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IMPACT WRESTLING x NJPW MULTIVERSE UNITED 2 RESULTS & THOUGHTS

Welcome to PWInsider.com’s coverage of Impact Wrestling x New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Multiverse United 2 from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, PA.  I apologize for this not being our usual live PBP but with the show falling on a 5 PM start time on the same day I had a personal conflict that made it impossible to watch the PPV live.

KICKOFF SHOW:

They had a healthy looking crowd in Philly.

Heath & Joe Hendry & Yuya Uemura defeated Rocky Romero & Master Yato & Rysuke Taguchi.  This was a solid bout where the goal was to showcase Yuya as much as possible.  He scored the pin with a bodypress.  There were some entertaining sequences here.  Hendry is super underrated.

Impact Wrestling Digital Media Champion Kenny King pinned Yoshinobu Kanemura.  This was a good solid back and forth bout.  You got the impression watching this that a portion of the live audience wasn’t familiar with Kanemura.  Kanemura did his whiskey spitting spot, but in the end King nailed the Royal Flush.

Multiverse United 2

Chris Sabin won an interpromotional Scramble Match, defeating Rich Swann, YOH, Frankie Kazarian, BUSHI, Kevin Knight, El Desperado and MAO.  This was ALL action at ludicrous speed with tons of big spots.  Really damn fun.  Everyone locked up at once and did stereo dives.  MAO looked like a star.   Sabin hit all sorts of big moves and scored the pin with Cradleshock. On YOH.  BUSHI misted him in the face after.  Knight is going to be a big star soon and Kazarian should bottle his fountain of youth as he worked like he’s 15 years younger and is so damn crisp.  Sabin looked good and I really wonder if Bound for Glory will be Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin.

Moose and Eddie Edwards defeated  NJPW World Television Champion Zack Sabre Jr. and Shane Haste.  This was so damn good with Sabre as the glue that really pulled the crowd in as every sequence he was involved in was a ton of fun.  This was incredibly fun and one of the best things on the show.  Moose scored the pin on Haste with a spear, which made sense as NJPW was going to want to protect Sabre.  Sabre and Edwards had some fun sequences working over each other.  Moose, as an athlete, is just insanely gifted.

NJPW Strong Champion Giulia defeated Momo Kohgo, Giselle Shaw and Deonna Purrazzo in another excellent match.  Giulia looked every bit a star coming to and inside the ring and this was a big moment for her in the United States.  If there isn’t a bidding war for her in the next few years among WWE, AEW, etc. I’d be shocked.  This could not have been a better coming out party for her.  Gisele went for a dive that looked like it went awry but we are told she was OK after.  Everyone looked really good here.  Giulia scored the pin after hitting Shaw with a Northern Lights Bomb.

Sami Callihan pinned DOUKI in a South Philly Street Fight.  Callihan challenged him to the Fight at belltime.  Why not just advertise it ahead of time?  They brawled all over with DOUKI taking a lot of punishment, including a Cactus Jack style piledriver through a stack of chairs.  DOUKI kicking out of the plunder shots and hard hitting moves got him over with the Philly faithful.    If you like mayhem, this is your jam.

Francesco Akira and TJP defeated Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita.  This was solid.    The story of the match was that Fujita has a lot of upside and that he was given a lot of spotlight so the audience would see him as someone with fighting spirit.  Eagles had a miscue and caught him with a superkick, setting up the finish.

Bullet Club’s David Finlay & KENTA & ABC & Clark Connors & Alex Coughlin won a 12 man tag team bout over The Guerrillas of Destiny & PCO & Josh Alexander & The DKC & El Phantasmo.  There were way too many people involved for this to be anything but the chaos theory personified.  Lots of big spots.  PCO destroying himself for the greater (?) good at entertaining the audience.  Big brawl after but this was a Bullet Club moment.  Josh Alexander looked good in his first PPV bout back.

Impact Wrestling X-Division Champion Lio Rush and Trey Miguel defeated Speedball Mike Bailey and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi after Rush scored a surprise on Hiromu after a low blow.  Everyone worked super hard here and this was one of the better bouts tonight.  Really strong.  This was dynamite and was one of those nights where Rush was “on” and looked every bit the superstar he’s always had the potential to be.  This should, theoretically, set up a title vs. title bout for down the line.  Everyone wrestled their ass off here.

Impact Wrestling Champion Alex Shelley pinned NJPW’s Hiroshi Tanahashi.  This was very, very good but not amazing.  Tanahashi works as hard as he can at this point, but is obviously hurting and can’t go at the same level.  This was a good, interesting back and forth bout but I didn’t personally get the feeling watching it the title was ever in jeopardy, so that kept the drama from hitting the level you’d expect it to rise too.  But, a really damn good match and some might argue the biggest win on an international scope for Shelley, who was every bit the wrestling wizard here people see him as inside the ring.    Tanahashi worked over his knee for a big part of this.  Shelley came back and was nailing all sorts of big Japanese star finishers, with the idea he had scouted Hiroshi’s biggest adversaries as to how they had beaten him.  In the end, it was a superkick and Shellshock.  A good ending, but I think the X-Division tag would have closed the show in a “hotter” manner.

That said, this was a super fun show that I really regret missing live.  Well worth the replay order on FITE on Impact+.

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