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It's been an incredible year for IMPACT Wrestling. The company that many people had written off years ago is continuing to push forward. Some would argue that they have produced some of their best content in years during the pandemic era in 2020.
But a wrestling company is only as good as the roster they employ. IMPACT is a great example of that as they have surprised the wrestling world countless times over the last couple of years with the impressive list of talent they have brought into the fold.
Today we look at five of the most surprising signings from IMPACT Wrestling this year and the impact (no pun intended) that they've had on the company as a whole. Doc Gallows said it best earlier this week on Talk N' Shop Full Keg: If you're still sleeping on IMPACT, it's time to wake up.
#5 The Motor City Machine Guns return to IMPACT
Back in July, IMPACT held its biggest pay-per-view of the summer, Slammiversary. One of the biggest hooks going into that show was the promise of all the surprising new talent who was going to show up. Stemming from the fact that the show was occurring right after the 90 day no-compete clause ran out from the contracts of the talent that WWE released back in April, no one really had a clue who would be showing up.
The night before the pay-per-view the Good Brothers let the cat out of the bag that they had signed with IMPACT Wrestling and would be appearing on the show. With The Rascalz issuing an open challenge to start the show, the wrestling world thought it was a foregone conclusion that would be where Gallows and Anderson showed up. But instead, it marked the surprise return of Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley, the Motor City Machine Guns.
The Machine Guns truly got their first chance at national exposure with IMPACT Wrestling (formally known as TNA Wrestling) in April of 2007. They got right back into the swing of things with a victory over The Rascalz, 13 years later. It was like they never left.
Seventy-two hours later they became IMPACT World Tag Team Champions for the second time in their career by defeating The North, who were the longest-reigning champions in the company's history to that point. As of this writing, the Machine Guns still hold those championships heading into Bound For Glory this weekend but are slated to defend them in a Four-Way match.
#4 IMPACT signs a total "Knockout" in Deonna Purrazzo
Even during the company's down period a few years ago, one thing could never be taken away from IMPACT Wrestling, and that is their fantastic Knockouts division. Many of the IMPACT faithful would be quick to point out that the "Women's Evolution" in professional wrestling started in IMPACT well before WWE even thought about doing something substantial with their women's division. IMPACT has never been hurting for talent when it comes to their Knockouts.
So when Deonna Purrazzo was shockingly released from the WWE NXT system earlier on this year a lot of people assumed that she would land in All Elite Wrestling as their women's division could have used the help. But in a move that surprised many, Purrazzo instead appeared on IMPACT in May of 2020, immediately finding herself in a feud with then-IMPACT Knockouts Champion, Jordynne Grace.
Purrazzo would go on to defeat Grace for the Championship at Slammiversary and she hasn't looked back. Since she arrived in IMPACT, The Virtuosa has gone out of her way to prove other companies like WWE wrong and show the world that they missed the boat on her.
This quest seems to have proven successful for all involved as IMPACT announced this week that they signed the champion to a long-term contract with the company. Purrazzo defends her Knockouts title against Kylie Rae at Bound For Glory.
#3 It's all about #Heath4IMPACT right now, yeah baby
Sometimes in professional wrestling, it's all about the chance for performers to prove themselves. Wrestlers can only get pushed down the card so many times before they just end up losing a passion for what they do, they go through the motions, collect their paycheck and move on with their day.
Heath, the artist formally known as Heath Slater, is a perfect example of that. He's a wrestler who gave it his all throughout a WWE career that spanned over a decade. Whatever the company gave to him, he made it work. From the Nexus to 3MB, to his wildly popular "Free Agent" storyline, when Heath was given an opportunity, he took the ball and ran with it. Which made it all the more disheartening when his pushes ended prematurely over and over again.
So in April, when Heath was among the large array of talent that was let go from WWE, there seemed to be some sense of relief from the former One Man Band. He took this opportunity as his chance to do work somewhere else that would allow his creativity to shine.
Enter IMPACT Wrestling, as Heath would make his debut with the company over the Summer at Slammiversary. And once again, he did a take on arguably his most popular WWE storyline, "the free agent."
Seeing Heath and Rhino together again should be enough to put a smile on any wrestling fan's face, but Heath and IMPACT have told such an incredible story over the last several months that fans are absolutely caught up in the #Heath4IMPACT campaign. This Saturday a new chapter will begin for Heath in IMPACT and it will be exciting to see what happens next.
#2 Kylie Rae finds a new home in IMPACT Wrestling
Kylie Rae, who was mainly known for her work on the independent scene over the last few years, was signed in 2019 by All Elite Wrestling to be one of the pillars for their women's division going forward. It seemed like a great signing at the time and the wrestling world was anxious to see how she would do on a bigger stage.
Fast forward a few months later and Rae, seemingly out of nowhere, requested her release from AEW. Rae's departure sent shockwaves throughout the pro wrestling community as no one could figure out what exactly happened to lead to her making that decision.
While Rae made a post on Instagram to explain her reasoning for departing AEW it really didn't answer any questions and, likely, we will never know for sure what led to the two parting ways.
At this point, many assumed Rae's wrestling career had ended. Beyond a surprise appearance at last year's Bound For Glory, It didn't seem like she was going to continue wrestling on a full-time basis going forward.
That was until March of this year, when Rae returned to IMPACT Wrestling alongside the announcement that she had signed a long-term deal with the company. This was certainly a surprising signing and many wondered if it would last.
However, Rae's career with IMPACT is still going strong as she will challenge Deonna Purrazzo at Bound For Glory this weekend for the Knockouts Championship. It will be fun to see where Rae's IMPACT Wrestling career goes from here.
#1 The Good Brothers doing great things for IMPACT
We wrap up the list with a tag team that should be no surprise to anyone, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson, the Good Brothers. One of the most decorated tag teams of the last decade has made IMPACT Wrestling their home.
Many expected Gallows and Anderson would end up in All Elite Wrestling in time for the company's debut episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT in October of 2019. However, in a surprise to many, Gallows and Anderson signed new long-term WWE contracts late in the summer of 2019 and chose to remain with the company and their good friend AJ Styles instead.
An even bigger surprise came for Gallows and Anderson in April of this year when they were among the talents released from their WWE contracts. Due to their recent deals signed the year prior, this release came as one of the most shocking that occurred on that day.
Almost immediately, the rumors of the Good Brothers heading to AEW sprang back to life. But when their 90 day non-compete clauses were up they put pen to paper with IMPACT Wrestling.
With crazy events following the signing, such the Talk N' Shop A Mania pay-per-view, and Talk N' Shop Full Keg that aired earlier this week on AXS TV as part of IMPACT Week, it's hard to argue that Gallows and Anderson didn't make the right decision. By the time this weekend is over, they could also be the IMPACT World Tag Team Champions. All things considered, it's a good time to be a Good Brother.
