This past weekend Impact Wrestling held their Rebellion pay-per-view in Poughkeepsie, NY. The show was headlined by IMPACT World Champion Moose defending his championship against Josh Alexander. The main event bout went about 23 minutes and saw a brand new champion crowned, with Alexander hitting the C4 Spike to win the championship.
Moose held the IMPACT World Championship for a total of 182 days after winning the belt at the 2021 Bound For Glory event in which he invoked his ‘Call Your Shot Gauntlet’ championship opportunity to pin Josh Alexander for the title as he was celebrating with his family in the ring.
What proceeded between both Moose and Alexander turned out to be a very personal story that even featured Moose hitting the Lights Out (spear) on Jen Alexander, the wife of Josh.
During his reign as IMPACT World Champion, Moose successfully defended his championship against the likes of Mike Bailey, Heath, W. Morrissey, Zicky Dice, Matt Cardona, and Eddie Edwards.
On the episode of IMPACT immediately following Rebellion, Moose had a rematch against Alexander in which he lost to him once again.
I had the opportunity of chatting with the former champion all about his feud with Josh Alexander and of course his experience as champion.
“I don’t hate Josh, I actually respect him. I believe in the last year Josh has proved undoubtedly why he is one of the best pro wrestlers in the world and he prevailed at Rebellion and he prevailed again in our rematch that aired last night. I am happy to see what his run is gonna be like, he deserves it, he showed that he’s the standard of what professional wrestling is at IMPACT Wrestling.”
“I was happy with the match, definitely one of my better matches I’ve had,” Moose said in regards to the Rebellion match. “I know everybody says ‘Oh it’s Moose’s best match of his career,’ I feel like everyone says that after I have a good match because they forget about my last match. But it’s definitely one of my better matches. I knew it was gonna be good going in because I am working with a professional in Josh and he’s known for putting on great matches. So I knew I was gonna have a good dance partner.”
Moose also credited the story told for why the main event turned out the way it turned out. “It had people very invested in this match, when you have a super heel villain versus this babyface and everyone wants this babyface to win,” he said. “I don’t know if this is my favorite match in my career, but this is definitely my favorite rivalry that I have had in my eight years of professional wrestling because of how invested the fans were into the match.”
Moose became champion right around the time that IMPACT Wrestling began going back on the road. I asked Moose about the significance of holding the belt.
“I was happy. Usually when they put the title around you, the company is pretty much telling you that you’re gonna be the face of the brand. So when they told me what was going on and the plans they had, I was very proud because I’d been in IMPACT, other than Eddie, I feel I’ve been at IMPACT the longest and I had never been IMPACT World Champion, It was something that I worked my a** off to accomplish.”
Moose also explained how the timing of IMPACT making him champion made sense during the timeline of his run with the promotion.
“I know that a lot of people said that when I wrestled Austin Aries, I wanna say in 2017, maybe 2018; that I should have been IMPACT World Champion then, but honestly speaking, I don’t think I was ready to be champion. I think I was too new in my wrestling career. I didn’t understand what it meant to be champion yet, and I needed time to learn what being champion was all about… and I think they picked the right time at last year’s Bound For Glory to pull the trigger on it.”
Moose also recalls helping with positive vibes in the locker room. “You lead by example, that’s first and foremost,” he said. Moose says he also would bring smoothies and snacks for the guys to help build camaraderie and made sure to always show up extra early before call-time. He described it as a “hard responsibility”, but a “great feeling.”
The next IMPACT Wrestling pay-per-view is taking place on May 7th in Newport, Kentucky titled Under Siege. Announced so far for the show:
Impact World title: champion Josh Alexander defending against Tomohiro Ishii
Impact World Tag Team titles: Violent By Design vs. The Briscoes
AAA Reina de Reinas title: Taya Valkyrie vs. Deonna Purrazzao
Bullet Club (Jay White, Chris Bey, Doc Gallows, El Phantasmo, Karl Anderson) vs Honor No More (Eddie Edwards, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, Kenny King, Vincent)
Out of six title matches at Saturday’s Impact Rebellion, three championships changed hands, led by Josh Alexander’s win over Moose for the Impact World title.
It’s Alexander’s second reign with the gold and with the win, he avenges his loss to Moose at last October’s Bound For Glory. On that night, Moose cashed in his Call Your Shot opportunity and defeated Alexander in seconds after Alexander had just defeated Christian Cage for the title.
Alexander had campaigned for the opportunity since that night and took advantage of his opportunity, pinning Moose clean after a C4.
Ace Austin reclaimed the X-Division championship for a third time in a match with reigning champion Trey Miguel and “Speedball” Mike Bailey.
Austin picked up the win after hitting The Fold on Miguel as Miguel was trying to pin Bailey after he hit him with a brain buster and meteora. Austin’s second title reign ended in April 2021 at the hands of Josh Alexander in a three-way.
Taya Valkyrie defeated Deonna Purrazzo for the AAA Reina de Reinas title to begin her fourth reign as champion.
The end came when Purrazzo tried for her Queen’s Gambit submission and Valkyrie reversed it into her Road to Valhalla finish to get the pin. She last held the title in early-2020 and the title was eventually vacated during the pandemic.
In the other three title bouts, Violent By Design survived an eight-team elimination match to retain the Tag Team titles; Tasha Steelz successfully defended the Knockouts title over Rosemary, and The Influence retained the Knockouts Tag Team titles over former champions The IInspiration.
Josh Alexander will get his chance to avenge his surprise loss at Bound for Glory to Impact World Champion Moose in the main event of Rebellion in Poughkeepsie, New York.
After Alexander won the belt from Christian Cage, Moose cashed in his Call Your Shot opportunity he won earlier in the night and defeated Alexander in a matter of seconds.
The AAA Reina de Reinas title will be on the line as Deonna Purrazzo defends against multi-time champion and former Knockouts titleholder Taya Valkyrie.
The Impact Tag Team titles will be defended by Violent by Design in an eight-team elimination match with seven of the teams still to be announced.
Knockouts Champion Tasha Steelz will defend against former champion Rosemary of Decay.
The card will see JONAH take on NJPW’s Tomohiro Ishii in a first time ever match, Chris Bey (replacement for Jonathan Gresham( vs. Eddie Edwards, and Jay White vs. Steve Maclin vs. Chris Sabin.
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel vs. Ace Austin and “Speedball” Mike Bailey in a three-way and Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Influence defending against The IInspiration will be on the pre-show.
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Eddie Edwards defeated Chris Bey
Not a fan of this one at all. The work wasn’t awful but was uninspiring.
This match opened with a prolonged feeling out process. Eventually, Edwards took a cocksure lead, toying with Bey throughout his offense. Edwards’ pace allowed Bey to take advantage for a short time, landing a dive to the floor to make up some ground. Bey’s lead came to an almost immediate end after Edwards thumbed Bey’s eye and returned to his demining offense.
Bey began to rally, landing a top rope forearm and enziguri. Edwards tried fighting back into the match, but Bey reversed a tiger driver into a quick pin attempt. Bey and Edwards traded forearms before a Bey connected with a springboard cutter for a near fall. Edwards avoided the next springboard, following the opening with a successful tiger driver for another near fall. After the kick-out, Edwards hit the Die Hard driver, bringing this match to an end.
It would seem this match was to set up (or further) a Bullet Club and Honor No More feud.
Knockouts World Tag Team Champions The Influence (Madison Rayne & Tenille Dashwood defeated The IInspiration (Cassie Lee and Jessie McKay) to retain the titles
Goodness gracious, this was bad. Aside from the contrived match layout, the work was not good.
The Influence started the match by jumping the challengers, but IInspiration emerged from the scuffle with the advantage. Rayne caught Lee after things calmed down, allowing Dashwood to tag in and establish control.
Rayne and Dashwood singled out Lee, eventually leading to the hot tag. McKay took out both of the champions, leading to a segment of IInspiration control.
Lee wasted time on the top rope, buying the Influence enough time to break up whatever move they were aiming for. Instead, Dashwood landed a double crossbody and spotlight kick for a near fall. Dashwood then picked up one of the championship belts, but the referee stopped her from using it; while the referee was getting rid of the first belt, Dashwood grabbed the second, but Lee dodged the weapon attack and connected with a spinning head kick for a near fall.
The IInspiration hoisted Dashwood up to close the match with their tandem finish, but Rayne hit a spear to stop this from happening. The Influence then hit McKay ‘The Colab’, their double team facebuster, to bring this title match to a close.
Steve Maclin defeated Jay White & Chris Sabin in a three-way
This match was quite enjoyable, though the finish felt flat.
This match opened with White retreating to the outside, taking opportune strikes while allowing Maclin and Sabin to wear each other down. After a sequence of outside offense and impressive dives, Maclin turned his attention to White.
Maclin took complete control, driving White into the apron and floor. Sabin interrupted Maclin’s offense, which backfired, as White immediately took match control after the brief opening. After landing a suplex on the arena floor, White continued making advances against both men in the ring.
After White’s extended control segment, Sabin landed a quick double-crossbody to reset the match. All three men traded moves and small stents of advantage before Maclin missed a tree-of-woe spear and crashed to the floor, effectively writing him out of the match for some time.
Now an effective singles match, White and Sabin struggled for control. Sabin reversed multiple finish attempts from White before landing the cradle shock. As Sabin went for the pin, Maclin returned to the ring and rolled Sabin into a pin to steal the win.
Taya Valkyrie defeated Deonna Purrazzo to win the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship
This wasn’t a classic or anything, but this match explored some interesting ideas throughout its runtime.
Valkyrie started the match hot, scoring a crossbody and dropkick to establish an early lead. After a German suplex from the rope and well place knees, Valkyrie set up a ring post spot, but Purrazzo reversed to take control for the first time.
Valkyrie escaped a submission attempt but Purrazzo maintained her control with a leg sweep into the corner of the ring apron. Back in the ring, Purrazzo landed a standing moonsault into an armbar that forced Valkyrie into the ropes.
The pair met on the top rope and struggled for control. After Purrazzo seemingly won out, she lept right into a Valkyrie powerbomb which she followed with a submission of her own. After Purrazzo escaped, she tried for a Queen’s Gambit, but Valkyrie reversed into her finish, Road to Valhalla, and pinned Purrazzo to win the match and the belt.
Ace Austin defeated X Division Champion Trey Miguel and Mike Bailey in a three-way to win the title
This was nothing but creative offense, bell-to-bell.
Miguel and Bailey started the match by working together to takeout Austin. As the match broke down into a true triple threat, the offense escalated chaotically.
The body of this match was nothing but unthinkably athletic offense; some examples: Bailey landed an insane springboard moonsault onto Austin (who Miguel was holding up after a picture-perfect tope). Back in the ring, Austin dropped Miguel onto Bailey to deliver an assisted double-stomp. Miguel hit another dive, this time a tope-cutter. Bailey landed a beautiful top rope springboard to the floor just in time for a diving rana from Miguel.
As things began to wind down, Miguel hit Bailey with a brainbuster and meteora, but Austin interrupted the referee mid-count. Austin then dropped Miguel with The Fold and pinned the champion to win the belt.
Tomohiro Ishii defeated JONAH
This was dreadful.
This match was a plotting slog with a runtime dominated by JONAH—not that Ishii’s moments of offense were great; they weren’t. All in all, this was a massive disappointment.
This match opened with some back and forth striking before a tackle from JONAH left him in control. JONAH proceeded to work Ishii over on the mat, slowly picking him apart with strikes, drops, and basic holds. Every time Ishii showed any signs of hope, JONAH retook the advantage.
After a long struggle, Ishii landed a quick suplex that opened JONAH up to offense for the first time. Ishii landed some lariats that JONAH largely ignored.
JONAH hit the JONAH bomb, a lariat, and a spear before missing a top rope dive. Ishii answered with a basement lariat and brainbuster, leading to his victory via pinfall.
Impact Tag Team Champions Violent by Design (Eric Young and Joe Doering) retained the titles in an eight-team elimination match
This match consisted of eight teams; two teams start the match. A team is eliminated after a successful fall. After an elimination, another team enters the match—the last team standing wins and leaves with the tag team titles.
This whole thing was fine, I guess. It was long, and nothing exciting happened, but the work wasn’t awful.
Bryan Myers and Matt Cardona (The Major Players) eliminated Jordynne Grace and W. Morrissey
Grace opened the match with a flurry of elbows and a standing suplex on Myers. This led to Cardona and Morrissey entering the match, where Morrissey continued to further his team’s early lead. A distraction from
Chelsea Green allowed Myers and Cardona to single out Grace and score a quick pin.
After being eliminated, Grace and Morrissey beat down Cardona and Myers. After blocking a low blow with a cup, Morrissey also sent Green through a table with a nasty powerbomb.
Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson (The Good Brothers) eliminated Bryan Myers & Matt Cardona (The Major Players)
After the beatdown from earlier, Gallows and Anderson hit the magic killer, secured the pin, and eliminated the Major Players.
Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson (The Good Brothers) eliminated Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice
The Good Brothers had their way with these guys. Dice accidentally hit Swinger as soon as they made it to the ring and the Good Brother secured the elimination with another magic killer.
Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson (The Good Brothers) eliminated Rich Swann and Willie Mack
Swann and Mack rushed their opponents, landing a quick pair of topes to gain the advantage. This advantage continued in the ring for a while as the team worked to isolate Anderson, but after the tag to Gallows, things fell into line for the Good Brothers.
As the Good Brothers looked to close with the magic killer, Swann made the save. Mack tried to follow up with a dive from the top rope, but Gallows pushed him to the mat. A powerbomb to Swann and a magic killer to Mack left the Good Brothers with another elimination.
Matt Taven and Mike Bennett (Honor No More) eliminated Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson (The Good Brothers)
HNM came to the ring acting as if Kenny King and Vincent were their representatives, even as the announcer announced Matt Taven and Mike Bennett. This distraction allowed Bennett to catch a distracted Anderson, leading to a quick pin with help from the rest of the HNM crew.
After being eliminated, The Good Brothers beat down HNM, hitting Taven with a magic killer.
Rhino and Heath eliminated Matt Taven and Mike Bennett (Honor No More)
Rhino and Heath took their time beating down HNM, buying them enough time to make a comeback even after the Good Brother beatdown. Just as HNM was looking to close, Rhino stopped a proton pack with a gore and quick pin to make the elimination.
Eric Young and Joe Doering (c) (Violent by Design) eliminated Rhino and Heath
VbD hit the ring, leading to a pretty by-the-numbers tag match. Both teams traded heat, with VbD often gaining control with help from their manager. The babyfaces were eventually shut out by a simple reversal by Eric Young, which he followed with a piledriver and pin to score the final elimination and retain the belts.
Knockouts Champion Tasha Steelz defeated Rosemary to retain the title
This was not good.
The match opened with Rosemary rushing down Steelz, taking an early lead. After Rosemary sent Steelz to the outside, Havok, who accompanied Rosemary to the ring, put her hands on Steelz and was ejected. The ejection led to Steelz taking control of the match.
Steelz worked Rosemary over on the mat for some time but lost her control after Rosemary bit her butt. Rosemary and Steelz then worked through an awkward back-and-forth sequence.
Steelz hit Stratusfaction, a jab at the former champion Mickie James. Then Steelz distracted the referee allowing Savannah Evans, who accompanied Steelz to the ring, to drop Rosemary with a big boot. Steelz followed this with blackout, but Rosemary kicked out.
Rosemary dodged a frog splash, drenched Evans with kabuki mist, and landed a spear for a near fall. Rosemary tried to follow up by climbing to the top, but Steelz cut her off with a cutter. Steelz then pinned Rosemary to retain her championship.
A video package played showcasing the company’s history and announcing Slammiversary would be coming back to Nashville on June 19th.
Josh Alexander defeated Moose to win the Impact World title
This match was significantly better than everything else on the card. If their goal was to make Alexander look like a star, they definitely did just that.
Alexander wrestled Moose to the mat early, weiving in heavy strikes to establish control. Moose escaped to the floor to slow down Alexander’s advance. Alexander took the fight to the outside, but Alexander’s preoccupation with his family (who were sitting in the first row) opened the door to a Moose boot.
Moose, now in control, landed some heavy strikes and a toss but went to the same well one too many times. Alexander retook the lead after a reversal, driving Moose into a ring post. Moose withstood the rally, answering by slamming Alexander into the barricade.
Back in the ring, a quick suplex from Alexander reset the match. Alexander followed up with a barrage of boots, a crossbody, and a sequence of Germans to cement his lead.
Moose blocked the C4 Spike before destroying Alexander with a spinebuster from the top rope. Moose tried for a crossbody from the top, but Alexander caught him in an ankle lock, forcing a rope break. Following the rope break, Alexander challenged Moose to a strike battle that escalated to a fever pitch. Alexander powered through heavy offense from Moose before hitting the C4 Spike; Moose saved himself with a rope break.
Moose worked Alexander into the corner, scoring a near fall following a superplex. Moose tried for the spear, but Alexander caught him, hit a Styles Clash, and secured another ankle lock. Moose escaped, pulling off a turnbuckle pad in the process. Moose dropped Alexander into the exposed buckle and hit the spear; Alexander kicked out (making him the first person to ever kick from Moose’s spear).
Moose tore off another turnbuckle pad, hoisted Alexander onto his shoulder, and delivered one of the nastiest buckle bombs I’ve ever seen. Moose tried for another spear, but Alexander cut him off with a knee. Alexander then landed another C4 Spike and pinned Moose to win the Impact World Championship.
Impact Wrestling has announced a change to the card for tonight’s Rebellion pay-per-view.
Due to being unable to compete, Jonathan Gresham is out of his scheduled match against Eddie Edwards at Rebellion. Edwards vs. Chris Bey will instead take place on tonight’s show.
Edwards vs. Bey will be part of the Countdown to Rebellion pre-show tonight, which airs for free on YouTube starting at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time.
Impact Wrestling wrote: “@TheJonGresham is unable to compete in his scheduled matchup with @TheEddieEdwards tonight at #Rebellion! @DashingChrisBey takes his place and it goes down on #CountdownToRebellion!”
The Influence (Tenille Dashwood & Madison Rayne) vs. The IInspiration (Cassie Lee & Jessie McKay) for the Knockouts Tag Team titles is also set for tonight’s pre-show.
Trey Miguel vs. Ace Austin vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey for the X-Division Championship has been moved to the Rebellion main card.
Gresham suffered a suspected concussion during his ROH World Championship defense against Dalton Castle at AEW Battle of the Belts II (taped on April 15), but Gresham wrestled at a show for C4 Wrestling in Canada this Friday night.
The Knockouts Tag Team titles will be up for grabs on the pre-show for Impact Wrestling’s Rebellion pay-per-view.
Impact Wrestling has announced that The Influence (Tenille Dashwood & Madison Rayne) will defend their Knockouts Tag Team titles against The IInspiration (Cassie Lee & Jessica McKay) on Countdown to Rebellion this Saturday. Countdown to Rebellion will air for free on YouTube starting at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time. The PPV main card begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.
The Influence became Knockouts Tag Team Champions by winning the titles from The IInspiration at Sacrifice last month.
“The next chapter in the longstanding rivalry between Knockouts World Tag Team Champions The Influence and former champions The IInspiration will be written this Saturday on Countdown to Rebellion,” Impact Wrestling wrote. “After The Influence dethroned The IInspiration to become the new champions at Sacrifice, Cassie Lee and Jessie McKay attempted to turn the tide by poaching Kaleb With a K away from Tenille Dashwood and Madison Rayne. But when Kaleb failed to pick a side, he was left out to dry by both teams. With the playing field now even, The IInspiration look to reclaim their titles in a heated rematch with The Influence!”
Rebellion is being held at the MJN Convention Center in Poughkeepsie, New York. Here’s the updated card for the event:
Impact World Champion Moose defends against Josh Alexander
AAA Reina de Reinas Champion Deonna Purrazzo defends against Taya Valkyrie
Jay White vs. Steve Maclin vs. Chris Sabin
Jonathan Gresham vs. Eddie Edwards
Knockouts Champion Tasha Steelz defends against Rosemary
JONAH vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Violent By Design will defend their Impact Tag Team titles in an eight-team elimination challenge
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against Ace Austin and “Speedball” Mike Bailey in a triple threat match
Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Influence defend against The IInspiration
Impact Wrestling is partnering with a minor league baseball team to promote this month’s Rebellion pay-per-view.
It was announced today that Impact Wrestling and the Hudson Valley Renegades are joining forces for multiple promotions surrounding Rebellion. The Hudson Valley Renegades are the High-A affiliate of the New York Yankees.
On Thursday, April 21, Impact’s Jordynne Grace, Rosemary, Gail Kim, and Scott D’Amore will be in attendance for an in-game promotion during the Renegade’s game against the Brooklyn Cyclones.
The next night (Friday, April 22), Impact World Champion Moose and Knockouts Champion Tasha Steelz will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Renegades vs. Cyclones game.
Rebellion is taking place at the MJN Convention Center in Poughkeepsie, New York on Saturday, April 23. Impact will also be holding television tapings at the MJN Convention Center on Sunday, April 24. The Renegades will attend the TV tapings, and team representatives will “throw out the ceremonial first pitch” at the show.
Moose is defending his Impact World Championship against Josh Alexander in the main event of Rebellion. Steelz will put her Knockouts title on the line against Rosemary at the PPV.
The Impact Tag Team titles will be on the line at April 23rd’s Rebellion in an eight-team elimination challenge.
As of now, the only team announced are the reigning champions Violent By Design. The rules and format of the match were also not announced.
VBD (Eric Young, Cody Deaner and Joe Doering) are in their second reign as champions, defeating The Good Brothers at March’s Sacrifice. They have defended the belts just once since then, defeating the Brothers last month in a rematch under lumberjack rules.
Here’s the current card for the April 23rd Poughkeepsie, New York, pay-per-view:
Impact World Champion Moose defends against Josh Alexander
Impact X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against “Speedball” Mike Bailey and Ace Austin in a three-way
Impact Knockouts Champion Tasha Steelz defends against Rosemary
Impact Tag Team Champions Violent By Design defend against seven teams in an elimination match
Even though Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling was a highlight show of matches from last Friday’s Multiverse of Matches, there were still three news items announced that will impact the weeks ahead.
That indeed will happen as Jay and Mark Briscoe will be part of their Sunday, April 24th TV tapings in Poughkeepsie, New York — one day after the Rebellion pay-per-view.
White vs. Maclin vs. Sabin added to Rebellion
A new match was added to the aforementioned Saturday, April 23rd PPV in Jay White vs. Steve Maclin vs. Chris Sabin.
White and Sabin have been feuding the past few weeks as part of a pair of Bullet Club vs. Motor City Machine Guns matches in addition to a singles bout that Sabin won last Friday. Maclin attacked Sabin after the match, but White then gave him a low blow to send him running.
Next Thursday’s lineup
Impact will return to its normal structure next Thursday with the following:
ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham vs. Rocky Romero
Deonna Purrazzo’s Champ Champ challenge where she will defend either the ROH Women’s or AAA Reina de Reinas title
The former Impact Knockouts Champion confronted ROH Women’s World Champion and AAA Reina de Reinas Champion Deonna Purrazzo following Purrazzo’s match at Friday’s Multiverse of Matches event, issuing a challenge for the AAA title at Impact’s Saturday, April 23 Rebellion event.
Purrazzo retained the AAA title at Multiverse of Matches, defeating Faby Apache. As she was addressing ROH crowning an interim Women’s World Champion in Mercedes Martinez, Valkyrie made her surprise return.
Valkyrie was written out of Impact storylines in January 2021 after a run of three-plus years with the company. She signed with WWE in February 2021, then debuted on the NXT brand in April 2021. She was released by WWE in November 2021.
Six matches are now set for Rebellion. The lineup:
Impact Rebellion, Saturday, April 23 —
Impact World Championship: Moose (c) vs. Josh Alexander
Impact Knockouts World Championship: Tasha Steelz (c) vs. Rosemary
Impact X Division Championship: Trey Miguel (c) vs. Ace Austin vs. Mike Bailey
AAA Reina de Reinas Championship: Deonna Purrazzo (c) vs. Taya Valkyrie
Reigning Impact Knockouts Champion Tasha Steelz will look to defend her title at April’s Rebellion pay-per-view against former champion Rosemary.
Rosemary, part of the Decay faction, earned the shot on Thursday’s AXS TV show as she won a ten-woman battle royal. It was down to her, Gisele Shaw and Lady Frost and with all three battling on the apron, Rosemary managed to hold on while Shaw and Frost fell to the floor.
She won the TNA version of the title in 2016, losing the renamed Impact version at 2017’s Slammiversary in a title unification bout against GFW Champion Sienna. She is also a former Knockouts Tag Team Champion.
Steelz will be trying to earn her second title defense after defeating former champion Mickie James in a street fight rematch last week.
Here’s the current card for the April 23rd Poughkeepsie, New York, event:
Impact World Champion Moose defends against Josh Alexander
Impact X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against “Speedball” Mike Bailey and Ace Austin in a three-way
Impact Knockouts Champion Tasha Steelz defends against Rosemary
New Japan legend Ishii will make his Impact debut next Friday at Impact’s Multiverse of Matches on Impact Plus as he takes on Eddie Edwards.
Another singles match was made Thursday as current Ring of Honor World Champion Jonathan Gresham will take on Honor No More leader Eddie Edwards.
Gresham hasn’t agreed with the tactics of his old ROH running mates in Impact and made his return Thursday to aid Rocky Romero after Edwards was attacking him following their match. It was not announced as a title match as Gresham defends against Bandido at ROH’s Supercard of Honor PPV next Friday.
In another update to the April 23rd PPV lineup, “Speedball” Mike Bailey earned his way into an X-Division title shot on the show.
Bailey defeated Laredo Kid and Willie Mack in a three-way Thursday, giving him a spot in the Rebellion three-way against X-Division Champion Trey Miguel and former champion Ace Austin.
Here’s the current card for the Poughkeepsie, New York, event:
Impact World Champion Moose vs. Josh Alexander in a title match
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel vs. Mike Bailey vs. Ace Austin in a title match
Former Impact X-Division champion Ace Austin will get another shot at the title at next month’s Rebellion.
Austin advanced to a three-way with champion Trey Miguel and a yet to be determined competitor on Thursday’s Impact on AXS, picking up a victory in a three-way with John Skyler and Crazzy Steve.
The final three-way qualifier has yet to be announced.
Austin is a two-time X-Division titleholder and past Super X-Cup winner. He lost the title to Josh Alexander in April 2021 and has been unsuccessful at getting it back or even getting a shot, having lost several no. 1 contender matches.
His last shot came at last July’s Ultimate-X match, a bout that Alexander won.
Here’s the current card for the Rebellion pay-per-view, set for Poughkeepsie, New York, on Saturday, April 23rd:
Impact World Champion Moose vs. Josh Alexander in a title match
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel vs. Ace Austin vs. TBD in a title match
The Impact X-Division title will be on the line at next month’s Rebellion pay-per-view in a three-way.
Champion Trey Miguel will defend against two contenders to be determined through a pair of three-way qualifying matches. The six wrestlers involved in those matches have yet to be announced.
Miguel will be looking for the sixth defense of the gold he’s held since last October. He successfully defended the title against the departing Jake Something at last Saturday’s Sacrifice.
Rebellion will take place in Poughkeepsie, New York, on Saturday, April 23rd.
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Impact also announced two promo segments for this Thursday’s AXS show.
Fresh off his surprise return at the aforementioned Sacrifice, former World and X-Division Champion Josh Alexander will be in attendance to discuss his challenge of current World Champion Moose at Rebellion.
The show will also feature a promo by Bullet Club members Jay White, Chris Bey and the Good Brothers. Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows lost their Impact Tag Team titles last Saturday to Violent by Design.
Josh Alexander has re-signed with Impact Wrestling.
Alexander made his return to Impact at Saturday’s Sacrifice event, laying out and challenging Impact World Champion Moose to a title match at the Saturday, April 23 Rebellion pay-per-view, while also announcing that he had re-signed.
Alexander’s Impact contract and US work visa had expired.
Alexander had been sent home in storyline by Impact executive Scott D’Amore. After his return and attack on Moose, Alexander stated that he had visited Anthem’s headquarters while he was sent home, and secured a multi-year contract with Impact that also guaranteed him the title match.
Alexander’s attack came after Moose successfully defended the Impact World title against Heath in Sacrifice’s main event.
Tickets for Rebellion went on sale on Friday. The event will be held at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Moose’s title defense against Heath was one of six title matches at Sacrifice. Deonna Purrazzo retained the ROH Women’s World title with a win over Chelsea Green on the show, plus Trey Miguel retained the X Division title with a victory over Jake Something.
Three titles changed hands on the show, as Violent By Design won the Impact World Tag Team titles, Tasha Steelz defeated Mickie James to win the Knockouts World title, and The Influence defeated the IInspiration to capture the Knockouts World Tag Team titles.
Impact Wrestling announced a slate of events and TV tapings Thursday as part of a three-month “Road to Rebellion” schedule that will see them get outside their home base of Nashville and recent home in Las Vegas.
The schedule will culminate at April 23rd’s Rebellion PPV in Poughkeepsie, New York, followed by a TV taping.
As previously announced, they will visit Dallas, Texas, on Saturday, January 8th for the Hard to Kill pay-per-view, followed by a TV taping the next day.
The rest of the schedule is as follows:
Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s Charles Dodge Center: TV tapings on Friday, January 21st and Saturday, January 22nd
New Orleans, Louisiana’s Alario Center: No Surrender on Saturday, February 19th and TV taping on Sunday, February 20th
Louisville, Kentucky’s Paristown Hall: Sacrifice on Saturday, March 5th and TV taping on Sunday, March 6th
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s 2300 Arena: TV tapings on Friday, March 18th and Saturday, March 19th
Poughkeepsie, NY’s Mid-Hudson Civic Center: Rebellion PPV on Saturday, April 23rd and TV taping on Sunday, April 24th
No Surrender and Sacrifice will air on Impact Plus.
This will mark Impact’s first venture with fans in attendance outside either Nashville or Las Vegas since before the pandemic began in early-2020.
