Impact: Mickie’s Last Rodeo continues, Honor No More does not

Bob Kapur

Impact: Mickie’s Last Rodeo continues, Honor No More does not

With a few weeks to go until the next Impact special event, Overdrive on November 13th, there are a few ongoing storylines to tie up, and some more that need to be developed. The biggest one that got resolved on Thursday night’s episode of Impact Wrestling was the ending of the Honor No More faction. Others that got advanced somewhat were Mickie James’ fight to keep her career alive, and the ever-growing target on the back of World Champion Josh Alexander. But even though there was a lot going on, there’s one thing that can help you absorb it all: believing in Joe Hendry.

The show started backstage where Matt Taven and Mike Bennett were complaining to Scott D’Amore about Impact being an unsafe working environment, mentioning the injuries suffered by Maria and Vincent last week when Heath and Rhino beat Taven and Bennett for Tag Team Championship. D’Amore said that he would assuage their concerns and ensure they would never be put in that kind of unsafe environment again. Because they were fired.

Match 1: Alan Angels vs. Trey Miguel – Round 1 match in the X-Division Championship tournament

Angels wrestled while wearing a dangly earring, which seems dangerous, but probably less dangerous than being backstage at his last employer. Miguel wore a necklace, which also seems a bit risky. Much of the match saw Angels dictating the pace, not allowing Miguel to use his blisteringly quick offence. Trey finally got free and unloaded with some kicks, and a duo of Running Knees. Angels blocked a Meteora attempt and hit an Elevated DDT for a near-fall. The scrappy Miguel fought back and finally did hit the Meteora, but shockingly, Angels kicked out.

Angels went for a big Lariat finish, but Miguel blocked it, and hit Lightning Spiral for the pin.

This was a good opener, though it was surprising to see Angels get so much against Miguel, including kicking out of the Meteora. Angels didn’t really show off any personality in this one nor was his in-ring anything to write home about. Hopefully he has something more, lest he just be seen as random low- to mid-carder.

Winner: Trey Miguel

In the back, Chris Bey and Ace Austin went into Bully Ray’s locker room where Bully was with Tommy Dreamer. They accused Bully of attacking Austin backstage last week, but he denied it and speculated that it was actually Moose who did it. Dreamer tried to play peacemaker, but Bey wasn’t hearing it, and challenged Dreamer to a match. Bully said he would be in Dreamer’s corner, but Dreamer said that Bully inserting himself into everything is causing all their problems, so told Bully to not interfere in the match, even if Austin does.

In the back, Gisele Shaw, Chelsea Green, and Deonna Purrazzo were trumpeting their win over the Death Dollz. They said tonight they would end the career of Mickie James during their six-woman tag match against James, Jordynne Grace, and Taylor Wilde. Apparently, Mickie’s “Last Rodeo” stipulation applies in tag team matches as well as singles matches.

Match 2: Tasha Steelz (w/ Savannah Evans) vs. Rachelle Scheel

Steelz hit a huge Kick to the Head right at the bell and then hit a Stunner that laid out Scheel. Instead of pinning Scheel, Steelz took the mic and expressed her disgust at being put in a match with such a lowly opponent. She called in Evans who hit Scheel with a huge Lariat, resulting in a disqualification. Steelz told Evans to continue the beating, and Evans obliged, hitting Scheel with a big Powerbomb.

Curious to see where this leads. If they’re trying to push Evans, her just hitting big moves is a good way to hide her extreme limitations in the ring. Steelz as her mouthpiece is a good idea, though. We’ll see how this goes.

Winner, by disqualification: Rachelle Scheel

The Motor City Machine Guns ran into Heath and Rhino in the back and sarcastically congratulated them on winning the Tag Team Championship. They reminded the champs that they were promised a title shot, and Heath and Rhino said they would gladly oblige, and suggested the Guns talk to management to set it up.

On their way to Scott D’Amore’s office, they ran into Brian Myers and Matt Cardona who were there to do the same thing. They started scuffling, and D’Amore came out of the office to break it up. D’Amore set up a match between Alex Shelley and Matt Cardona before storming off.

Match 3: Chris Bey (w/ Ace Austin) vs. Tommy Dreamer (w/ Bully Ray)

This was the epitome of the big man vs. little man match, and that’s not just a crack at Tommy’s weight. In the opening minute, Bully and Austin both made their presence known, as they jumped up on opposite sides of the apron and jawed at each other.

Bey’s quickness allowed him to hit and move, but the wily veteran Dreamer finally caught him and slowed down Bey’s momentum with a Cutter. Dreamer uncharacteristically went up top and hit a Superplex, and both men were in pain on the mat. During this pause in the action, Moose moosed his way to the ring and confronted Bully Ray about throwing out his name earlier. As they argued, Bey got up and went for a running attack on Dreamer, but Moose tripped him from the outside and then walked away, leaving Bully looking like the guilty party. Bey yelled at Bully, and Dreamer capitalized – or he tried to. Bey shoved off Dreamer’s attack and then hit the Art of Finesse to get the pin.

The match was fine for what it was. It was noted that Dreamer has been wrestling for 33 years as of tomorrow, and his pace and style reflect that. But this was really about furthering the tension between the Bullet Club and the ECW originals, Bully Ray and Moose (which should be a really good fight if and when it comes to pass), and possibly now even Bully and Dreamer (which probably won’t be really good, but could be neat if they bring in other ECW originals to make it a (dysfunctional) family affair).

Winner: Chris Bey

The Flashback Moment of the Week was from Slammiversary 2013, where Aces & Eights helped Bully Ray beat Sting in a hardcore match to retain the World Championship.

A pre-taped promo aired from Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis – collectively, Aussie Open. They said they had a plan to capture the Impact Tag Team Championship, and it started by beating every team in their way. To that end, they threw out an open challenge to any team who wants to face them next week.

In the back, Dreamer was trying to calm down Bully Ray, who was irate about what happened earlier. Bully said that he had come to Impact to do things the right way, and win the World Title straight up. But nobody trusts him or believes he can do things with integrity. Dreamer tried to assure Bully that everyone saw that Bully didn’t do anything wrong, and that they knew it was Moose. Bully was angry and it was clear that he and Moose are en route to a confrontation.

Match 4: Matt Cardona (w/ Brian Myers) vs. Alex Shelley (w/ Chris Sabin)

Cardona attacked Shelley before the bell, but Shelley recovered, and when the match officially began, Shelley was aggressive, beating up Cardona on the floor. Shelley continued his dominance in the ring, but interference by Myers behind the ref’s back allowed Cardona to take over. Cardona dominated for quite a while, until Shelley avoided a ReBoot, which bought him a comeback in the form of some big forearms and a Flying Forearm Smash.

Myers helped Cardona get his foot on the rope to break up a pinfall after Shelley hit a huge Tornado DDT, and this brought both Myers and Sabin into the mix. The Guns double-teamed Myers and took him out of the equation. But as the ref tried to roll Myers out of the way, Cardona clawed Shelley’s eyes and he hit Radio Silence – but only for a two count! Eventually, Myers’ Digital Media Championship belt got thrown into the ring, and there were some chaotic exchanges of moves and dirty shots by both teams. In the end, Myers hit Shelley with the title, and this let Cardona steal the pin. After the match, Myers and Cardona beat down the Guns until Heath and Rhino ran in for the save.

This was a bit of a mess. Cardona and Myers might be a tad more interesting than they have been in the past, but it’s really just grains of sand on the beach.

Winner: Matt Cardona

In the back, World Champion Josh Alexander and Rich Swann were talking when Gail Kim came in for a word with the champ. Kim warned Josh about trusting Bully Ray. Suddenly, Josh got attacked from out of nowhere by Steve Maclin, who had to be pulled away by security and Josh’s number one contender, Frankie Kazarian.

After a commercial break, Josh asked Frankie why he came to his aid. Frankie said that he was just looking out for his own interest, as he wanted Josh to have no excuse for not being able to wrestle at Overdrive. He said Josh could trust him to not do anything until Overdrive. Josh suggested they team up to take on Aussie Open to shut down their bragging. Frankie agreed and said they could team up next week to accept AO’s open challenge.

Match 5: Raj Singh (w/ Shera) vs. Joe Hendry

Hendry’s entrance music is absolutely tremendous. His pre-match promo was great, too. If you didn’t watch it, go find it online. And you will believe in Joe Hendry. Singh apparently does not believe in Joe Hendry, but he should have. Because Hendry beat him with little problem, ending things by planting Singh with the Standing Ovation (basically a High Side Tree Slam) for the 1-2-3.

Hendry is a fun character, and the audience seems to enjoy the schtick. While this match didn’t really show off much of his in-ring abilities, he’s pretty big and looks like a star. Keep an eye out on this one.

Winner: Joe Hendry

Eric Young and Deaner were in the bowels of the building with some Violent By Design recruits. Young said that VBD’s “revival of violence” begins next week when Young takes out Sami Callihan. And that the match will serve as a lesson for the recruits.

Eddie Edwards Interview

Gia Miller had a sit-down interview with Eddie Edwards, and asked him about the status of Honor No More. Eddie said that the faction is officially done. He noted that PCO had broken away from the group, Kenny King was focused on the X-Division Championship tournament, and Taven and Bennett had been fired, so there was nothing left of the group to salvage.

Gia asked him about the status of his marriage with Alisha, who had told him that he had to make a choice between HHM or her, but he refused to comment on that, other than to say that HNM’s mission was righteous and that he felt that fighting to bring back honour into the business was essential.

That being said, he regretted bringing in PCO under the assumption that it would take a monster to fight the monster of dishonour in the industry. But that PCO wasn’t a monster, but rather a little b—h, and that he would make PCO pay.

Match 6: Chelsea Green, Deonna Purrazzo, and Gisele Shaw vs. Taylor Wilde, Jordynne Grace, and Mickie James

If the co-ordination of outfits was any indicator on who would win the match, then you have to go with Deonna, Chelsea, and Gisele. Taylor and Mickie tried with matching rhinestone-covered leather jackets, but Grace didn’t have one. They all wore blue, but in different shades. But the yellow stripey gear worn by the heels was pretty much identical, and snappy to boot.

Match-wise, Mickie and Taylor both got a chance to shine early on, with Wilde in particular, serving it up to all of the opposing team. After a while, things broke down and all six women battled it out in the middle of the ring, leading to a commercial break.

When we got back, order was restored, and Wilde was still in control. Until some dirty tactics by Green and Purrazzo turned the tide, and they isolated Wilde in their corner. She broke free and tagged in Mickie, who fared well for a bit, until she got triple-teamed thanks to some sneaky cheating.

They took turns beating up Mickie, trying to end her career, using aggressive power moves by Shaw, and lots of chicanery from Chelsea and Deonna while Shaw distracted the ref.

Mickie finally got the tag to Jordynne, and this led to a parade of big moves by everyone, culminating with a Flying Thesz Press by Mickie onto Deonna for a near-fall. Some more attempted finishers – including a Doomsday Blockbuster by VXT (Purrazzo and Green) – but nobody could get the job done.

At one point, Shaw got cocky and started posing with Grace’s Knockouts Championship on the floor, earning her a big beatdown. As they fought on the floor, Wilde saved James from a double-team move by VXT, leading to Mickie hitting a Mick-DT on Green to get the pin and keep the Last Rodeo alive.

This was a good main event, and everyone got a chance to shine. Wilde hasn’t really lost a step despite not wrestling full-time for a long time, and being able to go against VXT is no easy task. The Last Rodeo is a fun storyline, but it obviously makes the outcome of Mickie’s matches pretty predictable – at least until she finally gets a title shot, which will be the payoff. Until then, as long as the matches are good, that’s as much as we can hope for. And this one was.

Winners: Taylor Wilde, Jordynne Grace, and Mickie James

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