Impact Wrestling’s Deonna Purrazzo is celebrating an important life milestone.
Purrazzo made a social media post on Monday night revealing that she’s graduated from college. Purrazzo earned a bachelor of arts degree in history from Southern New Hampshire University.
The 29-year-old Purrazzo wrote that graduating college was a decade-long journey that she didn’t think would ever happen at one point. She thanked her husband Steve Maclin for supporting her in the process.
Class of 2023. This was a 10 year journey that at one point, I didn’t think it would ever happen but I’m so proud to finally be able to call myself a college graduate! Grateful to @stevemaclin for listening to all my history papers so I could find my mistakes & keeping a safe place open next to your honorable discharge certificate for the last 3 years. I love you for always encouraging me and supporting my dreams
Impact wrestler Josh Alexander responded to Purrazzo: “I can’t stress how proud you should feel about this. Most people can’t manage anything outside of the regular responsibilities of this profession. You went out burnt the candle at both ends and got a degree. Hang that thing where everyone can see. Steve’s is next.”
Purrazzo is a three-time Impact Knockouts Champion. At Slammiversary last month, she dropped the title to Trinity. The two are set to face off in a rematch for the championship at Impact Emergence on Sunday, August 27. The show is airing live via Impact Plus, Impact’s Ultimate Insiders YouTube service, and Fite TV.
In another new bout announced Thursday, Time Machine (Impact World Champion Alex Shelley, KUSHIDA & Chris Sabin) will team with Josh Alexander to take on Bully Ray, Moose, Brian Myers & X-Division Champion Lio Rush.
After things started simmering last Thursday, the eight-man bout was made Thursday after KUSHIDA and Shelley defeated Moose and Myers. Ray started attacking Shelley which brought out Alexander to even the odds. Rush then joined the fray and attacked Shelley which brought out Sabin to even things out and run Rush off.
It was Sabin’s first appearance since Rush jumped him before their Slammiversary match which saw Rush defeated a weakened Sabin for the title. KUSHIDA has the next shot at Rush after winning an Ultimate X match at Slammiversary.
Alexander has yet to wrestle since March due to a torn triceps that forced him to relinquish the Impact World title. There is also intrigue between himself and Shelley as the former has made his intentions clear that he wants his title back.
Here’s the current card:
IWGP World Champion SANADA in action
Impact Knockouts Champion Trinity defends against Deonna Purrazzo
Time Machine (Alex Shelley, KUSHIDA & Chris Sabin) and Josh Alexander vs. Bully Ray, Moose, Brian Myers & Lio Rush
The following are spoilers from Sunday’s Impact Wrestling TV taping in Windsor, Ontario, Canada — the fallout from Saturday’s Slammiversary that saw multiple new champions crowned.
These matches will air over the next two weeks of TV and featured a Tag Team title match in addition to a rematch made for next month’s Emergence.
BTI:
Alan Angels defeated Crazzy Steve. Heath Slater attacked Angels after the match.
Yuya Uemura & Joe Hendry defeated Digital Media Champion Kenny King & Sheldon Jean
Main Show:
Scott D’Amore started the show by thanking the fans and announcing he was back in his previous position as Impact president. The Good Hands come out to interrupt which led to a match.
Sami Callihan & Rich Swann defeated The Good Hands (Jason Hotch & John Skyler)
Courtney Rush defeated Savannah Evans. Jody Threat came out to aid Rush after she was being attacked by Evans’ heel team.
Dirty Dango defeated Santino Marella after an assist from John E. Bravo.
Impact Tag Team Champions Subculture (Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews) defeated ABC (Chris Bey & Ace Austin to retain the titles. The Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz) interfered.
Josh Alexander did an in-ring promo and said he was 100% cleared. He mentioned Impact World Champion Alex Shelley who then came out. X-Division Champion Lio Rush came out and said he might use Option C to cash in his title for a World title match. KUSHIDA then came out and said he couldn’t because he was going to cash in his title shot he earned by winning Ultimate X. Eventually, Bully Ray, Moose and Brian Myers came out and a huge brawl broke out.
Jake Something defeated Kevin Knight
Knockouts Champion Trinity & Dani Luna defeated The Coven (Taylor Wilde & KiLynn King). Afterward, Deonna Purrazzo came out and said she was getting her rematch against Trinity at August’s Emergence.
Johnny Swinger defeated Zicky Dice in a loser leaves Impact match
Gisele Shaw defeated Masha Slamovich
The Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA) defeated Moose & Brian Myers. Another big brawl took place afterward featuring the talent from the Alexander promo segment.
Zachary Wentz defeated Mike Bailey
Eric Young defeated Nick Aldis. Deaner & Kon attacked Young afterward.
Tommy Dreamer & Darren McCarty defeated Champagne Singh & Shera
Impact Wrestling will celebrate their 21st anniversary at Slammiversary from Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
In the main event, Impact World Champion Alex Shelley will defend against former champion Nick Aldis while Shelley’s Motor City Machine Guns teammate Chris Sabin will defend his X-Division title against Lio Rush.
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will defend against Trinity who is looking for her first run with the gold.
Tag Team Champions Ace Austin & Chris Bey will defend against Subculture (Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews), Sami Callihan & Rich Swann, and Brian Myers & Moose in a four-way.
Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Coven (Taylor Wilde & KiLynn King) will defend against Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly.
Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry will defend against Kenny King on the pre-show.
Also part of the ten-match card is a five-way Ultimate X match with Mike Bailey vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. Angels vs. Kevin Knight vs. KUSHIDA.
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Jody Threat & The Death Dollz (Courtney Rush & Jessicka) defeated The SHAWntourage (Gisele Shaw, Savannah Evans, & Jai Vidal)
Jai Vidal got in the ring with Jessicka, and it did not end well for him, with Jessicka hit a series of punches that dropped him. Vidal tagged out to Shaw soon thereafter. Jessicka resumed handing out beatings, driving Shaw’s head repeatedly into the turnbuckle before tagging out to Rush, who hit a bulldog on Shaw across the knee of Jessicka. Jai Vidal distracted Rush, leading to Savannah Evans hitting a big boot on Rush on the floor.
The SHAWntourage draped Rush across the middle ropes in their corner and hit several moves as they tagged out to each other. Rush managed to slip out of a Fireman’s Carry from Evans and then hit an inverted DDT to tag out to Jody Threat. Threat ran wild, hitting suplexes on everyone before tagging back out to Rush, who hit a spear on Vidal for the win.
–We saw video of Trinity and Deonna Purrazzo arriving at the arena.
–A video aired about Joe Hendry and Kenny King, and they added some unnecessary goofy music, but thankfully the music didn’t last long, and they retained the humour of this angle.
–Joe Hendry grabbed a mic and talked about Kenny King liking it when he lost his clothes, and this infuriated Kenny King. He said King wanted him to lose some of his clothes – the Impact Digital Media Championship, and since he wasn’t Stripper Hendry, it would be ridiculous for him to lose. This was entertaining.
Kenny King defeated Joe Hendry to win the Impact Digital Media Championship
Rather than being worried about losing his shirt this time, Kenny King threw the shirt at Hendry, but Hendry ducked and hit a stalling vertical suplex on King. Sheldon Jean got the attention of Hendry by running through the ring, leading to King attacking Hendry from behind and then taking out the knees and kicking King in the chest for a 2-count.
Sheldon Jean got on the apron to distract the referee, and he handed King a bowtie, which King used to choke Joe Hendry before putting it on Hendry’s neck. King put a guillotine choke on Hendry, who powered out and hit another vertical suplex out of the choke. Hendry caught King on a crossbody and hit a fallaway slam. Hendry did a hip swivel after realizing he had a bowtie on, and hit King with a back body drop.
Hendry hit a standing ovation on King, but Sheldon Jean put King’s foot on the ropes to break the pinfall. King tried to hit a corkscrew plancha on Hendry who was on the floor with Jean, but Hendry moved. As they got back in the ring, Kenny King rolled up Joe Hendry with his feet on the ropes, and Jean held onto the feet of King to maintain leverage, and King won!
–The great hype video for Alex Shelley and Nick Aldis aired to close the preshow.
Impact Slammiversary Main Card
Impact Slammiversary wasted no time getting into the action, with the Ultimate X match to determine the #1 Contender to the Impact X-Division Championship.
KUSHIDA defeated Jake Something, Mike Bailey, Kevin Knight, Jonathan Gresham, & Alan Angels in an Ultimate X Match
Very good match to open the PPV, with KUSHIDA getting the shot at the X-Division Championship. Love to see KUSHIDA getting used in a top position in Impact.
Jake Something joined the match as a surprise right when the referee went to ring the bell. Kevin Knight almost got the X immediately by climbing Jake Something, but Something grabbed him in a powerbomb position and threw Knight over the ropes onto everyone. Gresham and Bailey ate a double shoulder tackle as Something tried to figure out how to get the X. Gresham, KUSHIDA, Bailey, and Knight hit a quadruple dropkick on Something, only driving him back into the ropes, where Angels hit a Cactus clothesline to take him to the floor.
Gresham and Bailey seemed to team up against Knight and KUSHIDA, forming tag teams briefly. Gresham then hit a suicide dive on Something followed by Mike Bailey hitting a triangle moonsault to drop Something again. Gresham and Bailey started to fight on the ropes a bit about who would grab the X, so they started righting on the top ropes. Angels ran up the ropes and hit a Spanish Fly, and I think he planted himself head first on the mat, as he did not land on his stomach.
KUSHIDA put Angels on his shoulders and Knight hit a standing dropkick on Angels, leading to Angels moonsaulting backwards onto everyone on the floor. Bailey and KUSHIDA fought on one of the posts, with Bailey knocking KUSHIDA off with a kick. Bailey climed to the topand hit a moonsault onto everyone on the floor. That was insane.
Angels grabbed a chair and started hitting everyone, including hitting 5 chair shots on Something. Angels was on the ropes and shimmied over to where Kevin Knight was climbing the ropes and jumped into a poison rana on Knight. Jonathan Gresham tried to cut off Angels, but Angels hit him low. Something climbed the ropes, but Angels jumped off the top rope and hit a low blow. Bailey tried to bring Angels down, but Angels hit him with a low blow too. KUSHIDA punched Angels right in the face and dropped him from the ropes, letting KUSHIDA grab the X for the win!
–Tom Hannifan pointed out former Team Canada member, A1 in the crowd with his family.
–Gia Miller was with Kenny King and Sheldon King backstage, and King said that he did strip – he stripped Joe Hendry off his Impact Digital Media Championship. King cut a promo on Shelley, calling him MySpace, and saying Sabin used to be cool, as X-Division Champion, but he’s like Twitter, whereas King is cutting edge and hit title is the only one that matters. This was a good promo!
Killer Kelly & Masha Slamovich defeated The Coven (Taylor Wilde & KiLynn King) for the Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship
This was pretty good, by all standards. Killer Kelly and Masha Slamovich were awesome in this, and putting the tag titles on them is a good call for match quality in the women’s tag division.
Slamovich and Kelly immediately charged The Coven, throwing them around the ring before Kelly hit a pump kick on Wilde and a suplex for a 2-count. Kelly continued the assault, hitting knees and elbows to the face of Wilde. Wilde tagged out after hitting an inverted DDT on Slamovich, telling King to get in there. Slamovich got briefly laid out by King, but Slamovich hit a forward roll into a pinfall on King and immediately leaped into the air and hit a double stomp before tagging out to Kelly.
King dropped Kelly with a boot, but Kelly got right up. King sort of botched a stun gun, so she quickly recovered and hit a flatliner into the middle rope instead. Wilde and King got the heat on Kelly for the next few minutes. King hit running double knees to the face of Kelly in the corner. King missed a senton off the middle rope and it led to Kelly tagging out to Slamovich, who hit a superkick on Wilde, a clothesline on King, a mafia kick on Wilde, followed by a climb up knee strike in the corner and spinning wheel kick for a 2-count on Wilde.
Slamovich hit a buzzsaw kick on Wilde, but King broke up the pinfall attempt. King hit Kelly with a headbutt, and helped set Wilde up to hit a code breaker on Slamovich. King hit a German suplex on Slamovich, but missed her corner knees. Slamovich hit a missile dropkick on King, while Kelly hit a dropkick on Wilde. Kelly and Slamovich tried to hit a double powerbomb on Wilde, but King broke it up. Wilde hit the Witch’s Wrath on Slamovich for a 2-count, but she kicked out. Kelly pulled King from the ring and Slamovich countered the Witch’s Wrath into a Snow Plough for the win.
Team Canada (Scott D’Amore & Eric Young) defeated Deaner (w/ Kon) & Bully Ray
This was all sorts of fun. Not a great match in terms of star ratings, but fun. As a Canadian, it made me smile to see all the Canadiana in it too.
Scott D’Amore came out wearing a robe that he last wore in 2004 when facing Dustin Rhodes. The Canadian National anthem hit, and Eric Young came out to team with his mentor. The announcers were baffled that Eric Young was back from the dead as the crowd (including A1) cheered on the old Impact Wrestling stable reunited. Young started the match with Deaner as the crowd chanted loudly for Young.
Deaner looked terrified, and immediately tagged out to Ray. Young got an arm wringer and tagged out to D’Amore, who did a jumping splits when in the ring. I did not expect that. Deaner tagged back in and ate a leaping kick from D’Amore. Young tagged in and a backdrop into a neckbreaker with D’Amore while pointing at Ray.
D’Amore hit a sky high powerbomb on Deaner for a 2-count. Kon got on the apron and Darren McCarty, the special enforcer, came in to get rid of him, but the referee got distracted by it, letting Ray attack D’Amore from behind. Bully Ray got in the face of Scott D’Amore’s mom, who was in the front row, taunting her while beating on D’Amore.
Eric Young led the crowd in singing “O Canada,” but Ray responded with low blowing D’Amore. Ray did it right in front of the referee, and demanded to be disqualified, but after being shoved a few times, the referee took off his shirt and threw it across the ring. Darren McCarty grabbed the shirt and put it on to become the referee.
D’Amore speared Ray and then made the hot tag to Eric Young, who ran wild, taking out both Deaner and Ray, hitting a rolling lariat on Deaner. Young followed this with a piledriver and got a 2-count as Kon pulled McCarty from the ring. A1 ran in and clotheslined Kon over the top rope, while McCarty hit a stunner on Bully Ray. Young and McCarty split Ray’s legs and D’Amore hit a headbutt to the lower regions off the top rope. D’Amore, Young, and McCarty screamed “Get the tables!” and set one up in the ring as Eric Young ran around the ring waving a Canadian flag.
McCarty and D’Amore hit a chokeslam on Ray through the table. D’Amore hit a Canadian Destroyer on Deaner, and Young flew off the top rope with a flying elbow on Deaner for the win. This was lots of fun. A1, Young, D’Amore, and McCarty all celebrated after the match before putting the Canadian flag on Ray.
Lio Rush defeated Chris Sabin to win the Impact X-Division Championship
I did not expect this to be what it was, but Sabin has an excuse for losing because Rush jumped him before the bell and knocked him out.
Lio Rush attacked Sabin before the bell, hitting a suicide dive on Sabin on the floor, driving Sabin backwards into the ramp. Sabin sold this like he was knocked out. The doctor said Sabin shouldn’t wrestle, so Sabin shoved him away and made his way into the ring. Rush immediately hit a running kick and Sabin went down. Rush hit a spinning kick and then hit the Final Hour, but Sabin kicked out at 2. Rush hit a second Final Hour and won the X-Division title.
Subculture (Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster) (w/ Dani Luna) defeated ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) (Bullet Club) Moose & Brian Myers, and Sami Callihan & Rich Swann to win the Impact World Tag Team Championship
Chris Bey and Mark Andrews started the match with fast offence, before Bey tagged out to Austin, who hit a kick to the face of Andrews, and tried a head scissors. Andrews and Austin exchanged some headlocks while Webster tagged in blind and both men hit a series of high flying moves on Austin.
Webster hit a lionsault on a standing Austin, who rolled to the corner and Rich Swann tagged in. Moose came in and tried to send Swann to the floor, but Swann blocked it and then hit a cannonball off the apron onto Myers. Moose charged ABC, but they low bridged him and sent him to the floor. Bey tried to hit a flip dive, but Moose caught him and powerbombed Bey on the apron.
Myers speared Austin on the apron, and Andrews hit a flip dive on Myers. Callihan grabbed Webster and dumped him over the top ropes onto everyone before hitting a flatliner and DDT on Subculture. Callihan hit a DVD on Webster while Swann followed with a splash for a 2-count. Austin and Bey hit some double team moves on Swann before Moose and Myers ran in and hit stereo powerbombs on Bey and Austin.
Swann tagged out to Andrews because he was about to be killed by Moose and Myers, and Andrews tried to fight Moose, but ate a pump kick. Andrews hit a Stundog Millionaire, while Webster hit Shadows over Malice on Moose for a 2-count. This match completely broke down at this point with everyone hitting big moves, and I can’t keep up with it. Moose ran up the ropes and went for a crossbody to Bey and Swann, but Swann and Bey responded by both hitting a cutter on Moose.
ABC went for the fold/art of finesse on Myers, but The Rascalz ran out and pulled them from the ring, before sending Austin into the steps and neutralizing Bey. Webster responded by hitting a senton bomb onto everyone on the floor leading to Andrews hitting a shooting star press on Myers for the win.
This was a very good match that felt like it could have been better.
Edwards and Kazarian exchanged some basic holds to start, but Alisha Edwards tripped Kazarian, leading to Edwards hitting Kazarian with a brutal chop. Edwards hit the ropes, and Brooks tripped Edwards, letting Kazarian hit a back stabber. Edwards got the advantage back on the floor and hit several hard chops again.
Kazarian ate a Manhattan drop and belly-to-belly from Edwards for a 2-count. Edwards followed up with another hard chop and Kazarian collapsed to the mat. Edwards hit a running back elbow for a 2-count. Edwards continued his attack with hard chops for the next minute until Kazarian ducked under a lariat attempt and hit a German suplex on Edwards.
Every time Kazarian would try to get the advantage back, Alisha Edwards would get involved, including raking the back of Kazarian, which led to Edwards hitting a suicide dive on Kazarian, absolutely crushing him with it. That looked brutal. Edwards trash talked Kazarian’s son while the fans chanted “Boston sucks!” As a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, I can get behind that chant.
After this extended heat on Kazarian, both men ended up facing off in the middle of the ring, hitting Yakuza kicks until Kazarian hit a back elbow and then a clothesline. Kazarian hit a springboard leg drop for a 2-count. Edwards hit a series of enziguris in the corner before hitting the backpack stunner for a 2-count.
Edwards hit a big top rope superplex on Kazarian. Edwards went for the chicken wing on Kazarian, but Kazarian shoved him off and went for the Boston Knee Party, but Edwards ducked. Edwards suplexed Kazarian over the top rope, and both men went tumbling to the floor. Brooks and Alisha Edwards looked on concerned for their husbands, but as they came back into the ring, Kazarian managed to hit a slingshot cutter on Edwards for a 2-count.
Kazarian went for a flying forearm but accidentally hit the referee, then both men hit clotheslines at the same time. Alisha Edwards grabbed a kendo stick and entered the ring. Traci Brooks came into the ring and took the legs out of Edwards and started fighting with her. Brooks hit a clothesline that sent Alisha to the floor. Kazarian locked on the chicken wing and got the tap out, but the referee was out. As Kazarian tried to wake up the referee Edwards hit Kazarian with a kendo stick and followed up with the Boston Knee Party of the 3-count.
Trinity defeated Deonna Purrazzo to win the Impact Knockouts World Championship
Solid match here, with Trinity going over and winning the Knockouts title. This was easily one of the better matches in Trinity’s career, and my recap really didn’t do it justice.
Purrazzo almost got an armbar early on, but Trinity managed to get out. As Trinity tried to pick up the pace, Purrazzo broke it down and started working over the arm of Trinity. This is a very different style match than Trinity would be used to working in WWE, as Purrazzo worked over the arm, continually getting heat as Trinity sold. Trinity got a leg trip, but missed a leg drop and ate a basement dropkick from Purrazzo for a 2-count.
Trinity rebounded with a kick when Purrazzo tried to put her on the top rope, and she hit clotheslines with hir right arm rather than her left. Purrazzo got hit with a face buster and a split legged moonsault for a 2-count. Purrazzo managed to hit the Queen’s Gambit on the apron, and got a 2-count. Purrazzo went for the Queen’s Gambit off the middle ropes, but Trinity hit a series of headbutts on Purrazzo before hitting a full nelson bomb off the middle ropes before rolling into Starstruck, and Purrazzo tapped out.
Impact World Champion Alex Shelley defeated Nick Aldis defeated to retain
This was a very good match, with Shelley working a mat based style and viciously attacking the arm, while Aldis clearly underestimated Shelley’s ability and paid for it. Aldis’ cheating backfiring leading to Shelley hitting Shell Shock proved to be a great finish on a show that had a lot of heel heat.
Shelley started the match spitting water into the eyes of Aldis, but Aldis powerbombed Shelley off the top rope right away, and Aldis locked the Kingsland Cloverleaf on Shelley. Shelley managed to drag himself to the ropes to escape, and the crowd showered Aldis with boos. Aldis slowed the match down and acted as the bully to Shelley for the next few minutes, including catching Shelley as he jumped from the ropes and turning it into a vertical suplex.
Shelley managed to get Aldis’ knee caught in the ropes, and hit a dragon screw through the ropes to begin an attack on Aldis’ left leg. Aldis managed to trap Shelley in the apron and hit a punch before shoving Shelley back first into the ring post. Aldis hit a snake eyes into the apron on Shelley. Aldis tried to suplex Shelley to the floor, but Shelley responded with a stunner across the ropes and hit a slingshot stomp to the arm of Aldis.
Aldis tried to send Shelley into the post again, but he slipped out and sent Aldis face first into the post. Shelley stuck the fingers of Aldis into the turnbuckle and twisted the metal to work over the hand. The fans in the front row told him to break his fingers, so Shelley stomped on the hand to their delight. Shelley hit another dragon screw in the ropes, going back to the leg. Shelley hit a chop block to the knee of Aldis, and Aldis collapsed in a heap. As he was struggling, he raked the eyes of Shelley.
Shelley went back to the hand and wrist of Aldis, snapping the wrist with his feet. Shelley hit a superplex on Aldis. Aldis and Shelley got up and they started exchange punches and chops. Shelley hit Sliced Bread #2 on Aldis before transitioning into the Border City Stretch, but Aldis countered into a pinfall attempt. Aldis went for the Kingsland Cloverleaf, but Shelley went after the fingers and snapped them.
Shelley went for Sliced Bread #2 again, but Aldis caught him and hit a tombstone for a 2-count, and then followed with an elbow drop for another 2. Aldis grabbed the Impact World Championship and went to hit Shelley again, but Shelley kicked Aldis in the gut and went to hit Aldis with the title while the referee protested. Shelley gave the title to the ref, but as he was putting it aside, Aldis low blowed Shelley and hit a Michinoku driver for a 2-count. Aldis tried to hit Shelley with the belt again, but Shelley stopped him and hit a DDT onto the belt by accident, busting Aldis open. Shelley hit the Shell Shock and got the pin to retain his title.
–As Shelley was celebrating, Josh Alexander’s music hit and he made his way down to the ring to face off with Alex Shelley. It’s clear that we are heading towards a big match between Alexander and Shelley based on this, though I am surprised Alexander is back already after his surgery. The fans chanted “Welcome back” as Alexander grabbed a mic and said “I’m back!”
Final Thoughts
This was a good show, but not a great one. That said, I didn’t feel like my time was wasted, and that the matches had finishes that were mostly satisfying or leading somewhere. I was surprised Shelley retained, as I thought Aldis and Alexander would be a bigger match for upcoming shows, but Impact seems to want to establish Shelley as a viable and real world champion, which I’m in favour of. Shelley is still great, and having some of the best matches of his career, and I can’t wait to see him and Alexander wrestle.
An opportunity to enter the multi-team Tag Team title match at this month’s Slammiversary will be featured on next Thursday’s Impact on AXS TV — the go-home show for next Saturday’s pay-per-view.
The returning Zachary Wentz of The Rascalz will take on Chris Bey, one half of the tag champions with Ace Austin. If Wentz can pick up the win, he and Trey Miguel will enter the fray at Slammiversary, joining Sami Callihan & Rich Swann, Brian Myers & Moose, and Subculture (Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews) and making the four-way title match a five-way.
Impact Wrestling makes its debut in Australia Friday for the first of two straight nights of pay-per-views from Wagga Wagga.
Friday’s kickoff will feature a rematch for the Impact World title as Alex Shelley defends against Steve Maclin in a rematch from Against All Odds where Shelley won the title.
X-Division Champion Chris Sabin will continue his ninth reign as he defends against former champion Frankie Kazarian and Robbie Eagles. While this will be Eagles’ first Impact appearance, he competed for the title in a four-way for Australia’s WSW back in 2018.
In a pair of non-title matches, Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will take on Steph De Lander while Tag Team Champions Chris Bey & Ace Austin face Moose & Brian Myers.
Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defends against former World Champion Eddie Edwards.
The rest of the eight-match card will see Saturday Knockouts title challenger Gisele Shaw against Erika Reid; Killer Kelly vs. Aysha; and Slex vs. Adam Brooks.
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The show opened with “Auntie Sheryl” a native, Aboriginal woman of Wagga Wagga welcoming everybody to the show. The government of New South Wales brought in Impact for this tour.
Slex defeated Adam Brooks (6:21)
Those two natives of Australia have been feuding for years, including a Three Stages of Hell match. Brooks took the blunt of the matches. Slex also was part of NJPW’s recent TAMASHII shows in Australia.
Brooks offered a handshake, but Slex declined. They showed how well they know each other but avoiding most of the other’s offense for the first minute, until Brooks downed Slex with a right hand. Both looked to hit dives until Brooks finally did but got caught by Slex, who slammed him on the apron and got the first near-fall of the night back in the ring.
Brooks kneed Slex in the gut, then suplexed him into the turnbuckles for another near-fall. They battled on top until Slex hit a superplex. They went right into another suplex attempt and eventually both tumbled over the top rope to the floor.
They ran into each other before Slex hit a spinning punch. Brooks came back with a kick and went for a Swanton Bomb, but Slex evaded it, hit a springboard enzuigiri followed by another one, called the Slexecution to win the battle of Australian veterans.
Motor City Machine Guns promo
MCMG cut a backstage promo. Chris Sabin talked about how he once wrestled Frankie Kazarian for the X-Division title 20 years ago in Australia. Shelley said he would beat Steve Maclin tonight.
Gisele Shaw defeated Erika Reid (7:33)
Reid is native to New South Wales and made her Impact debut here. Shaw challenges Deonna Purrazzo for the Impact Knockouts title tomorrow.
They traded wristlocks and headlocks early before Shaw took down Reid with shoulder blocks repeatedly. Reid came back with running elbows into the corner and a suplex for a two count. The ended up outside and Shaw slammed Reid into the ring post shoulder first. Shaw immediately followed up back in the ring and started working over Reid’s arm with kicks and submissions.
Shaw kept mauling Reid, who briefly came back with a few elbows but quickly got knocked down a few pegs again. Shaw rammed Reid into the turnbuckle shoulder-first again, then locked in a mounted arm bar. Reid countered into a roll up for two, then followed up with a big DDT.
Reid sold the shoulder, even trying to knock the possible dislocated joint back into place. She hit a flying hurricanrana on Shaw who was on her knees for another near-fall.
Shaw went back to the mounted arm bar again and then leaned back, forcing Reid to tap out.
Steve Maclin promo
He talked about looking past Alex Shelley toward Slammiversary and it cost him his Impact World title. He said he would not make the same mistake again and would win the title back tonight.
Impact Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defeated Eddie Edwards to retain (11:42)
Hendry cut a promo before the match, talking about how he was in a good mood because Impact made its debut in Australia, in Wagga Wagga, a “town so great, they had to name it twice.” He said he prepared a special chant for Eddie, since they were on holiday. The chant was “Eddie sucks.” He said the people believed in Joe Hendry.
Hendry dominated early by controlling Edwards’ arm, then took him down with a shoulder block. Edwards tried one of his own, but got knocked down once more and rolled to ringside. Eddie wanted a test of strength, but kicked Hendry in the gut. Hendry quickly went back to shoulder block though. Eddie briefly got back into control, but quickly missed a body press when Hendry just took a step out of the way.
Hendry hit a delayed vertical suplex, then followed with ten punches in the corner. Eddie tossed Hendry out of the ring, hit an inverted atomic drop when Hendry slid back inside and downed him with a clothesline. Edwards hit a few chops in the corner, then thumbed Hendry in the eye. He locked in a choke but Hendry powered out and hit a few uppercuts but Eddie quickly regained control.
Hendry ate a few more chard chops and thumb to the eye, but powered up, hit a few clotheslines and a big fall-away slam. He went for the Standing Ovation chokeslam but Eddie elbowed out. Hendry hit a cutter off the ropes instead for a near fall. Edwards back body dropped out of a power bomb attempt, but couldn’t evade a pop up power bomb seconds later. Edwards hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for another narrow two count. Edwards hit some knee strikes, but Hendry lifted him on his shoulders and threw him to the mat with a Trust Fall.
Hendry went to hit a lariat on Edwards in the corner and lifted him on the turnbuckle, but got power bombed off. Edwards went for the Boston Knee Party but got hit with the Standing Ovation for the win and successful title defense by Hendry.
At the zoo with Impact Wrestling
Steve Maclin, Deonna Purrazzo, Frankie Kazarian, Moose, Killer Kelly and Joe Hendry were at the Wagga Wagga zoo, played with dingos, fed kangaroos and touched snakes in a nice filler segment.
Killer Kelly defeated Aysha (7:09)
Aysha, a native of Australia, battled Killer Kelly from Portugal here. Kelly started out on all fours and intimidated Aysha. Things quickly turned serious when Kelly took Aysha down with a few arm drags then hit some knees and followed with punches in the corner and a running hip attack.
She downed with a running soccer kick on a sitting Aysha, then followed up with another one from the apron when Aysha rolled out of the ring. Kelly followed up with a deadlift delayed fisherman’s suplex for two. Aysha took over by pulling Kelly down by the hair and choking her with her boot in the corner.
Aysha followed up with a Stinger Splash in the corner and a running bulldog for another near fall. Aysha came back with a series of open palm strikes and head butts, then hit a butterfly suplex into the corner. Aysha briefly evaded a Shotgun dropkick into the corner, but seconds later ate one anyway. Aysha came back with a neckbreaker and back stabber for another two-count.
Aysha went for a double underhook DDT but got countered with a Death Valley Driver. Aysha grabbed a bottle of champagne from ringside but got caught be the ref. She grabbed an open one and spit champagne into Kelly’s face who was not all that impressed and took a hearty swig from the bottle. Aysha tried a roll up as Kelly handed her bottle to the ref.
Kelly hit a deadlift high angle German suplex and locked in the Killer Clutch for the submission victory.
Impact X-Division Champion Chris Sabin defeated Frankie Kazarian and Robbie Eagles in a three-way to retain (14:49)
All three men shook hands as the match started. Eagles got the crowd going with “Robbie Robbie Robbie! Oi Oi Oi!” chants.
Sabin got the first few moves in, but quickly clashed with Kazarian before all three men hit simultaneous dropkicks. Kazarian threw Eagles to the outside but got rolled up by Sabin for two. Sabin followed with a La Magistral cradle for two before falling prey to a hurricanrana by Eagles.
Eagles hit a springboard backflip but got floored by a clothesline from Sabin before the champ took both opponents down with clotheslines. Sabin hot a Stroke on Eagles before locking Eagles into an Indian Death Lock and getting an Octopus Hold on Kazarian at the same time.
Kazarian took over by Evading Sabin and dropping a guillotine leg drop on Eagles on the apron. Kazarian hot a back stabber on Eagles from the turnbuckle and a springboard spinning leg drop on Sabin for a two count. Kazarian had Sabin in some sort of double arm bar, then rolled up Eagles as he came wandering by. Kazarian locked Eagles in a Boston crab, then hit a Code Breaker on Sabin when he looked to drop a defenseless Kazarian.
Eagles hot some kicks on Kazarian, thwarted Sabin and took both men down. Eagles launched Kazarian out of the ring, allowing Sabin to hit a running soccer kick on Kazarian and two somersault sentons from the apron on each opponent. Sabin rolled Eagles back into the ring, but Eagles escaped an attack, hit a plancha on Kazarian and locked the inverted figure four leg lock on Sabin.
Kazarian hit an O’Connor roll on Eagles, then followed with a Northern Lights suplex on a charging Sabin to get a cover on both men, who narrowly managed to kick out. Eagles quickly flew in with a kick and got a near-fall of his own with a backpack snapmare slam.
Kazarian snatched Eagles out of the sky with a cutter on a springboard attempt and got a close near-fall, with Sabin making the save at the last possible moment. Sabin punched and elbowed both men, hot a tornado DDT on Kazarian and Cradle Shock on Eagles to pick up the win and retain the championship
– A video on ABC vs. Moose & Bryan Myers vs. Sami Callihan & Rich Swann vs. Subculture for the Tag Team titles at Slammiversary aired.
Impact Tag Team Champions ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) defeated Moose & Brian Myers in a non-title match (15:58)
Myers and Bey started out but Myers quickly escaped to ringside. He teased a test of strength, only to kick Bey in the gut. Bey quickly came back with punches in the corner, a backflip and superman punch. Austin tagged in and the champions double-teamed Mayers for a few seconds.
Moose kneed Austin in the back on a whip in, which got Austin distracted and allowed Myer to hit a running knee. Moose tagged in, but quickly got double teamed when Bey bling-tagged in. Bey hit a tope, then went for a plancha but got caught by Moose and power bombed on the apron. Myers then speared Austin on the outside.
Moose and Myers took turns beating Bey down, with Myers hitting a suplex for a two-count. Myers locked in a chin lock with Bey not able to tag out as Austin still lay hurting at ringside. Moose wen t for another power bomb, which Bey escape via hurricanrana only to be caught with a mighty uranage.
Myers tagged in and choked Bey in the ropes, then tagged Moose again. Bey managed to throw Moose out of the ring, hit a kick on Myers and went to tag Austin, only to watch his partner get dragged from the apron by Moose. Bey hit a sunset flip on Myers, who managed to tag Moose before going down for the cover. Bey escaped a power bomb, then managed to hit a cutter on Moose who was coming in with a springboard move from the turnbuckles.
Bey finally managed the hot-tag and Austin ran wild on both opponents. He got rid of Moose, then hit a spin kick on Myers for a two-count. ABC were looking for One Two Sweet, but Moose dragged Austin out of the ring. Myers hit the Roster Cut on Bey, with Austin making the save at the last second.
Bey went to the top rope, but got hit by a high dropkick my Moose. Moose and Austin battled on the top turnbuckle before Moose hit a superplex on Austin, only for Bey to come off the top with a Frog Splash before getting wiped out with an enzuigiri by Myers.
Moose held Austin for Myers to hit a superkick before they hit stereo power bombs on both ABC members. Myers asked Moose to pick Bey up for him to hit another Roster Cut. Bey shoved Moose into Myers, then rolled up Myers for the pin as Austin grabbed Moose’s legs from the outside.
– A highlight video on fun things to do in Wagga Wagga aired.
Steph De Lander promo
Steph said she lost to Deonna before but will beat her tonight and go home the champion
Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defeated Steph De Lander in a non-title match (9:05)
De Lander briefly played to the crowd but then cut a heel promo to turn the crowd against her.
De Lander shoved Purrazzo down, but received a slap in return. A sunset flip by Purrazzo couldn’t get De Lander down, but she got thrown out of the ring anyway. De Lander then picked up Purrazzo on her shoulders and dropped her to the apron face-first.
De Lander put Purrazzo on he top turnbuckle, hit her with a running boot and suplexed her out of the corner for a near fall. De Lander kept it up with chops in the corner until Deonna ducked and hit a slew of her own. De Lander locked on a bear hug, then went for another pin and argued with the referee when Purrazzo kicked out at two.
De Lander went right back to a chin lock, which Purrazzo eventually escaped from De Lander went for a spear in the corner but Deonna moved and she crashed into the steel post shoulder first. Purrazzo smelled blood immediately and countered a choke slam attempt into an attempt to work over the shoulder. Seconds later, De Lander found herself locked in a Fujiwara arm bar that put pressure on her left shoulder and narrowly made the ropes.
De Lander back body dropped out of a Queen’s Gambit attempt, and took back over, including a big boot for another two count. De Lander grabbed the microphone and told the crowd to shut up, before trying to hit Purrazzo with the mic, which the referee prevented.
This was all Deonna Purrazzo needed to roll her up for two and then lock in another Fujiwara arm bar, this time on the previously injured right shoulder and De Lander tapped immediately.
Impact World Champion Alex Shelley defeated Steve Maclin to retain (21:05)
Both guys milked the crowd for a little before locking up. Shelly quickly forced Maclin to the mat with a wrist lock and retained control of the arm. Shelley transitioned into a hammerlock before Maclin locked in a side headlock. Shelley broke free, got shoulder blocked but quickly locked in a head lock of his own, which he held for a few minutes.
Maclin eventually escaped and hit a few shoulder blocks in the corner, then slammed Shelley’s head into a turnbuckle. Shelley quickly turned the page again and went to town with elbows and chops, then downed the challenger with a running clothesline out of the corner.
Maclin finally hit a back elbow when Shelley hit the ropes and went back to some trusty chops. Shelley launched Maclin to the apron, jumped on his arm and hit a running knee strike from the apron. Back in the squared circle, Shelley dropkicked Maclin’s knee and followed up with a dragon screw. Shelley kept working the leg and locked in a step-over toe hold. Shelley next went to a straight jacket choke which he turned into a back stabber.
After some back and forth, they ended at ringside again, when Maclin hit a uranage on his knee and then belly-to-back suplexed Shelley on the apron twice. Back in the ring, he dropped a knee on the champion’s back and was looking to take Shelley’s back out.
Shelley came back with chops and kicks as Maclin urged him on. Maclin slammed Shelley’s face on his knee, hit a stiff lariat and locked in a Boston crab. Maclin hit a knee to the back as Shelley hung in the ropes, then slid outside, hit a hard slap and bent Shelley around the ring post backwards.
Shelley ended up on the apron and hit a dragon screw into the ropes, which further injured Maclin’s knee. Shelley followed with a stunner into the ropes but landed on Maclin’s knees as he launched himself over the top rope with a splash.
Shelley countered out of another uranage back breaker, then slammed Maclin’s head into the second turnbuckle. Shelley began targeting the other knee in the corner, including a nasty looking dragon screw as Maclin’s other leg was trapped between the ropes.
Maclin turned a Figure Four attempt into a small package but Shelley kept attacking the knee again. Shelley then hit a spinning fisherman’s suplex and went for the Figure Four again which he transitioned into a kind of Paradise Lock before kicking Maclin the face.
Shelley finally got the Figure Four on, but Maclin made the bottom rope. They ended up on the apron where Shelley went for Sliced Bread but got thrown into the post and speared in half. Maclin followed up with a Busaiku knee for a close near-fall. Maclin sold his knee and fell to the mat, Shelley capitalized and hit s superkick before hitting Shell Shock for the win to retain.
Shelley celebrated with his title as the show went off the air.
Final Thoughts:
This was a fun, if not particularly newsworthy show. Most matches felt like warm-ups to what is going to go down tomorrow and at Slammiversary but everyone had their working boots on and the local crowd had fun seeing a mix of Impact’s biggest stars and some of their own local talent. All the matches involving champions were good, the main event felt like an old school world title match, with the working of different body parts by both opponents. It will be fun to see how Impact concludes their mini-tour Down Under tomorrow.
Tomorrow’s Impact Down Under PPV card:
Impact Tag Team Champions ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) defend against the Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin)
Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defends against Gisele Shaw
Impact Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defends against Moose
Frankie Kazarian vs. Steve Maclin
The Natural Classics (Stevie Filip & Tome Filip) vs. The VeloCities (Jude London & Paris De Silva)
Two title matches have been announced for Impact Wrestling’s Down Under tour in Australia, both events of which will air live as pay-per-views on FITE.
On Friday, June 30th, new Impact World Champion Alex Shelley will defend the title against Steve Maclin in a contractually obligated rematch.
Shelley defeated Maclin at last Friday’s Against All Odds to end Maclin’s near-two month run with the title.
As of now, Shelley is set to defend against Nick Aldis at next month’s Slammiversary pay-per-view but the result of this match could change that.
On Saturday, July 1st, Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will defend her title against Gisele Shaw as part of the second event/PPV. These two have battled multiple times over the last year in a variety of matches, splitting two singles matches against each other.
If Shaw is to win the title, she will defend against both Purrazzo and no. 1 contender Trinity at Slammiversary.
Both events will air live at 5 AM Eastern and be available on demand afterward.
Here’s the current lineup for both events from Wagga Wagga, NWS, Australia:
Friday, 6/30:
Impact World Champion Alex Shelley defends against Steve Maclin
Saturday, 7/1:
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defends against Gisele Shaw
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin will look for another successful title defense as he defends against Alex Shelley on Friday’s Against All Odds streaming special in Columbus, Ohio.
The next no. 1 contender will be made in the first-ever 8-4-1 match as Bully Ray, Jonathan Gresham, Heath & Nick Aldis take on Moose, Mike Bailey, Rich Swann & PCO. The winning team will immediately compete in a four-way with the winner challenging for the World title at Slammiversary.
In a pair of Under Siege rematches, X-Division Champion Trey Miguel will defend against Chris Sabin while Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defends against Dirty Dango.
Tag Team Champions Chris Bey & Ace Austin defend against The Good Hands while Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo teams with Slammiversary challenger Trinity against Gisele Shaw & Savannah Evans.
Other featured matches include Killer Kelly vs. Masha Slamovich in a dog collar match, Frankie Kazarian vs. Eddie Edwards, and a trios street fight.
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KiLynn King (w/Taylor Wilde) defeated Nevaeh on the Countdown to Against All Odds pre-show
From Dayton, Ohio, Nevaeh made her return to Impact Wrestling after two years.
King had the early advantage after the bell rang and Wilde was sure to maintain that advantage for her partner from the outside of the ring.
Nevaeh attempted to gain momentum several times but King eventually landed the King’s Curse to get the 1-2-3 after a short uneventful match.
– A video package aired focusing on the ongoing feud between Sami Callihan and The Design leading into their upcoming Ohio Street Fight later on tonight.
Joe Hendry defeated Dirty Dango to retain the Impact Digital Media title on the Countdown to Against All Odds pre-show
Director of Authority Santino Marella made his way to the ring to join commentary before the match began.
After Dango entered the ring, Hendry’s music hit and he came out with a mic, reintroducing fans to his “Divas Reject” music video.
After the bell rang, Hendry gained early momentum causing a frustrated Dango to the outside of the ring. Dango saw a fan with a t-shirt in the crowd and grabbed the shirt and tossed it in the face of Marella, disrespecting the DOA. Hendry went to the outside and landed a neckbreaker on the floor before both men returned to the ring.
Dango managed to gain the advantage after hitting some top rope offence but Hendry quickly had momentum on his side once again. Dango remained resilient and once again went to the top attempting to land the Down & Dirty but Hendry caught up with him.
After Hendry initially was able to stop Dango, he was shoved back down to the mat and Dango attempted the Down & Dirty once again but Hendry moved and Dango crashed and burned.
Hendry capitalized on the missed attempt by Dango, landed a massive suplex followed by the Standing Ovation to retain his Impact Digital Media title.
– A video package aired focusing on the upcoming Impact World title match between Steve Maclin and Alex Shelley.
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– A cold open opened the show tonight and honestly folks, Impact Wrestling does some of the best video packages in the business.
Frankie Kazarian defeated Eddie Edwards (w/Alisha)
It was hard to believe this was the first ever singles match between Kazarian and Edwards with their storied careers in Impact Wrestling and both being trained by the late Killer Kowalski.
After some back and forth in the beginning moments of the match, Kazarian looked to have gained control with a great neckbreaker before Edwards was able to send him to the outside where Alisha was waiting with a cheap shot.
Both men were back in the ring and Edwards had the momentum going his way as Alisha continued to help assist her husband from the outside. Kazarian attempted a comeback with a springboard off of the ropes but Edwards sent him to the outside instead and followed it up with a dive through the ropes.
Kazarian wouldn’t stay down however as his perseverance led him to landing a hurricanrana on Edwards over the top rope to the floor. Kazarian attempted to land his spinning legdrop off of the ropes but Alisha once again interfered in the match.
Kazarian followed up by landing the spinning legdrop but Edwards persevered himself and landed a Blue Thunder Bomb but only managed a two count. Kazarian followed up with a reverse piledriver but before he could get the three count, Alisha placed Edwards leg on the bottom rope. The referee caught her however and Alisha was ejected from ringside.
Both men attempted to recover at this point and after what looked like a botched three count by the referee, Kazarian was able to roll Edwards up for a real 1-2-3 for the victory.
ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) defeated The Good Hands (Jason Hotch & John Skyler w/Brian Myers) to retain the Impact World Tag Team titles
Bey and Skyler began the match and after some quick back and forth, Hotch and Austin were tagged in. Austin gained control before Hotch and Skyler resorted to heel tactics to gain the upperhand.
Quick tags were made by The Good Hands to keep Austin grounded but it didn’t last long as Ace was able to make the hot tag to a fired up Bey. Bey took out both Hotch and Skyler before nailing Hotch with the Code Red but only managed a two count.
A miscue by ABC sent momentum back in the way of The Good Hands but after Austin was sent to the outside taking out Myers, it was back and forth by both teams looking to gain that momentum needed to be tag team champions.
The Good Hands nailed Austin with a Magic Killer but Ace managed to kick out at two. Unfortunately for Hotch and Skyler, this would be the end of the night for them as far as offence went. Hotch was caught with the Art of Finesse before Austin nailed him with The Fold to give the champions another day with the titles.
– Backstage, Gia Miller was with Impact Knockouts World champion Deonna Purrazzo and Trinity. They made mention of their upcoming battle at Slammiversary but stated their focus tonight was Gisele Shaw and Savannah Evans.
Masha Slamovich defeated Killer Kelly in a Dog Collar Match
A match between two women that absolutely hated each other, locked in a dog collar with no disqualifications.
After it looked like an even matchup early on, it was all Slamovich with the referee even asking Kelly if she wanted to give up in the opening minutes of the match.
Kelly and Slamovich ended up on the outside of the ring and Slamovich continued her assault by pulling Kelly into the ring post before wrapping the chain around her neck and biting her in the process.
Slamovich dragged Kelly back into the ring but couldn’t capitalize any further as both women hit clotheslines on one another. After getting back on their feet, Kelly managed to gain much needed momentum by landing a running dropkick in the corner followed by a DDT.
Slamovich refused to give up and after landing back on the outside, she was able to hang Kelly over the top rope but Kelly refused to submit.
Back in the ring and Slamovich attempted the Snow Plow but couldn’t execute it. Kelly attempted to lock in her Killer Clutch but failed as well. Kelly was then able to hit a Snow Plow of her own but only managed a two count.
A frustrated Kelly looked to finish the match but before she could continue her momentum, Slamovich was able to lock the chain around the mouth of Kelly. Slamovich followed up by finally landing her Snow Plow to get a massive win over her arch nemesis.
After the match, Slamovich went eye-to-eye with Kelly and after looking like she was going to land a post-match assault, threw her dog collar down and left the ring.
– Backstage, Gia Miller was with the Motor City Machine Guns. Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin stated they were focused on winning titles at Against All Odds.
Chris Sabin defeated Trey Miguel to win the Impact X-Division title
This match had the potential to be a X-Division classic but the arrogance of Miguel wasn’t about to let that happen.
Both men went back and forth in the beginning as Sabin was gearing towards a ninth X-Division championship and after landing a spear onto the outside of the ring, it looked as though the title was about to change hands.
Miguel wouldn’t give in however and after trapping the leg of Sabin, he caught him in an amazing series of submission moves but Sabin was able to escape. Sabin followed up by hitting the Angel’s Wings but only managed a two count. Miguel followed it up with a Cradle Shock but Sabin kicked out at two as well.
Sabin followed up with an avalanche gut buster to Miguel on the top rope and then hit a Styles Clash but could only once again get a two count. Miguel started playing dirty at this point and after getting a can of spray taken away, sprayed a second can of spray paint to the eyes of Sabin but couldn’t get the win.
Sabin recovered and after hitting a massive clothesline, nailed the Cradle Shock to win his ninth X-Division title!
Bully Ray, Heath, Jonathan Gresham & Nick Aldis defeated Mike Bailey, Moose, PCO & Rich Swann in a 8-4-1 8-Man Tag Team Match
Bailey and Ray began the match but before they locked up, Ray tagged out to Gresham. After some back and forth between Bailey and Gresham, Heath and Swann were tagged in and before they locked up, an impromptu dance off took place.
Moose soon tagged himself in and immediately went to the opposite to confront Ray as the two have a heated history. Bailey was tagged back in as he was attempting to gain momentum for his team by climbing to the top rope, he was confronted by Ray and crotched in the process.
Bailey recovered and made the tag to PCO and the French-Canadian Frankenstein quickly started beating down on his opponents. As PCO went to nail his PCOsault to the ring apron, Moose tagged himself back into the match and shoved PCO off of the top rope.
Moose attempted to end the match with a spear to Gresham but ended up nailing his teammate Swann instead. Gresham then sent Moose to the outside and seeing a downed Swann, covered him for the 1-2-3 to help his team advance to a four-way match to determine who will face the Impact World champion at Slammiversary.
Nick Aldis defeated Bully Ray, Heath & Jonathan Gresham in a 8-4-1 4-Way Match
Gresham gained the early advantage coming off the win for his team moments before and after grounding Ray, he nailed Bully with a diving headbutt to the lower midsection thanks to help from Aldis and Heath.
Ray wouldn’t stay down however and after looking for plunder underneath the ring, he was soon confronted by a returning Scott D’Amore on the inside of the ring. Ray told D’Amore he didn’t have the guts to do anything and after Bully turned his back, D’Amore nailed him with a massive chair shot.
With Ray now down and out, the other three men looked to finish the match and move on to Slammiversary. Aldis would be the one to capitalize however and after locking Heath in the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf, Heath tapped out and we now had our new number one contender going into Slammivesary.
– Backstage, Gia Miller was with Impact World champion Steve Maclin. Maclin stated that while guys like Chris Sabin and Nick Aldis were victorious tonight, he was focused on defeating Alex Shelley in the main event.
Purrazzo and Shaw began the match and as you would have guessed it, there was no love lost as both women looked to rip each other apart.
Trinity was tagged in and commentary made reference to the fact that Trinity hasn’t lost a tag team match in her last twenty-three appearances. How about that?
After some back and forth action and quick tags by both teams, Trinity attempted to hit a move from the top rope but after some interference by Jai Vidal, she failed to land her aerial assault as it was broken up by Evans.
Purrazzo got the hot tag in and after locking in the Fujiwara Armbar on Shaw, Trinity landed the Rear View but they couldn’t put Shaw and Evans away. Trinity was taken out and after Purrazzo decided enough was enough, she locked Evans in a Magistral Cradle to gain the win for her team.
After the match, Shaw, Evans & Vidal attempted to destroy Purrazzo with running knee strikes by Shaw by Trinity was able to make the save.
oVe (Sami Callihan, Jake Crist & Madman Fulton) defeated The Design (Deaner, Angels & Kon) in an Ohio Street Fight
As expected, this match was all about chaos, punishment and weapons. Chairs, tables, mailboxes, staple guns and sunset flips were highlights of the opening moments of the match.
Callihan yelled at Fulton to “Get the wire!” and we were greeted with two tables full of barbed wire. Fulton attempted to launch Angels through one of the tables but Angels blocked the attempt and then followed up by nailing Fulton with a barbed wire strike of his own.
Crist and Angels both went to the top rope and after simultaneously jumping off the top, Crist nailed him with a massive Crist Cutter. He could only manage a two count however as Deaner made the save.
Tacks were brought out by Callihan and it was soon a massive trainwreck as Deaner, Kon, Fulton and Crist were all sent through the destruction of the tacks and tables.
Callihan nailed Deaner with his Cactus Driver ’97 but Deaner kicked out. Callihan followed up with a piledriver through one of the barbed wire tables and that was enough to put away the leader of The Design to gain a victory for the newly reformed oVe.
Alex Shelley defeated Steve Maclin to win the Impact World title
It was definitely power and aggression versus speed and technicality in this one.
With both men feeling each other out in the opening moments, Shelley attempted to lock in the Border City Stretch but Maclin was quick to roll to the outside.
Shelley followed up by attacking the left arm of Maclin, stomping on his elbow and locking in an armbar as well before Maclin was able to land a German suplex and take the match to the outside that included a dive through the ropes.
After both men were back in the ring, Shelley attempted to gain the advantage in the match but Maclin’s power game was way too strong and after landing a series of moves including a monstrous backbreaker, Maclin could only manage a two count on the challenger.
Shelley began to mount a comeback and after some near falls, Maclin soon found himself locked in an agonizing figure-four leglock before finally reaching the ropes, removing a turnbuckle pad in the process.
Maclin switched up momentum and after landing a psycho knee, he nailed a brainbuster. Maclin attempted to follow up with his Caught in the Crosshairs but failed. Shelley caught Maclin with a DDT to the apron followed by a Sliced Bread on the floor.
Back in the ring and Shelley went to deliver his Shell Shock but missed and Maclin nailed his KIA but only managed a two count. Both men went to the top rope and Shelley nailed Maclin with a Sliced Bread but again a two count.
Maclin rushed Shelley in the corner but missed and hit the exposed turnbuckle. Shelley looking to siege his moment, fought off Maclin’s attack and finally nailed the Shell Shock to capture his first Impact World title in a hell of a main event!
After the match, the new Impact X-Division champion Chris Sabin came down to the ring to celebrate with his Motor City Machine Guns partner.
Final Thoughts:
What a show!
My predictions on the event sucked but WOW the surprise results.
Sabin, Shelley and Aldis to name a few.
MCMG as individual champions in Impact Wrestling in 2023, forget about it! Impact pulling the trigger on Aldis this quickly, forget about it! Slamovich teasing a tag team with Kelly, forget about it!
I’ve loved Impact Wrestling since the mid-2000’s and 15+ years later and they keep solidifying my love as a fan. Do yourself a favour (that’s not a typo, I’m Canadian) and go out of your way to watch Against All Odds 2023 as the event was solid from start to finish.
With that being said, go out of your way to watch Frankie Kazarian, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin matches back in the day and realize how good they truly are.
Steve Maclin first won the vacant Impact World title at Rebellion after defeating KUSHIDA. Since then, he has had two successful title defenses, one of which had people buzzing online due to the violent nature of the match.
Ahead of his Friday title defense against Alex Shelley as part of Against All Odds, I talked to the champion about his first World title run, that bloody affair against PCO last month, and former champion Josh Alexander.
You can watch the video above on YouTube and read some highlights below.
Winning the title
Maclin was scheduled to face then-champion Alexander at Rebellion, but Alexander had to relinquish the title due to a triceps tear, thus ending his 335-day reign. That set the Maclin vs. KUSHIDA match into motion.
Not only did he win a championship, but his wife, Deonna Purrazzo, regained the Knockouts title for a third time by defeating Jordynne Grace in the evening’s main event.
“To win that night in Toronto, especially the night my wife and I won the world titles, it’s just cool to come out of that and share the moment together,” he said.
Maclin feels he is now the “flag bearer” of the company and simply wants to have the best matches possible, whether or not they steal the show.
“I want to go out there and give the fans their money’s worth. I want to set the tone for what the World title should be, in my eyes, of how it should be defended and how you should fight for it,” he said.
The PCO match
Just a few weeks ago at Under Siege, Maclin fought PCO in a no DQ title defense and managed to retain the title after a bloody and violent spectacle.
Maclin felt that at Under Siege, the two men showed what the “World title means in Impact Wrestling” and that they were able to “create a little bit more buzz” on a very busy wrestling weekend.
“I knew we were gonna go out there and try to do something different that people haven’t seen in a long time,” he said.
As champion, he said he puts the weight on his shoulders to help Impact keep growing because he believes that they have the “best professional wrestling show out there.”
He added that he could relate his match against PCO to Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind at WWE In Your House: Mind Games from 1996, describing it as “one of those matches that evolved both talents.”
“It really was mayhem for all,” he stated.
Following the match, Maclin said he and Purrazzo spent his birthday night in the emergency room while he waited to get stitches on his head:
THE WAY @SteveMaclin DESCRIBED THE SKIN ON HIS HAND AFTER WIPING HIS FOREHEAD 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀
— Denise 'Hollywood' Salcedo (@_denisesalcedo) June 7, 2023
Josh Alexander’s reign
When Alexander was Impact World Champion prior to Maclin, his reign became historic as he held the title for 335 days. I asked Maclin if he felt any pressure having to follow that.
As it turns out, Maclin feels “no pressure” at all from that. While he did want to be the one to defeat Alexander for the title, that was not able to happen due to the injury.
“What I worry about is whatever my next match and my next opponent is going to be. I have my body of work, he has his body of work. I am going to leave my version of a lasting legacy, he’ll leave his version of a lasting legacy. That’s what anybody does in wrestling. I think if you start worrying about other people, then that’s when you have problems with yourself and that’s where you start to lose confidence. I worry about me. But when the time comes and he is healthy, I am looking forward to that matchup,” he said.
FITE has revealed that both of Impact Wrestling’s upcoming Australian shows will air as live pay-per-views.
Impact first announced in May that they would be making their debut “Down Under” on Friday, June 30th and Saturday, July 1st in Wagga, Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. It will be part of a four-day, two show tour that includes a live Conrad Thompson podcast and fan events.
Impact is replacing NJPW on the shows who had to pull out due to talent scheduling issues.
FITE announced a $24.99 bundle for the events. When first announced, Impact stated the shows would be available on their “broadcast platforms, digital and social media.” As FITE was the one to make this announcement Friday, it’s unknown if the shows will also be made available to Impact’s Ultimate Insiders subscribers live and, if not, when.
It will be Impact’s first shows outside North America since a September 2018 event in the United Kingdom.
Current Impact World Champion Steve Maclin, Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo, current Tag Team Champions Chris Bey & Ace Austin, current Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry and the Motor City Machine Guns have already been announced.
Three new matches were announced Thursday for next Friday’s Impact Against All Odds.
The Impact Plus streaming special is set for Friday, June 9th from Columbus, Ohio.
After agreeing to a match for the Knockouts title at July’s Slammiversary, champion Deonna Purrazzo will team with Trinity against Gisele Shaw and Savannah Evans. Shaw and Evans jumped Purrazzo and Trinity Thursday after Trinity’s win over Evans to set things in motion.
In a rematch from last month’s Under Siege, Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry will defend against Dirty Dango.
For the first time ever in a singles match, Eddie Edwards will take on Frankie Kazarian. This was also made Thursday after Edwards refused to shake Yuya Uemura’s hand after a win. After Edwards and his wife, Alisha, attempted to take him out, Kazarian left both laying.
Here’s the current card with one week to go:
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin defends against Alex Shelley
8-4-1 match for Impact World title shot: Nick Aldis, Bully Ray, Jonathan Gresham, Heath, Moose, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Rich Swann, and PCO
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against Chris Sabin
Masha Slamovich vs. Killer Kelly in a dog collar match
Impact Tag Team Champions ABC (Chris Bey & Ace Austin) defend against The Good Hands (John Skyler & Jason Hotch)
Deonna Purrazzo & Trinity vs. Gisele Shaw & Savannah Evans
Eddie Edwards vs. Frankie Kazarian
Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defends against Dirty Dango
Less than a month after making her promotional debut, Trinity called her shot for an Impact Knockouts title match and is getting it on a big stage.
Trinity, the former Naomi in WWE, will take on current champion Deonna Purrazzo at Slammiversary on Saturday, July 15th in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
This will be their first-ever encounter.
Following her win over Savannah Evans Thursday, Trinity called out Purrazzo and the champion came to the ring to answer. Trinity challenged her for a title match at Slammiversary and Purrazzo said, “Let’s dance.”
Afterward, Evans, Gisele Shaw and Jai Vidal attacked Trinity and Purrazzo before Jordynne Grace came out to attempt to make the save before getting laid out herself.
Trinity and Purrazzo will face Evans and Shaw next Thursday.
Trinity is a former two-time WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion and will be looking for her first taste of Impact gold. Purrazzo is in her third reign as Knockouts Champion.
It’s the first match announced for one of the company’s biggest pay-per-views of the year.
Impact Wrestling returns tonight with Under Siege from London, Ontario, Canada.
The event will feature nearly every championship defended with Impact World Champion Steve Maclin putting his title on the line against PCO in a no DQ match.
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo gets a big test in her latest run as champion as she defends against Jordynne Grace. If Grace cannot regain the belt, she can’t challenge Purrazzo again as long as she is champion.
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel will defend against former multi-time champion Chris Sabin while Impact Tag Team Champions Chris Bey & Ace Austin will defend against the debuting Subculture (Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews).
In a six-way to determine the next World title challenger, it will be Eddie Edwards vs. Moose vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. Yuya Uemura vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Alex Shelley.
The 10-match card will also feature Trinity looking to go 2-0 in her early run as she takes on Gisele Shaw.
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Countdown to Under Siege:
The pre-show for Under Siege began with The Coven making their entrance.
Death Dollz (Courtney Rush & Jessicka) defeated Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Coven (Taylor Wilde & KiLynn King) in a non-title match
I like this presentation of Rush far more than her Rosemary character. This was a fun match.
Rush and Wilde started the match. After a brief exchange, Jessicka & KiLynn King tag in and start hitting some hard strikes. Jessicka gets the better of it and this leads to some double team offence from Rush and Jessicka. Rush went for a sharpshooter on Wilde, but King ran up and hit a big German suplex on Rush. Wilde and King got the heat on Rush for the next few minutes, including missing a tag by Jessicka, as the referee was distracted by KiLynn King.
Jessicka managed to tag in and hit a big kick to the face of King before hitting a low cross body to the seated King for a 2-count. Wilde and Rush both tagged in again, and Wilde tried to setup a double team move with King, Jessicka ran in and took out King while Rush countered and locked a sharpshooter on Wilde for the submission.
– Joe Hendry came out and cut a promo about how Dango was experiencing an identity crisis recently, attacking Santino. Hendry said that it didn’t matter if he came out as a ballroom dancer, a fake police officer, or a list of others jobs, because the only job he needed to worry about was coming down to the ring to get beat by Joe Hendry. This was a good promo.
Impact Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defeated Dirty Dango via DQ to retain
There was not a lot to this match, but it was highlighted by Dango working over the left arm of Joe Hendry repeatedly. Dango hoped to get the win that way, but as he was on the middle turnbuckle holding Hendry’s arm, Hendry pulled him off and hit a cutter. Dango responded by low blowing Hendry for the DQ.
Dango continued the assault after the match, stomping on the arm of Hendry. As he went to the top rope, Santino’s music hit and he ran down and made the save. Dango ran away before Santino could attack, and handed Hendry his title.
Main Card:
Nick Aldis opened the show with his entrance and a great reaction from the Canadian audience.
Nick Aldis defeated Kenny King (w/ Sheldon Jean)
Good opening match here with Aldis and King. Kenny King has really been working different since his MMA style match with Mike Bailey. Aldis looked quite good here as well.
Aldis caught King on a crossbody, and picked it up into a nice vertical suplex. King rolled the floor and let Jean roll into he opposite side of the ring to distract Aldis, but Aldis responded and turned to elbow King as he was rolling back into the ring to attack. Aldis followed King to the floor and got hit with a drop toe hold that drove Aldis face first into the steps.
King managed to hit a great flip over the top rope to the floor on Aldis. King missed a springboard leg drop and Aldis got up and hit a suplex. Aldis went to the top rope for a flying elbow, but King cut him off and went for a superplex. Aldis shoved King off the ropes, but King landed in a back handspring and landed on his feet before running up the ropes with an enziguri. Both men stood up and started exchanging punches. King hit a powerslam for a 2-count.
Aldis hit a Michinoku driver and then an elbow drop off the top rope, but Sheldon Jean got on the apron to distract the referee. Aldis knocked Jean off the apron but gold rolled up by King, who put his feet on the ropes. The referee noticed and broke up the pinfall. King tried to hit a dropkick off the top rope, but Aldis caught him and locked the Kingsland Cloverleaf on for the submission win.
As Aldis was leaving, he noticed something in the audience, and it was Masha Slamovich and Killer Kelly brawling through the crowd. They brawled to ringside and Kelly hit a suplex on the floor that dropped Slamovich. Kelly grabbed a steal chain from ringside and wrapped it around the mouth and neck of Slamovich, attempting to choke her out, and a whole bunch of security and referees ran down to break it up as the fans chanted “Let them fight!” This was a great angle.
– Jordynne Grace was with Gia Miller backstage, and she talked about the potential of losing the match tonight against Deonna Purrazzo. If Grace lost, she would never be able to challenge for the title again as long as Purrazzo was champion, and that would mean her admitting that she wasn’t the best, and she didn’t know what to do if she wasn’t. She was quite emotional here, and Gia Miller looked ready to cry.
Sami Callihan, Rich Swann & Jake Crist defeated The Design (Deaner, Kon & Angels)
This was a really good tag match, with non-stop action and tons of time for everyone to shine. Kon was booked to hide his weaknesses and highlight his strengths, which was no selling and throwing people around. This was very well done.
Crist and Callihan double teamed Angels in the early portion, but it broke down to all 6 men being in the ring soon thereafter and the action spilled to the floor. Angels hit a tope on Callihan while Crist went for a suicide dive on Kon, but Kon hit a forearm to the face of Crist to drop him. Crist got up quickly as Callihan hit Kon with a kick and hit a springboard moonsault to finally drop Kon.
Callihan then power bombed Angels over the top rope onto everyone. Rich Swann was bleeding a lot from the mouth as he, Callihan, and Crist rolled Kon into the ring and hit a triple superkick that Kon no sold. Swann jumped onto the back of Kon and put him in a sleeper while Callihan and Crist hit two superkicks which failed to knock Kon down again. Kon then slammed Swann over his head and onto Callihan and Crist.
Deaner tagged in and got a big reaction, as he worked the Canadian indie scene for years. The Design isolated Crist, who was now bleeding from the ear. Crist managed to hit a flying forearm on Deaner and tag out to Callihan. Callihan signaled he wanted to fight Deaner, offering his chin for Deaner to punch. Both men started brawling, but Crist and Angels came back in again, and soon Callihan and Crist were hitting stereo Death Valley Drivers.
Kon chokeslammed both men, and Angels hit a huge spinning kick on Callihan before hitting a low down for a 2-count. Kon missed a corner charge and Swann came in and superkicked everyone before hitting a double handspring cutter on Kon and Deaner. Angels took out Swann but ate a superkick and a tiger suplex from Angels. Callihan came in and hit a Cactus driver on Deaner. Angels hit a half nelson suplex on Swan, and went for another, but Swann countered into a forward cradle for the pinfall. Good match.
– Gia Miller was with Santino backstage, and he talked about how Dango attacked him. Santino threatened to punch the lights of Dango out.
Trinity defeated Gisele Shaw (w/ Savannah Evans & Jai Vidal)
Trinity looked so happy as the fans cheered, and started the match hitting a nice leg drop on Shaw. Shaw rolled from the ring to regroup. Trinity dodged a corner charge and hit a Stinger splash before hitting flying head scissors on Shaw. Shaw rolled to the floor to regroup again, so Trinity tried to hit a basement dropkick.
Shaw moved, and Trinity came face to face with Savannah Evans. Trinity launched over Evans and hit a Thesz press on Shaw. After rolling Shaw back into the ring, Evans pulled Trinity from the apron onto the floor. Shaw got the heat over the next few minutes, slowly shoving Trinity with kicks.
Trinity blocked the next kick and hit a torture rack backbreaker on Shaw. Trinity hit a series of forearms and a dropkick before spiking Shaw with a head scissors takedown. Trinity hit the split legged moonsault for a 2-count. Shaw cut Trinity off and hit a draping DDT for a 2-count. Trinity dodged the running knee and hit two enziguris to take down Shaw and Vidal, who got on the apron. Trinity then reversed an attempt at a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker into a sunset flip before locking on Starstruck for the submission win.
– Gia Miller was with Subculture backstage, talking to Mark Andrews, & Flash Morgan Webster, & Dani Luna. Brian Myers and The Good Hands came up and said that they should be getting the tag title match first. Subculture then offered The Good Hands their first defense once they beat ABC.
Impact Tag Team Champions ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) defeated Subculture (Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster) (w/ Dani Luna) to retain
What a fantastic tag team title match. This was fantastic, and I hope we see more of Subculture in Impact. This is a team that and act that fits in very well with Impact, and they could use some more great tag teams.
Austin and Andrews started with Austin seeing a drop toe hold blocked, leading to Austin to kick Andrews in the back before tagging out to Bey who continued the assault. Subculture quickly hit some double team moves that involved several moonsaults and sentons on Bey, ending with a North Lights suplex on Bey from Andrews for a 2-count.
Austin managed to tag in and ABC hit the Click Click Boom on Webster, stealing from the Motor City Machine Guns. Austin low bridged Webster to send him to the floor, letting Chris Bey hit a tope con giro. Austin captured Webster’s head between his feet and stomped it down to the mat for a 2-count.
Webster managed to slip through the legs of Bey and tagged out to Andrews. Andrews can in and hit a moonsault to the floor on Bey before hitting a code red on Austin for a 2-count. Austin dodged a corner charge from Andrews and hit a springboard dropkick. Austin and Andrews both tagged out, and Bey and Austin hit a combo enziguri and torture rack bomb for a 2-count.
Andrews was sent to the floor after a low bridge from Austin. Bey and Austin were both sent to the floor by Webster, who hit a flip dive off the corner post to the floor. Andrews managed to hit Bey with a Stundog Millionaire and Webster hit a senton bomb on the back of Bey for a 2-count. Subculture went for a combo knee on Bey, but Bey ended up hitting a poison rana on both men before Bey and Austin hit the One Two Sweet for the win.
– An excellent hype video aired for Trey Miguel vs. Chris Sabin
Impact X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defeated Chris Sabin to retain
This was another excellent match. Impact’s show thus far has been a huge thumbs up, as Sabin showed why he still one of the best going, and Miguel was right there with him.
Sabin quickly outwrestled Miguel and sent him to the floor with an arm drag. Miguel went to the floor again after getting in the ring, thinking he escaped Sabin, but Sabin followed him and hit a running kick off the apron on Miguel. Sabin put Miguel in the tree of woe and hit a hesitation dropkick in the corner.
Miguel was able to get the advantage after sweeping the legs of Sabin with a tiger feint kick on the apron. Miguel hit a senton and a running knee drop in the ring, and locked on a dragon sleeper. Miguel switched to a sleeper hold, but Sabin fought out. Sabin hit a sunset flip for a 2-count and followed up with a DDT. Sabin hit a missile dropkick off the top rope on Miguel and a boot in the corner that Hannifan called a “hell of a kick” in the corner. I see what you did there, Tom.
Sabin hit a German suplex. Sabin and Miguel exchanged uppercuts and strikes back and forth running corner to corner, and it ended when Miguel hit a flying kick and a brainbuster for a 2-count. Sabin rolled under a meteora and hit a dropkick to the knees of Miguel before stomping on the legs of Miguel.
Miguel got hit with a dragon screw by Sabin before getting locked in a sharpshooter. Miguel got to the ropes to escape. Both men ended up fighting on the turnbuckle and Miguel tried to hit a sunset flip bomb off the corer, but Sabin countered. Miguel hit a cheeky nandos kick before hitting a meteora for a 2-count. Miguel slid on his knees through the lower ropes into a tornado DDT on the floor. Miguel missed a second meteora, landing right on the injured knee.
Sabin and Miguel started to exchange chops in the middle of the ring. Sabin kicked the knee of Miguel and hit a chop to drop him. Miguel went for the lightning spiral, but Sabin countered it into a Canadian Destroyer. Sabin hit a massive lariat and went for the Cradle Shock, but Miguel raked the eyes to escape.
Sabin grabbed the referee and thought it was Miguel, but put him down. Miguel dropkicked Sabin into the referee, and Sabin hit the Cradle Shock on Miguel, but there was no referee to make the count. Miguel rolled to the floor and grabbed his spray paint and sprayed it into the eyes of Sabin before rolling him up for the win.
Alex Shelley defeated Moose, Eddie Edwards (w/ Alisha Edwards), Jonathan Gresham, Yuya Uemura and Frankie Kazarian to become the no. 1 contender to the Impact World title
Impact is in London, Ontario tonight, which is not far from Detroit, MI. Shelley spent a lot of time working Ontario indies in his career, so the right call was having him win here. This was fantastic.
Kazarian and Edwards immediately started brawling around ringside. Shelley and Gresham dropkicked Moose off the apron before locking up to start their technical wrestling exchange. Moose came in and tried to chokeslam both of them while Kazarian was suplexed on the floor by Edwards. Shelley and Gresham managed to block the chokeslam and hit dropkicks to Moose’s knees. Shelley hit dragon screw leglocks on everyone before Kazarian came in to cut him off.
Shelley hit a drop toe hold and Kazarian and locked a single leg crab on both Uemura and Kazarian. Moose pulled Shelley to the floor and drove him into the apron. Edwards tried to run at Kazarian, but Kazarian dodged and Edwards spilled to the floor and nailed Moose with an accidental tope suicida.
Gresham hit a hurricanrana on Kazarian but got hit with a big boot from Edwards. Kazarian fought back and hit his draping legdrop on Moose before hitting a springboard legdrop on Edwards. He went for the chicken wing, but Edwards fought out. Kazarian hit an unprettier on Edwards, but Shelley broke up the pinfall attempt. Kazarian hit a backstabber on Gresham and sent him into a flatliner into the turnbuckle by Shelley.
Uemura came into the ring and started exchanging chops with Kazarian and hitting a shoulder tackle. Moose came in and hit a huge uranage on Edwards before power bombing Uemura. Moose rolled through a backslide from Kazarian and hit yet another power bomb. Moose went for another power bomb on Gresham, but Gresham hit a hurricanrana. Moose held on, however, and picked Gresham up and hit yet another power bomb for a 2-count.
Moose tried to hit Uemura with a spear, but Uemura rolled out of the way and hit a flying forearm on Moose. Uemura went for a bulldog on Moose, but Moose shoved him off and Uemura ducked a clothesline from Edwards before hitting a capture suplex on Edwards and the bulldog on Moose for a 2-count.
Moose hit a sky high out of the corner on Uemura, but Shelly broke up the pinfall. Kazarian hit an O’Connor roll on Shelley and a Northern Lights suplex on Edwards at the same time for a 2-count. Gresham hit a few dives, but Kazarian hit slingshot cutter. Everyone hit big moves after this ending with Shelley hitting Shell Shock on Uemura and getting the win!
– Trey Miguel was met by Gia Miller backstage, and Miguel mocked Chris Sabin, leading to Sabin running up to him and attacking. Referees and security came in to separate them.
Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defeated Jordynne Grace to retain
This match was awesome. Grace and Purrazzo have a ton of chemistry, and the finish was spectacular. I can only imagine what this match would have been like in front of 10,000 people instead of the 1000 or so here at this show, but regardless, the fans loved this one.
The story of the early parts of this match featured Jordynne Grace trying to keep the match hard hitting while Purrazzo tried to turn it into a technical affair. Purrazzo hit a neck breaker on Grace on the apron before hitting a flipping senton off the apron to the floor on Grace. Grace tried to hit a clothesline or punch, but Purrazzo kicked the arm to stop it. However, Purrazzo unwisely tried to hit a head scissors takedown on Grace, but Grace caught it and dumped Purrazzo across the top rope.
Grace went up and over Purrazzo in the corner and hit a German suplex for a 2-count. Grace put Purrazzo on the top rope and went for a muscle buster, but Purrazzo fought out of it and tried to kick the left arm of Grace while coming off the turnbuckle, but Grace dodged and hit a lariat that sent them both over the top rope to the floor. Grace and Purrazzo came back into the ring and started exchanging forearms.
Purrazzo hit a running knee but was unable to hit a Russian leg sweep. Purrazzo hit a head scissors into a Russian leg sweep that she immediately transitioned into a Fujiwara armbar, but Grace countered into a roll up. Grace hit a torture rack bomb for a 2-count. Grace went for a tombstone piledriver, but Purrazzo countered into one of her own for a 2-count.
Grace hit a power bomb and a jackhammer for a 2-count. Grace picked Purrazzo up in a fireman’s carry and tried to climb the ropes, but Purrazzo slipped out and hit a cheeky nandos kick in the corner before hitting a power bomb. Purrazzo went for the Queen’s Gambit, but Grace countered into a Jackknife pin, which Purrazzo countered into Queen’s Gambit for a 2-count. Grace hit a reverse piledriver for a 2-count.
Grace went for the Grace driver, but Purrazzo blocked it. Purrazzo and Grace hit open handed strikes at the same time and both went down. Grace tried to hit the Grace Driver off the middle ropes, but Purrazzo countered out of it and hit Queen’s Gambit off the middle ropes for the pinfall.
– Victory Road is set for Friday, September 8th in White Plains, New York, with the 1000th Impact being taped the following night. I remember the first episode, so this makes me feel very old.
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin defeated PCO in a no DQ match to retain
This is one of the bloodiest matches I’ve seen in Impact ever, and that includes all of Abyss’s wars, and Raven’s insanity. This is not my kind of match, with some of the things that happened, but holy cow they worked hard. Absolutely brutal war between the two, and if you ever doubted the toughness of either Maclin or PCO, then you really shouldn’t.
Maclin and PCO started brawling right away, with PCO hitting a clothesline that took them both to the floor. PCO hit a cannonball through the ropes on Maclin, leading to a huge reaction from the crowd. Maclin suplexed PCO into the ring steps, and it sounded horrifying. Maclin nailed PCO with a cookie sheet and sent PCO flipping to the floor in a horrific thud. It is hard to believe PCO has been taking that bump since the 90s.
Maclin went for a tope suicida and PCO nailed Maclin with a cookie sheet that busted him wide open. There looked to be a huge cut on his forehead, leading to the blood. Maclin hit a low blow and nailed PCO with a chair. Maclin was nailed PCO with the chair several more times and got a 2-count out of it. Maclin hit a spear in the corner on PCO into a garbage can for a 2-count.
Goodness gracious, Maclin took a staple gun and stapled PCO’s mouth shut. PCO grabbed pliers and took the staples out. That was horrifying. Maclin hit PCO with a sledgehammer, and then pulled slabs of concrete out from under the ring. Maclin then put the concrete on PCO’s back and hit it with a sledgehammer like he did on Impact 2 weeks ago, but only got a 2-count.
PCO fired up and hit a DDT on Maclin and then hit a lung blower off the middle ropes. PCO hit a leg drop to the back of the neck of Maclin for a 2-count. PCO hit a senton bomb off the top rope onto Maclin on the apron. Maclin then hit an iconoclasm off the top rope onto the apron on PCO.
PCO somehow got up after this and hit an inverted DDT on Maclin before setting up a series of cinder blocks in the ring. PCO went to the top rope but Maclin cut him off and threw PCO off onto the cinder blocks before hitting the KIA on the blocks for the pinfall.
Maclin grabbed a mic and demanded that Scott D’Amore keep his promise and come down to the ring to put the belt around Maclin’s waste while blood poured down his face and covered the ring. I can’t say that is an image I will ever forget, as D’Amore strapped him up. D’Amore offered to shake his hand, but Maclin refused, leaving the ring and a pool of his own blood behind. Maclin left screaming that he was D’Amore’s boss now.
As Maclin left, Bully Ray came out from the crowd and wrapped a strap around the neck of D’Amore and choked him out in the ring. Maclin said he liked the way Ray thought, and Ray told Maclin to get the tables. Bully Ray pulled out lighter fluid and went to light the table on fire Matt Rehwoldt ran in and told Ray and Maclin to stop. Ray took out Rehwoldt. PCO got back in the ring and briefly tried to fight back, but they took him out.
The Motor City Machine Guns tried to make the save, but they were fought off too. Ray and Maclin lit the table on fire and power bombed D’Amore through it, with Ray getting in the face of D’Amore after, saying that D’Amore would never get rid of him, and he was going to tag the entire company down around him. Ray then held Maclin’s hand up, celebrating with the bloody champion.
Maclin will defend against Shelley at next month’s Against All Odds.
Final Thoughts:
Well, a lot sure happened on this show. After a few shows that felt inconsequential, Impact fired back with this, literally in the case of D’Amore going through a flaming table. I know they tried this angle a few months back with Ray, but the table wouldn’t light. This time it did, and it made it better. The violence against D’Amore escalated from going through a table to going through a flaming table, and now it appears Bully Ray will be aligned with Steve Maclin going forward, hopefully in a more managerial role, with the occasional match.
If you are into great wrestling, this show had plenty of it, and it you are into freak show matches, that main event was definitely one of those. With the angles put forward, and with the quality of matches this didn’t feel like a monthly special, but a big time PPV for Impact. This show was a home run.
Tonight’s Impact on AXS TV will be headlined by World and Knockouts Tag Team title matches.
Impact World titleholder Steve Maclin will defend his gold for the first time against Rhino following the events of last Thursday’s trios match. The winner will defend against PCO at this month’s Under Siege.
Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Coven (KiLynn King & Taylor Wilde) will defend against the star studded team of Jordynne Grace & Deonna Purrazzo. Grace and Purrazzo will square off at Under Siege for Purrazzo’s Knockouts Championship.
In a clash of would-be title contenders, Masha Slamovich will go one-on-one with Killer Kelly.
Nick Aldis will have his first singles match in the company in six years when he faces Sheldon Jean.
The Good Hands (John Skyler & Jason Hotch) will face Decay (Crazzy Steve & Black Taurus) with both in search of a desperately needed win.
The show will also feature the third installment of an interview series with Frankie Kazarian.
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BTI pre-show: Ace Austin defeated Zicky Dice
In a good match, Austin got the win after The Fold. Gia Miller was hilarious on commentary during this match.
Main Show:
Impact opened with a recap of the much-hyped debut of Trinity, and a recap of Rhino’s career leading into his title match tonight. This was fantastic as a reminder of why Rhino was a main event guy outside of WWE for so long.
Masha Slamovich defeated Killer Kelly
Great opening match between Slamovich and Kelly. Despite the clean finish, there is more story to tell here with Kelly holding the submission on. This was a clever way to keep the feud going, and will hopefully lead to more great matches.
Kelly and Slamovich went to the floor quickly before returning to the ring so Kelly could hit a delayed fisherman’s buster for a two count. Slamovich slipped outside the ring and caught Kelly in an electric chair drop that drove Kelly into the apron. Slamovich hit a boot scrape kick to the face of Kelly as she was against the bottom turnbuckle.
Slamovich put a camel clutch on and then bit Kelly’s forehead instead. Slamovich hit a spinning backfist and a high kick. She went for a sleeper, but Kelly drove Slamovich backward and then hit a tiger suplex into the corner. Kelly hit a German suplex for a nearfall.
Kelly tried for a Killer Clutch, but Slamovich countered. Slamovich picked up Kelly and hit a sunset driver for a nearfall. Kelly countered a snow plow and hit a death valley driver for a 2-count. Kelly then locked on the Clutch, but Slamovich ran up the ropes and jumped backward into the Bret Hart/Roddy Piper pin finish. Kelly held the submission on despite being pinned while Slamovich passed out.
– Sheldon Jean was preparing for his match with Nick Aldis. Kenny King walked up and told him that he had to do what it took to win tonight, encouraging him to choose himself instead of doing the right thing.
– Trinity was with Gia Miller backstage, and talked about her debut last week. Jai Vidal walked up and marked out, asking for a selfie with her. Trinity obliged and then asked Miller, “Who was that?” Miller said, “That’s Jai. He works here.” I laughed.
Nick Aldis defeated Sheldon Jean
Aldis got the right match to show he was back to make an impact in Impact.
King joined the announce table for this match.
Aldis hit a series of shoulder tackles at the start, but as it went to the floor, Jean raked the eyes of Aldis and drove him into the ring post. It seems Jean took King’s advice to heart. Once they got back into the ring, Aldis was able to hit two hard clotheslines and a Michinoku driver for a 2-count. Jean tried to cut Aldis off as he went to the top rope, but Aldis shoved him off and hit a flying elbow before locking on the Kingsland Cloverleaf for the submission.
– Dango & Joe Hendry were backstage investigating who attacked Santino Marella recently and Hendry called for Zicky Dice & Johnny Swinger. Hendry said that they were here to answer for their crimes, and Swinger announced, “Hey! It wasn’t me doing gimmicks with Sheiky!” and I nearly died laughing.
Hendry accused Swinger and Dice of taking out Santino. Swinger was greatly offended. Dango called Santino and got him to book a match against Swinger tonight. Dango then invited Hendry to his birthday party and Hendry kindly said yes despite being the only guest and looking like he didn’t want to go.
– In the third part of Frankie Kazarian’s interview with Gia Miller, he talked about how the World title is his ultimate goal because his loss against Josh Alexander was eating away at him. But, if he saw a fight worth fighting, he was going to stand shoulder to shoulder with anyone that needed help.
The Good Hands (Jason Hotch & John Skylar) defeated The Decay (Crazzy Steve & Black Taurus)
The Good Hands got the heat on Steve almost immediately in this match. Steve bit the Good Hands’ good hands and hit a flatliner on Skylar before making a tag to Taurus. As Taurus was tagged in, Hotch tagged in and Brian Myers made his way down to ringside. Taurus hit an awesome pop-up Samoan drop on Hotch, but Skylar made the save.
Steve hit a plancha on Skylar and then started to argue with Myers. Myers attacked Steve on the floor, and Taurus went after him. This led Myers to hitting a stunner across the top rope and then a combo fireman’s carry blockbuster from The Good Hands for the three. Myers then posed with the Good Hands, apparently adopting them after Bully Ray’s defeat at the last PPV.
– Impact World Champion Steve Maclin was backstage with Shera and Champagne Singh, and Maclin said because they failed him last week, their business relationship is over. Singh said that he couldn’t let this slip through his fingers, so he had an idea to salvage the relationship. After they came back from break, Singh and Shera attacked Heath backstage and left him lying just before Rhino’s match with Maclin.
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin defeated Rhino to retain the title
There was nothing to this match, but it was actually went pretty much exactly as it should have with where both guys are on the roster right now. Maclin looked like a killer in this match, and this helped establish him as a serious threat to anyone he faces, along with showing how violent he can be with the post match angle.
Rhino and Maclin brawled all over the ringside area until Maclin started to focus on the left knee of Rhino. Rhino managed to cut Maclin off as he was on the ropes and hit a superplex for a nearfall. Maclin went for the KIA, but Rhino countered into a spinebuster for another nearfall. Rhino went for the gore, but was unable to run due to the attack on the knee. Maclin hit a chop block and a gore of his own for the win.
Maclin continued to attack the knee of Rhino, wrapping it in a chair and slamming a shovel into the knee repeatedly. Rhino was carried out on stretcher.
Later, Impact president Scott D’Amore went to see Rhino off, and Maclin walked up and said it was his fault. D’Amore then made his title defense against PCO at Under Siege a no DQ match. PCO then emerged from the ambulance and chased off Maclin as he went to do more damage to Rhino.
– Joe Hendry cut a promo about his broken nose (from his match with Sheldon Jean) and how Dango was going to win tonight as they got to the bottom of what happened to Santino.
Dirty Dango defeated Johnny Swinger (w/ Zicky Dice)
Dango caught a stomp from Swinger before standing up and hitting a falcon arrow for the pinfall.
– Deaner and The Design were backstage, and Deaner accused Sami Callihan of having no one to back him, not even Rich Swann, while his Army of Violence were there to defend him. Suddenly two people in the army started attacking everyone else and Deaner, Kon and Angels stepped aside. It was Swann and Callihan. For some reason, this promo had a soundtrack and turned from scary music to happy rock as the babyfaces attacked. This broke into an all out brawl with security trying break them up.
– Moose asked Brian Myers why he was taking on the Good Hands because he and Myers should be focusing on the tag titles. Myers said that Moose was focusing on both the World title and tag titles, so he could focus on the tag titles and mentoring the Good Hands before promising the Good Hands that he’d take them to the tag titles.
Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Coven (Taylor Wilde & KiLynn King) defeated Deonna Purrazzo & Jordynne Grace to retain
This was fine, but not a great match. Wilde and King haven’t quite gelled as a team yet, but they are clearly trying to make it work in the ring. I think given time, they could become a good tag team. The gimmick isn’t great at all, but at least they’re trying to make the tag team work.
Purrazzo and Grace had the advantage early on, but The Coven were able to get some heat on Grace after a kick from King and an elbow drop from Wilde. Even with Purrazzo tagging in, the champs were able to continue to double team, maintaining their advantage. The announcers asked if Purrazzo and Grace could compete with the well oiled teamwork of King and Wilde, who have teamed together around 4 or 5 times.
I’m fairly certain that is not well oiled. Grace and Purrazzo may have actually teamed more already in Impact! The Coven continued to cheat, choking Purrazzo on the ropes, distracting the referee, and maintaining the offence. Purrazzo managed to twist the arms of Wilde and King and slammed them into each other face first, leading to tagging out to Grace. Grace hit a spinebuster on King and a jackhammer on Wilde for a 2-count.
Grace dumped Wilde to the floor, and Wilde crashed tailbone first to the floor. That had to suck. Wilde and King then hit caught Grace on a dropkick attempt and powerbombed Grace on the apron. Wilde went for a suplex, but Grace fought out and hit a muscle buster on Wilde for a 2-count that King broke up. King pulled Purrazzo to the floor and as Grace tried to hit the ropes, Purrazzo got knocked off the apron after just getting onto it. Grace then tried to hit the Grace driver, but King broke it up and Wilde and King hit a combo spinebuster and pump kick for the win.
The Coven continued to attack Grace and Purrazzo after the match, leading to Trinity running down to make the save. Trinity cleared the ring, hitting a rear view on King before eyeing both Grace and Purrazzo as the show went off the air.
Final Thoughts:
I thought this was a very good episode of Impact this week. The angles were good, the matches were good, and Under Siege was built quite well. I can’t ask for more than that.
Next Week:
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel vs. Laredo Kid in a non-title match
Moose, Eddie Edwards & Frankie Kazarian vs. Jonathan Gresham, Yuya Uemura & Alex Shelley
New Under Siege additions:
Nick Aldis vs. Kenny King
No DQ stipulation added to Impact World Champion Steve Maclin vs. PCO
Steve Maclin will defend his Impact World title for the first time on next Thursday’s Impact Wrestling on AXS TV.
Maclin will face Rhino following the events of Thursday’s show where Maclin teamed with Champagne Singh & Shera against PCO, Rhino & Heath. Rhino gored Maclin on the outside of the ring, leading to his team taking the loss.
Backstage, he confronted Impact president Scott D’Amore about Rhino which led to D’Amore making the title match to the champion’s chagrin.
The Knockouts Tag Team titles will be on the line as The Coven (KiLynn King & Taylor Wilde) defend against Jordynne Grace & Deonna Purrazzo. The Coven have been targeting Purrazzo for weeks. She will defend against her partner for the night at this month’s Under Siege.
Nick Aldis will have his first singles match in the company since 2017 as he takes on Sheldon Jean.
In what promises to be a hard-hitting affair, Masha Slamovich will take on Killer Kelly.
The show will also feature the third installment of Frankie Kazarian’s recent sit-down interview series with Gia Miller.
Here’s the current lineup:
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin defends against Rhino
Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Coven (KiLynn King & Taylor Wilde) defend against Jordynne Grace & Deonna Purrazzo
