Tonight was a night of Title fights and tense fighting, as IMPACT Wrestling present Turning Point. Eddie Edwards received a shot at the Impact World Championship, currently held by Moose, and Scott D’Amore sanctioned a Full Metal Mayhem match, where metal items and a steel will are the deciding factors that will be no holds barred. Can Edwards get back the title he once held, or is the member of Moose Nation able to defend the belt?
We’ll find out as we come to you live from Sam’s Town Casino, in Las Vegas NV. Your commentators Matt Striker and D’Lo Brown (the “Hot” Rod Hundley and Ron Boone of professional wrestling) have the call, and you gotta love it, baby!
The preshow starts and we get…
FinJuice (David Finlay and Juice Robinson) vs. Rohit Raju/ Raj Singh
This was originally billed as FinJuice vs. Decay members Black Taurus and Crazzy Steve, but I guess there were travel issues with Taurus, hence why the phrase, “the card is subject to change” was born. Match was all FinJuice, and they get the “W” with a Doomsday Device finisher.
Your Winners via Pinfall: Fin Juice
And here is the first of the title defenses of the night…
IMPACT Digital Media Championship: Jordynne Grace (c) (with Rachael Ellering) vs. Chelsea Green
This was a fast-paced match that still displayed Grace’s power while emphasizing Green’s speed and offense. But move was Grace getting a nice delayed gorilla press to a slam. Grace attempts a Vader Bomb, but Green rolls out and she misses the mark. The match goes back and forth with each hitting impressive offensive moves. Grace goes for a muscle buster, but it gets reversed by Green to a Gory Special for a close two count. Finally, Grace stops Green in her tracks with a electric chair to a hot shot on the top rope to stuns her, and then a Grace Driver is enough for the pin and he win.
Your Winner, and Still IMPACT Digital Media Champion: Jordynne Grace
Now Impact Wrestling starts and we go to the First Match of the night…
Chris Sabin (with Madman Fulton) vs. Ace Austin
Austin is wearing an “I beat Chris Sabin” shirt for that nice Terry Funk-style heat, since he apparently has beaten Sabin, and wants to shove that message down his throat. The match is all Sabin taking it to the cocky Austin. At one point, Sabin hits the second ropes, and Austin catches him in a Russian leg sweep that had both men slip on the second rope and almost end in disaster, but Austin covers for a two count. From there, it’s all Aces for Austin as he throws every bit of offense at the veteran, but he just can’t put Sabin away. Sabin goes up top, but Fulton distracts the ref as Austin goes up the turnbuckle, but Sabin knocks to tree of woe and a delayed basement dropkick and a tope suicida to Fulton outside. Sabin is feeling like this is his chance, and tries to get ready to put away Austin, but Fulton again attempts outside interference to clock Sabin. Austin gets ready to wear the shirt for The Fold finisher, but Sabin reverses it for the Cradle Shock and the win.
Your Winner via Pinfall: Chris Sabin
Sabin rips the shirt off Austin’s carcass and holds it like a trophy going to the back
Now for some violence, by design if you will, we get…
Heath and Rhino vs. Violent By Design (Eric Young and Joe Doering, with Deaner)
Since Rhino broke away from the Dark Side of VBD, and rejoined his friend, Young and company has their sights set on destroying both men. Young comes to the Ring wearing a Casey Jones-style mask that straight outta “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, but the fans are solidly behind Rhino and Heath. Early in the match Deaner interferes in full view of the referee, who ejects him from ringside. It doesn’t make a difference as VVBD are able to isolate Heath, making him your Ginger in Peril, with fans chanting “Heath’s Got Kids.”
As Young tries to set up a big offensive move, Heath pushes Young to Doering to get the hot tag to Rhino, and he is your Man Beast En Fuego, cleaning house, and getting Young in a belly to belly suplex to cover, but Doering breaks up count. All four men come in and it’s a Pier Four brawl, but Young gets his mask to whack Rhino on the head to cover for the three count.
Your Winner via Pinfall: Violence by Design
Gia Miller is backstage with Eddie Edwards regarding facing Moose, with the history those men have had. Edwards acknowledges that he’s fought with Moose before, and this is a new moment, as it’s for the championship. Edwards has been there, and doesn’t care for how Moose got the title, but he will beat the respect into him as he becomes the new champion.
Rich Swann (w/ Willie Mack) vs. VSK (with Zickey Dice)
This match was supposed to be Swann against Bob Kapur’s Favorite Wrestler ™, Brian Myers, but again, the card is subject to change and his prized pupil VSK will be in his place.
Swann in control for most of the match, but VSK is no slouch either, as he has some great offense where he gets Swann with a backbreaker to a lungblower combo for a pin attempt for a two count. VSK sends Swann to the ropes for a clothesline, but Swann dodges to a springboard cutter and a flying stomp for two. One corkscrew Phoenix splash gets the pin and the win for Swann.
Your Winner via Pinfall: Rich Swann
Video vignette of Matt Cardona against Moose a few weeks ago, as he was just inches away from winning a title shot until Moose pinned him to earn the victory and the shot, which he used to pin Josh Alexander. Cardona wants a shot again, and W. Morrissey says he’s standing in his way. So now, we got…
Matt Cardona vs. W. Morrissey
As Cardona enters the ring is a spike studded pink jack, Striker makes a crack that it looked like it was inspired by indie wrestle Effy (ha!). Cardona is able to hold his own against the big man with an enzugiri stuns the big man to the outside, followed by a basement pendulum dropkick to Morrissey. Cardona goes to the well once too often with the pendulum dropkick, and Morrissey grabs his legs and swings his head to the steel steps. From there, Morrissey is in the driver’s seat, and he delivers more pain to Cardona, slamming him to the ring edge, then to the ring post and then to a choke slam on the ring apron edge to get him back in the ring to cover for a two count. Morrissey tries to put Cardona away, and goes for a powerbomb attempt, but Cardona escapes, and he shoves Morrissey to the ref and hits the Radio Silencer and covers, but the ref is still out. Cardona goes over to get the ref on his feet, but Moose hits the ring and spears Cardona in half, and Morrissey covers for a pin.
Your Winner via Pinfall: W. Morrissey
D’Lo keeps saying “Damn you, Moose!” and I am fighting the urge to make it a drinking game, lest I go blind.
We get another video package of The IInspiration getting the IMPACT Knockout tag belts from The Decay, and then they get the get Undertaker-style mind games from Rosemary and Havok and Rosemary. Cassie Lee and Jessie McKay are very freaked out, but this is the rubber match tonight for the…
Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship: The IInspiration (Cassie Lee and Jessie McKay) (c) vs. Decay (Havok and Rosemary)
Striker once again with the zinger that Lee and McKay’s raided Harlem Heat’s wardrobe for their ring gear (double ha!). As the bell rings, Decay ain’t playing, as they fight IInspiration up to the ramp at the start. Double ripcord to Lee by Decay, but then the McKay and Lee gets creative (IInspired, even) with some shady double teaming to Havok. Best move of the night has IInspiration get Rosemary on the outside, as Lee nails a 619 to her back, and then McKay and Lee deliver and a nice dropkick/powerbomb to Rosemary to the floor that is damned good. IInspired, if you will.
(Okay, I’ll stop now)
Havok comes back in the ring and cleans house and works over McKay, but Lee rakes her eyes in the corner and McKay covers with feet on ropes for the cheap win.
Your Winners and still Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions: The IInspiration
Backstage again with Gia Miller joined by Chris Sabin. He was going to rip up the shirt Austin wore and wipe his butt with it, but then he realized it was a good quality shirt, so he fixed the shirt to say “I Am Chris Sabin.” Nicely done, and proves medical tape has multiple purposes.
Trey Miguel holds the X-Division title, but Steve Maclin says he is unbeaten, and hasn’t suffered one loss. Miguel wants that “W” over Maclin, and wants to achieve it in the…
Three Way Match for the Impact X Division Championship: Trey Miguel (c) vs. Laredo Kid vs. Steve Maclin
Folks, this is a lightning fast match that human eyes will find hard to believe. I tried to rewind, but wasn’t able to with the IMPACT Plus app. Since there is no proper way to cover this in any conventional sense, these are the big moves I was able to capture of the action:
One insane move has Maclin get Laredo Kid in an electric chair and Miguel goes for a huracanrana that doesn’t quite rotate fully as the crashed to the outside floor. Miguel goes to Maclin, and he delivers with a psycho knee.
Miguel and Kid slug out Mano y Mano on the top rope, then Kid manages to get a reverse ‘rana to Maclin and then hits a Laredo Fly on Miguel up top to cover for a two count. Kid goes to Maclin and attempts the 450 splash, and he gets his knees up. Maclin gets the Mayhem for All (Michinoku driver) finisher to cover, but a Meteora by Miguel comes outta nowhere to Maclin. This sets up a messy looking finish, where Miguel pins both Maclin and Kid, but the ref only sees Kid and pins for the three.
Your Winner and Still IMPACT X-Division Champion: Trey Miguel
Even though Miguel still retains, Maclin raised his shoulder so he is still unpinned, to Miguel’s chagrin.
Another video package of Mercedes Martinez coming to IIMPACT, and she wants the Knockouts title, held by Mickie James who won it from Deonna Purrazzo. James respected Martinez, but after she ambushed her, respect is out the window, as we head to the ring for the…
Impact Knockouts Championship Match: Mickie James (c) vs. Mercedes Martinez
David Penzer is in the ring with boxing style intros. Bell rings, and we get a collar and elbow tie up, and neither woman gets the advantage. Even though James is showing that champion poise, Martinez proves to be too powerful, and delivers a buckle bomb to the champ. Now Martinez get in her offense with a fisherman’s buster, but James has the ring savvy and grabs the ropes to break the pin count. James tries for an armbar, but Martinez rolls her to a pin attempt for a two count. Now James attempts with thrust kicks, and Martinez reverses to an Air Raid and covers for another two count. Martinez ramps it up with Razors Edge, but James wriggles out. She goes to a Mickie-DT, but Martinez reverses with a half nelson suplex for another two count.
Martinez sends the champ to the corner, and goes up top and hammers James’ back and delivers a beautiful spider German suplex that folds James in half. She gets down, and covers for still another two count. Martinez goes for a surfboard to a dragon sleeper, but James doesn’t allow the lock, and gets out and nails Martinez with a short arm DDT. Once again, James goes for a Mickie-DT, but it’s scouted and Martinez tries a suplex, up top James reverses it to a pendulum DDT for the win.
Your Winner, and still IMPACT Knockouts Champion: Mickie James
After the match, Deonna Purrazzo scrambles in, and gets The Virtuosa locked in, along with a Piledriver. Purrazzo gets on the mic, and says she wants her title at Hard to Kill.
Backstage, Gia Miller is with Scott D’Amore, who confirms the rematch clause Purrazzo exercised. He says he wanted to do it another way, but she will do what she wants. That leads D’Amore to says that at IMPACT, they’ve revolutionized the game and the matches, and now the title will be on the line at the Hard to Kill PPV…but will be an Ultimate X match.
Hmm, I think I need to see his play out.
We get another vignette showing he breakdown of the Good Brothers versus Bullet Club, and…yeah, let go to the…
Tag team match for the Impact World Tag Team Championship: The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) (c) vs. Bullet Club (Chris Bey and Hikuleo)
(Author’s Rant: Folks I just can’t take this seriously. That’s not to say I don’t think Chris Bey and Hikuleo aren’t good wrestlers… they’re just not good as part of Bullet Club. If I have to be honest, they’re basically “Bargain Basement Bullet Club.” Now if it was Guerillas of Destiny, *THEN* I can see why this is a big deal, but these guys…? This is a good match as a regular Impact match. As a PPV match, I’m just not sold.)
Let me offer the following haiku to sum up the match, for your reading pleasure:
Bullet Club Ain’t Fine.
Good Brothers bounce Bey around.
They are just…Too Sweet
Your Winners and Still IMPACT Tag Team Champions: The Good Brothers
Striker and Brown plugging for the Throwback Throwdown for December 18th, and then the “Walking Weapon” Josh Alexander comes out “unscheduled “ as fans chant, “Get The Belt Back”. In the Ring, Alexander talks about beating Minoru Suzuki a couple of weeks ago, and he just isn’t happy. D’Amore told him to get emotions in check, and he’ll have a seat up front for this main event and he will have the belt back.
The lights start to flick and then the IMPACT Tron come on to announce Jonah. Alexander starts at the ramp, and the former Bronson Reed) comes out from behind and punks Alexander. Jonah just lays out the Walking Weapon, and nails two big splashes, and Alexander is bleeding from the mouth and nose, as Jonah smiles at his handiwork.
Indeed, that was a good Impact to the show.
Now let’s head to the Main Event…
Full Metal Mayhem match for the Impact World Championship: Moose (c) vs. Eddie Edwards
Once again, Penzer delivers the boxing style intros, and as the bell rings, both men stare daggers at each other, as dueling “Ed-die/Moose” chants fill Sam’s Town. Edwards starts hammering away with forearm, but Moose answers back with his own. It then devolves to chops to “woo” the crowd, as it were. A snap German suplex by Edwards makes Moose angry, and he rushes at Edwards, but he backdrops Moose to a table for the only “Holy S***” chant of the night. Edwards then introduces a steel garbage can to the lower back of Moose.
Edwards gets in the ring and attempts a tope suicida, and Moose slams a metal tray at his head. Edwards shakes it off and goes for another tope suicida that lands, and Moose is knocked to the ramp. Edwards doubles up with two trays that bounces off Moose’s skull. Edwards runs at Moose, who powerbomb tosses him to the ramp. Moose gets a steel chair and drives it to Edwards’ windpipe. Moose then slows the pace in the ring, and attempts to send Edwards to a table on the outside, but Edwards fights back and nails a DVD to the ring apron edge that don’t catch all of the edge. A fan give Edwards a drink (and I hope that fan was vaccinated), and Edwards gets fired up and throws a chair at Moose. Now Edwards gets a ladder in play, but Moose powerbombs Edwards on apron edge, and again on table at ringside. Moose goes for a ladder…
And that is the point when the feed cuts out. As I started to curse out Comcast, God, any politician I have hated, and the city of Provo, UT. for this insult and fire up a cattle prod, it turns out that I wasn’t having the only problem. IMPACT acknowledged the issue via Twitter, and apologized for this problem. Still, I expect this nonsense on the Peacock streaming app during WWE WrestleMania, and that is one of the reasons I do not flock to the ‘cock…but that is a rant for another day.
After a quick refresh of the app, and a refresh of beverages for me, we go back to Edwards with Moose laid out in ring. Edwards gets some scissors to cut the cords holding the ring apron, and he pulls back cover to expose wood beams. Edwards gets Moose on the boards, but reverses to a uranage to boards. Edwards is winded and tries to pull himself up and Moose ends this with a spear and it’s over in one, two, and three.
Your Winner, and Still IMPACT World Champion: Moose
Moose hold the title high, as the show fades to black. Damn you, Moose!
Final Thoughts:
I was prepared to give the show a lower rating, given the tag match with Good Brothers and “Bargain Basement” Bullet Club, and the feed cutting out during the Main Event.
However, there was more good than bad, specifically the Knockouts Title matches (all of them), and Bronson Reed is enjoying his future endeavors at Josh Alexander’s expense. Also, the announcement of Ultimate X for the Knockouts title between Mickie James and Deonna Purrazzo? Yes, please.
Bob Kapur will be back next time, so send your thoughts/hate mail to me at the mail address down below, and see ya next PPV!
