IMPACT WRESTLING TV RESULTS (8/10): Swann & Callihan vs. ABC, Bailey vs. Kushida

IMPACT WRESTLING TV RESULTS
AUGUST 10, 2023
CHICAGO, IL AT CICERO STADIUM
AIRED ON AXS TV (RECORDED)
REPORT BY DARRIN LILLY, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

-Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

-Recap video of last week’s events.

(1) ABC (Chris Bey & Ace Austin) vs. RICH SWANN & SAMI CALLIHAN

This match continued the tag team tournament to determine a number one contender for the tag team titles. Bey and Swann started the match. Bey took Swann to the mat and dropkicked him. ABC double teamed Swann. Ace took Swann to the mat. Swann and Sami double teamed Ace. Sami gave Ace a running knee. Ace fought off a double team and dropkicked Swann. Sami and Ace fought on the apron. Sami gave Ace a piledriver on the apron. Bey did a moonsault from the middle rope to the floor on Swann and Sami. [c]

ABC continued to have the upper hand. Sami finally got the hot tag and ran wild. Sami gave Bey a Death Valley Driver for a two count. Swann and Sami double teamed Bey and Swann got another two count. Swann missed a 450 splash. ABC double teamed Swann and Ace got a two count out of it. Ace accidentally kicked Bey. Sami and Swann double teamed Ace. Sami put Bey in a sleeper on the mat. Bey recovered and kicked Sami in the head. ABC double kicked Sami. Bey gave Sami the cutter and Ace followed with the Fold, but Swann broke up the pin attempt. Swann did a flip on Bey on the floor. Ace stomped Sami. The Good Hands pulled the referee out of the ring to break the pin attempt. John Skyler attacked Ace from behind as Jason Hotch and Swann fought up the ramp. Sami pinned Ace.

WINNERS: Rich Swann & Sami Callihan in 15:00.

(D.L.’s Take: Good action to open the show. Looks like the Good Hands will be involved in something more substantial by having a feud with ABC.)

-The Coven confronted Santino Marella backstage. KiLynn King talked about the bad decisions being made recently and complained about not getting a rematch for the tag team titles. The Death Dollz approached. They said they wanted to be part of the tag team title match at Emergence, because they are awesome. Santino asked for an additional reason. The Dollz huddled and Santino joined them to come up with a reason to give them a title shot. Santino suggested because they were former tag team champions and because they had already beaten Gisele Shaw and Savannah Evans. MK Ultra approached and said they would take on them all. [c]

(2) BHUPINDER GUJJAR vs. DIRTY DANGO (w/Alpha Bravo)

Dango took the mic before the match and stated that he hates pro wrestling. Gujjar armdragged and dropkicked Dango and got a two count. Dango raked Gujjar’s eyes. Dango gave Gujjar a series of knees and a forearm. Dango put Gujjar in a chinlock. Gujjar made a comeback. Gujjar gave Dango a running knee and a spinebuster for a two count. Bravo got on the apron and flashed a light in Gujjar’s eyes, leading to Dango getting the pin.

WINNER: Dirty Dango in 4:00.

Dango took the mic after the match but was interrupted by Jake Something. Jake got in the ring and Dango said “How’s it going, big man?” Jake talked about how hard he had to work to get back to Impact Wrestling. He said if Dango hates wrestling so much, then get the hell out. He said he could make Dango leave. Fans chanted “Make him.” Dango left. Jake turned to Bravo and Dango sneaked up from behind. Jake turned around in time and decked Dango.

(D.L.’s Take: Basic match, which was there to establish Dango and Bravo as a team. A Jake/Dango feud could be fun.)

-Deaner and Kon promo. Deaner talked about Eric Young. Deaner called Eric a sheep who left for greener pastures but left like a scared lamb. Deaner said he was not a failure. He said that Alan Angels walked away from his greatest opportunity, but it was his own failure. He said that Kon would never betray him. He said it would be fitting if Kon destroyed Eric. Kon spoke and also called Eric a sheep. He said the only thing Eric would see is the big bad wolf and we know how that story ends. He said Eric’s ass is his. Great production. [c]

-Gia Miller interviewed Johnny Swinger. He said “Who?” when she brought up Zicky Dice. He said he’s been training for his title shot. Kenny King and Sheldon Jean interrupted and took over. He talked about Alex Shelley being champion of the world, but he was the champion of the internet. King and Jean left. Swinger pondered what he said and asked Gia “What’s the internet?”

(3) JODY THREAT vs. ALISHA EDWARDS (w/Eddie Edwards)

The announcers talked about Alisha claiming to have run off Traci Brooks. Hannifan doubted it. Alisha tried to punch Jody, but Jody caught her arm and clotheslined her. Jody pulled Alisha to the center of the ring and continued on offense. Jody suplexed Alisha. Alisha made a comeback and knocked Jody off the ropes. Alisha chopped Jody and stomped her in the corner. Alisha raked Jody’s back and gave her a backbreaker for a two count. Alisha choked Jody over the ropes. Jody finally made a comeback. Jody connected with a series of clotheslines in the corner and hit her with the double knees and a German suplex. Alisha raked Jody’s eyes. Eddie used the kendo stick to trip Jody. Frankie Kazarian ran to ringside and attacked Eddie. Jody gave Alisha the F-5 and got the pin.

WINNER: Jody Threat in 4:00.

After the match, Frankie went to hit Eddie with the kendo stick but accidentally hit Alisha instead. Frankie tried to go back and help her, but security stopped him. Fans chanted “You deserve it.” [c]

(D.L.’s Take: They packed a lot into four minutes. It’s good to see Jody involved in storylines. The Kazarian/Eddie feud continues.)

-They replayed the previous angle and showed Eddie carrying Alisha to the back.

-Deonna Purrazzo promo. She congratulated KiLynn King on pinning her last week and noted that few people had done it. She challenged King to a match next week. She told Trinity to watch and see what her future would be.

(4) “SPEEDBALL” MIKE BAILEY vs. KUSHIDA

Fan support was split. They exchanged kicks. Fans chanted “Both these guys” as they had a staredown. Bailey gave Kushida a series of kicks. Kushida sent Bailey to the outside and followed with a flip over the top rope. Kushida put Bailey in a rowboat submission on the mat. Bailey reached the ropes to break it. Kushida gave Bailey a cartwheel dropkick. Kushida gave Bailey a palm strike. Bailey caught Kushida with a single-leg dropkick. Bailey followed with more kicks and a running shooting star press for a two count. They exchanged strikes. Kushida kicked Bailey off the apron. They fought on the floor and Kushida sent Bailey into the post. [c]

Kushida worked on Bailey’s arm. Kushida ran Bailey’s knee into the mat. Kushida tackled Bailey out of the ring. Kushida slid to the outside, but Bailey avoided it and jumped to the middle rope for a moonsault. Back in the ring, Bailey kicked Kushida’s arm. They exchanged kicks. Kushida went for a hoverboard lock. Bailey got to his feet and got out of the hold. Bailey went for an armbar. Bailey gave Kushida the double knees to the chest and kicked him in the chest for a two count. Bailey went for the armbar again. Kushida reached the ropes. Bailey kicked Kushida. Kushida went for a suplex, but Bailey turned it into a rollup for a two count. Kushida kicked Bailey. Fans chanted “This is awesome.” Bailey got a nearfall. Bailey landed the tornado kick. Kushida put on the hoverboard lock on the top rope and suplexed Bailey. Kushida gave Bailey a small package driver and got the pin.

WINNER: Kushida in 18:00.

(D.L.’s Take: This built to the excellent match we thought it would be. It got plenty of time and they delivered. Great mix of mat wrestling and high flying.)

-Tom Hannifan had a sitdown interview with Crazzy Steve. He said this would play out over the next few weeks. Steve had requested the interview. He said that Hannifan is the best at what he does and is the voice of Impact Wrestling. Steve said he needed Hannifan’s help. He said the Death Dollz are off doing their own thing and Black Taurus has a match without him tonight. He said he was abandoned and his friends are becoming strangers. He said that was routine in his life, from the Menagerie to Abyss. He talked about being legally blind his entire life, which comes with its set of challenges. He said that travel isn’t easy. He talked about struggles socially and in education. Hannifan agreed that he had a lot of obstacles. He asked who has supported Steven Scott. He said that family is a very interesting story. The screen flashed “To be continued.” [c]

-Footage from Attack! Pro Wrestling of Subculture picking up a win after a title defense. Hannifan called it the “Summer of Subculture”. This was followed by a Subculture promo in black and white. They said they were keeping an eye on who would be the number one contender and they would walk out of Emergence still the tag team champions.

-A man and woman were talking in a hallway. The man said he knew the woman was talking to someone and asked who it was. When the man said “Say his name”, Joe Hendry appeared. When Hendry talked to the couple and said “Say his name”, Yuya Uemura appeared. The coupled walked off. Hendry and Yuya argued about the match from last week. Hendry said they would go their separate ways. Yuya said they could be tag team champions. Hendry was against the idea at first but talked himself into it.

-Hannifan and Rehwoldt appeared on camera to go over the matches for Multiverse United 2. Hannifan said that Team 3D would appear together for the first time in seven years at Impact 1000. Matches for next week include:

*Eric Young vs. Kon

*Rich Swann & Sami Callihan vs. The Rascalz

*Deonna Purrazzo vs. KiLynn King

-They pitched to a video package of Sanada.

-Moose, Brian Myers, and Bully Ray came to the ring for the main event. They were followed by their opponents Black Taurus and Laredo Kid. The camera cut backstage to show that Lio Rush had attacked their partner Samuray Del Sol. [c]

(5) BLACK TAURUS & LAREDO KID & SAMURAY DEL SOL vs. MOOSE & BRIAN MYERS & BULLY RAY

The match was 3-on-2. Taurus and Myers started the match. Taurus powerslammed Myers. Taurus gave Myers a backstabber and Kid followed with a dropkick. Moose and Kid squared off, with Kid taking down Moose. Moose regrouped on the ramp. Kid and Bully faced off. Bully pushed Kid down. Taurus tagged in and faced Bully. They exchanged strikes. Taurus knocked Bully off his feet. Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Josh Alexander, and Kushida were shown watching in the back. Myers pulled the rope down to send Taurus sailing over the top rope. [c]

Moose’s team kept Taurus in the corner and held the advantage. Taurus and Moose clotheslined each other. Kid got the tag and ran wild on Myers. Kid gave Moose a DDT and gave Bully a rana. Bully threw Kid into the referee. Moose tried to take off Kid’s mask. The lights went off. Lightning showed on the screen. PCO was in the ring squaring off with Bully when the lights came back on. PCO threw Moose over the top rope, followed by Myers. Bully escaped, but PCO did a dive on Moose and Myers. Kid threw Myers back in the ring. Taurus gave Myers a headbutt and dove on Moose on the outside. Kid splashed Myers. The referee recovered and counted to two. Moose interfered, leading to Myers giving Kid the Roster Cut and got the pin.

WINNERS: Moose & Brian Myers & Bully Ray in 16:00.

Bully Ray was shown running down the stairs and out of the building. He pulled someone out of a car and got in. PCO chased after him as the car drove away. Thunder was heard in the background.

(D.L.’s Take: I assumed there would be a styles clash, but they ended up working well together and had a fun match. I liked seeing Taurus and Laredo Kid in the main event and hope this gets some follow-up.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: A well-rounded and fun show. Great in-ring action, including the tag team match, Bailey vs. Kushida, and the main event. The Design promo was very well-produced. I’m intrigued at the direction of the Crazzy Steve interview. PCO’s return made the show newsworthy as well. Impact has momentum with some big shows coming up.