Rosemary has been winning championships in TNA and other promotions for over a decade. But it’s a champion in NXT who is on her mind these days.
In an interview with Dom Smith at Soundsphere Magazine, Rosemary talked about the “weirdos” in society who needed someone to represent them on television.
“Look at Tatum Paxley,” she said. “She’s got a wonderful following. We absolutely adore her. And to allow her to be this alternate character that she is, and to show that kind of love for what she is, her true self on television.”
Rosemary wrestled Paxley twice in September of 2024, before Paxley went on to win the NXT Women’s Championship and Women’s North American Championship.
“And we’ll say quite frankly,” she added, “10 years ago, someone like her is a is a midcard act, never a champion, because she’s just a weird kid. It’s not someone they feel they can promote to the top. Well, she is now. There is more of acceptance for weird kids like her, like us, like so many countless others out there.”
The interview covered other subjects as well, including how Raven is helping Rosemary to bring Allie back from the dead in TNA.
Former Impact Knockouts champion Rosemary signed a contract with Carlos Silva on TNA.
On Thursday, during the March 5th episode of TNA Impact, fans witnessed TNA President Carlos Silva waiting with Tommy Dreamer for Rosemary to appear.
However, as the segment moved ahead, fans noticed Dreamer vanish before Rosemary emerged and took her spot next to Silva. The 41-year-old proceeded to bring out a contract and hand it over to Silva, before poking her finger with a pen, leading to blood oozing out.
Rosemary then gave the contract and the pen to Silva, who signed it using the blood ink, without giving it a proper read. However, things took an interesting turn when Rosemary shook hands with Silva, and their hands glowed red in the dark.
The entire vignette had a mysterious and thrilling feeling to it. Although, TNA has yet to explain what Rosemary’s contract was all about. The segment concluded with Rosemary laughing and taking a look at the contract, while a bloodied bunny appeared behind her.
A couple of new announcements have been made for this Thursday’s live edition of TNA Impact.
We’ll hear from Tessa Blanchard following her victory over Jordynne Grace at TNA’s Genesis pay-per-view. Plus, TNA has announced a six-woman tag match for the episode. It will be Masha Slamovich, Dani Luna & Jody Threat vs. Rosemary, Ash By Elegance & Heather By Elegance.
Genesis was Blanchard’s first match for TNA since returning to the promotion. Grace — who is expected to be joining WWE — finished up with TNA at the PPV.
Slamovich is the current TNA Knockouts World Champion and Luna & Threat are the Knockouts Tag Team Champions. They retained at Genesis with respective victories over their opponents for this six-woman tag match. Slamovich defeated Rosemary in a Clockwork Orange House of Fun match, while Luna & Threat defeated Ash & Heather By Elegance.
A Knockouts title match between Slamovich and NXT star Cora Jade looks to be in the works but has not been confirmed yet. Jade made a surprise appearance at Genesis on Sunday night, confronting Slamovich.
The Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas is hosting Impact on Thursday night and then TNA TV tapings the following day. Thursday’s show is the first live Impact in several years. It’s airing on AXS TV, Sportsnet 360, and TNA+.
TNA Impact (Thursday, January 23) —
We’ll hear from new TNA World Champion Joe Hendry
NXT Tag Team Champions Fraxiom (Nathan Frazer & Axiom) defend against The Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz)
TNA Tag Team Champions The Hardys (Matt & Jeff Hardy) vs. Moose & JDC
Masha Slamovich, Dani Luna & Jody Threat vs. Rosemary, Ash By Elegance & Heather By Elegance
In a battle of former TNA Knockouts Champions, Jordynne Grace will take on Rosemary as part of this month’s Final Resolution streaming special.
Grace will be looking to rally after three straight losses (two to reigning champion Masha Slamovich and one to Tasha Steelz). Rosemary has had a quietly strong 2024 in TNA, going unbeaten in 11 singles and three-way matches.
She and Grace have only wrestled twice with the last ending in a no contest this past August.
With Grace saying her contract is up in January, this or the following day’s TV taping could be her last action with TNA unless she re-signs.
Here’s the current lineup for Friday, December 13th at Center Stage in Atlanta:
TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth defends against AJ Francis
TNA Knockouts World Champion Masha Slamovich defends against Tasha Steelz
TNA Tag Team Champions The Hardys (Matt & Jeff Hardy) defend against The System (Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards) in a tables match
TNA X-Division Champion Moose defends against KUSHIDA
TNA World title number one contender’s match: Joe Hendry vs. Mike Santana vs. Steve Maclin vs. Josh Alexander
A three-way match is scheduled for the TNA Turning Point pre-show this Friday night.
TNA Wrestling announced today that Rosemary vs. Xia Brookside vs. Savannah Evans will take place on Countdown to Turning Point. The pre-show broadcast streams live on TNA+ and the promotion’s digital platforms for free starting at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time on Friday.
In promoting this match, TNA billed it as a way for the winner to get some momentum in the Knockouts division:
It’s all about momentum when three surging Knockouts – Xia Brookside, Savannah Evans and Rosemary – clash on the Countdown to Turning Point. Rosemary recently cut ties with NXT’s Wendy Choo, vanquishing her in a No Disqualifications match. Meanwhile, Savannah Evans made her impactful return to TNA, taking out Léi Yǐng Lee in the process. Then you have Xia Brookside, who is looking to continue her rise following success on Xplosion. Who will come out on top, poised for greatness?
Masha Slamovich — the current Knockouts Champion — has a title defense against Jordynne Grace at Turning Point. The event is being held in Winston-Salem, North Carolina as part of the annual Thanksgiving weekend WrestleCade convention.
Turning Point’s main card begins at 7 p.m. Eastern on TNA+. Here’s the updated lineup for the show:
TNA Turning Point 2024 (Friday, November 29) —
TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth defends against Eddie Edwards
Rosemary appeared as a surprise opponent for Kelani Jordan on Tuesday’s show. Despite the surprise, the Women’s North American Champion was able to defeat the former TNA Knockouts Champion. After the match, Jordan was put in a chokehold by Wendy Choo, her opponent this Sunday at No Mercy. The end of the segment saw Choo hold the North American title as Rosemary looked on approvingly.
Both Choo and Rosemary posted on X following the segment:
Following NXT Heatwave, both Choo and Tatum Paxley expressed interest in Jordan’s North American title. Two weeks ago on NXT, Choo choked out Jordan as she was on commentary for a Paxley/Lola Vice match.
Rosemary is the latest TNA talent to make their way to NXT since the two promotions have started to work together. Two TNA stars will wrestle at No Mercy this Sunday when Zachary Wentz faces former friend Wes Lee and Joe Hendry challenges Ethan Page for the NXT Championship.
On last Thursday’s Impact Wrestling ahead of last Friday’s Under Siege, we saw the return of Rosemary’s alter ego Courtney Rush.
Death Dollz tag team partner Jessicka was being attacked in a post-match angle by The Coven (Taylor Wilde & KiLynn King) when viewers saw a hourglass run out on the video board, followed by Rush coming to her partner’s aid.
At Under Siege the next night, Rush and Jessicka, former Knockouts Tag Team Champions, teamed up to defeat current Knockouts Tag Team Champions Wilde and King in a non-title match.
In 2016, Rosemary debuted in Impact as part of Decay. Since then, “The Demon Assassin” has remained a focal point on the roster, winning the Knockouts title once and the Knockouts Tag Team titles three times.
I spoke with Rush about leaving her Rosemary persona behind and transitioning to who she is now. Clearly, Rosemary still makes the decisions because according to Rush, Rosemary was always in the driver’s seat.
“Your guess is as good as mine. The last time I was aware of anything, as per mine and Rosemary’s agreement, she got to be in the driver seat and do whatever she wanted. I got to play video games on Twitch and live in an e-fed. It was great: seven years of bliss and now all of a sudden, I’ve got responsibilities again.”
Rush, went on to explain that even though she’s a wrestler and used to be in theatre back in college, she has always had stage fright. However, she explained that the Rosemary persona was her “confidence” and that she didn’t know if she could have ever competed in Impact without her.
However, not being that character is “very scary. She’s the one that knows this world, not me.”
Reigning Impact Knockouts Champion Tasha Steelz will look to defend her title at April’s Rebellion pay-per-view against former champion Rosemary.
Rosemary, part of the Decay faction, earned the shot on Thursday’s AXS TV show as she won a ten-woman battle royal. It was down to her, Gisele Shaw and Lady Frost and with all three battling on the apron, Rosemary managed to hold on while Shaw and Frost fell to the floor.
She won the TNA version of the title in 2016, losing the renamed Impact version at 2017’s Slammiversary in a title unification bout against GFW Champion Sienna. She is also a former Knockouts Tag Team Champion.
Steelz will be trying to earn her second title defense after defeating former champion Mickie James in a street fight rematch last week.
Here’s the current card for the April 23rd Poughkeepsie, New York, event:
Impact World Champion Moose defends against Josh Alexander
Impact X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against “Speedball” Mike Bailey and Ace Austin in a three-way
Impact Knockouts Champion Tasha Steelz defends against Rosemary
New Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions were crowned prior to the start of the Slammiversary pay-per-view event.
The Decay (Havok and Rosemary) defeated Fire ‘n’ Flava (Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan) to win the titles for the first time. The finish had Hogan going for a sleeper on Havoc, but Havoc countered with a tombstone piledriver, pinning Hogan to pick up the win.
Fire N Flava held the titles for a couple of months, defeating Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering at Under Siege, which aired on May 15. Fire ‘n’ Flava have already held the Knockouts Tag Team titles twice since the titles were reintroduced in the company in January.
Other titles set to be defended on tonight’s show includes Impact World Champion Kenny Omega defending his title against Sami Callihan in a No DQ match, Tag Team Champions Doering and Deaner defending against The Good Brothers, Deonna Purrazzo vs. a mystery opponent for the Knockouts title, and an Ultimate X match featuring champion Josh Alexander, Chris Bey, Trey Miguel, Ace Austin, Petey William, and Rohit Raju.
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will look to continue her roll as champion when she defends against Rosemary at Impact’s Against All Odds, set for Saturday, June 12th.
Rosemary got the pin on the champion to end a ten-woman tag team match on Thursday’s show.
Purrazzo will be looking for the eighth defense of the title she reclaimed at last November’s Turning Point. One of those title defenses was against Rosemary who she defeated at last December’s Final Resolution.
Rosemary was unsuccessful in defeating Havok in a title eliminator match earlier this month and has just two singles wins this year, both over Tenille Dashwood. She has primarily been featured in various tag team matches.
She held the Knockouts title one time, defeating Jade (WWE’s Mia Yim) for the vacant belt in a Six Sides of Steel cage match in December 2016. She held the title for 266 days, the second-longest reign in the title’s history.
The Against All Odds show on Impact Plus is headlined by World Champion Kenny Omega vs. Moose and Satoshi Kojima vs. Joe Doering.
Black Taurus appeared on tonight’s episode of Impact, joining Decay.
Taurus was introduced after XXXL (Acey Romero and Larry D), Kaleb with a K, and Tenille Dashwood came out, running down Decay (Rosemary and Crazzy Steve). Kaleb asked if any member of Decay would face him in a match tonight. Taurus answered the challenge and pinned Kaleb quickly with a spinning slam.
Later in the show, a six person tag match was made for No Surrender, with Rosemary, Steve, and Taurus teaming together to take on XXXL and Dashwood. That will take place this Saturday on Impact Plus.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Taurus had made appearances in MLW, PWG, and in Impact Wrestling during the promotion’s television tapings in Mexico.
Taurus has been a regular for AAA, appearing for the promotion off and on since 2012. The promotion hasn’t ran any events since TripleMania in December due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, they recently started taping shows this past weekend that will air on television through March.
A new tag team match has been added to this Saturday’s Impact Hard to Kill pay-per-view event.
Crazzy Steve and Rosemary, who used to be a part of the Decay stable, will team together to take on Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb with a K.
The match was set up on tonight’s Impact when Rosemary defeated Dashwood in a singles match. Kaleb tried to interfere on Dashwood’s behalf, but Crazzy Steve ran out for the save. Rosemary and Steve reunited after the match.
Hard to Kill will take place this Saturday, January 16. Here is the full card:
Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson, and Doc Gallows vs. Rich Swann, Chris Sabin, and Alex Shelley
Manik vs. Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju for the X Division title
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Taya Valkyrie for the Knockouts title
Havok and Nevaeh vs. Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz for the Knockouts Tag Team titles
Eric Young, Deaner, and Joe Doering vs. Cousin Jake, Rhyno, and Tommy Dreamer in a old school rules match
Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan in a barbed wire massacre match
Impact Wrestling’s Knockouts Tag Team title tournament is down to its final four teams.
Havok & Nevaeh vs. Jordynne Grace & Jazz and Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz vs. Taya Valkyrie & Rosemary are the semifinal matches for the tournament. It will continue on next Tuesday’s episode of Impact.
The opening round concluded with Valkyrie & Rosemary defeating Deonna Purrazzo & Kimber Lee on this week’s Impact. Rosemary is challenging for Purrazzo’s Knockouts Championship at Impact Wrestling’s Final Resolution special on Impact Plus this Saturday.
Havok & Nevaeh defeated Tenille Dashwood & Alisha Edwards in the first round of the tournament, Grace & Jazz defeated Killer Kelly & Renee Michelle, and Hogan & Steelz defeated Sea Stars (Ashley Vox & Delmi Exo).
Jazz had recently announced her retirement but returned to the ring for the tournament. Grace & Jazz’s first round match was Jazz’s Impact Wrestling in-ring debut.
The new Knockouts Champions will be crowned as the tournament finals take place at Impact’s Hard to Kill pay-per-view on Saturday, January 16. The winners will be the first team to hold the Knockouts Tag Team titles since they were deactivated in 2013.
Impact Wrestling returned from the 2300 Arena this week for the final episode of the Philadelphia tapings.
This week’s main event was LAX defending their Tag Team titles against The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz). In addition, Rosemary took on Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie in a non-title match, oVe faced Fallah Bahh & Scarlet Bordeaux, and Kiera Hogan battled Jordynne Grace.
The video recap of last week’s episode touched on the ECW originals taking on Moose & The North, Tessa Blanchard knocking out Glenn Gilbertti, LAX and The Rascalz agreeing to tonight’s match, the street fight between Eddie Edwards and Killer Kross, and the announcement that Brian Cage will return at Slammiversary to defend his World title against Michael Elgin.
The Twitch stream was hosted by Melissa Santos from Impact’s new set of tapings at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York. There were several cameos from the roster.
Ace Austin defeated Cousin Jake (w/ Cody Deaner)
This was a speed vs. power match with Austin using his speed and kicks to take down Jake, but as soon as Jake would get his hands on Austin, he’d stop him and drop him. There was some miscommunication on a spot to get Jake outside for Austin to do his headstand into a kick, so they repeated the spot.
Once outside, Austin dove, only to get caught by Jake and slammed onto the apron. Jake followed with a running splash on the apron too, getting a two count.
Austin went for a Disaster Kick, but Jake just blocked him. Jake went for a spear to the corner, but Austin dodged, distracted the referee, and paper cut Jake’s hand. Austin hit a kick and a famouser for a two count.
Austin worked on the same injured hand, attempting a Kimura or a Vice, but Jake slowly started to power up and flip Austin off. Austin chopped Jake to no avail, so he hit another kick and the Curb Stomp, setting up The Fold, but Jake recovered and hit a huge lariat to earn himself a couple of seconds to recover.
Jake hit a close distance clothesline and a Michinoku Driver for a two count. Jake hit the corner spear, but suddenly, the Desi Hit Squad attacked Cody Deaner outside the ring, distracting Jake enough for Austin to hit The Fold for the win. Pretty good match — both men have a lot of potential.
– Melissa Santos interviewed Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie about facing Rosemary tonight. Taya said that she has moved on from fighting Rosemary and now Rosemary is crawling her way back to the championship. She said that tonight, she reminds Rosemary who she is.
Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie defeated Rosemary (w/ Su Yung) by DQ in a non-title match
The match started and Rosemary stayed distracted with Yung, giving Taya the opening to tackle Rosemary down and deliver a set of strikes, stomps, and hip attacks. Taya hit running knees to the corner.
Rosemary recovered and locked in the Upside Down to earn some distance. She went for a missile dropkick, but Taya dodged and hit a release German suplex in return. Rosemary got a desperation slingblade and a reverse DDT for a two count.
Rosemary hit a spear for another two count. She then followed with a Koji Clutch, but suddenly, James Mitchell brought out Jessicka Havok.
Havok and Rosemary had a staredown before Rosemary went to punch Havok, only to get blocked and taken down with one clothesline. Havok delivered a Tombstone piledriver on Rosemary.
Taya tried to run, but Havok caught her with a chokeslam. Mitchell released Yung from her chains. Yung, Havok, and Mitchell all left together. The match was pretty bad, but the ending angle saved it.
– The Rascalz were in the treehouse preparing for tonight’s main event against LAX. Trey Miguel wants to fight tonight, but he’ll just be out there supporting Zachary Wentz and Dezmond Xavier. Miguel’s character, like Ortiz, seems to be developing a drinking problem.
– The Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was Shane Douglas vs. Raven in a hair vs. hair match from September 17, 2003.
– Backstage, Eddie Edwards thanked The Sandman for his help last week and told him that he can’t accept Sandman’s kendo stick because it’s not Kenny. Sandman drew a face on the stick and Eddie accepted it. This wasn’t good.
– We got a video showcasing Brian Cage’s recovery and him training to get back in the ring.
– Backstage, Michael Elgin cut a promo on Cage, telling him that he has proven that he can destroy Brian Cage. Elgin said that while Cage is at home being a coward, he’s out there sending people to the hospital. Elgin said that next week, he is sending Willie Mack to the hospital once and for all.
Madman Fulton (w/ Sami Callihan) defeated Firework Foxx Vinyer and his partner in a two-on-one handicap match
Fulton quickly took both men down with a double clothesline. Fulton went on to suplex one man onto the other, bite them, take them out with big boots, and hit chokeslams. He delivered a double chokeslam and hit the End of Days on one man onto the other for the pin. Total dominant squash.
After the match, Callihan cut a promo against the Knockouts division and brought out Jake & Dave Crist for their tag match.
oVe (Jake & Dave Crist) defeated Fallah Bahh & Scarlett Bordeaux
Jake and Bahh started the match, with Bahh getting the early advantage thanks to his size. Early on, Callihan and Fulton tried to get involved, so the referee sent them to the back.
In the ring, Bahh hit an elbow and a running splash in the corner on Dave. Bahh went for another, but Dave dodged and tagged in Jake, who came in and managed to cut off Bahh from his corner.
oVe worked with quick tags and kept Bahh down. They choked him against the ropes and went after his eyes over and over again. After a couple of minutes of torture, Bahh started to power up and slapped himself into a comeback, only to get cut off again.
Eventually, Bahh caught Jake with a kick and tossed Dave to the outside, but he still couldn’t tag Bordeaux. Jake thought he could piledrive Bahh, but he ended up getting hit with a Banzai Drop from Bahh. Finally, Bordeaux got the tag.
Bordeaux came in hot and hit a couple of hurricanranas and hip attacks on the Crist brothers. Bordeaux hit a flying crossbody and sent both Crists to the outside, setting them up for a Fallah Bahh tope suicida. Bordeaux followed with a top rope senton to the floor.
Back in the ring, Jake slammed Bordeaux and went for a Doomsday Device, but Bahh blocked Dave, allowing Bordeaux to hit a reverse rana on Jake. Bahh set up Dave for the Doomsday Device, which Bordeaux hit, earning a two count.
Bordeaux got on Bahh’s back and they went for the double Banzai Drop, but Dave dodged, grabbed a roll of quarters, and knocked Bahh out to steal the win.
This match got “this is awesome” chants. Bahh has lost a lot of weight and seems to be trying to change his moveset and do less comedy. Bordeaux looked great here too.
After the match, the Crist brothers attacked Bordeaux, but Tessa Blanchard came out for the save. Blanchard took on both Crists, dodging a superkick by Jake, who hit Dave. She low blowed Jake and hit the Magnum to send them packing. The crowd popped huge for Blanchard — she looked like a superstar.
– Santos interviewed Rich Swann and Willie Mack. She asked Mack about Elgin. Mack said that he’s not scared of Elgin and next week, he’ll teach him what The Mack is all about. Swann told Mack that he’ll have his back.
Johnny Impact interrupted them and told Swann that come Slammiversary, he’s cashing in his X-Division title shot. Johnny’s promo was amazing.
– Out in the parking lot, Callihan berated oVe for being embarrassed in the ring by Blanchard. Callihan threatened Blanchard that they’re not done.
Jordynne Grace defeated Kiera Hogan
Grace offered Hogan a handshake to start the match, but the now-heel Hogan rejected the offer. They started with a short sequence of reversals with Hogan having the speed advantage, getting the better of Grace, who had the power advantage and only needed to get her hands on Hogan to stop her.
Grace got an early two count after a second rope senton. She followed with a delayed Jackhammer for another two count. Hogan pleaded for forgiveness, but instead tried to cheap shot Grace, who caught her with a slap. The distraction was enough for Hogan to get a couple of kicks in afterwards in the corner, earning a one count.
Hogan choked Grace against the ropes and in the middle of the ring with a sleeper. She went for a suplex, but Grace simply used her power and hit her own suplex instead.
Hogan went for a knee version of Eat Defeat for a two count. She kicked Grace until Grace made a comeback and delivered a great desperation spinebuster. Grace slammed Hogan against the corner and hit a running knee and a Vader Bomb for a two count.
Grace went for a superplex, but Hogan escaped and went for a sunset bomb instead. After failing at that, Hogan superkicked Grace’s knee out and hit a neckbreaker instead for another two count.
Grace slammed Hogan for a two count, then followed with the Grace Driver for the win.
This was a great match, Hogan has improved so much since her last one-on-one match on Impact.
– LAX were in their clubhouse. Instead of preparing for their title defense tonight, Santana was sleeping and Ortiz was eating. Konnan berated them for not taking this seriously.
– Backstage, Moose cut a promo on the old ECW wrestlers, saying that they keep coming back and taking spots from others because they need to pay the rent. Moose challenged Rob Van Dam to a match at Slammiversary. Moose said that until RVD says yes, he’ll make his life a living hell.
Impact Tag Team Champions LAX (Santana & Ortiz) w/ Konnan defeated The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) w/ Trey Miguel by DQ
Wentz and Ortiz started the match with some chain wrestling and a couple of reversals, with Ortiz getting the upper hand early. They sped up to a series of reversals, with The Rascalz starting to do quick tags and getting rid of Ortiz after a Bronco Buster by Wentz.
Santana came in and got taken out with a kick combo. With both LAX members outside the ring, Wentz and Xavier dove to the outside.
Back in the ring, Wentz got the first near fall after a Swanton Bomb on Ortiz, only to have Santana make the save.
Back from commercial, both teams were exchanging quick moves back and forth, but LAX got the upper hand with a combo on Wentz, managing to cut him off from his corner. Santana looked for quick pin attempts after a German suplex and a backbreaker. Ortiz came in and got another two count after a combo, which Xavier broke up.
Outside the ring, we saw that Miguel had grabbed Ortiz’s flask and was drinking it.
In the ring, Wentz hit a desperation jumping knee on Santana to get some space and tag in Xavier, who took out Santana, hit a big elbow on Ortiz, and followed with a dropkick to the spine, sending him to the outside. That was followed with a suicide dive.
Xavier hit the wheel kick on Santana, only to get taken out by Ortiz’s enzuigiri. LAX went for roll-ups on Wentz, but Xavier broke them up again. The Rascalz hit Hot Fire Flame, but Ortiz broke the pin up at the last moment. Outside the ring, Ortiz grabbed his flask back, drank a bit, but got hit by Xavier, causing him to mist the referee.
Suddenly, the drunk Miguel got in the ring, hit a meteora on Santana, and pinned him. A second referee came in and counted the pin, but the official referee recovered, reversed the decision, and granted LAX the win by disqualification after Miguel’s interference.
The fans weren’t happy with the finish, but they reacted well to the referee fixing the decision. Overall, this was a good match — these two teams will be having great matches once they get more time.
Final thoughts —
This show felt like it had better direction towards Slammiversary than the previous weeks. The work inside the ring was really good and took precedence over the backstage segments. It was a night where people like Kiera Hogan and Fallah Bahh were out there trying to impress.
This week’s Twitch stream was hosted by Melissa Santos. Don Callis, who is in Japan doing commentary for the New Japan Cup, made a cameo.
The post-show interview was former Impact wrestler Crimson, who promoted the upcoming Salute to the Troops show on May 11.
X-Division Champion Rich Swann defeated Ethan Page in a non-title match
This was a speed vs. power bout. Swann got the advantage every time he had the space to run around Page, but when Page would get his hands on Swann, he would strike or drop Swann with power moves.
Page gained control by hitting a set of backbreakers and continued working Swann’s back with knees and forearms to the lower back. As the match went on, Page started getting cocky, taking his eyes off Swann, who finally got enough space to connect with a jumping neckbreaker to take Page off his feet.
Swann dodged an incoming Page, tossing him outside and connecting on a tope con giro. Back in the ring, Swann hit a frog splash for a two count. Swann went for the 450, but Page pushed the referee to the ropes, dropping him. Page followed up by tossing Swann to the mat for a two count.
Page and Swann traded some strikes in the middle of the ring that ended with both men kicking each other and Swann dropping Page with a Lethal Injection. Swann connected with the Phoenix Splash for the win. Okay match — it picked up towards the end.
After the match, oVe came out. Sami Callihan cut a promo saying that tonight is the night that Swann finally joins oVe. Callihan said that family is everything — and Swann and Callihan hugged it out in the ring.
Swann put the oVe shirt on and started chanting with them, but behind their backs, he superkicked Callihan and hit a double cutter on the Crists before ripping the shirt off. The crowd popped.
Backstage, Konnan told Santana and Ortiz that he is getting them their rematch against the Lucha Bros. He told them to just pay attention to tonight’s Lucha Bros vs. Rascalz match.
Josh Mathews told us that Brian Cage is next in line for a shot at Johnny Impact’s World Championship as soon as Johnny can return.
Ace Austin defeated Jake Atlas
Austin made his Impact debut tonight with his X-Men Gambit gimmick.
The match was fast paced. Austin and Atlas had a few reversals and counters to begin things — but quickly enough, Austin hit a few unique looking kicks to gain control. Atlas had some hope spots as he caught Austin with a kick and chops, but Austin used his athleticism to dodge Atlas’ offense, jumping around the ropes.
Atlas hit a big Fireman’s Carry for a two count. Atlas went for a kick, but Austin countered with a kick combo, ending with an interesting looking Curb Stomp and finishing Atlas with a running blockbuster, which he calls The Fold. Good showing for Austin, but Atlas looked even better if you asked me.
Rolando Melendez interviewed Johnny Impact and Taya Valkyrie, who were in their house in Los Angeles, California. Melendez asked about letting Brian Cage down, to which Johnny answered that he did, but it was an accident.
Melendez asked about working injured like others do, and Valkyrie brought up that Johnny is getting neck fusion surgery. Yikes — bad timing to make that the kayfabe injury after Tommaso Ciampa’s legit injury.
Johnny said that Cage will get his title shot when he is ready to return. Rolando Melendez is a great character.
Reno Scum cut a promo backstage. Adam Thornstowe said that it took them two years to come back to Impact and that Fallah Bahh and KM were their unfortunate victims. They accepted a rematch against Bahh & KM.
Alisha Edwards came out for a special announcement. Alisha thanked Impact Wrestling and said that her contract is expiring at the end of the month. She said that she enjoys coming out every week, but she also has considered staying home and starting a family. Suddenly, the Desi Hit Squad interrupted.
Rohit Raju cut a promo against the women’s empowerment movement and said that Alisha should indeed go home because it’s her job. Raj Singh said that all the women in wrestling should follow in her footsteps. Gama Singh said that God created women to serve men. Alisha finally had enough and slapped Gama in the face.
When Raj and Rohit got in Alisha’s face, Eddie Edwards came out to help her, but the numbers game was too much for Eddie until Eli Drake came down.
Eli Drake hinted at joining in with the Desi Hit Squad on the attack, but Drake attacked them and defended Eddie Edwards. Drake told Eddie that this was “something to think about” before walking to the back.
Rolando Melendez interviewed Brian Cage, who shut him down about his investigative approach. Melendez showed him the Johnny video from earlier, but Cage blew him off.
Backstage, Eddie and Alisha were talking when Drake walked up to them. Eddie thanked Drake for helping them both. Drake once again suggested they team up and chase the Tag Team, titles.
Alisha actually agreed with Drake and pushed for the tag team too, bringing up that Drake is the only man Eddie has left. Eddie agreed to team with Drake and take on the Desi Hit Squad next week.
The GWN Flashback Moment of the Week was The Wolves vs. The Hardys vs. Team 3D in a ladder match for the Tag Team titles from No Surrender 2014.
Melissa Santos interviewed Killer Kross and Moose. She asked about what is next for them now that they have taken out Johnny Impact and Brian Cage. Moose celebrated with a new suit. Killer Kross said if he or Moose can’t get title shots, then no one is getting title shots, and so if he doesn’t get a shot once Johnny returns, Johnny is going back to the hospital.
The Rascalz were in their roundtable. Dezmond Xavier said that in order to win tonight, they need masks to gain lucha powers — and Xavier revealed he had Kikutaro’s mask. They made fun of Moose’s Pepto-Bismol colored jacket. Zachary Wentz told Xavier to just give Kikutaro his face back. This was funny, but not a lot of substance.
Rosemary, Kiera Hogan & Jordynne Grace defeated Su Yung, Dark Allie & The Undead Maid of Honor (w/ Father James Mitchell) to gain control over Allie in the Dark War
The Undead Maid of Honor was Buggy Nova, formerly known as NXT’s Skylar Moon. Rosemary came out with a big entrance attire — she got a huge pop from the crowd.
The match started with all six wrestlers in the ring, with the babyfaces getting rid of the heels quickly. Alone in the ring, Hogan beat on Yung for a bit. Allie and Rosemary tagged in, but Allie ran away and tagged in the Undead Maid of Honor.
Rosemary easily got the upper hand and locked in the upside down choke. Allie and Grace tagged in. Grace dropped Allie with a German suplex and tagged in Hogan, who also went crazy over Allie, but she got caught in the ropes and the heels took control.
Back from commercial, Yung worked over Hogan. Allie tagged in and got a two count after a clothesline. Team Yung kept working on Hogan for a couple of minutes, getting a near submission and two counts in the process. Eventually, Hogan made a comeback on Allie and worked her way to tag Rosemary.
Rosemary finally had Allie for herself and dropped her with a reverse DDT. Every woman came in and hit their finishers on each other, leaving Rosemary and Allie at the end. Yung went for the mist, but she hit the Undead Maid of Honor instead.
Hogan took out Yung while Grace held Allie, allowing Rosemary to pin the Undead Maid of Honor and win the match.
Rosemary put a collar on Allie and dragged her to the back as James Mitchell had to hold off Yung.
Backstage, Glenn Gilbertti asked Konnan about Don Callis. Konnan instigated Gilbertti by telling him that Callis said he had been hired to become a mascot. Konnan told Gilbertti to go into a room and call out Callis. Gilbertti went in and saw a bald person, who he said his piece to, but the bald person turned out to be Killer Kross, who kicked Gilbertti’s butt.
Back from commercial, Gilbertti walked out from his beating. He was hallucinating and confusing people with Vince Russo, Jeff Jarrett, Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, and name dropping AEW. He finally found Scott D’Amore, who talked him down. Gilbertti walked out and joined Callis on commentary.
In the ring, Josh Mathews introduced Scarlett Bordeaux. Matthews asked about Bordeaux’s talent search, to which Bordeaux responded that none of the entries showed any potential to win a championship. Bordeaux made fun of Gilbertti wearing the turkey suit on Thanksgiving.
Gilbertti got in the ring and asked why Bordeaux would want to wrestle. He said that just by walking around she was the biggest deal, but the only thing that would happen if she wrestled is that she would just suck. Gilbertti said that women’s wrestling hasn’t been good since the last bra and panties match. Bordeaux, in the name of all women, slapped the misogynist Gilbertti.
Bordeaux challenged Gilbertti to her debut match. Gilbertti talked some more trash, telling Bordeaux to go home and do the dishes. He said if after all that she still wants to wrestle, he’ll be there waiting.
Disco Inferno and Scarlett Bordeaux just had one of the best angles I’ve seen in a while on TV — they were both great. I’m sold on that match, which takes place in three weeks on the Against All Odds special episode.
Rosemary, Hogan, and Grace dragged Allie outside. Rosemary told Hogan and Grace that she will take it from there. Grace agreed that they had only signed up to get Allie back. Hogan did not want to let Allie go until she got the old Allie back.
Melissa Santos interviewed Tessa Blanchard about a number one contender’s match she has against Grace. Blanchard said that Impact management is screwing her over for what she did to Gail Kim. Blanchard said that she will defeat Grace and get her rematch.
Impact Tag Team Champions The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix) defeated The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) in a non-title match
Fenix and Xavier started off, but not with the usual reversals and counters one would expect from them. Xavier tried to trick Fenix and caught him off guard with a superkick, but the Lucha Bros were on the top of their game and got control, getting a quick two count with the assisted wheelbarrow slam.
The Lucha Bros took out Wentz, leaving Xavier to take on both Penta and Fenix. He actually managed to dodge them, tossing Fenix into Pentagon with a spear. Wentz came in with a combo on Fenix, a huge running knee, and a springboard knee for a two count.
Fenix caught Wentz with some chops and tagged in Pentagon, who took out Wentz’s knee, but as he went to follow up, Wentz kicked him outside. Fenix went for a jump outside, but Wentz hit an uppercut and tossed him to his brother. Xavier hit an assisted senton over the ring post on both Lucha Bros.
Back in the ring, the Rascalz got a near fall after each guy hit a senton on Pentagon, but Fenix broke up the pin. Finally, after exchanging some strikes, Pentagon picked up the win on Wentz after the superkick and Penta Driver combo. Great short match — the Rascalz looked awesome in defeat.
Backstage, the Lucha Bros were greeted by Konnan. Pentagon and Fenix told Konnan to tell Santana and Ortiz to never touch their masks again. Konnan asked for the rematch, but the Lucha Bros told Konnan to wait.
Konnan said he wasn’t asking, he was telling them and that the next time he saw them, he wanted a date. Konnan walked away. Pentagon told Fenix that they’re not going to take orders from Konnan.
Overall, this was a great show. Impact Wrestling low-key made a big deal of International Women’s Day by putting their own female roster over and not just selling a women’s revolution. While the main event was great, the storyline developments of tonight were the stronger parts of the show.
Next week: Johnny Impact returns, oVe takes on Willie Mack, Rich Swann & Tommy Dreamer, and Tessa Blanchard and Jordynne Grace face off in a Knockouts Championship number one contender’s match.
