits a Figure Four into her Northern Lights Suplex, only for 2. Arianna finally Back Body Drop to find the tag, Santino and Rob, Santino does his split dodge into the Standing Headbutt, Arianna Cross Body onto Victoria. Rob pulls out the ref, then shoves the ref into Santino, Santino into the steps and Arianna attack but Alicia and Lish, the fix is in, Arianna eats the pin.
International Championship: Steve Maclin (c) vs Matt Cardona
A few quick brawl moves, Shoulder Tackles, Strikes, Back Breakers, Cardona does get dumped out and eats a SCUD. Maclin bounces Cardona’s face off the apron and hits an Elbow off the apron to keep Cardona reeling, but a dodged tackle sends Maclin into the steps. Cardona tries to Piledriver Maclin on the ramp, but Back Drop counter, into commercial.
Formulaic commercial etiquette of Cardona still in control, throws Maclin into the ropes, Diving Shoulder Tackle lays both dudes out and they get up by 8. Fighting Spirit spot, Cardona hits ropes and gets hit by Maclin twice, Thesz Press, Ground and Pound, Back Elbow and Olympic Slam has Maclin rolling. Splash into Lariat for two. Maclin has been all gas no brakes. Cardona tries to take a few shortcuts that turns into a Straight Jacket Takedown. Cardona to the top, Maclin cuts him off, Superplex spot. 1-2-kick out!
Maclin goes topside for a Jar Headbutt, Cardona hits the ropes so Maclin crashes into the corner, 2 Reboots connect, the third gets caught, counter into Busaiku Knee, Jar Headbutt. In and out, Cardona uses the middle rope for the Low Blow, Killswitch from Cardona but Maclin kicks out. Cardona dodges and shoves Maclin towards the ref, he puts the brakes on, Radio Silence! 1-2-Kick out! Maclin catches a top rope move, Power Bomb, Corner Splash, Tree of Woe, Caught in the Crosshairs, KIA and Maclin retains!
Overall Score: 4.5/10
Boring paint by numbers show, no Trick, System has one move, Robert Stone is a scumbag, too long to introduce new girls, lots of throw away segments and Rosemary sets up YET ANOTHER Monster’s Ball match. These aren’t interesting when there’s one every 3 months. So we can have terrible Monster’s Ball matches quarterly, Barbed Wire Massacre and Clockwork Orange House of Fun…BUT NO LOCKDOWN!?
Go home TNA, you’re drunk.
About Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)
WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)
THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)
FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)
SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast
CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)
TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends
Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5
Classic POD is WAR
Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!
Powered by RedCircle
Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
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Stuff happens, maybe it doesn't, Dreamer and Delirious can't book.
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