The 27-year-old revealed the news during our recent interview (available now on YouTube above), explaining that the freedom TNA allows him to pursue other ventures and work with other companies impacted his decision to re-sign.
He also said he has “unfinished” business: that being the TNA World Championship.
“I am definitely looking to stay with TNA because being with TNA allows you freedom that doesn’t exist anywhere else. If I stay with TNA, my options are still open in the whole world. There is no working relationship that TNA is not open to having and I love that. That has been one of the huge selling points for me since I first started was the freedom,” he said, “I am actively working on being a part of some acting and stunt projects this year. It’s a realm that I really want to get a taste of. The only place I can really do that effectively is TNA.”
“Not even just that, it’s unfinished business. I am a three-time X-Division champion, two-time Tag Team champion. There’s still one missing and it means a lot to me to complete that collection. When there is still opportunity on the table, you have to reach the peak before you can look towards the next peak, and I am still climbing.”
Sacrifice is taking place from Windsor, Ontario, Canada next Friday (March 8). The show will air live on TNA+ and for subscribers to TNA’s Ultimate Insiders YouTube service.
It was announced today that TNA Tag Team Champions ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) will defend their titles against Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers at Sacrifice. The match was made official after Myers pinned Bey on this week’s Impact.
The main event of Thursday’s Impact episode was The System (Moose, Edwards & Myers) defeating Eric Young, Austin & Bey. Young is challenging Moose for the TNA World Championship at Sacrifice.
Austin & Bey are two-time TNA Tag Team Champions. Their current reign with the titles began at Bound for Glory last October.
Recently, ABC retained their belts against The Grizzled Young Veterans in a best-of-three series. The series ended with ABC winning 2-1 after Austin & Bey defeated The Grizzled Young Veterans at No Surrender.
Edwards & Myers picked up a victory over KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight on the No Surrender pre-show.
Here’s the updated card for Sacrifice:
TNA World Champion Moose defends against Eric Young
TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace defends against Tasha Steelz and Xia Brookside in a triple threat match
TNA Tag Team Champions ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) defend against Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers
Nic Nemeth vs. Steve Maclin
Josh Alexander vs. Alex Hammerstone
Mustafa Ali, John Skyler & Jason Hotch vs. Chris Sabin, KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight
It’s a special double episode of the Big Vinny V Show reviewing not one, but two episodes of TNA Impact.
The main event build for Moose vs. Alex Shelley for No Surrender (including some oxymoronic stipulations) continues with plenty of action from The System, KUSHIDA, and Kevin Knight as well.
But the best thing on the show is the ongoing best-of-three feud between ABC and the Grizzled Young Veterans over the TNA Tag Team Titles.
We’re also building to Mustafa Ali’s TNA debut this Friday against Chris Sabin, Jordynne Grace defending the Knockouts title against Gisele Shaw, and a baffling program for the Knockouts tag titles.
Impact Wrestling has revealed the new TNA Tag Team Championship belts.
With the promotion reverting to TNA branding beginning at Hard to Kill, all new title belts are being given to champions leading up to Saturday’s pay-per-view.
Today, Scott D’Amore presented the Bullet Club team of Chris Bey and Ace Austin with the new TNA Tag Team title belts.
D’Amore said:
ABC, Chris Bey, Ace Austin, we’ve literally watched the two of you grow up in Impact Wrestling from young hungry rookies to being the best tag team in the entire world, which is represented by those tag team championship belts. (You’re) the very best but those belts don’t do you justice.
Austin and Bey might not have those belts long, however. They are set to defend them at Hard to Kill in a four-way match against Grizzled Young Veterans, The Rascalz, and Mike Bailey & Trent Seven.
Chris Sabin was presented with a new TNA X-Division Champion belt yesterday.
TNA Hard to Kill 2024 lineup:
TNA World Champion Alex Shelley defends against Moose
Knockouts Champion Trinity defends against Jordynne Grace
Three-way match: X-Division Champion Chris Sabin defends against KUSHIDA and El Hijo del Vikingo
Four-way match: TNA Tag Team Champions Ace Austin & Chris Bey defend against The Rascalz, The Grizzled Young Veterans, and “Speedball” Mike Bailey & Trent Seven
Knockouts Ultimate X match: Gisele Shaw vs. Xia Brookside vs. Jody Threat vs. Tasha Steelz vs. Alisha Edwards vs. Dani Luna
Josh Alexander vs. Alex Hammerstone
PCO vs. Dirty Dango
Pre-show match: Rich Swann vs. Steve Maclin
Pre-show match: Eric Young & Frankie Kazarian vs. Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards
Pre-show match: Digital Media Champion Tommy Dreamer defends against Crazzy Steve
ABC (Chris Bey & Ace Austin) will look to extend their second run with the Impact Tag Team titles as they defend them at next Saturday’s Final Resolution.
Bey & Austin will face Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards. Myers held the TNA Tag Team titles for a single day with Trevor Lee in 2015 while Edwards has held the TNA tag titles five times (all with Davey Richards) with his last reign ending 2016.
The two were rivals in 2020 and 2021, ending with a Hold Harmless match Edwards win at 2021’s Sacrifice.
A win will give Bey & Austin their second successful defense of the gold they regained at October’s Bound for Glory.
Frankie Kazarian vs. Sheldon Jean has also been announced for the pre-show. Kazarian is coming off a loss to X-Division Champion Chris Sabin in late-October while Jean is still looking for his first win (0-9).
Final Resolution, set for Saturday, December 9th, in Toronto, Canada, will be the final special event under the Impact banner before the company reverts to TNA.
Here’s the current card for the streaming special:
Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) vs. Josh Alexander & Zack Sabre Jr.
Trinity & Jordynne Grace vs. Deonna Purrazzo & Gisele Shaw
Impact Tag Team Champions ABC (Chris Bey & Ace Austin) defend against Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards
“Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Trey Miguel
Moose vs. Rhino
Digital Media Champion Tommy Dreamer defends against Deaner
The finals are set for the 2023 Super Junior Tag League.
The round-robin portion of the tournament concluded with a three-way tie atop the group after Thursday’s show in Osaka. Catch 2/2, El Desperado & Master Wato, and SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru all finished with 12 points.
Catch 2/2 advance to Saturday’s finals on tie-breakers as they defeated both SHO & Kanemaru and Wato & Desperado in the round-robin.
Kanemaru & SHO also advanced as they defeated Wato & Desperado in the main event of Thursday’s show.
Despite going into Thursday as the only team that controlled their own destiny, Master Wato & El Desperado are eliminated on tie-breakers despite a 6-3 record.
Super Junior Tag League 2023 night nine results:
Super Junior Tag League 2023 match: SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (6-3, 12pts) defeated Master Wato & El Desperado (6-3, 12pts)
Super Junior Tag League 2023 match: Francesco Akira & TJP (6-3, 12pts) defeated KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight (5-4, 10pts)
Super Junior Tag League 2023 match: Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles (4-5, 8pts) defeated Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney (5-4, 10pts)
Super Junior Tag League 2023 match: YOH & MUSASHI (4-5, 8pts) vs. TITAN & BUSHI (5-4, 10pts)
Super Junior Tag League 2023 match: DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku (2-7, 4pts) defeated The DKC & Ryusuke Taguchi (2-7, 4pts)
Super Junior Tag League standings —
TJP & Francesco Akira: 12 points (6-3)
SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru: 12 points (6-3)
El Desperado & Master Wato: 12 points (6-3)
Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney: 10 points (5-4)
KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight: 10 points (5-4)
BUSHI & Titan: 10 points (5-4)
Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita: 8 points (4-5)
YOH & MUSASHI: 8 points (4-5)
DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku: 4 points (2-7)
Ryusuke Taguchi & The DKC: 4 points (2-7)
Catch 2/2 vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SHO will meet in the finals on Saturday at Power Struggle.
NJPW Power Struggle November 4 lineup:
IWGP United Kingdom/United States Champion Will Ospreay defends against Shota Umino
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi defends against Taiji Ishimori
NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomohiro Ishii defend against Zack Sabre Jr., Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls
Jon Moxley vs. Great-O-Khan
Super Junior Tag League finals: TJP & Francesco Akira vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SHO
SANADA & Yuya Uemura vs. Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji
David Finlay vs. Tanga Loa
Frontier Zone match: Mochizuki Jr., Yoshiki Kato & Strong Machine J vs. three NJPW wrestlers (pre-show)
Chris Bey & Ace Austin gained a measure of revenge against the team that cost them the Impact Tag Team titles at Saturday’s Bound for Glory by defeating The Rascalz for the belts.
The end of the match came when The Rascalz’s Zachary Wentz accidentally sprayed partner Trey Miguel with spray paint and then got hit with the Art of Finesse/Fold combo to give Bey & Austin their second title run.
The Rascalz initially screwed then-champions Bey & Austin over by interfering in a multi-team title match at July’s Slammiversary, leading to Subculture winning the titles. Miguel & Wentz then interfered again in Bey & Austin’s rematch with Subculture, causing them to lose.
Bey & Austin earned a Feast or Fired briefcase last month which contained a future Tag Team title shot they chose to cash in for Bound for Glory.
The loss ends the brief reign for The Rascalz who defeated Subculture for the titles at August’s Emergence, picking up three title defenses along the way.
It was the only title change on a night that featured nearly every title on the line. Both Impact World Champion Alex Shelley and Knockouts Champion Trinity retained as did X-Division Champion Chris Sabin.
Knockouts Tag Team champions Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly retained their titles on a dark match over Deonna Purrazzo & Tasha Steelz that was originally slated for broadcast.
With Bound for Glory less than two weeks away, a Tag Team title match will air on tonight’s edition of Impact Wrestling
The Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz) are defending their Impact Tag Team titles against Rich Swann & Sami Callihan tonight. The winning team will confirm their place on the Bound for Glory card. Ace Austin & Chris Bey are waiting to challenge for the titles at Bound for Glory.
The long-standing rivalry between Frankie Kazarian and Eddie Edwards will come to an end in a two-out-of-three falls match tonight. The first fall must be won by pinfall, the second fall must be won by submission, and the third fall will be a Last Man Standing match.
Jake Something, Dirty Dango, Jordynne Grace, Champagne Singh, and Eric Young will clash in a five-way match. The winner earns the right to enter last in the Call Your Shot gauntlet at Bound for Glory. The loser must enter first.
Tasha Steelz vs. Courtney Rush is also set for Impact. On BTI, Alan Angels faces off against Laredo Kid.
BTI Preshow
Josh Matthews compared Iceman’s Intel to the scoops Mean Gene would have on his old phone lies, but Matthews then assured the fans that Iceman’s Intel was free though. Iceman reported that Eddie Edwards was upset on a phone call, and we didn’t know who it was.
Alan Angels defeated Laredo Kid
This was a decent match between Angels and Kid, and like most luchadores in Impact, Kid lost here.
Impact Wrestling
The departed Sami Callihan is finishing up his tapings with this world tag team title match, teaming with Rich Swann.
Impact World Tag Team Champions The Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachery Wentz) defeated Rich Swann & Sami Callihan to retain
As expected, Callihan ate the pin here as he is on the way out. Good tag team title match, and a good way to protect Swann, who is sticking around.
Despite the ending of this match being predictable given Callihan’s contract status, this was still an excellent tag match, as the Rascalz continue to be the most hateable heels in the company, while Swann and Callihan are very good babyfaces. Swann and Miguel exchanged strikes in the ring, but Wentz cut off Swann.
Wentz held the arms of Swann behind his back and Miguel tried to spray paint into the eyes of Swann, but Swann ducked, and he hit Wentz by accident. Callihan hit a Cactus Driver 97 on Wentz, and I actually bought the nearfall here, but Wentz hit a low blow on a second attempt, and Miguel and Wentz hit the Hot Fire Flame on Callihan for the win.
–Kenny King and Sheldon Jean were backstage and King claimed that Scott D’Amore was ducking him and trying to avoid giving him his contractual rematch with Tommy Dreamer. He also talked about their Heath problem, and he wanted to take Heath out, while threatening to make Heath’s kids pay for their dad’s sins.
–KiLynn King was with Gia Miller and talked about she believed that Jody Threat had no integrity, because Threat was the one who attacked Taylor Wilde with a tire iron. Santino then said it was interesting to him that King knew that Wilde was attacked with a tire iron, as the doctor only told him about it and no one else. King then admitted that she was the one who took out Wilde, because Wilde was dead weight once they lost the tag titles. I guess that plot point has been resolved.
This match was weirdly laid out. Young and Something were absent for most of it, and the ending was baffling.
The winner of this match gets the #20 spot in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet at Bound for Glory, while the person pinned has to enter first. Champgagne Singh celebrated clotheslining Jordynne Grace. Dirty Dango and him danced, but soon broke down into trying to pin Grace themselves. Dango and Singh got some endless heat on Grace here, but Singh cut Dango off when he went to the top rope for a guillotine legdrop. Young and Something disappeared for about 5 minutes at this point, but Something came back into start fighting Dango and Singh with Grace.
Eric Young hit a flying elbow on Dango, but Alpha Bravo pulled Young from the ring to make the save. Young punched out Alpha Bravo, and as this happened Vladimir Kozlov, aka Oleg Prudius, walked down to the ring and took out Singh and Young, then headbutt Jake Something, allowing Dango to get the pin. Prudius, Dango, and Bravo celebrated after the match. I’m not sure the signing of the 54 year old Prudius will help Impact, and it is quite weird, but at least it’s only an angle with Dango, so it’s lower card.
–Crazzy Steve talked about finally putting Black Taurus behind him once he faces him next week.
–Mike Bailey announced he was asking for a open challenge next week to anyone on the level of Will Ospreay so he could have a warm up for his match at Bound for Glory.
Tasha Steelz (w/ Deonna Purrazzo) defeated Courtney Rush (w/ Jessicka)
This was a nothing match, but that doesn’t mean it was bad. It was just a match, and there is nothing wrong with this. Steelz should have won, and that is exactly what happened.
Steelz and Rush started the match focusing mostly on the mat, but both went down with a double clothesline after a few minutes. Rush eventually locked a sharpshooter on Steelz, and Purrazzo tried to push the ropes closer to Steelz, but the referee kept a close eye on Purrazzo. Steelz made it to the ropes and then hit a code breaker when Rush tried to pull Steelz from the ropes. Rush missed a spear, and Steelz hit a cutter for the win.
–A video aired of Alex Shelley getting pinned by Hiroshi Tanahashi in NJPW after Josh Alexander accidentally hit Shelley in their six-man tag against Kazuchika Okada, Tanahashi, and Tomohiro Ishii.
–Bully Ray walked up to Steve Maclin and said that Maclin called him soft last week in the locker room, and asked if he really did it again in front of the fans. Maclin confirmed he did. Ray said “Cool” and walked away. I sense violence in Maclin’s future.
Frankie Kazarian defeated Eddie Edwards in a 2/3 Falls Killer Impact Match
Kazarian and Eddie Edwards continue their long history of each producing great matches individually, and do so again together here. This was a great feud ending match, and they made the right call with Kazarian winning in the end. This was the easily the best part of this episode, and I encourage everyone to check it out.
The rules of this match were actually quite simple (queue Scott Hudson) as the first fall was won by pinfall, the second by submission, and the third as a last man standing match. The opening fall of the match was a brawl between both men, with Edwards hitting hard chops, as he does, and Kazarian using his speed to hit legdrops and go for pinfall attempts. Kazarian hit a chop, but Edwards made him pay with several hard chops in the corner that sent Kazarian to the mat.
The fans chanted “You still suck!” after a particularly hard chop. Edwards dodged a springboard legdrop and hit the Boston knee party to win the first fall.
Edwards continued his assault as they went to the ad break, and when they came back both men were exchanging strikes in the middle of the ring, with Edwards hitting hard chops. Edwards slapped Kazarian, which fired him up and he hit several strikes, but Edwards cut him off again with another hard chop. Edwards blocked a chicken wing and hit another hard chop before dumping Kazarian to the floor with a back suplex throw.
Kazarian came up with blood covering his chest from how hard the chops were, but he decided to keep fighting and flipped backwards out of a back suplex. He then hit a sole but and went for a leg submission, but Edwards fought out and got the advantage again. Edwards hit a backpack stunner, but Kazarian sat up and got the crossface chicken wing on Edwards, forcing a tap out.
Kazarian quickly shoved Edwards from the top rope and hit a hurricanrana to the floor. Kazarian began an assault with weapons in the match, busting Edwards open. Edwards got nailed with a garbage can, and the fans popped for it, but not as much as I expected, given the nature of the match. The crowd was not as loud as I would have hoped. Kazarian charged Edwards but Edwards hit a belly-to-belly overhead suplex that sent Kazarian flying into the timekeeper at ringside.
Kazarian and Edwards continued to brawl, but Edwards kept going back to the overhead belly-to-belly on the floor, winding him and causing damage. Edwards threw Kazarian into the ring, but this proved to be a mistake that allowed Kazarian to hit a slingshot cutter. Kazarian set up a table on the floor and had the finish in mind. Edwards managed to hit a hip toss into the steps on Kazarian.
Edwards tried to hit a tiger driver onto the stairs, but Kazarian fought out and hit an unprettier on the steps on Edwards. Kazarian went to put Edwards through a table, but Alisha Edwards nailed Edwards with a kendo stick. Kazarian still fought Edwards off and then hit a Styles Clash on the stage.
Alisha Edwards tried to hit a tornado DDT off the apron on Kazarian, but he caught her and ran around the ring and put her through a table with a spear. In actuality, Kazarian went pretty much back first through the table, protecting Alisha Edwards well, but it got a great reaction from the audience. Kazarian then grabbed Eddie Edwards and hit a fade to black off the apron through a table to the floor. I am worried about how Edwards landed, but he appeared to be fine as Kazarian got up at the count of 9 and Edwards was left in a heap on the floor.
Final Thoughts
This was mostly just a fine episode until the main event. The main event was awesome.The rest of the show was fine, but this was a truly excellent main event. Next week is the go home show for Bound for Glory, so they need to really bring it to sell the PPV.
Impact Wrestling – October 19, 2023
Trinity & Mickie James vs. Gisele Shaw & Savannah Evans
Rhino & PCO vs. Moose & Myers
Kenny King vs. Heath
Mike Bailey vs. Samuray Del Sol
No DQ: Crazzy Steve vs. Black Taurus
Impact Wrestling Bound for Glory – October 21, 2023
Impact Knockouts World Championship: Trinity (c) vs. Mickie James
Monster’s Ball: Moose vs. PCO vs. Rhino vs. Steve Maclin
A stipulation match has been confirmed for this weekend’s Impact Wrestling television tapings in Memphis.
It was announced today that ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) will face off against The Good Hands (John Skyler & Jason Hotch) in a strap match at night one of the Mid-South Mayhem tapings. The tapings are being held at Graceland Live on Friday, September 22 and Saturday, September 23.
Austin & Bey are former Impact Tag Team Champions, holding the titles from February to July of this year.
The Impact Tag Team titles are currently held by The Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz). They’re defending against Rich Swann & Sami Callihan at night one of the Memphis tapings.
The four-team tournament to determine the next contenders for the Impact Tag Team titles will continue on tonight’s Impact Wrestling on AXS TV.
Former champions ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) will take on Rich Swann & Sami Callihan in the second semifinal with the winners moving on to face The Rascalz in the finals.
In an X-Division showcase, current no. 1 contender KUSHIDA will take on former champion “Speedball” Mike Bailey.
The former Kalisto in WWE (Samuray Del Sol) will make his Impact debut as he teams with Laredo Kid & Black Taurus against Moose, Bully Ray & Brian Myers.
After the returning John E. Bravo made his surprise return to aid Dirty Dango against Santino Marella, the two will return to Impact tonight as Dango faces Bhupinder Gujjar.
Jody Threat will go one-on-one with Alisha Edwards.
The BTI pre-show will see Kevin Knight take on Champagne Singh.
**********
Kevin Knight defeated Champagne Singh (w/Shera) on the BTI pre-show
**********
The opening video highlighted last week’s events involving Trinity & Deonna Purrazzo, Lio Rush, Moose & Bully Ray and The Rascalz picking the victory over Mike Bailey & Jonathan Gresham.
Rich Swann & Sami Callihan defeated ABC in a Number 1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament match
Chris Bey and Rich Swann started the match with both men looking to gain the early momentum with their speed and athleticism. Bey would gain the upper hand and tag in Ace Austin who continued control of the match for the next several moments.
Swann managed to tag Callihan in and ABC found themselves in trouble as Callihan’s style was completely different from their own. After Callihan and Swann took care of Bey, Austin was caught off guard on the ring apron and Callihan seeing this, spiked Austin with his Cactus Driver ’97 on the apron to wipe him out.
With action now spilled to the outside, Bey managed to recover and nailed a beautiful dive off of the ropes to the floor onto Callihan and Swann, taking them both out as we headed to commercial.
We’re back from commercial and the action is back in the ring and it’s all ABC as Swann was getting schooled. After a misfire by Bey, Swann was able to tag in Callihan and action went back and forth for the next several moments with both teams nailing some massive offense.
After another misfire by ABC, this time by Austin, Swann took him out with a hurricanrana over the ropes as Callihan locked Bey in a crossface chicken wing. Bey almost submitted but got a second wind and reversed the chicken wing into a pinning situation for a near three count.
Bey then nailed Callihan with the Art of Finesse followed by The Fold by Austin but Swann was able to save Callihan at the last possible second. Swann managed to send both members of ABC to the floor and then proceeded to wipe out Bey as Austin was able to avoid contact and get back in the ring.
Austin looked as he was about to take care of Callihan and get the victory but out of nowhere, The Good Hands came down to the ring and Jason Hotch pulled the referee out of the ring as Austin was going for the pin. Swann attacked Hotch and they feuded up the ramp but as this was going on, John Skyler slid into the ring and nailed Austin with The Stroke. The referee re-entered the ring and Callihan scored the easy 1-2-3 to advance himself and Swann in the tournament.
– Backstage, Santino Marella was enjoying a moment of peace before being interrupted by both The Coven and the Death Dollz. Both teams stated that they deserved to be in the Knockouts world tag team title match at Emergence. Before Marella could make a decision, Masha Slamovich and Killer Kelly showed up and Kelly stated they would face them all at Emergence.
Before the match began, Dango grabbed the mic and stated “Man, I hate pro-wrestling”.
Both men looked good early on before Gujjar’s speed and power got the better of Dango but it wouldn’t last long as Dango started using dirty tactics to gain the advantage.
After Dango grounded Gujjar, Bhupinder was able to make a small comeback after landing a knee to the side of the head of Dango. Gujjar attempted to finish the match with his Gargoyle Spear but as he was on the ropes, Bravo shined a flashlight in his face to blind him. Dango took advantage of the situation and finished Gujjar off to get the easy victory.
After the match, Dango grabbed the mic and started putting down pro-wrestling again before being interrupted by Jake Something. Something stated that if he didn’t like pro-wrestling then to get the hell out of it. Dango left the ring and looked to be leaving the area but as Bravo was still in the ring with Something, Dango attempted to sneak up from behind on Jake but failed and got taken out instead.
– A video promo aired with an Deaner ranting about his disgust for Eric Young while Kon stood behind him. Deaner stated that he’s never felt more powerful because of guys like Kon standing by his side. Kon then stated that he was coming for Young.
– Backstage, Gia Miller was with Johnny Swinger. Miller asked Swinger if he gave any thought on challenging for the world title. Before Swinger could say too much, digital media champion Kenny King and Sheldon Jean interrupted. King cut a promo on Alex Shelley before leaving the scene as Swinger questioned Miller on what the internet was.
Threat started the match purely dominating the much smaller Edwards with her power. Alisha would catch a break but her arrogance wouldn’t allow her to fully capitalize on gaining real momentum.
Threat landed her running knee attack as Alisha was draped over the second rope but as she looked to finish her off, Alisha raked her eyes and Eddie followed it up by tripping her from the outside with Kenny. Frankie Kazarian then hit the ring to layout Eddie giving Threat the opportunity to finally hit the F416 and get the 1-2-3 on Alisha.
After the match, Kazarian grabbed Kenny but when he went to swing at Eddie, he unfortunately nailed Alisha instead. Eddie then had to carry an unconscious Alisha to the back as Kazarian was upset about what just took place.
– Backstage, Deonna Purrazzo stated that she wanted to congratulate KiLynn King on beating her last week and issued a challenge to King for a 1-on-1 match.
KUSHIDA defeated Mike Bailey
As you would imagine, this match was going to be a chess game as both men have very similar styles.
The opening moments would see the two men attempting to capitalize early but it was a stalemate until KUSHIDA was able to land a moonsault over the ropes to the outside on Bailey.
KUSHIDA followed up by grounding Bailey but “Speedball” would persevere and after landing some good solid strikes, nailed a running shooting star but could only manage a two count.
With both men looking to hit that one move that would help them gain the advantage, KUSHIDA was able to knock Bailey to the floor with a running handstand attack. KUSHIDA followed Bailey to the outside and attempted to lock in the Hoverboard Lock as we headed to commercial.
We’re back from commercial and both men are back in the ring and KUSHIDA was laying the attack on the left arm of Bailey before focusing on the knee as well. Bailey attempted a comeback but soon found himself on the outside once again. KUSHIDA attempted to capitalize but Bailey moved out of the way sending KUSHIDA now to the floor and Bailey followed up with a springboard moonsault off of the top rope.
With both men back on the inside, they were trading strikes back and forth before KUSHIDA was able to lock in the Hoverboard Lock. Bailey countered with an armbar and after nailing his double knees, he locked KUSHIDA in an armbar again. KUSHIDA wouldn’t give up but he was hurt and Bailey attempted to nail KUSHIDA with his running tornado kick but missed.
KUSHIDA wasn’t able to take advantage of the opportunity however and Bailey attempted to set him up for the Ultima Weapon but KUSHIDA caught him and sent Bailey back down to the mat with the Hoverboard Lock. A resilient Bailey wouldn’t give in and KUSHIDA switched things up and out of nowhere, nailed Bailey with his Back to the Future to get the hard fought win.
– Backstage, Tom Hannifan was with Crazzy Steve in an interview taped earlier in the day. Hannifan stated that Steve specifically requested him to do the interview and Hannifan asked Steve to clarify what’s going on. Steve stated that he felt abandoned by the actions lately of the Death Dollz and Black Taurus. Steve stated that he was legally blind and has been wrestling now for over 20 years. Steve stated that he’s dealt with roadblock after roadblock. Hannifan stated that it couldn’t have been easy but asked about Steve’s family. Steve stated that was an interesting question before a To Be Continued graphic appeared.
– Video footage aired of SUBCULTURE defending the Impact world tag team titles against the Greedy Souls courtesy of Attack! Pro Wrestling. A video promo followed of SUBCULTURE with Dani Luna stating they’re looking forward to defending the titles once again at Emergence.
– A backstage promo aired of a man asking a woman to “say his name” insinuating she was cheating on him. Joe Hendry then appeared followed by Yuya Uemura to Hendry’s music. Hendry was upset that Uemura was using Hendry’s gimmick but Yuya stated they could be tag team champions. The more Hendry thought about the idea, the more he liked it.
– It was announced that Team 3D would reunite after 7 years for Impact 1000, news that was officially announced earlier in the day on social media.
– A video promo was shown highlighting IWGP world heavyweight champion SANADA and his upcoming presence at Emergence later this month.
Brian Myers, Bully Ray & Moose defeared Black Taurus, Laredo Kid & Samuray Del Sol in a six-man tag team match
Myers, Ray and Moose made their entrances first and as Taurus and Kid were at the top of the entrance ramp awaiting the arrival of Del Sol, he never arrived. The cameras cut to the backstage area where Lio Rush had Del Sol pinned down as we headed to commercial.
We’re back from commercial and it was now a 3-on-2 match as Lio Rush had done the dirty work to help out Myers, Ray and Moose. Taurus was in the ring with Myers and after Myers attempted to match power with Taurus, he was quickly overpowered.
Taurus tagged out to Kid as Myers tagged out to Moose and it was now power versus speed but as Moose’s arrogance got the better of him, Kid took the advantage and Moose soon found himself on the outside looking bewildered.
Moose got back in the ring after a small pep talk by Myers and Moose tagged in a hungry Bully Ray who then asked for Taurus. Taurus obliged and after showing Bully he could match power, he soon found himself on the outside as he missed a running knee attack in the corner as we headed to another commercial break.
We’re back once again from commercial and Taurus is back in the ring but it was literally a 3-on-1 against him as Laredo Kid could do nothing but watch on in frustration from his corner.
After Taurus was finally able to ground Moose, he got the hot tag to Kid who managed to take out all three of his opponents seemingly with ease. As Kid was continuing his attack against his opponents in the corner of the ring, Ray pulled the referee in front of him wiping him out. Ray then attempted to pull the mask off of Kid but the lights went out!
Lighting bolts filled up the entrance screen and when the lights came back on, Ray was standing face to face with PCO! Bully was too scared to move and both Moose and Myers were sent flying out of the ring when they tried to attack PCO. Bully joined them and PCO attempted to wipe all three of them out but Bully was lucky enough to move out of the way.
PCO chased him up the entrance ramp to the back and the match continued in the ring with Taurus and Kid looking like they were going to score the victory. However, that wasn’t the case as Moose and Myers got the better of them and Myers landed the Roster Cut on Kid for the victory.
After the match, a frightened Bully Ray telling himself that “I set him on fire, I set him on fire!” was seen backstage running down a set of stairs and hijacking a vehicle outside of the arena. Before he could drive off, PCO had caught up to him but Bully was luckily able to get away as an enraged PCO watched him drive away.
Final Thoughts:
A solid show by Impact continuing to setup matches and feuds going into Emergence on August 27th. It’ll be interesting to see how the Deaner/EY feud plays out and if Kon can be trusted in the end.
The Crazzy Steve interview with Tom Hannifan was intriguing as the character looks to be headed in an entirely different direction which reminds me of Abyss and Joseph Park.
Finally, this was episode 995 of Impact Wrestling and it made me think of how many moments and how many matches I’ve had the honour of witnessing over the many, many years.
Definitely looking forward to Impact 1000 with the return of Team 3D, Awesome Kong and The Beautiful People!
Next Week:
Eric Young vs. Kon (w/Deaner)
Rich Swann & Sami Callihan vs. The Rascalz in the Number 1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament final
The opening round of the Tag Team title eliminator tournament to crown a new number one contender will wrap up on next Thursday’s Impact Wrestling on AXS TV.
Former champions ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) will face a pair of Impact World Champions in Rich Swann & Sami Callihan. Austin & Bey are the former champions and were unsuccessful in their rematch with current champions Subculture (Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster) following Slammiversary where they lost the titles in a multi-team match.
However, The Rascalz, who caused ABC to both lose the titles and the rematch, advanced Thursday with their win over Mike Bailey & Jonathan Gresham. Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz now await the winners of ABC vs. Swann & Callihan. The winners will get their title shot at this month’s Emergence.
The only other match announced will see the promotional debut of Samuray Del Sol (the former Kalisto in WWE) as he teams with Laredo Kid & Black Taurus against Bully Ray, Moose & Brian Myers.
Here’s the current lineup with more expected to come:
ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) vs. Rich Swann & Sami Callihan in a Tag Team title eliminator tournament semifinal
Samuray Del Sol, Laredo Kid & Black Taurus vs. Moose, Bully Ray & Brian Myers
The Impact Tag Team titles will be on the line as part of tonight’s Slammiversary fallout edition of Impact on AXS TV.
After losing the gold last Saturday in a multi-team match, ABC (Chris Bey & Ace Austin) will challenge current champions Subculture (Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews) for the titles.
The Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz) attacked Bey and Austin as they were about to finish the match which allowed Andrews to hit a prone Brian Myers with the pin to win the titles.
After making a surprise return at Slammiversary after a multi-month injury absence, former Impact World Champion Josh Alexander will be on hand to talk about what’s next and when he could return.
Another surprise return last Saturday — Jake Something — will be in action as he faces Kevin Knight.
Tonight will also see the grudge match between Santino Marella vs. Dirty Dango happen as well as Courtney Rush vs. Savannah Evans.
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Scott D’Amore open
After his tag team victory with the returning Eric Young at Slammiversary over Bully Ray and PCO, D’Amore opened tonight’s show thanking his hometown fans in Windsor and that the events of Slammiversary will stay with him forever.
Now that the match is over, he is now back as Impact president. He was running down the show until The Good Hands (John Skyler & Jason Hotch) came out to call him a coward along with other insults. They were about to throw down until D’Amore said they could fight with these two guys…being Sami Callihan and Rich Swann. Good thing they were ready in the back to come out!
Sami Callihan & Rich Swann defeated The Good Hands
Callihan and Swann are coming off an unsuccessful opportunity in the Tag Team title four-way at Slammiversary. They were successful here, however, in picking up the win after a double arm ringer into an elevated slam for the pin and win in a quick and decent match.
– Ace Austin and Chris Bey are tired of The Rascalz and are a little bit salty after they cost them the Tag Team titles at Slammiversary. They are focused on tonight’s rematch, but Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz walked up and taunted them. That led to a pull-apart brawl that D’Amore and security broke up. He told Bey and Austin to go focus on their match and kicked Miguel and Wentz out much to their chagrin.
D’Amore then turned around and had to deal with Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice. D’Amore said his previous stipulation that he would have to win 50 matches to earn a title shot was a little much. All he needed to do was win one match…and that would be against Zicky Dice. When Dice suggested he would just lay down for Swinger, D’Amore added it would be a loser leaves Impact match. Foiled!
– Eric Young was with Gia Miller in the back after his big return. Young said he’s got a lot to say and was happy to help D’Amore. Nick Aldis then interrupted to say hi to his old friend. He wanted to align with Young against those looking to run Impact into the ground. Young then talked him into having a singles match and away we go.
Jake Something defeated Kevin Knight
Something returned at the Ultimate X match in another Slammiversary surprise and now has short hair which will visually take a bit to get used to. He reminded me of Hercules Hernandez in your 80s reference of the night. Knight was also in that match so there’s your tie-in.
This was Something’s power vs. Knight’s speed and athleticism. They worked hard, but I struggled to get into it as it felt long and not that interesting until the last few minutes. Something hit his Into the Void (black hole slam) for the pin and win
Courtney Rush (w/ Jessicka) defeated Savannah Evans (w/ Gisele Shaw & Jai Vidal)
Things broke down on the outside of the ring which brought out Jody Threat who put Vidal on her shoulder and carried her to the back. Rush then hit a distracted Evans with a spear and pin. This all felt unnecessary.
– They ran a video package featuring new Knockouts Champion Trinity. She gave the new champion’s promo that the real work begins now.
– Taylor Wilde and KiLynn King then cut a backstage promo complaining about how they got screwed out of their Knockouts title at Slammiversary by Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly. They also have Trinity in their sights as well.
– Slammiversary in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, was Impact’s highest-attended event in four years.
– Jonathan Gresham sat with Tom Hannifan in a pre-taped interview as he had something to say that he just couldn’t hold back anymore. Gresham is upset that the X-Division needs rules which is what he fought for in Ring of Honor. He said, “Maybe this environment isn’t for me” and then walked off the set. Alright, then.
Dirty Dango defeated Santino Marella
This has been built up for at least a few months as Dango was revealed to be the mystery attacker of Marella as he began his run as Impact’s Director of Authority. They have exchanged plenty of words since then and their grudge match finally takes place tonight.
Having seen Dango in a big brawl a few weeks ago at an indie show, I would have liked if this was more of that vs. a straight wrestling match. Marella took out the Cobra sock and was about to strike when a man in riot gear came out on the apron. Dango ran Marella into him and Marella collided with his helmet, giving him the roll-up for the pin. The man was revealed to be John E. Bravo so the comedy will continue.
– Gisele Shaw and Savannah Evans were looking for Jai Vidal backstage and ran into new Knockouts Tag Team Champions Killer Kelly and Masha Slamovich. Words were exchanged so that’s a match we’re getting soon. Jody Threat then dumped Vidal on the floor and said she didn’t want to have to do that again. Vidal is a grown man who is a champion in other places. He couldn’t have simply got away?
– Alisha Edwards had a lot to say on Eddie Edwards’ behalf to Frankie Kazarian and Traci Brooks after Slammiversary. A brawl then ensued as Kazarian and Brooks just happened to be right there. Again, we’ll see that mixed tag team match soon.
Impact Tag Team Champions Subculture (Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews) (w/ Dani Luna) defeated ABC (Chris Bey & Ace Austin) to retain
Webster and Andrews made their first Impact win a big one at Slammiversary, nabbing the tag titles after The Rascalz interfered in the four-way and cost Bey and Austin their chance to retain. It’s an interesting call to put the titles on Webster and Andrews since they haven’t been on Impact TV that much and I’d argue aren’t a real well-known entity even though they were NXT UK Tag Team Champions. But that’s the gamble.
This was a competitive match as expected. Bey and Austin have really gelled well as a team and are super athletic, both using and flying between the ropes as if they were gymnasts. All four men ended up on the outside at one point, punctuated by a Bey swanton over the top rope that sent viewers into the break.
The former champions nearly had it won after Bey hit Art of Finesse on Andrews, but Austin couldn’t hit The Fold and Andrews rallied to hit a Stundog Millionaire to reset things. Wentz and Miguel got involved even though they were banned from the building as Miguel knocked Austin out of the match as Wentz had the ref distracted. Andrews had a roll-up contest with Bey and eventually got the better of him for the pin and win. Miguel looked like he hurt his leg as he was limping off following the Austin shot.
– Tom Hannifan and Matt Rehwoldt said there has been no word on the status of Chris Sabin after losing the X-Division title to Lio Rush where he was knocked out by a pre-match attack but wanted to continue. Stay tuned to Impact social media for updates, friends.
Josh Alexander in-ring promo
Alexander made his surprise return at the end of Slammiversary to confront Alex Shelley after his World title defense over Nick Aldis. This started with about 15 minutes to go before the end of the show so you know something was going to happen.
He was in fully babyface mode, recalling when he had to relinquish the title in Windsor due to his torn triceps. He eventually got around to saying he got motivated to come back sooner when he saw Steve Maclin win the title at Rebellion and that he is now 100% cleared to return. The irony, of course, is that Maclin is injured and not the champion anymore.
He got around to Shelley and had a question: is Shelley good enough to beat him? Shelley then came out and wasn’t happy, referring to Alexander as Wolverine for recovering in four months. He referred back to their match from last year that Alexander won and wanted to have the match again to prove he could beat Alexander.
X-Division Champion Lio Rush then strolled out and tl;dr, if he wants to be World Champion, he just needs to exercise Option C which means he cashes in the title for a World title shot.
That brought out KUSHIDA who has the next X-Division title shot after he won Ultimate X last Saturday. He said there is no Option C until he faces KUSHIDA.
Then, Bully Ray came out and as everyone in the ring wondered why, Moose and Brian Myers attacked everyone in the ring. Ray then joined the fray as the heels beat down the babyfaces with Rush sitting on the apron looking on. They wanted Rush to use the actual X to nail Shelley, but he declined and the show just ended.
It was a flat ending to a meh Slammiversary follow-up show. There’s some intrigue with the World title picture, but Bully Ray, Moose and Myers aren’t part of that intrigue for me.
We’re on the road to Emergence.
Next Week:
Johnny Swinger vs. Zicky Dice loser leaves Impact match
The Coven (KiLynn King & Taylor Wilde) vs. Trinity & Dani Luna
Impact Wrestling will wrap up their two show Australian debut tour with another pay-per-view from Wagga Wagga.
The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) will attempt to win nearly all of Impact’s men’s titles as they challenge Impact Tag Team Champions Ace Austin & Chris Bey. Shelley is the current World Champion while Sabin is the X-Division Champion.
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will defend against Gisele Shaw. If Shaw wins, she will defend against both Purrazzo and Trinity at Slammiversary.
Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry will look to go 2-0 in title defenses this weekend as he attempts to fend off the challenge of Moose.
Brian Myers will battle Frankie Kazarian as Kazarian’s original opponent, Steve Maclin, was hurt on Friday.
Other matches include Killer Kelly vs. Steph De Lander; Robbie Eagles vs. Adam Brooks; Eddie Edwards vs. Slex; and the Natural Classics vs. The Velocities in a clash of Australian talent.
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Adam Brooks defeated Robbie Eagles to become the inaugural Oceania Pro Wrestling World Champion (13:01)
Oceania Pro Wrestling is a new Australian events company that is looking to bring international promotions into the country and has been instrumental in making this Impact Down Under tour a reality. They are looking to establish their own championship, which presumably will be defended at shows they promote along other promotions.
Brooks is opening an Impact PPV for the second night in a row in search of a win while Eagles also lost in yesterday’s X-Division three-way and wants to both pick up the win and capture some gold. Brian Myers was supposed to have been in this match, but will replace Steve Maclin (who got injured last night) and will face Frankie Kazarian later on tonight.
They started out with wrist locks and Eagles transitioned into a headlock before they started trading quick pinfall attempts. Eagles hit some quick head scissors that sent Brooks to ringside and then looked to follow up with a dive, but thought better of it and backflipped back into the ring instead.
Brooks tried a crossface, then suplexed Eagles into the turnbuckle and rolled to ringside, where he swiftly ate a running kick by Adams from the apron. Brooks proceeded to knee Eagles in the head and then hit a flying knee off the second turnbuckle for a near fall. Eagles came back with chops and rabbit elbow to the back of Brooks’ head.
Eagles hit running double knees in the corner and went for the Ron Miller special, his inverted figure four, but opted for a knee drop instead. Brooks trapped Eagles face down on the turnbuckle and delivered a kick to the face before hitting a TKO on the top rope that sent Eagles to the outside. Brooks followed with a dive and jumping DDT from the apron for another close two count.
Brooks was limping due to damage done to his knee by Eagles as the two got into a strike exchange. They traded spots and counters until Eagles hit a poisonrana, followed by Sliced Bread. Eagles locked in the Ron Eagles special, but Brooks eventually got to the ropes. Eagles went for a 450 splash, but Brooks got his feet up and hit a Swanton bomb to get the pin and title.
– The announcers ran down the card and recapped yesterday’s results which you can look up in yesterday’s report.
Gisele Shaw promo
Shaw talked about being a powerhouse, but also did her tape study and can be a technical wrestler. She said she would leave Wagga Wagga the new Knockouts champion, said she would break Deonna Purrazzo’s arm, and called her a bitch.
The Natural Classics (Stevie Filip & Tome Filip) defeated The Velocities (Jude London & Paris De Silva) (4:45)
The Natural Classics are part of NJPW’s Bullet Club through its Australian Rogue Army subgroup and were part of NJPW TAMASHII tapings over the past few months, as were their opponents. The Velocities also have been three-time tag team champions in their home promotions, PWA, wrestled for the NWA and in Europe, for promotions such as RevPro and OTT and had some bangers with fellow Australians, Aussie Open.
The Natural Classics face-palmed their smaller opponents before the match, earning a double dropkick for their troubles before being thrown to ringside with some impressive double team spots before the match even officially started.
Tome Filip got double-teamed early before Stevie came in and wiped out De Silva. De Silva managed to thwart both guys and dove for a hot tag, just as his partner got pulled off the apron. Finally, De Silva managed to tag in London, who ran wild with dropkicks and a flying wristlock/headscissor combo. He followed up with a springboard Stundog Millionaire on Stevie.
The Velocities were looking to hit a top rope move and a dive simultaneously but both got thwarted. The Natural Classics then hit a power bomb/neckbreaker combo on De Silva to pick up the impressive victory here. This was great while it lasted, but could easily have gone twice as long.
Deonna Purrazzo promo
She mocked Gisele Shaw for learning a submission hold but said she was not a technical wrestler and that she herself was the master of the Fujiwara armbar, the best female technical wrestler in the world, and a three-time Knockouts champion.
Impact Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defeated Moose to retain (12:17)
Those two had some battles over the Digital Media championship earlier this year, including in a Dot Combat match at No Surrender.
Hendry cut a promo before the match and talked about being at the Wagga Wagga zoo yesterday and saw a lot of different animals. He then went to his Victoria hotel bar later that night and saw a dancing moose, which prompted an according chant from the crowd. He said the moose was not dancing to a song, but to two words: “We Believe.”
Hendry hit a shoulder block to start, but Moose didn’t budge. They started a test of strength that Moose initially got the better off, then kicked Hendry in the gut. He went for a corner charge, but Hendry just casually walked away while Moose ran into the turnbuckles. Hendry hit a suplex, but Moose popped right back up and they fought at ringside.
Hendry sent Moose into the ring post and then proceeded to smash Moose’s head into the apron ten times, which he eventually succeeded in after a brief interlude. Moose briefly appeared foggy, but managed to kick Hendry as he re-entered the ring. Moose chopped Hendry in the corner before hitting a uranage for a two count.
Hendry eventually blocked some of Moose’s punches and even did the Hulk Hogan “You!” finger point before hitting a cutter for a nearfall of his own. He followed with ten punches in the corner to complete the 1980s throwback. A fallaway slam followed before Hendry went for the Standing Ovation, which was blocked.
Moose hit a beautiful dropkick and power bomb for another near fall. Hendry evaded a spear that sent Moose into the corner, but still got rolled up. Hendry hit a lariat and an impressive pop-up power bomb that almost won him the match as the crowd erupted into “This is Awesome!” chants.
Moose hit a huge superplex from the top rope and held on to deliver another one, but instead Hendry suplexed him, which left both men at the mat. They traded elbows before Moose caught him in a backslide for another near fall. Moose rolled him up once more but grabbed the tights in plain sight of the referee, who stopped his count to reprimand Moose. Hendry used that opportunity to roll up Moose for the win.
Quick trivia note: Hendry beat two former Impact World champions on back-to-back nights here.
Impact wrestlers at a special needs school
Another clip of some of the wrestlers talking at an alternative school for students with mental problems aired. This was really nice and it looked like they talked about some issues close to the kids’ hearts.
Eddie Edwards defeated Slex (11:49)
Slex beat Adam Brooks last night while Edwards lost to Joe Hendry. Both men also wrestled for NOAH in the past and Slex just returned from a tour with the group in May.
Edwards rolled to ringside right away as he was not happy with his crowd reaction. He eventually returned to the ring and proceeded to head butt Slex. Slex came back with some chops and quick arm drags that left Edwards visibly worried.
Slex used his speed to send Edwards to ringside and briefly worked him over on the outside. Edwards caught him with a hard right on a dive attempt though and they ended up on the apron where Edwards hit a high kick and slam onto the hardest part of the ring.
Edwards was in control and worked over Slex for a bit, before dropping him with a nasty elbow on a whip in. Eddie looked to be setting up for the Die Hard Driver and they had a battle of suplex attempts that Slex eventually won. Slex got a near fall off a crossbody, but got caught in a Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count.
Slex picked Edwards off the turnbuckles, hoisted him on his shoulders and hit a spinning fireman’s carry into a power bomb, a move he calls the Business Bomb. Edwards ended up at ringside and got caught with a tornado DDT off the apron and a top rope moonsault once back inside the ring for another near fall.
Edwards hit a backpack stunner and Tiger Driver, which each scored him a near fall. He followed up with the Boston Knee Party to pick up the win.
– Another Wagga Wagga holiday highlights video aired.
Steph De Lander defeated Killer Kelly (9:53)
De Lander cut a quick promo, talking about being better than all of the fans and Kelly.
Kelly once more slid towards her opponent on all fours, but De Lander quickly attacked her before finding herself on the receiving end of an onslaught. De Lander rolled to ringside, evaded a soccer kick and hoisted Kelly on her shoulders to no particular avail. She still managed to throw Kelly shoulder first into the ring post.
Back in the ring, De Lander took over, sat Kelly on the top turnbuckle and followed with a running kick and suplex. Kelly came back with forearm strikes, but quickly got clotheslined back down for a two count. De Lander choked Kelly in the ropes and followed with another suplex.
Kelly powered back up and got into a striking battle, but got beaten down again. De Lander locked in a bear hug, but Kelly fought out, trapped the arms, and hit a few head butts for good measure.
Kelly hit the shotgun basement dropkick in the corner for a near fall and then looked to lift her opponent up for a Death Valley Driver, who countered with a German suplex for a two count. Kelly got De Lander to tumble, then hit a running kick and went for another cover back inside.
De Lander got back in control for a bit, but Kelly managed to hit a DDT for a two. Kelly went to lock in the Killer Clutch, but De Lander repeatedly backed her into the corners and broke the hold. She hit a slightly ugly looking F5 to pick up her first victory in Impact Wrestling.
Frankie Kazarian promo
Franke Kazarian talked about how Steve Maclin was supposed to have been his opponent tonight, but Maclin apparently suffered an injury in his World title match last night. So, Kazarian will face Brian Myers instead. He said Myers could go back to playing with toys later but he would beat him tonight and Eddie Edwards next Thursday on Impact Wrestling.
Frankie Kazarian defeated Brian Myers (14:45)
Myers immediately dover out of the ring as the match started. As he got back inside, Kazarian also left the ring, which enraged Myers.
Eventually they properly started the match and traded wrist locks and head locks for the first few minutes. The pace eventually picked up when Kazarian hit a side Russian leg sweep and then bashed Myers’ head into the turnbuckle. He followed with a DDT for a two count.
Kazarian tried getting Myers on the top rope, but he slipped away and threw Kazarian to the mat. Myers continued to employ nefarious tactics and was firmly in the control for the next portion of the match. Kazarian came back with a rollup, followed by a small package for two quick nearfalls.
An enzuigiri by Myers stopped Kazarian in his tracks as Myers went for a chin lock and kick to the back. Kazarian got a few strikes in, but quickly fell victim to a DDT before getting locked in another chin lock on the mat.
Kazarian escaped via a belly to back suplex, a number of elbows, power slam and leg drop, Kazarian went to the apron, delivered a guillotine leg drop, and a floatover DDT for another two count.
Myers counted a chicken wing attempt into a Michinoku Driver for another two count and went for the Roster Cut, which was turned into a sunset flip. Myers got another near fall with a spear, then went up top and hit a top rope elbow for yet another close near fall.
Kazarian distracted Myers with another roll up, then locked in the chicken wing, forcing Myers to quickly tap.
Impact Tag Team Champions ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) defeated The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) to retain the titles (19:03)
These two have been battling each other in various matches and promotions for exactly one year now, having first met at Against All Odds in July of last year, which was also the debut match of ABC as a tag team.
Shelley and Bey started out and milked the crowd for almost two minutes. They quickly ended up on the mat trading holds. Bey hit a spinning uppercut to the back of Shelley’s neck before they traded punches. Sabin blind tagged in and hit a lariat on an unsuspecting Bey.
Austin tagged in and caught Sabin in a headlock before trading offense. The MCMG double teamed Austin before Shelley took him back down to the mat. He locked in a straight jacket choke. Austin eventually tagged out and hit a dive on the MCMG at ringside.
Shelley fought both members of ABC off, tagged Sabin and the MCMG once more overwhelmed ABC. Sabin had Bey firmly under control, then tagged in Shelley and hit a combo surfboard/bulldog on Bey, but not before taunting Austin about it.
Bey sent Sabin into Shelley twice to stop the MCMG’s momentum. Austin came in and ran wild, including hitting a leg drop and top rope double dropkick on both opponents which sent them to the outside. Austin evaded attacks by both men on the apron. Back in the ring, ABC isolated Sabin, who briefly made a comeback but got dropped with a head kick. Shelley managed to slam Austin into the turnbuckles, but also got taken out quickly.
Bey went for the Art of Finesse, but got caught and double teamed. He evaded a clothesline by Sabin who hit Shelley, followed by them taking MCMG down with a Double Art of Finesse (reverse springboard stunner).
ABC went for the One Two Sweet, but got thwarted with Sabin eventually hitting a cutter on Bey after some innovative tag team spots. MCMG hit a (kind of) assisted Sliced Bread on Bey for a close near fall. ABC took out Sabin, hit the One Two Sweet on Shelly, then hit an assisted top rope cutter, followed by the One Two Sweet on Sabin to pick up the victory and defend their titles in a wild and fun match.
After a few tense moments, both teams shook hands and embraced after the match.
If Shaw wins here, the Slammiversary Knockouts title match between Purrazzo and Trinity becomes a three-way with Shaw added to the mix as champion
Shaw immediately rolled to ringside, channeling her inner Brian Myers, I guess. They ended up on the mat with Purrazzo locking in a head scissors but Shaw escaping. Shaw tried the same move, but found herself on the wrong end of a wrist lock as Purrazzo proceeded to work over her arm.
Shaw offered a Roman knuckle lock into a test of strength that went back and forth, until Purrazzo managed to take Shaw down. Shaw hit a wheelbarrow roll up, then went for a leg submission, which quickly got countered. When both were back on their feet, Shaw grabbed a head of hair and rained down a few chops on the champion, but quickly got rolled up, which Purrazzo transitioned into an armbar. They ended up close to the ropes, sow Shaw easily forced a break.
Shaw smashed Purrazzo head first into the mat, then began attacking the left arm. Shaw kept working the arm over and locked in a hammerlock. Purrazzo escaped, but got thrown into the post shoulder first, further injuring the arm.
After a brief interlude at ringside, Shaw went for a cover right as they re-entered the ring. Shaw went for an arm bar on the injured arm and threw some elbows on it for good measure. Purrazzo powered out and managed to throw Shaw into the post shoulder-first to pay back the earlier attack.
Shaw fell to ringside but made it back into the ring at five. Purrazzo proceeded to chop Shaw with one arm, hit a side Russian leg sweep and went for the Fujiwara arm bar but could not lock the hold in due to her own injuries. Shaw went for an Fujiwara armbar of her own, but Purrazzo got her feet on the ropes.
Purrazzo hit a pump kick, ate a superkick but still managed to hit a Flatliner and lock in a Koji clutch, but Shaw escaped. They traded elbows and Shaw hit Shock and Awe for a close near fall. Shaw went for the Fujiwara arm bar again, but Purrazzo knocked her off. Shaw went right back to the move, but Purrazzo rolled out again. Shaw went for the arm bar a third time, but Purrazzo escaped and locked in Venus di Milo with one arm, forcing Shaw to verbally submit.
Final Thoughts:
Another fun show and strong showing of Impact Wrestling. The show had everything from a high impact modern style to old school wrestling and great entertainment. I hardly get to watch Impact these days, but that is more a problem of too much wrestling and rather than not putting on a good product. If you want to get your wrestling fix in with a weekly two-hour show and the occasional streaming special and PPV, Impact Wrestling in 2023 might just be the wrestling product for you.
The following are spoilers from Saturday’s Impact Wrestling TV taping in Atlanta, Georgia, setting up the road to next month’s Slammiversary.
Here’s all the results from Friday. Everything taped this weekend will air through the July pay-per-view.
Results come courtesy of PWInsider:
Trinity defeated Jai Vidal
PCO def. The Good Hands (John Skylar & Jason Hotch) in a handicap match
Lio Rush & Nick Aldis defeated The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley)
Zachary Wentz defeated Chris Bey
Mike Bailey defeated Kevin Knight
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defeated Jody Threat in an open challenge
Moose & Brian Myers defeated Sami Callihan & Rich Swann
Ace Austin defeated Angels, Trey Miguel and Jonathan Gresham in a four-way
Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Coven (KiLynn King & Taylor Wilde) and The Design (Kon & Deaner) defeated Decay (Crazzy Steve & Black Taurus) and The Death Dollz (Jessicka & Courtney Rush)
Impact Wrestling has announced multiple matches and segments for this week’s show.
Bully Ray is advertised to “address the Impact Zone” on Thursday’s show. This comes after Impact president Scott D’Amore hit Bully with a chair and cost him a shot at winning the 8-4-1 match at Against All Odds.
Rich Swann vs. Moose has also been announced for the show. Along with Mike Bailey and PCO, the two were teammates in the opening round of the 8-4-1 match on Friday. Their team was eliminated when Moose accidentally hit Swann with a spear, allowing Jonathan Gresham to pick up the pin for his team.
Fresh off a win over The Good Hands at Against All Odds, the Impact Tag Team Champions, Ace Austin & Chris Bey, will also be in action on Thursday. They will face Decay’s Crazzy Steve & Taurus in a non-title match.
Champagne Singh & Shera vs. Laredo Kid & Jack Price was announced as this week’s Before the Impact match as well.
Impact previously announced that its new World Champion Alex Shelley, and new X-Division Champion Chris Sabin, will kick off this week’s show.
Impact Wrestling on AXS TV 6/15 lineup:
New X-Division Champion Chris Sabin & New Impact World Champion Alex Shelley kick off the show
Rich Swann vs. Moose
Bully Ray will address the Impact Zone
Decay (Crazzy Steve & Taurus) vs. ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey)
Champagne Singh & Shera vs. Laredo Kid & Jack Price (Before the Impact)
