Impact Wrestling had it's Slammiversary PPV last night, and while I won't dive
into all the details, it was a crowning achievement for the 18-year old company,
who has had more owners than legitimate, home grown stars.
The show was main evented by what I believe is the first inter-gender singles
match of any "major" company. Rising superstar and third generation dynamo,
Tessa Blanchard squared off against resident scumbag, "The Draw" Sami Calihan.
A pretty brutal match, both stars came out looking fantastic. The whole card
was pretty damn good.
Rumor has it that ImpactWrestling has either signed or is in negotiations to sign
with AXS on a new TV deal. AXS already carries two other wrestling programs; NJPW
and WOW. Current WOW champion ... Tessa Blanchard.
What a coup it would be, if Blanchard could hold both the WOW women's championship
and the Impact World Heavyweight title at the same time. She's the future of
this business, there is no arguing that.
***
A bit of turmoil over the opening of last weeks Beyond Wrestling weekly
show, #UnchartedTerritory. Dubbed as Joey Janela's "Dirty Thirty" birthday
party, the show opened with a surprise for the Bad Boy.
From a huge gift wrapped box, AEW and indie star (and cross dressing) Sonny
Kiss leaped from the box. An Irate Janela's was heard screaming "trap" it's a
"trap" and kept saying it throughout commentary.
Apparently the word is a homophobic slur and of course the SJW's of Toxic
Wrestling Twitter jumped to Sonny's defense (who, wasn't looking for any
defense,).
The whole thing caught Beyond Wrestling owner Drew Cordeiro totally off
guard.
"The bottom line is we fucked up, I am genuinely sorry,"Cordeiro said, in a twitter chat on Sunday. "I have spent the last 24 hours researching the matter, and now I have a better understanding of how that phrase based on a Star Wars meme used on our broadcast has been misappropriated as a slur," Cordeiro continued,".
"Ignorance is not absolution."
While it's noble that Cordeiro offered the apology, I don't feel it was needed. I don't believe for a moment Joey meant it in any way other than the Star War's meme - that's
what indie guys do, they sample pop culture meme's and integrate them into the world
of independent wrestling.
Beyond has steadily increased in popularity over the course of the fourteen episodes of the
revolutionary #UnchartedTerritory series. And with an uptick in popularity, of course you're going to get those ankle biters trying to slow you down.
You can catch #UnchartedTerritory on IWTV.live every Wednesday at 8pm. Get 20 days free by using code UNCHARTED at check out.
***
Staying with Beyond for a moment, Andrea Hangst of FanSided, dropped a great piece on
Beyond Wrestling newcomer Thomas Santell. Santell had an undefeated streak during #UnchartedTerritory's "Discovery Gauntlet" gimmick to introduce fans to new talent. Fans took to Santell's gimmick pretty quickly.
Give the column a look if you get a chance: https://fansided.com/2019/07/08/fansided-exclusive-thomas-santell-goes-beyond-promise-pro-wrestling
***
Major League Wrestling announced today that they'd be returning to New York City
on July 25th for "Never Say Never", held at the Melrose Ballroom.
Speaking of another company that has seen a pretty decent rise in the past year, MLW
provides an hour of weekly programming that is easily some of the best wrestling you'll see on TV week in week out.
This past weekend saw champion Tom Lawlor fall to new champion Jacob Fatu at MLW
Kings of Colosseum, which you can catch the whole show by clicking this link:
Fatu is a big dude, ending the 154 day reign of Lawlor. What does this mean for the future of Lawlor? Will he continue with MLW, or are there new things on the horizon for the former UFC fighter turned pro wrestler? Only time will tell.
***
Busy weekend of wrestling coming up:
Saturday: AEW Fight For the Fallen - B/R Live Link:
Saturday: Evolve "10th Anniversary" - WWE Network
Saturday: EVE "Dawn of a New Era" - https://eveondemand.pivotshare.com/home
Saturday: NJPW "G1 Climax Night 2" - NJPWWorld.com
Sunday: WWE "Extreme Rules" - WWE Network
What card are you looking forward to the most? Hit me up on twitter @PizzaBeerWrestl with your thoughts.
Till next time ... cheers, mother fucker.
- Dennis @thewrestleverse