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 đđđđđđđđđđ
— 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.
Impact Wrestling was back inside London, Ontario’s Western Fair District Agriplex for a set of television tapings on Saturday.
Notable moments from the show include Trinity calling out Deonna Purrazzo for Slammiversary, Gisele Shaw injuring Jordynne Grace in what may have been Grace’s final segment with the company, and a Knockouts tag title match between The Coven and The Death Dollz
Below are spoilers from the show.
Impact TV tapings 5/27:
Jade Alexander made her way to the ring to welcome fans and introduce Tom Hannifan & Gia Miller as your BTI commentary team.
BTI Matches:
Brian Myers (w/The Good Hands) defeated Tyler Tirva by pinfall after hitting The Roster Cut
Seleziya Sparx & Tara Rising went to a No Contest after Masha Slamovich attacked both women with a chain. After the attack, Slamovich cut a promo on the mic in Russian challenging Killer Kelly to a Dog Collar Match at Slammiversary.
TV Taping (June 1st):
Jade Alexander introduced Matthew Rehwoldt and David Penzer for the main show as herself and Gia Miller left the ringside area.
A Bully Ray promo segment opened the show.
Ray stated that there was nobody better in the business at putting people through tables than him and when you really piss him off, he puts them through a flaming table.Ray stated that he was going to Against All Odds in Ohio to win the 8-4-1 tournament and then go on to Slammiversary to win the Impact World title.
Steve Maclin then came down to the ring. After Bully initially got into with Maclin verbally, Bully backed down and acknowledged Maclin as world champion. Maclin told Ray they could make a good tag team but if he faced him at Slammiversary for the title, that was fine too.
Motor City Machine Guns then came down to the ring and Alex Shelley took exception to both Maclin and Ray’s claim to the title and said he’s walking out of Against All Odds as champion. Ray told Shelley he was one of the best in the world but that he’s never won the title and that Sabin isn’t as great as him. Sabin told Ray he beat him for the title 10 years ago but Ray responded his title reign didn’t last long. Shelley stated that he knows he can beat Maclin and when Maclin asked how he knew, Shelley stated it was because Maclin is not Josh Alexander. Sabin then challenged Ray and Maclin to a tag team match and Ray said that was a great idea but it wasn’t happening tonight.
SUBCULTURE’s music hit and challenged MCMG to a match later tonight and MCMG agreed.
Eddie Edwards (w/Alisha) defeated Yuya Uemura by pinfall with the Boston Knee Party.
After the match, Edwards went to shake Uemura’s hand but then pulled his hand away instead and left the ring. As Edwards and Alisha were leaving the ring, they were confronted by Frankie Kazarian who took exception to the fact that Edwards was not acting like a locker room leader to the young stars. Kazarian then took out Edwards and Alisha as she had jumped on his back before leaving ringside.
Sami Callihan & Jake Crist defeated Decay (Black Taurus & Crazzy Steve) after Callihan pinned Steve after Crist landed a flying bulldog on Steve.
Callihan and Crist came to the ring with oVe hats but they weren’t introduced as oVe. After the match, The Design hit the ring and laid out Callihan and Crist before Rich Swann made the save with a chair.
Trinity defeated Savannah Evans (w/Gisele Shaw & Jai Vidal) by submission with Starstruck.
After the match, Trinity called out the Knockouts champion and Deonna Purrazzo came down to the ring. Trinity challenged Purrazzo to a title match at Slammiversary and Deonna agreed. Shaw, Evans, and Vidal then attacked and laid out both Trinity and Purrazzo before Jordynne Grace hit the ring. Grace was quickly outnumbered however and as Evans and Vidal held Grace, Shaw nailed Jordynne with three consecutive running knee strikes. Grace had to be helped from the ring by referees and staff.
Jody Threat defeated Dani Luna by pinfall after hitting a spinning neckbreaker.
Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) defeated SUBCULTURE (Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews) by pinfall after Sabin hit Webster with an assisted Cradle Shock by Shelley.
After the match, all four men shook hands and showed respect to one another.
The ring mat was changed as they got set for the second set of tapings to air on June 8th.
TV Taping (June 8th – Against All Odds go-home show):
Before his match against Chris Bey, Brian Myers cut an in-ring promo stating that tomorrow night at Against All Odds, the tag team titles were going to be in the hands of the Good Hands.
Chris Bey (w/Ace Austin) defeated Jason Hotch (w/Brian Myers and John Skyler) by pinfall with a Magistral Cradle.
Post-match, Myers and The Good Hands laid out Bey and Austin and then poised with the titles before throwing them back down on ABC.
Heath defeated Champagne Singh (w/Shera) by pinfall after hitting the Wake Up Call.
Joe Hendry defeated Sheldon Jean (w/Kenny King) by pinfall after hitting the Standing Ovation.
After the match, Hendry called out Dirty Dango. Dango appeared at the top of the entrance ramp but stated he wouldn’t work on his night off, especially in a $300 shirt. Hendry stated that he wasn’t calling Dango out to wrestle but simply to premiere his new music video titled “Divas Reject”.
After Dango watched the music video, King and Singh attacked Hendry from behind and an enraged Dango joined them. Santino Marella’s music hit and after Jean stepped up to him, Marella laid him out with the Cobra.
The Coven (KiLynn King & Taylor Wilde) defeated Death Dollz (Courtney Rush & Jessicka) by pinfall to retain the Knockouts tag team titles after Wilde pinned Rush after a running boot by King.
Trey Miguel defeated Bhupinder Gujjar by pinfall after hitting a twisting neckbreaker in a non-title match.
After the match, Miguel cut a promo stating that he’s the second-longest reigning X-Division champion in history and that at Against All Odds, that wouldn’t change. He didn’t mention his opponent, however.
Moose & Rich Swann defeated Nick Aldis & Jonathan Gresham by pinfall after Moose nailed Gresham with a powerbomb.
After the match, Swann confronted Moose and Gresham followed. Moose attacked Gresham and Swann then attacked Moose.
Aldis got involved and then Heath ran down to the ring to get involved as well.
Bully Ray then came down to the ring and got involved followed by PCO who managed to take out all the other men and stand tall after landing a dive through the ring ropes to the floor.
Deonna Purrazzo & Killer Kelly defeated Gisele Shaw & Masha Slamovich by pinfall after Purrazzo hit Shaw with the Queen’s Gambit.
After the match, Purrazzo and Kelly thanked the fans for two great nights of IMPACT Wrestling in London, Ontario, Canada.
Next up for Impact is Against All Odds from Ohio Expo Center in Columbus, Ohio. Steve Maclin will defend the Impact World title against Alex Shelley on the show.
On a night where all the champions retained their titles, a new number one contender for the World title was made during Friday’s Impact Under Siege and thus, a main event was confirmed for next month’s Against All Odds.
In a six-way match, Alex Shelley picked up the win over Moose, Eddie Edwards, Jonathan Gresham, Yuya Uemura and Frankie Kazarian. The Motor City Machine Guns member got the pin after hitting Shellshock on Uemura.
It was announced shortly after Under Siege that Shelley will face reigning champion Steve Maclin at the Against All Odds streaming special on Friday, June 9th in Columbus, Ohio. Shelley has held the X-Division and Tag Team titles, but never the big prize. He unsuccessfully challenged then-champion Josh Alexander at last August’s Emergence.
Maclin successfully defended the World title against PCO in a no DQ match Friday — one of five champions that left London, Ontario, Canada, with their title reigns intact.
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Bully Ray has returned to Impact.
The former title challenger made a surprise return after Maclin’s victory, attacking Impact president Scott D’Amore. He and Maclin put D’Amore through a flaming table despite the best efforts of the Motor City Machine Guns, PCO and Matthew Rehwoldt. He told D’Amore he would take down the whole company around him.
Ray feuded with then-champion Josh Alexander earlier this year with Alexander successfully defending the title against Ray in a Full Metal Mayhem match. After losing in a Hardcore War match with Tommy Dreamer earlier this year, Ray disappeared for some time only to return tonight.
It was announced that Impact’s Victory Road event streaming special will take place on Friday, September 8th in White Plains, New York. The 1000th episode of Impact will taped the following night in the same venue. Tickets go on sale for both shows on June 2nd.
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Jake Crist made his return to Impact as the mystery man to team with Sami Callihan and Rich Swann in a win over The Design’s Deaner, Kon and Angels. Callihan’s oVe teammate was last seen in the promotion in August 2021 after spending the better part of five years there. He is a former X-Division and Tag Team Champion.
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 didnât 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 Hendryâs 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, Santinoâs 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 âLet them fight!â 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 wasnât the best, and she didnât know what to do if she wasnât. 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 Websterâs 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. Impactâs 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 âhell of a kickâ 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 Mooseâs 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 OâConnor 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 firemanâs 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 Queenâs Gambit, but Grace countered into a Jackknife pin, which Purrazzo countered into Queenâs 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 Queenâs 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 Iâve seen in Impact ever, and that includes all of Abyssâs wars, and Ravenâs 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 shouldnât.
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 PCOâs 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 PCOâs 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 DâAmore keep his promise and come down to the ring to put the belt around Maclinâs waste while blood poured down his face and covered the ring. I canât say that is an image I will ever forget, as DâAmore strapped him up. DâAmore 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 DâAmoreâs boss now.
As Maclin left, Bully Ray came out from the crowd and wrapped a strap around the neck of DâAmore 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 DâAmore through it, with Ray getting in the face of DâAmore after, saying that DâAmore would never get rid of him, and he was going to tag the entire company down around him. Ray then held Maclinâs 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 DâAmore going through a flaming table. I know they tried this angle a few months back with Ray, but the table wouldnât light. This time it did, and it made it better. The violence against DâAmore 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 didnât feel like a monthly special, but a big time PPV for Impact. This show was a home run.
Following Thursday’s Impact Wrestling on AXS TV, the final card for Friday’s Under Siege streaming special is set.
The lone new addition to the London, Ontario, Canada, event is Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Coven (Taylor Wilde & KiLynn King) against the Death Dollz (Jessicka & Courtney Rush) in a non-title match.
Wilde defeated Jessicka on Thursday’s show and as Wilde and King attacked Jessicka after the match, Rush (the alter ego of Rosemary) ran out to make the save.
That match, and the Digital Media title match featuring champion Joe Hendry vs. Dirty Dango, will both be on the pre-show that starts at 7:30 PM Eastern with the main card kicking off at 8 PM Eastern.
Here’s the final card that is available on Impact Ultimate Insiders streaming service:
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin defends against PCO in a no DQ match
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defends against Jordynne Grace (if Grace loses, she can’t challenge for the title again while Purrazzo is champion)
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against Chris Sabin
Impact Tag Team Champions Chris Bey & Ace Austin defend against Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster (w/ Dani Luna)
Impact World Championship number one contender’s match: Eddie Edwards vs. Moose vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. Yuya Uemura vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Alex Shelley
Nick Aldis vs. Kenny King
The Design (Deaner, Kon & Angels) vs. Sami Callihan, Rich Swann & a mystery partner
Trinity vs. Gisele Shaw
Pre-show: Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Coven (KiLynn King & Taylor Wilde) vs. The Death Dollz (Jessicka & Courtney Rush) in a non-title match
Pre-show: Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defends against Dirty Dango
The final card is set for Thursday’s Under Siege go-home edition of Impact Wrestling on AXS TV.
The two new matches announced will see Chris Bey vs. John Skyler and Decay’s Black Taurus & Crazy Steve against Kenny King & Sheldon Jean.
Bey & Ace Austin will defend the Impact Tag Team titles against the debuting Subculture (Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews) at Friday’s Under Siege streaming special. King will take on Nick Aldis in singles action.
The BTI pre-show match will see feature Sami Callihan vs. Shogun ahead of Callihan’s trios match Friday against The Design.
Here’s the full lineup:
Angels vs. Rich Swann
Mike Bailey vs. Chris Sabin
Jordynne Grace vs. Alisha Edwards
Taylor Wilde vs. Jessicka
Chris Bey vs. John Skyler
Decay (Black Taurus & Crazy Steve) vs. Kenny King & Sheldon Jean
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Several matches have been announced for the post-Under Siege TV taping taking place in London, Ontario, Canada, on Saturday.
Here’s what’s been announced thus far:
Trinity will follow up on her match with Gisele Shaw Friday by taking on Savannah Evans.
The aforementioned Subculture will compete in their second Impact match after challenging for the Tag Team titles Friday as they take on The Good Hands.
Dani Luna of Subculture will have her first Impact match as she takes on Jody Threat.
Killer Kelly & Deonna Purrazzo will team up against Masha Slamovich & Gisele Shaw. Purrazzo will defend the Knockouts title against Jordynne Grace Friday.
Eddie Edwards will take on Yuya Uemura. This follows the six-way no. 1 contender’s match for the World title taking place Friday.
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel will face Bhupinder Gujjar. Miguel will defend the title against Chris Sabin Friday.
Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry will go one-on-one with Sheldon Jean. Hendry defends against Dirty Dango Friday.
Tara Rising takes on Seleziya Sparx and Heath faces Champagne Singh.
A title match is set to go down on the pre-show for Impact Wrestling Under Siege.
Impact Wrestling has announced that Joe Hendry will put his Digital Media Championship on the line against Dirty Dango (formerly known as Fandango in WWE) on Countdown to Under Siege. The pre-show streams live for free starting at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time next Friday (May 26).
The match was set up when Dango turned against Hendry on this week’s episode of Impact. Dango and Hendry had been working together to find Santino Marella’s mystery attacker, but it was revealed that Dango was the one who attacked Marella.
Hendry has held the Digital Media Championship since defeating Brian Myers in October 2022.
Under Siege is taking place in London, Ontario, Canada. The pre-show will be available on YouTube, Impact Plus, and Fite TV. The main card is airing on Impact Plus, Impact’s Ultimate Insiders YouTube service, and Fite.
Here’s what’s been announced for the show:
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin defends against PCO in a no DQ match
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defends against Jordynne Grace (if Grace loses, she can’t challenge for the Knockouts title again while Purrazzo is champion)
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against Chris Sabin
Impact Tag Team Champions Chris Bey & Ace Austin defend against Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster (w/ Dani Luna)
Impact World Championship number one contender’s match: Eddie Edwards vs. Moose vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. Yuya Uemura vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Alex Shelley
Nick Aldis vs. Kenny King
The Design (Deaner, Kon & Angels) vs. Sami Callihan, Rich Swann & a mystery partner
Trinity vs. Gisele Shaw
Countdown to Under Siege: Impact Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defends against Dirty Dango
Trinity’s open challenge for next Friday’s Impact Under Siege streaming special has been answered by Gisele Shaw.
After a backstage confrontation between Trinity and Shaw’s stylist Jai Vidal where Trinity offered up the match, Vidal later confirmed Shaw would take the match. He then tried to slap Trinity who blocked it and kicked him in the head.
The confirmation came after Trinity picked up a victory in her promotional in-ring debut Thursday over KiLynn King — her first match in a year after leaving WWE.
Here’s the current card from London, Ontario, Canada:
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin defends against PCO in a no DQ match
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defends against Jordynne Grace (if Grace loses, she can’t challenge for the Knockouts title again while Purrazzo is champion)
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against Chris Sabin
Impact Tag Team Champions Chris Bey & Ace Austin defend against Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster (w/ Dani Luna)
Impact World Championship number one contender’s match: Eddie Edwards vs. Moose vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. Yuya Uemura vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Alex Shelley
Nick Aldis vs. Kenny King
The Design (Deaner, Kon & Angels) vs. Sami Callihan, Rich Swann & a mystery partner
Two former Impact World Champions will team up to take on The Design at this month’s Impact Under Siege.
Rich Swann was announced Monday as one of Sami Callihan’s two mystery partners for his trios match against Deaner, Kon and Angels at the Friday, May 26th streaming special in London, Ontario, Canada.
Callihan has been feuding with The Design after teasing for weeks that he was going to join them, only to turn on the group and embarrass them. It’s unknown when the third man will join Callihan’s team.
This past Thursday, Swann joined Callihan to surprise attack The Design.
Here’s the updated card:
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin defends against PCO in a no DQ match
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defends against Jordynne Grace (if Grace loses, she can’t challenge for the Knockouts title again while Purrazzo is champion)
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against Chris Sabin
Impact Tag Team Champions Chris Bey & Ace Austin defend against Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster (w/ Dani Luna)
Impact World Championship number one contender’s match: Eddie Edwards vs. Moose vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. Yuya Uemura vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Alex Shelley
Nick Aldis vs. Kenny King
The Design (Deaner, Kon & Angels) vs. Sami Callihan, Rich Swann and a mystery partner
The road to what Nick Aldis hopes is a future Impact World title match began on Thursday and will continue at this month’s Under Siege.
Aldis will take on Kenny King as part of the streaming special that is set for Friday, May 26th in London, Ontario, Canada. King was on commentary for Sheldon Jean’s loss to Aldis Thursday on AXS TV.
Aldis made his surprise return at last month’s Rebellion and got in a confrontation with Impact World Champion Steve Maclin after his title win. Thursday marked Aldis’ first Impact singles match in six years.
In another new development Thursday, the main event title match between Maclin and PCO will be a no disqualification affair. Impact president Scott D’Amore made the change following Maclin’s attack on Rhino following Maclin’s successful title defense.
Here’s the updated card:
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin defends against PCO in a no DQ match
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defends against Jordynne Grace (if Grace loses, she can’t challenge for the Knockouts title again while Purrazzo is champion)
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against Chris Sabin
Impact World Championship number one contender’s match: Eddie Edwards vs. Moose vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. Yuya Uemura vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Alex Shelley
Nick Aldis vs. Kenny King
The Design (Deaner, Kon & Angels) vs. Sami Callihan and two mystery partners
It was announced today that Trinity has an “open contract” for a match at Under Siege on Friday, May 26. Her opponent for the match hasn’t been revealed.
Formerly known as Naomi in WWE, Trinity made her Impact Wrestling debut at a set of television tapings last month. It was Trinity’s first appearance in pro wrestling since walking out of WWE in May 2022.
Trinity’s debut aired on last Thursday’s episode of Impact. In her first promo for the company, Trinity said she came to Impact to win the Knockouts Championship, which is currently held by Deonna Purrazzo.
Purrazzo is defending the Knockouts title against Jordynne Grace at Under Siege. If Grace loses, she can’t challenge for the title again while Purrazzo is champion.
Trinity’s Impact in-ring debut will be against KiLynn King. That match was filmed at last month’s TV tapings and will air on a future episode of Impact.
Under Siege is being held at the Western Fair District Agriplex in London, Ontario, Canada. It will stream live via Impact Plus, Impact’s Ultimate Insiders YouTube service, and Fite TV.
The updated card for the event is listed below:
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin defends against PCO
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defends against Jordynne Grace (if Grace loses, she can’t challenge for the Knockouts title again while Purrazzo is champion)
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against Chris Sabin
Impact World Championship number one contender’s match: Eddie Edwards vs. Moose vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. Yuya Uemura vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Alex Shelley
The Design (Deaner, Kon & Angels) vs. Sami Callihan and two mystery partners
Matt Cardona is done with Impact Wrestling for now, according to Fightful.
The outlet reported Friday that Impact had wanted to formalize a deal with Cardona for guaranteed dates vs. the handshake deal he had been working on the past two years. That wasn’t made an option as Impact has “been a little more adamant in signing deals,” the report stated.
They said there’s no drama between the two sides and Cardona is open to return but only if it’s a handshake deal.
Cardona hasn’t wrestled for Impact since January when he lost a TV match to Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry.
**********
Impact announced a new trios match for this month’s Under Siege streaming special in London, Ontario, Canada: The Design’s Deaner, Kon and Angels vs. Sami Callihan and two mystery partners.
After weeks of posing as if he was joining the group, Callihan turned on The Design at last month’s Rebellion. Callihan and Deaner had a confrontation on Thursday’s Impact on AXS after Callihan’s win over Kon that saw him attacked by Deaner’s minions afterward.
Here’s the current card for the Friday, May 26th event:
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin defends against PCO
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defends against Jordynne Grace
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against Chris Sabin
No. 1 contender’s six-way: Eddie Edwards vs. Moose vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. Yuya Uemura vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Alex Shelley
Sami Callihan & TBA vs. The Design (Deaner, Kon & Angels)
The next no. 1 contender for the Impact World title will be determined at this month’s Under Siege.
Announced Thursday, Eddie Edwards, Moose, Jonathan Gresham, Yuya Uemura, Frankie Kazarian and Alex Shelley will compete in a six-way for the future opportunity against either current champion Steve Maclin or his next title challenger PCO.
The streaming special is set for Friday, May 26th in London, Ontario, Canada.
Edwards and Moose are former Impact World titleholders while Kazarian and Shelley have held other Impact titles but never the big prize. Gresham and Uemura are still in search of their first taste of Impact gold.
The new match joins three title defenses previously announced for the show.
Here’s the current card:
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin defends against PCO
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defends against Jordynne Grace
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against Chris Sabin
No. 1 contender’s six-way: Eddie Edwards vs. Moose vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. Yuya Uemura vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Alex Shelley
The following are spoilers from Saturday’s Impact Wrestling TV taping at Chicago’s Cicero Stadium.
The action taped Saturday should cover both the Thursday, May 18th and Thursday, May 25th episodes on AXS TV as the final build to next month’s Under Siege.
After Friday’s TV taping where Trinity (the former Naomi in WWE) made her Impact Wrestling debut, Trinity made her promotional in-ring debut on Saturday on a show that also saw defenses of the Impact World and Knockouts titles.
The following come courtesy of Impact Asylum:
The Design (Deaner & Kon) defeated Zicky Dice & Johnny Swinger
Sami Callihan defeated Shogun
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defeated Laredo Kid in a non-title match. Afterward, Chris Sabin answered Miguel’s call for more respect as the two will square off at Under Siege for the title.
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin defeated Rhino to retain
Jason Hotch defeated Ace Austin
Trinity defeated KiLynn King. Jai Vidal came out to set up a match between Trinity and Gisele Shaw for Under Siege. Trinity laid out Vidal.
Jody Threat defeated Sierra
Alex Shelley, Jonathan Gresham & Yuya Uemura defeated Moose, Eddie Edwards & Frankie Kazarian
Chris Sabin defeated Mike Bailey
Sheldon Jean & Kenny King defeated Decay (Black Taurus & Crazzy Steve). Nick Aldis was on commentary to help set up a match against King for Under Siege.
Taylor Wilde defeated Jessika
Jordynne Grace defeated Alisha Edwards
Chris Bey defeated John Skylar
In a promo segment, Maclin said his title match against PCO was off because PCO was killed. Maclin offered to defend against Champagne Sing, but Scott D’Amore came out and corrected Maclin. PCO then emerged and took out Maclin.
Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defeated Killer Kelly to retain
Jordynne Grace is getting another shot to become Knockouts Champion.
Impact Wrestling has announced that Deonna Purrazzo will defend the Knockouts Championship against Grace at Under Siege 2023. If Grace loses, she can’t challenge for the title again while Purrazzo is champion.
After Mickie James had to vacate the Knockouts Championship due to injury, Purrazzo defeated Grace to win the title in the main event of Impact’s Rebellion pay-per-view earlier this month.
There was an angle on this week’s Impact where Grace saved Purrazzo from an attack by The Coven (Taylor Wilde and KiLynn King). Grace then pointed at Purrazzo’s Knockouts title belt. The show ended with Purrazzo and Grace shaking hands and Purrazzo posing with the Knockouts title.
This is Purrazzo’s third reign with the Knockouts Championship. Grace has held the title twice.
Under Siege is taking place at the Western Fair District Agriplex in London, Ontario, Canada on Friday, May 26. The show will stream live via Impact Plus, Impact’s Ultimate Insiders YouTube service, and Fite TV.
Impact Wrestling Under Siege 2023 (Friday, May 26) —
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin defends against PCO
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defends against Jordynne Grace (if Grace loses, she can’t challenge for the Knockouts title again while Purrazzo is champion)
