Trinity opened up about her friendship with Mercedes Mone and exit from WWE in a new interview.
The 35-year-old spoke to the NY Post ahead of her Knockouts title match at Slammiversary on Saturday. During the interview, she talked about the day she and Mone walked out on WWE and left a Raw taping on May 16, 2022.
“There was a lot that happened,” she said. ‘There was a lot that was said that ultimately led to me being put in a position and feeling like that was the best for me and what I needed to do. I still believe that. I still stand on that and that’s just what it is.”
“I just hope that through all of the drama and the rumors and the messiness that the one thing people do know about us is how much we care about women’s wrestling,” Fatu continued.
Trinity continued to say that it felt like she and Mone only had each other during that time.
“Me and her, we just had each other it felt like,” Fatu said. “Other than Tamina, Bayley checking in on us regularly, that was it. We just had each other going through that.
“Nobody understands the magnitude of what happened and what really went on and why we feel the way we feel and where we are but me and her and the people that were involved that day. It just goes to show how real our friendship is and how real all of this is.”
Since the pair left WWE, Mone has continued her wrestling career in NJPW and Stardom, while Trinity signed with Impact Wrestling. They’ve both traveled to watch the other perform but have not worked with each other in the ring since they were the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. However, Trinity said she’d love to work with Mone again sometime down the road.
“I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else other than her, whatever that is,” she said. “I’ll always do what’s best for her, what’s best for me, and what’s best for the business. And if it’s something that comes up that makes sense for the both of us, hell yeah!”
The Impact tapings this weekend will be Trinity’s fifth with the company. She debuted in April when the promotion was in Chicago. In May, she wrestled twice during a set of Impact TV tapings in London, ON, Canada. She took part in Impact’s tapings from Columbus, Ohio on June 9 & 10 as well and also traveled to Atlanta for a show from Center Stage on June 24. Trinity is undefeated in the promotion thus far, with a 4-0 record in singles matches and a 2-0 record in tag matches.
X-Division Champion Chris Sabin will defend his title against Trey Miguel in a rematch on next Thursday’s Impact Wrestling on AXS TV.
Sabin defeated Miguel to begin his ninth title reign at this month’s Against All Odds, ending Miguel’s second run in the process.
Trinity will continue her march to a Knockouts title shot at Slammiversary as she faces Jai Vidal in an intergender match. She called out Vidal, part of Gisele Shaw’s entourage, on Thursday’s show.
After declining to be on Thursday’s show due to threats from Impact World Champion Alex Shelley’s fans, Nick Aldis will be on hand to explain why he hit Shelley with the title belt last Thursday. He will challenge Shelley for the title at next month’s Slammiversary.
Next Thursday’s show will be filmed this weekend in Atlanta, Georgia.
Here’s the current lineup with more expected to be announced.
X-Division Champion Chris Sabin defends against Trey Miguel
Trinity vs. Jai Vidal
Nick Aldis will explain his actions from last week to Alex Shelley
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin will look for another successful title defense as he defends against Alex Shelley on Friday’s Against All Odds streaming special in Columbus, Ohio.
The next no. 1 contender will be made in the first-ever 8-4-1 match as Bully Ray, Jonathan Gresham, Heath & Nick Aldis take on Moose, Mike Bailey, Rich Swann & PCO. The winning team will immediately compete in a four-way with the winner challenging for the World title at Slammiversary.
In a pair of Under Siege rematches, X-Division Champion Trey Miguel will defend against Chris Sabin while Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defends against Dirty Dango.
Tag Team Champions Chris Bey & Ace Austin defend against The Good Hands while Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo teams with Slammiversary challenger Trinity against Gisele Shaw & Savannah Evans.
Other featured matches include Killer Kelly vs. Masha Slamovich in a dog collar match, Frankie Kazarian vs. Eddie Edwards, and a trios street fight.
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KiLynn King (w/Taylor Wilde) defeated Nevaeh on the Countdown to Against All Odds pre-show
From Dayton, Ohio, Nevaeh made her return to Impact Wrestling after two years.
King had the early advantage after the bell rang and Wilde was sure to maintain that advantage for her partner from the outside of the ring.
Nevaeh attempted to gain momentum several times but King eventually landed the King’s Curse to get the 1-2-3 after a short uneventful match.
– A video package aired focusing on the ongoing feud between Sami Callihan and The Design leading into their upcoming Ohio Street Fight later on tonight.
Joe Hendry defeated Dirty Dango to retain the Impact Digital Media title on the Countdown to Against All Odds pre-show
Director of Authority Santino Marella made his way to the ring to join commentary before the match began.
After Dango entered the ring, Hendry’s music hit and he came out with a mic, reintroducing fans to his “Divas Reject” music video.
After the bell rang, Hendry gained early momentum causing a frustrated Dango to the outside of the ring. Dango saw a fan with a t-shirt in the crowd and grabbed the shirt and tossed it in the face of Marella, disrespecting the DOA. Hendry went to the outside and landed a neckbreaker on the floor before both men returned to the ring.
Dango managed to gain the advantage after hitting some top rope offence but Hendry quickly had momentum on his side once again. Dango remained resilient and once again went to the top attempting to land the Down & Dirty but Hendry caught up with him.
After Hendry initially was able to stop Dango, he was shoved back down to the mat and Dango attempted the Down & Dirty once again but Hendry moved and Dango crashed and burned.
Hendry capitalized on the missed attempt by Dango, landed a massive suplex followed by the Standing Ovation to retain his Impact Digital Media title.
– A video package aired focusing on the upcoming Impact World title match between Steve Maclin and Alex Shelley.
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– A cold open opened the show tonight and honestly folks, Impact Wrestling does some of the best video packages in the business.
Frankie Kazarian defeated Eddie Edwards (w/Alisha)
It was hard to believe this was the first ever singles match between Kazarian and Edwards with their storied careers in Impact Wrestling and both being trained by the late Killer Kowalski.
After some back and forth in the beginning moments of the match, Kazarian looked to have gained control with a great neckbreaker before Edwards was able to send him to the outside where Alisha was waiting with a cheap shot.
Both men were back in the ring and Edwards had the momentum going his way as Alisha continued to help assist her husband from the outside. Kazarian attempted a comeback with a springboard off of the ropes but Edwards sent him to the outside instead and followed it up with a dive through the ropes.
Kazarian wouldn’t stay down however as his perseverance led him to landing a hurricanrana on Edwards over the top rope to the floor. Kazarian attempted to land his spinning legdrop off of the ropes but Alisha once again interfered in the match.
Kazarian followed up by landing the spinning legdrop but Edwards persevered himself and landed a Blue Thunder Bomb but only managed a two count. Kazarian followed up with a reverse piledriver but before he could get the three count, Alisha placed Edwards leg on the bottom rope. The referee caught her however and Alisha was ejected from ringside.
Both men attempted to recover at this point and after what looked like a botched three count by the referee, Kazarian was able to roll Edwards up for a real 1-2-3 for the victory.
ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) defeated The Good Hands (Jason Hotch & John Skyler w/Brian Myers) to retain the Impact World Tag Team titles
Bey and Skyler began the match and after some quick back and forth, Hotch and Austin were tagged in. Austin gained control before Hotch and Skyler resorted to heel tactics to gain the upperhand.
Quick tags were made by The Good Hands to keep Austin grounded but it didn’t last long as Ace was able to make the hot tag to a fired up Bey. Bey took out both Hotch and Skyler before nailing Hotch with the Code Red but only managed a two count.
A miscue by ABC sent momentum back in the way of The Good Hands but after Austin was sent to the outside taking out Myers, it was back and forth by both teams looking to gain that momentum needed to be tag team champions.
The Good Hands nailed Austin with a Magic Killer but Ace managed to kick out at two. Unfortunately for Hotch and Skyler, this would be the end of the night for them as far as offence went. Hotch was caught with the Art of Finesse before Austin nailed him with The Fold to give the champions another day with the titles.
– Backstage, Gia Miller was with Impact Knockouts World champion Deonna Purrazzo and Trinity. They made mention of their upcoming battle at Slammiversary but stated their focus tonight was Gisele Shaw and Savannah Evans.
Masha Slamovich defeated Killer Kelly in a Dog Collar Match
A match between two women that absolutely hated each other, locked in a dog collar with no disqualifications.
After it looked like an even matchup early on, it was all Slamovich with the referee even asking Kelly if she wanted to give up in the opening minutes of the match.
Kelly and Slamovich ended up on the outside of the ring and Slamovich continued her assault by pulling Kelly into the ring post before wrapping the chain around her neck and biting her in the process.
Slamovich dragged Kelly back into the ring but couldn’t capitalize any further as both women hit clotheslines on one another. After getting back on their feet, Kelly managed to gain much needed momentum by landing a running dropkick in the corner followed by a DDT.
Slamovich refused to give up and after landing back on the outside, she was able to hang Kelly over the top rope but Kelly refused to submit.
Back in the ring and Slamovich attempted the Snow Plow but couldn’t execute it. Kelly attempted to lock in her Killer Clutch but failed as well. Kelly was then able to hit a Snow Plow of her own but only managed a two count.
A frustrated Kelly looked to finish the match but before she could continue her momentum, Slamovich was able to lock the chain around the mouth of Kelly. Slamovich followed up by finally landing her Snow Plow to get a massive win over her arch nemesis.
After the match, Slamovich went eye-to-eye with Kelly and after looking like she was going to land a post-match assault, threw her dog collar down and left the ring.
– Backstage, Gia Miller was with the Motor City Machine Guns. Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin stated they were focused on winning titles at Against All Odds.
Chris Sabin defeated Trey Miguel to win the Impact X-Division title
This match had the potential to be a X-Division classic but the arrogance of Miguel wasn’t about to let that happen.
Both men went back and forth in the beginning as Sabin was gearing towards a ninth X-Division championship and after landing a spear onto the outside of the ring, it looked as though the title was about to change hands.
Miguel wouldn’t give in however and after trapping the leg of Sabin, he caught him in an amazing series of submission moves but Sabin was able to escape. Sabin followed up by hitting the Angel’s Wings but only managed a two count. Miguel followed it up with a Cradle Shock but Sabin kicked out at two as well.
Sabin followed up with an avalanche gut buster to Miguel on the top rope and then hit a Styles Clash but could only once again get a two count. Miguel started playing dirty at this point and after getting a can of spray taken away, sprayed a second can of spray paint to the eyes of Sabin but couldn’t get the win.
Sabin recovered and after hitting a massive clothesline, nailed the Cradle Shock to win his ninth X-Division title!
Bully Ray, Heath, Jonathan Gresham & Nick Aldis defeated Mike Bailey, Moose, PCO & Rich Swann in a 8-4-1 8-Man Tag Team Match
Bailey and Ray began the match but before they locked up, Ray tagged out to Gresham. After some back and forth between Bailey and Gresham, Heath and Swann were tagged in and before they locked up, an impromptu dance off took place.
Moose soon tagged himself in and immediately went to the opposite to confront Ray as the two have a heated history. Bailey was tagged back in as he was attempting to gain momentum for his team by climbing to the top rope, he was confronted by Ray and crotched in the process.
Bailey recovered and made the tag to PCO and the French-Canadian Frankenstein quickly started beating down on his opponents. As PCO went to nail his PCOsault to the ring apron, Moose tagged himself back into the match and shoved PCO off of the top rope.
Moose attempted to end the match with a spear to Gresham but ended up nailing his teammate Swann instead. Gresham then sent Moose to the outside and seeing a downed Swann, covered him for the 1-2-3 to help his team advance to a four-way match to determine who will face the Impact World champion at Slammiversary.
Nick Aldis defeated Bully Ray, Heath & Jonathan Gresham in a 8-4-1 4-Way Match
Gresham gained the early advantage coming off the win for his team moments before and after grounding Ray, he nailed Bully with a diving headbutt to the lower midsection thanks to help from Aldis and Heath.
Ray wouldn’t stay down however and after looking for plunder underneath the ring, he was soon confronted by a returning Scott D’Amore on the inside of the ring. Ray told D’Amore he didn’t have the guts to do anything and after Bully turned his back, D’Amore nailed him with a massive chair shot.
With Ray now down and out, the other three men looked to finish the match and move on to Slammiversary. Aldis would be the one to capitalize however and after locking Heath in the King’s Lynn Cloverleaf, Heath tapped out and we now had our new number one contender going into Slammivesary.
– Backstage, Gia Miller was with Impact World champion Steve Maclin. Maclin stated that while guys like Chris Sabin and Nick Aldis were victorious tonight, he was focused on defeating Alex Shelley in the main event.
Purrazzo and Shaw began the match and as you would have guessed it, there was no love lost as both women looked to rip each other apart.
Trinity was tagged in and commentary made reference to the fact that Trinity hasn’t lost a tag team match in her last twenty-three appearances. How about that?
After some back and forth action and quick tags by both teams, Trinity attempted to hit a move from the top rope but after some interference by Jai Vidal, she failed to land her aerial assault as it was broken up by Evans.
Purrazzo got the hot tag in and after locking in the Fujiwara Armbar on Shaw, Trinity landed the Rear View but they couldn’t put Shaw and Evans away. Trinity was taken out and after Purrazzo decided enough was enough, she locked Evans in a Magistral Cradle to gain the win for her team.
After the match, Shaw, Evans & Vidal attempted to destroy Purrazzo with running knee strikes by Shaw by Trinity was able to make the save.
oVe (Sami Callihan, Jake Crist & Madman Fulton) defeated The Design (Deaner, Angels & Kon) in an Ohio Street Fight
As expected, this match was all about chaos, punishment and weapons. Chairs, tables, mailboxes, staple guns and sunset flips were highlights of the opening moments of the match.
Callihan yelled at Fulton to “Get the wire!” and we were greeted with two tables full of barbed wire. Fulton attempted to launch Angels through one of the tables but Angels blocked the attempt and then followed up by nailing Fulton with a barbed wire strike of his own.
Crist and Angels both went to the top rope and after simultaneously jumping off the top, Crist nailed him with a massive Crist Cutter. He could only manage a two count however as Deaner made the save.
Tacks were brought out by Callihan and it was soon a massive trainwreck as Deaner, Kon, Fulton and Crist were all sent through the destruction of the tacks and tables.
Callihan nailed Deaner with his Cactus Driver ’97 but Deaner kicked out. Callihan followed up with a piledriver through one of the barbed wire tables and that was enough to put away the leader of The Design to gain a victory for the newly reformed oVe.
Alex Shelley defeated Steve Maclin to win the Impact World title
It was definitely power and aggression versus speed and technicality in this one.
With both men feeling each other out in the opening moments, Shelley attempted to lock in the Border City Stretch but Maclin was quick to roll to the outside.
Shelley followed up by attacking the left arm of Maclin, stomping on his elbow and locking in an armbar as well before Maclin was able to land a German suplex and take the match to the outside that included a dive through the ropes.
After both men were back in the ring, Shelley attempted to gain the advantage in the match but Maclin’s power game was way too strong and after landing a series of moves including a monstrous backbreaker, Maclin could only manage a two count on the challenger.
Shelley began to mount a comeback and after some near falls, Maclin soon found himself locked in an agonizing figure-four leglock before finally reaching the ropes, removing a turnbuckle pad in the process.
Maclin switched up momentum and after landing a psycho knee, he nailed a brainbuster. Maclin attempted to follow up with his Caught in the Crosshairs but failed. Shelley caught Maclin with a DDT to the apron followed by a Sliced Bread on the floor.
Back in the ring and Shelley went to deliver his Shell Shock but missed and Maclin nailed his KIA but only managed a two count. Both men went to the top rope and Shelley nailed Maclin with a Sliced Bread but again a two count.
Maclin rushed Shelley in the corner but missed and hit the exposed turnbuckle. Shelley looking to siege his moment, fought off Maclin’s attack and finally nailed the Shell Shock to capture his first Impact World title in a hell of a main event!
After the match, the new Impact X-Division champion Chris Sabin came down to the ring to celebrate with his Motor City Machine Guns partner.
Final Thoughts:
What a show!
My predictions on the event sucked but WOW the surprise results.
Sabin, Shelley and Aldis to name a few.
MCMG as individual champions in Impact Wrestling in 2023, forget about it! Impact pulling the trigger on Aldis this quickly, forget about it! Slamovich teasing a tag team with Kelly, forget about it!
I’ve loved Impact Wrestling since the mid-2000’s and 15+ years later and they keep solidifying my love as a fan. Do yourself a favour (that’s not a typo, I’m Canadian) and go out of your way to watch Against All Odds 2023 as the event was solid from start to finish.
With that being said, go out of your way to watch Frankie Kazarian, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin matches back in the day and realize how good they truly are.
Three new matches were announced Thursday for next Friday’s Impact Against All Odds.
The Impact Plus streaming special is set for Friday, June 9th from Columbus, Ohio.
After agreeing to a match for the Knockouts title at July’s Slammiversary, champion Deonna Purrazzo will team with Trinity against Gisele Shaw and Savannah Evans. Shaw and Evans jumped Purrazzo and Trinity Thursday after Trinity’s win over Evans to set things in motion.
In a rematch from last month’s Under Siege, Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry will defend against Dirty Dango.
For the first time ever in a singles match, Eddie Edwards will take on Frankie Kazarian. This was also made Thursday after Edwards refused to shake Yuya Uemura’s hand after a win. After Edwards and his wife, Alisha, attempted to take him out, Kazarian left both laying.
Here’s the current card with one week to go:
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin defends against Alex Shelley
8-4-1 match for Impact World title shot: Nick Aldis, Bully Ray, Jonathan Gresham, Heath, Moose, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Rich Swann, and PCO
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defends against Chris Sabin
Masha Slamovich vs. Killer Kelly in a dog collar match
Impact Tag Team Champions ABC (Chris Bey & Ace Austin) defend against The Good Hands (John Skyler & Jason Hotch)
Deonna Purrazzo & Trinity vs. Gisele Shaw & Savannah Evans
Eddie Edwards vs. Frankie Kazarian
Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defends against Dirty Dango
Less than a month after making her promotional debut, Trinity called her shot for an Impact Knockouts title match and is getting it on a big stage.
Trinity, the former Naomi in WWE, will take on current champion Deonna Purrazzo at Slammiversary on Saturday, July 15th in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
This will be their first-ever encounter.
Following her win over Savannah Evans Thursday, Trinity called out Purrazzo and the champion came to the ring to answer. Trinity challenged her for a title match at Slammiversary and Purrazzo said, “Let’s dance.”
Afterward, Evans, Gisele Shaw and Jai Vidal attacked Trinity and Purrazzo before Jordynne Grace came out to attempt to make the save before getting laid out herself.
Trinity and Purrazzo will face Evans and Shaw next Thursday.
Trinity is a former two-time WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion and will be looking for her first taste of Impact gold. Purrazzo is in her third reign as Knockouts Champion.
It’s the first match announced for one of the company’s biggest pay-per-views of the year.
Thursday’s Impact Wrestling on AXS TV will feature the fallout from last Friday’s Under Siege.
Bully Ray will make his return to Thursday nights for the first time since losing to Tommy Dreamer in a Hardcore War match. He made his promotional return at Under Siege, joining Impact World Champion Steve Maclin in putting company president Scott D’Amore through a flaming table.
Trinity (the former Naomi in WWE) will look to remain undefeated in Impact as she takes on Savannah Evans.
Dani Luna of Subculture and formerly WWE NXT UK will make her Impact in-ring debut as she battles the undefeated Jody Threat.
After making his return last Friday, Jake Crist will team with Sami Callihan to battle Decay’s Black Taurus & Crazzy Steve.
In the follow-up from Friday’s six-way no. 1 contender’s match, Eddie Edwards goes one-on-one with Yuya Uemura.
The BTI pre-show will feature Brian Myers vs. Tyler Tirva.
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Brian Myers defeated Tyler Tirva
Myers gave Tirva a lot in this match, and he might be a guy looking at bringing in at some point given his quality performance in this match.
Impact Wrestling
The show opened with a video recap of Deonna Purrazzo defeating Jordynne Grace, and Maclin defeating PCO before attacking Scott D’Amore.
–Bully Ray came down to the ring to open the show. Ray claimed to be the most hated man in the business, but given the heat Don Callis got on Dynamite last night, I think he would be at the top of that list. Ray talked about how he has pout people through tables his whole career, but when he is really upset, he lights the table on fire.
Ray claimed that putting D’Amore through the flaming table brought him great pleasure, and it was one of the best nights of his life. Ray said that he was going nowhere, and he was going to win the 8-4-1 match at Against All Odds and become the #1 Contender before going on to Slammiversary to win the Impact World Championship.
Steve Maclin came out and insisted that Bully Ray only took out Scott D’Amore because Maclin allowed him to do it. Ray admitted that Maclin was the world champ, and acknowledged that Maclin did. Maclin pointed out that there was something everyone was wondering – would Ray and Maclin team up and continue doing whatever they wanted? Either way, Maclin said that if Ray won the match at Against All Odds, he would be happy to defend the title against him.
The Motor City Machine Guns came out, and Alex Shelley reminded Ray that he was the #1 contender to the world championship, and he was going to win the title at Against All Odds. Ray admitted that Shelley was a great pro wrestler, saying that he should be mentioned in the same breath as the best wrestlers in the world, but that he could never win the big one.
Chris Sabin reminded Bully Ray that he said all that stuff to him 10 years ago, and Sabin beat him for the world title. Maclin accused Shelley of overlooking him, and Shelley said he was sure he could beat Maclin. Maclin asked him what made him so sure, and Shelley said that Maclin wasn’t Josh Alexander, and that if he didn’t get injured, Alexander would still be champion.
As Sabin and Shelley challenged Bully Ray and Maclin to a match, Ray denied them the fight tonight. Subculture came out. Mark Andrews took the mic and said that they wanted a match against the Motor City Machine Guns since Ray and Maclin didn’t want to fight, so MCMG accepted. This was a long 20 minute promo segment that probably could have been compressed into 6 or 7 minutes, but it was good.
Eddie Edwards (w/ Alisha Edwards) defeated Yuya Uemura
Uemura had the advantage in the early portion of the match when they went to a break, and when they came back Edwards was in control. I hate how they get the heat during the ad breaks sometimes, as it was something WWE did all the time. That said, they at least showed a replay with Alisha Edwards tripping Uemura.
Edwards continued trying to wear Uemura down with hard strikes, but Uemura picked up the pace and hit the ropes hard several times before hitting a flying forearm that left Edwards reeling. Uemura hit a Saito suplex for a 2-count. Uemura went for a flying crossbody, but Edwards got a knee up and hit a tiger driver for a 2-count. Edwards got up and hit the Boston knee party for the win right after.
–Eddie Edwards refused to shake Uemura’s hand, so Frankie Kazarian came out and said that it was disrespectful to not shake Uemura’s hand. Edwards grabbed Kazarian, so Kazarian dropped him, and Alisha Edwards jumped on his back. Kazarian shook her off and left the Edwards family laying the mat. Weird way to end that angle. I would have had Edwards beat Kazarian down for some heat to build to a match.
Sami Callihan & Jake Crist defeated Decay (Crazzy Steve & Black Taurus)
This was a nothing match, over in less than 2 minutes, with Crist hitting a Crist Cutter on Steve for the win.
–After the match, The Design came to ringside and Kon chokeslammed both Crist and Callihan, and the never ending feud of doom continued, with Deaner hitting the antidote, a DDT, on Crist. Rich Swann ran down to make the save, holding a chair, and The Design left the ring.
–Rich Swann, Crist, and Callihan were backstage, and Swann said he was not available for the match against The Design at Against All Odds because he was in the 8-4-1 match. Callihan said something about a doctor calling a monster, so it seems to me that it’ll likely be PCO as Callihan and Crist’s tag partner, though PCO is also in the 8-4-1 match, so it must be someone else.
Trinity defeated Savannah Evans (w/ Gisele Shaw & Jai Vidal)
This was quite short, and basically both of them just doing moves with little story. Evans did a few, Trinity would do one or two, then Evans would take a turn. Not a lot of psychology, but given it was a short match it didn’t really matter. A simple match to showcase what Trinity can do, as she got to hit all her high spots.
Evans used power moves to control Trinity in the early part of the match, including hitting a pop up power bomb for a 2-count. Trinity managed to turn it around, hitting a heat seeker on Evans who was draped across the middle ropes. Trinity hit a springboard into a kick and a bulldog into the middle turnbuckle before hitting a flying crossbody off the top rope. Evans hit a sidewalk slam. Trinity from the corner hit a sunset flip into Star Struck for the submission win.
–Trinity grabbed a mic and said that she promised to wait until Under Siege, but she wanted her shot at the Knockouts Championship. Deonna Purrazzo came out, said that she was the one Trinity was looking for. Trinity made a challenge for the title at Slammiversary, and Purrazzo accepted.
Gisele Shaw and Evans attacked Purrazzo and Trinity from behind. Jai Vidal knocked Purrazzo out with a purse, and Shaw took the purse and knocked out Trinity. Jordynne Grace ran down to make the save, and Shaw nailed Grace with the purse before hitting two running knees to the face. Shaw commanded Evans and Vidal to pick Grace up, and Shaw hit a 3rd knee, seemingly writing Grace off the show.
Jody Threat defeated Dani Luna
Very hard hitting match here. Luna looked very good, and Jody Threat seems to be settling into being on TV well.
Jody Threat took a lot of this match, hitting hard strikes, a clothesline in the corner, and a suplex that dropped Luna for a 2-count. Luna dodged a baseball slide and hit a knee to the face of Threat. Luna hit an impressive dead lift suplex on Threat. Threat hit a Cactus style clothesline to the floor on Luna, before hitting a flipping senton off the apron to the floor.
Threat hit a big Michinoku driver on Luna for a 2-count. Threat ate a lariat and power bomb from Luna, which got a reaction from the crowd. Threat kicked out, and soon hit a German suplex before hitting a torture rack bomb for the pinfall.
–Joe Hendry was backstage with Santino and Hendry talked about getting revenge on Dango. Kenny King and Sheldon Jean walked up and reminded everyone that Jean broke Hendry’s nose, and Santino made the match for next week on Impact, while booking Dango against Joe Hendry at Against All Odds as well.
–Killer Kelly cut a promo, talking about how if you put two animals in a cage that they instinctively fight, but if you put a chain around the neck of two humans, they fight like dogs. She invited Masha Slamovich to give into their violent impulses at Against All Odds.
Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) defeated Subculture (Mark Andrews & Flash Webster Morgan)
It really isn’t a shock saying this again, but the Motor City Machine Guns are just so good. I wish we could see them in the main event mix with guys like FTR and the Young Bucks in AEW. Their matches with the Bucks and the Briscoes in ROH were always fantastic. They make every show they are on better. Subculture looked fantastic in this one too, and I hope they really do get a deal somewhere soon.
This, of course, was a slow and plodding match. I am kidding, of course, as all 4 wrestlers moved so fast it was hard to keep track of. Sabin and Shelley being able to keep this level of work up for so long is really quite incredible, and Webster and Andrews were keen to show they belonged there as well with two of the greats of the last 20 years.
Andrews is familiar with Impact audiences, due to his time there year ago, but this seems like a new version of him with Webster. Subculture hit stereo tope suicidas to the floor to the delight of the crowd, but MCMG hit a series of quick double team offence once they got back in the ring, ending with Shelley hitting a bulldog and clothesline at the same time.
Shelley pulled Andrews into a surfboard stretch and Sabin hit the ropes and hit a bulldog on the prone Andrews. Sabin and Shelley hit a magic killer on Andrews a few minutes later for a 2-count. Shelley nailed Andrews with a clothesline and then he and Sabin hit a doomsday dropkick, but Andrews popped back up after eating it and hit a headbutt on Sabin. MCMG hit a double big boot in the corner on Andrews, but Andrews blocked the cradle shock and hit the Stundog Millionaire. MCMG hit a cutter on Andrews, and then soon thereafter hit a dirt bomb on Webster. What a match.
Final Thoughts
This was an angle heavy show, but given that there are only 2 weeks between two major live events, I understand why. That said, I wouldn’t book two live events that far apart. Hopefully they do not do that next year. This show was not much about the wrestling, and a lot more about setting up Against All Odds, which is fine. The main event more than made up for that with a fantastic tag match.
Next week’s Impact Wrestling:
Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Coven defend against The Death Dollz
Moose & Rich Swann vs. Nick Aldis & Jonathan Gresham
New Impact Against All Odds matches:
Impact Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry defends against Dirty Dango
Eddie Edwards vs. Frankie Kazarian
Gisele Shaw & Savannah Evans vs. Deonna Purrazzo & Trinity
New Slammiversary match:
Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo defends against Trinity
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
**********
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.
Wrestling Observer Live Saturday with Jim Valley is back.
Whether it’s CM Punk, Sasha Banks, Trinity, or others, there’s a trend of modern pro wrestlers walking away if they are unhappy with an aspect of their career or their position in the company. How will wrestling companies adapt?
Also, Smackdown, Rampage, AEW Collision, Superstar Billy Graham and more.
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
After a year away from in-ring action, Trinity (the former Naomi in WWE) will make her Impact Wrestling debut on tonight’s AXS TV show.
She will face KiLynn King, one half of Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Coven along with Taylor Wilde. Trinity laid King out last Thursday as she came to the aid of Deonna Purrazzo and Jordynne Grace after The Coven attacked them.
In a preview of next Friday’s six-way no. 1 contender’s match at Under Siege, Moose, Eddie Edwards & Franke Kazarian will team up against Alex Shelley, Yuya Uemura & Jonathan Gresham.
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel will face Laredo Kid in a non-title match ahead of his title defense against Chris Sabin at Under Siege.
Ace Austin, one half of the Impact Tag Team Champions, will face Jason Hotch of The Good Hands in singles action.
The BTI pre-show will see The Design’s Kon & Deaner take on Zicky Dice & Johnny Swinger.
**********
Before the Impact:
George Iceman revealed that Dango and Joe Hendry narrowed down the culprit about who attacked Santino.
The Design (Deaner & Kon) (w/ Angels) defeated Johnny Swinger & Zicky Dice
Swinger was an excellent babyface in this match as Deaner and Kon got the heat on him. His selling was fantastic and the crowd actually really got into wanting them to make a comeback. Of course, Dice died after a power bomb from Kon and a DDT from Deaner for the win.
Main Show:
After recapping what happened last week, Impact went directly to Trey Miguel’s entrance.
Impact X-Division Champion Trey Miguel defeated Laredo Kid in a non-title match
This was a great opening match. Miguel and Laredo Kid are both fantastic wrestlers, and I hope we get to see more of these two in the future.
Kid and Miguel had a quick start to the match, with Miguel trying to run away on the floor, and Kid hitting a suicide dive through the ropes at the corner to hit Miguel. As they fought around the ring, Miguel hit a tiger feint kick around the apron onto Kid, who was standing, causing Kid’s legs to be swept out from under him. That was cool.
Miguel and Kid hat some fast exchanges, ending with Kid hitting a flipping DDT on Trey Miguel for a 2-count. Kid hit a few strikes and went for a Michinoku driver, but Miguel slipped out and hit an enziguri. Kid countered at lightning spiral but almost hit the referee. As he turned around, Miguel ripped off Kid’s mask and rolled him up for the pinfall. Excellent match.
Miguel grabbed a mic and trash talked Chicago, saying he was a generational talent, but no one respects him as much as they should. Miguel then said he was going to stay in the ring until everyone respected him. Chris Sabin came out to stop the protest.
Sabin said that Miguel only gets what he gives, and he disrespected the championship by spray painting it. Sabin said he disrespected everyone who held the title, from AJ Styles, to Josh Alexander. Sabin said he was going to show Miguel respect by saying to his face that he was going to beat him at Under Siege to become the first ever 9-time X-Division champion. Miguel walked away dejected. This was really good.
– Trinity was backstage warming up and Jai Vidal walked up, saying the picture he took with her last week got him in trouble with Gisele Shaw. Trinity said that if Shaw had a problem with it, there was an opening for a match at Under Siege. Vidal said that he would tell Shaw.
– A fantastic interview aired with Rich Swann and Sami Callihan talking about their history on the indies and how long they have been friends, and even when they fought, they had respect for each other. Their relationship is why Swann is standing with him now against The Design.
Jason Hotch (w/ John Skylar & Brian Myers) defeated Ace Austin (w/ Chris Bey)
Good match here, showing that if Jason Hotch was indeed a good hand, and if given time, he’ll use it to get over.
Hotch is a good worker, and kept up with Austin well. Both guys started fast, with Hotch starting to get heat after a blue thunder bomb for a 2-count. Austin responded with a forearm and a few strikes, ending with a knee and going for a spin kick that Hotch ducked. Austin did a head scissors into a side Russian leg sweep for a 2-count.
Austin squeezed Hotch’s head between his angles, jumped into the air, and drove it down into the mat. As Austin signaled for the fold, Myers got on the apron to distract the referee. John Skylar pulled Austin from the ring, leading to Chris Bey running over, launching himself off the back of Austin, and kicking Skylar. That was cool.
As Austin recovered and came back in the ring, he ran into a standing Spanish fly from Hotch for a 2-count. Austin slipped out of a torture rack and hit an O’Connor roll, but Hotch kicked out and as Austin went to the rope, Myers punched him, and Hotch rolled Austin up for the win.
– Steve Maclin was backstage and said Shera and Champagne Singh proved their worth last week, attacking Heath. They were back in his good graces, but needed to follow his orders. They agreed.
– Jordynne Grace was confronted backstage by Alisha Edwards, who mocked her for losing last week. Grace scared Edwards off by feinting a punch, and it looks like we’re going to get a match between the two soon.
Trinity defeated KiLynn King (w/ Taylor Wilde)
This was a great match for Trinity. King did a phenomenal job in this one helping Trinity look great. Trinity did very well working a non-WWE style match, as this was a bit more hard hitting than you would normally get, especially with King. Good stuff.
Trinity got a great reaction from the audience as the bell rang, Trinity was all over King in the early part of the match, dodging everything King tried, and hit a splitting leg drop on King for a 2-count. Trinity hit the ropes, but Wilde caught her foot, leading to King attacking from behind and then hitting a big boot that dropped Trinity hard.
King managed to keep Trinity from making comebacks, hitting hard strikes and chops. King did some sort of finger wagging pose at Wilde, and Wilde started swinging wildly at the air. I don’t know why Wilde flailed at the air around her, but it was funny. Wilde choked Trinity on the ropes behind the referee’s back. The referee finally caught them cheating and sent Wilde to the back, while Trinity fought King off as they were on the ropes. Trinity hit a nice crossbody on King for a 2-count.
Trinity hit a blockbuster off the top rope, which she should use as a finish as it looked awesome, but King kicked out. King fired up and hit some strikes in the corner and then a powerslam. Trinity low bridged King, and then hit a heatseaker as King was draped over the middle ropes for a 2-count. King fought through some forearms and punches before hitting a Death Valley Driver for a 2-count. King went for the Excalibuster, but Trinity flipped out and rolled into starstruck, getting the submission on King.
Jai Vidal came out and said Shaw accepted Trinity’s challenge before trying to hit a slap. Trinity blocked the slap, said that she would see Shaw at Under Siege, and then kicked Vidal in the head. I liked this.
– Maclin, Singh, and Shera ran into PCO backstage and they started brawling which resulted in Shera hitting a chokeslam onto the floor (covered lightly by cardboard boxes) before putting two blocks of concrete onto the back of PCO and breaking it with a sledgehammer. PCO screamed about the pain in his back.
– Jessicka was backstage with the hourglass Rosemary gave her. Wilde and King walked up and offered to open the door to the undead realm for her, but Jessicka noted that Rosemary said they were not powerful enough to open the door. King said Rosemary wasn’t always right. Jessicka pointed out Wilde wasn’t either, since she couldn’t foresee King losing the match against Trinity. They did not like this. Neither did I, to be honest. The segment, that is.
Jody Threat defeated Sierra
I just saw Sierra on NWA Power, which was also filmed in Chicago, and she showed her ability to bump well here too, as Threat squashed Sierra hitting a German suplex and a F416.
– Frankie Kazarian was backstage and Eddie Edwards walked up to him, saying that they had to get along tonight if they were going to win. Edwards suggested that Kazarian follow his lead, and Kazarian said that it wasn’t a problem, but he hoped it would go better than Honor No More did.
– Dango was backstage with Zicky Dice and Johnny Swinger. Dice was trying to hand a bottle full of urine to Dango for his drug test. Dango admitted after wrestling Swinger and Dice that they were totally incompetent, and completely incapable of attacking Santino. Swinger nodded and agreed.
Swinger & Dice accused Joe Hendry, who appeared as his name was said. Dango said that it had to be Joe Hendry because he tried to steal Dango’s spotlight. Hendry went to walk away, and Dango pulled him back, so they scuffled, and Dango’s shirt got ripped off, and he had a patch of hair missing on his chest, meaning Dango attacked Santino. Dango then drove Hendry into the wall as Swinger ran away and screamed, “Call the bossman, man!” The announcers claimed that no one saw this coming. I did.
Jonathan Gresham, Yuya Uemura & Alex Shelley defeated Moose, Frankie Kazarian & Eddie Edwards (w/ Alisha Edwards)
This was an awesome, non-stop action, main event. No pun intended on the old TNA name. Really fantastic stuff here. All six guys got to showcase what they can do, and every one of them looked like they could win at any moment, which is what you want out of these matches to setup their 6-way match at Under Siege.
Eddie Edwards was the victim of the babyface team in the opening parts of the match, as they showed solid teamwork, including Alex Shelley sending Moose into a front headlock on Edwards, and then clotheslining Edwards so he accidentally hit a DDT on Moose. That was fun. Moose decided he had enough and attacked Shelley on the floor, finally letting his team get some offence.
Edwards reluctantly tagged in Kazarian, who hit a few moves on Shelley before chopping Moose to tag in. Moose continued the assault on Shelley. Kazarian tried to keep his team honest, by asking for clean tags, but Edwards and Moose largely ignored him unless the referee is looking. Shelley almost got away from Edwards, but Edwards grabbed a sleeper. Shelley hit a knee breaker on Edwards to break it, but Edwards responded with a Boston knee party and chopped Kazarian hard to tag in.
Kazarian went for an unprettier, but Shelley hit a flatliner on Kazarian and tagged out to Uemura, who went wild, hitting uppercuts and throwing Moose and Edwards all over the ring. Uemura hit a back suplex and got a 2-count on Edwards. Edwards managed a blue thunder bomb and tagged out to Moose. Moose hit a backbreaker and a huge powerbomb on Uemura for a 2-count. Moose missed a spear and Gresham tagged in, hitting dropkicks to the knees of Moose, hyper extending the knee, forcing Moose to tag out to Kazarian.
Gresham went for a dropkick to the knee of Kazarian, and Kazarian jumped and hit a leg drop as he was in midair. That was awesome. Shelley and Kazarian got in the ring, and Kazarian put the chicken wing on Shelley, who drove Kazarian back to his corner. Edwards blind tagged in, breaking the submission. Edwards hit a backpack stunner on Shelley, but Uemura made the save.
Kazarian hit a backstabber on Uemura. Gresham hit a high angle German suplex on Kazarian. Moose tried to powerbomb Gresham on the floor, but he slipped out and was sent into a flying crossbody, Tanahashi style, from Uemura onto Moose. Edwards and Kazarian got into a fight in the ring, and Kazarian hit a lariat on Edwards, leading to Shelley hitting Shellshock on Edwards for the win.
Final Thoughts:
This was a really great episode of Impact tonight with very little that stood out as bad. Really good matches, solid angles, and a good build towards Under Siege. I couldn’t ask for more.
After getting physical on last Thursday’s Impact on AXS TV, Trinity will have her first match in her new home on this Thursday’s show.
The former Naomi will take on KiLynn King in her first in-ring action since last May in WWE. She and Sasha Banks walked out of the company due to a dispute over creative direction.
Trinity came out to aid Deonna Purrazzo and Jordynne Grace following their Thursday loss to Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Coven (King & Taylor Wilde). She hit King with the Rearview to help put this into motion.
Trinity will also compete at this month’s Under Siege streaming special in an open challenge.
King will be looking for her first singles win in Impact (0-3).
Here’s the current lineup for Thursday:
Trinity vs. KiLynn King
Moose, Eddie Edwards & Frankie Kazarian vs. Alex Shelley, Jonathan Gresham & Yuya Uemura
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel vs. Laredo Kid in a non-title match
Trinity will be in Impact Wrestling through at least July of this year.
The former WWE star, who made her debut on last Thursday’s Impact on AXS TV in a promo segment, shared her schedule on social media Tuesday, revealing dates through the post-Slammiversary TV taping in July.
To no surprise, she will be part of their monthly streaming specials which includes this month’s Under Siege, June’s Against All Odds, and July’s Slammiversary pay-per-view. Additionally, she will be at five TV tapings throughout the summer.
Trinity, the former Naomi in WWE, issued an open challenge for Under Siege on May 26th in London, Ontario, Canada.
It is still unknown how long her contract with Impact Wrestling is for as some wrestlers have shorter deals while others sign multi-year pacts. This, however, doesn’t confirm her deal only runs through late-July.
In last Thursday’s promo, she made her intentions known that she is coming for the Knockouts title. Current champion Deonna Purrazzo came out to confront her which also brought out former champion and Purrazzo’s next title challenger Jordynne Grace.
Trinity will have her debut match on Impact on AXS in the next few weeks.
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
For the first time in a year, Trinity will appear on national TV as she makes her Impact Wrestling debut Thursday on AXS TV.
The former Naomi in WWE, she will be on hand to cut an in-ring promo to announce her intentions.
The build to Impact World Champion Steve Maclin and PCO’s match at Under Siege continues as Maclin teams with Champagne Singh and Shera against PCO and two mystery partners.
Jonathan Gresham and “Speedball” Mike Bailey will lock horns for the fourth time in Impact as their friendly rivalry continues.
Jody Threat will look to remain unbeaten in Impact as she faces Alisha Edwards while Sami Callihan and Deaner are expected to have an in-ring confrontation.
As part of the fallout from Hardcore War last month, Moose and Brian Myers will team up to take on Yuya Uemura and Bhupinder Gujjar.
Laredo Kid vs. Jack Price will be on the BTI pre-show.
**********
Laredo Kid defeated Jack Price
It’s nice to see Kid back doing well after the serious injury he had awhile back. Kid looked fantastic, and Price worked very hard to make him look good too. Solid match for the preshow.
Moose & Brian Myers defeated Bhupinder Gujjar & Yuya Uemura
This was a good opening tag that saw Moose and Myers give a lot to Uemura and Gujjar, before getting the clean win. Gujjar is slowly improving, though still quite green.
Uemura and Gujjar had a good start to this match, sending Myers flying over the top rope into a flip dive on his own partner, and then hit stereo topes to the floor on Moose and Myers. Uemura hit a nice bulldog off the middle ropes on Moose. Gujjar and Uemura showed some great offence, almost beating the two more experienced wrestlers, but after Gujjar managed to send Myers to the floor, Moose hit a spear out of nowhere for the win.
–Steve Maclin was backstage with Champagne Singh and Sheera, as Gia Miller walked up and asked about their upcoming 6-man tag against PCO. Maclin said that PCO wouldn’t be able to find partners, while he is establishing alliances.
–Dango was backstage with a murder board trying to figure out who attacked Santino last week. This included images of Tyler Breeze with “Dirty cop?” written underneath it, Tomko, and Dango’s belief that Mike Tenay was responsible. Joe Hendry showed up and said that the likely candidate was Trey Miguel given he hasn’t been getting along with Santino lately. Dango called Hendry his best friend while side eyeing the picture of Tyler Breeze. A hint? Or just wackiness? Or both? Time will tell.
–The Design entered after Callihan and informed Callihan that the match would not be against Deaner, but against Kon. Kon attacked Callihan before the bell, chokeslaming him.
Sami Callihan defeated Kon (w/ The Design) via DQ
This was a poor match, but not due to Callihan.
Callihan quickly got back in the fight, low bridging Kon and then hitting a kick from the apron. Kon caught a second kick and pulled Callihan’s leg out from under him causing him to crash into the apron. As the came back from break, Kon was hitting a legdrop on Callihan for a 2-count. Kon did WWE big man offence, with bear hugs and rest holds, which slowed the match down considerably.
Callihan turned around in the bear hug and punched Kon in the face, ripped Kon’s shirt off, hit some hard chops, and then hit an impressive Death Valley Driver on Kon. Angels tried to distract Callihan, but Callihan brought him into the ring to distract the referee. As the referee was dealing with Angels, Callihan low blowed Kon before smiling and inviting Deaner to come into the ring. Deaner signaled and a ton of men in yellow sweaters, the Army of Violence, to attack Callihan.
–Dango and Hendry interviewed Trey Miguel, who insisted he was innocent. Hendry examined his head for missing hair and determined it couldn’t be him. Dango was conspicuously wearing a hat, and Miguel pointed out Dango had the most motivation to attack Santino as it elevated him to director of authority, which I don’t think it is how it works.
–Jimmy Jacobs was with Nick Aldis, and Aldis talked about wanting to climb the ladder up to face Steve Maclin. Kenny King walked in and was skeptical. Aldis said King was acting like a gatekeeper, so Aldis challenged him to a match. King said that Aldis needed to work his way up to him, denying the match for now.
Jody Threat defeated Alisha Edwards
Edwards immediately slapped Threat. Threat responded with knees and a hard kick. Threat hit a shoulder tackle and a slap, in a bit of revenge. Threat dumped Edwards onto the middle rope and went for double knees to the back, but Edwards moved, sending Threat into the ropes. After a brief time of offense, Threat went back to the double knees before hitting the F416 for the pinfall.
–The Motor City Machine Guns were backstage with Gia Miller, and Sabin talked about how he has done it all in Impact, and he wanted to win the X-Division title for a 9th time, hopefully dethroning Treg Miguel. Alex Shelley said folks were asking him what was next since Sabin was chasing the X-Division title, and Shelley said, “I guess I’ll go win the World title.” Shelley heading back into the world title picture would be a delight. This is a good answer to the injuries in the main event scene, since Shelley is a good promo, great worker, and guy that can always main event a show when called upon.
–The second part of the in depth interview with Frankie Kazarian continued, as he talked about his time in ROH and how he helped found AEW with the Young Bucks, Christopher Daniels, and Cody, before returning to Impact and taking a chance on himself. I am not sure you can keep doing interviews like this and not make Kazarian champion at some point. It is the perfect story, and as his last major run, it would be fantastic to see him get a World title run.
PCO, Rhino, & Heath defeated Steve Maclin, Champagne Singh, and Sheera
This was a fun 6-man tag. The crowd was into everything that the babyface did.
PCO was prepared to fight all 3 men himself, but Rhino and Heath came out to join him, since they have their own issues with Singh and Sheera lately. Singh tried to overpower Rhino. This did not go well. Rhino tagged in Heath, who hit an axe handle to the arm on Singh. Maclin tagged in and beat on Heath for a bit before Heath was able to hit a powerslam on Maclin, leading to the hot tag to PCO.
PCO took everyone out as Maclin rolled to the floor to get away. PCO hit a DDT on Singh before hitting a cannonball through the middle ropes on Singh. PCO hit the Deanimator off the top rope onto the apron, crushing Singh like he did last week. Sheera and Maclin mauled PCO, and Maclin called the shots, getting Singh and Sheera to put PCO on the top rope. As they tried to attack, PCO slipped off the turnbuckle, took them both out, and faced off with Maclin. Maclin fled to the outside and ate a gore from Rhino. Heath hit the wake up call on Singh as he tried to buy off PCO, sending money flying everywhere. PCO then hit a moonsault on Singh for the pinfall.
–The Coven were in an unknown area, with Taylor Wilde carving something into a candle. She said that when the candle disappeared, so would Jordynne Grace & Deonna Purrazzo. I somehow doubt that will happen.
–Rosemary & Jessicka were backstage, and they summoned James Mitchell. Mitchell said The Coven was not powerful enough to keep Rosemary from the dark realm, but he could guide her directly into it. Rosemary didn’t trust him, but believed she didn’t have any other options. Jessicak wanted to come along, but Rosemary said that the last thing they needed was for her to get kidnapped. Rosemary gave Jessicka an hourglass and then said by the time it ran out, they would be back.
Jonathan Gresham defeated Mike Bailey
What a match. These guys could be generational rivals given how well they work together. Gresham and Bailey looked great throughout their series of matches, with Gresham getting the win to take the lead in the series for now. I suspect we’ll see them clash again down the line in another classic. One of the best parts of these matches was that every one of them were different.
The fans gave a huge ovation for Bailey and Gresham, showing that the series of great matches they had thus far have been appreciated. Gresham and Bailey quickly picked up where they left off with Miguel causing a no contest in their last one, with Gresham getting a headscissors locked on Bailey. After a stalemate, but men locked up and got caught in the ropes.
As they came back from break both men were exchanging shoulder tackles before Bailey hit a kick to drop Gresham. Gresham targeted the left arm of Bailey in this match, changing tactics from targeting the knee previously. Gresham did have to face some kicks, and then an unexpected armbar from Bailey that almost got the submission.
Bailey kept up with the submission before getting back to his feet, hitting a moonsault double knees, and then transitioning immediately back to an armbar that Gresham countered into a pinfall attempt. Bailey hit a series of kicks and then went over the top rope to hit double knees on Gresham, who was on the apron. Bailey then hit a triangle moonsault to the floor that Kota Ibushi would be proud of.
Gresham went back to the arm back in the ring, but Bailey continued his assault with a pump kick and standing Spanish fly. Bailey went for Ultima Weapon, but Gresham moved and countered into the Octopus stretch on Bailey to get a quick submission due to the arm submission.
–Sami Callihan was backstage admitting that he did the stupid thing trying to take on The Design on his own. He was asking for help from Rich Swann, saying that they have been family for years, and Swann was saying that this isn’t the first time that Callihan got him in trouble. Callihan left Swann with some things to think about, asking clearly for help, which is not something he usually does.
–Steve Maclin was backstage with Scott D’Amore, and he demanded D’Amore handle what Rhino did to him. D’Amore handled it by booking him against Rhino next week for the Impact World Championship.
–Trinty made her Impact debut to close the show to a fantastic reaction from the audience. Impact did a great job making this feel like a huge deal, and having her close the show also puts a lot of trust in her, showing they see her as a huge star. This was awesome. Trinity put over the Impact Knockouts division, and said she has wanted to be a part of it for years. Trinity said she was looking forward to fighting all the women the division had to offer, and that she was coming for the Knockouts Championship.
Deonna Purrazzo made her entrance, and welcomed Trinity to Impact. Purrazzo said that when they stepped into the ring together, Trinity wouldn’t be able to walk out on it. Trinity fired back, saying that Purrazzo would wish she got fired again. Jordynne Grace came down to the ring, and said it was feeling hot out there because of the heat between those two.
Grace indicated that everyone wanted to see them wrestle, but Grace was still in line first for the Knockouts title. Grace said the title was hers, so Trinity would have to face Grace first. Trinity made it very clear that no matter who was champion, they would have to face her next. The dialogue was a bit forced at points, but this was an excellent segment that immediately positioned Trinity as a main event star. That is how its done.
Final Thoughts
This episode felt like a lot of important things happened in terms of storyline development. From the debut of Trinity, to the Motor City Machine Guns chasing singles titles, to advancing Purrazzo and Grace while tying Trinity into it, a lot of what was on this show was good. The Bailey/Gresham match delivered, as those two always do. A good show, despite the wacky Dango/Hendry, Undead Realm, and Coven stuff.
Impact Wrestling – May 11, 2023 Card
· Nick Aldis vs. Sheldon Jean
· Masha Slamovich vs. Killer Kelly
· Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship: The Coven (c) vs. Jordynne Grace & Deonna Purrazzo
· Impact World Championship: Steve Maclin (c) vs. Rhino
Along with Mercedes Mone, Trinity Fatu was all over the wrestling headlines throughout the last year after both women walked out prior to an episode of WWE Raw in May 2022.
Since then, Mone has been part of the New Japan Pro Wrestling and Stardom rosters, even becoming the IWGP Women’s Champion. However, a lot of speculation still surrounded Fatu and what she would be doing next.
That was answered when she made her Impact Wrestling debut at the promotion’s TV tapings this past weekend in Chicago. Her debut promo from last Friday will air on tonight’s Impact on AXS.
I spoke with Trinity about the time she spent away from wrestling, her friendship with Mone, and how she’s feeling embarking on this new journey.
Making Her Impact debut
Trinity hasn’t been seen on wrestling television since May 2022. She explained that all the speculation about her future made the debut “nerve racking,” but that it also felt good to be a in a “new good home.”
However, she will never forget what she called her first home: WWE.
“WWE will always be my first home. My family is still there. My friends are still there. They are still my girls over there in that locker room, but I’m really looking forward to this space in this chapter, in this experience with Impact. I already I feel so welcomed and at home,” she said. “That’s been really cool. I just got so much love and support there. I know I’m going to be okay.”
She went on to say that joining Impact is only going to make her better at what she does.
“I think this is going to allow me to become even better at what I do at wrestling and just the just the connections already that I have made with people. There’s so much support that I have that I know I’m on the I’m on the right path. This is this is going to be a good experience: not just for me, but I just think for for women, women in wrestling period.
Being gone from wrestling
While we did see her walk in a fashion show and attend several movie premieres in Hollywood with Mone, she explained what a tough time it was for her to be away from wrestling.
“Initially, it was tough, really tough. You know, just feeling like my whole world, everything…it all kind of just being cut off, that was tough.”
She explained how she had to reflect on her life and see what the next chapter would look like.
“I asked myself, ‘What do I want in this next season of my life? What have I been missing? What led me or what made me feel this way? What is it going to take for me to to feel better?’ Being in a happier place and also to feel fulfilled, not just make money, not just be on TV, not just, you know, have this the fame and all that, but like really be fulfilled. ”
Because to me, if you’re not happy having doing all these things, then that doesn’t work for me. So just finding balance in my life and really tapping into to myself and what Trinity needs, what we want in this next this next phase. And it took me a little time to figure out if I still wanted to wrestle, because….the whole situation was just a lot.”
But once I had the time away and realize how much I missed it and how much the fans that were still supporting me, yeah. That was it. It was easy to make that decision to give it give it one more go.”
Wanting to have fun
She is stepping into a new environment with with Impact so I was curious if she felt any pressure to prove herself.
“Absolutely. I think there’s always a pressure when you’re in the ring wrestling. You take a risk every time you step into that ring. You just never know what could go wrong or if something’s going to go wrong, with what we do. And just the pressure of just being in a new company, in a new place and being able to pretty much just start all over and do well here and grow here and just showcase more of me.”
That’s pressure in itself. But I just want to make sure I have nonstop fun this time. I don’t feel like I have to, like, prove anything because I’ve had a great career in WWE. I really have. And I’m thankful for all of that and what I have done there and what they have been able to allow me to have there. I just I really just want to continue to grow and just have fun. I think that will happen organically. There’s not anything I got to prove and show and I don’t feel that way.”
“I just want to prove to myself that I can still go and that I can continue on with this wrestling career because I love it and I just want to have fun while I’m doing it. And I feel that right now with all that’s going on in the world of wrestling, women’s wrestling, I feel that it’s the place where I could be most useful.”
Intergender wrestling
Impact is known for not shying away from intergender wrestling and it turns out that is something she is interested in.
“I would love to get into some intergender matches. I know they have those matches. I’m excited for all of the possibilities.”
Friendship with Mercedes Mone
Both Trinity and Mone walked out of WWE together and appeared at many social events together. She explained the bond they both share with one another.
“That’s something that she and I both really bond over is just our dreams. We have kind of always had that and done that and talked about doing just all these things. Like, she wanted to have this dream of Japan and I had this dream of doing Broadway. But now we are like, ‘Okay. If we’re going to do it, now’s the time to do it.”
And just being able to support each other in that way, it’s been like the greatest, greatest gift to me, being able to go through it with my sister and also just sitting back watching her accomplish this dream, going all the way to Japan and being a success, it inspired me. It motivated me.”
Everyone is just watching us in real time live out these these dreams and try different things and explore different things and then find ourselves in a whole new way. We pretty much came into this wrestling business as kids almost. I was 21. I’m older now. So, the things you want and the things that you value change as you evolve through life.”
“I think that’s just where we where we are right now. And yeah, the last year has been life changing. I think it’s been good. And in the end, it was going to make us all stronger and better. She and I both I love that.”
You can see her debut Thursday at 8 PM Eastern on AXS TV.
