The Road to Slammiversary XVI, Chapter 2, Act 3. Not a lot of matches announced but what matches! The #1 contender for the Knockouts Championship Madison Rayne will face off Taya Valkyrie in a kind of “Queen of the Queendom” match. Now back on track, LAX will try to regain the Impact Tag Team Championship from Z&E. And Pentagon Junior and El Hijo del Fantasma will team up against oVe. A kind of match of masks, very symbolistic of the spirit of wrestling. So here we go! No more words, let’s get ready for some action, your French Enygma Steph way, of course…
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh3_t8MQfIA]
The show was in memory of Vader.
Z&E vs. LAX with King (Impact World Tag Team Championship)
The two teams started fighting on the ramp and outside the ring. Ortiz threw a chair at DJZ while Santana was pummeling Everett along the barricades. Match officially started with Everett and Santana in the ring but Everett hit a marvel of Fosbury flip off the top rope to the outside to drop Ortiz. DJZ went up top and hit a crossbody. Back in the ring, Z&E hit stereo superkicks on Santana. The champions in control, DJ Z trapped Santana in a kind of Muta lock, but Santana quickly escaped.
Ortiz came in for the distraction, allowing Santana to fire back and tag in Ortiz. LAX followed with his repertoire of double team moves, working quick tags. They isolated Everett and knocked DJZ to the floor. Everett hit a desperation dropkick, tagged in DJZ who hit a high cross. He ran wild on LAX, but LAX fought off the ZDT. After the break, LAX was working some double team moves, laying out DJZ. Everett made the blind tag in as DJZ hit a tornado DDT. Incredible series of moves from both teams (a must-see), including shooting star press and moonsaults. DJZ was pulled to the floor and superkicked by LAX, Everett went up top and missed the Red Arrow. The Street Sweeper made it. Santana and Ortiz became 3-time Tag Team Champions. For the King’s delight.
– Backstage, Jimmy Jacobs and Kongo Kong said that for months Brian Cage just came and went without consequences and did whatever he felt like. And the Princess didn’t like that so he decided to show the world that a Machine is not a match for a Monster. And what a Princess wants…
KM vs. Scott Steiner
Well, KM was expecting Fallah Bahh. He came to the ring, pulled a note out of his pants, gave it to KM and said “Bah-bye”. KM read the note and asked for “his fat-ass” friend Richard Justice to come. Bad idea because a Genetic Freak came into the ring instead.
What to say, KM tried and Steiner destroyed. On the menu, a clothesline, an overhead belly-to-belly suplex, another suplex, a draping flatliner and a Steiner Recliner. And KM think he’s Impact Wrestling?
A look at the Slammiversary Press Conference held in Toronto, where Moose said he worked his entire life for an opportunity like the one he will have. Austin Aries told the only thing Moose had on his resume was former NFL player and noted all of his own Championship titles in wrestling eh’s earned in his 18-year career.
Creepy Eddie
Eddie Edwards was in Boston. He knocked at a door, but nobody answered. He yelled for his wife and eventually ended up busting through the door. He checked the house, then headed upstairs, found nobody. Then Edwards looked in a mirror and saw the reflection of Sami Callihan giving him a thumbs down. Edwards had some flashbacks of the fight in the woods where Tommy Dreamer got involved. He broke a mirror and looked at the broken pieces yelling “You did this Tommy!”
Meanwhile, the oVe cam was showing Sami Callihan with the Crist Brothers. Callihan said Pentagon Jr. shouldn’t have gotten into their business last week and said they are going to make an example out of him.
Taya Valkyrie vs. Madison Rayne
Su Yung was watching the match from the rafters. Taya got an early takedown, but Rayne hit an arm drag and fought with a hurricanrana. Taya cut off Rayne, laid boots to her and choked her out in the ropes. She then tossed Rayne across the ring and follows with a backbreaker and a slam. Taya sat Rayne up top, but Rayne replied with a tornado DDT for the double down. Rayne fired up with some forearms and a cutter. Rayne went for another hurricanrana but Taya turned it into a backbreaker. Taya hit the double knees to the back in the corner. A nervous Taya cuts a northern lights suplex attempt from Rayne and hit a curb stomp. “Why won’t you just die!”, she yelled at Rayne. Rayne replied with a step-up an enzuigiri and a Cross-Rayne for the win.
After the match, Rayne grabbed the mic and said it’s always great to come back to Impact. Even if she had no intention of returning to the ring, she decided to capitalize on the moment. She was told if she beat Taya would get a shot at the Impact Knockouts Championship. At Slammiversary, Madison said she will slay the champion and become the new champion. The lights went down and we heard the weird laughing of the Champion.
In LAX Lair, it was time for celebration. But suddenly Konnan showed up with a very serious look on his face. He wanted to speak with King. Konnan said a lot of things didn’t make sense to him and wondered what King knew about what happened to him. The King asked Konnan if he’s a suspect. Konnan said maybe. Konnan said if he found out King has anything to do with what happened to him, King would better jump into an alternate universe because Konnan will still find him.
-The mystery attacker, Killer Kross, talked about fear. Kross said a lot of people were asking “Why?” about his attacks and he replied, “Why not?” He added people need to have some nicely framed narrative, but forget that, there is only mayhem. He thought more people show exercise a lot more fear. Kross said he wants to dive bomb the wrestling industry on its head because he is the new beginning. “I want to turn this industry upside down and I wanna dive bomb it on its head – and see where the pieces fall. Because I am the new beginning.” (The one who wrote this segment is just a genius… see below)
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulyVhxtAyyA]
While we learnt the Desi Hit Squad will make their debut on next week’s show, the GWN Flashback Moment of the Week was Sonjay Dutt vs. Low Ki in Mumbai for the X-Division Championship. One of the very first matches I reviewed for you…
oVe with Sami Callihan vs. Pentagon Jr. & El Hijo del Fantasma
The Luchadores rushed to the ring and attacked right away. They dumped Jake, isolated Dave as Pentagon laid chops. Fantasma followed with a dropkick. Pentagon flew in for the bum cracker (the ass version of the Nutcracker, in fact, a double foot stomp right in the bum). Jake was back in and Pentagon lit him up with chops. Double team moves followed from Penta and Fantasma as they took Jake to the floor. Fantasma followed with the Arrow from the Depths of Hell.
Pentagon worked over Dave on the floor as the Luchadores continued to control. Sami who was at ringside attacked Fantasma with a bat shot to the knee, allowing Jake to take control and work the knee. Fantasma grabbed the ropes, but Dave was tagged in and double team moves on Fantasma followed. After the break, Jake was still working over Fantasma. Dave sent Pentagon to the floor and then took over working on Fantasma, keeping things grounded.
Fantasma fired up with a desperation backbreaker. Jake dumped Pentagon again and tagged Dave back in as they continued to work over Fantasma. Fantasma finally fought back and Pentagon finally got the tag, hitting sling blades and fighting off both the Crist brothers and Sami. Jake fought back, but Fantasma made the save. Dave then took Fantasma up top and Ove unloaded a superplex into a powerbomb combo. They now looked to work over Pentagon, but Pentagon ran them together and suplexed Jake into Dave. One superkick to Jake and the Penta driver finished Jake.
But Sami Callihan didn’t say its last word. He jumped in the ring and attacked Pentagon with his bat. He smacked Fantasma back to the floor and went to hammer Pentagon as Dave was holding him. But Pentagon hit a double Nutcracker, one for Sami in front of him, one for Dave on the back. Pentagon looked to snap Jake’s arm but Callihan whacked him with the bat and choked Pentagon with it. oVe then tried to tear the mask off Pentagon. They almost succeeded in but Fantasma rushed in with a chair. The group bailed as Fantasma tossed the chair down at them.
Cero Miedo, zero fear this week. The Killer Kross promo is just stunning and I just can’t get enough of Eddie Edwards getting more and more tormented. What he has been creating since Redemption is just mind-blowing. At the same time, Sami Callihan and oVe are pushing the limits again with the mask of Pentagon. I wish we could have had Z&E as Tag Team Champions a little longer but the return of Konnan is explaining the title changes. Because the stakes are changing… This episode was daring, fresh, and the action was good. Next week, we’ll push new doors, with new talents in the ring, and see if they’re going to bring us to a Slammiversary moment. And because you agree with me, of course, I see you next week… And never forget to stay #eNYGMAtic…
All pics, videos, and screenshots courtesy of Impact Wrestling. Photomontage by @frenchnygma exclusively for @steelchairmag.