Cero Reviews Impact Wrestling/HOG CODE RED

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Cero Reviews Impact Wrestling/HOG CODE RED

Post by cero2k » May 5th, '19, 22:15

Impact Wrestling Code Red
May 5, 2019
New York, NY

6-Way Scramble, If either champion is pinned, the title changes hands
Impact X-Division Champion Rich Swann vs Evander James vs Smiley vs Trey Miguel vs Ace Austin vs HOG Crown Jewel Champion Mantequilla - 6.5/10
This was the quintessential X-division multiman match with fast action, dives, and big spots. The wrestlers started the match with an Impact vs HOG face off and brawl. We saw several pair ups in the ring to do short sequences of counters and big moves. They all hit dives one after the other. They did a Tower of Doom spot, and the followed into hitting their signature moves and breaking each other’s pin attempts.

At the end, it was Ace Austin hitting The Fold on James, but getting the pin stolen by Rich Swann after a 450. Similar story being told between Ace Austin and Petey Williams, so it seems Ace is finally going to start chasing Swann on Impact. The HOG guys looked impressive, especially Mantequilla. Smiley showed a lot of athleticism for his size.

Sami Callihan Promo - He cut a promo on video, talking trash about Tommy Dreamer and about the older ECW guys that keep coming back for the spotlight.

HOG World Heavyweight Championship Match
Anthony Gangone (C) vs Moose vs Ken Broadway - 4.5/10
Gangone has the longest combined HOG championship reigns in the promotions history and is the smallest of the three men in the ring. Moose and Broadway being the bigger man, were just tossing each other all over the place with bombs and dives. Gangone’s approach was more of a speed one, trying to only take on one man at a time.

Finish saw Moose prepare to hit the No Jackhammer Needed, but then he stopped, flipped off the fans, and left to the back. In the ring, Gangone and Broadway traded a couple of near falls until Gangone hit Dreams by the Waterfall to retain the championship. Fans died towards the end, if Moose’s walk out seemed wasn’t a shoot, it sure as well was a weak way to get him out of the match.

The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) vs The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) - 7.5/10
This started out as a fast paced match, but Wentz would get the ring cut in half on him when he played into the fans, distracting himself. Dezmond came in for the hot tag, which didn’t last long when they went for their Hot Fire Flame move too early, but Josh pulled out Xavier, leaving Wentz to moonsault and crash. Razcals recovered and working as a team, but the better of Josh Alexander, getting a near fall after a second Hot Fire Flame when Page pulled out the referee from the ring. Wentz and Page brawled outside the ring, with the latter hitting a Uranage onto the apron.

Back in the ring, Page hit a Razor’s Edge and the Tornado of the North on Xavier to seal the deal and pick up the win. The North are establishing themselves as a top team, and if we had quarterly ‘Most Improved’ awards, Josh Alexander would get a nomination. Great match.

Michael Elgin Interview - Matt Striker interviewed Michael Elgin backstage. Elgin talked about sending a message to Cage and sending him to the hospital. He talked about defeated Johnny and Pentagon, and now he sends Willie Mack to the hospital. It seems like Striker has joined Impact Wrestling, just keep him away from the commentary table.

Tessa Blanchard & Violette vs Scarlet Bordeaux & Sonya Strong - 4/10
Tessa paired up with Sonya Strong for a quick sequence of reversals and counters. Violette and Scarlet came in and they low blowed each other, and I had never asked myself if low blows in women’s matches count. They actually went to have a good run with each other with Scarlet going for the corner hip attacks and stinkface early, but Viollette would cut her off as she and Tessa worked over Scarlet for a while, Tessa showing off her submission offense. Josh Matthews and Don Callis would speculate whether Scarlet vs Tessa was a tease of the future of the Knockout’s division.

Scarlet made a good comeback and tagged in Sonya Strong. She went against both women, but had a couple hiccups when working with Violette. Scarlet hit a big top rope plancha to the floor. Tessa went for a Dudebuster, but Scarlet reversed it into a Canadian Destroyer. Strong hit a Dragon Suplex on Violette, she went for a suplex on Tessa, but wasn’t strong enough to properly execute it. Tessa hit the corner Magnum and the Buzzsaw DDT for the pin.

This match really exposed how Tessa and Scarlet were just on a whole other level compared to the HOG women.

Willie Mack Interview - Melissa Santos interviewed Willie Mack about what he felt about fighting Michael Elgin. Mack just said some nonsense about Code Blue and walking out with the W.

Michael Elgin vs Willie Mack - 8.5/10
Really good back and forward match that made both men look like juggernauts in the ring. Started off as a hoss fight with shoulder tackles and strikes, and as it went on, the match got more athletic and with high impact moves and slams. At one point they both did fighting spirit spots that build to a clash of clotheslines in the middle of the ring, just two huge behemoths clashing. Big near falls after Elgin hit a Falcon Arrow and when Mack hit his Samoan Drop and Moonsault combination. Finish saw Elgin hit a huge Lariat and Celtic Bomb, followed by a Buckle Bomb and the Elgin Bomb to finally put down Mack. Best match so far in the show.

After the match, Elgin cut off a turnbuckle with a pair of scissors. He hit a Backfist on the ref who tried to stop him. Elgin went to hit a Buckle Bomb into the exposed turnbuckle, but Elgin reversed into a Slingshot and a Stunner. Mack has a big match on Thursday, so it’s good that he didn’t get put out, but it also served little purpose for Elgin to take a Stunner here. Completely unnecessary aftermatch.

Johnny & Taya Interview - Matt Striker interviewed Johnny Impact and Taya Valkyrie. Johnny was just arguing and venting over having to deal with meatheads Cage and Elgin, and now having to deal with a crazy Eddie Edwards. Taya told Johnny that Johnny should rest, because she would take out Alisha and they’d win the match. They made fun of Eddie and Alisha being from Boston. They’re so good together.

Johnny Impact & Taya Valkyrie (w/ Johnny Bravo) vs Eddie Edwards & Alisha - 7/10
This match has Inter-gender rules, which different from Mixed Match Rules, the men and women can fight each other. Johnny and Taya teased Eddie and Alisha for being a far sexier couple, while Johnny Bravo applauded. In response, Eddie and Alisha showed they were a fighting couple and started the attack.

The match mostly saw Eddie get the better of Johnny, while Taya would get the better of Alisha, and thus they traded momentum as they tagged in and out. Near fall came when Johnny hit a top rope Spanish Fly and a Shining Wizard for a two count. At one point, Eddie hit a dive on Eddie while Alisha hit a top rope plancha to the floor on both Johnny and Taya. They would trade blows in the ring, ending with both men superkicking their opponent’s spouses before kicking each other down to the fan’s “This is Impact” chant.

The Edwards hit a double DDT on the Impacts’ for a near fall. Johnny went for the Countdown to Impact on Alisha, but she moved away. Alisha hit a Tornado DDT on Johnny, but Bravo pulled the referee out to cut the pin. Eddie took out Bravo, but Johnny baseball kicked him off too. In the ring, Taya hit Alisha with Johnny’s Ultimate X cross, leaving her ready for Johnny to pin. This was a really fun match.

Impact Tag Team Championship 3-Way Match
LAX (Santana & Ortiz) (C) vs oVe (Dave & Jake Crist) vs The New York Wrecking Krew (Chris Seaton and Smooth Blackmon) - 8/10
LAX are also the HOG Tag Team Champs, but those titles are not on the line up to my knowledge. Lucha tag rules in this match, with two men in the ring. Match started with the wrestlers pairing up for quick sequences before each team had a chance to work on someone in particular and get some of their tag moves in. oVe being the only outside team in the match, had the most time to work on Santana, who they cut the ring in half on. LAX and NYWK mostly came in and out until the end when they had a good run against each other.

There was a spot with Dave Crist doing a top rope moonsault onto the floor, but his foot landed straight on the metal guardrail and seemed stuck for a second. A minute later, LAX would take out Jake Crist in the ring to retain the championships. The referees were looking over Dave Crist right when they cut the camera shot to the announcing table, so I wasn’t able to see if he was helped out to the back.

Good match overall except for that scary spot with Dave Crist. NY Wrecking Krew looked good, they have potential, they reminded me of something between the Dark City Fight Club and BLK-OUT.

Tommy Dreamer Promo - Tommy Dreamer cut a promo backstage. He said he decides when his career will end and not Callihan. He talked about Sami being just a kid while he has been all over the place. He said that they’re both going to go all out and never be the same again.

oVe Rules Street Fight Match
Sami Callihan vs Tommy Dreamer - 6/10
Callihan jumped Tommy during his entrance and thus started the brawl at the ramp. They made their way to the ring, where Dreamer got time to recover. They brought out weapons from early in the match, trading each other shots with the actual trash cans from the show, at one point Dreamer ate something from the garbage. They used the ringbell, an old ECW Championship replica belt, chairs, water bottles, turnbuckle hooks, and a puppet, among other weapons.

As they started chasing the finish, Tommy Dreamer brought out a bunch of Legos, where he hit Callihan with a cutter. Dreamer brought out a door while Sami got his bat, which Dreamer got straight to his gut before taking the Cactus Special through the door for the loss. Ok match, a lot of weapon spots, but considerably a slower pace than the previous match.

Dreamer seemed hurt at the end, Don Callis and the doctor were looking over him as the show went off the air.

OVERALL THOUGHTS
This was an ok show. Impact talent looked strong all around, specially when paired up with the HOG talent, who for the most part, looked like indie talent. The production was great, proof that the United We Stand show’s issues were out of Impact’s hands. Elgin vs Mack, and the tag team triple threat are the two matches I'd recommend checking out.
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