GFW One Night Only: Amped Anthology Part 1 Review

Remember when Global Force Wrestling taped a TV show in Las Vegas, way back in 2015? No? Well, I freaking do. I know, Jozef Raczka does too. Well, the show was called Amped and they did three tapings in July, August and October 2015. Since GFW and Impact Wrestling merged earlier this year, it seems that the new GFW has decided to cut some costs and air the tapings across four of their One Night Only PPVs. Even if it's a pretty obvious money saving method, I was still interested to see what these tapings were like. I mean, the show couldn't get commissioned for whatever reason, so my hopes weren't particularly high, but there was a decent line-up of names including Mickie James, Bobby Roode, PJ Black [Justin Gabriel], Sonjay Dutt and KUSHIDA amongst others on this first part, so out of hope and genuine intrigue (and the fact it's currently available on Channel 5's on Demand service, My5, for free in the UK) I thought I'd give it a shot. 

So let's find out if the mysterious GFW Amped was any good...

• Promo - This explains how the show will work, letting us know that what we will see isn't scripted and is real, which is a little lame but let's roll with it. It also lets us know about the various championship tournaments that will be the spine of the show and gives a glimpse into some of the stars of the show. 

Match One - GFW NEXGEN Championship Tournament First Round

PJ Black def. Seiya Sanada 

PJ Black had left WWE in January, Seiya Sanada had left TNA in February, so kicking off the show with two known international television talents, that happen to wrestle a high pace, exciting style was a pretty sound tactic. The two were presented as an even match for one another with some technical exchanges breaking out in some smooth back and forth as the duo pinged about the ring before both ended up missing attempts at different moonsault variants. The later part of the matches provided some big spots and some good near falls for the man from Niigata, Japan as he hit a frankensteiner, managing to counter Black's counter, a bridging tiger suplex and then came closer still after powering out of a crucifix attempt to hit a TKO. The finish ended up being the scrapiest part of the match as the scramble for a superplex couldn't match the action that had come moments prior and otherwise cool moments like Sanada kipping up moments before Black went for a top rope move felt a little wasted in their placement. However, once Black had pulled his opponents throat across the top rope and nailed his signature 450 splash for the victory, I was more than satisfied with the quality of this opener. Both men came out of it looking capable of pulling out a victory, whilst Black was helped by surviving a barrage of high impact offence. 

• Promo - Kevin Kross - We're informed that Kross is well travelled, up to this point he'd mainly wrestled in Portland, Oregon and Las Vegas, Nevada (with a single match for IGF in Japan according to Cagematch.net)  

• Backstage - Los Luchas (Misteriosa Jr., Phoenix Star & Zokre) - The lads fire each other up in the locker room, part in Spanish and part in English, saying they'll win the Tag Team Tournament, which is a little confusing because there's three of them and it's not a trios tourney.

• Backstage - Bobby Roode - Roode's arrived pulling his wheely suitcase behind him, he's not bothered with a suit for this show.

In-Ring Segment

feat. Bobby Roode, Nick Aldis and Kongo Kong

This was an odd segment, with seemingly odd intentions and a lack of self awareness on the part of GFW and whoever was in charge of putting this together. Bobby Roode came out first, cutting a pro-TNA promo, positioning himself as an anti-GFW guy, who was coming to take the belt from the company in response for Jeff Jarrett taking the TNA King of the Mountain Championship at Slammiversary (28/05/15 and by mid-August Jarrett had vacated the belt on TNA television as part of the GFW Invasion angle). After just one match, expecting the audience to give a crap about GFW, especially enough to care about Bobby Roode (arguably the most established male star on the show) disparaging the company seemed like a misstep. Roode's promo about how he was always going to be a TNA guy is also unintentionally comical two years on, with then IT Factor and now Glorious One currently being WWE's NXT Champion and spending only eight more months with TNA past these tapings. The Nick Aldis [Magnus] interruption didn't do much for either guy as Aldis spent most of his promo putting over Jeff Jarrett, before being jumping by Kongo Kong with a nasty looking Samoan drop. We conclude things with a Crossface from Roode and even without looking at spoilers it's pretty clear to see that it will be these two men in the GFW Global title tournament final. 

• Backstage - PJ Black - A promo is spliced to fuck with various clips from the match and he really doesn't say anything at all of note.

• In-Arena - Chael Sonnen and Cyrus Fees - Chat about the upcoming Global Championship Tournament, talking about Brian Myers [Curt Hawkins], Chris Mordetzky [Chris Masters] and Nick Aldis, with Sonnen singling out Mordetzky as his pick to win the tournament.

Match Two -   Six Man Tag Team Match

Los Luchas (Phoenix Star &Zokre)& Misterioso Jr. def. Shamu Jr., Blood Eagle & Bestia 666

Despite the company supposedly being partnered with AAA, this Lucha showcase match that served as the first main event has no AAA talent in it, which could be to do with the launch of Lucha Underground which happened in nine months before these tapings. However, these six lads come in and do a really good job in this spot, creating something that still feels exciting to watch now, even with the influx of lucha talent that we've seen since LU's arrival on the scene. It starts of regular enough, the heel side (Shamu Jr. and pals) do some double and triple moves on one of Los Luchas, before a pop-up reversed into a rana sends us into a hot tag and it's all go from there. Everyone flies around the place, with a number of sweet highspots including a funky spinebuster from Phoenix Star, Bestia hitting a Ki Krusher, Misterioso Jr. landing on his feet from a moonsault and hitting a standing one anyway and then a series of dives from anyone who fancies it, including big chunky Shamu Jr. pulling out a suicide dive. The conclusion showcases Los Luchas nicely as Misterioso hits a lung blower and wicked af front flip piledriver, before Star and Zokre finish Blood Eagle off with a moonsault and rope-hung backbreaker combination. This was a tremendously fun match to watch, that stands out from most of the main stream TV products at the time and ended what was supposed to be the first episode on a real high note. 

• Promo - Sort of a next time trailer, which is pretty redundant in this format.

• Promo - Sort of a last time trailer, which is pretty redundant in this format. 

• In-Arena - Chael Sonnen and Cyrus Fees - We're shown the tale of the tape for Bobby Roode vs. Kevin Kross and then KUSHIDA vs. Virgil Flynn, both matches will seemingly happen within the next portion of the PPV.

• Promo - KUSHIDA vs. Virgil Flynn - A look at KUSHIDA winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, with Flynn mostly putting him over as one of the best wrestlers in the world. Whether it was a great idea to focus a major part of KUSHIDA's story around a title that he'd lose two months after these tapings took place (and just happens to have won back by the time they finally aired!) or whether it was just a case of GFW management naively expecting these episodes would be almost immediately picked up by a TV network, I do not know. 

Match Three - Singles Match

KUSHIDA def. Virgil Flynn 

We get a decent introduction KUSHIDA here and California-based Indy star Virgil Flynn does a decent job of making the Japanese wrestler look like a star in front of a fresh audience. The match is almost entirely focused on KUSHIDA looking for the Hoverboard lock (or Kimura as the commentary team decide to opt for) as he takes control of the match by applying a hammerlock and lobbing Flynn into the ringpost, before managing to transition into the hold out of a bridging German suplex. Flynn looked capable with some big offence, that made KUSHIDA look durable, but at times I felt like he could have made more of selling the arm as in between the two submissions it didn't feel like it was made the most of. A nice sequence that saw some back and forth strikes before a Pele kick from the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and then Flynn reversing a cross body into a moonsault slam is arguably the highlight of fun match. An awkward 450 splash still makes for a decent near fall for Flynn before a straight punch, a kick to the arm and the Hoverboard lock pick up the submission victory for the New Japan star. We're three for three for entertaining matches so far. 

• Promo - Lei'd Tapa vs. Mickie James vs. Christina Von Eerie - We get a look at each woman training and their personal lives, with James having the most interesting story after taking a break to have first child, but Tapa looking like the most interesting character. We also get clips of Karen Jarrett talking about how the company will be looking to focus on it's women, not calling them names like Diva or Knockout, whilst also giving them the opportunity in main events. Less than four months later Sasha Banks and Bayley main evented NXT Takeover: Respect and in under a year WWE dropped the term "Diva", so this segment is a little dated by August 2017.

• Backstage - KUSHIDA & Virgil Flynn - Both boys are lovely here, putting each other over again as KUSHIDA points to his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and calls it a dream come true. Heart warming.

• Promo - Kevin Kross - Another look at Kross who claims "if [he] needs to punch a whole in Bobby Roode's head [he] will", which is a weird thing when you're supposed to be the home-town babyface. 

• Promo - Chris Mordetzky - The Adonis chats about how he broke into the business and how he felt he was unfairly treated during his time in WWE, before closing with talking about developing a reputation in England (mostly for PCW, but also with a handful of appearances for the likes of Southside, HOPE and 4FW) after his release. These promos feel completely different to anything WWE or TNA was doing or is doing, having a genuinely real feel about them, but the main problem is it often isn't translating to what is happening in the ring.

• Promo - The Bollywood Boyz - Harv & Gurv Sihra (currently Jinder Mahal's trusty sidekicks in WWE) discuss wanting to portray India culture without resulting to stereotypes (their examples are turbans and swords) so they decided to celebrate Bollywood instead. I'm not sure I completely follow their logic, but they talk a bit about Ring Ka King so all is forgiven. 

Match Four - GFW Global Championship Tournament Qualifying Match 

Bobby Roode def. Kevin Kross 

For a match that has been built up with two promo videos on Kevin Kross, an in-ring segment with Bobby Roode, the commentary chatter about the tale of the tape and at various points with on-screen graphics during other matches, this was disappointingly one sided. Had their not been so much fan fare about it (and also had the previous bout not focused on the same body part) then Roode targeting Kross' shoulder to set up for the crossface with a series of vicious attacks inside and out of the ring would have been a decent squash match, that put Roode over as a technical veteran who would be a force to be reckoned with in this tournament. However, seeing Kross get in very little offence after having so much time dedicated to how he was a shooter and prepared to punch a whole through Roode's face, left the bout feeling a little flat. The TNA star would eventually get the win after reversing a sunset flip attempt straight into the Crossface for the second submission victory in a row.

• Promo - The Akbars - In a poorly advised move, GFW have Omar and Ali Akbar [Mohammad Ali Vaez] cut a promo, spliced with pictures of busy streets and flying planes as they ask the audience "What would you do if someone who looked like us sat next to you on a plane?". It's got similar vibes to what Jinder Mahal is doing at the moment, but taken two or three steps to far, in my opinion.

• Promo - Another last time trailer, with an added promo from Kevin Kross where he called Bobby Roode a douchebag, but said he respected him, because he didn't know what he'd gone through. 

• In-Ring - Some lad called Henry Maxwell [Maxwell Chicago], who apparently wrestled for the likes of FUW and BELIEVE in Florida, hammed the fuck out of the American national anthem, before getting the shit beaten out of him by The Akbars. It was tonally off with both acts working heel, with it feeling like whoever was supposed to sing the anthem pulled out when they heard about the Akbars dated gimmick. 

Match Five - GFW Tag Team Championship Tournament First Round Match

The Bollywood Boyz def. The Akbars

I'm going to be totally up front and say I despise everything about The Akbars gimmick and believe that there is absolutely no reason to have to resort to shouting "Allahu Akbar" in 2015. As much as The Akbars talked about being American and tried to spin their gimmick (similar to Jinder Mahal in WWE) as being upset for the way they were treated by Americans because of their looks, there's no doubt that this sort of gimmick attempts to stir up xenaphobia and bigotry, whilst appeal to the lowest common denominator in order to get a reaction. The match itself was a perfectly fine paint-by-numbers tag team match, with nothing out of the ordinary, as we got some cliche heely tag tactics from the Akbars, followed by a comeback from the Bollywood Boyz. A pair of superkicks, a diving back elbow and an elbow drop later and the future Cruiserweight Classic competitors found themselves in the next round of the tag tournament. 

• Promo - Sonjay Dutt vs. Jigsaw - We got a look at the lives of Dutt and Jigsaw here, with Dutt telling a great story about being signed with TNA whilst still studying at University as well as being set up as a family man. Jigsaw was presented as someone with a fresh, interesting style and look (despite having seen a six man tag earlier in the show where everyone wore a mask) and came off a little awkward on camera with a couple of oddly worded statements. 

• Promo - Chris Mordetzky - The Adonis is back again, this time with lots of footage of his time in PCW and whilst it's lovely to see Kris Travis on my TV screen in 2017, comparing the promotion to a trip to Japan is a little bit of a stretch. 

• In-Ring Segment - Karen Jarrett, Lei'D Tapa & Royal Red - A pretty pointless segment, that involved Jarrett telling Tapa that she didn't need her husband to talk for her, which didn't exactly helped the monster image that Tapa was trying to portray.

Match Six - GFW Women's Championship Tournament First Round Triple Threat Match 

Christina von Eerie def. Lei'D Tapa and Mickie James 

As arguably the biggest name on the show and with six reigns on top of WWE's Women's division and three at TNA, it was some what surprising to see Mickie James as the element that held this match back. Yes, James had only given birth for the first time less than a year previously, but she'd also been back in the ring since November 2014 and wrestling regularly on the Indies in 2015, so I would've expected her at least be able to hit a handful of signature moves effectively. A flapjack on CvE and a Mick-DT on Tapa both looked red reels. The bout did have a decent dynamic though with James and CvE fighting against the larger Tapa, which allowed Lei'D took look like a monster when she dominated the competition, including hitting a cool double samoan drop to the pair (even if James landed awkwardly on her leg). The move that CvE picked up the surprise pinfall on Tapa with looked brilliant as she nailed a straight-jacket backstabber after leaping off the middle rope and the star of California's AWS made a good account of herself throughout. Chael Sonnen's commentary continued to grate on me here as he made a comment about preferring skinny women, whilst his commentary partner would know a thing about bigger women like Lei'D Tapa. Considering the promotion had pushed how it was looking to present it's women as credible competitors, the comment about which type of women he fancied and their body shapes really didn't fit. 

• Promo - As Christina von Eerie was walking to the back, her post-match promo began airing over the top, I'm not sure whether I liked this style but it was different and gave a nice pace to the production.

• Commentary - A tale of the tape for Kongo Kong vs. Nick Aldis, as well as a look at the brackets for the GFW Global Championship and GFW NEXGEN Championship tournaments, before another tale of the tape for Sonjay Dutt vs. Jigsaw.

Match Seven - GFW NEXGEN Championship Tournament First Round Match

Jigsaw def. Sonjay Dutt

Two underrated performers pulled out the match of the PPV with a really good Junior heavyweight style match as the NEXGEN Tournament became the highlight of Amped. The two opened up with a wonderful series of quick near misses and crisp reversals that would grab any audience and seemed to get quicker as it went on. Jigsaw's Gory special looked beautiful and the sequence of near falls that followed was only let down by a referee who couldn't keep up with the pace. After the technical battle, both began to show off their high-flying arsenal with Jigsaw nailing a tasty tope conhilo and missile dropkick, before Dutt answered with a leaping hurricanrana and a running shooting star press. The pendulum of momentum swung back and forth throughout with a feeling that either man could pull out the victory, producing a great sequence with Jigsaw blocking a shiranui attempt, only for Dutt to able to counter once again with a Satellite DDT for a near fall. After a big german suplex near fall for Jigsaw, the CHIKARA star was able to block a superplex, before hitting a double stomp to the back of Dutt's neck and advancing with the Jig N' Tonic (cradle belly-to-back piledriver). This match flew by, with both men's offence looking crisp as they kept up a good speed throughout, getting just enough time. With five more minutes I think we could have seen a couple of extra near falls and highspots that would've taken things to the next level, but both men worked hard to create the best match on the show. 

• Promo - Nick Aldis vs. Kongo Kong - This was the most baffling part of the show, as we got a load of footage that hadn't previously aired, showing that the singer from earlier, Henry Maxwell, was Kong's manager and he'd had a couple of run ins with Aldis as well. The booking of Maxwell in the Akbars segment earlier was even more confusing now. 

• Backstage - Sonjay Dutt spoke to Jigsaw, putting over their match as the best they'd have to date (they'd previously worked in CZW and TNA) as well as wishing Jigsaw well in the later rounds of the tournament. 

• Promo - Reno Scum (Adam Thornstowe & Luster the Legend) - From this I learnt that these two lads are a tag team and we saw some footage of them in the gym, even having seen them on a couple of episodes of Impact earlier in the year, I feel I know less about them now than before I saw this promo.

• In-Ring - Henry Maxwell announces Kongo Kong to the ring, which was nice of him.

Match Eight - GFW Global Championship Tournament First Round Match

Nick Aldis def. Kongo Kong

This match outdid my expectations, but my expectations weren't incredibly high to begin with. Until a final stretch of near falls, the bouts highlight was the antics of Henry Maxwell at ringside, which lead to him being the most over part of the match and actually getting a chant from the Las Vegas crowd. Vegas didn't seem to give a flying fuck about Nick Aldis or the peril he faced. The match felt a little bit out of it's time with the monster facing the good looking hero, whilst featuring plenty of interference from a flamboyant manager and a grand total of three bear hugs, whilst Sonnen essentially took the piss out of Kong's look on commentary. The last few minutes however were well put together as Aldis hit a nice-looking superplex before getting a convincing near fall from his diving elbow drop finisher. This was followed up by a well-worked distraction false finish, as Kong got two off a cannonball, before the 400lbs Kong missed a moonsault and Aldis advanced with a weak looking Spineshaker (Belly-to-back side slam). Whilst no one came away looking particularly impressive in the bout and it seems a shame to have the potential monster of Kong lose in his first match, the closing stretch was entertaining stuff and ended up saving what could have been a dud of a main event.

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.46/10 

As a PPV, this show wasn't great. It was poorly put together at points and also difficult to follow, with it being clear that whilst the earlier episode had been put together with care to shop to Networks, the later stuff on the show was thrown together to make up the show. However, the majority of the in-ring action was of a high quality, especially when involving the NEXGEN division as Sonjay Dutt vs. Jigsaw and PJ Black vs. Seiya Sanada were both good to very good matches, whilst the Lucha trios match and KUSHIDA vs. Virgil Flynn also producing some entertaining action. Parts of the show were dated already and some of the booking decisions were questionable (The Akbars and Henry Maxwell segment and the Akbars character in general, Bobby Roode being positioned as against a company that I had no reason to care about yet) and the commentary was awful (Sonnen was almost unbearable at points) but as a show that was available to me on an on demand service in the United Kingdom for free and with no ad-breaks, it provided me with more than enough to be satisfied by on a Sunday afternoon with my brother (@DaveAtTheGraps on Twitter). I think we'd both quite happily watch the next PPV, as we found a lot to enjoy and even the stuff that we didn't think was much cop was still fun to discuss. 

You can check the show out for yourself in the UK here - https://www.my5.tv/impact-wrestling-one-night-only/season-1/impact-wrestling-one-night-only

Review - James Marston (@IAmNotAlanDale)

Impact Wrestling #672 Review (1st June 2017)

On 1st June, Impact Wrestling aired their 672nd episode on POP TV, taped on 23rd April at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. The show featured a Six Sides of Steel match between Alberto el Patron [Alberto Del Rio] and Ethan Carter III for el Patron's GFW Global Championship and EC3's Impact World Heavyweight title shot at Slammiversary, alongside Eli Drake [Shaun Ricker] challenging for Moose's Impact Grand Championship, as well as appearances from X Division Champion Low Ki, LAX, Tyrus [Brodus Clay], Dutch Mantel and Karen Jarrett. But was it any good? Let's take a look.

• ICYMI - A recap of Josh Mathews and Jeremy Borash's feud including Scott Steiner's return to Impact last week, as well as the #671 promos from World Heavyweight Champion [Bobby] Lashley and Ethan Carter III, before EC3 became #1 Contender in last week's Three Way main event against Magnus and James Storm.

el Patron interrupted EC3's #1 Contender Celebration

Ethan Carter III's victory celebration, after becoming #1 Contender last week, was utterly ridiculous, over-the-top and thoroughly entertaining as the 2 time Impact World Heavyweight Champion introduced us to his barber shop quarter, cellist and violinist. This was similar to a segment with Jeff Jarrett from one of the very early episodes of Impact, with each song having me in bits and EC3's off the cuff remarks complimenting the musical frivolity well. The quartet sang his theme music, then "For he's the number one contender" before finishing up with "Goodbye my Bobby Lashley babe" and it was glorious. EC3 hammed it up, managing to be annoying and entertaining, as he named members of the group including Jimmy with the Gimp leg and Tom Foolery, whilst the singing lead perfectly into GFW Global Champion Alberto el Patron's interruption. The segment concluded with Bruce Prichard (joined by Karen Jarrett, Dutch Mantell and Tyrus) cut off a potential scrap by booking the duo for the show's main event with both el Patron's GFW Global title and EC3's Slammiversary title shot on the line. It's all to be inside a steel cage, because...because it will be. The use of Prichard in this segment was head and shoulders above him starting the show last week, although I'm not sure how I feel about having a trio of babyface authority figures flanked by a bodyguard! 

Moose def. Drake to retain Impact Grand Championship

A decent opening contest, with Moose and Eli Drake doing a good job with the three, 3 minute rounds gimmick, working in a nice story with a solid ebb and flow. Drake took the first round, spending most of the match working over the left leg of his opponent, with the bell ringing just as he locked in a Figure Four Leg Lock. The second round continued with a similar feel as Drake upped the ante and wrapped Moose's legs around the ringpost a few times, a closing flurry from Moose including a massive drop kick that knocked Drake to the outside, followed up by hitting a Pop-up Powerbomb, running senton and mid-rope Moonsault all within the last minute. Moose's selling was intermittent and not the strongest part of his game, but he still favoured the leg when it was important to do so, as he couldn't cover Drake after the moonsault. The final round was probably the weakest of the three as I didn't feel like it managed to cap off the story, as well as it could have and any match that doesn't have a definitive finish is always going to end flat. That's an issue with the gimmick itself, but the two did worked in some sound near falls with Drake kicking out of the Go to Hell (Sitout Chokebomb with Drake seated on the top turnbuckle) as well as Eli's second Chris Adonis [Chris Masters] grabbing Moose's leg before a Gravy Train (Over-the-shoulder belly to back piledriver) just before the end of the third round. The highlight of the entire segment may have been Eli's face when it was announced that Moose had won the match, great stuff. 

• Backstage - Knockout's Champion Rosemary [Courtney Rush] surprised Allie [Cherry Bomb], promising to protect her, whilst the terrified Allie struggled to find words...a superb performance from both.

Allie def. Nova 

My main takeaway from this match is that the debuting Amber Nova is way too good looking to be an enhancement talent. The photo doesn't do her justice, so Google her or something. From her entrance onward she looked like a star and even with her limited in-ring experience I'd suggest Impact sign her before anyone else does and find some kind of on-screen role as she develops. Obviously looks aren't everything, but they're a bloody good start. The match itself was probably a little too long for what it needed to do, but the focus on Allie growing as a professional wrestler (despite having been wrestling for over a decade) and her underdog character was nice, as she fought from underneath to seal only her third victory in Impact with a Death Allie Driver. The match got her character and story over clearly, but just went a tad too long for me. 

LAX def. V.o.W. in a No Disqualification Match to Win the Vacant GFW Tag Team Championship

My main issue with this match was that it was No Disqualification, without any need to be. Literally all the cheating or anything LAX (Santana [Mike Draztik] and Ortiz [Angel Ortiz] with Konnan, Homicide and Diamante [Angel Rose]) could have been disqualified for happened with the referee distracted. This would've made perfect sense in a regular match and worked to get the team some more heat when they repeatedly broke the rules to get the victory, but the impact is lessened when the rules are taken away. It felt like the talent hadn't been told the match was No DQ as there was nothing from Veterans of War (Mayweather [Crimson] & Wilcox [Jax Dane]) that would've suggested they had any kind of dislike for Santana and Ortiz and considering the anti-American rhetoric of the group, you would've expect V.O.W. to want to inflict some damage with a few toys, if they could have. Aside from that the match was okay and the timing of some the spots with the outside interference (like Konnan hitting Mayweather with a bat and Homicide whipping Wilcox with an Impact World Tag title belt just as the V.o.W. looked capable of cleaning house) kept the contest entertaining. There's potential in both teams, but they're being under-served at the moment.

• Backstage - McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Jeremy Borash and Joseph Park [Abyss] about their Slammiversary match with Josh Mathews and Scott Steiner, with Park attempting to hype JB up, only for Borash to tell him he was nuts and walk off.

Ki def. Everett to retain X-Division Championship 

A good X Division title match, that was hurt by Andrew Everett slipping on the loose ropes at a crucial point, as well as having Sonjay Dutt on commentary which distracted from the story of Everett chasing the title after a sizeable build. Before the slip the match was heading in the right direction as Low Ki had spent the majority with the momentum, following a baseball slide through the second and third ropes. There was some nice stuff building up to Everett's comeback with the 24 year old doing a convincing job as the underdog against the vicious World Warrior. A number of hope spots involving kicks and a solid amount of time spent on the mat later and Everett got some space with a tasty Kylo Kick (Backflip kick), before a rana into the buckle and a running shooting star press had the match feeling like it was about to break into something special. Unfortunately, that's where the slip came and whilst the pair quickly transitioned into something else, with Ki laying into Everett before we got a sweet shooting star press near fall, most of the drive had been sucked out. Ki would go on to retain after pulling some wonderful facial expressions in the build towards his corner dropkick before pinning Everett with the Warrior's Way. 

• In the Arena - Rockstar Spud made his return to Impact by jumping Swoggle [Hornswoggle] in the crowd and gaining revenge by brutalising his rival with a hammer, whilst constantly shouting "Why?" in an unsettling segment.

el Patron def. EC3 in a Six Sides of Steel Match to retain GFW Global Championship and become #1 Contender to the Impact World Heavyweight Championship 

The main event Steel cage match wasn't the neatest of matches you'll see this year and at times even verged into clunky territory, but Alberto el Patron and Ethan Carter III brought the intensity and scrapped it out in brawly main event. With the gimmick being used well, there was lots of your generic steel cage spots early on, alongside some cool use of the comically large camera holes Impact has in their enclosure. The clash built itself up well with both men whipping out a couple of signatures for near falls and getting creative with the structure that allowed EC3 to hit a Samoan drop off the top rope and an electric chair facebuster to thwart escape attempts. The two shifted gears following a double knee armbreaker that el Patron usually uses to set up for his signature cross armbreaker, with EC3 managing to set El Presidente up for the TK3 only to find himself caught in the submission hold. After The Ass-Kicking Machine escaped, he got two decent near falls from the TK3 and a Sitout Powerbomb before the match reached it's crescendo on top of the cage. 

The finish here saw the match's most spectacular spot as after el Patron chased EC3 up to the top of the cage and managed to send him into a tree of woe with a series of nasty looking kicks. The GFW Global Champion sat a top the structure and then came crashing down with awe-inspiring double stomp. The move provided the bout with it's memorable moment, before el Patron retained and booked his place in the main event of Slammiversary with a rope-walk Frog Splash. Personally, I would've liked to have seen Alberto get the pin after the double stomp as that just felt like the matches natural conclusion, however having EC3 kick out of the move, before a frustrated champion went deeper into his arsenal, may have been even better. Overall, this was a cracking scrap of a cage match, with big near falls and an eye-catching highspot and whilst it would never get mistaken for a wrestling clinic, that wasn't what it needed to be either. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.31/10

A better showing from Impact this week in their last show from Universal until Slammiversary. The opening segment was the peak for me, with the Barbershop Quarter complimenting Ethan Carter III's stellar villain work, whilst his main event cage match with Alberto el Patron also delivered. Low Ki v Andrew Everrett showed promise until the slip and Moose v Eli Drake was an okay showing of the pair despite the cumbersome rules of the Grand Championship. Allie's match with Amber Nova went too long and the LAX v Veterans of War match didn't meet my expectations, in part because the match was needlessly labelled as No DQ. Putting the Josh Mathews and Jeremy Borash feud on the backburner was certainly a positive with Mathews commentary with just D'Angelo Dinero being much more palatable than anything that occurred when he was having to bicker back and forth with JB over the matches. 

The tapings from Mumbai, India begin next week and I'm more than a little intrigued to see how they come off on television. I'm hoping for a return to the madness that was Ring Ka King as we head toward Slammiversary on 2nd July.

Interview: Jeff Jarrett

He's had almost 30 years experience in the wrestling business, performing for the likes of WWE, TNA, USWA, WCW, CWA, WCWA against the likes of Edge, Kurt Angle, Cactus Jack, AJ Styles, Sting and Samoa Joe, winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship six times, the WWF Intercontinental Championship six times, the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship three times, the WWF World Tag Team Championship, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship four times and the WWF European Championship amongst countless others. Now, Jeff Jarrett sits down with ATPW to talk Global Force Wrestling's UK Invasion tour, their television product Amped, his appearances for PCW and much much more. 

ATPW: If there was anyone out there, unfamiliar with Jeff Jarrett, perhaps a younger fan that's only seen you on TNA television over the last few months, how would you describe yourself as a performer?


Double J: Describe myself? You know, I'll leave that to the journalists, the critics, the writers, to describe who, what, where and when I am. With the technology we have with Wikipedia, GlobalForceWrestling.com and all the different websites, there's plenty of info out there on my career. But I'm very happy, I feel that I'm very blessed that I'm in my 29th year in this business. My families been in this business since the 1940s. My Grandmother didn't wrestle but she did just about anything else; promoted, she started selling tickets as a side job and worked her way up to what you would call a CFO. My Dad promoted first and then he wrestled, then he went back to promoting for many many years. Then I got into the business as a very young man and helped out around the business; setting up rings, refereeing, working the concessions, selling programmes, whatever was needed at the shows. My first match was in April 86. I wrestled in my father's promotion, a regional promotion, for seven or eight years, and then I went to work for the WWF. Worked for WWF and WCW until Vince McMahon bought his competition and then I founded TNA Wrestling in 2002 with my father. Resigned from their in December 2013, a few months later launched Global Force Wrestling and that's what I'm most exited about today. I've more passion and more drive about this business today, than I've ever had. 


Big congratulations on the Big 3-0 in business coming up next year!


Oh boy, oh boy!


What's been the main difference between setting up TNA in 2002 and creating Global Force Wrestling in 2014/15?

Well the world is completely changed. Obviously, TNA started as a two hour PPV, Wednesday nights, once a week and that's how we launched. The world of technology and digital and social media, the world has changed. I learned that you have to do things with a methodical, step by step process, you can't rush things, you can't do things over night. Step by step, put the pieces together and with social media you're so much more connected to the fan base, than you were in 2002. Quite frankly it's a completely different set of rules, it's a different ball game and one that I like. The accessibility, interactivity, the connection with the fanbase, can happen literally on a minute by minute basis. 


You've recently returned to TNA for a storyline involving GFW, what was it like being back in the company? Was a difference that you saw between the company you left in 2013 and today?


When I launched Global Force Wrestling on a very step-by-step basis, I put together on my entire career of relationships. I formed alliances with promotions on five continents; New Japan Pro Wrestling, the hottest promotion in Japan, AAA, the hottest promotion in Mexico, all through Australia, South Africa, all through Europe. TNA would probably have been on the bottom of the list of promotions that we were to work with, not of my choosing, theirs. But stranger things have happened, they reached out and we did a co-promotion for almost three months and an exchange of talent. I was very excited. It was special, to come back to promotion that I founded with my father. To wrestle in the King of the Mountain match on the anniversary of the company at Slammiversary, that was special, the Hall of Fame induction was special. Then the exchange of talent, Bobby Roode is in the Global Force Wrestling Heavyweight Tournament. The finals are on October 23rd in Vegas. It's really been healthy, I believe, for both promotions and I think it's a direction that we're going to continue to go down, in terms of working with as many different promotions as we possibly can. 

Is there a plan to continue that cross-promotion with TNA? Or is that all done with the end of that storyline?

At this time, it has come to a close, but I believe the doors are open, but only time will tell. 


GFW has a big TV taping coming up on 23rd October at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, what can fans in attendance expect when they come to that show?


The first one was the historic, the second one was off the charts, with the BULLET CLUB and the Killer Elite Squad, this one is going to top that. When I say historic, it's going to be, four, actually five, a tag and three singles, wrestlers are going to make history. The Global Champions going to be crowned, the Next*Gen Champions going to be crowned, the Women's Champions going to crowned and the tag Champions going to be crowned. It's going to be a historic night. It's something that I'm super excited about. We've got some really, really cool promotional videos coming out, that really amp up and lead into that Friday night. So the people who are that show truly will be witnessing history. 

How is GFW Amped going to be different from other television products currently available (WWE, TNA, Lucha Underground etc.)? 


Well, you can't completely reinvent the wheel. There's going to be a six sided ring and set-up in the middle of the ring. There's going to be hard hitting action from bell-to-bell without question. We've got saying in our production studio, "We don't write stories, we're going to document them", because every athlete in GFW and literally every athlete that get's into this business, there's a real authentic story behind them, why they do what they do. What do their spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend or peers or parents, what's their reaction to them in this business. Why do you want to be in this business? What drives you? What are you aspirations? What are your goals? So we're documenting this and organically conflict comes out of that, cos there can only be one champion in each division and everybody's shooting for that prize. Everybody's got, in this business, an ego on some level and when you puts egos in the same room, the same ring, you're going to have conflict and we're going to document that. You're going to get a real sense of that in the next coming weeks, as you see the promotional pieces, that we're going to putting on our Youtube channel. 


When can people expect your show to start broadcasting? Are we any closer than we were three months ago when the first taping took place? 


Absolutely, absolutely. From the business side of things, I've made no secret that it has been a real challenge, cos the name of our brand is Global Force and when we're not just a US based company and when you're talking to broadcasters, literally, from around the world, multiple countries, multiple territories, and the US being just one of them, it's been a challenge to sync things up, but we've made great progress over the last three months and expect to make some announcements in the coming weeks and months.These announcements I'm very excited about. The distribution partners that we're talking to are major league and we're very very excited about it. 

Towards then end of this month, GFW is holding the first "UK Invasion" Tour, what is going to be different with those shows, as opposed to what we can get elsewhere here in the United Kingdom?


Well, number one and again, I don't want to make too much about it, but it's very special to me, it's very special to Nick Aldis, it's very special to the Global Force athletes that are going to be on the very first UK based shows. So that makes it very very special. The VIP's if they're not already sold out, they're very very close to selling out. To come out that night, on one of the shows you're going to be able to see Nick Aldis, a homecoming. He left as a kid and he's coming back as a world reknown professional wrestler. He's a man and he's honed his craft over the years, that's going to be very special for the company, me personally, obviously Nick personally, he's getting to come home. 


Our mind-set is different from other promotions, the London's, the Manchester's, the Birmingham's, the Sheffield's, the traditional cities where US companies go, we made a real concious effort, that we understand that we're a brand new brand and these are our first shows so we wanted to go into a market where they hadn't seen major league wrestling. So far, the data that we've recieved we've made the right decisions, from the attendance and getting into these markets and we're already looking at 2016 shows in the United Kingdom.


As well, the locations of the tours that caught my eye, the ticket prices for these shows also stood out. Was it a concious decision to go in at a lower price point than WWE and TNA?


Absolutely. This is business. It's about black ink vs. red ink. Building the brand. Realising that we are a brand new brand. We want the people to come out, have a great time, enjoy the product and then tell their friends and then when we come back we'll have even bigger crowds. That's exactly how promotion works. You can out price yourself out of a market real quick, that is something that we consciously made an effort not to do. 

October 28th, Grimsby Auditorium

October 30th, Lynnsport, Kings Lynn

You're actually scheduled to compete yourself on the Tour. What was the decision behind that?


It's actually an obvious one and a not so obvious one. As you know, I'm not wrestling on the Amped show, I am the promoter, as well as the Grand Slam shows. But the partners we have in the United Kingdom approached me and they thought and they gave me their reasons why they thought, that I should wrestle. The pros far outweighed the cons and so I agreed to. It's got tremendously good feedback, which I'm grateful and thankful for. But we'll see, but don't expect me to make me, at this stage of my career, my full-time wrestling days are behind me, but for the first shows, they thought it would be a historic set of circumstances and I agreed to do it.


You've got three different promotions you're working with in the UK (Premier British Wrestling in Scotland, New Generation Wrestling in Hull and Revolution Pro Wrestling in Southern England), are we going to see more interaction between GFW and those companies in the future? 


I'm looking forward to it. Doug Williams has been a great friend, first and foremost, but also a great liaison. I'm positive that these shows are just the beginning of where Global Force and the UK are headed, but as you stated earlier, the UK independent scene is red-hot and Global Force is ready to be a part of it. 

You've got a number of British-based talent lined up for the UK Invasion tour, was their a selection process that went into which wrestlers got the call?


With any Global Force show, me and my team, we take a hard look at everything. At the Grand Slam event tours, this past summer in the US, we had major international stars like the BULLET CLUB and Sanada  and the Killer Elite Squad, guys that are global stars, but also right down the local level, the independent promotions in each market or regional stars in each market. We do everything from global to local and everything in between and that's exactly what we did here. Party Marty's on the show, a legend in the UK Doug Williams, we made sure we wanted to tap into the UK fanbase and bring them stars that they'd seen and put them on the same stage as the Global Force Wrestling stars. 


Back in April you appeared for Preston City Wrestling and you're scheduled for more appearances on Halloween, what did you make of the promotion?

There was a lot of fan interaction, which I like. They run a great operation. I can't even think of what the chubby dudes name is...MASTIFF! He probably has biten off more than he can chews, he thought it was fun and games and it wasn't fun and games. If anyone was there that night, they are well aware that...Dave probably, being politically correct, stepped his toe into something that he shouldn't have. 


I happened to be there and the atmosphere was certainly interesting.


Yeah. That may be an understatement!

If you someone told you you could only wrestle on more match, who would you like it be against?


Again, that's a question I'll let you decide. Over the years, going back to the early days, me and Jerry Lawler wrestled against and as tag partners. Then the early WWF days, Shawn Michaels, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Road Dogg and then you go onto the WCW days and the World Title reigns and the early TNA days and a young AJ Styles. Then as you go through the years and I think at that stage in my career, I had a series with Kurt Angle that I'm very proud of. I'll let you decide out of that group. When you've been wrestling 29 years, there's a huge pool of guys to pick from, so I'll let you guys do that. 


To close, after nearly 30 years in the business, do you have any regrets?


No. That is something that...you live and learn, so to speak. It does no one any good to regret and look back. I believe it's just time to move on, live and learn. It's something that is so fundamentally simple. I don't think that you should have regrets even though everybody does on some level, but I've tried to juggle many different balls over the years, whether it be promoting, whether it be family life vs. the business life. Life is about a balance, sometimes it gets a little out of whack, you've just gotta keep on keeping on and moving down that down that round. 



A huge thankyou to Jeff Jarrett for taking the time to talk to us. We'd like to wish Jeff and everyone at Global Force Wrestling the very best for the UK Invasion Tour and heading into the future.


Here's some useful links for GFW and Jeff Jarrett related content


GFW Website
GFW Youtube
GFW Facebook
GFW Twitter
Jeff Jarrett Twitter


Tickets are still available from the GFW Amped Television taping in Las Vegas, Nevada and can be purchased from this link, with prices between $35-$125 with numerous packages available. Tickets for the UK Invasion Tour can be purchased here - Grimsby Kings Lynn. Tickets are between £14 and £20 with Meet and Greet packages also available. Tickets to see Jeff Jarrett at PCW on October 31st can be purchased here, with various pricing options from between £15-£120.

GFW presents NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 Review

   

     


       There was a lot of speculation surrounding how Jeff Jarrett's Global Force Wrestling would operate, so their first broadcast in conjuction with New Japan Pro Wrestling (arguably the hottest property in wrestling over the last few years) was hotly anticipated, by me and many others. I've made it clear in the past that I felt I needed a way of getting into New Japan, as without any English commentary I felt I was missing elements of the on-going stories being told and whilst the wrestling was always stellar, I found it difficult to make an emotional connection with the performers, which I think is one of the most important things to have as a wrestling fan, as demonstrated by Daniel Bryan's performances at this years WrestleMania. So with the announcement that Jim Ross and Matt Striker would be on hand to provide the English commentary for this show, I was all over it like white on rice. Could I be converted to one of those people that goes on about how good New Japan is constantly? Let's find out, eh?

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match

 

Kazuchika Okada

 

 vs. 

 Hiroshi Tanahashi (C)

      
       Even if you don't follow New Japan, I'd imagine someone over the last few years has mentioned the names Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi to you at some point or another. The two biggest names in the company going at it on the biggest stage available, everything about this match felt special. It was one of only two matches to get a build up package, although this was presented in Japanese with no English subtitles, which was a little annoying. GFW seemed to have very little involvement in the production of the show, and were simply providing English commentary over the top of the Japanese visuals. However, the commentary team did a stellar job of getting me up to speed on the prestige of the match, and the pairs previous encounters.

      This match was an absolute delight to watch from start to finish, as two of best wrestlers on the planet put on a real show. This over-thirty minute bout had a little something for everyone pulling in a number of different styles throughout the bout. There was sound brawling as the pair battled on the entrace way, ending with a Death Valley Driver from Okada, terrific high-flying spots like a diving crossbody over the barricade to the floor from Tanahashi, some great technical wrestling and sequences and then there was, of course, the story telling.

     What particularly caught my attention was the sophistication of the storytelling in the bout, as about half way through Tanahashi hit a Dragon Screw Leg Whip, just seconds after avoiding a Rainmaker Clothesline from Okada, and the match instantly changed. Tanahashi's focus stayed on the leg for quite some time, both neutralising Okada's quicker paced offence and moving towards his cloverleaf submission hold. Okada's on-going subtle selling and the other on-going story of Okada attempting to hit the Rainmaker clothesline meant that the bout could move into different areas, whilst being able to come back to the Okada's injury with another dragon screw leg whip allowing Tanahashi to take the control that would allow him to take the victory and retain the title following multiple High Fly Flow's (Frog Splash). 

      Even if you'd never heard of Tanahashi or Okada heading into this match, I'd like to think you'd come out of it thinking they were both world-class performers and on par with any top performer in the United States or elsewhere, because that's exactly what they are. Everything the pair did in the ring felt like it meant something and looked great, therefore even if the rest of the card had been terrible (it wasn't), these two performers would have convinced me to come back on the strength of this match alone. I felt this match was possibly Jim Ross and Matt Striker's strongest performance of the night as they were clearly up to speed on Okada and Tanahashi, which hadn't always been the case throughout the night and allowed for that extra level of understanding that I wouldn't have had if I had watched with Japanese commentary. 

IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match

 

 Kota Ibushi

 vs. 

 Shinsuke Nakamura

 

      Everything about Shinsuke Nakamura screams superstar. I'd previously caught glimpses of Nakamura in clips on Youtube, as well as the Ring of Honor/New Japan joint shows last year and had been impressed with his performance against Kevin Steen (now WWE NXT's Kevin Owens), but it wasn't until I saw him walk to ring here, with Matt Striker talking about how Nakamura had been influenced by Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson, that I realised what a consumate showman Nakamura truly is, with the proceeding match only compounding this thought. Ibushi was a bit more of an unknown, I'd seen some of his stuff from the indy DDT promotion on Youtube, during one those late night tralls that usually included shoot interviews and Botchamania clips, so wasn't quite sure what to expect from him heading in.

    This bout was the classic Rising Star vs. Established Star story that I'd expect anyone in the US would be familiar with, but told almost flawlessy. Helped along by Ross and Striker on commentary, Ibushi and Nakamura produced a match that would rival the main event for match of the night, with Ibushi playing the arrogant former Junior Heavyweight making the step up to the heavyweight division, whilst Nakamura took on the role of experienced main eventer. Both wrestlers excelled in these roles, with Ibushi mocking Nakamura on numerous occassion, including attempting to get the victory by using Nakamura's signature Boma Ye Knee Strike in one of the standout near falls from the bout.

      Nakamura took an absolute battering from his opponent, with Ibushi in control for much of the match, using his speed and high flying offence to his advantage, pulling out a Springboard into a top rope hurracanrana, a corkscrew moonsault, an attempted phoenix splash and a lot more throughout the match, whilst also throwing in some beautifully executed technical manoevre's like a half and half suplex and ridiculous german suplex lifting Nakamura off the apron whilst standing on the second rope. Nakamura's own offence of mainly strikes constrasted nicely, whilst some well timed no sells from Ibushi and Nakamura's own selling allowed Ibushi to look even stronger. 

      When Nakamura managed to pull out the victory following a Top Rope Falcon Arrow and the Boma Ye, it felt like a true star had been made, out of the defeat, in Ibushi. Compounded by the show of respect and hand shake at the finish, this seemed to be Ibushi receiving the New Japan stamp of approval. The booking here was spot on, allowing Ibushi to be elevated, whilst still keeping the title on Nakamura, setting up a potential rematch between the two later on down the line. With this and Okada vs. Tanahashi going on last, the final hour or so of this show was pure unadulterated wrestling porn. 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Four Way Match

The Young Bucks

   vs.

Forever Hooligans

 vs.

Time Splitters

 vs.

reDRagon (C)

       This match opened the show, this was a wise decision for many reasons. Firstly, you can't really go wrong with multi man matches as an opener, they warm the crowd up nicely, get them settled for the show, presenting anything to heavy here would potentially kill the shows momentum straight off. Secondly, all of these tag teams have competed on the American indy scene, most prominently in Ring of Honor, with Alex Shelley perhaps the best know from his time in TNA as part of the Motor City Machine Guns alongside Chris Sabin, so it was a good way of introducing any new viewers watchign on the GFW feed, as they most likely would be familiar with the talent in the ring. That's forgetting that all eight of these men are phenomenal wrestling talents in their own right.

     The match went pretty much as one would expect, plenty of fast paced action, exciting highspots and a plethora of superkicks from those cheeky Young Bucks. There wasn't much in the way of story telling or psychology, but there didn't need to be, this match was all about fun, best shown by a pacy sequence that saw a number of flips to the outside, including a suicide dive by Rocky Romero, tope conhilo from Alex Koslov and a stunning corkscrew plancha from one of the Young Bucks (Like the Usos I can't tell them apart when the action is this quick!) 

       The bout was paced very nicely, with a spirited Romero hot tag mid-way through being a nice addition, as the bout moved towards it's crescendo very naturally, with a number of exciting near falls, double team manoevres and quick tags. The Young Buck's Meltzer Driver is a straight up silly move, and having to have a number of the other wrestlers break up the fall after was a good touch. The Meltzer Driver was the climax of a sequence that saw The Young Bucks land on their feet following an attempted double Doomsday Device, with KUSHIDA delivering the clothesline with the Bucks positioned on Koslov and Shelley's shoulder, before superkicking everyone in sight. If it weren't for the eventual winners of the bout, I'd be picking The Bucks as my MVP's of this bout.

     That winning team was reDRagon, who were outstanding throughout the bout. Both Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish had been on a massive roll throughout 2014, holding the Ring of Honor tag titles for most of year, and with O'Reilly finding singles success holding the PWG World title, I'd imagine 2015 is going to be an even bigger year for the pair. En route to victory they pulled out a backbreaker/diving knee drop combo, an unbelievable Double Arm DDT/Wheelbarrow Suplex combination, with Fish hitting a top rope Falcon Arrow and stunning Exploder Suplex, before the pair used their signature Chasing the Dragon double team to pick up the pinfall victory on Koslov. This topped of a superb opener nicely and set the tone for what was to come.

    

Singles Match

AJ Styles

 vs.

Tetsuya Naito

 

       I really really want to hate AJ Styles and write nasty things about him, because he seems to be a bit of a nobhole. "But he's a heel, he's supposed to annoy you" Be quiet! There's being a heel to get a reaction in a building and then there's being unprofessional outside the ring and for me Styles crosses that line. But I can't write nasty things about him. "But you just have, you called him a "nobhole"" Be quiet! I can't write nasty things about him because he's fucking good wrestler and puts on matches like this here bout with Tetsuya Naito.

      The match centred around Styles working over Naito's knee and leg, supposedly to set up for the Calf Killer submission (perhaps the commentary team forgot Styles used the move, because there was no mention of it until it was locked in), this offence from Styles was similar to what was seen out of him in the latter stages of his TNA run and works nicely for his heel persona. As soon as Naito was locked in the Calf Killer, his selling was on the button, making it so easy to will him on to reach the ropes, as the villainous Styles played his part in the drama as well. 

      I was a little disapointed then not to see the leg play a bit more into the finish of the bout, as it could have been easily tied in with the other on-going story of Styles attempting the feared Styles Clash at any opportunity. With Styles perched upon the top rope, Naito attempted a Super Frankensteiner, only for Styles to hold on and manage to set up for a Styles Clash off Bret's rope. A little grab of the leg before Styles' managed to set up for the Styles clash would have been the icing on the cake for me. This is probably the most nit picky paragraph I have ever written in a wrestling review and for that I am truly sorry.

     Bar a few slight slips and hiccups, this was a top notch slice of wrestling action, that could have easily main evented any wrestling show going and not received a single complaint. Styles has been rejuvenated since leaving TNA, whilst Naito joins the long list of Japanese talents that severly impressed me on this show and another talent that TNA managed to let slip through their fingers! 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match

Kenny Omega

 vs.

Ryusuke Taguchi (C)

        I'm not quite sure what to make of this one, if I'm honest. It was neither here or there, and I'm not quite sure what they were trying to do with this one. Whilst there was some cool looking moves, and elements of story telling with The Young Bucks antics at ringside, there wasn't much in way of chemistry between the two and I just couldn't get into the match as much as I was expecting I would do. Maybe it was because we'd seen all the flips in the Four team Junior Tag match earlier in the show and there was no real attempt to create a strong story thread to follow.

     Apart from an awkward double dropkick spot (Does that spot ever look good?), the wrestling was of a high quality and I thought the bout picked up the pace nicely in the second half, so there was certainly something to enjoy in this match. I think perhaps it was also hurt by being a little too long and being placed directly after two hard hitting bouts in the form of Suzuki vs, Sakuraba and Makabe vs. Ishii. With Omega picking up the win via pinfall following the One Winged Angel, I'd suspect this wasn't the star making performance he'd have hoped for, but he's certainly talented and I'd be surprised if he wasn't turning heads with his run as Junior Heavyweight Champion in the near future.   

NEVER Openweight Championship Match

Togi Makabe

vs.

Tomohiro Ishii

         Two mean bastards beating the shit out of each other. This match had intensity on tap, as Makabe and Ishii looked to send each other into another dimension. That's at least what it seemed like as the pair unleashed a series of stiff strikes and big power moves on each other for just over twelve minutes. I was completely drawn into this one, with some stunning moves from both men including a powerbomb variation each, a delayed verticle superplex from Ishii and Northern Lights and Dragon Suplexes from Makabe, this match had a little bit more than your regular WWE power vs. power bout.

       The stiff back and forth strikes battles and continued cat and mouse style, showcased just how evenly matched the two were and made a nice change of pace from the babyface fighting from underneath style that was showcased elsewhere on the card. I perhaps would have liked Ishii's taped up injured shoulder to have played a little bit more of a role in the match, especially considering it was bought up multiple times by Striker on commentary. This style of match won't be for everyone, but it certainly worked for me. 

UWFi Rules Match

Minoru Suzuki

vs.

Kazushi Sakuraba

       Hearing Matt Striker detailing the rules of this match filled me with dread, as I've never been a huge fan of MMA mixing with pro wrestling, mainly because it points to your other matches being pre-determined and makes it a little harder to suspend your disbelief going forward. Luckily, that wasn't the case here, as the veteran Suzuki and Sakuraba used a convincing style, all submission holds and strikes, whilst incorporating the pro wrestling theatrics, such as a hard fought battle on the ramp, over the top. This made it feel much more like a vicious pro wrestling match, than an MMA bout, which is perfectly fine by me.

        The bout had a clear and defined story that saw Sakuraba focus the majority of his attack on Suzuki's arm, after being able to lock in a Kimura whilst on the ramp. This was helped along by Suzuki's stellar selling of the injury, as well the last man standing style elements with Suzuki battling to get to his feet before the ten count, which created a decent underdog-style story. When Suzuki made his come back with a huge kick, followed up by a Rear Naked Choke that eventually saw Sakuraba pass out from the pain, and whilst this worked well as an ending, it did feel a little like a John Cena-Hulk Hogan superman-esque comeback, which didn't quite mesh with the style presented earlier. Kudos to Matt Striker for really putting both of these guys MMA credentials over throughout the match, it definitely helped me as a viewer understand everything going on.

IWGP Tag Team Championship Match

Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata

vs.

BULLET CLUB (C)

        This is where Matt Striker and Jim Ross being on commentary really worked for me. Had it not been for their performance on commentary, telling the story of Goto and Shibata being on the same college wrestling team and the rest of the pairs backstory that gave the bout an extra dimensionm, I'd have struggled to get into this. The flow felt a little bit off kilter and the teams didn't quite connect with each other the way I was hoping they would. All four men, particularly Karl Anderson, had their own moments that impressed me, but I don't think the match came together in the way it should have.

Six Man Tag Team Match

BULLET CLUB

  vs.

TenKoji & Tomoaki Honma

 
     This bout was a fairly basic six man tag, going a little over five minutes there wasn't much room for the competitors to move in terms of the story they could tell. The heel BULLET CLUB, consisting of Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi (perhaps best known in the US for his 2009 run in TNA as part of the No Limit tag team) and former WWF, TNA and WCW wrestler Jeff Jarrett, spent most of the match working quick tags and working over Satoshi Kojima, before a hot tag allowed for a comeback. There was some American style antics from Jarrett and his trusty guitar, but that aside, with the babyface's picking up the win following a diving headbutt from Tomaki Honma, this was your run of the mill short tag bout, with nothing particular noteworthy.

Eight Man Tag Team Match

Suzuki-gun

  vs.

Naomichi Marufuji, TMDK & Toru Yano

       I found this match a lot more entertaining than the aforementioned six man tag, although it was essentially a "get your shit in" showcase. That's maybe a bit of a harsh term to use, but this match essentially allowed each man to show off a little bit of what they could do in the ring, whether that be Shelton Benjamin hitting his leaping release belly to belly suplex on Marafuji, the power game of Davey Boy Smith, Jr. (formerly WWE's DH Smith) and Lance Archer (formerly WWE's Vance Archer & TNA's Lance Hoyt/Rock), the brawling style of Toru Yano and Takashi Iizuka, the speedy double team work of TMDK's Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste or the flawless skill of Naomichi Marufuji. For what it was, this is was a fun match, but was let down by the commentary team who didn't quite seem to know what was going on during spells of outside interference.

Finally...

        What else is there to say? This was fantastic pay-per-view event, Okada vs. Tanahashi and Nakamura vs. Ibushi were a different class, whilst Styles vs. Naito, the Junior Tag Team Four Way, Makabe vs. Ishii and Suzuki vs. Sakuraba are all worth watching and for entirely difference reasons! Striker and JR did a sound job on commentary, after settling into the show, although it was clear that Jim Ross didn't quite know as much about the product as he should have. I'd like to see Striker return for another show, as once he calmed himself down, he was an informative and interesting listen, perhaps they could team him up with an old New Japan gaijin, who might know a little more about the product? Was it worth the £25 that Flipps app were charging for the stream? Probably not, I'd want to be there live for that sort of money, bring the price down to £15-£17 and I'd definitely hand over my student loan for action this good.