South Philadelphia’s wrestling faithful took in a Sunday afternoon collaboration between IMPACT Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling. Multiverse United 2, the third such event of its kind, was more of a house show than a pay-per-view. And you know something? It was just what the doctor ordered.
Jr. Heavyweight/X-Division Scramble – Chris Sabin defeated Frankie Kazarian, Rich Swann, El Desperado, MAO, BUSHI, Kevin Knight and YOH
Eight-man lock up (looked like a huddle) opens things in a nice wink to ECW’s past. YOH and Swann are the first two wrestlers to pair off. Kevin Knight comes in and hits YOH with an impressive standing frog splash—Sabin levels Knight with a missile dropkick. BUSHI and Kazarian pair off until El Desperado hits a cutter. Fast and furious action to kick things off as each wrestler gets a turn hitting one of their big moves. Sabin hit YOH with cradle shock for the win.
Moose & Eddie Edwards defeated TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr. & Shane Haste)
It was wild to see Moose and Edwards teaming up, considering their storied rivalry in Impact. Despite Sabre and Haste being part of a faction, Moose and Edwards ultimately worked better as a team. Moose slipped out of a DVD attempt, pushed Haste into a knee from Edwards, and hit the spear for the win.
NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship – Giulia defeated Gisele Shaw, Deonna Purrazzo, and Momo Kohgo to retain the title
There was a lot of hype surrounding Giulia in her U.S. debut. IMPACT and New Japan knew this too well, as the match was all about getting Giulia over. While Giulia came as advertised, Momo Kohgo also had an impressive showing. Purrazzo is always great, and Shaw’s improvement can’t be ignored. The finish saw Shaw deliver a spinebuster to Momo, which allowed Giulia to hit Shaw with a Northern Lights Bomb for the victory.
DOUKI vs. Sami Callihan
The specter of extreme is still omnipresent inside the former ECW Arena. Callihan asked to make the match a South Philadelphia Street Fight. DOUKI happily accepted the stipulation. DOUKI missed a DOUKI bomb off the top and crashed into a ladder in a vicious-looking bump. Sami followed up by setting up four chairs, standing on them, and drilled DOUKI with a Cactus Driver 97 for the win. DOUKI showed a lot of heart in defeat and got a standing ovation as he was helped to the back.
(United Empire) TJP and Francesco Akira vs. (TMDK) Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita:
The only NJPW vs. NJPW match on the show saw two of the promotion’s top factions do battle. Fujita impressed early on often, and Eagles showed tremendous fluidity in the ring. TJP was solid, and Akira was ok. Akira and TJP hit Fujita with the alley hoop, and TJP followed up with a Mamba splash for a well-done near fall. Eagles accidental super lick to Fujita allowed TJP and Akira to drill Fujita with the Catch-22 (Knee Knee) for the 1-2-3.
Bullet Club (KENTA, Clark Connors, David Finlay, Alex Coughlin, Ace Austin, & Chris Bey) defeated The World (ELP, DKC, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Josh Alexander, & PCO):
12-man tag featuring the in ring return of Josh Alexander, who was expected to be out of action for much longer. The former Impact world champion got a little bit of time to shine. However, once he got cut off, he was never heard from again. It’s an observation as opposed to criticism since there were eleven other wrestlers to highlight in some form or fashion.
David Finlay has been a tough sell as the newest leader of Bullet Club. He’s a good worker and has good intensity, but his star power currently doesn’t match his station. The was a good amount of focus on Finlay’s staunch leadership. Like every other star before their ascension, Finlay is missing that landmark moment that connects with the fandom. He’ll get there.
BC member Alex Coughlin is an absolute stud with all the makings of a star. He has a great in ring presence and looks like he can rip someone’s head off.
Finlay got his knees up to block a DKC frog splash and delivered a powerbomb for the win. BC continued their assault, cleared the ring, and celebrated to establish their supremacy. It was different since heels, who usually cheat to clear the ring, did so fair and square. Not bad, just different.
Lio Rush & Trey Miguel defeated “Speedball” Mike Bailey & Hiromu Takahashi:
Interesting entrance order. Trey Miguel entered first, followed by Mike Bailey, then Lio Rush, and finally Hiromu Takahashi. Lio and Takahashi and the X-Division and Jr. Heavyweight champions, respectively. I thought I read the match wrong, and it was a four-way instead of a tag team match. There is a lot of talk on commentary about a potential future Bailey/Takahashi IWGP title match.
This was a good tag team match, but not the expected balls-to-the-wall action buffet. There were impressive spots here and there, and the crowd was into it.
Action is all over the place near the end as Takahashi gets his knees up off a Rush frog splash. Rush countered a timebomb with a sunset flip, couldnt get him over, and hit Takahashi with a low blow to score the pin.
Impact’s X-Division Champion pinned New Japan’s Jr. Heavyweight Champion.
The post-match angle saw Lio Rush tell Takahashi things have changed since the last time they fought. Rush said he wanted more gold and challenged Takahashi to an IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title match. Takahashi accepted the match, but Bailey is unhappy as he’s owed a title match after winning Saturday’s All-Star Junior Festival tournament.
– IMPACT World Championship – Alex Shelley beat Hiroshi Tanahashi to retain the title.
Impact Title match under New Japan rules, meaning a 20 count outside the ring. Lots of respect between the two.
Shelley and Tanahashi implemented the same strategy to achieve victory. Shelley targeted Tanahashi’s arm while Tanahashi did the same to Shelley’s knee.
Tanahashi applied the cloverleaf but couldn’t hold on due to his injured arm. Shelley picked up Tanahashi for shell shock, but his knee gave out.
It was poetic. It rhymed. Wash, rinse, and repeat with their respective attacks until Tanahashi missed the high fly flow (frog splash).
Shelley went for a shell shock, but Tanahashi countered with a German suplex and went for another high fly flow, but Shelley cut him off and hit shell shock for the 1-2-3.
Final Thoughts: One of my fears for the industry’s future is shortened careers. The modern wrestling style puts more miles on the body than ever before, as the audacious and intense in ring action shows no signs of slowing down.
Multiverse United 2 was an excellent card on paper with high expectations. Instead of going all out, Impact/NJPW produced a solid show that once again proved the age-old wrestling lesson that less is more.
Wrestlers can be their own worst enemy when it comes to wanting to put on the best match possible every night. It was refreshing to see top-tier professionals put on safe yet engaging matches that left me wanting more.
RingsideLogic.com 