10/9 IMPACT REBELLION REPLAY REPORT: Lucha Bros. vs. Santana & Ortiz, Johnny Impact vs. Brian Cage, Tessa Blanchard vs. Gail Kim, Swann vs. Sami Calihan, Valkyrie vs. Grace (4-28-19)

THOMAS’S IMPACT WRESTLING REPORT: REPLAY OF REBELLION
OCTOBER 9, 2019
THE REBEL COMPLEX IN TORONTO, ONT. (4-28-19)
AIRED ON TAPED REPLAY ON AXS

Announcers: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

[HOUR ONE]

(1) PETEY WILLIAMS vs. JAKE CRIST vs. AIDEN PRINCE vs. ACE AUSTIN vs. JAKE DEANER vs. EDDIE EDWARDS – Six-way scramble match

Eddie Edwards starts the match going after Ace Austin, followed by Williams hitting Deaner with a codebreaker and the rest of the competitors brawl outside of the ring. In typical multi-men matches, every wrestler gets a brief moment to shine early, especially with Crist hitting a good cutter on Austin as he tried to dive outside the ring into the other wrestlers. Williams applies a sharpshooter to Edwards in the middle of the ring, but Deaner followed by the rest of the wrestlers, make their way to the ring to break up the attempt. Crist gets a good flurry of offense, followed by Prince hitting a great looking 450 splash and then Austin showing some strong knee strikes. Edwards then gets his moment to shine by showing off his tough guy brawler offense on Ace Austin. Edwards gets some strong chants from the fans, but Deaner silences those chants with some strong moves. Williams hits Deaner with the Canadian Destroyer and goes for the cover but Austin rolls up Williams for the three count and the win.

WINNER: Austin via pinfall in 6:00

(Thomas’s Analysis: A fun short match that felt like a crowd warm up match more than anything of any substance. Everyone got in their moves and an opportunity to look good but if you miss this match you would not be missing much.)

(2) SCARLETT BORDEAUX (w/Fallah Bahn) vs. ROHIT RAJU (w/Gama Singh, Raj Singh)

The match starts with Raju going after Bordeaux, but she counters with some chops and slaps to the face. Raju hits Bordeaux with a take down but she counters with a double stomp to the back. Raju then hits Bordeaux with some offense outside the ring and rolls her back in to inflict some more punishment. Scarlett counters with some strikes to the face but gets hit with a snap Suplex. He goes for a cover and win but pick her up off the cover before the three count to inflict more damage. She then slaps and spits on him and follows it up with some strong strikes to the face. Scarlett then applies a cross face submission move but he soon kicks out. She then hits Raju with a pretty solid Suplex and then hits him with a top rope dive as he comes crashing into ringside. After the Hit Squad tries to cause a distraction, Scarlett is able to kick Raju in the backside and stuns him enough to hit her finisher for the win.

WINNER: Bordeaux via pinfall in 7:00

(Thomas’s Analysis: A match that was way better than it had any right to be. The Hit squad are good at being heels you despise that it made this match fun to see Scarlett get to beat them up. She has an amazing money look but also showed some decent talent in the ring and looks like wrestler that could have a very bright future when position for a push.)

(3) MOOSE & THE NORTH vs THE RASCALZ

Moose and Trey start out the action with Trey hitting him with some leg strikes and trying to cut the big man down. Wentz comes in for tag teaming on Moose but he soon changes the momentum in his favor and takes in Page. Moose comes back into the match and starts to really manhandle Xavier. Xavier then hits a swinging DDT but is still not able to get back to his team to tag out before The North cuts him off. With his teammates taken out, Xavier is able to gets his team back into by taking out Page outside of the ring, hitting Moose with some big aerial moves and then hitting Alexander with some strong kicks. The Rascalz start hitting some more gf their signature high risk aerial moves and looks like they have the match in their hands. Until the North is able to clear out all the Rascalz besides Trey and Moose and the North are able to hit all their finishers on him for the win

WINNER: Moose and The North in 9:00

(4) TAYA VALKYRIE vs. JORDYNNE GRACE – Impact Knockouts Championship

Match starts with Grace taking down Taya and hitting her relentlessly and then grace hits her with a power bomb from the outside. Grace hits her with a second rope bomb and gets the near fall. After Grace has had all the momentum from the start, Taya is able to get some offense back in. Taya then is able to try a couple of submission moves and really has Grace looking beaten down. Grace gets back into the match after hitting Taya with a clothesline and hits her with a couple different slams in a row and then hits a Grace driver for a near fall. Grace then hits Taya with a muscle buster but Taya kicks out at two and a half. Taya then hits Grace with the Road to Vallah after taking advantage of her injured arm.

WINNER: Valkyrie via pinfall in 9:00 to retain her title

[HOUR TWO]

(Thomas’s Analysis: An okay match which seems to be pretty typical during Valkrie’s title run. Grace has the look and credibility to be a big star in the future. She moves really good in the ring and seems poised for big things. Grace seemed to really carry this match but I still see to many sloppy spots from Valkyrie to think she is a decent hand and solid heel but not a woman to carry the division.)

(5) RICH SWANN vs. SAMI CALLIHAN in a “OVW Rules” match for the Impact X Division Championship

-This match starts fast with both wrestlers hitting each other with some stiff kicks and then Swann gets his hands on a stable gun and starts hitting Callihan with the gun in the chest and also the shoulder. Swann then starts throwing in a bunch of weapons from underneath the ring. Callihan is then able to use the stable gun on Swann’s face and then starts raking his face with his boot. Swann makes a comeback after hitting a super kick but then Sami hits Swann with a chair as he comes flying out of the ring. Callihan then hits Swann with a bomb on the end of the ring. Swann then starts his comeback after he hits Swann with a chair but Swann gets hit by an exploder Suplex into a set up chair. Swann then starts beating Sami with a wet floor sign and then hits an off the rope cutter. After Swann is hit by a pile driver from Sami onto a rail then was set up, Callihan gets a near fall. Callihan then brings in a box of LEGOs but Swann is able to counter and sends him into the pile of LEGOs. Callihan then throws powder into Swann’s face and hits him with a top rope pile driver into the LEGOs. Swann then hits Callihan with a low blow and uses a barbed wired bat across Callihan’s face for a submission win.

WINNER: Swann via submission in 16:00 to retain his title

(Thomas’s Analysis: A really, really fun basically extreme rules match which had the great personal back story behind it and made both wrestlers look like stars in this match. Both came off as brutal and vicious in this match and made it seem like this blood feud had to end in as violent way as possible.)

(6) TESSA BLANCHARD vs. GAIL KIM

-Match gets off to a fast start after Tessa gets some stiff, hard strikes to Gail’s face. After Gail gets some momentum, Tessa hits her with good dropkick off of the rope and then dives to the outside to hit Gail. Back in the ring, Tessa hits Gail with a top rope codebreaker but Gail counters with a snap slam. The two make it back to their feet and then start trading stiff blows. Gail then goes for a tilt a whirl head scissors submission but Tessa counters with a Suplex for a near fall. Gail is then able to hit a temporary leg lock around the ring post on Tessa to cause a lot of damage. The two meet in the middle of the ring to trade blows yet again and Gail is able to hit a cross body slam off the top rope for a near fall. Tessa then tosses Gail off the stage as she hits hard and barely makes a ten count back into the ring. Gail then hits eat the feet on Tessa but she kicks out in two and a half. Tessa then hits a top rope magnum codebreaker onto Gail and rolls that into a submission and the win.

WINNER: Blanchard via submission in 13:00

(Thomas’s Analysis: This match was a great passing of the torch match as we have the icon vs. the up incoming superstar and they put on a clinic. Kim did great putting over Blanchard as a star and Kim looked like she could still hang and compete at a high level. Although, this match was all about positioning Blanchard as the face of the women’s division and it work as she is a mega star in the making.)

[HOUR THREE]

(7) BRIAN CAGE vs. JOHNNY IMPACT (w/John E. Bravo) & TAYA VALKYRIE – Impact World Championship with LANCE STORM as special guest referee

Cage starts the match off really fast as he gets a strong and fast flurry of offense in the first two minutes trying to go for a quick victory. Johnny is really on the run from Cage as he is getting rocked and looks overmatched against the stronger and bigger Cage. Johnny gets a quick counter to buy him some time to breathe. Cage then gets a cut above his head open up and starts bleeding all over after taking a knee outside the ring into the guard rail. Johnny then locks in a head lock and then delivers some kicks to Cage but he is still able to kick out. On the outside, Bravo and Valkyrie are setting up a table for use later. Johnny continues to go for head strikes trying to go after that cut on Cage’s head. Cage is then set up to take a splash on the table but Cage is able to counter and slam Johnny through the table. Bravo comes in the ring to distract Cage and Johnny takes out Storm from a distraction from Valkyrie. Cage then power bombs Valkyrie but Johnny goes for the cover as Bravo is in a ref uniform but Cage kicks out. Storm then super kicks Bravo out of the ring and then Cage hits his finisher for the win.

WINNER: Cage via pinfall in 13:00 to become the new Impact World Champion

Thomas’s Analysis: A solid match that was a little too heavy on outside distractions that kept this match from truly being really memorable. Cage has the great look and move set to be a solid babyface champion but needs to show he can deliver in the ring.

(8) LAX (w/Konnan) vs. THE LUCHA BROS. – Full Metal Mayhem match for the Impact World Tag Team Championship

Before the Bros can make it to the ring, LAX attacks them outside the ring until the Bros are able to recover and get into the ring and dive outside into LAX and put LAX through some tables that were already propped up. Back in the ring the Bros start to double team Ortiz and really start putting a hurt on him with some impressive moves. They put a trash can on top of Ortiz and super kick him inside it in a cool looking spot. Santana comes in for the save and him and Ortiz then start to get some strong momentum going before Fenix comes in to stop their offense. Some more back and forth action between both teams and then they set up chairs inside the ring like the two teams are at a table and start trading blows sitting down. Konnan then brings in forks to give to LAX but the Bros counter by throwing chairs. The Bros then spike Santana through a set up for chairs for a brutal looking team move. LAX then sets up a ladder in the middle of the ring with a table set up on the ramp. Fenix then Spanish fly Ortiz through a table for an amazing looking move. Pentagon and Santana then start battling on a ladder and Ortiz comes up and power bombs pentagon through the table which had tacks on it for the win.

WINNER: LAX via pinfall in 20:00 to become the new Impact World Tag Team Champions.

(Thomas’s Analysis: The best match on the card period and a contender for match of the year in Impact and maybe all of wrestling. These two teams always deliver 5/5 matches and show why they are two of the best tag teams in the world.)

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