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IMPACT Wrestling Rebellion saw a new era begin for the promotion, with both Steve Maclin and Deonna Purrazzo walking away with the top prizes in the company. Following injuries to Josh Alexander and Mickie James, Maclin and Purrazzo took advantage of their opportunities and emerged at the top of their respective mountains.
How did IMPACT Wrestling follow the major event? What did the returning Nick Aldis have to say? Who will be the first to step up to Steve Maclin? We'll get into it all right now. Here are the best moments from this week's edition of IMPACT Wrestling.
#5 Excellent X-Division opener
After a brief recap of Rebellion, IMPACT Wrestling kicked things off at a high pace as Time Machine battled Trey Miguel, Mike Bailey, and Jonathan Gresham. While Time Machine was a well-oiled...well, machine, their opponents struggled to get on the same page. Tensions were still high from the triple-threat X-Division Championship match on Sunday, from which Trey emerged victorious.
The Motor City Machine Guns and Kushida took advantage of their issues, keeping Speedball Mike Bailey cut off from his corner for the majority of the match. Despite fighting his way across the ring multiple times, he was repeatedly cut off, either by Time Machine or his own partner Trey Miguel, distracting the referee.
In most cases, the "Will they, won't they" angle in wrestling can get stale. IMPACT Wrestling made it feel fresh, thankfully, as Trey Miguel was against his team from the get-go. Constantly getting in his team's way, the match revolved around Bailey and Gresham looking for a win despite Trey, with the X-Division Champion only tagging in if it looked like he could take the win.
That, as well as the pure amount of talent in this match, made for a fantastic opener that should've kept fans hooked for the rest of the show.
#4 Nick Aldis returns to IMPACT Wrestling
At Rebellion, the wrestling world was shocked when the National Treasure Nick Aldis made his return to the promotion. Aldis joined commentary for the IMPACT Wrestling World Championship match, letting it be known that he would be coming after whoever captured the belt that night.
Aldis was interviewed by Jimmy Jacobs backstage, where he refreshed everyone on his history with the promotion. Coming in at 21 years old, "a lot of potential and a terrible gimmick" paved the way for one of the most sought-after talents in pro wrestling. Aldis quickly rose to the top in his first run with IMPACT Wrestling but has grown quite a bit since then.
The man responsible for rebuilding the prestige of the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship now has his eyes on Steve Maclin and the IMPACT World Championship. Soon enough, the Aldis Era will begin.
As great as it is to see Nick Aldis in IMPACT Wrestling again, it's a little disappointing that this was a backstage segment and not a moment amongst the IMPACT faithful, bringing this to a lower point on the list. Still, Aldis is a much-needed shot in the arm of the main event scene, which needed a boost after the sudden injury of Josh Alexander.
#3 Yuya Uemura takes world champion to his limit
One of the most exciting aspects of IMPACT Wrestling is its current working relationship with NJPW. We get to see many talents from New Japan take excursions across the world and set North America on fire. One wrestler to take full advantage of this opportunity has been Yuya Uemura.
The 28-year-old NJPW star debuted in IMPACT back in August, and though he hasn't racked up an incredible amount of wins, he's continued to impress the IMPACT faithful whenever he's had the chance. This week, Uemura battled former IMPACT Wrestling World Champion Moose in a fantastic outing.
With Brian Myers in his corner, Moose was saved from defeat multiple times. Had he not been there, Uemura would've beaten Moose several times over.
Pulling out some incredible feats of strength and seemingly having an answer to anything Moose threw at him, it seemed that Uemura had the IMPACT veteran's number. Unfortunately, one too many distractions allowed Moose to hang Uemura up on the ropes with a Stun Gun before finishing him with the Lights Out spear.
Despite another loss on his record, Yuya Uemura once again proved he's in the same league as someone like Moose, who has been one of the most dominant stars in the company's history. Uemura's going to be a major player one day. Once he's able to put everything together and rack up some wins, he's going to be a serious problem for wrestlers in New Japan Pro Wrestling and IMPACT Wrestling.
#2 Deonna Purrazzo's Knockouts World Title coveted by The Coven
KiLynn King's short run at IMPACT Wrestling so far has been impressive, to say the least. She debuted for the promotion in December, losing close contests against Taylor Wilde and Gisele Shaw. That first match seemingly caught the attention of Wilde, as she brought King into The Coven in February, where they quickly captured the IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts Tag Team Titles.
After retaining the titles against the Death Dollz at Rebellion, The Coven now have their eyes on some more interesting prey, Knockouts World Champion Deonna Purrazzo. The Coven stated that Purrazzo is a fraud and "The Virtuosa of Nothing." The duo then vowed to put an end to the sham that is the Age of the Virtuosa.
Next week, Wilde will get her opportunity to prove Purrazzo to be a fraud as they face off for the IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts World Championship. Wilde's been doing fantastic work since embracing her new witch persona and has been doing phenomenally since returning to the promotion back in 2021.
While Wilde and Purrazzo have met twice, they've yet to come face-to-face in singles action. This match should be fun, as well as going in a different direction than many were expecting coming out of Rebellion.
Jordynne Grace, Purrazzo's opponent at Rebellion, will also be in action next week against Masha Slamovich. Moving Grace away from the title picture will give Purrazzo an opportunity to give fans time to enjoy a strong Purrazzo title run. Add to all that Alisha Edwards' recent turn and feud with newcomer Jody Threat, the Knockouts Division continues to be the most focused women's division in pro wrestling.
#1 IMPACT Wrestling World Champion Steve Maclin's Changing of the Guard ceremony ruined by new challenger
Following his win over Kushida at Rebellion, brand new IMPACT Wrestling World Champion Steve Maclin called for a special ceremony, specifically a Changing of Guard. Throughout the night, we saw the personal security of the champion outside his locker room as Maclin prepared.
Maclin said that his back was against the wall in February of 2021, which was when he was released from WWE. He soon got an opportunity from IMPACT, and didn't hesitate, making winning the IMPACT Wrestling World Title his number one goal.
The Canadian crowd began to chant for Josh Alexander, leading to Maclin insulting the injured star. Maclin wanted to humiliate Alexander in his hometown for the belt, but that chance was taken from him. Due to that, he made an open challenge to any Canadian who wanted to take a shot.
At that moment, Scott D'Amore appeared. The President of IMPACT Wrestling claimed that Maclin was making this challenge to duck Nick Aldis. The champ tried to goad D'Amore into a match, but D'Amore had other plans. The perfect plan.
At Under Siege, Steve Maclin must defend his belt against Perfect Creation One. PCO ran into Maclin's personal security, being overtaken by the numbers game. The French-Canadian Frankenstein wasn't down long, however, as he tore through security before spiking Maclin with a DDT.
The champion scampered away before PCO could dish out any more damage, but the star sent a message by driving two of Maclin's security force into a table.
