By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
Impact Wrestling TV
Taped in Toronto, Ontario at Rebel Entertainment Complex
Aired April 20, 2023 on AXS TV
Highlights from last week’s Rebellion PPV aired. Tom Hannifan hyped the “Changing of the Guard” ceremony for this week’s show, where Steve Maclin will be formally crowned World Champion…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt were on commentary. Dave Penzer was the ring announcer…
Entrances for the opening match took place…
1. “Time Machine” Kushida, Alex Shelley, and Chris Sabin vs. Jonathan Gresham, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, and Trey Miguel. Shelley and Gresham started the match with a honorable handshake. Both men started the match with a stalemate and handshake during the opening chain wrestling sequence. Bailey and Sabin tagged in. Sabin dominated the chain wrestling sequence. Kushida and Trey tagged in.
Trey hit Kushida with a back rake. Kushida came back with a PK to the left arm of Trey. The Guns tagged in tok get the numbers advantage on Trey. Time Machine traded rapid tags to take turns giving Trey an arm wrench. Bailey tagged in and took an assisted bulldog from Kushida. Kushida and Shelley put Bailey in a Half crab and Crossface which allowed Sabin to hit Bailey with a basement dropkick.
Kushida tagged in and softened up Bailey’s left arm with submission variations. Sabin tagged in and continued to pummel Bailey’s left arm. Time Machine cut the ring in half on Bailey. Bailey tried to rally back with right hands, but Shelley rallied back and continued to soften up Bailey’s left arm. Bailey got a window of opportunity after a roundhouse to the chest of Shelley. Kushida knocked down Trey and Jonathan from the apron. Bailey fended off Kushida and Shelley with Tae Kwon Do kicks.
Sabin and Kushida hit Bailey with a double cutter. Sabin hit Trey with a suicide dive heading into commercial break.[c]
Time Machine continued to have the advantage over Bailey. Bailey hit Sabin with a pump kick and took down Shelley with rapid kicks. Gresham tagged in for the hot tag. Gresham and Kushida traded shoves with Gresham getting the upper hand. Gresham got nearfalls after a few rollups on Kushida. Shelley broke up the last pin. Gresham hit Kushida with a moonsault, stunner, and German Suplex combo. Sabin accidentally hit Shelley with a PK after Gresham ducked.
Trey hit Sabin with a springboard dropkick. Miguel hit both Guns with a suicide dive. Bailey caught Kushida with a roundhouse when Kushida went for a handstand. Bailey hit Time Machine with a Asai Moonsault dive. Trey tagged in after Gresham had Kushida in an octopus hold. Kushida countered all three opponents and dragged Trey into a Hoverboard Lock. Trey got to the bottom rope. Time Machine had all three opponents in submissions heading into break.[c]
Bailey and Sabin had tagged in. Sabin caught Bailey with a Halluva Kick. Sabin and Shelley traded forearms. Sabin caught Bailey with a knee. Bailey caught Sabin with a Spanish Fly for a two count. Bailey hit Sabin with a knee and standing Ultima Weapon. Sabin blocked Bailey’s tornado kick. Sabin pounced on the top rope and hit Bailey with a Super German Suplex. Trey kept shoving Gresham out of the way to tag in. Time Machine took advantage of this by dumping Trey and Gresham off the apron.
Trey held Sabin in place, which allowed Bailey to hit Sabin with Ultima Weapon. Shelley tripped Bailey off the apron. Both teams knocked each other out with kicks. Time Machine regrouped and hit their signature Basement Dropkick-Muta Lock combo. Sabin hit Trey with the Cradle Shock for the victory.
Time Machine defeated Trey Miguel, Mike Bailey, and Jonathan Gresham via pinfall in 19:35 of on-air time.
The commentators stressed that Sabin pinned the X Division Champion…
John’s Thoughts: Random match, especially with Kushida coming off a world title match and moving right into the six-person tag division. That said, it was a entertaining match as expected given the talent level of all six men in the ring. Time Machine are one of the tenured 3 person tag teams, which means you’re guaranteed some solid trios action. Coming off a PPV, no harm no foul with a random entertaining match because storylines should be reset. Surprised they gave both teams so much time, and the result makes sense because Trey Miguel was the lone heel in the match to throw his team off.
Gia Miller interviewed Impact Director of Authority Santino Marella. Miller asked Santino if we’re going to see more of Santino in the ring after his successful return at Rebellion. Santino said he doesn’t want to get his hands dirty, but we might see him back in the ring from time to time. Alisha Edwards showed up to rant about PCO to Santino.
Alisha asked Santino to deal with PCO. Santino asked Alisha why she wasn’t in ring gear because she had a match coming up. Alisha didn’t expect to be in a match. Alisha walked off mad. Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice showed up. Dice claimed to have hired a proper opponent for Johnny Swinger. Dice said he had the travel and transportation covered. Santino said that was fine. Swinger and Dice rolled off. Santino said it feels like he’s working with animals sometimes…[c]
A vignette aired for Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo. Deonna talked about how her current reign is not the “age of the Virtuosa” but the “new age of the Virtuosa”…
Alisha Edwards made her entrance. Since she’s a heel now, she’s now wearing denim. Her opponent was presumed Triple H fan Tara Rising…
2. Alisha Edwards vs. Tara Rising. Alisha took down Tara with a double leg takedown and punches. Alisha worked on Tara in the corner with chops and slaps. Alisha dragged Tara by the hair across the ring. Tara battled back with a boot, but Alisha came back with a lariat. Alisha worked on Tara at ringside with methodical offense. Alisha Edwards hit Tara Rising with an X Factor for the win. Alisha actually won a match?
Alisha Edwards defeated Tara Rising via pinfall in 2:35.
Edwards put the boots to Tara Rising after the match. Jody Threat ran out to run off Alisha…
John’s Thoughts: Holy crap! I don’t think I’ve seen Alisha Edwards win a match in the many years I’ve reviewed her matches. Good for her. There might have been a win somewhere, but I can’t remember it. In all seriousness though, it’s also refreshing seeing her as a heel as her offense was actually good. The heel role might suit her better as opposed to her bad-acting as Eddie’s babyface wife. Poor Jody Threat hasn’t really established a character for herself yet. So far, all wrestling fans know about her is she’s the woman that Athena beat the crap out of for now reason.
Two random guys wearing Camouflage t-shirts were standing in front of Steve Maclin’s door…[c]
Jody Threat was at the stairwell with Tara Rising. Threat thanked Rising for giving her a challenging debut. Threat told Rising not to be taken advantage of. Threat said she was going to make sure Alisha gets her comeuppance…
Entrances for the next match took place…
3. Moose (w/Brian Myers) vs. Yuya Uemura (w/Bhupinder Gujjar). Moose tackled Yuya in the corner. Yuya came back wiht chops. Moose blocked a armdrag, but Yuya got the armdrag and armbar after shoving Moose into the corner. Yuya hit Moose with a series of baseball slides. Myers shoved Moose away to take Yuya’s plancha. Moose power bombed Yuya on the hardest part of the ring, the apron. Moose worked on Yuya with methodical offense.
Yuya went for a comeback, but Myers grabbed Yuya by the leg to allow Moose to nail Yuya with a big boot. Moose continued his momentum. After a bit of time, Yuya hit Moose wiht a leg lariat. Yuya hit Moose with a top rope bulldog. Moose reversed an armtrap suplex with a hip toss. Yuya hit Moose with a German and Saito Suplex for a two count. Moose staggered to his feet, but managed to dump Yuya off the top rope. Yuya recovered and hit Moose with a Underhook Belly to Belly.
Yuya got a two count, and Hannifan noted that Myers distracted the ref to cost him the pin. Yuya hit Moose with a top rope crossbody. Myers distracted the referee to prevent the pin count. Bhupinder took down Myers and punched him. Yuya dodged a spear and rolled up Moose for a two count. Moose gave Yuya a snake eyes on the ropes, and speared him for the win.
Moose defeated Yuya Uemura via pinfall in 9:59.
John’s Thoughts: Great showing from New Japan’s young lion Yuya Uemura. He’s still in vanilla excursion mode, so he’s expected to take a ton of losses until New Japan gives him a proper gimmick. This might have been his best singles showing on Impact. Moose seems to be spinning his wheels and in need of an actual program. Him meddling around with Myers either means he’s going to be involved in whatever Bully Ray is doing, or he’s going to continue to be involved in the Digital Media division. I hope the former is true in that case.
Tom Hannifan sent the show to interviewer Jimmy Jacobs. Jacobs interviewed former Impact and NWA champion Nick Aldis (a.k.a. [Brutus] Magnus). Aldis thanked the fans for welcoming him back to the company that started his career. He joked about debuting in Impact with a really bad gimmick (the gladiator gimmick) when he arrived in Impact at 21 years of age. Aldis talked about spending 6 years in Impact with the best in the industry, which led to him being a world champion.
Aldis said even though he won the Impact world title many years ago, he didn’t reach his full potential. Aldis said he left Impact and set the standard as to what it takes to be a world champion (as NWA World Champion). Aldis said he’s back in Impact and has his eyes set on Steve Maclin and the world title. Aldis said that Maclin is holding the legacy of Impact and the symbol of excellence in the sport.
Aldis said he’s carried that weight, the weight of the staff, wrestlers, and fans. Aldis said when Maclin crumbles on that weight, he’ll be there to pounce. Jacobs asked Aldis if he was attending the “Changing of the guard” ceremony. Aldis said he’s not attending because Maclin demanded that no one attend the ceremony. Aldis said that’s the champion’s prerogative and he respects that because he was once blessed with the champion’s prerogative. Aldis said he’s watching and will always be watching…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Solid reintroduction for Aldis who’s a different man from when he left Impact the last time. It always seemed like he wasn’t fond of the way his initial Impact run ended, so it’s cool to see him reconcile and get a fresh start in the place that launched his career. Not sure how long he sticks in the company, because they’re rushing to him as Steve Maclin’s first challenger. Hope he sticks around for a hot minute because the guy has been doing solid work as the representative of the National Wrestling Alliance.
“The Heavy Metal Rebel” Frankie Kazarian made his match. Jason Hotch and John Skyler made their entrance with Skyler holding a mic. Skyler talked about how he and Hotch were attacked by Kazarian at Hardcore War even though they weren’t in the match, which is why he’s challenging Kaz to a two on one match. Skyler said that Impact was built brick by brick by two “Good Hands”…
4. Frankie Kazarian vs. “The Good Hands” John Skyler and Jason Hotch in a handicap match. Skyler and Hotch traded tags to get the numbers advantage, but Kazarian fended off The Good Hands with chops and a dropkick. Hotch managed to dump Kaz to ringside and hit him with a suicide dive. Skyler hit Kaz with a jackknife pin for a two count after Hotch hit Kaz with a German Suplex. Kaz came back with clotheslines.
Kaz hit Hotch with a clothesline and springboard leg drop. Kaz put Hotch in a Figure Four and rolled up Skyler for a two count. Skyler accidentally hit Hotch on the apron. Kaz slingshot Hotch in the ring for an RKO. Kazarian put Skyler in a Crossface Chickenwing for the win.
Frankie Kazarian defeated The Good Hands via submission in 3:40.
John’s Thoughts: Even though it was two-on-one, Hotch and Skyler are treated as goofs so this result made sense. Hope Skyler and Hotch will get their day someday, especially the very tenured Skyler. Makes sense to keep Kaz hot as he’s the seasoned veteran.
The show cut to Knockouts Tag Champs Tayler Wilde and KiLynn King, The Coven, holding hands in a dark room and playing with tarot cards. King pulled out a random card and said it was not the age of the Virtuosa, but the age of Aquarius. Wilde said that Deonna is a fraud. King said since they and Deonna were champions, it was time for The Coven to kick Deonna’s Virtu-ass. Wilde said it was the age of Aquarius. King turned to the camera and said “Harmony and understanding, bitches”…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A random witch and redhead, I can’t help but compare them to NXT’s Women’s Tag Team Champions, Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre, because they are using the exact same gimmick. NXT’s version is better due to Dawn being more organic.I am happy that King hasn’t gotten dragged into Taylor’s weird witch phase. Taylor witch phase does come off as random still. I have no clue as to why she decided to reinvent herself with no character development.
Sami Callihan cut one of his signature selfie camcorder promos. He talked about how he never wanted to join The Design. He said he’s the puppet master of pro wrestling and only played the long game just to prove a point. He talked about how he plotted to take down The Design from within. He said he even did winks to the camera to show he was not on their side. He said he had his own seven steps to take down the Design.
He said step one was to shave his head, which was nothing to him. Sami then said that steps 2 to 7 were to “Destroy the Design”. Sami said it’s past pro wrestling. He said he’s going to ruin the lives of Kon, Angels, and Deaner. He said he wants them to look in their eyes and he wants them to know that he’s here to destroy the design. Thumbs up, Thumbs down…
John’s Thoughts: Good delivery and good to see Death Machine Sami back. His “long game” story is still dumb though, but the guy tried his best to explain it. He didn’t really justify it, but I’ll take him going back to his old character over him joining the dorky cult. Sami tends to go through these random reinventions every once in a while, like that one time he was a lizard zombie, or that one time he was a magical hacker. Sami is best when he’s in his good ol’ Death Machine mode.
Sheldon Jean made his entrance. Hannifan talked about how Jean is a celebrity in Canada. Hannifan noted that he was the last guest eliminated in Big Brother Canada during 2020. Hannifan noted that the season didn’t end due to COVID. The news article noted that all of the contestants were awarded $100,000 during the shortened season.
His opponent was Joe Hendry. Hendry took a mic for his usual pre-match promo. He hyped up Jean as a Big Brother celebrity. He said even though Jean only lasted 4 weeks in the Big Brother house, the fans can live an eternity in Joe Hendry’s house if they say the two magic words “I Believe”…[c]
Hannifan noted that Hendry is the longest reigning digital media champion. Hannifan also noted that Jean is a trainee at Scott D’Amore’s Can-Am dojo…
5. Joe Hendry vs. Sheldon Jean for the Impact Digital Media Championship. Hendry dominated with power offense to start the match. Jean came back with a delayed eye rake. Jean hit Hendry with a dropkick and went for some ground and pound. Hendry tried to rally back with right hands, but took a knee. Hendry countered a run with a cutter. Hendry hit Jean with a delayed Fallaway Slam. The camera zoomed on Hendry’s smile.
Hendry hit Jean with a right hand combo. Jean came back with a kick combination. Hendry took down Jean with a clothesline. Hendry hit Jean with the Standing Ovation (Uranage) for the win.
Joe Hendry defeated Sheldon Jean via pinfall in 3:33 to retain the Impact Digital Media Championship.
John’s Thoughts: Solid showcase for Hendry. Jean didn’t look bad, but he does come off as more of a “developmental” type. Here’s wishing he gets to live his dream of being a successful pro wrestler. It was a nice touch to go giving him more exposition than your usual cannon fodder. Hendry is a talented dude. He feels bigger than the digital media title, similar to Orange Cassidy and his International title.
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in from the commentary table. They advertised the following segments for next week: Jordynne Grace vs. Masha Slamovich, Kon and Angels vs. “ABC” Ace and Chris Bey, and Deonna Purrazzo vs. Taylor Wilde for the Knockouts Championship. They sent the show to the weekly Kevin Kelly New Japan plug…
The random guys in camouflage shirts were standing in front of Steve Maclin’s locker room door…[c]
Steve Maclin got out of his dressing room and was escorted to the ring by the random guys in camouflage shirts, Goldberg style. Impact World Champion and the random guards made their entrance. Hannifan noted that the other wrestlers were banned from the arena to allow Maclin to have this momentum to himself. The crowd showered Maclin with “we want Josh” chants. Maclin said his back was against the wall in February 2021 (when he got released from WWE). Maclin said Impact gave him an opportunity.
He said he didn’t just walk into the door, he kicked the damn door down. Maclin said he made his mission clear from day one, to become Impact World Champion. Maclin said Josh Alexander was making a name for himself at the same time, which led to him becoming the longest reigning Impact Champion. A “walking weapon” chant ensued, which Maclin allowed to occur. Maclin said that people were paying more attention to Josh, while he was lying in the cut plotting his path to becoming world champion.
Maclin said his mission isn’t complete, because there’s one step left. He said his goal was to beat down Josh Alexander for the title in his home country. Maclin said this isn’t only a changing of the guard, but an open challenge. Maclin asked someone to step up. Maclin said only Canadians are allowed to accept the challenge. Maclin dared a little kid in the crowd to accept his challenge. Impact Wrestling President, Scott D’Amore made his entrance.
D’Amore was stopped by the guards. Maclin told the guards to let D’Amore in the ring. D’Amore joked that Maclin had to order stooges to step aside, even though this is Scott D’Amore’s ring. Maclin said he’s just giving American hospitality. D’Amore talked about Steve running his mouth about opportunities, but it was Scott who gave him those opportunities, son. D’Amore congratulated Steve for becoming champion.
D’Amore said that what he doesn’t like is how Steve manipulates reality to suit his narrative. D’Amore said that even though Steve claims that Alexander was ducking him, Steve never took Alexander up on the many open challenges he laid out. D’Amore wondered if Maclin’s “Canadian only” challenge was to humiliate D’Amore’s home, or to duck Nick Aldis. Maclin said Scott doesn’t get it, and he does everything for a reason.
Maclin said he retreats tactfully. Maclin said D’Amore should understand this as a coach and pro wrestler. Maclin talked about D’Amore hitting a Canadian Destroyer a few weeks ago. Maclin said he was hoping D’Amore would take him up on his challenge. Maclin said D’Amore wants to talk about Nick Aldis and he wonders why D’Amore traded his balls for a headset. D’Amore said he lets his emotions get a hold of him sometimes.
He said he shouldn’t have been rude to Maclin at Rebellion. D’Amore said Maclin was a coward son of a bitch for hitting him from behind with the title belt. D’Amore said he’s made a ton of mistakes, but he doesn’t make the same mistake twice. D’Amore took off his suit jacket. He said Maclin tried to embarrass him in his country and wants to face a Canadian.
D’Amore said he has a “perfect Canadian” for Maclin to face at the next Impact Plus show, “Perfect Creation One”. PCO made his black-and-white camera filter entrance. Maclin’s guards gave PCO clubbing blows to beat him down. The guards dragged a table into the ring. Maclin was about to spear PCO through a table. PCO fended off the security guards.
PCO managed to plant Maclin with a DDT. Maclin crawled away to avoid a Power Bomb. PCO turned around and speared two guards through the table. The show closed with PCO and Maclin staring each other down…
John’s Thoughts: Solid promo from Maclin and a solid segment to set up the first title feud for Steve Maclin. Maclin definitely deserves a lot of credit for his reinvention and this title reign is a well deserved reward. Even though D’Amore is right back to putting himself on TV a lot, I’m all for this over excessive amounts of Santino Marella comedy. D’Amore has been a great authority figure on his end. Maclin will definitely run through PCO, but PCO is a credible preliminary feud before Maclin faces Aldis.
Hey, and PCO feels a bit fresh now because he’s been trapped in that feud with Eddie Edwards for what feels like an eternity. This was a nice episode of Impact Wrestling. Part of what made this episode good was the arena they were in. It felt bigger than their usual arenas that they’ve been running. This show also had a nice mix of in-ring action and story development. A good reset after a PPV.
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