The final special event stop on the way to Slammiversary is Under Siege. With four championships on the line and all out faction warfare, was this show unmissable? Join Jez and Dan for The Main Event Podcast. We’ll break it all down and tell you whether to miss it or not!
Pre-Show: Mahabali Shera and Raj Singh vs. Heath and Rhino
The night’s action got underway on the Countdown to Under Siege pre-show with Mahabali Shera and Raj Singh taking on Heath and Rhino. As the match began, the crowd got behind Rhino and broke into E-C-Dub and Rhino’s Gonna Kill You chants. When Heath joined the match, he continued the work Rhino began, dominating Singh fairly easily. This turned around when Shera struck Heath from outside the ring before tagging in and leading a double team attack on Heath. Heath was eventually able to make the tag to Rhino, though, and the War Machine dominated Raj Singh once again, delivering a Gore and picking up the 1-2-3.
Jez’s Pick: N/A
Dan’s Pick: N/A
Winner: Heath and Rhino
Jez 0 – Dan 0
Pre-Show: Laredo Kid vs. Mike Bailey vs. Rich Swann
The next contest was a triple threat match with X-Division stars Laredo Kid, Mike Bailey and Rich Swann all competing. The action started fast with all three men competing before Bailey left the ring, followed closely by Swann and turntaking took place. ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey took control of the match from here, wearing down Swann with kicks and submissions. Laredo Kid tried to get involved again but Bailey fought him off, maintaining the grip he already had on Swann and turning his offensive move into a Leg Lock. Bailey continued his roll of momentum, keeping Kid out of the ring as much as possible and securing near falls on Swann. However, when Laredo Kid surprised Bailey with a Spanish Fly, Rich Swann was able to ground Kid, deliver a 450 Splash and collect the win.
Jez’s Pick: Rich Swann
Dan’s Pick: Rich Swann
Winner: Rich Swann
Jez 1 – Dan 1
Madison Rayne (with Tenille Dashwood) vs. Gisele Shaw (With Alisha Edwards)
The opening contest on the main pay-per-view saw Madison Rayne take on Gisele Shaw. The pair locked up to begin the match and exchanged strikes and Arm Drags before Rayne escaped the ring and took a time-out. When Rayne returned to the ring, she was attacked but a distraction technique allowed Dashwood to grab the leg of Shaw and turn the momentum of the match. Despite this, Shaw was able to fight back into the match and gain several nearfalls. Tenille Dashwood got involved again but this time, Alisha Edwards took her out of the equation and the match continued. After Rayne tried to roll up Shaw for the win, the ‘Quintessential Diva’ kicked out, nailed a huge Knee Strike and covered the veteran, Rayne, to pick up a huge victory.
Jez’s Pick: Madison Rayne
Dan’s Pick: Gisele Shaw
Winner: Gisele Shaw
Jez 1 – Dan 2
Steve Maclin vs. Chris Sabin
The personal rivalry between Steve Maclin and Chris Sabin took centre stage, next. The pair locked up and knocked each other down to start the match. At Sabin’s suggestion, they engaged in a test of strength and, unsurprisingly, Maclin got the better of the exchange and so Sabin instead looked to ground his larger opponent with fast wrestling moves. Maclin became irritated that Sabin was trying to wear down his formerly injured shoulder and so he took Sabin out of the ring and tossed him face first into the apron. Maclin did some targeting of his own, wearing down the lower back of Sabin. As before, Sabin used his speed and quickness to try and fight off Maclin but, each time, Maclin used his size and strength to put down the Motor City Machine Gun. Steve Maclin went for the win, pinning Sabin with the help of the ropes but the referee caught and admonished him. Sabin fired up and delivered a Clothesline from Hell, Michigan before following up with the Cradle Shock and pinning Maclin to pick himself up a hard fought win.
Jez’s Pick: Steve Maclin
Dan’s Pick: Chris Sabin
Winner: Chris Sabin
Jez 1 – Dan 3
AAA Reina de Reinas Championship – Taya Valkyrie (c) vs. Deonna Purrazzo
The first championship match of the night was for the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship with Taya Valkyrie defending against Deonna Purrazzo. The Virtuosa came out of the gates aggressively in pursuit of her AAA Championship, driving Valkyrie into the corner and pummelling her with strikes and kicks. Purrazzo followed this up with submissions and further strikes before the champion got back into the match with a sudden Pandemonium. Valkyrie’s brief flurry of offense was short-lived, though, as Purrazzo regained control and after viciously driving her opponent into the mat with her boot, Deonna hit the Queen’s Gambit, but only got a two count. Purrazzo locked in the Venus De Milo to try and put things away but Valkyrie got her foot on the rope. Frustrated, Purrazzo collected the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship belt from ringside but the referee prevented her from using it. Valkyrie took the opportunity to roll up Purrazzo and was able to pin her to retain the title. The Virtuosa continued her attack after the match but the beatdown was thwarted by Mia Yim, who made her return to IMPACT Wrestling and came face to face with Purrazzo in the middle of the ring.
Jez’s Pick: Taya Valkyrie
Dan’s Pick: Taya Valkyrie
Winner: Taya Valkyrie
Jez 2 – Dan 4
IMPACT X Division Championship – Ace Austin (c) vs. Trey Miguel
In the next contest, Ace Austin defended his X-Division Championship against the former champion, Trey Miguel. The two men sized each other up in the early portion of the match as Trey Miguel investigated how he would defeat the man that he had been unable to defeat one-on-one to this point. After leaving the ring to regroup, the X-Division Champion took control of the match and began to wear down his challenger. Miguel tried to take back control during an exchange on the ring apron but Ace maintained the momentum with a swift kick to the face. Later in the contest, Miguel countered the continued onslaught of Austin into a Dragon Sleeper but Ace drove his head into the mat to escape the submission. A Split-Legged Moonsault gave Miguel a nearfall but Ace Austin still refused to die. Miguel tried to stay on the champion but no matter what he he did, the couldn’t keep Austin down and, after delivering The Fold out of nowhere, Ace Austin was able to retain the IMPACT X-Division Championship and build momentum towards his appearance at New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors.
Jez’s Pick: Ace Austin
Dan’s Pick: Ace Austin
Winner: Ace Austin
Jez 3 – Dan 5
Bullet Club (Jay White, Chris Bey, Doc Gallows, El Phantasmo, and Karl Anderson) vs. Honor No More (Eddie Edwards, Kenny King, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, and Vincent)
In one of the night’s most anticipated matches, Honor No More clashed with Bullet Club in all out faction warfare. As the bell rang, the two groups launched into a brawl in the middle of the ring before the action spilled to ringside. When things calmed down, Karl Anderson and Eddie Edwards got the match officially underway before each team made frequent tags and tried to take the control of the match. No team was able to do this for the majority and the match remained a close fought, evenly matched affair throughout. After Jay White went for a finish, Bullet Club piled into the ring to break things up, leading to another all out brawl between the stables. After members of each team tried to take out the other with dives to the outside of the ring, Mike Bennett and Matt Taven caught Karl Anderson in the ring and after delivering the Proton Pack, they made the cover to pick up the upset win over the veteran Bullet Club.
Jez’s Pick: Bullet Club
Dan’s Pick: Bullet Club
Winner: Honor No More
Jez 3 – Dan 5
IMPACT Knockouts World Championship – Tasha Steelz (c) vs. Havok
The second Women’s Championship match of Under Siege saw Havok of Decay get a shot at the IMPACT Knockouts World Champion, Tasha Steelz. As the match got underway, Steelz tried to catch Havok off guard with quick strikes and retreats but it wasn’t long before the challenger caught the champion and began to punish her with hard tosses and slams into the turnbuckles. Steelz was unwilling to be walked over, though, and fought back, trying to ground her opponent and kick her while she was down. Steelz locked Havok in a Rings of Saturn type submission but Havok bit her way out of the manoeuvre and went back on the offensive. The Knockouts Champion slowed Havok once again with a Sleeper Hold but even this and a Bulldog (with shades of Stratusfaction) only netted a two count. Undeterred, however, Tasha Steelz refused to give in and after delivering her signature move, The Blackout, she was able to pin Havok and retain the IMPACT Knockouts World Championship.
Jez’s Pick: Tasha Steelz
Dan’s Pick: Tasha Steelz
Winner: Tasha Steelz
Jez 4 – Dan 6
IMPACT World Tag Team Championship – Violent By Design (Eric Young, Deaner, and/or Joe Doering) (c) vs. The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe)
In the penultimate contest of the night, Eric Young and Deaner represented Violent By Design as they defended their IMPACT World Tag Team Championships against The Briscoes. VBD tried to get the jump on their challengers before the bell but this backfired and both Young and Deaner were left laying outside the ring. With the match underway, both teams worked well and employed frequent tags. After Mark Briscoe and Deaner opened up on each other’s chests with brutal chops, The Briscoes launched themselves over the ropes to try and gain an advantage. This is where the numbers started to catch up with the challengers, though and Joe Doering was a difference maker in shifting momentum back towards his team. Dem Boys did enough in the match to stay alive and eventually neutralised Doering sufficient to hit the Doomsday Device on Deener and pin him to become IMPACT World Tag Team Champions for the first time in their careers.
Jez’s Pick: The Briscoes
Dan’s Pick: Violent by Design
Winner: The Briscoes
Jez 5 – Dan 6
Moose Enters the IMPACT Zone
Before the main event, former IMPACT World Champion, Moose, made his way to the ring to reflect on his title reign. He said that he’d done a number of terrible things as IMPACT World Champion but that he had no regrets about them because they made him the greatest World Champion in all of professional wrestling. Moose went on to lament that he had been disrespected by IMPACT Wrestling. IMPACT had given Josh Alexander six and a half months to prepare for his championship rematch but they had only given him 5 days to prepare for his. Therefore, Moose would be hijacking the show and preventing the main event from taking place. The lights went out in the arena and the mysterious promo we had been seeing for months played once again before the lights came back up showing that Sami Callihan was in the ring. Sami hit Moose with a baseball bat before following up with Cactus Driver 97 and proclaiming that “The Death Machine is back!”
IMPACT World Championship – Josh Alexander (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii
In the Under Siege main event, Josh Alexander looked to defend his IMPACT World Championship against the challenge of Japanese veteran, “The Stone Pitbull” Tomohiro Ishii. After the bell, the two technically sound men began the match in that style, locking up and grinding each other down to the mat. Ishii and Alexander then moved on to seeing how hard they could hit each other and delivered stiff chops and piercing shoulder blocks to each other. As the match progressed, Alexander took down the straps on his singlet and invited Ishii to deliver is best shots to the now exposed chest of the champion. After a misdirected chop hit Alexander in the throat, the Stone Pitbull started to build some momentum in the match but Alexander kept up the aggression and knocked down his challenger to provide himself some time to recover. With the crowd firmly behind Tomohiro Ishii, the challenger went for the kill but Josh Alexander caught him in the Anklelock. Ishii countered and rolled though into his own submission but Alexander reversed this move himself and placed Ishii back into the Anklelock until he was able to get to the bottom rope. Capitalising on his weakened opponent, Alexander got a nearfall after a Spinning Reverse Fireman’s Carry Slam and went for the C4 Spike. Ishii avoided oblivion and the pair tore into each other again. Ishii delivered an incredible Stalling Superplex and his trademark Basement Clothesline but each time he could still only get a two count. Josh Alexander absorbed the damage of another series of hard strikes and delivered a Powerbomb. He followed this up with the C4 Spike and brought an incredible matchup to a close with the 1-2-3.
Jez’s Pick: Josh Alexander
Dan’s Pick: Josh Alexander
Winner: Josh Alexander
Jez 6 – Dan 7
Final Rating
Dan awards 2.5 out of 5 Tomohiro Ishii Chops
Jez awards 2.5 out of 5 Tomohiro Ishii Chops
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