By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Impact Wrestling Sacrifice
Streamed March 13, 2021 on Impact Plus and FITE TV
Nashville, Tennessee at Skyway Studios
A Sacrifice video aired… Matt Striker and D-Lo Brown checked in on commentary…
1. “Decay” Black Taurus and Crazzy Steve (w/Rosemary) vs. “Reno Scum” Luster the Legend and Adam Thornstowe. Rosemary sprayed mist into the eyes of Luster. In the ring, Taurus performed his finisher on Thornstowe and pinned him…
“Decay” Black Taurus and Crazzy Steve beat “Reno Scum” Luster the Legend and Adam Thornstowe in 8:00.
Powell’s POV: A decent opening match with the expected result.
2. Havok and Nevaeh vs. Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb. Dashwood got the better of Nevaeh at one point. Kaleb used his phone to take a picture. Nevaeh had Dashwood pinned, but Kaleb pushed them over so that Dashwood was on top and she ended up getting the pin…
Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb beat Havok and Nevaeh in 6:40.
Powell’s POV: I’m not sure where it’s leading, but the finish continues the story of Nevaeh being been down on her luck and losing matches for her team.
Eddie Edwards greeted Rich Swann backstage and said it was Swann’s night. Edwards pumped up Moose while telling him that he would unify the titles and move on to win the AEW Championship at the Rebellion pay-per-view…
3. Chris Sabin and James Storm (w/Jake Something) vs. Joe Doering and Deaner (w/Eric Young). Sabin was isolated for a stretch. Doering clotheslined him and then Deaner performed a top rope headbutt, which led to a good near fall. Sabin came right back and had Deaner pinned, but Young put Deaner’s foot on the bottom rope.
Something and Young fought at ringside. There was a ref bump. Young entered the ring and set up to piledrive Sabin, but Something took out Young with a clothesline. A short time later, Young performed a neckbreaker on Something. Rhino ran out and teased going after Young, but he speared Sabin instead, which led to Deaner pinning Sabin…
Joe Doering and Deaner beat Chris Sabin and James Storm.
Powell’s POV: My apologies for botching the match time. I like the idea of Rhino joining Violent By Design, particularly if it’s going to lead to a gimmick change. Rhino has had the same name, gimmick, and look since his ECW days. I’d love to see him undergo a makeover like Deaner did when he joined the faction.
Gia Miller conducted a brief interview with Brian Myers in the backstage area…
4. Eddie Edwards vs. Brian Myers in a Hold Harmless match. It’s essentially a No DQ and no count-out match. Edwards and Myers fought to the stage early on. They returned to the ring and introduced weapons. Just before the ten-minute mark, Edwards superplexed Myers onto some chairs that were in the ring. Hernandez interfered. Matt Cardona came out and got the better of Hernandez.
A short time later, Edwards performed a backpack stunner off the apron and through a table at ringside. Edwards continued to dominate once they were back inside the ring. He took the piece that Myers loads his elbow pad with and put it in his own kneepad. Edwards hit the Boston Knee Party with the loaded kneepad and scored the pin…
Eddie Edwards beat Brian Myers in 16:50 in a Hold Harmless match.
Powell’s POV: This was easily the best match of the night thus far. Good effort from both wrestlers.
5. Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz vs. Jordynne Grace and Jazz for the Knockouts Tag Titles. Striker noted that every match for the rest of the night would be a title match. Late in the match, Grace took a crucifix bomb from Steelz, and then Hogan performed a fisherman’s buster suplex and scored the pin…
Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz defeated Jordynne Grace and Jazz in 10:25 to retain the Knockouts Tag Titles.
Powell’s POV: An enjoyable match. I was legitimately surprised to see Grace take the loss for her team given that she’s a major player in the singles division, whereas Jazz is positioned as a legend who is nearing the end of her career. I like it, though, as it was a credibility building win for Hogan and Steelz.
Gia Miller attempted to interview Moose backstage, but he wasn’t interested. He said he had done enough talking…
6. TJP vs. Ace Austin (w/Madman Fulton) for the X Division Championship. Austin performed an early Fosbury Flop dive over the top rope and onto TJP on the floor. TJP came back with a springboard DDT and followed moments later with a cross body block from the top rope. Later, TJP applied a kneebar. Fulton tried to push the rope toward Austin, but the referee caught him. Austin eventually reached the bottom rope to break the hold.
TJP put Austin down with a suplex and then went up top, but Austin pulled the referee in front of him. Austin did a spin around the referee and threw a kick at TJP. A short time later, Austin hit The Fold on TJP and pinned him clean to win the championship…
Ace Austin defeated TJ in 12:10 to win the X Division Championship.
Powell’s POV: A good match and a welcome title change for this viewer. TJP did a fine job as the X Division Champion, but Impact really needed to get Austin back in a meaningful role. I’d prefer to see him in the Impact World Championship mix, but at least he’s being spotlighted again.
Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb arrived at Swinger’s Palace (the backstage gambling room). Alicia Edwards took offense to something that Dashwood said, which led to the two of them agreeing to have a match…
7. Deonna Purrazzo (w/Kimber Lee, Susan) vs. ODB for the Knockouts Championship. ODB avoided Purrazzo’s early armbar attempt. The referee ejected Lee and Susan for interfering. Brown praised the referee for ejecting them rather than choosing to disqualify Purrazzo over it. Later, ODB dove from the middle ropes at Purrazzo, who caught her in an armbar. Purrazzo hooked ODB’s other arm to apply the Venus de Milo, causing ODB to submit…
Deonna Purrazzo defeated ODB in 8:30 to retain the Knockouts Championship.
Powell’s POV: A nice match that didn’t overstay its welcome. There was no reason to think that Purrazzo would drop the title so there was no mystery regarding the outcome. It felt like a solid television match.
Backstage, Dashwood and Edwards told D’Amore that they wanted to have a match. D’Amore booked a six-on-six match for Tuesday’s television show. When they wanted to know more details, he told them that they would have to go to the Impact website to find out…
8. “The Good Brothers” Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. “FinJuice” Juice Robinson and David Finlay for the Impact Tag Titles. Finlay was isolated for a long stretch, which set up Robinson’s hot tag flurry on the champions. Eventually, Gallows and Anderson were able to double team Robinson. Finlay broke up a pin, but he was dumped to ringside.
The Good Brothers set up for the Magic Killer, but Finlay returned and broke it up. Gallows knocked Finlay to the floor. Robinson hit took out Gallows, then turned into a spinebuster from Anderson, who got a near fall. Anderson expressed frustration over not getting the pin.
Robinson caught Anderson with a lefthand punch and then tagged in Finlay. A short time later, the duo hit a Doomsday Device on Anderson, which led to Finlay getting the pin for his team…
Juice Robinson and David Finlay defeated Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson in 15:00 to win the Impact Tag Titles.
Powell’s POV: A good match with a surprising title change. The broadcast team played it up as a major upset for the younger team to defeat the veterans. With Gallows and Anderson so heavily involved in the AEW saga, I mistakenly assumed they would retain the tag titles.
A video package set up the main event and spotlighted the announcement that the winner will face AEW Champion Kenny Omega in a title vs. title match at Impact Wrestling Rebellion event on April 24…
9. Impact World Champion Rich Swann vs. TNA Champion Moose in a unification match.Dave Penzer delivered in-ring introductions for the title match. Brian Hebner was the referee. The wrestlers fought to ringside early and Moose was run into multiple ring posts. Moose took offensive control when they returned to the ring where he performed a back body drop that Swann sold by flipping over and landing face down.
Moose performed a uranage slam for a near fall around 7:45. With Swann down, Moose went to ringside and returned with a chair, which he wedged between the ropes in a corner of the ring. The referee blocked Moose from running Swann into the chair, but he didn’t actually remove the chair for some odd reason. Moose opted to perform a fallaway slam instead.
Swann ended up at ringside. Moose followed and ended up wrapping Swann’s hair around the ringside barricade and then pulling on it while Swann screamed to sell it. Back inside the ring, Swann did a finger snap spot. Swann ran the ropes and hit Moose a couple of times but failed to knock him off his feet. Swann tried again, but Moose caught him and gave him a gutbuster.
Moose hoisted Swann onto his shoulders and then climbed to the middle rope. Swann stood on the top rope and went for a huracanrana. Moose blocked it initially, but Swann eventually executed the move. A short time later, Moose ran up the ropes and leapt off. Meanwhile, Swann performed a handspring into the ropes and hit a Lethal Injection style move with Moose in mid-air. Wow.
Later, Swann bit Moose on the ropes and knocked him down. Moose recovered and ran up the ropes and performed a fallaway moonsault. Moose draped his arm over Swann and got a two count. Swann avoided a charging Moose in two different corners. Moose tried a third time and this time Swann moved and Moose crashed into the chair that he wedged in the ropes earlier. Moose shrugged it off and whipped Swann into the corner. Moose charged at Swann, who jumped over him and hooked him into a pin for the three count…
Rich Swann defeated Moose in 20:30 to become the Unified Impact World Champion.
After the match, Swann sat on the ramp with both title belts and pointed at his head while Moose showed frustration inside the ring. Swann went to the stage and held up both title belts to close the show…
Powell’s POV: Moose looked like a bit of a dope for charging and missing Swann three times, including running into the chair on the third try. Fortunately, the chair spot wasn’t the direct finish. It was a good main event. The reintroduction of the TNA Championship did nothing for me and thus the unification of the titles didn’t feel like much of a hook, but the idea that the winner will face Kenny Omega in a title vs. title match at Rebellion was.
Overall, it was an entertaining and newsworthy show with multiple title changes and the unification of the titles in the main event. The event was well paced and was largely a straight forward pro wrestling product that avoided most of the sports entertainment wonkiness that I dislike on the weekly television shows. The undercard felt like it could have aired on a typical edition of Impact, but the title matches delivered and made the show feel like a worthy time investment. Swann vs. Omega at Rebellion looks great on paper.
What descriptive matches!