The title changed, the Nygma not. I told you last week we’ll be able to witness a Barbed Wire Massacre match between LAX and OVE we’ve heard about for weeks and weeks. But Pop! TV, Impact US broadcaster, decided not to do it (too violent match…) and the match is aired on IMPACT Twitch platform. SteelChair team decided you not only earned the right to read about it but to watch it as the match is available on YouTube. So you’ll find the whole match at the end of this review. Of course, this match is not the only one to happen this week. X-Division Champion Taiji Ishimori puts his title on the line against Dezmond Xavier, Rosemary will square off with KC Spinelli, Chandler Park with Kongo Kong. And in a Motor City Mayhem, Eli Drake will put his title on the line against both Johnny Impact and Alberto El Patron. Let’s get ready for action so, your French Enygma Steph way, of course…
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=914RM8tLUBU]
X-Division Championship Match: Taiji Ishimori (c) vs. Dezmond Xavier
We had the chance to see this match last year when Ishimori and Xavier squared off at Destination X for the Super X Cup finals. Xavier won that night, can he do it again? Long minutes before the match really started and both guys went back and forth. Ishimori connected with a takedown, arm drags and a crucifix. Xavier was sent to the floor. When back, he hit some kicks and a dropkick. Ishimori rallied and sent Xavier again to the floor. When back he continued with strikes in the corner and grounded Ishimori with a Muta lock variation.
Another trade of strikes until Xavier cut off Ishimori’s pace who rolled outside. First suicide dive from Xavier that sent Ishimori over the barrier. Xavier came back to the ring for a huge senton over the barricade on Ishimori, stunning moment. Back from break, Xavier hit a cutter and a dropkick to the back of Ishimori. Both men reached the second rope, Ishimori connected with a perfect vertical delayed superplex (he also held Xavier’s underpants a little too tight so we saw a piece of a part of the anatomy of Dezmond Xavier we were not supposed to see… like Seth Rollins with Finn Balor on RAW this Monday…)
Xavier rallied with an elbow, hit the ropes, missed a clothesline so Ishimori hit a handspring roundhouse kick. Ishimori went for a double stomp but got kicked right in the face. Xavier hit a marvel of corkscrew senton but Ishimori kicked out. A frustrated Xavier unloaded a series of strikes, but Ishimori fired up with The Dodon’s Throne (Taguchi’s double chicken wing double knee gutbuster). He rose to the top and hit his signature 450 splash for the win. Awesome match, if Xavier was excellent, Ishimori was excellent just a little bit more and it was enough to make the difference. Xavier could have broken down, but instead hugged his opponent in a sign of respect.
The Barbed Wire Massacre III history (part 1)
The Crist Brothers won the Tag Team belts at Victory Road, six weeks after their arrival in the Impact Zone. Dave and Jake told how hard they worked to get to the top. At Bound for Glory, Sami Callihan arrived and changed the fate of the 5150 Street Fight. LAX wanted to steal the show in one of the most iconic PPV of the company. Ortiz said if Callihan was a new obstacle, he crossed the line he touched the person he wasn’t supposed to, Konnan. The history of the 2 familie became personal.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwe9REiJJp8]
– Recap of the feud between American Top Team and Moose and the new departed James Storm, KM arrival in ATT. (I never review the GWN Flashback moment of the week as I always want to concentrate on what happens now). Moose and Lashley will face off next week.
– Another recap, this time of EC3 and Matt Sydal’s story around the IMPACT Grand Championship. Next week these two will face off, no rounds or judges will be involved.
– The last recap of Laurel Van Ness winning the Impact Knockouts Championship via a tournament and Allie becoming the #1 contender. Allie told MacKenzie Mitchell she has proven herself over the last few months and playtime is now over. Next week, the two will face off for the belt.
Kongo Kong (w/ Jimmy Jacobs) vs. Chandler Park (w/ Joseph Park)
Chandler tried to make the Jungle man move with punches. Kong missed a splash, Chandler went for other punches. But Kong rallied, hit a cannonball in the corner and a Samoan Driver, that was enough. It could have ended this way but Kong continued to make Chandler suffer with a splash. Joseph Park climbed to the ring to check on Chandler. Jimmy Jacobs said Kongo Kong is a monster and the Parks are pathetic. Seems like Jimmy Jacobs is expecting to see another side of Joseph Park… a very dark side…
Impact Global Championship Match: Eli Drake (c) vs. Alberto El Patron vs. Johnny Impact
Highlights of the match that took place in Detroit at a Border City Wrestling event, the ropes of the ring were extremely loose which could have been very dangerous. Alberto and Drake disposed of Johnny right off the bat. Drake made his way out to the floor and hit Johnny with a chair. Suddenly Johnny was in a middle of a sea of chairs as Alberto and Drake were in the ring. Johnny rushed to hit El Patron and Drake with a chair.
Alberto hit some punches on Drake. Drake went for the Gravy Train, Patron countered it with a back cracker. Johnny came back with a kick to Alberto and a swinging neckbreaker. Drake pulled the referee out of the ring. As it as the third time in the match, the referee got mad and wanted to fight with all 3 wrestlers who hit a triple superkick on the ref. The match continued with a new referee but Drake hit the Gravy Train on him. The match ended this way as the whole BCW locker room rushed to the ring to beat up the 3 men.
Rosemary vs. KC Spinelli
Rosemary took control right away, working over Spinelli in the corner by throwing her into the turnbuckle. Rosemary hit a splash in the corner, followed with an exploder suplex and a tarantula. Spinelli rallied with a bulldog but Rosemary cut her off with clotheslines and a release German Suplex. Rosemary tried for the Red Wedding twice but got countered both times. Rosemary teased the mist and finally hit her Signature move for the win.
After the match, Rosemary talked about Laurel Van Ness being a wrestler again and gave respect to Laurel for stopping her mist with her hand. She then told Allie if she did win the title, their alliance will not save her and she will come for the Knockouts Championship. From the crowd here came Hania (find out about her here). She attacked Rosemary, clotheslined her out of the ring and slammed her face on the steps. Hania ended up slamming Rosemary on the ramp. Hania yelled “Nobody is going to stop me!” as she slammed Rosemary into the steel steps.
The Barbed Wire Massacre III history (part 2)
Two weeks ago, oVe left the titles, something that went straight to the heart of the Crist brothers. Ortiz said they earned to win the belts back, Dave said if a chapter ended that day, the war as not over. Dave added if they were good soldiers waiting in the line for years, now they were mercenaries. That’s why they destroyed LAX clubhouse, to be sure to have the retribution of one more match. Konnan made this no-ropes Barbed Wire match, claiming LAX were the ambassadors of violence.
Abyss, who was apart of the first two Barbed Wire Massacre (in 2005 against Sabu and in 2008 against Judas Mesias), said he as very afraid before the first match. He showed us the scars he had from the matches, remembers he would have for the rest of his life. As Ortiz was saying he was not afraid to put his body on the line, Abyss said he needed months to recover after each match as The Barbed Wire Massacre was the most intense match he has ever been in. But LAX and oVe members were ready for that, the bruises, the blood, the scars, the violence
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=932gLt6ybbo]
The episode ended with the entrances of the team, in a ring with no ropes.
Barbed Wire Massacre III Match: oVe (Jake Crist, Dave Crist, Sami Callihan) vs. LAX (Ortiz, Santana and Homicide w/ Konnan)
“I have to warn you, ladies and gentlemen, this match is not going to be for the faint of heart,” Jeremy Borash said as the match as about to start. At first, all 6 men avoided the ropes while brawling. oVe was sent outside while LAX prepared a table with wire in the ring. Santana nailed a nice senton above the wire to the floor. Ortiz used a trash can lid to hit oVe in the head. Meanwhile, Callihan and Homicide were fighting in the ring with forks. Homicide as the first to taste the barbed wire effect when he was sent into it. Callihan followed, Ortiz and Jake then, while Dave was thrown into a barbed wire table in the corner. Callihan then gets tossed into it by Ortiz. Dave jumps in and throws Ortiz in chest first. Santana went for a splash, missed and went right into the board.
Jake got kicked into the wire and Homicide tried to jab a fork in his mouth. Dave threw a barbed wire board at both Santana and Ortiz. Homicide got about six chairs thrown at him by Callihan and Jake. Homicide then threw alcohol on Dave’s open wound. Jake got suplexed through a barbed wire board set up on 2 chairs on the outside. In the ring, Homicide got crashed into a trash can lid by Callihan. Callihan suplexed Homicide right down on the barbed wire, breaking off a part of it. The referee tried to cut him free (he was wearing the good gloves). LAX doubled team on Callihan but the referee didn’t see the count. Jake then got dropped on the wire too and got tangled up into. Ortiz cut Jake free, with a pair of wire cutters, but Santana ended up wrapping him up completely in barbed wired.
Santana set up a table on the outside. Ortiz picked Jake up and nailed a death valley drive through a barbed wire board in the corner. Ortiz got caught on the edge of the ring and Jake, still wrapped up in the wire, ended up spearing Ortiz off the ring and down through a table. Santana and Dave in the ring now, Santana got hit with the wire cutters. Callihan brought in a barbed wire chair and tombstoned Homicide on it.
Callihan hit another piledriver on Santana. Two tables and a ladder were brought in the ring, Santana was put down on the table. Dave rose to the top of the ladder. Here came Konnan who hit a low blow on Callihan and hit him with a barbed wire bat. Santana climbed up the ladder with dozens of wooden skewers and stuck them in the head of Dave who ended up being suplexed in the table for the win. Hard to describe, but beautiful to watch…
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWBgF0qEGgc]
This Barbed Wire Massacre III was violent, cruel, scary and bloody. Well, it was awesome. A 5-star match for a carnage of flesh and blood. My absolute respect for the 6 men involved. Another great match thanks to Taiji Ishimori and Dezmond Xavier, this match is what X-Division is about, innovative high-flyers. It seems like Hania is decided to bring destruction to the Knockouts Division. Good episode, if we pulled out the 40 minutes of promos and recaps that seemed to be there to fill an unknown blank…
Surprise as Genesis is coming back next week and it will be aired as a special episode of IMPACT. Four matches were announced during the episode, and all could be called “End of Wars” matches. Lashley and Moose will square off another time, Laurel Van Ness will put her Knockouts Championship on the line against Allie, EC3 and Matt Sydal will compete in a no judges, no rounds match for the IMPACT Grand Championship, Eli Drake will have to defend the Global Championship into the Six Sides of Steel against both Alberto El Patron and Johnny Impact. It will be a must-watch, for sure. And if you agree with me, of course, I see you next Saturday (not Friday anymore)…
All pics, videos, and screenshots courtesy of Impact Wrestling. Photomontage by @frenchnygma exclusively for @steelchairmag.