By John Moore, Prowrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
Impact Wrestling vs. Lucha Underground
Aired live on Twitch TV from New Orleans, Louisiana at The Sugar Mill
A combination of the Impact intro and Lucha Underground footage aired. Matt Striker and Josh Mathews (the throwback WWE commentary team no one asked for) checked in on commentary as Striker counted the commentary team in. Striker acknowledged that they used to work together in WWE…
Melissa Santos and McKenzie Mitchell made their entrance to hype up the crowd. Excuse me if I can’t pick up the audio, it is a bit rough. Melissa Santos was dropping F Bombs which fired up the crowd. Mathews noted that the opening match will have three Lucha Underground wrestlers and three Impact wrestlers in a six way…
1. Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Jack Evans vs. Matanza Cueto vs. Caleb Konley vs. Moose vs. Matt Sydal. Jack Evans is bald all of a sudden. Matanza is more well known internationally as Jeff Cobb. Moose came to the ring wearing beads and Josh said he was calling himself Mr. Impact (wait? I thought that was Johnny Impact?). Moose immediately went face to face with Matanza. Matanza and Moose cleaned house. Matanza and Moose tried to run into each other with no success. Matanza shoved Moose to the ground but Moose responded with a kip up and dropkick.
With Matanza gone Jack Evans and Chavo got rid of Moose from the ring. Jack Evans took out Chavo and Konley with an armdrag. Sydal hit an impressive spinning wheel kick on a springboard Jack Evans. More madness ensued. Konley and Guerrero had a slower paced technical battle. Konley used a leg sweep to dispose Chavo to the outside. Matanza clotheslined Konley out. Moose and Matanza took each other out with pump kicks. Moose dropkicked Matanza off the top turnbuckle. Konley gave Matanza and Chavo a suicide dive.
Sydal took out the trio with a moonsault. Jack Evans hit a top rope springboard Asai Moonsault. Evans hit a corkscrew roundhouse and standing corkscrew moonsault on Sydal. Striker joked that Evans without the long hair might be more aerodynamic. Moose cleaned house with a spear and dropkick to Sydal and Evans. Konley blocked a Go To Hell with a huracanrana and cleaned Moose from the ring. Konley was trapped and given a twist fisherman by Matanza. Matamza hit the Wrath of the Gods on Konley for the win.
Matanza Cueto defeated Caleb Konley, Chavo Guerrero, Moose, Matt Sydal, and Jack Evans via pinfall in 6:39.
Matanza walked around the ring in his calm trance.
John’s Thoughts: A really fun multi-person match with each wrestler getting their moves in while also coming out looking stronger. Matanza sold more than he usually does but he usually stands out in a good way when he gives people those twisting suplexes. Jack Evans is someone I would like to see in Impact Wrestling since I feel like Lucha Underground hasn’t gotten the most they could out of him. Evans is fun to watch and can do some cool aerial stuff in the ring.
Chavo Guerrero entered the ring for a promo. Chavo hyped up the crowd about the dual brand clash. Chavo said Lucha Underground tries to top the quality of the last season. Chavo pointed to the big screen and a Lucha Underground Season 4 Trailer played. It was a teaser that showed the wrestlers we already knew were in the show. Matt Striker noted that Lucha Underground was back June 13…
Taya Valkyrie came out next in her Impact Wrestling gimmick. The crowd chanted Wera Loca (Crazy White chick) because they were more familliar with her and not the Impact Zone.
2. Allie vs. Taya Valkyrie for the Impact Knockouts Championship. The kid referee was the ref. Taya dominated early on with a belly to belly toss. Allie tried to fire herself up with shoulder tackles but Taya nosold them and got Taya to the ground. Allie landed two armdrags but Taya used her core to block a third. Allie adjusted with a flying crossbody. Rosemary sent Allie into the corner and gave Allie a Meteora to the back of the head. Taya hit a double legdrop to the gut of Allie. Striker noted that Taya is usually at her best when she is put in a corner.
Taya and Allie traded strong chops. Taya dominated with a flurry of chest slaps. Allie got in a nice armtrap pin attempt. Taya escaped and gave Allie clubbing blows. Taya dominatd Allie and was able to gloat. Taya baited Allie and Allie dropkicked air which allowed Taya to continue her dominance. Allie tried to mount offense but Taya hit a reverse X Factor on her for a two count. Allie hulked up and took it to Taya. Allie hit a nice basement forearm. Allie managed to get a two count out of it.
Allie caught Taya with a reverse STO and dropkick to the booty of Taya to get a nearfall. Taya reversed a shortarm move with a German Suplex. Taya planted Allie and hi triple running meteoras to the head of Allie against the turnbuckle. Allie kicked out at two. Matt Striker commended Allie nice kickout technique. Allie got a nearfall after a DDT. Allie used a headscissors to float over to a Codebreaker for the win.
Allie defeated Taya Valkyrie via pinfall in 9:15 to retain the Impact Knockouts Championship.
Allie received a huge amount of boos due to this being a pro Lucha Underground crowd. A Global Wrestling Network ad aired on Twitch.
John’s Thoughts: A really good women’s match with both women playing to their strengths. I’m liking Allie’s work as Champion so far. The ending was a bit abrupt though and it did make Taya look a bit weak. I know this is non-canon, but I don’ think it was a smart decision to put Taya and Allie in a match before they meet on TV. If they wanted to do Lucha Underground vs. Impact, make it non-title and use someone like Ivelisse or Cheerleader Melissa. By the way, we’re getting the good version of Matt Striker tonight at least for me. I tend to geek out over Judo or Jujitsu references.
3. “Ohio vs. Everything” Jake and Dave Crist vs. Scott Steiner and Teddy Hart. Teddy Hart hit the Crist Brothers with a moonsault. Hart then beat up on both OVE members with power moves. Jake managed to turn the table on Teddy Hart. There was a botch on the tag because I saw it and the commentators did, but Steiner never entered. OVE isolated Hart in their corner with tandem offense. Jake took down Hart with a spinning heel kick. The crowd wanted that they wanted Steiner. Jake used his forearm to smother Hart in the OVE corner. Hart tried to fight his way out of the corner but he ate a Yakuza kick from Dave. The Crist brothers continued the isolation.
Teddy ran over Jake Crist and hit him with a victory roll slam. He then tagged in Scott Steiner for the hot tag where he walked around and did his signature offense. Jake went high risk and right into a Flatliner from Steiner. Steiner hit Dave with a catch fisherman suplex. Steiner then locked in the Steiner Recliner on Jake for the submission win.
Scott Steiner and Teddy Hart defeated Jake and Dave Crist via submission in 7:24.
John’s Thoughts: This was what you would expect with Steiner’s limited mobility. Steiner played his role well as the nostalgia guy and didn’t look terrible. As expected, Teddy Hart did a bulk of the selling and the Crist Brothers provided a ton of movement.
The Luchador trio of King Cuerno (El Hijo Del Fantasma), Drago, and Aerostar made their entrance. Aerostar brought a aerosol can and lighter to shoot off a makeshift flamethrower.
John’s Thoughts: Random side story from The Temple in Los Angeles. One time Aerostar decided to bring a real flamethrower to the ring for an Ultima Lucha match. He forgot to disengage the weapon and the ring started to set on fire. Thankfully the referees successfully stomped it out.
4. King Cuerno, Drago, and Aerostar vs. Andrew Everett, DJZ, and Dezmond Xavier. Everett and Drago started off the match with Everett landing the headscissors and dominating. Aerostar and DJZ tagged in. Mathews noted that Aerostar had lights in his mask. Aerostar dominated. Zema tagged in and hit a jawbreaker on Aerostar. Cuerno and Xavier tagged in. Xavier showed off and had the edge in the chain wrestling exchange. Xavier hit a few strikes and caught Cuerno with a dropkick. Cuerno gained control and brawled with Xavier in the corner. Cuerno was bleeding in the chest.
Xavier caught Cuerno with a high elbow. Xavier blocked a Tope Suicida with a step up enzuiguri. Xavier responded with a cutter. Tags were made. Aerostar and Drago dominated DJZ but DJZ hit them both with a wall run DDT. Xavier took out everyone with a corkscrew somersault. Everett went for a move but was yanked out of the air by Cuerno. Drago entered the ring and hit the outside with his own corkscrew flip. Aerostar hit a springboard splash to the outside. Cuerno went for the Arrow from the Depths of hell but Andrew Everett blocked it with a dropkick which drew boos. Everett hit a corkscrew moonsault outside.
Many moonsaults and splashes ensued. Aerostar used a splash to break a pin attempt against his team. Aerostar hit DJZ with a rolling cutter. Xavier broke up the close nearfall. Xavier hit a Tiger Feint Kick around the ringpost on Aerostar. Cuerno broke up the pin attempt in the ring. Everett used a Disaster Kick to stop Cuerno from hitting a Thrill of the Kill on Xavier. Cuerno escaped a 50. Cuerno locked in a nice aggressive Indian deathlock to pick up the submission win on Everett.
King Cuerno, Drago, and Aerostar defeated Andrew Everett, DJZ, and Dzmond Xavier via submission in 9:45.
The six wrestlers shared handshakes and hugs after the match. A Gail Kim music video package aired to advertise a Gail Kim DVD…
John’s Thoughts: For viewers who haven’t watched Lucha Underground, this was your typical undercard X Division style hype match. It was well wrestled. One that that gets old is the rapid flips to the outside but it’s usually up the the wrestlers to mix that up. The wrestlers here did a good job with the mixing up of things. It was good to see DJZ back in the ring. It was a bit sad not to see Cuerno’s signature high speed Suicide Dive.
Famous B cut a promo before the match. It was his usual promo where he told people to call 423-GET-FAME (The number actually works, or at least it did a year ago). Famous B was advertised originally to face Trevor Lee but Famous B swerved everyone by putting Marty the Moth Martinez (Martin Casaus from Tough Enough).
5. Trevor Lee (w/ Caleb Konley) vs. Marty the Moth Martinez (w/ Famous B). Marty hit Lee with a Tope Con Hilo on the outside and also hit Caleb Konley. Famous B hit Konley with a superkick. Lee hit Marty with a running punt kick from the apron. Lee slammed Marty’s head against the turnbuckle. Marty went into crazy mode and put his own head in the turnbuckle to taunt Lee. Lee hit a power bomb on Marty for a two count. Striker went into annoying mode (but on purpose, he’s doing it for laughs). Marty fired up and hit a rally of moves on Lee. Marty planted Lee with a flapjack. Marty got a nearfall after a double underhook Impaler DDT. Konley stopped Marty enough to allow Lee to dodged a moonsault. Trevor Lee won with a hand full of tights.
Trevor Lee defeated Marty the Moth via pinfall in 5:10.
Famous B and Marty the Moth shared a hug after the match…
John’s Thoughts: I really liked the bait and switch here. With Famous B, he’s a comedy and enhancement wrestler for Lucha Underground so you would have gotten goofy Trevor Lee if that were the match. Instead they replaced him with one of Lucha Underground’s best technical and character wrestlers. I’m shocked they ended the match so soon but I’m guessing it’s so they don’t go long with the show. Lee got to show some of what makes him a highly touted wrestler here while also staying true to his goofy character.
Willie Mack and Killshot came out first to Mack’s theme. Matt Stryker noted that Killshot and Mack are two thirds of the Lucha Underground Trios Champions. Santana and Ortiz made their entrance, not with Konnan, but with the returning Diamante. Striker said he knew Santana and Ortiz from growing up in New York. ..
6. “The Latin American XChange” Santana and Ortiz (w/ Diamante) vs. Killshot and Willie Mack for the Impact Wrestling Tag Team Championships. Striker went into some of the exposition for Mack and Killshot for viewers unfamiliar with their backstory. Ortiz hit a nice armdrag on Ortiz. Killshot hit a kick on Ortiz. Killshot kicked out of a straightjacket pin attempt. Santana hit Killshot with a slingshot swanton and a Ortiz dropkick hit Killshot. Killshot made it to his feet and challenged Santana to a slap battle. Ortiz won the battle. Killshot hit a feint kick to the knee of Santana and then his signature jumping piston kick.
Mack tagged in and the crowd cheered. Mack showed off his superior agility, despite his body type. Mack hit an armdrag on Santana. Mack surprised Santana with a handstand on the corner. He jiggled a bit. Mack hit an impressive missile shoulder tackle on Santana. Mack tagged in Killshot for some tandem offense on Santana. Killshot tried a arm trap pin but Ortiz broke up the pin. Killshot made it to Mack to continue the isolation of Santana. Mack showed off strength with a Deadlift German Ortiz weighed himself down and hit Mack with a rolling cutter.
LAX hit Mack with tandem offense. Ortiz walked the plan onto Mack. The crowd gave the moment an ovation. Mack shook up Ortiz and hit an Exploder on ortiz. Ortiz rolled away and tagged in Santana. Santana knocked down Killshot with a running Yakuza. Madness ensued. Lots of kicks and knees. Santana went for a Gorilla Press but Killshot hit a popup curb stomp on Santana to leave everyone lying. Santana and Mack were the legal men with the crowd chanting “this is awesome”. Mack ran at Santana with a forearm and pump kick. Mack tossed Killshot like a dart into santana.
Mack hit a cannonball senton on Santana. Ortiz broke up the pin attempt. Killshot got Ortiz in a top rope Fireman Carry . Ortiz threw Ortiz into Mack for a Monty Brown pounce. Santana stood down Mack and Killshot and dominated them with Fighting Spirit slaps. Mack and Killshot hit a popup roundhouse on Santana. Mack and Killshot hit Santana with a sweet double stomp power bomb for a nice nearfall. Lax hit an ugly back drop. Striker covered for it by saying that the loss of balance made for a painful move. Santana hit a lionsault for a nice nearfall.
Santana hit Killshot with a nice cannonball senton followed by LAX hitting their signature Power Bomb Blockbuster for the win.
The Latin American Xchange defeated Willie Mack and Killshot via pinfall in 13:14
Matt Striker noted that Konnan was still recovering from his hip surgery and he wished Konnan well. killshot and Mack got an ovation afterward as they were the fan favorites.
John’s Thoughts:That was a very fun match that delivered from the hype. Mack and Killshot are well known for having great matches around the world but Santana and Ortiz keep getting better and better after coming out of nowhere before 2017. LAX is hands down the best part of Impact’s 2017. The outcome wasn’t in question since this is non-canon and we would have known about a title change at the tapings. That said the nearfalls were still well done. If I were Impact, I’d try to bring in Killshot and Mack as a tag team. They still only have two tag teams. You can also get even more out of the duo as singles wrestlers.
Eli Drake came out for one of his usual promos. he heeled on the crowd. Drake pointed out the obvious that the crowd were cheering Lucha Underground and booing Impact Wrestling. Striker noted that Eli Drake looks like Shooter McGavin from Happy Gillmore. Brian Cage came out to his Impact theme.. Josh Mathews put over Cage beating Lashley twice. Drake cut a hard to hear promo. He tried to suck up to Cage by saying that he’s familiar working with him by working together in Impact.
7. Eli Drake vs. Brian Cage. Drake tried to cheap shot Cage but Cage saw it coming. Cage dominated Drake easily. Cage yelled “I’m a F**king maching” but Eli Drake hit Cage with a flapjack and ended up gaining control with precision strikes. Drake used a rope to hit a catipult on Cage. Josh Mathews tried to stress that Drake’s wrestling style is very similar to Matt Strikers. Drake hit Cage with a nice neckbreaker. The crowd did the Terminator theme clap to fire up Cage (Take that Impact Zone!!!). Drake dodged a discus lariat and hit a slam on Cage. Drake hit his signature theatrical elbow for a one count. Striker questioned the decision by Cage to wear KT Tape. Striker said it puts a target on a body part.
Cage fired up and hit some strikes on Drake. Cage hit the Reality Check on Drake. Drake was tossed by a Cage release German. Drake retreated to the apron. Cage hit Drake with his signature deadlift suplex. Cage got the crowd to get back to the Terminator claps. Drake fired up and hit a quick superplex on Cage from the top rope. Cage blocked Drake’s BFT but Drake landed a swinging neckbreaker. Cage hit the discus lariat on Drake. Drake kicked out at two. Cage hit Drake with this odd armdrag move to pick up the win.
Brian Cage defeated Eli Drake via pinfall in 7:07.
John’s Thoughts: Cage did a lot of selling for Eli Drake, more than he did for Lashley. I question Cage selling so much sometimes but there it elevated Eli Drake who had one of the better in-ring performances I’ve seen from him. It’s night and day with the crowd for Cage. The Impact Zone atmosphere sucks. What was a bit odd was Cage’s latest finisher. The Weapon X and Drill Claw are two very cool looking moves and Drake is someone that could take both.
Sami Callihan made his entrance wearing Jerimiah Crane gear…
8. Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan in an “I Quit” Match. Eddie started the match off with a suicide dive before Crane could enter the ring. Crane turned the tide with an apron bomb. Crane spat a lougie in his hand and slapped it in the chest of Edwards. Josh Mathews called Callihan a “son of a bitch” for the Eddie Edwards incident. Striker gave Callihan credit for selling tickets and drawing attention. Eddie went for a chop on Callihan but hit turnbuckle. Eddie ran to the back and started to chuck chairs at Crane. Matt Striker and Josh Mathews were shown watching the match from a scaffold, no monitors and table.
John’s Thoughts: Props to Striker and Mathews for calling the match like a fan in the seats. They’ve done a better job than some commentators who have equipment and a table.
The fans gave Edwards a pile of chairs which he set up at ringside flat. Striker talked about how people like car crashes and that Callihan is drawing attention towards Impact and Lucha Underground. Crane escaped a Suplex to the outside and then kicked Edwards to the ground. Crane opened up some chairs on the outside and put some in the ring. Striker and Mathews bickered. Edwards blocked an apron piledriver and hit Crane with a step up enziguri and a fisherman buster on the apron. Edwards piled up chairs in the ring.
Edwards gave a claw to Crane to the orbital bone area where Callihan gave him the bat shot. Crane escaped but Edwards tossed Crane into a chair in the corner. Edwards kept chucking chairs (protected) at the head of Crane. Crane kept yelling “kiss my ass”. Crane gave Edwards the double middle finger. Edwards used a chair to hit the Boston Knee Party on Crane. Edwards tried to hit a sunset flip on Crane onto a stack of chairs but Crane reversed and hit Edwards with a Death Valley Driver on a chair.
Crane tried to get Edwards to quit but Edwards yelled in the mic “Kiss my ass Solomon Crowe!!!”. A NXT Chant ensued. Mathews joked that Friday became Saturday (the day of Takeover). Crane brought a ringside guardrail to the ring and set it against the turnbuckle. Edwards gave Crane a release power bomb onto the guard rail. OVE ran out to distract Eddie Edwards. Crane hit Edwards with a (protected) chairshot to his head. Crane pulled a bat from under the ring. Mathews said to call the cops. Striker praised Crane. Crane set up the chair in the position of the Impact Wrestling botch. Don Callis ran in and threw in the towel on behalf of Eddie Edwards. Melissa Santos announced Crane as the winner.
Jeremiah Crane defeated Eddie Edwards via Don Callis throwing in the towel in 20:08.
Callihan went for the bat shot but Moose ran in for the save. Josh Mathews went into overboard in decrying Sami Callihan.
John’s Thoughts: A bit disappointing due to the excessive usage of chairs. It wasn’t even violent but rather cute. That criticism aside the setpieces in the match were good. The Solomon Crowe throwback was a fun moment. The finish was fine because it continues the feud so it can continue on television.
McKnzie Mitchell made the huge announcement that we we Impact Wrestling was getting Fenix vs. Pentagon Jr…
John’s Thoughts: That’s a great match! Here’s hoping that Impact could get their hands on Fenix and Pentagon for more than one match. Here’s a random plan for Impact. If Impact ever wanted to move away from the Impact Zone and to Los Angeles, Having Pentagon Jr under contract will sell out crowds and prevent that lame Universal Studio problem. As for the match, this is going to be fire. Pentagon and Fenix are real life brothers and will tear the house down.
Oh! Did Alberto El Patron no show? I think a “F*ck Del Rio” chant ensued. The commentators are talking it up so I’m assuming it’s an angle.
8. Austin Aries vs. Fenix vs. Pentagon Jr. Fenix and Pentagon got rid of Aries and had an exchange in the ring. Fenix hit an innovative tightrope armdrag. Aries reentered the ring and hit a missile dropkick on Fenix. Aeries hit a top rope uppercut on Fenix. Pentagon gave Aries a lungblower which made Aries DDT Fenix. Aries and Fenix kicked out of pin attempts. Pentagon said that Spanish curse phrase about the mother (sorry I forget). Petagon did the Cero miedo thing. Aries recovered but right into a roundhouse from Pentagon. Fenix surprised Pentagon with a rolling cutter. Aries gave Pentagon a Tope. Fenix gave Pentagon and Aries a corkscrew Tope Con Plancha.
Aries and Fenix scrambled on the top rope. Fenix hit a bridged German Suplex on Aries. Striker noted that Aries wrestles southpaw which might be unorthodox in Lucha Libre. Aries stopped Pentagon’s offense with a thunder clap. Aries hit the 0 on Pentagon. Pentagon kicked out. Aries didn’t relent and he locked in the Last Chancery on Pentagon. Fenix blocked it. Aeries blocked a Kinniku Buster and into the Last Chancery. Pentagon broke up this one. The Lucha brothers used tandem offense on Ares. Striker complained about the wrestlers not going vor covers but Mathews was right in that they have to dispose of both opponents first.
Fenix and Pentagon traded strong style slaps. Aries beat both men with forearms. The Lucha Brothers took out Aries with a double dropkick. My head was down on my laptop and I missed the finish. It happened so quick. Pentagon Jr might have hit a 3-up 3-down driver for the win. Twitch doesn’t have a rewind button.
Pentagon Jr. defeated Fenix and Austin Aries via pinfall in 10:15
Matt Striker and Josh Mathews closed the show…
John’s Thoughts: Not sure about the El Patron thing. I believe he was at WrestleCon since I think they did a press conference with him and Austin Aries before the whole show. Weird. Anyway, I liked this match better and it was a good introduction of Pentagon and Fenix to Impact Wrestling viewers. They didn’t go all out by having it end so quickly. Fenix in particular is great in having longer story heavy matches. This was a fine triple threat with Austin Aries being protected at ringside. I’m sorry I missed the finishing sequence as it came out of nowhere and Twitch doesn’t have a rewind button. I’ll make sure to rewatch it for my Audio review.
That said, this was a really fun free broadcast. The fact that Lucha Underground has built up a lot of credibility in their wrestlers made this a PPV quality event. This would have been definitely worth $15 at least with all of the all-stars you got in this show. Lucha Underground was obviously the favorite tonight as they were getting all of the cheers. Allie in particular was the one that stood out because they booed the babyface Allie and cheered the heel Taya. Taya plays the heel in Lucha Underground too. This was definitely worth watching if you aren’t familiar with Lucha Underground and watch Impact Wrestling regularly. The match of the night was definitely the LAX vs. Mack and Killshot. Go out of your way in seeing this. Additional props for Matt Striker and Josh Mathews on commentary. It got a bit annoying in the Callihan vs. Edwards match but we got the best from both of them through everything else. I’ll drop by tomorrow morning with my Impact Wrestling vs. Lucha Undergound Audio Review for the Dot Net Members.
Güera Loca, dude.
The thing is, I’ve heard both from different people
Okay, but the difference is between properly spelled or misspelled Spanish.
Yeah, no worries, I think you’re right.
The funny thing is I think Taya herself uses Wera Loca, maybe as a phonetic spelling