Mickie James is gunning for the title she never lost.
As revealed during the closing segment of Thursday’s Impact Wrestling episode, James will challenge Trinity for the Knockouts World Championship at the Bound for Glory pay-per-view set for Saturday, October 21 in Chicago.
James made the save for Trinity as the champ faced a two-on-one attack from Savannah Evans & Jai Vidal following a win over Giselle Shaw in the main event of this week’s Impact show. James then announced her intentions to challenge Trinity at Bound for Glory. Impact then officially announced the bout in a social media post.
James was forced to relinquish the Knockouts World title due to injury this past April, and never lost the Championship in the ring.
The Knockouts title bout is one of two new matches announced for Bound for Glory, as an X-Division title match with Chris Sabin defending against KENTA was also added to the lineup this week.
Here is the current Bound for Glory card:
The updated Bound for Glory lineup:
Impact World Championship: Alex Shelley defends against Josh Alexander
Impact Knockouts World Championship: Trinity defends against Mickie James
Impact X-Division Championship: Chris Sabin defends against KENTA
Will Ospreay vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey
Don West, Mike Tenay, Traci Brooks will be inducted into the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame
A 10-Knockouts tag bout, plus the return of the Ultimate X, are among the matches and segments announced for next Thursday’s Impact Wrestling 1000 night two on AXS TV.
Mickie James will return to the ring in the aforementioned tag team match in her first appearance for the company in six months. James will team with Knockouts World Champion Trinity, Jordynne Grace, and Impact Hall of Famers Awesome Kong & Gail Kim against Deonna Purrazzo, Tasha Steelz, Gisele Shaw, Savannah Evans and Angelina Love.
An Ultimate X match will decide the number one contender to new X-Division Champion Chris Sabin’s title. Alan Angels, Ace Austin, Mike Bailey, Rich Swann, Samuray Del Sol, and Zachary Wentz will be the match participants. Sabin defeated Lio Rush on Impact 1000 night 1 to win the title.
The contents of the Feast or Fired briefcase winners from night one of Impact 1000 will also be revealed on next week’s episode. Chris Bey, Crazzy Steve, Yuya Uemura, and Moose each secured a briefcase with three of the cases holding contracts for future title matches with one containing termination papers.
Josh Alexander will be in action, facing former X-Division Champion and current Tag Team Champion Trey Miguel.
Eric Young vs. Kenny King and Jake Something vs. Dirty Dango were also announced for next week’s show.
Here’s the full lineup for next Thursday:
Mickie James, Trinity, Jordynne Grace, Awesome Kong & Gail Kim vs. Deonna Purrazzo, Tasha Steelz, Gisele Shaw, Savannah Evans & Angelina Love
Ultimate X match to determine the X-Division Championship number one contender: Alan Angels vs. Ace Austin vs. Mike Bailey vs. Rich Swann vs. Samuray Del Sol vs. Zachary Wentz
Nick Aldis has wrapped up a short run with Impact Wrestling and is now a free agent following this weekend’s action, according to PWInsider’s Mike Johnson.
His next destination might be one he has never appeared for: WWE.
Aldis was unsuccessful in wresting the Impact World title from Alex Shelley at Saturday’s Slammiversary and after appearing and wrestling at Sunday’s follow-up TV taping, the report emerged that he was free and clear to work anywhere.
Johnson reported that WWE sources confirmed that the 36-year-old Aldis is drawing “high interest” from them and has been discussed internally as a potential producer.
After his long run with the NWA ended unceremoniously at the end of 2022, Aldis made his return to Impact at April’s Rebellion by confronting then-World Champion Steve Maclin at the end of the show. He wrestled eight times in his three-month run.
Aldis isn’t the only wrestler to wrap up with Impact over the weekend as PWInsider reported Zicky Dice is done as well. A match taped Sunday will explain his departure.
After several months away due to recovery from multiple injuries, former Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James was reportedly cleared to return to in-ring action several weeks ago.
Fightful reported the news on Friday following James’ husband Nick Aldis saying a few weeks ago that she was “100%.”
The outlet also reported that the 43-year-old James is a free agent, but that has always been the case since she returned to Impact.
Citing a source, Fightful stated, “They’ve always seen her as a woman of her word and there’s never been any real concern of her going back on commitments.”
James had to relinquish her title prior to April’s Rebellion pay-per-view due to three broken rib caps, a slight shoulder tear and what she thought might be a torn pectoral muscle. Deonna Purrazzo then defeated Jordynne Grace at the PPV to win the vacant Knockouts championship.
Before the injuries, James was expected to remain with Impact through the summer. If her time away changes those plans remains to be seen.
James hasn’t wrestled since a February Impact TV taping.
Mickie James has relinquished the Impact Knockouts title due to several injuries that have kept her out of action for more than a month.
With the move, Jordynne Grace vs. Deonna Purrazzo at Sunday’s Rebellion pay-per-view will determine the new champion.
In April, it was revealed on Busted Open Radio by James and Tommy Dreamer that she has been dealing with three broken rib caps, a slight shoulder tear and possibly a torn pectoral muscle but still managed to wrestle on an Impact TV taping in February.
In a show-closing promo in an empty arena Thursday, James delivered a promo where said she had to do what’s right for the business, the locker room and for the title. She thanked the viewers for the “Last Rodeo” that brought her to the title and said she is not cleared to compete at Rebellion.
“Deonna, Jordynne…it’s your time now,” she said before putting the title and her cowboy hat in the ring and then leaving. Grace and Purrazzo were watching in a control room with Grace scowling at Purrazzo and storming off after the news.
.@MickieJames will not be cleared to compete at #Rebellion. A NEW Knockouts World Champion will be crowned THIS SUNDAY in Toronto!
James was to defend against Grace at March’s Sacrifice in a rematch from January’s title vs. career match but had to withdraw due to the injuries. James then had to withdraw from a four-way title defense at Multiverse United a week later.
Impact management announced that James, Grace and Purrazzo (the winner of the four-way) would face each other in a three-way for the title at this Sunday’s PPV. If James couldn’t compete, Grace vs. Purrazzo will compete for the title instead.
Both women will be looking for their third reign as Knockouts Champion.
Will Knockouts Champion Mickie James be able to defend her title at next Sunday’s Rebellion? That answer will be revealed on next Thursday’s Impact on AXS.
James had to miss her title defense against Jordynne Grace at last month’s Sacrifice and then a four-way title defense at Impact x NJPW Multiverse United due to a broken rib.
It was determined that Grace and Deonna Purrazzo (who won the four-way) would compete for the title at Rebellion but if James is unable to compete, it will be a one-on-one as opposed to a three-way and a new champion will be crowned guaranteed.
Here’s a look at the rest of the Rebellion go-home edition of Impact on AXS:
Two past Knockouts title challengers will square off as Tasha Steelz will take on Gisele Shaw while the feud between The Coven and the Death Dollz will continue as Taylor Wilde will face Jessicka.
It will be Steelz’ first match back in the company since January.
In a match that will determine the man advantage for Team Tommy Dreamer or Team Bully Ray at Rebellion, Frankie Kazarian will take on Kenny King.
The Design’s Callihan & Angels will face Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry & Dirty Dango in tag team action.
Here’s the current lineup:
Tasha Steelz vs. Gisele Shaw
Taylor Wilde vs. Jessicka
Callihan & Angels vs. Joe Hendry & Dirty Dango
Kenny King vs. Frankie Kazarian for the man advantage at Hardcore War
The final decision on whether Mickie James will wrestle at Rebellion
Mickie James must defend the Impact Knockouts title by Apri’s Rebellion or else vacate the title.
The situation was explained during Friday’s Sacrifice streaming special.
On Thursday, Impact stated that James was pulled out of Friday’s title defense against former champion Jordynne Grace due to suffering an injury which was revealed to be a broken rib.
James was also pulled from next Thursday’s Impact x NJPW Multiverse United pay-per-view where she was set to defend against Miyu Yamashita, Deonna Purrazzo and Gisele Shaw.
It was announced that if James is able to compete at next month’s Rebellion pay-per-view, she will defend against Grace and the winner of the multi-woman match at Multiverse United (which now includes GCW Champion Masha Slamovich) in a three-way at Rebellion.
However, if she cannot compete at Rebellion on April 16th, the title will be vacated and decided between Grace and the winner of the new four-way.
It’s the latest development in a tumultuous 24 hours that saw Impact World Champion Josh Alexander relinquish the title due to a torn triceps. Steve Maclin and KUSHIDA will now battle over the vacant title.
In 24 hours, the landscape of Impact Wrestling changed dramatically and the fallout begins at Friday’s Sacrifice from London, Ontario, Canada.
With the news that Josh Alexander had to relinquish the company’s World title due to an injury, future title challengers Steve Maclin and KUSHIDA will battle on opposite sides of a trios tag team main event.
After it was revealed that Mickie James had to withdraw from Friday’s title defense against Jordynne Grace, the future of the Knockouts Championship will be announced.
In a Busted Open (first blood) match, Tommy Dreamer and Bully Ray will go one-on-one.
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel will defend against the returning Lince Dorado who also holds the MLW Middleweight title.
Bullet Club’s Ace Austin & Chris Bey will defend against the debuting TMDK while Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defends against Brian Myers.
Jonathan Gresham vs. Mike Bailey, Deonna Purrazzo vs. Gisele Shaw and Kenny King vs. PCO rounds out the card.
**********
The Countdown to Sacrifice opened up with a match between Eddie Edwards and Bhupinder Gujjar.
Eddie Edwards defeated Bhupinder Gujjar
The venue Impact had for this show looked fantastic, which always helps the shows feel like a bigger deal. Working with Edwards is the kind of thing Gujjar needs to do if he is going to get better, as Edwards can work a great main event level match. Edwards gave Gujjar a lot in the early parts of the match before poking him in the eyes and going to work with hard chops.
Edwards did a good job selling for Gujjar’s comeback, getting the audience behind him a bit. As Gujjar went to the top rope, Edwards cut him off and hit an enziguri while Gujjar was seated. Edwards followed that with a superplex and a tiger driver for a 2-count. Gujjar got up and hit a sling blade, but ate knees from Edwards when he went for a splash off the top ropes. Edwards immediately followed with the Boston knee party for the win.
–The announcers ran down the situation with Mickie James and Josh Alexander both being hurt.
–Frankie Kazarian and Rich Swann were with Gia Miller, and they talked about Alexander being out with injury, and how they were disappointed that he was hurt, but that he would be back better than ever. Rich Swann promised to bring it tonight for Alexander, but Kazarian and Swann were not sure about teaming with Maclin.
–After a video hyping up the six-man tag main event, it ended with a voice over of Tom Hannifan announcing the injury of Josh Alexander and asking what it meant. Steve Maclin looked up, smiled, and said, “Mayhem for all.” This was great.
Rosemary (w/ Jessicka) defeated KiLynn King (w/ Taylor Wilde)
As King made her way down to the ring the announcers talked about how they suspected that Taya Valkyrie was taken out with dark magic. Well, that’s enough to make me check out on this feud. The announcers trying to explain this hurts their credibility, but it is funny to see them try.
Rosemary, who is Canadian, got cheered a lot as she bit King and then hit a clothesline that took them both to the floor. Wilde briefly got Rosemary’s attention, leading to King getting the advantage. King ate an elbow on a corner charge, and Rosemary brought King to the upside down, choking her on the ropes. King pulled Rosemary off the top rope. King and Rosemary hit pump kicks at the same time and went down. Rosemary hit a slingblade and an exploder for a 2-count.
King hit a twisting suplex for a 2-count. Wilde distracted Rosemary again, and she turned into a superkick. Jessicka and Wilde got into a brawl at ringside, which distracted King, leading to Rosemary hitting a spear to pin King.
Main Card
Mike Bailey’s music hit, bringing the show here to a good start.
Mike Bailey defeated Jonathan Gresham
Gresham and Bailey picked right up where they left off, resuming with complex technical exchanges and fast counters. Gresham made the crowd groan in pain grabbing and bending the wrist of Bailey, which Bailey sold well. Gresham started tearing apart the knees of Bailey, leading to Bailey to reach for the ropes. Bailey screamed for a break, but Gresham wouldn’t let go immediately due to how tied up they were.
Gresham indicated that, but Bailey took offence and started kicking Gresham vicuously, sending him to the floor. Gresham hit a triangle moonsault to the floor. Bailey missed a corner charge, and Gresham went right back to the knee with a drop toe hold and smashing the knee of Bailey relentlessly into the mat.
Gresham started bending each toe individually before twisting the ankle of Bailey. At this point, Gresham was essentially bullying Bailey, leading to boos from the crowd. He leaned into it as well, taking the role of heel in this match. Bailey managed to hit a dropkick off the middle ropes before hitting a series of kicks and a running shooting star press for a 2-count. Every time Bailey tried to make a sustained attack though, Gresham went straight to the leg, wearing him down.
Both men began to exchange forearms in the middle of the ring. Gresham shot for the legs a few times, but Bailey would shove him off. Gresham rolled him up and transitioned into a modified figure four leglock. Bailey escaped and swept the leg of Gresham when he was on the apron and hit a moonsault into double knees to the face of Gresham. That was brutal. Gresham dodged the Ultima Weapon and hit a knee breaker on the apron. Both guys barely made it back into the ring to avoid countout, with Gresham selling his own knee in the process.
Bailey kicked the leg out from under Gresham leading to him almost doing the splits. Bailey superkicked him and then went for Ultima Weapon. Gresham rolled out of the way and immediately went to a figure four, but Bailey turned it over and got the tap out instantly as Gresham’s own knee gave out on him. This match was awesome.
–Brian Myers talked about how he was going to beat Joe Hendry tonight, and Moose walked up and talked openly about how he was going to help Myers win the Digital Media title. Santion Marella walked up and banned Moose from ringside, which upset the both of them.
— Joe Hendry grabbed the mic and claimed he was sent to Canada to bring greetings from the Royal Family. Hendry promised to dish out an education (as they were on a college campus) on Brian Myers tonight. That was great.
Impact Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defeated Brian Myers to retain
Myers got the heat on Hendry early on in this match, hitting a dropkick and locking on a chinlock. This was quite the slow down from the previous match. Myers hit a Michinoku driver for a 2-count. Hendry hit a cutter off the ropes for a 2-count. Myers fired up hitting an implant DDT for a 2-count after that.
Myers went for the roster cut, but Hendry popped him up for a powerbomb. Myers flew over the head of Hendry, hit the ropes, and then hit a spear for a 2-count. Myers went to the top rope but Hendry jumped up from the mat looking for a cutter off the top rope. Myers shoved Hendry off and did a dive, but Hendry caught him in a cutter, picked him up an hit a standing ovation for the pinfall. That was a great finish.
–Gia Miller was sitting down Mickie James and Santino Marella. James announced she had a broken rib, and that while she would be back soon, she cannot wrestle tonight. James said that she was planning to defend the title at Rebellion, but if she is unable to defend it at Rebellion the title match at Rebellion would be between Jordynne Grace and the winner of Gisele Shaw, Deonna Purrazzo, Masha Slamovich, and Miyu Yamashita. James said that if she can’t defend the title at Rebellion, she would hand it to the winner of the match at Rebellion.
This was a great match, where Purrazzo looked like a monster with her technical ability. Purrazzo was wrestling like someone who is in line for a title run soon.
Purrazzo and Shaw had a great exchange of submission attempts with tons of counters, ending when Purrazzo hit a baseball slide on Shaw. As the referee was checking on Shaw, Evans ran over and hit a clothesline on Purrazzo. Shaw hit several uppercuts in the corner followed by a flying one for a 2-count.
Purrazzo and Shaw exchanged kicks in the middle of the ring and Purrazzo hit a flatliner before transitioning into a Koji clutch. Shaw turned it into a pinfall attempt, and then started exchanging forearms in the middle of the ring. Shaw hit a full nelson into a backbreaker and then into a flatliner for a 2-count.
Shaw went for a running knee, but Purrazzo countered right into an armbar. Shaw tried to fight out, so Purrazzo transitioned into the Venus Di Milo, which Shaw attempted to counter, but Purrazzo just rolled through right back into Venus Di Milo and scored the submission.
–Savannah Evans attacked Deonna Purrazzo after the match, but was soon interrupted by the returning Tasha Steelz. Steelz entered the ring and made the save for Purrazzo before hitting a tornado DDT on Jai Vidal. It looks like Purrazzo has a new ally.
PCO defeated Kenny King (w/ Eddie Edwards)
This was a solid match, and the crowd loves PCO, so that always makes him stuff fun even if the matches aren’t the best.
Kenny King got some heat for a few minutes at the start of the match, but PCO soon hit a cannonball dive to the floor, taking king out. PCO then hit a guillotine legdrop off the top ropes on King. PCO dragged King over the apron and went for a dive onto the apron. Eddie Edwards grabbed PCO’s foot giving King enough time to hit an Iconoclasm to the apron, sending PCO crashing to the floor.
King suplexed PCO on the floor after exposing the concrete under the mats. King then hit a blue thunder bomb on the floor on PCO. King propped a chair in the corner of the ring as PCO sat up and made his way back into the ring. King hit a snap dragon suplex for a 2-count. King hit a nice frog splash for a 2-count, and PCO sat up no selling the next few attacks to a great reaction from the fans. King tried to use the chair on PCO as Edwards distracted the referee, but PCO punched the chair into King’s face for the win.
–A hype video aired for Jody Threat coming to Impact. Looks like the Canadian wrestler has signed a contract with Impact.
–Steve Maclin walked up to Kazarian and Swann, saying that he didn’t want this situation either. Maclin said he wanted to make this work because he wanted to be prepared for Rebellion. Maclin said he served alongside people he didn’t like, but he could work with them, and that tonight they were going to get the job done.
Impact X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defeated Lince Dorado to retain
This was a good match but didn’t have a lot of heat.
Miguel and Dorado instantly started exchanging fast paced offence. Dorado spilled to the floor and Miguel went for a dive, but countered into a tiger feint, as Dorado moved. Miguel then held on and swung back into launching himself into a hurricarana on the floor. That was awesome. Miguel went to the eyes of Dorado, who did not like that, and ended up hitting a baseball slide dropkick to the side of Miguel, sending him to the floor.
Dorado hit a corckscrew press to the floor. Dorado hit a crossbody into the ring for a 2-count. Dorado hit a powerslam for a 2-count. Dorado hit a series of moonsaults from the first and second ropes but missed the third. Miguel hit an enziguri and both men were down. Dorado managed to hit a shooting star press on Miguel, but Miguel was able to roll to the floor to escape the pinfall. Both men exchanged strikes in the ring until Miguel was able to hit a hurricanrana for the pinfall.
–Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito were backstage talking about how they were going to beat the micro-mini-Bullet Club of Chris Bey and Ace Austin.
Impact World Tag Team Champions Bullet Club (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) defeated TMDK (Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito) to retain
Tito was able to get the heat on Bey early on by through him across the ring like he weighed nothing. Haste continued the assault on Austin. Austin and Bey hit click, click, boom, stealing the move from the Motor City Machine Guns for a 2-count. Bey hit some hard chops that made Haste upset, understandably.
Austin went for the O’Connor roll on Haste, but Tito blind tagged in and took out Austin with a powerbomb. Haste hit a low dropkick on Austin for a 2-count. As the match slowed down with Haste getting some heat on Austin, Tom Hannifan mused that Windsor should have a CFL team. Chris Bey hit a tope con giro on Bad Dude Tito. Bey hit a springboard Finesser for a 2-count.
Tito managed to hit Ace Austin with a series of kicks and a power bomb for a 2-count. Tito hit a suicide dive of his own, flying threw the ropes onto Chris Bey. Tito then hit a frog splash on Austin for a 2-count as Bey managed to make the save. Bey and Austin hit a combo TKO and kick to the head leading to a 2-count. Bey hit the art of finesse and Austin hit the fold on Tito for the pinfall.
Bully Ray defeated Tommy Dreamer in a Busted Open Match
This match was not good. Tommy Dreamer and Bully Ray working a slow paced hardcore match in 2023 is not really something I want to see, but given the age of the wrestlers involved, it could have been far worse.
Ray attacked Dreamer on the floor, hitting his knee with a chair. Dreamer pulled a replica ECW title out and drove it into the head of Ray. Dreamer tried to bust Bully Ray open with an energy drink can, but Ray managed to turn it into an atomic drop on the guard rail. Bully Ray threw a bear into the face of Darren McCarty, who retired from the Detroit Red Wings in 2009.
It turns out that McCarty has actually wrestled before after the end of his hockey career, so maybe that is what that is building to. Ray missed a splash off a step stool and Dreamer brought in a bag of thumbtacks. Dreamer went to piledrive Bully Ray into the thumbtacks, but Ray back dropped Dreamer out. Ray pulled out a cheese grater from under the ring, but Dreamer blocked it and hit a bionic elbow.
Dreamer grabbed the Grater, but accidentally ran into the referee. Dreamer hit Ray with the cheese grater, but the referee was out and missed the blood on Ray’s face. Jason Hotch and John Skylar ran down while giving Bully Ray a towel to wipe off the blood on his face. Bully Ray threw thumbtacks into the face of Tommy Dreamer. Ray attempted to drive the face of Dreamer into the tacks, but missed with an elbow.
Ray claimed that Dreamer’s daughters were going to see it, so he stopped and Ray low blowed Dreamer to escape another cheese grater attack. Ray slammed Dreamer’s arm into the thumbtacks. Ray drove Dreamer headfirst into the ring post, causing him to bleed, and the referee woke up to see Dreamer bleeding while Ray covered his head with a towel.
–The Good Hands set up a table in the ring for Ray to powerbomb Dreamer through. Darren McCarty jumped the rail and tried to save Dreamer, and security stopped him. Ray told security to let him go. McCarty came into the ring and they started a hockey fight with McCarty getting the better of Bully Ray. The Good Hands attacked from behind which led to Bully Ray powerbombing McCarty through the table.
Scott D’Amore’s music hit and he took of his jacket looking like he was ready to fight with Ray. Scott D’Amore looked backstage and invited Heath, Joe Hendry, Jonathan Gresham, Mike Bailey, Rhino, and others out to ringside to chase Bully Ray and The Good Hands away. Jason Hotch attacked D’Amore, who hit a Canadian destroyer on Hotch and then he celebrated with Darren McCarty.
Time Machine (KUSHIDA, Chris Sabin, & Alex Shelley) defeated Steve Maclin, Rich Swann, & Frankie Kazarian
KUSHIDA did everything he could in this match to make his upcoming match with Maclin for the Impact World Championship at Rebellion matter in this one, working hard, bumping everywhere, and trying to look like a world title contender. This match was very good despite there being no stakes, and everyone worked very hard. It sucks that Alexander got hurt, as this at least had the intrigue of KUSHIDA and Alexander facing off, but they did a decent job making the best of a bad situation.
After seeing Sabin and Shelley in the early part of the match, KUSIDA tagged in and immediately called for Maclin. KUSHIDA immediately went for submissions, attempting to out wrestle the larger man. KUSHIDA, Sabin, and Shelley targeted the arm of Maclin, looking to weaken it to prepare for KUSHIDA’s hoverboard lock. Maclin drove Shelley’s throat into the ropes to break an arm wringer, and Kazarian tagged in.
Maclin left Swann to the wolves when he tagged in, as he wasn’t the legal man, letting Time Machine triple team him. KUSHIDA missed a chop on the outside on Swann and hit the turnbuckle post. Swann then tagged out to Kazarian. Kazarian hit a flying forearm on Shelley and a legdrop on Sabin, a Russian legsweep on Shelley and then a back stabber on KUSHIDA.
Shelley hit a double arm breaker on Maclin and Kazarian and tagged KUSHIDA in, who hit a great crossbody on Maclin before hitting a Pele kick. Maclin dumped KUSHIDA into the corner and hit a spear while he was in the tree of woe. Kazarian and Swann hit a series of big moves ending with a 450 splash for a 2-count. Swann missed a phoenix splash, leading to Time Machine doing submissions on everyone in the ring. After an exchange of finisher attempts from everyone, KUSHIDA managed to hit a flying kimura on Maclin and forced a very quick tap out.
Final Thoughts
While this was a very good show from an in ring perspective, there was not a lot on this show of consequence outside of the Bully Ray/Tommy Dreamer feud. Quite frankly, that is not enough to sell a show or make it interesting, and the rest of it, while very good in ring, didn’t have any compelling stories leading into the matches. That said, if you are looking for good wrestling and don’t really care about the stories involved, you will probably like this show. It was very good in ring action, but it did not have the stories needed to add sufficient interest or heat. I enjoyed it, but it is probably one of the best missable shows you will ever see.
*Ticket sales for all the WWE events of the weekend, how it compares to the past, as well as for the ROH show
*Updates on the lineup and what is on each night and what seems to be on each night based on reports
*Update on match changes
*Update on NXT Takeover and who will have their first big match on the show
*Update on the key independent shows held over WrestleMania weekend
*AEW ticket sales for Double or Nothing and Forbidden Door
*Full coverage of UFC 286 and where things go next for the top fighters on the show
*A look at the final week of the New Japan Cup, new stories, lineups for early April, and new stable, the Sanada title match and reviews of every tournament match and the full finals show.
*Andy Kaufman in WWE Hall of Fame, a look back at the famous angle and other key angles during Kaufman’s run in Memphis, the David Letterman show and how the angle came to be
*NCAA wrestling tournament note including one of history’s biggest upsets and the story behind it
*Davey Richards retires, a look at the allegations that led to his retirement, his career and the time when Bryan Danielson called him the best in the world
*The most detailed look at the TV ratings for all the national shows, placings and hat can be learned from the competition and the results
*A look at CMLL’s second biggest show of the year , the big hair match and where Romero vs Volador looks to be going
*Notes on upcoming tournament of champions in Mexico
*Film on well known pro wrestling personality debuted recently at Film Festival
*Update on major celebrity wrestling angle and how it got exposed by a fan
*A look at the Lucha Libre World Cup featuring stars from AEW
*Update on plans for the biggest Stardom event in history
*All Japan has two shows featuring interpromotional matches
*NOAH runs a big show with key title4 change
*Update on Will Ospreay
*Update on Mercedes Mone and when her New Japan deal is up
*Notes on Best of the Super Juniors tournament
*Legendary promotion from the best with some of the best matches in history is starting a YouTube page
*Health updates on a lot of key wrestling personalities
*Former pro wrestler becomes a hero who likely saved a lot of lives averting a potential shooting
*Top U.S. stars tour Australia
*Unique tournament planned
*Indie promotion in the U.K. bringing in top stars for unique title determination matches
*Update on MLW and a new deal made
*Update on major new national television show in the plans
*A look at AEW’s first house show in years
*New AEW and WWE business deals
*Ticket sales for upcoming AEW and WWE events
*International TV ratings and streaming numbers
*Conor McGregor’s comeback notes including a key rule for his return and if it will be broken
*Olympic silver medalist signs unique deal to both do MMA and still try for a 2024 gold medal
*WWE video game news and launch party
*Story about a major international deal WWE is working on
Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
Friday Update
Garrett Gonzales and I did a news update show today. Bryan and I will be doing our weekend show on Sunday night. You can send questions to [email protected]
Want to mention what a great job Josh Alexander did as Impact champion, and for that matter, the strong storyline follow-through Impact did with Mickie James as champion. Alexander had surgery for a torn triceps today suffered at the World Cup show in Mexico and will be out of action. On today’s show with Garrett I may have mentioned biceps but it was triceps. So the company lost both champions at the same time. The men’s title will be up in a match on 4/16 at the Rebellion PPV with Steve Maclin vs. Kushida to determine the new champion. They will address the women’s title on the show tonight in Windsor, ONT on Impact +. Impact said that the announcement for the 3/30 show where Alexander was to defend against Kushida would be announced shortly.
Alexander was the longest reigning Impact champion and had a series of great matches as champion and probably didn’t get his due for some of them, like the classic match with Mike Bailey a few months back. Alexander underwent surgery under Brad M. Homan, DO, FAOAO in Orlando, FL. today.
The James vs. Jordynne Grace match is off and James will be there and they will make an announcement regarding the title. Steve Maclin replaces Alexander in the main event, teaming with Rich Swann & Frankie Kazarian vs. Kushida & Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley. Trey Miguel also defends the X title against Lince Dorado, Chris Bey & Ace Austin defend the tag titles against Bad Dude Tito & Shane Haste, Joe Hendry defends the Digital Media title against Brian Myers, Tommy Dreamer vs. Bully Ray, Deonna Purrazzo vs Gisele Shaw and Mike Bailey vs. Jonathan Gresham.
Smackdown tonight is from Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Announced is Cody Rhodes vs. Ludvig Kaiser and LA Knight vs. Rey Mysterio. The big angle being pushed is that Angie and Aalyah Gutierrez, the wife and daughter of Rey Mysterio, will be there along with Rey and Dominik to continue in the next step of building the angle,. There were just under 10,000 tickets out this morning so with a good walk-up they could sell out.
No Rampage tonight. It airs 10 p.m. tomorrow night on TNT this week.
AEW is taping Dark tonight in Orlando.
Ronda Rousey said that her injury that has kept her out of action is a fractured radius, which is one of the bones in the forearm. She also noted having no cartilage or ACL in her right knee,. The knee problems date back before UFC when she was in judo.
We’re looking for reports on these weekend shows:
*Smackdown tonight in Las Vegas (dark matches and anything not airing on television)
*WWE Saturday night house show in Salt Lake City
*WWE Sunday night house show in Denver
We’re looking for results, finishes and highlights to [email protected]
Kairi said in an interview with WrestlingNews.co that as a free agent she would love to team with Asuka or Iyo Sky or maybe wrestler Iyo Sky again, and would love to do the Royal Rumble saying it’s her favorite PPV show of the year. She also brought up wanting to work with Saraya, Toni Storm and Jamie Hayter.
UFC tomorrow from San Antonio with an ESPN+ show starting at 4 p.m. Eastern:
Victor Altamirano (124.5) vs. Vinicius Salvador (126)
CJ Vergara (126) vs.. Daniel Da Silva (126)
Trevin Giles (170.5) vs. Preston Parsons (171)
Steven Peterson (146) vs. Lucas Alexander (146)
Daniel Pineda (145.5) vs. Tucker Lutz (146)
Chidi Njokuani (185) vs. Albert Duraev (186)
Alex Perez (126) vs. Manel Kape (125.5)
Andrea Lee (126) vs. Maycee Barber (125.5)
Nate Landwehr (145.5) vs. Austin Lingo (146)
Holly Holm (135.5) vs. Yana Santos (135)
Marlon Vera (136) vs. Cory Sandhagen (135.5)
Two scheduled fights are now off. Manuel Torres vs. Trey Ogden is off because Torres failed to weigh in due to medical issues. Tamires Vidal vs. Halley Cowan is also off because Vidal was off due to medical issues.
Konosuke Takeshita wrestled in DDT earlier today teaming with Samuray del Sol (Kalisto) beating Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada in Tokyo at Shinjuku Face.
Angel de Oro of CMLL is out of action temporarily after testing positive for COVID yesterday. He had a singles match on tonight’s Arena Mexico show against Volador Jr. Templario will be the replacement which could make for a great singles match.
At the ROH PPV on 3/31, the ladder match for the ROH tag team titles has Penta & Fenix, Rush & Dralistico, Top Flight, Matt Taven & Mike Bennett and Aussie Open.
Luchablog reported that El Hijo del Vikingo would be in St. Louis for AEW TV tapings on Wednesday. It should be noted that on Wednesday they will be taping the go-home show for the ROH PPV that Vikingo defends his title against Komander on, so it would make sense to do an angle with the two of them there. They are also taping Rampage and of course Dynamite is live.
GCW announced that The Wrld show on 4/1 in Los Angeles has been moved an hour back to a 1 a.m. Eastern late that night from 10 p.m. to allow people more time to get to the Ukrainian Cultural Center from WrestleMania at SoFi Stadium.
Miro announced he is doing voice acting for an animated short called “Yellowbird” for HBO MAX.
The Miz, Rey Mysterio and Kofi Kingston will be appearing on Jeopardy today.
Undertaker is doing his One Man Show tonight in Las Vegas in conjunction with the Smackdown tapings there. The show is at the Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan.
Viking Raiders -150 Ricochet & Braun Strowman +200 Street Profits +350 Alpha Academy +700
Both Logan Paul and Bianca Belair will be guests on the new season of “Cold As Balls,” hosted by Kevin Hart. The new season premiered on 3/21.
Other Notes
Tony Deppen vs. Tracy Williams was announced for the 4/6 MLW show at the Melrose Ballroom in New York.
Augusto Sakai, a heavyweight who se contract with UFC expired with his last night, will not be signed to a new deal according to MMA Fighting which confirmed the story with Sakai.
Arman Tsarukyan vs. Renato Moicano will headline the 4/29 UFC show.
Muhammad Mokaev suffered a partial MCL tear on Saturday in his UFC fight with Jafel Filho, which he won. He will be out six to eight weeks.
AAW tonight live on Highspots.tv at 8:30 p.m. Eastern from 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park, IL
Jake Something vs. Robert Anthony for the AAW title
Christi Jaynes vs. Sierra in a lumberjack match
Davey Vega & Hartenbower vs. Mike Bennett & Levi Everett in a double dog collar match
Conan Lycan & Solom Tupu vs. Russ Jones & Schaff in an I Quit match
Fred Yehi vs. Manders vs. Silas Young vs. Ren Jones
Mance Warner vs. Thrillbilly Silas Mason
Shazza McKenzie vs. Heather Reckless
The Dave Bautista movie “A Knock at the Cabin” is now streaming on Peacock.
Nigel McGuinness is doing a magic show where he will run down his career and use magic as part of the storytelling. The event will be Thursday in at 8 pm. at the Illusion Magic Lounge in Santa Monica with more info here
AAW has its 19th Anniversary show
MCW on 4/8 in Perryville, MD at 5th Company Brewing,, 4/14 in Joppa, MD at the RJ Meyer Arena and 4/15 in Hollywood,MD at the Volunteer Fire Department
IPSW and the Totowa, NJ Police Athletic League are doing an event tonight at 7:30 p.m. to raise money for the Martinez Family who recently lost everything and their seven pets in a house fire. Partial proceeds from the show will benefit the family. Appearing include Snitsky, Maven, Hale Collins, Crowbar, Tina San Antonio, HC Loc and more.
PFL announced that tickets for the second half of the 2023 regular season at the OTE Arena at Atlantic Station in Atlanta go on sale today. The shows are 6/8, 6/16 and 6/23.
A horse named Rowdy Rousey finished third in a race at Dover Downs on Wednesday (thanks to Barry Werner)
On Jeopardy last night the category was The JV Squad and the question was “This Navy SEAL later went into pro wrestling, movies and Minnesota politics.” The contestant correctly answered the question as Jesse Ventura (thanks to Grant Zwarych)
In a surprise announcement following Thursday’s Impact on AXS TV, Knockouts Champion Mickie James will miss Friday’s Sacrifice due to an undisclosed injury.
The promotion announced the news on Twitter, saying they would give an update and address the situation during the streaming special from London, Ontario, Canada.
James was set to face former champion Jordynne Grace in a rematch from January’s Hard to Kill.
On Thursday, James teamed with Tommy Dreamer against Bully Ray and Masha Slamovich and James was accidentally hit by a Grace spear post-match. It’s unknown if they will use that as a storyline reason for the injury.
As of this writing, James hasn’t commented on social media about the situation.
**********
As expected following last Thursday’s Knockouts Tag Team title loss, Taya Valkyrie was written off TV Thursday in a most unusual fashion.
In a backstage segment, Valkyrie was trying to distract Jessicka away from a casket she found in the back searching for The Coven who won the titles last week from Valkyrie and Rosemary.
A hand then reached out from the casket and dragged the screaming Valkyrie inside. As Jessicka ran away for help, the casket closed and that was that.
Valkyrie signed a deal with AEW and debuted last week on Dynamite in Winnipeg. She took to social media Thursday to thank the fans and Impact:
It’s the second time Valkyrie has been written off as prior to her signing with WWE and heading to NXT, she was sent to jail for shooting John E. Bravo in another memorable storyline.
**********
Impact provided more details about their live show next Thursday on AXS TV that will act as a preview for their co-promoted PPV with NJPW called Multiverse United.
In addition to the previously announced Josh Alexander vs. KENTA match, it was revealed next week’s show will also feature the Impact debut of Miyu Yamashita and a never-before seen match between Will Ospreay and Homicide.
Ospreay was pulled from next Friday’s PPV due to a shoulder injury and was replaced by Hiroshi Tanahashi in his match with Mike Bailey.
Reigning Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James is enjoying her fifth reign after defeating Jordynne Grace at January’s Hard To Kill in a title vs. career match to win the gold.
She will rematch Grace for the title at next Friday’s Sacrifice before a four-way title defense at Impact x NJPW Multiverse United the following Thursday if she can survive that match.
I caught up with James for a 30+ minute conversation you can watch above.
Prior to winning the title, she embarked on her self-titled “Last Rodeo” where she would retire the next time she lost unless she won the Knockouts title. That stretch saw her have some top notch-matches with former champions such as Mia Yim and Taylor Wilde.
While James has had a few runs in Impact dating back to 2002, her most recent stint with the company commenced during the summer of 2021 at Slammiversary after she had previously been released by WWE in the spring.
“I came back to Impact with one goal and that was for Empower. That was to find a way to celebrate women’s wrestling and make it this really united cause across the board from company to company to really celebrate their women and to prove that women could deliver and in an element when given the proper opportunities,” she said. “I was in a very transitional phase of, ‘OK, well, what else can I prove in the ring?’ I have been able to do it all. I have been very blessed. I have had a very illustrious career. I have done more than I ever imagined and and I am very grateful for that.”
While James has always been at the top of her game, she did recall questioning whether or not she could compete with the current women.
“…There was this opportunity to come in and fight for the championship. And at the time, I wasn’t for sure that I could still (go). The women are killing it across the board everywhere you go. And I was like, ‘Can I still hang with this group and do I want to?’ Because, it’s a task and not just a task on a physical level, but on an emotional level of mine.”
One of the things about James and her matches is she always does something different and it always feels unique to the opponent.
“My style, like “Hardcore Country,” is very adaptable. But you’re going to have a different style match with every person that you’re in there with because there’s different stories and they are very different athletes between their moveset or how they just move out there. I always want to tell that story or be able to build that and make sure that everyone shines in that match no matter who. You’re only as good as the person that you’re standing across the ring from ever.”
James said she wanted to finish out her career in a “blaze of glory” and have some of the best matches of her life.
That’s really what the Last Rodeo was about. It was a real test to myself and to hopefully go out with a big hurrah, because that’s all I really wanted,” adding that she also wanted to prove she could still be a champion.
“I know that only ten percent of wrestlers in the world get it, but I just wanted that beautiful bow to button up what I felt was a beautiful career. And so in doing that, to prove to myself and to prove to the audience and to prove to every woman in that locker room that not only I still belong and I, you know, can still go, but I can still be a champion.”
Women’s History Month
The entire month of March celebrates women’s history. Given that James has been in the business for over two decades and has seen it all, I asked her which woman or women she feels has made some of the biggest contributions to the sport of women’s wrestling.
“I would say ‘Sensational’ Sherri (Martel) every day, all day. Obviously there’s a mountain of women that belong on that list. You know, Miss Jackie, Jazz, Molly Holly, Madusa, Luna Vachon, who probably doesn’t get the credit that she’s deserved because she didn’t look the part or whatever. But little Mickie James was terrified of Luna beyond like legit was like ‘Oh my God.’ Real terror,” she said.
“Sherri was so different to me as a wrestling fan. I loved her because she didn’t wrestle like the women. You could tell that. Even a young me could tell that she was very respected in the locker room by the women and by the men. You could tell that she feared nothing, that she would take no sh*t, and that she wanted to go out there and be better than the boys.”
“And I know that same mentality because I’m like, ‘Oh, you got to prove yourself. We got to prove that we belong.’ That whole female empowerment thing, she was so different and the way she looked. She was just fearless in her delivery of everything, and it was never like she was a meek sheep, like, kind of lifting up her guy. She owned the presence regardless of who she was standing beside.”
“She was as big of a star as the person that she was standing beside and she knew exactly how to highlight them and then highlight herself and make her moments mean something. (She was) magical on her promos and her owning of that character, it was just magic to me. And I would find myself as little Mickie James going like, ‘Oh my God. She’s so cool and she’s so strong and she’s so powerful. She’s not afraid of these men. She’s not afraid of these circumstances.’ She just owned it, you know, everything. And she is my inspiration. She’s my idol. There is no one that can touch Sherri Martel in my opinion.”
James recalls telling the story of the time she got to ask Shawn Michaels about Martel.
“I remember we were on a European tour and there may have been a beverage. I don’t know, we don’t have to talk about that part (laughs). He’s on this tour. I had my vodka bravery on. So, we’re sitting there talking about the industry. I was like, ‘How do I as a woman break out and just be different and be seen as one of the boys in this sense?’ And also, ‘How would someone like me reach that same level?’ And he goes, ‘Well, you know the one thing I could say is that for Sherri, the most beautiful thing about her and probably the thing that held her back the most is that she wrestled like the boys and she was seen like one of the boys. You know what I mean?'”
“She worked hard to prove herself, that she was one of the boys. I felt like in that moment, I realized if I really want to elevate the women’s brand, I got to be more like the boys. And I got to wrestle as hard, just like the guys. I got to train as hard, but add my own flair and add my own thing to it. So it was humbling to know that someone who I idolize so much went through some of the same stuff.”
The Impact Knockouts Championship will be on the line at this month’s Impact x NJPW Multiverse United.
Current champion Mickie James is set to defend her gold in a four-way against former champion Deonna Purrazzo, past title challenger Gisele Shaw, and TJPW regular Miyu Yamashita.
However, James will have to first survive her title defense against former champion Jordynne Grace at next Friday’s Sacrifice, an Impact streaming special from Canada.
If she does, she will defend the title the following Thursday (March 30th) at the co-promoted Impact and NJPW pay-per-view.
Another new addition announced over the weekend was an eight-man tag team match as Callihan, PCO, Fred Rosser & Alex Coughlin take on Impact Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry, Eddie Edwards, JR Kratos & “Filthy” Tom Lawlor.
Here’s the current card:
Impact World Champion Josh Alexander defends against KUSHIDA
Knockouts Champion Mickie James defends against Deonna Purrazzo, Gisele Shaw and Miyu Yamashita in a four-way
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against Rich Swann, Kevin Knight, Frankie Kazarian, Clark Connors, and Rocky Romero in a scramble
Impact Tag Team Champions Chris Bey & Ace Austin defend against Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark David) vs. TMDK (Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito) vs. The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley)
Minoru Suzuki vs. KENTA
“Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Will Ospreay
Jeff Cobb vs. Moose
Callihan, PCO, Fred Rosser & Alex Coughlin vs. Joe Hendry, Eddie Edwards, JR Kratos & Tom Lawlor
After Mickie James was successful at both staving off elimination and winning the Knockouts title at January’s Hard to Kill. she will rematch the woman on the losing end of that bout at this month’s Sacrifice.
Made official Thursday following her defense against Gisele Shaw, James will defend against Jordynne Grace who recently gave her intent to cash in her rematch clause from January.
The streaming special will take place on Friday, March 24th from Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
In an all-star trios match confirmed Thursday, Impact World Champion Josh Alexander will team with Rich Swann and Frankie Kazarian to take on Time Machine (KUSHIDA and the Motor City Machine Guns). This will act as a preview of the Alexander vs. KUSHIDA title match at this month’s Multiverse United.
After being cross with Santino Marella about not being on the No Surrender card, X-Division Champion Trey Miguel will defend against an opponent of Marella’s choosing.
Tommy Dreamer and Bully Ray will finally go head-to-head in the first-ever Busted Open match (aka a first blood match).
Here’s the current lineup:
Impact World Champion Josh Alexander, Rich Swann & Frankie Kazarian vs. Time Machine (KUSHIDA & Motor City Machine Guns)
Knockouts Champion Mickie James defends against Jordynne Grace
Tommy Dreamer vs. Bully Ray Busted Open match
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against TBA
After successfully defending the Impact Knockouts title at No Surrender, Mickie James will have her next challenge on next Thursday’s Impact on AXS TV.
Made during Thursday’s show, James will defend the gold against past title challenger Gisele Shaw. James was in the process of addressing past champion Jordynne Grace’s comments when Shaw emerged and said James was ducking her. After James challenged her for a match tonight, Shaw backed down and Gail Jim then made the match for next week.
In a clash of two high-impact veterans, former ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham will take on former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA for the first time since 2018.
The show will also see Callihan of The Design against Rhino. This was made Thursday after Rhino attempted to help Callihan from Deaner’s group which didn’t go over well.
Here’s the current lineup:
Knockouts Champion Mickie James defends against Gisele Shaw
The first contender for new Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James is official as she will defend against Masha Slamovich at No Surrender.
The Impact Plus streaming special takes place on Friday, February 24th in Las Vegas.
Slamovich won a four-way no. 1 contender’s match at last Friday’s Hard to Kill — the same show where James defeated recent Slamovich rival Jordynne Grace for the title.
On Thursday’s show, Slamovich came out at the end of James’ show opening promo and issued her a “death warrant” to make the match official. This will be their first-ever meeting.
Impact World Champion Josh Alexander will also defend his title on the show, but he won’t learn who his contender is until next Thursday which will feature the first-ever Golden Six Shooter match where six former World Champions will compete for the opportunity to face Alexander.
Moose, Eddie Edwards, Callihan, Rich Swann, Chris Sabin and Rhino will all vye for the shot.
Here’s the current lineup for No Surrender:
Knockouts Champion Mickie James defends against Masha Slamovich
Impact World Champion Josh Alexander defends against TBA
