* In a BTI Match, Laredo Kid defeated Matthew Rehwoldt. Real fun match here. BTI is so underutilized at this point. They could do so much more with this hour.
* The Bullet Club defeated Finjuice and Chris Sabin following a low blow from ELP to Chris Sabin. From what I saw, this was a solid opening contest. There were skipping issues on Ultimate Insiders. Not a great first impression. My hope is they get this issue fixed.
* Gia Miller interviewed Josh Alexander backstage. Josh said he was the wildcard at BFG. Alexander said tonight he would take care of Fulton and Ace while Christian watched what he had to deal with at Bound for Glory. They tag tonight.
* Heath cut an in-ring promo. He recapped his injury a year ago. He was about to get his contract but then he got hurt. He said the worst thing is he lost his best friend, who went off the radar. He said that isn't the Rhino he knows and VBD brainwashed him. He called him out but Violent by Design answered. Eric Young said the Rhino that Heath knows is gone as VBD made him better than before. EY said he speaks for Rhino. VBD told Heath to leave or force their hand.
Heath went after VBD but the group overwhelmed him. They ended up breaking the flag over the head of Heath. They draped the flag over his fallen body as people wondered where Rhino was. I like them dragging out Rhino's return leading to questions over where his allegiance will lie. The simple choice is Heath, leading to a tag team match at BFG. Heath is a dark horse in this company and could be really great.
* Gia Miller interviewed the Souljas (Willie Mack/Rich Swann). Next week he will be competing against Rohit Raju and El Phantasmo in a qualifier next week. They were interrupted by Zicky Dice and Manny Lemons who trash talked them. Swann said he would go to Scott and get the tag match set up for tonight. Elsewhere, Zicky and Manny found Brian Myers and told him about the match. They wanted Myers in their corner but he declined. He invited VSK to his bus to eat chicken wings. I love the Learning Tree segments!
* Tasha Steelz, Savannah Evans and Mercedes Martinez defeared Kimber Lee, Brandi Lauren and Lady Frost when Tasha scored the win. Alisha Edwards attacked Kimber and Lauren after the match with a kendo stick. It was okay, I am not impressed by Evans but am excited to see more of Mercedes Martinez.
* Backstage, Alisha Edwards was freaking out. Gail Kim interrupted. Alisha said she wanted Kimber. Gail gave her the match. She would face her at Knockouts Knockdown along with Savannah Evans and Jordynne Grace. It would be a Monster's Ball Match in honor of Daffney. Dedicating Monster's Ball to Daffney is a sweet gesture. She was an incredible part of the roster for a few years and her death was tragic. The KO Knockdown card is really shaping up.
*All About Me with the Influence. They were talking about winning the tag titles but were joined by Decay. Tenille went on a curseword rant. Decay took over as host of the show. The bleeping of the cursewords was funny. I look forward to their match at Knockouts Knockdown.
* Moose and Morrissey are backstage. They talked about sending Eddie Edwards to the hospital. Moose announced that they were taking their alliance to the Call Your Shot Gauntlet at Bound for Glory. If they are the last two in the ring that night, they would fight each other. Call Your Shot will be a higher profile match with Swann, Morrissey, Moose and likely Eddie Edwards. I enjoy myself a good Gauntlet Battle Royal.
* Steve Maclin defeated Taurus and Petey Williams in a 3-Way to qualify for BFG after stealing the pin from Petey. This was another entertaining 3-Way match. Looks like Maclin joins Trey Miguel at BFG.
* Christian Cage cut a promo about Josh Alexander at BFG. He was interrupted by the Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels who said he had other things on his agenda. Whether it is in Impact or AEW, he wants to let it be known that he wants a shot at the Impact World Championship. My hope is Daniels doesn't get in the way of the BFG main event but I don't have a problem with him challenging for the title. He is a pioneer that I love seeing again.
* In a Swinger's Palace segment, Hernandez was boxing up things in the background. John E. Bravo found a poster, which Hernandez revealed to be of Dixie Carter. Fallah Bahh interrupted and said they got what they deserved. Bravo found a picture of Jeff Jarrett's DVD. "Did we win this in a bet"- Swinger. "No, a lawsuit"- Bravo. That was hilarious. This is nice lip service for longtime fans. I appreciate the sense of humor of these segments. I will miss Swinger's Palace.
* Rich Swann and Willie Mack defeated Manny Lemons and Zicky Dice in a squash match. Afterwards, the rest of Learning Tree jumped Swann and Mack and laid them out. Again, I enjoy the dynamics of the Learning Tree. VSK is the favorite, Beale is second in command, Myers the leader and Lemons/Dice as the goofy comedy act.
* With Gia Miller, Scott D'Amore and Gail Kim were meeting with Deonna Purrazzo. Mickie James came out of nowhere and brawled with Deonna. Scott made a "no contact order" until BFG where Mickie would lose her title shot and Deonna would lose her title if they touched each other. Gail Kim announced "Pick Your Poison" which starts on Saturday when Mickie picks Deonna's opponent. This feud has some nice intensity. I wonder who Mickie picks?
* Christian Cage and Josh Alexander defeated Ace Austin and Madman Fulton when Cage made the blind tag and hit the Unprettier. Solid main event, nothing too memorable. These two should have a great contest at BFG.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: My first impression of Ultimate Insider is that the beginning of the show skipped a bunch. On top of that though, I watch on a 30 minute delay. I appreciate not having commercials but those are things I have to get used to. 4.99 for this service isn't bad.
It was an okay show. It wasn't really memorable as the focus is on Knockouts Knockdown. Very middle of the road episode.
* The Bullet Club defeated Finjuice and Chris Sabin following a low blow from ELP to Chris Sabin. From what I saw, this was a solid opening contest. There were skipping issues on Ultimate Insiders. Not a great first impression. My hope is they get this issue fixed.
* Gia Miller interviewed Josh Alexander backstage. Josh said he was the wildcard at BFG. Alexander said tonight he would take care of Fulton and Ace while Christian watched what he had to deal with at Bound for Glory. They tag tonight.
* Heath cut an in-ring promo. He recapped his injury a year ago. He was about to get his contract but then he got hurt. He said the worst thing is he lost his best friend, who went off the radar. He said that isn't the Rhino he knows and VBD brainwashed him. He called him out but Violent by Design answered. Eric Young said the Rhino that Heath knows is gone as VBD made him better than before. EY said he speaks for Rhino. VBD told Heath to leave or force their hand.
Heath went after VBD but the group overwhelmed him. They ended up breaking the flag over the head of Heath. They draped the flag over his fallen body as people wondered where Rhino was. I like them dragging out Rhino's return leading to questions over where his allegiance will lie. The simple choice is Heath, leading to a tag team match at BFG. Heath is a dark horse in this company and could be really great.
* Gia Miller interviewed the Souljas (Willie Mack/Rich Swann). Next week he will be competing against Rohit Raju and El Phantasmo in a qualifier next week. They were interrupted by Zicky Dice and Manny Lemons who trash talked them. Swann said he would go to Scott and get the tag match set up for tonight. Elsewhere, Zicky and Manny found Brian Myers and told him about the match. They wanted Myers in their corner but he declined. He invited VSK to his bus to eat chicken wings. I love the Learning Tree segments!
* Tasha Steelz, Savannah Evans and Mercedes Martinez defeared Kimber Lee, Brandi Lauren and Lady Frost when Tasha scored the win. Alisha Edwards attacked Kimber and Lauren after the match with a kendo stick. It was okay, I am not impressed by Evans but am excited to see more of Mercedes Martinez.
* Backstage, Alisha Edwards was freaking out. Gail Kim interrupted. Alisha said she wanted Kimber. Gail gave her the match. She would face her at Knockouts Knockdown along with Savannah Evans and Jordynne Grace. It would be a Monster's Ball Match in honor of Daffney. Dedicating Monster's Ball to Daffney is a sweet gesture. She was an incredible part of the roster for a few years and her death was tragic. The KO Knockdown card is really shaping up.
*All About Me with the Influence. They were talking about winning the tag titles but were joined by Decay. Tenille went on a curseword rant. Decay took over as host of the show. The bleeping of the cursewords was funny. I look forward to their match at Knockouts Knockdown.
* Moose and Morrissey are backstage. They talked about sending Eddie Edwards to the hospital. Moose announced that they were taking their alliance to the Call Your Shot Gauntlet at Bound for Glory. If they are the last two in the ring that night, they would fight each other. Call Your Shot will be a higher profile match with Swann, Morrissey, Moose and likely Eddie Edwards. I enjoy myself a good Gauntlet Battle Royal.
* Steve Maclin defeated Taurus and Petey Williams in a 3-Way to qualify for BFG after stealing the pin from Petey. This was another entertaining 3-Way match. Looks like Maclin joins Trey Miguel at BFG.
* Christian Cage cut a promo about Josh Alexander at BFG. He was interrupted by the Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels who said he had other things on his agenda. Whether it is in Impact or AEW, he wants to let it be known that he wants a shot at the Impact World Championship. My hope is Daniels doesn't get in the way of the BFG main event but I don't have a problem with him challenging for the title. He is a pioneer that I love seeing again.
* In a Swinger's Palace segment, Hernandez was boxing up things in the background. John E. Bravo found a poster, which Hernandez revealed to be of Dixie Carter. Fallah Bahh interrupted and said they got what they deserved. Bravo found a picture of Jeff Jarrett's DVD. "Did we win this in a bet"- Swinger. "No, a lawsuit"- Bravo. That was hilarious. This is nice lip service for longtime fans. I appreciate the sense of humor of these segments. I will miss Swinger's Palace.
* Rich Swann and Willie Mack defeated Manny Lemons and Zicky Dice in a squash match. Afterwards, the rest of Learning Tree jumped Swann and Mack and laid them out. Again, I enjoy the dynamics of the Learning Tree. VSK is the favorite, Beale is second in command, Myers the leader and Lemons/Dice as the goofy comedy act.
* With Gia Miller, Scott D'Amore and Gail Kim were meeting with Deonna Purrazzo. Mickie James came out of nowhere and brawled with Deonna. Scott made a "no contact order" until BFG where Mickie would lose her title shot and Deonna would lose her title if they touched each other. Gail Kim announced "Pick Your Poison" which starts on Saturday when Mickie picks Deonna's opponent. This feud has some nice intensity. I wonder who Mickie picks?
* Christian Cage and Josh Alexander defeated Ace Austin and Madman Fulton when Cage made the blind tag and hit the Unprettier. Solid main event, nothing too memorable. These two should have a great contest at BFG.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: My first impression of Ultimate Insider is that the beginning of the show skipped a bunch. On top of that though, I watch on a 30 minute delay. I appreciate not having commercials but those are things I have to get used to. 4.99 for this service isn't bad.
It was an okay show. It wasn't really memorable as the focus is on Knockouts Knockdown. Very middle of the road episode.
