4/13 Impact Wrestling TV results: Moore’s review of Mickie James revealing her status for Sunday’s Rebellion PPV, Kenny King vs. Frankie Kazarian for the advantage in the Hardcore War, Callihan and Angels vs. Joe Hendry and Dirty Dango, Gisele Shaw vs. Tasha Steelz, Taylor Wilde vs. Jessicka

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By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)

Impact Wrestling TV
Taped in Windsor, Ontario at St. Clair College Sportsplex

Aired April 13, 2023 on AXS TV

Highlights from last week’s Impact Wrestling show aired… Entrances for the opening match took place… The broadcast team was Tom Hannifan and Matt Rehwoldt…

1. Kenny King (w/Bully Ray, John Skyler, Jason Hotch, Masha Slamovich) vs. Frankie Kazarian (w/Tommy Dreamer, Bhupinder Gujjar, Yuya Umemura, Killer Kelly) for man advantage in the Hardcore War Match at Rebellion. King and Kaz had a shoving match to start. Kaz locked King into a side headlock. Kaz hit King with a hip toss and put him in a grounded armbar. King dumped Kaz to ringside. King reversed One Final Beat into a snake eyes.

King backdropped Kaz for a two count. King went for a Camel Clutch, but Kaz got to the bottom rope for the break. Kaz got a two count off a small package and crucifix pin. King got a two count off a side slam on Kaz. King put Kazarian in the Camel Clutch while also working in some fishhook grabs. Kaz rolled up King for a two count. King came back with a boot.

Kazarian rallied with running strikes. Kazarian hit King with a springboard leg drop for a two count. King backed Kaz into the corner to block a chicken wing. King got a one count off a sunset flip. King hit Kaz with a Tiger Driver for a two count. Kazarian missed a draping leg drop. Kazarian caught King off a slingshot into a cutter for a two count. Team Bully and Team Dreamer were brawling at ringside.

Kenny King had tapped out to Kazarian’s Rear Naked Choke, but Brian Myers got on the apron for the distraction. Moose showed up out of nowhere to give Kazarian a spear. King pinned Kazarian to pick up the win.

Kenny King defeated Frankie Kazarian via pinfall in 8:17 to earn the man advantage at the Hardcore War.

Team Dreamer and Team Bully brawled. Bully’s team had the advantage because they had Moose and Myers on their side to give them the numbers advantage. The heels posed to end the segments with the babyfaces lying…

John’s Thoughts: The match was fine for what it was, but this Busted Open Radio feud still does nothing for me. On top of that, this was the logical and predictable outcome of the heels getting the man advantage in what I assume is Impact’s version of War Games. Can’t wait til this feud is over to see Bully Ray go on to do bigger and better things. Yes, 50+ year old Bully Ray is actually being held back by feuding with Tommy Dreamer.

Footage from earlier in the night aired of the crowd singing the Canadian National Anthem. They were interrupted by Steve Maclin making his entrance. The crowd showered Maclin with “you tapped out” chants. Maclin said the crowd is looking at the new world champion. He claimed that Impact is his show. Maclin dared someone to beat him up. Kushida appeared from behind, wearing his Marty McFly cosplay.

Maclin and Kushida brawled to the ring. Maclin had the upper hand with clubbing blows. Maclin was about to bring a chair to the ring, but he took the chair to the face after Kushida gave him a baseball slide. Security Guards ran out to separate both men. Kushida knocked Maclin off the apron with his handstand double boots…[c]

John’s Thoughts: All hail the defender of Canada! Japanese Marty McFly!

The lights in the ring were tinted with Crazzy Steve in the ring with a mic. Steve gave a ring introduction for Black Taurus. Taurus came out to his own entrance theme. Entrances for the next match took place. For some reason, Lince Dorado is doing a playboy gimmick…

2. Black Taurus (w/Crazzy Steve) vs. “Lucha Lit” Lince Dorado vs. Laredo Kid vs. Rich Swann. Taurus ran through Kid and Swann to start the match. Taurus dumped everyone to ringside. Taurus hit all opponents with a nice corkscrew Tope. Swann, Kid, and Dorado gave Taurus superkicks. Swann and Dorado gave Kid and Taurus dives at ringside heading into commercial.[c]

After a bit of a shuffle, Taurus put Dorado in an electric chair for a Tower of Terror spot with Kid. Swan hit Taurus with a splash. Kid hit Swann with a Michinoku Driver for a two count. Dorado tossed around Swann and Kid. Dorado hit Kid and Swann with a double Lethal Injection. Swann and Kid held Taurus in place for Dorado’s superkick. Taurus no-sold the kick.

Taurus tossed aside Swann and Kid and gave Dorado a Samoan Drop. Taurus press slammed Swann on Kid. Taurus gave Dorado a backbreaker and power bombed him to ringside on Swann. Kid reversed a Torture Rack into a crucifix bomb for a two count. Taurus and Kid brawled to the top rope. Laredo Kid hit Black Taurus with a Top Rope Spanish Fly for the pinfall win.

Laredo Kid defeated Black Taurus, Rich Swann, and Lince Dorado via pinfall in 6:47 of on-air time.

John’s Thoughts: Happy to see Laredo Kid back who was coming off a big injury layoff. Kid’s been under Impact contract for a while, looked great in the ring, yet never received a push in the company. I would like to see Impact get behind this guy because he has the potential to be a standout in the promotion. Black Taurus also looked good here as the powerhouse luchador. Dorado and Swann seemed random, as their job were to bump around for the other two.

A hype package aired for the Ultimate X match at Rebellion. The Motor City Machine Guns and Bullet Club laid their claim to the tag titles. The Guns hyped up their experience in Ultimate X matches. Tom Hannifan noted that the full version of the hype package is on Impact’s YouTube channel…

Rosemary and Jessicka were standing in front of a casket, which is presumably a “portal” into the Undead Realm (ugh). Jessicka wanted to dive in to save Taya Valkyrie. Rosemary said that Jessicka isn’t accustomed to the Undead Realm. Rosemary volunteered to dive into the realm. Rosemary opened the casket and it was just a regular casket.

Jessicka said she expected a magic portal, not cheap velvet. Rosemary said someone must be blocking the Undead Realm. Jessicka said the Coven must be blocking it. Rosemary said they need their time to come up with a game plan…[c]

An ad aired for Impact’s Rebellion PPV on Sunday…

Entrances for the next match took place…

John’s Thoughts: Hmmmm… A witch and a red head? Is this just Impact’s version of Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre? I like NXT’s version better because Isla does a better job with the witch thing (to be fair, Dawn had a crappy witch gimmick several years ago and had to tweak it to get to where it is today).

3. Jessicka (w/Rosemary) vs. Taylor Wilde (w/KiLynn King). Wilde shoved a tarot card in Jessick’s face, claiming to tell the future. Wilde had the initial advantage. Jessicka no sold right hands and worked on Wilde with short-arm headbutts. Wilde gave Jessicka a drop toehold and running stomp in the corner. Wilde choked Jessicka with her knee.

Jessicka recovered and tossed Wilde back in the ring. Wilde gave Jessicka a backstabber. Wilde worked on Jessicka with methodical offense. Jessicka recovered and hit Wilde with her version of the Bionic Elbow. Jessicka hit Wilde with a crossbody block for a two count.

Jessicka went for her Sick-ishi Driver, but KiLinn King got on the apron for the distraction. Rosemary knocked King off the apron with a Spear. The distraction allowed Wilde to hit Jessicka with a Lightning Spiral for the win.

Taylor Wilde defeated Jessicka via pinfall in 4:28.

John’s Thoughts: A well worked match while it lasted with a formulaic crap finish. As much as I dislike Wilde’s witch gimmick, she’s having a good run in-ring this late in her career. She was with Impact back around the early 2000s and I feel like she’s better now in-ring than back then. Only problem is she looks like a dork going through a witch phase.

Jordynne Grace was backstage cutting a promo in front of a brick wall. She talked about how she’s waiting for an answer from Mickie James in terms of whether or not James will be in the Knockouts title match. Grace noted that no matter what James says, she will get her Knockouts title shot. Grace said she was going to become a 3 time knockouts champion at Rebellion…[c]

Tom Hannifan hyped up Rebellion and the post-Rebellion Impact tapings…

Eddie and Alicia Edwards were backstage. Alicia talked about how she’s always been hard on Eddie. Alicia said even though Eddie turned his back on Impact, she still loves him and is his ride or die. Alicia said Eddie did take the wrong path by joining Honor No More. Alicia talked about the Ultimatum she gave Eddie, and how Eddie chose her over Honor No More. She said that excited her.

Alicia said she was happy to move on, but there was a monster, PCO, that held him back. She said she decided to help Eddie take care of the PCO problem. Eddie said PCO keeps coming back. Eddie said it all comes to an end at Rebellion. Eddie said that he and Alicia are Ride or Die, but PCO is just “die”…

Entrances for the next match took place. Joe Hendry took a mic to cut one of his pre-match inspirational promos…

4. Joe Hendry and Dirty Dango vs. Angels and Callihan (w/Deaner, Kon). Callihan backdropped Hendry for a two count. Angels tagged in and pummeled Hendry with strikes and a neckbreaker. Angels got a two count. Hendry hit Angels with a delayed vertical suplex. Dango tagged in and caught Angels in the corner with an uppercut. Dango hit Callihan with a legsweep. Dango hit Callihan with a leg drop.

Off the distraction, Callihan hit Dango with a Death Valley Driver. Angels worked on Dango with quick pins and methodical offense. Callihan and Angels cut the ring in half on Dango. Hendry and Angels tagged in with Hendry cleaning house. Hendry gave Angels a fallaway slam and gave Callihan a big boot at the same time. Kon tripped Hendry for a distraction.

Angels hit Hendry with a Sliced Bread and Frog Splash. Dango broke up Alan’s pin attempt. Hendry ducked Callihan’s punch, causing Callihan to “accidentally” punch his tag partner. Angels caught Hendry with a enzuigiri. Angels went for a tag, but Callihan was arguing with Deaner. This allowed Hendry to nail Angels with a delayed Uranage for the victory.

Joe Hendry and Dirty Dango defeated Angels and Callihan via pinfall in 4:39.

Deaner ordered Callihan and Kon to attack Hendry and Dango. The heels had the numbers advantage. Santino Marella ran out to help his teammates. Santino hit Deaner with a punch and kick combo. Santino then pulled out “The Cobra” and hit Angels with it. For some reason, Deaner, Callihan, and Kon allowed this to happen. The babyface trio stood tall to end the segment…

John’s Thoughts: Well, The Design are duds at this point right? I was willing to give them a shot with the leadership change, but somehow they got worse after Deaner took control (not his fault, it’s just their booking). I can’t wait until this faction disbands or this story ends because Deaner and Callihan should be in more meaningful spots. Callihan right now reminds me of when he was zombie Callihan in Lucha Underground when he joined Thunder Rosa’s lizard cult, and that sucked.

A narrated hype package aired to hype the Steve Maclin vs. Kushida for the vacant Impact World Title. Maclin talked about his quest to get to the title match. Kushida talked about how he’s trying to make Scott D’Amore proud because Scott D’Amore was Kushida’s wrestling trainer early in Kushida’s career at the Can-Am dojo…[c]

An ad aired for Rebellion…

The show cut to PCO wandering around in a random forest. PCO said that Eddie tried to kill him, but he won’t die. PCO said that PCO isn’t human. PCO said at Rebellion he will bury Eddie in a Last Rites match. PCO ended his promo by yelling “EDDIE!”…

Bully Ray cut a promo backstage. Bully talked about how he fooled Tommy into thinking that the Good Hands were a part of his team. Bully revealed that his team are Kenny King, Brian Myers, Moose, Masha Slamovich, and himself. Bully said that this team will make Tommy lose sleep at night. Bully said that Tommy keeps burying himself. Bully called everyone in and said that Tommy wishes he were this united…

Entrances for the next match took place…

5. Tasha Steelz vs. Gisele Shaw (w/Jai Vidal, Savannah Evans). Shaw stalled by rolling to ringside to get her makeup done by Vidal. Shaw and Tasha jawed in the ring. Shaw gave Tasha a slap. Tasha responded with a slap of her own. Tasha gave Shaw an uppercut and dumped her to ringside, where Shaw continued to stall.[c]

Back from the break, Shaw had the advantage while working on Tasha with methodical offense. Tasha tried to rally back with chops, but Shaw came back with a strong chop and regained momentum. Tasha flipped out of the corner, but Shaw dragged Tasha to the mat by the hair. Evans gave Tasha a chokeslam on the apron after Shaw distracted the ref. Shaw went back to the methodical offense.

Tasha rallied back with right hands, but took a knee. Shaw got a two count off a snap suplex. Shaw punted Tasha in the gut. Shaw put Tasha in a Camel Clutch. Tasha managed to get to her feet. Tasha worked on Shaw with right arms. Shaw tangled Tasha in the corner and worked on her with running boot stomps.[c]

Shaw maintained momentum after the break. Shaw hit Tasha with a Final Cut for a two count. Tasha rallied back with right hands and clotheslines. Tasha landed awkwardly off a backstabber. Tasha hit Shaw with a basement kick combo for a two count. Tasha went for a Stratusfaction, but Shaw recovered and hit Tasha with a lariat for a two count.

Tasha knocked Shaw off the apron with a high kick. Shaw avoided a baseball slide and traded right hands with Tasha. Vidal distracted Shaw to allow Shaw to toss Tasha into the steel steps. Shaw lowered her knee pad and went for a knee strike on Tasha, but Tasha dodged, causing Shaw’s knee to hit the metal steps. Tasha dropkicked Shaw’s injured knee in the ring. Tasha picked up the win after a jackknife pin.

Tasha Steelz defeated Gisele Shaw via pinfall in 12:37 of on-air time.

Tom Hannifan sent the show to this week’s New Japan on AXS plug by Kevin Kelly…

John’s Thoughts: This match was surprisingly good. “Surprisingly” because it’s tough to get invested in Gisele Shaw’s very mid character, so the character investment isn’t there. She was actually solid here when given the advantage. I honestly want to see her get time off TV and come back as the inspirational babyface that she showed in her wonderful documentary on Impact’s YouTube channel. Tasha was good in her new presumed babyface role. I noticed that she was using Trish Stratus’s babyface moveset as her moveset. I do question Impact a bit though. Impact turned two of their top heels, Tasha Steelz and Deonna Purrazzo, babyface. That’s fine, but I think they’re a bit light on credible heels now. Masha Slamovich is even off the heel table because she got sucked into Tommy Dreamer’s Busted Open-verse.

Mickie James was pacing in the Gorilla Position. Santino Marella asked Mickie if she was ready. Mickie said she just got off the phone with the doctor. Santino said he just wanted to tell Mickie that Mickie was the best…[c]

An ad aired for Rebellion…

Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt left the St. Claire College arena along with the crowd. Hannifan and Rehwoldt checked in from a studio set. Hannfan noted that they’ve emptied the arena out of respect for Mickie James (wait? Why is that respectful?). Hannifan and Rehwoldt then ran through the advertised Rebellion card. The Coven vs. Death Dollz for the Tag Titles and Heath and Rhino vs. Champagne Singh and Mahabali Shera were announced for the Rebellion pre-show…

A hype package aired to hype the Knockouts Title Match at Rebellion…

Mickie James was cutting a promo in the empty arena. Mickie said she asked for this time and didn’t know how she could say this in front of fans. She noted that the last rodeo was to prove that she belong, and could still be the Knockouts Champion. She said the fans made her believe that she could succeed. The camera showed that Jordynne Grace and Deonna Purrazzo were watching the promo from the production booth.

Mickie talked about how she continues to fight to be the best, and feels like she’s 20 years old. She said when she goes to the back, she doesn’t feel 20. Mickie said with the rib injury, she has to do what is right for the championship and locker room. Mickie held the title and thanked the fans for the last rodeo. Mickie said she got off the phone with the doctor, and unfortunately she isn’t cleared to wrestle.

Mickie laid the Knockouts Title on the ring. Mickie said it’s Deonna’s and Jordynne’s time now. Mickie laid her cowgirl hat on the title and left the ring. The camera cut back to Deonna and Jordynne in the production truck. Jordynne left the production booth to close the show…

John’s Thoughts: Damn, that sucks. Impact really got hit big all at once by losing their two top champions all on the same day. This also looked like a game-time decision which is why they had to tape it presumably this week (with the whole empty-arena gimmick). Prayers and wishes to Mickie for a speedy recovery. Prayers and best wishes to Josh Alexander too, for a successful recovery from his triceps tear. Impact does deserve a lot of credit for the past two weeks by having two really honorable and respectful sendoffs for their two injured champs. Jett Alexander was the person that stole the show last week though, let’s not forget that. Was Donovan Aldis not available to do a run-in this week? I kid, I kid.

We know that Deonna Purrazzo and Jordynne Grace can tear the house down given their track records. It was Deonna Purrazzo vs. Jordynne Grace that put Deonna Purrazzo on the map as a top women’s wrestler when she came into Impact. Looking forward to that. I hope this isn’t the end of the road for Mickie, but at the same time, I understand that age catches up to ya (I remember Gail Kim and Awesome Kong trying to push past injuries, but sometimes the body just won’t let ya go). Despite losing their two top champs, Impact has a reliable track record in terms of banger PPVs. This Sunday should be no exception.

WE VALUE YOUR PRIVACY

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